Oneshot 4
Curses revealed
"Another fucking colossal flop!" Thomas slammed the useless files down on the table and angrily walked away, heading to the sofa where he left his jacket, and dug one cigar out the pocket. "We're running out of time, Jean..." He let himself heavily fall on the sofa and lightened his precious cigar with his old lighter. He took a long drag, too nervous to even care about the ashes, sighed and rubbed his brow with two fingers, smoke puffing out from his nostrils. Hearing no answer, he lifted his eyes to meet Jean's, but the Blu Spy's eyes were focused on the files, shooting disgust and hate in their direction. They had worked hard to retrieve them, two long days of research, just only to trip over unusable codes. The Soldier took another powerful drag before offering the cigar to his younger brother, hoping so to distract him. Jean-Claude moved away from the bookshelf he was leaning on and held his hand out before repacking the files in the case.
Thomas couldn't avoid to raise a brow at him and nonchalantly tapped the ashes off in the tray nearby. Any chance that the man in front of him was an impostor was out of the question, being able to recognise his own brother was the least! The soldier smiled and puffed a ring of smoke toward him, totally wanting to distract himself as well. "Since when you stopped smoking? It's been a while since I saw you with a cigarette."
Spy closed the case with frank move, then set it under the table and looked straight at the brother. "I decided to quit. Life is way easier without it." And with that he took the sofa in front of the brother's, his face unreadable, his eyes icy.
Soldier frowned, slightly pursing his lips. He was taken aback from that tiny note of defence he heard in his voice. He knew his brother too well to think he was upset just for the files. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, never detaching his eyes from his. "Come on, out with it."
Something in Jean-Claude snapped and the man from the emotionless iced-statue state relaxed and started to show sadness and concern. He leaned forward as well, sighing, only his big brother could break into his ice defence in one hit, and Thommy knew it just looking at him, forming a light smirk.
"I bet that your Red friend has something to do with it." He mocked.
The glaring statue got back in a moment, almost snarling. Jean sat up rigidly, crossed his arms and legs. He hated when Thomas did that.
Soldier chuckled and raised his hands. "Ok, ok. I'm listening." He hardly avoided the small cushion flying straight to his face.
Spy snorted and sat more comfortably without the cushion behind him and nodded. He suddenly looked more relaxed, almost dreamy, and he was smiling. "Yes, he is guilty, somehow."
Thomas squeezed his eyes shaking his head, it wasn't the first time he saw him like that, although the last time was years before. He took another drag, smoke coming out from his wide smile. "He's not a smoker, I guess."
"Don't start." Jean cut him sharply, he knew his brother's old game, he knew where he was heading.
He scoffed. "Admit it! You're in love, brother."
Jean blushed. Strike. "You're cruel." He leaned on a propped hand trying to hide at least one red cheek.
The sudden burst of laughter made him sunk more in his sofa, his cheeks burning. It took him a short while to regain himself, Thomas had to set the cigar aside and dry his tears before being able to talk again. He rested his arm on the cushion at his side and calmly said "Does he know it?"
Jean-Claude sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. "Not yet. I realized it just recently."
"Hm-hm," Thomas nodded "I might know the guy only professionally speaking," his posture more comfortable, "but since short after you met him, you looked quite different, brother. And, frankly," he took his cigar back for a new long drag, "it's a pleasure to see you with a goofy smile on your mug once in a while." He started chuckling, but the freezing glare he was receiving made him stop almost immediately. He shook his head smiling affectionately and pinned what remained of his cigar, extinguishing it, before getting up. "Don't be so grouchy." He went to pick the case up and walked to the door. "Engie is preparing a barbeque tonight. Care for one of his beers?"
The only answer that came was an annoyed puff followed by a "Nah." Spy reluctantly stood up and took out his mask from his inner pocket. "I have other plans." He hid his face and walked up to his brother's side, a sly smirk shining on his face, which made him roll his eyes.
"Taking a little step forward?" He patted his shoulder.
Spy nodded, his eyes full of hope, "Taking a little step forward."
