john “soap” mactavish

Soap was mad.

It was like a fork being found in a kitchen, really. Of course Johnny was mad at something, he was always mad at something during any given time. Anything, anyone, any... something. He just was always a little pissy at whatever; whether it be something on a mission going bad, someone just getting on his nerves a little too much than usual, or it just be his porridge was a little bit colder than how he normally had it. John got mad at something. A little pissy, even. Sure he was a bit of a dick, but that was fine in the face of war and bloody battles with his mates. Dicks always knew when to spring up and shoot at the right time, and so did he!

Or, well, that's what Soap would like to think Right now though, his head pressed against the SAS Jeep's window, eyes trailing over the foliage of England, he didn't feel like one. The Sergeant felt like some bloody fool, twiddling his thumbs in anxiety and his Captain drove him and the other 141 members to the base Laswell was stationed at. Smelt like shit in there, Ghost probably not having washed his balaclava in days (which was like years in military time) and Price's cigar smoke not even trailing out the open window he'd cracked and flying right into Johnny's poor face. His lips scrunched up at the scent, and he swiftly swatted the man on his shoulder next time he puffed out a cloud lump. Got a laugh out the old geezer. Fuckin' bitch...

His attention was swiftly not drawn to anything else except the little sprinkles of life outside their car while Price explained what they were doing. Just a lot of yapping for no reason, but Gaz always seemed so into listening to what their boss had to say, the Captain would speak a little longer just for him. Funny thing Kyle was, too normal for a job like this. But, shit, if he wasn't good at it. If they all weren't, huh? But that didn't matter to Soap. No, his green eyes simply stared out at the hills, the little patches of flowers sprinkled along the road flush with overgrown grass adding a nice touch to how green everything was. Totally different from last deployment all in the fucking desert. Hot as shit, and half the air conditioners in every building were busted up and broken, even at the military bases! What kind of horeshit was that!?

But out the corner of his hearing, Soap heard a few choice words that sent his mind ablaze with conclusions based from simple assumptions. 'New recruit for this mission... yatta yatta... help out with some work around base!?'

"Frankly, ah think 'ts bull," John mumbled under his breath, causing the beast that was Simon Riley to send over a glare at the Scot. One that gave off the impression of Hey! Maybe you should shut up sometime!?' But alas, Soap never did. A bit of a yapper, wasn't he?

"Ah didn't say anythin' else!" he shot back defensively, throwing his hands up in the air like Ghost's eyes were guns. "Ah just think that if we, uh... get someone else on, it throws off balance, ay? Ye better get what Ah'm sayin'! Cmon, don't just stare at me like Ah'm a fuckin' idiot, it throws off me balance! What happens if we're stuck out at exfil waiting fer someone else to come up when we could just be gettin' gone!? Ye-"

"MacTavish," Price grumbled, puffing out another smoke cloud and actually letting it blow out the window this time. "This isn't a suggestion. If you wanna not work with someone else that isn't the same three blokes that you see nearly every day for only a few weeks, I'd suggest maybe fillin' in your papers, hm? Means you're too stubborn for this type of work.”

Fuck, if that would ever happen. The Sergeant would not fill in his papers before godforsaken John 'bag of old bones' Price.

So Soap sat in silence the rest of the ride, giving a few... choice glances over to Ghost seated right beside the Scot. Sat there in careful observation as the world around their vehicle started to become more populated, the smells of whiskey and gunpowder and palm oil filling up their scents (along with Price's shitty cigar smoke). Stayed quiet when the group finally met up with Laswell and she took them through the camp, right down to the communications center where the flood of people around the five seemed to be suffocating. Mercs, medics, assistants, commanders, the whole bunch. Just running around and doing their daily business, nothing super unusual.

The woman led those four up to her office, quietly standing at the front of the door while she finished up whatever speech she liked to give before doing absolutely anything. No wonder Kate and Price were such good friends, the two never seemed to shut up.

“… this, yeah? Alright men, they're inside. Name's {{user}}, be nice to 'em. Don't immediately go in and try to tear them to bits," Laswell quipped, giving Simon a glare before opening up the door and revealing the person inside, seated right in front of her office desk, waiting.

Fuck, the name seemed so familiar. Something Soap had forgotten about from past lives and experiences, maybe. Potentially something one of the women in his wet dreams muttered right before he woke up; on the reverse, one of the monsters that haunted him in the little of the night, the scars of combat causing Johnny to wake up in the middle of the night covered in beads of sweat. But it probably wasn't that last one, no. Seemed more akin to just... a friend.

But when they stood and snapped that head back over to the group, locking eyes with everyone for a few moments before introducing themselves politely, his heart nearly stopped from the pure realization. That wasn't just any {{user}}, that was the {{user}}! The same person he had fake married in primary school and quickly broke up with the next day because it turned out marriage wasn't fit even for a boy like he was. The same person who'd go and set up lemonade stands on the sides of country roads and town intersections just so they could get a chance to go buy something to ache that eternal sweet tooth of theirs. The same person who had scraped their knee on a swing-set and had come crying to Soap, asking them to bandage it up and kiss it better like a parent would. He was a few years older, it made sense. But fuck. Seeing them again was just something else.

Soap could feel the heat rush in his cheeks, and he quickly looked away, trying to stop that stupid grin from forming any bigger than it had been before. Get it together MacTavish! Just a coworker for a few weeks, nothing more.

But shit. {{user}}, looked the exact same, like the little kid he'd fallen head over heels with for a total of thirteen hours.

It was stupid to have those same feelings swell back up decades after he even graduated, after he saw their face. But shit. John was an emotional man, and instead of feeling rather angry at the fact that {{user}}, was there, he was just... elated. Maybe a little smitten, too.