Kohl...

It was a tough mission. A bad day. The team usually handles this by going to a pub and drowning their sorrows. Acting like nothing happened. Most soldiers they know do this, so John is shocked when you respond to an invitation with “actually, Cap…Today was rough. I try not to mix alcohol with these kinds of feelings, think I’m gonna just rest in my room and take a few hours to process it. Thanks though”

Ghost, who usually scarfs down his food in the mess hall and runs out as fast as he can. He doesn’t understand his own habit until he notes that you’re never there and you respond with “ah, I feel kinda…I guess exposed? Eating around so many people. More comfortable to eat in my room or the rec room. Nothing against anyone else, just a preference”

Kyle has had issues with his parents his whole life but never talks about them. He’s already dreading the holiday season, knowing it always brings up difficult feelings. He’s stunned when you mention how “Ah, holidays are always tough, I don’t care much for them, not many great memories. Family wasn’t the most loving when I was younger. Been working on it, but you know, up and down.”

Johnny who is always on. Always trying to lighten the mood and get a laugh, even when he’s exhausted and wants to just break down or be alone. He feels jarringly connected to you when he tries to tease and mess around you after a long day and you say “y’know. I’m sorry Soap, I’m just not feelin great. Not in the mood to joke around really. I’d honestly be good to just sit here…quietly. If that’s ok”

You're pretty sure the entire team hates you. You were new on the team and it didn't seem like they were happy to have you, you can see it clearly. You see how Gaz can casually talk and joke with anyone on base, but he never talks to you, in fact once he even stopped talking when you walked in. Unlike Gaz, Soap does talk to you but the jokes he makes are at your expense, you're pretty certain he is subtly bullying you. Price rarely talks to you, and when he does it only about work and you swear he is disappointed in you even when you haven't done anything. And Ghost, oh he definitely hates, you could argue with yourself that you're just misunderstanding the others, but even with Ghost's face hidden you can tell he stares at you, honestly glares. Doesn't even talk at all if you're around, and on your first mission he out right asked Price if he had to be with you. 

It was starting to get to you, you were sure something was going on, and what do you do when you're stressed, you start cooking. Some people stress clean, you stress cook/bake, it gives your mind and hands something to do, helps you calm down and think straight. So here you are still cooking after all night, normally you would only stress cook or bake for an hour or two, but you had just stayed up all night cooking and baking. The kitchen was less messy than one might expect, though there were lots of dishes out. There were food dishes covering the entire rec room table and even some on the counter that didn't have space on the table. And now you were panicking again, how would you put all the food away, and before they guys wake up. You were frantically opening cabinets trying to find containers to put food away, you couldn't find any. You looked back to the table, now realizing there was no way, even if you found containers there wouldn't be enough, and there was not enough room in the fridge. You were about to full on start panicking, which definitely would lead to more cooking/baking. And in your frantic searching and semi-panic you hadn't noticed the guys standing frozen in the hallway, just staring at the table.

Price was the first to get a grip, he pushed past the rest of them “ya cooking for a family or something kid?” Price asked, both joking and trying to understand why there was so much food. You immediately started apologizing “I’m so sorry, really I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I was stressed last night so I started cooking, and I guess it got out of control. I'm sorry I didn't realize how long it had been or how much food I made. I promise I'll take care of it, I'll put it up right away” the words came spewing out, you tried to go pick up the food from the table but Price stopped you “hold on, are ya saying you stayed up all night, did you even eat” Price was just concerned but you thought he was scolding you “well no, I’m sorry sir, it wont affect my performance I promise. I won't stay up again” Price could tell you weren't really understanding him, he grabbed both your shoulders making you look at him “I’m not worried about that, I'm worried about you. If you're stressed you need to relax, and you definitely need to eat.” Price didn't let you argue, he pulled out a chair and helped you sit. You stared up at Price while he fixed you a plate “here you go, and stop stressing about the food, we can figure it out” you argued, a part of you still convinced he was mad or disappointed in you "I don't know what to do sir, there's nothing to put it in, and nowhere to put it” Price could see how you were starting to panic again, “love, I have three huge soldiers behind me who have never seen this much homemade food at once, it'll get eaten. Right now I need you to eat, because none of us are gonna eat until you've eaten something.” 

