Archive of Our Own ^beta

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It was a late evening. Everyone was in the cafeteria enjoying their dinner after a long day of work. The sound of laughter and chatter filled the room, everyone was having a great time talking. Except for one person. A little further away from them, Sniper was sitting at a single table all alone. Ever since he joined RED he was very distant. Nobody really knew why, but it’s not like they cared anyways. His job didn”t really require much teamwork, so RED didn’t really care if he was being social or not.

He was munching on the last bite of his food, when the announcer went off.

“Calling for Sniper. I repeat. Calling for Sniper. The Administrator is waiting for you in her office. Please make your way there in the next five minutes. Thank you.” the robotic voice announced through the old speakers that were put in every corner of the base.

Everybody turned to look at Sniper, the chatter calming down a bit. It wasn’t often that Sniper got called to her office, so everyone was surprised by the announcement. Sniper sighed in annoyance, stood up and made his way out of the cafeteria.

He went to the elevator next to the cafeteria, and pressed the call button. It was an old machine, as everything was in this shithole, so he had to wait a few seconds, maybe a minute even for the lift to arrive. When it arrived, Sniper got in and pressed the button to the 9th floor. The elevator moved slowly and loudly, squeaking every now and then. Sniper was honestly terrified of this elevator. The thought of it stopping in the middle or falling down scared him. The smell didn’t help at all. This building used to be a college dorm, but now it’s mostly just rotting and falling apart. At least no one finds them here, and they can do any kind of illegal shit they want or need to do. 

Soon the elevator arrived and the doors opened with a loud creak. Sniper stepped out, and made his way to the office.

He knocked, and after hearing a faint ‘come in’ he opened the door and stepped inside.

“Hello Sniper. How are you feeling?” asked the Administrator. She was sitting in her chair, cigarette in hand, and her back  facing Sniper.

“ ‘m fine, thank you. Why did ya want to see me?” Sniper asked, stepping closer to the Administrator’s desk. The Administrator turned around, analyzing Sniper with her eyes. 

“You know Mr. Mundy,-” she took a puff out of her cigarette. “- I think you’re too distant.” Sniper rolled his eyes, and as the Administrator noticed this she let out a small chuckle. 

“I know we’ve talked about this already, but I really think socializing wouldn’t hurt you in any way.” she said.

“I’m sorry, but is this why ya called me here? To tell me I need to be more social?” Sniper sighed.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t  waste your time with that.” 

“Then why did ya call me here? I was enjoying my dinner ya know?” Sniper said, now in a slightly annoyed tone. He didn’t like people taking away his free time. Especially nowadays that he’s extremely tired after work. And it’s not like he has anything better to do. I mean, if you count camping in your van all night a better thing to do, then yes, he does have something better to do.

“Mr Mundy, I have a job for you.” the Administrator said and slid some files on the desk.

“And what would that be, Administrator?” Sniper took the files, opening them up. Inside were the files of a man named Jeremy Willis. The files came with pictures of the man inside. He looked really young, and after checking his data, Sniper could confirm that this man was 24 years old. He didn’t read more of it, and put the pictures back in the folders.

“ Get as close as you possibly can to this man, kidnap him, and bring him here. Understood?” The Administrator raised her eyebrows, and took another puff out of her cigarette.

“Yes Ma’am.” Sniper nodded, and left the office.

He made his way out of the base to his campervan, holding the files tight in his grip.

Even though he has a whole room to himself inside the base, he usually sleeps and lives out here in his small van. Before he joined RED, he lived in this exact same van for about 9 years. His parents died in a fire when he was 16, and with him only  being good at driving and hunting he ran away with his dad’s campervan so the government didn't find him and put him in an orphanage.

He lived in a forest, all alone, with absolutely no one to talk to. And then one day, the day after he turned 25, he heard knocking on his door. When he opened it, he was met with a tall man, who had black hair and glasses. At first the man was just smiling at him, but then he introduced himself. That’s how he met Medic. The Medic told him that they were watching him for a while now, and he has great sniping skills. And then he gave him a contract from RED. It turned out that this ‘RED’ was a team full of mercenaries, and they needed a sniper. Sniper signed it, because it paid well, and he was in big need of money.

And now he’s here, sitting in his campervan, smoking, and looking at the files the Administrator gave him.

‘ Name: Jeremy Willis

Age: 24

Birthday: April 17.

Job: PE teacher in Redwood High School, Boston

Mother: Coleen Dotson, Boston, USA

Father: Michael Willis, Paris, France

Family status: His mother was killed when he was 14 years old, and his father left them when he was 6 years old

Home address: 874 Pearlman Avenue, Boston’

Inside the files, Sniper found a note. He took it out and started to read it.

