Matchmaker:

Soap gets Ghost drunk to confess his feelings.

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"Ghost, there you are!"

Ghost turned as Soap jogged down to the shooting range. Roach still had his headphones on and was taking shots at the paper targets so hadn't noticed. When the Sergeant hit a particularly difficult shot, Ghost clapped him on the back. He was rewarded with a lopsided grin before Roach refocused.

Soap reached them and winked. "You and I, we're going out."

"Not a chance." He'd had too much experience of Soap's 'outings' and wasn't looking for another one. They were never simple nights out, the Captain always had an agenda. He glanced at Soap to see him smirking. "Whatever you're thinking, no."

"I wasn't asking, Captain's orders."

"You're not seriously throwing rank?"

"I am. Half an hour and I want you at the entrance." With a wave, he was gone.

Ghost sighed deeply and massaged his temples. When he opened his eyes it was to find Roach looking at him in concern. His heart rate picked up as their eyes met and he cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fluttering in his stomach.

There had been a subtle, but significant shift in their relationship recently. Ghost wasn't sure when it had happened, but it had and he couldn't ignore these feelings anymore. Roach was attractive and he hated admitting it, even if only to himself.

"Something wrong?" Roach asked, resting the rifle against his shoulder. It was a rather fetching pose and Ghost swallowed thickly.

"No. But training's over, I've got new plans apparently." Roach raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Soap's requesting my company tonight." He winced and the other man smirked. "Not what I meant."

"I won't tell anyone." With a wink, he started taking the rifle apart. There was a stiffness to his shoulders however that betrayed the normally easygoing Sergeant. "It's not like the range is going anywhere, we can continue tomorrow."

"I'd rather stay here with you." Ghost said the words without thought, then quickly tried to recover himself. "Who would want to listen to Soap complain all night as he gets wasted? Give me the shooting range any day."

"Right." With the rifle taken apart, Roach walked towards the armoury. "Have fun, Ghost. I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

There was a slight edge to his voice that confused Ghost. Was he annoyed at the cancellation mid-session? Hell, maybe he wanted to come out drinking too. That wasn't Ghost's call though and Soap had been very specific, just the two of them. Whatever the reason, Roach would be over it by tomorrow, he wasn't the type to hold grudges.

Half an hour later, Ghost was stood at the entrance waiting for Soap, who pulled up a moment later in one of the unmarked SUV's. "Hop in!" He called through the open windows.

Ghost did and glared at his Captain. Another thing he hated about going out was he couldn't wear his mask. "Where are we going?"

"A little place called The Maiden's Kiss."

It turned out to be a small pub. Considering they were in the middle of nowhere, finding a pub in a nearby village was some sort of miracle. Soap went to order drinks whilst Ghost found a small table in the corner of the room. He didn't want to be stared at all night and hated leaving his balaclava behind but it would draw more attention than his scars.

Soap returned a few minutes later with a tray laden with shots and Ghost groaned. "Suck it up mate and get these down your neck."

With a glass shoved into his hand, Ghost rolled his eyes before downing it. He winced as the liquid stung his throat. "Jesus, what the hell Soap?" He was answered with another shot.

Hours later, with many more shots done, Ghost's head was swimming. He didn't drink often and Soap was taking advantage of him. He realised this, but couldn't understand why but for now his Captain seemed satisfied. He hadn't ordered more shots at least.

"Ghost," he started. "I need to talk to you about Roach." He didn't even sound drunk, it was so unfair.

"What about him?"

"He's... kinda cute Dontcha think?" Soap's eyes were alight with mischief but Ghost glared at him as anger flared in his chest.

"Shut up."

"Do you think he'd be interested in an older man?" Without realising it, Ghost had Soap by the shirt. The sound of shattering glasses brought him back to his senses and he quickly let go. Thankfully nobody seemed to notice above the raucous noise of the crowd. "What's gotten under your skin?"

"Don't talk about Roach like that!" He snapped.

Soap raised an eyebrow innocently. "Something wrong?"

"He's more than a pretty face." Ghost muttered the words grudgingly as he pulled on a stray hem on his shirt. "He's sweet and kind and he deserves better than that. Don't talk about him like he's a piece of meat."

"You care about him, don't you?" Soap voice was soft now, the teasing gone.

"More than I care to admit." With a shuddering sigh, the words poured out before he could stop them. "He makes me feel things I can't explain. I've never felt like this before. Have you ever wanted someone so bad, but know you shouldn't because it breaks all the rules? I keep finding myself thinking fuck the rules. He's in my head and I can't get him out."

Soap appraised him after this outburst. As the silence stretched out, Ghost found himself flushing with embarrassment. Stupid, he thought. Not only had he spilt out his feelings, but he was also blushing. Roach had really done a number on him.

"You should tell Roach."

