(no subject)
FOUR
By the time they'd reached Viper's (who was exactly the sonofabitch Jensen had warned Jared he'd be), collected the parts they needed, and made it back to the shop, it was nearing on lunch. By the sounds Jensen's stomach was making, Jared knew he wasn't the only one who was starving. He kept it to himself, however, because no matter how generous his boss had been thus far, asking for enough cash to cover even a burger was out of the question to Jared. His fifty cents had been greedily taken by Viper when Jared had made the mistake of knocking over an air filter and crushing the little wedges of fiber.
Pulling into the garage, Jensen's smile grew as the strains of Pantera's Walk filled the car; the song coming not from the speakers inside the vehicle, but from the garage itself, blasted over the sound system Cam had so graciously hooked up when they first moved into the place.
Cigarette hanging lightly from his lips, Cam worked on changing out a rotor as he let his head bang along to the music slowly. Chris on the other hand, was going full out rock star with the broom in his hand. Honking the horn to let Chris know he'd been caught with his pants down, so to speak, Jensen got out of the car with a grin and was immediately tossed a sub and coke from Cam. The younger man had pitched both items without even needing to look at his intended target; a move that thoroughly impressed Jared.
"Extra Jalapenos?" Jensen asked, looking between Cam and Chris as he set the food on a little table away from all the equipment and sat down to dig in.
"Yeah, bro. Just how you like it. Eye-splitting hot." Cam grinned, grabbing his own sandwich, hands covered in grease; cleanliness clearly didn't apply to every part of the shop.
After a few minutes the talking died down, and Jared was left standing there trying his hardest not to stare at everyone's food. It hurt his stomach just looking at it, and the smell was driving him crazy. Looking around, he panicked momentarily, wondering what he should do. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him so, after another few minutes, he quietly moved through the door that separated the car bay from the waiting room, deciding to take matters into his own hands.
The bucket and mop rested against the wall by the bathrooms and, without a second glance, Jared grabbed both, filled the bucket, and got to work mopping up the floor. He had no idea whether the guys had cleaned it the night before, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a quick once over again. Blinders firmly in place as he was apt to do when starving, Jared gave his whole focus to the task at hand, his thoughts wandering only so far as the DMV visit earlier that day and only for a brief moment at that.
They'd stopped by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles after seeing Viper and found the place blessedly empty. After being greeted, and handing over Jensen's Visa, Jared was given the test booklet, led to a reclusive little desk at the back of the room, and told to take his time. He finished in under fifteen minutes and only got one question wrong. The driving test had been so easy, he'd wished he could have done it blindfolded just to freak out the instructor. They'd made him stand at the counter for his vision test, where Jared was given a near-perfect result.
After that, it was a quick stop in front of the camera, where Jared gave his best mugshot face to the blue-haired woman behind the counter. Five minutes later, Jared found himself the new owner of a shiny piece of plastic which gave him not only a license to drive, but a buy-in to bars, strip clubs, and porn shops. He smiled proudly the whole way back, not even noticing Jensen's equally jovial grin as Jared drove them out of Vegas and towards Goodsprings.
As he mopped, the rest of the room began to fall away; the only thing in his line of sight were the squares of linoleum, the rubber of the show tires, and the metal legs of the chairs. He couldn't hear Mr. Ages grumbling, Mrs. Riley's Pinto making its way up the road towards them, or the pneumatic hammer that Cam was using. All of it faded away, giving him peace and a silent rhythm with which to work. His stomach settled, the hunger gone as his mind focused all of its energies on the task at hand. He was so enthralled by the slow push and pull of the mop, that even his cast didn't bother him as it should have; the plaster tapping on the wood each time Jared moved the mop.
Jared's co-worker's noticed his work ethic however, and within a matter of seconds, all three of them were standing by the car bay's big windows, simply staring in astonishment.
"I take back whatever I said about the kid and I want you to talk him into coming to clean my place this weekend." Chris said, only half joking, as he watched Jared work with the attention to detail only someone who was desperate for the job would have.
"The kid's got initiative." Cam added, taking another thoughtful bite out of his burger, shaking his head in amazement as he did so.
Jensen remained silent as he watched his newest employee work; wondering how long Jared's go-to attitude would last. He'd seen many a guy like him back in the Rangers, and half of them quit after the first week. He could only hope Jared wasn't going to end up being like them. Taking his last bite, Jensen debated on whether or not to go out and give him some additional tasks. But before he could move, Jared had finished what he'd been doing, put the supplies away and started in on collecting the trash. Eyebrows going up in surprise and respect, Jensen merely shrugged a little and then turned towards Mr. Ages' truck, hell-bent on getting Cam's customer out of his waiting room as soon as possible. The man was starting to grate on his nerves and he wasn't even his client.
