"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Shut up, Wolf. You know you're secretly enjoying it."

"Oh, yeah. I can't think of any other way to spend my Saturday than following around my government-ordered charge play chicken with his girlfriend."

K-unit was piled behind a fountain, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Snake had taken a seat on a bench, holding a newspaper in front of him, low enough so he could still watch the pair over the top. Fox was pulling Snortus off of passersby's, apologizing for the dog's endless high. It was like he'd been conceived in a crack lab or something. Eagle stood next to Wolf, mock-swaying to the hippie's guitar performance next to them and enjoying an ice cream cone while the blue bubblegum flavor colored his face in a vibrant cerulean.

"Look at him! Here I was thinking he was good with girls, and they both look like they'd rather be anywhere but beside each other. Way to be smooth, Alex, you loser," Fox scoffed. Snake shot him a look.

"Talk any louder and he's gonna hear you. I mean we can't really blame them, don't they have some kind of history? It's like Tammy and Wolf."

Wolf flinched at the name while Fox scowled at Snake. "It would be like Tammy and Wolf, if Sabina was a crazy hell-bitch. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they're both smoking hot."

"Dude. She's eighteen," Eagle complained. Fox rolled his eyes.

"And I'm twenty-six. Thank you for your insight, Eagle. It's not like I'm gonna hit on her, jeez, how mean would that be?" Fox looked over at Wolf, but the man was seemingly absorbed in something, his expression looking like he'd just swallowed a cantaloupe whole.

"Guys," he mumbled, "look."

They glanced over just in time to catch Alex swoop in and start kissing the girl, as if they hadn't been making awkward conversation seconds earlier. Sabina returned the gesture eagerly, surprising the group to no end.

"What the fuck! This is so not fair!" Fox moaned, yanking Snortus away from a small child who'd begun to cry at the dog's enthusiasm. The kiss had deepened into a full-on make-out session. Eagle grinned.

"Mission accomplished guys!"

Alex and Sabina broke apart, both breathing hard from the deprivation of air. Sabina chanced a glance in Alex's direction, who was smiling boldly at her. She playfully batted at him.

"Warn me before you do these things, jerk," she hummed, but the way her eyes had lit up betrayed the fact that she really didn't mind the ballsy move one bit. He'd gotten better since their last kiss on the bridge those years ago, she noticed – much better.

"Didn't seem to bother you so much a few seconds ago," he shot back. Sabina subtly snuck a look at where Jennie and the rest of the boys were hidden at the hot dog stand. Jennie was choking on something while Doug hit her back, trying to dislodge the piece of bun that had caught in her throat. Trevor was candidly staring at them in shock, and Dan was laughing at his friend's reactions. She supposed he didn't care that much considering they hadn't actually met. She had no clue why he was even there.

"So what next?" She asked him, peering up at the light brown depths. In response, he turned towards the fountain, calling out in a no-nonsense tone,

"Alright, guys, you can come out now."

He then twisted towards the hot dog stand, nodding at the group hidden behind it.

"You too."

Slowly, as if unsure they'd heard right, both groups guiltily revealed themselves. Sabina shot a glare at Jennie, who smiled weakly, while Trevor was openly hostile in the way he was regarding Alex. K-unit had the decency to look abashed (aside from Wolf, who crossed his arms and looked at him coolly, like he could do this stuff all day and still manage to look good. Yeah right.)

Alex turned towards Sabina, this time conscious of the audience. "I'm sorry you got put through all this."

Sabina looked appalled. "Are you kidding? I helped organize this, Alex, what are you apologizing for?"

"You helped organize being spied on?" Sabina flushed.

"Of course not. I just… wanted to see you."

Alex sighed, running a hand over his short blonde hair. "I know. Maybe we could catch up – properly, and without interruption – sometime next week?" Alex directed the emphasized work at K-unit, promptly ignoring Sabina's stalkers.

Sabina tucked a strand of ebony behind her ear, smiling. "That'd be really nice, Alex."

He threw her a lopsided grin. "You have my number."

