Of Scales and wings and Things that Go Bump (in the night)
Title: Of scales and wings and things that go Bump (in the night)
Chapter 19 / (?)
Fandom: Losers
Genre: AU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: roughly 2200
Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Losers' movie or comic. i make no profit from writing or posting this fic.
Warnings: nothing out of the norm for this 'verse. potential formatting issues >_>
“I want a huge fireplace, with a stockpile of wood and a pile of blankets.”
“Jolene, some coffee, and a beach house in the Caribbean.”
“Blankets. I think we can all agree blankets would be nice.”
“I'd settle for some damn coffee.”
Cougar shuffled into the cave-like recess they were hiding out a storm in the upper levels of the Carpathian mountains. Instantly the team shuffled a little, allowing a smidgen more room around the fire. The sniper's face was pale from the cold, and Jensen could see the faint outlines of scales half-hidden beneath the balaclava and hood. “Anything?” Cougar shook his head. Nothing.
“I'll do a turn shortly. The storm has to let up sooner or later.” Jensen pulled off his warm gloves and shoved them toward Cougar. The man tried to shake his head, but Jensen growled and yanked Cougar's hands from his coat. “Put them on, give me yours, before these get cold. I won't let you kill your fingers by being stupid.” By that point the whole team was staring Cougar down, and he grudgingly stripped his gloves and slid his fingers in the warmer pair. He sighed softly and relaxed a little, exhaling cold air over the flickering little campfire. A few minutes of sitting around the fire, trading stories to keep their minds off the weather as they huddled in layers of cold weather gear was all it took before Cougar began shivering furiously. “Shit. Clay!”
Clay helped Jensen brace Cougar against the rocky wall of their hideout, pulling out their last reserve of blankets. “We're down a man until he warms up. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. He and I have been through his hibernation mode before. But this is different. He hasn't shut down yet.”
Clay spared a look between his soldiers before he settled a hand on Jensen's shoulder. “Get your ass under that blanket and warm him up. I want to be out of here as soon as it's safe to travel.” Jensen opened his mouth, the words turning into a squeak as Clay's fingers dug mercilessly through the layers. “ 'What happens on the mission...' ”
“Stays on the mission!”
Jensen flushed, body sparing what blood he could at Pooch's and Roque's chorused voices. The rule was something to live by in work like theirs, but he knew the team was saying more than merely the usual mission cover. He nodded, jerkily, shedding the top layer of parka, jacket, and fleece, shoving the items into Clay's waiting hands before diving toward the blanket. Boots came off, socks stayed on, and he shimmied out of his pants and top before easing down beside the shivering Cougar. The gear was layered up over the blanket, the fluffy parka thrown over the top edge so their heads would be barred from the outer cold.
Jensen lost no time spooning his warmer body against Cougar, clutching him close to share warmth and offer comfort when the muscle spasms rocked the smaller man's body. Cougar's skin was rough with forming scales, dry against Jensen's body. “Stay human for me, Cougs. I can't help you if you don't stay small.” He whispered the words against Cougar's skin, nosing along Cougar's neck as he monitored his mate's condition. “You'll freeze if you change now, you cold-blooded lizard.”
“Hurts...” The grumble stretched the word out into a sound that vibrated them both. Jensen stroked his hand down Cougar's ribs and tried to erase every bit of air from between their bodies. Why was this time so much worse than the last time they'd gotten snowed in? “Sleep, Cougar. I’ve got your body. Sleep now so we can have you functional in a bit. The rest of the guys are counting on us. Relax and let me take care of things.” Cougar shuddered in his arms for another minute, before some bit of tension left him and he collapsed within Jensen's arms. “I got you. I swear, I got you...”
His fingers stroked across a damp patch of skin, low on Cougar's belly. Not a place where he'd marked, closer to the line where Cougar's pants like to ride. He brought his fingers away, looking at a stain on his fingers. The muted light was too filtered to get a color, but Jensen brought the fingers to his nose and inhaled. Blood, Cougar's blood. A snarl raced from his throat before he could suppress it, and he shoved the hand above their heads, out the pile. His fingers were grabbed, and he could make out voices and parts of words before a familiar feeling package was in his hand. The smaller med kit, he was certain, but something else was placed along his fingers before he was released. He pulled his hand back to find they'd added a penlight.
