Fic: RPS (Jared/Jensen): In It for Love [6 / 16] | PG-13 | 9310 words
Title: In It for Love [ 6 / 16 ]
Author: dragonspell
Fandom: RPS
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (and Jared/a slew of other characters including Misha Collins, Tom Welling, Mike Rosenbaum, Danneel Harris, Sandy McCoy and some OMCs and OFCs)
Rating: Currently PG-13 (eventual NC-17)
Warnings: AU. Cheesiness. Fandom cliches. The usual drill.
Summary (fic): After a drunken dare, award-winning writer Jensen agreed to on a reality television show to vie for the attention of megastar Jared Padalecki who he's had a crush on for years. Only Jensen doesn't know how he's going to be able to tolerate all the other contestants and their widely varying personalities and he's pretty sure that you're not supposed to be able to get used to somebody filming you 24/7.
Summary (part): A private date and an Elimination Ceremony. Someone's going home.
Word Count: 9310 (this part)
Disclaimer: Never happened, no affiliation.
Master Post: Master Post
Part 5 | Master Post | Part 7
Episode 3 - Second Half
The limo was not as tacky as the mansion. It may have been a stretch Hummer getting approximately three miles to the gallon but at least there was no zebra striped upholstery or purple fuzzy rugs in sight. Jensen, though, still sat gingerly against the far door because he was wondering, for the first time, just how many cameras there were embedded in the car. He’d never thought about it before-always too worried about the house-but now, he here was, sitting in the backseat of the limo with none other than Jared Padalecki and there wasn’t a cameraman to be found. Jensen knew that this did not mean in any way, shape, or form, that they weren’t being recorded right now. So he was wondering just where the cameras were.
They had given him time to change-thankfully into his own clothes but, disturbingly enough, not the same ones that he’d worn to the photoshoot. Jensen currently had no idea where those were. Instead, he’d been brought a bag of his own clothes and told to ‘pick out something nice’ plus to bring a swimsuit. Jensen had done as instructed and tried not to feel too much like a harem girl. After he’d passed inspection, he’d been shoved into the limo beside Jared to go God knew where.
Jensen jumped when Jared grabbed his hand and Jared laughed. “Relax,” he teased. “I promise I don’t ravish on the first date.”
Jensen could think of a few things to say to that: one, this wasn’t their first date and two, he might, uh, be okay with a little bit of ravishing. Unfortunately his tongue stopped working correctly when Jared started rubbing distracting circles into his hand again. It was damn awfully hard to think when Jared felt so warm and sure against his skin. Jared’s hand was still huge and Jensen couldn’t help but daydream about what those hands would look like against other parts of his body. “So I’ve got a confession to make,” Jared said and Jensen finally glanced up from his contemplation of Jared’s hands. Jared huffed a laugh and averted his eyes, a strangely shy move that Jensen couldn’t help but find endearing. It made him want to wrap Jared into a huge hug and press kisses against his face. Jensen was also pretty damn sure he wasn’t supposed to be feeling this way within three days of meeting a guy. This was definitely down the rabbit hole, Alice. “I, uh, may have read one of your books already.”
Jensen couldn’t breathe. Jared had turned back to face him and Jensen couldn’t look away but he couldn’t breathe, either. For anyone that knew him, reading his books was kind of like reading his damn soul. The world didn’t know that but he did. “Which…which one?” Jensen choked out.
“Shadow Heart,” Jared confessed. That was Jensen’s third one. “I actually read it when it first came out. And then I reread it when I found out that you were going to be on the show.”
“That’s…so…you already…”
“Yeah.” Jared was big and warm and completely distracting. “I already knew. I was actually a little excited but, uh, Jeff, you know wanted me to play it cool.”
“Oh.” Jensen had nothing. He had absolutely nothing. Jared had actually read one of his books before and apparently liked it. Jared fucking Padalecki had liked one of his books and if this was what Cloud Nine felt like then Jensen never wanted to get off. He felt light-headed and slightly giddy, like he should be out running a quarter mile or something instead of sitting inside a limo holding a guy’s hand. …Or, maybe he should be knocking said guy flat and climbing on top of him. Yeah. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Jensen licked his lips, getting ready for it, but Jared beat him to the punch.
Jared’s mouth pressed hard against his and it felt just as amazing as the last two times except this time, Jared’s lips parted and his tongue ran along Jensen’s, asking for permission. Jensen gasped and let him in, trying to memorize every second as Jared slipped inside.
Jensen squirmed, sliding closer on the seat, his pants getting too damn tight and Jared being too damn awesome to resist. Fuck. He couldn’t see to get close enough, though, because Jensen was pretty damn sure that he wouldn’t be close enough until he was actually a part of Jared. He pressed himself more tightly against Jared, trying to make it so that there wasn’t even room for air in between them.
Jared broke the kiss, his eyes fluttering open to meet Jensen’s and Jensen just stared back because how damn awesome was his life right now? He was sitting in the back of a limo making out with his biggest wet dream. Christ. Life just didn’t get any better than this. Jensen wrapped his hand around the back of Jared’s neck and jerked him closer for another taste, wanting more. Jared gave a surprised moan before his hand raised-just like in his damn movies and Jensen’s daydreaming fantasies-to cup Jensen’s jaw, tilting him just slightly for a better angle, as Jensen thrust his tongue into Jared’s mouth.
Chris was totally going to make fun of him for this but Chris could just fuck off. It wasn’t every day that a man got to act out his dreams. Wanting to see if what he’d always thought was correct, Jensen placed his hand against Jared’s shoulder, feeling the muscle underneath. He trailed his hand along Jared’s collar bone to his shoulder and gripped it hand, moaning at how freaking solid Jared was against him. Fuck-this was so much better than the fantasies. This was the real fucking deal and it really was Jared Padalecki sitting right next to him.
Jared’s big hands were now grabbing at him for real, no teasing or light touches about it as he manhandled Jensen into a better position and held him still to kiss the ever-loving daylights out him. Not that Jensen minded. He was considering throwing a leg over Jared and grinding downward, getting them one step closer to where they both wanted to be when Jared finally broke away, panting. Jensen tried to follow him but Jared held him steady, despite Jensen’s shuddery whine of protest. “Wow, Jen,” Jared breathed, sucking in a few huge gulps of air, and Jensen smiled, hands running up to cup Jared’s face and trying to coax him back down. “Wow…” Jared muttered, bending down for another kiss and Jensen moaned happily as Jared’s lips touched his again.
A sharp knock at the window startled them both, Jared swearing and turning his head and Jensen attempting to jump all the way back over against the far window. “What?!” Jared snapped and it took Jensen a few surprised, heart-thumping seconds to realize that Jared wasn’t talking to him, but instead to the deep voice answering him.
“We’re here,” Jeff replied through the glass and Jensen blinked wondering what the fuck he was talking about. That, though, was before, his brain came back online, crawling out of the hazy lust fogging his mind and the whole damn situation slammed into him like a car wreck. Holy fuck. Jensen flushed and glanced to his side where a suspicious spot in the side definitely appeared to be a camera and he’d just about been ready to completely go for it. And apparently Jeff and God knows who else had seen everything. Oh, fuck. Jensen closed his eyes and slumped back against the seat, his hands raising to cover his flaming face because Christ-he’d just been making out with Jared freaking Padalecki on camera.
“Uh, sorry about that…” Jared said sheepishly and Jensen felt the seat move beside him as Jared shifted. “Jen?” Jared’s big hands were back on Jensen, pulling at his wrists. “…Are you okay?”
Knowing that the game was up, Jensen let his hands drop, showing off his still red face and took a deep breath as he nodded, opening his eyes. “Yeah. I, uh…”
Jared’s mouth twitched for a moment before he leaned in close, still holding Jensen’s arms. “Yeah. I kind of liked it, too,” Jared whispered and Jensen’s breath was catching in his throat again. “Was kind of hoping that we could maybe we could pick up where we left off in a little while.” A little while?. Jensen raised his eyebrows, confused and Jared smiled as he jerked his head toward the window where Jeff was still waiting. “Got a few things planned for you first,” he said. His eyes flicked downward for a moment before coming back up. “You know, like, uh, dinner.”
Jensen laughed because he couldn’t help himself-Jared and his food. He never would have guessed back when he was just watching the man on the screen. “Gonna blow me away?” he asked and Jared nodded.
“Guaranteed.” Then he was tugging Jensen toward the door that Jeff was standing outside of, urging him out of the limo.
Deciding to face the music-or rather Jeff Morgan’s calculating brown eyes, Jensen slide across the black leather with Jared and exited the car. Jeff was just off to the side, giving them a somewhat sympathetic look as he said, “Sorry, guys, but the sunset doesn’t wait for anyone, you know.”
Jared nodded like it was nothing-which, as it was his plan, why wouldn’t he?-while Jensen’s mouth dropped open. Sunset? That was when he finally noticed where they were.
The limo was parked alongside a long strip of marina, wooden docks jutting out into the ocean and oh my freaking God. “You have a boat?” Jensen asked, blurting it out and feeling ridiculous after he did.
“Technically,” Jared said with a grin, “it’s a yacht.” Of course Jared had a yacht. He was freaking loaded, after all. Why wouldn’t he have a yacht? “I can’t call it a boat or they’ll kick me out of the yacht club.”
Oh. Well, that made sense. Maybe. Jensen looked at Jared, unsure if he was joking or not and Jared just laughed, holding out a hand. “Come on. I’ll show you my yacht.” Jared’s big paw enveloped Jensen’s hand, dragging him towards one of the docks and Jensen couldn’t decide where he wanted to look. Jared was directly in front of him and staring at Jared, Jensen knew, was always a worthwhile endeavor. However, this time around, he was also surrounded by gorgeous yachts, sitting gleaming in the water, gently bobbing up and down with the small waves and then there was the blue horizon staring them down, the sun slowly making its way towards the water, promising to set it ablaze in just a short while.
Of course, as well, there was always the creeping camera men following them but Jensen firmly shoved all thought of them out of his mind. He was about to go for a cruise on a freaking yacht. Jeff had melted away, too, disappearing into the woodwork somewhere like he was so freaking skilled at, so Jensen focused on trying to remember every bit of detail about the bobbing boats he could as Jared pulled him along the dock.
They stopped in front of one of them, white with dark blue trim and Jensen sucked in a breath because the thing was absolutely huge. “What do you think?” Jared asked and Jensen couldn’t think of anything else besides ‘big.’ Like everything else belonging to Jared. Jared shrugged his shoulders and glanced away with a small smile. “It’s only a forty footer but I like it,” he said and climbed on board. He waved Jensen over and Jensen climbed over after him, though not as gracefully, though he sincerely hoped that was just from a lack of practice. It was hard to judge what the boat was going to be doing while he was attempting to climb about it, regardless of how well it was tied down to the dock. “Careful,” Jared said, grabbing a hold of his elbow.
“I got it,” Jensen murmured. He didn’t, though, bother to shake Jared off.
“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to touch you,” Jared said back, gently steering him towards the middle of the yacht and the door that was there.
Jensen felt his mouth quirk up into a smile. “Oh, so I get the total cheese today.”
Jared stumbled, tripping over a coiled rope. He recovered, kicking it aside while laughing at himself. “Hey, now, don’t make fun of my technique. I told you I was going all out.” He pushed open the door, ushering Jensen inside. Jensen followed the motion, walking backward because he didn’t want to let Jared out of his sight.
