"Under Their Wing" Ghost x Soap x Reader

Chapter 1 - Dreaming

The sound of bomb shells going off and gunshots rang out through your ears, leaving you unable to hear even your own staggered breathe as you stare out onto a battlefield, scattered with bodies and debris from the few building your group were using to take cover. Your ears rang from the continuous noise, causing you to gently rub at them to try and get rid of the sickening ringing.

You notice the battlefield appears hazy, in such a way you imagine heaven would if it existed. You sigh, figuring the blurry view was due to the sun blaring down with no clouds to dampen its rays or the borderline dehydration you were starting to suffer from as you'd be holed up in the remnants of what you assume was an office building once upon a time with no water for what felt like hours.

You glance towards ruins nearby when you spot two comrades you recognise, both wearing gear only slightly different from yours. Primarily black or dark grey military gear you'd been provided with before leaving for this mission, which now that you think about it, you'd never been properly briefed on what the mission was actually about before leaving.

You smirk slightly as you watch them, not having to worry about shooting as you were technically only back-up for this mission.

It feels like you only managed to blink before you watch the 2 of them nod at each other and they start to make a break for the building you were sitting in.

After a few large steps from the 2 of them you realise why you recognise them. They were two people you considered close friends, as you'd known them both since high school. "Crypt" and "Lotus" were their code names.

You let out a sigh of relief as you watch them run towards your building, glad they were both safe and in one piece still. You turn your head back to where most of the noise was coming from to check nothing serious was happening and that nobody on the opposite side had noticed your two friends making a break for it.

After what felt like only a few seconds, you hear an ear piercing bang that causes you to cover your ears and wince, lowering your head as you didn't have time to see where the explosive noise came from.

You look up only seconds later, to see a small crater where your friends had just been running, and 2 bodies laying limp on the floor. One was missing almost all of its lower half, from the torso down. You assume they had been the one to set off the explosion which you assumed was a mine that had been hidden and had taken the blunt of the explosion. The other lay perfectly still, blood splattered on their gear and multiple tears and gashes in the material revealing wounds all over their side and back.

Staring in disbelief, you feel tears dampening your balaclava as you try to scream, no words managing to leaving your mouth. You can barely see due to the haze and tears as multiple other members notice the two deceased and look at each other nervously. The head of the mission shouts to abandon the mission and everyone begins to leave silently.

You force yourself to your feet, struggling greatly due to the stiffness after being sat on the hard floor for so long, your eyes still locked on the two bodies of the people you treasured so dearly. You feel another comrade tightly grip your shoulder, pulling you back to reality slightly and start to drag you away.

You weren't ready to leave yet, weren't ready to leave them. You had plans, you made promises with each other. They couldn't possibly be gone.

The tears flowing from your eyes only get worse the further away you stagger, the comrade helping you only saying a few comforting words as you near a helicopter that was waiting to escort you back to base along with the other members of your squad.

As you struggle to enter the helicopter, you slip into the nearest seat, your hands and legs shaking violently as you do.

"But what about-"

You only manage the start of a sentence, your voice wobbly from all the crying, before the leader of the mission cut you off.

"We aren't going to bring 2 corpses back with us. This is the military, people die every day. Don't expect special treatment just because they were your friends."

He shot you a glare, joined by an irritated sigh as he gives the pilot the signal to leave. You meet eyes with him for a moment, before shrinking into your seat and deciding to just stare at your knees. You feel the occasional tear drop from your face onto your knees, wiping your eyes each time it happens.

You still can't believe that they both are gone. It felt almost like a nightmare, and one of the worst your brain could have come up with if it was. You find yourself staring at the battlefield as the copter flies away, wishing to see your two friends still there, fighting the way they'd done for years.

As you sit in the helicopter, almost pressed up against the wall due to the lack of room, a wave of tiredness washes over you. You let out a small yawn, covering your mouth as you do, and lay your head against the side of the copter. The flight back to the camp would take an hour, maybe slightly more, so you decide to try and get some sleep to fight off the sadness.

It didn't take you long to drift to sleep, as the vibration from the helicopter and the noise of the blades were oddly comforting. It felt as if, while you were in close quarters with multiple other people, you were alone.

As you slowly fall asleep your senses slowly dull as you drift, hoping you dream of anything but the events you just witnessed.

...

You don't know how long had passed since you fell asleep, but when you slowly open your eyes, the scenery around you wasn't that of a helicopter, but that of a hospital wing in your base.

As your eyes slowly adjust to the light that was above you, glaring down on you to illuminate your bed. You gently lift yourself up using your forearms, looking around the room you were in. First thing you notice is a drip connected to your left hand, which was filled with a clear liquid slowly entering your body.

"They put you on fluids due to how dehydrated you were."

An unfamiliar voice spoke up, when you notice a man sitting in the corner of the room you were in. He was sitting, one leg crossed on the other in a seat reading a book of some kind which he flips over and puts down on the floor so he doesn't lose his place.

You sat there silently, unsure of what to say and if you should even be talking to this stranger.

"Who are you?"

You manage to murmured quietly, shuffling up in your hospital bed slightly as you realised they'd dressed you in some baggy cargo pants and a black short sleeve top. You look back to the man who had since stood up and was standing over the end of your bed.

You look him up and down. He was decently tall and had a bushy moustache and a hat on his head. It felt like you'd seen him somewhere before but you couldn't quite figure out where.

"Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Price."

Price spoke clearly, showing you a friendly smile as he rested his hands on the end of your bed. That's where you knew him from. He was the captain of task force 141.

"I have a proposition for you."