FIC: Know Your Damn Constituents, Part 1 of 4

[bekkis]

Part One

Jensen Ackles eyes the pile of folders in front of him. His phone is blinking with new voicemails and Outlook is opened to his company email.

He's ignoring all three of these things.

Instead, Jensen’s reading commentary on the mid-term elections and the new session of Congress. A year ago this would have been acceptable. Now it’s just kind of pathetic.

It’s Friday and barely midmorning, but today feels like a good day. He's only running half an hour behind, a miracle of freakish proportions. He managed to work out a settlement for the one case he was losing, and he has a meeting at noon with the senior partners. And it's Friday. He's looking forward to an evening of cold beer and his TIVO.
He should have known then that things were going to spiral out of control.

"Excuse me, Jensen?" His secretary knocks lightly on the door. Jensen glances up from his computer and quickly minimizes his browser, like his secretary just caught him looking at porn instead of political commentary. "There's a Joanna Krupa here. Are you free to speak with her?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Jensen sits up straighter in his chair. The last time he saw Joanna, almost a year ago, things didn't go well. He's not looking forward to another screaming match, especially not when he was just getting over feeling guilty for what happened. Joanna pokes her head in, smiling a little. He stands up and walks over to her.

"Hey, Jensen." She wraps her arms around his shoulders to hug him. "How are you?"

He shrugs as he ushers her into the room, closing the door. "I'm...I'm good."

Joanna slides into the chair across from his desk as Jensen drags another next to hers. She looks good; she's tanned and she still looks like she just came from a photoshoot, her clothes perfectly fitted and her hair straight with not a strand out of place. At one point, Joanna was everything he thought he wanted.

But that was back when things were easier.

"How 'bout you? You still in D.C.?" Jensen asks.

She shakes her head and crosses her legs. "Nah, I'm back in Texas. D.C. got a little boring and well..." She runs a hand through her hair before continuing. “When the Governor’s office comes calling, you get on a plane, you know?”

Jensen grins. “You always wanted to come back to Texas.”

She shrugs and looks down at her skirt, picking at a piece of lint.

"Not to be rude, I mean it’s good to see you,” Jensen assures her. “But what are you doing here?"

Joanna takes a deep breath and looks around his office.

"I wanted to see you. I miss you, Jensen." She bites her lip and looks back at Jensen.

"I miss you, too. I’m sorry about what happened. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted."

"It's okay, Jensen. I mean...it's not okay. But...we used to be friends." Joanna reaches over and rests her hand on top of his. Jensen nods and turns his hand around, grasping her fingers in his. She smiles at their entwined fingers and squeezes his hand. "Are you really okay?"

"Yeah, I am now. I really am sorry. I should've..."

"You shouldn't have lied to me, Jensen," Joanna interrupts. "I thought we were friends. You didn't have to hide it from me. I would have understood."

Jensen lets out a short laugh. He’s almost sure the last thing Joanna would have done was understand.

"Joanna, you kicked me out."

"I was upset. You can understand that, can't you?" She asks and pulls her hand away from his.

"You know, Chris hasn't spoken to me since. I lost both my best friends." Jensen stands up and faces his office window, away from Joanna. It's quiet for a minute or so.

"I'm sorry about Chris," Joanna says, breaking the silence.

"Look, it's all over with. That was...it's been over a year. I moved on." Jensen shrugs.

"Why didn't you say anything? You were...I should have known something was different. You were my best friend before all that other stuff. I would've been there for you." Now Jensen feels like an asshole all over again. He made a huge mess of things, as usual.

"I'm an asshole,” he admits. He turns back towards her and smiles awkwardly.

"Yeah, but you always kinda were," she says with a laugh. Jensen can’t help but smile back. He slides back into the seat next to her. "We should catch up. Have lunch or something."

Jensen nods and reaches over to squeeze her hand. He really did miss her; she was one of his oldest friends, and nothing would ever really change that.

"Dinner, tonight?” Jensen offers. “I can call you when I get out of here."

“Sounds good.” Joanna leans over and hugs him.

***

"So tell me the truth. Are you really happy?" Joanna asks. She’s sitting at the opposite end of Jensen’s couch, her feet curled up underneath her. She studies Jensen as she takes a sip of her wine. Jensen avoids her eyes, staring down at his fingers.

"Yeah, sure. It's a good firm and everyone's nice. I like it." He shrugs and kicks his feet up on the coffee table.

"You look bored outta your mind." Jensen gives her a fake smile, but she doesn't look fooled. She's known him for way too long. "Seriously. You were good, Jensen. A lot of guys wish they could be as good as you were."

"Sometimes things aren't meant to be," Jensen says.

Joanna just rolls her eyes.

"Bullshit. You just picked up a left. And look, I know things were bad, but it would've gotten better."

Jensen doesn't say anything, just picks at a piece of lint on the couch. Joanna sighs and kicks her foot at him.

"You didn't have to work for the party. There are a million other things you could have done. But the private sector? You've been here what, a year? You already look bored."

"Do you know how much money I make in a year?" Jensen smiles a little smugly, but Joanna looks right through it.

"Oh, give me a fucking break. It's not about the money, and you know it. You still get to argue with people on a daily basis, but you stay detached and uninvolved, and it's all good and fine. You're free on a Friday night. I bet you barely talk to anyone in that office when it doesn't involve work. You're here, alone and bored." Jensen shifts uneasily and looks away from Joanna's sharp gaze.

