"The freakin' cart stopped!"
RED Scout alerted his teammates of this, so Heavy and Medic immediately tended to the problem. However, the enemy team heard him as well.
As Scout found a flank route, he was met by the enemy Soldier and Demoman.
"Awh crap."
Within seconds, the BLU Demo got shot down with the BLU Soldier with one bullet. Scout gets startled and jumps up into a Karate Kid type pose. He shrugs it off and gets back to trying to complete his contract. Sniper gives a little chuckle up in the sky.
"Victory," the Administrator announced over the loudspeaker. The RED team cheered in delight and went back to their base for drinks.
"Another victory for RED team!" Heavy yelled out.
Everybody raised their beer glasses and bottles for cheers. They were cheering and chanting, happy they won once again. Scout drank and drank, until he realized:
'Hey, where's Sniper?'
He was perplexed by this thought, but brushed it off, thinking that he was 'probably out shooting animals for dinner.' However, he couldn't get him off his mind. He was like a acrylic paint stain to clothes, never able to come off. He decided he'd ask him tomorrow morning.
***
Tomorrow morning came round and Scout knocked on Sniper's door, only to find the chilly Wednesday breeze blowing through his messy blinds. He then heard Sniper getting out of the bathroom and its door opening. Sniper jumped up like a cat and almost screeched.
"Crikey! You scared me."
"Sorry-" Scout started. "I just wanted to ask why you never show up for team celebrations and shit."
"Oh," Sniper said, calming down. "Eh, I'm not looking to getting drunk that often. Only on the weekends when we rarely have work."
Scout felt as if the excuse was disingenuous, but walked out anyway, confused yet content. Content he managed to get a few words out of the least talkative mercenary.
Back in Sniper's room, he sits down on his bed and sighs.
"We barely even talk," he says to himself. He picks up a picture of him with the mercenaries on his bedside table. He stares directly at Scout.
"Why has he taken interest in me now? And why am I interested in him..?"
***
It was another day, and yet another reminder that the mercs are doin' well. This time around, they needed to get to the Badlands and take control of the point yet again. They would go by teleporter. At least, they would have if it wasn't already destroyed by the BLU team before they went out celebrating that night in June, but the team doesn't know this yet.
A few minutes go by and Engineer curses from his lab in the basement.
"What happen now?" Heavy questions, looking down to the sound source.
Engineer comes storming upstairs, muttering curses under his breath. "Damn BLU team, destroying my teleporters..."
"Mmm-mmm-mm?" Pyro was confused.
"Agh, BLU team wanted to stop us from getting Badlands, so they blew up our teleporter exit. Goddamnit, we're gon' hav'ta take a plane."
Everyone groaned, planes meant time wasted, and time wasted was time being bored.
"Gotta call Miss Pauling, but y'all gotta get sleep. You'll be tired as hell if we leave tomorrow."
And so everybody went to bed earlier than usual.
***
Everyone was groggy and tired driving to the RED airplane base with their duffel bags and their sanity almost in check. They boarded the plane and waited for the pilot to begin flying.
Scout was sitting at the window looking out the plane, feeling a bit nervous. He knew he should've stopped but he couldn't help it.
"Oh shit, we're so high up.."
"You know, if you wanna, y'know, not get sick, don't look out the window."
Scout jumped a bit. He didn't notice Sniper sitting closely to him.
"Yeah..you're right, but it's so cool." Scout was still mesmerized by the small world below but was starting to get anxious.
Sniper rolls his eyes. "Stupid little kid," he mutters.
"What was that?" Scout asks, raising an eyebrow while chuckling.
Sniper looks away. "Nothing," he says with a smile.
Both began to talk more and more throughout the plane ride. They talked away the sunset and never took their eyes off one another. Engie and Pyro were staring at them almost all evening.
"I think Scout's taken a liking to lil' Snipes over there," Engie says, turning his head to Pyro.
Pyro nods in agreement, and Pyro lays his head on Engie as the two watch Scout ramble on about Boston until they arrive in Badlands.
***
"We're here!" Miss Pauling walks out of the cockpit and wakes everyone up. Sniper picks his head up and rubs his eyes, until he feels something on his shoulder.
'Oh crikey.'
Scout was sleeping on his shoulder. His face flushed and he immediately began the process of waking Scout up.
"Scout. Scout, please wake up, we're here."
"Ugh, how long was I asleep? That felt like forever," Scout said, rubbing his head.
