Chapter Text
Winter had finally hit the battle ground and the watch tower shifts were changing. They changed every month, two people at a time to reduce the risk of isolation induced insanity. Demo man and the Soldier were the last two to reside in the tower and were in charge of picking their replacements. With a few protests and some minor grumbling, Sniper and Scout were the ones trudging up the mountain side towards the watch tower.
“Hurry up Scout!” Sniper shouted over his shoulder. He was already at the steps leading up to the wrap-around porch while Scout was still a couple paces behind him. “I’m coming. Get off my back, you ass.” He grumbled, adjusting the straps on his shoulders. They’d been walking for several hours in order to get from the Red Base to the small watch tower located close to the train tracks. “Remind me again why we couldn’t take the train?” Scout asked, pushing past Sniper and climbing the short set of stairs to get onto the porch. “Quit your whining.” Sniper muttered. They walked around the porch to the door. There was only one that allowed access into the watch tower in order to eliminate the risk of intruders.
Sniper took out the key from his pocket, unlocked it, and opened the door. Scout shoved past him with a grin and looked around the room. It was an open space except for a small room to his right that he assumed was the bathroom, with a bed tucked into the far left corner and a hammock in the far right. There was a window on the left wall past the foot of the bed and several crates of supplies stacked up against the right wall. The window had several notches that boards were currently lying in and Scout assumed it was the cheap version of shutters. “Nice place.” He finally said, going over to the hammock and setting his backpack down beside it.
Sniper said nothing, instead shutting the door behind him and walking over to the window. He slid out one of the boards and peeked outside. Clouds were beginning to form on the horizon, slightly grey but not yet storm clouds. He could just see the slight gleam of the train tracks that wrapped around the battleground off in the distance. While he was busy looking, Scout had sat against the wall and pulled out a sketch book from the depths of his bag. The sound of pencil scratching snapped Sniper out of his daze and he turned to face Scout.
He had his head buried in the sketch book, pencil moving furiously. Sniper walked over silently and dropped down to his knees in front of him. Scout didn’t notice until Sniper’s face was peering over the edge of the book. “Hey!” Scout shouted, jolting back. Sniper was looking at the drawing with mild curiosity. It was of him, standing by the window, with a hand on one of the boards and his hat slightly tilted to shadow his face. “Oi, my noise ain’t that big.” He said, tapping the drawing with one finger. Scout looked at him with a raised brow. “Your nose is fucking huge.” He replied with a suppressed grin. “Well you have buck teeth.” Sniper shot back and Scout immediately clapped a hand over his own mouth. “I do not!” He said through his fingers.
Sniper nodded and Scout narrowed his eyes. “Well your ears are fucking massive too.” He said, lowering his hand. “Least I’m not accident prone.” Sniper retorted. Scout glared at him. “Just, go back to the window okay?” He muttered, lowering his head and darkening some lines on his drawing. Sniper shrugged, getting up and going back to the window. This time he sat on the ledge, one knee propped up on it. Scout kept sketching, looking up periodically. “I don’t think you’re that accident prone.” Sniper said quietly. Scout simply nodded, not really paying attention. He was too focused on his drawing. “Right, okay.” Sniper rubbed the back of his neck, clearly flustered though he had no idea why. After a few minutes Scout looked up again.
“You can move now. I’m good.” He said before turning back to the book. Sniper got up and took his pack off his back, digging through it and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. “Smoke?” He asked, holding out the pack in Scout’s direction. “Nah.” He replied, only glancing up for a brief second. “Pussy.” Sniper muttered, standing up and lighting one. Scout looked up with another annoyed glare. “I’m not. I just don’t like to smoke.” Sniper shrugged, kneeling and unpacking his bag. There were two empty boxes at the foot of the bed that he assumed were to place their stuff in. He chose the one closest to the wall and dumped the clothes and supplies he had brought into it.
A sigh from the other side of the room made him turn. Scout had his drawing held out in front of him and was looking at it with mild annoyance. “What?” Sniper asked. Scout simply shrugged, tilting the book slightly to either side. A sudden idea flashed through Sniper’s head. He creeped forward, then snatched the book out of Scout’s hands. “Hey! Give that back!” Scout cried, jumping up and scrambling for the book. Sniper stood up, keeping the book well out of his reach, and began to flip through the pages.
The drawings were surprisingly good. “These are great Scout.” He said, tracing one of the sketches with his finger. “Stop! Don’t look at those!” Scout was desperately trying to grab his book but Sniper held him back. Eventually, after a lot of pleading on Scout’s part, Sniper shut the book and handed it back to him. “Fuck you!” Scout snapped, storming off to where he had been sitting before with his book pressed firmly to his chest. Sniper watched him with a suppressed smile before following him. He sat down in front of him and poked his knee. “They’re really good.” He said quietly. Scout glared at him over his knees. “You didn’t have to take my book from me.” He muttered bitterly. Sniper shrugged and Scout sighed. “Look, it’s just really personal okay? Just, don’t take it.”
Sniper nodded, adjusting his hat. “Yeah, got it.” He said, standing up and brushing off his pants. Scout watched him for a second, then opened his book to a blank page and began to draw. Sniper went back to the window and sat down on the ledge. As he looked out of the gap in the boards his mind went back to the images he had seen in Scout’s book. One drawing was on his mind and it stirred an odd feeling in his stomach.
It was an incredibly detailed sketch of him and Scout. All they were doing was hugging but it was clear from the way it had been drawn that there was some underlying meaning. The more he thought about the drawing, the stronger the feeling grew in his gut. It made him feel warm and somehow at peace. He had a lot to think about.
It was going to be a long month.