"I was never good at making friends. You know that."

"Jensen...look, you used to love your job. You lived and breathed it. Even when you were sleep deprived, even when you fucked up, you still went in there every day and kicked ass. Now? You're just functioning. You go into work, you do a job, you come home," Joanna says, and she looks disappointed.

"It's just...it took me a little time to adjust, but I'm settled now. I like it here. I'm..."

"Don't try to tell me you're happy," Joanna interrupts. "You're not gonna want to hear this but you were never better then when you were arguing with Padalecki." Jensen starts to argue, but Joanna holds up her hand.

"Just lemme finish. You were always better when you had to work with him. You disagreed about everything, and he drove you crazy, but together? You actually did something. Remember all those crazy policy papers you used to stay up all hours of the night writing, just because he was gonna read them?"
Jensen just shrugs and picks at a piece of lint on his jeans.

It's silent for a few minutes. Joanna's waiting for him to say something, but he's not going to give her what she wants. Finally, she rolls her eyes and gets off the couch. She walks over to her bag and shifts some things around before bringing a book with her. She hands it to Jensen, who glances at the cover.

"What's this?" he asks.

Jensen recognizes the guy on the back cover, a young Democratic governor from the Midwest who's been making waves ever since he took office. Jensen doesn't watch CNN or Fox News as obsessively as he used to, but he's seen enough about this guy to know he's going somewhere.

Joanna smirks. "He's been doing polling, and he put an exploratory team together last year. He's gonna announce soon."

"You do realize he's a Democrat, right?" Jensen raises an eyebrow and Joanna just laughs. "Seriously, why'd you give this to me?"

"He did a speech a few weeks back,” she says. “I've never seen anything like it. On either side. He's good. Really good. The grassroots are nuts about him.”

"That makes me want to get involved in this?” Jensen frowns. “The grassroots? Those people are crazy."

"Yeah, but they aren't wrong. At least this time. He's good. Just read the damn book. His economic plan is better than anything our guys are pitching."

Jensen flips through the book a little. He'd read the thing and make her happy, and then he'd go back to his real job. He wasn't getting involved in politics again, let alone for a freaking Democrat.

***

Joanna's stupid book is sitting on the coffee table. Jensen's leaning against the counter, sipping his coffee and trying to wake up. Joanna hadn't stayed much longer, finishing her wine and taking off for the night.

At least she's speaking to him now. He really did miss her.

He drains the last of his coffee and walks off to his bathroom to take a shower. When he comes back out, the stupid thing is still sitting on his coffee table. He makes himself another cup of coffee, before walking over to his couch. He studies the book before sighing and giving in.

It's a few hours later when he glances at the clock. The sun has moved away from the windows, and his apartment is dark. He stretches out his legs, feeling cramped from sitting for so long.

But it’s good. For the first time in a long time, Jensen feels that spark of excitement in his stomach, his fingers itching to get to work.

***

A few Google searches later and Jensen is ready to throw up. He knew it was too good to be true.

He pulls out his cell phone, scrolling through contacts until he gets to Joanna's name. He presses send and waits for her to pick up.

"So, was I right?" Joanna sounds smug.

"Did you know?" Jensen asks, and he feels a heavy weight settling in his stomach.

"Know what?"

"About Jared."

"What about him? Did you run into him or something?" Joanna sounds worried and confused.

Jensen rubs his eyes warily.

"No. He's...he's the campaign director. He's running the damn campaign, Joanna." He can hear her suck in a breath.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I had no idea. I just thought. I thought it’d be good for you to get back into it again. Does this mean...”

"Yeah, you were right. But I can't." Joanna makes a frustrated little noise. But Jensen's too upset - with himself, with Joanna, with Jared. The first time in God knows how long, he finally found something worth fighting for, and it involves dragging his ass to Jared fucking Padalecki.

"Why?” Joanna asks softly. “It can't hurt to try, right? Do you want this?"

"I...I really do."

Joanna sighs. "Do you remember what you told me the day we met?”

"Not really..."

"I asked why you wanted to work in politics. Do you remember what you told me?"

Jensen swallows and shakes his head. "I don’t remember..."

“You told me you wanted to help people.” Joanna sighs. "And I think I fell a little bit in love with you."

"Joanna..." Jensen says, interrupting her.

“No, it’s okay. I just...I want you to find that again.”

Jensen doesn’t say anything for a minute. “I’m the last person he’ll want to see,” he says quietly.

Of course he wants to see Jared again, but the chance of Jared even speaking to him is slim to none. He’s spent the last year trying not to think about Jared at all.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Joanna allows. “But you’re gonna tell me that you’re just going to let this slip through your fingers because you made a mistake? Yeah, you fucked up good and made some bad fucking choices. You've been sitting around for a year punishing yourself for it. I’ve moved on. You need to get over it and do this. You used to love doing this for a reason and I’m not gonna let you throw this away."

Jensen coughs into the phone and wipes his eyes.

“I can try. I want to, I mean,” he says with a shaky breath.

“That’s the Jensen Ackles I remember,” she says, sounding proud and happy again.






Two Years Earlier

There are few people in the world Jensen hates more than Jared Padalecki.

