Smoke & Lightning: Born To Be Wild (7/?)

[eviltwin]

MASTER POST

Title: Smoke And Lightning: Born To Be Wild (7/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 6,189
Summary: AU. They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and this road-trip that they're on will teach him plenty of lessons. It's a good thing, too, because he'll need what he's learnt when they return and venture onto an altogether more serious step in their relationship. Trust is a major aspect for the both of them and Jensen's will be tested to breaking point as the boys learn how they'll cope together on the road...and off it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.



CHAPTER SEVEN

Jared reached up, scrubbing the back of his head with his hand. It was weird not to have a handful of hair there to tug on, but he had to admit that it was easier to manage. He didn't feel as uncomfortable in the hot confines of his helmet now, either. He bounced on the balls of his feet, his fingers curling and uncurling around the phone in his hand. He could feel Jensen watching him, smiling. He looked round at him and frowned.

"What?"

"I don't think I ever saw you so nervous. C'mon, just press the call button and get it over with. He's several states away, what's the worst he can do?"

"He has friends all over, you know that. He could probably have me killed or-"

"Jay." Jensen took a step closer, reached an arm around Jared's shoulders and pulled him in. "Seriously. It's not like you wrote the bike off. It just needs a couple minor repairs. And I think he'll just be glad that we're okay. So call him and get it over with."

Jared tightened up and he could tell that Jensen sensed it, as the younger man stepped away again. "It's not... It's not just minor repairs. I mean, I laughed it off when it happened, because I was fucking glad I didn't kill us both, but.." He trailed off and looked glumly at the Harley through the door of the garage. At the broken bits of metal and the bent wheel. "Fuck," he sighed.

They were in Los Angeles. The past few days had seen a lot of hard riding to get there, just so that they would have the week there that they had planned on and time to go back via the ranch in Santa Fe. Jared blamed the fact that he'd allowed himself less time to rest the night before they got to the coast. He'd been tired and it had affected his concentration. He'd mistimed an overtake and had been forced to veer the bike off the road to avoid the oncoming traffic. He'd braked pretty fast, but they'd still rolled into the verge. The bike had toppled, and he and Jensen had been fortunate to scramble clear without being trapped underneath it.

"Waiting won't make it easier," Jensen said, softly. Jared nodded. He knew that. He gave in to him, dialling Jeffrey's number and bringing the phone up to his ear. It was Stevie who answered.

"Hey, girl," Jared said, his tone light. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Jay. Jeff's got me all set up on the couch with ice cream and the TV remote and everything."

"So, he's treating you like a sick person?"

Stevie laughed. "I guess so. Hey, if I get ice cream out of the deal I'm not going to complain about it. What are you and Jensen up to?"

"Ah. That's kind of why I called. Is Jeff home?"

"Yeah, he's just out back working on something." He could hear the change in her tone, the concern as she spoke. "What's happened?"

"I think I'd better talk to Jeff. He can probably yell at me harder than you can. And I don't want to upset you when you're that pregnant." Beside him, Jensen was rolling his eyes and making like he was going to reach for the phone. Jared put a hand against Jensen's stomach, holding him back as he ducked away with the phone still to his ear. "Seriously, Stevie. Can I talk to Jeff? Jensen's about to kick my ass over here."

"Hang on, I'll call him in."

Jared waited, listening to her yelling for Jeff and hearing a door slam in the distance. He wondered exactly what the man had been doing, but not for long once he was on the phone. "Jay?"

"So I'm just going to come right out and say it. Me and Jensen took a spill on the bike. And we're okay, but the Harley needs to go in the shop for a week." There was a long silence, until Jared wasn't sure whether he'd been cut off or not. "Uh. Jeff?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I heard you. How much?"

"Pretty much most of what we have left after paying for a crappy motel room for six nights." He'd been surprised at how easy it had been to find somewhere so cheap in LA. "I figured I could sell Jen out as a rentboy so we can eat-" He dodged sideways as Jensen punched him in the ribs at that remark.

"What were you doing to crash it? Were you having sex?"

Jared made a face, even though he knew Jeffrey couldn't see him. "Dude, don't be disgusting."

"With you, Jay, you never know. What happened?"

