J2_Reversebang - Lines in the Sand part 1 of 3
Title: Lines in the Sand
Artist: milly_gal
Author: dragonflybeach
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: J2, Eric Kripke, Bob Singer, Kim Manners, Genevieve Cortese, Danneel Harris
Warnings/Spoilers: minor character death
Summary: Jensen is a serious, professional actor who intends to maintain a serious, professional relationship with his new co-star. Serious and professional is easier said than done when your new co-star falls somewhere between giant two legged puppy and five year old on a sugar binge.
A/N: This was a pinch hit, so it was a bit crunched on time. Some liberties have been taken with dates and events. Thank you so much to the amazing milly_gal for her gorgeous artwork, and for her infinite patience!
PS - I made one spelling correction to one word and somehow lost all my formatting and had to split the story three ways instead of two. I'm trying to get it all fixed but in the meantime you might find it easier to read the story all in one piece at AO3.
The first time they met, sitting in the little waiting room at their callback auditions, they honestly thought they were competing for the same part.
Jensen had been in the week before to audition as Sam, and this kid, Jared somebody who had been on the Gilmore Girls, had too.
The info on the role said they were looking for a college student, and straight up, this Jared kid looked more the part than Jensen did. He had too-long shaggy hair, a well-worn Abercrombie hoodie, and a lanky frame with huge hands and feet that he didn't seem to have quite grown into yet.
Jensen knew that if he really nailed the audition, the hair and makeup and wardrobe people could go a long way toward making him look younger, but honestly, he was worried. After all, he had played a football coach previously, someone who had apparently finished college, so he kind of hoped the casting people hadn't seen Smallville, hadn't set him as older in their minds.
They were both nervous. Jensen could barely talk but Jared wouldn't shut up, so despite himself, Jensen found himself in a friendly conversation about football, the weather in Texas, and how Jared had been double-dog-dared to paint an Olsen twin's toenails by the time they had been called into the big room to face The Powers That Be.
A few long minutes later, they learned that Jared had actually gotten the part Jensen wanted, but Jensen had been cast in the other lead role.
Jensen was a little disappointed that he didn't get the part he wanted, a little more relieved that he had a part, period, so the rent would get paid next month, and somewhat comforted that the creator, producer, and director were all completely certain that he would make the perfect Dean to Jared's Sam.
Jared was thrilled, throwing his arms around Jensen in a bear hug and gushing about how awesome this was going to be.
Jensen knew right away that he was going to have to draw a line here. Jared was obviously young and overly enthusiastic. It would be up to Jensen to set him straight on reality. Not all pilots become shows, co-stars are not your friends, and working on set is easier if everyone remains professional and pragmatic about the situation.
Professional and pragmatic are easier said than done when your co-star is a giant two-legged Golden Retriever puppy. Despite the fact he slurps on gummy worms while getting his hair and makeup and leaves sticky fingerprints on the props, no one can stay mad at him for more than a minute. He manages to "cute" his way out of trouble every time.
He also seemed to be quite determined to become Jensen's BFF. They haven't even finished shooting the pilot yet, much less has it been picked up, but every time the director calls cut, Jared is following Jensen around like the overgrown puppy he is, wanting to talk or hang out or something.
All of which sometimes makes it difficult to remember that Jensen should be keeping his professional differences. Jared is a likable kid.
Jensen tried politely telling him that they should be prepared for reality. Probably less than half of the pilots filmed ever become shows.
Significantly fewer than that ever actually become popular shows and last longer than a few episodes or a season. There is a real likelihood that once they finish filming this pilot, they may never see one another again.
Jared looks crushed. "You don't really believe that, do you? I mean, I think this would be a really good show, and there's nothing else like it on tv."
Jensen sighed, because he really didn't mean to dash the kid's dreams. "I think it's a good premise," he admits. "And it has the potential to become something unique if it gets picked up. But you never know what's going on with the networks until someone calls and says they want it. I did a pilot last year that I thought would be a great show. Nobody picked it up. But someone picked up Manimal, so who knows."
"Manimal?" Jared asked.
Jensen managed not to roll his eyes, because seriously, this was a kid who probably didn't grow up with a parent in the business. "Manimal was considered one of the worst tv shows of all time. It was about a guy who was a shapeshifter and turned into an animal to help solve crimes. Early 80's, horrible special effects, starring a British soap opera actor, ripped off pretty much every other show on tv at the time."
"Oh." Jared nodded. "But, I mean, we've got CG, which they didn't have back then, and two good looking guys in a badass car."
The kid was looking so much like a puppy at the moment Jensen half expected him to start wagging his tail.
"Yeah, Jared, we do." Jensen agreed.
A huge grin broke over Jared's face. "Cool. We've got about 40 minutes before they're going to be ready for us back on set. You wanna get something to eat?"
Jensen did roll his eyes that time. "Didn't you just eat about half an hour ago?"
Jared shrugged and blushed. "Yeah."
"Lead on." Jensen gestured toward the craft tent.
Jared set off happily, and Jensen followed him, muttering to himself about growing boys.
Except, Jensen found out, growing boy turned out to be accurate.
Supernatural did get picked up, rather quickly at that, but by the time they came back to shoot the next episode, Jared had actually gotten taller.
Jensen had the niggling feeling that something was different, but didn't realize what it was until the director was lining up a shot and called out "Didn't you two used to be the same height?"
Size was pretty much the only thing different about Jared, who had shown up with five pounds of gummy worms and hugged nearly everyone on the set.
They were in a huge time crunch, because the network wanted a full season and wanted to start the show in the fall, despite the call that it was picked up not coming until July.
That meant long days filming, with photo shoots for promos and press interviews planned on the weekends and between shooting. The photo shoots were fine, because there were stylists and network execs all fussing and fretting and arguing over who should hold which gun in the next shot.
The interviews were another story. Jensen had always hated doing press to begin with. But now, when Jared showed up looking like he had been dressed by a color-blind hobo and proceeded to tell a reporter about being bee stung on the ass while filming, Jensen wondered how fired he would be if he asked to not do interviews with Jared.
