Fic: Bridging the Distance
Title: Bridging the Distance
Characters/Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 999
Disclaimer: Jared and Jensen own themselves, I'm not even sure if I own my cats or if they own me.
Summary: Jared just wants Jensen to stay.
Beta: daisiesdaily & dramaqueen469
A/N: This was written for the final spn Olypics event at spnwriterlounge. This is what I entered but it is not original ending because the parameters of the event stated that the fic entered had to be between 500 and 1000 words and the original ending topped the fic out at 1,406 words. Because of that, there are two endings to this fic and the original/alternate ending is linked at the bottom of this.
THIS IS THE HAPPY ONE! - Trust me, that needed to be said in capital letters.
It was the sound of the front hall closet door sliding open that drew Jared in that direction in the first place. In the back of his head there was the nagging feeling that something was off but he couldn’t place what it was. It could have been the noise of jackets being rustled through haphazardly, or the lack of the dogs, or maybe just the fact that someone, Jensen, was at the hall closet in the first place. Because this was not normal, it was too late for either of them to be going anywhere, a glance through the living room patio doors showing grey and black shadows shot through with silver moonlight, only emphasizing that fact.
He shivered at the sight, surprisingly disturbed by something so familiar and had to turn away, choosing, instead, to follow his original path down the hall to seek out Jensen and learn the why and where of his late night leaving. Because that was what it was, he knew it inherently without knowing how, Jensen was leaving and he couldn’t let him. If Jensen walked out the door then only heartbreak would return.
“Jensen?” He called out, his voice no more than a weak whisper under the harsh light of the hall and only then did he realize that it was the only light on in the house. In the back of his mind, he was pretty sure that that should disturb him more than the sight of his night heavy backyard did, but it seemed right somehow, there only being the one light on. Almost like it was more of a stage light then not, lighting up a scene that he hadn’t read for but worried that he already knew the ending of.
Jensen was center in the bright glare, body half in, half out of the closet, blue jeans faded so pale that they were white in some places and Jared’s favorite burgundy sweatshirt darkened to almost black where the shadows of the closet rested against him.
He should have been wondering why Jensen was hunting for a jacket that would only catch on the extra material of the sweatshirt and make it bunch uncomfortably, but he didn’t. There was only room for one pressing thought in his mind, “Don’t go.”
Jensen took a step back and spun slowly to face Jared, a jean jacket bunched in one hand. “I have to.” There was a grief in his voice but it couldn’t hide the edge of finality.
Something cold slammed into Jared’s body and his heart sped up, knocking against his rib cage violently, “No, you don’t.” He shook his head violently against the words and couldn’t stop the urge to reach out and wrap his chilled fingers around the wrist of Jensen’s empty hand.
Jensen tried to smile, but his lips quivered too much for it to be more than a fleeting thought that could have never broken through the sorrow in his eyes. “I can’t stay here, Jay, I’m sorry.”
Desperation tore through Jared; he couldn’t let Jensen do this, he couldn’t. If Jensen walked out he would never be coming back, Jared knew that, and he couldn’t let that happen.
“Yes, you can.” His grip tightening until his fingers ached from it, “Don’t do this. Don't go. Please Jensen.”
Jared’s eyes were stinging, the salt of burgeoning tears making them ache in a way that seemed too familiar for a scene that he knew he had never played. He wanted to blink them out, set them free but the idea of losing Jensen in the momentary blur too frightening to allow.
“I can’t.” Jensen was adamant, his voice getting colder, “You know I can’t Jared. You have to let me go.”
“Never. I love you.” Jared whispered, desperation making his throat tight. “I can’t say goodbye, I won’t.”
Jensen twisted his wrist, and it was like trying to hold onto something slick, it slid easily out of Jared’s grasp no matter that his fingers bled white trying to hold on. He took a step back, and then another, and then another, the door almost appearing to move to meet him and assist in his escape from the house. “You have to.”
“No!”
Jared’s body snapped upright, his back colliding with the thinly padded vinyl chair he had fallen asleep in, stealing the little air he had in his lungs. His body was shaking with adrenaline and his heart thudded painfully in his chest.
His eyes fluttered, trying to blink away the last vestiges of his nightmare, and he reached out automatically for the hand resting at the edge of the bed.
It was supposed to be quick, just some last minute Christmas shopping, Jared left at home to finish packing their bags for their early morning flight to Texas. Jensen had promised he wouldn’t be long, just one store and then back. Jared had kissed him goodbye and sent him off with a warning to mind the slick streets, not really worried.
The witnesses said that Jensen hadn’t reacted, probably hadn’t even seen the delivery van speeding to get through the yellow light that turned red long before it slid uncontrollably into the intersection.
If Jensen had been driving anything smaller than his truck he would have been killed when the van slammed into the driver’s door. Instead, his left arm and shoulder were broken, his left hip dislocated, his kidney damaged, internal bleeding, and his head had compacted hard enough with the driver’s side window that he was still unconscious three days later.
Jared’s heart skipped a beat, what if Jensen didn’t wake up? What if his nightmare was something more? Was Jensen trying to tell him to let him go?
Before he could panic he felt a growing pressure around his fingers.
Jared glanced from Jensen’s fingers tight on his to his open and clear green eyes.
"I heard you." Jensen's voice was only a rasp but loud in the silent room. "I'll stay."
Deathfic that way...