Fic: "All through the town" [J2]
Title: All through the town
Rating/Warning: NC/17 (sexual content)
Wordcount: 7300
By: kazie_oh
pairing: Jared/Jensen, some Jared/Sandy
Disclaimer: own nothing, don't sue!
Summary: Jared and Jensen ride the same bus every morning.
A/N: gift for gypsy_sunday through spn_j2_xmas. I am so sorry for the delay! RL kicked my butt, and the fic ran away from me, but it's finally done. A huge thanks to 13chapters for the beta!
I chose the prompt "J2 AU: Jared and Jensen ride the same bus every morning" and tried to incorporate some of your likes as well, although there is much more of Jared wearing Jensen's clothes than the other way around! I changed Jensen's birthday, and there's lots of coffee. I hope you enjoy, and that you've been having a great holiday!
The bus was unusually full this morning. Jensen cursed his gullibility in believing Chris when he had said ‘just one more drink! Come on man, live a little.’ In his hangover, he’d thrown his alarm clock across the room when it rang, and freaked out when he came to again. He showered quickly, tried to scrub the grime of last night away before rubbing his hair dry with towel, grabbed his stuff and ran out the door. As he rushed towards the bus stop he mourned his normal routine which included dark, rich coffee dripping into his travel mug while he made himself breakfast and packed a lunch.
Jensen felt slightly nauseous as the bus pulled up to the curb, thinking he really should have just taken the car, although that would mean he’d miss his favourite morning activity, looking at the pretty guy that rode the same bus. He had a muffin in a paper bag stuffed into the outside pocket of his gym bag, and a cup of coffee in the other hand after making a stop at the local Starbucks. He squeezed his way through the throngs of people, bag in one hand and a disposable cup in the other, the hot coffee burning his fingers through the smooth cardboard. He was aiming for a seat toward the back when the bus jolted to a stop and Jensen pitched forward, straight into a broad chest. Any hope Jensen he had of being able to pass this off as a regular bump on the bus was dashed as his grip on the coffee cup clenched, the lid popped off and coffee just this side of scalding sloshed over his hand and all over the shirt of the person he bumped into.
“Fuck! That hurts. Oh, shit, I’m so sorry.” Jensen shook coffee off his hand and looked up. Of course the person he doused in coffee was the guy he’d been admiring for the last few weeks on the bus. Jensen’s breath left him, although that may have had something to do with the continuous movement of the bus and people pushing into him from all sides. “Jesus, fuck. Lay off, will you?” he threw across his shoulder, manners lost in the chaos of the moment, answered by a grumble as whoever squeezed into a seat.
Jensen ineffectually tried wiping at the large brown spot on the blue t-shirt while he apologized more, until his fingers brushed a cotton-covered nipple and he realized he was basically fondling the guy’s chest while Hot Guy squirmed, and that his fingers were probably not doing anything other than spreading coffee around. He felt like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill feeling up Julia Roberts, and quickly snatched his hand away as his face flushed from shame. “Sorry,” he grumbled again, as he finally looked the guy in the face.
Brown hair, hazel eyes and a face drawn into a frown stared down at Jensen and his now partially brown shirt. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” He lifted a hand and gingerly pulled the shirt away from his body before letting it go again. Jensen tried not to stare as a firmly sculpted chest and a nipple was visible through the clinging material. He was then pushed to the side as the bus had come to a stop and a group of people pushed through to get off. Some seats were empty now and the guy sat down. Without thinking Jensen sat down next to him, and after a moment’s hesitation threw his now-empty cup on the floor.
“Seriously, I am so, so sorry. This never would have happened if I had my regular mug but I ran out of time this morning so I had this stupid paper cup which I never do because it’s bad for the environment anyway and I hope you don’t have to be anywhere special this morning, and, shit.”
“Dude, calm down, it’s okay,” Hot Guy interrupted in a deep voice. “I mean, I’m supposed to teach in half an hour, but... um. It’ll be fine.” He pulled at his shirt again and winced as the wet material, probably cold by now, clung to him. “Not your fault,” he added.
“Shit,” Jensen said again, and ran his hand through his hair, before he had an idea and pulled his bag up on his lap. “This may sound totally crazy, and I know I’m just a random dude on the bus, but I have an extra shirt. In case you’re interested.”
“You regularly carry around extra shirts?” The guy sounded sceptical.
“Gym clothes,” Jensen replied. He dug through his bag and pulled one out. “It might not fit perfectly, but at least it’s clean.”
“Are you sure?” The guy took the shirt and held it up. It was a plain white t-shirt with a small logo from some company on the back Jensen had gotten as a freebie somewhere years ago. “You know, this might actually work.”
“Hey, least I can do.” Jensen shrugged.
“Do you mind if I-”
It took Jensen a second to realise that the guy meant. “Go right ahead.” He turned his head respectfully as Hot Guy sitting next to him pulled off his wet shirt, used the dry parts of it to wipe at his chest, and then pulled on the one Jensen had handed him, but that didn’t stop him from lingering for a fraction of a second on the bare chest and shoulders, muscles moving before they disappeared under the fabric. Jensen could feel himself flush and tried to focus on something else. The start and stop of the bus, the smell of too many people in a crowded space, buildings and street signs and traffic lights flying by outside. The looks of other passengers who either ignored them completely, were pretending they hadn’t been following the exchange, and a couple that was openly staring at them. Or perhaps mostly at the guy now wearing Jensen’s shirt. And wasn’t it just typical that the first time they actually talked, Jensen both looked like and felt like shit.
“So, what do you think?”
Jensen whipped his head around. “What?”
“The shirt. Does it look okay?”
Jensen blinked. The guy was taller and broader than Jensen, for sure, but the shirt was rather large on him so it almost fit. Jensen could tell that if he were to lift his arms the shirt would ride up and show a sliver of skin.
“Looks good,” he said.
“Yeah?” the guy replied. He moved his arms around, wincing as the edges of the shirt dug into his skin. “It’s kinda small.”
Jensen was about to start apologising again but Hot Shirt Guy barrelled forward. “But hey, what are the chances of the guy who spills coffee all over you just before your first day of teaching actually carries around an extra shirt? It would be pretty demanding of me to expect it to fit perfectly as well.” The edges of the guy’s mouth started to curve upward.
“I, uh, I guess.”
The guy’s smile was infections, white teeth and dimples.
“I’m Jared, by the way.” Shirt Guy held out his hand.
“Jensen.” Jared’s hand was warm and his grip firm, and Jensen found himself smiling back at him. “I promise I’m not usually this clumsy.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. You should see me when I get going. With arms and legs this long I’m constantly bumping into things.” Shirt Guy - Jared - waved his hand around as if to illustrate his point. It was, indeed, very long, although perfectly proportionate to the rest of his body.
“So you teach? On campus?” Like Jensen didn’t know exactly where Jared had been getting off the bus every morning for the last several weeks. The first campus stop, the one in front of the science buildings, while Jensen usually got off one stop later by the administrative buildings.
“TA, actually. I’m a grad student. Speaking off, this is my stop.”
Jensen looked out the window and, to his surprise, they were already on campus. He quickly stood up to let Jared squeeze by him.
“Thanks for the shirt. I’ll get it back to you tomorrow morning.” He flashed Jensen another bright grin and hurried towards the opening door.
“Hey no, keep it,” Jensen shot back, although he was pretty sure Jared couldn’t hear him anymore. Jared turned around and waved at him before walking briskly away. Jensen looked at his receding form, tall, tan skin, floppy hair, wearing his shirt, as long as he could, almost until the door was opening at his stop. He scrambled to grab his bag, felt like he was forgetting something before realising that he normally was holding his coffee mug which today was sitting in the sink in his kitchen while the paper cup was crushed underneath his feet. He rushed out of the bus and started walking towards his office, stifling a big yawn. Even though this wasn’t exactly how he had imagined himself getting to know Hot Guy, and he could kick himself for having dumped a gallon of hot coffee all over him, the result wasn’t anything to complain about. Hot Guy had a name. Hot Guy - Jared - now knew Jensen’s name, and was wearing Jensen’s shirt. That did something funny to Jensen’s stomach.
It wasn’t until later in the day that Jensen realized that Jared had said see you tomorrow which meant that he had noticed that Jensen took the same bus every morning as well.
---
The next morning Jensen anxiously waited for the bus to show up. Chances were Hot Guy - Shirt Guy - Jared - was going to be there, and Jensen had no clue how to act. Normally Jensen had no problem talking to people or asking for what he wanted, but this situation wasn’t exactly normal. Bus etiquette held that you ignore your fellow commuters. The occasional conversation is acceptable if the bus breaks down, or something else remarkable has happened, but even so, that doesn’t guarantee you a right to converse with the person the next day. Nothing was more annoying than someone who wouldn’t leave you alone when the contact was totally inappropriate to begin with. Just ignoring Jared could be even ruder, however, and not conducive to asking the guy out.
