I juggled the balloon from one hand to the other as I strolled down the halls; so out of place, being in the middle of a battlefield.
"Yo Engie! Whatcha got there?" Scout's eyes lit up at the possibility of some form of new entertainment; this endless cycle tends to do that to a person.
"I found a balloon down by the lockers, figured I'd bring it on up." Demoman gulped down a bit of his Scrumpy before a devious smile spread across his face.
"Well? Wot are ye waitin' fer? Throw it up, laddie!"
"Alrighty then!" I threw the RED logo-ed balloon into the air and passed it lightly to Demoman.
"Hah! Wot's this now? Ye call that a pass?" He spiked the balloon into Scout's face.
"Hey! I wasn't ready, cyclops." Scout pouted before passing the balloon begrudgingly to me.
"Y'all wanna see a real balloon pass?" I quickly calculated the distance and force it would take for this plan to work. I reeled back my arm, tossing up the balloon in a playful yet slightly cocky manner, and hit Spy right in the side of his balaclava as he walked between Demoman and I. It bounced harmlessly to the floor, but Spy's icy glare was not so forgiving.
"... Gentlemen." Spy picked up the balloon with vague interest. "Might I inquire as to where zhis came from?"
"Engie found it down near spawn. Ya gonna pass it or what, Spah?" Spy traced the RED logo lightly with his silk gloves before backhand-passing it back to me. He smirked at my befuddled expression. I honestly thought he was going to knife it or something along those lines.
"Oh please, I am not zhat 'eartless!" He cried sarcastically. "Besides, what would zhe higher-ups think if I popped some of zheir 'precious merchandise'?" He leaned against the wall next to Demoman lighting a cigarette cooly. I passed the balloon to Demoman, all the gusto from earlier lost.
"Say, what's that on the other side of the balloon?" Demo turned it to see an eight. It had been drawn in black marker, but there was something about it that drew out a part of him he'd long since abandoned.
"Demo? What's wrong, ya look like ya'd seen a spook." Scout nudged Spy who rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Demoman.
"Oi, where'd ya pikers get that?" Sniper leaned against the doorway with one eyebrow arched, successfully cutting off the Scotsman before he could speak. This balloon is doing more harm than good…
"Why are you interested, bushman?" Spy took a drag of his cigarette before flicking it at Sniper's feet.
"Just curious, ya bloody mongrel. Always lookin' for alternate motives. Typical." He ground the cigarette out with the tip of his boot. "Bloody cancer sticks…"
"Engie found it in tha locker room. Ya want it or something?" Sniper tilted his head from side to side, as if weighing his options.
"Wot's that on tha back? Looks like it was added on."
"Yeah, what were ya gonna say, Demo?"
"Nothin', dun worry about it laddie." Demoman tossed the balloon to Sniper halfheartedly before walking out of the room.
"What's got his kilt in a bunch?" I looked over to see Spy padded himself down. "Something wrong, Spook?" He froze before resuming his usual smug posture.
"Non, I was simply making sure none of zhe balloon's ink got on my suit."
"It only hit your mask…" I eyed him carefully before shrugging it off. Never helps to press a spook for details. They either fight or lie. If possible in this contract, they'd probably fly, too.
Sniper threw the balloon up a couple of times, apparently satisfied. I chuckled as we all headed towards the kitchenette near the middle of the base for lunch.
"Ya want a sandwich today, Sniper?" He nodded distantly. Seems that balloon sent him to a whole 'nother world. I appreciate his more child-like self. Better than what he's usually like. I put his sandwich on the table. He'll eat it when he gets to it.
"So Scout, 'ow ez zhat solo plan going for you? Attacking zhe entire other team with nothing but a baseball bat and a gun. Surely you've got zhem on zhe run." Scout glared daggers at Spy before jerking open the refrigerator.
"Hey, Engie! We need ta resupply tha fridge." Another run into town? Sounds fun. Especially when a fidgety Bostonian decides to join the road trip last minute only to complain the whole way there. Either that or he'll crash from Bonk! overdose and sleep on the way to town. That'd be nice.
As rest of the team entered, Pyro gave Sniper a quizzical look while he was playing with the balloon.
"Mphat's mpith mphe mpalloon?" Sniper held it close to his chest protectively.
"You're not gonna light it, are ya?" Pyro shook his head. Sniper hesitated before handing it to him. Not that he's usually open or sharing, but for him this is a bit… uncharacteristic. I munched on my sandwich as Pyro examined the balloon, tilting his head this way and that whenever he found something curious.
"Hudda." Pyro passed the balloon back to Sniper, who fumbled to catch it before it fell to the ground. Muffled giggles were contrasted by Sniper's deep growl.
"He's acting rather odd, isn't he?" Medic whispered to me as Sniper stomped out of the room.
"Can't rightly say, pardner."
"Vell, you talk to him more than anyone else on this team." I looked up to see that all eyes were on me.
"Dagnabbit, y'all ain't just gonna let 'im go, are ya?"
"If zhat balloon interferes with zhe bushman's work, zhe one who found it ez indirectly responsible for 'is behavior, non?" Teamkill. Why aren't you allowed?
"Alright, I'll go talk to 'im!" I set my sandwich down with a huff. I know it's not gonna be there when I get back; Sniper's is already gone.
After a short search through his various 'nests', I leaned against the doorframe of his more secluded one. He was sitting against the wall with his legs crossed Indian-style. The balloon was hugged tightly to his chest and he was staring at the floorboards intensely. I folded my arms and waited. The silence seemed to last only a short time, because whatever it was that was bothering him seemed to really be eating him up.
"Truckie, ya ever get lonely out here? The constant fighting between RED an' BLU…" He trailed off before looking up at me. "Ya think my folks back home 'll miss me when I'm gone?" I shuffled over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Where's this all coming from, Slim? Y' didn't mention anything like this before." He fumbled around with the balloon, words escaped him for the longest time.
"Truckie, there's something I need to tell ya-"
"Hey!" Scout bounded into the room with his usual cocky attitude. "Match starts in 5, Legs. Make sure those BLU's don't get ova here, alright?" Sober mood officially ruined, Sniper nodded before brushing past the young Bostonian. I suppose that secret will have to wait.
Before I left the nest to join the others in the respawn room, I caught a glimpse of that same RED balloon mostly hidden behind one of the crates. Maybe even the most heartless of mercenaries have tenderness somewhere in their souls after all.