Jensen has been in D.C. for a few years, and too much of his time has been spent with Jared. Hundreds of meetings spent arguing with him over policy, trudging back to his office in a fit of rage over Jared’s latest liberal cause or Jared's victory in shoehorning more money for liberal policies.

Jensen comes from a long line of Texan politicians who probably never had to deal with someone like Jared. If Jensen’s father ever had to spend the day with Jared, his father would probably stop giving Jensen the stink eye and a long speech about public service whenever Jensen complains.

But today of all days, Jensen wishes he had gone into corporate law instead.

Jared's sitting across the table from him, stupid floppy hair over his eyes. He's scribbling something down on the sheet of papers in front of him. He glances up from his notes and catches Jensen's eye. Jensen looks away quickly, looking down at his own notes.

Today is the first day back from the Congressional holiday, and the first item on the agenda is a bill Jensen hopes never sees the light of day. For a Republican, his boss is more center right than far right, but Jensen and the rest of his staff is hoping this bill dies before it gets out of committee. Senator Weston is up for reelection next year, and Washington might be all about “Working Together for the Common Good” nowadays, but none of his staff is looking forward to running in Texas on a Democratic vote. Jensen is all for bipartisanship, but only when he can set the terms.

“The vote is coming up in a few days on SR 105,” Sophia Bush says, looking around the room and giving everyone a big fake smile. “And SR 150 is almost out of committee. Sandy is passing around the proposed text.” She runs the majority leader’s office and Jensen’s never gotten along with her.

Jensen already knows what the bill is going to say and hopes it never makes it to the Senate floor.

“Any questions, before y’all start tearing this thing apart?” Sophia asks.

Jensen can see Jared out of the corner of his eye, twirling his pen in his hand. The guy sitting to Jensen’s left asks about some research grant his boss wants added in, adding another couple million bucks to the bill, and Jensen just loses his shit.
“Seriously, you want to add more money to this thing?” Jensen steams. “You’ve got a proposal for, what is this, some research proposal in San Francisco? I mean, what the hell is that for? And now you want more money, for what? If this leaves the room, not only do you lose Republican votes, but the President will veto. I take this to my boss, he’s gonna laugh me out of his office”

The guy glares at Jensen and Jensen glares right back at him. The guy turns away and his face is beet red. Jensen tries not to smirk.

“Hey guys," Jared interrupts and holds up his hands, eyes flicking between Jensen and the other guy. "It’s only 9 in the morning. Can we try not to start yelling till at least 10?” Jared glares at Jensen before continuing on. “Ackles is right, this isn’t gonna pass. We wanna push this as fast as possible to a floor vote; it’s already stalled in committee twice.”

Thanks to Jensen and a few well timed phone calls.

But Jensen’s still fucked. They've already moved onto the next problem, some highways bill Jensen doesn’t give a damn about. He wasn’t expecting this one to get out of committee until the next Congressional session, and now he’s got to go back to his office and tell his boss to vote yes. It’s not even 9:00 A.M. yet and he’s already having a bad fucking day.

***

Two hours later and the meeting from hell is over. Everyone is leaving, pulling on coats and gloves, and Jensen is packing his papers away in his bag. Everyone is out of the room except Padalecki. Out of the corner of his eye, Jensen can see Jared wrapping one of his five million ridiculous scarves around his neck and pulling on his pea coat. Jensen would say he's never seen Jared wear the same scarf twice, but that would mean admitting he actually paid attention to something Jared did.
Jensen heads for the door and catches Jared's eye. Jared gives him a small, tight smile and holds the door open, letting Jensen through first.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?” Jared asks. “About that education bill you guys are working on?"

“Sure,” Jensen nods. He pulls his gloves on as they walk down the hall towards the door. He's spent a good portion of the last ten years in the Northeast, but he never gotten used to D.C. in the winter. It's really fucking cold. Today it's gorgeous and sunny, but it's only about 15 degrees outside.

The thing is, everyone likes Jared. Even the most redneck, right wing conservative who rants about gay people poisoning the minds of young people everywhere likes Jared. He's laid back, always has a smile on his face, and even if he thinks you're fucking crazy, he always has time to listen to you talk policy. Jensen's heard the phrase, "That Padalecki kid's okay for a fag" more times than he can count. Jared's just good with people and has a natural ability to get them to be his best friend and vote for his bill at the same time. Jensen has to use a mix of careful manipulation, bribing, and fear to get people to do what he wants.

But Jared and Jensen have a mutual distaste for each other that goes beyond politics or personal life choices. Jensen just can't stand Jared and he knows Jared feels the exact same way about him. They've never really gotten along. They're both too good at their jobs, too good to give an inch on any particular issue, and they're both too stubborn to let anyone else win. Jensen has almost come to blows with Jared too many times to count, and he has no idea why his boss keeps making him take meetings with Jared.

His boss would probably call it a character building exercise if Jensen ever asked, but it would be a bad idea for Jensen to admit he almost can't work with Padalecki.

“Are you gonna stall this one, or what?” Jensen asks.

“Feinstien wants to add another twenty million,” Jared replies with a shrug. Jensen groans as Jared smirks and slides his sunglasses on. Jared's already got that ridiculous scarf pulled up to cover his mouth.

Jensen sighs, because he knows where this conversation is going. "If the next words out of your mouth are sex education funding, I'm gonna cut you."

Jared laughs through his fucking ridiculous scarf. Jensen is mentally cleaning out his desk because he's not going to his boss with this.

