Well, to start this fine story off, I don't own Team Fortress 2! Surprising, right? I'm only going to say that once so revel in those words as much as you need to. Secondly, yes this is a ScoutxPauling story. I know, you've probably seen at least 20 of them since 'Expiration Date' came out. Thing is, I've wanting to write this story for a long time, but never took action upon it. Watching that film and seeing Pauling finally having her own 3D model was what really motivated me to start writing this. So, thanks Valve. Enough talk, onto the story!
Scout propped his feet up on the dashboard of the RED Sniper's camper while waiting for the Aussie to come back. It was kind of the old man to give him a ride back to the base after their day of attempting to capture, what was it now, a granary? A tilt of the head showed 'RED Bread' in worn paint on the side of one of the buildings. Bread was made from wheat and wheat was made from grain, Scout supposed. All he really knew was that their Heavy was hell-bent on reclaiming this place. With a sliced bread shortage at the base, the Russian had to go easy on those sandviches he loved so much. Well, it was now completely under RED control again and that was all Scout worried about. He had done his job with minimal deaths this time around. It was much better than that one time they were tasked with defending an old mine turned secret rocket testing site. The Bostonian shuddered at the memory. He had an off-day, the boy constantly told himself.
What was taking the Sniper so long? BLU had already fled, not like they were even allowed to fight after the designated mission was over. Medic and Heavy had left about five minutes ago; they always took the longest, having to pack up the mobile medi-lab. The Australian was usually the first back to the base, at least to Scout's knowledge; though sometimes surpassed by the spy.
Much to the boy's loss of patience, the driver's side door to the camper finally opened up.
"Heh, sorry mate, got caught up talkin' with Engie." He closed the door and started the ignition. Scout leaned forward and sure enough there was their engineer walking towards his pickup.
"You're the last person I'd think of having gotten lost in a conversation, Snipes. Well, maybe 'cept the spy, I guess."
"Oh? I'm not allowed to chat with my teammates now, am I? Sorry I'm not a chatterbox like you are, gremlin." He swatted Scout's feet off the dashboard before driving away. "That isn't a foot rest, ya know? I might live in a camper van, but I have standards."
The boy rolled his eyes, "Not this again." He hated to be reminded of the Aussie's supposed 'professional standards'. The man kept his piss in jars, what kind of standards could he really have?
"'Nothin wrong with wanting to keep a clean home. You wouldn't go puttin' your feet on a table, now would you?"
"Seriously? I swear this piece of shit is older than I am, why the fuck does it matter?"
"Are you goin' to answer my question or not, mate? I don't need none of that cussing."
"Fine, it depends on the table, alright? If it was crap like this camper, then sure, I would."
"Unless you want thrown out at the side of the road, I suggest you be a bit kinder to me. In no way was I obligated to drive your arse back to the base, alright?"
Scout saluted and laughed, "Aye, aye, cap'n."
"Are ya tryin' to be funny mate? 'Cause I can't tell, really."
"God, you're no fun, Snipes." Scout gave up trying to have a conversation with the sniper and decided to just turn his head away from the man and look out the window.
"But what even is there to look at?" He thought. The scenery was a bare desert except for the occasional cactus and rock formation. It wasn't anything like back at his hometown of Boston. He almost missed home. His ma and brothers, even his douche of a step-dad, he missed them all. Being recruited by RED and leaving for the desert was the first time he'd ever truly been away from home. He chuckled to himself, he would have been safe at home right now if it wasn't for his brother.
It didn't take long for the rain to turn from a light drizzle to a downpour.
"Goddammit..." I mumbled to myself as I put the hood on my jacket up. Why couldn't Alex go get his own damn smokes? The only reason I was doing this for him was so he didn't blab to Luc and Ma about my recent theft. Because that dick of a step-dad could spend thousands on his suits, but couldn't spare me the money to get a new pair of shoes. I took thirty bucks from him, so what? Unfortunately, my oldest brother just so happened to see it. Ugh, he's like, what, thirty-seven? He'd been out of the house by now if Luc wasn't gone on business most of the time. That really was the only reason Ma let him still live in the house. I'm obligated to love my siblings, but sure as hell not tolerate them. An alcoholic, pot head, low-life, smoker, bum; even I was able to get into a community college. He's been working part-time at the same grocery store ever since I could remember. Probably only still has the job so he has money for his multiple addictions.
The convenience store was just a couple blocks down from the house, but jeez, did it seem like it took forever to get there in the pouring rain.
"Hey Nate, ran out of Bonk already?" Nice to see that my favorite cashier, Dave, was here.
"Nah man, getting Alex some cigs." I pulled out the money my brother gave me.
"What did you end up doing this time?"
"Can't talk about it. Luc would try and kill me if he found out."
"Alright. Marlboro lights, right?"
"Yea, only kind he'll smoke." I grabbed the pack and turned around to find a gun pointed at my face.
"Move over." I was oh so nicely told by the man in the ski mask.
