#a gun amonst daggers

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 1 - The Seal in the Bar

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*the GIF belongs to @unicornships , but I found it on Pinterest for some reason*

A/N: So here we are! I am absolutely blown away by the response that my teaser generated, holy shit! And because you all seem to love Bear as much as I do, and because you crazy people have brought me to over 100 followers in 2 days, I figured that I would release Part 1 sooner than I planned!

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death (kill count and maybe a few other things), Jake being a flirt (which is it’s own warning)

Word Count: 2.5k

Read on Wattpad or AO3

Teaser >> Part 2

===

It was a miserable day when Jake walked into the Hard Deck. Training had been canceled due to shit weather and no matter how much of a workout he had had earlier, he was still as nervous as a scared cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The weather wasn’t helping either. It had been raining nearly all day, letting up for maybe 20 minutes at a time before it came pouring down again. Climate change was a serious concept, but right now it was fucking with his plans and his job and Jake very much wanted it to stop. Taking a quick glance around, he saw that there were a few patrons in the bar, mostly older men just sitting and drinking in near silence, the jukebox playing some classic rock song just loud enough to be heard. He had promised to meet Coyote here around 5 and seeing as he was early, Jake went ahead to order a drink. “Hey Penny.”

“Hangman,” Penny replied with a smile. “Your usual?”

“Nah, not drinking tonight. Too antsy. Just a water and Javy’s usual, thanks.” The blond glanced around the room as Penny went to grab his drinks and his eyes fell on a woman sitting quietly in the corner of the room, silently watching each and every person in the bar with an almost clinical gaze. His curiosity got the better of him and Jake grabbed his order before making his way over to the corner table. “That seat taken?” He asked with his usual sly grin on his face.

The woman glanced up at him, eyes flicking over him quickly before quirking a brow. “And what if it was?” she replied coolly, a narrow gaze pinning him to the spot. She took a sip of the drink in front of her, eyes never leaving his face.

“Well I’d like to think that I’d be better company than your imaginary friend here,” Jake said, trying to regain his footing. The woman was intimidating; sharp eyes that seemed to never miss a thing and a face that he recognized as one he made when the weariness hit on occasion.

“Is that painful for you, Flyboy? The thinking?”

Jake was taken aback by her snark. Normally he’d respond, fire an insult of two back, but he kept his mouth shut for once, watching for even just a flicker of emotion on the woman’s face. But there wasn’t any. She just looked bored. So Jake did something that he would almost never do, he walked away, set his drinks down on a table near the door and waved Javy down when his friend walked in.

A few drinks later and the bar had begun to fill with people. Other Daggers had popped up, joining Jake and Coyote and Jake was relieved to fall back into his cocky pilot facade he used in public. It was only when he went back up to the bar some hours later to grab another round for the group that he saw her again. “Grab another round, Penny?”

“Give me just a minute, Hangman.” Penny gave him a nod and a smile before adding ice to a cup for someone else and handing it off.

“Hangman huh?” A voice near him spoke up. A quick turn and there stood the woman from earlier. This time however, she was standing up, and he admired the tone and definition of her arm under the tight black shirt she wore. “Must be military then.”

“What gave it away?” He asked, glancing over at his friends before looking back at her.

A sharp grin. “Maybe the fact that you hang out with guys named ‘Coyote’ and ‘Payback’. That, and you just have the look about you,” she finished, taking a swig of her drink.

“You got it right, sweetheart,” Jake flirted, leaning his forearms on the bar and turning to look at her. “One of the best in the room.”

Bear knew that there was a gleam in her eye. God, she loved shooting cocky men down and watching them run back to their friends, tails tucked between their legs. But something about this Hangman made her curious and she didn’t yet know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. “Is that so? So what makes a fly-boy like you better than most people in the room?” she asked, giving him a teasing look.

A grin crossed Jake’s face and he was so sure that he was in. “Attended Top Gun twice, two confirmed air-to-air kills, plus my good looks and endless amounts of good ole-fashioned Southern charm, sweetheart.”

“Wow. Two whole kills all by yourself? That’s pretty impressive,” Bear nodded, schooling her face so as to not burst out laughing. “Little ole me only has about 60 confirmed kills, but I’m sure it’s much more difficult in a plane.”

Jake, who had been grabbing the beer bottles from Penny, froze. “I’m sorry, 60?”

“Yup, all by myself too.” The mocking slipped free and the smirk on her face was wide and dangerous.

“Who are you?” He asked, concern flooding over his face. Jake knew that the look on his face was one of pure shock, and holy shit was he both terrified and turned on at the thought of this woman being far more dangerous than he was.

Bear grinned, finishing her drink and pulling her wallet out to pay. “Take a guess,” she replied.

“Well I was going to say one hell of a pilot, but I would have heard of you if you were a Navy pilot.”

“Maybe I’m Air Force,” she teased as she watched the conflicting emotions cross Hangman’s face.

“Nuh uh. No way.” Jake shook his head immediately in disgust. “There’s no way you’re Chair Force, not a chance.”

“Like you Navy boys don’t also sit in chairs,” came the retort. “But you are right, I’m not, as you put it, Chair Force.”

“So who are you?” He asked, ignoring the barb thrown his way and pausing to look at her. “You aren’t a pilot, that’s for damn sure, so who and what are you?”

“Bagman! What the hell is taking so long?” A shout came from over by the pool tables.

Rolling his eyes, Jake turned and yelled back “Jus’ wait a damn minute!” Looking back at the woman beside him, Jake nodded for her to tell him.

“Seals,” she replied. “Navy Seal Team Three.”

His green eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t know that there were women in the Seals.”

“Not many. Less than 3% to be exact.” There was pride in her voice and Bear knew that. She had worked incredibly hard to be taken seriously during training and even now as the Commander of Seal Team Three, working in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Her skills were necessary for the survival of her team and herself. Plus putting damn near three years into the US Navy Sniper School made it very clear just how dangerous she was and could be.

“Okay…umm…wow. I jus’…wow.” Jake was in awe, right here in front of him was a woman who was both badass and hot as hell, and the best part? She didn’t back down and made him work for every step. “That’s seriously badass. Why haven’t I heard about you or any of the others?”

“Cause we’re usually kept secret. If enemy states know that there are women on the teams, then we have targets on our backs. But I can tell you, because no one will believe you,” Bear smirked before continuing, “And yeah, I know it’s pretty badass. I worked hard for it. Just like you did for your two kills.” And with a wink, she walked off, disappearing into the crowd near the bar, leaving Jake speechless.

He made his way back to the pool tables, beers in hand and a shocked look on his face. Once he set the bottles down, Jake looked up and began to glance around for any sign of the Seal he had been speaking to. “Who you lookin’ for?” Coyote asked, stepping up next to him.

“A Navy Seal.”

Coyote did a double take. Swallowing his drink, he asked “Did you just say a Navy Seal? Where the hell did you find one of those?”

“Up at the bar not even five minutes ago.”

“The fuck you doin’ chattin’ up a Navy Seal?” Coyote was looking at him like he was crazy. “Don’t they like have three dozen ways to murder you with a rusty spoon?”

“Probably. But she was hot. And seemed to be interested, so who knows if I’ll be a rusty spoon victim,” Jake replied. Not so deep down he was hoping that he’d get the chance to see her again, but stumbled over the sudden realization that he didn’t know her name. Well, that would be a problem for the next time. Turning back to the group, Jake found them watching him with curious looks. “What?”

“Next time that Seal comes back,” Phoenix told him, “Make sure she says hi. I want to know whose ass to protect when you wind up dead in a back alley.”

“Et tu, Nix?” Jake gaped at her, mimicking a pearl-clutching older woman before his face fell back into its usual cocky grin. “You’ll meet her, and you’ll regret saying that.”

Phoenix laughed. “I’ve got the power of being a woman on my side. Bet she doesn’t often get the chance to chat about her experience as a woman in the Navy with someone who understands,” she replied with a shrug. “Now are we playing or what?”

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’. Keep your shirt on,” Jake drawled, setting his drink down and grabbing the pool cue from her outstretched hand. “Ready?”

“Fuck yeah.” A sharp grin from Phoenix had him smirking and if he spent the night trying to beat her, that was no one’s business but his own.

===

Training the next day was brutal. Maverick was clearly playing catch up from missing a day of training and he was making everyone hurt. “Come on Hangman, you’ll have to do better than that!” Phoenix had teased over the headset. “Gotta improve your skills or the hot Seal lady won’t be impressed!”

Jake rolled his eyes, knowing that everyone on the ground listening would hear him if he replied. So he stayed quiet, pulling the throttle up allowing him to go up and over Phoenix and Bob to try and lock on, but failed when Phoenix rolled out of the way. She led them in a chase across the sky, neither plane being ‘hit’, but neither pilot lost.

“What the hell was that?” Bob asked when they landed. “Where did you guys find a Navy Seal?”

Phoenix chuckled, “Bagman found her at the bar last night. He’s smitten.” Having landed back on the airstrip and taxiing it back towards its storing bay with the other Dagger aircraft, she unclipped herself from the harness and jumped down only to be met by Hangman standing right behind her. “Jesus fuck!” She yelled, right as Bob shouted “What the shit man?”

“Nothin’. Jus’ creepin’. Wanted to freak you out a bit,” he said with a shrug and a mischievous grin crossing his face.

“Asshole.”

“That’s me Nix, that’s me.” And Jake wandered off in the direction of the classroom to hear what Mav had to say.

Bob hopped down and watched him walk off. “You think he’s aware that a Navy Seal has standards?”

Phoenix snorted. “Unlikely. But maybe that’s why he’s trying to sneak around here so he can impress her. I won’t tell him that sneaking up on a Seal is a death sentence.” She pulled her helmet off, tucking it under her arm. “C’mon Bobert, let's get ripped into by Mav.”

“If you’re not telling, I’m not telling,” Bob replied with his own grin. “And do we have to? I’d much rather stay here where it’s somewhat safe with my ego intact, thank you.”

“Right? I would too if Mav wouldn’t send out a search party to find us,” she quipped. “Come on, better late than never.”

“I think the Seal would disagree with you.” But he followed Natasha anyway, trying not to drag his heels to avoid what he was sure would be the telling off of his life.

===

Unsurprisingly, Bear was also on base. After all, this was the only Navy base on Coronado Island, so it made sense that all Navy personnel would be stationed together. What she wasn’t expecting was to run into a pair of Navy pilots as she walked back to her car. “Watch it,” she grumbled, shouldering her way past the man and woman.

“There are Seals on this base?”

“Might want to get your eyes checked there, cause I’m not in-fucking-visible,” she retorted.

“Hold up, sorry. Are you the Seal that Bagman spent half of last night talking about?” The man asked in a quiet voice.

Softening her approach just a smidge, Bear turned and nodded. “I am. Something you wanted to ask?”

“No, not at all. Just curious as to who got our precious Bagman all shook up,” the woman replied, before extending a hand to shake. “I’m Phoenix, this is Bob.”

“Good to meet you. I’m Bear.”

“Bear?” The woman known now as Phoenix asked, confusion crossing her face. “How’d you get that?”

Bear grinned. “Show me yours, I’ll show you mine?” She offered, eyes flicking to the tall quiet man who stood awkwardly off to the side. “I don’t bite, Bob. Not unless you want me to,” she added with a wink.

Bob flushed, and shook his head. “Pretty sure I’d get punched.”

Bear gave him a look. “We’ll revisit that later, but continuing on. You were saying Phoenix?”

With a reluctant sigh, Phoenix explained how she’d had to make an emergency landing when her engines caught fire, resulting in a fiery tail across the sky. “Bird on fire, Phoenix. Same difference.”

The other woman chuckled to herself. “That’s a good one. Bear is because I’m cranky as fuck when I get up in the morning,” she told them.

Bob grinned at her explanation. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but that is great.”

“I should be heading off. Lots of meetings tomorrow and all, but it was good to meet you both. Maybe I’ll see you around.” With a wave, Bear headed back to her car. “Oh, and one last thing, if it ever gets out to Hangman you met me, don’t tell him my name. He has to work for that one,” she said loudly, turning to walk backwards.

“Sounds like a plan,” Phoenix called back, giving her a quick wave. Quietly to Bob, she whispered “Bagman is in for an uphill climb if he wants to even have a chance with her.”

“I know,” Bob whispered back. “It’s going to be great.”

===

A/N: So many thanks to @startrekfangirl2233, @dakotakazansky, and @sarahsmi13s for being the most incredible beta readers ever! I love you all so much!

And to all my beautiful readers: my inbox is open so come and scream at me in reblogs, comments, or DMs, I promise I will get to you all!

Taglist:

@startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @fandomxpreferences @fighterpilothoe @dempy @gizmodear @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @javden @snubug @indigomaegrimm @twsssmlmaa @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @waywardhunter95 @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @melss24 @heli991113 @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins Sorry if I missed anyone!

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers Master List

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

Read on Wattpad or AO3!

Teaser

Spotify Playlist

Part 1 - The Seal in the Bar

Part 2 - Goddamn Pilots

Part 3 - Intel

Part 4 - Guess Who?

Part 5 - Flyboy On My Mind

Part 6 - Mark Me Down as Horny, not Scared

Part 7 - Shaping Up and Shipping Out

Part 8 - The Boat to Riyadh

Part 9 - Glowing in the Dark

Part 10 - On Nights Like This

Part 11 - Operation Hellfire

Intermission

Part 12 - I’m Not Ready to Die

Part 13 - I’m Not Gonna Lose You Now

Part 14 - Cuz I Need You (Like the Flowers Need the Rain)

Part 14.5 - The Letter

Part 15 - Game of Survival

Part 16 - Mark My Words

Part 17 - What About Us?

Part 18 - But I Know Who I Am Now (I Am Yours)

Part 19 - ‘Cause You’re the Reason Love Comes Easy

Part 20 - Golden

Part 21 - I Won’t Let You Go

Part 22 - Reunion

Part 23 - Lights Down Low

Part 24 - (Sun)Kissed

Epilogue - Like Real People Do

A/N: Hi all! Come scream your theories at me! I want to hear what you all think! This list will be updated as new chapters come out and it will be found on my pinned post under "My Works"!

Tagging my AGAD Taglist:

@startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @twsssmlmaa @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @javden @snubug @indigomaegrimm @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @waywardhunter95 @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @melss24 @heli991113 @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @allyxstebo @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @aemondsiut @alana4610 @hangmanscoming @killcomet

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 2 - Goddamn Pilots

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*Picture is from Pinterest, not mine*

A/N: I was not expecting this to be as popular as it apparently is! Welcome back to AGAD and I hope you enjoy!

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: swearing (this one is consistent throughout) and I think that’s it!

Word Count: 2.0k

Read on Wattpad or AO3

Masterlist >> Part 1 >> Part 3

===

Days after their first meeting, Jake still had the Navy Seal roaming through his mind. What was her name? What did she really think of him? Would she go out with him if he asked? Did anyone else on his team meet her and have any of this information? He was deep in thought, pondering these questions, and yet he hadn’t tried to seek her out. Maybe it was fear keeping him from engaging, or maybe it was because she had revealed herself to be far more dangerous than expected and he was both afraid, not that he’d admit it, and turned on by the way she carried herself.

Which brought him to now. “Jake, come on man. Did you hear a word I just said?” Fanboy grumbled, knocking his elbow and jarring the blond from his thoughts.

“Hate to break it to you, Micks, but no,” he replied, shaking the last of his daydreaming off to tune into the conversation. “Repeat it?”

Fanboy rolled his eyes, slumping further into the rec room couch before answering. “I said, you hear that Nix and Bob met a Seal on base a few days ago? Apparently she stopped and chatted with them for a bit.”

“Says who?” Jake’s head snapped over to Phoenix, who just shook her head at him.

“She swore me to secrecy,” the woman said with a shrug. “Girl code and the like.”

Hangman let out a frustrated groan at her words. “Seriously? Bob, you a part of girl code now too?”

Bob curled in on himself, not liking the sudden attention of the room on him. “I’m staying out of this,” he mumbled.

“Ah ah ah. Nope, you don’t get to hide information from me.”

“Actually he does.” From the doorway of the rec room, a feminine voice spoke up. Its owner leaned against the doorframe, clad in the desert camouflage patterned uniform worn by the Seals. “My ears were burning, and well, I wasn’t liking what I was hearing.” Bear had been standing there for a good five minutes, listening in silently on the conversations held by the pilots. None had noticed her, despite more than half of them facing towards the doorway.

Phoenix and Bob both turned towards the voice, grins widening when they saw it to be Bear. “Hey, I was just about to come find you,” Phoenix said, holding up her phone.

“I know. But I was done first. Perk of being a sniper. It’s usually just one shot and done if all goes well,” Bear replied with a grin, having just glanced around the room at the various emotions on the faces of the pilots sitting before her. “So these are the Daggers then. Good to meet you.”

Coyote, who’s gaze was flicking between the woman in front of him and his best friend, was the first to speak up. “It’s good to meet you too. I’d introduce you to the team, but it sounds like you already know more about us than we’d like.”

“Got it in one, Coyote. Got it in one,” Bear replied with a teasing grin. She stepped into the room, noticing how everyone’s gaze snapped to her approaching form.

The mustached man who she knew to be Rooster was the next to speak. “So you know all about us, but we know nothing about you. How is that fair?”

Bear just smiled. “You’ll know what I allow you to know. My deployments are a tad more elaborate than yours, fly boy, so every detail is precious,” she replied, coming to perch on the arm of the chair Phoenix sat in.

“Do we get a name, or a callsign…?” prompted one of the pilots, which was then echoed by the group all nodding and verbalizing their agreement.

“Call me Bear,” she replied, giving in just a little bit.

“Bear…” Jake repeated to himself, but when he looked around the room, he was faced with the amused looks of his colleagues. “What?”

“Oh nothing,” Bear replied, her own grin teasing. “It’s just funny that you seem so happy with one tiny detail. Almost seems obsessive.”

Jake’s green eyes widened. “I’m not…it’s not like that!” he protested wildly. “It isn’t like that,” he repeated, making eye contact with Bear and watching her eyes twinkle in amusement.

“Oh I know,” she stated. “ It’s just funny to watch you pilots get all flustered. You all lose your composure so quickly, no offense intended. It’s just an observation.” A flurry of indignant squawks were sent up, making her chuckle. “You all just proved my point.” Glancing at Phoenix, Bear asked quietly “Half an hour then we head out?”

Sliding off the arm of the chair, Bear went to leave but Hangman’s voice called out after her. “Why Bear?”

“Why Hangman?” She prompted. “I made the same deal with Phoenix here, show me yours, I’ll show you mine.” She crossed her arms over her chest, intelligent eyes categorizing every micromovement the blond made.

“...I was really good at the game in basic training…” he admitted quietly, the words barely reaching her ears. The room had gone silent as the pilots tried to match up his story with who he was now, their faces contorted in confusion. “I went, it’s your turn now.”

Grinning wickedly, Bear shook her head. “I didn’t say when I’d tell you,” she hummed, shooting him a wink. “Not my fault you jumped the gun.”

The room exploded in shock, indignation, and laughter at her words, and over the noise, Jake yelled out “Jus’ wait, I’ll get it out of you eventually!”

“Is that a promise or a threat, fly boy? Cause don’t forget, us snipers are patient people,” she replied calmly. Deep in the recesses of her mind, Bear was imagining him storming after her and trying to draw the story from her, doing his best to pluck the story from her lips. The heat in his eyes molten as he would look down on her, making her squirm under the gaze. But she quickly shook herself free from the daydream, to watch Hangman get up from the couch and come to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the rest of the room.

“I’ll hold you to that, Teddy,” he said quietly, his voice low and near her ear. And when he pulled back, Jake couldn’t help the smirk that broke free as he caught the brief wide-eyed look she gave him. The one she schooled quickly into the mask she usually wore. He sat back down, and watched her wave and leave the rec room quickly.

A glance at his colleagues had him raise an eyebrow. “What?”

“What did you say to her?” Coyote asked suspiciously. “‘Cause I really don’t feel like wakin’ up to your body hanging from the shower head tomorrow.”

“Nothin’ important. Just that I can be far more patient than she thinks,” he said with a shrug.

Rooster burst out laughing at his words. “Bullshit. I watched you switch lines three times in the mess this morning because you thought the others were shorter. She’s got you beat by a mile.”

“That was a one time thing,” Jake grumbled. “I will beat her.”

“Not likely, Bagman. Not likely at all,” Phoenix spoke as she got up. “Well, I’m out. Bear and I have plans, so I’ll see you losers later.”

“What, are we not cool enough for you now?” Payback teased.

“Nope,” Phoenix replied, flipping them off as she left the room.

===

While the pilots teased Hangman about being impatient as hell, Bear had swiftly escaped to the locker room. She slipped inside and leaned back against the door, burying her face in her hands and letting out a groan. Like Jake, all Bear had been able to think about was the cocky man she’d met at the bar. But unlike him, she could keep her thoughts hidden and she already knew everything about him, much to his chagrin. His look of confusion then frustration when she’d refused to tell him about her made her smile as she replayed it in her mind.

A few deep breaths later, Bear pushed off the door and began to grab her things to shower off the grime from the day’s training. Her mind raced as she stood under the spray, and she shook her head to dislodge all thoughts of the blond pilot she’d been messing with.

She wouldn’t think about Jake. Wouldn’t think about how close he’d stood, how she could feel the heat radiating off his body, the smell of jet fuel, sweat, and whatever cologne he’d put on that morning. A frustrated groan left her lips and she rested her head against the cool tile of the shower, willing her thoughts away.

It must have worked because ten minutes later, she was out and dressed in her civilian clothing of a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, feet tucked into running shoes, with her uniform folded into her bag. She hummed as she waited for Phoenix to make an appearance, logging in to her naval email and checking for any new information about their deployment.

The door banged open, making her jump, standing up quickly to see Phoenix walk in, her hair halfway down from the regulation bun. “Sorry, didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“It’s all good,” Bear replied, sitting back down. “Just be happy that I didn’t have my weapon with me.”

Phoenix made a concerned face. “Would I really be in that much danger?”

“Depends on how emotionally scarring you find a gun being held to your forehead as you’re flat on your back,” the Seal replied almost too casually for the conversation. “But no, it would just be the threat, likely not any action.”

Gulping, Phoenix nodded. “Awesome, good to know. Don’t mess with Bear.” Running her hands through her hair, the brunette gestured to the showers before she said “I’ll be like ten.”

“Got it. I’m in no rush,” Bear replied, looking back down at her phone. “I do have to check in on something before we leave, I’ll meet you by your car?”

Over the running water, Phoenix called back “Sounds good. See you in a bit.”

Stepping quickly from the locker room, Bear made her way back down the hallway towards her CO’s office. On her way there, she ran headlong into someone as she rounded a corner. “Shit! I’m sorry, I should have been paying more attention.”

“No, it’s my fault,” a familiar baritone sounded from just above her. Glancing up, Bear made direct eye contact with the green eyes of Hangman. She barely managed to hide the stutter of her breath, as she found herself watching her reflection in his eyes. “I could have slowed down.”

Mentally shaking herself, Bear couldn’t stop a grin from crossing her face. “I wasn’t sure you pilots knew how to do that,” she teased.

A flash of humor appeared in his eyes, twinkling as he watched her. “I can go at whatever speed you need, Teddy.”

She bristled at the nickname. “Really? Teddy? How original.”

All she got in response was a smirk, before he straightened up and stepped back half a step. “Well,” she said, “I should really be going.”

“So should I.”

It was a few moments before either of them moved, but Bear quickly slipped past Jake and hurried down the hallway. Knocking once on the door of her CO’s office, a gruff “Enter” answered her, and she stepped into the room.

“You wanted to see me, Sir?”

“Shut the door, and take a seat,” was his response. Rear Admiral Will “Shark” Harris had been running Seal Team 3 for the better part of a decade, collecting commendations until some high up would hopefully promote him up and out of the position. “We have some new information.”

Bear cursed mentally. She grabbed her phone and typed out a quick message to Phoenix. “Just got called into a meeting. Meet me at the bar, I will get there when I can.”

Pulling up a chair, she sat down. “Of course, Sir.”

===

A/N: So much love to the readers of AGAD, and to my editors/cheerleaders @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky, I wouldn’t be publishing this without you. Mwah 😘

Taglist: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @twsssmlmaa @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @javden @indigomaegrimm @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @waywardhunter95 @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @heli991113 @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @allyxstebo @taytaylala12 @urmom-999

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Epilogue - Like Real People Do

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

Picture is from Pinterest AKA not mine

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: probably very inaccurate court proceedings, swearing, mentions of scars, Bear being a badass, sort of victim blaming (not really, but maybe), soft and sweet, author makes up for being an asshole for most of the series…

Word Count: 5.4k

Part 24 >> Masterlist

A/N: big thanks to @sarahsmi13s for helping me with the legal babble/criminal justice parts of this fic! You were a huge help for figuring out the details and made this part just that much sweeter!

===

A year later, 365 days after the catastrophe that had been Operation Hellfire, the five Seals involved in the treasonous attack against Bear had gone to trial and the verdict was due any minute. Former Lieutenants Colton ‘Hazard’ Richards, Michael ‘Dex’ Lewis, Jackson ‘Dodger’ Cartwright, Andrew ‘Gallows’ Stevenson, and Grant ‘Chip’ Harding all stood trial together, four of the five pleading not guilty to the charges leveled against them. 

Only Chip had cut a deal with the prosecution. He chose to testify against Hazard and the others and in exchange, he was dealt a sentence of five years at Leavenworth with a chance at parole for his minimal part in the terrorist plot hatched by the other men. He had also leveled charges of blackmail and assault against Hazard, the court finding the latter guilty on both counts. 

Several other members of Bear’s team and a few of the Dagger Squadron had also testified as witnesses for the prosecution; each sharing their experiences with what the media were now calling the ‘Team 3 Traitors’. 

Bear’s own testimony had lasted a few days as she shared her story to the grand jury, detailing her account of what had been done to her as a result of Hazard’s plotting. She denied and denounced any attempt made by the defense to try and undermine her, standing strong on the witness stand as a lawyer repeatedly tried to discredit her. She hardly remembered those days, but the media did. 

A quote of hers, “With all due respect, Mr. Harmen, I believe I know what happened to me far more vividly than your files detailed. You do not get to try for ‘reasonable doubt’ when I will wear the scars of my torture for the rest of my life,” had gone viral. She hadn’t gone searching but apparently Jake’s sister had started sending TikTok edits of the trial to him and a few had made her laugh way harder than she should have. Leave it to the observer to ridicule the men who tried and failed to take her down. 

What the media and those TikToks hadn’t seen however, was the way her hands shook on her lap with every word she spoke. No one saw the fear in her eyes as she sat across from the men who had orchestrated this plot against both her and the US Navy as an institution, and how could they? Bear had stuffed it deep down where it couldn’t be seen, but there were moments where Jake had seen it. Moments where her voice shook. 

But in the weeks this case had been in court, Bear had sat diligently behind the prosecution in her dress blues, her medals proudly on display. Among them, her Purple Heart that had been presented to her not days before the trial. She looked the very picture of a war hero. She had refused to cower, her hand held tightly by Jake’s own. He too, had testified, detailing his own experiences and his involvement in rooting out the traitors among those on the mission. 

Today though, today was different. Bear knew that Flare, like Chip, had brought down charges of stalking, blackmail, as well as assault and battery against Hazard before this trial had begun. Meaning that even if this jury found him not guilty, he would at least be spending some time in prison. 

As the court reconvened after three long days of deliberations, Bear’s heart was in her throat. This was it, the moment of truth. She would know in a few short minutes if she could rest easy or if she had to be worried for the rest of her life. She could feel the glare that Hazard’s mother was throwing her way, hell she had weathered insults from the wives and parents of her former Seal Team members. That would be nothing compared to their reactions if the verdict came back as guilty. “Has the jury reached a verdict?” 

“Yes your Honor.” A short Black man stood, holding an envelope in hand. It was brought up to the judge, who opened it and read it silently. 

“For the two counts of attempted murder, how do you find the defendants?” 

“We the jury, find the defendants guilty.” 

Bear nearly sunk to the floor as emotion overwhelmed her, but she forced herself to remain seated, listening intently. The rest of the charges were read off: conspiracy to commit murder, destruction of government property, domestic terrorism, and espionage.

The jury found the defendants, Hazard, Dex, Dodger, and Gallows guilty of all of them. “And lastly,” Judge Davies said, “For the crime of terrorism, how do you find the defendants?” 

The world seemed to slow to a crawl. Bear held her breath, clutching Jake and FAK’s hands tightly as the foreperson spoke. “We the jury…” Silently, Bear sent up a prayer, begging for them to be found guilty. Hoping that they would pay for what they had done, that they would rot in a cell, but unlike her, they stood no chance at freedom. It was the least they deserved. “…find the defendants guilty.” 

The room exploded in a cacophony of sound; protests from the opposite side of the courtroom, shouts of victory from the Seals, and words of congratulations from the prosecution to one another filling the room. Reporters began shouting over one another, camera shutters clicked and lights flashed, adding to the wave of noise that rolled around the room. 

Bear let herself collapse back into her seat, hands coming up to cover her face as she sobbed in relief. The fear and apprehension that had lived inside her everyday since she had confronted Hazard began to overflow as she cried. It would all be okay. How could it not be? These four men, the men who had blackmailed Flare and Chip, the men who had begun working with terrorists and who had orchestrated her capture and torture, all of them were going to spend the rest of their lives in jail. 

That thought made Bear sit up and wipe her face, sniffling as she did so. She had to show her strength and as she stood, she could feel the hands of her team on her back and shoulders, all of them showing their undeniable support for their Commander. 

Jake had gone to shake the hands of the prosecution, their conversation unintelligible over the din and Bear took a moment to let her eyes trail over him, over the sharp angles of him in his own blues. His shoulders looked broader, the cut of this jacket, while the same as hers, made what little blue he had in his eyes stand out. He looked beautiful. How she had managed to keep him in her life, she didn’t know, but ever since their reunion a year ago, Jake had practically moved in and was staying at her home. 

No one else had been made aware, as far as everyone knew, Bear and Jake were still figuring everything out. They didn’t know about him living with her, and Jake knew for a fact that Bear didn’t know about the ring currently burning a hole in his pocket. He had waited eight months after moving in to buy the ring, and it had been almost four since he walked out of the store with a little box in his pocket. He just hadn’t found the right time. 

Maybe today was the day. 

The bang of the gavel quieted the room quickly. “Order in the courtroom! This court finds the defendants, Colton ‘Hazard’ Richards, Michael ‘Dex’ Lewis, Jackson ‘Dodger’ Cartwright, and Andrew ‘Gallows’ Stevenson guilty on all charges. Due to the precedent for these crimes, Mr’s. Richards, Lewis, Cartwright, and Stevenson are sentenced to life in prison at Guantanamo Bay.”

Shrike bumped Bear’s arm. “I’ve got friends there. They’ll be looked after.” The sharp grin on her face implied anything but, but Bear couldn’t find it within her to care. Not when Hazard was finally paying for all his crimes.

She composed herself and stepped up to the prosecution’s team, next to Jake, shaking their hands. “Thank you, for everything,” she said tearfully. “Your work will not be forgotten.” 

“Neither will your testimony, Commander.” 

Jake watched Bear draw a shuddering breath as she nodded. “Thank you,” her voice was soft, barely audible over the angry shouts from the families of the now guilty. “I will be forever grateful to you all.” 

“Extend some of that to yourself,” James told her. “You were the cornerstone of the entire case, so thank you. You made sure they wouldn’t walk free, we just did the legal speak.” 

Those who heard him, laughed and Jake grinned when Bear cracked a smile. It was a bright beam of grin, one that grew wider the longer she talked with the lawyers. But good things only lasted so long because as Bear turned around, a woman came racing up to them, yelling obscenities. “You FUCKING BITCH!” 

Bear stepped back, her hands raised. “I’m sure you’re right, ma’am, but I’m going to need a little more clarification as to why I’m a bitch in this particular moment.” 

Jake had to turn away to hide his snort of laughter and it seemed to him that the Seals nearby were all in the same boat. 

“My son did nothing wrong! You villainized him for no particular reason all because you KNEW that he was better qualified for your position!” Bear regarded her calmly. She knew Hazard’s mother was convinced of her son’s innocence, hell, she had nearly been called as a character witness before the judge shut that down. “You cheated him out of a job that should have been his! You faked all of this!” 

“Mrs. Richards,” Bear said in a cool tone. She had drawn herself up, standing tall like there was a steel rod straight through her spine. This woman would never believe that her son was guilty, nothing Bear could say would convince her of that. “I am well aware of your delusion that your son is innocent, but I have to disagree,” she began in a steady voice. She had begun unbuttoning her jacket, each gold button sliding out of its place smoothly. “If your son were truly innocent and I were faking my torture, then why would I have these?” 

Bear lifted up her shirt, displaying the scars that ran across her lower stomach. Hazard’s mother gasped, cringing at the sight. But Bear wasn’t done. “You may maintain your son’s innocence all you like, but nothing will change the fact that your son is the reason I will wear these scars for the rest of my life.” She dropped her shirt, tucking it back into her pants and began rebuttoning her jacket. 

His mother opened her mouth to say something, but Jake cut her off and in a tone so cold, the temperature dropped, he spoke “Ma’am, I would recommend you retake your seat so you can say your goodbyes to your son. Otherwise, I believe that no one will blame your son’s former Commander when she smacks some sense into you.” 

The woman before Bear stammered and stuttered, unsure of how to reply. All Bear did was snap her fingers and the Seals behind her stomped a foot on the ground in unison, snapping to attention. The suddenness of the movement startled most of the courtroom and the stare leveled at Mrs. Richards had her slinking back to her spot next to her family. Bear turned back to Jake and nodded at him, the look in her eyes darkening for a completely different reason now, and Jake felt his dress pants tighten from the heat in her brown eyes. 

“Fuck,” he thought. “This is a shitty time for this.” But he couldn’t really help himself, Bear had done what she had done and she had done it proudly. Sue him. “We should leave,” he whispered, his gaze darting between the woman he loved and the media personnel filing out of the courtroom. “Don’t want to get caught in the media storm outside.” 

Bear nodded, a faint smirk rising to her lips, but she said nothing. Instead, she straightened her uniform blues, watched the prosecution file out ahead of her and then she followed immediately afterwards. The flashing cameras and shouting reporters chased her, Jake, and the lawyers out of the building, snapping pictures the whole time. 

No one said a thing. Not the prosecution lawyers, not Bear or her Seals, Jake and the Daggers remained silent as well. No one wanted to be the one quoted as saying something after this trial, the Navy had yet to comment and they all knew that whatever the organization had to say would be the end-all, be-all. No room for arguing, debating, or the like. 

