the bus travel back to red's base was, as always, loud as the battlefield itself. the team was victorious in defending their points, and their weekend of rest was well in sight. the engineer sat with his other defensive teammates as usual, though instead of adding to the commotion, held his eye level to the desert outside the windows. he'd be celebrating later, with a smaller crowd in mind.
engineer and medic had actually talked a bit about their post-win 'party' before the match even ended. spending time with the other mercs was important, since everyone played an important part, but the *after* party is what they looked forward to. another night of blueprint revising and nerd stuff, of course.
that and indulging in their hidden relationship.
even after the hours passed, the noise hardly slowed- pulling into the garage stirred it up again, as the other men debated on drinks to crack open or teleporters to cross through for something special. as engie disembarked, he lightly tipped his hardhat towards an exhausted miss pauling, who grinned and nodded weakly. that one holiday of the year couldn't come soon enough.
patiently, the mechanic waited for the others to exit the bus, until finally..
"there ya are, doc!" engie smiled, slapping a hand on the medic's back. the taller man definitely looked more exhausted than when they left; then again, they did just ride a cramped bus for a few hours. "you were wonderful as ever out there! can't even tell ya how much of our bacon ya saved."
"ahaha.. thank you, engineer." medic nodded, carefully stepping away from the texan's hand. ".. sorry, all that running around today.. i need to lie down more than anything."
"ah, i gotcha. need me to bring ya anythin'?"
"nein, danke. i'll be okay."
medic quietly shuffled through the garage and disappeared inside the base. engineer was a little worried, to say the least. being completely wiped after long travels and defending control points was completely normal, but the way he had just been.. brushed off? they *had* agreed not to say anything or be obvious.. maybe he was overthinking it. he'd just bring hot tea to him later.
in the meantime, the rest of red team was starting to get rowdy with the inclusion of alcohol. hoping not to get dragged into another drunken brawl, engie too decided to slip inside and find something to tinker with himself.
it was well into the night, and the sounds of several mercs trying to stay sober enough to sleep in a bed trudged down the halls of the base. luckily engie's workshop was mostly soundproof. he hadn't tinkered with or fixed anything in that time, only bringing out his toolbox to fidget with the contents.
it's getting late. i hope he's still awake.
deciding against bringing his toolbox as usual, the engineer instead made his way to the kitchen. might as well bring down some tea. he debated adding sugar, as was his personal preference, but skipped it over; he was hoping it'd relax the doctor's nerve, not keep them shaking.
with hot tea in their usual mugs, now he could finally meet with his better half. luckily the lab was closer to the kitchen than the workshop- a short walk brought him right to the corridor.
engie knocked gently, both to not spill or startle. "you awake in there?"
"ah.. one moment," the doc called out after a moment of silence. the rustling of equipment and papers soon followed. strange. not long after, the door opened and the german stood tall, just barely blocking the way in.
".. may i come in?" engineer chuckled, then extended one of his arms of hot drink. "i brought ya somethin'."
the medic smiled weakly, then held up his free hand. "thank you, but i'm quite busy right now."
"another all nighter, huh?" engie smirked. "but ya aren't even gonna show lil ol' me what you're workin' on?"
"it's, eh.. for the administrator."
"hm." engie nodded. definitely wouldn't wanna see something not meant for him. ".. ya sure you wouldn't mind a distraction? won't even touch your new project."
the taller man stalled for a moment, as if he were considering the offer, then unblocked the doorway. the engineer hummed to himself in satisfaction as he placed medic's mug on his operating table, then seating himself opposite the object and its owner. the lab seemed unusually clean, and he concluded the doctor was doing just that- cleaning. or preparing to drag in a corpse for experimenting.
"so.." medic began, barely accepting his mug by simply holding it. "what's this about?"
"shoot, i can't just bother you for the hell of it?" the texan joked. when he failed to elicit a reaction, he turned his focus towards his own mug. ".. well, i'd figured i'd check on you after earlier today. you didn't wanna talk about it, so i assume you weren't proud of your performance. but considering you're back up and workin', i'd bet you're doin' better now, huh?"
