Not-So-Empty Nest

[hasstandards]

Who: RED Sniper (hasstandards), RED Scout (skooshyscoot), & Teriyaki
When: Morning
Where: RED Base
Rating: Probably PGish
Summary: With one Spy gone and the other moved out, Sniper is under the impression he and Pyro (and the pets) are the only ones at the base. Spoiler: they're not

Comments

[skooshyscoot]

The absence of the two spies had not gone unnoticed by the Scout. Living the passed few weeks with everyone had been loud and busy enough to resemble what she'd become used to in her time with her siblings and later with RED, so the sudden peace and quiet without the two Frenchmen around was almost unsettling for her. Not that she didn't appreciate the lack of unwanted encounters while she was still a little moody from not having eaten her breakfast yet, but it was strange for her not to have run into anyone during her trek down to the kitchen.

Clad in a pair of flannel pajama shorts and a slightly over-sized t-shirt from the night before, she rubbed at her eyes sleepily when she heard a voice coming from the kitchen, where the words "somethin' just between us" made her stop in her tracks before she could be seen. That was Sniper's voice, wasn't it? Who was he talking to, Pyro? It didn't sound like it since it was still quiet after he'd spoken. Curiosity, at least for the moment, outweighed her hunger as she blinked curiously at the light coming from the room ahead.

[hasstandards]

Teriyaki barked once at the half a muffin as it was tossed to the floor, scarfing it down before bouncing around in joyous approval. Sniper laughed as he scooped the pup into his lap.

"Oof. Think you've gained some weight," he said with the dog held before him. "I'll bet Spy's been feedin' ya all sorts of things you're not s'pposed to have. Bloody piker."

He set Teriyaki on his legs, careful to avoid hitting his knee. The puppy pressed his paws into Sniper's chest, pushing him back onto the couch. Though the dog lightened his mood, his expression and tone had taken a somber turn. "I never did get to tell him thanks for what he did, you know. Not really." He sighed. "Might never get the chance, now."

Even Teriyaki could sense the change in mood, letting out a whine before licking at Sniper's face. In his enthusiasm, he stepped on the wounded knee- Sniper let out a groan, picking the dog up and setting him on the floor.

"Alright, that's enough." He looked around a moment. "Piss, forgot my pills. Can you get my medicine, Terr?" He wiggled his hand in a vague motion, as though he were holding a bottle of pills. "Medicine?"

The dog, apparently knowing what task was being asked of him, trotted out of the room, unknowingly headed in Scout's direction.

[skooshyscoot]

Inch by inch, Scout tiptoed over to the edge of the entryway with her back pressed flat against the wall as if that would somehow make her seem less suspicious to anyone that happened to walk passed her. Once the edge was less than a foot away, she stopped.

Just going the tone of Sniper's voice, she realized that whatever Sniper was saying was probably not meant to be overheard by anyone else save for the animal that was apparently with him. The whine at least confirmed that the guy wasn't talking to some inanimate object, like a trench shovel or one of those piss jars.

Her eyebrow however did raise in confusion when she heard the other man tell the animal to go fetch him his meds. Could a pet really be smart enough to do that? The soft click clack of the dog's nails on the linoleum answered her question soon enough when a fuzzy little head appeared from the kitchen.

Her mind's first reaction was to unleash the very girly squeal of delight at how cute the dog was, but a second, more logical one had her voice catch in her throat before she could utter a peep. She wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping, and if that dog barked at her...

[hasstandards]

Teriyaki, mind on the task at hand, click-clacked his way past Scout without even noticing her, making his way to the kitchen table. It took a few jumps, but he managed to clamber into one of the chairs before getting his paws on the tabletop itself. Grabbing the pill bottle in his mouth, he hopped down and headed back toward the den.

It was then he caught sight of Scout. He froze, bottle in tow; after a second, he dropped the bottle in favor of barking at the supposed intruder.

"Oi, ya can't just leave it in there!" Sniper called from the den, having heard the bottle drop, but assuming it was one of his usual acts of disobedience. "You gotta come back in here with it if you want a treat. Bring it here."

The pup ceased his fit for the second, clearly torn on whether he should keep barking or bring it back. The bottle had rolled near Scout's feet- he eyed it, whining.

"In here, or I'm eating all these myself," came the reply, Sniper blissfully unaware anyone else was there.

[skooshyscoot]

Scout tensed and tried to no avail to shush the dog as it yapped. Looking nervously back and forth between it and the door, she crouched down slowly to pick up the pill bottle and held it out for the dog to take. "Here, take it. C'mon, that's a good boy."

She tried to keep her voice low, but with how close she was to the door, she could probably still be heard if the man inside listened closely enough.

[hasstandards]

There was half a second where Sniper thought he heard something, a quiet uttering under the whining and barking going on in the kitchen; however, he made no sudden moves to investigate, knowing the puppy was a bit on the jumpy side and that the noises could be attributed to a number of things: his general paranoia and sleeplessness, the dog, and Pyro elsewhere in the house all came to mind as probable causes.

Both Spies were definitely gone, and he knew where Pyro was. Most likely, the dog had seen another bug and decided that his master needed protecting, lest his life be threatened by all the dangers a moth could present.

Teriyaki continued whining as the bottle was offered to him, unsure if it was safe to grab or not and shooting Sniper some very tragic looks all the while. There was another groan from the den as Sniper got to his feet, taking his time as he grabbed his crutches. "Alright, I'm coming. Let's see what pest it is that's got you all worked up this time."

[skooshyscoot]

For a couple seconds, she continued to shake the little bottle at the dog in the hopes that it would quiet down, but when she heard the other begin to stand, she grit her teeth. She knew the other was still in crutches, and she didn't want to feel like more of a jerk for making him walk over only to find her eavesdropping on him. Standing back up, she took a step away from the wall before walking out into the center of the doorway to the den.

