magnolia

Don't even know if these chapters are good or not, I am too lazy to read them and rewrite. You get what you get (which is up until Chapter 05, cause I haven't written more).

! Grammar mistakes and possible bits of logic missing might be present

Simon Ghost Riley x fem!character

CHAPTER 4

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” J.K. Rowling

And she feared, she feared not knowing what will happen next, when it will happen. Will it be tomorrow? Overmorrow? Maybe in a week? Or month? Or maybe never, maybe they would never find her, and she just lives in the anxiety of something that will never happen, fearing something that will never arrive at her door. And that’s how Calliope was soothing herself, hell, even if she wanted, she wouldn’t have been able to say her location, it doesn’t have an address.

It has coordinates, though.

Her mind counter attacked her argument, like it picked a side, and it wasn’t hers. And she chose to ignore it; does she know and have the coordinates? Yeah, would she ever tell them to the Special Forces? Heck no, she was stubborn, even though she was paralysed of fear in the morning when she would hear the wind rustle against the fire lookout, making her think they have arrived for her.

Like the Grim Reaper when arriving for the dead, taking them with him.

And that’s how Calliope chose to live from now on, blissfully unaware of the impending doom, although haunted by nightmares and spooked by sudden sounds, making her feel small and scared, before she continues putting her mask back on.

She stopped using the radio much, scared she would stumble against them, against Ghost, again, and that she would have nowhere to run, or dig her grave even deeper than it already was.

And that’s how she felt, until one Saturday evening, coming back from town, with her usual thermos from Rachel, filled with water, and newly, some containers with food that she would put in the fridge, and eat the next few days. She saw it. Or him. Like a shadow, in her little fire lookout room above, when getting out of the car.

She felt like her legs would give up under her, the way her breath stopped while her heart rate felt slowed and then accelerated at the same time, hands weak, almost dropping her stuff on the ground, before recollecting herself, or trying to.

She had nowhere to run, realistically, she didn’t even know if he was alone, maybe he had his team wait in the forest, in case she decides to try her luck, running away, trying to escape a ghost.

So, she took her heart in her teeth, and started walking, slowly, like she had a ton of weight on each leg, feeling heavy, the impending doom, like the world was ending, for her, when she would open the door.

 And she opened the door, feeling how she had a million rocks stuck in her throat, controlling her shaking, straightening her back, and turning the light on. Her gaze almost instantly locked on the figure wearing black, sat on her bed, wearing a Ghost mask.

Feeling like she met the Grim Reaper itself.

She closed the door, silently, albeit the door was slightly creaking before it closed, putting her stuff on the nearby drawers, before she turned and locked eyes again with the Grim Reaper, which in honesty, she realised it was Ghost, his mask betraying who he was.

Death feels more merciful than standing in front of him.

She thought to herself, analysing him from head to toe, and from toe to head back. He was wearing black combat boots, cargo pants, with a black hoodie and a bullet proof vest over it. Hell, he was all dressed in black, the only white thing was his ghost mask, with the white strips of the balaclava extending from the ghost masks teeth.

He didn’t get up, he didn’t hurry, he analysed her himself, studying, like trying to decipher what was going in her head, what was the next move.

She was wearing jeans, with black boots that helped her walk on the rough terrain, the same hoodie she wore before, green with YALE on her chest, and a black leather jacket, the temperatures dropping since she arrived.

“Calliope” the British man pronounced her name “Merritt” continued, like he put the dot on the i.

“That’s me” Calliope said, with a voice she thought she lost before opening the door, and a bravery she didn’t know she had.

He smirked, or at least that is what she thought, not being able to see his face, but she saw the little lines forming slightly at the corner of his eyes when she answered, his eyes dark brown, looking at her, feeling like he was making holes throughout her, like that is how she will die.

“Brave one, aren’t you” he said before he got up, and she felt weak in her knees, him towering over her even from a few feet away. And he was huge, he could see the ripped arms through the hoodie, the height, which she guessed to be around six foot two, maybe even three almost, a whole foot taller than her.

She wanted to say something, maybe beg for her life, or say it was a mistake; she didn’t mean any harm when she was eavesdropping on them, that she was just bored, shuffling through the frequencies.

I wouldn’t believe myself either.

She thought to herself, almost wincing at the way how her mind was running thousands of miles per second, and in all scenarios, it felt like she was trapped with no escape.

And although she felt intimidated by him, almost thrice as smaller than she already was, she straightened her back again, holding her ground in defence.

