Unexpected but Appreciated

Written for the prompt : The Losers, Jensen/Cougar, out in the middle of nowhere he manages to scrape together a birthday dinner of sorts

Fandom : The Losers
Character : Cougar & Jensen
Word Count : 675
Rating : PG-13

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.

Unexpected but Appreciated

It's nothing new to any of them to be away from home on significant dates. Not like they've never missed either their own or someone else's birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas or Cinco de Mayo. It's just one of those things that they had to get used to when they first joined up. Some of those days hurt more than others. Cougar knows that Pooch finds it harder to miss Jolene's birthday than his own and Jensen gets quiet and withdrawn when he can't go home and see his niece for her birthday. Jensen sinks into his own little world of reflection about all the milestones he's missing while camping out in a jungle or a desert or in an abandoned warehouse or goatshed, until Cougar can coax him back out again. Cougar figures he's got little to complain about. His parents and sisters are older than him; his own nieces and nephews mostly grown, all well into their teens now so while he'd like to be home with them for their special days, it isn't like missing them when the children were younger.

As for his own birthday, it could pass by without notice and it wouldn't worry him in the least so this . . . this is a surprise. Sometimes Jensen amazes him. He's come to expect a lot of different things from Jensen, non-stop rambling chatter, deep concern and love, thoughtful little gestures when they're at home. He knows that he can always count on Jensen to have his back on jobs and in life in general, just as he would have Jensen's.

None of that though could have prepared him for this. He can't imagine how Jensen managed it. It's not like the hacker's backpack ever seems to have a spare space in it for so much as an extra pair of socks, let alone a surprise like this. MREs that's their usual fare on missions like this one and as Cougar sits down beside Jensen and the younger man begins to sing, "¡Feliz cumpleaños a tí!
¡Feliz cumpleaños a tí!" He lets his mouth lift in a smile despite the embarrassment he feels.

As Jensen finished, Cougar knocked against his arm with his own, unsurprised when Jensen leans closer and wishes him a Happy Birthday in English. "I got your favourite dinner here," Jensen says, holding out a pack of Beef Enchiladas. It's their joke, they both know the MREs are nothing like the 'real thing', but their first meal together as something more than just teammates was at a little Mexican place not far from Jensen's sister's house in New Hampshire and beef enchiladas was what they'd both eaten.

They eat quietly, fairly quickly, knowing they haven't got long before they'll be heading out on tonight's job. All of that makes it even more of a surprise when Jensen stands and moves away just after finishing his meal, re-appearing a few moments later with a tin plate. Cougar can't tell as he approaches what's actually on the plate but when it's set down in front of him to smiles and laughter from the rest of the team, Cougar can't help but join in.

He's reminded again of just why he loves Jensen so much, because the man never stops surprising him with just how big his heart is. So on the plate is a birthday cake of sorts. It's a row of twinkies, neatly lined up so their ends meet and then drawn over the top in chocolate icing is a fair impression of Cougar's own hat and then with strawberry topping the word Cougar is written inside. It's one of a kind and perfect in every way that it's not like the kind of cake he'd get at home.

All of that and so much more as Jensen smiles nervously and mouths the words, "Love You" at him from where he's now standing behind Roque.