‘ Your job will be to get as close to him as you can, kidnap him and bring him to the base. DON’T HURT HIM! We need him in a functioning state. We need to get as much information as we can from him, so I need you to write down or remember almost everything he says. HE’S IMPORTANT!

You will be disguised as a PE teacher in the school he’s teaching at. You need to get him to trust you. I put a fake ID in this file for you. You have your own apartment, car, bank account, everything. ONLY MANIPULATE HIM, DON’T HURT HIM!

You start tomorrow morning. Good luck, and don’t fuck it up.

- The Administrator’

As Sniper read through it, he slowly realised that he will need to be extremely social for this mission. Great. Just great. He put the files away, and stood up from his bed. He took out his suitcase from his small closet, and threw everything he found in it. He didn’t have much stuff, given that he usually just wore the button up shirts RED gave him. Then, he went to the small area that could barely be called a kitchen, and started making himself food for tomorrow. It’s not a long ride, about an hour, but you can never know when you will become hungry. The huntsman made himself two chicken sandviches, and called it a day. It was his favorite food, given it was very easy to make and didn’t need many ingredients. After he finished packing for tomorrow, he went to take a shower. He has an outside shower a little further from his campervan, where he showers every night. He could use the showers inside, but after his first time showering there, and suddenly seeing nothing but Soldier’s ass, he was too traumatised to shower inside. So he made his own shower. 

He undressed, and hung up his clothes and towel to the side of the shower, and turned on the water. As he showered, thoughts started colonizing his mind. Mostly about Jeremy. Who was he even? Why shouldn’t he kill him? Why does he have to get close to him in advance to kidnap him? Why can’t he just kidnap him and bring him here? What information could he possibly have that the Administrator needs? And so on, his mind was full of thoughts about Jeremy. Thinking about these things started to make him interested in the younger man.

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It was the next morning. Sniper was awoken by the cheerful singing of some birds outside of his campervan. Even though the birds were joyful, Sniper was far away from that. He tried going back to sleep, like he usually does, but then he suddenly remembered; he has a contract to do.

The huntsman growled in annoyance, but after realising he had no other choice but to wake up, he slowly got out of his bed and made his way to his kitchen. He put a kettle on the stove, and started to boil it. While he waited for it to finish, he opened the door of his campervan, only to close it back a second after because it was freezing outside. He still wasn’t very used to cold weather, even though he lived in TeuFort for about five years now. Adapting to a cooler weather was hard when you were born and raised in a country where it’s always so hot a normal person would melt instantly.

Sniper was never a morning person. He rather liked staying up at night. Sometimes he would just sit outside his campervan on his small chair he has, and just admire the beautiful starry sky. He always had an interest towards constellations and astronomy. But of course he could never really learn about these things more deeply, like he wanted to. When he was living all alone, he often dreamed about being a part of the stars. Just living in the sky, carefree, with no emotions whatsoever. He didn’t like feeling things. Happiness scared him, sadness scared him, love scared him. When he joined RED, he realised that being a mercenary meant he can’t, and won’t have any feelings whatsoever, Which is exactly what he dreamed of during all those years spent alone.

When he finished making his coffee, he dressed up, and slowly drank his coffee. While he drank, he read through Jeremy’s files again. He tried to get in the character of a PE teacher to practice his disguise. It was shitty, to say the least. Sniper never would’ve thought that once he would need to pretend to be a PE teacher just to eliminate one of his targets.

After he finished his coffee, he looked at the clock. It was 8 AM. It seemed like a great time to get going.

But before he could enter the cockpit of the campervan, he heard a knock on his door. When he opened it, Medic was standing in front of him.

“Guten Morgen, Herr Sniper. The Administrator has told me to inform you that you may not go to Boston with this filthy van of yours. Instead, she has given you a brand new car! Wunderbar, isn’t it?” Medic said with a big smile on his face.

“Are ya lyin’ Doc? It’s totally fine, I can go with my v-” Sniper started blabbering, putting his hands in his pocket.

“I know it’s fine. But the Administrator insists.” Medic cut him off, and Sniper turned speechless. The Medic looked at him for a while, but then he realised what Sniper might be thinking.

“Before you think she got you a new car because of your komfort or anything, I must assure you that’s not what happened. You got a new car because you will need to blend in starting from the first ever step you take. You can’t just go around in a campervan, menschen will think you're a maniac!” laughed the Medic, but when he noticed Sniper wasn’t laughing, he stopped, fixed his glasses and continued  his speech. “The car is parked next to mein lieber Krankenwagen.” the german said, and gave Sniper the keys to the car,

“Thanks Doc.” Sniper said with a little smile. He genuinely liked the Medic. He was the only one that actually talked to him or at least tried to talk to him.

