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Aidan caught Sean’s glance. “What?”

Sean was almost pleased at the anger and irritation in the other man’s voice. After well over a week of dealing with Aidan’s constant need to poke at him, talk back, and subtly antagonize him, Sean had finally managed to pierce his irreverent wall and found his temper.

Instead, he wanted to hit him again. He had promised Ricardo he would get them to the medbay if the man stayed behind and continued running the Gauntlet with the rest of the team. As much as he desperately wanted to deck Aidan, he was a man of his word.

“I didn’t say anything,” Sean said, turning his attention to the front again.

They remained silent as they limped through the clinic's front doors and into the air-conditioned interior. They were met with a long hallway stretching out in front of them, lined withcurtained treatment cubicles. From one of the rooms emerged Troy, one of the medics.

Troy frowned. “Staff Sergeant? What the hell happened to you?”

“A training incident,” Aidan added.

Sean jerked his head toward Aidan, growling. “Wheresomeoneshot me.”

Troy jerked upright. “Shot? You were using live ammo?”

Aidan snorted. “It was a bean bag round. He’s just being a baby.”

“It was a rubber bullet, fired from close range. That’s not being a baby,” Sean shot back.

“And I told you it was a goddamn accident! But I’m starting to wish it hadn’t been, so at least I could enjoy pissing you off so much after you’ve been such a royal fucking prick!”

Sean’s jaw tightened. “Don’t try that shit. I need to know what you’re capable of going through. You’re the one taking it personally.”

Aidan rounded on him, dark eyes flashing. “Bullshit, absolute bullshit. You’ve had it in for me from the moment I showed up and told you the orders. Don’t try to make this about me; this is on you.”

“Right, because you haven’t been a disrespectful little shit from the day you showed up!”

Troy glanced between them. “Guys?”

Aidan scoffed. “Seriously? You call that disrespectful? That’s called having a sense of humor and not stomping around like I’ve got a stick shoved so far up my ass you can practically see it in my throat, unlike you.”

“You don’t get to show up on my damn team and pretend like you own the place, like you can say whatever the hell you want. You’re the new guy here, not me. Learn your place.”

Aidan’s eyes widened. “My place? Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Your team leader!”

“Then try acting like it!”

Troy backed up. “Right, I’ll just...I’ll be right back.”

Sean stepped forward. “I am acting like a team leader. But you’re so goddamn insistent on things going your way that you can’t handle it.”

“The only thing I can’t handle is the child I’ve been forced to serve under!”

A new voice cropped up. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”

Sean’s head snapped toward the voice, finding the other medic, Dean, standing halfway down the hallway, glaring at them. Sean blinked, turning to look at Aidan, who was standing half a foot away, not having backed down when Sean advanced on him. His chest was rising and falling, his face smeared with dirt, and there was an ugly bruise forming on his cheek. He looked like he’d gone through hell and back but was still ready to fight tooth and nail, no matter what it took.

Shit, that was kind of hot.

Sean jerked his head away. “We’re here for treatment. There was a training injury.”

“Really? Because it sounds like you two are trying to kill each other,” Dean said.

“Is that permitted?” Aidan asked dryly.