[30 in 09/10] Let's Discuss Something More Productive (1/1)
randomisedhabit said j2 waitstaff. this was a hard, hard day to write. damn.
Let's Discuss Something More Productive
j2 au
pg13 for language
1700 words
jared's angry, but mike and katie can see right through him, and they know what to do to help.
note: this song is important.
"Just Say Yes," Snow Patrol
Jared’s in the back room, palming stemless wine glasses and hurling them at the wall. They explode like white-hot sparks, each pop of energy fusing tension into the air on a tinkling impact. The glass is blown so thin the sound is almost pleasant.
A small clutch of fellow waitstaff hovers at the swung-open doorway of the kitchen, staring unabashedly. Mike’s eyebrows are in his shorn hairline, and Katie looks mildly impressed. Alyson hovers behind them, hands wringing, looking around for their manager.
“Should we call somebody?” she asks, scanning the room anxiously for Jeff.
“He’s fine,” Mike says easily. “He’ll be fine.”
“This is totally because Jensen left with that guy,” Katie says. “Asked Jared to fucking cover his tables, and then left with another guy. What an idiot.”
“Wait - what?” Mike says.
“Yeah hold on, what?” Alyson says.
Jared grits his teeth, hurling another glass, doesn’t flinch when it bursts against the cement wall. His face is the picture of calm, other than a tightly clenched jaw. Even his color hasn’t gone too red. The floor is covered in delicate, crunching shards, and Jared is not going to stop as long as there are glasses within reach.
“He’s gonna bust up the entire supply,” Katie says. “Better get Jeff.”
Alyson darts off, relieved to be given the permission.
“He is pissed,” she says quietly to Mike.
Mike frowns, watching the way Jared winds up as if pitching inside to a mouthy batter. He sighs and enters the kitchen, moving around Jared and crossing the room. Jared lets one fly before realizing what Mike is doing and curses him with a loud, high-pitched protest. Mike calmly lifts an arm to shield his face from the shattering glass and drops it when the air is clear. His black shoes are audible over the mess as he comes to stand directly in front of the wall Jared’s been hurling at.
“Cut the shit, Jared,” Mike says firmly, one raised eyebrow. “Seriously.”
Jared slumps, leaning back against the counter at his waist and shifting his jaw moodily. His eyes are fixed somewhere in the distance, and Mike can see the angry protests hovering just within a thought’s reach.
“This about Jensen?” Mike asks.
Jared’s eyes sharpen to land on Mike dangerously.
“Don’t,” Jared says. “Don’t even go there right now, Mikey.”
“He isn’t gonna know unless you tell him.”
“Sucking his dick doesn’t equal boyfriends, you idiot,” Katie says. “Believe me. I’ve tried it. Still single.”
Jared’s fists clench at his sides, and the only reason he doesn’t cut back at her is because he knows Katie’s being more honest than she wants to be. Katie’s been there, and Jared’s heard all about it; has rolled his eyes and told Katie to use her mouth for more words, less oral. Has thought, why is she so oblivious? Why doesn’t she get it? It’s so easy. Just tell him how you really feel.
“See?” Mike says. “And if I tried sucking dicks for love, I’d chime in, but I don’t do that, so I’m just gonna say, stop throwing shit because Jeff is definitely going to fire you in like five minutes. Here’s what you need to do. Jensen’s out with that guy right now, right? Or like, fucking at his apartment or something?”
Jared swallows hard, breathing a harsh angry sound and letting his mouth drop into a scowl.
“Right, okay,” Mike continues. “Dude, you need to call him. That’ll be how you know. If he is getting fucked by some hot dude, and he sees you on the caller ID, and answers the phone? I think that’s pretty much the end of the discussion.”
“You are so fucking smart sometimes, Mikey,” Katie says, nodding, smile growing. She steps into the room, starting to get excited. “And then you have to ask him what he’s doing later! Because if he’s totally crazy about you, which, let’s face it, he’s gay and he’s been working with you for over a year, so yeah, he’s crazy about you - wait, what was I saying? OH, so he’ll totally say something like, oh, I don’t know, or, nothing much, you know? Like, he wants to see where you’re gonna take it.”
“Yeah!” Mike says, grinning. “You have to pretend like you don’t even know he’s with someone. He probably doesn’t even know you saw him with that guy. Just play it cool, and be like, oh, did you want to get a beer at Monihan’s and watch the rest of the Sox game?”
“And oh my god, Jared, if he says yes, you gotta take him out, and tell him,” Katie breathes.
“And tell him what?” Jared says. He’s staring at them, having downshifted from stubborn and tight to uncertain, shoulders pulled in on himself. His face is open and vulnerable, unable to even entertain the prospect. Unable to even hope for a chance.
