Jays2 (19/?)
Title: Jays2 (19/?)
Genre: J2 RPS, AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared although - Heh! You know major league teams have 25-man rosters, right?
Rating (overall): Adult
Bribes Warnings: Language, Baseball, Schmoop, Crack, Angst, Gleeeee!, Boy-Sexin’ (wait, what kind of warning is that?)
Word Count: ~ 8,300
Disclaimer: Fiction not fact. All these beautiful guys belong to themselves. Jensen and Jared belong to each other, we all know that :D Only the words are mine. No copyright infringement intended for the use of the MLB teams/players/logos, the Toronto Star, or Rogers Sportsnet. This is for fun, not profit.
Summary: A marriage by mistake. A fight for freedom. A hostile takeover to thwart. It’s not even high noon yet, but Jensen’s heading for a showdown!
A/N: Okay, I’m soooo sorry it’s taken so long for an update, but what with last minute prettying up and posting of my BB fic (shameless plug: The Play Nice Proviso!) and work getting in the way (science is > 80% failure so if something works, you just gotta go with the flow), the delay was inevitable. This whole story is complete in my head, it just needs to be written, but that doesn’t mean other plot bunnies will leave me alone and my muse has been all over the place with new and old ideas and those needed to be written before I lost them. I’m giving you guys an extra long part to make up for me being so very, very bad. Thanks so much for your continued support of Jays2; your messages and emails have really made me feel the love! So, that said - here’s the showdown y’all have been waiting for. Heck, maybe it was even high noon when it happened.
Enjoy! Comments = Love!
| Master Post |
NINETEEN:
IT’S NOT BUSINESS, IT’S PERSONAL... AND FYI YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME.
Considering he had made it this far in his relationship with Jared without a good, old-fashioned freak-out, Jensen figured he was way past due.
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
Those three fragmented sentences kept playing in a loop in his head for the rest of the day.
He had been due to pick up the marriage license in the morning and then get right back to work to deliver it to his father’s assistant so that she could use it to make arrangements with the church and the preacher and various other things wedding-related that Jensen had no interest in knowing. After what Delores had told him, however, there was no going back to work, or home... because home was where Jared was.
Jared.
His husband.
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
Holy shit. Jensen had no idea what he was supposed to do with this new knowledge. Tell Jared? Well, duh. Just... not right now. He needed to sort things out in his own head first. And while he knew that he loved Jared and that Jared loved him, there were a few tiny matters he had yet to consider: first, that they were both new to this gay thing; second, that they hadn’t really done anything but kiss, so how into this gay thing were they really?; and third, were they ready to be married to each other when they weren’t even... well, Jesus, what the hell were they? Best friends, roommates, teammates... boyfriends? Jensen hadn’t really expected to be confronted with all these questions until after he had faced his father, and now... he was a little lost.
Oh, and lest he forget...
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
|*|*|*|
Jensen - and no, the irony was not lost on him - sought sanctuary in his office, but the time had just gotten away from him and the next thing he knew, it was already eight in the evening and he was still at work. Well, still at his desk even though he hadn’t really done anything in that span of time, except maybe stare blankly at the walls or out the window at the Dallas skyline. Even after Alona had left earlier, in a huff because he wasn’t being very helpful or productive, he still sat there in a daze, for the first time in his life (and that was saying a lot considering who he had for a father), blindsided, and with one question resounding in his mind: what if Jared didn’t want to be married to him?
Oh God, what then? The very thought made his stomach clench and spasm in very real fear. Jared had swiftly become the one person he could not imagine his life without and he was not ashamed to admit that he was scared to death of losing him. And okay, even if Jared was amenable to the marriage, how were they supposed to be gay married in baseball? Because even if Jensen no longer had a career in it - Jared certainly did.
Jensen jumped in surprise as an vision of a scruffy, irate and somewhat inebriated Tom Hanks from A League of Their Own suddenly materialized in front of him, frowning mightily with an accusing finger pointed right at him.
Gay married? You’re gay married? There’s no gay marriage in baseball!
Jesus.
Jensen blinked, Tom Hanks’ Jimmy Dugan vanished and he got the fuck out of his office before either Geena Davis, Madonna or - God forbid - Rosie O’Donnell showed up to lecture him.
It was a while before he made it home though, and try as he did to be unobtrusive, Jared still blearily blinked his eyes open when Jensen slid into bed beside him.
“Hey,” he greeted quietly, his voice raspy with sleep.
“Hey,” Jensen answered, not quite looking at him, all the what-ifs in the world racing through his mind.
“You’re late,” Jared turned towards him with a smile but it faltered on his face when he saw the look on Jensen’s. “Something wrong?”
“No.”
Jared blinked at him as if waiting for him to continue but really - that was all Jensen had to say. “Jen? Have you been drinking?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Was it a work thing?”
“No... I just needed to think. And drink.” Jensen worried his lower lip between his teeth. “I didn’t drink a lot - just a couple of beers really. Maybe three. And a half. But that would be wasting and you know, waste not... er... so, maybe four.” Jensen sighed. “I took a cab home.”
A sleepy smile tugged at the corner of Jared’s mouth, and he leaned in the scant few inches that separated them to brush his mouth across Jensen’s. “Stressful day?”
“Something like that,” Jensen hedged, licking the taste of Jared from his lips.
“Wanna tell me about it?”
Jensen couldn’t put off looking at him any longer, and when he did look at Jared, he stared for a long moment before speaking. No, he thought to himself, he was nowhere near ready to confront this right now. And yeah, that lily-livered coward in bed with Jared? That was him. “Not just yet.” He raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at Jared, reaching out to trace the side of his face, his thumb caressing back and forth across his cheekbone. “Is this okay?”
Jared blinked some more, coming fully awake now. “Is what okay?”
“This. Us,” Jensen elaborated as best as he could through the fogginess in his brain. “If you... If you were stranded on a desert island...,” Jensen would have snorted at himself, but it was the best his brain could come up with at that moment. “If you were... and I was the only other person on it - like forever - would you be okay with that? Being stuck with me?”
“On a desert island?” Jared repeated patiently, his eyes filling with equal parts mirth and affection. “Absolutely. I’d be happy to be stuck with you. Anywhere.”
The quiet sincerity in his voice was an unbelievable turn on. Well, all right, maybe being half-draped all over Jared’s luscious, hard body for the past few minutes also had a little something to do with it, but Jensen wasn’t really paying attention to his rampant thought processes as his mouth crashed into Jared’s.
The kiss was messy. It was too much enthusiasm, if that was even possible, and too much tongue and no finesse whatsoever. In his defence, he had had five beers. Or was it six? Whatever. He couldn’t multitask at that moment, and kissing Jared took precedence over everything else, including higher brain function. Well, kissing and rubbing. He could do that in unison. There was also a lot of moaning going on but he honestly could not tell if the sounds came from him or Jared, all he knew was that it was making him frantic and hot and all the blood was rushing from his brain (what little of it had been there in the first place) and heading south, setting a firm course to his dick, which was now so hard it was almost painful.
Not bad for a guy who had just guzzled seven beers. Or more. Things were really fuzzy right now. Except for Jared. Jensen saw Jared in sharp focus, even with his eyes scrunched up closed as he ground down onto Jared’s body, seeking some relief for his erection, which was straining against the confines of his boxers, moistening them, every move he made inciting an equivalent response from Jared.
Now that registered with startling clarity.
He could feel heat build in the close space between their bodies; he could feel Jared’s hardness against his own, and oh... that - mmm… just there - that felt good. Jensen’s body sought that heat like a moth to a flame, his movements harried, haphazard. He grunted as he bucked helplessly against Jared, his orgasm building in the base of his spine, his balls tightening. He couldn’t see past the whirling in his head, he couldn’t concentrate on anything else but kissing Jared, and seeking completion, and a few seconds later, it was all over for him as he came in his shorts like an oversexed teenage boy, panting as he tried to catch his breath but ending up collapsing against Jared, his face squashed up against Jared’s neck. Jensen nuzzled close, sated and relaxed, and thought that perhaps this was a good place to settle down for the night.
“Still don’t wanna talk about it, huh?” Jared’s voice was scratchy, albeit amused, and more than a little aroused, and his breath puffed against Jensen’s face. Jensen just shook his head, but then, perhaps too late, a thought occurred to him.
“Did you... er... you know?” He mumbled, unable to look at Jared, or even lift his head really. He was useless and pathetic and he had no idea if Jared had gotten off, or even understood what he had been trying to ask in the first place. His brain, which had been barely functional to begin with, was powering down.
“Er... I’m good.”
“Okay. I will. You know, talk. Eventually. I promise,” he mumbled and Jared sighed in resignation but didn’t push, instead he wrapped long arms around Jensen’s prone body and snuggled him closer. “Get some sleep, angel. Things always look better in the morning. Especially with the healing power of Padacuddles.”
Jensen snorted out a laugh. “What?”
Jared grinned; Jensen could feel it against his cheek. “That’s what my Momma used to tell me when we were kids and we were down about something. She’d just squish us close and say that Padacuddles made everything better.”
“God, I love your Momma...”
“She loves you too - can’t shut up about you.”
“That’s ‘cause I’m her favourite.”
“Mmm-hmm, whatever helps you sleep at night, pumpkin.”
“I will hurt you if you ever call me that again.” Jensen smiled but sleep was getting the better of him. “G’night, Jared.”
The press of Jared’s mouth against his temple was soothing, reassuring, reaffirming. “Love you, Jen.”
And yeah. He did. And so did Jensen, and why the heck was he so worried about this? They would work things out eventually, but first things first. And just like that, every chaotic thought and fear that had been swirling around Jensen’s head in a whirlwind all day, settled and fell into place, and suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do. When it came to baseball, Jensen had always taken every chance there was to take: he was the one who got things going, who stole bases, who made the risky plays, who gambled everything on the game. It took teamwork and leadership and being a bit of a badass. And now... now, it was time to bring his baseball strategy into the boardroom.
Sleep first, and then, come morning... no more Mr. Nice Guy.
|*|*|*|
Jensen woke with the fierce resolve to finally break free of his father’s stranglehold on his life once and for all.
Well, that - and a hangover.
And grungy boxers that reminded him of the fact that he had basically rutted against Jared like a dog in heat.
Way to make their first time special.
Needless to say, he was a more than a little mortified and entirely too embarrassed to face Jared, so he snuck off into work while Jared was still in the shower, crusty boxers and all. What? There was a shower and a closet full of suits right in his office.
