Part prequel, part request fill, all something that began as a couple tiny seeds in my brain and quickly grew out of control. SCIENCE!, monster hunting, several pairings, and the best vacation ever... ~~~Ch. 1~~~ There were only two men who ever listened to Tavish when he talked about Nessie-- Jane, who listened because he was a good friend and because he felt anything made sense after enough beer and ribs, and the Doc, who listened because he had some 'fascination with creatures of the deep'. When a respawn malfunction two months into their deployment to Dustbowl gives the mercenaries an unexpected vacation, the trip is his idea. Both the RED's Scout and their Spy have already caught a plane out to Boston, and their Engineer had started driving out to Texas, but none of them are really necessary... The Doc, however, is. "Doc, I am going back to Scotland. I'm going to bag 'er this time. Nessie." As expected, the Medic's eyes light up. "I would love to see the creature!" "Well, that's why I'm inviting ya! Say... you don't mind... You don't mind if I bring a friend along besides?" "The more manpower, the better! As long as RED has graciously given us this time off, let us make a proper expedition of it! I will pack my things." The Medic rushes off, gleam still dancing behind his spectacles, and Tavish makes his way across the gulch to find Jane. When they all convene at the small airfield, the group is larger than either of them expected it to be. "Herr Demoman, who are all these people?" "I could ask ye the same!" "But... You know who these people are." The Medic motions to their teammates. "You work with them. Who are... Who are your people?" "My mother," He presents her. "Charmed." The Medic kisses her hand formally. "Jane." He nods his head towards the BLU Soldier. "He's a good friend of mine. And I wanted him to see Scotland!" The three other men of RED accept this development, nervously. "And he's good to have around in a fight!" Tavish defends. "That's why you're bringing the Heavy along, isn't it? For muscle?" "Ah, yes." The Medic hides a high anxious laugh in his hand. "Muscle." "Asked me to come along as well. Went ahead and packed up some tranqs in case you lot wanted your monster alive." The Sniper rolls his eyes. "All right, so you've got... Jane. Any reason you seem to be bringing half the enemy team along besides?" "Hope you don't mind." The BLU Engineer tips his hat to them. "I just overheard these fellas talking, and your Demo brought up some interesting chemistry, and, well..." "And this man," Jane claps the Engineer on the shoulder. "This man here, I mean, if you need to figure out a way to move a giant sea monster once you catch it, or kill it, or... He could build a monster-moving machine!" "And this is Mrs. Conagher." He presents the woman on his arm. "Hardly taking my vacation without the wife. Owe her a trip someplace special, anyway. Honeymoon didn't take us any farther'n Austin..." "Pleased to meet you all." She mutters, head tipped down. "They may be mercenaries, but they won't bite." The BLU Spy laughs, stepping past her to the center of the group. "I am merely flying out with you gentlemen. And ladies. I have no intention of joining the hunt for make-believe monsters." "So what are you doing in Scotland, then?" The RED Sniper challenges. "I might tour some castles. I have never toured the castles of Scotland before. And, it is more cost effective, to join the rest of you for this leg of the journey, since your plane is already chartered." "Never woulda took you for a skinflint." "I save where I can. It helps, when your tastes are expensive." He shrugs, smiling at the other man. "But I don't pretend to know your tastes, Monsieur." "Flight's a good chunk of time. You might learn something." He smiles back. They wind up sitting together. "Only have three rooms reserved." Tavish warns, as he gets his mother's bags stowed. "Might come to a fair bit of sharing if there's nothing else open when we get there." The Medic does the mental addition in his head several times and it still comes out wrong. Before the intrusion of the Engineer, his wife, and the Spy, the Demoman would have been planning for four to travel to Scotland, not three. And of course, the Sniper complicated issues further, but it was not as though the Spy planned on staying with the group, the Engineer and his wife would certainly be staying together, and the Heavy... Well, the Medic could not have planned things better himself, if it meant having to share a room with the Heavy.
YES! I AM EXCITE! Here I was worried that when you finished a couple of those big ones, you were gonna take a break. But no, you churn out more awesome! I am so totally jazzed for the return of SCIENCE!Medic, and I am extremely pleased to see that he is not a MY-LIFE-IS-ONLY-SCIENCE!Medic. Yay for a giggly mad scientist who still has room in his life for wanting romance. Anne, you are the best. And until I saw "Mrs. Conagher", my brain sensed an extremely sexy disturbance in the force. Demo/Soldier/Engie threesome? OHPLZ. But...wife. Ah well. There will still be SCIENCE! I DEMAND MOAR, but I am willing to wait until tomorrow morning. ;)
Not quite the pairings I had anticipated but since they're your OTPs and they're very very sexy, I am eager to see more! Plus, well, Tavish and Jane! Even if it's a bromance, I'm still so happy! (I forget what your predilections were but I have a feeling it was only bromance for some reason?) I always want to see them together. Like Tare, I am also a little disappointed there won't be any Demo/Soldier/Engie threesome but no matter. This will be amazing. Also, I loved Spy's reasoning. Even if he's making up an excuse I mean... who doesn't do that, really? Cut spending somewhere else so you can enjoy what you really want? PROCEED. FOR SCIENCE! Hah hah. I just realized... This means if the other person from the request thread posts theirs from Heavy's POV, we might have two very interesting but distinct stories about chasing Nessie (and both possibly with Medic/Heavy I'm guessing.)
