Sightless
The auburn-haired man glared at him for a fleeting moment before his eyes flicked to look at the Spy beside him, the freckled man turning rigid as his nostrils flared in anger, lips pursed in a tight line as he took harsh steps backwards to the door, and called for the RED Spy.
The Bostonian blinked in fear and confusion as he lifted himself into a sitting position, watching silently as his teammate slipped off the bed and stretched. Scout glanced at the pillow under his knee, wanting to berate his stupid dumbass friend, but decided against it as he heard the footsteps clamber down the stairs. The RED Spy stalked past his teammate, glancing briefly at the freckled man before taking a few steps closer to the BLU mercs.
The Bostonian's counterpart jumped forward and pointed at the Italian, "He-"
"I can see what he did, Scout." the French man dismissed his teammate and nodded at his BLU equivalent. "Show me."
From where he sat, the brunette couldn't see the Italian's expression as he scoffed, "Why? You know all the bells and whistles, I'm sure."
"That doesn't matter. Show me."
Spy grunted and turned himself to face the RED mercs, Scout inching himself off the bed as he watched. He still had no idea what just happened in the span of what seemed like less than a second, but Spy was standing there with one cuff dangling in the air.
The French man stared at him hard, cupping his chin between his index finger and thumb as he spoke, "You could have easily disengaged the lock on the door and left."
"I could have." Both Scouts looked at him in bewilderment, the brunette's fist clenching at his side.
The man squinted. "Why didn't you?"
Spy lifted his head and stepped towards the oldest, sneering. "Because enough shit's happened already, and we don't need you shoving lead into our base and faces."
The men stared each other down, Scout limping over. He snuck a glance at the freckled man, who was looking up at his Spy with fear dawning in his features, before he shot rapid fire questions in French. The masked man slowly turned to look at him, his body seeming to calm as he responded. Just as quickly as the fear set in on the RED Scout's face, it vanished and he was back to glaring at his adversaries.
"And what was the baguette club talking about?"
"That is none of your concern." the man scoffed before turning to the door. "This conversation is over. If they wanted to escape that badly, they would have done so, but they're not as dumb as they look."
The freckled man snickered as he followed his teammate, before turning to the BLU mercs. "I hope that shit scars, low-life!"
And then the door was shut, a hesitating moment before the lock clicked. Scout stared blankly at the door then watched as the Italian fit the loose cuff back onto his wrist. He looked at the handcuffs and found himself sneering.
"I'm bettin' you coulda wormed your way outta the damn rope, too."
Spy froze, eyes flickering to the brunette. He clicked his tongue after a pause, "No."
"Bullshit, man."
"Are you mad?" he looked back at his wrists as his words came out dry. "If I could have gotten us out of the rope, I would have done it when that shitstain pulled out that knife."
"No time sooner, huh?" Scout grumbled, stretching his arms far enough until the chain snapped in place. He glared at the chain before flopping onto the bed, hand over his eyes as the cuffs pinched into his cheeks and the iron link fell over his neck. "Couldn't just leave in the middle of the night? You like bein' tied up and stuck in a room, man?"
"Like I just told our captors, enough shit's happened already and I didn't want to start anymore by escaping." he sighed, footsteps echoing as he paced the room. "We still have a bomb we could push onto their base. They would have incentive to come after us if we left."
"Who's stoppin' the other guys from pushin' the bomb right now?" he questioned through grit teeth. "Do they even know we're here?"
"I wouldn't doubt the Spy sent them a message when he learned of our Soldier's death."
He sounded condescending, despite the seeming lack of it in his tone. It was his footsteps and the way he could hear the man stress the shackles. Scout grumbled a 'whatever' in response and lowered his hands to rest on his chest, frowning as he stared at the ceiling. His leg and side throbbed where they were stretching over the edge of the bed, but he ignored it for the time being. They could have escaped at generally any time, but Spy refused to. They could escape right then and there, but he refused to. They could leave and... he'd be hopping on the first train back home, playing with his stay-at-home brothers and waking up to the smell of fresh toast in the morning and comfortable. Maybe he'd pick up his old job at the newspaper stand. It wasn't very good pay and it got boring a lot but better a boring job than a war with no respawn.
His mind raced with the Sniper's corpse again and he shut his eyes so tight until he saw stars in his eyelids. His breath came out tight and quaking, fingers curling into his shirt.
"Hey, rookie." he mumbled. The steps of his comrade stopped. "Don't go dyin' on me or nothin', all right? You're the only friend I got who ain't one of my dumbass siblings."
