Archive of Our Own

“I just don’t want to leave him alone with a stranger for so long, I know he’d hate it, you know how he can get,” Simon glanced over to John, sitting opposite of him on the couch, who responded with a knowing gaze.

John had been spending the last week or so with the Riley's after breaking a few fingers from a not so stellar jump out of a moving vehicle on a special op, leaving him with a few weeks of injured leave. Unfortunately, their time together had been short-lived before Simon had gotten a call that he'd have to leave on an urgent business trip in just a few days, and be gone for a week, leaving little Joseph alone.

And John knew better than most how even the idea of being away from Joseph was not easy for Simon.

After finding his nephew, over a year ago now, injured and hiding beneath the kitchen counter in the home where their family was recently murdered… well, it was hard to separate the two of them much at all in those early days. Joseph constantly clinging to Ghost like a lifeline, not wanting to let him go, for fear of what would happen were he left alone again, and Ghost there to reassure and protect him.

Sometimes in those early days Joseph would go into a crying panic even if Simon left the room.

And now, the both of them have come a long way in the time since then as they got to know each other more, and bond further, and with the added help of therapy. They were in a good spot now, but John knew Joseph's panicked screams still haunted Simon's dreams. How could they ever forget them?

Simon continued after a few long moments in a heavy, hoarse voice, his mind had likely gone down a similar thought trail as John's, “I… I don’t wanna put him through that…I shouldn't go, should I?"

After leaving the army, the job Simon had gotten was a military desk job that Price and Laswell had put a good word in for him for. It was thankfully not too demanding for someone of his knowledge and experience… but the transition from soldier to caretaker for Ghost was not easy. Despite leading a nearly two decade long career in the Special Air Services, Simon could confidently say that in comparison, parenting a newly orphaned traumatised child was absolutely the hardest thing he'd ever done.

And he wouldn't have known what he would've done if Soap wasn't there for him. The two of them had gradually become closer over those initial long, long months of recovery. John helped too to Simon's doubts of his capability to really be an uncle, a good role model for the boy. Because Simon never had one for himself… and never envisioned a future where he was one either.

Joseph just adores Simon, though. He follows him around everywhere like a little shadow, always asking him questions, always so curious. John would tease Simon about it, he had a mini me! They even looked identical, the only thing truly setting them apart was the fact Joseph has bright blue eyes, like his parents, while Simon's are a deep, rich brown.

They were quite an odd little pair, their two person family, that John felt honoured to be a participant in on the sidelines now that he and Simon had started dating.

But now, Simon and Jo had each other, and that had to be enough, and they are making it work day by day, and John was so proud of both of them for everything they had overcome, and would be honoured to help in any way he could.

John had folded his hands in his lap then, leaning forward. “Simon, I think the answer’s crystal clear.”

Piercing brown eyes stare back at him. “…What?”

Johnny waits a few long moments, eyeing Simon, unsure if he would put two and two together.

“Oh come on,”

“What?” Simon repeats, as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

“I can take care of Joseph while you’re away.”

Simon deadpans. “Johnny, you’re injured.”

“A broken couple of fingers does not disqualify me from taking care of the bairn.”

“When you came to stay with us, this wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Plans change Simon,” he says, taking a sip from his warm morning coffee, before cradling it in his lap, explaining, “Jo’s a great kid. It can save you money, and stress, and well, I’m not a total stranger to the lad. It may be easier on him than hiring a sitter, as you said. And, I love kids. I used to babysit my young cousins growing up too, y’know.”

At that, Simon huffed out a breath that was very reminiscent of a small laugh, and Johnny reaches forward to rub a soothing hand on his knee.

“He has taken quite a liking to you,” Simon admits softly.

Johnny smiles with one corner of his mouth, feeling warm.

“You would really do this?” Simon eyes him, still sounding slightly sceptical.

“Why wouldn’t I, Simon?” he replies, “I’m already here. i'd be happy to watch the lad. It’s honestly the least I could do.”

John adds on, “And Jo’s doing a lot better now too, eh?’

“He is.”

A brief grimace of pain flashed across Simon’s face, and he turned to Johnny, tone almost desperate is he didn’t know better. “But what if-”

“Nothing is going to happen to him.” his tone full of conviction. Soap has never felt more sure of himself, as he leaned forward rubbing his partners knee. “I won’t let anything ever happen to him.”

That seems to get through to Simon, at least a bit. Some of the stress seems to leave his body as he gives a loud exhale through his nose. “Okay. Okay,” he gives an affirming nod, the 'I know you won't' going unsaid but still being so clear. Simon at least sounded more sure than he did at the start of their conversation. “I’ll talk to Jo about it.” And all John could do was lean back, and give him a small smile.

It felt like a new step for them, in their relationship, and his gut curled with anxious butterflies, but in a good way. John watching over his boyfriend's kid while he was away. He felt happy too that he could help. He was looking forward to bonding more with Joseph, mind already buzzing with activities the two of them could do together that Joseph would be comfortable with, and have fun with. John was, admittedly a bit nervous, but he adored Joseph, he was a good and smart kid, they'll be okay.

So, a few days later, together, John and little Joseph bid Simon a farewell at the airport, before making the drive back to their small flat across the city.

All in all, their time together so far had gone great.

