Rainy Day in April
Written for tvm's schmoop meme, prompt by jellicle.
Because he was friggin’ enormous, people believed Jared never had a sick day in his life. In most ways, this was true. It took a lot to bring Jared down, but once he was - it was a bitch. He had to be hospitalized few times due to dehydration and various infections. He kept that embarrassing fact a secret. After all, he was from Texas, and save for a hail of bullets, nothing should take down a Texan, especially someone of his stature.
The clap of thunder jolted him from his musings. He stared out of his trailer window with growing trepidation as the rain shower turned into something resembling biblical damnation. In fact, Jared could swear on his mother’s good name that the rain was somehow coming down sideways. He mentally calculated the distance between his trailer and the waiting car to be fifty meters, if not less. Jared was sure that was not enough to do anything but soak his denim jacket.
Probably? Hopefully.
Well, shit, Jared thought. He knew where his only umbrella was: back at the house. Part laziness, part embarrassment forced him to hide it in the hallway closet. It was a gift from his mom and though she was blessed with a good eye, it was a bit too metrosexual for Jared’s tastes.
Not for the first time Jared cursed his pride. It might not be apparent, but it had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past and probably will continue to do so in the future. Jared started to look for his winter jacket: the one with the hood. He might look ridiculous wearing it in April, but at least he won’t be a walking billboard for Tylenol at the end of the week.
“Dude, c’mon, we gotta go before the roads flood.”
Jared turned to see Jensen entering his trailer. Jared enviously eyed the golf umbrella in his grasp. Leave it to Jensen to be prepared for Noah’s Flood, Part II. Jared could swear Jensen’s trailer was a Kmart in disguise. His best friend once dug up a goddamn waffle iron when Janis, from Props, was in desperate need of one.
Two bolts of lightening whitened the sky, and the thunderous claps that followed only deepened Jared’s anxiety.
Jensen held out his umbrella. “Take the damn thing. I got a hoodie on.”
“You sure?” Jared asked, grateful for Jensen’s offer, regretful that he was about to accept.
“Yes, I’m sure I know what I’m wearing,” Jensen replied in a dry voice. “C’mon, let’s go!”
“Thanks,” Jared said before taking the umbrella.
Jared could swear they set new world records as they ran to the waiting truck. Jensen gave a loud whoop as he slammed the car door closed behind them. Jared was still wet but nowhere near as soaked as he would’ve been without the umbrella. He folded it neatly and engaged the clasp before handing it back to Jensen. It was then he saw that Jensen wasn’t wearing a hoodie but a flannel sweatshirt under his jacket.
Jared blinked in surprise as Jensen took off his soaked jacket and wiped off his face with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Without a word Jensen took the umbrella and sat back with a happy sigh as their driver, Mark, cranked up the heat.
Jared wanted to ask why Jensen lied to him but a realization stopped him.
He had never seen Jensen sick. Tired, yes, bruised and battered, certainly, but Jensen never had a sick day in his life: not one bout of cold, even a sniffle. In fact, Jared remembered when half the crew, himself included, got slammed with food poisoning because of bad confectionary by the catering company. Jensen ate the damn cupcake alongside Jared but all he needed was a can of Coke to bounce back. Jared ended up chained to the toilet in his trailer for the rest of the afternoon. Kim would’ve thrown a shit-fit for the loss of one of his two stars, but the director was too busy puking his guts out to complain.
Jared said roughly, “Thanks.”
Jensen gave a tired smile and took the umbrella. “You’re welcome.”
Within minutes Jensen was sleeping deeply, finally giving Jared the freedom to study his best friend.
So this is what it feels like for Sam, Jared thought as he watched Jensen’s breathing slow down and deepen. From the day he had Sam placed in his arms for safekeeping, Dean had taken care of his little brother just like this. Over and over, from one minute to the next.
Jared had little problem understanding Sam’s motivations but the third season had been one enormous challenge after another. And now that Dean’s contract was coming due, Jared had the unenviable task for portraying Sam’s emotional turmoil non-stop. Jared understood Sam’s desperation. Hell, he could accept the fact that Sam would do an Anakin just to save his big brother, but he lacked that single psychic prop that would allow him to open the emotional floodgates at will. Jared still needed time to work up to it, unlike Jensen who could call up hysteria, fury, and grief in a blink of an eye.
Not anymore.
All Jared needed to do was steal the umbrella without Jensen knowing. He knew it wouldn’t be a problem. All he had to do is choose a rainy day to drop in at Jensen’s condo and in Vancouver that was practically the entire month of April.
Read this prompt earlier and came to post to find rawkin_ur_sox had responded already. Hope you enjoy!