Chapter Fourteen
Once they were in queue to go out into the blistering summer that was Florida, Jared leaned casually into Jensen and dropped character. “You’re tall. I like that. Maybe we could get dinner together after we’re done here? We don’t have to leave the park.”
Jensen smiled coyly at Jared. “Perhaps.”
“Is that the only answer you’re going to give me?”
“Tarzan! Jane!” the cast member serving as handler called out. “You’re up! Follow Eric and Ariel!”
“Break a leg,” Danneel whispered to Jensen as she swept past him, earning a confused smile.
“Ready?” Jared smiled his own smile one last time before slipping into Tarzan.
Jensen could only nod as he struggled to remind himself to use the ‘Jane’ voice and not his own. He kept his eyes on Danneel and Tom and tried very hard not to think about what he was doing.
Suddenly, there was music and Misha’s voice was announcing the characters as they came out into the sun. Jensen heard Misha call for Ariel and Eric and the crowd clapping and drew in a breath before hearing the call for him and Jared and then Jared was taking his hand and walking in what could only be described as a ‘lumbering crouch’. Jensen was forced into a slight smile as he began waving with his free hand.
Looking around, Jensen could see there were plenty of fans waiting to see them. Suddenly nerves started to get the best of him and his smile must have slipped because Jared began to beat his chest and brought the crowd to cheer.
Misha was informing the crowd that the ‘friends’ would be available for pictures and conversations in their own areas. Jensen had made it through the easy part and he was starting to sweat at the thought that someone might find him out.
Jared was taking his hand again and leading him over to the area where they had placed a backdrop depicting a tree house in the jungle with the couple’s names in an arch above it.
“Smile,” Jared improvised, dropping Jensen’s hand to push at the corners of the other man’s mouth, forcing the smile.
“Oh, Tarzan, stop that!” Jensen slipped easily into the role, batting at the hands prodding at his face. “We have guests.”
Jared smiled before launching fully into character and making Jensen feel better about the deception.
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They had been out acting for four hours when Misha began to go from couple to couple telling them that they were done in various warp. When he reached them, he handed Jensen an envelope. He frowned at it for a moment before Jared snatched it away and began to sniff at it, finally managing to tear it open and lick it a couple of times before Jensen could manage to get it back from him. He looked at it and smiled before thanking Misha and turning to the small group still in front of them.
“Since we’ve all done pictures, I regret to say we must now run and save Terk from some mischief she has managed to get herself into. But we do hope to see you later, “Jensen explained, taking Jared’s hand this time. “Perhaps, sir,” he then addressed Misha, “You would be so kind as to show us where our friend Terk has gone?”
Misha nodded and motioned for the two of them to follow him back towards the tunnel. Once they were there, Jensen let out a sigh he’d been holding in.
“You did it - well, we did it,” Jared said in his ear. “So, drinks later?”
Jensen looked at Jared, confused. “Excuse me?”
“Oh shit, is that accent real?” Jared took a step back. “That’s - that’s really - I should stop talking now,” he blushed. “What I meant was do you want to celebrate our first day on the job. You know, get a few drinks - not the alcoholic kind of course, but you know - maybe a few Shirley Temples? What do you say?”
Jensen looked at the puppy dog eyes the other man was giving him and laughed a bit before stopping himself. “You want to take me out for drinks?”
“Uh, yeah,” Jared laughed back. “I mean, have you seen you?”
Jensen’s eyes grew wide, making Jared panic a little.
“I didn’t mean - oh, hell,” he looked at his feet. “I messed this all up. Can I try again?”
Jensen didn’t mean to, but he nodded. He just couldn’t find it in him to tell Jared no.
“Okay,” Jared cleared his throat and stood to his full height. Jensen was struck but how much of a difference only 3 inches was.
“Jane - shit, that’s not your real name - what I meant was - ah, hell - Mackenzie would you do me the honor of joining me for a few celebratory non-alcoholic beverages?”
Jensen meant to shake his head, he really did, but his muscles betrayed him by nodding in agreement. And smiling.
Jared’s face lit up like a child who had been given the key to a candy store. “Okay, so I can meet you at your apartment at, say, eight?”
“Uh,” Jensen stammered, careful to hold his accent, “Uh - no, my apartment’s no good - my roommate - she’s - she’s - let’s just meet somewhere, okay?”
Jared chuckled. “Yeah, I know how that is - roommates, right?” Such a pain in the ass. Yeah, let’s just meet at Lorenzo’s Pizza Palace. Nice neutral ground. Sound good to you?”
Jensen nodded again, not trusting his voice not to revert to its normal timbre.
“It’s a date then!” Jared surged forward and encapsulated Jensen in the biggest bear hug Jensen had ever been a party to. An accidental grunt from Jensen had Jared releasing him in apology.
“No, it’s okay,” Jensen squeaked, “I’m - it’s fine. See you at eight at Lorenzo’s Pizza Palace.” Jensen watched as Jared all but skipped away.
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“YOU WHAT?!?” Danneel was looking at Jensen like he’d grown three more heads.” I cannot believe you!”
“Okay, I don’t get why you’re so mad at me,” Jensen’s drawling voice was back, and in full force, thanks to the anger it was tinged with.
“We. Had. Plans,” she spat out, pulling her wig off at the same time.
“We what?”
“Had plans. You asked me out, remember?"
“First of all, you didn’t give me a clear answer. Second - “
“I didn’t give you a clear enough answer? I was going to.”
“But you didn’t.”
“So you decided to accept a date from Jared instead?”
“Well, I didn’t mean to - “
“Okay, wait. Let’s back up. You’re talking about six-foot-insane Jared Padalecki, right?”
“Yes.”
“How does anything accidental happen with that man?”
“He sneak asked me out.”
“Oh, that’s a new one.”
“Jesus, Dan - “
“If I can’t call you ‘Jenny’, you can’t call me ‘Dan’ - “
“Well, I guess that’s fair.”
“You bet your ass it’s fair.”
“Ladies, let’s not fight here.” Genevieve stepped between the two of them. “There are more important issues at work here. Like what the hell are we going to do once Sandy gets back and they find out she went to Las Vegas to get married. To get married to Ian Somerhalder. The same Ian Somerhalder who single-handedly fucked up the park’s water system just to see if he could.”
“Okay, correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t that why I was doing this in the first place? To save her ass?” Jensen was starting to sweat in the dress now and could not wait to get it off. “Look, I have to get out of this.”
“Okay, well, we’ll let you leave but you have to stay in your girly things because if Misha sees you leaving, there goes the whole reason we’re doing this at all,” Sophia allowed, looking around to make sure the others agreed.
“Fuck. Sandy better appreciate what I do for her.” Jensen pulled of the Jane wig and sat down to allow them to change out his makeup reluctantly. “And I want it made clear EVERYTHING I did for her, am I understood?”
Danneel nodded as she started to take of the Disney regulation makeup and get started on a more casual look for him.
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