Soldier grabbed the nose of his mask pulling it down as a joke and as he ran down the corridor, he yelled at him a full-lunged "Good luck!" and laughed at his muffled cries and curses.
There he was, in front of the van's door, standing incredibly still, as always impeccable in his elegant blue suit, hands behind his back and his heart going at full speed. He was nervous and slightly afraid of what might be Sniper's reaction, but with a deep breathe, he forced himself to knock once against the glass, as he usually did.
Surprisingly, he didn't get an immediate answer, but he could hear sudden noises from inside, things getting moved and some heavily landing on the floor, followed by curses, growls and a hiss. When finally the door opened, the shooter was in such a state that Jean-Claude had to grit his teeth, restraining himself to not jump on the man in front of him and technically eat him alive. All he could see was bare hairy chest and flushed face.
"O-Oh, 'evening Claude." Sniper moved away from the doorstep and let him in, quickly closing the door behind him.
"Good evening, James." He rigidly sat down at his usual chair, "I apologize I interrupted your doing." He added as he removed his own coat, setting it behind him, his eyes never leaving the other man. Sniper had clearly just come out from the shower, his hair was still heavily wet, drops falling on the red towel around his neck. The white shirt he was wearing was a cosy, yet elegant, blouse, something Jean-Claude wasn't expecting the man to have at all, obviously rushed over his shoulders seen the buttons undone showing bare, hairy, shiny skin underneath, as well as an interesting dark hairy line drawing toward the belt from under the navel, and the collar all wrinkled. He was wearing also long greyish, acid-green trousers, full of pockets and showing bare feet at the bottom.
L.J. waved him off as he returned to dry his hair with the towel, not noticing Spy was practically staring at him. He looked composed enough, but inside he was ready to explode of embarrassment. "I wasn't expecting you at this hour."
If it wasn't for his voice, he would have never snapped out of his trance, and before James could turn to face him, he quickly removed his mask and set it aside. "I happened to have the night free. I hope you don't mind." He smirked.
L.J. couldn't hold a snort as he sat down in front of him, his towel going back around his neck. "You sly weasel, of course I don't. Coffee?"
Jean-Claude politely declined, secretly trying to not let his eyes land on that bare chest in front of him, L.J. shrugged and went to prepare a cup for himself.
It was incredible how actually both of them looked calm and without worries when they both were boiling with anxiety and nervousness, both afraid to say something wrong, something that might even offend or scare the other or, in the worst scene, abruptly end their friendship. L.J. was preparing the percolator when he noticed his undone shirt. He felt his face stiffing and getting ridiculously hot with the realization, his fingers flew to the buttons and fastened them up at the speed of light. How embarrassing! He didn't dare to turn around to see if Spy had seen him.
"You want something else? I have tea." He was surprised of himself, he had managed to not make his voice tremble.
"No, thank you."
His voice made him blush even more. He felt so rigid he found hard to breath for a moment and had to lean on the hob to not fall, and the memory of his smell reappeared in his mind, more vivid than ever, filling his nostrils. Now it was hard to look presentable. He needed to talk, to distract himself, he just needed something to start with.
On the other hand, Spy was glad he was giving him the back, the more he waited, the more nervous he was and the more he had difficulties in keeping a neutral expression. He forgot the last time he felt so uneasy in his life, for years he's been the professional every enemy feared, emotionless and cold, quickly adaptable to any situation and with nerves of steel, when in that moment, in that place, he felt like he was a teenager again… inexpert and goofy. He couldn't even think how to start a true conversation with Sniper. When he had left his base, he was absolutely sure he could handle it as well as always, but just seeing the man's face made his brain tilt and he had soon lost his self-confidence. It was unbearable and he needed to say something quickly!
"Do you have any news? Did you find what you and your brother were searching for?"
Spy was taken aback, he truly didn't expect him to start a conversation, but, in deep, he was enormously glad and relaxed a bit. He half turned to see him coming back to the table with the coffee, immediately eyeing his shirt and… was he…blushing? He cleared his voice as well as his mind and focused on the question given. "Unfortunately not, not yet at least."
