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“How much longer do we have to stay in Nowheresville, Ecuador?” Jake Jensen asked, letting his head fall back to squint up at the cloudless sky and it's merciless mistress the sun.“About as long as it takes you to get rid of that stupid hat.” Roque’s grumble coming clear over the comm in Jake's ear despite the captain being nearly a half a mile away watching the market square from a rooftop.Grinning, Jake readjusted the Stetson he had purchased with great delight the moment he laid eyes on it.“I second that.” Pooch muttered, turning the page of the newspaper he was pretending to read for the third time while seated on their get-away scooter parked fifteen feet away from Jake's position.“Oh come on guys!” Jake whined, “you know how easily I burn!”“Alright, that's enough.” Clay growled across the comms, raising his head to glare pointed down at Jake and Pooch from his station on a second floor balcony of the hotel on the edge of the market. “The action isn't until tomorrow but it's still an OP and I expect you all to act like the professionals you supposedly are and not like bickering children.”Jake sighed, tugging the wide brim of his hat lower to cast a little more of a shadow across his upgraded satphone. The team was only a few weeks old and still struggling to get past it's posturing bullshit to the actual teamwork part of being a team. Mostly though, Jake was lonely. Roque and Clay were too busy trying to establish who was top dog in the group to deal with a young tech specialist with no friends. He and Pooch were making progress but the vehicle expert seemed more interested in daydreaming about his girl then bonding. Today they were in one of the busiest market squares Jake had ever seen, surrounded by people, and he had never felt more alone. Giving his head one good shake to clear the mopiness away, the corporal dragged his eyes off of the screen to scan the milling crowds.He wasn't sure what it was that caught his attention about the man. It might have been the respectful dip of his head as he spoke to a vender. Or maybe the soft smile he gave two small children as he bought them a piece of fruit each before shooing them away. Maybe it was the quiet sigh he gave while tucking a strand of his long hair behind his ear as his eyes scanned the market square and far far beyond.“You're staring.” Pooch muttered across comms, breaking Jake out of his ponderings.“Do we know him?” Jake asked, eyes never leaving the man as he slowly walked to the next market stall Pooch lowered his newspaper slightly, screwing up his eyes against the sun and distance. “Oh shit, I think that's Wade's sniper, Carlos Something.”“Wade has a sniper!” Jake said, cutting Pooch off to whine. “They are so not cool enough to have a sniper! Why don't we have a sniper? A sniper would solve so many problems.”“Focus.” Clay snapped over the comms. “Why is Wade's sniper here of all places? If they've got an OP here that could fuck ours over.”“On it.” Jake murmured, tipping his head back down over his phones screen. “Hello comm channels, talk to daddy. I've got Wade’s team, they are definitely on something.”“Don't call yourself daddy.” Roque grumbled, peering through a pair of binoculars at the sniper. “I gotta say man, this guy is good. I can't see any tension in his stance, or a weapon for that matter. Hey, isn't it kind of odd to have a sniper on the ground?”Jake frown and pressed his finger to his unoccupied ear trying to drown out the clatter of the square and pick out the voices of Wade’s team beneath the speculation of his own. A sinking feeling settled in his gut as he realize what was happening. “That's because hes not on the OP. He's off comms.”Jake's heart lurched over several beats as he spotted the small red dot sliding over to settle in the middle of the man’s back. “He's the bait.”“Jensen, don't move!” Clay shouted with the echoing sounds of him and Roque abandoning their positions.The satphone clattered to the ground, Jake long gone. Leaping over boxes and around people, all Jake could see was the man’s kind smile as he laughed with one of the vender. He never heard the gun’s report as he crashed into the man, even as they both fell to the ground. He wondered vaguely if the gunman had aborted as the pain beat his adrenaline and began to spread around the two inch hole in his shoulder. Jake’s head fell to one side just in time to see the sniper grab his pistol and take aim. His tongue darted out to lick his chapped lips as he took three short breaths. The pistol’s report left Jake’s ears ringing and he turned his head away.He lay there for a moment, wondering just why the sun had to be so bright against the periwinkle sky.“Well that hurt.” Jake finally decided with a half laugh.A dark shape framed against the bright sky hovered over Jake as something pressed hard into his shoulder. “Why did you do that?” the blob’s voice was low, thick and slightly accented.Jake squinted up at the blob, reaching out with the hand that still worked to pick up the new Stetson, now spattered with his own blood. Humming in concentration, Jake raised his shaking arm and placed the hat on top of the blob. Shaded by the hat, Jake blinked up at the sniper he had saved, whose soft brown eyes were wide with a confused kind of wonder.“Why did you save me?” The man asked again, his shaking head causing his long locks to swing and a few strands to stick to his lips.Jake raised his hand one last time to carefully tuck the wayward strands behind the man’s ear. He laughed, just because he could, and let his arm fall to his side as he promptly passed out. -The bullet had gone through and through and after sleeping it off for 36 hours, Jake left the medical tent back at base with orders for a few weeks rest, to ignore, and shit from every single one of his teammates for passing out. Jake had tried to argue that it was his first GSW, to no avail. Needless to say, he was delighted to be told he could get back to work.Clay was waiting, impatiently, outside the tent as Jake actually skipped out.