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Roach had been selectively nonverbal to the rest of the team. If he needed to communicate, he'd often used sign language. He rarely gets vocal to them, ever since that bastard Sheperd incident.
Sometimes he would talk, but it isn't as loud as hearable. It often goes on as a whisper, and whoever was lucky enough to hear his hushed voice, would probably have a problem understanding his words due to how silent it would be. Towards anyone he was verbal to was Ghost, being the one he was impossibly close with. Roach would have to stand on his toes and whisper to his ear when he wants to say something to him, but luckily the tall man had sympathy to their height difference, and would slouch or lower his head a little to Roach's reach. He claimed to have heard him talk the last time was a year ago, and it didn't really left a good impression to him. The last time he talked he was sobbing and was crying over a nightmare he often have during summer heat. Ever since then he didn't had a voice again. Everyone was unbothered by it.
So it would be a terrible jumpscare to hear him talk, specially with a scowl on his face.
It was early in the morning when the team assembled in the living room and the kitchen combined— Ghost and Gaz preparing a warm cup of drinks they respectively like. Gaz took two mugs and filled it all with coffee, one for him, and one by order for their captain, the one and only, Price. He also made himself a sandwich too. Ghost made himself tea, two as well, but the other one just sits on the countertop, cooling off itself.
And for the record, nobody drinks tea than Ghost himself. And besides, Roach and Soap already took their breakfast early. He figured out he's going to chug those cups up before he even notice.
Gaz sat down in front of a round table, putting the mug he doesn't own across of him as he settled a plateful of sandwich and his mug down the surface. Ghost stood near the counter behind his other cup of tea— as if he's trying to protect the tea away from anyone else.
While all of this is happening, Roach is on the couch together with Soap, eyes burning on the screen as they he rapidly smash their fingers around their controllers. On the screen, they were playing a tank game with the enemies moving at a fairly high speed. Since they couldn't afford to have a PlayStation (as for Price, it would be a distraction for all of them), they bought a DVD player instead, so that they can watch movies during free hours. It was a DVD bundled with a free controller and a cute CD, but the CD nor the controller found no purpose and was left somewhere. It was then Roach discovered the small compact disc somewhere around the base and found out it was a disc bought along with the DVD Price bought, and soon found out that it's a small disc full of games. He soon asked Soap to play with him with the game right after the discovery and the last thing he remembered was that he was dragged by the wrist and now he's here.
Soap couldn't recall the title of the game. Using his last glimpse of the selection before the game set off and Roach excitedly started the game before he could even react, he remembered that it was a two word combination, one being a word while the other was a date he thinks was dated back on the 1980s— but he couldn't remember exactly when. Or maybe he was wrong and mistook the title. There was a lot of letters to begin with.
The last thing he knew is that, he's already here struggling to make ends meet as stronger enemy tanks rush towards their base covered with nothing but bricks. Literal bricks. Two bullets from the enemy, and their base is going to crumble and they'd be meeting with a sweet Game Over. He shot the base twice in the game and now he's trying his best not to shoot the base accidentally again, as to avoid irritating Roach even more. It was the 5th time they had to restart the level over and Roach's patience with it grew thin.
Ghost simply looks over to them and observe quietly as Roach makes out quiet grunts with every close death he had that made Soap want to burst out laughing, but he knows by the aura alone Roach wouldn't wanna be laughed at. One snort would probably result into getting punched in the balls. Soap had to stifle his laugh at Roach's agressiveness towards the game.
If Roach was a superman and have laser eyes, the TV would've had two holes and probably multiple two holes the next 7 rooms ahead of them. They both scoured around in the game, occupying two places of the place— Roach being on the left while Soap being on the right. But the two would sometimes switch places after chasing their enemies so much they ended up in the other's supposedly area. Thank God they haven't got confused with the vines annoyingly covering the view for them. It was hard to see with green shit all over the place.
Until Soap lost his tank and couldn't find it. He tried to move around using his controller but found none of his avail. He couldn't find the damn green tank. Prolly got lost under the vines and he can't see it because the vines and his playable tank is fucking green. He cursed quietly under his breath.
“Fuck sake,” He mumbled as he tried to move around and try to spot his tank. Roach moved around, up and down, left and right to keep the running enemies away from them. He was doing a good job, but he knows he can't keep the pace for too long. One tank is surely going to slip past him and that would be the death of them. What's worse is that the eagle that served as their base is almost all naked. There was barely protection for their base, let alone their tanks.
Roach eyed him in a panic, and nudging his knee to Soap's— making Soap even more nervous yet still composed. 2 minutes in and he still couldn't figure out where his damn player was.
Roach didn't have time to sign to signal him, so all he did was let out a panicked whine to John, making him shudder. The two people in the back glanced at them, surprised and at the same time concerned, but when they found out what the probable cause was, they shrugged it off and mind their drinks instead. Ghost's attention diverted back into his now second cup of tea.
