A/N: I should probably warn some people that there's a lot of romantic fluff in this chapter. Romantic fluff of the slashy variety. So if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip it.
And here it is, ladies and gentlemen: the final chapter of Playing With Danger. It's taken nearly a full two years, but I've finally managed to finish a multi-chapter story... kind of. But this is just the end of the main story; I've still got a two-part epilogue in store, so watch out for those!

It was the beeping that brought me out of complete darkness; a steady, whining beep that came every second or so. But it was the pain that woke me up.

My neck hurt. My shoulder hurt. Actually, to think about it, everything hurt in some way. I felt like I was being smothered. I wanted to flail around, get everything off of me and figure out what the hell was going on, but even moving my left arm slightly sent a shockwave of even more pain through my body, so I didn't.
I heard something move to my right, and a deep sigh. "You awake?" I groaned, and earned a chuckle in response. "Guess so."

I finally opened my eyes, and took in my surroundings for a minute before hoarsely asking, "S'this a... hospital?"
The voice had come from Engineer, who had his goggles around his neck and dragged a hand across his forehead before smiling. "Yeah. Sniper brought'che here's soon as he could."
I took a deep breath. The pain in my neck - and, consequently, my throat - was starting to dull, but it was still hard to talk. "I... what happened?"

He was silent for a moment, and I rolled my head to look over at him.

He looked tired; tired, and relieved. "The Director shotcha." He gestured just above his collarbone, where neck met shoulder. "Right there. Then, he killed the RED Sniper..."
I winced, remembering the last thing I'd seen before blacking out. "Yeah, I remember that." After a pause, I gave him a weak smile. "But I also vaguely remember you bein' pretty badass."
Engineer chuckled uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... Guess I kinda jumped off the wagon for a minute. But he won't be runnin' track anymore, I can tell ya that."
I chuckled, and struggled to sit up, but he reached over to push me back down. "I wouldn't do that... yer lucky to be alive, y'know." Seeing the confusion in my face, he continued, voice quiet, "The bullet... grazed yer subclavian - main artery that goes through right there. Just a little lower... and..."

He trailed off after that, but I got the picture.

Other than the beeping of the machines, all was quiet for a few moments. "Is everyone else okay?" I finally asked, my eyes widening slightly. "Geesh, way to go, me, not even wondering about anyone else."
"It's fine, Scout, yer the one in the hospital bed." He laughed, then cleared his throat. "Everyone else is fine, 'cept fer some bumps, bruises, and cuts."
"What about the RED Heavy? They ever find him?"
Engineer shifted in his seat uncomfortably, averting his eyes. "Well... they found most'f him." I made a quiet 'oh' before he continued. "Grenade went off, I'm guessin'. Got both him and a guard."
I closed my eyes and said a short, mental prayer.

I heard the door to the room open, and a light cough. Engineer looked up, then stood with a grunt. "There you are. Should I be leavin' y'all alone?"
"Non, it's fine," I heard Dad reply, and I closed my eyes, smiling as I heard him come over to me. "Bryan? Are you alright?"
"S'fine as I can be," I replied, opening my eyes again. He sighed, clapping a hand on Engineer's shoulder before coming to kneel by the bed. Engineer carefully sunk back down into the chair and looked between the both of us. "By the way, Engie, in case ya didn't realize, this is my dad."
Engineer chuckled, rubbing his nose. "I had a feeling that's what was goin' on." He looked up and nodded. "You've got a good kid here."
Dad's smile was thin, but genuine. "Indeed. Alsough I don't know 'ow much I can say about sat."
"You'll be able ta say a lot more soon," I chimed in, lifting my arm to punch him lightly in the shoulder. "Ow."
"Careful now," he said.

They stayed in my room to tell me more about what happened after I left. Apparently, the Announcer had showed up right after they'd taken me out, and had the Director taken away, promising to inform us of our next move; but until then, my hospital room and rooms for everyone at a hotel were to be paid in full by the companies. Everyone else was either resting up or at a bar - I couldn't blame them.
Sniper and Soldier had stayed as long as they could to see me after I got out of surgery before going back to help the others. And while I was sleeping, the RED Pyro had come in to see me and stayed until she was about to pass out. Everyone else was waiting to see if I was up to so much activity before checking up on me, apparently.

The first one to come in was our Pyro, long after I'd insisted Dad and Engineer get going so they could get some rest. He was dressed in street clothes; another courtesy of the Announcer, who'd had the rubble cleared from the fort entrances and had our stuff returned to us. "Hey," he said quietly, hands in his pockets and hair as vibrantly orange as ever.
"How's everyone?" I asked, finding the strength to sit up just slightly.
"Tired. Most of them are probably drunk by now." Pyro paused before leaning in closer. "Spy's been tearing himself apart worrying about you, though." There was a hint of questioning in his voice.
I closed my eyes, sighing deeply. "Yeah?"
"Are you guys...?"
"Yeah."

