This was originally a prompt from TF2chan's Secret Santa 2011. I will join in again this year methinks. It was great fun! Now I think the time has come to post this story here. I hope you all enjoy it!
-Fire Talk-
Demo and Pyro have a heart to heart.
The flames of my nightly campfire flicker beautifully in front of me, and I scoot closer to the welcoming flames, my knees almost sticking into the fire. I stare at the flames from behind the black lenses of my mask, lost in the beauty that comes with crackling fire. It's something I do most nights to rid myself of the stress of this war. The other team members sit inside the base and talk, listen to an old radio, or pick fights, but I don't feel welcome amongst them. Nobody ever understands what I try to say, and when someone doesn't understand you, their willingness to make contact dwindles like a snowflake in a forestfire.
Listening to a story someone is telling to you used to be, even if they don't understand my replies, but they quickly stopped paying attention to me when I they didn't understand my responses. I like being paid attention to, like every human, but nowadays the only attention I get is from the enemy team when I'm scorching their flesh off. They don't notice it when I walk away from a conversation, or don't show up for dinner. I'm deemed unimportant during ceasefire, a bit like a weapon without will, not worth paying any thought to when nobody is trying to kill you.
I tried being more close with my team, telling them stories during breakfast and making small talk with them, but they didn't understand a word I was saying. Demo was asleep 99% of the time, Heavy just threw me out after a few minutes, Soldier tried to make me do push-ups and yelled at me, Spy was nowhere to be found, Medic tried to stick a syringe into my neck, Scout cut me off and talked about his awesomeness and Engie and Sniper tolerated it the longest. I kept my chattering up for about three months, following them around endlessly and telling them everything I ever heard or experienced.
I thought it was going pretty well. I thought they were finally warming up to me, and that I was far along in the befriending process. That is, until our Sniper finally had enough and ever so nicely told me to "piss off" before he'd introduce me to the art of Jarate.
I took it as a joke and laughed at it. Until he actually got out a jar of jarate and threw it at me. I barely dodged it, and immediately took the hint. After that failure, I was worried to have annoyed the Engineer as well, and so I left him alone as well, silently hoping for him to come asking for my companionship. He didn't though, still hasn't.
So, I don't stay in the mess hall anymore and I only talk during combat. During ceasefire I just take to sitting outside by a comforting fire or hiding in my room, going someplace else that the others don't know of, beautiful, colourful, cheerful, and full of loving and caring friends. I wish they would keep with me forever. I wish they wouldn't go away as soon as the fire died out, that I would be in that wonderful world forever...
Ah! There they come, my colourful friends! The world immediately becomes brighter when I see them, the ground suddenly covered in lush green, and dozens of colorful lollipops sticking out of the ground. From the fireplace, magic seems to spread over the entire world, and I feel a comforting warmth spread through me from head to toes.
"Hye Lad ! How're ye doin out here on yer own?"
The wonderful world immediately snaps back to reality at the drunken slur coming from right beside me, and in a flurry of battlefield instinct I throw my fist in the direction of the voice, missing our Demo's face by a hair. He dodges the punch and stumbles backwards with a startled expression on his face. "Wot in the bloody heaven is wrong with ye lad! I am no BLU!" I frown at his words. Why is he out here? Demo never really spoke to me before!... Then again, he is never really conscious during ceasefire. Wait a second. Demo never spoke to me before, he never went out of the base after ceasefire, and Demo never ever leaves his scrumpy bottle behind! So this Demo must be a-! "SPHH!"
I knew I should have brought my flamethrower with me instead of leaving it it my room. Spies don't pay attention to ceasefires, they take a chance as soon as they see one, I should have known! I grab a piece of burning wood from the fire in a wild impulse, and pull my arm back in preparation of a sharp stab. With a bit of luck that BLU Frenchman will catch on fire and become some additional firewood. Yes, that will work just fine to make up for his rude interruption of my happy time!
"A what? What 're ye-?! GET THAT AWAY FROM MEH!" The fake Demo tries to dodge the viscous stab of my flaming stick by jumping backwards at the last moment, but I am faster, and I stab the burning stick right into the Spy's shoulder. I raise my makeshift weapon for a second stab, waiting for the tell-tale BLU suit to catch on fire and show me the color of betrayal beneath the thin disguise.
You can imagine my shame and surprise when it didn't.
For a second I stare blankly at the fire burning away at Demo's clothes and the man swatting frantically at the flames on his shoulder. This really IS Demo, trying to hit out the fire on his jacket! "AH! PUT IT OUT!" I drop the burning stick immediately, scrambling to retrieve the bucket of water standing beside the firepit, and I dump its contents over Demo, the flames extinguishing with a sizzling sound. I feel my neck and ears turning red in shame as I struggle to find an apology, but before I can any further than "mmff" , my head is thrown back by a rather harsh punch, and I fall right onto my back with a wheezed muffle. "Are yeh completely DAFT lad?! Settin' me on fire durin' ceasefire of all times!"
