Chapter Text
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“Sentry goin’ up!”
As soon as the RED Engineer opened his toolbox, he heard heavy footsteps rushing up behind him. Turning to face the noise, he screamed as he was immediately blasted with flames.
He muttered to himself as he stomped out of Respawn and onto his teleporter. That darn Pyro.. he was going to bash their masked face in next time he got the cha—
Fwoosh.
His skin was burnt to a crisp as soon as he appeared back on the battlefield.
He stewed in his emotions for a second before Scout respawning brought him back to reality.
“What’s the matter, overalls?” he quipped, swinging his bat. “Too well-done for your taste?”
“Like you’re so great yourself,” Engineer growled after him as the younger man rushed back into battle. He trudged back to his teleporter.
They lost.
“Ugh!” Medic exclaimed, hands dragging down his face as the mercenaries headed back to base. “I am on a team full of idiots!”
Engie sighed. “Couldn’t get anythin’ done with that damn Pyro.”
“Speak for yourself, buddy,” Scout chirped. “I was on fire out there! And so were you. Heh.” He received a very sharp elbow to the shoulder.
Demoman shrugged. “I didn’t have any problem with ‘em.”
“Neither did I, surprisingly,” Spy added. “It seems they were only targeting Engineer this round.”
Scout smirked, grateful to have zero run-ins with mumbles. “As long as it’s not me!”
Engineer really, really wanted to say, ‘yeah, thanks for all the help, fellas’ but he bit his tongue. As they entered the main building and the majority of the team headed to the dining room, Engie decided to hunker down in his workshop.
A soft knock on his door snapped him out of his trance.
“Come in,” he called, voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and sat up to stretch. He groaned as his back popped in several places, a sort of achey relief washing over his body.
His door slowly creaked open, a helmet clinking against it.
“I have brought you a sandwich,” Soldier announced, holding out a plate. So he did. “You did not show up for dinner.”
Engie shrugged. What could he say? “I guess I didn’t. Thanks, Soldier. I appreciate it.” Soldier approached his desk and handed him the plate. Engie could smell the mayo. He hid his gag to the best of his ability, placing the plate down next to his papers. His eyes burned. He blinked, yet it persisted. He rubbed his eyes. “Say, what time is it?”
“Two minutes to midnight.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Jeez.” They had come back from battle around seven. He felt like most of the nearly five hours since then were spent zoned out. “Well, thanks again, Soldier. I should get ready for bed. G’night.”
Soldier nodded, backing out of his workshop with a salute. Engineer yawned so hard he thought his jaw might pop. Standing up, his joints cracked almost painfully. He considered the pitiful, stinky sandwich for a long moment.
He slid it into the trash. He probably shouldn’t be eating so late, anyway.
His head felt fuzzy as he brushed his teeth, sharp bristles irritating his gums. He spat, a swirl of red blood and blue toothpaste sliding down the drain. As he cozied up in bed, flames and flashes of blue danced behind his eyes. A soft, gentle baby blue clashed with harsh, fiery oranges and reds. His memories of the day played on rewind as he tossed and turned.
There was something going on here, something more to this.
He was going to figure out what.