She and Jake made it to his truck, Rooster and Bob cramming into the back seats. Bear felt Rooster’s hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Proud of you, Bear,” he said quietly. He had grown to see that whatever connection that existed between Jake and Bear was more than just the trauma that they shared. As far as he knew, neither one had acted on the obvious feelings that were always thick in the air whenever they were around one another. “You got them.” 

Bear nodded, placing her hand over his. “Thank you,” her voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you both.” She would thank each and every one of her Seals when the time came, but right now, both Bob and Rooster had to know how much their own testimony meant to her. “I couldn’t have done it all without you.” 

A small chuckle came from Bob. “Pretty sure you could do anything you set your mind to, Bear, but you’re so welcome.” Those were the only words he said to her as he slipped out of the truck in front of his house, tapping the driver’s window in thanks. 

Rooster was next, clambering out of the cab awkwardly. “Have a good night, Bear. If you need anything, call me.” He was serious, she could see it in his eyes. “Promise me.” 

She smiled at him, nodding. “I promise that if I can’t get through to this lug, I’ll call you if I need anything.” 

“Good.” The truck door slammed shut, making both her and Jake jump, as they watched Rooster run up his front steps as the door swung open for him. A quick wave at the truck was the only indication of his goodbye before he disappeared inside. 

Jake and Bear drove home in comfortable silence, the radio softly playing some old country song that Bear didn’t recognize. The second Rooster had gone inside, Jake’s hand had moved to its usual place on her thigh, giving it a squeeze. “It’s finally over,” Bear breathed in disbelief as she walked in the front door. “Jake, honey, it’s all over.” 

Bear pulled her hair from its bun, groaning softly at the feeling when she ran her fingers through it. She hated having her hair up that tight, preferring a ponytail or a claw clip to keep it out of her face when she wasn’t in uniform. It just made sense.

Distractedly, she undid her boots, placing them in the coat closet, not paying attention to Jake behind her. 

The late afternoon shone through the windows, casting both Bear and himself in a wreath of golden sunlight. From here, Bear seemed softer, the near permanent furrow in her brow relaxing and smoothing itself away into her skin. The firmness that she carried herself with, the so-called stick up her ass, had lessened as she seemed to transform under Jake’s adoring gaze.

His heart clenched almost painfully in his chest, the guards she let down around him nearly sending him over the edge and Jake found himself struck by the startling need to keep this woman in his life. He’d found his moment, if the way his heart beat as he tracked her movements with the same intensity she had analyzed him with years ago. Everything in him was screaming at him that this was his chance to drop to one knee, to put that ring around her finger and anchor every part of him, his name, his soul, to the incredible woman that she already was.

His mama did say that when it was right, he would know. And who would Jake be if he didn’t listen to his mama? 

“We can sleep easier now, and you didn’t hear Shrike, but apparently she has a friend at Gua- Jake?” Bear cut herself off mid-ramble to find Jake on one knee before her, a small velvet box in hand. “Flyboy… what?” Tears welled in her eyes at the sight, a shaky hand coming up to cover her mouth in shock. 

“Teddy…” Jake’s voice was soft, eyes cataloging every expression that flitted over her face. “I started off my attempt at telling you I loved you by becoming a shaky, rambling mess, and it’s only fitting that I’m here now, the exact same way.” 

He let out a breathy laugh, trying to find his next words. “When we met, I was the cocky asshole that you shot down in less than 10 words and I just walked away because I had a feeling that if I didn’t, I would lose something incredible. I ended up being right. You drove me crazy over the next few weeks, constantly on my mind with your snarky comments and the way you made me work for every second of your time. I don’t think I knew I fell in love with you until I thought you were gone. I gave you my heart without knowing I had yours and I’m making this up on the spot right now so I really don’t know where I was going with this.

“I love you, my gorgeous girl and I can only hope that you love me as much as I love you otherwise this will be very awkward in a little bit.” Jake’s hands were shaking, he was sweating under Bear’s teary gaze and he could feel his cheeks flushing from his nerves. God he hoped she’d say yes. “So I guess the only thing left to do is ask. Teddy, would you do me the greatest honor and marry me?” 

The foyer was silent as Bear stared at him with wide eyes. She had been hoping for this for a while, wishing desperately that she had a way to keep Jake with her forever. Every part of her had fought for him, had fought for herself so that she could see his face again. Now though, as Jake knelt on the wooden floor of their home, Bear felt everything click into place and it felt like sunshine had been poured into her veins, warming her. 

She loved him, had loved him in silence since before they had deployed. Hell, she was pretty sure that it had taken his crash for the last threads to find their place because every action she had taken after that had been done with love for the man before her. “Jake…” she breathed, taking a cautious step towards him like she was afraid he would disappear if she moved too quickly. 

Jake held his breath, begging whoever was listening that Bear accepted his proposal. God. He had proposed and she still hadn’t said a thing. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this, was he even ready for this? He’d ruined this by asking. They hadn’t even had a full conversation about marriage yet. He fucked this up. Of course he had. 

He felt a palm press against his cheek, chasing his panicking thoughts away. “Did you hear me Flyboy?” Bear said, laughing lightly through her tears. “I said yes.” 

“You did?!” Jake couldn’t keep his outburst from slipping out, making Bear laugh. “You said yes?” His next question was shyer, almost like he couldn’t believe it. 

“Ask me again and find out.” 

Jake took a deep breath, opening the ring box as he did. “Will you marry me?” 

“Yes.” 

The universe seemed to align upon her acceptance, stars falling into place and lighting up the world around them. He fumbled with the ring, slipping onto her finger before tossing the box behind him and kissing her deeply. Bear gasped against his mouth, surprised by the sudden intensity behind it. Jake pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. “Would you believe me if I said I had been planning that for weeks?” 

“Proposing, or the speech?” Bear teased softly, playing with the short hairs at the nap of his neck. 

Jake sighed, shaking his head, but even he couldn’t keep the wide smile off his face. He drew Bear’s left hand away from the back of his neck, kissing the palm gently before turning it over and running a thumb over the ring he had only just given her. The ring itself was a simple gold band adorned with round-cut diamonds arranged to look like a flower; it had screamed Bear the moment he saw it. “Either or,” came his soft reply. 

Bear tilted his chin up to look him in the eyes and was stunned into silence at the love that seemed to shine from Jake’s green eyes. “No,” she told him, running a thumb along his jaw. “But it was from you and I was always going to say yes. If you ever had plans to ask me, that is.” 

He said nothing, dipping his head back down and capturing her lips with his own. This kiss was in sharp contrast to the pure passion that had filled his earlier kiss. It was soft where the other had been fierce; Jake was content to stand there for the rest of his life, kissing the woman he loved. The woman he would marry. 

This time, Bear broke the kiss, pecking him one more time before stepping away. She held her hand up, watching the stones sparkle in the late afternoon light and it brought a smile to her lips. “You did good, Flyboy.” 

“Yeah?” Jake took a step closer, pride radiating out of him. He picked a good one and it was like his concerns had been completely wiped away. Bear had said yes, she loved the ring, and he felt unstoppable. Like he was gliding through the air in his F-18, nothing tethering him to the ground. 

Only now, he did have a tether to the ground, a reason to fight harder than he had ever fought before. She was standing in front of him, eyeing him like he was the only thing she had ever wanted. He felt the weight of that settle in his heart, but unlike the fear of her rejection, this weight was different. It made him feel like he had both protected himself while tearing himself bare and wide open. “It just seemed like something you’d wear, if you ever wore jewelry.”

Bear met his gaze and rolled her eyes, but he knew that it was done with love. It was the only way Jake could describe the way she looked at him. He’d seen it before, in the early days where Bear seemed to doubt his own love for her, but when he wasn’t looking, that’s when he’d feel it. “You’re such a goof,” she told him, moving towards the stairs. “But you’re soon-to-be Mr. Goof, so I guess I can love it like I love you.” 

Jake watched her ascend the stairs, gaping at her. “Now who’s the sap?” He yelled up the stairs as he tugged his boots off in a hurry and raced towards her bedroom, slamming the door behind him. 

“Still you. You’re always the sap.” 

=== 

Flare didn’t know why Shrike called her and told her to meet at her place nor did she know why they, a few of their colleagues, and the Daggers showed up outside Bear’s house 30 minutes later. 

All she knew was relief. 

Her charges against Hazard had stuck and she had been cleared of any wrongdoing given the intensity of her predicament. That, and Bear had gone to the mat for her, refusing to give up Flare in return for another person who couldn’t do her job half as well. She had been demoted however; losing her position as a Lieutenant Commander and dropped down to a Lieutenant while also dropping a few clearance levels as the Navy conducted an internal investigation. 

That was a headache for later though. 

Now she and the others stood outside Bear’s front door, Fireball having rung the bell and she waited curiously. She heard Fanboy whisper to Phoenix “Is that Jake’s truck?” 

“I think s-“ the door swung open, revealing Bear, clad only in a large, wrinkled black t-shirt. Her hair was a mess, sticking to her face, and if you looked closely, you’d find a bite mark or two along the collar of the shirt that kept sliding down. 

“Can I help you?” She asked, leaning on the doorframe, the edge of the door being held in her left hand. “You could have just texted.” 

“We did,” Fanboy replied with a shrug. “But you didn’t answer.” 

Bear narrowed her eyes. “So all 13 of you just decided to show up at my front door? At fucking 10 pm on a random Thursday?” 

Phoenix gave her a strange look. “Well initially we wanted to all get together to celebrate the win, but clearly you’re celebrating in your own way,” the smirk was audible in her tone and it matched the look that had emerged as she took in Bear’s appearance. 

“I was,” Bear replied coolly, but the blush on her face was hard to hide. “But a few people on my doorstep changed all of that real quick.” 

A voice from near the back of the group had Bear’s head snapping over. “Was there a reason you taught the pilots proper weapons techniques?” 

“Because no one ever asked. And why the hell would I teach them the wrong thing?” She just looked confused at the mere suggestion of improper weapons handling. “Can we just meet up tomorrow? I was in the mid-“ 

“What’s taking so long?” A voice yelled down the stairs, just audible for the team to hear it. 

Bear’s jaw twitched and she looked annoyed. “Give me a second!” She yelled back into the house, turning and stepping inside for half a moment, forgetting that her ring was still on her finger. 

“Bear…” Rooster began. “What’s that on your hand?” 

“What does it look like?” 

A chorus of gasps sounded and everyone immediately started yelling over one another, choosing to ignore the fact that it was 10:30 on a weeknight. “YOU’RE ENGAGED?!” 

Bear groaned, running her hand over her face. “Yes, I am. No that it’s any of your business.” 

“When were you going to tell us?” Bug gasped, reaching for her hand. “Were you just going to hide this from us?” 

“I would have kept it between me and my fiancé for as long as I could have, because this only just happened.” 

Bug blinked in surprise. “He proposed tonight?” 

Bear nodded, her eyes glancing down to her hand, smiling softly at the blue stones. “He did. We got home and he was on one knee. Caught me completely by surprise.” 

The fondness in her tone made the gathered Navy members look at her with their own grins. “So when do we meet the lucky man?” 

She went to reply but the creaking of her stairs had her pausing. “Teddy? What’s going on? Is it another chatty Amazon driver?” Jake’s voice came closer and closer, finally stopping behind Bear. His large hands came to span her hips, burying his face in her neck. The warmth from his bare chest soaked through her stolen shirt, making butterflies erupt in her stomach. “Guess not.” 

The team before them stood in complete silence. A few had had their suspicions about the two of them being together, but no one had any proof. Now though, the proof was staring them in the face. Jake had wrapped himself around Bear like he’d been doing so forever and Bear, always in charge, stoic, and firm, was bright pink as she tried to fight the urge to turn and kiss the man behind her. 

Once again, the explosion of noise hit her hard. The pilots yelling at Jake for not telling them, the Seals yelling at Bear, spouses and partners just yelling in general and it became too much very quickly. She turned into Jake, hiding her face in his shoulder, her ringed hand clutching his arm. 

He lifted his head, glancing down at Bear, who’d curled into him. “Okay guys, we can talk about this later. 

“But…” 

“No.” Jake’s voice was firm as he took in his teammates staring at him like he grew another head. “I just put the damn ring on her finger, give me at least 24 hours alone with her as my fiancee before you start hounding her.” 

His eyes met Reaper’s who gave him a nod. “You did good,” she mouthed, and if Jake got a little teary-eyed as he looked down at Bear where he was still holding her, no one would judge him. 

Strangely enough, it was Rooster that caught Jake’s eye next. There was a moment of understanding in his wingman’s eyes, a sort of approval shining bright in them. “Congrats man, happy for you.” 

Jake merely nodded, choosing to press a kiss to the top of Bear’s head rather than reply. Just standing here, Bear in his arms, watching his team catalog every gesture, every movement that he made, filled his heart with so much joy. 

If he had been asked nearly two years ago what he wanted from his life, he would have shrugged the question off, preferring a non-answer to revealing the heart that yearned for more than he had. Two years ago, his life changed when he was challenged by the woman he would soon call his wife. Two years ago, Jake knew nothing of love. Now though, he knew how bright his life could be. He knew the warmth that love could bring his spirit, and best of all, he knew that he was worth it. 

For Bear, clad in Jake’s - her fiance’s - shirt, wrapped in his arms as she stood in front of her friends, it was in such contrast to everything she had known before. Sure, back in Riyadh, she had toyed with the idea of forever. Playing with it, spinning the threads of this blossoming relationship into something more, if only to have as a thought. That ‘something more’ was this. Joy, endless support, someone who understood her, and love. Pure, simple, boundless love that was shared. 

And now as Jake shooed their friends away making promises to see them soon, Bear knew that she had found everything she had ever wanted. One random night, at a random time, had changed everything she had hoped for in her life. Tonight, standing in her home with Jake, wearing the ring he had given her when he had asked if she would spend the rest of her life with him, this was it. Her career had filled her life, now she was ready to share that life with someone who understood her pain, her sacrifice. 

“I love you,” Jake said softly, freeing her from her reverie. “More than you could ever know.” She looked up, seeing his eyes shine with unshed tears.  

“Careful Jake. I could get used to this,” Bear teased gently, swiping a tear from his cheek. “You’ll spoil me.” 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger for just a moment. “A wise woman once told me that I was her everything. Now that I have a future with her in the making, I finally get to make good on my promise to never let her forget how much I love her.” 

“Anyone I know?” 

“Maybe. She’s about your height, similar build, most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. She’s a firecracker, but cares so deeply for everyone around her. I watched her crawl through hell and still look like she wasn’t done fighting. And by her, I mean you, Teddy.” 

“Sap.” 

“You know you love me.” 

Bear nodded, her smile fond as Jake caught her left hand, pressed a gentle kiss to the knuckles. “I really do.” 

“No comment?” Jake asked curiously, a look of brief concern flickering over his face. “Are you okay?” 

She glanced up at him, kissing Jake sweetly. “You are the best thing that happened to me. I never saw you coming, Jake, and I am so thankful that you tried and failed to flirt with me that first day.” 

Jake’s face softened as he drew her into his arms once again. “So am I, Teddy. So am I. I have never been more thankful that I failed to win you over the first time we met.” His words were barely above a whisper, their pronunciation thick as he fought back tears. “If I’m your everything, then I don’t even know how to explain the depth of my love for you. I gave you my heart in the time it took you to glance at me with even a hint of curiosity and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are the only one keeping it safe for the rest of my life. 

“You are it for me, Teddy.” 

Sometimes two people are just destined for each other. One usually flies high, so sure of their own skill that they forget that life is waiting for them on the ground. The other stays on the ground, their head down, fighting to break free of the weight they shoulder everyday. The free-flier learns how to anchor themself and the weighed down learns how to fly among the birds, both getting what they always desired in their darkest moments. 

There is always uncertainty when the grounded learns to soar, fear of giving their heart away and of falling, yet here, in the moment, there is nothing to fear. How could there be when both swore that the other was their everything? That they would travel to the bitter end of time and back again for one another?

The next step is always scary, but for Bear and Jake, they knew that it was only the start of the next chapter of the rest of their life together. One full of peace, love, and happiness that steadied them through it all.

It wasn’t the end, merely the beginning.

===

A/N: This is it. I can't believe that this was 25 chapters worth of Bear and Jake and I am so thankful to everyone who has read and will continue to read this fic now that it's over. AGAD is my baby and my first ever completed fic, so it will always be special. You cannot possibly know how much your endless support means to me, how much of myself I poured into this series. Bear and Jake’s story is done, for now. I have plans for them in the future and I cannot wait to see you all there!

Thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky for being my biggest supporters and always being there for me and this fic. I love you all and I’m sorry for breaking your hearts on more than one occasion. For the last time, thank you for reading!

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 4: Guess Who?

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF is not mine. I found it on Pinterest*

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, terrorism, bombings, cyber attacks

Word Count: 2.5k

Read in Wattpad or AO3

Masterlist >> Part 3 >> Part 5

===

Early in the morning, alarms in multiple homes, dorms, and other living arrangements went off. Most were those belonging to Navy Seals. The rest being those of the Dagger Squadron, who were awake bright and early for a debriefing that would provide details as to their next mission. 

Jake shut the alarm off and got up. He was excited for this debriefing, mission assists like this were always something that he had enjoyed. Especially one this secret. The Daggers knew nothing of what they were deploying into, something that only happened if and when whatever was to take place was a mission of the utmost secrecy. He showered, dressed in his flight suit, before traipsing downstairs for something to eat. Minutes later, he left. Jake met up with Bob and Payback when he got to base, the three of them chatting among themselves as they made their way to the meeting room. 

Bear, on the other hand, hit snooze and rolled over. She hated mornings. Always had. But ten minutes later, the alarm went off again and despite her desire to sleep in, she knew that this was a meeting that she absolutely could not miss. She had been up late pulling files and compiling information for the debriefing today and only late last night had she been informed that Seal Team 3 and the Dagger pilots would be working together. The thought of that alone made her want to bury herself under the covers. But she persevered and flung the covers off, showered, got dressed, ate, and departed for the base. She knew that she would be a little later than anticipated, but the meeting couldn’t start without her. 

 Meanwhile, the pilots had crammed themselves into the meeting room where Maverick had directed them. What they weren’t expecting was a group of eight to walk through the door and take seats on the opposite side of the room from them. “Ummm…we actually have this room,” Fanboy spoke up, glancing curiously around the small space. “We have a debriefing.” 

“What a coincidence. We also have this room,” a small Indian woman in the corner replied sharply, eyes narrowed in challenge. The others around her bristled, ready if one of the pilots stepped up to them. 

Maverick took this moment to walk in, folders in hand. “Morning.” He had heard the posturing through the open door and figured that if he didn’t want to end up filling out numerous incident reports, he’d better get in the room quickly.

No response. The tension was palpable, pilots and Seals glaring at one another, neither willing to back down. 

“I’m fairly certain that when someone of a higher rank says good morning, you give them a reply, Bug,” a familiar voice rang out as Bear walked in. She met the stunned looks of the pilots with a wink, grinning a little at how most of the people in the room backed down as she entered. Hangman’s reaction in particular made her laugh. He sat back down, giving her a tight smile. Shaking her head in amusement, Bear closed the door behind her. 

“Sorry Commander,” the woman who had spoken earlier replied. “Good morning, Captain Mitchell.” 

Maverick just nodded, smiling to himself. “Good morning. Thank you to you and your team for taking the time to meet with us, Commander.” 

“I should be thanking you. After all, you had no obligation to accept this mission,” Bear replied, dropping her folders on the table near her people. “And please, call me Bear. Everyone does.” 

“So long as you call me Maverick,” he told her. 

Bear nodded at him. “Deal. Now, everyone. We should probably do introductions first, since we will be working together for the next while. My people here are four of my Lieutenants, plus our medic and detonation expert. So if you would introduce yourselves, and provide your official titles so that our assisting air crew can get to know you,” she said, gesturing to her people to start. 

“I’m Bug, the Lieutenant of platoon one,” the first woman spoke up. Her black hair was neatly bunned back, dark eyes sharp as she took in the pilots in front of her. 

Bear gave her a fond smile. “Bug is also my second in command. She does a lot of the logistics with both hers and the other teams.” 

To her right sat a large man. “Name’s Marshmallow. I’m the detonation expert,” he announced. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but why Marshmallow?” Phoenix spoke up.

The man let out a chuckle. “Because one exploded and scarred my arms badly when I was younger.” 

A few chuckles rose up from the Daggers, who found it funny that the biggest man in the room was called Marshmallow. 

“I’m Fireball.”

“And I’m Flare. We’re in charge of the recon and stealth teams.” 

Payback leaned over to Bob and whispered “That’s ironic as hell.” 

Bob nodded. “You’d hope that one of them would be ‘Ghost’ or ‘Shadow’ or something like that.” 

“Yup.” 

The second last woman sat quietly. She was tough; built like a rugby player with broad, strong shoulders, and piercing eyes. “Shrike.” 

Her simple, firm introduction had a few of the pilots glancing at each other with worried glances, making Bear grin. Shrike was the longest serving member of the team. She had had numerous opportunities to advance but denied them all, preferring to stay in the field until she absolutely couldn’t anymore. “Shrike is our interrogation specialist. Interpret that how you will,” Bear informed the room. 

At the very end, sat a young individual. “I’m the team medic. Nicknamed FAK. It’s short for first aid kit, in case y’all were curious,” they spoke. Perched on their nose was a pair of black glasses, a small smile on their face as they gave a shy wave. Shrike gave a small, almost imperceptible smile towards FAK, who grinned back.  

“Good to meet you all,” Maverick replied. “This is my team-”

 Bear cut him off gently, “My team has been briefed separately on your team and their identities. Just to save time.” 

“I see. Well, in that case. Let’s get started.” 

===

Two hours later, Bear was running through the logistics of what they knew and what was planned. “So, as it says in the documents in front of you, the Lincoln docks at the port of Jebel Ali in Saudi Arabia. The Daggers are flying into Riyadh Air Base with your planes. My people are leaving via helicopter and will depart before you guys,” she said, gesturing to the pilots, who were watching her closely. 

Maverick spoke up. “We are landing in Air Force territory. So cooperation is extremely important because we are required for this mission to succeed,” he told his team. “We are in and out. No extra work. Keep it clean.” 

“Exactly right, Maverick. Thank you.” Bear nodded to him. “My people know my standards. Don’t antagonize anyone, but don’t be a pushover. If something happens, find Maverick or myself and we’ll do our best to handle it.” 

“Don’t let Shrike near whoever starts shit,” Flare whispered to Marshmallow, who snorted. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying and failing to hide his grin.

Rooster raised his hand. “Sorry to interrupt, but what happens if they mess with us? Can I punch them if they punch me?” 

“Hopefully the base commander can keep his people in line enough to make it civil. If shit does go sideways, either because of us or them, the parties involved will be held responsible,” Bear replied. “That’s a good question, Lieutenant Bradshaw. Thank you.” 

“This will be hypocritical coming from me, but listen to rules and do what you can to either stay out of the way or be helpful,” Maverick spoke. “But since this is Bear’s and the Seals’ mission, we follow their lead.” 

“This true, Commander?” Bug asked from her spot near the front. 

Bear nodded. “Yes. I’m technically running point on this mission, but I will be working closely with Maverick to make sure that everything is as smooth as possible before we send you out. And I hope that you guys get to know each other during this,” she added on, flipping through the pages in front of her. She knew that her people had smug looks on their faces at the prospect of having the pilots fall in line behind them, but knew that that was unlikely to happen given the level of collaboration required on a mission such as this. 

“Coming back to the mission itself, the full details of the Seals’ mission cannot be shared. But the short of it is that Ibrahim al-Hammeed, Mikael Khrushov, and Helena Osmund are targets of the U.S. Government and we have been sent to handle the threat that they pose,” Maverick continued on, gesturing to the papers in front of him. 

“As you now know, all three have been taking up the top three spots on NCIS’s most wanted list and other government organizations, including the NSA, CIA, and British MI6 have chipped in and provided intel for pinpointing their locations,” the Commander added. “al-Hameed is a Pakistani Salafist preacher and a key recruiter in the IJU, Islamic Jihad Union. Now I need to say this because some people don’t know that Islam isn’t a violent religion. The reason for this mission is because of the harm he has done in the name of religion and religious zeal. Am I clear?” 

“Yes Ma’am,” the room said in unison. 

“Good. Continuing on, Mikael Khrushov. An Estonian arms dealer and is practically a one-stop shop for terrorist organizations. He is suspected of supplying weapons and some training to would-be terror cells in and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Helena Osmund, on the other hand, is American. She’s a former NSA chief analyst, responsible for numerous data breaches both at home and abroad among our allies. She has sold the stolen data and information to numerous individuals on our watchlists,” Bear paused, taking a breath. “The running theory is that Osmund is planning on selling some of the stolen data to al-Hameed and we suspect that the three of them are teaming up for the theft of U.S. Hellfire missiles among other equipment. And we definitely do not want these to end up in the hands of people this dangerous.” 

Maverick took the pause to chime in. “We are responsible for the bombing run of Khrushov’s weapons cache. But if needed, we will also provide air support to the Seals outside al-Hameed’s compound. Does that make sense?” 

“How many of us are flying this?” Coyote asked, jotting a few notes down. “It doesn’t seem like a full team is needed for this.” 

Glancing at Bear, Maverick replied “As many as Bear and myself feel we need to send. You will know before the mission date, but until then, all of you are needed.”  

The woman next to him nodded. “That’s exactly right. Maverick here will train you all for the likelihood of us needing air support. But it’s very possible that only a four to six plane team will be needed, combined with 4 Seal platoons. We likely will only require 2 at most, but given the level of the threat, we need to be prepared.” 

Coyote nodded. He was poked in the ribs a few seconds later and saw Hangman make a gesture to his notebook. Rolling his eyes at his best friend, Coyote angled the paper towards him before glancing back at the woman in front of him.

Bear continued, a small grin on her face, “al-Hameed and the others have taken up residence in al-Hameed’s private compound just over 65 clicks outside the city of Ash Shamli, roughly 300 kilometers from Riyadh. However, Khrushov owns a major warehouse block, storage facility, and personnel base 10 clicks from al-Hameed’s compound. We suspect that Osmund also stores her servers in Khrushov’s building as well.

“Both compounds will be attacked simultaneously, and as Maverick mentioned, the Daggers will hit Khrushov’s compound while the Seals take down al-Hameed’s,” Bear announced, making eye contact with each and every person in the room. “Osmund herself is likely to be hiding out in al-Hameed’s compound. She is considered a slippery target so she will be one of our top priorities. Are there any questions?” 

Marshmallow raised his hand. “Yes Ma’am. Do we have the layout to the private compound yet? If I’m placing charges…” 

“Flare? Did we have that document?” 

Fumbling through her papers, Flare nodded. “Yes Ma’am. Unfortunately, the drone used was damaged, so we have maybe half the data that we need. I will speak with my contacts on the ground about sending another one up. But we do have the satellite imaging of the compounds and the landscape around them.” 

“Okay, see that that is done asap. Anyone else?” 

“Umm yes. Do we know where our targeting is for this?” Phoenix asked. “I’d like to have the runs practiced as many times as possible, and I’m sure that everyone around agrees with that.” 

“I’ll take this one,” Maverick told Bear. “I have the information for the bombing run, which I will give you when we start our training. For now, we will stick to what’s relevant for both teams.”  

Shooting Hangman a side glance, Coyote raised his hand. Mischief shone in his eyes and Bear immediately pinned him in place with a stare, having an idea what the pilot was about to ask. “I would consider asking that question to a superior officer in a room full of Navy Seals, Lieutenant Machado,” she told him. 

Nodding once, Coyote lowered his hand, lips pursed. He looked away from Maverick and made eye contact with Fireball who looked ready to jump out of his seat. 

“At ease, Wilson. No harm was done. Now, before we send you all on your merry ways to complete the paperwork necessary to ship out on this mission, are there any more questions related to the mission?” 

A chorus of no’s rang out. All in the room except for one of her Lieutenants had agreed. “Hazard? You had something else?” 

“I did, Ma’am,” the tall dark haired man said. “I was wondering what role you’d be playing in this mission. Are you up or down this time?” 

“Up or down?” Maverick asked. He looked confused, likely because he had no idea of her claim to fame as a sniper. 

Bear hummed. “Yes. I’m typically a sniper. So he’s asking if I am fulfilling that place or if I’m leading the entry,” she clarified for the pilots in the room. “I will be both up and down. Bug and a few of you will lead the entrance, while I take care of any stragglers, but this will be explained in detail the closer we get to the mission date. Does that help?” 

“Yes Ma’am.” 

“Glad to hear it. Are we good to go?” 

“I think so.” Maverick began collecting his papers, leading his pilots to do the same. Their burst of movement led the Seals to start packing up, looking to Bear for the all clear to leave. Her quick nod had FAK and Fireball rushing from the room with those still inside following them out, chatting among themselves. 

Bear smiled to herself. She was ready for this. Her team was too. All she had to do was hope that the pilots could keep up with her expectations, but from their attention and questions asked, she found herself reassured that the right team had been picked. She sighed, tucking the loose papers back into their proper places before piling them up in front of her. 

“So,” Maverick’s voice startled her from her reverie. “I think that went well.” 

“I do too. Now let’s hope our people can get along for long enough not to kill each other,” Bear joked, shooting the man in front of her a teasing grin. 

The pilot matched her grin. “Glad to be working with you, Bear,” he said, holding a hand out to shake. 

Bear shook his hand. “As am I, Maverick. This will be fun.” 

===

A/N: Once again, special thanks to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky for saving my ass and proof reading! Bear wouldn’t be an icon without you all!

Taglist: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @twsssmlmaa @footprintsinthesxnd @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @heli991113 @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 3: Intel

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF is from Pinterest, not mine*

A/N: Love you all so much, thank you for reading! Part 3 is set immediately after the cut in part 2, so feel free to go back and read part 2 if you forgot what went down!

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death (If missed anything, let me know!)

Word Count: 2.0k

Read on Wattpad or AO3

Masterlist >> Part 2 >> Part 4

===

“I saw that Sir. New intel on al-Hameed’s location?”

“Yep,” he replied. “Satellite imaging confirmed his arrival outside Ash Shamli. Khrushov and Osmund are him.”

Bear blinked in surprise. “Khrushov? Like Mikael Khrushov? The arms dealer?”

Harris nodded. “The very same. Air Force radar in Riyadh noted al-Hameed’s presence two days ago in Saudi.” He paused, grabbing a file off of his desk and began to flip through it. “It’s estimated that the pair and their entourages will be in Saudi Arabia for the foreseeable future as Khrushov is now wanted in Belarus as well as Central and Eastern Europe on several charges of arms dealing, terrorism plots, and more. Osmund, on the other hand, is wanted in over 20 countries for theft of government secrets and is behind several data leaks from major foreign governments.”

“So what does this mean for us?” Bear asked. Scenarios were running through her mind, possible alterations to their plans, supplies, and personnel were now at the forefront. “Will this be a collaboration with the Air Force? Because you know my history with them, Sir.”

“As of now, Commander, we have very little information on what this means. All I can advise you and your team to do is prepare for a joint operation. Extra weapons drills, covert training, the works,” Shark told her, his face grim. “I am assigning your team a detonation expert in the likelihood of you needing them.”

Bear just nodded, her face schooled into the most neutral look she could muster. “One more question. You mentioned a joint operation, who is joining us?”

Rear Admiral Harris nodded. “That is true. The USS Abraham Lincoln is heading out in a few weeks. I believe that Busan is their destination. Our inland target of, well…I trust you to fill everyone in at the meeting tomorrow.” He paused, fingers tapping on the desk in front of him. “Long story short, we have incoming air support to help us with a few fly overs. They have their own mission, but Admiral Simpson has okayed a squadron as backup for a brief interval while we do extra recon and then again as air support.”

She blinked. “Sir, pardon the question. But are we sure that’s wise? Riyadh is a US Air Force base. Navy pilots and the Air Force don’t get along. I’d rather not be caught up in the middle of a military pissing contest.” Bear made eye contact with Rear Admiral Harris and saw that arguing was futile. “I will make plans to speak with the officer in charge asap, Sir. After the meeting tomorrow.”

“See to it that you do, Commander. You have always yielded results, I see no reason for you to disappoint me. You are dismissed.” Harris waved her off as he returned to his paperwork, leaving Bear to retreat from the office.

As she walked off, it felt like her thoughts had been out through a blender. They were scrambled and whirling out of control, but for right now, there was nothing to be done. So she put them aside for the moment and hurried to her car, tossing her stuff inside and heading off to the bar where she would meet Phoenix. God she needed a distraction.

===

For some inane reason, they had gone to the Hard Deck and it appeared that nearly every other Navy member on base had the same idea. “Remind me why we decided to come here?” Bear yelled over the din. She elbowed past a few women, ignoring the indignant yelps and cries of them as she shouldered her way through.

“That was my bad! Sorry!” Phoenix yelled back. “But hey, we can just leave!”

“Grab a drink first? Then outside?”

A thumbs up from Phoenix, and she watched the pilot redirect herself out the door and onto the beach. Bear grimaced at the amount of people around her, the volume of everyone who’d packed themselves into the bar made it hard for her to keep track of everything going on. Sniper’s instinct, her Lieutenant had called it. She was hyper aware of everything around her and it was almost too much.

“You must be Bear!” Penny yelled over the noise, wiping a ring off the bar top. “What can I get you?”

The Seal snorted. Word traveled fast when pilots were involved. “Yep. Can I grab a beer and a lemonade from you?”

“For sure. Your tab?”

Bear gave her a thumbs up, and the older woman passed the drinks over a few minutes later. “There you go.”

“Thanks Penny.” She gave a quick wave before slipping back through the crowd, effectively disappearing. Once outside, Bear took a deep breath, relishing in the fresh air and the lack of noise.

She found Phoenix sitting in the sand a little ways away staring out at the water. “Here.”

“Oh, thanks,” came the reply as the pilot took the offered bottle. “What did you get?”

“Lemonade.”

“I swear sometimes that you and Bob are the same person,” Phoenix said, shaking her head in laughter. “You don’t drink?”

“I try not to,” Bear chuckled, shrugging as she did. “I hate the way alcohol tastes and I really hate the fact that it makes me less aware of what’s going on. But that’s just me.”

Phoenix hummed. “Fair enough.” She took a sip of her drink before setting it down in the sand. “What’s the deal with you and Bagman? Both of you were acting a little weird this afternoon.”

“It’s nothing. Pretty sure he’s just trying to piss me off,” the Seal replied, rolling her eyes. “And I’m not about to let him win.”