He felt a lot better after popping a couple of Tylenol, taking a quick shower, making a sheepish, apologetic call to Jared, and having a breakfast croissant with three cups of strong, bitter coffee. All in the space of less than an hour. Then he addressed the troops. There was work to be done, and he needed to prepare for battle. So, obviously his father had to go and throw a spanner in the works, calling a board meeting to vote on the Russell Oil takeover. In two days. Because when had Jensen ever had it easy when it came to dealing with his father?
Sometimes he felt like every day of his life when he worked for his father was like an episode of Dallas, and like the infamous Bobby Ewing, he was waiting for the day he got to wake up and find out that the past year of his life had just been a bad dream.
Or a very good dream, considering he was now married to Jared. Yeah - if this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
So, he had to - quickly - tweak his strategy and re-prioritize; he didn’t need Kenzie’s frantic reminder that they had to find a way to stop the takeover of Russell Oil. This board meeting was a sham of course, for his father had already made up his mind and usually his decision was final. But Alan Ackles couldn’t win this time - and Jensen couldn’t let that takeover happen without Montgomery Russell’s knowledge. It just wasn’t done. Hell, Connor Russell was still a good friend of his and Monty and Annette were Kenzie’s godparents. He couldn’t allow things to go down like his father had planned.
It was with that and his own escape in mind that he worked relentlessly, toiling for long hours, imprisoned in his office, practically chained to his desk. He ignored the worried glances Alona kept sending his way and rallied his legal team; all his bases needed to be covered. And sleep was overrated anyway.
He was really lucky that his husband was so understanding.
Er... wow. His husband. The burst of love and fear and pride in his chest startled him, and he had to actually stop and take a breath. Or hyperventilate. Whatever.
He had his head between his knees, struggling to pull air into his lungs, when the phone on his desk rang.
"Jensen Ackles," he spoke into the receiver by way of greeting.
"I love calling you at work," Jared told him. "Know why?"
Jensen shook his head before recalling that Jared couldn't see him. "Er... no?"
"The way you say your name when you answer your phone is seriously sexy." Jensen's breathlessness from before increased at least ten-fold, and Jared noticed. "You okay? You sound a little outta breath. You're not jerking off are you?"
"I... what?"
Jared laughed as Jensen sputtered. "That's what it sounds like, dude. You alone?"
"Of course I'm alone - it's almost nine!"
"Exactly. So why are you not home with me?"
"Oh. Umm. Work stuff. You know."
"Jen, you better not be stressing out over work. It can wait. Come home. I'm starting to forget what you look like."
Jensen smiled into the receiver, and felt the tension leave his body. "There's a picture of me on top of the dresser. You can make googly-eyes at it if you like."
Jared hummed pensively. "You still trying to avoid me after what happened last night?"
"No!" Jensen lied vehemently. Jared huffed, obviously not buying it. "Okay, yeah."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later, Jen, 'cause I dunno if you got this memo, but I'm in love with you, and I think you're hot and I jerk off in the shower every morning thinking of you and the way you feel all snuggled up next to me in bed while you're sleeping or on the couch while we're watching TV or in the kitchen while we're making dinner or doing the dishes or dancing or you know, anytime you're breathing around me." Jensen's only response to that was a sharp, indrawn breath. "And when you're away from me, I fantasize about you, and what you might be doing and if, maybe, you're doing it naked." Jensen gulped audibly, squirming in his broad leather seat, his trousers getting snugger with every smoothly uttered word out of Jared's mouth. The thought had him picturing that mouth speaking into the phone, wide and pink and perfect, and now he was hyperventilating again.
"Jensen?" Jared asked, undaunted when Jensen's affirmative reply was mumbled over the phone line almost incoherently, "touch yourself for me?" Jensen's grip on the phone tightened until the whites of his knuckles showed. "Do it, angel. I know what you feel like against me now. I remember you... my body remembers you... all hard and hot and wet against me..." Jared was the one who was breathless now and suddenly Jensen had to know, even if he was currently incapable of articulating proper sentences.
"Are.. are you...? God... are you?"
"Yeah. Oh baby, yes..." Jared moaned, his voice reverberating in Jensen's ear until shivers raced along every nerve ending in his body. He squeezed his eyes shut as images of Jared jerking off flooded his mind’s eye, and palmed himself, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, the soft little sounds in his ear and the tactile sensations of his own hand making him blindingly hard in seconds.
"Do it, Jen. Please. For me? I wanna hear you, I need to know you’re right here with me..." Jared pleaded and Jensen was powerless to resist him. Cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder, his hands deftly undid his belt, although he took his time unzipping himself, running his thumb excruciatingly slowly down the length of his cock. His breath stuttered in his chest, and Jared's resultant groan was shot sparks down his spine.
"Jared."
"Just tell me how you like it."
"I can't... I just..."
"You can. Talk to me, Jen. I need to hear your voice."
Jensen pulled down his boxer briefs until they hooked snugly under his balls, his cock springing up into his hand. A random shred of common sense had him reaching for the box of tissues on his desk.
"M'not gonna last, Jared," he panted, already on the brink of coming embarrassingly quickly.
"I need to know, Jensen. Do you start slow? Drag it out? Feel every tug? Or do you like it hard and fast?"
Jensen's fist tightened around himself, staving off his release. "I like it slow... but... but not right now. I need... it has to be fast. Mmm... Tight. Wet. Oh, oh... ohhhh..." he groaned as he fisted himself, his thumb circling the tip of his dick, collecting the moisture leaking from it, slicking the way for the frantic pace of his hand.
"You sound so fucking hot, I wish I was there with you. Wish it was my hands on you, Jen," Jared's voice hitched with his words. "Wish it was my mouth..."
And that did it. Jensen came with a shout, spilling warm and thick all over his hand, his heart racing a mile a minute as he tried to catch his breath for what seemed like the millionth time in just the last few minutes alone. He awkwardly fumbled the phone as he cleaned himself up and tossing the soiled tissues in the trashcan by his desk. He'd get rid of the evidence later when he was able to move again.
"Was it good for you?" Jared's breathy voice sounded in his ear. He sounded sated, spent, and amused. Jensen felt his face heating up in spite of himself.
"That was... I've never... not on the phone. Holy hell, Jared!"
"Yeah," Jared laughed, "it was good for me too. Goddamn, it was great! Now get your pretty ass home, and maybe we can do it again."
Jensen stared morosely at the mountain of paperwork on his desk. "So much to do still," he muttered, mostly to himself.
"You want me to come to you?"
"Then I'd never get any work done."
"That’s kinda the point, angel,” Jared joked, but then he paused. “You're not coming home tonight are you?"
Jensen filled him in on the meeting his father had called. "We have to figure out a way to stall the takeover, you know? This isn't just about me right now."
Jared sighed but when he spoke, he was nothing but encouraging. "Will you make sure you get some sleep, at least? Promise me."
"I will."
"Meet me for lunch tomorrow?"
"I'm in with my legal team almost all day. I'm sorry."
"You're real lucky I love you so much, Ackles."
"Believe me - I know it.
"Then again, I'm pretty lucky too."
Jensen smiled, his heart whole and happy. "Soon. That I can definitely promise."
"I'ma hold you to that," Jared chuckled softly. "Soon."
|*|*|*|
Jensen was on full alert from the moment he stepped into the boardroom the day of the big meeting, but as the next hour dragged on, he started to get a bit antsy.
His father was in for a big surprise, of that there was no doubt. How he would react considering that not only Jensen, but also Kenzie and their mother were against the hostile takeover, was another question entirely.
He hoped the gleaming mahogany boardroom table they were gathered around provided adequate cover from the explosion that would no doubt ensue.
Jensen watched as his father spoke from the head of the table, carefully noting his words and trying to gauge his mood from the tone of his voice. The man seemed to be in a good mood, if a little irritable, but then again, what else was new? He gave the table a quick survey: his brother Joshua was at his father's right hand side as usual, the head of the company's legal team on his left. The rest of the table was rounded off by Jed Harris, James Proctor and the three members of the board external to Ackles Inc., who represented the interests of the minor shareholders of the company. The three older men - ancient, actually - were cronies of George Ackles, Jensen’s late grandfather: Templeton Morris, Ridge Calloway and Frank MacInnes, who was chairing the meeting. Everyone’s various assistants also sat around the huge table, Alona at Jensen’s side.
Jensen jotted down a note to himself and tried not to roll his eyes in annoyance. His father could be so long-winded. Jesus. He tried not to squirm in his seat. Suddenly, nothing was more important than putting all his cards on the table and just getting the hell away from here and back to Jared. Back to Toronto. Back to where he belonged.
He suppressed a sigh as he went through his plan again in his head. What he had in mind was going to be a bit tricky in its execution; a lot hinged on chance, but even if it didn’t work out exactly the way he hoped it would, if he could at least succeed in coming at his father from out of leftfield - then it would be worth it in the long run just to stall the takeover bid, if not derail it completely. Sure, he hadn’t wanted to show his hand this early in the game, but the fact that he was now married to Jared changed all that and he had to make his move. There was really only one way the vote could go once it was introduced and that was in his father’s favour, a fact that Alan knew without qualm. He expected his wife and children to vote with him.
With the exception of Jensen of course, and Alan had learned that the hard way.
Now though, Jensen had no voice; he had signed away his right to vote in the baseball deal he had made with his father, so while ten percent of the company shares remained under his control, he couldn’t do anything with them.
But united - his mother, Kenzie, Proctor and Jensen - they stood a chance. At least to table the motion and buy them some time while they tried to convince the minor shareholders that the Russell Oil takeover was the wrong move to make. It would have been a lot easier if Jensen still had a vote, although he hoped his little plan was sneaky enough to work around that little complication.
Finally, MacInnes introduced the Russell Oil bid. As he blathered on with the details, Jensen shot a quick glance at his sister, nodding almost imperceptibly when she acknowledged him. With a final look at his mother, Jensen drew in a deep breath. It was now or never.
“Wait just a minute, Frank,” Alan interrupted before those very same words could spill from Jensen’s mouth. His eyes flew to his father and he was startled to see the man regarding him intently.
And wait... what?
Jensen’s heart stopped mid-beat, and he was suddenly terrified that somehow, his father knew. He steeled himself, and it was with steady eyes that he faced his father across the boardroom table.