The red paint of shame and anger creeps further up on my face as a soaking wet Demo throws his burned jacket to the ground and wrings the water out of his hat. I mumble incomprehensibly at the ground and stand up slowly. "Ye better be sorry! Settin' me on fire fer no apparent reason...'s a good thing me jacket can handle a bit 'a fire or ye might have burnt me flesh right off the bone!"
I wave my hands for a bit, and point at him, hoping he will understand my speech this one time. "Mf thfmft mff Sphh!" Demo raises an eyebrow in confusion, and I sigh, bringing an invisible cigarette to my mask and making a stab-like motion in the air to show him who I am talking about. I can practically see the lights flick on in Demo's eye.
"Spy? Ye though I were a Spy?" I nod, and mumble in agreement. For a moment, Demo looks like he's about to get even angrier, but a moment later the annoyed expression on his face makes place for a slight smile. "Heh, well, next time ye Spy check, could ya just use your team-friendly flamethrower instead of a burnin' piece a wood? I myself don't fancy 3rd degree burns." Demo plops down next to the fire, and starts squeezing more water out of his clothes.
"Mffu ffhm crrk?"
Demo sends me a confused look. "What ye say now?" I repeat my question, hoping I don't have to find a translator to get my message across. "I didn't understand a word there, so I'm taking a guess. Ye want ta know the time?" I shake my head and try to handsign him my question, but he interrupts me with another guess. "Ye want ta now how I lost me eye?" I shake my head again in slight annoyance and mumble loudly, pointing at him and then at the ground. "Ye... ye want me ta lie down?" I groan and shake my head again, repeating the motion, drawing a question mark in the air as well. "Ah! So it's a question eh? Erm... That doesn't help an awful lot there..." I sigh behind my mask and grab a stick to poke the fire with. Trying to get Demo to understand me is clearly a waste of time.
"Alright I'll stop teasin' yeh. Ye want ta know what I'm doin' out here on my own eh? Am I right?" I pull my gaze away from the fire in surprise and nod quietly. "HAH! I knew it! I ain't as dull as ye all make me out ta be!" Demo laughs and also grabs a stick to poke into the fire, drawing as close as he can to the warmth. I lean back, awaiting my well-deserved answer, but Demo only leans in closer to the fire to warm his hands. After a moment, Demo looks back with a look just as confused. "Why are ye starin' at me like that lad?" I can't believe it! He forgot to answer the question!
"Mfhhr hhfrr frhm!"
"What are ye say- OH! Answerin' the question, of course! Sorry, sorry...I must've hit the Scrumpy harder than I thought!" I roll my eyes behind my mask, but an amused smile tugs at the corners of my lips. At least I don't have to hand-sign him the question again. I half expect Demo to slur some drunk super-natural excuse for being outside, like ' I needed to feed the flyin' turles lad !' or ' If I didn't get out here, mah eye would'a exploded!', but the answer he gives me is surprisingly... sober.
He gives a short shrug before answering, and continues poking in the fire. "Well, lately ye just seem... lonely. And yeh, I do have times where I'm not drunk. I asked some of the others ta come along and invite ye over to the mess hall for a chance, but they didn't seem all too keen on it. So I figured I'd hold ye company for a change! I'll do my best ta understand ye, but don't hold it against me when I fail, aye lad?" He gives me a broad smile, but I have no words to respond with.
Demo actually noticing his teammates and trying to be nice, Demo not drinking or yammering about Nessie? If I hadn't seen him catch on fire without showing a BLU suit just a moment ago, I would be a 100% sure he was a Spy! "H-hurrm...Whmf frrh?" He probably can't tie words to the baffled muffle that my mask emits, but the question in my tone is obvious, and Demo catches it.
"What? Are ye sayin' it's unlike me to be so sociable an' considerate?! I'm sociable all the time!" I roll my eyes behind my mask and shake my head, a mocking chuckle coming out before I can stop it. "Yer joshin' me lad! I'm the friendliest of all yer sorry mess here!" I don't even bother answering that, and I give him my most mocking glare. Demo gives me a not-at-all-serious glare and crosses his arms in denial. For a moment, I'm a bit afraid that he was serious, but then Demo speaks up again, his voice jokingly exaggerated and dramatic.