"A good while," Sniper said, face still bright pink.
"Now c'mon, we gotta get settled in. We're here for a while."
Scout nodded and proceeded to get him and his stuff up and out of the plane. As Sniper started to do the same, he felt a tug on his arm and almost fell back.
"Spy, you can decloak now. I know that's you."
Spy decloaked and lit a cigarette up while staring at Sniper.
"What do you want?" Sniper was kinda confused why he was held back so abruptly.
"If you're going to date my son, give me warning first." Spy then cloaked and walked out the plane.
Sniper was left behind, now a deep red, and walked out the plane soon after.
__
"3...2...1...FIGHT!"
And off the trained killers went. They began going for the control point and already captured it within twelve seconds of the mission starting.
Scout immediately for the point, along with Pyro.
"Let's go, buddy! Light 'em up!"
Pyro pulled the trigger and the enemies burned down in a fiery rage and screaming in agony.
"Oh-hoh-hoh, nice!" Scout high-fives Pyro and they run off, advancing towards more points.
Sniper, scoped in on the two, smiles in delight. "Glad he's having fun out here, killing people," Sniper mutters to himself.
___
The next day, the mercs began to have their breakfasts and settled in to their class-assigned rooms. Scout was downstairs having cereal with his Bonk! Atomic Punch while talking to Pyro with his Rainb-Os.
"Yeah, yeah! And then I just punched the Soldier straight in the face!" Scout exclaimed, making the hand motions in the air while he says it. "And then- And then, I hit the Demo with my bat and BOOM! Kill streak o' ten!" Scout was expressing every little detail as Pyro clapped.
Sniper was staring on from afar with a lovesick smile.
"God, he's cute- wait. Wait."
Scout saw him staring and waved back. Sniper, nervous and almost breaking a sweat, waved back.
"Mmm-mmm-mmmph?" Pyro asked, curious and raising a eyebrow.
"Wh-what? Dating? N-no," Scout reassured.
"Mmmm..mm-mph."
"What do you, 'okay?' I just think he's-" Scout stopped himself before he could finish.
"I don't think he's cute, that was just an intrusive thought or whateva it's called."
Soon enough, Scout began to imagine life with Sniper as his boyfriend. Getting married when they legalize gay marriage, kissing, everything-
"Hmm-HMMM??" Pyro was shaking his hand in front of Scout's eyes.
"H-huh? Sorry, I spaced out.." Scout was blinking really hard.
Pyro then pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, "Are you in luv with Sniper?"
Scout laughed to himself. Pyro could never spell things. Sometimes on purpose.
"No, Py. We're friends-" Scout felt horribly wrong for saying that. It's like he betrayed himself.
'Maybe I do like 'im.' Scout was confused with his heart and his brain. They were at war and he couldn't stop it.
Sniper on the other hand was denying his feelings heavily. Even Demo could see it, and he was drunk. Demo then put his hand on Sniper's shoulder and said, "Lassie, be honest with yourself. Just say you like him."
"Tavish, I don't like 'im. We're friends and...cool."
Demo knew Sniper was lying, but felt like leaving him be. "Whateva mate, I'm gonna make out with Soldier." He burps and drunkenly gets along his way.
Sniper laughed, then went to his room and flopping on the bed.
Once in his room, he flipped over and stared at the picture on his bedside table once again.
"Once we get out of Badlands- nevermind. He'd say no."
Sniper then decided to fall into the mistful, wondrous world of dreams and fell asleep in his room.
Back downstairs, Pyro is still harassing Scout.
"Okay, yes, I kinda like him! Like a best friend would." Scout was turning red from this point on.
Pyro kept writing. "You should talk to him more!" was written on the paper.
"But how? We barely even talk period. I haven't talked to him ever since I got hired."
Pyro was grinning like a maniac under his mask, and Scout knew it.
"Py-"
Pyro shushed him immediately. He "knew" what he was doing and walked away.
Engineer chuckled. "He's a cute one, ain't he?"
Scout looked back, confused.
"It wasn't obvious, pardner? We've been together for a bit."
"Uh—I-..When..-"
Engie giggles some more. "You'll understand when you get with lil' Snipes there. And trust me, you will."
Scout blushed and went to his room. He had a love-ridden grin on his face and he knew it.
Engineer laughed. "He's a silly one."
Pyro nodded while playing with his dominoes.