(Oh, no, I totally 'ship Tavish/Jane. I have never been super comfortable writing it as the focus of anything, so I figured I'd dip my toe in by sharing the spotlight around...) Thanks, you guys, and SCIENCE marches on... ~~~Ch. 2~~~ Besides the three rooms reserved to them, the little bed and breakfast on the lake has only two more rooms available when they arrive, and only those two have second beds. "Well, let's start with the obvious choices first." Conagher nods at the assembled group. "Wife and I'll take one of the double beds off your hands." "Mum'll have one of those rooms as well," Tavish nods. No argument is made-- none of the men much fancy the idea of depriving an old lady of a good night's sleep. "Heavy and I certainly do not mind sharing one of the rooms." The Medic nods. "And I suppose after that, we just continue to split it by team, yes?" "No! I mean-- Jane and I can bunk in together. Do some talking, some catching up." He slings an arm around the Soldier's shoulders. "You boyos don't mind? You can have one of the rooms with twin beds, since we're putting you out." "I am only here for one night." The Spy demures. "I have no arguments." "Well, since we are the only teammates sharing a room, I suppose it is only fair that Heavy and I take the last room with a double bed." The Medic says, fighting against the excitement of having everything go to plan. "Oh, well... Not if it would be a bother..." Tavish frowns. "Sure the big man needs his space and all, and we wouldn't-- we wouldn't mind, strictly speaking, would we, Jane?" "Negatory. I pride myself on being able to sleep anywhere." "Yes, but--" The Medic frowns as well. It wouldn't be meet to argue for the single bed, at least not too hard. "Am fine to share bed with Doktor." The Heavy shrugs. "Is no problem, grew up sharing bed with whole family." "We'll flip a coin for it." Jane digs into a pocket, finally coming up with a quarter. "That would be very fair." The Medic inclines his head. "Will you gentlemen call it?" "Heads." Tavish says, as Jane tosses the coin. "... Well?" "Heads!" Jane grins at him. "Then it is settled." The Medic beams, taking the Heavy's arm. "The two of you win, you will take the room with two beds. Sleep well!" For a moment, Tavish merely sputters after them. ---/-/--- "Just here for tonight?" The Sniper asks, tossing his duffel bag down on the bed by the door. "Yes, well... Tomorrow I will collect my rental car and go... touring. You know. Leave you to your little games." "Mm-hm. Well, free holiday's a free holiday. If that means scanning the lake for some kind of dinosaur, so be it." He flops down, shoving his bag to the side, down by his legs. "How do you think the others are spending their night?" The Spy stretches out on his own bed. "Wouldn't wonder. Your Engineer, with a pretty little wife like he has, and not getting to see her too often?" "I more meant how our other teammates were getting on." The Spy frowns slightly. "So... the little woman, she is your type?" "Nah, but she must be pretty enough to him leastaways, or he wouldn't have married her." "I do not know. He brags about her cooking often enough, perhaps that is why." "Maybe. As for Doc and the Heavy... Hell, if it wasn't for having some of your team around, wouldn't think they'd even bother hiding it." "Hiding... what?" The Spy levers himself up on one elbow and leans forward. "Two of them. You know." The Sniper shrugs. "Only started after we got to Dustbowl. Guess it hasn't been all that long. Dunno what it's about with them. Dustbowl's a bit further out, could just be... I mean, some blokes just... just go a bit that way when it's all there is." "Ah. I see. Does it not bother you?" "Don't see why it should." His gaze is steady and comprehensive, covering the whole of the lounging Spy without wavering. "As for my type, I figure it's more in line with yours than your Engineer's." "Oh? And... when have I mentioned my 'type', Monsieur?" "Mentioned? Never. But... A fair bit taller, leaner. Lot less in the way of curves. You think I haven't noticed you coming around?" He slides off the bed and onto his feet like a cat. "Think I haven't noticed all the times you don't even try?" "I-- I am not sure I follow you." "Ah, but you do. You follow me all across the map." He strides across the room. "Caught you just watching more than once." "Observation is a part of my job. Unless you think my interest was something more than professional?" The Spy challenges. He is still lounging on his bed when the Sniper reaches him. "You tell me. 'Cause it sure hasn't felt professional, way you felt me up just last week." "You're delusional." The Spy snorts. "Am I?" He reaches down and grabs the Spy's hand, placing it on his hip. "You were right here, mate, and it wasn't hardly a necessary part of stabbing me." "As I recall, I did not stab you then." "No. No, reckon you been off your game a couple weeks now." His hold on the Spy's wrist slides the other man's hand around to cup his ass. "I know what you want, and I just might give it to ya... But you got to work for it." He releases him at that, and steps back. The Spy's mouth falls open, and the Sniper plucks the cigarette that dangles from his lips. "This'll do for a start." He laughs, before slipping out of their room, with an easy grin around the stolen cigarette. The Spy follows him, down to the dining room, where the others are already gathered for dinner. "You may think you have rattled me," He whispers, drawing in close. "Think?" The Sniper smirks. "But I do not lose my composure for very long, and mark me, if you think to play some game with me, I never play to lose." "Nobody does." The others regard them curiously, and the Spy takes his leave. The rest of the group enjoys dinner at the bed and breakfast, he makes his way first to the agency where he has a rental car engaged for the next day, and when his business there is complete, to a restaurant not far off. He eats alone, and when he returns to the room, the Sniper is asleep. ---/-/--- "Jane?" "Yeah?" Tavish slides out of his bed and scoots across the floor, to sit up against the other man's. "Thanks for coming with me." "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He reaches a hand down. "C'mere." There isn't much room to do so-- not for an entire night-- but they spend an hour or so contorting and squeezing themselves into the single bed.
