The Word of Us (Part One)
Title: The Word of Us - Part One
Author: Surevesta
Artist: Spn_2008
Genre: CW RPS
Pairing: J2
Rating: NC17
Word Count: 7435
Warnings: “Homophobia”, AU Religious elements
Summary: When Jared headed off to college he thought he was going to get an education and eventually mate with a nice girl his Mama would be proud to call her daughter. He never expected to lock eyes with Jensen Ackles and have his whole world turned upside down.
After spending a week with his family, mourning the passing of his grandparents, the last thing Jensen expected was to come home to his roommate in the throes of a mating fever. Taking the high road, he moved out. Unable to find an apartment at such short notice he found himself moving back into the dorms and rooming with a freshman named Jared.
Master Post | Art Post
Part One
“Thou shalt not lie with a woman or man who is not thy mate.”
The Word - Levinius sec 1 line 4
Going away to college was supposed to be this big, scary thing. Only it wasn’t, or didn’t seem to be, anyway. Sure it was a bit startling, not being at home with his parents just a call and a hop in the car away, but it wasn’t that bad. So far, anyway.
The drive had been a long one. It had left him exhausted and bleary eyed from staring out at the monotonous countryside for hours at a time. His parents had wanted him to just fly, but no, he had insisted on driving all the way from San Antonio, Texas, to California. The entire trip took him two days, all told, as he’d stopped for the night about halfway through at a cheap motel to get some shut eye-if he’d made the trip in just the 21 hours Google Maps had suggested, his mother would probably have boarded the first available plane just to throttle him.
Jared only slightly regretted his decision to drive, but any doubts he had were quickly brushed away by the fact that he had a truck to drive, whereas many of his fellow freshman, at least those he’d met so far, didn’t. Plus, his timing was perfect; he’d made it to school the day after the dorms opened, which meant he not only missed the early bird rush, but also beat the late arrivals.
His roommate wasn’t there when he arrived. In fact there wasn’t even a second name up on the door. According to the information he’d been given, his roommate’s name was Lewis, but the guy had never replied to the half dozen or so emails he’d sent him over the summer, which had been slightly disconcerting.
Jeff, his older brother, had told him not to worry about that, though. Apparently his second roommate had done the same thing and the lack of communication had turned out to be nothing more than the guy not having access to a computer, thanks to his hard drive dying. He hadn’t even been able to afford a new one till halfway through the middle of the semester. The story had calmed Jared down a bit, at least until Jeff started in on all the reasons not to let your roommate touch your computer unsupervised-apparently porn sites and viruses had been involved.
He’d just started unpacking his bedding, after lugging all his boxes and suitcases upstairs-just his luck that he was on the fourth floor-when someone knocked on the door. It was open; Jared hadn’t wanted to start his college career being anything less than welcoming to his dorm mates.
“Come on in,” he called, twisting around to look back at the door. Since his roommate wasn’t there yet, he’d taken full advantage of the situation, taking the best side of the room for himself.
“Hey.” A scruffy looking guy, tall but probably a couple inches shorter than him, grinned at him from the doorway, eyes flitting around the room. “You must be Jared.”
Jared nodded and stood, dragging the sheets he’d been searching for with him. “ Yeah, are you my-”
“Roommate?” The guy interrupted him, stuffing his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels as he turned his attention to Jared, finally meeting his eyes. “No. I’m actually Misha, your RA . . . one of them anyway. Vicki, my mate, is the other, but she spends most of her time working with the girls on the other side of the hall.”
“Oh, cool.” Jared grinned, his interest piqued. “I didn’t know they worked it out like that.”
Misha grinned as well, his head tilting slightly as he stepped into the room. He slipped a hand out to run it over the top of the microwave and mini-fridge set that Jared had requested for his room when he filled out the housing application. “Depends on who applies, but there tends to be a lot of mated RAs. It’s actually required to have at least one mated pair of RAs in a dorm, so there’s someone with experience for freshmen to talk to who's close to their own age.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
It made sense. Most people mated between ages eighteen and twenty-five. A few people did mate earlier, as it was possible from the time puberty hit, but the numbers weren’t very large. No one was exactly sure why, but the percentage of people that mated during college was extremely high. After graduation the numbers tapered slowly off to the point where nearly everyone was mated before the age of thirty-five. It was estimated that only five percent of the population didn't mate before thirty, and the programs available to meet other mate-less individuals tended to ensure the remaining singles mated shortly thereafter.
Jared had only met five people in his whole life, who were over the age of thirty and still unmated-a teacher at his high school, whose mate had died in an accident only days after mating, a great uncle on his mother’s side of the family, a clerk at the grocery store his family frequented, and two elderly women who attended his church back home. Most individuals didn’t outlive the death of their mate, but a rare few did, especially if the death occurred only shortly after bonding.
Jared tossed his sheets onto the bed and moved to sit on the edge of the desk. “So, what happened to Lewis?”
“Lewis . . ." Misha rubbed at his chin before grinning even wider than before, if that was possible. “Lewis decided not to attend our great university in favor of waiting another year for his mate to graduate from high school.” Shrugging, he continued, “Unfortunately he didn’t deem it necessary to inform admissions about his new status till last week, so they’re still working on everything.”
“Damn,” Jared cursed playfully, snapping his fingers. “I guess that means I won’t be getting this room to myself then?”
“I’m afraid not.” Misha shook his head. “Not with the waiting list they have at the moment. You’ll have another roommate soon enough, although he may not be another freshman.”
Jared blinked, eyebrows rising in surprise. They tended to separate the dorms out by age more often than not. It was easier that way as the freshmen were mostly unmated. The number of mated pairs increased exponentially every year, with nearly half of fourth year students having mated. There were some theories that suggested pairing age groups together also limited the number of mated pairs between individuals of differing ages-especially those with large age differences. It wasn’t something that had actually been proven yet though.
“When will I find out?” he asked.
“Tomorrow, hopefully.” Misha tilted his head to the side, turning it to look down the hall. “So you probably have at least twenty-four hours to make sure you chose the right side of the room.” Standing, he moved to the door, but paused and looked back. “Keep in mind the sun rises from the east and sets in the west.” He pointed in what Jared guessed were the corrected directions as he spoke. “If you don’t want to be woken by the sun, I’d invest in some window cling sun shades. The blinds suck.”
Turning to look at the window, Jared frowned before glancing back at the open doorway. Misha was gone, and there wasn’t anyone else in the hall. Sighing, he moved back to his chosen bed and began to make it, untangling the folded top sheet from the fitted one that his mother had folded around it.
“Mating is a privilege, an honor bestowed upon all but the most
undeserving of souls. To have a mate is to be complete in the eyes of God.”
The Word - Rhia sec 2 line 17
It was just as busy in the dorms at night as it was during the day, or maybe more so. Around dinner time, Misha had come by and asked if he knew his way to the cafeteria. Technically, Jared did, or rather he had a map of the campus, but he accepted the other man’s invitation to join him, his mate, and a group of other students for dinner.
Vikki was adorable and very different from Misha. While Misha reminded Jared of the stereotypical ‘hippy’ from the free love era-the time when his parents were young and many pairs, both mated and unmated had cavorted together in groups, heedless of the natural order of things-in looks at least, she was his polar opposite. Everything about her screamed perfection, from her hair and makeup to her wrinkle-free outfit, there wasn’t a single thing out of place.
Misha had greeted her with a kiss, their hands slipping together, fingers interlocking. It was sweet, short, and barely more than a peck, but it caused a couple of the girls standing nearby to smile and stare wistfully. Even Jared couldn’t help but feel a small spark of envy ignite in his chest. While sometimes he wasn’t sure if he wanted to mate, at least not yet, and certainly not to most of the girls his mother had tried introducing him to, there were some moments where he couldn’t wait. Just seeing the connection between a mated pair made some part of him ache to have it as well.
Dinner was pretty good, much better than the high school cafeteria food he’d been subjected to for the last few years. The chicken meal he’d ended up choosing wasn’t quite as good as his mother’s cooking, but it was still pretty damn good.
He ended up sitting at a table with two girls-Sandy and Tracy-and two other guys-a soccer player named Justin and his roommate, Gabe, who was oddly quiet and rather picky about what he ate. Jared figured the guy just didn’t want to get anything stuck in his braces in front of the girls.