"I guess I was more tired than I thought. Just a stupid mistake is all. Didn't take much."

Jeff sighed. "Okay. Tell me the number of this garage. I'll call and pay half the bill over the phone. They take credit cards, right?"

"Jeff, come on man, no. You don't need to be-"

"Jay, just give me the goddamn number. I'm not gonna sit here and let you starve, am I? Idiot. Let me pay half and you and Jen take care of the rest. Then just ride that thing like it's made of glass all the way back. You make sure they do a decent job, too. One scratch on her when you get back here and you know what I'll do."

Jared looked up at the sky, thanking God that Jeff was so fucking cool. "I know. I'll be careful. And they'll do a good job, I know they will."

"Good. So. You and Jensen are definitely okay?"

"We're fine. We got lucky, I guess. And hey, at least we made it to the coast."

"Good for you," Jeff told him, chuckling out of relief more than anything else. "Give me this number then. I'll get it done and then go back to what I was trying to do."

"What were you trying to do?"

"You'll find out when you come back, Jay."

"Are you messing with my stuff?"

"I told you I wanted that garage two months ago. Don't worry, I put all your stuff in boxes and Donna said you can stay at her place with Jensen until you both get moved into the apartment."

Jared was about to argue, but then decided it'd be best not to push his luck. He said okay and gave Jeff the number of the garage where the Harley was being repaired. Then he told him to take care of Stevie and that they'd see them in a few weeks. He hung up, wondering just what Jeff was doing with the garage he'd called home for a third of his life.

"What'd he say?" Jensen asked.

"He'll pay for half. So I guess we can go eat now, if you want?"

Jensen shrugged. "I'm okay. Kind of want to hit the beach first." He saw the look on Jared's face and rolled his eyes. "C'mon, the bike's getting fixed, it's not the end of the world, and we're finally at the beach. Let's make the most of it."

"You want to go-"

"Don't say skinny-dipping. I just want to get some sun, take a swim. May as well keep in practice."

They walked down to the seafront after visiting their motel, Jared's arm around Jensen's waist in a loose hold. Jensen loved it here, Jared could see that. They could be more obvious about their relationship and it wouldn't bother anybody. Nobody seemed to look twice, unless it was to admire the tattoos. It was easier and Jensen looked truly relaxed, for the first time in a while. So their motel room was shitty and they only had enough money to feed themselves and get back to Santa Fe when the bike was done, so what? It didn't matter to either of them now, and Jared suspected that was because things really could have been a lot worse.

They got to the beach at the best time. The sun wasn't too high now, so the heat wasn't unbearable, and people who had been there since early in the morning were starting to pack up. Jensen picked a spot about thirty feet from the sea itself and wasted no time in stripping down to his trunks. Jared had a couple of ratty towels stolen from the motel, and one decent one that they'd brought with them. He saved that one for Jensen to dry off with and sat down cross-legged in the sand, next to the pile of Jensen's clothes.

"I wish you would come in there with me."

Jared shrugged. "Someone's gotta stay here and guard your Levis."

Jensen crouched down so he could lean across and plant a kiss on Jared's mouth. "Thanks."

"Be careful."

"Hey, I didn't survive you crashing the bike just so's I could drown."

"You better not. I was going to take you out to dinner tonight. Can't do it if you're dead."

"Right. Where we going? Downtown soup kitchen?"

Jared laughed. "Hey, we could get arrested for indecent exposure. Get breakfast and a free room for the night." Jensen didn't smile back. "C'mon, it was a joke, Jen."

The younger man stood. "Wasn't very funny."

Jared kept his mouth shut and tried to apologise with his eyes. Jensen just shook his head and backed up a few steps.

"I'm going for a swim."

"Okay," Jared started, but Jensen was already turned and gone. He cursed his ability to always say the wrong thing at the worst time and folded his arms around his legs as he sat and watched Jensen stride into the water. He forgot about it as he kept watching, losing his concentration in the graceful lines of Jensen's body and the ease with which he battled the breakers to get out to slightly deeper waters. He wished he was a stronger swimmer himself, that he could be out there with Jensen now. He could swim pretty well, but he didn't much relish the idea of trying it with a current pulling his feet away from him. He was contemplating this when a shadow fell over him. He looked up with a smile, found himself looking up at a trio of girls no older than Jensen. Their bikinis barely contained them and his gaze drifted before he forced it up again.

