dokoranaway - Tumblr blog

dokoranaway · 2 years ago

Text

Heights (Sniper/You)

[full fic below if ao3 is a hassle ✨] Murphy's Law — "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

On Valentine's Day, Y/N received a grim reminder that she lived in fear of heights. But she steeled herself, determined to confess to her best friend — and what better place to do so than from the top of a 20-metre tower?

Besides, it's just severe acrophobia, what could possibly go wrong?

Genre: Fluff & lowkey comedy

With white daisies in one hand and the other a clenched and trembling fist, Y/N stared at the wooden tower ahead. She squinted at the platform above, confirming her suspicion when she saw the familiar behatted silhouette. "Right... Of course he's up there. Where else would he be?" She muttered to no one in particular.

A gunshot rang from above, followed by the vague outline of a tin can toppling over in the distance. Looking up again, her breath hitched and her free hand found itself over her heart as if to calm it. "It's okay, you can do it. You can do it." Y/N told herself repeatedly like a mantra as another shot echoed. Ironically, it was neither the gunshots that scared her nor was it the marksman who resided at the peak of the wooden titan either. Her intended confession wasn't the culprit either, no, it was the damn tower.

What looked like a normal sniper tower to the average person was a tower of doom to Y/N. It had to be at least staggeringly 20 metres tall, as accurate as her rough eyeballing of it could estimate.

The highest that Y/N had tolerated so far was the 5-metre obstacle course she endured as a child. That obstacle course was also the very moment she decided that high elements didn’t have the best relations with her. How unfortunate it was for her that the man she fell for was commonly found in such elevated conditions.

Another gunshot resounded as Y/N studied the shooting range with admiration. It was scattered with cans of all sorts, each one embellished with proof of his refined marksmanship. It seemed like today was another one of his routine shooting practice sessions, but Y/N had intentions of making the day end differently.

Y/N walked closer to the tower, her fingers brushing its wooden pillars lightly, silently observing its stability in an attempt to persuade herself of its safety. She then absentmindedly circled the structure slowly until her hands reached the ladder. The iron ladder was extremely rusted, leaving a dusty reddish-brown residue on her fingers. Upon seeing it, there was only one thought in her mind, 'No way this looks safe'.

Y/N reconsidered her choices and almost opted to walk away, but she knew it had to be today. It was Valentine's Day, and it's not every day that you can make a cheesy confession on an equally cheesy holiday. Evenings are known to set romantic ambiences as well. When would be a more perfect time than this? Yet, Y/N’s hesitation led her to pace around the ladder of the tower, seemingly to buy herself time from her impending doom.

Various thoughts about the sniper flooded her head. Y/N smiled at her recurring questions, many of which she had asked herself before and resulted in the same answer.

‘Will you make a good girlfriend?’ Anyone can as long as they try.

‘Surely you could do better than a man who pisses in jars.’ ...It’s a quirk of his.

‘He spends a lot of time working.’ I can accommodate his schedule.

‘Does he even want a relationship with you?’ She stopped in her tracks, her smile faltering.

However, her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called upon her from above. The same voice which consumed her nights as she lay awake replaying their conversations in her head.

"Y/N! Is that you!" The Australian yelled from the top of the ladder, his accent laced with mild amusement. "Yeah!" She grinned, finding her chest growing warm at their familiarity. "What are you doin’ ‘ere!" He hollered back.

Y/N was just about to call back to him until she was faced with the judgemental expression of a Bostonian from a few metres away, who had the misfortune of witnessing the entire exchange upon the completion of his daily evening run. Y/N gave Scout half an apologetic smile and watched him jog off awkwardly before looking back up to Sniper.

"Y'know what- just wait right there, I'm coming up!" She shouted up slowly, emphasising each word to ensure that he could hear her response clearly.

His chuckle indicated his understanding as he pulled away from the edge. Y/N smiled back, but her confidence immediately faltered upon seeing the cursed ladder again. "No turning back now, he's already expecting you. The only way is up." She grumbled before firmly placing her hand on the upper step.

