Chapter 36 – Retribution

It seemed like forever to the Spycrab before the RED Scout finally returned from his meeting with his counterpart. He was never told why Scout needed to meet up with his former teammate, but he found it best not to ask since the boy would always get defensive or make up a not-too-well-thought-out lie. It didn't matter much to him; the time alone gave him time to catch up on his reading, which proved impossible since the Scout didn't have any books TO read, and any books he did find were ten times his size.

The crab really missed his old body. At times, it felt like he was getting bigger by the day since he found out since the pillow he slept on was beginning to feel smaller. He used to exercise a lot as a human. When he wasn't reading, he was working on new techniques to use on the field - particularly new moves he would later use on his favorite RED Scout. He really missed those days, especially feeling the RED Scout struggling in his grasp, spitting and cursing at him before he drove his knife into the side of the boy's neck.

Good Times. The Spycrab sighed heavily, but he immediately shook the nostalgia from his mind. Even though those past days were fun, he wasn't going to deny that what he had now…was far better.
Instead of waiting 24-hours just to see the RED – only to have to kill him in the end – he actually got the chance to wake up in the morning with him. The Spycrab felt a bit honored at having this chance, knowing none of the other BLUs would have the same opportunity. Unless one of his teammates was having an affair with one of the REDs, which was unlikely, nothing got past him.

He felt a bit conflicted now. As a crab, he would be able to stay with the Scout at all times, but…nothing more, he would be a pet always to the Scout. As a human, however, would they be able to develop a relationship as more then just friends? Considering if the Scout even felt that way about him, would it just go back to him killing the RED again and again, returning to that endless loop again.

The Spycrab's thoughts were cut short when he saw the Scout return. He smiled as he scuttled over to the edge of the bed.

"You're back!" he greeted the Bostonian happily. Scout flinched a bit, not even noticing the crab there on his bed.

"Oh, h-hey!" He greeted back, nervously. "How long you been there?"

"Remember when you woke up this morning?" asked the crab.

"Yeah."

"Since then…"

"Oh." The BLU chuckled.

"So how was your afternoon constitution?"

"My what?"

"Your walk. You went for a walk outside. How did that go?"

The Scout could feel his face begin to burn a bit as he blushed brightly, unfortunately remember what he just did before returning to the RED base. 'Practice' was what the BLU Scout called it, something he'd rather forget was what the RED Scout called it. Goosebumps began to rise on the surface of the Scout's skin as he remembered the way the BLU Scout spoke to him.

"N-no, not like th-that, I'm not your grandma."

"Close your eyes, it'll make th-things easier."

"Tilt your head."

"Use your tongue, don't be afraid to explore."
Worst part was that Scout followed those instructions too.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." He muttered.

"Have you been outside for too long?" asked the Spycrab. The Scout blinked, realizing he spoke outloud instead of keeping this thoughts to himself. That was becoming an awful habit by now.

"Uh…Yeah! I'm sick…from being out in the cold!" With a nervous laugh, Scout walked over to the bed to lay down on it. The crab scuttled over to the side to avoid being crushed by the young man. That happened once - it ended very awkwardly. Both agreed to never speak of it again.

Scout sighed heavily as he rested his head on the pillow, his thoughts returning back to the fence he was already on about if he should turn the Spycrab human again or keep him a his crabby pet. At least with turning the crab human that would take care of his problem with the new BLU Spy – Which would be nice. Either way, he would either lose a friend or regain a former enemy. He had a constant companion but constant teasing from his teammates for having a pet crab.

"Which would you choose?" asked Scout. The small blue crab looked up.

"Excuse me?"

"Would you rather stay with me…or return to your team?"

"Either one works for me." answered the Spycrab.

"You suck! Seriously, man," Scout groaned. Without say a word, he let out a loud grunt as he sat up and got off the bed, making his way towards the door.

"Where are you going now?" asked the Spycrab.

"Gonna get something to help me think. I'll be right back."

***
-BLU Base-

The BLU Scout wasn't too surprised to see everyone had gone to bed when he returned to the base. It was late, and the Soldier usually called the shots on everyone's curfew. Normally, a person would argue, but the others found out that the quicker they complied with the Soldier, the quicker it shut him up!

