fic: a hand to hold and hell to pay
Title: A Hand To Hold and Hell To Pay
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: pg-13
Word Count: 4156
Warnings: Language, underage drinking, brief homophobia
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Jared and Jensen belong to themselves. Song belongs to Chris Kane. The fic title is from Celine Dion.
Summary: Jensen Ackles is 23 and the successful owner of his own bar. Jared Padalecki is 19 and, with the help of a fake ID, begins falling for Jensen from afar. Despite Jared's age, Jensen can't help returning his feelings. But when Jared is in an accident and his life hangs in the balance, Jensen realizes Jared means more to him than he thought possible.
A/N: Written from my HC_Bingo for the prompt "Blood Loss". And yes, I know, I'm simply not capable of writing anything less than 1000 words, sue me. Also, if you want the song Jensen sings, it's LA Song by Christian Kane.
The thing is, Jensen Ackles was a catch. He was twenty-three years old and was already the owner of his own bar with the help of his best friend Christian Kane. He graduated top of his class, sang and played guitar in Chris’ band once a week, and, according to everyone he met, he looked good. Sure he had his moments when he liked to veg out on the couch in his glasses and sweats and watch Family Guy or stupid movies like Superbad. And he didn’t exactly go out and proclaim himself to be a gift from the heavens, but still, he was hot and people knew it. He knew it too.
And then Jared Padalecki came into his life.
Jensen always saw himself with someone older, someone mature and smart. Someone who liked him for who he was and wasn’t afraid to call him on his crap. So when nineteen year old Jared came walking into the bar one Friday night like he owned the place, Jensen had no idea what he was in for.
**
Jared had heard about Rocksalt on more than one occasion, and finally decided to hell with it, and went to check it out. So far, he wasn’t buying what they were selling. It was almost 11pm and there wasn’t anyone piss-drunk laughing hysterically on the floor, no girls flashing their boobs for free drinks, and no one hooking up in the dark corners. There were just the sounds of dirty country rock blaring from the jukebox and the occasional crack of a cue in a pool game. There was a small group towards the very back of the place, but Jared didn’t give it much thought as he sat at the bar and pulled out the fake ID that Chad had gotten him the summer before. “Just shut the fuck up, take it and be happy I didn’t put McLovin on it Jay, okay.”
“So… Jared, what can I getcha?” The bartender asked after looking over the ID and smiling to himself.
“Just a beer for now, thanks,” Jared replied as he swiveled around on his stool and glanced again at the crowd in the back, “So um…what’s with this place? Because I’ve heard about it from a few friends of mine and uh, not to be disrespectful, but I’m not getting the hype.”
The bartender laughed as he pushed over a bottle of Corona Jared’s way and nodded his head to growing crowd in the back, “Well, there’s not much that we’ve got that every other bar in town doesn’t have. Nothing much except for them.”
“Them?”
“Kane. The in-house band. They play a few nights a week, but every Friday Jensen sings with them.”
“And who’s Jensen?” Jared asked before bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a long pull out of it, trying to cover his wince at the bitter taste. Even though he didn’t like it, he was always the first to grab for a six-pack whenever Chad went on a beer run. Peer Pressure at its finest.
“Jensen owns the place, opened it with his friend Christian a few years back. When Chris isn’t singing, he’s working and poorly sneaking shots behind the bar. Jen’s a little more mature with his liquor, but I highly doubt a week goes by where he’s not buzzed at some point.”
Jared nodded absentmindedly before turning back around to face the crowd, now realizing that just beyond them, there were some guys setting up instruments and amps on a makeshift stage.
“I’m Mike by the way, another of Jen’s longtime friends. Guess you can say we’re all one big drunk dysfunctional family.”
Jared had to laugh at that, “Good to know,” he said just before speakers came to life as the amps were plugged in.
“Evenin’ everyone, hope ya’ll are havin’ a good time,” came a raspy voice out of the mic, country twang coming out in full force as people cheered.
“As ya’ll know, every Friday we have a certain someone sing with us, so come on up here Jennyboy!” more cheering and raucous laughter filled the air as a guy was pushed up on stage.
Jared nearly choked on his beer.
When Mike mentioned the bar owner, Jared instantly thought of some older guy getting his kicks serving booze and doing karaoke every week trying to relive his glory days.
And Jesus fuck was he wrong.
The guy that was pushed up on stage was nothing short of drop dead gorgeous. Dark blonde hair spiking up in every direction and green eyes that seemed unreal under the harsh lighting of the stage. He was wearing jeans that were shredded at the knees and a frayed t-shirt that seemed a size too small, accentuating the guy’s obvious physique. If Jared hadn’t known he was the owner, he would’ve thought Jensen was just another guy in the crowd. Albeit an insanely hot guy in the crowd, but just a regular guy nonetheless.
“That’s Jensen, really?” Jared asked, tilting his head towards the bartender, but keeping his eyes fixed on the stage.
“Yep, that’s Jen. He’s only in his 20s, but don’t let his age fool you; he’s business-smart and really knows what he’s doing. He’s a great guy.”
Jared’s reply was cut off when the strum of a guitar filled the air. His eyes snapped to the stage and saw that Jensen was now seated on a wooden stool, guitar on his lap and lips close to a mic, eyes closed as he started singing.
Yeah, Jared got the hype now.
