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rose-tinted-glasses671 · 10 months

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Echo Chambers Inside A Neighborhood (ch.4)

read ch.1 ch.2 ch.3 ch.5

tag list: @junosbugs @lovelyladymayyy @specialagentmonkey @elle-writes-things @anotherrickinthewall

“Likin’ ya new place, L.t.?” Soap’s voice broke through the silence in Ghost’s office. Piles of papers stood high on his desk and his laptop was open to the notes from the most recent mission briefing. He was trying to focus on his work, knowing he’d have to go back out in a couple hours to continue training the new sergeants. But memories from last night followed him around like a lost puppy, begging for his attention.

“It was the first and last time I set foot in that store,” you said through fits of silent laughter, the words barely formulating on your tongue. Ghost couldn’t help but be fascinated by the way your face lit up with your laughter. He stared, memorizing the line of your plump lips, the gentle curvature of your nose, the way your lashes fell against your cheek when you closed your eyes.

The sound of amusement that left you was the sweetest damn song he’d ever heard, and he yearned to be the reason you made it.

“It’s fine,” Ghost said nonchalantly, not looking away from his laptop. It was more than fine, but he’d be damned if admitted that to the sergeant.

Soap remained standing at the door, his body leaning against the frame as he crossed his arms across his chest. Ghost could feel Soap’s eyes on him, and he shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

“What?” Ghost snapped after thirty-seconds of silence, finally moving his gaze for a brief second over to the man standing at his doorway.

“Nothin’,” Soap shrugged. “Been awfully quite the las’ couple a days, that’s it.”

“Got nothing to talk about,” Ghost retaliated.

“Not even the beautiful lass you’re livin’ with?” Ghost’s eyes zoned in on Soap, a silent question as to how he knew what you looked like. “Got curious. Sam showed me a picture.”

“It’s none of your business, Sergeant,” Ghost clipped, returning his focus to the computer screen. He tried comprehending the words in front of him but just ended up reading the same sentence over and over again.

Soap, nosy as he was, walked further into the room and plopped himself onto the chair in front of Ghost’s desk.

“She’s a stunner, L.t.,” Soap interrupted.

A vein on Ghost’s forehead ticked, though Soap wasn’t able to see it. He knew you were pretty, but why was Soap so interested?

“Why the sudden interest?” Ghost questioned, a sliver of possession running down his spine. It was wholly unnecessary and completely out of the blue, but there was no point questioning it. Ghost had been feeling unwarranted feelings ever since the first time he talked to you over the phone.

“No reason.” Another shrug from the sergeant. “I gave yoo the number, is all. Feels like my responsibility if something goes wrong.”

Ghost scoffed. “I’m a grown man, Johnny. I can take care of myself.”

“No doubt,” Soap smiled. “So…is she nice?”

“She’s none of your business,” Ghost deadpanned. He tried hiding his annoyance, though he didn’t know if he was successful.

Soap chuckled, shaking his head slightly. He wasn’t gonna get anything out of him.

“Tight-lipped as ever,” the sergeant jested. “But that’s not what I came in ‘ere for.”

“Oh?” Ghost’s ears perked up.

“There’s trouble again. Insurgents in Al Mazrah.” Soap’s expression turned serious, all sentiments back to business. “Price wants a word.”

---

“But I thought we got all the weapon holds there,” Gaz asked, a quizzical look towards the Captain.

“I thought so, too,” Price said, hands on his hips as he paced back and forth. “But this one is underground. Practically impossible to sniff out.”

“Then how’d you find it?” Soap spoke up from where he was seated.

“We noticed multiple caravans, all taking different routes, end up at the same location deep within the desert.” All eyes in the room turned to the laptop from which Laswell spoke. Her stoic face betrayed no signs of urgency, but the tension in the room said otherwise. “Had our drones scout the area. Turns out there’s a bunker within the oasis.”

“Bloody hell,” Ghost murmured under his breath. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that the trouble with Hassan was over just because they killed him, but he was disappointed that they’d left such an important loose end undiscovered for so long.

“How the hell did we miss this?” Gaz stated, putting everyone’s unspoken thoughts to words.

“It’s easy to miss things like this. But that’s not what’s important right now.” Price grabbed the map sitting next to the laptop and spread it open on the table for the rest of the crew to see. “Dealing with the insurgents here…” he circled ‘Al Mazrah’. “And getting hold of the weapons bunker here,” he indicated to an obscure position somewhere in the desert next to the city. “These are our priorities.”

The next couple of hours were spent determining the plan of attack. Ghost and Soap were to head the team that would be responsible for dealing with the insurgents in the city, while Price and Gaz would attack the weapons hold.

And by morning, they were exiting the aircraft into humid, sand-filled air.

---

It’d been six days since Ghost had left for work, seven since the night of the dinner. You would replay bits and pieces of the night over again in your head, smiling at the memory of shared laughs and dry jokes.

He barely revealed anything about himself, letting out grunts or straight up not answering when you asked personal questions. You got the hint, realizing that the man valued his privacy more than anything, so you ended up regaling him with stories of your own life.

You had nothing to hide, but more than that, you didn’t feel the need to hide from Ghost.

It was nice to have someone who listened, but you couldn’t help but feel disappointed whenever you were met with silence about his own past. Obviously, it’s not like you wanted him to tell you his deepest, darkest secrets. But maybe you were starting to think of him as a friend, and maybe it would be nice to know more about him besides the fact that he was in the military.

“Hi sweetheart,” Belinda said as you entered the shelter, shaking the snow off your boots. “How’ve you been?” The old lady stepped out from behind the counter and gave you a hug, rubbing a soothing hand on your back. You hugged her back, allowing yourself to take a little bit of comfort from her.

“I’m okay. I think,” you said, pulling away from the embrace and stuffing your hands in the pockets of your coat.

“You think?” Belinda shook her head as if that was unacceptable. “How come? That boy Ethan up to something again?”

You sighed, realizing you hadn’t visited the shelter since you and Ethan had broken up, so Belinda was none the wiser.

“Actually,” you began. “We’re not together anymore.” The words came with no feeling, as if you were telling the woman you had oatmeal for breakfast, and not that you’d ended things with your boyfriend of three years.

“What?” Belinda sat down on the wicker chair next to the door, patting the one next to her. You complied and sat down too. “What happened?”

You contemplated what to say. On the one hand, you could be honest and tell her Ethan had cheated. But on the other, that wasn’t a detail you were in the mood to hash out.

So you shrugged, averting your eyes from Belinda. “He was a jerk.”

“Oh hon.” The woman took your hand, running a gentle finger across the back of it. “It’s good you realized he wasn’t worth your time. Better single than raising a man-child.”

You chuckled, thinking to yourself that those words couldn’t be any truer.

“You wanna head back? We had a new litter of kittens dropped off here a week ago if you want to see them,” Belinda said.

“Of course I wanna see them.”

You were out of your chair and at the back of the shelter in a matter of minutes, petting the older cats you had already met and letting the new ones get accustomed to you. As you played with the little fur balls, a certain one caught your eye; sleek, black fur covering the top of its head while the rest was white as snow.

You gently took the cat into your arms, noticing how quiet and patient it was. Reminded you of a certain someone.

“That’s Maisie,” Belinda said as she walked past the curtains, a large bag of cat food in her arms.