Jensen needn't have worried. As soon as he stepped on he saw Jared wave at him from a set of double seats in the middle of the bus. Jensen flashed the driver his pass and made his way to Jared, unable to keep from grinning, just a little. It was matched with one from Jared as he scooted over closer to the window. Jensen folded himself together to fit onto the seat, dragging his gym bag onto his lap.
“Kind of a tight fit, hey?” Jared asked.
Jensen huffed a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“I can barely fit my legs into these seats, and god help me if I want to move them around once I’m here.”
Jensen looked. Jared’s jean-clad knees were wedged into the back of the seat in front of him.
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
“I usually try to get the seats at the back, there’s a bit more space there, but they were taken today.”
Jensen turned around and sure enough, a pair of teenagers with large headphones were spread out in the back row, trying their hardest to look like they didn’t belong on the city bus.
“Anyway, I don’t have your shirt.”
Jensen blinked.
“I mean, I will get it to you, I just wanted to wash it first. I was going to throw it in the laundry yesterday but Sandy had just done a shit load of laundry so we were out of quarters. But Monday, yeah?”
“I already told you that I don’t need the shirt back.”
“Come on, man.” Jared looked at him with a pleading sort of look on his face. “Don’t deprive me of my excuse to talk to you again. Please?”
Jensen snorted. “Did you seriously just use puppy dog eyes on me?”
Jared’s eyes twinkled and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Is it working?”
“You’re begging to keep talking to the guy who spilled hot coffee on you? And then acted like a total idiot? You’re deranged, man. I should probably be trying to get away from you.” He made a move as if to stand up, but Jared slapped a large hand on his thigh and pushed him back down.
“Naw, just bored. My iPod only goes one way, you see. Doesn’t appreciate my sparkling wit.”
Jensen let Jared push him down into the seat. “Smart, for an immovable object.”
Jared let out a bark of laugh at that. “Just like its owner. Now, tell me. Why does a handsome fellow like you end up taking the bus every day? Other than to keep me company, of course.”
Jensen grinned. If this wasn’t flirting Jensen was ready to eat his gaydar. Metaphorically speaking.
---
It became a routine after this. Jensen showed up bleary-eyed at the bus stop, same time every day, big travel mug filled with coffee in his hand, and gym bag on his shoulder a couple of times a week, to take advantage of the university facilities . He told Jared about his job as a physiotherapist, working both with athletes and students referred to him by the campus health services, and Jared told him about his grad school experience. He had Jensen in stitches with his stories of his students and their creative quiz responses, as well as his eccentric supervisor.
Although Jensen was most definitely not a morning person, it was quickly becoming his favourite part of the day.
Jared was funny, insanely attractive, and seemed to enjoy Jensen’s company just as much as
Jensen enjoyed Jared’s. Normally, these would be all the ingredients necessary for Jensen to just go ahead and ask someone out. But he’d hate to have his morning commute turn awkward, so he decided to wait until he was sure that Jared was at least available before popping the question. Besides, he didn’t just want to get into Jared’s pants. Just talking to the guy was entertaining enough, so Jensen hadn’t exactly put a hundred percent of his effort into finding out whether he’d be able to take their friendship to the next level. And there was no way Jared was so incredibly outgoing and energetic to be able to keep up the kind of enthusiasm, focus and humour in his conversations with all people - he had to be flirting.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“So what’s your commute story? I thought grad students didn’t have very stringent schedules. Don’t tell me you have class at nine every morning,” Jensen asked Jared the week after the coffee incidence. It was raining outside, big drops splashing against the window where it was visible through the condensation, the air thick with the smell of wet clothes and exhaled breath. Jensen’s umbrella was on the floor between his feet, leaking into his socks. He tried to kick it around but only succeeded in making one of the spokes poke into his other foot.
“Negatory,” Jared replied before taking a long slurp of his smoothie. He’d tried to convince Jensen to try some earlier but failed, because it was green. “I do have tutorials twice a week in the morning, and just decided to try to get into a routine. I like doing the same thing every day, keeps me focused. Besides, starting the day early means it’s done earlier, right?” He gave Jensen a big toothy grin complete with a piece of spinach stuck between his front teeth.
“You have, a, um.” Jensen gestured vaguely at his own teeth.
“I have a what?” Jared wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then used his thumb on the corners of his mouth, bending and twisting it into ridiculous shapes that had Jensen chuckling.
“No, in your, um. Teeth.” He pointed at the same spot in his own mouth, shamelessly taking advantage of this excuse to stare at Jared’s mouth with impunity. It wasn’t his most attractive moment, digging with his fingers to dislodge the offending piece of greenery, but Jensen was enjoying it all the same. Straight white teeth, glistening lips and the dimples peeked out occasionally.
Jared wiped his finger on his jeans and kept talking like nothing had happened. “Besides, it means my girlfriend can take the car, since her work is further away. We really can’t afford keeping two cars, what with me being back in school, and all.” He flashed Jensen another grin, this time spinach-free. “All gone? I won’t have to get a paper bag and cut holes out of it in order to be able to show my face in class? Or, not show my face, as it were.”
Oh. Well. That was that.
Extremely outgoing and energetic it was.
---
Jensen was no stranger to finding out that the objects of his interest were unavailable. He wasn’t too put out. After all, Jared was just a random guy on the bus. Or something.
“You all right, man?” Jensen said as he swung himself into the seat next to Jared. It was hot even though it was October, and he was happy to be out of the beating sun and into the air conditioned interior of the bus. Jensen was so ready for jacket weather.
“Yeah, just.” Jared ran his large palm down the side of his face and groaned. “I have this assignment that I just can’t figure out. It kept me up all night.”
“Sucks.” That was one thing Jensen definitely didn’t miss about still being a student. “Did you manage it in the end?”
Jared sucked in a breath and sat up straighter in the seat and blinked, before closing his eyes and leaning his head against the window. “Yeah, I think so. Still needs some work,” he mumbled.
Jensen caught himself staring as Jared tried to make himself more comfortable. He looked almost childlike; well, as much as a giant could. “Dude, why didn’t you just sleep in? You look exhausted.”
“Can’t. Teaching today.” Jared yawned, then took his bag and wedged it between his head and the window, before frowning and giving up. “You should be taller, then I could use you as a pillow.”
Jensen swallowed, as Jared leaned his head in the other direction and onto Jensen’s shoulder.
“Um. I’ll get right on that?”
“Besides, then I wouldn’t see you. At least I didn’t go for a run this morning. This is better.” Jared slouched down in the seat until his head was level with Jensen’s shoulder and he could better rest his head on it. After a few moments his breath evened out and his mouth fell slack.
Jensen sat stiffly. This was definitely not normal bus etiquette. But then again, it’s not like Jared had ever adhered to proper bus etiquette. A few minutes later he relaxed and decided to enjoy it. It wasn’t often he got an excuse to shamelessly take in the curve of his lips, the shape of his nose, the firm lines of his shoulder. Jared’s hair tickled Jensen’s cheek and he could feel the warmth from where they were pressed together. When Jared’s stop approached, way too soon, Jensen roused him gently. Jared sat up and yawned, stretched his arms high above his head so that his shirt rode up and Jensen could see a sliver of skin. “See you tomorrow,” he mumbled, put a hand on Jensen’s shoulder where his head had been moments earlier to steady himself as he climbed over Jensen and exited the bus.
---
Jared was practically beaming by the time Jensen sat down next to him, apparently having managed to get the seats in the back today.
“What made you so happy,” Jensen muttered, clutching his coffee to his chest. He’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before so his I’m-not-a-morning-person side was in full effect, and he wanted nothing more than his pillow. It was almost against the natural order of things how bouncy Jared could be in the morning.
“Look!” Jared waved a piece of paper in front of Jensen’s eyes.
“Dude, calm down. You’re gonna give me a paper cut on my nose!”
“Sorry.” Jared looked admonished, but only for a second. “But seriously, look.” He held the paper out between them this time, and Jensen blinked a few times before leaning over and starting to read.
“What am I looking at here?”
Jared pointed to the bottom of the page where there were a few handwritten comments and then a large A circled with a pen. “I got an A! Remember that time last week when I almost fell asleep on the bus, I’d been up so late working?”
Of course he did. Jared had looked ridiculously adorable all sleepy like that.
“Well, I was working on this. I seriously busted my ass off, and it paid off. I got an A!” Jared’s smile was super-nova bright and he did a little dance in the seat.
“That’s awesome, man. Congratulations!” Jensen laughed.
---
Jared had a funny look on his face when Jensen sat down next to him one morning. He was wearing the jeans with the hole by the knee and an old hoodie, which meant that today he had neither class nor tutorials.