"C'mon,” Jared starts, voice gone earnest. “You know every study ever done in the history of the world says..."

"Yeah, because we really need to be teaching kids how to have sex." He can see Jared flailing a little bit out of the corner of his eye and Jensen just smirks. He just loves watching Jared get frustrated to the point where he no longer speaks in complete sentences.

"Okay, we're not...ugh, we're not teaching kids how to have sex!" Jared says with a frustrated huff. A few people walking past them turn back to look at Jared, who flushes bright red. "You know what I mean!

"You try running on that bill in Texas.” Jensen retorts. “Our opponent wouldn't have to write a damn campaign ad, they'd just use some stock footage from CSPAN. He'll never go for it." Seriously, Jared is trying to kill him. Or at least get him fired.

Jared grabs Jensen’s arm, and they both stop walking. Jensen flashes him a look, and Jared blushes and holds his hands up in surrender.

"So he won't even consider it?" Jared asks and Jensen shakes his head.

Jared frowns and glances around. "Alright, fine,” Jared mutters. “No sex education funding. You know, you people drive me crazy."

"Yeah, well, the feeling is mutual,” Jensen says with a scowl. “Do you need anything else, or are you done torturing me today?"

Jared stares at Jensen for a minute. "Are you gonna stall it again? I know it was you."

Jensen rolls his eyes. "Yeah, because last time I checked, my guy wasn't on that committee. For fucks sake, Padalecki, I didn't hold the thing."

Jared laughs in disbelief. "Oh, please, I know you have friends in that office. An anonymous hold wouldn't be hard for you to pull off. All it took was one phone call. And you can bitch about this one all you want, but you know by holding this thing you guys got exactly what you wanted," Jared says, crossing his arms against his chest, his shoulders stiff and tense.

"Yeah, well, now the damn thing'll pass,” Jensen mumbles, annoyed. “So stop your bitching."

Jared makes a frustrated noise and turns and walks away, leaving Jensen standing there shivering in the sun and scowling.



Present Day

To: jackles@gmail.com
From: thechad@gmail.com
Subject: Meeting

6PM tomorrow. Attached directions to HQ. Don't be late, assface.

***

Jensen sits on what must be the most uncomfortable chair in the city, his left leg shaking up and down. He probably shouldn't have had that third cup of coffee. He can hear the soft rumble of voices through the office door before it clicks open.

"Thanks for meeting with me, Misha. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning?"

Jensen looks up and feels his stomach drop. His hands shake slightly and he ignores the stranger, Misha, for the guy standing behind him, filling the doorway with broad shoulders.

It's been a year since Jensen's last seen Jared Padalecki.

Jared and Misha shake hands, and Jensen stands, resume in hand, waiting for Jared to turn his way. Misha faces Jensen then and offers his hand out. Jensen fumbles with his resume and shakes the guys hand before Misha smiles and turns to walk down the hallway. Jensen barely notices his departing figure, his attention too focused on someone else.

Jared is in the middle of pulling his cellphone out of his pocket when he finally turns towards Jensen. "I'll be with you..." he starts and then stops, mouthing wide open. The phone drops out of Jared's hand, clattering on the floor.
Jensen flashes him a nervous smile. “Hi.”

Jared looks...he looks really good. Everything about him is still the same: the same hair cut, the same rumpled suit, the same ridiculous pink tie. The same angry look on his face that Jensen knows all too well.

Jensen realizes then how much he missed Jared. How standing here in front of him makes Jensen realize just how bored he's been for the last year. More than anything, Jensen misses being challenged by Jared, in every aspect of his life. Fuck, he just misses Jared

Jared crosses his arms over his chest, standing tall and trying to use his height to intimidate Jensen. It never works.

"I have one last meeting, and I've had a very long fucking day,” Jared snaps. “Can we do this another time? Preferably after the election?"

"I am your last meeting." Jensen says calmly and holds out his resume. "Chad told me...look, you're hiring a new communications director, right?"

Jared just looks down at the papers in Jensen’s hand. "You're about the last person I expected to be here," Jared comments, frowning, but he gestures Jensen into his office.

Jared's office isn't fancy or stylish. In fact, it's the exact opposite. It’s tiny and sparse and Jensen wonders for a minute how Jared fits in the damn room. Jared's using a small card table as a desk, big enough to hold his laptop, and his cell phone charger, plugged into the nearby wall. He nods towards the only other empty chair. Against the front wall Jared has a shitty couch, a pillow and blanket bunched at one end. Jensen bets that Jared's slept there more often than wherever he's staying while in town.

There’s a giant map of the country tacked to the wall, some of it colored blue, with numbers and papers pinned to it, and a number written at the bottom, circled several times. Save for a couple of boxes on the floor filled with papers, and a giant campaign sign in the window, Jared's office is otherwise completely empty.

"I like what you've done with the place," Jensen says, grinning, but Jared just frowns and plugs his cell phone in to charge.

Jared smirks. "Well, we're a little busy trying to win an election to hire a decorator." Jensen sits up in the chair, and pushes his resume across the table to Jared, hand shaking a little. "You're serious, you really want the job?"

"Communications Director for Chandler For America. I have experience on the national level and I've been following the campaign. I think I'd be good."

Jared looks through Jensen’s resume for a minute before meeting Jensen’s eyes.