“Jensen! Status?” Clay's voice, concerned and commanding. Jensen clicked the light on and carefully shifted around until it was pointed at Cougar's stomach. A patch of raw skin appeared, like his knees when he'd skin them as a kid. Minor abrasion, and with the other pressing concern of Cougar's health, it had gone unnoticed. Somehow. Jensen had a nasty little feeling it was why Cougar had come in scaled. “We're good. Minor injury. I can take care of it.” He called out in return, pulling a square of gauze from the med kit and hoping the injury was only as bad as it looked. Depending on what caused the abrasion, there could be internal injuries; if Cougar had been human Jensen would have risked some cold exposure to get some proper light and check for further damage. But Cougar wasn't human, and while Jensen didn't know exactly how much damage Cougar could survive, he doubted this would kill him. He pressed his fingers over the gauze, holding it to Cougar's skin as he settled his body back around Cougar's. Goosebumps crawled along his skin, warning him his body had gotten chilled as well, but he inhaled and focused on the residual body heat, intent on keeping Cougar warm enough they would all be able to move out when the storm broke. Last they'd merely been stormed in, this time, Cougar was wounded.
This time, his mate needed him.
Jensen fell asleep with his hands wrapped around Cougar's body, clutching the makeshift bandage in place against the shivers, nose buried into the long hair. Against the threat of the storm and the knowledge of them still being 'on mission', he slept in the comfort of his mate's presence, providing comfort, protection, and support for Cougar.
He wasn’t sure what woke him first, the dim filtered aroma of unfamiliar musk, or the sound of multiple weapons jacking a round. Jensen growled, clutching around Cougar’s body for a moment. The scales had faded, and the skin was warm to the touch. Muscles subtly flexed under his grip, and Jensen let go so they could both pull back the parka over their heads and peer out.
There was an undefined mass filling the majority of the open space leading outside, but it didn’t take their eyes to recognize the aroma of musk and scales. Another dragon. The human members of the team stood with pistols and rifles drawn, no doubt uncertain what was lurking outside their hideout. Or, they knew exactly what it was and the futility of shooting a dragon. Jensen felt the itch of scales forming, grinding his teeth against the urge to defend his temporary nest. He didn’t need to start a fight with an unknown element. “Clay?”
“Dragon, threat unknown. The wind died down a minute ago and then it just came out of nowhere. It revealed its head for a moment but withdrew immediately.” The cloud cover, low light, and snow in the air provided great temporary cover for the dragon lurking outside. It wouldn’t last long. Jensen dressed again, throwing on pants and a shirt, refusing the boots for a moment and bundling a parka over his shoulders. He turned to see Cougar dressed like him, with boots, and back to full alertness. “Cougar? What do you think?”
“We are on her territory, just two unknown males and three humans. I will see if we can get out safely.” He passed Clay on his way to the front before Jensen could make his voice work.
“Cougs.” The sniper paused but didn’t turn around. “Just.. be careful, okay? No freezing or like, coming back in pieces.” A soft snort answered him, and he didn’t need to around to know he’d garnered at least one amused-derisive look. He didn't care. Cougar was his, his teammate, his partner, his mate. The person he'd just spent a chunk of time in near- naked cuddling to keep each other warm. He forced himself to turn away from the cave and start shoving the nest of material back into their bags. He had confidence Cougar could handle himself, the rest of his team with weapons between the front and him. Though he'd change that in an instant if he had to. He'd risk an angry female dragon, if only to protect his fragile human team. He snorted quietly. Roque would bitch if he ever heard Jensen call him fragile.
Minutes ticked by in hyper-awake slowness, until Jensen wanted to crawl out of his skin and into scales and charge the mountain of snow outside. He had everything packed and waiting, fully dressed and waiting for the word to go. His gloved finger was stroking the trigger, breath cooling against the material covering the bottom half of his face. Not for the first time, he wondered how Cougar could sit and wait for ages for that perfect shot when he could barely sit here long enough to see movement outside the cave.
“You suck, Jensen.” A lip twitched up at Roque's sneering tone, an action that should have flashed fangs. “For a predator you can't wait for shit.” Jensen narrowed his eyes, shooting Roque a dark glare. He didn't need a reminder; most of his attention was split between not tearing right out of his clothes and shifting, and suppressing the urge to challenge an unknown dragon because Cougar /mate, my mate/ was out there with her. Roque answered his glare with a grin, and Jensen felt the growl in his chest before he realized that Roque was baiting him.
