A/N: Hi all,

This fic is set a bit before the game and is intended to be quite long! I have already started on the next chapter, which will have A LOT more action. So hopefully someone will like it! I haven't written much, but I've been working on the story line for a while. Sorry if it's absolute shite though, being my first real work i'm terrified no-one will enjoy it. Also, I swear the next chapters get more interesting!

Please Read and Review - good or bad, I don't care, constructive criticism is always welcome.

SGT. Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Location: Classified

Date: November 26th, 2014

Time: 0305 HRS

His legs felt like lead, and every breath felt as if the oxygen was grating against his lungs; a harsh reminder he should probably get his ribs checked out before passing out in bed, or wherever he collapsed at this rate. Judging by how he felt, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Though, Gary honestly didn't care by this point, he was just glad to be back at base. Fucking glad. He realized his ankle hurt something awful too, probably sprained it or something. Who knows. Who cares? He wanted bed.

He, and several other members of the multi-national, conglomerate Task Force, had just returned from one of the longest, and most grueling "missions" faced since being actually selected into the 141. Kazakhstan was bloody cold. Between the -14 degree weather and the not so warm camping gear and protective clothing, Gary was convinced hypothermia was an issue too. Not that any of the men would ever complain out loud about that, too much fear of getting called a wuss and a hypochondriac by the higher ups who don't give a crap about us. Our masculinity complex will probably get one of us killed one day, he mentally smirked to himself whilst walking through the empty hallway alone. He really didn't want company right now. At least he thought he was alone.

"What's tickin' in that brain of yours, mate?"

A familiar Cockney accent protruded his innermost hypothesizing. Making him jump a little in surprise. Perceptive, he criticized mentally before sighing. Sadly he wasn't alone.

"Nothing, really. Bed."

At that Simon, or better known as by most - Ghost, snorted, nodding in understanding. Ghost sure as hell was picking his moment to converse, he just wanted to bloody sleep.

"Man of many words aren't ya Roach? Heh, I reckon I've never met someone so hard pressed for words at times as-"

"Rich coming from an apparition such as you, Ghost. Really. I don't mean to ruin your little soliloquy, but I'd rather like to go to bed now, if you don't mind."

He interrupted snarkily without thinking. At least he used big words, which was an ongoing joke for the two of them - the butt of it being the lack of vocabulary used by him, himself. Not that he wasn't "smart", he just didn't talk much. But the tone of his voice didn't do much to help. Fuck, Ghost was really going to admonish his ass after an insubordinate outburst like that. Oh Fuck, I'm so tired. Ghost must have seen the regret in the usually incorrigibly, quiet man's face, because he just smirked understandingly and gave a rough pat on the shoulder.

"Get some rest Roach, ill see ya in the morning mate. Or later." He smirked, remembering their "temporary" room arrangement, courtesy of hideous weather and lazy renovators. "Don't forget to pay medical a visit too, can't beat me in PT like that Bug."

"Thanks." He feigned a glare.

He sighed as the Lieutenant briskly walked off towards the officers area laughing at something, or so he presumed he was heading there at least, unlucky bastard. Probably had tonnes of paperwork after that bloody shitbag of a job.

He was fucking lucky Simon was a good bloke, and a good mate over the past few months too. Held him in the utmost reverence. After the death of his Mother, he had been surprisingly supportive towards the reserved, yet benign Sergeant. After getting to know a bit about the man and his undeserving nefariously besmirched past, Gary was starting to have an idea why, but still. Why him? Granted Ghost and he had always gotten along quite well compared to most, but it was still a wonder. He wasn't exactly the best person to be around these days and he barely spoke to anyone. It wasn't that he disliked people around him, he just didn't have much to say - he was never really given the opportunity to speak his mind openly. couldn't much be bothered to change. Then again, he supposed the older man wasn't too dissimilar from himself in that respect. Two sides of the same coin and all that. Well except Simon spoke his mind without much thought, that was pretty much their only difference. Oh well.

He tripped over something that was probably only there due to his exhaustion, causing him to grab his ribs that protested at the movement.

Can I even bloody make it to the infirmary right now?

"Maybe ill just get Doc to check me in the morning…" he mumbled, he was way to tired to actually care right now. Bed was all that mattered.