Distractions, as he knows, serve wonders for taking care of a 5 year old boy, especially one with separation anxiety. Soap had made day plans in anticipation of this, obviously including some wiggle room, of activities for him and Jo to do together during the time the boy didn't have school.

Soap got Jo up early everyday for school, and picked him up in the early afternoon. Joseph always came out right on time, slipping into the backseat with a small greeting which John always reciprocated, and then asked him what he'd like to do that day.

He ended up taking the boy out for dinner, to the movies one evening, played football with him in Simon's backyard, and even took him to play in the school yard long after all the other students had left, and it was just the two of them. Joseph was getting really good, and it was a great way to drain out a growing 5 year old's energy.

Joseph showed Johnny some of his video games on the Nintendo Switch Simon had bought him a few months ago for his birthday, too, and John had to admit, despite his preference for more outdoor activities as opposed to staying in playing video games, the more he watched Joseph play this new Zelda game, the more intrigued he was. It looks like fun…he distantly wondered if Simon saw the appeal as well, or just got the device to please Joseph. Likely the later, one look at the bright, cartoonish art style of the game made him think it'd be a huge turn off for his boyfriend.

He'd also read one of Joseph's books for him every night, too, before bed. John discovered the boy was a big fan of the Goosebumps book series…which felt distantly familiar... perhaps his wee sister liked those books growing up? John was planning a trip back to Scotland at some point. He'd have to have a look. Maybe, if she still had all the old books, he could grab a few to give to Joseph. In the meantime though, Simon had gotten him a dozen or so of the novels.

And during the days when Jo was at school, Soap spent them, well, he wished he could say working out every day in Simon's small home gym. He did that a bit, as well as just hang out, do the odd chores or supply runs for the home… try to do nothing too taking on his wrist, but most surely absolutely his time was not spent playing on the newly discovered Nintendo Switch…

He missed Simon too, of course. A lot. They really hadn't had a whole lot of time together since they started dating, with John still in the service of course. But John would come to visit during the time he had on leave. And once even, Simon had taken Joseph on a weekend trip to London when Soap was stationed there and they'd spent some time together.

They made it work, and were grateful for the time they could spend together. It was unfortunate Simon was called away for work now, he couldn't deny the longing he felt to spend more time with him. But work called, as it did for himself the majority of the time, obviously, and he had Joseph to spend time with anyways, who John just adored, and who has been taking Simon's absence quite well.

But sometime into the fourth day, Joseph wandered out of his room late one night, hours after John had put him to bed, clutching his stuffed aeroplane toy to his chest, with such a vulnerable, lost look in his big brown eyes that made Soap’s heart break.

Immediately, he understood the boy’s mood.

It’s anxiety, poor kid.

So when Joseph started crying harder, Soap beckoned him over and pulled him into his arms. He rubbed his back soothingly.

“I miss uncle Simon,”

“I know you do Jo, I do too, but he’s going to be back home in a couple of days, okay?”

“What if he doesn’t come back?”

“He will.” Johnny insisted, “Nothing could ever stop him from coming back to you. But we talked about this. He’s on a business trip, remember?”

Joseph nodded, allowing Soap to then wipe the tears from his cheeks, and unconsciously leaning further into Soap’s embrace.

What if…

“Did you want me to see if he’s around? Did you want me to call him, so you can talk to him, and say hi?” Perhaps talking to Simon would be comforting, and validating enough for the boy. It was worth a shot.

Joseph looked up at John then with big, sorry eyes that were almost identical to Simon’s, and hesitantly nodded. “We can talk to him?”

“Aye lad. Let me send him a text.” John fetched his phone from his pocket and pulled up his chat with his boyfriend, smiling slightly to himself as he saw Joseph peek over his shoulder eyeing the screen.

He bit his lip nervously as he shot off a quick text. And bless Simon for getting back to them quickly or else Soap
didn’t truly know how else to comfort the boy.

“Is this what you and Si do when you’re away, Johnny?” Joseph asked, tucking himself timidly into Soap’s side as they sat waiting for Simon to be ready.

John had to laugh at that, pulling a protective arm around the boy. “Your uncle’s not too fond of cameras,” he says, thinking back on the one time he had managed to get Simon to facetime with him, and how he constantly managed to sneak his way off camera. “but aye, we have. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you too.

John could feel just how tense Joseph was, tucked into his side as he is, chewing his nails, still clutching tightly onto his plane plushie. Soap’s gut curled up in guilt at what the boy was going through, and was so thankful Simon was around and able to answer. Maybe this can help soothe some of the boy’s anxieties.

After receiving the text that he was ready, John gave him a call, and Simon answered on the third ring.

He had his mask on, but it was just a simple, black facemask, not his usual full-face skull balaclava. No ball cap to cover his short, blonde hair either, which looked slightly damp like he had just taken a shower. He was in his hotel room.

“You’re up late, love.” Simon’s deep, concerned voice greeted them through the speakers.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Joseph said out in a little voice. Both adults could tell the boy was struggling to express himself, to get something out. Jo’s eyes darted back and forth from the phone screen, to Soap, to down in his lap, and his breaths picked up a bit, poor lad. Soap moved a hand around his shoulders and rubbed small, soothing circles. “It’s okay, Jo,” Johnny said to him, and with that Joseph seemed to find his words, his walls cracking down a bit after a few moments. “I miss you, Si,” Joseph said, hiding his face behind closed fists, eyes red and puffy with big tears spilling over.

