Four times their friends found out (and one time the whole world did).
Title: Four times their friends found out (and one time the whole world did).
Authors: (In alphabetical order) daisiesdaily, germanjj, ladyrhyanne, stageira, vambrace
Rating: R (for language)
Word count: 6,948
Genre: RPS
Pairings & Characters: Jared/Jensen, Jared/Sandy McCoy, mentions of Jensen/Danneel Harris; Chad Michael Murray, Misha Collins, Christian Kane, Steve Carlson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jim Beaver
Summary: Some secrets are more difficult to keep than others. Jared and Jensen learn that the hard way.
Disclaimer: The people own themselves. Never happened. It's called fiction for a reason.
Chad.
Chad woke up to feet stomping through his house. The noise echoed in his head and made it ache, let the blood pound through his temples like an elephant dancing on it.
"Uhhh," he made an annoyed sound and rolled himself over in his bed, blinking his eyes open. The feet running around outside his bedroom door didn't stop.
"Jared, if this is you, then I'll kill you," he mumbled, meaning every word. Yeah, okay, it might have been him who had dragged Jared to a bar the night before and let them get drunk. But it was the last night of his hiatus before he had to go back to Vancouver and they wouldn't see much of each other the coming months. And not to forget it was Jared who seemed to enjoy doing a tap dance all around the house, or - you know - maybe just walk since he was this goddamn giant who couldn't sneak up on somebody if his life depended on it.
Chad groaned and stumbled out of the bed, rubbing his face to be able to at least look out of his own two eyes.
When he opened the door to the hallway, he saw Jared running up and down with a bare chest, pulling up random things on the shelves, opening all doors he could find.
"Jared! Stop it." Chad's voice still felt scratchy in his own throat but Jared must have heard him. Well, he must have, but he wasn't reacting in any way. He just kept on looking for something, his face screwed up in concentration.
"Jared, goddammit! What's up with all that noise?"
That made Jared finally look up and meet Chad's eyes.
"We overslept, dude!" Jared threw his hands in the air. "Jensen's gonna be here in ten minutes."
"So what?" Chad dared to ask lazily, scratching his belly. He never wore a shirt for the night. But looking at Jared's chest now, he considered starting that routine while Jared was visiting him. At least as a small favor for his ego.
He almost got a "duh" and a death-glare. Well, Jared obviously wasn't in a good mood this morning.
Jared huffed and turned around, kept going on with whatever he was doing that woke Chad up.
"Have you seen my shirt?"
"What shirt?" Chad yawned and followed Jared with his eyes. It was exhausting.
"The blue one," Jared answered like he was expecting Chad to say, "oh right," and then make one move and present it to him.
"I don't know." Chad laughed at the funny picture his friend was making. "Jared, who cares? Just wear the red one." He had seen that shirt somewhere in the living room the night before. He couldn't figure out what it really mattered.
"No. Where's the blue one, dammit?" Wow. Now Jared was starting to really get angry.
"You gotta be kiddin' me. It's just a damn shirt!"
"Jensen hates the red one," Jared mumbled. That was the point where Chad's mind just stopped.
"Wait? Did you just say...?”
"God, would you please help, Chad?" Jared shouted at him, clearly annoyed and not at all aware of what he had just said. Or what it had sounded like. "Jen's here any minute now!"
Chad would have congratulated his brain with catching up so fast at this ungodly hour if it wasn't... yeah, if it wasn't busy catching up with what he had just heard. "Wait. Jared! Holy shit."
"What?" Jared didn't stop, just scrunched up his nose and kept on digging through Chad's house.
"Wow. I think I'm gonna need to sit for this." Walking back into his bedroom, Chad sat down on his bed, watching Jared following him.
"Okay. I'm ready. Now tell me." Chad gave his friend a smile that he thought was his best reassuring one.
Jared just frowned. "You're not making any sense, Murray."
"I'm pretty sure you have something important to tell me. So, I'm listening." He took a deep breath, shook himself, and then looked up, showing Jared that he was ready for the truth. Listening. A good friend.
"Murray, I don't have time for you fuckin' with me, Jensen's gonna be here to pick me up any second now, and I'm not nearly ready, and I haven't found that damned shirt yet!"
Chad could only gape at Jared. "No. Way."
"'No way,' what?"
"Holy. Shit." Chad laughed, shooting his friend an unbelieving look.
"Stop 'holy-shitting' me, dude!" Jared shouted, more annoyed and confused than angry now. "What's going on with you?"
"You don't know, do you?" Chad shook his head; a grin was spreading over his face.
"Know what?"
"Jared, my friend, sit down." He patted the spot next him. "I have to tell you something."
To his surprise, Jared actually moved and sat next to him. "What is it?"
"You... are terribly and head over heels in love with Jensen Ackles."
Chad almost felt sorry for the way Jared paled in front of him.
"I'm what?"
"Don't try to deny it," Chad laughed, not seeing what the big deal was. "I've seen you in love before. And I must have been blind the last weeks, but you're definitely in love. With Jensen."
Without a word, Jared stood up and turned his back on Chad.
All the glee Chad had felt just a minute ago whooshed out of him. "Okay, Jared, now you're officially starting to worry me." That should have been the point were Jared was going to deny, to get angry or to laugh at Chad for his stupid assumptions. Not for Jared to go all quiet and emo on him.
"I can't be, okay?" Jared turned around, his face showing all his insecurity like an open book. "I can't be in love with him. I have Sandy, and he has a girlfriend... he's not... and I'm not..."
"This bad, huh?"
"I swear, Murray, if you're gonna make fun of me now, I'll be out that door in a second," Jared hissed.
"What?" Chad was on the edge of being officially hurt, but when he saw the look in his friend's face, all the anger burnt off immediately. "Jared, no. Okay?" he said, his voice gentle. "I would never make fun of you for that. Just... you being in love with another guy is a lot to take in."