“All out, huh?” Jensen asked, his hand rising to touch Jared’s face, fingertips sliding over his cheek. Hey. Jared wasn’t the only one looking for any excuse possible to touch.
“Yeah.” He could feel Jared’s smile growing bigger. “How did I do?” With a finger, Jared turned Jensen’s head to the side, making him catch sight of the scene behind him.
Jensen caught a flare of flame and he turned the rest of the way around, jaw falling open. “Wow…” The entire interior of the cabin was set up like something straight out of bodice-ripping Harlequin, candles lighting up nearly every available surface. They flickered throughout the room, the faint light licking up the walls and softly falling on the white covered table set for two in the center of the room.
Unlike the mansion that Jensen had been living in, the interior of the yacht wasn’t ‘hip’ or ‘modern,’ instead seeming just entirely ‘comfortable’ except for the high society setup of the table. “This is…”
“I was hoping you’d like it,” Jared said, sliding close to Jensen. “I know that it’s really cheesy, but I get points for going the whole nine yards, right?” Jensen felt Jared’s hands slide over his hips, lightly gripping him, but he was still too busy staring. There was even a vase with flowers sitting in the middle of the table.
Jensen didn’t quite know what to say. He’d never been ‘wined and dined’ like this, not even when he’d been dating the surgeon. “I, uh…” He licked his lips. Fuck it. “I like it.”
“Oh, good,” Jared said, sounding relieved. He pressed a kiss to Jensen’s neck and pulled Jensen back against him. That was most definitely Jared’s dick poking Jensen in the ass, too. Jensen’s breathing sped up, wondering if Jared was going to kiss him again, but Jared just grinned and said, “Let’s eat.”
Jared tried to pull out Jensen’s chair for him, but that was where Jensen was drawing the line. He shook his head at Jared and pulled out his own chair, making Jared duck his head again and huff a laugh. “Sorry. Got carried away.” Taking his own seat, Jared had then pulled off the silver cover of the first part of the dinner, baring what Jared assured him were crab stuffed mushroom caps.
“So how are you liking the house?” Jared asked, serving them both.
Jensen poked at the food on his plate as he carefully considered his answer. “It’s an experience,” he replied finally.
Jared laughed and popped a piece of mushroom into his mouth. “That means that you hate it!”
“I don’t hate it!” Jensen denied immediately but Jared met him with a flat look. “…I might be questioning some design choices.”
“Fair enough,” Jared said, waving him off. “Are you getting used to the cameras?” he asked slyly, leaning forward.
Jensen shrugged because Jared might have had a point that first day. In the house, without all the men manning the cameras, sometimes Jensen forgot that they we even there but it wasn’t like he wanted to own up to that. Speaking of cameras… Where were they? Jensen frowned, wondering if the yacht was like the mansion-with the cameras already built in. “I knew it,” Jared said, grinning. He pointed at the food on Jensen’s plate. “You should really try that. It’s good.”
Jensen stared down at the mushroom. “So… Are all of the dates with you going to involve food in some way?”
Jared looked aghast, comically stretching out his face. “You don’t like food?” he exaggerated, miming out a heartattack and Jensen laughed. “Okay, so I like food. Still! You should eat that.” He leaned forward again, this time using his fork to cut off a piece. “Here.” He offered the newly separated bite to Jensen and just who was Jensen to refuse an invitation like that?
Giving in to the not-so-subtle prodding, Jensen wrapped his mouth around Jared’s fork and immediately closed his eyes. Damn. It really was kind of good. “See?” Jared said. “I told you so.” He held up another piece and Jensen didn’t hesitate, eating that one too. “Good, yeah? So are you ready for more?”
Oh, God, there was more? Jensen nearly laughed at himself for his own naivety because who was he kidding? It was Jared, of course there was more food. That didn’t mean, however, that he still didn’t gawk in amazement when a waiter came in with another tray, setting the dishes in front of them because there was a waiter on Jared’s boat.
“Thanks,” Jared said and the guy disappeared again as Jared tried to explain what it was. Jensen, though, was sure that at least some of the words were being mispronounced and when he called Jared on it, Jared started laughing again. “Probably!” he admitted before launching into a discussion about Jensen’s writing which forced Jensen into confessing that he was a little impressed. “Oh, so I’m impressive,” Jared said.
Always, Jensen’s brain chimed in but he wasn’t about to say that out loud. “It’s just surprising,” he said instead. “I think you’re the first I’ve even known that understood that Tommy was a metaphor for the state of affairs in Eastern Europe.”
“Well,” Jared said as demurely as it was possible considering he was still stuffing his face with chicken. “I can read.”
Jensen had laughed and, uncomfortable with the spotlight being completely on him, had flipped it over to a discussion of Jared’s movies, something that Jensen could happily talk about for hours. Plus, he finally had a chance to ask all those niggling, deep-seated questions that he’d never had answers for before such as, “In Hunter’s Paradise, why did Drake decide to pick Katie over Ryan? Because if he wouldn’t have gone off with her, he would have lived.”
“Well,” Jared laughed, “I personally wanted it the other way around but the director didn’t agree with me.” He shook his hand and caught sight of his watch. “Oh, shit!”
“What?” Jensen asked, freezing in mid-bite.
“Damn it, I forgot about the time. Uh, is it okay if we wait a little while on dessert?”
“Uh…sure?” Jensen answered because what else could he possible say to that? It was good enough for Jared who was up and out of his seat like a shot, dragging Jensen along after him as he ran towards the deck. Jensen was about to try and demand what was wrong but that was before he saw the horizon. “Whoa.” He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the brilliant colors splashed across the sky and bleeding into the sea.
“It’s gorgeous, right?” Jared said, pulling him up the railing of the boat. Jensen gripped the chrome tightly, staring out at the water and the cloudless sky with the setting sun. He couldn’t find the words to express himself and so remained quiet and Jared, remarkably, let him, only moving closer to wrap his arm around Jensen’s waist. Jensen reached up, gripping Jared’s shirt with a loose grip and together they watched the setting sun, silent except for the sound of the water against the boat.
Watching the blazing sun setting just over the horizon, watching it light up the sky in pinks and reds and a hint of purple, Jensen couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be but bobbing on the waves. He had Jared standing directly behind him, holding him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered and it was a picture perfect moment, seemingly torn right out of the end of a movie. Apparently Jared had picked up a few things along the way.
Like all things, though, it was destined to end sometime and when the last rays finally dimmed, he had to admit that it was over. He licked his lips, staring out at the darkening sea. “Well,” he said and Jared kissed him, soft but sudden. Jared’s tongue unfurled into Jensen’s mouth and with a quiet moan, Jensen turned, surging up into the kiss. God but Jared’s mouth, Jensen thought, should be classified as one of the Deadly Sins because damned if he wasn’t tempted to do a few vile and depraved acts because of it.
Jensen indulged himself in another bit of fancy, delving his fingers into Jared’s floofy, floofy hair and finding out once and for all that it was just as soft as it looked. Jared’s own hands were holding Jensen’s jaw, once again making sure that he couldn’t go anywhere but closer. Jensen happily agreed with that sentiment, pressing himself as close as possible to Jared’s body, feeling a hardness press against his lower stomach that had his breath quickening and his pulse racing. He knew exactly what that was.
All too soon, though, Jared was pulling away, pressing a few more quick kisses against Jensen’s lips before stepping backward. “Ready for dessert?” he asked.
And here Jensen thought that he’d already been getting dessert. He licked his lips again, savoring the last taste of Jared before nodding. “Sure,” he murmured, letting Jared usher him back inside.
Jensen had not noticed the temperature dropping when he was outside but stepping into the cabin made it all to clear just how cold it had gotten outside-it was like walking into a hothouse. He knew, though, that he was only thinking that way because of his excitement and the racing endorphins.
He tried to move back to the table but Jared didn’t let him, instead pushing him towards the stairs on the far side of the room. “Up,” Jared said and smiling, Jensen did as ordered. At the top of the stairs, he emerged into a smaller room that was lined with a long gray couch. Jared gave Jensen a shove towards it and, sitting down, Jensen found it surprisingly comfortable. As in maybe time to take a nap, comfortable. Jared grinned as he sat down beside him, one leg curling up underneath him as he sat sideways to look at Jensen, head resting on one hand with his elbow braced against the back of the couch. “Sometimes I sleep up here,” Jared said quietly.
“I could see why,” Jensen replied. He gave into an urge and pushed back a lock of Jared’s hair, tucking it behind one ear and then basked in the glow from Jared’s resulting smile.
“So,” Jared said, reaching behind him, “in the interests of being cheesy and going all out tonight, how do you feel about fruit and whipped cream?”
Jensen laughed, not bothering to hide behind a hand this time. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Jared replied, hauling out a tray of fruit with a dish of fluffy cream . He picked up a strawberry and dipped it into the white before raising it to Jensen’s mouth. “Say ‘ah.’”
Jensen rolled his eyes and bit into the berry, making sure to get as much of the cream as possible before licking off the stray bit that he’d missed. “God Jen…” Jared whispered and Jensen flicked his eyes up to meet Jared’s, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Like that?” he teased.
“Do it again,” Jared breathed, holding up another piece of fruit. Jensen obliged him, wrapping his lips around the berry and this time making sure that he was close enough to catch Jared’s fingers. Jared exhaled shakily and Jensen mentally congratulated himself. Then Jared was tossing the fruit away and lunging toward Jensen, snuggling up close, his nose burying in Jensen’s hair.
“Hey!” Jensen laughingly protested. “What about dessert?”
“Screw it,” Jared said and dove down for another kiss while he pressed Jensen against the soft gray cushions of the couch.
Absolutely, Jensen thought. “Anything you say…” He wrapped his arms around Jared’s neck, holding him close as they kissed again, tongues dueling and moving against one another. Jensen whimpered, arching upward, straining against the hold that Jared had on him and loving every second of it.
Jared spent long leisurely minutes exploring Jensen’s mouth as Jensen steadily relaxed into it, going with the flow until he was unsure how much time had passed, just that he never wanted to stop again. Of course, that was when Jared broke away again, moving to the right just enough to rest his head against Jensen’s shoulder. “Something wrong?” Jensen asked quietly.
“Just tired,” Jared whispered back. “I’m sorry, Jen… I think they got me up too early.”
“Oh.” Jensen wondered just what time that Jared had been forced to get up at and felt a twinge of sympathy. Jensen wouldn’t have been nearly as nice about being woken up as Jared probably had been. “Did you…Did you need to lie down?” Jensen offered. He was totally okay with letting Jared be the one on the bottom.
“No,” Jared said, shaking his head. “It’s okay. We’re probably almost back to port anyway.” He sat up, moving away and Jensen fought back his surge of disappointment that the day that he’d never wanted to end was apparently drawing to a close.
“Okay.” Jensen pushed himself up as well. “So, uh, whoever’s driving the boat knows how to park it, right?”
“Yacht,” Jared correct with a grin. “And I certainly hope so. Maybe we can go out on the water again-just the two of us. I’d let you steer.”
Jensen smiled, disappointment fading. “I’d like that,” he said and leaned in for another kiss, making it last until Jeff, yelling from the docks, finally let them know that they had to get some sleep sometime.
There was something poking him. Jensen swatted irritably at it, hoping that it would go away but no such luck. Instead, it started poking harder. “Come on, Jenny… Time to wake up and tell Mikey all the scandalous details.”
