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plagues02 · 4 months

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Is There Room For Four?

Chapter One - Room for Two

Summary: Simon 'Ghost' Riley didn't need a soulmate. He was fine in the black and white and gray world he was stuck in. Then one by one his soulmates start crashing into his life, bringing a new color with them. Turns out Simon likes this new colorful world his soulmates have brought him into Characters: Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Gary 'Roach' Sanderson Ship: GhostRoach, End game SoapGhostRoachKönig Work Count: 2055 Note: This was written back in 2022 and was originally posted on Ao3 Chapters: One(You're Here), Two, Three, Four

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley worked alone. He always did. It’s been like this for a while now, but it wasn’t always like this. There was a time that he was Simon when he was a freshly turned eighteen-year-old. He stayed as Simon for a good while. Until it happened.

His family was killed, and he went after Roba, killing the man that had his family killed. He remembered seeing an old mask before he started the fire. The very same mask his brother would scare him with, and he grabbed it. Simon died that day. He died in the fire, and he became Ghost.

Ghost was a cold man who cared for nothing but the job, making him the ideal guy for solo jobs. However, fate was cruel, and fate had other plans.

When Ghost was told he would be teaming up with an American, he asked to see his folder. The American’s name was Gary Sanderson. Gary? What kind of name was Gary? His eyebrow raised, even more, when he read that his nickname was Roach. He took it back. Gary was normal. What kind of name was Roach?

During the first meeting, the Brit figured out why he got this kind of name. At least part of the reason. Gary was short, almost a foot shorter. Maybe not a full foot, but close enough. He was also quiet. From his file, he learned that Roach was selectively mute, and from meeting him, he learned he used ASL. Ghost was lucky to know a few signs to understand parts of what he was saying.

On the helicopter, Ghost looked over at the mission file. Roach watched out the window before looking over at the other man when he started speaking.

“There’s one building. A decent side warehouse. We’re looking for this man-” Roach took the paper from Ghost to look at the man. “-We’re to take him alive.”

The American nodded as he handed the paper back, feeling the helicopter get closer to the ground. They were about a twenty-minute walk away from the warehouse. The walk was quiet. It seemed to be how the two of them liked it.

Roach was a follower, noted Ghost. Always a few steps behind, never beside, never ahead. He was also aware of his surroundings, looking around and having his gun at the ready.

“Two routes,” Ghost stated when they got to the warehouse and took out the front guards. “You take left. I’ll go right.”

There were a few things that Roach noticed when meeting Ghost, and even from just looking at his file. He didn’t show his face, staying hidden behind a skull mask and sunglasses. Oh, those sunglasses looked stupid with that balaclava. The headphones didn’t help.

The American also noticed that the Brit was like him. A man of few words, Gary was just a man of fewer words. Only speaking about the mission, not that Roach minded. He wasn’t one for small talk.

Finally, he noticed how Ghost didn’t like eye contact, even with the sunglasses. Roach knew this because when he tried to look at his face, the other looked around. People with trauma around soulmates often do this so Roach assumed his world was as dull and gray as his own.

Before meeting one’s soulmate, their world would be shades of gray. Color would only splash into their life when their eyes met with the other half. Roach has met many people before. He has watched pure joy over people’s faces from meeting their soulmates, but he has also seen horror spread across their faces as well. It appeared Ghost would have been one of those so he refused to look. Avoiding eyesight was the only way to not meet your soulmate. Otherwise, fate would bring you together. Roach wanted to find his soulmate one day.

Now was not the time to be thinking about soulmates. The sound of gunshots from the other side of the building altered the guards that someone else was in the building but only on one side. The American took out as many as he could before he was also noticed, taking cover around a corner as he reloaded.

Thanks for the distraction Roach thought after finishing the final few guards on his side, taking the ammo off their body. He did change guns when he realized they didn’t have the ammo he needed.

Ghost nodded at Roach when they met up in the middle. The rest of the way to the final room was a straight shot. All the guards were up front, none in the middle, and very few in the room with the man. The American barely had to raise his gun before they were all down.

“Fucking hell,” the Brit said when the door behind them slammed open. The two took cover as about fifteen more armed men came into the room.

Roach found himself taking the time to aim for headshots at those who didn’t have helmets while Ghost just shot. They made a good team, and they both noticed during this time.

Fuck Gary thought at the sound of a car engine turning on and then the car speeding away. The other man’s body language said the same.

When they were sure the fifteen men were down, the two walked to each other again. The younger man could feel the stress coming off the other’s body, knowing they had two options. They would report their mission as a failure, or the mission would take a few extra steps to complete.

“We’ll get him next time,” signed Roach when Ghost finally looked at him. “And there will be a next time.”

Before the Brit could open his mouth to respond, Roach fell into his arms at the sound of a single gunfire. Ghost didn’t hesitate to pull out his handgun and shoot the culprit, one of the fifteen guards that used his coworker’s body to survive the original shootout.

“Bloody hell,” Ghost grumbled, pulling up the other’s shirt. He reached up to click his communicator. “Ghost 0-2, target got away. Roach is shot. Immediate evac requested.”

The response took a few seconds. “Heli can be there in ten minutes. They will land in front of the warehouse.”

Ghost looked back at the younger man, who was watching him with his brown eyes. Brown? Wait wait wait,,, brown?? His eyes went back down at the wound to see red on both Roach’s paling skin and his own gloved hand. Fuck.

