Work Text:
It was just your luck that you were stationed at the Dustbowl during one of the hottest weeks of the year. Miss Pauling had assigned you and the rest of the mercs here for a four-day mission, but you had spent the first two days avoiding the outdoors and insufferable heat at all costs. Neither the RED nor BLU team wanted to spend more than five minutes outside, and the higher-ups soon realized this and called a ceasefire. It wasn't like anything was going to get done anyways. Your team was in a pretty rough state, but hey, they're mercenaries and they're tough enough to deal with a little heat, right?
Wrong.
Soldier, not being one to back down from a challenge, declared that he wouldn't be bested by "some scrawny ball of light" and went out to train, but within five minutes he was back inside, drenched in sweat and looking like he was about to faint. He didn't go back out after that.
Spy was, as usual, holed up in his smoking room, saying that he was unaffected by the heat. This was not true. He was very much affected by the heat.
Demo was attempting to drink himself silly. So no change, really.
Heavy had taken to napping with his head inside the refrigerator. You and Engie had had to wake him up and get him to move more than once.
Scout was more irritable than usual and had taken to carrying ice packs around with him everywhere, which you found kind of endearing.
Pyro's flamethrower and lighter had been confiscated. Somehow someone found a bottle of bubbles in the base, though, so he was entertained and not dangerous (for the moment).
Engineer was currently trying his darndest to construct a giant fan.
Even Sniper, who was used to the ridiculous Australian temperatures, seemed quite bothered.
The only one who didn't seem to be affected by the heat was Medic. You would ask him how in the hell he wasn't melting right now, especially with his lab coat on, but honestly, there was probably some weird sciencey reason behind it and you figured you didn't really want to know anyways.
You were currently in your room, trying to cool yourself down as much as possible with the tiny electric fan you had. You flopped onto your bed with a groan. Why couldn't it have been Banana Bay? At least there's a beach there! You thought. A knock at the door interrupted your wishful thinking.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Scout. He tossed an ice pack at you.
"I figured ya might want one of these. I've got more than enough anyways." He chuckled.
"You're a lifesaver." You said, placing the towel-wrapped bag of ice on your face. Man, did that feel good.
You felt the end of the bed dip as Scout took a seat. "D'ya mind if I hang out in here for a while? I'm bored to death."
You gave him a thumbs up and a muffled "Sure thing." You heard him chuckle. "Man, I dunno why Miss Pauling woulda stationed us here, especially in this kinda weather. I'd be surprised if we get outta here in anythin' other than bodybags. Sheesh, doesn't she check the weather?" He sounded a bit annoyed.
You lifted up a corner of the ice pack to look at him. "We'll make it. We can last another two days. I think." You paused. "How's things between you and Pauling anyways? You seem.. I dunno... less enthusiastic?"
Over the past month or so you'd noticed that Scout didn't seem as interested as usual in Miss Pauling. Part of you hoped that you weren't just imagining things and that he really was getting over her. It was a little selfish on your part, you knew that, but dang it, you really wanted to get closer to Scout, and not just in the friendly way. You felt bad for him, of course,but you were seriously crushing on the Bostonian and you couldn't help hoping that you might have a chance with him. You knew your friendship could be jeopardized if your secret got out, so you just ignored your feelings. It hurt a little, thinking that you'd never have the guts to tell him how you felt, but you were still happy that he was one of your closest friends.
He huffed, crossing his arms. "What? Everything's great.. well, I mean.." He trailed off. "Dude, I don't know. Miss Pauling... she's great, y'know? She's smart and bad-ass, but me? I'm just some expendable merc with a baseball bat. I just.. I don't think we'd work out anyways. I've spent so long trying to get her to like me back that-" He hesitated.
You sat up, a concerned look on your face. It was rare to hear Scout talk down about himself. Sure, his loud, in-your-face attitude and bragging could get annoying at times, but that was just how he was. You didn't like seeing him like this.
He stared at the ground for a second, then continued. "I'm not even sure if I actually still like her or if... I've just, I dunno, convinced myself that I do. That I.. have to, like, like her, or something."
You frowned. "That's... a tough situation to be in."
He flopped down onto the bed. "It fuckin' sucks. I don't know what to do."
"You want my advice?"
He nodded. "Why not."
"I guess what I would do is try to move on, or find someone else... plenty of fish in the sea, y'know?" You said, trying to lighten the mood. "And after you've tried to move on, you'll either realize you're over her, or you're not."
Scout seemed to think this over. "I guess."
