The events in this chapter were not in the original idea for the story, but I hope you guys enjoy, I think it makes things just a little more exciting...
The time before the match the next morning was extremely awkward for the mercenaries of the RED team. Although Sniper hadn't shown up for breakfast with the rest of the team, Scout was still wary of everything he put into his mouth, and spent a disproportionate amount of time examining the cereal box until Pyro sntached it and ate some to show that it was, in fact, safe.
No one mentioned the events of the previous night, other than to express their gratitude that Scout was feeling better, but any other conversation felt forced. And with Scout being uncharacteristically quiet, an uncomfortable silence settled over the kitchen/dining room/rec room.
Things only became more uncomfortable when Sniper finally appeared, looking like he'd slept an hour at best. The can of coffee that he'd found sitting on the steps of his camper had helped a little, but from the way Spy had planted himself between him and Scout, and the fact that the runner wouldn't even look at him, he figured it was not a peace offering.
No one had been hostile to Sniper, except for Spy, of course, but conversation was still sparse. Not that Sniper was interested in speaking to anyone except for Scout, but Spy continued to block him anytime he got close, and Scout was ignoring him anyway.
But as the team stood in the gate, ready to embark in their daily battle, Sniper managed to grab Scout by the back of the shirt and pull him back. Spy had already cloaked and slipped away, at least Sniper hoped he had.
Scout was aggressive immediately. "What the hell Snipes, let me go!"
Sniper wouldn't relent, unwilling to let him slip away-again. "Bun, just-just hold on a sec." He grabbed Scout's shoulders and turned him around. "Are ya sure you're okay to be out there?"
Scout slapped one of his hands away. "Oh, now ya're concerned? Little late for that!"
"Ya, I know, I deserve that. I fucked up, Roo, I know I did." The marksman pulled off his hat. "I didn't think things through, but I just wanted this to be over."
Scout felt anger flare up inside of him and reached under his arm, tugging his bat free and using it to push at Sniper's shoulder, separating their bodies. So he wanted anything between them to be over? It gutted him, but Scout could give him that.
"I got news for ya, Snipes, this ain't over, not for another day, and I'm gonna win. Do ya know why?" Scout edged a little closer to Sniper, finally looking him in the eyes with a cold stare. "Because I'm not lettin' ya anywhere near me. Not today, not tomorrow, not for a long time, if I can help it. So stay the fuck away from me."
With that, the runner turned around and rushed out onto the battlefield, praying that the taller man wouldn't see the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Time to inform your next of kin!" Soldier shouted gleefully, taking out yet another BLU member.
The objective of the day was to capture a singular point on the field, which the RED team had managed to overrun, but they still needed to hold it for another 2 minutes at least. Scout was hardly keeping track.
He was too busy taking out his pent up anger and hurt on any BLU member who was stupid enough to try to force him off the point. He'd killed the pyro, the scout, and the other medic, with a little help from Heavy since the BLU heavy was close behind the medic.
Spy was nowhere to be seen, but occasionally a man would cry out in agony and collapse, killed by a knife between the shoulder blades, so he was doing his part.
Scout hated to admit it, but he had noticed that Sniper too was not present, likely hiding somewhere so that he could actually be effective. The man was not as skilled at close range, unless he was poisoning someone, Scout thought bitterly.
But the marksman was making himself useful during the match, shooting down BLUs who were approaching the point, likely men who had just respawned. The other team seemed to be getting pretty pissed about that, and if Scout had not been so angry, he would have been concerned about the BLU spy's absence. Finding and taking out snipers was usually the job of the spy, since they could sneak up undetected and kill before the snipers even realized what was happening.
However, all of this flew out of Scout's mind when he caught sight of the BLU sniper disappearing behind a wide smokestack on one of the roofs above them. From this position, the man could easily take down enough of the RED team that the BLUs might be able to force them off of the point.
Acting instinctively, adrenaline shooting through his veins, Scout jumped over the BLU soldier's rocket launcher and pushed off of his head, propelling himself onto the roof. Bat gripped in his hands, he stalked towards the chimney, shouting "Show yourself, ya coward!"