LT. Simon "Ghost" Riley

Location: Classified

Date: November 26th, 2014

Time: 0431 HRS

MacTavish had kept the debrief to a minimum, thank god. Bloke probably wants to go to bed just as much of the rest of us.

He had pretty much wrapped up what paperwork he was required to do right now, albeit after what felt like forever. Was probably all wrong but he didn't give a shit at the moment. It could be worse he supposed… He shuddered. No, he couldn't go down that line of thinking right now - his past was staying right where it belonged; in the past. He hated the lack of control he had over his thoughts when he was tired, especially with the remaining vestiges of Roba that just refused to leave his mind. Most of the time he could exercise full control, but after such long hours… a heavy sigh left his dry, cracked lips.

"Perhaps a distraction is in order."

He grabbed his cigarettes from the drawer of the work desk, standing up, he headed outside hurriedly to avoid complaints such as;

"stop debauching me with your bloody cancer sticks, you'll kill us all!"

Yes, Harriet, you old hag, I'm referring to you.

He never had liked that woman, she was… off. Condescending; supercilious, yet always going about work in such a languid way. He wondered how she still had her job as a nurse to be honest after replaying a memory of last time he saw her treating a soldier. Poor Roach, don't think he's been back in there since. Willingly, at least. Heh, Wonder if the kid actually went there like I told 'im to.

That brought attention to his previous conversation with Sanderson.

He liked the kid, he was smart and talented; does good work out on the field. Doesn't die. Heh. He was one of the only men who Simon actually considered a mate; a brother. This was a very rare thing as empathy made him uncomfortable. He tended to avoid friendship like the plague. Somehow the bloody Sergeant seemed different to everyone else though, he wasn't bothersome. Sure he was a kid, but something about his intelligent brown eyes intrigued him, brought himself in enough to actually initiate conversation which was a feat in itself. He was pleasantly surprised with what he found after pushing to find out more from the ever quiet man. Not so unlike himself at times. Gary was smart, and if you got to know him well enough, funny.

But the Sergeant seemed out of sorts as of late, not enough to warrant much concern, but different nonetheless. Perhaps more taciturn than usual. If that was possible. He made a mental note that he should probably check on him in the morning, bloke bodged himself up pretty bad avoiding an RPG fire in a multi-story building they were taking sojourn in. God forbid everyone knows no-one 'ere will ever actually ask for help when they need it. Oh well, he's not bloody dead yet. Name Roach is definitely bloody veracious.

He stood up and put the remnants of the cigarette out with his dirty combat boot clad foot and headed back into the barracks, a million thoughts running through his mind. Hoping 7 am PT wouldn't be happening today being one of them. God he hoped the Captain never found out what his Lieutenant was thinking most of the time. He'd surely lose his job. Oh well.

Right, off to bed now. Its been a long few weeks.

He finally made it to Gary and his shared quarters, due to "maintenance", and hoped into bed, not bothering to get changed. He didn't care, he'd slept in worse. He often had trouble sleeping still, but suspected sleep would come easy that night.

SGT. Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Location: Classified

Date: December 14th, 2015

Time: 0700 HRS

Beep. Beep. Beep…

"Eughhh"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"FUCK OFF!"

Gary smacked his alarm as viciously as one could from barely 4 hours sleep after weeks of being awake almost constantly, successfully dulling the obnoxious beeping sound. Sighing, he rolled back onto his bed, fully prepared to accept any reprimand for being late for training today. He couldn't imagine the Captain would force it on them today anyway. An amused chuckle caught his attention to the other side of the small room. Simon. Right.

"Hey mate, was bothering me too."

"Yeah."

"Tired?"

"Yeah."

Ghost chuckled, Gary was grateful he wasn't affronted by his concise responses. He didn't mean to be rude, he was just quiet.

"Come on mate, get your arse up and dressed. Well grab coffee and ill come with ya to the infirmary. I quite enjoy bickering with the bitch, gets so riled up." he snickered, "plus MacTavish can't tear you a new one if I'm there." He added, winking at him.

"You flirting with me?"

"Holy Crap mate, was that a joke? Never thought I'd see the day."

"I'll take that as a yes then."

"Sorry to disappoint then, but I prefer blondes." Ghost got up and ruffled his somewhat short, curly, chocolate brown hair which earned a glare. "C'mon. Move it."

"Hilarious."