The girls were nice, adorable even, and easy to talk to, but he didn’t feel a spark with either of them and nothing happened when their eyes met. He was slightly disappointed-especially in Sandy’s case-but if they weren’t the one then they weren’t the one. It wasn’t as if he or anyone else had any control over who they mated with, it just happened when it happened. They all exchanged emails and class schedules, and Jared was happy to find out that both Tracy and Sandy were going to be in one of his general education classes, and Sandy was also taking Biology 101 with him. Gabe had a class with Tracy, but other than that neither he nor Justin had anything in common with them, classes-wise.
His first night in the dorm was different, a lot different from what he was used to. It wasn’t loud, per se, but it wasn’t exactly quiet either. He could hear doors open, people walking to and from the bathroom, the occasional murmur of conversation from other rooms-but nothing intelligible-and people yelling at each other down the hall. While Jared didn’t consider himself a light sleeper, it was a lot to get used to when combined with the traffic outside.
He’d shut the door around ten thirty and worked on putting his stuff away, not wanting to get distracted by people dropping by. He had a box of books and comics-mostly graphic novels, some Japanese and some American, a box full of school supplies and a box full of miscellaneous kitchen and food related items. His two large suitcases held clothes, toiletries, and a laptop. He’d already unpacked the box that had his bedding, towels, and the lamp his mother had deemed ‘breakable’.
His eyes were aching by the time he’d settled in enough to finally go to bed. There was so much running through his mind though, thoughts of the days to come-possibilities and worries-that he just knew sleep would be a long time coming.
It hadn't been until he’d gone to climb into bed that he’d realized something was missing: his pillows. That had spurred a quick trip down to his truck, only to find out that he’d left his pillows either at home or at the motel he’d stayed at the night before. Rather than make a trip to the store right then, he’d headed back up to his room and rolled up one of the fluffy towels his mother had insisted he take, mostly due to their large size, and settled in for a long night of staring up at the ceiling and the glow in the dark star stickers someone had stuck up there years prior.
“The bond of mating is eternal. You shall be bound to your
Mate for all time, both in this life and the next.”
The Word - Salacian sec 6 line 27
Morning came quickly and much earlier than Jared would have preferred, but as Misha had warned him, the sun woke him up, making him seriously doubt his choice of beds. His neck was sore from sleeping on a towel rather than a pillow, and that was probably the only reason he actually got up at . . . six in the morning.
Groaning, Jared slipped out of bed and stretched. His back and neck popped audibly, and he winced, running fingers over the back of his neck, prodding gently at the muscles in hopes of getting some relief. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced around the room, eyes landing on the informational note that someone-probably Misha-had taped to the top of his desk. Apparently the dining center didn’t open till 7:30 this week. Next week, once classes started, however, it’d be open at six, bright and early, just in time for bleary eyed students to grab their grub and caffeinate before trudging off to their first day of class.
Throwing on a clean pair of pants-the ones he’d been wearing yesterday were the same ones he’d worn the entire car ride from San Antonio-he pulled on a clean shirt, stuffed his feet into his shoes, and grabbed his wallet and keys. There was a Wal-Mart and a shopping center about twenty to thirty minutes away according to Google Maps and, by the time he got there, most of the shops would probably be open.
While his mother had done her best to make sure he was prepared for life away from home, there were still a few things he needed to pick up. Other than a pillow or three, he needed to buy some large buckets or cinder blocks to elevate his bed, something to block out the sun, some cleaning supplies, a fan, and an extension cord.
The halls were pretty much empty, although he could hear a shower running when he walked past the communal bathrooms. He took the elevator for once, figuring it was probably early enough there wasn’t going to be anyone using it yet, unlike the mad rush there had been for it during the day.
It took him all of five minutes, if that to get to his truck. There were a few people wandering around campus, including a few joggers-he made a mental note to figure out a good circuit so he could continue his own morning jogs at some point-but for the most part it was deserted. The weather was nice though, the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky.
There was quite a bit of traffic, probably people heading to work, so it took him upwards of half an hour-closer to forty minutes-to reach the shopping center. Wal-Mart was the only store open when he got there. It was off to the side of the mall, separated by a large section of parking lot. He parked as close as he legally could and locked up his truck before heading towards the store. The greeter that met him at the door was yawning but still way too cheery for how early in the morning it was.
He ended up getting more than he came for, but it was all things he’d need eventually anyway, including two new pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts-both with the university's logo on them. He figured it would probably cost him less to buy on them there compared to the campus book store.
They were out of cinder blocks, but they did have some heavy duty buckets. It didn’t take him long to find everything he needed, after all. The store was virtually the same as the Wal-Mart near his parents’ house. On the way to the register he spotted some storage containers, long ones that could slip easily under a twin size bed and hesitated only a moment before stacking them on top of his cart. His mother would be proud.
The only other place he stopped at was a Barnes and Noble, which was just opening. He perused the shelves for a good half hour and ended up buying the latest volume of Bleach, a Japanese manga, and an American graphic novel called Broken Connection. He’d hesitated over buying the latter, teeth worrying at his bottom lip as he stared at the glossy cover.
Broken Connection was a mystery series with an edge of fantasy. It was about a mated pair who were somehow broken apart, separated physically, mentally, and spiritually, and another pair who were both male. Back in Texas, his church had ridiculed the author for the ideas he’d used in the story-from the broken bonds to same-sex mating-pointedly ignoring the fact that it was fantasy. Jared had found the summaries he’d read online absolutely fascinating and scary all at the same time. He hadn’t been able to sneak a look while living with his parents, but now that he was on his own he was free to do nearly anything he wanted.
His phone rang while he was waiting in line to check out, startling him and earning him a few glares. There were two customers in front of him, a middle aged woman, and a little boy he guessed was her son. Answering, he turned to the side, eyeing the rack of pop-culture magazines and the latest New York Times best seller books. They were side by side, a rather odd combination. As he answered his phone, his gaze caught on one of the magazines, its title proclaiming: Miley Cyrus Mates at 16! To find out more . . .
“Hello?”
“Jared, honey, did I wake you?” His mother’s voice was comfort and home, and, God, he missed her. A smile tugged at the side of his mouth and he ducked his head a bit.
“Nah,” Jared shook his head, grinning, “I got up early so I could get some shopping done.”
“Oh, that’s good,” she ‘hmmm’ed into the phone. “I wouldn’t have called so early, but I forgot the time difference. Did you buy a new pillow? You left yours here. I didn’t notice till this morning, or I would have sent-”
“You don’t need to mail my pillows, Mama.” He stepped up to the counter as the woman in front of him grabbed her bag and her son’s hand and hurried off. Setting his books down on the counter, he smiled at the clerk. “I bought a couple at the store.”
“I’ll have your father put a bit of cash into your account when he gets a chance.”
“Mama,” Jared protested, leaning against the counter as the woman in front of him pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. He dug his wallet out of his pocket and removed his debit card and ID, holding them out for her to take. “I’ll be fine. I've been saving up for over a year.”
“And that should go towards enjoying your time at college and gas, not something that is a necessity,” she contradicted him, fully ignoring the fact that the only reason they had let him go out of state for school in the first place was the fact he had earned enough money to cover everything outside of housing and tuition on his own. He even had a work study position in the library already lined up to help offset the out of state tuition costs. “I don’t want to hear any arguments from you. We have a bit extra this year since I’ve been teaching summer school.”
Jared sighed as he signed the slip and handed it back to the clerk, taking his card, ID, and the copy of the receipt in return. He mouthed ‘thanks’ as he took his bag and headed towards the door. His mother was still chatting away in his ear, but he knew better than to spend any more time arguing with her.
“So, did you meet any girls yet?”
He rolled his eyes. As if she wouldn’t know the instant he mated. It was a given that you would contact your family as soon as feasibly possible. There were forms to fill out and meetings to arrange in order to officially welcome a mate into the family. Plus, there was only a short window available for them to contact family and get things moving before a pair sequestered themselves off together to ‘get to know each other’.
“No, Mama.” Jogging across the street, he found his parking place not too far from the entrance. “You know I’ll tell you when it happens. It’s not like I could hide it from you.”
”Be ever diligent in your search for mating is not a choice.
It is not an act that can be scheduled or rescheduled at will.
You will find your mate at God’s chosen time and you will be
overcome with emotion and enter into a fever that must
be quenched. Mating is God’s will and oft occurs
at the most inopportune of times.”