"Seriously? Shouldn't you be in D.C., trying to get a job with, you know, a Republican? I mean, I know you've been on 'hiatus' or 'personal leave' or whatever. What are you doing here?" Jared asks, disbelief evident on his face.

Jensen shrugs nonchalantly. "I heard you had a job opening. Chad set up the appointment."

Jared scowls, throws the resume on his makeshift desk, and settles back in his seat.

"Why should I give you this job when I've got Democrats, loyal Democrats by the way, lined up at my door, begging me for a job? I mean, these guys'll go to bumfuck New Hampshire if I ask them to. And you just waltz in here and expect me to hand this job to you? You have balls, Ackles, I'll give you that,” Jared finishes and crosses his arms. He looks expectantly at Jensen.

Jensen exhales a long breath. "Look,” he starts. “If I wanted some cushy campaign job, why would I go to you? You're in third place. No one expects you to make it past Super Tuesday. I'm here because I want to work for the campaign. I want this guy to be President, Jared. Probably as much as you do."

Jared snorts and eyes Jensen warily. "I haven't slept in two months. I doubt you want it as much as I do. Do you really want to get yourself involved in a high level campaign right now? I'm not scrambling in the middle of the primaries to replace you when you decide to take off again."

"Jared, I'll go to bumfuck New Hampshire, I'll knock on doors, I'll sleep on someone's floor. I don't care. I want to work for this campaign. My personal life doesn't have anything to do with it. I can handle it if your guy actually pulls a win out of one of these primaries."

Jared bites at his bottom lip before he laughs a little. "C'mon man, we gotta win one of these things, right?"

Jensen laughs, and Jared glances over his resume again. "I can't give you the job. I already hired someone." Jensen nods, and Jared gets up out of his seat. "Look. We're already fighting our own party, and the last thing I need is a month's worth of news cycles with every quote you've ever given to a newspaper on why a Democrat is the wrong choice. And...I don't trust you."

And that’s it right there. Jared doesn't trust him and that's the one argument Jensen can't win. Jensen nods and grabs his resume, standing up.

"No, I get it. I just thought...sorry for wasting your time," Jensen says. He turns towards the door and stops short.

The Governor is leaning against the open door, arms crossed against his chest.

Governor Kyle Chandler is the kind of Democrat that causes the Republican Party to scramble looking for an illegitimate child or a twisted past. He's young and charismatic, the poster boy for the Democratic Party. He's a moderate liberal in a conservative state, and Jensen knows the GOP is pissed for losing a Governor's seat. To lose it to a future leader of the Democratic Party is just another thorn in their side.

Jensen would be right there with the rest of the party if he wasn't so damn impressed by the guy.

A week ago, Jensen was in Iowa, watching him give a speech. Jensen was standing in the crowd, just as fascinated as everyone else. He spent the afternoon in the airport, writing policy on the back of napkins from a coffee shop, draining cup after cup. Jensen had scrambled, trying to find one connection from the campaign that wasn't Jared, and managing to get in touch with Chad.

It was the best and worst phone call of his adult life, and he owes Chad Michael Murray for this. But here he is, standing in front of what he hopes will be the next President and his new boss.

"Sir, he was just leaving."

"I'm looking forward to working with you." The Governor reaches out to shake Jensen's hand.
Jensen fumbles with his resume, almost dropping it on the floor.

"Actually, sir, Jensen..." Jared starts.

"Sir, why haven't you come out against the President's new foreign aid bill?" Jensen interrupts, taking a chance. If Jared's still stuck on everything that happened, Jensen's just going to have to go over his head.

"Excuse me?" The Governor looks a little confused, and beside him, Jared is starting to get that angry look on his face again.

"The foreign aid bill the President is trying to push through Congress. Sir, it's bullshit and you know it. Why haven't you spoken out against it yet?"

The Governor glances at Jared, smirking, before looking at Jensen again.

"So, are you our new deputy director? Cause I gotta say, I'm not looking forward to staff meetings anymore."

"Oh no, sir, Jensen was actually just leaving," Jared interrupts and glares at Jensen for a second. Jensen ignores him, smiling nervously at the Governor.

"We're already working on that,” The Governor starts, tapping his finger against his chin. “After the announcement, of course.” The Governor looks thoughtful. "What was your last name? I don't think I've ever heard of you. Do you work for the DNC or are you local?"

"Actually, sir, Jensen’s a Republican,” Jared blurts out.

Both the Governor and Jensen look at Jared, who's standing there, looking a little desperate.

"Is that true?” The Governor asks.

“Well. Yes, I’m a Republican,” Jensen says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“What are you doing here then?" The Governor looks at Jensen curiously.

"I want to work for the campaign, sir."

***

To: thechad@gmail.com
From: jpadalecki@gmail.com
Subject: I hate you

Thanks a lot, asshole. You are so fucking fired.

***

Jensen arrives at campaign headquarters early the next morning, coffee cup in hand. The office is already buzzing. There are interns making phone calls to Iowa in the outer office. Jared walks by with his laptop and coffee, barely glancing at Jensen. Jensen’s still standing around awkwardly, wondering if he should search out Chad or maybe find someplace to sit.

"Morning, asswipe." Chad walks by Jensen, punching his arm. He grins at Jensen and nods his head towards his office. Chad waves at the interns making phone calls as Jensen follows him.

Chad flops down behind his desk. Jensen stands awkwardly for a minute until Chad points to chair across the desk.

