TF2: Scatterguns Crossed *DISCONTINUED*

(1) On the Road

A little small talk jumped back and forth between the men as we made our way down the road. According to Ms. Pauling, we were heading north west to a new base where we would have a chance to recover from the loss we'd just suffered. Our old base sat in the south nestled inside a desert plain. Our new one rested somewhere in the mountains. Heavy was driving up in the front, Scout taking the passenger seat. I was sitting beside Demo in the back corner of the truck, not wanting to talk.

Usually I'm not a very talkative person, but if I talked at all, it was to Engineer and Heavy. The two of them were very open and accepting when I was first introduced. Maybe Heavy not so much at first, but they'd gotten used to me pretty fast. The only two I was hesitating about was Scout and Demo. They were a bit too rambunctious for me to like them much. Demo, I was slowly starting to get to know a little, but Scout...Scout was just an asshole. The way he talked, how he acted, his attitude, his...God even his smug grin. Something about just... "him" made me frustrated. It made me kind of relieved that he'd fallen asleep, so it was a little quieter than usual. Quiet enough at least so I could hear myself think.

Medic was sitting calmly across from me, his dove Archimedes roosting on his shoulder. My mentor had taught me as much as he could in such a small window.  There was a fine line between what he knew and what I knew. We both handled the field pretty well and did as much defending as we needed. The only problem was that Medic had a LOT to teach me before I could become a "real" Medic. I'm not certified, nor have I ever had a medical license at any point, so he told me that I could help him on the field, but I had to leave the operating and diagnosing to him. I was fine with that. I really didn't want to hurt anybody worse than they would've already been. I would've been happy just being just an assistant. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, but just a little. I was very tired, and I was hoping that nobody was seeing the drowsiness in my eyes. I leaned back against the corner of the truck, hoping that the jostling of the dirt road would keep me awake, but on the contrary it was rocking me gently to sleep. 

I let my eyes slip closed...just for a second...

_______________________________________________________

I opened my eyes slightly, a voice swimming around me. I tried to fall back asleep, but someone was shaking me awake. I groaned and shook my head. 

"Leme alone...." I closed my eyes again. 

"Yo. You gotta help me watch the truck tonight." Scout's voice said, another shake making my body wake up. I grunted and sat up, my body screaming in protest. 

"Ow...what?" I asked, looking up at him. He sat up again, giving me room to stand up. 

"Heavy said since we've been sleepin' all day that we should watch the truck overnight while everyone else catches up on sleep." He said in a half-whisper. I looked around, seeing that everyone was now starting to settle down. The truck was already parked on the side of the road. I stood up, grabbing my Medi gun and following Scout out the back door where we jumped to the ground. 

"God it's cold..." I shivered, hugging myself with my free hand. "Why couldn't Engineer just set up a sentry?" Scout shrugged slightly. 

"I have no idea, but I already got yelled at for arguing..." He admitted, leaning back against the wall of the truck. The back door slid closed behind me as I slid to the ground, putting my gun down beside me and wrapping my coat tight around myself. I forgot how cold it got at night in the desert. I huddled up tighter as a gust of cool wind swept sand across me. Did I really have to put up with this cold until morning? It was only going to get colder until the sun rose. 

"Hey. We should sit on this side, it blocks the wind." He said, pointing to the right side of the truck. I nodded and got up, taking my gun and walking to the back wheel, sitting down. It was a little warmer sitting here, and I created enough room for him to sit next to me. He settled down and sighed quietly in relief. 

"There we go...that feels better.." he commented, getting closer until he brushed up against me. I tensed up a little, looking at him and he was looking back. A strange emotion crossed his face that was immediately masked by a frown. He scooted away from me by about an inch or two. 

"Sorry..." He mumbled. I have no idea if it was because I was freezing, but the next second I scooted back towards him, leaning against him. He froze for a second, sitting unmoving before relaxing a little. 

"Heh...are you that cold? Or am I just too irresistible?" He asked, that smirk that I hated so much crossing his face. 

"Don't get too excited..." I muttered quietly, my coat flapping in another gust of wind. "I just don't want to freeze to death."

"I think you'll be fine." He said, but he didn't move. I couldn't lie, he was very warm, but not warm enough to keep me very comfortable. Maybe if he was Heavy I would be able to sleep, but he wasn't. 

I was going to be stuck here all night with him.