Oh, Mike had to be fucking kidding him. Jensen opened one blurry eye and rolled it to glare at Mike. “G’way.”
“You promised, Jenny, remember?”
Jensen vaguely remembered doing something like that, but it was mainly to get Mike off his back. He and Jared had gotten back to the house sometime after eleven and even though Jensen had dove head first into his bed, Mike had refused to shut up until Jensen had promised he’d fill in all the damn details in the morning.
“’Sides. Jared’s downstairs, man.” Not needing to think twice, Jensen threw off the covers. Actually sitting up took a little bit more coaxing on his part, but it was the thought that counted. “So,” Mike said brightly, “is he a good kisser? I bet he’s a good kisser.”
Jensen rolled off the bed, hitting the floor and attempted to find his pants. “I’m not discussing this with you.”
“Come on, Jenny-kiss and tell! You know you want to!”
“Fuck off,” Jensen grumbled, hauling on a pair of jeans. He grabbed a shirt as well and headed out the bedroom door, pulling it on as he went.
“You’re seriously no fun in the mornings, Jensen,” Mike sniffed and headed off. Jensen breathed a silent prayer and ducked into an open bathroom, making sure to at least comb his hair and brush his teeth before heading downstairs like the pathetic loser he was.
Jared was downstairs alright, but, unfortunately, he had Lita hanging off of him. What time did she get up, anyway? Jensen kept the frown off his face and walked up to Jared who lit up like a Christmas tree. “Mornin’,” Jared said. “Sleep well?”
“Of course he did,” Lita answered. “It’d be hard not to in those beds.”
So much for keeping the frown off-it was out in full force. “I’m good,” he replied on the end of Lita’s statement. “You?”
Jared shrugged. “Well, you know, I kept wishing for company…” Jensen closed his eyes, fighting back the blush while Lita squealed, hitting Jared in the arm.
“You’re so bad!” she said. “You should have called me. I would have kept you company.”
“Yeah?” Jared asked with a grin, “but would I have gotten any sleep?”
“Sure,” she purred. “Eventually.” Jensen was going to be sick. He was going to be violently fucking sick and he could totally blame it on the way that Jared was looking at Lita who was making goo goo eyes back. Fuck, but he wasn’t cut out for this. Jensen wasn’t used to how jealousy twisted his stomach in knots and, thinking about it, it was something that he would have preferred not to know.
Unable to watch the scene anymore, Jensen had selected an apple and retreated to the backyard. Misha was there, communing with nature with his legs crossed and his hands outspread like the house’s personal Buddha. Sighing, Jensen flopped down in a lawn chair beside him and took a big bite of the apple.
“It’s not easy, is it?” Jensen turned to look at Misha who still had his eyes closed even though he’d just spoken. “A situation like this…it’s not very conducive to good karma.”
Still a little unsure if Misha was talking to him or perhaps the grass, Jensen took a chance and answered him. “You seem to be taking it well, though.”
Misha smiled, his eyes finally opening as he turned them on Jensen. “Yes, but I meditate. What do you do?” Jensen frowned, staring at the apple. Usually when he was upset he either started writing or picked up the guitar and just generally wallowed in the feeling until he got his fill. “Exactly,” Misha replied like Jensen had just answered him. “I let all the negative energy go. You should try it.”
Jensen resisted the urge to shove Misha over and crunched into the apple again.
Misha shrugged. “At least you’re not plotting like the others.”
Jensen froze in mid-chew, turning back to Misha. “’Scuse me?”
Misha raised his eyebrows. “For world domination.” Yes. Because that made sense. Obviously an evil super-villain had infiltrated the house and was now plotting to take over the world by getting Jared to fall in love with them. Though, come to think of it, that did kind of sound like some of the people in the house…
Jensen carefully swallowed his bite of apple. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Misha said, leaning in, “that there are some people who are willing to do almost anything to get to the top.”
“Dude,” Jensen said. “Could you be any more cryptic?”
“Yes,” Misha replied cheerfully, getting to his feet. “The dark angel flies at dawn.” Jensen stared as Misha waved, dusted himself off and walked inside. Just what the fuck did that mean? Jensen knotted his brows together and just shook his head. He really hoped that there wasn’t anything in the water here.
“For a mansion, this is a pretty boring place,” Mike grunted as he plopped himself down by the pool. Jensen grunted his agreement and turned to swim back the other way. He’d resorted to doing laps in the pool to try and deal with the restless boredom he was currently wrestling with. He wasn’t quite sure if it was helping or not but at least the physical activity was good for him.
Danneel, sunning herself on the patio with Sandy, tipped her sunglasses. “It’s because we’re waiting.”
“I hate waiting,” Sandy added. “I’d much rather be doing something.”
“I wouldn’t.” Danneel readjusted her glasses and leaned her head back. “Because if we were doing something right now, it would probably be another stupid challenge. Possibly involving the sleaze.”
Jensen reached the far edge of the pool, his hands gripping the ledge. “Or it would be a date,” he murmured.
Mike barked a laugh. “Not all of us have been so lucky, Jennybean. Some of us have had to go through this before-the waiting for a certain someone to come back from their lovely little date with the world-famous movie star.”
“He’s just a guy,” Sandy cut-in.
“What?” Mike swung his head up to look at her.
“Jared,” Sandy clarified, sitting up. “It doesn’t matter how famous he is, he’s still just a guy.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Whatever. This is still boring as shit, right? We’re all in agreement with that?”
Ben, who had been lifting weights on the corner deck, finally stood up. “Yes.”
“Good! Someone that agrees with me! I like that!”
Frankly, all Jensen could really think about is that a little more alone time with Jared would be awesome except that right now Jared was having that alone time with Lita and who the fuck knew how he would be when he came back. Maybe he’d have taken one date with the stripper that he knew Lita secretly was and decide that he liked women from now on out.
Jensen would like to think that he and Jared had a connection-hell, screw the like to think, he knew that they had had a connection. Yesterday had been fucking awesome and Jensen knew that he wasn’t the only one that wanted to repeat it.
Mike, though, had a point. Or rather, he had a couple of them. One, yes, waiting really did suck and, two, no, Jensen had not been through it before to quite this extent and he found that he really didn’t want to repeat the experience.
They’d been waiting for Jared to arrive home from his date with Lita for hours now and each passing second was starting to feel like an eternity. Jared was probably laying on the high class cheesiness right now and, damn it, even though it made Jensen want to laugh, he could appreciate it, too. He wouldn’t mind a little bit more of Jared’s romantic cheesiness. He wouldn’t.
Not even if Chris will make fun of him for it later.
“What I want to know,” Danneel said, still stretched out on her chair, “is just how much longer are they going to take? I mean, it was just a date.”
“Hey,” Mike shot back, leaning forward to skim his hand through the pool water, “just because it only takes you a few seconds to get out of your clothes, doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t need a little bit of warm-up time.”
Danneel snorted but Jensen froze, gripping the edge of the pool hard. God. He knew it was just a joke but what if that was what they were doing right now? Here he’d been imagining all sorts of romantic dinners or hot air balloon rides or whatever but what if Jared and Lita were really just going at it like rabbits? Because Jensen wasn’t exactly the most outgoing person in the world and yet he’d been perfectly willing to fool around. And Lita most definitely wasn’t as reserved as he was. In fact, she was kind of a-
Jensen pulled himself out of the pool, turning himself around to sit on the edge and kick his feet in the water. He just really needed to stop focusing on all of this.
Except. Jensen glanced up at the people assembled around him-at Mike still sitting on the other side, at Sandy and Danneel sunning themselves, at Ben, calmly watching them. Had Jared formed connections with them as well? How much time had he spent with any of them? How much did he like them? And where did Jensen fall in that little hierarchy of affection?
Jensen knew that Jared definitely had a connection with Sandy-they came from the same damn world, for fuck’s sake. And he’d seemed to like Ben. Plus there was Misha, who was still off meditating because he didn’t want any negativity in his life and he and Jared had spent nearly half of the first night talking. Then there was Georgie, off in the indoor gym and she’d had a solo date, too. Maybe Jared liked her just as much as he did Jensen. What about Tom and Justin? Justin was always hanging around Jared’s bedroom door, waiting for an invite. Had he already had one? How many? For how long?
Was that what Jensen was supposed to be doing? Waiting outside of Jared’s bedroom, hoping for an invitation inside-making time instead of just being handed it? God, but he was shit at this. How the Hell did you beg for attention in a house full of attention grabbers and certified head-turners?
It was enough to not only make Jensen’s head spin but it also made him want to puke. Fuck but he hoped that this whole damn thing wasn’t going to be a mistake. He was already twisted up into knots over Jared and he’d only really met the man a few days ago. That was ridiculous. This whole damn thing was ridiculous. Jensen pushed himself to his feet and grabbed a towel, quickly drying himself off and heading inside.
“See you later, J-man,” Mike called and Jensen only acknowledged him with a wave. He had to find something else to occupy his damn mind before he went insane.
He walked inside with a vague idea of calling home and maybe talking to him mom-except that she would probably want to ask about Jared and that was exactly what Jensen wanted to avoid. …Fuck but that was pathetic. He really should call his mom.
Making his mind to do so, Jensen turned the corner to head for the phone booth but stopped dead because that explained where Tom was. Tom was sitting inside the booth, looking like Clark Kent getting ready to change except that he was talking animatedly to whoever was on the other end of the line. Jensen swore. So much for that idea. Not wanting to eavesdrop, Jensen swung around to head back out of the corner and it brought him directly in the line of sight of the confessional.
Theoretically, they were supposed to enter the confessional at least once every two days to record their inner thoughts about what was going on, though Jeff had been taking it easy on all of them, slowly easing them into it all, walking them through it, letting them slide. Jeff, though, was currently out with Jared and Lita. And Jensen had only done one so far. He didn’t want to know what evil things Jeff would do to him if he waited until the guy came back so fuck it. Jensen walked into the closet and shut the door behind him.
The camera was still there, still pointing at the chair in front of the red backdrop and Jensen sat down, staring. “Uh…” He glanced down and then back up. “So, apparently I’m supposed to be doing these things and I know some of the others have already…” Misha, in particular, was fond of the confessional and Jensen, though he knew it was a mistake, kind of wanted to see the hours of footage that the man was recording. “And I,” Jensen continued, “am going out of my mind.” He pulled a face, raising his hands to pull at his hair. Hey, if it made it into the final cut, at least it would give Mackenzie a laugh. She loved seeing her older brother make a fool out of himself. And, in fact, Jensen was finding that it was easier to talk when Jeff wasn’t there, staring at him so knowingly. It was actually kind of…cathartic. “I’m not kidding. I mean, there’s only so much you can do cooped up in a place like this and I’m not even allowed to have my laptop. I’m considering grabbing a knife and writing an ode on the wall in blood or something. ‘Cause at least that would be entertaining. Except Jared might not like that so much…” Shit. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Jared right now.
“…You wouldn’t think that a date could last for so long,” Jensen muttered, echoing Danneel’s words and he froze, stopping himself right there. That train of thought lead into some pretty dangerous territory and Jensen didn’t need that kind of pity party. He sighed as he stood up and quietly left the room. So much for ‘confessing his innermost thoughts.’
He closed the door behind him, wondering whatever possessed him to go in voluntarily anyway and noted that Tom was out of the phone booth. Unfortunately, he’d been replaced by Justin and Jensen wondered if the booth was ever really free.
