Silver-Lining (Ghost Riley x Reader)

Chapter twelve

The warmth of the sun beat down on my face, my shut eyelids having a soft orange tint to them. My eyelids fluttered open as my eyes connected to a small river stream. Memories of last night hit me like a train as I recalled the series of unfortunate events of what led me out here.

I could feel something weighing down on my side as I looked down to see a tattooed arm draped over me. I recognized the tattoos and knew that the arm belonged to Ghost. Was he... cuddling me? I slowly lifted his arm off of me, careful to not wake him. I silently grunted in pain as I stood up, stretching out my sore muscles.

I knelt by the stream, collecting a pool of cold water into my cupped hands and splashed my face, hoping to feel more rejuvenated. I heard a soft groan in Ghost's direction. I turned my head to see him slowly begin to sit up, becoming more aware of his surroundings. "Morning." I smiled softly. "Mornin' Sarge." His voice was raspy and deep as he was still in a sleepy state. I'd be a liar if I said his morning voice didn't do such unholy things to me.

"Are you ready to get moving?" I asked him. Ghost nodded his head slowly as he stood up, dusting himself off. "Let me see your cut." I told him. Ghost walked over to me, lifting his shirt himself. I lifted his cut to see it was healing pretty nicely. I cleaned off his wound with some water before covering it again.

"There you go." I told him, rolling his shirt back down. "Alright, let's get moving." Ghost told me. "There should be a road at least a mile out."

I let out a sigh as we continued walking through the woods. "I can't wait to get back to base and take a long, hot shower." I said. I continued rambling on, looking over at Ghost to make sure he was still listening. He turned to look at me, giving me small nods and a few words to give me signs that he was still listening.

After about an hour or so I began to whine. "How much longer?" I asked. My feet ached and my legs hurt. "A few more hours. The road is further out than I thought." Ghost told me. "Bro, my feet hurt." I whined. "Push through it."

I rolled my eyes as I walked alongside Ghost. "How long have you and Ace been friends?" Ghost asked me suddenly. "Before I was even fully recruited. We went to boot camp together. He was the first friend I made." I told him, a small smile on my face. I remember the day Ace and I even ran into each other. "How did you two meet?"

"Two jackasses were trying to pick on Ace because he was slightly smaller than the two. I stepped up with Ace and we beat the shit out of those assholes. Then the four of us ended up getting in trouble and from then on, Ace and I became inseparable." I smiled softly at the bittersweet memory.

"He probably likes you." Ghost said. I couldn't help but laugh at his statement. "No, most definitely not." I told him. "Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure?"

"I'm not his type." I told Ghost. Ghost nodded his head as if he didn't believe me. "And why is that?" He asked me. I raised an eyebrow as I looked up at him. I didn't know whether he was being serious or not. "Because Gaz is more of his type." I told Ghost. Ghost seemed a little taken back by my answer. "Ace is into Gaz?" Ghost asked. I nodded my head. "Wouldn't shut up about how cute Gaz was." I chuckled softly.

"Well don't let Gaz hear that. It'll enlarge his ego." I began to laugh, knowing how Gaz gets when he receives compliments.

As we continued walking, Ghost and I continued talking to hopefully pass the time and make this treacherous walk go faster. Although my feet were throbbing and my legs only grew more tired, I knew that I had to push through it. Every now and then, I found myself speaking through the coms, hoping that we'd be able to get in range. "We won't be able to reach them here. That's why we make our way to the road." Ghost told me.