There was no response, but a stray bullet whizzed over the runner's shoulder, causing him to look behind him for the source. No one appeared behind him, but when he turned back around, the enemy sniper was rushing at him, khurki in hand.
None of the BLUs were exact doppelgangers for their RED counterparts, but there was certainly a resemblance. Scout's counterpart was blonde, although it was hard to tell with the caps they wore, and he was from Chicago, which Scout knew was a dangerous place, but still couldn't beat Boston. The BLU sniper's eyes were brown, his skin was paler than the RED sniper, and his accent was different, but in the moment, he was close enough for Scout.
Before the taller man could even draw his arm back, Scout's bat slammed into the side of his head, thoroughly disorienting him. He stumbled back, but Scout was unrelenting, hitting him again, harder this time.
The sniper lashed out, blindly, and although his blade nearly caught Scout's arm, the runner hardly noticed. Teeth gritted, he went for the sniper's knees, managing to hit one of them hard enough that the man collapsed, losing his grip on his weapon.
The BLU tried to scramble away, but his leg was too badly injured, and he had taken two harsh blows to the head, so his reaction time was too slow.
Scout came at him again, angry at everything the man represented, and hit him again, missing his head and hitting his shoulder instead. Using his good leg, the sniper kicked at Scout, trying to knock him off balance, but Scout dodged easily and wound up to strike again.
"Wait!" the BLU shouted, putting his hands out as though he could block Scout. There was a pleading in his eyes, he knew that he'd been beaten.
But all Scout could think about was his face, and how similar it looked to Sniper's. The vulnerability in this man's eyes had been in Sniper's when they had kissed the day before. Just the memory made Scout's insides churn, and he distracted himself by channeling his pain onto the man in front of him.
He couldn't hurt Sniper, no matter how much he wanted to make him feel as scared or helpless as he had felt. He didn't have the heart.
But the enemy in front of him-he could hurt him.
Again and again, Scout's bat cracked into the man's skull, rendering him unconscious almost immediately, but Scout didn't stop. The anger and hurt was bleeding over into his thoughts, and the only way he could make it stop was to keep hitting, keep lashing out.
The sniper's head was soon unrecognizable, his skull a cracked and bloody mess on the concrete, but Scout still didn't stop. If he did, he'd have to face how deeply Sniper had hurt him, and how badly it was affecting him. And that it had only happened because he cared for Sniper.
He was still beating the man's corpse, fighting tears that were coming back into his eyes, when two hands grabbed him and pulled him away from the dead Sniper.
"What are you doing, laddie? He couldn't get any deader if he tried!"
Scout tried to hit the intruder, until he realized it was Demo, looking at him with surprise and concern.
"I knew ye were mad, but this almost makes me feel sorry for the lad. Let respawn take 'im, why dontcha?"
Scout was still breathing hard, eyes red and a little wild, but he calmed down enough to stand still. "Yea…yea, okay."
Deciding now was not the time, nor was he drunk enough to inquire about Scout's mental health, Demoman guestered down to the field. "We should be gettin back, aye? It's the last push, they're going to need us."
Scout, thankful for the change in focus, jumped off the roof behind Demo, both of them landing back on the point, guns blazing.
There were a few raised eyebrows at the bloody state of Scout's bat, but no one had time to question it, the BLUs had become desperate to force the REDs back.
Scout cringed a little as the BLU demoman managed to blow up Medic, that would make it harder to keep enough of them alive to hold the point, even with Engineer's dispensers.
But the loss of the doctor made Heavy so angry that he killed the demoman, and the scout in one deadly sweep of Sasha's barrels. That evened the odds a little, especially when a cracking shot, likely from Sniper, killed the BLU medic.
Scout stared down the BLU soldier, who was rushing towards them, but before he could engage, the Administrator's voice rang out, announcing that the RED team had captured the point successfully.
Looking perturbed and furious, the remaining BLUs slunk away, ignoring the insults that Demo and Soldier shouted after them. Although the mood of the RED team had lighted as they walked back to the locker room, they were not as boisterous as they usually would have been after a win.
Scout was at the front of the group, desperate to wash the blood off of his face and arms and get away from everyone else before he tried to cave someone else's skull in.