You looked at Maisie, seeing her calmly watching you. “Hi Maisie. It’s nice to meet you,” you whispered. The cat raised a paw towards you, curiosity shining in her eyes. You brought your face closer as her paw grazed over your nose, then your cheek.

“She likes you.” Belinda was at the corner of the room, rationing out portions of cat food into bowls.

“Well, I think I like her too.”

“She’s all yours if you want her,” the older lady raised an eyebrow in question, a mischevious smirk on her face.

You looked back down at Maisie, trying to map out the pros and cons of adopting a cat right now.

“Oh, don’t think about it too much,” Belinda scolded. She left her spot and walked over to where you were seated on the floor next to the play pen. “She’ll be great company. Might even help you through your breakup.”

You didn’t tell her that you were very much over your cheating ex-boyfriend. But would it really hurt to have someone to come home to at the end of the day?

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eug · 1 year

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One year ago today here in Austin, TX, Janet Pierson, Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert at the world premiere of “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at SXSW. I love walking into a movie with no context, not having seen trailers or footage. I wasn’t really tracking “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (and kept screwing up the title) but knew I wanted to see whatever the Daniels were up to. SXSW only described EEAAO as, “a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.” The response that night in the Paramount Theater was at first totally silent and then purely explosive. When Michelle Yeoh walked on stage after the screening, WOW. The film was so much. I was sitting with Indiewire’s Eric Kohn at the screening and when the movie ended, mind blown, I turned to him with puzzled excitement and started rambling with joy about seeing such bold American filmmaking grappling with real topics and big issues. As Daniel Kwan noted in an Instagram post today, the Q&A was a stunner, audience lined up in the aisles to ask questions about, as Kwan recalled, intergenerational trauma, mental health and depression, and Asian hate crimes. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” was unstoppable at the box office last spring and seems to be the same in this season’s awards race (but we’ll know for sure tomorrow). It’s so great to be back here in Austin this weekend to watch new movies and see friends, salute Janet Pierson on 15 years at the helm of SXSW, cheer on incoming fest head Claudette Godfrey, and gear up for Monday’s convo with Tilda Swinton (Julio Torres’s first feature, “Problemista” - starring Tilda & Torres - premieres Monday and is a must-see)! So whatever may happen tomorrow night at the Oscars, congratulations Daniels, A24, and the entire EEAAO team! (at Paramount Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqImaEpW_6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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nomolosk · 3 years

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“I hope all the documents are in order,” Adrien Agreste said, looking and sounding smug over the transmission. His ship was currently en route to the Francoise Space Station orbiting the planet Dupont, where the Dupain-Cheng’s had based their surface-to-orbit shipping business. Marinette Dupain-Cheng didn’t bother trying to suppress her glare. He should be well aware of the reasons for her frustration, but she reminded him anyway.

“Yes, Mr. Agreste Junior, the documents are in order,” she replied. “They have been waiting for your signature for the past month. A month in which, I might add, we haven’t been able to do any business at all.”

“My apologies for the delay,” Adrien said - but neither tone nor expression changed an iota.

By all the gods in the heavens, Marinette loathed this man. She couldn’t imagine any future in which she didn’t, especially given the reason for his visit today. He was going to buy out her parents’ business, and Marinette only had to deal with him because she’d refused to make her parents deal with him after everything else they had gone through. Unfortunately, this had only confirmed his awful reputation.

When it came to systematically ruining and then buying out competitors, Adrien Agreste - the scion of Agreste Shipping - was a one-man juggernaut, apparently all too eager to do a few dirty deeds in order to keep his otherwise indulgent lifestyle. By all reports he was a true Daddy’s boy, playing with money, power, and hearts as if he had no concept of personal responsibility. After all, Daddy Agreste would take care of any... unpleasantness. And all he had to do was be dear Daddy’s hatchet-man. It looked like he enjoyed it, too.

Fortunately, she had the means to wipe that self-satisfied look off his face permanently, thanks to a mole who called himself Chat Noir. He’d been feeding her inside information for over a year - information that had let her and the crew of the Miraculous put quite a dent in the Agreste Shipping bottom line. But for now, she had to play along.

“Just make sure you’re on time,” Marinette said through gritted teeth. “You’ve tortured my family enough. No need to drag it out any longer.”

“I’ll be only too happy to accommodate your schedule, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Adrien said. “And perhaps, afterward, you will let me buy you a drink to... commemorate the occasion.”

A smirk - an actual, god-forsaken smirk - appeared on his face. Marinette’s fingernails dug painfully into her palms. If he’d been within reach at that moment, he would have found himself flat on the floor with several broken bones, and Marinette would have found herself in a holding cell on charges of assault. Breathing deeply, Marinette reminded herself of the plan, and terminated the transmission before she could incriminate herself.

As soon as Adrien Agreste’s smug, smarmy, and infuriatingly handsome face disappeared from her screen, she closed her eyes and breathed, letting out all the tension and anger that had built up during their brief conversation. After all, under the right circumstances, Adrien Agreste might be exactly what her parents, and countless other victims, needed: a valuable hostage.

----

Adrien let that god-awful smirk linger for a moment before wiping it away with a weary hand. He slumped back in his seat and started massaging one temple while he swiped back to his desktop screen on the terminal.

He’d always hated this part, even back when he'd been naive enough to believe that the firm he was about to buy out had just had a run of bad luck. Back then he would have been secure in the knowledge that the ‘merger’ he’d ‘negotiated’ was a good deal for both parties, but he’d still been aware that it was a defeat for the original owners.

Now he knew all too well the depths Gabriel would sink to - the depths he would drag Adrien down to - all for the sake of his precious shipping empire. The clear disgust and loathing on that woman’s face only added to his own sense of personal guilt and disgust.

At least this time, if everything went according to plan, this family’s business would be just fine. This time, Adrien could look forward to handing control of that company back to the people who’d built it. He glanced at the time on the terminal and took a deep, calming breath.

Please, Ladybug… don’t let me down.

Adrien, in his persona as the mole Chat Noir, had given Ladybug and her team of raiders especially good intel this time, all but painting the word TARGET in bold letters on his own face. That, plus the file he’d sent containing a preview of every last blot on his father’s stainless reputation… yes. He knew how much Ladybug loathed Adrien Agreste personally. She’d often claimed a burning need to punch his face in their double-encoded communiques - not that she knew it was his face - so he was sure she would jump at the chance. He only hoped she could pull it off.

The raiding crew of the Miraculous had caused enough disruption to the Agreste Shipping lines that Gabriel had actually hired the Akumas - a mercenary group known for their brutal efficiency - to track her down. Chat Noir had warned her, and so far she’d managed to elude their crack agents, making them look remarkably foolish in the process.

He only hoped that, when the time came and he found himself on board the Miraculous at last, that she would leave him enough wits - and teeth - to stutter out the recognition phrase Chat Noir had given her.

----

Ladybug’s assault and infiltration were quieter than Adrien had expected. He wasn’t part of the Hawkmoth’s crew, so when the alarms went off, his only role was to get to a secure area and stay out of everyone else’s way. The most he heard of it was the alarm and muffled shouting in the distance while Nathalie hurried him away.

