More MafTWafT requests! This one is for @erikonil, who has finally worn me down on this.
Part 1
“I find that I rather like you.”
Engineer couldn’t recall how many nights those words had floated through his head these past few months. He’d just reconciled himself to confirmed bachelors status, when out of the blue - hell, right out of time and space - stepped a blue-eyed Mata Hari who managed to set just about every nerve he had right on edge.
Even now, with months since the attack of Gray Mann’s robotic army, he still had shivers running down his spine when he remembered the way her lips would curl whenever she uttered the words “mon petit chou.”
And now he had her back.
He just wished he actually knew what to do with her.
“You are still a little shy? How adorable.” Spy smiled as she ran gloved fingers over his short cropped hair. But it softened when she saw the blush rising in the man’s face.
“Just missed ya, that’s all.”
There hadn’t been much talking since the PPL Team had arrived back. Between unpacking and showers, loads of laundry, and stretching legs, this had been the first quiet time the two had found.
“What would you think about dinner tomorrow?” Engineer’s fingers wrapped loosely between hers as they gazed up at the stars overhead. “There’s a nice little place in town. Nothin’ too fancy, but the food’s good.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“How ‘bout a double date, then?”
“Two dates?” Spy looked mildly confused. “I would think one at a time should be sufficient.”
Engineer chuckled, and Spy couldn’t help but smile a the warmth in that sound.
“Naw, not two dates. Two couples. Makes things a little less serious. I mean, we ain’t ever really done something together that didn’t involve blowin’ up robots. Figured we should start slow.”
“Is that so?” Spy looked amused at the notion. “And who should we have join us, mon petit chou?”
“You want me to do what?” Del snorted as she leaned deeper into the engine PPL Team’s bus. There’d been a persistent knock in the last half hour of driving the other day that hadn’t sat well with her at all,
“I want you to accompany me to dinner with Engineer.” Spy sighed as she leaned against the side of the bus, cigarette in hand. “I did not think that I was at all unclear.”
“And why on earth do you want me to do that?”
“He is a bit shy, I think.”
“Ain’t ever known a Conagher man to be shy.” Del shook her head as she crawled out of the bus, setting down her wrench and looking for some other tool in the pile spread out across a nearby tarp. “You sure he ain’t just tryin’ to drop you a hint? And put that damn cigarette out before you get both of us burned to a crisp. You know we ain’t in the respawn system here!”
Spy’s look turned indignant, but she dropped the butt to the ground and rubbed it out.
“A hint? I should think not. Was it not you who told me to be careful with this? Anyway, I am following your advice, you should be glad. This may never happen again.”
Del finally found whatever tool it was she’s been looking for and slowly turned back to the bus. It was silly, she knew. They were both grown women, but damn if she didn’t feel a little bit of the green eyed monster whenever she thought about it.
“Look, it’s… You seem to really have a thing to him, and it’s just that I kinda feel like I’m losing you to... myself.” Del sighed. “I mean, we’re all we’ve got in this world, Yvette. This team is the closest thing to family I have left. And guess I’m just scared about losing my best friend.”
A pair of arms slowly circled around her waist, squeezing her lightly as Spy’s chin came to rest against her bandana, the only part of her not covered in grime. “Oh, mon ami, I know. And you are the dearest friend I could ever hope to have for that. To be loved so fiercely by you is one of the most wonderful gifts that I have ever received.”
“Hell, girl.” Del wiped her nose, smearing a fresh grease stain across her face as she felt dampness gathering at the corners of her eyes. “Gonna make me cry.”
“As if one more stain on your face could be noticed right now.” Spy placed a light kiss to her friend’s cheek. “But consider this, who better to court me than yourself? Surely you cannot say that I ever settle for less?”
Del grinned as she slumped over the greasy engine block. Just how in the hell was she supposed to say no to that?”
“Tarnation, Yvette. Fine. I’ll do it. But girl, you are gonna owe me!”
“Pardon? Would you say that again, Engineer? I must have misheard.” Spy didn’t bother looking up from the requisition forms spread over his desk. “I could have sworn that you just asked me to join you for dinner.”
Engineer crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes from behind the smoky lenses of his goggles. “I did. Yvette asked me if I could find someone to join us since she was going to ask Del to come along.”
Spy paused, his pen in mid-stroke.
“No offense to your family line, Engineer, but Mademoiselle Ingénieur is not quite my type.”
“And what in tarnation is that supposed to mean?”
Spy sighed and made a circular gesture with his fingers. “Not my type. Round.”
“Well, ain’t you a damn piece of work.” Engineer threw up his hand in exasperation. “Look, I ain’t askin’’ you gotta sleep with her! Yvette just wants a nice friendly dinner out, and Del’s gonna feel like a third wheel if just it’s the three of us.”
“Ask Sniper.”
“Sniper wouldn’t know a salad fork if it bit him in the ass.”
“Then try Miss Pauling and that delightful little scamp she’s taken up with.” Spy retorted. “Or perhaps Scout, since he seems to be moping around again.”
“Had my fill of mooning kids when I was in high school.”
“And I have work to do.”
It was like talking to a brick wall. But it wasn’t like a Conagher to just give up. He just had to find a better way. Suddenly, a thought came to him.
“Well, got a new toy you might be interested in trying out.” Engineer offered slowly. “A fancy little prototype watch that might be right up your alley. And all you gotta do is choke down a little sirloin.”
Spy’s finger tapped on his desk, and Engineer could see the gears turning in his head. He knew he had the rogue’s attention. The very idea that Engineer was working on something that wasn’t a gun, a sentry gun, or a gun that propelled rockets had to interest him.
“Fine.” Spy huffed. “But just this once, and I expect to see whatever this little contraption you are working on first thing in the morning.”
“Deal.” Engineer grinned. “We’re leavin’ tomorrow at six. I’d say dress nice, but you probably fall out of bed ready for black tie and tails.”
Spy rolled his eyes, and picked his pen back up. The official sign that the conversation was over. With that, Engineer turned and headed towards the door.
“One more thing.”
Engineer paused. “Yeah?”
“Did you say her name was Yevette?”
“Sure did. You know, on account some of us actually like gettin’ to know people. You really oughtta give it a try sometime.” A short laugh escaped the Texan as Spy gave him another look, and he quickly closed the office door behind him. As he made his way back to the workshop, Engineer almost found himself skipping down the hall. This day was looking pretty good.
Now all he had were reservations to make and a spy device to invent.
Yaaay! Thank you, @kitt-hawke, for giving me a request to play with my MafTWafT gals! So, I actually have two requests for these characters, so they’re going to get wrapped up into one fic.
If you’ve never read anything in the MafTWafT universe, here’s some background:
Men are from Teufort, Women are from Teufort - Links to the last chapter, which has all prior chapters linked
Video Chat Part 1 | Video Chat Part 2 - A short continuation on, dealing with Miss Pauling and Fem!Scout’s long distance relationship [NSFW]
The wheels of the bus hummed as they sped down the long, lonely stretch of New Mexico highway. Outside, the red desert seemed to go on for miles as it was punctuated by monolithic mesas and the occasional service station, diner, or homestead. Often the only sign of civilization was the road and the bus itself.
Scout leaned up against the window, trying to find something cool to ease the nausea that had settled in her stomach over the past few hours. The relentless desert sun shone down, and she felt a headache starting to come on. If she were smart, she’d make her way to the back and join the others. No doubt they were all relaxing back in the cool air of the bus’ living quarters, enjoying the ample legroom and reclining seats. But Sniper had asked for some company, and since just the casual request was enough to stop the entire group mid-chew at breakfast that morning, Scout had agreed. She’d feel like a heel if she left now, with only a few hours left in the last leg of a two week drive.
“So.”