If he had looked back, he would have seen the Scottish mercenary sidle up to Spy and mutter something. He would have seen the concern and surprise flash across the Frenchman's face before he managed to school his emotions once more, and the sharp glare he shot in Sniper's direction.
But the runner did not see any of this, because he was looking ahead at the doors, where Medic was standing. He saw the way Medic's demeanor brighted when he saw them, and a quick glance behind himself showed that Heavy's face looked the same. And then his eyes slipped past the hulking man to the lanky shadow behind him.
Sniper's eyes were downcast, but he seemed to realize Scout was looking at him, because his eyes slid up to look at the runner almost instantly.
Scout's traitorous heart gave a little flutter and picked up speed, likely helped along by the Uber device. He tugged his eyes away from Sniper's, unable to shake the notion that, had this been a different day, they would have been looking at each other the same way Medic and Heavy had.
The sight of Sniper had been making him smile for longer than he'd realized, long before the bet had started. If he really thought about it, he'd seen the affection in Sniper's eyes when they talked for at least a month, maybe more. If Sniper hadn't betrayed him, would the two of them be walking next to each other, sharing a look of comradery, care, and affection?
Scout was embarrassed how much he ached for that focused and intense, but somehow still tender gaze.
Now there was only hurt, shame, and regret in Sniper's eyes, and Scout assumed his face reflected the same thing.
He crossed the threshold of the base, debating whether to come back and shower later, if only to get away from the happy couple and the watchful stares of everyone else. But before he could make a move in either direction, Spy grabbed him by the upper left arm.
"Ve need to talk. Now." The tone in his voice left no room for argument, so Scout allowed himself to be dragged out of the locker room, leaving the faint voices of the team behind.
When Scout and Spy disappeared from sight, Sniper turned to leave himself. He had no reason to stay when Scout was once again out of his reach.
He had been watching the runner from afar that day, even though he knew that Scout would hate it, but he needed to know that he was alright. Scout hadn't gone through respawn once during the match, and he had only left the marksman's sight once, so Sniper could relax with the knowledge that Scout hadn't become injured during the match because of his actions.
But the runner had certainly been…off during the match. He was less animated, and less boisterous than usual, simply taking down targets as they came to him, and returning to the point. No taunting, no showboating, nothing. He almost reminded Sniper of himself, but it wasn't in Scout's nature to be that way at all. Sniper hated that he had done that to him.
The Australian was about to leave the locker room and retreat back to his camper for a drink (or several), but a hand stopped him.
"Now hold on just a minute, where are you goin'?" Engineer's voice came from behind him, forceful, but not necessarily unkind.
"Ya can't avoid us forever, might a' well talk while those two aren't here!" Demoman agreed.
Engineer gestured to one of the benches. "Sit." When Sniper hesitated, he shook his head. "Look, we just want to understand so things can get better around here. None of us are mad at you."
At this, Pyro made some very forceful sounds, pointing at Sniper with a gloved hand.
Engineer's mouth turned down slightly. "Right then, I guess Pyro is mad at you, but-"
"I am, too." Medic put in from across the room. "Vhat you did vas reckless and foolish. Scout could have overdosed, and our chances of saving him, even with my Medi-gun, vould have been very slim."
Sniper sat, but glared at the doctor. "Thought you were some type of medical genius."
"I resent that term, ve are not born with greatness, ve earn it. And anyways, my Medi-gun only regenerates existing cells such as regrowing limbs, it cannot stop the progress of toxic drugs in the body. And I cannot raise the dead, only respawn can."
"Crikey…" Sniper took off his sunglasses and rubbed his face. "I could have killed him…I never wanted to hurt him…"
"Ack, we know that!" Demoman, now sufficiently drunk, was ready to contribute to the conversation. "The lad does too, it is your execution that made him carnaptious."
"What? Speak American, man!" Came from the showers, where Soldier had disappeared.
"It means angry, ya dobber!" Demoman yelled back. "'E beat the stuffin' out of the BLU sniper, he did-" he broke off suddenly. "I didnae think I should have said that…"
"Hold up, he did what?" The Texan mercenary asked.
The Scot took a deep swig of his drink. "He attacked tha BLU sniper som'in awful. Was still whaling on him when I got up there, had to pull the lad off 'im."
