bambi eyes || tradley

24. fun in the woods

Bambi adjusted the older boy's thumbs. "Do not worry so much about shooting Veronica in the head," he told him, gently placing the dark-haired boy's finger on the slide. "Right now, it does not matter what part of Veronica you shoot, just that you do."

"Okay," Tristan quietly replied, sucking in a breath and retrieving a tight grip on the weapon.

"Are you ready, Tris?"

"To be honest, I'm a little more pumped than four days ago."

The twenty-year-old pulled his hands away, stepping off the stool and watching his boyfriend from afar. "I will countdown for you, okay? Starting at three... two..."

Tristan pulled the trigger, barely affected by the loud bang, unlike the first few times he tried shooting. A frown tugged onto his lips as the bullet unsurprisingly missed the dummy once again. It was closer to the human replica than his first terribly failed attempt, but it saddened him anyway.

"You just have to try again," his boyfriend told him, taking in the disappointment visible on Tristan's face.

The twenty-one-year-old nodded as he stepped on the stool again, helping the older boy position his hands before stepping off once again. Tristan stared hard at the dummy. He redirected his eyes towards the shoulder along with the barrel. Brad eyed his position before nodding in approval.

"Okay, are you ready, Tris?"

"I guess I have to be," he muttered.

"Three... two..." The dark-haired boy pulled the trigger once again, sending the bullet flying towards the target. Tristan believed he would actually make it before it ripped through the side of its shoulder and ricocheted against the wall.

"Tris, you nearly hit it!" Bambi exclaimed.

"Nearly," he reminded him, ripping off his safety googles and throwing them to the floor. "Fuck this stupid dummy!"

He shot at the stupid thing with the weapon only held in one hand, which went against the first set of rules Bambi had gave him. ("One hand is only for amateurs who do not know what they are doing," the brown-eyed boy had claimed. He seemed very assertive their first lesson, and somehow that turned Tristan on.

And then James's cough was sounded from out of nowhere, "And we do not have room for amateurs." He coughed once again before leaving. The two boys hadn't even heard him come inside.)

But there Tristan was, shooting at a dummy with only one hand, and somehow his amateurish position didn't prevent him from hitting it. He let out a gasp. The bullet had got it right in the chest.

"You did it!" the younger boy excitedly said, happily jumping up and down and applauding his boyfriend. "I knew you had it in you!"

"Yeah, accidentally," Tristan muttered, pulling off his ear protectors. "I can't just hope I can protect myself if something goes down in there."

"But that was still really good, Tris!" Bambi told him. He gripped his free hand, gently placing it over the other. "But remember, two hands, Tris. Not one. One is -"

"- for amateurs that don't know what they are doing," the twenty-one-year-old finished for him. He pecked his lips. "I know, babe."

Bambi sheepishly smiled before pulling the taller boy's finger away from the trigger and resting it back on the slide. "Let us try this again."

. . .

Tristan tightened a red bandana around his hairline, eyes narrowing at the stupid paintball machine as he quickly hopped from sneaker to sneaker. He furrowed his dyed brows and rubbed his two hands together. Maybe it was the adrenaline from accidentally shooting Veronica in the chest that suddenly sparked confidence throughout him, but he was happy that the confidence came. Joe weirdly eyed him from behind the machine, shaking his head at twenty-one-year-old.