And Price meant that, they sat at the table, but none of them even touched the food while you ate. Once you finished your first plate, Price gave you a whole another plate before he motioned for his men to eat. Which they immediately did, food stacked high on their plates, after their first serving you could already see a difference in the amount of food. You didn't think they'd want to eat something you made, but they all devoured their food, you swear you heard Soap moan. Not only did they eat but they complimented the food, every one of them.  When Price finished, the others were now on their second or third plate, he pulled you to the side. “Next time you're stressed you come tell us. You'll never be part of the team if you keep to yourself all the time”

part 1 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5

gender neutral!reader, genz!reader, reader is like 20-24, reader is a corporal, platonic

cw: blood , broken bones , canon typical violence

———————————

when you wake up the next morning the first thing you did was check your phone , confused on why you weren’t hearing an alarm. you were slightly panicked as well , thinking you woke up late just to realize you woke up 20 minutes before your alarm. sighing as you put your phone down , you relax into a half conscious state. you aren’t quite asleep but you also weren’t awake.

jolting once you finally hear the alarm , you raise your head and quickly turn it off. reluctantly sitting up , you move towards the edge of the bed. yawning and rubbing the crust out of your eyes , you stand stretching your arms above your head.

after taking a minute to stretch out your muscles you make your way over to your wardrobe. taking out your undergarments , a pair of sweatpants , and a plain gray shirt , you start to change but are quickly interpreted by your phone ringing. after finishing putting on your shirt you check who’s calling before deciding to ignore it.

after changing you quickly put on your socks and shoes. fixing your hair before leaving and closing the door behind you , you make your way into the mess hall.

grabbing whatever seemed appetizing you make your way to an empty table , not seeing any familiar faces.

a few minutes go by with you eating in silence before a few trays are placed around you. mentally mourning your loss of a quiet morning , you glance up seeing three semi-familiar faces. two of them sporting matching grins while they plop next to you. you ignore them for the most part , eating silently while they talk amongst themselves until you’re suddenly brought into the conversation. “so you’re a corporal , right ?” Ghost’s not even looking at you as he speaks , focusing on his food. you glance up to see his balaclava pulled up to his nose , quickly pulling your attention away from the exposed skin you look back down at your food before answering. “uh- yea” your answer is short due to you not understanding the context behind the sudden question.

you continue eating after that , tuning in to their conversation every now and then.

finishing your food , you grab your tray and stand up when your interrupted by the others standing as well. “we’ll come with you , we’re going to the same place anyways” as Soap speaks , a sly grin starts to pull at his lips. you furrow your brows slightly before shrugging your shoulders , continuing your walk to put the tray away.

starting your walk to the gym you realize that they’re still following you. you don’t think anything of it , they could just be going in the same direction. “so you ready for training ?” this time it’s Gaz who speaks up , staring you down as he speaks. “yea , little annoyed my day off was ruined though.” you shrug your shoulders a bit at the end of your sentence , giving into the small talk. you all continue to talk as you make your way into the gym , almost exactly 15 minutes early.

both your Lieutenant Grant and Staff Sergeant Ridge are already there. Captain Price is also there , surprising you slightly. walking further into the room , their captain notices you all. “good ! you’re all here , start stretching and get ready to spar.” you hesitate for a second before deciding to just listen to him , seeing your sergeant and lieutenant follow his instructions as well.

getting changed into a plain compression shirt and some basketball shorts before sitting down , you start your normal stretching routine , being pulled into idle chatter by Soap.

a sudden clap interrupts whatever conversations were going on. “alright ! up , all of you !” he motions with his hands for you to all up as he speaks. slowly standing , you walk closer towards the Captain. Ghost talking a spot to your left and your lieutenant , Andrew , talking a spot to your right. “right ! Garrick , you’re against Ridge. Mactavish , you’re with Grant. Riley , you’re with L/N.” you’re slightly confused at first , not knowing whose name belonged to who before they started moving.

realizing you got paired with Ghost , you whip your head towards Ridge , just to see his shoulders shaking in poorly disguised laughter. cursing him mentally , you walk towards the mat Ghost chose before standing across from him.

bending at the knees , feet shoulder width apart , you lean forward slightly , arms coming up to guard your chest and face. the position is familiar to you , you’ve started spars like this since you were 13. Ghost is obviously more comfortable on his feet , you can see it in the way he stands. feet just about shoulder width apart , one foot slightly in front of the other , hands guarding his face , it looks like he’s getting ready to box.

you make the first move , sticking low and keeping quick. you strike. one knee sliding off the ground , arms grappling around his thighs , the side of your face pressed into the junction of his hips and waist. you lift , using the momentum you had gathered to pull him off the ground and onto your shoulder. overestimating how much he’d weigh , you start falling backwards , unable to stop. he has no time to react to your sudden movements , back slamming into the ground harshly , breath coming out in a short huff and a cough.

