𝐓𝐅𝟐 𝐗 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 & 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

(5) Sniper X Reader

he's so awkward it's adorable

(written 10/3/23) (961 words)

i rise from the dead and bring garbage :)

Sitting contentedly in her room, the girl preoccupied herself with drawing, sketching anything that came to mind. After hours of being so focused, almost every empty space of the page was pencilled with something of interest.

After being on the battlefield consecutively for almost a week, the mercenaries were finally granted a day of rest. The girl surmised that there was no better way to spend the day than by keeping herself busy doing what she most enjoyed. She figured each mercenary had the same idea, as they rarely got the chance to do so. For a change, the base was virtually silent; a strange occurrence.

Footsteps sounding from the hallway, approaching her, pulled her focus from her drawing. She glanced to the hallway, squinting as she thought to figure out the pattern of the steps. Before she had the chance to guess, she was surprised to see Sniper casually walking by.

"Hey Snipes." She greeted just before he went out of sight.

Her voice had Sniper come to a halt just out of her view. Suddenly he stepped into the doorway of her bedroom, almost meekly with his head tipped downwards and shoulders scrunched subtly, with his hands shoved in his pockets.

The corners of his mouth upturned to show a little smile, their eyes meeting briefly. She couldn't help but observe Sniper for a minute, noticing that he was without his usual aviator sunglasses and vest. His gaze wandered curiously over the doodled-on pages lying across her desk.

"Strange seeing you here." She breathed a laugh, his attention snapping back to her. "I mean, you usually spend all your time in your van."

Sniper nodded, his lips pressed together before he spoke. "The storm's too bad."

The girl looked to the window in wonder, only to realise Sniper was right. A raging storm had settled in hours ago, with no signs of easing any time soon. The rain batting against the metal roof of his van certainly wouldn't be peaceful at all.

She turned back to Sniper, seeing him shift from foot-to-foot where he stood awkwardly. Before getting the chance to speak up, Sniper chimed in.

"Those are your drawings, Sheila?" He motioned to the pages with a nod.

"Oh, yeah, these are mine." She shifted the pencil that lied atop the paper. "I got pretty bored."

The girl could see how Sniper looked over the drawings from where he stood, his interest truly piqued.

She grinned as her brow raised. "You wanna see?"

With a nod he stepped further into the room, standing beside her while she remained sat at her desk. The girl handed him the page littered with sketches, Sniper taking it delicately as to not crinkle the paper. She watched as he eyed every detail, eager to know his thoughts as he seemed somewhat surprised.

"These are..." Sniper nodded slowly, his eyes trailing downward as he rested the page against the desk. "These are real good." He complimented awkwardly.

"Thanks, Sniper." She giggled, looking up to lock eyes with him.

With the way her lashes fluttered, and her cheeky smile adorned her face, Sniper was sure his heart skipped a beat when their eyes locked. He stuffed his hands back into his pockets, and moved to stand by the door again, feeling his face flush lightly.

He rocked on his heels subtly. "Well I uh-" He trailed off, looking anywhere but to the girl eyeing him in a daze. "I'm gonna grab some coffee."

"Yeah..." She breathed. "I'll let you get back to your own thing."

They smiled to one another before Sniper turned on his heel to make his way to the kitchen.

"Oh! Sniper before you go...." She called as Sniper reeled himself back. "I have something you might like."

A harsh sound of paper being torn made his brows knit in confusion, but then Sniper noticed that the girl was tearing a segment from the sheet of drawings, and his head cocked slightly.

"Here." She held a torn circle of paper towards him, the drawing on the underside concealed from him.

Sniper took it gingerly, his eyes darting from her offering, to the sweet smile ever present on her face.

"Turn it over." She mounted her finger to her lip, practically bouncing with giddiness.

The second Sniper flipped the paper over, his eyes lit up as he admired her artwork. She had drawn a little koala clinging to a tree branch, with not one imperfection, or so Sniper thought.

"I figured it would be very..." She paused to think. "-homely for you."

He peeled his attention away once she spoke, realising how flustered she was as she slid down in her chair. A soft smile appeared on his face soon turning into a little toothy grin.

"You like it?" Her heart was beating like a drum.

Sniper nodded quickly, eyes falling on the sketch once more. "Yeah... Thanks Sheila."

"It's nothing." She waved a hand. "Now go on, I know you're dying for a coffee." She laughed.

Her words earned a chuckle from the Aussie. Sniper tipped his hat before making his way down the hall, little gift still in hand. He was unable to bring himself to put it in his pocket just yet, because each time he so much as glanced to it, Sniper thought of just how hard he had fallen in love with her.