This Tangled Shape (3/?)
Title: This Tangled Shape (3/?)
Author: Danse Amore
Wordcount: This part, 1704.
Rating: R eventually
Pairings: Jared/Jensen, Chris/Steve, Chad/Sophia, Sandy/OFC, Misha/OFC
Disclaimer: Don't own. Not real. I don't make any money.
Warnings/Spoilers: This part: Language. Mentions of past Jason Manns/Steve
Summary: College AU. Jared meets a superhero.
"Oh my god oh my god oh my god - "
"Dude, settle the fuck down, it's not like he even said he was going to be there - and why the hell do I have to come, anyway? I don't want to - "
"You are coming, Chad, you motherfucker, because if you do not I am shoving you down every staircase in the building - Jared! Get over here so I can fix your hair - "
"Oh god, what's wrong with my hair?"
**
Chris tapped his fingers against his thigh. "I should have brought my guitar." He muttered to himself.
Jensen grinned at him. "What, you think you're going to give them a run for their money?" He asked, nodding to the band on the stage.
"Hell no." Chris shook his head. "They're good, really good. That's the problem. I want to play. I..." He ran a hand through his hair, blue eyes stormy. "You know how I get, Jen."
Jensen nodded. When Chris needed to play, Chris needed to play. He cast a glance over at Jared. Sandy was leaning in to whisper in his ear, and he was blushing, and it was goddamn adorable, and Jensen wanted nothing more to go over there and press his lips to those flushed cheeks, kiss his eyelids and his jawline and finally...
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Alright." He said, full of regret. "Let's go get her."
Chris stared at him. "What?"
Jen made an impatient gesture, not wanting his resolve to crumble. "Your guitar! We'll get back to the apartment and grab her, and then back here before anyone notices we're gone."
Chris shook his head. "Dude, if you think there's any way in hell I'm going to bring my baby on that deathtrap of yours - "
"We'll take your car."
"My sister has it, remember? What, you think I rode here with you because I like you?"
Jensen blew out a breath. Damn. He looked around. Other than Jared and Sandy, he didn't recognize anyone in the crowd of revelers. "Well, shit." He said quietly.
"It's fine." Said Chris, his fingers moving faster against his thigh. "Really. I'll be okay. It's not like I'm going to explode."
No, thought Jen, but you'll lose the song. And for Chris, that was almost as bad. There must be someone..."Wait!" There.
Steve was sitting in the corner nursing a drink, his fingers fluttering across the slick surface of his glass. Jensen gnawed on his lip. He hated to ask it of the poor kid...and he wondered why he wasn't with Sandy and Jared, but...his eyes flicked to Chris. "Hang on a sec." He said, and started threading his way through the crowds. The guy could always say no, he said to himself. And besides, he looked about ready to bolt any minute.
"Hey." He said softly, trying not to startle Steve. He looked up, quick as a flash, and it took a moment for him to recognize Jensen. When he did, he relaxed hugely, offering up a small smile. "Hey." He said back. "You showed."
Jensen smiled. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for the invitation." He scratched the back of his head. "Um, listen, I know I don't know you very well, but you're the only one, I, um, here. Can you do me a favor?"
Steve looked guarded, sipping his drink. "What?" He asked.
Relieved that he hadn't been dismissed out of hand, Jensen continued. "It's my friend Chris. He's a musician? And he really, really needs to get his guitar, back at our apartment, but his sister has his car and he doesn't want to take it on my bike. Do you...could you maybe give him a ride?"
Steve was silent for a moment, and Jensen looked over at Chris. He was standing almost still in a sea of people, his eyes set on something far away, swaying a bit from side to side as his lips moved. "Yeah. Okay." Steve said, and Jensen looked at him, blinking, and then he realized that he'd said yes. "Thank you." He said seriously. "Really, thank you so much."
Steve licked his lips and stood, glancing down at the glass on the table. "Yeah." He said slowly.
Jensen gave Chris a thumb's-up over the crowd and started back towards him.
**
Steve followed Jensen through the crowds. Everyone was pressing in, closer and farther, it made him slightly sick. Or...no, that nauseous pit in his stomach had been there since he'd pulled into the parking lot, uncertain why he was here at all. He tried several explanations - he wanted closure, he wanted to see whether Jensen would show up, he wanted wanted wanted - but none of them fit. None of them were true.
