1 . Name: Anonymous @ 2013-10-21 01:25

Hello everyone (Man, it's been a while since I posted anything here). This is a short one-shot I wrote that's best summarized as fluffy Engineer/Spy. Criticism is completely welcome and encouraged! (Deleted the first posting of this because I'm a dork who forgot to capitalize the in-thread title.)

As Time Goes By (Three Words, a Cell, and a Timepiece.)
---

The Engineer smiled up at him.

“What?”

“…Nothin’.”

The Spy put the revolver down and looked at him.

“Tell me. You do not smile like that unless it is something very good or very bad.”

“It’s probably a bit of both, to be honest.” The Engineer said quietly, going back to his notepad.

“A bit of…” The Spy looked at him, then snorted. “It’s emotional, then.”

“You know too damn much about me.”

“Only because you let yourself be known.” The Spy said. “The human psyche is actually quite simple.”

“Is it, now?” The Engineer said. The Spy snickered and picked his revolver again, running over the metal barrel with his gloved fingers.

“To me, yes. Not to you. You don’t understand a thing about people.”

The Engineer stiffened at that.

“I do.” He said, the slightest edge to his voice.

“No you don’t.” The Spy said, holding up the revolver so that the light caught it. “If you did, you would ‘ave left me long ago.”

“We ain’t together.” The Engineer snapped. “I—“

“Exactly.” The Spy laughed and stood up from where he’d been sitting. He slipped the revolver into this jacket and smiled at the Engineer. “And zat is why you do not understand people.”
The Engineer frowned deeply, almost pouting. He opened his mouth, struggled with himself, then said nothing.

“It is okay to say it, you know.” The Spy said, eyes unusually warm. “That you don’t understand something.”

The Engineer’s hands balled into fists.

“I understand.” He growled. “I just…need some time.”

“You’ve ‘ad…oh, what is it now, five years?”

“Five years since what?”

“Since I began visiting you like this.” The Spy said, and suddenly a flash of something crossed his face. The Engineer was frowning at him, dark eyes narrowed into tiny slits, as if the Spy was a particularly complex design problem. The Spy looked at him, then at his watch. He smiled.

“Actually, five years today.”

“Why would you care about when you started irritating me?” The Engineer said, still glaring at the Spy.

“Actually, that is not the date I mark. The one I mark is the one where you stopped trying to kill me when I showed up in your workshop or at your home after battle hours.”

“…Oh.” The Engineer’s frown decreased a little.

“Though I doubt you would call me friend, after all this time.” There was an edge to his voice, now, and it was potent enough to make the Engineer shift uncomfortably on his stool.

“Well, Spah, you do let work come between us more often than not.”

“Oh.” The Spy looked surprised. “There is an us.”

The Engineer frowned again.

“Of course there’s an us. You don’t spend that much time with someone who you don’t know.”

The Spy nodded as a tension the Engineer hadn’t spotted before resolved itself in his shoulders.

“Ah.” He cleared his throat. “So you…do not hate me.”

The Engineer snorted.

“If I still hated you, I wouldn’t let you into my workshop.” He paused. “I also wouldn’t let you see my designs.”

The Spy nodded, then looked back down at his watch.

“Uh…I must be going now, Engineer.” He said, voice thick. “It is late. Thank you.”

“Fer what?”

“For…” The Spy swallowed. “For this. For…for the five years.”

“I spent most of that time fightin’ with you.” The Engineer said. “An’ it’s not like we won’t see each other tomorrow.”

“I…I know.” The Spy said. “But…thank you anyway. For letting me have this.”

“Son, you never say thank you.” The Engineer said, getting off of his stool and approaching the Spy. “Everythin’…you know. Anythin’ you want to tell me?”

The Spy smiled, though it was so bitter that the Engineer winced.

“Lots of things.” He said. “But as you very well know, I am a coward.”

