Different Timezones

Different Timezones

John 'Soap' MacTavish / fem!Reader

Summary:  Johnny is unusually quiet during a mission. Ghost suspects it has something to do with the Polaroid firmly tucked into his wallet.

Content:  pure fluff, long-distance relationships, pining, civilian girlfriend

Word Count:  1.2k

Notes: I CAN'T STOP WRITING THESE, the COD lads have me in their clutches. This weekend I had so much time to let all the creative juices out and I just want to thank you all for the crazy warm welcome to the fandom!

The way the grass smells at night And you've got flames all in your eyes As they reflect the sparkler And you say we'll never die

Johnny's leg kept bouncing restlessly next to Ghost, irritating him to no end. 

Gaz and the Captain were chatting in the front of the SUV, tinted glasses dulling the relentless desert sun outside. There was music playing through the radio and the hot breeze wafting in from the cracked open windows gave Simon some much-needed relief under his gear. 

When the Scotsman pulled out his phone for the tenth time in what felt like minutes and then shifted a worn leather wallet from one hand to the other, Ghost couldn't resist throwing him the deadliest glare he could muster. Which, when it came down to it, was quite lethal. 

But Johnny didn't look back at his Lieutenant, attention solely on the small square that was glued to the dark leather, index brushing over the frayed edges. Usually, Ghost was not one to pry into the private life of his comrades, but Soap's silence combined with the longing look in his blue eyes was so unusual, he simply couldn't resist glancing down at the picture himself.

It was a little blurry, with Johnny only taking up half the frame. His arm was slung over the shoulder of a pretty woman, with a wide smile and eyes that almost disappeared from how hard they were laughing together. 

"That your missus?" Ghost asked quietly, voice not as rough as it usually was.

Startled, Johnny looked up from his phone, before sliding it back into one of the many pockets of his vest. He threw a glance at the men up front, but neither of them seemed to have heard Simon's question. 

Reluctantly, he handed over his wallet and Ghost took great care not to crease the Polaroid any further, worn as it was.

"Yeah, that's my girl," the Scotsman mumbled, lifting his chin. "It's her birthday today, but timezones are fuckin' annoying, aye?"

Ghost just nodded, inspecting the picture one last time before handing it back to Johnny. 

"Scored way out of your league, Seargent," he smirked behind his mask.

"Oi, careful, L.T.," Soap laughed, then tucked his wallet away and crossed his arms in front of his chest before leaning his head against the cold glass of the jeep. "Gotta catch a few minutes of sleep before it all goes down again, I reckon."

Ghost nodded, giving the other man space as he zoned into the idle conversation that Gaz and the Captain were having instead.

Well, there's blue jeans in the driveway And you're walking inside sideways The wine always affects you in beautiful kind ways Asked me if I'm staying and I say that I'm sleeping on the floor

Meanwhile, John's thoughts circled endlessly around the picture burning a hole in his pocket. Of the woman waiting for him at home, the memory of a party years ago, when she'd kissed him drunkenly for the first time and her friends had taken a picture right after.

Edinburgh had been freezing cold that night, but she'd still only worn a short sparkly dress and tiny heels and John had complained that she'd be hungover and sick the next morning. 

Don't be such a buzzkill, she'd giggled, I thought you'd like it.

Oh, and he did like it, alright. But they were somewhere between friends and definitely interested, with him unsure how his career and a relationship would go and her aloof enough that it was impossible to read her intentions.

But then he'd been singing along to a terrible rendition of the top ten songs of the past decade, the whole pub full to bursting point as they counted down the last few minutes of the old year. And she'd been screaming along next to him, jumping up and down with one of his friends from uni and Johnny had laughed until he felt a little dizzy and grabbed her by the waist to steady her.

She'd looked up at him from behind dark eyelashes with a grin, and then pulled his face down towards her, crushing their mouths together without much finesse but so much passion, that the echoes of it still made him smile.

He'd walked her home that night, laughed some more when she twirled around lamp posts and stumbled a bit. She'd asked him straight out if he was staying the night and John, big idiotic sap that he was, had insisted on the sofa. 

A gentleman, she still teased him to this day. But my pride will never recover.

Soap slid out his phone for the hundredth time in an hour, and saw that it was only a few minutes left now. Irrationally embarrassed, he glanced over at Ghost, who stared out the window in silence but was clearly vigilant. A nudge with his boot got him the attention of the Lieutenant, and dark eyes snapped over to him, then the phone in his hand.

"Would ya mind, you know-" Soap trailed off as Gaz turned around with interest. 

"What is it?" Ghost asked, voice unreadable.

"Totakeapictureofme." He rushed out between clenched teeth, as quietly as possible.

"For your girl." 

It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes, already regretting not snapping an awkward angle selfie instead. Gaz gasped and Price's eyes studied him in the rearview mirror as well.

"Soap's got a girl squirrelled away somewhere?" Gaz asked, eyes shining.

"Yeah, far away and safe from nosy bastards like you," he snapped, arms crossed in irritation now but Ghost reached over and tugged the small iPhone from his hands.

"Better fix that face, Johnny, 'm not doin' a photoshoot with you."

"Get the gun!" Gaz smirked, reaching back to tug Soap's AK-47 straight where it rested between his knees and on the back of Price's seat. "Ladies love a proper soldier."

The whole situation was so ridiculous, that Soap couldn't help but laugh. Ghost had a concentrated look on his face as he gave a thumbs-up to him, then the distinct sound of a camera shutter sounded. 

Barely glancing at the photo out of sheer mortification over the three smirking faces in the SUV, Soap hastily typed out a message accompanying the picture and hit send, just as the world clock for Edinburgh turned to midnight on his phone.

🧼: I love and miss you. Happy Birthday, baby.

She opened the message almost immediately and John ignored the teasing comments and laughter from Gaz and Price as he watched the three dots dance next to her name.

💍: Omg.

💍: You look so hot, what the fuck. Best present ever. Come back home soon and be safe! xx

Then a picture of her appeared only moments later, with a silly party hat perched on her head and sparkler in hand. Her brother was saying something next to her, drink in hand and she was beaming into the camera. Soap stroked over the grainy image with his thumb for a moment, smiling. 

Grab me by the hands Just as callused as I am And say you're proud

Soft and silly Scottish men have my whole heart. If you enjoyed it, you can find the rest of my COD masterlist here! (We also got some steamy stuff over there folks 👀)

Song lyrics by Zach Bryan - The Good I'll Do. 🖤 One of my most listened to love songs of all time.

NEXT PART: Same Timezone