#ghost 09

MacTavish went eerily still, fingers hovering over the keyboard as he very slowly lifted his head to look at him. He knew that tone. “Riley,” he warned. “C'mon, only gonna take a second, I swear. You need a break anyway.” MacTavish looked back at the screen, at the words blurring before his eyes, and sighed. At the very least he would get out of this swamp of an office.

“Fine,” he relented, getting up and walking around his desk. He didn't bother asking what Ghost needed help with; he wouldn't tell him anyway.

Riley’s eyes crinkled at the corners and MacTavish stubbornly looked away. “Lead the way then,” he grumbled, and nearly threw the wet towel at him for the cheeky, “Yes, sir,” he got in return but Ghost was already off and he had to hurry to catch up to him as he weaved his way through the base.

When he pulled him around a corner and into what should definitely just be a maintenance closet but definitely wasn't, MacTavish was starting to believe Riley was out to murder him, only to be surprised to find… a mini freezer shoved into the corner between dusty cleaning supplies. “What is this?”

Riley crouched down in front of the freezer, looking at him over his shoulder. “A freezer. Do you have a heat stroke already?” “What? No I–” Ghost reached in and pulled out a handful of ice lollies, holding them up to MacTavish. “Here, take ‘em.”

Now he was feeling like he really had had a heat stroke. “This is the problem you need help with?” Condensed water was dripping down his forearms, adding to his general wetness. Riley stood up and plucked one out of his hands. “You're supposed to eat them,” he said calmly, rolling his balaclava up over his nose to tear it open with his teeth.

“Riley,” MacTavish said, as sternly as he could manage while he was dripping everywhere.

“Fine,” Riley sighed. “See that freezer? Not exactly allowed to own that. Put it here a few weeks ago because look at this place, it's more dust than anything else. Figured the cleaning stuff don't come in here so they won't mind.” He took a bite of his ice. “Well, they did come in today and caught me. Ripped me a new one and told me to get rid of the freezer or they'll throw it in the trash.” He shrugged. “Don't have another place I can put it where it won't be found that also has electricity. So we have about an hour to eat all–” he counted the ice lollies still leaking down MacTavish’s hand, “–sixteen of those. Wasn't keen on getting brain freeze, which is why I need your help. Now get to eating.”

MacTavish blinked. Then blinked again. Then reluctantly opened a lemon flavored ice lolly. Ghost grinned at him, showing off green stained teeth. At first contact with the ice MacTavish nearly collapsed. He'd forgotten what it felt like to not be hot. “Why don't you put them in the freezer in the rec room?” he asked. Ghost just waved him off. “They wouldn't survive five minutes in there and you know it. The rec room fridge is a lawless wasteland.” MacTavish couldn’t argue with that so he just kept eating.

About two ice lollies deep he gave in to Riley’s coaxing and sat down on the floor with him. The concrete was pleasantly cold on his overheated skin and he found his migraine lessening by the second. Ghost was somehow already on his fifth one and MacTavish found himself watching a drop of what was essentially sugar water running down his jaw. “How are you eating those so quickly?” Riley slurped the last of the liquid out of the plastic and shrugged, already reaching for the next one. “They just taste good.”

Knowing that was as good an answer as he was gonna get, MacTavish decided to leave it at that.

—

The last ice lolly disappeared into Riley’s mouth long after MacTavish had tapped out, at serious risk of throwing up. Goosebumps had formed on his skin at some point and his sweat had finally evaporated, leaving him pleasantly cool. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, just for a second. “Why'd you buy a pink freezer?” he asked after a moment of quiet.

“They didn't have black,” Ghost muttered, and MacTavish laughed at the audible disdain in his voice. “So pink was the next best thing?” “Obviously,” came the response, serious as anything. “Obviously,” MacTavish agreed sagely.

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