“You ain’t cowardly.” The Engineer said. “Only when we’re fightin’. Yer a goddamn cowardly son-of-a-bitch, sneakin’ around, stabbin’ me and breakin my machines.”

“No, labourer. I am a coward in other ways, too.” The Spy’s smile did not waver. “Anyway, good night. Happy…five-year mark.”

The Engineer looked up at him, then smiled.

“Hold on. I had this fer a while, but I didn’t know when to give it to ya. Never told me when yer birthday was. Guess now’s as good a time as any, right?”

He went to the back of his workshop, shuffling around a bit before returning with a small box.

“Here. I know it ain’t fancy, but I was bored and had some extra quartz lyin’ around. And I figgur you needed somethin’ actually tells time.” He smiled at the Spy’s expression. “Yeah, I know that spy watch don’t actually tell time. None of ‘em do. Our Spy let me play around with his equipment a few years back.”

The Spy looked at him, then down at the small box in his hands. He opened it slowly, then captured a gasp by closing his mouth into a thin line.

“First time makin’ a watch, so uh.” The Engineer laughed a little bit. “Sorry if it ain’t fancy enough.”

The Spy looked down at it, eyes wide.

“You made this…for me?” His voice was very small.

“Well, I mean…” The Engineer fidgeted a little. “Yeah. I did. It was when they brought in that substitute when you were doin’ contract work. I…I guess I missed ya.”

The watch was beautiful. A lot of time had gone into making it, that much the Spy could tell.

“Is this…”
“Mahogany.” The Engineer said. “I uh…was experimenting with wood properties. It should be fairly durable, but I wouldn’t get it wet. Oh and I inlaid it with leather. And the face is made up of platinum.”

The Spy gaped at the Engineer, who shrugged a little.

“I had some leftover materials.” He said. He wasn’t about to tell the man how long he’d searched for a merchant who would give him a good price on purified platinum.

“I…” The Spy was speechless. He looked down at the watch, then at the Engineer, who was beaming.

“And it’s accurate, too. Shouldn’t be more than a second off every hundred years.”

“Engineer.” The Spy’s voice was very low. “You do realize that this…you are not a man who gives out gifts.”

“No, not really.” The Engineer said, smile faltering the slightest bit. “You…you do like it, right?”

“Yes. God, yes.” The Spy said, looking down at the watch again. “It is…it is beautiful. Thank you. I do not…”

He paused, then removed his spy watch, put it in his coat, and put the watch on.

“Oh, good, got yer wrist measurements right.” The Engineer said. “It was hard, cause you were gone and all I had to go on was reference photos.”

“You did not use your spy?”

“He’s got bigger wrists than you.” The Engineer said. “Well, glad that’s outta the way. See you tomorrow, Spah.”

He turned back to his workbench.

The Spy looked at him, down at the watch, then screwed his eyes closed.

“Engineer.” He said. “How long did this take you?”

The Engineer stiffened slightly.

“…Not that long.” He said.

“How long.”

“…Seven months.”

The Spy paused.

“Engineer.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you in love with me?”

The man went shock still, and he was quiet for a very long time.

“…I…” He sounded uncertain, as if he’d never considered the possibility before.

The Spy bit his lip, and looked down at the watch. He had fought his way out of multiple prisons. He’d fought an army of robots. He’d even fought the goddamn OSS before they’d let him drift off the radar again.

He could do this.

“Because I am.” He flinched as he realized the awkward placement of his words. “In love. With you.” Oh God, he was actually shaking. He hadn’t been this terrified since he’d been a child. At least his voice was still steady.

The Engineer turned around and stared at him. The Spy’s legs went numb. He needed a cigarette. Badly. He felt around for his disguise kit, pulled a cigarette out of it with a practiced motion, then grabbed his lighter. He failed to light the cigarette four times, and when he finally got it lit, he realized that there was already another lit cigarette clenched between his teeth.

The Engineer was watching him struggle with the strangest look on his face.

“Come again?” He finally said when the Spy had resolved his issue by putting his old cigarette out.

