Chapter Text
Long holiday breaks are few and far between whenever you work as a mercenary in a seemingly never ending war. Sure, their contracts gave them weekends to recover from battle, but two days to do nothing but strategize, drink, play cards, or do paperwork could become grating on the soul and the mind. The cycle repeated, month after month, until finally, at long last, that well-earned sweet relief that was the announcement of their vacations came over the intercom. They relished at the Administrator’s annoyed voice, announcing that they were being given time to do as they pleased for a week, knowing there was nothing that she could do or say now to force them to stay and work even a minute longer.
Every merc always had a plan.
Scout and Sniper would usually go back to Boston, with the sharpshooter being hesitant to bring Scout to his own home since his parents, mainly his dad, didn’t seem to like him much. But, his dad didn't like anyone, and his mum was always picky when it came to anyone who would date her son.
Heavy would go back to Russia to visit his mother and sisters, eager to see how well they were all doing on their own... He always came back feeling cheery and refreshed, and much more talkative than usual, rambling about his beloved sisters and how proud he was of them to anyone who was willing to listen.
Demoman typically flew back home to visit his mum, though he didn’t talk much about her after he came back.
Pyro would usually go back to Texas with the Engineer, not wanting to stay on base by themself. Engineer never minded; in fact, he seemed to treat the firebug like his own child at this point, calming them down after they had nightmares, listening to them and translating for them whenever the others had trouble understanding them, and helping them bake without setting the base on fire. Pyro was basically like a younger sibling to the rest of the mercs; even Spy found himself not minding their company after a bit.
Soldier, though… no one really knew what Soldier did. But he would always come back, telling some ludicrous sounding tale about "how he saved Christmas for America".
Finally, Spy and Medic, otherwise known as Leon and Ludwig, respectively.
The two of them had no family to go home to. No friends left behind. No, instead, they only had each other.
And they wouldn't have it any other way, out there on the frigid eastern coast of a beach, snowflakes gently fluttering down from the moonlit sky.
“ Schatz, aren’t you going to get cold?” Ludwig asked as he and Leon climbed the stairs leading to the boardwalk.
“Non, mon cher Ludwig, I will be fine. I promised you we would walk here tonight, I will not go back on that promise.” Leon said rather matter-of-factly, like it was ludicrous for the doctor to even insinuate such a thing. The doctor scoffed, taking one of the sleeves of Leon’s expensive crimson pinstripe suit in his hand.
“So stubborn,” He chuckled, “your suit is hardly warm enough for this type of weather, yet you insist on wearing it out. It is far too thin.”
"If I am to pay for such luxuries, I am going to enjoy those luxuries. You know this by now.”
“I do,” Ludwig hummed in response, “and I also know that you are going to give yourself a rather ‘luxurious’ case of pneumonia if you do not start wearing normal winter clothing.”
Leon rolled his eyes, but wore a fond grin on his face, wrapping an arm around Ludwig’s waist.
“Not if you keep me warm instead.” he said with a sly grin.
“You are lucky you’re cute. It would be a shame to let you freeze out here, mein lieber. ”
The snow covered planks crunched and creaked beneath their slow, careful steps, wary of patches of ice hidden beneath the thick white blanket. No one else had been on this boardwalk tonight, it seemed. Or perhaps the steady falling of snow simply covered up previous tracks. Either way, they were content to be alone for a change; the base was always noisy with yelling, fighting, laughter, a constant cacophony of sound that even a college fraternity house would struggle to keep up with. Worst of all, the fighting meant that Ludwig was always busy with complaints, patch jobs, experiments and paperwork. Leon often fought for his attention, putting himself between Ludwig and his desk, distracting him with affectionate gestures while he wrote reports and signed order forms, draping himself over the doctor’s shoulders like the snake he was known to be. Of course, Ludwig usually fell for the bait, falling behind on work just a tad in favor of spending time with his lover. Leon always helped him catch up afterwards as an apology.
They walked slowly down the empty walkway, staring upwards at the deep blue night sky, lit by a full moon and billions of gently twinkling stars. Leon was grateful that this place was so far from the city… The stars were actually visible for a change, away from all the bright white artificial lights of street lamps and neon shop signs.
“I told you the long drive would be worth the view, non? ” Leon asked with a smug grin as the two stopped and stood in front of the fence posts separating the walkway from the drop into the freezing sea.
“Yes, yes you did. I apologize for my skepticism. I had heard on the radio this morning that it would be cloudy tonight.” Ludwig replied, giving the somewhat taller man a light kiss on the cheek.