Jared nodded silently. Chad suppressed the sudden urge to hug that giant till he lost that damned kicked-puppy-look of his.
"So, does Jensen know?" Chad asked carefully and then, as another thought popped up in his mind, almost choked on his own spit. "Holy shit, does Kane know?"
Jared's eyes grew wide but an actual smile appeared on his face. Chad counted it as a small victory. "Chris? Are you serious? He would kill me with his bare hands if he knew! Of course not."
Jared sat back down on the bed, his arm brushing Chad's. "No. Jensen has no idea," he continued, his voice low. "Hell, I don't even know for sure."
"Well, with you flailing around like a girl, complaining that you have nothing to wear..."
"Shut up!" Jared punched him, and that kid definitely didn't know his own strength. But Chad didn't mind so much when Jared started full on laughing at Chad's scrunched up face.
"Excuse me, am I interrupting something?"
The dark voice came from the hallway. Jensen was leaning almost casually against the door frame, watching them with a raised eyebrow.
"Um," Jared stuttered and turned bright red and Chad considered giving the guy a slap on the head for being this obvious.
"Front door was open, Murray," Jensen stated, then turned his eyes at Jared. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure." Jared stood up. "Just have to find my shirt."
Jensen rolled his eyes. "Dude, just wear any shirt. I don't care. I just don't wanna miss our flight."
Later, when Jared and Jensen were waving from inside the cab, Chad's smile turned into a grin.
The day was pretty early and he might have been a little hung over, but the tiny hint of jealousy in Jensen's voice? Chad definitely didn't imagine that.
And the way Jensen's eyes were traveling over Jared's broad chest... hungry didn't even begin to cover it. This was going to get so interesting.
Chad sighed. With Jared's non-existent amount of subtlety, everyone would know sooner or later.
Sandy.
Sandy sighed and leaned back in her spot on the love seat, bringing her legs up and tucking her feet under her butt. Visiting Jared on the Supernatural set wasn't a lot of fun during the hours that Jared had to work, or like right now, hanging out in Jared's trailer while he watched over the dailies from the day's scenes.
She looked over in her boyfriend's direction when she heard him sigh. His gaze was fixated on the TV screen. It was a scene between Dean and Bobby, without Sam. Sandy looked from Jared to the TV screen to Jared again. She smiled at the goofy look on his face. A giggle may have escaped also.
Jared turned and looked at her for the first time since he began watching. "What?" he asked with a smile. He turned back toward the TV. "Jensen is incredible in this scene. Just look at the way he... moves."
Sandy giggled again, only to cover her slight confusion. The way he moves? She shifted in her seat, sitting upright again as her feet hit the floor. "Jay, you okay, sweetie?"
Jared looked at her for a few seconds, then looked at the TV as he clicked the "power" button on the remote. The screen went black. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?" He spun around on the ottoman he was sitting on, stopping when he faced her.
She smiled at him. "Just curious. You ready for dinner?"
"Yup, let's go."
As they exited the trailer, Jensen was just approaching his.
"Hey, Jen!" Jared exclaimed automatically. "You hungry? Come to dinner with us."
Sandy looked at Jensen the same time he looked at her, she thought his face almost asked for permission. "Yes, come," she said, smiling. Jensen shrugged and they drove to Monty's. They sat down at their usual table. As soon as food was ordered, Jensen excused himself for a run to the bathroom.
Jared's fingers were fidgeting with his napkin. Sandy put her hand on top of both of his and his fingers stopped assaulting the thin paper.
"Jared," she said quietly. She was silently hoping Jensen would be in the bathroom for longer than it takes the average man to pee, but she doubted that would be the case. So she went for it. "I know."
Jared whipped his head around and stared at the woman sitting next to him. The expression in his eyes spoke volumes to her, and she knew right away she was right. "What are you talking about, Sand?" he asked, trying to hide it with a smile and a chuckle.
"You don't have to hide it, hun. I've actually wondered about it for a while now. I've seen how you are around him. Your face says more than your mouth ever could."
Jared had looked down at at his hands again half way through her words. She still watched him, silently for a moment.
"It's okay, Jared. I still love you, even if you're not in love with me anymore."
Jared looked her in the eyes again. "Thank you," was all he could say before Jensen returned to the table.
"What'd I miss?" he asked, plopping down on the seat.
Sandy looked at him and smiled. "Not much. How was your day, Jen?"
As Jensen spoke about his events of the day, Sandy weaved her arm between Jared's arm and his body, linking it with hers. The food came and they all ate, chatting about random topics that came to mind. Sandy thought Jared was acting as if she hadn't said anything while Jensen was in the bathroom. In a way, she was thankful, because Jensen didn't pick up on anything.
They were all on their fourth or fifth beer and the plates had been cleared from the table before they decided to head out.
"I need the bathroom first, hang tight." Jared kissed the top of Sandy's head before getting up, and Sandy watched him walk away. When he rounded the corner out of sight, she looked at Jensen, catching him watch Jared walk away as well.
"This was fun, Sandy," Jensen said when he realized he was being watched. "I like when we all go out like this,"
"You don't have to make small talk, Jen," Sandy giggled. "You know you're not good at it."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I know." He looked away, towards the bathroom. Sandy thought he was waiting to catch Jared come back.
"I'll tell you the same thing I told him," she said quietly, getting Jensen's attention back. "I know."
Sandy thought he looked honestly confused for a second. "Know what?" he asked.
"You love him," she said simply. Jensen was silent for a minute, then chuckled, his face tinting a little red.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Jared's more obvious than you are, but once I figured him out, it wasn't hard to see on your end."
Jensen looked away again. Sandy reached across the table and put her hand on his. When Jensen looked at her, she smiled.
"Be good to him," she said.
Misha.
