Work Text:
Their love was a complicated one, having to hide from curious and hateful eyes to only see each other for a couple of hours, enjoying a bit of that sweet, warm and addictive feeling that was never going to end well for either of them, but both kept going.
Calling the other.
Searching the other.
Needing the other.
Jeremy thought they were equal, different sides of a line but at the same level, Christopher in the other hand had other image in mind, one that he kept to himself, very close to his chest.
Hunter and prey.
═════════════════
The air inside his van was heavy, hot and slightly moist but at the same time incredibly suffocating, even taking deep breaths was a slightly difficult task but he just justified it with the fact that the had slept like a log last night, probably because of the sleeping pills he had found in one of the drawers of his “comforting” home. He hadn't been able to sleep at any decent level for weeks now, and when he found those forgotten pills in one corner, he didn’t thought twice in swallow then, not even stopping for a second and at least thinking that they may be far off their expiration date.
He only wanted to sleep any decent amount, or at least, sleep and never wake up again.
He would sit up, still in bed, the sheets should had been changed a long time ago but he didn’t care, even if he put on new ones those would get dirty sooner or later, why bother anymore, he didn't even had the energy to put over a blanket those days, but it wasn't all bad, it was still summer after all, although the trees seemed to start preparing for autumn. Wishing for any type of relief from the heat of inside, he would stand up from his bed and walk to the door, which luckily was only a couple of steps away.
Then he heard the sweet but painful sound of those military dogs tags hanging from his neck, tingling with every little movement, he would grab them firmly, he didn't want to keep hearing them but it was the only thing he had left from him. He still didn’t know how that man would keep wearing them and still sometimes being silent enough to creep behind him, those dog tags were noisy enough to be exactly like a cat's collar.
When the van's door opened and a cool summer breeze caressed his aching and sweating body, he let out a sigh, closing his tired eyes and sitting in the edge of the door, almost touching the blades of grass while barefoot, his left hand still grabbing strongly the small metal places against his chest.
“… Summer is nearin’ his end… ” murmured to himself, half hopping to hear that voice that used to wake him up some mornings and, weirdly, carry him to sleep some nights.
But he was welcomed by a noisy and heavy silence.
Exactly two months ago, Blue Scout, Jeremy, had died, well, murdered were the exact words, that was what the Spy of his team had explained, that was the information he got to extract from a small espionage mission into the Blu Base, although not much was known about the situation. Everything they were told was that Scout was found dead some days later after a day outside of the Blu headquarters, it wasn't natural, it was clearly a murder, and he also didn’t went to respawn for two reasons: he was outside of range and even if he had been inside of it, the machine had been turned off because of repairs and monthly check-ups by their Engineer.
He was strangled like an animal. Buried six feet under the same day the Blu Team found him.
It was a rational conclusion that the BLU where going to blame them for what had happened, but RED quickly dismissed the accusations, but that was the last time the two groups had any direct communications, everything kept going in the same direction as always.
“Agh… shit…” Mundy whispered to himself, suddenly standing up and going back into the darkness of his van, he didn’t have time to keep thinking, he needed to get to work.
Realizing that it was quite late, almost time for lunch, he decided to dress up and went into the base to have a bit of interaction with his coworkers, even if the idea of having contact with them made him nauseous and mentally tired, if he kept isolating himself to that degree he knew they would star to poke around his camping zone, and it was pretty obvious that Spy was already thinking on spying on him sooner or later.
Once dressed in his usual black and red clothes and hiding the dog tags deeply into the inner pocket of his vest, he started to walk under the summer sun, kicking some rocks that got in his way, carrying his trusty rifle on his back, red eyes hiding behind his shades.
He already knew that it was going to be quite a lousy day.
═════════════════
Several hours later, thanks to the gods, he was back to his van.
After sharing a lunch with his team, keeping his mouth shut and only making noises in response to the others, they had a fight against BLU team about some captures points not too far from their base, so it was a confrontation that actually took hours, and when they came back the decided to just share dinner and Sniper, tired and without almost no energy to cook for himself accepted the invitation.
“Ah… crikey…” he sigh tiredly, closing the door behind his back, finally relaxing his body while leaving his rifle again ta the wall.