“Why were you listening on us, Calliope? Are you working with an organization, gathering information against us?” He said accusatory, making Calliope frown the way he jumped to the worst conclusions.

And in her eyes, she didn’t exactly deserve this accusatory tone, being hunted down like prey.

But for men like Ghost, who worked in the military, combating terrorists, trafficking rings, and the worst humans of the planet, it wasn’t something surprising, or unusual, if he didn’t always look over his shoulder, making sure everything was clear, he would have already been six feet deep in the ground.

“No” she said first, her voice firm, surprising even herself before continuing “I was just shuffling through the radio’s frequency, bored, when I heard y’all talk during a mission” she confessed. Making her feel like a little child, when her mom would force her to go to the Sunday Church, and confess her sins to the Priest, asking for forgiveness.

“And then I just stayed, to listen for a few more days” After a deafening silence she confessed even more. And silence fell again, looking at him, trying to understand what will happen next, but God if that mask made it basically impossible to read his face.

“You just casually listened to military information, intel, mission completion?” He said even more accusatory, not knowing yet if he should believe her, or she is lying through her teeth.

Calliope was stunned, not because of the question itself really, it was logical he would ask it, she just didn’t have an answer. She truly didn’t know why she stayed and continued listening to their radio frequency.

She took a deep breath, like her lungs were running out of air at an alarming rate, making her suffocate, but it was all in her head.

“I don’t know” she said quietly, looking from his face down at his feet, like she couldn’t bear to see his eyes at her pathetic answer “I guess I was bored, and intrigued at the same time” she said, even herself unsure of the answer before looking back up to his eyes.

She froze at his chuckle, or more the way he pushed the air out of his nose, like a dry, chuckle of ‘Is this woman for real?’

She felt at a loss, no, she felt in the middle of a crossroad, and each way seemed to send her to her death.

“You…” he started in a calculated, cold voice but Calliope could sense a small amount of disbelief in his words “listened to us for days because of boredom?” He asked, like trying to process this. A civilian just listening to him and his team carry missions and talk, due to pure boredom.

“Why did you talk, why you didn’t continue eavesdropping like a little rat on us anymore?” He asked again, his eyes squeezed a bit, like trying to read a small fine print written on her, explaining everything so that he could actually understand what was happening.

Calliope then slugged her shoulders in defeat, not because she was caught red handed handing sensible information about Task Force 141 to their enemies, preparing an attack, no. It was because she felt exhausted, tired, from all the anxiety and fear she has experienced the past week, expecting the Grim Reaper at her door, and now having to explain herself with no proof, and no belief in her words either, although she didn’t have any ulterior motive. Just boredom and curiosity.

So she walked, or more dragged her feet to the chair near the desk, where the radio was, but she didn’t sat there for the radio no, she sat there because she felt her legs transforming in jello, giving up on her any second, and the six foot two titan was standing in front of her bed, denying her access to sit there instead.

She wasn’t even offended at him for calling her a rat, and honestly, she felt she deserved it in that moment.

“I felt guilty listening without y’all knowing” she says in a whisper, eyes on the floor, with regret in her voice, her pulling her legs to her face, having her chin rest on the knees while hugging the legs with her arms. A truly pitiful image.

“You felt guilty.” Repeated Ghost, like testing the statement himself, not knowing what to make out of it. For the first time since she entered the fire lookout since he was there, looking away trying to make sense of her current confessions, to find a fault, a crevice in which he could say ‘Ha, you are lying’, but he couldn’t, and looking around, realisation hit him like the blinding lights of a truck in the middle of a pitch-black night.

She was alone, in the middle of nowhere, most likely with minimal human contact, apart from the small town nearby, having nothing to do really, so she found an innocent escape from her point, in the radio. He cursed under his breath, but Calliope didn’t hear him. He looked back at her, feeling some sort of pity towards her.

He wanted to brush his hand on his face, filled with frustration, and maybe even disappointment. He thought he would find someone part of another organization, trying to sabotage his team, in result being able to take town the fucker, but instead he found a girl in her early to mid-twenties, in the middle of nowhere, lonely.

He got punched aggressively out of his train of thoughts, the alternative versions he thought before arriving here, when Calliope spoke.

I have come to the quick and embarrassing realisation that this is not a x reader fic, and more of a own character fic. I think it's okay, during my old times we would imagine ourselves in the place of the main character anyway. Bring back the old ways. The quotes at the start are my favourite thing.

-> Not proof read, grammatical mistakes and bits of logic may be present.

