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greatstormcat · 5 months

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TF141 Hybrid AU

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x f!oc

Part 9 - Running

Series Masterlist

TW: MDNI 18+, hurt/comfort, angst, dealing with trauma, PTSD

The stench of the cell filled Lara’s nose, acrid and laced with the scent of death. It made her stomach lurch, and mixed with the fear that bubbled there already. Dogs snapped and barked, nipping at her sides as she dodged and weaved to avoid them. She couldn’t get away, she couldn’t get away, she couldn’t…

She sat bolt upright in bed, shivering and coated with sweat, her heart hammering inside her ribcage like frightened prey trying to escape. She looked beside her, pupils wide in the dim light and saw Simon blissfully asleep beside her. A soft sob caught in her throat as she took in the sight and scent of her surroundings, grounding herself in reality while the shadow of her dream still prowled around behind her eyes.

Her tail twitched and thumped against the bed, threatening to wake Simon up in her agitated state, so she slipped from the bed not bothering to put on any clothes. She needed to move, to run, so she slid the window open to look out into the night which was cold but dry. With one quick glance back to Simon’s sleeping form she shifted and leaped through the window, landing softly on all four paws. After scenting the air, she ran as fast as she could away from the barracks, muscles stretching and bunching with natural efficiency to propel her across the grounds of the base as fast as any vehicle. She leapt over obstacles, fences and containers, the moonlight shining off of her fur as claws dug into the soft grass and scraped on concrete, her tail balancing her as she cornered and weaved. She wasn’t going anywhere, just forward, around the perimeter of the base, poverty the buildings, just… running.

Her chest heaved to drag in air, to fuel her body as she ran and ran, trying to escape the nightmare that still polluted her mind. The goal was exhaustion, to burn away the fear and adrenaline of the nightmare, to blank out what had happened for another night. She knew it would return, it always did, but she just needed it gone for now. She couldn’t outrun it, but she could put distance between her and those memories for tonight.

She avoided the watch sentries easily enough as they made their rounds, they’d made complaints about her the first few times she had done this, causing Price a headache in explaining her behaviour away, and making her promise to be more careful. Whatever was seen on camera wouldn’t be an issue though, the problem was having a panther sprinting past you in the dead of night sending armed soldiers into a panic, the guards watching the cameras were not so easily spooked and would ignore her form darting across their screens.

Eventually, it got harder to breathe and she was forced to slow, muscles burning and heavy. She trotted back towards the barracks, finding her way back to the spot beneath Simon’s window but stopped short, keeping low as she saw him leaning on the window ledge. He was scanning the area, searching for her without his balaclava on. Her heart stuttered slightly in its exhausted pounding as his scent drifted down to her, carrying her own scent mixed with it. She slunk out of the shadows and chuffed to let him know she was there in the darkness.

“C’mon you,” he whispered with a relieved grin, knowing her sharp ears would hear him as he stepped back. She lined up and leapt through the first floor window, landing just as quietly as when she left. “Another nightmare?” Simon asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching with concern as she shifted form to humanoid.

“Yeah, I needed to clear my head,” Lara said and settled back onto the bed, nuzzling against Simon as he lay beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He felt the chilliness of her skin from being in the night air and pulled the covers up protectively, placing a kiss against her shoulder.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked, not pressuring her. His experience with nightmares and trauma was unfortunately extensive, helping her as much or as little as she wanted since her rescue. At no point had she felt judgement from him, or felt he would pull away from her. If anything they’d become closer, him telling her the secrets of his past during late night moments, the hurt he had endured and scars he carried inside where no one saw them. He laid himself open to her in a way that he had never done, not even to Price. He showed her the shattered pieces of himself so she new that her cracks and shards were just as beautiful to him as when she was whole.

“No, I’m tired,” she answered, “but thanks.”

Lara walked into the rec room with Ghost, where the rest of the team were already sitting and drinking coffee, the scent rich in the air along with another familiar scent. Lara stopped and sniffed curiously, looking around, searching for someone.

“Is Dr Michaels here?” She asked Gaz, who shook his head. Captain Price’s shoulders stiffened slightly, drawing Lara’s attention. “Captain? Have you seen the Doctor, I can smell her as if she was literally just here. She must have been looking for me otherwise why…”

Price coughed, his face taking on a rosy hue beneath his beard as he cleared his throat and walked towards the door to leave. As he moved past Lara the Wolf Hybrid’s scent became even stronger, mixed with his own, the implication clear.

“Not a word to anyone,” he muttered as he moved past her, then raised his voice for everyone to hear. “You lot, with me. Got a briefing for you.”

The team filed out and followed Price to the briefing room, settling around the table as he started up his laptop, face stern.

“We have a location on a splinter cell of our friends,” Price announced grimly, looking Lara square in the eye. “The squirters from our rescue mission have been tracked down and I’ve been given clearance for us to bring them in. I pushed for us to go after them,” he said firmly and was met with nods from around the table.

“When and where, Cap?” Gaz asked, his tone low and dangerous. The details were covered, aerial photos of the location shown and a plan discussed. Lara felt her guts tighten as she thought about facing some of her captors, it was entirely likely that atleast one of these men would have been part of her torture as it was impossible for the team to both rescue her and deal with all of the people in the buildings where she had been held.

Her mind drifted, into memories again, her claws digging into her palm as her fist clenched until Simon knocked his leg against hers to pull her back to reality. The briefing was brought to an end and Price dismissed them all to their preparations.

“Lara, a word,” the Captain called out as she got up to leave and she hung back, Simon leaving with a quick glance at them both. Price came over and stood basing her, arms folded and a sympathetic look on his face. “Are you sure you’re up for this? No one is going to force you to go,” he told her, and quickly held up a hand before she butted in when her expression turned stony. “But, I’m not telling you to sit it out either. I don’t see why you shouldn’t have a shot at them.”