Ghost's head snapped up and he looked at Soap in surprise. "Why?"

Soap's smile was genuine now. "Because I know how little happiness you've had in your life. Don't deny yourself this."

"What about the rules?"

"Fuck the rules. As long as nobody walks in on you having sex in the rec room or something, I don't care. I know you won't let it interfere with our job."

Ghost's blush deepened at the thought of having sex with Roach. He'd avoided those thoughts as best he could out of self-preservation. How could he look Roach in the eye if he was jerking off to thoughts of him in the shower? Embarrassingly he could feel he was getting hard and quickly shook the thoughts away.

"Time to head back I think." Soap stood and pulled Ghost to his feet. "Get some sleep and then talk to Roach."

"You're forgetting one thing."

"What's that?"

"Why would Roach want me?"

At the SUV, Soap paused and looked at him sternly. "Stop looking down on yourself. I'm saying this as your friend, not your Captain, tell Roach."

"I'll think about it."

Back at the base Soap helped him to his room. "Get some sleep and go talk to Roach in the morning." Soap told him before leaving.

Ghost stood outside his door for a moment. Thought's of Roach invaded his head and then he was heading back down the corridor and knocking on the Sergeant's door. Receiving no response he knocked harder.

"Roach, open up!"

Finally, the door opened to reveal the half-asleep man. "What's wrong?" Ghost smiled and stepped inside before Roach could turn him away. "Ghost?" He was looking at him in confusion and he realised it was because he'd never seen his face before.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where's your balaclava?"

"Don't know, don't care." God, Roach looked so cute rubbing his face like that. Stepping towards him, Ghost gently pulled his hands away and smiled. "You're so cute."

Roach's eyes widened in surprise. "W-what?"

"I love you."

"You're drunk."

"Doesn't make it untrue." Ghost sat down on the bed and pulled Roach with him. "I've loved you for so long now. I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Looks like you found a way." Roach was still looking at him suspiciously like he didn't believe him. Ghost knew how to fix that.

Leaning forward he kissed him. Roach made a noise of surprise and didn't respond but Ghost hadn't noticed. He was too focused on how good those lips felt against his own.

"That was nice." He murmured. Then he fell back on the bed and passed out.

The next morning was hell to wake up to. Ghost flinched at the bright light streaming through the curtains and quickly covered his head with a pillow. Fuck Soap, fuck drinking. Never again. After a few minutes, he began noticing something was different. The pillow smelled different and horribly it reminded him of Roach.

He sat up quickly and looked around the room. As his eyes focused, he realised with horror it wasn't his room. Finally, his gaze landed on a sleeping figure slumped over the desk, Roach.

"Shit." Ghost whispered quietly and as he ran a hand through his hair he realised with horror he wasn't wearing his mask. After looking around he came to the conclusion it wasn't here. What the hell had happened?

Laying back down he closed his eyes and tried to focus. He remembered returning to base and Soap helping him to his room. But had he entered? No... he went to Roach's room instead. He couldn't remember what had been said but the next memory to come back terrified him.

He'd kissed Roach.

"Fuck!"

"Ghost?"

He jumped, startled by Roach's voice. His outburst must've woken the other man. Slowly, he lowered his hands from his face to see the Sergeant sitting up and stretching. As their eyes met, Ghost felt his face heat up and quickly covered it again. What a mess.

The bed indented next to him and then strong hands were pulling him away. As their eyes met again, Roach smiled. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Roach laughed gently and let go of his hands. Ghost started as those fingers combed through his hair but relaxed a moment later. It was nice, comforting really. "What happened?"

"Well, you woke me up and proceeded to tell me you were in love with me. Then you kissed me and passed out." Roach raised an eyebrow. "Did you mean it?"

The fingers in his hair felt so nice and Ghost was relaxing under their pressure. He closed his eyes and smiled, deciding to enjoy it. Surely if Roach didn't feel the same, he wouldn't be doing this. A horrible feeling crept into his stomach though, was Roach only being kind because he was hungover?

Sitting up he brushed the hand away. "I was drunk." He said coldly. "I'm sorry I kissed you, it won't happen again."

"That doesn't answer my question. Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters to me." Roach's hands were back on his and despite trying to pull away, he held on tighter. "Stop fighting me."

"I have to go." Ghost managed to get free and quickly stood up. He needed to get out of here before he said something stupid, or more stupid really since he'd said plenty last night. Roach didn't stop him and Ghost walked away as fast as he could without running.

After a warm shower and some painkillers, he was feeling better. Soap found him nursing a cup of coffee in the cafeteria an hour later. "You look like shit."

"Fuck you. I'm never drinking again."

"Not seen Roach yet I take it?"

Ghost glared at him darkly. "I have and you were wrong, it was a mistake to say anything."

Soap looked genuinely surprised. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, he didn't need to."