“I’m in love with you.” The Spy said sadly. It was easier now that he’d said it once. It still didn’t make the rising panic in his chest ebb away, though. At least he didn’t have a shotgun pointed at his chest yet.

“Jesus, son.” The Engineer said suddenly. “You ain’t even lyin’.”

The Spy stared at him. Maybe, if the reaction was negative, he could pretend it was a lie? He’d been joking? Testing the man? Using him?

“I…I must go now, monsieur.” He heard himself say. “I will see you at work tomorrow. Good bye.”

He turned and fled the workshop, heart pounding in his ears.

--

He spent the rest of the work week at home, after the day’s fighting had been through. No call came from the Engineer. They would often talk in code, insulting each other over the phone so that anyone listening in would have no solid evidence that they were actually companions.
The Spy looked at the watch on his wrist, felt a sudden burst of anger, and imagined throwing it into the wall, or perhaps letting the Pyro have some time with it.

It wasn’t like the Engineer was that important anyway, right?

The man wasn’t special.

Not at all.

The phone rang, and the Spy lept up from his chair, grabbing the phone before the first ring had ended.

“Hello?” He asked, trying to sound bored.

“Hey man, just wanted to know if you wanted to come hang out with me an’ Soldier later. We’re gonna go downtown and try to pick up chicks.” It was the Scout.

“Uhm.” The Spy sighed. “Not really.”

“Awww, come on man!”

“What? Is that French sissy saying no to hanging out with us again?” The Soldier’s voice was faint, but the Spy couldn’t help but crack a smile. They must have been in a phone booth somewhere.

“Ow, Soldier, no!” There was the sound of a muffled struggle, then a sharp thump. The Soldier’s voice burst through the receiver.

“Listen up, sally! I need a wingman, and you know that the Scout is a goddamn terrible one!”

“Can’t you ask the Demoman?”

“I would, but he’s not picking up the phone!”

The Spy sighed heavily.

“Alright, fine. If we get arrested again, though, this is my last trip.”

--

They got arrested. The Spy sat down on the bed of the cell they’d been thrown into and pinched the bridge of his nose. The Scout, who was grinning and sporting a black eye, flopped down next to him.

“Man, that chick was amazing.”

“She punched you so hard you fell unconscious.” The Spy said, watching the Soldier shake the cell door, screaming at the top of his lungs about his rights as an American citizen and how he deserved his one phone call.

The Scout nodded happily. The Spy sighed and let his thoughts turn to the Engineer before abruptly derailing that train of thought. He didn’t want to think about the Engineer. He wanted to think about how much this bail was going to cost him, because the Medic had gotten so tired of bailing them out of jail that he’d started charging an additional fee for ‘inconvenience’ purposes.

“Oh man!” The Scout had grabbed his wrist, and the Spy slapped him out of reflex. The Scout reeled back, holding his cheek.

“Okay, ordinarily, I would kick your ass for that.” He said. “But, since I’m still kinda dizzy from that chick clocking me, I’ll let you off. Just so long as you tell me where you got that watch.”

The Spy looked down at his wrist. The Scout had caught glimpse of the ornate watch, still sitting on his wrist. He’d only taken it off for battle and to shower, because, despite the death of his friendship with the Engineer, it was still a beautiful gift.

“It was something I bought.” He said.

“Really? What does it do?” The Scout said. “It’s hella fancy. Is it like the dead ringer? Cause we could totally use that to get out of here.”

The Spy paused.

“It only tells time.”

The Scout’s face fell.

“Mannn!” He flopped back against the cell wall, arms crossed. “Of course, the time we get locked up is the time you don’t have your stupid fancy bullshit watch.” He began to enter a sulk, but then perked up immediately when he thought of another question to ask the Spy.

“So who got it for you?”

“I told you, you little ingrate, I bought it.” The Spy muttered, patience wearing thin. The Scout gave him a nasty grin.

“Nah-uh. You don’t buy shit like that for yourself unless you want everyone to see it. You didn’t show that thing off.”