"You have mine." She returned cheekily, the tone making it clear that if there was a next time, it'd be his turn making the call. Then she spun around to face Jennie and the others.

"Wow, you seriously followed me?" Jennie averted her eyes. Trevor glanced between them before pointing at Alex.

"Hey, Sabina, who is this guy, anyway? I haven't seen him at UChel."

Sabina sighed. He had no reason to be jealous, considering that she and Trevor were never particularly close and she'd voiced her dislike of his attitude to Jennie once. Unfortunately, Trevor had taken a liking to her – or rather, her appearance, since he didn't know her all that well at all.

"An old friend, Trevor. It's none of your business, anyway – why'd you even come?" Trevor didn't answer the question, so Sabina faced towards Jennie again.

The girl fidgeted. "I wanted to find out who the mysterious guy was."

At this, Alex's eyebrows rose, and Sabina reddened. She hastily turned towards Alex.

"Well, I'll call you later, okay?"

Alex nodded. "I'll see you, Sabina."

And he meant it. He could only resist so long – hearing her voice on his phone was one thing, but to keep away after seeing her, talking to her? He just didn't have that kind of self-control.

They locked eyes for one more moment before Eagle grabbed Alex's wrist the same time Jennie grabbed Sabina's, and the two were pulled away from each other.

Alex was sitting in the front seat of the Camaro, Wolf driving and the other three crammed into the back. He was being pummeled for answers, but in absolutely no mood to give them. His stormy eyes were fitting in perfectly with the weather, where the clouds had begun to overtake the blue, promising a soaked morning.

"So you guys are already at first base? And here I thought it'd take weeks before anything happened."

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong, Fox." Alex returned, shooting the disgruntled K-unit member an icy look. Snortus had tumbled onto his lap at some point, licking his face with an endless amount of saliva that continued to astound him. Now that they were out of the company of others, Alex's disposition had changed to one of controlled anger.

There was a bare pause, that seemed to stretch much longer than it really did. Eventually Eagle spoke up, effectively breaking it. "Cub–"

"Do have any idea what kind of position you've put me in now?" Alex immediately cut him off in that voice, cold and calculated and furious, keeping his eyes focused in front of him – though was it just them, or did they see the faint glint of happiness there? "Why'd you even do it?"

Eagle focused on Snortus. Snake whistled and stared up at the roof of the car. Fox sighed.

"Well, whatever our reasons were, you really like her, right? I mean you did kiss her – so no harm, no foul…"

"I wish that's how it works, Fox, I really do. But I think the only thing you've managed to do today is cut Sabina's lifespan in half."

Fox rolled his eyes. "Alex–"

He was once again interrupted. "There's no point in dwelling on it now, I guess. What's done is done."

And then the car lapsed back into uncomfortable silence, Wolf dropping Eagle off at his place and Snake and Fox off at theirs. Eventually they arrived home, the two exiting the vehicle without words. When they got inside, the first thing Wolf did was stop, clear his throat in a rather discomfited way, and ask gruffly,

"So, uh… you gonna… make dinner?"

Alex turned to look at him, mildly astonished, but after a second gave a nod to the affirmative before moving into the kitchen to begin. Wolf sighed in relief – the kid cooked like a god.

And godly it was. He'd made an easy salad with an Italian dressing, barbecued steaks in the yard and mashed the potatoes until he honestly couldn't find a single lump. He'd had no clue how much he'd have missed Alex's cooking had the boy said no in retaliation to today's stunt. After dinner, Alex had gone into the living room to watch TV while Wolf went upstairs, working on paper work he'd been assigned in his leave. Grumbling all the way, it was just over an hour later that he returned, drifting into where Cub was sprawled out on the leather couch. As soon as he'd entered the room Alex had hastily changed the channel. He raised an eyebrow, regarding the boy silently as Alex rose.

"I was just going upstairs," he told Wolf in a rushed mumble, pulling himself off the black cushions before leaving the room all together. Wolf stared down at the remote in his hand, his sharp eyes focused on the button with the tiny word LAST printed on it.