"Sorry to hear that, mate." He said after the first sip, frowning in true concern. Despite not knowing the real nature of what the two brothers were searching among Blu's deepest and best hidden secrets, he knew that if they found it, the war was over, and he really hoped for them to find it, whatever it was. Spy had told him it's been a long research, every move undercover, for not to say against their contracts, a long work which lasted for years, and still going on, and involved few dozens of people, among agents, spies and mercenaries. A work of incredible amount, hard to believe even for Sniper's ears, who had just heard like the top of the iceberg from Spy. He and his brother Thomas were the only ones working from the Canyon, but around the world, in the other bases, where more Blus and Reds were fighting, more people were risking their lives to gather more information as they could, but the more they found, the more obstacles, traps and fakes they met.
"That just means there's more work to do, mon ami." He slightly sighed and he gave a sincere half smile. "Tonight I had enough of it, though." He raised his hands, wanting to close the topic. "I want to spend the rest of my evening relaxing." Away from everything, away from the war. With you.
Sniper finished his coffee and nodded, he could understand him very well, he was getting tired of their war-routine himself and the only moments he could truly relax and being himself were when he was in his van in the evening or when Spy came to visit him. The thought that he wanted to come to chill out in his company made him feel butterflies in his stomach. "Cards?" He offered a game.
Spy entwined his fingers and brought them to his mouth as he leaned his elbows on the table, and shook his head. That gest confused Sniper, he frowned raising an eyebrow, he couldn't understand if his friend was smiling or not, but seeing his eyes, he could see his friend was hiding something. A tight knot formed in his throat, he didn't even manage to gulp. Spy's eyes locked with his for a moment, moved quickly down for another before locking again. Sniper felt uneasy and could bet Spy was in the same shape…but for what?
"What is it…?" L.J. shyly asked, his heart speeding up each second.
For the first time in his life, Jean-Claude lost his tongue. He took a deep breath and sat up, trying to calm down. Now or never. "There's...something I need you to be aware about me. You're a dear friend to me, maybe the only true friend I've ever had," Sniper was really touched by his seriousness and didn't dare to interrupt him, he just stood there carefully listening, "and if there's something I want to be is being absolutely honest with you." He was sweating and his hands slightly shaking, but he couldn't avoid being content with the blush growing on the Sniper's face. Maybe it was going to be the last one he would have witnessed, so it let it all out in a fast succession. "I'm not what I seem. There's something hidden in me and I've been hiding it for the last four years. It deeply changed my being, at first it was uncontrollable, I was dangerous, I hurt people close to me because of it!" A river of emotions almost broke from his voice, he kept it in well but for high pitched notes that often escaped at the end of each of his sentences. "It took me a very long time to control it, and in the meantime I lost myself many times, I wounded many times! Like a fool I've been tricked and I've been cursed! I'm…a monster under my mask. Fangs, claws, wings…I have them all under my look. Think of me whatever you want, I won't regret to have been honest with you. The last thing I want is to hurt you!"
*crack*
An unnatural silence fell in the small room of the van and only in that moment Jean-Claude realized he was standing, his hands on the table and his long, sharp claws deep inside the wood of the little table. He was panting and his eyes never detached from L.J.'s. Those marvellous heterochromatic eyes didn't show any hate, any disgust…they were full of wonder, surprise…he couldn't believe that Sniper was having such a reaction, he said nothing, not even when Spy shamefully retreated his claws from the wood and sat down, waiting for the Last Judgement.
L.J. had a weird frown on his face, his eyes looking carefully at the marks. He passed a hand through his hair stopping it on his nape, nervously scratching, and put his other hand on the table, his fingers widely open. "Jean," a sharp, loud crunching noise of bones snapping echoed in the room and his hand mutated in a slightly bigger, gold-grey-white-furred version, with shiny black, deadly curved claws leaving heavy marks on the wood, "I'm a bloody wolf."