You continued. "You're not expendable, or some dumb merc, either. You're great at what you do and we all like having you around- ask anyone on the team. Well, except Spy."
He gave a small laugh. "You really think so?"
"Of course I do."
Scout smiled, but then sat up, looking slightly embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to vent, sorry. I-"
You cut him off. "It's fine. Sometimes you just need to get stuff off your chest, I get it." (Hypocritical much?)
There were a few seconds of silence. Scout piped up. "You wanna play Super Smash Bros?"
You grinned. "Hell yeah."
~~~
"Damn, I'm glad you brought your old N64 along. And that this TV is still functioning." Scout chuckled. "Yeah, well you better get ready to lose, (y/n). Ain't no one better than me at Smash."
"Pfft, sure." You wiped your forehead and stood up. I'm gonna go get more water. You want anything?"
"Do we have anymore ice cream? There better be some left, or I'm gonna-"
"You can fight Heavy for it."
"...Nevermind."
You left the room, walking quickly down the hallways of the RED base. You arrived in the break room, where Soldier, Demo, and Sniper sat, playing cards. You exchanged a brief 'hello' and then grabbed a few water bottles out of the fridge.
You returned to find Scout absentmindedly fiddling with a controller. "I'm back." You sat down. "Now let's play."
~~~
Turns out Scout wasn't so good at Smash.
He threw his controller down, indignant. "Aw, come ON! You are totally cheating. Nobody, I repeat, nobody, beats me three times in a row!"
You shrugged, a smirk playing at your lips. "First time for everything." He glared at you. "What, you wanna play another round? I promise I won't wipe the floor with you nearly as bad this time."
"Why you little..." Scout growled. He hooked an arm around your neck, attempting to give you a noogie, but you squirmed out of his grasp. He laughed and tried to grab at you again, and before long the two of you were play-wrestling on the ground like little kids.
Soon Scout had you pinned.
"Hah! Who's the loser now?" Scout sat smugly on top of you, pinning your wrists near your head.
"Okay, I give up. You win." You said, rolling your eyes. You knew you were stronger than Scout and could probably throw him off without too much of a struggle, but you decided to be nice and let him revel in his "victory."
"That's right, chucklehead- ain't nothin' you can do about it."
You quirked an eyebrow. "Mmhmm. You gonna sit on top of me forever?"
"Maybe..." He mumbled, his snarky attitude suddenly absent. You caught his eye- and noticed that he'd started to lean towards you. You felt your heart rate speed up. The distance between you grew ever smaller. You weren't sure if this was a dream or not, or what the hell was happening.
"Scout?" You breathed.
He blinked, seeming to snap out of whatever trance he was in. He quickly sat back up, looking slightly panicked as well as flustered. "Wh- oh shit, I'msorryIdunnowhatcameoverme-" He rambled, clearly panicked.
You were also slightly freaking out. The tips of your ears burned and you felt heat rising in your cheeks. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your heart rate and get your face back to normal. Thankfully you were good at masking your emotions, and you carried on as if nothing happened.
Scout was having a similar problem, actually. He held his hands up to his cheeks. "Why does it feel like my face is burnin' up?"
You snorted. "Dude, chill out. It's probably just the heat getting to you." He began to agree, then stopped, looking conflicted. He shook his head. "No... no, it's not the heat. I-" He glanced over at you, then back at the ground. "Screw it." He stood up.
"Look, I don't...I was, uh, wonderin' if... well... Jeez, why is this so hard for me to do? I can talk to girls fine but you're a guy and I-" He stopped, slapping a hand over his mouth.
You looked at him incredulously. No way.
"Wait, Scout, are you... trying to ask me out?"
Judging by the way he looked away, as well as the rising color in his face, you guessed that the answer was yes.
What the fuck is happening. You thought.
You stood up. "You're serious?"
Scout looked at you and nodded. "Yeah, I... uh, guess I am." He smiled weakly. You could tell how nervous he was, and decided to save him from any more anxiety. You gently grabbed his arm.
"Scout, calm down. I'd love to."
"Wh- really? Uh, I mean, that would be awesome! I know a good chicken joint-well, once we get outta this hellhole we can go."
He stopped, looking like he'd just remembered something important.
"And this isn't me takin' your advice, y'know, just trying to get over Miss Pauling and everything. This is me actually asking you out cuz I think I really do like you, and uh, well... yeah."
You grinned. "I'd hug you right now, but I'm pretty sure the last thing we wanna do right now is share body heat."
Scout chuckled, then winked at you.
"Maybe later, then."