Everyone's nerves were frazzled within a month, except Jared's of course. He still bounced around the set like a giant five-year-old on a sugar buzz. He also still chased Jensen around, begging for attention, and didn't even seem upset that Jensen had barely acknowledged the twice weekly texts from Jared between the filming of the first and second episodes.
It all came to a head the day they reported to start filming the fourth episode.
Word had come down that morning from high on the food chain that the execs decided to move the Hookman episode they had just finished to later in the season. That meant they needed to film another episode to replace it, because at this rate they would run out of episodes before the fall mini-hiatus. Bob Singer gave what was intended to be a pep talk, but stressed the importance of getting as many scenes done in one take as possible, because less time to film meant less room for mistakes. As a result, the network was bringing in Kim Manners, a director known for getting the best camera angles the first time.
Of course, that morning everything went wrong.
One of the cameras malfunctioned. A piece of equipment shifted when the wind blew and moved into the shot. After nearly half an hour of setting up a shot, a cloud cover rolled in and ruined the lighting.
Jensen, pressuring himself to nail every scene on the first take, blew the same line three times.
The break for lunch couldn't come soon enough. By the time it was announced, everyone's nerves were shot.
Everyone's except Jared, of course.
Jared followed Jensen back to the trailers, babbling on about his usual nonsense, and it was just too much.
"Jared!" Jensen whirled around and shouted as close to his co-star's face as he could get without standing on his tiptoes, because the kid had managed to grow another inch since filming started and wasn't that just a fucking kicker. "I am not your brother in real life! I am not your best friend! We work together on the same tv show! That's it! Now leave me the fuck alone!"
Jensen turned back around and stomped to his trailer without looking to see if Jared followed.
About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Jensen huffed and muttered to himself that if it was Jared he was going to kill the kid.
It wasn't. It was Kim Manners.
"Mind if I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
Jensen opened the door wider, inviting the man in.
"Look," the director began. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, and I don't mean to interfere. But I need to know now if there's a problem with you and your co-star. Because if we're wasting everyone's time on a show that's not going anywhere, then we might as well pull the plug now."
Jensen was stunned. "What do you mean?"
"I heard you shouting at Jared. The whole crew heard you shouting at Jared. Look, you have no idea what it was like working on the X Files after David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had their falling out. They hated each other. And it made everyone on the set miserable. The place was so tense it felt like the air was going to shatter from the tension. If that's what we have here, then I'm going to let the network know. But I would really hate to think that, because part of what sold the network on this show was the chemistry that you and Jared have together. It's organic. You can't teach it, and you can't fake it. It's every showrunner's wet dream. If Supernatural was on cable, they would have re-written the show with the two of you as stepbrothers or something so you could end up lovers. If you and Jared could learn to harness that chemistry, Supernatural could be a hit show and be around five years or more. It could honestly make the two of you household names."
"I ... " Jensen shook his head. "I don't hate the kid. It's just that. He's a kid. He bounces around here like a puppy or something ... "
"I was thinking more like a clumsy moose." Kim shrugged.
"Okay, I could see that." Jensen agreed. "But he's not professional. He eats gummy worms on set and gets everything sticky! He tells inappropriate stories in interviews and could we please get a stylist to dress him before he shows up at another media event wearing an outfit the Salvation Army would probably throw away?"
Kim snickered. "You know what I see?"
Jensen shook his head.
"First of all - That kid idolizes you." Kim said, folding his arms and piercing Jensen with a look. "He might be Number One on the call sheet, but he's looking to your lead on how to approach the scene. I know he's probably a bit much sometimes, but I really think he means well. Maybe he just needs a mentor to show him the ropes. To be honest, I think he probably has at least a man crush on you, if not a full-fledged crush. And secondly - being professional on set doesn't mean you can't be friends with the people you work with. David Hasselhoff is the ultimate professional on set. He comes in, films his scenes, speaks his lines, boom, print it, done. He's also an asshole who barely speaks to anyone. You don’t strike me as that type of person. I really think you could make some amazing friendships if you would open yourself up. If you want Supernatural to last, treat people like you're glad to see them, and learn to work with Jared. You said it yourself. He's a kid. Kids need to be raised."
"You're right." Jensen nodded. "I'll go apologize to him."
"We're all stressed, and I understand that." Kim said, reaching for the door. "But if we want this show to last, we've got to stick together, and some lightheartedness will help. Jared is good for that. We just need to coach and mentor him a bit as far as the rest of it goes. We spend way too much time with each other not to enjoy each others' company. Now. We've got about two hours and ten minutes until I'm going to need you two back on set. I'm going to see if I can call somebody to bring in some ice cream or something this afternoon."
With that, the director left, closing the door behind him.
Jensen spent a good five minutes going over his apology in his head before walking to the trailer next door. He knocked on the door, but no one answered for a long moment, so he knocked again.
"Just go away, Jensen." Came a small voice from the other side of the door.
"Jared." Jensen shoved his hand through his hair. "Look, man. I'm sorry. Open the door so we can talk about it, please?"
There was a moment of silence, then a loud sniff, before the door opened.
Jared's face was red and blotchy, his shirt sleeves wet and streaked with snot.
The kid had been crying.
Not the pretty crying actors do on set, but full on boo-hoo sobbing.
Jensen immediately concluded that someone had died, or maybe they had announced they were going to stop making gummy worms.
"What's wrong?" Jensen frowned, pushing his way in.
"You hate me!" Jared whined, and started crying again.
"What?" Jensen asked, honestly shocked for a moment. "No, I don't hate you."
"Just go away, Jensen." Jared shook his head. "It's just a bad day. We’re all having a bad day. I'll get myself under control and come back to the set."
"Jared, just ..." Jensen sighed. "Sit down for a minute, okay?"
Jared sat, so Jensen grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of toilet paper, as it appeared the kid didn't have any actual tissues. He handed both to Jared, then sat on the end of the couch, waiting while Jared wiped his eyes and drank half the water.
"Look, I came to apologize for yelling at you. I was kinda stressed out and mad at myself for blowing my lines. I took it out on you and that wasn't fair because it wasn't your fault." Jensen said.