“Maybe. But it’s definitely more than that,” the pilot pressed. “I think that he’s into you.”

Bear choked on her lemonade. After a coughing fit, she managed to wheeze out “What?”

“Hangman, Jake, whoever, thinks that you, Bear, the Navy Seal, are hot as fuck and he seems to have a thing for women who have ‘resting murder face’.” Phoenix pointed at the other woman, before continuing. “And you have the best RMF I have ever seen.”

Bear just stared at her friend. “What the fuck Nix?” Disbelief was written all over her face and Bear found herself stunned at how her heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of having the cocky blonde pilot’s attention.

“I’m not wrong. And from your very dramatic reaction, I’d be willing to bet that you think he’s hot too.”

“Umm…you’re very wrong,” Bear spluttered. “But because you’re my friend, I won’t tell you how wrong you are.”

“I’m honored…” Phoenix deadpanned, taking another sip of her drink. “What happened when you left earlier?”

“CO wanted to see me. New intel for our next deployment, other than that, I can’t really say much.”

“Classified?”

“Highly.”

Phoenix nodded, looking back out at the ocean before them. “When do you head out?”

“A few weeks,” Bear replied, sipping her drink. “Heard through the grapevine that you Daggers are about to ship out too. Any idea where?”

“Nope. It’s a mission assist though, could be fun depending on who we get sent out with,” Phoenix commented. “We will meet with them tomorrow. Get a sense of the mission and see how much lifting we have to do.”

Bear opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a shout. Turning, she saw the rest of the Dagger pilots hurrying across the sand to them. “Oh great,” she pretended to grumble. She had rolled her eyes, but the gesture was fond. “When did you flyboys get here?”

“A few minutes ago,” Fanboy yelled back, beaming at her. “Why? You miss us?”

She pretended to think, humming. “Nah, I do enough babysitting as it is.”

Rooster let out a loud mock gasp, pretending to stumble backwards. “How DARE you?” He screeched breathily.

Bear made eye contact with Phoenix and the pair burst into giggles. “Oh I dare very easily,” she teased, standing up and bumping his arm with hers. “Whatcha doing out here? Thought you’d be the life of the party, Bradshaw.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Jake said jokingly as he sidled up to her. She said nothing, choosing to smirk instead. Green eyes met brown and Jake saw the amusement and mischief twinkling in them. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

“Smart man.” Bear had turned to look up at him, giving him a teasing smile in response to his words. A cough from Phoenix had Bear narrowing her eyes and giving the pilot a hard look. “No.”

Sensing the sudden burst of tension, Payback spoke up. “So Bear. Are we ever going to get the story behind that?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes!” A shout rose up from the group of pilots standing around her.

“Fine. Fine,” Bear said, giving in. “I’m called Bear, because I’m a grumpy fuck in the morning.”

A man near the back of the group who she knew to be Harvard spoke up “That’s it? Not some deep dark secret behind it?”

“Why? You don’t believe me?” Bear asked, eyebrow raised.

“We have no proof that that’s even true!” Harvard argued.

“Send Jake in, he’ll get to the bottom of it,” Rooster joked, but his laughter stopped abruptly when he caught sight of the sharp look on Bear’s face.

“More like he’d bottom her,” Coyote whispered to Phoenix, who had to turn away to hide her laughter.

“Hey!” Jake yelled, his face going red. “No. Just no.”

Bear just sent him a wink, laughing to herself as he spluttered indignantly. “Nix told me that you ship out soon. Any idea when? Because I’m out in the next few weeks.”

“Unfortunately due to the classified nature of US Naval deployments, we are unable to provide that information,” Fanboy recited in a serious voice. The tone of his voice made the group crack up, himself included, with Bear rolling her eyes in fondness.

“Okay. Okay. Guess I should have expected that,” she said with a laugh, putting her hands up in mock surrender.

“Just messing with you,” Fanboy replied, still chuckling a little. “Sometime in the next few weeks too. We have a meeting tomorrow about it. Giving us details and shit.”

“Oh fun,” Bear said, eyes shifting around the group. Coyote and Payback had started throwing rocks into the ocean, yelling about how far they could throw, their loud voices seeming to echo around them. Harvard, Halo, and a few of the others had broken off into their own group and seemed to be chatting about nothing in particular. It made her smile at the easy camaraderie between them. She knew how difficult the Navy could be and she was just glad that they had their people around them.

===

Hours later, after night had fallen and the air grew cold, Bear finally stood up and stretched. “I’m heading out guys,” she said, to the protests of a few of the pilots around her. “My meeting is early tomorrow morning and I actually have to pay attention to this one because I’m leading it.”

“Aww c’mon!” The group protested, Rooster among the loudest. He admired Bear for her strength and the take-no-shit attitude she had. Plus he found it funny when she teased Hangman to no end.

“I know, I’m sorry.” She grinned widely. “I might see you all tomorrow. But if not, I’ll see you around.” With a wave, Bear began to walk towards her car.

A shuffle behind her had her shaking her head as she continued walking. “Can I help you, Hangman?”

Jake paused, stunned at the speed at which she’d guessed it was him. “How’d you-”

“I just do,” she said with a wide grin, cutting him off. Spinning to face him with a smirk, Bear spoke again “So, can I help you?”

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?” Bear raised an eyebrow in question, looking at him curiously.

It was Jake’s turn to smirk, green eyes seeming to glitter in the night as he peered at her. “On whether or not you plan on taking my offer, Teddy.”

Her confusion deepened. “What offer?”

“You know what? Never mind. I like my dick where it is and I would like to keep it there.”

“Oh, you mean that little line in the hallway earlier,” she said, smirking. “I highly doubt you can maintain the speed I need. You seem too much like a ‘one and done’ kind of guy.”

“My mama would have me by the throat if she ever got the impression that I treated women with so little respect,” Jake replied, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Especially if I left them as unsatisfied as you must be by some of the losers on base.”

Her eyes narrowed, but this time it wasn’t teasing. Bear looked angry; her face pinched and if looks could kill, Jake would be reduced to a grease spot on the sand. “Your mama would be so disappointed in your behavior right now, Lieutenant,” she snarled, her eyes nearly slits and venom coated every syllable. “And, for the record, my “satisfaction”, as you put it, is none of your fucking business.”

“Woah. Okay, chill,” Hangman raised his hand, almost placating the woman before him. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just that you wouldn’t be wound so tight if you took me up on my offer.”

“Well, I guess I won’t be so lucky as to fall under you,” Bear shot back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get going.” She turned and walked off, leaving a stunned Jake in her wake.

===

A/N: Kisses and hugs to my favourite editors/fangirls: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky you guys have saved my butt more times than I can count!

Taglist: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @twsssmlmaa @footprintsinthesxnd @dempy @fandomxpreferences @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @heli991113 @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 6: Mark Me Down As Horny, Not Scared

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF is not mine, I found it on Pinterest*

A/N: This is part two to the training exercise I set up last chapter. My apologies if the beginning seems a little stilted or a little off.

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: violence, guns, 'hostage taking', swearing, paint grenades. As usual, let me know if I missed anything :)

Word Count: 2.8k

Masterlist >> Part 5 >> Part 7

===

As she left the building to pick up her gear, Bear’s voice crackled through the radios of her teams. “Don’t be morons, have fun, and let’s show these pilots why we’re the best in the Navy. Red team ready?” 

“Copy. Red team 1 ready,” Flare replied. 

“Red team 2 ready.” Shrike rasped. 

“Blue team ready?” 

“Roger that. Blue team ready.” 

Rejoining her team outside, Bear tapped Bug on the shoulder, slipping into position near the back of the group, ready to follow. Every member of the team had slid their night vision goggles into place, giving them a way to sweep the building. 

Bug gave the order to breach and the doors on all four sides were yanked open, giving way to four teams of eight that entered silently. 

Approaching a hallway, Bug directed two to break off and search the room on the left. They did, and when finding nothing, stuck a flag to the door, marking that it was clear. Bear and Finch broke off to do the same to the right, Finch touching Bear’s shoulder to signal that she was behind the other woman. A quick sweep turned up nothing. “Clear,” Bear muttered just loud enough to be heard. A short nod, and the two marked it off, slipping further down the hallway. 

On the top floor, the pilots watched in fascination as Bear and her teams swept silently through the building marking off room after room. They watched as Bear and Finch left a room to reenter the hall down which Fireball and one of his team were sweeping. “Cross,” Bear called out, warning the others. Glances were exchanged, awe evident as they returned their focus to the projection on the wall. 

Bear was getting antsy, two of four floors left to sweep and no one had run into a member of the red team. The adrenaline was pumping, and when she slipped past Finch to enter what felt like the hundredth room, she caught a flurry of movement that had her firing two blue paintballs at the perpetrator. Mouse groaned, he’d taken one to the chest, the other to the helmet, effectively marking him as dead. “Red 12 down,” he spoke into his coms.

Stepping over him, Bear continued her search, finding no one else in the room. “One down,” she spoke over coms. “Heads up.” 

“Copy that Bear. Continue as planned,” Bug replied. 

Finch marked the door frame but gunfire made her whip back into the room. “Siege, siege. Floor three, room 6,” she called through coms. 

Bear flipped a table, pushing it close to the door, firing off a few shots before being forced to duck behind the makeshift barricade. Normally, she’d toss a flashbang or a grenade over the table, but this being a training exercise, all she was equipped with were a few large paintballs that exploded when thrown. “Get down!” she yelled to Finch, who hit the floor as Bear let the fake grenade fly. It crashed to the ground in the hall, splattering blue glow in the dark paint across the would-be attackers. 

“Reds 6, 13, 4, 19, 22, 5, and 16 down,” came the crackled reply over the radio. 

Stepping out from behind the table, Bear scanned the seven ‘attackers’, checking pulses. Finch provided cover as she did so, firing off a few shots down the hall, taking out another three with blue paint to the chest and helmets. 

“Reds 7, 1, and 26 down.” 

Standing up, Bear patted Finch on the shoulder, nodding her praise. The younger woman grinned and they swept back down the hall, continuing their search. 

“Holy fuck,” Fanboy said as he watched Bear move. “This is like watching superheroes.” 

Rooster nodded, forgetting that it was too dark for anyone to see him. “If this is what they’re like in training, I can see why the Seals are so fucking respected in the field.” 

“Shut up!” Flare yelled from the main room. She was having way too much fun playing the bad guy and sent one of her people to point their weapon into the nook, threatening them pilots just a smidge.

“Red team 2, locations,” Shrike spoke through the radio, letting crackles fill the air. Her people were spread throughout the fourth floor, numbers 17 through 32. 

“Southeast side, near room 4.” 

“Northwest, room 8.” 

A few more numbers were called out, as she stared at the layout in front of her, crossing off a few more numbers as the blue team advanced through the building. 

“Cross!” Bug called out, ducking out of a swept room, reuniting with Bear and Finch on the third floor. “Bug advancing to four. Fireball, Raptor, Daisy report.” 

“Daisy ascending to four.” 

“Fireball on four. Pinned down.” 

“Raptor approaching Fireball.” 

“Copy, continue.” Motioning for her team to continue, Bug led them up the stairs to the fourth floor, where they were immediately fired upon by Shrike’s team. “Shit. Bug requesting back up on Southeast stairs.” 

Bear and the others were taking turns firing shots out the open stairwell door. “Fuck,” Bear swore as a red paint ball zipped by her head, splattering against the wall behind her. “Cover, cover. Reloading.” 

“Covering.”

Bear reloaded her weapon, peeking out to fire again, this time taking out two advancing red team members. “Red 18 down.” 

“Red 20 down.” 

A flurry of blue paintballs came from the opposite direction. “Daisy incoming. Bug, take cover.”  

So they did. Daisy’s team swept through the attacking red team, taking out a large portion of the remaining forces. “All clear. Targets down.” 

Bug poked her head out, finding Daisy right by the open door. “Appreciate it.” 

“No worries. Let’s go. We have to be close.” 

The two teams swept the remainder of their half, taking out a few red team members along the way. The radio crackled to life. “Raptor approaching final room. No eyes yet on hostages.” 

“Copy. Bug and Daisy on the way.” 

Bug crept forwards, tapping Raptor on the shoulder, signaling her presence. “Sit rep?” The man and his team were around the corner from the door in question. 

“No eyes on hostages. Flare, Shrike, and what looks like five others are inside. Two by the door, one at the back of the room near a hole in the wall, and two on either side of the bosses,” Raptor reported, eyes flicking back to the monitor attached to the pin camera they had snuck under the door. 

“What’s the strategy, Bug?” Bear asked. This was the challenge. What tactic would work to get them in, take down the seven remaining ‘enemies’ and save the hostages? 

“Do we have any other points of entry?” 

“A small window at the far end of the room. Near bad guy number three,” one of Raptor’s people spoke up. “But whatever we do might also harm the hostages.” 

Bug pursed her lips. “Do we still have any flashbangs left?” 

“Negative,” Daisy replied. 

“I have smoke bombs left. No flashbangs though,” Finch said in a low tone. 

Bug nodded. “Finch, take a few to that window. Crack it open just enough to slip them in on my signal. We’ll take the door when you do.” 

Finch nodded, standing up and slipping away with a few others. Bug looked down at the monitor, guards were pacing and it looked like Flare was shouting about something. 

“Bear, I’m having you lead the entry. You,” she said, pointing at a member of Raptor’s team, “Are holding the ram.” 

“Copy.” 

“Move out.” 

Bear crept up to the door, taking her place on one side of it, while the others found their positions. She held up a closed fist, signaling them to hold their placement. Minutes later, they received the notice that Finch was in place and that the window was open, it was all up to Bug. 

A quick nod was all it took. “Breach,” Bear said. The door swung open as the smoke bombs were dropped, filling the room quickly. The blue team filed into the room, holding the guards at gunpoint. Some tried to fire off a shot but were splattered across the chest with bright blue paint. 

“Stay down!” Bug yelled, training her weapon on Flare, who slowly raised her hands. “Cuff her.” 

Bear hurried forwards, letting her weapon drop as she stepped in behind Flare, grabbing her raised hands and zip-tying them behind her back. She nodded to Bug, who passed Flare off to someone else. The red team was shuffled out of the room and into the hall, forced to their knees with weapons trained on them. 

“Hostages are through here,” Raptor called out. He stood next to the tiny room, having lifted his goggles to shine a flashlight in. “All 13 accounted for.” 

“See that they’re escorted out,” Bug ordered, stepping off to question the leaders of the red team. 

Bear had found the light switch. “Goggles off,” she called. “I found the lights.” Flipping them on, she walked back over to the wall. In a gentle tone, she told the Daggers “You guys are safe. They can’t hurt you anymore.” 

Remembering the role on his card, Maverick spoke up. “How do we know that you aren’t just more of them?” 

She nodded. “The people here are Navy Seals. We are American,” she answered calmly. 

Maverick feigned hesitancy, knowing that that was his cue to try and get up. “Okay.” 

“Okay, can I come in there and get you out?” 

He nodded in the bright beam of the flashlight. Bear stepped into the little hiding place, with one hand extended. She grasped his palm, helping him to his feet. “I have one coming out,” she called back to the people in the room. 

FAK dashed forwards, ready to help as if he were injured. “Is anyone hurt?” 

Bear repeated the question to the pilots still inside. They all shook their heads. “It doesn’t appear so. They just look shaken.” Her reactions were exactly as if she were in the field, calm, quiet, yet firm. 

Maverick was the first one out. His safe exit was the cue for Bob and Harvard to accept her help. They followed him out, hands being untied once in the main room. 

Phoenix and Rooster were playing siblings. She would only go if Rooster left, and he would only go if she left, making the pair of them the trickiest to extricate. With more room inside, Bear stepped all the way in, crouching by Phoenix. “Are you ready to come out of here?” 

“Not without my brother.” 

“Okay. Who’s your brother?” 

Phoenix pointed at Rooster, who was peeking out the opening into the main room. “Alright, we’ll get you both out. Okay?” 

Bear motioned for Daisy to approach. “I need help with siblings. They won’t go without each other.” 

Daisy nodded. She slowly approached Rooster, crouching to his level, but backed off quickly when his eyes widened at her approach. “Raptor, swap out.” 

“Coming.” Raptor took Daisy’s spot, and slowly coaxed Rooster out. Seeing him leave, Phoenix stood and made her way out. 

One by one, the pilots slowly left until it was just Hangman. Everyone else had broken from their roles and were chatting amongst themselves, leaving him and Bear in the tiny room. He wasn’t to leave unless proof was given, and the minimal proof that had been offered wasn’t enough to get him to leave. 

Bear crouched down next to him. She spoke softly, but firmly, motioning to the dark coloured American flag on the shoulder of her uniform. He nodded once, joints popping as she helped him up and out of the room. “That’s all of them. Exercise over. I repeat, exercise over.” 

Whoops and hollers broke out from the pilots. “Holy fuck!” Coyote cried. “That was so badass! You were all like…” he trailed off, ducking and dodging through invisible enemies, making Bear and the others laugh. 

“Come on. Let’s get out of the uniforms, and clean up so we can get to bed. We’ll debrief tomorrow,” Bear said loudly. “Great job everyone.” 

Everyone filed out of the room talking loudly. Bear brought up the rear, flipping the lights off and shutting the door as she walked back through the halls. “Teddy.” 

“Hangman.” 

“That was awesome,” Jake said lowly. “Like, I never doubted you, but you were incredible.” 

She grinned up at him. “Thanks. I’m glad you guys had some fun.” She unclipped her helmet, tucking it under her arm. 

Jake nodded, scratching the back of his neck. His mouth opened to say something, but he shut it in favor of staying quiet. 

“Did you have a question?” Bear asked, looking over at the man next to her. “Because if you do, I’d be happy to answer it.” 

Jake pinked a little. “Umm yeah actually.” He paused, trying to find the right words. “You and the others used ‘cross’ a lot. What does that mean?” 

She grinned. “Oh that? It’s a warning to others on our team that we’re coming through a door or around a corner so we don’t get shot. It gets used a lot,” Bear explained gently. She let him walk in front of her, stopping to close a door and then continued “I’m not sure if it transfers into pilot shit, but that’s what we use it for.” 

He nodded, staying unusually quiet. “I see. Okay. Thanks.” He had admired her before, but now, after this display of skill, Jake was very unsure of how to describe his feelings towards her. Bear was incredible. Her knowledge and skill made her far more dangerous than he’d originally thought and now, here he was, falling head over heels for her. 

“Are you okay?” Bear asked, breaking through his thoughts. He had gone very quiet all of a sudden and it concerned her. In fact, since the exercise had ended, Jake wasn’t acting like himself. “I’d hate to think I scared you that easily.” 

“You didn’t scare me,” Jake replied. His eyes fell on the large blue paint splatter in the ground and he grinned as he stepped around it. “It’s just, that whole thing,” he made a fluttering gesture with his hands around the space. “Was extremely hot and I’m seriously questioning myself.” 

Bear blinked in surprise. “Oh,” she said softly. “Wait, what? You did?” 

He groaned. “Yes, I did. Like I thought you were attractive before. Don’t give me that look, I know you caught me looking at least twice. But now, like I actually saw what it is you can do, and I’m not sure if it is the skill I find hot as fuck, or you,” Jake told her, risking a sideways glance at her. She looked stunned. 

Bear met his gaze, biting at her lip as she tried to think of something to say to that. “Well, um. Shit. Okay, umm what do I say to that?” Hearing verbal confirmation made her heart sing and she knew that she was bright red. 

“Maybe, ‘I think you’re hot too, Jake. I’ve always thought you were sexy as hell and now I just want to jump you.’ How’s that?” 

She laughed, shaking her head at his antics. “You are ridiculous.” 

“And you are ridiculously hot as fuck.” 

Under his compliments, Bear’s face somehow got redder and she ducked her head to avoid his gaze. “If you still feel that way in a few weeks, well, I’m sure we can find some arrangement that works,” was all she could think of to say. 

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Jake said, his voice low in her ear. It sent shivers down her spine, igniting a fire in her lower stomach. “In fact, I think you will seek me out before I do.” 

Willing some of her blush away, Bear just looked at him and winked. “We’ll see about that, Jake. We will see,” she purred in response. She heard him stop in his tracks behind her but Bear kept walking, leaving him standing stunned behind her. Where she found the confidence, she had no idea, but it kept her walking forwards, not risking a glance behind her. 

“Fucking Christ woman,” Jake muttered. The purr to her tone sent the blood rushing from his head and he knew that the smug look on her face, combined with the sight of her ass in the tac pants and her purring tone would definitely fuel his dreams of her. And crude as it sounded, he knew that he’d have something better than any dirty photo or porn to jerk off to. “I might be in over my head.” 

===

A/N: Kisses to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky for taking a read through and being my biggest cheerleaders!

Taglist: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @roosterforme @twsssmlmaa @footprintsinthesxnd @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 5: Flyboy On My Mind

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death (it’s a training exercise, so not really), guns of the paintball variety, 'hostage taking' (Please let me know if I missed anything!)

Word Count: 2.8k

For reference, 2100 is 9 pm to all of you who don't know or use 24 hour time.

Read on Wattpad or AO3

Masterlist >> Part 4 >> Part 6

===

Because Bear was nice, she gave her people the day to complete the intel searches and paperwork that was necessary for the mission. But she didn’t account for the Dagger pilots catching up to them and spending the next hour chatting and exchanging stories. “Bear, you good?” Bug asked, nudging her Commander in the side. 

“Hmmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Bear said, checking her watch. “Just keeping an eye on the time. We have dark training tonight, so I hope that y’all get to your paperwork soon.” She shared a grin with her second, knowing full well how shitty late night dark training could get. 

“Aww come on Bear!” Hangman’s complaint rose above the din of the group. “Let them have some fun.” 

The woman just raised an eyebrow before replying. “Last time I checked, you pilots had paperwork too. Or did you forget?” There was a playful edge to her voice, one that teased yet still commanded. 

“We do, but Mav gave us the day to finish it,” Fanboy chimed in, peeking around Coyote to be seen and heard. 

“Mav also gave permission for you to help us in a few drills over the next few weeks. Ones that require your active participation.” 

A groan rose from the pilots, interweaving with the snickers from her Seals. It made her smile, watching her team get along with the pilots. And if she was being honest, the view wasn’t terrible. The sunlight glinted off of muscular, toned arms and shoulders, and if she was being honest, one pilot was set apart from the others. The light turned his blond hair into something resembling spun gold, green eyes hidden behind sunglasses that had slid down his nose. The man had a reason to be cocky, Bear thought as she stood and observed. But this was not the time, nor the place for that. “Team 3, say your goodbyes. We will see the pilots tonight, at 2100,” she spoke, eyes glinting in amusement behind her own sunglasses. 

Hangman maintained his eye contact with the Seal Team Commander. He’d caught her staring and shot her a wink in response. All the response he received came from a crooked smirk and the woman uncrossing her arms to usher her team away. “Damn…” he muttered as he followed her retreating figure. 

“Like what you see?” Coyote teased, clapping his friend on the back. “You might have a staring problem.” 

Jake huffed. “Can you blame me? Look at her.” 

Phoenix cleared her throat, making Jake freeze. “Really? This woman just handled a meeting like a fucking boss, has excellent control over her team, but is also extremely fair and is genuinely a decent person. And your dumbass is like ‘she’s hot’?” The woman in front of him shook her head in disappointment. “You’re lucky that I found my forever girl, otherwise you’d have some serious competition, Bagman.” 

Bear wasn’t quite out of earshot when Phoenix tore into Hangman, making her snicker. “Take them to the room we’re usually in, Bug. I have a flyboy to straighten out,” she remarked with a mischievous grin.

Her second mirrored the grin. “Sounds good, Bear. Be gentle with his ego.” 

Bear turned to walk back towards the group. “Whoever snagged you is a very lucky woman, Phoenix,” she said once she’d gotten close. 

“Shit…” Hangman exhaled, making Rooster laugh. 

“You're screwed, man,” the older man said with a chuckle. “Bear.” 

“Rooster, give me a moment with him?” 

Glancing at his friend, Rooster gave her a knowing smirk before walking off to rejoin his group, each of them stealing quick glances in her direction, amusement dancing in their eyes. 

“You know,” Bear began. “I don’t mind you looking, but I’ll be damned if my ass is my best quality.” She knew that the look on her face was teasing, but Jake still looked chastised. 

“Well then, Teddy. You should know that it isn’t just your ass,” Jake flirted back. But it was a lot less self-assured than usual. 

A smile crossed her lips. “Oh yeah? Like what?” 

“I don’t think we have enough time for that, sweetheart.” 

“Careful there, Jake. Can’t have someone overhearing you, especially since I outrank you and I’m in charge of our mission,” came her playful reply. But under her sunglasses, her cheeks and ears had flushed pink at his words. 

Jake’s face heated at her words. She never used his name, always his call sign or rank, so it felt like a step in the right direction. “Well you know where to find me when all is said and done.” With one final wink and appreciative glance, he turned and walked back to the group. Jake could feel her eyes burning holes between his shoulders, before she finally walked off. 

“Smooth bastard,” Bear mumbled as she followed after her team. “Making me feel things.” Her blush must have still been present when she walked into the room because a few chuckles sounded upon her entrance. 

“All good, boss lady?” FAK asked. They had a mischievous look in their eyes and from experience, Bear knew that that was just begging for teasing. “You’re looking a little pink there.” 

Bear shrugged. “It’s warm outside. What can I-” 

“You done eye-fucking the walking Ken doll?” Hazard spat, cutting her off. The man looked thoroughly put out by the whole situation. 

Her stare had him backing down pretty quickly. “Watch your tone, Lieutenant. I am your superior, so you would do well to get over whatever prejudice you hold around women in charge. And who I, as you said, eye-fuck is none of your business.” The edge in her tone left no room for argument and the air had quickly become suffocating as Hazard stalked back to his seat, glowering at the floor.

Hazard grumbled something about women and incompetence before Fireball reached over and slapped the back of his head. 

“Well then. That took a turn,” Bear remarked casually. “Finish up the forms, and Flare, send out that message to your contacts for that data, and you all can have the rest of the day to do whatever you need to. I need you back and dressed for night ops training at 2100, sound good?” 

“Yes Ma’am.” 

“Great. Get to work, I’ll be in my office if there are any questions or concerns.” With one final glance around the room, Bear left, shutting the door behind her. Walking down the hall, she had a chance to ponder Hangman’s words. You know where to find me echoed through her head, making her curse silently. That smooth fucker practically had her tripping over her own tongue whenever he was close. It was only thanks to the Bear personna that she had cultivated over her years in service that allowed her to flirt and tease back with minimal blushing. She sat down with a groan, burying her face in her hands as she thought about the mountain of papers to sift through. Guess there was no time like the present to get started. 

===

It was some time later that a knock sounded at her door. Glancing up from her papers, Bear checked her watch before calling out “Come in!” 

“Commander, I was hoping to go over a few things before night training tonight. Just so my people know what to expect,” Maverick said. 

“Of course, take a seat,” Bear gestured at one of the chairs by her desk. “What did you want to know?” 

Maverick nodded. “Just whatever you can tell me. I’ve had nonstop questions all afternoon and didn’t want to send them to harass you. All I said was that you would explain it to them tonight.” 

Bear chuckled “No worries at all, Maverick. It’s a hostage rescue scenario just to test the skills my people already have, basically a refresher course.” She gestured at the stack of folders on her desk before continuing “They will get more difficult as time goes on, but your pilots will likely be hostages or maybe poorly trained enemy forces, it really depends. If I decide on the latter, I will come and meet with your people and give them very basic weapons training.” 

“Are actual weapons being used for this?” 

“Oh god no. Sorry, I should have made that clear,” Bear replied hastily. “We basically have these retrofitted paintball guns that look like our service weapons to use in these exercises. The worst injury you can get from one of those is a gnarly bruise.” 

“Okay good. I was worried. I really don’t need Hangman or any of them really being weapons trained,” the pilot laughed. 

Bear gave him a grin. “That is a legitimate concern of mine too. I just won’t tell them that the skills are applicable to real weapons.” 

“Please don’t. Oh, and do they need to be in uniform?” 

“Nope, civilian clothes will work. Just make sure that they are comfortable and easy to move in.”

Maverick glanced around the office almost suspiciously before stage-whispering “Don’t tell anyone I said this, but thank fuck.”

She laughed. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” 

“I think we’re good to go,” came his response. “I will see you and your team at 2100.” 

“So you will. See you then.” 

He slipped out the door leaving her to the quiet office. It was nearing 1800 and she still hadn’t eaten, so she figured that taking a quick break wouldn’t hurt. 

Stretching as she stood, Bear grabbed her phone, wallet, and keys before leaving, locking the door behind her. The air was still warm when she ventured outside, the setting sun coloring the sky a beautiful orange that bathed the base in swaths of the color. 

The mess hall was quiet. Only a few stragglers remained on base, she noted. It took her no time to grab something to eat and she settled herself at the table in the far corner of the room. Bear hadn’t been there long before a loud clatter rang out, shattering the bubble of stillness she had been reveling in. 

Jolting up, Bear glanced over to watch a new recruit pick up the cutlery that had hit the ground. Willing her heart to slow its frantic beating, she went back to her food. 

Time slowly ticked by and eventually Bear realized that she had to get going, much to her chagrin. The peace had been nice, but she had a warehouse to arrange and equipment to locate. 

===

2100 came quickly. Night had fallen and only a little residual light cast a haze over the warehouse. Dressed in full tactical gear, Bear stood outside the large warehouse they used for indoor raids. Most of her team had arrived, all dressed identically to her in a deep dark blue gear, helmets tucked under arms as they stood and chatted. “Bear!” 

Turning towards the voice, she saw Bob and Flare leading the group of pilots over. They had all dressed in loose fitting, comfortable clothing, making it look like they were ready for bed. “Bob. Daggers. Welcome to your first night exercise,” she said with a grin. “You’re right on time, I was just about to start the explanation for tonight’s proceedings.” 

“Awesome. Glad we didn’t miss it,” Phoenix replied. She was excited for this, ready to see her friend in her element. “Been looking forward to this all day, haven’t we boys?” 

“Hell yeah.” 

“Totally.” 

“Damn straight.” 

“Great. Let’s get into it.” Bear clapped her hands and waited for the pilots to approach. “My people, same teams as last week. Platoons three and four are our hostage takers, the red team. Which makes everyone left to make up our blue team. Pilots, you guys have the honor of playing our hostages. Make sure you grab a vest before heading in there,” she told them, pointing at the pile of vests by her feet. “Hostages, hostage takers, head on in. Check your scenario, make sure you know how this plays out. Daggers, there are cards inside that have ages and certain characteristics that you need to remember. Once you have everything, fasten the card to the vest. I’ll be by in a second. Does that sound good to everyone?” 

“Yes Ma’am.” 

 “Red team, take your prisoners away,” Bear announced with a broad smile. Hangman had a stupid grin on his face, clearly loving the opportunity to get this close to Bear, seeing how she worked. 

Once the group had disappeared inside the building, Bear turned to the remaining platoons. “Alright. You know the drill. Bottom to top. Stick together. Two strategy attempts this round. No heroes, and no killing hostages. The goal here is to get everyone out alive, you know, the usual. I follow Bug’s lead. I know what has to happen, and therefore I make no calls, I follow what she has,” she informed them, glancing around at their faces. “You have until I come back to make a plan.” 

Bear pivoted on her heel and strode into the building, weaving through the maze set up inside to reach the open space on the topmost floor in the makeshift layout. “Flare! You ready?” 

“Hell yeah!” The woman yelled back, head poking out around the corner to watch her Commander approach. “You finally let me be the mean one, not Shrike.” 

“I did, so don’t abuse your power,” Bear laughed. Flare had always had a dramatic personality. It didn’t show much, but when given a role during the exercises, she always made it work. “Or else I’m giving it back to her.” 

Flare let out a feigned gasp. “You wouldn’t.” 

“Oh I would and you know it,” Bear retorted. “Is your team confident with your method?” 

“Yep. We got this.” 

“Great. Let me check in on the ‘hostages’,” Bear told her, throwing air quotes around the last word for emphasis. “Gotta make sure everything is all good on their end.” 

“No worries, boss lady. We tucked them through there,” Flare told her, pointing at the small opening in the corner of the room. 

“Maverick, you guys have yourselves sorted in there?” She called out. 

Silence. Then a small “maybe” sounded making her snort. 

“I’m coming in.” The sight made her laugh and turn away for a moment. All 13 of the pilots were crammed in the tight space, forcing Fanboy to be sprawled on top of his teammates. “Okay. I guess I thought some of you were smaller than you actually are.” 

“Yeah, there is definitely no room in here,” Rooster replied, gesturing with his head as his hands, which, like everyone else’s, were tied loosely in front of him. 

Bear hummed in amusement, crouching down to peer at them. “Before we get started, do you guys have any questions?” 

“Ummm yeah I have one. Why are we tied up?” It was too dark to make out the speaker, but it sounded like Payback. 

“Because you guys are playing your roles, and also you are not allowed to fight back. The bonds make sure of that,” Bear answered honestly. “It’s for your safety as well as ours.” 

Hangman, who was settled right next to the opening where Bear was crouching, spoke up. “You sure it isn’t just because you don’t want to get hurt?” He was looking at her face, but his gaze wandered down, down, down to her legs and how her tac pants were pulled taut across her muscular thighs. His eyes fell to her sidearm holstered to her leg, giving the impression and warning that she was far more dangerous than she appeared. If he wasn’t already turned on seeing Bear in her gear, the gun definitely did it. It finally made sense to him why women (and some men, let’s be honest) were all over the uniform, because if he looked even close to a fraction as hot as she did, it was a miracle any thought happened at all. 

“Watch the ego, Flyboy. Mouthing off might not be the best idea in this scenario. Flare gets to be mean, and she may or may not… react strongly,” Bear chided, but her face split into a grin. She caught his appreciative gaze, especially noting his fixation on her thighs and it made that small part of her brain start whooping and hollering at the fact that Jake had noticed her. 

Phoenix called out from the back of the room “What did the tactic thing on the back of the card mean?” 

“Oh, right. That’s the communication tactic that the rescue team needs to use in order to gain your trust and get you out safely. Some of them should say things like ‘proof of affiliation’, which just means proving who they say they are. Or they might say ‘female interaction only’, that one is self-explanatory. Does that clear it up?” 

“Yep.” 

“Great. I did forget to mention that you guys are allowed to talk quietly, and that live video of our movements will be played on the wall here for you guys to see. Was there anything else before we got started?” Bear asked one final time, standing up to lean against the entryway. “No? Awesome.” The woman gave them a wide smile, so very unlike the demeanor she used when first interacting with Hangman only days earlier. 