Simon Ghost Riley x fem!character

CHAPTER 3

“Are you going to answer my questions, or do I have to whack you with a stick until delicious candy surprises fall out?” Molly Harper

She been at the lookout two whole months now, enjoying the peace it offered to her. She was driving to town almost every Saturday, visiting the dinner mostly, talking with Rachel, while she filled her thermos with coffee, always on the house, and always offended when Calliope tried to pay her for it.

It took two whole months for her, to finally take Liam’s advice, in a very boring afternoon, by fiddling with the radio, changing the frequencies, listening, and changing again. For a good hour she just kept doing that, almost lost in her thoughts, when a voice snapped her out from it.

“Bravo 0-7, moving closer” A rough British accent echoed in her little fire lookout, making Calliope straighten her back.

Bravo 0-7? What is that?

She thought to herself before another voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Bravo 7-1, target been located” another voice, this time sounding more like a Scotsman, echoed in her lookout.

She frowned her eyebrows, confused but continuing to listen.

“Bravo 7-1, its Bravo 0-6, target update” Another British man spoke, this time rougher, older.

“Bravo 7-1 to Bravo 0-6, target mobilised, moving to exfil” The Scotsman answered and then something clicked in her head.

The military? Here?

Calliope thought to herself, shocked. She never really met or interacted with military men her whole life, hell, she was almost completely parallel with it. But she stayed silent, stayed on the frequency quiet, listening in, waiting for more conversation. And she waited for what almost felt an hour before she heard the older voice again.

“Good job, Soap” he said before continuing “Give the target to the exfil team and meet me, Ghost and Gaz at the safe house” the man continued.

“Roger that, Price” the Scotsman said, Soap, before the radio went silent again.

So, the Scotsman goes by Soap, and the older British man is Price, seems to be leading them, who is the other British man? Ghost? Or Gaz?

Calliope thought, trying to place a name on the voice. Wondering how close they were to her, what the military was doing here, in the middle of nowhere.

She sat for the rest of the night, listening to the radio, catching glimpses of conversation between those four men before she guessed they arrived at the lookout, the radio going silent.

And without realising, she fell asleep, and when the morning arrived, waking up a few minutes before her alarm rang through the entire lookout, she got up, starting her small but peaceful morning routine.

And that’s how the rest of her days went by now, with a new hobby, if you could call it that, sneaking in her daily routine, which was listening to the radio, at the frequency she found the military men.

In those few days she realised they are the Special Air Forces, that Price was the Captain, and Soap with Gaz are Sergeant, and the other one being a Lieutenant. She was also able to understand their personalities a bit too.

Captain Price didn’t talk that much, although was still joking sometimes through the radio, but mostly leading and encouraging the team.

Sergeant Soap, the Scotsman, was full of jokes, most of the time cracking and trying to fill the silence, to what she believes was during the missions.

Sergeant Gaz mostly laughed or supported Soap with other small jokes but was quieter.

Lieutenant Ghost was the quietest one, mostly leading the team, Calliope guessed, when Price wasn’t around. Laughing rarely laughing much at the jokes over the radio but had his own unique moments where he would crack some, mostly dad jokes.

And then one day, the guilt captured Calliope, feeling bad she was eavesdropping on military radio, being on their frequency without them knowing, listening to them joke, and do their missions together. The thought not leaving Calliope, feeling with each day passing that the guilt was swallowing her even more, to the point she started losing sleep.

That’s how she really ended in a predicament, speaking on the radio, to the Task Force 141. Well, couldn’t really call it speaking.

“Hello” she started anxiously “I don’t know who you are, or what you really doing” Calliope continued, with a little white lie, because she knew their names, and she knew that they were the Special Air Forces “but I have been picking up your radio frequency” another lie “and you should change it or secure it, I don’t know” she finished before muting her mic, feeling the way her heart was almost exploding in her chest, feeling its beating in her head.

And there was a silence, for a few minutes there was a silence, making Calliope feeling maybe she wasn’t heard, or they left already, not knowing if she should feel happy, they didn’t hear her, or she would have to muster the courage again, the next time she hears them.

She is violently brought to reality by a rough British voice, making her stare at the radio.

“Who are you?” A voice she couldn’t mistake, not for how long she been eavesdropping on their frequency. A cold, serious voice, that made you feel small without seeing its owner, Ghost.