“Good luck with your contract, mein Freund. Auf Wiedersehen!” he said, and left Sniper alone.

The australian grabbed his suitcase, and stepped out of his van. It was still dark outside, and cold. That’s all Sniper knew, that it was cold. He made his way to the parking lot behind the base, which was used by only one car. The Medic’s ambulance. And now, of course Sniper’s new car.

It was a beautiful dark green car. Sniper liked it. It reminded him of the forest he lived in.

He put his suitcase in the trunk, and sat in the driver's seat. He started the engine, and drove off.

The roadtrip went smoothly. The huntsman got to Boston in no time, thanks to the clear roads. He stopped in front of an apartment, and took out the files to check the correct address once more. ‘Edwards St. 31.’ stood on the paper. Sniper looked up, only to find himself facing the exact same address. He sighed, and got out of his car. He took his luggage out of the trunk, and went into the apartment.

When he opened the door, he was met by a small living room. He went in, and looked around. The apartment had only one room, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. It was a small place, but it was already more than Sniper could ever ask for.

He put his suitcase on his bed, started to pack it out, and put the clothes in the closet. When he opened the wooden closet that stood in front of his bed, he found out that it was already full of clothes.

He took a look at them, and noticed that almost all of them were long sleeved button ups and all of the pants were jeans.

He let out a small sigh, relieved that he didn’t need to go buy clothes on his own. He hated shopping. Honestly, what activities does he even like? Oh yeah, sitting around and doing absolutely fucking nothing.

His stomach started to growl, screaming at him for some food. He hasn’t even touched the chicken sandviches he made himself for the roadtrip. He made his way to the kitchen, and opened his bag to take out the sandviches. He wanted to put one away for later, so he opened the fridge. When he opened it, he let out a small chuckle, seeing that the fridge was full of food. He has never felt this thankful in a while. He closed the fridge, and took out a plate from one of the cabinets. He went to sit down at the dining table to finally eat his well deserved food, when he noticed a small timetable laying on the table. He picked it up and read it. It was the timetable that he would need as a teacher.

He read through it, checking in which hour which class he will teach. And then, he realised that classes start at 8 AM. 8 AM.. 8.. Am..

“For fucks sake why did i even accept this crap?” Sniper growled in annoyance. He did not want to wake up so early just to go and teach some fetuses how to move and get excercise properly.

And on top of that, he will need to be as social as a sane person, in advance to get close to Jeremy.

The huntsman spent the rest of the day exploring Boston, and checking out the school. It was surprisingly easy to get to it from his apartment. After all the exploration, he went back home, and collapsed on his bed. He needed as much sleep as he could get so he could try to be social tomorrow.

The next morning, he woke up to the most annoying sound imaginable. But.. wait a second.. He didn’t set an alarm. Did the Administrator set one for him? Oh yes, she totally did. Sniper smashed the alarm clock shut, and tried to get up from his bed. He rubbed his eyes, chasing the sleepiness away, and looked at the clock. It was 6 Am. He smirked, finding it amusing how easily he woke up, and got out of his bed. He made himself a coffee, and got ready while rereading the files. At 7:30 he was ready to go.

After a quick car ride, he got to the school.

“You can do this” Sniper sighed, and got out of the car. He went in the school, and decided that it would be a good idea to find the principal's office, so he can get to know where he’s supposed to be. He had no idea where to go, who to ask, so he just stood in the middle of the school hall. He was a bit overwhelmed by all the kids running around while talking and being loud. Everyone was going to their classes, except Sniper. He was frozen. A few moments later, a woman with brown hair and glasses walked up to him.

“Excuse me? Who are you?” she asked suspiciously. Sniper looked at her, not really realising that she’s talking to him. “Hello? Parents can’t come in the school, you know?” she frowned, but Sniper was just staring at her, completely still. Bloody hell, if he’s this antisocial, then how will he complete this mission? Get yourself together Sniper! This lovely lady is talking to you!

“Pardon?” The huntsman finally snapped out of it.

“Unbelievable.” chuckled the woman, and put her hand on her forehead in disappointment, “I asked who are you? Are you a parent?” she asked again, but this time Sniper was listening,

“No, i’m not. I’m the new PE teacher, but to be honest with ya, I have no idea where to go and what to do.”  The huntsman rubbed his nape.

“Oh! You must be Mr. Mundy, then. Come with me, I'll show you where you need to be.” she said, and started walking towards some stairs that were leading them downwards. While they were walking, Sniper tried to make small talk to practice being social.

“So, uh.. What’s your name?” he started.