(I can't believe 'demures' instead of 'demurs' made it through... now I feel a right tit. Anyway, fic) ~~~Ch. 3~~~ At noon, the Conaghers are picnicking on a little hill, looking down on the shore of the lake, and the Spy reaches their spot before he gets down to the others. "Where you been? Disappeared 'fore breakfast and we haven't seen you." Dell waves him over. "Scone?" "Thank you, no. I took a walk over to the rental car offices. It seems I will be lucky to see Uruqhart, let alone any of Scotland's other castles." "Problem with your car? Coulda-shoulda given you a different one, that's the case." "A problem with all the cars. The mechanic there says it is like nothing he has ever seen before. It seems you gentlemen-- and ladies-- are stuck with me." "Well now that don't seem right." He stands. "How far's this place? I don't have a PhD in mechanical engineering for nothing!" "Their mechanic is a professional, these cars are all he ever deals with, I am sure if the problem is mechanical, he will know as much about it as you." The Spy protests, paling imperceptibly. "Well, if'n it isn't a mechanical problem, I got ten more degrees. Uh... if it's all right with the Missus...?" "Go on." She shakes her head, smiling. "I'll finish your lunch if you take too long. Then you won't have anything to eat 'til dinner and you won't have a wife with a girlish figure." He stands, bending over to kiss the top of her head. "Then I'll eat at dinner, and I don't think eating half my lunch'll do much damage to anybody's figure, but I'm sure I wouldn't care." "There is no stopping that man if he thinks there's something to tinker with." She tells the Spy. "Yes, I have noticed." He sits beside her, watching the others below. "And what are the idiots doing?" "Putting on something of a show. Sure you won't eat? We packed plenty enough for everyone, but so far the boys are more interested in the lake..." He accepts one of the scones. The Sniper isn't down on the shore with the group, but there's another rise a ways off, where he stands alone to watch the commotion. Down on the lake, the DeGroots are discussing family recipes, the merits of Tavish's grandfather's sea mines over any other submersible explosives, the danger of using something that big when the goal is merely to bring the creature to the surface. Jane listens carefully-- he may not know chemistry, but he knows explosions well enough, and he likes hearing Tavish talk. The Heavy is strolling up and down their little stretch of shore with the Medic, listening to the doctor's plans. Experiments he's longed to do, specimens he hopes to keep. Tavish will be wanting a trophy, of course, but for a trophy one stuffs the outsides of a creature, and the Medic is confident the insides will be all his. There are downsides, of course, to these little 'boons to science'. The Medic works long hours when he has a new toy to play with or a new discovery to make. There are upsides, too, though... when he does finally deign to take a break from that work, he does not trudge exhausted to bed, he returns to bed wired, unable to sleep without some vigorous activity to set him at ease. The greater his impending scientific triumph, the wilder he is in bed, and for that, the Heavy does not mind the long hours of waiting while his doctor works. He is something to behold, as well, if he needs a lab assistant... assisting sometimes means holding down a reluctant Scout or dragging out a frozen Mega Baboon, but mostly, assisting means watching Medic work, the way his clever hands fly and his eyes sparkle, the bright sharp grin, his joyous laugh or the soft way he whispers to his experiments sometimes... Science is a mistress that Heavy can stand to share his doctor with. She always returns him in such wonderful condition... Dell doesn't take long, manages to catch a lift over to the rental place and another back. "You know," He sits, his arm slipping around his wife's waist and his expression oddly parental when he fixes the Spy with a look. "You wanted to stay with the group, you could just say." "Don't be ridiculous. I am not interested in looking for make-believe creatures." The Spy crosses his arms. He means to look out at the horizon, and instead finds himself turning to the Sniper, still a lone sentinel on the next hill. "Yup, mechanic at the rental car place maybe never seen a thing like that before, but I sure seen plenty like it. Never to a car, course... And I somehow doubt the RED Spy followed us out here just so he could ruin your vacation. Gotta think it woulda been easier to cancel your car than sap every one on the lot." "I thought... none of them should be operational, if anyone called the car service to check my story. Did you repair them?" "Showed the boy there how. You gonna go pick up your car?" "Perhaps not." The Spy stands. It is not a long walk, to get to the next hill...
I lol'd at the sapper part!
captcha: lobotomy physics ...Captcha approves of this. So do I, captcha. I giggled so hard at Engie catching Spy out. I was thinking to myself "how the hell were all the cars suddenly not working. He must just be lying." ...I underestimated your diabolical humor. I am sorry, will not do again. ;) Perhaps predictably, to me the most yummy part of this was Heavy's attitude towards Medic and his obsessions. It made me cackle, the fact that he knows exactly where he fits in around Medic's first love; and the fact that he has learned to not only accept, but TAKE ADVANTAGE of it...Yummy. No mopey "but SCIENCE does not leave Doktor enough time for me" BS... "SCIENCE means I get to watch Doktor be awesome and that turns me on, and SCIENCE turns Doktor on so that when he's done we do not come out of room for rest of the day." Most perfect attitude towards that situation ever. They are such a perfect match... Le happy, sappy romantic sigh. Eagerly awaiting to see what happens when you try and blow a monster out of a lake. ...My shenanigans senses are tingling.
I am eager to see what happens to WTF-ever Medic and Demo dredge out of the lake.