you quickly move off him , you could immediately tell your shoulder hit his diaphragm. “ah shit ! are you okay ?! i am so sorry !” your tone’s panicked , it’s obvious you didn’t want to hurt him. coughing is all he can get out , trying to catch his breath. his hand does lift to show a thumbs up though. “HA ! L.T.’s got the wind knocked outta him” you whip your head around to glare at the speaker before tuning back around and continuing to apologize. you’re apologies are halted by Ghost lifting a palm and sitting up. “ ‘s fine. just got the wind knocked outta me s’all” his voice is gruff and still slightly breathless. “..sorry..” your tone is sheepish , a hand coming up to rub the back of your neck. “ ‘s fine. c’mon. up.” he stands as he speaks , holding a hand out to you.

getting back in the same starting position , you wait , not wanting to move first. he moves fast , a punch aimed towards your face. you duck , a knee sliding off the ground as you move forward and grab around his waist. his fists comes down onto your back. hard. you keep your grip , pushing forward , trying to make him loose his footing.

your face is mostly pressed into his side so you don’t see when one of his hands start reeling back at the same level of your head. his fist moves quick , slamming into your face. you can immediately feel your eyes start watering , nose starting to gush blood. you loose you grip quickly. reeling back and holding your nose , you crouch down , eyes closed in pain. “ah- fuck ! i think it’s broken..” you’re quiet as you speak , hands pressing around your nose , feeling the misshapen bone.

Price comes over , pressing a hand onto your back. “you good , kid ?” he’s almost leaning over you , trying to get a look at your face. removing your hands from your nose , you look over towards him. his sharp inhale tells you that you were correct in your diagnosis.

you didn’t even realize Ghost had walked away before a rag was suddenly pressed to your nose , pulling a wince out of you. “ow ! asshole..” your hand comes up to replace his , pressing the rag to your nose. your free arm is grabbed by Price , him attempting to pull you up. “up , c’mon. Ghost , take them to the infirmary. make sure they get their nose reset.” you groan lowly at the word ‘reset’. you’ve had your nose reset enough to know it hurts and you’d really rather not today.

walking out of the gym , you were about to plead your case but a hand resting on your nape stops you. you and Ghost walk like that the entire way to the infirmary. once you get there you expect him to leave but he doesn’t , he just leans against the wall , arms crossed. only after your nose is reset does he finally leave , silent as a mouse.

you leave with a small bottle of painkillers and a good few replacement bandages. walking back to your room , you see a few instant ice packs outside your door. crouching down to pick them up , you look both ways down the hall , trying to see if anyone could’ve seen who put them there. not seeing anyone , you shrug before you walk into your room , placing everything on your desk.

checking your phone while grabbing your shower necessities , you see a few messages , most from your lieutenant. deciding to check those messages first , you see 3 separate messages from him. one is him telling you that you don’t have to come back to the gym. another saying that all physical activity that could result in injury is canceled for you. the last message was one telling you that you still have to attend both lunch and dinner , you groan at that. checking the other notifications , you see that your mother called. again. 5 more times. deciding to ignore that , you make your way to the showers.

once you’re back in your room you set a timer for 3 hours , wanting to take a nap before the mess hall opens for lunch.

you wake with jolt. after turning over and turning off your alarm , you get up , stretching slowly. putting on your socks and shoes before fixing your hair and walking towards the mess hall. right when you walk in , an arm is slug across your shoulder. flinching slightly at the unexpected touch , you turn to the side , coming face to face with Soap. “sheesh ! L.T. fucked you up.” his tone is teasing but you can see what looks to be… concern ? is his eyes. you wave him off , trying to tell him that it’s fine but your interrupted by a finger being pressed near the underside of your eye. “ow asshole ! what the fuck ?!” you swat at him just to get a giggle in response. shaking your head in exasperation , you grab a tray before grabbing whatever seems appetizing.

you start to walk in the direction of an empty table but are quickly stopped by Soap throwing his arm over your shoulder again. he leads you in the direction of his team , forcing you to sit between him and Gaz. Price is directly across from you , offering you a smile when he notices you walking over. Ghost sits to his left and when you notice him glancing at you , you send him a small smile.

you eat in silence , mostly. every so often you add something to their conversation but other than that your main focus is on eating.

you finish eating first but decide to stay sitting , thoroughly entertained with the petty argument that’s happening. “i’m just askin’ Captain ! if you were athletic , what sport would you play ?” it’s way too difficult to keep yourself from laughing but you manage. for now. “and i’m telling you , you muppet ! i am athletic !” that’s what breaks you , giggles spilling from your lips. you fold over , putting your forehead to the table to try and mask your laughter. hands coming up to cover your mouth. they keep arguing , not even paying attention to you.

trying to collect yourself , you lift your head , looking between Gaz and Price. you’re rewarded with the sly and teasing look on Gaz’s face and the fond annoyance on Price’s face.

a few more minutes pass before your standing with your tray in hand , giving them a short goodbye.

the rest of your day is normal. mainly filled with you in your room , catching up on some shows you enjoy.

