I Feel It In My Bones (Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader)

Can You Feel My Heart

Ghost's POV:

The chopper ride felt long. Too long.

Ghost felt restless with anticipation. It wasn't usual for him to feel so impatient. He prided himself on his calm demeanour, his ability to remain objective. But being away from you, without a mission to focus on, without a way to keep his mind occupied - it had been a struggle that he couldn't prepare for. Messaging you had helped, seeing your snarky responses in the group chat had lightened his heart - but he knew the antidote, the cure for this condition was more difficult than that.

He wouldn't be able to settle until he could see you with his own eyes, until he heard your voice, until he had you in front of him and you were looking at him with that soft expression that only came out for him.

And fuck, he didn't know if the seconds could pass by any slower.

As he looked at the time on his phone once again, Ghost felt a nudge at this side. He looked over, only to find a certain Sergeant with a mohawk smiling up at him, his bright blue eyes crinkling. 'Looking forward to seeing a certain someone, L.T.?'

Ghost grunted, feigning nonchalance. 'Don't know what you're talking about.'

At that, Gaz leaned in from the other side, a sly grin on his face. 'Yeah, right. You've been checking the time every five minutes.'

Ghost shifted in his seat. 'Just making sure we stay on schedule.'

Soap chuckled and patted Ghost on the back, exchanging a knowing look with Gaz. 'Right, the schedule. We all know what that really means. You're counting down the minutes until you and Doc reunite and we can use the sexual tension in the air to power the whole fuckin' base.'

While Gaz looked away to hide his laughter, Ghost shot Soap a withering look. 'Shut it, Johnny.'

Soap only grinned in response.

And though time continued to drag on, it didn't take long after that for them to reach the base. The chopper touched down in the designated landing area, a flurry of snow being sent into the air. The team disembarked, Ghost leading the way with the Gaz and Soap following closely behind.

But as they stepped off the aircraft, their eyes met a scene of disarray at the base. Soldiers and officers rushed about, and the atmosphere was one of palpable tension. There was shouting, orders being barked, and even from a distance it was visible that heavy weapons were being moved.

The more that Ghost scanned the area, the more his eyes narrowed. He had learned long ago to trust his instincts - and in that moment, they were telling him that something was wrong. Ghost exchanged a look with Soap, who had also noticed the air of disruption.

It was Gaz who noticed you first. He gave a shout and a smile, pointing in the direction of the base's headquarters, where three figures stood.

Graves, and Price were waiting not far from the landing zone. Graves, in his usual laid-back manner, was deep in conversation with Price, who appeared more serious than usual. And there, standing slightly apart from the commanding officers, you stood.

Ghost could feel the steady rhythm of his heart picking up as they approached, his eyes scanning you up and down behind his sunglasses as he and the two Sergeants made their way closer and closer.

Your hair was in its usual plait, except it was messy, almost sloppy, with more strands than usual falling into your face. You were pale, shades of purple and almost black tinting the skin beneath your eyes. You stood still, as though you were frozen in place, your gaze locked on thin air, seemingly lost in thought.

You had told him you were excited to see him, that you had missed him, and he had believed you, felt the same - but the woman standing in front of him, the one with cold eyes above her black balaclava, showed no resemblance to the one who had sent those messages.