“Aww, it’s okay Joseph. You were having a nice day earlier today, what changed?”

“I just got worried you won’t be coming home.”

“I’ll be home in a few days.” Simon’s voice was rough with emotion, evident even through the phone’s speakers. “But you have Johnny there with you now, right?”

“Yeah…” Jo replied, wiping a tear from his eye. Johnny’s heart broke again for the boy, and he held him a little tighter.

“Have you been having a nice time together?”

“Yes, Simon.”

“What did you guys do today?”

“We,” Joseph moved from his position tucked into Johnny’s side to look him in the eye. Johnny gave him a small smile, urging him to continue. The boy took in a few deep, shaky breaths, still seeming to fight with his emotions. Soap decides to begin for him.

“You remember when we went out to breakfast this morning?”

“Mm hmm,” Jo responded with a nod, squeezing idly his plushie. “I-I had,” he said, sniffing, clearing his nose, before speaking more clearly, “I had blueberry pancakes.”

"Was it good?"

That made Joseph smile slightly, through the tears."Of course, Si." He said, making his uncle chuckle, a rare sound.

“I remember you making a really funny joke too. Want to tell your uncle?” John interjected.

The boy, surprisingly, shook his head shyly, hiding his face a bit into Johnny’s shirt away from the camera, looking up at him with nervous eyes, whispering so only he could hear. “It wasn’t very good, i don’ know if he'll like it…”

“Aye it was, lad!” Soap opposed with a smile, “I think your uncle could get a real kick out of it.”

Joseph shyly turned back to Simon, who was sitting there patiently, eyes interested, prompting Joseph to speak freely.

“…What do pancakes say instead of goodbye?”

“What?”

“See you on the flip side!”

Simon’s eyes lit up, and he gave a hearty laugh which made Joseph positively beam in response. “That’s not bad, love.” He paused, seemingly thinking for a few moments.

“I got one too. Do you wanna hear?”

Joseph nodded, hiding his eager smile behind his toy still.

"What did the pancake say to the French cook?"

Joaeph’s eyebrows scrunched together, Soap idly being reminded of Simon’s expression when John sees the man unblocking a jammed weapon, or when he’s trying to understand a questionable order one of their new superiors has just tasked to them, or just thinking hard at a morning sudoku puzzle in his book he works on from time to time.

“What?”

“You crepe me out."

"Oh," Joseph said, before his face scrunched up with laughter.

“He’s right taking after you Simon.”

“You batter believe it, Johnny.”

“Oh,” Soap grimaced, flinching back in jest with a huge grin, “now that was just awful. I’m in pain!” Soap exclaimed out, clutching over his heart and leaning back as if he was in actual pain.

Joseph’s amused giggling became louder, interrupting the two of them as they continued their pun-off. Before Simon prompted Jo to speak more about their daily adventures, his mood brightening the longer he went on, until the tears were all gone. Not before long, the boy broke into a yawn which he seemed too tired at this point to even try to cover.

“How about you go lay back down, and Johnny’ll read you a story, Jo?” Simon proposed, voice ending on a slightly higher note indicating to Soap the question was also directed at him. John began to nod, before Joseph perked up and spoke happily, bouncing in his seated position to Soap’s left.

“Ohh! He read me one last night! It was one of the new books, Si. It was really good, it was about these kids who got sent to another dimension when out playing. And and and! There were these giant,” he motioned wildly with his hands, “yellow, furry beasts, who could talk! And they tricked these kids into playing a game with them without even telling them the rules, and then left them all alone.”

“Sounds like quite the story,” Simon's voice came out softly from the phone, clearly enjoying Joseph’s enthusiasm.

“Aye lad,” Soap cut in, laughing, looking down fondly at the boy. “we didn’t quite finish that one did we? How about I’ll make ye a warm cup of milk and honey, we can go back to bed, and read a few more chapters?”

“Sure!” The boy said, suppressing a big yawn. “Yay!”

“You sit tight here, I’ll get you that milk.” John got up from the couch then, heading to the kitchen. Joseph easily slid over into where Soap was sitting, cuddling up in the blanket that was next to him.

“Why is it light where you are, Si?” Joseph asked, a small voice interrupted by a yawn. “It’s dark out.”

“It’s because I’m in another timezone, love. It’s actually half past seven in the evening here.”

“Really?” Joseph glanced down for a few moments at his Zelda-themed, Majoras mask to be specific, wristwatch, to confirm.

“Woah.”

“Yeah,” Simon said back, with a laugh.

“And you're coming back Tuesday evening, right Si?”

“Affirmative,” he told the boy.

John came back with the milk a couple minutes later and handed the mug to the boy.

“Now, what do you say to Johnny, Joseph?”

“Thank you, Johnny.”

“You’re very welcome, lad.”

“Good night, Si,” Joseph said, reaching out towards the phone with his little hand, tears mostly dried on his cheeks and the red fading from his eyes. “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Good night Joseph, I’ll see you then. Good night Soap.”

“Bye, Simon.”

