I'm really happy with this chapter, oh my goodness.
It's so sweet and cute and sappy and sad oh 3
Hope ya like it!
Oh yes, and you guys can request/recommend a romance for Tracy. Basically any character within TF2, although I do have my own ideas for other characters. :3
She awoke on the couch she had fallen asleep on the night prior, her head pounding and the room dark. She had to fumble around in the pitch black, bumping into tables and shelves until she finally fumbled upon the door handle. She opened the door, flinching away from the sudden light as her eyes burned.
Unlike the usual days where everything was more or less quiet, the halls were bustling with people moving in and out of their rooms, talking feverishly to one another. A few brushed past her with their arms full of luggage.
"What the hell is going on?" She asked Scout as he began to run by with a suitcase in hand.
"We gotta go! The train's gonna leave in five minutes!" He practically shrieked, barely pausing to fill her in.
Well shit. Tracy ran to her room, finding a suitcase in her closet and shoved as much clothes and miscellaneous items as she could into it. She was starving, but there was no time to stick around and grab something to eat. It had taken her two minutes to pack, and she had no clue where the train station was.
She ran out just as the Sniper's camper van was pulling away. She groaned in defeat, the rest of the lot behind BLU completely empty.
As she was walking around 2fort, something caught her gaze. A red pickup truck was slowly making its way on the dirt road, slowing down when it came close to her. She recognized the man inside; it was the RED Engineer, rolling down his window. Tracy jogged up to his door, wondering what he was doing.
"Need a ride?" His tone was just as amiable as it had when they first met, which surprised her. She had expected some sort of grudge for when she pushed him, but he seemed happy to see her.
She broke out into a grin, "Yes! Oh thank god you came along. My team just left."
"Well, hop in." He pointed a thumb at the passenger seat and watched her go around. There was a little trouble where the Texan forgot about the door lock, but she eventually jumped in and strapped herself in the seat.
The truck was well kept if in exception for a couple of beer bottles and cigarette ashes on the floor. After a moment to allow her to get settled, he revved the engine and stepped on the gas, driving through the dirt road to the gravel one.
"To be honest, I didn't think you'd be happy to see me." Tracy admitted, putting her suitcase below the glove compartment, crossing her legs. "Y'know, after that match."
"I don't tend to keep grudges," He chuckled, "This is just a job, nothin' personal to ya."
"Well, thank you." She smiled, "Didn't really want to hurt ya, which is why I pushed you. Sorry about that."
"Yeah, I remember you sayin' something along those lines. Gotta admit, no one really gives mercy around here. Too afraid someone might stab ya in the back." RED Engineer stated as he turned onto the highway. There weren't many cars in exception for the few BLU and RED vehicles in the distance.
"I can relate." She grimaced at the memory of the RED Spy catching her by surprise.
"Spy?"
"Spy."
"Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of his knife, I tell ya. I think he tends to target me." Engineer grimaced as he leaned down to grab a bottle of beer. While Tracy would have been uncomfortable with anyone drinking while driving, she had this strange compulsion to trust him. He just seemed so... nice. And very smart considering his sentries, teleporters, and dispensers. He knew what he was doing, so she relaxed against the seat. "And them damn sappers he's got. Always breakin' my machines."
"Never seen those, but I've heard of them." Tracy replied as she stared out the window at the desert flying past them, tufts of dead grass and dirt spraying behind them.
"They overload my machines with electricity, and causes them to explode. I have to act fast or they're irrepairable." He seemed to get more and more frustrated the more he thought about it. Tracy frowned, looking over at him.
Time to change the subject. "Aside from work, what do you do? Like, in your spare time?"
He perked up at this, the grimace washing away and replaced with a small smile. "Ah, bit of this and that. Mostly tinker with my machines and draw up blueprints for new ones."
"Sounds interesting. I don't think I'd ever be able to do something like that." She chuckled.
"Aw, I'm certain you could learn a thing or two. It is hard work, lotta math involved, but I think anyone could do it." The Texan smiled at her, and she felt her cheeks burn at the undivided attention.
"Math? Haha, no way. I mean, I did well enough in school but I never enjoyed the subject." She snorted, turning away and rubbing her cheek to avoid him noticing. "Maybe not creating my own stuff, but maybe building things that have already been made? I dunno."
He seemed to notice her discomfort, shifting in his seat as they went around a turn. It was quiet for a moment, both of them thinking of what to say. Tracy was about to speak when he rummaged with one hand behind him to pull out a bottle of beer. He offered it to her, which she accepted. She never really liked beer, but she couldn't say no to him since he offered to kindly to give her a ride. She popped the cap and took a drink. It wasn't as harsh as Heavy's vodka or Demo's scrumpy, but to her it just tasted like flat and unpalatable soda. She didn't voice this opinion, thanking him and setting the bottle into the cup holder.
"How did you come along this kind of work anyways?" She almost regretted asking, having asked without thinking. The RED didn't seem bothered by it though, giving her a small smile while taking off his hardhat. He was shaved on the top, only a slight stubble on his head and chin. She still wondered about his eyes though.
He rubbed his head before plopping the hat back on, turning to her. "It's in the family. My father and grandfather worked for Redmond, so I guess I just went along as well. I mean, I had a choice, but engineering is hardwired into me. Can't say I would ever want to do anything different."
