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Simon placed his glass down harsher then he should, juice spilled over the edge of it. “I am not being reckless.” He said.
(Y/N) glanced over from where he was cleaning up the kitchen, Simon had cooked so (Y/N) always insisted on cleaning, the other way around applied as well, one cooked one cleaned.
“You were shot 3 times and are now on leave until you are good enough to go back, one of the bullets missed a main artery by a few millimeters.” (Y/N) didn’t bother hiding the clear anger in his voice. “I could have lost you, Simon.”
Simon looked away. “I did what I had to, everyone got back safe.”
“But you didn’t, you would go on the next mission right now if Price called you in, I made my peace with that, I will always wait and you know that but 3 bullets, Simon.” He said.
Simon winced at the use of his name, (Y/N) rarely ever used his actual name over any shortened version of his name or pet name. “I get you are angry.”
“Oh do you?” (Y/N) asked as he placed things away. “Because I recall you almost breaking your arm and being sent on forced leave by Price just last month because he was concerned about you.”
“The mission-” “-wasn’t that bad, I get it, more than you realise. I-” (Y/N) interrupted only to get interrupted himself. “-You don’t know anything about being out in the field, you work a desk job because your youth was filled with spoiled trips to austria to ski in the mountains and you got too reckless as a young adult.” Simon said, not thinking about his words.
(Y/N) looked down at his leg, the brace on it and how the injury still hurt, it wasn’t that story but not Simon nor Ghost would ever find out about the true reason for it, that mission was classified beyond anything most people would ever see, a mission gone right despite the casualties and soldiers who were forced to retire early, (Y/N) included.
Seething hot anger flashed through (Y/N) but he took a breath. “I am going for a drive, we need milk.” (Y/N) didn’t look back, knowing Simon, his Simon was already regretting his words, this conversation or rather this fight was far too common for the both of them to have, everytime Simon came home with too bad of an injury or from being too reckless. Price always called him, always told him how the mission had gone.
(Y/N) grabbed his keys and jacket before getting into the car, pulling his injured leg in, it would never fully heal, it would always ache on good days and be too painful to even touch or look at on bad days. He had more bad days than good days.
(Y/N) drove to the gas station across town, without really needing to, they didn’t even need milk but that was always the excuse, always the reason. (Y/N) usually made some kind of cake with it the next day, if he could walk.
As (Y/N) excited the car and filled it up, a van pulled up besides his car, on the pump on the other side, he didn’t pay attention, simply finished pumping the gas before he looked to the side where a man was standing with a gun, pointed straight at him. (Y/N) scowled and held his hands up. “If you want my wallet I don’t have one, only my card.”
“Get in the van, Mister Riley.” Simon and him had gotten married earlier in the year, something small at the courthouse.
“No.” (Y/N) said as he knew he could take a bullet wound, not that he wanted to. It would drastically decrease his chances of survival.
He felt a gun pointed at his back. “My partner didn’t say you had a choice.”
(Y/N)’s eyes widened, he couldn’t handle both with his leg after that drive, it would not end well, he would get killed, but going along with them would also get him hurt. He made a quick decision and nodded. “Alright, please don’t hurt me.” He whimpered, fully satisfied with how convincing it sounded. The men placed a hood over his face and cuffed his hands before putting him in the van and taking off.
‘Okay, people taken to a secondary location always have a decreased chance of surviving, however they are most likely enemies of Simon who don’t know about me… Depending on how many there are I can get out… hopefully.’ (Y/N) thought as he started fake crying and whimpering, he needed to act scared even if he wasn’t being watched.
Simon knew something was wrong when half an hour passed and (Y/N) hadn’t come back home, though for the sake of making sure, he waited 10 more minutes before calling his husband, no matter what, no matter how angry (Y/N) always answered, Simon never wanted his past or an enemy catching up again, he couldn’t handle losing more people. Not again, not like his family.
When it kept ringing and went to voicemail, Simon cursed and called Price. It was picked up quickly. “Ghost, what the hell do you want it near midnight.” Price said.
“(Y/N) isn’t answering the phone.”
Price cursed on the other end. “How many minutes since you last saw him?”
“40 but he should have been back between 10 and 20 minutes ago, we had a fight, Price, I… I was… I can’t…”
“I know Simon, I will contact Laswall, see what we can do on our end, you can’t do much on your own, you are still injured, so stay steady and have your phone ready.” Price hung up.
Simon just sat still for hours, staring at his phone before it rung, (Y/N)’s face and toothy smile showed up. Simon lunged at his phone and picked up. “(Y/N) I-” “-I am afraid this isn’t your husband.” A voice interrupted, someone Ghost was too familiar with.
“What do you want?” Ghost asked.