**
Ever since the night Jared watched Jensen sing, he was determined to find out more about the guy. In a non-creeper/stalker kind of way, of course. He began going to the bar a couple of nights a week and was quickly becoming a regular. A month later Mike already had cold beers waiting for him at his now regular spot at the bar every Friday night, a spot that was close enough to watch Jensen, but far enough away not to be noticed.
“Hey Mikey, where the hell’s my beer man? You forget it’s Friday?” Jared called out with a grin at the bartender when he took his usual seat at the bar. But when the bartender turned around, it wasn’t Mike.
Jared’s grin was quickly replaced with a look of shock.
“J-Jensen?”
The man on the other side of the bar smiled as he laid a small rag over his shoulder, “Yeah, hey. Sorry, Mike’s out for the night so I’m filling in.”
When Jared didn’t say anything, Jensen continued, “Hey, you’re Jared, right?”
“H-how?”
“Mike’s told me about you. Says you come in a few nights a week but never miss a Friday. What’s up with that dude? You’re young, I’m sure there’s better things for you to do on a Friday night than sit in a bar.”
Jared blushed and scratched at the back of his neck, “Um, well…no, not really. And I like it here, ya know? Mike’s cool and the music’s… -” Jared cut himself off when he realized he was quickly sounding like a stalker with a fanboy crush.
“What?” Jensen prompted.
“It’s pretty great. You’re really good, Jensen.” Now it was Jensen’s turn to blush and look away. Jared took the moment of silence and with a deep breath asked, “Look uh, I know you don’t know me, but would you like to go out some time…with me?” Yeah, real fucking smooth, Jay. Way to totally not sound like a 14 year old girl…
When Jensen didn’t answer him, Jared panicked and stood, ready to bolt out of the bar and never come back. “How about I make you a deal?” Jensen asked just before Jared turned, “You lose the fake ID, and I’ll go out with you. Because as much as Mike seems to love you, I’d really love to not lose my liquor license.”
Jared was kinda getting pissed at his vocal chords for apparently forgetting how to work every time Jensen spoke to him.
“That was a yes, Jared.” Jensen said to him smirking, “I’m off tomorrow night since I picked up tonight’s shift, so meet here at 8?”
Jared nodded and smiled, deciding to leave then before he made an even bigger ass of himself, “Alright, I’ll be here. Bye Jensen.”
If Jared looked just a bit too ridiculous walking home to his dorm room with a huge grin on his face, no one called him out on it.
**
Jensen learned three things about Jared on their first date. One, Jared was really nineteen years old-“I’ll be 20 in July, thank you very much.”- and was an English major in the community college.
Two, Jared loved kids and wanted to be a teacher like his mom was, eyes going soft as he explained that he wanted to impact and make a difference in some kid’s life.
And three, Jared was a fantastic kisser. A Jesus-fucking-Christ, how-are-some-of-the-things-his-tongue-doing-even-possible, kisser.
And Jensen learned something about himself. Never judge someone solely on their age.
He and Jared had been going out for a little over a month now, and he really didn’t think he could be happier. When he had first agreed to go out on a date with Jared, he had just assumed it’d be a one night thing just to get the kid to stop risking his business (and maybe to get some sort of action on a Saturday night).
What he ended up doing was finding someone he really thought he could be with long-term. He didn’t know what surprised him more, the fact that he actually found someone that was definitely boyfriend material, or that Jared was just nineteen.
“Stop thinking so loud babe, you’re hurting my eardrums.”
Jensen looked up to see Jared sitting at his stool at the bar and grinning with a toothpick in his mouth. (Even though Jared didn’t drink there anymore, he was still at Rocksalt almost every night).
“Hey, what’re you doing here? I thought we were gunna meet up later tonight?” Jensen asked as he walked around the bar to Jared, stepping in-between his legs and wrapping his arms loosely around Jared’s neck, “Unless you’re here to whisk me away from work. Maybe have a quickie in back?” Jensen mumbled against Jared’s lips, biting his bottom one slowly before licking away the sting. Jared’s mouth opened on a gasp and Jensen took it as an opportunity to slip his own tongue inside, swallowing Jared’s moan.
“Break up the love fest, hetero comin’ through,” Mike called out as he placed a case of beer on the bar top and rolled his eyes at the pair.
“Seriously you guys, this is a bar. And, ya know, bars are usually synonymous to beer, pool, and badasses, not your gay love.”
“Remind me why you’re still working here?”
“Because you love me, Jenny. I mean, not as much as your boy here, but still.”
Jensen’s eyes widened at the thought of him loving Jared. Did he love Jared? Did Jared love him? It’d barely been two months…surely he couldn’t -.
“You’re just jealous Mikey, and anyways, I gotta go. Class in about an hour. I’ll see you tonight, Jen,” Jared said the end quietly, bending his head to capture his boyfriend’s lips with his own before sliding off of the stool. “Bye Jay,” Jensen answered, smirking when Jared blew a kiss in Mike’s direction before leaving.
“You’re totally gone for the kid,” Mike said seriously, staring at the door even after it closed.
Jensen didn’t reply, he just went back to the other side of the bar and started putting away the beers, biting his lip to keep from grinning.
**
It was 8:30pm and Jared was officially late.
Jensen didn’t know if he should be angry or worried as he paced in front of the restaurant that Jared has chosen to go to.