“Tell him what?” Katie laughs. “Tell him you’re nuts for him! Tell him you flip out and break glasses and get fired when he goes on a date! Tell him the only reason you’re still at this shithole job is because he’s here! Jared, please tell me this is making sense. I know you’re not a complete idiot.”
Jared holds himself still, unwilling to relent, to confess and give in to the possibility of having feelings.
Mike steps up to Jared, shoves a hand between them to rummage in the front pocket of Jared’s apron. Jared squeaks, twisting away, but not before Mike gets a hand on his phone and holds it out to Jared expectantly.
“Start with making the call,” Mike says gently. “Just see if he answers. See if there’s a chance, man. How else are you gonna know.”
Jared sighs, deflates; drops his head back to stare at the ceiling in defeat. He rubs a palm over his face, thumb and forefinger digging into his closed eyes. He drags a fist through his hair and pulls at it, torn and indecisive and scared.
“We’re right here,” Katie says. “I’ll even give you a pity-fuck if he doesn’t answer.”
Jared laughs, and it’s a sudden loud outburst, a release of tension as he shakes his head and takes the phone from Mike. He taps it to his temple for a moment, eyes crushing closed and trying to inhale courage, rubbing his thumb over the keypad.
“Shit, I can’t, I can’t do this,” Jared groans.
But Mike smiles at Katie, because he’s going to, because they’re right.
Jeff and Alyson push through the door into the kitchen just then, and Jeff’s eyes go wide at the state of his kitchen. He stares mutinously at Jared, cocking his chin in a threat and stepping toward him.
“Boy, you had better have a damn good reason for why my kitchen is covered in half my stock of - ”
“Jeff, hey, whoa,” Mike says smoothly, coming between them.
Jared shoots Mike a grateful look, already backing himself away from Jeff’s immediate path. His eyes linger nervously on Jeff, uncertain of what to expect and bracing himself for the worst.
“Fire him in a minute, just let him make this phone call, okay?” Katie says. “They always get one phone call, right?”
“What call?” Alyson asks, looking between the three of them.
“I’ll leave, Jeff,” Jared says, holding up his hands in surrender. “I promise. Right now. I’ll pay for everything, I swear, you can take it out of my paycheck. I just went crazy, I wasn’t even thinking. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, man.”
Jeff squints at Jared, trying to figure him out. Asks, “What phone call?”
Mike and Katie are graciously silent about it, and Jared makes no move to explain.
“Jared, you better start talking or I will tell you to hit the bricks right now.”
“I - uh,” Jared starts, and then pauses. Gathers his guts and says, “I can’t do it with an audience. If I’m gonna do it.”
Mike grins, and Katie full-on fist pumps, says, “Nice!” and then turns to usher Alyson and Jeff out the door. Pushes at their stubbornly stuck shoulders, promising all will be revealed in due time. Mike throws him a thumbs up before ducking out the door; watches through the portal window and sneaks a shoulder and an ear back in when Jared turns his back.
Jared lingers for another long moment; paces briefly, shakes out his hands, cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders. For a long sixty seconds, he does everything he can except for dial Jensen’s number. But Mike smirks when, at long last, the keyed -up aura drops from Jared like Atlas shrugged, and he hits the three buttons it takes to bring up Jensen’s number and send it.
There’s a long held breath between them as they peer around Mike’s shoulder, waiting.
Jared’s shaking his head, death grip on his phone loosening into resignation, when every muscle in his back tightens again and he speaks tentatively: “Jensen? Hi.”
Katie wheels away from the door to raise her fists in triumph, a silent cheer rounding her mouth and scrunching up her eyes.
“Oh, not much, I was wondering if you were like, up to anything tonight. Oh, um, because, oh really? - ”
Jared swings around like he’d known they were going to be there, jaw dropped in panic and disbelief. Mike gives him a reassuring smile, nods for him to continue.
“Oh, cool,” Jared breathes. “Okay. Okay, well, I was thinking, I mean if you still didn’t have anything going on later, my shift gets off at midnight -“
And at this, Jeff makes a wild gesture to draw Jared’s attention and mimes, ten!
“-Uh, I mean, ten. Ten? Ten, yeah I don’t know, he told me ten earlier. I guess he doesn’t need me. I know, I don’t know, weird. Well anyway, so I was hoping, well I was thinking of going to the bar tonight to get a beer and watch the rest of the game, if you - oh, really? Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay, let’s do that then. Great. Sounds good. Yeah, I’ll be there,” Jared laughs. “Dude, yes! First round’s on me. Goddamn right I do. Okay. See you then.”
Jared ends the call and throws his phone, adrenaline draining in one long, audible sigh. He rubs his face to shake himself from the daze and then spies his friends’ eager, gossip-hungry faces.
