Visiting Hours

[hasstandards]

Characters: RED Sniper (hasstandards), BLU Sniper (bye_to_yer_head), RED Pyro (notintehkitchen), Chibiterasu (chibibrushheir), and you!*
When: Mid-December
Where: Hospital
Rating: PGish
Summary: RED Sniper awakens in the hospital, having been dragged there after his rescue. His injuries are severe, but he's about to get some visitors.

* Feasibly, he could have several visitors with the span of time he

Comments

[hasstandards]

RED's eyes flicked to his rival for only a second, returning to the work in his lap as he heard words he'd said himself once or twice. So he was alone, then. There was a flash of jealousy on RED's face: that meant BLU didn't have to deal with teammates, ones who butted into his businesses or thrust their own expectations upon him. The same couldn't be said for RED: Pyro was an overeager nuisance he couldn't get to leave him alone because she felt some attachment to him as her teammate from Sawmill; Medic threatened to kill him if he didn't toe some line he'd never known was there, was going to be there, or what the exact terms of it were.

However, despite that envy, there was something else that pushed through RED. The walls had been raised, BLU's tone taking a definite defensive turn. RED couldn't say he blamed him- to be the only one left on his team, especially when there were at least three REDs around... it was enough to make one feel cornered, forced into action in order to survive. He was willing to bet BLU shared his sense of paranoia, the kind that came from years of being stabbed in the back by people in disguise.

"I hear ya, mate," he said finally, clicking another part back into place. "I prefer to be on my own, personally." He paused, deciding he could continue. "Might even say I envy you a bit."

Another pause as he realized something. It went unsaid for the moment.

[bye_to_yer_head]

The BLU snorted before pocketing the knife again and switching back to the file. The harsh grating filled the air for a moment while he thought about what the other man had said. "It ain't exactly th' same as bein' on yer own. Not when there's a whole mess 'f folks that would cheerfully gut ya if they had th' chance. 'Specially when there's a faulty respawn system."

And he did feel cornered. The only way he had been dealing with this place and with being stuck here was to continue on with life as usual. Maybe if he pretended nothing was wrong long enough, it really wouldn't be. Sure the talking animals were new, and there wasn't much fighting, but if he tried really hard he could delude himself into thinking this was just one of those by-weeks they had occasionally where there was no fighting. When they were doing maintenance on the respawn or cleaning off the battlefield or replacing the cardboard cows. And so BLU had sat around and maintained his guns and sharpened his shiv and pretended to be professional with the other team, all the while convincing himself that this was normal and nothing to be concerned about.

He wouldn't be able to do that forever and he knew it. But he could try. Keeping himself busy was the key, hence making a knife for a man whose sole reason for existing was to put said knife through his gut. But right now Sniper didn't care, it was something to do to pass the time.

"Sure mate. It's grand t' 'ave a broken gun, a busted knee and some sheila from the team that's dedicated their lives t' killin' ya bringing you food and force feeding you sake. It's jus' aces." Compared to the position RED was in, that actually was preferable, but the BLU was more concerned with his own situation and more importantly how he could avoid thinking about it.

[hasstandards]

RED mirrored that snort. Though he figured BLU was defending himself in some way- mostly because he would've done the same if the positions were switched- he couldn't help but feel his hackles rise as his best attempt at polite understanding yet was thrown back into his face, especially when BLU seemed to insinuate his situation was somehow worse. Yes, all his rival had listed fell somewhere on the scale of bad to worse, but RED had honestly meant it when he said he envied him. To be told his envy was misplaced grated on him.

"Right," he cut back before he could stop himself. "It's so much better havin' no gun, bein' stuck in a hospital bed, and getting death threats from both people who are supposed to be on your bloody team. Pyro cuts me out of a tree, Medic says he'll make my life Hell if I ain't nice to 'er. Neither of them believes a word I say. Best conversation I've had in this place is with you."

RED busied himself in his work immediately afterward, not having meant for such an outburst in his moment of irritability. He fumbled with a screw for a second, pausing before making one more statement. "To be perfectly honest... I think you've done more for me here than either a' them has. I'm still tryin' to figure out why."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"They're threatinin' ya? That ain't roight. That how it works on th' RED side?" Even being the only one left, Sniper was more than glad to be a BLU. Especially if the RED team was following the motto of every man for himself. Actually that would explain a lot about how Medic and Engie hadn't been used to working together as a team. Maybe that was just normal for them.

Without looking up Sniper simply shrugged, unwilling to put into words why he had decided to rescue his counterpart who had been shooting at him just days before. "Jus' tryin' t' be professional. We're not at war here ya know."

[hasstandards]

He wasn't entirely sure how to address that last bit. RED had to look at the challenge of it for it to make sense: if his rival was dead, there'd be almost no one worth shooting at in Paradise. It was something he hadn't known before, when he'd taken that shot at BLU on his first day- things were different, now. Most of the people in Paradise were civilians: unarmed, worth neither the minimal effort nor the waste of a bullet. That left their fellow mercenaries and vigilantes like the masked man, whose standards were far from professional.

That was it- they were helping each other only to maintain the challenge. It was too easy otherwise. Without the thrill of the hunt, there was no reason to chase the game. They were both Snipers; they both understood what made each other tick. Nothing more.

"No, that ain't how it works in RED," he grumbled finally, eyes locked on the rifle piece in his lap. "Pyro only really threatened me because I was shooting at you. I got that."

