The Ghost of You - Simon 'Ghost' Riley X Reader

CHOSEN

 "Dismissed!"

Your drill sergeant's guttural voice filled the sounds of combat boots hammering on the packed dirt of the training grounds. It was another hot summer day in the American Intelligence Unit, but that never stopped your team from exercising outside. Sweating and wheezing, you stopped after your one-hundredth jumping jack and crouched down with sweaty hands on your knees. No matter how repetitively you did your exercises, at the end of each session it felt like your whole body was on fire. You could sense everyone around you fall out of line and begin to walk towards the cafeteria for lunch. Your heart pulsated in your chest and drummed against your temples, queuing a light ringing in your ears. You once again overexerted yourself.

"You gonna make it, Lieutenant Y/N?" a smooth, concerned man's voice came from above you and their shadow shielded you from the scorching midday sun. You looked up to see your longtime friend and fellow soldier, Private Nolan, smiling down on you. He sported piercing green eyes and a head full of brown, unkempt hair. He wore his camouflage PT uniform lazily, his shirt untucked and his belt skipping two or three loops in sequence. His olive-green hat was on backwards, pushing his hair back with it and out of the sides. Nolan didn't follow the dress code from the first day, and it wasn't going to start now despite his higher ups lecturing him about disobedience. This was one of many reasons he stayed a private after six years in.

Both you and Nolan attended high school together, being inseparable from the first day of your shared algebra class. The day before both of you graduated a recruiter came to speak to your class about opportunities in the military. You didn't particularly have a path laid out for you after high school, so you asked countless questions with the recruiter. After class, you met up with Nolan and told him your visions of joining. At first, he was unsure, but once you told him about everything he could accomplish, he was in. "If you're in, I'm in." You and him both signed the recruitment papers the same day, and here you were six years later. You worked day and night to rank up and get promoted to higher risk, higher reward jobs. This led you to join the American Intelligence Unit. Something you quickly learned about yourself was that you lived for the risk and adrenaline of dangerous operations.

Nolan extended his hand out to you, and you took it graciously, giving him a nod of thanks. "I'm gonna make it, thanks, Nolan." You wiped the sweat from your forehead and squinted your eyes at the sun. "It's hot as hell out here, let's go get some lunch before they close." Nolan suggested, turning on his heel with a skip in his step. You smiled faintly and followed after him, getting up to a light jog. "Well, wait then!" You caught up to him and entered the double side doors of the base that led to the sizable cafeteria with large supporting beams running across the gambrel roof. Everything was white and monotone gray except for the soldiers who walked around in uniform. A large American flag was hung on the wall above the dining area, housed in the middle of two seals of different branches.

Distinct chatter was heard upon entry, multiple lunchroom tables filled with laughing personnel enjoying their meal and company of their friends. Some things just never changed from high school. "I wonder if they've got my favorite." Nolan said playfully, walking with you towards the end of the line. You followed closely beside him, zigzagging your way through the busy common area. "They have the same thing everyday, they're going to have it." You assured, letting a small chuckle escape from your lips. You waited in line in silence, the volume of the room giving you a headache combined with the training you just went through. It didn't seem like the line was moving at all, you'd only moved two tiles forward in the last fifteen minutes.

You sighed, leaning against the brick wall beside you as Nolan looked around and chatted briefly with other soldiers walking past. Despite being disobedient to any and all authority, he was a good friend and an extrovert at heart. "Lieutenant Y/N." You perked up, turning around in response to a tap on your shoulder. A taller blonde man stood in front of you, looking down to meet your gaze. "Yes, sir?" You questioned, tilting your head. Nolan had retracted back to you, standing slightly behind to be nosy. "General Hodges wants to see you in his office, it's urgent." He replied, his expression serious and as monotonous as the four walls encapsulating the cafeteria. You shook your head cautiously, your brows furrowing. "Right away, sir."