Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Call of Duty (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Simon "Ghost" Riley/Gary "Roach" Sanderson Characters: John "Soap" MacTavish, Various Character(s) Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Pre-Slash, don't get freaked out by that tag, technically it's pre-relationship, but this baby is full of yearning, basically they're in love but they just don't kiss yet, and also kind of hate each other at first, but it's fun, Prequel Summary:
Simon 'Ghost' Riley has been working on his own for the last two years. He works best this way. No one to get in his way, no one to worry about but himself, no one around to remind him that his humanity is slipping. But when Captain MacTavish - a man that Lieutenant Riley would call a brother - asks for a favor, Ghost answers the call. It was only supposed to be for one mission, but Ghost finds himself inexplicably drawn to the task force MacTavish had, at one point, wanted Ghost to build with him, and to the blond sergeant that MacTavish has chosen to mentor.
Gary 'Roach' Sanderson is everything Ghost would tell a soldier not to be. He worries about others more than he does himself. He makes himself vulnerable. Too empathetic. He's inexperienced. Unspoiled by the torments of war. Ghost thinks these traits make for a terrible soldier. Sanderson will either break or die.
Ghost doesn't need to stick around to watch that happen. And yet... he accepts the leadership position MacTavish offers him. He is now Lieutenant Simon Riley of Task Force 141. He works alongside his best friend and that pesky sergeant that Ghost can't stop thinking about.