Scout almost jumped at the word, looking over to the driver’s seat where Sniper sat. Amber glasses were focused out on the road ahead, and the grim expression that was always on her face unless there was a conscious decision to change it. After all that talk about company that morning, this was the first word that the markswoman had uttered all day.
“So?”
“That Miss Pauling, eh?” Sniper’s eyes didn’t leave the road, but there was an uptick at the corner of that normally drawn mouth.
“Oh, fuck off.” Scout growled as she slumped in her corner of the cab. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”
“It was funny.”
“Screw you.” Scout felt heat rising up in her cheeks, still sore about having been caught in flagrante delicto, as Spy so delicately put it, by Sniper five months ago.
“Believe it or not, I was young and stupid once. Never really took to blokes and sheilas too much, but I’ve got my share of corkers. If it’ll make ya feel better, remind me later and I’ll tell you the one about the wombat, a didgeridoo, and me mum’s knickers.” Sniper chuckled at the memory. There were a few minutes of silence as neither of the two women spoke as they stared out of their respective windows. “Are you looking forward to seeing her?”
“Yeah.” Scout drew her legs up underneath her as she turned herself to look at Sniper. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I worry about you, that’s all.” Sniper shrugged. “In person is always different. More than a pretty, ah, face on a screen.”
“We talked, too.” Scout squirmed a little in her seat, not particularly liking the direction this conversation was going. It felt a little too much like the one that Ma had with her about Timmy O’Kee back in junior high.
Sniper was quiet again, her jaw working as she seemed to be mulling something over. “Just… Just be careful, Roo. For the two of ya.”
A heavy silence settled in the cab as Scout realized that there had been nothing coincidental about Sniper’s request for company. Most people would look at the team and assume Engineer or Medic would be the maternal ones. They kinda looked like kindly aunts, or some other responsible relation. But it was Sniper, with her knowing eye and gruff demeanor who had always been the one to look after Scout. Like the scrappy beef jerky sister she never had.
They’d had a couple of talks like this before. Always awkward and stilted, but somehow better than any talk Scout had ever had with her ma, or any of the other mercenaries. Sometimes it was practical stuff, like how to take care of the monthly visitor when out in the wild, and sometimes it wasn’t, like how an early reliance on BONK! had nearly driven Sniper to seriously consider the murder of a teammate in the middle of a robot invasion as a viable option. But they were always honest, frank, and damn if Scout didn’t at least appreciate that.
“Well…” Scout ventured after a few more minutes of awkward silence, “At least neither of us has to worry about getting knocked up, or nuthin’. So there’s that.”
“Oh, you bloody little minx.” A laugh escaped Sniper for the first time that day. “Here.” She handed Scout the microphone for the bus’ radio. “We’ll be at Teufort in an hour. Let’s give them a heads up.”
Miss Pauling couldn’t remember the last time she’d stared in a mirror for so long. Sitting at the small vanity that took up an unfair amount of room in her small apartment, her fingers wound themselves in her hair as it hung loosely around her shoulders. For the first time in forever, she thought of trying something new. Maybe a sporty ponytail, or a cute braid.
She’d never wanted to look good quite so badly before. Look professional, sure. But for the first time in forever, she wanted to look good for someone.
The PPL Team would be returning to the base at Teufort today. Scout would be returning to Teufort today. After six months of chasing down the ghost of Gray Mann, they were finally returning back to debrief and resupply before starting the whole thing all over again. South America was a bust, next it was on to Africa. Even further away.
But so far it had seemed to work. After all, it wasn’t like she had more than one day off a year anyway. That really would put a damper on anyone’s dating life.
Suddenly, there was a crackle from her bedside table as a small walkie-talkie
“RED to Miss Pauling.”
Grabbing the radio, she pulled out the antenna. “Pauling here. Go ahead, Engie.”
“Got an ETA on the ladies. Should be here in about an hour.”
“An hour! So soon?”
“Recon so.” She could hear the smile in Engineer’s voice. “Bet they’ll be ready to kick off their boots, too. See you, ma’m.” There was a faint crackle, and then silence.
“Ooooooooooh, sugar cookies!” She slammed down the walkie-talkie and rushed back to her vanity. It would take her forty-five minutes just to get out to the base. Her fingers flying without even thinking, her hair quickly was spun up into its normal bun before the barest hints of makeup were applied. Throwing on her clothes (the same things she seemed to wear. Every. Damn. Day.), she rushed down the stairs to the parking lot, helmet in tow, and unlocked her moped in record time.
Settling herself on the moped’s seat, she forced herself to stop. “Okay, Pauling, you can do this. It’s Scout, remember. Scout who picks her nose when she doesn’t think I’m looking. Scout who probably hasn’t worn a dress since high school. Scout who thinks that fart jokes are hilarious. She’s just going to be happy to see you, and not care at all that you’re wearing the exact same thing that you wore the last time you saw each other in person, or that you’re going to have a case of helmet hair. Right.”
Taking a deep breath, she pulled her helmet on, and revved the small motor. There was the squeal of tires against asphalt as she peeled out onto the road. And found herself right behind an eighteen wheeler.
Helmet hair, desert heat, and exhaust fumes. Great.
Your girlfriend was supposed to like you no matter how you looked, right?
There was no sign of the PPL bus when Miss Pauling pulled into RED Team’s yard. Parking the moped near Spy’s Citroen DS, she looked around to find one of the mercenaries. Seeing no one, she let herself inside, passing the Intelligence Station as she continued on in. Soon a soft clanging reached her ears, the tell-tail sign that Engineer was about. Making her way towards the workshop, she heard the sounds of the radio playing some western tune and saw the familiar yellow hard hat bobbing along in time.
She leaned up against the door, watching as Engineer put the finishing touches on a new sentry. Shiny and pristine, it almost seemed a shame to think about its eventual fate on the battlefield. But if Engineer was of a similar opinion, it didn’t show. Instead, he seemed to be in a
Engineer glanced up at the clock before offering up an elbow. “Should be any time. Care to join me as part of the welcome wagon?”
Slipping her arm into Engineer’s, the two started on the short walk back to the yard. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been six months. Does it?”
“Does and it doesn’t.” Engineer replied, his drawl pulling out the words. “But I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t been looking forward to today.”
Miss Pauling glanced over at the man. She’d heard a few whispers from Spy in the days after the PPL team had left. Mostly relief in that there were only eight people on base, but there had been some hints about “fraternization” that she’d consciously ignored on account that she was living in a big glass house of her own.
“So, uh, you and Spy? PPL Spy, I mean.”
“We’ve been doin’ a little writing here and there.” Engineer nodded as they headed down to the yard. “Ain’t as fancy as that video doodad that you wrangled for Scout, but I guess I’m just a little old fashioned that way.”
“It’s cute.”
“Now hold on, missy. I ain’t so old that I’m relegated back to cute.” Engineer laughed as he held open the yard door. “I’ve got a few years of ‘dashing’, ‘handsome’, and ‘romantic’ left in me.”
“Are you looking forward to seeing her?”
Engineer just grinned and turned to look back at Miss Pauling. “I could ask the same of you.” The Texan’s grin only grew wider at the blush that crept onto the young woman’s face.
“Yeah. I am.”
As they waited on the field, a small speck could be see rounding the bend down the road. Miss Pauling stood up and held her hand to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun, smiling as she started to make out the shape of a bus coming on down the way. As she watched, Engineer made his way to the perimeter fence, opening the gates as the bus drew ever closer, and closing them as PPL Team’s bus at long last pulled into the yard. The bus’ brakes squealed and hissed as the massive vehicle came to a stop, and a minute later a door opened and a familiar freckled face hopped down from the cab.
Miss Pauling felt a small flutter in her chest, the same as when she’d seen Scout come back alive from their first fight with Gray Mann’s robots. Without waiting for Engineer, she quickly jogged over to the bus, coming to a halt a few feet away from Scout.