The Spy rolled his eyes.

“Merci, Doctor Jung. Do not try to psychoanalyze me. You will lose that game.”

“Ahhh, I see.” The Scout said. “So, it was a gift then.”

The Spy scowled so deeply that the Scout shut up and went to go bother the Soldier, who was engaging in an argument with a police officer.

“And I bet your mother came from the USSR, you ugly son-of-a-bitch!” The Soldier finished. The Spy sighed and pinched the skin between his eyes again. They were going to be in here for a week, if the Soldier didn’t shut up. He looked out the tiny cell window, wondering if the Engineer had even thought of him since they’d stopped speaking before forcing himself to list all the poisons he knew and their effects on the human body.

After a bout of easy silence, he knew something was wrong. The Scout and Soldier were muttering to each other, and the Soldier kept looking over at him. His eyes narrowed.

“Scout.” He said. “If you are talking about me over zere, I will call your mother and tell her zat I still ‘ave her photographs.”

The Scout glared at him.

“Man, get over yaself. We ain’t talkin’ about you.”

“But we are talking about your girlfr—“ The Soldier was cut off as the Scout slapped a hand over the man’s mouth. The Soldier bit him, and the Scout yelped, taking his hand away.

“Girlfriend.”

“God damn it, Soldier.” The Scout swore, looking at his bleeding palm.

“We determined that you have a girlfriend, from your behavior and that new watch of yours. Right Scout?”

The Scout just glared at him.

“Come on, you ain’t gotta be shy about it.” He said finally, looking at the Spy. “Unless, of course, she’s butt-ugly.”

The Spy groaned.

“I do not have a girlfriend, and if I ‘ad one, I wouldn’t tell you.” He snarled.

“Oh man, she’s ugly, isn’t she?” The Scout was laughing. “Dude, you make way too much money to get stuck with an ugly chick.”

The Spy snapped.

“The person who gave me this is not romantically involved with me in any way, you idiot. It was given to me by a friend who is no longer my friend because I am selfish, and I do not know how to keep myself in check. In fact, per’aps if you weren’t so self-absorbed, you and your Neanderthal brain could have seen that I was in no mood to go out searching for trailer trash tonight, and zat I just wanted to ‘ave a quiet night at home. Now kindly call the constable over so zat I may call the doctor to get us out of here.”

The Scout looked as if he’d been slapped.

“Uh, okay. Jeez.” He finally said. He turned and stuck his arm out of the cell. Waving at the guard did nothing. “Yo! Hey, my friend’s gotta call somebody.”

The Soldier, meanwhile, had tipped his helmet up at the Spy and began looking at him. The Spy shifted uncomfortably. The Soldier was stupider than anyone he had ever known, but the man’s ice-blue eyes gave the illusion that he was staring into your soul and could read everything about you in an instant.

The officer came over to their cell, eyeing the Soldier warily.

“He’s not going to try and strangle me again, is he?”

“Nah, he’s calmed down.” The Scout said, beaming at the guard. “Anyway, our friend needs to make a phone call. You guys alright with that?”

The officer looked into their cell.

“The mask guy?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s creepy.”

“The creepiest.” The Scout said. “But he’s still gotta make that phone call. And if that pizza I ordered doesn’t get here in the next five minutes, make sure they don’t charge you guys, okay?”
The police officer blinked at the Scout.

“You…spent your phone call on a pizza.”

The Scout shrugged.

“I’m hungry.”

The police officer opened his mouth, thought better of it, then unlocked the cell door.

“Alright, sir. Come make your phone call. Try anything funny and we’ll shoot you.”
The Spy got up off of the cot and left the cell. He made a quick phone call to the Medic, who was extremely irritated at being woken up so late on a Friday night. The Spy glanced at the clock as the Medic muttered curses in German over the receiver. It was 11:30. He kept himself from snickering and apologized to the doctor, who mumbled something about being over in a bit.