He heard the other man chuckle, "I promise I'll only perish when I'm eighty-three and save you from a falling piano."
"Of course you make yourself a hero."
"Why wouldn't I? I am your Prince Charming after all, Princess."
Scout grinned and sat up, tightness in his chest gone. "You said it wasn't in your job description."
"Ah, it belongs on a different job description!" the man smiled, eyes shining brightly as he placed his hands beside Scout's legs, leaning close enough that he could feel the man's breath tickle his lips. "The one where I save your ass every single time."
"Too close there, Prince."
The man immediately backed away, shrugging. "Ah, I always fall for the wrong Princesses."
"I'm sure you'll find your one and only one day, dumbass." he snickered, before falling back down onto the bed. "But it won't be me, man."
"Shame too. You woulda made a nice catch."
"My Ma used ta say I'd be a nice catch." he laughed. "Now she just says I might get a girl with my looks."
"Ouch." the man snickered again. "Maybe I'd be better off with a Prince anyway."
"Man, you tryin' to hurt my feelings?"
"Possibly."
"Well I got seven older brothers, so tough luck tryin'." He grimaced as his leg finally screeched at him, the pain in his side burning as both injuries shot through his system like ice. He quickly dragged himself farther onto the bed, lightly propping up his knee. He felt the Italian sink on the edge of the mattress.
"How's your face, by the way?"
"Handsome. Cut stings a bit, but the bandage blocks it out by being itchy as all hell." with an angry huff, he quickly peeled the bandage off, Scout wincing at the sound. Spy turned, injury closed off and still healing, but bruised and red. "How's my face?"
"Looks like it's gonna scar, man."
He pounted and folded his arms. "Looks like that shitstain got his wish. I wish he got to keep that broken nose you gave him."
"I wouldn't doubt their Medic wanted him to keep it."
The men laughed softly, before the air filled with a serene calm. Until the Sniper's body flashed in his mind once more like rapid fire. His breath hitched and his chest squeezed. That could have been him. And their Soldier was dead. They were being held hostage by 8 men with weapons all around them. Only one of them had a slight fighting chance because he could slip out of his handcuffs. His stomach curdled and knotted in pain. Hunger and anxiety. Wonderful mix, really. He was better than this. Better than being a distraught man filled to the brim with panic and pain. He was better than this. Had to be better. He'd dealt with dead men before. He killed men for a living as it was. He'd dealt with a corpse without respawn, when his anger took the best of him. When his hands gripped tight around that man's neck after he'd pummelled him and wrestled him to the floor.
He'd dealt with dead people before.
He was better than a panic filled mess.
He closed his eyes tightly until he saw stars, breathing deeply until his heart stopped pounding in his head and his stomach left his throat.
"We could leave." he heard his voice filter out of his mouth, cracking.
"If the bomb wasn't there, I'd have already carried you out of here."
"...We could leave." he heard himself repeat.
He was better than this, goddammit. He had to be.
Spy didn't reply this time, Scout slowly easing the tension on his eyes, his face hurting. The stars still mingled. The lock on the door chimed and the door creaked as it opened. He didn't move until his teammate spoke.
"Miss Pauling?"
His eyes snapped open and he lifted himself so fast he thought he did a somersault. The woman stood in her familiar purple dress, hair in bun. She was covered in scratches and bruises. Spy was walking to meet her halfway where she stood, ready to question her until she talked before him.
"I'll explain the situation later. Right now we have to m-"
She stopped as the lights suddenly shut off. There was movement he could hear all the way past the door and up the stairs. He slowly slid off the bed, looking around in the darkness for the two people in the room. He couldn't see a thing.
"SOMETHIN'S MOVIN' THE BLOODY BOMB!"
He heard the Scotsman yell. His stomach knotted up and his chest tighted again in an instant. He barely heard the woman curse under her breath. She tried to yell, to say they had to move, to go, to leave now, but she was cut off yet again as the walls and floor beneath them cracked and blistered, the roar of the explosion drowning her out. He felt like he was flying even when his hands dragged feebly at the dirt below him and he felt something on top of his back.
His ears rang and something warm dripped down his face. His whole body pulsed with distress and he felt dizzy but he felt like he was flying. He couldn't remember how to move his legs. His eyes. His head. His legs. His arms. He could only move his fingers. His fingers were the only thing he remembered. He didn't even know if he was breathing. Nothing hurt. It just pulsed. His heart was everywhere.
He couldn't react as something cold grabbed him. He weakly clutched at the air as his arms hung limply. Past the ringing, he thought he heard someone scream.
