WARNING! WARNING! This one may be a little OOC, but hopefully not too much. I know some of you guys are going to demand answers, so I'm going to go ahead and answer some of the questions now: The original inspiration for this chapter is DeviantArt's Ameij and the latest picture titled "Toll". If you haven't seen it GO FUCKING LOOK AT IT! :D If you're too lazy, it's basically Sexy!Ghost giving a pole dance. I know! I have decided that we need more Sexy!Ghost to tease Soap. Kira's back again in this one, and she's helping the torment. :3 Dedicated to my new, wonderful, all-inspiring muse, Ameij. Darling, I love you, hella much. :D
duvalia: I think Ramirez should be a freakin' 20-Star General by now, haha. And thank you for the high praise. I try to experiment with different phrases to see what works and hold the reader's attention. :3
xGhostxStealth: Sergeant Johnson makes me smile, even if he does seem kinda lazy with making Ramirez do everything, haha. This one is all Ghost/Soap with Roach/Stray taking a bit of a background hint, but only because I needed another pairing to close out the fic. :3
UnlikeAnyOtherDay: I have to tell you, you're going to love this chapter. It's based on Ameij's picture "Toll". Oh yes... And thank you for checking to see if I've updated, haha. Ameij and I seem to be linking to one another a lot lately, haha. I'm really glad another reviewer of mine (Xania) told me about someone sketching my chapters, haha.
PhonyPrincess: Well... I kinda made Jealous!Roach a hit by accident, and since you guys loved it so much, I figured, what the hell. Let's run with it. :D
GrassWing-TreeTail: I wanted to make them seem a little cute-ish, but I didn't want to make them seem out of character, even if it was through showering them with adorable, haha. I also think the mundane problems are the ones we all need to write about, just because they help you understand the character in a more intimate way. If I can picture Ghost's "accurate" reaction to a fucked up sandwich order or a scratch on his car, or a misplaced wallet, then when it comes time to picture his reaction to something major (Soap's overbearing, possessive jealousy, for instance) it's easier. :3
They usually made it a point to get time off for the same amount of time at the same time. It just made their lives easier. And then some smart-assed, know-it all General had to send a goddamned head-shrinker through the ranks for psychological evaluations.
Doctor Ryan Wade knew that he was going to be in for it, once he got around to Task Force 141. He'd heard that all of them were generally assholes and slightly off-kilter. But it was standard procedure. If they weren't in top condition, they had no business carrying out these missions. The first one, Royce, had spent the first five minutes of the session insisting he "no habla" before laughing it off and continuing like normal. Worm enjoyed playing stupid and asking ridiculous and redundant questions. Chemo and Meat were generally quiet, and Roach was glad to finally have someone to talk to.
Ghost was his first encounter with someone he would geuninely consider "unstable".
"Why do you wear the mask around?" Doctor Wade asked.
"A reminder of what happened before I hit the 141." (1)
"What happened then?"
"There's no point in dredging up the past."
"Then why wear the mask around?"
"Fuck you."
The interview went downhill from there and ended up with Ghost going on leave two weeks early. He now had two months of time to himself. That meant he'd be on his own for two weeks before John could join him. With no other real options, he knocked on Kira's door with a rucksack thrown over his shoulder and a nervous tension scrawled over his face. She welcomed him in and took him to the kitchen for a beer and conversation.
"So they sent me on early leave becuase I apparently need the time to recover. What a bunch of twats." He growled.
Kira nodded and sipped at her own beer, glancing at the small clendar affixed to the refrigerator. She choked on the bitter, hop-flavored drink when her eyes fell on the date.
"What?" Ghost asked, following her gaze.
"Our birthday... It's the third day after John gets back. What did John tell you he wanted for his birthday this past Christmas when you guys were here?" There was gleaming mischief in her eyes and Simon wasn't sure he liked it.
"I don't remember... We all drank so much that night... We started early, if memory serves."
"Yeah, yeah, rum-runners at dawn, but remember what John told you what he wanted?"
Simon tried to hold on to the memories that wanted to remain lost to the drunken haze, finally grabbing on to the one Kira wanted.
"No. We were both drunk. You can't hold us to that!" He insisted.
"Doesn't matter. You told him you'd get him whatever he wanted, assuming the two of you were off."
"Kira, you can't be serious."
"Simon, look at me. How happy do you think John he were to get his birthday wish?"
"We were drunk."
"Simon..."
"Fine. I'll do it."
Kira grinned and pulled him to one of her various hidden rooms.
