Firelight Strings-Engineer X Reader

Firelight Strings

Engineer X Reader




  Glitter. That’s what the sky looked like at night out in the desert. Like some enthusiastic child spilled out a jar full of sparkly sliver over black paper, each piece shining and flickering. It was amazing, in every detail, craning my neck to look further at the Milky Way as the campfire cackled by my ear.

  We were still trying to get to know each other, only a few days spent at the Fort since the beginning of recruitment. No one spoke much and we kinda stayed to ourselves in our own little worlds. Of course we wanted to work together, hell we going to have to at some point. But we’re all tense and possibly homesick right now, not knowing what each day will hold for us. That’s why we were having this little desert camping experience.

  I looked back at the fire, again thinking of each individual man sitting around me. Why was I the only girl!? It felt too weird, lonely, and scary. Brute men like Heavy could hurt me by accident, Spy could find me useless and kill me off in an instant, and while Scout was my age, he was almost sexist about my presence on the team, just like the others. A girl, fighting a war they barley knew about. It was almost unreal.

  “So,” Demo, while being as drunk as he possible could, started off on another tale that I couldn’t understand up or down about. “I took up my sword and started off…”

Blocking him out, I chose to look back up at the stars, contemplating their beings when a chord was struck. Literally. Cocking my head back down, I realized the Engineer beside me tuning his guitar. Where the hell did he pull that from?

 A few stings were plucked, notes flowing out that seemed to come together perfectly. Strumming it, a song began to play, and to my surprise, no one was really paying attention. It was like back ground noise that you could listen to without really knowing. I guess it could have also been because everyone was looking more relaxed. Spy began to calmly debate with Sniper as Medic joked with Heavy and the others listened to Demo’s tale.

  We were unwinding from our selves and talking to each other like normal people. It was a complete turn around from the previous hour of just sitting around like a circle of emo’s about to cast a spell to some demon fire lord. More lively.

  I looked back at Engineer and was taken aback when I realized he was watching me. I smiled slightly and he grinned, which for some reason made my stomach flutter. It was a kind, cheery smile, warm like the fire at my feet. And the blush on my face.

 The tempo of the music sped up and was almost comical, seeming to fit in those black and white movies where people ran round in hysterical fits over nothing. I felt my foot tap with the beat and heard Pyro start to hum too. The talking soon dissipated in the music and everyone’s attention was on him playing for us. A few jokes were passed and a few lyrics to other songs that just seemed to fit with the tune were sung horribly to our amusement. It was turning into some bad karaoke night.

  Looking from the fire, to the stars, I felt better. Less lonely, and happier with myself and my situation. It felt good. And again, I felt him staring. Shifting so I faced him sideways, I smirked and winked teasingly. I giggled when his hand slipped and he accidentally punched his knee with a loud smack. He shouted out in pain and I heard everyone laugh, not knowing what I had done.

  With the music fading off, everyone turned back to their earlier doings. I took that opportunity to scoot closer to my friend as he rubbed his injured joint. I felt kinda bad, but couldn’t suppress the zealous smile on my face. He feigned a glare, picking his guitar back up with care. Gingerly, I set my hand in the space between us, going back to watching the stars glitter and shine.

  Gingerly, his hand landed on mine and stayed there, his fingers twining with mine. I didn’t turn to look, knowing that we were both just going to sit there and watch the heavens above us till dawn arrived. Or at least until the team fell asleep.

Cause I was falling for the Engineer.