The climb was the longest two minutes of Y/N's life, most of which spent distracting herself by rehearsing the confession. She felt prepared, having scripted a response for every one of the multiple possibilities which constantly played in her head. With each step of the ladder, she repeatedly chanted 'Look anywhere but down, anywhere but down' in her head like a prayer.

Yet looking up wasn't entirely helpful either. The rays of the setting sun made it difficult to see, with streaks of its light glaring right into her pupils. Y/N was sure that it was golden hour, but it seemed particularly bright today, likely due to the lack of physical coverage she had on the ladder. She found it ironic that of all days, the lighting she was usually mesmerised by now only posed as an inconvenience.

She tilted her head to the right, trying to direct her peripheral view away from the sun's red cry. This was when she noticed something unfortunate. Her hand that was wielding the flowers had bits of rust which had slightly reddened their milky white petals. Y/N glumly took note, yet her worry was brushed off quickly. She decided that in contrast to the fact that her body was currently 10 metres off the ground without any sort of harness, dirty flowers deemed the least of her concerns.

Y/N eventually reached the top, after what seemed like forever, and she was met with the orange visors of her favourite mercenary. Although focused on cleaning his scope, Sniper still greeted her with a friendly grin. "G'day, Y/N. Give me a moment, yeah? I'm almost done."

"Sure, Mundy, I can wait." She beamed back, his smile momentarily making her forget about her predicament with the tower. Holding freshly cleaned equipment in front of his face, he approved with a satisfied nod and packed it away to give Y/N his full attention.

“Aight, what’s up mate? What’s with the flowers?” His eyes lowered down to the off-white bouquet in her hand.

Y/N’s lips pursed at the question, gripping the daisies firmly in her dominant hand, as she readied herself to speak. With her assertive posture and her prior rehearsals, one would think that the actual encounter would not faze her. But alas, they would be wrong, as Y/N’s acrophobia had not been factored in. A small detail, yet critical enough that it could possibly break her suave bravado.

She was only rudely reminded of it when she shifted her feet and heard the planks creak under their weight. Y/N’s face paled as she instinctively turned to the railings behind her. She grabbed them with both hands, her head dipped down and her eyelids squeezed tightly.

‘Shit. Not now. Please, anytime but now.’ She thought and exhaled shakily, ‘You can’t mess it up, Y/N, you only have one shot.’

Upon witnessing the ordeal, Sniper’s smile switched to concern. “Y/N, ya alright?”

It should have been an obvious ‘no’ from the way her legs were trembling and her whitening knuckles, which had a death grip on the railings, yet she chose the path of denial.

“Y-yeah… Yeah! I’m fine, I’m good, great! What gives? Lovely view!”

Y/N focused ahead of her, locking her eyes with the glare of the setting sun and feigning admiration for the scenery. Looking in the direction of the sun physically hurt but it wasn’t as painful in comparison to her current gauche condition.

However Y/N did not want Sniper to worry about her, so to reassure him that she was okay, she turned her head back to him with a feigned smile. But it did not last long as with another squeak of the floorboards, her face twisted to regret and she snapped her head back forward with tightly shut eyes.

Her body language clearly indicated that something was off, and Sniper suspected that it had something to do with their present location. He had never seen Y/N this shaken before, and he wanted to coax her but was afraid of crossing a physical boundary. Yet as her trembling intensified, he felt that it would be valid to neglect that concern to prioritise her condition.

Y/N’s well-being came first, and the consequences of his actions after.

With that, Y/N heard slow, uncertain footsteps before she felt hands surrounding her from behind.

She opened her eyes slowly and saw that his gloved hands had gripped her forearms firmly, stabilising her. Y/N’s eyes widened and her body froze, feeling her back pressed against his chest. In their close proximity, she could faintly smell the scent of his aftershave. Y/N heard him mutter "easy" repeatedly before she parted her lips slightly to inhale. His thumb rhythmically brushed over her skin in circles like a lullaby, and Y/N felt her fears subside. Y/N’s grip loosened and she slowly exhaled, her heartbeat slowing to a steady pace.

