i have too many opinions on simon ghost riley

dual workout

Ghost never asked Johnny to marry him. Some broken piece in the back of his mind would little him utter those four simple words, and it ate Simon up inside.

He hadn't really thought about it, never considered there might be someone he'd want to spend his life with, much less someone who wanted to waste their life with him. Hell, he didn't even think he'd have a life, thought he'd die face down in battlefield somewhere and be left to rot.

But then there was Johnny.

Suddenly, a lifelong companion didn't seem so crazy anymore. Sure, Ghost would still inevitably end up a bloated corpse in some shithole of a country on a mission that technically never happened, but until then he'd always have his Johnny.

And then Soap got shot.

Out of all Simon's nightmares, it was the vision of Johnny's brain matter splattered across the concrete floor of that stupid fucking tunnel that was etched into the inside of his eyelids whenever he dared try to sleep. He remembered praying to a god he'd never believed in that the bomb would go off, if only so that he could join his sergeant in whatever place that bloody bullet had sent him. He remembered the ache in his ass as he sat, a silent sentinel next to the shell of his lover laid up in a hospital bed with endless beeping machines keeping him alive.

But the worst part of it all was when those perfect, brilliant blue eyes finally cracked open again, and Simon still couldn't say it. Even as he watched day by day as his Johnny relearned how to speak, how to write with perpetually shaking hands, watched him stumble and struggle to walk when his legs just wouldn't listen anymore, he still couldn't ask that simple fucking question.

Months went by, and slowly but surely Soap started to gain back just a sliver of his former capabilities. It had been long clear by then that John MacTavish would never walk without a cane again, much less fight for the British crown. Guiltily, Simon was glad for it, glad he'd be safe now.

When the hospital was finally ready to send Soap back out to the real world, or more accurately, kick his crippled ass to the curb to figure out civilian society after over a decade of military service while dealing with the effects of severe brain injury, Simon finally managed to get his shit together. He was in his usual spot in Johnny's hospital room, not that he ever left, with his laptop on the foot of the bed. His eyes were locked on the screen, glaring at it like it pissed on his mother's grave as he scrolled through various websites.

"What're ya lookin' at then?" Soap asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over the past hour or so. The laptop was angled just so, so that he couldn't get a clear look at the screen from where he sat with his journal in his lap.

"Houses," Ghost grunted, as expository as always. His eyes narrowed as he clicked on something, studying the page closely before scoffing and presumably clicking away again.

"Ok... why?" Johnny's brow furrowed, lips twisting into a confused pout that momentarily distracted Simon from his all-important task.

Silence fell over the small room again as Soap waited for an answer. Simon swallowed, his throat clicking as he gathered his nerve. "Gonna need somewhere to live," he answered, voice low. Soap's brow just furrowed deeper, making Simon sigh inwardly. He was gonna have to say it, wasn't he? "Just thought we outta find a place before they kick you out 's all."

His explanation, if you could call it that, cleared up absolutely nothing. "Si, what're you on about?" Soap questioned further. He never even went to his apartment in Manchester even when he was on leave, why would Ghost need to buy a house? It had been a miracle Simon had stuck around this long, but surely his leave would be up soon.

"Well we've both got plenty set aside and our pensions should be plenty to live off it that ever runs out," Simon shrugged, yet to take his eyes off the screen in front of him.

"Wait. Wait wait wait," Johnny held up a hand. "Both of 's? Simon yer no' sayin'..." Ghost swallowed hard again, feeling the pink starting to dust his cheeks under the medical mask. He was a grown man, a highly trained and deadly soldier, and he was not blushing.

"Paperworks already been processed, Johnny," Simon said, hoping he sounded more sure of himself than he felt.

"Simon. Are you sayin' you wanna live together? Retire together?" Johnny asked, voice gentler than before.

Simon's face was on fire, his blush burning his ears and kicking down to his chest as he nodded ever so slightly. He finally peeled his eyes off the screen that hadn't changed over the past five minutes to sheepishly meet his former sergeant's gaze. "Was hopin' for more than that, but yeah," he nodded more firmly this time even as his nerves flared.

"More?" Damn him, why couldn't he just ask- "You askin' to marry me, Si?" The spiral in Ghost's mind screeched to a halt as any and all higher brain function abandoned him. Amber eyes revealed nothing as they blinked blankly into baby blues.

it's set shortly after MWIII, and after that Riley died too (loose ends) lol

they hate each other bcz they can see their own reflections, but they are both themselves and others so cannot hate entirely one another. himself's the only one who truly understands him right

no guarantee that 22 share the exact same comic setup, but i figured there would be some common ground between them as characters named Ghost

i like the idea that simon would need some form of organized play to get comfortable with sexual intimacy again… relying on the structure of each scene and unlearning bad habits under nikolai’s guidance.. perhaps a part of him finds comfort in being in a mask while also getting to drop the “ghost” facade and not think for a while.

i think simon would fall into some form of codependency in the beginning with it being so out of his depth, but nikolai whips him into shape through being just as stubborn as simon is. ensures that simon knows they are on equal footing and that he can voice his opinion at any time, stop a scene at any time, or just outright decline a session for no reason at all. though don’t get him wrong, nik still very much enjoys having such a strong man drop to his knees with as little as a glance when he forgets his place..