I shouldn't care that he didn't want me to see what he was watching. In fact, I wouldn't even bother checking if I knew we had any channels in the three hundreds… he rationalized himself. …But… it could affect the whole team if Alex is hiding something.

It was bullshit, he knew it. What Alex watched on TV affected the team about as much as Snortus mauling that child in the park did. He was just so fed up with Alex's secrecy that he couldn't stop himself. His thumb pressed down firmly on the soft plastic, revealing the Channel Five News. Wolf resisted the urge to rub his face in exhaustion. Why would he take the time to hide–

"… –lectrical storm warning for you tonight, folks. Thunder, lightning, the whole shebang…"

Oh.

Glancing over at the doorway, Wolf fought a mental battle like no others. The idea of ignoring the situation was more appealing than he could describe, but at the same time, Wolf had been brought up to have a big conscience – however well he managed to hide it.

He's just a kid, he could almost hear his mother telling him patiently, you should talk to him.

Fuck it, he's hardly a kid anymore. He'll probably just kick you again anyway.

He knew that it wasn't really Alex's fault – like Sabina and he'd said, it was just a quirk that screwed him over whenever there was a thunderstorm. He couldn't be blamed for that, not like Wolf's fear of flying, which he still wasn't completely over even if he lied about it. However, K-unit had always been really cool about it. Snake had supplied him with cold water and Gravol, while Eagle and Fox worked to distract him from the flight by cracking lame jokes and flirting with the flight attendants. It hit him.

You just have to know how to approach him.

And just like that, the devil on his shoulder was shoved back roughly by the angel. For whatever reason, knowing Alex was curled up alone in his room upstairs was unsettling. It'd been just over two weeks since the kid had begun living with him, and while he would never admit out loud that he could tolerate him – hell, even sort of enjoyed his presence… for the cooking only, of course – he couldn't deny his own thoughts. Alex was fun to live with. Annoying, but fun – and someone usually so vibrant should not be cramped up under a pile of pillows in terror over something stupid like an electrical storm.

Wolf resignedly rubbed his forehead, moving into the kitchen and placing a glass of milk in the microwave. Then he walked over to where the TV sat a couple feet away, pulling open the drawer on the shelf that held it and retracting a small black DVD case. He flipped through the pirated movies (whattarebel) before eventually pulling out a faceless CD with the scribbled, barely understandable words of The Godfather. What the hell – if in times like this you didn't watch The Godfather, then when the hell did you watch it?

He shoved it roughly into the DVD player before glancing up at the French doors that led into the backyard, grimacing at the sight of the lightning splitting the sky. Cub must really hate the springtime. Mid-March did tend to bring these things around.

Reminding himself that doing this didn't make him any less of a man than he was, he pulled the warm milk from the microwave before disappearing up the stairs, deciding to go all the way with the niceness and knock on the door.

"… What?" Alex sounded similar as he did to the last time. Wolf knew he was probably piled under fifty blankets, pretending he was in sunny Mexico. Wolf pushed open the door.

"Hey," he offered, shifting in discomfort. "Here."

He handed Alex the glass of warm milk, who stared at it as though it was poison. His eyes flickered up to Wolf's dark ones in disbelief. Slowly, he pulled an arm out from underneath the covers to point at it.

"W-what's that?"

"It's a Ferrari, Cub. Just take it."

He hesitantly took the peace offering from Wolf, keeping his eyes trained on the man with a look of distrust coloring his features. After all that and the kid still treated him like the enemy – go figure. Then again, factoring in today's events, there wasn't much he could say on the matter.

"I–" Wolf rubbed his jaw, glancing around the room, not looking at Alex, "–… put on a movie downstairs. The Godfather. Thought it was fitting."

And making the dark circles on Alex's face even more pronounced, his jaw dropped. Was Wolf trying to comfort him, in his own strange way? This all seemed to good to be true. When was K-unit gonna jump out and kick him in the balls before shouting out Punk'd? He gave his closet a strange look, wondering if three men could fit in it. Then he remembered Wolf, standing beside him looking like he'd rather be in a pit of snakes than confronting him.

