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One could say -purely for the sake of argument- that if Jake Jensen met ten thousand people, and spoke to them for barely a minute, they would agree on a singular fact about the man. That singular fact? In a survey such as this, each and every one of them would tell you: Jake can’t keep a secret.He can’t, it’s absolutely a proven fact. Whatever goes through his head, he shares with someone. Sometimes he says things before he thinks about them, leading to no small amount of trouble. Sure, if something is top secret information, like assignments for the Losers, he only jaws about it to his fellow Losers. And maybe his sister, but none of them would call him out for that. If someone unsavory can hack and decrypt and decipher and whatever-the-hell-else the messages the Jensen siblings send back and forth like their own digital fire, that person deserves a medal.Or maybe they need their head examined.Whatever the case may be, collectively, the Losers think the likelihood of such a person existing is extremely small. The Jensen siblings are on another plane of existence when it comes to their understanding and manipulation of technology. Add that to their weird personal code? The language they use is something they designed during their troubled youth, and no key or code for it exists anywhere outside their own heads. So the secrets are perfectly secure, actually unhackable. But they’re shared, all the same.At the end of the day, Jake Jensen doesn’t keep secrets. If he knows something, you can bet it’s getting said to someone. He doesn’t keep his mouth shut, especially around his team. So it’s safe to say that Cougar feels confident he knows everything about his reference-spouting tech-geek.Safe, because Jake tells the team everything, oversharing to the max. When Clay and Roque warn him off and threaten him with blades as long as his forearm, he refocuses on Cougar specifically. Because Cougar is not one to open his mouth just to make Jensen shut his. So then Jake talks even more to fill Cougar’s silences, and, well, there are no secrets. Jake’s an open book with a rapid-moving mouth and big, guileless blue eyes.So when Jake says he’s got a contact for them, Cougar and the team think nothing of it. He’s sure that it’s someone from one of Jake’s previous teams. It makes sense that Jensen will arrange the meet, they’ll share information and go their separate ways.*Upon meeting their contact, Cougar feels many things. Shock, jealousy, surprise that Jake had kept this under his hat for so long. Maybe a little sick at the way his stomach flips over. Possibly an actual shift in the earth beneath his feet. Perhaps an actual iota of awe but, well, who could blame him.Considering the way Jensen shot off his mouth, you wouldn't think he had any secrets left. Not from the team, not after their years together. Let alone a secret like this. Something this massive? Cougar cannot believe Jensen kept this to himself. Maybe he said it and none of them were listening? But how could they ignore a bombshell like that?In spite of the fact that the Losers have seen Some Shit™, there's still a bit of awe left in them. You might say it’s reserved especially for situations like this. Not that there has ever been a situation like this, so really, how can one say for sure? But if he had to guess, he would have thought this was the sort of thing they’d reserve it for.But it’s a specific sort of scenario, and it probably wouldn't be applicable for any other celebrity. After all, famous people were run of the mill, par for the course. Cougar had shot famous people. Clay had probably fucked some famous people. Or their girlfriends? Aisha has definitely gutted famous people, like fish. So, yeah. Famous people: not a big deal. A dime a dozen. When Jensen talks, most of the time his words just wash over his team. They listen to the important parts, the mission-critical stuff, and ignore the eight thousand anecdotes, jokes, and bunny trails. Well, most of them do, Roque usually loses his temper and threatens maiming or murder. But the point is, they’re all accustomed to the chatter.So yeah, Jake says he has a contact, someone who can help them, and Clay says make it happen. Well, more or less. That’s how they would phrase it in conversation on base… They’d have to really dress it up for a report, though.Technically, what Jake actually says is 'I know someone in the business, who can handle himself and get shit done. But he's a little flashy about it, and we used to sleep together.' Clay says something like: 'DADT got repealed and you're hung up on my Sniper so I'm pretty sure you're not thinking with your dick. Make the call.' Which is simultaneously true, a little embarrassing, and also makes Cougar feel no small amount of pride. Crazy bastard or not, Clay is the leader of their unit, and he doesn’t have a problem with them. If Clay approves, that’s the end of it as far as the other Losers are concerned. No one on the team protests at a few hours of downtime with Jake being in charge of arranging the rendezvous, though Roque looks a little pissy. Not surprising, they're getting to the point of desperation here and that always makes Roque bitch.Jake blushes and waves his hands and goes on about secure connection and knocking on the sky and how it'll take at least an hour or two so they might as well settle