His thoughts, however, stayed with Jared, unable to stop thinking about the good-looking guy that had just stumbled into his life. To say that he was attractive was an understatement and had Jensen been any younger, he would've had to excuse himself more than once to take care of a certain problem.
Normally, he resorted to taking a little blue pill to help things along whenever he brought someone home. It made everything easier and less disappointing for the other party involved; his meds had a great way of fucking with his libido, so rather than trying to force it, he just let pharmaceuticals do the work. The blue pills were expiring soon, though; Jensen hadn't brought anyone home in nearly a year since the last guy he was keen on had bailed the minute he saw Jensen nude.
He wasn't out of shape by any means. To the contrary, he swam at the springs nearly every day and lifted weights every other day. He was in the best shape he could be in given his leg's limitations. It was the scars that lost him time in the sack. People apparently hated being reminded of what was happening overseas and, frankly, he was a little tired of it. He'd seen a few scars on Jared, namely his arm and the dissolving stitches in his forehead. It gave Jensen a stupid amount of hope that should Jared turn out to like guys, Jared might actually stick around long enough for at least one orgasm.
As the afternoon wore on and the sun blasted through the entire building, the AC no longer put out enough cold air to keep the guys cool. Cam had opened the back doors to let some of the shade-chilled air in, but it still wasn't enough. Chris tinkered with the unit a bit, and when it still failed to pump out air that was even a few degrees cooler, both he and Cam gave up and took off their shirts.
While the two guys worked, a small group of the town's teenage girls had come up to the garage bay doors and were not-so-subtly eyeballing Cam and Chris. There was a shortage of good-looking men in Goodsprings and the girls were taking in all the eye-candy they could get.
"Uh...guys?" Jared asked, a chuckle in his voice as he rolled the last of the tires in, motioning with a jerk of his head towards the crowd of girls.
When Jared called out, they both turned to look, eyes widening before they both shared a good laugh.
"Did I miss the memo where we became the town Chippendales?" Jensen smirked, shaking his head and moving around the lone car in the shop that didn't have a customer. It was a pet project that was slowly coming together. Given the dust coating the hood, it would still be up there in a month, but Jensen worked on it when he could. Adding parts here, tweaking parts there, giving it the same attention to detail he gave any other car that rolled into his shop.
"They'll be legal next year, buddy." Chris grinned as he moved closer to the door and flexed for the girls, none of whom seemed bothered by the spiderweb of scars that went from shoulder to wrist and around to some of his back on the left side. Chris' smile and the muscle tone of his arms were plenty distracting.
"Good luck!" Jensen shot back, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.,While he thought it was strange, he didn't mind that much.
"It's not like we're gonna have to worry about you for competition, bro. Just Sasquatch over there," Cam added, jerking his thumb towards Jared, who just laughed.
"You don't have to worry about me, dude. They're all yours," he replied quickly, holding both hands up and shaking his head. "I'm not touching temptation with a ten foot pole until I stop getting death stares from the locals."
Nodding his understanding and flashing Jared a big grin, Cam moved towards Mr. Ages' car. In a show of strength, he single-handedly hefted the man's tire up onto the newly-installed brake system, a chorus of oohs audible even from the other side of the Plexiglas.
“You gonna join the beefcake parade?” Jensen asked Jared as he approached the car, a grin tugging at the corner of the older man's lips. His words seemed to cause Jared to blush a little; a big, goofy grin crossed his face even as he shook his head..
“Don't want to make them faint, I get it.” Jensen chuckled, causing Jared to give him a confused look, complete with a head cocked to the side.
The deadpan look that washed over Jensen's face said it all.
“Dude, your arm's the size of my head,” he explained. with an expression that Jared couldn't help but laugh at, Jensen's features twisting up into something resembling a Jim Carey caricature.
“I don't think they'll find me so hot when they figure out I'm on parole,” Jared replied with a quiet smile, shaking his head before handing Jensen the wrench he needed.
“You kidding me? Girls love a bad boy. It's their daddies you gotta watch out for.” Jensen nodded his thanks at the wrench and then jerked his thumb back towards the waiting room. Jared understood without even needing to be told that he should head back and man the desk. It was nearing on quitting time for most people and that meant business would be picking up.