In his arms, Y/N found her fears slowly dissipating, yet new anxiety built up when she suddenly grew hyper-aware of their position. “Mundy, you’re standing rather close-” She cut herself off, noticing the way his eyes focused deeply on her features. So much for the preparation, as her planned script was reduced to nothing upon feeling his gaze boring into her through tinted lenses.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Y/N snapped her head back forward in embarrassment. Was she always this fragile? Words were stuck in her throat and she wondered if she was more of a coward than anticipated. This was her best friend, the same good ol’ Mundy, so why was it so difficult to speak to him now?

‘It had to be the tower’, Y/N thought, ‘It was definitely just the tower to blame. In any other setting, I could have probably easily swept him off his feet.’

Whilst contemplating her life choices, she simultaneously came to the conclusion that with a master plan deemed completely worthless, today did not present her with the optimal conditions to confess. It was time to abort the operation.

Determined, Y/N strayed off the path of denial and released herself from his grip. She whipped around suddenly, letting his hands grasp the railings on either side of her. It was hard to identify which intimidated her more; his analytic gaze or the view below her.

She plastered on a forced smile and finger-gunned the man towering above her. Various thoughts were swarming her mind but only one goal stood out; escape.

“Sorry about that, 'twas sudden cramps. Um… Hi! I just wanted to say hi. Y’know… To my friend. To you… My very good friend, who I came to see today… To say hi.” Y/N grinned and internally cringed at her choice of words, voice breaking with each syllable. Hopefully, her brain was charitable enough to erase the memory of today cleanly from her mind so that she could sleep peacefully tonight.

Sniper looked down at her and tilted his head curiously with a smirk. “You climbed 20 metres… Just to say hi?”

Y/N, now realising how stupid her lie sounded, tried to salvage herself. “Y-yeah! I was thinking that it would be very nice… To see your face.” They both looked taken aback at her line and Y/N considered jumping off right there and then to end her suffering.

Her contemplation was thankfully cut off as Sniper softly held her by her chin to make her face him. He examined her face with great intensity. “You’re acting strange, Y/N.”

Y/N averted her eyes and repeatedly denied his accusations with exaggerated laughter, which further grew his suspicion.

Sniper released his grip on her chin and moved toward her. “Bad liar huh?" There was a glimpse of playfulness in his eyes before he resumed the prior interrogative stance. "Then explain the flowers.”

Y/N's eyes widened and exclaimed the first thing that came to her mind. “My mom!” She was aligned with her reflection in his visors, noting the beads of sweat that collected around her forehead before opening her mouth to speak again, “They’re for my mom, who loves flowers… And speaking of which I have to go visit her now so… Good day, Mundy! It was nice to see your lovely face… But I gotta go now bye!”

He raised an eyebrow, mouth slightly agape, rendered speechless. It was a feeble attempt on Sniper's part to stop her as Y/N gently pushed him away with shaky hands, approaching the ladder once more.

Whilst stepping down, Y/N noted an unreadable expression on Sniper’s features. This memory would be added to the many others that kept her up at night. Her eyes welled up with tears at the painful thought, eyebrows furrowing as she silently cursed at herself.

Her only victory was that at least Sniper seemed to have bought the poorly-formulated lie, but even that felt pyrrhic. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’, she thought to herself and was just about to leave it as it is when she heard a reluctant “wait”, quiet enough that she could have mistaken it as a line forged by her wistful imagination.

Y/N froze on the ladder upon hearing the word. It was a single, simple word, yet it welcomed back all of the anxiety she had suppressed before.

Sniper stepped next to the ladder and bent down until he was close to eye-level with Y/N. His eyes bored into her with a tinge of mischief and the slightest glint of hope. “Tell me why you’re really ‘ere, Y/N.” He breathed, reaching to Y/N’s face and brushing stray hair away from her eyes. Y/N flushed a soft pink as she stared hopelessly at him.

