Chapter Text
2Fort
"I don't know, man, I think he's losing it."
"Nah, mate. You're bein' delusional."
The BLU Scout and Sniper were currently sneaking in the RED team's headquarters, in search of the intelligence. They were in the sewers at the very moment.
Scout snorted.
"De-delusional? No, I'm telling you, Sniper, Spy is losin' his shit!" Scout kept demanding and nudged his gun a little. Sniper stopped and turned around towards Scout, who almost bumped into him.
"Kid, listen to me", Sniper started with a strict tone. He poked Scout's chest as he continued: "Spy is a professional, and it's part of 'is job to infiltrate the enemy lines. That doesn't mean he's losin' his shit."
"You didn't see how he looked at the Engineers the other day! It was as if, he wanted to-"
"Zap their stuff and kill 'em? That how it looked like, kid?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah, that's exactly how it looked like!"
Sniper frowned deep and held his breath. He wanted to call Scout a brat and leave it at that, but he didn't want bad blood between himself and the kid.
"Kid, look, just- let the man be. Bein' a Spy can't be easy", he ended up sighing.
"And I've got this hunch that he's not had it easy, 'is life I mean."
"There's as much as I'm able to let things slip, Sniper. If it happens that he's gonna end up hurting somebody-" Scout started.
"He is not", Sniper demanded.
He turned around in frustration, and suddenly he was shoved away. Scout reached to do nothing but scream when someone invisible grabbed him and held a knife to his throat. This invisible assailant let his cloak down, and-
"Mate", Sniper spoke softly, not looking at the gun pointed at him, but past it and at the BLU Spy, still cloaked as the RED Spy. Scout knew better than to speak now with a knife to his throat, so he settled with glaring at Sniper most disapprovingly. His eyes told him, 'what did I tell you.'
Sniper pulled down the scarf from his face and he pulled his kukri to side. The BLU Spy held his teammates under knife and at gun point, and he didn't seem to even hear Sniper.
"It's us", Sniper said.
"It's us."
Sniper lowered his kukri down. It wouldn't be the first, or even the fifth time, someone accidentally killed another in crossfire and sent their teammates to REspawn. But Sniper would hate to be the first to do it on purpose. And he was sure he'd be able to kill Spy before he reached to slice Scout's throat.
"Spy", Sniper said.
Spy snapped to reality and drew a shaky breath. He let his hold loosen around Scout, who then quickly manouvered himself away from Spy and behind Sniper.
Sniper laid his hand on Spy's arm holding the gun. As he lowered it gently and carefully, he also reached to take Spy's mask off. His camouflage dropped.
"What the hell, spook?!" Scout barked at him from behind the safety of Sniper's back.
"Can't you recognize your own teammates?"
Spy took a step back and mouthed words soundlessly. He looked suddenly very lost, alone. But that was gone in a matter of seconds, that vulnerability. The Spy wore his poker face, emotions all under lock and key behind his eyes.
"Spy, mate-" Sniper started and reached his hand towards him, but Spy turned himself invisible and disappeared quickly from the scene. Scout growled after him.
"That! That right there, Sniper, is our Spy losing his shit!" he muttered and stomped his foot, splashing the water. Sniper ignored him, but he couldn't ignore what was happening.
Was Spy too deep? What had he got himself into?
-
"I'm telling you, he could've killed us!" Scout loudly repeated in the coffee room later that night. The Engineer twins as well as the Pyro and the Medic were in the room at the moment.
"I think you're taking this a little too seriously, Scout", the younger Engineer twin, who they called 'Slinger', tried to calm him down. The older twin, who they called 'Wrench', helped to remove Sling's mechanical right arm.
"How could I NOT take it seriously! He held a knife on my throat, a gun at Sniper!"
"All am saying is that he's probably having a rough time! We all know how frustrating this war can be at times", Slinger tried.
"REspawn, back to the field. REspawn, back to the field. Sentry down, REspawn", Wrench mumbled and tilted his head from side to another.
Scout threw his hands.
"You are not getting it!" he growled at the Engineer twins, and at that moment Sniper stepped in the room.
"Sniper, dude, tell them!" Scout turned towards Sniper.
Sniper eyes him with a questionable look on his face.
"The kid here is sayin' all this stuff about our Spy turning coats", Wrench explained with a small chuckle. He walked past Scout and Sniper to take the gunslinger to the workshop for maintenance. Medic left the room with him, not interested to get involved with the conversation.
Sniper glared down at the Scout, very unsatisfied with his actions.
"Ye really should learn when to keep yer wise lil' mouth shut", he murmured at him, Scout scoffed and folded his arms on his chest.
Slinger stood up from the table and came over to Sniper and Scout.
"Sniper, it's okay. An' Scout, please, don't lose faith in him. We are all only human, and we make mistakes. Spy might just need some time, an' frankly, friends", Slinger spoke out and gestured with his stump.
"Bein' a Spy must be very lonely."
Sniper rolled the toothpick to the left corner of his lips and bit on it. He could've been a better teammate to the Spy, to be honest. A better friend.
"I've tried to get more acquainted with him, but he has a habit of pushin' people away. Maybe… He needs someone who is willin' to try harder than me."
Sniper hummed, he knew what the Engineer meant. Slinger gave a dreamy little smile and walked past them. He turned to look over his shoulder and added: "An' Scout? Please, try to refrain from talking about this when Soldier is around. You know how he can get."
Yes, indeed, the BLU Soldier could be a little… easily provoked. With that Engineer left the room. Sniper huffed and eyed Scout, who turned his back to him. Scout asked for Pyro to join him and they left, leaving only Sniper in the room. He understood where Scout was coming from, but Sniper wanted to believe in Spy.
--
"Spook. 'Ere you are."
"I wasn't exactly hiding."
Sniper approached Spy, who was outside in the cold night air. He was sitting on the back of one of their pickup trucks. Sniper joined him, without asking permission.
Spy offered him a cigarette, which the Sniper accepted. That was it. An apology, and forgiveness. Sniper was not going to interrogate him of what happened earlier. That kind of approach would only rip them apart, beyond repair. Right now Sniper wanted to be the friend he knew Spy needed. And hopefully wished for.
They sat silently for a long time, maybe even for an hour or something. Silence was fine for them both.
"I know what I did", said Spy suddenly.
"And I think I've narrowed down the reason why it happened."
Sniper didn't ask. He inhaled the last of the cigarette he had and flicked it to the ground to join the others.
"The RED Spy, and Sniper, have messed with my head", Spy explained. He examined the cigarette between his fingers.
"I didn't realize it… until I almost-"
Sniper smacked the back of Spy's head. Spy bit his lip.
"Let's not hear more o' that", Sniper said.
"You said they fucked with yer mind?"
"Oui", said Spy; "RED Spy never happened to the same place as me. But Sniper was always there. He started addressing me as the RED one, talking to me. I think their goal was to make me lose my mind."
"Well, mate, I'm glad ye figured it out", Sniper said and he stood up to stretch his limbs. He turned towards Spy and looked down at him.
"You should probably lay low for a while. Let us handle the fighting, just until yer feeling better."
Spy couldn't help a little smile. Sniper offered to pull him up, and Spy accepted it.
"Thank you, Sniper."
