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Pale morning light filtered through the windows of the townhome, sending just enough light for Ghost to be able to comfortably read without needing to turn on any unnatural light. Early morning was the best time of day for him; Ghost wouldn’t admit openly to it, but he couldn’t stand unnatural light. Time and time again, members of 141 had heard him mutter and complain of how the lights were “too loud”, though when confronted he always played dumb. The soft light of the morning was perfect for reading, though, and almost no one was up at this time. Or at least they didn’t bother Ghost, and that’s what mattered.
Price and Gaz had gone out earlier that morning for a few quick errands. Ghost hadn’t bothered asking for any details about what they were doing, both because he wanted to return quickly to his reading and because he knew Price would ask him to tag along; if that happened, no wasn’t an acceptable answer. He watched it happen firsthand to Alejandro, who asked the two what they were doing and ended up getting dragged along for the ride. So Ghost kept his mouth shut and continued to read until the three of them left, leaving him alone with his book again. Quick, they had said, Ghost thought absently. Quick and somehow they won’t be back for several hours. Doesn’t seem quick, but to each his own.
Soap, lucky enough, wasn't a morning person. He refused to get out of bed before noon even if it killed him. Ghost recalled one time a few years back when they had paid off the townhouse. Everyone decided to spend a few days worth of vacation time there to celebrate. On the second day of being there, the fire alarm went off around six in the morning, and Soap was the only one not out of the house. Lo and behold, he had slept through the damn thing, and Ghost and König had to run inside and carry him out. Thankfully, there was no fire, and Alejandro had just overcooked something while trying to help König make a surprise breakfast for everyone.
Ghost shook his head with a soft sigh, a smile scrunching his mask just slightly. He didn’t realize until now that he had zoned out and had “read” several pages without retaining any of the information. Muttering a few quiet curses, he pulled his legs up onto the couch and leaned against the arm rest, flipping back through slowly as he tried to find a place that felt familiar. He flipped back two, then three, and still another page before he could even comprehend what was happening. Another page brought him back to a faint familiarity of conversation, and two more pages before he doubled over on what he had already read. Agitation bubbled inside him when he realized how much he had actually missed, but the best he could do was try to start reading again, and try not to be the cause of his own interruptions. After a few minutes, Ghost had settled back in, blocking out the rest of the world — including his mind — so he could read. Silence, that’s all he needed.
Several hours eventually passed, silence only disturbed by a bird call or the turn of a page. Ghost hadn’t moved more than an inch since he had readjusted on the couch, his mind and body firmly fixed in place. He had expected Price back by now, but he wasn’t bothered by the lack of people; he knew Price was fine, so there was no need to worry.
As Ghost turned another page, footsteps halted his thoughts. Was Soap already awake? No, that couldn’t be the case, those footsteps were too heavy and quick to be Soap’s, so that’s gotta be—
“Ghost!” König stumbled as he entered the room, apparently running too fast to properly stop himself. Socks and a clean hardwood floor never worked well together, but, despite everyone’s attempts, poor König never seemed to remember that. König slipped as his heels dug into nothing, causing his body to collide with the back of the couch with a dull thump. He wasn’t wearing his mask, so Ghost guessed he had either stayed up all night, or had just woken up, though the excessive energy and sweet smell coming from his breath made Ghost assume he was simply running on no sleep and too many energy drinks.
As König pushed away from the couch, he balled his fists and shook them up and down excitedly, speaking quickly before Ghost had time to grant even a simple “good morning”.
“I just learned a new story about Loki and I think you’ll really like it, it’s very funny,” König squeezed his hands together, trying to sit still as he talked and looked around the room, only occasionally glancing at Ghost to be sure he was listening. Ghost, of course, only looked up from his book every now and then to assure Konig that he was listening. With the assurance, König continued to ramble for several minutes, reciting story after story of things Loki had done and said.
“Oh— scheisse, I haven’t even told you the one I came in here to tell you; I believe a lot of people know the story by The Marriage of Njord and Skadi, but basically what happened was—“
“König,” Ghost, smiling under the mask, turned a page in his book as he interrupted, waiting for König stop speaking before he said anything else.
“Yes, sir?”
“Shut the hell up, would you? I’m trying to read,” the brit shook slightly with silent laughter at what was meant to be only a bit of teasing. He was used to making these types of jokes with everyone else — MacTavish especially — but the silence that followed his comment made him uneasy. Looking away from his book, Ghost glanced over his shoulder to face König.