“Hey, Miss P…” Scout’s grin softening as her blue eyes flicked down shyly, as she seemed to become amazingly entranced by her own sneakers.
“Hey Scout.” Miss Pauling smiled back. “I missed you.”
So I got the itch to do a little more writing with my fem!merc team from my Men are from Teufort, Women are from Teufort universe. I’m going to be doing a little more filling out of the time before the fem!team came over to the guy’s dimension.
If you haven’t read my prior stories in this universe, you can find links to the complete MafTWafT series HERE.
Spy walked down the hall as she mulled over the information in her mind. Cigarette in hand, she paced the corridors like a caged animal. The soft padding of leather soles barely registered a sound as she made her way towards the workshop. Despite the late hour, there was little doubt in her mind that it would be occupied. The alarming increase in robot attacks as of late had all of them on edge. And when Del was on edge, she was almost certainly in the workshop.
Just as she had suspected, a light could be seen under the workshop’s heavy double doors. Inside was the steady beat of clanging of metal on metal that meant a good little toymaker was still at work. The doors opened smoothly, their hinges freshly oiled, and that meant that Engineer was making work for herself. As Spy stepped inside, she saw Engineer sitting cross-legged on the floor as she poked around inside the workings of her dispenser.
“It is late, mon ami.” Spy announced her presence as she made her way down the short set of stairs to the workshop floor. “I hope that all is well with the dispenser.”
Engineer looked up. There was grease on her nose where she had been absent mindedly rubbing it, and her curly blond hair was sticking out from underneath the bandana that normally kept it neatly under her hardhat.
“It’s fine. I’m just seein’ if there’s any way I can increase the output.” She closed up the front of the dispenser and fastened in the screws to secure it down. “I reckon if it’s down to this and the Medi-Gun, I oughta make sure it’s as good as it can get.”
Spy nodded. The first attack by the robots had been brutal. Overwhelming numbers of Scout-bots had surged across the bases of both RED and BLU as the mercenaries of both teams had struggled to hold their ground. Guns had blazed, explosions were everywhere, and it had been all that both teams could do to stay alive.
But none of them had seen the bombs until it was too late.
The massive explosions had ripped through 2Fort’s underground, decimating both structures and supplies. But what had been most costly to both teams was the utter destruction of the respawn system. Since then, BLU had lost their Scout and Spy was fairly certain that RED had lost a Soldier. There had been a noticeable reduction in the number of explosions from the far side of the twin bases as of late.
“Have you had any success?” Spy finally asked.
Engineer shrugged. “I think I got an extra thirty feet out of it, but it’s not gonna bring back anyone from the dead.”
“Small favors, I suppose.” Spy leaned up against the workbench as she blew small smoke rings into the air. “We will need all we can get.”
“You say that like you know something.” Engineer got up from the floor and started putting away her tools. There were no additional prompts for information. She knew better than to try and get information out of a spy that way.
Spy finally tossed her cigarette to the floor, rubbing it out with the toe of her shoe. “There has been some new information that I have come into possession of, yes.”
“Care to share?”
“I know who created these robots.”
Engineer paused for a moment, her hand hovering over her toolbox as she slowly turned her head. “And?”
“Someone called Gray Mann.”
“Mann. As in Redmond and Blutarch?”
“If my sources are to be believed, yes.”
“Well, tarnation.” Engineer almost whispered the words. “That means that this is personal, don’t it?”
“Oui. Brother versus brother versus brother. Only Messeurs Redmond and Blutarch haven’t seen fit to come together to defend what is theirs.”
“Well, that’s been the entire basis for this whole little Gravel War, right? Those two getting along as well as dogs and cats?” Engineer pulled off her bandana to run a hand through her hair. “Reckon those two wouldn’t know how to play nice with each other any more if their lives depended on it.”
“Which currently it very well may.” Spy’s voice carried a nervous edge. “In fact, all of our lives may.”
“Where are they all coming from?!” The Demoman shouted to be heard over the volley of rockets sent forth from the oncoming Solider-bots.
“Don’t know, don’t care!” Engineer yelled back as she tossed forward a mini-sentry before ducking back behind cover. “Just get those sticky bombs lau-”
She didn’t even have time to get the words out before Engineer found herself being thrown through the air and into the concrete foundation of 2Fort’s main building. The explosion rang in her ears, leaving her with only a high pitched whine as dust and debris showered down around her. As her hearing slowly came back, she heard the whistle of incoming mortars and she scrambled to get away. Explosions erupted all around her as the world turned upside down, and everything went black.
Engineer couldn’t recall how much time she spent in the darkness. It could have been only a few seconds, or a few hours. It was deathly silent and as she raised up her head, she felt her hard hat smack a slab of concrete that had fallen on top of her. She felt her breathing start to quicken, and had to grit her teeth and slowly count to bring it back under control.
“Demo!” Her voice called out into the darkness and she strained to listen, trying to hear anything that would tell her the fate of her teammate. She got her answer a few seconds later when she felt something drip onto her helmet. Reaching up, she felt something warm and wet. There was the tang of iron in its smell that could only mean blood.
Outside she could hear distinctly human voices shouting, and rubble being hastily pulled away. A moment later, a small shaft of light broke into her concrete coffin as Soldier’s face came into view.
“John!” Engineer couldn’t help but smile.
“I have a survivor!” Soldier yelled back over her shoulder, and soon she was joined by Pyro and Medic as the three mercenaries frantically worked to dig Engineer out.
“Demo, what about Demo?”
Soldier and Pyro paused in their digging. A sad noise escaped from Pyro’s respirator and told Engineer all she needed to know.
“Can you move everything?” Medic’s voice suddenly cut through her thoughts and bringing her back to the present.
Engineer quickly ran through all of her limbs. All fingers and toes present and accounted for, and able to wiggle. “Yeah, I think everything is in one piece, but...” she tried to crawl out from the rubble, “my arm is stuck.” She gave her arm a tug, but it was no use. The concrete slab that had come down around her had her hand pinned to the ground. She twisted it left and right, but there was something under it that wasn’t letting her pull free.
Soldier and Pyro continued to pull away debris and then threw their shoulders into the slab as Engineer desperately tried to pull herself free.
“Oi!” Sniper’s voice came from somewhere high in the battlements. “There’s another wave of those metal mongrels coming!”
Engineer clamped down on the panic that was welling up within her. If there was more time, she could come up with something, but time was something they were sorely lacking. In a flashe, she made up her mind. “Doc, cut it off!”
“What?” The doctor stopped short as he fumbled for his Medi-Gun.
“I didn’t mumble!” Engineer yelled as she gave her arm another pull and wincing as the concrete dug into her skin. “Cut. Off. My. Hand!”
Medic looked repulsed. “I certainly will not! There has to be a way to get you out of there!”
“We ain’t got time for this!” Engineer growled “Those damn robots are gonna be here any minute! Pyro! You got yer ax?”
Pyro nodded their head and pulled out their fire ax. The blade was coated in a sheen of oil, the edge dulled from being buried deep within the backs of robots.
“Are you mad?” Medic shoved himself in between the two mercenaries. “You can’t simply have them put a fire ax through your bone.”
“Docteur.” Spy stepped forward, shimmering into existence as her cloak timed out. “The Engineer is right. Heavy was the only one who could have hoped to move that slab off of her, and he is dead.” Medic’s face drained of color at her words. She couldn’t blame him. The giant man had been the favored to survive their current tour in the gruesome little betting pool she knew was being held behind her back.
“The only options left are to either cut off her hand, or leave her to the robots.” Spy carefully picked her way across the debris that was scattered all around. Kneeling down next to Engineer, she wrapped one arm around the trapped woman and held Del’s hand in her own. “If she says to cut of her hand, you will cut it off.”
“Fine.” Medic’s face saying that it was anything but. He pulled out his bonesaw, placing its jagged teeth onto scraped and scratched skin as he knelt down next to Engineer. He looked her straight in the eyes as his fingers adjusted their grip. “This is going to hurt. A lot.”
