Work Text:
Wearing a binder to a mission was idiotic.
Enough medics have annoyed him about it, telling him how dangerous it would be if he got captured and stuck for multiple hours in that rib-crushing machine.
Fionn of the Wiedergänger once told him that one of the members, he can't remember who, was stuck in the binder for 15 hours after getting captured and was benched for three weeks cause it hurt too much to breathe. It was a warning.
He, of course, didnt listen, which got him into the situation he is in now, stuck in the binder for 14 hours already. His arms were restrained behind him, he could barely wiggle them. He's surprised he can even feel them. The lamp above him was flickering low, the only sound coming from a leak in the ceiling, a drop falling every minute, and the guards talking outside his room.
His breathing worsened after 10 hours of this awful position and has since been getting more painful.
It was a simple, unfortunate wound that got him captured. He was shot in the leg and the enemy found him before the 141 did. The last thing he heard were their panicked shouts and the request for another team to be sent, then black. He woke up restrained to a chair next and has been stuck there ever since, stripped of all his gear and weapons. They were just in the corner of the room but he couldn’t reach them.
He only knew how much time had passed because of a clock on the wall ticking silently and the captures coming in at some point and saying how long he had been stuck here already. They did not even bother interrogating him. They just tied him up after they knocked him out and left him to rot, like a medal in a case never to be touched again.
They didn’t even take his mask, but it's probably better that way.
They probably knew he was suffering already, his breathing coming out wrong and worse every time they came in to check if he was alive. Sadly, he was, his ribs feeling close to breaking each breath a little more. Usually, he is very responsible when it comes to wearing his binder. He knows some consequences come with wearing it too long.
But sometimes, he is just a fucking idiot. It was supposed to be a quick mission, he thought. How could he know he'd be captured? He should've expected it. Honestly, he should expect it from every mission. Well, now he is the idiot with the too-tight binder crashing his ribs into his lungs cause he thought a quick in-and-out would stay that way.
He just wanted to flatten his chest, not crush his bones. It sucks that he had to wear the binder to achieve that and he hated it even more with every breath he took. He did not want to get top surgery, he had to take leave and spend money he wasn't sure he had. Top surgery costs a lot, so binder it is.
Dysphoria was pushing him to such actions. Dysphoria was making him suffer. He wakes up every day in the wrong body, having to use other ways to make life even more enjoyable for himself and not being accepted despite his efforts. It ruins him so much.
Why did he have to suffer so much? What did he do to deserve this pain to ruin him? What could he have possibly done as a child to make fate so angry at him, that it made him have to suffer through this for the rest of his life? His life was damned forever to this state of discomfort in just his existence.
Sometimes he wondered if it was worth it, if taking T was the start of the end, if he should've just hidden it so deep inside of him it would never bloom. Maybe if he just tried harder, he'd be fixed.
Instead, he was stuck in this hell called living that kept hitting him over and over again, taking each hit like it was his last. His breathing hurt so much, his ribs were creaking and feeling as if they were breaking apart and no one was-
He was pulled back from his thoughts when he heard a distant shot, one he recognized. Soaps gun.
They're here.
They were still far away, probably on the other side of the building he was stuck in. But they were coming. Crackling came from his earpiece in the corner of the room, voices coming through he recognised and some he didn't quite recognize. Shots were getting closer and the voices in front of the door were getting antsy and nervous.
Boots hitting the floor as they were running through the halls rang through the room, shots following telling him the poor ending those running met. Shouldnt have taken him if they weren't ready to face the consequences.
At last, there were two shots, the sound of two bodies falling right in front of his door following. Right about time. He couldn't recognize who it was by the footsteps, so no one of the 141, but he had heard them before. Which meant-
The door fell open a second later, blinding him completely. A gun was pointed at him right away, ready to shoot in case he was an enemy. Mesh was hiding the guy's face, but the red cross on his arm and the German flag above it told him enough about the guy's identity.
His favourite PMC came as support.
“Alpha 4-0 to Alpha 6-0,” he spoke “found him.” The man walked towards him, lifting the mesh that was covering his face a second ago. With enough artistic liberty, he looked like Nikolai and Price had an edgy kid together that bleached a stripe of hair as an act of rebellion, eyeblack making it just more edgy. The younger man crouched in front of him, taking his face in his hands and shining a lamp into his eyes. “Good morning, Ghost.”