It wasn’t what he wanted - he would much rather have had an active role in the ship’s defense. But of course Gabriel would never allow that, and Nathalie enforced his rules with an iron fist. So he ended up crouched behind Nathalie and his Personal Gorilla Bodyguard™, waiting breathlessly for Ladybug to find them in the reinforced bunker that posed as a small cargo hold in the ship designs. Every small sound echoed in the space, but he wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, he hoped Ladybug’s team had audio sensors sensitive enough to pick them up.

A touch on his shoulder made his heart rate skyrocket even more - but it was only Nathalie, turning to check on him. Adrien covered her hand with his own and squeezed, letting some of his excitement show with a shaky breath. She must have assumed he was scared and squeezed back before turning to the hatch and adjusting her grip on her firearm.

He’d tried to talk her into giving him one of the shipboard assault rifles, too. He wanted to make sure his ‘protectors’ went down quickly if need be, but he told her that he needed some way to defend himself. She’d only given him a look. Apparently Gabriel was willing to sacrifice his only son before allowing him a weapon.

God he couldn’t wait to be free of his life.

A commotion in the corridor outside focused his attention. A sizzling sound came from the door and it whooshed open, briefly blinding him before the bulky forms of the intruders blocked the light. The dark shapes were outlined in silhouettes the color of their hardened spacesuits: pink, orange, green, and gold. His heart leaped again and he fought to suppress a smile.

Nathalie and the bodyguard were quickly dispatched with stun blasts, though it took several simultaneous shots to bring the bodyguard down. Then it was Adrien’s turn. He scooted back as the leader advanced, heart pounding with excitement and fear. Chat Noir had advocated for a hostage situation, but it was possible that Ladybug had decided on outright assassination. One way or another, this would all be over shortly.

The pink-haloed leader raised her weapon, pointing it at him. Adrien gulped and closed his eyes. He didn’t even have time to register the blast before his mind went numb.

----

Marinette leaned against a cabinet in the medbay, waiting for their hostage to wake up. It shouldn’t take long - the effects of the stunners they’d used could be counteracted by the contents of any decently stocked medbay, and Marinette made sure the Miraculous was always overstocked with medical supplies.

Her crew was there, too, all except for Max, who couldn’t leave the bridge. Nino and Alya were busy flirting with each other, Kim was trying to balance a (needle-less) syringe on the end of his nose, and Markov hovered overhead, ready to record everything. Marinette was taking no chances on being accused of human rights violations, though her hands ached with the need to punch their guest.

The unfairly attractive blonde strapped to the medical chair in front of her stirred, and the tension in the room skyrocketed. Kim put the syringe down, Nino and Alya looked up, and Markov beeped to indicate recording was in progress. Marinette also stood up and crossed her arms to avoid temptation.

Adrien Agreste opened unfocused eyes, staring into space with his head lolling a bit. He was clearly still out of it, but it didn’t take long for him to come to full alertness. Curiously, he remained silent, merely looking around the room in a manner so unconcerned that it immediately made Marinette suspicious.

“Are you carrying a tracker?” she asked harshly. They’d scanned him for any such device, of course, but it was possible Agreste Senior managed to obtain something small enough that it wouldn’t show up on a scan.

Agreste Junior met her eyes and his own widened slightly in obvious recognition. “Uh… no. Not that I’m aware of, I mean.”

He smiled, and it was... joyful?

“I’m afraid I’m going to miss that meeting after all, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, though I still hope for that drink sometime. Looks like you’ll just have to keep control of your own business. Thanks for not killing me, by the way - to all of you. I know you must have been tempted,” he added, looking around at them all before leaning his head back with a satisfied smile. “I wish I could see the look on my father’s face when he realizes he’s not getting me back.”

His tone was so full of glee that Marinette barely managed to keep her mouth from dropping open, but she must have looked as astonished as she felt, because his smile turned into a full-fledged grin.

“Oh, haven’t you figured it out yet, Ladybug?” he said, grinning and winking at her. Then he said the three words she’d been waiting to hear for over a year now, ever since her informant had told her he wanted out. Words she’d imagined coming out of the mouth of anyone - literally anyone - but his.

“Plagg, claws out.”

All four of them gasped. Marinette gaped at the man she'd thought she would loathe for all eternity.

“Chat Noir?”

----

“I trust the papers are in order,” Marinette Dupain-Cheng said, smiling at everyone on the other side of the conference table. Her parents sat beside her, but they continued to let her take the lead.

“Drawn up and ready to sign,” the lawyer said, tapping on a tablet before handing it to her. Beside him, Adrien Agreste smiled softly at her. Marinette ignored him and read the documents carefully, making sure that what remained of Agreste Shipping relinquished all claim to her parents’ business, and that the court-mandated payout would cover all the expenses of getting back up and running, with a nice cushion. Satisfied, she handed the tablet to her mother and father, who read and signed it. There was a round of handshakes and congratulations - sincere, as far as she could tell, with no trace of Adrien’s former smug persona.

“Well,” Marinette said, once everyone else had left. “I believe you owe me a drink.”

Adrien’s face lit up. “I do, indeed! Well, who am I to go back on my word? Shall we?”

He held out his arm and Marinette took it. After all, Ladybug had trusted Chat Noir and that had turned out well. Perhaps the future for Marinette and Adrien was equally bright.

@luckycharmzine

#the lucky charm zine #enemies to friends #space au #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #space raiders #undercover chat #happy ending

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch2: I’m Not Jealous...Why Would I Be Jealous? Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Summary: The Losers run their first mission together since they bust the Child Sex Trafficking Ring a few months ago, and things don’t quite go according to plan, leading to some nasty tension between Jake and Stella. As time progresses the rift increases leading Jake to make a decision about the nature of his and Stella’s relationship, and the consequences of his decision lead Stella to make one of her own…

Warnings: Bad Language words. Some angst and 2 dumbasses so afraid to admit their feelings to one another, they’d rather ignore them completely…

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, we’re sorry…but what would our fics be without the standard angst and dumbassery…and let’s face it, Jake IS a total dumbass. A lovable dumbass, but still a dumbass. Also, in this is a lot of Creative License. There’s limited detail about the CIA base online (dur) but I do have a fairly good grasp of UK Military codes and security levels as I worked on a lot of bases so we’re running with that…if it’s not directly the same over in the US then…sorry not sorry!

And yes, our other OC in here is shamelessly named after Evans… and our bub needs some love today.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 1

August 2007

“OK Losers, let’s fuck this shit up and get home. I got a date in less than 23 hours.” Clay grinned at Pooch who let out a chuckle.

“You sure don’t wanna miss that…she’s volatile.” Roque’s soft baritone came back over the coms.

“Yeah, which means I’d rather not be late.” Clay replied.

“Good call Clay, I’d hate to be picking up the pieces of you like I had to do with Pooch when he missed Future Mrs Pooch’s birthday last month…” Jensen replied, looking at Pooch as he sat in the van, laptop open “How is Little Pooch performing since she ripped your balls off?”

Pooch glared at him and elbowed him harshly in the ribs “Ouch, Pooch be gentle!” Jensen rubbed at his side, wincing.

Clay rolled his eyes as Pooch and Jensen started bickering between themselves, Cougar’s soft snickering echoed down the coms from his vantage point perched on the building next door. “Ok, seriously, we’re trying to work here and all I can hear is you lot.” Stella hissed, “Can you focus up?”

“Sorry Arty.” Pooch said, shooting one last glare at Jensen who simply arched an eyebrow and sniffed slightly, tapping at the keyboard.

