The Smile You Can't Forget (2/?)
two
Jensen knew better than to naively wish that the knotting would be over quickly.
He'd just mated, which meant that the two of them were likely to be stuck together for hours, and as much as he wanted to discuss the entire situation, his body was flagging on him. In his arms, Jared wasn't exactly putting up a struggle, lying with his back pressed against Jensen's chest and not moving, save for the small jerks when Jensen's cock pumped inside of him once again.
"We should get some sleep," The older man said decisively, keeping his voice soft, and couldn't help but to run a hand up and down the omega's arm soothingly. Jared blinked his eyes at the contact, a small frown on his face.
"We need to talk about this." He insisted, but his voice was husky and his eyelids were drooping. "'S important."
Jensen smiled indulgently, pressing a kiss to the claiming mark and grinning at the small shiver that worked its way through Jared's body at the touch. "I know it is, Jay, but we're going to be tied together for a few hours and I think I'd rather have this conversation face-to-face. We can talk after we've rested."
Jared hesitated for a few seconds before he nodded, relaxing back into Jensen's arms and letting his eyes slip closed, clearly every bit as worn out as Jen, and then some. The elder man could't help but smile at the sight, carefully tugging the blankets over them after a few seconds of inventive maneuvering, and holding the younger boy possessively, resting his forehead against the back of the younger man's head.
This wasn't an ideal situation, not by any means, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd gotten more than a little lucky.
-o-
Jensen drifted slowly back into consciousness a few hours later, the faint light of the morning sun trickling through his bedroom curtains, Jared still tucked neatly into his arms. By the looks of things, the kid was just beginning to stir - shifting slightly in the circle of Jen’s arm, brow furrowing for a second before he blinked his eyes open.
He tensed for a few seconds, glancing down at the arm secured around his waist, brow furrowed in confusion. Jensen knew the moment that the kid remembered the night before, and was surprised and pleased in awkward measures when the kid relaxed back into his hold.
“Mornin’.” He murmured quietly around a yawn.
Jensen blinked a little bit, propping himself up on his elbow to peer curiously at the kid’s face. When he spoke, he let a little of the home-town drawl that he usually kept tightly checked slip into his voice, grinning a little. “Is that a little bit of Texas I’m hearin’ there?”
“San Antonio,” Jared acknowledged, dimples flashing as a smile spread across his face. “How about you?”
“Richardson,” Jensen laughed. “Dude, that’s awesome. Never thought I’d be so lucky as to have another Texan as my Bondmate.”
Jared tensed a little bit at the reminded of the previous night’s discovery, and Jensen inwardly cursed himself about his own lack of tact. He probably should have steered the kid into the topic a little more gently than by blurting it out like that.
The omega twisted, propping himself up against the pillows and looking decidedly uncomfortable.
“Are you alright?” Jensen asked nervously, backing off a little to sit next to the younger man. “I didn’t... hurt you, did I?”
He clamped down tightly on the protective instincts that were demanding that he roll the kid over and check for himself, figuring that something like that wasn’t exactly going to diffuse the situation.
“No,” Jared objected quickly. “No, no, nothing like that... I’m a little sore, but you didn’t hurt me or anything. It’s just a lot to take in. I wasn’t exactly planning on settling down any time soon, you know? I’m nineteen, for god’s sake. I’m still in college. I was gonna... get my degree, qualify to be a teacher and shit before I thought about anything like that.”
Jensen frowned a little at the implications of the younger man’s little speech. “Jared, you know none of that has to change, right? I mean, I get that this probably isn’t ideal, but it’s not like now that we’re bonded I’m gonna demand that you stay home and cook and clean all day, or... fuck, I don’t know. Chain you to the bed or something. I’d never want you to give up on that stuff... I’d never want you to give up on anything that you want to do.”
Jared blinked up at him, before nodding slowly. He looked so young and vulnerable that Jensen couldn’t help but feel irrationally guilty about the whole thing.
“What about kids?” He asked quietly. “I mean... most male omegas can’t get pregnant. You don’t mind that I might never be able to have your kids?”
Jensen shrugged, offering the kid a reassuring smile. “There’s a chance that you could pregnant, Jay, and even if that doesn’t work out there’s plenty of other things that we could consider. Adoption, surrogates... Besides which, we’re not in any rush. We’ll take our time, okay? We’ll get this figured out.”