Feeling his eyes already closing on him, he would start undressing and just throwing his clothes in the floor or the sofa that was directly at the side of his very small kitchen, not before taking the dog tags out of his vest and putting them around his neck, while not being able to sleep very well, feeling the cold metal against his skin made him feel more at ease knowing that he still had something of him, of Scout, the Blu Scout.
He would slowly climb into his bed, even when it was very messy at least it felt fresh and cold, and was able to completely cover his body with the sheets and not start to sweat immediately, thing he hated since it felt weird to him sleep without feeling the weight of something on top of him.
That night, he weirdly but quickly feel asleep, he attributed it to him being so incredibly tired that even his brain couldn't keep him awake with only misery and sadness, he didn't question it. But it wasn't too long before his slumber was interrupted, by noise, a metal one.
He shot his eyes wide open, looking around the darkness in his RV but quickly finding nothing, suddenly something that sounded like steps in the roof, the same noise from before. He was very surprised but also his mind quickly went into a pure survival state, being a Sniper and also bringing into account everything he had gone through by the hands of the BLU team, he now had very sharp senses and reflexes, although, those sometimes played against him when someone simply surprised him or did even the most small action, he would suddenly … snap.
Grabbing his Kukri from the table close to his bed, he would slowly make his way outside, waiting for any other sound that could come from above his head, in the roof. He really had no idea who could it be so late at night, he thought in probably a Blu Spy, but why they where on top of the roof and trying to get inside was anyone guess.
“ … agh… ” A soft sound would escape his lips while grabbing the handle of the door, his body stopping from a moment, trying to hear anything.
But after not hearing anything else, he would jump outside and turn, trying to see who it was that woke him up so late at night, and even if it was someone from his team he would probably have a hard time trying not to kill them.
But it was then, when he saw it, when he saw him, his kukri slipping out of his hand and falling into the ground.
Illuminated and almost shining in the light of the moon, a dark silhouette was staring back at him, thin but somewhat tall, dressed in only a blue shirt, dark baggy pants that ended under the knee, and runner shoes. His short brown hair moved softly in the dying summer breeze, it seemed that he didn't have his usual hat or headset, but was more shocking about him, about that apparition, was its eyes.
Round and shining, perfect blue marbles that were looking straight at him. In the darkness of the night it was hard, but he could tell that he young man was smiling at him, softly, but his eyes, they didn’t have emotion at all, blank but deep like the deepest ocean.
═════════════════
He didn't sleep that night. He hadn't even closed his eyes for a moment.
At that point he probably had drank a whole can of instant coffee, his hands hadn't stopped trembling since last night and his body was still in very high alarm, his nervous eyes darting from one side of the RV to the other, his mind stopping him from seeing his unexpected visitor since if felt like he was going to really go completely crazy if he stared for more that some seconds. The ghostly apparition, that seemed to slightly shine in the warm darkness of the place he called his safe space, his body was barely moving, he couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not.
But the only thing that was more unnerving than having a living dead man sitting in his couch was the eyes of him.
Still totally blank, void of feelings or expression, just two perfect marbles of pure blue that where on him in every moment, for every time he breathed, sighed, or looked at it, the BLU Scout didn’t take his eyes off of Sniper in any moment.
The Australian took another look at the young man, trying to confirm, for the hundredth time, that what he was seeing was real and not an hallucination created for poor sleeping those few months. BLU Scout, Jeremy, was sitting perfectly still on the sofa, his brown hair neatly in place and very clean, his clothes where in perfect state but he didn't have his hat, headset or back pouch, his dog tags where hanging in Sniper neck too.
The RED Sniper didn’t knew what to do.
“… Ah-… ” he opened his mouth, his voice startling himself when it came more loud than he wanted it to be.
Scout didn't react at all at the sound.
He thought, again, what he could even say to him, what he could ask, and if the apparition would even talk. He tried again, trying to fill his chest with all the courage that he had, thinking in that situation really was hard for him, because his thoughts where constantly about to be drown in a sea of feelings.
“… Sco-”
His voice was suddenly cut out by the sudden of someone knocking in his RV's door, the noise almost making him jump while his head snapped to that direction, his heart skipping a beat while silence took over the whole vehicle, Sniper waiting for any sound coming from outside.
Then, a very familiar voice.
“ … Sniper? Are you there?” the French accent in that cautious voice immediately gave him some kind of comfort in the strange and bizarre situation.
He would turn to the slim man sitting in his sofa.
“Stay. There” he ordered, but the other, again, didn’t seem to hear him.