What did surprise him, though, was finding the Spy slumped at the table with a shot glass in front of him. Judging from the sunken in eyes and the 5 o'clock shadow on his face, he'd been drinking – excessively.

"Uh…h-hi," greeted the BLU Scout, cautiously.

"Bonjour!" The BLU Spy slurred. "Did you know…after six of these," he said as he held up his shot glass. "The alcohol begins to taste less like crap?"

Now, the Scout lived with the new Spy long enough to know it was going to take a really crappy day to make a usually sophisticated man – like this Spy in particular –to begin drinking. He walked up to the table and pushed the empty bottle of alcohol away from the Spy as he took a seat next to the man.

"Something on your mind?" asked the BLU. The Spy already had another bottle opened as he poured himself yet another shot.

"Have you noticed…'ow redundant our lives 'ave become?"

"Can't say th-that I have…" admitted the Scout.

"We fight, we die, we respawn, we win, we lose, we do it all over again." Said the Spy before he took a gulp of his drink.

"Oh…" The Scout said, that moment of realization sinking in.

"And it is not just for tomorrow, it is for the next day and the next day and the next day…" continued the Spy. "Before we know it, it's been a year, and it is not going to stop when we reach that road either. Nooon! It continues on again! 'ow long 'ave you been fighting for this team?" The Scout took a moment to think.

"About six years." He remember joining the BLU team when he was eighteen, just fresh out of highschool with enough lust for blood to land him a job as a mercenary. There was a slight pause before the Spy continued again with his drunken rant.

"That stutter of yours…the Medic told me that when you joined you never stuttered," The Spy noted. "It was not until your third tour that you began having difficulties forming your words."

"Wh-wh-what's th-this all about? Why are y-you bring th-this up?" asked the Scout, wanting to change the subject.

"I want to end this war." Announced the Spy. The Scout paused, looking at the BLU Spy as if he was crazy – to which he was.

"I'll say it again, 'Wh-what'?!"

"It really 'it me when I almost died…this war is not going to end, it is some sick games our employers 'ave us in," said the Spy. "If we can find a way to kill all the REDs without them respawning, then we can finally continue on with our lives…'ave you ever thought about that?" The BLU Scout looked down a bit.

"N-not really."

"What would you do if you were not in this war?" asked the Spy. Without an answer in the mind, the BLU Scout looks away, almost in shame. "Do you see 'ow much this war 'as consumed your life?" The Spy said, softly. "You deserve better."

"Ok, you're clearly beyond drunk now, l-lets get you into bed to sleep it off." Said the BLU Scout as he got up. "Lets go, Buzz."

"That is not my name," the Spy began speaking with a slurred tone again as he got to his feet when the Scout began tugging on his arm. "It is-"

"How 'bout we keep that part a secret, ok? The less I know about you the better." Joke the BLU Scout, allowing the Spy to lean on him as he guided the man through the base towards the sleeping quarters.

"I really do want to know more about you though," admitted the Spy. "Is that's a crime?"

"If th-th-the Soldier finds out…yeah." Said the BLU Scout. "We're encouraged n-not to give away our names." Of course, as the Scout said that, he was starting to feel a bit hypocritical since he and the former Spy, along with the Medic once exchanged their names in secret. He even suggested doing an exchange of blood in the form of a brotherhood bond, to which the Medic objected right away due to the possibility of transmitting a disease.

"That is stupid!" Said the Spy. "We're teammates, we should be more than allowed to know one another better!"

It really didn't help that the Spy was beginning to shift his entire weight against the BLU Scout as they walked through the halls. The Spy must have drank enough alcohol to make him pass out eventually, which would be helpful for the BLU Scout at that point. Most of his teammates just rambled when they were drunk. It was helping that this BLU Spy was being (for lack of a better word) philosophical!

"It…hurts sometimes," The BLU Scout replied. "We get close…th-then…something happens."

"Like what?" Slurred the Spy.

"Th-they leave." Answered the Scout. "Either from retiring or…" He paused for a moment, not knowing if he should finish that sentence or not. Part of his knew the BLU Spy was still a sadistic jerk, and to give him any information that might give him ideas on how to kill the RED Scout wouldn't be a smart idea at this point. "N-nevermind. H-HEY-!"