“JR... Margaret informs me that she hasn’t received your marriage license yet. You were supposed to deliver it to her two days ago,” the older man blustered. “We’re on a strict schedule here, and we need it to book the church in time for the ceremony. What’s the hold up?” He glared at Jensen with the intensity of a laser directed right between his eyes, and that old fear he always felt in the face of his father’s ire threatened to rise in his throat and choke him.
There was pin-drop silence in the large room as they considered each other; Alan’s features cold and hard as usual. “Well?” His father demanded impatiently.
Jensen took a deep, fortifying breath. He could do this. He had to. Even if it was too soon. He had prepped to thwart the Russell Oil takeover, but maybe, in a corner of his mind, he had been prepared for this too. “Enough,” he declared quietly, and he could almost feel the weight of his mother, Kenzie and Alona’s eyes on him, heavy and comforting. He had back-up this time. He wasn’t alone.
His father, though, was not pleased. “What do you mean?”
“I mean... I’ve had enough,” he told him, his voice stronger than he had ever heard it when speaking to the head of their family. He darted a brief glance at his mother before looking at his sister. “It’s time. I can’t afford to wait any longer.”
“If you’re sure,” Kenzie replied, her demeanour composed even if the look in her eyes was hesitant. She knew he was talking about more than just the business deal at hand.
“I am,” Jensen assured her before turning to Alona. “Get Peter in here and bring in the project files that we’ve been working on for the past couple of days.” Alona looked startled but she didn’t argue, merely nodding and hurrying away even when Alan’s gruff voice tried to intercept her departure.
“What the hell is going on here, JR?” Alan demanded as he watched his daughter confer with her assistant before sending the young woman out after Alona.
“You’ll find out soon enough, Daddy,” Jensen enunciated, annoyance edging into his tone. His father did a double-take at the moniker, and Jensen felt a swift upswell of anger rise inside him. He forced it away; he had to stay calm through this. Too many things - his own freedom and happiness not the least amongst them - hinged on how this was going to pan out.
It may just have been the longest ten minutes of Jensen’s life, not to mention the most uncomfortable, and the cold silence in the room was almost deafening, despite his mother’s reassuring presence next to him. She couldn’t show her support yet of course, but just knowing she was there helped. Although not by much. Jensen felt his stomach spasm almost painfully as it tied itself up into many complicated knots and the seconds ticked by until Alona’s return. His relief was practically palpable when the boardroom doors opened to reveal Kenzie’s assistant, laden with files, followed closely by Peter, his lawyer, Alona, and... Jared?
|*|*|*|
Jared was a patient man.
Okay, so that was mostly a lie, but he had found that when it came to Jensen, he had the patience of a saint. Seriously, just look at how long he had gone without sex. He was amazed his right hand still functioned normally. So... saint. But even sainthood had its limits, and Jensen was sorely testing Jared’s.
He hadn’t been home in two days. Two whole days of nothing but brief phone calls - even if one of those had led to a very intense phone sex session - Jensen’s arousing voice sounding harassed in his ear, and it shouldn’t have turned him on, especially when he was trying not to lose his temper, but it did. The sexy idiot had it coming to him, though.
He knew Jensen had work to do to get out of his deal with his father, and to foil that takeover bid that had him working so hard in the first place, but Jared was feeling a bit neglected. And he wasn't generally a whiny little bitch, but he sure as hell had woken up feeling like one this morning. A nice warm shower had calmed him down somewhat, but he had hoped to take Jensen out to lunch today, or at least quarantine him in his office so that Jared could make sure he ate.
It was with that in mind that he went over to Jensen's office, arriving earlier than expected, half an hour before the meeting had been scheduled to end. He was gamely chatting to Beth - dishing the dirt on Aldis, of course - when Alona burst through the glass double doors and into the foyer like a fury.
"Holy shit," he heard her mutter, right before she opened her mouth and yelled at someone in the back. "Peter! Grab the files. Everything. He's doing it. He’s doing it now!" Jared blinked as he took in her flushed face and panicky expression.
"Al?"
"Jared!" Alona exclaimed just as another man darted up to her, looking more frazzled than she was.
"What do you mean - he's doing it?"
"He's going for it, Pete - the whole shebang!" Alona blurted out, darting nervous looks at Jared, before she focused on Peter.
"Just get all the paperwork together. Jensen's flying by the seat of his pants, but sometimes he does his best work that way. I should know."
Peter looked momentarily stricken but he composed himself and nodded firmly before scurrying off to his desk and assembling a mountain of files together. Alona too, raced to her desk, ignoring the worried glances from the rest of Jensen's team. "Jared - come with me a sec."
Jared followed. "What the hell is going on? I thought this was just about the takeover - and now I'm guessing it's not."
"He keeps you in the loop?" Jensen's assistant sounded surprised, but the look she was giving him was shrewd.
"Not about everything," Jared shrugged. "But I think that's mostly because he doesn't want to jinx himself."
"You're very astute."
"I just know him really well."
"Right," she said quietly, studying him for a few seconds longer as she gathered up the relevant paperwork from her desk. When she was done, she peered up at him consideringly. "I think you should come in there with us."
"What? I can't do that!" Jared sputtered in surprise. "I have nothing to do with the company!"
"But I get the feeling you have everything to do with Jensen," she remarked intuitively, "he's going to need you."
"What do you know about this plan of his?"
"To stop the takeover? I know most of the details - Peter knows all of it. About his fight for freedom? I pretty much know everything," her eyes flickered to the side uncertainly. "Although... although, I think something happened a couple of days ago. Something that made him step up the pace. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
"He hasn't been home in two days! I haven't even seen him!"
"Okay. I'm not blind. I see how the two of you are together. I see how much you care for him, every time you come over here and bring him lunch or make him go home at a reasonable hour. He comes alive when you’re around.” Alona regarded him with a smirk, and Jared felt his face flush hotly. “It's totally a two-way street, in case you have any doubt. He never really cared before the Jays, but I'm guessing that has more to do with you than with baseball.”
“Er...,” Jared hesitated, blinking rapidly as he thought of an appropriate response. He came up empty.
Alona’s smile grew into a full-blown grin, blinding Jared with her pearly whites. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Let’s go.”
After she shoved a handful of files and a laptop into his arms, he had no choice but to follow her and Peter out of Jensen’s suite of offices and into the mirrored elevators that led to the executive floor. He tried not to have a mini nervous breakdown, absolutely certain that Jensen would not like him butting into his business like this - love or no love - and when his eyes entangled with Jensen’s surprised ones as he walked into the boardroom, dread almost had him fleeing in the opposite direction.
Then Jensen blinked, his green-eyed gaze softening as a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his gorgeous mouth.
Jared was pretty certain there were other people in that room but he couldn’t have said how many at that moment; he could definitely hear the cacophony of raised voices when they had walked in, but somehow, everything muted and faded to black when Jensen looked at him.
“JR!” Alan Ackles’ angry shout snapped Jared and Jensen out of the staring contest they had going on, but other than starting slightly, Jensen didn’t show any other reaction to his father’s displeasure, instead getting up from his seat at the table and moving until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Jared. “JR,” Alan gritted out again, “what is the meaning of this? And why is this man here?” Alan stared Jared down before Jensen could say a word. “This is a closed meeting. Family and staff only.”
“He’s my family,” Jensen stated quietly. Firmly. Looking his father right in the eyes. Jared couldn’t help turning to stare at him in shock.
He also couldn’t help the undoubtedly goofy grin forming on his face.
Alan, however, looked apoplectic.
“I want to go back to the Jays next season,” Jensen declared in a steely tone, not even blinking when his father snorted derisively. “I want you to nullify the contract you’re holding over me - the one keeping me out of the major leagues.”
Alan smiled in a manner that could only be described as feral. “That is not going to happen and you know it, JR.”
“In that case, you leave me no choice,” Jensen said, “I’m selling my shares of the company.”
There was a horrified pin-drop silence in the room for at least a minute before Alan’s face turned a mottled red. “Are you delusional?” He raged, darting a scathing look at Jared. “You can’t just announce that you’re selling to an outsider and have it go through! That would need to be ratified by the board and there is no way I would approve of that!”
“I don’t need the sale to be ratified if it’s to a member of this family.”
Alan blinked and then the corner of his mouth tipped upwards in a smarmy leer. “You looking to buy your freedom, JR? I didn’t think you had it in you. I’ll consider it, though - it will give me the lion’s share of the company.”
“Oh, I’m not selling anything to you, Daddy.” Jensen’s silky voice sent a shiver down Jared’s spine. Jared had never seen this ruthless side of Jensen before - not even in the midst of a close, critical game.
Jensen’s father frowned mightily. “Then who...?”
At that, Peter hastened to open up a few files and he slid a sheaf of papers towards Jensen, who gave them a once over, nodded at his lawyer, and then looked at his sister.
“Kenz,” he asked somewhat nonchalantly, “I’m in the market to sell my shares - you interested in buying?”
Mackenzie shrugged delicately. “Total no brainer, big brother - I’ll take ‘em.” And before anyone could react, she had signed across the dotted line. Alan and Joshua gaped speechlessly. Jensen merely smirked at his little sister.
“Pretty sure you don’t get that for free - I don’t care how cute you are.”
“Gee, Jensen,” Mackenzie made a show of patting her pockets before pulling out a couple of dollar bills. “This is all I have on me.”
Jensen grabbed a single greenback. “That should cover it.”
“Awesome,” Mackenzie turned to one of the older men sitting, mouth agape, near the head of the table. “Considering I now own twenty percent shares in this company, I believe I can introduce a motion. Right, Frank?” The older man nodded mutely, darting a nervous glance in Alan Ackles’ direction. Surprisingly, the head of the company remained silent, although Jared was fairly certain he was plotting a counter-attack in his head. One look at Jensen told Jared that he too, was surreptitiously studying his father. “In that case,” Mackenzie continued, “I would like to propose that we nullify any and all contracts between Ackles Incorporated and Jensen Ackles, effective immediately, considering Jensen is no longer a shareholder and we no longer require his services. Will anyone second?”
“Seconded,” another middle-aged, amused-looking man stated.
“Thank you, James.” Mackenzie stared down Frank until he spoke.
“All those in favour?”
“I,” Donna Ackles succinctly said, causing her husband’s head to swivel in her direction, his eyes glinting dangerously. Her affirmative vote was echoed by James - Proctor, Jared guessed - and the other older men at the table. Frank made a note of the outcome before speaking.
“The pre-existing contractual obligations held by Ackles Incorporated with regard to Jensen Ackles have been rendered void and nullified by majority vote.”