"But you ... you said you weren't my friend or my brother in real life, we were just co-workers and to leave you alone." Jared reminded him.
Jensen sighed again. "I know, and I shouldn't have said that to you. I've been trying to keep things between us strictly business because I've learned the hard way that when you try to be friends with your co-stars, a lot of them are smiling to your face while looking for a spot to stab you in the back."
"I would never do that." Jared vowed with a sniff.
"I know." Jensen nodded.
"So can we be friends?" Jared asked in a small voice.
"Yeah, kid, we can be friends." Jensen said.
Jared hugged him, and Jensen didn't complain about snot or gummy worm sticky fingers.
Once Jensen adopted Kim's viewpoint, things got a lot easier.
It was kind of flattering to have your co-star as one of your biggest fans, especially when he asked your input on approaching a scene, and gushed about how awesome you were in front of the guest stars.
The more Jensen relaxed around Jared, the more hanging out with Jared just felt natural and right. It was if they had been friends for years. Jensen actually found himself feeling more comfortable with Jared and telling Jared things he had never shared with people he had known for much longer.
He had thought it would be awkward to talk to Jared about the way he dressed, but it turned out to be one of their easier conversations.
Jared loved to ask Jensen about his previous jobs, and they got talking about modelling.
Jared, even though he came across as a bumbling hyperactive child, was in fact extremely intelligent and eager to learn anything and everything.
So Jared asked questions about aspects of modelling that Jensen had never considered, and it opened the door for Jensen to ask him a question.
"Have you ever studied visual marketing?"
"No." Jared shook his head, looking curious.
"You understand the concept, right?" Jensen pressed. "That how you arrange the item you're trying to sell, what you put around it, the background and props and all that present the whole picture as much or more than the lighting and the angle of the photograph? There's a whole psychology to it. Like when we do the promo pictures for the show, they have Sam and Dean wearing scuffed boots and holding weapons, not wearing Brooks Brothers wingtips and holding Waterford crystal."
"Right." Jared agreed, obviously understanding but wondering where Jensen was going with the idea.
"I think we should use it to sell the show." Jensen shrugged.
"But we have a whole department for that stuff." Jared waved a hand in the vague direction of the set.
"For studio stuff, yeah." Jensen said. "But I'm talking about the two of us. I studied this crap. Really. If we go to interviews wearing outfits that complement each other, if we look like a matched set, it will subliminally reinforce the idea of the two of us as a duo. That's exactly what we want if we're trying to promote, well, not really a buddy show, but you get the idea."
"Yeah." Jared nodded, completely agreeing.
So that was how Jensen ended up taking Jared shopping.
The discussion of what was appropriate to talk about in interviews actually never happened.
Jensen realized that everyone liked overgrown bumbling puppy Jared. The critics called him things like "refreshingly candid" and the fans of the show seemed divided over whether they wanted to wrap him in a blanket and feed him cookies or just fuck him senseless.
And Jared, since he was pretty smart after all, started picking up on Jensen's subtle cues when an interview wasn't going well and reining himself in, so Jensen never actually had to coach him on how to conduct himself.
Kim Manners just smiled when he saw them hanging out as if he were part of some great inside joke.
It was only two weeks later that Jared asked Jensen what time he was flying back from LA this weekend.
"You realize you're going to miss the Cowboys' season opener, right?" Jared asked with a creepy imitation of what he called the Eyebrow of Disappointment when Jensen did it.
"Damn." was Jensen's only answer.
"We don't have to fly to LA every weekend." Jared shrugged. "We could hang out here and watch the game."
"I'll buy the beer but I am not buying snacks for your always starving ass." Jensen grinned.
"It better be good beer." Jared said with as much fake seriousness as he could. "No Pabst Blue Ribbon or cheap shit like that."
That was the point that Jared and Jensen became J2 to the crew, and to a lesser extent, to their friends and families. From then on, they spent more weekends together in Vancouver than they did separately anywhere else with anyone else.
The week before the first episode aired, the two of them went out after shooting one night to have a beer and watch a hockey game. (“We’re in Canada. We have to start watching hockey. It’s like a law or something.” Jared had explained in his overgrown five-year-old way.)
There was some trouble at the bar, some rowdy drunks fighting, so Jensen suggested they leave before they got into the middle of something they would get in trouble with the network for.
As they walked out of the front door of the bar, a girl who was with the group that had just been thrown out pointed at Jensen and said something about “that guy.”
The next thing Jensen knew, three hundred pounds of drunk redneck were in his face.
Thankfully, he had filmed so many fight scenes over the years it came as second nature to block the fist that came at his nose.
Before he could blink, the fight was on, with at least six men all trying to fight him.
The hand pulling on his shoulder was suddenly ripped away, and from the corner of his eye, he saw one of the attackers hit the ground.
He turned to see something he had never thought he would witness - Jared furious.
Another attacker took Jared’s huge left foot to the gut, while a third got a fist to the face that struck with a satisfying crunch.
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Jensen shouted to his co-star.
“Go!” Jared yelled in response.
Jensen ran about forty yards before he realized he didn’t hear another set of footsteps.
He turned to find that two of the men they had knocked down had gotten back up, and Jared was now trying to fight five people by himself.
“Dammit Jared!” he said, although Jared obviously couldn’t hear him.
He ran back to the fight, catching two of the opponents with one roundhouse kick. Jared kicked another in the chest while hitting a second in the face with an elbow.
There was only one attacker still standing at that point, so Jensen grabbed Jared’s shirt, ripping it in the process, and pulled him away from the scene.
“We gotta go before the cops get here and we get in trouble with the network.” Jensen urged.
They made it to Jensen’s car and got inside with the door locked before Jensen noticed that Jared was cradling his hand against his chest.
“Let me see.” He ordered.
Jared held out his hand, which was already significantly swollen and starting to turn purple.
“I think it’s broken.” Jared confirmed.
“All right, hospital it is.” Jensen said, shaking his head.
“Look, just drop me off.” Jared offered. “I’ll tell them I got in a fight. The network doesn’t even have to know you were there.”