"So, the Governor played a fast one on Jared," Chad comments before he takes a sip of his coffee.

Jensen nods and takes the cover off his cup. He blows across the top before taking a sip.

"Yeah, Jay's pissed,” Chad says, rolling his eyes. “Oh, and thanks for telling him I set up the interview, by the way." Chad forces a grin and gives Jensen a thumbs up. Jensen just shrugs.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Jensen asks.

"Yeah, but now he's pissed at me, too. So, thanks for that. Fucking fabulous move, Ackles."

“Maybe he’s just pissed at you for being, you know, you,” Jensen says.

“For someone who’s about to ask me for another favor, you’re pretty fucking mouthy.” Chad opens his laptop and plugs in his phone.

“I’m about to ask you for another favor?” Jensen crosses his legs at his ankles and leans back in his chair.

“Yeah, you’re about to ask me to explain six months of campaign to you in ten minutes. And I’ll do it because I’m an amazing human being.” Chad taps his keyboard.

Jensen rolls his eyes right as Jared walks by Chad's office, knocking on the door. He barely spares a glance at Jensen before facing Chad.

"We're getting polling numbers in a few hours. New numbers outta Iowa." Chad nods and stands up.

"Well, you coming or what?" Chad pokes Jensen's back and nods towards the door.

***

Jared's talking with the Governor as everyone else is packing up and chatting. Jensen watches Jared and the Governor from his seat. Jared's just nodding and frowning. The Governor waves Jensen over, and Chad follows him as they walk across the room. The Governor reaches out to shake Jensen's hand.

"I'm confident the three of you can manage to work something out while I’m out of the office.” He looks at each of them. “I want good news when I get back."

Jared nods and checks his watch before saying, "You're going to be late."

The Governor nods at Jared once more before leaving the conference room.

The three of them stand there awkwardly for a minute, before Jared turns and walks away. He gathers his things before storming out of the room. Jensen runs after him.

"Look, Jared," Jensen starts, but Jared just shakes his head and walks past Jensen. "Jared, wait." Jensen tries to grab his arm, but Jared just pulls away and keeps walking.

"Jensen, just give him some space." Chad grabs his arm. Jensen tries to wretch his arm away, but Chad stands his ground. "Seriously, man, don't go after him. Just give him some time and he'll calm down." Jensen nods, and Chad lets go of his arm. "I've got some clips for you to read, c'mon." Jensen glances towards Jared's office once more before following Chad.

Chad's office is a little more decorated than Jared's, but not much more. He has a couch wedged against a wall and a couple of pictures tacked to the wall. He has two maps on the wall, one of Iowa and one of New Hampshire, some of the areas colored blue with tacks and dots. It's kind of strange trying to forget everything he learned on his last campaign and focusing on different independent groups, relearning counties to figure out where they can shave off conservative votes rather than liberal ones. It's weird to see the same maps he's known for years look almost completely different. Jensen flops down on the couch and runs his hand through his hair.

"We won't get much done if he can't stand to be in the same room as me." Chad shrugs and opens his laptop.

"Seriously, just give him some time. He won't be, you know, your BFF or anything, but he'll work with you. There's a reason the guy is running the campaign, Jensen. He's good." Jensen nods. Chad walks over to the couch with his laptop and hands it to Jensen. "Now read the damn clips and don't be late for the noon meeting. I'll be back in a little bit."

Chad's halfway out the door when Jensen calls out to him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Chad stops and turns in the doorway, leaning against the wall. He crosses his arms across his chest.

"Jared's my best friend, but I want to win. I really, really want to fuckin' win. And if that means working with you, then I can suppress the urge to punch you in the face on a daily basis to do it." Chad runs a hand through his hair and glances down the hallway before looking back at Jensen. "I trust you about as far as I can throw you when it comes to Jay. I know the Governor isn't the only reason you're here. I'll make your life fucking miserable if you pull a stunt like that again, I can promise you that."

Jensen nods. "Okay."

Chad nods and knocks a fist against the doorframe.

"Now get to fucking work, you lazy ass."



Two Years Earlier

Sometimes, Jensen thinks Senator Weston just does things like this to watch his head explode. It's the only explanation for asking Jensen to call up Jared Padalecki to ask for a meeting to discuss co-authoring an education bill with Jared's boss.

Jensen would love to work on this bill. He really would. It's a golden ticket to reelection; even with the tide changing, the electorate moving towards the Democrats, a bill like this would solidify the Senator's reelection, and Jensen can keep his job.

And he wants to write a damn good education bill.

Jensen's early for the first meeting. He's sitting at the end of the table, pen tapping against the pad of paper in front of him. He checks the time on his cell phone and throws it back down on the table. Next to him, Chris is leaning his head back, eyes closed, trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep. Chris Kane is one of the few people around D.C. Jensen can actually stand. An old friend from college, Jensen brought him into the Senator's office as soon as he got to D.C., wanting a good friend working beside him. Chris is just as thrilled about working on this bill as Jensen is.

A few minutes later, the door opens and Jared walks in. He just nods at Jensen and sits at the other end of the table. It's silent in the room, save for Jensen's pen tapping against the table. Jared takes a sip of his coffee and sits back in his chair.

The door bangs open. Great. It's Chad Michael Murray.

"Let's start this bitch." Chad grins widely, full of teeth and Jensen can practically feel the tension coming off of Chris.

