The jolt of the plane landing woke you up. The plane coming to a stop was nothing shy of smooth and easy. The back ramp opened, and everyone seemed to get to their feet, grabbed their belongings and head towards one of the Jeeps. The walk was silent and awkward. Nobody said anything and the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.

You watch as Price helps Gaz into the front passenger seat of the Jeep, while Soap puts his and Gaz's bags into the back. You stand back and watch until Soap reaches out his hands to hint to you to give him your bag. He gives you a soft smile as you hand him your bag, and your smile quickly faded when a ghostly presence made himself known. You feel his eyes glaring at you, but you don't meet his. As soon as Soap takes your bag, you turn on heel and get in the back behind Price.

Soap slams the back door of the Jeep and comes to the door that you just got in and motions for you to slide over. You look to your right, there was two spots available – the middle and the seat behind Gaz. You rolled your eyes when you realized that you were going to not only have to be sitting beside him, but probably touching him. You huff out a breath of air and move to the middle seat.

Ghost jerks open the door and out of instinct, your eyes shoot up and meet his. The air that was supposed to be in your lungs vanished and you were stuck there under his gaze. His breathing was heavy, and his shoulders moved up and down to indicate his frustration. You break eye contact and finally get comfortable in your seat. Ghost climbs in and slams the door shut.

The ride back to the house was an awkward one. Nobody said anything and you tried to press your thighs together tightly to avoid touching him. It failed. After about thirty minutes, your legs began to shake, and you gave up. Your thighs touching his and Soaps. You felt Ghost tense when this happened. Soap and Gaz kept looking out their windows and Price never once looked up into his rear view.

It seemed like it took hours to get back to the house and when the Jeep pulled into the long driveway, relief took over you. "Were finally fucking home" Soap says in his thick accent. It was as if a weight had been lifted off everyone's shoulders and we could all breathe.

Price puts the Jeep in park and Ghosts waste no time to get out. You go to follow him since Soap was taking his precious time, only to be greeted with a door slammed in your face. Fucker. You swing the door open and step out, slamming the ever-loving fuck out of it shut. Price peers from the back of the Jeep at you, "Aye, you okay?" he asks.

You walked towards the house and didn't reply. You could hear Price ask, not really to anyone in general, what was wrong with you. The muffle chattered ended when you stepped back into the house. Laswell came from around the corner startling you.

"Good work Harley." Her eyes beamed as she smiled at you.

"No problem" you reply dryly. "Ghost. Price, whoever has the phone with the information you need" you continue as you head up the stairs. You don't bother keeping eye contact because quite frankly, you don't care. You just want to feel the hot water on your skin as you decompress from earlier.

You reach the bedroom and roll your eyes. The thought of him being near you at all infuriated you. Yes, he was your lieutenant, but other than that, who the fuck was he to come at you like that?! Your mind started wandering to other places at the thought of him handling you. You hated to admit it, but it did something to you that nobody else had ever been able to give you. It was a feeling you couldn't describe, but you loved every ounce of it.

You turn the shower on and wait for the steam to fill the shower. You take your clothes off and toss them on the floor in front of your sink. The hot water kissed at your skin as goosebumps formed from the temperature change. You let the water fall over your face. It burned but you didn't mine. You then lowered your head to let the water hit on the back of your head as your hair falls over your shoulders and the water follows.

You close your eyes and the words of what Price had said on the plane to Ghost kept going through your head. "She keeps you on your toes and I can see the look in your eyes, you enjoy it. "You keep her in line". "I see the way you two look at each other." "You can lie to yourself Simon, but I know." The words played over and over in your head. You felt a warm feeling deep in your stomach. Warmth was soon replaced by anxiety when you heard someone behind you. You jerk your head back and see someone walk past the doorway. What the fuck?

The only sound filling the room was the water running in the shower. Footsteps grew closer to the doorway, and you felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest. A skeleton masked covered man filled the doorway. He leaned against the frame; arms crossed looking at you.

Your face heated up and you covered your chest with your hands, but your bare back and ass, you couldn't hide. "A little fucking privacy!" your voice echoed off the walls. His eyes scanned over your body, slowly.

"You're the one who left the door open." His response was dry, but you could hear a hint of amusement as well. Your face grew hot and the thoughts of him stepping into the shower and taking you however he wanted only made matters worse.

"Can you please leave?" As harsh as you wanted that to sound, it came out more of an offer. Of course, it was a yes or no question, but any person with common sense would know the answer is 'this person wants to be left alone'.

"Is that what you want?" His voice was low and raspy. His eyes went from yours to scanning your body again as he cocked his head to the side. You swallow hard. He knew. Price knew. Was it that fucking obvious what this guy does to you?

"Y-yes" you muster out. You wanted to kick yourself in the ass for it coming out like that. With that, he removed himself from the doorframe and walked out the bedroom, closing the bedroom door behind him.

A sigh escaped your lips and you continued to stand there in the same position staring at the doorway to think about what just happened. More thoughts invaded your mind and as you washed your body, you felt how slick you were between your legs. You loved and hated at the same time, the way this man made and continues to make you feel.

You finish up in the shower, dried off and put on your shorts and one of Ghost's black t-shirts. 'Two can play this game' you thought as a devilish smile formed on your face.

You open the bedroom door and head downstairs. Laswell is still there, and you groan to yourself not really wanting to hear about anymore drama today.

"Harley, so nice of you to finally join us" she sarcastically says.

