Well I actually felt motivated to write the 3rd chapter, so here goes.

MacTavish ran his right hand threw his hair as he stared at the computer screen. He glanced over tiredly at the huge pile of papers Shepard had dropped off and sighed. He let out a loud yawn and leaned back in his chair, closing his strained eyes. Just as he was getting comfortable his door slowly creaked open. He peeked an eye open to see a tense Gary, eyes puffy and red, and upon closer inspection, what looked like seriously bruised knuckles with, 'Shit, is that blood on his knuckles?'. The young man sniffled.

"Excuse me sir. Ghost told me to come in here and wait for him…"

John only nodded at him for a second. He cleared his throat, "Uh, well take a seat." He gestured to a chair sitting in-front of his desk. When the sergeant got seated he turned back to his laptop, starting to type again, ignoring the sniffles that continued to come from the chair. He didn't have to wait long for Ghost to arrive. When he entered he raised an eyebrow. Ghost was literally covered from head to toe in dirt. He leaned back in his chair again and rested his hands behind his head. He nodded his head towered the second chair in-front of his desk and Ghost sat down silently. John raised an eyebrow and looked at the two expectantly. "Well?"

"Roach beat the hell out of Meat."

John glanced at Gary to see the man look down guiltily and hiccup. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. "Roach… beat up… Meat." He said, the words sounding weird on his tongue. He looked at Gary to see that he was unscathed besides the knuckles. He reached behind his desk and gave Gary some tissues who used them to both blow his now running nose and knuckles. He looked back at Ghost, "Why?" Ghost glanced at Gary and felt sadness for the younger man. He knew how guilty Gary must feel about the whole situation. In all honesty he wished they were alone right now like they had been yesterday, his arms wrapped around the smaller man. "I felt that he should tell you."

Gary looked wearily at Ghost. He had taken his sunglasses off and was looking at him strangely. His blue eyes showed an emotion he had never seen before. He thought nothing of it and looked at his captain.

"Uh… well, ever since yesterday, Meat's been a real bitch about the whole incident, and I've been dealing with his crap all day. Then he called me a stripper and I just… well…" he looked over at Ghost, almost pleading for help. Ghost cleared his throat.

"Here's the thing 'Tavish. The things the guys pulled out there today was bull. I'd like some time to… work with them. Roach won't have to partake in this so, because I know he won't ask for it, I'd like to request that Roach take it easy for a few days to," at this Ghost paused to look at the stunned face of Gary, who was looking at him incredulously, "well to clear his head for one."

John looked at Ghost for a moment, reading his eyes. He knew Ghost thought fondly of Gary, but he didn't expect this show of such, gentleness. Normally he'd just tell the kid to toughen up and deal with it, but this was a new side of him that even he hadn't seen. John slowly nodded and looked over at Gary.

"You ok with this Roach?"

Gary nodded dumbly as he looked back at Ghost who wasn't meeting his eyes. "Yeah… sure…"

John nodded again and looked between the two. "Fine, then I don't see the problem with it. Roach you got two days to get it together. Ghost I want to talk to you for a minute, Roach you can go."

Gary nodded and slowly walked towered the door. He looked at Ghost and finally met his eyes. What he saw there startled him. The way Ghost looked at him made him feel, well, small. He watched as Ghost raked his eyes over his body, and Gary tensed. When Ghost met his eyes again they widened a bit and his body tensed. Gary blushed awkwardly and quickly exited the room, his body feeling like it was burning from Ghosts gaze. When he left the room and started walking down the hall, his thoughts went back to what had just occurred. Had Ghost seriously just asked him to "take it easy"? When the hell did he ever go easy on him? When did Ghost go easy on anyone? And the way he had looked at Gary made him feel all the more curious. Gary shook his head as he headed back to his room. Since he didn't have to do anything for the day, a nap sounded like a great idea at the moment.

Back to Ghost and John…

When Gary exited the room Ghost immediately slammed his head down as hard as possible onto Johns desk, forgetting the man who was sitting at it. He honestly hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did and leaned back into the chair he was sitting in. "FUCK! Such an idiot!" Not only had he just been caught staring at Gary like a perv, but his head was seriously hurting. Right then he paused and looked at John who was staring at him like he had gone mad. Well, he kinda was, but still. "I can explain." He said, not able to think of anything else.

John smirked at his friend who was now rubbing his head. "Ok so what's up between you and Gary?" John already had a guess, but he enjoyed seeing his friend in an awkward state, it was just too rare of a moment not to enjoy.

Ghost glared at him. "You are such an asshole." John shrugged.

"I can be when I want to be. Now start talking. You look like you had a tumble in the dirt."