Misha hated all this moving around. Sure, traveling to new and exciting places was fun, but flying between LA and Vancouver four times in a month was a bit of a drag. Contrary to the madness he liked to exhibit for the fans, he was very fond of his house, as well as the fact that he built it, and the fact that he could only relax when he was staying in one place for more than one night.
Which explained why he was in Vancouver in the middle of June and trying to find a house to rent. A house, not an apartment, since he wanted that "homey" feeling, and maybe a fireplace.
"Dude, you need to stop daydreaming. We’re house hunting, it's not gonna come and find you by itself." Misha turned and looked at his friend and co-star. It was nice to have company and someone who knew the ropes. After all, Jensen had already been through this and Misha could really benefit from his experience. Or something.
"But, Jensen, how do you know that my dream house isn't waiting for me and has a special way of letting me know?" Misha replied. Man, Castiel-voice was good for more things that just using it on episodes. It made for fun times during situations like this.
Jensen just glared at Misha. The man couldn't do serious for more than thirty seconds. It was a curse. Well, most of the time and funny as hell the rest. But it made him wonder what he’d done wrong in his previous life to end up with Jared as a best friend and now Misha. Well, anyway, it was a good thing that he had kept all the information and the contacts for house hunting from earlier that month He might have said that he was looking to move house and not live with Jared any more, but that didn't mean he was actually doing it. Yet. Maybe.
"So how many more do we have left?" Misha was looking at Jensen, envying how the younger man navigated the streets of Vancouver Maybe he could be like this in a few months. Even if trying to navigate the streets of Seattle for a couple of months in the past winter had taught him that maybe he couldn't. Even if he had help, handsome and wonderfully amazing help. Help that went back to LA roughly at the time he went back to Vancouver and kept sending him texts and e-mails as to "not forget me while you are there." Like it was possible to forget someone like him.
"And you’re gone again." Jensen poked his co-passenger in the arm to get his attention. "I said this is the last one. Am seriously going home after this, I need a beer and some food."
~~~ 1 hour later ~~~
"So that last one was pretty good, right?" Misha said. He looked down at the brochure for the house and wondered for the second time at the handwritten note he could see on it. It was definitely Jensen's handwriting, and it proclaimed that the house pictured within was perfect for a guy who wanted a house, but not a huge place and that Jensen really liked it. Which, of course, made Misha wonder why on earth he just saw the house as part of his house-hunting adventure, and not as Jensen's home. He knew that Jensen had supposedly started looking at houses earlier than he had , and he had mentioned at one of the cons that he was moving out of the house he shared with Jared. Which had, of course led to all kinds of other questions.
"Yeah, it was okay." Jensen kept driving and sneaking looks at Misha. He knew that his co-star had seen the handwritten note he had left on the brochure. He was pretty certain, though, that Misha wasn’t going to ask. Wonder about it, yes, but no, he was not going to ask why Jensen had not taken the house, and why he still lived with Jared. "So you coming with me for an early dinner?"
"Sure, why not?" Misha shrugged. "Nothing better to do than go back at the apartment and look at the walls," he glanced at Jensen, "maybe you can help with the house decision? I don't think that I want to look at more of them."
"Sure!" Jensen replied as he parked the car outside Jared's house. His and Jared's house, where he could already hear the dogs having a party behind the door.
Misha was right behind Jensen as the other man opened the door and cleverly side-stepped the two crazy dogs. He watched as he threw his keys and mobile on the table next to the door. He watched as Jensen approached the kitchen door and was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug and enthusiastically kissed by an eager Jared Padalecki.
"Jensen! Sweetheart, I wasn't expecting you for another hour..." Jared's voice trailed off as he raised his head and saw Misha standing there.
It should have been awkward as hell, but people didn’t call Misha a funny man for nothing. "So, now I know why you didn't take that last house, Ackles." He walked past both of his embrace-locked co-stars, and headed to the kitchen. This whole thing definitely needed some beer, and even then, maybe something stronger. Judging from their reactions, the guys thought that he didn't know about them.
"Misha?" Came Jensen's hesitant voice, with Jared's almost incomprehensible mumbling following closely. He turned around and looked at them, standing at the door, their expressions guarded and shy, their shoulders touching. Misha hated that they were looking like that. People should not feel guilty and afraid just because they love somebody, and he knew there was a story behind their behavior, because there was no way that they were afraid of him. They shouldn't be.
"You know," he said, moving his beer bottle around, "you just lost me 100$ to my better half. I hate losing money to him, he becomes impossible to live with when he wins something and I really don't like threatening to withhold sex from him so that he can behave." He could see the exact moment his bomb got through their terrified brains, and their jaws dropped appropriately.
It's always fun to have the last word, Misha thought. He just hoped that "his better half", name withheld for now, would forgive him for eventually outing them to the boys. Well, at least the make up sex would be fun.
Christian & Steve.
Chris grinned at the sudden noise of excited barking and nails skittering across hardwood floors. He could clearly picture Harley and Sadie skidding to a stop in front of the closed door before dancing around in tight circles. He liked Jared’s dogs in all their over exuberant show of love for anyone who came to their home, but it made him miss not having a dog of his own waiting for him to come home. But there were days when it was pretty much impossible for him to care for himself, what with filming the show in Portland and still trying to meet all the demands from his record label for promoting the upcoming album, he wasn’t nearly self absorbed enough to think he could care for a dog.
But at least he had an open invitation to come to Vancouver whenever things got to be too much and he could spoil Jared’s dogs rotten. Both Jared and Jensen understood that sometimes he needed something other than human companionship, and sometimes he didn’t need to talk out his concerns or deal with his stress. Sometimes he just needed to live in the here, and now and a dog, or dogs in Jared’s case, gave that to him.