Thanks! ~~~Ch. 4~~~ "So where've you been?" The Sniper asks, grinning softly as he looks the Spy over. "Nowhere in particular. About. How goes the...?" He waves a hand at the commotion below. "Dunno. Lots of excitement, not seen much yet." "I see. I... I have a rental car. Or, I should be able to, to at any time... I merely wondered if you were interested in seeing the local sights." "Stealing me away from the expedition to go touring?" "Castle Uruqhart is only on the other side of the lake. I am sure you would be back in time for whatever mischief your friends have you embroiled in." For a moment, the Sniper says nothing, focusing through his scope on the shore. "Be all of tomorrow to get the sea mines made, he says. Guess I won't have anything to keep me busy 'til the day after." "You read lips?" The Spy leans in. "Fascinating. I don't suppose I would have guessed, but..." "Good skill to have." The Sniper shrugs. "Tomorrow, then, I promise, I will... work for it." He lets his own gaze travel up and down the Sniper's body, lets a slight smirk curve at his lips, lets his composure reform itself into the unshakable cool he'd always possessed before that man came along and upset all his notions about what the seduction process might entail. He gets a little flicker of surprise in return, and anticipation. He had assumed, when he first began circling the Sniper with less than battle-worthy intentions, that theirs would be a game of cat-and-mouse, that he would be employing his suavity and charm to draw out a reluctant lover. He is finding it is more a game of cat-and-cat, where he must watch himself to avoid an upset, where he must guard against an equally dangerous predator. It is an infinitely more interesting game, he decides. ---/-/--- Jane and Tavish make a map of the lake, plotting out the ideal spots to submerge each charge, to drive the creature up and moving in the right direction. The Engineer has promised to set up a trap if they can draw Nessie in, and they'll have the Heavy at the ready there, and the Sniper on the hill above with enough tranquilizers to drop a herd of elephants. There's a whole evening left, after the planning of the map and before they really need to turn in, and the stroll comes about naturally, with neither man conscious of making the suggestion. From the hill where they finally stop to rest, the lake is spread out still and glittering below. "It's like a mirror." Tavish sighs. "Did you ever look down at water at night and think it looks like the moon is drowning?" Jane asks. "Aye... maybe. Maybe... someone pushed it, right out of the sky, and there it landed in the loch. And all the stars got shaken down..." "Chilly out." "Ah, no." He scoots in closer to the other man and wraps an arm around him. "Guess it gets chilly at night in Dustbowl, too. It's a different kind of chill. Drier." "Maybe. Always hot when you go to bed, though, in the desert... Then you wake up with a hangover and you wonder why it's so damn cold... stiff every morning." Jane snorts. "From the cold, ye ken. Not... Well, sometimes. Okay, laugh." Jane lays his head on Tavish' shoulder. They have never needed to talk about their relationship, or at least they have never needed to quantify it, and he's glad, because there are things he might have to call himself if he tried to quantify his thing with Tavish. It was one thing, to drink and eat ribs and fight the police and blow up the Loch Ness monster with a guy, and it was even one thing to sometimes get off with him, especially if you could pretend it was The War-- even if sometimes you went out with a couple of girls together and still wound up together after-- but it was definitely, definitely something else to take him up by a lake and kiss him in the moonlight, and that was a thing Jane was about to do. There were no questions when he did and no complaints, just Tavish kissing him back, because that was how things were with them, and they never had to explain it to themselves or anybody else. ---/-/--- Mrs. DeGroot had lost the use of her eyes many a year ago, and as a result, her hearing had sharpened something considerable, a mixed blessing which made staying in hotels an interesting experience. The Bed and Breakfast had thick walls, and her room was on a corner, across the hall from her son and his friend with the girl's name. Adjacent to the room of the strange German doctor and his friend with no name at all as far as she could ascertain. Quite a few pet names, though, those she ascertained very well when the doctor's rambling monologues on lake monster anatomy gave way to something quite different. Well. She could, she supposed, take a nap the next day while she was sure they were occupied elsewhere, if they kept her up much longer. It was certainly educational... ---/-/--- "That Medic is... loud." "Yup." Dell stared at the ceiling and tried very hard not to think about the next room over, what was happening inside it, and whether or not BLU's Heavy and Medic shared a similar relationship. "If it bothers you, you could bang on the wall. Or go bang on the door. Tell 'em to keep it down some." "Nope." His mouth tightens into a small firm line. No, to do that would be to admit having heard them, and that... that was a fate worse than just about anything. "Do you want me to do it?" "No. No, it's fine, I'll ignore it." "Ignore it?" His wife rolls over, snuggling up to him. "Or drown it out?" There is a very audible and no doubt filthy interjection, in German, from the other side of the wall, and he sighs. Competitive lovemaking was all well and good in theory, but in practice he worries he just won't be able to concentrate with all the interruptions from the other room. ---/-/--- "Don't tell me you can sleep through that?" The Spy groans. "You get used to it." "You get USED to it?" The Sniper shrugs and rolls over. "They've been going at it a couple months now, yeah. After a while you just... learn to tune it out." "I cannot believe this." The Spy crosses his arms. He's not particularly keen on picturing the maniacal doctor or the fat Russian engaging in carnal activities, and he is less pleased with the knowledge that, for tonight at least, they are enjoying themselves with no inhibition while he lies in a narrow bed a metre and a half from the man he would very much like to be engaging in said carnalities. And he does not get to yet. He would go across the hall to lodge a complaint, but the risk of being pummeled was running a close second to the risk of the Heavy opening the door naked when it came to outcomes he did not relish. ---/-/--- The hour is creeping up on midnight when Tavish and Jane walk back in, arms about each others' waists as they headed for their own room. In the hallway, Jane pauses long enough to pound on one of the doors. "It's late, ye horny bastards!" Jane snickers and gets their own door open. He's not sure exactly why it's funny, just that it is. An overwhelming sense of good humour, or maybe just the fact that he'd gotten up to more than just kissing with Tavish out on the hillside. Tavish shakes his head and falls into bed. "Well. Now we know why they were so eager to get that room." Jane nods. He contemplates saying something, but he really doesn't know what. If the RED Heavy and Medic are like him and Tavish, he can't say anything about it, but if they're different and going at it anyway, then it's wrong. He knows that much, it is definitely wrong to do some of that stuff with another man, himself and Tavish excepted. They're Tavish' teammates, though, which means he can't just assume they're morally weak and questionable Bad Guys. Tavish is on RED, but somehow it doesn't make him The Enemy. Tavish is a lot of things Jane isn't supposed to want to do these things with, but all those things are still Tavish, which outweighs the rest of it. You can't put any of that stuff into words without sounding like you're making excuses, though, so he just goes to bed and tries not to worry too much about it. Tomorrow they're making the explosives, and he's looking forward to sitting in on the process.
