{SPN J2 Big Bang} Gunmetal Dawn - Chapter 8
Fic Title: Gunmetal Dawn
Author name: deannawol
Artist name: grayscaled
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: NC-17 / R
Word count: 66,666
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, language, angst .
Summary: J2 Cyberpunk AU; Three years ago, Christian Kane betrayed Jared Padalecki and killed most of his family. Mercenary Jensen Ackles saved him and his younger sister Megan and brought them to live with them out in the wilds of Texas. Jared's been training and is finally ready to take Kane on to win back his family's corporate empire. However, the course of true love never runs smoothly and in regaining what he's lost, he's put everything he loves in jeopardy, including his partner and lover, Jensen. A J2 Romance in a Cyberpunk AU setting.
Link to Fic Masterpost: Link
Link to Art Masterpost: Link
Previous Chapter
The chill ran through his arm where it pressed against the glass. He rested his forehead against his forearm and looked out over the city. From this high up, it was a sea of twinkling lights. The red and white lights making trails along the city streets. Multicoloured neon lit the squares and pedestrian zones as the searchlights from circling drones strobed over the city. Police ‘copters duelled with the news helo's as they scoured the city for something of interest. It was beautiful up here, fifty two floors up, but there was a coldness to it, a detachment that Jensen wasn't used to feeling.
Josh would be back at the camp now, sitting around the campfire with Inez beside him. He’d told him that he was going to send out some of the other family to watch over Jensen and Mackenzie, but they wouldn’t be there until mid morning at the earliest and honestly, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about having two city-blind kids around. First time in the city, with the sights and sounds around them, trying to figure their way around? Fat lot of good they were going to do him. Momma had warned him that they were heading north of the border for the Annual Family Meet soon as Inez had delivered. They needed to meet up with other families, trade, work or it would be a damned hard winter. Jensen had promised that he'd call her regularly to let her know how they were, but part of him knew that they’d fall out of touch. Phones and signal towers weren’t exactly common out in the brush lands and there’d be more pressing issues that needed to be dealt with out there.
She’d warned him to look out for Morgan. Man hadn’t managed to do anything to pull himself outta the gutter in her eyes. Even though she'd fed him, called him family, she didn't like him and made no effort to keep it quiet. The way he kept himself separate from the family, drawing Jared with him for small talks. The way that he only spoke in small talk to Sam even though they'd been friends, and maybe more than friends, for the guts of twenty years. All of it had sat wrong with her and even back at that first meeting she’d pulled him aside and told him that something about the man was trapped in the past. At the time, Jensen had brushed it aside. It had been a long three years and it was only natural to have some barriers in place that would take time to pull down. But she’d been right. Even after a five minute once over, she’d pegged him as trouble.
And now, weeks later, it was getting worse. Every conversation that Jared had with the man focused on how to make the empire whole again. All talk of what Jared might want had vanished. Worse was that Jared seemed to be on board with Morgan’s plan. It was like they had their own language now and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to crack it. He’d even gone so far as to sneak one of Megan’s management books but for every phrase he deciphered, there were ten more that went so far over his head that it wasn’t even worth his while reaching for them. He was tempted to ask Mackenzie but she was struggling to keep up with it as well. But at least Megan was making time for her.
Jensen glanced at the clock beside the bed as it clicked over to two fifteen. Jared had been pulled into a five minute meeting six hours ago and there was still no sign of him. The room they shared was nice, but Jensen just couldn't get over the feeling of being a guest here. Everything was so perfect, from the priceless ornaments sitting on every flat surface to the massive bed covered in Egyptian cotton and Chinese silk. Rugs that cost more than he made on any ten runs just sat on the ground. He felt guilty every time he touched something, in case he scuffed it up or something.
Even though it was their apartment, someone laid out their clothes in the morning, and Jensen found that more than a little creepy. At least after that first morning when he almost took off the guys head, they had the presence of mind to knock before sneaking in. Someone else delivered breakfast, laying everything out. Silver cutlery and china plates that Jensen felt guilty about using. Housekeeping arrived later, taking laundry and tidying everything. It was unsettling. He'd never been waited on before and he just couldn't get used to someone constantly at his elbow, making sure that his every wish was catered for. He was a sit on the couch with a beer, grab takeaway kinda guy and it just felt wrong to him. Since he was a child, he'd been fairly self-sufficient, had to be given that his family was constantly on the move. Shooting. Driving. Cooking. Soon as he was able, he was working to make sure that all the chores were done. But here... He locked the door when he visited the restroom, just in case.
No matter how much he tried, and he was trying, Jensen couldn't get used to it. This was all just so foreign to him. But Jared... Jared was falling right back into it. He didn't even see the people who picked up after him. He didn't notice when someone was behind him, long as they were wearing a neat suit. He did for the first week or so, but now? A mumbled thank you was the attention he ever paid to the 'little' people. Jensen's shoulders itched just thinking about it. Best damned assassins didn't dress in armour and announce themselves. They blended into their surroundings, overlooked until they struck.
Jensen had managed to elbow his way back into the corporate world a little. Now he was there with him as Jared moved from meeting to meeting, three steps behind and eyes open. But tonight was different. He'd had to leave Jared alone. Company business. Corporate confidentiality and all that bullshit. It wasn't like Jensen was going to go blabbing about what he heard but Morgan'd insisted tonight and Jared had backed him up. It was only going to be five minutes and Morgan'd be right there beside Jared the whole time. Jensen hadn't been happy but a few quick words from Jared - 'you know these corporate types' - and he'd headed up to the residence, stopping long enough to grab enough food for both of them and heading to their room. Didn’t mean he was happy about it but making a scene wouldn’t have solved anything either.
Six hours ago. Now, the food was cold and Jensen was still alone.
It was three thirty when Jared finally opened the door and Jensen had been in bed for the last thirty minutes randomly skipping through channels on the massive screen at the end of the bed, watching headlines that he’d read about sixteen times before. He couldn’t sleep, wouldn’t let himself sleep until Jared was back.
Jensen wasn’t mad. He had been mad the first time it happened; so angry that it was a fire inside him just looking for any excuse. They’d had a dinner planned, just the two of them but there was a thing and Jared was needed. Jensen had railed at Morgan the first chance he got. Told Jared that it wasn’t acceptable but Jared had just shrugged it off, promising it wouldn’t happen again. But it happened a second time, and a third, a sixth, a tenth… And it was hard to keep that anger going and it had faded to resignation instead. He didn’t want to fight with Jared, he really didn’t. There were three other rooms just in their apartment and if things got heated Jared would walk. Jared would walk and Jensen wasn’t sure he’d come back.
Jensen flicked off the television and pulled back the covers. Jared smiled and stripped, dropping everything on the floor, before sliding into bed. Jensen rolled over, looking at Jared. Time was that even on the late nights, he used to curl up together. Even just to kiss, relax and savour the moment together. But recently? Nothing. Not unless Jensen started it.
"Another long meeting?"
Jared yawned, "Wouldn't end. Forgot how long those guys could talk."
Jensen snuggled in, kissing him gently, "S'okay, grab some sleep, Jay."
He strained to see the clock, "If I drop off now, I can probably get a full two hours. Fucking early meetings," he yawned again, closing his eyes, "I'm telling my PA nothing before..."
Jensen waited for the next word but it didn't come. He smiled and pulled up the covers and let his eyes drift closed.
Morning came much too early, with the alarm ringing loudly in Jensen's ear. Reaching out, Jensen hit at the clock, turning the ringer off. Jared still slept beside him, his head on Jensen's chest, Jared’s legs tangled with his. Jensen reached out, running a hand up and down his boyfriend's arm.
"Jay, time to get up."
Jared batted at his hand, "Just went sleep."
"I know, Jay, but you have the senior manager briefing in about thirty minutes, then you gotta meet with the lawyers."
Jared opened an eye and glared at Jensen, "You're starting to sound like JD."
Jensen stiffened, hackles rising at the comparison.
Jared didn’t notice, just closed his eyes again, "Five more minutes."
Slipping out from under Jared and off the bed, Jensen made his way to the shower. It didn't take long to scrub himself clean, ignoring the multitude of bottles available in favour of a simple bar of soap. He stood under the shower, just letting the water cascade down over him. He leaned back against the wall, trying to get himself calm, to wash away the offhand comment. Jared was sound asleep when Jensen walked back into the bedroom, a towel tucked around his waist.
