AN: I actually had fun with this one, though I feel like it went kind of…aimless, I guess, towards the end. Either way, I'm happy with it and puppy Kirsch missing his bro. I hope you guys have fun with it and enjoy! Happy Creampuff Week!
Disclaimer: I do not own Carmilla. U by Kotex does.
"This is Huntress 1, in the southwest corner. Movement spotted. Can you confirm?"
Holding her breath, Danny carefully peered around the tree trunk she had taken refuge behind, her gun held at the ready for the moment Laura's voice came back through the com. Narrowing her eyes, she carefully began to rescan the area- they all had a limited amount of ammo, and if she was going to fire, she wanted to be sure she was actually shooting at one of her opponents, not one of the wildlife that inhabited their little woods. So far nothing, but if Laura could confirm…
"I hate this."
Laura's pout was clear, even through the com, and Danny had to stifle a laugh. While normally one of their best snipers, especially when they could get her into a tree close to the enemy base, she had recently had an…'unavoidable' accident (despite her vagueness, all of them knew the truth. Laura was an idiot, and climbing on top of the fridge to get the cookies her girlfriend had hidden there, with no way but to jump to get back down, thus resulting in her landing wrong and badly twisting her ankle, was something they all knew she would end up doing one day), and had been switched to their tech person.
Which had put poor Perry out into the field, where she had been taken out half an hour into the match. She was brilliant in the booth, helping them track down their targets and getting the eventual stains out of their uniforms, but she was no good with an actual paint gun.
"I know you do, Hollis," Danny said with a small smile. "But right now I need to know if the movement I keep seeing is a deer or someone I can actually shoot."
"I know, I know, give me a minute," Laura huffed, the sound of her typing clear. "Per gave me a run down on how this thing works, but I still have no clue what I'm doing." For another minute there was silence from her end before she finally came back on, sounding more amused than anything else. "Don't worry, it's Kirsch. And I think he needs your help. Letting him know you're on your way now."
"Thanks, Hollis," Danny said, letting her paint gun drop to her side. "And don't get too upset. The doctor said you'll be back in the field before the semi-finals, so relax. This is just temp. And next time, if Karnstein puts something out of your reach, wait until one of the tall people can come get it for you instead of pretending to be a monkey. K?"
"The accident that landed me here was completely unavoidable, and no matter what Carmilla tells you, it's a lie." Laura's com cut out after that, leaving Danny chuckling as she walked over to where she could clearly see the bushes rustling.
And found Kirsch with one leg knee-deep in a hole, trying, and failing, to get himself unstuck.
"Hey, there."
"D-Bear," Kirsch said with a jump, half turning so he could look at her. Offering her a wide smile, he nodded down at his leg, a small pout forming when he turned back. "Laura didn't say it was you who was coming to get me. I slid down the rise on the other side, and my leg got stuck. Mind giving me a hand?"
When he held out his hand for her to take, though, she didn't, instead looking around the area with a small smirk.
"I dunno," Danny said slowly, rubbing her chin with her free hand. "Aren't you supposed to be in the northeast quadrant. You know, the exact opposite of the one you're currently in. If I remember correctly, I'm here, you're supposed to be there, Karnstein's supposed to be in the northwest, LaF in the southeast, Betty in the central circle, and Laura- or, for this fight, at least, Perry- following one of the targets back to their home base so she can snipe them. If I remember correctly, this pattern has allowed us to win the championship for the last four years. So, tell me, Wilson…" She leaned down so they were also face to face, her glare enough to have him quailing before her. "What are you doing here?"
"Damn, D-Bear, you're being harsh," Kirsch grumbled. "LaFontaine took out about half of the other team for shooting Perry. You should have seen them- they went all crazy eyed and screaming and shooting everything they could find. Remind me not to get on their bad side."
"And this has to do with what?"
"Chill, I'm getting there," he replied defensively. "Well, after LaF pulled that stunt, Carm and Betts decided to go on the offensive. They have most of the other team pinned under that rock overhang. You know, the one where we were thinking of making our base, but then Little L found that cave by the river bank?"
Danny knew exactly the one- it was on the far northern edge of the area that had been marked off for their match. Surrounded on three sides by rubble, with half of the top covered by a thin slab, it was, theoretically, a good home base. Only it was easily findable, could only be entered or exited through one side, there was no back entrance, and if enough of the other team caught them there, they were trapped. The cave Laura had found, on the other hand, was partly hidden by the river, had a small back exit that came out in the middle of a bunch of trees, and if altering the environment had been allowed in the match, they probably could have added some more exits. The only issues were that it was damp and smelled like mold, but they had been able to deal. A perfect base.
"Of course I know, doofas," Danny said, rolling her eyes as she held her hand out to Kirsch, pulling him out of the hole. "I'm the leader of this team, I know everything. So, they have the other team pinned, and you came to get me?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Kirsch said with a nod, wiping off some of the gunk that had stained his pants leg. "I tried to call in with Laura to tell her to tell you to get over there, but you know how I am with this thing, and how she is on her end." He tapped his ear piece and shrugged sheepishly. He was a great hunter, he really was, but really he was an idiot sometimes. And honestly, having Laura as their Tech was hell.