The BLU Scout wasn't paying attention as they neared the Spy's room. By the time his mind finally focused on his surroundings he noticed that he was practically carrying the Spy on his back, which – in turn – caused him to lose his balance. The two BLUs – mostly the Scout – tried to regain their balance before they fell to the floor. However, after a rather messy scramble to remain on their feet as well as trying to catch one another from falling, they both ended up on the floor with a loud thud - more so on the BLU Scout's behalf due to the Spy falling down on top of him.

The Spy groaned when the room stop spinning for him and he finally realized he was laying over the BLU Scout, who looked quite annoyed but didn't bother to push the Spy of him right away. The annoyed look faded though when the BLU Scout noticed that look of sympathy in the Spy's eye. The Frenchman remained quiet as he looked down at his younger teammate. After a moment, though, he sighed and rested his forehead against the Scout's.

"Something 'appened….didn't it?" the Spy asked softly.

The BLU Scout remained quiet, it was really getting awkward having the Spy be on top of him like this. Didn't really help with the strong smell of alcohol on the man's breath. "Please tell me…" The Spy begged softly, sounding almost hurt with the young BLU refusing to answer him. Final, the BLU Scout sighed. Whatever guilt card the Spy was trying to pull, it worked.

"I-It was before I joined the team…" he began. "Something happened wi-with the respawn system, a circuit break or something, but…." The Spy remained quiet at he listened to the Scout, occasionally nodding off as he relaxed and lowered his head to the point that he was resting it against the BLU's neck. The BLU Scout tensed up again, he wasn't sure if the Spy was just really, really drunk and ready to pass out or if he was making a move against him. The fact that the Spy wasn't kissing him yet was a sign that he was just drunk.

"Go on…" muttered the Spy.

"…The Soldier was the only one to make it through…" said the BLU Scout. "Everyone was killed."

"Because of the Respawn?"

"Yeah….a cable malfunctioned without either team knowing…" replied the Scout. "A lot of REDs and BLUs died that day. Except th-th-the Soldier…he was th-the only living BLU."

"That sounds 'orrible."

"Th-that…probably explains why he doesn't encourage us to get close..," whispered the BLU Scout. "It might happen again."

"It won't." said the Spy, his voice more slurred then it was before. "I'll make sure…we don't get…purple unicorns in the bathtub."

The Scout groaned, that was the biggest mood swing he ever experienced and it was getting more annoying than it was earlier. It really didn't get any better for the BLU though when he heard a door open and a familiar presence standing above him. Reluctantly, he looked up to see who was looking down at them; The BLU Medic.

"Hi, Doc." Greeted the BLU Scout, keeping things casual.

"Miles." Said the Medic, looking down at the two. "So, how long has zhis been going on?"

"About twenty minutes," replied the BLU Scout. "He's drunk."

"Is he? Vell, zhis is a first," chuckled the Medic, stroking his chin with is gloved fingers. "Has he thrown up on you yet?"

"No."

"Give it time…"

"Doc, I really don't want to wait until he- AUGGH!" As cliché as it was, the moment the Medic brought up the possibility of the Spy throwing up on him…The Spy threw up on him. Which was quiet amusing to the Medic, who laughed despite the BLU Scout crying out in disgust and trying to push the Spy off of him. "Get him off me, Doc!"
The Medic continued to laugh, eventually calming himself down with an amused smile.

"Relax, Miles, it's just-"

"I'VE READ ENOUGH MEDICAL BOOKS TO KNOW WHAT'S IN VOMIT!" The BLU Scout yelled.

"Hmm, not a single stutter zhat time…"

"GET HIM OFF ME!"

The Medic laughed again, straightening his glasses as he walked over to help the BLU with the drunken Spy.

-RED base-

It seemed almost like forever as the Spycrab waited for the Scout to return. It was almost déjà vu for him waiting again for that boy to come back to his room. It was quick to get lonely whenever the Scout popped into his mind. The former BLU let out a depressed sigh as he lied down on the pillow in wait. This caused him to flinch when he realized that he was actually getting this upset when the Scout wasn't around, a bit of a silly feeling to have at the moment, but there wasn't much for him to do at this point. The Spycrab looked up when he saw the handle of the door turn and in entered the RED Scout, carrying a familiar looking bottle with him - a bottle of the Demoman's scrumpy.