“And I can see you.” Jensen grinned as the CCTV footage of the inside of the office flicked onto the screen “Wave for the Camera Stel…”

At his words, Stella turned to look at the camera which was above her in the corner of the room and flipped him off. Clay gave a snort.

“That’s not a wave sweetheart.” Jake said and she let out a growl.

“Jensen, I swear to God…”

“Enough you two.” Clay groaned “Roque, Arty get on with it. Cougar, sit-rep on the auction.”

“Still going on…” Cougar obliged “Everyone still in the main room.”

“Jakey…” Stella spoke, and as they watched she began to search the room as Roque kept watch at the door. “Are you sure it’s in here?”

“Yup…” Jensen said “The signal says you’re right by it.”

On the screen Stella paused and looked at the large, ornamental cabinet against the right wall. She stooped to examine the lock and then snorted. “Standard dead bolt.”

“You think they’d be a little more careful…” Pooch mused, watching the footage on the laptop.

“Well to be fair they have a lot of security on the door” Stella replied, and with that hitched the skirt of the tight, figure hugging midnight blue body-con dress she was wearing up slightly and retrieved a tiny device from the top of her stockings.

Jake gave a groan, and then a little yelp as Pooch slapped him round the back of the head. “Pooch man…like, didn’t you see that?”

“Shut up!” Clay said, glaring at him, his eyes then flicking back to the screen as Stella began to wrestle with the lock of the cabinet.

“Boss, they’re wrapping up. Cougar spoke. “The device has sold…I got eyes on our middle man…”

“Ok…” Stella said, and they watched as she gave the little picking device a twist to the right before she sharply jabbed it downwards, then up. Then she gave a little “yes” of triumph and yanked the door open, only to then give a groan of frustration.“Shit.”

“Shit, what’s shit?” Roque asked, and Clay saw him turn back to look at her from where he had been peeking out of the door.

“It’s in a damned case…” She said, yanking it out and dropping it on the desk, crouching down so she was eyelevel with the locks. “These are harder to pick than a fucking padlock.”

“You got company heading your way.” Cougar spoke “2 guys, armed, approaching from your left.”

“Fuck.” Clay mumbled, as Jensen tapped another button and a smaller viewing box appeared in the top right of the monitor displaying footage of the corridor.

“Want me to drop them boss?” Cougar asked.

“Let’s wait a bit, see if we can get out clean.” Clay said. “But be ready just in case.”

“Got about 40 seconds tops until they turn the corner and I won’t have a shot.”

“Roger.” Clay said

“Once Cougar loses sight we have about another 60 seconds before they hit your position.” Jake said, his eyes flashing as he watched the CCTV of the two men walk down the corridor before his eyes moved back to the larger footage box of the room Stella was in. “Come on Stel…”

“I’m going as fast as I can…” she grumbled, twisting the device in the fiddly locks. One of them sprang open and she hastily moved to the other.

It was deadly silent, Jensen holding his breath as his nerves started to get the better of him. Roque and Stella were both unarmed, they had to be to get into the auction in the first place. The only reason Stella had managed to get that lock pick in through the metal detectors was that it was made out of a specialist, plastic resin. His right hand rested over his mouth, fingers pulling at the whiskers on his goatee as his knee began to jerk slightly.

“Ok I got it…” Stella said, and she grabbed the large, metal hard-drive, flipping it over. “Jake now what?”

“The back should screw off.” He said, watching as she flipped it over, dropped it on the desk and hastily worked at the screw positioned at the top.

“I lost sight.” Cougar said.

“Ok, grab the drive and get of there.” Clay instructed and at that point Roque spun back into the room, making to pick it up but Stella slapped his hand away.

“Arty, what…”

“If we do that we’ve no chance of tracking this back via the middle man to the buyer…” she shook her head, still working at the screw.

“Our priority was retrieving the device.” Clay said, “The buyer is a bonus.”

“Stella, do what he says.” Jake said, swallowing nervously “Get out of there, now!”

“No, I almost got this…” Stella mumbled and with a final twist of her wrist the back sprang open. Quick as a flash the three men in the truck watched as Roque pulled off his watch, twisted the back of it and retrieved the data chip inside, handing it to Arty.

“Lift up the large, flat circuit board in the middle.” Jake said, and she followed his instructions, quickly swapping the chips out. She then hastily screwed the back on before jamming it back in the case. She snapped the lock shut, before she rammed it back in the cupboard.

“30 seconds…” Jake muttered, “Stel…come on…”

She didn’t reply, instead she quickly locked the cabinet door and Roque grabbed her hand and they ran into the corridor, running in the opposite direction to the approaching danger.

Jensen hit a button, flipping the footage of the corridor so it filled the screen and felt his blood run cold. He could see the corridor was long. And there was no way Roque and Stel would make it to the corner at the bottom before the men spotted them.

“They’re not gonna make it…” he muttered, and all 3 of them in the van stood up, grabbing their guns.

“Cougar…” Clay instructed as they emerged from the van.

“I’m by the gates” he said simply and Clay cocked his gun.

“Roque, Arty try and hide until we get in there…” he said simply as they sprinted across the road towards where Cougar was waiting, all the time listening to the chatter on the coms.

“Door, door…” Roque muttered “Shit it’s locked…”

“Roque…” Stella hissed.

“What?”

“Shut up and…”

Her voice cut off and Jensen heard a noise on his comms, a noise that sounded very much like…

Oh hell, no.

“Are they…is she…” he looked at Pooch as besides him Cougar started chuckling “Are they kissing?” Jensen wheeled round to look at Clay “Tell me, that’s not kissing I can hear!”

Clay shrugged as Jensen pulled a face, making a disgusted snort through his nose. “Stel, are you kissing Roque? What the fuck-“

“Hey, what the hell are you 2 doing back here?” an unfamiliar voice sounded in Jensen’s ears, followed by the loud noise of lips smacking and he looked at Pooch, his mouth hanging open.

“Sorry…we just…erm…” Stella giggled, “Yeah, we…”

“Can’t keep my hands off her” Roque chuckled, and Jensen couldn’t help the growl that bubbled from his throat at the words “Can you blame me? She’s a stunner, right?”

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t be back here.”

“I know, we’re really sorry…I guess, well, I guess the excitement and the champagne…just got me a little…” Stella trailed off, giggling again.

Pooch grinned as Cougar winked at Jensen who’s jaw was set. He could picture exactly the face Stella was making, batting her eyelids all innocently, biting her lip.

And she’d just kissed Roque.

Fucker.

“Go on, get out of here…” the man’s voice instructed Roque and Stella and Roque said something back that Jensen didn’t quite catch as he pulled his ear piece out and turned off his coms link.

“Ok, back to the van.” Clay ordered, looking around at Pooch, Cougar and Jensen, who’s expression looked like that of a bulldog licking piss of a nettle. As the 4 of them headed back down the small lane to the non-descript Cable Company van, Clay shared a glance with Pooch who simply raised his eyebrows. Over the past 3 months since Stella had moved to the base in Virginia, the dynamic between her and Jensen had been the subject of immense puzzlement for the team. Stella had assured Clay when she joined that whatever had been going on was over, as they hadn’t seen each other for a year, but it was clear to see that them being in such close proximity of one another had thrown fuel on the allegedly damp fire.