————————————

the mission had gone to shit. you all got ambushed , and out of 5 total people , the only people still alive were you and Lieutenant Grant. “sit. down. you got shot-” you cut in quickly “grazed” but he just continues to talk over you. “you got shot. and ! and you dislocated your shoulder. sit. down.” you don’t listen. if someone pops up , you have to be quick enough to get to him. you won’t leave him behind. no matter what. you can’t. you lost enough people today already.

a crunch in the leaves draws you attention. whipping your head around , gun at the ready , you see a familiar skull mask emerge from the trees. sighing and relaxing your shoulders , you start to limp your way over to your lieutenant but your interrupted by Soap beating you too it. Grant’s quickly picked up and thrown over Soap’s shoulder , almost like a sack of potatoes.

Grant points towards you before he speaks, “don’t let them fool you , they got shot-” you interrupt again “grazed” but he just talks louder, “in the leg , they are not okay.” …snitch. you’re tossed over a shoulder as well , Ghost and Gaz did rock , paper , scissors to decide who had to carry you. Ghost lost. pouting as you relax your body , you fall into a half conscious state , almost asleep but still very alert.

it only takes around 30 minutes to get to the evacuation site. a helicopter sitting idle in the middle of a small clearing. you get set down in the grass , content with your feet finally under you again. you see Soap place Grant in one of the seats before starting to talk to the pilot. getting in and taking a seat next to Grant , you’re greeted by the pilot , introducing himself as Nikolai , as you start idle conversation.

the flight back is mostly uneventful. well except for you and Grant bickering. “you dislocated your shoulder ! put the fucking sling on !” he’s actively trying to wrestle you into the sling but you are not having it. “no ! i told you , i relocated it ! stop it !” you’re slapping his hands away whenever they get too close to success. everyone else was just watching in amusement , silently agreeing to make sure you get to the infirmary and get treated.

when you touch down it’s like a hurricane of movement , medical personnel standing at the ready , waiting. they’re quick to move Grant onto a gurney and wheel him away to the med bay.

you’re silent as you walk away , almost making it away before a hand is placed on your shoulder. “where ya goin’, kid ?” when you look back you see its Price , brows furrowed in concern. “…the med bay” the way your eyes dart around tell him that you’re probably not being truthful. “hm , well i’ll walk ya” he pats your shoulder before giving you a gentle nudge forward. being true to his word and following you to the med bay.

he leaves once he sees you getting treated. you got scolded by your nurse , a lot. she really didn’t like when you told her you popped your shoulder back in place while on the field. you could see her physically restrain herself from hitting you.

you got some painkillers , some random antibiotics to prevent infections , and some anti inflammatory pills , and got told to take the painkillers as needed and the others everyday for 2 weeks. she even put you in a splint , much to your displeasure. you also were told that you may need physical therapy but she could only be sure when you were fully healed.

making your way back to your room , you grab your shower essentials and drop off everything you don’t actively need.

showering is difficult. your shoulder didn’t hurt earlier but now it’s throbbing. the process goes by slow due to you only being able to use one hand but you get the job done. all you want to do is sleep so that’s what you do when you get back to your room. you don’t wake up for at least 5 hours and once you do , you only have 45 minutes before the mess hall closes.

you’re up in a hurry , not even bothering to put on shoes , you had your socks on. you practically throw your door open , starting to make your way out the door before you’re greeted with a large brown paper bag. inspecting it , you find both your first and last name on the bag so you decide to open it. what you see definitely surprises you. it’s fast food , and somehow still warm.

bringing the bag into your room , you miss the two pairs of eyes that follow you. them silently fist bumping in victory when they see you take it.

you end up deciding to just eat the food that magically showed up. not wanting to bother with the mess hall when you’d only have like 40 minutes anyways. and besides , it’d be a waste to not eat it.

you fall back to sleep after eating , warm and content.

