Simon 'Ghost' Riley - The Spiders Web

18

With the air cleared between the two of them it seemed everyone else had taken a sigh of relief; even Price had noticed and toned down on the 'team building exercises' he had them do during training. It didn't stop them completely, however, and one to one combat was something they hadn't done properly since Tina had first arrived.

And it seemed she was the only one in the room not bothered by the size difference.

The men all stood around the mat on the floor, the rules clear again between all of them. First to hit the floor loses.

Tina was the only one wearing a jumper despite the warmth in the base already but that didn't hinder her at all.

Gaz stepped up first to redeem himself.

She expects him to hold back at the start again like he did before, too caught up with actually hurting her to realise she certainly didn't have her mind on the same. This time, he acted fast and didn't hold back.

The fight lasted a good few minutes but Tina was quick enough to dodge his blows and maneuver around him gradually, eyes taking in his movements, his gait, which leg he put his balance into first before he struck.

When she had him pinned to the floor with her knee pressing into his sternum and his arm locked in hers, she breathed, "what happened to being courteous?"

He huffed a laugh and clapped her on the back as she helped him back up.

Sweat had already began to cling to her skin beneath her jumper.

They all watched from the sidelines as Soap and Gaz proceeded to fight, both nearly equal in ability.

Tina watched the way Soap moved with sharp eyes, mindlessly adjusting the neck of her jumper and prising it away from where it clung to her neck.

Feeling eyes on her, she briefly lifted her head to catch eyes with Ghost, who made it a point to not tear his away; he didn't seem bothered at being caught, in fact he more seemed curious.

They both tuned back into the fight when Soap scraped a win just barely.

"You only won because you had the advantage of not going two rounds in a row." Gaz dismissed, catching his breath.

Soap rolled his eyes, reaching for his water bottle. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Alright," Gaz had a gleam in his eye. "You go for another round then. See how fast your tune changes."

"I'll go against you," Tina offered quickly.

He nodded, gesturing.

That pair of eyes was on her again as she headed over to the mat. She ignored them.

This time she just barely scraped the win.

Soap ended up in an arm lock that he couldn't escape, unable to get up off the floor where his cheek pressed against the ground.

Tina shook off her aching hands with a little triumphant grin as he groaned and picked himself up.

He was a good opponent but too offensive for her liking; she'd picked up on his bad habits during his go with Gaz, committing them to memory. He left himself open for attack too often and she managed to be just quick enough to get in to catch him off guard.

"What were you saying, Soap?"

"Aye, shut it."

Gaz grinned, looking smug, arms folded against his chest.

Tina once again adjusted her jumper from the sidelines, trying not to grimace at the feeling of sweat clutching it to her skin like a warm glue.

When Ghost finally stepped forwards after a brief breather for the rest of them, Tina sat beside Gaz trying to ignore how uncomfortable she felt.