It was Jensen's turn to be curious as he caught a look in Jared's eyes. He hadn't seen it on anyone in quite some time, but he still knew it fairly well. Jensen bit his lip, watching Jared go back into the waiting room and sidle up behind the desk, a stack of invoices needing to be filed. Those hazel eyes had shown more than simple gratitude. There was attraction there, a slow simmer that Jensen himself had been feeling since he first took a glance at the kid back on his front lawn. He only hoped that Jared knew what he was broadcasting out, because as each hour ticked by on the clock, Jensen felt his resolve slipping away.
“Let's go, boys. Vamoose,” Jensen said, holding up the garage door, his left arm motioning for everyone to get out. It was quitting time and on a Wednesday that meant one thing and one thing only; All You Can Eat Wings at the Jerk Shack.
Not surprisingly, Jared was the last to crouch under the door, the sun making him squint as he watched Cam light a cigarette and Chris start up the Charger, letting the inside of the jet black vehicle cool off with all the doors open and the AC cranked. Hands in his pocket, he kicked absently at a pebble, wondering what Jensen did after work.
Cam took a deep sniff of the air, his smile growing as he looked at his friends and then exhaled his smoke. Jared had only seen him frown once in the entire eight hour shift he'd worked with the guy; it had taken him by surprise, as he'd assumed Cam would be a hard-ass given his little tiff with Jensen earlier that morning.
“You smell that?” Cam asked, jerking his chin up at Jared. Dutifully, he took a quick smell of the air like Cam had not moments before and when he shook his head, his co-worker merely laughed. “More wings than you can shake a chicken at, bro. All night, with two-for-one pitchers. I'm gonna look pregnant when I leave the bar tonight.”
“Okay, seriously, dude. Did not need the imagery.” Jensen groaned, his nose wrinkled up in distaste as Chris merely laughed, leaning against the wall of the building.
“We ready to go?” Chris asked, looking around at all of them expectantly. Cam wasn't the only one who wanted in on the wings, apparently.
Jared licked his lips, eyes moving around, the disinterest merely there to buy him time for a plausible excuse. A half-truth was better than nothing and, looking up, he made sure no one was scrutinizing his actions too closely.
“I'll catch up with you guys. I gotta head to the post office, call my parole officer.” Jared nodded in the direction of the small general store that held both the post office and the outdoor payphone.
Cam had the good sense to raise his eyebrows at the mention of Jared being on parole, but neither Chris nor Jensen looked fazed, the former closing the doors and getting behind the wheel of the Charger while the latter merely double-checked the locks and then headed for his Impala.
Seeing that no one gave a shit, Jared felt comforted that what he was really going to do, would go unnoticed. Chances were good they wouldn't find out, and if someone happened to tell them down the line, they probably wouldn't care. He kept his eyes down at his feet as he began to walk towards the store, knowing the first order of business was to actually call his parole officer, inform her that he'd found a job and a place to live, and that things were looking up. The next stop would be the dumpster behind the grocery store for dinner.
Erica seemed thrilled to hear he had a good, legal, job and that he'd gotten his driver's license to boot.
She went through a series of routine questions right off the bat; what town was he in, what the name of the company was, and what his boss' name was. Jared gave her all the information along with the shop's phone number, telling her he'd be the one behind the reception desk and what times he'd be working. They set up a schedule for him to call and check-in, neither of them wanting to run up Jensen's personal or business bills with too many phone calls; then she wished him luck and Jared felt his heart grow with just a touch more pride as he hung up.
He was doing good so far, despite the few bumps in the road he'd encountered along the way. Jared hoped that come next Wednesday he'd be able to have enough money to actually buy dinner as opposed to scrounging it from the garbage cans behind the shops. For now, he'd have to make do.
Milly's Grocery Store seemed like the best place to start. Lifting the lid on the big blue bin, Jared easily lifted himself up and into the putrid can, using the collar of his shirt as a makeshift air filter as he quickly rifled through the rotting meat, produce, and dairy. There were some strawberries floating at the top, still in their original packaging and lacking any mold Jared could see; he'd double check once he got out. Grabbing a plastic bag and making sure it wasn't wet, he carefully placed the fruit inside. Some bread just past its expiration date came next, and then a little butter. It was all he'd normally need, but he hadn't put a damn thing in his stomach since getting off the bus, so Jared kept at it.
The bag was nearly full when he heard the noise of footsteps coming up to the bin. Thankful that he was under the half of the lid that was closed, Jared stilled himself, hoping whoever it was would just dump their stuff and leave. He really wanted to get out, eat and then find somewhere with running water to wash off before heading back to Jensen's.
“Padalecki, what the hell are you doing, man?” Jensen's voice rang out clear as day and Jared instantly felt like kicking something.