“I will send you my7 location where you will show up, alone and unarmed, if you get that pretty little team of yours involved I will slice your husband's throat and send you a video before letting the rats feed on his corpse.” The man said.
Ghost growled. “Fine.” He said.
“Don’t do it Si!” Ghost could hear in the background of the call only for (Y/N) to cry out in pain. Simon’s blood ran cold as the call hung up. He just needed to get there. 20 minutes passed and he got a location, a factory a few hours out of town. He got into his car and took off, not even thinking to inform the team.
His emotions were numb and he wasn’t wearing his mask, yet he kept going, he couldn’t stop, if there was ever even a chance of saving (Y/N), of not making the same mistake again, he would take it, he would always take it. Their fight played in his mind over and over again, torturing him as he drove, he vaguely registered the music in the radio as something upbeat.
It was early morning when he came to the old factory, he vaguely registered the open door and vehicles parked outside as he walked straight up the door and inside, to his shock, bodies upon bodies of people laid spread out as though a fight had broken out, blood covered large areas of the factory floor. His blood turned ice cold as he ran inside, hoping to find (Y/N) alive only to find a chair with robe by the back, loosely tied together, whoever did this underestimated the prisoner.
Simon pulled his phone out as it began vibrating. He answered. “Ghost here.”
“... Ghost, come to base, (Y/N) is here… there is something you need to know. He is alive, injured but alive.”
Simon let go of a deep breath. “I… how did he even get there… car probably, erm, I will get there.” The base was a few hours away. He hung up and drove in silence to the base, barely even registering anything. He was confused but also relieved, the only man he had ever loved enough to fully see Simon, to make Ghost into Simon again, had somehow escaped and was at his base, the base no one was supposed to know about. Things weren’t adding up.
He drove onto base and got out, not remembering a mask, not even thinking about a goddamn mask.
He walked past a confused Soap and Gaz, ignoring them gaping at them as he walked to Price’s office, knocking before he entered. In one of the chairs, a heavily beaten up and bruised (Y/N) sat and Price, with a dark look in his eyes, was sitting behind his desk. “I will let you talk.” Price said and left.
Simon sat down and looked to (Y/N) who refused to meet his gaze. “What happened?” Simon asked.
(Y/N) winced before looking ahead. “4 years ago I was in a skiing accident that left me paralysed in both my legs, it took me a year and experimental surgery to get feeling back in them though one is permanently broken.” (Y/N) began.
“Yes I know this..” Simon said.
“It wasn’t hobby skiing. I was a soldier in a mission I can’t tell anyone about, not even my most trusted person, 2 teams of 20 people each, including a team of 3 were dispatched to take out a base of enemies that were holding high value targets.” (Y/N) didn’t look at Ghost. “Out of the 43 people, 10 of us made it out alive, the place was rigged with trap after trap, I was amongst the many injured on the way back, we successfully managed to get 4 out of 6 hostages with us.”
“You were forced to retire.” Simon said and looked away. “Were you reckless?”
(Y/N) shook his head. “No, I wasn’t, we were safe as we could be, yet I was paralysed, nearly died.” (Y/N) sighed. “I am sorry Si, for never saying this or telling you anything but I couldn’t, sure I could talk bootcamp and my various deployments but after I got onto a task force every single mission became confidential, much like your missions and then with my forced retirement, it just wasn’t something I looked back on with you. I lost a lot of good friends that week, a lot of really close allies. I had been out for a year and a half before we even met.”
Simon looked away. “Was anything else right? Or has everything been a lie?”
“You met my actual family, my mother does love you and even they don’t know much about my work, hell, they think after bootcamp and my deployments that I enlisted in a private security company in austria and on my off day, I got into an accident.” He said. “Except my cousin, she knows the truth because of her work.”
“Right, the medic, understandable…” Simon said and looked to the man he once trusted above all else. Someone who had promised to be there for him always, no matter what. His whole perception of the man had been a lie. “You made me teach you self defence.” Simon mused.
(Y/N) chuckled. “Yeah… that day is among my fondest, you wanting me to be able to protect myself with you away, it did actually help last night.” (Y/N) said. “I wouldn’t have gotten out this lucky if it wasn’t for it… I am sorry for lying, Simon but you must understand, I didn’t have much of a choice.”
Simon took his hand and gave him a small smile. “For better or for worse.”
(Y/N) leaned over and kissed Simon's cheek. “Your captain is a real scary man.” He said and chuckled. “Laswell had to clear me for him, she found my discharge papers.”
“Hmm, honourable discharge with a file that is mostly redacted.” Simon said. “Sounds like my future file.”
“Well I do like the sound of that, planning for a future with me, eh?” (Y/N) said.
Simon smiled a bit more. “You are the only reason I want to grow old.”
(Y/N)’s smile softened. “I love you too, Si.”