————————————

if there are any mistakes please tell me 🙏

part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5

gender neutral!reader, genz!reader, reader is like 20-24, reader is a corporal, platonic

you all had first met when you were apart of an exfil group. tasked with getting the 141 out of the woods and to the nearest military base.

they had just exited the forest that they'd been walking in for 2 hours and the first thing they say was what looked to be arguing between two out of the four people there. "okay well i'm telling you i'm not driving! you remember what happened last time, don't you ?!" you don't even seem angry, more so annoyed , glancing at them all when you notice they arrived. "okay well i'm telling you- wait what last time ?" he's obviously a higher ranking official but that clearly doesn't stop you. you just raise your eyebrow and look at him. "no... that was you ?!" he's referring to when you accidentally went off the side of a cliff , in your defense it was dark and raining outside so could you really be blamed.

"what was you?" the guy you were talking to startles slightly , not realizing they had entered the clearing. "i drove a humvee off a cliff. in my defense it was dark. and raining." you say it all with a deadpan look, one hand raising slightly when you defend yourself. they all stare in shock except one. "alright well you are definitely driving now." the main thing that caught your eye was his haircut , a very prominent mohawk , the wide smile was definitely the next thing you noticed.

you just look him up and down , before looking at your lieutenant and holding your hand out , already knowing you won't win this battle. "i just want to say , i didn't get my license before joining the military" is all they get from you before you hop in the front seat of one of the cars. "they're joking!" your lieutenant is quick to try and ease their nerves but you weren't having that. sticking your head out of your rolled down window, "no i'm not." you say it with such a deadpan expression that they really can't tell if it actually is a joke.

while your lieutenant talks to their captain , the other three of them get inside your car. they all cram into the backseat , leaving the passenger seat for their captain. "so were you actually joking?" the pretty one talks this time, why do people always believe you were joking. "no. i didn't learn until enlisting" shaking your head in the beginning of your sentence , you put the keys in , starting the car. you use the time waiting for the captain to roll all the windows up , don’t want a repeat of last time.

their captain gets in , cutting off anything any of you were going to say. he looks like someone just told him his 401K was fake. "did you really go off a cliff?" it's like he's begging you to say no. you can barely keep the grin off your face "i went off a cliff" you have to bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing at his heavy sigh. "you should probably buckle up" it's all the warning any of them get before you press the gas , sending the car flying forward.

when you look in the rear view mirror , you can tell that Soap regrets his decision to make you drive. he's white knuckling his seatbelt , it's like he thinks it will save him from your terrible driving.

Gaz is seated in the middle , staring up at the ceiling , it looks like he's praying, maybe for forgiveness , maybe for help , who really knows.

Ghost is the only calm looking one , only holding onto what you call the oh shit bar above him. his eyes do look a little wide though now that you’re looking.

you have a large grin on your face as you swerve through trees. Price , who is also holding the oh shit bar , slowly turns to look at you. he takes a quivering breath before trying to speak , all he gets out is a quiet 'oh god' before turning to face the front again. you can tell he regrets every decision he's made up until that point.

once you make it out of the forest , its smooth sailing. the only times their lives were in danger then was when another car was on the road. it’s like you made it your personal goal to swerve around as many cars as possible.

you all make it to base perfectly fine. physically. mentally is a different story. all of them besides Ghost rush to get out of the car , slamming the doors behind them. you get out calmly , swinging the keys on your finger. "that was fun!" you have a large grin on your face as you speak , you are 100 percent making fun of them. they all slowly look at you , Soap looking up at you from his leaned over position , hands on his knees. he looks nauseous , maybe he should go to the infirmary. 

Ghost is the first to move , walking up to you and snatching the keys from your finger. he walks away without a word and you have to bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing , shoulders shaking. he obviously didn't enjoy the ride. you see him glance at the captain but you couldn’t discern the look , you could tell he was annoyed but you could see a hint of…. could that be amusement ? in his eyes.

the others follow after him after a second of catching their breath.

you spend the next 30 minutes looking over the car , checking for any bumps or scratches that weren’t there previously.

——————————

the next time you meet it’s in a more neutral setting , the dining hall.

you were sitting with your lieutenant , eating whatever had been provided to you when a tray was suddenly placed next to you. turning your head slowly in their direction you find yourself face to face with Soap , a large smile covering his face. “you don’t mind if i sit here , do ya ?” it’s obviously a rhetorical question as he already started sitting before he spoke.

you just wave a hand in his general direction before going back to eating. “so what did you say your name was ?” he’s staring at you as he speaks , tray sitting half eaten in front of him. you’re answer is short , only giving him your first name. he continues to stare at you , raising an eyebrow in question. he probably wants your last name so you give it up. reluctantly.

you glance up at your lieutenant , giving him a questioning look. he just shrugs and continues eating. rolling your eyes , you try to go back to your meal but you’re interrupted by a tray being set on your other side. this time you don’t react , just wanting to finish eating so you can go sleep.

