Ghoap x Reader single mom reader, hoping to have part two out before Christmas.
As per usual, just an idea, and writers can take it and run with it. Just let me know where to read your work.
Master list
So maybe looking on Craigslist for a wife was not his most logical decision. Maybe meeting a complete stranger from the internet was not the best idea. Maybe he should have asked for her picture. Maybe he should have told someone where he was going.
But Simon Riley was desperate and running out of time.
"Are you Simon?" He looks up at you, eyes wide, clearly nervous, even with half his face covered by the surgical mask, then nods.
You sit across from him, the little mom and pop dinner seat squeaks. He is stunned because you look nothing like he imagined.
"Do you have some form of proof of your situation?" You cut right to the point. Simon pulls out his military ID, shows his dog tags, and then shows some pictures of Riley.
Then you smile at the pictures. "Oh, he is adorable. Can not believe you gave him the same name as your last name." Within seconds, he is gushing about his good boy.
Once the conversation lulls, you get serious again. "I have a big yard. It is fenced in. You will have to buy the kennel and whatnot. I will take him to vet appointments and text you daily pictures. In exchange, I want health insurance and you to pretend to love me in front of my kid. I also have a prenup to make sure we do not fight over custody of Riley should we divorce."
He finds himself nodding along. He was not even prepared for that risk, but you had. How much had you thought about this?
"How good is your acting, by the way?"
Turns out Simon is a decent, if quiet, actor. Gentle touches here and there, temple kisses, general family time. He was not perfect, but it was enough to get your kiddo believing in love again. Which was all you wanted.
Certainly helps that Kiddo took to both Riley and Simon like one takes to oxygen. Kiddo gushing all about their precious fur baby being retired military.
Simon was a bit confused about why neither of you reacted to his mask or even asked about it but honestly, he was a little scared to ask and then bring attention to it. He was thankful you adopted Riley off the bat, signing a notarized paper giving him visitation with him to buy some time for the wedding.
You had said, "I have to make sure you are a safe person to be around my kid. I may be desperate, but I am not stupid or reckless," while holding up what was clearly a tracker at the end of your first meeting. You are prepared in all the ways Simon is not. Still, it started small, being seen together. Meeting up after you get off work, just so kiddo and the babysitter see him drop you off. Then the dates were you "could not find a babysitter" so the kiddo had to come. Within a few months there was a small ceremony, and he was moving in- right into your shared bedroom.
He realized he might not have thought far enough ahead, but the moment Riley crawls into the bed, he is out cold, waking up to you bringing him homemade breakfast in bed and talking about how exhausted he must have been. Any time he is not working, he is home, Riley by his side, and the kiddo firmly believes in love and all is good in your perfect little worlds, even if they rarely cross.
You expected the bare minimum from Simon. Seemingly, he has set his goal to break every expectation you set. You were pleasantly surprised at him playing with the kiddo and genuinely being interested in your baby's life and achievements. Simon hung the awards and pictures on the fridge as much as you did. You did not expect him to do anything around the house, but one night after the kiddo went to bed, you fell asleep in your chair before doing the dishes and laundry that desperately needed to be done. You woke up to Simon gently trying to tell you to head to bed. Prompt mom panic, only to find the laundry done and folded. You never asked, but he always did something to make your life a little easier while home. Even more, he never asked for anything out of you.
The first argument floored you. He wanted to split the bills, stating he lived there, too. You countered that he was only there when he was not deployed. He was having none of that. Eventually, you compromised to have him pay the less expensive bills. Then Christmas rolled around, and of course, this man decided to spend all the money he saved on bills on you and the kid.
You are not sure what you expected to happen if your kid called him Dad, but it certainly was not this.
He and the kiddo were playing with Riley when you heard it, "Dad, watch this!" It was a slip of the tongue. Kiddo did not even realize he said it. Simon tensed up the same as your exs before they started yelling. Simon, though precious Simon never raised his voice to either of you, and that did not change that day. He had quietly excused himself. Thankfully, it was time for the kiddo to go to bed anyway, and so you found Simon on the back porch smoking tears running down his face and an unopened bottle of whiskey beside him.
"Hey," you sit beside him, quiet, waiting, unsure.
He speaks barely above a whisper, "I do not want to be like my father."
