First of all I would like to point out that I'm not a native englishspeaker. If you find orthography or grammar mistakes please tell me where, what and how to fix.
Team Fortress 2 belongs to Valve.
There was no doubt about it: He hated the cold. He truly despised it.
He hated everything about it. From the physical sensation like goosebumps, breath freezing in front of your face, the numbing feeling, the white snow, which hurt in your eyes after a while to the psychical feelings it could give you. Something like the need to rely on others and the feeling of complete isolation.
And this hellhole was made of pure, unforgiving cold. The snow was everywhere. Slowly melting and creeping inside the bases, freezing again and blocking the heat system.
Their Engineer wasn't busy building sentries and teleporters, he was busy fixing everything in that freaking place which could somehow provide heat.
Being snowed in was regular and the computers crashing due to the cold was nothing uncommon.
It almost seemed like someone was trying to cut them off from the outside world.
Noone shall know your there, noone will know your there. Isolation again.
Goddamn it, he didn't even know if there was a possibility to get out of this place. Walking away from the base would surely lead towards being lost in the wilderness. Or being captured by the other team.
He wasn't sure which was the worse option...
When they first arrived nobody knew what would await them. Not even the soldier. This steeleating, allknowing son of a youknowwhat who has a war-related answer for everything.
They had been literally kicked out here, inside No-man's-land. Chilled to the bone because nobody told them to bring winterproofed clothes along. Luckily they found wintercoats in the base. They weren't able to tell how old they were. Judging from their look at least ten years. Ten long, stinking, moth-eaten years.
But nagging about temperatures won't change anything. He knew it from the australian outback. Bitching about natural influences only made them one thing: Worse!
So shut your mouth and suck it up!
After all, he got used to it. Sitting on top of those damn cliffs for damn long hours waiting for a damn good shot.
Although he never got one. And he was sure he would never truly get one.
Once his rifle froze. Was one of the most fucking days he had yet.
Shooting randomly at the battlefield would provide a much better effect, but also cause to be detected by the Soldier, Pyro, Spy, … everyone. Ending with him loosing his life. And he would like to pass this on.
But out of them all, one person hated the cold more than anybody else:
Scout.
And the reason for that was very simple.
Running. In. Cold. Sucks.
And not their constant fast-walking/slow-running most of them used. Scouts running, or rather sprinting.
Even moving in ankle-deep snow costs energy. Which caused heating of the body. Had the side-effect of sweating. Sweating meant giving away warmth. And the reaction of a sweating body with a bone-chilling air meant freezing.
On the other hand he wasn't able to wear his coat while running. It was a long coat, made from heavy material which captured the produced warmth inside up. Which leads to a quick overheating.
Unzipping was senseless. The constant change between extreme cold and heat would only lead to a serious sickness. Medic told him so.
This only leads to two options: Short distances with coat, long without coat. Pure. Hell.
Sniper had never seen the boy this weak. Usually he was a bouncing ball of energy. Now he was half asleep, propped up against him and wrapped in a thick blanket in order to provide the heat from escaping too fast.
It has been a short run. Check the coast for anything like sentries, the other Sniper and similar. Then come back.
Took the Scout less than ten minutes and still he only collapsed against him when he finally reached the clifftop where Sniper usually waits for him.
Another new rule: Stick to someone who can save your ass when your barely conscious from running.
And now Sniper wasn't only busy trying to shoot their enemies, while cursing about his non-winterproof equipment, he also had to make sure that the boy wouldn't freeze or catch some serious sickness.
„'m hot..." murmured a voice beside him. Sniper didn't even know he was aware enough to speak.
„Don't you dare to put away that blanket of yours..." he snarled as an answer.
„Can't use a frozen corpse right beside me. Is already uncomfortable enough."
Scout didn't react to this. Sniper shot him a short gaze, his face was completely pale without the typical erubescence staying in a cold area normally brings along. With one last glance on the battlefield he slowly slipped his right hand out of his glove and placed it on the boy's forehead. Scout started to shiver immediatly.
„Th's feels strange..." was all he muttered.
Sniper grasped him on his shoulders and started to pull him down on his lap along with a snarled „Com' here." and „Don't struggle." The boy finally curled up in his lap, but as soon as he tried to get up and place his head on Sniper's chest he would push him down again. It took the Scout a momet to realise what just had happened. Before he could even speak up Sniper answered the unasked question:
„You stay down, Mate. Looks like you got yourself a heat exhaustion."
„The sun isn't shining."
„That doesn't need sun, just an overheated body. The heat causes your vasculature to enlarge, your blood rushes down to yer feet and you collaps."
„... and therefor'..."
„Yeah. Keep yer head down so you don't fade out."
„... and since when do you care?"
„Since our Medic told me I'm responsable for everything that might happen' to you." Scout chuckled: „Oh, that's so Doc."
„Nah, it's actually not that bad. I mean, it's an easy job. Just sittin' here, watching out for enemies to shoot and look after a obnoxious boy who is usually so weak that he doesn't stay awake for long."
„... you're such an asshole! You know what? I'm leaving!"
Scout jolted up with a strenght Sniper didn't think the boy had left. The movement was so sudden that he had to brace himself not to topple backwards into the snow.
„The base will be safe and warm! And I don't need you! You heard? I don't ..." He never finished that sentence. Scout started to sway. Sniper immediatly rushed forward and caught the boy when his knees gave in.
„You're not going into the base. Not now. It isn't safe there. When the other team gets in you won't be safe. Everyone else is off to fight. Noone there to protect you...", Scout wanted to say something but Sniper didn't let him speak up. „And don't you even dare to say you can take care of yourselft, Mate. One moment ago you almost fainted!"
He stood up and reached Scout a hand. Slowly the boy got up on his own feet.
„Come on Mate, stay with me."
Scout fixed the ground not wanting to look into the other man's face. Every direction was better than looking into his face. He still felt embarrassed but there truly was only one option.
„'kay. I'm staying."
He felt Snipers arm rest on his shoulders and was slowly dragged bag to the watching spot. Scout rested on Snipers side again and both stayed silent.
It passed some time until the boy started to talk again.
„Do you care?"
„Hm?"
„Do you care?"
„I told you that Medic..."
„Do you care about me or...", Sniper felt the boy tense up.
„Or are you just doing that because Medic or Soldier or somebody else told you to do that?"
Sniper didn't know what to say first. Then he put down his rifle and laid an arm around the boy.
„Did I made you think I don't care about you?"
„'s just... sounded like a forced responsability first. Not something you're doing for a comrade … or a friend."
Awkward silence. Sniper needed to collect his thoughts before he started to talk.
„Look, Mate, I don't … I mean … Of course I care for ya. I never had the intention to make it sound as if I don't care. I mean … I …", Sniper never had been good with touchy-feeling-stuff. In fact, he was used to the loneliness of the outback, the desert or the mountains. Bonding feelings with other persons outside of his family were rare. Or those persons were the same type like him: Lone wolves.
But Scout was raised in a different way. Boston, with seven brothers, and lots of people. A whole spectre of emotions around him. Always. Sure thing his interaction with persons was different from his.
He never had the need for bonding with other people but this boy made everything seem so much more complicated.
„... I like you and I care for you... I just can't..."
Scout smiled: „Is alright. Was all I wanted to know. Just to make sure you don't actually hate me... that's all."
Sniper nodded silent. Besides, it was true: He liked the boy. He really liked him and cared for him.
A loud siren sounded, the sign for ceasefire.
„Now, let's get you back in the base."
One new thing to hate about the Cold: It makes you soft.
Fin
Thank you for reading and reviews are welcome.
Have a beautiful day.