"Aw, shite. Should I be concerned for my safety?" Sniper asked, looking a little pale.
Heavy shook his head. "Leetle Scout is getting out frustration on enemy, we all do sometimes. Man comes back, is no big deal. But he vould never hurt you, Scout loves you."
"Wut?" Sniper stammered out, looking astonished.
Heavy continued, oblivious to the surprised and shocked looks he was getting from the other men and Pyro. "He is not avoiding you because he does not care, he is avoiding you because he care very much, and you took advantage of that."
"Even if ya didn't mean to." Engineer put in. "He's right though, there's something between ya and the boy, don't throw it away."
"I'm not trying to, but he won't even look at me…I think I already lost him…"
A glove hit Sniper in the side of the head. "What the-"
"Mein god you and the boy deserve each other: you are both idiots!" Medic snapped at him, now missing a glove. "Do not sit here and feel sorry for yourself, especially vhen this is entirely your doing! If you vant him-show him! All Scout vants is to be adored and feel special, so do not give up on him!"
Engineer rubbed his chin. "Why did ya drug him? Tellin' him why might help, depending on what yer reasonin' is."
Sniper looked embarrassed. "I wanted a way I knew would help me catch 'im. He's a slippery lil' thing, more than I expected, and I just wanted the bet to be over so I could…be with him…"
There was quiet for a moment as the team took this in, before Medic pointed at Sniper enthusiastically. "Ja, that! Tell him that!"
"When should I try to talk to him, right now?" Sniper asked apprehensively. As badly as he wanted to see Scout, he was not the sort of person who was comfortable being put on the spot. He needed time to think about what he was going to say first.
"Negative, Aussie! We have to get the frog away from him first!" (A/N: frog is slang to refer to a French person)
Disgusted reactions came from the mercenaries as Soldier emerged from the shower, strangely still wearing his helmet, but nothing else.
"Where is towel?" Heavy demanded, staring at the bench in front of him.
"I forgot it, comrade." Soldier said simply, opening his locker to grab said item. "Now, are we going to help our brother in arms, or not?"
"Hm…soon, Soldier." Medic said, still looking put out. "Put on pants first, then ve get Spy away from Scout."
"Where are we even going?" Scout demanded as Spy tugged him along, his grip unyielding, but not exactly painful.
"My room, no one will bother us zere." his father answered shortly, continuing the brisk pace.
Once they reached the door of the smoking room, which was at the end of a corridor, the Frenchman nudged him in and shut the door firmly behind them.
Scout looked around the dim room uncomfortably, not used to the grandeur of the furnishings Spy seemed fond of spending his paycheck on.
Spy lit a cigar, settling into his armchair and gesturing to the couch across from him. "Sit." Scout sat.
After taking a long drag of his cigar, Spy sighed and said. "I heard zome disturbing news from ze demoman today. Do you know what he told me?"
Scout didn't feel like arguing, desperate to leave as soon as possible and retreat to his room. "What I did ta the BLU sniper, right?"
"Indeed. I suppose it was nothzing too new, smashing skulls in has always been your modus operandi, but zis seemed…personal."
He fixed Scout with an analyzing stare. "Because of his likeness to ze bushman, oui?"
"Yea, I guess…it's not a big deal tho." Scout muttered.
Spy was quiet for a moment, focusing on his cigarette, but then spoke. "Should I be worried?"
His son looked at him incredulously. "Worried? Spy, I'm fine, I told ya already, and the doc said I'm okay."
"That is not what I mean."
Scout jumped up from his seat and started to pace. "Well, what do you mean then, cause I suck at riddles, and ya know that! Why else would ya be worried?"
Spy snapped. "Jeremey, if you break one of my antique vases, I will kill you. Now sit down!"
At the sound of his given name, Scout's attention centered on Spy again, and he walked back over to the couch, sitting on the very edge of it so as not to directly obey Spy's orders.
"What I mean is," Spy collected himself, "should I be concerned about your emotions?"
"Spy. I'm fine." Scout insisted, but his father ignored him.
"You are clearly hurting, ma petite lapin. You bludgeoned a man to death because he looked like your lover."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, my lover? What're ya talking about?" Scout spluttered, turning red.