Engineer looked him dead in the eyes. “Do it.”
Spy would remember the sound of those choked back screams for years.
Spy looked out the window to see a blissful lack of fires on the horizon. The military had arrived in time today, allowing the mercenaries a chance to pull back and regroup. They had been lucky.
She did not like to rely on luck.
They had lost good men today. Heavy and Demo had been valuable assets, and BLU was left weaker for their absence. Given the panic surrounding the robot invasion, she was not hopeful of the Administrator sending replacements anytime soon. Perhaps when they had still had the respawn system, but not now. Being hired by either of the Mann Brothers had become synonymous with suicide.
Outside she saw the outline of Soldier as she patrolled the grounds. Her rocket launcher was planted firmly on her shoulder as she gazed out across the bridge towards the RED base. Spy could guess who was on her mind. Lights flickered in a few of the opposing base’s windows, and she wondered if they had taken as many casualties today as they had.
Then there was the matter of Engineer. Not dead, but severely injured. Medic had been able to clean up the battlefield amputation, but there had been no way to retrieve, much less reattach the severed hand. Spy let out a sigh as she reached for the phone that gave her a direct line to the Administrator. At the very least, she could spare her friend the growing inevitability of death by killer robot.
“I have spoken with the Administrator.” Spy leaned against the doorway as she lit a cigarette, tucking her lighter into her breast pocket before stepping down the stairs. “Builder’s League United is prepared to offer you a small stipend as compensation for the loss-”
“I ain’t quitting.”
“I realize that under most circumstances, resigning mid-contract would result in penalty, but-”
Engineer spun around on her stool. “Thought you knew English. I said I ain’t quitting.”
“You have lost a hand, Engineer.”
The Texan crossed her good arm and a blood soaked bandaged one across her chest as she glared back at Spy. “And?”
Spy brought a hand up to her her forehead. “Engineer… Del… Mon ami, please.”
“Don’t you ‘mon ami’ me.” Engineer frowned. “You think I’m a loss now? I loose one hand and I ain’t no use to the company?”
“I do not want to see you hurt any more than you already are!” Spy almost growled in frustration. “Two men died today, Del. Two men in the best form of their lives. You’ve lost your hand, your right hand! You can barely shoot a pistol, much less carry a sentry. I cannot allow you put yourself in further danger because of your pride!”
Engineer glared back at her, and Spy could see her jaw tighten. The words were not ones that Engineer wanted to hear, but they were the ones that needed to be said. It was a battle of wills, but eventually Engineer broke her gaze and turned back to whatever it was that she had been working on when Spy had arrived.
“Lemmie show you this.” Engineer waved Spy over to the bench.
Spy looked down to see an odd contraption sitting on the bench. Dusty and covered in oil, it appeared to be a mechanical reproduction of a human hand. Wires stuck out every which way, some old and some new. The machining of the fingers was surprisingly elegant, their edges smoothed and fully articulated. At the base was a band that had clearly been designed to close around an arm. It looked newer than the rest of the assembly. Del had been busy.
“My granddaddy designed this.”
“Radigan Conagher?” Spy reached out and ran her warm finger along the cool metal one.
“That’s right. Called it the Gunslinger.” Engineer nodded. “He even tested it out. Daddy said that one day he just got bored after figuring out how to keep the Mann Brothers alive and built it for himself. He had this in place of his own hand almost as long as I can remember.”
Spy suppressed a shudder at the implication. “Dare I ask why you have it?”
“Granddaddy didn’t like the idea of perfectly good technology going to waste just because it was attached to him when he died.” Engineer carefully picked up the metal hand in her own remaining one. “I’ll have to adjust the wrist size a bit, but Granddaddy had pretty dainty hands for a fella.”
“Are you saying you plan on using that?” Spy’s jaw dropped.
“Of course!” Engineer set the Gunslinger back down on the table and took Spy’s hand in her own. “I ain’t gonna abandon you and the others. You all need me here. Ain’t no one else who’s gonna be able to keep these machines up and running well enough to keep you all alive.”
“You have a chance to get out of this, Del.” Spy’s words had lost all bite. Now they just carried the weight of the inevitable despair of their situation that no one wanted to voice. “Go home to Bee Cave. Find a good man to tend to little children while you tinker on the next great invention.”
“Ain’t gonna be nothing to invent for if Gray and his robots blow this whole world to Kingdom Come.” Engineer leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Spy. “Conagher’s are stubborn as mules when we wanna be, Yvette. I ain’t leaving. I’m here for the long haul.”
Spy held Engineer close. If anyone would have told her two years ago that she would be so attached to the plum little Texan, Spy would have laughed. They were too different, nothing in common other than the color of their uniform. But today had been too close. In one fell swoop, Spy realized just how much she had come to rely on Engineer’s gentle humor, her homey common sense, and her smile. There had never been such a friend in Spy’s life before, and it terrified her just how close she had come to losing her.
Engineer let out a little sniffle as she finally pulled away. “Well, I do have one favor to ask.”
“Anything, mon ami.”
Engineer looked a little sheepish as she ran her hand through her mop of curls. “I’m gonna need you to help convince Medic to help attach this thing. Got the feelin’ today that he ain’t too happy with me.”
A smile teased at the edge of Spy’s lips as she shook her head. “Of course. I shall speak to the good doctor first thing in the morning.”
Medic couldn’t quite remember how long she lay there, Heavy’s arm wrapped loosely around her waist. Her own arms tightened around the pillow that had somehow found its way over to the side of the bed as her head had somehow become tucked against Heavy’s chest. It was so comfortable just lying there and feeling the rhythmic beat of the massive heart she knew so intimately.
They had talked, she and Heavy, and Medic knew about Heavy’s family. How she helped to care for three little sisters. Sleeping like this meant nothing, the arm only a way to save space in a bed not meant for a woman of Heavy’s stature.
Behind her, Heavy shifted in her sleep and Medic felt those large fingers press in against her stomach before relaxing back into their loose hold. Medic swallowed, wanting to enjoy the touch but thirty years of hard earned experience kept her body tense. It was one thing to indulge with a pretty face when she could simply disappear the next morning; another thing altogether when she was bound by a five year contract that the Administrator would enforce with extreme prejudice.
She would simply… be.
The alarm would go off shortly, marking the start to their day. And then she would put this momentary lapse behind her.
That had been the plan, but her traitorous mind had other ideas.
Over the next few days she found her thoughts drifting to that morning, remembering the comforting feel of that large body behind hers, the gentle breath that had ghosted against her neck and the faint smell of gunpowder and lavender that was unique to Heavy. Her eyes tracked every moment that Heavy made, and her previously clinical appreciation for the woman’s physique took on an almost thrilling edge as she observed the musculature under the softness when they were on the field.
The situation would have been bearable had it ended there. Medic was used to physical attraction; she was in command of her own body and those urges could be tended to in private. The problem was that smile. That laugh. Heavy’s habit of greeting her with a hug that spoke of genuine affection but didn’t quite go far enough. The way the Russian would nod as Medic rambled on about one hypothesis or another even though she had no idea what the doctor was going on about.
Medic found herself doing the one thing she had promised herself that she would never do again.
Falling in love.
The white coat was slowly turning red.
“Sasha, stay with me.”
Heavy’s eyes momentarily focused at the sound of her name. A large hand came up to cover Medic’s as she pressed the coat to the wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. Her head scanned the field, watching as specks of blue started to dot the perimeter.
“BLU is coming, Doktor.” Medic had to lean in the hear the words. “Go.”
Medic looked over her shoulder and saw the flash of a scope in the window above them. BLU was preparing to take the point. Either no one had noticed or they just didn’t care that their Demoman’s body was still lying in a pool of blood just off to the side. And any moment they would start their assault.
