Soap's leg healed up pretty quickly and within a few days they were making preparations to invade Anatoly's safe house in Athens. They got a team together, got all of the gear ready, and Nikolai would be flying them in (of course). As for Aaron she would be part of the mission, but not be going to Greece. She would be guiding them through the safe house and territory step by step from the base with the 3-D model she made on the computers. She was a little edgy since it would be the first mission she wouldn't be going on with her team. But her and Price had an agreement and she was going to follow that.
It was the night before the mission and Aaron was checking and rechecking all the images and information to make sure there were zero mistakes or miscalculations. She must have checked over it at least thirty times, but she wasn't taking any risks. Once everything was checked and put away, Aaron grabbed the things she needed to take back to her room and left the office.
The evening air was cool, but slightly warm since it was the springtime now. The stars shined brightly and were easy to see from the contrast between them and the dark night sky. It was actually quite peaceful for once. Aaron used to look up at the stars every night, but lately she hasn't. She stopped walking and looked straight up, trying to find the constellations. She found Orion and the Big Dipper when a voice made her jump.
"Star gazing are we?" the Russian voice asked. Aaron jumped and turned around to find Nikolai behind her. She gave him a smile. "Hi Nikolai." She greeted. He walked up next to her and motioned for her to keep walking. "What're you doing out this late my lady?" he asked. "You should be getting rest."
"I know…" she agreed. "I was going back to my room now."
A short silence fell before Nikolai spoke up again. "May I ask you a personal question?" he questioned. Aaron looked at him curiously. "I suppose." She told him.
"What do you think of my friend, Soap?" he asked her. She stopped walking and looked at him. "What do you mean?" she replied through a chuckle.
"I just see the way he looks at you sometimes. You don't seem to notice it, but I have. He seems to fancy you if I were to declare it." Nikolai explained.
"Soap just got out of an engagement Nikolai. Do you really think he would want to move on that quick?"
"Well Soap was very angered with his now ex-fiancé. He got rid of everything that reminded of her, took the ring back…he was hurt in the beginning for sure, but I think he feels relieved it's over. The two were engaged for a long time and never even set a date." Aaron pushed her eyebrows together before continuing walking.
"You never answered my question." Nikolai pointed out, causing her to stop walking again. She turned around and smiled as she looked to the side. Then she looked back at him. "He's a great guy. Sweet, funny, caring…I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him, but…" she trailed off for a moment. "Guys like him don't go for girls for me."
"What do you mean "girls like you"? Nikolai questioned.
"Emotionally damaged workaholics." Aaron explained with a small chuckle slipping through her lips. "I am going back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow Nikolai." Before he could say anything, Aaron turned around and walked off towards the living quarters completely unaware that Soap heard every word she just said.
OOOOO
After a meeting with Price, Soap left the office smelling of Villa Clara cigar smoke on his way to go to bed. He had a long day tomorrow and he was ready to fall into a long deep sleep. He turned to walk between two buildings as a short cut when he heard two familiar voices.
"What do you think of my friend Soap?" he heard Nikolai ask someone. He stopped walking and remained in the shadows to hear who he was talking to.
"What do you mean?" A familiar British accented voice reply. Aaron?
He listened to Nikolai tell Aaron how he saw him look at her when she wasn't looking which made him think. People noticed? He tried to be discreet about it and keep it on the down low…
The two then went into his broken off engagement and some other things until Nikolai finally reached the part that grabbed Soap's full attention. "You never answered my question." He stated. He heard Aaron pause for a moment before answering. "He's a great guy," she began. Soap's shoulders fell. That was something women say before explaining why they don't like a guy. "Sweet, funny, caring…" she went on. Did Soap really want to keep listening? "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him, but…" And this was the part- wait what? Soap's attention was caught again. "Guys like him don't go for girls like him."
What was supposed to mean? Soap thought. "What do you mean girls like you?" he heard Nikolai ask.