This fic is so exceptionally lovely! Love the Scottish setting and can't wait for the explosive shenanigans. WOWSER is Sniper a hottie in this one.
Also, could someone enlighten me as to which fic "TDH" is? Not too great with acronyms it seems...
>>11 that would be The Dustbowl Horror
Thank you! (Normally don't write a sexually aggressive Sniper, but I am enjoying the change, I must admit...) ~~~Ch. 5~~~ The next day starts out with a pleasant breakfast, and then the group breaks off, to get to work. The DeGroots begin work on sea mines, Tavish' granddad's recipe, but at half-strength. The Conaghers begin work on a trap, something they can set underwater near to the shore, a platform that will lift the creature up as the sides pinch in to keep it in place. Jane moves between the pairs offering his assistance to whoever needs him most, and Heavy helps Medic in setting up his traveling surgery. While the others are thus occupied, the Spy packs a small hamper, basket borrowed from Mrs. Conagher and food and wine borrowed from the B&B's kitchens. With that placed in the backseat, he drives the Sniper around the lake to the ruins of Uruqhart. They wander over the broken stones, along ancient walls and shattered battlements. "The view is spectacular, ain't it?" The Sniper hops up onto one of the low wall segments to look over the lake. "The finest." The Spy leans against the wall, reaching one hand up, almost... almost... he stops himself from touching, but only just. "Are you just looking at me? Does that work for you often?" The Sniper slides back down to the ground. They have this corner of the tourist attraction to themselves, and he leans in until the Spy's hand meets his cheek. "Frequently. But the lake is a pleasant sight when those idiots are not out making a mess of it." He laughs. "Not very many people seem to be out and about today anyway... And you'll have to do a little better than a couple hackneyed lines if you want me." "I have been holding back... I could certainly extemporize some seductive little nothings, but I'm afraid I might be too effective." "Extemporize away. I think I can take you." "Can you?" The Spy arches an eyebrow, lets his fingertips trail down the Sniper's face, down the side of his neck. "I do hope so, mon cher... I do hope so." "Might surprise you." "I like a good surprise, temps du temps. Certainly I like a tall handsome man with a firm ass." "Knew you'd been checking that out." The Sniper chuckles. "But of course... I have made... plans, for that ass." "Figured you might've." He tucks a knuckle under the Spy's chin and leans in. "You underestimate me, Monsieur, if you think I merely wish to fuck you." The Spy whispers, leaning even closer. "I wish to do far more... To look you over at my leisure, examine the way the muscle moves beneath your skin when you are naked before me, when I place you where I want you..." "Where would that be?" The Sniper grins. His mouth is barely two centimeters from the Spy's. "On your hands and knees... or perhaps your elbows and knees, we will see how long you can hold yourself up, I plan on taking my time." "Just looking at me?" "At first. Of course I will touch you... map out every inch of your body with my hands, feel you react... How long has it been for you, since someone has lavished you with touch, attention? And I will pay... special attention, to that ass. To your thighs as well... and whatever I find between them. And when I have worked you, until you begin to sweat... then I will taste you." "Uh-huh..." The Sniper's breath catches. "I would make such love to you, cher. And I can assure you, it would be the best you had ever experienced. I would take hours to delight my every sense with you. And then, when you were begging me, I would fuck you... as sweet or as hard as you like, all you ever need do is ask, and I will be what it is you need." "And you," He swallows, mouth dry. "You really think you can bring me off before you blow your load?" "I shall pride myself on it." "Well I hope you're not making promises you can't keep. Hate to be disappointed." The Sniper leans back slightly. "Mon cher, I never disappoint." The Spy caresses the Sniper's throat again. "And if I fail to deliver, you are welcome to take your pleasure in me any way you like... The way you tease me, you must have made little plans of your own?" "Maybe. Once in a while, when the nights get long." "I see. Just you and your... trigger finger?" His touch drops from the Sniper's throat to his hand, stroking across the back. "What do you dream of? My mouth? I can promise it is good for more than making promises. Or do you imagine my ass as well? Both could be at your disposal." "Looked at both." The Sniper admits, turning his hand to catch the Spy's. "Might have a rough time choosing... might have to give each a try." "Of course, of course..." The Spy leans up, brings their mouths close together again. The clouds overhead split open as he does, a heavy and sudden gray rain soaking them both in moments. The Sniper laughs and turns his face to the sky. The Spy curses and sprints back towards the car. Eventually the Sniper follows, climbing into the backseat after him. "Any reason you chose the back and not the front?" He teases, wringing a bit of the water from his shirt. "The door was closer. And... it is where the picnic hamper was." "I could eat." The Sniper grins easily, taking the basket from the Spy. There is bread, cheese, a small jar of currant jam and a spoon, and the bottle of wine. The Sniper opens that first, as the Spy tears the loaf of bread in half and produces a knife for the cheese. "I am soaking. And freezing." "Well... maybe after we have a quick bite, you can drive me back to the room and I'll help you out of those wet clothes." The Spy smiles, in spite of the water weighing his suit down. "I certainly... appreciate the kind offer, Monsieur." "Oh, no trouble at all." The Sniper winks at him, leans forward and brings their lips together, and it's cold in the car with the rain slowly evaporating, but it's hot where their mouths fuse together, and the ghost of the kiss still tingles when they draw apart. "Besides... think you got some promises to keep..." "When I am foolish enough to make a promise, I keep it." "Foolish?" "We spies are not regularly men of our word... it is easier not to promise anything. Still, as a point of pride... 'honour', if I am allowed to use the word..." "Oh, sure." The Sniper kisses him again. "And... a man could be foolish, for someone like you. You intrigue me. It is dangerous, but..." "Danger's my middle name. Man could let himself go a little foolish over you, too, you know..." "Mm, just a little?" "Well. We'll see."
