Back in business with 2k chapters! Hope you like this one!


"Oh me mother tilly."

Tracy's mind was muddled, and for a few short seconds she was comfortable and happy.

Then the alcohol from last night hit her.

A raging hangover pounded into her brain like a sledgehammer. Whatever urge she had to get up or open her eyes dropped from her mind immediately. She then became aware of an arm around her, and a warm body.

Jerking awake, she caught sight of the Demoman lying beside her. He was awake as well, but probably still drunk or hungover like herself. It was hard to tell with him. Opening an eye, he squinted at her and laughed.

"Ach, not the first time I fell in bed with someone. Least I know who ya are." He chuckled, turning back towards the wall with a groan. "Perhaps I had a tad too much."

"You're telling me." Intense pain burned in her skull, along with the urge to vomit. She swallowed the urge down, gagging slightly. Deciding to NOT vomit in Demo's bed, she stumbled down the ladder. "I'll see you... ugh... later. See if Medic's up."

"Aye." He waved his hand lazily in her direction, not bothering to look.

The bright lights in the hall doubled the pain, causing Tracy to flinch and clench her eyes shut. For awhile she slowly made her way to the medical ward with squinted eyes, cursing under her breath about bad decisions and alcohol.

At the very least nothing awkward happened, despite sleeping in the same bed with a man who thought she was also a man. Demo seemed a little too comfortable sleeping with her, but she supposed he was probably too drunk to care.

Eventually making her way to the medical ward, Medic was thankfully up. He turned and greeted her with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at her face. "I see having a drink or two was not the best idea, ja? Especially since we must be going soon."

"You could say that again."

"I see having-"

"Don't you dare, I'm hungover enough." Thief deadpanned, staring at Medic's amused grin.

"Yes yes, let me see if I have anything for you..." The doctor waved his hand, stepping over to a few open supplies to survey them. He quickly brought her a bottle of painkillers, allowing her to take two.

"None for Demo or Heavy?" She asked.

"Herr Heavy and Demoman have enough of a tolerance in order to not need them. Take one to Scout however, I heard him moaning in the kitchen earlier." Medic snorted.

Tracy waved the doctor goodbye and made her way up to the kitchen area. Scout was indeed moaning and whining, slumped over the very same seat he got drunk in the night prior. Tracy wordlessly dropped a pill on the table next to him and poured herself and him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." The Bostonian's voice was scratchy, but he managed a weak smile. They bother took their pills, wincing at the hot coffee going down their throats. It had to be about five in the morning, and very few other mercs were up. Scout was only up due to being violently sick earlier in the morning and causing Medic to wake up in his own bunk.

Soldier was roused from slumber around six, waking the other mercs soon after. A few joined them in the kitchen, tired and grumpy from the rude awakening. A very select few stubbornly tried to ignore the soldier, rather facing his wrath than get up from their beds. They were soon dragged out into the kitchen, yelling and growling.

"Do you mind, some of us are nursing a hangover!" Scout growled, cupping his hands over his ears.

The few that had tried to stick it out were the Demoman and Sniper, straightening their clothes and staring bitterly at the All-American. They joined the team at the table, making themselves something to eat or drink. Tracy couldn't stomach the thought of eating. Engineer was the last to join, with tired bags under his eyes.

"Ahem." Spy spoke up, standing at the front. "Now that we are all here, time to get ready. We have twenty minutes before our transportation arrives, so I expect each and every single one of you to be dressed and presentable. Engineer, please come with me, I wish to speak with you."

Tracy raised an eyebrow as the Engineer was taken down a hall. She wondered what that was about, but assumed it was just about his suit. Her's was more or less complete, although the pants didn't fit exactly right, a belt would fix that. Her team dispersed to get ready, taking their last drinks and bites of food. Tracy lazily got from her seat and dragged the Scout from the table to the dorms and shoved him into his room to get ready.

Her suit was still in Spy's smoking room last she knew, so she decided to go down and check if it was still there. She was walking down the hall when she heard someone talking. Tracy slowly crept to the door, listening in.

"I had their measurements took, I hope you received them."

"Yes, I got them. One of my contacts said the package would arrive in our transportation."

"Are you sure they'll agree to it?"

"Do they have a choice?"

There was a small pause before complete silence. Tracy heard footsteps and immediately ran back behind a corner, listening as two sets of feet faded away. Creeping towards the door, she was relieved to find no one inside, but her suit was still in the box. She wondered what that was all about, but didn't really have the time to question it. She pulled the suit on quickly, straightening any folds or wrinkles the best she could.

She regrouped with her team back in the kitchen, wondering how she looked. They didn't really have any full-length mirrors in the base, so she hoped she looked good enough. She was surprised how the others looked.

Medic was especially well dressed, his hair slicked back in exception to a small curl on his forehead. Heavy was in a suit as well, however it slimmed him down. Demoman had, funnily enough, dressed in a kilt and suit top, already nursing a bottle. Many others were in simple tuxedos and other dress wear. Scout's hair was ridiculiously full of hair gel, nearly blinding with it's shininess. Pyro was in a... well, they had a bow tie. They were still in a flame retardant suit. Soldier was dressed completely in an officer's uniform, with medals pinned to his chest. He still wore his helmet, although it was tilted up slightly more so you could see his eyes.