“The other day you were putting your bus pass back into your wallet and I saw your birthday on your driver’s license. I realise this makes me a creeper. I don’t care. Happy birthday.”
Despite Jared’s insistence that he didn’t care Jensen could see that he did. His smile was big and toothy, as ever, but the look in his eyes was a little uncertain. There was a giant sturdy travel mug with a solid handle in his hand that said caffeine loading, please wait over a half-coloured bar, like a computer program.
Jensen felt something swell in his chest. “Dude, you really didn’t have to.”
“I know. Did it anyway. Here, take it.” He thrust the mug towards Jensen who happily accepted it, turned it around for examination.
“It’s seriously great. Thanks.” He hoped the smile on his face wasn’t as ridiculously goofy as he felt right now. He wanted to hug the guy.
“You’re welcome.” Jared slapped a hand on Jensen’s shoulder, and kept it there a while. “My birthday’s in July, by the way. I want a puppy.”
Jensen snorted.
---
A few weeks later Jensen was heading back to his office after his lunch break. The end of the semester was near which meant an increase in students coming to see him that had overdone it with lying over the books, in addition to his normal load of student athletes that needed their injuries assessed and managed, so he had been staying very busy. So busy that he’d come into work an hour early this morning to revise some treatment plans, and that was saying a lot considering his intense dislike for early mornings. It meant he hadn’t seen Jared this morning but he’d see him tomorrow.
He walked over the quad but stopped when he saw a familiar sight. Jared was standing on the path in front of him, staring at his phone. “Yo, Jared. Hey!” Jensen smiled and jogged the last few steps towards him but faltered when he saw the look on Jared’s face. The smile that was normally there was gone, replaced with tight lines around his mouth and red-looking eyes.
“Hey,” he replied in a small voice.
“Are you alright? Are you sick? Should I call someone? Should I call your uh, Sandy?”
Jared gave a short, almost bitter laugh at that, still looking down. “No, not sick. Definitely don’t call Sandy.”
Jensen ran his hand through his hair and let it rest at the back of his neck. “You’re freaking me out here, man. At least come with me and I’ll get you some coffee or something, okay? I don’t want you walking into something.”
“Don’t you have work?” Jared sounded just as miserable as he looked, and that he didn’t object to Jensen’s jibe convinced him more than anything that something was seriously wrong.
“Nah, don’t have an appointment till three. Was going to catch up on some paperwork but it can wait. Come on.” He put his hand on Jared’s elbow and pulled him forward. A part of him cursed that the only time he ran into Jared outside of the bus it had to be something like this, but it was quickly overshadowed by genuine concern.
A few minutes later had them sitting in a secluded corner at one of the campus coffee shops, Jensen with a cup of black coffee with a little bit of milk in front of him, and Jared with a bottle of orange juice. Lunch break was almost over so there were only a few students milling about, giving them a semblance of privacy.
“You’re wearing your work clothes,” Jared said after a few moments of silence.
“Yep.”
It was true. Jensen had on a polo with the campus logo on that he pulled on when he got to work, but threw in with the clinic’s laundry, so he usually wore his own stuff on the way to and from home.
The awkwardness was setting in. It was weird - on the bus it’s like they’d been friends for years but here, now, he had no idea how to act. Maybe dragging Jared over here had been a mistake. What was he thinking; they weren’t real friends. They just happened to spend 20 minutes of each day in the same place.
“So Sandy and I broke up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jensen said after a moment’s hesitation.
Jared was playing with the label on his juice. “Yeah, me too. It’s just.” He huffed out a laugh. “We got together sophomore year of college. That’s a long time. After a while you just figure this is the way things are, you know?”
Jensen just gave Jared a strained smile. He didn’t, really, never having had a relationship that had gotten quite that serious, but he was willing to take Jared’s words for it.
“Anyway, I guess I should have seen it coming. Maybe a part of me did, I just didn’t want to see it. She wants to move away, but I want to get a dog, and just. Fuck, this means I’m going to have to find a new place.” He pushed his juice away and rested his forehead on the table, buried one hand in the hair on the back of his head and the other clutched the edge of the table. Jensen resisted the urge to pat him on the shoulder or show any other kind of physical affection, just sat there and listened to Jared talk.
When Jared left, a while later, he pulled Jensen into a tight hug and whispered “thanks, man” into his ear. It left him off kilter for the remainder of the day.
---
The next morning Jared wasn’t on the bus, nor the day after. Jensen contemplated taking the bus half an hour earlier, or later, to see if Jared was there instead, before dismissing the thought as being way too stalkery. Besides, if Jared had switched bus routes to avoid Jensen he was probably doing so for a reason. So Jensen didn’t change his routine. If Jared wanted to talk he knew where to find him.
Once again Jensen cursed himself for getting so ridiculously attached to someone he took the bus with, for chrissakes. The weekend came. Jensen had just about reconciled himself with the fact that Jared had moved out and wouldn’t be taking the bus with him, ever again, or that they had crossed some sort of line last week and now Jared didn’t want to anymore, when he saw a familiar mop of hair over the crowd the next Monday morning as stepped on the bus, clutching the mug Jared had given him. He couldn’t decide if he was disappointed that it looked like he and Sandy had patched things up, or happy, as long as it meant that he could keep seeing Jared.
“So guess what,” Jared said as he moved his bag off the seat next to him to make space for Jensen. He looked a little tired, but otherwise mostly the way he always did. “I thought I was going to have to move but we figured out that since Sandy is going to move to a new city next month it makes sense for her to stay with her parents for a while, and one of my old college buddies is looking for a place to live so he’s going to be my new roommate. So you’re not getting rid of me this easily.” He winked at Jensen.
“Damnit. And here I was getting all ready to have my bus ride in silence again, rather than having some idiot yapping my ear off every morning.”
“Nonsense. You’d miss me too much.” Jared threw his arm around Jensen’s shoulder and pulled him in in a pseudo-hug.
Jensen pretended to fight him off, but couldn’t keep the grin of his face. Yeah, he would.
---
Things went mostly back to normal after that. Jared was a little quieter, a little more subdued for a while, but he still told his jokes and stories, now of his roommate as well. It was only then that Jensen realized how little Jared had talked about Sandy. Strange, considering he told Jensen about pretty much everything else. At this point Jensen knew where Jared had grown up, what his family was like, his favourite food, what teams he cheered for in four different sports, and some of the highlights from his college years. Jared had managed to coax almost the same amount of information out of him in return.
Although Jared was technically available now, Jensen wasn’t going to make a move. Not yet, at least. Jared was still getting over a serious relationship, and there was no indication that he was attracted to Jensen. Well, the friendliness and the touching could have been a sign, but they were nothing new, so Jensen made sure he didn’t change anything about his behaviour from when he knew Jared was living with his girlfriend.
The holidays came and Jensen didn’t see Jared for a couple of weeks. He knew that he had become attached to his morning routine but it didn’t hit him exactly how much until he was opening the presents at his parents’ house with his nephew and niece, and his first thought was I can’t wait to tell Jared about this.
---
January was coming to a close and Jared seemed twitchy.
“Look, just.” Jared made a frustrated sort of noise. “Will you just have coffee with me already?”
“What do you mean,” Jensen laughed. “I have coffee with you every morning.”
“No, I mean.” Jared licked his lips and Jensen couldn’t help tracking the movement with his eyes, before he dragged his gaze up again. “Like, have coffee. With me. Not on the bus.”
“Um.” Jensen swallowed. “Like, a date?”
“Yes, like a date. Unless you’re not interested, of course.”
“No!” Jensen was having trouble following this conversation. “I mean, no, it’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just-“
“Just what?”
“I didn’t know that you were interested.”
“So the excessive flirting didn’t tip you off?” Jared sounded almost amused.
Jensen huffed a laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “Um, no. I guess it didn’t.”
“Damnit. My momma always told me that if I behave like this towards everyone they’ll never know if I’m actually hitting on them.”
Jensen just stared.
“To make sure that there’s no confusion, let me spell it out for you.” He turned so that he was looking straight into Jensen’s eyes, their thighs pressed together on the narrow bus seats. “I like you, Jensen Ackles. You’re funny, interesting, ridiculously attractive, and your addiction to coffee and your hate of mornings is almost adorable. I want to see you when we’re not restricted to twenty minutes a day in a crowded space, or I’m having a breakdown in the middle of campus. And maybe something more. So what do you say?”
“Just say yes already!” a voice said from behind them. Jensen whipped his head around to look into the eyes of a middle-aged woman with a fond look on her face.
“Yeah, come on. You’ve been dancing around each other forever,” someone else said from across the aisle.
“Dancing? Try eye-fucking,” said one of the teenagers from the back of the bus.
Jensen flushed. “Jared,” he hissed. “Couldn’t you have left this conversation for a slightly more private place?”
