the little things (simon "ghost" riley x reader)

little treasures, life's pleasures

You don't use your married name, Soap discovers.

Honestly, he gets it; Simon Riley is allegedly dead to the world with a seemingly endless list of enemies who'd love to get their hands on anything they could use to bring down The Ghost and, based on what Soap saw in your file, you've acquired quite the list of enemies yourself. If he were in either of your shoes, Soap would probably do the same.

He stands to the side, leaning with his back to the wall as Price talks about...something? Soap knows he should be paying attention- he had fully intended to, he swears- but then you and Ghost showed up, sitting down right next to each other. There's an appropriate amount of distance between your chairs, but at the top of the meeting, Ghost folds his arms and leans back, long legs spread just wide enough for his knee to lightly tap against yours, and Soap immediately loses all interest in everything else.

He keeps his eyes on Price, giving the illusion that he's listening, but angles his head just enough to see you and Ghost through his peripherals. You're both staring straight ahead, fully focused on whatever Price is talking about, but every so often Ghost shifts just so and nudges his knee against yours. It's a subtle movement, not something you'd notice if you weren't looking for it, and happens once every fifteen minutes or so.

Around the forty-five-minute mark, Price asks you a question and you lean forward, answering to the best of your knowledge. Ghost shifts, sitting up a little straighter, watching as you and Price go back and forth. When you've finished talking, and Price is satisfied with your answers, you lean back in your chair and Soap sees Ghost's knee nudge against yours once more. He catches your quick glance over to Ghost, though he's back to paying attention to Price, and the way you try to hide your smile by pretending to scratch the tip of your nose.

The next time Ghost shifts, you meet him in the middle and set your knee against his, staying that way for the remainder of the meeting.

-

If Soap thought Ghost's hovering was bad when you were recovering from your leg injury after Las Almas, he doesn't want to know what Ghost will be like after this.

He'll probably move his bed into the infirmary, Soap laughs to himself as he wraps bandages around your poorly patched head. The ambush had taken the team by surprise, with a private quickly ushering you away for safety. Unfortunately, "safety" turned out to be in the direct line of an oncoming grenade and the ensuing explosion knocked you head-first into a nearby humvee.

You don't remember much after that. At some point after the fight, you're picked up, then placed in the passenger seat of the humvee. Someone orders you to talk Soap through bandaging the bleeding slice on the side of your head before Soap appears holding a roll of gauze and a canteen of water.

(Soap assumes it's to give you something to concentrate on so you don't fall asleep and worsen your concussion, but you know it's so Ghost can find the private in charge of your safety and give him the dressing down of a lifetime.)

"You're wrapping my eye, Soap," you groan, leaning slightly away from him. He curses under his breath, unraveling the last loop of bandages.

"Sorry, Doc. Not as good at this as you," Soap jokes.

"You were doing fine until you tried to turn me into a pirate." Soap scoffs in mock offense and playfully nudges your shoulder. He readjusts the bandage near your left ear, moving it up just slightly when he sees the thin black lines peeking out from the bottom. Curiosity overtakes him, as he "adjusts" your bandages again, lifting the bottom to reveal a simple outline of a skull he knows all too well tattooed in black ink just behind your ear.

"How're we doing?"

Soap slides the bandage back down at the sudden sound of Ghost's voice as the Lieutenant approaches the humvee.