It kind of surprised him, though, when the door wasn’t even fully open and two bundles of excited brown fur forced their way out to try to simultaneously be the first to get his attention. Jared usually had better control of them than that, but since neither dog seemed to be interested in anything other than shouldering the other out of the way as they both tried to jump out and place their front paws on his chest, he wasn’t too concerned about it.
He pushed Harley down with one hand while holding the other out in front of Sadie to ensure she didn’t try to take his place. “Hey guys.” He let his duffel bag fall from his shoulder as he dropped to one knee and dug his fingers into the fur of their necks. “Did you miss me?”
He laughed as they squirmed and wiggled and tried to reach his face with their tongues.
“Jesus, Jared, did you put coffee in their water bowls this morning?”
“The boys had a late night shoot last night, but because of the convention, they had to shoot pick ups this morning. Jared overslept, so his babies haven’t gotten a walk yet.”
He glanced up at Steve as he disentangled himself from the dogs, grabbed his duffel and stood.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Steve there, as he was a guest at the con also, but he was kind of surprised to see him still at the house. “Hey man. I thought you’d be at the hotel.”
Steve backed up to give him room to get past the dogs and into the house. “Harley, Sadie, come.”
There was no need to turn around to make sure they obeyed, in fact there really had been no need to speak since they pushed past him and headed down the hall, he assumed, to reclaim whatever piece of furniture they had been reclining on before he had rang the bell.
He nudged the door closed with his foot and kicked off his boots, watching Steve as he made an exaggerated show of checking his watch.
“You do realize it’s only ten in the morning, right?”
“And…?” He pushed past him and headed towards the kitchen. “Tell me there’s coffee on.”
“And,” Steve followed him into the kitchen and settled into one of the chairs at the table. “I don’t have to be there until later this afternoon.”
Chris grinned; some things never changed regardless where Jensen was calling home, the mugs were always in the cupboard directly above the coffee maker. It made things easier for him when he came to visit and needed a caffeine quick fix, but he couldn’t help but wonder where Jared had kept them before Jensen had moved in, and how long it took him to get used to Jensen’s one truly odd obsession.
“So why are you here?”
He turned as he brought his cup to his lips and waggled his eyebrows at Steve as he took an appreciative sip. “Oh, that is so, so much better than that shit they served on the plane.”
He shook his head, “You and Jensen. Seriously, no one should sound like that when they’re drinking coffee. It’s obscene.”
“Like what?”
“Like coffee is better than sex, or like you just came in your pants.”
“Nice.” He muttered and pushed off the counter.
“Hey, where are you going?”
He paused in the kitchen doorway and glanced back at Steve, feeling suddenly lost at the pinched look on his friend’s face. Now that he was actively thinking about it, Steve had been looking kind of tense the whole time he’d been there. He had automatically assumed it had had something to do with the convention but suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
“The couch,” he waved towards the kitchen door, “You know, generally where people sit and relax.”
Steve ran his hands through his hair before scrubbing over his face. “Chris, why are you here?”
He had never felt like an outsider amongst his friends, not even the first time he had met Jared had he felt out of place. Jared had enveloped him in a tight hug before smacking his back and letting him know that he was welcome, and that had been when he had still lived in an apartment. He had never needed to explain where he was going or made to feel that he had to stay in one particular place in the house until now.
“Aldis is here for the convention so we all got the weekend off.” He explained slowly, trying to ignore feeling like he was unwelcome. “Figured I’d fly down and hang out with you boys. Maybe go out for beers tonight and then come back here and flip you for the couch.”
Steve stiffened and muttered something so low that Chris couldn’t hear him.
He could be a patient man, he could usually wait until someone was ready to explain what was going on, but he had just seen Steve and knew that they were good now. But suddenly he felt like he had been thrown back months, back to the time when he had to explain to his best friend that Columbia Records wanted to change the name of their band from Kane to Christian Kane. “Steve, what the fuck is going on?” As uncomfortable as he was, he couldn’t help but try to lighten the mood, “Do you have a girl in there that you’re worried will take one look at me and forget all about your sorry ass?”
He huffed out a breath and stood. “Come on.” He muttered, “let’s go to the living room.”
He let Steve lead the way, concerned and more than a little off balanced that there hadn’t been a snappy comeback.
Chris wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting; the room in disarray, looking like someone had maybe thrown a grenade in there and left the debris, or maybe a girl that Steve really had picked up and brought back to Jared and Jensen’s. It would be out of habit for his friend but it would have explained his behavior. What he didn’t expect was nothing.
The room was immaculate other than the usual dog fur, a half cup of coffee on the low table in front of the couch, and Steve’s ever present notebook full of lyrics sitting on the couch, a pen balanced on top of it. There was nothing there, no hint as to why Steve was currently frowning and gnashing his teeth as he settled onto one side of the couch.
Usually he just settled on the other side but this time there would be no room, Steve would have folded up the blanket he’d used the night before and placed it on the other side of the couch. And as much as he liked Steve, he wasn’t Jared, and he didn’t need to be in his friend’s personal space.
As he passed the couch and could see more than just the back of it and Steve he finally noticed what was out of place in the living room, other than his friend and his notebook, the couch was bare. But that didn’t make sense, Steve was supposed to be staying the whole weekend with Jared and Jensen, it would have been a waste of time to put his blanket and pillow back in the hall closet when he was going to need it again.
Unless he really wasn’t staying there, unless he had gotten himself into another situation, like that married woman he tried to hide from everyone a few years before, that he knew Chris was going to give him hell for.
He still sat across from the couch in one of the two armchairs, that way unless Steve got up and walked away, he would be able to see his friend’s face. Somehow it seemed like this was one of the conversation where he was going to need to.
“Steve, where are you staying?”
He grabbed his mug and held it tightly between his two hands. “Here.”
The answer was said into the mug, not to him.