Some time later, after putting Joseph to sleep, John noticed an unread text message from Simon.

S: How is he?

J: Fast asleep.

S: You should be too.

J: Oy, yer not my mum! I can sleep when I want.
Which will also happen to be soon

S: Do you think he's upset with me for leaving.

J: It's normal for him to miss you, Simon.
Don't ye dare go beating yourself up over this ya dolt.
I see you typing! Stop. No arguing.
He'll be fine, he wasnt upset with you
There were no more tears. He fell asleep as I was reading to him. He's really into this new book I tell ya lol

S: That's good.
Let me know how he is tomorrow.

J: Aye, of course
Now go eat dinner
Or something
I'll talk to ye tomorrow Simon

S: Good night.

J: Night, Simon💤💤😪🛌
Love ya 💥💥👊💥

S: 🙄

Now, a few days later, Soap sat by himself on one quiet eve in front of the TV, waiting for Simon to get home.

He was due home hours ago, but his flight back to Europe was delayed so he missed his connecting flight. It was able to be scheduled soon enough, but it put a damper on their plans of the three of them spending the evening together. Instead, now it was nearly 2am, John having put a very dejected Joseph to sleep, who had been so excited to see his uncle again and pick him up from the airport, a couple hours earlier because it was too late for him to stay up on a school night.

Eventually though, John saw through the translucent blinds car headlights pull up out front, and a door slam shut. Soap gets off of the couch, leaving the game running to greet him eagerly.

“Hey Simon,” Soap said, leaning against the doorframe as Ghost’s large frame entered their threshold, duffle bag slung over his shoulder. The black bomber jacket he wore did nothing but help exaggerate his already bulky shoulders. He was even almost tall enough to have to duck when entering the doorway, but after a couple of years living in the small flat, he’d gotten used to moving through the narrow - for someone built like a brick house - entranceway.

Soap couldn’t help the giddy feeling he felt at his partner returning, unable to hide the excited grin plastering his face. They had gone much longer than a week without seeing each other before, so this was really nothing new, but it was special. It was always special when they were together. Every moment is worth cherishing.

“Johnny,” Simon greeted, formal as usual. When he looked up at Soap from beneath his dark baseball cap, his brown eyes were crinkled, tired as they appeared, evidence of a smile hidden behind his black face mask.

“How was your flight?”

“Mediocre,” Simon says after a few moments, earning a snort from Soap. He reaches up to take off his face mask with an exhausted sigh, revealing his scarred yet handsome face underneath, and hangs up his cap on a coat hanger by the door. “Nothin’ to complain about really, besides the delay.”

It still always made Johnny feel special when Simon so casually took his mask off at home. Even after they started up their relationship, shortly after Simon had left the army to raise his nephew, it took him nearly a year to become comfortable enough always removing the face covering at home in front of him, so he was honoured to have earned that trust.

Coming back to the present, Johnny nodded along to what he was saying, immediately lifting his arms to wrap around Simon’s back as the taller man stepped into his space, leaning down to meet his lips.

“Welcome back,” Soap whispered softly, cradling Simon’s cheek in his palm, kissing him again, and boy did he feel like the luckiest man in the world.

The two of them take their time separating, but eventually, John follows after Ghost as he walks into the living room to put his bag down, and plops down heavily on the couch, sinking into the cushions, releasing a heavy sigh. Johnny sees him eye Joseph’s door down the hallway as he sat down next to him, also leaning back into the cushions, before the man’s brown eyes flicker back to him. “How was Joseph?”

“He was great.” Soap gave him a proud smile, blue eyes brightening. “We went to see a movie, I treated him to dinner after, played some video games…. we were out at the football field playing earlier too. It wiped him right out,” he said with a laugh, “but he’s getting real good.”

Ghost smiled, “He really is. His dad loved it too at his age.”

“And so did you, aye?”

Ghost just gave a tired nod, Johnny could tell he was suppressing a yawn when he brought up his hand to cover his mouth.

“Jo wanted to stay up until you got back,” Soap continued, voice going more solemn, and his eyes drifted down the hall to the cracked open bedroom door adorned with taped-up children’s drawings of spaceships and race cars on the outside. “he really missed you, but the little guy fell asleep. Carried him to bed a couple hours ago.”

Simon nodded along, glancing down the hall to where Jo’s room was too, gaze lingering on it for a while. “Thank you, Johnny.”

“It’s my pleasure Simon, really. It’s great spending time with the little rascal.”

Simon smiled at him, a rare, honest smile. “He likes you a lot too.”

“Aye well, just wait until he sees you again. He talks about you all the time.”

Simon was quiet for a few long moments, long enough for Soap to look at him inquisitorially. “He asks about you too, when you’re not here. Wondering when you’ll come back.”

Soap let out a small laugh, looking away, cheeks going pink. “Aww…”

“It means a lot - that you spent the time with him.”

He felt oddly emotional, and grabbed his partner's hand, “Aye, of course, Simon.” He gave it a squeeze, “As I said, I love the little guy, he’s a great kid.” Simon eyed him then, seeming to pick something up out of the statement that Soap wasn’t sure about, but he continued anyway, “You’re doing a great job.”

“He’s a trooper, he is,” Simon said with a sigh, avoiding eye contact, not acknowledging the compliment as Johnny had gotten used to, but it would never stop him from saying it anyways.

