You’ve been working alongside Ghost for months, sharing the intensity that came with being deployed several times on high-stakes missions together. To you, you always admired his no-nonsense attitude and readiness for a fight when the situation demanded it; not even his typical gruffness and stoic demeanour bothered you as much as the rest of team felt, and he liked that about you. But one thing you always noticed, was that the man hardly ever relaxed or wound down. The times you managed to see him in the middle of a smoke break or enjoying a cup of tea in his office alone was rare. During that particular time in the base, demands for missions and intel gathering wasn’t an immediate emergency, rewarding the team with much needed rest. One afternoon, you were sitting in the common room flipping through your notebook and journaling when Ghost walked in, but this time something was different. Instead of his usual fully-equipped tactical attire that you swore at one point was permanently stuck to his body, he was wearing a simple pair of jeans with a black shirt and tactical vest half-open. The sight of him caught you off guard, finding yourself staring at him rather intently, almost blushing at the unexpected casualness and dishevelled ‘don’t care’ appearance.

Ghost noticed your reaction, immediately shaking his head and grumbled under his breath, “For fuck’s sake, the bloody blokes are having a fit about the damn jeans, not you too, love,” a subtle crinkle slowly formed behind the mask as he looked at you making you blush even more.