Old truck pulled in hotel's parking lot, leaving dusty clouds behind. It was very early in the morning: the moon was still up shining on a cloudless sky, only some light yellowish hints reminded Dell that the long drive is finally over. His eyes were sore, he was in a desperate need for sleep. Scout gave him few cans of Bonk, but the human body can only deal this much of concentration on the road. It was just another annual conference held by Mann Co. He didn't really fancy the idea of attending, especially when he had to drive instead of taking a plane. Engineer took his belongings and headed out to the hotel.

"Good morning, Sir!" A young lady smiled. The tiredness in her eyes was more than obvious. "Would you like to check in?"

"Morning, Miss. Single room, please."

A few moments later, she was done checking him in. After she handed him the key, she had to do something the company policy made her do every goddamn time.

"Mr. Conagher, may I offer you a postcard?" She took out three little cards with landscapes similar to those surrounded the hotel. "50 cents each."

Dell silently nodded. He reached for his wallet and took out one dollar and two quarters. "Here ya go." He took the room key and postcards, leaving the woman alone.

Fortunately, he knew he wanted to send one postcard to his beloved Soldier, but what he should do with the other ones? He could've sent those to Sniper and Spy, the most silent couple he'd ever seen in his life. They were overprotective when people started talking about relationships, not letting anyone to eavesdrop on them or even find out where they were. Heavy and Medic's relationship was a little bit more open, at least they were comfortable holding hands in public. Everyone saw them together on the battlefield a lot, and it was a matter of time for them to become either good friends (they have passed that point long time ago), or lovers. "Should've bought 8 postcards instead of just three", he thought. Engineer was friendly to anyone on the team, able to keep the team spirit up, even though Soldier claimed it was his job to make a good team out of maggots he had to work with. Dell was the one who gathered everyone together both near a campfire and in a intelligence room to discuss battle strategy. This fact was considered by Mann Co., and he had an obligation to show up on every meeting. The upcoming conference wasn't about team spirit at all - it was devoted to problem of mercenaries' efficiency and how it was calculated. Old ways of calculating efficiency coefficient were outdated since they were developed when Dell's grandfather worked for the corporation. Almost every weapon had been modified since then, and the formulae needed a revision. These thoughts helped Engineer fall asleep. He was too tired for any thought process. He set the alarm and finally let himself relax.

Bright sunlight hit Engineer's eyes earlier than the alarm's annoying sound hit his ears. He woke up an hour earlier, but that was good - he needed to have a decent breakfast. The hotel didn't offer breakfasts, so there he was, in a stretched-out t-shirt, old jeans he wore in a workshop, all stained with grease and oil. The only time he cared about the looks today would be the conference itself. On his way out, he noticed a different lady at the reception.

"Good morning, sir, how may I help you?"

"Ya know... Ah just checked in this night, and the girl here sold me three postcards. And Ah would like ta-"

"If you want to return them, there's no problem." Dell didn't like the fact that she interrupted him, but the last thing he wanted to do is to argue with some random lady.

"Nah, I'm fine. What Ah need is five more o'them."

She was shocked, since they usually sold about five per month, and she had a chance to beat other girls' record of selling four at a time.

"Oh, sure. You must have a big family." She took out a bunch of postcards, similar to those he had bought yesterday. "And I am genuinely sorry for interrupting."

Engineer laughed a bit. "Yeah, I do. Ain't no hot dog stand with lots o'fat football fans in line, huh?"

She smiled. "Certainly."

He picked out five postcards and gave the money. He left her a short "thankya", and went to the parking lot.

It was a low morning in the waffle place. Besides Dell, there was an old lady having breakfast. He ordered two portions of waffles with maple syrup. It reminded him of one day, when Soldier and him went downtown. Jane was really grumpy that day, because Dell did his laundry without asking him. Soldier believed he could've worn those tank tops for a couple more days, but the smell told Dell otherwise. Engineer ordered Soldier maple syrup waffles, and the rocketeer's mood had changed dramatically. Soldier made the manager listen to him singing "God Bless America". Engie loved his lover's voice, but the situation didn't require this much of output. Dell smiled, when he started eating his waffles.

There wasn't much time left before the conference, but Engineer finished with the postcards and dropped them off in mailbox. Hoping they will reach Teufort earlier than he does, Dell made a U-turn and headed out to the conference.

Pyro was tuning up the radio, until he finally heard a woman singing some familiar song. Scout immediately recognized and started singing along, with Pyro mumbling with rhythm:

Before loneliness will break my heart,
send me a postcard darling.
How can I make you understand?
I wanna be your woman.
Here, here I'm waiting for a little sign,
waiting 'til the end of time.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.

"Good morning, creampuffs, we have lots of mail!" Soldier greeted everyone in the kitchen. Six men and Pyro looked at him, asking what was that.

"Engie sent all these postcards. Here's one for you, kid" He gave the first card from the stack to Scout.

"Greetings, city boy!" Scout started reading out loud. "I showed a photo of you to the receptionist lady, she said she likes you." He smiled widely. "Just kidding. FYI never attend conferences, you'll find them incredibly boring 'cause when you jump up you gotta say something smart." The youngest of the team smiled kindly.