The Word - Rhia sec 4 lines 2-3
There was already a line of students checking in when he got back to the dorm. Rather than wait for the elevator, he opted to take the stairs, stuffing everything but the buckets into the storage containers he’d bought in order to make the trek a little easier.
The door to the room across the hall was open and there were several bags, a couple of suitcases, and a guitar case piled on the bed nearest the window. Jared peered in surreptitiously as set his stuff down and searched his pockets for his keys. There was no one in the room-they were probably lugging more stuff upstairs-causing him to wonder whether 'Chad' or 'Kris' had arrived.
Unlocking his door, he pushed it open and then transferred his stuff into the room, dropping it all in the empty space between the beds. He was still alone in the room, the other bed, desk, and closet’s emptiness a stark contrast to his already messy side. Flipping off the first container's lid, he began to remove things, tossing his pillows onto the bed and setting the cleaning supplies on his desk. Hopefully he’d be able to get organized before his mystery roommate ever showed up. Maybe that way there wouldn’t be any debate on who got which side of the room.
Around noon he finally stopped, deciding to head to the dinning center for lunch. The cup of coffee and sausage egg McMuffin from McDonalds he’d snagged while he was out had already worked its way past his stomach, and he was hungry.
“Jared!” Sandy grinned up at him as he stepped up to the counter at the section of the cafeteria that promised cheeseburgers, French fries, onion rings, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pretty much anything else along that vein you could think of. “How are you doing?”
“Pretty good,” he responded, returning her grin with one of his own. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he continued, “I didn’t know you were working here.”
“Today is technically my first day, but I worked at a food court back home, and we had training Monday. That’s why I got here so early.” She tilted her head, bouncing on her heels. “So, what can I get you?”
“How about a cheeseburger with everything and onion rings?”
“Sounds good, although you may want to get the French fries,” she leaned forward and so did he, in order to hear her lowered voice, “My co-worker, Mike, says this batch of rings sucks. They’re switching suppliers for the semester, though, so maybe in a week-ish they’ll be better.”
“Okay,” he laughed and straightened, nodding. “I’ll take the fries then.”
It took just under ten minutes for them to cook his food and hand it over. He found a place to sit near the long line of windows out front and made quick work of his lunch while watching people walk past. At this time of day the campus was covered in students and their families wandering about and trying to locate everything. There were a few groups of students wearing Greek shirts handing out flyers, probably to social events, and a few booths set up advertising different clubs. Nearby, in front of the entrance to the library, a large tent was set up with rows of tables beneath. Students were milling about, looking at posters.
Finishing his lunch, Jared tossed his garbage and made his way over to the tent. It was indeed a poster sale and Jared grinned as he began perusing it. While living at home he’d never been able to put up posters, as his mother had been very particular about her home, and the decorations and items therein. Not to mention the fact that she’d been convinced they’d destroy the wall. Nothing much caught his eye right off the bat and, after an hour of searching through the dozens of books filled with movie, television, music, and art posters, he decided to wait and see what his roommate would put up before making a final decision. He wasn’t trying to match décor or anything; Jared just didn’t want to put up anything that might offend the guy or gain him nasty looks. That would be a pretty bad way to start off the year.
The walk back to his dorm wasn’t that long; it only took about ten minutes at the most. Misha was manning the front desk when he got there, and he called Jared over with a shout and lots of arm waving.
“Jared! Hey, man, good news! I finally got your roommates info,” Misha grinned at him, leaning over the counter and knocking over a container of pencils. A female student that had been filling out a form scrambled to catch the rolling pencils while Misha ignored them, resting his chin on his palm and leaning forward even further.
“Cool,” Jared caught a few of the pencils before they could roll of the edge of the counter and dropped them into the container the girl next to him had just righted. “What’s his name?”
“Jensen.”
A beat of silence filled the air before Jared ventured a question, “And his first name..?”
“That is his first name,” Misha laughed, grinning widely at his own joke, which wasn’t all that funny. “Last name is Ackles, A-C-K-L-E-S, he’s a junior who was staying in off-campus student housing, but his roommate mated over the summer. Looks like you two are in a similar predicament.”
“Lucky us.” Jared rapped his fingers on counter. “Any idea when he’s going to be arriving?”
Misha leaned back, taking the form the girl had just finished filling out. His eyes dropped to peruse it. “He and a couple buddies dragged most his stuff up there while you were at lunch. Emily, you still need to sign this and you have to list an emergency contact.”
The girl, who was glaring at him, narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“You’re on my floor, the fourth floor, right?” Misha waited for her confirming nod before continuing, “If you break the rules and get drunk and fall out the window, we’ll need a phone number to contact your parents so they can get started on the funeral arrangements.”
“Ha ha,” She grumbled, snatching the papers back and hastily scrambling out the information while boring holes into the paper with her eyes.
“Is he still here?” Jared turned his attention back to Misha.
The guy shrugged, tangling his fingers together and resting them against the back of his head. “Could be. Might be. Who knows.”
“Thanks,” Jared nodded; sighing, he couldn’t help a small smile. He glanced back down at Emily before jerking a thumb towards the stairwell. “I’m going to head upstairs. I’ll see you later?”
“Gonna do another dinner run at six if you’re hungry and feel like joining us,” Misha nodded, taking the papers from Emily again, nodding in approval once he glanced over them.
“Sounds good.”
The door was shut and locked when he got up to his room. The only notable difference from the outside was the addition of ‘Jensen’ in what he guessed was Vikki’s handwriting on a green piece of paper cut out like a thought bubble-in comparison to his red jagged ‘action bubble’. Inside the difference was much more obvious. Jensen’s side of the room was still mostly clean, just a pile of boxes, containers, and miscellaneous items. The bed was already made though, mostly anyway. That had obviously been the first thing on the agenda for Jensen, much like it had been for Jared.
There was a laptop and a lamp on the desk, along with a pile of text books, new and used. Almost all of them were topics Jared hadn’t even considered yet-or likely ever would-with the exception of a psychology book that Jared himself had purchased online. There was an accounting book and an advanced biology book and Jared couldn’t make heads or tails of what the guy was likely studying.
Settling onto the floor near his bed, Jared pulled out the last box of his stuff he had left to unpack, his books, towards him, and started pulling them out, stacking them nearby. There was a small bookshelf between the head of his bed and Jensen’s desk, and he started organizing his books on the bottom shelf, alphabetically by series title out of habit.
He was almost done when footsteps moving from the carpet of the hall to the tile interior of the room alerted him to the presence of another person. As he slid the last three volumes of Bleach into place, he turned, stood, and promptly froze as his eyes found bright green. And in that instant, as odd as it might sound, everything changed. Everything.
“Upon meeting your mate you will be overcome with desire
that will not abate until the flesh has merged in a matter satisfactory only to God’s eyes.”
The Word - Rhia sec 6 line 21
Jensen had always known he was different in some way. By the time he was nearing puberty, his parents had started talking about mating with him, and they’d started discussing it more and more in school. The whole thing had never appealed to him, well maybe not the idea of a companion in general, but the descriptions of mating and the life he’d have with the woman he’d be joined to for eternity just wasn’t enticing. And sure, he’d wanted a family one day and to be loved unconditionally by someone other than his parents, but something about all the imagery that had been implanted in his mind through books, lectures, movies, and everywhere had just felt off to him. He'd thought he might grow out of that feeling someday, but he never had.
When he finally reached high school his parents had started paying even more attention to him, mostly thanks to his older brother Josh. While most people didn’t mate till they were at least legally considered adults, Josh had mated at sixteen to the lovely fifteen year old Shelly Wright, who had lived just down the street. He thought his mother had been hopeful he’d mate with one of the girls from church or even school as they hit that magic moment in time where the ‘switch’ that allowed them to mate turned on, but that hadn’t happened. Instead he left home single, traveling thirteen hundred miles to another state to go to school.
There had still been the hopeful calls and emails, especially at first, but eventually they tapered off a little. His father and mother still asked from time to time if he’d been going to any of the meet and greets or social gatherings, even church, but they weren’t quite as insistent even more. Regardless, he still said ‘yes’, and painted a picture of an avid hunt for the one he’d spend the rest of his life with. The real answer though was no, he hadn’t been doing anything more than he absolutely had to. Jensen only went to the social events if his friends dragged him or he felt like going, preferring to just go about his daily business. And most of the time, thanks to his busy schedule, it was all he could do to meet his friends for lunch.