The Spy returned to the cell and found the Scout and the Soldier arguing over a pizza.

“I told you, I like anchovies.”

“Anchovies are communist propaganda machines, private! Also, you know I like sausage.”

“Haha, yeah you do.”

“Shut up!” The Soldier jumped on the Scout, and they started to fight. The Spy walked past them, grabbed the pizza, and dumped it in the toilet.

“Oh look. Now it’s ze Sniper’s favourite flavor of pizza.” He said. “Now we can all stop complaining.”

The Scout looked up from his position underneath the Soldier and gasped.

“You’re a freakin’ murderer! I used my last freedom on that pizza!”

“Anchovies is better than no food.” The Soldier agreed, climbing off of the Scout.

“Well, look, now we will all ‘ave to be sad and hungry. Unless you want to eat zat out of the toilet.”

The Scout and the Soldier looked at each other for a moment, then both shook their heads.

“But, now that we don’t got nothin’ to distract us from you, we’re gonna bug you ‘bout that watch some more.”

“Yes! Who gave it to you?”

“None. Of your business.” The Spy growled.

“We’re gonna start guessing if you don’t tell us.” The Scout said. The Spy bore his teeth.

“Fine. My mother, okay?”

The Scout sighed.

“Man, why didn’t you just say that?”

“I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Dude, that’s so boring.”

The Soldier was looking at him again. The Spy groaned and put a hand over his eyes. The Medic had better get here before he killed them both.

--

Later that night, after he’d gotten home and written the Medic a hefty check for bailing them out, he was laying in his bed, trying to sleep. Rain pattered against the window panes, and he glanced out the window, seeing the faint lights of the radio tower off in the distance distorted against the storm. He looked at the watch on his wrist and sighed before taking it off and putting it on his bedstand, looking at the way the platinum face and hands caught the tiny traces of light from his alarm clock.

The Spy sat up abruptly as there was a knock on his door. He groaned, hoping it wasn’t another assassin, and grabbed his revolver. He put on a pair of pants and answered the door. Standing there in the rain, overalls and shirt plastered to his body, was the Engineer. He was frowning down at a sopping wet map and holding a flashlight in his free hand.

“Engineer?” The Spy said softly, voice lost to the rain. The Engineer looked up.

“Oh. Found the right house. Finally.” He brushed past the Spy, not bothering with his boots, which, to the Spy’s chagrin, were caked in mud.

“Take your boots off.” He said, grabbing the Engineer by his elbow and pulling him back before he could reach one of the throw rugs.

“I ain’t stayin’ long.” The man said. “And—“

“The boots.” The Spy said. “Zat is a five-thousand dollar rug. I ‘ave already paid a considerable amount for my friends tonight. I do not need to add a new rug to my list of expenditures.”

The Engineer stared at the rug.

“What the hell’s it made out of? Gold?”

“Silk.” The Spy growled. “Boots off, petit. Actually…” He looked at the Engineer, then sighed.

“I’ll get you a towel.”

“Are those made outta silk too?”

“Egyptian cotton.” The Spy said tersely. What did the Engineer want? Was he going to let him down gently? The ‘no calling’ for a week had been message enough. All he wanted to do was sleep and heal himself as he did every time he had his heart broken.

Which, for a professional killer, was increasingly often.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed a towel off of the rack. When he’d returned, the Engineer was still standing in the hall. Considerably shorter now that his boots were off, he frowned at the Spy.

“I thought you’d have a pet tiger ‘r somethin’ fancy.”

“A peacock, maybe?”

The Engineer’s face lit up.

“Yeah!”

“Well, enjoy it, Engineer. Not many people see the inside of my ‘ome.” The Spy said quietly, handing the man a towel.

“Huh.” The Engineer said. “But aren’t you the one on yer team who gets laid all the time? Our Spy--”

“Is a fool who runs around in a cheap suit.” The Spy snorted. “Sex is not as important as it may seem.”

