Part 2 of the 25 Seconds'verse. This is when it gets interesting.

Vigil

Cougar sat vigil that night, the cold and damp had set in early, sending the rest of the Losers to seek shelter in the back of the van. With his back against one tyre, hat tipped down over his eyes, he huddled inside his jacket. He didn't want to look at the body laid out on the ground a few feet away; too still and silent and so different from what it had been like in life. He didn't want to see those blue eyes clouded over with death, the skin that was too pale, the mouth that was slack and unsmiling. He didn't want to see the broad chest that had been ripped apart with bullets. So he shielded his eyes behind his hat and just listened.

The night itself was far from silent, the subtle whisper of a breeze, the soft movements of nocturnal creatures through the surrounding landscape. It all fell unnaturally quiet; setting the sniper on edge, he knew what was coming, but braced himself all the same, waiting for the first sign.

That first ragged, painful breath echoed through the cold night, causing Cougar to flinch in spite of himself. There was a suspended moment of silence before another agonised breath, followed by a pitiful groan. The sniper finally let himself relax, but did not look up.

"Aww, fuck, that one hurt." Jensen rasped, blinking up at the starry sky, one hand coming up to rub the phantom ache from his chest. He knew Cougar was there, without even looking. Cougar was always there. He also knew that Cougar would be giving him the cold shoulder again; he said what he knew the sniper would not be able to ignore. "But hell it was fun, should definitely do that again."

The sharp kick was well aimed, catching the hacker in one numb thigh, causing him to squawk and try to roll away. Cougar straightened his hat up in order to glare at the blond haired man, knowing it was safe to look at him now that he was whole and alive again.

Jensen slowly sat up, trying to stretch the cold out of his body. "Jeez, you guys just dumped me here out in the cold. Bloody lovely that is. If I catch pneumonia now and die, I'll be pissed off."

The sniper just glared, which was nothing unusual, it was the greeting Jensen usually got. Grinning in response, the hacker dragged himself over to the other man, still waiting for the pins and needles to fade from the lower half of his body. Dropping onto his back, head rested in Cougar's lap, he smiled at him in the most innocent fashion he could manage until the glare faltered marginally, the worry lines on his forehead relaxing.

"It's not like I meant it to happen, this time anyway. Don't have to be such a grumpy kitty, anyone would think you missed me." Jensen rubbed at his chest again, the lingering pain making him expect for his hand to come away slick with blood. "Could have changed my shirt for me though, you fucker. Do you know how uncomfortable blood stiffened clothes are? No, never mind, of course you do, I'm not the only dumbass to get shot, now am I? But for some reason, I'm the only one who gets given a hard time about it."

Cougar let himself relax, turning his face away from the smiling idiot. It was true; they'd all been shot, and hadn't always survived. "You die more than the rest of us. That was eight. Next time, you might not come back."

"Such a spoil sport, Cougs." Jensen huffed, rolling his eyes. "Now, you're either going hafta gay up and cuddle me, or help me into the van, 'cause I'm freezing my nuts off. You know, dead, lack of blood flow, and being left outside in the middle of winter, not fun."

Cougar scowled in response, pushing the hacker off of him in order to stand up. After stretching his own stiff muscles, he helped Jensen to his feet, not surprised when he ended up bearing most of the other man's weight.

"Sorry, dude, legs are still waking up." Jensen's smile said he was anything but sorry, eyes bright as he let himself be propped up against the side of the van as Cougar opened the door.

The rest of the Losers looked over as the door opened, each looking relieved in their own way at the sight of the hacker.

Jensen beamed at them, practically falling into the back of the van and dragging himself into a relatively comfortable position, leaving enough space for Cougar to sit next to him. "No need to worry, guys, I'm back, larger than life and twice as beautiful. Good as new! Though no thanks to you lot. It's cold out there, and all you wimps are hiding out in here hogging all the blankets. Don't expect me to take care of you next time it's one of you that's corpse-a-fied."

It wasn't much of a surprise when Roque hurled a blanket at his face, growling "Why does he have to get more annoying each time?"