Jason was nowhere to be found, which was good, because he wasn't sure what he would do if he'd seen him. Seen him dancing with someone new...or, worse, not dancing. Sitting in the corner nursing a drink like...like Steve had done immediately upon arriving, and probably would have continued to do until someone forced him to go home.
He shook his head, swiping a hand across his eyes. Jensen was talking. He should probably be listening, should probably meet the guy that he was going to drive around because he "needed" his guitar, that he was going to drive around because why the fuck not.
He looked up to see the guy looking at him with disconcertingly blue eyes. He offered a small smile, and was rewarded with a edged smirk in return. "Steve," says Jensen, "This is Chris Kane. Chris, Steve...Carlson, right?" Steve nodded, and Jensen grinned. "Okay! Thank you so much, really." He said again, and Steve nodded. He liked Jensen. He hoped it went well, whatever it was, with Jared. "Sorry if he's a bit antisocial." Jensen added. "He gets like this, when the songs strike him."
Steve frowned a little. What a strange thing to say. But Jensen was already moving off towards Jared and Sandy, a determined set to his shoulders, and Steve turned back to Chris. He saw warmth in his blue eyes, for a moment, and then Chris turned to look at him, seeming more curious than anything. Steve smiled at him. "Well then, let's get you your guitar, huh?" He said, and headed towards the exits.
They were halfway to the car before Chris spoke. "You don't have to treat me like a child." He said quietly from behind Steve. "Jenny does, the bastard, when I get like this, like if he jostles me too hard all the thoughts'll fly out of my head like...like birds or something. It's not like that. It's just...sometimes I need to write a fuckin' song."
His voice twined around Steve, higher than he expected and a little bit hoarse. There was a bit of a shiver to the words, as if Chris didn't want to be talking but singing, and the shiver transferred itself to Steve's spine. He turned and found himself smiling. "Yeah. I...I get that." He almost said more, but stopped and unlocked his car, instead, climbing in and shutting the door before he started babbling. Something about that voice made him want to respond.
Chris gave him directions and they rode in silence for a while before he found himself talking. "Honestly?" He smirked sideways at Chris like he was sharing a secret, not about to whine to a complete stranger. "I'm glad to get out of there."
His eyes caught on Chris' fingers tapping and sliding across his jeans. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Steve forced his eyes to the road, not intending to say more, but his vocal chords apparently had other ideas. "Yeah, I...I don't know why I was there at all. Habit, maybe. Up until recently, I was dating the guy who throws those parties, Jason Manns, we were...well, I guess you'd call it an open relationship. We both had other people, but he was always the one who...I came home to, you know? Not literally, we didn't live together or anything, but....he was the steady one. The common element. The melody." He smirked sideways to find Chris just looking at him, silent, his fingers stilled, and immediately felt foolish. "Oh, hell. You don't want to hear some stranger's sob story."
Chris smiled. "No." He said lightly. "But maybe I'd like to hear yours."
He smiled, and Steve smiled back, a true smile for the first time in days. "I broke up with him." He said abruptly. "I was afraid...we both thought, we'd talked about it, that I was keeping him reined. Tying him down. It was one of the best things about him, how...carefree he was, and I could see that I was...changing that. So I stopped. Ended it." He took a deep breath. "But he didn't understand why. He thought...he thought I'd found someone else, another anchor, a different tune, and was lying to him. And he didn't care."
He ignored the questioning noise that Chris made, continuing at his own pace. "He didn't care. He said it so...dismissively. "If you were going to cheat, you could at least have told me." Casually. And it didn't...it didn't make any sense for him to feel that way, I'd never cast any illusions about - and then I realized he was projecting his own situation onto me, and...things got heated after that."
He drove for a while, and then let out a short laugh. "So. Yeah. I'm glad to be away from the party. Thanks." He pulled up beside an apartment building. "This it?"
Chris nodded ruefully. "Really, I should be thanking you. How many guys would drive a stranger home just because he "needed his guitar"?" He made small self-mocking air quotes before slipping out of the car.
Steve shook his head. "No." He said quietly. "Thank you. For listening. For not...judging, yeah?" He ran his hands over the steering wheel. The easy part was over. The hard part...going back there...He sighed.
Chris was studying him, eyes birdlike, considering, standing at the edge of the curb with his hands in his back pockets. "Come inside?" He finally offered, and Steve was halfway out of his seat already.