Oh Anne, you're such a tease! Get them back to the hotel room STAT.
Yes! Wouldn't be a story by you without sniper/spy! Never stop wtiing please.
Hah hah! Loved the whole thing about Medic and Heavy keeping everyone else awake and their reactions. That was perfect. I'm also glad Mrs. DeGroot reappeared, even if she didn't do much. Of course I loved the bits with Tavish and Jane, especially Jane's conflicting views. Spy and Sniper are adorable as ever. I like Sniper being more confident here. It's kind of heartwarming for some reason. Can't wait to see how the actual hunt goes.
Thanks so much! Sex, then monster hunting. Which is an excellent way to look at life in general. Unless you start writing RPS about Searching For Bigfoot... then you need to consider never listening to anything I say because that's going too far. ~~~Ch. 6~~~ In the hotel room, the Sniper stills the Spy's hands with a whispered 'let me', before taking his tie. He drapes it over the foot of the bedframe. The Spy's jacket and waistcoat follow in short order, then the Sniper fumbles with chilled fingers to get all his shirt buttons undone. The Spy merely stands, lets the other man undress him. A joke about feeling like a mannequin dies on his lips when the Sniper looks up at him from the floor, hands on his belt. He merely nods, and when his trousers are around his ankles, he steps out of them, kicking his shoes off as he does so. The Sniper strips himself next, every move deliberate. He doesn't keep up the burning eye contact as he does, he goes about everything as though he was almost unaware of any other presence in the room. The pretense drops when he pauses at certain moments, when his eyes slide towards the Spy and his lips curve in a smile. Once he is completely naked, he turns to the Spy and steps in close. "Can I?" He takes one gloved hand between both his own. The Spy nods, watches the Sniper slowly draw one glove off. He folds the Spy's fingers around his, lifts the bare white hand to his lips. It isn't a kiss, not quite, just a pressing of lips to knuckles and a still moment. He removes the other glove, repeats the whole process, right down to the clasping and the near-kiss. "Can I?" He hooks his fingers into the waistband of the Spy's boxers. "Of course," The Spy whispers, tilting his head. Their lips meet. The Sniper pushes his boxers down, they fall, another step and he is free of those as well. One hand rests on his waist. The other curves around the back of his neck, slides up to cup the base of his skull a moment, slides around to caress his cheek. "Can I?" The Sniper swallows. The Spy feels an unexpected tremor take hold. "Promise me... Promise me you will not make me regret this, if I tell you yes..." "I swear it..." He nods. "Say it. Tell me I can." "Yes. Yes, please, I want you to... No one-- I haven't-- Please..." The balaclava is rolled up, centimeter by centimeter, until it comes off, his hair an only-slightly-damp mess. His heart hammers and his breath is coming too fast. He hasn't had a face for years, not at any time he's been under a contract. He hasn't trembled for anyone in bed in years, either, woman or man. "This is a tremendous thing for me." He warns. "I know." The Sniper does not set the mask to the side. It stays clenched in his fist even as they draw near to each other again, even as their bodies fit together, and their mouths... It stays clenched in his fist until their bodies are lying limp and easy together and the Spy takes it back. It is the only thing he puts back on, before he lights his cigarette. ---/-/--- In the morning, when the group convenes, almost everyone looks to have slept well. "Did you finish your Nessie trap?" The Sniper asks, taking a seat opposite the Conaghers. "Yup. Had time to slap together a white noise machine besides." Dell shoots a glance over to the Heavy and the Medic, both oblivious. "Are the sea mines all in readiness?" Medic asks, and his excitement is clear, as the Heavy merely looks on with a sort of mixed fond resignation and fatigue. "Oh, aye." Mrs. DeGroot nods. "Jane'll be taking me out to set 'em in a bit." Tavish beams. "We've got the radios, and once everyone's in place we can start." "Yes, well, good luck." The Spy rolls his eyes. "See you decided to eat with the rest of us." Dell smirks. "I hear that 'breakfast' is a large part of what makes a place a bed and breakfast... no point in going someplace else, is there?" "You want to, you can join in the fun, 's all." "I hardly think this kind of... silliness is 'fun', gentlemen. There is no such thing as sea monsters." "LAKE MONSTER!" Tavish roars. His mother reaches over and pats his arm gently, and he settles. "We'll show him." Jane promises. "Come on." Mrs. Conagher tries her prettiest smile on the Spy. "You can sit with me to watch. Even if they don't find anything, it could be fun." "Oh, we will FIND the lake monster!" Jane pounds a fist into his palm. "I am not a quitter, if I promise to drag a monster out of the lake with my best friend, then we will drag the biggest lake monster you ever saw up and then you'll feel silly!" "I'm sure." The Spy rolls his eyes again. "Hey. Free vacation." The Sniper grins at him and shrugs. "Well..." The Spy hides a smile in his teacup. "I suppose I have been... enjoying the sights." "Oh, yeah. Castle we saw the other day was... interesting." "Oh, two of ye went 'round to see Uruqhart?" Mrs. DeGroot smiles, managing to turn unerringly to both of them. For a moment the Spy even doubts she is completely blind. "That's a fine spot. A lot of tourists seem to think, anyhow." "We did not run into many other tourists." "Course, it was raining." They can't help exchanging brief grins again, and the Spy bites down on his cheek to keep from snickering. He did not enjoy a 'normal' adolescence, but he imagines this feeling is what normal adolescents enjoy, this bubbling happiness in a shared secret. It is what his first love might have been like had his youth not been spoiled by war and turned to espionage, and then, even with the war over, there was poverty and hard work and solitude instead of leisure and pretty girls-- or, indeed, pretty boys. It is every inch a dangerous thing, but it is hard to regret it. Not when the representatives of both teams are in an easy truce for the shared expedition. He winds up on the hill, when most of the others go down to the lake. They are not alone, he and the Sniper-- Mrs. DeGroot is down on the shore, but Mrs. Conagher has a pair of birder's binoculars and is up on the hill with them to watch from that vantage point. Even had she chosen another hill, it would have been foolish to imagine they were alone, to act on that make-believe solitude. Anyone might have looked up from below. "I see something," The Sniper's words instantly grab their attention. "There's something in the water." "A fish." The Spy holds the radio up for him, finger on the button. "Big damn fish, then." The Sniper has to keep both hands on his rifle, has to keep his scope zoomed in on the shadow beneath the surface. "Or a log." He sighs. "I see something moving in the water." The Sniper says into the radio. "Get ready, it'll cross past the first mines any minute," "You're welcome." The Spy lets go of the button and sets the radio down. "Thanks." He smirks. Whatever they wind up with, the adrenaline's going now, and once it surfaces, he's ready...