Jared blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. That was it.
Jensen had his freedom.
The surge of joy he felt died a swift death when he saw the malicious smile on Alan’s face as he watched his younger son.
“This may give you back your precious baseball career, son,” he spat out the appellation like an insult, “but the merger and the marriage is a deal with Harris Enterprises. I’d like to see you try and get out of that one.”
Jared reeled at that, but Jensen remained unruffled. In fact, he was smiling and his father looked about as stunned as Jared felt. “Yeah,” Jensen hedged, biting his bottom lip, “about that. Turns out,” he darted a sheepish look at Jared before looking back at his father, “turns out I’m already married.”
“What?” Both Jared and Alan exclaimed in unison, as the room resounded with an almost unanimous gasp of shock.
Alan recovered before Jared’s brain could kick into gear. “Any union you entered into in the interim is invalid under the terms of Harris marriage-merger.”
“If I entered into it voluntarily,” Jensen informed him.
“Next you’ll tell me you tripped and fell into matrimony,” Alan scoffed.
“Actually,” Jensen smirked, “that’s not too far from the truth.” He looked at an unhappy Jed Harris. “Do you remember the piece ESPN did on the MLB at the beginning of the season? About pranks in pro-ball?”
“Yes?” Harris responded hesitantly.
“And do you remember which team came out on top?”
Harris blinked and shook his head in disbelief. “The Jays. That shit... er, pardon my French,” he looked apologetically at Donna. “The prank Rosenbaum and Welling pulled along with the Jays Front Office: the fake wedding,” his eyes darted between Jared and Jensen. “Your fake wedding. The two of you.”
Jensen ran a hand through his spiky hair, ducking his head slightly. It was such a tell that it had Jared gaping at him the second he did it. Then he motioned to his lawyer again and Jared saw Donna, Mackenzie and Alona shoot them identical looks of open-mouthed fascination as they watched Jensen watch Jared.
“Jen?” Jared couldn’t hold his peace any longer.
“So here’s the thing,” Jensen told him, “when I went back to Delores at the County Clerk’s office? She didn’t have the marriage license. She told me she couldn’t issue it.”
Some emotion at the crossroads of fear and hope warred in Jared’s heart. “Why not?”
“Because of the morons I went with the first time around,” Jensen quirked an eyebrow at him, and Jared stifled the urge to giggle, “she decided to look into our fake gay marriage.”
“And?”
“Turns out it’s not so fake.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what the hell Mike did but we’re married. Delores called Registry Services in Toronto and they confirmed it,” Jensen imparted. “I called too. Then I had Peter investigate it.” He paused, staring deep into Jared’s eyes. “We’re really married.”
“What?” A few people around the table echoed Jared this time.
“Wait - what about Danneel, then?” Harris asked, looking shell-shocked.
“Well, maybe Danneel can now marry her French boyfriend and everyone will be happy,” Jared pointedly told him, and the older man had the grace to look remorseful. Yeah, Jared thought to himself, he had nothing against Danneel per se, as long as she kept her mitts off his man, so more than one person’s happiness was on the line here.
That, and unlike Jensen’s daddy’s dogma, not everything was about money and power.
“On my God!” Mackenzie squeaked in surprise as Jensen cautiously studied his reaction.
And suddenly, Jared was on the verge of hyperventilating. “Jensen - are you serious?”
“Jared,” Jensen grabbed the ends of his jacket and hauled him close, their bodies almost colliding. “You said... if we were stranded - just you and me - you said... you’d be happy to be stuck with me! You said it! You can’t take it back!”
“This was what that was all about?” Jared groaned. “Jen - why the hell didn’t you just tell me?”
“Jared - do you even know me? I was freaking out!”
Jared resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Or smack Jensen upside the head. “You idiot.”
“Sorry,” Jensen muttered, looking utterly dejected. “You’re right. I should have told you right away, but I was... scared. I’m so sorry. If... I mean, I’ll understand if you don’t want to... we’ll... we can go to Toronto and file for a divorce.” His grief-stricken gaze and unhappy pout hit Jared like a physical punch to the gut. And that just wasn’t right, Jared thought to himself.
And what the hell was he doing here? This? Was his every dream come true. This meant Danneel could take a goddamn hike and Jensen was all his for all eternity and then some. So yes, he was happy to be stuck with Jensen. Hell, he was ecstatic to be stuck with Jensen! And if Jensen thought divorce was an option, then he had another think coming.
“We've had some fun, and yes, we've had our ups and downs,” Jared told him, smirk on his face and tongue in cheek. “Been down that rocky road, but here we are, still around.”
“Jared?” Jensen asked uncertainly.
“We've had our doubts, we never took ‘em seriously,” he allowed the tone of his voice to change, so the tune could come through, and he couldn’t help but smile at the moment Jensen recognized the lyrics. “We've had our ins and outs, but that's the way it's supposed to be. We thought about giving up, but we could never stay away... thought about breaking up, but now we know it's much too late,” Jared laughed when Jensen did, all the heartbreak that had been apparent on his face before vanishing. “We are bound by all the rest...”
Alona smirked at them. “Like the same phone number...” she sang.
“All the same friends...” Mackenzie chimed in.
“And the same address!” Peter pointed out happily.
Jared smiled so hard, his cheeks hurt. “Yes, it's true...”
“Yes, it's true...” Their back-up chorused.
“I am happy to be stuck with you! Yes, it's true,” Jared cupped Jensen’s gorgeous face in his hands, “I'm so happy to be stuck with you! 'Cause I can see...”
“He can see...”
“That you're happy to be stuck... with me.”
And then - in the most perfect turn of events possible, and in front of all those people, one of whom was his asshole of a father - Jensen kissed him.
|*|*|*|
“This is ridiculous!” His father’s irate voice interrupted a near perfect kiss. Jensen sighed and reluctantly pulled away from his husband to face his father for the umpteenth time that morning. “This farce won’t hold water in any court of law! Get an annulment,” he ordered, his voice as hard and unflinching as his expression.
“If you’ll allow me to interject, sir,” Peter stepped into the conversation. “Both Mr. Ackles and Mr. Padalecki have been residing at the same address for well over a period of six months. That is the cut-off period per the City of Toronto’s regulations pertaining to marital relations,” Peter cleared his throat. “After six months, the marriage is assumed to be... er...” There was more throat-clearing. “Consummated. Which leaves no grounds for annulment.”
“Then you can get a divorce!” Alan yelled at Jensen.
Donna huffed out a wry chuckle at that. “Why Alan, I thought you had a rule about that,” she stared down her husband. “The Ackles’ don’t do divorces, remember? Because if you’ve changed your mind about that, I would be very interested in knowing.” All her children gaped at her audacity, Jensen and Kenzie both looking vaguely impressed while Joshua looked like the world as he knew it had come to an abrupt and cataclysmic end.
“Now wait just a goddamn minute, you worthless...” Alan seethed, looking like he was about to pop several blood vessels, the entire might of his displeasure focused hard on Jensen.
“You do not get to talk to him that way anymore.” Jensen turned as Jared spoke, startled at the quiet menace in his voice.
“Shut up, asshole,” Joshua glowered at Jared. “No one talks to my daddy like that.”
“Yeah,” Jared taunted, “well, no one talks to Jensen like that!”
“Stay out of this, Joshua,” Alan ordered, pinning Jared with a glare. “I will talk to my son any way I want. What the hell gives you the right to interfere in our business?”
“This little piece of paper on my apartment wall in Toronto that says we’re married,” Jared appeared to take great pleasure in reminding him. Jensen tried - he really did - but he couldn’t suppress the smile that spread on his face. “So yeah. I won’t let you talk to my husband that way.”
And. Holy. Shit.
That hit Jensen square in the solar plexus. You know, en route to his groin.
“You sinner!” Alan spat, infuriated. “You want this, don’t you? My God - get out! I won’t have riff raff like you infecting my family with your filth!”
“That’s enough!” Jensen shouted, enraged on Jared’s behalf. He’d take his father’s vitriol any day but he would not tolerate Jared being spoken to in the same manner that he had spent a lifetime listening to. “Don’t you ever talk to him like that again. He’s got more worth in his little finger than you will ever have in your entire life!”
“Remember your place, JR,” his father warned, looking disgusted. “You may be a lot of things, but I know you’re not gay.”
“You don’t know the first thing about me. You never have!” Jensen took a deep breath to calm himself.
“If you don’t put a stop to this, JR, consider yourself cut-off! You will no longer be a member of this family! I will disown you!”
“Do what you have to do if it’ll help you sleep at night,” Jensen told him without a qualm, feeling like an immense weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Donna reassured him, smirking at her husband’s posturing and looking delighted at the opportunity to finally pull one over on him. “You can have my shares.”
Jensen chuckled and reached out to grasp Jared’s big hand in his. Then he addressed his mother and sister. “I’m in love with Jared. Maybe we got married by mistake, but I’m in this for as long as he’ll have me.”
“So, forever then,” Jared piped up, dimples out in full force, charming both his mother and Kenzie with no effort whatsoever.
“Welcome to my family, Jared,” Donna smiled up at him after getting up to give him and Jensen a hug, her emphasis not going unnoticed by any of them. She winked at Jensen. “I think he had you at chocolate chip pancakes.” Jensen laughed as Kenzie squeezed him from behind. Apparently, Jared had already been squished to within an inch of his life.
“He’s Toronto! Oh God, this is perfect!” Kenzie squealed happily, the excitement in her eyes made her look like his baby sister again, just like when they were kids. She waved her hands haphazardly in front of his body. “You make sense now.”
And yeah, he did. Just like Jared’s family defined him, Jared defined Jensen. And as Jared’s thumb lovingly grazed his cheek, he figured that went both ways. Jared and Jensen and Jensen and Jared forever and ever. Amen. Jensen smiled. He could so live with that.
Donna smirked indulgently at the two of them before shooing them out. “Now go on, git! I’m guessing y’all have some talking to do, or at the very least a honeymoon to plan.” Then she turned to her husband, taking her place at the foot of the boardroom table again. “And we...” she smiled gamely at her daughter, “we have a hostile takeover to thwart.” Alan Ackles stared slack-jawed at his wife like he had never seen her before. “Enough pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get back to business.”
And Jensen took his husband’s hand, and happily - ever after, he sappily hoped - walked away.
|*|*|*|
The classic scene from A League of Their Own: http://www.youtube.com/watch
That Huey Lewis and The News classic: Stuck With You
Genre: J2 RPS, AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared although - Heh! You know major league teams have 25-man rosters, right?