Justin was quite a bit louder than Tom, too. “Right. So I’m in his house right now. ...Yeah, I hope so, too. It would be really cool if this all works out, man. Total straight shot to the top. …Would I keep dating him? Dude. As long as he stays hot, it’s a possibility. I mean, have you seen him? Of course I want to hit that. …Yeah. He’s even got a big bed to go with that big body. …You know me. Of course I’ve been in it already-”
Jensen swallowed back the sudden bile in his throat and turned back around the corner to head to the main part of the living room. And this was why eavesdropping was considered a bad thing-you heard things that you rather wish you hadn’t.
What had been heard, though, could not be unheard, and now Jensen was wondering just how much time Justin had spent in Jared’s bed already. They hadn’t even been here that long-how had he managed to slither his way in? And when? And was Jensen supposed to be doing the same?
…And just exactly how far had they-It wasn’t any of his damn business. None of it was. The sooner he learned that the happier he would be.
It was just awfully damn hard to think of someone as your maybe ‘boyfriend’ and also have to reconcile that with the fact that you had to share said boyfriend with ten other people. It just all went to emphasize the fact that Jensen was only getting one tenth of the damn story and fuck but he hated that.
Jensen did not run to the door like the rest of the house when Jared came home. He wanted to-like a puppy-but he forced himself to remain in place, trying to wait as casually as was possible considering that he was leaning up against the wall beside Jared’s bedroom door. From his position, though, he could still see Jared standing at the main entrance doors, arm wrapped around Lita and he had a crystal clear view of Lita leaning up to give Jared a little kiss. Jensen ground his teeth.
Jared greeted everybody like normal, saying hi to each individual person and he looked a little confused when he reached the end of them until he glanced up at the balcony. Jensen felt his heart clench at the fact that Jared had been looking for him and it did an all out somersault when Jared smiled at him. The crowd followed Jared up the stairs, just like normal, but this time, Jensen was first in line at Jared’s door. Jared stepped right up to him, leaning in close and making Jensen’s breath speed up. “Were you waiting for me, Jen?” he asked.
Jensen ignored the fact that Lita was still hanging off of him and Justin was glaring daggers while others were randomly trying to get Jared’s attention. This was his time, damn it. “Just wanted to know if you’d like some company,” Jensen replied and it was totally worth it for the way that Jared’s smile grew.
“Anytime,” Jared said and finally let go of Lita to grab a hold of Jensen. He opened the door, ignoring the protests happening around him and ushered Jensen inside, throwing out a “Sorry, guys,” before he shut the door.
Justin hadn’t been kidding. Jared’s bed was huge. Jensen was caught up in just staring at it because the thing was hard to miss considering that it was dominating a great deal of the room. “Want to try it out?” Jared teased and Jensen couldn’t stop the little instinctive shudder down his spine. Hell yes, he did. But that wasn’t what he was here for.
Except that was what Jared was possibly here for. With a soft, “Jen,” Jared reached out and cupped Jensen’s face, pulling him closer for a kiss that had Jensen’s knees starting to give out again. Damn but the man could kiss. It was in the way that Jared focused everything he had on just one moment and one tiny spot and fuck but it was overwhelming. When he pulled away, Jensen had to bite back a whine of disappointment. “Missed you,” Jared said and Jensen nodded, not daring to open his eyes though he wasn’t quite sure when he’d closed them.
Jared let him go and Jensen swayed a little before finding his feet again. “Anything you wanted to talk about or did you just miss me, too?”
Well, if Jensen was honest, he knew that he wanted to talk about Justin and any of the others and demand to know just what Jared was doing with each and every one of them but he was all too aware of just how crazy that would sound. “Might have missed you,” Jensen murmured and Jared quirked a smile.
“That’s all I get, huh? A maybe?”
Jensen shrugged teasingly and slowly spun around to take in Jared’s room. “Maybe I just wanted to see your bedroom.”
“Well,” Jared replied, “if that was all you wanted, you should have said so. I would have been more than happy to give you the ten cent tour.”
Jared’s room was thankfully less tacky than the rest of the house as well, making Jensen wonder if he’d had a say in what went into this particular room but perhaps not the rest of the house. It had a lot of the classic bachelor red and black going on, though, but every now and then it was broken up by picture of Jared’s family or a pink squeak toy that Jensen was guessing belonged to Jared’s dogs. The most fascinating thing, though, was the line of framed photographs taking up nearly one entire wall. They looked like… “Sorry. Didn’t have the ten cents,” Jensen shot back distractedly, walking towards the pictures. His eyes widened as he realized that it was exactly what he’d thought-headshots of the ‘cast’ with their names emblazoned below. And below the names, tacked onto the wall, were, mortifyingly enough, the Polaroids that Chad had taken on the first day. Jensen blinked at the shot of his ass and the close-up of his lips and tried not to wince too noticeably.
“I’m sure that we could have worked out some other kind of payment,” Jared purred as his arms wrapped around Jensen from behind, his hips aligning again. He nuzzled at Jensen’s ear and Jensen felt his jeans starting to grow tight. He couldn’t figure out what was more embarrassing-the pictures or the lightning fast erection.
Jared’s chuckle startled him but he didn’t jump-couldn’t considering that Jared’s hands were anchoring him. “Yeah, sorry about those. Chad said that we had to put them up. Frankly, though, I can’t say that I mind the view…” Jensen carefully didn’t look at anyone else’s Polaroid and, instead, turned in Jared’s arms, pulling him down for another kiss.
“Mmm…” Jared gave Jensen a few quick kisses, leaving Jensen’s lips tingling and his mind slyly wondering if now was the right time to get acquainted with Jared’s bed but there was a knock at the door. Jared grimaced and stepped back. “Sorry,” he said softly before raising his voice to whoever was out in the hall. “Come in!”
Jensen glanced sharply at the door, wondering just who the hell it was but had to wince when he saw Chad’s blonde head pop in. “Hey, Jay-oh. You were busy, weren’t you?” Chad’s eyebrows wiggled. “I’d say that I’d come back another time, but Jeff will kill me if we don’t get this show on the road.”
“Right,” Jared said. He pulled Jensen into a hug, kissing his cheek. “So, Chad and I have got to…well, you know.” He waved his hands at the pictures and sighed. “But maybe we can talk later?” He gripped Jensen’s shoulders and pulled him back, nodding in earnest until Jensen started nodding, too. “Stop by anytime, Jen,” Jared said. “I’ll make sure that I give you a better tour.” He winked and Chad snorted.
“I bet you will,” Chad said, his tone insinuating a lot of things that Jensen opted to ignore as he pushed past him and headed back out into the hallway where apparently the entire freaking house was waiting. Jensen would accuse them all of not having lives, but, well, he wasn’t one to talk and it wasn’t exactly like they had a choice right now.
“Hey guys,” Jared said, holding the door and ignoring Chad just like Jensen. “So Chad and I have to do our thing and it’s going to be a really tough one.” He frowned at all of them. “So, I’ll see you all down in the main room in an hour, okay?” Then he closed the door, just in time to miss the mad rush for the bedrooms and the bathrooms. Jensen let himself be carried along with the crowd, feeling higher than a freaking kite because Jared wanted to see him again.
Yes. It was official. He had regressed back to being a teenager.
Jensen lined up with the rest of the crowd on the little podium that the producers were apparently going to haul out special for each Elimination Ceremony. He took his normal spot in the back-a spot given to him out of virtue of being one of the taller contestants. Tom, Mike, Ben and Misha lined up beside him while the rest took a spot down in front. There was what Jensen was starting to identify as the usual jittering of nerves but, while he was understandably anxious, Jensen felt more confident than the last time he’d attended an Elimination Ceremony.
Jared still wanted to see him.
That didn’t stop his heart from turning over, though, when Jared emerged into the room, carrying the thin chains again. It was only natural at this point. “I’ve only got nine here guys. So, I’m sorry, but for someone, the red carpet is going to end tonight.” Jensen blinked-the red carpet line had to be one of the show’s tag phrases. It was the second time he’d heard Jared use it.
Jared laid the chains down on a podium, selecting only one before he turned back to face them. “I’d like to thank you all for being here for me and I want you to know that each time I do this, it gets harder and harder because I’ve formed attachments with all of you and, if it was up to me, you’d all stay. But, unfortunately somebody has to go. So…” He held up the chain. “Jensen, I’d love it if you could come up here.”
Jensen’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t bother to wait for Mike’s push. He walked down the stairs and moved to stand directly in front of Jared. “What can I say?” Jared started. “You start off slow but once you get going-wow. I had an amazing night with you and I’d love to repeat it if you don’t mind. Except this time, maybe we’d make it last a little longer.” Jensen nodded, smiling and held still as Jared attached the chain around his neck. “Thanks for being here for me,” he said and leaned down the crucial few inches to press his mouth to Jensen’s and, in front of the cameras, the houseguests, God and possibly his mother, Jensen surged into it because how could he not? They held together for a few long beats that had Jensen’s heart thumping wildly before Jared broke away. “Wow,” he breathed. “See what I mean?”
Jensen took a spot on the other side of the room, making himself known to whatever future audience that would be watching that he was one of Jared’s ‘chosen’ and Jared moved on. “Uh, next,” Jared said, pulling out another chain. “Well, kind of different. Because Lita, you started off strong and you’ve just kept right on going and I’d love for you to come down here so I give you this chain.” Lita smiled and slunk down the stairs as well, standing patiently as Jared attached the chain to her next. “I had a lot of fun today.”
“I did too,” she murmured and leaned up to kiss him. Jared met her eagerly and Jensen looked away before jealousy knotted his insides, looking back only when Jared started talking again. “We have a lot in common and I’d really like a chance to get to know you more, Sandy.” Jared moved on down the list, handing out chains to Misha, Danneel, Ben Georgie, and Mike and left just Tom and Justin standing up on the podium.
Jensen watched them, rooting for Tom in his heart but he also knew why, too. This was probably something that he needed to work on. Later. Much later. “Tom,” Jared was saying, “I definitely like what I see I just…well, I’m not getting much from you. I’m hoping that we can work on that.” Tom nodded solemnly and Jared turned to Justin. “Now, Justin, I get to see,” he said and Justin smiled. “It’s definitely been great spending time with you and I love your comments on everything. The only thing I’m wondering, though, is…if you’re here for the right reasons.”
Jensen glanced back at Jared who was talking with his hands again, holding them out sympathetically as he ducked his head down. “And, in the end, I’m just not feeling a connection. So, Justin, I’m sorry, but the red carpet ends here.” Regardless of the fact that he’d gotten what he’d wanted, Jensen couldn’t feel even the slightest bit glad with the absolutely heartbroken face Justin was wearing. “I’m sorry,” Jared repeated and left his spot to go hug the poor kid. Justin accepted it, burying his head in Jared’s shoulder as Jared patted his back. “I’m sorry.”
Jared pulled away and turned to Tom, putting the necklace on him, eyes suspiciously wet. “So I’m going to see more of you, right?” Jared asked and Tom nodded again as Justin quietly stepped off the podium.
“Definitely.”
“Good.”
The doors of the house closed quietly behind the kid and Jensen bid adieu to Twinktastic as Danneel rolled her eyes, muttering about how “the kid should get an Emmy for that little performance.” Jensen hoped that the cameras hadn’t picked it up.
“If everyone could gather around, please?” Jared asked. “A toast to those that are left and in remembrance of those that aren’t.”
Jensen took the glass that he was handed, holding it up and downing it all in one gulp again. He was here to stay-he’d make sure of that.