Sex and monster hunting are wonderful, either way round- I would totally shag Bigfoot. Also, I'm quite liking Mrs DeGroot; very well-characterised, in a subtle way. Being that she's 1. blind and 2. a mother, I'm sure her hearing is more than good enough to fill her in on all the shenanigans happening around her.
>>18 Some days I think it's better to shag Bigfoot than any of the people you see on television talking about Bigfoot... I mean, at least you'd have an interesting story, right? You'd get on the cover of News of the World... (And thank you! Yes... Tavish and Jane have to do all potentially noisy fun-having out-of-doors, because you know he knows she'd be able to hear...) ~~~Ch. 7~~~ The explosions start going, well-timed little geysers that the watchers up on the hill can see disturbing the lake. From there, they can hear the echoing joyful 'kaboom' from the boat. The Sniper tracks the shadow as it flees the mines, as each explosion drives it along a calculated path. With the Spy holding the radio for him, he lets Tavish know which direction the thing heads, so that the right buttons are pressed, the right corrections made. "Now!" He shouts, as it passes over the trap, and down on the shore, the Engineer hits the button on his own remote control. The trap lifts, arms coming in to keep its prey in place. The Medic and Heavy rush down the dock, the Sniper fires, and then he and the Spy and Mrs. Conagher all race down the hill. The little rowboat is pulling up to the dock as well, just as they arrive down at the lake, and as soon as it's near enough, everyone save the Medic can see Tavish' expression fall. The Medic is caught up in his own disappointment, of course, tearing at his hair while the Heavy attempts to soothe him. "This is no Loch Ness Monster!" He cries, kicking at the arm of the trap. "This is a-- a-- Hamster!" "Yup." The Engineer joins them on the dock and gives Jane a hand out of the boat. "Sure looks like it. Big, though." "But, Doktor," Heavy coos. "Is still lake monster! How many giant hamsters breathe underwater?" "Well... That is true, isn't it?" The Medic smiles. Mrs. DeGroot's jaw drops slowly. For a long moment, none of the others even realize, their attention captured by the hamster in question. "Did you say... the Loch Ness Hamster?" "Aye. The whole trip wasted!" She makes her way along the dock and slaps her son upside the head. "Oh, a waste, eh? That amphibious rodent's terrorized more generations than have even heard tell of your silly waterhorse, boy." "... Really?" "Oh, aye. Your father... your father'd've been right proud." "See?" Jane claps Tavish on the shoulder, beaming, turning from him to the Spy. "THAT is a lake monster!" "Well, you boys can drag it up to the inn. Everyone'll be wanting to see it, I wouldn't wonder." The Heavy gives it a poke, then a shake, before he's satisfied that it's fully unconscious, and the Engineer and Soldier help him pull it from the trap. It's Tavish, though, who helps him carry it up the road back to the bed and breakfast. The Spy hangs back at the lake, and after a moment, the Sniper rejoins him. "You do not wish to celebrate with your friends?" "Once we're back to work, some of 'em aren't my friends. Besides... if that thing's such a terror, there'll be a big to-do, and... I don't like crowds." "Ah. The Soldier will be impossible now." "You think he'll be bad? I got to live with Demo after this. And the Doc." "After this... You said--" The Spy folds his arms and looks out over the water. "Once we are back to work, some of them-- some of us--" "I didn't mean you." The Sniper's hand rests lightly on his shoulder. "Even when the war's back on, you... Well, I mean... You know, you've got to put up with your Soldier being unbearable and me with our Demo, and-- And the two of them are friends, even when they've got to fight. It isn't impossible." "'Friends'." The Spy snorts. "Well, they are. So no reason why we couldn't-- I mean, granted, last night was a little more than 'friendship', but... Sure, we couldn't tell anybody, but we weren't gonna anyway. Unless... unless you didn't want--" "Please," He turns, catching the Sniper's wrist before the hand can fall away from his shoulder. "Do not take my doubt for reluctance. You are worth pursuing to me. If you were not, would I have pursued you this far? Would I have-- I gave you my face. If you were a thing to be seduced and discarded, I would not have. Indeed, I have never done before." "Yeah? How many people do you seduce and discard?" "Not that many." He smiles. "Sometimes it is a part of the job. But I do not prefer my partners to be disposable. You are not disposable." "Thanks. I guess." "We will need to be secretive. Luckily that is my metier." He winds his arms about the Sniper's neck, hitting the button on his watch once his hands meet, invisible as he kisses the other man's cheek warmly. "Stay with me, mon amour, and I promise... I promise, even with the war, things between us will not change." "Good." He closes his eyes. He doesn't make a move of his own, in case someone comes back down to the lake, but even stock-still, he's intimately aware of the body that stands so close to his, the arms loosely draped around him and the lips still grazing the hinge of his jaw, the breath on his neck... "Mm. After all, there were things we still have not been able to try... I would hate to put an end to the affair before we had the chance to... sample certain pleasures." "If you're talking about my arse again--" "I try not to be so predictable, but I am not not talking about it." The Sniper chuckles and braves a small touch of his own, the slightest brush of his hand against the Spy's torso. "Be a real shame if you never got to enjoy all that. Be a real shame if I never got that good hard fucking you promised." "Well, if I knew I would be so fortunate as to have you in my room over the long weekend, cher, I would have been more prepared." "'S fine." He tilts his head, so that his lips touch cloth, and there's enough solitude for a quick peck, before he has to pretend to be alone. "I had fun, after all... but we could have more fun." "We will." The Spy pulls back, and suddenly he is not merely invisible, but truly intangible. For a moment the Sniper isn't even sure where to look, to be facing the right direction. "For you, I will keep my promises... if only for you."