He paused, then gave me a small smile. "You don't seem like the type."
"I thought that, too," I joked with a little laugh. "Tell 'im I'm alright?"
"You can tell him yourself, he's coming in about ten minutes." At my raised eyebrow, he explained, "He would've come earlier, but we all told him to wait a bit; let him cool down."
"Oh. Thanks." I reached out my hand, palm up, for a light high-five, which he returned as gently as possible. "How 'bout you?"
Pyro just shrugged again. "Been worse. Little headache, nothing too bad... I'm really glad you're okay, you know."
My hand was still reached out, so I leaned to pat him on the shoulder. "Thanks. Really, man. It means a lot."

Sure enough, once Pyro left, Z quietly slipped in through the door about ten minutes later, and he looked even more tired that usual. "Y'know, I think your eyebags are getting eyebags," I said once he had closed the door.
He didn't bother with a response, instead coming to immediately sit in the chair at my side and lean over, putting his forehead against mine in a weird kind of hug.
We stayed like that for a while, until he finally whispered, "Sey said you might not make eet. I... wanted to shoot sat bastard myself."
I sighed, closing my eyes again. "I kinda wish you had."

At that point, he probably realized what he was doing, because he straightened back up and laughed before clearing his throat, tugging at the loose tie around his neck. "But that wouldn't 'ave been very professional of me, non?"
I let out a little snort as I stretched, wincing slightly at the flicker of pain that resulted. "Ah, you're plenny professional in otha things..." After a moment of thought, I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "You were worried about me?"
He actually blushed a little at that, damn it to Hell. "Eet 'appens."
"Aww." I grinned teasingly, leaning forward. "You liiiike me. You really liiiiii-"
Z cut me off with a kiss; short and sweet, but it got the point across. "Yes," he said once he'd pulled away, leaving me reeling. "Remind me of my crimes se next time I exhibit such uncharacteristic notions."
I blinked, my mind finally clearing enough for me to reply with, "S'not what I meant."
"I know." He smiled cheekily at me before patting me on the head and standing up. "Do you want to sleep a little more?"

As much as I wanted him to stay, for us to talk more, I could feel exhaustion winning the fight against exhilaration. "Mhuh... yeah. Unless ya wanna stay a little longer."
He actually looked like he wanted to take up the suggestion, but a yawn from me sealed the deal. "No. I'll be seeing you much more tomorrow."
He left after that, stroking my hair and whispering, "Bonne nuit."

==ddddbbbb==

I was discharged from the hospital the following afternoon, on official company orders. The doctors didn't like it, but I'd healed enough that they eventually agreed I should be fine.
Soldier forgot when he saw me, fiercely clapping a hand on my bad shoulder while giving praises; a little whine of pain reminded him, though, and he immediately dropped his hand and apologized.
"Zhe Announcer vants a meetingk tomorrow," the RED Medic said as he played with a glass of bourbon. "To discuss our official retirements."
"We're free, uh?" Sniper grunted, feet on the table; a few of the waiters were glaring at him pointedly, but none dared approach; a group of battle-hardened men weren't exactly the friendliest-looking bunch.
"Sounds like."

Medic was leaning into Heavy's shoulder thoughtfully, but discreetly. "Zhen vhat? Ve get to go home?"
The RED Pyro groaned, leaning back in her chair and letting her hair fall over the back of the chair. "Guseju! That would be amazing!"
"I'm sure it'll all be cleared up tomorrow," I assured, toying with my own drink; Z had bought it for me, under the notion that even I should be able to celebrate. "S'not worry about it."
"Right!" Soldier agreed, slamming his own beer mug on the table. "Men - and lady," he added hastily, to the giggles of the RED Pyro, "Let's drink like royalty tonight."

That night was the first night I was truly able to relax since our last night in 2fort. We had dinner, then went out to bar-hop for as long as our bodies would let us, occasionally stopping for food if we felt the need. So no one was surprised that hangovers were rampant the next morning, when we received the call from the Announcer to meet at the train station.

