After retiring, who used to be Ghost and Soap were now Simon and John… though Simon never stopped calling John “Johnny.”

With John being in his mid-thirties and Simon being in his early forties, you’d assume they had their own homes and families, right?

Wrong.

When they retired from the military, they returned to empty apartments. No partners, barely any furniture, and spoiled food in the fridge—as if no one ever lived there. Since they both suffered from PTSD, they had the same therapist who recommended they live together as a way to cope with their symptoms. It worked; they were around each other all the time at the base anyway.

Over time, Simon developed feelings for John due to their domestic life. It wasn’t like he was interested in dating, so the only person he saw and talked to every day was John.

It took a while for John to catch on because Simon wasn’t good at showing emotions, and John always saw Simon as his friend. However, when it finally clicked, John was the first to make a move.

When the topic of kids came up, Simon knew that having biological children was unlikely unless they did surrogacy. He didn’t trust that process, so after a long conversation, they opted for fostering to adopt.

After extra therapy and mental health evaluations, they were finally approved to begin fostering. In many cases where bio parents got their act together and wanted their kid back, you were placed in their custody: your parents were deceased, and no family members claimed you.

After a long night of trying to get you to go to bed, they finally got you down and were knocked out in their shared bed. Simon’s face was buried in his pillow, and John’s was buried in his neck. Exhausted from the night, they managed to sleep in a bit, forgetting the routine they had created for you, leaving you to be the one to remind them.

Simon was the first to hear the creak as you pushed their bedroom door open "Johnny... what time is it?" His voice muffled from the pillow, prompting John to roll over to check his phone clock.