“Awww,” Jake cooed, batting his eyelashes. “You were worried weren't you.”Clay favored him with an eye roll before leading the tech expert away. “Fortunately for me, we now have backup that seems to be highly motivated towards keeping your dumb ass from getting shot again.“Say what?” Jake asked, hop-skipping to keep up with the colonel.Pooch’s piercing whistle hailed the pair, drawing their attention to one side of the camp. Pooch and Roque we're leaving on either side of their Jeep's lower tailgate, armed crossed and looking like they were bickering about something or other again. But, it was the man that sat between them, a long rifle resting across his lap, that caught Jake's attention.Wiping his head back to give Clay a huge grin, Jake couldn't help but squeal. “You got us a sniper!?”-Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez disassembled his rifle for the fourth time, just to make extra sure he had cleaned it properly as the scene in his head restarted. A man running at him. Barely having enough time to brace as he was run into. Going down just as he heard the gunshot. Seeing the blood begin to spill from the man. Grabbing the man’s side arm, taking careful arm at the glint of sunlight off a rifle’s scope and firing. Not even bothering to see if he hit his target as he ripped his shirt off to press hard against the blond’s wound.“Why?” The only thing he could find to say.The stranger’s bright blue eyes squinting up at him, placing a Stetson on his head before finally laughing as an answer. “Don’t die don’t die don’t die.” Echoing through Cougar’s head as the stranger’s teammates loaded him up and drove all of them back to base.“Don’t die don’t die don’t die.” Drowning out anything said to the sniper as he stared blankly at the medical tent, the stranger’s blood drying on his hands.“Jake.” Finally cutting through the clatter as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.“His name is Jake.” The team’s leader repeated. “And he's way too stubborn to peg out so quit worrying about him and focus on yourself.”“My… self?” Cougar asked, as if his life was still his own and not sitting squarely in the hands of the man who had had no second thought to throw himself in the line of fire for a stranger.“Wade set you up to be bait for a madman with a gun. Personally, I wouldn't take that sitting down.” The colonel advised, letting his hand return to his pocket. The sniper’s eyes flickered back to the tent for a long moment. “Are you recruiting?”Clay had transferred him on the spot, flipping Wade off in the processes. After the paperwork and introductions had been finished, Cougar found his feet leading him back to the tent. The sun had already set and only the night nurse was up and about as the sniper entered the tent. Offering the aid a tight nod, he made his way to the cot in the back.And all at once, his breath was gone again. Jake Jensen smiled nearly as much in his sleep as he did when awake and taking bullets for strangers on the street. Cougar didn't even hear Pooch approach and jumped as his hand landed on his shoulder.“Careful amigo, you’re falling for a straight white boy who can't see past the end of his nose.” Pooch murmured, keeping his eyes on the blond.Cougar smiled, as if he wasn't already gone on the man that had saved his worthless life. “I know what i’m doing.”“I know what I'm doing.” Cougar told his rifle as he shook his memories away and finished assembling it.“I should hope so.” Roque grumbled, loading an ammo box next to Cougar.“Lay off Roque, he wasn't talking to you.” Pooch snapped, jumping down out of the back of the jeep and leaning against the tailgate. “Speaking of.” Putting his fingers to his lips, Pooch whistled.Looking up, Cougar saw him. Even 50 yards away Jake's smile seemed to light up the world. The blond was talking to Clay before clapping the man on his arm and jogging over, tripping on the uneven ground and nearly face planting in the process.“I can't believe you like him. He's an idiot.” Roque grumbled.Cougar hummed noncommittally and set his rifle aside. Taking said hum as a personal challenge, Roque shoved himself away from the tailgate and walking forward to meet Jake. “There he is, up top man.” He called raising an arm. Grinning, Jake flung his bad arm up to give Roque five and then yelped and doubled over in pain.Roque snorted and bent down to yell in Jake's ear. “YOU'RE SO DUMB!”Jake slowly straighten and gave the captain a look of utmost hurt betrayal. Finding no sympathy from Roque, the blond turned to Pooch.“Can't believe you fell for that.” Pooch muttered, shaking his head and pulling Roque away.Jake pouted for a moment, watching the two walk away, before turning back to Cougar. His grin returned, full force, as he looked at the sniper. “That,” he said, “is a nice hat.”Cougar burst out laughing, shaking his head as his heart did somersaults. He slid off the tailgate and raised one hand to the Stetson. “Thank you, a very brave man gave it to me.”Jake nodded solemnly. “Hmm, brave with a fantastic fashion sense. Could you tell the other that?” He asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.A smirk still playing about his lips, Cougar turned toward the tent Roque and Pooch had gone into and cupped his hands around his mouth to shout. “The man who saved my life is very brave and has fantastic fashion sense!”Roque and Pooch burst out of the tent and immediately started shouting denials.Jake giggled and flung his good arm around Cougar’s shoulders. “I like you.”Trying hard to ignore how good it felt to hear those innocent words, the sniper held out his hand. “Cougar.”The blond shook his hand, still smiling. “Jake.”“Alright shut up!” Clay shouted as he walked up. “We've got an op to finish so every pack up! Jensen, you're still on the market but off take down, Roque will be stepping in and Cougar will take his old position. Let move!”Jake pulled away to accept his gear from Pooch but turned to grin at his new teammate. “Watch my back?”Cougar swallowed all the words he wanted to say and nodded. “I got you.”