A/N: I couldn't get on the site and I was so very antsy about posting this chapter. Shout out to Cas, who was very helpful during said downtime! And like I said I would, I now have a sort of cover-art for the story. I put the link at the bottom because I feel like it's almost kind of spoilery! And, silly note, my spellcheck tells me corrections for "CrazedGunman" are "unmannered", "unmanagable", and "craziness"... I suppose they're all pretty legit. Chapter Seven: Breaking Point They slept in the same general 'bed'. By bed Sniper meant the somewhat amiable rug of the floor of his camper, but the controlled fire outside was at least keeping things pretty toasty even from that far away. They were using the same blanket, but it and the floor were large enough to leave them no reason to be close. There was room. But somehow they had naturally cozied up without either complaining or even pointing it out... they weren't touching anything but when their feet bumped after all. And it seemed pretty excusable, as they were both staring up through the glass panel in the roof at the stars in all their tiny glory. Sniper, convinced his companion distracted, looked over inconspicuously. The gap was so small it was painful. He admired the younger, arms resting folded behind his head and eyes not quite open all the way. So contemplative, so blissfully relaxed. He was rarely sedated like this, but Sniper supposed sometimes everyone got caught up in nature's majesty. It wasn't the first time he'd looked at him, but it was the first time he'd noticed how he was paler compared to himself or to the other mercenaries-- well, probably not the Doctor-- and especially so under moonlight. Moonlight tended to do that, though. He started thinking more about other features. His face was rounder, and clean of hair. His arms were, of course, spangly and his chest flat. He was kind of a twink. That worked for him. It was unbearable how intimate they were like this. "If we were together," Sniper thought, [/i]"This would have been a really good date. And I'd be ravishing him right now like mad if he let me. It feels like such a wasted opportunity." Scout mumbled, and Sniper made a short 'hmm?' "If I had a girlfriend, this would be, like, such a fuckin' good date. Feels like I'm totally wasting it," he laughed. Sniper nervously laughed back because of how creepily that echoed his thoughts. "Well sorry for not being a girl, or your date." "Ha, ha. It's... it's okay. I forgive ya." Scout glanced and saw Sniper shift onto his side and prop his elbow on his personal pillow. He was looking down slightly from Scout's side. "You shouldn't. I mean, life is short. Time lost can't be made back up. You're young, but I'm not... If I were your shiela-- or, more like, your lover, I guess it'd have t'be," Sniper laughed, losing nerve fast trying to be ambiguous like this, "you'd regret it if I died." "That's really grim, dude." "'s true. An..." Sniper's breath stilled and his eyes flitted to Scout's mouth, thinking how much he wanted to do what he knew he wanted to do. He shifted, ignoring the warning bells in his brain telling him he was about to get a good smack, and placed his arm on Scout's other side, hanging over him and blocking out the rays of moonlight that had been hilighting Scout's face. Scout tensed and every inch of his skin got goosebumps from the oppressive sense of entrapment, similar to when Sniper had touched him the lessons before. "I don't want to waste moments." He leaned in carefully, making it obvious what his intention was. Scout didn't make any movements to push him away, and he couldn't tell if he was shell-shocked or willing or what. But there was hardly any going back any way. But internally the Scout himself was screaming for him to do it. He didn't want to advance himself, but he sure as heck wanted it to happen. If he didn't he would have clobbered him already, but he did... surely Sniper could read his mind, he assumed. They kissed. It was light, their lips touched very tenderly and their eyes closed on impact simultaneously. There wasn't any brutality to it, or fervour, but there was passion. There was emotion. Confusion, greatly, but also pure, warm affection. Scout's heart was running faster than he ever dreamed doing with his feet when they, after only a couple excruciating moments, parted. Sniper was looking at him like he'd never seen anything more beautiful, and Scout didn't have room not to see it with him resting his forehead affectionately on his. "I... can't believe that just happened," he uttered in after-shock. "That was my first kiss." He regretted admitting that in the rush of the moment, but it was hardly the biggest damage done. Sniper bit his bottom lip and quickly averted his eyes, withdrawing a bit instinctively. "No it wasn't. I, er... I slipped ye one while you were asleep. At the hospital." Then was the time to admit that if there ever would be. It was to Scout's surprise, though he looked back on the other moments moments Sniper had had a fixation with his own mouth and it made sense. Right after he'd woken up, he'd been covering his mouth like he'd done something wrong, but Scout had assumed that had been to do with shooting him... He never thought... They were quiet for a moment, but Sniper withdraw his arm to his own side. "When I told ye I didn't like seein' ye injured I meant it. I was in a lot of worry and I didn't really mean to do it to ye... I mean, I did, but I know it was wrong of me." He sighed. "But... what do y'think?" He smiled weakly, hopefully. "It's..." Scout hesitated. Every fiber of his heart wanted to yell 'take me now' or something stupid like that, but he was still conflicted. He strained out his words. "I... I dunno. What will people think? Like, my mom and the team and... I never had a girl let along a guy! I don't know what to do with ya! I don't even know how to handle myself, if we were like that... I... I like our friendship, but..." "But I'm intimidated," he cursed bitterly inside. He was really hating himself and already regretting this. Sniper didn't like how he felt this was leaning on do not want. He cared, genuinely. Too much so that even though he ached to do so, he sighed. "Forget about it. I was going way over my head. If you don't hate me too much, let's just be what we were twenty minutes ago." He smiled but it was empty. "...I don't hate you..." he said softly. Too softly. Sniper rolled over facing away from him and they were done, just like that. They