Rating (overall): Adult
Bribes Warnings: Language, Baseball, Schmoop, Crack, Angst, Gleeeee!, Boy-Sexin’ (wait, what kind of warning is that?)
Word Count: ~ 8,300
Disclaimer: Fiction not fact. All these beautiful guys belong to themselves. Jensen and Jared belong to each other, we all know that :D Only the words are mine. No copyright infringement intended for the use of the MLB teams/players/logos, the Toronto Star, or Rogers Sportsnet. This is for fun, not profit.
Summary: A marriage by mistake. A fight for freedom. A hostile takeover to thwart. It’s not even high noon yet, but Jensen’s heading for a showdown!
A/N: Okay, I’m soooo sorry it’s taken so long for an update, but what with last minute prettying up and posting of my BB fic (shameless plug: The Play Nice Proviso!) and work getting in the way (science is > 80% failure so if something works, you just gotta go with the flow), the delay was inevitable. This whole story is complete in my head, it just needs to be written, but that doesn’t mean other plot bunnies will leave me alone and my muse has been all over the place with new and old ideas and those needed to be written before I lost them. I’m giving you guys an extra long part to make up for me being so very, very bad. Thanks so much for your continued support of Jays2; your messages and emails have really made me feel the love! So, that said - here’s the showdown y’all have been waiting for. Heck, maybe it was even high noon when it happened.
Enjoy! Comments = Love!
| Master Post |
NINETEEN:
IT’S NOT BUSINESS, IT’S PERSONAL... AND FYI YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME.
Considering he had made it this far in his relationship with Jared without a good, old-fashioned freak-out, Jensen figured he was way past due.
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
Those three fragmented sentences kept playing in a loop in his head for the rest of the day.
He had been due to pick up the marriage license in the morning and then get right back to work to deliver it to his father’s assistant so that she could use it to make arrangements with the church and the preacher and various other things wedding-related that Jensen had no interest in knowing. After what Delores had told him, however, there was no going back to work, or home... because home was where Jared was.
Jared.
His husband.
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
Holy shit. Jensen had no idea what he was supposed to do with this new knowledge. Tell Jared? Well, duh. Just... not right now. He needed to sort things out in his own head first. And while he knew that he loved Jared and that Jared loved him, there were a few tiny matters he had yet to consider: first, that they were both new to this gay thing; second, that they hadn’t really done anything but kiss, so how into this gay thing were they really?; and third, were they ready to be married to each other when they weren’t even... well, Jesus, what the hell were they? Best friends, roommates, teammates... boyfriends? Jensen hadn’t really expected to be confronted with all these questions until after he had faced his father, and now... he was a little lost.
Oh, and lest he forget...
He was married.
To Jared.
Oh God.
|*|*|*|
Jensen - and no, the irony was not lost on him - sought sanctuary in his office, but the time had just gotten away from him and the next thing he knew, it was already eight in the evening and he was still at work. Well, still at his desk even though he hadn’t really done anything in that span of time, except maybe stare blankly at the walls or out the window at the Dallas skyline. Even after Alona had left earlier, in a huff because he wasn’t being very helpful or productive, he still sat there in a daze, for the first time in his life (and that was saying a lot considering who he had for a father), blindsided, and with one question resounding in his mind: what if Jared didn’t want to be married to him?
Oh God, what then? The very thought made his stomach clench and spasm in very real fear. Jared had swiftly become the one person he could not imagine his life without and he was not ashamed to admit that he was scared to death of losing him. And okay, even if Jared was amenable to the marriage, how were they supposed to be gay married in baseball? Because even if Jensen no longer had a career in it - Jared certainly did.
Jensen jumped in surprise as an vision of a scruffy, irate and somewhat inebriated Tom Hanks from A League of Their Own suddenly materialized in front of him, frowning mightily with an accusing finger pointed right at him.
Gay married? You’re gay married? There’s no gay marriage in baseball!
Jesus.
Jensen blinked, Tom Hanks’ Jimmy Dugan vanished and he got the fuck out of his office before either Geena Davis, Madonna or - God forbid - Rosie O’Donnell showed up to lecture him.
It was a while before he made it home though, and try as he did to be unobtrusive, Jared still blearily blinked his eyes open when Jensen slid into bed beside him.
“Hey,” he greeted quietly, his voice raspy with sleep.
“Hey,” Jensen answered, not quite looking at him, all the what-ifs in the world racing through his mind.
“You’re late,” Jared turned towards him with a smile but it faltered on his face when he saw the look on Jensen’s. “Something wrong?”
“No.”
Jared blinked at him as if waiting for him to continue but really - that was all Jensen had to say. “Jen? Have you been drinking?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Was it a work thing?”
“No... I just needed to think. And drink.” Jensen worried his lower lip between his teeth. “I didn’t drink a lot - just a couple of beers really. Maybe three. And a half. But that would be wasting and you know, waste not... er... so, maybe four.” Jensen sighed. “I took a cab home.”
A sleepy smile tugged at the corner of Jared’s mouth, and he leaned in the scant few inches that separated them to brush his mouth across Jensen’s. “Stressful day?”
“Something like that,” Jensen hedged, licking the taste of Jared from his lips.
“Wanna tell me about it?”
Jensen couldn’t put off looking at him any longer, and when he did look at Jared, he stared for a long moment before speaking. No, he thought to himself, he was nowhere near ready to confront this right now. And yeah, that lily-livered coward in bed with Jared? That was him. “Not just yet.” He raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at Jared, reaching out to trace the side of his face, his thumb caressing back and forth across his cheekbone. “Is this okay?”
Jared blinked some more, coming fully awake now. “Is what okay?”
“This. Us,” Jensen elaborated as best as he could through the fogginess in his brain. “If you... If you were stranded on a desert island...,” Jensen would have snorted at himself, but it was the best his brain could come up with at that moment. “If you were... and I was the only other person on it - like forever - would you be okay with that? Being stuck with me?”
“On a desert island?” Jared repeated patiently, his eyes filling with equal parts mirth and affection. “Absolutely. I’d be happy to be stuck with you. Anywhere.”
The quiet sincerity in his voice was an unbelievable turn on. Well, all right, maybe being half-draped all over Jared’s luscious, hard body for the past few minutes also had a little something to do with it, but Jensen wasn’t really paying attention to his rampant thought processes as his mouth crashed into Jared’s.
The kiss was messy. It was too much enthusiasm, if that was even possible, and too much tongue and no finesse whatsoever. In his defence, he had had five beers. Or was it six? Whatever. He couldn’t multitask at that moment, and kissing Jared took precedence over everything else, including higher brain function. Well, kissing and rubbing. He could do that in unison. There was also a lot of moaning going on but he honestly could not tell if the sounds came from him or Jared, all he knew was that it was making him frantic and hot and all the blood was rushing from his brain (what little of it had been there in the first place) and heading south, setting a firm course to his dick, which was now so hard it was almost painful.
Not bad for a guy who had just guzzled seven beers. Or more. Things were really fuzzy right now. Except for Jared. Jensen saw Jared in sharp focus, even with his eyes scrunched up closed as he ground down onto Jared’s body, seeking some relief for his erection, which was straining against the confines of his boxers, moistening them, every move he made inciting an equivalent response from Jared.
Now that registered with startling clarity.
He could feel heat build in the close space between their bodies; he could feel Jared’s hardness against his own, and oh... that - mmm… just there - that felt good. Jensen’s body sought that heat like a moth to a flame, his movements harried, haphazard. He grunted as he bucked helplessly against Jared, his orgasm building in the base of his spine, his balls tightening. He couldn’t see past the whirling in his head, he couldn’t concentrate on anything else but kissing Jared, and seeking completion, and a few seconds later, it was all over for him as he came in his shorts like an oversexed teenage boy, panting as he tried to catch his breath but ending up collapsing against Jared, his face squashed up against Jared’s neck. Jensen nuzzled close, sated and relaxed, and thought that perhaps this was a good place to settle down for the night.
“Still don’t wanna talk about it, huh?” Jared’s voice was scratchy, albeit amused, and more than a little aroused, and his breath puffed against Jensen’s face. Jensen just shook his head, but then, perhaps too late, a thought occurred to him.
“Did you... er... you know?” He mumbled, unable to look at Jared, or even lift his head really. He was useless and pathetic and he had no idea if Jared had gotten off, or even understood what he had been trying to ask in the first place. His brain, which had been barely functional to begin with, was powering down.
“Er... I’m good.”
“Okay. I will. You know, talk. Eventually. I promise,” he mumbled and Jared sighed in resignation but didn’t push, instead he wrapped long arms around Jensen’s prone body and snuggled him closer. “Get some sleep, angel. Things always look better in the morning. Especially with the healing power of Padacuddles.”
Jensen snorted out a laugh. “What?”
Jared grinned; Jensen could feel it against his cheek. “That’s what my Momma used to tell me when we were kids and we were down about something. She’d just squish us close and say that Padacuddles made everything better.”
“God, I love your Momma...”
“She loves you too - can’t shut up about you.”
“That’s ‘cause I’m her favourite.”
“Mmm-hmm, whatever helps you sleep at night, pumpkin.”
“I will hurt you if you ever call me that again.” Jensen smiled but sleep was getting the better of him. “G’night, Jared.”
The press of Jared’s mouth against his temple was soothing, reassuring, reaffirming. “Love you, Jen.”
And yeah. He did. And so did Jensen, and why the heck was he so worried about this? They would work things out eventually, but first things first. And just like that, every chaotic thought and fear that had been swirling around Jensen’s head in a whirlwind all day, settled and fell into place, and suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do. When it came to baseball, Jensen had always taken every chance there was to take: he was the one who got things going, who stole bases, who made the risky plays, who gambled everything on the game. It took teamwork and leadership and being a bit of a badass. And now... now, it was time to bring his baseball strategy into the boardroom.
Sleep first, and then, come morning... no more Mr. Nice Guy.
|*|*|*|
Jensen woke with the fierce resolve to finally break free of his father’s stranglehold on his life once and for all.
Well, that - and a hangover.
And grungy boxers that reminded him of the fact that he had basically rutted against Jared like a dog in heat.
Way to make their first time special.
Needless to say, he was a more than a little mortified and entirely too embarrassed to face Jared, so he snuck off into work while Jared was still in the shower, crusty boxers and all. What? There was a shower and a closet full of suits right in his office.
