"Wake up." Belle nudged at the passed out man who was sleeping on the couch in the task force common room. Ghost didn't budge, very much still asleep from the alcohol that he'd drunk the night before. Belle ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of how to wake him up without pissing him off. It had been a group effort to make sure that all of the team had made it back to base the night before, with her being the only one who was sober enough to walk in a straight line. But she'd managed it. "Simon Riley." Belle said, grabbing at his arm and trying to roll him over so he would face the light which was pouring in the windows.

"What?" Ghost grunted out and Belle rolled her eyes, not happy that he was giving her an attitude when she was the one who had made sure he didn't get his ass arrested the night before. Ghost on the other hand was not happy about being woken up, already having a pounding headache from his hangover and not remembering much from the night before. Belle huffed again and Ghost let out an annoyed breath of his own. "What is it?" He asked again, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"You're going to be late for PT." Belle straight up lied to him, knowing that it would get some kind of reaction from Ghost. Being late to PT was something which never went over well, and the team would drag Ghost's ass for weeks if he was late. Ghost pushed himself up into a sitting position with a groan. He checked his watch and glanced around the nearly empty common room with the exception of a few other soldiers who also happened to be completely passed out.

"It's Saturday." Ghost grumbled as he checked his watch, both Belle and Ghost knowing damn well that there was no PT on Saturdays. Belle gave a little shrug, trying to hide the smile that was pulling at her lips. Ghost rolled his eyes at her, his hangover getting worse with every passing second. He leaned back against the couch, looking over to where Soap was snoring on one of the armchairs. "About last night," He said, knowing that he should address the blurry memories of them sitting on the pavement.

"Simon." Belle cut him off before he could push any further with whatever he was about to say. She didn't want to hear it, didn't want to address it and allow for it to become a problem. Not when everything had just started falling into place, not when the team was doing so well. The last thing that needed to be circulating the base was whatever interaction had occurred the night before and the fact that they had kissed before. "Help me wake the others," Belle said before he had the chance to say anything. She gave him a look and Ghost gave an annoyed little grunt, getting to his feet to help her.

"Could've taken off my boots." Ghost grumbled as he stood, his mind swaying just a little. He was just finding things to complain about at this point, to keep the conversation going with her. Ghost watched as she moved over to Soap, shaking him a little to get him to wake up. Ghost huffed and trailed after her, his head pounding from this hangover.

"Funny." Belle said as she gave Soap a gentle push towards the door which led to the private quarters. Soap gave Belle and Ghost both a disgruntled look at the fact that he'd been woken, muttering some curses under his breath before leaving. Belle didn't give him another second of her attention though as she moved to wake up the other soldiers, treating them with a level of gentleness while also being firm. Ghost just hovered over her shoulder, prepared to act as more forceful backup if needed.

"I would've taken yours off." Ghost grumbled, watching as Belle readjusted the pillows on the couch.

"Simon." Belle said, a warning for him to not push the issue. Deep down they were both somewhat aware that Ghost would have never left Belle to sleep on the couch in the common room, vulnerable to other soldiers, but it wasn't like drunken Ghost was listening when Belle had tried to move him the night before. So, she'd settled for letting him sleep until morning rolled around and waking him before the others. Silence filled the air between them and Ghost watched as she slowly got all the soldiers to move to their own spaces, always silently impressed with how gently she took control of situations. "How does your hand feel?" Belle asked as the last solider left the two of them alone in the common room.

"I've hit things harder than that bloke." Ghost scoffed a little, running a hand through his hair at the memory of punching the random dude. He hadn't known why he had hit him, well he did, but he didn't want to address that yet. He was fine with convincing himself that he was ok with whatever was going on between him and Belle. His answer didn't seem to impress Belle though as she gave him a little look, crossing the room towards the lockers.

"That doesn't answer my question." Belle told him from over her shoulder as she unlocked her locker, grabbing her field backpack and searching for something. Ghost moved over to her again, finding being within her arm's length was better than being across the room. He peered down at whatever she was doing, watching as she grabbed a water bottle from her bag and then a bottle of pills. "Here." She offered, and Ghost only hesitated for a second before taking the pain killers from her palm.

"It'll bruise," Ghost said as he glanced at his knuckles which were indeed turning a dark shade of purple. Ghost knew it would only look worse before it would return to normal, but he didn't care. He had been through far worse and could handle the aftereffects of throwing a shitty drunken punch. He knew the others wouldn't let him live it down for a bit though if they knew the full extent of what happened and why he'd punched the bloke. "I'll be fine." He added, looking down at Belle, handing her the water bottle back.

"Good." Belle nodded softly, taking a sip from the bottle before putting it back in her field bag. She made a mental note to make sure to refill the bottle before the next mission so she wouldn't be without water.

"Yeah." Ghost grunted out, shifting his footing. Normally, this is where he would split ways from her and try to pull himself back together from the night before. But he didn't want to leave her side, even if she didn't want to talk about whatever was occurring between them. He let out a little breath, watching her lock her belongings back up again. "You hungry?" He asked and Belle gave him a little confused glance. "Food?" He reiterated when she didn't respond. Another beat of silence and Ghost gave her a little glare of annoyance, knowing that at this point she just wanted him to spell it out for her. "Do you want to get breakfast with me?" He asked with annoyance dripping from his words.

"We can grab breakfast." Belle said with a little laugh, a smile pulling at her lips which instantly soothed Ghost's irritation with her. He wouldn't show her that though, so he simply crossed his arms, waiting for her to be ready to go. Belle glanced him up and down, taking note of how he was still in his clothes from the night before. The same clothes which smelt strongly of split whiskey and cigarette smoke. "You should go change first," Belle advised him, and Ghost frowned. "You reek of alcohol." She explained when Ghost didn't move from where he was standing.

"I do not." Ghost said bluntly and Belle just stared at him.

"You do." She corrected him and Ghost's frown grew a little as she called him out. "You're a sloppy drunk." Belle added for fun, having seen just how uncoordinated Ghost had become with the progression of his drinking.

"I am not." Ghost scoffed, having never been called a sloppy drinker before. If anything, the other men on the team were worse than him when it came to nearly anything, including handling their alcohol. But the little amused grin on Belle's face told him that she was not going to drop this unless he went to change. "Fine. I'll be back." He gave into her and Belle leaned back against the wall, watching as Ghost stormed off in the direction of his private quarters to find something else to wear to breakfast with her.