Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Author's Note: This story's only purpose is for the author to practice character development and plot writing. Reviews are appreciated.

All Team Fortress 2 characters are owned by Valve.

It was the first time Ludwig had bothered to step foot into his hometown for the past 2 years. There was a certain familiarity to it, but he felt like a tourist in his own country. The little South German town of Rottenburg hadn't changed at all since he last saw it. All the houses still reminded him of those cottages in the fairy tales he read as a child. Rottenburg wasn't known for its modern architecture, anyway.

He was here on his monthly ceasefire break, away from the war-filled deserts of New Mexico. He'd usually just end up becoming a hermit in his lab for the whole week, only rarely stopping to sleep for an hour or less as his exhausted body forced his mind away from his experiments. He wondered what he was going to do here for 5 days, having been accustomed to dozens of sleepless nights and fighting a never ending war every single day.

Luckily, he had brought some work along, much to his team's Engineer, Dell's chagrin. He had walked into Ludwig's lab back in Teufort, New Mexico 2 days ago to drop off some supplies for the doctor. Maybe it was the dark circles under his eyes, or his disheveled hair and clothes, or the absolute state of chaos and disarray his laboratory was in that made Dell suggest the thing Ludwig dreaded to hear from anyone,

"Take a break, Doc. You haven't slept in... a long while."

He had shot Dell a glare while elbow deep in a corpse and stared at him until the Texan became uncomfortable,

"I am completely fine with the way I am now. I am quite alright without sleep, thank you." He had said with much conviction, "And besides, I think I am close to a breakthrough here!"

But Dell couldn't be swayed and remained steadfast in his suggestion for Ludwig to take a break.

So, here he was. Back home for the first time in years.

But he just got to town and it was already late into the night. Having lugged his bag and his doves' cage all the way from the airport in Stuttgart, he felt truly exhausted for the first time in a long time. The 22 hour long flight from New Mexico to Germany and the train journey it took to get to Rottenburg had taken a lot out of him.

Not to mention all the nonstop walking he had to go through.

After dropping off his things at his old childhood home, he headed for the local pub where he could get himself a drink. He hoped some alcohol would revitalise him. No one was usually drinking this late. So the place was fortunately silent with only a few people still around. Everything was dark and murky and shrouded in shadow, lit with a few dim lightbulbs. But he could recognise a couple of his neighbours and some other people who lived around the area. All familliar faces...

... except one. A woman he hadn't seen before.

He went to sit opposite her, merely out of curiosity since visitors weren't very common. Rottenburg wasn't exactly a popular tourist spot like Berlin. The woman was also having a beer, gazing out of a window onto the empty road. She turned to look at him before he could sit, jolting suddenly and fast as if paranoid that someone was behind her.

Ludwig froze once he saw her whole face, with its dark brown - almost black hair and blue eyes behind rectangle-rimmed glasses. He knew her. From... work.

She took the initiative and spoke first when he was still on his way to take a seat,

"Hallo, Herr Doktor. How is it that you're here?" Her accent was different — maybe Austrian, Ludwig couldn't tell, neither did he care. He didn't bother to listen out for the sound of people's voices when he was killing them.

"Well, Fraulein, I live here." He managed to sit himself down and swallow some beer, "What is a BLU arschloch doing in my hometown then?"

"I was just on my way through. Decided to stop by."

She was surprisingly calm, despite being faced with an enemy who just insulted her.

Ludwig recalled memories of many past bonesaw duels with this woman, or whom he knew as BLU's Medic. He hated to admit it, but she was good; both as a combatant and field medic. She would look out for her team while watching her own back. But most of the time, her team's predictability was her downfall. Their tactics were effective on paper, but failed to withstand the force of RED's plain and simple unpredictability. It was the sane against the insane, and usually, logic and rationale lost out to the brute strength of madness.

The two went silent, animosity between them subsiding a little.