“Oh, I'm sorry I totally forgot to introduce myself! My name is Flo Pauling, but please just call me Flo.” she smiled. “I teach literature and history. Also, i wouldv’e brought you to the principal first, but i just got the news this morning that he’s out of town.” she explained.

“The principal is Blutarch Mann, right?” The huntsman asked. Miss Pauling nodded. “I read about him in the newspaper. Seems like a busy fella.” he said. He read about the Mann brothers in almost every newspaper. Although he never really read anything about Redmond, he read all great things about Blutarch. A kind hearted, faithful man, who wants to help everyone and anything he can. And, now he’s a principal of a highschool. Sniper doesn’t actually believe the words that were said about Blutarch in the newspaper. Why? Because he knows that Blutarch Mann owns the newspaper company, and can easily make them write things about him that are far from the truth. But of course, this is just a theory. Maybe he’s actually a good guy. Who knows?

Sniper and Miss Pauling made it down the stairs, and were met with a passageway that had three doors on it. Next to the passageway was a big door that led to the gymnasium. Miss Pauling stood in front of the first door on the passageway, and knocked on the door. There was no response.

“I swear to god, if Jeremy isn’t here, I'm gonna get him fired.” Miss Pauling hissed in annoyance, and when there was no response to the knocking at all, she opened the door. When they stepped in, they were met with a small office with two desks. At one of the desks, they found Jeremy sleeping without a bother in the world. Miss Pauling went over to the desk, and slapped Jeremy’s nape.

“What the fu-?!” the younger man woke up, confused, but when he saw Miss Pauling, he changed his tone quickly. “Oh, well. What a pleasant surprise. Did you miss me this much, that you wanted to wake me up? That’s so.. romantic, Miss Pauling. Don’t you think?” Jeremy said in a deeper voice, and Sniper was about to laugh like a menace. What the hell is this guy talking about?

Then, Jeremy fully woke up, and noticed Sniper standing next to Miss Pauling.

“Hey, so who’s this old man?” Jeremy asked, raising his eyebrows.

“His name is Mick Mundy, he will be working with you from now on.” Miss Pauling said, and the school bell started going off. “Oh god i’m gonna be late! I’ve got to go, but have fun on your first day Mick!” she waved and left the office, leaving Jeremy and Sniper together.

“What’s your full name again mate?” Sniper asked, even though he knew exactly what his name was.

“Alright old man.” Jeremy started. “You don’t have to be so friendly with me, alright? I mean how old are you? Fifty? Are you sure being a PE teacher is what you wanna do? Won’t it mess up your hips?” he said cockily. Sniper just stood there, not understanding why the younger man was so hostile towards him. “Also, I saw how you looked at Miss Pauling, and let me tell you that she’s mine. Get it?” Jeremy stood up from his chair. Sniper was more shook than he was before. This is not what he expected.

“What do you mean she’s ‘your’s’? She’s not a bloody object. And also, I’m not interested in her, but thank you.” Sniper  clarified. “And also, I ain’t fifty! I’m bloody 30!”

“Yeah, for sure old man.” Jeremy chuckled sarcastically. Sniper expected Jeremy to be kind, and respectful. But this? This is just an annoying brat. How in the hell is he supposed to get close to him? Even this small conversation had made him hate the guy. “Don’t you have class?” Jeremy asked after a few minutes of silence. Right, Sniper’s a teacher now. He has to focus on that too. Sniper made his way out to the gymnasium, and noticed that a whole class was already there, waiting for him. He quickly apologised, and started the lesson.

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Sniper and Jeremy were enjoying lunch, sitting in their small office. There was silence in the room, only the munching of the two’s mouths could be heard. Sniper felt a bit awkward. He needed to talk to the guy, but had no clue what to say. He usually ate alone, so the other’s presence made him feel out of place.

“How long have ya been teachin’ here?”  The sharpshooter started, even though he knew that Jeremy’s been here for 3 years.

“Why do you care?”

“Just askin’. I wanna get to know you better, cuz we’ll be workin’ together for a long time ya know?” Sniper tried to be as friendly as possible, but he was having a hard time doing so. Jeremy’s a total prick. Seriously, couldn’t he just answer?

“Yeah, whatever.” Jeremy shrugged. He stood up from his desk and went out of the office, leaving Sniper all alone.

Sniper sighed. This isn’t gonna be easy. If he could’ve, he would’ve shot Jeremy already. But no, he needs to make the younger man trust him.

