Work Text:
“I need you.”
Sniper jolts to attention, looking up from his kukri. He looks over to Spy, who’s been leaning against the doorframe as if the wood could contaminate his suit.
“Mate, what?”
Spy raises his eyebrows, tucking his hands into his pockets as he prowls closer, close enough to smell the residual gunpowder on his suit.
“I need your expertise, bushman.”
Sniper huffs a laugh, turning away as he sets aside his polished kukri. It’s not the first time he’s misheard his naturally flirtatious coworker, and he doubts it will be the last.
“New contract? Is Pauling sending you off with a chaperone again? ” Sniper shifts, before leaning forwards and meeting Spy’s gaze. “Didn’t Vegas teach us anything?”
Spy frowns at the mention of Vegas, puffing a cloud of smoke at Sniper, his mood thoroughly soured.
“We don’t /talk/ about Vegas,” Spy hisses.
“I think,” Sniper snickers, “That we should talk about Vegas.”
Spy sighs deeply and with enough exhaustion to put even Medic’s post-experiment crashes to shame.
“I need your advice.” Spy relents, finally sitting down.
“I’m all ears.” Sniper responds, trying to ignore the brush of Spy’s arm against his own, no matter how intoxicating his cigarette-and-expensive-cologne scent is.
“I am having…” Spy hesitates, “.. /Trouble/ with an interpersonal situation.”
Sniper places a (hopefully) comforting hand on Spy’s shoulder. For his and Spy’s dignity alike, he pretends not to feel Spy lean into the touch.
“I, /unfortunately,/ hold a quite inconvenient affection for someone,” Sniper tries his hardest not to laugh at Spy’s utter disdain of genuine emotion. “And I don’t know how to tell him.”
Sniper’s breath catches in his throat, and he nearly chokes on the realization, croaking out a hopeful, “Him?”
“I hope this isn’t /news/ to you, Sniper.”
“High hopes,” Sniper groans, “It’s news to me, mate.”
Spy levels a hard stare at Sniper. “We /both/ remember Vegas.”
“I thought we didn’t talk about Vegas ‘cause you were ashamed or closeted, or whatever!”
“We don’t talk about Vegas because I kissed you, and I /still/ don’t know how I feel about it!”
Sniper stops dead in his tracks, staring at Spy with wide eyes. After a moment, he remembers himself and closes his mouth. He swallows thickly, dragging his gaze away from Spy’s admittedly handsome features.
“I didn’t want it to change anything between us.”
“Not even for the better?”
It’s Spy’s turn to hesitate now, and /christ,/ now that Sniper’s really looking, Spy’s as open a book as one can be.
He takes a smug satisfaction in watching Spy’s eyebrows crease in confusion, before his expression blossoms into realization, thin lips parting around a whispered “/oh,/” of understanding.
“I take it you didn’t think I could’ve liked it too. Liked /you,/ more like.”
“Typically, I’ve already considered every possible outcome,” Spy murmurs, leaning against Sniper as he worries at his cufflink, having long since extinguished his last cigarette. “.. I admit, I hadn’t considered that.”
“Why not?” Sniper asks, as if that simple little phrase wouldn’t singlehandedly tear apart everything Spy thought he knew about himself.
Spy stiffens, his breath hitching as he immediately looks away.
Admittedly, it was a bold question even in the best of times, and now is certainly not then. Sniper sighs, keeping perfectly still. He knows how little it takes to scare Spy off when he’s like this. /He seems so small,/ Sniper thinks, /like a fawn, or a particularly skittish possum./
He knows how easy it’d be to break Spy’s trust, and so Sniper does what he’s good at. He waits.
“ Can we…” After an impossibly long yet unbearably short moment, Spy pulls himself back together, the cracks in his composure still visible as he finally looks back over to Sniper. “Can we talk about that later, Mundy?”
“Of course,” Sniper replies, almost flinching at the gentleness in his voice. Does he always sound like that to Spy?
They sit in comfortable silence for a while. Despite how perceptive Sniper considers himself to be, he only realizes he’s lost track of time when Spy reaches for his cigarette case.
“.. I didn’t know you liked men.” Spy redirects, in a tone Sniper can’t quite place.
“You must not have snooped ‘round my van too much.” Sniper snorts, a small smile tugging at his lips as Spy huffs indignantly.
“I didn’t deem it necessary.” He pouts, frown deepening as Sniper breaks into a grin. “I could already confirm you had no intention to harm me.”
“Aw, mate,” Sniper flushes, leaning against Spy.
“Nor did I want to betray your.. trust.”
“/Mate!/” Sniper can’t quite stifle his gasp in time, breaking into the widest smile Spy’s ever seen him with.
“I don’t see what the big deal is- /bushman!/”
Spy’s complaints taper off as he settles into Sniper’s unexpected but not unwelcome embrace. Despite his best attempts, Spy can’t help but relax.
“I trust you too.”