New writefag here. This was intended to be an afic lasting a few chapters, but it's just not getting done. I can't get further than this introductory part for some reason. But since I've come this far I'd feel bad if it never got posted, so what the hell, here it is. I hope you enjoy it. Just kidding, I hope you find it mediocre so that I don't get forced into writing more.

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The dusty air smelled lightly of explosives and fire. The rumble and clatter of battle in the distance seemed to come in waves, alternating with the quiet breeze. Mostly a typical day on the field, though it was a tad hotter than the combatants were used to this time of year.

But to the wounded Scout, it was a hellish day. Although the din was off in the distance it still made his head ache with each boom. He could scarcely breathe without choking on dust. He thought he would melt before he fell back into his team's territory.

Finally he could hear the periodic beep of the sentry. Though the noise usually irritated him, at the moment it was sweet as birdsong. Clutching his wounds, he stumbled back into shoddy structure overlooking the BLU point, desperately looking for the sanctuary of their Engineer's buildings. All he found was a fresh sentry, still in the automatic process of building itself up.
"Yo... H... Hardhat... Where...?" His voice trailed off weakly as he shuffled towards the sentry, leaning against a wall for support. But the Engineer was absent.

The cool floor felt good against his face.








A grunt briefly interrupted his hum of 'Rocky Top' as he hefted the large toolbox in his arms to get a better grip on it. He was in good spirits today. The whole team was performing competently for once, making his job of keeping the middle point secure much easier. Despite the weight of the toolbox he had a spring in his step as he returned to the spot he had chosen to build his nest. The area was quiet at the moment, giving him the perfect opportunity to build without distractions.
As he stepped over the threshold, though, there lay Scout, bloodied and bruised. But still breathing. He stopped short and his eyes darted around the room looking for the RED who may have done this. He decided quickly that the coast was clear - it was awful quiet, after all, and no Spy would leave him there alive even as bait - but his wrench would be close at hand just in case.

"Good gravy, son, what chewed you up an' spit you out?" he exclaimed as he dumped the toolbox on a nearby crate and knelt down next to his team mate. Scout mumbled something incoherent as Engineer carefully hoisted him up and pulled him over to the side so he could sit upright, leaning against the wall. The movement made him groan. "Stay put, boy, I'll getcha fixed up." He looked him over hastily, noting the huge red stain on his right side and what looked like a bullet wound in his left shoulder. He wondered how and why he came all back here when there should have been a Medic on the front line there to take care of him.
He dug around in a trashed storage closet and came up with a medkit. "Hold onta this while I get mah dispenser up, get some medicine in ya." He said as he shoved the medkit into his hands. As he relocated his over sized toolbox and mashed some buttons on the PDA, Scout had regained enough consciousness to get his backpack off and yank off his shirt, his hat and headset falling off with it. The movement must of irritated his wounds, because he had a hard time suppressing whimpers of pain. Engineer sighed at him from over the dispenser and watched as he had a hard time wrapping bandages around himself. "If you'll wait a dang minute I'll help ya," He chided.

"I got it, I got it... fuck..." He sighed as he managed to get the bandages wrapped around his waist at least once. Subsequent passes were sloppily done, leaving the bindings loose.
With a whirr and a few clicks the dispenser lit up and started producing healing vapors. Scout heaved a long sigh of relief as the cool vapor surrounded him. But the moment of comfort was lost as he shifted his position to sit closer, making the large wound in his side twinge with pain again. He hissed every bad word he knew in one long string.

"Don't you move too much now, it'll be a minute before the pain's all gone." Engineer warned as he got up to move to Scout's other side. He shooed Scout's hands away from the bandages and carefully pulled them off so he could reapply them properly, clicking his tongue at the pathetic job he had done. How did this kid stay alive anyway? "How's the front line?" Engineer asked, to make conversation. To get Scout talking about something useful before he started protesting to Engineer's aid.

"Was goin alright til we ran right into a pile'a sticky bombs. Fuckin' Demoman-" He drew in a sharp breath as Engineer pulled snuggly on his bandages, "Ffffffuck, why ya gotta make it so damn tight? Anyway, got separated from the group, a Solider just about blew my fuckin' leg off."