He looked away to see his sunglasses were on the ground beside them. They had to have fallen off during all the confusion. He turned to look back, realizing that not everything was in color. His pants were still gray, and the American flag on Roach’s chest was still black and white.

Ghost was glad his mask covered his face. It was a mix of surprise, fear, and his face was also beet red. He finally stood up, helping Roach to his feet after putting his sunglasses back on. He threw his arm over his shoulders.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said in a small voice, moving Roach’s hand to the wound. “Keep pressure on this.”

Roach watched him for a while before nodding. He leaned against the taller man, looking around as they walked. Where were the colors? They were supposed to be blinked by colors. This was anything put. Only a few colors and shades fill their world.

The helicopter wasn’t long after they got outside. Ghost helped push Roach into the ‘copter before jumping in himself. Instead of across from each other like they did on the way here, he said next to the younger man.

“How bad is it?” A voice came over the speaker.

Ghost moved Roach’s hand to look at the wound again. “Right above his hip,” he responded. “Bullet is still in there.”

“It’s twenty minutes until we’re back at base. There’s a medkit above you. Use it,” the voice said again before the radio went off and the helicopter started going up.

Ghost reached up to grab the med kit, kneeling on the ground. He placed the kit on his previous seat. Roach pulled his goggles up, resting them on his helmet, with his free, non-bloodied hand.

It was clear that Ghost wasn’t used to giving medical care, but he knew enough to be helpful. While the bullet was still in him, the Brit cleaned around the open wound and wrapped it up tightly. He also handed a sanitizer wipe to the American to clean his hand off.

Gary watched the man sit down by him again, staring ahead. Silence fell over them once more. It was more comfortable than their last silence, the two understanding each other a little more than before.

"Stop moving," Ghost only spoke after the third or fourth time that Roach shifted with a groan. "You'll hurt yourself more."

Roach froze, unsure how to react to the care. He looked out at the sky, relaxing more with another pained noise. Ghost's eyes followed him behind his sunglasses. He can't sit still, he thought, silently laughing.

They made it back to base shortly after this. The landing pad was on the other side of base than medical. Another soldier tried to take Roach from Ghost, who quickly turned that down. No one questioned him as he started heading toward the building.

It was three days later when they got a chance to sit down to speak about what happened. Ghost sat next to the American, placing a piece of paper and a pencil down on the table in front of him. Roach raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know much sign language, not American at least,” Ghost explained. “I’m not forcing you to talk.”

Roach smiled behind his mask. They were both in casual clothing, but they also both kept their balaclavas on. Ghost wore the skull one while Roach preferred a plain black one.

“Now,,, we see colors,” Ghost started. “But not all colors. Strange, isn’t it?”

Without the sunglasses, Gary saw his eyes were gray. Were they gray? Or have they just a color they hadn’t unlocked yet. He knew his eyes were brown, same with his hair. He wondered what color Ghost’s was.

Gary leaned down to write. It’s weird. I asked the doctor about it and was told it’s possible there’s more of us.

The Brit raised an eyebrow. “More of us? Like we have more soulmates?” Gary nodded. “Fucking hell.”

Ghost rubbed his face with a sigh. He didn’t want one soulmate. He obviously didn’t want more than one. His stomach dropped when he looked back to see Roach’s response to his reaction.

Roach’s shoulders drooped down, and his eyes looked sad. When they met the other’s, he looked away. The older man frowned behind his mask. He liked the man’s eyes. They were,,,

“Beautiful.”

Gary looked back at him, squinting his eyes in confusion. He felt his face heat up when the other’s hand cupped his cheek.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” Ghost, no, Simon said.

They stared at each other for a while while Simon rubbed his thumb against his face. The hand slowly went down and stopped at the bottom of the balaclava. In response, Gary reached up and did the same thing. They stared at each other, asking a silent question. Simon nodded a little, moving his hand up again. The other copied, and they were maskless.

Age showed on Simon around his eyes. They had very noticeable eye bags and were slightly wrinkled at the corners. Hair that curled at the ear, facial hair that wasn’t shaved. A few scars on his nose and cheeks. His skin had color, but his eyes and hair did not.

Gary still looked his age, a few years younger than Simon. His hair was shorter and looked clean-cut, like his facial hair. Beauty marks under both eyes. His face was more messed up than Simon’s. Scars on his cheek, nose, and one going from the corner of his lip to his cheekbone. There was almost a large one on his neck. His hair and eyes were colored along with his skin.

“...If they’re anything like you, I won’t mind them,” Simon said in a small voice. Gary smiled in response with a matching silent laugh.

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plagues02 · 2 months

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Is There Room For Four?

Chapter Three - Room for Four

Summary: Years went on, Task Force 141 gained more members. Captain Price recently found a person he thought would be a great fit for the team. Little did anyone know, they would be the missing piece to three other members Characters: Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Gary 'Roach' Sanderson, Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish, König, Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick, John Price Ships: SoapGhostRoach, SoapGhostRoachKönig, Plantonic SoapGaz CW: Accidental Misgendering, Depiction of a panic attack Word Count: 2998 Note: This was written back in 2023 and was originally posted on Ao3 Chapters: One, Two, Three(You're Here), Four

“Have you heard of that colonel guy that’s coming down to help with some missions?”

Gary looked up when Johnny spoke to them. Simon looked over his shoulder from across the room with an eyebrow raised. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

The three of them were off base in their England flat. After a few years of their relationship, Johnny moved in with Gary and Simon. It was easier for the three of them since Johnny did live in Scotland before.