Slowly after Jeremy left, Sniper finished his food too. He threw out the napkin he ate from, and heard the bell go off. Sniper checked his timetable, making sure he went to the right class next. The next class was 10. C. The plan was to play basketball with them. The only problem was that Sniper didn’t know how to play basketball. Yeah, laugh at him all you want, but he didn’t really have time to ever play, or learn it. Physical activity was not one of Sniper’s forte. Yes, his body was pretty toned and all, but that didn’t mean anything. His real job required him to sit around all day. 

But then Sniper had an idea.

What if he doesn’t play with them? Ms Pauling made his timetable, and she wrote to play ‘with’ them. But, he doesn’t need to. He could be the lazy PE teacher everyone likes. Yes, that’s a perfect plan!

He walked into the gymnasium, and the class was already standing there.

“G’day class. I’m your new PE teacher Mr Mundy. It’s really nice to meet ya all. Is anybody missing today?” The sharpshooter started the class with his memorized speech. The class shook their heads. “Alrighty then, today we’re gonna play basketball. Everyone knows how to play it right?” Sniper asked, scared that someone doesn’t know. The class said ‘yes’ in harmony. “Good to hear. So then, let’s make teams shall we?” Sniper smiled, and went in the storage room to get some jersey’s for the class.

By the time he went back, the class already had three teams made. He handed out the jerseys to everyone.

“Alrighty, which teams wanna start?” Mick asked, and when no one was answering, he made the decision himself. “Red and green, go up on the court, you guys start.” He said, and went to the side to sit down and watch the match. However, some kids from the red team came up to him.

“Mr Mundy, won’t you play with us?” A brown haired boy asked. Uh oh.. Just say no you moron!

“Nah,  I'd rather let you guys play. I don’t think it would be fair if the teacher played too ya know?” He tried to shake off this question, but then, a girl from the blue team came up to him.

“But Ms Pauling said you’d play with us!” She said. Sniper was shook. So she did not only write it to his timetable, but told the class about it. Right. He’s gonna have to talk to Ms Pauling after this..

“She did?”

“Yes, she also said that you could teach us some new moves and tactics!” The brown haired boy said.

“Nah mates, I don't think I can play today. Sorry ‘bout it. But let’s start the game now shall we? The class is almost over already!” The sharpshooter tried to get them back in the game, but it didn’t work at all.

“C’mon teach! We want to play with you! Just one round. Please?” Another guy asked, and a bunch of others agreed. Oh, crikey. He can’t get out of this now can he? He doesn’t want to embarrass himself to the ground on his first day for Christ’s sake!

What should he do? Should he tell them? He knows how teenage kids are, they make fun of everything and everyone! But maybe he can make them keep this little secret.

He has to be honest with them.

“Okay, I’m gonna be very honest with y’all, but y’all better not laugh.” Sniper took a big breath. “I don’t know how to play basketball. I’ve never played it, cuz in Australia it’s not a common sport ya know? So I’m sorry mates but I can't play with y’all. And please don’t tell anybody that I don't know how to play. It’s bloody embarrassing.” he blurted out. The class just looked at him in silence, processing what he just said. But then, they started cheering him up.

“That’s completely okay Mr Mundy! We could teach you if you want us to, so that you won’t have to tell this  to other classes.” The girl said, and Sniper felt something weird inside. No one was this accepting and nice with him ever. It made him feel insanely good that they didn’t make fun of him.

“Yeah that..that would be bloody nice.” Sniper laughed and stood up to grab a ball. “Thank you guys.” he said, and they got to work.

They teached him the basics of basketball, and even played a small match after. Sniper did better than he thought he would, and had the most fun in like ten years.

The bell rang.

He said goodbye to the class, and made his way to the storage room to put all the equipment back.

Sniper was about to put the balls back, when the door opened, and Jeremy stepped inside. He closed the door. He was slightly red, and sweaty from all the moving he did in his class. The younger was putting cones back to their place, when he decided to say something.

“Do you really not know how to play basketball, or were you fuckin’ with them?” Jeremy asked in a mocking tone. Great. Just great. Sniper didn’t know how he found out, but he hated everything for it.

“How did ya find out?” Sniper asked, not daring to look up. He didn’t handle humiliation well.

“I was refilling my water bottle, when I heard you. And man, you’re such a pussy actually. I mean, who the fuck doesn’t know how to play basketball?” Jeremy laughed, and Sniper finally looked up. He locked eyes with Jeremy, and his eyes were full of thunder. The younger looked a bit surprised, but didn’t stop. “How the fuck did you become a PE teacher if you don’t even know a simple sport like that, huh?” Jeremy approached him, his mocking tone not fading. Sniper was about to snap. He hated rude jerks like Jeremy. He hated Jeremy. Gosh, he wished he could kill him right here right now. But of course, the Administrator needs him alive.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why do you make fun of me for not knowing how to play a bloody sport?!” Sniper shouted at him. Oh no, he snapped. And when a mercenary snaps, it isn’t a pretty thing you know?