He was in for a real treat.

===

A/N: I decided to give you all a treat! Thanks again to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky for giving me your feedback!

Any errors are mine though 😂

Taglist: @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @dakotakazansky @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @twsssmlmaa @roosterforme @footprintsinthesxnd @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @thegoddessc @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers Summary + Teaser

So my people, you loved my Jake one shot back in February, so hopefully you all will love this multi part just as much! Welcome to A Gun Amongst Daggers, my newest piece that is also Hangman X Fem!Reader. Meet Hangman and Bear, my latest in a long line of Top Gun Maverick OCs but she is just a placeholder for the reader!

So this will get spicy towards the end because I’m a sucker for slow burn (and I am apologizing in advance, I am taking it to the extreme). That being said: ALL BLANK BLOGS OR ONES WITHOUT AN AGE WILL BE BLOCKED. I AM NOT LOOKING TO GET REPORTED BECAUSE YOU READ SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T EXPECT OR SOMETHING THAT MADE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. SO 18+ ONLY. THIS STORY ALSO DEALS WITH SOME SERIOUS SHIT, SO THIS IS YOUR WARNING.

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

And because I’m nice, here’s a bit of part one below the cut:

It was a miserable day when Jake walked into the Hard Deck. Training had been cancelled due to shit weather and no matter how much of a workout he had had earlier, he was still as twitchy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The weather wasn’t helping either. It had been raining nearly all day, letting up for maybe 20 minutes at a time before it came pouring down again. Climate change was a serious concept, but right now it was fucking with his plans and his job and Jake very much wanted it to stop. Taking a quick glance around, he saw that there were a few patrons in the bar, mostly older men just sitting and drinking in near silence, the jukebox playing some classic rock song just loud enough to be heard. He had promised to meet Coyote here around 5 and seeing as he was early, Jake went ahead to order a drink. “Hey Penny.”

“Hangman,” Penny replied with a smile. “Your usual?”

“Nah, not drinking tonight. Too antsy. Just a water and Javy’s usual, thanks.” The blond glanced around the room as Penny went to grab his drinks and his eyes fell on a woman sitting quietly in the corner of the room, silently watching each and every one in the bar with a clinical gaze. His curiosity got the better of him and Jake grabbed his order before making his way over to the corner table. “That seat taken?” He asked with his usual sly grin on his face.

The woman glanced up at him, eyes flicking over him quickly before quirking a brow. “And what if it was?” she replied coolly, a narrow gaze pinning him to the spot. She took a sip of the drink in front of her, eyes never leaving his face.

“Well I’d like to think that I’d be better company than your imaginary friend here,” Jake said, trying to regain his footing. The woman was intimidating; sharp eyes that seemed to never miss a thing and a face that he recognized as one he made when the weariness hit on occasion.

“Is that painful for you, Flyboy? The thinking?”

Jake was taken aback by her snark. Normally he’d respond, fire an insult of two back, but he kept his mouth shut for once, watching for even just a flicker of emotion on the woman’s face. But there wasn’t any. She just looked bored. So Jake did something that he would almost never do, he walked away, set his drinks down on a table near the door and waved Javy down when his friend walked in.

===

A/N: If this is something that intrigues you, and you want to be updated, please let me know in the comments, via reblogs, or just send me a message. I know how easy it is to be reading 6 series all at once and sometimes if you aren't tagged, you might not find it again.

But all together, I'm looking at a total of 22 parts. So yeah! Hope you enjoyed, please do me a solid and spread this around and have yourselves a good day!

I am tagging those who initially expressed interest waaay back in February plus those in the Controlled Chaos Squad. Giving so many thanks to @mayhemmanaged @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s @cassiemitchell @dakotakazansky for proofreading and being my biggest supporters! I love you all!

Taglist:

@fandomxpreferences

@dempy

@gizmodear

@fighterpilothoe

@dakotakazansky

@startrekfangirl2233

@sarahsmi13s

@horseshoegirl

@roosters-girl

@lovinglyeternal

@lavenderbradshaw

@roosterforme

@bobby-r2d2-floyd

@bradleybeachbabe

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 19: ‘Cause You’re The Reason Love Comes Easy

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

A/N: Chapter title is from the song Nights Like This by St. Lundi

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: a little hurt/comfort, flirty Jake (yes that is a warning), it’s mostly fluff this week, but lmk if I missed anything

Word Count: 5.0k

Masterlist >> Part 18 >> Part 20

===

The recovery from the pain inflicted was long and arduous, and there were days where Bear was 10 seconds away from just saying ‘fuck it’ and quitting. But Jake was always there, offering both a steady presence and a shoulder for her to cry on in the midst of her frustration. He never judged her, and despite everything she did to try and push him away from her so that Jake, her Jake, didn’t see her like this, he wouldn’t budge from her side.

“Why are you still next to me?” She had asked him, eyes welling with tears as she struggled to take in another deep breath. “Why haven’t you given up on me?” Her voice was cracking under the strain it took her to try and draw a full breath and the weight of her feelings of failure. Walking for longer than an hour was too much of a strain on her lungs, and forget running. Her lungs burned at the thought and she was so close to bursting into tears, if only she could catch her breath.

It broke Jake’s heart to see her this way, this insanely strong woman reduced down to the foundation of her character, sitting amongst the rubble that was her life. He loved her. Every fiber of his being was drawn to her, had been since they had met, and now, watching her struggle physically hurt. “I haven’t given up because I love you,” he replied, wiping her tears away. “Because you went through all of this because of me, so I am here. And I will be here until you tell me to leave.”

Bear had nodded, grimacing as she took his offered hand and grunted when Jake pulled her to her feet. “I would do it again.” Her eyes were full of the same conviction that was clear in her voice, and Jake could help but smile sadly.

“In a perfect world darlin’, none o’ this would’ve happened,” he told her, holding her close, savoring her nearness in the privacy of the gym at 0200. “We’d already be together, you would kick my ass all the time and I’d love you more for it. Maybe we’d be on a date right now,” he mused aloud, smiling at his thoughts.

“Yeah? Where would you take me?” Bear glanced up, catching the tenderness shining in the green eyes above her. She could feel the love radiating from Jake, could feel it just as she felt the warmth of his body against hers, felt his arms wrapped around her waist and lower back.

Jake hummed, smiling at Bear. “You can never go wrong with the classics right? Movie then dinner, maybe a walk if we weren’t ready for the night to end just yet. That sound about right?” His heart hammered in his chest, just hoping he hadn’t read her wrong. “Maybe I’d kiss you for the first time too?”

But he hadn’t and if Jake hadn’t been holding her up, Bear’s legs might have given out on her. “It sounds perfect,” she admitted, grinning up at him. A hand wound its way up to cup the back of Jake’s head, pulling him close. “I love it. Definitely would have won you some points, Flyboy.” Bear knew that she had a wide grin on her face, mirroring the one Jake was giving her, and she couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him fiercely.

She felt Jake’s smile against her lips as he kissed her back, his arms tightening around her, like he feared she’d slip away from him if he didn’t keep her close. But unfortunately, the tight hold shot pain up her ribs, making Bear gasp, teeth coming down hard on his bottom lip. “Shit! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Jake had immediately loosened his hold and would have completely stepped away if Bear didn’t place her hand on his jaw, steadying him and keeping him close.

“Jake, honey I’m okay. I promise,” Bear assured him gently. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, but Jake didn’t look convinced. “Yeah.”

But his eyes were looking everywhere, falling on everything but her eyes. “Honey…” she trailed off when she caught sight of the tears on his cheeks and the evident pain rippling in the green eyes Bear had come to adore. “Talk to me.”

Jake swallowed thickly, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He still wasn’t meeting her gaze. “You don’t need to deal with this. You have enough to work through.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to suffer in silence,” Bear’s tone was adamant, full of barely contained anger and softened considerably when she gently turned his face to look at her. “Jake, please. You’ve been here for me for a while now. Let me be there for you too.”

“I-I’m both relieved and terrified that you’re here,” he whispered, ducking his head to stare at the Navy logo on the sweaty t-shirt Bear wore. “I don’t want you to leave me. I don’t think I could handle that again.”

Bear closed her eyes against the onslaught of emotion that slammed into her as she listened to his confessed words. “I fought to come back to you,” she told him softly. “I hope you know that, Jake. I thought about you the whole time they had me. I crawled into the memories of us while all of this,” she gestured up and down her body, “went on. I love you too much to let you go ever again.”

He chuckled, the sound wet but it was a chuckle nonetheless. “I know you love me. Those were the first words you said to me when you woke up, I never doubted that for a second.”

“Good.” Bear paused, taking the time to cradle his face in her hands, brushing her thumbs over his stubble-covered cheeks. When he leaned into her touch, she smiled, pressing a barely-there kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Because out of everything that happened, that is the most important thing. Not what happened to me. Not what that son of a bitch did. None of it. Just that we were finally ready to confess our love. Okay?” She held his gaze, eyes firm but glimmering with kindness and love for the man that had wrapped himself around her.

“Okay,” Jake finally replied, his voice hoarse and eyes so full of love that it was a miracle Bear was still standing. “But you have to admit darlin’, I did a damn fine job beatin’ him up.” His drawl was thicker now from the emotion waltzing through his head and heart, and Bear had never heard anything better.

She grinned, and it looked like a shark’s, all toothy and wide. “You did, Honey. You gave him the beating I wanted to give him but couldn’t.” Pressing a quick kiss to his nose, Bear’s smile softened considerably. “You are my… everything, Jake. Remember that.”

Jake took a shuddering breath, burying his face in her neck as he held her close. He had waited so long for a mere confirmation that the depth of Bear’s feelings matched his, and now? Now it felt like he could see the light through the darkness that had surrounded them both. He felt unstoppable, something he hadn’t felt since before he had met the woman in his arms. “God, I really can’t win, can I? I said I’d love you through it all, and here you are, promisin’ me your everythin’.”

Her answering words fell on his deafened ears as Jake just let himself savor the feeling of Bear in his arms. “You’re my everything too,” he mumbled into her shoulder.

“I know,” Bear murmured, running a hand up and down his back. “God forbid I ever forget that.”

Jake pulled back, catching the glimmer in her eyes as she watched him. His heart always beat like crazy when he was around her, so afraid of ruining this little piece of solitude for themselves. Right now? Now it was calm, knowing deep down, even if his brain didn’t, that Bear was just as much his as he was hers. Being around her now, being held by her, was a balm for a wound he didn’t know existed, a candle in darkness. Bear was his salvation. “I know you won’t. Because I never plan on being away from you long enough for you to forget.”

His words pulled Bear from the depths of her mind, forcing her to inhale sharply. She had been so worried for him, for how she had affected him, that she never stopped moving long enough to realize how much he had affected every piece of her. ‘Bewitched her body and soul’ as Jane Austen had once written, and heaven help the person that ever tried to break them apart. “Jake…” she breathed. “You smooth fucker.”

A boyish grin shot back in her direction made her shake her head. “Gotta keep you on your toes huh, Teddy?”

“Doesn’t mean you need to pull the rug out from under me everytime,” Bear shot back, rolling her eyes playfully.

“Well how else am I gonna justify this?” She looked confused until she found herself up in his arms, bridal style in a sudden swoop. “You’re a serious lady, Teddy. Someone’s gotta make sure you have fun sometimes.” His smirk set butterflies racing through her stomach and all Bear could do in that moment was smack his chest and laugh when he stumbled back in feigned pain.

“Tease,” she replied, laughing. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Hmm…” Jake pretended to think, as he carried her down the deserted halls. “Take me to bed and love me forever?”

Bear smacked him again, giggling. “Well considering that I am having trouble walking for longer than an hour, and we can forget about running, the first option isn’t really an option right now.”

“Shame,” Jake replied, lowering his voice to a near growl, the Southern drawl more prominent than it had ever been. It made him grin when he felt the shiver that raced down Bear’s spine, his chuckle sounding from deep within his chest. “Seems I have plans for later then.”

“Asshole,” Bear grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to will her blush away. “Why do I put up with you?”

Jake hummed. “Because I’m your everything and you love me?”

“Yeah. I did say that.”

===

Somehow, through the banter and teasing, Jake managed to carry her back down the halls to her room without being seen. Which was a feat in and of itself because Jake kept making Bear laugh, her giggles bouncing off the walls in a sharp turn around from how she had been feeling earlier that night. “Jake,” Bear whispered, eyes shining with mirth. “Just put me down.”

“Nope. Not until we are in your room.”

“Come on, someone could be coming around the corner at any time.” Bear was almost pleading, but it wasn’t in a bad way. She really just wanted to avoid more awkward questions from Bug about how Jake was affecting her. They had discussed at length Bear’s next steps while she was still recuperating in the medical bay, including talking through the email Bear would send to Admiral Harris informing him of her threat. He had merely replied with a meeting time, telling her that he wished to speak with her as soon as she was able. Bear wasn’t dumb enough to think it would be anything other than a recommendation that she take a leave from the Navy, maybe a session or two with a psychologist. The thought made her stomach lurch but that was for future Bear to deal with. Present Bear had to convince Jake to put her down. “Honey please.”

“Fine,” Jake grumbled, begrudgingly placing her feet back on the ground. But his hands shot out seconds later to catch her when Bear wobbled slightly. “I’m not judging if you need help, Teddy.”

“I know. But I need to learn to do this on my own. Those bastards won’t take my life away from me, Jake,” she told him, sending him a soft look. “But I appreciate you helping me.” She pushed her door open, motioning for him to follow her.

And he did. Because if there was any word to describe Jake near Bear, it was soft. Bear brought out a gentler side of him, which was strange, given how he’d nearly beaten a man to death for her, but that was besides the point. “It’s not a problem. You’d do the same for me.” Jake had flicked the light on after he’d shut the door, allowing him to see the room he had grown accustomed to over the last few weeks. “Besides, it means I get to spend more time with you.”

She smiled at him, tossing him the sweatpants he’d tucked under her bag the morning before, and laughing as they hit his chest and landed on the floor. “Come on Flyboy, you already have me. You don’t need to keep using the lines,” Bear teased, as she rifled around for her own pyjamas.

“But what if I like using the lines?” Jake tossed back, swiftly changing out of the uniform he’d been wearing for most of the day and into the sweats that now lay on the floor. “You blush such a pretty pink when I do.” He was shamelessly checking her out now as Bear stepped out of her basketball shorts and into her sleep shorts.

True to his words, Bear’s face was hot and a brilliant pink. “Shut it,” she grumbled, clearly embarrassed by her reaction. She had been struggling with her shirt for the last few weeks, finding it hard to lift her arms over her head. “A little help?” She asked, turning around to face Jake. “This fucking shirt is clinging to me.”

Jake grinned, stepping closer. “Well now, we can’t have that, can we? That’s my job.” He was teasing her again, unable to resist the joy it brought him to see her fumble over her words.

“Jerk.”

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.” Bear was smiling at him again, her whole being seeming softer in the yellow light of the desk lamp Jake had turned on. “Now can you please help me with my shirt?”

His hands pulled her closer by her hips, before slowly slipping under the hem of her compression shirt. Jake took special care to guide her right arm out through the sleeve first before moving to the injured left side, pressing a gentle kiss to each shoulder as the material was removed. “You okay?” He asked, grabbing the oversized t-shirt that she slept in.

“I’m fine Jake,” Bear told him in exasperation. “I just want to sleep. My everything hurts.” Her eyes flickered over the furrow of Jake’s brow, before slowly lifting her tired arm up to smooth away the creases. “I promise I’d tell you if you hurt me.”

Standing before him half-clothed made her stomach swoop and Bear bit her lip as her shirt slipped over her head, gentle hands guiding it down her body. Jake’s touch left a trail of goosebumps in their wake and she shook her head at him, placing a hand on his bare chest to stop his movements. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jake told her, resting his hand over hers. “I don’t think I've ever been better.” He leaned down, capturing her lips with his own, grinning against her lips.

Bear sighed into the kiss, eyes fluttering closed at the mere press of his mouth on hers. She nearly whimpered when he pulled back, chasing his lips to kiss him again. “It’s late,” she whispered. “Come on Flyboy.”

He followed her lead, letting her settle into the bed before slipping in after her, curling almost protectively around her as they lay facing one another. “You’ve got me stuck, Teddy. Ain’t never wanted to stay stuck on something ‘til I met you,” Jake mumbled, shuffling closer and pulling her to him. He’d rolled over at some point, letting Bear mold herself to his side as she rested her head on his broad chest, his hand combing through her loose hair absentmindedly.

“You sap.” Bear cuddled closer to Jake, reveling in the warmth that just radiated off of him. “But you’re lucky I love saps.”

Jake hummed low in his throat, grinning as he felt Bear smile at the vibration rippling under her ear. In the darkness of her room, Jake let himself mumble “I did get lucky. You gave me a second glance.”

And if he drifted off first, leaving Bear to swallow back the lump in her throat, she wouldn’t tell a soul. He loved her, and she loved him with a ferocity not unlike that in which she fought to return to him. “Of course I looked twice. I saw you,” Bear whispered into the darkness, sleep nipping at her heels and finally pulling her under its wake.

===

The next morning, Bear woke up with an arm slung over her waist, her back against something solid, and the feeling of someone breathing against the back of her neck. Her eyes had just blinked open, adjusting to the light in the room, and she shifted back, her head bonking into the one behind her. “Shit,” Bear whispered, turning slowly to face Jake. “God I hope I’m not hallucinating again. I can’t handle it if this isn’t real.”

“Hmmm?” Jake mumbled, pulling Bear closer and burying his head against her shoulder. “What time isssit?” In just a short breath, he’d dispelled every fear she’d had about waking up alone. Simply because she wasn’t alone, and Jake was here.

Bear grinned, running a hand through his blonde hair and messing it up even more as she watched his eyes flutter under her gesture. “Too damn early,” she whispered back.

“Then why’re you awake?”

“I don’t know.” Blame the Navy for making it so she could never sleep in, but if she woke up to this sight every morning, she’d gladly wake up early every morning. Jake’s hair was fluffy and askew, flattened on one side from the pillow, and standing on end on the other. It was enough to make Bear giggle quietly as she took in the sleepy smile he gave her as she continued to comb her fingers along his scalp, watching as he sunk deeper into the bed. “But I’m not mad about it.”

Fingers that had snuck up her shirt tightened their grip, pulling her even closer so their chests were pressed together. “Me…. Neither,” he yawned. Green eyes met brown and her heart soared at how a mere glance made it seem like everything was and would be okay. “You’re starin’, Teddy.”

“Can you blame me? You’re pretty in the morning.”

“Only in the mornin’?” His voice was a deep, rasping thing and it sent sparks racing through her blood. “Darlin’ don’t tease.”

“‘M not teasing,” Bear replied, a yawn nearly splitting her head in two.

“I think you are,” Jake shot back, a smirk wiping the sleepiness from his face. “You’re a real minx, Teddy, ya know that?” He’d rolled from his side to his back, chuckling at the gasp Bear let out at the position change now that she sat straddling his hips.

“Jake!”

“What? Always knew you’d be pretty from down here,” Jake continued, hands bracketing her hips, holding her still.

Bear was stuck in a state of shock at just how suddenly he’d moved her. How it had taken next to no effort for him to shift positions. “This fucking rib,” Bear thought angrily, “If it weren’t for this, we have have done something by now.” But she swallowed that thought and leaned down, bracing her hands on either side of his head. “Did you now? You think about that a lot, Flyboy?”

“Oh darlin’, if you only knew,” he answered honestly, watching the light flicker in her eyes that were oh so close. “There isn’t a day that goes by without me thinkin’ ‘bout you.”

Bear’s face went pink again. “Shut it.”

“Nope. And if I were a betting man, I’d wager that you do the same.”

“Confident, are we?” He was right, of course, but Jake didn’t need to know that.

He hummed in agreement, a hand leaving her hip to gently caress her cheek, pulling her down for a sweet kiss that had Bear sighing against his mouth. Everything about the kiss was lazy, no one fought for dominance, there was none. Just pure love filling both of them, slipping through their blood in a way that made two hearts sing as one. It was simple, and it was innocent, but it was just them. Just Bear and Jake savoring the moment of peace that they had.

Pulling back, Jake watched Bear’s eyes blink open, smiling at the brief haziness of them before she pressed another kiss to his mouth. “I heard what you said when you woke up, about hoping this wasn’t a dream.”

Her face fell, as the hazy memories of her hallucinations spun through her mind. The infection of her wounds had ravaged her body, creating delusions that included moments like this one, but those weren’t real. She’d woken up alone on the cold and dingy floor of a compound that was hundreds of miles from where Jake was with a sinking feeling in her chest.

This, however, couldn’t be more different. Jake was warm and solid under her, his calloused hand cupping her cheek and winding into her hair. She could feel the rise and fall of his bare chest under a hand that skated over the exposed skin. “You did?” She whispered, biting the inside of her cheek.

“I did.” Jake didn’t know what she had seen, what she had gone through, or what she had done to get back to him, but it didn’t matter to him. He was here and would continue to be there for her whether she chose to tell him what happened or not. “But,” he paused to press a kiss to her forehead, “I’m here. Ain’t leavin’ without a fight.”

Bear nodded, eyes welling up with tears at his silent understanding of her pain. “I know.”

“Come here, darlin’. I need to cuddle my girl.”

===

The only surprise that came while still in Riyadh was the announcement that Chip had confessed to working with Hazard. The man had come with her to save Jake, to bring him home, and he had betrayed them. Bear had been furious at Chip for not only throwing everything for his family away, but also for herself and Jake.

While he hadn’t been among her Lieutenants, she had still trusted the man. How could she not have? He had been loyal through everything, one of the few men who remembered their old CO and supported her in her bid to become the new Commander of Seal Team 3. It cut her deep, deeper than the still-healing gashes in her skin that would leave permanent reminders of the acts committed with stolen information. Permanent reminders of the betrayal that had rotted out the very soul of her team.

But worse still, was the news that Hazard had threatened Chip’s family, his wife and daughter, in order to gain his cooperation. He had been collateral damage, sought after only for his technical knowledge and then forced to keep silent lest Hazard alert the men that were supposedly watching his home and family.

All of it had hurt her.

While she was glad that some of the information had been deciphered and uncovered, Bear hated the results. It was all too much and she didn’t know how much more of it she could take.

If it weren’t for Jake beside her, Bear would have descended on Hazard herself and ripped him limb from limb, committing an action befalling her callsign to the highest degree. Bear would have killed him, but Jake was able to sway her with gentle words and promises that the violence unleashed would not help her healing, that it would only make her pain worse.

And god fucking damnit he was right. So Bear wrote and wrote, filling page after page with her angry thoughts before setting them alight and watching the ashes spiral away and be carried through the Arabian night air. In the end, Chip had tried to protect his family, but it had resulted in him betraying his team. The realization was stunning and Bear found herself hating Hazard for far more than just what he had done to her. She hated him for threatening a now guilty man’s family to get him to comply with their demands. Hated him for being able to pull the rug over her eyes so easily.

Bear hated that she hadn’t known about any of this.

But Jake. Sweet, gentle, compassionate Jake had stayed by her side the whole time, held and consoled her through her angry tears and listened quietly and patiently as she ranted and raved about how she should have known. He never once made her feel like she was to blame, refuting every claim of the sort that she dared try to make.

He put her back together over and over through nightmares and panic attacks and so gently too that Bear was always afraid that if she touched him, that he would disappear in a cloud of smoke. But he never did and she thanked him at every chance she got, returning the favor when his own nightmares threatened to steal her away in the dark of the night. Yet, just like Jake and his immovable love for her, Bear remained there, soothing his fears just as he had done with her own.

===

The days passed quickly. Bear was slowly gaining strength, only letting her weakness be seen by Jake, and refusing to even entertain the idea of taking back her position as team leader. What she had done, regardless if it was warranted or not, and she knew it was, her actions were enough to warrant removal from her position or possibly discharge from the Navy.

But that would be worked out later. For now, she and Jake were locked in yet another mindless conversation that they were both taking entirely too seriously for the subject matter. “No!” Jake yelled from the floor of the gym. “They are not the same bird!”

Bear just stared at him. “They look identical! Why can’t they be the same bird?” She was just saying these things to wind him up, and while that may not normally be the smartest thing to do, it was just too much fun to resist. “A dove is just a fancy pigeon.”

Jake groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If they were the same, they’d have the same name! Just because one looks like the other doesn’t mean that-” he cut himself off, eyes narrowing at Bear, who was doing a terrible job at hiding her laughter. “You’re winding me up!”

“I’m sorry!” Bear wheezed out, having doubled over laughing after he’d called her out. “It’s too easy!”

Jake just shook his head, grinning. Bear was healing, laughing not causing her much pain anymore and the sight always made his heart swell. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “I am.”

“Now who’s the sap?”

“Still you.” Bear watched him approach, kissing her gently. “Still always going to be you.”

Jake nodded. “Fair enough. I was meaning to ask. What are we?”

“What do you mean?” Bear asked, head tilting to the side. She had been under the impression that they were dating. Ever since she’d woken up, Bear had been calling him her boyfriend in her head, but if he didn’t… No, they needed to talk about that before she spiraled. “I thought that we were dating.”

“And I thought we weren’t quite there yet because of your job and how you’re still technically my boss.”

She nodded, heart sinking a little at his words. “Did you not… want us to be…?”

“No! I mean, yes! I mean… Yes, I want us to be together. But I thought that we were waiting until we were stateside for that,” Jake explained, eyes wide in panic at the thought of Bear even coming up with the idea that he didn’t want her.

Bear visibly sagged in relief. “I was worried,” she admitted. “I hoped that we were thinking the same thing but I didn’t want to assume.”

“We are, Teddy. I promise.” And Jake meant every word of that promise. Bear was everything to him. “Why don’t we put a pin in defining this for now? We can talk about it when the logistics aren’t so complicated, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. God I love you, darlin’.”

“I love you too, Honey.”

===

Two days later, Bear was overseeing her team’s transit from Riyadh back to the Abraham Lincoln at Jebel Ali. She’d arrived first, relying on Bug back at the Air Base for her information and watched the Daggers land from her place in the ship’s bridge for the moment. Jake had hitched a ride in the same helicopter as her, and was down on the deck helping out Phoenix and Bob in securing their jet.

She watched his blonde hair get tossed around by the wind through the port and took a breath. “This would be a challenge,” she thought. “Getting through this journey home without being attached at the hip.” But if they had managed on the way here, they could manage on the way back. Of that, she was certain.

Only when all the Seals had landed and were disappearing below deck, Hazard being thrown in a special guarded area of the ship, did Bear leave the bridge, running smack into Jake amid the hustle and bustle. It was her first day back in her uniform since her capture and Jake couldn’t help but stare at how beautiful she looked. “I’d really like to kiss you,” he mumbled as he moved to step past her down the narrow hallway.

Bear grabbed his wrist, squeezing it lightly. “We can’t. I’m still your boss, Flyboy. Just a bit longer, and then we can give this a go, okay?”

He nodded, sending her a small smile before slipping off down the hallway to his quarters, leaving Bear to find her own.

God damn this would be a long trip home.

===

A/N: 🥹 I will admit that this was my face while writing this beast of a chapter. Bug, big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 and @sarahsmi13s because I might have made one or two of them cry with this one. And I can’t forget @dakotakazansky for her help in ensuring that my underlying plot line is in place and still running strong.

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 18: But I Know Who I Am Now (I Am Yours)

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF found on Pinterest*

A/N: Chapter title taken from I Am Yours by Andy Grammer

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: hospital setting and the stuff that comes with that, some minor angst, unconsciousness, blood, fist fight, Jake beats the shit out of someone and it’s a little hot, bruises, this is still pretty fluffy, author is trying to redeem herself.

Word Count: 3.7k

Masterlist >> Part 17 >> Part 19

===

Jake’s feet slid over the tiled floor of the infirmary in his haste to get to Bear. He knew that he was getting strange looks as he dodged nurses and medics as they went about their business, but he couldn’t find it in him to care what they thought. He had had a realization that was more pressing than anything in his life. If Bear loved him, and Jake was almost certain she did, he had to be the one to act. Her rank prevented her from doing so, it always had. Now though, it was different. She wasn’t his direct superior any more, and that gave him this opportunity.

He had been running through a speech, words he would say to her as he made the trip from the showers to her room, but nothing seemed to quite capture the depth of his feelings for her. Bear was special. She deserved nothing less than the best, especially after everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks. So Jake had to get this right.

He walked through the door to her room, stopping whatever conversation Rooster and Phoenix were having. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Phoenix replied. She had a very curious look on her face, but it quickly shifted to a smirk as she took him in. “Finally realized it, didn’t you?”

“Shut up.” Jake knew his face was bright red and the knowing looks from both Rooster and Phoenix only made his embarrassment worse. “Seriously. Shut it.”

“Karma’s a bitch, Seresin,” Rooster said with a laugh. “You made fun of me and my girl for how long? It’s only fair I get the same honor.” The look on his face was making Jake regret ever opening his mouth, and that never happened. And that fucking Chicken looked smug as hell.

Jake just groaned, scratching at his jaw. “And I shouldn’t have done that, but it got you two idiots together. So just get out. Please. I have to talk to her.”

The other man’s face softened, just a little. “Fine. Go get her.” Rooster clapped Jake on the arm before getting up and leaving. “I was hungry anyways.”

“Asshole!” Jake yelled out the door at his retreating figure. “Thanks Nix.”

Phoenix just grinned at him. “You finally clued in, didn’t you? Your dumbass just realized that she loves you.” The look on her face was pure glee, a look no one saw very often, and now it was staring him down. “Jake. Relax. You’ll be okay.”

“I know. I appreciate this.” He’d stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets, awkwardly shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Her smile grew and Jake knew that she had understood him. “I know you do, even if you can’t say how much.” Her tone was soft and Phoenix gave him a nod before slipping out the door, closing it gently behind her.

Finally, Jake was left alone with Bear once more. Like he had before leaving, he let his eyes trail over her, searching for any sign that she was awake. Any muscle twitch, a sign, anything. But there was nothing. So he took his seat once more, his hand finding hers and blew out a breath. He had time to practice his speech, he might as well use it.

“Teddy, since I met you… No I can’t say it like that. I’m not proposing,” Jake stopped his train of thought, and tried to start again. “Teddy, I have literally no idea how to say this - fuck me! Why can’t I just say it out loud? It’s three fucking words!” He groaned, his chin dropping to rest against his chest, staring down at his and Bear’s joined hands.

He took a deep breath, blowing out his exhale, before looking back up. “I shouldn’t have to think about it. Mama said that when I know, I’ll know. Don’t think, just do…” Jake pulled a face, suddenly thankful his back was to the door. “Fucking hell Teddy, you’ve got me so bent outta shape, I’m quotin’ the old man now.”

Running his thumb over the back of her hand, Jake closed his eyes, losing himself in the memories of them both. He marveled at her in nearly every one, too caught up on the light in her eyes to do more than just listen to her every word, hang off of it like a child on playground equipment. Pulling his feelings from those memories, he managed to speak. “You took ‘I love you to death’ a little too literally, darlin’,” his voice broke, too emotionally raw to say what he felt without tears. “You nearly did just that to save me. I need to return the favor, Teddy, so I’m gonna love you back to life.”

The room fell silent with only the sounds of his quiet sobs echoing in the stillness. God, he loved her. He loved her more than he had loved anything in the world. Even flying didn’t compare to the swoop his heart did when she was close. Now though, she was both so close and so far away all at the same time. “I love you. I only hope you love me too.”

===

Through the haze, Bear heard a voice. It was distant, but familiar and leading her out of the darkness. The only words she could make out were three of the most distinct: I. Love. You. She couldn’t yet make out who was speaking, but she hoped, she hoped so desperately, that it was Jake on the other side of the fog in her mind. She needed it to be. She had to see him, she had to see her Flyboy.

If it was Jake, she had to talk to him. Bear had to tell him that she loved him back. And she did. If Bear had the energy and the forethought, she would have told him the second she had seen him in the conference room. It had taken hallucinations of waking up in his arms for her to clue in that this wasn’t just attraction. No, Bear loved him. Loved him so much that she would face the armies of the world alone to spare him death. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before and she was both terrified and thrilled that she had figured out why her chest got tight whenever his name was mentioned.

Terrorists couldn’t take him from her, and death couldn’t take her from Jake. If that wasn’t meant to be, Bear didn’t know what was. The voice wasn’t so distant now, nearly loud enough for her to make out everything being said, and she was running towards it, clawing through the shadows and muffled noises until…

Bear heard beeping, the sound of someone stifling sobs, and the same words that had pulled her from the darkness. “God, Teddy. I need you to wake up. I love you too much to let you go like this. Please.”

It was Jake. And he was crying. Her heart broke and she wanted to speak, but her throat was so dry that all she could do was squeeze his hand.

Jake gasped, his tear-filled eyes flying to meet hers. “Teddy.”

“I love you too.” Bear’s voice was raspy from disuse and Jake just stared at her, his hand squeezing hers tightly.

He handed her the water on the bedside table, letting her sip it as he gaped at her, his entire body frozen still. “What?” Jake’s voice sounded strangled as his breath caught in his throat, the cup left forgotten on the table beside him.

“I love you too,” Bear repeated slowly. Her heart was pounding and alarms were going off from the monitors, but all she cared about was hearing Jake say those three beautiful words one more time.

Jake had a knee on her bed in a flash, leaning over her. “Tell me you don’t want this, because I can’t go back to how it was. I just can’t.” His eyes were wide and flicking between her eyes and lips. “Teddy, darlin’ I need you to say somethin’.”

“Kiss me,” Bear whispered. And holy fuck did he. Their lips met and it felt like a vat of chocolate melting in her chest as she kissed him back with everything she could. Trying her hardest to pour every ounce of feeling she had for him into this one gesture, gasping as he tugged on her lip. The cheeky bastard.

For Jake, all he could focus on were the fireworks going off in his head. He deepened the kiss, using her gasp to slip his tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers.

He finally pulled away, watched Bear’s eyes slowly flicker open and grinning as she blinked back emotion that had filled her eyes. “Flyboy…”

“I’m here, Teddy. I’m not going anywhere.” Jake’s hand found hers, squeezing it tightly before pressing a kiss to the back of it, slowly climbing off of the bed. Seconds later, two nurses burst into the room, eyes flying to the now-awake Bear sitting up in her bed.

“Commander…” one nurse began while the other checked the vitals machine. “Any idea as to why your heart rate is so high?” She shot Bear a wink, knowing full well that the blond man in the corner was responsible.

“I have a few ideas,” Bear managed to say over her giggles at the face Jake pulled behind the second nurse’s back. “I’m feeling alright though.”