"Think you can let me have the sun back?" He asked, with his warmest smile.

"Oh, sure!" The girl in the middle, deeply tanned and blonde, pulled her friends down with her as she sat down on the pile of Jensen's clothes. Jared winced inwardly, but didn't say anything. He guessed it was funnier not to warn them. "Haven't seen you here before."

"Ain't been here before," Jared answered.

She smiled at him and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. "My name's Roberta, but you can call me Robbie."

"Okay." He noticed she didn't introduce her friends and, by the looks on their faces, they were pretty used to it.

"So. What brings you here...?" She let the question hang heavy and he knew she was waiting for him to supply his name.

"Holiday," he answered. He could see that Jensen was watching now, stood further into the shallows while the smaller waves buffeted his thighs. He was swaying slightly as he let them. Then he was moving and Jared could see the determination in him.

"Aw, so you're not staying here? That's a real shame-" She cut off as something cold dripped onto her back, flinching. Jensen stood right behind her, sea water dripping from his body.

"What're you doing?" Jensen asked, though his question was directed at Robbie, not Jared.

"Trying to chat," she answered, coldly, glaring up at him.

"Oh. You mind if I try too?" He didn't wait for an answer. Just leaned forward a bit so he was dripping right on her head and said to Jared, "Hey, man. You're hot. Wanna fuck?"

Jared grinned and pretended to think about it. "Know what? I think I do. Sorry, girls. Guess I prefer the more direct approach." He stuck his hand out towards Jensen. "Jared. Nice to meet you."

Flushing with embarrassment, Robbie got up and her friends followed as they headed off to find another victim. Jared was pushed back on the towel and then Jensen was stretched out on top of him, kissing him. He tasted of salt and his skin felt gritty, but Jared didn't think he could want him more. Jensen let him up after a minute and moved to sit beside him.

"Just for the record, that doesn't normally work for people I don't know."

Jensen smiled, pleased with himself. "Guess I should introduce myself first next time."

"You got my shirt wet."

"Take it off then."

"And make all these nice young men feel insecure? C'mon, I'm not that much of a bastard."

"Yes, you are," Jensen told him.

"You're starting to burn. Here." Jared reached into his bag for the sunscreen and sat up, pulling Jensen into position so he could rub it into his skin. Jensen let him, closing his eyes when Jared's hands slid over his shoulders and onto his chest, where he flicked the metal bar in Jensen's nipple and the whole thing turned into what could only be classed as foreplay. Jared kissed Jensen's hair, licked the salt water off his lips. "I think we'd better go have that fuck you promised me," he stated.

"You want me to shower first?"

Jared tightened his grip around Jensen, pulling him back a little more so he could feel just how ready Jared was to screw someone. "I don't think we can make it to the motel room before I have to jump you."

"What do you suggest?"

"I'd suggest going at it right here, but somehow I think you'd disagree."

"You'd be right," Jensen said, shifting in a way that made Jared moan quietly into his ear.

"I've got an idea."

A stall in a public bathroom wasn't the best place to have sex ever, Jensen decided, but at least nobody had walked in on them. Jared reasoned that nobody used these kinds of things near the beach. They just pissed in the sea instead. Jensen told him it was a good thing he'd said that after the sex, else he might not have got any ever again. He'd pulled his clothes back on and now they both straightened their shirts out as they left the small building. It was just across from some kind of Asian snack-stop and Jared bought them both some fried duck and noodles for their supper. They ate hungrily, starved after such activity, and decided on a beer to round it off with. If they had to miss out on something at breakfast then it was worth it right now.

"What now?" Jared asked, licking condensation off the side of his bottle.

"Now we go back to the motel."

"Ugh. I hate walking everywhere."

"That's 'cause you're a lazy ass. It's not far. What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I wish we had the cash for Disney or Universal."

Jensen shrugged. "Well, we don't. We can go another time. This time we've just got to suck it up and find whatever's free."

"How about we do some research in the morning? Right now I'm too tired to think."

"Aw," Jensen laughed, tugging Jared close for a kiss. "Poor guy. Must be real tiring getting hit on by girls and watching me do all the work."