"Oh, you're welcome. So nice of you to wait on me" you reciprocate. Both of your eye's lock and they each say the same thing. Bitch.

You go to sit on the couch between Gaz and Soap. Ghost is still in his chair, legs spread watching you.

"I didn't realize that the shirts that were ordered for you were too big. I will make sure to get you some that fit" Laswell continues. You knew she did that intentionally.

Your cheeks flushed red and the teams' eyes were on you.

A smirk formed on your lips, "No need. I'll just walk around naked if that suits YOU better. I didn't know my clothing of choice for lounging around the house was so detrimental to the missions as hand. Silly me I guess."

Laswell scoffs, not realizing that you were going to have something smart to say back. You figured out Laswell the first few minutes you met her. She was knowledgeable and professional, but you could tell she wanted things her way – and her way was by the book. Deep down, something in you didn't trust her. Almost as if she had this dark aurora around her. You also made a mental note in your head that she likes the attention – probably why she doesn't care for you since you make most men's heads turn.

Laswell coughs to cover up her embarrassment and proceeds to discuss the next mission. "We ran diagnostics on the phone Harley was able to recover". You shoot a look over at Ghost and his eyes met yours. You cock your eyebrow and perse your lips to let him know 'see'. He rolls his eyes and yours looks back at Laswell.

"It looks as if the next location is going to take place in Paris, France in two days. Don't know what exactly, but that is why we are going to check it out. I will send the location to Price and then, you all figure out a gameplan." After she gets done talking, she picks up her briefcase and exits the house as if she could give a fuck if you have questions or not.

"So, when are we leaving?" you ask.

"Tomorrow night" Price answers, "But tonight, we celebrate!"

"Hell yeah!" Soap yells excitedly.

You get off the couch and make your way downstairs. You needed a drink. The atmosphere down here was calm, and you loved it. It was an easy light feeling down in the basement. You grab a glass of whiskey, put some ice in a glass and pour yourself a stiff drink.

Gaz hurries down the stairs and 'b-lines' towards the bar. "Starting without us I see" he says to you. You hold your glass up and give a simple smirk to let him know, it's been a rough day. Everyone soon crowds the bar, laughing and carrying on. You remove yourself and head towards the chairs around the fighting pad. You notice in the far corner of the room, a white sheet covering an object and a lit lamp sitting on top of it.

You take a sip of your drink, "What's that?" you ask. The boys turn around looking at you. You point to the hidden piece of furniture. Nobody answers and you make your way over. You grab the end of the sheet and lift it up. A little piece of you lit up when you seen it was a baby grand piano – mahogany wood without a scratch on it.

"You play?" Soap asks.

"Used to, but that was a long time ago."

"Well come on! Play us something!" Price must have already been drinking or the guy was that much of a light weight as he slurred his words at you.

A laugh came out of you, "I'm not THAT drunk…yet." Price swatted his hand at you calling your bluff. You turn back around and take a seat on one of the chairs.

"What's on your mind?" Ghost asks. You jump from not hearing this man come up.

"Jesus!" you place your hand over your chest, "You're a fucking creep, you know that?"

He doesn't acknowledge your insult, but he glares at you waiting for a response.

"Theres nothing on my mind" you lie.

He narrows his eyes at you, "Don't lie to me" he tells you in a dark tone.

You hesitate, "I don't want to talk about it."

He doesn't press the issue anymore, not that he could since the rest of the team gathered round and filled up the space around the fighting pad.

Hours go by. Soap, Price, Gaz and you were way beyond wasted. Ghost sat quietly answering some questions, but never reacted with humor. You wondered if the guy had a sense of humor of a laughing bone in his body. Both of your eyes would clash often, but then break away. You were a cheap drunk and a dead giveaway at that. Your face turned red as soon as the first drink was gone, and your words slurred by the third drink.

The guys treated you like family and you loved that – considering you haven't had one in a long time. You laughed and joked with them. All of you exchanging stories about each other's missions. You would tell them stories about how you used to stalk them, and they seemed pretty impressed. You took note of the way Ghost's eyes looked at you as you told your stories. He enjoyed them and he seemed to enjoy you letting off some steam and relaxing.

The buzz you were feeling off the whiskey was great until Soap asked you one question, then, it felt like your world was falling apart. "You ever been in love Reaper?"

The room fell silent, and your chest grew tight. The smile that was imbedded on your lips now turned into a solemn frown. You slowly lowered your head and raised your glass as if someone made a toast, "Fuck love." Tension settled in the room and before anyone could ask, you removed yourself from your seat, slammed your glass down at the bar and stumbled upstairs.

Tears burned your eyes the more you thought about it. You swayed back and forth when you walked until you reached the front door. You grabbed the handle, opened the door, and sat on the steps. The night was cool. It was in the middle of fall and since your body was on fire from the alcohol, the cool breeze was a nice touch.

You wiped away a few fallen tears off your cheeks and would glance up at the starry sky. Clear night and a beautiful one at that. For a brief moment, with nothing but the wind and leaves, you felt peace. Footsteps approached and reality stepped back in. You felt a presence behind you and then grunt as they sat beside you. It was him.

"Want to talk abou-"

"No." You cut him off before he had a chance to finish his question. You look off into the distance because you don't want him to see you cry. You were tired of crying, but damn if shit from your past didn't hurt.

You quickly get up and make your way back inside. You head upstairs and get into bed. You were ready for this night to be over with.