There are few people as infamous as Chad around D.C. The guy is literally crazy. He's been known to walk right up to people and start screaming at them, not caring if they're a lowly Congressional worker or a Senator. He's heard horror stories of Chad leaving rotten food in the desks of people who have pissed him off. Jensen's pretty sure half the Republican Party is actually scared of Chad, and it looks like Chad knows it. The guy walks around with a smug look on his face, constantly ready to pick a fight. Chris glances over at Jensen and grimaces. Chris especially has issues with Chad. The two of them have almost gotten into more fistfights than Jensen can count. Just being in the same room as Chad makes Chris on edge.

Chad walks over to Jensen and sticks his hand out.

"So you're Jensen Ackles?" Jensen nods and shakes the guy’s hand. "Awesome. I hear you're a dick."

"Well, I've heard the same about you."

"I guess you heard right, then."

Jared sighs and waves his hand.

"Can we get started?" Jared asks.

Chad grins and flops down in the chair next to Jared. He takes a sip of coffee before putting his feet up on the table.

"Alright. Ackles, teacher tenure."

Jensen leans back in his seat and groans while Chad laughs.

"Don't you want to ease into this, maybe start with school uniforms instead?"

"Hell no. Teacher tenure. No one gives a fuck about school uniforms anymore. Show me whatcha got." Jensen rolls his eyes and glances over at Chris, who is clenching his hands. Jensen gives him a look before sitting up. His day just got a lot longer.



Present Day

New York Times: Governor Chandler Throws His Hat in the Ring

Governor Kyle Chandler from Colorado will announce his candidacy for President later this morning. The Governor plans to announce from Denver, his hometown and home to his new campaign headquarters. A rising star in the Democratic Party, Governor Chandler was not expected to become a contender in the race for the White House until 2012. He has consistently polled in third place in every Presidential Straw Poll.

The Governor has brought on Jared Padalecki as his Campaign Chairman, who led Senator Dodd's unsuccessful run for President four years ago, and has been working on the Hill for the last three years. Chad Michael Murray has been brought on as Chief Strategist, and in a surprise move, Jensen Ackles has been brought on as Deputy Campaign Chairman. Jensen Ackles has worked on two different Republican Presidential campaigns and has worked for Republican Senator Tim Weston from Texas for five years. Ackles left Washington last year to work for the firm Gimble and Gimble in Austin.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

***

Jensen throws his luggage onto the floor of his brand new office. Hands down, it’s the most depressing office he's ever stepped foot in. That's including Senator Weston's office in D.C.; at least that place had a single window, letting in the occasional beam of sunlight. Jensen's office here at campaign headquarters is dark and bare. It's empty, except for a cheap desk and chair in the middle of the room. Jensen surveys the room, hands on his hips.

"Wow, this place is a hole." Jensen turns around to see Jared standing against the door frame, his hands shoved in his pockets. He's wearing jeans and a polo shirt, and Jensen feels overdressed in his suit and tie. Jared forces a smile. "You should complain to your boss or something."

"It's not that bad." Jensen rubs the back of his neck and glances around the room.

"So..." Jared pushes his hair away from his face and tucks it behind his ear. "How was the flight?"

"Good. I guess." Jared nods.

"We're having a meeting in about ten minutes, in the conference room. Just senior staff, so we can all get on the same page." Jensen nods, and pulls his jacket off, throwing it on the table. Jared stands there for another few seconds before pushing away from the door frame and walking down the hallway. Jensen frowns and walks over to the doorway, watching Jared make his way down the hall, waving into offices and smiling widely. Jared looks completely at home, stopping to chat with almost everyone he walks by.

Five minutes later, Jensen's standing in the corner of the conference room holding a cup of coffee. He straightens his tie nervously. A few staffers are standing around talking to each other. He's never been the best at jumping into the fray and making friends, but this reminds him of the first time he met Chris and Joanna years ago.

"Being an antisocial prick again?" Chad asks, bumping Jensen's arm in greeting.

"What do you mean, again? I thought I was always an antisocial prick."

"This is true." Chad takes a sip of his coffee. "Seriously, man, they're not gonna bite. They're good people." Jensen shrugs.

He’s just about to make another smartass comment when Jared walks into the room. He’s seen Jared in a suit more times than he can count, but it still catches his breath sometimes. He’s wearing a sharp black suit with a white shirt and blue tie. He looks ridiculously good.

Jared stands at the other end of the room at the head of the table and surveys the group.

"The Governor is away for the next few days, so we have some time to regroup. Let's go around the table. You all know who I am, so...Chad?" Chad grins and gives Jared a thumbs up before going into his own life story about how he got there.

"And yes, ladies, I am single, so feel free to form a line outside of my office..." Jensen punches Chad in the arm. "What?"

"We get it, Chad. Sophia, you're next," Jared says, glancing at Jensen before Sophia starts talking. Jensen still remembers those awful meetings with her stupidly cheerful face and he can’t believe he’s working with her now. They go around the table, and of course, Jensen is last.

Before he can even open his mouth, the woman sitting next to Sophia leans forward and asks, "Is it true you're a Republican?" She has red hair and she's seriously hot. Three years ago, Jensen would be fumbling, trying to figure out a way to ask her out.

