Title : "Were" do we go from here?

Fandom : The Losers
Pairing : Jensen & Cougar (kind of)
Rating : PG-13 (some cussing!)
Word Count: 2263

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Written for the prompt of "The Losers, Jensen/Cougar, werecats and were-whatever Jensen is don't usually mix (author's choice of transformation)"

Warning: Silliness? Crackiness?

"Were" do we go from here?

Jensen's never been thrilled by what he is, even less so when he has to admit it to anyone else. Seriously even his own sister finds it hilarious and takes great enjoyment out of whatever recessive gene stuck Jensen with this . . . this monstrosity for a were.

How the hell had it happened? Not like the rest of his known family were subjected to this mortification, although Jensen has a vague memory of a distant aunt who became a hermit and as no one could ever remember what she changed into once a month, he suspects that in some way he can't quite identify it's her fault.

So he has no choice but to write it down on his army enrolment forms much to the amusement of all the assholes in training he had to deal with. Seriously not like many of them could manage the change like he could or those that did transform were little more than animals once they'd changed, giving into their baser instincts. Not Jensen, physical size and the limitations associated with paws and such, Jensen could actually still function while under the influence of the moon.

And yes, before you think of asking, he's already tried to figure out where the 'rest' of him goes when he changes and fuck it if he's been able to get any answers from anyone he's asked.

He can't believe his luck when he's transferred into the Losers and the matter of transformation doesn't really come up in conversation immediately. Looking back he's not sure whether that is a good thing or not. He kind of assumed no one else on the team was a were, but yeah no such luck on that score as it turns out.

He's settled into the team, in the first couple of weeks he's been there and then they get some downtime, so he travels home to his sister and niece and is there for the full moon, so again, it's not a matter of much import to the rest of the team this time round.

When he gets back though, he finds they've all been shifted round and he's now bunking in with Cougar. Jensen's pretty happy with that, he likes Cougar, cool guy, kinda quiet admittedly but exactly the kind of person you want to have your back on a job. Truth be told, he has certain other thoughts about Cougar, but he's mature (he is! Totally!) he doesn't need to act on them; they're only thoughts after all.

Finding out that the thoughts are not exclusively in his court was a bonus. No complaints on that score from Jensen, he's more than happy to see where this goes. Carefully and cautiously and not on army time, obviously!

So he's sitting kinda close to Cougar and totally not inhaling extra deeply on a regular basis to get that intoxicating mix of Cougar and his cologne deep into his lungs during their briefing. Cougar smirks over his shoulder at him as if he knows exactly what Jensen is doing. In fact he's so lost in his preoccupation with Cougar that he almost misses the dates and details for the forthcoming mission.

He's just aware enough to think, "Ooops! That's not gonna work, it's full moon," when Clay says something about different plan to usual because of the full moon and taking account of the effect that will have and Jensen thinks everything's going to be okay because Clay's already taken it into account, except he hasn't at all.

It's when Clay says something about Cougar not being cover that Jensen realizes there's a real problem, because that can only mean one thing. He shifts his chair back away from Cougar and clears his throat, all the while thinking this is going to fuck up more than just the mission, this is going to ruin the budding friendship and more with Cougs.

"Erm, Clay," Jensen interrupts, biting his lip. "Erm, I . . . could I have a word, erm . . . outside maybe for a moment." Jensen knows that depending on the situation he might still be able to hold up his end of the mission providing certain considerations are taken into account. He's no difficulty hacking in his changed condition, something he knows not many weres could do; providing there are no voice activations or fingerprint scanners because he hasn't worked out how to reprogram anything far enough to accept his alternatives.

Clay frowns but follows him out of the room anyway. As it turns out, that one vital little piece of information has been missed out of the file that was handed to Clay about Jensen, so Clay isn't aware of Jensen's status as any type of were and once the uproarious laughter has died down, he is actually concerned about the situation.

First point, the army has fucked up (like that's a first, Jensen thinks). On a small ops team like theirs, there isn't supposed to be more than one were, because it's hard to manage one man down every full moon, and downright ridiculous to expect them to cope two men down.

Second point, it's not like Cougar's and Jensen's weres are going to be matches made in heaven and in many respects, Clay's surprised they haven't already killed each other. Jensen asks, just to be sure you understand, not because he's actually that stupid, and yes, there is a really good reason why Cougar is called Cougar, and to be honest, Jensen's amazed that his were hasn't already run for cover and taken him with it.

Thirdly, despite Jensen's assertion that he can do most things despite the change, providing he hasn't got to travel too far on his own or you know the voice or fingerprint thing, Clay is not happy about it.

In fact, Clay is pretty much fuming and he immediately contacts whoever dumped Jensen on him without informing him of Jensen's were status and gives them quite a verbose piece of his mind. Jensen's impressed, he don't think even he could have come up with quite so many interesting ways to call somebody stupid, or at least not without having to resort to a couple of other languages. His next call is to the brass, who also failed to notice that he had two weres on his team and that they were sending them on a full moon mission. He's slightly more polite on that call, probably due to the whole chain of command thing, Jensen figures, although the emphasis would still be on the slightly rather than the polite.