"Jay, you need to get up."
Jared rolled over and pushed himself up, never opening his eyes. His hair was standing up in patches. He scratched his chin and worked on waking himself up. Jensen smirked as he grabbed his clothes, dressing for the day. It was a bespoke suit, tailored by the best guys in the city. Black with a fine pinstripe. The material was rough to the touch thanks to the Kevlar woven through it. A white shirt and a black tie complete with corporate logo and he was done. Except for the guns of course, and that was one reason he didn't mind wearing the suit. They'd managed to cut it in such a way that he could be hiding an armoury under the jacket and no one would have a damned clue. He’d still prefer his street clothes, but this’d do in a pinch. Clothes like this were the price he had to pay for managing to work his way back into Jared’s schedule. Couldn’t stand behind the CEO if you looked like some two-bit street merc, after all. And all things considered, it was a small price to pay.
Jared stumbled towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Jensen heard the shower start and sighed. These long days were taking a toll. Too many nights with not enough sleep. Enough time for a kiss or a touch, but nothing more than that. Even if they managed to sneak away for an hour, they were too damned tired to do anything. And that was starting to get to Jensen too. It wasn't that he wanted... Well, he did, but it was more that he wanted them to have some time alone. No matter what they did during that time.
It took another ten minutes to get Jared into his clothes and out the door. Jensen grabbed some fruit on the way out and called the elevator. Jared's office was on the twentieth floor, with the other executive offices. Morgan was already there when they arrived, along with Mirabel, Jared's middle aged snob of an executive assistant. And they were straight into it, ignoring Jensen as they planned and plotted every second of Jared's day. Meetings, reviews, social functions. Jensen wouldn’t be surprised if they’d even pencilled in Jared’s toilet breaks.
It wasn't until they got onto the Mayor's Inaugural Ball scheduled for the end of the week that Jensen took notice of more than just times and names. The Ball was going to be an extremely formal event, all gowns and glitter but Jared was expected to attend. Everyone who was anyone was going to be there and as the recently recovered CEO of Padalecki Microcybernetics, he'd be the one everyone had their eye on.
"We'll have to make sure that whoever is accompanying you is up to the task," Mirabel's nasal voice proclaimed as she looked down at her notebook.
Jared turned to look at Jensen, smiling and Jensen’s heart practically sang, "You think you're up for it?"
Jensen opened his mouth to reply but Mirabel cut him off, "Oh no, dear, I wasn't think of your security arrangements, I was thinking more in terms of your date for the evening."
Jared's voice was cold, "So was I!"
She blinked, looking up at Jared, then over to Jensen, then finally at Morgan. "Oh! Oh, I thought that... Well, I thought that you were aware that bringing Mister Ackles would pose significant problems socially speaking."
Jensen couldn't remember the last time someone had called him Mister Ackles. Mirabel usually just ignored him completely. Jensen was confused as to what the significant problems could possibly be. Looking over to Jared, he could see that Jared was as lost as he was. Why the Hell would there be a problem taking your boyfriend to a social function? Was it the gay thing?
"Well," Mirabel looked exasperated, "You have been seen out with Mister Ackles several times, but with him in the role of your bodyguard, and if you were to attend this function with him as your partner, well," she paused, her hand going to her heart, "I fear that several people would assume that you were dipping into the staff pool, if you see what I mean?" she tutted, "The papers would be filled with articles about how you couldn't find a date and had your bodyguard step into the role. Not the publicity we want with so many deals on the horizon, is it?"
Jared looked to Morgan and Jensen watched the man give a subtle shake of his head.
"Okay then, I'll just go stag," Jared shrugged, looking at Jensen apologetically. “Or I could bring Meg. She needs to learn how to do these meetings. Good a place as any to start.”
Jensen couldn’t believe that Jared had caved so easily. One head shake and that was it, the discussion was done. Jensen was good enough to be bodyguard but not good enough to be seen dating the CEO. He could feel his fist clenching and had to force himself not to punch something.
"Jared... Honey," Mirabel’s voice took on a condescending tone that made Jensen want to shake her, "There's no such thing as stag in this town. Everyone will have a partner at this event and they'll be judged on those partners. Deals are made and broken on how your partner behaves. You'll need someone who is versed in Texan politics, business, the markets. Someone who can talk to people, get them to come around to your way of thinking. Even if people hadn't seen Mister Ackles prior to this, he doesn't have the… acumen to hold his own in conversations like these," She broke off, looking over at Jensen, "No offence, Mister Ackles, but I hardly think that the executives of Dallas really need to know exactly how to do... whatever it was that you did on the streets." She turned back to Jared, dismissing him completely, "And Megan has already accepted a social engagement for that evening. She’s attending the Governor’s daughter’s birthday party. To pull her from that would cause a significant amount of negative publicity. The Governor’s daughter is currently engaged to the son of Mister Langan who heads up the board of directors for KCI, one of our chief contractors. The commercial ramifications would be disastrous. No, I'll get a couple of girls here for a lunchtime appointment. You can meet them and talk with them, see if one of them is suitable."
No offence? How come people always seemed to follow those two words up with an insult?
"Girls?" Jared frowned.
Jensen had talked to Jared about his preferences back when they'd first gotten together, so he knew that Jared swung both ways but given that he had a boyfriend standing not six feet away from him, Jensen couldn’t even begin to work out how she’d arrived at that particular decision, but she didn’t seem inclined to explain herself.
"Yes," she tapped a pen against her lower lip, thinking, "I have several contacts for agencies used by Mister Kane..."
Her voice died under Jared's glare
"...Which I'll be ruling out as a matter of course," she covered, "I think with you we need to play up the wholesome image. Someone clean cut, Old Dallas, good family. Yes, I think that would work best. Alright, we'll say one thirty until two pm for the selection panel followed by a long lunch and back in the office by three."
Jensen looked over to Jared, who was just watching the woman have a one person conversation while making notes. Jared seemed okay with this-this bullshit and Jensen wasn't exactly happy with the situation, but at least the woman seemed to be thinking in terms of temporary date, someone just for an evening. He didn’t like it, but he could live with it, he guessed.
"Now," she smiled, "the senior managers are waiting in the conference room and then we have the meeting with the Chief of Police to discuss changes to their current contract."
Jensen tossed his boyfriend an apple as they made their way to the first meeting. A quick snack before the dissection began. The meeting was all about ass covering, but because it was internal, Jensen could sit in. Production standards were down and no one was stepping up and taking responsibility, just shifting the blame around so everyone had a share. Jared's shoulders were clenched tight and Jensen's hands itched to rub away the tension. Well, either that or put each of the snivelling bastards out of Jared's misery. Wouldn't be so bad if they just stood up and said 'Yeah, it was me, sorry. Won't happen again.' They'd probably get escorted out of the building and be blacklisted from ever working in the industry again. But at least they'd still have their dignity and, in Jensen's eyes, that was a hell of a lot more important than some nine-to-five job.
It was a lot of fun, watching Jared cut them down to size with an expert dissection. Every excuse, every justification, neatly tossed aside as he stripped them down to the bare bones. He knew every damned figure, knew every code and left them in no doubt that their jobs, and maybe even their lives were hanging by a frayed thread. Jensen smiled as he watched, so fucking proud of his boy. He’d always had a way with words, even out on the streets, but behind a board room table, he was a fucking master.
The next meeting was in the same room so Jensen chanced his luck and stayed. Jared didn’t even glance in his direction, just read over his notes and Morgan wasn’t in this meeting so he was golden for now. And sitting in was definitely better than just standing outside the door watching nothing happen, or reviewing the live feed cameras in the hope that someone somewhere was stupid enough to storm the building.
The Chief of Police was exactly what Jensen imagined, a slightly pudgy man, filled so sure of his own self-importance that his uniform bulged at the seams. It was a fairly standard meeting, another person trying to wiggle outta the terms of his contract. Jared did well, or at least Jensen though so, arguing with the man. Putting his foot down when he needed to. Offering compromises when he could. Jensen had to bite his lip to hold in the proud smile. He knew of the Chief from his many, many adventures on the streets and knew that the man thought himself the most important person in the city. Watching Jared cut the legs off that idea with nothing but a look made him so fucking happy.