This year was going to be different, at least slightly. His grandparents on his mother’s side had passed on over the summer after his grandfather had a heart attack. It had taken all of five days for his grandmother to follow her mate, just enough time for her to say goodbye and make sure everything was settled in regards to their will. While Jensen wasn’t enthusiastic about using the money that had been left to him, his grandmother had been quite insistent that he put it to use and stop working at his part time job in order to focus on his studies and “other more important ventures”, by which he knew she meant finding a mate.
When he got back from Texas that summer-his family was from the Dallas area-he’d been surprised to find his roommate, Jason, and a girl he vaguely thought he’d seen around campus once or twice, sequestered away, apparently ‘getting to know each other’. He’d spent all of ten awkward minutes getting a few things from his room and the bathroom before hightailing it to a motel to spend the next couple of nights.
The next day he’d started looking for a new place, preferably an apartment, but at such late notice there had been slim pickings and he’d been forced to contact the school and request to be added to the waiting list for a dorm room. Sure, he could have stayed in the apartment, but living with a newly mated pair wasn’t something he wanted to try out. Besides, the place was technically Jason’s first; Jensen was a year behind him, a junior instead of a senior, and he’d moved in with Jason after Jason’s previous roommate, Steve, moved out.
“Jensen, I’m so-” Jason started for the hundredth time as he dropped a box on top of the free, recently made, bed in the dorm room Jensen had been assigned to. Not only was Jensen in a dorm after he’d escaped them his sophomore year, he was in a freshman dorm.
“Don’t apologize.” Jensen cut him off with a wave of a hand after depositing a large suitcase next to the box. “It isn’t like you can control it and, besides, if it had been the opposite way around I’m sure you’d have gotten out of the apartment just as quick.” He quirked a smile at his friend, trying to reassure him the best he could and received a small grin in return.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jason nodded and laughed a little. “I’m still feeling guilty about getting you stuck here . . . you didn’t even get the good side of the room.”
Shrugging, Jensen shut and locked the door behind them as they exited the room. Tom and Jamie-who had lugged up the bedding and made his bed while the guys took the heavier items-had already taken off after the last trip up when it was determined there were only two more things to be lugged up the stairs, leaving Jason to help him finish up. “Doesn’t matter. I figure I’ll be out of the dorm again after this semester, maybe sooner if the guy I’m stuck with sucks.”
“Did you see the box of books he had? Looks like you got yourself an Otaku.” Jason grinned as Jensen shot him an odd look.
“I don’t think having a few books constitutes an Otaku. I didn’t even see any DVDs . . . and I’m kind of scared you know what that is.”
“And you knowing it isn’t?”
Jensen rolled his eyes and stabbed the down button on the elevator a couple of times. Either the button was broken or the light was just out; he hoped it was the former. “My freshman year roommate is the president of the anime club now. He was the definition of Otaku. Still is.”
“Point,” Jason conceded as the door opened. They stepped aside for a guy and his parents to shuffle out, arms full of luggage. “My girl is slightly obsessed with a couple of series’. She made me watch this one, Genshiken, about some girl who mates with an Otaku and his friends are all unmated perverts . . .” Trailing off he laughed a little, “She told me just to be glad she wasn’t like them!”
“So she’s an anime geek and you’re obsessed with music,” Jensen pondered, leaning against the back of the elevator. “Maybe you can get her to dress up-role play?-for some fun times.”
Jason slugged his arm, but grinned back at him as he got off, dodging a couple of freshman who could barely see around the boxes they were carrying. “What would your mother think if she heard you talking like that?”
“Well, it’s a good thing she’s over a thousand miles away, isn’t it?”
“As it is impossible for the bonds of mating to be broken
it is also impossible for those of the same sex to be joined
together for all eternity. Those who claim otherwise are
blasphemers and will be punished accordingly in the next life.”
The Word - Levinius sec 14 line 10
Seeing Jason off hurt a little, not because of any insane attachment on his part, but because he was going to miss having the guy around all the time. One of the great things about being roommates with Jason had been all the impromptu jam sessions, and he’d miss those. With his luck his new roommate would either hate music or get pissed at him for being too loud. Besides, without someone there to prod him into playing he might not even get up the nerve to practice.
There was a line for the elevator when he got back in, so he chose to take the stairs instead, climbing the four flights with relative ease, although he was slightly out of breath when he got to the fourth floor. Jensen hoped that was something he’d get used to with time.
The stairway opened up into a lounge area and a few groups of students were hanging out up there, male and female but mostly segregated by gender. He scoffed under his breath and rolled his eyes as the girls all turned their gaze to him, roving over him with their eyes, examining him. Their disappointment was almost palpable by the time he slipped through the door to the hall where the dorm rooms were.
It was always this way at the beginning of the year-each semester really, although freshmen were the worst with it-people waiting with bated breath as they met their dorm mates for the first time, walked into the first class of the semester. Eyes were always watching, hoping, and wanting. The feeling of it made Jensen’s skin itch uncomfortably half the time.
His quick pace stuttered to a stop a few doors down from his room. Before heading downstairs with Jason, he’d shut and locked the door but it was open now and that could only mean one thing. His roommate, Jared, was home.
Swallowing hard, Jensen steeled himself for meeting the other guy for the first time. The last thing he wanted was for them to get off to a bad start. Plastering a smile onto his face, and half hoping the guy would open up any conversation they would have by telling him he’d already found his mate and would be moving out to pair housing, he closed the distance to the door and entered.
His roommate was kneeling on the floor, putting away the box of books Jason had made fun of earlier. He was lanky but tall and Jensen had a feeling that, when he stood, he would be several inches taller than him. The sound of his boots on the tile floor, which had likely been installed for ease of clean up, must have alerted Jared to his presence because two steps into the room, Jared stood, turning to face him.
Their eyes met and Jensen found himself staring into hazel orbs as something shifted within him and around him. In that moment they both froze and just stared, eyes widening slowly at the exact same time.
What he was feeling, in that instant, was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Jensen choked on air and spit, swallowing heavily as he took a step forward at the same time as the other man.
“Are-Are you Jensen?” The voice was confused but comforting, warm even through the stammering.
Nodding, his eyes never leaving Jared’s, he managed to find his voice, “Yeah . . . Jared?”
He received a nod in response and suddenly found that they were less than a foot apart. Jared was taller than him by a couple of inches, nothing too jarring, but he was young still, a freshman, and something told Jensen he’d probably shoot up another couple at least.
“What’s-”
“I don’t know.” Jensen lifted a hand, raising it up till it hovered just above Jared’s cheek. Everything inside him was telling him to close the small distance and touch, to caress and memorize everything about Jared.
“We should-” Jared’s eyes darted away from his for the first time since they saw each other.
Jensen twisted his head to follow their gaze and landed on the open door. He nodded and turned, crossing to it in two quick strides. Practically slamming it shut, he locked it and turned to face Jared, leaning back against the door.
Jared was in his face, just inches away, staring down at him. “Is this . . .” he trailed off, eyes roving over Jensen’s features, searching.
His hands had a mind of their own, lifting up to settle against the planes of Jared’s chest, fingers clenching in the fabric. “I wouldn’t know.” Jensen tugged, unable to help himself, pulling Jared forward so he leaned against him.
Stumbling forward slightly, Jared ended up pressed against him, his feet framing Jensen’s, and their faces less than an inch apart. “We should talk.”
Jensen nodded, a nearly imperceptible movement of his head. His eyes met Jared’s again then trailed down his features to land on his mouth. “Yeah.”
“Fuck,” Jared mumbled cringing slightly at the end of the word, before leaning forward and slotted his mouth over Jensen’s.
Jensen had kissed before, once in high school. He’d gone to prom with Jessica Alba, the dance team captain. She had been curious, and he’d wondered occasionally what it would be like, so after the dance they’d pulled over on a quiet street and tried it. Their lips had been pressed together, noses bumped, and teeth clashed, and it had been rather uncomfortable.
This? This kiss with Jared, a stranger and a male? This was beyond a thousand times better than that fumbled attempt.
It wasn’t perfect, though, not in the sense that they were both great kissers. They weren't, and their inexperience showed. It took a few seconds for them to get the angle right, the pressure, and, when they opened their mouths to each other, it was a bit too slick. But it was wonderful, and amazing, and everything that Jensen had heard about.