He did not have to say more; you understood. Leaning back to look at the stars, you start talking, "My parents do not love each other. Not sure they ever did. They were good parents, but it still left a lasting impression. I believed in love. I kept trying, and yeah, there were lots of foul people who just used that naivety against me. I thought I had found the one when I got pregnant. Guess what, he is not here. You are. You may not love me romantically, but you saved my kid from facing the cruel reality I had to. I do not believe I ever will find love, but I believe there has to be someone out there for my angel. Because of you, they will not fight against that chance. You have been more of a father to them than anyone else. I will not pretend to understand what happened to you, but even if we were to divorce, I would encourage you to see the kiddo. You clearly care for them like a father." With that, you take the whiskey bottle and head inside while Riley joins him on the porch.
Soap can't get a plane home for the holidays, but Ghost gets two tickets home and a plane ticket from his home airport to Soap's home the day after Christmas. Ghost planted the tickets in Soap's hand, and that was that.
Until Soap saw the house Ghost supposedly lived in. There were little snowmen lining the porch, clearly made by a child. Then there are lights strung up. Soap remembers Simon's old flat. He did not even have pictures on the wall. Soap follows the love of his life into the house, heart slowing every step of the way. He watches Simon shrug off his coat and hang it on a hook with his name above it, then gesture to a guest hook for soap. The boots were nicely lined up, and he slipped on a pair of house shoes like he had done it a thousand times.
Then he followed Ghost into the kitchen, where a Lady was cooking. He felt his heart shatter as Ghost placed a hand on her waist and leaned down, kissing her temple. "Where is Kiddo?" The lady chuckled and turned to look up at Simon. "At ease, soldier. Your mini me is with his paternal grandmother's till Christmas morning." Then she turned to Soap, seemingly startled at his presence. She was beautiful, seemingly glowing with the joy of a woman seeing her husband after a long work trip. Soap felt sick, but he would not dare let it show.
Simon explained that Soap could not get a plane home, and the only available flight would be the day after Christmas. You nodded along and welcomed Soap into the guest bedroom, telling Simon to make sure Soap knew the house rules.
Soap knows he has no right to be this upset, even as he silently cries in the guest bedroom with you and Simon sleeping on the other side of the wall. It was not like he ever told Ghost his feelings. Even still, he thought Simon would have told him that he was getting married. Then again, it was a huge show of faith for Simon to bring Soap into his home. Into a place with his wife and child. Soap found some comfort in that.
Reality is, Simon is just embarrassed by how this all occurred and never told Soap because he was sure he would make fun of him. He also thinks that Soap believing that he is really with you will convince the kid more.
Simon and Soap woke up to the sound of glass breaking at 4:30 in the morning, followed by a string of interesting insults at inanimate objects.
When they entered the living room, they found you covered in snow. Physically holding Riley like a child. The Christmas tree on the ground and almost all the ornaments broke. That in and of itself was shocking, but then a bat flew at Soap, and a kitten jumped from the bookshelf after the bat. You did not have a cat.
Simon took Riley so he would not get any glass in his paws, while Soap caught the kitten in a laundry basket. You called a vet friend of yours to come get the bat.
"Who would have thought my morning walk with Riley would result in this chaos? Simon, do you think you can fix the tree? It's bent at a weird angle?" Simon could not fix the tree, and both of them expected you to flip out about Christmas being ruined, but you sighed and walked over to the elf on the shelf, placed the elf on the laundry basket containing the kitten, and took a picture with the wreckage in the background. Simon still crouched over the tree, and Soap looked stressed with his arms crossed. "Cat distribution system at its finest. I'll tell the kiddo that the elf brought one of his presents early. You two mind helping me fix this mess?"
The three of you go through the wreckage, seeing what ornaments are salvageable, which are not many. "Can you two get the boxes from the guest room closet while I fix breakfast?" After a wonderful homemade breakfast, you send the boys out with instructions to get the biggest, deadest limb. When they come back, they find you playing Addams Family and pulling out Halloween decorations. "Thankfully, Kiddo has taken a lot of influence from Simon's masks. He'll be delighted"
Soap has been in your home for a few days now, and while the homemade food is amazing, he is noticing some things. Aside from the first day, he has not seen Simon kiss you. He figures this might just be how Simon is. Simply preferring affection in private. Simon is more touchy with you than anyone else. Lots of small touches, a hand on the shoulder here, a brush of a hand there. Things that Soap spent years trying to earn. Soap would be worried about the lack of affection, but you seem perfectly content and happy. The two of you move together through the house like a well-oiled machine. There will be hours without talking, and somehow, the two of you know exactly what the other is doing. You seem to handle curveballs and surprises really well. Which fits given their careers.