As a result, they are pulled off the mission and another team is to be sent in, however, Clay has been told to get his team into action and fix the problem. Jensen's not really sure how he's supposed to do that, short of killing either himself or Cougar and getting a non-were replacement and he isn't going to suggest it as an option, although the thought hasn't gone from his mind that it might just end up that way once he and Cougar change.

Clay stalks back to the briefing and lets the rest of the team know the mission is off. They're all a little surprised but totally understanding when Clay explains the problem of having a two were team and this being the first time they'd have to deal with them changing.

It's Pooch who notices first that Clay doesn't say that Jensen is being transferred out and when he queries it, Clay begrudgingly explains it's because both Cougar and Jensen have proved themselves to be more than animal intelligent while transformed and that the team have to learn to adapt to the limitations and take advantage of the alternative strengths that they will each have.

Jensen almost chokes at the prospect and when Clay turns to Cougar and asks, "Have you felt an urge to kill Jensen yet?" he yelps, while the rest of the team snigger in an anything but discreet manner. Cougar shrugs and Roque states that they've all wanted to kill Jensen so far, so what was the problem. Jensen feels a little put down by the comment and when Cougar is the one to stand up for him, he's particularly grateful.

So the new plan is they're all going to head out together for some team bonding time over the full moon and Clay has organized a place up in the mountains.

They're actually on their way to the cabin, when Clay announces that Jensen will bunk with Pooch and Cougar with Roque. Pooch makes a joke about the two of them getting territorial and Jensen tries to say it's not going to be quite like that, but Clay just says the weres will need time to adjust.

Jensen has noticed that Cougar keeps creeping up on him and sniffing and he's pretty sure the cat in Cougar is just getting his scent down so he can track Jensen down as soon as he's changed and make a quick meal out of him.

Just their luck that Roque and Clay went on a supply run without telling Pooch or Cougar what to expect and Jensen had taken himself off to the room he's sharing with Pooch in an attempt to work out where to hide when the time comes.

Cougar stalks out of his and Roque's room with his usual superior stance, nose in the air, tail twitching and he heads straight for Pooch and Jensen's room and starts to scratch at the door. Pooch comes out of the kitchen and sees what he's doing and with a smile, says, "So you want to meet your new playmate, huh?" Cougar gives him the one eyed glance of disdain that he's come to expect of Cougar's were counterpart. "Remember to go easy on him," Pooch says as he opens the door and they both enter the room.

There's no sign of Jensen anywhere that Pooch can see. Cougar, however, clearly has a different opinion and dives straight under Jensen's bed. There's a fair amount of scrabbling and the occasional squeak or yelp, but a few moments later, Cougar reappears from under the bed with something in his mouth.

Pooch has sat down on his bed by this time and so when Cougar jumps up beside him, he figures he should probably try to find out what Cougar caught now. It's somewhat of a surprised when Cougar leans over and positively spits what he's picked up into Pooch's lap without any attempt to chew, maul or otherwise play with it.

Pooch picks up a rather wet and bedraggled looking hamster, that is glaring at Cougar like his behaviour was worse for not having eaten it. Cougar sniffs and leans in with its tongue out to drag it over the hamster's fur as if trying to get it to lie flat again. The hamster turns around and tries to burrow under Pooch's leg, but Cougar is having none of it and with tremendous precision takes hold of the hamster and pulls it back out, placing it on Pooch's leg before sitting down to watch.

Pooch by this time is laughing. "Seriously, Jensen! And you couldn't have warned us!" He can barely contain himself and almost knocks the hamster off his leg but Cougar is quicker, one paw shooting out to stop the hamster slipping and nudging it back into place as its tiny claws try to cling on to the leg of Pooch's jeans.

When Clay and Roque finally get back, Cougar and Jensen are more than accustomed to each other and Pooch is training them. It turns out that given their intelligence they are able to work together and so far Cougar has resisted the urge to eat Jensen. He has however, batted his behind lightly a couple of times to get him to do what he wants, but Pooch figures with all they put up with the rest of the month, it's fair enough for Cougar to get his own back now and he's not actually doing the hamster any harm.

Turns out, with Cougar's speed of movement, stealth and ability to spring across gaps and heights, he travels pretty well and Jensen is small enough that his extra weight doesn't put the cat off at all. Admittedly, Jensen isn't keen on the whole being in Cougar's mouth thing, but the cat isn't taking no for an answer and Jensen's legs aren't long enough to let him escape.

Jensen's pretty deft with his front paws and so far has been able to pick up a key, a usb drive and type a 'fuck you!' message on the laptop. Pooch is pretty convinced he could have typed more but Cougar lifted him off the keyboard before he had the chance.

It's going to take some alternate thinking and some more practise, but they're pretty sure that in a couple of months time, they'll be able to function as a team at any time of the month, were or no were.

Not that it isn't going to stop them ribbing Jensen all month, every month about the fact that he is a were-hamster.