"You lookin' for these, Snipes?"

Flashing him a friendly grin, she leaned against the frame of the door as she lightly shook the pill bottle in her hand.

[hasstandards]

Sniper had mentally prepared himself for the possibility that Pyro was hiding around the corner, ready to jump out and try to startle him; what he hadn't prepared himself for was the lady Scout to walk into the den right as he was getting himself and his crutches situated. This wouldn't have been so much of a problem had he been wearing anything aside from his boxers and glasses, but as that was the entirety of his wardrobe, he felt himself tense up, prepared for a flight he couldn't make in his condition.

Instead, he choked on the air in his throat, trying not to look as utterly exposed as he was in that moment. There was only so much a flat expression could hide, and it wasn't as though pretending he wasn't in his boxers was going to help.

Not that he wouldn't try. "W- What are you doing here?"

[skooshyscoot]

While she'd been expecting the Sniper to be in his regular clothes, his pajamas, or hell even a long bathrobe, she certainly hadn't expected to find the man in nothing but his underwear. For a moment, her eyes went owlishly wide before the sense to not stare came back to her.

"Whaddaya think?" She turned her head to watch the dog instead as there really wasn't any place on the other man that she could look at without turning a few brighter shades of red.

"I was goin' to get breakfast when your dog started barking at me."

[hasstandards]

Teriyaki stared at Scout a minute before wandering back to his master, plopping down at his feet and waiting for a reward for his attempted hard work.

Meanwhile, Sniper averted his eyes as well, as though him not looking at her and neither of them addressing the fact that he was undressed would somehow make the entire mortifying situation nonexistent. "I was under the impression you'd moved out." Or disappeared. Frankly, either was preferable at that second.

[skooshyscoot]

"What the heck gave you that idea?" As Teriyaki started moving in Sniper's direction, she instead opted to look at the corner of the couch where the other had gotten up.

"Why, you gonna miss me if I did suddenly vamoose?" She joked, trying not to make things even more awkward than they already seemed to be. Also remembering that she still had the other's medication in hand, she walked over with her eyes trained on the floor to place the bottle on the end of the coffee table closest to him.

"Far as I know, I'm still stuck here like the rest'a ya." She shrugs, turning her back to him and starting to head back into the kitchen. She'd said she'd come downstairs to get food, and that's just what she was going to do. Half-naked Sniper or not.

[hasstandards]

"Great," RED said through his teeth as Scout headed into the kitchen, creaking back onto the couch. "Best news I've heard in some time." There went the benefit of both Spies being gone- that he and Pyro had the base to themselves. He'd have left the room, but he needed to take his medication, she'd already seen him in his boxers, and it wasn't as though he knew where the rest of his clothes were, anyway. Knowing Pyro, she'd probably tossed them all in the wash, just to be careful.

Teriyaki hopped onto the couch as Sniper tried to wipe the burning from his face, taking a seat on his master's lap and waiting patiently for his reward- he was given half a muffin to gnaw on. After that, it was pill time- Sniper fiddled with the cap a moment before rattling two capsules into his hand, swallowing them whole. It was only then he realized he'd left his coffee... in the kitchen, of course.

At least some good might come of the kid being there. "Oi, bring me my coffee while you're in there, if ya don't mind. The mug on the counter." The homemade one with #1 Sniper painted on it.

[skooshyscoot]

Once she realizes that Sniper and Pyro are together, she won't be able to move out of the RED base fast enough. It was one thing to be sharing the place with the two Spies still around, but being the only third-wheel in the house? She'll knock down Spy's door and demand she get his couch for a few nights if that's what it takes. Until then, she'd made herself at home here and went into the freezer to make herself some waffles.

"I got a name, ya know. And would it kill your crippled ass to put a please in there?" Polite mannerisms aside, she went over to retrieve the man's mug anyway.

"So what's your fuzzball's name?" She motioned with her head towards Teriyaki as she set the Sniper's mug on the table. A small grin grew on her face as she watched the dog munch away happily.

[hasstandards]

Not that Sniper would be divulging that information anytime soon. He just hoped she wouldn't think too hard on the fact that he was comfortable walking around the base in his underpants until he'd realized Scout was there, clearly unbothered with the thought of Pyro seeing him in such a state.

"Teriyaki," Sniper answered, uttering a word of gratitude as he pulled the coffee mug toward him and took a sip of the sweet ambrosia it contained. The smell alone was enough to soothe his nerves, though the fact she'd gotten it at all was what convinced him to let the 'crippled' comment slide. "He's Pyro's dog, not mine."

[skooshyscoot]

"Like the chicken?" It seemed kind of silly to name a pet after food, but then again, she was one to talk after she'd voted to name her class pet in grade school Chowder. She raised a brow at him skeptically at his following comment. "Well, Teriyaki sure seems to think'a you as his owner too."

Shrugging, she flopped down onto the opposite end of the couch since she had to wait for her breakfast to finish cooking in the toaster. "Was Pyro the one that taught him how'ta get your pills like that?"

[hasstandards]

"No, that'd be me," Sniper replied, resettling himself to be another inch or two away from Scout. Teriyaki went with him, but wasn't happy about the move- having finished his morsel, the pup now wanted attention, prancing in place on Sniper's lap for a second before jumping at his face and giving his scruffy chin a few appreciative licks.

"Down, Terr. Down." Sniper's commands were quieter, less conversational with Scout in the room. He put a hand on the puppy's back, gently pushing him down to reinforce the idea. Undeterred, Teriyaki rolled under his hand, stretching across his lap and exposing his belly for rubs.

Sniper shot Scout a sideways glance before caving and scratching the puppy's underside, knowing this wasn't helping the whole 'he's Pyro's dog' image.