Johnny’s eyes glanced up at the clock, which read nearly 2am. He had been ready to drift off, but now that Simon was back, a lot of his energy returned to him. Though he’s not sure whether Simon felt the same. “Are you gonna sleep?”

“Soon,” Simon spoke, lifting himself up off of the couch with a groan, stretching out his back as he did, stiff bones cracking. “was thinking of getting something to eat first… and wash up.” he turned and went in the direction of their bathroom.

“Want me to join you?” Johnny smirked, leaning over the side of the couch in the direction of Simon, earning a huff from the taller man.

“Tempting offer,” he joked back, looking back at him, frozen in place. Soap watched Simon's tired eyes with amusement as they flicked back and forth between him, and the door, seemingly considering his offer for a weighted moment.

Johnny flashed him a devilish smile before waving him off. “I’m only joking… for now, go wash up hun, I’ll make you dinner.”

“You’re making me feel special now Johnny, I’m blushing.”

“S’because you are special.”

“Oh shut up,” Simon murmures, albeit affectionately, before he enters their room, and closes the bathroom door behind him. Moments later, Soap hears the distant sound of shower water beginning to run.

Sighing with a content smile, he settled back down on the couch, facing forward, remembering his discarded game that was paused on the screen.

That’s right! He’d been in the middle of hunting down Zelda in Hyrule Castle…

Johnny was so engrossed in the game that sometime later he barely registered the sound of the shower turning off, and a couple minutes after that, the door cracking open, until he heard Simon’s voice ring out behind him, nearly making him jump.

“I’ve been gone barely a week, now he’s gotten you addicted to this thing?” Johnny leaned his head back on the couch, seeing from his view an upside-down Simon standing behind him, hands on his hips, damp hair clinging to his forehead, glaring down at Soap with as much attitude as he could muster.

It made Soap burst out laughing.

Ghost’s glare did not subside.

Johnny grins and gestures haphazardly at him through his laughs, flipping a quick look up to his partner. “Oh come on, it’s actually quite fun y’know?” he continued as he saw out of the corner of his eye Ghost begin to walk off down the hall of their flat, “I get why he’s raving about it all the time.”

He hears Ghost call out from the kitchen, “Well I’m glad you two have something new to bond over.”

Simon was quiet for a few moments. "But really, with your broken fingers?"

"See, I told you it was no' that bad, they're exaggerating sending me on three weeks leave. Not that I'm complaining though."

He heard Simon's snort laugh from behind him.

“Y’know love, I think you may like it if you give it a shot,” Johnny said.

“Maybe.” Ghost’s voice huffed out from the kitchen, sounding comically unconvinced.

The sounds of pots and pans clanging snap Johnny out of focus.

“Also, ah! Ya bam, out of the kitchen, you just got back, I said I’ll cook for ye.” Soap says as he pauses the game and hastily tosses the controller down, “Oh shit-“ he catches himself, covering his mouth with his hand, remembering the kid’s door was open and he was being loud. Soap tiptoed down the other hall to Joseph’s room, and after a quick peek inside to make sure he was sleeping, he quietly closed the door with a soft click before jogging back into the kitchen to face his partner.

“Away with ye, Simon!!” He sees Ghost by the sink making no effort to move away once he enters, so he moves closer and bumps him with his right hip, “Shoo, away with ya! Go and sit down, I'll cook you dinner.” Johnny makes dramatic shooing motions with his hands as Simon just stands there, watching him.

“You know it's 2am, right? Hardly dinner at this point…”

“Call it what you want but you’re not cooking. Go and sit down.”

“I’ve been sitting down for 15 hours-“

“Simon.”

Finally, with a shrug and dramatic eye roll, the taller man seems to surrender, “Yessir,” Simon gives a mock salute as he makes his way back to their living room, and Johnny shoots a beaming smile back at him, content with his, albeit, small win against the stubborn Simon.

“And go put yer stinkin’ dirty laundry away! I know ye left it on the floor!” he calls out as Simon retreats back down the hall.

“It’s my own bloody house,” Ghost grumbled more to himself than anything, but Soap was sure he’d listen.

“You know I love you right?” he called back.

Not expecting a real response, Soap just smiled to himself as he heard Simon grumble out some vaguely annoyed but affectionate sound, and got ahead to cooking.

A voice startles him sometime later.

“Johnny, what’s a korok seed?”

A gasp rings out from the kitchen, followed by rapid footsteps patting their way down the hall back into the living room. Johnny saw Simon sitting on the couch looking at the television screen, with his legs propped up on the table.

“Yer actually playing it!?” he sounded shocked.

Johnny can’t see his face from where he’s standing but he can just imagine Simon’s signature deadpan expression in response. But he doesn’t care. He boasts a proud laugh. “I knew ye’d like it!”

“I didn’t say I liked it,” Simon corrected, “I asked what the bloody hell a Korok seed is.”

Soap snorted, going to lean against the back of the sofa with his hands, before pausing with them mid air - they had grease on them from when he just took out the bacon from the package and began frying it up. He wiped them off on a rag tucked in his pocket, a trick he’d picked up from his mother, instead.