Oh jesus, Anne, I am laughing so hard. Loch Ness Hamster. Tied it right back into canon. I probably should have seen it, but I didn't; props for being a total boss.
Looking forward to more description of the hamster. That was just, awesome, and unexpected
(didn't post the final chapter last night because I had to get to bed early... anyway, here 'tis, and thanks so much, you guys!) ~~~Ch. 8~~~ In the end, the Hamster is stuffed and mounted in the ancestral DeGroot home. The Medic keeps the insides, and several good photographs of the creature entire. He was disappointed to find that the five inch claws were not venomous, but he has measurements of the jaws and teeth to mollify him, and of course the organs. The Medic enjoys the flight home more than any of the others, with his new treasures to entertain him-- he fills a notebook with ideas for new experiments, all the things he'll do when they arrive back at Dustbowl. The Conaghers sleep, heads resting together, both snoring gently. Dell murmurs equations in his sleep. The Spy cannot sleep, nor can he ignore, the way that Jane and Tavish do, the reality of their situation. RED and BLU are enemies, and whatever personal relationships may occur between employees, there is no ignoring their duties. He is not sure, how the friends can pretend it won't be so. They have been making a mockery of the rules of their employment since Gravel Pit at least, if not since Teufort before that. He watches the Sniper, who dozes on and off. Fitful, but fitful is still better than sleepless. He has opened himself up and he knows it. He never intended to, not when it began... Before, he thinks, it would have been a visual pleasure to watch the other man, the way his long limbs spread out in slumber. Every professional bone in his body tells him the sight shouldn't tug at his heartstrings. Heartstrings are a thing no truly great spy possesses, that little voice tells him. He's not sure when it happened. Before he allowed the mask to come off, obviously. Did it happen at the castle, when they were caught in the rain? Before that, when he asked and the other man accepted? Did it happen when the Sniper stole his cigarette or stole his composure? Did it happen before that even, when he planted a listening device in the commissary of the RED base hoping to overhear battle plans, and instead learned the Sniper would be going with his teammates to Scotland? When he found his own teammates on the same chartered flight and arranged to be stranded with them all? He can't be certain. He knows it wasn't love at first sight. He does not believe in love at first sight. Besides, the first time he really properly saw the Sniper, he stabbed him in the back and left him. Hardly the stuff of great romances. All he really knows is that now he can't look at him without a certain warmth and a certain flutter. The flutter he's sure will fade in time, the flutter is a product of the honeymoon phase and always must die. The warmth, he worries, will not. The warmth, he worries, may only grow. He fears softness, soft men don't last long, not in his line. But he loves the warmth. Across the small plane, Tavish and Jane do not talk. When general topics dried up, they let a comfortable silence take talk's place. But when no one is looking, Jane's hand steals under the blanket over Tavish' lap and rests on his leg, and after a moment of that, Tavish' hand closes over it. Tavish doesn't want to explain it any more than Jane does. It makes him happy, that's all he cares about. They're both happy, with things the way they are. Assigning names to it, words to it, wouldn't make them happier. He doesn't want to call Jane his boyfriend or his lover, just his friend. He wants to sometimes have a broad, callused hand in his, and the hundred or more little things that come with it. The fact that he doesn't want anyone else is mildly troubling-- he's seen attractive girls since, and he hasn't suddenly found himself blind to their charms, but he hasn't wanted to do much with them, hasn't wanted anything from them he wouldn't rather have with a good man he trusts. In the back row, the Heavy flips through his Doktor's photographs, smiles at the beaming scientist standing proud beside the catch. In the pictures, it looks as though the doctor is tiny, tiny enough to stand with one boot resting on the head of a dwarf hamster. The mental image is amusing, at least. There are close-up photos of the fluffy paws, the stubby tail, the gills-- the Medic had explained at length during the vivisection how the creature breathed both in and out of the water, and the Heavy had nodded politely the whole time, whether or not he understood. It was always a little half-and-half, with the doctor. Science was not his discipline, after all, he was always more a man of the arts, and it was never easy to follow someone else's pet subject in a language you had not quite mastered, yet whenever he displayed a genuine interest, the Medic made sure to explain things clearly. Mostly, though, the Medic was happy just to be able to talk about his hobbies. It never offended him when the Heavy didn't show an interest, so long as he listened politely until the enthusiasm had run its course. In return, after all, he was happy to listen to the merits of Russian authors he had never heard of, and to set aside his familiar pieces by Wagner and Strauss in order to learn a little Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky... A small price to pay for a captive audience whenever he really needed to share his latest discovery. On deplaning, the group separated, along company lines, and if long and lingering glances were cast, nobody noticed anything to comment on. In the morning work would start... ~FIN~
Thank you, Anne. That was a lovely, bittersweet ending.