König had gone still, the excited spark drained from his eyes and was replaced with brimming tears. They were almost unnoticeable, but Ghost could see it still. König opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it back when nothing came out except a quiet, choked off sound.
“König, I—“
“Sorry for bothering you, sir,” König’s eyes dropped to the ground as he mumbled out a response, his hands tugging and grasping at the bottom hem of his shirt. He turned away before Ghost could respond and dashed up the stairs from where he had come from earlier. Konig could feel the burning in his eyes and throat, and he couldn’t bear to stand and let Ghost be a witness. As König ascended the flight of stairs, Soap was making his way down.
“Hey Kö—“ Soap started, falling silent when he saw the other wave him off and wiping his eyes. Ghost watched in silence, unsure of what to do. Seconds later, Ghost and Soap heard the door to König’s room shut and lock, then there was silence.
“Riley,” MacTavish turned his attention away from the hallway and stared at Ghost with icy eyes. “What the fuck did you just do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything on purpose, obviously,” Ghost defended quietly, trying to ignore the aching guilt suffocating him. He hated Soap bring mad at him almost as much as he hated upsetting someone he cared about.
“Well, you obviously did something to him, König doesn’t just cry over nothing,” Ghost looked away, staying silent for a few seconds.
“Well, what of it, Simon?” Ghost tugged down his mask and told Soap what happened, telling how he meant it only as a joke, but may have taken it too far.
“You can’t say shit like that, Ghost. Not to him; you know that. After what he’s been through? He trusts you, Simon. He cares about you; why else does he always come to ramble to you about this type of stuff?” Soap leaned against the wall with a sigh, his brows knitted together in some mixed emotion that Ghost couldn’t quite read. “When Graves brought that snake around you, what did König do?”
When Ghost didn’t respond, Soap spoke up again.
“He got rid of it, didn’t he? Because he knows how that memory hurts you. He knows how it feels to have something brought back up; is that not what you just did to him? Bring back up something he’d rather forget? Tell me, Ghost, does that make you any better than Graves?”
“It wasn’t on purpose, Johnny,” Ghost shot him a glare.
“You plan to keep sittin’ there like a boggin gommy and defendin’ yourself or you going to apologize to him?”
“English,” Ghost grumbled under his breath. With a deep sigh, he stood up, dropping his book onto the couch and following where König had left to, ignoring the burning of MacTavish’s eyes watching him leave.
“König?” Ghost gently knocked on the door, leaning against the frame as he waited for a response. Ever so faintly, he could hear the occasional sniffle or choked sob, though muffled by the closed door between them.
“Bitte,” Ghost murmured as he knocked again. “I’m sorry, König, I didn’t mean it,”
There was a break of silence before quiet shuffling, followed by the sound of the door being unlocked. König opened the door slowly, face red and damp with tears, eyes glazed with those that hadn’t yet fallen. He stared down at the floor as he fidgeted with his hands, body rigid with tension. Ghost stayed silent for a moment as he pulled off his mask and shoved it partially in his pocket. König’s eyes shot up to Ghost’s face, seeming confused and slightly shocked. It wasn’t often anyone saw him without the mask, only König and Soap had seen him without it more than once.
“Sir—“ Ghost shook his head, pulling König into a tight hug and pressed his face into König’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, König. I was only joking, I promise you I didn’t mean to upset you,” he whispered softly, hands gripping onto König’s shirt.
“Ghost, it’s okay, please just forget about it— it’s nothing, really, I’m okay—“
“It’s not okay, don’t lie to me,” Ghost leaned back just enough to look König in the eyes for a moment before hiding in his shoulder once more. Ghost let one hand rub König’s back gently as he murmured.
“I’d love to listen to the story if you’re still up for telling me,” Ghost wasn’t able to get another word out before König’s arms wrapped around him tightly. He squeezed and dragged Ghost into the room, shutting the door behind him.
“Well, then, since you’re already up here,” König sat in the chair in front of his computer, quickly typing in the password and pulling up a few documents. “You can just read through yourself! I wrote this—“ he pulled up what looked to be a five-page essay, “comprehension piece. It’s short, but it shows the timeline of the stories I told you. Oh, and there at the top is the list of stories if you need to review anything, and right here— “ König continued to ramble as Ghost sat down on the bed, admiring the enthusiasm that had returned so quickly. Ghost knew he didn't say it enough, but he cared deeply for König. And for the rest of the task force, for the most part. This was his family, and nothing could change that.