in. Pooch vanishes with the promise of bringing back food, Roque at his heels. Clay growls a few questions, standard stuff like 'Can you do this? Will your ex actually come help? Just how good a lay is your boy, Cougar?' Cougar listens and cleans his rifle and says not a thing, though he manages a sphinx's smile when his commander addresses him. It's the most he's willing to offer up, at the moment. Mainly because he's hung up on plans to make tonight so good for Jake he'll be sex-buzzed when the mystery-ex-turned-contact rolls in at oh-five-hundred. *He gives it his best, and Jake's still looks a little dazed an hour after they've left their room. Cougar watches him fondly, quiet affection a bonfire in his chest, and hopes this thing with his hacker lasts. He maybe even hangs back as everyone shuffles outside, catching Jake by the wrist to make him stay. The others move past them without hesitation, elbowing each other and speculating loudly about Jake’s former conquest. They have to know he’ll be worth something, but Roque’s still loudly doubting, which doesn’t phase any of them much but does make Jake adorably defensive.“I’m gonna stab that bastard with his own knife,” Jake swears, carefully waiting until Roque is out of earshot. “You’ll back me up, right?”“No,” Cougar responds without hesitation, just for the fuss his lover makes.“Aww come on! You have to! Because I’ll stab him but it can’t be fatal or Clay will be pissed and he’ll make me do the paperwork to report Roque’s death. But if it isn’t fatal, Roque will retaliate. He’s mean, Cougs! You gotta help me.”“You make your own trouble, you bail yourself out.” Cougar reminds him, before giving a gentle tug at his wrist. “Look at me, cariño .”“Knowing Roque, he’ll do something really awful. Possibly threatening my dick. You’d save me then, right Cougs? You like my dick, remember? You like it exactly where it is.” There’s a suggestive leer tossed over one muscled shoulder, but Jake is still trying to drag them both toward the door.The Losers know that their sniper doesn’t like to talk. Still, it seems like Jake’s in one of those spirals where he needs words, and if he doesn’t get them from someone else he’ll fill the air with words of his own. For his sake, and Cougar’s own, something has to give.It’s possibly because he’s worried, but Cougar decides to be that something.“It’s in your pants right now, amor.” The sniper rolls his eyes and tightens his hold on Jake’s wrist, trying a little humor and a little flirting to see what sinks in first. “When we’re alone, that’s the last place I prefer it. I thought I proved that to you a few hours ago?”Predictably, Jake grins. “True… But a reminder would be good.”The flirting then, no surprise. Cougar tsks. “Nevermind, you aren’t going to stab Roque so he’s not going to retaliate, amor.”“I’m not? He’s not?” Jake frowns, finally obeying the pressure and turning his back on the door to face Cougar. “Hmmm... Well, if another round is off the table I guess we better head outside. He’s gonna be here soon and I-”Cougar tips his hat back so he can stare into Jake’s bright blue eyes, and something on his face actually makes his boy shut up. There’s an adorable, softly wondering expression that crosses Jake’s face at times like this. A look that says he can’t believe how lucky he is. Which is stupid, because Cougar is the lucky one, but he’ll take any advantage he can get over an old flame.“You remember these last few hours, mi vida .” He rasps out after several heartbeats of silence. The soft look hasn’t faded, but there’s a little more pink on Jake’s face that says he’s remembering. “Remember, and when this is over I’ll take you on vacation. Somewhere with a hot tub like you always talk about, hmmm?”“Sure thing, Cougs.” Jake beams, happy as a clam just like that.Cougar rolls his eyes and hauls the blond down into a kiss, biting at Jake’s pouty lower lip when the tech specialist gasps at the sudden movement. Kissing Jake is easy, always has been, so Cougar does it again. Rakes his teeth over the man’s soft mouth, laves the hurt gently with flicks of his tongue, growls when Jake whines with it.Eventually, he pulls away, smirking at the dazed look he’s managed to leave behind. “Enough now, let’s go.”“Right… Sure, going to meet my contact.” Jake mutters, spinning back to the door and stepping out into the night. “Totally back to the job, here we go.”“You remember the job, don’t you?” Clay asks when they join the group, squinting disapprovingly at Jensen. “Your contact is gonna come through, right?’“Sure thing, sir…” Jake mumbles sheepishly. “He hasn’t let me down yet.”“If he does, it’s your ass, Jensen.” Clay snarls. “And not in a way you’ll enjoy.”“Sir no sir, absolutely not,” Jake replies. “You won’t be disappointed.”“The Colonel isn’t ever not disappointed,” Pooch argues from where he’s sprawled on the hood of their transport vehicle. “Unless your ex is a psychopath and is gonna try and kill him? That always did turn him on.”“He’s not a psychopath,” Jake promises. “And he probably won’t try and kill any of you. You’re not really his types, no offense Colonel.”“Shut up, Jensen.”