Calliope suddenly feels the world collapse around her, and in all honestly, she never thought what would happen after her little speech to them. That they would thank her and send their regards, securing their frequency? Or would do that without saying anything, making her realise later that they disappeared completely? Or maybe that they could find her and throw her in a prison for eavesdropping on the SAS.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK.

Panic settled in her, looking around through the fire lookout windows like they already know where she is, like she already has a big fat red cross on her forehead, marking the point. She is shaken violently, again, to reality by the same voice.

“I repeat, who are you?” This time Ghost asked, sounding more impatient at the silence he was receiving from the other end.

“A civilian” she said fast, pressing her mic button before pressing it off again, before she even realised. And then it hit her, why was she so sure that they would believe her? For all they know she could be a terrorist listening to their radio for the past few days, planning an attack on them.

No, that’s absurd, right?

She thought to herself.

“That’s not a good answer, try again” The same voice, Ghost, came back, making her frown at the radio.

The fuck you mean it’s not.

She thought to herself annoyed.

“Yes, the hell it is” she said angrily in the radio, before she turned her mic off again, panicked.

Oh, you are so stupid, why are you arguing with the military. Stop it.

She then heard a scoff through the radio. “Do you know who you speaking with? The Special Forces” Ghost answered back, coldly.

Special Forces my ass.

“I just wanted to help” started Calliope, a bit more chilled, with less anger and fire in her voice “your radio not been secured for days” finished, thinking for a second that maybe this will end here.

“For days? You been listening to us for days?” Ghost said hurriedly, before a silence fell.

Fuck, she was so stupid, Calliope stop with this.

She begged herself, not knowing how she was able to dig an even deeper grave, when she heard the radio again, with muffle voices in the background.

“Where are you located?” the voice came as a command from Ghost.

Fuck, no, hold on, this is not good at all.

“Doesn’t matter” she hissed back, still not sure why she was putting an attitude with the Special Forces, maybe she truly had a death wish that she was trying so hard to reach.

And maybe she thought she was safe, that they wouldn’t be able to reach her, hell they have nothing on her, not her name, location, anything.

But Calliope didn’t know that the Task Force 141 were hunting for fun terrorists’ organizations, grasping for clues where there are none, creating leads and clues bringing them to their final destination.

“We will find you” Ghost said coldly in the radio before she heard it turned off.

It wasn’t a if they will find Calliope.

After posting the Chapter 01 out of the 5? or 6? chapters I have written back in August of 2025, I have realised that Ghost only makes his appearance in Chapter 03. Repeated disclaimer, I have not proof read the chapters so be ware of: grammar mistakes and any logic bits missing.

Simon Ghost Riley x fem!reader

CHAPTER 2

“Sometimes it just feels really, really wonderful to be alive.” Doug Couplan

She woke up to her alarm, grunting and picking the phone still half asleep, before shutting the alarm down by instinct, not needing to open her eyes to know where the button was on her screen. And she stayed with her eyes closed and phone in her hand a few more minutes, before she pushed herself up from the bed, being already late to her first shift by a few minutes, although nobody was timing her.

She got up, and did her morning routine, slowly, trying to adjust to the drastic change, having no running water and having to use it from a basin, was something she wasn’t used to.

And then she changed her clothes. Really, she didn’t have to do that, nobody would see her, but she felt more productive in something other than pyjamas. She chose black cargo pants, with a white t-shirt and pulled a hoodie over, in green, with big letters that wrote ‘YALE’ on her chest. Putting some socks on, she lingered for a few seconds if she should wear the snickers, deciding that she will opt for the slippers for inside. Her purple fluffy slippers, one of the not so many things she brought from her ‘old life’.

She then left the room, being met with a cold air of the morning, but not getting down, but sitting at the all-round balcony of the fire lookout, on a chair, with her binoculars and hand, and just examining the territory.

After an hour, she felt the cold crept in, ushing her to go back inside. She didn’t turn the generator right away, thinking she will get naturally warm, and although she did slightly, she was still too cold for her liking, turning the generator on for a bit till it warmed up the not so big room before turning it off.

She then performed the rest of her duties, writing a report about the weather changes during her shift, performed routine checks on the equipment provided, which she should be doing daily.

And her day went by, a weird feeling not allowing her to fully relax, unused to the new routine.

And that’s how her days went by, till the two-week mark hit up, and she got over the radio an information that the helo will arrive in 15 minutes with her supplies: water, gas, generators, and other stuff she didn’t remember.

She was anxious, it’s the first time this is happening, and she didn’t know how the interaction would be going, or the entire process. Surely it wasn’t long, and hopefully she wouldn’t have to do much of anything.