It had been about five years since Task Force 141 was formed, and the team remained the same at the core with a few new members. Alex became an official member about a year in, along with his soulmate, Farah. Farah remained in Urikzastand; Alex spent his time between the United States and Urikzstand. Alejandro and Rudy were also official members but continued to work in Mexico, unless they were needed elsewhere.

About two weeks ago, they all received an email from Price about a foreign colonel coming to England to assist them.

“What was his name again..? Otto Wanger, I think,” Simon added, watching Johnny walk across the room to join the other two on the couch. “He was,, what? German?”

Gary shook his head, making a clicking sound with his tongue to get the other’s attention. “Austrian. The email didn’t say much. Not about Otto or about the mission.”

The Scotsman flopped down, leaning against the American’s shoulder. He pulled out his work phone and went to the email, forgetting about all of what the email said alread. A chuckle left his lips as he looked at the image attached.

Turning the phone towards the two of them, Johnny said, “Hey, looked like you and Simon aren’t going to be the only masked men around base now.”

Simon looked over, mumbling out, “Funny looking mask.”

“Like yours is any better.”

The oldest of the three huffed, leaning over Gary to bump their heads together. A smile came to his lips as Gary chuckled at this action. Simon bumped their heads together as well before sitting back again.

“I think it’s an old t-shirt.”

Johnny and Simon looked back at the picture after Gary signed this. It did, in fact, look like an old t shirt.

“Well, looks like we’re gonna meet him tomorrow we’ll see then,” said Johnny, scanning over the email again.

König let out a small sigh they didn’t realize they were holding as they stepped off the plane. No matter how many years they were in the military, from their time in the German Special Forced and KorTac, they still felt nervous going to new places. They were getting too old for these nerves, but still, they couldn’t shake it.

König had met Price when he was in Austria on a lone mission. It was accidental that they ended up working together since they were after the same information; Price was impressed by the taller person’s skills, both on and off the field. When their reputation and skills, Price knew they were the best person for the job when he needed an extra pair of hands

The Austrian pressed their hands together, fiddling with their thumbs while they looked around for the Captian. They saw a familiar bucket hat and started to walk closer to him. Price looked up when they were closer.

“It’s nice to see you again, Colonel Otto,, or do you prefer König, sir?” the captain asked, shaking the other’s hand.

“König,” they quickly replied. “Um, Otto is fine though.”

“König it is then,” Price nodded. “Come on, sir. I’ll show you around base, and introduce you to the team.”

König smiled under their mask, reaching up to fix it as it was becoming crooked. They enjoyed the captain’s presence, and his words made him feel,,, safe? Was that right? Yeah, he was a kind man, after all. A light in their dark grey world.

First in the tour was the bunks, where they would be staying for the time being. They had a small private room in the bunks due to their rank. The training rooms were next, and so on and so on. The tour took a little over an hour before they returned to the bunks. Price had to step away, and König remained in the bunks area.

The person reached under their mask to rub their eyes, trying to wake themselves up with a sigh. It was still early in the morning, but it already felt like a long day that wanted to drag. Them not being a morning person didn’t help. All they felt like doing was curling into bed and sleeping the rest of the day away.

“Are you the colonel?”

König jumped at the new voice and turned to look at the owner. They thought back to all the pictures and names they were shown. Gaz? Yeah, that man was Gaz.

“Ja.”

The younger man smiled and held a hand out. “Gaz,” he introduced himself, confirming their suspicions. “It’s nice to meet you, Colonel Otto, sir.”

They took his hand, avoiding eye contact, “König. My name is König.”

Gaz raised an eyebrow before nodding, pulling his hand away. He decided against question them. “So how did you and Captian Price meet?”

The Austrian fiddled with their fingers again. “We met on a mission,, well, more like we had a similar mission and ended up working together,” they explained with a small chuckle.

The two of them spoke while they waited for the rest of Task Force 141 to get to the base. König felt their social anxiety calling down as they spoke to Gaz. He was a good man, and from the sound and look of it, a good soldier. Price came and got them about thirty minutes later.

The anxiety started to return at the sight of the other three.

Soap and Roach didn’t seem tha scary. The Scot had a stupid smile on his face while talking to the shorter man, and the smile stayed when he looked over at the newcomer. Roach looked up at König, eyes widening a little. He turned to the other two, making hand movements.

“Tall,” the rest of 141 understood. König would have to learn BSL to understand him.

The last of the three just stared at König, eyes narrowing a little. The taller person looked away, shifting on their feet. The hair on the back of their neck stood, and the pit in their stomach returned. They took a small breath and turned back to the man with the skull masked man, avoiding eye contact.

“Sir, this is Soap, Roach, and Ghost,” Price introduced, motioning to them as he said their name. “This is Colonel König. He will be staying and help us for the time being.”

König let a small chuckle. “There’s no need to call me sir. It’s a nice to meet you,” they said with a small hand wave.

“Hey, König!” Soap called out before König was able to leave the showers. They had did some training with the others, and was about to return to the bunks after taking a shower. “We all were going to a nearby pub.”

The scotsman stepped closer, looking at the person’s masked face. “Want to join us? Get to know each other, if we’re gonna be working together,” he suggested with a smile.

König rubbed their thumb against the bottom of their shirt, thinking about the words. Maybe this would help relieve some of the anxiety they felt about working with the team.

With a shaky breath, they nodded.

Soap’s grin widened. “Great! We won’t take long,” he said before going to finish washing up.

