fic: change the fates' design (part five)
[back to part four.]
Jensen doesn’t think he’s ever smiled so much in his life.
After the shock and awe of actually being in the ocean wore off, Jensen is just happy. It takes him all of five minutes to figure out swimming and soon he and Jared are splashing around and dunking each other in the salty water. They stay in until their fingers and toes are wrinkly and then venture out onto the beach to explore. They climb up on the rocks overlooking the water and Jared discovers a tide pool. Jensen lies on his belly on the rocks and peers down into it, amazed by all the different types of life inhabiting it.
Jared presses his hand into the center of Jensen’s back and his palm burns like it’s made of fire. Jensen hisses and looks over his shoulder, surprised to find that his skin is glowing red.
“I knew we forgot something,” Jared says, examining his own pink skin. He isn’t burned as bad as Jensen, mainly just reddish brown instead of just plain golden, but it still looks like it stings. “Time to get out of the sun for a bit. We should eat something anyway.”
Jensen nods and looks down into the tide pool for another long moment before pulling himself up and following Jared back down onto the sand. Jensen stays down on the beach while Jared goes up to the car and comes back down a few minutes later with their overstuffed picnic basket in one hand and Rigby in the other. Jensen claps his hands together and runs over to scoop up the hedgehog.
“Look, Rigby!” Jensen laughs, whirling around to face the water. “Isn’t it amazing?”
Rigby squeaks excitedly and Jensen just stares out at the water until Jared calls his name. He’s found a small shady spot of sand, hidden and cool thanks to the rocks above. Jensen meets him there as Jared’s laying out the blanket. Jensen sets Rigby down onto it and sighs in relief as his skin fades from bright red to a soft tan, and then he sets his hands on Jared’s shoulders and heals his burn as well.
“Handy trick,” Jared says. He digs through the basket until he comes up with sunscreen. “But let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Jensen slathers himself in the cream while Jared sets up their lunch. Jared holds his hand out for the tube when he’s done, but Jensen doesn’t give it to him. Instead he squirts a decent-sized glob of the stuff into his hands and rubs them together before stepping up and pressing them to Jared’s chest. He can feel the heat rise in his cheeks at Jared’s sharp intake of breath, but Jensen just keeps going. He rubs the sunscreen into Jared’s shoulders and chest, circling a nipple curiously with his fingertip and then doing it again when Jared gasps. He spins Jared around and then does his back, wondering over the lean muscle that tapers down to a tiny waist.
By the time Jensen is done with his very thorough application, Jared’s breathing has quickened and Jensen’s warm all over. They collapse onto the blanket and Jared shoots Jensen a sultry look as he wipes his hands on his thighs, but he doesn’t say anything about it.
They eat pre-made sandwiches and potato chips and wash them down with bottles of water while Rigby munches on fruit and his own bag of chips. Jared’s wiping mustard from the corner of his mouth when Jensen leans over to give him a soft kiss. Jared makes a happy sound and kisses Jensen back, reaching up to grip the back of his neck.
Jensen sucks on his bottom lip briefly before pulling away and reaching up above Jared and tipping his bottle over, sending cold water raining down onto his head. Jared gasps and Jensen cackles, getting up and tearing across the beach. Jared sprints after him and catches up easily, scooping Jensen right up off his feet before tackling him down into the sand.
Jensen reaches up and pushes Jared’s wet, sandy hair out of his face and smiles up at him. They share a few more lazy kisses that taste like mustard before lying on their backs in the sand, hand in hand as they close their eyes and listen to the water crashing gently onto the shore.
When the sun begins to set, Jared drags Jensen back over to their picnic set up to grab a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a box of cookies from the basket. Jensen raises an eyebrow and Jared smiles sheepishly.
“I wanted to do something fancy, but I’m not a very fancy guy.” Jared shrugs and Jensen smiles warmly. “But look, we’re kinda sorta fancy and also we won’t starve! Come on!”
Jensen grabs their towels and follows Jared up onto a sand dune. They settle in and Jared holds the champagne bottle between his legs as he pops the cork. Jensen jumps at the sound and then laughs at himself while holding out the two flutes for Jared to fill with the bubbly liquid.
“To the ocean!” Jared says, holding up a glass. “To dreams coming true.”
“To us,” Jensen counters, and Jared blushes as they clink their glasses together and take a sip. They curl up together and watch the sun sink down below the horizon, sipping champagne while Jensen awes over the splendor. It’s more color than he’s ever seen - oranges, pinks, golds, and purples all mingling together in the sky, painting the ocean with it.
The stars begin to twinkle high in the sky and a chill starts to set in. Jensen wants to take one last dip in the ocean before it’s too cold and Jared tells him to go ahead and meet him back by the car when he’s done.
The water is crisp and refreshing and it makes Jensen’s senses sing. He loves everything about being here - the smell, sound, and feel of it all. He only gets out when his teeth start to chatter and rushes along the beach with his arms wrapped around himself. He assumes that they’ll find another hotel, and that Jared’s been packing up the car this whole time. What he finds instead makes his heart race.
“Misha keeps all this camping stuff in the trunk,” Jared explains sheepishly. There’s a long orange cord trailing from the car and hanging over the edge of the parking deck, running down the rocks to the small piece of flat sand below. Jared has a blue tarp spread out and a large grey blanket on top of that. Two pillows and a soft looking blanket make up what looks like a bed, right there in the sand. An electric lantern lights everything with a soft glow and Rigby squeaks from his deluxe housing inside their nearly empty picnic basket.
“Welcome to Chez Padalecki,” Jared says in a ridiculous French accent. “The finest luxury accommodations in all of Malibu.” He gestures to the blanket and then scratches the back of his neck self-consciously before continuing on in his normal voice. “I just figured you wouldn’t be ready to leave yet. It’s nice and private here and we have enough to keep us warm.”
“I love it,” Jensen breathes. He takes a step towards the blanket and Jared stops him.
“Nu-uh, dry first.” Jensen smirks and shakes himself like a dog, working up a bit of magic to rid all traces of seawater from his body. Jared grins and Jensen pounces, tackling him down onto the blanket which Jensen is surprised to find radiating heat.
“It’s so warm.”
“It’s electric,” Jared tells him, and then pulls him fully down onto it. Jensen curls up with him, head pillowed on his bare chest as Jared covers them with another blanket. The chilly night air can’t touch them here, not in this warm little oasis Jared has created on the beach. But that’s just what Jared does. He makes him happy and keeps him safe.
“I love you.” The words tumble out of Jensen’s mouth before the thought is even fully formed in his head, but they ring truer than anything he’s ever said. Jared tenses, hand stilling on Jensen’s back, but he just presses a kiss to Jared’s chest and says it again, louder this time. “I love you, Jared.”
Jared kisses the top of his head but doesn’t say anything. That’s okay. Jensen doesn’t need him to. It’s obvious how he feels.
They stay like that for a long time, curled up together on their bed in the sand. Jared sucks in a breath and then lets it out, fingers gripping Jensen’s arm for a moment. He turns his head and rests his chin on Jared’s chest, looking up at him.
“Don’t go back.” Jared says it like he can hardly get the words out and his eyes are shining in the dim light. Jensen’s chest tightens and he reaches up to touch Jared’s cheek. He pulls away and grabs Jensen’s wrist, rolling them until Jensen is tucked underneath Jared’s body. It feels warm and safe, and Jensen never wants to leave.
“Jared -“
“Don’t - don’t leave me.” Jared presses his lips to Jensen’s almost desperately before pulling back to look into his eyes. “There’s still so much that I want to show you. San Francisco, New York. I’ll take you to fuckin’ Disneyworld, Jen.” Jared’s eyes are wet with tears and he touches Jensen’s cheek like he’s precious, like he’ll slip through Jared’s fingers like smoke if he isn’t careful. “We can go wherever you want to go. Just don’t leave me, okay? Don’t make me take you back there.”
Jensen laughs and it’s thick with tears. When actually faced with it, it’s the easiest decision that he’s ever had to make. He reaches up to take Jared’s face in his hands, wiping away a tear from his cheek with the pad of his thumb.
“I go where you go, Jared,” he says confidently. Jared sucks in a breath and looks like he doesn’t dare believe the words. Jensen surges up to kiss him softly, neck straining. Jared kisses him back and Jensen drops his head back to the pillow. “I’m not going back.”
“You aren’t?”
“No.” Jensen laughs at how light he feels now that he’s made a decision. “He still needs me, and I’ll have to go back every once in awhile, but you were right. He doesn’t need me every day.”
“I do,” Jared says softly. He chuckles quietly, obviously embarrassed at his sudden display of emotions, but Jensen thinks it’s beautiful.
“That isn’t my home, not anymore.” Jensen tells him, looking into his eyes to make sure he understands. “My home is wherever you are.”
“God, Jensen.” Jared presses a kiss to his mouth, his cheek, the bridge of his nose. “I do too, you know. Love you. I’ve - I’ve never said that to anyone before.” He kisses Jensen’s jaw, wet and open-mouthed, and suddenly they aren’t close enough. “There are so many things I want to show you.”
“Show me,” Jensen says, surprised at the roughness of his tone. He wraps a leg around Jared’s hips and arches up, hoping that his meaning is clear. “Show me everything.”
He sees the moment that Jared gets it, eyes widening in understanding.
“Jensen..”
“Please, Jared.” Jensen slides his hands down Jared’s sides. He still smells like the sea, salty and powerful. Jensen presses his nose to Jared’s throat and inhales before opening his mouth to taste. Jared shudders when Jensen’s tongue touches his skin, and he whispers against the wet flesh. “Please show me.”
Jared moans and kisses Jensen, using his fingers to coax Jensen’s jaw open wider so he can lick into his mouth. Jensen groans, rocking his hips up to rub his arousal against Jared’s thigh. He pushes his hands into Jared’s shorts to grab the swell of his ass, squeezing the flesh as he rocks up against him again. It feels better than saltwater on his skin and he groans, hooking his thumbs in the fabric to pull them down further.
Jared kicks them off and unties the knot in Jensen’s shorts before shoving those down as well. It gets too hot under the blanket and Jensen pulls it off of their naked bodies just as Jared fits their hips together. Jensen gasps as their cocks bump together, letting out a little whimper and jerking his hips.
“Shh, I got you.” Jared cards his fingers into Jensen’s hair and pulls his head back, exposing his neck. Jared sets his teeth to the hollow of Jensen’s throat and then licks away the sting, kissing his jaw as he rocks down and grinds into the cradle of Jensen’s hip. It feels so good that he can’t help but to cry out and wrap his arms around Jared’s neck. He’s harder than he’s ever been and they’re both so wet, making a sticky mess between their hips.
“Jared - Jared, please.” Jensen grips him by the hair and meets Jared’s every slow, grinding roll of his hips but it isn’t enough, not nearly enough. “I need more.”
“Jensen, I - “ He sounds hesitant but so turned on, and Jensen looks into his eyes. They’re dark, pupils blown wide, and Jensen is sure that he isn’t faring much better.
“I want it,” he says softly, lifting his head to kiss Jared’s wet, open mouth. “Whatever you’re willing to give me, I can take. And I want it all.”
“Jesus.” Jared kisses him again, a bit hard and desperate, and then nods. “Okay, I - yeah, I’ll give it to you.” Jared surges up on his knees and leans over Jensen, who busies himself with tonguing at Jared’s peaked nipple while he rifles through the picnic basket. “Sorry, Rigby. Don’t look.”
He flips the lid to the basket shut and Jensen chuckles, pulling Jared in for another long, drawn out kiss. He’s got the suntan lotion in his hand and Jensen’s legs widen instinctively. He knows the very bare minimum of what’s going to happen here, but he trusts Jared. He wants it all.
Jared takes Jensen’s hand and threads their fingers together, dropping the lotion on the blanket as he explores Jensen’s body with his mouth. His tongue tickles Jensen’s collarbone, but Jensen lets out a low whine as that same tongue circles his nipple. Jared sucks on it, sets his teeth to it, until Jensen is a quivering mess. His mouth travels down Jensen’s belly, tracing his bottom rib with his tongue as he suddenly takes Jensen’s dick into his large, warm hand.
Jensen cries out and bucks up wildly, pushing up into that tight grip. Jared’s tongue dips into his navel and he grabs the lotion, pulling his hand away from Jensen’s dick after a few blissful strokes only to replace it with the hot, wet suction of his mouth. Jensen presses his palms to his eyes as he lets out deep, gasping moans. Jared hums around his cock, tonguing underneath the head and Jensen jerks at the first touch of slick fingers against his hole.
“Do it,” he breathes, and Jared’s finger starts to circle the tightly furled muscle. Jensen takes a deep breath and looks down his body, gasping at the sight of Jared between his legs, pink lips stretched tight around Jensen’s girth. He reaches down to push Jared’s hair away from his face, pushing his thumb into the hollow of Jared’s cheek to feel himself there. “Jared, you’re so - fuck - you’re so beautiful.”
Jared just moans and takes Jensen’s cock so deep into his throat that he has no idea how it doesn’t make him choke. And then Jared is pushing his finger inside, the slight burn of it barely noticeable past all the pleasure. Jensen moans his approval, belly clenching as he spreads his legs even wider. Jared’s finger pushes into him as he pulls up with his mouth, pulls out as he pushes down, over and over in a perfect rhythm. Jensen’s trembling all over, so close to release, and he tugs hard on Jared’s hair.