Mirabel ducked her head in just before half one to announce that the girls were assembled and waiting in the executive reception. Waiting until Mirabel was gone, Jared dropped his head onto the desk.
"What the hell do I say to them?"
"Well, how about starting with basic introductions and then moving on from there?" Jensen was trying to be supportive even though it galled him to even think about why they were here.
"You mean like 'Hi I'm Jared, and you're only here because the mean lady won't let me bring my boyfriend to the party?'"
Jensen smirked. He loved Jared sense of humour.
"It'd break the ice." He paused, taking in the pained look on Jared's face, "Just... Ask them about the event, the people, make sure they're going to be able to... what do they call it? Network."
Jared looked at him, astonished, then pulled him down for a kiss, "You're a genius, Jen. That's perfect."
Definitely feeling better, Jared walked down to the executive reception. Jensen was right on his heels. If they were going to be picking a date for his boyfriend, then fucked if he wasn’t going to be in the room.
The opulently furnished room now hosted six young ladies, about the same age as Jared by Jensen's guess. Immaculately turned out, the girls all looked over as they walked in, all eyes on Jared. Blonde haired, blue eyed with almost genuine smiles, they looked like photocopies of each other. At least this was going to be a relatively easy choice. Would you like the blonde bimbo or the bimbo who’s blonde?
Jared was the perfect gentleman, trying to stay interested as they talked about their pedigrees. Jensen, leaning back against the wall and watching with thinly veiled amusement, kept an eye on their hands. He doubted there was anything much they could do but, it didn't hurt to keep an eye on any potential threats. Twenty minutes later, the last of the blondes was neatly dismissed, leaving them alone in the room.
"Wow, that was... depressing," Jensen shook his head.
"Yeah," Jared agreed, moving over until he was chest to chest with Jensen. He nipped at Jensen's lips, "But if Mirabel has booked the next hour off for lunch, then maybe we can..."
Jensen liked where this line of thought was going. He let his arms wrap loosely around Jared’s waist. Leaning up, he kissed back, licking over Jared’s bottom lip. He had just started to let his hands drop down to Jared’s ass when there was a knock on the door.
"I don't believe it," Jared whined as he dropped his head down on Jensen’s shoulder, "Five minutes alone at last and someone has gotta come knocking. I swear if it's Mirabel, I'm gonna shove her outta window."
Jensen couldn't help the rueful smile. It was reassuring to know that Jared was as frustrated by this as he was. He straightened Jared up and made sure he looked presentable before stepping away and calling, "Come in."
A brunette peeked around the door, "Sorry, I'm a little late. My car broke down on the freeway. Think I managed to get traffic tailed back to the city limits. The cop who came out wasn't too happy with me, but I did manage to get him to fix my car, so I guess it was worth the ticket. Am I too late?"
"Too late?" Jared asked.
"For the chance to compete for your hand in boredom," she smiled, shrugging, "I've been to four of these things in the last year and they're just so dull. I mean, I'd understand if you've already chosen... Well, as long as you didn't pick Chelsea. You didn't right? Because she's likely to arrive on one arm and trade up sometime during the evening. And she isn't even quiet about it, so it'll be all over the society pages in the morning - And I'm babbling aren't I? Sorry, I do that when I'm flustered."
"That's okay," Jared smiled a smile of genuine amusement, "Um, I didn't get your name."
"Oh, wow, sorry," she extended her hand, "Genevieve Cortese, Senator Cortese's daughter. And you're Jared Padalecki. Pleased to meet you."
Jared looked at the hand for a second before hesitantly reaching out, "Please to meet you too."
It was hard to follow the stream of words coming out of the girl's mouth they were coming so fast. But unlike the other girls, Genevieve seemed to be genuine. Or at least faking it better than the others had. Brown hair, just below her shoulders, a neat trouser suit, conservatively cut. She seemed nice, really nice, but Jensen couldn't help but hate her a little already. So far, all her attention was focused solely on Jared. She hadn't even flicked a glance in Jensen's direction, not one, and that bugged him a little.
Mirabel threw the door open, walking in, "Oh good, you've made your decision," she smiled, "I've had André prepare a special meal for you. He's created a three course meal. Foie gras bruless, dried sour cherries, candied pistachios and a white port gelee followed by duck breast topped with cracked Jordan almonds and amaretto jus and then for desert you'll have fraise de bois gateaux, almond butter praline and chocolate glaze."
Jensen hadn't a clue what most of that was but it sounded delicious. He followed Jared and his date from the room but was intercepted by the small middle aged lady with the clipboard.
"Oh I don't think there'll be any need for you to be in the room, Mister Ackles," she kept her smile in place, stopping him with a hand on his chest.
Jensen looked down at the hand, his face going carefully blank as his eyes rose to look down at the smaller woman. She was close enough to see the faint red lines of his targeting scopes in his optics and Jensen could just make out the involuntary swallow as she took the hand from his chest. She paused just long enough to take a breath and she was back in control of herself.
"Ms. Cortese is from a highly respected family, and our catering staff have all been personally vetted by either yourself or Mister Morgan." She stepped back a little, "I'm sure that you'll find adequate repas down in the staff dining room. Take Ms. Cortese's bodyguard with you. He seems...” she struggled for an appropriate word, “competent."
Jensen frowned, looking around, "She brought a bodyguard? Where is he?"
Mirabel rolled her eyes, "I asked him to stay outside. We hardly had time for a gun battle in the executive rooms."
It was a struggle not to let his hands clench into fists. Christ, Jensen hated the woman. Her sarcasm, her petty barbs about how he was one step away from an animal just because he carried guns. It just seemed focused on him. Well, him and his family. Mackenzie was having a rough time with her as well. Morgan was apparently exempt even though he was at least as armed as Jensen but she had looked at Jensen and taken an instant dislike to everything he stood for.
But for Jared and for Megan and Mackenzie, he'd bite his lip and play nice. He got to see Jared so little as it was, every moment was precious. The last thing they needed was Mirabel screwing up Jared's schedule. He took a deep breath. A couple of months more, just a couple of months and they were gone. This world so much dust behind them. Everything was going well, the financials were sorting themselves out. They'd started routing out the dangerous elements in the company and the quality level was well on its way to being restored. There were still some legacy issues but Meg was shadowing some of the junior executives as they did their jobs, getting a feel for exactly what was involved in running a mega-corporation. Three more months at the outside, two if they were lucky, Jared had assured, and then they'd be gone from here and back out on the streets, doing what they did best. And damned if he wasn't looking forward to that.
He watched Jared escort Ms. Cortese down the hall, talking quietly to her. He never looked back. Jensen sighed and nodded at Mirabel.
"He have a name?" Jensen asked.
She wrinkled her nose, "I believe it's Rock."
"Rock?" Jensen asked.
"Rock... Or Chip... Or Granite... Something solid," she brushed off the question.
Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine, I'll find him."
The staff dining room was one floor down and Jensen felt more uncomfortable with each step. He knew that more than likely Jared was going to be fine, but there was a small part of him that wanted to turn his ass around and barge right into the executive dining room and watch every smile, every laugh, every small gesture. The other part of him knew that Jared had a gun at the small of his back and one strapped to his ankle and could defend himself against any threat that threw itself at him, big or small.
Grabbing a tray, Jensen looked at the options, eventually asking the chef for a little of each. He grabbed a coffee and looked around the room. The guy stood out like a sore thumb, all armoured up in a room full of suits. Jensen pulled up a seat beside him, nodding.
The guy frowned, "You look familiar. Like really familiar."
Jensen was fairly sure that he hadn't seen this guy before but his thick Texan drawl marked him as a local.
"I know you, I'm sure of it..." he tapped his bottle of water against his chin, "I know I know you from somewhere," he paused, realization dawning in his eyes, "Winchester? Shit, it is you, isn't it?" He pushed his tray to one side as he leaned forward, "Christ man, what you doing here? Winchester doing CorpSec? Never thought I'd see the day. Damn but they must be paying you the big bucks, yeah?"
