The drive out of town wasn't exactly long, but the journey from the outskirts of town to Mick's ranch was certainly a trek and a half. Luckily, Mick had offered to drive, seeing as he knew the way and it therefore allowed Francois to get some well needed rest while sat in the passenger seat. The Australian had noticed just how tired the other looked, and despite the fact Francois hadn't given him much reason as to why he was so tired, he could well imagine that something was troubling the other. Mick,in all honesty,wanted to know what it was exactly that was bothering the Frenchman, but that sort of chat and its prying type of nature could wait for a while until he was in a much better state than he was currently.
The roads to the ranch were not great. Potholes a plenty and it was dusty...as dusty as they come in fact. Mick tried to manoeuvre the car around the holes as expertly as he could, but, surely enough, he hit a big one and the car took a big side swipe to the left
"Eh, wha', what the..?!" Francois was awoken with a jolt, his head bashing against the window to his side harshly, followed by a whiplash inducing lurch backwards. "What the hell is going on?"
"Take it easy mate, it was jus' a pot hole, it's riddled with them out here. It's like being back in the outback, but of course, it's jus' government cutbacks-"
"Oui, oui, lets not get all political, Mick. I've only just woken up-!"
A chuckle left the Australian sharp-shooter as he listened to his friend grumble in complaint at the sudden rousing from his slumber, deciding to quickly pull over to the left of the dusty road to just double check that sudden jerk hadn't damaged him at all. Quickly parking, he turned in his seat and his chuckling became a little belt of laughter due to the sight of the Frenchman.
Francois was currently hunched over in his seat, rubbing the back of his currently sore neck. His sandy hair was currently dishevelled and creating a shadow over those steely grey eyes that were currently narrowed in Mick's direction and glinting almost in the light. The Australian had seen that glint before, many many years ago, and it brought a smirk to his face.
"If I didn't know ya betta, mate, i'd think you'd be plottin' my assassination right now."
A surprised look crossed the ex-Spy's face before an almost soft smile followed, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest. Soon enough, the Australian was giving a slightly deeper version of the same chuckle. The pair continued like this for a while, laughing softly to themselves and almost over nothing. Oceanic eyes looked at steely ones, both pairs glittering with fun and amusement, and they both slowly fell into almost a sense of stupor. They stared, sharing goofy little grins until eventually Mick looked away, deciding it would be best for the pair to continue on their way.
"Well, it'd appear ya neck ain't broken, so, le's go, alrigh'?" He asked, grinning a little bit lopsidedly now as he received a small hum in response from the Frenchman.
"Oui, let us go."
Eventually, the ranch became visible to the now quiet duo. By becoming visible, it was more Mick began to get restless in his seat and excitable.
"'ere she is, mate, 'ere she is!"
Francois opened a lazy eye and gave a soft hum, taking a second to register what Mick actually meant by saying 'here she is'. The sight that met him, much to his own surprise, took his breath away.
All in all, it was visible from the entrance that the ranch included a ranch house, a bunkhouse which suggested to the Frenchman it was not just the sharp-shooter who lived and worked here, a large auburn shaded barn, and a harness-room off the barn towards the back almost tucked away out of sight. In the surrounding land, it was fields, and only then did it click for Francois that they had been driving along the roads surrounding Mick's land up until now. Trees multicoloured several shades of browns, oranges and almost yellows surrounded each field reflecting the autumn weather, almost as though it were separating the ranch from the surrounding world with a whirlwind of colour.
"Bushman... it's..."
"A real beaut', ain't she? Cost me most of me earnin's from the war, but she was worth it." Mick's voice was filled with pride, and the ex-BLU certainly could see why. He was right, the ranch was beautiful, a lovely place to enjoy the retirement that the Australian had well earned during his service.
"How on earth have you maintained this place so well? If I remember correctly from the stories, you were awful at keeping your own van clean and organised, let alone a ranch!"
A sheepish look crossed Mick's face as he drove the car towards the ranch house, parking up and sitting in the car for a moment while scanning the surrounding area.
"Yeh, I know, but ya could say i've had a bit o' help."
As though on cue, out of the ranch house and the bunkhouse came five figures who stalked towards the car as though it were prey about to be pounced on by a bunch of wild animals. The sight unnerved Francois, but Mick simply chuckled and opened the door.
"'ello, mates, sorry I took so-"
Before Mick could continue with what he was saying, two of the figures jumped at him at such an alarming rate Francois was ready to jump out of the car and go to the Australian's aid. That was when he saw that the two figures weren't attacking Mick, but rather were tackling him in a form of embrace. Though, perhaps this was just Francois being paranoid, it almost looked passive aggressive. Taking a sharp intake of breath, the Frenchman slowly clambered out of the car and was surprised to hear the sound of laughter reach his ears.
"You ass, you took off without warning and roll up the next day expecting us to just welcome you back with open arms?!" One of the figures who had jumped at the Australian barked, English accent rolling off of their tongue with a distinctly feminine tone to it.
