AN: Well, I almost got this update done in November, but what can I say. Here it is in December. I hope it's up to par. I've been considering a Christmas special since I'll be on break and such, but I'm not really sure how to go about it, or if it'll even be worth it. Just putting it out there as a maybe so if you all are really for it let me know please, that is, if you remember by the time you finish reading chapter 13. Anyway, here ya go!
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic! I repeat this thought over and over, yet I still begin to panic. I squeeze my eyes shut and slap my hands over my mouth. Footsteps near the bed, then the mattress is sagged down where a merc has placed his weight. Well, I know it's not the heavy, otherwise I'd be crushed to death right now. "That pyro," someone mutters thoughtfully. Damn, not enough dialogue to distinguish an accent. I hear what I think are shoes falling from feet and the weight lifts. The general sound of clothing, probably just a uniform getting removed fills the quiet room. I dare open my eyes.
I see the shoes directly in front of my face. My nose scrunches and I can practically see green swirls of stank rising from the interior. They're boots, a lot of the mercs wear boots. Scout doesn't, and neither does Spy. I can only pray it's the Medic. I desperately want to know who it is. It would just be dumb to try to poke my head out any further, so I settle on scooting a bit to the left; at least the shoes will be out of my face.
A board creaks and I freeze. I hear nothing, but that doesn't mean he heard me, right? I resist moving again and try to get a glimpse of something from my new angle. I see a pair of feet on the hardwood floor, just standing there. Even if he did hear the creak, it doesn't mean he instantly knows someone's hiding. I try to calm myself. I mean, I would totally disregard a little noise like that if I were him. Still, I'd feel better if he wasn't just standing there.
Time creeps along for probably another minute when he finally breaks the silence by walking across the room. I hear rifling through draws when I decided to adjust myself once more. I'll be more careful, of course, and maybe I'll be able to see who it is; I just need one identifying thing. This time, the floor stays silent. I can now see more of the room, but I don't recognize anything. After a few seconds of scanning I feel suddenly uneasy. As the feeling strikes so does the blade of a large knife directly in front of me.
The knife, specifically the kukri, is followed by the voice of a clearly Australian man. "Oi've had enough of your sneaky business, whoiy don'tcha come out now?" I don't, instead I quietly scuttle back as far under the bed as I can. Sniper falls to his knees to reach under the bed and drag me out. As his hand feels around for me he speaks. "C'mon, Soldier, you're no Spoi. You're not slick enough for this snoopin' act. Unda the bed? C'mon, now…" his hand grips my wrist. "Eh?" he mumbles when he realizes my wrist is quite different from the Soldier's.
My left hand grips the slick wood, but the angle that the Sniper grips has my arm twisted. So, when he pulls my arm, it straightens out and twists the rest of my body with it. I lose my hold when I'm flopped to my side and my shirt gives no traction against the wood.
I slide from under the bed like a mechanic from under a car. He stares at down at me, wide eyed. Aviatorless, Hatless, and, to my shock, shirtless, he still holds my wrist in one hand with the other grasping the kukri. He quickly drops my wrist, but doesn't move otherwise. I glance at his weapon and he lowers it too. With it gone, it's hard not to be distracted by the firm chest entirely too close for my heart to regulate.
I sit up so he'll lean back; thankfully he gets up completely and rushes to throw a shirt on. I'm guessing he saw the pink in my cheeks and realized his indecency. While his back is turned, I make for the door. Reminding how quick his reflexes are, he catches the door. The sight of his open shirt sends another rush of heat through me.
"Do you mind?" I say using my hand as a wall to block his buffness. Gah this is embarrassing, I just want to leave. As his hands leave the door to comply to my request, I again attempt to open it. Again, he stops me.
"Ya can't just go runnin around out there," he begins, but I interrupt.
"You can't just lock women in your room!" he motions for me to lower my voice.
"Who are'ya? How'd ya git here?"
"None of your business." is my instant reply cause, I mean, I'm not about to tell another person my secret. It's a bit late for protecting your secret. I shrug off the logic in that statement.