With the rest of the team showered and changed within the hour, they decided to walk to the pub as it wasn’t that far away. König left their work mask at the base, but they still wore a simple black mask. They felt naked without their work mask, but it would bring more attention to themselves, which was something they’d like to avoid.

It was strange walking with the members. König was older than them all by a few years. Age already showed on their face with wrinkles around their eyes. According to people would could see color, their hair was also greying with white streaks on the sides.

Color,, at their old age, König had given up on finding their soulmate. They had yet to meet their romantic or platonic soulmate, and they were starting to believe they didn’t have either. Starting to? They were almost positive they hadn’t. It didn’t matter anymore. They were getting too old to worry about stuff like soulmates, but,,, having a soulmate to hold still sounded nice.

König noticed a few things as they watched the group. They were all close and were very comfortable around each other. Soap was the most touchy for the four(Price had remained back at base). His hand was always on one of them, but it seemed different depending on who it was. With Gaz, it remained more friendly and platonic, but with Roach and Ghost, they were more,, Well, he got closer with them, holding their hands or an arm around their waist. It didn’t take long for them to realize that Soap, Roach, and Ghost were romantic soulmates. It was written all over their body language.

It must be nice,,,

At the pub, the group sat at a table near the back at Ghost’s request. He was like König it seemed. They preferred to stay in the back, to the sidelines. Soap and Gaz were more outgoing and enjoyed talking to others. Roach was in the middle. Quiet, but didn’t mind the company of the others.

“Say, König,” Soap was the first to speak after they got drinks. “This is gonna sound weird, but we were talking about you yesterday. Are you German or Austrian?”

The person chuckled at this, glancing up. They were still careful to not meet their eyes, despite believe his soulmates were already found. “Austrian,” they replied. “I joined under the German military, though.”

“Ah! That’s were the confusion was,” the Scotsman said with a small laugh.

The conversation continued from there. It stayed in military talk for a few minutes, discussing how they joined and a few missions they've been on. Through this, König's suspicions were confirmed. Soap, Roach, and Ghost were romantic soulmates and met through the military. Soap was also platonic soulmates with Gaz.

"You have a soulmate, König?”

König hesitated at the question. A small laugh left their lips. “No, no, and I think I’m a little too old to worry about finding them.”

As they spoke, they looked up a little, not thinking anything of it. There was no way König would have know they would meet the eyes of the Scotsman. Nor would they know they would see the blue of his eyes.

“Johnny?” Ghost spoke up with a raised eyebrow at his change of expression. He glanced at the Austrian and froze.

König saw more color in their void world. Ghost’s eyes were a greenish grey color. Soap’s were blue. A lot of other things had color, but there were still some greys in the world.

That’s when Roach leaned forward to look at his soulmates before looking over at König. There was the rest of the colors. Browns, oranges, reds. In the matter of moments, their black and white world was full of color. So much color.

“Oh shit,” Soap was the first to speak, clueing Gaz in on what was going.

So many things were running through König’s head. The first was that all this color was overwhelming all at once. The second was that they had three soulmates.. Three soulmates that were all like ten years younger than them,, and already knew each other. Their chest tightened.

“König-”

The person didn’t say anything, freezing in place. The sound of the bustling bar became background noise as they felt their vision started to blur. They could see the blurs of the men who save their world color shift closer to them. They spoke, but König couldn’t hear the words.

No no no no no, it couldn’t be them. It couldn’t be them. König just met them. They all already knew each other. They had been together for a long time before König was even a thought to them.

Oh god, their ages. How old were they? They looked young. Far younger than him. They didn’t see any grey in any of their hair. Nor did they notice any aging wrinkles on their face. Their ranks were so much lower than their own. Would they even-

So many things were running through Ghost’s head as the man in front of them completely froze. His breathing was starting to become uneven and forced. His green eyes were starting to water, and his face was becoming redder and redder.

He glanced at the others at the table. Ghost met Soap's eyes and nodded before standing up. He whispered something to Gaz, who nodded in response. Without a word, the trio walked to the other side of the table to get the tall man to stand.

"Hey, we're going somewhere quiet," Soap whispered to him. "Can we lead you there?"

All König could do was nod before letting his soulmates lead him towards the bathroom of the pub. He was extremely shaky, they all noticed, and he barely reacted to anything around him.

They had all seen this before. They were all in the military, after all. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have a panic attack and to help each other through them. It would be easier to deal away from the loud noise of the pub.

Ghost glanced over when he heard König start to speak again. It was extremely shaky and in broken English.

"No, no, I can't- you can't be-"

Once in the bathroom, Roach locked the door behind them as Ghost and Soap helped König sit down on the ground as he was struggling to stand up.

"Hey, big guy," Soap's voice was soft, as he knelt down in front of the other. "Can you look at- oh!"

He shifted back a little as König made a quick motion of pulling his mask off before whatever he had eaten earlier in the day came up. A sob left his lips as he also scooted away from it.

This could be going better, Ghost thought, not wanting to get too close to not accidentally overwhelming the other even more. Soap looked up at him, thinking the same.

"Y-you can't - I can,, can't be- I can't be the one -" König gasped out, reaching up to yank on the side of his hair.

Roach moved forward, kneeling in front of the taller man. He grabbed his wrists to stop him from tugging at his hair. His eyes met the watery green eyes of König.

"I-I-"

"Shhhh."

Soap and Ghost jumped a little at the sound of Roach's voice. They had only heard it a handful of times themselves over the years they were together. Roach didn't like to speak so he didn't, unless he felt like it was needed.

