Simon was one to handle his post-deployment stress in different ways. Surprisingly to you, it was rare that he would shut down and isolate himself. He spoke about his time deployed openly when it was brought up, but never seemed to be too bothered by it.

It was no surprise that Simon had a very morbid sense of humor that he shared with Soap. You two could joke about things, but you couldn't participate in the war jokes he and Soap would talk about as you simply didn't understand.

To cope with this, Simon and Soap turned to gaming online. You would giggle when hearing him cuss at his comrade through a headset, playing (you guessed it!) war games. Both Simon and Johnny could be online playing for hours it seemed like, but they only scheduled time to join online on days where you would either have to go to work early the next morning or on Sunday night.

He did this because he would fall asleep at later hours of the night and wouldn't want to keep you awake by his restlessness.

You two were on a friendly prank kick recently, Simon planning you recently by hiding in the hallway and shooting you with a confetti gun when you got home from work late one night. "This means war, babe." You laughed.

"I like the sound of that."

"Bet."

That was a week ago, so you figured you'd try to catch him off guard and let him simmer on the thought of when you'd strike.

Although if he were to be honest, he didn't care. He knew you couldn't catch him off guard, but he didn't have the heart to tell you that. Playing pranks on each other made you happy and he continued to feed into your satisfaction.

You were afraid to do the prank you had compiled, even reaching out to Soap for his approval as you were afraid he'd shut down at the sound of the firecrackers and get mad at you. After Soap's approval as well as the comment of it "being funny as fuck," you decided to continue.

Getting your equipment together, you had decided to put a few firecrackers into a pot and igniting them, although you had to find a way to sneak up on him.

Then you remembered that Simon wore a headset while gaming with Soap.

Making your way up the stairs, you forced yourself to hide a laugh as you heard Simon cussing at Soap over the headset. "Soap, what the fuck are you doin? How the fuck did you survive the last tour?!"

You entered the room that Simon used as his office and gaming room, seeing that the light was off and he was in an *intense* gunfight with enemy fire.

"Oy, you're the one who can't hit a moving target!" You heard Soap recoil back.

"Saved your ass didn't I?" Simon spat back, his focus hard on the game before him.

"Away n' bile yer head!" Soap scoffed.

"Speak fuckin' English, MacTavish."

"Sorry, sir, let me translate: go fuck yourself."

"Much better."

You two banter like a married couple, you thought as you set the pot of firecrackers right behind the desk chair he used as a gaming chair.

Looking up to see that he was still focused on the screen, you lit the fuse and hurried back on your feet, covering your ears as you stood next to the wall as they went off.

The headset flew off of Simon's head as he threw the controller and ducking to the floor, the military instinct never leaving him as he looked like he was taking cover. "What the fuck?!" He shouted.

You laughed after seeing that he wasn't mad at the prank, but mad that he got scared and was put in a vulnerable state in front of you. He lay on his back, fighting a smirk as he knew he had to eat his words when it came to you proving him wrong. "You sneaky little bastard." He huffed.

"Told you I'd get you!"

"That you did."

You giggled as you set the pot aside, letting the smoke settle as you sat in his place in the chair and grabbing the headset, "Johnny?"

"Ghost? Your balls disappear?"

"No, but I got myself a win."

You heard Soap laugh over the mic, "Never thought I'd see the day!"

You smirked as you looked down at him, seeing the playful glare he was shooting you. "Still at war, yeh?"