At this moment, the sun fully set under the hill, vanishing from view. All that was left was a radiant, spectacular lustre that Y/N thought only existed in movies. The golden rays of light that previously spilt over the empty training grounds were now replaced by an emanated tangerine glow. Sniper’s features were outlined by the magical and gentle radiance, and it did not slip her notice. The moment was ephemeral, yet piercingly enchanting that Y/N was captivated, finding herself tracing his visage with her eyes, admiring every wrinkle and scar.

Was he always this beautiful? Or was it just an illusion cast by the sunset?

There was a hint of pink on Sniper's features as he looked away with a muffled cough. Y/N then realised she was staring and instinctively looked away in shyness. Bad idea. She forgot about her very apparent problem and was rudely reminded of it by the view down.

All Sniper witnessed was her screeching a singular "Shit!" as she clutched onto the ladder for dear life. Her suffering seemed to be far from ending and Y/N was well aware of that.

Helpful adjectives to encapsulate Y/N's condition would be "Frightened", "Mortified", and "Stressed". She also felt incredibly awkward clinging onto the ladder, suspecting that Sniper found the sight that he was witnessing pathetic, but if anything he was deeply worried.

"Y/N-" Sniper unclenched his jaw and started, feeling the tension in the air.

"Mundy, couldn't you have done this before I got on the ladder?" Y/N interjected, exasperated, knuckles turning white from the intensity of her grip. With the newfound pressure on the stems, the daisies in her hand pressed harshly against the rusty ladder, staining the petals further in red.

Sniper winced as he watched Y/N's trembling hands tighten around the bar. He knew that she was not in the best state to answer him, but there was a funny feeling telling him that there wouldn’t be any other opportunity.

He could have waited another day to confirm his suspicions, but he desperately needed the answers. Unbeknownst to Y/N, she was not the only one who was kept up at night by their conversations.

Sniper hated the elephant in the room and how it grew in size with every interaction they had with each other. He felt something developing between them but never caught the right moment to confirm his suspicions. He felt it often enough that nights were spent evaluating their friendship and his feelings about her.

Trust.

He did not account for how much he had told her, but she knew of his family, his childhood, and his fears. Considering his line of work, he was cautious when speaking of his personal life as it could jeopardise his parents’ safety, yet words seemed to pour out of him whenever she was around. She would often come over to his camper in her pyjamas and her hair carelessly untied, a constant sight that somehow etched itself permanently into his memory. They would stay up cracking jokes, talking about life before their recruitment. Some nights, he would drive them out to deserted roads and stargaze from the roof of his camper. Stars could be gleaming across the night sky, yet he only watched the tiny bright lights through the sparkle of her eyes. There was nothing prettier, he would think. And as they talked about their aspirations, their shoulders would always eventually touch, but neither of them ever moved.

Longing.

He adored her company, and despite being used to the solitary nature of his job, he always dreaded the moments in which they had to part. She was nothing but endearing, he found himself longing for something more than their existing close companionship. His eyes would lock upon her lips whenever she excitedly told him stories, longing for their taste. On soulless roads for miles, his thoughts would wander back to her as he longed to see her again. He knew what standards a professional assassin should hold, but was unfamiliar with the standards of a good partner. A foreign feeling of possession had also started festering within him, but it was unavoidable as his chest ached at the thought of her being devoted to another. His nights felt longer the more he longed for her.

Warmth.

He sincerely hoped that he was not deluded or wrong about his feelings, but he felt warm whenever he was with her. His contracts often required him to spend weeks at a time tracking down his targets, so when camping for hours alone in a box, the thought of her often brought comfort. Regardless, she never posed as a hindering distraction, but rather a pleasant, lingering thought. She never left his mind, and he would always bring her trinkets from the places he visited, almost symbolic as a thanks for her company. The best way he could describe her was that she was the warmth from an eternal fire that provided solace on bitter nights. The warmth from an everlasting flame which never seemed to lose its flicker.

It was a warmth that Sniper hoped Y/N felt too.