“I’m sure you do, ma’am. But let’s do a quick assessment first and then we’ll let you get back to your… friend.”

Her face went bright pink, heat spiraling up her ears. “Sounds good.”

“Lieutenant, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the other nurse said, looking at Jake, who then turned to look at Bear.

“I want him to stay.” Her tone had slipped effortlessly back into that of a commanding officer, letting the two nurses know that if they tried to remove him, she would fight back.

They nodded, gesturing for him to sit back down in the chair that they had moved a little ways off from the bed before conducting their assessments. It only took a few minutes for them to determine that she was doing well and left the room, the first nurse hanging back just a moment. “Try to keep that heart rate under control, you two. I know that might be hard with him in the room, but I can’t guarantee any privacy if you two start something.” And with one final wink at the two of them, the nurse left, closing the door again.

“Hear that, Teddy? I gotta control you,” Jake teased, grinning at her. He was just doing this to get a rise out of the woman next to him, who just grinned back, before whipping her arm out to smack him in the stomach.

“Watch it Flyboy,” Bear replied, raising an eyebrow in a feigned stern look. “They’re gonna think that you are the one needing handling.” She was smirking at the red creeping up the back of Jake’s neck, proud of herself for catching him off guard.

But Jake recovered quickly, creeping back towards the bed, eyes fixed on hers. “Careful darlin’, you and I both know that the only thing that needs handlin’ is that mouth. Do I need to shut you up?”

Her face widened in a challenging grin, the familiar spark Jake had often seen in her eyes had been reignited and he felt himself shiver at the intensity gazing back at him. “And the only one doing that handling is gonna be you, right?”

“You’re damn right, Teddy.” His hand cradled her cheek, gently drawing her back in for another soft kiss. “You’re mine. If you want to be.”

“So long as you’re mine,” Bear replied softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, grinning as he chased her lips. “This is quite the wake up call, though Flyboy. A half-naked man sitting at my bedside, proclaiming his undying love for me.” Bear had been playing with his hoodie strings as her palms rested on his chest, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin material of his half-zipped hoodie.

Jake glanced down, catching sight of his bare chest near her hands. “I should probably fix that, huh?”

“Or… you could just stay here…”

He groaned. “You promised the nurse that you would keep that heart rate down, darlin’. Don’t start sayin’ shit like that or you will break your promise.”

Bear just winked at him, settling back against the pillows behind her. “Be quick? I missed you.”

“I’ll be as fast as I can. I promise,” Jake leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, making her smile as she lay back against the pillows.

===

Jake left the room with a wide grin on his face. Bear was awake, and she loved him too! It literally couldn’t get better than this. He hurried back to the locker room, passing Payback, Bob, and Rooster going the other direction. He gave them a nod, and Bob grinned at him, catching the flush on his cheeks. Out of everyone, the WSO knew exactly what had happened, and yet, Jake couldn’t find it in himself to care.

He was steps away from the locker room door, when it swung open, revealing Shrike leading a very disgruntled and worn out Hazard and Jake saw red. This was all his fault; every single little thing. He was the reason Bear had written her letter, the contents of which he would never reveal to anyone. She had known something was off, she had written it down. And Hazard, Colton, had nearly ruined everything.

Hazard barely had time to react before Jake shoved him back through the door and up against the wall. “YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” Jake roared, the pure rage in his voice bouncing off every tile in the locker room.

But it wasn’t Jake throwing the first punch. No, Hazard got a hand up and punched him in the nose, a malicious grin tearing open on his face. “Whatcha gonna do, you fucking ass? Hit me? You can’t.”

Jake smirked, blood rushing down his face. “That’s where you’re wrong. Mav never said anything about us not beating you half to death. Really wanna try somethin’?” He knew that his eyes held the same fire that had burned in Bear’s when she burst into the room to confront him. But unlike when she had done it, Hazard didn’t seem scared of Jake. “I have no problem with any of it.”

His drawled words, combined with the blood from his nose, were enough to make Shrike smile from her spot in the corner. She and the other Seals were on a tight leash, unable to do more than throw the man a dirty look, so if she had engineered this little meetup, no she didn’t. Hazard deserved everything coming to him, even if she couldn’t be the one to inflict a fraction of the pain her boss had experienced.

Hazard opened his mouth to speak, to make some smart ass comment, when Jake slammed his palm into Hazard’s nose. The yell of pain the Seal let out only made Jake’s smirk widen, his green eyes cruel and vindictive. “Bear took worse than that, and you’re whinin’ like a little bitch?” Jake spat, knowing that Hazard was both cuffed and off his game. “You’re pathetic.”

The Seal took another swing, missing Jake by a mile and the pilot laughed. “Come on. I threw you off? Wow. You ain’t nearly as good as you think you are.” He was cackling now, the anger on Hazard’s face only stoking the rage building with every passing moment. He circled Hazard, grinning widely. “Come on, playboy. Show me why you’re a Seal, hmm?”

Two more missed haymakers had Jake’s smirk growing exponentially. He returned the swings, three blows to the stomach, making Hazard double over, groaning. “Now that’s not in the naval spirit,” Jake hissed, grabbing his opponent by the shirt and slamming him back into a row of lockers. Two quick blows to the side, followed by a knee to the face that left blood on Jake’s sweatpants, had Hazard sliding to the ground. “Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to pass out.”

Jake slapped him across the face, grinning as Hazard’s blue eyes opened and then widened in fear at how close Jake now was. He scrambled back towards the center of the room, feet kicking out and cuffed hands pushing against the tile, doing everything he could to get away from the man before him.

But he was no match for the angry pilot striding towards him with blood still running down his face and staining his chest. “Coward!” Jake growled, pulling the panicked man to his feet and throwing him back into a bench. “You’re just a little bitch, ain’t ya? Brave brave man when betraying your people! BUT NOW? YOU’RE NOTHIN’!” His voice was deafening to those inside. But Jake didn’t care. How could he? His knuckles ached but it paled in comparison to the wrath in his eyes and the hellfire in his blood. Hazard wasn’t getting out alive. Not if he could help it.

In a blink, Jake was on top of Hazard, raining hell down in the form of punches, uncaring if his knuckles were bleeding in time with the traitor’s face. He didn’t know how many times he’d hit the coward, but then Bob and Rooster were pulling him off the other man. “LET ME GO!” Jake roared, fist catching Rooster’s jaw as he struggled. “GET OFF ME!”

Shrike took the moment to move forward, wet cloth in hand. If she took Hazard out of the room looking like his face had been punched in, she could face some trouble. “But let’s be real,” she thought. “People would thank him.” Roughly wiping off the blood, Shrike hauled Hazard to his feet and dragged him out the door. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya, Texas!” Shrike called back as she left the room, bleeding man in tow.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Rooster was looking at his bloody face like he didn’t recognize the man behind it.

“Bastard had it coming,” Jake grumbled, wrenching his arm free from Bob’s grip and stomping over to the sink to wipe the blood off his face and chest. “And don’t tell me you wouldn’ta done the same.”

Rooster scowled at his back, following him. “I wouldn’t have. I-”

Jake whirled around, eyes wild. “Bull fuckin’ shit, Bradshaw! If it were your girl, if someone had hurt your family, you woulda done the same. Hell, even Bob would have fuckin’ done the same!” He was yelling again, uncaring of who heard him.

“She’s not your girl, Seresin. You need to calm down.”

“Get. Out,” Jake ground out. “I beat one man’s ass already today. I’ll do it again.”

“You see this too, right Bob?” Rooster looked genuinely concerned for Jake, as his gaze swung back forth between the two men. “Jake, you trauma bonded. She saved you and got captured as a result. You owe her nothing.”

Jake’s heart sank, anger deflating so suddenly that he nearly collapsed. “It’s-that’s not…”

“I’m sorry, man. But you have to know that,” Bradley said gently. “Bear is amazing and you guys were great friends before this, but beating a man up for her? Surely you have to admit that that is a little excessive.”

“Rooster,” Bob spoke up, seeing the look on Jake’s face. “Leave it, okay?”

“But Bob…”

The WSO shook his head, silencing Bradley’s protests. “He’s been through enough, he doesn’t need this too. Just drop it.” Bob turned to Jake, pausing for a minute as he took in the blond’s conflicted look, before gesturing for Rooster to leave them. “Let me talk to him.”

“Bob-” But when he saw the head shake, Rooster sighed and left.

“You love her.” Bob’s statement made Jake look up at him. “You loved her before we left.”

“I did…” Jake whispered. “God, I’ve loved her for a while. This isn’t a trauma bond. I swear it isn’t.”

“I know.” Jake nodded, chewing on his lip as Bob continued. “You were worried and now you’re doubting everything. All because Rooster of all people got to you? I believe you, Jake and if you say you love her, then I don’t doubt that.”

“You would have done the same, right?”

Bob nodded, eyes darkening just a little. “I would definitely have done the same. You’ve met my wife, you know I would. I also heard a rumor that Bear is awake, you should tell her.”

“I will.”

“Good. Have fun explainin’ the black eye though. Looks like that rat-bastard hit you good.” Bob clapped him on the shoulder and left.

Clearly the bespectacled man didn’t know that he’d already seen Bear. That he’d already told her he loved her. But Bob didn’t need to know, Jake reasoned, pulling on his T-shirt that sat abandoned on a different bench. “Bear loves me back.”

===

Bear sat in her bed, body sagging into the pillows. Every single part of her hurt. Even the end of her nose. A part of her wondered about where Jake was, but figured that he was probably catching up with his team, maybe informing hers that she had woken up. Or maybe, he’d gotten sidetracked by something else.

Either way, Bear let her eyes flutter close, just for a moment. But they flew open moments later at the sound of a crash a few rooms away, making her groan in frustration. She couldn’t even fall asleep without her mind hauling her back to that hellhole. It didn’t matter that the men had left her alone save for their incessant demands for information that she wouldn’t share, it had still fucked her up.

She sat still for a moment before letting her head loll against the pillow, trying to clamber back into that blissful land of sleep that she had left nearly an hour ago to soothe the man with the green eyes that had stolen her mind. Bear was tired of being tired. Exhausted from being afraid, from putting her focus on escaping, and all she wanted was a fucking nap.

This time, her attempt was interrupted by what sounded like Priya shouting “YOU WHAT?!” Even now, on bed rest, despite her forcing the reins of Seal Team 3 back into Bug’s hands yet again, there was still work to be done. Bear only wondered what had her mild mannered second yelling in such a way. Had someone come forward about their involvement in her capture? Or had someone incorrectly filled out a form and caused Bug two hours of extra work?

Either way, Bear felt the exhaustion seep into her bones as she shut her eyes against the fluorescent lighting that seemed to force its way into every pore. She felt like she was under a microscope; every twitch, every rustle, on display for the world to see her wounds.

All she wanted was to sleep, but it had eluded her at every attempt thus far and it was already driving her up the wall.

A nurse passed by the open door and Bear waved her over, asking her if she could shut the lights off. A nod and then a click and the room seemed to fall quiet. The only remaining light came from the open window, but it grew faint the longer Jake was gone and so she reached, pulling at some of her stitches and was able to turn the bedside light on.

It had clearly been brought in for Jake as he spent his time watching over her and the thought sent butterflies racing through her stomach.

He was safe.

And so was she.

Bear could rest easier now. Her hours spent in worry for her team, for Jake, for everyone was over. Bug had it handled and she could lay back and let her team handle it.

So she dozed in her room, waiting for the green-eyed, golden haired man she loved to come back to her.

===

Jake was silent the entire way back to the infirmary, lost in his thoughts. But he was quickly pulled from them when Bear gasped, her eyes catching on the growing bruise around his eyes and nose. “What happened?”

“Hazard.”

“He’s just wandering?” Bear’s eyes flared with anger that the traitor would lay his hands on Jake. “No one’s watching him? Questioning him?” Her hand moved up to trace over his cheekbone, a feather light touch over his bruising eye.

Jake sat on the edge of the bed, catching her hand and pulling it down to rest on her lap. “Teddy. I’m okay. Pretty damn sure Shrike led him into my path, knowin’ that I had his number.”

Her anger suddenly forgotten, Bear grabbed his other hand with hers, gently running a thumb over the broken skin on his knuckles. “You hurt him?”

“I did. Couldn’t let him get away with the shit he pulled, he hurt my girl,” Jake replied softly, meeting her eyes. “I would have killed him if I thought that’s what you woulda wanted.”

Bear shook her head. “Jake, no. His skull is mine. But he will face justice, Admiral Harris has been informed of the situation. All of it,” she told him, her eyes softening as they caught the truthfulness of his words. “I love you. I don’t care how fast it is. I love you.” She raised his hand to her lips, trailing barely-there kisses over his knuckles, only stopping when Jake’s hand lifted her head up to kiss her gently.

“I love you too, Teddy. I love you too.”

Everything else could wait. The world was on pause, Bear thought, as Jake folded himself into her hospital bed, pulling her into his arms and peppering kisses to her face.

He loved her and she, him. What more could be said?

===

A/N: They finally said it! I know I freaked some of y’all out with that nightmare in the last part but I think I made up for it! Big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 and @sarahsmi13s for being incredible betas. And let’s all thank @dakotakazansky for talking me out of what I had originally planned for these two and for helping me with some replotting!

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amonst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 17: What About Us?

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*Image is from Pinterest, OG creator unknown

A/N: Chapter title taken from P!nk's song of the same name, What About Us

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: Jake’s really into his feelings, unconsciousness, medical setting, swearing, the author’s an asshole (you’ll see…)

Word Count: 3.3k

Masterlist >> Part 16 >> Part 18

===

Bear slept for days; her body too weary for anything else except passing out and doing her best to heal after the traumatizing last few weeks. She wasn’t alone in her room though. Jake had hardly budged from the chair he sat in, watching her closely, like he half-expected her to vanish if he left or looked away for even a second. No one knew what to do, Bear had dropped a bomb on the conference room table like she had known what her team needed. She was funny like that, always managing to care for others even when she was the one needing a break.

But as she slept, the days passed by slowly. The mission had happened damn near a month ago and its effects were still being uncovered day by day. “Jake. Jake. Come on man, you need to shower.” Coyote had been trying to coax Jake to leave the room for the past two days, but nothing had worked. “I know you’re worried about her, but she isn’t going to magically wake up if you keep starin’ at her.”

“I know.” Jake’s voice was small, such a contrast from the loud, boisterous personality with an equally loud voice that everyone knew and some loved. “Five more minutes?”

“Man, come on. Please. You said five minutes 25 minutes ago,” Coyote was growing more and more frustrated by the second. He didn’t know what had happened to Bear, didn’t want to know, but even then, he was still trying to wrangle his best friend into taking care of himself. “I’ll get Fireball or Nix to come sit with her while you shower, okay?”

Jake watched Coyote step out for a moment to call or text someone to come and sit with Bear. Deep down, Jake knew that there would be no shortage of takers. Bear was loved by her team and damn near everyone who knew her, plus he had been occupying the room for nearly 5 days, someone likely had something that they wanted to say to her without him around. “I miss you, Teddy,” he muttered, squeezing her hand before placing it back on top of the covers. “Please be okay.”

He sat in silence for a while, eyes flicking over the healing bruises, the bandages, and the drab hospital gown that covered her. She was still Bear in every way that mattered, but the question was, would she remember him? Would she remember the chaste cheek kiss nearly a month ago now, how she called him Flyboy? God, he hoped so.

Jake was broken from his reverie when Phoenix came into the room. “Hey Bagman.” Her voice was soft like she was speaking to a frightened child instead of her teammate. “How’s our girl?”

“Breathing. I know they did something to her oxygen earlier,” he replied, gazing down at her face, tracing its lines with his eyes. “Apparently she’s doing better than expected.”

“That’s great.” Phoenix didn’t know how to proceed with this conversation. The man before her was so far from the Jake she knew and she didn’t know how to handle it. “That’s really good.”

He swallowed hard. “Yeah. She’s a fighter.” Tears were pricking his eyes and Jake quickly blinked them back. “Thanks for staying with her.”

“Hey. It’s not a problem. Should warn you that Bradshaw insisted on tagging along. I think he feels bad,” Phoenix told him, settling in the chair next to him. “But,” she whispered conspiratorially, leaning in close. “I won’t let him take your seat. How’s that?”

“Thank you.” Jake stood up slowly. His joints popped as he unfolded himself from the chair he had sat vigil in for the better part of five days and gave Bear one last longing look before leaving the room, Coyote following close behind. The pair was silent the entire way to the barracks, Jake lost in his head. He couldn’t understand why Bear had done what she had done. He wasn’t worth torture. No one here was. It didn’t make sense why Hazard had done what he had either. Why would a man throw away his life and career for a… terrorist? Risk everything for what? Money? A deluded sense of belonging?

Nothing made sense to him and he was too afraid to ask Javy or anyone else lest he had dreamed the whole thing. It still felt surreal having her back in his life. Sure Bear was unconscious and more than likely traumatized, but she was here, she was whole, and Jake desperately hoped that she’d be his when all was said and done.

They had made it back to the barracks and Jake sat down on his bed, biting his cheek. “Thanks for lookin’ out for me,” he mumbled at Coyote’s back, not caring if the other man heard him or not. He just had to get these words off his chest.

“It’s not a problem, Seresin. Trust me, you’re a pain in the ass, but you’re also my best friend, so I can’t be too mad,” Javy replied with a wave of his hand. “You don’t gotta thank me.”

Jake gave him an appreciative look, not trusting himself to speak his gratitude aloud. Javy buzzed around the room for a while longer as Jake flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was still desperate for answers. Hell, he had been searching for them since he had found out Bear’s fate weeks prior. Jake had been neck deep in evidence and documents as he worked with Bug, who now insisted he call her Priya, Fireball, and Flare, wherever she was, to find whoever had been responsible for this act of terrorism and after all of that, he still barely knew which way was up. But she was safe. Bear was here. That’s all he needed.

===

An hour or two later, Jake made his way down the halls to the infirmary to retake his place next to Bear’s bed. The halls were strangely empty as he walked along, there was none of the hustle and bustle that was characteristic of the Air Base, and to top it all off, it was quiet. He could distantly hear jets taking off in the background, and saw a few people he didn’t recognize, but that wasn’t unusual given the size of the base, so Jake thought nothing of it.

He continued on, waving to a few of the Seals he thought he knew and they returned the gesture. Jake felt refreshed, having showered and taken a brief nap in the time since he’d left Bear’s bedside, and he was ready to talk to her if she should be awake. If not, well, his phone was fully charged and he had the book that he was still working his way through, he could wait.

After all, he’d waited this long.

He entered the room, noting that neither Rooster not Phoenix were inside. The second chair wasn’t beside the bed, it was tucked in the corner, but this was all forgotten when he locked eyes with Bear. “Teddy…” he breathed, seeing her sat up in bed, looking out the window. Her skin was ghastly pale, eyes having lost their usual spark, but that was likely from everything she had been through, and he couldn’t blame her. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” Her words were short and clipped, almost like she didn’t want to talk to him at all. Which made no sense to him. Bear had been ready to say something to him in the conference room, just before she’d passed out. Why would she act like this?

Jake tried again. “I missed you, you know? I was a wreck, ask Bug or whoever else. They’ll tell you that I cried like a baby.” He was going for humor but was once again shot down in his attempts to talk to her.

“I didn’t ask you to do that. To mourn me.”

“I know you didn’t,” Jake said weakly. This wasn’t his Bear. It couldn’t be. But it looked like her, sounded like her, so this must be her. Why wouldn’t it be? “But I care about you, Teddy. I always have. You know this.”

Bear snorted, her eyes focused on a point over his shoulder. She couldn’t even stand to look at him. How could she? “Do I know that? Or do I just know what you're telling me?”

“Bear, I love you! I have been in love with you since the training exercise back on base! Why would I have lost sleep over you if I didn’t want you or care for you?” Jake was getting louder with each word and was practically screaming by the end. This didn’t make sense. Bear would never say this to him, would she?

But his pondering was cut off by a snort. “You honestly think I wanted you?” Bear rolled her eyes at him, fed up with his insistence.

“Bear please!” He was nearly pleading now, but that didn’t seem to change the iron stare of the woman in front of him. The woman who he had thought loved him. “You can’t be serious!”

“You were a distraction. A plaything. And do you know the worst part, Jake, do you know what that is? No? I’ll tell you. You. Weren’t. Worth. It.” Each word was punctuated by her stepping closer to him. “You were never worth it.”

“When did she stand up?” Jake thought distantly, but his attention was grabbed by the next words Bear spat at him.

“I should have left you to rot in the desert. Saved my own ass, protected my team like I swore to do. I didn’t sign up to defend little boys with no sense of self-preservation. You want to hear me say it again, Jake? You. Weren’t. Worth. Saving.”

Tears were now falling freely down his face as each word Bear threw at him found its mark deep in his heart. She was ruthless, cruel, and held no regard for his feelings. This couldn’t be what they had made her into. This wasn’t right. Did she really regret saving him? But FAK had told him that… No. It didn’t matter. Bear clearly didn’t feel the same as she had before the mission. How could she claim to have feelings and throw these words around so carelessly? “Fine. Whatever. So you regret saving my ass,” Jake fired back, his face red as tears streamed down his cheeks. “So why did you? Why did you save me if you were just ‘playing’ with me? Why?”

“Because you put yourself in danger and I was never going to hear the end of it if I just left you. My career would be over!” Bear’s grin was mocking as she shoved his own anger back in his face, laughing as she did. “I was a better leader before you, and I will be a great one without you. I hate to say it, but you were little more to me than a rock in my boot, Seresin. A pretty one, sure. But a pain nonetheless.”

“Bear…” One last try. One last plea for her to come to her senses. “Please.” Jake’s heart was shattering in his chest the longer he stood before Bear, raw emotion choking him as he tried to rearrange his thoughts to fit the picture she was painting for him. Bear was standing here as casually as she could, acting like her every word wasn’t single-handedly destroying every treasured moment of the two of them that he held.

“You loved a lie, Jake. I never cared. You should know what that’s like, Flyboy.” Her nickname for him, so callously thrown out, like she didn’t care, like she couldn’t bring herself to care. “You did this all the time. Out of the both of us, you have the reputation as a heart breaker.”

Jake physically recoiled from her. His chest had been filled with uncertainty since he’d entered the room, but now? Now it was almost as if Bear had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out, squeezing it in her hands. She didn’t care. She had never cared. It hit him like a sack of stones, dazing him and he pressed his palms against his eyes, trying to block it all out, trying to make sense of it all. Jake swallowed back bile, desperately scanning her face for any sign that she could be lying, but there was none. Just the blank face of the woman he loved staring back at him, and he could only hope that this was some kind of twisted prank meant to torment him.

Or maybe this was the new Bear. The one who didn’t care for him or his feelings. She was jaded, ruined by the men Hazard had led to her. A shell of the vibrant person he had fallen in love with. A fraction of the woman that had stolen his heart. Jake watched numbly as she climbed back into bed and turned away from him, feeling something slap at his arm. Twice more, this thing jabbed him in the shoulder until he shot up with a strangled gasp, the air in his lungs punching out like he’d gotten a boot to the chest.

Scrubbing his hands over his face, Jake blew out a breath. Bear hadn’t said what she did. That was a dream, an amalgamation of his worst fears coming to haunt him, to make him regret everything. The thing was, it had almost worked. But Bear was alive, and while he didn’t know how she was, Jake knew that she was nothing like the woman masquerading as Bear in his nightmare. She wasn’t capable of it. Not even after everything she had likely been through. Her “words” were in his head because he had dreamt it, not because they had actually been said.

“Jake? You good man? You look like you saw a ghost.” It was Coyote’s voice that pulled him from his mind, jolting him back to reality. The reality where he was sat on his bunk, rubbing sleep from his eyes

“Yeah. Just a wicked nightmare. When did I fall asleep?” Jake scarcely recognized his own voice with how ragged it sounded to his own ears.

“You crashed, like the second you lay down. You were just out,” Javy replied, eyeing his best friend suspiciously. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.”

Coyote didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyways, stepping closer with the sandwich he’d snagged from the mess. “Eat something, man. Then go shower. You smell like nightmares and sweat. Bear isn’t gonna want to kiss your landfill smellin’ ass.”

Jake’s cheeks were puffed out from the mouthful of his sandwich. “Fuck you,” he tried to say through the bread and meat, but it came out in a muffled series of noises that just made Javy snort.

“Yeaaaah, she’s definitely not gonna want to put her face anywhere near that.” Javy was relishing in the indignant look Jake gave him, chuckling at the barely hidden laughter that had returned to his friend’s eyes.

“I know where you can put your face,” Jake shot back. “How about you kiss my ass and leave Bear the hell alone?” For the first time in weeks, Jake’s face had lit up. He was coming back into who he used to be, but underneath the sparkle in those now-bright green eyes lurked sadness at his own inability to help.

Javy smirked, throwing a towel at Jake’s head. “I would, but you’d like it too much.”

The blond man groaned. “Fucking Hell, Javy.”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!”

“I pity your girlfriend.”

“Low blow, man. Low blow.” Coyote had pretended to stumble back, clutching his chest and staring up at Jake like the man had stabbed him. “You leave my honey outta this.”

The two men stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. It felt normal. Like the two of them were healing, like the world was right once more. It took them both a while to calm down, the silence in the room punctuated with small snorts of laughter and the occasional wheeze as they both tried to catch their breath. “Please. You’re tellin’ me that she wouldn’t drag your ass?”

“She already does man. Chewed me out for yellin’ at you too. Called you an ass, but told me to be nice,” Javy replied, wiping tears from his eyes. “God I love her.”

Jake grinned at his best friend. “You gonna wife her up anytime soon? Or do I have to use my charm to show T how it’s done?”

“Bullshit. You got lucky with Bear. She don’t dig white boys, you know that.”

“Fair enough. Fair enough.” Jake lifted his palms in mock-surrender. “I know when I’m beat.”

“Mmhmm. Bear’s got you whipped, man.” Javy watched as Jake’s face softened. His eyes had brightened and he sat up a little straighter. It was like watching a flower perk up after a rainstorm, and Javy knew that his best friend was in love with the bedridden Navy Seal a few buildings away. “Pretty sure she’s had your balls since day one.”

“I might’ve handed them to her, I honestly don’t know.”

The black man snorted. “Alright, alright. I told Bradshaw that I’d get your pasty simp ass into the shower and back so he could go eat, let’s go.” He clapped his hands, grinning as Jake hauled himself up with a groan. “C’mon. Move it.”

“I’m comin’. I’m comin’. Calm your tits dude,” Jake said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his shower stuff and a clean set of clothes.

“Please tell me that isn’t how you talk dirty to Bear… Honey’s gonna be so disappointed in her if you caught her with lines like that.” Coyote shoved him towards the showers, following him. “Now, I’d wait. But I’ve got to call my mama in…” he trailed off, checking his watch. “12 minutes. And if you’re gonna be an angsty shit, I’d remember that you have a hungry Chicken in the same room as your girl. So move it, or lose her.”

The shit-eating grin on Coyote’s face was enough to make Jake snort as he passed by his friend. “Go on then. I can shower by myself.”

“Awww. Who’s a big boy?” Javy replied with a loud cackle of a laugh at the face Jake pulled. “Okay man. See you in a bit.”

“Later asshole. You know where to find me,” Jake yelled back, flipping Javy off as he undressed.

===

Stepping under the cold spray of the shower shocked Jake back to his dream. Bear couldn’t possibly feel that way, could she? This was the thought that raced through his mind as Jake stood stock-still, feeling the water sluicing down his body. Bear had made that decision for a reason. Wracked with guilt in those initial days after learning Bear’s fate, he had sought out FAK in help of understanding what had happened.

FAK’s tone had been gentle, the medic having more of an understanding of Bear’s motivations. They had sat with him as they restitched his leg, talking the whole time. Jake had learned a lot from this conversation; Bear had cared enough about him to come after him. She had put herself in harm’s way to save him for a reason. FAK hadn’t known what that reasoning was, and they didn’t care to speculate, but the medic had assured him that it must have been significant.

And as Jake stood, rinsing soap from his body, that reason hit him. It slammed into his chest quick and fast. In all honesty, it felt like launching from a carrier; a jolt followed by a lurch that moved through both you and the aircraft. It was indescribable to someone who had never experienced it, but Jake knew. This time he understood why Bear had risked herself for him. He didn’t like it, but he understood. It was because she loved him, it made no sense otherwise. So she had to, Bear had to love him back.

FAK had known but couldn’t say, Bug knew, hell, Jake was certain that his entire team knew. But were those feelings the truth, or just imagined? There was only one way to find out. The mere thought had him shutting the shower off abruptly, standing stock-still for a moment to evaluate what exactly he was planning on doing. He would confess first, she couldn’t because of her rank, but he could say something.

Jake could confess his love.

He screwed his eyes shut, shaking his head. This was insane. But Jake knew that taking risks was part of his job, it was partially who he was. So he threw on clean pants and a hoodie, redoing his shoes before racing off through the locker room and across base, all the way to Bear’s bedside.

It was always better late than never. Right?

===

A/N: I’m going to be crucified by some of you, so I’m going to stand… over here and try not to die 😅

Love to @startrekfangirl2233 and @sarahsmi13s for both yelling at me and one of these lovely ladies AKA @dakotakazansky gave me that idea, so thank to that person who knows who they are!

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 16: Mark My Words

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

Image warning for Blood

*Image is, once again, not mine*

A/N: Chapter title borrowed from Faouzia’s song This Mountain

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: blood, descriptions of death, death threats, discussion of wounds, mention of stitches, passing out, mentions of torture, discussion of infection, killing, basically a lot of death/death adjacent stuff. If I missed something, please let me know.

A/N: This is another minors fuck off chapter. I will block anyone under 18 who interacts with this chapter given the nature of the material. I don’t care if you watch gory movies on the weekend, this is some murdery content. Thank you :)

Word Count: 6.3k

Masterlist >> Part 15 >> Part 17

===

Bear waited until the lone man arrived to bring her food and water to put her plan into action. She would eat the meager food they brought her, drink the water, and slowly psych herself up for the fight that was going to come. The fight that she would bring to them. Sure she was the first and only Navy Seal to ever be captured, but they would remember her as the one who came back looking like she’d dragged every last devil back through Hell with her.

She clutched the key in her hand, waiting for her moment. It came minutes later when the man came back to cuff her again. Bear didn’t let him get that far. The minute he got close enough to her, Bear pulled herself up. Her hands found purchase against the chains holding her inches off the ground and she pulled. Hard. Her muscles screamed as she forced herself up into the air, her thighs wrapping around his head and she squeezed tightly.

He thrashed, clawing at her legs as he fought desperately for breath, but Bear was determined. She clenched the muscles tighter, forcing the air he craved to remain trapped in his throat as he struggled against her grip. Bear’s body was begging her to stop, to let him go, but her will was stronger than the pain flaring in her mind and she held him there until the insurgent slumped against her leg unconscious.

A soft thump was the only noise that came from her cell as she let his body drop to the floor. Lowering her legs sent fire through her nerves and Bear had to do so in intervals as she tried not to cry out from the toll her body was unwillingly paying.

The key. This was her next move. Bear’s mind was solely focused on getting free. Nothing else mattered right now. It was like her movements had been listed down: Lower legs. Catch breath. Unlock cuffs. Get Amir. Get out. That list echoed in her head in the same tattoo of her heart beat in her ears. This was it.

Her arm moved stiltedly, stiff from her lack of movement and aching from her feat of strength not moments ago, but Bear grit her teeth and carefully brought the key close to the lock on the other cuff.

But it fumbled in her palms and Bear swore silently. Dropping that key would be a death sentence for not just her, but also Amir. That little boy risked his life for her and she would not do him a disservice and die before she got him out. Slowing a little, she tried again, this time she was successful in unlocking the cuff, sliding to the floor as the chains clinked above her seated form

Everything hurt. Her body, her mind, and everything in between. Even breathing deeply pulled at barely-formed scabs over her ribs and abdomen, but if Bear had been able to block out the savagery that had to endure for her to be wounded in this way, then she could do her best to dull the pain. She could worry about it later, when she was safe or when she was dead. Either way, Bear had nothing left to lose and everything, her freedom included, to gain.

Glancing to her left, Bear’s eyes fell upon the unconscious man who lay silently in the same lump he’d fallen into. He was an immediate priority; if she left him, he could and would alert the others to her escape, but if she killed him now, her disappearance would be safe for a little longer.

The choice was easy. He would die quietly.

Bear reached for him, ignoring the cuts tearing open as she did so, and pulled his unconscious form closer to where she sat. Two hands found his jaw and a sharp and sudden twist led to a sickening crack filling the air as Bear snapped his neck. As she sat there, she knew deep down that this would be the only body that fell without a fight. Without blood, without the screams and cries of dying men that had haunted her every waking step since she had first enlisted.

“Come on. This is to go home, to see Jake and the others again,” she muttered to herself, swiping a grimy and bloodied hand over her face. “Don’t give them a reason to doubt you.” A few deep breaths later, Bear felt her heart slow down, bringing herself back down into the calm that she had always attributed to her helmet. This time, there was no safety net, just her and the men who wanted her dead. “Come on Bear. You got out before. You can do it again.”

She glanced at her feet, catching sight of her bare toes against the concrete floor and groaned. She’d forgotten that the laces had been taken from her after she had escaped momentarily weeks earlier. A wry chuckle escaped her lips as Bear remembered how the man she attacked had screamed as she leapt atop him, strangling him with the bootlace. It hadn’t been the smartest choice in hindsight but it had proved that her will to fight was still intact.

Back to the boots. Bear’s eyes fell upon the form of the man she’d just killed, particularly the boots on his feet. They’d be big, but they were better than nothing.

She had to move quickly now. Someone would notice that the man hadn’t returned and she’d be killed on sight if they caught her over his body. Well they’d kill her regardless, but Bear really didn’t feel like going down this soon.

Bracing her hand against the wall, Bear made to stand up, but she was so overcome with dizziness as she did that it sent her staggering back into the wall, a hand thrown over her eyes to block out the starbursts that exploded in her vision field. She’d passed out enough times to recognize the feeling; her stomach lurching, the sudden headache, and the tunnel vision had all plagued her numerous times. Yet she knew she had to move now. Adrenaline would combat this feeling, erase it like it was never there.

So she took a step off the wall, hand clenched around the knife she’d pulled from her dead captor and crept out the open door, sticking close to the corridor walls. Her heart pounded in her chest, nearly deafening as she slowly wandered through the compound, slipping closer and closer to freedom. Bear hadn’t made it far before a shout sounded down the hall. Someone had discovered her absence, the dead body and now her timeline had been shortened far faster than she had anticipated. “Fuck. Goddamn fuckers couldn’t be lazy for once?”