The taller man would quickly hide the dogtags inside his vest again, putting it on and also his hat and shades, before walking to the door, grabbing the handle firmly and opening it after a deep sigh, trying to seem more stable that he was.
At the other end was Spy, the RED Spy, wearing his tasteless red suit under the warm but dying heat of summer, as every time they talked, he seemed incredibly cautious but also not very happy of being there in the first place. Since the death of Scout, the French Spy had noticed the change of attitude in the Sniper and quickly started to “see” a relation between the two incidents, but when nothing turned out of his little investigation he dropped it, but that didn’t change the fact that his coworker had changed drastically, acting in very out-of-character.
Depressed.
So, since and because they where “friends” he took it out of himself to sometimes visit the Australian man or to make wellfare checks if he was late for some reunion in the base or a match. Those past few months, it was weird of him to show his face around the base if it wasn't for a match against BLU, and this out-of-nowhere “blue period” had even take a tool in his numbers.
He hadn't even go to the other team's base to slaughter anyone of sight, and that was incredibly disturbing considering who he was.
Once the two where eye to eye, the Spy seemed to noticed right away that the Sniper was a bit nervous, looking pale and slightly disturbed, his red eyes looking directly at him probably asking what he was doing there and why he wasn't already leaving.
Either way, Spy decided to not say anything.
“ … You missed the briefing of tomorrow's match” he explained, not waiting to hear the other one talk. The French didn’t try or bothered to make eye contact.
Ah. Of course. The Australian, pausing for a couple of moments before relaxing a bit, passing his left hand through his face. He though quickly about an excuse, and the only good enough was the one that he overslept, with he had been using a lot those last weeks.
He was about to answer when he felt a presence behind but, not only that, but from the corner of his eye he could see someone peeking from over his shoulder. He felt his heart sank into his chest, feeling a sudden cold climbing up his back while his body suddenly was covered in sweat.
He would slowly turn to his left.
And there he was, BLU Scout peeking over his left shoulder, his blank stare now didn’t look at him but at the RED Spy in front of them, he couldn't see his mouth so his face looked cold and expressionless.
It seemed that his panic was quite obvious because the Spy noticed fairly quickly the strange reaction of the Sniper, looking at where the other man was staring so distressed and disturbed.
“It’s… something the matter?” He slowly asked while walking a few steps back, starting to feel a bit unsafe, knowing that his friend had the habit of suddenly snapping and killing anyone that was close enough.
Sniper would turn at him, a bit surprised for what he had said, turning again to see over his shoulder and then back at him, clearly confused and a bit more than just nervous. He would try to calm himself down, trying to not look back at the silhouette that stayed at the side of his vision. He would close his eyes behind his shades for a moment, calming his breathing and heartbeats, he was surprised by himself because of how he managed to not try to murder the phantom inside his RV.
“ …Nah, its nothin' mate, but … ” he thought for a moment in what to say, but he couldn’t think in anything so he want with the most basic one “ Can you leave? I’m … busy roight now… ”
The Spy seemed a bit surprised by the request but decided to play it safe and comply, keeping his mouth shut and leaving right and there.
Once he felt that he was alone again, he quickly closed the door and turned, quickly jumping and putting his back against it, his knees buckling for a moment at the sight that was so close to his face.
Scout looking intensely at him, mere inches always, a slight smile still in his mouth, his chests almost touching, Sniper breathing shakily with his eyes directly looking at those deep blue eyes.
Nothing happened, but Sniper felt his heart almost leave his body, luckily, the shorter man soon gave him space.
The only thing that he learn that day, is that only he could see him.
═════════════════
Days would pass and what he thought was a hallucination created by poor sleep and old sleeping pills never went away.
And while being followed everywhere was anything but pleasant, knowing that only he could the see the BLU Scout walking close to him everywhere and that waking up at 03:00 A.M and finding those shining blue eyes shining in the dark was actually nerve wracking and totally horrible, at some moment, he started to feel … something that wasn't total rejection and fear against something that clearly wasn't a living person.
Companionship.
Even if that strange apparition did nothing but to following him around and stare at him for a very prolonged periods of time, the Sniper started to warm up to the specter when he woke up one morning, he found the BLU Scout watching the outside from one of the windows, soon finding out that the slim man was observing the birds, with a more relaxed expression. At those hours of the morning their songs where very loud and the sun was beginning to rise in the horizon, so the sight of the man he once loved watching through the windows with his face being softly kissed by the early sunshine, with the singing of the early birds, managed to make his heart skip a beat.