“Can it, girls.” Clay barked. Jensen turned away, chewing on his tongue in an effort to keep himself in check. It kept him contained for another few minutes before the smell of dragon musk tingled his nose. Cougar stumbled into the alcove a moment later, skin bronzed out with scales, clothing torn a little but still hanging on him. Jensen immediately stepped forward, eyes and ears alert as he checked Cougar over. “We gotta get out of here. The instant she realized neither of us were available as potential mates she ordered all of us away. We have 'till sundown.”
“To get how far?” Clay voiced, as Jensen yanked out a spare jacket to replace the half- destroyed thing hanging on Cougar's shoulders. “And how soon before you collapse from the cold again?”
“Twenty miles. And I won't fail.” The familiar set of his jaw was only partially reassuring. The distance was easy, but the amount of time compared to the terrain they would have to struggle through would work against them.
“Then let's go. No one's getting eaten tonight!” They all chorused an agreement, eager to escape potential destruction. They did have a job to do.
They made it, dusk pouring between the trees as shadows consumed the mountains. A mottled white dragon landed on one of the peaks nearby as they picked their way across a shallow gorge, complete with a frozen river at the bottom. It had the same head as the lone female that had peered in on them, and the team waved a wary goodbye as they faded into the forest beyond the gorge. They hiked another hour before setting up camp, hoping to be well enough away from any surprise 'visits'.
“Guys, I never want to come back here. Not for missions, or vacation, or anything.”
“I never want to come back up here in the winter. It's not like we aren't already used to the whole scales and grumpy thing anyway.”
“Go fuck yourself, Roque. This isn't cold. This is hell frozen over and dipped in liquid Nitrogen as an added bonus. Anything that makes my nuts ascend this far should never be repeated.”
“I have a spork that will fix that problem. It's nice and dull, just for you.”
“I can ruin your blades with one claw, Roque. You get near my nuts with anything and I’ll ruin every last blade you have.” Jensen grinned. “Even the ones hidden at base, under lock and key. And the one at Pooch's house, strapped under the sink.”
“Shut up. Jensen, since you napped earlier, you get first shift.” A murmured variety of acknowledgments and rustling sleeping bags answered Clay's command. “We move before dawn, Losers.”
Chapter 19 / (?)
Fandom: Losers
Genre: AU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: roughly 2200
Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Losers' movie or comic. i make no profit from writing or posting this fic.
Warnings: nothing out of the norm for this 'verse. potential formatting issues >_>
“I want a huge fireplace, with a stockpile of wood and a pile of blankets.”
“Jolene, some coffee, and a beach house in the Caribbean.”
“Blankets. I think we can all agree blankets would be nice.”
“I'd settle for some damn coffee.”
Cougar shuffled into the cave-like recess they were hiding out a storm in the upper levels of the Carpathian mountains. Instantly the team shuffled a little, allowing a smidgen more room around the fire. The sniper's face was pale from the cold, and Jensen could see the faint outlines of scales half-hidden beneath the balaclava and hood. “Anything?” Cougar shook his head. Nothing.
“I'll do a turn shortly. The storm has to let up sooner or later.” Jensen pulled off his warm gloves and shoved them toward Cougar. The man tried to shake his head, but Jensen growled and yanked Cougar's hands from his coat. “Put them on, give me yours, before these get cold. I won't let you kill your fingers by being stupid.” By that point the whole team was staring Cougar down, and he grudgingly stripped his gloves and slid his fingers in the warmer pair. He sighed softly and relaxed a little, exhaling cold air over the flickering little campfire. A few minutes of sitting around the fire, trading stories to keep their minds off the weather as they huddled in layers of cold weather gear was all it took before Cougar began shivering furiously. “Shit. Clay!”
Clay helped Jensen brace Cougar against the rocky wall of their hideout, pulling out their last reserve of blankets. “We're down a man until he warms up. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. He and I have been through his hibernation mode before. But this is different. He hasn't shut down yet.”
Clay spared a look between his soldiers before he settled a hand on Jensen's shoulder. “Get your ass under that blanket and warm him up. I want to be out of here as soon as it's safe to travel.” Jensen opened his mouth, the words turning into a squeak as Clay's fingers dug mercilessly through the layers. “ 'What happens on the mission...' ”
“Stays on the mission!”