“Really…?” Chris set his mug between his feet and rested his forearms on his knees. He thought that Steve had learned from his mistake, it had taken him the better part of two years to get over that woman, a woman who had never really been his in the first place. He was going to kill him if he had gotten himself into a similar situation. “The boys didn’t have any spare blankets for you?”
Steve lifted his head, his eyes challenging, “The blankets are in the bedroom where they are supposed to be.”
“But I thought both extra bedrooms had been converted to offices.”
He nodded slowly. “They have been.”
He knew that the house only had four bedrooms, two on the second floor, two on the bottom and even though Jared had talked about getting the basement finished, that he hadn’t had time to even get a contractor in to get a quote, never mind start it yet. “So what spare bedroom?”
Steve growled and shook his head. “I’m staying in Jensen’s old bedroom.”
Chris understood sleep deprivation; he had spent the majority of the last several years intimately involved with feeling like he was moving underwater, where sight and sound were muted. But he had managed a full night’s rest the night before, and he knew he was wide-awake and sober. But he felt like he had lost the train of conversation somewhere, and he had to fight against the disjointed feeling of floating all over again.
“And where’s Jensen sleeping?”
He wasn’t expecting Steve to slam his mug back down onto the coffee table and glare darkly across the room at him. “Jesus Christ, Chris, are you being purposely obtuse? Where do you think Jensen is sleeping? In his and Jared’s room!”
Everything seemed to stop as his body locked up in shock. In his and Jared’s room kept repeating over and over in his head, echoing back and forth, until he had no choice but to fully understand the implications of what was being said.
“So, Jensen and Jared are together? Like together, together.”
“Yes, Christian. Together as in together, a couple, two halves of the same whole, in a relationship...”
“No.” He shook his head to try to get the thought out of it. It wasn’t possible, Jensen had been so careful, he had plans and to throw them away, to let Jared throw away any potential plans he had, it was unthinkable. “But Jared’s straight, and Jensen knows better.”
Steve snorted. “Apparently Jared is not straight. And what do you mean Jensen knows better? Are you saying that Jared isn’t good enough for him? I’ll have you know that Jared is perfect for Jensen; anyone with two eyes can see that. He makes Jensen come out of his shell; he makes him happy, he makes him...”
“That’s not the point!” He jumped up from his chair and started pacing the room. He had spent years watching Jensen kept his true self locked up tight. He had argued and pleaded and then grudgingly accepted that Jensen was never going to be true to himself because he wanted to be an actor. And now he was going to throw that all away? It didn’t seem possible, not after years of denial. There was no way he had thought this through.
“You can’t be gay in Hollywood.” It was his voice but Jensen’s words. “Not if you want any decent roles, and when this gets out,” he paused and pointed a finger in Steve’s direction, “and it will get out, they’ll both be blacklisted. I don’t want to see all the hard work that both of them have done be wasted. I don’t want to see either of them hurt.”
He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “And this is why they didn’t want to tell you. They knew you’d do this.”
“Do what?” He hissed.
“Your manly version of flailing around like a woman. Get over it, Chris.”
“I am not!”
“Are too.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
He threw himself back into his chair and shook his head. “Fuck you, Carlson.”
Steve grinned and his voice was teasing, “I said apparently Jared isn’t straight, not me.”
Chris couldn’t appreciate that his friend was trying to lighten things up, not with something as big as this. Didn’t he understand that he was only trying to watch out for their friends? That he wasn’t being an asshole, this really would ruin their careers and just when they were finally getting the recognition and respect they deserved. “Steve...”
He held up a hand, “I’m a little pissed on Jensen’s behalf that you actually think he went into this without first considering everything.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes love makes people do stupid things.” It was a low blow, but it was a valid point.
Steve’s face went hard and his eyes narrowed briefly, but he seemed to shake it off. “I know that Jensen’s told you that he’s considering going into directing. And I’ve talked to Jared, he’s perfectly content with staying on the small screen if this gets out and he can’t get any decent roles in movies.” He leaned forward, his face earnest and pleading. “Chris, as far as I can see, they’ve talked out every angle; every possibility and they are content with their solutions. Can’t you just be happy for them? I’ve never seen Jensen this happy, ever. Let them have this without your usual overprotective advice of 'what ifs,' okay?”
He reached down and picked his coffee mug up from the floor, surprised that it survived his earlier jump to his feet. He took a sip of the now cool liquid as he contemplated Steve’s word.
He was right, even without knowing what had been going on, he had noticed that Jensen had seemed happier, lighter for the last year. And he knew that Jared was a good guy and probably was everything that Jensen had always wanted in a partner. And it sounded like they hadn’t gone into this relationship half-assed, so maybe he didn’t need to play devil’s advocate for a change. Especially since, in the end, all he wanted was for his friends to be happy. And if they made each other happy, then who was he to stand in the way of that.
“Can I be violent with anyone who hurts them?”
Steve grinned. “Are you going to try to bring back outlaw country by seeing how many times you can get arrested before the album comes out? Or are you hoping that the extra attention you’ll get from being arrested over and over for assault will make you a household name?”
Chris shrugged one shoulder. “That could work.”
“Which one…?”
He grinned back. “Does it matter?”
He grew serious, “Are you going to be okay about this? Or am I going to have to punch you a couple times so that you aren’t an asshole to the boys when they get back here?”
“I’m good,” he swore. And surprisingly, he was.
Jeff, Jim... & the world.
It was the last day of the Salute to Supernatural fan convention in Chicago. Jim strode into the little lounge “staging area” the venue set up for the celebrities, looking for some company before he started his last autograph session of the convention. Since it was only 8 a.m., he didn’t expect to see either of the J’s, but Jeff and Misha were both morning people, so he wasn’t surprised to see Jeff sitting at one of the little tables with coffee and the New York Times crossword puzzle.
“Hey, Beaver.”
“Wally.”
Jeff looked up and chuckled as Jim got a disposable cup full of the hotel coffee.
