Rating: t for language, violence, suggestive themes and an all- around good time.
Summary: as captain of the task force 141, MacTavish gives out advice on a daily basis. But he never thought it would be the relationship kind. GhostxRoach. This means SLASH.
I might as well mention that I hate writing first chapters. There's more of this, and I swear it's not as lame and horrible as this one.
Captain MacTavish had always been overly protective of his task force, like any good commander should be. He feels like a father towards them and tries to keep them safe, or as safe as you can be in this profession, anyways. More to the point, he knows everything about his men, their comings and goings, strengths and shortcomings, favorite weapons, everything down to their favorite food.
MacTavish knows, for instance, of Ghost's proficiency for ACRs and computers. He knows the reason Ghost wears that skull balaclava 24/7, he knows about his fucked-up past, of his nightmares and hallucinations, of that brief period in Ghost's life where he thought he was going insane. He knows how Ghost lost everyone that was close to him, why Ghost keeps a barrier around himself, not letting anyone past it, because he believes that distance is a good strategy when it comes to relationships. Yet his sense of humor and laid-back attitude make him a remarkable squad leader, the irony of which is not lost on MacTavish.
Even the newest addition to their team, Roach, has a list of unique traits and MacTavish prides himself on knowing them all. Real name? Gary Sanderson. Too talkative, except on missions, where you'd be hard-pressed to get a word out of him. Strong points? Demolitions and heavy weaponry. Shortcomings? Pistols, and stealth ops, and a slightly ...conspicuous fixation with Ghost.
In a way, it's almost painfully obvious. Roach follows Ghost everywhere like an overeager puppy; he volunteers himself for extra work if it involves Ghost; his eyes light up with every scrap of praise Ghost throws at him. MacTavish could put it off as hero-worship, maybe, if it wasn't the fact that he's seen the way Roach stares at Ghost whenever they happen to be in the same room, the way he blushes whenever he and Ghost hold a conversation, the way his eyes linger just a second too long on Ghost in the showers. Yeah. Ob-bloody-vious.
MacTavish realizes that Ghost knows this, but Roach does not notice, or perhaps he does not care. He (MacTavish) had often thought about maybe taking Roach aside and explaining that even Ghost could tell Roach was staring at his ass, but he can never put it into better terms than that and so he lets the matter drop. He doesn't say anything to Ghost, either, because Ghost can take care of himself and the attention doesn't seem to bother him. On a few occasions MacTavish even swears that he returns it.
So, maybe, he figures there might be a little more than friendship going on here. But it's not in his place to say anything. Sure, if their relationship threw a wrench into the finely-tuned machine that is his task force, he would step forward and stop it in no time. But, as it is, neither of them is really doing anything wrong, and as long as it doesn't disrupts the 141, he is fully prepared to let it slide.
That's why he figures it's probably none of his business when the task force visits a local pub and Ghost gets a little too smashed and becomes a little too friendly towards Roach, leaning against him with an arm thrown around the younger man's shoulders, mouth close to his ears, murmuring things that cause Roach to blush occasionally. But its off-hours, and the weekend, and hell, Roach was probably enjoying the affection, so MacTavish sees no need to worry. Until much later, that is, when he looses track of the two of them and its last call and he realizes suddenly that he hasn't seen them for an hour.
He finds them, on accident, when he returns to base and takes a walk around the compound before turning in. They're behind one of the storerooms, mouths locked together, Roach pinned up against the wall, Ghost's hand shoved down the younger man's pants. MacTavish hesitates, but decides not to say anything, so they don't notice him. As he returns indoors he makes a mental note to caution both of them about The Dangers of Drinking Too Much and Doing Something You Might Regret When You're Sober. For now, though, he'll let the two of them enjoy each other. In private.
That was his plan, anyways. But when General Shepherd contacts him at 0301 in the morning, saying something about a downed ACS satellite and Russian Ultranationalists and a two-man stealth op, he knows he has no choice but to wake up his second-in-command.
With that thought in mind, MacTavish heads off to Ghost's quarters, leery of what he might find there. He is only a bit surprised when he turns a corner in a hallway and comes face-to-face with Roach, who is emerging from Ghost's room, a grin on his face. He freezes when he sees MacTavish.
"Ah! Captain. Uh. Didn't see you there." Roach mumbles, rubbing his neck nervously and having the good sense to look flustered. "Did you- did you want to talk to Ghost? Because he's really drunk. Actually he passed out like half an hour ago. And I would personally, ah, advise against waking h-"
MacTavish is not pleased about being woken up at three in the morning, which is perhaps why he cuts Roach's rambling short, sounding a bit grumpier than he meant to. "Well that's bloody lovely, because General Shepherd just gave me a mission and the helicopter is leaving in fifteen minutes and I'd really appreciate it if you would move."
Roach blinks and the hand on his neck stills, but he does not step away from Ghost's door. "Sir, I could go instead."
"You, Roach?" MacTavish says doubtfully. "It's a stealth mission that involves a lot of climbing. You're afraid of heights. You whine about the cold. Sure, you're good at blowing things up, but you're not exactly up to speed on your stealth."
"No, I can do it, really!" Roach protests, too loud and chipper at this time in the morning. "This way you won't have to wake Ghost up. I'm functioning better than he is at the moment. Also; not afraid of heights."
He takes his hand off his neck and MacTavish notices several crescent-shaped bruises there, but he doesn't comment on them because what (who) Roach does in his free time is up to Roach and he's got a satellite to worry about.
"Right. Well. You've got," he checks his watch, "fourteen minutes until the chopper leaves. Get your cold-weather gear and I swear to God if I hear you whining—"
Roach, for his part, just smiles and nods and follows his captain out the hall, humming slightly.
Also, I do not own Call of Duty. Any of them.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.