Part One
Part Two
Author: Danse Amore
Wordcount: This part, 1704.
Rating: R eventually
Pairings: Jared/Jensen, Chris/Steve, Chad/Sophia, Sandy/OFC, Misha/OFC
Disclaimer: Don't own. Not real. I don't make any money.
Warnings/Spoilers: This part: Language. Mentions of past Jason Manns/Steve
Summary: College AU. Jared meets a superhero.
"Oh my god oh my god oh my god - "
"Dude, settle the fuck down, it's not like he even said he was going to be there - and why the hell do I have to come, anyway? I don't want to - "
"You are coming, Chad, you motherfucker, because if you do not I am shoving you down every staircase in the building - Jared! Get over here so I can fix your hair - "
"Oh god, what's wrong with my hair?"
**
Chris tapped his fingers against his thigh. "I should have brought my guitar." He muttered to himself.
Jensen grinned at him. "What, you think you're going to give them a run for their money?" He asked, nodding to the band on the stage.
"Hell no." Chris shook his head. "They're good, really good. That's the problem. I want to play. I..." He ran a hand through his hair, blue eyes stormy. "You know how I get, Jen."
Jensen nodded. When Chris needed to play, Chris needed to play. He cast a glance over at Jared. Sandy was leaning in to whisper in his ear, and he was blushing, and it was goddamn adorable, and Jensen wanted nothing more to go over there and press his lips to those flushed cheeks, kiss his eyelids and his jawline and finally...
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Alright." He said, full of regret. "Let's go get her."
Chris stared at him. "What?"
Jen made an impatient gesture, not wanting his resolve to crumble. "Your guitar! We'll get back to the apartment and grab her, and then back here before anyone notices we're gone."
Chris shook his head. "Dude, if you think there's any way in hell I'm going to bring my baby on that deathtrap of yours - "
"We'll take your car."
"My sister has it, remember? What, you think I rode here with you because I like you?"
Jensen blew out a breath. Damn. He looked around. Other than Jared and Sandy, he didn't recognize anyone in the crowd of revelers. "Well, shit." He said quietly.
"It's fine." Said Chris, his fingers moving faster against his thigh. "Really. I'll be okay. It's not like I'm going to explode."
No, thought Jen, but you'll lose the song. And for Chris, that was almost as bad. There must be someone..."Wait!" There.
Steve was sitting in the corner nursing a drink, his fingers fluttering across the slick surface of his glass. Jensen gnawed on his lip. He hated to ask it of the poor kid...and he wondered why he wasn't with Sandy and Jared, but...his eyes flicked to Chris. "Hang on a sec." He said, and started threading his way through the crowds. The guy could always say no, he said to himself. And besides, he looked about ready to bolt any minute.
"Hey." He said softly, trying not to startle Steve. He looked up, quick as a flash, and it took a moment for him to recognize Jensen. When he did, he relaxed hugely, offering up a small smile. "Hey." He said back. "You showed."
Jensen smiled. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for the invitation." He scratched the back of his head. "Um, listen, I know I don't know you very well, but you're the only one, I, um, here. Can you do me a favor?"
Steve looked guarded, sipping his drink. "What?" He asked.
Relieved that he hadn't been dismissed out of hand, Jensen continued. "It's my friend Chris. He's a musician? And he really, really needs to get his guitar, back at our apartment, but his sister has his car and he doesn't want to take it on my bike. Do you...could you maybe give him a ride?"
Steve was silent for a moment, and Jensen looked over at Chris. He was standing almost still in a sea of people, his eyes set on something far away, swaying a bit from side to side as his lips moved. "Yeah. Okay." Steve said, and Jensen looked at him, blinking, and then he realized that he'd said yes. "Thank you." He said seriously. "Really, thank you so much."
Steve licked his lips and stood, glancing down at the glass on the table. "Yeah." He said slowly.
Jensen gave Chris a thumb's-up over the crowd and started back towards him.
**
Steve followed Jensen through the crowds. Everyone was pressing in, closer and farther, it made him slightly sick. Or...no, that nauseous pit in his stomach had been there since he'd pulled into the parking lot, uncertain why he was here at all. He tried several explanations - he wanted closure, he wanted to see whether Jensen would show up, he wanted wanted wanted - but none of them fit. None of them were true.
