Hey y'all! If you guys enjoy this, please remember to leave a review. It always helps to motivate the writer into continuing. :)

Remember, this isn't beta read. I try to do my best of course, but sometimes things just slip past me.


The sweet smell of food filled the kitchen as a person in a flame retardant suit was hunched over the oven, stirring a pot of chocolate sauce. Something was baking, probably brownies from what Tracy could smell from her seat at the table. Only a few other classes were sat in their seats, digging into their plates.

The person in the suit was named the Pyro. She had wanted to ask if they could take off the mask, but thought it might be rude. They spoke in mumbles, barely audible from their gas mask.

When Tracy had came back down, she had bore witness to blood splattered on the wall, but not much else. She had taken her sweet time, and thank god whatever body parts that had been strewn about had been cleaned up. She didn't think she could handle seeing something like that yet. Her team had noticed her absence during the skirmish, but didn't berate her as she had expected. They knew that she was completely untrained and unprepared, but that didn't stop them from giving her a pointed look for her lack of trying.

Tracy looked up from her plate, looking from mercenary to mercenary. Scout was sitting next to the Soldier and the Spy, chattering away as the Medic and Heavy spoke quietly beside each other. There was a man she had just been introduced to, the Demoman. He was a black Scot, and very very drunk. He was slumped over the table, a bottle of alcohol next to him while he slowly and messily shoved food in his mouth.

They had informed her that there was a few others she hadn't met yet. The Sniper and the Engineer of her team. She had neglected to tell them her meeting with the RED team's Engineer, since she knew it was discouraged to make friends between teams.

She was told that the Sniper usually camped out in his van over the hill when matches weren't being done. He was a loner and rarely ever joined in on group meals, and the Engineer was probably working on a schematic and had forgotten to eat.

"Do you think someone should go get the Engineer?" She had asked. Most paused to glance at her before shrugging.

"If ya want." Said the Scout, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The Spy rolled his eyes, and Tracy was certain he was wondering why he was even present. "Don't think you'll change his mind though."

Tracy finished up the last of her meal before washing her plate and utensils and walking down the stairs. She hadn't got too familiar with the layout of the place, but she had been told that his workshop was near the medical lab. It took a good fifteen minutes before she finally stumbled upon his door.

She hesitated a moment, her fist poised at the door. Would it be rude to interrupt him? They never said he was an aggressive man, but she had the feeling he could be grumpy. Sighing, she decided just to get it over with. She knocked two times and took a step back.

From behind the door, she could hear someone shuffling before the door was cracked open. She saw goggles peek out at her before the door was completely opened, and she was shocked at what she saw.

He was nearly completely identical to the RED Engineer, in exception for the team color. He seemed just as surprised to see her from the look on his face, but he quickly lost the expression.

She wavered at the foot of his door, not sure what to say. She wanted to ask if they were twin brothers, but something in the back of her mind nagged at her that this would be a bad idea. Instead she smiled as warmly as she could.

"Hiya. I'm the new team mate the others had probably told you about." She offered a hand, "My name is Tracy, but you can just call me Thief."

The Engineer seemed reluctant, but took her hand anyways and shook it. "Yeah, they told me about ya." It was short and simple, quite unlike the warm voice of the RED Engineer.

There was a small pause while Tracy shifted from foot to foot before she continued.

"Um... yeah. I just wanted to come down and introduce myself." She chuckled nervously, "Oh! And dinner's being served in the kitchen. The others told me you often forget."

He appeared to perk up at this, and graced her with a very small smile. It was almost impossible to make out, but it was there. He nodded, "Much obliged. I'll be up there in just a moment, just gotta make a few calibrations."

She nodded and turned as the Engineer closed the door once more. She wondered why he looked just like the other Engineer, and it was eating at her bad. But there was something holding her back from asking that question, as if it was taboo. Perhaps she'd ask later, but for now she tried to just put it out of her mind.

When she returned to the kitchen, the brownies were done. Most of the classes remained in exception for the Soldier and the Spy. The remaining were chowing down on the brownies, and there was only a few pieces left. Tracy grabbed two, one for herself and one for the Engineer in case he wanted one. She poured a bit of the sauce on top of her own and slowly chewed through it, happy that they at least had something sweet. She had been told that the rations they were shipped in very rarely had anything sweet, and most sweets had to be bought separately.