"You're an idiot." Soap grinned and sat down. "Maybe you should stop running for a minute and hear him out. Besides, I thought you two had plans?"

"Shit, I forgot about that." The training session, they'd agreed to continue today. "Take my place?"

"Not a chance. Be a big boy and go see him. It's not like you can avoid him forever." Soap winked.

"Right." Finishing his coffee, Ghost sighed and got up. Soap was right, he couldn't avoid Roach forever, they worked together after all. Out at the shooting range, he found the Sergeant was already there and putting his rifle together. "Roach."

He stiffened for a second then nodded. "Ghost." The coolness in his voice made him flinch.

Right, give him a chance to explain, what could go wrong? Ghost didn't want to hear the rejection, he already knew what would happen and hearing the words would just make it worse. So instead he decided to pretend nothing had happened.

"Ready to go?"

Roach lifted the rifle and looked through the scope. "Want to make a deal?"

"What kind?"

"I hit every shot and we talk. I miss and we never discuss last night again." Roach glanced at him and Ghost's heart raced at the sight of that crooked smile. "So deal?"

"Deal."

Ghost was astounded. He knew Roach was good but not that good. Every single shot had hit the stupid targets. So when he put down the rifle and turned to look at him expectantly, he panicked.

"I think I hear Soap calling me."

"Shut up, a deal's a deal."

"Roach..."

To his surprise, the other man moved quickly towards him. "I just want you to be honest with me."

Roach's hands moved to his balaclava and when he didn't resist it was pulled off. As he took in his face, Ghost tried not to betray how much it scared him to have someone this close. Nobody had tried this before, nobody wanted to get close to him and why would they?

"You're gorgeous, did you know that?" Roach said it with such sincerity that Ghost felt his cheeks flood with colour. "Can I kiss you?"

"Ok."

Roach's lips were warm and slightly chapped against his own. It was a gentle kiss then his lips were gone. It left behind an ache in his chest that Ghost hated, he wanted to kiss him again. Opening his eyes, he found Roach was looking at him intently again and then he smiled.

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes." Ghost didn't want to lie anymore, he wanted to kiss Roach again. "Can we go back to kissing now?"

"I'd like that."

It was longer this time and Roach's body was pressed close to his. The warmth in Ghost's stomach spread to the tips of his fingers and it felt so good he didn't want to stop. So when they broke apart it was with reluctance.

Roach smiled against his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Do you want to come back to my room?" The intent was clear in his eyes and after swallowing thickly, Ghost nodded and took his outstretched hand.

The next morning found Ghost sat alone in the cafeteria. He was still smiling as he absently touched the marks on his neck which were thankfully hidden by his balaclava. The same could not be said for Roach who was still sleeping. He would have a harder time hiding all the marks Ghost had given him. He was still flying high on the afterglow of sex. To think Roach wanted him and returned his feelings, he couldn't stop smiling.

Soap joined him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "So how'd it go?"

"I think I'll take your advice more often. Maybe not the drinking though."

"Good to hear." Soap clapped him on the shoulder and winked. "Took your time."

"You set the whole thing up, didn't you?"

"Me? Never. I just wanted a night out with my Lieutenant."

Ghost appraised him for a moment but was quickly distracted when Roach joined them. He was tugging on his collar and he shot him a dirty look. "You know, not all of us wear balaclava's." The bruises on his neck couldn't be covered and Roach was looking very self-conscious.

"You look beautiful." Ghost whispered and as he touched one of the marks he felt Roach shiver. "Stop trying to hide it."

"Bit of makeup will sort that out." Soap said and with another wink, he stood up. "I'll leave you two be."

Roach watching him go before turning to Ghost. "He knew, didn't he?"

"He set the whole thing up. He got me drunk to confess my feelings and then persuaded me to tell you. So I guess we owe him our thanks."

"Our very own fairy godmother." Ghost laughed which earned him a smile. "I want to kiss you."

"So do I." Ghost lifted his mask and gave in to his impulses. "Maybe I'll ask Soap for a double room. I can't get enough of you."

"It'd be better than a single bed, there's not enough room."

"I like having you that close though."

Roach looked surprised for a moment then he was smiling again. "I like this side of you. Honesty suits you."

"Only for you." He kissed Roach again before pulling his mask back down. "Don't tell anyone though, I have an image to maintain."

"God forbid."

More of the team were arriving now and they fell into silence. But under the table Ghost felt Roach's hand on his thigh and smiled. Entwining their fingers he squeezed Roach's hand and wasn't surprised to find it returned.

As he looked into Roach's eyes, Ghost made himself a promise to do whatever it took to keep him safe. He'd finally found something worth fighting for. There was no chance he would ever let him go. Something in Roach's eyes shifted and it seemed the same promise was showing there too.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too."