Killing the two REDs would be a simple matter of routine.
Medic turned back to Heavy as the radio at her waist crackled.
“Medic!” Engineer’s voice popped as it came through. “You there? Respawn is down!”
“I know that!” Medic barked into the receiver. “Heavy is injured. I need someone here to help me get her back to base.”
Silence. For a moment she wondered if the signal had been completely lost, but another voice came across the channel.
“Is it bad?” There was no mistaking the brogue.
“She’s bleeding out quickly!”
“I’ll be there a soon as I can. Out.”
“Doktor.” Heavy’s voice came again, a little stronger but still weak. “You cannot fight them. Go before we both die.”
Medic took one hand from the coat and gently cupped Heavy’s cheek. The woman’s face was pale from blood loss, but her eyes still held life. Medi-Gun or no, if she could just get her back to the infirmary, she could save her.
This would not be how it ended. Not for her Heavy.
“I am not leaving you here.” Medic’s voice was firm. “I will not have you die like this.” She pulled the syringe gun free from it’s holster on the defunct Medi-Gun and turned towards the point. Brushing her hand against the grip of her bonesaw, she took a breath to steady her nerves.
Let BLU come.
“Alrighty! Got a sucker waitin’ for a fight!” Medic swung around as a BLU Scout dashed into view. “I ain’t even gonna need a gun for this one.”
He grinned at her as he pulled his bat around, running at full speed. Medic tried to lead her shots as he dodged left then right in an erratic pattern, each syringe missing by inches.
“Gonna have to do better than that, Helga!” The Scout laughed as he bodychecked Medic, knocking her to the ground as he swung the bat down and sending the syringe gun sliding. She just had time to roll as the bat slammed down next to her head, ringing as it hit the metal plate of the control point.
“The respawn system is down, you little Dummkopf!” Medic grabbed at the bat, missing as Scout jumped back with a laugh.
“Nice try, RED. I ain’t fallin’ for that psychological warfare crap.” The bat tapped the ground as Medic growled and scrambled to her feet. Scout had positioned himself between her and her weapon. “So, what I’m gonna do is first kill you, then kill your girlfriend over there, and then I’m gonna take this point.”
Medic’s hand drifted down to her bonesaw. “You are welcome to try.”
“Feisty, aren’t ya, grandma?”
“Why don’t you come here and I’ll show you just how much life I have?” She released the catch and felt the full heft of the tool in her hand. “Or is your plan to talk me to death?”
A crude smirk crossed the Scout’s face and he lunged forward, swinging the bat down over his head. This time Medic was ready for the assault and cut to the side as she balled her free hand into a fist and rammed it into the Scout’s gut. She felt the hair rush out of this body with an “oof” as he folded over her fist. As he gasped for breath, she brought her other hand around and pressed the jagged teeth against his bowed neck before hooking her foot between his legs. They both tumbled down, Medic landing on top of the BLU. She knocked off his cap and wrapped her fingers into his hair as she shoved her knee between his shoulder blades. Jerking his head back, she kept the bonesaw pressed against his neck.
Then she pulled.
The gasp of air turned into a gurgle as his hands scratched desperately at the ground. For a moment Medic considered another cut, but decided against it.
She wanted them to see.
Slowly, the movement ceased under her. She scanned the point, waiting to see who would come next.
By the time Demo turned the corner, two more scouts lay at the doctor’s feet.
When they finally got Heavy back to the base, Engineer was already in there setting up a temporary work around to get the infirmary Medi-Gun back online. Medic made a mental note to make his next physical as painless as possible as Demo helped her to get Heavy up on the operating table as she held the now soaked coat against the wound. As soon as Medic heard the hum of the Medi-Gun kick in, she focused the warm beam onto Heavy.
Surgery was normally something that she enjoyed. Operating on Heavy was one of her regular pastimes. But this, watching the woman’s vital signs barely register on her monitor, made her wonder if she could ever bring herself to do that again. What would normally be healed in seconds was painfully slow as the Medi-Gun worked to simply keep Heavy alive. The work around was getting power to it, but at a fraction of what was supplied through her field pack.
Demo hung back, watching the doctor as she carefully removed the shrapnel piece by piece. The pan next to the table pinged with each scrap that was dropped in. There were so many Medic swore that Heavy must have taken an entire grenade to the chest.
With the final fragment deposited, Medic let out a sigh and slumped over her patient. She no longer heard the sounds of the other mercenaries behind her. With the shrapnel removed, the Medi-Gun’s healing beam slowly started to seal the wounds.
She deposited the pan of metal in the trash and grabbed a fresh one at the sink. Filling it with warm water, she grabbed a rag and sat herself back down next to Heavy. She untied the kerchief that Heavy always used to pull back her hair and set it to the side as she carefully started to wipe away the blood and dirt.
By the time she was done, the water was tinged a dirty red. Getting off her stool, she switched off the Medi-Gun and ran her fingers across the bare skin where the wound had been. Even with the machine at half power, it had done its job remarkably well. The area was smooth and scar free, with the skin a healthy pink.
“Inge…”
Her name almost sounded like a moan as the breath passed Heavy’s lips.
“Pscht.” Medic gently lay a hand on Heavy’s forehead as the other woman’s eyes fluttered open. “We’re at base. You’re safe.”
Heavy slowly blinked and looked around the room as if to verify that what Medic was saying was true.
“You are not hurt?”
The edge of Medic’s mouth lifted slightly. Of course her Heavy would be more concerned with that then the fact that she had been on death’s door.
“I am fine.”
“Why did you not go?” Heavy’s voice almost sounded pained. “If you had been killed…”
Medic looked down at Heavy as she let her hand fall back from her forehead to gently stroke the dark hair that was normally obscured under the kerchief. “Then we would both be dead. Sasha, I could not leave you like that.”
The feeling of cool skin under her hands was burned into her memory. She had touched cadavers before, but having Heavy in that odd middle ground between life and death haunted her.
Heavy’s face was troubled. “Is not right for you to protect me.”
“Nonsense.” Medic lightly chided as she lay her hand along Heavy’s cheek. “I would die to protect you.”
Her voice hitched as she said the words, and from the look in Heavy’s eyes, Medic knew that she had stepped over a line that she had been skirting for the past two weeks. She couldn’t take back the words and wouldn’t even if she were able.
“Doktor?”
The title felt odd to her ears. Medic closed her eyes and sighed. This was it. This was why she didn’t allow herself to indulge in anything other than professional courtesies. “I’ll go prepare a recovery area.”
Leaving Heavy on the table, Medic walked briskly over to the gurneys that were in the infirmary as a formality. She shook her head as she looked them over. None of them were suitable for Heavy. That meant that her bed would need to be used instead.
She quickly changed the sheets and walked back to the operating table where Heavy had managed to sit up. “Lean on me.” Medic made her voice as professional as she could. They slowly made their way over to the bed, Heavy obviously bearing most of her own weight before dropping onto the bed. Medic helped her lay down and pulled the blankets up.
She started to pull away when she felt a large hand cover hers, fingers wrapping around her own.
“Doktor.”
Heavy tugged Medic back towards her before pulling her down next to her on the bed and into arms that still held amazing strength despite her ordeal.
“My Doktor.”
Medic felt the words whispered against her neck.
“You would die for me?”
“J-ja.” Medic felt those arms constrict around her, and she twisted around to see blue eyes looking at her with a heat that she hadn’t seen before.
This time it was Heavy’s hand that came up to brush Medic’s cheek, her calloused fingers feeling amazingly real and alive with the warmth of blood just below the surface. A thick thumb lightly traced her lip for a moment as Heavy seemed to be considering something. Then, just before Medic could start to move, Heavy leaned over and pressed her lips to Medic’s.
“My Doktor. My Inge. Moya lisichka.” Heavy whispered again, punctuating each word with a kiss to her lips, to her neck, to her cheek until Medic finally regained the ability to think.