So with an inhale and a burst of "fuck it", Sniper decided to act impulsively according to his logic.

It happened quickly, too fast for Y/N's current brain to comprehend. Sniper wrapped his fingers around Y/N's bicep as he effortlessly lifted her off the ladder onto the wooden platform.

In his defence, he thought that if she felt unsafe talking to him on the ladder, she would feel safer back on the platform. He mused to himself, imagining that as he lowered her slowly onto the platform, she would shyly look up at him with a blush. He would then wrap his arms around Y/N, admiring her beauty as she glowed amidst the sunset, looking nothing short of an angel.

Well, at least that was the expectation Sniper had in mind before he was forced out of his fantasy, as he was cruelly reminded of Murphy's Law the moment Y/N lost her grip on the ladder.

Whilst in mid-air 20 metres off the ground, Y/N instinctively shrieked and flapped her arms, unconsciously releasing the flowers in the process. Her scream was full of horror as she wrapped her arms around the first thing she could reach, which unfortunately was Sniper's neck.

The marksman resisted the urge to cough from being strangled whilst she buried her face into the crook of his neck. As he tried to recover his footing in shock, he reflexively secured his arms around her waist, calling Y/N's name to calm her down but to no avail.

Stress had already overwhelmed her, and her acrophobic trepidation that had been snowballing finally reached its climax. Intrusive thoughts flooded her head and the suppressed anxiety about possibly having ruined their friendship simultaneously arose, clouding her vision in the form of tears. She could hear her name being called in muffles, but it was barely audible with her breakdown in lieu.

Feeling moisture on his neck and hearing her sniffles, Sniper realised his mistake and tugged her off him, putting her down as gently as he could on the platform. He then grabbed her face with both hands and frantically wiped away her tears while muttering apologies. His hands, which were steady and strong from years of sniping, found themselves shaking for the first time.

"Crikey- Sorry about that. I should've thought that through-" Sniper grimaced at her cheeks which were now not only flushed red, but damp. It was ironic considering just a few minutes ago she was a stuttering mess, yet now she was intimidatingly adorned with a piercing glare; one directed at him.

Y/N glowered up at him with tears welling up in her eyes. "It’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it?” She heaved, tightening her grip on his forearms, “Geez, Mundy…” Panting, Y/N’s eyes strayed off to a corner and noted that their lack of movement was starting to get uncomfortable. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to run.

"Right… Sorry…" Sniper looked back at her, voice ridden with guilt as his hands fell from her face awkwardly.

Today seemed to be going great for Y/N. It first started off with her shabby excuse for a confession, which then developed into her almost uncanny imitation of a koala on the ladder. And to top it all off, she just broke down crying like some sort of coward in front of her best friend.

‘To hell with your dignity’, Y/N could almost hear an imaginary audience chortling with rapturous glee at her misery. She suspired in exhaustion, but it quickly turned to shock upon viewing the sight before her. Sniper followed her gaze and realised that the flowers she had brought were at the edge of the platform.

"Shit, the flowers!" She exclaimed vehemently with an extended hand as she watched them dangle over the edge of the platform. Her hand was quickly retracted, however, with the reconsideration against moving due to her current predicament. In any other scenario, she would have dived for them without a thought, but she had no intention now to release herself from the only source of security in this cursed structure.

Unable to move, the pair had no choice but to jointly watch the spectacle play. They were speechless as the wind teased by swaying the daisies side to side. The breeze then susurrated and picked up its pace, rolling the stalks around. And as the waltz came to an end, the gush harshly swept the bouquet off the platform. Without a final goodbye, Y/N groaned as the flowers toppled over the edge, falling 20 metres down.

It was impossible to hear the landing but Y/N imagined a dramatic slow-motion “boom” resonating as her ruined daisies hit the ground. Her visage was bereft of life as she let the pathetically comical scene play out in her head.

"I’m sorry ‘bout your mother," Sniper’s regretful mumble pulled her back to reality.