"It is my business, you're in my room. Now, tell me who you are." He demands in a voice that usually gets an answer. Thinking fast, I do the most logical thing that comes to mind. I cry. It wasn't hard, I'm pretty good at forcing tears; in this state of panic it didn't take much. Tears bubble from my eyes and I hide my face in my hands. I turn my back to him and ask in a quiet, broken voice to let me leave.
He stutters a few times before finding his words. "No- no need to cry," he places a hand on my shoulder, feels me tense, then removes swiftly, "You can leave, it's just not safe with er'body about. Plus, I can't just let a girl like you out in the desert to find her way." As he says this I spin around with ceased tears.
"You can't tell anyone I'm here." He seems confused. Before he asks, I continue, "Because I-" I run out of steam quickly. "It's a secret." I finish lamely. He scratches his head and smiles a bit, like I'm telling some sort of bizarre joke; he's not buying it. How about this: "I'm here for the Pyro. He's my… friend." The Sniper doesn't say anything, only looks confused, so I babble on.
"He's not expecting me, I just thought I'd meet him in his room, and I ended up in the wrong room, your room, as you know. So, I'll just go find the Pyro's room."
"Crickey."
"I'm not lying!" I lie suspiciously and over defensively and about three octaves too high. I am blown away when he doesn't call me on it.
"Don't get cut up!" he says putting his hands up as if to protect himself from my false accusation. "Oi just thought, Oi mean, the Pyro doesn't seem like type of bloke to have a girlfriend."
"Yeah, well…" I don't bother correcting, this situation is fine; I just need to get to my room. Sniper scratches his head awkwardly while he thinks.
"Oi suppose once everyone is settled you could sneak up there without a problem, especially since there won't be any celebratin' tonight. But you need to tell Pyro he can't just tell people where we are. In fact, it's one of the biggest rules. Ah, but Oi won't tell." he says the last part quickly to stop the look on my face, "Just keep in moind not everyone would do the same."
"Thank you so much." I say very sincerely.
"Roight… " he says like he might regret it, hopefully he won't. I decide to change the subject.
"You thought I was someone else, I mean when you found me." I clarify.
"Oh, yeah. The Soldier has taken to spoin' on people lately, he's a very distrustful bloke. Aways makin' sure no'body's plannin' to sabotage the team or somethin', Oi guess." He's not very good at it, I think about the Spy. How can I get him to fess up? Even after that, how can I possibly stop him? We've been winning, and that's something, isn't it?
"Can't really blame him, can Oi? The way we've been losin', until Pyro came along. Oi don't tell him, but without him Oi know we'd still be losin'. Oi'm really glad he joined the team. Don't go tellin' him this, if ya don't mind. Don't want him gettin' brash, heh." I nod agreement.
"So, he's really good?" I ask, unable to resist.
"Better than our last, that's for sure. Oi feel like he's hiding something, you wouldn't happen know would'ya?" he asks lighting up at the prospect.
"I-uh, I wouldn't know what you're talking about." I stumble over my words. He deflates a bit.
"Well, what does he look like?"
"Oh, ya know, like normal person. He has… hair, and, uh, some teeth." wow. when did I get so bad at this? Sniper notices my weirdness, but I think he attributes it to something other than being a big fat liar, probably the situation that is getting more and more uncomfortable.
"You think I could leave yet?" I prompt him to check if the coast is clear. He does, and there's a few mercenaries out. I decide to risk it and bolt upstairs. No one turns their head. Thank god that's over and done with. That went pretty smoothly, if I do say so myself. Spy would be proud that I didn't blow it. Ugh, Spy. I don't know what I'll do about him. I suppose there's no harm in waiting a bit, knock on wood, until I think of something. Speak of the Devil, I find him waiting in my room, looking none too happy.
Aye, chapter 13, hope everyone enjoyed. As usual, Follow and/or Favorite if you enjoyed, and drop a Review even if you didn't. Please and Thank you. Oh, and several people have asked me if I'm still writing during the last few chapters, and I promise I am. I just need a week or so to pump out chapters between responsibilities and such. It's a drag, I know. Any other questions/suggestions lemme know via pm or review and I'll get back to you. :)