“Just trying to warn you, sir.”Which will teach him a goddamn lesson, or it should, because when the contact rolls in at oh-five-hundred it's a fucking stealth IronMan that falls out of the sky, and goddamn Tony Stark in jeans and a Henley steps out with a swagger and a smirk. There’s silver in his hair and a sparkle in his whiskey eyes, and he’s golden-tan-handsome. What’s worse, he knows it."JJ, as I live and breathe." Stark croons, his dark eyes bright with amusement. "Your coding is as beautiful as ever, Muffin. Get over here and let me look at you.""Awww, Tony." Jake -Cougar's fucking Jake- coos, stepping forward and wrapping himself around the shorter man in a hug. "SilverFox looks good on you, but we both know you would use any excuse to cop a feel."Tony Stark -wrapped in Jake's arms- throws his head back and laughs in the night, his dark eyes gleaming and teeth movie-star perfect. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, goateed Tony Stark. Tony Stark, on every cover of every important magazine ever. The same Tony Stark who never fails to show up to an event with a supermodel on his arm. Tony Fucking Stark, who used to fuck Cougar’s boyfriend.So then, Jake has a type.Cougar’s gut ties itself in a knot.Stark is as good as ignoring the rest of them, IronMan a silent sentinel at his back. "I flew to Bolivia for you, didn't I? Copping a feel is the least I deserve. Just stop me when you’ve had enough, Sugar."“Hold on a little tighter then, IronMan.” Jake leers and laughs.Cougar hates Stark, just a little. Being with Jake -moreso than learning English- has always required Cougar consult a dictionary. In the years as teammates, he's learned to let the coding terms and hacker commentary flow over him, partially out of self-preservation. An attempt has to be made to understand at least part of it, even if the speed of information means that he’s always a little lost. There is every chance Jake is inventing one word in three, anyway.But before he got the hang of it, Cougar used to make notes of words to look up later. So he's got plenty of words for how meeting Stark throws him. He's shocked and hurt, a little perplexed. Feels unmoored and adrift, unsure of where he stands. At least, emotionally. Physically he grits his teeth, tips his hat down over his eyes, and resolves to watch every move the billionaire makes. It’s going to be a long day.Physically he plants himself in a chair by the coffee table and strips down his rifle, cleaning and examining every part as he keeps one eye trained on the hackers in the corner with their two laptops (Jake's) and softly glowing cubes projecting touch-sensitive holograms (Stark's). The two look like they’re settling in for a good ‘geekfest’, as Roque would say.Well, he would, but even Roque doesn’t have shit to say to Stark’s face. Roque knows best of all of them, with the scars on his face that he’s never once bothered trying to disguise, what horrors Stark went through while held prisoner in that cave. Roque doesn’t say shit, so none of the rest of them do either.Two hours in and Cougar has reassembled his rifle, made small talk with Pooch, sharpened his two blades and had something to eat. He’s watched Jake laughing and working alongside Stark for more minutes than he cares to count, and then snapped back to busy work. Without much else to do, he’s broken down, inspected, cleaned and reassembled his handgun as well as all three of Jake's weapons. He took his time on them too, because they belong to his corazon. "You can get some rest, ya know." A smooth voice cuts into his thoughts as he sharpens Jake's personal blades. When Cougar looks up Stark is looking straight at him, dark eyes unreadable.The billionaire has braced himself in a convenient doorway, not quite in or out of the room. He manages to project a vague hint of concern behind a wealth of indifference, and in spite of his crossed arms, there’s no feeling of conflict.Cougar wants to growl because he didn’t even notice the man approach, and he’s been paying attention to Jake and Stark as they talked. But somehow there were no instinctual hackles raised. It shouldn’t be possible, but somehow Stark has avoided triggering him or his instincts. That alone makes him want to stab the man, to warn him against screwing them over, to demand he does not touch Jake for too long.Stark must see something in his face, because the mask ripples and disappears, a faint smile curling over his mouth. “Was just making the offer, since we’re moving out under cover of dark. But, you’re the professional here.”It’s no work at all to refuse to respond, Snipers have to be patient. Cougar can wait, it’s clear Stark won’t.“So, you don’t like me, do you, Alvarez? I told JJ you didn’t.”Cougar doesn’t say anything but lets some of his thoughts play over his face. Quietly tells Stark that he doesn’t have to like the man, he doesn’t care if Stark knows it, and that it shouldn’t stop either of them from doing their jobs. They can be professional, though when it comes to Jake that’s the last thing he likes to be.It’s all delivered in a singular, uninterested and unimpressed expression. Somehow Stark manages to read it just fine. The bastard laughs.