And that thought scared him.
Next Part
Author: Surevesta
Artist: Spn_2008
Genre: CW RPS
Pairing: J2
Rating: NC17
Word Count: 7435
Warnings: “Homophobia”, AU Religious elements
Summary: When Jared headed off to college he thought he was going to get an education and eventually mate with a nice girl his Mama would be proud to call her daughter. He never expected to lock eyes with Jensen Ackles and have his whole world turned upside down.
After spending a week with his family, mourning the passing of his grandparents, the last thing Jensen expected was to come home to his roommate in the throes of a mating fever. Taking the high road, he moved out. Unable to find an apartment at such short notice he found himself moving back into the dorms and rooming with a freshman named Jared.
Master Post | Art Post
Part One
“Thou shalt not lie with a woman or man who is not thy mate.”
The Word - Levinius sec 1 line 4
Going away to college was supposed to be this big, scary thing. Only it wasn’t, or didn’t seem to be, anyway. Sure it was a bit startling, not being at home with his parents just a call and a hop in the car away, but it wasn’t that bad. So far, anyway.
The drive had been a long one. It had left him exhausted and bleary eyed from staring out at the monotonous countryside for hours at a time. His parents had wanted him to just fly, but no, he had insisted on driving all the way from San Antonio, Texas, to California. The entire trip took him two days, all told, as he’d stopped for the night about halfway through at a cheap motel to get some shut eye-if he’d made the trip in just the 21 hours Google Maps had suggested, his mother would probably have boarded the first available plane just to throttle him.
Jared only slightly regretted his decision to drive, but any doubts he had were quickly brushed away by the fact that he had a truck to drive, whereas many of his fellow freshman, at least those he’d met so far, didn’t. Plus, his timing was perfect; he’d made it to school the day after the dorms opened, which meant he not only missed the early bird rush, but also beat the late arrivals.
His roommate wasn’t there when he arrived. In fact there wasn’t even a second name up on the door. According to the information he’d been given, his roommate’s name was Lewis, but the guy had never replied to the half dozen or so emails he’d sent him over the summer, which had been slightly disconcerting.
Jeff, his older brother, had told him not to worry about that, though. Apparently his second roommate had done the same thing and the lack of communication had turned out to be nothing more than the guy not having access to a computer, thanks to his hard drive dying. He hadn’t even been able to afford a new one till halfway through the middle of the semester. The story had calmed Jared down a bit, at least until Jeff started in on all the reasons not to let your roommate touch your computer unsupervised-apparently porn sites and viruses had been involved.
He’d just started unpacking his bedding, after lugging all his boxes and suitcases upstairs-just his luck that he was on the fourth floor-when someone knocked on the door. It was open; Jared hadn’t wanted to start his college career being anything less than welcoming to his dorm mates.
“Come on in,” he called, twisting around to look back at the door. Since his roommate wasn’t there yet, he’d taken full advantage of the situation, taking the best side of the room for himself.
“Hey.” A scruffy looking guy, tall but probably a couple inches shorter than him, grinned at him from the doorway, eyes flitting around the room. “You must be Jared.”
Jared nodded and stood, dragging the sheets he’d been searching for with him. “ Yeah, are you my-”
“Roommate?” The guy interrupted him, stuffing his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels as he turned his attention to Jared, finally meeting his eyes. “No. I’m actually Misha, your RA . . . one of them anyway. Vicki, my mate, is the other, but she spends most of her time working with the girls on the other side of the hall.”
“Oh, cool.” Jared grinned, his interest piqued. “I didn’t know they worked it out like that.”
Misha grinned as well, his head tilting slightly as he stepped into the room. He slipped a hand out to run it over the top of the microwave and mini-fridge set that Jared had requested for his room when he filled out the housing application. “Depends on who applies, but there tends to be a lot of mated RAs. It’s actually required to have at least one mated pair of RAs in a dorm, so there’s someone with experience for freshmen to talk to who's close to their own age.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
It made sense. Most people mated between ages eighteen and twenty-five. A few people did mate earlier, as it was possible from the time puberty hit, but the numbers weren’t very large. No one was exactly sure why, but the percentage of people that mated during college was extremely high. After graduation the numbers tapered slowly off to the point where nearly everyone was mated before the age of thirty-five. It was estimated that only five percent of the population didn't mate before thirty, and the programs available to meet other mate-less individuals tended to ensure the remaining singles mated shortly thereafter.
Jared had only met five people in his whole life, who were over the age of thirty and still unmated-a teacher at his high school, whose mate had died in an accident only days after mating, a great uncle on his mother’s side of the family, a clerk at the grocery store his family frequented, and two elderly women who attended his church back home. Most individuals didn’t outlive the death of their mate, but a rare few did, especially if the death occurred only shortly after bonding.
Jared tossed his sheets onto the bed and moved to sit on the edge of the desk. “So, what happened to Lewis?”
“Lewis . . ." Misha rubbed at his chin before grinning even wider than before, if that was possible. “Lewis decided not to attend our great university in favor of waiting another year for his mate to graduate from high school.” Shrugging, he continued, “Unfortunately he didn’t deem it necessary to inform admissions about his new status till last week, so they’re still working on everything.”
“Damn,” Jared cursed playfully, snapping his fingers. “I guess that means I won’t be getting this room to myself then?”
“I’m afraid not.” Misha shook his head. “Not with the waiting list they have at the moment. You’ll have another roommate soon enough, although he may not be another freshman.”
Jared blinked, eyebrows rising in surprise. They tended to separate the dorms out by age more often than not. It was easier that way as the freshmen were mostly unmated. The number of mated pairs increased exponentially every year, with nearly half of fourth year students having mated. There were some theories that suggested pairing age groups together also limited the number of mated pairs between individuals of differing ages-especially those with large age differences. It wasn’t something that had actually been proven yet though.
“When will I find out?” he asked.
“Tomorrow, hopefully.” Misha tilted his head to the side, turning it to look down the hall. “So you probably have at least twenty-four hours to make sure you chose the right side of the room.” Standing, he moved to the door, but paused and looked back. “Keep in mind the sun rises from the east and sets in the west.” He pointed in what Jared guessed were the corrected directions as he spoke. “If you don’t want to be woken by the sun, I’d invest in some window cling sun shades. The blinds suck.”
Turning to look at the window, Jared frowned before glancing back at the open doorway. Misha was gone, and there wasn’t anyone else in the hall. Sighing, he moved back to his chosen bed and began to make it, untangling the folded top sheet from the fitted one that his mother had folded around it.
“Mating is a privilege, an honor bestowed upon all but the most
undeserving of souls. To have a mate is to be complete in the eyes of God.”
The Word - Rhia sec 2 line 17
It was just as busy in the dorms at night as it was during the day, or maybe more so. Around dinner time, Misha had come by and asked if he knew his way to the cafeteria. Technically, Jared did, or rather he had a map of the campus, but he accepted the other man’s invitation to join him, his mate, and a group of other students for dinner.
Vikki was adorable and very different from Misha. While Misha reminded Jared of the stereotypical ‘hippy’ from the free love era-the time when his parents were young and many pairs, both mated and unmated had cavorted together in groups, heedless of the natural order of things-in looks at least, she was his polar opposite. Everything about her screamed perfection, from her hair and makeup to her wrinkle-free outfit, there wasn’t a single thing out of place.
Misha had greeted her with a kiss, their hands slipping together, fingers interlocking. It was sweet, short, and barely more than a peck, but it caused a couple of the girls standing nearby to smile and stare wistfully. Even Jared couldn’t help but feel a small spark of envy ignite in his chest. While sometimes he wasn’t sure if he wanted to mate, at least not yet, and certainly not to most of the girls his mother had tried introducing him to, there were some moments where he couldn’t wait. Just seeing the connection between a mated pair made some part of him ache to have it as well.
Dinner was pretty good, much better than the high school cafeteria food he’d been subjected to for the last few years. The chicken meal he’d ended up choosing wasn’t quite as good as his mother’s cooking, but it was still pretty damn good.
He ended up sitting at a table with two girls-Sandy and Tracy-and two other guys-a soccer player named Justin and his roommate, Gabe, who was oddly quiet and rather picky about what he ate. Jared figured the guy just didn’t want to get anything stuck in his braces in front of the girls.