"Do I know you?" Jensen asked, a little uncomfortable at the gushing.
"Yeah, man," the guy nodded, "Well, that is, not really, but I was on the other side when you were raiding Devlin about a year ago. Remember when you ran into a second team? I was on that team."
Jensen remembered the mission, but he couldn't remember any of the faces of their opposition. He'd been too focused on staying alive and making sure the mission was a success.
"It's Stone," he said, sticking his hand out, "Mark Stone."
"And you're working with Ms. Cortese?"
He quieted down a little at that, his voice dropping, "Yeah, I look out for her. Run some freelance jobs when she's not busy, but recently that's not been too often."
Looking the man up and down, Jensen reckoned that he had to have at least the same contingent of weapons on him that Jensen did, and from the set of his jaw, he reckoned that Stone was every bit as committed to his job as Jensen was. He could respect that.
"She's having lunch with Jared, Mister Padalecki."
"So she pulled the lucky straw then? Don't worry, she's a good gal. Ain't nothing in the city she doesn't know something about. She'll be right good for this."
Jensen picked at his food, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork.
"Heh," Stone laughed as he saw a flicker of Jensen’s discomfort on his face, sitting back in his seat, "I know that look. Genevieve wouldn't harm a fly. Her daddy wants to make sure she's connected to the right people, ya know? Couple of pictures in the papers. Names dropped in the right circles. All that politics stuff. Goes right over my head, I'll tell ya, but I'm one of those old fashioned types. I still believe that romance rules the world. Luckily my wife agrees, so that's not too bad. What about you?"
Jensen smiled, his Texan drawl coming out thanks to the other man, "Reckon I'm the same."
"Well, that is damned good to know," he smiled, "I reckon that we're gonna be spending some time together over the next few days, weeks maybe if they hit it off right."
That was news to Jensen.
“So, I hear your guy actually did some street running while he was on walkabout, yeah?” Stone chattered away.
Jensen was only half paying attention to him.
“That must suck, man, less he was on a real team. Worked with a guy a while back, claimed to be a runner. His daddy’d bought him a team for his eighteenth, set up runs for him to do on the weekends. Wonder was it like that for Padalecki. Press has got nothing on him during those years. Well, nothing official anyway and your guys ain’t big on sharing, huh? So come on, Winchester, you can tell me. Was he a runner?”
“You ever hear of Colt?” Jensen asked.
“Your partner? Yeah, why’d you…” Stone’s eyes widened as he put the jigsaw pieces together. “You’re shitting me. Genevieve is gonna shit bricks when she finds out. She used to follow all his adventures in the vidfeeds. Had such a crush on him. Man, is she gonna be stoked.”
A crush? Jensen’s stomach felt heavy as Stone spoke, and it was all he could do not to walk up to the executive dining room and pull Jared out. He had a bad feeling about this.
The lunch apparently went well, Jared exclaiming the virtues of his date, filling the afternoon with anecdotes and sentences starting with “Genevieve said”. Mirabel pencilled in a full list of social engagements. Lunches, dinners, evenings out. Every supposedly free minute that wasn't filled in with meetings or briefings was now devoted to making the city believe that the Padalecki/Cortese romance was the event of the century.
Jensen tried to put a smile on his face, but honestly, there were nothing to smile about. He was watching his boyfriend parade around with someone else, laughing and talking, while he was left to talk to Stone. And as much as he liked running over old plays with the man, it just seemed wrong somehow to be standing at the sidelines talking over those old times, those shared times with Jared, when he was sitting at the table with someone else.
And worse, Jared didn't seem to understand it. Jensen tried to talk to Jared about it, but Jared couldn't see a problem, assured him that everything was purely platonic but as much as he wanted to believe him, something was niggling at his heart.
It was all put into context the night of the Mayor's inaugural ball when Jensen watched Jared walk down the red carpet, Genevieve on his arm while Jensen followed, his eyes on the crowd as Stone walked in front. They'd become very good at sharing the protection detail. They stood on the edge of the room, watching their people and everyone else laugh and talk.
Jensen walked the edge of the room, nodding to the other security, venue and personal, as he went. Two major exits, three minor with alarms that could be easily disabled. Staff that could be convinced to look the other way and minimal police presence. Not the most secure of venues but if they needed to blow the joint, then it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. He made his way back to Stone and watched his boyfriend laugh it up at the head table.
Apparently, being the prodigal son of Dallas had it’s perks but in all honesty, Jensen wasn’t sure if sitting beside the Mayor could be classed as a reward for coming back or a punishment for staying away for so long. From here, he had a clear view of Jared enjoying the food, talking with Genevieve. And from here, he couldn’t help but catch all the small gestures. The hand on Jared’s arm when she leaned in to speak, the hand on her chest as she laughed, the laugh, the smile whenever he said something, anything. Every fucking sign that red-flagged exactly how she wanted the night to end. Every dinner, every social event, she did exactly the same.
And Jared for his part seemed to be the perfect loving boyfriend; holding her seat out for her, holding hands for photo opportunities, private moments made public at calculated moments. It all made Jensen’s skin itch. He knew Jared wasn’t interested in her like that but it wouldn’t have been so bad if Jared wasn’t working every minute to make up for the time he was out. There hadn't been a night this week that Jensen didn’t end up in bed at least three hours before his boyfriend.
Jared was tucking into his desert, Genevieve hanging off him and stealing bites, when Jensen's phone rang. Pulling the phone out, he saw Josh's name flashing on the display. Jensen gestured to Stone and stepped out, answering the phone.
"Josh, what's up?" Jensen asked.
"Looking good, baby brother," Josh laughed, "Tuned in to see the gala event on the ‘net. You know how it is. The family wanted to see you dressed up in one of them monkey suits. Don't think that anyone here ever even owned a suit before you did. Ya looked good. Course, we could barely see you behind Jay and the girl on his arm. Now, she is hot, man. Gotta admire his taste," Josh teased, "I had the option between your skinny ass and her - I'd dump you in a heartbeat bro."
Jensen didn't answer. He couldn't.
"Hey," Josh asked, concern sneaking into his voice, "you okay?"
"It was just a work thing," Jensen tried to explain, "He needed a date."
The background chatter behind Josh dropped and Jensen guessed he'd stepped outside. "Here was me thinking that when you had a boyfriend, the dating thing got easier."
The teasing tone was still in his voice but the concern hadn't left it.
"Can't watch his back and mingle at the same time," Jensen defended himself.
"Can't watch his back from the other side of the room either, Jen," Josh countered.
"I-I'm not talking about this with you," Jensen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Dammit he wasn't going to let this get to him, not here, not now, "Someone needs to watch out for Jay. There's still a lot of people out to get him. And if that means that he has to hire someone to be his date, then that's okay by me," his voice was climbing, "I'd rather him alive than sit beside him for some foofy dinner where they put some dressing on a plate and charge you three figures for it."
"So you can't protect him from right beside him?" Josh asked.
"I just..." Jensen's voice cracked "I don't need this Josh. You got something you need to tell me or can I get back to watching Jay?"
"Jen, are you..."
"I'm fine, Josh."
"And I'm the President," Josh cut back sarcastically.
"It's nothing big, Josh," he tried, "It's just that Jay needs to be seen with someone more... you know..."
"Female?" Josh asked.
"No, it's not that. It's just. It'd be damaging for him to be out with his bodyguard."
"Cause they'd think he was fucking the help? Jesus, Jen, that attitude is so..." Josh thumped on something metallic, "Whoever thought that one up needs to be dragged up top of the building and shoved off the roof. No one cares about that, Jen. No one."
"These guys do."
"No one who matters," Josh's voice was quiet.
"It's fine. I'm fine. I just..." Jensen didn't know what to say, "I gotta go, Josh, gotta get back in there."
"You need to talk to me, little brother, you know where I am. You want me to come back there and kick Jay-boy's ass, I'm there. You got me?"
Jensen sighed, "I got you, Josh. And thanks."
He clicked the phone closed and took a few deep breaths. He could feel the prickle of tears but blinked them back. He wasn't going to break down. Later maybe, when he was alone, or with Jared, he'd let it all out but here... Never. He was much better than that. Tonight he'd be crisp, clean, totally professional. He had a damned good rep in this city and tonight, he'd be living it to the full.