Part 5 | Master Post | Part 7
Author: dragonspell
Fandom: RPS
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (and Jared/a slew of other characters including Misha Collins, Tom Welling, Mike Rosenbaum, Danneel Harris, Sandy McCoy and some OMCs and OFCs)
Rating: Currently PG-13 (eventual NC-17)
Warnings: AU. Cheesiness. Fandom cliches. The usual drill.
Summary (fic): After a drunken dare, award-winning writer Jensen agreed to on a reality television show to vie for the attention of megastar Jared Padalecki who he's had a crush on for years. Only Jensen doesn't know how he's going to be able to tolerate all the other contestants and their widely varying personalities and he's pretty sure that you're not supposed to be able to get used to somebody filming you 24/7.
Summary (part): A private date and an Elimination Ceremony. Someone's going home.
Word Count: 9310 (this part)
Disclaimer: Never happened, no affiliation.
Master Post: Master Post
Part 5 | Master Post | Part 7
Episode 3 - Second Half
The limo was not as tacky as the mansion. It may have been a stretch Hummer getting approximately three miles to the gallon but at least there was no zebra striped upholstery or purple fuzzy rugs in sight. Jensen, though, still sat gingerly against the far door because he was wondering, for the first time, just how many cameras there were embedded in the car. He’d never thought about it before-always too worried about the house-but now, he here was, sitting in the backseat of the limo with none other than Jared Padalecki and there wasn’t a cameraman to be found. Jensen knew that this did not mean in any way, shape, or form, that they weren’t being recorded right now. So he was wondering just where the cameras were.
They had given him time to change-thankfully into his own clothes but, disturbingly enough, not the same ones that he’d worn to the photoshoot. Jensen currently had no idea where those were. Instead, he’d been brought a bag of his own clothes and told to ‘pick out something nice’ plus to bring a swimsuit. Jensen had done as instructed and tried not to feel too much like a harem girl. After he’d passed inspection, he’d been shoved into the limo beside Jared to go God knew where.
Jensen jumped when Jared grabbed his hand and Jared laughed. “Relax,” he teased. “I promise I don’t ravish on the first date.”
Jensen could think of a few things to say to that: one, this wasn’t their first date and two, he might, uh, be okay with a little bit of ravishing. Unfortunately his tongue stopped working correctly when Jared started rubbing distracting circles into his hand again. It was damn awfully hard to think when Jared felt so warm and sure against his skin. Jared’s hand was still huge and Jensen couldn’t help but daydream about what those hands would look like against other parts of his body. “So I’ve got a confession to make,” Jared said and Jensen finally glanced up from his contemplation of Jared’s hands. Jared huffed a laugh and averted his eyes, a strangely shy move that Jensen couldn’t help but find endearing. It made him want to wrap Jared into a huge hug and press kisses against his face. Jensen was also pretty damn sure he wasn’t supposed to be feeling this way within three days of meeting a guy. This was definitely down the rabbit hole, Alice. “I, uh, may have read one of your books already.”
Jensen couldn’t breathe. Jared had turned back to face him and Jensen couldn’t look away but he couldn’t breathe, either. For anyone that knew him, reading his books was kind of like reading his damn soul. The world didn’t know that but he did. “Which…which one?” Jensen choked out.
“Shadow Heart,” Jared confessed. That was Jensen’s third one. “I actually read it when it first came out. And then I reread it when I found out that you were going to be on the show.”
“That’s…so…you already…”
“Yeah.” Jared was big and warm and completely distracting. “I already knew. I was actually a little excited but, uh, Jeff, you know wanted me to play it cool.”
“Oh.” Jensen had nothing. He had absolutely nothing. Jared had actually read one of his books before and apparently liked it. Jared fucking Padalecki had liked one of his books and if this was what Cloud Nine felt like then Jensen never wanted to get off. He felt light-headed and slightly giddy, like he should be out running a quarter mile or something instead of sitting inside a limo holding a guy’s hand. …Or, maybe he should be knocking said guy flat and climbing on top of him. Yeah. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Jensen licked his lips, getting ready for it, but Jared beat him to the punch.
Jared’s mouth pressed hard against his and it felt just as amazing as the last two times except this time, Jared’s lips parted and his tongue ran along Jensen’s, asking for permission. Jensen gasped and let him in, trying to memorize every second as Jared slipped inside.
Jensen squirmed, sliding closer on the seat, his pants getting too damn tight and Jared being too damn awesome to resist. Fuck. He couldn’t see to get close enough, though, because Jensen was pretty damn sure that he wouldn’t be close enough until he was actually a part of Jared. He pressed himself more tightly against Jared, trying to make it so that there wasn’t even room for air in between them.
Jared broke the kiss, his eyes fluttering open to meet Jensen’s and Jensen just stared back because how damn awesome was his life right now? He was sitting in the back of a limo making out with his biggest wet dream. Christ. Life just didn’t get any better than this. Jensen wrapped his hand around the back of Jared’s neck and jerked him closer for another taste, wanting more. Jared gave a surprised moan before his hand raised-just like in his damn movies and Jensen’s daydreaming fantasies-to cup Jensen’s jaw, tilting him just slightly for a better angle, as Jensen thrust his tongue into Jared’s mouth.
Chris was totally going to make fun of him for this but Chris could just fuck off. It wasn’t every day that a man got to act out his dreams. Wanting to see if what he’d always thought was correct, Jensen placed his hand against Jared’s shoulder, feeling the muscle underneath. He trailed his hand along Jared’s collar bone to his shoulder and gripped it hand, moaning at how freaking solid Jared was against him. Fuck-this was so much better than the fantasies. This was the real fucking deal and it really was Jared Padalecki sitting right next to him.
Jared’s big hands were now grabbing at him for real, no teasing or light touches about it as he manhandled Jensen into a better position and held him still to kiss the ever-loving daylights out him. Not that Jensen minded. He was considering throwing a leg over Jared and grinding downward, getting them one step closer to where they both wanted to be when Jared finally broke away, panting. Jensen tried to follow him but Jared held him steady, despite Jensen’s shuddery whine of protest. “Wow, Jen,” Jared breathed, sucking in a few huge gulps of air, and Jensen smiled, hands running up to cup Jared’s face and trying to coax him back down. “Wow…” Jared muttered, bending down for another kiss and Jensen moaned happily as Jared’s lips touched his again.
A sharp knock at the window startled them both, Jared swearing and turning his head and Jensen attempting to jump all the way back over against the far window. “What?!” Jared snapped and it took Jensen a few surprised, heart-thumping seconds to realize that Jared wasn’t talking to him, but instead to the deep voice answering him.
“We’re here,” Jeff replied through the glass and Jensen blinked wondering what the fuck he was talking about. That, though, was before, his brain came back online, crawling out of the hazy lust fogging his mind and the whole damn situation slammed into him like a car wreck. Holy fuck. Jensen flushed and glanced to his side where a suspicious spot in the side definitely appeared to be a camera and he’d just about been ready to completely go for it. And apparently Jeff and God knows who else had seen everything. Oh, fuck. Jensen closed his eyes and slumped back against the seat, his hands raising to cover his flaming face because Christ-he’d just been making out with Jared freaking Padalecki on camera.
“Uh, sorry about that…” Jared said sheepishly and Jensen felt the seat move beside him as Jared shifted. “Jen?” Jared’s big hands were back on Jensen, pulling at his wrists. “…Are you okay?”
Knowing that the game was up, Jensen let his hands drop, showing off his still red face and took a deep breath as he nodded, opening his eyes. “Yeah. I, uh…”
Jared’s mouth twitched for a moment before he leaned in close, still holding Jensen’s arms. “Yeah. I kind of liked it, too,” Jared whispered and Jensen’s breath was catching in his throat again. “Was kind of hoping that we could maybe we could pick up where we left off in a little while.” A little while?. Jensen raised his eyebrows, confused and Jared smiled as he jerked his head toward the window where Jeff was still waiting. “Got a few things planned for you first,” he said. His eyes flicked downward for a moment before coming back up. “You know, like, uh, dinner.”
Jensen laughed because he couldn’t help himself-Jared and his food. He never would have guessed back when he was just watching the man on the screen. “Gonna blow me away?” he asked and Jared nodded.
“Guaranteed.” Then he was tugging Jensen toward the door that Jeff was standing outside of, urging him out of the limo.
Deciding to face the music-or rather Jeff Morgan’s calculating brown eyes, Jensen slide across the black leather with Jared and exited the car. Jeff was just off to the side, giving them a somewhat sympathetic look as he said, “Sorry, guys, but the sunset doesn’t wait for anyone, you know.”
Jared nodded like it was nothing-which, as it was his plan, why wouldn’t he?-while Jensen’s mouth dropped open. Sunset? That was when he finally noticed where they were.
The limo was parked alongside a long strip of marina, wooden docks jutting out into the ocean and oh my freaking God. “You have a boat?” Jensen asked, blurting it out and feeling ridiculous after he did.
“Technically,” Jared said with a grin, “it’s a yacht.” Of course Jared had a yacht. He was freaking loaded, after all. Why wouldn’t he have a yacht? “I can’t call it a boat or they’ll kick me out of the yacht club.”
Oh. Well, that made sense. Maybe. Jensen looked at Jared, unsure if he was joking or not and Jared just laughed, holding out a hand. “Come on. I’ll show you my yacht.” Jared’s big paw enveloped Jensen’s hand, dragging him towards one of the docks and Jensen couldn’t decide where he wanted to look. Jared was directly in front of him and staring at Jared, Jensen knew, was always a worthwhile endeavor. However, this time around, he was also surrounded by gorgeous yachts, sitting gleaming in the water, gently bobbing up and down with the small waves and then there was the blue horizon staring them down, the sun slowly making its way towards the water, promising to set it ablaze in just a short while.
Of course, as well, there was always the creeping camera men following them but Jensen firmly shoved all thought of them out of his mind. He was about to go for a cruise on a freaking yacht. Jeff had melted away, too, disappearing into the woodwork somewhere like he was so freaking skilled at, so Jensen focused on trying to remember every bit of detail about the bobbing boats he could as Jared pulled him along the dock.
They stopped in front of one of them, white with dark blue trim and Jensen sucked in a breath because the thing was absolutely huge. “What do you think?” Jared asked and Jensen couldn’t think of anything else besides ‘big.’ Like everything else belonging to Jared. Jared shrugged his shoulders and glanced away with a small smile. “It’s only a forty footer but I like it,” he said and climbed on board. He waved Jensen over and Jensen climbed over after him, though not as gracefully, though he sincerely hoped that was just from a lack of practice. It was hard to judge what the boat was going to be doing while he was attempting to climb about it, regardless of how well it was tied down to the dock. “Careful,” Jared said, grabbing a hold of his elbow.
“I got it,” Jensen murmured. He didn’t, though, bother to shake Jared off.
“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to touch you,” Jared said back, gently steering him towards the middle of the yacht and the door that was there.
Jensen felt his mouth quirk up into a smile. “Oh, so I get the total cheese today.”
Jared stumbled, tripping over a coiled rope. He recovered, kicking it aside while laughing at himself. “Hey, now, don’t make fun of my technique. I told you I was going all out.” He pushed open the door, ushering Jensen inside. Jensen followed the motion, walking backward because he didn’t want to let Jared out of his sight.