Jensen shook his head as he started the ignition. “Not going to happen, kid. You hurt it trying to save my ass. I’ll call the network myself.”
At the hospital, the triage nurse took one look at Jared’s hand and sent them back to x-ray. The doctor came in shortly to confirm that Jared’s hand was broken, with one slightly displaced fracture, so it would need to be set.
First, however, there was an officer outside who would like to speak to them for a moment.
Jared and Jensen exchanged looks before agreeing to see the police.
The officer just spoke to them briefly, said that the woman who inadvertently started the fight had meant that she recognized Jensen from seeing him on tv, but her companion thought she meant he was one the group they had been fighting with.
Jared and Jensen were not in trouble, as they had been defending themselves, but he did ask if they wanted to press charges against any of the others.
They declined, thinking the less publicity for the network, the better.
Another doctor came in to administer anesthetic so they could set Jared’s hand.
“The orthopedic surgeon will be back to set it when then meds have had time to kick in.” He told them with a wave at the door.
One of the nurses came in with a portable x-ray machine and materials for a splint.
“He’ll be a bit loopy in a few minutes.” She told Jensen with a wink.
It took another ten minutes or so before Jensen noticed that Jared’s pupils were wide and his eyes glazed.
“You all right, dude?” he asked.
Jared looked up at him. “I’m sorry I got hurt and we’re going to get in trouble with the network.”
“It’s okay.” Jensen shrugged. “We’ll just explain what happened. The police officer said it wasn’t our fault. We were defending ourselves.”
“Are you mad at me?” Jared asked, sounding like a little kid.
“No, I’m not mad at you.” Jensen shook his head. “You broke your hand trying to save me. Of course I’m not going to be mad at you.”
“I don’t want you to be mad.” Jared continued. “I knew the first time I met you that you were going to be one of the most important people in my life. If you ever get mad at me, you have to tell me so I can fix it.”
Jensen hesitated for a moment, knowing it was probably the meds talking, but momentarily unable to think of anything to say to diffuse the awkward moment.
Fortunately, the doctor came in just then to set Jared’s hand, so he didn’t have to.
Amazingly, the network wasn’t upset at all.
In fact, they were thrilled, immediately planning the public relations spin about how Jared and Jensen were not only as tough as their characters, but also best friends in real life who saved each other in bar fights.
Jared’s broken hand didn’t get written into the script, so there were some creative camera angles to hide his cast for a couple weeks until the doctor gave permission to take it off while shooting.
Jared’s girlfriend insisted on flying up from LA as often as she could to take care of him. She was cute and sweet and funny, but Jensen missed getting to hang out with Jared, just the two of them.
Jared seemed like he did too.
By the time Jared’s hand was better, the holidays were upon them.
Everyone in Vancouver and LA was having at least one party, so Jared and Jensen took each other along to many of them, and met most of each other’s friends and family.
Jensen’s family loved Jared right away, and Jared’s mom hugged Jensen, telling him that Jared hadn’t stopped talking about him since August.
Jared’s brother and especially his sister looked at Jensen speculatively several times, but never said whatever it was they were thinking.
Jared gave Jensen his Christmas gift the day before they left for the holiday. Jared got him a PSP so they could play against each other during their downtimes during filming. Jensen had gotten Jared the new phone he wanted.
Sera, one of the writers, teased them about their "couple gifts."
The network gave them almost two full weeks off for Christmas. The days were strangely quiet without Jared around. Jensen found himself texting and calling Jared at least half a dozen times per day, and received as many or more than he sent.
The first day back on set, Jared hugged Jensen for longer than should have been acceptable, but Jensen found himself not wanting to let go.
They were back in LA barely a week later for an awards show, flying in at the last minute after filming most of the day. Jared's girlfriend was filming and couldn't make it. Jared didn't even go home. He just went to Jensen's house and got dressed there, blushingly admitting the reason he rarely wore ties was because he didn't know how to tie them.
Jensen tied it for him, and had to admit that his co-star was a good-looking man.
Jensen was always nervous before Red Carpet events, and even Jared was a little anxious about this one, so they had a couple shots before they went, toasting each other with a laughing "To liquid nerve pills!"
During Jensen's interview that night, Jared pretended to try to kiss Jensen.
Jensen played it off at the time, and chalked it up to Jared being tipsy, making a note to talk to him about it later.
The next day, Bob Singer called them in.
"So I hear there was some almost kissing last night." he said, direct and to the point.
Jared blushed and stammered.
Jensen nodded, embarrassed. "Yes sir, it was just ... playing around. It won't happen again, sir."
"Don't tell me that!" Singer groaned.
Jared and Jensen looked at each other and then at the director.
"Social media has blown up." Singer told them. "The young female demographic of the fandom loved it. We've had a huge surge in hits on Hulu. I'm not going to ask you to do it again, but I will say that this kind of attention is what is going to help us get renewed for season 2."
"Yes sir." Jared and Jensen both said before heading out to report to makeup.
"So the powers that be want us to play Gay Chicken?" Jared asked.
"Apparently." Jensen said with a shrug. "Gay Chicken it is."
"All the Gay Chicken!" Jared decreed, pulling out a box of gummy worms from his jacket pocket.
Jensen stole one before they got to the makeup trailer
The game of Gay Chicken continued during the media interviews for the rest of the season.
Jeff Morgan, back to film a few more episodes as Sam and Dean's dad, was included in a few of the late season interviews.
Jared apparently extended Gay Chicken to include Jeff, calling him "my boyfriend" once.
Jensen didn't really like it, but didn't say much, because after all, Jeff was only a guest star. He wouldn't be around much.
Season one ended filming, but Jared and Jensen spent the next two weeks together doing media promotion in Europe.
Without Jeff Morgan.
When they got back to LA, Jensen was set to film a movie, while Jared was off to Texas for his brother's medical school graduation, and then travelling with his girlfriend Sandy and sister Megan.
Jensen sent Jared's brother a check and a nice card, wishing him well.