Spy took another low drag. "Do not deny it or I may start to believe you, for that iz how much I wish it were not so. But the two of you have a love connection, which that man," he said with disdain, "damaged by abusing your trust. In other circumstances, I vould have skinned him alive and made a new suit out of him."
Scout made a disgusted face. "Spy, uh, Dad…don't do that…okay?"
"I will not, at least not yet. Even though 'e was a foolish and incompetant simpleton, it iz clear that he had no intention of hurting you."
"But he still drugged me, even if he didn't mean for it to happen so fast."
"Indeed, and if you never speak to him again, I will buy you ze Boston Red Socks."
Scout looked at him doubtfully.
"Non, I will do it. But…'e was trying to win your bet, and made an error of judgment. You have made your fair share of those. You are a good match, as far as matches go, you two understand each other."
"Hang on…" Scout leaned forwards in his seat, a tiny smile playing on his face. "Are ya saying I should date Snipes?"
Spy shuddered. "Non, I am NOT saying zhat, never date him! In fact, stay away from men in general, zey are awful. Not that I 'ave a problem with you being a homosexual, of course." He added quickly. "All I am saying is that 'e is sorry for what 'e did, and you could do far worse than him. You could do better, but you could also do worse."
The runner was starting to smile now. "So, let's say I wanted ta…be with him, what should I do?"
Spy sighed heavily. "I am going to regret zhis, I can feel it. But the man iz desperate to talk to you-let him. Make him apologize, and don't show him how you feel until you're sure zhat you can trust him again. If you can get him to grovel, even better."
Scout grinned, already standing up. "Oh, I'll make him grovel, he owes me big now!"
A ghost of a smile crossed Spy's lips. "Good boy. Are you going to go find him?"
Scout opened the door, glancing over his shoulder at Spy "Yea, I should-Snipes? What're ya doin' here?"
Sniper was standing outside the door, looking awkward. "I know ya don't want to talk to me, but please can I just-"
"Actually, yea, I do." Scout interrupted. He looked over his shoulder again at Spy. "Thanks, Spy."
"Oh, Spoi, the rest of the guys are lookin' for you, said it was important." Sniper addressed the Frenchman, who sighed and put out his cigar.
"Not a moment's peace for me, it seems." He left his smoking room, locking the door, and began to walk away, shooting occasional glances over his shoulder.
Sniper rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we…go somewhere else to talk?"
Scout gave him a little smile, but remembered what his father had said and held back from reaching for Sniper's hand, even though he desperately wanted to.
Instead, he followed Sniper out a side door and into the afternoon sunlight.
Fifteen minutes later, in the RED base rec room, Spy was sitting at the table reading the latest newspaper. As soon as he had walked into the room, he had realized that the other mercenaries were attempting to distract him, and had stiffly informed them that it was not necessary.
To everyone's shock, he told them of his intention to give Scout and Sniper space to talk through their problems, no matter how much it pained him to do so. This was not helped along by the fact that the other mercenaries refused to let his acceptance of the pair go.
"I just can't get over how well you're takin' this, Spy." Engineer said, clearly proud.
"Yes, for the hundredth time, it iz a ztruggle, but I am coping. Now can ve please move on?" Spy's headache was back, and it was worse than ever.
Just then, Sniper walked into the room, alone.
Medic looked up. "Ah, zere he iz! Did Scout forgive you?"
The Australian shook his head. "Haven't been able to find him, actually. Spoi, I know ya don't like me, but do ya know where-"
Spy cut him off, waving his hands in a 'slow down' motion. "How I feel about you iz not ze point right now. I left him with YOU."
"What're ya talkin' about?"
Spy stood up, pointing at Sniper in an accusatory fashion. "You showed up at my door, asking to talk, and you left with him! Are you telling me you don't know where he iz?"
Sniper looked flummoxed. "Spoi, I haven't been near your room today! I was going there, but then I saw ya in here with everyone, so I figured Scout was off by himself somewhere. But I can't find him!" His eyes narrowed. "Ya better not be lying ta me, I know ya don't want us together-"
"What I want, bushman, iz irrelevant! Scout will do what he wants whether I allow him to or not!" Spy was shouting now. "How do I know that you are not lying and you did leave with my son, only to break his heart further?"