Jared pulls off and looks up at him, letting Jensen’s cock leave slick trails on his cheek and chin as Jensen keeps thrusting up, unable to stop. The sensitive head of his cock rasps against Jared’s stubble and it’s so good, he just can’t take it anymore.
“It’s okay, Jensen.” Jared rubs his free hand soothingly up Jensen’s inner thigh. “You can let go. I want to taste you.”
Jensen whimpers and curls his toes as Jared presses a second finger inside of him. He thrashes his hips and shakes his head back and forth.
“Not like this,” he manages. Jared wraps his hand around the base of Jensen’s dick and presses a wet, suckling kiss to the head. “I want you in me when - when I - fuck.”
“You’ll have it,” Jared promises, twisting his fingers inside of Jensen’s hole as he laps at the head of his dick. “But I want you to come for me first. I need you to calm down because when I get inside you, Jen, I’m not gonna be in any hurry to leave and I want you right there with me, okay?”
Jensen nods and Jared smiles at him before letting Jensen’s dick sink back into his mouth. Jared’s fingers move a little quicker now, crooking up to press up against a spot inside of Jensen that makes his entire body jerk. He does it again, swallowing around Jensen’s dick, and that’s it. He jerks up so hard at his orgasm that he’s surprised that his spine doesn’t crack with the force of it. Jared moans, swallowing Jensen’s release and suckling like he’s trying to coax more out. Jensen whimpers, still half-hard and sensitive, until Jared releases him.
“Isn’t that better?” Jared asks as he slides up Jensen’s body, fingers still buried deep inside him. Jensen wipes the sweat from his brow and nods, laying a trembling hand on Jared’s cheek.
“Still want you inside me,” Jensen whispers, leaning up for a kiss. He can taste himself on Jared’s tongue and it’s so intimate, so private, that Jensen can barely stop kissing him. Jared’s still fingering him open, thumb rubbing at the spot behind his balls, and Jensen bats his eyelashes up at him. “Now, Jared.”
“Not yet,” Jared replies, and Jensen grits his teeth as a third finger breaches him. He rolls his hips back into Jared’s hand and hooks his arms around Jared’s shoulders.
“I can take it,” Jensen pleads, whimpering when Jared spreads his fingers. He wants Jared’s cock, wants it to spear him open. “You can’t hurt me.”
“Yes, I can.” Jared nips at his jaw hard enough to make him gasp, as if to prove his point. “Just because it doesn’t last doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt, and I refuse to cause you a second’s pain. So just be quiet for a second, you bossy bottom.”
Jensen musters up a glare at Jared’s cheeky grin, but it doesn’t last. Jared’s rubbing at that spot inside him and Jensen’s dick perks back up. Jensen just closes his eyes and concentrates on Jared’s fingers inside him, feeling cold and bereft when they’re gone. He feels so empty.
He looks up to see Jared up on his knees, cock big and thick from where it juts out from his hips. He’s smearing lotion on himself and circling Jensen’s stretched hole with his thumb.
“It’d be easier on your hands and knees,” Jared says, and Jensen’s just about to protest when Jared leans over him and props himself up on one arm. “But I just - I have to do it like this. I have to see you.”
Jensen just nods, incapable of speech now that he has Jared’s naked, sweaty body on top of him. The slick head of Jared’s bare cock is at his hole, nudging in gently as Jared dips down for a kiss. Jared takes his dick in his hand, thumb of the opposite hand pulling Jensen’s slick hole open as he positions himself. Jensen wraps his legs around Jared’s thighs and tangles his fingers in Jared’s hair, nodding eagerly and tilting his hips up invitingly.
Jared’s hips rock forward, gently working his cock into Jensen. The flared head of it pops past the first ring of muscle and Jensen barely has time to moan before Jared’s pulling out. He growls in protest and opens his eyes to look up at Jared.
“How’d I know you’d tease me?” Jensen breathes, and Jared’s eyes are wide when they meet his.
“Sorry, sorry.” He nudges at Jensen’s hole again and takes a deep breath. “You’re just so goddamn tight.”
“And you’re so big,” Jensen breathes. Jared pushes back in and Jensen locks his knees around Jared’s hips to keep him from pulling out again, but he doesn’t need to. Jared plants his hands on either side of Jensen’s shoulders, staring down at him in awe as each small, rocking thrust of his hips pushes him in deeper. It hurts and Jensen breathes through the pain.
“You gotta let me in, Jen.” Jared places his hand on Jensen’s cheek and thumbs under his eye. He leans down for a soft, brief kiss and whispers against his lips. “Push back.”
Jensen does, bearing down around Jared’s cock and crying out when he slides in deep. They moan into each other’s mouths and Jensen nearly weeps at how good Jared feels buried inside of him. Jared is shaking as he slips one arm under Jensen’s shoulders and hugs him to his chest.
“God, Jared,” Jensen digs his fingertips into the thick muscle of Jared’s shoulders. “This is perfect. I love you, okay?” He takes Jared’s face in his hands and looks up at his wet eyes. “We belong here, just like this.”
Jared nods and kisses Jensen again, grinding his hips forward before pulling back to start moving. They set up a rhythm, Jensen rocking up to meet Jared’s slow, powerful thrusts. Jensen gasps every time Jared buries himself deep, in awe over how good it feels, each push better than the one before.
Jensen has no idea how long it lasts. They cling to each other, stealing kisses and gasping into each other’s mouths. Jared speeds up his thrusts until the sound of their bodies meeting is ringing in Jensen’s ears and he’s breathless at how amazing it is, and then he slows down, pulling out until just the flared head of his cock tugs at Jensen’s hole before sliding back in unhurried.
He’s hitting that perfect spot inside Jensen each and every time and he can’t believe that he’s lasted this long. When Jared reaches between their bodies to take Jensen’s cock in his hand, thumbing at the wet slit before starting to stroke, he knows that it’s almost over.
He starts chanting Jared’s name over and over, choking it out on breathless gasps, and Jared leans down to kiss Jensen’s forehead, then his sweaty temple and cheek before finally reaching his mouth. He pulls away to look into Jensen’s eyes and nods encouragingly, flicking his damp hair out of his face as he presses their foreheads together.
“Come on, Jen,” he says, sounding strained. The edge of Jared’s thumbnail catches on his slit just as he pushes in as deep as he can possibly go, and that’s it. Jensen grabs the back of Jared’s neck and holds him close, crying out into his open mouth as he comes again, emptying all over his belly and the delicate bend of Jared’s wrist.
“God, so fucking beautiful.” Jared grinds in deep and thumbs at the corner of Jensen’s wet, swollen mouth. Jensen’s tongue snakes out to taste himself on Jared’s wrist and he lets out a choked gasp as his whole body tenses. Jensen can feel Jared’s release inside of him, slick and wet, and it’s so intimate that Jensen gasps.
They collapse back onto the blanket together, Jared’s face buried in the sweaty curve of Jensen’s neck. They’re both panting and Jensen slides his fingers into Jared’s damp hair as he looks up at the sky. He can barely hear the sound of the ocean over the pulsing in his ears and he hisses when Jared pulls out. Slickness leaks out of him, running hot and filthy down the crack of his ass, and it makes Jensen smile.
Jared’s fingers are there, gently tracing the puffy rim of Jensen’s hole. Jensen sighs happily and lets his legs splay open, content to let Jared do whatever he pleases. There’s a flutter of cotton above his head and Jensen looks up to see Jared sliding down his body, kissing his tense belly before wiping the come up with his discarded shirt. He kisses Jensen’s hip and bites at the groove of his thigh. Then he blows gently on Jensen’s hole and he shudders at the cool, soothing feel of it.
Jared cleans him up with gentle swipes of the shirt and kisses the inside of his knee before tossing the shirt aside and crawling back up Jensen’s body. After a short, soft kiss on the mouth Jared flops onto his back next to Jensen, tangling their fingers together and staring up at the sky.
It’s not long before the ache in Jensen’s ass goes away, muscle tightening back up until there’s nothing left but the vague itch of drying come. Jensen’s lips twitch, disappointed. He sort of wanted the ache to stay. But that’s okay. It just means that every time will feel like the very first, and Jensen wants there to be lots of times.
“Can we do that every day?” Jensen asks, surprised at how rough his voice is. Jared chuckles and reaches up to rest his head on his bent arm while his other hand stays firmly grasped in Jensen’s.
“Hell yeah,” Jared replies. “Multiple times, even.”
Jensen laughs and it sounds tired even to his own ears. He rolls over and rests his head on Jared’s shoulder, mouth brushing softly against the underside of his jaw. The cool ocean breeze dries their tacky sweat almost instantly and Jared kicks their discarded blanket up with his feet so that he can cover them up. Jensen closes his eyes and burrows in deeper, slinging one leg over Jared’s thigh and wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Every single day with you is better than the last,” Jensen mumbles. He yawns and presses a sleepy kiss under Jared’s ear. “Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
“And every day after that,” Jared replies. He turns his head to kiss Jensen’s forehead and settles in for sleep, cradling Jensen close.
The rest of Jensen’s life began tonight; right here on a deserted beach in the arms of the person he loves. He can’t think of a more perfect start.
The next day dawns bright and warm, and Jared’s first move is dislodging Jensen to turn off the electric blanket. He rolls back and comes face to face with Rigby, who has crawled out of the picnic basket to give Jared a baleful look.
“Hey man, wasn’t my idea,” Jared says, and Rigby squeals admonishingly. “Maybe some tiny hedgehog earplugs next time?”
Rigby narrows his beady little eyes and then scampers off of the blanket to go take care of business and search for bugs in the sand. Jared snorts and then rolls over to prop himself up and look at Jensen. He’s smiling, even in sleep, and Jared reaches out to trace his bottom lip with the tip of his finger.
Jensen hums as Jared slides his hand down his chest, circling his flat stomach before curling around a hip. He noses at the soft spot under Jensen’s ear and sucks a kiss into the bolt of his jaw.
“Wake up, birthday boy.” Jared palms the soft bulge of Jensen’s cock and he finally opens his eyes, blinking sleepily up at him. “Hey.”
“Good morning,” Jensen says, letting his legs splay open to make room for Jared’s hand. He gets a good grip and is just about to start stroking when all of sudden he gets stabbed in the back with dozens of tiny knives. “Rigby!”
Jared rolls over to look at Rigby, who is squealing his head off and glaring at them. Jensen laughs and covers his face with his hands while Jared holds both of his own hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright,” he chuckles. “Not in front of the kid.”
Jensen rolls them over and straddles Jared’s hips, bracing himself with his hands on Jared’s chest and bouncing eagerly in a way that does nothing to quell Jared’s libido. He leans down to capture Jared’s lips in a long, leisurely kiss before he’s up and scrambling off Jared’s lap.
“I’m going to go swimming,” he declares, pulling his shorts on before tearing across the sand. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah! Just let me clean up a bit!” Jensen nods and then splashes right into the water despite its temperature. Jared pulls himself into a sitting position and glares down at Rigby. “Why do you gotta do me like that, Rigs? I thought we were bros.”
Rigby chirps and sniffs at Jared’s fingers until he sighs and rubs the hedgehog’s forehead with the tip of his index finger. He shoos Rigby off the blankets so he can fold them up. He’s stuffing them into the basket when his phone buzzes from where it’s resting in his shoe. He hadn’t even thought the thing had any battery left. When he goes to pick it up, he sees a text from Misha.
are you right near my car?
Yeah. I’m keeping it safe and sound. Why?
ten minutes.
Jared has no idea what that means but he’s grown accustomed to not really understanding the shit Misha does half the time. He drops the phone back into his shoe and lugs all the camping equipment back up the stairs with Rigby perched on his shoulder. He’s just slamming the lid to the trunk when he hears another car coming down the gravel drive to the beach. He does his best to stamp down his disappointment because this is a public beach, after all. They were lucky to have been left alone for as long as they were.
What does shock him, however, is the car pulling up next to him to reveal Misha behind the wheel. The passenger side window rolls down and Jared sticks his head in to boggle at him.
“What the hell?” Rigby digs his claws in to keep from slipping at the angle, but Jared hardly notices. “What are you doing here, man? How’d you know where we were?”
“You really think that I don’t have my car lo-jacked?” Misha yawns and fumbles for the coffee cup in his center console. “Where’s Jensen?”
Jared stands up and peers out at the water. Jensen seems fully enthralled in swimming, and Jared ducks back down. “In the water. Seriously, Misha. What are you doing here?”
“Get in.” Jared slips into the passenger seat and puts Rigby in his lap, looking over at Misha curiously. His friend is staring at him, eyes going soft. “You slept with him.” He sounds resigned when he says it, when Jared had been expecting a crow of victory. “Didn’t you?”
“Last night,” Jared replies absently. “Seriously, Misha. What’s going on?”
“I have to tell you something,” Misha says, and that’s when Jared notices the folder clutched in his hands. Jared eyes it warily before looking back up into Misha’s tired, blue eyes. “It’s important.”
“You couldn’t have called me?”