"Hey, hey, look at me. Don't look away," Roach's voice came out as a whisper, touching König's face. "Can you answer some things for me? Please?"

"J,,ja."

Roach moved his other hand away from König's wrist. He moved a little, sitting down on his knees between the other's legs.

"Okay, what are five things that you see?"

König's eyes looked around. "A toilet,, my,, vomit,, sink,, you,, brown eyes,,"

"Good boy. What are four things you can touch?"

"Floor cold,, my clothes,,your hand,, your clothes." He said the last part as he moved to press his forehead against Roach's shoulder.

Roach glanced over his back at the other two in the room. They were watching, remaining quiet. König didn't seem as shaky as before; they didn't want to cause him any more stress.

"3 things you can hear?"

"Pub music, my heart beat, your breathing."

Roach ran his fingers through König's hair. He felt König arms wrap around him, hands gripping the back of his shirt. He heard footsteps of his other soulmates getting closer, seeing how the Austrian was calming down

"2 things you can smell?"

"Alcohol,, cologne?"

"Yeah, I'm wearing cologne," Roach confirmed. "One more question, okay? What's one thing you can taste?"

",,,vomit aftertaste."

Ghost and Soap knelt down on König, side away from the vomit. Soap rested his hand on the other's back as Ghost placed one on his knee.

"You want to talk now, big guy?"

",,,Not a guy."

"You still want to talk?"

",, yeah," he, no, they said.

König moved their head away from Roach's shoulder to look at all three of them. They finally were able to take in how they all looked. Soap and Roach had brown hair. Soap had blue eyes, while Roach had brown. Ghost,, they couldn't tell his hair color with the balaclava, but they would remember the greenish gray eyes.

Roach,, Gary ran his fingers through König's gray hair, paying extra attention to the white streaks on the side. Johnny moved a hand up to run his fingers through the person's salt and pepper beard. He ran his thumb over the other's lip, over an old scar.

While König was distracted by the other two, Ghost reached up to pull his mask off, showing his (totally not dyed) black hair. Simon shifted to lean forward to press their foreheads together. His eyes met with König's green eyes.

"Let's figure this out together. We'll take it as slow as you need it, okay?"

König nodded. "Okay."

"You're back early," Price looked over as he noticed Gaz was back at the base. ",, Without König. Did something happen?"

The younger man looked over, wondering how to word it, before he decided just to say it, "König is their soulmate."

",, you're joking, right?"

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plagues02 · 2 months

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Is There Room for Four?

Chapter 4 - Room for no More

Summary: A year after meeting König, the four of them share a peaceful morning off. Characters: Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Gary 'Roach' Sanderson, Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish, König Ships: SoapGhostRoachKönig Word Count: 670 Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four[You're Here]

As his brain started to catch up with everything around him, Simon shifted in bed while his closed eyes twitched. The sun peeked through the cracks of the curtains, aiming directly into his eyes. He let out a groan, trying and failing to move his arm to block out the sun.

Simon finally opened his eyes, blinded for a second by the sudden light in his eyes. Once his vision returned, he saw that he was in the bedroom of his off base flat. His soulmates were also in their shared bed; two of them still asleep. Johnny was curled up on his right side, using Simon’s arm as a pillow; it was wet from his drool. On his left side, Gary was laying on his bed while holding Simon’s other free hand.

The Brit looked towards the curtains to see his final soulmate was awake. Otto was sitting up in bed with their reading glasses on and a book in hand that Simon couldn’t make out the title.

It has been about a year since the four of them found out they were all soulmates. They took the relationship as slow as Otto wanted while making them feel as welcome as possible. No matter how much they doubted their place in the relationship.

A few months ago, Otto moved into their flat after officially joining Task Force 141; it was suggested so they didn’t have to go looking for flats near base. It was a big change to take in at once, but Otto stayed in their spare bedroom at first to make it easier for them all.

Otto was thankful for the space as they acted and were treated as roommates to begin with. No one remembered how they first shared a bed together. Simon just remembers waking up in Otto’s arms and never questioning it; it wasn’t long before the extra bedroom begane to be used just for storage.

“Do you need something, liebling?” Otto was looking down at Simon with a soft look in their eyes. “You’re staring.”

Simoned snapped out of his hazy state at the sound of their voice. He opened his mouth to speak, but a yawn came out. He heard the other chuckle, waiting for a response.

“Can you fix the curtains?”

Otto looked over at the window before back at Simon, following the stands of sunlight. They smiled, making a small amused sound, before the Austrian placed their book down on the bedside table, upside down to hold the page. They slipped out of bed, took a few steps to the window, and closed it.

“Nngh, come back to bed,” Simon grumbled, eyes starting to droop again.

“Hm, you’re needy this morning,” Otto chuckled, returning to their side of the bed.

Simon watched as they pulled off their glasses and placed them down by the book. They sat on the side, leaning over Johnny to press their lips against Simon’s. Simon let out a pleased sound.

Otto pulled away once the two of them heard a huff to their left. They looked to see Gary, half asleep still, playfully pouting at the older person. The Austrian chuckled and leaned over Simon too, fairly easily due to his large height; the two shared a kiss.

Under them, Johnny glanced to see why the bed was shifting so much. He reached a hand up, tugging on Otto’s side. The Austrian pulled away from the American to look at the other.

“Lay down,” he sleepily mumbled. “We have the week off,,, sleep.”

Otto couldn’t argue with that, moving to lay back down on their side of the bed. They threw a long arm over the three, noticing how Simon and Gary were already almost asleep again.