For all intents and purposes the team basically agreed that they might as well actually be dating. They spent their evenings together, watched movies, went home for the same weekends… the whole “friends with benefits” thing they had going on was also complete bullshit as neither of them was seeing anyone else. Clay got the distinct impression, however, that Jensen was the driving force behind it not being official but here he was acting like a total brat because she’d had to kiss Roque as part of her cover. It was fucking ridiculous, but until either of them ended it or admitted their feelings, there was nothing he could do.

“We’re out. Heading to you now.” Stella sounded in his ear just as Jensen opened the rear door to the van.

“Good.” He said with a smile as he climbed into the back of the can. “Nice work guys. All of you, job well done.” He said, nodding.

“Yeah, especially you Roque from the sounds of things!” Pooch quipped and Cougar gave a snort as Jensen slammed the ruggedized laptop shut.

“Watch it, that’s worth more than your annual pay check.” Clay pointed at Jensen, then to the laptop.

“Ah don’t mind him Clay, he’s just a little jealous.” Pooch teased.

“Jealous? I’m not jealous.” Jake said, far too quickly “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because Roque just totally tongued your girl” Cougar grinned, making Pooch snigger. Clay rolled his eyes.

“She’s not my girl.” Jensen snapped, and at that exact moment the door to the van slid open. Jensen turned to look at Stella, and he inwardly groaned as he knew full well from the expression on her face she’d heard him. But her outward slip was quick, and she recovered herself fast, stepping into the van closely flowed by Roque.

“Oooh, someone kissed someone.” Pooch grinned and Roque glared at him.

“What are you, 5?”

Stella flopped onto one of the fold down seats in the back, and took the water Clay handed her with a mumbled thanks.

“You ok?” he asked her.

“Yeah.” She nodded “I’m fine. Was just a close one.”

“Can say that again.” Pooch said and Stella rolled her eyes.

“Alright, knock it off.” Clay said, looking at her and then to Jensen who looked like a sulky teenager, and it was too good an opportunity to miss, so with a smirk he added “Otherwise Jensen’s gonna have a fit and as annoying as he is, we need him.”

“Like he cares.” Stella mumbled, and Jake glared at her, positively shooting daggers with his eyes across the van.

Roque chuckled, more amused at Jensen’s attitude than anything “Well if he doesn’t care he’s an idiot. You’re a damned good kisser Arty.”

Stella looked at him, and raised her eyebrow. “Glad I met with your approval Roque.”

Cougar nudged her and she looked at him as he nodded towards Roque, tipping his hat slightly “How was it for you?”

“A solid 7 and a half outta 10.” She shrugged and Clay, Pooch and Cougar erupted into laughter at Roque’s indignant look.

“7 and a half?”

“I docked half a point for the fact you bumped your head into mine…” she shrugged “And it would have been a 9 if you’d felt my ass.”

Pooch banged on the dash of the van, howling with laughter as Clay chuckled deeply, shaking his head. Cougar grinned at Roque who himself gave a snort, and Stella turned her head to look at Jake. Her eyes locked onto his to find him simply looking at her, not a shred of amusement on his face. Eventually he raised his eyebrows and looked away, taking a deep breath.

Stella rolled her eyes and swallowed. Ok, that had been a bit out of order, but hearing what he had said just before had hurt her. Yes, she knew she wasn’t ‘his girl’, she hadn’t been for a while but if she was honest she was struggling with that, and was fast coming to the conclusion that she couldn’t keep doing what she was doing.

The trouble was, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to end it.

*****

As it turns out, the decision was taken out of her hands. Upon return to base, the relationship between them grew increasingly icy over the following week or so. They had no contact outside of work, and even in work it was civil at best. Stella was angry at Jake’s behaviour, how pathetic he was being over the whole Roque thing, a kiss that had been nothing more than an undercover distraction, but more than anything she was hurt. It was clear to her that he didn’t care about her like he used to. Things had already shifted between them dramatically since that evening a few months ago back home after they’d been out for drinks with Pooch and Jolene. He’d become a little more aloof so to speak, and whilst they still hung out, did all the things they used to do as best friends, and still fucked, she’d noticed how he was less affectionate before and after. Almost like he had deliberately put up a wall to remind her that this was simply an arrangement, so in her mind, especially after his outburst in the van following the latest mission, he had absolutely no right to be pissed at her for kissing or going with anyone, regardless. But, after a fortnight or so of being treated to Jake’s cold stares, being intentionally ignored in conversations, and being subjected to watching him attempting to flirt with any female he came across, Stella went into self-preservation mode and avoided hanging around with any of them outside of work as much as she could.

August ticked into September, and it was almost a month or so after the mission when Clay rocked into the little office the Losers used on the base and Stella smiled at him, looking up from a report she had been writing on a couple of recruits she’d been asked to train.

“I didn’t know you were back.” She smiled as he perched on the edge of her desk.

“Got in this morning.” He replied, “Where’s the rest of the team?”

“Pooch is on Drill Ops, Cougar is on the shooting range and as for Jensen, your guess is as good as mine. I haven’t spoken to him in ages. In fact, I don’t even know if he’s in the State or not.”

“Still?” Clay groaned “Oh come on Arty, don’t you think this has gone on long enough? When are you gonna sort stuff out?”

“When he grows up and apologises for being a jerk.”

“So basically never.” Clay rolled his eyes.

Stella shrugged “I don’t want to talk about it Clay.”

“Fine, whatever.” Clay sighed, “Do you reckon you could at least try to be civil though? It’s gonna make running this team hard work if you two are at each other’s throats. And I don’t wanna have to ask one of you to leave.”

She looked at him, and he stuck his bottom lip out and she sighed before she turned back to her computer “I’ll think about it.”

“Suppose that’s better than a flat out ‘Fuck off, Clay…” he rolled his eyes, hopping off the desk and ruffling her hair. Stella ducked out of the way, swatting at his hand. “Oh, before I go, you got the reports on the Atlanta job?”

“Yeah, they’re in the Red Link area…” Stella pushed her chair back and stood up, smoothing down her uniform top before she gestured for Clay to follow her. Together they made their way down the corridor and Stella stopped at a high-security door, bending down so the scanner pad could take her retina print. Once inside the door shut behind her, and she swiped her ID into the slot to the side of the other thick, glass door which opened in front of her. She moved into the main room and turned, waiting for Clay to enter behind her.

“I fucking hate those things.” Clay mumbled as he stepped through the entrance. “They make me feel like I’m about to plummet through the floor into Thunderbird one.”

Stella chuckled “Its top secret, classified info Clay, you know this.”

She strode over to the key safe positioned on the wall, punched in the code and then selected the relevant key. Clay followed her to the a cabinet at the back which she unlocked and pulled out a Manilla file with the words “MILITARY SECRET- CLASSIFIED” Stamped all over, and the words “Operation Bon Echo” underneath. She handed it to him and then grinned.

“I don’t need to tell you that ya can’t take that outta this room do I?” she teased and Clay shot her a look.

“Stel, I been running Military ops since you were knee high to a grass hopper.” He arched an eyebrow and she laughed.

“Do you want me to stay so we can go through it or…” “No.” he shook his head “I just want to read it now it’s not that fresh in my mind. Helps me analyse it a little better. I’ll call an official Lessons Learned at some point.”