when you hear a throat being cleared, you pause your eating , looking from the corner of your eye at the new visitor. “so did you really not get you license before enlisting ? because i’ve been thinking about this since you said it.” is what you’re greeted with when Gaz opens his mouth. throwing your head back and slumping forwards , you release a groan of exasperation. “why does everyone think i’m lying , no i didn’t learn before joining , i was taught during basic.” facing forwards again you realize you’re almost done with you meal so you start eating quicker.

your lieutenant releases a small laugh at that , catching both of their attention. you ignore whatever they’re talking about. finishing your food quickly , you stand up with your tray in hand. giving your lieutenant a nod as a goodbye when his attention is pulled towards you. both Gaz and Soap give you a look but they don’t interrupt your leaving.

putting your tray away , your attention is caught by your lieutenant waving you over. you make your way to them , sulking slightly , you honestly just want to sleep. “yes , sir ?” your hands naturally come to rest behind your back , folding together. “we have training tomorrow , 0900 , i expect you there 15 minutes early” you furrow your eyebrows slightly before nodding , accepting the fact that your complete day off was ruined.

you leave after he finishes , not noticing the pairs of eyes on you.

making your way back to your barracks , you grab all of your shower necessities. walking the short distance to the showers , you set up camp in one of the showers.

after finishing your shower routine you change into comfortable clothes. grabbing everything you brought , you make your way back to your room. after putting everything away you finally get comfortable under your covers. slowly falling into a dreamless sleep.

———————————

uhh i’ll probably continue this. probably.

if there are any mistakes please tell me 🙏

part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5

gender neutral!reader, genz!reader, reader is like 20-24, reader is a corporal, platonic

you all had first met when you were apart of an exfil group. tasked with getting the 141 out of the woods and to the nearest military base.

they had just exited the forest that they'd been walking in for 2 hours and the first thing they say was what looked to be arguing between two out of the four people there. "okay well i'm telling you i'm not driving! you remember what happened last time, don't you ?!" you don't even seem angry, more so annoyed , glancing at them all when you notice they arrived. "okay well i'm telling you- wait what last time ?" he's obviously a higher ranking official but that clearly doesn't stop you. you just raise your eyebrow and look at him. "no... that was you ?!" he's referring to when you accidentally went off the side of a cliff , in your defense it was dark and raining outside so could you really be blamed.

"what was you?" the guy you were talking to startles slightly , not realizing they had entered the clearing. "i drove a humvee off a cliff. in my defense it was dark. and raining." you say it all with a deadpan look, one hand raising slightly when you defend yourself. they all stare in shock except one. "alright well you are definitely driving now." the main thing that caught your eye was his haircut , a very prominent mohawk , the wide smile was definitely the next thing you noticed.

you just look him up and down , before looking at your lieutenant and holding your hand out , already knowing you won't win this battle. "i just want to say , i didn't get my license before joining the military" is all they get from you before you hop in the front seat of one of the cars. "they're joking!" your lieutenant is quick to try and ease their nerves but you weren't having that. sticking your head out of your rolled down window, "no i'm not." you say it with such a deadpan expression that they really can't tell if it actually is a joke.

while your lieutenant talks to their captain , the other three of them get inside your car. they all cram into the backseat , leaving the passenger seat for their captain. "so were you actually joking?" the pretty one talks this time, why do people always believe you were joking. "no. i didn't learn until enlisting" shaking your head in the beginning of your sentence , you put the keys in , starting the car. you use the time waiting for the captain to roll all the windows up , don’t want a repeat of last time.

their captain gets in , cutting off anything any of you were going to say. he looks like someone just told him his 401K was fake. "did you really go off a cliff?" it's like he's begging you to say no. you can barely keep the grin off your face "i went off a cliff" you have to bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing at his heavy sigh. "you should probably buckle up" it's all the warning any of them get before you press the gas , sending the car flying forward.

when you look in the rear view mirror , you can tell that Soap regrets his decision to make you drive. he's white knuckling his seatbelt , it's like he thinks it will save him from your terrible driving.

Gaz is seated in the middle , staring up at the ceiling , it looks like he's praying, maybe for forgiveness , maybe for help , who really knows.

Ghost is the only calm looking one , only holding onto what you call the oh shit bar above him. his eyes do look a little wide though now that you’re looking.

you have a large grin on your face as you swerve through trees. Price , who is also holding the oh shit bar , slowly turns to look at you. he takes a quivering breath before trying to speak , all he gets out is a quiet 'oh god' before turning to face the front again. you can tell he regrets every decision he's made up until that point.

once you make it out of the forest , its smooth sailing. the only times their lives were in danger then was when another car was on the road. it’s like you made it your personal goal to swerve around as many cars as possible.

you all make it to base perfectly fine. physically. mentally is a different story. all of them besides Ghost rush to get out of the car , slamming the doors behind them. you get out calmly , swinging the keys on your finger. "that was fun!" you have a large grin on your face as you speak , you are 100 percent making fun of them. they all slowly look at you , Soap looking up at you from his leaned over position , hands on his knees. he looks nauseous , maybe he should go to the infirmary. 