Their relationship might have started rough, but Otto couldn’t think of anything else that would make them happier right now. They kissed Johnny’s cheek, smiling at the pleased expression on his tired face. With no more reason to be awake, they closed their and followed their partners’ lead.

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plagues02 · 4 months

Text

Is There Room For Four?

Chapter Two - Room for a Third

Summary: A few years after Ghost accepted Roach as his soulmate, they get called up by an old friend, asking them to join his new task force. Task Force 141. Little did anyone know, this would lead to more color being introduced to their world Characters: Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Gary 'Roach' Sanderson, Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish, Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick, John Price, Kate Laswell Ship: GhostRoach, SoapGhostRoach, End Game SoapGhostRoacgKönig, Platonic SoapGaz, Platonic Laswell and Price Word Count: 3436 Note: This was written back in 2022 and was originally posted on Ao3 Chapters: One, Two(You're Here), Three, Four

It has been almost three years since that day. Since then, Gary and Simon stayed teamed up at the request of the higher-ranking soldier, which surprised everyone including Ghost. They worked well together, making them the perfect two for Price to ask to join his new task force.

Roach leaned over the Brit’s shoulder to look at the papers the captain slid to them. Task Force 141 was written on the top folder with the logo of the force printed under it.

Price asked to meet them at a small pub near Roach’s and Ghost’s small London flat on their off night. It seemed oddly timed, causing the duo to wonder if their off day was planned by the older man. He was high enough rank that it wouldn’t surprise them. Ghost flipped open the folder and read the first few lines of the paper:

Task Force 141. Founded by Captain John Price. Commanded by Captain John Price, Station Chief Kate Laswell, and General Shepard. Task Force 141’s goal is to counter-terrorism throughout the world.

Ghost continued to read as Roach reached for two other files. Other recruits, most likely the two who Price mentioned had accepted the proposal. Sergeant Kyle Garrick, code name Gaz, and Sergeant Johnny MacTavish, code name Soap. Soap? What kind of name was Soap?

The Brit looked over at the folders the American was holding. Ghost placed the main file down and took one of the profiles. His eyes raised an eye behind his mask. Price knew which file he grabbed.

“He’s known for his speed and accuracy,” Price said. “Cleans out a room like no other.”

The folders were placed on the table again, and Ghost reached for his drink, bourbon of course. The man paused as he started to bring it up to his lips, remembering his mask in time. Roach silently chuckled, watching him pull his mask just enough to drink. Roach looked back at the captain, moving his hands up to bring attention to himself.

“What will we bring to the table for you? You seem to have a good team already,” he signed in BSL, not ASL. He has learned it since he was living in England, not the United States any more.

Price shifted to lean against the table, hands clasped together in front of him. Both sets of eyes were on him.

“Soap is fast and accurate. Gaz is a good kid. I’ve worked with him before, and I know he’s prepared for the types of missions we’ll take. I’ve read both of your files, and I worked with you before, Ghost.”

Ghost gives a small head motion to confirm. He worked with Price when he first became Ghost many years ago, and a few times when he was known as Simon. Back then, things seemed so different.

“You’re a cold man, Ghost, but you know how to get the job done. You also trust Gary, or would you prefer Roach?”

“Either is fine to me outside of missions. On missions, Roach only.”

Price nodded and continued, “Ghost trust you. The loner asks to have you on any duo missions and is very grumpy when he doesn’t get it his way.-” Roach smiled under his balaclava as Ghost made a noise of disapproval. “-Your file says you’re great on stealth missions and are a team player.”

The captain paused while he looked over at the two once again in thought. “Excuse me if this is personal, but I must ask. You two, you’re soulmates, right? What kind?”

The two glanced at each other, surprised by the question. They knew this question would come up. It always did when they were recruited for something, especially something as large as this. Some in the military saw soulmates as a good thing, something that strengthened the bonds between two soldiers to make them more efficient. However, some saw it as a bad thing, something that would weaken and distract soldiers.

Some people thought it could be either way too. A romantic soulmate was seen as a distraction. Their loving feelings would get in the way of their rational thinking, leading them to protect each other rather than focus on the mission. A platonic soulmate was seen as a strength. A way to bond with each other, increasing the likeliness of success.

“Romantic,” Ghost finally said, shaking his drink in his hand to hear the sound of the ice clanking against the glass. “Is that a problem?

The captain shook his head. “No, No, not a problem at all. Just something we need in the files,” he explained. “Our other two members, Gaz and Soap, are platonic soulmates. I myself am platonic soulmates with another member of Task Force 141, Laswell.”

“Soulmates are not a problem for me or any of the other members. Now, you two joining is up to you. I’ll give you time to think,” Price said, reaching for the files.

They joined. It took about a week of talking to each other about it, making sure they were making the right choice for them before they finally agreed. Then it took almost another week for them to finally meet the rest of the couple. It was decided they would meet back at the pub.

Ghost and Roach got there first, sitting at a table large enough for the group in the back of the pub. Roach was not a drinker himself, and Ghost preferred not to be in busier places so it wasn't common for the two to be seen in pubs. However, the business of this specific pub made it look less suspicious for the group to meet up.

"You need to loosen up. You're tense," signed Roach.

Unlike Ghost, Roach decided to take off his mask for this. He didn't mind people seeing his face, like the Brit did. Gary never pushed the subject, being his choice, but he would tease the other with his body language.