“I feel ya, buddy.” The Engineer laughed. The Spy stiffened at the use of the term ‘buddy.’ Was he going to pretend that nothing had been said?

Was he going to have a chance to have his…friend back? He looked down at the Engineer, who was scrubbing at his face. He’d removed his goggles. The Spy liked it when the man did that. His eyes were incredible. A glint of teeth as the towel moved signified that he was grinning.
That too, was amazing. A direct smile from the man, any sign of approval, was enough to make his knees weak.

The Spy felt his heart sink as these thoughts sprung into his mind.

“Why are you here, Engineer?” He asked.

The Engineer said nothing, still trying to dry himself off as much as possible. After a while, he gave up and handed the now-dirty towel to the Spy, who sighed and tossed it towards the bathroom. He could pick it up in the morning.

“Well, I was mostly here to give you this.” The Engineer said, reaching inside one of his overall pockets. “See, I was thinkin’ about how you said you loved me an’ all, and I realized that I didn’t know much about love, or bein’ in it. And I read up on it.” He was still searching, until he found a folded sheet of paper.

“I tried analyzing our relationship and comparing it to other famous relationships, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and such. Couldn’t find any matches, though. I’m not sure if I’m in love with you or not. It’s still an unknown.” He shrugged, then looked a little bashful as he handed the Spy the folded sheet. The Spy blinked at him.

“You…you are considering it?” He asked, voice thick. The Engineer shrugged. The Spy opened the sheet of paper, and read it.

“A pro and con list.” He said.

“An’ a set of questions for you to ask me. On the back.”

The Spy sighed and fought the urge to yawn.

“’Ow long did you look for me?”

“Seven hours. Finding your house was hell. Truck ran out of gas a few miles back.”

The Spy, still reading the paper in a daze, walked back to his bedroom and sat on his bed.

“Pros: I get to see his face. Cons: I have to see that ugly smile when he makes me look stupid (almost never).” He said out loud.

“That’s number ten.” The Engineer said, following him into the bedroom and leaning against the wall.

“Pros: Would sleep next to me when I get lonely.” The Spy looked at the Engineer, who bit his lip.

“Maybe ya shouldn’t read them out loud.”

The Spy read on in silence. When he reached the end of the ‘Cons’ list, he blinked.

“You’ve never—“

“Nope.” The Engineer said. “Never had to. Never really wanted to, either.”

“Ah.” The Spy looked up at him, still in a daze. The Engineer had actually considered this? He was…still considering it?

“Turn it over. Questions.” The Engineer said, motioning with his hands.

The Spy turned the paper over and looked at the back.

“I’m…supposed to be interviewing you?”

“Yes.”

The Spy blinked and read the first question.

“What are your feelings about me?”

The Engineer paused for a moment, then looked at him.

“I don’t like you half the time. Half the time, I want to punch you until you stop breathing, but I don’t, because I want you around. You’re a humongous arrogant fuck, though you…are really good at what you do. Even if you still get caught by me an’ Pyro. You’re the first person who I’ve ever been friends with for more than a month. Most of them get put off by the fact that I don’t want them around half the time. And you—“ He faltered suddenly. “—you don’t care that I’m a little…unhinged.”

The Spy snorted at that severe understatement. “Unhinged” was a nice way to put the Engineer’s behviour.

“I…if I were to have to pick one person on BLU to live, it would be you.” The Engineer’s voice was quiet now, and he was looking at his hands. “In a heartbeat, Spah. If it was between BLU and RED, it would still be you. Hell, I’d…I’d even give up my job for you.”

“You would?” The Spy asked abruptly.

“If I had to, yeah.” The Engineer mumbled. “But only if you…you know. Were gonna die.”
The Spy put the paper down in his lap, then looked at the Engineer in the dim light of the bedroom.

“Labourer.” His voice was still thick with emotion. He needed to gain control of himself.
The Engineer shrugged.

“So what do you think of me?”