“Because it’s embarrassing! You came here like the big guy you were, and it turns out you’re as good as a toddler!” Jeremy laughed. “Did your dad leave you? Did you not have a childhood? You are weak! Oh, don’t cry little Mick, because someone said you’re shit at something!” Jeremy mocked.

That was the last straw.

Sniper jumped at him, and grabbed his throat. He pushed him up on the wall and started choking him.

“Ma..n what…the..fuck..” Jeremy tried to speak, but he couldn’t. He was coughing, and barely getting any air. “Let….me…ngh.. go..you bitch..ngh..” as he tried to speak, Sniper just squeezed his throat tighter. Sniper was blinded by the heat of anger. Jeremy was kicking, and hitting Sniper's arms, trying to get out of his grip. After a few useless tries, Jeremy started to go limp.

After seeing Jeremy go limp, Sniper finally snapped out of it. He let go of him, and as Jeremy fell on the floor, coughing for air, he made his way to the door.

“So who’s the weak now?” he asked quietly. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t move. “What the fuck?” he asked, and tried again. Nothing. The door was stuck. “Crikey..” he growled, and sat down next to the wall he was choking Jeremy. 

As he looked at Jeremy trying to breath but having no succes with it, he felt bad. He usually never feels bad for pricks like him, but somehow Jeremy was an exception. God, he shouldn’t have done this. Great way to fuck up the whole mission, Mr Mundy! Now there’s not a chance you can get him to trust you.

He didn’t want to look at Jeremy. The kid was still coughing and wheezing. Sniper didn’t want to admit it, but he was about to cry.

“...Look..I’m sorry..” Sniper started quietly. “I..didn’t mean to, okay? I just can’t handle humiliation well.” Well, he did mean to do it, but he had to apologise to him.

“Why the fuck are you still here?” Jeremy said, standing up. He was finally getting better.

“The door is stuck.”

“What?” Jeremy asked in shock, and went to check it. He tried opening the door but it wouldn’t budge. “I can’t fucking believe this..” he sighed, and looked at Mick. He rolled his eyes, and sat down facing him.

Jeremy was looking at Mick for a while, not making any noise. He saw that the man was actually feeling bad, and not just faking it. If Jeremy was good at something, that was reading people.

“You can shove your apology up your ass you know?” Jeremy said, the anger fading in his voice.

Sniper didn’t have any reaction. Oh fuck, Jeremy was starting to feel bad now too.

Jeremy closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry for mocking you.” he said. “But seriously, you didn’t have to fucking choke me! I thought it was over for me! I mean c’mon man!” Jeremy laughed sarcastically. Sniper finally looked up.

Did Jeremy actually just say sorry?

“Can we just forget this?” Mick sighed. “I don’t want to be enemies with ya.”

Jeremy looked in his eyes, and there was something in there that Sniper couldn’t quite catch.

“Yeah, for sure. But I still hate you.” The younger said.

“Why? You don’t even bloody know me!” Sniper chuckled. It was quite silly how Jeremy hated him from the first sight. 

At this question, Jeremy tought about it for way too long.

“I just don’t like you, okay? Leave me alone old man!” Jeremy crossed his arms.

Unbelievable. Sniper decided to let it go, and stop asking more questions.

They sat in silence for a good five minutes, when a cleaning lady finally opened the door.

“Oh my! You were in here? I’m so sorry, I just saw that the door was closed so I locked it! I have to lock it so that the kids don’t steal the equipment.” she apologised.

“It’s fine, Abigail. Have a nice day!” Jeremy said, as he exited the storage room.

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After the bell rang for the last time, Sniper packed his stuff, and decided that it was time to end his day in his second life.

He went to his car, got in, and made his way ‘home’. When he arrived in his apartment, he immediately collapsed on his bed. He made a loud growling noise, letting everything out.

He was very tired. It’s not an easy job working with teenagers and having to live another life all day. He layed down for a bit, but then he realised he should make the check up call to the base.

He went to the grey telephone in his apartment, and dialed the number the Administrator gave him. He has to update her every day on what happened, so that she knows he does his job.

He won’t tell her about the storage room accident though..

The phone rang, and after a few seconds, someone picked up.

“...Hello? It’s Sniper.” he started, not sure of who picked up the phone.

“Hello Sniper. Tell me what progress you made today on your mission.” the Administrator’s deep and controlling voice came through the speakers.

“Well, I didn't really get close to him yet. But I did get to know that he’s an insufferable jerk. Like, he’s so annoying! I talked to him with nothing but respect, and he answered me like a bloody prick!” Sniper ranted.

