It's strange how time can fly by without you noticing when you spend all day killing people and dying and coming back to life and running around trying to push a bomb down a railway. It's strange how you can live alongside eight other people without really talking to them even though you've been working with them for… how long?

Time sure does fly.

It's also strange how something that you've been around for so long can become interesting all of a sudden. Maybe that's because you never really looked before, and once you finally step back from all the working and running and doing, you see things you had been missing. You stop to smell the roses for a while.

That doesn't happen very often in our line of work here in Badwater Basin. Especially not for Pyros like myself because Spies never rest. And if the Spies never rest, then neither do I. Well, at least I thought so. But it turns out that my entire team and I are being shipped off to some control point area, and it's days away from Badwater. We had to pack our bags and get on the bus the day we got the news, and suddenly I noticed all my teammates.

I could tell that the Medic was an experienced man what with the few creases in his skin and graying sideburns. He was always lively, though, and he could certainly run faster than me! I gotta hand it to him; he's quite an amazing doctor.

Our Heavy always seemed to be smiling during ceasefires, and his face just had this sort of infectious glow about it that just makes you want to smile right back at him. I always do, but no one can ever tell.

The Sniper and the Engineer were both quiet and rather easy-going most of the time, but they had mean streaks a mile wide. You'd think they were a completely different person on the battlefield than they were in their free time.

Our team Spy was an enigma, but I did manage to catch him napping on a lounge room couch one time. He had a pillow under his back, and I guess he maybe has a bad back. That kind of explains why he's sort of hunched over all the time.

The Soldier and the Demoman were almost always hanging out together. They had a special bond that I could only dream about having with someone else. I never really noticed how badly I craved friendship until now, but my teammates never really spoke to me outside of the battlefield.

And then there was the Scout- a mouthy brat who always rushes headfirst into action. I always end up having to chase him down and save him from burning to death, and he always says "Thanks mumbles" or something to that affect with that huge, smug grin on his face. It was infuriating to say the least.

But then I saw him outside of battle, and he was a lot quieter. He didn't make fun of anyone, and he even- believe it or not- kept to himself more often than not. And this fascinated me to no end. How could he be so irritating by day and so pleasant by night? What was his reasoning for making such a cocky facade for the enemy? What really makes him tick?

… Even though I was dying of curiosity, I kept my distance. I somehow doubted that he would want to speak to me since no one often does, and I am too afraid to take off my mask to talk with them normally. So I just hide behind the gas mask, hoping that one day maybe they will notice me as I have noticed them.

I spoke too soon because the moment we stopped at the first hotel, the Scout nearly jumped out of his seat and demanded to room with me. The other teammates were understandably shocked, but they made no arguments against it. I just stared at Scout through my mask, and he was grinning. He turned to me as he picked up his backpack and suitcase.

"C'mon, mumbles!" he chirped, waving for me to follow, which I did after grabbing my own luggage. He walked into the hotel ahead of everyone and grabbed a room key that was already prepared for us, and he tapped his foot as he waited at the elevator. I glanced back at the other teammates gathering their things and coming through the door before I turned and walked into the elevator with the Scout. It was awkward to say the least, but I was just glad that he couldn't see me staring at him. Once we were at our floor, he lead the way to the room and opened the door, throwing his bags down on one of the beds and waiting for me to settle down before closing the door.

"Hey mumbles," he said suddenly, and I looked up and stared at him. He seemed to be nervous, but I couldn't imagine why since he chose to room with me. "…Will ya evah take dat mask off?" I instantly shook my head, and the Scout held up his hands.

"A'ight, a'ight… Is it because ya don't trust me?" I thought for a moment and then I slowly shook my head. The Scout was, despite being mouthy, a reliable teammate that always did his part, so I did trust him, but… "Is it because ya think I'd hate ya?" His voice was different now- quieter, softer. He wasn't grinning from ear to ear; he was looking at me with something like genuine concern. It took me a bit off guard, and before I could come back down to Earth, I found myself nodding. He gave me a sad sort of look and sat down on a bed, patting the spot next to him. I sat down.

"Look, mumbles," he started, keeping a respectful distance between him and me as we sat next to each other. "I've seen ya sittin outside all by yerself while tha rest o' tha team is havin' a good time… an' I jus'… wanna be yer friend." He rubbed the back of his neck, and I stared at him in disbelief. "An' I know dat's probably hard ta believe, but I'm tellin' the honest ta God truth!" I kept staring, and I really wished I had noticed him sooner because apparently he had noticed me long before I got around to him.

I stayed quiet though, and he eventually started fidgeting, and after a few minutes of silence, he rubbed his face and sighed. I think he was blushing, but it's hard to see small differences in color through my mask.

"We'll worry about it tomorrow, okay?"

The next day, I woke up bright and early, and I had to wake up the Scout or else he would have been late. We got ready to go in silence, but the Scout kept occasionally glancing at me. I paid it no mind and packed up my stuff before heading down to get back in the bus to go to the next hotel.

The drive there was long and quiet. Everyone seemed to run out of conversation all at once, and we all just looked out the windows in silence. I could feel someone staring at me every now and then, but I just ignored it and the feeling eventually went away. I was too busy thinking about the Scout, if you want it honest. I could tell he was being sincere, but I still felt wary.

When we arrived at the hotel, again, the Scout roomed with me. We settled down into this hotel room, and then the Scout was blatantly watching me. I eventually turned around and stared back at him, and he was just smiling a little bit. It was a soft smile. I smiled back, but it was hidden in the mask. I was about to turn back around to get some towels for a shower.

"Didja smile back at me?" he asked, and I blinked, shifting to face him again. I nodded slowly, and his smile widened. "I wanna see." The request didn't sound demanding like you would expect from the Scout; it sounded more cautious than anything else. "If… If ya don't wanna, then it's fine!"

I thought about this for a moment, and I felt something bubbling around in my stomach, and before I could really think much more about it, my hands lifted up and pulled off the mask. I realized what I had done when I felt my eyes burning from the bright lights, but before I could go back into the safety of my mask, Scout jumped over to the light switch and turned the lights down to low level. I paused in replacing my mask and then slowly set it down on my bed. Scout walked over to me and stood about 2 paces away, just looking at me. I instantly felt my stomach twist with worry, but I found nothing bad in his expression. In fact, he looked more awestruck than anything.

"Wow," he breathed, cautiously stepping 1 step closer. I stood still, gulping slightly as he looked at me a bit closer. "Wow." He said again. I fidgeted in my spot, glancing around the room and looking at everything but the Scout. "I've… I've nevah seen an albino guy before… It's… … Yer amazin'."

I suddenly looked up at him, blinking in shock. Amazing? He thinks I'm amazing? I just stood there dumb-founded, and he slowly closed the distance between us, reaching up with one hand and gently holding the side of my neck.

And I don't know what shocked me more after that: the fact that he kissed me or the fact that I kissed him back.

A/N: This actually started as a commission on tumblr, but I really like the story, so I thought I'd maybe continue it. If this gets enough views and reviews, I'll probably continue.

Here is my original commission post: hovercrafting . tumblr post/39820089183