He felt a lot better after popping a couple of Tylenol, taking a quick shower, making a sheepish, apologetic call to Jared, and having a breakfast croissant with three cups of strong, bitter coffee. All in the space of less than an hour. Then he addressed the troops. There was work to be done, and he needed to prepare for battle. So, obviously his father had to go and throw a spanner in the works, calling a board meeting to vote on the Russell Oil takeover. In two days. Because when had Jensen ever had it easy when it came to dealing with his father?
Sometimes he felt like every day of his life when he worked for his father was like an episode of Dallas, and like the infamous Bobby Ewing, he was waiting for the day he got to wake up and find out that the past year of his life had just been a bad dream.
Or a very good dream, considering he was now married to Jared. Yeah - if this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
So, he had to - quickly - tweak his strategy and re-prioritize; he didn’t need Kenzie’s frantic reminder that they had to find a way to stop the takeover of Russell Oil. This board meeting was a sham of course, for his father had already made up his mind and usually his decision was final. But Alan Ackles couldn’t win this time - and Jensen couldn’t let that takeover happen without Montgomery Russell’s knowledge. It just wasn’t done. Hell, Connor Russell was still a good friend of his and Monty and Annette were Kenzie’s godparents. He couldn’t allow things to go down like his father had planned.
It was with that and his own escape in mind that he worked relentlessly, toiling for long hours, imprisoned in his office, practically chained to his desk. He ignored the worried glances Alona kept sending his way and rallied his legal team; all his bases needed to be covered. And sleep was overrated anyway.
He was really lucky that his husband was so understanding.
Er... wow. His husband. The burst of love and fear and pride in his chest startled him, and he had to actually stop and take a breath. Or hyperventilate. Whatever.
He had his head between his knees, struggling to pull air into his lungs, when the phone on his desk rang.
"Jensen Ackles," he spoke into the receiver by way of greeting.
"I love calling you at work," Jared told him. "Know why?"
Jensen shook his head before recalling that Jared couldn't see him. "Er... no?"
"The way you say your name when you answer your phone is seriously sexy." Jensen's breathlessness from before increased at least ten-fold, and Jared noticed. "You okay? You sound a little outta breath. You're not jerking off are you?"
"I... what?"
Jared laughed as Jensen sputtered. "That's what it sounds like, dude. You alone?"
"Of course I'm alone - it's almost nine!"
"Exactly. So why are you not home with me?"
"Oh. Umm. Work stuff. You know."
"Jen, you better not be stressing out over work. It can wait. Come home. I'm starting to forget what you look like."
Jensen smiled into the receiver, and felt the tension leave his body. "There's a picture of me on top of the dresser. You can make googly-eyes at it if you like."
Jared hummed pensively. "You still trying to avoid me after what happened last night?"
"No!" Jensen lied vehemently. Jared huffed, obviously not buying it. "Okay, yeah."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later, Jen, 'cause I dunno if you got this memo, but I'm in love with you, and I think you're hot and I jerk off in the shower every morning thinking of you and the way you feel all snuggled up next to me in bed while you're sleeping or on the couch while we're watching TV or in the kitchen while we're making dinner or doing the dishes or dancing or you know, anytime you're breathing around me." Jensen's only response to that was a sharp, indrawn breath. "And when you're away from me, I fantasize about you, and what you might be doing and if, maybe, you're doing it naked." Jensen gulped audibly, squirming in his broad leather seat, his trousers getting snugger with every smoothly uttered word out of Jared's mouth. The thought had him picturing that mouth speaking into the phone, wide and pink and perfect, and now he was hyperventilating again.
"Jensen?" Jared asked, undaunted when Jensen's affirmative reply was mumbled over the phone line almost incoherently, "touch yourself for me?" Jensen's grip on the phone tightened until the whites of his knuckles showed. "Do it, angel. I know what you feel like against me now. I remember you... my body remembers you... all hard and hot and wet against me..." Jared was the one who was breathless now and suddenly Jensen had to know, even if he was currently incapable of articulating proper sentences.
"Are.. are you...? God... are you?"
"Yeah. Oh baby, yes..." Jared moaned, his voice reverberating in Jensen's ear until shivers raced along every nerve ending in his body. He squeezed his eyes shut as images of Jared jerking off flooded his mind’s eye, and palmed himself, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, the soft little sounds in his ear and the tactile sensations of his own hand making him blindingly hard in seconds.
"Do it, Jen. Please. For me? I wanna hear you, I need to know you’re right here with me..." Jared pleaded and Jensen was powerless to resist him. Cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder, his hands deftly undid his belt, although he took his time unzipping himself, running his thumb excruciatingly slowly down the length of his cock. His breath stuttered in his chest, and Jared's resultant groan was shot sparks down his spine.
"Jared."
"Just tell me how you like it."
"I can't... I just..."
"You can. Talk to me, Jen. I need to hear your voice."
Jensen pulled down his boxer briefs until they hooked snugly under his balls, his cock springing up into his hand. A random shred of common sense had him reaching for the box of tissues on his desk.
"M'not gonna last, Jared," he panted, already on the brink of coming embarrassingly quickly.
"I need to know, Jensen. Do you start slow? Drag it out? Feel every tug? Or do you like it hard and fast?"
Jensen's fist tightened around himself, staving off his release. "I like it slow... but... but not right now. I need... it has to be fast. Mmm... Tight. Wet. Oh, oh... ohhhh..." he groaned as he fisted himself, his thumb circling the tip of his dick, collecting the moisture leaking from it, slicking the way for the frantic pace of his hand.
"You sound so fucking hot, I wish I was there with you. Wish it was my hands on you, Jen," Jared's voice hitched with his words. "Wish it was my mouth..."
And that did it. Jensen came with a shout, spilling warm and thick all over his hand, his heart racing a mile a minute as he tried to catch his breath for what seemed like the millionth time in just the last few minutes alone. He awkwardly fumbled the phone as he cleaned himself up and tossing the soiled tissues in the trashcan by his desk. He'd get rid of the evidence later when he was able to move again.
"Was it good for you?" Jared's breathy voice sounded in his ear. He sounded sated, spent, and amused. Jensen felt his face heating up in spite of himself.
"That was... I've never... not on the phone. Holy hell, Jared!"
"Yeah," Jared laughed, "it was good for me too. Goddamn, it was great! Now get your pretty ass home, and maybe we can do it again."
Jensen stared morosely at the mountain of paperwork on his desk. "So much to do still," he muttered, mostly to himself.
"You want me to come to you?"
"Then I'd never get any work done."
"That’s kinda the point, angel,” Jared joked, but then he paused. “You're not coming home tonight are you?"
Jensen filled him in on the meeting his father had called. "We have to figure out a way to stall the takeover, you know? This isn't just about me right now."
Jared sighed but when he spoke, he was nothing but encouraging. "Will you make sure you get some sleep, at least? Promise me."
"I will."
"Meet me for lunch tomorrow?"
"I'm in with my legal team almost all day. I'm sorry."
"You're real lucky I love you so much, Ackles."
"Believe me - I know it.
"Then again, I'm pretty lucky too."
Jensen smiled, his heart whole and happy. "Soon. That I can definitely promise."
"I'ma hold you to that," Jared chuckled softly. "Soon."
|*|*|*|
Jensen was on full alert from the moment he stepped into the boardroom the day of the big meeting, but as the next hour dragged on, he started to get a bit antsy.
His father was in for a big surprise, of that there was no doubt. How he would react considering that not only Jensen, but also Kenzie and their mother were against the hostile takeover, was another question entirely.
He hoped the gleaming mahogany boardroom table they were gathered around provided adequate cover from the explosion that would no doubt ensue.
Jensen watched as his father spoke from the head of the table, carefully noting his words and trying to gauge his mood from the tone of his voice. The man seemed to be in a good mood, if a little irritable, but then again, what else was new? He gave the table a quick survey: his brother Joshua was at his father's right hand side as usual, the head of the company's legal team on his left. The rest of the table was rounded off by Jed Harris, James Proctor and the three members of the board external to Ackles Inc., who represented the interests of the minor shareholders of the company. The three older men - ancient, actually - were cronies of George Ackles, Jensen’s late grandfather: Templeton Morris, Ridge Calloway and Frank MacInnes, who was chairing the meeting. Everyone’s various assistants also sat around the huge table, Alona at Jensen’s side.
Jensen jotted down a note to himself and tried not to roll his eyes in annoyance. His father could be so long-winded. Jesus. He tried not to squirm in his seat. Suddenly, nothing was more important than putting all his cards on the table and just getting the hell away from here and back to Jared. Back to Toronto. Back to where he belonged.
He suppressed a sigh as he went through his plan again in his head. What he had in mind was going to be a bit tricky in its execution; a lot hinged on chance, but even if it didn’t work out exactly the way he hoped it would, if he could at least succeed in coming at his father from out of leftfield - then it would be worth it in the long run just to stall the takeover bid, if not derail it completely. Sure, he hadn’t wanted to show his hand this early in the game, but the fact that he was now married to Jared changed all that and he had to make his move. There was really only one way the vote could go once it was introduced and that was in his father’s favour, a fact that Alan knew without qualm. He expected his wife and children to vote with him.
With the exception of Jensen of course, and Alan had learned that the hard way.
Now though, Jensen had no voice; he had signed away his right to vote in the baseball deal he had made with his father, so while ten percent of the company shares remained under his control, he couldn’t do anything with them.
But united - his mother, Kenzie, Proctor and Jensen - they stood a chance. At least to table the motion and buy them some time while they tried to convince the minor shareholders that the Russell Oil takeover was the wrong move to make. It would have been a lot easier if Jensen still had a vote, although he hoped his little plan was sneaky enough to work around that little complication.
Finally, MacInnes introduced the Russell Oil bid. As he blathered on with the details, Jensen shot a quick glance at his sister, nodding almost imperceptibly when she acknowledged him. With a final look at his mother, Jensen drew in a deep breath. It was now or never.
“Wait just a minute, Frank,” Alan interrupted before those very same words could spill from Jensen’s mouth. His eyes flew to his father and he was startled to see the man regarding him intently.
And wait... what?
Jensen’s heart stopped mid-beat, and he was suddenly terrified that somehow, his father knew. He steeled himself, and it was with steady eyes that he faced his father across the boardroom table.