Right now, his mind was settling in on pissed. After Jared had left that afternoon, two guys at one of the pool tables came over to him and said he should be disgusted and ashamed of himself for doing that in public with another guy. They were obviously drunk -and really, being drunk by 5pm and homophobic, be more redneck, I dare you. Suffice to say, things got ugly quickly and before Mike kicked them out, punches were thrown and Jensen came out with a split lip and a lot of rage.
It took an hour for him to calm down and even after that, his insecurities were getting to him. The fact that Jared wasn’t here seriously wasn’t helping him much.
At the sound of the beep for Jared’s answering machine, Jensen left another message: “Jared, so help me god if you’re not bleeding on the pavement or something equally as gruesome, I’m going to kick your ass for standing me up.”
Jensen made a noise in the back of his throat, something between a sigh and a growl, as he decided to walk the four blocks to the bar. Maybe Jared forgot they were meeting at the restaurant and went to wait at Rocksalt. Yeah, that was logical. That was something Jensen was going to believe until he got there and his anger turned into worry.
On the way there, Jensen decided to call Chad’s cell phone, but it was turned off and went straight to voice mail.
Jensen quickly made his way into the bar, smiling quickly at the regulars who called out his name, but not stopping til he got to where Mike was at the end of the bar.
“Jenny, what’re you doing here?”
Jensen let the nickname slip as he glanced around, “You haven’t seen Jay, have you?”
Mike raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously, “No…didn’t you guys have a hot date tonight?” He asked grinning and raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Jensen rolled his eyes and took another quick look around, swallowing deeply when his heart began to speed up. “Mike, he’s not answering his phone, and neither is Chad and I have no idea wh-”
He stopped talking when his phone began vibrating in his hand. He looked down at it and saw ‘Jared’ light up on the screen.
“Jay, what the fuck man, where are you?”
”Jensen?”
Jensen’s heart dropped as the voice on the other end wasn’t his boyfriend’s.
“Chad? Is that…why are you calling me on Jared’s phone? Where is he, what’s going on?” Jensen was rambling and he knew it, but his heart was racing and his fingernails were embedding themselves into the soft wooden siding of the bar and he was pretty sure he needed to get his shit together right the fuck now.
“Jensen…Jay’s been in an accident. We-we’re in the hospital. It’s bad, Jen.”
Jensen always scoffed at people who said their significant other was literally their world. Now he understood what they meant because he could fucking swear the room was spinning and the world was tilting on its axis and when the fuck did his lungs forget how to breathe?
“Jen? Jen, what’s going on? Jensen!” Mike called loudly, reaching over the bar to grasp Jensen’s shoulder and shake him. Jensen jumped and looked over to Mike and Mike was pretty damn sure he never wanted to see that look on Jensen’s face again. He looked so scared and helpless that Mike didn’t even think about it as he grabbed the cell phone out of Jensen’s hand and asked Chad where they were, promising to be there within 10 minutes.
Mike grabbed Jensen’s arm and guided (well, pulled) Jensen out to the street and to Mike’s car, pushing him into the passenger seat and running to the drive’s side, peeling out of his parking spot and ignoring the angry honks behind him.
“Jen, talk to me.”
After a few minutes of silence, worry and fear began gnawing at him, “Jensen”, he called out.
“What about the bar…?” Jensen asked quietly, eyes not focused as he stared out of the window.
“Don’t worry about that Jenny, Chris and Steve are there, they’ll have it all under control.”
“I can’t lose him, Mikey…” Jensen whispered, hands in fists so tight that he was sure would end up drawing blood.
Mike reached over and pushed his hands open before it came to that and didn’t pull away as Jensen gripped his hand tightly, he just rubbed this thumb against the back of Jensen’s hand and repeated his litany of “It’ll be okay Jen, Jared will be fine.”
He hoped he could believe it himself.
**
They got there in seven minutes, and in that time, more than thirty scenarios played through Jensen’s head, each one worse than the last. He didn’t know what happened, just that Jared had been in an accident and he may never see him again.
He thought back to just a half hour ago, when he was mad at Jared for standing him up and all of the messages he had left Jared.” if you’re not bleeding on the pavement or something equally as gruesome…” Jensen had to swallow back the bile that threatened to come out.
When they walked in, they headed straight to the receptionist’s desk, but were stopped when someone called out Jensen’s name.
They turned to see Chad running towards them and no one said anything as Jensen gripped Chad tightly, realizing that if Jensen didn’t hold on to someone right now, he was seriously going to lose it.
“What happened, Chad?” Mike asked as the three of them made their way to the small waiting room.
“I don’t know the details…Just that Jay’s car was hit by a truck. He’s in the ICU now. That’s….that’s all I know, sorry Jen.”
Jensen just nodded and let the two other men guide him to a seat and sit him down.
It’s like all higher brain functions shut down and left him with only thoughts of Jared. He didn’t even realize it happening, but now he knows without a doubt, that he was absolutely and insanely in love with Jared Padalecki.
Now he just needed to get the chance to tell him that.
“Jenny.” Jensen looked up and saw Chris running down the hallway.
“What’re….what’re you doing here? How’d you-”
“Mike called and told us what’s up. Steve’s closing up the bar now, he should be here soon.”
