In Need of Assistance? (TF2)

Thirty-Two: Oh, Right, It's October

"It's all good, Luv. Maybe I deserved a good puntin'."

"How'd your contract go?"

"Nothin' too special."

I don't think there are many benefits when it comes down to leaving out details on the situation. "I still get nightmares from when all of that happened a month ago. Some things are seared into my brain and just thinking about it puts me on edge."

"'Fore we start, I have to ask-" he moves his sunglasses from on top of his hat to hanging from his shirt, "are you afraid of me or what I did?"

"I'm not afraid of you," I quietly answer. "If you scared me, I wouldn't have come here. I think it's safe to assume that when you threaten to stab me- or any normal person on this planet- with a knife, that's terrifying."

"It's never that simple, excuse me," he shakes his head and steers me out of the way so he can get something. I glace around, nothing much changing from what I remember. The blankets on his couch are unfolded, and the divot in the cushion remains. He sighs, turning to me and having me stand with my back against the oak wood wall. "Full disclosure, there's no threat here, Luv. I'm not out to get you. This is just a test."

"Okay..." I reluctantly accept.

He slowly puts his arm up, pressing his forearm lightly to my chest and holding onto my wrist to check my pulse. "So you're fine like this..." He makes notes to himself as he grabs me by my arms and throws me up against the wall, pinning me to see if it would get a reaction out of me. I don't think anything significant changed because I'm breathing just the same. He removes his hand from my wrist and reaches behind him, slowly unsheathing his kukri. I swallow hard when I see a small reflection of light off of the metal, and he picks up on it. "Bingo." The tip slowly makes its way toward my neck, and I turn my head away. I start to lift my hands, keeping his at a distance when he's gotten too close. He pushes against my grip, and I quiver. "We're all fine and well until the bloke starts to carry a knife."

"Th-that would make sense," I stifle, my arms shaking as I still hold him away.

"This'll never be us, Luv," his breath lays gently over my ear as he whispers to me. "Not like this. You don't 'ave to worry about me coming after you should we ever get into a fight with another bloody piker."

"And I believe you," I shakily express. "I can't just- turn off my bodily reaction like that, though."

"Anno," he says. "But we're getting somewhere, one way or another." He keeps his hand still, and my heart slows down as I take deep breaths. I slowly release my fingers from his hand and drop them to my side, eventually glancing at him in the eyes. He didn't turn the lights on, and my eyes try to piece together the rest of his face as moonlight gives me hints. He sheathes his kukri but doesn't let go of me.

"Sniper?" I call in a hushed voice, wondering what's going on. His now free hand holds onto my chin, his lips brushing up against my cheek. He places his forehead on mine, tilting my head upward to balance out the height difference. Sniper kisses me. He's bold about it with his strong plant to my lips. He doesn't stay for long, pulling away after a few seconds and stepping back to give me my space. I stare at him from my corner of the room, devoid of any comment on the situation. He rubs the back of his neck and sits down at the window, picking up his rifle.

"'Umor me, Freddie," he requests. "Feel like a wuss enough as it is."

I shrug and lean my back against the wall, staring at the tenebrosity behind the couch while drawing a blank on anything to surrender as personal opinion. I don't think I'm asleep right now, but I pinch my side as I cross my arms to verify. That was fucking awful, to say the very least. He hasn't shown the slightest sign of being interested in me, so a kiss from out of the blue while we're still trying to work out the fact that I can't handle seeing him holding a knife is... Perplexingly eligible to be described as both comical but also a tad bit cute to be played in the tone of 'why the fuck would you do such a thing?' "That didn't feel right."