“I distinctly remember a lack of cursing in your original question, but to answer -" Johnny goes to explain before pausing in realization. “but wait, how the hell’d you find a Korok? Already? Those little buggers are so hard to come by…”

“I just ran over, and lifted up a rock.”

“Makes sense.” Johnny shrugged, “Lucky find. But yeah - their seeds you gotta trade-in with this fella called Hestu, and when you give them to him he gives you more inventory slots in exchange….”

“… I haven’t lost you yet, have I?”

“No, I'm listening,” Simon dutifully replies.

“Okay, well yeah. You collect ‘em, and trade ‘em in for more inventory slots. So you can carry more weapons, shields, bows..”

“You mean I can carry more than one weapon?”

“Well yeah! I have- I mean, Joseph has a bunch! Go into your inventory and have a look.”

Simon looks down blankly at the controller in his hands. It was already small, but Simon’s large hands did well to make it seem even tinier. “… how do I do that?”

“Here,” Johnny leans down over the back of the couch, head inches away from Simon’s own, resting one hand on his left shoulder and using his right to gesture down near his lap at the button on the controller he needed to press. “This one.”

Ghost flicks his eyes back up to the screen after he presses the button.

“Hmm.”

“Not impressed?”

“…I think you’re gonna need to collect a lot more of those seeds.” Simon seems to ponder in thought, using the joysticks to slowly pan through all the weapons in his inventory, taking stock, albeit with the jerky movements of someone unfamiliar with a controller.

Johnny watched Simon out of the corner of his eye, super amused like, his brows were pinched. And eyes slighting squinting, gaze so clinical.

“You barely have room for much of anything else here, Johnny.”

“Aye, I know. Koroks are hard to come by, I swear! But hey, yer weapons break, you're always finding new ones-“

”Why do they break?”

“Well, I dunno.” Soap shrugged, “It’s just a game mechanic to keep you using new and different types of weapons-“

“How do you find some that don't break? I want those, not these shite ones.”

“Planning on playing it yourself, Simon?”

“No.”

Johnny laughed at the speed and tone of his response, “Well uhh, ‘m not sure if there are any. I haven’t beaten the game yet, so I’m not sure.”

Simon just shook his head.

“You are oddly passionate about this game Johnny.”

“Hey,” he laughed, “you’re the one asking me all the questions. But really, it’s a lot more fun than I ever expected. ‘Fraid I got invested. It’s yer fault for getting the Switch for Joseph.”

“That’s for sure.”

Simon fumbled the buttons on the controller before he managed to exit the menu screen. Soap watched him patiently, distantly aware of the food he was cooking that was sizzling and boiling away in the background.

“You enjoy your game, love. Food will be done soon.”

Simon just grunted in response, seemingly too tired to form any more words, as Johnny made his way back into the kitchen.

Soap's mind got lost in its many thoughts as he worked away at dinner. He didn't want to make anything too complicated, it was past 2 in the bloody morning for Christ's sake, but he wanted to do something at least a little special for Simon's return. He settled on one of their favourite pasta dishes, one that even Joseph liked too, so maybe he'd have to make leftovers…

What would they do tomorrow? They didn't really have any plans yet. Maybe he and Simon could take the day off, just laze about around the house together. Or take a walk somewhere. He doubted Simon would really wanna go out somewhere and be social on a normal day, let alone one where he's likely jetlagged.

They would play it by ear. They have to get Joseph up for school in a few hours anyhow. Maybe they could see what Joseph also wanted to get up to, and plan something for the three of them.

Lots of options, honestly, that they didn't have to decide on now. But Simon was back together with him and that's what made his heart soar.

After a short while, John had finished up dinner, leaving it in a pot on the stove on low heat, and reached up into the cupboards to pull them down some bowls. "Foods done, Simon-" He called out before being interrupted.

“I despise these creatures, Johnny. Useless bloody fuckers. All of them.”

John shook his head, eyes wide, startled, and jogged down the little hallway from the kitchen back towards the living room. “What the hell are you talking abo…” Soap said, forgetting what Simon could even be remotely talking about, before looking up at the TV screen in utter disbelief,

…before he doubled over laughing so hard.

Ghost just grumbled in response, sounding irritated. “I’ve been chasing these fucking sparkles in the ground for 10 minutes, and you're laughing at me Johnny."

John could barely see from the tears in his eyes. “You know those puzzles aren’t supposed to take you that long right?” He barely got out, as he watched as Simon sporadically ran in circles trying to catch up with the little bundle of sparkles that Johnny knew would be a korok. He fell to his knees, unable to hold himself up from the laughter.

“His stupid laugh is starting to get to me, Johnny.”

“I can see that!" He took a few months to correct himself, and stand up a bit, leaning over the back of the couch and reaching over Simon.

“Gimme the controller for kripes sake,” Soap said. And Simon handed it over angrily, slapping it down into Soap’s hands behind him.

“Good bloody luck,” he muttered.

Within seconds, Soap caught up with the little Korok.

"Finally, fucking hell…"

John snorted at him. “Who’s the one getting invested now!?”

“You know what, that's enough for tonight,” Simon just got up, knees cracking, and walked away.

“Oh come on!” John said through laughs, "That's all it took to make you give up?"

"That thing is the antithesis of my being, Soap." He said as he walked into the kitchen, John prying himself up from the floor, following not far behind.

