Ghost hated the cold. Being stuck in Russia in the middle of winter was not his idea of fun. But the task force was here for a reason, a damn good reason involving a submarine full of nukes actually.

Shepherd wanted them to take control of the assets and make sure Makarov never got the chance to use them. Ghost privately agreed, there were a lot of things he could condone during warfare but nuclear weapons were not one of them. Even thinking about the fallout of that kind of attack made his blood run cold. The sooner they got these nukes away from Makarov, the better.

The task force was spending the night up in the mountains near Petropavlovsk, overlooking a small fishing village. Of course, it was no longer used for fishing. After being commandeered it had become a classified area for Makarov's precious nukes. They were lucky to even know about this place.

They were huddled around several small campfires, the dense forest covering their position from any prying eyes. It was too cold, even wearing several layers of thermal clothing wasn't helping. Ghost was sure he'd never been this cold in his entire life.

He looked up to find Roach was trembling, his body wracked with shivers. His face looked so pale even though he was sitting as close as possible to the fire. "Roach," He said softly, gaining his attention. "Come here."

He didn't need to ask twice. Roach immediately pressed into his side and wrapped his body around his arm. He closed his eyes and sighed, relaxing slightly as they warmed up with close contact. "Thank you."

"I'm getting just as much out of this as you are." Ghost chuckled.

Roach laughed and peeked up at him, face half-hidden in Ghost's jacket arm. "You're like a portable heater."

"Glad to be of service." He flinched as Roach's cold hands slipped under his clothes and touched his skin. "You're freezing, love."

"If I still have all my fingers in the morning I'll be surprised." He wriggled his fingers, tapping against Ghost's stomach. "What do you think?"

"Stop doing that and you can keep your hands there." Ghost grumbled, trying hard not to think about how close Roach was and how much they were touching.

"Why, does this turn you on?" Roach asked, voice dropping so low even Ghost could barely hear him.

He looked down at the Sergeant to find him smiling back cheekily. Roach's hand moved up to press against his chest, right over his heart and Ghost knew he could feel his rapid heartbeat. He wanted this moment to last forever, caught up in Roach's hold.

Ever since their break together, Ghost had found their relationship changing. They were always together, always touching even in front of other people, just like now. Surrounded by the squad but Roach was practically on his lap with his hands up his shirt. Nobody batted an eye over it anymore. It was normal.

Ghost couldn't help wondering if they were heading for an inevitable confrontation. How close could they get before he slipped up?

Roach frowned, hand dropping away as he pulled back. "Is everything ok?"

"Fine." Ghost gave himself a shake then tapped Roach's reddened nose. "Just thinking about you, Rudolph."

"Shut up." Roach immediately hid his face in Ghost's arm again. "I'm cold, leave me alone."

He conceded, resting his head on top of Roach's with a sigh. "You'll warm up soon enough. Just gotta make it through the next four hours."

"Great."

Ghost reluctantly let go of Roach when it was time to go. The warmth between them had lulled him into a stupor but as soon as they separated the bitter air knocked him back into awareness. He didn't like it but Roach was going with Price for a more stealthy infiltration to the northwest and cut off the Russian forces. He was with Soap and the rest of the task force, knocking on the front door.

"Be careful." Ghost told Roach as he grabbed his rifle and readied to leave.

Roach looked back at him and grinned. "I got my lucky charm, I'll be fine." He tapped the charm hanging from his shoulder strap and then ran after Price.

"Be careful." Soap whispered gleefully, hand over heart. "You're such a sweetheart."

"I will shoot you." Ghost ignored his laughter and picked up his rifle. "Come on, let's go secure these nukes."

If he'd had any doubts about the location before, he sure didn't now. There must have been over a hundred men guarding the place. As they approached the front gates, a predator flew overhead.

"Soap, what's the status on our air support, over?" Price asked over the comms.

"A UAV loaded with AGM's en route." Soap responded.

"Roger that. Standby for our mark."

A minute later one of the missiles exploded into several parked cars and an alarm sounded at the base. "Time to go." Soap grinned and ran towards the now opened gates.

Ghost followed after him, ducking as another missile went by, hitting an armoured truck. Whoever was controlling the Predator was going for a big target. Lucky for him, he only had to focus on the ground assault now. They pushed the Russian forces back, sweeping across the base to link up with Price and Roach.

"Watch your fire! Friendlies coming up from your six!" Ghost turned to see Price sliding down the hill, Roach close on his heel. When they were in cover beside him, Roach took out the controls for the Predator and a moment later the helicopter that had been threatening them was destroyed.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks." Roach flashed him a grin and pocketed the controls. "We're out of drones for now."

"Gotta do it the old fashioned way then."

They fought their way to the docks, taking shelter underneath the loading bay. "Soap, we've linked up with Ghost and the rest of the team." Price said over the comms.

"Roger that. The second Predator is almost in position. Make it count, these things don't grow on trees."

"There's the submarine! Right below the crane!" Price pointed it out. "Roach, soften their defences with the Predator. Try not to hit us."

"No promises!" Roach was already on it though and a second later, another explosion sent the Russians flying, paving a path forward for the task force.

"We've got a BTR coming up on our asses!" Ghost warned, and a few moments later it was destroyed. "Nice shot, Roach!"

"You know me, I never miss!"

Finally, they reached the submarines. "I'm going for the sub!" Price pointed up at a guardhouse. "Cover me from up there."

"Roger, come on Roach!" As Price entered the first submarine with Ozone and Scarecrow in tow, Ghost took cover on top of the guardhouse with Roach by his side. "Make sure those shots count, love."

"Will do." Roach had already switched to his sniper, taking down a Russian by the submarine.

Ghost followed suit, trying not to notice that he missed more times than Roach. His speciality wasn't marksmanship after all but it was still annoying.

After what seemed like forever and the time between fights growing longer, Price got on the comms again. "We've secured the nukes. Just got to get this baby somewhere safe. Does anyone know how to pilot a sub?"