Next Chapter
Author name: deannawol
Artist name: grayscaled
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: NC-17 / R
Word count: 66,666
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, language, angst .
Summary: J2 Cyberpunk AU; Three years ago, Christian Kane betrayed Jared Padalecki and killed most of his family. Mercenary Jensen Ackles saved him and his younger sister Megan and brought them to live with them out in the wilds of Texas. Jared's been training and is finally ready to take Kane on to win back his family's corporate empire. However, the course of true love never runs smoothly and in regaining what he's lost, he's put everything he loves in jeopardy, including his partner and lover, Jensen. A J2 Romance in a Cyberpunk AU setting.
Link to Fic Masterpost: Link
Link to Art Masterpost: Link
Previous Chapter
The chill ran through his arm where it pressed against the glass. He rested his forehead against his forearm and looked out over the city. From this high up, it was a sea of twinkling lights. The red and white lights making trails along the city streets. Multicoloured neon lit the squares and pedestrian zones as the searchlights from circling drones strobed over the city. Police ‘copters duelled with the news helo's as they scoured the city for something of interest. It was beautiful up here, fifty two floors up, but there was a coldness to it, a detachment that Jensen wasn't used to feeling.
Josh would be back at the camp now, sitting around the campfire with Inez beside him. He’d told him that he was going to send out some of the other family to watch over Jensen and Mackenzie, but they wouldn’t be there until mid morning at the earliest and honestly, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about having two city-blind kids around. First time in the city, with the sights and sounds around them, trying to figure their way around? Fat lot of good they were going to do him. Momma had warned him that they were heading north of the border for the Annual Family Meet soon as Inez had delivered. They needed to meet up with other families, trade, work or it would be a damned hard winter. Jensen had promised that he'd call her regularly to let her know how they were, but part of him knew that they’d fall out of touch. Phones and signal towers weren’t exactly common out in the brush lands and there’d be more pressing issues that needed to be dealt with out there.
She’d warned him to look out for Morgan. Man hadn’t managed to do anything to pull himself outta the gutter in her eyes. Even though she'd fed him, called him family, she didn't like him and made no effort to keep it quiet. The way he kept himself separate from the family, drawing Jared with him for small talks. The way that he only spoke in small talk to Sam even though they'd been friends, and maybe more than friends, for the guts of twenty years. All of it had sat wrong with her and even back at that first meeting she’d pulled him aside and told him that something about the man was trapped in the past. At the time, Jensen had brushed it aside. It had been a long three years and it was only natural to have some barriers in place that would take time to pull down. But she’d been right. Even after a five minute once over, she’d pegged him as trouble.
And now, weeks later, it was getting worse. Every conversation that Jared had with the man focused on how to make the empire whole again. All talk of what Jared might want had vanished. Worse was that Jared seemed to be on board with Morgan’s plan. It was like they had their own language now and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to crack it. He’d even gone so far as to sneak one of Megan’s management books but for every phrase he deciphered, there were ten more that went so far over his head that it wasn’t even worth his while reaching for them. He was tempted to ask Mackenzie but she was struggling to keep up with it as well. But at least Megan was making time for her.
Jensen glanced at the clock beside the bed as it clicked over to two fifteen. Jared had been pulled into a five minute meeting six hours ago and there was still no sign of him. The room they shared was nice, but Jensen just couldn't get over the feeling of being a guest here. Everything was so perfect, from the priceless ornaments sitting on every flat surface to the massive bed covered in Egyptian cotton and Chinese silk. Rugs that cost more than he made on any ten runs just sat on the ground. He felt guilty every time he touched something, in case he scuffed it up or something.
Even though it was their apartment, someone laid out their clothes in the morning, and Jensen found that more than a little creepy. At least after that first morning when he almost took off the guys head, they had the presence of mind to knock before sneaking in. Someone else delivered breakfast, laying everything out. Silver cutlery and china plates that Jensen felt guilty about using. Housekeeping arrived later, taking laundry and tidying everything. It was unsettling. He'd never been waited on before and he just couldn't get used to someone constantly at his elbow, making sure that his every wish was catered for. He was a sit on the couch with a beer, grab takeaway kinda guy and it just felt wrong to him. Since he was a child, he'd been fairly self-sufficient, had to be given that his family was constantly on the move. Shooting. Driving. Cooking. Soon as he was able, he was working to make sure that all the chores were done. But here... He locked the door when he visited the restroom, just in case.
No matter how much he tried, and he was trying, Jensen couldn't get used to it. This was all just so foreign to him. But Jared... Jared was falling right back into it. He didn't even see the people who picked up after him. He didn't notice when someone was behind him, long as they were wearing a neat suit. He did for the first week or so, but now? A mumbled thank you was the attention he ever paid to the 'little' people. Jensen's shoulders itched just thinking about it. Best damned assassins didn't dress in armour and announce themselves. They blended into their surroundings, overlooked until they struck.
Jensen had managed to elbow his way back into the corporate world a little. Now he was there with him as Jared moved from meeting to meeting, three steps behind and eyes open. But tonight was different. He'd had to leave Jared alone. Company business. Corporate confidentiality and all that bullshit. It wasn't like Jensen was going to go blabbing about what he heard but Morgan'd insisted tonight and Jared had backed him up. It was only going to be five minutes and Morgan'd be right there beside Jared the whole time. Jensen hadn't been happy but a few quick words from Jared - 'you know these corporate types' - and he'd headed up to the residence, stopping long enough to grab enough food for both of them and heading to their room. Didn’t mean he was happy about it but making a scene wouldn’t have solved anything either.
Six hours ago. Now, the food was cold and Jensen was still alone.
It was three thirty when Jared finally opened the door and Jensen had been in bed for the last thirty minutes randomly skipping through channels on the massive screen at the end of the bed, watching headlines that he’d read about sixteen times before. He couldn’t sleep, wouldn’t let himself sleep until Jared was back.
Jensen wasn’t mad. He had been mad the first time it happened; so angry that it was a fire inside him just looking for any excuse. They’d had a dinner planned, just the two of them but there was a thing and Jared was needed. Jensen had railed at Morgan the first chance he got. Told Jared that it wasn’t acceptable but Jared had just shrugged it off, promising it wouldn’t happen again. But it happened a second time, and a third, a sixth, a tenth… And it was hard to keep that anger going and it had faded to resignation instead. He didn’t want to fight with Jared, he really didn’t. There were three other rooms just in their apartment and if things got heated Jared would walk. Jared would walk and Jensen wasn’t sure he’d come back.
Jensen flicked off the television and pulled back the covers. Jared smiled and stripped, dropping everything on the floor, before sliding into bed. Jensen rolled over, looking at Jared. Time was that even on the late nights, he used to curl up together. Even just to kiss, relax and savour the moment together. But recently? Nothing. Not unless Jensen started it.
"Another long meeting?"
Jared yawned, "Wouldn't end. Forgot how long those guys could talk."
Jensen snuggled in, kissing him gently, "S'okay, grab some sleep, Jay."
He strained to see the clock, "If I drop off now, I can probably get a full two hours. Fucking early meetings," he yawned again, closing his eyes, "I'm telling my PA nothing before..."
Jensen waited for the next word but it didn't come. He smiled and pulled up the covers and let his eyes drift closed.
Morning came much too early, with the alarm ringing loudly in Jensen's ear. Reaching out, Jensen hit at the clock, turning the ringer off. Jared still slept beside him, his head on Jensen's chest, Jared’s legs tangled with his. Jensen reached out, running a hand up and down his boyfriend's arm.
"Jay, time to get up."
Jared batted at his hand, "Just went sleep."
"I know, Jay, but you have the senior manager briefing in about thirty minutes, then you gotta meet with the lawyers."
Jared opened an eye and glared at Jensen, "You're starting to sound like JD."
Jensen stiffened, hackles rising at the comparison.
Jared didn’t notice, just closed his eyes again, "Five more minutes."
Slipping out from under Jared and off the bed, Jensen made his way to the shower. It didn't take long to scrub himself clean, ignoring the multitude of bottles available in favour of a simple bar of soap. He stood under the shower, just letting the water cascade down over him. He leaned back against the wall, trying to get himself calm, to wash away the offhand comment. Jared was sound asleep when Jensen walked back into the bedroom, a towel tucked around his waist.