“JR... Margaret informs me that she hasn’t received your marriage license yet. You were supposed to deliver it to her two days ago,” the older man blustered. “We’re on a strict schedule here, and we need it to book the church in time for the ceremony. What’s the hold up?” He glared at Jensen with the intensity of a laser directed right between his eyes, and that old fear he always felt in the face of his father’s ire threatened to rise in his throat and choke him.
There was pin-drop silence in the large room as they considered each other; Alan’s features cold and hard as usual. “Well?” His father demanded impatiently.
Jensen took a deep, fortifying breath. He could do this. He had to. Even if it was too soon. He had prepped to thwart the Russell Oil takeover, but maybe, in a corner of his mind, he had been prepared for this too. “Enough,” he declared quietly, and he could almost feel the weight of his mother, Kenzie and Alona’s eyes on him, heavy and comforting. He had back-up this time. He wasn’t alone.
His father, though, was not pleased. “What do you mean?”
“I mean... I’ve had enough,” he told him, his voice stronger than he had ever heard it when speaking to the head of their family. He darted a brief glance at his mother before looking at his sister. “It’s time. I can’t afford to wait any longer.”
“If you’re sure,” Kenzie replied, her demeanour composed even if the look in her eyes was hesitant. She knew he was talking about more than just the business deal at hand.
“I am,” Jensen assured her before turning to Alona. “Get Peter in here and bring in the project files that we’ve been working on for the past couple of days.” Alona looked startled but she didn’t argue, merely nodding and hurrying away even when Alan’s gruff voice tried to intercept her departure.
“What the hell is going on here, JR?” Alan demanded as he watched his daughter confer with her assistant before sending the young woman out after Alona.
“You’ll find out soon enough, Daddy,” Jensen enunciated, annoyance edging into his tone. His father did a double-take at the moniker, and Jensen felt a swift upswell of anger rise inside him. He forced it away; he had to stay calm through this. Too many things - his own freedom and happiness not the least amongst them - hinged on how this was going to pan out.
It may just have been the longest ten minutes of Jensen’s life, not to mention the most uncomfortable, and the cold silence in the room was almost deafening, despite his mother’s reassuring presence next to him. She couldn’t show her support yet of course, but just knowing she was there helped. Although not by much. Jensen felt his stomach spasm almost painfully as it tied itself up into many complicated knots and the seconds ticked by until Alona’s return. His relief was practically palpable when the boardroom doors opened to reveal Kenzie’s assistant, laden with files, followed closely by Peter, his lawyer, Alona, and... Jared?
|*|*|*|
Jared was a patient man.
Okay, so that was mostly a lie, but he had found that when it came to Jensen, he had the patience of a saint. Seriously, just look at how long he had gone without sex. He was amazed his right hand still functioned normally. So... saint. But even sainthood had its limits, and Jensen was sorely testing Jared’s.
He hadn’t been home in two days. Two whole days of nothing but brief phone calls - even if one of those had led to a very intense phone sex session - Jensen’s arousing voice sounding harassed in his ear, and it shouldn’t have turned him on, especially when he was trying not to lose his temper, but it did. The sexy idiot had it coming to him, though.
He knew Jensen had work to do to get out of his deal with his father, and to foil that takeover bid that had him working so hard in the first place, but Jared was feeling a bit neglected. And he wasn't generally a whiny little bitch, but he sure as hell had woken up feeling like one this morning. A nice warm shower had calmed him down somewhat, but he had hoped to take Jensen out to lunch today, or at least quarantine him in his office so that Jared could make sure he ate.
It was with that in mind that he went over to Jensen's office, arriving earlier than expected, half an hour before the meeting had been scheduled to end. He was gamely chatting to Beth - dishing the dirt on Aldis, of course - when Alona burst through the glass double doors and into the foyer like a fury.
"Holy shit," he heard her mutter, right before she opened her mouth and yelled at someone in the back. "Peter! Grab the files. Everything. He's doing it. He’s doing it now!" Jared blinked as he took in her flushed face and panicky expression.
"Al?"
"Jared!" Alona exclaimed just as another man darted up to her, looking more frazzled than she was.
"What do you mean - he's doing it?"
"He's going for it, Pete - the whole shebang!" Alona blurted out, darting nervous looks at Jared, before she focused on Peter.
"Just get all the paperwork together. Jensen's flying by the seat of his pants, but sometimes he does his best work that way. I should know."
Peter looked momentarily stricken but he composed himself and nodded firmly before scurrying off to his desk and assembling a mountain of files together. Alona too, raced to her desk, ignoring the worried glances from the rest of Jensen's team. "Jared - come with me a sec."
Jared followed. "What the hell is going on? I thought this was just about the takeover - and now I'm guessing it's not."
"He keeps you in the loop?" Jensen's assistant sounded surprised, but the look she was giving him was shrewd.
"Not about everything," Jared shrugged. "But I think that's mostly because he doesn't want to jinx himself."
"You're very astute."
"I just know him really well."
"Right," she said quietly, studying him for a few seconds longer as she gathered up the relevant paperwork from her desk. When she was done, she peered up at him consideringly. "I think you should come in there with us."
"What? I can't do that!" Jared sputtered in surprise. "I have nothing to do with the company!"
"But I get the feeling you have everything to do with Jensen," she remarked intuitively, "he's going to need you."
"What do you know about this plan of his?"
"To stop the takeover? I know most of the details - Peter knows all of it. About his fight for freedom? I pretty much know everything," her eyes flickered to the side uncertainly. "Although... although, I think something happened a couple of days ago. Something that made him step up the pace. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
"He hasn't been home in two days! I haven't even seen him!"
"Okay. I'm not blind. I see how the two of you are together. I see how much you care for him, every time you come over here and bring him lunch or make him go home at a reasonable hour. He comes alive when you’re around.” Alona regarded him with a smirk, and Jared felt his face flush hotly. “It's totally a two-way street, in case you have any doubt. He never really cared before the Jays, but I'm guessing that has more to do with you than with baseball.”
“Er...,” Jared hesitated, blinking rapidly as he thought of an appropriate response. He came up empty.
Alona’s smile grew into a full-blown grin, blinding Jared with her pearly whites. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Let’s go.”
After she shoved a handful of files and a laptop into his arms, he had no choice but to follow her and Peter out of Jensen’s suite of offices and into the mirrored elevators that led to the executive floor. He tried not to have a mini nervous breakdown, absolutely certain that Jensen would not like him butting into his business like this - love or no love - and when his eyes entangled with Jensen’s surprised ones as he walked into the boardroom, dread almost had him fleeing in the opposite direction.
Then Jensen blinked, his green-eyed gaze softening as a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his gorgeous mouth.
Jared was pretty certain there were other people in that room but he couldn’t have said how many at that moment; he could definitely hear the cacophony of raised voices when they had walked in, but somehow, everything muted and faded to black when Jensen looked at him.
“JR!” Alan Ackles’ angry shout snapped Jared and Jensen out of the staring contest they had going on, but other than starting slightly, Jensen didn’t show any other reaction to his father’s displeasure, instead getting up from his seat at the table and moving until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Jared. “JR,” Alan gritted out again, “what is the meaning of this? And why is this man here?” Alan stared Jared down before Jensen could say a word. “This is a closed meeting. Family and staff only.”
“He’s my family,” Jensen stated quietly. Firmly. Looking his father right in the eyes. Jared couldn’t help turning to stare at him in shock.
He also couldn’t help the undoubtedly goofy grin forming on his face.
Alan, however, looked apoplectic.
“I want to go back to the Jays next season,” Jensen declared in a steely tone, not even blinking when his father snorted derisively. “I want you to nullify the contract you’re holding over me - the one keeping me out of the major leagues.”
Alan smiled in a manner that could only be described as feral. “That is not going to happen and you know it, JR.”
“In that case, you leave me no choice,” Jensen said, “I’m selling my shares of the company.”
There was a horrified pin-drop silence in the room for at least a minute before Alan’s face turned a mottled red. “Are you delusional?” He raged, darting a scathing look at Jared. “You can’t just announce that you’re selling to an outsider and have it go through! That would need to be ratified by the board and there is no way I would approve of that!”
“I don’t need the sale to be ratified if it’s to a member of this family.”
Alan blinked and then the corner of his mouth tipped upwards in a smarmy leer. “You looking to buy your freedom, JR? I didn’t think you had it in you. I’ll consider it, though - it will give me the lion’s share of the company.”
“Oh, I’m not selling anything to you, Daddy.” Jensen’s silky voice sent a shiver down Jared’s spine. Jared had never seen this ruthless side of Jensen before - not even in the midst of a close, critical game.
Jensen’s father frowned mightily. “Then who...?”
At that, Peter hastened to open up a few files and he slid a sheaf of papers towards Jensen, who gave them a once over, nodded at his lawyer, and then looked at his sister.
“Kenz,” he asked somewhat nonchalantly, “I’m in the market to sell my shares - you interested in buying?”
Mackenzie shrugged delicately. “Total no brainer, big brother - I’ll take ‘em.” And before anyone could react, she had signed across the dotted line. Alan and Joshua gaped speechlessly. Jensen merely smirked at his little sister.
“Pretty sure you don’t get that for free - I don’t care how cute you are.”
“Gee, Jensen,” Mackenzie made a show of patting her pockets before pulling out a couple of dollar bills. “This is all I have on me.”
Jensen grabbed a single greenback. “That should cover it.”
“Awesome,” Mackenzie turned to one of the older men sitting, mouth agape, near the head of the table. “Considering I now own twenty percent shares in this company, I believe I can introduce a motion. Right, Frank?” The older man nodded mutely, darting a nervous glance in Alan Ackles’ direction. Surprisingly, the head of the company remained silent, although Jared was fairly certain he was plotting a counter-attack in his head. One look at Jensen told Jared that he too, was surreptitiously studying his father. “In that case,” Mackenzie continued, “I would like to propose that we nullify any and all contracts between Ackles Incorporated and Jensen Ackles, effective immediately, considering Jensen is no longer a shareholder and we no longer require his services. Will anyone second?”
“Seconded,” another middle-aged, amused-looking man stated.
“Thank you, James.” Mackenzie stared down Frank until he spoke.
“All those in favour?”
“I,” Donna Ackles succinctly said, causing her husband’s head to swivel in her direction, his eyes glinting dangerously. Her affirmative vote was echoed by James - Proctor, Jared guessed - and the other older men at the table. Frank made a note of the outcome before speaking.
“The pre-existing contractual obligations held by Ackles Incorporated with regard to Jensen Ackles have been rendered void and nullified by majority vote.”