didn't talk again that night or any on the way back. Scout couldn't stomach the thought so he pretended to sleep deeply the whole ride. The day after they went back to work as normal, with the thankful excuse of Soldier railing into Scout again keeping them apart. Scout would go to the roost again in a couple days and they would act normal, he was sure. Not that either was happy about it. -- It was a co-incidence Scout went to see Engineer when Sniper was already there. Chance had it they both went there for condolence at all. But it was all Scout's desperate idiocy that had him listening at the door. "--was stupid, Truckie." "Don't be so hard on yourself, he never said no y'know. Before you came to me I got thefeelin' you two were already seein' each-other anyhow! Obviously there's something to it if I was that badly mistaken." "Didn't say yes neither. I wanna push it, you know? I wanna see if there's any extent it'd take to get him to be mine. But I don't know how far is forcin' it." "Boy would never do something like that if he didn't wan'ta." "Maybe. But he's young. Young people do stupid things." "An' it's older folk like me who gotta look out for 'em. Not you. You're only, what, 36?" "34." "Shucks, he's 24 himself. You ain't that much diff'nt t'him, take it from a 42-year old mother hubbard like yours truly." "Heh, you're not planning to retire yet, ye ol' geezer?" "You know I got more left in me before my back gives out." "How's the wife, anyway? Y'said she'd been feelin' the arthritis kicking in." "Oh you know her, she over-reacts. She send me a scarf for when the winter really kicks in so she can't be too bad off..." Scout veered away from the door, his worried lifted somewhat. He was thinking he might have broken his chances, and was glad to know he was still open for business. It still left him in the conundrums he was already in, but... he had time, he supposed. -- Scout eventually remembered the training he had done between all the bits of sexual tension he'd been absorbed in, and had done something everyone else thought was pretty peculiar. He took his recurve bow into battle, instead of a scattergun. They weren't too bothered since it would hardly be a detriment to their team (they'd managed without him through his recovery) so why not? If he sucked at it they'd make him take his gun back later. Let him do what he wants as long as he's asset to team. And he wasn't shabby with it. He was moving at his usual speed and then slowing to get in a shot, then running elsewhere and getting a shot. Sometimes he would manage to get them in the head, often just the body, but it was effective. Impressive, really. His aim on the go wasn't as good as Sniper but he wasn't as easy to pick off because of his speed. He dominated one... two... three... four opponents. He was feeling pretty good about himself. It struck him as a pretty good excuse to talk to Sniper again when he was ready-- tell him excitedly all about his achievement and detail every shot in detail over the course of an hour or more. Chuffed about the idea, he looked up at where he'd seen Sniper take up camp and sure enough he was there, just visible through the window. He also appeared to be watching Scout through his rifle's scope. Scout smiled and waved with a silly, triumphant grin. Sniper, a little exasperated at the lack of attention he was paying to the mission but happy at the gesture, smiled and waved back. He took up scope and looked away, needing to quickly get back to the action himself. Scout sighed, but happily. Yeah, things were definitely okay right now. He was about to get on the ball and own some people but the second he looked away, he thought he saw something and snapped his head back. There was a distortion in the wall or air up there. It was warped. And then it was translucent blue. And then there was a form on it's own taking place of the distortion. He gasped. It was the BLU Spy. And he was clicking out his knife and advancing on a perfectly unsuspecting Sniper. "He's right behind you!" he yelled inside, but there was no way of Sniper hearing him if he shouted it out over the gunfire and distance. It was a split-second-counts situation and he had no way to get the Sniper's attention back to him. He felt the weight at his side, the bow he'd by chance chose to bring with him on this day. He had it in this very moment. It was like he was meant to do it. Without hesitation or a moment to spare, he lifted it, drew the bow... aiming was the longest thing he gave time for, he couldn't afford to miss... and let fly. It was the longest moment of his life between letting it go and watching it soar across the gap between him and them. But it penetrated the Spy right through the head and his entire body flung back, stapled to the wall. Sniper could be seen starting and turning around in a flash, fumbling the Kukiri Scout knew was just below the sill by him like usual. But the job was already done for him, which clearly surprised him even more. With only one obvious explanation Sniper looked back to were Scout had been and still was, mouth agape and his whole body stiffened into the way it had been after flinging the arrow, still pointing in the direction of the roost and his fingers clenched as if still gripping something with his fingers. The fright all hit him belatedly once he discovered he could breathe again. That was the stupidest thing he remembered himself doing. He had wanted to save his team-mate, his friend, and the person he loved and hadn't thought things out. Sniper would have some back. The damage wouldn't have been forever. Unless it was Scout who killed him. Just a few stray centimetres, or a shaking hand, or an ill-timed movement could have been really dangerous. He didn't think about these things or care in that moment he just didn't want to see Sniper hurt. All at once, he understood what Sniper had been getting at. Sniper disappeared from the window and Scout looked around him lamely. Most of the team were pre-occupied but Engie was squatting behind a rock and a sentry and had witnessed the whole thing, and the Pyro who had just Spy-checked saw him standing around like a dumbstruck idiot and probably wondered what his deal was. He grasped around inside and knew what he really wanted to do right now-- what he was compelled to do. What he felt he needed to. He kicked up dirt and sprinted towards the sniping roost. [ Cover art : http://sebrinalynn.deviantart.com/art/Shot-through-the-heart-283764101 ]