“Good.” the Administrator said simply.

“What do ya mean ‘good’? I genuinely don’t know if I can ever make him trust me-”

“I don’t care. Just do your job. Give him drugs or hypnotise him for all I care, just bring him here without a scar.” she commanded.

“Why do you need this jerk anyways?” 

“It does not concern you.” she spat, her voice annoyed. “Do your job.” she finished, and hung up.

Sniper sighed. What could Jeremy possibly know that is this important? 

He quickly made his way to shower, his thoughts flooding with Jeremy.

‘Why does he hate me?’ ‘What does he know?’ ‘Who is he?’

After his well deserved shower, he collapsed on his bed, and fell asleep immediately.

The next day he went into work with a bit more confidence than yesterday.

He was already sitting in their office, waiting for Jeremy to show up. The bell rang, indicating that the first class began. But..Jeremy was still nowhere to be found. He got up from his desk, and went to start his first class.

The time flew by, and the bell rang again. Sniper went back to the office, but Jeremy still wasn’t there. Where the heck is he? Is he seriously sabotaging his mission by not showing up? That bloody mongrel. Or.. Did Sniper scare him  away? His little tantrum yesterday wasn’t really good for their relationship, but c’mon not coming in because of that? That’s gotta be a joke.

He sat in his chair, thinking about Jeremy once again. A few moments later, the door swung open and Miss Pauling came in with some kind of documents in her hand.

“Hi Mick! Is Jeremy here? I need to give him some papers to sign.” she blabbered.

“Nah, I don't think he’s coming in today  mate.”

“Oh, that’s weird. He has never missed a day before. Anyways. Can I ask you a favor?” she asked.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Can you bring these papers to him? It's important.” She handed him the papers., and Sniper stood still for a minute. He will have to meet Jeremy. That’s a great start to gain trust from him.

“Of course. Can ya give me his address?” Mick asked, even though he knew exactly where he lived.

“Yes, I'll write it on a sticky note. Can you hand me a pen?” she asked and Sniper started digging in his pencil case for one. After he found one, he handed it to her.

“Thanks. Alright, I need to go, class is starting soon. Bye!” she waved and exited the office

Sniper’s day was as boring as it could be. Without Jeremy, he didn’t feel any motivation to do his ‘job’. And when the final bell rang, indicating that it was the end of the school day, Sniper couldn’t be more excited to finally go home. He will have to stop by Jeremy’s place first.

He packed his stuff and made his way to Jeremy's place.

After arriving in front of an apartment, Jeremy's apartment to be exact, he noticed that the door was open, so he just went in.

There, he went up the stairs to Jeremy's apartment. Apartment number 27.

He rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later Jeremy opened the door, looking confused as ever.

“What are you doing here?” He started.

“Miss Pauling gave me some papers to deliver to you.” Said Sniper, and gave him the papers.

Jeremy was about to smash the door on him, but Sniper stopped it with his leg.

“What now?” Jeremy was getting really irritated.

“Can I come in?”

“Why would you? We're not friends.” Spat Jeremy.

“I want to apologize.” Sniper said, putting a sorry face on.

“I don't need your apology. It was nothing, and I'm not mad. Now please, leave me alone.” Jeremy shut the door, leaving Sniper alone in the hallway.

‘What an ass’ thought Sniper.

He went back to his car, and called the Administrator.

“Hello? It's Sniper.” he said as he heard somebody pick up.

“It's the Administrator. Did you get anything?”

“Bloody no I didn't! The man’s impossible to talk to! I've got no clue what I could do!” Sniper blurted out, his head resting on the steering wheel.

He was genuinely pissed off. He was pissed at Jeremy for being an ass. He was pissed off because he couldn't accomplish his mission. He was pissed off because he could lose his job for not doing it properly.

“Figure it out. You're a grown adult. You've seen everything by now.” Sniper just rolled his eyes at that, but then, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

Jeremy was standing in front of his apartment, looking at Mick.

After he noticed that Mick saw him looking at him, he rolled his eyes and gestured ‘come’ with his hands.

Sniper, who was still on the phone, was a bit taken aback, and he slowly pointed at himself with a confused face.

To that, Jeremy just put his hands on his hips and nodded.

Sniper just realized that the Administrator was still talking to him, so he quickly apologized and hung up. He got out of the car and walked up to Jeremy.

“If you want to talk it out, I don't mind. I made coffee.” He simply said, and made his way back up to his apartment. Sniper quickly followed behind him.

Sniper was sitting on Jeremy's couch, feeling as awkward as possible. He was silently sitting his coffee, while his eyes rested on Jeremy, who was making food in the kitchen.