Jared was sitting up tall, looking around the bus with wonder. The attention of almost the entire back half of the bus was trained on them. “I was trying! What did you think the whole asking for coffee was about? It’s not my fault the people on this bus are such nosy bastards.”
The woman behind them giggled, the guy across the aisle snorted and the teenagers in the back rolled their eyes.
“You still haven’t given me an answer, though.” He looked back at Jensen. “Will you accompany me to a more private place so we can finish this conversation?” The corners of his eyes crinkled, and if Jensen hadn’t been so mortified he’d want nothing more than to haul Jared in for a kiss. Right after the floor opening up and swallowing him whole, that was.
“Yes,” Jensen answered through gritted teeth. This moment really could have been more romantic.
---
Next Saturday afternoon they were sitting in a coffee shop off campus, a few blocks away from Jared’s apartment, a cup of black coffee on the table in front of Jensen and an elaborate mocha concoction with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top for Jared. He was wearing nicely cut jeans and a jacket Jensen hadn’t seen before, and his hair wasn’t quite as unruly as it often was first thing in the morning.
It was a little awkward at first. All of Jensen’s normal “first date” questions were out, as they’d already covered pretty much every topic imaginable. Then Jared unzipped his jacket and showed Jensen what shirt he was wearing - white, just a little bit too small, with a random logo in the back. Jensen laughed, and it was like the dam had been broken. They fell into easy conversation like so many times before, except this time without the ticking clock of the bus approaching their workplace and the added tension from the knowledge that they were both on the same page now.
Inevitably that’s where the conversation turned. “I mean, I’ve always been attracted to you. The world is full of attractive people, I just never gave it much thought, since I was with Sandy. No point thinking about something that isn’t going to happen, you know?”
Jensen nodded.
“But then we broke up. It took me a while to get my head on straight, but then it just hit me. That I was allowed to look. So I looked.” He was looking at Jensen with a heated, focused sort of gaze that him exhale shakily, desire pooling in his gut. He’d spent a long time trying not to look at Jared that way, with varied results. It was still fucking with his mind a little to know that he didn’t have to anymore.
“And, uh, then what.”
“You’ve been driving me crazy, Jensen.” Jared’s voice had turned lower and hoarser and Jensen’s eyes were fixed on his mouth.
“Wanna get out of here?”
“My roommate is out of town for the weekend.”
They grabbed their stuff and rushed outside. Jensen had his car and Jared directed him to his apartment.
When Jensen’s lips finally touched Jared’s it felt like they had been waiting for this for months. Perhaps from that first time Jensen doused Jared’s shirt in coffee. Jared coaxed Jensen’s mouth open with his tongue and moaned, one large hand wrapped around the back of Jensen’s skull and the other resting on his hip. Jensen kicked off his shoes as he kissed Jared back before sliding one hand up his chest and into his thick hair, holding on tight. He wanted to shake with how good it felt.
“Bedroom?” Jared murmured against his skin as he trailed kisses down his neck, pulled at Jensen’s shirt to get his tongue on his collarbone, nipping slightly.
Jensen nodded as he exhaled, his eyes fluttering closed. He’d take the tour later. Jared laced their fingers together and pulled him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He dropped his jacket to the floor and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, lifting it up and over his head where it got tangled.
“Shit. This shirt is too fucking small.” His muffled voice came from behind the fabric and Jensen couldn’t help but laugh.
“Way to be a buzzkill,” he said as he tried helping Jared to yank the shirt off. He was reminded of the last time he saw Jared’s bare chest. This was infinitely more enjoyable, and he took full advantage of the permission to look and touch this time.
“It’s not like I planned this!” Jared sounded indignant, although it was hard to take any irritation seriously when his elbow was stuck by his ear, and the other arm flailed around looking for something to hold on to. “It’s this damn shirt.”
“Hey now, no dissing the shirt. I’m quite fond of it,” Jensen replied. “You’re too tall, I can’t reach up.” He grabbed Jared’s hips and walked him backwards until the back of Jared’s thighs hit the bed. “Sit down and stop squirming.”
Jared obeyed, and Jensen finally managed to untangle arms, hair and shirt. Jared blinked, his face and chest was flushed and his hair was sticking in all directions. Jensen swallowed at the thought that soon he might look like that again, but for completely different reasons. He stepped closer so that he was standing in the V of Jared’s legs and rested his hands on Jared’s shoulders, softly stroking the space behind his ear with his thumb. “So,” he said. “Have you done this before?”
Jared licked his lips. “You mean with a guy?”
Jensen hummed a ‘yes’ that turned into a soft groan as Jared grabbed his hips and pulled him forward, lifted the hem of his shirt and pressed wet, open-mouthed kisses to his stomach. “Once or twice,” he said between kisses, pushing Jensen’s shirt up higher and following with his mouth and latched onto a nipple. “Just not for a while,” he said, voice husky, before moving on to the other one. “But I promise I’m a fast learner.” He grinned at Jensen, peering up at him through his bangs. “Now take this off.”
Jensen rushed to comply and quickly his shirt joined the other one on the floor, excitement and arousal thrumming through his veins.
A few moments later they were both naked. Jared was lying on top of Jensen, one hand clutching his wrist and pressing it into the mattress, their tongues tangling together as he rolled his hips in a most delicious way, their leaking cocks slip-sliding against each other, Jared's large body easily pinning Jensen down. He shuddered and grabbed a handful of Jared’s hair, positioning his head so that their mouths fit together better, eliciting a moan that Jensen swallowed up and echoed back when Jared canted his hips, increasing the amazing friction. It wasn’t enough, though, and Jensen shifted so that he could squeeze one hand down between them, and took Jared in his hand, stroking the throbbing, velvety skin.
“Fuck, that feels good,” Jared mumbled. Having given up on kissing, he’d moved on to panting against Jensen’s neck. He brought his other hand down and joined Jensen’s, wrapping long fingers around both of them and jerking maddeningly slowly, leaning onto his elbow. Jensen made a sound that was almost whining, trying to get Jared to speed up, but Jared kept the pace slow, Jensen’s other hand still trapped in Jared’s grip. He felt the pleasure build up at the base of his spine, his thighs tensing and his toes curling until he came with a loud shudder, his head falling back onto the pillow. Jared followed soon after, collapsing on top of Jensen and catching his breath.
He reached over and fumbled blindly on the floor until he found a shirt and used it to wipe off most of the mess before discarding it back on the floor.
“Was that my shirt?” Jensen asked, almost too fucked-out to care.
“I think so,” Jared replied, sounding pretty much exactly how Jensen felt. “Although, really, it should be mine by now.”
Jensen chuckled and raised one hand to card it through Jared’s hair. “Well, it’s certainly proven useful. More than once.”
“I’ll frame it and put it over the mantelpiece,” Jared muttered, sounding adorably sleepy.
“As long as you wash it first,” Jensen replied, chuckling when Jared shook his head against his chest, his thick hair tickling Jensen’s nose.
---
When Jensen stirred the next morning he felt an arm slung across his middle, and a warm puff of air grazed his ear.
They ended up ordering Thai food before going for a second round in Jared’s bed and then falling asleep. Jensen carefully disentangled him from Jared, smiling as he groaned in his sleep and clutched his pillow as Jensen slipped away, picked up his boxers from the floor and went looking for the bathroom.
When he got back to the bedroom Jared had stood up and was yawning loudly, stretching one arm high into the air. “Wanna borrow a shirt, or something?” He sounded groggy, and his bed hair was very impressive. He was without a doubt one of the most attractive things Jensen had ever seen.
“Sure,” Jensen said, smiling. Jared dug through his closet and threw a pair of sweatpants with the university logo on the bed, and a Cowboys shirt, before dragging out another pair of pants for himself. They were slightly too big on Jensen, the pants bunching up around his ankles and the sleeves of the shirt reaching close to his elbows.
“I think it’s about time that you wear something of mine,” Jared said as he stepped closer to Jensen, who leaned into his warmth.
“Shut up and make me breakfast.”
Jared laughed, kissed him softly on the mouth and then walked downstairs. “Let’s see what we can find,” he called over his shoulder.
“As long as there’s coffee, I don’t really care,” Jensen said as he followed Jared down. He was incredibly content, much more so than he normally would be on the morning after a first date.
“Um.” Jared said as he entered the kitchen. “That might pose a problem.”
“There’s no coffee?”
Jared turned around, apologetic. “I don’t really drink coffee, it makes me way too wired. Instead I usually just go for runs in the morning. Which, as you may have noticed, I didn’t do today, maybe because I’m hoping I’ll be able to substitute the exercise with a different kind of activity but basically no, there’s no coffee.”
Jensen groaned. “You’re way too awake this early in the morning. I can’t process before I’ve had my coffee.”
“I think we can make it work,” Jared said as he pulled Jensen into a deep kiss in front of the fridge.
---
Jared and Jensen still took the same bus every morning. But now they got on at the same time at least a few times a week, as well.