Jensen’s brain was trying to understand everything at once. Jared was possibly dying somewhere in the building. And Mike had called? When?
And Steve was closing the bar…on a Saturday night.
“T-the bar…you can’t just close it on -”
“Shut it Jenny, you and your boy are way more important than the bar, and besides, when we told some of the regulars why we were closin’ shop, they left with no fuss. So stop thinking about the bar and just focus on the kid.”
Jensen just nodded and blinked rapidly, muttering a “thanks man” and keeping his tears in check. He knew his eyes were red and puffy, but so far, he’d kept the tears at bay.
“Relatives of Jared Padalecki?” a Doctor suddenly called out as he entered the waiting room.
Jensen automatically stood up but then stopped as he realized that no, he wasn’t family, and it didn’t matter how much Jared meant to him, they wouldn’t tell him anything.
“I’m his brother,” Chad responded instantly, standing up and walking over to the doctor, motioning for Jensen to come with him.
The doctor glanced at Jensen before nodding and settling his gaze on Chad.
“I’m going to be honest with you and say that when your brother was brought it, he was in extremely bad shape. The man driving the truck that hit him was inebriated and ran the red light. It’s fortunate that he hit the passenger side though. Otherwise…I’m afraid we’d be having a different conversation right now.”
Jensen’s lungs forgot how to intake oxygen again and he had to blink to keep the black spots out of his vision. All he could think about was a truck slamming into Jared’s side as he was on his way to meet him. He had to take a deep breath and really focus to hear what the doctor was saying.
“Jared has sustained two broken ribs, a broken right arm, and suffered from a concussion. He needed two blood transfusions for substantial blood loss as well. But other than that, he just has a lot of scrapes and bruises.”
“H-how is he doing…right now I mean?” Jensen asked shakily, thankful that his vocal chords learned how to work again.
The doctor glanced over to Chad, and at his nod, the doctor answered, “It was pretty touch and go there for a while, he lost a lot of blood and wasn’t conscious when we found him, but for now he’s stable. If everything goes well, I assume he should be out of here within a week or so.”
Jensen and Chad both nodded and the doctor smiled, “He’s awake now…if you would like to go and see him? But only one person at a time, please.”
They both nodded and just as Jensen was about to turn back to his seat in the waiting room, Chad pushed him in the direction of the rooms. Jensen’s eyes widened as Chad just grinned, “Tell him we’ll see him soon, yeah?”
Jensen gave him a small smile and followed the doctor to Jared’s room.
**
Jensen always associated many words with Jared, from sweet and funny and dorky to fucking huge and uncoordinated and downright fuckable.
Tiny wasn’t one of them.
Until now.
That was really the only work Jensen could think of when he walked into the room and saw Jared. He small and pale and it seemed as if the bed and the machines could eat Jared alive.
Alive. That was another word Jensen was associating, and he was silently thanking everything there was to thank that Jared was alive.
Jensen took in the sight of the various machines with different numbers and letters all meaning things that made absolutely no sense to him. But as long as they stayed beeping, he was fine with being in the dark.
“…Jen.”
Jensen’s eyes snapped over to Jared’s and he finally couldn’t keep the tears in anymore as Jared stared at him and gave him a faint smile.
“Hey babe,” Jensen whispered as he brought the visitor’s chair over to the bed and sat by Jared’s side, their hands immediately gravitating towards each other.
Jensen used his other hand to swipe Jared’s hair away and then gently ghosted over the bruises on Jared’s face.
“Hey, what happened to you?” Jared asked quietly in a raspy voice, nodding his head towards Jensen’s broken lip, but Jensen just shook his head and his eyes continued darting all over Jared’s body.
“I’m okay Jen.”
Jensen bit his lip gently but didn’t respond, just kept tracing over Jared’s features, committing even the smallest details to memory.
Jared grabbed his hand to stop him, forcing Jensen to look him in the eye.
“…I almost lost you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I could’ve Jay…I was so mad at you because I-I thought you stood me up. God, I left you a bunch of voice mails all but yelling at you and you were….-”
“Jen…”
“I love you, Jared.” When Jared didn’t respond, Jensen looked up to see Jared staring at him, eyes widened minutely and Jensen vaguely registered the beeping of the heart monitor speeding up
.
“You…what?” Jared finally got out, not sure if he could believe what Jensen just said.
Jensen closed his eyes, not caring that it caused more tears to spill over, and swallowed deeply before returning his gaze to Jared’s, “I love you, Jay. I really do…When Chad called me and told me what happened…I couldn’t even think, I couldn’t do a damn thing but think about you and what I’d do without you. I need you, Jared…God, it sounds pathetic, but I do.”
Again Jared didn’t respond. Instead, he began struggling to sit up, causing the machines to go a bit crazy. “Jay, what the hell are you doing?!”
“I’m trying to kiss you, you idiot.”
Jensen huffed out a laugh before pushing Jared gently back down and standing to hover over him. Jensen cupped his hands gently around Jared’s face before leaning down and kissing him soundly, smiling into the kiss when the heart monitor sped up again.
“Better stop before the nurses think you’re going into cardiac arrest.”
“I love you, Jen.”
Jensen stared down into Jared’s eyes and smiled before kissing him again.
See, the thing is, Jensen Ackles was a catch. He loved his job, had great friends, owned his own business and still knew how to just have fun. He was hot, and he knew it. His boyfriend Jared knew it too.