“Not for this, no.” Misha takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, eyes closed like he’s psyching himself up. Jared swallows nervously. “Okay, well. Here goes. After you guys left yesterday I realized that all that I learned about Jensen didn’t really sit right with me, you know? It raised some red flags. So I looked into it.”
“Misha, if you’re about to tell me that you dug up dirt on Jensen I am going to have a very hard time believing you,” Jared tells him, but there’s a pit in his stomach. He’s always had the feeling that there was more going on with Jensen, but he never let himself think about it too much.
“No, it’s not like that.” Misha lets a frustrated breath out through his nose and turns in his seat to look at Jared. “Do you know who Alan Ackles is?”
“Uh.” Jared blinks at the rapid change of subject and thinks for a second. “California senator, right? Super rich. Does a lot of charity work and he’s like, an activist or something. He’s behind all those initiatives to clean up the oceans, right?”
“Yeah, kinda like Al Gore but way less annoying,” Misha tells him. “His wife, Donna, is a marine biologist at the university. They’re both like, way into the ocean.”
Misha gives him a meaningful look at that, but Jared just furrows his brow.
“What does this have to do with Jensen?” He asks, and Misha clears his throat. Jared doesn’t think he’s ever seen his friend look so uncomfortable.
“You wouldn’t remember but, uh - “ Misha shifts in his seat and stares down at the folder in his hands. “The Ackles had this kid that went missing when he was just a baby, right after he turned one. There was this huge nationwide search and they never stopped looking, but the kid never turned up, dead or alive.”
“Misha - “ Jared squeezes his eyes shut as an ice cold pit forms in his stomach. “You can’t - Misha no.”
“The Ackles live in this huge estate on the beach in Malibu, where the kid was born.” Misha’s voice is thick with emotion and Jared wants to scream, wants to duck out of the car and run down the beach so he doesn’t have to hear what Misha’s about to say. “And every year on the kid’s birthday they have a big picnic in his honor, where everyone comes to show their support and donate money to charity to help find missing kids, even though they never got theirs back. They’ve done this every year for the past seventeen years, always on the kid’s birthday, the first of March.”
“Holy shit, Misha.”
“The kid’s name was Jensen Ackles.”
Misha sets the folder on Jared’s lap and he opens it, squinting through the tears to see what’s inside. It’s all news articles and Jared flips through them until he finds a picture of a gorgeous couple holding a baby with bright green eyes.
“That’s not all.” Misha puts his hand on Jared’s shoulder and he can’t help the sob that escapes as he looks over at him.
“How could there be more?” He asks brokenly, and Misha sighs.
“The Ackles’ head of security at the time of Jensen’s disappearance was a man named Jeff Morgan,” he says, and Jared sucks in a breath. “Shortly after, he stepped down from the position to become a private consultant for the family. His job was to never stop looking for Jensen, and the fucker had him all along.”
“So you’re telling me that this - this monster took Jensen when he was a baby and - and hid him away and collected money from his distraught family the whole time?” Jared’s furious, shaking with it, and a tear rolls down his cheek to land on the picture of a smiling baby Jensen below.
“It looks that way,” Misha says sadly. “Jared, I - that must be why Jensen wanted to come to the ocean so badly. He was born here, and deep down he never really forgot where he came from.
“He’s not Jensen Morgan,” Misha continues, and Jared looks over at him with tears still in his eyes. “He’s Jensen Ackles, son of a senator and heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, and less than ten miles away from here his parents are celebrating his eighteenth birthday because they never gave up hope that he was still out there somewhere.”
“I have to take him home,” Jared whispers, running his fingertips over the photo before looking over at Misha. “To his real home.”
“He needs to know the truth,” he replies, and Jared sniffs and nods. “And you should be the one to tell him.”
“He was going to stay with me, you know?” Jared gives Misha a small smile and then looks out to where Jensen is climbing out of the water, so beautiful that it makes Jared’s heart ache. “Last night, just before we - well. He told me that his home is wherever I am. Can you believe that?”
“Yeah, Jared,” Misha replies softly. “I can. And what’s with the past tense? That doesn’t have to change.”
“I won’t belong in his new life. It was okay when he was just running away from home with the weird orphan, but this.” Jared waves his hand at the photo like that encompasses everything he’s talking about. “There’ll be no place for me there.”
Jared’s staring out at Jensen, who’s peering around the beach obviously trying to see where Jared wandered off to. He spots the two cars and starts heading for them. A sudden sharp pain cracks through his temple and he hisses, looking over to see Misha shaking out his hand.
“God, you’re an idiot.”
“Um, ow?”
“Listen to me, you little shit.” Jared holds the side of his face and stares at Misha with wide eyes. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe you don’t belong in a giant mansion trying to figure out which fork to use while dining with a senator, but you do belong with Jensen. He said so himself, and if you really think he’s the type of person to just forget that when the situation changes then you are the biggest asshole on the planet.”
“Okay, okay.” Jared says shakily. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I know you have more self-worth issues than a flaming bag of dog shit but the boy loves you,” Misha says, and Jared swallows hard. “I’ve seen the stars in his eyes since the first moment I met him and you need to get your shit together and start seeing them for yourself. Now look alive, because here he is.”
Jared closes the folder and whips his head around just in time to see Jensen leaning down to stick his head in the window with a happy, albeit confused expression. Seawater drips from Jensen’s hair and onto Jared’s shorts as he turns his head to give Jared a kiss. Misha punches him in the thigh so hard that his leg seizes up and he groans into Jensen’s mouth, but he manages to kiss him back.
“Misha!” Jensen says when he pulls away, breathless and happy. “What are you doing here?”
“I decided that I just couldn’t let you celebrate your birthday without me,” Misha replies. There’s a lazy grin on his face and you’d never believe that he had just swooped in with life-altering information.
“Okay, great,” Jensen replies as he scratches Rigby’s head. “Where are we going?”
“A picnic,” Jared says, hoping that he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels. “We’re going to a picnic.”
Jensen is sort of surprised to see Misha again so soon, but Jared had told him to always expect the unexpected when it came to his best friend so he doesn’t question it. It’s nice to have Misha there to celebrate with him.
They pack everything up into Misha’s car and leave the car Misha came in, which apparently belongs to someone named Evans, locked up at the beach. Misha drives and Jared rides shotgun, leaving Jensen to stretch out along the backseat with Rigby resting on his stomach while he enjoys the view.
Jensen loves everything that he’s seen of California so far. He loves feeling salt drying on his skin and the smell in the air, the way the wind whips through his hair when he rolls the window down. He loves how bright the sun is, throwing everything into sharp clarity.
The drive is a lot shorter than Jensen expected, and he’s a bit confused when he scoops Rigby into his tote back and climbs out of the car to see Misha handing his keys over to a guy in a red jacket.
“Valet,” Jared explains, and there’s something odd about his expression. “They park your car.”
Jensen shrugs and spins around, instantly stumbling to a stop and looking up at the grand estate with wide eyes. It’s a gorgeous house, sprawling along the beach like it’s the only structure that deserves to be there. There are tables and tents set up in the grass out front and Jensen is in awe of the way that grass gives way to sand, water lapping up onto the shore as people, mostly children, run through it and shriek.
“Wow, can you imagine living here?” Jensen asks, and Jared lets out a strained chuckle that makes Misha pat his back. “To have the ocean right there whenever you want it? That’d be wonderful.”
“You’d fit right in,” Jared says softly. Jensen leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek as Misha purchases their tickets. A friendly woman puts a bright green paper band around each of their wrists and when she asks if they’ll be drinking, Misha and Jared both immediately whip out their fake ID’s. Jensen leaves his in his pocket, not in the mood to drink. They both get a second red wristband and Jensen smiles brightly at the woman as Jared ushers him inside.
There are all sorts of carnival rides and games set up, the likes of which Jensen has only seen in movies. The smell of fried food hovers in the air and he realizes just how hungry he is. Jared is squeezing his hand almost hard enough for it to hurt, but Jensen doesn’t really mind.
“What is this place?” He asks, and Misha steps alongside him while they walk.
“It’s a charity picnic,” Misha supplies. “The people that live here have it every year to raise money for a really awesome cause.”
“What’s the cause?”
“Finding missing children,” Misha replies. He gives Jensen a sad smile and pats his shoulder before looking up at Jared with a look that Jensen has no hope of deciphering. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Misha wanders off and Jensen gives his back a perplexed look before turning to face Jared. He’s looking in the direction of an elevated stage, eyes narrowed at a couple surrounded by men in black suits. Jensen gets a weird feeling when he sees them, but he shrugs it off and pulls Jared deeper into the crowd.
“What should we do first?” Jensen asks, ducking between two tents and coming up on the other side of the stage. “I’m starving so maybe - “
Jensen trails off as they approach a giant banner hanging from a tent next to the stage. It’s a family photo and Jensen can’t look away. It’s the same couple he spotted earlier looking younger and happier with a baby held in their arms. Jensen narrows his eyes at the baby and he gets this weird sense of déjà vu, like having an answer on the tip of your tongue or a memory just out of reach.
He stares at the child’s bright green eyes and blond hair and notices the light freckles smattered across its nose. Jensen furrows his brow and steps up closer, swaying back into Jared’s heat when he steps up behind him.
“Jared,” he says, and there’s an urgent niggling at the back of his mind; a weird pit in his stomach. “Do you know who these people are? I feel like - Jared. Who are they?”
“Jensen.” Jared voice is rough and his hands are heavy when he lays them on Jensen’s shoulders. “There’s something I have to tell you. It’s - Jen, it’s about who you really are.”
“Jared, I don’t - what are you talking about?” Jensen asks, turning around to look at him. Jared bites his lip and takes Jensen’s hand, leading him over to an empty table set back away from the rest of the crowd. It’s about as quiet and private as they can get given their current location, and Jared is still chewing on his lip as they sit down. Jensen reaches over to cup Jared’s chin, dragging his thumb over Jared’s lip to set it free before dropping his hand to the table.
“Did you ever feel like you were living the wrong life?” Jared blurts. He buries his fingers in his hair and looks over at Jensen desperately. Jensen’s mouth opens and closes, brow furrowing. He isn’t sure why Jared is acting so weird.
“Not since I met you,” he says, and Jared’s face crumples. “Okay, look. You’re freaking me out.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Jared starts. “It’s all so - it’s insane, Jensen. But you have to know, and it’s going to change everything.”
Jensen just stares at him, waiting for him to continue.
“That’s you.” Jared gestures to the family photo Jensen had just been so enthralled in, waving his hand spastically at it before reaching in to touch Jensen’s shoulder. He blinks and looks over at the photo again, into bright eyes on a small face that feels so familiar. “You were born here, in this house. Your name is Jensen Ackles.”
“I don’t - I don’t understand, Jared.” Jensen blinks the sudden moisture out of his eyes and tears his gaze away from the painting to look at Jared. “What are you telling me?”
“Alan and Donna Ackles had a son,” Jared begins shakily. “And seventeen years ago, that son was taken from them. They searched and searched, but never found him. Every year on his birthday, today, they have a picnic for him. Their son’s name is Jensen, and that’s you, Jen.”
“But Jeff…”
“He’s the one that took you,” Jared tells him, and Jensen furrows his brow, thinking back on all the times he felt that he and Jeff were nothing alike. “He worked for your parents. He was supposed to protect your family, and instead he tore it apart.”
“Why?” Jensen is eerily calm. It’s not hard to believe Jared’s story. It all adds up, makes perfect sense for as crazy as it all is. He never felt like Jeff’s son, and now he knows why. There’s just one thing he needs to know now.
“I have no idea, Jensen.”
“How long have you known?” Jensen asks. That’s what hurts most of all, thinking Jared has been keeping this information from him the entire time they’ve known each other. “Did you know all along? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Jensen, no.” Jared grabs his hands and looks at him with wide, glassy eyes. “I didn’t know until this morning, I swear. Something you said tipped Misha off and he discovered it all. That’s why he came here this morning, to give me the information so I could tell you. I would have never kept that from you.”
“I know, I know.” Jensen reaches out to cup Jared’s cheek with a shaky hand. Jared circles his wrist with long fingers and Jensen curls his fingers in Jared’s messy hair. His heart is pounding and it’s just all so much to take in. “What about my magic?”
“I have no idea.” Jared turns his head to kiss the palm of his hand and gives him a watery smile. “But maybe that’s something your parents could answer.”
“My parents,” Jensen breathes, and Jared nods.
“They’re right over there.” Jared gestures towards the stage and Jensen whips his head to find the couple he spotted earlier, the one that made his heart jump. Now he knows why. They’re smiling, but it’s dimmed. His mother - god, his mother, keeps dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief while his father rubs her back. “You should go to them, Jen. They’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”
“Yeah, I should - yeah.” Jensen gets up and takes a few steps away from the table, looking up at his parents in awe. His mother is so beautiful. She has long, golden hair tumbling down her back and his father has green eyes just like him. When he looks back at the table, Jared is still sitting there. His head is bowed and he startles when Jensen says his name. He looks at Jensen’s outstretched hand like he’s surprised by it. “Jared, you’re coming with me, right?”
Jared grins and it’s like the sun has just risen. No matter what else happens, Jensen needs that smile. He needs Jared in his life, whatever life that may be. Jared steps towards him and his grin falters, eyes widening as he reaches out for him.