Her curses were cut short as footsteps raced closer to where she stood and Bear ducked around a corner, praying that he wouldn’t turn. His boots slammed against the concrete floor and despite her hopes, he turned the corner.

Bear pounced once he’d passed her, fists finding homes in his flank. He stumbled, his hand fumbling for his gun as he turned to face Bear. Two quick kicks to his knees had him screaming in pain as the sound of cracking bones filled the narrow hallway. She watched him fall, snatching the gun from him before landing another kick to his chest. Bear stood over him, chest heaving as she leveled the gun at his head. A single shot that echoed loudly was all it took to paint the floor and lower walls with blood and flesh.

She had caught him completely by surprise, rendered him unable to fight back in moments and killed him before he could become aware of what was happening. He hadn’t been able to land a single blow, and how could he? Bear fought with everything she had because she had nothing left to lose. That little detail made her dangerous, far more dangerous than any of her captors could imagine.

But she couldn’t dwell on this fact now, she had to move quickly. The gunshot’s echo had alerted her captors to her location. That, combined with the shout of alarm from earlier, had made it so every man in the compound knew what was happening. So Bear ran, gun in hand, searching for any advantage in this fight. Her ribs ached with every breath, every step sent shockwaves up her body, but slowing down meant death, and Bear would rather spend every minute of her life making it up to Jake than never seeing him again. So she pushed through the pain, dug deep into her training, and ran faster.

A pair of men cut her off, sending her skidding to a stop as she fired off a shot through the heart of one man. He fell to the ground, blood splattering over the floor and over his companion.

The man left standing swore, raising his weapon and firing off shots in her direction as Bear raced for the safety of the hallway she had just left. Her back slammed into the wall, knocking the air from her lungs as she angled the metal of the gun around the corner to catch sight of her opponent. A shot whizzed past her hand and Bear withdrew her weapon as a hail of bullets embedded themselves into the wall a short distance away from her. “Of course that motherfucker has a semiauto and dip shit number one only had a pistol. Why not?” She muttered angrily, drawing in a sharp breath and steeling herself.

She had one chance to get this right.

Hauling herself up, Bear found her mind replaying a memory of Jake laughing. If she died now, at least she had that. One final breath in before Bear left the safety of the hall, darting out from her hiding spot, weapon drawn and firing as she moved across the space. Two bullets slammed into his neck and chest, spraying blood as the second man went down in a blaze of bullets fired into the air. One caught Bear, grazing the length of her forearm, splitting the bruised and dirty skin open to reveal the scarlet blood that began to drip to the ground.

She hissed, biting deep into her cheek to prevent herself from making some noise in response to the sudden pain. Bear hurried to his fallen body, prying the gun from his hands and tearing a strip of fabric off of his shirt. She swore as his eyes opened weakly at her touch and the ferocity that Bear snatched his weapon from him. It was nothing that a third shot to the head couldn’t solve, and Bear found herself slipping down the hall once more with a newer and more powerful weapon.

She was caught in a maze. Hallways ran in all directions and if it weren’t for the gore smeared across both herself and the paths she’d left, Bear would have no idea where she had previously been. When she had escaped earlier, she had done so as she was being brought back to her cell. Now, she had no idea where she was.

“Fuckity fuck fuck,” Bear singsonged, glancing over her shoulder. She continued forward before finally finding a small room with a table and chair. It was empty, but the cover wasn’t what had caught her eye. Up in the ceiling, a tile had been removed, creating a hole just big enough for her to slip through. A sniper’s perch.

It was perfect.

Squeezing into the gap wasn’t easy. Bear’s shoulders caught more than once against the edges of the space, and when she did manage to fix that problem, the sharp plaster scraped up her sides as she pulled herself up. Up in the ceiling, Bear paused, listening for any sign of the men following her. Distant shouts could be heard, but she seemed to be safe for the moment. Bear lay on her stomach, checking the clip and counting the bullets that remained. The total wasn’t what she’d hoped for, far less in fact, but if she did her job right, she could make it work.

Blowing out a breath, Bear drew the pistol she’d pulled off the second man she’d killed and fired a few shots into the wall of the corridor. Her vantage point allowed her to see straight down the only hallway into the little room and it was the best place to set a trap.

Her lure worked and it wasn’t long before seven men came barreling down the hallway towards the room she was hiding in. All seven were armed and from what Bear could tell as she hunkered down, they were poorly trained. Despite having weapons, none of the men had a gun up and ready to fire. She shrugged to herself, that was their own fault. These poor bastards had no idea who they’d trapped. She had killed al-Hameed, pointed her weapon at his head and fired. One bullet. Barely half a second of thought needed.

The man at the front of the group, large and built like a tank, had nearly reached the threshold of the room. He was shouting something in Urdu, head turning to look behind him at his compatriots, giving the Seal hidden in the ceiling the perfect shot.

Bear lined up her shot on the larger man. He’d been the one hurting her, the one taking a sickening pleasure in her pain. She snorted, he had been so eager to inflict pain that he seemed to have forgotten how to endure it.

Oh well.

A bullet flew from the gap in the ceiling, punching through his skull just above his ear. Blood sprayed from the exit wound, stopping the other six men dead in their tracks as they watched their leader crumple to the ground, eyes wide in the way only a sudden death could create.

A heart beat of silence filled the small area before bullets began flying into the room, completely missing the opening in the ceiling. Round after round slammed into the wall, the table and nearly everything else except her. The men began advancing, still firing as they moved in a rough approximation of the way her Seals moved. But it was clumsy, the men were unprepared, and Bear was both faster and a far better shot. All six were dead in under a minute, their corpses falling to the ground with sickening thuds as blood pooled on the floor under them.

She paused, listening for any sign of more men approaching. All Bear could hear was her heart beat in her ears and the buzzing of the shitty fluorescent lights, but she waited a few more minutes before slipping from her hiding place. Bear crept down the hall, weapon raised. The only sound now was the soft toe ‘tap’ of the too big boots and her own haggard breathing. Saif, the man who’d appointed himself as the de facto leader, kept an office not far from a break room.

It was to her benefit that the men she’d killed were blabber mouths. They never shut up, not even while Saif or the tank-like man were torturing her, and while deep in her memories, Bear had still caught enough tidbits about the compound layout to take a stab at navigating it on her own.

None of her captors counted on her learning from her mistakes. They had all thought that she would fold, that she would break under their pressure. Bear had laughed in their faces, even now, as she stalked across the concrete floor, the only thing in her mind was “I am going home. Even if I have to drag you all to Hell first.”

And she delivered on that promise. Each step pained her and while Bear could feel her strength fading, feel the warmth of the cuts in her skin, she kept going. This wasn’t done until both she and Amir walked out in one piece.

===

Fighting her way through the last few men, Bear hobbled towards the “office” door. The makeshift leader had holed himself up in there and Bear wasn’t going to leave until he too was dead. She felt the blood of those she’d killed drying on her skin, her own wounds weeping their own tears of blood and pus. They’d been infected for a while, but had been the least of her worries as she fought on. Turning a corner, Bear found herself right outside his office, breathing hard. One last man stood between her and her freedom. One more fight.

She yanked the door open, surprising Saif as he stood in the middle of the room, his weapon abandoned on the desk a few feet away. Bear had her weapon up and pointed it at him, prompting him to raise his hands in surrender. She approached cautiously one step at a time, but as she passed him, a hand reached out and grabbed her hair, sending her stumbling back towards Saif. Fuck.

Bear struggled, a hand lashing out to hit Saif in the jaw hard enough to make him grunt in pain and loosen his grip. He was bigger, far bigger than her and stronger, using both to his advantage as he regained his grip and hauled Bear back towards the door. “Let me go!” Bear yelled, kicking her feet out.

A boot caught his knee, making him stumble and release her hair and Bear spun to face him. Her gun had hit the ground when she had been pulled back and it now lay innocuously on the cement floor between the two of them. Saif met her gaze and lunged for the weapon, swearing in Arabic as Bear kicked it under his desk. She lunged at him, striking a blow to his sternum and leaving him gasping for breath.

But he recovered quickly, almost too quickly and Bear grunted as his meaty fist slammed into her side as he pushed her towards the wall opposite the door. She was nearly helpless to fight back as she was pushed away from both the door and her weapon. Bear’s back hit the wall, the force making her teeth rattle.

Saif swung at her again and Bear ducked. His fist went careening into the wall with a sicking crack that had him shouted in pain and Bear kicked at him. One kick connected with his knee, sending him down into his other knee whereupon Bear grabbed the back of his head, but she was shaken off and Said grabbed her arms, tossing her into the corner.

Bear hit the ground hard. A yelp sounded when her shoulder connected with the bookshelf, making her eyes water. She grunted and stared him down as he stood shakily and stormed towards her, intent on killing her. She rose, grimacing at the ache in her bones, and ducked under a punch aimed for her head. She found herself behind him and just like her second kill, slammed her fists into his flank. Saif stumbled, now off balance and Bear jumped on him. She rained blows down on his face and body with such speed that Saif couldn’t fight her off, but was shoved off by a flailing arm.

Bear ran, ducking behind his desk and watched in defiance as Saif bore down upon her. Her hand found purchase on the gun sitting on his desk and before Saif even had a chance to raise his hand up, Bear fired two shots off, dropping him to the floor. Rounding the desk, Bear stood over him, taking notice of the bullet wounds in his shoulder and chest, the gun now aimed at his head. She crouched beside him and in shaky Arabic, Bear managed to say “I killed al-Hameed and I would do it again” before firing the last bullet in the chamber into his skull.

Blood splattered the bottom of the walls, the floor and Bear herself, but it was only added to the rest of her. Finally, it was over. Finally she had time to figure all of this out, learn who was selling information to Saif and his merry band of idiots. “I guess that’s that then,” she mumbled, groaning as she stood. The empty gun was placed back on the desk and Bear began to look at the myriad of papers strewn over the desk and the floor.

Her vision went blurry and Bear quickly sat down, placing her head between her knees. The sheer amount of adrenaline that had run through her veins not moments earlier was slowly beginning to drop and Bear found herself in a precarious situation. She grit her teeth and stood slowly, her hands out to brace herself on the edge of the desk. A few deep breaths were blown out and Bear’s vision cleared little by little until she could continue to take stock of the papers scattered about the room.

Sitting on a chair nearby, was a plastic bag full of what looked like tools. Bear dumped them out, cringing at the sound of metal hitting the cement floor when it echoed through the room. Bear began to stack up the papers and started to pile them into the bag, scanning the documents.

Photocopies and printouts of classified information, the ones she had used for the preparation of her team, littered the desk and she could only assume more were in the bag. These documents had guided the movements and actions of the Navy Seals and the Dagger pilots during the conduction of Operation Hellfire and only her team had access to the uncensored documents.

Bear’s mind raced as she ran through the names of her people, trying desperately to find a connection. It didn’t make sense. Her team was loyal. They had always been. Unless… no, it couldn’t be Colton. He had been a supporter of hers since she’d taken command. “But his documents had gone missing,” the little voice in her head told her.

Someone had made Jake’s plane go down. Bear might not understand planes, but what she had seen in the sky moments before the missile had… That wasn’t normal. “Fuck!” Bear yelled, slamming her hand against the desktop. “That motherfucker!”

The sudden burst of noise caused a small squeak to sound, and Bear froze, her weapon drawn and pointed towards the source: a cabinet on the far side of the room. “Who’s there?” she demanded, as she crept closer. “Amir?” Another squeak. “It’s Bear.”

Slowly the door opened and Bear saw Amir folded up inside, tears running down his face. Bear’s heart sank and she lowered her gun, placing it on the floor within reach. She reached for him, falling back as the little boy rushed into her arms, sobbing. “I’ve got you kiddo,” Bear mumbled, rubbing her hand up and down his back, trying to offer comfort despite being covered in blood and dirt, all the while looking like she lost a fight with a wolverine. For the second time since meeting Amir, Bear swore to protect him until he was home safe. Wherever that was.

They sat like that for a while, until Amir looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. “Safe?”

She nodded, shifting her weight back to better support him. “Do you know where the medicine is?” She asked slowly, watching her words register.

He nodded. “Can you show me?”

“Yes.”

Bear stood slowly, hefting Amir onto a hip. “Which way?”

The little boy pointed to the left and Bear made her way over to the door, pausing to steady herself as dizziness overtook her. The adrenaline was slowly wearing off and all of her pain was returning in full force. But she carried Amir through the silent halls, covering his eyes when the evidence of her brutality was splashed across the floors. Bear didn’t need him seeing that, not when he had likely already heard the cries.

Amir was silent the whole way, pointing silently in the directions she needed to go, and slowly but surely, Bear walked through the doorway, nearly sagging to the floor in her exhaustion. But she persevered.

Grabbing the lone medical kit, she cleaned her wounds as best she could before dressing them, and stitching up the ones that required it, before finding a ragged pillow. “Amir,” she called gently and watched him make his way over to her. “I need to sleep. Can you wake me up if someone comes?”

He nodded, grinning at her. “I can!”

The enthusiasm made Bear chuckle. “Okay.” She grabbed her weapon and propped herself up against the wall, pillow under her head, before passing out. She slept on and off, starting at random noises before drifting off once more.

Her dreams were strange, likely delusions brought on by infection, but it was jarring nonetheless. It was like she had fallen into her memories once more, except they weren’t memories. Jake hadn’t kissed her. At no point had she woken up to him trailing kisses down her body, and aside from that one night at the beach, she hadn’t been held in his strong arms. Her subconscious was playing tricks on her, she thought distantly.

Bear spent five days in the silent compound, trying to heal as much as she could before what would be a long journey back to Riyadh. Back to safety, Bug, her team, the Daggers, and her Jake. So she rested. Gaining strength.

On day six, she and Amir packed up a truck with all the supplies they’d need for the trip as her fever broke late in the day.

On day seven, they headed out, away from the compound in the middle of the Arabian desert.

===

It had been over 20 days since Bear was captured, four days of driving towards Riyadh, trying desperately to make it there in one piece. Supplies were low, and Bear poured the last of the fuel into the gas tank as she scanned the documents open on the edge of the truck. She was ready to move on, when a partial doodle in the corner caught her eye and Bear suddenly realized just who was responsible for her capture. The person that had sent the message to her eventual captors about Jake’s plane and the missiles.

Hazard.

That motherfucker.

Suddenly it was like Bear’s blood turned to very gasoline she’d just poured into the truck. The fury that raced through her took light like a wildfire and she was ready. Ready to prove to that son of a bitch why she was in charge. Why Hazard never had a chance at leadership.

God help him when she found him and whoever else was involved. There would be nothing left.

===

Hours later, the truck stalled and Bear swore. “We might have to walk, bud,” she told Amir.

The little boy gave her a look and Bear chuckled. “Come on, we won’t have to walk far.”

She was right. Two hours later, the sun had just begun to set when Bear and Amir walked hand in hand towards the gate in front of Riyadh Air Base. The guard at the front froze when he saw her approach, immediately radioing for a medic.

“Ma’am. Ma’am. I’m going to need some ID,” he told her.

Bear fixed him with a flat stare. “I would normally have it on me, except I was captured and held by terrorists for the better part of a month. So I’m sorry, but I don’t have any.”

The guard just blinked at her in surprise. “I-I…”

“Save it,” she snapped. “Just tell me where the Seals are meeting and get someone who speaks Arabic over here so they can take the kid to get checked out. Am I clear?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

A few moments passed then a medic came running over, crouching before Amir and speaking to him quietly. He looked at Bear, who smiled at him, nodding. It must have been what he needed, because he went happily with the medic, chattering the whole way.

Bear watched them leave, before turning to the guard. “What room?”

“Same as usual. Do you need an escort?”

The guard had taken note of Bear’s appearance and was concerned. She was covered in bandages, bruises spattered across her body like a messed up Jackson Pollock, while simultaneously being covered in dirt and grime. Bear looked like Death. But the anger she had tamped down around Amir came flooding right back to her, a boomerang ricocheting around her body as adrenaline pumped through her. “I think I can manage. Thank you.” Her words were clipped and short.

“Okay. Have a nice night ma’am,” the guard told her timidly.

“Oh I plan to,” Bear mumbled under her breath. She shifted the bag of papers to her other hand and stormed off towards the meeting room, ignoring the looks of surprise from those on base. She had a mission to complete.

===

Outside the door, Bear could hear Bug talking loudly over a room full of people. It made her smile hearing her friend’s voice once more, but unfortunately, she couldn’t find it within herself to give two shits about anyone other than Hazard right now. He would pay for what he had done. She had proof and she would make him pay.

Steeling herself, Bear knocked on the door. Silence filled the room and she could hear a pilot inside asking who was there. Bear said nothing, waiting for the door to open. Flare pulled it open moments later and the room went still. Looks of absolute shock and horror were splashed across the faces of everyone in the room as they took her in. The youngest lieutenant stood with her mouth agape, a combination of relief and something else filling her eyes and drew itself on her face like a toddler’s finger painting.

But Bear wasn’t looking at them or her lieutenant. She had pinned Hazard to his spot, pushing past Flare as she advanced on him. He was deathly afraid. Hazard’s face had gone as white as a sheet, and he scrambled backwards, but Bear kept moving forwards. She knew that she looked like Hell, she felt like it, but nothing compared to the all-encompassing fury that seeped from every pore of her body. She was visibly shaking, trembling with rage for everything that she had been put through because of this man. This coward who could barely look her in the eye. “Surprise Hazard,” she said calmly.

He flinched but didn’t reply. He was staring at the floor, not meeting her stare or the curious looks from the others in the room.

“Oh come on Hazard. Aren’t you happy to see me?” Bear knew she was toying with him, but why shouldn’t she? After everything she had been through, why shouldn’t she mess with the man who was responsible for so much pain? “I’m thrilled to see you.”

“Bear…?” Bug spoke up, and you could hear the confusion in her voice. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on? Well Bug, I’m so glad you asked!” The venom in her words was nauseating and Bear let a wide smile overtake her face. “I’m sure you have all put together that something was a little off on this mission. How exactly did we lose drone imaging? Why did al-Hameed know to be in his bunker in the middle of the night? How did the enemy know where we were when the rescue mission was ordered? A lot of strange questions I’m sure you all had.”

A few nods and mumbles broke out, that they had thought that it was almost too perfect of a coincidence. “We have, but we established that there was a mole in our team,” Bug informed her CO, ignoring the shocked yells of the pilots in the room, who’d been unaware of this fact until now. “What does Hazard have to do wi- oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. Our friend here is a traitor, one of a few actually. He has been in contact with members of the IJU. The same people that held me for two weeks and tortured me for information on who killed al-Hameed,” Bear announced. She was purposefully playing up the theatrics because she had been through too much to give a shit about handling this diplomatically.

Bug’s face went white. “What?” she asked in a strangled gasp, eyes flicking to Hazard. “Is this true?”

“No! She’s crazy!” Hazard cried out, his eyes flicking to the others in the room, pleading for sympathy, but he found none. “She doesn’t even have proof!”

Bear smirked, and if that sight didn’t send chills down the spine of everyone in the room. “Oh Hazard. When will you learn that I always have proof?” And with that, Bear dropped the plastic bag full of bloodstain papers on the table. “Saif sends his regards. You know, at least he did before I shot him.”

Hazard stared at her. Whether it was in shock, horror, or fear, she didn’t know and Bear couldn’t find it within her to care. “You crazy bitch!” he finally shouted. “You aren’t fit to lead! You fucked Harris to get this job! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!” He roared at her, the duality of the man before them finally revealing its true colors. “You got people killed!”

The smug look on Bear’s face fell away and Hazard was face to face with the glare Bear only ever reserved for those who truly deserved it. The last man to face it had nearly shit himself before running away. “Ohoho. So I’m a slut, who fucked my boss to get promoted over you? Have you ever considered that you are too pathetic to ever have the patience and the skills to lead a team?” Her words held a rage so barely contained that the room dropped in temperature at the ice in her tone. “That you would be such a failure, you would lead your team to their death because of your temperament and incessant need to be right? NO. YOU DIDN’T.”

A deadly pause filled the room and Bear grabbed the front of Hazard’s uniform, pulling his face to hers. “I got people killed?” Her next question was barely audible, but the answer seemed to echo through the room that now felt cramped with the size of Bear’s rage. “I didn’t alert a terrorist to the location of locals friendly with the Navy. I didn’t sell out a drone crew giving us surveillance of our targets. I didn’t alert al-Hameed of our location prompting him to hide in a bunker with roaming death squads wandering around resulting in the deaths of TWO Seals. YOU did that! Not me, you and your cronies who were a hell of a lot smarter than you when covering their tracks, you sick fuck!

The room watched as she let go of his shirt, shoving him back towards the wall. Hazard hit the drywall behind him, palms pressing against it like he was bracing for a punch that didn’t come. He glared at the woman in front of him, looking like one of the Furies, soaked in sweat, cut, bruised, and covered in old blood. She looked like Hell had come to drag him below and for once in this encounter Hazard felt fear. His wide eyes glanced around the room as his colleagues stared at him in disdain. All of this for what? A million dollars? The possibility of leading a team that would never have followed him because Bear was smarter than Saif, smarter than al-Hameed, and if they were both dead by Bear’ hand then what fate would befall him?

Would she kill him as easily as the others? He hoped so. She would give him mercy because that was who she was. His colleagues on the other hand, they wouldn’t be so forgiving. Bug alone would rip him apart for what his actions had put the team through and he knew that with all his heart. She would not be so kind. But Jake then. The fucking Ken doll that had tripped him up more than once. Bear had been distracted by him, and led them the wrong way because of him. Hazard chanced a look over at Hangman and shut his eyes at the sight. Bear didn’t see him, how could she? This fucking G.I. Joe had his eyes fixed on her back, cataloging every wound, every bruise and the fire in the other man’s eyes swore to inflict the same if he ever was caught alone.

And Flare who stood staring him down with vindication shooting from her eyes. She had spent too long fending Hazard off, trying to protect herself and do the right thing, but this snake had tried too hard and succeeded too often for her to resist. Mei watched him like everyone else was, with hatred, disdain, betrayal so clearly evident that it nearly made him grin. Suddenly, Colton wasn’t afraid of Bear anymore. She couldn’t do a thing with this many witnesses, especially if his loyalists remained undetected.

Her next words cut thickly through the monologue racing through his head. “You’re so fucking lucky that Harris will be dealing with you because if it were up to me,” Bear spat, pausing to draw the gun from her waistband that somehow no one had noticed. She raised it, pressing the barrel to Hazard’s temple, staring him dead in the eyes, relishing in the sudden and new burst of fear that erupted in his eyes. “Because then the last thing you’d ever see would be my gun between your fucking eyes and the Devil waiting to drag you to Hell because he knows I’m fucking worse. Get the FUCK out of my sight, you miserable excuse for a man!”

The room then exploded into action. Flare and Bug stepped towards Bear, while others went for Hazard, trying to draw him out of harm’s way. “Get. Out. Of. My. Shot,” Bear spoke through a clenched jaw. She was addressing no one in particular, just speaking the words aloud and praying that Hazard gave her a reason. Just a single, tiny reason to snap and paint his blood on the wall behind him.

“You fucking bitch!” Hazard couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut, and he taunted Bear from the other side of the room.

Bear stepped around Fireball, the gun still trained on Hazard. “Want to say that again? Didn’t think so.”

“You can’t kill me!”

There it was. Her reason. She just had to pull the trigger and it would be over. Her nightmare would end. Bear could sleep soundly at night knowing that Hazard was never coming back, could never harm her. “Oh Hazard, that’s where you’re wrong,” Bear snapped. “I have killed so many men in the last week that you will be nothing more than just another body dropped.”

Hazard scrambled backwards from her, tripping over a chair in his efforts to get away. “Check the bag. All my proof is there. Bug, command is still yours because I am not anywhere near the right mindset to lead,” Bear ordered.

She had lowered the gun, dropping it on the table to be snatched up by someone. Who? She didn’t know or care, but Bear had made her choice. Murder wasn’t the play here. Leave him alive. Let him rot in a cell and be pressed for information on the IJU. She’d never have to see him again and his life was over.

It had all been over the second she came through the door.

Bug sprang into action. “Shrike, Fireball take Hazard away. I want answers. The rest of you, leave and do not speak a word of this. I will have your job and your heads if you fucking try me.”

The room emptied quickly, like rats fleeing from a flood. Bear collapsed into a chair, the adrenaline leaving her body in a breath. Bug had gone to supervise Shrike and Fireball, leaving Bear alone. Or so she thought. “Bear.” That voice. God, Bear had only heard that voice in her memories for the longest time and it somehow felt like heaven and hell all at once. “Teddy.”

“Flyboy,” she croaked, turning in her seat to face him. “You’re alive.”

“So are you.”

“Takes a lot to kill me apparently. Can… can you help me to medical?” Bear spoke in a quiet voice. “I really need help.”

Jake nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat as he took Bear in. She was covered in blood, grime, and who knows what else. Her hair was stringy and just as filthy as the rest of her, but her face, her face was still the same. Definitely more tired, the weariness he’d noted when he first saw her was in bloom all over her body. It pained him to see her like this. Yet, despite everything, Bear was somehow the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. An avenging angel in the middle of a conference room, watching him and asking for help. How could he ever say no?

“Jake?”

“Yeah Teddy?”

“Help.” And Jake sprang into action as Bear tumbled off the chair, passing out in his arms.

===

A/N: 🫣🫣 Am I still in trouble? Big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s or proof reading/yelling at me for that ending. And thank you to @dakotakazansky or helping me work in a new plot line halfway through the series!

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 24: (Sun)Kissed

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: sweet, sweet fluffy fun, sneaky beach handjob, hiding a relationship, teasing

Word Count: 5.6k

Masterlist >> Part 23 >> Epilogue

===

Bear stirred awake at the feeling of gentle kisses being pressed to her shoulder. She groaned, batting her hand back at sensation, trying to rid herself of it in her half asleep state. “Ow!” 

The deep sound of a voice next to her ear startled her into sudden wakefulness, twisting in Jake’s arms so quickly that she bonked her head against his chin. “What the fuck?” Bear moaned, eyes blinking open to look at the man beside her. She still wasn’t 100% awake, trying and failing to cover her eyes against the sunlight streaming in from the crack in the curtains. “Ugh. It’s too bright.” 

“Well, we were a little busy to shut them all the way last night,” Jake mused aloud, chuckling as Bear slapped his chest. 

“That means most of my neighborhood probably saw your ass last night,” she countered, sitting up. The blankets slid down from her shoulders, pooling around her bare middle and Bear felt Jake move before she saw him. 

A large hand brushed her hair over a shoulder before he leaned over to press a few kisses across her back. “So?” Jake said, pausing to meet her gaze. “Half the Navy’s seen it, what’s a few more?” 

Bear didn’t say anything, chewing on her lip. “Teddy, what’s going on?” 

She blew out a breath, her hands twisting the sheet tight. “It’s stupid.” 

Jake gave her an incredulous look. “Bear, come on. It’s you, it’s not going to be stupid.” 

“I just- I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I know that we are home, that we are safe. I know that I love you. But the last time…” she trailed off, her voice quiet. “I should be happy that I’m waking up beside you in my bed, but instead I’m scared that someone will take you from me.” 

Jake sat up and wrapped her in a tight side hug. “Hey. What did you say to me? ‘Something, something, I fought terrorists for you’? No one is taking me anywhere unless you know where I am. Okay?” 

Bear nodded, giving him a wry smile. “God, I fucking love you.” 

He grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “I love you more.” 

“Oh don’t you dare start with that!” Bear said, her voice pitching in mock horror. “We discussed this. I love you more.” 

“I don’t remember ever agreeing to that, Teddy.” The grin on his face was playful and his tone filling with a rich humor that was addicting to listen to. “I think I got the upper hand last night.” 

An eyebrow rose. “Is that so?” 

“Yup.” The sound of the ‘p’ popping made Bear abandon the feigned angry look in favor of biting back a smile. 

“Dork.” 

Jake grinned, flopping back on the bed. He pulled Bear down next to him, wrapping her in his arms. “I’m your dork though.” 

“Whoever let me make that mistake needs to be fired,” she grumbled into his shoulder, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break free at any moment. 

Jake let out a full laugh, his chest shaking under Bear’s cheek. “Oh come on. I’m not that bad, am I?” 

Bear hummed, letting her wide smile break free as she propped herself up on an elbow to meet Jake’s eyes. “You could be worse,” she teased. “But I’d love you regardless.” 

He turned over to face her, kissing the top of her nose before rolling Bear onto her back and kissing her soundly. Their lips met over and over, Jake simply trying to pour everything he felt for Bear into the gesture. Bear didn’t challenge him either, content to just lay there and let her hands cradle Jake’s face, keeping him close. 

Bear was the first to pull away, resting her forehead against his. She said nothing, just enjoying the moment that the two of them were in. Everything seemed to slow down as they shared a breath, thanking every god out there that they had been allowed to have this moment together. That they had made it. 

Laying there in the silence of the early morning, Bear let her fingers wander over his chest, tracing and mapping out the scars that now marked his skin. They trailed a little lower, following the ridges of his abs, dipping down into the divot that marked itself near the diaphragm. The muscles tensed under her ministrations, flexing and unflexing as her fingers trailed lightly over his skin. “Teddy…” 

“Sorry,” she whispered, too afraid to speak louder lest she burst the bubble that they seemed to be in.  

Jake’s ringing phone cut through the stillness in the room, making him grunt as he rolled over Bear to grab it off the nightstand. “Hello? No, I didn't forget about the beach.”

The person on the other end spouted off into a rant that Bear only half heard as she threw the covers off her naked body and walked into the bathroom. She could feel Jake’s eyes on her, staring shamelessly. “Sorry, what? The Seals are meeting us?” 

Bear turned to look at him, her face a little confused as she mouthed “Daggers are coming with us?” from where she stood in the bathroom doorway, arms folded over her chest. Jake gave her a nod, half listening as he watched her shift her weight onto one leg, unashamedly staring at the bruises that had bloomed since last night. 

“Okay. Okay. Yeah, so 11?” 

Bear tuned out the rest of the conversation and started to get ready, running a brush through her hair as she slowly took in the marks Jake had left all over her torso. “Fucking hell. Did I fuck an octopus?” She mumbled to herself, staring at the vaguely hand shaped ones on her hips. 

Distantly she heard Jake start to argue with whoever was on the other end of the phone. “Does it really matter if I’m literally at her place?”

She leaned back, peeking her head out around the door frame and made a back and forth motion in front of her neck. “Don’t tell them it’s me,” Bear hissed at him, watching as the words registered. 

Jake gave her a cheeky grin and nodded. “Why do you care ma- no I haven’t seen Bear yet.” A pause and he rolled his eyes as Rooster continued to yammer on and on. “Dude, a hot chick is literally waiting for me to shower with her. This can wait a few hours, right?” 

Another short pause, and the annoyed look on his face made Bear start to laugh, having to stifle it in her elbow. “Yeah. Okay. See ya.” He threw his phone on the bed with a groan. “Teddy. He warned me that we are trauma bonded and he’s still on that bullshit.” 

Bear made a sympathetic sound. “But at least he cares enough to warn you about it. He’s trying to be a good friend and haven’t you two made progress since that mission you can’t talk about?” She’d stepped out of the bathroom, reaching to pluck Jake’s shirt off the floor and pull it on, grinning a little at the way his eyes narrowed in her direction. 

“I guess, but he’s fucking wrong and I know that we can’t disclose any of this right now, which makes it so much harder.” There was a whine in his tone and he made grabby hands at Bear from his seated spot on the edge of the bed. 

Bear walked into his grasp, smiling to herself as Jake’s hands immediately crept under her stolen shirt. “It is, but it does mean that I’m not your direct superior anymore, so it isn’t completely forbidden,” she reasoned softly, kissing Jake’s forehead. A hand combed through his messy blonde hair, trying to return some sense of order to it, but failing miserably. 

“Thank God for that,” Jake replied, squeezing her ass playfully and ducking when Bear swatted at his head. “Means I can still do you, but we just have to be sneaky.” 

She scoffed at the crudeness of his words. “They’re all gonna know the second we turn up at the beach. I mean, look at me.” Bear raised the lower hem of Jake’s shirt just a smidge to show the finger-shaped bruises blooming a bright purple on her hips. “It’s like I lost a fight to an octopus.” 

“A very handsome, talented, skilled octopus though.” 

Bear chuckled, bending a little to kiss his face. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, Flyboy” she whispered before slipping out of his grip and out of the room. 

Jake sat there smiling to himself like an idiot for a little while, basking in the moment that this was all his now. He could be with her, could love her, could take her out on dates, and Jake was so thrilled for it all. There was no one like his Teddy and he had known since she’d let him in that he was hers forever. 

=== 

After a quick breakfast, Jake kissed Bear soundly and headed back upstairs to grab his jeans and a different shirt for Bear to wear so he could have his back. Just so he could go home and get his stuff ready for the beach day that he had been roped into. Not that he minded of course, but it was still annoying to have to leave the warm bed and Bear to hangout with people he saw everyday. 

If anything, Jake just wanted to bury himself in Bear and fuck her on and off, as many times as he could. The three times during the night had been amazing, but he would be lying if Jake said he wasn’t a little ticked off that his Saturday had to be spent with pants on. 

Granted, he didn’t have to wear underwear, but still. It was the principle of the matter. Jake threw his shit in a bag, uncaring of if it made it in there. He just wanted to be near Bear again and if that sounded clingy, well fuck whoever decided to judge. They had been through hell and back too many times for anyone and now, now they were safe. 

So yeah. Fuck that thought.

A pair of black trunks later and a white tank thrown on over top, Jake tossed his backpack in the passenger seat of his truck and headed out to meet everyone. It would be a large group; all the Daggers and a few partners, plus a large number of Seals. Hopefully football wasn’t a bad choice. 

The drive passed quickly and Jake pulled into the lot, spotting Phoenix and her fiancée pulled into the lot not long after he parked a little too close to the bright blue Bronco, just to be an ass. 

“You made it!” Javy yelled, as he saw Jake approach. “I thought you would have been balls deep in whoever you ran off to see last night.” 

Jake flipped him off. “Fuck you man. Bradshaw already ruined any chance at morning sex so don’t start.” He threw his bag in the sand next to someone’s cooler, tossing his hat on top of the bag. 

Coyote started laughing. “Aww, is wittle Jakey upset dat his date was intewupted?” The baby voice only made Payback start laughing as he walked by, joining in the teasing at Jake’s expense. 

