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All throughout his career as a mercenary, Jeremy heard about almost everyone's fathers; Engineer spoke fondly of his, as did Sniper, Heavy, even Medic(who Scout thought didn't have a father). Demoman, Soldier, Spy and Pyro never did. However Scout understood why Pyro didn't because... well, he never spoke about his past unless it was Engineer asking the questions. Regardless, Scout always tried to keep his paternal issues to himself, but he wasn't against talking about it to someone who'd ask. So far, it was only Pyro who'd ask but the poor pyromaniac was only human and sometimes needed help with what kind of advice to give. However, the mercenary he'd go to was incredibly smart so he was able to put it together with who the advice was for.
One day, the mercenary in question had decided that he'd try talking to the youngest mercenary after the team's meal.
The RED Team gathered in the living room area, waiting for Engineer, Medic and Heavy to finish up. Pyro and Scout were drawing pictures with crayons, while Spy simply watched from a distance. Demoman and Soldier were talking and joking a bit loudly as Sniper drank a mug of coffee, which was starting to become lukewarm. Not that he minded.
Dell looked through the window that looked out into the living room, seeing Jeremy looking a bit glum. Engineer looked back at the stove and sighed a little. Medic seemed to notice his upset and tilted his head, quietly asking, "Is somezhing wrong, Dell?"
Said man looked at his friend, then back at the stove to cook as he murmured, "Ah'm sorry Fritz, it's just... Firebug's been tellin' me some things about Jeremy... Hurts t' hear, y'know?"
Heavy peeked over while he made another sandwich, then looked back down at his work. Engineer, meanwhile, watched the eggs sizzle and crackle, bubbling on the surface while the bottom was cooked into a nice golden-brown color. The yolk shook oh so slightly as the egg trembled while it was being fried on the underside, its brilliant marigold color shining prettily in the kitchen's light.
He was knocked out of his staring spell when he felt a hand rest itself on his shoulder, looking to see Medic's red gloved hand there. "Don't vorry Dell, you'll figure somezhing out. You are incredibly smart after all..."
"Aw, thanks Doc. Ah actually planned on talkin' to 'im after dinner."
"Ohh, ok, zhat sounds like a vunderbar plan! I vish you luck, Liebling."
"Da," Heavy interjected, leaning forward to look at Engineer. "Heavy also wishes little man luck."
Dell blushed a tiny bit at the nickname, then nodded and let Heavy know the last of the eggs were done. The Russian nodded back and allowed Engineer to deposit the eggs onto the half-finished sandwich that the larger man was currently working on. Once the transfer from pan to sandwich was completed, Heavy put the plated now-finished sandwich onto a tray, which had other finished sandwiches on it. There was another tray that had the rest of the sandwiches on them, as all of the sandwiches couldn't fit on one tray. Heavy carried both trays out and announced that dinner was done. As a result, the team let out a "woo-hoo" in unison, putting anything they were doing before aside so they could focus on eating their dinner.
Scout sat between Pyro and Soldier, while Engineer sat next to Soldier on the other side. Spy sat next to Demoman as he was sitting across from Soldier. Medic sat between Sniper and Heavy. Luckily, the table was quite long, similar to that of one in a school cafeteria, so there was plenty of leg and arm room for those who wanted it.
They ate in mostly-silence, as there wasn't much to talk about considering they did everything together. There were some mutters and murmurs between some of the mercenaries, mainly Medic and Heavy, all of which were lovey-dovey comments and compliments. After about twenty minutes, all of the mercenaries had finished their dinner and put their plates in the sink. It was Sniper's turn to do the dishes so he stayed behind while most everyone went to their rooms.
All except Scout.
Scout wandered to the baseball field that Soldier, Demoman, Sniper and Engineer all set up for him for his birthday. It was built with the whole nine yards; the field lights, bleachers, all of it. At the moment, due to it being about 8:30, the lights were turned on to show off the beauty of the baseball diamond and its striking white lines against the dull brown dirt. As an added bonus, Engineer built an automatic baseball pitching machine. All Scout had to do was push a button and wait for it to warm up, so he'd have time to get to the plate and stretch for a few seconds. He sighed out as he squeezed the leather-wrapped handle of the baseball bat, watching the machine vibrate and listening to it whir a little loudly. Suddenly, a baseball shot out of it and at him. He swung his bat and a loud crack sounded out as the aluminum bat made contact with the speeding ball. He watched as the ball flew into the horizon, quickly turning into only a small white dot in the tree line. He smirked to himself and repeated this for a solid half hour.
The pitching machine started to slow down, meaning it was running out of ammo. Someone walked over to the gate's post and smiled as he watched the young man swing his heart out, looking as happy as can be. The crickets made the scene all the more joyful, singing their nightly song while the sky's stars twinkled down on the two mercenaries. Finally, the last ball was shot out and, just like the previous half hour, Scout struck it and sent it flying into the distance, like a comet through the black sea known as space.
Scout panted as he watched it fly, feeling his chest swell with pride. He jumped and looked around wildly as he heard someone applauding, then he saw a figure standing by the gate. He squinted a bit, then heard the man give out a whistle, which helped Scout identify the man. He watched as Engineer walked forward and into the light.