“Jensen, watch out!”
But it’s too late. Someone grabs him by the arm and Jensen would know that feeling anywhere, icy cold and sharp, like falling through a frozen lake. He’s wrenched around by his elbow and he hisses, looking up helplessly into furious brown eyes.
“Jeff,” he says brokenly, and Jared gasps. “Let me go.”
Jared surges forward and tries to push Jeff away, but the older man takes a swing and Jensen whimpers when his fist connects when Jared’s jaw. He sprawls backwards onto the grass, lolling his head a bit before shaking it and looking up at him.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here,” Jeff growls into his ear. Jensen swallows hard because he’s always hated when Jeff got angry, but this is so much worse. “But you’re coming with me. If you so much as struggle I swear I will come right back here and put a bullet in him.” He points at Jared, still sprawled in the grass, and opens his coat to reveal a gun tucked into a holster on his belt. “Don’t think I won’t, Jensen.”
“Jeff, don’t do this,” Jensen pleads, but it’s no use. Jeff grips his arm tight enough to bruise and drags him through the crowd. People shoot curious glances their way, but no one stops them.
“Kid got a bit rowdy,” Jeff says to a security guard that starts to approach, waving him off with the hand not grinding Jensen’s bones to dust. “I’m escorting him out.”
The guy nods and walks off, leaving Jensen to stumble along beside Jeff. He looks over his shoulder and his heart breaks when he sees Jared standing there, staring hopelessly after him.
“I love you!” He shouts, because he can’t think of anything else to say. He doesn’t know what else to do. Jeff shakes him so hard his teeth rattle and he can’t stand the broken look on Jared’s face, so Jensen turns forward and bows his head.
Jeff takes his sudden cooperation for acquiescence, but Jensen is just biding his time. Because if there’s one thing he’ll never do, it’s walk away from Jared.
Jared stands there with his mouth agape. There’s a sharp ache in his jaw and Rigby is squealing and clawing at the inside of his bag. Jared stares at the back of Jensen’s head and it’s like his world is crumbling to dust.
“Jared!” Misha comes up to him and cups his cheek, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “What the hell?”
“That’s Jeff Morgan,” Jared says tonelessly, and Misha swears under his breath. Rigby’s bag is slipped from his shoulder and the hedgehog is practically screaming inside of it. People are looking at them funny and Misha pats Jared’s cheek hard enough to sting, but it isn’t quite a slap. It still snaps him out of his shock and he looks over at his friend. “Fuck.”
“Do something!” Jared tears his gaze away from Jensen’s back to nod at Misha, stumbling a little as he pulls himself together. Misha has Rigby out of his bag, stroking over his quills absently, and Jared suddenly tears off toward the stage.
He jumps up onto it and is immediately flanked by security guards grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him back. He struggles, looking desperately at Donna and Alan. They seem more confused than alarmed and Jared shrugs off the grip of a burly security guard only to be grabbed by another.
“I need to talk to them!” Jared shouts, but a guard pushes him back so hard that he nearly tumbles backwards off of the stage. Donna and Alan are staring at him with wide eyes and Jared doesn’t know what else to do but shout at them with all the desperation he feels. “It’s about your son! He needs your help!”
It’s like everything freezes. The guards tense up before taking a step back, still holding Jared loosely by the arms. Donna gasps and Alan immediately beckons him forward. The guards release him and Jared moves so fast that he nearly falls to his knees.
“There’s no time to explain,” Jared says once he’s close enough to touch Alan’s arm. “Jensen’s here. Jeff Morgan took him seventeen years ago and he’s trying to take him away now.”
“What are you talking - “
“Look!” Jared cuts Alan off to point out at the crowd. Jensen and Jeff are barely visible but Jensen turns his head just in time and his eyes glint green in the sunlight. “Stop them!”
“Oh my god,” Donna gasps, covering her mouth as her eyes fill with tears. Alan lets out a sharp whistle that makes Jared wince and all the guards snap to attention.
“Everyone stop Morgan and that boy,” Alan commands, the rough timbre of his voice at odds with his kind face. “Use whatever force necessary on Morgan, but stop him now.”
The guards surge forward like a wave, many of them barraging straight through the crowd while radioing to the others. From his vantage point on the stage, Jared can see a group of guards moving around the festivities to cut them off at the pass. Alan and Donna jump off of the stage and Jared follows, running behind them through the parted crowd.
Jared hears voices, loud shouts of stop and don’t move, and then someone screams. Jensen’s parents push through the sea of black and Jared grabs Alan’s arm, unwilling to hang back. Donna lets out a gasp when they make it to the front and Jared catches up just in time to see Jeff pulling a gun from his belt. He can only see the back of Jensen’s head, the tense set of his shoulders, before suddenly he’s moving.
He jabs Jeff once in the stomach and twists the gun out of his hand before flipping him onto the ground. Jeff pants up at him as Jensen takes the clip out of the gun and lets it fall to the ground, taking the last bullet out of the chamber and holding it in one hand.
“Thanks for all the self-defense training, Jeff.” A guard comes up slowly behind Jensen and takes the gun and bullet away from him before scooping up the clip and moving away. Another two men haul Jeff up from the ground and pin his hands behind his back.
Jensen turns around and his eyes immediately find Jared even as his parents both gasp. His gaze slides away from Jared to look at Alan and Donna, taking a shaky step towards them. Donna steps right up to him and cups his face in her small, soft-looking hands.
Event staff is doing an amazing job of evacuating all the guests, and Jared is grateful to feel Misha’s hand between his shoulder blades. Donna is crying and Jensen just looks like he’s in shock, doing nothing to deter the woman from cradling his face and staring at him.
“Jensen?” She finally asks, sweeping his hair back from his face and putting her thumb under his chin. “Is it really you, baby?”
There are tears in Jensen’s eyes at that and one of them slips down his cheek as he nods. He laughs nervously and smiles at her. “Mom.”
She lets out a sob and pulls him into a crushing hug. Jensen collapses into it, clutching at her back and burying his face in her neck. Tears are streaming from Jared’s eyes and he even hears a sniffle from Misha. Alan coughs and clears his throat, stepping up behind his wife to put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder.
“Why?” He asks, but the question is directed at Jeff. The older man glares angrily and says nothing, not even struggling against the hold of the guards.
“He was sick,” Jensen says, looking up at his father and speaking in a voice so low that Jared can barely hear. “He needed me to make it better.”
Alan gives him a look that leaves no doubt in Jared’s mind that he knows exactly what his son is capable of. Alan steps right up to Jeff and to his credit, the man barely cowers.
“If you had just come to us,” Alan starts, voice raw with emotion, “if you had just talked to us, we would have done everything we could to help you. We considered you family and you’ve had the gall to lie to our faces for seventeen years. “What kind of monster are you?” Jeff flinches at that like he’s been slapped, and Alan just shakes his head. “Take him away. Get everyone out of here.”
The guards haul Jeff off and when Alan turns, Jared can see the tears in his eyes as he sets his eyes upon Donna and Jensen. They’re still embracing and Jensen’s shoulders are shaking, face still buried in her neck. Donna opens her arm and Alan practically staggers into their embrace, wrapping strong arms around his family and pressing a kiss to Jensen’s head.
Jared watches, cheeks soaked with tears, and barely notices Misha setting Rigby on his shoulder. Soon someone’s hand curls around his bicep and tugs him gently backwards. He looks over to see a security guard giving him a sympathetic look.
“No, please,” Jared whispers, but the man shakes his head. He looks back to see Misha almost already off the grounds, being led away by an escort of his own. “Please.”
“Sorry, kid.” The guy starts pulling him away and Jared stumbles backwards, trying to decide how hard to fight. Jensen has a family now, one that loves him and can give him everything he ever needs. It’s more than Jared could ever offer, which is nothing more than himself. “You gotta go.”
Jared steps back a few more feet and suddenly Jensen’s head pops up, eyes darting around until they land on Jared.
“No!” He shouts, and Alan and Donna step away from him to turn and follow his gaze. “Let him go.”
Jensen pulls away from his parents to tear across the lawn and launch himself into Jared’s arms. He catches him and stumbles backwards, chuckling softly as Jensen locks his knees around Jared’s hips and wipes away his tears. Rigby scurries between their bodies and Jared doesn’t even mind the quills in his chest.
“Don’t leave, okay?” Jensen pleads, and his voice sounds like broken glass. “Don’t leave me. I want to be here and I want to get to know them, but I can’t be without you, Jared.”
“Duh.” It’s the only thing Jared can manage without completely breaking down and dropping Jensen, and he doesn’t think it’d be a good idea to break him just after giving him back to his parents. Jensen grins and slinks down Jared’s body, setting his feet in the grass and taking his hand, giving him a soft smile as he leads him back over to his waiting parents. Jensen sets Rigby on a nearby table and scratches his head before turning to face the couple.
“Mom, Dad,” he says, and Donna puts her hand over her mouth to cover a happy sob. He drags Jared forward by the hand until he’s standing right alongside him, and he can’t really look anywhere other than at his own dirty toes. “This is Jared Padalecki. He’s the one that found me and brought my here. He saved my life and he - I love him. He’s my entire world and I can’t be where he’s not. I just can’t. I wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for him and - “
Jensen’s cut off by his mother rushing forward to pull Jared into a hug. He tenses and then blinks owlishly as he wraps his arms around the petite woman. She’s clutching at his back and pushes up onto her toes to kiss his cheek.
“Thank you, Jared.” Her lip gloss is warm and sticky on his cheek and her sundress flutters in the breeze. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Jared isn’t sure how he feels, but he likes it. He feels cared for in Donna’s motherly embrace, and that’s something he had no idea he missed so much.
“You’re both just such wonderful boys!” Donna chuckles through her tears and pulls Jensen into their hug. Jared closes his eyes and presses his forehead to Jensen’s temple, so overcome with emotion that he doesn’t trust himself to speak.
“Oh, what the hell.” Alan laughs joyously and swoops the three of them up in his arms. They all chuckle and Alan claps Jared on the shoulder. He turns to meet Alan’s kind green eyes and smiles. “Welcome to the family, son.”
Jared sucks in a breath as a fresh set of tears work their way down his cheeks. He nods gratefully at Alan and turns his head to see Jensen grinning at him, chin resting on top of his mother’s head. God, he gets to stay with Jensen, in this house with his adoring family. He never has to let him go.
Jared has no idea how long they stand there embracing, but the sun dips below the sea and the sprinklers click on. They all shriek and jump apart, but Jensen just flicks his glowing fingers and cuts a clear path in the water that leads them to the house. Donna and Alan laugh and walk between the walls of water, reaching out to trail their fingers along the spray. They’re obviously enchanted, and Jensen grins proudly.
He takes Jared’s hand and leads him forward, away from the beach and through the water, towards their new home.
What a day.
Jensen is curled up in a very tame embrace with Jared on the loveseat out on his parents’ patio. Tiki torches provide light and warmth, and Jensen rests his head on Jared’s shoulder while he listens to his father talk and watches the waves crash up onto the shore. The ocean is literally in his backyard now. He’ll never have to go a day without the sea, or Jared, or his family.
Basically, he’s the luckiest guy in the world.
His parents had taken to Jared instantly, setting him up with a bedroom down the hall from Jensen’s. He’d been surprised that they couldn’t share, but Jared wasn’t. Of course Jared tried to decline, claiming it was too much and unnecessary, but Jensen and Donna just kept shushing him until Alan piped up and informed him that he best just give in.
Donna fell for Rigby instantly, carrying him around in the crook of her arm and cooing at him as she gave Jared and Jensen a tour of the estate. They stumbled along and boggled until she took pity on them and said she would save the rest for tomorrow. Jensen couldn’t believe that there was more to see.
They called Misha and he stopped by to drop off their things and let Jensen introduce him to his parents. He explained Misha’s role in getting him home and they fawned over him, telling him that he was welcome in their home whenever he was in town.
Misha was very gracious but didn’t linger, giving Jared and Jensen each a quick hug and a wink before excusing himself to give them privacy. Soon after, Jensen’s stomach rumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, and that’s how they ended up on the patio with enough pizza to feed an army.
His father tells him that he’s in for a hell of a ride, that starting tomorrow he will have to deal with the police and a full-blown media circus, but tonight is theirs. Jensen can take it. He can handle anything as long as the people that love him are by his side.
“Tell me about my magic, Dad.” Jensen says, twining his fingers with Jared’s while he uses his other hand to stuff his face with pizza. He turns his head at that, swallowing hard and settling in to hear whatever Alan has to say. Donna smiles serenely and sinks back into her deck chair. “Where’d it come from?”
“Strap in, kid,” Alan says, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “This is a good one.”
Jensen shifts under Jared’s arm, curling his fingers around his wrist as he watches his father speak. He’s so lively, gesturing widely with his hands as he tells the story of their ancestors. Even Jared is enthralled, fingers tangled with Jensen’s as he watches Alan with rapt fascination. His mother takes in the scene with unabashed fondness in her eyes, nodding happily at Jensen when she looks over to see him watching her.
Jensen has no idea how much of his father’s fantastical tale is to be believed, but one thing is certain. That happily ever after is definitely well within his reach.