He got a thank you note back, telling him that he was more than welcome to come with Jared any time.
on to part 2!
Artist: milly_gal
Author: dragonflybeach
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: J2, Eric Kripke, Bob Singer, Kim Manners, Genevieve Cortese, Danneel Harris
Warnings/Spoilers: minor character death
Summary: Jensen is a serious, professional actor who intends to maintain a serious, professional relationship with his new co-star. Serious and professional is easier said than done when your new co-star falls somewhere between giant two legged puppy and five year old on a sugar binge.
A/N: This was a pinch hit, so it was a bit crunched on time. Some liberties have been taken with dates and events. Thank you so much to the amazing milly_gal for her gorgeous artwork, and for her infinite patience!
PS - I made one spelling correction to one word and somehow lost all my formatting and had to split the story three ways instead of two. I'm trying to get it all fixed but in the meantime you might find it easier to read the story all in one piece at AO3.
The first time they met, sitting in the little waiting room at their callback auditions, they honestly thought they were competing for the same part.
Jensen had been in the week before to audition as Sam, and this kid, Jared somebody who had been on the Gilmore Girls, had too.
The info on the role said they were looking for a college student, and straight up, this Jared kid looked more the part than Jensen did. He had too-long shaggy hair, a well-worn Abercrombie hoodie, and a lanky frame with huge hands and feet that he didn't seem to have quite grown into yet.
Jensen knew that if he really nailed the audition, the hair and makeup and wardrobe people could go a long way toward making him look younger, but honestly, he was worried. After all, he had played a football coach previously, someone who had apparently finished college, so he kind of hoped the casting people hadn't seen Smallville, hadn't set him as older in their minds.
They were both nervous. Jensen could barely talk but Jared wouldn't shut up, so despite himself, Jensen found himself in a friendly conversation about football, the weather in Texas, and how Jared had been double-dog-dared to paint an Olsen twin's toenails by the time they had been called into the big room to face The Powers That Be.
A few long minutes later, they learned that Jared had actually gotten the part Jensen wanted, but Jensen had been cast in the other lead role.
Jensen was a little disappointed that he didn't get the part he wanted, a little more relieved that he had a part, period, so the rent would get paid next month, and somewhat comforted that the creator, producer, and director were all completely certain that he would make the perfect Dean to Jared's Sam.
Jared was thrilled, throwing his arms around Jensen in a bear hug and gushing about how awesome this was going to be.
Jensen knew right away that he was going to have to draw a line here. Jared was obviously young and overly enthusiastic. It would be up to Jensen to set him straight on reality. Not all pilots become shows, co-stars are not your friends, and working on set is easier if everyone remains professional and pragmatic about the situation.
Professional and pragmatic are easier said than done when your co-star is a giant two-legged Golden Retriever puppy. Despite the fact he slurps on gummy worms while getting his hair and makeup and leaves sticky fingerprints on the props, no one can stay mad at him for more than a minute. He manages to "cute" his way out of trouble every time.
He also seemed to be quite determined to become Jensen's BFF. They haven't even finished shooting the pilot yet, much less has it been picked up, but every time the director calls cut, Jared is following Jensen around like the overgrown puppy he is, wanting to talk or hang out or something.
All of which sometimes makes it difficult to remember that Jensen should be keeping his professional differences. Jared is a likable kid.
Jensen tried politely telling him that they should be prepared for reality. Probably less than half of the pilots filmed ever become shows.
Significantly fewer than that ever actually become popular shows and last longer than a few episodes or a season. There is a real likelihood that once they finish filming this pilot, they may never see one another again.
Jared looks crushed. "You don't really believe that, do you? I mean, I think this would be a really good show, and there's nothing else like it on tv."
Jensen sighed, because he really didn't mean to dash the kid's dreams. "I think it's a good premise," he admits. "And it has the potential to become something unique if it gets picked up. But you never know what's going on with the networks until someone calls and says they want it. I did a pilot last year that I thought would be a great show. Nobody picked it up. But someone picked up Manimal, so who knows."
"Manimal?" Jared asked.
Jensen managed not to roll his eyes, because seriously, this was a kid who probably didn't grow up with a parent in the business. "Manimal was considered one of the worst tv shows of all time. It was about a guy who was a shapeshifter and turned into an animal to help solve crimes. Early 80's, horrible special effects, starring a British soap opera actor, ripped off pretty much every other show on tv at the time."
"Oh." Jared nodded. "But, I mean, we've got CG, which they didn't have back then, and two good looking guys in a badass car."
The kid was looking so much like a puppy at the moment Jensen half expected him to start wagging his tail.
"Yeah, Jared, we do." Jensen agreed.
A huge grin broke over Jared's face. "Cool. We've got about 40 minutes before they're going to be ready for us back on set. You wanna get something to eat?"
Jensen did roll his eyes that time. "Didn't you just eat about half an hour ago?"
Jared shrugged and blushed. "Yeah."
"Lead on." Jensen gestured toward the craft tent.
Jared set off happily, and Jensen followed him, muttering to himself about growing boys.
Except, Jensen found out, growing boy turned out to be accurate.
Supernatural did get picked up, rather quickly at that, but by the time they came back to shoot the next episode, Jared had actually gotten taller.
Jensen had the niggling feeling that something was different, but didn't realize what it was until the director was lining up a shot and called out "Didn't you two used to be the same height?"
Size was pretty much the only thing different about Jared, who had shown up with five pounds of gummy worms and hugged nearly everyone on the set.
They were in a huge time crunch, because the network wanted a full season and wanted to start the show in the fall, despite the call that it was picked up not coming until July.
That meant long days filming, with photo shoots for promos and press interviews planned on the weekends and between shooting. The photo shoots were fine, because there were stylists and network execs all fussing and fretting and arguing over who should hold which gun in the next shot.
The interviews were another story. Jensen had always hated doing press to begin with. But now, when Jared showed up looking like he had been dressed by a color-blind hobo and proceeded to tell a reporter about being bee stung on the ass while filming, Jensen wondered how fired he would be if he asked to not do interviews with Jared.