Next postcard was for Demo. "Aye bud!" The demolition man laughed out, reading this. "Got some booze for ya. Will give under condition: share w/everyone". Scout shouted out in appreciation.

"These are for you, sneaky ones" Soldier gave 2 postcards to Sniper and Spy. They sat next to each other and tried their best to attract as little attention as they could.

"Sniper, thanks for pointing out some issues with your rifle. I'll get to that question. They also want to replace piss in Jarate with apple juice." Sniper read this to everyone. Some teammates exhaled happily, saying something like "Thank God".

"Bonjure Bonjour" Spy started reading and sighed. "Illiterate laborer."

"Go on, crouton!" Soldier commanded.

"Thanks for telling me about the tuxedo place. Got some booze for you as well, but ya don't have to share. Not the same as Demo's though." Spy stopped reading. "Wasn't necessary, but fine."

Medic was the next to read. "Hi Doc, expect some news from the administration, we'll getcha covered." Nothing personal, just a work note. Engineer and him were, first of all, good coworkers and good buddies afterwards.

Heavy was about to start reading, but completely out of blue Pyro started jumping on his chair, weaving his card. There was a little doodle of sentry, and a note "Lots of fire a day keeps damn spy away!" He calmed down rapidly, but kept his eyes locked on the card for few minutes. Meanwhile, Heavy read his card. "Greetings tovarisch! Got you some books in Russian. Don't ask me how. Really hope they are fine 'cause none of them have any words in English." The giant man grinned widely. Even though his teammates managed to get the right books for him quite rarely, he admired every attempt. And, judging by the newspapers Sniper and Engineer were bringing him from downtown, the relations between his motherland and America were far from being good. He was glad he was in the United States, with his team full of babies. However, he could call Medic "baby", giving it a completely different definition.

Scout was quiet for the last five minutes, but suddenly he stood up and asked Soldier loudly enough for everyone to hear: "So, what your baby sent you? A Valentine's card?" He smiled, expecting everyone to laugh, but nobody did. If Engineer was there together with him, he would've grabbed Scout by his wrist and said something to his ear that made the Bostonian's eyebrows go up and say something like "Okay okay, I will!". That kid was both easy to be manipulated and careless enough to step in the same trap over and over again. Even though Engie wasn't around, Soldier did his best to comply to his lover's standards. He was furious, but the fact that no one on the team supported Scout extinguished that fire inside him. However, he started reading what Dell wrote him. "I ate maple syrup waffles and thought of you." One could hear Medic and Pyro saying and mumbling "D'aww!" Soldier smiled sweetly, knowing what day Engineer meant. "Love you a bunch. Grant you an opportunity to punch Scout once." Sweet smile rapidly turned into an evil grin, and the young man was already gone by the time Soldier started looking for him.

"These cat and mouse games... Let's go." Spy was holding Sniper's cup, ready to leave. "Yew betta make him do the dishes for once, mate," Sniper advised.

"That's a fine piece of advice! C'mere hippie!" He ran out of the room, ready to find that kid and make him do the chores.

Engineer was relieved to see familiar old buildings, hidden in the midnight darkness. Coming back to the base always felt like coming home to loving family. And it indeed was his big family, made of mercenaries from all over the world. He grabbed several bags of various things he bought for his team, no, family members. Again, he was exhausted from driving, his brain was full of everything that been said on the conference. He wanted to fall asleep in Soldier's comforting hug. He brought the bags inside and noticed the light from the kitchen. Soldier was snoring, resting head on his hands. Engineer stepped inside the kitchen, kissed the other man's cheek.

Dell whispered into Jane's ear: "Morning, sunshine."

He didn't wake up. Engineer tried again, saying a little louder.

"Wha... Oh hi! Been waiting for you and-"

"Doesn't matter, love." Dell's fingers were running through Jane's short haircut. Their lips were locked together, tongues meeting each other again. Those few days Engineer was away seemed like eternity, and Soldier was happy to rediscover Engineer's lips. Soon enough, Engineer was seated in Soldier's lap, resting his head on rocketeer's shoulder.

"Ah guess we better go ta bed, love, unless you want to keep sleepin' here."

"What about the bags?"

"Screw it. Nuthin' will go bad overnight in there, booze ain't no dairy product. I have priorities, ya know."

Engineer left a soft peck on Soldier's nose before they went to Engie's room.

"Great morning, cupcakes! Look who's back!" Soldier entered the kitchen, holding Engineer's hand. "Jane, there's no need ta-"

"As promised, he brought you some presents! It is like Christmas morning!"

"Ah will have ta talk to some of ya folks about the serious stuff, but that's fa later. Ah know you got the cards, so you guys can take the bags and take what's yours."

"Hey overalls, you're the good cop here, and your man is the bad cop!" Scout wanted to complain about how "unfair" Soldier was to him. "He made me do the dishes, sweep every freakin' corner! Next time you go somewhere, take this pain in the ass with you!"

"Well," Engineer always knew how to respond to these rants, "that's awful that you had ta experience how much of a pain in the butt he is. I thought you were straight." Scout went mad, but Engineer carried on. "But I fancy the idea of going places together with Soldier. You're a bright kid, aren't ya?"

The young man clearly had enough of this talk. "Screw you, hardhat!"

"Ah guess that's what they mean by 'forever young'... Anyways, go get your stuff, fellas!"