Different pair/environment :O gotta love some cross faction Medic/Medic c': another prompt for dnadvalentines! for the prompt "shelter" !

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The two doctors find themselves injured badly and stuck in a tunnel as it storms outside. They have a conversation and Ludwig realizes his repressed feelings.

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He cursed as he ducked into the tunnels, red dust and mud clinging to his clothes as the storm broke over his head. He tried to ignore the painful throbbing in his side where the enemy Spy had buried a knife. Mick had managed to spare Ludwig his own demise, but the damage was done and the doctor sorely needed to patch himself up. He trudged forward, fingers wrapped tight around the handle of his weapon. The heavy Medigun lay in its holster, having been broken nearly in two with a rocket blast that certainly would’ve killed him too had the device not taken the brunt of the damage. He could fix it later or Respawn would get it if he met his end before the round timed out. Ludwig picked up the sound of shuffling further into the tunnel and poised his weapon to defend himself as he rounded a corner.

He certainly didn’t expect to see what he found. Lying slumped against the far wall, one of his legs covered in what had to be far too much blood, was his rival from BLU. Ludwig glanced around the area, scouting for any others. “It’s just me now, the others have gone ahead,” the other doctor’s voice rasped. He forced himself to sit up straight, flicking his gaze to Ludwig’s injuries. “Jean got you good this time. That looks like it hurts,” he said, a ghost of a laugh in his voice. Ludwig grimaced and cautiously approached, his Ubersaw still gripped close to him. “You’re one to talk, Johann. You look like hell yourself,” he hissed, a bolt of pain robbing his statement of the threatening air he’d intended. He stumbled and let himself slide down against the wall beside his fellow doctor.

Johann shook his head. “Ja, turns out rain and snipers don’t mix well. He can’t aim for shit when he can’t see. Missed my head but did enough damage to take me out of the fight,” he laughed roughly, clearly trying to mask the burning in his injured leg. Ludwig hummed in agreement and the two fell silent, listening to the rain outside. He shook his head slightly, trying to shake off the exhaustion that clawed at him. The movement sent shards of agony through his chest as his injury reminded him of its existence. He gasped and grit his teeth against it. Johann merely observed, a tired expression on his features. He sighed and reached to wrap an arm around his companion’s shoulders.

“What the hell are you doing?” A bloodied hand roughly grabbed his and he felt the blade of the doctor’s weapon against his throat. Johann huffed and shook his head. “You’re shaking and losing blood. You’re going to go into shock if you don’t do something about your body temperature,” he explained matter-of-factly. He steeled his gaze and stared intently at his counterpart. “Let me help.” Ludwig glared back at him, but a part of him knew the man was right and he reluctantly withdrew his weapon. “If you’re going to kill me, at least do it fast,” the doctor growled as Johann gingerly pulled him closer. A soft whine escaped him when pain jolted his body again as the doctor carefully tried to bandage the wound.

“This won’t help much, but it should at least stem the bleeding a bit. I can’t do anything about the pain though,” the man apologized. Ludwig shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy. “I’ll manage,” he grimaced, gritting his teeth against the ache in his side. He hadn’t noticed he had started to shake until Johann settled his coat around his shoulders and wrapped an arm around him. He glanced up at the blue-clad doctor, who simply smiled. Ludwig let his head fall against the man’s shoulder, suddenly feeling far too weak.

“Drowsiness, consistent with severe blood loss,” he mumbled, more to himself than to Johann. “You’ll wake up in Respawn if you fall asleep now,” Johann reminded him. “If you can ignore the pain enough to sleep, that is.” Ludwig let out a huff and smiled tiredly. “Truth be told, I’m starting to feel numb to it,” he admitted, his head swirling with the effort of keeping himself conscious. Johann gingerly brushed the man’s rain-matted hair out of his face. “You’re warm…” Ludwig muttered softly. His voice trailed off as his consciousness faded. Johann simply held him close until the man’s breathing faded away.

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Ludwig woke with a start, lying on the cold floor of the Respawn room. His hands went to his side to find his previous wound gone. He sat up and shook his head, rubbing his eyes. He could have sworn Johann’s cologne lingered on his clothes, just slightly. He sighed softly, a faint smile crossing his features. Ludwig blushed slightly at the thought of the man.

He had some thinking to do.