"You're so dramatic," Johnny said.

"Am not," Simon argued back.

"Yes, ye are."

“Am not!”

“Love, I think you’re proving my point now-”

Simon just rolled his eyes, but stopped dead in his tracks, eyes drifting over the counter before stopping on the meal Soap had prepared in the kitchen. Spaghetti carbonara.

“You’ve really outdone yourself, MacTavish.” he actually sounded impressed.

“Yeah, well,” John slipped him an arm around the waist, giving him a quick kiss, “You’re worth it.”

Fatigue hit them as soon as they took their dinner bowls back into the living room. Ghost sat down first, blocking Johnny's path with his long legs, making the younger man step over them with a laugh.

"Oi, scooch over ye hog," Johnny murmured, nudging Simon's leg to get him to make more room next to him so he could comfortably sit down.

They sat pressed against each other knee to knee, both of them missing contact with the other, eating their food in silence, or in whatever quiet idle sounds that came from the Tears of the Kingdom pause screen. Both of them were too tired to care to reach for the remote to change the channel.

"So, how would ya rate my cooking, Ghost?"

"Now you're just fishing for compliments. You know I like your cooking." Simon said as if it was the most matter-of-fact, and simple thing as he continued to eat. Johnny just smiled into his bowl, leaning closer into Simon, them now sitting shoulder to shoulder.

A small creak of a door though interrupted their clanking of cutlery against ceramics… Ghost idly looked up, and down the hall to his nephew's room. Soap followed his gaze as well, smiling tiredly.

“Simon?” A little voice called out.

“Hey Jo,” Ghost perks up, sitting up, putting his empty bowl to his side on the couch.

Joseph ran down the hall towards him, still cradling the little plane plushie in his grasp as he had on their FaceTime call.

“You’re back,” Joseph’s eyes were tearing up, and he was standing in between Simon’s knees, free hand braced on his uncle’s shoulder as if he didn’t believe he was real.

“Aye, I'm back,” Simon said to him quietly, "I just didn’t want to wake you up. You were deep asleep.”

“I missed you, Simon,” Joseph’s eyes welling up with tears, before he cast his gaze away and down at the floor, stopping his hand but leaning more into Simon. Who's eyes go ever soft as he looks at Joseph’s cracking expression. Simon then lifts his arms, bringing his scarred hands up to cradle Joseph’s cheeks, thumb idly brushing away a stray tear.

And now John swiftly witnessed Simon, although more than capable of brute strength and violence, whose hands were fine-tuned for killing on the battlefield, was also equally as capable of being soft, delicate, and patient with the now five year old boy entrusted to him.

It's a part of what made John fall in love with him even more, that he knew.

“It’s okay Jo, I missed you too. But I'm here.” Simon said, pulling the boy close for a big embrace, lifting Joseph up into his lap, and Johnny reached over to move Simon’s empty bowl away from his lap before it could be knocked over.

“I know,” the little boy replied back, voice sounding teary and small. “It’s nice to have you back, Uncle Simon.” his voice was muffled by the fabric of Simon's hoodie.

Johnny just sat back and watched, heart warm and happy for their little two-person family being reunited. The love they shared for each other was so clear, and he just had to shake his head remembering back to Simon venting his insecurities on taking on the boy, raising him right, on if he could do a good job, honour his brother’s legacy…

They would be fine.

Johnny was so sure of it.

But hearing his name broke him from his thoughts, and he gazed up at Simon

“Johnny was telling me you two had a nice time this week, huh?”

“We did,” Joseph said, sitting back in Simon’s lap, wiping an idle tear. “We did lots of fun stuff.”

Johnny wanted to speak up to sing the boys’ praise but didn’t want to interrupt their little moment unless invited into it. This was Joseph’s moment.

“I’m glad,” Simon said. “He was telling me you’re getting real good at football?”

“Yeah,” he said shyly. The boy was not one for boasting. “We went to the schoolyard and practiced. He was goalie, he let me score on him a few times, but I’m still learning.”

Soap waited for the boy to finish, careful not to interrupt him before he spoke. “Nae lad, those goals were all you. Reckon you could be a professional player one day!”

“No way,” Joseph said with a smile, hiding his head in his uncle's hoodie but smiling at Johnny’s praise.

“You can do anything, Joseph.” he leaned over to ruffle the boy's blonde curls,

and he meant every word.

The three of them continued to chatter away for a short while, before Joseph started to nod off.

"Alright, I think it's time for you to go to sleep,"

"But I'm no' tired," Joseph slurred, suppressing a yawn.

Simon chuckled, gathering the boy into his arms as he stood up. "Yeah, sure you're not." He let Jo's head on his shoulder, and turned the opposite way to gaze at Johnny briefly. "Just gonna put him to sleep then I'll come join you in bed," he whispered, and Soap nodded, gathering up their empty bowls where he sat.

"Say goodnight, Joseph."

“Goodnight Soap,” Joseph said from over Simon's, the nickname 'Soap' just sounding so cute coming from his lips.

“Sleep well Joseph." Soap said with a smile, "I’ll see you in the morning.”

"...Can't I sleep with you tonight?" Jo asked as Simon tucked him in under his fluffy blankets.