“What’s a ten-letter word for ‘four-masted Roman war ship?’”
Jim pondered for a minute. “Got to be ‘quadrireme.’”
“How the hell do you spell that?”
Jim told him. Suddenly both of their cell phones indicated an incoming text message.
Jeff checked his. “Text from Eric.”
“Me, too. Huh. It says to check our email immediately.”
Both men went to their emails on their phones. They both had the same message. “Video you need to see right now.”
“What is this?”
Jeff laughed. “Only one way to find out.” He clicked the link.
Jim walked over behind him. Jeff had an iPhone; the screen was easier to see than on his older model Blackberry.
The video opened on a familiar couch in a very familiar environment. The picture of exceptionally high quality, looked as if the video had been taken from outside, through a chink in the drapes.
“That looks like the couch in Jensen’s trailer on set.” Jeff commented. “Wait; that is Jensen’s couch. See that poster on the wall back there? That autographed Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail poster? I got that for him for his birthday last year. What the hell?”
Suddenly Jared came into view, laughing. He threw himself down on the couch, and continued looking at something or someone off camera, laughing harder and harder. Jensen came into the frame. Jim had no idea how to describe how Jensen came into the frame. What do you call that move? It’s not quite a sashay, not quite dancing, swanning? Whatever you call it, it was disturbingly sensual. Jared was laughing so hard now, tears were in his eyes. Jensen did an alarmingly professional pirouette and stripped off Dean’s flannel button-up over shirt, tossing it to the floor. He approached Jared in the same rhythmic fashion and pulled off his t-shirt. Jared was hysterical. Then Jensen broke into a down-and-dirty bump and grind that calmed Jared down as effectively as throwing a bucket of water on him would have. He stopped laughing and began watching with a heated smile.
Jeff looked up at Jim. “Uh-oh. I don’t like where this is going.” Oh my God! What a way for this to come out. I know they aren’t ready for this. I wonder how Jim is going to deal with this?
Jim looking over Jeff’s shoulder said, “oh, shit.” Jensen had unzipped his jeans and smoothed them down off his legs and stepped out of them as if he had been practicing the move for years. As his two friends watched in increasing discomfort, Jensen dropped gracefully to his knees in front of Jared, clad only in his snug black boxer briefs and reached out to unbutton Jared’s pants. Jared clearly mouthed, “I love you.”
Jeff stopped the video and noted that it still had forty-three minutes to run. He gulped. They both sat in stunned silence for a minute.
“Aren’t the boys supposed to be doing one of those breakfast with the fans things this morning?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, Jared was in here getting three of those big travel mugs full of coffee a few minutes before you came in. Said he was having more trouble than usual waking Jen up.”
“We can’t let them walk in there without warning them about this thing. If we already have it-hell, if Eric already has it-then anybody in there from the west coast probably already has it and has distributed it to everybody they know.” Jim’s concern twisted his face as he worried about his young friends.
“It’s not like a big faction of the fans don’t believe this anyway,” Jeff commented.
“Believing it and seeing it in living color in front of your face are two different things,” Jim said. He tried first Jared and then Jensen on their cell phones. Both went straight to voice mail.
“Do you know what room they’re in? Or rather what room Jensen’s in?”
“Yeah. Jensen’s in the room right across from mine. That should make it 832.” Jim paused. “Who would do this to them?” he asked. “I mean, it has to be somebody with access to the set, right? This was taken right outside Jensen’s trailer, and the sound is even decent.”
“Let’s worry about that later-I think we should go up there and tell them in person.”
But they must have missed the boys in the elevator; there was no answer at their room.
~~~
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Authors: (In alphabetical order) daisiesdaily, germanjj, ladyrhyanne, stageira, vambrace
Rating: R (for language)
Word count: 6,948
Genre: RPS
Pairings & Characters: Jared/Jensen, Jared/Sandy McCoy, mentions of Jensen/Danneel Harris; Chad Michael Murray, Misha Collins, Christian Kane, Steve Carlson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jim Beaver
Summary: Some secrets are more difficult to keep than others. Jared and Jensen learn that the hard way.
Disclaimer: The people own themselves. Never happened. It's called fiction for a reason.
Chad.
Chad woke up to feet stomping through his house. The noise echoed in his head and made it ache, let the blood pound through his temples like an elephant dancing on it.
"Uhhh," he made an annoyed sound and rolled himself over in his bed, blinking his eyes open. The feet running around outside his bedroom door didn't stop.
"Jared, if this is you, then I'll kill you," he mumbled, meaning every word. Yeah, okay, it might have been him who had dragged Jared to a bar the night before and let them get drunk. But it was the last night of his hiatus before he had to go back to Vancouver and they wouldn't see much of each other the coming months. And not to forget it was Jared who seemed to enjoy doing a tap dance all around the house, or - you know - maybe just walk since he was this goddamn giant who couldn't sneak up on somebody if his life depended on it.
Chad groaned and stumbled out of the bed, rubbing his face to be able to at least look out of his own two eyes.
When he opened the door to the hallway, he saw Jared running up and down with a bare chest, pulling up random things on the shelves, opening all doors he could find.
"Jared! Stop it." Chad's voice still felt scratchy in his own throat but Jared must have heard him. Well, he must have, but he wasn't reacting in any way. He just kept on looking for something, his face screwed up in concentration.
"Jared, goddammit! What's up with all that noise?"
That made Jared finally look up and meet Chad's eyes.
"We overslept, dude!" Jared threw his hands in the air. "Jensen's gonna be here in ten minutes."
"So what?" Chad dared to ask lazily, scratching his belly. He never wore a shirt for the night. But looking at Jared's chest now, he considered starting that routine while Jared was visiting him. At least as a small favor for his ego.
He almost got a "duh" and a death-glare. Well, Jared obviously wasn't in a good mood this morning.