Z and I had shared a room of two single beds, and I actually got up before he did; that was the point I realized he was kind of a lightweight when it came to anything but wine. "Wakey wakey," I sang quietly, shaking his shoulder after getting dressed.
He groaned, rolling over and lightly brushing my hand away. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" he muttered groggily.
I blinked, pausing in the middle of throwing on a jacket I'd packed for the bases; I hadn't realized then just how the weather worked in the desert. "Huh?"
Another moment passed before he opened his eyes completely and realized he'd spoken in French. "Ah - pardon." He chuckled a little before sitting up, stretching lazily. "English ees not my first language in se mornings."
I shrugged it off, tossing his clothes at him and trying not to look. "Announcer wants to see us."
"Now?" His voice was a mocking, childish whine as he digressed himself and started to get dressed. Of course, that didn't stop him from standing up and wrapping an arm around my waist the first minute he could, to my surprise.
"Yeah, I know it sucks. Deal with it." I looked back at him and grinned before ducking out of his grasp and making my way to the bathroom.

The Announcer was clad in a knee-length, dark purple dress when she finally came to us; a cigarette smoldering in a long holder, her smile was still strangely condescending. "The Manns have been informed of what's happened, and agreed to pay you what was promised in your original contracts - with a bonus for the trouble you've had to go through."
Practically everyone's jaw dropped, some less subtle than the others. "How much is this 'bonus'?" Soldier asked.
"Approximately half a million. You've earned it. And I can assure you that the companies will never find such an excuse for pointless conflict to happen again." She paused to take a puff from her cigarette holder. "Train tickets have been provided for you, pick them up at the terminal. You'll be leaving at some point today."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" I said, stepping forward. "Ain't that a bit short notice?"
She shrugged, turning away. "Maybe. But we figured you might want the comforts of home as soon as possible. Besides, you'll have time to say your goodbyes. Your paychecks will come in the mail within the week."
"Well," the RED Demoman said after a moment of stunned silence. "Best git oor tickets."

The RED Scout awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck before heading for the terminal. And, slowly, everyone started to follow. After a second's decision, I ran to catch up to Dad. "Come to Boston with me."
He did a double take at me, gaping just slightly. "What?"
"Come back to Boston." My voice dropped slightly as I added, "Be my real dad for more than a day."
He just stared at me, mouth slightly ajar, but was jogged from his stupor by a train whistle. "I... What about...?"
Somehow, I knew that would come up. "Hey, the worst that'll happen is Mom spends an hour in her room after possibly ignoring ya." I shrugged. "Best that happens, you have a romantic interlude in a sunset."

Pyro, who was walking past at that point, snorted in laughter, failing an attempt to hide it by clearing his throat. This caused Dad to snicker himself. "I suppose you 'ave a point."
"So ya will?" I nudged his arm, grinning. "Huh? Huuuuh?"
He eventually moved his arm away, frowning. "I 'ave a job, Bryan; one I can't simply walk away from."

Oh. Right. My grin slipped away, and I nodded, a bit embarrassed I hadn't taken that into account. "Well - you don't haveta go back right away, right? Ya can see what happens, then figure all that out!"
He started to respond, then reconsidered; maybe from the combination of my puppy-dog expression and the fact I'd actually come up with a decent plan. "...I suppose..."
My grin returned two-fold, and I put my hand on his arm. "S'prolly not too late to exchange tickets."
He looked at me, then at the trains lined up; then, when his gaze returned to me, he chuckled and ruffled my hair. "I zink you in'erited my silver tongue," he said after I whined, putting my hands on my head.

The Demomen were the first to go, followed by Heavy and Medic; they'd both traded their tickets for ones to Berlin. No one was really surprised. Soldier offered us a salute, then honored us with a handshake and an "It was an honor to serve with you" before leaving. And Engineer... well, he had to wipe away tears when he hugged me goodbye, and I couldn't blame him. Sniper even surprised me by muttering "You be good" before left.

Z's train came before mine. We both stood there awkwardly for a good minute, trying to think of some way to say goodbye that wasn't overly cheesy, until I finally handed him a little scrap of paper. "Uh," I started, "that's my number. Er, well, my mom's number. Just ask for me. If ya want. I'm not, like, forcin' ya to call me -"
He smiled, stuffed the scrap in his jacket pocket, and gently touched my face. "I will. I'd give you mine, but I doubt my employers would like sat." He then drew me into a deep, long hug where he kissed my neck (oh man, that made me blush a little), and then started for his train.
He looked back at me before disappearing into the car. And then, a minute later, he was gone.

Soon enough, it was just me, Dad, and the RED Pyro. "East Coast, East Coast!" she chanted playfully, throwing a fist into the air until I joined in. It didn't last long; we both broke into laughter, and she hugged me. "Sucks you've got a boyfriend," she whispered, winking when she drew away and giggling at my bewildered expression.
I took a window seat when our train finally arrived. She got off earlier than Dad and I, sliding me her phone number and grinning at me before departing.

And, as I saw the skyline of Boston in the distance of the window, Dad stirring from a well deserved bit of shut-eye, I smiled. "Welcome home," I said to no one in particular.