Ghost sighed and ripped his mask off, pushing down the shock of strawberry blonde hair that was sticking strait up. He rubbed his hands down his face and groaned. Where the hell did he start. "Well you see John, I just fell in love with one of my own subordinates and am currently questioning whether I'm gay or not. Got any advice on relationships?" He looked up at John to see him staring at him, his mouth slightly open. Ghost froze and his jaw hung open. "Fuck I said that out loud."

John stared at Ghost for a moment and rubbed his jaw.

"It's just that when I see him so upset, it… well it almost hurts me in the process. I don't know. I just feel so confused." Ghost hung his head in his hands.

"So, does he know?" He watched as Ghost silently shook his head. "Well, what do you want me to say? I can't tell you what to do. If I were you though, I'd take it easy. I have no problem with you being with him, if it ever comes to that, but if you want him, you're gonna have to ease into it. I don't want him to be distracted on any missions because his XO started hitting on him."

Ghost raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected John to take the subject so easily. John looked at his friends expression and smiled.

"Simon, you're my best friend. I don't give a fuck what you do in your life as long as it doesn't get in the way of anyone's job. And as for the guys, I'll talk to them first. Come on, let's go have some fun, shall we?"

Ghost smirked. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

John laughed. "I think I have a vague idea."

Not long after…

"I WANT ALL YER ARSES OUTSIDE AND IN FORMATION WITHIN 30 SECONDS! MOVE!"

Ghost smirked under his mask and sunglasses as he watched the entire Task Force shoving each other out the door as they scrambled to get into the near long lost memory of formation. Ghost looked at his watch as 50 seconds went by and people were still scrambling outside to find there designated spots. He looked up at 65 seconds to see that people were finally in their places. He shook his head and looked at the captain who, though his face was serious, had a glint in his eyes that Ghost knew only too well. Ghost moved in behind his captain by a few feet and crossed his arms, glaring at the company in-front of him.

"Well that bloody well sucked." He mumbled. John snorted and eyed the men, then cleared his voice.

"Can anyone tell me where Roach is?" he said in a deathly cool voice. Ghost looked over at Archer who visibly gulped. "How 'bout Meat?" John looked around at the group of men, the tension in the air making Ghost smirk. He raised an eyebrow as Archer stepped forward. John snapped his head over at him. "You know Archer?" The man slightly nodded his head and gulped. "Well go on then, tell us."

"Well Meat's at the medical tent with a broken nose, two missing teeth, and a concussion."

Ghost couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"And how the hell did that happen?" John inquired.

Archer stuttered, "We… Well Roach… uh… beat him up."

John raised his eyebrows as if this was new news. "Roach, the most gentle out of all of you. The kid who wouldn't even hurt a fly, beat up Meat. Now why would he do that?" This time he scanned his eyes over each man. Ghost noticed a few shuffle their feet. Suddenly Ghost felt rage build up in him. His blood boiling he watched as not one man stepped up. He groweled and stepped forward so he was in-front of John and continued walking so he was standing directly in-front of Chemo and Rocket. "Not ONE of you guys know! Let me help you remember. Because you guys have you're bloody heads stuck up your arses, Roach now has leave so he doesn't have to deal with you pricks while he gets over the fact that his team mates verbally assaulted him for the entire day over a thing he did YEARS ago, and that he now regrets more than EVER because of you FUCKIN IDIOTS!" He jabbed a finger into Chemos chest and groweled as he took of his sunglasses so he could meet Chemos eyes. In a deathly calm voice he continued, "You pull any more shit like this, I will screw you up so bad you'll be out of the Task Force." He shoved Chemo backward so he stumbled and turned to look at Rocket for a moment. He smirked as the man visibly gulped. He looked up at the Task Force that was now staring at him with clear fright in their eyes. "That goes for ALL of you. The captain and I will NOT TOLERATE this behavior any further! If you so much as hurt Roach, verbally OR physically, you're out of here, and that's a guarantee." Ghost stared for a few more seconds before slipping his sunglasses back on and slowly walked back to his spot behind MacTavish. He took a shuddering breath that he hoped nobody had noticed as he tried to loosen his shoulders. MacTavish looked back at him for a second, then back at the company in-front of him.

"Do I really need to say anything?" MacTavish sighed. Ghost watched as everyone quickly shook their heads no. "Good. You're dismissed." Ghost watched as the entire group dispersed faster than they had gathered. He looked at MacTavish who had now pinched his nose between his thumb and middle finger.

"You sure do know how to put on a show Simon. I gotta hand it to ya, that was kinda scary. What I'm wondering though is if that was more for show, or more or less you're emotions showing."

Ghost just shrugged weakly, "It got em scared didn't it."

MacTavish nodded. "True that. Just don't let your emotions get the best of you. Why don't we call this a day. I've got paperwork to do, and I'm guessing you could use a break."

