Back at it! Okay, this is a special chapter. Please read the note at the end for the details!
"Okay, what the hell is this?"
Tracy stared at the contents of the box, frowning. At first, she couldn't really understand what it was supposed to mean, but then it hit her. The dress was for her.
Then she began to worry. Did Spy know? Medic didn't tell, and as far as she knew no one else knew other than Miss Pauling and the Administrator, and she doubt either of the two would reveal such a thing. Her mind churned until all the pieces fell together.
She had mentioned to the Engineer she could dress in drag and dance with him. And those voices when she went to get her suit? Probably those two. Engineer would have access to her file to get her measurements, and Spy knew how to make a dress or had the funds to buy one.
Tracy turned the the Spy, cocking a brow. "When I said I'd dress in drag, that was a joke."
"I understand that this may be uncomfortable for you, but please understand that each of us need a partner. My date could not attend due to travel issues, and I do not believe any one of us has a date either. Only you have been seen dancing with a partner of sorts, so you have no worries." Spy paused, holding his hands behind his back. "Please, could you do this for us, your team?"
She sighed, understanding the logic of it. Her team would probably be yelled at if they were seen without a date, and she didn't want that for them.
"Fine, I'll do it. But I'd better get those French truffles you promised." She snorted, grabbing the fabric. It was a short sleeved blue dress with lacy, opaque fringe covering the topmost half. It shimmered in the light, slim but flowing. There were also shoes in the box, a pair of white wedges.
"Thank you. I will be just a moment, I have to retrieve someone." Spy stepped out of the bathroom and allowed her time to change. She locked the door behind him and peeled off her suit, folding it as best she could and leaving it in the box the dress had once been.
She pulled off her binder, since the dress had a built in bra to support her. She thanked god that all the running around she did as a merc had slimmed her down, even though she was still thicker than most of the women there, her thighs brushing together just slightly as she walked and a little tummy fat on her stomach as well. Still, the dress smoothed most of her less desirable curves. She slipped on the dress, smoothing it against her skin. Pulling on the shoes, she pulled the rubber band from her hair to look at herself in the mirror.
Tracy looked different, much different than she looked when she first joined the team. Her face was thinner, although she had dark bags under her eyes from staying up late, her mind still upon the horrors of the battlefield. Her hair had grown out quite a bit more, and bleached somewhat by the sun. Her hair was wavey and fell around her face, but was not quite past her chin.
Spy returned a moment later, knocking on the bathroom door. Tracy let him inside, crossing her arms over her chest to give him an unimpressed look. Following him was the Scout, holding a small case.
"Wow, uh..." Scout paused at the door frame, staring at her. "When you said he was in a dress, didn't expect him to actually look like a girl."
"That's the magic of heels." Tracy shrugged, frowning even deeper. Although, past the unamused expression, she desperately hoped no one actually knew that she was indeed a woman. "Anyways, what's he got to do with this?"
"Scout will be doing your make up." The Frenchman gave her a smirk, lighting a cigarette from his case before stuffing it back into his inner jacket pocket.
"Seriously? I mean, okay." Tracy shrugged, taking a seat. She cocked a brow at the Scout, who appeared to become flustered and blushed, although out of embarrassment was yet to be revealed.
Scout sat down in front of her, snapping the case open. Inside was a small collection of make-up. Where Scout had gotten it, she had no idea. He began applying liquid foundation to her face, covering the scars and marks of battle. Powder came next, then eye shadow and mascara. The Bostonian even had an eyelash curler, which she nervously allowed him to use.
Peeking at her reflection in the mirror, she was shocked. Tracy looked like a total stranger to herself, all her flaws completely wiped away. Sure, she didn't even come close to the other guests below who were most likely still dancing, but it was a definite improvement. She resisted the urge to touch her face, just in case she happened to ruin the facade.
Looking back to the Scout she asked, "How in the hell do you know how to do this shit?"
Scout blushed, frowning and turning away from her gaze. "Ugh, not like I had any choice. I was the youngest of my brothers. I spent most of my time with my ma, and I guess she figured that I could be of some use when she prepped in the morning. She taught me a few things, like the powder stuff and the eye shadow. I started doing it more so I could kind of impress the girls at my school, y'know, help them get pretty."
"Most thought I was gay though." He scowled, applying some blush to her cheeks before turning to lipstick. He applied a light pink lipstick, contrasting well with the deep blue eye-shadow.
Scout straightened his back and began to survey his work, lifting and turning her chin to get all the angles. "That should about do it, I think."
Tracy gave herself one last look-over before standing from her seat. "Yeah, I guess. Hopefully this works out. Err... did you happen to get a date yet?"
