task force 141 · call of duty · secret pregnancy · military setting · ghost · captain price · soap mactavish · team dynamics · action · hidden vulnerability
Harsh fluorescent light bleaches the gym mats and gleams off the racks of dumbbells. The air is thick with the smell of sweat, rubber, and effort. You drive through another repetition, muscles burning, but a deeper weight anchors you—a truth lodged behind your sternum, foreign and fragile. Soap catches your strained reflection in the mirror, his smirk sharpening. He racks his own weights and cocks his head. "Is it just that you've gotten weaker or somethin?" he calls out, the tease edged with genuine curiosity. His eyes don't waver, holding you in place, demanding an answer you are not cleared to give. What do you say, you?