"You'd be surprised."

"Then I'd better let you have the comfy side of the bed, huh?"

"You can lay on top of me if you want."

They were so close together that they didn't notice someone was stood in their path until they were almost colliding with him. Jensen dodged sideways, apologising, but the guy just smiled at him. Wait, Jensen thought. Guy in a dress. He was cute, too, cuter than Trevor. Jensen didn't say that, just thought it, and still felt like he was betraying Jared's friend.

"Hey, boys, looking for a good time?"

"We just had one, thanks," Jared answered, a little gruffly.

"Oh, honey, I didn't mean it like that. I have these." He held out a flyer and Jensen took it, scanning it quickly. It was a discount voucher for cocktails at the bar they were stood in front of, and an ad for some kind of hunk competition. "Go on in. They won't bite."

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks. We're kind of on a budget here."

The queen took the flyer back from Jensen, looking disappointed. "That's a shame, sugar. You could win hands down."

Jared smirked. "Bet you say that to all the boys."

"Just the hot ones," the queen retorted, winking at Jensen. "If you change your mind there's a foam party Saturday night. Free entry after ten pm."

"We'll think about it." Jared wrapped his arm tighter around Jensen then, pulling him away before he could make any promises. "What the hell's a foam party?" Jensen asked, as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I'd tell you, but then you'd want to go and we'd probably end up fucking in public and I think I have one clean teeshirt left and I'm not ruining it like that."

Jensen raised his eyebrows and didn't ask again.

After three days of budget eating and going back to the garage to check up on the bike, Jensen just felt like he wanted to go home. Just so that Jared would stop talking at him, stop teasing him, stop getting people attempting to pick him up while Jensen watched and got more and more annoyed. Jared seemed to spend longer at the garage each day, watching them work on the Harley and offering his help wherever he thought he could. They didn't want to let him, though, and Jensen had a suspicion that they thought he would use it as an excuse to get money taken off the bill. He gave up on listening to Jared trying to wheedle his way in and told him he was going to head off somewhere.

"You sure?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, I thought I might go to the Observatory. It's free to go in and-"

"You don't want me to come with you?"

"I'm not going to stop you, but I figured you were happy here."

Jared didn't look happy any more, but he gave Jensen a quick kiss and let him go. He'd almost worn the garage owner down and thought he might get to do some work here, even if it wasn't going to be on the Harley. Jensen didn't go to the Observatory in the end. Instead he wandered down to the beach by himself and sat down in the sand, in the shade of a clump of trees. He dug his cellphone out of his pocket and called his sister, wanting to talk to someone different. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey, brat," he greeted.

"Jensen, I got your picture of your hair and you're an idiot," came the reply. "Your hair looked cute, what'd you go and ruin it for?"

"Jared did his too."

There was a pause. "I hate you."

Jensen laughed. "It's true. Swear to God. His hair's shorter than Shelby's coat."

"You want me to go tell mom that you're being mean to me?"

"You want me to send you a picture of Jared's hair too?"

"What're you doing right now?"

"I'm sitting on the beach, looking at the sea, wishing I was home."

His sister huffed at him. "Oh, you do not wish you were back here. Jeff told us about your accident. Tell your boyfriend to be more careful with you, would you?"

He'd never noticed it before, but he noticed it now. He was quiet for a moment or two and then said, "Holy shit. You're actually proud to have a gay big brother, aren't you?"

"You know how popular I am at school now people know about you and Jared? Mostly Jared," she added, after a pause, and giggled at Jensen's protests. "But yeah, of course I'm proud of you. You're not the guy you used to be, Jensen."

"And you're definitely not the cute, innocent little sister you used to be, either."

He could imagine her sticking her tongue out at him even over the phone. They talked for a little while longer, Kenzie telling Jensen what she and Mom were planning to do over the next few weeks of school holiday. She told him that Rock was invited on most of those trips out, too. Mom had told her to call him Tommy, but she couldn't help herself so they'd stopped trying. "You think they're gonna get married?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Would it matter?"

"He'd be a cooler Dad than Dad was."

"Kenzie. You can't say stuff like that."

"It's true."