By the time Engineer finished patching up his middle, it seemed like the dispenser fumes were finally kicking in. Scout was becoming calmer - squirming around less, cussing less. He still looked unhappy about having to sit still but at least his protests had ceased. He at least waited until his shoulder was wrapped up to ask, "Can I go yet? They need me up there y'know."

"Naw, I think yer done for the day. Least til Doc can come heal y'completely. This is just a patch. Y'prob'ly gonna have some internal bleedin' if y'get back in action." Engineer concluded as he tied off the bandage securely. "Y'can help me keep watch right here."

Scout scoffed quietly, "Ain't no big deal. Just got to get him to fix me as soon as I get back up there, yeah?" He shifted his position a bit, as if to get up. He seemed to have regretted the action right away because he sat right back down and leaned against the dispenser. He was more busted up than he let on. But at least we wasn't moaning in pain anymore. Engineer sighed as his persistence as he got up to tend to his machines once more. Without a word he mashed a few buttons on the dispenser to up the dosage of healing fumes to sedate him some. "Whuzzat for?" Scout asked drearily.

"Oh just a li'l something t'calm y'down."

"Y'druggin' me up, y'tricky asshole."

Engineer chuckled softly to himself as he returned to work, leaving Scout to doze off by the dispenser.








After almost an hour, victory was declared.
Engineer had gotten all of his machinery up and running, and Scout had slumped over by the dispenser soundly asleep. He had made a trek from one end of the area to the other to set up his teleporters at the base and near the front line as the last point was being attacked. RED was quickly crushed from there on. With his work done he returned to his sentry nest while the rest of the team chased off their defeated rivals and took over their base. He snagged a cool can of beer out of his dispenser and took a seat next to his unconscious ally. Soon the rest of the team would make their way back and the Medic would arrive to heal Scout's wounds completely.
Scout looked peaceful now - his wounds must have numbed up totally by now. He probably needed a good rest anyway. It was a wonder that the scrawny, reckless Yankee survived on the battlefield at all.
His train of thought was interrupted when his sentry screeched bleeps and began gunning down something outside. A dying scream followed shortly after. Engineer was quite used to this happening out of the blue, but the noise made Scout jerk awake. He sat up abruptly and his hand flew clumsily to his nearest weapon, the pistol at his side. Engineer pat him on the shoulder in a gentle fashion. "S'alright, stay put." Scout's eyes darted around for a long moment until he came to realize there was no danger.
He heaved a long sigh as relaxed again, slumping over to lean against Engineer.
"Scared the shit outta me, man," He breathed, "Fucking hate the noise those damn things make..." His eyes closed and allowed his head to flop over onto Engineer's shoulder, slipping away from consciousness again. He was sitting close. /Really/ close. It was odd behavior out of him. It was a bit bewildering even, that he was so clingy now after being so fussy about receiving help at all. The fumes must have made him loopy. Even after recovering from the shock he was slumped over on top of him. Engineer was hesitant to try and shove him away or move him with those wounds. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was damn strange. He couldn't decide if he was exactly comfortable with the situation or not. Either way, he wasn't going to get up, fearing he might agitate the larger wound. Medic would be soon anyway and they could both get up and head back to the base.

"Hey man," Scout started quietly, "You saved my ass... I owe ya big time." His eyes remained closed and he loosely held Engineer's arm. "Thought I was gonna die... Sorry I was bein' a dick about it."

"What'n hell's gotten inta ya?" Engineer shifted away instinctively as he felt Scout's grip on him. Scout looked up at him sleepily and his mouth formed a scowl.

"Well 'scuse me for bein' grateful!" He grumbled as he released his hold. He sat upright again and averted his eyes, sighing softly. There was some red at his cheeks. He pushed himself up off the ground, keeping a hand close to the wall in case he was unsteady. Engineer got up with him and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged his hand away weekly. His stubbornness was returning, which meant his energy was recovering as well.

"Hehe, I just ain't used t'ya bein' so nice. Didn't mean t'insult ya." Engineer gave Scout a gentle smile. He relaxed. "How's yer wounds? Can y'walk back or y'wanna wait fer Doc to get back here?"

"Can't even feel 'em. I'm fuckin' starvin' though, let's head back." Scout replied as he snatched up his shirt, hat, and back pack. He wobbled a bit as he tossed the bag over his good shoulder. Engineer gingerly rested a hand at Scout's back as they walked back to the base.