Ghost waved a hand in the air, looking at his reflection in his drink of choice. “You know that’s not going to happen. Why push it?”

“Because I want to see you be more comfortable. We’re meeting our new team, who we may be with for a long while.”

A silent laugh left Gary’s lips when the other took a drink of the alcohol. Well, tried to at least. He forgot to pull the balaclava; the front of it was now covered in bourbon. Irritation filled Ghost’s eyes, placing the drink back down on the table.

The American reached into his pocket and held something out to the other man. The Brit looked down to see the plain army green one owned and worn by Gary on missions being offered to him. Having the choice of a plain balaclava or one that was covered and smelt like alcohol, he picked the plain, whether it suited him or not.

“Oh hush, Bug,” the Brit playfully warned as Gary continued to laugh. He leaned over the other with narrowed eyes. The American pushed forward, banging their heads together.

“We interrupting anything, boys?”

The two looked over at the owner of the voice to see the other had got here. Four more people joined the table as the two men separated again from each other.

Ghost looked over at the new people. They both knew Price, and he knew Laswell. This was Gary’s first time meeting her face to face, but they had worked on missions together before. Neither of them knew the two new members. Gaz and Soap.

Gaz was the youngest of the couple, just about a year younger than Gary. From the file, they knew he had worked with both Laswell and Price not too long ago on another mission. Along with a named Alex and a woman named Farah. Ghost wondered why they weren’t asked to join instead of him and Gary.

Then Soap, what a stupid name. He acted like he had never seen a day of war in his life, overly positive. However, Ghost knew better from watching Gary over the years. Sometimes it worked better to just ignore all the bad things you had been through. At least, that’s what Gary had told him one night.

"Ghost and Roach," Price introduced the two to the others. "I'm sure you too remember who is who from the files."

Ghost shook his drink a little as he nodded. "Gaz-" He nodded at the youngest. "-and Soap, right…" Instead of ending in a question, he started to trail off.

His eyes met with Soap's as he spoke. Just like when he met eyes with Roach, more color filled his world, starting with the blue of his eyes. His mouth ran dry, and his body moved before his brain could catch up. Gary watched the older man walk away, eyebrows furrowing together. He looked over at Soap, wondering what that was about.

His breath got caught in his throat as he figured out what it was about. The blue of Soap’s eyes filled his world. He saw purple out of the corner of his eyes, but there were still parts that were void of color. He made a split-second decision.

“I’m sorry,” he hurried to sign before walking away to speak with his, no, their other soulmate.

Johnny MacTavish, also known as Soap, believed a lot of things. He believed he would be making a difference when joined Task Force 141. He believed things could only look better after his last failed mission. He also believed his soulmate would not run away from him. He also believed he would only have one soulmate. At least three of those beliefs were wrong.

“What just happened?” Laswell was the first to speak, looking back at the ones left at the table.

When her eyes fell on Soap, she knew. Her face dropped, and she looked over at Price. His eyes were wide as he stared ahead at the empty seats, unsure how to react. Beside him, Gaz shifted and leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, what happened?” He asked, trying to break the other out of his shocked trance.

Soap looked away from the stops from where the others were once sitting. He could see color. Browns, blues, reds. There were still a few locked to him. Was it green? Could he not see green? Or… who knows? The names of colors were hard to remember when you couldn’t see them for most of your life.

Blue came into his life when he met eyes with Ghost. Then he ran away from the table. Roach looked confused at first, but then he met eyes with the other. More colors came into his life with browns and reds. Then Roach also left.

“Well,” Soap tried to find his words. “I have more than one soulmate, romantic soulmate, and they both just left.”

Gaz’s hand on his shoulder turned into a grip, a strong one. Price gave Gaz a look, telling him to stay, and Laswell reached over to place a hand on Soap’s. It was one thing to have one soulmate reject you, but to have two soulmates at once reject you was something else.

Price reached over and placed a hand on Soap’s other shoulder with a small forced smile, "Give them some time, son. It's a change for all of you." His words sounded empty

Soap sighed softly, rubbing his face. When the day started, he was actually excited to meet the rest of Task Force 141, his new teammates. The Scot had already met Gaz, his platonic soulmate, and he thought nothing could go wrong. Now, he was in a crowded pub, and his romantic soulmates left him. His chest felt tight, and he left small. The steady flow of people coming in and out of the pub didn’t help.

Gaz sat up straight when he noticed the other’s hands going up to his hair, ready to tug at the mohawk. He stood up, pulling Soap up with him.

“We’re going for a walk, sir. He needs to get somewhere quiet.”

Price nodded as they walked away, not waiting for a response. Gaz held onto his shoulder to lead him through the count and outside the building. The younger man couldn’t help but look around for either Ghost or Roach or both of them. Neither was around, not that anyone saw if they had left the pub or not.

When looking around, Gaz saw a park not too far away and decided to lead the Scot that way. The Scot half leaned on his platonic soulmate, trying to get his heavy breathing under control.

At the park, they walked down one of the main traits lit up by the streetlamps above them. No one was out at that time, and the only noise around was the wildlife. Soap was starting to calm down, and Gaz smiled when he saw that the other wasn’t trying to pull at his hair.

“Hey, you know what I thought when I first saw you?”

“Huh?”

The two decided to stop at a bench near the other side of the park that they entered. “I thought you were an odd man. The smile seemed odd to me. You know, with our line of work at all. My second thought was, well, I’m sure you know what it was.”