John sighed. They'd sent Ghost away for "psychological reasons". He knew Sheperd only did it to get the damned quack to shut up, but it didn't change much. He'd gotten a phone call from Simon saying he was staying with Kira, like that was a surprise. When all else failed, they went to Kira's.
He rubbed his face and sighed. He was half wishing he'd given the shrink shit so he could get extended leave too... But then he realized that would probably have started a series of events that ended with the whole of TF141 on extended leave, and Sheperd more pissed off than was healthy. Soap cracked his neck and went back to his paperwork, wondering what he should get for Kira. Their shared birthday was coming up soon, but it was hard to buy her something that she'd want and didn't already have.
If Simon were still capable of feeling such a thing, he was certain be'd be nervous right now. The room he stood in was dimly lit with a wall made of mirrors and two shining, golden poles in front of them. Kira sauntered up wearing short-shorts, a nearly-too-small tank top, and shiny knee-high boots with a six inch heel.
"I hope you're ready for this." Kira smiled. Simon just shrugged. Her grin promised all sorts of horrible, evil things and he suddenly regretted not trying harder to convince her there was no way he could be held accountable for his drunken words.
An hour later, Kira stood nearby and watched carefully as Simon did as he was instructed. She watched him with a hawk-like scruitny and it almost made Simon uneasy. He decided that the calculating glare had to be genetic or hereditary because she had the same "I-Can-See-Everything-You-Can-Possibly-Do-Wrong-And-I'm-Waiting-For-It-To-Happen" look that John carried.
"That wasn't too bad." Kira shrugged when Simon was done.
"That wasn't too hard, either." Riley said smugly.
Kira raised an eyebrow and approached her own pole. She grabbed it low, swung her legs over her head and held herself, upside down, using only the strength in her legs. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ghost. He muttered an apology under his breath.
"You're damn-well lucky we don't have enough time for me to really teach you what's what." She huffed. She slid to the floor and stood up.
"John!" Kira threw her arms around her twin's neck and refused to let go. It had been a long two weeks for John; the time was filled with incident reports thanks to a mischevious Worm, a restless Meat, and an unfortunate Roach.
Soap smiled and stumbled into the house with his enthusiastic sister hanging from his neck and his pack in his hand. He kicked the door closed behind himself and hugged his sister back. She released him with a grin and told him they had missed him.
"Speaking of Simon, where the hell is he?" Soap asked, the suspicion evident in his voice.
"He's in your room. Lazy bastard's taking a nap." Kira pouted.
"If Riley is taking a nap, it's probably because you're not letting him sleep."
"Not all of us need to sleep, Johnny." Kira smiled. She was infamous for going days without sleeping simply because she didn't want to or she was preoccupied with something.
"I'll leave you to your catching up with Simon. I'll be in the rock garden if you need me." Kira bounced away and John wondered how she'd managed to keep that child-like energy up and with such ease and innocence... He shook it off and wandered to the southwest wing of the house, the one Kira designed for them.
Ghost was laying on his stomach, head nestled in the crook of one elbow, sprawled across the massive bed. Soap dropped his bag and flopped onto his back next to the Lieutenant. Riley mumbled something along the lines of "Glad you're finally here", but most of the message was lost to the blankets.
"What has you sleeping this late in the day?" The Captain asked.
"Your damn sister had me carrying a 100 kilogram concrete bird bath around her garden for two days while she tried to find it a place that wouldn't 'interrupt her flow of energy'. Your sister's a bigger sadist than you are." Simon huffed.
John laughed. That did sound like something Kira would do. Simon gravitated towards the sound and rested his head on John's chest. He threw a possessive arm around the Captain's waist and closed his eyes. The truth was that after staying up until eleven talking to Kira and practicing the ridiculous routine she threw together, she'd roused him from bed at four in the morning for one last rehearsal before John showed up. She'd been working him to death and it was an odd change of pace from just running around and shooting things. He had to give her credit where it was due; Kira was stronger, faster, and more durable than she looked.
"Don't tell me you're getting lazy." Soap smirked.
"Fuck you, John."
"An offer?"
Simon slowly raised his head and raised an eyebrow. John was grinning at him and it was a smile that they were both very familiar with.
Through the thick pane of plexiglass, John could see his twin bobbing her head as she adjusted trebble, bass, beat, and any number of other things he would never take the time to try and understand. She felt his eyes on her, but she ignored them. This was one of the final steps in getting Simon ready for his present to John. He needed a damn good sound-track if this was going to be super effective. Kira smirked at her reference to a television show she barely remembered (1). Once she was done toying with the soundtrack for a moment, she stepped outside to confront her brother. He seemed calm and happy and Kira knew what they had been up to during the half hour she'd been in the zen gardens and the hour she'd been working on the songs.