[onto the epilogue.]
Jensen doesn’t think he’s ever smiled so much in his life.
After the shock and awe of actually being in the ocean wore off, Jensen is just happy. It takes him all of five minutes to figure out swimming and soon he and Jared are splashing around and dunking each other in the salty water. They stay in until their fingers and toes are wrinkly and then venture out onto the beach to explore. They climb up on the rocks overlooking the water and Jared discovers a tide pool. Jensen lies on his belly on the rocks and peers down into it, amazed by all the different types of life inhabiting it.
Jared presses his hand into the center of Jensen’s back and his palm burns like it’s made of fire. Jensen hisses and looks over his shoulder, surprised to find that his skin is glowing red.
“I knew we forgot something,” Jared says, examining his own pink skin. He isn’t burned as bad as Jensen, mainly just reddish brown instead of just plain golden, but it still looks like it stings. “Time to get out of the sun for a bit. We should eat something anyway.”
Jensen nods and looks down into the tide pool for another long moment before pulling himself up and following Jared back down onto the sand. Jensen stays down on the beach while Jared goes up to the car and comes back down a few minutes later with their overstuffed picnic basket in one hand and Rigby in the other. Jensen claps his hands together and runs over to scoop up the hedgehog.
“Look, Rigby!” Jensen laughs, whirling around to face the water. “Isn’t it amazing?”
Rigby squeaks excitedly and Jensen just stares out at the water until Jared calls his name. He’s found a small shady spot of sand, hidden and cool thanks to the rocks above. Jensen meets him there as Jared’s laying out the blanket. Jensen sets Rigby down onto it and sighs in relief as his skin fades from bright red to a soft tan, and then he sets his hands on Jared’s shoulders and heals his burn as well.
“Handy trick,” Jared says. He digs through the basket until he comes up with sunscreen. “But let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Jensen slathers himself in the cream while Jared sets up their lunch. Jared holds his hand out for the tube when he’s done, but Jensen doesn’t give it to him. Instead he squirts a decent-sized glob of the stuff into his hands and rubs them together before stepping up and pressing them to Jared’s chest. He can feel the heat rise in his cheeks at Jared’s sharp intake of breath, but Jensen just keeps going. He rubs the sunscreen into Jared’s shoulders and chest, circling a nipple curiously with his fingertip and then doing it again when Jared gasps. He spins Jared around and then does his back, wondering over the lean muscle that tapers down to a tiny waist.
By the time Jensen is done with his very thorough application, Jared’s breathing has quickened and Jensen’s warm all over. They collapse onto the blanket and Jared shoots Jensen a sultry look as he wipes his hands on his thighs, but he doesn’t say anything about it.
They eat pre-made sandwiches and potato chips and wash them down with bottles of water while Rigby munches on fruit and his own bag of chips. Jared’s wiping mustard from the corner of his mouth when Jensen leans over to give him a soft kiss. Jared makes a happy sound and kisses Jensen back, reaching up to grip the back of his neck.
Jensen sucks on his bottom lip briefly before pulling away and reaching up above Jared and tipping his bottle over, sending cold water raining down onto his head. Jared gasps and Jensen cackles, getting up and tearing across the beach. Jared sprints after him and catches up easily, scooping Jensen right up off his feet before tackling him down into the sand.
Jensen reaches up and pushes Jared’s wet, sandy hair out of his face and smiles up at him. They share a few more lazy kisses that taste like mustard before lying on their backs in the sand, hand in hand as they close their eyes and listen to the water crashing gently onto the shore.
When the sun begins to set, Jared drags Jensen back over to their picnic set up to grab a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a box of cookies from the basket. Jensen raises an eyebrow and Jared smiles sheepishly.
“I wanted to do something fancy, but I’m not a very fancy guy.” Jared shrugs and Jensen smiles warmly. “But look, we’re kinda sorta fancy and also we won’t starve! Come on!”
Jensen grabs their towels and follows Jared up onto a sand dune. They settle in and Jared holds the champagne bottle between his legs as he pops the cork. Jensen jumps at the sound and then laughs at himself while holding out the two flutes for Jared to fill with the bubbly liquid.
“To the ocean!” Jared says, holding up a glass. “To dreams coming true.”
“To us,” Jensen counters, and Jared blushes as they clink their glasses together and take a sip. They curl up together and watch the sun sink down below the horizon, sipping champagne while Jensen awes over the splendor. It’s more color than he’s ever seen - oranges, pinks, golds, and purples all mingling together in the sky, painting the ocean with it.
The stars begin to twinkle high in the sky and a chill starts to set in. Jensen wants to take one last dip in the ocean before it’s too cold and Jared tells him to go ahead and meet him back by the car when he’s done.
The water is crisp and refreshing and it makes Jensen’s senses sing. He loves everything about being here - the smell, sound, and feel of it all. He only gets out when his teeth start to chatter and rushes along the beach with his arms wrapped around himself. He assumes that they’ll find another hotel, and that Jared’s been packing up the car this whole time. What he finds instead makes his heart race.
“Misha keeps all this camping stuff in the trunk,” Jared explains sheepishly. There’s a long orange cord trailing from the car and hanging over the edge of the parking deck, running down the rocks to the small piece of flat sand below. Jared has a blue tarp spread out and a large grey blanket on top of that. Two pillows and a soft looking blanket make up what looks like a bed, right there in the sand. An electric lantern lights everything with a soft glow and Rigby squeaks from his deluxe housing inside their nearly empty picnic basket.
“Welcome to Chez Padalecki,” Jared says in a ridiculous French accent. “The finest luxury accommodations in all of Malibu.” He gestures to the blanket and then scratches the back of his neck self-consciously before continuing on in his normal voice. “I just figured you wouldn’t be ready to leave yet. It’s nice and private here and we have enough to keep us warm.”
“I love it,” Jensen breathes. He takes a step towards the blanket and Jared stops him.
“Nu-uh, dry first.” Jensen smirks and shakes himself like a dog, working up a bit of magic to rid all traces of seawater from his body. Jared grins and Jensen pounces, tackling him down onto the blanket which Jensen is surprised to find radiating heat.
“It’s so warm.”
“It’s electric,” Jared tells him, and then pulls him fully down onto it. Jensen curls up with him, head pillowed on his bare chest as Jared covers them with another blanket. The chilly night air can’t touch them here, not in this warm little oasis Jared has created on the beach. But that’s just what Jared does. He makes him happy and keeps him safe.
“I love you.” The words tumble out of Jensen’s mouth before the thought is even fully formed in his head, but they ring truer than anything he’s ever said. Jared tenses, hand stilling on Jensen’s back, but he just presses a kiss to Jared’s chest and says it again, louder this time. “I love you, Jared.”
Jared kisses the top of his head but doesn’t say anything. That’s okay. Jensen doesn’t need him to. It’s obvious how he feels.
They stay like that for a long time, curled up together on their bed in the sand. Jared sucks in a breath and then lets it out, fingers gripping Jensen’s arm for a moment. He turns his head and rests his chin on Jared’s chest, looking up at him.
“Don’t go back.” Jared says it like he can hardly get the words out and his eyes are shining in the dim light. Jensen’s chest tightens and he reaches up to touch Jared’s cheek. He pulls away and grabs Jensen’s wrist, rolling them until Jensen is tucked underneath Jared’s body. It feels warm and safe, and Jensen never wants to leave.
“Jared -“
“Don’t - don’t leave me.” Jared presses his lips to Jensen’s almost desperately before pulling back to look into his eyes. “There’s still so much that I want to show you. San Francisco, New York. I’ll take you to fuckin’ Disneyworld, Jen.” Jared’s eyes are wet with tears and he touches Jensen’s cheek like he’s precious, like he’ll slip through Jared’s fingers like smoke if he isn’t careful. “We can go wherever you want to go. Just don’t leave me, okay? Don’t make me take you back there.”
Jensen laughs and it’s thick with tears. When actually faced with it, it’s the easiest decision that he’s ever had to make. He reaches up to take Jared’s face in his hands, wiping away a tear from his cheek with the pad of his thumb.
“I go where you go, Jared,” he says confidently. Jared sucks in a breath and looks like he doesn’t dare believe the words. Jensen surges up to kiss him softly, neck straining. Jared kisses him back and Jensen drops his head back to the pillow. “I’m not going back.”
“You aren’t?”
“No.” Jensen laughs at how light he feels now that he’s made a decision. “He still needs me, and I’ll have to go back every once in awhile, but you were right. He doesn’t need me every day.”
“I do,” Jared says softly. He chuckles quietly, obviously embarrassed at his sudden display of emotions, but Jensen thinks it’s beautiful.
“That isn’t my home, not anymore.” Jensen tells him, looking into his eyes to make sure he understands. “My home is wherever you are.”
“God, Jensen.” Jared presses a kiss to his mouth, his cheek, the bridge of his nose. “I do too, you know. Love you. I’ve - I’ve never said that to anyone before.” He kisses Jensen’s jaw, wet and open-mouthed, and suddenly they aren’t close enough. “There are so many things I want to show you.”
“Show me,” Jensen says, surprised at the roughness of his tone. He wraps a leg around Jared’s hips and arches up, hoping that his meaning is clear. “Show me everything.”
He sees the moment that Jared gets it, eyes widening in understanding.
“Jensen..”
“Please, Jared.” Jensen slides his hands down Jared’s sides. He still smells like the sea, salty and powerful. Jensen presses his nose to Jared’s throat and inhales before opening his mouth to taste. Jared shudders when Jensen’s tongue touches his skin, and he whispers against the wet flesh. “Please show me.”
Jared moans and kisses Jensen, using his fingers to coax Jensen’s jaw open wider so he can lick into his mouth. Jensen groans, rocking his hips up to rub his arousal against Jared’s thigh. He pushes his hands into Jared’s shorts to grab the swell of his ass, squeezing the flesh as he rocks up against him again. It feels better than saltwater on his skin and he groans, hooking his thumbs in the fabric to pull them down further.
Jared kicks them off and unties the knot in Jensen’s shorts before shoving those down as well. It gets too hot under the blanket and Jensen pulls it off of their naked bodies just as Jared fits their hips together. Jensen gasps as their cocks bump together, letting out a little whimper and jerking his hips.
“Shh, I got you.” Jared cards his fingers into Jensen’s hair and pulls his head back, exposing his neck. Jared sets his teeth to the hollow of Jensen’s throat and then licks away the sting, kissing his jaw as he rocks down and grinds into the cradle of Jensen’s hip. It feels so good that he can’t help but to cry out and wrap his arms around Jared’s neck. He’s harder than he’s ever been and they’re both so wet, making a sticky mess between their hips.
“Jared - Jared, please.” Jensen grips him by the hair and meets Jared’s every slow, grinding roll of his hips but it isn’t enough, not nearly enough. “I need more.”
“Jensen, I - “ He sounds hesitant but so turned on, and Jensen looks into his eyes. They’re dark, pupils blown wide, and Jensen is sure that he isn’t faring much better.
“I want it,” he says softly, lifting his head to kiss Jared’s wet, open mouth. “Whatever you’re willing to give me, I can take. And I want it all.”
“Jesus.” Jared kisses him again, a bit hard and desperate, and then nods. “Okay, I - yeah, I’ll give it to you.” Jared surges up on his knees and leans over Jensen, who busies himself with tonguing at Jared’s peaked nipple while he rifles through the picnic basket. “Sorry, Rigby. Don’t look.”
He flips the lid to the basket shut and Jensen chuckles, pulling Jared in for another long, drawn out kiss. He’s got the suntan lotion in his hand and Jensen’s legs widen instinctively. He knows the very bare minimum of what’s going to happen here, but he trusts Jared. He wants it all.
Jared takes Jensen’s hand and threads their fingers together, dropping the lotion on the blanket as he explores Jensen’s body with his mouth. His tongue tickles Jensen’s collarbone, but Jensen lets out a low whine as that same tongue circles his nipple. Jared sucks on it, sets his teeth to it, until Jensen is a quivering mess. His mouth travels down Jensen’s belly, tracing his bottom rib with his tongue as he suddenly takes Jensen’s dick into his large, warm hand.
Jensen cries out and bucks up wildly, pushing up into that tight grip. Jared’s tongue dips into his navel and he grabs the lotion, pulling his hand away from Jensen’s dick after a few blissful strokes only to replace it with the hot, wet suction of his mouth. Jensen presses his palms to his eyes as he lets out deep, gasping moans. Jared hums around his cock, tonguing underneath the head and Jensen jerks at the first touch of slick fingers against his hole.
“Do it,” he breathes, and Jared’s finger starts to circle the tightly furled muscle. Jensen takes a deep breath and looks down his body, gasping at the sight of Jared between his legs, pink lips stretched tight around Jensen’s girth. He reaches down to push Jared’s hair away from his face, pushing his thumb into the hollow of Jared’s cheek to feel himself there. “Jared, you’re so - fuck - you’re so beautiful.”
Jared just moans and takes Jensen’s cock so deep into his throat that he has no idea how it doesn’t make him choke. And then Jared is pushing his finger inside, the slight burn of it barely noticeable past all the pleasure. Jensen moans his approval, belly clenching as he spreads his legs even wider. Jared’s finger pushes into him as he pulls up with his mouth, pulls out as he pushes down, over and over in a perfect rhythm. Jensen’s trembling all over, so close to release, and he tugs hard on Jared’s hair.