"Yeah, I know, to both," Danny said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Have the others tried to negotiate a scatter, so it's more of a fair fight? Or is the other team standing their ground and hoping that the timer runs out before we get all their guys?"
"Timer, the cowards," Kirsch said as he started to walk, slowing down so he and Danny could fall into step. "They know if the timer goes off, then there's a ten minute break and they can start back up anywhere they want. And we have fifteen minutes left before it does, so we either need to rush them or try to get them after the break."
"What have the others been doing, just sitting there and waiting for them to walk out with their hands up and a peace flag," Danny asked, slightly annoyed. In the last three years, they had never once been forced to go through the timer, instead able to pick off every other member of the team before it ever got close. Which was why she was so adamant about them sticking to the plan.
"LaF's been keeping them in the cave, firing every time someone pokes their head out. Betts and Carm have been trying different angles to try and shoot into the actual cave itself. They're thinking that, if they can get the perfect one, they can open fire and get the rest of them at once."
"Do they even know how many are in there?"
"LaFontaine said they shot three, so three left. I think."
"If we have to spend an entire extra session hunting one person because LaF only shot two, or there's only two in there, I'm going to kill you all."
For a long while the two of them walked in quiet, Kirsch slipping into silence after Danny's threat and Danny feeling no need to restart the conversation. At least, not until after Kirsch gently knocked into her with his shoulder, his signal that he wanted to talk to her, not his leader.
"What's up?"
"We haven't, you know, gone out in a while, just the two of us. It's nice, always going out in a group, the seven of us, but…I kind of miss the two of us being bros."
"Is this really the time for this conversation, Kirsch," Danny asked with a small sigh. She knew where he was coming from though, in a way- ever since she and Betty had started dating, there hadn't been a lot of time for her to really do one-on-one stuff with the others. She was still halfway through a season of Dr Who with Laura, and had been half way through it for the last six weeks. Her, Perry, and LaF hadn't done a horror movie marathon in what seemed like forever, and the only reason she still saw Carmilla on a regular basis outside of practice was because they were sparring partners.
She missed just hanging with him, but between her relationship with Betty, school, work, and this, where was the time?
"I guess not," Kirsch said with a shrug, "but I do kind of miss our video game nights, you know? It's been a while since I beat you at Mario Kart." He nudged her with his elbow, trying to draw a smile out of her. "Or since we went to a bar and you helped me find the straight chicks. Or since, well, we really did anything, just the two of us." His tone fell the longer he talked, until he was examining the bright blue toy gun in his hands.
"We've only been dating for a few weeks," Danny pointed out, trying to find a way to get this back on a better road. And to partly sooth her own guilt- she had been in love with Betty for a long time now, and now that they were together, she knew she was letting it take over. Perhaps a little bit too much.
"We're still trying to figure out our balance. But don't worry, okay?" She hip checked him, biting back a laugh as he stumbled a few steps to the side. "I'll be beating your ass on the Rainbow Road soon enough. School's out in what, three more weeks? And I'm only going to stay part-time at the shop this summer, so that's a whole extra 8 hours a day that I'll need to be filling with your man tears when I shoot a blue shell at you."
"The blue shells only work if I'm in the lead, meaning I'd be winning," Kirsch shot back, finally regaining his footing and sticking out his tongue at her. The mention of summer, though, seemed to have cheered him up, if the way he was fiddling with his gun meant anything. "And you really mean it?"
"Of course," Danny said, offering him a real smile. "And I'm going to start making it up to you tonight. My place, seven. You bring the beer, I'll order us a couple of pizzas, and we'll make a night of it. Sound good?"
"That sounds awesome, Da- watch out!"
Dropping to the ground, Danny watched as Kirsch fired between the trees behind her, his face hardened as he tried to hit the moving target bounding away from them. Rolling onto her back, Danny sat up and started firing as well, her movements in a pattern to ensure she covered the most ground possible while above her, Kirsch fired at will.
"Sorry guys," Laura said over the com, "I was talking to Carm. But it seems like you got him, so yay!"
"Laura," Danny said as Kirsch helped her to her feet, "you're fired."
"And this is a bad thing because…?"
"Because it means you're doing laundry for the next few matches."
Cutting off Laura before the other girl could start to complain, Danny held her hand out to Kirsch, which he quickly took.
"You're getting slow, D-Bear," he teased, only laughing when she punched him in the arm with her free hand, her glare, normally enough to shut him down, only causing him to laugh more. "But don't worry; a bro always has his bro's back."
"And I'll try to get better about having yours."
Neither replied after that. Instead, after checking that they had enough ammo to get them through the rest of the game, they continued on to the overhang, where LaF, Carmilla, and Betty were waiting.
Carmilla got paint in her hair and accidently shot LaFontaine in the leg, but in the end they won.
And Danny beat Kirsch at Mario Kart three different times, despite being wasted. Something she would regret the next morning, but only for the headache.