Tracy sighed, wishing she could ask her mom to send something like banana bread, but she was cut from all contact to home.

After eating, she got bored of sitting at the table and joined the Heavy at the couch to stare at the television. It was about a half hour later when she noticed the Engineer still hadn't come up, and the food was getting cold. So she decided to warm up a small plate for him and walked back down to his room.

For some reason she felt incredibly shy, probably because she felt like she was bothering him. She reasoned that she could just set the plate on the floor and knock on his door and run away. She did as such, knocking quickly and ran around a corner. She felt so childish, but she really didn't want to bother him anymore than she already did.

Peeking around the corner, she saw the Engineer open the door and look around before noticing the plate. He kneeled down and picked it up, and before he returned she saw the smile on his face.

She felt giddy that she managed to do that, to make him happy, at least a little bit.


The next day arrived in a sudden burst of noise as she heard the sound of knuckles on her door. Whoever it was banged and banged until she shouted that she was awake.

"Time to get up, maggot! Team training in twenty minutes. Get yer ass down here and eat before I drag you out." It was the Soldier, of course. Now that he was aware of her presence, he was going to wake her up just like with the rest of the crew. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and pulled her clothes off, quickly spraying herself down in the shower before running back out to her room to change.

Since they were training, she thought it best to get into her uniform. Looking through her dresser, she came across the strange black garment from before. It looked like a bra, but when she pulled it on it constricted her chest entirely, hiding what little breasts she had to begin with. It was obviously to help hide her true identity, but that didn't mean she enjoyed the tightness. Groaning in defeat, she pulled on the rest of her uniform in except for the eye mask.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but be surprised. She didn't look as awful as she had expected, but she still poked and prodded at her belly fat in disgust. She had always been a chubby girl, and had gone on many diets and exercise plans but had always given up due to lack of results. Perhaps training with her team would help with that.

Exiting her room, she quickly made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. A few of the people already present did a double take at her appearance, the Spy nodding in approval. "Not bad. I assume Miss Pauling chose those for you?"

Tracy rolled her eyes but laughed a little at her own expense. "Yeah. To be honest, I would be more comfortable in what Scout is wearing, but this isn't too bad."

Someone had prepared pancakes before she had arrived, and she quickly stuffed her face with as much as she could. As she was eating, she was surprised to see the Engineer join them. He was one of the earliest, with the latest being the Scout. He grabbed his own plate and to her shock, sat right next to her. He didn't look at her nor say anything, but he seemed to be thinking about something.

Another man arrived, one she had never seen before, and through process of elimination she assumed he was the Sniper. He was a tall man, rugged looking wearing a boonie hat and a vest, with tinted orange glasses on his nose. He didn't look very pleased, dark bags under his eyes as he got a cup of coffee and quickly downed it, his face twisting in disgust.

The Sniper turned and caught her eye. He cocked a brow, leaning over to ask the Medic presumably who she was. Whatever answer he got pleased him, and he grabbed himself some toast before walking away. Tracy felt a bit embarrassed and slightly offended that he didn't approach her to introduce himself. Whatever the case, she was quickly distracted from those thoughts when the Engineer finally focused on her.

"Thank you." He said simply, quickly looking away once more to shove a slice of pancake into his mouth.

Tracy was caught in the act, even though she knew it was extremely obvious to him. Still, she played dumb. "What do you mean? For letting you know about dinner?"

"Naw, fer the food. To be honest, I wasn't actually gonna come out, but I did appreciate the gesture." He shrugged his shoulders. He looked uncomfortable talking to her, turning his head away and resting his elbow on the table, propping his head up with his hand. "Nobody's ever saved me a plate except for the Pyro or the Medic. But they've never brought it down to my workshop for me."

He squirmed somewhat in his seat, "So... thank you. Ya saved me the trouble of having to come up here myself."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation, but it wasn't like they had an opportunity to continue one. The Soldier stood up from his chair, knocking it to the ground in a clatter loud enough to silence the din of conversation.

"Let's go ladies. Outside, now!" He commanded, and began to march up the stairs. Everyone reluctantly stood from their seats and followed after him. Tracy followed behind the Medic and Scout, and wondered what in the hell was to follow.


TBC!