Jared huffed and turned around, kept going on with whatever he was doing that woke Chad up.
"Have you seen my shirt?"
"What shirt?" Chad yawned and followed Jared with his eyes. It was exhausting.
"The blue one," Jared answered like he was expecting Chad to say, "oh right," and then make one move and present it to him.
"I don't know." Chad laughed at the funny picture his friend was making. "Jared, who cares? Just wear the red one." He had seen that shirt somewhere in the living room the night before. He couldn't figure out what it really mattered.
"No. Where's the blue one, dammit?" Wow. Now Jared was starting to really get angry.
"You gotta be kiddin' me. It's just a damn shirt!"
"Jensen hates the red one," Jared mumbled. That was the point where Chad's mind just stopped.
"Wait? Did you just say...?”
"God, would you please help, Chad?" Jared shouted at him, clearly annoyed and not at all aware of what he had just said. Or what it had sounded like. "Jen's here any minute now!"
Chad would have congratulated his brain with catching up so fast at this ungodly hour if it wasn't... yeah, if it wasn't busy catching up with what he had just heard. "Wait. Jared! Holy shit."
"What?" Jared didn't stop, just scrunched up his nose and kept on digging through Chad's house.
"Wow. I think I'm gonna need to sit for this." Walking back into his bedroom, Chad sat down on his bed, watching Jared following him.
"Okay. I'm ready. Now tell me." Chad gave his friend a smile that he thought was his best reassuring one.
Jared just frowned. "You're not making any sense, Murray."
"I'm pretty sure you have something important to tell me. So, I'm listening." He took a deep breath, shook himself, and then looked up, showing Jared that he was ready for the truth. Listening. A good friend.
"Murray, I don't have time for you fuckin' with me, Jensen's gonna be here to pick me up any second now, and I'm not nearly ready, and I haven't found that damned shirt yet!"
Chad could only gape at Jared. "No. Way."
"'No way,' what?"
"Holy. Shit." Chad laughed, shooting his friend an unbelieving look.
"Stop 'holy-shitting' me, dude!" Jared shouted, more annoyed and confused than angry now. "What's going on with you?"
"You don't know, do you?" Chad shook his head; a grin was spreading over his face.
"Know what?"
"Jared, my friend, sit down." He patted the spot next him. "I have to tell you something."
To his surprise, Jared actually moved and sat next to him. "What is it?"
"You... are terribly and head over heels in love with Jensen Ackles."
Chad almost felt sorry for the way Jared paled in front of him.
"I'm what?"
"Don't try to deny it," Chad laughed, not seeing what the big deal was. "I've seen you in love before. And I must have been blind the last weeks, but you're definitely in love. With Jensen."
Without a word, Jared stood up and turned his back on Chad.
All the glee Chad had felt just a minute ago whooshed out of him. "Okay, Jared, now you're officially starting to worry me." That should have been the point were Jared was going to deny, to get angry or to laugh at Chad for his stupid assumptions. Not for Jared to go all quiet and emo on him.
"I can't be, okay?" Jared turned around, his face showing all his insecurity like an open book. "I can't be in love with him. I have Sandy, and he has a girlfriend... he's not... and I'm not..."
"This bad, huh?"
"I swear, Murray, if you're gonna make fun of me now, I'll be out that door in a second," Jared hissed.
"What?" Chad was on the edge of being officially hurt, but when he saw the look in his friend's face, all the anger burnt off immediately. "Jared, no. Okay?" he said, his voice gentle. "I would never make fun of you for that. Just... you being in love with another guy is a lot to take in."
Jared nodded silently. Chad suppressed the sudden urge to hug that giant till he lost that damned kicked-puppy-look of his.
"So, does Jensen know?" Chad asked carefully and then, as another thought popped up in his mind, almost choked on his own spit. "Holy shit, does Kane know?"
Jared's eyes grew wide but an actual smile appeared on his face. Chad counted it as a small victory. "Chris? Are you serious? He would kill me with his bare hands if he knew! Of course not."
Jared sat back down on the bed, his arm brushing Chad's. "No. Jensen has no idea," he continued, his voice low. "Hell, I don't even know for sure."
"Well, with you flailing around like a girl, complaining that you have nothing to wear..."
"Shut up!" Jared punched him, and that kid definitely didn't know his own strength. But Chad didn't mind so much when Jared started full on laughing at Chad's scrunched up face.
"Excuse me, am I interrupting something?"
The dark voice came from the hallway. Jensen was leaning almost casually against the door frame, watching them with a raised eyebrow.
"Um," Jared stuttered and turned bright red and Chad considered giving the guy a slap on the head for being this obvious.
"Front door was open, Murray," Jensen stated, then turned his eyes at Jared. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure." Jared stood up. "Just have to find my shirt."
Jensen rolled his eyes. "Dude, just wear any shirt. I don't care. I just don't wanna miss our flight."
Later, when Jared and Jensen were waving from inside the cab, Chad's smile turned into a grin.
The day was pretty early and he might have been a little hung over, but the tiny hint of jealousy in Jensen's voice? Chad definitely didn't imagine that.
And the way Jensen's eyes were traveling over Jared's broad chest... hungry didn't even begin to cover it. This was going to get so interesting.
Chad sighed. With Jared's non-existent amount of subtlety, everyone would know sooner or later.
Sandy.
Sandy sighed and leaned back in her spot on the love seat, bringing her legs up and tucking her feet under her butt. Visiting Jared on the Supernatural set wasn't a lot of fun during the hours that Jared had to work, or like right now, hanging out in Jared's trailer while he watched over the dailies from the day's scenes.
She looked over in her boyfriend's direction when she heard him sigh. His gaze was fixated on the TV screen. It was a scene between Dean and Bobby, without Sam. Sandy looked from Jared to the TV screen to Jared again. She smiled at the goofy look on his face. A giggle may have escaped also.