Everyone's nerves were frazzled within a month, except Jared's of course. He still bounced around the set like a giant five-year-old on a sugar buzz. He also still chased Jensen around, begging for attention, and didn't even seem upset that Jensen had barely acknowledged the twice weekly texts from Jared between the filming of the first and second episodes.
It all came to a head the day they reported to start filming the fourth episode.
Word had come down that morning from high on the food chain that the execs decided to move the Hookman episode they had just finished to later in the season. That meant they needed to film another episode to replace it, because at this rate they would run out of episodes before the fall mini-hiatus. Bob Singer gave what was intended to be a pep talk, but stressed the importance of getting as many scenes done in one take as possible, because less time to film meant less room for mistakes. As a result, the network was bringing in Kim Manners, a director known for getting the best camera angles the first time.
Of course, that morning everything went wrong.
One of the cameras malfunctioned. A piece of equipment shifted when the wind blew and moved into the shot. After nearly half an hour of setting up a shot, a cloud cover rolled in and ruined the lighting.
Jensen, pressuring himself to nail every scene on the first take, blew the same line three times.
The break for lunch couldn't come soon enough. By the time it was announced, everyone's nerves were shot.
Everyone's except Jared, of course.
Jared followed Jensen back to the trailers, babbling on about his usual nonsense, and it was just too much.
"Jared!" Jensen whirled around and shouted as close to his co-star's face as he could get without standing on his tiptoes, because the kid had managed to grow another inch since filming started and wasn't that just a fucking kicker. "I am not your brother in real life! I am not your best friend! We work together on the same tv show! That's it! Now leave me the fuck alone!"
Jensen turned back around and stomped to his trailer without looking to see if Jared followed.
About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Jensen huffed and muttered to himself that if it was Jared he was going to kill the kid.
It wasn't. It was Kim Manners.
"Mind if I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
Jensen opened the door wider, inviting the man in.
"Look," the director began. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, and I don't mean to interfere. But I need to know now if there's a problem with you and your co-star. Because if we're wasting everyone's time on a show that's not going anywhere, then we might as well pull the plug now."
Jensen was stunned. "What do you mean?"
"I heard you shouting at Jared. The whole crew heard you shouting at Jared. Look, you have no idea what it was like working on the X Files after David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had their falling out. They hated each other. And it made everyone on the set miserable. The place was so tense it felt like the air was going to shatter from the tension. If that's what we have here, then I'm going to let the network know. But I would really hate to think that, because part of what sold the network on this show was the chemistry that you and Jared have together. It's organic. You can't teach it, and you can't fake it. It's every showrunner's wet dream. If Supernatural was on cable, they would have re-written the show with the two of you as stepbrothers or something so you could end up lovers. If you and Jared could learn to harness that chemistry, Supernatural could be a hit show and be around five years or more. It could honestly make the two of you household names."
"I ... " Jensen shook his head. "I don't hate the kid. It's just that. He's a kid. He bounces around here like a puppy or something ... "
"I was thinking more like a clumsy moose." Kim shrugged.
"Okay, I could see that." Jensen agreed. "But he's not professional. He eats gummy worms on set and gets everything sticky! He tells inappropriate stories in interviews and could we please get a stylist to dress him before he shows up at another media event wearing an outfit the Salvation Army would probably throw away?"
Kim snickered. "You know what I see?"
Jensen shook his head.
"First of all - That kid idolizes you." Kim said, folding his arms and piercing Jensen with a look. "He might be Number One on the call sheet, but he's looking to your lead on how to approach the scene. I know he's probably a bit much sometimes, but I really think he means well. Maybe he just needs a mentor to show him the ropes. To be honest, I think he probably has at least a man crush on you, if not a full-fledged crush. And secondly - being professional on set doesn't mean you can't be friends with the people you work with. David Hasselhoff is the ultimate professional on set. He comes in, films his scenes, speaks his lines, boom, print it, done. He's also an asshole who barely speaks to anyone. You don’t strike me as that type of person. I really think you could make some amazing friendships if you would open yourself up. If you want Supernatural to last, treat people like you're glad to see them, and learn to work with Jared. You said it yourself. He's a kid. Kids need to be raised."
"You're right." Jensen nodded. "I'll go apologize to him."
"We're all stressed, and I understand that." Kim said, reaching for the door. "But if we want this show to last, we've got to stick together, and some lightheartedness will help. Jared is good for that. We just need to coach and mentor him a bit as far as the rest of it goes. We spend way too much time with each other not to enjoy each others' company. Now. We've got about two hours and ten minutes until I'm going to need you two back on set. I'm going to see if I can call somebody to bring in some ice cream or something this afternoon."
With that, the director left, closing the door behind him.
Jensen spent a good five minutes going over his apology in his head before walking to the trailer next door. He knocked on the door, but no one answered for a long moment, so he knocked again.
"Just go away, Jensen." Came a small voice from the other side of the door.
"Jared." Jensen shoved his hand through his hair. "Look, man. I'm sorry. Open the door so we can talk about it, please?"
There was a moment of silence, then a loud sniff, before the door opened.
Jared's face was red and blotchy, his shirt sleeves wet and streaked with snot.
The kid had been crying.
Not the pretty crying actors do on set, but full on boo-hoo sobbing.
Jensen immediately concluded that someone had died, or maybe they had announced they were going to stop making gummy worms.
"What's wrong?" Jensen frowned, pushing his way in.
"You hate me!" Jared whined, and started crying again.
"What?" Jensen asked, honestly shocked for a moment. "No, I don't hate you."
"Just go away, Jensen." Jared shook his head. "It's just a bad day. We’re all having a bad day. I'll get myself under control and come back to the set."
"Jared, just ..." Jensen sighed. "Sit down for a minute, okay?"
Jared sat, so Jensen grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of toilet paper, as it appeared the kid didn't have any actual tissues. He handed both to Jared, then sat on the end of the couch, waiting while Jared wiped his eyes and drank half the water.
"Look, I came to apologize for yelling at you. I was kinda stressed out and mad at myself for blowing my lines. I took it out on you and that wasn't fair because it wasn't your fault." Jensen said.