Then there are other things. You do not seem to mind drinking, but every so often, you quietly take Simon's drink. He never says anything when you do it, and you never stop Soap from drinking once or twice, even drinking with Soap while Simon drinks some water. Soap expected you to be reserved like Simon, and that seemed to be the case outside of the house. However, you are very outgoing and love to be silly at the house. Simon has some trouble keeping up with it, but Soap is more than happy to randomly be pulled into dancing or a good snowball fight.
He worries, though, because the longer he stays in the house, the more his heart cracks seeing the quiet moments between the love of his life and you. Another thing, Soap is getting really close to you, and he cannot tell how Simon is taking it. Even scarier, He is feeling things for you that he has until now only associated with his Ghost.
Even still, as you collapse onto the couch exhausted from the tree fiasco, you lean into Soap, showing him an edit of the kitten, asking what he thinks and for tips, Soap feels a familiar thump thump.
If Simon knew one thing about you, it was how little faith you have in people. Unlike him, you would put up a polite act. He had gladly taken on the role of scary parent at the parent-teacher meetings after he heard about some of the disrespect you had to deal with as a single mom. That being said, Simon was astonished that you had clicked with Soap so quickly. So he asked about it.
"Simon, you brought Soap here. Johnny is not the normal type of person I would hang out with, but he passed your walls, and I trust you more than I have ever trusted another living being." Thump Thump.
Simon watches you, and Soap dances about the gothic-themed Christmas decorations, holding the kitten in the Simba pose, Riley in his lap. Thump thump.
The kiddo was home, and he immediately wanted to play outside with Riley and the boys. It had been interesting having them in the house. It was nice having multiple people to cook for. You stood on the porch sipping hot cocoa while your boys played in the snow. This was the happiest you had been during the holidays in years. The incident with the Christmas tree was a shock. Before you met Simon, you might have just given up and cried, but with Simon there, it did not feel like the world was purely on your shoulders. He would have done anything in that moment to make it better, and you knew that. It was a surprise that Soap was so ready to jump in and help.
Soap from start to finish was a surprise. Everything from the fact that Simon brought him home to the fact that the man was so full of energy. Opposites attract, you suppose. Soap allowed you to let loose in a way Simon needed help letting loose. It was nice having someone else in the house that you could be silly with.
They were playing fetch with Riley when Soap took a tumble and somehow yeeted a snowball at kiddo in the process, leading to kiddo screaming "Dad!" and pointing at Soap like he was commanding a guard dog to attack. Simon and Soap are launching into a full-blown snowball fight, with the dog and kiddo being referees. Then you realize you are calling them your boys. You catch yourself with a familiar thump thump echoing through your chest like a forgotten melody. The mug falls from your grasp in shock. thankfully, it lands in the snow, allowing you a chance to escape to the kitchen.
This cannot be happening. You cannot be in love. No, you care too much about Simon. You cannot lose him. You cannot be in love with him or his best friend. Everyone you have ever loved like that has left. Simon is good for the kiddo. This cannot be happening. You feel the wood of the cabinet against your back and the cold of the tiles before you register that your knees gave out. Everything gets blurry, and your breathing gets rougher as you sob, overwhelmed with life, with feelings, with regret.
Soap is the one who spots you over the counter, but he quickly detours the kid to the living room, making sure they do not see you, and gives some sort of signal to Simon that something is wrong in the kitchen. In that moment, you cannot be more thankful for Soap. For the man to know how much it would hurt you if you made Christmas negative in any way for the kiddo. You feel awful for making them worry on such a good day. Simon, in all his emotional constipation, knows when someone is not up to talking about it. He sits with you on the floor for a few minutes before getting a wet cloth and helping you dry up the tears. Then he makes another cup of cocoa before guiding you to the couch with Riley and a gentle kiss on the temple as he settles you down. It makes your stomach drop. It is an act you remind yourself but it only strengthens the ache.
Then, after dinner, you begin opening gifts. Simon, per usual, spoiled you and kiddo. It was crazy how Simon would remember the tiniest details and pick out gifts for you two. Simon is not the biggest on Christmas, though he was more than willing to do it for Kiddo. So you always gave one gift from you and kiddo, and quietly added the other thing you got him to his side of the room. Soap, however, was ill-prepared for the number of gifts you had gotten him last minute. Several sketch supplies brands you saw him using, new boots, and various other little things you thought he would like, since you did not want him feeling left out in your home.
Then your little demon looked up and over at soap. You felt a chill run down your spine before it even started.
"Last time mom brought someone into the house, he became my dad. So you must be special. You are like Dad, but I already have a dad. So you are Papa!"
I feel like the version of me that writes my part ones is completely different than the version of me that writes the following parts. Still fun though.