Another instance was when, after arriving to RV after a match still being followed by that thing he decided to call “ghost”, he put Scout dog tags on once he closed the door, behind him, now more of an habit that anything else, and the other instead of stare at him stared at the little but stained metal plates that hung from his neck. They stayed like that for a while, the Australian not wanting to move and the other having no signal of doing something like that anytime soon.
“I… err… took care of ‘em once you where gone, loike you asked me to… one time... ” He explained, a bit uncomfortable by the other stare. He still hadn't giving up in talking to the other, even if he knew, deeply inside, that he would die of an heart attack if the apparition decided to answer back one day.
A bit more time passed, the smaller man didn’t seemed to hear him as always, not even having a small reaction to his words, but what he did next was what almost kills the Sniper. The Scout would smile at him, not just with his lips like he usually did, but this time he was showing his white teeth, a sight that he hadn't seen since several weeks.
He felt his chest feel more tighter than usual, his eyes stinging for a moment while his breathing hitched suddenly, the would rise his arms with the intention to push the other one but decided against it at last minute, still not sure about trying to touch him, and moving around him instead, busying himself with other things trying to erase that image from his mind.
Another day, after washing his own clothes, the took some of the rope he had and started to tye it to one of the trees more close to his “home", with the meaning to just leave the damp clothing drying under the heat of the noon, when the slim apparition went with him outside. The sun gave his pale skin a strange but warm slight shine, the young man instead to getting closer to him, started to walk away how he used to do … before, just simply exploring whatever was around.
The Sniper felt the need to follow him, forgetting totally about his clothes or the rope. Both ended up taking a silent walk under de sun, and he noticing that the “ghost" walked just like Scout would do, so relaxed and without any care.
It was nostalgic.
It was those and some other smaller moments that made him gather all the courage he had to finally jump that threshold.
It was during the evening, he was silently cleaning his rifle while listening to the background sound that the radio on the table made, and of course, the BLU Scout was sitting by his side in the sofa, staring silently at him, at his face. After a while, the Sniper just stayed quiet, going along with the routine they both already had after a couple of days of “living together”, he trying to silently keep going forward while the other just stared.
But some minutes later he decided to stop and leave the weapon at his side, against the wall, turning to the other.
There was still silence, he could only listen to the song in the radio and his own breathing, his red eyes sooner than later staring directly at those blue eyes that now he usually compared them to the ones of dead fish, but that didn't make them less beautiful or dreadful.
Softly, but feeling his heart tremble and fighting with his legs to not start to shake, he would rise his arm and, slowly but surely, stretch it, wanting to grab the hand of the man at his side. Out of his usual attitude, he would close his eyes at last minute, not knowing what to expect from the other.
But then, he felt it. A Hand against his, soft and slightly warm to the touch, then callous fingers after years and years of using bats, guns and shotguns as weapons.
It was him, it was the hands of Scout. His Scout.
He would open his eyes, which were already stinging with tears, while his right hand had already taken and was intertwining his fingers with his, feeling how softly the other man answered the gesture by moving his hand accordingly. The first thing he saw was his face again, but he didn’t have that small smile and empty eyes, now, his expression was one of happiness even if it hadn't change a lot, he had a clear grin in his mouth that was connected with his eyes.
If he had to described the expression in the other's face, it was one of satisfaction, like finally getting what you wanted after a long wait.
Not wanting to test his luck, he would take his hand off and create space between them.
If he can touch him, could that mean that the other could do as well?
═════════════════
Days would pass, and the Sniper would start to feel like himself again.
The strange but warm company weirdly made his days easier and joyful again, his mood greatly improving, thing that his team quickly noticed but that didn't exactly put them at ease, since the man would always end up committing massacres and war crimes when his mood was high, sometimes even murdering his own coworkers when they interrupted 8n the wrong moment. The Red Spy, his only “friend" in the team had asked him what had happened to him that made him feel like himself again, but of course, the Sniper just couldn’t really explain what was his situation, so he just said something among the lines of “nothing special" or “it was just a matter of time, mate".
