"Hey man, uh, thanks fer drivin' me inta' town..." Scout said with a smile.

Sniper kept his eyes on the road, but nodded. "Yer welcome..." He replied quietly.

Scout, usually one to be loud and obnoxious, had been all but silent during the three hour long ride to, and the two hour ride so far, from town.

They had needed to go to town, each of them for their own reasons. Sniper was picking up food for his van, and Scout was calling his mother and brothers on the public phone.

In the camper, Scout sat shotgun while Sniper drove. It was getting late, and the slow climb up the mountain, with the steady sound of rain hammering against the roof made everything seem much slower than it was.

"So..." Scout broke the silence. "What do ya do in here all the time?" He asked.

"Oi do a lot of thinkin', mostly. Not much else to do." Sniper replied.

"Don't you ever get... Lonely?"

"Sometoimes..."

"I wish we could do this more... You're the only one on base who ever seems to notice me most of the time..."

"The others notice you!"

"Yeah, when I screw up. Ya never hear 'em going 'Good job, Scout', or 'Nice job cappin'. Nothin'."

"..."

"I mean, all anyone ever says to me is 'wake up', 'stop hogging the eggs', 'leave me alone'."

"Really?"

"They can't stand it when I ask questions. Engie says I'm too curious, and that I ask too much." Scout sighed. He was already somewhat tired.

The sun had almost fully set by the time they were halfway to the base. Sniper frowned. "Didn't expect it to get this dark this fast..." He said under his breath, coaxing his van up the hill.

"Hey, it can't get much worse, can it?" Scout joked. A moment later, the camper's engine let out a growl, and steam billowed from the hood. Sniper pulled the rattling vehicle to the side of the road, putting it in neutral.

"Can you kindly not say anythin' else to jinx us?" He asked, opening the door.

Stepping out into the rain, he sighed. There wasn't much he could do to fix the van until the rain subsided. Looks like they'd have to spend the night out here.

He stepped back into the van, heading into the back, where Scout now sat, looking around. "Nice place ya got." He commented.

"Thanks... I hope ya loike it, we're going to be spendin' the night here until the rain stops."

"Wait WHAT?!"

Sniper nodded, rainwater dripping off his hat. "M'afraid so... There's not much Oi can do to fix it until the rain subsoides."

"Aw, man!" Scout whined. "Dude, I ain't sleepin' in here!"

"Yer gonna have to, unless you want to sleep in the rain."

"Fine."

Sniper sat down on the small couch. "So..."

"So?"

"Wanna do anything?"

"Man, I'm booooooooreddddddd..." Scout moaned, flopping down next to Sniper on the couch.

Sniper picked up a book from the small table. "Read something." He tossed the book to Scout, who caught it.

"Anne of Green Gables? The f*ck is a gable?"

"O-kay, don't read anything then. Oi'm going to though." Sniper picked up a second book, this one was well worn, with dog-eared pages and several bookmarks tucked inside it.

Opening the book, he began to read silently.

Scout sat there on the couch, twiddling his thumbs and looking around.

"You're bein' more silent than usual... S'there something wrong, Scout?" Sniper asked, stil immersed in his book.

Scout blushed. "No... just thinkin', is all."

"Mmm, that's a dangerous pastoime. Don't wear yourself out."

"Hey!" Scout slugged him lightly in the arm.

"What?"

"Yer bein' mean!"

Sniper rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Scout."

Scout stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. "Never!"

Sniper went back to reading his book.

"Hey Snipes?"

"Mmm?"

"What's it like?"

"Wot's wot loike, mate?"

"Bein' an adult..."

"Well... You get to make your own decisions... you're responsible for a lot more... ya' don't got parents breathing down your back every minute... people don't care what choices you make or what actions you take, s'long as it's not something unusual."

"What's unusual?"

"Oi dunno... Loike... something people don't loike... for example... bein' an assassin. S'frowned on by a lot of folks, but it's moi job. So, Oi don't care much of wot they say, as long as Oi loike doing it."

"Oh..."

"S'there something on your moind, Scout?"

Scout shook his head. He did, in fact, have something on his mind, but he definitely wasn't wanting to share it with Sniper.

"You sure?"

Scout nodded.

Sniper went back to reading again.

Scout broke the silence a few minutes later. "Hey, uh, Snipes?"

"S'it wrong to like another guy?"

Sniper set down his book. "A lot of people think it is, but there's nothin' wrong with it. Why, is there a bloke you fancy?"

Scout blushed, hiding his head in his hands. "K-kinda, yeah..."

"Who is 'e?"

"Not tellin'..."

"Why? Who would I tell? Unless... is it someone on the team?"

Scout nodded shyly.

"Who?"

"Not tellin'..." Scout repeated.

"Can Oi guess?"

"Sure..."

"Mmm... Engineer? Oi know the two of you are pretty close..."

"He's like a father t'me... no, s'not him..."

"Hmmm... Spoi?"

"Nah, he's an ass..."

"Pyro?"

"Mm, no, Mumbles and I're just friends..."

"Demoman?" Sniper asked. It seemed unlikely, but you never know.

"No..."

"Heavy?"

"Ew, no dude!"

"Solly?"

"No... he's too loud and annoyin'..."

"He could say the same to you..." Sniper retorted.

"Meh."

"Medic? He's the only one left."

"No..." Scout's voice was quiet, barely audible over the rain outside.

"I dunno, Scout! Oi've named everyone on the team!"

"No ya' haven't..."

"What? Who'm Oi forgetting?" Sniper asked, confused.

Scout blushed a deep shade of red, burying his head further in his arms.

"Yerself..."

"Wait... wot? You... you loike me?"

Scout nodded, afraid of how his friend would react.

"Scout- Oi... Oi didn't know you felt the same way towards me..."

Scout froze, looking up slowly. Did Sniper just say what he think he said?

"You..." Scout began.

"Yeah, mate... Oi loike you... A lot, actually..."

Scout leaned towards his friend slightly.

Sniper leaned in as well, lightly kissing Scout on the lips.

When they broke apart, both were blushing.

"I'm glad I'm with you..." Scout said, resting his head on the sharpshooter's chest.

"Oi'm glad you're with me too, Scout."

Scout lay there for a while, until his breathing became slow and rhythmic, and Sniper realized the young boy was asleep.

He smiled, removing his hat at tossing it into a corner of the camper. Wrapping his arms protectively around his Scout, he closed his eyes and soon sank into a deep sleep.