"But you ... you said you weren't my friend or my brother in real life, we were just co-workers and to leave you alone." Jared reminded him.
Jensen sighed again. "I know, and I shouldn't have said that to you. I've been trying to keep things between us strictly business because I've learned the hard way that when you try to be friends with your co-stars, a lot of them are smiling to your face while looking for a spot to stab you in the back."
"I would never do that." Jared vowed with a sniff.
"I know." Jensen nodded.
"So can we be friends?" Jared asked in a small voice.
"Yeah, kid, we can be friends." Jensen said.
Jared hugged him, and Jensen didn't complain about snot or gummy worm sticky fingers.
Once Jensen adopted Kim's viewpoint, things got a lot easier.
It was kind of flattering to have your co-star as one of your biggest fans, especially when he asked your input on approaching a scene, and gushed about how awesome you were in front of the guest stars.
The more Jensen relaxed around Jared, the more hanging out with Jared just felt natural and right. It was if they had been friends for years. Jensen actually found himself feeling more comfortable with Jared and telling Jared things he had never shared with people he had known for much longer.
He had thought it would be awkward to talk to Jared about the way he dressed, but it turned out to be one of their easier conversations.
Jared loved to ask Jensen about his previous jobs, and they got talking about modelling.
Jared, even though he came across as a bumbling hyperactive child, was in fact extremely intelligent and eager to learn anything and everything.
So Jared asked questions about aspects of modelling that Jensen had never considered, and it opened the door for Jensen to ask him a question.
"Have you ever studied visual marketing?"
"No." Jared shook his head, looking curious.
"You understand the concept, right?" Jensen pressed. "That how you arrange the item you're trying to sell, what you put around it, the background and props and all that present the whole picture as much or more than the lighting and the angle of the photograph? There's a whole psychology to it. Like when we do the promo pictures for the show, they have Sam and Dean wearing scuffed boots and holding weapons, not wearing Brooks Brothers wingtips and holding Waterford crystal."
"Right." Jared agreed, obviously understanding but wondering where Jensen was going with the idea.
"I think we should use it to sell the show." Jensen shrugged.
"But we have a whole department for that stuff." Jared waved a hand in the vague direction of the set.
"For studio stuff, yeah." Jensen said. "But I'm talking about the two of us. I studied this crap. Really. If we go to interviews wearing outfits that complement each other, if we look like a matched set, it will subliminally reinforce the idea of the two of us as a duo. That's exactly what we want if we're trying to promote, well, not really a buddy show, but you get the idea."
"Yeah." Jared nodded, completely agreeing.
So that was how Jensen ended up taking Jared shopping.
The discussion of what was appropriate to talk about in interviews actually never happened.
Jensen realized that everyone liked overgrown bumbling puppy Jared. The critics called him things like "refreshingly candid" and the fans of the show seemed divided over whether they wanted to wrap him in a blanket and feed him cookies or just fuck him senseless.
And Jared, since he was pretty smart after all, started picking up on Jensen's subtle cues when an interview wasn't going well and reining himself in, so Jensen never actually had to coach him on how to conduct himself.
Kim Manners just smiled when he saw them hanging out as if he were part of some great inside joke.
It was only two weeks later that Jared asked Jensen what time he was flying back from LA this weekend.
"You realize you're going to miss the Cowboys' season opener, right?" Jared asked with a creepy imitation of what he called the Eyebrow of Disappointment when Jensen did it.
"Damn." was Jensen's only answer.
"We don't have to fly to LA every weekend." Jared shrugged. "We could hang out here and watch the game."
"I'll buy the beer but I am not buying snacks for your always starving ass." Jensen grinned.
"It better be good beer." Jared said with as much fake seriousness as he could. "No Pabst Blue Ribbon or cheap shit like that."
That was the point that Jared and Jensen became J2 to the crew, and to a lesser extent, to their friends and families. From then on, they spent more weekends together in Vancouver than they did separately anywhere else with anyone else.
The week before the first episode aired, the two of them went out after shooting one night to have a beer and watch a hockey game. (“We’re in Canada. We have to start watching hockey. It’s like a law or something.” Jared had explained in his overgrown five-year-old way.)
There was some trouble at the bar, some rowdy drunks fighting, so Jensen suggested they leave before they got into the middle of something they would get in trouble with the network for.
As they walked out of the front door of the bar, a girl who was with the group that had just been thrown out pointed at Jensen and said something about “that guy.”
The next thing Jensen knew, three hundred pounds of drunk redneck were in his face.
Thankfully, he had filmed so many fight scenes over the years it came as second nature to block the fist that came at his nose.
Before he could blink, the fight was on, with at least six men all trying to fight him.
The hand pulling on his shoulder was suddenly ripped away, and from the corner of his eye, he saw one of the attackers hit the ground.
He turned to see something he had never thought he would witness - Jared furious.
Another attacker took Jared’s huge left foot to the gut, while a third got a fist to the face that struck with a satisfying crunch.
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Jensen shouted to his co-star.
“Go!” Jared yelled in response.
Jensen ran about forty yards before he realized he didn’t hear another set of footsteps.
He turned to find that two of the men they had knocked down had gotten back up, and Jared was now trying to fight five people by himself.
“Dammit Jared!” he said, although Jared obviously couldn’t hear him.
He ran back to the fight, catching two of the opponents with one roundhouse kick. Jared kicked another in the chest while hitting a second in the face with an elbow.
There was only one attacker still standing at that point, so Jensen grabbed Jared’s shirt, ripping it in the process, and pulled him away from the scene.
“We gotta go before the cops get here and we get in trouble with the network.” Jensen urged.
They made it to Jensen’s car and got inside with the door locked before Jensen noticed that Jared was cradling his hand against his chest.
“Let me see.” He ordered.
Jared held out his hand, which was already significantly swollen and starting to turn purple.
“I think it’s broken.” Jared confirmed.
“All right, hospital it is.” Jensen said, shaking his head.
“Look, just drop me off.” Jared offered. “I’ll tell them I got in a fight. The network doesn’t even have to know you were there.”
