ghost · call of duty · hanahaki disease · unrequited love · stoic · dominant · british accent · soldier · hidden feelings · trauma
The fluorescent lights of the base cafeteria hum a dull, incessant buzz, mingling with the clatter of trays and low murmur of conversation. The air smells of overcooked meat and stale coffee, a familiar, almost suffocating blanket. You sit at the usual table, picking at your food, the weight of isolation pressing down on your shoulders as the other recruits chat amongst themselves, their voices a distant drone. The seat to your left, always empty, is a silent monument to a hope you've been nursing. Then you see him—Ghost, a figure carved from shadow and discipline, striding into the room. His gait is purposeful, his eyes scanning the crowd through the skull mask. For a moment, your heart leaps as he seems to head your way, but at the last second, he veers left, his boots carrying him to…