A quick two-part story about how Heavy and Medic got together. Elaborates on the conversation between Medic, Heavy and Scout in Chapter 14 of maftwaft.
Medic loaded her syringe gun, the canister fastening with a click before she attached it to the side of the Medi-Gun. Her fingers drummed the top of the pack as she closed her eyes and took a breath. The mission briefing would be starting in fifteen minutes and she needed to have this out of her head by then.
This silly infatuation.
Hoisting the Medi-Gun onto her back, she made a final check of the bonesaw on the belt and turned off the infirmary lights as she left. She walked swiftly down the halls to make it to the briefing on time; goodness knows she didn’t want to have to endure another lecture by Soldier about the importance of pre-battle tactics planning that would inevitably segue into some inane diatribe about Sun Tzu and George Washington liberating America from the dinosaurs.
Her shoulders tensed as she heard the distinctive ponderous footsteps behind her.
“Doktor!”
“Good morning, Heavy.” Medic did her best to keep the response cool and professional despite her heart seemingly wanting to escape her chest cavity.
Heavy gave her a warm smile as she hoisted her custom minigun, Misha, up onto her shoulder. “Is good day for fighting, yes?”
“I’m sure it will be an invigorating experience, as always.” Medic’s answered, her tone short.
Heavy looked down, smile changing into a look of concern. “Is Doktor okay?”
“I am fine.”
The minigun shifted above her and Medic could imagine the expression on the other woman’s face. With a noncommittal grunt, Heavy turned forward and the two walked the rest of the way to the briefing room in silence.
During the briefing, Medic kept her eyes fixed on the map that Spy had laid out on the table, but let Soldier’s rantings fade into the background. She had other things on her mind. Mainly the fact that they were in an undesirable defensive position, which meant that Heavy would be positioned at the second point to prevent BLU from advancing if they took the first point. With Engineer holding the central point in the base, that meant that Medic would be directed to the line with Heavy.
Which brought Medic back to the problem she’d been trying to avoid for the past week.
As Spy tried to bring Soldier back to his point at the front of the room, Medic finally let her eyes drift over to where Heavy sat with the other Defensive Squad. The woman sat, her face the picture of concentration as she looked at the map. Likely as not, she was ignoring Soldier as much as she was, but taking the time to memorize the map and find the choke points where she knew that she would be most effective. As Medic watched, Heavy brought a hand up to her chin and brushed a finger against her lips as she planned tactics in her head that Medic would obediently follow.
Without thinking, Medic’s own hand came up, tracing her own mouth as she wondered how Heavy’s hands would feel against her skin. Catching herself, her hand jerked back, earning a sidelong glance from the Sniper beside her.
Medic couldn’t pinpoint when it had happened. She and Heavy had been friends since they had both arrived at RED. Before the arrival of Demo and Scout, they had been the only women attached to the base, so they had found themselves pushed into each other’s company for the sake of any real interaction during off hours. It had been an easy friendship despite their differences. Heavy told her about the family that she’d left behind in Russia, and Medic had shared the story of how she found that a human being could live without a skeleton at the expense of her medical license.
After that, they found that they worked well together. Being smaller but quicker than most Heavies, the two had become a force to be reckoned with on the field. All the pain of a Heavy, but with mobility almost on par with a Soldier.
Life had been good, especially when Heavy proved to be more than willing to allow Medic to indulge her more “experimental” scientific whims.
And that was when the problem started.
Medic had been considering new upgrades to the Über implants and was trying a new configuration on the MegaBaboon heart that she’d implanted in the other woman. The surgery had gone longer than expected when Medic had found that she was short on her insulated wiring and had to go and cajole some from Engineer. By the time she’d closed Heavy back up, it was well past midnight and the poor woman was dead on her feet. Rather than sending her across the base to the bunkhouse, Medic had offered to share her bed.
It had been a cosy fit. The bed was a double - a luxury purchased with the first deposit into her account - and Medic was used to sprawling. Having the larger woman under the covers with her had pushed them into close contact, and when Heavy’s leg brushed up against hers, Medic got the first inkling that this may have been a bad idea.
The next morning she slowly became aware of a comfortable weight across her waist. Her hand reached down and found the softly muscled arm of Heavy wrapped around her. Twisting in the grip, Medic looked at the sleeping face of her friend.
Neither of them had ever considered themselves ‘pretty.’ Medic knew her own face was full of severe angles, and Heavy would be generally referred to as a handsome woman. But in the gentle morning light that was filtering in through the window, there was a softness to Heavy’s face that Medic had not noticed before that moment. Heavy was a woman who had the weight of the world on her shoulders and in that very moment, it was gone. All there was now was peace.
And Medic was struck by how beautiful she was.
Heavy pulled Medic down next to her behind a low stone wall. BLU had made a hard press early in the fight, pushing RED back to their second control point a hail of gunfire from their own Heavy and a sentry gun that seemed to be moving locations just as fast as their Engineer could move.
“Where are the others?” Medic had to yell to be heard as a rocket from the BLU Soldier exploded far too close behind them for comfort. “The point is completely unguarded!”
Heavy peaked around the wall, quickly pulling back as she saw glowing blue grenades arcing towards them. “Is no one there.” She growled as she pulled her feet back under her to relever Misha on to her hip. “We need to be on the point.”
After the smoke from the grenades cleared, Heavy let out a roar and barreled around the wall more quickly than the BLU Heavy could ever hope to move. The whirr of the minigun kicked up and Medic scrambled after her, throwing the lever on her Medi-gun.
Heavy rushed up the ramp and let loose with Misha, bullets cutting through the Demoman before he had an opportunity to draw the broadsword he had strapped to his back. As the man fell to the ground, Heavy spun her gun, tracking the Soldier who had sent the earlier rocket their way. “Come knock me off, BLU babies!”
Medic heard a ping from her pack letting her know that an ÜberCharge was ready. Looking up, she saw the Soldier positioning herself behind another stack of crates with the Engineer up in the battlements who was setting up another sentry. “I am fully charged!”
The giantess feet planted themselves on the point, a signal that she was ready for the ÜberCharge.
And then the world shifted under them.
The ground under their feet rumbled, sending all sides to the ground as crates fell around them. “An earthquake?” Medic looked up in time to see clouds of black smoke rising from both RED and BLU bases.
“Let’s go, ladies!” Soldier called as she pulled her rocket launcher over her shoulder. “We have a point to capture!”
There was a bright flare as the rockets burst into life.
“Doktor, ÜberCharge now!”
Medic threw the switch.
Nothing happened.
“Vas?” Medic reached back and hit the switch again. Still nothing. Quickly pressing the lever on the Medi-Gun, Medic’s heart dropped as nothing came out of the front nozzle.
“Doktor!?”
“Heavy, get down!”
The rockets slammed into the control point, sending both mercenaries flying. As the smoke started to clear, Medic looked up to try and find her friend.
“Inge…”
Medic scrambled on hands and knees towards the pile of shattered crates and rock where she had heard her name. “Heavy… Sasha, where are you?”
“Here.”
Medic saw the large hand and tried to move the rubble out of the way, bullets from the sentry flying over hear head. She fought down a rising wave of panic as she saw a trickle of blood.
“Are you alright?” She pushed a board away and answered her own question as she saw the shard of shrapnel lodged in Heavy’s side.
Heavy looked up at her, eyes unfocused. “Doktor… What happened?”
Medic shook her head. “I-I don’t know, Heavy. The Medi-Gun when dead and…”
A spot of blue caught her eye.
It was the Demoman. His body was still there.
“Mein Gott.” Medic turned back to Heavy as she shucked the pack from her shoulders. She quickly pulled off her coat and folded it over itself before pressing it against the wound. “Heavy. Respawn is down.”