The girls were nice, adorable even, and easy to talk to, but he didn’t feel a spark with either of them and nothing happened when their eyes met. He was slightly disappointed-especially in Sandy’s case-but if they weren’t the one then they weren’t the one. It wasn’t as if he or anyone else had any control over who they mated with, it just happened when it happened. They all exchanged emails and class schedules, and Jared was happy to find out that both Tracy and Sandy were going to be in one of his general education classes, and Sandy was also taking Biology 101 with him. Gabe had a class with Tracy, but other than that neither he nor Justin had anything in common with them, classes-wise.
His first night in the dorm was different, a lot different from what he was used to. It wasn’t loud, per se, but it wasn’t exactly quiet either. He could hear doors open, people walking to and from the bathroom, the occasional murmur of conversation from other rooms-but nothing intelligible-and people yelling at each other down the hall. While Jared didn’t consider himself a light sleeper, it was a lot to get used to when combined with the traffic outside.
He’d shut the door around ten thirty and worked on putting his stuff away, not wanting to get distracted by people dropping by. He had a box of books and comics-mostly graphic novels, some Japanese and some American, a box full of school supplies and a box full of miscellaneous kitchen and food related items. His two large suitcases held clothes, toiletries, and a laptop. He’d already unpacked the box that had his bedding, towels, and the lamp his mother had deemed ‘breakable’.
His eyes were aching by the time he’d settled in enough to finally go to bed. There was so much running through his mind though, thoughts of the days to come-possibilities and worries-that he just knew sleep would be a long time coming.
It hadn't been until he’d gone to climb into bed that he’d realized something was missing: his pillows. That had spurred a quick trip down to his truck, only to find out that he’d left his pillows either at home or at the motel he’d stayed at the night before. Rather than make a trip to the store right then, he’d headed back up to his room and rolled up one of the fluffy towels his mother had insisted he take, mostly due to their large size, and settled in for a long night of staring up at the ceiling and the glow in the dark star stickers someone had stuck up there years prior.
“The bond of mating is eternal. You shall be bound to your
Mate for all time, both in this life and the next.”
The Word - Salacian sec 6 line 27
Morning came quickly and much earlier than Jared would have preferred, but as Misha had warned him, the sun woke him up, making him seriously doubt his choice of beds. His neck was sore from sleeping on a towel rather than a pillow, and that was probably the only reason he actually got up at . . . six in the morning.
Groaning, Jared slipped out of bed and stretched. His back and neck popped audibly, and he winced, running fingers over the back of his neck, prodding gently at the muscles in hopes of getting some relief. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced around the room, eyes landing on the informational note that someone-probably Misha-had taped to the top of his desk. Apparently the dining center didn’t open till 7:30 this week. Next week, once classes started, however, it’d be open at six, bright and early, just in time for bleary eyed students to grab their grub and caffeinate before trudging off to their first day of class.
Throwing on a clean pair of pants-the ones he’d been wearing yesterday were the same ones he’d worn the entire car ride from San Antonio-he pulled on a clean shirt, stuffed his feet into his shoes, and grabbed his wallet and keys. There was a Wal-Mart and a shopping center about twenty to thirty minutes away according to Google Maps and, by the time he got there, most of the shops would probably be open.
While his mother had done her best to make sure he was prepared for life away from home, there were still a few things he needed to pick up. Other than a pillow or three, he needed to buy some large buckets or cinder blocks to elevate his bed, something to block out the sun, some cleaning supplies, a fan, and an extension cord.
The halls were pretty much empty, although he could hear a shower running when he walked past the communal bathrooms. He took the elevator for once, figuring it was probably early enough there wasn’t going to be anyone using it yet, unlike the mad rush there had been for it during the day.
It took him all of five minutes, if that to get to his truck. There were a few people wandering around campus, including a few joggers-he made a mental note to figure out a good circuit so he could continue his own morning jogs at some point-but for the most part it was deserted. The weather was nice though, the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky.
There was quite a bit of traffic, probably people heading to work, so it took him upwards of half an hour-closer to forty minutes-to reach the shopping center. Wal-Mart was the only store open when he got there. It was off to the side of the mall, separated by a large section of parking lot. He parked as close as he legally could and locked up his truck before heading towards the store. The greeter that met him at the door was yawning but still way too cheery for how early in the morning it was.
He ended up getting more than he came for, but it was all things he’d need eventually anyway, including two new pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts-both with the university's logo on them. He figured it would probably cost him less to buy on them there compared to the campus book store.
They were out of cinder blocks, but they did have some heavy duty buckets. It didn’t take him long to find everything he needed, after all. The store was virtually the same as the Wal-Mart near his parents’ house. On the way to the register he spotted some storage containers, long ones that could slip easily under a twin size bed and hesitated only a moment before stacking them on top of his cart. His mother would be proud.
The only other place he stopped at was a Barnes and Noble, which was just opening. He perused the shelves for a good half hour and ended up buying the latest volume of Bleach, a Japanese manga, and an American graphic novel called Broken Connection. He’d hesitated over buying the latter, teeth worrying at his bottom lip as he stared at the glossy cover.
Broken Connection was a mystery series with an edge of fantasy. It was about a mated pair who were somehow broken apart, separated physically, mentally, and spiritually, and another pair who were both male. Back in Texas, his church had ridiculed the author for the ideas he’d used in the story-from the broken bonds to same-sex mating-pointedly ignoring the fact that it was fantasy. Jared had found the summaries he’d read online absolutely fascinating and scary all at the same time. He hadn’t been able to sneak a look while living with his parents, but now that he was on his own he was free to do nearly anything he wanted.
His phone rang while he was waiting in line to check out, startling him and earning him a few glares. There were two customers in front of him, a middle aged woman, and a little boy he guessed was her son. Answering, he turned to the side, eyeing the rack of pop-culture magazines and the latest New York Times best seller books. They were side by side, a rather odd combination. As he answered his phone, his gaze caught on one of the magazines, its title proclaiming: Miley Cyrus Mates at 16! To find out more . . .
“Hello?”
“Jared, honey, did I wake you?” His mother’s voice was comfort and home, and, God, he missed her. A smile tugged at the side of his mouth and he ducked his head a bit.
“Nah,” Jared shook his head, grinning, “I got up early so I could get some shopping done.”
“Oh, that’s good,” she ‘hmmm’ed into the phone. “I wouldn’t have called so early, but I forgot the time difference. Did you buy a new pillow? You left yours here. I didn’t notice till this morning, or I would have sent-”
“You don’t need to mail my pillows, Mama.” He stepped up to the counter as the woman in front of him grabbed her bag and her son’s hand and hurried off. Setting his books down on the counter, he smiled at the clerk. “I bought a couple at the store.”
“I’ll have your father put a bit of cash into your account when he gets a chance.”
“Mama,” Jared protested, leaning against the counter as the woman in front of him pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. He dug his wallet out of his pocket and removed his debit card and ID, holding them out for her to take. “I’ll be fine. I've been saving up for over a year.”
“And that should go towards enjoying your time at college and gas, not something that is a necessity,” she contradicted him, fully ignoring the fact that the only reason they had let him go out of state for school in the first place was the fact he had earned enough money to cover everything outside of housing and tuition on his own. He even had a work study position in the library already lined up to help offset the out of state tuition costs. “I don’t want to hear any arguments from you. We have a bit extra this year since I’ve been teaching summer school.”
Jared sighed as he signed the slip and handed it back to the clerk, taking his card, ID, and the copy of the receipt in return. He mouthed ‘thanks’ as he took his bag and headed towards the door. His mother was still chatting away in his ear, but he knew better than to spend any more time arguing with her.
“So, did you meet any girls yet?”
He rolled his eyes. As if she wouldn’t know the instant he mated. It was a given that you would contact your family as soon as feasibly possible. There were forms to fill out and meetings to arrange in order to officially welcome a mate into the family. Plus, there was only a short window available for them to contact family and get things moving before a pair sequestered themselves off together to ‘get to know each other’.
“No, Mama.” Jogging across the street, he found his parking place not too far from the entrance. “You know I’ll tell you when it happens. It’s not like I could hide it from you.”
”Be ever diligent in your search for mating is not a choice.
It is not an act that can be scheduled or rescheduled at will.
You will find your mate at God’s chosen time and you will be
overcome with emotion and enter into a fever that must
be quenched. Mating is God’s will and oft occurs
at the most inopportune of times.”