“Fuck off, Aleks.” The other lieutenant chuckled in response, scars pulling at his face as he smiled similar to how Ghost’s own do. “Nah, I'd rather get you out of here,” the man put his gun back in his holster, pulling out a knife instead “You got any issues breathing-” “Yes.” The word came out weak, letting the persona drop now that he knew which man was in front of him.
The ropes around his arms were cut off of him a second later, full range of motion was finally back. He leaned towards Aleks, putting his hands on the other man's hips to steady himself now he wasn't as restricted anymore but dizzy from the sudden circulation. “You-” “Just give me a second. My blood is suddenly back in my body, ugh.” Aleks just patted his hair while looking at the wounds on his arms.
They were rubbed raw but not bleeding, probably only needed to be disinfected and covered in certain areas. It seems like the medic agreed as he mapped out where the wound was the most severe. His hands travelled from his arms over his shoulder to his back towards his ribs, his comforting hand laying there now.
“Where does breathing hurt the most, Si?” “Ribs.” He hummed, lifting Ghost's shirt to take a look before Ghost could stop him. “Oh.” The other lifted the binder a bit, looking at the bruising he could see already. From the sharp in-take above him, it probably didnt look the best.
It was quiet for just a second before the other man talked. “How long did you wear it? I'll cut it off no matter how long you've worn it, don't even try to protest.” He didnt protest, he knew it was necessary and his own mistake, instead hiding his face in the other's stomach. “too long.” With a hum the other lifted the binder at his side, cutting the sides open at the stitching.
The breath he was able to take now was heavenly, 14 and a half hours of constricting breathing finally ended. He kept taking deep breaths again now that he could and it was the best feeling.
“Any other wounds?” “My leg got shot, but nothing too serious just needs to be stitched. You can see the rest, it was the breathing that was the main issue.” the medic hummed before dropping heavily onto his knees, cutting off the restraints at his legs and taking a look at the wound on his left leg.
“If it just needs stitching or more is my decision at the end of the day, so don't even try to play smart with me, mister.” He pulled away the amateur wound cover to reveal the nasty wound below it. It was almost over his entire lower leg, the wound most likely leaving a scar later. It didnt look infected though, so at least that's something.
The medic pulled a bit at his skin, before pulling out a compress and tape from one of his pockets, covering the wound properly, this time. “I'll clean it in the Helo, sedate the area and stitch it. Can you walk?” “If you help me stand up I can probably. It doesn't hurt too bad.” Aleks stood up, knees cracking, before talking into the comms.
“Alpha 0-4 to alpha 0-6, we're moving to exfil. How Copy?” A noise came out of the earpiece, too quiet for Ghost to understand but he guessed it was agreement. “C'mon big boy, let's get you home.” With the help of Aleks, he stood up, blood finally flowing through his entire body again. They stood for a minute to wait for the dizziness to disappear.
Aleks took his gear from the corner, pulling it over Ghost's shoulder so he wouldn't have to strain. His gear was put on but not secured, just so he could carry it but not so it restricted his breathing again. It was heavy on his shoulder after all this exhaustion but he just needed to push through. He just needs to get out and sleep and will be safe.
They covered each other’s six as they moved out of the building quickly, thankfully passing without any hiccups. Aleks led them out the way he came from, dead bodies marking his way, reminding him that the other's call sign used to be plague and was more than accurate still. They made their way to Exfil carefully, ready to kill if something came in the way.
“Alpha 4-0 to Alpha team, moving to exfil, What's your status?” Crackling came from both their earpieces, though only Aleks had his in hearing the others' responses. “We’ll be there in 5 minutes, waiting for you guys there.” Aleks turned his head to him, looking him up and down again.
“I'll take a look at your ribs and stitch your wound in the helo. I don't want to do that now when the helo is here soon.” “Okay.” “Are you getting air better?” He just nodded too tired to speak properly, not that it bothered the other, nonverbal soldiers were his usual clients. The rest of the walk to Exfil was quiet and tense, both ready to act if jumped.
Both of them couldn't be more relieved when they got to Exfil just as the helo landed in front of them perfectly, blades coming to a stop. The ramp went down and a familiar Russian standing there with open arms. Always happy to see this maniac.
“Nikolai!” The Russian jogged over to them pulled Aleks into a hug first and saluted him after. “Where are the others?” “They'll be here in a bit. We’ll be in the back, in the med section, I need to check him over.” Nikolai gave a thumbs up, looking behind them to see if the others were close by. He probably wanted to get away from here as soon as possible.