"No Joseph, you're old enough to sleep on your own now." Simon knew Jo missed him, and felt guilty about it, but he wanted to keep it consistent that Jo was sleeping on his own.

He tried proposing an alternate solution, though, to try to please the boy. "I know it's very late for you, but how about if I continue reading your story?"

"Yes please!!" He perked up with a smile before his expression changed, "But, I don't want Johnny to miss it! Can…" Joseph trailed off, suddenly becoming shy. Simon quirked his head, waiting for the boy to continue, before he caught onto his nephew's meaning.

Simon glanced at the door, and then back at him.

"Do you want Johnny to come in here too and read it to you?"

Joseph vigorously nodded, making Simon give a big smile, and ruffled his hair. "Sit tight, I'll go get him."

“Johnny," Simon called out, tone softer than he usually was in the dim, lamplit apartment. He could hear the clanking of dishes in the sink as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Yeah?" John called back.

Simon paused in the entranceway then, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. "He was asking if you… wanted to finish reading the story to him? He didn't want you to miss out."

“Oh," John was turned away from him at first, hands elbow deep in dishwater, but he spun around with a surprised and soft expression, hands still wet, sleeves rolled up, "Well - of course! Just gimme a minute-!" Simon watched as searched around, reaching for a dry rag to dry off his hand, before he joined him in walking back to Joseph's room.

And so Soap took up his usual spot, sitting on the side of Joseph’s bed, and Simon took one of the child-sized chairs from Jo's little desk, looking like a giant sitting in it, and pulled it up next to John. And all three of them sat there together, engrossed in the story until Jo's eyelids started to flutter shut, and he fell asleep.

“Y’know, I was secretly hoping you’d say yes to watching Joseph all along."

They had retreated back to Simon's room after Joseph had fallen asleep. Both of them now tucked under the blankets in bed huddled close to each other, enjoying the proximity.

“Bullshit," Soap laughed, "you were much too scared shitless t' ask me.”

“Yeah…” Simon relented, and Johnny actually laughed that Simon gave up so easily, and didn't argue with him further. “You did good, Soap.”

Johnny knew Simon was often still averse to a proper thank you, but this was as good a thank you as Simon could give. So he just smiled back.

He couldn't help but feel like this was an advancement in their relationship. To be entrusted to watch his boyfriend's kid while he was away.

Johnny knew some details of the rough upbringing Simon experienced at the hands of his father. It made him quite… cautious in who he'd want to be let around his nephew. Not only out of wariness of how they may treat him, but also the separation anxiety.

And John loved Simon so much. Jo too, and even though he was by no means considering himself a parent to the child, maybe he could be like… a fun uncle? Or well, I guess he technically was, wasn't he, if he was dating Simon.

The realization kind of made his eyes go wide. They'd only been really dating a little over a year. And really not even seen each other in person for the majority of it as Simon was no longer in the army while John was. 

The time has flown by, yet also feels like it's been forever. 

But, he and Simon had many shared traumatic, for lack of a better word, experiences together very early on that probably most couples would never experience in a whole lifetime.

The entirety of the Hassan missiles ordeal, Las Almas, then Simon losing his family just a couple of months later and having to adopt his nephew.

They'd already been and made it through the extremes together. The trust foundations were already there. But navigating a romantic relationship was new to them so they'd been taking it slow and comfortable. But now, it was hard for John to imagine a life before Simon, and Jo, too.

"It was my pleasure," John said earnestly, pulling in closer to Simon's shoulder, lacing his fingers with Simon's where his hand lay idle on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" he asked.

John felt Simon sigh deeply, giving a squeeze in his palm, explaining in his gruff voice. "Get up, take Jo to school. Come back. Do fuck all." He smirked at Johnny after saying that, before settling back into the soft pillows before continuing. "Was thinking we could maybe surprise Jo after school, drive him out to get ice cream or something. I don't know. We can figure it out."

"Sounds like a plan. Are you tired?"

"Exhausted."

"How many hours have you been awake?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Then sleep."

"I'm trying."

"Sooo hard."

"You're the one talking and keeping me awake now."

"Aye, but ye love my voice."

"If you call nails on a chalkboard a voice. Your laugh is as bad as one of those bloody Koroks." Johnny gasped. But before he could form another cheeky reply, Simon abruptly asked, "What did you want to do tomorrow?"

Johnny really didn't even need to pause to think about his answer, going along smoothly with the topic change. "I'm fine with whatever ye want to do."

"You only have a few days left, though. I, uh, want you to enjoy it."

Pain tugged at both their hearts acknowledging how much time they had left before Johnny's leave was over, but they weren't gonna beat around the bush. It was something they had to be okay with, accepting that more often than not, at least for now, they would be apart. And that's okay.

"I enjoy the time spent with you Simon, and Jo too. I just wanna be with you two."

"Softie."

"Shut up."

"We could play more of your game."

"I thought you hated it?"

“Yeah well, you’re worth it."

"Pfft. Now look who's being a softie."

"Go to sleep, MacTavish."

"Gladly, Mr. Riley."

Eventually, the two of them dozed off, hand in hand. And when eventually, Joseph quietly snuck his way into their bedroom that early morning, Simon wordlessly lifted the covers and pulled him in tight.