Jared pulls off and looks up at him, letting Jensen’s cock leave slick trails on his cheek and chin as Jensen keeps thrusting up, unable to stop. The sensitive head of his cock rasps against Jared’s stubble and it’s so good, he just can’t take it anymore.
“It’s okay, Jensen.” Jared rubs his free hand soothingly up Jensen’s inner thigh. “You can let go. I want to taste you.”
Jensen whimpers and curls his toes as Jared presses a second finger inside of him. He thrashes his hips and shakes his head back and forth.
“Not like this,” he manages. Jared wraps his hand around the base of Jensen’s dick and presses a wet, suckling kiss to the head. “I want you in me when - when I - fuck.”
“You’ll have it,” Jared promises, twisting his fingers inside of Jensen’s hole as he laps at the head of his dick. “But I want you to come for me first. I need you to calm down because when I get inside you, Jen, I’m not gonna be in any hurry to leave and I want you right there with me, okay?”
Jensen nods and Jared smiles at him before letting Jensen’s dick sink back into his mouth. Jared’s fingers move a little quicker now, crooking up to press up against a spot inside of Jensen that makes his entire body jerk. He does it again, swallowing around Jensen’s dick, and that’s it. He jerks up so hard at his orgasm that he’s surprised that his spine doesn’t crack with the force of it. Jared moans, swallowing Jensen’s release and suckling like he’s trying to coax more out. Jensen whimpers, still half-hard and sensitive, until Jared releases him.
“Isn’t that better?” Jared asks as he slides up Jensen’s body, fingers still buried deep inside him. Jensen wipes the sweat from his brow and nods, laying a trembling hand on Jared’s cheek.
“Still want you inside me,” Jensen whispers, leaning up for a kiss. He can taste himself on Jared’s tongue and it’s so intimate, so private, that Jensen can barely stop kissing him. Jared’s still fingering him open, thumb rubbing at the spot behind his balls, and Jensen bats his eyelashes up at him. “Now, Jared.”
“Not yet,” Jared replies, and Jensen grits his teeth as a third finger breaches him. He rolls his hips back into Jared’s hand and hooks his arms around Jared’s shoulders.
“I can take it,” Jensen pleads, whimpering when Jared spreads his fingers. He wants Jared’s cock, wants it to spear him open. “You can’t hurt me.”
“Yes, I can.” Jared nips at his jaw hard enough to make him gasp, as if to prove his point. “Just because it doesn’t last doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt, and I refuse to cause you a second’s pain. So just be quiet for a second, you bossy bottom.”
Jensen musters up a glare at Jared’s cheeky grin, but it doesn’t last. Jared’s rubbing at that spot inside him and Jensen’s dick perks back up. Jensen just closes his eyes and concentrates on Jared’s fingers inside him, feeling cold and bereft when they’re gone. He feels so empty.
He looks up to see Jared up on his knees, cock big and thick from where it juts out from his hips. He’s smearing lotion on himself and circling Jensen’s stretched hole with his thumb.
“It’d be easier on your hands and knees,” Jared says, and Jensen’s just about to protest when Jared leans over him and props himself up on one arm. “But I just - I have to do it like this. I have to see you.”
Jensen just nods, incapable of speech now that he has Jared’s naked, sweaty body on top of him. The slick head of Jared’s bare cock is at his hole, nudging in gently as Jared dips down for a kiss. Jared takes his dick in his hand, thumb of the opposite hand pulling Jensen’s slick hole open as he positions himself. Jensen wraps his legs around Jared’s thighs and tangles his fingers in Jared’s hair, nodding eagerly and tilting his hips up invitingly.
Jared’s hips rock forward, gently working his cock into Jensen. The flared head of it pops past the first ring of muscle and Jensen barely has time to moan before Jared’s pulling out. He growls in protest and opens his eyes to look up at Jared.
“How’d I know you’d tease me?” Jensen breathes, and Jared’s eyes are wide when they meet his.
“Sorry, sorry.” He nudges at Jensen’s hole again and takes a deep breath. “You’re just so goddamn tight.”
“And you’re so big,” Jensen breathes. Jared pushes back in and Jensen locks his knees around Jared’s hips to keep him from pulling out again, but he doesn’t need to. Jared plants his hands on either side of Jensen’s shoulders, staring down at him in awe as each small, rocking thrust of his hips pushes him in deeper. It hurts and Jensen breathes through the pain.
“You gotta let me in, Jen.” Jared places his hand on Jensen’s cheek and thumbs under his eye. He leans down for a soft, brief kiss and whispers against his lips. “Push back.”
Jensen does, bearing down around Jared’s cock and crying out when he slides in deep. They moan into each other’s mouths and Jensen nearly weeps at how good Jared feels buried inside of him. Jared is shaking as he slips one arm under Jensen’s shoulders and hugs him to his chest.
“God, Jared,” Jensen digs his fingertips into the thick muscle of Jared’s shoulders. “This is perfect. I love you, okay?” He takes Jared’s face in his hands and looks up at his wet eyes. “We belong here, just like this.”
Jared nods and kisses Jensen again, grinding his hips forward before pulling back to start moving. They set up a rhythm, Jensen rocking up to meet Jared’s slow, powerful thrusts. Jensen gasps every time Jared buries himself deep, in awe over how good it feels, each push better than the one before.
Jensen has no idea how long it lasts. They cling to each other, stealing kisses and gasping into each other’s mouths. Jared speeds up his thrusts until the sound of their bodies meeting is ringing in Jensen’s ears and he’s breathless at how amazing it is, and then he slows down, pulling out until just the flared head of his cock tugs at Jensen’s hole before sliding back in unhurried.
He’s hitting that perfect spot inside Jensen each and every time and he can’t believe that he’s lasted this long. When Jared reaches between their bodies to take Jensen’s cock in his hand, thumbing at the wet slit before starting to stroke, he knows that it’s almost over.
He starts chanting Jared’s name over and over, choking it out on breathless gasps, and Jared leans down to kiss Jensen’s forehead, then his sweaty temple and cheek before finally reaching his mouth. He pulls away to look into Jensen’s eyes and nods encouragingly, flicking his damp hair out of his face as he presses their foreheads together.
“Come on, Jen,” he says, sounding strained. The edge of Jared’s thumbnail catches on his slit just as he pushes in as deep as he can possibly go, and that’s it. Jensen grabs the back of Jared’s neck and holds him close, crying out into his open mouth as he comes again, emptying all over his belly and the delicate bend of Jared’s wrist.
“God, so fucking beautiful.” Jared grinds in deep and thumbs at the corner of Jensen’s wet, swollen mouth. Jensen’s tongue snakes out to taste himself on Jared’s wrist and he lets out a choked gasp as his whole body tenses. Jensen can feel Jared’s release inside of him, slick and wet, and it’s so intimate that Jensen gasps.
They collapse back onto the blanket together, Jared’s face buried in the sweaty curve of Jensen’s neck. They’re both panting and Jensen slides his fingers into Jared’s damp hair as he looks up at the sky. He can barely hear the sound of the ocean over the pulsing in his ears and he hisses when Jared pulls out. Slickness leaks out of him, running hot and filthy down the crack of his ass, and it makes Jensen smile.
Jared’s fingers are there, gently tracing the puffy rim of Jensen’s hole. Jensen sighs happily and lets his legs splay open, content to let Jared do whatever he pleases. There’s a flutter of cotton above his head and Jensen looks up to see Jared sliding down his body, kissing his tense belly before wiping the come up with his discarded shirt. He kisses Jensen’s hip and bites at the groove of his thigh. Then he blows gently on Jensen’s hole and he shudders at the cool, soothing feel of it.
Jared cleans him up with gentle swipes of the shirt and kisses the inside of his knee before tossing the shirt aside and crawling back up Jensen’s body. After a short, soft kiss on the mouth Jared flops onto his back next to Jensen, tangling their fingers together and staring up at the sky.
It’s not long before the ache in Jensen’s ass goes away, muscle tightening back up until there’s nothing left but the vague itch of drying come. Jensen’s lips twitch, disappointed. He sort of wanted the ache to stay. But that’s okay. It just means that every time will feel like the very first, and Jensen wants there to be lots of times.
“Can we do that every day?” Jensen asks, surprised at how rough his voice is. Jared chuckles and reaches up to rest his head on his bent arm while his other hand stays firmly grasped in Jensen’s.
“Hell yeah,” Jared replies. “Multiple times, even.”
Jensen laughs and it sounds tired even to his own ears. He rolls over and rests his head on Jared’s shoulder, mouth brushing softly against the underside of his jaw. The cool ocean breeze dries their tacky sweat almost instantly and Jared kicks their discarded blanket up with his feet so that he can cover them up. Jensen closes his eyes and burrows in deeper, slinging one leg over Jared’s thigh and wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Every single day with you is better than the last,” Jensen mumbles. He yawns and presses a sleepy kiss under Jared’s ear. “Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
“And every day after that,” Jared replies. He turns his head to kiss Jensen’s forehead and settles in for sleep, cradling Jensen close.
The rest of Jensen’s life began tonight; right here on a deserted beach in the arms of the person he loves. He can’t think of a more perfect start.
The next day dawns bright and warm, and Jared’s first move is dislodging Jensen to turn off the electric blanket. He rolls back and comes face to face with Rigby, who has crawled out of the picnic basket to give Jared a baleful look.
“Hey man, wasn’t my idea,” Jared says, and Rigby squeals admonishingly. “Maybe some tiny hedgehog earplugs next time?”
Rigby narrows his beady little eyes and then scampers off of the blanket to go take care of business and search for bugs in the sand. Jared snorts and then rolls over to prop himself up and look at Jensen. He’s smiling, even in sleep, and Jared reaches out to trace his bottom lip with the tip of his finger.
Jensen hums as Jared slides his hand down his chest, circling his flat stomach before curling around a hip. He noses at the soft spot under Jensen’s ear and sucks a kiss into the bolt of his jaw.
“Wake up, birthday boy.” Jared palms the soft bulge of Jensen’s cock and he finally opens his eyes, blinking sleepily up at him. “Hey.”
“Good morning,” Jensen says, letting his legs splay open to make room for Jared’s hand. He gets a good grip and is just about to start stroking when all of sudden he gets stabbed in the back with dozens of tiny knives. “Rigby!”
Jared rolls over to look at Rigby, who is squealing his head off and glaring at them. Jensen laughs and covers his face with his hands while Jared holds both of his own hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright,” he chuckles. “Not in front of the kid.”
Jensen rolls them over and straddles Jared’s hips, bracing himself with his hands on Jared’s chest and bouncing eagerly in a way that does nothing to quell Jared’s libido. He leans down to capture Jared’s lips in a long, leisurely kiss before he’s up and scrambling off Jared’s lap.
“I’m going to go swimming,” he declares, pulling his shorts on before tearing across the sand. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah! Just let me clean up a bit!” Jensen nods and then splashes right into the water despite its temperature. Jared pulls himself into a sitting position and glares down at Rigby. “Why do you gotta do me like that, Rigs? I thought we were bros.”
Rigby chirps and sniffs at Jared’s fingers until he sighs and rubs the hedgehog’s forehead with the tip of his index finger. He shoos Rigby off the blankets so he can fold them up. He’s stuffing them into the basket when his phone buzzes from where it’s resting in his shoe. He hadn’t even thought the thing had any battery left. When he goes to pick it up, he sees a text from Misha.
are you right near my car?
Yeah. I’m keeping it safe and sound. Why?
ten minutes.
Jared has no idea what that means but he’s grown accustomed to not really understanding the shit Misha does half the time. He drops the phone back into his shoe and lugs all the camping equipment back up the stairs with Rigby perched on his shoulder. He’s just slamming the lid to the trunk when he hears another car coming down the gravel drive to the beach. He does his best to stamp down his disappointment because this is a public beach, after all. They were lucky to have been left alone for as long as they were.
What does shock him, however, is the car pulling up next to him to reveal Misha behind the wheel. The passenger side window rolls down and Jared sticks his head in to boggle at him.
“What the hell?” Rigby digs his claws in to keep from slipping at the angle, but Jared hardly notices. “What are you doing here, man? How’d you know where we were?”
“You really think that I don’t have my car lo-jacked?” Misha yawns and fumbles for the coffee cup in his center console. “Where’s Jensen?”
Jared stands up and peers out at the water. Jensen seems fully enthralled in swimming, and Jared ducks back down. “In the water. Seriously, Misha. What are you doing here?”
“Get in.” Jared slips into the passenger seat and puts Rigby in his lap, looking over at Misha curiously. His friend is staring at him, eyes going soft. “You slept with him.” He sounds resigned when he says it, when Jared had been expecting a crow of victory. “Didn’t you?”
“Last night,” Jared replies absently. “Seriously, Misha. What’s going on?”
“I have to tell you something,” Misha says, and that’s when Jared notices the folder clutched in his hands. Jared eyes it warily before looking back up into Misha’s tired, blue eyes. “It’s important.”
“You couldn’t have called me?”