Aleks pulled him to the helo, pointing him to the back and telling him to take off his gear before quickly jogging to the front of the co-pilot, talking about something. He didnt bother listening, instead walking to the back and taking off the heavy gear and putting it on the ground halfheartedly. He'd wait for the other to take off his shirt, it was too painful to raise his arms through the tight passages with no help.
The binder now loosely falling against his chest felt awful. It's the binder he has owned the longest, Tommy saving up some of his drug money to get it for him. It was sweet and unexpected from the absolute drug addict he was at the moment. So feeling it loosely hit his skin, now cut up on the side felt awful.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to get a new one by ordering via one of the-
“GHOST!” The Irish and Scottish accents mixed up as they yelled his name. He turned around to look at them, seeing Soap and Fionn standing at the entrance with lifted arms. It's always funny to him how much those two matches together, especially as the only two Celts. They were an awesome team, it was amazing to see them be chaotic together.
“Guys, leave him alone. He is tired and Aleks probably needs to treat him.” Both slumped at Price's words like two puppies being told to not bite the remote anymore. Price walked onto the helo a second later, Helena and Gaz following close behind. All of them were on the helo now, Ghost and intel secured safely.
“Everyone, ear protection on, I'm not treating any of you if you go deaf because of the Helo.” Aleks walked towards the back, headphones around his neck and another pair in his hand. “Aye, aye captain” “Shut your mum, Fionn.” The Irish just laughed at his medic, sitting down next to the Scot and strapping himself in.
“Sit down, boy.” He did, sitting on the seat Aleks pointed to and watching the other man pull at a curtain, separating them from the rest. Aleks pulled off his own gear, letting the heavy backpack full of medical resources fall onto the floor to the side and taking off his vest to get more freedom to move. “Once we're up, I'll take a better look. You seem stable right now so we can a minute or two till we are safely in the air.”
“As safely you can be when Nikolai flies the Helo.” Aleks chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Lord may protect us.” “You're religious?” “Nah.” Aleks buckled him in, making sure he sat securely yet with enough space to breathe. He checked if the headphones sat properly on Ghost's head so none of his hearing would get damaged, before putting his own on, taking his seat and strapping himself in.
“Were strapped in, in the back. You can take off.” There was confirmation from the front till Nikolai started to take off again, pressure making both of them cringe. They once had a very drunk talk about how much helos suck, especially take-off, so he knew how much the other man hated it himself. At least they can suffer together now.
There was no movement for about five minutes till Aaron, the copilot, gave the go to move. There was movement in the front and Aleks was close to follow. Aleks unfasted his belts, standing up and moving towards Ghost now that they were flying steadily. Ghost copied him and unfastened, knowing he’d have to anyway to get treated.
“Take off your shirt, I need to look at your ribs.”
He let out a sigh, knowing it was important but at the same time hated it, which didnt go unnoticed by the younger man who raised an eyebrow. “The binder, the tits. All of it sucks. You wouldn't get it” He made some vague movement at his chest. The younger in response just lifted his shirt, shocking Ghost for a moment as he saw a matching binder in place there instead of the flat chest he expected.
“Brother, I'm one of you. We are the same kind of stupid, I make the same mistake.” He looked at the younger in shock, never knowing about his identity before. The other laughed at his shock before pulling his shirt back down, pulling on a medical gown over it next.
“Come on” he clapped in his gloved hands “We do not have all flight.” That snapped him out of his thoughts, pulling off his shirt with help and holding onto his binder to not flash the other. “You're trans?” “Been trans all my life, boy. Never knew you were one of us either.” Aleks lifted the back piece of the cut-up binder, feeling at his ribs not even caring if he hissed in pain.
“Mmm, you're getting a binder ban for sure. Those nasty bruises are going to need a long time to heal, might even get benched. They don't feel broken though. No idea how your body handled being restricted for too many hours in a binder without breaking a rib, but it did. Just some bruising and rash wounds. You should be fine in a month.” He just nodded at the other's words.
“You should invest in Top surgery, I'm having mine soon. Fionn said it's the best thing you can do.” Maybe he should, it would make sense. “I’m covering the few open wounds on your back and ribs with a compress so they don't infect, but they should heal fine on their own. Then we're cutting off the binder completely, you put on your shirt and I'm stitching your leg.”