The Scotsman chuckled. Unlike romantic soulmates, platonic soulmates just knew they were soulmates at first eye contact. No need for fancy color changes. Only simple eye contact.

“I didn’t know what the feeling was at first,” admits Soap. “It wasn’t until Price first mentioned Laswell and their relationship. I never knew there were didn’t there were different kinds of soulmates.”

The Brit snorted. “Well, everyone does worry about their romantic soulmates. No one thinks of platonic soulmates. My grandma told me about them. She had one, and I heard they were closer than grandma and grandpa were. I never got to meet him.”

They sat in silence for a while. Soap traced the lines of Gaz’s hand to keep himself calm as Gaz looked around the park. His eyes fell on something across the road from them.

“Soap, why don’t we go over to that twenty-four-hour restaurant over there?” The younger one asked. “You could use something to keep your mind off that pub.”

Soap hummed a little and looked up at the restaurant. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“Oh, and Soap,” Gaz reached into his pocket as they both stood up.

“Hm?”

“I think this was Ghost’s,” he grinned, holding out a damp balaclava with a skull face printed on it. “Make them talk to you.”

Gary closed and locked the door of their flat behind them. A frown came to his lips as he watched Ghost fall back onto their couch with a groan. He shook his head a little and looked around their home, taking in the new colors. There were still some grays so was there a fourth member out there? Hopefully, meeting them goes better than meeting this one.

“I fucked up.”

The American looked back at Simon, studying him. He had pulled off the balaclava and thrown it elsewhere. Gary sat down beside him and grabbed one of his hands, squeezing lightly.

“What?” Simon asked when he saw the other was staring at his face.

Gary cupped his cheek, rubbing his thumb over one of the many scars. His eyes were still gray, and he frowned at it. He just wanted to see his eye color like Simon could see his.

“Hey now,” Simon chuckled softly when his lover pressed a kiss against his jaw and nuzzled his neck.

The Brit wrapped his arms around the other, pulling him into his lap. They stared at each other for a while before the older man moved first to press their lips together. He followed Gary’s lips when he tried to move away.

Needy, thought the American as Simon continued to show affection. So needy.

It became a game to them. Gary would try to pull away as Simon followed his lips, pulling him closer. The Brit tilted his head a little more, opening his mouth slightly. The American copied, still pulling away slightly.

“You’re being difficult,” Simon let out a small groan, causing a chuckle to leave Gary’s lips.

The Brit was the first one to pull away with a sigh. He hid his face on the other’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t have walked away like that… I shouldn’t have walked away like that.”

Gary let out a hum in agreement, reaching up to run his fingers through the other hair. Simon continued, “We’ll hopefully see him again,,, soon. I need to talk to him.”

The American took the older man’s head in his face and studied him. He smiled a little and kissed his nose before pulling his hands away to sign.

“I’m sure we will since we are on the same task force. I’ll go with you, to make sure you don’t run away again.”

“I did not run away,” Simon tried to start. “Okay, okay, I did. Now, where were we?” Gary let out a small laugh before pressing their lips together again.

It was almost a week later when the team got together again. It was on the base for their first team training session. After the session, they decided to go to a less popular but still good pub to get to know each other. Gaz showered and dressed the fastest, leaving the three soulmates together in the shower/changing room together.

Gary looked up at Soap from the bench he was sitting on. The younger one was wearing only his underwear and was busy drying his hair with a towel. The Scotsman looked like he wanted to say something, but he just sat by the American. The older man was dressed in pants only, leaving his torso bare.

His body was covered in scars, just like the rest of their bodies. He wasn’t as scarred as Ghost or Roach did, but still had plenty to be noticeable. Soap had two scars under his chest, similar to Ghost’s.

“You’re staring,” The Scotsman said.

Roach blushed. “Sorry,” he signed before looking away, rubbing the back of his neck. “And sorry for running like that before.”

The older man chuckled softly, reaching over to pat his back. “No worries. If I remember correctly, you weren’t the way to run away. You followed.”

Roach chuckled silently, looking up at the sound of the water turning off. Ghost stepped out of the shower, looking at the two on the bench, before turning away to grab a shower. They all remained quiet for a while as Ghost slipped into pants.

The youngest looked over at the sounds of rustling. Soap was reaching into his pocket while staring down at the ground. He pulled a mask out, and Roach recognized it as the one Ghost left at the pub.

The Scot looked down at the mask, tracing the lower jaw of the mask. Over the week, he thought about this moment a lot, and he wondered how he would go about this. But now, the moment came, and he was lost. He made up his mind when he saw the oldest of the three reach for one of his masks.

“Ghost,” he stood up, “you left this at the pub.”

Ghost turned, meeting his eyes. He stepped closer by a few steps before reaching out to take the mask. They both gripped the balaclava while staring at each other. The Brit was silently admiring his blue eyes while Soap was hesitating on letting go.

Roach watched on the sidelines, fiddling with his hands and tapping his foot in thought. The room felt tense around them for a few seconds, but the tension fell as soon as Ghost reached up to cup the other’s cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

Soap smiled a little with a small laugh, for relief, leaning against his hand. The American stood up and took a few steps closer to them. The Scots glanced over and held one arm up.

“...”

Gary smiled and took the invitation, wrapping his arms around his bare torso. His smile widened when he felt Simon step forward to hug the two of them. The Scotsman pressed his face against Gary’s brown hair, leaning into the embrace.

It may be hard at first, but they would figure it out. Ghost knew they would. After all, he and Gary always did, so why would it be any harder with another soulmate added into the mix?

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