"And….what do you plan on doing with that bottle?" asked the Spycrab.

"Gonna get drunk!" the Scout announced.

"Again?"

"Hey, I'm havin' trouble deciding on what to do with that bombshell of a proposal! So I'm gonna get drunk and what happens….well, happens!" explained the Scout, practically slamming the door behind him. "And it was a pain in the neck trying to get this too, but don't tell anybody, got it?"

"I can only talk to you, remember?" The Spycrab pointed out.

"And that BLU Spy, 'member?" The Scout retorted. "I'm a virgin, he's a virgin….why can't everyone be a virgin?!"
The Spycrab shook his head with a chuckle, he wasn't even going to defend that statement as the Scout walked over to his desk, setting down the bottle of alcohol and fished around for a couple of paper cups.

"So you intend to get drunk to make a choice then?" asked the Spycrab.

"That's what I said." The Scout replied. "Wanna join me?"

"Oh…just a cup or two, I'll try to be the responsible one."

"Yer missin' out then." Said the Scout, finally finding a couple of paper cups and setting them on the desk.

"I'd rather remain sober and watch you make a fool of yourself."

"We'll see, buddy." Scout poured a little bit of the scrumpy into one of the paper cups and handed it over to the Spycrab. Despite the cup being bigger then him, the crab took the cup and held it the best he could with his large claws.

"So, shall me making a toast?" suggested the crab.

"A toast? A toast to what? Gettin' drunk and possible kissing a crab?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Cheers."

-BLU Base. Hours, Later-

The BLU Spy chewed on the end of a cigarette, managing to keep the pain of his hangover from bothering him. With the rest of the team finally asleep, he was able to finally have the time to think to himself. Despite being drunk at the time, he remembered his conversation with the BLU Scout – which brought him into the young BLUs room after he sobered up.

He sat in a chair, just sitting there in the middle of the BLU Scout's room, watching the young man sleep. The Spy thought to himself about the first time he joined the BLU team how he didn't want anything to do with the BLU Scout or any of his team mates. That's just how he was trained as a Spy, not to rely on anyone else but himself. He thought that was how the others were as well. However, despite how much he made it known that he didn't want their help, the BLU Scout opened his mind to that fact that they were a team now. Even if he didn't want it, there were others around him who were going to help him if he wanted it or not. A team, that's what they were.

He felt a little tug of guilt when he remember how he abused the BLU Scout. It didn't make him feel any better when he remembered how the BLU saved his life when he had the chance to let him die for that as well. The BLU Scout was too forgiving, but it was enough to get the Spy thinking. Which was pretty dangerous.

"I'll make things right." The Spy thought to himself. "Starting with this war. I'll….no…." He remembered his vow. That RED Scout. He was going to be a problem, and his inner OCD wasn't going to let him continue on without taking care of him first. "The Scout first…then this war."

The BLU Scout let out a soft moan in his sleep as he stretched in bed. Thankfully, he didn't wake up – it would've been awkward for the BLU Spy to explain why he was watching him sleep. Even to himself, he didn't know why he was in the first place; curiosity might have been the best answer for him. Or something. It didn't occur to him until now that his eyes were locked onto his teammate. Even though his thoughts were on killing the RED Scout, why did he eye the BLU Scout differently? This young man was locked in with the others on their value towards him. Yet right now, it was…

The Spy shook his head, slipping his unlight cigarette into his coat pocket as he stood up. He had a plan now. And as unprofessional as it was – to him at least - he was going to have to do it tonight. Quick and easy and he was going to use the upcoming night storm to take care of it.

Before taking his leave, he took one last look at the BLU Scout, finally noticing the young BLU was sleeping without a shirt on. The Spy rose his eyebrow to this. It was cold, yet this young man was sleeping without…wait, was he?
With almost a childlike curiosity, the Frenchman walked over to the Scout's bedside and lifted up the covers to check underneath. He let out a quick gasp and let the covers fall back onto the young man's body as he darted out of the room quickly, doing his best to act like nothing happened as well as trying to hide the very obvious blush on his face.

"How is it that he doesn't freeze at night?!"