Medic carefully packed the small doll away at the back of the small wooden crate. Once her hand pulled away, Aemilia trotted in as her little head bobbed and poked at the lining on the bottom of her temporary home. After a few minutes of exploring, the dove cooed happily as she settled down next to the pocket Heavy.
“//And you’re sure that you don’t mind?//”
“//Not at all.//” Medic turned away from the dovecote with a sulking Archimedes in his hands. “//I do have the real thing after all.//”
“//Has he figured out that nickname yet?//”
“//It’s not so much that he understands what I’m saying, but rather the tone in which it’s being said.//” Medic almost giggled.
“Doktor, you are making me nervous.”
They turned to the front of the infirmary where the Heavies stood, waiting for the doctors to finish packing. Both wore expressions of concern on their faces.
Medic closed the crate’s door, taking care not to jostle the little Jocobin inside. “Will your little one be alright? The poor thing is pouting.”
Archimedes gave a disgruntled squawk and flapped off to the rafters as the doctors watched. “A little heartache is all. He will be fine.” Medic looked up at the bird. “You’re being overly dramatic, Archimedes! It is very unbecoming!” Shaking his head, he picked up the other doctor’s Medi-Pack and set it down by Misha, which had been crated for transport.
“Doktors are finished?” Heavy asked as Medic put a few last things in order.
“You know,” Medic paused as he closed the dovecote, “I am actually going to miss this.” He turned to look at his counterpart, who had joined her Heavy near the door. “It has been nice having people who… are sympathetic.”
“When your world is coming to an end, it puts things in perspective.” Medic answered as she gave Heavy’s hand a squeeze. “You realize what is important and how little everything else really matters.”
“I would die for Doktor, for my Inge. And you would for yours.” Heavy looked at the men. “Your team, they understand, I think.”
“Purple? You have GOT to be kidding me.”
Spy rolled her eyes as she shoved the shirt into Scout’s hands as Scout shoved it right back.
“I am not wearin’ this!”
“And what is wrong with the color?”
“Like I said, it’s purple.” Scout crossed her arms and glared at Spy. “It’s all… girly.”
“It is also the color that has been designated to our team by the Administrator.” Spy tossed the garment at Scout. “And I should mention that it was Miss Pauling who made the final selections.”
Scout’s shoulders slumped as she caught the shirt. “Seriously? You’re gonna pull that on me? I’m not even 100% sure we’re actually dating yet!” Still, she pulled off her old RED shirt and pulled on the new uniform.
At least it was dark purple.
Spy shook her head as she left the room. Miss Pauling; the poor woman really had no idea what she was getting herself into.
With a quick flick of her lighter, Spy lit a cigarette. There were only a few left in the pack and she wondered if she had time to test the security of RED Spy’s smoking room to replenish her stock on the way out.
She decided not to tempt fate. Leaving the man on good terms would be for the best.
Walking down the halls, she went over her mental checklist one final time. So far she had distributed the new uniforms for their cover as Pacific Petroleum Laboratories - PPL, and taken delivery of the two vehicles that they would use as a temporary base once they had a lead on Gray. The contracts had been handed out and signed, with Miss Pauling promising the initial payments to be made on the first of the month.
And that was it, there was nothing left to do.
Spy always felt a little out of sorts when there was no immediate task but still time left in the day, and eventually her feet took her to the workshop. She leaned up against the door frame, watching the two Engineers hunched over the piles of robot parts that they had spent all day hauling back from the field.
They were like children at Smissmas, opening up the metal wrapping and pulling out the industrial secrets from inside. Every so often one would grab the attention of the other to point out a particularly interesting widget and hard hats would come together as they muddled out its purpose. It was adorable, really.
“Still playing with your toys?”
She smiled as both Engineers jumped.
“Tarnation, girl! You’ll give me a heart attack one of these days.” Engineer pulled a rag out of her back pocket as she cleaned off her hand. “What’s got you skulking around?”
“A lack of anything interesting.” Spy walked down the stairs and over to the tarp where the remains of what looked to be a Demo-bot were being carefully sorted. “Although that would appear to be the case here as well.”
“Some people just don’t have any appreciation for good engineering.”
“Not when it tries to kill me.” Spy looked down at Engineer and sighed. “Del, already?”
Engineer blushed as she shoved the rag back in her pocket. “It’s the whole purpose of a uniform, ain’t it?”
“But really, not even a day?”
“Fine, fine! I’ll get it clean.” Engineer threw up her hands and headed towards the door. “But don’t you go rootin’ around in that Medic-bot until I get back!”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Engineer chuckled as he got up off his knees.
Spy watched him as he puttered around the workshop, noting the slight stiffness in his posture as he worked, and the hint of red that crept up his neck as he realized what she was doing.
“So, ah, I don’t think I ever gave you a proper thank you for savin’ my skin the other day.”
Spy waved her cigarette. “It was nothing. You would have done the same, no?”
“Sure, sure.” He answered quickly, picking up a few of the tools that had been strewn across the floor.
A silence fell over the workshop as a million thoughts ran though Spy’s mind. Logistics, liabilities, realities of their world. And then she dropped the cigarette on the concrete floor and rubbed it out with her shoe.
“Engineer.”
He stood up when he heard his name, and turned around to face her. “Yeah?”
Spy took a few steps forward, standing close enough that Engineer almost had to look up at her. “I find that I rather like you.” She reached out and barely touched the tips of her fingers to his cheek. She smiled as he sucked in a breath, gently slipping her fingers under his chin and tilting his head up so that she could see his eyes through his goggles.
They were blue, she recalled.
Leaning in, she lightly pressed her lips to his. His body stiffened in surprise, but as Spy started to pull away, his hand cupped the back of her head and pulled her back. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. As much as the man was teased for his height, he was still strongly built and oh, so wonderfully warm.
Spy felt heat in her cheeks as they parted, Engineer’s hand slowly slipping from the back of her mask. Her eyes fluttered open to see a shy smile across the Texan’s face.
“You ain’t too bad yourself, Spook.”
Miss Pauling settled down next to Scout on the mattress as the other woman looked at the box that had been dropped in her lap.
“Go ahead, open it.”
Scout lifted the lid and looked inside. Reaching in, she pulled out a smaller box, about six inches square, with a screen covering most of one of the sides. On the top was a small antenna that reminded Scout of the Wrangler that Engineer had been working on.
“This some of that high-speed tech you were talking about.”
Miss Pauling nodded, a smile crossing her face. “Started out as a Mann Co. vehicle comm, but a few modifications and it’s portable. Australium battery, so it’ll last for years and I think if you adjust the knob a little you can actually get some over the air TV on it if you catch the signal just right.”
“And it won’t explode on me?”
“I said it started life as a Mann Co. product. I think I’ve made enough modifications that it should be fairly stable.” She leaned up against Scout. “Should be strong enough to broadcast anywhere on the planet.”
“Wicked.” Scout grinned. “Thanks.”
“It’s a selfish gift. Means I get to see you no matter where you are.”
“So, you can’t get rid of me, is what you’re sayin’.”
“Nope. And I wouldn’t want to, anyway.”
Well, here we are, at the end. Thank you all for reading, commenting, liking, and - of course - reblogging. The ladies will certainly be coming back at some point, they’re just too fun to let go.
The rocket slammed into the Heavy-bot’s chest, sending it backwards over the Medic-bot that was spread across the ground.
“HA! Not so tough without your giant bomb tank, are you, tin can?” Soldier laughed as BLU lodged her entrenching tool into the robot’s neck, neatly splitting it from its body.
Engineer just shook his head. “Damn shame.”
Behind him he heard the flick of a lighter, and wondered when he’d become so comfortable with the idea of a BLU Spy behind him. No way that was ever going to come back to bite him in the ass.
“You do not pity them, I hope.” Spy stopped beside him as she blew out a cloud of smoke into the air.