Thunder shook the house, scattering all of Alex's thoughts. He sat there, dazed for the next few seconds before finally answering softly,

"… Yeah?"

"Yeah."

And just like that, Alex pulled himself out of bed, placing the cup of milk on the bedside table in order to let him pull the fluffiest blanket along with him. Wolf raised an eyebrow at the action, but Alex just shrugged, completely shameless of the action.

"… Pussy." Wolf muttered. Alex grinned, whacking him on the head.

Wolf turned to gape at him murderously before returning the motion, and pretty soon the two were exchanging blows in the hallway, Alex aiming a left hook at Wolf's teeth. He blocked it, threw out a foot to clash with Alex's ankle and force him down, but was caught by surprise when Alex's hand flew out to catch his shoulder, forcing him to stumble forward while Alex regained his footing. Wolf swiveled, grabbing for whatever he could, and caught Alex's hair in his iron grip.

They both froze, Wolf staring at Alex and Alex staring at Wolf, both bewildered. Deliberately, Wolf released his hold on the blonde locks, and Alex rubbed his head in wonderment.

"… Did you just pull my hair?" He asked quietly.

"No. I did not."

"You so did!"

"No!"

"You so did. Oh, man, I am so telling K-unit."

"Fuck you!" The two had begun to laugh at the absurdity of it. Wolf was supposed to have mastered combat in the SAS, and here he was, resorting to the favorite of twelve-year-old girls across the nation – hair pulling.

They stumbled down the stairs, clutching their sides. Alex was choking out various insults and jabs at Wolf's masculinity, while Wolf attempted to defend himself, knowing it was a lost battle. Eventually the two ended up on the couch downstairs, the movie playing, and was Alex engrossed enough to only manage weak winces whenever thunderclaps filtered through the walls. With someone beside him and something to distract him, the weakness was that much more bearable.

It was two a.m. when Wolf woke up to groggily realize that both he and Alex had fallen asleep on the couch, the empty glass of warm milk on its side beside the couch after Alex had done back for it. He sat up, rubbing his face and glaring at the music repeating in a loop from the DVD's start screen. Flicking it off with the remote, Wolf stood up, but his feet were twisted in the blankets and he pitched forward. Bracing himself for impact, he was surprised when he suddenly stopped falling mid-fall, and glanced back to see where Alex's hand had shot out to grab his arm, keeping him from landing on his face.

Alex looked half-asleep. "Mfhgh?" He said intelligently. Wolf rolled his eyes, tearing his arm out of Alex's grasp.

"Sure, Cub, whatever you say."

"Wha's happ'n?"

"Nothing's happening. We fell asleep."

Alex looked around, struggling to take in the events while he was still drowsy. "Nuthin's happ'n?"

"Come on, get up – we're going to bed." Alex turned to look at him, staring. The brown eyes still clouded with sleep didn't express any recognition – Wolf found it a little unnerving. He sighed, moving behind the teen to shove him towards the doorway. Alex stumbled forward, continuing in a tired shuffle up the stairs with the blanket clutching in one hand, dragging along the hardwood. After a moment of hesitation, Wolf followed.

When the two got to the top of the stairs and began moving into their respective rooms, Alex paused, hand touching the doorframe. He turned to look at Wolf, calling out softly,

"Hey, Wolf?"

Wolf stopped, eyes flickering over to meet Alex's own. Alex cleared his throat, focusing on his feet.

"I just wanted to say… you know."

"Yeah."

And then the two parted, Alex barely managing to wriggle out of his jeans before collapsing on his bed and falling asleep instantly. He didn't even have to say the words for Wolf to understand him. Maybe it was a military thing – communicating without words. No doubt K-unit was pro at it. Whatever the reason, he was grateful – Wolf's gesture had made the night almost bearable, and the only other time they'd been that way was back when Sabina had caught him out on the couch, waiting the storm out. Literally.

Alex once again dragged himself out of bed at roughly one in the afternoon, wandering downstairs to find K-unit plus Sadie hanging out in the kitchen, Wolf standing in front of a plate of food that vaguely resembled roadkill.