Jared blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. That was it.
Jensen had his freedom.
The surge of joy he felt died a swift death when he saw the malicious smile on Alan’s face as he watched his younger son.
“This may give you back your precious baseball career, son,” he spat out the appellation like an insult, “but the merger and the marriage is a deal with Harris Enterprises. I’d like to see you try and get out of that one.”
Jared reeled at that, but Jensen remained unruffled. In fact, he was smiling and his father looked about as stunned as Jared felt. “Yeah,” Jensen hedged, biting his bottom lip, “about that. Turns out,” he darted a sheepish look at Jared before looking back at his father, “turns out I’m already married.”
“What?” Both Jared and Alan exclaimed in unison, as the room resounded with an almost unanimous gasp of shock.
Alan recovered before Jared’s brain could kick into gear. “Any union you entered into in the interim is invalid under the terms of Harris marriage-merger.”
“If I entered into it voluntarily,” Jensen informed him.
“Next you’ll tell me you tripped and fell into matrimony,” Alan scoffed.
“Actually,” Jensen smirked, “that’s not too far from the truth.” He looked at an unhappy Jed Harris. “Do you remember the piece ESPN did on the MLB at the beginning of the season? About pranks in pro-ball?”
“Yes?” Harris responded hesitantly.
“And do you remember which team came out on top?”
Harris blinked and shook his head in disbelief. “The Jays. That shit... er, pardon my French,” he looked apologetically at Donna. “The prank Rosenbaum and Welling pulled along with the Jays Front Office: the fake wedding,” his eyes darted between Jared and Jensen. “Your fake wedding. The two of you.”
Jensen ran a hand through his spiky hair, ducking his head slightly. It was such a tell that it had Jared gaping at him the second he did it. Then he motioned to his lawyer again and Jared saw Donna, Mackenzie and Alona shoot them identical looks of open-mouthed fascination as they watched Jensen watch Jared.
“Jen?” Jared couldn’t hold his peace any longer.
“So here’s the thing,” Jensen told him, “when I went back to Delores at the County Clerk’s office? She didn’t have the marriage license. She told me she couldn’t issue it.”
Some emotion at the crossroads of fear and hope warred in Jared’s heart. “Why not?”
“Because of the morons I went with the first time around,” Jensen quirked an eyebrow at him, and Jared stifled the urge to giggle, “she decided to look into our fake gay marriage.”
“And?”
“Turns out it’s not so fake.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what the hell Mike did but we’re married. Delores called Registry Services in Toronto and they confirmed it,” Jensen imparted. “I called too. Then I had Peter investigate it.” He paused, staring deep into Jared’s eyes. “We’re really married.”
“What?” A few people around the table echoed Jared this time.
“Wait - what about Danneel, then?” Harris asked, looking shell-shocked.
“Well, maybe Danneel can now marry her French boyfriend and everyone will be happy,” Jared pointedly told him, and the older man had the grace to look remorseful. Yeah, Jared thought to himself, he had nothing against Danneel per se, as long as she kept her mitts off his man, so more than one person’s happiness was on the line here.
That, and unlike Jensen’s daddy’s dogma, not everything was about money and power.
“On my God!” Mackenzie squeaked in surprise as Jensen cautiously studied his reaction.
And suddenly, Jared was on the verge of hyperventilating. “Jensen - are you serious?”
“Jared,” Jensen grabbed the ends of his jacket and hauled him close, their bodies almost colliding. “You said... if we were stranded - just you and me - you said... you’d be happy to be stuck with me! You said it! You can’t take it back!”
“This was what that was all about?” Jared groaned. “Jen - why the hell didn’t you just tell me?”
“Jared - do you even know me? I was freaking out!”
Jared resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Or smack Jensen upside the head. “You idiot.”
“Sorry,” Jensen muttered, looking utterly dejected. “You’re right. I should have told you right away, but I was... scared. I’m so sorry. If... I mean, I’ll understand if you don’t want to... we’ll... we can go to Toronto and file for a divorce.” His grief-stricken gaze and unhappy pout hit Jared like a physical punch to the gut. And that just wasn’t right, Jared thought to himself.
And what the hell was he doing here? This? Was his every dream come true. This meant Danneel could take a goddamn hike and Jensen was all his for all eternity and then some. So yes, he was happy to be stuck with Jensen. Hell, he was ecstatic to be stuck with Jensen! And if Jensen thought divorce was an option, then he had another think coming.
“We've had some fun, and yes, we've had our ups and downs,” Jared told him, smirk on his face and tongue in cheek. “Been down that rocky road, but here we are, still around.”
“Jared?” Jensen asked uncertainly.
“We've had our doubts, we never took ‘em seriously,” he allowed the tone of his voice to change, so the tune could come through, and he couldn’t help but smile at the moment Jensen recognized the lyrics. “We've had our ins and outs, but that's the way it's supposed to be. We thought about giving up, but we could never stay away... thought about breaking up, but now we know it's much too late,” Jared laughed when Jensen did, all the heartbreak that had been apparent on his face before vanishing. “We are bound by all the rest...”
Alona smirked at them. “Like the same phone number...” she sang.
“All the same friends...” Mackenzie chimed in.
“And the same address!” Peter pointed out happily.
Jared smiled so hard, his cheeks hurt. “Yes, it's true...”
“Yes, it's true...” Their back-up chorused.
“I am happy to be stuck with you! Yes, it's true,” Jared cupped Jensen’s gorgeous face in his hands, “I'm so happy to be stuck with you! 'Cause I can see...”
“He can see...”
“That you're happy to be stuck... with me.”
And then - in the most perfect turn of events possible, and in front of all those people, one of whom was his asshole of a father - Jensen kissed him.
|*|*|*|
“This is ridiculous!” His father’s irate voice interrupted a near perfect kiss. Jensen sighed and reluctantly pulled away from his husband to face his father for the umpteenth time that morning. “This farce won’t hold water in any court of law! Get an annulment,” he ordered, his voice as hard and unflinching as his expression.
“If you’ll allow me to interject, sir,” Peter stepped into the conversation. “Both Mr. Ackles and Mr. Padalecki have been residing at the same address for well over a period of six months. That is the cut-off period per the City of Toronto’s regulations pertaining to marital relations,” Peter cleared his throat. “After six months, the marriage is assumed to be... er...” There was more throat-clearing. “Consummated. Which leaves no grounds for annulment.”
“Then you can get a divorce!” Alan yelled at Jensen.
Donna huffed out a wry chuckle at that. “Why Alan, I thought you had a rule about that,” she stared down her husband. “The Ackles’ don’t do divorces, remember? Because if you’ve changed your mind about that, I would be very interested in knowing.” All her children gaped at her audacity, Jensen and Kenzie both looking vaguely impressed while Joshua looked like the world as he knew it had come to an abrupt and cataclysmic end.
“Now wait just a goddamn minute, you worthless...” Alan seethed, looking like he was about to pop several blood vessels, the entire might of his displeasure focused hard on Jensen.
“You do not get to talk to him that way anymore.” Jensen turned as Jared spoke, startled at the quiet menace in his voice.
“Shut up, asshole,” Joshua glowered at Jared. “No one talks to my daddy like that.”
“Yeah,” Jared taunted, “well, no one talks to Jensen like that!”
“Stay out of this, Joshua,” Alan ordered, pinning Jared with a glare. “I will talk to my son any way I want. What the hell gives you the right to interfere in our business?”
“This little piece of paper on my apartment wall in Toronto that says we’re married,” Jared appeared to take great pleasure in reminding him. Jensen tried - he really did - but he couldn’t suppress the smile that spread on his face. “So yeah. I won’t let you talk to my husband that way.”
And. Holy. Shit.
That hit Jensen square in the solar plexus. You know, en route to his groin.
“You sinner!” Alan spat, infuriated. “You want this, don’t you? My God - get out! I won’t have riff raff like you infecting my family with your filth!”
“That’s enough!” Jensen shouted, enraged on Jared’s behalf. He’d take his father’s vitriol any day but he would not tolerate Jared being spoken to in the same manner that he had spent a lifetime listening to. “Don’t you ever talk to him like that again. He’s got more worth in his little finger than you will ever have in your entire life!”
“Remember your place, JR,” his father warned, looking disgusted. “You may be a lot of things, but I know you’re not gay.”
“You don’t know the first thing about me. You never have!” Jensen took a deep breath to calm himself.
“If you don’t put a stop to this, JR, consider yourself cut-off! You will no longer be a member of this family! I will disown you!”
“Do what you have to do if it’ll help you sleep at night,” Jensen told him without a qualm, feeling like an immense weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Donna reassured him, smirking at her husband’s posturing and looking delighted at the opportunity to finally pull one over on him. “You can have my shares.”
Jensen chuckled and reached out to grasp Jared’s big hand in his. Then he addressed his mother and sister. “I’m in love with Jared. Maybe we got married by mistake, but I’m in this for as long as he’ll have me.”
“So, forever then,” Jared piped up, dimples out in full force, charming both his mother and Kenzie with no effort whatsoever.
“Welcome to my family, Jared,” Donna smiled up at him after getting up to give him and Jensen a hug, her emphasis not going unnoticed by any of them. She winked at Jensen. “I think he had you at chocolate chip pancakes.” Jensen laughed as Kenzie squeezed him from behind. Apparently, Jared had already been squished to within an inch of his life.
“He’s Toronto! Oh God, this is perfect!” Kenzie squealed happily, the excitement in her eyes made her look like his baby sister again, just like when they were kids. She waved her hands haphazardly in front of his body. “You make sense now.”
And yeah, he did. Just like Jared’s family defined him, Jared defined Jensen. And as Jared’s thumb lovingly grazed his cheek, he figured that went both ways. Jared and Jensen and Jensen and Jared forever and ever. Amen. Jensen smiled. He could so live with that.
Donna smirked indulgently at the two of them before shooing them out. “Now go on, git! I’m guessing y’all have some talking to do, or at the very least a honeymoon to plan.” Then she turned to her husband, taking her place at the foot of the boardroom table again. “And we...” she smiled gamely at her daughter, “we have a hostile takeover to thwart.” Alan Ackles stared slack-jawed at his wife like he had never seen her before. “Enough pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get back to business.”
And Jensen took his husband’s hand, and happily - ever after, he sappily hoped - walked away.
|*|*|*|
The classic scene from A League of Their Own: http://www.youtube.com/watch
That Huey Lewis and The News classic: Stuck With You