The Word - Rhia sec 4 lines 2-3
There was already a line of students checking in when he got back to the dorm. Rather than wait for the elevator, he opted to take the stairs, stuffing everything but the buckets into the storage containers he’d bought in order to make the trek a little easier.
The door to the room across the hall was open and there were several bags, a couple of suitcases, and a guitar case piled on the bed nearest the window. Jared peered in surreptitiously as set his stuff down and searched his pockets for his keys. There was no one in the room-they were probably lugging more stuff upstairs-causing him to wonder whether 'Chad' or 'Kris' had arrived.
Unlocking his door, he pushed it open and then transferred his stuff into the room, dropping it all in the empty space between the beds. He was still alone in the room, the other bed, desk, and closet’s emptiness a stark contrast to his already messy side. Flipping off the first container's lid, he began to remove things, tossing his pillows onto the bed and setting the cleaning supplies on his desk. Hopefully he’d be able to get organized before his mystery roommate ever showed up. Maybe that way there wouldn’t be any debate on who got which side of the room.
Around noon he finally stopped, deciding to head to the dinning center for lunch. The cup of coffee and sausage egg McMuffin from McDonalds he’d snagged while he was out had already worked its way past his stomach, and he was hungry.
“Jared!” Sandy grinned up at him as he stepped up to the counter at the section of the cafeteria that promised cheeseburgers, French fries, onion rings, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pretty much anything else along that vein you could think of. “How are you doing?”
“Pretty good,” he responded, returning her grin with one of his own. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he continued, “I didn’t know you were working here.”
“Today is technically my first day, but I worked at a food court back home, and we had training Monday. That’s why I got here so early.” She tilted her head, bouncing on her heels. “So, what can I get you?”
“How about a cheeseburger with everything and onion rings?”
“Sounds good, although you may want to get the French fries,” she leaned forward and so did he, in order to hear her lowered voice, “My co-worker, Mike, says this batch of rings sucks. They’re switching suppliers for the semester, though, so maybe in a week-ish they’ll be better.”
“Okay,” he laughed and straightened, nodding. “I’ll take the fries then.”
It took just under ten minutes for them to cook his food and hand it over. He found a place to sit near the long line of windows out front and made quick work of his lunch while watching people walk past. At this time of day the campus was covered in students and their families wandering about and trying to locate everything. There were a few groups of students wearing Greek shirts handing out flyers, probably to social events, and a few booths set up advertising different clubs. Nearby, in front of the entrance to the library, a large tent was set up with rows of tables beneath. Students were milling about, looking at posters.
Finishing his lunch, Jared tossed his garbage and made his way over to the tent. It was indeed a poster sale and Jared grinned as he began perusing it. While living at home he’d never been able to put up posters, as his mother had been very particular about her home, and the decorations and items therein. Not to mention the fact that she’d been convinced they’d destroy the wall. Nothing much caught his eye right off the bat and, after an hour of searching through the dozens of books filled with movie, television, music, and art posters, he decided to wait and see what his roommate would put up before making a final decision. He wasn’t trying to match décor or anything; Jared just didn’t want to put up anything that might offend the guy or gain him nasty looks. That would be a pretty bad way to start off the year.
The walk back to his dorm wasn’t that long; it only took about ten minutes at the most. Misha was manning the front desk when he got there, and he called Jared over with a shout and lots of arm waving.
“Jared! Hey, man, good news! I finally got your roommates info,” Misha grinned at him, leaning over the counter and knocking over a container of pencils. A female student that had been filling out a form scrambled to catch the rolling pencils while Misha ignored them, resting his chin on his palm and leaning forward even further.
“Cool,” Jared caught a few of the pencils before they could roll of the edge of the counter and dropped them into the container the girl next to him had just righted. “What’s his name?”
“Jensen.”
A beat of silence filled the air before Jared ventured a question, “And his first name..?”
“That is his first name,” Misha laughed, grinning widely at his own joke, which wasn’t all that funny. “Last name is Ackles, A-C-K-L-E-S, he’s a junior who was staying in off-campus student housing, but his roommate mated over the summer. Looks like you two are in a similar predicament.”
“Lucky us.” Jared rapped his fingers on counter. “Any idea when he’s going to be arriving?”
Misha leaned back, taking the form the girl had just finished filling out. His eyes dropped to peruse it. “He and a couple buddies dragged most his stuff up there while you were at lunch. Emily, you still need to sign this and you have to list an emergency contact.”
The girl, who was glaring at him, narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“You’re on my floor, the fourth floor, right?” Misha waited for her confirming nod before continuing, “If you break the rules and get drunk and fall out the window, we’ll need a phone number to contact your parents so they can get started on the funeral arrangements.”
“Ha ha,” She grumbled, snatching the papers back and hastily scrambling out the information while boring holes into the paper with her eyes.
“Is he still here?” Jared turned his attention back to Misha.
The guy shrugged, tangling his fingers together and resting them against the back of his head. “Could be. Might be. Who knows.”
“Thanks,” Jared nodded; sighing, he couldn’t help a small smile. He glanced back down at Emily before jerking a thumb towards the stairwell. “I’m going to head upstairs. I’ll see you later?”
“Gonna do another dinner run at six if you’re hungry and feel like joining us,” Misha nodded, taking the papers from Emily again, nodding in approval once he glanced over them.
“Sounds good.”
The door was shut and locked when he got up to his room. The only notable difference from the outside was the addition of ‘Jensen’ in what he guessed was Vikki’s handwriting on a green piece of paper cut out like a thought bubble-in comparison to his red jagged ‘action bubble’. Inside the difference was much more obvious. Jensen’s side of the room was still mostly clean, just a pile of boxes, containers, and miscellaneous items. The bed was already made though, mostly anyway. That had obviously been the first thing on the agenda for Jensen, much like it had been for Jared.
There was a laptop and a lamp on the desk, along with a pile of text books, new and used. Almost all of them were topics Jared hadn’t even considered yet-or likely ever would-with the exception of a psychology book that Jared himself had purchased online. There was an accounting book and an advanced biology book and Jared couldn’t make heads or tails of what the guy was likely studying.
Settling onto the floor near his bed, Jared pulled out the last box of his stuff he had left to unpack, his books, towards him, and started pulling them out, stacking them nearby. There was a small bookshelf between the head of his bed and Jensen’s desk, and he started organizing his books on the bottom shelf, alphabetically by series title out of habit.
He was almost done when footsteps moving from the carpet of the hall to the tile interior of the room alerted him to the presence of another person. As he slid the last three volumes of Bleach into place, he turned, stood, and promptly froze as his eyes found bright green. And in that instant, as odd as it might sound, everything changed. Everything.
“Upon meeting your mate you will be overcome with desire
that will not abate until the flesh has merged in a matter satisfactory only to God’s eyes.”
The Word - Rhia sec 6 line 21
Jensen had always known he was different in some way. By the time he was nearing puberty, his parents had started talking about mating with him, and they’d started discussing it more and more in school. The whole thing had never appealed to him, well maybe not the idea of a companion in general, but the descriptions of mating and the life he’d have with the woman he’d be joined to for eternity just wasn’t enticing. And sure, he’d wanted a family one day and to be loved unconditionally by someone other than his parents, but something about all the imagery that had been implanted in his mind through books, lectures, movies, and everywhere had just felt off to him. He'd thought he might grow out of that feeling someday, but he never had.
When he finally reached high school his parents had started paying even more attention to him, mostly thanks to his older brother Josh. While most people didn’t mate till they were at least legally considered adults, Josh had mated at sixteen to the lovely fifteen year old Shelly Wright, who had lived just down the street. He thought his mother had been hopeful he’d mate with one of the girls from church or even school as they hit that magic moment in time where the ‘switch’ that allowed them to mate turned on, but that hadn’t happened. Instead he left home single, traveling thirteen hundred miles to another state to go to school.
There had still been the hopeful calls and emails, especially at first, but eventually they tapered off a little. His father and mother still asked from time to time if he’d been going to any of the meet and greets or social gatherings, even church, but they weren’t quite as insistent even more. Regardless, he still said ‘yes’, and painted a picture of an avid hunt for the one he’d spend the rest of his life with. The real answer though was no, he hadn’t been doing anything more than he absolutely had to. Jensen only went to the social events if his friends dragged him or he felt like going, preferring to just go about his daily business. And most of the time, thanks to his busy schedule, it was all he could do to meet his friends for lunch.