“Fuck,” Jared hissed at himself, knowing he had no other option but to come out. Lifting the lid, he let the bag of food carefully drop to the ground before getting out with as much ease as he went in.
Jensen looked horrified. Jared could see a million different questions in his boss' eyes, all of them punctuated by a deep sympathy that he wasn't used to seeing genuinely from anyone in his life. Scrubbing a hand over his face, Jensen waited until Jared was back on his feet before speaking.
“Jared, please tell me you're not gonna eat that shit. It's been in there god-knows how long,” he said, looking apprehensively from Jared to the bag and back again.
That all-familiar curl of ice lodged itself in the pit of Jared's stomach and he steeled himself for the inevitable firing he was about to receive.
“I don't have any cash...didn't want you going out of your way any more than you already had...” Despite his preparation, Jared's voice came out tinny and scared; the fear he felt compounded by eyes as big as saucers, eyes that silently screamed 'don't fire me'.
Rubbing a hand over his forehead and then through his hair, Jensen shook his head, looking pained. Jared closed his eyes, ready for a verbal lashing of some sort, followed by an apology, and a few bills stuffed in his hand to get him back on the bus.
“Look, let's get you cleaned up and then we'll get you some real food, okay? This?” He pointed to the dumpster and then down at the ground. “This ends tonight, are we clear?” The look Jensen gave him only served to drive the point home and with trembling hands, Jared nodded his understanding.
There was a hose nearby and thankfully it wasn't locked or shut off in any way. Jensen made Jared turn slowly in a circle, giving his clothing a quick once over for any stains. Finding none, he then held the hose as Jared washed his hands, face and hair, the end result leaving only a faint odor of refuse on the taller man.
“I got some cologne in the car. Come on. I wanna get there before Cam downs the whole first basket.”
Jensen managed a tense grin, clearly still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Jared preferred eating old and soiled food, to asking for a little cash. It struck Jared as odd that Jensen was still going out of his way to help him, was still showing him nothing but patience and kindness. He wasn't used to it by any stretch, and Jared found his anxiety begin to rise a little as Jensen opened the passenger side door, then the glove box, and pulling out a can of Axe spray.
Turning exactly where he stood, Jensen kept his head facing away from Jared before pushing down the little pump and getting a good solid stripe of the clear liquid across him from right shoulder to left hip. Jensen waited a few minutes before looking at his newest employee again.
Jared wished he had a mirror, because either he still looked terrible, or Jensen was seeing something he actually liked. It was hard to tell with the wide eyes, softly parted lips, and slightly shocked expression on his boss' face.
"What?" he asked, his eyebrow furrowed as he gave himself another once-over, making sure there was no garbage still stuck to him.
"Nothing." Jensen murmured with a slight chuckle, Jared watching as his boss plowed a hand through his hair and headed back around to the driver's side of the car.
"Finally! Where've you ladies been?" Cam called as Jensen stepped through the bar that was now nearly packed to the brim, a light, folksy tune pouring through the speakers that marked the four corners of the building.
"Doing your mom. You didn't hear her wailing down the way?" Jensen asked with a poker face to rival Vegas' best, his comment earning him a series of light punches in the arm from Cam, Chris ruffling his hair in agreement.
"Padalecki, sit down man. Dig in." Chris was the first to pipe up, patting the stool next to him, leaving Jared to sit directly across from Jensen while Cam sat across from Chris at the high table. Jared nodded and took his seat, figuring that both of Jensen's buddies knew about his record by now, and therefore his lack of funds. He could only hope that Jensen would never tell them what he'd seen in the alley. It had been mortifying enough to have one of the three knowing. Jared didn't know what he would do if the other two found out.
His stomach clenched tight when the basket was set in front of him, and forgetting any sort of manners, or who he was with, Jared dug in; eating in the same way a starving child would if presented with food. Cam, Chris and Jensen just sat and watched, none of them looking even mildly amused. Biting his lip, Cam looked down at his basket and then back up at Jared who was finishing off the last wing in the one Chris had given him. Without a word, he slid his food in front of Jared, one clean hand gently patting his new co-worker's back.
"It's okay, buddy." Cam spoke gently, his eyes holding a clear sadness, despite the comforting smile he flashed Jared. Nodding with a little grunt, Jared merely gave him a smile back, beyond grateful for all their generosity. With his own nod of understanding, Cam grabbed his beer and took a long guzzle, his face a little paler than it had been not moments before.
After polishing off Cam's basket, Jared finally took a breath and looked up, the smile gone and in its place something akin to shame. Seeing the three men staring at him, Jared suddenly felt worse than when he'd been busted by Jensen. His stool went screeching back from the table as he got up in a hurry, his mumbled words barely audible over the music, though no one needed to ask what he'd said.
