COD One Shots [COD - MW]

Ghost X Reader: Ghost comforts you when you grieve

You sat on a chest just outside the barracks, the cool night air blowing through your hair. The serenity of the stars gave you room to breathe, unlike the quiet ride home from the mission, where tension tainted the atmosphere.

You'd lost your best friend. The only one in this world you'd trusted with your life. The two of you had enlisted together, fought together as rookies all the way up to where you were now, serving underneath Lieutenant Ghost in Afghanistan.

It became harder to keep your tears at bay at the memories. ''Fuck,'' you muttered to yourself.

One bullet. One stray bullet from the left flank had been enough. You'd cleared that side, hadn't you? Why hadn't you looked again, checked once more? You held your friend in your arms, bullets flying over your head past the rickety wooden barrier you sat behind.

The haunting, empty eyes staring back at you were burned in your mind.

The worst part was leaving the body behind. Deep into hostile territory, you had no choice but to follow the Lieutenant's orders to push forward and secure the target.

The rest of the mission played out in autopilot, and soon you found yourself here, back at the base, with a piece missing from your life.

Heavy footsteps approached you from behind. Ghost had been looking all over the barracks to find you, worried after your loss.

He took a moment to look over your defeated frame. ''L/N, debrief's in five.''

You took a breath, clutching your friend's tags in your hand. ''Yes, sir.''

Ghost turned to leave, but stopped himself as an unfamiliar tug rooted him in his place. He hated seeing you this way.

When your friend fell, a pang shot through his heart as he saw you break apart. He had to tear you away, as painful as it would be, as much as you would hate him for it.

The bright, always smiling person you always were broken down to a shell of your former self. He had to admit, he admired the way you tuned out and focused on the mission before letting yourself fall.

Would you accept his comfort? As he looked back at you he wanted nothing more than to pull you into his arms.

'I'm not a child, Lieutenant,' you always said with a smile when he worried about you.

He tried to turn and leave again, but his feet wouldn't let him. He walked up to you, hesitating for a second before sitting on the chest next to you, making sure to keep a safe distance.

You never looked up at him, focused on the metal tags you twirled around in your hand, fingers tracing over the engraved name.

All of Ghost's words died in his throat as he thought of how to comfort you. He silently cursed himself for his social ineptness.

You shifted as you lifted your head and looked upon the stars. The base was surrounded by miles of desert, far away from light pollution obscuring the sky. The constellations shone so bright in the cool midsummer air, it almost seemed surreal.

''When my grandparents passed,'' you began softly, ''my dad said that all the people who passed away turned into stars.''

Ghost stayed silent for a minute, watching the stars with you.

''That's a pretty thought,'' he finally said.

He heard you sigh next to him. As he glanced at you he saw your eyes transfixed on your hand, dried blood still staining your skin.

He covered your hand with his. You met his eyes, and his heart stilled at the pain they held.

'Fuck it' he thought, moving up and sitting right next to you, pulling you against his side. You laid your head on his shoulder, tears rising further to the surface at his comforting touch.

''Does it get easier, Lieutenant?''

His heart broke at your soft voice, thoughts pulled back to the people he'd lost. He could fill the entire night sky with their stars.

''No,'' he answered honestly, ''it doesn't. You gotta learn to live with it, I suppose. Keepin' their memory alive and all that.''

You couldn't help a small chuckle escaping at his lousy attempt at comforting words. His hand rubbed slow circles on your lower back as the two of you gazed at the sky together.

''I can do that.''