"ah! yes, yes," medic nodded, setting his tea back on the operating table. "much better. i had some much needed rest. i was feeling faint from all the, eh.. not resting."
engie's eyes widened behind his goggles. "i wasn't keepin' you up too late, was i? i know the boys upstairs get on your ass if you're slightly off, and i-"
"no, no!" medic quickly recovered, stepping towards the mechanic. "don't worry about it. it's not your doing."
engineer breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a sip of his now safe-to-consume tea. the two had been working late into the night together, but if it cut into their day work too much… neither wanted to think about the consequences.
"i'm still sorry," he began, much less frantic this time. "it's a lot to ask from you just to talk right now, especially when you're busy. even if we slip a touch on the battlefield, that's nothin' to what'll happen if they find out about.."
the men's eyes met. engineer didn't feel like finishing that thought. it's not that they were ashamed, there was just.. a lot that came with dating your coworker. who also happened to be a man.
".. i'll leave you to work, i guess."
"engineer, i.." medic began. the other man was nose deep in his mug, shaken just from his own thoughts.
cowardly, almost.
"leave the beating up for blu." the doctor placed a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "i enjoy working with you; nobody's going to find out anything before they should."
after another pause, engie finally abandoned his mug next to medic's, then pulled the other mercenary in for a tight hug. medic seemed surprised, and didn't return the hug until moments later.
someday they wouldn't have to be so secretive.
engineer could feel himself on the verge of tears- something he had not felt in what seemed like ages. all he could do was exist in this moment, accept that he was sappier than he wanted, and take in everything about the man currently holding him. the firmly built arms keeping him grounded, the surprisingly warm-blooded chest heating his face, the ever so faint scents of smoke and cologne..
medic does not wear cologne.
engineer's spine ran cold, and rightfully so; with all awareness shifted to arguably one of the most exposed parts of himself, he could sense the tip of a knife barely poking his back.
analyzing. if he were in battle, this wouldn't be anywhere near planned. if he had any weapons, hell, his wrench, he would at least bounce back with mild injuries. but he had nothing. and he had emptied his heart out to the wrong man. the worst man he could have, arguably.
even if he could fight back, he wasn't about to wake up the whole damn team over it.
he shoved "medic" away quick as he could, which at least startled him. the knife had vanished. maybe he hasn't realized i figured him out.
"sorry, i.." the texan struggled to compose himself. "it's getting late."
"medic" stepped back as engie grabbed his own mug and made his way to the door, opting not to cover his back. he placed his hand on the knob, but stopped before he could turn it. might as well let him know.
"how long have ya been here?"
"..what do you mean?"
"you put on too much cologne. you stink."
silence.
"how come ya haven't stabbed me yet?"
his pda clicked and his disguise fell away. there stood the blu spy, as suspected.
"we aren't supposed to kill on weekends." the frenchman said plainly, pulling out a cigarette he refused to light. "if you're so concerned about payment, perhaps we shouldn't have ours docked over this.. encounter."
i hate it when they're right.
"so what about the real doc?" engie tightened his grip on his tea, which had cooled significantly.
"having himself a little rest in his quarters, no worries."
"so you broke in just to get a head start on next week, huh?"
"it wouldn't hurt to know where you were you were being stationed next."
engineer's face grew hot with frustration. this guy was almost as insufferable as the red spy- at least he got to the point.
the mechanic clicked the knob, but didn't open the door.
"well you won't find mission briefings in the medical wing, mister." he turned his head to the enemy spy. "now i hope you have a ride. otherwise your paycheck's fixin' to get a lot smaller."
"fine, i get it," the spy raised his hands. "i went in over my head.. are you not going to give me anything as consolation?"
"i think you've seen enough."
"not even blackmail?"
"you've seen enough."
engineer swung the door open, and before spy could activate his cloak, firmly grasped his arms to escort him from the building. he'd check on the real medic later. for now, he had an impromptu escort mission and a certain miss pauling to call.