I'll bet he wants to avoid training too.

Not that Roach minded - he hated the infirmary and would much prefer to not go there alone. He stood up, ribs protesting at the movement, he just hoped the Lieutenant didn't notice. Wishful thinking, he knew - Simon sees everything. Gary could tell by the piercing look he received from perceptive blue eyes that he was right, but the ever stoic man chose not to make any remark. He was grateful.

He half limped to the mess hall, which Ghost ribbed him about the whole time, calling him old. Gary merely reminded his superior of the 8 year age difference between the two. That quickly shut him up, if only the shitty coffee machine worked as quickly he mused whilst waiting for what was considered liquid gold to the soldiers. The machine finally finished and he poured two full mugs full for them and sat down across from the other man, sliding the beverage to Simon.

"Thanks mate."

"Mmm."

"What's goin' on with you mate?"

"huh?" Discombobulated, Gary frowned; he honestly didn't think he had acted any differently lately.

"You heard."

"I did and I'm still confused."

"What about? I'm asking you what's wrong, you barely talk and I've seen you smile, what - 3 times in the past month? That's not healthy mate, and I order you to tell me what's goin' on, not only as your superior, but as your mate."

Gary sighed. Shit, I'm fine, why the hell does he care?

"I'm fine Simon, alright? You barely smile and most people don't even know your name, so…"

"Touché."

He spent a good few minutes just pondering how to ask why this even mattered, this really wasn't his strong suit. Finally, he decided on the candid approach.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Now it was Simon's turn to be confused.

"Why do you care so much? Out of everyone here, why me? I'm not exactly great company and you're Lieutenant, you should be bossing me about, not asking me if I'm alright. I don't understand."

Meat chose that moment to scream higher than anyone thought was physically possible, interrupting their discussion, before turning to run away from a seriously pissed off looking Royce. This comically resulted in him miscalculating his escape route and running smack bang into the wall with a loud crunch. Roach couldn't help but let out a snort - not only at the hilarity of the scene, but the absurdity of the relevance of why he was the only one Ghost really bothered to talk to. He turned back to Simon, deep chocolate brown meeting amused sharp, icy blue; obviously the other man was having similar thoughts.

"I rest my case."

"Heh. Point taken."

"You obviously don't hold yourself in very high regard Roach, why?" He really did not want to go into this line of conversation. It was too hard to think about, let alone talk about. Quickly sculling the last of his coffee, he stood up. Ignoring the comment.

"Lets just go to the infirmary already".

He didn't mean to sound so rude, but he couldn't help it. There was nothing wrong and he didn't want to dwell on the negative.

"Rightio, Sergeant." Ghost stated pointedly, although they both knew that Lieutenant didn't really care too much about the rank superiority part.

Shit. Gary mused, he sounds pissed. Making eye contact, the usually stern but almost mischievous visage was replaced by an icy glare and a stony expression. Looks pissed too. Oh well, should learn to mind his own. However pissed the man might be, he still started following him to medical. Must've really wanted to get out of doing something Gary decided.

LT. Simon "Ghost" Riley

Location: Classified

Date: November 26th, 2014

Time: 0801 HRS

The short walk to the infirmary was accompanied by relative silence. There was so many things on his mind that he wanted to say, but he could tell Gary didn't want to talk about it. He respected the other man's privacy, hell if the situation were reversed he'd probably have stormed off by now. But he was still annoyed, he hated not knowing things. Made him feel like he was losing control, and in a profession like this? Control was pivotal. The kid did know about most of his problems and what happened to him. Courtesy of himself. To be fair though, Gary had told him a lot too, well, in small doses. Maybe he just couldn't be arsed pretending to appear sanguine whilst in the midst of a war. Its possible, I suppose. But he's still too quiet lately. The light just doesn't seem to dance and glimmer around the few golden flecks of his dark chocolate eyes in the same way any more. Almost like he's seen too much of the world - now his outlook is going dark. Just like mine. He shuddered. Why was he even noticing this?

Something the younger man had said really stuck though, why him? Why Gary? He pondered that one for a minute.