“Ok, well when you’re done make sure you lock up.” She said. “And don’t forget to make sure you swipe your ID again on the way out, or the system will still think you’re here.” “Grasshopper.” Clay looked at her again and she laughed.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t check.” She smiled “I’ll catch you later.”

Clay waved her off and Stella let herself out. Deciding that she could do with a break she wandered out of the Original Headquarters building she was stationed passing the Kryptos sculpture in the little courtyard and made her way down through the landscaped garden area where a few people were milling around, sat at the various benches, taking in the bright early September Sun that had settled over Virginia. She passed the main entrance to the CIA Museum and made her way over to the Starbucks near the New HQ building. More people were sat outside on the benches and she felt herself inwardly groan as she recognised 3 of them. Pooch, Cougar and Jensen. Of course.

“Hey Arty!” Pooch called and she smiled, making her way over “We were just talking about you.”

“Sounds ominous.” She said, her eyes focussed on him to avoid looking at Jensen.

“We ain’t seen you properly in weeks.” Cougar leaned back in his chair, his hat as always perched on his head.

“Well I’ve been busy” she shrugged, “And speaking of which, I gotta get back so...” she gestured to the door of the Starbucks and smiled.

“Movie and pizza on Friday?” Pooch asked “Jolene’s coming here this weekend, sure she’d be pleased to see you.” “Yeah, maybe.” Stella nodded. Pooch flashed her a smile, as did Cougar, before she turned and walked away.

“So now you’re not even speaking? At all?” Pooch looked at Jensen who shrugged, picking at the label on his Starbucks cup. The words “Glasses” had been scribbled on the side by the barista as a means of identifying who the coffee belonged to. They weren’t allowed to ask the Agents’ names so instead they usually provided physical descriptors of something around their appearance when ordering. Cougars usually bore the word “Cowboy” given that he was rarely without his black Stetson and Pooch’s held the words “Eight Ball” on account of him being that closely shorn he was almost bald. Jake had found it amusing at the time when he’d offered that up to the pretty girl behind the counter…

“You’re being a pain in the ass.” Pooch glared at him. “And a buzzkill.”

“How, what…why am I a buzzkill?” Jensen looked at him, frowning.

“Cos she’s not hanging around with us anymore because you’re being a prick.” Cougar shot back, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

Jensen ignored Cougar, as he placed the cup down on the table, his finger absentmindedly trailing round the rim of the plastic lid. He knew he’d fucked up. He could remember the hurt in Stella’s eyes when she had opened the door in the van to hear him protesting how she wasn’t his girl. He’d been pissed off, and had snapped it out in a moment of frustration and anger but deep down he knew that it wasn’t true. Well, it was true…she wasn’t his girl anymore, because of decision he had made years ago, a decision that he’d come to with the best of intentions but knowing that didn’t make it any easier.

What hurt him more than anything now, however, was the realisation he’d come to that night of the mission as he’d led in the hotel room. He was still dragging her along with every damned decision he made, and the more he thought about it the more he realised that had been the case through the entire time they’d known one another. They started dating when he finally plucked up the courage to ask her out. They quit because he decided it was right. Then the ‘arrangement’ they had was something he came up with, because it suited him and he’d been selfish, well and truly had his cake and eaten it. She played along with his decisions every damned time and that made him feel like shit. Because she was such a strong, vibrant, stubborn person in every other area of her life. She was fierce, took no shit, she was a fucking bad ass…and the only explanation for her allowing him to be the way he was, was that she loved him, like really loved him. And he didn’t deserve her.

He knew what he had to do, he had to end their arrangement although he was pretty sure it was at an end anyway. Maybe his outburst in the van had been a blessing in disguise. But that said, she was still the best friend he’d ever had, the person he cared about most in the world and he didn’t want her to hate him to the extent she didn’t want to speak to him ever again. He might be a dumbass but he wasn’t stupid, and he certainly wasn’t naive enough to think that things could ever go back to how they were before they’d dated, but he had to try and salvage something…even if it was simply so that she could actually bring herself to hold a conversation.

**** Stella was sat on her sofa, munching on a bag of popcorn when there was a knock on her door. Given that no one had buzzed through, that meant it was someone who lived in the block that housed The Losers’ CIA Owned Condos. Pressing pause on her remote, temporarily halting Simba’s pouncing lesson she padded over to the door and checked through the viewer. When she saw who it was she gave a deep breath and debated not answering it, before she gave her head a shake and mentally told herself to grow up.

“Since when have you started knocking on my door?” she asked, opening it “You usually just walk in…”

“Well given how things have been between us I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate me using my key.” He smiled at her. “Can I come in?”

Stella turned around and headed back inside her condo, “You want a beer?”

“No, it’s ok. Thanks. I errr, I wanna talk to you.”

“Sounds serious?” she turned back to look at him as she crossed towards her sofa. She perched where she had been previously sat, tucking her legs up besides her and Jake took a seat a few cushions down, nodding at the TV.

“You must know this off by heart by now.”

“You know full well I do.”

“Yeah, that and every other damned Disney film out there.” he snorted and she grinned, before she took a deep breath.

“I’m pretty certain you didn’t come over to discuss my Disney obsession Jake.”

“Yeah, erm…” Jensen cleared his throat. “I came to apologise. I’ve been an ass, a childish ass, and I’m sorry.”

Stella looked at him, before she took a deep breath, but she didn’t speak so he carried on.

“I want us to be friends again.” He said gently and she studied him for a moment before she sighed and gave him a soft smile, reaching for his hand.

“I’m sorry too Jake.” She said, licking her lips “I haven’t exactly behaved like a grown up either…and I’ve missed you.”

Jensen looked at her, and saw her eyes were shining and he knew she wasn’t getting him. He let out a soft sigh and hung his head and instantly her hand moved from his, reading his body language and signs as she always could.

“Jakey, what’s wrong?” she asked softly and he raised his head to look at her and he shook it gently side to side. God, she was making this so damned hard.

“I think you got me wrong Stel…” his eyes locked onto hers, his voice soft.

“What do you mean?” she frowned “I thought you wanted things to go back to how they were?”

“I do, but…not like that.” He shook his head “This thing between us, this…arrangement…I think its best we stop.”

Stella felt a wave of cold crashing over her and she temporarily froze as she realised that this was it, his final admission that his feelings for here were nothing more than friendly, that she was nothing more than a convenient way for him to simply get his dick wet from time to time. And now she wasn’t even that.

“Stel?” Jake said softly and she blinked a little, pulling herself together. She gave him the best smile she could muster and nodded.

“If that’s what you want.”

“I think it’s for the best” Jake chose his words carefully, because it wasn’t what he wanted, and despite himself, even now, he couldn’t lie to her.

“Ok.” She nodded, giving him another small smile.

“Hey, we had a good run.” He said, attempting to break the tension and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re a jerk.” She shook her head, and he shrugged.

“I know.”

There was a moment’s pause, and for the first time Jensen could remember, it was fucking awkward. And he had to get out of there. “I err, I should…” her gestured over his shoulder towards the door with his thumb and Stella nodded.

“Sure.” She agreed “I got a film to finish so…”

“I’ll leave you to it.” He said, standing. “Buy you a coffee tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Stella smiled.

He nodded to her, his hand falling to her shoulder as he stood up, giving it a squeeze.