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: pg-13
Word Count: 4156
Warnings: Language, underage drinking, brief homophobia
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Jared and Jensen belong to themselves. Song belongs to Chris Kane. The fic title is from Celine Dion.
Summary: Jensen Ackles is 23 and the successful owner of his own bar. Jared Padalecki is 19 and, with the help of a fake ID, begins falling for Jensen from afar. Despite Jared's age, Jensen can't help returning his feelings. But when Jared is in an accident and his life hangs in the balance, Jensen realizes Jared means more to him than he thought possible.
A/N: Written from my HC_Bingo for the prompt "Blood Loss". And yes, I know, I'm simply not capable of writing anything less than 1000 words, sue me. Also, if you want the song Jensen sings, it's LA Song by Christian Kane.
The thing is, Jensen Ackles was a catch. He was twenty-three years old and was already the owner of his own bar with the help of his best friend Christian Kane. He graduated top of his class, sang and played guitar in Chris’ band once a week, and, according to everyone he met, he looked good. Sure he had his moments when he liked to veg out on the couch in his glasses and sweats and watch Family Guy or stupid movies like Superbad. And he didn’t exactly go out and proclaim himself to be a gift from the heavens, but still, he was hot and people knew it. He knew it too.
And then Jared Padalecki came into his life.
Jensen always saw himself with someone older, someone mature and smart. Someone who liked him for who he was and wasn’t afraid to call him on his crap. So when nineteen year old Jared came walking into the bar one Friday night like he owned the place, Jensen had no idea what he was in for.
**
Jared had heard about Rocksalt on more than one occasion, and finally decided to hell with it, and went to check it out. So far, he wasn’t buying what they were selling. It was almost 11pm and there wasn’t anyone piss-drunk laughing hysterically on the floor, no girls flashing their boobs for free drinks, and no one hooking up in the dark corners. There were just the sounds of dirty country rock blaring from the jukebox and the occasional crack of a cue in a pool game. There was a small group towards the very back of the place, but Jared didn’t give it much thought as he sat at the bar and pulled out the fake ID that Chad had gotten him the summer before. “Just shut the fuck up, take it and be happy I didn’t put McLovin on it Jay, okay.”
“So… Jared, what can I getcha?” The bartender asked after looking over the ID and smiling to himself.
“Just a beer for now, thanks,” Jared replied as he swiveled around on his stool and glanced again at the crowd in the back, “So um…what’s with this place? Because I’ve heard about it from a few friends of mine and uh, not to be disrespectful, but I’m not getting the hype.”
The bartender laughed as he pushed over a bottle of Corona Jared’s way and nodded his head to growing crowd in the back, “Well, there’s not much that we’ve got that every other bar in town doesn’t have. Nothing much except for them.”
“Them?”
“Kane. The in-house band. They play a few nights a week, but every Friday Jensen sings with them.”
“And who’s Jensen?” Jared asked before bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a long pull out of it, trying to cover his wince at the bitter taste. Even though he didn’t like it, he was always the first to grab for a six-pack whenever Chad went on a beer run. Peer Pressure at its finest.
“Jensen owns the place, opened it with his friend Christian a few years back. When Chris isn’t singing, he’s working and poorly sneaking shots behind the bar. Jen’s a little more mature with his liquor, but I highly doubt a week goes by where he’s not buzzed at some point.”
Jared nodded absentmindedly before turning back around to face the crowd, now realizing that just beyond them, there were some guys setting up instruments and amps on a makeshift stage.
“I’m Mike by the way, another of Jen’s longtime friends. Guess you can say we’re all one big drunk dysfunctional family.”
Jared had to laugh at that, “Good to know,” he said just before speakers came to life as the amps were plugged in.
“Evenin’ everyone, hope ya’ll are havin’ a good time,” came a raspy voice out of the mic, country twang coming out in full force as people cheered.
“As ya’ll know, every Friday we have a certain someone sing with us, so come on up here Jennyboy!” more cheering and raucous laughter filled the air as a guy was pushed up on stage.
Jared nearly choked on his beer.
When Mike mentioned the bar owner, Jared instantly thought of some older guy getting his kicks serving booze and doing karaoke every week trying to relive his glory days.
And Jesus fuck was he wrong.
The guy that was pushed up on stage was nothing short of drop dead gorgeous. Dark blonde hair spiking up in every direction and green eyes that seemed unreal under the harsh lighting of the stage. He was wearing jeans that were shredded at the knees and a frayed t-shirt that seemed a size too small, accentuating the guy’s obvious physique. If Jared hadn’t known he was the owner, he would’ve thought Jensen was just another guy in the crowd. Albeit an insanely hot guy in the crowd, but just a regular guy nonetheless.
“That’s Jensen, really?” Jared asked, tilting his head towards the bartender, but keeping his eyes fixed on the stage.
“Yep, that’s Jen. He’s only in his 20s, but don’t let his age fool you; he’s business-smart and really knows what he’s doing. He’s a great guy.”
Jared’s reply was cut off when the strum of a guitar filled the air. His eyes snapped to the stage and saw that Jensen was now seated on a wooden stool, guitar on his lap and lips close to a mic, eyes closed as he started singing.
Yeah, Jared got the hype now.