Were so similar, its not even funny. Reminds me of myself; he's like a little brother. But he speaks as though he's not good enough; like he doesn't deserve anyone. I guess that's how I felt- feel, with my family and what happened with Roba - and the others. The kid was in foster care most of his childhood, until he met his mother who recently died. Fuck, I think I get it now. Were both a little fucked up. But he's a great guy, sure he's quiet, but he's quite the lovable and sarcastic ass-hole when you get to know 'im. Ill 'ave a word to him about it later. Fuck im gettin' soppy, I need a bloody drink-

"Oi, mate!" Fingers snapping in his face quickly removed him from his reverie. He looked up to see the conflicted gaze of Sanderson, looked like he was vacillating between being annoyed with him and amused.

"What's wrong?"

Gary's voice was dripping with snide sarcasm, but he could hear the mirth and genuine concern in there too.

"Just thinking, nothin' important."

"Alright."

"What did you want?"

"Were here."

he laughed at the dry tone, spoken as if it were the end of the world. Hell, with that nurse here, it bloody well could be.

"I know. You'll be alright mate, it's not that bad." Gary just gave him an oh really look, with a hint of you hypocrite.

"You better not let that woman touch me, ill be scarred for life." He had to laugh at that - There's the old Gary again, funny how his personality can change just like that.

"I will. Promise."

He rubbed the younger man's hair as he pouted in a dangerously childlike way. It suited his young features better than the unexpressed look. It was almost cute, not that he'd ever admit that. Ever. To anyone.

"C'mon Bug, better make sure you're not dyin'."

SGT. Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Location: Classified

Date: November 26th, 2014

Time: 1003 HRS

After what felt like eternity, Gary finally made it away from all the doctors. Personally, he felt uncomfortable just from the foul sterile stench that seemed to accompany intrinsically any infirmary he'd ever been in. Lucky for him, Ghost had kept his word about not letting the rather brusque "nurse" traumatize him. In his opinion she wasn't really a nurse, just a scary old lady who intimated anyone in her way. Heh, they should have put her in infantry.

The Lieutenant had actually started yelling at everyone in the building until someone else caved and offered to help Roach. It was done jokingly he assumed, unbeknownst to the medical staff - but Gary could see his superiors enjoyment of having control. He was grateful, even if he didn't understand why; usually he'd get told to just suck it up. After what happened with the hag last time, he wouldn't have hesitated to give her a few choice words as well. That wouldn't have gone down well with the Captain. Or he'd have a good laugh, you never knew with that man.

Apparently he was lucky to get away with a mildly sprained ankle and a few bruised ribs; possible hairline fracture, but he'd be fine given some rest and basic paracetamol. Sleep would definitely help right about now.

He turned to Simon, about to ask permission to be excused to comply with the doctors orders and get some rest when the other man interrupted him.

"We're very similar, you and I. You're decent and you 'ave potential mate, that's why I bother."

Gary didn't know how to respond, he wasn't good with this emotional bullshit, last he knew Simon wasn't either. This was new. Apparently the man really did care. How flattering…

"Thanks, I guess. Not like you to care."

"True, don't like gettin' too close, doesn't end well. What've you done to me?" Simon smirked.

"Nothing." What have I done?

"Just don't tell anyone mate, or it'll be more training for you."

At that he laughed, for the first time in a while. The tough, no nonsense Simon Riley caring about an insignificant little "bug". Who'd have thought? The other man gave him a friendly nudge, "forgot you could laugh mate!"

"Hilarious," he smirked, "must've taken some balls to actually say something that soppy mate." The lieutenants turned to him, gaze harsh intending to reprimand, but immediately softened as he saw the teasing look on the younger man's face. He settled on teasing back.

"Oi, there's plenty more where that came from if you don't stop being an introverted bastard."

"Oh god, the horror." He smirked sarcastically.

Ghost didn't find it too amusing though, so he forced his face to display something less light-hearted before speaking honestly. "Look mate, there's really nothing wrong, alright? Just a bit tired lately, that's all."

The other man sighed, "alright, alright - I give. But, well, you know you can trust me mate, right?. 'Bout anything. I'm not really as big of an arse as you bloody gits think me to be."

"I know. Thanks."

He smiled, he trusted the man with his life, but thoughts and feelings were another matter.

Maybe I could talk… Nah, another time.

A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope it was okay.

As mentioned before, there will be much more action and drama soon. This was more just an introduction to establish personality and relationships for the later part of the story. Please review, feedback is greatly appreciated.