THE END
Rating/Warning: NC/17 (sexual content)
Wordcount: 7300
By: kazie_oh
pairing: Jared/Jensen, some Jared/Sandy
Disclaimer: own nothing, don't sue!
Summary: Jared and Jensen ride the same bus every morning.
A/N: gift for gypsy_sunday through spn_j2_xmas. I am so sorry for the delay! RL kicked my butt, and the fic ran away from me, but it's finally done. A huge thanks to 13chapters for the beta!
I chose the prompt "J2 AU: Jared and Jensen ride the same bus every morning" and tried to incorporate some of your likes as well, although there is much more of Jared wearing Jensen's clothes than the other way around! I changed Jensen's birthday, and there's lots of coffee. I hope you enjoy, and that you've been having a great holiday!
The bus was unusually full this morning. Jensen cursed his gullibility in believing Chris when he had said ‘just one more drink! Come on man, live a little.’ In his hangover, he’d thrown his alarm clock across the room when it rang, and freaked out when he came to again. He showered quickly, tried to scrub the grime of last night away before rubbing his hair dry with towel, grabbed his stuff and ran out the door. As he rushed towards the bus stop he mourned his normal routine which included dark, rich coffee dripping into his travel mug while he made himself breakfast and packed a lunch.
Jensen felt slightly nauseous as the bus pulled up to the curb, thinking he really should have just taken the car, although that would mean he’d miss his favourite morning activity, looking at the pretty guy that rode the same bus. He had a muffin in a paper bag stuffed into the outside pocket of his gym bag, and a cup of coffee in the other hand after making a stop at the local Starbucks. He squeezed his way through the throngs of people, bag in one hand and a disposable cup in the other, the hot coffee burning his fingers through the smooth cardboard. He was aiming for a seat toward the back when the bus jolted to a stop and Jensen pitched forward, straight into a broad chest. Any hope Jensen he had of being able to pass this off as a regular bump on the bus was dashed as his grip on the coffee cup clenched, the lid popped off and coffee just this side of scalding sloshed over his hand and all over the shirt of the person he bumped into.
“Fuck! That hurts. Oh, shit, I’m so sorry.” Jensen shook coffee off his hand and looked up. Of course the person he doused in coffee was the guy he’d been admiring for the last few weeks on the bus. Jensen’s breath left him, although that may have had something to do with the continuous movement of the bus and people pushing into him from all sides. “Jesus, fuck. Lay off, will you?” he threw across his shoulder, manners lost in the chaos of the moment, answered by a grumble as whoever squeezed into a seat.
Jensen ineffectually tried wiping at the large brown spot on the blue t-shirt while he apologized more, until his fingers brushed a cotton-covered nipple and he realized he was basically fondling the guy’s chest while Hot Guy squirmed, and that his fingers were probably not doing anything other than spreading coffee around. He felt like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill feeling up Julia Roberts, and quickly snatched his hand away as his face flushed from shame. “Sorry,” he grumbled again, as he finally looked the guy in the face.
Brown hair, hazel eyes and a face drawn into a frown stared down at Jensen and his now partially brown shirt. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” He lifted a hand and gingerly pulled the shirt away from his body before letting it go again. Jensen tried not to stare as a firmly sculpted chest and a nipple was visible through the clinging material. He was then pushed to the side as the bus had come to a stop and a group of people pushed through to get off. Some seats were empty now and the guy sat down. Without thinking Jensen sat down next to him, and after a moment’s hesitation threw his now-empty cup on the floor.
“Seriously, I am so, so sorry. This never would have happened if I had my regular mug but I ran out of time this morning so I had this stupid paper cup which I never do because it’s bad for the environment anyway and I hope you don’t have to be anywhere special this morning, and, shit.”
“Dude, calm down, it’s okay,” Hot Guy interrupted in a deep voice. “I mean, I’m supposed to teach in half an hour, but... um. It’ll be fine.” He pulled at his shirt again and winced as the wet material, probably cold by now, clung to him. “Not your fault,” he added.
“Shit,” Jensen said again, and ran his hand through his hair, before he had an idea and pulled his bag up on his lap. “This may sound totally crazy, and I know I’m just a random dude on the bus, but I have an extra shirt. In case you’re interested.”
“You regularly carry around extra shirts?” The guy sounded sceptical.
“Gym clothes,” Jensen replied. He dug through his bag and pulled one out. “It might not fit perfectly, but at least it’s clean.”
“Are you sure?” The guy took the shirt and held it up. It was a plain white t-shirt with a small logo from some company on the back Jensen had gotten as a freebie somewhere years ago. “You know, this might actually work.”
“Hey, least I can do.” Jensen shrugged.
“Do you mind if I-”
It took Jensen a second to realise that the guy meant. “Go right ahead.” He turned his head respectfully as Hot Guy sitting next to him pulled off his wet shirt, used the dry parts of it to wipe at his chest, and then pulled on the one Jensen had handed him, but that didn’t stop him from lingering for a fraction of a second on the bare chest and shoulders, muscles moving before they disappeared under the fabric. Jensen could feel himself flush and tried to focus on something else. The start and stop of the bus, the smell of too many people in a crowded space, buildings and street signs and traffic lights flying by outside. The looks of other passengers who either ignored them completely, were pretending they hadn’t been following the exchange, and a couple that was openly staring at them. Or perhaps mostly at the guy now wearing Jensen’s shirt. And wasn’t it just typical that the first time they actually talked, Jensen both looked like and felt like shit.
“So, what do you think?”
Jensen whipped his head around. “What?”
“The shirt. Does it look okay?”
Jensen blinked. The guy was taller and broader than Jensen, for sure, but the shirt was rather large on him so it almost fit. Jensen could tell that if he were to lift his arms the shirt would ride up and show a sliver of skin.
“Looks good,” he said.
“Yeah?” the guy replied. He moved his arms around, wincing as the edges of the shirt dug into his skin. “It’s kinda small.”
Jensen was about to start apologising again but Hot Shirt Guy barrelled forward. “But hey, what are the chances of the guy who spills coffee all over you just before your first day of teaching actually carries around an extra shirt? It would be pretty demanding of me to expect it to fit perfectly as well.” The edges of the guy’s mouth started to curve upward.
“I, uh, I guess.”
The guy’s smile was infections, white teeth and dimples.
“I’m Jared, by the way.” Shirt Guy held out his hand.
“Jensen.” Jared’s hand was warm and his grip firm, and Jensen found himself smiling back at him. “I promise I’m not usually this clumsy.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. You should see me when I get going. With arms and legs this long I’m constantly bumping into things.” Shirt Guy - Jared - waved his hand around as if to illustrate his point. It was, indeed, very long, although perfectly proportionate to the rest of his body.
“So you teach? On campus?” Like Jensen didn’t know exactly where Jared had been getting off the bus every morning for the last several weeks. The first campus stop, the one in front of the science buildings, while Jensen usually got off one stop later by the administrative buildings.
“TA, actually. I’m a grad student. Speaking off, this is my stop.”
Jensen looked out the window and, to his surprise, they were already on campus. He quickly stood up to let Jared squeeze by him.
“Thanks for the shirt. I’ll get it back to you tomorrow morning.” He flashed Jensen another bright grin and hurried towards the opening door.
“Hey no, keep it,” Jensen shot back, although he was pretty sure Jared couldn’t hear him anymore. Jared turned around and waved at him before walking briskly away. Jensen looked at his receding form, tall, tan skin, floppy hair, wearing his shirt, as long as he could, almost until the door was opening at his stop. He scrambled to grab his bag, felt like he was forgetting something before realising that he normally was holding his coffee mug which today was sitting in the sink in his kitchen while the paper cup was crushed underneath his feet. He rushed out of the bus and started walking towards his office, stifling a big yawn. Even though this wasn’t exactly how he had imagined himself getting to know Hot Guy, and he could kick himself for having dumped a gallon of hot coffee all over him, the result wasn’t anything to complain about. Hot Guy had a name. Hot Guy - Jared - now knew Jensen’s name, and was wearing Jensen’s shirt. That did something funny to Jensen’s stomach.
It wasn’t until later in the day that Jensen realized that Jared had said see you tomorrow which meant that he had noticed that Jensen took the same bus every morning as well.
---
The next morning Jensen anxiously waited for the bus to show up. Chances were Hot Guy - Shirt Guy - Jared - was going to be there, and Jensen had no clue how to act. Normally Jensen had no problem talking to people or asking for what he wanted, but this situation wasn’t exactly normal. Bus etiquette held that you ignore your fellow commuters. The occasional conversation is acceptable if the bus breaks down, or something else remarkable has happened, but even so, that doesn’t guarantee you a right to converse with the person the next day. Nothing was more annoying than someone who wouldn’t leave you alone when the contact was totally inappropriate to begin with. Just ignoring Jared could be even ruder, however, and not conducive to asking the guy out.