**
Ever since the night Jared watched Jensen sing, he was determined to find out more about the guy. In a non-creeper/stalker kind of way, of course. He began going to the bar a couple of nights a week and was quickly becoming a regular. A month later Mike already had cold beers waiting for him at his now regular spot at the bar every Friday night, a spot that was close enough to watch Jensen, but far enough away not to be noticed.
“Hey Mikey, where the hell’s my beer man? You forget it’s Friday?” Jared called out with a grin at the bartender when he took his usual seat at the bar. But when the bartender turned around, it wasn’t Mike.
Jared’s grin was quickly replaced with a look of shock.
“J-Jensen?”
The man on the other side of the bar smiled as he laid a small rag over his shoulder, “Yeah, hey. Sorry, Mike’s out for the night so I’m filling in.”
When Jared didn’t say anything, Jensen continued, “Hey, you’re Jared, right?”
“H-how?”
“Mike’s told me about you. Says you come in a few nights a week but never miss a Friday. What’s up with that dude? You’re young, I’m sure there’s better things for you to do on a Friday night than sit in a bar.”
Jared blushed and scratched at the back of his neck, “Um, well…no, not really. And I like it here, ya know? Mike’s cool and the music’s… -” Jared cut himself off when he realized he was quickly sounding like a stalker with a fanboy crush.
“What?” Jensen prompted.
“It’s pretty great. You’re really good, Jensen.” Now it was Jensen’s turn to blush and look away. Jared took the moment of silence and with a deep breath asked, “Look uh, I know you don’t know me, but would you like to go out some time…with me?” Yeah, real fucking smooth, Jay. Way to totally not sound like a 14 year old girl…
When Jensen didn’t answer him, Jared panicked and stood, ready to bolt out of the bar and never come back. “How about I make you a deal?” Jensen asked just before Jared turned, “You lose the fake ID, and I’ll go out with you. Because as much as Mike seems to love you, I’d really love to not lose my liquor license.”
Jared was kinda getting pissed at his vocal chords for apparently forgetting how to work every time Jensen spoke to him.
“That was a yes, Jared.” Jensen said to him smirking, “I’m off tomorrow night since I picked up tonight’s shift, so meet here at 8?”
Jared nodded and smiled, deciding to leave then before he made an even bigger ass of himself, “Alright, I’ll be here. Bye Jensen.”
If Jared looked just a bit too ridiculous walking home to his dorm room with a huge grin on his face, no one called him out on it.
**
Jensen learned three things about Jared on their first date. One, Jared was really nineteen years old-“I’ll be 20 in July, thank you very much.”- and was an English major in the community college.
Two, Jared loved kids and wanted to be a teacher like his mom was, eyes going soft as he explained that he wanted to impact and make a difference in some kid’s life.
And three, Jared was a fantastic kisser. A Jesus-fucking-Christ, how-are-some-of-the-things-his-tongue-doing-even-possible, kisser.
And Jensen learned something about himself. Never judge someone solely on their age.
He and Jared had been going out for a little over a month now, and he really didn’t think he could be happier. When he had first agreed to go out on a date with Jared, he had just assumed it’d be a one night thing just to get the kid to stop risking his business (and maybe to get some sort of action on a Saturday night).
What he ended up doing was finding someone he really thought he could be with long-term. He didn’t know what surprised him more, the fact that he actually found someone that was definitely boyfriend material, or that Jared was just nineteen.
“Stop thinking so loud babe, you’re hurting my eardrums.”
Jensen looked up to see Jared sitting at his stool at the bar and grinning with a toothpick in his mouth. (Even though Jared didn’t drink there anymore, he was still at Rocksalt almost every night).
“Hey, what’re you doing here? I thought we were gunna meet up later tonight?” Jensen asked as he walked around the bar to Jared, stepping in-between his legs and wrapping his arms loosely around Jared’s neck, “Unless you’re here to whisk me away from work. Maybe have a quickie in back?” Jensen mumbled against Jared’s lips, biting his bottom one slowly before licking away the sting. Jared’s mouth opened on a gasp and Jensen took it as an opportunity to slip his own tongue inside, swallowing Jared’s moan.
“Break up the love fest, hetero comin’ through,” Mike called out as he placed a case of beer on the bar top and rolled his eyes at the pair.
“Seriously you guys, this is a bar. And, ya know, bars are usually synonymous to beer, pool, and badasses, not your gay love.”
“Remind me why you’re still working here?”
“Because you love me, Jenny. I mean, not as much as your boy here, but still.”
Jensen’s eyes widened at the thought of him loving Jared. Did he love Jared? Did Jared love him? It’d barely been two months…surely he couldn’t -.
“You’re just jealous Mikey, and anyways, I gotta go. Class in about an hour. I’ll see you tonight, Jen,” Jared said the end quietly, bending his head to capture his boyfriend’s lips with his own before sliding off of the stool. “Bye Jay,” Jensen answered, smirking when Jared blew a kiss in Mike’s direction before leaving.
“You’re totally gone for the kid,” Mike said seriously, staring at the door even after it closed.
Jensen didn’t reply, he just went back to the other side of the bar and started putting away the beers, biting his lip to keep from grinning.
**
It was 8:30pm and Jared was officially late.
Jensen didn’t know if he should be angry or worried as he paced in front of the restaurant that Jared has chosen to go to.