“Nah.” Engineer crossed his arms. “Just hate seeing a perfectly good machine being torn to bits. They’re mean sons-of-bitches, but I can admire good work when I see it. ”
“Spoken like an engineer.” Spy chuckled. “I am sure there will enough left over for you to tinker with when the Soldiers are finished having their fun.”
“I just want one of those legs intact. Figure that out, and I’d never have to break down a sentry in the middle of a firefight again.”
“Maybe little gun would be better for little man.” Heavy clapped a hand on Engineer’s shoulder as she joined them. Spy stifled a laugh as Engineer scowled. “What?” The Russian put on a look of mock-innocence. “Would be like Del’s. Easy to use.”
Throwing up his hands, Engineer let out an exaggerated sigh. “I get it! I’m short!”
“Oh, do not tease him, Sasha.” Spy admonished the giant woman as she wrapped her arm around Engineer’s shoulders. “Build your battle sentries, mon petit chou. Send them marching in, and you will render the Offensive classes obsolete!”
“Hey!” They looked up to see Sniper holding her rifle up and looking out past the fort perimeter. “There’s someone coming this way!”
“Can you see who it is?” Spy called up as Sniper adjusted the view on her scope.
“It’s the Medics and Demos!”
The smoldering walls surrounding 2Fort had never looked so good. Despite their fatigue, the four mercenaries quickened their steps as they descended the low hills coming and approached the gates.
As they approached, they saw the others coming to greet them. Heavy swept Medic into a bear hug, completely lifting the smaller woman off the ground as she did.
“Lyubov moya.”
Medic smiled as she nuzzled the crook of Heavy’s neck. “I missed you too, Schatz.”
“Ya’ll missed all the fun.” Engineer ambled up, Spy following closely behind.
“We had a time of our own, boyo!” Demo flashed him a grin. “Not everyday you get to take out a monster of a beastie like that.”
“And ye should have seen it! It was bloody marvelous!” Demo came up on Engineer’s other side and gave the man a swat on the back.
“Well, at any rate, ya’ll stopped the robots and we stopped the tank.” Engineer smiled.
Medic looked around the field, taking in the recently extinguished outbuildings, torn up payload track and the overturned tank near the main building. “It certainly looks like you all kept busy.”
“That we did.” Spy walked down the path from the central compound. “And we have one final piece of business to conclude before we can rest. We need to have a talk with the Administrator.”
Much to Spy’s annoyance, the entire team was now gathered in his smoking room. After hearing that Gray was still at large, everyone wanted to hear from the Administrator what would come next.
“These calls are starting to become a habit, Spy.”
The Administrator’s voice crackled as it came over the speaker.
“I did promise a report when Demo and Medic returned.”
“So you did. Well, let’s have it.”
Spy looked over at Demo and nodded. “Good evenin’ m’am.”
“Demoman, good to hear you sober.”
“Enjoy it, m’am, ‘cause I don’t plan on bein’ so for long.”
“Your report?”
“The carrier’s destroyed. Ye’ve got a lovely new scrapyard just over the hills. But Gray wasn’t there. He had some fancy robot mannin’ the operation from the bridge.”
For a moment there was silence. Then the speaker crackled back to life. “No, I suppose he wouldn’t be.”
Spy raised an eyebrow as he looked at the speaker. “You mean you knew he would not be there?”
“I suspected. Gray has not lived as long as he has by being a fool.” The Administrator replied. “The robot you found on the bridge was no doubt being controlled by him remotely.”
Scout crossed her arms and gave Spy a nervous look. “So… We’re right back to square one? Havin’ to look over our shoulders for killer robots?”
“Not quite. Your actions today have undoubtedly left him in a weakened position. I’m sure you all have gone through that folder enough to know that it took him many years to acquire what he has.”
Spy flipped open the file on his desk. “Over ten. He was working with someone called ‘W’.”
“Correct. And he will likely go back this ‘W’ to start again.”
“So no problem, then.” Scout sat himself in one of the wing backed chairs further into the room. “We did it once, we’ll do it again. Guy’s as good as gone.”
“Not if you care to keep your job. I did not hire the nine of you to go gallivanting around the world after a gray ghost.” The Administrator barked. “However…”
She fell quiet, the only sound coming from the speaker was a faint tapping.
“However, Gray cannot be allowed to rebuild.”
Spy rested herself on the edge of the desk. “Then may I make a suggestion?”
“I presume I am speaking with Spy?”
“Enchanté.”
“And what would your suggestion be?”
“You currently have eighteen highly trained mercenaries at this base.” Spy pulled out a cigarette and her lighter. “Nine, of course, must be here. That leaves you with the other nine. My ladies and I currently have no contractual obligations.” She lit her cigarette and took a slow pull. “I would trust that our performance today was an adequate demonstration?”
“You are offering your services?”
“You will not find a band of mercenaries more equipped to deal with what Gray may yet have in store.”
“Terms?”
“Standard. Plus travel.”
There was a sound almost like a laugh through the speaker.
“You make an interesting offer. Give me a few days, I have some things I will need to review before I can make a decision. I will let Miss Pauling know when I have your answer.”
The common room was quieter than normal, but the atmosphere was relaxed.
“And that’s how ye finish a bottle proper!” Demo slammed down the empty bottle of Scrumpy in front of Soldier as the Snipers grinned over their own beers as the mercenaries finally allowed themselves to unwind after the day’s battle.
“I hope ye’ took time to actually enjoy that.” Demo called over Soldier’s shoulder as the two women slowly swayed in time with an old big band standard playing on the radio. “I had to bribe Medic with a kidney in order to get that for ye!”
“It was an even trade.” Medic called from the corner, where he was currently engaged in being beaten quite soundly in a game of chess by Heavy. “And I would like to remind you that I offered to throw in a bison kidney as well!”
Scout and Miss Pauling were curled up on the beat up loveseat that sat in front of the fireplace. The Pyros sat as their feet, watching as Balloonicorn and Balloonasaurus rested next to each other in front of the roaring flames.
It was a beautiful thing, love. And fire.
Scout turned to look at Miss Pauling. “So, if this whole thing that Spy talked about, workin’ for the Administrator...”
“You’d have a job. A chance to build a life here.”
“Yeah, but…”
“But?”
“But you’d be here.” Her long fingers played in her ponytail, as she couldn’t quite bring herself to meet Miss Pauling’s eyes.
Miss Pauling smiled and reached over, gently pulling Scout towards her. “Come here, you.” She tugged until she had Scout stretched out on the loveseat, head in her lap. “Your hair’s a mess.”
“Yeah, usually is. Some days I think about just cuttin’ it all off. Not like John, but maybe like like Sasha…”
“Don’t. You have nice hair.” Miss Pauling pulled out the rubber band that Scout had used to tie her hair back and started to ease the tangles out. “It looks pretty when it’s down.”
“Thanks. Ma always liked it, too. It’s the only reason I haven’t cut it.”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
Scout was quiet, glad that the Pyros were enthralled by the fire in front of them. She really didn’t want them to see the tears that she felt at the corners of her eyes. “Yeah.”
Miss Pauling’s hands felt nice as they slowly worked their way through her hair. The light touch as her fingertips brushed against her head and neck made her want to close her eyes and just fall asleep right there. A wonderful moment of peace that she had so rarely.
Miss Pauling started to braid a random bunch of hair, just to give her hands something to do. “You know, I do have access to some pretty nice technology. Just because you might be halfway around the world doesn’t mean you can’t see me.”
Scout turned her head to look up into green eyes. “No?”
“I have a telecom in my room. Private channel. And I know that Engie replaced the one in the bread truck recently. I saw the requisition form myself. I can’t build a sentry robot, but I can probably get that to work.”
“So, this, you and me?”
“I want to try.” Miss Pauling leaned over and placed a kiss on Scout’s forehead. “I don’t meet many women like you.”