This year was going to be different, at least slightly. His grandparents on his mother’s side had passed on over the summer after his grandfather had a heart attack. It had taken all of five days for his grandmother to follow her mate, just enough time for her to say goodbye and make sure everything was settled in regards to their will. While Jensen wasn’t enthusiastic about using the money that had been left to him, his grandmother had been quite insistent that he put it to use and stop working at his part time job in order to focus on his studies and “other more important ventures”, by which he knew she meant finding a mate.
When he got back from Texas that summer-his family was from the Dallas area-he’d been surprised to find his roommate, Jason, and a girl he vaguely thought he’d seen around campus once or twice, sequestered away, apparently ‘getting to know each other’. He’d spent all of ten awkward minutes getting a few things from his room and the bathroom before hightailing it to a motel to spend the next couple of nights.
The next day he’d started looking for a new place, preferably an apartment, but at such late notice there had been slim pickings and he’d been forced to contact the school and request to be added to the waiting list for a dorm room. Sure, he could have stayed in the apartment, but living with a newly mated pair wasn’t something he wanted to try out. Besides, the place was technically Jason’s first; Jensen was a year behind him, a junior instead of a senior, and he’d moved in with Jason after Jason’s previous roommate, Steve, moved out.
“Jensen, I’m so-” Jason started for the hundredth time as he dropped a box on top of the free, recently made, bed in the dorm room Jensen had been assigned to. Not only was Jensen in a dorm after he’d escaped them his sophomore year, he was in a freshman dorm.
“Don’t apologize.” Jensen cut him off with a wave of a hand after depositing a large suitcase next to the box. “It isn’t like you can control it and, besides, if it had been the opposite way around I’m sure you’d have gotten out of the apartment just as quick.” He quirked a smile at his friend, trying to reassure him the best he could and received a small grin in return.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jason nodded and laughed a little. “I’m still feeling guilty about getting you stuck here . . . you didn’t even get the good side of the room.”
Shrugging, Jensen shut and locked the door behind them as they exited the room. Tom and Jamie-who had lugged up the bedding and made his bed while the guys took the heavier items-had already taken off after the last trip up when it was determined there were only two more things to be lugged up the stairs, leaving Jason to help him finish up. “Doesn’t matter. I figure I’ll be out of the dorm again after this semester, maybe sooner if the guy I’m stuck with sucks.”
“Did you see the box of books he had? Looks like you got yourself an Otaku.” Jason grinned as Jensen shot him an odd look.
“I don’t think having a few books constitutes an Otaku. I didn’t even see any DVDs . . . and I’m kind of scared you know what that is.”
“And you knowing it isn’t?”
Jensen rolled his eyes and stabbed the down button on the elevator a couple of times. Either the button was broken or the light was just out; he hoped it was the former. “My freshman year roommate is the president of the anime club now. He was the definition of Otaku. Still is.”
“Point,” Jason conceded as the door opened. They stepped aside for a guy and his parents to shuffle out, arms full of luggage. “My girl is slightly obsessed with a couple of series’. She made me watch this one, Genshiken, about some girl who mates with an Otaku and his friends are all unmated perverts . . .” Trailing off he laughed a little, “She told me just to be glad she wasn’t like them!”
“So she’s an anime geek and you’re obsessed with music,” Jensen pondered, leaning against the back of the elevator. “Maybe you can get her to dress up-role play?-for some fun times.”
Jason slugged his arm, but grinned back at him as he got off, dodging a couple of freshman who could barely see around the boxes they were carrying. “What would your mother think if she heard you talking like that?”
“Well, it’s a good thing she’s over a thousand miles away, isn’t it?”
“As it is impossible for the bonds of mating to be broken
it is also impossible for those of the same sex to be joined
together for all eternity. Those who claim otherwise are
blasphemers and will be punished accordingly in the next life.”
The Word - Levinius sec 14 line 10
Seeing Jason off hurt a little, not because of any insane attachment on his part, but because he was going to miss having the guy around all the time. One of the great things about being roommates with Jason had been all the impromptu jam sessions, and he’d miss those. With his luck his new roommate would either hate music or get pissed at him for being too loud. Besides, without someone there to prod him into playing he might not even get up the nerve to practice.
There was a line for the elevator when he got back in, so he chose to take the stairs instead, climbing the four flights with relative ease, although he was slightly out of breath when he got to the fourth floor. Jensen hoped that was something he’d get used to with time.
The stairway opened up into a lounge area and a few groups of students were hanging out up there, male and female but mostly segregated by gender. He scoffed under his breath and rolled his eyes as the girls all turned their gaze to him, roving over him with their eyes, examining him. Their disappointment was almost palpable by the time he slipped through the door to the hall where the dorm rooms were.
It was always this way at the beginning of the year-each semester really, although freshmen were the worst with it-people waiting with bated breath as they met their dorm mates for the first time, walked into the first class of the semester. Eyes were always watching, hoping, and wanting. The feeling of it made Jensen’s skin itch uncomfortably half the time.
His quick pace stuttered to a stop a few doors down from his room. Before heading downstairs with Jason, he’d shut and locked the door but it was open now and that could only mean one thing. His roommate, Jared, was home.
Swallowing hard, Jensen steeled himself for meeting the other guy for the first time. The last thing he wanted was for them to get off to a bad start. Plastering a smile onto his face, and half hoping the guy would open up any conversation they would have by telling him he’d already found his mate and would be moving out to pair housing, he closed the distance to the door and entered.
His roommate was kneeling on the floor, putting away the box of books Jason had made fun of earlier. He was lanky but tall and Jensen had a feeling that, when he stood, he would be several inches taller than him. The sound of his boots on the tile floor, which had likely been installed for ease of clean up, must have alerted Jared to his presence because two steps into the room, Jared stood, turning to face him.
Their eyes met and Jensen found himself staring into hazel orbs as something shifted within him and around him. In that moment they both froze and just stared, eyes widening slowly at the exact same time.
What he was feeling, in that instant, was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Jensen choked on air and spit, swallowing heavily as he took a step forward at the same time as the other man.
“Are-Are you Jensen?” The voice was confused but comforting, warm even through the stammering.
Nodding, his eyes never leaving Jared’s, he managed to find his voice, “Yeah . . . Jared?”
He received a nod in response and suddenly found that they were less than a foot apart. Jared was taller than him by a couple of inches, nothing too jarring, but he was young still, a freshman, and something told Jensen he’d probably shoot up another couple at least.
“What’s-”
“I don’t know.” Jensen lifted a hand, raising it up till it hovered just above Jared’s cheek. Everything inside him was telling him to close the small distance and touch, to caress and memorize everything about Jared.
“We should-” Jared’s eyes darted away from his for the first time since they saw each other.
Jensen twisted his head to follow their gaze and landed on the open door. He nodded and turned, crossing to it in two quick strides. Practically slamming it shut, he locked it and turned to face Jared, leaning back against the door.
Jared was in his face, just inches away, staring down at him. “Is this . . .” he trailed off, eyes roving over Jensen’s features, searching.
His hands had a mind of their own, lifting up to settle against the planes of Jared’s chest, fingers clenching in the fabric. “I wouldn’t know.” Jensen tugged, unable to help himself, pulling Jared forward so he leaned against him.
Stumbling forward slightly, Jared ended up pressed against him, his feet framing Jensen’s, and their faces less than an inch apart. “We should talk.”
Jensen nodded, a nearly imperceptible movement of his head. His eyes met Jared’s again then trailed down his features to land on his mouth. “Yeah.”
“Fuck,” Jared mumbled cringing slightly at the end of the word, before leaning forward and slotted his mouth over Jensen’s.
Jensen had kissed before, once in high school. He’d gone to prom with Jessica Alba, the dance team captain. She had been curious, and he’d wondered occasionally what it would be like, so after the dance they’d pulled over on a quiet street and tried it. Their lips had been pressed together, noses bumped, and teeth clashed, and it had been rather uncomfortable.
This? This kiss with Jared, a stranger and a male? This was beyond a thousand times better than that fumbled attempt.
It wasn’t perfect, though, not in the sense that they were both great kissers. They weren't, and their inexperience showed. It took a few seconds for them to get the angle right, the pressure, and, when they opened their mouths to each other, it was a bit too slick. But it was wonderful, and amazing, and everything that Jensen had heard about.
And that thought scared him.
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