The Spy sighed, then moved to take his pants off. He was going to tell the Engineer, ask the man to leave, and go to sleep. He was much too emotionally vulnerable at this time of night.

“I think you…” He sighed. “You are perfect.”

The Engineer snorted.

“Cut that shit. No one’s perfect.”

“Everything about you is flawless. Even the negative traits. They are perfect because they are you.” The Spy said.

The Engineer stared at him, mulling the words over in his head.

“I’m prefect, but not perfect.”

“I love you.” The Spy shrugged. “I do not think you will ever understand the meaning, though you have been trying to fall in love with me. It is very noble of you, but I will not force something that is not in your nature.”

The Engineer’s jaw dropped before he caught himself.

“I…” He scowled. “Sure, boy.” He muttered. “Tellin’ me I can’t…I just don’t know if I am or not.”

“’Ave you ever been in love? At all?”

The Engineer shook his head. The Spy sighed and finished taking his pants off.

“Tell me, labourer. Does it hurt when you think about me with someone else?”

“I never thought about you with anyone else.” The Engineer said, so quickly that the Spy knew he was lying.

“It hurts.” He said plainly. “When I think about you with someone else.”

“It did?”

“Of course.” The Spy said weakly. “It still hurts me now, seeing you speak with your Sniper.”

The Engineer raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Because he is more practical than I am. He is much more suited to you.”

“Is he?” The Engineer frowned.

“Do you find me creeping into your thoughts? Your dreams?” The Spy paused, wishing he had a cigarette. “Do you wake up missing me?”

The Engineer crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to the Spy.

“Sometimes. When you ain’t there. Though I’m mostly fightin’ with you in them. But…” He paused then looked very uncomfortable.

“Sometimes….sometimes…” His voice died, and he looked ashamed. The Spy did not notice, lost in a daze.

“And you say you’ve never been in love. Do I stand out? Am I somehow…different?”

“There’s you. Pyro. The rest of my team, then everyone else.” The Engineer said. “But that doesn’t mean I love you.”

The Spy sighed.

“I’m exhausted, Engineer. We can continue this discussion in the morning.” He mumbled. “You can stay or go. Blankets are in the hall closet. Sleep well.”

The Spy shut off the light, and the Engineer stood up, lost in thought. The Spy slipped under the covers of his bed and closed his eyes. This entire night had drained him so completely that he was nearly asleep within two minutes.

The Engineer, again, was what pulled him from the recess of slumber.

“Spah?”

“What.” The Spy snarled, not opening his eyes.

“Can I sleep in your bed?”

“Yes, sure, whatever.” The Spy growled, too tired to comprehend what he’d just agreed to. He felt the weight of the Engineer shift next to him, and a single thought occurred to him.

“You’re not still wearing your drenched clothes, are you?” He mumbled.

“Nah. That’s kinda why I wanted to sleep with you.”

“Okay. Now shut up.” The Spy breathed.

“Good night.”

The Spy’s only reply was to grumble something that turned into a soft snore.

--

The Spy opened his eyes to find rain still pelting against the window. He sighed and turned over, freezing as he saw the Engineer sitting up in bed, writing something down on his arm.

“I do not suppose you made coffee.” Was all he could manage.

“Do you remember last night?” The Engineer asked, looking down at him.

The Spy scoffed.

“Of course I do.” He said. “I…” He blinked as he realized he had no idea as to how the Engineer got into his bed. He had a few techniques to do such things, and enough knowledge about the man to blackmail him into bed, but he didn’t think…

“It’s damn cold.” The Engineer muttered. “An’ I like you better when you’re tired.”

“As if you could like me any less.” The Spy replied, trying to steady his thoughts. Okay. He was in bed. With the Engineer. Alright then.

“What are you doing here?” He finally asked.

“I came to talk to you about love. You were tried.”

“And you are in your underwear why?”

“Raining. I was wet.”

“And you didn’t use the couch because?”

The Engineer stopped, then looked down at him for a moment, observing him.

