Richard.

The Scout grumbled as he kept cleaning the dishes. He had been excited that morning, when his ma told him she'd make spaghetti with those big, homemade meatballs he loves so much, but because of that Spy at the dinner table, happily talking with his ma and trying to get him into the conversation as well, he could barely remember a bite of what he ate. He could've been eating paste, and he wouldn't even have noticed.

Richard.

Talk about a stupid name. Sure, he's French, but seriously? That's his name?

Richard.

The more he repeated that name, the more stupid it sounded.

What was his ma thinking? Going out with that RED bastard...didn't she know better than to go out with the first guy that gives her the cute eyes? She already have had more relationships started and broken than anyone else in this neighbourhood, or even this fucking city. It would always start the same: she introduces her new boyfriend to the rest of the family, they go out for a while, the guy fucks his ma, and then leaves sooner or later with the contents of her wallet while she cries and almost has a nervous breakdown for about a month. And, since his ma was very against abortion or the pills or condoms or anything like that, she usually ended up pregnant. This is how she ended up with 8 sons in a bad neighborhood. In fact, the only link of family Nathan had with most of his brothers was their mother, and nothing else.

This new relationship wasn't going to be different. Especially not with a guy who's entire purpose in life is to gain other people's trust before cruelly stabbing them in the back. The Scout gave him a week. Two days if his ma smartened up.

The sound of a throat being cleared behind him broke Nathan's train of thoughts. He turned around quickly, and there he was again.

Richard.

Just like every Spy ever, he seemed to have came out of absolutely nowhere. Perhaps he had never noticed it during the heat of the battle, but the frenchman was tall, quite taller than himself. The spy was still wearing his uniform, minus his suit coat, which made him look different, yet still presentable. Even in the comfort of this house, miles away from the battlefield, he was still wearing that fucking mask over his face. Probably 'cause he's ugly as hell, the Scout thought.

"An' whatta you want?" Nathan asked bitterly.

"I've decided to come help you with these dishes, mon fils." replied Richard with a grin, while taking off his black gloves and pulling up the sleeves of his shirt. Nathan, who didn't speak a lick of french, didn't understand those last two words, but he knew it was something he didn't like.

"Yeah, well, I don't need no help, 'specially not from you. Your help made me look like a chump today." It also made him lose a few thousand dollars. At his work, you get beautiful bonuses if you win a battle, something the Scout didn't get in a long time.

This response didn't stop Richard from grabbing a nearby dish towel and getting to work next to Nathan. He chuckled a bit as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please. Are you still angry over this little matter? Your job was to push the bomb in, and my job was to stop you from completing your job. Clearly, I did a better job than you, as usual. Get over it."

"Get over it?! Why, I oughta-"

"Oh, there you are, boys! What are you two talking about?" said Scout's mom with a smile, as she walked into the kitchen. Nathan almost had a heart attack and answered her question a bit faster than he had wanted.

"W-we were talkin' 'bout...well, we were just gettin' t'know each other, ma!" He was hoping his fake, forced smile wasn't too obvious.

"That's right, Laura. I think me and Nathan are going to be great friends" added Richard with a smile. The Scout had to try very hard to keep his fake smile up. He didn't like to hear the Spy say his mother's name.

"That's great news! I knew you two would get along!" she said, her smile widening as she picked up her pack of cigarettes and left for the front porch.

Richard looked at Nathan's mom as she left, then back at her son. The one thing Nathan has been hiding from his ma for years had been discovered in mere seconds.

"She has no idea who you work for, does she?"

The Scout bit his lower lip. Of course she had no idea. She's so proud that her sons finally managed to find respectable jobs instead of the street life they used to live. "She thinks I work in some construction site downtown." It wasn't a complete lie; he USED to work in a construction site downtown, until he got in a huge fight with a couple of pricks who couldn't see a good worker if it whacked them in the face (and he proved just that) and accidentally wrecked hours of work in the scuffle. He tried to explain that it wasn't his fault if the wooden foundation couldn't handle one guy getting launched into it, but his dumb employers wouldn't want to hear a word of it. He would've had to go home and tell his ma how he got a black eye and a brand new unemployment paper, if it hadn't been for a nerdy chick by the name of Miss Pauling who intercepted him in the street to propose a type of "special demolition work" for "someone of his talents". And with a name like "Builders League United", it had to be a nice, high paying job, right?

