Prologue

Staff Sergeant Ryuji Sakamoto had to admit, this tuxedo looked dull in comparison to his dress uniform. His dress uniform had his rank, ribbons, and his SAS pin, while the tux was dull, not having any decorations on it. Surrounding him were his closest friends at the moment, Ren Amamiya, Yusukue Kitagawa, Yuki Mishima, Micheal Torres, John Price, John "Soap" MacTavish, Simon "Ghost" Riley, and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick. Ryuji had never in his life thought he would both hold a notable rank in the military and be getting married, but here he was. Ren looked at him with slight envy.

"You're getting married fast, man." Ren chuckled. "Youngest out of all of us."

"Shut up, you and Ann planned your wedding in your second year of school!" Ryuji fired back. Price laughed.

"Your friends are good company, Skull, letting you poke fun like that." Price chuckled.

"Any of us tried to joke about Price, we'd be doing pushups for a week!" Soap joked.

"Then why did you make one and not have to do any?" Gaz questioned.

"He's got 'saved my life on more than one occasion' immunity." Price responded.

"You'll get it eventually, Gaz." Ghost stated. "For now though, watch what you say."

"Yeah, don't make fun of his dumb moustache." Micheal said with a laugh. Ah, classic Torres, entertaining himself by poking the hornet's nest. Interestingly, Torres's eyes had recently changed color from blue to purple, no one was sure why.

"I can make you do push ups, Torres." Price stated. "May want to take the comment about the beard back."

"Coalition don't exist anymore, can't touch me man." Micheal said, clearly having fun. "Though, speaking of military stuff, my transfer came through. I'm gonna be in the Army soon. No more Marine Corps for me."

"Good to hear, what rank are you getting?" Mishima asked.

"Don't know yet, probably gonna be a sergeant or something." Micheal answered. "I pray I don't land in the E-4 Mafia, I do not want to be a specialist, that is the worst military job out there."

"I don't know, Torres, you were a really good combat engineer, I don't think you'll be going anywhere any time soon." Ryuji grimaced.

"Yeah, and with what you did for Skull back the Gulag, I think you proved yourself invaluable to a combat role." Ghost commented. "Either you're stuck as a combat engineer, or they're dumping you into an instruction role on a base somewhere."

"Ah, ye of little faith, you doubt me too much! I'm gonna be fine!" Micheal stated. "But Ryuji, how's your transfer going?"

"Well, it's a bit stressful, but It's going well." Ryuji responded. "JSDF would not give any advantage to the SAS, not until Price showed up anyway. The situation is this: Haru and I are going to get diplomatic dual citizenship, so I'm still a Japanese citizen but I'm also British. As for military stuff, I'm SAS all the way, so more often than not, I'm going to be in the UK."

"How's that gonna work out for you and Haru anyway?" Ren asked. "Isn't she running Okumura foods now? And what are you doing about last names?"

"We have it all planned out, we're gonna be doing video calls as much as we can, and we're gonna be swapping months to visit each other." Ryuji explained, straightening his bow tie. "So I'll be visiting for a week one month, then Haru for the next. As for names, since Okumura is so high profile, and I want to keep Haru safe, we're keeping our own names."

"Good plan, military marriages are hard, Skull, glad you already have this planned out." Price stated. Last step was the elephant in the room, Ryuji's scars. While he was in Verdansk, Zakhaev tortured Ryuji,beating him, cutting his face, even forcing him to inhale Nova 6 gas. Miraculously, he survived, but not without a cost. The only scar Ryuji had that wouldn't recover was a large chemical burn over his nose and down to the left cheek from his exposure to Nova 6. Supposedly, the doctors had no idea that this could have happened, seeing as he was the first person to inhale the weapon and survive. He also had a spot where a bullet grazed his left cheek, but it was boring and mostly covered by his chemical burn. Ryuji ran his hand over the burn. For the past few weeks, Ryuji had been covering it up with makeup, hiding it as best he could to keep people from freaking out over it. Tonight, however, he had different plans.

"Want me to apply the makeup for the scar, Ryuji?" Yusukue asked, grabbing a brush and primer.

"No, I'm flying that flag tonight." Ryuji responded, stepping off the changing platform. "It's showtime." Ryuji left his changing room and entered the banquet hall where his wedding was to be held. Everything was prepared, it was time for the ceremony, and it certainly was extravagant. Ryuji was worried about the price, considering he came from a low income home, he was concerned about spending a bundle on the ceremony. Haru had the opposite idea, wanting to spend as much as she could on the ceremony, since she did have disposable income thanks to her business. Ultimately, they went through with Haru's idea. There were at least one hundred guests, mostly from Haru's end, decorations lined just about every inch of ground and wallspace, and the band was not a band, it was a small orchestra. Haru walked down the aisle, her dress surprisingly plain for how much she was spending on everything else. Ah well, whatever made her happy, made him happy. Following her was Futaba with the flowers, and Yusukue with the rings, with a pastor following close behind. Haru stood directly in front of Ryuji, an ear to ear smile on her face.

