"Look sharp," Soap mutters. "Cap'n's in a foul mood."
Gaz grunts into his coffee. "What is it now?"
"Havenae heard? Medical finally cornered Ghost. Grounded 'im. Been an isolated A for too long."
"That's not surprising," Kyle mutters. And it isn't. Alphas need a pack, arguably more than omegas and betas, and going out on recon alone, again and again, is bound to take a toll on anyone. "He'll do his mandated B time and be back to it in what? Two weeks? We'll make do."
That makes Kyle freeze in place. "What?"
"The beautiful bastard's gone O," Soap relays, gleefully. "Gonna be grounded at least six weeks. Eight if he goes back to A."
Kyle's whole body flushes hot, then cold, then hot again. He refuses to look at his friend, sure his scent is doing something supremely embarrassing, but it's not like he expected to need scent blockers today. Today. A random fucking Wednesday morning, when he finds out that the bloke he's been pining for has gone O for the first time since Kyle's known him.
He hasn't even smelled Simon, yet, and Kyle's mouth starts watering. His mind races through options for courting gifts, the catalogue of weapons and foodstuffs and textures that he's noted to be Ghost's preferences over the years. Would he want softer things, now? He'll need pillows and things to pad over guns and knives and ammo, if his nest is going to be comfortable. Would he let Kyle help him guard it?
Would he let Kyle into the nest?
Soap says something that Kyle doesn't hear, something that sounds a little frantic. Whatever his scent does, Kyle loses track of it as he catches the unmistakable combination of gunpowder, sweat, and oakmoss that is Simon. And under it, just on the edges, there's something spicy.
When he tips his head up and back, Ghost is there, staring down at him.
The lieutenant cocks his head to the side, and it's easy to see his crows feet as he smiles behind his mask. "Gaz."
Simon holds out a clenched fist, and Kyle holds his hand under it. His throat clicks when a key is dropped into his palm, and he has to actively resist the urge to put it in his mouth.
"You have a week to convince me to give you the address, Sergeant."