Jensen flushed, body sparing what blood he could at Pooch's and Roque's chorused voices. The rule was something to live by in work like theirs, but he knew the team was saying more than merely the usual mission cover. He nodded, jerkily, shedding the top layer of parka, jacket, and fleece, shoving the items into Clay's waiting hands before diving toward the blanket. Boots came off, socks stayed on, and he shimmied out of his pants and top before easing down beside the shivering Cougar. The gear was layered up over the blanket, the fluffy parka thrown over the top edge so their heads would be barred from the outer cold.
Jensen lost no time spooning his warmer body against Cougar, clutching him close to share warmth and offer comfort when the muscle spasms rocked the smaller man's body. Cougar's skin was rough with forming scales, dry against Jensen's body. “Stay human for me, Cougs. I can't help you if you don't stay small.” He whispered the words against Cougar's skin, nosing along Cougar's neck as he monitored his mate's condition. “You'll freeze if you change now, you cold-blooded lizard.”
“Hurts...” The grumble stretched the word out into a sound that vibrated them both. Jensen stroked his hand down Cougar's ribs and tried to erase every bit of air from between their bodies. Why was this time so much worse than the last time they'd gotten snowed in? “Sleep, Cougar. I’ve got your body. Sleep now so we can have you functional in a bit. The rest of the guys are counting on us. Relax and let me take care of things.” Cougar shuddered in his arms for another minute, before some bit of tension left him and he collapsed within Jensen's arms. “I got you. I swear, I got you...”
His fingers stroked across a damp patch of skin, low on Cougar's belly. Not a place where he'd marked, closer to the line where Cougar's pants like to ride. He brought his fingers away, looking at a stain on his fingers. The muted light was too filtered to get a color, but Jensen brought the fingers to his nose and inhaled. Blood, Cougar's blood. A snarl raced from his throat before he could suppress it, and he shoved the hand above their heads, out the pile. His fingers were grabbed, and he could make out voices and parts of words before a familiar feeling package was in his hand. The smaller med kit, he was certain, but something else was placed along his fingers before he was released. He pulled his hand back to find they'd added a penlight.
“Jensen! Status?” Clay's voice, concerned and commanding. Jensen clicked the light on and carefully shifted around until it was pointed at Cougar's stomach. A patch of raw skin appeared, like his knees when he'd skin them as a kid. Minor abrasion, and with the other pressing concern of Cougar's health, it had gone unnoticed. Somehow. Jensen had a nasty little feeling it was why Cougar had come in scaled. “We're good. Minor injury. I can take care of it.” He called out in return, pulling a square of gauze from the med kit and hoping the injury was only as bad as it looked. Depending on what caused the abrasion, there could be internal injuries; if Cougar had been human Jensen would have risked some cold exposure to get some proper light and check for further damage. But Cougar wasn't human, and while Jensen didn't know exactly how much damage Cougar could survive, he doubted this would kill him. He pressed his fingers over the gauze, holding it to Cougar's skin as he settled his body back around Cougar's. Goosebumps crawled along his skin, warning him his body had gotten chilled as well, but he inhaled and focused on the residual body heat, intent on keeping Cougar warm enough they would all be able to move out when the storm broke. Last they'd merely been stormed in, this time, Cougar was wounded.
This time, his mate needed him.
Jensen fell asleep with his hands wrapped around Cougar's body, clutching the makeshift bandage in place against the shivers, nose buried into the long hair. Against the threat of the storm and the knowledge of them still being 'on mission', he slept in the comfort of his mate's presence, providing comfort, protection, and support for Cougar.
He wasn’t sure what woke him first, the dim filtered aroma of unfamiliar musk, or the sound of multiple weapons jacking a round. Jensen growled, clutching around Cougar’s body for a moment. The scales had faded, and the skin was warm to the touch. Muscles subtly flexed under his grip, and Jensen let go so they could both pull back the parka over their heads and peer out.
There was an undefined mass filling the majority of the open space leading outside, but it didn’t take their eyes to recognize the aroma of musk and scales. Another dragon. The human members of the team stood with pistols and rifles drawn, no doubt uncertain what was lurking outside their hideout. Or, they knew exactly what it was and the futility of shooting a dragon. Jensen felt the itch of scales forming, grinding his teeth against the urge to defend his temporary nest. He didn’t need to start a fight with an unknown element. “Clay?”