Jensen shook his head as he started the ignition. “Not going to happen, kid. You hurt it trying to save my ass. I’ll call the network myself.”
At the hospital, the triage nurse took one look at Jared’s hand and sent them back to x-ray. The doctor came in shortly to confirm that Jared’s hand was broken, with one slightly displaced fracture, so it would need to be set.
First, however, there was an officer outside who would like to speak to them for a moment.
Jared and Jensen exchanged looks before agreeing to see the police.
The officer just spoke to them briefly, said that the woman who inadvertently started the fight had meant that she recognized Jensen from seeing him on tv, but her companion thought she meant he was one the group they had been fighting with.
Jared and Jensen were not in trouble, as they had been defending themselves, but he did ask if they wanted to press charges against any of the others.
They declined, thinking the less publicity for the network, the better.
Another doctor came in to administer anesthetic so they could set Jared’s hand.
“The orthopedic surgeon will be back to set it when then meds have had time to kick in.” He told them with a wave at the door.
One of the nurses came in with a portable x-ray machine and materials for a splint.
“He’ll be a bit loopy in a few minutes.” She told Jensen with a wink.
It took another ten minutes or so before Jensen noticed that Jared’s pupils were wide and his eyes glazed.
“You all right, dude?” he asked.
Jared looked up at him. “I’m sorry I got hurt and we’re going to get in trouble with the network.”
“It’s okay.” Jensen shrugged. “We’ll just explain what happened. The police officer said it wasn’t our fault. We were defending ourselves.”
“Are you mad at me?” Jared asked, sounding like a little kid.
“No, I’m not mad at you.” Jensen shook his head. “You broke your hand trying to save me. Of course I’m not going to be mad at you.”
“I don’t want you to be mad.” Jared continued. “I knew the first time I met you that you were going to be one of the most important people in my life. If you ever get mad at me, you have to tell me so I can fix it.”
Jensen hesitated for a moment, knowing it was probably the meds talking, but momentarily unable to think of anything to say to diffuse the awkward moment.
Fortunately, the doctor came in just then to set Jared’s hand, so he didn’t have to.
Amazingly, the network wasn’t upset at all.
In fact, they were thrilled, immediately planning the public relations spin about how Jared and Jensen were not only as tough as their characters, but also best friends in real life who saved each other in bar fights.
Jared’s broken hand didn’t get written into the script, so there were some creative camera angles to hide his cast for a couple weeks until the doctor gave permission to take it off while shooting.
Jared’s girlfriend insisted on flying up from LA as often as she could to take care of him. She was cute and sweet and funny, but Jensen missed getting to hang out with Jared, just the two of them.
Jared seemed like he did too.
By the time Jared’s hand was better, the holidays were upon them.
Everyone in Vancouver and LA was having at least one party, so Jared and Jensen took each other along to many of them, and met most of each other’s friends and family.
Jensen’s family loved Jared right away, and Jared’s mom hugged Jensen, telling him that Jared hadn’t stopped talking about him since August.
Jared’s brother and especially his sister looked at Jensen speculatively several times, but never said whatever it was they were thinking.
Jared gave Jensen his Christmas gift the day before they left for the holiday. Jared got him a PSP so they could play against each other during their downtimes during filming. Jensen had gotten Jared the new phone he wanted.
Sera, one of the writers, teased them about their "couple gifts."
The network gave them almost two full weeks off for Christmas. The days were strangely quiet without Jared around. Jensen found himself texting and calling Jared at least half a dozen times per day, and received as many or more than he sent.
The first day back on set, Jared hugged Jensen for longer than should have been acceptable, but Jensen found himself not wanting to let go.
They were back in LA barely a week later for an awards show, flying in at the last minute after filming most of the day. Jared's girlfriend was filming and couldn't make it. Jared didn't even go home. He just went to Jensen's house and got dressed there, blushingly admitting the reason he rarely wore ties was because he didn't know how to tie them.
Jensen tied it for him, and had to admit that his co-star was a good-looking man.
Jensen was always nervous before Red Carpet events, and even Jared was a little anxious about this one, so they had a couple shots before they went, toasting each other with a laughing "To liquid nerve pills!"
During Jensen's interview that night, Jared pretended to try to kiss Jensen.
Jensen played it off at the time, and chalked it up to Jared being tipsy, making a note to talk to him about it later.
The next day, Bob Singer called them in.
"So I hear there was some almost kissing last night." he said, direct and to the point.
Jared blushed and stammered.
Jensen nodded, embarrassed. "Yes sir, it was just ... playing around. It won't happen again, sir."
"Don't tell me that!" Singer groaned.
Jared and Jensen looked at each other and then at the director.
"Social media has blown up." Singer told them. "The young female demographic of the fandom loved it. We've had a huge surge in hits on Hulu. I'm not going to ask you to do it again, but I will say that this kind of attention is what is going to help us get renewed for season 2."
"Yes sir." Jared and Jensen both said before heading out to report to makeup.
"So the powers that be want us to play Gay Chicken?" Jared asked.
"Apparently." Jensen said with a shrug. "Gay Chicken it is."
"All the Gay Chicken!" Jared decreed, pulling out a box of gummy worms from his jacket pocket.
Jensen stole one before they got to the makeup trailer
The game of Gay Chicken continued during the media interviews for the rest of the season.
Jeff Morgan, back to film a few more episodes as Sam and Dean's dad, was included in a few of the late season interviews.
Jared apparently extended Gay Chicken to include Jeff, calling him "my boyfriend" once.
Jensen didn't really like it, but didn't say much, because after all, Jeff was only a guest star. He wouldn't be around much.
Season one ended filming, but Jared and Jensen spent the next two weeks together doing media promotion in Europe.
Without Jeff Morgan.
When they got back to LA, Jensen was set to film a movie, while Jared was off to Texas for his brother's medical school graduation, and then travelling with his girlfriend Sandy and sister Megan.
Jensen sent Jared's brother a check and a nice card, wishing him well.
He got a thank you note back, telling him that he was more than welcome to come with Jared any time.
on to part 2!