"Jay, you need to get up."
Jared rolled over and pushed himself up, never opening his eyes. His hair was standing up in patches. He scratched his chin and worked on waking himself up. Jensen smirked as he grabbed his clothes, dressing for the day. It was a bespoke suit, tailored by the best guys in the city. Black with a fine pinstripe. The material was rough to the touch thanks to the Kevlar woven through it. A white shirt and a black tie complete with corporate logo and he was done. Except for the guns of course, and that was one reason he didn't mind wearing the suit. They'd managed to cut it in such a way that he could be hiding an armoury under the jacket and no one would have a damned clue. He’d still prefer his street clothes, but this’d do in a pinch. Clothes like this were the price he had to pay for managing to work his way back into Jared’s schedule. Couldn’t stand behind the CEO if you looked like some two-bit street merc, after all. And all things considered, it was a small price to pay.
Jared stumbled towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Jensen heard the shower start and sighed. These long days were taking a toll. Too many nights with not enough sleep. Enough time for a kiss or a touch, but nothing more than that. Even if they managed to sneak away for an hour, they were too damned tired to do anything. And that was starting to get to Jensen too. It wasn't that he wanted... Well, he did, but it was more that he wanted them to have some time alone. No matter what they did during that time.
It took another ten minutes to get Jared into his clothes and out the door. Jensen grabbed some fruit on the way out and called the elevator. Jared's office was on the twentieth floor, with the other executive offices. Morgan was already there when they arrived, along with Mirabel, Jared's middle aged snob of an executive assistant. And they were straight into it, ignoring Jensen as they planned and plotted every second of Jared's day. Meetings, reviews, social functions. Jensen wouldn’t be surprised if they’d even pencilled in Jared’s toilet breaks.
It wasn't until they got onto the Mayor's Inaugural Ball scheduled for the end of the week that Jensen took notice of more than just times and names. The Ball was going to be an extremely formal event, all gowns and glitter but Jared was expected to attend. Everyone who was anyone was going to be there and as the recently recovered CEO of Padalecki Microcybernetics, he'd be the one everyone had their eye on.
"We'll have to make sure that whoever is accompanying you is up to the task," Mirabel's nasal voice proclaimed as she looked down at her notebook.
Jared turned to look at Jensen, smiling and Jensen’s heart practically sang, "You think you're up for it?"
Jensen opened his mouth to reply but Mirabel cut him off, "Oh no, dear, I wasn't think of your security arrangements, I was thinking more in terms of your date for the evening."
Jared's voice was cold, "So was I!"
She blinked, looking up at Jared, then over to Jensen, then finally at Morgan. "Oh! Oh, I thought that... Well, I thought that you were aware that bringing Mister Ackles would pose significant problems socially speaking."
Jensen couldn't remember the last time someone had called him Mister Ackles. Mirabel usually just ignored him completely. Jensen was confused as to what the significant problems could possibly be. Looking over to Jared, he could see that Jared was as lost as he was. Why the Hell would there be a problem taking your boyfriend to a social function? Was it the gay thing?
"Well," Mirabel looked exasperated, "You have been seen out with Mister Ackles several times, but with him in the role of your bodyguard, and if you were to attend this function with him as your partner, well," she paused, her hand going to her heart, "I fear that several people would assume that you were dipping into the staff pool, if you see what I mean?" she tutted, "The papers would be filled with articles about how you couldn't find a date and had your bodyguard step into the role. Not the publicity we want with so many deals on the horizon, is it?"
Jared looked to Morgan and Jensen watched the man give a subtle shake of his head.
"Okay then, I'll just go stag," Jared shrugged, looking at Jensen apologetically. “Or I could bring Meg. She needs to learn how to do these meetings. Good a place as any to start.”
Jensen couldn’t believe that Jared had caved so easily. One head shake and that was it, the discussion was done. Jensen was good enough to be bodyguard but not good enough to be seen dating the CEO. He could feel his fist clenching and had to force himself not to punch something.
"Jared... Honey," Mirabel’s voice took on a condescending tone that made Jensen want to shake her, "There's no such thing as stag in this town. Everyone will have a partner at this event and they'll be judged on those partners. Deals are made and broken on how your partner behaves. You'll need someone who is versed in Texan politics, business, the markets. Someone who can talk to people, get them to come around to your way of thinking. Even if people hadn't seen Mister Ackles prior to this, he doesn't have the… acumen to hold his own in conversations like these," She broke off, looking over at Jensen, "No offence, Mister Ackles, but I hardly think that the executives of Dallas really need to know exactly how to do... whatever it was that you did on the streets." She turned back to Jared, dismissing him completely, "And Megan has already accepted a social engagement for that evening. She’s attending the Governor’s daughter’s birthday party. To pull her from that would cause a significant amount of negative publicity. The Governor’s daughter is currently engaged to the son of Mister Langan who heads up the board of directors for KCI, one of our chief contractors. The commercial ramifications would be disastrous. No, I'll get a couple of girls here for a lunchtime appointment. You can meet them and talk with them, see if one of them is suitable."
No offence? How come people always seemed to follow those two words up with an insult?
"Girls?" Jared frowned.
Jensen had talked to Jared about his preferences back when they'd first gotten together, so he knew that Jared swung both ways but given that he had a boyfriend standing not six feet away from him, Jensen couldn’t even begin to work out how she’d arrived at that particular decision, but she didn’t seem inclined to explain herself.
"Yes," she tapped a pen against her lower lip, thinking, "I have several contacts for agencies used by Mister Kane..."
Her voice died under Jared's glare
"...Which I'll be ruling out as a matter of course," she covered, "I think with you we need to play up the wholesome image. Someone clean cut, Old Dallas, good family. Yes, I think that would work best. Alright, we'll say one thirty until two pm for the selection panel followed by a long lunch and back in the office by three."
Jensen looked over to Jared, who was just watching the woman have a one person conversation while making notes. Jared seemed okay with this-this bullshit and Jensen wasn't exactly happy with the situation, but at least the woman seemed to be thinking in terms of temporary date, someone just for an evening. He didn’t like it, but he could live with it, he guessed.
"Now," she smiled, "the senior managers are waiting in the conference room and then we have the meeting with the Chief of Police to discuss changes to their current contract."
Jensen tossed his boyfriend an apple as they made their way to the first meeting. A quick snack before the dissection began. The meeting was all about ass covering, but because it was internal, Jensen could sit in. Production standards were down and no one was stepping up and taking responsibility, just shifting the blame around so everyone had a share. Jared's shoulders were clenched tight and Jensen's hands itched to rub away the tension. Well, either that or put each of the snivelling bastards out of Jared's misery. Wouldn't be so bad if they just stood up and said 'Yeah, it was me, sorry. Won't happen again.' They'd probably get escorted out of the building and be blacklisted from ever working in the industry again. But at least they'd still have their dignity and, in Jensen's eyes, that was a hell of a lot more important than some nine-to-five job.
It was a lot of fun, watching Jared cut them down to size with an expert dissection. Every excuse, every justification, neatly tossed aside as he stripped them down to the bare bones. He knew every damned figure, knew every code and left them in no doubt that their jobs, and maybe even their lives were hanging by a frayed thread. Jensen smiled as he watched, so fucking proud of his boy. He’d always had a way with words, even out on the streets, but behind a board room table, he was a fucking master.
The next meeting was in the same room so Jensen chanced his luck and stayed. Jared didn’t even glance in his direction, just read over his notes and Morgan wasn’t in this meeting so he was golden for now. And sitting in was definitely better than just standing outside the door watching nothing happen, or reviewing the live feed cameras in the hope that someone somewhere was stupid enough to storm the building.
The Chief of Police was exactly what Jensen imagined, a slightly pudgy man, filled so sure of his own self-importance that his uniform bulged at the seams. It was a fairly standard meeting, another person trying to wiggle outta the terms of his contract. Jared did well, or at least Jensen though so, arguing with the man. Putting his foot down when he needed to. Offering compromises when he could. Jensen had to bite his lip to hold in the proud smile. He knew of the Chief from his many, many adventures on the streets and knew that the man thought himself the most important person in the city. Watching Jared cut the legs off that idea with nothing but a look made him so fucking happy.