Jensen needn't have worried. As soon as he stepped on he saw Jared wave at him from a set of double seats in the middle of the bus. Jensen flashed the driver his pass and made his way to Jared, unable to keep from grinning, just a little. It was matched with one from Jared as he scooted over closer to the window. Jensen folded himself together to fit onto the seat, dragging his gym bag onto his lap.
“Kind of a tight fit, hey?” Jared asked.
Jensen huffed a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“I can barely fit my legs into these seats, and god help me if I want to move them around once I’m here.”
Jensen looked. Jared’s jean-clad knees were wedged into the back of the seat in front of him.
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
“I usually try to get the seats at the back, there’s a bit more space there, but they were taken today.”
Jensen turned around and sure enough, a pair of teenagers with large headphones were spread out in the back row, trying their hardest to look like they didn’t belong on the city bus.
“Anyway, I don’t have your shirt.”
Jensen blinked.
“I mean, I will get it to you, I just wanted to wash it first. I was going to throw it in the laundry yesterday but Sandy had just done a shit load of laundry so we were out of quarters. But Monday, yeah?”
“I already told you that I don’t need the shirt back.”
“Come on, man.” Jared looked at him with a pleading sort of look on his face. “Don’t deprive me of my excuse to talk to you again. Please?”
Jensen snorted. “Did you seriously just use puppy dog eyes on me?”
Jared’s eyes twinkled and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Is it working?”
“You’re begging to keep talking to the guy who spilled hot coffee on you? And then acted like a total idiot? You’re deranged, man. I should probably be trying to get away from you.” He made a move as if to stand up, but Jared slapped a large hand on his thigh and pushed him back down.
“Naw, just bored. My iPod only goes one way, you see. Doesn’t appreciate my sparkling wit.”
Jensen let Jared push him down into the seat. “Smart, for an immovable object.”
Jared let out a bark of laugh at that. “Just like its owner. Now, tell me. Why does a handsome fellow like you end up taking the bus every day? Other than to keep me company, of course.”
Jensen grinned. If this wasn’t flirting Jensen was ready to eat his gaydar. Metaphorically speaking.
---
It became a routine after this. Jensen showed up bleary-eyed at the bus stop, same time every day, big travel mug filled with coffee in his hand, and gym bag on his shoulder a couple of times a week, to take advantage of the university facilities . He told Jared about his job as a physiotherapist, working both with athletes and students referred to him by the campus health services, and Jared told him about his grad school experience. He had Jensen in stitches with his stories of his students and their creative quiz responses, as well as his eccentric supervisor.
Although Jensen was most definitely not a morning person, it was quickly becoming his favourite part of the day.
Jared was funny, insanely attractive, and seemed to enjoy Jensen’s company just as much as
Jensen enjoyed Jared’s. Normally, these would be all the ingredients necessary for Jensen to just go ahead and ask someone out. But he’d hate to have his morning commute turn awkward, so he decided to wait until he was sure that Jared was at least available before popping the question. Besides, he didn’t just want to get into Jared’s pants. Just talking to the guy was entertaining enough, so Jensen hadn’t exactly put a hundred percent of his effort into finding out whether he’d be able to take their friendship to the next level. And there was no way Jared was so incredibly outgoing and energetic to be able to keep up the kind of enthusiasm, focus and humour in his conversations with all people - he had to be flirting.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“So what’s your commute story? I thought grad students didn’t have very stringent schedules. Don’t tell me you have class at nine every morning,” Jensen asked Jared the week after the coffee incidence. It was raining outside, big drops splashing against the window where it was visible through the condensation, the air thick with the smell of wet clothes and exhaled breath. Jensen’s umbrella was on the floor between his feet, leaking into his socks. He tried to kick it around but only succeeded in making one of the spokes poke into his other foot.
“Negatory,” Jared replied before taking a long slurp of his smoothie. He’d tried to convince Jensen to try some earlier but failed, because it was green. “I do have tutorials twice a week in the morning, and just decided to try to get into a routine. I like doing the same thing every day, keeps me focused. Besides, starting the day early means it’s done earlier, right?” He gave Jensen a big toothy grin complete with a piece of spinach stuck between his front teeth.
“You have, a, um.” Jensen gestured vaguely at his own teeth.
“I have a what?” Jared wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then used his thumb on the corners of his mouth, bending and twisting it into ridiculous shapes that had Jensen chuckling.
“No, in your, um. Teeth.” He pointed at the same spot in his own mouth, shamelessly taking advantage of this excuse to stare at Jared’s mouth with impunity. It wasn’t his most attractive moment, digging with his fingers to dislodge the offending piece of greenery, but Jensen was enjoying it all the same. Straight white teeth, glistening lips and the dimples peeked out occasionally.
Jared wiped his finger on his jeans and kept talking like nothing had happened. “Besides, it means my girlfriend can take the car, since her work is further away. We really can’t afford keeping two cars, what with me being back in school, and all.” He flashed Jensen another grin, this time spinach-free. “All gone? I won’t have to get a paper bag and cut holes out of it in order to be able to show my face in class? Or, not show my face, as it were.”
Oh. Well. That was that.
Extremely outgoing and energetic it was.
---
Jensen was no stranger to finding out that the objects of his interest were unavailable. He wasn’t too put out. After all, Jared was just a random guy on the bus. Or something.
“You all right, man?” Jensen said as he swung himself into the seat next to Jared. It was hot even though it was October, and he was happy to be out of the beating sun and into the air conditioned interior of the bus. Jensen was so ready for jacket weather.
“Yeah, just.” Jared ran his large palm down the side of his face and groaned. “I have this assignment that I just can’t figure out. It kept me up all night.”
“Sucks.” That was one thing Jensen definitely didn’t miss about still being a student. “Did you manage it in the end?”
Jared sucked in a breath and sat up straighter in the seat and blinked, before closing his eyes and leaning his head against the window. “Yeah, I think so. Still needs some work,” he mumbled.
Jensen caught himself staring as Jared tried to make himself more comfortable. He looked almost childlike; well, as much as a giant could. “Dude, why didn’t you just sleep in? You look exhausted.”
“Can’t. Teaching today.” Jared yawned, then took his bag and wedged it between his head and the window, before frowning and giving up. “You should be taller, then I could use you as a pillow.”
Jensen swallowed, as Jared leaned his head in the other direction and onto Jensen’s shoulder.
“Um. I’ll get right on that?”
“Besides, then I wouldn’t see you. At least I didn’t go for a run this morning. This is better.” Jared slouched down in the seat until his head was level with Jensen’s shoulder and he could better rest his head on it. After a few moments his breath evened out and his mouth fell slack.
Jensen sat stiffly. This was definitely not normal bus etiquette. But then again, it’s not like Jared had ever adhered to proper bus etiquette. A few minutes later he relaxed and decided to enjoy it. It wasn’t often he got an excuse to shamelessly take in the curve of his lips, the shape of his nose, the firm lines of his shoulder. Jared’s hair tickled Jensen’s cheek and he could feel the warmth from where they were pressed together. When Jared’s stop approached, way too soon, Jensen roused him gently. Jared sat up and yawned, stretched his arms high above his head so that his shirt rode up and Jensen could see a sliver of skin. “See you tomorrow,” he mumbled, put a hand on Jensen’s shoulder where his head had been moments earlier to steady himself as he climbed over Jensen and exited the bus.
---
Jared was practically beaming by the time Jensen sat down next to him, apparently having managed to get the seats in the back today.
“What made you so happy,” Jensen muttered, clutching his coffee to his chest. He’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before so his I’m-not-a-morning-person side was in full effect, and he wanted nothing more than his pillow. It was almost against the natural order of things how bouncy Jared could be in the morning.
“Look!” Jared waved a piece of paper in front of Jensen’s eyes.
“Dude, calm down. You’re gonna give me a paper cut on my nose!”
“Sorry.” Jared looked admonished, but only for a second. “But seriously, look.” He held the paper out between them this time, and Jensen blinked a few times before leaning over and starting to read.
“What am I looking at here?”
Jared pointed to the bottom of the page where there were a few handwritten comments and then a large A circled with a pen. “I got an A! Remember that time last week when I almost fell asleep on the bus, I’d been up so late working?”
Of course he did. Jared had looked ridiculously adorable all sleepy like that.
“Well, I was working on this. I seriously busted my ass off, and it paid off. I got an A!” Jared’s smile was super-nova bright and he did a little dance in the seat.
“That’s awesome, man. Congratulations!” Jensen laughed.
---
Jared had a funny look on his face when Jensen sat down next to him one morning. He was wearing the jeans with the hole by the knee and an old hoodie, which meant that today he had neither class nor tutorials.
“The other day you were putting your bus pass back into your wallet and I saw your birthday on your driver’s license. I realise this makes me a creeper. I don’t care. Happy birthday.”