“All out, huh?” Jensen asked, his hand rising to touch Jared’s face, fingertips sliding over his cheek. Hey. Jared wasn’t the only one looking for any excuse possible to touch.
“Yeah.” He could feel Jared’s smile growing bigger. “How did I do?” With a finger, Jared turned Jensen’s head to the side, making him catch sight of the scene behind him.
Jensen caught a flare of flame and he turned the rest of the way around, jaw falling open. “Wow…” The entire interior of the cabin was set up like something straight out of bodice-ripping Harlequin, candles lighting up nearly every available surface. They flickered throughout the room, the faint light licking up the walls and softly falling on the white covered table set for two in the center of the room.
Unlike the mansion that Jensen had been living in, the interior of the yacht wasn’t ‘hip’ or ‘modern,’ instead seeming just entirely ‘comfortable’ except for the high society setup of the table. “This is…”
“I was hoping you’d like it,” Jared said, sliding close to Jensen. “I know that it’s really cheesy, but I get points for going the whole nine yards, right?” Jensen felt Jared’s hands slide over his hips, lightly gripping him, but he was still too busy staring. There was even a vase with flowers sitting in the middle of the table.
Jensen didn’t quite know what to say. He’d never been ‘wined and dined’ like this, not even when he’d been dating the surgeon. “I, uh…” He licked his lips. Fuck it. “I like it.”
“Oh, good,” Jared said, sounding relieved. He pressed a kiss to Jensen’s neck and pulled Jensen back against him. That was most definitely Jared’s dick poking Jensen in the ass, too. Jensen’s breathing sped up, wondering if Jared was going to kiss him again, but Jared just grinned and said, “Let’s eat.”
Jared tried to pull out Jensen’s chair for him, but that was where Jensen was drawing the line. He shook his head at Jared and pulled out his own chair, making Jared duck his head again and huff a laugh. “Sorry. Got carried away.” Taking his own seat, Jared had then pulled off the silver cover of the first part of the dinner, baring what Jared assured him were crab stuffed mushroom caps.
“So how are you liking the house?” Jared asked, serving them both.
Jensen poked at the food on his plate as he carefully considered his answer. “It’s an experience,” he replied finally.
Jared laughed and popped a piece of mushroom into his mouth. “That means that you hate it!”
“I don’t hate it!” Jensen denied immediately but Jared met him with a flat look. “…I might be questioning some design choices.”
“Fair enough,” Jared said, waving him off. “Are you getting used to the cameras?” he asked slyly, leaning forward.
Jensen shrugged because Jared might have had a point that first day. In the house, without all the men manning the cameras, sometimes Jensen forgot that they we even there but it wasn’t like he wanted to own up to that. Speaking of cameras… Where were they? Jensen frowned, wondering if the yacht was like the mansion-with the cameras already built in. “I knew it,” Jared said, grinning. He pointed at the food on Jensen’s plate. “You should really try that. It’s good.”
Jensen stared down at the mushroom. “So… Are all of the dates with you going to involve food in some way?”
Jared looked aghast, comically stretching out his face. “You don’t like food?” he exaggerated, miming out a heartattack and Jensen laughed. “Okay, so I like food. Still! You should eat that.” He leaned forward again, this time using his fork to cut off a piece. “Here.” He offered the newly separated bite to Jensen and just who was Jensen to refuse an invitation like that?
Giving in to the not-so-subtle prodding, Jensen wrapped his mouth around Jared’s fork and immediately closed his eyes. Damn. It really was kind of good. “See?” Jared said. “I told you so.” He held up another piece and Jensen didn’t hesitate, eating that one too. “Good, yeah? So are you ready for more?”
Oh, God, there was more? Jensen nearly laughed at himself for his own naivety because who was he kidding? It was Jared, of course there was more food. That didn’t mean, however, that he still didn’t gawk in amazement when a waiter came in with another tray, setting the dishes in front of them because there was a waiter on Jared’s boat.
“Thanks,” Jared said and the guy disappeared again as Jared tried to explain what it was. Jensen, though, was sure that at least some of the words were being mispronounced and when he called Jared on it, Jared started laughing again. “Probably!” he admitted before launching into a discussion about Jensen’s writing which forced Jensen into confessing that he was a little impressed. “Oh, so I’m impressive,” Jared said.
Always, Jensen’s brain chimed in but he wasn’t about to say that out loud. “It’s just surprising,” he said instead. “I think you’re the first I’ve even known that understood that Tommy was a metaphor for the state of affairs in Eastern Europe.”
“Well,” Jared said as demurely as it was possible considering he was still stuffing his face with chicken. “I can read.”
Jensen had laughed and, uncomfortable with the spotlight being completely on him, had flipped it over to a discussion of Jared’s movies, something that Jensen could happily talk about for hours. Plus, he finally had a chance to ask all those niggling, deep-seated questions that he’d never had answers for before such as, “In Hunter’s Paradise, why did Drake decide to pick Katie over Ryan? Because if he wouldn’t have gone off with her, he would have lived.”
“Well,” Jared laughed, “I personally wanted it the other way around but the director didn’t agree with me.” He shook his hand and caught sight of his watch. “Oh, shit!”
“What?” Jensen asked, freezing in mid-bite.
“Damn it, I forgot about the time. Uh, is it okay if we wait a little while on dessert?”
“Uh…sure?” Jensen answered because what else could he possible say to that? It was good enough for Jared who was up and out of his seat like a shot, dragging Jensen along after him as he ran towards the deck. Jensen was about to try and demand what was wrong but that was before he saw the horizon. “Whoa.” He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the brilliant colors splashed across the sky and bleeding into the sea.
“It’s gorgeous, right?” Jared said, pulling him up the railing of the boat. Jensen gripped the chrome tightly, staring out at the water and the cloudless sky with the setting sun. He couldn’t find the words to express himself and so remained quiet and Jared, remarkably, let him, only moving closer to wrap his arm around Jensen’s waist. Jensen reached up, gripping Jared’s shirt with a loose grip and together they watched the setting sun, silent except for the sound of the water against the boat.
Watching the blazing sun setting just over the horizon, watching it light up the sky in pinks and reds and a hint of purple, Jensen couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be but bobbing on the waves. He had Jared standing directly behind him, holding him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered and it was a picture perfect moment, seemingly torn right out of the end of a movie. Apparently Jared had picked up a few things along the way.
Like all things, though, it was destined to end sometime and when the last rays finally dimmed, he had to admit that it was over. He licked his lips, staring out at the darkening sea. “Well,” he said and Jared kissed him, soft but sudden. Jared’s tongue unfurled into Jensen’s mouth and with a quiet moan, Jensen turned, surging up into the kiss. God but Jared’s mouth, Jensen thought, should be classified as one of the Deadly Sins because damned if he wasn’t tempted to do a few vile and depraved acts because of it.
Jensen indulged himself in another bit of fancy, delving his fingers into Jared’s floofy, floofy hair and finding out once and for all that it was just as soft as it looked. Jared’s own hands were holding Jensen’s jaw, once again making sure that he couldn’t go anywhere but closer. Jensen happily agreed with that sentiment, pressing himself as close as possible to Jared’s body, feeling a hardness press against his lower stomach that had his breath quickening and his pulse racing. He knew exactly what that was.
All too soon, though, Jared was pulling away, pressing a few more quick kisses against Jensen’s lips before stepping backward. “Ready for dessert?” he asked.
And here Jensen thought that he’d already been getting dessert. He licked his lips again, savoring the last taste of Jared before nodding. “Sure,” he murmured, letting Jared usher him back inside.
Jensen had not noticed the temperature dropping when he was outside but stepping into the cabin made it all to clear just how cold it had gotten outside-it was like walking into a hothouse. He knew, though, that he was only thinking that way because of his excitement and the racing endorphins.
He tried to move back to the table but Jared didn’t let him, instead pushing him towards the stairs on the far side of the room. “Up,” Jared said and smiling, Jensen did as ordered. At the top of the stairs, he emerged into a smaller room that was lined with a long gray couch. Jared gave Jensen a shove towards it and, sitting down, Jensen found it surprisingly comfortable. As in maybe time to take a nap, comfortable. Jared grinned as he sat down beside him, one leg curling up underneath him as he sat sideways to look at Jensen, head resting on one hand with his elbow braced against the back of the couch. “Sometimes I sleep up here,” Jared said quietly.
“I could see why,” Jensen replied. He gave into an urge and pushed back a lock of Jared’s hair, tucking it behind one ear and then basked in the glow from Jared’s resulting smile.
“So,” Jared said, reaching behind him, “in the interests of being cheesy and going all out tonight, how do you feel about fruit and whipped cream?”
Jensen laughed, not bothering to hide behind a hand this time. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Jared replied, hauling out a tray of fruit with a dish of fluffy cream . He picked up a strawberry and dipped it into the white before raising it to Jensen’s mouth. “Say ‘ah.’”
Jensen rolled his eyes and bit into the berry, making sure to get as much of the cream as possible before licking off the stray bit that he’d missed. “God Jen…” Jared whispered and Jensen flicked his eyes up to meet Jared’s, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Like that?” he teased.
“Do it again,” Jared breathed, holding up another piece of fruit. Jensen obliged him, wrapping his lips around the berry and this time making sure that he was close enough to catch Jared’s fingers. Jared exhaled shakily and Jensen mentally congratulated himself. Then Jared was tossing the fruit away and lunging toward Jensen, snuggling up close, his nose burying in Jensen’s hair.
“Hey!” Jensen laughingly protested. “What about dessert?”
“Screw it,” Jared said and dove down for another kiss while he pressed Jensen against the soft gray cushions of the couch.
Absolutely, Jensen thought. “Anything you say…” He wrapped his arms around Jared’s neck, holding him close as they kissed again, tongues dueling and moving against one another. Jensen whimpered, arching upward, straining against the hold that Jared had on him and loving every second of it.
Jared spent long leisurely minutes exploring Jensen’s mouth as Jensen steadily relaxed into it, going with the flow until he was unsure how much time had passed, just that he never wanted to stop again. Of course, that was when Jared broke away again, moving to the right just enough to rest his head against Jensen’s shoulder. “Something wrong?” Jensen asked quietly.
“Just tired,” Jared whispered back. “I’m sorry, Jen… I think they got me up too early.”
“Oh.” Jensen wondered just what time that Jared had been forced to get up at and felt a twinge of sympathy. Jensen wouldn’t have been nearly as nice about being woken up as Jared probably had been. “Did you…Did you need to lie down?” Jensen offered. He was totally okay with letting Jared be the one on the bottom.
“No,” Jared said, shaking his head. “It’s okay. We’re probably almost back to port anyway.” He sat up, moving away and Jensen fought back his surge of disappointment that the day that he’d never wanted to end was apparently drawing to a close.
“Okay.” Jensen pushed himself up as well. “So, uh, whoever’s driving the boat knows how to park it, right?”
“Yacht,” Jared correct with a grin. “And I certainly hope so. Maybe we can go out on the water again-just the two of us. I’d let you steer.”
Jensen smiled, disappointment fading. “I’d like that,” he said and leaned in for another kiss, making it last until Jeff, yelling from the docks, finally let them know that they had to get some sleep sometime.
There was something poking him. Jensen swatted irritably at it, hoping that it would go away but no such luck. Instead, it started poking harder. “Come on, Jenny… Time to wake up and tell Mikey all the scandalous details.”
Oh, Mike had to be fucking kidding him. Jensen opened one blurry eye and rolled it to glare at Mike. “G’way.”