The Spy really didn't trust that much in his words, but still, he didn't kept digging but he also stopped coming to the Sniper's RV in the morning, since now the man would actually go to the meeting as well as breakfasts, lunch or even dinner on some days. A part of him was incredibly curious about whatever was happening inside, but the other was not about to visit the nest of a very happy serial murderer, even if they were “friends".
The Sniper, on the other hand, felt like he could touch the sky.
He felt like talking to that weird apparition even more than before, engaging in long conversations that were only one sided, sitting along that warm and silent figure in the couch while listening to the radio, and even sleeping with him at night, holding him tight between his arms, waking up with the same image he saw before falling asleep, those lightless eyes looking at him, that eternal slight smile in his llips.
Was also on that time that he started to grab the hand of the apparition everywhere since it would follow him anyway, so he started showing him around with a big smile in his face and talking softly, since his co-workers would hear him talking to the air, but even if that were to happen, the Sniper would not care in the minimum, he was incredibly happy.
He had the Blu Scout Again. He had Jeremy in his arms once more.
Or at least, most of him.
Most of the time, he would just brush those dark thoughts or ignore his dirty desires, but the matter of fact was that he was a man too, a semi healthy one at least, he excused himself with the simple idea that, well, he had needs too, needs that couldn't really be satisfied with the suffocating shadow that would just observe at him during the night, but it was then when a dark thought crossed his mind.
What if he could help? It was no lie that he had missed him in more than one regard, his voice, his soft skin, his nails clawing at his back, the way that he would call his name ever so needy and shyly.
He wasn't sure he wanted to fall more into that dark abyss, maybe he should just stop there, but he just could not help himself.
It was dark already, the highest hour of the night, both were sitting in the darkness, silently listening to a song on the radio that kept getting small cuts and interruptions, the Sniper wasn't really listening to it anyway,his mind was racing, grabbing tightly the cloth of his pants in his lap, trying to bury the not-so-safe images in his mind when he felt something warm on the top of one of his hands. He would stop looking at nowhere and his mind would screech to a halt and came back to the present, to the dark and cramped place he called home, noticing the soft hand that now rested on top of one of him.
It was Scout, the Blu Scout, Jeremy.
His hand was grabbing his, softly and kindly, but his eyes looked at him with another intent, his smile a bit more wide, his buck teeth slightly peeking between his pinkish lips, his pale light blue eyes looking straight at him, even in the darkness, it seemed that they had that shine of life again on them, not like the glassy ones of a doll or just blank like the ones of a dead fish.
He, for the first time in weeks, looked completely alive.
Sniper heart jumped in his chest, he wasn’t sure about what was about to happen, but his own body was craving for it, his own hands where already moving against his will, desiring to touch the skin of the other, to feel him between his arms again, against his chest. He wanted more, more that those foolish weeks of shy and nervous touches with the man at his side, he felt hungry, starving, like a savage animal finally seeing a worthy prey after a long and horrible winter.
And before he knew, his lips where finally together.
He had his eyes firmly closed shut, wanting to only feel the flavor of that so desired kiss while he catches the other on a tight hug, wanting to be one with him once again. He dosen't know for how long they stayed like that, but he felt like he was in a paradise, feeling finally the warmth of the other against his body, even if he could hear his breathing or even of the other hadn't corresponded to the hug, he was fine with that, he really was, but even if he truly wasn't, he was just so desperate for the other that he just couldn't care anymore.
Was then when he felt the arms of the other moving against him, the hands of the Scout slowly rising through his chest, againt the cloth of his red shirt and finally placing themselves in his shoulders, grabbing with a bit of strength the muscle, his fingers digging a bit against of his skin, but it didn't seem to be a gesture of repulsion or one with negative meaning, actually, it seemed that he was pulling him to him even closer than before.
Was then, when he felt truly relaxed and high on endorfins, that a pair of cold, dry and incredibly strong hands grabbed his neck and started to press with more and more strength by the second. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to Scout to stop, his arms started to move, his fist trying to punch the man in front of him, hut he couldn't, he didn't know why, but it felt like nothing was in front of him.
He tried to force his eyes open, getting all of his strength training to see whatever that was suffocating him, even if in the deeper part of his brain he was afraid of what he could encounter in front of him. But then, he saw nothing, he could only hear the deafening sound of
He felt true despair, hands gripping so hard at his neck, cold lips that were forcibly keeping his mouth shut. He also noticed that this wasn't a blood choke, so now he just couldn’t just pass out in seconds.