Despite Jared’s insistence that he didn’t care Jensen could see that he did. His smile was big and toothy, as ever, but the look in his eyes was a little uncertain. There was a giant sturdy travel mug with a solid handle in his hand that said caffeine loading, please wait over a half-coloured bar, like a computer program.
Jensen felt something swell in his chest. “Dude, you really didn’t have to.”
“I know. Did it anyway. Here, take it.” He thrust the mug towards Jensen who happily accepted it, turned it around for examination.
“It’s seriously great. Thanks.” He hoped the smile on his face wasn’t as ridiculously goofy as he felt right now. He wanted to hug the guy.
“You’re welcome.” Jared slapped a hand on Jensen’s shoulder, and kept it there a while. “My birthday’s in July, by the way. I want a puppy.”
Jensen snorted.
---
A few weeks later Jensen was heading back to his office after his lunch break. The end of the semester was near which meant an increase in students coming to see him that had overdone it with lying over the books, in addition to his normal load of student athletes that needed their injuries assessed and managed, so he had been staying very busy. So busy that he’d come into work an hour early this morning to revise some treatment plans, and that was saying a lot considering his intense dislike for early mornings. It meant he hadn’t seen Jared this morning but he’d see him tomorrow.
He walked over the quad but stopped when he saw a familiar sight. Jared was standing on the path in front of him, staring at his phone. “Yo, Jared. Hey!” Jensen smiled and jogged the last few steps towards him but faltered when he saw the look on Jared’s face. The smile that was normally there was gone, replaced with tight lines around his mouth and red-looking eyes.
“Hey,” he replied in a small voice.
“Are you alright? Are you sick? Should I call someone? Should I call your uh, Sandy?”
Jared gave a short, almost bitter laugh at that, still looking down. “No, not sick. Definitely don’t call Sandy.”
Jensen ran his hand through his hair and let it rest at the back of his neck. “You’re freaking me out here, man. At least come with me and I’ll get you some coffee or something, okay? I don’t want you walking into something.”
“Don’t you have work?” Jared sounded just as miserable as he looked, and that he didn’t object to Jensen’s jibe convinced him more than anything that something was seriously wrong.
“Nah, don’t have an appointment till three. Was going to catch up on some paperwork but it can wait. Come on.” He put his hand on Jared’s elbow and pulled him forward. A part of him cursed that the only time he ran into Jared outside of the bus it had to be something like this, but it was quickly overshadowed by genuine concern.
A few minutes later had them sitting in a secluded corner at one of the campus coffee shops, Jensen with a cup of black coffee with a little bit of milk in front of him, and Jared with a bottle of orange juice. Lunch break was almost over so there were only a few students milling about, giving them a semblance of privacy.
“You’re wearing your work clothes,” Jared said after a few moments of silence.
“Yep.”
It was true. Jensen had on a polo with the campus logo on that he pulled on when he got to work, but threw in with the clinic’s laundry, so he usually wore his own stuff on the way to and from home.
The awkwardness was setting in. It was weird - on the bus it’s like they’d been friends for years but here, now, he had no idea how to act. Maybe dragging Jared over here had been a mistake. What was he thinking; they weren’t real friends. They just happened to spend 20 minutes of each day in the same place.
“So Sandy and I broke up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jensen said after a moment’s hesitation.
Jared was playing with the label on his juice. “Yeah, me too. It’s just.” He huffed out a laugh. “We got together sophomore year of college. That’s a long time. After a while you just figure this is the way things are, you know?”
Jensen just gave Jared a strained smile. He didn’t, really, never having had a relationship that had gotten quite that serious, but he was willing to take Jared’s words for it.
“Anyway, I guess I should have seen it coming. Maybe a part of me did, I just didn’t want to see it. She wants to move away, but I want to get a dog, and just. Fuck, this means I’m going to have to find a new place.” He pushed his juice away and rested his forehead on the table, buried one hand in the hair on the back of his head and the other clutched the edge of the table. Jensen resisted the urge to pat him on the shoulder or show any other kind of physical affection, just sat there and listened to Jared talk.
When Jared left, a while later, he pulled Jensen into a tight hug and whispered “thanks, man” into his ear. It left him off kilter for the remainder of the day.
---
The next morning Jared wasn’t on the bus, nor the day after. Jensen contemplated taking the bus half an hour earlier, or later, to see if Jared was there instead, before dismissing the thought as being way too stalkery. Besides, if Jared had switched bus routes to avoid Jensen he was probably doing so for a reason. So Jensen didn’t change his routine. If Jared wanted to talk he knew where to find him.
Once again Jensen cursed himself for getting so ridiculously attached to someone he took the bus with, for chrissakes. The weekend came. Jensen had just about reconciled himself with the fact that Jared had moved out and wouldn’t be taking the bus with him, ever again, or that they had crossed some sort of line last week and now Jared didn’t want to anymore, when he saw a familiar mop of hair over the crowd the next Monday morning as stepped on the bus, clutching the mug Jared had given him. He couldn’t decide if he was disappointed that it looked like he and Sandy had patched things up, or happy, as long as it meant that he could keep seeing Jared.
“So guess what,” Jared said as he moved his bag off the seat next to him to make space for Jensen. He looked a little tired, but otherwise mostly the way he always did. “I thought I was going to have to move but we figured out that since Sandy is going to move to a new city next month it makes sense for her to stay with her parents for a while, and one of my old college buddies is looking for a place to live so he’s going to be my new roommate. So you’re not getting rid of me this easily.” He winked at Jensen.
“Damnit. And here I was getting all ready to have my bus ride in silence again, rather than having some idiot yapping my ear off every morning.”
“Nonsense. You’d miss me too much.” Jared threw his arm around Jensen’s shoulder and pulled him in in a pseudo-hug.
Jensen pretended to fight him off, but couldn’t keep the grin of his face. Yeah, he would.
---
Things went mostly back to normal after that. Jared was a little quieter, a little more subdued for a while, but he still told his jokes and stories, now of his roommate as well. It was only then that Jensen realized how little Jared had talked about Sandy. Strange, considering he told Jensen about pretty much everything else. At this point Jensen knew where Jared had grown up, what his family was like, his favourite food, what teams he cheered for in four different sports, and some of the highlights from his college years. Jared had managed to coax almost the same amount of information out of him in return.
Although Jared was technically available now, Jensen wasn’t going to make a move. Not yet, at least. Jared was still getting over a serious relationship, and there was no indication that he was attracted to Jensen. Well, the friendliness and the touching could have been a sign, but they were nothing new, so Jensen made sure he didn’t change anything about his behaviour from when he knew Jared was living with his girlfriend.
The holidays came and Jensen didn’t see Jared for a couple of weeks. He knew that he had become attached to his morning routine but it didn’t hit him exactly how much until he was opening the presents at his parents’ house with his nephew and niece, and his first thought was I can’t wait to tell Jared about this.
---
January was coming to a close and Jared seemed twitchy.
“Look, just.” Jared made a frustrated sort of noise. “Will you just have coffee with me already?”
“What do you mean,” Jensen laughed. “I have coffee with you every morning.”
“No, I mean.” Jared licked his lips and Jensen couldn’t help tracking the movement with his eyes, before he dragged his gaze up again. “Like, have coffee. With me. Not on the bus.”
“Um.” Jensen swallowed. “Like, a date?”
“Yes, like a date. Unless you’re not interested, of course.”
“No!” Jensen was having trouble following this conversation. “I mean, no, it’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just-“
“Just what?”
“I didn’t know that you were interested.”
“So the excessive flirting didn’t tip you off?” Jared sounded almost amused.
Jensen huffed a laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “Um, no. I guess it didn’t.”
“Damnit. My momma always told me that if I behave like this towards everyone they’ll never know if I’m actually hitting on them.”
Jensen just stared.
“To make sure that there’s no confusion, let me spell it out for you.” He turned so that he was looking straight into Jensen’s eyes, their thighs pressed together on the narrow bus seats. “I like you, Jensen Ackles. You’re funny, interesting, ridiculously attractive, and your addiction to coffee and your hate of mornings is almost adorable. I want to see you when we’re not restricted to twenty minutes a day in a crowded space, or I’m having a breakdown in the middle of campus. And maybe something more. So what do you say?”
“Just say yes already!” a voice said from behind them. Jensen whipped his head around to look into the eyes of a middle-aged woman with a fond look on her face.
“Yeah, come on. You’ve been dancing around each other forever,” someone else said from across the aisle.
“Dancing? Try eye-fucking,” said one of the teenagers from the back of the bus.
Jensen flushed. “Jared,” he hissed. “Couldn’t you have left this conversation for a slightly more private place?”
Jared was sitting up tall, looking around the bus with wonder. The attention of almost the entire back half of the bus was trained on them. “I was trying! What did you think the whole asking for coffee was about? It’s not my fault the people on this bus are such nosy bastards.”