"I don't want her t'know a word of it, so keep your freakin' voice down. T'last thing I want her t'know is that I kill chumps like you for a livin'."

"I think we found something that we can both agree on. I told her I work in a government office." replied the Spy with a small smirk as he dried up a few plates the Scout had just washed. "Where do I put...?"

"Uh? Oh. Secon' drawer on your right." The young adult watched the older one put away the plates before asking something that popped up in his head. "What about your mask, frenchy? Ain't she askin' questions 'bout that?"

"I explained to her that I used to be a spy for the French government during the second World War. I am now retired from this dangerous life and I have moved here for protection. However, I still keep this spy mask on me, in remembrance of my fallen companions during my spy years."

Nathan tried very hard not to look impressed. Not only did this lie sound real, it also made his nemesis look mysterious, adventurous and caring. This only made the Scout a bit more frustrated. How many lies like this did he feed his poor ma? If he was this good at stretching the truth, he could make her believe whatever he was saying. For all Nathan knew, his mom could be thinking Richard was the next Jesus.

Cleaning the dishes could not have been longer. Most of the time, after that small conversation they had, it was simply awkward silence, broken once in a while by the sound of harsh scrubbing or the clanking noise of dishes being put away. And, as if this was not boring enough, Richard would send back a pan or a plate every 3 dishes or so, because he saw some microscopic spot on the far edge. When everything was finally cleaned and stored away, Nathan wiped his wet hands on his legs while Richard put away the cloth with a sigh.

"See? You should never refuse help when it is given to you, mon fils. You'd still be deep in work, with some dirty dishes as well, if it wasn't for me."

"Don't get used to it, Spy. In fact, if your sorry ass ain't out the front door by next week, I'll-"

"Kill me?" interrupted Richard with a grin. Nathan bit his lower lip again. During his interview for his job, he was given a bunch of papers with a whole bunch of different rules he'd have to follow if he didn't want to lose his job or worse. He was forced to read and reread them, until he got them all by heart. And it's one of those rules, one that he still couldn't understand why it was there, that was protecting this RED rat.

You will not harm any members of the other team when off of work hours, by any means (physically, mentally, or materialistically). FAILING TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE LOSS OF YOUR JOB, AND THE LAW WILL BE INFORMED OF YOUR ACTIONS.

This was so stupid. If their entire job was to kill off the other team and to accomplish their work, why couldn't they do so now, when there was no Respawn Machine? It was rules like this that made Nathan wonder if his 'job' wasn't just some rich guy's idea of an entertaining game. But heck, with the pay checks he was getting, he wasn't complaining much.

"I'll kick ya out myself" finished the Scout with a sour look on his face. This only made the Spy laugh as he put his gloves back on and reached for his own cigarette pack.

"I'd like to see you try. I'm sure you'd push little old moi out the front door as good as you push carts out into holes." With those words, he turned and was about to leave the kitchen, if Nathan didn't call out to him.

"Look, I know what you're doin'. You're just here to embarrass and maybe even spy on me, probably 'cause I'm too darn perfect for your team and whatnot. But why are you doin' this to my poor ma? Why are you givin' her a false hope atta real relationship?"

The RED Spy froze in place, as if thinking for a few seconds, before turning his head back and looking at the BLU Scout. The corners of his mouth curled into a small smile.

"If I told you why, I don't think you'd believe me."

He then went out towards the front porch to meet up with Laura. Nathan grumbled to himself. Those 11 words rang in his head again and again as he pulled out the sink plug and watched the dirty, soapy water go down the drain.

Richard.

He scoffed one last time before leaving the kitchen as well.