“He said yes,” Jared says quietly, on a half-shrug, and grins.
[read the sequel.]
Let's Discuss Something More Productive
j2 au
pg13 for language
1700 words
jared's angry, but mike and katie can see right through him, and they know what to do to help.
note: this song is important.
"Just Say Yes," Snow Patrol
Jared’s in the back room, palming stemless wine glasses and hurling them at the wall. They explode like white-hot sparks, each pop of energy fusing tension into the air on a tinkling impact. The glass is blown so thin the sound is almost pleasant.
A small clutch of fellow waitstaff hovers at the swung-open doorway of the kitchen, staring unabashedly. Mike’s eyebrows are in his shorn hairline, and Katie looks mildly impressed. Alyson hovers behind them, hands wringing, looking around for their manager.
“Should we call somebody?” she asks, scanning the room anxiously for Jeff.
“He’s fine,” Mike says easily. “He’ll be fine.”
“This is totally because Jensen left with that guy,” Katie says. “Asked Jared to fucking cover his tables, and then left with another guy. What an idiot.”
“Wait - what?” Mike says.
“Yeah hold on, what?” Alyson says.
Jared grits his teeth, hurling another glass, doesn’t flinch when it bursts against the cement wall. His face is the picture of calm, other than a tightly clenched jaw. Even his color hasn’t gone too red. The floor is covered in delicate, crunching shards, and Jared is not going to stop as long as there are glasses within reach.
“He’s gonna bust up the entire supply,” Katie says. “Better get Jeff.”
Alyson darts off, relieved to be given the permission.
“He is pissed,” she says quietly to Mike.
Mike frowns, watching the way Jared winds up as if pitching inside to a mouthy batter. He sighs and enters the kitchen, moving around Jared and crossing the room. Jared lets one fly before realizing what Mike is doing and curses him with a loud, high-pitched protest. Mike calmly lifts an arm to shield his face from the shattering glass and drops it when the air is clear. His black shoes are audible over the mess as he comes to stand directly in front of the wall Jared’s been hurling at.
“Cut the shit, Jared,” Mike says firmly, one raised eyebrow. “Seriously.”
Jared slumps, leaning back against the counter at his waist and shifting his jaw moodily. His eyes are fixed somewhere in the distance, and Mike can see the angry protests hovering just within a thought’s reach.
“This about Jensen?” Mike asks.
Jared’s eyes sharpen to land on Mike dangerously.
“Don’t,” Jared says. “Don’t even go there right now, Mikey.”
“He isn’t gonna know unless you tell him.”
“Sucking his dick doesn’t equal boyfriends, you idiot,” Katie says. “Believe me. I’ve tried it. Still single.”
Jared’s fists clench at his sides, and the only reason he doesn’t cut back at her is because he knows Katie’s being more honest than she wants to be. Katie’s been there, and Jared’s heard all about it; has rolled his eyes and told Katie to use her mouth for more words, less oral. Has thought, why is she so oblivious? Why doesn’t she get it? It’s so easy. Just tell him how you really feel.
“See?” Mike says. “And if I tried sucking dicks for love, I’d chime in, but I don’t do that, so I’m just gonna say, stop throwing shit because Jeff is definitely going to fire you in like five minutes. Here’s what you need to do. Jensen’s out with that guy right now, right? Or like, fucking at his apartment or something?”
Jared swallows hard, breathing a harsh angry sound and letting his mouth drop into a scowl.
“Right, okay,” Mike continues. “Dude, you need to call him. That’ll be how you know. If he is getting fucked by some hot dude, and he sees you on the caller ID, and answers the phone? I think that’s pretty much the end of the discussion.”
“You are so fucking smart sometimes, Mikey,” Katie says, nodding, smile growing. She steps into the room, starting to get excited. “And then you have to ask him what he’s doing later! Because if he’s totally crazy about you, which, let’s face it, he’s gay and he’s been working with you for over a year, so yeah, he’s crazy about you - wait, what was I saying? OH, so he’ll totally say something like, oh, I don’t know, or, nothing much, you know? Like, he wants to see where you’re gonna take it.”
“Yeah!” Mike says, grinning. “You have to pretend like you don’t even know he’s with someone. He probably doesn’t even know you saw him with that guy. Just play it cool, and be like, oh, did you want to get a beer at Monihan’s and watch the rest of the Sox game?”
“And oh my god, Jared, if he says yes, you gotta take him out, and tell him,” Katie breathes.
“And tell him what?” Jared says. He’s staring at them, having downshifted from stubborn and tight to uncertain, shoulders pulled in on himself. His face is open and vulnerable, unable to even entertain the prospect. Unable to even hope for a chance.