When the helicopter arrived, she got down from the fire lookout, greeting with a half-energised wave, and a small ‘Hello’.

The pilot got out and looked at her, smiled and waved back.

“You are the new one aren’t you” He said looking at her “Nice to meet you, I am Liam” he said extending his hand, her accepting and shaking softly, remind her the interaction with Samuel.

“Calliope” she said back before putting her hands back in her cardigan pockets.

“How’s been the two weeks here?” he asked while he was getting stuff out of the helicopter, carrying it into the storage room.

“Not as bad as I thought, love the quietness” she said looking at him carry the stuff.

“Have you had any chance dropping at the town? It’s pretty nice, can get provisions there, and other stuff to help you not die of boredom” He joked looking at her shortly before continuing to carry the gas cylinders.

“No, not really” she said before she realised, she needed to go there, her food supplies running low, and to browse the shops “You familiar with the town? Anything I should be aware of?”

He stopped carrying the stuff, and looked at her “Not really, the locals are nice” he said taking some time to think “If you up for stories and just talking, they are always happy for new faces they can talk the ears off.” He laughs “There are not a lot of new people, so they get excited when someone new appears”

He started walking to the helo, before getting in and saying his goodbyes, he told her “Y’know, you can shuffle the radio frequencies, not just for reporting, might be able to just pick up radios for other people you can chat up with” he said before waving a goodbye and flying out, leaving Calliope surprised.

In the two weeks she was here she didn’t really think of the ways she could use the radio. Heck, maybe if he didn’t tell her about it, she would have never found out she could do that. She shook her head, before she got up at the fire lookout, taking her keys, wallet and a few bags, she got down, getting into her car.

Starting the engine, she drove the car out on the small rode forest road, that wasn’t the smoothest, but she was happy she sold her previous car, having a SUV for the city, to a 4x4, something suited for the rough roads more.

Keep looking at the map, making sure she was on the right road to the town, after almost two hours, she arrived, slowing down a bit more, looking around her at the little houses and shops, before she noticed the little shops. She parked her car making sure it wouldn’t bother anybody, although she didn’t see any other cars so far on the roads, she took her wallet and bags and closed the car with a beep.

It was a Saturday, and she saw a few people walking around, chatting, feeling so much emptier than the Metropolitan City she was living in, where the weekends always were filled with so many people that you barely had space to walk on the sidewalks.

She stopped in front of a shop which sold food, entering it, greeted by a woman in her 40s, she guessed. She smiled back before she diverted her attention at the products, the range a lot smaller than in the city, but she wasn’t really complaining.

“The fresh products are from here” The lady suddenly voiced “You the new fire lookout?” followed by an immediate question, curious.

Calliope turned around looking at the woman. “M’yeah, started two weeks ago” answered when she got closer to the woman, who was also the cashier, starting to ring her products, while Calliope was putting them in her bags.

“How you like it? I heard you are the daughter of Parker Merritt?” the woman asked gently, but Calliope felt her heart miss a beat, not used to talk about her dad, at all. She nodded her head without saying anything, continuing to bag her produce.  

The lady had a ‘Ooh’ escape her mouth before continuing “Then you sure would like it. Parker used to come every weekend in the town, not for produce as much as chatting with people. He used to say it can get pretty lonely up there” She continued while Calliope felt tense not noticing it “Oh, excuse me, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Eliana” the woman said, realising she hasn’t introduced herself yet.

“Calliope” the young brunette said back, giving a half smile to the woman while she nodded, like she knew her name already, and she probably did, and after she said the total of her little shopping spree. Calliope opening her wallet and giving the cash in with a few cents, putting it back in her pocket before saying goodbye and taking the produce back to her car.

She breathed in and exhaled, not expecting to meet someone here who knew her dad, although he was the previous fire lookout here, she never thought they would know him like that, or her.

After closing the car again, she looked around for other shops, curious what else she could buy while she is in town, trying to remember if she needed anything, and then she opened the door of a what seemed at first glance, supply store. It had from some DIY and construction items to office like pens and pencils with notebooks and other small items.

And then she noticed at the back books. The store was also selling books, and at a closure look she saw CDs and some Vinyl, although old ones. She then saw an old man, well, heard him, snoring on a chair, near the cashier desk, assuming he was the owner of the store.

She straightened her back, continuing to look around, deciding to buy a diary and a few pens and pencils, settling on a a5 diary, that was from black faux leather, although the choice wasn’t that big, so she shrugged her shoulders slightly before taking it to the cashier. Which was asleep.