The last two to join them were the Spy and Engineer. Spy was in a different suit, a darker blue number, although that's where the differences ended. Engineer was in a blue tuxedo with a big goofy bowtie. He looked cute rather than silly, Tracy stepping beside him.

"You look nice." She complimented, giving a genuine smile.

The Texan seemed surprised and delighted, becoming a light shade of pink. "Aw shucks, I'm flattered. Thank you." His face went weird for a moment, almost embarrassed and maybe... guilty? Tracy wasn't sure how to interpret the expression, but it faded as quickly as it came and he smiled once more.

"I see you have all followed my orders." Spy announced, although she could hear him whisper "For once..."

There was the sound of ringing, Spy turning to the kitchen where the phone was held. "Yes? Ah, thank you, we will arrive shortly." Turning back to the team, Spy nodded. "Our car has arrived."

Tracy grabbed her winter coat before following the herd outside. It wasn't nearly as cold as it had been, but it still wasn't toasty. A few of her group shivered and complained of the cold as they neared their vehicle. It was a large blue van with the BLU emblem on the sides. The driver was some teenager who looked barely eighteen and very, very intimidated by the men who stepped inside.

"Thief, one moment." He gestured over to her, pulling a rubber band from his pocket. He pulled her hair back into a small ponytail, leaving only her bangs in front. She thank him, smiling slightly. Spy nodded and turned back to the van.

Tracy was forced between the Engineer and Soldier, barely able to squeeze in unless she put her arms over their shoulders. Soldier seemed pleased, although Engineer looked flustered. It was much warmer inside, thankfully, although very cramped.

Once everyone was seated and buckled in, the vehicle hummed to life and began the drive down the mountain. People chatted amongst themselves, talking about their recent battles or more mundane things. Tracy asked about Soldier's medals, and the American proudly declared he earned them by killing Nazis in the second world war, which he made and gave to himself. Tracy couldn't help but chuckle, and the Soldier took this as a compliment, giving her a small and almost shy grin.

Turning to the Texan she asked, "How ya holdin' up? I know you don't wanna go."

"I've been better. Not helpin' any that Spy doesn't like my sense of fashion." He said his mockingly, but quietly in hopes the Frenchman wouldn't overhear.

"Nevermind that, Spy has a very select taste in clothes. And again, thanks for letting me borrow your suit. How do you think I look?" She gestured to herself as best she could with her arms around both mercs. Tracy was nearly hugging both of them.

"Good." Engineer coughed into his fist, which was surprisingly still in a rubber glove. Speaking of, he was still wearing his welding goggles, although had left his hard hat back at the base.

"Thanks." She smiled, before turning back to his hand. "Actually, I was meaning to ask, why do you wear that glove all the time? And what's with the goggles?"

His eyebrows shot up, before smiling. "Ah, forgot about the goggles. Wear 'em all the time I forget I'm wearin' 'em. And about my hand..."

Tracy watched as the Engineer pulled his glove off, exposing metal and wires. A prosthetic hand, probably of the Engineer's design by the looks of it. It closed and moved like a real hand, and the Texan flexed his fingers as an example.

"Made it myself." He smiled.

Tracy uncoiled her arm from his shoulders, reaching out to touch it. It was cold, but oddly fitting for the Texan. She laced her fingers through his metal ones, unsure how to feel.

"How'd this happen?" Tracy felt it might be a delicate topic, and was correct. He squeezed her hand before pulling away, allowing her to return her arm around his back.

"Was workin' to make some more metal, compressing spare scrap to make it usable again. Turns out putting your hand into a compress is a bad idea." He appeared to laugh, but it was obvious it wasn't a happy memory. Tracy frowned, squeezing his shoulders in a half hug.

"That's horrible. What happened? I mean, if you want to tell me."

"Luckily Medic was just passing by my workshop when he heard me... screaming. He managed to stop the bleeding, but my hand was gone. I'm no good with just one hand, especially on the battlefield. Took a couple weeks, but with Sawbone's help, I managed to make this prototype." He flexed his hand one last time before pulling the glove back on. He stared at his hand a moment before letting it fall to his side.

Just before his hand completely fell, she grabbed onto his hand and squeezed gently. "I'm sorry that had to happen to you. I know words don't help much."

"No, thank you." He nodded, hiding his face from hers. She could see a slightly red tint on his high cheekbones.

She held onto his hand for the entire car ride, not speaking much but still comforting him the best she could. The Soldier got her attention once more, cracking jokes about their battles and even lifting his helmet from his head.

"I think you look good without the helmet." She smiled.

"Oh? Do you think I should go without?" He rested the helmet on his lap, sliding a hand down his scalp. His hair was cropped down severely, but it actually did look good on him.

"At least when we're not on the battlefield." Tracy laughed, raising a hand to pat his head.

"Hmmm... I'll think about it." Soldier gave her a smile, running his fingers along the dints and cracks of his helmet. One was in the very center of his helmet, most likely from a sniper rifle bullet. She knew helmets like those weren't exactly as strong as they looked, so he was a very lucky man.

Tracy yawned. It had to be a couple more hours until they reached their destination. Closing her eyes and with one last squeeze to the Texan's hand, she relaxed into her seat and decided to take a nap.


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