Ghost only nodded and slowly walked away. He wanted to see Gary. Of all the people he would be able to comfort him, even if the kid didn't realize it. Ghost smiled just at the thought of Gary. As he made his way to Roach's room he quietly knocked on the door. When Roach didn't come to the door he slowly opened the door and peaked in. He saw Roach snuggled up in his bed with the blanket tucked up to his chin. Ghost thought for a moment, questioning whether it was a good idea or not to go in. He ignored his gut's warning and silently stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him. Suddenly he felt exhausted, and his shoulders sagged as he dragged his heavy boots over to the edge of Roach's bed. He looked down at the young man and observed how his shaggy hair hung over his forehead. He crouched down so that his face was even with Gary's. He traced his gaze over Gary's eyelashes that swept outward, casting shadows over his face, how soft his skin looked, the way his face relaxed in his sleep. He felt the tickle of Gary's breath on his face and smiled gently. Ghost tentively brushed away a stray hair that had fallen across Gary's cheek. Ghost sighed quietly and stood up to leave when he felt a hand on his knee.

"Ghost?"

Ghost paused for a moment, his heart beating rapidly.

"Aye?"

"What are you doing?"

Ghost looked down at the deep brown eyes that looked up at him. Ghost tried to make up an excuse, but his brain drew up a blank.

"Uuuh… I was… um." Ghost clenched his jaw in frustration at himself. How could he be so stupid? He knew Gary was a light sleeper. He mentally hit himself as Gary stood up slowly. Ghost couldn't help but stare at the bare yet muscular chest that had been uncovered. Ghost tore his gaze away to see Gary looking at him oddly. He swore lightly under his breath.

"I was just uuuh, checkin' on ya mate." He looked at Gary quizzically as he saw the younger man smirk. He flinched as Gary slowly slid his sunglasses off. "Um, what are ya doin?" he mumbled as Gary set his sunglasses down on the nightstand next to the bed.

"I was thinking…" Ghost froze as Gary slipped his fingers under his balaclava. Ghost took a step back as he started to slip the material upward.

"Er, I don't think that's a good idea…"

Gary simply laughed breathily and moved his hands back under his mask. Ghost wearily looked at Garys face. When he felt air on his lips he quickly snatched Garys wrists with his hands, stopping the mask from going up any higher. He looked into Gary's eyes. "I don't want you to… well…" he didn't know how to tell Gary that he was honestly scared of Gary seeing his scars. Scared of himself. Scared of his past. Scared of losing Gary. Gary frowned at him.

Gary jerked his hands towered himself, pulling Ghost flush up against him. He looked down at Ghosts now revealed lips, then at the bright blue eyes that were looking down at him. He watched the eyes flicker around the room, not making eye contact with him.

"Ghost." He watched with satisfaction as the eyes locked with his. He looked at the lips that were now just in-front of his face. He had been watching Ghost. He had heard what Ghost had told MacTavish in the office, and honestly, he couldn't be more thrilled. He watched as Ghost swallowed, then as Ghost opened his mouth to take in a deep breath, Gary leaned in and pressed his lips against the others. As he moved his mouth, at first nothing happened, but it didn't take long for Ghost to start moving along. Gary smirked as he felt Ghost groan against his mouth and push against him. Ghost's grip loosened on his wrists and Gary slid his hands under Ghosts mask to grasp the hair that was underneath. He tugged on the hair and felt Ghost swipe his tongue against his lower lip and happily granted access. This time it was Garys turn to groan as he felt Ghosts hands wrap around him and rest on his lower back, lightly brushing his skin while their tongues explored the new territory. When he finally separated their lips Gary looked up into Ghosts eyes to see him looking at him questioningly. Gary laughed at how roughed up Ghost looked. His mask was all askew, hair flew out from the front of his mask, and his eyes themselves were looking a little wild. The smirk that was forming on his lips finished the look. Gary raised an eyebrow at the older man. He watched as Ghost yawned wildly and he couldn't help but laugh. He tugged Ghost over to his bunk.

"Come on. You're tired and my bed is cold." He winked at Ghost who looked around bewildered.

"Won't um, what about the others?"

"Awww, it's just a nap."

Ghost looked at his new lovers pout and fell apart. How could you ignore him? He slowly nodded his head.

"Fine, but you better wake me up."

"Don't worry, I'll set my alarm."

Ghost sighed contentedly as he squeezed in behind Gary, wrapping his arms around his waist. He curled around Gary who fit perfectly against his body. Ghost rested his head on top of Gary's and smiled. He listened to Gary's breathing and couldn't help but let it lullaby him into a deep sleep.

Ok not the greatest of chapters. Sorry it took so long. Schools been hectic and I had the hardest of times getting my words right. I know there are a few spots that are a little jumpy and repetitive, sorry about that, but I have the feeling that if I spend any more time on this chapter I'm going to drive myself insane. Ho