"This is why we let Cub do the cooking," Eagle complained. Alex took this as his cue to enter, rubbing his face tiredly. He nodded at Sadie, not really noticing that he was only loosely dressed in dark boxers and a white T-shirt, and at the same time not really caring.

"I do not like green eggs and ham." He told Wolf plainly, gesturing towards the charred remains of breakfast with a look of disgust in his eyes.

"Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?" Fox asked, snickering at his own pun. Snake punched him in the shoulder for going alone with the shameless Dr. Suess reference.

"Never again," he told him humorlessly. Fox agreed, shooting him an annoyed look while rubbing the abused area before facing Alex.

"I think a piece of bacon or two managed to survive Wolf's massacre if you wanna fry 'em up, Cub,"

"Sure, but I'm not sharing," he warned, moving over to the fridge. "I shouldn't have to pay because you guys let Wolf cook."

"No fair!" Fox whined, hands clamping down on Alex's shirt, "I demand nourishment!"

"You have your own fridge, freeloader!" Wolf barked, whacking Fox. Fox turned around and promptly returned the gesture, with Sadie sitting on Eagle's lap in the living room a couple feet away, watching the exchange and allowing a few muffled giggles to escape. At the dirty looks she received from the men in the kitchen for being amused by their arguing, she buried her face in Eagle's shoulder. Eagle smiled, sending a thumbs up at the group, who simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"So when are you gonna call Sabina, Cub?" Fox tried for nonchalant, and failed. Alex blew a strand of fair hair out of his face, shooting the man an annoyed look.

"Why should I tell you? So you can follow us again?"

Fox winced. Snake clapped him on the shoulder, leaning in towards Alex's face with a wild smile.

"Well, considering you guys were making out on the first date, the second should make an interesting show." Eagle burst out laughing while Sadie choked. Alex's eyes widened at the implications and he shoved Snake back, looking faintly embarrassed. That was the first time they'd ever seen the kid look abashed for anything, so it came as a slight shock.

"Ah, shut up. Like Sabina would do that on the second date anyway!"

"But you would!" Fox snickered. Even Wolf had to cover up a grin, warming up to the carefree atmosphere that had overtaken his kitchen.

"Yeah, what about Thursday! What do you call that, Alex?"

"… Friends with benefits." He decided after a pause, sending Sadie and Eagle tumbling to the floor in laughter, Sadie yelping as the slid off the chair through her own laughs. Snake roared, hitting the counter.

"Seventeen!" Fox cried in frustration. "Damn it! I hate you Cub! You should not have FWB at seventeen!" He lightly bashed his head against the wall in mock-misery.

Alex threw the bacon in the pan, attempting to change the subject as he cleared his throat. "So, you guys heard from Tammy lately?"

Any mirth Wolf might've had on his face was swiped clean at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. He sobered immediately, shooting Alex a glare for bringing it up.

Snake observed the reaction with a knowing look before stating dryly, "Oh, it looks like we have a winner. What'd she do this time, Wolf?"

Wolf glared at them mutinously, but reluctantly gave in. "… fourteen messages on my phone. Fourteen."

"Is that a new record?" Alex asked, turning on the coffee maker.

"Not even close," Wolf, Snake, Fox and Eagle all chorused flatly.

"She wants to meet today at Cantinelli's."

"Are you gonna go?" Wolf shot him a dead look.

"Yeah, Fox, I'm gonna go out to lunch with my insane ex-girlfriend."

"It was just a question," Fox defended himself, moving backwards to take a seat at one of the kitchen table chairs next to where Snake had just sat down. Alex pulled a mug out of the cupboard, inspecting the way it had been crudely painted and glazed, the words "World's Best SAS Team Leader" slopped on in light blue paint. Underneath there was a dark blob that Alex didn't even attempt to identify.

Alex turned towards the group, who had gone back to their boyish banter. He held the cup with an expectant look, waiting for some kind of explanation on its existence.

