COD Oneshots / shorts

Its late (Ghost / reader)

Summary - You wake up in the middle of the night hearing pacing from the room next your own. Upon checking on Ghost, you see his eyes are bloodshot and he's shaking. You need to comfort him.

Warnings - nightmares, ptsd

You woke groggily from a deep sleep. When you looked over at your alarm clock it read 2:47am. "Fuck off." You moaned, rolling over. As you tried to fall back asleep you heard something from the room next to yours.

This was strange because Ghost was typically silent past 11pm. You had never heard him pacing around before. Was he ok?

You slid off of your bed and put on some shoes. You put on your hoodie, feeling the cold of your room in your bones.

As you walked into the hallway, you heard sniffling. Strange, even while sick you had never heard Ghost sniffle. You knocked on Ghost's door softly. "Ghost?" You spoke, "You alright in there, Lt?"

The sudden silence in the room made you nervous. You tried the handle, it wasn't locked. Very strange, Ghost's door was always locked. You cracked the door open, not looking inside just in case he wasn't decent.

"Lt?" Your voice betrayed your concern. "I'm coming in, unless you stop me now."

There was no response other than a small gasp from Ghost. He was trying to catch his breath. You pushed through the door, letting it close gently behind you.

As your eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, you saw Ghost shakily standing next to his desk, trying to stabilize himself. He wasn't wearing his mask, you quickly put your hand over your eyes.

"Oh shit, Lt! I'll go, I'm sorry." You stammered over your words about to reopen the door.

"Wait, y/n." His voice filled the room. "Please, don't go." His words were full of fear, something you rarely heard from him.

You kept your hand over your eyes. "I saw your face, sir." You kept your voice low, as you typically did while speaking to your superior. "Do you need to put your mask on?" It was for his comfort, not yours. You thought he was quite handsome, in all honesty.

"I can't breathe." He choked out. His panic was beginning to make you nervous. "Fuck I can't fucking breathe."

"I'm going to come closer, is that alright?" You asked. "I just want to help you." You waited for him to respond, not wanting to cross any boundaries.

"Sure." He mumbled, still breathless. He was visibly shaking and unstable on his feet. Ghost's hand was clutching his chest. He wasn't wearing any of his gear, he was just in his boxers and an undershirt.

You walked closer to him, searching near blindly for a lamp. You felt it. "I'm turning on the lamp, sir." You said before flipping the switch.

When the light flooded the room, Ghost turned away from you. He was borderline whimpering.

You were right next to him now, he was radiating heat. You could see the sweat droplets on him, and tears in his eyes. You put a gentle hand on his arm, being sure to move slowly.

"I'm going to help you sit down, Lt." You said, pulling his weight onto you. He was significantly larger than you, heavy too, but you tried your best.

Ghost let you move him, he sat down on the bed shakily. "Thank you." You had never heard Ghost thank anyone. He was usually scolding people or barking orders. You enjoyed it.

You sat down next to him, legs folded to face him while you sat. He wasn't fighting the interaction, which you weren't expecting. Ghost typically brushed any form of affection away, even from Soap.

His tears continued. "Lt, I think you're having a panic attack." You gently spoke, "can I help you calm down?"

"Ghost." He blurted out. "Call me Ghost, please." His heart was still racing, keeping his hand clutched to his chest.

You decided to take his response as a yes. "Alright, Ghost." It felt inappropriate to call him that. "I'm going to sit behind you, and I'll wrap my arms and legs around you. Just lean back, alright?" You kept walking him through everything before you did it.

You slid over behind him, letting him lean his full weight against you before you wrapped around him. You started to squeeze him, not too hard, just a light pressure. You could feel his heart beat fully now, far too fast.

He took a deep, shaking breath. "You don't have to be formal with me when we're alone." Ghost's voice was shuttering.

You smiled. "Tell me what's happening, Ghost. Talk me through it." He was still so tense in your grasp.

He took a deep breath. "It's these damn nightmares. Won't let me fucking sleep." He sounded beyond exhausted. "I almost died, y/n. They tortured me for days and wouldn't let me die." Ghost was shaking again. "Day in and day out being poked and prodded. I kept wishing for death, but it never came." His whimpering voice was heartbreaking.

You held him tighter, he grabbed your hand tight. "I thought Price abandoned me. I was all alone. My team was gone, you were gone, Soap was gone. No one was going to save me, and I couldn't save myself." The trembling was violent. "I had to get out, the only way was to run."

You knew all of this already. You were part of the rescue team that found Ghost only a mile away from where he was captured. He was covered in blood and dirt and vomit. Not all of it was from him.

"I had to kill them. It was brutal. I had to get out. I had to get back here." You didn't realize that killing those people took so much of a toll on him.

When you saw the scene of his torture on the mission you threw up immediately. To say it was a massacre was doing it an injustice. If you didn't know better, you'd think he had been waiting years for this brutality.

You ran a hand through his hair. "Ghost, you're safe. I'm here, you're here. We are on base, in your room." You we're quiet, continuing to strike his hair. "Those people can never hurt you again. You never have to go back there, Ghost."

He shifted quickly, turning to face you. He was hugging you tightly. His face was buried in your neck, his hands gripping your shirt. He wasn't shaking anymore. Ghost's breathing was nearly normal. It seemed your words worked. You kept up playing with his hair.

The exhaustion was catching up to him as his heart rate slowed. "I'm so tired, y/n." He mumbled. The words were muffled and tickled your neck.

"Lay down, Ghost. You need to sleep." You had a near parental tone. He looked at you softly after pulling away.

"Stay with me. Please." He was begging. Ghost was beginning to sound more like himself. As he laid down on the bed, he pulled you close to him.

"You know, sir," you giggled, "this is wildly inappropriate." You kept playing with his hair. It was soft. You snuggled closer to Ghost, his warmth enveloping you gently.

"I don't mind," he laughed, "Price won't find out anyway." Ghost was already falling asleep, holding you close to him.

You kissed his forehead and let yourself fall asleep too. You were going to stay with him no matter what.