"Any particular reason you're back in the sound studio?" Soap asked.
"Just reaquainting myself with the systems. I haven't played around in there in ages." Kira wasn't lying... Not entirely.
"I still don't know why you have one of these damn things in the house."
"Because I'm rich, I can, and I like making music."
"You almost sound conceited." Simon laughed as he came down the hallway.
"We all have our vices, dear. Now, any particular reason the two of you are here to harrass me?" Kira asked.
"I'm just coming to say hello to my sister." John shrugged.
"I was bored." Simon offered.
"Fuck the both of you. Stop lying." Kira snapped good naturedly.
The two officers exchanged well-calculated glances and turned to Kira with grins. She knew the smiles as well as anyone could. They wanted to go down to the pub for a few hours and she couldn't blame them. It had been years since they had been drunk and immature and relatively care-free...
"So what are you getting me for my birthday?" John asked with a mischeviously drunken gleam in his eyes.
Simon laughed and told him it was a secret. John asked his sister (who was fairly sober) what Simon was getting him for his birthday and she told her (slightly) younger brother to shut the hell up and drink his beer before it went tepid and he refused to drink it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"You're a very particular man when it comes to your drinks, Johnny. You know you are." Kira insisted.
"Just not his cigars." Riley laughed.
Soap muttered something under his breath, but drank his beer and let his present questions drop anyway.
"Christ." Ghost hissed. He was slammed against the door frame with unnecessary roughness and Soap's hands(teethlipstongue) were all over him. They were both just a "little" intoxicated and feeling each other up like nervous freshmen miraculously invited to the senior prom.
"Oh for the sweet fucking love of persimmon(2)... The two of you could at least wait until you got out of the front fucking doorway to start molesting each other." Kira muttered. She shoved past the two and into the house. They separated long enough to stumble inside and slam the doors closed behind them, barely making it to their own bedroom.
"Kids today..." Kira smirked. She sighed and wandered seeimingly aimlessly through the halls until she reached a dark wooden door. She entered the passcode with a delicate flying of fingers and looked around the room. They had one more day and then Johnny would finally get his birthday present. With a final look around the room and another small smile, she turned the light off and went to her own bedroom.
"Psst! John. John. John. Snooooooooookummmmmmms."
Soap forced his eyes open and looked up at his sister. His head was throbbing dully, his eyes were on fire, and he really just wanted to pull Simon closer and...
"Where's Ghost?" He asked.
"He went for a run. I was wondering if you wanted to go to that place down the street for breakfast. We are, after all, another year older today." Kira grinned.
John reluctantly agreed. He'd really rather wait for Simon, but he rarely got a moment alone with his sister.
The truth was that Simon had been roused from bed only a few short minutes before Kira pulled her brother from the house. He was to make sure everything was set while the MacTavish twins were wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting restaurant. He knew what needed to be done and we was sure as hell going to make sure it was done. Kira had selected a few songs for him to choose from, and he selected the one he liked the most and she had made a few personal tweaks. He tested the sound systems just as she had showed him and everything, this far, was working beautifully.
Kira laughed loudly. She had her arm hooked through her brother's and they were walking back home from breakfast, an old tradition they hadn't been able to enjoy in quite some time.
"Hey, hey. I have a new room I wanna show you. I think you'll like this one." Kira grinned.
"How many more rooms are you planning on building into that house of yours?"
"Shut the hell up. I have an entire third floor that's still basic. I've got plenty of room to grow. And when I run out, I know a great architect who can design a few additions." She said with an eye-roll. John laughed and agreed to look at the room.
"Kira, what's this?" He demanded warily. The room was dark. Candles would have provided better light than what was provided. The walls were dark purple, from what Soap could see, and mostly devoid of decoration. The only furniture was a sole chair sitting in front of a raised platform with a pole in the middle of it.
"It's your birthday present. Now stop stalling, have a seat, and enjoy the show I worked so fucking hard on." Kira walked out of the room and closed the door with a decisive snap.
Behind the curtain at the end of the walkway, Simon sighed and wondered for the umpteenth time how Kira managed this... It was then that he realized the only person he would ever do this for was John and the only person who could convince him it was a good idea was Kira. He just consoled himself with the knowledge that he had at least managed to keep her from making him cross-dress...