"It might be, but, God. Don't let Mom hear you say that, okay?"

"Jeez. All right."

"Good. Hey, I'd better go. Say hi to Mom from me. Tell her we're okay and we're enjoying LA."

"I will. See you in a few weeks."

Kenzie said goodbye and as soon as she'd hung up, Jensen was pressing the speed-dial for Chris's phone. Talking to Kenzie had made him miss home even more and now he needed to talk to his best friend, to get another part of it back.

"Hey," Chris answered.

"How's my best buddy?"

"Wait a sec." Jensen went quiet, listening to the sounds of Chris moving and a door shutting. There was a creak and then Chris let out a satisfied sigh. "That's better. Now we can talk. What's going on?"

"We're in Los Angeles, waiting for the bike to be repaired. Jared kind of took us off-roading."

"Holy shit. You guys all right?"

"We're fine. Broke, but fine. Just making the most of it out here. We're moving in together when I come back. He got us this apartment. Told me about it the first night and I've been worrying about it ever since."

"What're you worried about?" Chris asked it as a serious question, which was a testament to how well he knew Jensen.

"I don't know. That we'll stay together if we're stuck with each other all day, every day."

"Well, call me crazy, but weren't you doing that before anyway?"

"I guess. It's just different. We'll be on our own and I don't want it to hurt our relationship."

"You love him. I don't think it's going to hurt anything on your part. And he loves you, that much is obvious. Jen, just stop worrying about it until you're there and it's happening, okay? Concentrate on having a good time while you're away."

"I will. We got a few more weeks. I'm coming back in August. Dad got me this interview for possible sponsorship through med school. I had Mom check it out and she said the guy who wants to see me is completely legit. Chief of staff at the hospital Kenzie was born in."

"Dude, that's awesome. What's your Dad up to?"

"I don't know. I'm not going to spend the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop, though. It's as good as it sounds, so I'll just go for it. I mean, why not, you know?"

"Does Jared know about it?"

"Yeah. I thought he'd be pissed about it, but it didn't bother him too much. I miss you guys. I'm ready to come home now. Don't ever let me think spending two months on the road with Jared is a good idea again, all right? It's like he goes out of his way to be irritating sometimes."

"As long as it's only sometimes..."

"Has to be. The rest of the time we're too busy having sex."

Chris snorted at that, complained loudly that he didn't need to hear it.

"What?" Jensen teased. "You're just jealous 'cause you wish you were out here with us. Watching."

"You're fucking sick, dude. I bet you're doing it every fucking night."

"Jesus, you must be joking. The way he goes at it, I'm lucky if I can still stand in the morning."

"That's what I love about you, Ackles. You're not shy about speaking your mind."

"Not any more, anyhow."

"So, hey, I'd love to hear about how hard your boyfriend pounds your ass all night, but I kind of have to get ready for a date with Dani. I'll talk to you again soon, right?"

"Definitely. I'll call again before we leave LA. Have a good time."

"You too," Chris chuckled, and Jensen felt his cheeks go hot at the tone and the implication. Yeah. He was bound to have a good time tonight. Which reminded him.

"Wait a sec, Chris? You still there?"

"I'm still here. What's up?"

"Do you know what a foam party is?"

Jensen sucked down the last of his water, swallowing hard like that would make it last longer. It was hot in the club and the foam coating his body, Jared's arms wrapped tight around him, neither were helping him feel any better. He didn't want Jared to let him go, though. He thought that if he let him go, they'd lose each other in here. The suds were incredible, already up to his chest, and Jared kept grabbing handfuls of them and rubbing them into Jensen's hair and skin. There were men everywhere, grinding against one another, making out, hands reaching and grabbing. Jensen had jumped away several times from searching fingers, knowing that they didn't belong to Jared.

"Hey." Jared's mouth was at his ear and he shivered at the heat of his breath. "You enjoying yourself?"

Jensen nodded. "Yeah." And he was. He loved the music in here, loved dancing with Jared. Loved getting away from talking about the trip back and wondering what the hell to do with the night apart from go back to the dirty motel room and have even dirtier sex. Jared's arms were around him, chest pressed against his back, and his hand was down Jensen's pants, toying with his cock. And it didn't matter. Most people couldn't see what they were doing and anyone who was looking were probably doing the same thing themselves. Jensen had already seen several men looking at Jared, seen their eyes shift to Jensen in a way that told him he should consider himself a very lucky man. He wanted to yell at them that he knew just fine how lucky he was.