Sniper thought he was kind of handsome when he was so calm.

But he pretended this thought never formed in his head.

He didn't like people. Yes, you already know that, I know, but I'm talking about romantic relationships now.

He never had crushes, or lovers. Not even in his mind.

But right now, he felt like he was in love.

He didn't know what that felt like of course, but in his mind this was pure love.

Jeremy called him to talk.

A kind act, meaning love.

Yes, he's in love.

After Jeremy finished making food, he sat down next to Sniper, and looked at him.

“So.. What exactly do you want to talk about?” Jeremy asked.

Sniper hesitated a bit, but then started talking.

“I, uh.. I want to get to know ya.” He said, feeling kind of stupid, as he already knew a few things about him, but Jeremy just chuckled at that. 

“Okay, let's do that then.” he smiled, and Sniper was getting very confused now. He thought Jeremy hated him. 

“Wait a second. You don't hate me?” He asked shyly.

“Well, I don't hate you. I'm actually kind of mean to everyone, but after yesterday, I don't actually think you're all that bad y’know?” He shrugged.

“So, what do you want to know about me?” he asked and Sniper started thinking.

“Let's start with your favorite things, why not?” Sniper said, and Jeremy just laughed at that. It was seriously not that funny, so Sniper was just confused again.

“Are we in kindergarten? Seriously, you can ask about normal things. Like family, dating, work. Anything, man!” He said as he bit into a cookie he baked earlier.

“Okay then, why did you start working here?” Sniper asked, and waited until Jeremy swallowed the cookie and started talking.

“Well, I was a baseball player back when I was still in school. For a lot of years actually. But then I got an injury that made me unable to compete anymore. But because I love sports so much, I decided that I want to become a PE teacher.” he smiled while telling his story. ‘He has such a noticeable smile’ thought Sniper.

“Why did you come here to be a PE teacher?” He asked.

Sniper had to remember the script that the Administrator gave him, that contains the story of his whole fake life.

“Well to be honest with ya, I was bankrupt and I needed a job quickly. I just moved here because I got fired from my last job. So with no money, i tried to find a job, but i couldn't on my own. 

So I called my good friend Nicholas, who helped me get hired for my last job too, if he can help. And he found this job for me.

I was never actually good at sports, as I never really did them. So it's still a bit weird to me, but it's nothing I can't bear.” Sniper smiled. Seeing Sniper smile, Jeremy smiled too.

“I guess you don't have a girlfriend right?” He asked, and Sniper just looked at him blankly.

“No, I don't. Never had one. What about you?” Sniper asked.

At this question, Jeremy turned serious, and didn't speak for a few minutes.

But after a bit of waiting for him to speak, he took a big breath and finally started talking.

“Look, I'm gonna tell you, but please don't tell anyone.” He looked at Sniper with hopeful eyes.

“There's no one I could tell, so go on mate.” 

“Okay, well.. I just got out of a relationship. Um.. The guy I was with, he um.. He abused me. I..I thought I could never get out of it, he manipulated me and he believed that what he was doing to me was ‘pure love’.” Jeremy's voice started to break.

“I feel so disgusting, for letting him do all these things to me. He said he loved me, and.. I believed him. I thought if he's happy then I am too.” He started crying. Sniper didn't knew what to do. He wanted to stop his crying somehow, but he felt weirdly connected to him by seeing him cry.

Usually when someone cried in front of him, it was for mercy, when he had to use close combat. But he never felt.. connected to them.

He finished them off without a single different heartbeat.

But it wasn't the case here. He felt weird. He felt like he was in love.

“I'm so sorry mate.” Sniper finally said, feeling awkward again.

“No, I'm sorry for telling you all this. I didn’t want to be a burden.” He sniffled, and he smiled a little, with tears still racing down his cheeks.

“I'll go wash my face, I'll be right back.” Jeremy stood up, and went to the bathroom.

Sniper had no clue on what to do. It’s better to leave him alone.

After Jeremy came out of the bathroom, his eyes red and puffy, he stood awkwardly in front of Sniper. He looked like he was really thinking about something, but then he took a deep breath and asked.

“Is it okay if I.. hug you?” he asked, afraid of rejection, as he really needed that little comfort coming from the other man’s heat.

Mick just nodded, and Jeremy leaned forward carefully to hug the older man.

At first Mick just stood there, not knowing what to do as he was never hugged before.

But then he slowly put his arms around Jeremy, taking in his warmth.

This is the kind of comfort he was always searching for in the back of his mind, but he never actually knew what he was looking for.

He found that in Jeremy.

Yes, it has only been two days since they knew each other, but everyone knows that can’t stop love, as he thinks it’s that, from biting its way into someone’s heart.