The music started loud, started slow, and Simon stepped out from behind the thick, crushed velvet curtain. He noticed John shift, but didnt' let that bother him. He'd spent two weeks working on this and he'd be damned if he was going to let all that hard work go to waste...
John licked his lips and stared at the stage Kira had created. Ghost was wearing his combat fatigues, gloves, and mask. He knew what was going on, but that did nothing to alleviate the anticipation welling up in the pit of his stomach.
Riley rather ignored his audience and ignored the feeling of being watched intently, though, in all honesty, it was less unnerving than Kira's unforgiving scowl. He ran a gloved hand across the gleaming metal, moved his hand slowly up and down, knowing that when the gloves came off it would be frigid. He slowly began to sway his hips back and forth, allowing his shoulders to move as well, until he was swaying in front of the pole, his eyes half-closed, a smile developing behind his mask as he could practically smell the Captain's intent and interest... He grabbed the gleaming metal behind him with his right hand and began to sink low and slowly stand again while he pulled his left glove off with his teeth. He switched hands and similarly removed his other glove.
Now unburdened by the thick fabric, he again reached for the pole with his right hand, leaning against it slightly, as his left hand slid down the zipper holding the front of his uniform closed, revealing the toned muscle beneath. He let it slowly slide down his shoulders before it fell away. Though it screamed against his every instinct, Riley slowly crawled to the edge of the platform and winked at John before he swung his legs over the edge and slowly sauntered over to the chair where John sat. He straddled the Captain's lap and pulled his mask away, running his fingers through his hair with a look that Kira promised was "totally sexable". The lust surrounding John was almost palpable and Ghost threw out the rest of Kira's teasing routine out and sat on the Captain's lap.
Soap barely maintained his composure as Simon placed a hand on his own shoulder and trailed his hand down his chest and rocked his hips in a figure eight. MacTavish rested his hands on Riley's hips and nearly growled when his hands were swatted away. Simon put his hands on John's shoulders and threw his head back as he rocked, playing at a dress-rehearsal for the performance that was to come.
The music chosen for Simon's routine ended and another song on Kira's "Stripper Soundtrack" started. Riley leaned close to MacTavish's ear and purred "Happy Birthday, Captain". Said Captain grabbed a handful of the Lieutenant's hair and brought their lips together with cataclysmic force. Simon's hands curled around John's face and he pulled himself closer.
They weren't sure how they made it to the Southwest wing as quickly as they did, or how they managed to drop clothes throughout the halls and still feel like there was too much between them...
Kira sat in her bedroom, smiling to herself, and reporting the results to an old friend.
GMRmx: Okay, I get that you got your brother's boyfriend to play strip tease, but what did you get for your birthday?
SchrodingersTrap: There's this really cute new guy that just joined their outfit, Gary. Apparently he's been hooking up with Simon's friend's kid brother, Alex. (3)
GMRmx: ... Do I smell fresh pics?
SchrodingersTrap: Yes. Yes you do.
GMRmx: How'd you manage that?
SchrodingersTrap: Yours not to make reply. Yours not to wonder why. Yours but to love it or die. :P (4)
GMRmx: Stop bastardizing Tennyson for your own perverted purposes.
SchrodingersTrap: Normally I'd argue this now, but I feel perverted listening to what's going on in this house... I mean... It is my brother...
GMRmx: Thought they were in a different wing with soundproofed walls?
ShrodingersTrap: Let's just say these noises can only be made if you're in the kitchen, bent over the island in front of the oven. Experience talking.
GMRmx: Shut the fuck up. Meet you at the pub in ten.
Kira slammed the laptop closed, pulled her shoes on, and ducked out of the house as discreetly as possible with a muttering to herself on how the pictures Simon mails back had better be worth the mental scars.
(1): Now, I know this doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to you guys, which is why we have footnote. :D According to the Modern Warfare: Ghost comic books and the MW2 Wikia, assuming Ghost really is Lieutenant Simon Riley, then the mask he wears has something to do with his team before the 141 being undercover at a Dia de los Muertos carnival in Mexico. The team was wiped out and the skull mask is remienscent of that.
(2): No real purpose for this footnote, except to say that persimmon is a fruit and I like making up phrases like this in real life conversations. XD
(3): No, this is not me obsessing over my own OC. Kira is pretty much a permutation of myself, so why shouldn't she be a slash fanatic? And if it's a joint birthday, Soap isn't the only one that needs presents... Heheh...
(4): Yes, this is me, bastardizing Tennyson for my own perverted purposes. A modified line from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, "Charge of the Light Brigade".