“Not for this, no.” Misha takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, eyes closed like he’s psyching himself up. Jared swallows nervously. “Okay, well. Here goes. After you guys left yesterday I realized that all that I learned about Jensen didn’t really sit right with me, you know? It raised some red flags. So I looked into it.”
“Misha, if you’re about to tell me that you dug up dirt on Jensen I am going to have a very hard time believing you,” Jared tells him, but there’s a pit in his stomach. He’s always had the feeling that there was more going on with Jensen, but he never let himself think about it too much.
“No, it’s not like that.” Misha lets a frustrated breath out through his nose and turns in his seat to look at Jared. “Do you know who Alan Ackles is?”
“Uh.” Jared blinks at the rapid change of subject and thinks for a second. “California senator, right? Super rich. Does a lot of charity work and he’s like, an activist or something. He’s behind all those initiatives to clean up the oceans, right?”
“Yeah, kinda like Al Gore but way less annoying,” Misha tells him. “His wife, Donna, is a marine biologist at the university. They’re both like, way into the ocean.”
Misha gives him a meaningful look at that, but Jared just furrows his brow.
“What does this have to do with Jensen?” He asks, and Misha clears his throat. Jared doesn’t think he’s ever seen his friend look so uncomfortable.
“You wouldn’t remember but, uh - “ Misha shifts in his seat and stares down at the folder in his hands. “The Ackles had this kid that went missing when he was just a baby, right after he turned one. There was this huge nationwide search and they never stopped looking, but the kid never turned up, dead or alive.”
“Misha - “ Jared squeezes his eyes shut as an ice cold pit forms in his stomach. “You can’t - Misha no.”
“The Ackles live in this huge estate on the beach in Malibu, where the kid was born.” Misha’s voice is thick with emotion and Jared wants to scream, wants to duck out of the car and run down the beach so he doesn’t have to hear what Misha’s about to say. “And every year on the kid’s birthday they have a big picnic in his honor, where everyone comes to show their support and donate money to charity to help find missing kids, even though they never got theirs back. They’ve done this every year for the past seventeen years, always on the kid’s birthday, the first of March.”
“Holy shit, Misha.”
“The kid’s name was Jensen Ackles.”
Misha sets the folder on Jared’s lap and he opens it, squinting through the tears to see what’s inside. It’s all news articles and Jared flips through them until he finds a picture of a gorgeous couple holding a baby with bright green eyes.
“That’s not all.” Misha puts his hand on Jared’s shoulder and he can’t help the sob that escapes as he looks over at him.
“How could there be more?” He asks brokenly, and Misha sighs.
“The Ackles’ head of security at the time of Jensen’s disappearance was a man named Jeff Morgan,” he says, and Jared sucks in a breath. “Shortly after, he stepped down from the position to become a private consultant for the family. His job was to never stop looking for Jensen, and the fucker had him all along.”
“So you’re telling me that this - this monster took Jensen when he was a baby and - and hid him away and collected money from his distraught family the whole time?” Jared’s furious, shaking with it, and a tear rolls down his cheek to land on the picture of a smiling baby Jensen below.
“It looks that way,” Misha says sadly. “Jared, I - that must be why Jensen wanted to come to the ocean so badly. He was born here, and deep down he never really forgot where he came from.
“He’s not Jensen Morgan,” Misha continues, and Jared looks over at him with tears still in his eyes. “He’s Jensen Ackles, son of a senator and heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, and less than ten miles away from here his parents are celebrating his eighteenth birthday because they never gave up hope that he was still out there somewhere.”
“I have to take him home,” Jared whispers, running his fingertips over the photo before looking over at Misha. “To his real home.”
“He needs to know the truth,” he replies, and Jared sniffs and nods. “And you should be the one to tell him.”
“He was going to stay with me, you know?” Jared gives Misha a small smile and then looks out to where Jensen is climbing out of the water, so beautiful that it makes Jared’s heart ache. “Last night, just before we - well. He told me that his home is wherever I am. Can you believe that?”
“Yeah, Jared,” Misha replies softly. “I can. And what’s with the past tense? That doesn’t have to change.”
“I won’t belong in his new life. It was okay when he was just running away from home with the weird orphan, but this.” Jared waves his hand at the photo like that encompasses everything he’s talking about. “There’ll be no place for me there.”
Jared’s staring out at Jensen, who’s peering around the beach obviously trying to see where Jared wandered off to. He spots the two cars and starts heading for them. A sudden sharp pain cracks through his temple and he hisses, looking over to see Misha shaking out his hand.
“God, you’re an idiot.”
“Um, ow?”
“Listen to me, you little shit.” Jared holds the side of his face and stares at Misha with wide eyes. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe you don’t belong in a giant mansion trying to figure out which fork to use while dining with a senator, but you do belong with Jensen. He said so himself, and if you really think he’s the type of person to just forget that when the situation changes then you are the biggest asshole on the planet.”
“Okay, okay.” Jared says shakily. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I know you have more self-worth issues than a flaming bag of dog shit but the boy loves you,” Misha says, and Jared swallows hard. “I’ve seen the stars in his eyes since the first moment I met him and you need to get your shit together and start seeing them for yourself. Now look alive, because here he is.”
Jared closes the folder and whips his head around just in time to see Jensen leaning down to stick his head in the window with a happy, albeit confused expression. Seawater drips from Jensen’s hair and onto Jared’s shorts as he turns his head to give Jared a kiss. Misha punches him in the thigh so hard that his leg seizes up and he groans into Jensen’s mouth, but he manages to kiss him back.
“Misha!” Jensen says when he pulls away, breathless and happy. “What are you doing here?”
“I decided that I just couldn’t let you celebrate your birthday without me,” Misha replies. There’s a lazy grin on his face and you’d never believe that he had just swooped in with life-altering information.
“Okay, great,” Jensen replies as he scratches Rigby’s head. “Where are we going?”
“A picnic,” Jared says, hoping that he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels. “We’re going to a picnic.”
Jensen is sort of surprised to see Misha again so soon, but Jared had told him to always expect the unexpected when it came to his best friend so he doesn’t question it. It’s nice to have Misha there to celebrate with him.
They pack everything up into Misha’s car and leave the car Misha came in, which apparently belongs to someone named Evans, locked up at the beach. Misha drives and Jared rides shotgun, leaving Jensen to stretch out along the backseat with Rigby resting on his stomach while he enjoys the view.
Jensen loves everything that he’s seen of California so far. He loves feeling salt drying on his skin and the smell in the air, the way the wind whips through his hair when he rolls the window down. He loves how bright the sun is, throwing everything into sharp clarity.
The drive is a lot shorter than Jensen expected, and he’s a bit confused when he scoops Rigby into his tote back and climbs out of the car to see Misha handing his keys over to a guy in a red jacket.
“Valet,” Jared explains, and there’s something odd about his expression. “They park your car.”
Jensen shrugs and spins around, instantly stumbling to a stop and looking up at the grand estate with wide eyes. It’s a gorgeous house, sprawling along the beach like it’s the only structure that deserves to be there. There are tables and tents set up in the grass out front and Jensen is in awe of the way that grass gives way to sand, water lapping up onto the shore as people, mostly children, run through it and shriek.
“Wow, can you imagine living here?” Jensen asks, and Jared lets out a strained chuckle that makes Misha pat his back. “To have the ocean right there whenever you want it? That’d be wonderful.”
“You’d fit right in,” Jared says softly. Jensen leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek as Misha purchases their tickets. A friendly woman puts a bright green paper band around each of their wrists and when she asks if they’ll be drinking, Misha and Jared both immediately whip out their fake ID’s. Jensen leaves his in his pocket, not in the mood to drink. They both get a second red wristband and Jensen smiles brightly at the woman as Jared ushers him inside.
There are all sorts of carnival rides and games set up, the likes of which Jensen has only seen in movies. The smell of fried food hovers in the air and he realizes just how hungry he is. Jared is squeezing his hand almost hard enough for it to hurt, but Jensen doesn’t really mind.
“What is this place?” He asks, and Misha steps alongside him while they walk.
“It’s a charity picnic,” Misha supplies. “The people that live here have it every year to raise money for a really awesome cause.”
“What’s the cause?”
“Finding missing children,” Misha replies. He gives Jensen a sad smile and pats his shoulder before looking up at Jared with a look that Jensen has no hope of deciphering. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Misha wanders off and Jensen gives his back a perplexed look before turning to face Jared. He’s looking in the direction of an elevated stage, eyes narrowed at a couple surrounded by men in black suits. Jensen gets a weird feeling when he sees them, but he shrugs it off and pulls Jared deeper into the crowd.
“What should we do first?” Jensen asks, ducking between two tents and coming up on the other side of the stage. “I’m starving so maybe - “
Jensen trails off as they approach a giant banner hanging from a tent next to the stage. It’s a family photo and Jensen can’t look away. It’s the same couple he spotted earlier looking younger and happier with a baby held in their arms. Jensen narrows his eyes at the baby and he gets this weird sense of déjà vu, like having an answer on the tip of your tongue or a memory just out of reach.
He stares at the child’s bright green eyes and blond hair and notices the light freckles smattered across its nose. Jensen furrows his brow and steps up closer, swaying back into Jared’s heat when he steps up behind him.
“Jared,” he says, and there’s an urgent niggling at the back of his mind; a weird pit in his stomach. “Do you know who these people are? I feel like - Jared. Who are they?”
“Jensen.” Jared voice is rough and his hands are heavy when he lays them on Jensen’s shoulders. “There’s something I have to tell you. It’s - Jen, it’s about who you really are.”
“Jared, I don’t - what are you talking about?” Jensen asks, turning around to look at him. Jared bites his lip and takes Jensen’s hand, leading him over to an empty table set back away from the rest of the crowd. It’s about as quiet and private as they can get given their current location, and Jared is still chewing on his lip as they sit down. Jensen reaches over to cup Jared’s chin, dragging his thumb over Jared’s lip to set it free before dropping his hand to the table.
“Did you ever feel like you were living the wrong life?” Jared blurts. He buries his fingers in his hair and looks over at Jensen desperately. Jensen’s mouth opens and closes, brow furrowing. He isn’t sure why Jared is acting so weird.
“Not since I met you,” he says, and Jared’s face crumples. “Okay, look. You’re freaking me out.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Jared starts. “It’s all so - it’s insane, Jensen. But you have to know, and it’s going to change everything.”
Jensen just stares at him, waiting for him to continue.
“That’s you.” Jared gestures to the family photo Jensen had just been so enthralled in, waving his hand spastically at it before reaching in to touch Jensen’s shoulder. He blinks and looks over at the photo again, into bright eyes on a small face that feels so familiar. “You were born here, in this house. Your name is Jensen Ackles.”
“I don’t - I don’t understand, Jared.” Jensen blinks the sudden moisture out of his eyes and tears his gaze away from the painting to look at Jared. “What are you telling me?”
“Alan and Donna Ackles had a son,” Jared begins shakily. “And seventeen years ago, that son was taken from them. They searched and searched, but never found him. Every year on his birthday, today, they have a picnic for him. Their son’s name is Jensen, and that’s you, Jen.”
“But Jeff…”
“He’s the one that took you,” Jared tells him, and Jensen furrows his brow, thinking back on all the times he felt that he and Jeff were nothing alike. “He worked for your parents. He was supposed to protect your family, and instead he tore it apart.”
“Why?” Jensen is eerily calm. It’s not hard to believe Jared’s story. It all adds up, makes perfect sense for as crazy as it all is. He never felt like Jeff’s son, and now he knows why. There’s just one thing he needs to know now.
“I have no idea, Jensen.”
“How long have you known?” Jensen asks. That’s what hurts most of all, thinking Jared has been keeping this information from him the entire time they’ve known each other. “Did you know all along? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Jensen, no.” Jared grabs his hands and looks at him with wide, glassy eyes. “I didn’t know until this morning, I swear. Something you said tipped Misha off and he discovered it all. That’s why he came here this morning, to give me the information so I could tell you. I would have never kept that from you.”
“I know, I know.” Jensen reaches out to cup Jared’s cheek with a shaky hand. Jared circles his wrist with long fingers and Jensen curls his fingers in Jared’s messy hair. His heart is pounding and it’s just all so much to take in. “What about my magic?”
“I have no idea.” Jared turns his head to kiss the palm of his hand and gives him a watery smile. “But maybe that’s something your parents could answer.”
“My parents,” Jensen breathes, and Jared nods.
“They’re right over there.” Jared gestures towards the stage and Jensen whips his head to find the couple he spotted earlier, the one that made his heart jump. Now he knows why. They’re smiling, but it’s dimmed. His mother - god, his mother, keeps dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief while his father rubs her back. “You should go to them, Jen. They’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”
“Yeah, I should - yeah.” Jensen gets up and takes a few steps away from the table, looking up at his parents in awe. His mother is so beautiful. She has long, golden hair tumbling down her back and his father has green eyes just like him. When he looks back at the table, Jared is still sitting there. His head is bowed and he startles when Jensen says his name. He looks at Jensen’s outstretched hand like he’s surprised by it. “Jared, you’re coming with me, right?”
Jared grins and it’s like the sun has just risen. No matter what else happens, Jensen needs that smile. He needs Jared in his life, whatever life that may be. Jared steps towards him and his grin falters, eyes widening as he reaches out for him.