"That was some mighty fine swingin' son!" Scout felt his face flush as he smiled a bit, scratching the back of his head as if he was flustered by the compliment.
"Aw, thanks Engie..."
Engineer stood in front of the taller young man, smiling at him. "No need to thank me, son. Jus' statin' the facts, son. Now, Ah was hopin' we could sit down an' talk..."
"Oh, uh... sure..."
Together, they walked over to the bleachers and sat down, then Scout muttered, "So uh... What's this about? Did I do somethin' wrong?"
Engineer let out a chuckle and replied, "Nah, it ain't that... It's jus' that Pyro asked me for some advice to give 'im so he could give it to a friend. Sound familiar?"
Again, Scout's face flushed. "Uh, n-no..."
"Jeremy, there's no need ta be embarrassed." Dell shifted to face the young man more head-on. "Now, considerin' what Firebug was askin', it seems y'have some... fatherly issues?" Scout tensed ever so slightly. "So what is it exactly that's wrong?"
The tall young man fidgeted a bit, then murmured, "You sure you wanna hear it?" Dell only nodded, giving a reassuring smile.
"Well, I've never known my dad. My ma always said he was a good guy and he didn't mean ta hurt us, but it did and still does, y'know?"
Engineer had his hands interlocked while they hung between his legs. He nodded and asked, "Y'wanna know somethin'?" Scout's eyes twinkled a bit and he nodded, scooting a bit closer. It made Engineer chuckle a bit.
"Truthfully, Ah didn't know ma pops. When Ah tell stories 'bout him, it's jus' stories that my Ma tol' me an' ma brother... Ah didn't know 'im b'cause he left bufore Ah could really know 'im... Granted, he left when Ah was around four, so Ah have some memories of 'im." He stopped for a moment, seeing Scout's expression, which looked like a mixture of sadness and not understanding. "U-uh but Ah have an idea of how ye're feelin'. Ma brother Gene had to step up as man o' th' house, an' Ah'm sure that one o' yer brothers had to step up too, huh?"
Scout nodded. "Yeah, my oldest brother stepped up first but my second older stepped up too, 'cause my oldest brother was so stressed all th' time. His grades in school were droppin' and he was even expelled b'cause he was gettin' inta so many fights, with a teacher too..." Engineer's eyebrows raised in shock. "But he saw it as a good opportunity and got 'imself a pretty good job. Although he did get into a fight with his manager at that job b'cause I guess the manager was bein' creepy toward a younger girl co-worker there... He went to jail but he got out and bettered 'imself..." Engineer nodded a little. "And all throughout this and our money issues, my scumbag dad never came and helped. Although I guess Ma was gettin' money from 'im in the mail, but that doesn't change shit... I remember one night I went to the bathroom and as I was goin' back to my room, I heard someone crying and when I peeked into the kitchen... It was Ma, she was cryin' and cryin' over some papers, I'm guessin' bills lookin' back now... I just wanna find my dad and ask for an explanation, ask why he did this to us. ... Sorry, I'm rambling on and on, huh?"
"Hey now, Ah don't mind that son. If you gotta get some things outta yer system, you can talk all you want..." Engineer leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, looking up at the night sky. Scout looked up as well, watching the stars shimmer and shine. He smiled a bit and continued to look on alongside Engineer.
Dell, after a few minutes, glanced at Jeremy and saw the tears brimming in his eyes.
"You awright Jeremy?" The question jarred the young man out of his state and he nodded, wiping his eyes.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just... I just realized that you're kinda like a dad I never had." The statement made Engineer's eyes widen under his goggles and he smiled, moving his goggles down and around his neck as he put a hand on Scout's shoulder.
"C'mere son," Dell muttered it as Jeremy turned to face him. Scout hugged him in the blink of an eye, crying a little harder as they embraced. Engineer rubbed his back and hugged him tight, comforting him and telling him things like "It's awright son, let it out" and "Shh, son, you're ok, Ah'm here..."
Eventually, Scout stopped crying and the pair started talking, joking and laughing.
An hour passed and Scout was starting to yawn, Dell muttering, "Let's getchu to bed, son..."
Scout only nodded and rubbed his eye, standing up with Engineer. Together, they left the baseball field and walked back into the base. Now it was about 11:46, so the base's lights were off but the halls were dimly lit by small LED lights Engineer had installed so the mercenaries didn't have to turn the hall lights on and risk waking everyone else up. Finally, the pair stopped in front of Scout's room, the said man taking hold of his room's door handle and murmuring tiredly, "Well Engie, I'll see ya in the mornin'..."
"Lookin' forward to it Jeremy. See ya in th' mornin' kiddo..."
Scout chuckled a little. "Night Pops..." The nickname made Engineer perk up, then smirk and nod as he started to walk back to his own room.
"Yeah... Night son... Sleep well..."
Engineer got to his room and dressed for bed then laid in bed with Soldier, who was beyond passed out. He smiled wide and felt a nice warm feeling in his chest swell as he thought back to Scout calling him "Pops". After another few minutes of getting comfortable around his partner and in his bed, Engineer fell asleep, slipping into a dream world.