“You actually believed that?” Y/N was left flabbergasted, her mouth ajar as she gave him a look of disbelief.

“... Who else’d they be for?” Despite his oblivious appearance, Y/N caught a glimpse of his signature smile; the lop-sided one which flashed his canines.

"I-" She hesitated. His playful demeanour indicated knowing, and she wondered if he had it figured out all along. After all, his job scope did require him to be detail-oriented. Regardless, even if he hadn’t, there was no point in trying to hide it from him anymore. Her cover was blown and it was all ruined beyond repair.

"They were for you. You knew that, Mundy." Y/N murmured and plopped her forehead onto his chest with a soft 'thud'. "I wanted to confess to you today because it's Valentine's and it would've been perfect but… It appears nothing is going to plan." She sighed and tilted her head up at him.

Y/N desperately hoped that things would not take a turn for the worse. She was extremely comfortable with the current state of their friendship and was afraid that he would end up distancing himself after this ordeal.

Following his lack of a response, she continued sullenly, "Well, there's no point in stalling any longer because the whole thing has already been ruined. But look, I still don't want things to be weird between us if you don't like me the same way, so-"

"Who said I didn’t?" Sniper’s hand travelled up her face, cradling her cheek lightly in the gloved palm. His other hand found itself instinctively on the small of her back, tenderly holding her close.

"... What?" Y/N blinked and gave him a blank stare. Today’s events were getting too much for her brain to process.

“Bloody 'ell, Y/N, of course I like you. I always have.” Sniper smiled softly at her confused expression. “I just never found the right time to tell you. Guess ya beat me to it.” Teasingly, he lightly pinched her cheek.

Y/N felt her face warm at his childish gesture, tittering as she wrapped her fingers carelessly around his wrist in a feigned attempt to stop him, “I mean I did… But it was such a disaster.”

“Nah mate,” He shook his head and simpered, “It was bloody adorable.”

Hearing that, Y/N leaned her face lazily into his palm and grinned childishly at him, “C’mon Mundy, I didn’t even get to say the words I rehearsed countlessly. The daisies I brought didn’t even reach you. And who even cries during a damn confession?”

“S’alright, love. You were endearing.” Sniper chuckled at Y/N and released his hand from her face to ruffle her hair, catching a familiar glimpse of red behind her whilst she scoffed at him lightheartedly. He interlocked his fingers with hers and walked over inquisitively, guiding Y/N with a gentle pull. Curious, she peered over and almost choked in surprise at the sight.

It was a stray daisy from before. Miraculously, it got stuck between the planks and did not suffer the same fate as its comrades below. Bending down to pick it up, he snickered at both the sight and Y/N’s soft grumbling at the embarrassing reminder.

“Oh… I guess they’re not all gone,” Y/N muttered, almost in disappointment.

Sniper silently studied the daisy in his hands with close precision, earning him a flustered glare from Y/N, one which warned him against making unnecessary comments. “Well, pity the whole bouquet’s gone but I guess you can keep that one. Still better than nothing huh-” Y/N’s words trailed off as she watched him pluck off the stem in confusion.

Apparently, he had no intention of preserving the flower.

Y/N wordlessly watched as Sniper dusted off the excess rust on its petals, and she was just about to apologise for its impure state when he brushed her hair away and tucked the flower behind her ear, turning her puzzled expression into a crimson blush.

“There, bloody gorgeous.” Sniper smiled and took a few seconds to admire how her blush almost matched the red daisy in her hair.

Melting, Y/N averted her gaze with a wry grin. The tower hadn’t killed her today, but he just might. “Alright, this is getting too cheesy for my liking. We should go.”

Sniper nodded and looked up at the sky, noting a significant change in brightness from when Y/N arrived. The day was darkening with the sun setting under the hill, yet there was a shared feeling of a new beginning.

“Right then, my lil’ beauty, ready for the descent?”

“...Shit.”

#tf2 #tf2 sniper #sniper tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 sniper x reader #fem reader #tf2 oneshots

18 notes · View notes