Aleks always saying what he's doing and why he appreciates the medic. Many just do shit without telling him, the other's care was nice. Yet the thought of wearing his shirt without a binder bothered him. They were too tight for his comfort without a binder, if he could he’d go a size up. He won't cause he’s massive already and too-loose shirts are not good on the field.
“I can get you a bigger shirt if you want. I think we have a hoodie somewhere as well that's massive. We always have one on the helo.” “Why?” Aleks laughs. “Have you seen us? We're a proper mess.” He shrugged, good for them if they know what to help their mess. “Let me get you the hoodie and secure those compresses.” Aleks did as told, pulling a black, big black hoodie out of one of the seats.
With the compresses secured, they work together on getting the binder off and putting on the hoodie without hurting Ghost more while Aleks does his best to look away, probably relating to the dysphoria hard. The hoodie helped a lot against his brain's words, quieting it a bit.
“Want me to get Price?” he nodded, he wanted the captain by his side as comfort after all the emotional turmoil about his binder. Price was always able to help him emotionally. Aleks walked with ease to the front of the curtain, calling out for Price to come who came in a second later, not as graceful as Aleks.
“You okay, son?” “Yeah, just didnt want to be alone.” Price sat down next to him, putting an arm around him and soothingly rubbing his arm. “Did they do anything to you?” Price whispered in hopes that Aleks, who was preparing the local anaesthesia, wouldn't hear. “No,” he shook his head “Didnt even touch me. It was my own mistake that caused the most damage.”
Price pulled him closer, pulling his head on his shoulder. “What did you do? You okay now?” “I'm fine. Okay. Just a dumbarse. Wore my binder and was stuck in it while captured. Big bruisin’.” A sympathetic wince came from Price, imagining the pain himself. “Dumbarse, risking your life like that.”
“Just watch that he isn't wearing it again for the next three weeks or so and he should be fine. No risking life here.” Aleks walked over to them, everything he needed for the anaesthesia in a bowl in one hand and a box in another. He clicked the box into the ground so it wouldn't move and pulled Ghost's injured leg onto it. “Hah, says the right man.”
Price pulled Aleks close by his belt, reaching his hand under his shirt and unclapsing the clasps of his binder before the medic could complain, freeing his chest from the restraints as well. Aleks looked at him angrily. “Could've at least waited for me to do the sedative, bitch.” The captain just laughed at the other's attitude, taking no real offence.
It was quiet afterwards, Aleks doing his job and stitching his numb skin together so it wouldn't get infected before covering it up again to prevent infection, cleaning everything up and throwing everything away securely before turning to them. “You can stay here if you want. I am going to the front and annoy Fionn, but if you want to you can rest here. The flight will still take a while.” With that, the medic disappeared to the front.
“How bad those it still hurt?” “Not that bad. It's good now, more just mental haze.” Price pulled him closer, pulling at his balaclava to ask for permission to which he agreed. He pulled it up, revealing Simon's face and blond messy hair before running his hand through it. The other man always knew what to do to help him calm down, like a parent who can tell what their child needs by just looking at them.
Price was just always there to help him. Thats so nice.
“Try to sleep, I know you well enough to know you didnt sleep while stuck and probably not even before that. Rest, Son.” He let himself rest for once. Price held him tight, running a hand over his shoulder, making sure the headphones were sitting well and not poking either of them. Despite the man being smaller it didnt bother them at all, somehow still managing to rest against each other without breaking their backs.
Price started to tell some sort of story to him that he was falling asleep to, the other’s words lulling him to sleep. And apparently, he wasn't the only cause Gaz and Soap walked in together, both also tired as shit as they sat and strapped themselves in next to them, forming a small cuddle pile in the back of the helo.
It was warm, Price's voice rumbling below his ear and the others were a good soft company. Despite the awful situation, his ribs hurting and his binder gone for good, he knew at the end of the day he had those guys to help him soothe the mental pain, even if he wasn't always happy to let them in.
They only awoke an hour or so later, Price waking them after the landing, surprised that any of them slept through it. Not that they stayed awake long. They walked passed the sleeping PMC that was cuddle-piled on top of each other, Helena waving at them tiredly at last before they exited the helo and made their way straight to the rec room.
The medics of course didnt like that and their future self rushing to do the reports didnt either, but right now they were all cuddling together on the couch as they hid from their responsibilities and just let the day's stress pass together. Usually, Simon was very against their cuddle piles, but he wanted to be warm.
And Simon was dreading the discussion about safe binding already, so he let it pass for today.
They were safe together, just for once.
He can enjoy it while he can.