“Tell him what?” Katie laughs. “Tell him you’re nuts for him! Tell him you flip out and break glasses and get fired when he goes on a date! Tell him the only reason you’re still at this shithole job is because he’s here! Jared, please tell me this is making sense. I know you’re not a complete idiot.”
Jared holds himself still, unwilling to relent, to confess and give in to the possibility of having feelings.
Mike steps up to Jared, shoves a hand between them to rummage in the front pocket of Jared’s apron. Jared squeaks, twisting away, but not before Mike gets a hand on his phone and holds it out to Jared expectantly.
“Start with making the call,” Mike says gently. “Just see if he answers. See if there’s a chance, man. How else are you gonna know.”
Jared sighs, deflates; drops his head back to stare at the ceiling in defeat. He rubs a palm over his face, thumb and forefinger digging into his closed eyes. He drags a fist through his hair and pulls at it, torn and indecisive and scared.
“We’re right here,” Katie says. “I’ll even give you a pity-fuck if he doesn’t answer.”
Jared laughs, and it’s a sudden loud outburst, a release of tension as he shakes his head and takes the phone from Mike. He taps it to his temple for a moment, eyes crushing closed and trying to inhale courage, rubbing his thumb over the keypad.
“Shit, I can’t, I can’t do this,” Jared groans.
But Mike smiles at Katie, because he’s going to, because they’re right.
Jeff and Alyson push through the door into the kitchen just then, and Jeff’s eyes go wide at the state of his kitchen. He stares mutinously at Jared, cocking his chin in a threat and stepping toward him.
“Boy, you had better have a damn good reason for why my kitchen is covered in half my stock of - ”
“Jeff, hey, whoa,” Mike says smoothly, coming between them.
Jared shoots Mike a grateful look, already backing himself away from Jeff’s immediate path. His eyes linger nervously on Jeff, uncertain of what to expect and bracing himself for the worst.
“Fire him in a minute, just let him make this phone call, okay?” Katie says. “They always get one phone call, right?”
“What call?” Alyson asks, looking between the three of them.
“I’ll leave, Jeff,” Jared says, holding up his hands in surrender. “I promise. Right now. I’ll pay for everything, I swear, you can take it out of my paycheck. I just went crazy, I wasn’t even thinking. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, man.”
Jeff squints at Jared, trying to figure him out. Asks, “What phone call?”
Mike and Katie are graciously silent about it, and Jared makes no move to explain.
“Jared, you better start talking or I will tell you to hit the bricks right now.”
“I - uh,” Jared starts, and then pauses. Gathers his guts and says, “I can’t do it with an audience. If I’m gonna do it.”
Mike grins, and Katie full-on fist pumps, says, “Nice!” and then turns to usher Alyson and Jeff out the door. Pushes at their stubbornly stuck shoulders, promising all will be revealed in due time. Mike throws him a thumbs up before ducking out the door; watches through the portal window and sneaks a shoulder and an ear back in when Jared turns his back.
Jared lingers for another long moment; paces briefly, shakes out his hands, cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders. For a long sixty seconds, he does everything he can except for dial Jensen’s number. But Mike smirks when, at long last, the keyed -up aura drops from Jared like Atlas shrugged, and he hits the three buttons it takes to bring up Jensen’s number and send it.
There’s a long held breath between them as they peer around Mike’s shoulder, waiting.
Jared’s shaking his head, death grip on his phone loosening into resignation, when every muscle in his back tightens again and he speaks tentatively: “Jensen? Hi.”
Katie wheels away from the door to raise her fists in triumph, a silent cheer rounding her mouth and scrunching up her eyes.
“Oh, not much, I was wondering if you were like, up to anything tonight. Oh, um, because, oh really? - ”
Jared swings around like he’d known they were going to be there, jaw dropped in panic and disbelief. Mike gives him a reassuring smile, nods for him to continue.
“Oh, cool,” Jared breathes. “Okay. Okay, well, I was thinking, I mean if you still didn’t have anything going on later, my shift gets off at midnight -“
And at this, Jeff makes a wild gesture to draw Jared’s attention and mimes, ten!
“-Uh, I mean, ten. Ten? Ten, yeah I don’t know, he told me ten earlier. I guess he doesn’t need me. I know, I don’t know, weird. Well anyway, so I was hoping, well I was thinking of going to the bar tonight to get a beer and watch the rest of the game, if you - oh, really? Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay, let’s do that then. Great. Sounds good. Yeah, I’ll be there,” Jared laughs. “Dude, yes! First round’s on me. Goddamn right I do. Okay. See you then.”
Jared ends the call and throws his phone, adrenaline draining in one long, audible sigh. He rubs his face to shake himself from the daze and then spies his friends’ eager, gossip-hungry faces.
“He said yes,” Jared says quietly, on a half-shrug, and grins.
[read the sequel.]