After a few seconds the group noticed Alex's silence and glanced over. When they took in the mug's presence, they fell silent also, and Fox cleared his throat and coughed, weakly explaining,

"Birthday present. Last year. We all made it."

"Why is Snortus on it?" Alex asked them, eying the blob.

"It's supposed to be a wolf." Snake clarified weakly. Alex's eyebrows rose as he nodded with comprehension. He turned to Wolf.

"Can I use it? All the other ones were dirty."

"You can have it. That thing is an eyesore." He told him.

"Then why do you still have it?"

"…" Eagle smiled, quietly mumbling "busted" to Sadie, who also grinned, elbowing him lightly. "Be nice," she whispered back, making Eagle snicker.

Alex decided to spare Wolf, moving away from the topic by bring up once again, "You know, Wolf, I think you should do it this time. Go see her, I mean."

Everyone in the room swiveled towards Alex, who was pouring his coffee now. At the quiet that settled over them, he glanced up, bewildered at the looks he was receiving. After a few more seconds of tense silence, Snake hissed,

"Are you insane, Cub?"

He looked affronted. "Here me out first, jeez. I think you should go, act like a dick, make it the worst date ever and turn her off you for good."

"Tried that," Fox sighed. "It didn't work. She likes him when he's straight-out mean, and we even dressed him completely in Ed Hardy. She still liked him."

Alex snorted into his coffee at the choice of clothing, coughing and glaring at Fox who'd begun to laugh at the slip up. "Wolf. I have the solution. You're not gonna like it, but it's foolproof."

"I'll do anything at this point," Wolf groaned, slumping. Alex nodded; face completely serious as he turned towards the dark haired man.

"Tell her you're gay."

This suggestion was met with a beat of silence, Wolf's jaw working. After a couple of seconds, he muttered,

"… What?"

"You heard me. And I heard you. 'I'll do anything,' I think it was?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Whatever, man. All you have to do is say it." Eagle chimed in.

The group contemplated it, and after a minute Wolf reluctantly gave a short nod. "Whatever it takes, whatever it takes," he chanted under his breath, standing up and moving towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Snake asked, and Wolf spared a glance at him.

"Where do you think? She should already be there. I'm gonna end this once and for all."

"You'd think he was going to do something cooler, hearing him right now, rather than telling his ex-girlfriend he's gay."

"Whatever it takes!" Wolf repeated in a shout, throwing his fist into the air before snatching his coat off the table and pulling it on, the cool air from yesterday's storm still lingering. The group rushed forward, grabbing him before he could walk out the door.

"We're coming with you!" Snake told him gravely.

"Yeah, how could we let you do something like this alone?" Fox said.

"Of course you're coming with me. Fade into the background though, alright? I don't want you guys to get hurt when she starts throwing plates."

"Somehow, it doesn't seem as special since he expected us to come from the start," Fox muttered. Sadie rubbed the back of her head, telling them weakly,

"Actually, I can't go – I'm due in court in a few hours." Eagle planted a kiss on her cheek, telling her lightly,

"It's fine. You can take my car home."

Sadie vanished into Eagle's car, pulling out of the driveway and disappearing around the corner. Soon the rest of the group was piling into Wolf's, with said man sitting in the driver's seat, hands clenched around the steering wheel.

"You can do this, Wolf," Snake encouraged him, "this is it. This is the last time you'll ever have to see her."

Wolf nodded, steeling himself to his mission.

"Let's go."

0o0o0o

This story does have a plot. No, really.

UChel is short for the University of Chelsea, if you were wondering. Oh, and when Wolf says "In fact, I wouldn't even bother checking if I knew we had any channels in the three hundreds…" I thought I might clear this up. At my friend's house, most of the channels in the three hundreds are porn, so… haha. You do the math. And Gravol is a pill my cousins take since they get carsick.

This chapter was more focused on Wolf and Alex since I was beginning to think their relationship was being neglected. Haha Wolf, the softie. For people hoping to see more Sabina, don't worry, she'll return, I promise :)

Please help me reach two-hundred reviews! Please please please!

Next chapter: alvida zein, Tammy.