Ghost is the first to move , walking up to you and snatching the keys from your finger. he walks away without a word and you have to bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing , shoulders shaking. he obviously didn't enjoy the ride. you see him glance at the captain but you couldn’t discern the look , you could tell he was annoyed but you could see a hint of…. could that be amusement ? in his eyes.

the others follow after him after a second of catching their breath.

you spend the next 30 minutes looking over the car , checking for any bumps or scratches that weren’t there previously.

——————————

the next time you meet it’s in a more neutral setting , the dining hall.

you were sitting with your lieutenant , eating whatever had been provided to you when a tray was suddenly placed next to you. turning your head slowly in their direction you find yourself face to face with Soap , a large smile covering his face. “you don’t mind if i sit here , do ya ?” it’s obviously a rhetorical question as he already started sitting before he spoke.

you just wave a hand in his general direction before going back to eating. “so what did you say your name was ?” he’s staring at you as he speaks , tray sitting half eaten in front of him. you’re answer is short , only giving him your first name. he continues to stare at you , raising an eyebrow in question. he probably wants your last name so you give it up. reluctantly.

you glance up at your lieutenant , giving him a questioning look. he just shrugs and continues eating. rolling your eyes , you try to go back to your meal but you’re interrupted by a tray being set on your other side. this time you don’t react , just wanting to finish eating so you can go sleep.

when you hear a throat being cleared, you pause your eating , looking from the corner of your eye at the new visitor. “so did you really not get you license before enlisting ? because i’ve been thinking about this since you said it.” is what you’re greeted with when Gaz opens his mouth. throwing your head back and slumping forwards , you release a groan of exasperation. “why does everyone think i’m lying , no i didn’t learn before joining , i was taught during basic.” facing forwards again you realize you’re almost done with you meal so you start eating quicker.

your lieutenant releases a small laugh at that , catching both of their attention. you ignore whatever they’re talking about. finishing your food quickly , you stand up with your tray in hand. giving your lieutenant a nod as a goodbye when his attention is pulled towards you. both Gaz and Soap give you a look but they don’t interrupt your leaving.

putting your tray away , your attention is caught by your lieutenant waving you over. you make your way to them , sulking slightly , you honestly just want to sleep. “yes , sir ?” your hands naturally come to rest behind your back , folding together. “we have training tomorrow , 0900 , i expect you there 15 minutes early” you furrow your eyebrows slightly before nodding , accepting the fact that your complete day off was ruined.

you leave after he finishes , not noticing the pairs of eyes on you.

making your way back to your barracks , you grab all of your shower necessities. walking the short distance to the showers , you set up camp in one of the showers.

after finishing your shower routine you change into comfortable clothes. grabbing everything you brought , you make your way back to your room. after putting everything away you finally get comfortable under your covers. slowly falling into a dreamless sleep.

———————————

uhh i’ll probably continue this. probably.

It goes on for most of the day, and people just take to avoiding him as much as possible, at least until the quietly-brooding Ghost is back.

Except for you. Because you get a weird little feeling that says that there has to be something happening for him to be acting like this. Sure, Ghost is dry and blunt, a little social awkward at times, but he’s never acted like this before.

Batman: The Brave & The Bold #20 - "Man's Underworld II" (2025)

Industrial sentimentalism.

Photographer unknown via #utilitarianarchitecture on Facebook.

A reverse image search was totally worth it though.

no because imagine Ghost, who’s spent his whole adult life with a mask on and now the scents of the the world are too much. every cheap cologne, every burst of omega perfume, every new room full of strangers is an instant headache. he’s the only alpha who walks into an omega heat bunker and immediately goes “absolutely the fuck not” and locks himself in his room until his vision stops swimming.

everyone thinks he’s cold. untouchable. “Ghost doesn’t do scents,” Soap jokes, and Ghost just grunts and changes the subject. (it’s not a joke. he’ll get a three day migraine if someone walks past with a strong enough aftershave.)

and then you show up. beta, background, scent so low key he almost misses it the first few times. not flowers, not pheromones, just… clean skin. fresh laundry. the soft warmth of someone existing, not advertising.

he doesn’t realize at first why he keeps drifting into your orbit. why he stops sitting at the end of the table and starts pulling a chair next to you during briefings. why, when his rut hits and everyone else’s scents feels like sandpaper against his nerves, he’s following you, hands in your hair, nose tucked under your jaw, breathing easy for once in his life.

you’re the only person he can stand to be near when his senses are on fire. everyone else is too much, too sharp, too loud. you’re just… quiet. he can bury himself in your scent, soft and muted and not at all the migraine trigger he’s learned to dread.