"You keep winning." She said bitterly, immediately bringing the tension between them up a notch, "RED keeps winning."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow questioningly, but didn't speak. He watched her finish her drink, order another and finish that too, all while he was still sipping on his first. She was quite determined to get herself drunk.

"I am not with my team right now, ja?" The alcohol made him more chatty. The words just came bubbling up even if he didn't want them to, "We win collectively as a team. And so do you. I would rather that you not treat me like part of them when we are obviously outside work."

"So?" She scoffed, "How do you win all the time, anyway?"

"We do whatever we each decide is best at the point in time? I don't really know, actually." He said with a grin.

"How are you not killing me now?" She barked. The woman was interrogating him at this rate.

Ludwig finished his beer, "I just choose not to treat you like my enemy when we are not fighting. You mean I cannot be polite? No sense! You too are human, no?"

"If only you were like that when you took my Spy's head."

"Besides…" He continued, ignoring her, "We technically have no reason to hate one another. If we were not made to fight, we probably could be friends."

She was on her fifth glass as she considered his statement. When she finally spoke she sounded almost cautious — like she was saying something final,

"You're not wrong."

"Oh?" Ludwig said, "Then let me propose this: we put aside everything related to our feud and talk like… friends. Just to keep the peace, ja?"

He wanted to be friendly. At least for as long as ceasefire lasted.

"You are one to have a silver tongue, doktor." She said, smiling for the first time. It came out looking sort of nicely lopsided, "But let's make a deal: this "friendship" will last for as long as we see each other during this ceasefire…"

"But otherwise…" she continued, "We are not friends." Her smile wavered slightly, but quickly righted itself.

"Then it's a deal." He said. They shook hands and settled back in their seats, silence returning between them again, this time a lot more peaceful — less hostile.

BLU's Medic tossed back her beer and spoke,

"It's funny to hear you talk normally." She said, "You are always yelling. I hear you more than I see you."

They both laughed.

Ludwig ordered himself another glass. She could handle her drink. Impressive.

"Why are we even speaking in English? It's ridiculous!" He said in German.

"You're right! I feel a little silly now!"

Only now did Ludwig notice her sudden change in mood. He reckoned the beer must be getting to them both. But he felt pretty alright with himself regardless, if not a little lightheaded and flighty.

He drank at a slower pace than her, determined to keep himself from getting too drunk. He wanted to get home properly tonight, thank you. But as for the woman who was sitting opposite him now, he could tell she was getting quite thoroughly sloshed.

"Where do you live?" He asked. From the looks of it, she wouldn't be able to make it home at all.

"Why should I tell you that?" She slurred, "If I did, I would be risking my life if you were to go there and kill me, right?"

"Oh, Gott…" Ludwig muttered, rubbing his eyes, "Look, would staying at my house for the night be alright?"

She seemed to collect herself a little, looking down at her shoes, before glancing up lazily at him,

"Yes. That… that's fine…"

He let her hold onto him for support as she stood up unsteadily. Once they managed to make their way out onto the empty street, Ludwig noted that it had started snowing. He heard BLU's Medic say,

"Is it normal for the world to be spinning, Herr Doktor?"

"You are drunk. You need rest." He remarked, "You are in no state to be doing anything now."

"Mmh…"

He caught her when she stumbled on a patch of ice, hooking her by her waist with one arm and propping her upright again. The snow was getting heavier, falling hard and fast. Luckily, they both had worn coats. It took quite a bit of effort to haul BLU's Medic to his front door. And Ludwig was relieved to have got her into his living room in one piece.

"Now, you really should sleep." He guided her to a worn sofa in the corner and made her sit, "I cannot risk my things being broken,"

She slurred something that sounded like a protest but complied anyway and settled down.

Ludwig left her then, heading straight upstairs to wash up and collapse into bed. He was jet-lagged and drunk — the worst combination of things someone could experience. He hadn't bothered to take off his steel-rimmed glasses before slumping on the bed.

But he was quite tired, and it wasn't long until he was out like a light.