"Nah. Well, I did go into the crowd and danced with a few people, but I dunno if that would qualify as a date." Scout shrugged, putting the make up back into the case.
"Then I guess I can dance with you first." She chuckled, linking her arm in his as she steered him to the door. Scout stumbled with his words, turning the to Spy. Spy had remained quiet for the most part, simply smoking his cigarette in silence, but he laughed at the boy's expression.
Very few were still in the lobby, although a few turned to see what was coming from upstairs. Some REDs were present, and stared as the BLU Scout and Tracy made their way down.
"Hey, you finally get lucky enough to get a girl to think you're not a loser?" One cracked, the Scout of the RED team.
Tracy's Scout was about to snap back, but Tracy beat him to the punch. "He's had more luck than you've had tonight. I think Miss Pauling was less than impressed at your attempts to woo her. At least MY Scout has some manners."
Behind the pair, Spy snorted in muffled laughter as the RED Scout's face turned as red as his uniform. Even his ears turned a bright pink, it was almost impressive. The Scout on her arm smirked at his counterpart, straightening his back and broadening his shoulders with confidence as they made their way back to the dance floor.
The dancing was still underway, but many more people were chatting near the walls and resting their feet. Scout led Tracy into the crowd, taking her hand and hip as they began to flow with the rest of the couples. He wasn't a bad dancer at all, although this was probably to be expected with how agile he was. Scout never once stepped on her feet or bumped them into another pair, although he didn't seem a hundred percent comfortable with the type of dancing.
"Ugh, not a fan of this." Scout twirled her, placing his hand once again on her waist before dipping her along with the crowd.
"Not a fan of ballroom?" Tracy remarked, a small smirk on her lips as she was pulled back up.
"I prefer break-dancing or, y'know, freestyle. Not this stiff, suit and tie, fancy-shmancy stuff." He grimaced, maneuvering them away from the middle of the crowd to the outskirts of the dance area.
"Me neither. I don't really like to dance at all, I'm pretty horrible at it. I mean, I don't really know if I am a good dancer or not, but I'd rather not embarrass myself if I am." Tracy shrugged.
Scout smiled despite their circumstance. "Maybe when we get back to base I can give ya a few pointers."
"Yeah, we'll see about that." They pulled out of the dancers and separated. "I should probably see about the others."
"Awright, try not to trip on your own feet." Scout chortled before making his way out.
Tracy turned to survey the crowd, picking out her team in the chaos wasn't as difficult as she had expected. Her team obviously wore blue, and while a few other party-goers had a similar color choice, she could tell from a mile away where her team was.
Medic and Heavy were in a corner, chatting up a few people who seemed intelligent enough for conversation. Engineer was still hiding against the wall, staring at his feet, although it seemed that Pyro had joined him. Demo and Soldier had made their way into the room, but she wasn't quite sure if Demoman was standing against the wall or slumped over. Sniper was in the opposite corner of the room, a glass most likely filled with alcohol.
Just as Tracy began to search for Spy, an arm wrapped around her waist. She whipped her head around, but was relieved to find it was only the Frenchman.
"Looking for me, mademoiselle?" Spy greeted in the most charming fashion possible. If Tracy didn't know better, she would have thought him to be flirting with her. Despite her knowledge of the facts, she couldn't help a blush rise to her face.
"Perhaps I was. You do need a partner, after all."
"But of course. Shall we?"
"We shall."
And so they danced. Spy was, of course, a fantastic dancer. Even better than Scout, but that was to be expected with such a gentleman. With his behavior from before, Tracy was quite nervous and accidentally trod on his foot once or twice, but he never seemed bothered and always accepted her apology with grace.
In all honesty, she was relieved to finally part from him. Not that she did not enjoy her time, but when he turned up the charm factor, Spy was almost too much to handle. No wonder the Scouts on both teams seemed wary of the man, due to the rumors either Spy had been in contact with their mothers.
Taking a deep breath, Tracy waved goodbye to the Spy as he strutted from the dancing to the wall, effortlessly joining a pair of beautiful women and integrating himself in the conversation with nothing more than a smile. Quite the heart-breaker, Tracy suspected.
Who was left now? Demoman, Engineer, Heavy, Medic, Pyro, Sniper, and Soldier. Alright, who was she gonna choose to dance with next?
As said above, this is a special chapter! YOU, the reader, can make a choice on who Tracy will dance with next! I'm not sure if this will have any sort of outcome to their relationships or to the story's plot or outcome, but this may effect some things! Like they say, a butterfly effect may seem small but can snowball into something much bigger!
Please leave a review letting me know who you choose!