And then there’s pounding footsteps behind you, a hand snatching the back of your jacket, and suddenly you’re yanked off your feet and hauled backwards against a stranger’s chest. There’s a gun jammed up under your chin and some asshole is kicking at your dog.

Your dog- your rescue dog- bolts, leash slipping from your fingers, and the blind panic that hits you has nothing to do with the weapon under your jaw or the group of very armed men who suddenly appear in front of you barking orders.

“Put the gun down!”

“Let them go!”

“Hands where I can see them!”

There are like, a plethora of different voices shouting, guns raised, tension sky high, and all your brain can process is: oh my god this is going to set him back so bad in his recovery.

You’re squirming in this guy’s grip, not because of the gun, but because you are furious. that’s your baby. your abused, soft-eyed, loud-noises-are-still-scary baby.

The shouting ramps up, your annoyance ramps up with it, and finally you just snap, throw your head back and slam your skull into your kidnapper’s nose.

He screeches, his arm jerks, there’s a deafening crack of gunfire from someone in front of you, and a hot spray of blood hits your face as the guy drops. You slip in it, hit the ground hard, ears ringing.

And all you can think is: oh my god my dog is definitely freaking the fuck out somewhere.

You’re probably a little in shock because your survival instincts are nonexistent. instead of crawling for cover, you suck in a breath and start yelling at the top of your lungs. “GHOST! GHOST, COME HERE, BOY! IT’S OKAY, YOU’RE SAFE! MOMMY’S OKAY!”

The armed men in front of you actually jerk back in surprise.

You scramble to your feet, still wobbling, spinning in circles as you cup your hands around your mouth.

“GHOST! COME HERE, BABY! IT’S OKAY, SWEETHEART, YOU’RE SAFE, MOMMY’S RIGHT HERE! ”

“Uh… Ghost?” one of the men asks carefully.

You whirl toward him, wild eyed. “Yeah, that’s my fucking dog. My good boy who has been doing so well in his recovery from being an abuse victim, and now his progress is probably going to backslide because some jackass decided to play hostage taker- GHOST! C’MERE MY WITTLE BABY BOY, MOMMY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU- ”

Three of the soldiers are doing that nervous side eye thing at the fourth one- a hulking mountain of a guy in a skull mask- who has gone absolutely, completely still with a very real, very noticeable bulge forming in his cargo pants.

You, meanwhile, are still cupping your hands and cooing into the empty street:

Espio when Rouge tried seducing him

Red Hood: Doctor. Ha, it’s funny when people call dentists “doctor”

Person being interrogated: We are doctors. We do four years of medical school.

Red Hood: No, it’s called dental school

Interrogatee: But we learn about the entire body

Red Hood: But if you had cancer you wouldn’t call a dentist

Interrogatee: You know, it’s actually harder to get into dental school than medical school

Red Hood: Yeah, because there are fewer dental schools. Because most people want to become actual doctors

Interrogatee: That’s ridiculous! It’s not like we’re college professors calling ourselves doctors!

Red Hood: It’s not the same thing, my friend.

Interrogatee: Well sure it is! When somebody on a plane has a heart attack, does anybody yell “Yo, does anyone have an art history PhD?!”

Red Hood: A PhD is a doctorate! It’s literally describing a doctor!

Nightwing: Maybe let’s refocus

Red Hood: No! The problem here is that medical practitioners have co-opted the word doctor!

Nightwing: Okay, Hood-

Red Hood: I know we live in a world where anything can mean anything AND NOBODY EVEN CARES ABOUT ETYMOLOGY-!

—1 hr later at the batcave—

Jason, sipping coffee: …Apparently that’s a trigger for me

dick: jesus what is it with you and your dark fantasies

jason: no listen, they fuckin' would've, the only time they ever get along is when (points to the back)

damian in the background: if killing wasn't against our moral code we could just shish kebab this bloke with my katana, most efficient

tim next to damian: yeah call the condiment king to top it off with sauce and pin it on him, he can only prove himself innocent if he catches us but we know gotham like the back of our hand so he wouldn't be able to—

tim and damian at the same time: ketch-up

dick: what the fuck