“I wanted to see what sleeping with you would be like.”

“It’s boring.” The Spy said. “Don’t tell anyone.”

The Engineer smiled.

“I like you, Spah.”

The Spy sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“You like me? I would ‘ave never guessed, petit.”

“I think I do love you, actually.”

The Spy’s stomach dropped out from under him.

“You do.” He said coolly.

“Yeah.”

“You do know what love entails between us, oui?”

The Engineer nodded.

“Those are the cons.” He said. “But I think the pros outweigh them, now that I’ve gotten to sleep with you.”

“If she catches us—“

“She won’t.” The Engineer said. “And if she does, you’ll disappear.”

The Spy looked down at his wrist, then panicked when he didn’t see the watch that the Engineer had given him. Where was it?

“Really did take me a long time, you know.” The Engineer said, looking over at the Spy’s bedstand. “Never done anything like that fer anyone.”

The Spy opened his mouth to object, but then realized that, as far as he knew, the Engineer had been alone his entire life.

“Only because you are too wrapped up in machines to see anyone but your distorted reflection.”
“I like machines.” The Engineer said. “They don’t destroy your hard work unless you tell them to.”

Even as he said this, though, he reached out and grabbed the Spy’s hand. It was warm and large and encompassed his own quite easily.

The Spy took in a shallow breath.

“Engineer.”

“Can we try kissing?” The Engineer asked, voice a low rumble that sent shivers down the Spy’s spine.

“Uhm.” Was all he could manage. Trained killer, knew how to use just about anything to his advantage, and he was struck speechless by a stout Texan man offering to kiss him.

“I mean, I ain’t never tried that before, neither, unless you count Scout.”

The Spy started.

“What?”

“Scout. It was a Christmas party, and the idiot got drunk and made a bet with Demo. Whoever kissed more fellows by the end of the night won something, I don’t remember what. An’ hell, I wasn’t paying attention, so he just came up and kissed me.” The Engineer paused thoughtfully. “I punched him so hard that he fell unconscious and lost because of that.”

The Spy laughed and shifted slightly in the bed.

“Per’aps I should attend Christmas parties more often.”

“Hm.” The Engineer made an interested noise, then squeezed the Spy’s hand.

“So uhm.” He frowned a little. “How do we…”

The Spy smiled weakly.

“Like this, mon cher.” He said, leaning in and pressing his lips to the Engineer’s. The Engineer didn’t move for a moment, then slowly began to kiss back. The Spy felt something move in his chest, and his eyes became wet.

When they pulled apart, the Engineer was staring at him with wide eyes.

“That uh.” He blinked, once, twice. “That.” He shook his head. “Okay.”

“You uh…Yeah, you definitely ain’t all bad, Spah.” He said, voice much lower than it usually was.

“Emotional connection makes physical relation much better.” The Spy said, rubbing at his eyes.
“I uh…” The Engineer rubbed his eyes as well. “Can we…”

The Spy nodded.

“You don’t need to ask me, Engineer.”

The Engineer smiled at him, and he felt his heart stop for a microsecond.

“I love you.”

“For once, I think you may mean it.” The Spy said quietly. The Engineer laughed and pulled him into another clumsy kiss. The man was an incredibly fast learner, and the Spy soon found himself a little breathless.

“Engineer.” He said. “Calm down.”

“Son, I am not about to calm down. You waited five years for this, right?”

“About three, actually.”

The Engineer looked a little insulted.

“It took you two years to fall in love with me?”

“Two years to admit it.” The Spy said. “It’s not like we were in danger of dying.”

The Engineer’s mouth quirked up into a crooked grin, and the Spy took this opportunity to press a kiss to the corner of it. He’d wanted to do that for a very long time.

“Selfish, childish, arrogant.” The Engineer muttered. “Loyal, respects your goddamn boundaries, interesting.”

“Stop weighing the odds and kiss me, idiot.” The Spy growled, pulling the Engineer into another kiss.