The woman behind them giggled, the guy across the aisle snorted and the teenagers in the back rolled their eyes.
“You still haven’t given me an answer, though.” He looked back at Jensen. “Will you accompany me to a more private place so we can finish this conversation?” The corners of his eyes crinkled, and if Jensen hadn’t been so mortified he’d want nothing more than to haul Jared in for a kiss. Right after the floor opening up and swallowing him whole, that was.
“Yes,” Jensen answered through gritted teeth. This moment really could have been more romantic.
---
Next Saturday afternoon they were sitting in a coffee shop off campus, a few blocks away from Jared’s apartment, a cup of black coffee on the table in front of Jensen and an elaborate mocha concoction with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top for Jared. He was wearing nicely cut jeans and a jacket Jensen hadn’t seen before, and his hair wasn’t quite as unruly as it often was first thing in the morning.
It was a little awkward at first. All of Jensen’s normal “first date” questions were out, as they’d already covered pretty much every topic imaginable. Then Jared unzipped his jacket and showed Jensen what shirt he was wearing - white, just a little bit too small, with a random logo in the back. Jensen laughed, and it was like the dam had been broken. They fell into easy conversation like so many times before, except this time without the ticking clock of the bus approaching their workplace and the added tension from the knowledge that they were both on the same page now.
Inevitably that’s where the conversation turned. “I mean, I’ve always been attracted to you. The world is full of attractive people, I just never gave it much thought, since I was with Sandy. No point thinking about something that isn’t going to happen, you know?”
Jensen nodded.
“But then we broke up. It took me a while to get my head on straight, but then it just hit me. That I was allowed to look. So I looked.” He was looking at Jensen with a heated, focused sort of gaze that him exhale shakily, desire pooling in his gut. He’d spent a long time trying not to look at Jared that way, with varied results. It was still fucking with his mind a little to know that he didn’t have to anymore.
“And, uh, then what.”
“You’ve been driving me crazy, Jensen.” Jared’s voice had turned lower and hoarser and Jensen’s eyes were fixed on his mouth.
“Wanna get out of here?”
“My roommate is out of town for the weekend.”
They grabbed their stuff and rushed outside. Jensen had his car and Jared directed him to his apartment.
When Jensen’s lips finally touched Jared’s it felt like they had been waiting for this for months. Perhaps from that first time Jensen doused Jared’s shirt in coffee. Jared coaxed Jensen’s mouth open with his tongue and moaned, one large hand wrapped around the back of Jensen’s skull and the other resting on his hip. Jensen kicked off his shoes as he kissed Jared back before sliding one hand up his chest and into his thick hair, holding on tight. He wanted to shake with how good it felt.
“Bedroom?” Jared murmured against his skin as he trailed kisses down his neck, pulled at Jensen’s shirt to get his tongue on his collarbone, nipping slightly.
Jensen nodded as he exhaled, his eyes fluttering closed. He’d take the tour later. Jared laced their fingers together and pulled him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He dropped his jacket to the floor and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, lifting it up and over his head where it got tangled.
“Shit. This shirt is too fucking small.” His muffled voice came from behind the fabric and Jensen couldn’t help but laugh.
“Way to be a buzzkill,” he said as he tried helping Jared to yank the shirt off. He was reminded of the last time he saw Jared’s bare chest. This was infinitely more enjoyable, and he took full advantage of the permission to look and touch this time.
“It’s not like I planned this!” Jared sounded indignant, although it was hard to take any irritation seriously when his elbow was stuck by his ear, and the other arm flailed around looking for something to hold on to. “It’s this damn shirt.”
“Hey now, no dissing the shirt. I’m quite fond of it,” Jensen replied. “You’re too tall, I can’t reach up.” He grabbed Jared’s hips and walked him backwards until the back of Jared’s thighs hit the bed. “Sit down and stop squirming.”
Jared obeyed, and Jensen finally managed to untangle arms, hair and shirt. Jared blinked, his face and chest was flushed and his hair was sticking in all directions. Jensen swallowed at the thought that soon he might look like that again, but for completely different reasons. He stepped closer so that he was standing in the V of Jared’s legs and rested his hands on Jared’s shoulders, softly stroking the space behind his ear with his thumb. “So,” he said. “Have you done this before?”
Jared licked his lips. “You mean with a guy?”
Jensen hummed a ‘yes’ that turned into a soft groan as Jared grabbed his hips and pulled him forward, lifted the hem of his shirt and pressed wet, open-mouthed kisses to his stomach. “Once or twice,” he said between kisses, pushing Jensen’s shirt up higher and following with his mouth and latched onto a nipple. “Just not for a while,” he said, voice husky, before moving on to the other one. “But I promise I’m a fast learner.” He grinned at Jensen, peering up at him through his bangs. “Now take this off.”
Jensen rushed to comply and quickly his shirt joined the other one on the floor, excitement and arousal thrumming through his veins.
A few moments later they were both naked. Jared was lying on top of Jensen, one hand clutching his wrist and pressing it into the mattress, their tongues tangling together as he rolled his hips in a most delicious way, their leaking cocks slip-sliding against each other, Jared's large body easily pinning Jensen down. He shuddered and grabbed a handful of Jared’s hair, positioning his head so that their mouths fit together better, eliciting a moan that Jensen swallowed up and echoed back when Jared canted his hips, increasing the amazing friction. It wasn’t enough, though, and Jensen shifted so that he could squeeze one hand down between them, and took Jared in his hand, stroking the throbbing, velvety skin.
“Fuck, that feels good,” Jared mumbled. Having given up on kissing, he’d moved on to panting against Jensen’s neck. He brought his other hand down and joined Jensen’s, wrapping long fingers around both of them and jerking maddeningly slowly, leaning onto his elbow. Jensen made a sound that was almost whining, trying to get Jared to speed up, but Jared kept the pace slow, Jensen’s other hand still trapped in Jared’s grip. He felt the pleasure build up at the base of his spine, his thighs tensing and his toes curling until he came with a loud shudder, his head falling back onto the pillow. Jared followed soon after, collapsing on top of Jensen and catching his breath.
He reached over and fumbled blindly on the floor until he found a shirt and used it to wipe off most of the mess before discarding it back on the floor.
“Was that my shirt?” Jensen asked, almost too fucked-out to care.
“I think so,” Jared replied, sounding pretty much exactly how Jensen felt. “Although, really, it should be mine by now.”
Jensen chuckled and raised one hand to card it through Jared’s hair. “Well, it’s certainly proven useful. More than once.”
“I’ll frame it and put it over the mantelpiece,” Jared muttered, sounding adorably sleepy.
“As long as you wash it first,” Jensen replied, chuckling when Jared shook his head against his chest, his thick hair tickling Jensen’s nose.
---
When Jensen stirred the next morning he felt an arm slung across his middle, and a warm puff of air grazed his ear.
They ended up ordering Thai food before going for a second round in Jared’s bed and then falling asleep. Jensen carefully disentangled him from Jared, smiling as he groaned in his sleep and clutched his pillow as Jensen slipped away, picked up his boxers from the floor and went looking for the bathroom.
When he got back to the bedroom Jared had stood up and was yawning loudly, stretching one arm high into the air. “Wanna borrow a shirt, or something?” He sounded groggy, and his bed hair was very impressive. He was without a doubt one of the most attractive things Jensen had ever seen.
“Sure,” Jensen said, smiling. Jared dug through his closet and threw a pair of sweatpants with the university logo on the bed, and a Cowboys shirt, before dragging out another pair of pants for himself. They were slightly too big on Jensen, the pants bunching up around his ankles and the sleeves of the shirt reaching close to his elbows.
“I think it’s about time that you wear something of mine,” Jared said as he stepped closer to Jensen, who leaned into his warmth.
“Shut up and make me breakfast.”
Jared laughed, kissed him softly on the mouth and then walked downstairs. “Let’s see what we can find,” he called over his shoulder.
“As long as there’s coffee, I don’t really care,” Jensen said as he followed Jared down. He was incredibly content, much more so than he normally would be on the morning after a first date.
“Um.” Jared said as he entered the kitchen. “That might pose a problem.”
“There’s no coffee?”
Jared turned around, apologetic. “I don’t really drink coffee, it makes me way too wired. Instead I usually just go for runs in the morning. Which, as you may have noticed, I didn’t do today, maybe because I’m hoping I’ll be able to substitute the exercise with a different kind of activity but basically no, there’s no coffee.”
Jensen groaned. “You’re way too awake this early in the morning. I can’t process before I’ve had my coffee.”
“I think we can make it work,” Jared said as he pulled Jensen into a deep kiss in front of the fridge.
---
Jared and Jensen still took the same bus every morning. But now they got on at the same time at least a few times a week, as well.
THE END