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?" she asks, giving him a wicked smile. Sophia leans forward, too, a twisted grin on her face. "Do you really sacrifice small animals at GOP gatherings?" Chad laughs and Jensen can’t help but grin back at her.

"Not usually, no. Why, did you want to volunteer?" Everyone around the room laughs and Chad punches him in the arm.

"Okay, okay, can we pretend this is a serious campaign for a minute and talk about Iowa?" Jared interrupts, but he's smiling softly at them.

***

After the meeting, everyone sticks around, talking to each other. Sophia turns and starts talking to Chad, and Jensen sits there awkwardly. He's about to get up out of his seat, and thinks about trying to make his office look less like a dungeon, when the woman sitting next to Sophia comes over and sits next to him.

"Danneel, right?" Jensen smiles at her awkwardly.

"That’s right." She crosses her legs and leans her elbow on the table. "I saw you sitting here with Chad, and he can’t be your only friend here." Jensen laughs.

Chad overhears and reaches his hand over to flip off Danneel, continuing his conversation with Sophia.

"I guess you already know him then." Jensen says.

She smiles and nods. "Yeah, I worked with him and Jared a lot when I was on the Hill."

He nods and glances across the room at Jared, who is deep in conversation with another guy Jensen vaguely remembers as Misha, the guy who got the communications director job. Jensen would hate him for that if Jensen hadn't ended up being deputy campaign director.

"What about you, how do you know Chad?" Danneel asks.

"Uh, just from around D.C. I worked with him and Jared on some stuff before I left. Chad kinda hooked me up with this, so he's not all that bad."

Danneel grins and taps his knee. "Besides, you get to leave the dark side and come work with all of us."

"They're not all evil, you know."

"Yeah, but this is more fun. C'mon, I know this great coffee place down the street. I need some caffeine before I even attempt to get back to working."

Jensen stands up and follows Danneel out. He glances over at Jared and almost falls over when he sees Jared watching him and Danneel leave together. Fantastic.



Two Years Earlier

Jensen is ridiculously late for this meeting. It's pouring out, and his umbrella is still broken from the last storm, when a gust of wind ripped it out of his hands. Instead he's holding a copy of the Wall Street Journal over his head, trying to stay somewhat dry. It's not really working. He’s only slipped three times on the ice outside, which is some sort of record for him, but he's still dripping wet, and he's pretty sure the spare shirt in the office still has a stain on it from a disastrous lunch which involved spaghetti sauce. He rushes into the building, throwing what's left of the newspaper into a nearby trash can.

He gets to the room they're holding the meeting in and his shoes squeak against the floor as he pushes the door open. Jared's the only one there, sitting at the table with his laptop in front of him. He's drinking from a steaming cup, and he glances up as Jensen rushes into the room.

"Holy shit. You look like a drowned rat," Jared says, looking him over. Jensen rolls his eyes, pulling his jacket off and laying it over a chair before sitting down, rubbing a hand in his hair.

"Sorry, my last meeting ran over." Jared just shrugs and pushes his cup of coffee across the table to Jensen.

"You look like you need it more than I do." Jensen raises an eyebrow, and pushes the cup back towards Jared.

"I'm fine. Let's get this over with," he says, settling in his chair and pulling his notes out. He can feel the water squelching in his shoes, and he really wants that stupid cup of coffee.

"Seriously man, we can reschedule," Jared says, biting at his bottom lip.

"We can argue about this now or we can argue about this in three hours. Let's just do it now so I can get this over with and get home."

"Fine."

"Fine." Jared looks visibly annoyed, but he sits up and starts in on adding days to the school year.

***

Jensen opens the door to his apartment, groaning as he sets his bag down on the floor.

"Babe?" Joanna calls out, poking her head out of the kitchen. "What's up?" Jensen can hear the radio on in the background. He slips his shoes off and pulls his suit jacket off, walking into the kitchen.

"Longest fucking day ever." Jensen kisses her before turning to the fridge to get a drink. Joanna's stirring something on the stove, and Jensen looks over her shoulder.

"Mmm...meeting with Padalecki?" Joanna asks. "Didn't go well?"
He nods, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I think disaster would be more appropriate." He steps back and leans against the counter. "It's like...ugh." Joanna smiles at him and turns the burner off on the stove. Jensen reaches up into the cupboard and pulls out a couple of bowls, placing them on the table. He sits down and rolls his sleeves up as Joanna puts a bowl in front of him.

"He's just ugh?" Joanna sits down across from him, dipping a piece of bread into the stew. Jensen stirs his soup a little, and takes a sip of beer.

"No, he's just really fucking stubborn. Like he won't give in on anything." Joanna gives him a look.

"Jensen."

"What? He's just annoying. And pushy. So now I gotta spend half the night working on this thing for that meeting tomorrow, and it's probably just going to go nowhere."

"Aren't you..." Joanna fidgets in her seat a little.

"What?"

"You're kind of obsessing over this, aren't you? I mean, it's just one bill. You don't have to stress out over it this much." Jensen shrugs.

"I just...I dunno. I want to get this done. Padalecki's been a pain in the ass for two years now. I wanna prove I can do this." Joanna doesn't say anything as she just stirs her soup. It's quiet for a few minutes, just the clink of their spoons filling the silence.

"I'm just saying, you have a lot of other stuff on your plate." Jensen nods and gets out of his seat.

"You want more?" He brings the pot over to the table, effectively ending the conversation.

Part Two