Summary: Respawn is turned off and the BLU's Soldier is contemplating his situation as he is dying. Contains some mature content, including mentions of blood, sexual situations and death. Pairing is BLU Engineer and BLU Soldier.

Warnings: Contains some gore, homosexual practices and character death. Also the characters may seem a bit "out of character".

Disclaimer: I do not own nor have the rights to Team Fortress 2 or any of its content. I am just a gamer who likes to write fanfiction.

Okay folks here's the situation: I typed this up for a friend more then for public viewing. However I really want to beta read people's stories and to do that I must post some of my work. So, I'm posting this. I did not have anybody else, besides my friend, proofread this and it will have some mistakes. Also I fully know that this is not the best stuff in the world, so if you hate it then sorry to have wasted your time. There are some things in here that does not follow true to the canon of Team Fortress 2 and that's because I mainly wanted to follow the prompt I sketched out. If you also have issues with that then once again, I'm sorry.

Please also note; this is suppose to be a bit over dramatic and full of angst, not realistic or "true". (Also "o.o.o.o.o.o" is used as partitions between content since I can not find a way to use a simple line instead)

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Last Promise

He was cold, the bright light above him was giving him a splitting headache and he was dying. He understood those three things very clearly in his mind, the last one being exceptionally sharp. The BLU soldier could feel the rattle in his chest and the welling of blood in his throat, but that was not a new experience to him. In fact, death had become an acquaintance, something he visited almost every day since he began to work for the Builders League United. However, the knowledge that he was dying paired with the fact that nothing was going to bring him back created a new sensation. It was a dull throb of dread and sorrow, constant and making his arms and legs shake as he tried to brace himself against a nearby wall.

He tried to laugh, and a chuckle did manage to worm through; but so did a mouthful of blood that ran sluggishly down his chin to drip on the damp floor. It was a sick joke really, a hilarious lie that made him want to break things until it stopped being so goddamn funny. He remembered that bitch of an Administrator, her snarling voice as she announced the conditions of their mission that morning. In a voice that told them all exactly how insignificant they were to her, she informed them that their respawn was offline and they must keep the mercenaries of the Reliable Excavation Demolition company from infiltrating the base until it could be brought back online. He growled at the odd sensation of more blood pushing through his gritted teeth and he spat it out in irritation. Knowing his employers, the RED's respawn was also down and the other team was told that, to repair it, they had to get into BLU's base and steal the Cupcake of Miracles; or whatever the hell the sick bastards came up to drive their men blindly into danger.

He felt himself slowly sliding down the curved surface of the tunnel walls, but refused to move to stop the descent. He didn't care if he ended up face down in the foreign substance that laid stagnant in their base's sewers. In fact he didn't care about a lot of things. The BLU corporation, their pointless war, the useless contract, the fact that his employers are probably doing this as some experiment or perverted entertainment. Hell, he even stopped caring about the fatal hole in his chest and the red stain that was sluggishly spreading across his blue jacket. He collapsed, his shoulder slamming into the floor and his helmet only slightly softening the blow his head made against the concrete. His eyes rolled back into his skull for a moment before focusing again. He grunted as his gaze was drawn to the blood splashed walls of the room he had just left.

He had found the enemy's solider and demoman in the emergency stockpile room that laid hidden in the sewage tunnels underneath the BLU base. Normally, he would have never gone down here alone during battle, but of course today was filled with abnormality. He had been able to sneak up to the pair and dispose of them both, after he had heard their whispering voices echoing from the room. He didn't wait to find out if they were plotting or just hiding, he just attacked while he still had the advantage of surprise. Of course, his attack didn't leave him unscathed. The enemy soldier was able to slam his pickax into the BLU's chest before the other could attack him. Of course the BLU soldier had promptly removed the tool and showed the RED exactly what he thought about that, killing the man with his own weapon. That was probably not the best choice, the removal of the pickax's head probably aggravated his injury and it could have stanched the blood until he found Medic or Engineer's dispenser, but he was not considering that in the middle of hacking the RED's brains out.

He continued to lay on his side on the floor, ignoring the sludge against his cheek and the spreading numbness edging up from his feet and hands. He then decided that this was the last place he wanted to die and the least he could do to improve the situation was to use his last moments thinking about the things he still cared for and was going to leave unfinished. The dying man pondered, thinking about his team mates, the boy that was far too young to be fighting, the firebug and his quirks, the other men who all left their respective homelands only to find betrayal and bloodshed. Then he thought about the BLU Engineer. His heart ached and his breath stuttered as he imagined his lover. He still cared about him, the sweet Texan, with the big grin and an even bigger heart. He grinned underneath the flickering light. He loved their resident genius, and recalled how surprised he was to find out that not only the man had a soft spot for men in uniform but also had the patience to love and care for the the team's resident soldier. His mind wandered and stumbled on the topic of the Engineer. How the other man smelled of sawdust and axle grease, how his mouth tasted after sex and the sound of his voice whispering the pet name, "Solly", as he slowly stroked his cheek. Then his mind tripped and he remembered his love this morning as the Announcer told them their fate. How his cheerful face morphed from calm to panic. How he smelled like fear as his usually gentle hands gripped fiercely as Soldier's jacket and his mouth whispered desperately through clenched teeth.

"Solly, I swear to God that if you die on me I'm going to find a way to bring ya back and kill ya myself! Don't you even dare think about getting yerself killed and leaving me behind! Promise me you won't do anythin' stupid! Promise!"

His wallowed in the memory for a moment, his eyes following the dark red twists of his blood in the liquid he laid in. When Engineer told him that, he had made a comforting noise and embraced the Texan in hopes of calming him down, but he could not make the promise. He had to protect Engineer and he could not do that without putting himself at risk. He spat out another mouthful of blood that had built up in his throat and wondered where the other man was now. Was he safe? Was he cornered, or even worse, dead?

The last thought made panic surge through him and he struggled to get up. As he finally propped himself up on his hands and knees, he felt the blood that was pooling in his chest and lungs spill out of hole in his chest and onto the floor with a sickening noise. He collapsed again, left feeling shaky and ill from his attempt, as the weary, but sane, part of his mind whispered.

'No more fighting, you did enough. You took out two of worst dangers by yourself and now it is time to rest. Sleep now.'

Yes, the enemy soldier and demoman were the deadliest for the Engineer and since they were gone, his lover will most likely survive the battle.

He felt the rattle of chest shaking his body but the pain of it fade away as he slipped closer to death. His limbs all felt numb and his eyesight began to go white around the edges. He fixated his mind's eye on picturing Engineer's face and mentally made a promise.

"When the time comes for you to die Engie, I promise I'll find you on the other side. I know I can at least do that for you."

And as his eyes slowly closed, the small light above him finally flickered out and the darkness enveloped him.