I'm sorry.
"Jared!" Chris called, clicking his tongue as he got up to follow. Trailing him out through the main doors, Chris finally caught up with him two shops down; Jared bent over with his hands on his knees, his breathing labored.
"Jay, man, it's okay. No one's judging you in there. If you would've told us sooner, we would've bought you lunch, for chrissake," he reasoned, mimicking Jared's pose as he put a hand on the back of the younger man's neck.
"I feel like I'm back in that convenience store, taking the money," Jared whispered, his face turned to the ground. If he looked up and saw pity, sadness, or any other heartfelt emotion from Chris, Jared knew he'd lose the tenuous grip he had on his emotions.
"You're not stealing from us, man. We're giving you the food because you need it more than we do. When was the last time you ate, anyways?" he asked, shaking his head, Chris frowning in frustration.
"When I got off the bus yesterday and asked you for the job," Jared mumbled, finally straightening out to his full height, looking at Chris with nothing but apology.
"You don't starve again on our watch, okay? You work with us and that means that soon enough you're gonna be part of the family. If you're hungry, say so. Same goes for thirsty, broke, hurt, or pissed off. Got it? No more playing the martyr and trying to spare us what you think is an inconvenience. I may not have wanted Jen to hire you off the street, but I saw why he did it, earlier today when you were working, and you're gonna be a valuable part of the place. So start acting like you're worth it, buddy. Okay?" Chris' words went from harsh to gentle, reprimanding Jared like any good father figure would.
Nodding his understanding, Jared let himself yet again be led to the Jerk Shack, hoping that Chris truly was speaking for the rest of the guys and not just trying to smooth things out by playing goodwill ambassador.
Beer helped things go much better the second time around, and come his second bottle, Jared was all smiles and more than a little cheerful. So he was a bit of a lightweight. Big deal. He wasn't out to get drunk; just a little buzzed like the rest of the group was.
Each guy was on his third basket of wings, all sticky fingers and hard grips on the bottles of beer to keep them from falling onto the aged hardwood. Cam was telling jokes, and Chris was crooning off key, much to the amusement of Jensen, who despite his big smile, sat quieter than his friends, seeming to take more enjoyment out of their company and the atmosphere than of any joke or bad Willy Jenkins song his buddies were putting out.
Jared didn't miss the difference and, for a moment, thought that Jensen just had a lot on his mind. He was a business owner after all, and that came with a lot of stress and responsibility. It wasn't until he noticed that Jensen was looking at him, that Jared realized it might not be a case of business blues at all.
Cam broke the gaze the two were sharing with a boisterous laugh.
"Jen, you got your eye on anyone tonight?" he asked, slinging an arm around his friend's neck and nearly tugging Jensen off his stool. Laughing softly along with Cam, Jensen waited to be let go of before fixing a look at Jared.
"Maybe," he said with the barest hint of a grin, his eyes warm and focusing entirely on one man. It could've been the beer, but Jared would have to be three sheets to the wind to not know that Jensen was talking about him.
"Who's the lucky guy tonight, bro?" Chris chimed in with a grin, unintentionally confirming what Jared had suspected since Cam opened his mouth back at the shop. Jensen was into dudes.
While he'd never really come out and said it, Jared had never felt even the mildest interest in girls. It was something he generally hid because of his lifestyle and the fact that he'd never been in a relationship long enough to warrant his acquaintances asking. He'd had a few boyfriends here and there, but the longest relationship he'd been in had lasted a month, and that was only because Jared was stuck in juvie with the guy.
Jared watched as Jensen wiped his hands clean with the little towelettes nearly every restaurant provided with wings, then got up and grabbed his keys off the table. The breath caught in his throat as Jensen jerked his head towards the car, silently asking if Jared wanted to come with. As Jared got up, Jensen threw two twenties down on the table, enough to cover both of them; a move which made Cam suddenly realize what was going on.
"You sly dog," he crowed, shaking his head as a big smile crossed his face, Cam's blue eyes lighting up in amusement. The words took Chris' attention away from the older woman who'd been making eyes at him the whole night and his face quickly mirrored Cam's, astonishment added to his good humor.
"Jeez, Jen, I knew you were hankerin', but--" Chris started, his words quickly silenced by a punch in the arm from Jensen, his friend bursting out laughing in response.
"Y'all assholes have a good night," Jensen said good-naturedly, keys jingling as he motioned for Jared to follow. Flashing a shy smile at both Cam and Chris, he thanked them for the food before following his boss outside into the warm night air.
SIX