Fuck

She didn’t want to wake up the man, feeling bad, but she also was scared she might startle him, so she started calling him out in almost a whisper.

“Uh, sir?”

“Sir, can I uh” she tried to ask, but closing her mouth.

“Sir” she said a bit louder.

Didn’t work either

“Sir, hello?” this time she said quite a bit louder. The old man jumping slightly before waking up, confused, before finding the source of the voice: Calliope.

“Oh yes, sorry, sorry” he said getting up hurriedly before calculating her total.

“It’s fine, I am sorry for waking you up” she said slightly embarrassed.

“No-no-no” he said back “I fell asleep, it’s my fault” he said with a smile.

She then thanked him after paying for her items, before leaving, saying sorry again. On her way back to the car, she noticed across the street a little dinner.

Castor Dinner

She read mentally the name, before crossing the street, looking left and right although there are no cars to be seen yet, apart from hers.

When she entered the dinner, she got greeted with the smell of food, mixed with coffee and relaxing jazz music. The woman at the counter shot her eyes up at the newcomer, signalling excited with her hand to come to her, which Calliope obliged.

“Oh my God, you are the new one, aren’t you? The news travel fast in a small town like this, y’know.” She said while pouring coffee in a cup to Calliope, without even asking her, although she didn’t mind, taking the cup in her hands, blowing with her mouth some cold air on the hot coffee.

“So, I heard” Calliope said slightly amused before sipping her coffee and then looking at the woman.

“I am Rachel, this is my family’s dinner” Rachel exclaiming excitingly “Here, have this” she continued handing Calliope a thermos, her taking it not registering yet what was happening.

“It’s hot coffee, if you want any when your back at the fire lookout” explained Rachel when she saw Calliope looking puzzled at the thermos, before she even started trying to refuse it, Rachel was already protesting “No, take it, its on the house, just come back whenever you want to get more hot coffee, don’t worry about it”.

Calliope continued looking puzzled at the thermos and then Rachel, processing this sudden one-way exchange.

“Thank you” Calliope muttered thankful to the ginger haired woman across the counter, before setting it aside, making a mental note to not forget it when she would leave.

“No worries, darlin’.” Rachel smiled, before putting her hands together on the counter looking at Calliope, to which the brunette gave her a questioning look, unsure if she wants something or that’s just how Rachel is.

“So, how’s the fire lookout? Everything going well? Do you need any help with anything? Questions?” Rachel blurted at a rapid rate that Calliope had to quickly adjust to understand.

Calliope chuckles, for the first time in her life she sees someone so full of life, so energised that is almost contagious. “I like it, still have to get used to it but, not bad” Calliope said, finishing her cup of coffee, before putting it down, and when she noticed Rachel wanting to pour more, she shook her head. “No-no, it’s fine, I don’t need more, I won’t be able to fall asleep” she said amused, looking at Rachel with a smile.

Before leaving, Calliope took her wallet wanting to pay Rachel to which Rachel almost barked at her, in a friendly but lecturing tone “Girl, I told you it’s on the house, hide that wallet before you offend me” blurted half-serious and half-jokingly, to which Calliope awkwardly put her wallet back into her pocket, feeling slightly bad for the free coffee she got.

“Thank you” Calliope muttered before leaving with her new filled coffee thermos and the little diary with the pens and pencils she bought, walking to her car, smiling.

Fuck that energy is contagious.

She thought to herself, a euphoria surrounding her to the car.

Randomly found on my computer tucket in a folder, so decided to post it for the funnies and giggles. Haven't proof read it, or anything, so there is probably a lot of grammatical mistakes and other logical bits missing, but it is what it is.

Written in August of 2025.

Simon Ghost Riley x fem!Reader

“Damn it, how will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” Simon Bolivar

She didn’t know exactly what pushed her to accept the offer. Maybe it was the constant monotonic routine she developed, stuck in a limbo where she felt with no escape, no progress, or future, albeit the new so-called career, wasn’t that different. But she needed that change, to escape the limbo, the labyrinth she couldn’t crack, to breath fresh air. Literally.

At twenty-three, she found herself at the funeral of her dad, ex-fire lookout, dying in an unfortunate accident, falling off a cliff, edge giving up under his legs, falling to his death, found later by some hikers. God knows how the wildlife wasn’t there first, picking at his dead body that was already mutilated from the fall.