“Okay, okay. Fuck off.” Jake groaned, rolling his eyes at his friends. “You are like the opposite of helpful right now.” He watched Rooster and Phoenix’s fiancée, Reaper, get into a shoving match, chuckling as she knocked Rooster on his ass before jumping on Fanboy, who just flopped to the ground like dead weight. Reaper fell with a screech, laughter erupting from that end of the beach as she and Mickey spat out sand. 

“Guys, c’mon!” Phoenix yelled over at his group, waving them over. “Is this Mav’s fucked up football or the normal kind?” 

Reaper bounded up to her fiancée, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “Obviously the fucked up Mav version. We have to have some sort of advantage over these Seals.” 

Nods from the rest of the pilots followed her words and Bob grabbed the second football from the pile of beach stuff the Daggers had just tossed aside. “There’s also going to be like twice as many of them, so I’m thinking we split up?” 

“Who’s splitting up?” A voice yelled from behind the little group. “I’m not going to be responsible for ruining another marriage!” 

Jake blinked in surprise as he watched the group of Seals file onto the beach. At the front of the pack was Bear, clad in a two piece black bathing suit, toned arms and legs on display. But his handiwork from the night before was also visible and unlike some of the other girls Jake had been with, Bear wore them with pride. She shoved Fireball for his comment, prompting him to yell “Sorry! That was a joke!” as he wobbled from the force of Bear’s shove. 

“Hangman.” He was shaken from his reverie by Rooster pinching him.

“Sorry what?” 

“You do that a lot,” Rooster replied with a smirk. “Stare at her.” 

Bear nearly stopped dead in her tracks on her approach as she took in Jake. The sunlight seemed to pale in comparison to the glow that seemed to come from Jake. Despite the tank top he had on, Bear had to bite her lip at the shape and definition of his muscles on display. Last night, well, she’d been too caught up in other things to fully appreciate the work that had gone into making his body the way it was. 

“No I don’t.” Jake was seriously hoping that the heat from the sun hid his blush, but quickly realized it didn’t after Fanboy ran by yelling “Nice sunburn, Bagman!” 

A snort from his side made him turn. Bear stood next to him, hands on her hips as she watched Coyote and Payback wrestle over a football. “Forgot sunscreen?” she asked, looking up at him. 

He swallowed. “No, but I should probably get some before I finish cooking,” he joked, walking over to his bag. 

“That’s definitely a good idea. Wouldn’t want our Flyboy to become the Lobster Boy,” she teased, her grin wide as she watched him tug his shirt off and toss it at her. Bear snatched it out of the air, slinging the shirt over her shoulder before watching him dig through his bag. 

“Rude,” Jake said, looking up from where he’d crouched in the sand. “I’m actually offended, Teddy.” The look on his face was pure glee, white teeth on full display, and Bear had to push away her thoughts about kissing that stupid look right off his face in front of everyone. “Guess I forgot sunblock. You have any?” 

Bear shook her head at him before replying. “I do. I figured,” she lowered her voice, “that you would be too busy thinking about how our reunion was cut short this morning to pack it.” She walked off, swaying her hips a little as she headed across the sand to grab her bag from where FAK was sitting. 

A few seconds later, a bottle of sunscreen was hurled across the short distance separating the two of them, nearly smacking Jake in the face. He hadn’t moved from his crouched position, still in a sort of shock after Bear’s little comment. “There you go, Flyboy! Try not to burn up today!” She yelled across to him. 

Jake stuck his tongue out at her, grabbing the sunblock and standing up. He made short work of applying it to his body, very aware of Bear’s eyes on him before they were drawn away from him as Reaper approached. 

“Hi. Are you Bear?” 

Bear stood up. “I am, yeah. Reaper, right?” 

The brunette grinned widely. “Yup. Just wanted to introduce myself and say thank you for making sure everyone got home safely. I used to fly with them but wound up getting promoted elsewhere, so I’m glad that someone was looking out for them.” Reaper finished her sentence, biting at her lip. “These guys are my family, so yeah. Thank you.” 

“It was no trouble at all,” Bear replied, smiling widely. “They were better behaved than some of my own people!” She said the last part loudly, sparking up a chorus of ‘heys’ across the beach. “It’s good to meet you.” 

“You as well.” Reaper walked off, yelling something at Fanboy who just flipped her off. 

Rooster sidled up to Bear, hands on his hips as he watched Reaper run off. “So.” 

“So?” She looked up at him in confusion. “Did you need something? Cause Jake has my sunscreen.” 

Bradley chewed on his lip, glancing down at Bear. “I’m pretty sure Jake told you but-”

“You think the two of us trauma bonded,” Bear cut him off with a flat tone. “I appreciate you looking out for him, but neither of us know exactly what this thing is. Not that you needed to know that.” 

He nodded. “I know. Just take it easy?” 

“On him?” Bear asked, and a wolfish grin spread on her face when Bradley nodded. “Listen, if it happens, I’m not taking anything easy. And that man would have chosen me for a reason, so I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.” She patted his chest and walked past the mustached man to pluck her sunblock from Jake’s hands. 

“What’d he want?” 

Bear looked at him over her sunglasses. “Just the same thing he told you. I told him that we’re figuring it all out.” She’d lowered her voice just enough that Coyote, who was standing maybe 10 feet away, couldn’t hear her. 

“Oh yeah? Pretty sure we figured it all out when I was on my knees in your hallway,” Jake commented casually, a laugh breaking up the calm demeanor when Bear smacked him. Hard. “Ow!”

“Don’t just say that shit. We agreed on keeping this on the down low. No one else has to know.” Bear’s face was hiding a laugh, trying to stay serious but failing. 

Jake’s grin widened as he spoke. “We know who was also down low, now don’t we?” 

Bear groaned and rolled her eyes at him, turning to walk off but his hand gripped her shoulder. She froze slightly, turning around and coming face to face with Jake’s chest. “Glad to see that my marks are still visible, darlin’.” 

“Glad to see you’re still wearing mine,” she quipped back, shooting him a wink over the sunglasses that had fallen down her nose. 

He opened his mouth to reply, but quickly didn’t when Phoenix came up to them. “Jesus Christ you two. Bagman, you look like you got into a fight with a wolverine,” she told him, pulling a face at the healing scratches on his back and shoulders. “And don’t get me started on you, Bear. Those better not be handprints on your hips.” 

“And if they were?” The Seal was just glad that Phoenix had her back to Jake, the pride on his face was enough to give them both away. “Last time I checked, it’s a good thing that I got laid. Apparently, I’m un-bear-able,” she finished with a smirk at her pun. 

Phoenix shook her head. “Stop it. It’s too early for bad jokes.” 

“I seriously hope that you gave whoever manhandled you shit because holy hell Bear. That poor guy,” Coyote interjected. “He might have a stroke when he sees his handiwork.” Bear didn’t see it, but Javy was giving Jake a knowing look over her head. 

Bear exaggerated a grimace. “God I hope not. He was actually half decent,” she said to no one in particular. 

“Okay. No thanks.” Phoenix pulled a face at her words, the expression so comedic it made Bear start giggling. The pilot opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Fireball’s shout. Everyone came together, forming a large group of nearly 40 people all mingling as Payback loudly explained the rules to Mav’s dogfight football. 

“Wait! I think that Marshmallow and Raptor both brought footballs too!” FAK said loudly after the explanation was over. “We could run two games?” 

Mutters broke out, everyone talking over one another before Bear strode forwards. “Okay!” The whispers quieted immediately and Bear had to laugh a little. “Two games, there’s like 13 pilots who know how to play this shit so they should divide up into the four teams and we’ll go from there?” 

A few joking “Yes ma’am’s” rose up from the assembled Seals, causing laughter to erupt among the whole group. 

And that’s exactly what they did. Shouts echoed across the two ‘fields’ as Seals and pilots tackled one another into the sand. “Bear! Run!” Fanboy yelled as the ball fell into her hands and she took off down the beach, two of her Seals hot on her heels. 

Raptor lunged, his hand grabbing her shoulder, but Bear shook him off. She kept running, spiking the ball into the sound with a loud whoop. Halo ran up with a cheer, high fiving the Seal for her touchdown. The ball was brought back and they lined up again, hearing Rooster yell that Fireball had fouled someone. 

Over and over, they lined up, swapping teams every so often just to liven it up a bit. The last game Bear and Fanboy’s team played was Jake and FAK’s and it was close. Too close. The scores were tied right as Bob’s timer went off, so naturally they went straight into ‘next point wins’. 

Five minutes passed and no one had managed to score. Jake threw the green football to Finch, who tossed it at FAK. FAK was waylaid by Halo and the ball rolled away towards the ocean. 

Fanboy had just decided to book it up the beach, trying desperately for a point. He was almost successful. Phoenix had nearly close-lined him in her attempt to tackle him and the football slipped out of his grasp. Bear snatched it and tried to go around Reaper, but it didn’t work. The smaller woman was somehow a bigger defensive problem than Marshmallow, and he was a big man. 

Jake had started laughing as he watched Bear duck and dodge around his team, only to be foiled by Reaper. He ran at her, laughing as she tried to get away from him. Bear had slipped past Jake, purposefully sliding a hand across his lower abs, teasing him as she moved and threw the ball blindly to Halo, who caught it in the end zone. 

The crowd burst into life, screaming wildly as Halo yelled in victory. “Fuck yeah! That’s how you do it!” The woman was swarmed by the Seals, who toted her around on their shoulders in celebration, the group of them somehow louder than those who stood laughing at the scene before them. 

Bear was breathing hard, but she turned to look up at Jake and shot him a wink. “So easily distracted,” she cooed, mischief burning bright in her eyes. “I would have tried this earlier if I knew how easy it was to mess with you.” 

Jake leaned down to whisper in her ear. “My truck. 5 minutes. You hear me?” His voice was deep and if Bear could see his green eyes, she would have seen that his pupils had blown wide, the green almost completely gone. 

But Bear didn’t see his eyes, and she wasn’t keen on being ordered around, so she shrugged and stepped back. “Oh yeah? And if I didn’t?” She didn’t stick around to hear his response, running off after FAK and struck up a conversation about some inane thing. 

Jake blew out a breath as he watched Bear take off. He was tempted to run after her, grab her and show her exactly what happened if she didn’t, but he knew that Bear had to willingly give it up. And if the night before had been proof, Bear could and would take control if he teased too long. “Damn dude. You fuck her once and she somehow has your brain along with your balls?” Javy teased, startling Jake from his thoughts. 

“It wasn’t just once, okay?” 

“Either way. She take your brain too?” 

Jake gave his best friend a flat look. “No.” 

“I think she did. Her little “And if I didn’t?” took that last brain cell, didn’t it?” Javy egged on, bumping Jake’s shoulder. “T took mine, you already know that. So I know what it looks like, man.” 

“Javy?” 

“Sup?”

“Fuck you man.” 

Coyote broke out in peals of laughter that made a few other people join in. His laugh was infectious and if the Seals around them were any indication, nothing had changed. “I’m jus’ sayin’.” 

Jake said nothing. He took a few steps back from Javy before running at him and tackling him into the sand. The two started wrestling as Jake seemed intent on getting Javy into a headlock, while the other man tried to escape his grasp. Both of them were laughing too hard to feign anger for long and soon dissolved into laughter, flopping back on the sand. 

Halo and Bear approached as silently as they could with cold water bottles in hand. As the two men laughed, they poured the water all over them, turning the giggles into shrieks as ice cold water made contact with their sandy skin. “Run!” Halo yelled as she and Bear booked it back towards the bags. 

“Fuck!” Bear screeched when a hand closed on her wrist, tugging her backwards to the sand below her. “Run Callie!” 

Looking up, she saw Jake standing over her and the look on his face could only be described as mischievous. He picked her up with no issue, grunting as she flailed around in his arms. Wading out into water, Jake made sure he was above his knees before tossing Bear in with a splash. “You fucker!” She spluttered, wiping water off her face and pulling Jake’s arm forwards so he toppled into the water next to her. 

He surfaced with a wide grin and shook his hair out, spraying Bear with droplets to which she tried to avoid by diving back under the water and swimming out a little ways off, only to stand up and push her hair out of her face. She gave him a wink, having caught the lust burning bright in his eyes as she walked closer. “That was uncalled for.” 

“So was that little show.” Jake’s smirk was out and prominent once again as he caught one of Bear’s hands. Hidden from the view of the others on the beach and out of earshot, Jake spoke, his voice deep and dark like it had been so many times the night previous, “I did warn you though, Teddy. I did say my truck in five minutes. You didn’t listen.” 

Bear’s eyes flicked up to his from where they had been focusing on their interlocked hands. “And I told you, Flyboy, that I have a hard time taking orders from someone I outrank.” She kept her tone light and casual, pretending that she didn’t see his eyes darken, that she didn’t feel his hand squeeze hers tighter. 

Jake didn’t say a word, just tugged her closer by her hand until they stood nearly chest to chest. His trunks had been growing tighter and tighter since she’d teased him on the sand and now, now he was halfway to bursting, so hard that he was worried that a simple touch from Bear would set him off. 

“Are you okay?” Bear asked, her voice lower than it had been moments earlier. Jake’s silence only happened when he’d found himself stuck back in the memory where he’d learned about her fate, so here and now was concerning. “Jake?” 

He turned his hand in hers, slowly lowering it to the front of his shorts. “I’d be better if you in that bathing suit didn’t make me hard enough to pound nails.” 

His brutal honesty made her snort, the concern quickly flooding out of her eyes as it was replaced by a look of pride. “This old thing?” Bear hummed, shaking his hand off of hers and walking her fingers over the bulge in his trunks. “Did this to you? We can’t have that, now can we?” 

Jake let out a strangled sound when Bear’s hand came and cupped his cock through the thin material, squeezing just enough to make him bite down his lip. “Teddy…” 

“Shh. I know.” Bear said softly, glancing around at the rest of the people near them. No one from their group was close. Hell, Fanboy was the most in the water and he was only up to his ankles. She led him deeper into the water, just up to her mid thigh before slipping her hand down the front of his shorts. Her touch was light, teasing, and Jake had to refrain from grabbing her hand. 

She didn’t have much room to work his cock, not with his soaked trunks but Bear made it work. She wrapped her hand around him, giving him a gentle tug before teasing at the slit. Precome leaked against her fingers at the motion and Jake let out a low groan as she glided her hand up and down this cock, twisting her hand just right as his tip passed into her hand. “Fuck…” 

Bear grinned a little. The weight of him in hand, the near satiny feel, had her thighs clenching together. Especially when Jake let out a soft moan, his eyes flying to meet her own. “Yeah?” Hidden from view, she took a sick pleasure in knowing that Jake was coming undone under her touch in a place so public. 

It felt like both hours and seconds had passed as Bear brought him closer and closer to cumming. Her touch was addicting, soft and firm, teasing and not; it had taken all Jake had to not come the second she gripped him through his shorts. But he couldn’t hold off for long, each pass of her hand nearly shattered his resolve until one last twist of her hand snapped the rope that had been pulled tighter and tighter in his gut. 

Jake came into her hand, blonde head dropping to bury his face in her neck as he bit back a groan. Bear felt his breath warming her already heated skin and she had to chuckle as she coaxed him through his orgasm, drawing it out for as long as she could. “Better?” 

He nodded, still unable to fully speak. Bear had both knowingly and unknowingly teased him all day and now it was nearing the evening, and he simply hadn’t been able to control himself. God help him once he had a lifetime supply of Bear. Deployments would be hell, but as he had known since their first kiss back in Riyadh, as long as he had Bear, he was unstoppable. “Yeah,” he managed to say. 

Bear pulled her hand from his shorts, doing her best to resituate him before meeting his gaze and catching the moment he saw her hand. Jake swallowed back another groan at the sight of her cum covered hand, a groan that turned into a shout when Coyote whipped a football at his back, knocking him into the water. 

Bear ducked under the water when he did, swimming a ways off before reappearing some 10 feet from Jake when he resurfaced. “What the fuck, dude?” 

“You were just standing there, I had to make sure you weren’t dead!” 

Jake charged out of the water at him with the football in hand and chased his best friend across the sand with an intensity that surprised Bear. He was acting like he hadn’t been temporarily sapped of his ability to speak, but whatever. She was ready to pack it up, and it seemed that most of the group had had that idea as well. 

Bob waved to her as he, Reaper, and Phoenix headed off towards their respective cars and Bear watched Jake finally nail Javy in the back with the football, whooping in glee. It made her shake her head, grabbing her clothing up and heading for the bathrooms to change. 

She took her time, in no real hurry to leave given that she could still hear some of the Daggers still yelling as they chased each other around. Bear found Jake standing next to her bag, looking almost lost, on her approach and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You look like a puppy.” 

“A cute one?” 

Bear shook her head, a wide smile on her face. “Nah, like one of those hairless ones. Kinda creepy but kinda still cute.” 

His mock offended look made her giggle and soon they were both laughing at nothing in particular. Maybe the sun had finally gotten to them or maybe, just maybe, Jake thought to himself, “This is what forever is going to look like.” 

Jake didn’t know how right he would be as he and Bear walked back up to the parking lot and into their own cars with plans to meet at her place. All either of them knew was that they had found their person completely by chance and time and pain had only proved just how much they truly cared for one another. 

===

“Hey Teddy?” Jake asked as they sat on her porch late that night. “Did you ever think it would end up like this?” 

“Like what, Honey?” 

Jake pulled her onto his lap, her knees landing on either side of his hips. He could feel the warmth of her sun kissed skin through her stolen shirt and nothing in his life had ever prepared him for this moment. “Like this. Us together, having survived what we have.” 

Bear hummed, toying with his necklace as she thought. “I think deep down I did. But when we first started out, I think I would have been too scared to even give this a chance. You changed something in me, Jake Seresin and I never want it to go back to how it was.” Her voice was quiet, nearly eclipsed by the chirping crickets and the thud of her heart in her ears. “I promised that I would love you forever back in Riyadh. Through everything.” 

Jake kissed her with what could only be described as tenderness. Everything had worked out and here he was, months down the line from who he had been back when they had first met. 

His reply was just as soft, whispered against her lips after he pulled back “To the bitter end and back again.” 

===

A/N: I can’t believe that AGAD is almost over! Thank you so much to everyone that has continued to read and follow the adventures of Bear and Jake. You made this experience just so much better than I ever thought it could be! I have to thank @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s and @dakotakazansky for being there for all of the plotting and for screaming at me the whole way through as I wrote this over 10 months. Next week is the epilogue and I cannot wait to share their ending with you. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 15: Game of Survival

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF is not mine*

A/N: Song title is from the song of the same name, Game of Survival by Ruelle

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of torture (not described), blood, dissassociation, mention of injuries sustained by torture (very briefly glossed over ie. mentions of cuts, bruises, broken bone), fluffy bits, flashbacks, please let me know if I missed anything.

Word Count: 5.1k (I wanted to make you all less mad at me, but I might have done the opposite)

A/N: THIS IS A HEAVIER CHAPTER AND I DO INSIST THAT MINORS FUCK OFF AT THIS POINT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Masterlist >> Part 14 >> Part 16

===

Bear closed her eyes, tuning out the sounds of fist on flesh echoing through the little cell. Starbursts of pain splintered through her exhausted body, the fight trying to leave her with every screamed word in Urdu, every fist that was thrown, and every kick that landed against her already battered body.

Her gear had been stripped from her, discarded somewhere in the desert, leaving her in just her undershirt and pants. All her weapons were gone. Even the non-weapons that she could have used had been taken. Her belt had been used against her, she had open wounds to prove that. Her boot laces were also gone, having been shredded and thrown on the floor in front of her. She was defenseless, left hanging from her arms, toes just touching the now blood-spattered floor.

Bear was trapped. There were no two ways about it. Since her sacrifice for her team and Jake, she had been here, enduring the fists and curses of enemies that she had sworn to destroy. That sacrifice was 16 days ago. Five days ago, she had turned one of her boot laces into a garrotte, killing three men, before getting not quite a kilometer away. She had been hauled back by her hair, body bruised and scraped by the sand, being dropped in front of the man who had taken charge. He had been disorganized since the start, temper balancing on the edge of a knife.

He had screamed at her. Berating her. And thanks to the limited Urdu she knew, all Bear could figure out was that his boss was dead, and that she would tell them who did it. However, she had put the final bullet in their missing leader’s body as she and her team burst through the doors of the bunker in the basement of al-Hameed’s compound days ago. Not that she was going to tell him that. All she had said was her service number, over and over and over. 175-66-23. It had become a mantra that she repeated, frustrating him even more.

But her team. Shit. Was her team okay? Had they made it back after she blacked out? Had Jake survived? The only reason she was here was because he needed her to buy them time. God, if Jake was gone… no. NO! She couldn’t think like that. Not here, not now. “Think Bear,” she urged mentally, eyes seeing the knife that had been dug out from somewhere. “Think about Jake. What about that one night?”

Distantly, she felt the red-hot pain, but mentally, Bear was back in her office, pouring over files.

There was a knock at her door, making her glance up. It was late. Damn near 2100, everyone had gone home. So who was this? “Come in!” She called out, closing her folder.

The door opened and it was Jake, holding something? “Hey Teddy, hope I didn’t disturb you.”

She shook her head, smiling at him. “You didn’t. Why are you here, it’s late.”

“You’re still here,” he countered, smirking at her as he leaned against the doorframe. “But I brought dinner. Figured you hadn’t eaten yet because you are in the same position I saw you in before I left.”

Bear made a face. Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten. Like clockwork, her stomach rumbled, making Jake chuckle. “…there might be some truth to that,” she admitted, taking in the sight of him standing in her doorway. She knew she shouldn’t stare, but the plain black tee and dark jeans were doing something for her. Bear gave her head a minute shake before gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. “You wanna sit? I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone since training this afternoon.”

“Sure. Thanks.” Jake slid into the chair, crossing one foot over his knee as he leaned forward to try and sneak a peek at what Bear was working on.

“Hey!” Bear flapped the closed file at him. “Get your nose out of there! You don’t need to know that!”

Jake sat back with a chuckle. “Okay, okay. I won’t look at… munitions reports?”

Bear stared at him, one eyebrow raised. The look on his face made her burst out laughing. “I-I-I’m sorry!” she wheezed, one hand coming up to wipe her eyes. “God I pity Maverick some days. He only has 12 of you but the shit you pull?” She kept laughing, Jake watching in amusement.

“Okay, okay, okay. Here. Eat something before you pass out.” Jake slid the glass container across her desk, a fork sitting on top.

She looked at him curiously. “What is it?”

“Just eat.”

Bear opened the container and nearly moaned at the smell. The smell of oregano and melted cheese wafted out, filling the air around her. Digging in, she couldn’t help herself as a small groan slipped out. “What is this?”

“My mom’s pasta bake. Figured it was a safe bet since you devoured that pizza a week ago,” Jake replied, smiling at her. In his head however, he was struggling. The sound Bear made? God he wanted to find a way to hear those again and again for the rest of his life. “Plus, it saved my ass more than once.”

“Oh yeah?” Bear asked around a mouthful of pasta. Chewing quickly, she swallowed and repeated herself, making Jake laugh. “What?”

“Nothing. Nothing,” he told her. “You just look cute.” Jake grinned as the tips of her ears reddened, spreading down to her neck.

Bear was yanked from her memory by the sound of the cell door slamming shut. She felt the cuts on her body, miniscule in nature, but full of bright sparking pain. It physically hurt her to come out of her mind, but she was thankful for the reprieve it gave her.

The men had left, at one point letting one hand hang loose so she could eat. Someone must have pointed out that she was no use to them if she died because they didn’t feed her. She didn’t want to eat, but Bear knew she needed to. How else would she have enough energy to fight to free herself? So she grabbed the piece of flatbread that sat nearby, using her teeth to tear off pieces as she held it with her free hand.

Not even 20 seconds after she finished eating, one of the men came in and cuffed her wrist back up again before leaving as suddenly as he came in. Left alone to her thoughts once again, Bear felt her thoughts wandering to her team. She hoped that Priya was managing okay. Her second was a natural leader, but under the circumstances of her taking control? That was a whole new set of challenges. And she knew that. Bear had taken control of a spiraling operation after her Commander had been killed, and as the highest ranking member of the group, she became the boss. That had been the defining factor in her promotion to take permanent leadership as the Commander of Seal Team 3.

But was her team okay? Was Jake alive? What about the Daggers? She had more questions than answers right now and it drove her crazy. So like dimming the lights, Bear let those thoughts fade away into a kinder memory, chasing her doubts and fears back behind the curtain where they had taken up a near permanent residence.

In this memory, Bear saw herself on the beach, sitting on the sand and wrapped in a blanket. She had been unable to fall asleep after the day’s training. It had forced her to realize that someone was likely not coming home alive and that realization would always hurt. Operations were designed for minimal friendly casualties while maximizing enemy elimination, and none of the scenarios that she had run today created less than ten casualties on the breaching team. It was humbling, the realization. Her team was her family away from her parents. She had no one else.

She didn’t know how long she had sat there, lost in her thoughts, planning out possible drills and other tactics, until someone tapped her on the shoulder, startling her. In her mind, all she could think was ATTACKER and the other person soon found themself flat on their back in the sand with Bear’s arm pressed to their throat. “Teddy!”

Blinking, Bear looked down and saw Jake underneath her, his green eyes wide in a combination of what looked like fear and something she couldn’t quite make out. She jolted back, still straddling his hips but giving him room to sit up. “What the actual fuck?! Did anyone tell you not to sneak up on me?”

Shaking the sand out of his hair, Jake gave her a sheepish look. “Phoenix might have mentioned it once…”

She just shook her head in disbelief. “Unbelievable… You idiot! I could have killed you!”

Jake made a face before yelling back “BUT YOU DIDN’T!”

Bear just stared at him, before starting to laugh. She knelt back in the sand, her weight still resting on his lower thighs as she laughed until she cried.

“Jeez. Didn’t think I was that funny, Teddy,” he remarked, beginning to laugh with her. “Gotta admit, thought I was gonna die for a few seconds there.”

He was met with a flat stare in such contrast from the laugh that had come from her moments earlier. “If I was armed, you would be walking away with a scar at best,” Bear admitted with a wicked grin.

“And at worst?”

Bear shrugged. “At worst, I would be burying your body on the beach.”

Her nonchalant tone sent a shiver down Jake’s spine at the look in her eyes that accompanied it. Her brown eyes glimmered in amusement that seemed to shine in the moonlight, and Jake felt himself fall just a little more in love with her. “Good to know, Teddy. Good to know.”

Bear only winked at him, before realizing her position on top of him. “Shit. Sorry, I’ll move,” she said, her voice suddenly small.

“Teddy,” he said, catching her wrist, his large hand wrapping around her arm and squeezing once gently. “I don’t mind, honest.”

“But if someone saw us, I could lose my job, Flyboy.”

Jake chuckled at her antics. “Bear. It’s the middle of the night, and we are out in the middle of a random beach on miles of coastline. We’re fine.”

The soothing tone of his voice was enough for Bear to settle back down on his legs, shaking her head at him. “I’m blaming you though. If someone does see us.”

“I’ll take all the blame, Teddy. Jus’ keep sittin’ pretty.”

Suddenly, Bear was thankful for the darkness around them. Her cheeks flushed pink and she hid her face in her shoulder, trying to avoid the intensity in the green eyes of the man in front of her. It was a very significant change from the usual confidence she exuded, and it made Jake grin, having discovered this part of her. “So,” she finally spoke. “What are you doing out here this late?”

“Couldn’t sleep. You?” Jake still had Bear’s wrist in his hand and he let his thumb trace shapes over the back of her hand, reveling in the softness of her skin despite the job she did.

“Me neither,” Bear whispered, her breath hitching at the gentleness at which his hand touched her. It had been awhile since she had been touched with anything but aggression. The Seals weren’t a profession that believed in coddling and she had quickly abandoned hope at ever finding that gentleness again. But here was Jake. Fucking Hangman. An arrogant asshole that supposedly only cared for himself. At least that was the word on base. “Shit,” she thought. “I can’t be doing this.” But she stayed where she was, eyes drifting over to watch the ocean ebb and flow, taking with it her anxiety and worries.

Jake watched her, noticing the shift in her body language, how her shoulders lost the tension that always seemed to be resting there. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

He watched Bear shrug. “Everything, nothing,” she commented distractedly, still staring at the ocean. “Being in charge is hard.”

“That so?”

“Yeah.” She paused, shaking her head a little. “My mom always told me that I was too determined for my own good. That one day, if I wasn’t careful, I’d get hurt. It’s funny how it’s just settling in.”

“And what about your dad?” Jake asked softly, like he was trying not to disturb her. She was warm somehow in the cold night air, the skin under his palm radiating an unexpected heat.

Bear grinned at him. “I don’t have one. I have two moms, Flyboy.”

Jake blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh,” she teased. “Surprised?”

“A little. But it makes sense,” he admitted. “They anything like Nix?”

Bear hummed. “I don’t know. My mama, yes to a degree. My mom, no. I don’t know how to explain it, but they always warned me that sometimes I flew too high. I just hope they aren’t right.”

Jake’s heart panged with sympathy. “There’s nothin’ wrong with being ambitious. Look at you. You’re incredible, the first female Seal Commander in years, 60 kills to your record. Plus you’re a nice person so…” he trailed off, watching her blush climb up to her ears.

“Stop. You’re just saying that.”

“Hell no. Look at me,” Jake let go of her wrist to turn her face back to his, catching how her face heated and her gaze dropped his, choosing to look at his collarbones. “Look at me. I don’t give compliments often, so this is a little out of character for me, but that voice in there,” he tapped his finger against her forehead, “That voice needs to learn to shut up, because you have done this, you can do this, and you will bring them all back. Trust yourself. I do.”

Bear finally met his gaze, eyes wet with unshed tears. “Fuck you for knowing what to say,” she chuckled, trying to play it off.

“I mean it.” Jake’s gaze was firm but kind, eyes trying to convey the feelings he had for Bear, whether or not they were reciprocated. She needed encouragement and he was more than happy to offer it.

Bear’s head was swimming, Jake’s words mixing with her thoughts. They felt like slipping into cool water during a hot day, a balm to a bruise she hadn’t known was there. “Thank you,” she whispered, stifling a yawn. “I needed that.”

His face split into a familiar cocky grin. “I told you,” he crowed into the darkness, heart seeming to swell as she laughed, head thrown back before she wobbled and placed a hand to steady herself against his chest. She was beautiful, mirth making her eyes sparkle. Then again, she was always beautiful. Even at 2 am in the darkness as the ocean wind whipped her hair around. “Now grab your blanket, my truck’s back there. I have a constellation I want you to see.”

And she followed. They had fallen asleep in the bed of his truck, woken by the sun’s first morning rays, the two of them having been drawn together in sleep. Bear had a glimpse of Jake at peace and it stopped her heart as she took in the gold threading through his hair, the slow rise and fall of his chest, and his warmth. The sun painted him in gold, wreathing his head in fire like a matching crown to the one that opened in her heart as she took him in.

It was simple. It was peaceful. Yet Bear vowed, swore with every fiber that she would make sure that both of them returned home. It wasn’t possible for her to survive without Jake’ gentleness, his kindness.

So in the ever-growing sunlight, Bear memorized every freckle, every detail of Jake’s sleeping face. If she couldn’t have him, then at least she could have the memories. She was drawn from her thoughts at the sound of Jake’s deep voice seeming to crackle through the stillness of the morning. “Y’re starin’.”

Bear only smiled, letting Jake grab hold of her and pull her into his arms. She hummed, wiggling a little before settling and dozing off under the rays of the new day’s sun, letting both its warmth and that of the man beside her lull her back into sleep.

The clanging of the cell door jerked her back to reality. A small child stood in the concrete room, his eyes wide in fear. He couldn’t have been more than eight. He held something out to her, but in the darkness, she couldn’t make out what it was. In broken English, the little boy spoke. “Is key. To the cuffs.”

“What?” Bear asked, confused as to why this child would help her, but even more so at what a child was doing here. If the light was better, maybe then she would have recognized him as the child from the compound that Flare had spotted and pointed out. But the limited light cast his face in shadow, obscuring that detail.

“Soldier.” He pointed at her. “Friend.” Then he pointed out the door where the sounds of drunken shouting echoed down the hall. “Bad men. They hurt my mama.”

Bear’s heart hurt for this little boy. He was too young to know the things he did. Too young to be here. And here he was, trying to save her. “Thank you. What’s your name?” she whispered, watching the entryway closely.

“Amir,” he said shyly.

“Hi Amir. You can call me Bear.” She smiled at him, unable to do much else. “Can you climb on that chair,” she told him, pointing at it. “And give me the key?” Amir nodded, scrambling quickly to the chair and passing her the key. Bear clutched it in her fist, giving him a nod. “Thank you.”

“I go,” he said, pointing at the door.

“Bye,” she whispered, giving him a little wave, which he returned before he snuck out the door and closed it behind him.

Bear began to plan. She had a key to the bars that caged her in, an unlikely and secret ally, and nothing to lose. Her team had no idea where she was. Hell, Bear had no idea where she was, all she knew was that she was getting out, hopefully soon, when the opportunity presented itself. For now though, she shut her eyes and tried to get some sleep to keep her strength up. She was going to need it.

===

Surprisingly, the men let her sleep. Maybe it was because they had been absolutely drunk off their asses the night before, but when they entered her cell, the sun was already high in the sky and her cell had begun to feel like a sauna.

“Who killed him?” One of the men demanded as Bear slowly lifted her head. She blinked away sleep, opening one eye against the brightness in the cell.

“I don’t know.” Bear had been saying those words for the better part of two weeks now. She was exhausted, infection was setting in and it had become harder and harder to fight back. “I don’t know.”

The man cackled, saying something to his friend in Urdu. The tone of his voice made her skin crawl and it didn’t take a translator for Bear to grasp the concept of which he was speaking to her so crudely. “He said you knew. He said the…” the man paused, stumbling over the English wording “…informant was right”

“Who said that?” Bear was intrigued and frightened. Someone knew her moves, her play. Someone had told these men that she knew something about who had killed al-Hameed, and considering it had been her bullet, this was a big problem. That meant that someone was a mole and since only her people had informants out of the teams, it had to be someone on her team.

Oh fuck. The realization was sobering. Betrayal, especially one of this caliber, was nearly unheard of. Her team was loyal and Bear would stake her life on that fact, except now she had and it appeared that she had no more moves to make.

“We ask the questions. Not you,” the man snapped, poking her in the chest directly over a cut and Bear struggled not to react. Her ribs screamed as the man put more and more pressure over the cuts and bruises that littered her torso. She was able to get her foot up, kicking him hard in the ribs and watching with barely concealed rage the look that flashed over his face.