A pause. "Doc, on the other hand..." He shook his head. Seeing that Medic had given him a powerful painkiller beyond anything the hospital had, RED had thought the two of them were going to get along just fine; however, his talk of how Sniper was Pyro's only remaining family, coupled with the outright threat should something beyond his control happen, had left a bad sour taste in the marksman's mouth. And with his broken frame, Medic could have kept his word without any trouble at all. "He threatened to chase me to Sawmill and skin me if I disappeared and left Pyro sufferin' here alone."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"Hn. Didn't know she cared." That was said with just a touch of sarcasm. He was fully aware of the fact that Pyro had seen fit to try and mother everyone on the team. Or at least the Snipers and Medic, BLU hadn't seen her interact with the Engineer or the Scout at all, but he assumed she had been the same way with both of them as well. As far as he could tell the only people she didn't seem to like were Spies.

"He threatened t' what? How th' bloody hell is it your fault if this troppo place sends ya back?" Though that sounded like Medic through and through.

[hasstandards]

"That's what I'd like to know." RED withheld another irritated grunt, the pain from his various injuries trickling in as his painkillers were wearing off. His hand wavered over the few remaining pieces of the Machina left beside him- at least he was making progress.

"He made it sound like it'd be my fault if I left. I'd be gone already if it were that easy. Why's he care so much? He's not even got the excuse as bein' from the same team. And even so, I can't say our Medic would've behaved like that."

[bye_to_yer_head]

BLU was loathe to admit that RED had made far more progress than he ever would. He could fix his car but that futuristic gun was beyond him. Meanwhile the knife was starting to take shape, long and slightly curved, the same width all the way down, the way most Sniper's preferred.

"I don't know mate. Can't say I've ever talked t' many Medics. But he does seem awfully fond 'f her." He looked up at RED, eyeing him over the rim of his glasses. "Awfully fond 'f her."

[hasstandards]

RED nodded, his eyes meeting BLU's. "I had a feeling."

Another piece into place- he was having trouble turning the screwdriver, his hand trembling too much for the delicate movements he needed. He took a series of breaths, calming his nerves to the point where he could continue his work.

"I ain't so good with people, but even I could see it. It was the way he spoke to me. He even turned when I brought it up. I said it sounded like he was jealous- he answered me in German and left." He shook his head. "I don't think for one second he appreciates that I'm from the same place as her. I even told him I wasn't interested in dealing with Pyro, and he insisted I didn't have a choice."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"She does 'ave a way of wormin' herself into everything. She probably don't even notice it. She's a mite..." He trailed off while he searched for the right word. He didn't want to say she was stupid, she was just somehow very immature in comparison to the rest of the team. Even Scout. "She's rather naive."

He noticed the way RED's hands were shaking and winced in sympathy before turning back to the knife in his hands. "Morphine roight? Comin' off that stuff ain't pretty. I've been there."

[hasstandards]

"S'a first for me. Never been this mangled before." He pushed another breath through him, holding the screwdriver in his mouth. He was almost to a point where there wasn't much else to be done- just a little longer.

"The word I would've picked for her is childish," he said, trying to focus on anything else. "Despite that she feels she's gotta play mother hen. Doc kept saying I was the only family she had left. That I was already wrapped up in it whether I liked it or not." He rolled his eyes in the direction of the hood with the ears. "I'm guessing this is what he meant. He's welcome to it if he wants it so badly."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"I ain't been this bad all at once, but I've 'ad my share of injuries." If he added them all up he would have been a little worse off than RED was now, but not by much.

"That'd fit her too. He'd know, bloke lives with her. She had some little ankle biter she was lookin' after who left, an' now th' Engineer's gone. Guess you're all she's got, considerin' she knew ya before here." He smirked at the dog eared hoodie, resisting the urge to reach over and pat RED's head. "He'd probably willingly wear that thing fer her. Strewth, he's got stupider hats back at th' base that he wears."

[hasstandards]

"Lucky me," RED grumbled. "S'a good thing I got a house to myself, then. Leave them alone in their little nest. He can have her all to himself the moment I'm well enough to get out of here."

Which couldn't be soon enough, as far as he was concerned. He continued: "In fact, next time I see the doc, I'll make the suggestion he go and get himself holed up in the hospital. Then she can take care of him and leave me alone for more than a day."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"Yeah but she knows where ya live. She'll just show up unannounced and force feed you bacon. Trust me, I've been there." And he hadn't enjoyed it then either.

The BLU actually chuckled a bit at the suggestion. "Sure. He can jus' throw himself in front 'f a dragon again and she can nurse 'im back t' health." He reached up and scratched the side of his face as he thought about it. "Actually he's troppo enough t' do it."

[hasstandards]

"I don't doubt it. Only spoken to him once, and he seems about like all the Medics I've ever worked with. Takes a certain type, that job." As did all of their jobs, but some of them were less professional than others. It didn't take a genius to carry a giant gun and mow down enemies, after all- just someone who could take a few bullets and was big enough to carry the weapon. Sniping was more specialized- fine work. It was something else he and his rival had in common. It took sharp eyes and a steady hand.

As was gun repair, which was becoming nearly impossible with his eyes shifting in and out of focus. Thankfully, he fitted together the last pieces he could, setting aside the screwdriver as though it were weighing him down. He rubbed his eyes, leaning back onto his pillows with a groan. BLU was right again- coming off the painkillers was not pretty. "Think I've done all I can for now. If you can get someone to weld it back together, I can maybe touch up a few more things. See if I can't get it to fire without the charge time eventually."

[bye_to_yer_head]

"I don't know where they even find 'em. I've been t' my fair share of bases an' only one out 'f th' lot of 'em was an actual doctor. So it ain't too much different on th' BLU side in that regard."

Sniper put his tools back in his bag, wrapping the knife in a bit of cloth to keep it from getting too scratched up. He pulled out a roll of twine and gathered the pieces of the Machina up, tying the two sides together tightly with twine to keep it all in place. "You should probably get some rest mate. Who knows when Pyro will be back t' check on th' state of yer ears."