“All is forgiven, this time,” His lover teased, feigning a pouty expression, “but I think now it is best to keep in mind that the weather reports are hardly ever accurate.”
“Yes, I suppose so. How wrong I was to trust a meteorologist over my hopelessly romantic partner.” Ludwig playfully retorted, earning him a sly grin from the agent. They both turned to stare out at the open sea, listening to the gentle sound of the tide rushing over the sand. The perfect ambience for the perfect night. The sea glittered and sparkled, reflecting the lights stretching all the way from outer space.
Yet, the medic could not help but be roped back into his troubled thoughts.
"...Leon?" asked the doctor in a much softer tone, peering over at his partner with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Oui, mon beau? " The agent replied, looking over to meet his gaze.
"...You love me, right..?"
The spy frowned, and tilted his head.
"But of course," he answered, matching his partner's tone, "I love you more than anyone else in the world has ever loved a person. What makes you ask such a thing?"
"It is just… I thought that maybe you would want someone… A little more, I don't know… sane?" Ludwig said that final word like he was ripping off a bandage, quick but strained... Almost like he was taking a great risk by saying it, somehow.
Leon took his hands, gently rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs, caressing his knuckles.
"Is this because Scout got into another fight with you, and called you crazy?"
"Well, no... Or, maybe… I don't know, really. It is just something I have been thinking about lately… Scout is not the only one to say such things to me. The other team, for instance, does so almost every day.” Ludwig gave a sigh, tiredly rubbing his eyes with his wrists. Leon moved to gently cup his face in his hands. Even with gloves on, the doctor felt warm to the touch, a soft and comforting contrast to the chilling ocean breeze.
“Mon amour, the BLU Team will say anything they can to get under your skin. You know that.” He said, quiet but stern.
“I… I know. But they always have at least a sliver of truth to them, do they not?”
Leon smirked. “So you believe there is truth to them calling me a rat, or a snake?”
“Nein! Of course not!” the doctor quickly answered. “That is not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Relax. I am only teasing. I know you do not think so lowly of me.” Leon said teasingly, lightly nuzzling the doctor’s cheek. Ludwig simply scoffed, but did not protest at all to the show of affection, admittedly comforted by the small, staggered rush of warm air against his neck as the agent got close.
“...Do you, then?” Ludwig asked, his voice making him sound small.
“Do I think of myself as a rat or a snake?” he hummed, obviously still teasing him and kissing his neck a few times.
“No. Stop avoiding the question, bitte… Do you think I am crazy?”
Leon backed away, grinning at him. “I think we are all crazy, in our own ways.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, we are mercenaries, Docteur. Do you really think any of us were hired by being saints?” Leon said plainly, as if it was an obvious answer. “Our work is not exactly smiled upon. We are all wanted by law enforcement, somewhere, some way.”
Ludwig just stared at him. He had a point, he supposed… He knew very well that his own work was… far from ethical. His partner’s next question brought him out of his thoughts.
“The real question is, do you care?”
The doctor pondered that for a minute or two. He loved his work… he truly did. He felt a rush, a thrill from delving into the unknown, his maniacal laughter echoing throughout his laboratory and the med bay as his mad ideas came to life. A vapor that can heal wounds quicker than any modern treatments, a heart implant capable of making its host invincible for small bursts of time… Who else but himself could accomplish such a thing?
“No, I suppose I don’t.” he answered at last, moving to lean with his arms crossed over the railing, clearly not caring much about getting snow all over his sleeves. “I was just worried that, perhaps, you do.”
The smaller man hummed, and moved to lean against his side, resting his head against his lover’s shoulder.
“Who am I to judge a genius?” He praised him with a soft smile. Ludwig could feel his cheeks turning rosy.
“You and your honeyed words…” he mumbled, unable to hide a smile of his own.
“I speak only the truth,” The agent said simply, moving to hold his hand, “and the truth is that you are a charming, handsome, loving man with a brilliant mind.”
“Okay, okay…” Ludwig replied, his face only reddening further with the praise. “No need to go that far with the flattery… I believe you.”
Leon hummed again, much quieter this time. “Good… Good.”
There they stood, nestled against each other like a pair of lovebirds, the only noise now being the gentle crashing of the icy waves… Ludwig noticed Leon was shivering, so he took off his large coat and draped it over the agent’s shoulders…
“Leon?”
“Oui? ”
“...Ich liebe dich. ”
“...Je t’aime aussi. ”