"Yea, Mick, jesus christ! A lil' warning would have been nice!" The other figure who had jumped at Mick growled, an American accent lacing their words, an eye twitching a little bit in irritation as they whacked the back of his head lightly. "You had all o' us worried!"
Mick just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck before wrapping an arm around the two feminine forms clinging to him, turning to the thoroughly confused Frenchman and giving a bark of laughter at his expression.
"Listen 'ere you lot, this 'ere is Francois, aka 'Spook', an ol' mate o' mine." The Australian explained as the remaining figures surrounded Mick like three massive bodyguards-it painstakingly obvious to Francois they were male and very strong looking. "Spook, I wanna introduce ya tah ma 'crew'." With a whistle, the five members of Mick's 'crew' stood in a line with mock salutes, all of this appearing a game to them as Mick approached the rather dumbstruck Francois.
"This big bloke 'ere is Jarrod, ev'ybody round 'ere calls him Jett though-" Mick explained, referring to the first one in line.
'Jett' was a large male with a wide build almost similar to Misha's, standing at 6"6, though perhaps a little bit more skinny than the Russian heavy weapons specialist. He had amber eyes that looked almost golden in the early morning light, a large nose that was rather distinctive, and rather full lips. His hair, much like his name would suggest, was a jet black. Offering a bear like paw out to the Frenchman, he shook his hand (almost crushing it in the process) and offered a polite smile.
"An' this lil' shortie is Robbie, though he insists on bein' called Mordikai."
A lot of curses from the 'shortie' that was Robbie followed, this friend of Mick's standing at about 5"1 certainly appeared much more aggressive than the gentle giant standing beside him. With emerald eyes that were currently narrowed, and a lighter shade of blonde for hair than Francois. Folding his arms over his chest, he gave a nod in the ex-Spy's direction and half scoffed in response.
"An' this is-oof!" Mick once again was dragged into an embrace, chuckling a little bit at the female who stood that little bit taller than him at 6"1. "This is Haylee, though call 'er Zowie."
'Zowie', or Haylee, smiled widely at Francois and surprised him by grasping his hand and shaking it with a surprising amount of energy and strength. Her cobalt eyes shone in delight upon meeting someone new, lips moving about and blabbering all sorts that the Frenchman just couldn't catch on to. It was clear she was the one with the English accent from earlier. Her hazel hair was currently thrown back into a rather lazy attempt of a ponytail, and she gave a sort of aura that made her almost mistakable to be related to Mick.
"'ere is Moe, no nickname for this one, just plain ol' Moe." The Australian teased, winding up the remaining male worker who just stood with a rather passive expression.
"Yea yea, Mick, plain ol' me." Moe retorted, rolling his eyes and clicking his tongue before smiling at the Frenchman. He stood about 5"10, with dark brown hair and matching dark brown eyes. He certainly looked like a regular Joe, well, he could be called a regular Moe after all.
"What about me, Mookie boy?!" The final remaining member of the group piped up, American accent strong, as she clung to the side of Jet. "You really forgot about me?!"
"'course not, Janine, gimme a chance for cryin' out loud." Mick teased a bit before being interrupted.
"Oh who needs ya, Mook, anyways-" The female, Janine, rolled her eyes and flashed a rather pretty smile at Francois. "I'm Janine, though you can call me Jan, sweetie." Like Jet, she had black hair which was currently up in a rather neat bun- quite the comparison to Haylee. Her piercing grey eyes matched Francois' own rather well, able to demand and capture anyone's attention rather easily.
"A pleasure to meet you all," Francois gave a soft smile and gave a polite bow of his head, earning giggles from the girls and polite nods in return from the males. "I'm sure i'll enjoy my visit here."
"Heh, c'mon Spook, i'm gonna leave ya in the hands with these fine people." Mick winked, earning a look of sheer terror from the other. "Don' worry, i'm jus' gonna be puttin' your stuff in ya room, i'll catch up with ya when i'm done, 'kay?"
Looking rather nervous but keeping a brave face, the ex-BLU gave a nod and smiled a little bit with a nod. "Alright, I suppose i'll see you shortly."
With that, both Haylee and Janine took a hold of one of his arms and began to tug him towards the barn.
"C'mon, 'Spook', we got a lotta groun' to cover today!"
Well, if there was one thing Francois had to say, at least he wouldn't get bored here.
A quick Author's note: A big thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and followed this story. You guys have no idea how much it means to me to be getting the feedback to the extent I have. Special mentions go to 2Due and Vincent- Vladmir who have given wonderful feedback through reviews and PM. Thank you guys!
Okay, this chapter is my longest one yet, and I have to admit it has given me the most trouble so far. But, I am glad that i've managed to get on track with my plans with the fanfiction and haven't dawdled too much. I hope you guys enjoy, and I hope you don't mind there are a few ocs thrown into the mix. These characters are important for future chapters, I assure you, and so the development was kind of required.
Anyways, thank you again guys for reading! And I will see you in the next chapter! Goodbye!