“You promised, Jenny, remember?”
Jensen vaguely remembered doing something like that, but it was mainly to get Mike off his back. He and Jared had gotten back to the house sometime after eleven and even though Jensen had dove head first into his bed, Mike had refused to shut up until Jensen had promised he’d fill in all the damn details in the morning.
“’Sides. Jared’s downstairs, man.” Not needing to think twice, Jensen threw off the covers. Actually sitting up took a little bit more coaxing on his part, but it was the thought that counted. “So,” Mike said brightly, “is he a good kisser? I bet he’s a good kisser.”
Jensen rolled off the bed, hitting the floor and attempted to find his pants. “I’m not discussing this with you.”
“Come on, Jenny-kiss and tell! You know you want to!”
“Fuck off,” Jensen grumbled, hauling on a pair of jeans. He grabbed a shirt as well and headed out the bedroom door, pulling it on as he went.
“You’re seriously no fun in the mornings, Jensen,” Mike sniffed and headed off. Jensen breathed a silent prayer and ducked into an open bathroom, making sure to at least comb his hair and brush his teeth before heading downstairs like the pathetic loser he was.
Jared was downstairs alright, but, unfortunately, he had Lita hanging off of him. What time did she get up, anyway? Jensen kept the frown off his face and walked up to Jared who lit up like a Christmas tree. “Mornin’,” Jared said. “Sleep well?”
“Of course he did,” Lita answered. “It’d be hard not to in those beds.”
So much for keeping the frown off-it was out in full force. “I’m good,” he replied on the end of Lita’s statement. “You?”
Jared shrugged. “Well, you know, I kept wishing for company…” Jensen closed his eyes, fighting back the blush while Lita squealed, hitting Jared in the arm.
“You’re so bad!” she said. “You should have called me. I would have kept you company.”
“Yeah?” Jared asked with a grin, “but would I have gotten any sleep?”
“Sure,” she purred. “Eventually.” Jensen was going to be sick. He was going to be violently fucking sick and he could totally blame it on the way that Jared was looking at Lita who was making goo goo eyes back. Fuck, but he wasn’t cut out for this. Jensen wasn’t used to how jealousy twisted his stomach in knots and, thinking about it, it was something that he would have preferred not to know.
Unable to watch the scene anymore, Jensen had selected an apple and retreated to the backyard. Misha was there, communing with nature with his legs crossed and his hands outspread like the house’s personal Buddha. Sighing, Jensen flopped down in a lawn chair beside him and took a big bite of the apple.
“It’s not easy, is it?” Jensen turned to look at Misha who still had his eyes closed even though he’d just spoken. “A situation like this…it’s not very conducive to good karma.”
Still a little unsure if Misha was talking to him or perhaps the grass, Jensen took a chance and answered him. “You seem to be taking it well, though.”
Misha smiled, his eyes finally opening as he turned them on Jensen. “Yes, but I meditate. What do you do?” Jensen frowned, staring at the apple. Usually when he was upset he either started writing or picked up the guitar and just generally wallowed in the feeling until he got his fill. “Exactly,” Misha replied like Jensen had just answered him. “I let all the negative energy go. You should try it.”
Jensen resisted the urge to shove Misha over and crunched into the apple again.
Misha shrugged. “At least you’re not plotting like the others.”
Jensen froze in mid-chew, turning back to Misha. “’Scuse me?”
Misha raised his eyebrows. “For world domination.” Yes. Because that made sense. Obviously an evil super-villain had infiltrated the house and was now plotting to take over the world by getting Jared to fall in love with them. Though, come to think of it, that did kind of sound like some of the people in the house…
Jensen carefully swallowed his bite of apple. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Misha said, leaning in, “that there are some people who are willing to do almost anything to get to the top.”
“Dude,” Jensen said. “Could you be any more cryptic?”
“Yes,” Misha replied cheerfully, getting to his feet. “The dark angel flies at dawn.” Jensen stared as Misha waved, dusted himself off and walked inside. Just what the fuck did that mean? Jensen knotted his brows together and just shook his head. He really hoped that there wasn’t anything in the water here.
“For a mansion, this is a pretty boring place,” Mike grunted as he plopped himself down by the pool. Jensen grunted his agreement and turned to swim back the other way. He’d resorted to doing laps in the pool to try and deal with the restless boredom he was currently wrestling with. He wasn’t quite sure if it was helping or not but at least the physical activity was good for him.
Danneel, sunning herself on the patio with Sandy, tipped her sunglasses. “It’s because we’re waiting.”
“I hate waiting,” Sandy added. “I’d much rather be doing something.”
“I wouldn’t.” Danneel readjusted her glasses and leaned her head back. “Because if we were doing something right now, it would probably be another stupid challenge. Possibly involving the sleaze.”
Jensen reached the far edge of the pool, his hands gripping the ledge. “Or it would be a date,” he murmured.
Mike barked a laugh. “Not all of us have been so lucky, Jennybean. Some of us have had to go through this before-the waiting for a certain someone to come back from their lovely little date with the world-famous movie star.”
“He’s just a guy,” Sandy cut-in.
“What?” Mike swung his head up to look at her.
“Jared,” Sandy clarified, sitting up. “It doesn’t matter how famous he is, he’s still just a guy.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Whatever. This is still boring as shit, right? We’re all in agreement with that?”
Ben, who had been lifting weights on the corner deck, finally stood up. “Yes.”
“Good! Someone that agrees with me! I like that!”
Frankly, all Jensen could really think about is that a little more alone time with Jared would be awesome except that right now Jared was having that alone time with Lita and who the fuck knew how he would be when he came back. Maybe he’d have taken one date with the stripper that he knew Lita secretly was and decide that he liked women from now on out.
Jensen would like to think that he and Jared had a connection-hell, screw the like to think, he knew that they had had a connection. Yesterday had been fucking awesome and Jensen knew that he wasn’t the only one that wanted to repeat it.
Mike, though, had a point. Or rather, he had a couple of them. One, yes, waiting really did suck and, two, no, Jensen had not been through it before to quite this extent and he found that he really didn’t want to repeat the experience.
They’d been waiting for Jared to arrive home from his date with Lita for hours now and each passing second was starting to feel like an eternity. Jared was probably laying on the high class cheesiness right now and, damn it, even though it made Jensen want to laugh, he could appreciate it, too. He wouldn’t mind a little bit more of Jared’s romantic cheesiness. He wouldn’t.
Not even if Chris will make fun of him for it later.
“What I want to know,” Danneel said, still stretched out on her chair, “is just how much longer are they going to take? I mean, it was just a date.”
“Hey,” Mike shot back, leaning forward to skim his hand through the pool water, “just because it only takes you a few seconds to get out of your clothes, doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t need a little bit of warm-up time.”
Danneel snorted but Jensen froze, gripping the edge of the pool hard. God. He knew it was just a joke but what if that was what they were doing right now? Here he’d been imagining all sorts of romantic dinners or hot air balloon rides or whatever but what if Jared and Lita were really just going at it like rabbits? Because Jensen wasn’t exactly the most outgoing person in the world and yet he’d been perfectly willing to fool around. And Lita most definitely wasn’t as reserved as he was. In fact, she was kind of a-
Jensen pulled himself out of the pool, turning himself around to sit on the edge and kick his feet in the water. He just really needed to stop focusing on all of this.
Except. Jensen glanced up at the people assembled around him-at Mike still sitting on the other side, at Sandy and Danneel sunning themselves, at Ben, calmly watching them. Had Jared formed connections with them as well? How much time had he spent with any of them? How much did he like them? And where did Jensen fall in that little hierarchy of affection?
Jensen knew that Jared definitely had a connection with Sandy-they came from the same damn world, for fuck’s sake. And he’d seemed to like Ben. Plus there was Misha, who was still off meditating because he didn’t want any negativity in his life and he and Jared had spent nearly half of the first night talking. Then there was Georgie, off in the indoor gym and she’d had a solo date, too. Maybe Jared liked her just as much as he did Jensen. What about Tom and Justin? Justin was always hanging around Jared’s bedroom door, waiting for an invite. Had he already had one? How many? For how long?
Was that what Jensen was supposed to be doing? Waiting outside of Jared’s bedroom, hoping for an invitation inside-making time instead of just being handed it? God, but he was shit at this. How the Hell did you beg for attention in a house full of attention grabbers and certified head-turners?
It was enough to not only make Jensen’s head spin but it also made him want to puke. Fuck but he hoped that this whole damn thing wasn’t going to be a mistake. He was already twisted up into knots over Jared and he’d only really met the man a few days ago. That was ridiculous. This whole damn thing was ridiculous. Jensen pushed himself to his feet and grabbed a towel, quickly drying himself off and heading inside.
“See you later, J-man,” Mike called and Jensen only acknowledged him with a wave. He had to find something else to occupy his damn mind before he went insane.
He walked inside with a vague idea of calling home and maybe talking to him mom-except that she would probably want to ask about Jared and that was exactly what Jensen wanted to avoid. …Fuck but that was pathetic. He really should call his mom.
Making his mind to do so, Jensen turned the corner to head for the phone booth but stopped dead because that explained where Tom was. Tom was sitting inside the booth, looking like Clark Kent getting ready to change except that he was talking animatedly to whoever was on the other end of the line. Jensen swore. So much for that idea. Not wanting to eavesdrop, Jensen swung around to head back out of the corner and it brought him directly in the line of sight of the confessional.
Theoretically, they were supposed to enter the confessional at least once every two days to record their inner thoughts about what was going on, though Jeff had been taking it easy on all of them, slowly easing them into it all, walking them through it, letting them slide. Jeff, though, was currently out with Jared and Lita. And Jensen had only done one so far. He didn’t want to know what evil things Jeff would do to him if he waited until the guy came back so fuck it. Jensen walked into the closet and shut the door behind him.
The camera was still there, still pointing at the chair in front of the red backdrop and Jensen sat down, staring. “Uh…” He glanced down and then back up. “So, apparently I’m supposed to be doing these things and I know some of the others have already…” Misha, in particular, was fond of the confessional and Jensen, though he knew it was a mistake, kind of wanted to see the hours of footage that the man was recording. “And I,” Jensen continued, “am going out of my mind.” He pulled a face, raising his hands to pull at his hair. Hey, if it made it into the final cut, at least it would give Mackenzie a laugh. She loved seeing her older brother make a fool out of himself. And, in fact, Jensen was finding that it was easier to talk when Jeff wasn’t there, staring at him so knowingly. It was actually kind of…cathartic. “I’m not kidding. I mean, there’s only so much you can do cooped up in a place like this and I’m not even allowed to have my laptop. I’m considering grabbing a knife and writing an ode on the wall in blood or something. ‘Cause at least that would be entertaining. Except Jared might not like that so much…” Shit. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Jared right now.
“…You wouldn’t think that a date could last for so long,” Jensen muttered, echoing Danneel’s words and he froze, stopping himself right there. That train of thought lead into some pretty dangerous territory and Jensen didn’t need that kind of pity party. He sighed as he stood up and quietly left the room. So much for ‘confessing his innermost thoughts.’
He closed the door behind him, wondering whatever possessed him to go in voluntarily anyway and noted that Tom was out of the phone booth. Unfortunately, he’d been replaced by Justin and Jensen wondered if the booth was ever really free.