“Dragon, threat unknown. The wind died down a minute ago and then it just came out of nowhere. It revealed its head for a moment but withdrew immediately.” The cloud cover, low light, and snow in the air provided great temporary cover for the dragon lurking outside. It wouldn’t last long. Jensen dressed again, throwing on pants and a shirt, refusing the boots for a moment and bundling a parka over his shoulders. He turned to see Cougar dressed like him, with boots, and back to full alertness. “Cougar? What do you think?”
“We are on her territory, just two unknown males and three humans. I will see if we can get out safely.” He passed Clay on his way to the front before Jensen could make his voice work.
“Cougs.” The sniper paused but didn’t turn around. “Just.. be careful, okay? No freezing or like, coming back in pieces.” A soft snort answered him, and he didn’t need to around to know he’d garnered at least one amused-derisive look. He didn't care. Cougar was his, his teammate, his partner, his mate. The person he'd just spent a chunk of time in near- naked cuddling to keep each other warm. He forced himself to turn away from the cave and start shoving the nest of material back into their bags. He had confidence Cougar could handle himself, the rest of his team with weapons between the front and him. Though he'd change that in an instant if he had to. He'd risk an angry female dragon, if only to protect his fragile human team. He snorted quietly. Roque would bitch if he ever heard Jensen call him fragile.
Minutes ticked by in hyper-awake slowness, until Jensen wanted to crawl out of his skin and into scales and charge the mountain of snow outside. He had everything packed and waiting, fully dressed and waiting for the word to go. His gloved finger was stroking the trigger, breath cooling against the material covering the bottom half of his face. Not for the first time, he wondered how Cougar could sit and wait for ages for that perfect shot when he could barely sit here long enough to see movement outside the cave.
“You suck, Jensen.” A lip twitched up at Roque's sneering tone, an action that should have flashed fangs. “For a predator you can't wait for shit.” Jensen narrowed his eyes, shooting Roque a dark glare. He didn't need a reminder; most of his attention was split between not tearing right out of his clothes and shifting, and suppressing the urge to challenge an unknown dragon because Cougar /mate, my mate/ was out there with her. Roque answered his glare with a grin, and Jensen felt the growl in his chest before he realized that Roque was baiting him.
“Can it, girls.” Clay barked. Jensen turned away, chewing on his tongue in an effort to keep himself in check. It kept him contained for another few minutes before the smell of dragon musk tingled his nose. Cougar stumbled into the alcove a moment later, skin bronzed out with scales, clothing torn a little but still hanging on him. Jensen immediately stepped forward, eyes and ears alert as he checked Cougar over. “We gotta get out of here. The instant she realized neither of us were available as potential mates she ordered all of us away. We have 'till sundown.”
“To get how far?” Clay voiced, as Jensen yanked out a spare jacket to replace the half- destroyed thing hanging on Cougar's shoulders. “And how soon before you collapse from the cold again?”
“Twenty miles. And I won't fail.” The familiar set of his jaw was only partially reassuring. The distance was easy, but the amount of time compared to the terrain they would have to struggle through would work against them.
“Then let's go. No one's getting eaten tonight!” They all chorused an agreement, eager to escape potential destruction. They did have a job to do.
They made it, dusk pouring between the trees as shadows consumed the mountains. A mottled white dragon landed on one of the peaks nearby as they picked their way across a shallow gorge, complete with a frozen river at the bottom. It had the same head as the lone female that had peered in on them, and the team waved a wary goodbye as they faded into the forest beyond the gorge. They hiked another hour before setting up camp, hoping to be well enough away from any surprise 'visits'.
“Guys, I never want to come back here. Not for missions, or vacation, or anything.”
“I never want to come back up here in the winter. It's not like we aren't already used to the whole scales and grumpy thing anyway.”
“Go fuck yourself, Roque. This isn't cold. This is hell frozen over and dipped in liquid Nitrogen as an added bonus. Anything that makes my nuts ascend this far should never be repeated.”
“I have a spork that will fix that problem. It's nice and dull, just for you.”
“I can ruin your blades with one claw, Roque. You get near my nuts with anything and I’ll ruin every last blade you have.” Jensen grinned. “Even the ones hidden at base, under lock and key. And the one at Pooch's house, strapped under the sink.”
“Shut up. Jensen, since you napped earlier, you get first shift.” A murmured variety of acknowledgments and rustling sleeping bags answered Clay's command. “We move before dawn, Losers.”