“I'm fucking trying, I can't see shit across the screen, all I see is fucking green!” He complained as he tried to press the buttons on his little controller. Roach grunts in response as he continued smashing the keys, as if, if they die in the game the sun would crush the Earth. John sheds a sweat as he fiddled with the buttons, until he pressed the attack button on accident.
The bullet from his tank shot the open part of the base, making it animatedly explode and turn into a white flag. The game froze as well as Roach's and Soap's heart beat.
The smaller soldier let out a high-pitched yelp as he stared at the now fucked base, until the screen went back to their scores and counted them before showing them a game over and a back to title button. Soap gulped as he felt the tension arouse, when he realizes what Roach realized. He shot their own base.
‘Oh fuck.’
He slowly turned his head around and faced Soap, with a fiery stare and a visible frown in his face. Soap looks at him, eyes wide, face splashed with fear but with a guilty yet mischievous smile as the sergeant beside him stared at him as if he was deciding which organ to pull out first. His eyes dug two holes in him as the same stare dug a grave and prepared a funeral for him.
“Why.”
Everyone jolted, including Gaz and Ghost, making the two soldiers who were around the area stare at the sergeants in shock. Gaz dropped his sandwich at the sound of his voice. Ghost thought the same as Gaz thought this is gonna be the last time he'd see his best buddy. Roach's voice was fierce, fuming with bottled up rage yet still composed, but this time, it wasn't a whisper, but a voice they all could hear. More scarier is that they heard it and they know Roach isn't playing around specially with his tone like that.
Soap swallowed a breath as he blinked his eyes, smiling nervously at Roach. He doesn't seem to like it, he perceived.
“I-I— Well— I-I couldn't fucking see!! Ye ken my tank 'snot distinct like you's! H' th'fuck am I supp'sed to find it if ye ken my tank 's green and tha' shi'ass vines are also green?!” He gestured his hands to the TV screen, flying them away in the air as he his voice thickens, dropping the controller on the process. Roach stared at him as if he had done the most atrocious shit he could ever do to him in his entire life, as if he was waiting for a cue for him to start attacking. Ghost prepped himself, ready to jump in and break the two off of each other and prepare for the worse. Gaz was too, but he was more stunned and would more likely be unable to move as his limbs froze, even though he told himself mentally to prepare for the worse.
The two sergeants stared at each other for a dreadful minute before Roach grabbed something and started smacking Soap with it.
“Ow— Roach—! I'm sorry—” Soap covered himself with his arms as he bursts out laughing, while Roach repeatedly smacked him with whatever he had in hand.
“YOU IDIOT!” He exclaimed in exasperation, before words were left unsaid and the only thing he could utter were just grunts, yelps and huffs as he harshly hit Soap with the cushion.
Ghost was about to lunge himself forward until he noticed it was just the couch's cushion he had took. He soon composed and sighed and laughed with Gaz after, as Gaz watched them, now dumbfounded with his eyebrows cocked up, mouth agape as he watches Roach smack John with a pillow like a child that got way too annoyed losing over a game again and again. John was a laughing mess, repeatedly saying sorry to Roach before he stopped smacking for a moment to communicate.
“You bastard! I've told you many times to keep an eye on your tank and you lost it again?! That's the 3rd time this round!” He aggressively signed, but Soap was able to understand his point.
“Yeah?! How about you play as the green shit so you'll know how hard 'tis to run around the vines with that damned thing!” He grinned as he giggled, which made him earn another powerful smack from Roach, still from the same weapon, the cushion. If this was a hard object, he'd be badly bruised with all that.
“How about you stop being blind and watch over your damn tank?! You can catch me and Ghost holding hands at a far far distance but you can't even see your damn tank?!” Roach rapidly signed, but he still picked it up. Ghost smirked at their little argument and found it entertaining.
“What's the difference between a green tank under a green vine and two scary men in black kissing aggressively during broad daylight?” He grinned then smirked. Roach flushed, face and ears about to combust as he let out a high-pitched shriek before he repeatedly smacked Soap again. Ghost quietly laughs as Gaz sighs before shaking his head. He eyed Gaz with a glare, a finger on his masked lips. He stopped his breathing before nodding, looking away as he ate his sandwich, pretending he didn't hear all of that. The lieutenant smirked, thanking the mask for covering how much of a blushing mess he is at the moment. The smacking continued, before Ghost cleared up his throat and walked away, about to leave.
“Stop the smacking now, bug, you're gonna break the soap in two.” He chuckled as Roach got off of Soap's chest, before the two got forehead kisses.
“I'll be at the office if you need me.” He said before leaving the room with his half empty cup of tea he had. Roach huffs as he shifts, sitting back at the couch with one leg closed to his knee, grabbing the controller with grace. Soap did the same and grabbed his controller before sitting up, legs spreading as his foot found comfort on the floor, still grinning and chuckling at Roach's childish response. It was better than getting a punch in the balls like he initially thought anyway.
“One more?” Soap grinned at him. The annoyance of the other was unmistakably visible, but it intend no harm.
“Fuck you.” He whispered as he nudged his knee to his leg, before restarting the game again.