Mirabel ducked her head in just before half one to announce that the girls were assembled and waiting in the executive reception. Waiting until Mirabel was gone, Jared dropped his head onto the desk.
"What the hell do I say to them?"
"Well, how about starting with basic introductions and then moving on from there?" Jensen was trying to be supportive even though it galled him to even think about why they were here.
"You mean like 'Hi I'm Jared, and you're only here because the mean lady won't let me bring my boyfriend to the party?'"
Jensen smirked. He loved Jared sense of humour.
"It'd break the ice." He paused, taking in the pained look on Jared's face, "Just... Ask them about the event, the people, make sure they're going to be able to... what do they call it? Network."
Jared looked at him, astonished, then pulled him down for a kiss, "You're a genius, Jen. That's perfect."
Definitely feeling better, Jared walked down to the executive reception. Jensen was right on his heels. If they were going to be picking a date for his boyfriend, then fucked if he wasn’t going to be in the room.
The opulently furnished room now hosted six young ladies, about the same age as Jared by Jensen's guess. Immaculately turned out, the girls all looked over as they walked in, all eyes on Jared. Blonde haired, blue eyed with almost genuine smiles, they looked like photocopies of each other. At least this was going to be a relatively easy choice. Would you like the blonde bimbo or the bimbo who’s blonde?
Jared was the perfect gentleman, trying to stay interested as they talked about their pedigrees. Jensen, leaning back against the wall and watching with thinly veiled amusement, kept an eye on their hands. He doubted there was anything much they could do but, it didn't hurt to keep an eye on any potential threats. Twenty minutes later, the last of the blondes was neatly dismissed, leaving them alone in the room.
"Wow, that was... depressing," Jensen shook his head.
"Yeah," Jared agreed, moving over until he was chest to chest with Jensen. He nipped at Jensen's lips, "But if Mirabel has booked the next hour off for lunch, then maybe we can..."
Jensen liked where this line of thought was going. He let his arms wrap loosely around Jared’s waist. Leaning up, he kissed back, licking over Jared’s bottom lip. He had just started to let his hands drop down to Jared’s ass when there was a knock on the door.
"I don't believe it," Jared whined as he dropped his head down on Jensen’s shoulder, "Five minutes alone at last and someone has gotta come knocking. I swear if it's Mirabel, I'm gonna shove her outta window."
Jensen couldn't help the rueful smile. It was reassuring to know that Jared was as frustrated by this as he was. He straightened Jared up and made sure he looked presentable before stepping away and calling, "Come in."
A brunette peeked around the door, "Sorry, I'm a little late. My car broke down on the freeway. Think I managed to get traffic tailed back to the city limits. The cop who came out wasn't too happy with me, but I did manage to get him to fix my car, so I guess it was worth the ticket. Am I too late?"
"Too late?" Jared asked.
"For the chance to compete for your hand in boredom," she smiled, shrugging, "I've been to four of these things in the last year and they're just so dull. I mean, I'd understand if you've already chosen... Well, as long as you didn't pick Chelsea. You didn't right? Because she's likely to arrive on one arm and trade up sometime during the evening. And she isn't even quiet about it, so it'll be all over the society pages in the morning - And I'm babbling aren't I? Sorry, I do that when I'm flustered."
"That's okay," Jared smiled a smile of genuine amusement, "Um, I didn't get your name."
"Oh, wow, sorry," she extended her hand, "Genevieve Cortese, Senator Cortese's daughter. And you're Jared Padalecki. Pleased to meet you."
Jared looked at the hand for a second before hesitantly reaching out, "Please to meet you too."
It was hard to follow the stream of words coming out of the girl's mouth they were coming so fast. But unlike the other girls, Genevieve seemed to be genuine. Or at least faking it better than the others had. Brown hair, just below her shoulders, a neat trouser suit, conservatively cut. She seemed nice, really nice, but Jensen couldn't help but hate her a little already. So far, all her attention was focused solely on Jared. She hadn't even flicked a glance in Jensen's direction, not one, and that bugged him a little.
Mirabel threw the door open, walking in, "Oh good, you've made your decision," she smiled, "I've had André prepare a special meal for you. He's created a three course meal. Foie gras bruless, dried sour cherries, candied pistachios and a white port gelee followed by duck breast topped with cracked Jordan almonds and amaretto jus and then for desert you'll have fraise de bois gateaux, almond butter praline and chocolate glaze."
Jensen hadn't a clue what most of that was but it sounded delicious. He followed Jared and his date from the room but was intercepted by the small middle aged lady with the clipboard.
"Oh I don't think there'll be any need for you to be in the room, Mister Ackles," she kept her smile in place, stopping him with a hand on his chest.
Jensen looked down at the hand, his face going carefully blank as his eyes rose to look down at the smaller woman. She was close enough to see the faint red lines of his targeting scopes in his optics and Jensen could just make out the involuntary swallow as she took the hand from his chest. She paused just long enough to take a breath and she was back in control of herself.
"Ms. Cortese is from a highly respected family, and our catering staff have all been personally vetted by either yourself or Mister Morgan." She stepped back a little, "I'm sure that you'll find adequate repas down in the staff dining room. Take Ms. Cortese's bodyguard with you. He seems...” she struggled for an appropriate word, “competent."
Jensen frowned, looking around, "She brought a bodyguard? Where is he?"
Mirabel rolled her eyes, "I asked him to stay outside. We hardly had time for a gun battle in the executive rooms."
It was a struggle not to let his hands clench into fists. Christ, Jensen hated the woman. Her sarcasm, her petty barbs about how he was one step away from an animal just because he carried guns. It just seemed focused on him. Well, him and his family. Mackenzie was having a rough time with her as well. Morgan was apparently exempt even though he was at least as armed as Jensen but she had looked at Jensen and taken an instant dislike to everything he stood for.
But for Jared and for Megan and Mackenzie, he'd bite his lip and play nice. He got to see Jared so little as it was, every moment was precious. The last thing they needed was Mirabel screwing up Jared's schedule. He took a deep breath. A couple of months more, just a couple of months and they were gone. This world so much dust behind them. Everything was going well, the financials were sorting themselves out. They'd started routing out the dangerous elements in the company and the quality level was well on its way to being restored. There were still some legacy issues but Meg was shadowing some of the junior executives as they did their jobs, getting a feel for exactly what was involved in running a mega-corporation. Three more months at the outside, two if they were lucky, Jared had assured, and then they'd be gone from here and back out on the streets, doing what they did best. And damned if he wasn't looking forward to that.
He watched Jared escort Ms. Cortese down the hall, talking quietly to her. He never looked back. Jensen sighed and nodded at Mirabel.
"He have a name?" Jensen asked.
She wrinkled her nose, "I believe it's Rock."
"Rock?" Jensen asked.
"Rock... Or Chip... Or Granite... Something solid," she brushed off the question.
Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine, I'll find him."
The staff dining room was one floor down and Jensen felt more uncomfortable with each step. He knew that more than likely Jared was going to be fine, but there was a small part of him that wanted to turn his ass around and barge right into the executive dining room and watch every smile, every laugh, every small gesture. The other part of him knew that Jared had a gun at the small of his back and one strapped to his ankle and could defend himself against any threat that threw itself at him, big or small.
Grabbing a tray, Jensen looked at the options, eventually asking the chef for a little of each. He grabbed a coffee and looked around the room. The guy stood out like a sore thumb, all armoured up in a room full of suits. Jensen pulled up a seat beside him, nodding.
The guy frowned, "You look familiar. Like really familiar."
Jensen was fairly sure that he hadn't seen this guy before but his thick Texan drawl marked him as a local.
"I know you, I'm sure of it..." he tapped his bottle of water against his chin, "I know I know you from somewhere," he paused, realization dawning in his eyes, "Winchester? Shit, it is you, isn't it?" He pushed his tray to one side as he leaned forward, "Christ man, what you doing here? Winchester doing CorpSec? Never thought I'd see the day. Damn but they must be paying you the big bucks, yeah?"
"Do I know you?" Jensen asked, a little uncomfortable at the gushing.