A few weeks after that, she was contacted, giving the opportunity to be the next one to work at the fire lookout, and she wanted to decline. God, she thought it was insanity they offered her to work near her father’s death place, but she didn’t decline, she told them she would think about it, give it some thought, thinking that after a week she would decline the offer.

She had a good job, a nine to five to be honest, working as a Software Developer, from home, amazing benefits with a salary that allowed her to live more than comfortably, and yet, she felt stuck to the same routine, trapped, with no ability or control in escaping it, each day becoming more depressing, creeping in as an uninvited guest in her life, and then refusing to leave.

From a week, it transformed into two, then three, then a month, a few, until one day she decided that she had nothing to lose really, and emailed them back, wanting to accept the job offer, much lower pay, benefits not as good, but it’s something she felt she could do to escape the labyrinth.

She started selling most of her stuff.

Why?

She didn’t know, because she could come back, realising that maybe a fire lookout is not a job for her, and search for her old life back, or maybe she thought that she didn’t need to carry items of her old life with her, in a new chapter of her life. Wanting a clean slate, or at least as clean and fresh she could get.

She then started gathering items, little things that the job didn’t provide, like puzzles and crosswords she would use to spend her free time, books, anything really.

And then there she was, in her car, at now twenty-four, less than an hour from the fire lookout.

When she arrived, she saw a man waiting. He was maybe in his mid-60s, sitting on a bench near the fire lookout, dressed warmly, with an old brown leather jacket above his black fleece hoodie, and green cargo pants.

While she got out of the car, he got up as well, walking to her before stopping a few steps away.

“I reckon you are Calliope” he said more as a statement than a question, not that there would be anybody purposefully coming to the fire lookout unless you got a job here.

She nodded, murmuring a ‘Hello’, feeling slightly uncomfortable, still unsure of her choice. And he smiled at her warmly, like he knew what she was thinking.

“Samuel” he continued after her little hello, reaching out his hand to her, and when she reached hers with a slight hesitation, he shacked it softly before letting go.

“This is your new home” joked, trying to ease the atmosphere a bit, pointing at the white building behind him.

It was a roughly a 120 feet white tall building, having stairs going around it reaching the top, which extended in all four parts a few feet away, with big windows all around, and the American Flag on a Pole.

Patriotism never dying - she thought to herself

At the base of the fire lookout there was a door, which she hadn’t noticed at first, until the man pointed to it.

“That’s where most of your supplies will be, generators too, water, almost everything, you will find out soon that the top doesn’t have that much room to store everything you want” half joking before continuing “your duties are pretty simple, you will also find a few papers at the top with everything listed, you will also find a phone book there with contact details, including mine, in case of emergency, or just questions, don’t be afraid to ask” He says looking at her.

“There is a small town an hour and forty minutes away, they have a few shops that you can stock up food with, and other limited necessities. Every 2 weeks there will be a helicopter that brings water, generators, and any maintenance that needs to be done”

He explained a few more details before he finally stopped and asked her if she is confused about anything or has any other questions.

“No, I think I am good” She spoke up, smiling. And not long after that she was left alone, having the opportunity to settle in.

After a few hours she was able to bring her stuff up, some left down in the storage room below.

She plopped on the bed exhausted, the drive been long, hell, she been mentally drained since she accepted the job, everyday questions if it was the best decision she could make.

She didn’t know.

After what felt like 20 minutes, she got up, grabbing the papers from the round table which also served as a map of the area with a compass, with her duties and responsibilities.

It wasn’t a lot, she felt like those duties are simple, allowing her a lot of leisure during duty hours, on paper those being from 6am till 6pm, in reality, it was 24/7, as she would still have to scan the area for fire and everything else.

She sighed and placed the papers inside the drawers of a desk. The fire lookout wasn’t the biggest.

Definitely bigger than a flat in New York City. – she thought slightly amused

She had a single bed in a corner of the fire lookout room, with a desk at the end of the bed, with drawers, and a radio station. She had a sink, which really didn’t have running water, she would have to throw the used water whenever the container below got filled.

Or smelled

Following a small gas stove, using a gas cylinder from under, and a microwave on a small table near, which must be hooked to a generator outside the fire lookout.

The centre piece of the lookout was the round table, where she found initially the papers, which had a mad built-in of the area, with a compass, used to help her identify the coordinates of a fire.

There was also a big wooden drawer, where she stored her clothes, followed by a medium sized bookcase, that she stored her books and other bits.