Jared's mouth sank down around the side of his neck, teeth scraping against his skin gently. He shuddered, tipping his head back for more. Jared was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.

"Can I?" Jared asked. He'd dragged his hand free, was playing with the zipper on Jensen's jeans.

"Mm.."

"People are looking."

Jensen didn't answer. Let them look. His zipper was down and Jared's hand was loosely wrapped around his dick. What did an audience matter? He'd been hard since twenty minutes after they'd walked in, and nothing Jared had done since had helped the situation. Now Jared's thumb was smearing pre-come over the crown, pressing against the slit there, and Jensen let Jared take his weight because he was pretty sure his legs were no longer able to manage it. With Jared's encouragement whispered directly into his ear, Jensen moved his hips to fuck slowly into the other man's fist. He closed his eyes and went with it, sure they were going to get thrown out, arrested, asked to come back and give private shows. He let his imagination run free, picturing Jared slamming into his ass while a crowd of soapy onlookers gawped up at them.

"Fuck," he swore, bending at the middle as he came into Jared's hand. His eyes opened and he saw only a handful of people glancing their way. A couple of dirty smiles aimed at him. Jared was ignoring it, pulling Jensen back up against him as he stroked him through it. Jensen could only imagine the smug look on his face. The gleam in his eyes that was making other people back off from saying or doing anything.

He reached down and found that his hands were shaking. It took him a couple of tries, but he got himself tucked away, his jeans fastened up again. Jared's hand wiped against the thigh of his jeans and he couldn't think enough to tell him off for it. Instead he turned in Jared's arms and wrapped himself around the other man, pulling him down and kissing him as if the world was ending. When he finally let him go all he could taste was Jared.

"You want-"

"To get out of here? Hell, yes. Right the fuck now."

"Not what I was going to ask. Was going to ask... If you wanted the favor returned."

Jared grinned slowly. "Same answer."

"You trying to make me horny, Ackles?"

Jensen looked over at Jared, the picture of innocence, the white plastic stick hanging out of his mouth too much of a giveaway. His cheeks hollowed again as he sucked. He tugged on the stick, the bright green candy leaving his mouth with an obscene pop, and smiled. His lips were sticky. "Maybe. Is it working?"

"Might be. Not that it matters unless we can convince them to hire us. Ain't screwing you in a 24 hour diner bathroom." There was a pause. "Not again, anyhow."

Jensen rolled his eyes, remembering the less-than-romantic fuck from the night before. They'd stumbled out of the bathroom on a sleepy, post-sex high and fallen asleep in one of the booths until the waitress woke them up to order breakfast. Which they hadn't done, since they'd had enough money for a good dinner, but not much else. Jensen had found the candy he was now eating stuck at the bottom of his backpack and it was the first thing he'd had since the coffee Jared had conned from another waitress at another diner.

They'd left LA after six days, Jared's help at the garage meaning they got the Harley back a day sooner than they'd been told. Jensen had been eager to leave, and Jared had been just as eager to make him promise to come back another time, when they had some cash to do all the things they had missed out on by repairing the Harley. Now, after a few more days of solid riding, they were in Santa Fe and stood outside the Crossed Keys Ranch in the late evening sun, both looking over the land that they would hopefully be working on and living near for the next week. They'd been told to wait there until the owner got back from town and they'd been stood there for a half hour already. Jensen was feeling dirty since the whole sleeping in a diner thing had meant he'd not showered, and Jared's stomach was rumbling like it was trying to eat itself.

"Goddamn, where is this guy?"

Jensen tilted his head back, watching the approaching dust cloud that Jared couldn't see with his back to the road. "Heads up," he said. "Here they come. Best behavior, Jay."

"Have you ever known me to misbehave?" Jared asked, turning to watch the truck slow to a halt in front of the ranch. He watched the couple - a grey-haired but healthy looking man and a blond woman - get out and saw one of the ranch-hands move to speak to them. The ranch-hand lifted an arm to point in their direction and then the guy came jogging over, sticking his hand out as he neared them.