"Yeah, man," the guy nodded, "Well, that is, not really, but I was on the other side when you were raiding Devlin about a year ago. Remember when you ran into a second team? I was on that team."
Jensen remembered the mission, but he couldn't remember any of the faces of their opposition. He'd been too focused on staying alive and making sure the mission was a success.
"It's Stone," he said, sticking his hand out, "Mark Stone."
"And you're working with Ms. Cortese?"
He quieted down a little at that, his voice dropping, "Yeah, I look out for her. Run some freelance jobs when she's not busy, but recently that's not been too often."
Looking the man up and down, Jensen reckoned that he had to have at least the same contingent of weapons on him that Jensen did, and from the set of his jaw, he reckoned that Stone was every bit as committed to his job as Jensen was. He could respect that.
"She's having lunch with Jared, Mister Padalecki."
"So she pulled the lucky straw then? Don't worry, she's a good gal. Ain't nothing in the city she doesn't know something about. She'll be right good for this."
Jensen picked at his food, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork.
"Heh," Stone laughed as he saw a flicker of Jensen’s discomfort on his face, sitting back in his seat, "I know that look. Genevieve wouldn't harm a fly. Her daddy wants to make sure she's connected to the right people, ya know? Couple of pictures in the papers. Names dropped in the right circles. All that politics stuff. Goes right over my head, I'll tell ya, but I'm one of those old fashioned types. I still believe that romance rules the world. Luckily my wife agrees, so that's not too bad. What about you?"
Jensen smiled, his Texan drawl coming out thanks to the other man, "Reckon I'm the same."
"Well, that is damned good to know," he smiled, "I reckon that we're gonna be spending some time together over the next few days, weeks maybe if they hit it off right."
That was news to Jensen.
“So, I hear your guy actually did some street running while he was on walkabout, yeah?” Stone chattered away.
Jensen was only half paying attention to him.
“That must suck, man, less he was on a real team. Worked with a guy a while back, claimed to be a runner. His daddy’d bought him a team for his eighteenth, set up runs for him to do on the weekends. Wonder was it like that for Padalecki. Press has got nothing on him during those years. Well, nothing official anyway and your guys ain’t big on sharing, huh? So come on, Winchester, you can tell me. Was he a runner?”
“You ever hear of Colt?” Jensen asked.
“Your partner? Yeah, why’d you…” Stone’s eyes widened as he put the jigsaw pieces together. “You’re shitting me. Genevieve is gonna shit bricks when she finds out. She used to follow all his adventures in the vidfeeds. Had such a crush on him. Man, is she gonna be stoked.”
A crush? Jensen’s stomach felt heavy as Stone spoke, and it was all he could do not to walk up to the executive dining room and pull Jared out. He had a bad feeling about this.
The lunch apparently went well, Jared exclaiming the virtues of his date, filling the afternoon with anecdotes and sentences starting with “Genevieve said”. Mirabel pencilled in a full list of social engagements. Lunches, dinners, evenings out. Every supposedly free minute that wasn't filled in with meetings or briefings was now devoted to making the city believe that the Padalecki/Cortese romance was the event of the century.
Jensen tried to put a smile on his face, but honestly, there were nothing to smile about. He was watching his boyfriend parade around with someone else, laughing and talking, while he was left to talk to Stone. And as much as he liked running over old plays with the man, it just seemed wrong somehow to be standing at the sidelines talking over those old times, those shared times with Jared, when he was sitting at the table with someone else.
And worse, Jared didn't seem to understand it. Jensen tried to talk to Jared about it, but Jared couldn't see a problem, assured him that everything was purely platonic but as much as he wanted to believe him, something was niggling at his heart.
It was all put into context the night of the Mayor's inaugural ball when Jensen watched Jared walk down the red carpet, Genevieve on his arm while Jensen followed, his eyes on the crowd as Stone walked in front. They'd become very good at sharing the protection detail. They stood on the edge of the room, watching their people and everyone else laugh and talk.
Jensen walked the edge of the room, nodding to the other security, venue and personal, as he went. Two major exits, three minor with alarms that could be easily disabled. Staff that could be convinced to look the other way and minimal police presence. Not the most secure of venues but if they needed to blow the joint, then it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. He made his way back to Stone and watched his boyfriend laugh it up at the head table.
Apparently, being the prodigal son of Dallas had it’s perks but in all honesty, Jensen wasn’t sure if sitting beside the Mayor could be classed as a reward for coming back or a punishment for staying away for so long. From here, he had a clear view of Jared enjoying the food, talking with Genevieve. And from here, he couldn’t help but catch all the small gestures. The hand on Jared’s arm when she leaned in to speak, the hand on her chest as she laughed, the laugh, the smile whenever he said something, anything. Every fucking sign that red-flagged exactly how she wanted the night to end. Every dinner, every social event, she did exactly the same.
And Jared for his part seemed to be the perfect loving boyfriend; holding her seat out for her, holding hands for photo opportunities, private moments made public at calculated moments. It all made Jensen’s skin itch. He knew Jared wasn’t interested in her like that but it wouldn’t have been so bad if Jared wasn’t working every minute to make up for the time he was out. There hadn't been a night this week that Jensen didn’t end up in bed at least three hours before his boyfriend.
Jared was tucking into his desert, Genevieve hanging off him and stealing bites, when Jensen's phone rang. Pulling the phone out, he saw Josh's name flashing on the display. Jensen gestured to Stone and stepped out, answering the phone.
"Josh, what's up?" Jensen asked.
"Looking good, baby brother," Josh laughed, "Tuned in to see the gala event on the ‘net. You know how it is. The family wanted to see you dressed up in one of them monkey suits. Don't think that anyone here ever even owned a suit before you did. Ya looked good. Course, we could barely see you behind Jay and the girl on his arm. Now, she is hot, man. Gotta admire his taste," Josh teased, "I had the option between your skinny ass and her - I'd dump you in a heartbeat bro."
Jensen didn't answer. He couldn't.
"Hey," Josh asked, concern sneaking into his voice, "you okay?"
"It was just a work thing," Jensen tried to explain, "He needed a date."
The background chatter behind Josh dropped and Jensen guessed he'd stepped outside. "Here was me thinking that when you had a boyfriend, the dating thing got easier."
The teasing tone was still in his voice but the concern hadn't left it.
"Can't watch his back and mingle at the same time," Jensen defended himself.
"Can't watch his back from the other side of the room either, Jen," Josh countered.
"I-I'm not talking about this with you," Jensen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Dammit he wasn't going to let this get to him, not here, not now, "Someone needs to watch out for Jay. There's still a lot of people out to get him. And if that means that he has to hire someone to be his date, then that's okay by me," his voice was climbing, "I'd rather him alive than sit beside him for some foofy dinner where they put some dressing on a plate and charge you three figures for it."
"So you can't protect him from right beside him?" Josh asked.
"I just..." Jensen's voice cracked "I don't need this Josh. You got something you need to tell me or can I get back to watching Jay?"
"Jen, are you..."
"I'm fine, Josh."
"And I'm the President," Josh cut back sarcastically.
"It's nothing big, Josh," he tried, "It's just that Jay needs to be seen with someone more... you know..."
"Female?" Josh asked.
"No, it's not that. It's just. It'd be damaging for him to be out with his bodyguard."
"Cause they'd think he was fucking the help? Jesus, Jen, that attitude is so..." Josh thumped on something metallic, "Whoever thought that one up needs to be dragged up top of the building and shoved off the roof. No one cares about that, Jen. No one."
"These guys do."
"No one who matters," Josh's voice was quiet.
"It's fine. I'm fine. I just..." Jensen didn't know what to say, "I gotta go, Josh, gotta get back in there."
"You need to talk to me, little brother, you know where I am. You want me to come back there and kick Jay-boy's ass, I'm there. You got me?"
Jensen sighed, "I got you, Josh. And thanks."
He clicked the phone closed and took a few deep breaths. He could feel the prickle of tears but blinked them back. He wasn't going to break down. Later maybe, when he was alone, or with Jared, he'd let it all out but here... Never. He was much better than that. Tonight he'd be crisp, clean, totally professional. He had a damned good rep in this city and tonight, he'd be living it to the full.
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