"We're finally doing this." She happily said as the pastor began reading off his spiel.

"We are, and I couldn't be happier." Ryuji responded. Haru's smile grew a little bigger.

"I see you don't have the scars covered." Haru added. "I like that, it shows how strong you are."

"I thought you'd say something like that, so thank you." Ryuji said with a smile.

"Groom, do you have any vows?" the pastor asked.

"Yes, I do." Ryuji responded, pulling out his notes, before tossing them aside. "Haru, I don't need to write something down to tell you how much you mean to me. I'd go to war for you, and I probably will soon." The joke earned a chuckle from their shared guests, the 141, and his mom, with a horrified look from the shareholders Haru was forced to invite. "No matter what happens, no matter how much blood is spilled, no matter how close I get to the end, I will always come back, and I will always make sure you know just how much I love you, Haru." Haru went on with her vows.

"Ryuji, we may not be sharing names, but we don't have to. We can be together, expressing our love without having to change who we are." Haru began. "You will always be my Ryuji Sakamoto, no matter what rank comes before that. And I will always be your Haru Okumura, no matter what title I must take. We will be together for one another, and I will always support you, no matter what." The two shared a kiss, earning cheering from the guests, even the shareholders cheered. That was it, the two were married, ready to share their life together.

The reception was lovely. It was basically just a dinner party, where Ryuji and Haru mingled with guests as the shareholders went off and did their own thing. There were issues, of course, but nothing horrifying. Mishima, as it turns out, was lightweight, and he was an angry drunk to boot. Fortunately, Price and Soap got him under control. Speaking of, the 141 brought their own set of problems that honestly made the reception more fun. Ghost was confronted by a group of shareholders who demanded he take off his mask to keep a more formal environment. Ghost responded to their request by pretending to reach for a gun, it was an amazing sight seeing those shareholders piss themselves at the thought of being shot. Gaz was talking to someone, someone he really shouldn't have been. Ryuji's mom had introduced herself to Gaz, and now the two were at a table, sharing drinks and stories. Ryuji feared that flirting would be next. Ren and Micheal sensed this fear and made a silent agreement. Ren stood up and tapped a spoon on his glass.

"Good evening, I'm Ren Amamiya, the groom's best friend." Ren began, giving a signal to Micheal.

"And I'm Micheal Torres, I'm the groom's battle buddy, saved his life so he could be here y'all." Micheal added, a slight accent slipping at the end. "We just want to say a few words about our main man Ryuji and his lovely wife."

"I'll start." Ren stated. "As a friend, Ryuji's the best. Sure, he's a bit loud, and can be a bit bone-headed at points, but he's faithful. Ryuji would never let anyone down, no matter what. It doesn't matter if you need someone to spot you for a workout, or an extra pair of hands in a fight, Ryuji will have your back. Same with Haru, but she's also one of the most caring people I know. She'd do anything for others, expecting nothing in return. I wish you two the best." Micheal got up next, clearing his throat and straightening his tie.

"I don't really know the bride, so I'm mostly talking about the groom right now." Micheal explained before starting his own speech. "I met Ryuji on the first day of Operation Rapid Sunder, the liberation of Verdansk. Back then, he spoke no English, he could barely keep his cover on, and he was like a fish out of water. But he did one thing few could, he persisted. And it's because he persisted, that is why this man is one of my best friends. Despite injuries, lack of sleep, even a lack of hope, Ryuji pushed forward, never stopping. So I'm not going to wish him and his wife the best, because I know they will have nothing but the best." The guests all clapped, even some of the shareholders joined in as Micheal sat down. Ryuji and Haru took a look at each other and smiled. Thank god Micheal pulled through when it counted, they were a little worried he wouldn't take his job seriously, it was Micheal Torres, after all. But everything went well, thank god.

"He's right, you know." Haru stated. "We're going to push through, no matter what."

"Of course, Haru." Ryuji smiled. No matter what was coming for them, they were going to live their best life, and that was what mattered.

A/N: It's out! Episode 3 of the Skull Verse is officially released. Be prepared for a triple update today, by the way, I've been working on this for a while. Enjoy this moment of happiness while it lasts, its warfare and goon shit from here on out. A few notes, I'll be doing my own interpretations of PFC James Ramirez and Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson, since they really don't get much characterization in game for obvious reasons and the wiki gives next to no information about them. This fic is going to be a bit more like the BOCW fic since I have a storyline and format I can use, but there will be original content I'll be using later one. I'll also be making some big changes to what happens regarding the sociopolitical climate of the MW universe so look out for that. Until next time, hope you enjoyed and have a great day!