Right now, his mind was settling in on pissed. After Jared had left that afternoon, two guys at one of the pool tables came over to him and said he should be disgusted and ashamed of himself for doing that in public with another guy. They were obviously drunk -and really, being drunk by 5pm and homophobic, be more redneck, I dare you. Suffice to say, things got ugly quickly and before Mike kicked them out, punches were thrown and Jensen came out with a split lip and a lot of rage.
It took an hour for him to calm down and even after that, his insecurities were getting to him. The fact that Jared wasn’t here seriously wasn’t helping him much.
At the sound of the beep for Jared’s answering machine, Jensen left another message: “Jared, so help me god if you’re not bleeding on the pavement or something equally as gruesome, I’m going to kick your ass for standing me up.”
Jensen made a noise in the back of his throat, something between a sigh and a growl, as he decided to walk the four blocks to the bar. Maybe Jared forgot they were meeting at the restaurant and went to wait at Rocksalt. Yeah, that was logical. That was something Jensen was going to believe until he got there and his anger turned into worry.
On the way there, Jensen decided to call Chad’s cell phone, but it was turned off and went straight to voice mail.
Jensen quickly made his way into the bar, smiling quickly at the regulars who called out his name, but not stopping til he got to where Mike was at the end of the bar.
“Jenny, what’re you doing here?”
Jensen let the nickname slip as he glanced around, “You haven’t seen Jay, have you?”
Mike raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously, “No…didn’t you guys have a hot date tonight?” He asked grinning and raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Jensen rolled his eyes and took another quick look around, swallowing deeply when his heart began to speed up. “Mike, he’s not answering his phone, and neither is Chad and I have no idea wh-”
He stopped talking when his phone began vibrating in his hand. He looked down at it and saw ‘Jared’ light up on the screen.
“Jay, what the fuck man, where are you?”
”Jensen?”
Jensen’s heart dropped as the voice on the other end wasn’t his boyfriend’s.
“Chad? Is that…why are you calling me on Jared’s phone? Where is he, what’s going on?” Jensen was rambling and he knew it, but his heart was racing and his fingernails were embedding themselves into the soft wooden siding of the bar and he was pretty sure he needed to get his shit together right the fuck now.
“Jensen…Jay’s been in an accident. We-we’re in the hospital. It’s bad, Jen.”
Jensen always scoffed at people who said their significant other was literally their world. Now he understood what they meant because he could fucking swear the room was spinning and the world was tilting on its axis and when the fuck did his lungs forget how to breathe?
“Jen? Jen, what’s going on? Jensen!” Mike called loudly, reaching over the bar to grasp Jensen’s shoulder and shake him. Jensen jumped and looked over to Mike and Mike was pretty damn sure he never wanted to see that look on Jensen’s face again. He looked so scared and helpless that Mike didn’t even think about it as he grabbed the cell phone out of Jensen’s hand and asked Chad where they were, promising to be there within 10 minutes.
Mike grabbed Jensen’s arm and guided (well, pulled) Jensen out to the street and to Mike’s car, pushing him into the passenger seat and running to the drive’s side, peeling out of his parking spot and ignoring the angry honks behind him.
“Jen, talk to me.”
After a few minutes of silence, worry and fear began gnawing at him, “Jensen”, he called out.
“What about the bar…?” Jensen asked quietly, eyes not focused as he stared out of the window.
“Don’t worry about that Jenny, Chris and Steve are there, they’ll have it all under control.”
“I can’t lose him, Mikey…” Jensen whispered, hands in fists so tight that he was sure would end up drawing blood.
Mike reached over and pushed his hands open before it came to that and didn’t pull away as Jensen gripped his hand tightly, he just rubbed this thumb against the back of Jensen’s hand and repeated his litany of “It’ll be okay Jen, Jared will be fine.”
He hoped he could believe it himself.
**
They got there in seven minutes, and in that time, more than thirty scenarios played through Jensen’s head, each one worse than the last. He didn’t know what happened, just that Jared had been in an accident and he may never see him again.
He thought back to just a half hour ago, when he was mad at Jared for standing him up and all of the messages he had left Jared.” if you’re not bleeding on the pavement or something equally as gruesome…” Jensen had to swallow back the bile that threatened to come out.
When they walked in, they headed straight to the receptionist’s desk, but were stopped when someone called out Jensen’s name.
They turned to see Chad running towards them and no one said anything as Jensen gripped Chad tightly, realizing that if Jensen didn’t hold on to someone right now, he was seriously going to lose it.
“What happened, Chad?” Mike asked as the three of them made their way to the small waiting room.
“I don’t know the details…Just that Jay’s car was hit by a truck. He’s in the ICU now. That’s….that’s all I know, sorry Jen.”
Jensen just nodded and let the two other men guide him to a seat and sit him down.
It’s like all higher brain functions shut down and left him with only thoughts of Jared. He didn’t even realize it happening, but now he knows without a doubt, that he was absolutely and insanely in love with Jared Padalecki.
Now he just needed to get the chance to tell him that.
“Jenny.” Jensen looked up and saw Chris running down the hallway.
“What’re….what’re you doing here? How’d you-”
“Mike called and told us what’s up. Steve’s closing up the bar now, he should be here soon.”
Jensen’s brain was trying to understand everything at once. Jared was possibly dying somewhere in the building. And Mike had called? When?