Lara’s expression softened as he continued, and he nodded his understanding.

“I want to do this,” she said, holding his gaze steadily with her deep blue eyes. “I’m ready to get back in the field, honestly Captain.”

“That’s the final word on it from me then,” the Captain said softly with a smile. “You better be prepared for Simon though, he won’t like this.”

Simon was lurking outside the door and watched silently as Price left, falling into step with Lara as she emerged. They walked in silence for a while, Lara waiting for the inevitable questions as his shoulders were tight with the amount of restraint he was employing.

“I’m going,” she said simply, trying to get the tension over and done with. Her ears twitched back as she waited for his response.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He frowned beneath his mask, doubt evidently in his tone and eyes as he turned to look at her, halting their walk down the corridor.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” She demanded, trying to keep the anger out of her voice as she rounded on him. She could feel her hackles raising at the tone he used.

“I don’t want you to rush, that’s all.” He could see her emotions during the briefing, saw the way her hands had clenched as Price had spoken. The last thing he wanted was for her to push herself too quickly to get back out there and risk further injury.

“It’s my decision, and I want to go!” Lara replied flatly.

“Want to? You mean revenge? That’s not what we’re here for,” he told her, sounding as though he were telling off a new recruit. He folded his arms over his chest, his anger getting the better of him as she seemed to refuse to listen to sense.

“You’re one to talk! You got your revenge,” she snapped, pointing a clawed finger at him. “You told me yourself, so what right do you have to tell me I can’t have mine?”

“It doesn’t help, trust me.” He ground his teeth, trying to bite back words he knew he’d regret.

“Bullshit! I’m going on this op and you cannot stop me!” Almost yelling into his face.

“I can, I’m your handler and I can block you from the op.” The moment he said those words he hated himself, knew he shouldn’t have said them as he honestly didn’t mean them. The look of shock on her face couldn’t have been worse if he had physically struck her, and something deep in his chest twisted painfully.

“You bastard,” she growled, teeth bared and ears flat with rage. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, just stood his ground as her anger boiled over knowing it was his fault.

“Fuck you, Leuitenant,” she spat and walked away, tail thrashing with barely contained rage. Simon watched her leave, fists clenched so tight his knuckles burned, heart racing with a mixture of emotions as he watched her go.

He didn’t see Lara for the rest of the day, once or twice thinking he saw the tip of a black tail vanish around a corner when he moved around base performing his duties. He cursed her ability to hear and smell everyone around her, helping her avoid him. She didn’t come back to the barracks that night either, leaving Simon pacing the floor, fists clenching and unclenching as he fought with himself. Why didn’t he keep his mouth shut? He wouldn’t have pushed Soap or Gaz if it were them, he would have taken their first answer and just kept an eye on them. She wasn’t some recruit, or civilian with no idea how to handle themselves, she was a fucking lethal machine and strong minded at that.

He stopped his pacing as he realised he was trying to protect her because he loved her. Stupid bloody feelings, making him act like an idiot. Shaking his head he stalked out of his quarters, pulling his hoodie on over his head, heading out into the night to find Lara.

Simon had no idea where to even begin to look, knowing that she had taken to running the base at night, but not knowing exactly if she had a set route or if he was just waiting for her to barrel into him. In the end, his feet carried him to the obstacle course on the training grounds. He stood and looked at the giant framework, remembering the first time he had seen her, a high speed blur as she streaked along the course. Pride rose in his chest and he smiled under his mask, she had survived just as much as he had in her lifetime and he needed to put his trust in her. He needed to apologise, but that meant finding her.

Lara sat on her haunches in the trees behind the obstacle course, watching Simon silently as he walked the length of the course, her tail curled over her paws. She’d spent the evening in panther form, avoiding every human possible as she seethed at Simon’s words, at his betrayal. After years of being treated like nothing more than an animal she thought he would be different, and now she found out she was wrong.

She watched as he moved between the wooden pylons of the course heading downwind, getting closer to her and she listened carefully, deciding whether she needed to move or not. Suddenly thick arms wrapped around her from behind and she growled, twisting and kicking as Simon’s scent enveloped her. Sneaky bastard had been learning.

“Lara, just listen to me,” he grunted, wrestling to keep his grip around her waist as paws pushed and forced him back. “For fucks sake….. let me apologise!” They fell to the ground and she stopped squirming in his arms, and he breathed heavily trying to catch his breath.

“I’m sorry, okay? I was a twat for saying that to you,” he panted. “I’m… I’m getting used to dealing with having these feelings for you, and it makes it hard sometimes.”

After a brief pause she shifted form in his arms, and he rolled over so she lay on the grass beside him, shielding her naked form from anyone in the nearby buildings.

“Really?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” he told her, his voice low and soft. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just got scared because I love you. Don’t wanna lose you again.” His dark eyes looked into hers searching for any sign of forgiveness, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled back at him.

“Well, apology accepted then,” she said. “I can’t blame you for worrying about me, I worry about you too. Guess this was our first argument, like a proper couple,” she observed and they both chuckled. Simon lifted the bottom of his mask and kissed her softly.

“You coming back with me?” He asked, and Lara nodded. “Good, let’s get back but I think you better change otherwise you’ll cause a hell of a stir.”

“Give me your hoody, I’d rather hold your hand now,” she grinned, and quickly pulled his warm goody over her bare skin. Her tail hung out of the bottom against her bare legs, the fabric hanging loosely around her even though she was a muscular build, and they returned to his quarters, hand in hand.

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