"All right then! All right! If that's the way ye want it... I'm a no good unsociable drunkard! See what ye made me say there lad!? Oh poor me! Yer destroyin' all me self-confidence here! And I already had so little!" I can't explain why I find it so funny, but I do, and I chuckle quietly at his little act. Demo speaks up again, the serious note back into his voice. "I aint a liar though, I really did come out here because I thought ye might feel lonely." I don't answer him.
"Now... Ye might wanna ask: why didn't I come over fer a talk ever before?" I nod. Yea, Demo. Why didn't you come over before? You didn't seem to be so bothered with me sitting alone and being ignored before. Why the change of heart? "The answer is simple lad; it's because I didn't know what it really felt like ta be without a friend in the world."
A piece of wood in the fire crackles loudly, and for a second a dazzling dance of small flames and embers burst forth. Is he lying? No. I can tell when people act, I can tell when they lie, and unless Demo's acting skills surpass BLU Spies', he is not acting. Another question burns at my lips, but before I have a chance to ask, Demo answers it.
"Ye know what was goin' on between the RED soldier 'n me didn't ye lad?... Well...when Jane an' I terminated our friendship, my days became a little less bright every day. I just lost myself the best friend I ever had, and I had no one ta go to for distraction, comfort, advice or fun. I lost me 'flow' for a good few months, as ye might've noticed. Got inta respawn due ta liver failure as well a few times, but I'm getting' over it, and things 're looking up fer me. I tried writin' to Jane, and apologize for this whole mess, and just doin' that made me feel better. I was on me way back to my room for a good drink when I looked out the base and spotted lonely you and yer fireplace jus' now... Then I realized you are probably just as much in need of a friend than I was! So here I am."
I don't really know what to say, so I just stay silent and look at him. "Just so ye know, I aint here on some terms, or on a contract. I'm here because I want ta be, aye? An'...If you don't like me here, all ye have to do is mumble yer mumble, and I'll be gone, aye?" I nod, and press my lips together tightly.
The silence stretches while we stare at each other awkwardly. "Err...Alright then! Unless ye say somethin' right now, I'll be stayin' here at the fire pit. Three... two... one...Last chance-"
I stay silent as a statue. "Haha! I knew ye'd say yes! Never had a doubt!" The tension is gone as quickly as it came, and I smile beneath my mask, giving him a double thumbs up to clarify my mood about all this. Demo winks at me, or at least, I think he does. It's hard to tell when a person only has one eye.
"Well, thanks fer sharin' yer fire with me, Pyro! I really need it after that cold shower ye gave me. Hell, maybe we can even figure out a new way ta fight the BLU's! What d'ye think lad?" I nod my head and mumble quietly in agreement, giving him an additional thumbs up to make sure he couldn't misunderstand. There's nothing I'd want more than work together with my team to create new weapons! Besides having someone to talk to that is. And now, Demo offers me both.
"Well I got the perfect idea laddie! 'S been in the back of my head ever since ye got angry and set the fridge on fire that one time, and I just know ye'll love it! Listen ta this:... an explosive molotov launcher!" I let it sink in, think about it for a small moment, snort beneath my mask and laugh out loud. That is such a ridiculous idea that it's awesome! I can already see myself heaving around a huge bomb launcher with molotovs in them. "Alright, maybe that's not exactly the best idea, but what about this! Stickies filled with napalm! Aye ? I was thinkin' you could come up with some mix 'a flammable stuff that explodes inta flames when-!"
Even though I can't really respond without Demo misunderstanding me, being talked to is different than hearing someone talk. And Demo sure is talking to me. He even leaves moments open for me to mumble! ….. One of these days, I'll take off this mask, and give a proper response to a question. On a normal day. I'll just pull of my mask, place it on the table, and ask; "Did I ever tell you about that time I set a forest on fire?" And they will listen.
But Demo will be the first one to see me. I'll make sure of that!
"- and then KAZOW! Ye'll see lad, it'll-...it'll...a-ATCHOO!" I jump at the loud sneeze, and shoot a concerned look towards Demo.
"Egh... I don't think it is such a brilliant idea ta stay outside to talk about this while being all soaked like this... I'm gettin' back inside before I catch a cold! I understand yer need to stay with the fire, so I'll join ye tomorrow night, aye?" After I nod and mumble my good night wishes, Demo stands up and starts to walk away. I return my gaze to the fire, but after a minute of staring at the fire, I decide that I'd rather go with my Demo friend than the colourful ones. I throw a heap sand onto the smoldering wood. It may be fun to stare at fire and imagine friends, but it's one burning hell of a lot more fun to be with real friends!
"Mfhh !Hfrmm ffrhm!" I jog after Demo to walk with him towards the base, leaving a still smoldering pile of wood behind.
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