And Steve was closing the bar…on a Saturday night.
“T-the bar…you can’t just close it on -”
“Shut it Jenny, you and your boy are way more important than the bar, and besides, when we told some of the regulars why we were closin’ shop, they left with no fuss. So stop thinking about the bar and just focus on the kid.”
Jensen just nodded and blinked rapidly, muttering a “thanks man” and keeping his tears in check. He knew his eyes were red and puffy, but so far, he’d kept the tears at bay.
“Relatives of Jared Padalecki?” a Doctor suddenly called out as he entered the waiting room.
Jensen automatically stood up but then stopped as he realized that no, he wasn’t family, and it didn’t matter how much Jared meant to him, they wouldn’t tell him anything.
“I’m his brother,” Chad responded instantly, standing up and walking over to the doctor, motioning for Jensen to come with him.
The doctor glanced at Jensen before nodding and settling his gaze on Chad.
“I’m going to be honest with you and say that when your brother was brought it, he was in extremely bad shape. The man driving the truck that hit him was inebriated and ran the red light. It’s fortunate that he hit the passenger side though. Otherwise…I’m afraid we’d be having a different conversation right now.”
Jensen’s lungs forgot how to intake oxygen again and he had to blink to keep the black spots out of his vision. All he could think about was a truck slamming into Jared’s side as he was on his way to meet him. He had to take a deep breath and really focus to hear what the doctor was saying.
“Jared has sustained two broken ribs, a broken right arm, and suffered from a concussion. He needed two blood transfusions for substantial blood loss as well. But other than that, he just has a lot of scrapes and bruises.”
“H-how is he doing…right now I mean?” Jensen asked shakily, thankful that his vocal chords learned how to work again.
The doctor glanced over to Chad, and at his nod, the doctor answered, “It was pretty touch and go there for a while, he lost a lot of blood and wasn’t conscious when we found him, but for now he’s stable. If everything goes well, I assume he should be out of here within a week or so.”
Jensen and Chad both nodded and the doctor smiled, “He’s awake now…if you would like to go and see him? But only one person at a time, please.”
They both nodded and just as Jensen was about to turn back to his seat in the waiting room, Chad pushed him in the direction of the rooms. Jensen’s eyes widened as Chad just grinned, “Tell him we’ll see him soon, yeah?”
Jensen gave him a small smile and followed the doctor to Jared’s room.
**
Jensen always associated many words with Jared, from sweet and funny and dorky to fucking huge and uncoordinated and downright fuckable.
Tiny wasn’t one of them.
Until now.
That was really the only work Jensen could think of when he walked into the room and saw Jared. He small and pale and it seemed as if the bed and the machines could eat Jared alive.
Alive. That was another word Jensen was associating, and he was silently thanking everything there was to thank that Jared was alive.
Jensen took in the sight of the various machines with different numbers and letters all meaning things that made absolutely no sense to him. But as long as they stayed beeping, he was fine with being in the dark.
“…Jen.”
Jensen’s eyes snapped over to Jared’s and he finally couldn’t keep the tears in anymore as Jared stared at him and gave him a faint smile.
“Hey babe,” Jensen whispered as he brought the visitor’s chair over to the bed and sat by Jared’s side, their hands immediately gravitating towards each other.
Jensen used his other hand to swipe Jared’s hair away and then gently ghosted over the bruises on Jared’s face.
“Hey, what happened to you?” Jared asked quietly in a raspy voice, nodding his head towards Jensen’s broken lip, but Jensen just shook his head and his eyes continued darting all over Jared’s body.
“I’m okay Jen.”
Jensen bit his lip gently but didn’t respond, just kept tracing over Jared’s features, committing even the smallest details to memory.
Jared grabbed his hand to stop him, forcing Jensen to look him in the eye.
“…I almost lost you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I could’ve Jay…I was so mad at you because I-I thought you stood me up. God, I left you a bunch of voice mails all but yelling at you and you were….-”
“Jen…”
“I love you, Jared.” When Jared didn’t respond, Jensen looked up to see Jared staring at him, eyes widened minutely and Jensen vaguely registered the beeping of the heart monitor speeding up
.
“You…what?” Jared finally got out, not sure if he could believe what Jensen just said.
Jensen closed his eyes, not caring that it caused more tears to spill over, and swallowed deeply before returning his gaze to Jared’s, “I love you, Jay. I really do…When Chad called me and told me what happened…I couldn’t even think, I couldn’t do a damn thing but think about you and what I’d do without you. I need you, Jared…God, it sounds pathetic, but I do.”
Again Jared didn’t respond. Instead, he began struggling to sit up, causing the machines to go a bit crazy. “Jay, what the hell are you doing?!”
“I’m trying to kiss you, you idiot.”
Jensen huffed out a laugh before pushing Jared gently back down and standing to hover over him. Jensen cupped his hands gently around Jared’s face before leaning down and kissing him soundly, smiling into the kiss when the heart monitor sped up again.
“Better stop before the nurses think you’re going into cardiac arrest.”
“I love you, Jen.”
Jensen stared down into Jared’s eyes and smiled before kissing him again.
See, the thing is, Jensen Ackles was a catch. He loved his job, had great friends, owned his own business and still knew how to just have fun. He was hot, and he knew it. His boyfriend Jared knew it too.