"Emotionally damaged workaholics…" Aaron answered. Soap leaned against the wall next to him. Is that all she labeled herself? What about the part about how incredibly smart she is? And how she had the ability to make anyone laugh even on their worst days… She also forgot how she had the prettiest brown eyes he'd ever seen and the warmest smile that could light up the whole room. All the things he loved about her that made him…like her so much. He slid down the wall to the ground and listened as her footsteps trailed off towards the living quarters. Running a hand through his Mohawk he let out a breath and though about her. The first time he saw her in Prague when Price had him over his shoulder and he could barely make out her face. Then when he officially met her at the hospital in Romania after the fall …and every single moment since then. Saving her from Russia, the time she spent in the hospital, he could remember it all in perfect detail because he wanted to. A smile formed on his face when he thought about the night he picked her up in his arms in the rec room to lay her on the couch. She fit perfectly in his arms like she was meant to be there. That's when it finally hit him like a brick. He's liked this girl longer than he thought. Even when she pushed everyone away, he didn't give up on her because he knew she was still there.
The sound of a door closing made Soap snap out of his thoughts and into reality. He stood up quickly and walked off towards the living quarters in high speed. He entered the building just as Aaron vanished into her room, closing the door behind her. He walked over to her door and raised his hand to knock when he saw Price enter the building.
"Soap?" the old man questioned walking down the hall. "What're you doing out here?"
Soap dropped his arm. "Nothing." He said not wanting Price to know anything quite yet. "I'm going to my room now." Soap backed up and turned around, rushing into his room quickly.
THE NEXT MORNING
Soap woke up early and headed off to the helicopters to make sure all the gear was in check. He had to see Aaron before he left because he was leaving to go on a mission and there was always a chance he didn't come back.
Once he saw that all the gear on the helicopters were in check he and Price went over to the technical building to debrief with Aaron. The walk over was nerve wracking for Soap even though he wasn't going to act upon anything with Price or anyone around. He wanted to wait until it was just him and her.
OOOOO
Aaron was already in the technical building with Parish bringing up the 3-D model of the safe house on 3-D computer when Soap and Price walked in. She pushed her reading glassed up on to her head, keeping the bangs out of her face so she could see more clearly. "Morning." She greeted.
"Morning." Price replied. "What do you have for us lass?"
Aaron picked up a tablet and clicked a few buttons, bringing up the full 3-D model of the safe house. "The house is almost like a small hotel." She began. "There are close to a hundred soldiers present there now who are on active duty. There are two to a room at night but during the day the place seems to be buzzing. The armory or armories are in what were the old custodial closets located here, here, and here." she explained, lighting up the armories location in green. "Anatoly is still there and he will either be here or here." she continued lighting up two places in red. "That's the operations room and his office which also serves as his bedroom too. He has his lieutenant two steps behind him almost twenty four seven. Other than that not much security around him but as far as the location there's a patrol that stretches two miles out and then there's a security check to get inside. There's also a chopper that circles around twice a day." Aaron finished.
Price looked over the map and all the details. "Good work Aaron." Price stated. "We leave in an hour so Soap get everyone together and in their gear immediately. We only got one shot at this." Soap nodded and Price walked out of the room, Soap right behind him. He'd have to wait until later to talk to Aaron.
OOOOO
By the time Soap got everyone geared up for the mission including himself, he had fifteen minutes until they left which left him ten to find Aaron and talk to her. He rushed over from the armory to the technical building only to find her office empty. "Damn it." he grunted rushing back outside.
He went to the rec room next since that was closest but found it empty as well. Where the hell was she? He made a B-Line for the mechanics garage when he saw her walking towards the technical building with some files. Looking at his watch he saw he didn't have enough time to talk to her. He was about to just call the whole idea off when a different idea came to mind. And it was either very smart or incredibly stupid.
Aaron was walking back to her office after going to her room to grab a file she needed when her mind wandered to the mission. They were leaving in less than ten minutes and she got a chance to wish her team luck, but didn't get a chance to say anything to Soap today. She wanted to talk to him but he was so busy with getting everyone ready for the mission she couldn't.
She was passing the rec room and almost to her office when a hand grabbed her upper arm. Before she could turn around and hit whoever it was across the face the person pulled her behind the wall and turned her around so her back was against the brick. Then a pair of lips crushed to hers. Her eyes snapped open in shock and nearly passed out at who she saw it was. It was Soap. He brought his hands to the side of her face and deepened the kiss, making Aaron even more surprised. She could feel how tensed up he was and allowed her eyes to flutter close and kiss him back, making him relax. She put her hands on his sides and could feel his hard muscles underneath his shirt while his hands remained on her face. She swore time stopped altogether.
After what seemed forever, Soap pulled back and met her warm brown eyes with his icy blue ones. "I would go for a girl like you any day." Was all he said before dropping his hands from her face and walking off. Aaron's mouth fell open as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. What…the…hell…just happened. She thought.