Heh, oh great. Stuck in the middle of a robbery, just fucking great. I had the pistol Luc gave me, question was if I should risk using it or not. I never had tried it out before...
"Hey chucklenuts, think fast." Before the guy could even turn his head, I sent a bullet through the side of his skull. Boom. Instakill. Blood and brain matter splattered against the floor, counter and myself. I kicked his lifeless body on the ground, "Sorry, too slow."
"Nathan, you just-"
I cut him off, "You'll vouch for me when the cops come, right? I've got to get going."
I spun the gun in my hand as I walked out the door. What a rush, blowing a guy's brains out. The police would clean up my mess, and I'd walk away free because of 'self-defense'.
"Looks like I'm going to have to kill ya now, punk." Another masked man in black approached me. The friend of the guy who I just murdered, no doubt. "You could have just stood off to the side and watched my pal finish the job. No, you had to step in and play the role of hero, didn't you? Guess what, bitch? Now it's time to pay."
"Is that so? Catch me first and I might consider that offer." With that, I ran as fast as I could back home.
"Shit, shit, shit." Run as fast a I might, even I couldn't outrun a car. I turned my head and saw him getting closer by the second. Consequentially, instead of being ran over, I was pulled into a dark alley. A hand covered my mouth and I was told to keep quiet. When the coast was clear, the mysterious masked man in a suit released me.
"What do you fucking want? If you're with the other two, I swear..."
"Tsk, such vulgarity. Is this how you treat ze man who just saved your life?" He spoke with an easily noticeable French accent.
"Yea, ok, thanks. There, happy? Now what do you want? I need to be getting home."
He pulled a small metal cigarette case from a pocket and lit one, "You wouldn't realize it, but I've been watching you for quite some time."
"Creeper..." I muttered.
"You handled yourself quite well back there. Quite accurate for your first time shooting a gun, really."
"How would you even know?"
"Hmmm, a bad listener though. I said I've been watching you."
"Listen, I've already got enough girls stalking me. I don't need some masked dude in a suit too."
The man shook his head, "Let's just get down to business, shall we? My employers, Reliable Excavation Demolition, or RED for short, would like to offer you, Nathaniel Montierré-Fitzpatrick, a position in their company."
"Wake up, mate. We're at the base." Sniper nudged the sleeping scout, his head pressed up against the passenger's side window.
Scout slowly sat up, "Ugh, I seriously fell asleep?"
"Ya, and you left your drool on me window. Now, get out."
"Alright, alright, I'm leaving. Thanks for driving me, Snipes." Scout punched in the keypad code and both men went inside.
The inside of the common room of the base smelled of beer and smoke. Demoman sat off to the side, drinking, with the Heavy beside him eating a sandvich. The Spy stood in a corner checking his watch, and sitting together at a table in the middle were the Engineer, Medic, and Miss Pauling.
"Hey Scout, finally back?" Pauling turned around and greeted the two.
"Miss Pauling, what are you doing here?" Scout asked.
"The Administrator wanted me to come over and check up on some things. Also, I wanted to congratulate you guys on reclaiming the granary for us. Nice final capture by the way, though a bit reckless."
"I got it done, didn't I?"
Pauling propped up her glasses, "Yes but, you really need to not make it a habit of pushing without the rest of your team. Ever hear of over-extending yourself? Their Soldier or Demo could have easily made minced meat out of you. Then we would have been down one, making it easier for them to push back."
"Well I reckon that's a lesson for another day." Engie intervened. "Miss Pauling, you gonna stay for awhile? I'm sure that our Medic would be more than happy 'ta have you over for dinner."
"Sorry guys, I've still got a lot of work to do. Maybe some other time, alright?"
"Wait, are you sure?" Scout put his hand on her shoulder as she opened the door. "We could have, um, uh-"
"Scout, use your words."
"Well, what I mean to say is, uh..."
"Scout, I'm leaving. Goodbye." She closed the door and left.
"What were you planning on doing, hmm? Inviting her out for beer and fried chicken?" Spy smirked.
"Can it, alright?"
Heavy spoke up, "Do not make fun of him. Maybe leetle Scout is not good with women?"
"Hey, I am great with girls. I've dated twenty of 'em, and each for a least a year!"
"That would mean zat you've been dating since you were three." Spy refuted.
"Shut up!" Scout stormed off as his teammates laughed.
The boy fell face first into his bed. He hated being the youngest member on the team, even their Pyro was a couple of years older than him. Constantly ridiculed for his inexperiences, especially by the spy. At least he was getting paid for it here, at home he endured the same mockery from Luc and his brothers. Even his mother wanted to know when he was going to find a nice lady to settle down with. He'd show them, show them all. A date with the lovely Miss Pauling was just the way to do it too.
So there it is, the first chapter. It would mean a lot if all of you who read all the way through to put down a review, and maybe a favorite if you enjoyed it! I'm going to try and do a chapter a week so look forward to the next one!