“Jensen, watch out!”
But it’s too late. Someone grabs him by the arm and Jensen would know that feeling anywhere, icy cold and sharp, like falling through a frozen lake. He’s wrenched around by his elbow and he hisses, looking up helplessly into furious brown eyes.
“Jeff,” he says brokenly, and Jared gasps. “Let me go.”
Jared surges forward and tries to push Jeff away, but the older man takes a swing and Jensen whimpers when his fist connects when Jared’s jaw. He sprawls backwards onto the grass, lolling his head a bit before shaking it and looking up at him.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here,” Jeff growls into his ear. Jensen swallows hard because he’s always hated when Jeff got angry, but this is so much worse. “But you’re coming with me. If you so much as struggle I swear I will come right back here and put a bullet in him.” He points at Jared, still sprawled in the grass, and opens his coat to reveal a gun tucked into a holster on his belt. “Don’t think I won’t, Jensen.”
“Jeff, don’t do this,” Jensen pleads, but it’s no use. Jeff grips his arm tight enough to bruise and drags him through the crowd. People shoot curious glances their way, but no one stops them.
“Kid got a bit rowdy,” Jeff says to a security guard that starts to approach, waving him off with the hand not grinding Jensen’s bones to dust. “I’m escorting him out.”
The guy nods and walks off, leaving Jensen to stumble along beside Jeff. He looks over his shoulder and his heart breaks when he sees Jared standing there, staring hopelessly after him.
“I love you!” He shouts, because he can’t think of anything else to say. He doesn’t know what else to do. Jeff shakes him so hard his teeth rattle and he can’t stand the broken look on Jared’s face, so Jensen turns forward and bows his head.
Jeff takes his sudden cooperation for acquiescence, but Jensen is just biding his time. Because if there’s one thing he’ll never do, it’s walk away from Jared.
Jared stands there with his mouth agape. There’s a sharp ache in his jaw and Rigby is squealing and clawing at the inside of his bag. Jared stares at the back of Jensen’s head and it’s like his world is crumbling to dust.
“Jared!” Misha comes up to him and cups his cheek, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “What the hell?”
“That’s Jeff Morgan,” Jared says tonelessly, and Misha swears under his breath. Rigby’s bag is slipped from his shoulder and the hedgehog is practically screaming inside of it. People are looking at them funny and Misha pats Jared’s cheek hard enough to sting, but it isn’t quite a slap. It still snaps him out of his shock and he looks over at his friend. “Fuck.”
“Do something!” Jared tears his gaze away from Jensen’s back to nod at Misha, stumbling a little as he pulls himself together. Misha has Rigby out of his bag, stroking over his quills absently, and Jared suddenly tears off toward the stage.
He jumps up onto it and is immediately flanked by security guards grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him back. He struggles, looking desperately at Donna and Alan. They seem more confused than alarmed and Jared shrugs off the grip of a burly security guard only to be grabbed by another.
“I need to talk to them!” Jared shouts, but a guard pushes him back so hard that he nearly tumbles backwards off of the stage. Donna and Alan are staring at him with wide eyes and Jared doesn’t know what else to do but shout at them with all the desperation he feels. “It’s about your son! He needs your help!”
It’s like everything freezes. The guards tense up before taking a step back, still holding Jared loosely by the arms. Donna gasps and Alan immediately beckons him forward. The guards release him and Jared moves so fast that he nearly falls to his knees.
“There’s no time to explain,” Jared says once he’s close enough to touch Alan’s arm. “Jensen’s here. Jeff Morgan took him seventeen years ago and he’s trying to take him away now.”
“What are you talking - “
“Look!” Jared cuts Alan off to point out at the crowd. Jensen and Jeff are barely visible but Jensen turns his head just in time and his eyes glint green in the sunlight. “Stop them!”
“Oh my god,” Donna gasps, covering her mouth as her eyes fill with tears. Alan lets out a sharp whistle that makes Jared wince and all the guards snap to attention.
“Everyone stop Morgan and that boy,” Alan commands, the rough timbre of his voice at odds with his kind face. “Use whatever force necessary on Morgan, but stop him now.”
The guards surge forward like a wave, many of them barraging straight through the crowd while radioing to the others. From his vantage point on the stage, Jared can see a group of guards moving around the festivities to cut them off at the pass. Alan and Donna jump off of the stage and Jared follows, running behind them through the parted crowd.
Jared hears voices, loud shouts of stop and don’t move, and then someone screams. Jensen’s parents push through the sea of black and Jared grabs Alan’s arm, unwilling to hang back. Donna lets out a gasp when they make it to the front and Jared catches up just in time to see Jeff pulling a gun from his belt. He can only see the back of Jensen’s head, the tense set of his shoulders, before suddenly he’s moving.
He jabs Jeff once in the stomach and twists the gun out of his hand before flipping him onto the ground. Jeff pants up at him as Jensen takes the clip out of the gun and lets it fall to the ground, taking the last bullet out of the chamber and holding it in one hand.
“Thanks for all the self-defense training, Jeff.” A guard comes up slowly behind Jensen and takes the gun and bullet away from him before scooping up the clip and moving away. Another two men haul Jeff up from the ground and pin his hands behind his back.
Jensen turns around and his eyes immediately find Jared even as his parents both gasp. His gaze slides away from Jared to look at Alan and Donna, taking a shaky step towards them. Donna steps right up to him and cups his face in her small, soft-looking hands.
Event staff is doing an amazing job of evacuating all the guests, and Jared is grateful to feel Misha’s hand between his shoulder blades. Donna is crying and Jensen just looks like he’s in shock, doing nothing to deter the woman from cradling his face and staring at him.
“Jensen?” She finally asks, sweeping his hair back from his face and putting her thumb under his chin. “Is it really you, baby?”
There are tears in Jensen’s eyes at that and one of them slips down his cheek as he nods. He laughs nervously and smiles at her. “Mom.”
She lets out a sob and pulls him into a crushing hug. Jensen collapses into it, clutching at her back and burying his face in her neck. Tears are streaming from Jared’s eyes and he even hears a sniffle from Misha. Alan coughs and clears his throat, stepping up behind his wife to put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder.
“Why?” He asks, but the question is directed at Jeff. The older man glares angrily and says nothing, not even struggling against the hold of the guards.
“He was sick,” Jensen says, looking up at his father and speaking in a voice so low that Jared can barely hear. “He needed me to make it better.”
Alan gives him a look that leaves no doubt in Jared’s mind that he knows exactly what his son is capable of. Alan steps right up to Jeff and to his credit, the man barely cowers.
“If you had just come to us,” Alan starts, voice raw with emotion, “if you had just talked to us, we would have done everything we could to help you. We considered you family and you’ve had the gall to lie to our faces for seventeen years. “What kind of monster are you?” Jeff flinches at that like he’s been slapped, and Alan just shakes his head. “Take him away. Get everyone out of here.”
The guards haul Jeff off and when Alan turns, Jared can see the tears in his eyes as he sets his eyes upon Donna and Jensen. They’re still embracing and Jensen’s shoulders are shaking, face still buried in her neck. Donna opens her arm and Alan practically staggers into their embrace, wrapping strong arms around his family and pressing a kiss to Jensen’s head.
Jared watches, cheeks soaked with tears, and barely notices Misha setting Rigby on his shoulder. Soon someone’s hand curls around his bicep and tugs him gently backwards. He looks over to see a security guard giving him a sympathetic look.
“No, please,” Jared whispers, but the man shakes his head. He looks back to see Misha almost already off the grounds, being led away by an escort of his own. “Please.”
“Sorry, kid.” The guy starts pulling him away and Jared stumbles backwards, trying to decide how hard to fight. Jensen has a family now, one that loves him and can give him everything he ever needs. It’s more than Jared could ever offer, which is nothing more than himself. “You gotta go.”
Jared steps back a few more feet and suddenly Jensen’s head pops up, eyes darting around until they land on Jared.
“No!” He shouts, and Alan and Donna step away from him to turn and follow his gaze. “Let him go.”
Jensen pulls away from his parents to tear across the lawn and launch himself into Jared’s arms. He catches him and stumbles backwards, chuckling softly as Jensen locks his knees around Jared’s hips and wipes away his tears. Rigby scurries between their bodies and Jared doesn’t even mind the quills in his chest.
“Don’t leave, okay?” Jensen pleads, and his voice sounds like broken glass. “Don’t leave me. I want to be here and I want to get to know them, but I can’t be without you, Jared.”
“Duh.” It’s the only thing Jared can manage without completely breaking down and dropping Jensen, and he doesn’t think it’d be a good idea to break him just after giving him back to his parents. Jensen grins and slinks down Jared’s body, setting his feet in the grass and taking his hand, giving him a soft smile as he leads him back over to his waiting parents. Jensen sets Rigby on a nearby table and scratches his head before turning to face the couple.
“Mom, Dad,” he says, and Donna puts her hand over her mouth to cover a happy sob. He drags Jared forward by the hand until he’s standing right alongside him, and he can’t really look anywhere other than at his own dirty toes. “This is Jared Padalecki. He’s the one that found me and brought my here. He saved my life and he - I love him. He’s my entire world and I can’t be where he’s not. I just can’t. I wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for him and - “
Jensen’s cut off by his mother rushing forward to pull Jared into a hug. He tenses and then blinks owlishly as he wraps his arms around the petite woman. She’s clutching at his back and pushes up onto her toes to kiss his cheek.
“Thank you, Jared.” Her lip gloss is warm and sticky on his cheek and her sundress flutters in the breeze. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Jared isn’t sure how he feels, but he likes it. He feels cared for in Donna’s motherly embrace, and that’s something he had no idea he missed so much.
“You’re both just such wonderful boys!” Donna chuckles through her tears and pulls Jensen into their hug. Jared closes his eyes and presses his forehead to Jensen’s temple, so overcome with emotion that he doesn’t trust himself to speak.
“Oh, what the hell.” Alan laughs joyously and swoops the three of them up in his arms. They all chuckle and Alan claps Jared on the shoulder. He turns to meet Alan’s kind green eyes and smiles. “Welcome to the family, son.”
Jared sucks in a breath as a fresh set of tears work their way down his cheeks. He nods gratefully at Alan and turns his head to see Jensen grinning at him, chin resting on top of his mother’s head. God, he gets to stay with Jensen, in this house with his adoring family. He never has to let him go.
Jared has no idea how long they stand there embracing, but the sun dips below the sea and the sprinklers click on. They all shriek and jump apart, but Jensen just flicks his glowing fingers and cuts a clear path in the water that leads them to the house. Donna and Alan laugh and walk between the walls of water, reaching out to trail their fingers along the spray. They’re obviously enchanted, and Jensen grins proudly.
He takes Jared’s hand and leads him forward, away from the beach and through the water, towards their new home.
What a day.
Jensen is curled up in a very tame embrace with Jared on the loveseat out on his parents’ patio. Tiki torches provide light and warmth, and Jensen rests his head on Jared’s shoulder while he listens to his father talk and watches the waves crash up onto the shore. The ocean is literally in his backyard now. He’ll never have to go a day without the sea, or Jared, or his family.
Basically, he’s the luckiest guy in the world.
His parents had taken to Jared instantly, setting him up with a bedroom down the hall from Jensen’s. He’d been surprised that they couldn’t share, but Jared wasn’t. Of course Jared tried to decline, claiming it was too much and unnecessary, but Jensen and Donna just kept shushing him until Alan piped up and informed him that he best just give in.
Donna fell for Rigby instantly, carrying him around in the crook of her arm and cooing at him as she gave Jared and Jensen a tour of the estate. They stumbled along and boggled until she took pity on them and said she would save the rest for tomorrow. Jensen couldn’t believe that there was more to see.
They called Misha and he stopped by to drop off their things and let Jensen introduce him to his parents. He explained Misha’s role in getting him home and they fawned over him, telling him that he was welcome in their home whenever he was in town.
Misha was very gracious but didn’t linger, giving Jared and Jensen each a quick hug and a wink before excusing himself to give them privacy. Soon after, Jensen’s stomach rumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, and that’s how they ended up on the patio with enough pizza to feed an army.
His father tells him that he’s in for a hell of a ride, that starting tomorrow he will have to deal with the police and a full-blown media circus, but tonight is theirs. Jensen can take it. He can handle anything as long as the people that love him are by his side.
“Tell me about my magic, Dad.” Jensen says, twining his fingers with Jared’s while he uses his other hand to stuff his face with pizza. He turns his head at that, swallowing hard and settling in to hear whatever Alan has to say. Donna smiles serenely and sinks back into her deck chair. “Where’d it come from?”
“Strap in, kid,” Alan says, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “This is a good one.”
Jensen shifts under Jared’s arm, curling his fingers around his wrist as he watches his father speak. He’s so lively, gesturing widely with his hands as he tells the story of their ancestors. Even Jared is enthralled, fingers tangled with Jensen’s as he watches Alan with rapt fascination. His mother takes in the scene with unabashed fondness in her eyes, nodding happily at Jensen when she looks over to see him watching her.
Jensen has no idea how much of his father’s fantastical tale is to be believed, but one thing is certain. That happily ever after is definitely well within his reach.
[onto the epilogue.]