This man wanted to hurt her. Wanted to hear her scream and she would not do him the pleasure. So when he stormed forwards, his fist raised to punch her, Bear slipped back through the curtain in her mind that replayed memories, drawing solace in the steady quiet.

It had been a random Tuesday when Bear found out that Jake hadn’t seen her favorite Marvel movie. “I’m sorry but that’s unacceptable, Flyboy. How can you not have seen it?”

Jake had shrugged. “I don’t know. I just haven’t.” Bear was giving him shit and yet he still had the biggest smile on his face. It was funny watching a Navy Seal lose her mind over the fact he hadn’t seen a movie. “But I’m sure I could be persuaded to watch it, Teddy.”

“I hope so. As far as I’m concerned, this is treason.” Bear was grinning like an idiot, but trying to remain serious. However Jake’s smirk and the sparkle in his eyes were forcing her to reevaluate her intentions. “Tonight. If you have nothing else going on, watch it with me.”

“What time?” The words flew out of Jake’s mouth as soon as Bear finished speaking, surprising the Hell out of both of them. “Sorry. Let me try that again. No, I'm not doing anything. I’d love to watch The Winter Soldier with you. What time do you want me there?” Jake said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck in effort to regain his lost dignity.

Bear chuckled, her own blush rising in her cheeks at Jake’s eagerness. “What works for you?” she asked, shifting her weight to her other leg, before tugging at the straps of her vest, trying to pull it off.

“I can be over around 6?” She knew that he was staring at her, watching as her shirt rode up when she pulled off the gear and it made her smirk a little as she did.

She grinned, shuffling the vest off, and folded it over her arm. “6 sounds great. Bring snacks.”

Jake’s split wide into an excited smile. “Popcorn?”

“Nah. I’ve got some. Just bring whatever you want for snacks, I’ll get pizza,” Bear told him. She was trying to hide her own grin, but was failing to keep the excitement from dancing in her eyes. After their conversation on the beach, she and Jake had become closer, sharing inside jokes and stifled laughter as they met up for coffee on weekends and slowly grew to know the other person. The only thing Jake didn’t yet know was her actual name.

A cracking sound shattered the memory she was hiding in. The pain that erupted in her side told her that at least one rib was broken, but Bear knew that she would prove to be a useless captive. Unwilling and determined to keep her secrets. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. God no. Bear was terrified. Terrified for herself, for Amir. Afraid and worried about her team, if they were coming for her or if they too had discovered this mole within their organization.

“Who. Killed. Him.” The man, she’d heard whispers that his name was Saif, was insistent, demanding answers from the woman who remained silent, eyes glazed over like she wasn’t present.

“175-66-23,” Bear wheezed out, a look of defiance filling her eyes “175-66-23.”

“I warned you.” And Bear watched him flinch as she shook out her leg, taking that fraction of a second to grip the key in her hand before sliding into her memories once more.

She found herself sitting on her couch with Jake, the two of them bantering over the best Marvel characters as the movie sat paused on the TV screen. “Nope. No way. I like Tony. But he is not my favorite!” Bear argued, eyes wide and blinking at Jake, who wore his signature shit-eating grin.

“Is that right?”

“Yes!” She stared at Jake, watching the amusement flicker across his face, noting the smirk and Bear gasped in mock horror. “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me!”

Jake leaned closer, wiggling his eyebrows. “I think I did get a rise out of you,” he told her. He had once again gotten lost in her eyes, watching humor sparkle through them. But he was too late to catch the flicker of smugness before a handful of popcorn hit him in the face. “Hey!”

Bear laughed, ducking as Jake tossed him popcorn at her. A piece hit the end of her nose, making her scrunch it up at the feeling. “Jake! You got popcorn everywhere!”

“And you didn’t?” He fired back. “You started this mess.”

“Oh sure, blame the host,” Bear snarked back, but the look on her face was playful and teasing. She loved the banter that she had with Jake, loved how his face lit up when she challenged him. Bear had gathered that not a lot of women did that right from their first meeting at the Hard Deck weeks ago.

“Well, if the shoe fits…” Jake trailed off, picking a piece of popcorn off of her shirt and eating it. He was having the time of his life and he watched as the look on Bear’s face went from amused to mischievous. She lunged at him, tickling her fingers into his sides, laughing loudly as he shrieked, trying to bat her hands away.

Bear had the upper hand for a good five minutes until Jake snuck his hand under her shirt to tickle her side, laughter rippling from him as the woman before him screeched. She tried to push herself from the couch, desperate to escape his torment. But all it took was Jake’s other hand to grab her hip and pull her back down half under him as he continued his assault.

Her pleas for mercy were broken up with wheezing giggles and Bear couldn’t gather herself enough to fight back against Jake, who was struggling to breathe due to his laughter at the look on Bear’s face. “Ooookay! Okay! Okay! Stop iiiiiittttt!” she finally managed to squeal, shoving her hand in his direction, batting away his hands.

Jake relented, watching as Bear took a deep breath, still giggling. “What?” She said, watching the look on his face soften.

“Nothin’, jus’ you underestimated me,” Jake replied. “You might be a badass Navy Seal, but I have younger siblings and nieces and nephews. I can and will win a tickle fight.”

Bear grinned from her position on her back. She was halfway off of the couch, her lower back on the armrest. The only reason she wasn’t on the floor was Jake’s hand gripping her hip. He was basically holding her in place, and Bear would be lying if that show of strength didn’t make her a little hot under the collar. But there was no way that that little detail would ever be realized. Jake didn’t see her like that. Why would he? So she pushed it away. “Guess I did.”

“Did I hear you right?” Jake asked, giving her a feigned wide-eyed look. “Did a US Navy Seal just say that she underestimated little ole me?” He pitched his voice up at the end, trying to get her to laugh. And she did. The sound seemed to echo inside his mind and Jake found himself wanting to record it. Just so he could treasure the laughter she gave him when so many people didn’t have the pleasure.

“Shut up,” Bear shot back, trying to curb her giggles. “God damn, I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.”

Jake just grinned at her, his thumb absentmindedly swiping softly along the small patch of skin that had been revealed when her shirt rode up. “You should do it more.”

Butterflies erupted in her stomach at his words and Bear knew that her cheeks had gotten pink again. Something about Jake just flustered her and she had been struggling to hold herself together since that first training session she’d organized. “Laugh?”

“Mmm.” The sound of his hum sent a shiver down her spine as Bear took note of their current position. She shuffled a little, trying to get back on the couch, but her foot knocked against Jake’s knee, sending him tumbling face first into her lap. “Shit, sorry,” Jake apologized, his words slightly muffled against her thigh.

“N-no you’re fine,” Bear stuttered. Internally however, she was screaming. Jake was in her lap. Jake. Hangman. That one blond pilot. Fuck, how long had it been since she’d been touched? “Based on that reaction,” she thought, “Too fucking long.”

Jake, on the other hand, was dying. He had practically thrown himself forwards into Bear’s lap when her foot had kicked his knee. If he had put a little more into the fall than necessary, he wasn’t about to tell. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Bear’s voice was considerably less shaky than it had been moments before, but she knew that her face was bright red from what had just transpired. “I’m sure. We should uh… probably finish the movie.”

He turned his head, from where he’d been facing the TV, to look up at Bear. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope.”

They had finished the movie in that position, Jake laying with his head pillowed on Bear’s thigh as he lay between her legs, while Bear ran a cautious hand through his hair. Unbeknownst to her though, Jake had melted the moment Bear’s hand tugged gently through his hair, carefully picking through the knots that had dried in while they had been goofing off. He was absolutely, irrevocably in love with her. There were no two ways about it. Jake promised himself at this moment, if Bear wanted him, he’d be hers.

The clanging of the cell door pulled Bear once more from her reverie. This time, her breath punched out of her chest as the pain she’d avoided hit her in full force, nearly making her puke. They had been rougher than usual. Something wasn’t adding up, and if she were a betting woman, she would place her money on whoever it was funneling information to them. But she knew that she couldn’t take much more of this. Her palm hurt from the key’s teeth digging into her skin and she vowed to free herself tonight.

===

A/N: Do I need to hide or am I safe? Big big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s for proofreading and all the love to @dakotakazansky who helped me do some restructuring!

Taglist: @horseshoegirl @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @lavenderbradshaw @roosterforme @bobby-r2d2-floyd @bradleybeachbabe @footprintsinthesxnd @twsssmlmaa @fandomxpreferences @dempy @gizmodear @fighterpilothoe @chaoticassidy @eli2447 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @djs8891 @rhirhikingston @sisterslytherinog @impossiblebagelcowboyfreak @sgt-barnesveins @taytaylala12 @urmom-999 @formulapierre @pinkpantheris @havlindzk @a-beaverhausen @killcomet @buxkybarnez @topgunruinedme @hangmanscoming @smoothdogsgirl @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby

[desert-fern]

A Gun Amongst Daggers - Jake “Hangman” Seresin X Fem!Navy Seal Reader

Part 23: Lights Down Low

Summary: When Jake meets a woman at the Hard Deck, the last thing he expects is for her to be a Navy Seal. And not just any Seal, the Commander of Seal Team 3. She’s beautiful, smart, dangerous, and everything about her just makes him want to get close. Her name? Bear. When the Seals need backup, Cyclone puts the Daggers on their radar and now, Jake has to work with Bear and her team, all the while trying to stay professional. Can he do it? Or will he end up falling for the Navy sniper and mission Commander?

*GIF is not mine… regretfully because look at this man!

A/N: Chapter title from MAX’s song Lights Down Low

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE! 18+ ONLY. MINORS & BLOGS WITH NO AGE/EMPTY BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

Warnings: Smutty smut, unprotected piv, oral (fem receiving), riding, teasing (it's Jake... he's a tease and a talker), brief moment of scar insecurity, very little plot but meh, lmk if I missed anything!

THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT WRITING SMUT SO PLEASE BE NICE! ALSO THIS IS ANOTHER MINORS FUCK OFF CHAPTER!

Word Count: 5.4k

Masterlist >> Part 22 >> Part 24

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Tears pricked at her eyes and Bear grabbed his arm. “Come in. Please.” A reunion that she had been both looking forward to and dreading at the same time was happening now. She was still emotionally fraught from her conversation with Bug and the feelings that had sprouted while talking and training with her team. So this… this would be hard. 

Jake swallowed thickly, nodding quickly as he let her lead him into the house. Seeing her face, the very same one that had soothed and haunted his dreams over the long months, was like a punch to the stomach. “Teddy I…” 

“Jake…” 

“Sorry.” They both said in unison, small chuckles erupting as they stood awkwardly in the entryway of her home. 

“I missed you,” Bear whispered. “I wanted to call you so many times, but I couldn’t.” Her heart broke at the sadness that overtook his face as her words made their impact. “They wouldn’t let me.” 

“I missed you too.” His voice was quiet, watching her face flicker between so many indistinguishable emotions that it would take him hours to figure out a single one. “I thought about you everyday.” 

A bittersweet smile overtook the current look of regret that was tattooed on her face as Bear looked up at his face. In all the time she had spent with him, every second spent curled up in his arms, every kiss shared, Jake had never once looked at her the way he did now. She didn’t know what was going on in his head, but whatever it was had him scanning every inch of her face as he searched for something. “I wanted to see you,” Bear said lamely, her bottom lip drawn between her teeth. 

Why was she nervous? That’s what Jake wanted to know. Every part of his brain and heart were screaming at him to move. To take her in his arms and never let her go. To make her his, in whatever way he could. But despite all that, his feet wouldn’t move. He was stuck still with a misplaced sense of fear, because what if after those five months she had realized that it had just been a trauma bond? What if she realized that Rooster was right? 

“Jake?” Her voice was distant, coming closer as Bear stepped up to him, her hand coming up to cradle his jaw. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into her touch, savoring the warmth of her skin on his own. “Jake, honey. Look at me.” 

And when he did, everything seemed to fall into place. Green eyes met brown, like they had so many times since meeting, but now, now the air around seemed different. “There you are,” Bear said softly, thumb brushing a stray tear that had fallen down his cheek without his noticing. “My Flyboy.” 

“Teddy…” 

Jake reached out, placing a hand on her ribs and reeling her close, chuckling as she had to steady herself against his chest. Bear had longed to be in his arms the moment she had left them, desired this feeling late at night when she couldn’t sleep. His warmth washed over her, easing the chill deep in her soul. Jake was here. 

She stepped closer, her eyes closing as she pressed her forehead against his, the pair of them breathing shakily as their bodies tried to force them closer. Her hand on his jaw had slid around to the nape of his neck, fingers burying themselves in the short hairs. A quick glance up and Bear found herself caught in the forest that was the ever-darkening green of Jake’s eyes. The heat from his body made her head spin and Bear knew that finally, finally she could be his. He wanted her and he had made that clear since the start, so she closed the distance, slotting their mouths together. 

Jake’s arms moved first, curling around her upper back and pulling her to his chest. He felt Bear do the same, her arm pressing them ever closer as their lips met again and again. She shifted in his arms, this time hugging him. Bear had buried her face in his neck, breathing him in. The sandalwood cologne of his that she loved filled her nose as she pressed her face into the juncture of his neck and shoulder. 

She was safe. Jake was here and nothing else mattered. 

Bear pulled back just enough to look at Jake’s face, smiling at the love she found there, before diving in to kiss him again. She took full advantage of the small hitch in his breath, nipping at his lower lip once, twice before soothing it with a swipe of her tongue. 

His mouth opened to her and his tongue met hers, quickly fighting for control of the kiss. Jake moved his hand to her jaw, tilting her head just enough for him to bite back at her lips, grinning into the kiss when Bear gasped. 

She pulled back, watching Jake’s face draw into a sharp smirk as he took her in. The flushed cheeks, spit-slick lips, and chests heaving for breath only increased the desire that echoed through their bodies. Jake stepped forward and toed off his shoes as he followed her through her house. 

They came close enough for Bear to steal another peck before she backed off again. 

Bear’s heart was pounding. After months, months of waiting, finally they were here now. So she continued stepping back, letting Jake follow after her. His darkened eyes tracked her up the stairs and down the hallway. The stare igniting a fire in her veins and the ache between her legs seemed to thrum louder at the look on his face. 

She had gone to slip through the door, to meet him on the bed, but Jake’s arm snapped out, grabbing her wrist and pressing her against the wall. It made him grin as he caught the brief wide-eyed look on her face before she grabbed his face, pulling him into another searing kiss. 

When Jake broke the kiss moments later, he grinned at the half-whine that had escaped the woman pressed against him. He ducked his head to mouth at her jaw, biting and sucking in a trail from her pulse point to under her ear. Bear bit back a groan when his teeth nipped at her skin, trying her best to keep quiet. Jake pulled off, turning her face to look at him. “If you stifle another sound, we’re done here darlin’,” he hissed, catching the look of indignation that flared in her eyes at his words. 

“No we aren’t,” Bear growled, both hands coming up to shove him back against the opposite wall. She stalked forwards and drew his head down into a bruising kiss that stole his breath. She fought him for dominance over the kiss, winning for just a moment before Jake grabbed at her hips, making her stutter in her movements. 

“Why. Are. You. Still. Talkin’?” Jake breathed between kisses. His head was spinning from how close Bear was, from the feeling of her hands that had slid under his shirt, from her finger tracing his abs, and from the way she kissed him like she would lose him. He’d been hard since she’d first bit at his lips. Since she led them closer to her room. Hell, Jake wanted nothing more than to fuck her here in the hallway, hear her cries as the pictures rattled with the force of each thrust, but he refrained for now. There would be time for that later. Right now though, Jake could ignore the ever-growing problem in his jeans, if only to fulfill a promise he had made what felt like forever ago. 

Just to be contrary, Bear pulled away, swiping her hand through the string of saliva connecting their lips. “Because I can.” The look in her eye was practically daring him to do something about it, and dare he did. 

Jake spun them around, pressing her back against the wall where he had stood not moments before. The picture nearest her rattled against the wall and Bear reached out to steady it. Jake scoffed and dropped to his knees before her. “I must not be doin’ enough if you can still focus on a fuckin’ picture.” The purr in his tone had Bear’s knees buckling, making Jake’s face split into a grin when his hand over her lower stomach was the only thing keeping her upright. “Besides, I promised to make you beg, darlin’.”

Fuck. The fucking ego on this man. Bear’s thoughts were a mess, but they were gone in a heartbeat. In that short period of time, Jake had ripped her shorts down her legs and buried his face in her pussy. She writhed at the feeling, head falling back to thud against the wall as a moan ripped from her chest. 

The hand holding her up grabbed at her thigh, tossing a leg over his shoulder to give him better access as Jake flattened his tongue and licked a wide stripe through her folds, from her weeping slit up to her clit. Sucking her clit into his mouth, Jake let himself bite down on the sensitive nub, grinning as Bear shrieked his name. She wound her hand in his hair and pulled him in closer to her heat, keeping him there. “Fuck. Jake. Right there!” 

His responding groan against her clit had her eyes rolling back in her head, another whine leaving her chest in a strangled sound. Jake popped off her clit, choosing to focus on her weeping cunt, fucking his tongue into her. Her taste exploded on his tongue, the tanginess enough to have him groaning into her. 

Bear’s hips bucked up into his movements, aborted little motions that tried and failed to deepen her pleasure. Jake’s hand had left her knee, pushing her back to the wall, stilling her. “Jake! Come on! I’m so close!” She ground her hips down against his mouth, riding his tongue as much as she could. “Jake! Fuck!” 

A finger crept up to prod at her entrance, slipping into her wet heat. Jake nudged at her walls, crooking his finger to just graze the spot that had Bear try and and fail to stifle a yell. His words replayed in her mind and she’d be damned if she made him stop now. 

“Guess I’m staying away from there,” Jake hummed, as he watched Bear’s face and saw her struggle to find a response. “I need to hear you beg first, Teddy.”

Her mouth fell open, staring at him in open frustration. Bear snarled, tugging his hair and pulling his face to look up at her, her already labored breath hitching as she took in Jake on his knees. His blonde hair was a mess from her hands gripping and pulling at it, and his eyes. Those green eyes held nothing but a smugness and pride that she hadn’t seen since the night they first met. Bear was well and truly fucked. He’d been attractive in his khakis, in his flight suit, in the sweatpants he’d lived in after his crash, but now? Now, the look on his face was sinful, made even worse by her wetness on his lips and chin. 

It gave her a sense of pride. So between heaved breaths, Bear managed to growl “Don’t you dare hold off on me, Flyboy. You run your mouth all the time, put it to good use and make me cum.” She shoved his head down to where she needed it most, but his hand clenched around her wrist, stopping her movements. 

“You aren’t in charge here, darlin’.” His voice was gravely, thick with desire and full of an ego that had clearly been well earned. “I am. So I’ll move at my own pace, once you say please for me.” 

Whatever Bear was about to say got abruptly cut off by Jake ducking back down and lapping at her cunt that was practically dripping under his ministrations. Bear was a revelation under his tongue, squirming and crying out so loudly that he was glad that they hadn’t tried something sooner. She would have had to muffle her sounds and that was as good as treasonous in his eyes, especially given how responsive she seemed to be. 

So he redoubled his efforts, fucking his tongue into her as two of his thick fingers crept up on that one spot hidden in her smooth, wet walls that clenched around him. He grazed that spot inside as he lapped at her cunt, nose bumping her clit every time Bear ground down against him. Jake could feel Bear clenching around his fingers, her legs shaking from how close she was for the second time now. 

Bear was so close to shattering on his tongue, her orgasm having brought her higher and higher until the only place left to go was down. “Please Jake!” Desperation seeped into her tone, begging him to bring her back down. Pleading with him to draw her orgasm out of her. “Please!” 

He growled something that sounded vaguely like “Good girl” before continuing until he felt her shatter around his fingers, her velvety walls squeezing almost too tightly around his fingers. Her mouth was open above him in a silent scream of pleasure as her vision whited out and her ears rang from the force of the orgasm he’d drawn from her. 

Jake drank up every bit of her cum that he could get under his tongue, getting his fill of her. Distantly, he heard her whine and her hands batted at his head, trying to push him off. One last lick and Jake stood, keeping his hand on her hip, pressing her back against the wall as her legs shook. He’d be lying if he wasn’t proud of making her shatter with just his mouth, but he could gloat about that later. 

Bear met his lips in a messy kiss, grinning as she tasted herself on his lips, feeling the remains of her orgasm on his face. “Tease,” she breathed against his mouth. “You and your fucking mouth.” 

“I got you to say please, didn’t I?” Jake was unbelievably smug, he had Bear beg for him, plead with him to let her cum. The same woman who’d bragged months ago about not having to say please. How the tides had turned. 

“Fuck you.” But there was no trace of malice in her tone, Bear hardly had enough brain function left to stand, let alone fire back a clever line. God, she couldn’t remember the last time a man had wrung an orgasm that strong from her. Luckily for her, she had a man standing before her, her cum on his lips, who seemed hell-bent on making it happen as many times as she wanted. 

That smug smile was back on his face and Jake couldn’t help but sling her arm over his neck and lift Bear into his arms. “What do you think I’m trying to do?” 

Bear stole another kiss from him, savoring the moment that was ruined by Jake dropping her on her bed, laughing as she bounced. “Get on with it then, Flyboy. Fuck me.” Her words were daring and her brown eyes darkened impossibly so when Jake pulled his t-shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. He crawled over her, kissing her deeply before his lips trailed over her jaw and began placing open-mouthed kisses against her neck. 

Her hands roamed his bare torso. She’d seen it before, felt the ridges and definition of his muscles under her touch, but now it was all new. Like she had never had the chance to touch him. Bear gasped as Jake’s teeth worried a new mark at the base of her neck, her nails digging into his shoulders at the suddenness of the action. Jake hissed against her skin but continued his path down until his lips came in contact with her shirt. 

He sat back on his knees and Bear sat up to follow him, pulling her top off as she did. Their lips met over and over, Bear moaning into them as Jake’s steady fingers trailed along her skin to tease at her nipples. He slowed just a moment to trail his gaze over every expanse of exposed skin, batting at Bear’s hands when she made to cover herself. “Don’t,” Jake said softly. “You have no reason to be shy.” 

“My scars…” Bear whispered. She’d turned away from him, choosing to stare at the wall over his shoulder. “I hate them.” 

Instead of answering her, Jake leaned forwards, laying Bear down yet again but this time, letting himself explore the newly bared skin. After a beat, he pulled away, trying to get a read on her. “I don’t hate them. They’re a part of you, but they do not define you, ya hear?” Bear can practically hear the gears turning his head at her silence. “Teddy, we can stop now. I can get you a shirt and your shorts and we can just cuddle. Okay?” 

Bear’s brown eyes snapped to his, a sudden ferocity in them. “I don’t want to stop. Do you?” 

“No.” 

Bear reached up and kissed him hard, taking advantage of his inhale to slip her tongue into his mouth, stealing control of the kiss before Jake had even had the chance to fight her for it. It took everything in his power to pull away, to return his attention back to her tits. 

Jake let his tongue trailed over her chest, leaving as many marks as he could, his hands roaming the skin where his lips weren’t. He only pulled away to admire his handiwork before returning to the task with a renewed vigor each and every time. And the sounds that slipped from the woman under him. God, he thought her laugh was intoxicating, but now each and every little gasp, the hitches in her breath, and the whines that seemed to echo through the room had been imprinted in his mind. 

Thank God she had said she loved him. This would be pure torture if it was just a one night event. 

Jake pulled back just briefly to watch Bear squirm as his breath fanned over her peaked nipple before sucking it into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. His fingers pinched at the other before Jake pulled off with a pop to give the other the same attention. 

Bear was writhing under his touch. It was simultaneously too much and not enough and he hadn’t even fucked her yet. Jake was everywhere, his touch magnified by the height of her desire for him and Bear swore that she had never been this wet in her life. Her first orgasm was long forgotten as she cried out when Jake nipped at her breast, and Bear couldn’t take it anymore. “Jake! Please!” She begged, a hand grabbing at his jeans. 

“Mmm.” Jake hummed, her nipple still in his mouth and Bear’s other hand tightened in the bed sheets before going to push him off. “Use your words, Teddy.” 

“Fuck me!” She gasped out and Jake grinned before leaning up to claim her lips in a kiss that nearly stole whatever remaining brain power she had. “Jake, just fuck me!” 

Who was he to deny such a sweet plea? Keeping his lips to hers, Jake made quick work of his jeans, pushing them down his hips until he physically had to pull back. Bear chuckled as he hopped off her bed, but the giggles quickly faded as his pants hit the ground and his cock sprung free. “You good darlin’?” 

Jake visibly preened under her appreciative glance. Her eyes were fixated on his hips, tracing the narrow vee, and kept dipping down to stare at his cock. It curved slightly to the right, the tip a pretty pink and visibly weeping pre-cum under her intense stare. He was thick, thicker than she had expected, thicker than she had taken in a while but goddamnit she would do so happily. 

“I’m great.” The sight in front of her was beyond anything she’d expected. She knew he was big, how could she not? They’d changed in front of each other often enough that she’d seen the bulge in his underwear, but without that thin barrier, well she had an idea why his callsign was what it was. “I just-”

“Speechless already? Damn, I must be better than I thought.” Jake couldn’t help the smirk that had slid across his face at Bear’s pause.

“Get your ass over here, Hangman,” Bear replied, leaning back on her elbows and splayed her legs wide, giving him a clear view of her dripping pussy. “I thought I said fuck me.” 

Jake growled and leapt on her, pinning her under his weight. Bear gasped when his cock nudged her clit, the motion brief but quickly reigniting the sheer want that had dwindled just a little. “Making demands again… tsk tsk Teddy.” 

But Bear had had enough of his teasing. The ache in her cunt was all-consuming and she wrapped her legs around him and with a twist of her core, she flipped their positions so she was seated atop his hips. “I will make all the demands I want, Hangman. I’ve waited too damn long for you to fuck me and I’m sick of begging.” 

Jake lay there stunned by the sudden dominance in her tone. Whatever blood was still in his head rushed downwards leaving him dizzy. “I-Teddy!” His sentence turned into a bitten off groan as she palmed his length, giving him a few teasing strokes. Any thoughts he had were gone, dissolved in the pleasure of Bear’s hand moving up and down his cock. “F- fuck Teddy.” 

“Yeah? You just needed me to touch you, isn’t that right Flyboy?” Bear’s tone was teasing, fully aware of the effects it was having on the man under her. She slowed her pace on his cock, reveling in the groan that pulled itself from deep within Jake’s chest. 

“I- fuck- yeah,” Jake managed to say, nearly biting his tongue when Bear lightly grazed her nail up the vein that ran along the shaft. How he would ever go back to taking himself in hand, Jake had no idea. Not after he had the pleasure of feeling Bear’s hand on the most sensitive part of him. His hands grabbed onto her hips, squeezing hard enough that they both knew he would leave bruises the next day. 

Bear’s grip stuttered just a little as Jake slid her slowly forwards and back, allowing her to grind against his lower stomach and abs. The friction was just what she needed, the pressure on her clit causing her eyes to flutter closed as a moan spilled from her lips. “Fuck.” She clenched around nothing, whining as she did. God she needed to be full. Desperately. 

She gave him another stroke, catching his gaze before kissing his nose to bring his attention back to her. “I’m clean, Flyboy. Are you?” 

He nodded, biting back a grunt. “Ye-p… yes. Just - fuck - stop teasing!” 

Bear could feel the pinpricks of his nails against her hips as she slid her hips back, rising up on her knees above him. It made her grin to see the flush of his skin under her, to watch how it spread down his neck and settled around his chest. He was falling apart below her and she’d barely done a thing, so she took it a step further. She positioned him against her opening and slowly guided him into her. 

Jake’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as Bear lowered herself down, feeling the muscles hidden in the smooth walls grip his cock far better than her hand had. “Fuuuuuuck…” he groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillow, looking up to see that Bear had thrown her head back, exposing her throat covered in his marks. “Goddamn Teddy… squeezin’ me so good.” 

A small strangled sound left Bear’s throat as Jake bottomed out in her, clenching around him as her body tried to get used to his girth. “Hnn- fuck.” 

The room filled with sharp breaths as the pair of them tried to get used to the new sensation, both trying to steady themselves before anyone even thought of moving. Bear’s hands planted themselves on his chest and the movement had her rocking forward slightly and a groan ripped out of Jake. “Fuck - move!” 

Bear tried for a smirk but found herself failing as Jake’s grip on her hips tightened impossibly so, drawing her up his cock before teasing them both. She grabbed a hand with hers, pushing it above his head, interlacing their fingers, and set her pace, rising up as slowly as she could before lowering herself down hard. 

Her mouth was open in sheer bliss, too full to say a word. His cock hit all the right spots in her cunt, pulling moans and whines from her effortlessly, clenching around him as she rode him slowly. Her pelvis met his over and over, each descent on his cock had her coating him with the wetness that leaked out from around him.

Jake was writhing under her, begging her to move faster because he knew he couldn’t last much longer. She was just so tight and so wet around him and Jake had never been harder in this moment. He was desperate to feel her shatter around him, craving the way she would squeeze him as she came. So he planted his feet against the bed, snapping his hips up as she came back down, forcing himself deeper into her. The sound of their hips meeting echoed through the room, the sound a clear indication of what was happening behind the closed doors. 

Bear tossed her head back, her loose hair hanging down her back and sticking to her sweaty temples. Jake surged up, jostling him inside her, his mouth finding one of the developing bruises he’d made earlier. His hand, no longer being held by Bear, snuck down to find her clit. He reveled in the keening noise that slipped free as his thumb grazed the sensitive nub ever so slightly. He applied more pressure as she bucked forward, her pussy fluttering around him. “Jake! Fu- please!”

She was rocketing along the pleasure wrung from her by Jake’s thumb and cock, scarcely able to tell where she started and he ended. The snap of his hips drove him deeper, harder, his thumb sending sparks down her spine. The fire in her stomach burned brighter and hotter, and one final thrust sent her over the edge. Bear dug her nails into his chest, a sound almost like a wail filling the air around them as she shattered around him. Her pussy squeezed him like a vice as he coaxed her through the end of her climax. 

Jake rolled them, laying Bear against the pillows, allowing himself to chase his own release. His thrusts were frantic, without much pacing, having lost himself in the feeling of her coming around him. Jake came with a shuddering groan, warmth filling her as Bear tried to catch her breath, whining at the sensitivity. 

He caught himself before he could fall on top of her, remaining sheathed in her for a moment longer. “Wow,” Jake breathed into the skin of her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to it. 

Bear chuckled, turning to face him. A soft smile danced across her face as she caught his lips in a sweet kiss. “Imagine this, had you not been a part of my mission, we wouldn’t be here now,” she whispered in the falling silence of her bedroom. 

Jake shook his head. “I don’t believe that for a second.” And he didn’t. Despite having very little brain function at the moment, Jake believed wholeheartedly that he and Bear were meant for one another. “I would explain it, but I think you finally took that last brain cell.” 

She snorted, turning her head to steal a glance at the clock on the nightstand. “Why did I agree to a beach day with the team tomorrow?” Bear groaned, accidentally clenching around Jake, who groaned. “Sorry.” 

“‘t’s all good, Teddy. I promise I usually last longer than that.” Jake was a little embarrassed that here he was, collapsed half on top of her around one round, when he had gone far longer in the past. 

“Hey. You have a lifetime to prove it, don’t you?” Bear replied playfully. Mirth danced in her eyes, Jake’s first glimpse of the woman he’d fallen for way back before they’d nearly lost one another. 

He nodded. “That I do. You ain't ever getting rid of me, Teddy. I promise that.” 

Jake got up, pulling out of Bear before walking to her bathroom and grabbing a cloth. He tossed it at her, laughing when it hit her stomach with a smacking sound, but he laughed harder after she whipped it back in his direction, hitting his chest and falling to the floor. “I deserved that.” 

“You did.” Bear couldn’t take her eyes off of Jake. He’d so easily said that he didn’t intend to leave, the sincerity sending shivers down her spine. She had fallen fast, forcing her to love him hard. So fierce was the love she had for him that it took a split second to decide if she should risk herself for him. The things that Bear would do to protect him, to keep Jake close to her, were too numerous to describe, but the main thing that she’d do: Bear would love him. She would show him everyday that she cherished him and grow their love together. 

“Teddy? Where’d you go?” Jake watched Bear turn over to face him, a soft smile on her face. He could feel the love she held for him, could see it in her eyes and how they sparkled when she looked at him, and it made his heart swoop. 

Bear shrugged. “Nowhere. Just got caught up in how much I love you.” She’d fixed Jake with a soft look, watching him as he leaned against her bathroom door. “And how it took just one night for you to get stuck in my head.”

He grinned widely. “Yeah? You’re telling me that the night my life changed, you somehow walked away thinking about me?” Jake stepped closer to her, watching as Bear rolled her eyes at him, trying and failing to hide her grin. “Not the ‘Bear’. No. She’s too serious.” He was teasing her, grinning as Bear blushed a bright pink. 

“Shut up,” Bear laughed, swatting at his stomach. He caught her hand, thumb running over her knuckles, taking in the sight of a naked Bear laying atop her covers, blushing and smiling. And not just smiling, but smiling at him. Just like Jake had wanted ever since he witnessed her combat skills in training months ago. “And stop lurking, I’ve been a little deprived of your cuddles, so get your disgustingly perfect ass over here.” 

Jake shook his head at her before walking around the other side of her bed to grab his underwear, stepping into them before he heard Bear clear her throat. “Are you really putting underwear on after I just complimented your ass?” 

“No?” 

A triumphant grin split wide on Bear’s face and she hopped up onto her knees, shuffling across the bed to where Jake stood. “Good, because you know I love you for more than just your ass-ets, right?” 

Jake nodded, smiling softly down at her. “Say it again.” 

“What? I love you?” 

“Yeah. Don’t ever stop saying that.” Jake pulled the covers back, crawling under them and beckoning Bear close. She happily obliged, curling up as close as she could to him, drifting off to sleep soon after. 

Bear didn’t hear the quiet “I love you, to the bitter end and back again,” mumbled into her hair. A soft reference to her letter from the ship all those months ago, words that Jake had all but tattooed into his brain. She wasn’t awake to hear it, but as he fell asleep, Jake vowed to make sure that she never forgot it. 

Even if he said ‘I love you’ first, they both knew that they had silently said it a thousand times before then. 

And that, that was the perfect thought to have before Jake slipped into sleep, the girl of his dreams held tight in his arms.

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A/N: So. I hope this made up for the cliffhanger last week and didn't suck donkey ass. Big big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 for punching me verbally every time I tried to say this was bad, as well as a general thank you to @sarahsmi13s, and @dakotakazansky for all the support!

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