“Yeah… I guess most of that is true.” The man nods, looking off toward the far wall but the amused expression doesn’t fade. “When I mentioned that, JJ said I shouldn’t take it personally. He says that you don’t talk much to anyone, so I shouldn’t think you hate me based on that. I told him the silence had nothing to do with it, and he just looked confused.”Stark gives another little laugh and lifts one hand to rub the back of his knuckles under his jaw. The gesture seems careless but his eyes are dark and thoughtful. “Which, I’m betting half of was BS, because it’s JJ and when he knows you he wants to know everything about you. So he knows exactly when something’s up, even if he hasn’t figured out the why. But maybe it was half genuine, and he really didn’t understand why I said that. Not that he really needs to understand, does he, Alvarez? Since this issue is between you and me.”Cougar resentfully agrees with the statement. If Jake finds out he’s being rude to Stark, he’s certain his corazon will break out the sad eyes and the pouty lip and… No. No.“It’s between us, and I understand just fine.” Stark tilts his head. “So we’ll call this the gentleman’s agreement. It’s understood, and we’ll be professional in spite of it. I understand that I’m out of the blue, to you. JJ told me he never mentioned me before this Op, and only because you guys needed the assist.”Cougar doesn’t say anything, but some of his loathing of the idea must show in his eyes. The reminder that Jake ran to an ex to solve their problems sickens him. Makes him feel like he failed, somehow.Which is bullshit, and he acknowledges that it is bullshit. Cougar freely admits, to himself, that if Jake hadn’t ever slept with Tony he’d probably just be glad to have the man along. Stark is invaluable, for a multitude of reasons. He’s even behaving like a professional, for the most part. Or at least not like Cougar expected a spoiled rich boy to act. But Stark isn’t exactly spoiled, is he? It’s a little bit like they’d called in a Specialist from another Unit.But this? This was Jake’s old flame, this was a man that proudly called him pet names, flirted with him, grabbed his ass in public. This was a man that the government probably wouldn’t say a word about Jake dating, because Stark made them a good eighty percent of their toys. If anything they’d probably give Jensen special dispensation to fuck the man in public, in uniform, if they thought it’d get them more Stark weapons.Cougar can’t even blame them, is the thing. Well, he can, because he’s not rational. About Jake, he is not now nor will he ever be rational. But in a nebulous, distant sort of way, he can’t blame them. Stark is an incredible asset, and the government would certainly be willing to maximize any access to him that they could get. They’d take every advantage, even if it was presented in the form of the supple body of Cougar’s corazon.Which is maybe, probably, why Cougar resents the man so much. At a loss as to what else to do, the Sniper rolls his shoulders in a shrug and goes back to work.“He knows I’ve had enough of being gossip fodder for fake friends and ex-lovers, and he promised I’d never have to worry about that with him. Even after we split up, we stayed friends… Which, believe me, still blows my mind some days.” Stark gives a faint shake of his head, looking down at the floor as an expression of quiet surprise creeps over his face. “But we are friends, so he kept quiet about me. But he also knows that if he’s in a jam, of any kind, I’m good for it. I’m also the only one that could get to you guys this fast, with the information you needed, and serve as air cover while you do what you’re here to do.”Cougar would point out Stark was being a bit of a showboat, except he has the weirdest feeling the man’s being modest about that whole thing.“Anyway… he said you wouldn’t talk much.” Stark continues, sliding slightly into the room and leaning against the wall so he can watch Cougar’s hands move the blade against the whetstone. “I guess it’s one of the things he likes about you. You let him talk when he needs to sort things out, you help him settle down and be quiet when silence works better. Or at least that’s what I’m going with, so I’m trying things Jensen-style.”Cougar blinks, decides he really doesn’t know where this is going, and looks up from his work on the blades so that Stark can read it on his face.“Right, yes, so, saying things.” Tony mumbles. “At the end of the day, I’m a freelancing agent, okay? I’m just here to help out a friend of mine, and his friends, on a black book scenario in a foreign country. Not a huge deal, not trying to get in the way of things, not trying to take back the sexy hacker. We cool?”Cougar gives a shrug, dropping his eyes back down to his hands and resuming work on sharpening the knives. It’s not something he can do blindfolded, like reassembling his rifle, this requires his attention. Stark must understand that because there’s a soft sigh and a shuffle of movement.“Alright, well, I tried. See you later, Alvarez.”The Sniper listens to retreating footsteps and speaks up just as Tony moves through the doorway, about to disappear down the hallway. “Stark.”There’s an audible hesitation. “Uh, yeah?”“You as good as they say?”“Probably better, the world never did like to give me much credit.”There’s bitterness in the tone, Cougar nods his understanding. “You get us through this, and we have no problems, you and me. Entiendes ?”“Deal.” Tony laughs. “I’ll get you through it. I’m not gonna let JJ lose his true love on my watch.” Cougar jerks upright at the words, spinning around to stare at the man to convey his surprise. But the hallway is empty, and Stark is gone without a sound. Just the way he had arrived in the first place.Maybe they weren’t screwed after all… it was starting to look like IronMan was a Loser too.