Stella just managed to hold her tears back long enough for him to shut the door behind him.

***** Things between the two of them settled down after that, but there was a shift, that didn’t go unnoticed by them or the rest of the team for that matter. The once best friends turned lovers turned best friends with benefits now had to navigate simply being buddies. It was odd for them both but they managed to remain on good terms. Not great, but good. They could hold a conversation, laugh, joke…the team was happier because of it. But there were no movie nights, no time spent alone. Neither wanted themselves put in that position, this was the new normal for Jake and Stella now, just how it had to be. It hurt them both- after so long, of course it would…but it was better than nothing.

Another month ticked over, and October brought some cooler weather. The leaves on the trees turned to their firey reds, golds and yellows announcing that Fall had arrived, and brought with it Stella’s favourite thing of the season…pumpkin spiced lattes.

“You have an unhealthy addiction to those things…” Pooch grinned as she picked up the coffee from the counter.

“Best thing about Fall.” She shrugged, turning to leave. She instantly collided with a wall of solid muscle and her precious latte went cascading down the front of her uniform and the crisp, white shirt of the unfortunate man she had collided with.

“Shit!” he yelled and Stella’s hand flew to her mouth

“Oh my God, I’m so, so sorry!” she looked at the man, instantly noticing the deep, blue eyes that looked back at her. They were shining with a natural, kind natured glint and she swallowed as the man sighed, and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, his voice deep “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Stella placed the now half-empty cup down on the side, and took the pile of napkins Pooch handed to her.

“Thanks…” she mumbled, before she offered them to the man.

“What, you’re not gonna wipe it down for me?” he winked and she gave a snort before she chuckled a little, shaking her head.

“I think I’m in enough trouble as it is, don’t you?” she smiled and he gave another chuckle, as he dabbed at his shirt which had now started to go a little see through thanks to it being wet. A not entirely unpleasant turn of events in Stella’s opinion. She scanned him up and down quickly, taking in his sharp navy suit, shiny shoes, black tie before she looked back at his face which sported an immaculately trimmed beard, sharp nose and jawline, brow furrowed in concentration as he focussed on cleaning his shirt up.

“No trouble.” He flashed her a smile that lit up his handsome face, his eyes crinkling slight in the corner and Stella swallowed a little, surprised to find her stomach fluttering ever so slightly with butterflies.

“I err, I should go…” she nodded. “I’m sorry again.”

“Like I said, don’t worry about it.”

She gave him another smile, the heat in her necks and cheeks unbearable, before she picked up what was left of her latte and along with Pooch exited the store.

“Ok, so he just totally watched you leave.” Pooch nudged her and she shook her head.

“Stop!”

“Girl he was eye fucking you!” Pooch snorted “And you were eye fucking him!”

“I was not…” she protested, before he looked at her and she laughed, shaking her head “Ok, maybe I was…a little. Girl can look, right?”

“Hey, no judgement from me!” Pooch smiled “You’re young, free, single…”

“Yeah…” Stella sighed, stealing a look over her shoulder taking in the mystery man from behind “That I am. Thanks for the reminder.”

“You know you could just tell him how you feel.” Pooch gently suggested as they walked towards the entrance of their building.

“What?” Stella looked at him. “How I feel? I just, literally bumped into the guy.”

“I don’t mean him, I mean Jensen.”

“What? Why would you…” Stella looked at Pooch who raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head “That’s done, it’s over. He ended it, again, and this time it’s a clean break. I’m not raking over old ground, Pooch. Nothing good comes of it.”

Pooch looked at her as he swiped his access card, pulling the door open and allowing Stella to step into the building in front of him. She headed down the corridor, her camouflage clad shoulders slumped a little and Pooch sighed.

“Pair of dumbasses.” He mumbled to himself, as he headed after her towards the office.

***** The good thing about Arty and Jensen being on speaking terms was that their team social events were lighter in atmosphere, and at the end of the week when Clay suggested a few beers they all accepted.

It was the Friday before Halloween, and The Losers were gathered in a bar not far from their Condo building. It was packed full of people, some in fancy dress, some not. The bar itself was decked out in Halloween decorations, Jack-O-Lanterns spaced along the dark wood bar and on the taller tables at the sides of the room. As Roque and Clay came back from the bar with drinks for the team, they handed them out and Clay paused as Jensen had picked up the lantern from their table. He held it next to his face and arranged his features into a grin and Pooch snorted as Jensen placed it back down, picking up his beer.

“I take it from the fact you’re back that your pick up line didn’t work on that nurse.” Pooch looked at Jensen who shrugged.

“What was it this time?” Clay asked “Did you use the ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven’ line or was it more of a ‘I’m a trained, lethal killing machine, wanna see my weapon’ kinda moment?”

Cougar, Roque and Pooch snorted, whilst Cougar looked at Arty who was studying the label on her beer bottle “Tell me you didn’t fall for anything like that?” he quipped.

“JJ never used a chat-up line on me, Coug.” She shrugged and Jake looked at her.

“I was 10 when we met, Stel.” He arched an eyebrow “10 year olds don’t use chat-up lines.”

“We didn’t start dating until we were 17.” She looked at him, taking a swig from her bottle.

“Exactly, seven years later. Didn’t need one.” He winked. She rolled her eyes before she grinned.

“Actually, you kinda used one once…but we’d already been dating for 10 months by that point.”

Jensen frowned “What?”

“Prom night. We got home to yours and you turned to me, and said, and I quote, ‘wanna fuck’?”

Jensen grinned and Cougar looked at them both “Wait, you dated for 10 months before you…” “We did other stuff.” Jake shrugged.

Cougar snorted.

“We were kids, Coug.” Stella smiled

“Awww, did you pop his cherry, Stel?” Pooch grinned and Stella smiled in response.

“Hey, I popped hers too.” Jake chipped in.

“I feel like I should be congratulating you or something.” Clay said, causing the team to laugh and Stella rolled her eyes.

“It wasn’t some big mission, Clay…” She looked at him and Jensen snorted.

“It felt like it.” He placed his bottle on the table before he smirked “I had to get my dad to make sure the house was empty.”

That entire day was imprinted on his brain, fresh as if it had happened only yesterday…but in that moment he was taken back to the conversation with his dad as he stood in the living room, just before heading out to pick Stella up.

“Hey dad…” Jake looked up as John walked into the room. “Will anyone be home when I get back?”

John Jensen looked at his son, arching an eyebrow “I know your game…” Jake shrugged and grinned. “Just…oh, I dunno, just be careful ok? I’ll take your mom out for a drink but I can’t promise we’ll be out late.”

“That’s ok.” Jake said, “Me and Stel aint planning on staying too long anyway. Just long enough to see who spikes the punch or starts the first fight.”

“As long as it ain’t you.” His dad looked at him and Jake grinned.

“Hey, I’m a lover not a fighter.”

“Yeah, sure you can kill ‘em all with love when you join the army.” John snorted and Jake shrugged.

“Come here, let me sort your tie…” John sighed, stepping forward to straighten the knot. “Fuck, I can’t believe I’m asking you this but…you got any condoms son?”

“A few.” Jake shrugged.

At that John laughed “ A few? I admire your optimism.” He paused and then narrowed his eyes “Did you steal them from my stash?”

“No I bought em, Jesus…” Jake groaned “Like I needed that image.”