The man told her she wouldn’t be able to shower, well, she can, but it’s different from back home. She would have to use a sponge, and a water basin for her hair.

8:49pm

She read from a small round clock attached to the wall beside her bed, unsure of what really, she should be doing after settling in. She didn’t feel confident enough yet to stroll for a walk around the woods, unsure she would really remember the way back, or feared the wildlife she could encounter, especially at night.

So, she opted to stay in, changing out of her clothes into pyjamas, and picking a random book she brought in to read, before she fell asleep. Heck, at 6am her shift starts, so she needs to sleep early.

User who wears thongs and lace undergarments when she is out of uniform because it makes her feel confident, even though nobody ever sees them besides her.

User who decided she needs a warm drink so she went to the communal kitchen, finding Ghost on the couch drinking something she can't decipher, looking at some reports.

User who when she reaches for something in the cupboard, her t-shirt lifts up just slightly and reveals her laced thong from under her sweatpants who sat just a bit too low on her hips.

Ghost who almost snorted and then gulped his drink back when his eye caught her red laced thong, starting to cough and lose air, making user to turn around clueless and hurrying worried to him.

one shot? fluff, a draft from my phone that i haven't proof read. ghost x y/n

Your evening wasn’t supposed to be like this.

At all.

A smoke break is all you wanted after the exhausting day at the base, the paperwork, the training. You weren’t asking for much, really.

That until you heard raspy, tired meows from one of the old training grounds, near the spot you were smoking. It made you stop the drag mid motion, squinting your eyes at the darkness trying to understand for a few seconds, what is exactly happening. 

That’s how you ended up borrowing a car, and with a dirty fluff ball, that wasn’t feeling the greatest, driving to the vet… and spending a small fortune footing the bill.

As a soldier, you are used to having to think quickly, make rational and calculated decisions, but what else were you supposed to say when the vet asked if you are the kitten’s owner, besides mumbling an “Affirmative”. 

Or when you had to say the kitten’s name so the veterinary clinic could enter the details of the new patient in the system, you just mumbled a name that came to your mind, naming the small female kitten on the spot too. 

Next thing, you found yourself stopping at a PetSmart to buy the necessary things for a kitten, and then driving it to base and trying to haul everything inside while creating a plan in your head how to explain to your team that now you have a sixth member, a kitten. 

“What the hell are you doing, Sergeant?”

does he own a flat? house? does he actually pay rent for a flat? does he live in a house provided by the government?

personally i think he has an outside flat, one that he would go when he is not on base/not needed

wouldnt be surprised if he actually has a mortgage on one, because of his extensive deployments, and the bonuses SAS soldiers get for well, active duty, and the high risk missions and because special forces that he would be able to get approved for a mortgage and pay it

because if for example he goes for deployment for months at a time (lets say)

everything on deployment is provided by the government meaning his finances can go straight into financing a flat/house

but what about the fact that special forces dont really deal with recruits? i mean, to get into SAS you have to already be in the army and do extensive training etc, which disqualifies you as a recruit

meaning that all these stories have a massive plot hole in them (i still love them, guilty pleasure of mine)

and the story of, y/n being confused and clueless is also just not right because if y/n is like that, how did they get into SAS? which has an extensive selection and requires even more training and all of that military bullshit

soap got his nickname because he is able to clear houses in an insane time

gaz is just shortened for garrick

so what about ghost? obviously we can assume that he got his callsign for being scary or for not being able to see him till last moment and then you are dead (reference from Las Almas mission, from the shadows dialogue)

but i saw a clip of someone from the army, getting the callsign Ghost because they always were missing when duty called etc

so imagine if Ghost got his callsign because of that, or because he is not the most talkative, so he is there but at the same time he is not, closed off, acting like a ghost

but honestly? taking in consideration the fact that he serves for SAS, is one of the reasons he actually went (or still going) to therapy, taking medication etc for whatever he needs to be able to continue to serve

personally I think Ghost is on top of his mental and physical health so he can continue serving, and even though he has his traumas etc (that we don't know much of because his backstory in the reboot is still not revealed) he acts like a normal person just a bit more closed off

I feel like he probably is in his late 20s, something around 27/28 years old. Especially when I was playing the games, he would be in full gear he would seem older but in the scenes with just his balaclava he looked so young

considering he also enlisted early in the army, i wouldn't be surprised if he was able to go through ranks earlier than most

because usually 30+ year olds are Captains so him being a Lieutenant at that age wouldn't make sense if you get what I mean? unless he got late promoted OR had problems at the start