His fingers and legs losing any type of feeling, then his arms, then his chest. His lungs hurting and burning, screaming for air, slowly stop asking for oxygen. Everything starts to go again, every sensation, but his dread and despair stayed to his last moments.
He wondered then, was this what Scout felt that day?
═════════════════
He was sorry.
He was truly sorry.
As always, they had met in the usual place, a neutral ground between the two bases, it was a warm spring day, its final days actually, soon it would give space to the suffocating heat of the summer on New Mexico, and while he in special could take it with ease, his new partner was starting to bitch about how he would straight up kill the sun if he could only to not experience that season and it’s intensity again.
It was curious really how they ended up together, everything starting with a extremely weird act of kindness during one of the match from the Blu Scout, and then, even weirder, the sadistic Red Sniper did the same in turn, mostly because he didn't want to have any debts from anyone from the Blu Team.
But it snowballed, and now, both where running to that hidden place almost everyday for a couple of hours to only talk for a few hours beside, well, other things.
There wasn't anything out of place or he also wasn't feeling angry or bothered by something, so why? Why did it happened?
It was sudden, a simple and sudden moment when something within him just snapped out of nowhere, even him was surprised by whatever just was unleashed inside of him, it was nothing like his moments of extreme violence or just his most sadistic side showing, it was something g he hadn't felt in a very long time, just pure instinct running through his veins, acting out of pure reflex.
He dosen't remember if there was even something that set him off, was it something he said? Did he touched him? Was it the light blue of his t-shirt? Was it the clinking of his dogtags? He remembered the sound.
The next thing he knew, he had punch the Blu Scout with incredible force against one of the walls, his slim body slamming against it while some things fell to the ground, his had now covered his eyes and bright red blood was now running from his broken nose. His headset was now laying on the floor since it flew out of the head of the younger man thanks to the punch, the Sniper would not hesitate and would quickly step on it while quickly getting closer to the other, hearing the crack of the plastic and the metal inside.
Soon enough, he found his own hands around the neck of Jeremy and then lifting him from the ground, blood still pouring from his nose while now gags and strained words came out of his mouth, teeth soon getting stained by the red liquid. He felt the kicks to his legs, the punches of the Scout to his face and arms, the deep scratches to his arms, but even then, he just couldn’t stop himself, his body was moving by his own, his hand gripping harder and harder.
That moment was still very fresh on his mind but even even he could not remember what was he thinking or feeling at that moment. Did he wanted to stop? Was he scared? Did he actually meant to do that?
Then seconds passed, and then minutes of having the younger man pinned against the wall, grabbing him only by the neck, loosing his strength slowly, his nails had actually started to cut the soft sun kissed skin in the neck of the Blu Scout, he was looking straight to he face of him but still, he couldn’t see his eyes, the hat was on the way, and he… felt somewhat relieved by that.
Then, the body fell limp, but even then he didn't stopped, he stayed still in that pose for various more minutes, until his hands finally gave up and the body just fell to the ground like dead weight with a loud thump. His lips were purple, the skin around his neck was just dark in bruises, burns and cuts, but still, his bright blue eyes where still hiding behind his crooked hat.
Time froze by then, he remember waiting for a moment, probably waiting for respawn to swallow the body and just spit him out back at the Blu Base, but that moment never arrived.
He just stayed there, his eyes looking straight to the corpse on the floor, the dogtags around his neck shining slightly thanks to the small ray of dying sunshine that came through one of the blinds that covered the windows. He didn't laugh, he didn't cry, he couldn’t feel anything, not even anger or fear at himself. The next thing he did was steal the collar around his neck and then get got off only to get up again to drive.
The next minutes where deadly silent, the back of his mind never had actually cared that much for corpses since a lot of years, but now, he felt his heart beating so hard that he felt it in his throat. He looked at his arms, covered in deep scratches, he took a glance to the mirror, bruises an his face and his glasses had been punch out of his head, probably after one of the Scout punches back there.
The last thing he did that day was just leave the dead body of a man he actually might had loved thrown at the side of the road and drive back to the Red base.
And now, he was sorry.
So, so, so sorry.
═════════════════
A day later, Sniper is found, not inside his VR.
But hanging from a tree.
Alone, totally and utterly alone.
Because, of course, THAT couldn't have been him after all.
Scout is six feet under, isn't that right?