“Yeah because the image of my 18 year old son banging his childhood sweetheart is so much better.” John rolled his eyes.

“You and mom are like a hundred or whatever.” Jake looked at him, pulling a disgusted face “It’s gross.”

“Ok.. Now listen to me. If your mother finds out you’re…you know…this conversation, never happened.” John stepped back “You hear me?”

“Loud and clear pops.” Jake nodded “You know though, Stel’s stayed here before. Mom didn’t seem to mind.” “That’s because your mother never heard you hitting each base like I did. She thinks Stella stays in the spare room, whereas I know full well she stays with you and then sneaks back in there before everyone gets up…”

His dad had come through for him. He house was empty when they got back. His mom had actually been cool about it all as well to be fair, she loved Stella, still did as a matter of fact. As the memory of the morning after their first time came back to him, he grinned and looked at Arty.

“Remember mom knocking on my door in the morning, asking if she was bringing 2 cups of coffee in or 1?”

“Fuck, yes.” Stella snored “I nearly died of embarrassment.”

“But she never bothered putting you in the spare room again.” He winked as the group laughed. “Good times.”

“Yeah, yeah they were.” Stella sighed, before her eyes fell back to her bottle of beer, biting back the snipe she had brewing in her mind.

Before you fucked it all up…

“Hey…” Pooch nudged her and she looked at him, noticing he was watching something at the bar “Aint that flash coffee dude?”

“What?” Stella asked, her eyes snapping to where Pooch was looking “Oh yeah.”

“Who’s flash coffee dude?” Clay asked.

“Guy at the bar in the grey sweater.” Pooch said, grinning “Arty spilt a pumpkin spiced latte all down his shirt. He didn’t seem to mind though, was too busy undressing her with his eyes.”

At that Jake’s head snapped up and he looked over at the man who was stood with another guy a little shorter than him, chatting as he perched effortlessly on one of the high stools, his long jean clad legs stretching out in front of him, right foot resting on the rail at the bottom.

“That’s Evan Christianson.” Roque said “He works in Intel.”

“What kind of a dick name is that?” Jensen snorted

“Who cares?” Stella said, her eyes still on the man “With a body and face like that he can be called what the fuck he wants. Look at his poise…”

“You know…” Cougar took a pull of his beer “I’m not gay but I’m considering giving it a go.”

They all laughed bar Jensen who was studying the man Stella seemed to have the hots for. He wasn’t surprised at all to feel that green eyed monster stirring in his belly, but what could he do? They were free agents, it wasn’t like he expected her to stay single forever. He stole a look at Stella who was smirking a little at something Cougar had just said, shaking her head.

“Absolutely not, I’ll make a tit of myself.” She protested.

“You already did that when you spilt coffee all down him.” Pooch smirked “Don’t be a pussy.”

Stella bit her lip, weighing up her options. Should she? Could she? In the corner of her eye she saw Jake turn away, and momentarily felt a flash of guilt before she shook herself out of it.

He doesn’t want you anymore…

“Oh fuck it…” She shrugged, and grabbing her beer she headed off in the direction of the bar.

“Where is she going?” Jake asked.

“Don’t be a dumbass Jensen.” Roque smirked “It’s obvious.”

The men watched as Stella reached Evan and gently tapped his shoulder. He spun round and flashed her a huge grin, showing immaculate white teeth as he said something to her.

“Why is he smiling at her like that?” Jensen demanded and Clay looked at Pooch.

Cougar snorted “He likes her.”

“No shit Cougs…” Roque looked at him.

“Oh, he’s buying her a drink…” Pooch said, as Evan nodded towards Stella’s beer and then turned towards the bar tender.

“We have lift off boys!” Clay grinned, and the group smirked at one another, before they turned away, not wanting to watch or intrude. Jensen’s eyes, however, remained where they were until Clay slapped him on the shoulder.

“Cheer up Jensen.” He said gently

“I’m not…I don’t need to cheer up.” Jake shrugged, turning back to his beer. His eyes flickered around the bar then, deliberately avoiding the two of them stood at the bar before he focussed in on the Nurse he’d been talking to before he rolled his shoulders back and stated “Innabit losers, I got stuff to do.”

He headed across the bar towards the blonde and the remaining 4 men all looked at one another before shrugging, and continuing with their conversation. But Clay, always the leader, made sure to keep one eye on them both.

****

“It should be me buying you a drink.” Stella smiled and Evan laughed.

“Well what kind of gentleman would that make me?”

“The kind who had a hot cup of coffee spilt on him by a clumsy ass Captain who wasn’t watching where she was going.”

“Well, if I was the type of guy to use a pick up line, I’d tell you I was impressed that the clumsy, but might fine ass, belongs to a Captain.” He smiled and Stella grinned, her ego stoked a little at the veiled compliment to both her appearance and rank.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She flirted back, thanking him as the bar tender slid their drinks over to them.

“I hope so.” He winked, taking a pull from his bottle. “I’m Evan by the way.”

“Evan Christianson, yeah I know.” She smiled, taking a drink herself and he looked at her, his eyebrow raised “Roque told me.”

“Oh you know Roque?”

“Yeah. We worked together under Clay.” She nodded to her team where they were all stood round their table, noticing that Jensen wasn’t with them. But before she could think anymore of it Evan spoke again, as he raised his beer to Roque who did the same in acknowledgement.

“Small world.” He smiled at Arty. “So, do I get to know your name or…”

“It’s Stella.” She smiled, “Stella Stevenson, or as that lot call me Arty…”

“Let me guess, short for Artois, like the drink.” He smiled and she laughed, nodding. “Well, Stella or Arty, pleased to meet you. Again.”

“I promise to try not to spill a drink on you this time.” She smiled and Evan gave a little chuckle.

“Well I am partial to a pumpkin spiced latte, prefer to drink them though not wear them if I can help it.”

“I thought you wore it pretty well to be fair.” Stella smiled and he raised an eyebrow, a cheeky glint flashed in his eyes.

“That so?”

She bit her lip and turned back to her drink, picking it up and taking a big sip, smiling to herself as she felt Evan’s eyes studying her face.

From there the conversation began to flow. Evan told her a bit about him, his role in the Intel branch, how he’d himself been in the Navy having worked his way up to Commander by the time he was 30 before leaving a few years back to join the CIA. He was a few years older than her at thirty-five, and hailed from Boston, although Arty had sussed that anyway through his accent. She in turn told him about her life, her career and a little about her family. He seemed interested, genuinely. Asked her questions, answered hers as he bought another couple of drinks, each time declining Stella’s offer to pay.

It was a surprise to her just how easy the conversation and gentle flirting came to her. Whilst her and Jensen hadn’t been together or badged as exclusive, she hadn’t had any kind of relationship since he’d ended things with her 5 years or so ago. She hadn’t been interested, but here…well, she was finding that interest piqued.

A few hours later she left the bar with a smile on her face…and Evan Christian’s number safely stored in her phone.

***** Chapter 2 Part 1

#too loose and you'll lose it #jake jensen x ofc #jake jensen x original female character #jake jensen #the losers

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch 2- I’m Not Jealous, Why Would I Be Jealous

Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Warnings: Bad Language words. Some angst and 2 dumbasses so afraid to admit their feelings to one another, they’d rather ignore them completely…

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson.

And yes, our other OC in here is shamelessly basically Mr Evans himself...

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