Justin was quite a bit louder than Tom, too. “Right. So I’m in his house right now. ...Yeah, I hope so, too. It would be really cool if this all works out, man. Total straight shot to the top. …Would I keep dating him? Dude. As long as he stays hot, it’s a possibility. I mean, have you seen him? Of course I want to hit that. …Yeah. He’s even got a big bed to go with that big body. …You know me. Of course I’ve been in it already-”
Jensen swallowed back the sudden bile in his throat and turned back around the corner to head to the main part of the living room. And this was why eavesdropping was considered a bad thing-you heard things that you rather wish you hadn’t.
What had been heard, though, could not be unheard, and now Jensen was wondering just how much time Justin had spent in Jared’s bed already. They hadn’t even been here that long-how had he managed to slither his way in? And when? And was Jensen supposed to be doing the same?
…And just exactly how far had they-It wasn’t any of his damn business. None of it was. The sooner he learned that the happier he would be.
It was just awfully damn hard to think of someone as your maybe ‘boyfriend’ and also have to reconcile that with the fact that you had to share said boyfriend with ten other people. It just all went to emphasize the fact that Jensen was only getting one tenth of the damn story and fuck but he hated that.
Jensen did not run to the door like the rest of the house when Jared came home. He wanted to-like a puppy-but he forced himself to remain in place, trying to wait as casually as was possible considering that he was leaning up against the wall beside Jared’s bedroom door. From his position, though, he could still see Jared standing at the main entrance doors, arm wrapped around Lita and he had a crystal clear view of Lita leaning up to give Jared a little kiss. Jensen ground his teeth.
Jared greeted everybody like normal, saying hi to each individual person and he looked a little confused when he reached the end of them until he glanced up at the balcony. Jensen felt his heart clench at the fact that Jared had been looking for him and it did an all out somersault when Jared smiled at him. The crowd followed Jared up the stairs, just like normal, but this time, Jensen was first in line at Jared’s door. Jared stepped right up to him, leaning in close and making Jensen’s breath speed up. “Were you waiting for me, Jen?” he asked.
Jensen ignored the fact that Lita was still hanging off of him and Justin was glaring daggers while others were randomly trying to get Jared’s attention. This was his time, damn it. “Just wanted to know if you’d like some company,” Jensen replied and it was totally worth it for the way that Jared’s smile grew.
“Anytime,” Jared said and finally let go of Lita to grab a hold of Jensen. He opened the door, ignoring the protests happening around him and ushered Jensen inside, throwing out a “Sorry, guys,” before he shut the door.
Justin hadn’t been kidding. Jared’s bed was huge. Jensen was caught up in just staring at it because the thing was hard to miss considering that it was dominating a great deal of the room. “Want to try it out?” Jared teased and Jensen couldn’t stop the little instinctive shudder down his spine. Hell yes, he did. But that wasn’t what he was here for.
Except that was what Jared was possibly here for. With a soft, “Jen,” Jared reached out and cupped Jensen’s face, pulling him closer for a kiss that had Jensen’s knees starting to give out again. Damn but the man could kiss. It was in the way that Jared focused everything he had on just one moment and one tiny spot and fuck but it was overwhelming. When he pulled away, Jensen had to bite back a whine of disappointment. “Missed you,” Jared said and Jensen nodded, not daring to open his eyes though he wasn’t quite sure when he’d closed them.
Jared let him go and Jensen swayed a little before finding his feet again. “Anything you wanted to talk about or did you just miss me, too?”
Well, if Jensen was honest, he knew that he wanted to talk about Justin and any of the others and demand to know just what Jared was doing with each and every one of them but he was all too aware of just how crazy that would sound. “Might have missed you,” Jensen murmured and Jared quirked a smile.
“That’s all I get, huh? A maybe?”
Jensen shrugged teasingly and slowly spun around to take in Jared’s room. “Maybe I just wanted to see your bedroom.”
“Well,” Jared replied, “if that was all you wanted, you should have said so. I would have been more than happy to give you the ten cent tour.”
Jared’s room was thankfully less tacky than the rest of the house as well, making Jensen wonder if he’d had a say in what went into this particular room but perhaps not the rest of the house. It had a lot of the classic bachelor red and black going on, though, but every now and then it was broken up by picture of Jared’s family or a pink squeak toy that Jensen was guessing belonged to Jared’s dogs. The most fascinating thing, though, was the line of framed photographs taking up nearly one entire wall. They looked like… “Sorry. Didn’t have the ten cents,” Jensen shot back distractedly, walking towards the pictures. His eyes widened as he realized that it was exactly what he’d thought-headshots of the ‘cast’ with their names emblazoned below. And below the names, tacked onto the wall, were, mortifyingly enough, the Polaroids that Chad had taken on the first day. Jensen blinked at the shot of his ass and the close-up of his lips and tried not to wince too noticeably.
“I’m sure that we could have worked out some other kind of payment,” Jared purred as his arms wrapped around Jensen from behind, his hips aligning again. He nuzzled at Jensen’s ear and Jensen felt his jeans starting to grow tight. He couldn’t figure out what was more embarrassing-the pictures or the lightning fast erection.
Jared’s chuckle startled him but he didn’t jump-couldn’t considering that Jared’s hands were anchoring him. “Yeah, sorry about those. Chad said that we had to put them up. Frankly, though, I can’t say that I mind the view…” Jensen carefully didn’t look at anyone else’s Polaroid and, instead, turned in Jared’s arms, pulling him down for another kiss.
“Mmm…” Jared gave Jensen a few quick kisses, leaving Jensen’s lips tingling and his mind slyly wondering if now was the right time to get acquainted with Jared’s bed but there was a knock at the door. Jared grimaced and stepped back. “Sorry,” he said softly before raising his voice to whoever was out in the hall. “Come in!”
Jensen glanced sharply at the door, wondering just who the hell it was but had to wince when he saw Chad’s blonde head pop in. “Hey, Jay-oh. You were busy, weren’t you?” Chad’s eyebrows wiggled. “I’d say that I’d come back another time, but Jeff will kill me if we don’t get this show on the road.”
“Right,” Jared said. He pulled Jensen into a hug, kissing his cheek. “So, Chad and I have got to…well, you know.” He waved his hands at the pictures and sighed. “But maybe we can talk later?” He gripped Jensen’s shoulders and pulled him back, nodding in earnest until Jensen started nodding, too. “Stop by anytime, Jen,” Jared said. “I’ll make sure that I give you a better tour.” He winked and Chad snorted.
“I bet you will,” Chad said, his tone insinuating a lot of things that Jensen opted to ignore as he pushed past him and headed back out into the hallway where apparently the entire freaking house was waiting. Jensen would accuse them all of not having lives, but, well, he wasn’t one to talk and it wasn’t exactly like they had a choice right now.
“Hey guys,” Jared said, holding the door and ignoring Chad just like Jensen. “So Chad and I have to do our thing and it’s going to be a really tough one.” He frowned at all of them. “So, I’ll see you all down in the main room in an hour, okay?” Then he closed the door, just in time to miss the mad rush for the bedrooms and the bathrooms. Jensen let himself be carried along with the crowd, feeling higher than a freaking kite because Jared wanted to see him again.
Yes. It was official. He had regressed back to being a teenager.
Jensen lined up with the rest of the crowd on the little podium that the producers were apparently going to haul out special for each Elimination Ceremony. He took his normal spot in the back-a spot given to him out of virtue of being one of the taller contestants. Tom, Mike, Ben and Misha lined up beside him while the rest took a spot down in front. There was what Jensen was starting to identify as the usual jittering of nerves but, while he was understandably anxious, Jensen felt more confident than the last time he’d attended an Elimination Ceremony.
Jared still wanted to see him.
That didn’t stop his heart from turning over, though, when Jared emerged into the room, carrying the thin chains again. It was only natural at this point. “I’ve only got nine here guys. So, I’m sorry, but for someone, the red carpet is going to end tonight.” Jensen blinked-the red carpet line had to be one of the show’s tag phrases. It was the second time he’d heard Jared use it.
Jared laid the chains down on a podium, selecting only one before he turned back to face them. “I’d like to thank you all for being here for me and I want you to know that each time I do this, it gets harder and harder because I’ve formed attachments with all of you and, if it was up to me, you’d all stay. But, unfortunately somebody has to go. So…” He held up the chain. “Jensen, I’d love it if you could come up here.”
Jensen’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t bother to wait for Mike’s push. He walked down the stairs and moved to stand directly in front of Jared. “What can I say?” Jared started. “You start off slow but once you get going-wow. I had an amazing night with you and I’d love to repeat it if you don’t mind. Except this time, maybe we’d make it last a little longer.” Jensen nodded, smiling and held still as Jared attached the chain around his neck. “Thanks for being here for me,” he said and leaned down the crucial few inches to press his mouth to Jensen’s and, in front of the cameras, the houseguests, God and possibly his mother, Jensen surged into it because how could he not? They held together for a few long beats that had Jensen’s heart thumping wildly before Jared broke away. “Wow,” he breathed. “See what I mean?”
Jensen took a spot on the other side of the room, making himself known to whatever future audience that would be watching that he was one of Jared’s ‘chosen’ and Jared moved on. “Uh, next,” Jared said, pulling out another chain. “Well, kind of different. Because Lita, you started off strong and you’ve just kept right on going and I’d love for you to come down here so I give you this chain.” Lita smiled and slunk down the stairs as well, standing patiently as Jared attached the chain to her next. “I had a lot of fun today.”
“I did too,” she murmured and leaned up to kiss him. Jared met her eagerly and Jensen looked away before jealousy knotted his insides, looking back only when Jared started talking again. “We have a lot in common and I’d really like a chance to get to know you more, Sandy.” Jared moved on down the list, handing out chains to Misha, Danneel, Ben Georgie, and Mike and left just Tom and Justin standing up on the podium.
Jensen watched them, rooting for Tom in his heart but he also knew why, too. This was probably something that he needed to work on. Later. Much later. “Tom,” Jared was saying, “I definitely like what I see I just…well, I’m not getting much from you. I’m hoping that we can work on that.” Tom nodded solemnly and Jared turned to Justin. “Now, Justin, I get to see,” he said and Justin smiled. “It’s definitely been great spending time with you and I love your comments on everything. The only thing I’m wondering, though, is…if you’re here for the right reasons.”
Jensen glanced back at Jared who was talking with his hands again, holding them out sympathetically as he ducked his head down. “And, in the end, I’m just not feeling a connection. So, Justin, I’m sorry, but the red carpet ends here.” Regardless of the fact that he’d gotten what he’d wanted, Jensen couldn’t feel even the slightest bit glad with the absolutely heartbroken face Justin was wearing. “I’m sorry,” Jared repeated and left his spot to go hug the poor kid. Justin accepted it, burying his head in Jared’s shoulder as Jared patted his back. “I’m sorry.”
Jared pulled away and turned to Tom, putting the necklace on him, eyes suspiciously wet. “So I’m going to see more of you, right?” Jared asked and Tom nodded again as Justin quietly stepped off the podium.
“Definitely.”
“Good.”
The doors of the house closed quietly behind the kid and Jensen bid adieu to Twinktastic as Danneel rolled her eyes, muttering about how “the kid should get an Emmy for that little performance.” Jensen hoped that the cameras hadn’t picked it up.
“If everyone could gather around, please?” Jared asked. “A toast to those that are left and in remembrance of those that aren’t.”
Jensen took the glass that he was handed, holding it up and downing it all in one gulp again. He was here to stay-he’d make sure of that.
Part 5 | Master Post | Part 7