"I'm not-"
"He's not." Medic cut, a deadly calm in his voice. "He has been vith us until ve saw you come in here, then he left to look for Scout."
Spy stopped dead in his tracks, then started to pace. "If you say that he was with you, but I saw him leave the building with Scout, then…Scout is in danger."
There was a pause as everyone else came to the same conclusion.
Sniper looked at Spy, all hostility gone as worry and fear replaced it. "Are ya saying that-"
"Yes." Spy braced himself on the table, guilt washing over him in waves. "That was the BLU spy, and I let him walk out of here with my son."
"So…here, huh?"
Scout and Sniper were back amongst the mesas Northwest of the RED base. The marksman hadn't said much as they walked over, but his eyes flickered gently over to Scout every so often as they walked.
Despite wanting to pry for answers, and to establish whether Sniper felt as Spy said he did, the runner stayed quiet, letting Sniper sort out his feelings. He knew the Australian often didn't have much to say, and when talking about something as emotionally charged as this, he should give Sniper a chance to speak for himself. Especially since he hadn't earlier that day.
Now that they were back between the mesas, hidden from the base, Scout's cheeks coloured a little at the memory of what had happened the last time they were there. He couldn't help but hope that their conversation would end with some make-up making out, at the very least. They certainly wouldn't be disturbed in their location.
Scout was shaken out of his less than innocent thoughts by Sniper's voice. "Yeah, I thought we might get a bit more privacy out here from everyone, they mean well, uh, most of them anyways, but…"
"Yea, yea, I get it." Scout said, trying to sound nonchalant. He leaned against one of the mesas, Sniper copying the motion. "So…ya wanted ta talk?"
"Yeah…I needed to apologize…again." Finally, finally, Sniper grabbed one of Scout's hands. "Luv, I am sorry for what happened, I know I hurt ya, and ya don't have to forgive me, but I swear, it'll never happen again!"
Scout felt a smile creeping onto his face, but remembered Spy's advice and held back a little. He did want to see Sniper squirm. "And what won't happen again?" He asked with a hint of teasing.
Sniper faltered. "Uh…I won't ever hurt ya like that again, a'course."
"Yea, alright, but what did ya do?" Scout pressed, starting to get frustrated.
The man beside him looked nervous. "I-luv, do I really have to say it?"
Scout crossed his arms taking a step back. "If ya can't even say what you did out loud, then you're not really sorry!"
He turned angrily on his heel, Sniper calling after him. "Scout, wait!"
"No! I'm done!" Scout was jolted backwards by a strong hand on his arm.
Sniper hauled him back into a tight hold, the sharpshooter's arms locked around his upper arms. "Well I'm not done with you…"
The hold was similar to the position they had been in days earlier, but Scout felt no arousal, no thrill at being held close to the other man. He only felt unsafe, as though something was terribly wrong.
"Sniper, what the fuck? Are you crazy?"
The man just laughed, a controlled chuckle that Scout had never heard before, and never wanted to hear again. "No, I'm not crazy…and I'm not Sniper."
"W-what…" Scout twisted his head to look behind him, and felt the blood drain from his face when the man melted away to reveal the BLU spy.
"You!" he shouted, struggling against the man's grip, but his arms were like octopus tentacles and he couldn't get away. "What did you do to Sniper?"
"Ve cannot get to him." A new voice said. Scout's situation became even worse as the BLU heavy and scout appeared from behind some of the boulders, where Scout assumed they had been hiding.
The BLU scout poked him with his bat. "That's why we need you, pretty boy."
The heavy looked pleased with himself. "Is classic plan really: use the smallest and the weakest to draw out the stronger one. Especially when weakest one is lover."
"Fuck you, I'm not the weakest!" Scout shouted, trying to kick the man.
"Just shut him up before zomeone hears us!" The spy snapped, practically lifting Scout off his feet.
The BLU scout grinned a little. "Alright, watch yaself, Spy, cause this is gonna hurt!"
The last thing Scout saw was the enemy's bat flying towards his face before everything went dark.
I...have nothing to add. Except that my practicum starts tomorrow so updates will be interrupted a little. Please comment, I love comments so much!