"That sounds nice. I didn't really have anything at home that I wanted to do." She thought over it for a second, "I mean, my mom's into advertising. Y'know, television ads, billboards. Never found it interesting in the slightest. My mom mentioned I could do graphic design..."
"Graphic design?" He questioned.
"Oh, design logos and product stuff. Like this beer label or the shape of the bottle." Tracy picked it up as an example. "Kinda like making blueprints for machines." She laughed, and he laughed along with her.
"So why didn't ya?"
"Well... my family isn't exactly well off. We're about lower middle class, and I didn't really excel in school. I didn't fail, but not anything close to getting a scholarship." She sighed, somewhat ashamed. "Plus, I kinda... well, I'm a thief. I would break into houses and stores and shit like that. I actually had a group that would help me."
"Oh? What happened to them?"
This was the part she hated. She hated talking about her old friends. She winced, turning away to look out the window. They were driving near the train tracks, but no train was in sight. A few birds flew overhead, the sky growing dark and pregnant with rain.
"Ya don't have to tell me if ya don't want to." His voice was soft and comforting, assuring her it was alright.
"Nah, it's okay." She shook her head, looking back to him with a downcast smile on her lips.
"I had a group of about four, not including me. I met them in school. Twins named Julie and James, and two boys named Zach and Victor. Met the twins in middle school but the other two in high school. The twins mainly did tech stuff, turning off cameras and security doors. They caught me pick-pocketing over the school security cameras and asked if I wanted to join them. The boys were just friends until they found out about me and the twins and asked to join. I tell ya, we were pretty bad. Stealing from families and stores. Even stole from a family during Christmas and snagged all the gifts under the tree."
Tracy paused to take a breath, the Engineer not replying but urged her to continue.
"I somehow became the leader, for whatever reason. I guess it was because I had a good idea of which houses to crash and how to steal things without getting caught. We became a gang almost, terrorizing half the town before we got caught."
This was the worst part. Pain washed over her as she replayed it in her mind.
"We got caught a couple times before, but usually it was just a slap on the wrist and community service. We were just kids at the time when we got those punishments, probably only fifteen or sixteen. It was about a few years ago when shit hit the fan. One of the others had the idea to hit a mall in the dead of night while most of the customers and employees were out or going onto break. I knew it was a terrible idea, but I thought if I came along I could stop them from doing anything stupid. We got out the doors when the cops arrived. Me and the twins gave up, but Zach had some anger issues and punched a police officer in the face. Victor, on the other hand, ran off. Don't think he ever got caught either."
"I was... a coward. I got a deal to get off on parole if I told on the others. I couldn't stand the thought of going to jail. Julie and James stayed about a month in prison while Zach got a couple years for assaulting a police officer. Never saw Victor again."
She stared down at her feet, shifting uncomfortably. Her chest hurt, and she almost felt like she was going to start bawling. She had never really talked about it to anyone besides her mom. Most people avoided conversation with her due to what she did.
The RED Engineer stayed silent, eyes trained on the road. Tracy knew she must have messed up their friendship bad. He was too nice of a guy to look past what she'd done.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm a piece of shit." She weaved her fingers together, holding them in her lap.
"No, no." He waved that away, "I don't think less of ya. You know you've done wrong and you did your piece."
She shook her head, turning away to look out the window. To her surprise, they went onto the curb and the Engineer stopped the truck. He turned to look at her as rain began to patter and eventually pour down on their vehicle.
"C'mon now, look at me."
She refused, pressing her hands together so tightly it hurt. He took her hands in his, forcing her to turn around and look at him. His smile was so warm, so friendly and nonjudgmental. Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Like I said, I don't hold grudges." He pried her hands apart, rubbing the middle of her palm with both hands. "You did something bad, true. But you do know right from wrong. You know you've done wrong, and you feel terrible about it."
She nodded, her eyes growing red with suppressed tears. She didn't want to cry in front of him, biting her lower lip.
"Now you need to learn to forgive yerself. You can't keep beating yourself up for something that happened years ago." He took both of her hands in one of his, dwarfing them as he took his free hand to cup her chin. "You understand? No more feeling rotten over old wrongs. Ya just gotta learn from it and move on."
A tear escaped her eye and that was it, Tracy was crying. She felt so ashamed and embarrassed, trying to pull away from his grip but he refused. The Texan simply comforted her, unbuckling her belt to pull her forward into a hug. She returned it, unable to think as she felt a heavy burden lift from her shoulders.
It was about five minutes before she finally calmed down, resting her head on his shoulder.
"God, I am a sissy." She chuckled, her throat raspy from the tears.
He joined her laugh, rubbing her back in small circles. "Naw, I ain't afraid of tears. Silly to try and hold it in all the time, even if others think it makes ya weak."
Tracy gently pulled away, a wry smile on her lips while wiping the tracks of wetness on her cheeks. She had to look horrible, her face all red from the outburst, hair uncombed from the chaos the morning earlier. But he still smiled at her.
"Ready to hit the road again?" Engineer asked, turning the key.
She nodded, "Let's get this show on the road."
They drove off just as the rain let up, a ray of sunlight escaping the curtain of clouds.
Whaddya guys think? Leave a review! :D
TBH I'm not really sure I'd want to continue without a bit of feedback. it's kind of discouraging to write and get nothing back
I mean, any feedback would be great, as long as it's not "this is shit please go die lol"
Critisms, preferably constructive, please.
TBC!
