The sniper led Pyro to the nice little spot he found earlier. He held tightly to the BLU's gloved hand as they walked and, the BLU following absentmindedly behind him. Why did they have to think of their family now of all times? Pyro looked down at the hand holding their own, it was warm and they could feel his thick callouses through the gloves. They wondered if the RED sniper lived in the Australian wilds like the BLU alternative, they could not really see how holding rifle in the same place could make such rough hands. At least it was helping take their mind off of their memories.

Sniper snatched the hat from the bench and handed it to the pyro as the two of them sat down,

"Fhnk you," They placed the hat atop their head. It smelled different now, muskier even.

Pyro knew that Sniper was keeping it in his van… but they never thought it would absorb so much of his scent in just a week. Still though, the BLU would not complain about it. It was actually nice, being surrounded by the smell of the man sitting next to them was… almost comforting. They turned their head slightly to get a better look at the Sniper.

The Australian was leaned back and looking out on the lake, one arm resting over the side of the bench and the other stretched out over the back edge. He didn't seem to be paying very much attention to his surroundings or Pyro. They sighed and joined Sniper in looking at the body of water. They wanted to talk about something- anything really; as long as it distracted from their past it would be fine. This was exactly the reason they didn't like leaving the base often; seeing all the families in town always reminded them of when they were younger. They reminded Pyro of that house fire, of the day they lost their family… It reminded them of what a fool they had been in their youth and how it had cost them everything.

The pyro shook their head in an attempt to push the negative thoughts away. This was time they should spend learning about the sniper, not moping about their past!


The RED glanced over to the fidgeting BLU through his glasses. What was wrong with her? Was it because he wasn't talking to her or not paying her enough attention? Shit.

The Sniper finally broke the silence, "Sheila?"

The pyro snapped to look at the aussie, "Yef?"

He scratched the back of his neck before speaking, as if trying to assemble his words. Great, he'd gotten her attention, but he didn't know what to talk about, "Please… answer me honestly here," He turned to face the pyro more squarely, "Why didn't you kill me that day? It isn't like we had ever spoken before, and I have to admit that in your situation… I wouldn't have hesitated to kill you," It seemed like a good time to ask, but he could swear he saw a wince behind those black lenses at his last statement. He could probably have worded that better…

Pyro turned their head away from the sniper, looking to the water fowl on the lake. Soon, they spoke with a small breath, "I duhno… It'f jhft," They sighed, words just weren't forming correctly in their brain! To be honest they themself didn't really understand why they spared Sniper,

"Yuhr diffrhnt uh gueff, yuh dhn't feem to khll fhr fhn lihk evhryone elfh" the shorter fiddled with their fingers as they spoke, "it waf prhbably a bhd choife fo be honeft… buh I gueff I juft whnted th knoh morh abhut yuh," Which was true, they really did want to know more about the Sniper.

The red looked down blankly at the other for a moment before a nervous smile broke across his lips, "I'd always seen pyros as some sort of… foreign creature, even the one on our team," He admitted, joined Pyro in looking out over the water, "The two of you always act so strangely, I never really thought of you as human. I just assumed you were monsters who just loved to set things on fire… but" sniper trailed off, brow furrowed in thought of what to say.

Pyro looked back up to the RED. Monsters, huh? That was about right, and almost everyone thought like that of them anyway. They should be used to it being said; the only person who even really spoke to Pyro on the team was the engineer, and even he generally seemed put off by them. Still though, it felt a little worse than usual from the aussie's mouth.

Sniper turned back to the pyro and sighed, smile fading in to a frown at his own ineptitude for words, "I don't think you're a monster- not anymore," shit, "You're nice! I mean getting to know you better has been nice-"

The RED was interrupted by a gloved hand being place on his face, "Jhft… ftop talkhng," They removed their hand, sighing and shaking their head, "Fhnk yuh, I ght it,"

" Sorry Sheila," The sniper hung his head in defeat, rubbing the back of his neck.

A giggle came from the BLU as they patted Sniper's shoulder, "It'f fihn,"

The two sat in silence for a while longer. Awkward conversations were just the start of more friendly ones, right?

This time, it was the pyro who interrupted the silence, "Ohr Fniphr fayf he fpent yhrf livhng un hif ohn in the whld… haf yhu evhr dohn fomethng likh tht?" They looked at the RED's rough hands, remembering how they felt through the gloves.

Sniper's eyes lit up at the question, and the answer to which took what felt like hours. He talked about what animals to look for and which to avoid, and about how nice it feels to be isolated for so long and how independent you become. He spoke of how lonesome it can be and how you get used to it... but how nice it is tohave someone to talk with now.


The two sat in silence, just watching the world go by. The BLU looked up to the changing colors of the sky; deep blue with red on the horizon. It was getting late, but talking to Sniper for so long was worth it.

The pyro nudged Sniper's arm, "Cohld yuh ghve meh uh rhde bahk?"

The drive back to the split off was a short one. The two talked a little and said their "goodbye"s, along with "good luck"s for the next week's missions, along with making plans to meet again next Saturday around the same time. Pyro made sure to take their hat as they exited the van with a wave

Walking to the base from the fork was a short journey; only about a mile uphill to the front door. The pyro fixed the rim of their hat as the low breeze caught it and flapped it in their face. They huffed in annoyance, removing the accessory from their head. It was a wonderful garment and it complimented their outfits perfectly, but the thing was proving to be more trouble than it was worth.

The pyro noticed Lola lovingly parked askew in front of the large blue building as they approached the base. Why would Engineer be back so early? He usually stayed at the flea market as long as he could get away with- never just to the late afternoon. There was no sign of the taxan as they entered the base though… Pyro shrugged, he was probably in his room working with his new parts; it wasn't really anything the firebug needed to worry themselves with. They continued through the base on the way to their room, only to be interrupted by that familiar southern accent,

"Hey Pahro! How was the shoppin'?" The engineer leaned against the hallway wall in front of the Pyro.

"Oh! Uh.." the shorter continued down the hall, being met halfway by the stocky man,

"Didn't find anything today?" Engineer gestured to Pyro's attire," Or wait, is that a new hat?"

The pyro nodded hesitantly, "Y-yeh, If it nife?" They held up the accessory for the other,

The Texan nodded, smug grin in place on his face, "Absolutely! Though… it looks a lot like one I've seen ya wearin' before. Guess ya like what ya like, huh?" He patted his fellow BLU's shoulder before continuing down the hall, leaving the pyro standing alone.

He looked back as Pyro hurried to their room, grin quickly fading. Dell was no idiot, and Pyro was a horrible liar. The firebug was a grown human –probably- and everyone had secrets… But with the way they were acting that morning… He knew Pyro was hiding something, and he would have to find out what it was sooner or later.