Jason was nowhere to be found, which was good, because he wasn't sure what he would do if he'd seen him. Seen him dancing with someone new...or, worse, not dancing. Sitting in the corner nursing a drink like...like Steve had done immediately upon arriving, and probably would have continued to do until someone forced him to go home.
He shook his head, swiping a hand across his eyes. Jensen was talking. He should probably be listening, should probably meet the guy that he was going to drive around because he "needed" his guitar, that he was going to drive around because why the fuck not.
He looked up to see the guy looking at him with disconcertingly blue eyes. He offered a small smile, and was rewarded with a edged smirk in return. "Steve," says Jensen, "This is Chris Kane. Chris, Steve...Carlson, right?" Steve nodded, and Jensen grinned. "Okay! Thank you so much, really." He said again, and Steve nodded. He liked Jensen. He hoped it went well, whatever it was, with Jared. "Sorry if he's a bit antisocial." Jensen added. "He gets like this, when the songs strike him."
Steve frowned a little. What a strange thing to say. But Jensen was already moving off towards Jared and Sandy, a determined set to his shoulders, and Steve turned back to Chris. He saw warmth in his blue eyes, for a moment, and then Chris turned to look at him, seeming more curious than anything. Steve smiled at him. "Well then, let's get you your guitar, huh?" He said, and headed towards the exits.
They were halfway to the car before Chris spoke. "You don't have to treat me like a child." He said quietly from behind Steve. "Jenny does, the bastard, when I get like this, like if he jostles me too hard all the thoughts'll fly out of my head like...like birds or something. It's not like that. It's just...sometimes I need to write a fuckin' song."
His voice twined around Steve, higher than he expected and a little bit hoarse. There was a bit of a shiver to the words, as if Chris didn't want to be talking but singing, and the shiver transferred itself to Steve's spine. He turned and found himself smiling. "Yeah. I...I get that." He almost said more, but stopped and unlocked his car, instead, climbing in and shutting the door before he started babbling. Something about that voice made him want to respond.
Chris gave him directions and they rode in silence for a while before he found himself talking. "Honestly?" He smirked sideways at Chris like he was sharing a secret, not about to whine to a complete stranger. "I'm glad to get out of there."
His eyes caught on Chris' fingers tapping and sliding across his jeans. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Steve forced his eyes to the road, not intending to say more, but his vocal chords apparently had other ideas. "Yeah, I...I don't know why I was there at all. Habit, maybe. Up until recently, I was dating the guy who throws those parties, Jason Manns, we were...well, I guess you'd call it an open relationship. We both had other people, but he was always the one who...I came home to, you know? Not literally, we didn't live together or anything, but....he was the steady one. The common element. The melody." He smirked sideways to find Chris just looking at him, silent, his fingers stilled, and immediately felt foolish. "Oh, hell. You don't want to hear some stranger's sob story."
Chris smiled. "No." He said lightly. "But maybe I'd like to hear yours."
He smiled, and Steve smiled back, a true smile for the first time in days. "I broke up with him." He said abruptly. "I was afraid...we both thought, we'd talked about it, that I was keeping him reined. Tying him down. It was one of the best things about him, how...carefree he was, and I could see that I was...changing that. So I stopped. Ended it." He took a deep breath. "But he didn't understand why. He thought...he thought I'd found someone else, another anchor, a different tune, and was lying to him. And he didn't care."
He ignored the questioning noise that Chris made, continuing at his own pace. "He didn't care. He said it so...dismissively. "If you were going to cheat, you could at least have told me." Casually. And it didn't...it didn't make any sense for him to feel that way, I'd never cast any illusions about - and then I realized he was projecting his own situation onto me, and...things got heated after that."
He drove for a while, and then let out a short laugh. "So. Yeah. I'm glad to be away from the party. Thanks." He pulled up beside an apartment building. "This it?"
Chris nodded ruefully. "Really, I should be thanking you. How many guys would drive a stranger home just because he "needed his guitar"?" He made small self-mocking air quotes before slipping out of the car.
Steve shook his head. "No." He said quietly. "Thank you. For listening. For not...judging, yeah?" He ran his hands over the steering wheel. The easy part was over. The hard part...going back there...He sighed.
Chris was studying him, eyes birdlike, considering, standing at the edge of the curb with his hands in his back pockets. "Come inside?" He finally offered, and Steve was halfway out of his seat already.
Part One
Part Two