Jared looked more than a little relieved at the older man’s words, nodding cautiously.
“Yeah,” He breathed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry for freaking out.”
Jensen rolled his eyes, slinging an arm over the omegas shoulders and pulling him in close. “Are you kidding? I think you’re more than a little entitled to freak out. This is a huge deal. I’d be a hell of a lot more worried if you weren’t freaking out... Jesus. I just realised, my mom is probably gonna burst my eardrums with excitement when I tell her-”
With Jared tucked into his side, Jensen could feel the exact moment that the younger man froze, heartbeat suddenly racing.
“Jay? Don’t worry about it, kid. She’ll be happy about it - she’s been begging me to settle down for years.” If anything, Jared looked even more worried, and Jensen found himself more and more confused. “I mean, we can wait to tell her, if you want?”
“I...” The kid trailed off, taking a deep breath, and visibly steadied himself. “It’s not that. My parents, uh... they’re probably not gonna be happy. Like, at all. In fact, they’ll probably be seriously pissed off.”
Jensen’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Why on earth would they be pissed off that you’ve bonded? It’s something that should be celebrated, Jay.”
“I know,” The kid assured, almost desperately. “I swear I know that, I just... they don’t see it like that. They don’t really like that I’m an omega.”
He said it off-handedly, casually, and Jensen’s stomach dropped at the words.
“Really?" He asked quietly. “Jesus, Jared, that sucks. I mean... god, being an omega is something to be proud of.”
Jared nodded, though Jensen got the impression that the younger man didn’t really believe him.
“It’s not a big deal,” He offered. “I just wanted you to know. You’re gonna have to meet them someday; might as well be prepared for it.”
“If you’re worried about it, then it’s a big deal.” Jensen told him firmly, chucking his chin gently and forcing the younger man to meet his eyes. “Like I said, no rush. Introductions can wait until you’re more prepared, alright? We’re just taking this one step at a time.”
*
Jensen was surprised to find that when Jared finally announced that he should head home, he was more than a little disappointed. After a few false starts, they’d finally settled into a rhythm of conversation, doing their best to get to know each other.
As it turned out, Jared was an English major at UT; he worked part-time in a coffee shop, which he liked a surprising amount, and had aspirations to work with children... though he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to be. Like Jensen, he had an older (alpha) brother and a younger (beta) sister; his parents were still happily married, and avid church-goers (which Jensen’s weren’t, not by any standards).
He’d made the appropriate cooing noises when the older man had introduced him to the 1967 Chevrolet Impala that his father had brought him as a high school graduation present, and Jensen had nearly swooned when Jared had not only recognised the car but had as reeled off the year without any hesitation.
He seemed genuinely appreciative when Jensen told him that he was a mechanic, though the older man knew that it wasn’t the most lucrative of career paths, and had casually remarked that he’d once tried to change a tire and had somehow managed to ruin the car’s suspension.
Jensen figured that they were probably a good match.
When the kid had finally announced that he’d missed twelve phone calls, sixteen text-messages and ten angry voicemails and should probably get home before his roommates called the police, Jensen had insisted on driving him home.
The kid had tried to refuse, but there was no way that Jensen was letting the kid walk back home by himself. Besides which, it was the perfect excuse to spend just a smidgen of extra time with him, and Jensen really wasn’t above abusing that to its full extent.
“So,” He said casually, turning right when the kid instructed him to. “I was thinking we could go to dinner tomorrow.”
Jared blinked in surprise next to him, instructing him to take the next left almost too late for him to make it. “Seriously? You actually want to... well, date me?”
Jensen shrugged, frowning a little. “Yeah, I kind of do. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well,” Jared replied awkwardly. “We’re already mated.”
“So we’re doing things a little backwards,” Jensen grinned. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do them. So, dinner. What do you say?”
Jared hesitated, and then a wide grin blossomed across his face.
“Yeah,” He nodded. “Yeah, dinner sounds great.”
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A/N: So, I feel I owe you all a few apologies! First off, sorry for the delay. My grandad had chemo and my grandma wasn't feeling great, so I stayed at theirs for a few days, and they don't have the internet at theirs (seriously! who doesn't have the internet?!). Secondly, for the shortness and suckiness of this chapter. Unfortunately, my brain refused to let me skip to the good parts, but I promise we'll get there eventually! Thank you all so much for the reviews, they were greatly appreciated!