Doing It All For Love (Ghost x reader)

Chapter Fourteen

SOTD- Stand By Me by Ben E. King

A/n: Slightly short chapter AND ITS CHEESY EWWWW

"Okay, ladies! Let's get going!" I called out from inside the aircraft. Nico was saying his goodbyes to Antonio and the rest were throwing their gear in. Gaz took his seat in the aircraft beside Ghost and Landon sat across from him.

I was in the co-pilot seat in the cockpit since I would be helping Antonio fly the helicopter. "You ready to get this bird in the sky?" Antonio's welcoming voice flooded my ears through the headset that I wore. "Let's do this," I grinned. The pain meds I took helped numb the pain in my leg where I had gotten shot. "Fire it up!" Antonio told me.

I fired up the helicopter and the sounds of the rotor blades picking up speed filled my ears. The aircraft vibrated beneath my feet and I was grateful for the headset I wore that drowned out the thunderous mechanical whir.

We slowly lifted the aircraft as it elevated to the sky. "Remember what I taught you?" Antonio asked me. I shrugged my shoulders as I turned my head to face him. "Bits and pieces." I gave him a big smile as his face faltered. "I'm fucking with you Tony," I laughed.

We flew the aircraft efficiently with zero problems. We flew for hours and I watched in admiration as the sun dipped into the horizon.

That's what I loved most about being in the air. The way the warmth of the setting sun felt so close. (I've never flown before so this might not even be correct😭 And ya girl is never flying either😭) . The hues of orange and pink never felt so closer than when I'm up in the sky.

The sky had darkened and the small white dots became more apparent. The moon was a waning gibbous since less than half of the right side was darkened.

Antonio and I flew in silence. There wasn't much to talk about since both of us didn't exactly like bringing up our past. And in our current lives, Antonio was holed up and I was doing the usual, regular life bullshit. The silence between us was comforting in some ways. It was just nice to sit there even if the words that were exchanged between us were just him telling me what to do.

"It's getting late y/n," Antonio pointed out. "Yeah, it is," I agreed as I spoke softly. I glanced at the trio sitting in the back and Landon was sleeping soundly. "Go back there and get some rest," Antonio told me.

"You good staying up?" I asked him. Antonio nodded his head. "I've stayed awake longer than two days." His thick lips curled into a smile.

I unfastened my seatbelt and made my way to the back. Gaz stood up and stepped in front of me. "I'm gonna go to the cockpit," Gaz told me. I nodded my head as I looked up at him with a warm smile. "It's good to finally see you, Gaz." I clasped my hand over his shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.

Gaz pulled me in for a hug and the scent of his usual cologne wafted into my nose. "If you leave and never call or write a letter again, I will fight you," Gaz said jokingly which made me laugh a bit. "Don't worry, I won't do that again," I assured him.

I brushed past Gaz and took my seat beside Ghost. Gaz maneuvered his way to the cockpit and took the seat that I sat in previously before.

I could feel Ghost rest his arm over my shoulder and mindlessly- almost out of instinct- I moved closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder as I shifted in my seat to a more comfortable position. "What's our agenda for tomorrow?" I asked quietly, careful to not disturb Landon's restful state. The darkness illuminated both Ghost and me, and only his warmth brought me a sense of comfort.

His grip on me remained firm as he held me close. I believed the reason he held onto me tightly was because he was afraid to lose me again. And he was never afraid to voice that fear of his.

"We're gonna do a little backtracking." The sound of his deep voice in a whisper was enough to send goosebumps erupting on my skin. "Are we going back to the site?" I questioned. It had been over a year since the mission when we thought we lost Soap. "Yes."

"It's been over a year. Everything has to have changed by now," I pointed out. I could feel Ghost shrug his shoulders. "Wouldn't hurt to try."

I leaned up and reached for his mask. I could feel Ghost's large hand over mine. His fingertips gently traced the back of my hand as I slowly lifted his mask slightly. "Don't make me wait to kiss you," He spoke eagerly before connecting his lips with mine.

Piece by piece, I could feel the shards of myself slowly being put back together. I could slowly make out the imprecise parts in myself each time I stared into a reflection.

For so long, before Ghost, I believed that love never existed. That it was only a feeling humans craved to feel better about themselves. I believed they craved it so they could forget all the bad things in their lives.

But that night in the kitchen- when he looked down at me with those eyes of his- I had felt something. It was an unusual feeling and that feeling of unfamiliarity had scared me. As badly as I wanted to push that feeling away- I couldn't. Because I knew if I did, I would've pushed him away with it. And then I did something I thought I'd never do.

I set my pride aside. I set it aside and I fell for him. I allowed myself to become a romantic fool that I thought I'd never be.

And when I lost that- I lost the person who I was deep down inside. The person that didn't need sparring sessions to feel strong or guns to feel comforted. I found the caring girl that I used to be.

The one who locked herself away in her room with her kind heart and kind thoughts. The girl who covered her mom's bruises in makeup to erase away the purple and blue marks just to feel happier. I was more than silver linings and positivity. And being here- with Ghost, Gaz, and old friends helped me to realize that.

When my lungs burned for air, that's when I pulled away. I could still feel his lips on mine even when we were apart. "I love you," Ghost whispered softly.

My hand cupped his cheek gently and I had found comfort in the way his stubble tickled the soft flesh of my palm. I adored each and every part of him.

"I love you too."