"Howdy, boys!" He greeted. Jared bit his lip while Jensen returned the hello. "Rich over there says you're looking for work?"

"Yessir," Jensen answered. They'd agreed that he would do the talking, even though he was sure that Jared could charm the birds out of the trees if he put his mind to it.

"And a place to stay too, huh?"

His wife was coming over now and she neared him, slipping easily against him, inside his arm. "Well, we're happy to have you both. Kind of what we do, after all. How long were you looking at staying?"

"Well, ma'am, however long you'll have us for. We can work as long days as you need us to."

"That's good. You'll each get five dollars an hour, breakfast and dinner, and a bed in the dorm. The work ain't easy. Either of you ever had any experience with livestock?"

Jensen shrugged, shook his head. "No, sorry."

"Well, no worries. You look strong enough. We'll find you something. We've got plenty of fencing that needs to go up, not to mention hay that needs shifting, manure that needs clearing out... You get the picture."

"We'll do anything."

The guy frowned at them both. "You boys together?"

Jared glanced at Jensen, who seemed reluctant to answer. Somehow, though, he sensed it wasn't an issue to the couple. Just a question. "Yeah. Have been for a while. If it's a problem, we can-"

"It's not a problem. Just wondered. I'm Buck, by the way. My wife's Selma."

"Hi." The woman stuck out her hand and they both shook it, smiling and at ease with her. "Well, you won't get anything done this evening. We don't make anyone work past six unless we're real busy, and right now we've got enough people here that you won't need to. So if you want to park your bike over near that barn and come on in the house you can meet everyone else and have some supper with us."

"Uh. You mind if we set our tent up outside rather than camp in the dorm?"

Selma grinned, her eyes shining. "Sure thing. So long as you don't mind waking up at dawn. Our cockerels won't keep quiet just 'cause you're tired."

Jensen wanted to tell her that there was another cock he could think of that didn't care if he was tired or not, but he bit his tongue. He thought she could probably tell what he was thinking, anyway. "Can we get a wash or something before we join you for dinner?" He asked, instead. "Kind of want to make a slightly better impression on everyone than we might right now."

"No problem," Buck told him. "I'll show you where everything is while Selma gets dinner done and sorted."

There were ten other people besides Jensen and Jared in the huge kitchen, including Buck and Selma. Jensen saw what they'd meant about there being more than enough help at the moment. He supposed they were quite lucky to get the work. They introduced themselves and joined in the conversation, enjoying the meal of roast chicken and mashed potatoes and beans. Jensen tried not to be embarrassed when he went for seconds, and then helped himself to some of the baked rice pudding that Selma had made up. His stomach had been growling at him before the meal, now it was gurgling in protest at how much he had eaten.

Jared ate almost as much, Selma and Buck both laughing at their healthy appetites. He promised them both that they would make up for it the next day. They helped with the dishes, too, out of guilt, and when they were all done they headed out to set up the tent, already in need of a good night's sleep.

Jensen had felt tired for a long time and he didn't think he'd realized it until his head hit the pillow that Buck had kindly lent them from inside the dorm. Jared lay down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer. He kissed the side of Jensen's head, squeezed his skin.

"No... C'mon, Jay. Let me sleep."

"In a little while. It's still early, Jen."

Jensen groaned, still trying to shuffle away from his wandering hands.

"We don't have to do anything. Just.."

Jensen sighed, giving in. Jared was right, he supposed. It was early. There was time to make out for a while. He turned onto his side, letting Jay's left arm slide underneath him while his right arm folded around Jensen's back, pulling him in flush to Jared's body. He opened his mouth to Jared's tongue, closing his eyes as they kissed. Jared's hands were in his hair, combing through it. It was growing back already, getting thick. The heat seemed to make it grow faster. Jared's was the same and Jensen clung to it now, aroused and sweaty. In need of more in spite of himself. He wrapped a leg around Jared's body and begged him with a desperate push of his hips. Jared pulled back from the kiss a fraction, grinning against Jensen's lips.

"Thought you were tired," he whispered.

"Apparently not tired enough."

"You will be soon," Jared promised. "When I'm done with you."

--TBC--