Jared turned and looked at her for the first time since he began watching. "What?" he asked with a smile. He turned back toward the TV. "Jensen is incredible in this scene. Just look at the way he... moves."
Sandy giggled again, only to cover her slight confusion. The way he moves? She shifted in her seat, sitting upright again as her feet hit the floor. "Jay, you okay, sweetie?"
Jared looked at her for a few seconds, then looked at the TV as he clicked the "power" button on the remote. The screen went black. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?" He spun around on the ottoman he was sitting on, stopping when he faced her.
She smiled at him. "Just curious. You ready for dinner?"
"Yup, let's go."
As they exited the trailer, Jensen was just approaching his.
"Hey, Jen!" Jared exclaimed automatically. "You hungry? Come to dinner with us."
Sandy looked at Jensen the same time he looked at her, she thought his face almost asked for permission. "Yes, come," she said, smiling. Jensen shrugged and they drove to Monty's. They sat down at their usual table. As soon as food was ordered, Jensen excused himself for a run to the bathroom.
Jared's fingers were fidgeting with his napkin. Sandy put her hand on top of both of his and his fingers stopped assaulting the thin paper.
"Jared," she said quietly. She was silently hoping Jensen would be in the bathroom for longer than it takes the average man to pee, but she doubted that would be the case. So she went for it. "I know."
Jared whipped his head around and stared at the woman sitting next to him. The expression in his eyes spoke volumes to her, and she knew right away she was right. "What are you talking about, Sand?" he asked, trying to hide it with a smile and a chuckle.
"You don't have to hide it, hun. I've actually wondered about it for a while now. I've seen how you are around him. Your face says more than your mouth ever could."
Jared had looked down at at his hands again half way through her words. She still watched him, silently for a moment.
"It's okay, Jared. I still love you, even if you're not in love with me anymore."
Jared looked her in the eyes again. "Thank you," was all he could say before Jensen returned to the table.
"What'd I miss?" he asked, plopping down on the seat.
Sandy looked at him and smiled. "Not much. How was your day, Jen?"
As Jensen spoke about his events of the day, Sandy weaved her arm between Jared's arm and his body, linking it with hers. The food came and they all ate, chatting about random topics that came to mind. Sandy thought Jared was acting as if she hadn't said anything while Jensen was in the bathroom. In a way, she was thankful, because Jensen didn't pick up on anything.
They were all on their fourth or fifth beer and the plates had been cleared from the table before they decided to head out.
"I need the bathroom first, hang tight." Jared kissed the top of Sandy's head before getting up, and Sandy watched him walk away. When he rounded the corner out of sight, she looked at Jensen, catching him watch Jared walk away as well.
"This was fun, Sandy," Jensen said when he realized he was being watched. "I like when we all go out like this,"
"You don't have to make small talk, Jen," Sandy giggled. "You know you're not good at it."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I know." He looked away, towards the bathroom. Sandy thought he was waiting to catch Jared come back.
"I'll tell you the same thing I told him," she said quietly, getting Jensen's attention back. "I know."
Sandy thought he looked honestly confused for a second. "Know what?" he asked.
"You love him," she said simply. Jensen was silent for a minute, then chuckled, his face tinting a little red.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Jared's more obvious than you are, but once I figured him out, it wasn't hard to see on your end."
Jensen looked away again. Sandy reached across the table and put her hand on his. When Jensen looked at her, she smiled.
"Be good to him," she said.
Misha.
Misha hated all this moving around. Sure, traveling to new and exciting places was fun, but flying between LA and Vancouver four times in a month was a bit of a drag. Contrary to the madness he liked to exhibit for the fans, he was very fond of his house, as well as the fact that he built it, and the fact that he could only relax when he was staying in one place for more than one night.
Which explained why he was in Vancouver in the middle of June and trying to find a house to rent. A house, not an apartment, since he wanted that "homey" feeling, and maybe a fireplace.
"Dude, you need to stop daydreaming. We’re house hunting, it's not gonna come and find you by itself." Misha turned and looked at his friend and co-star. It was nice to have company and someone who knew the ropes. After all, Jensen had already been through this and Misha could really benefit from his experience. Or something.
"But, Jensen, how do you know that my dream house isn't waiting for me and has a special way of letting me know?" Misha replied. Man, Castiel-voice was good for more things that just using it on episodes. It made for fun times during situations like this.
Jensen just glared at Misha. The man couldn't do serious for more than thirty seconds. It was a curse. Well, most of the time and funny as hell the rest. But it made him wonder what he’d done wrong in his previous life to end up with Jared as a best friend and now Misha. Well, anyway, it was a good thing that he had kept all the information and the contacts for house hunting from earlier that month He might have said that he was looking to move house and not live with Jared any more, but that didn't mean he was actually doing it. Yet. Maybe.
"So how many more do we have left?" Misha was looking at Jensen, envying how the younger man navigated the streets of Vancouver Maybe he could be like this in a few months. Even if trying to navigate the streets of Seattle for a couple of months in the past winter had taught him that maybe he couldn't. Even if he had help, handsome and wonderfully amazing help. Help that went back to LA roughly at the time he went back to Vancouver and kept sending him texts and e-mails as to "not forget me while you are there." Like it was possible to forget someone like him.
"And you’re gone again." Jensen poked his co-passenger in the arm to get his attention. "I said this is the last one. Am seriously going home after this, I need a beer and some food."
~~~ 1 hour later ~~~
"So that last one was pretty good, right?" Misha said. He looked down at the brochure for the house and wondered for the second time at the handwritten note he could see on it. It was definitely Jensen's handwriting, and it proclaimed that the house pictured within was perfect for a guy who wanted a house, but not a huge place and that Jensen really liked it. Which, of course, made Misha wonder why on earth he just saw the house as part of his house-hunting adventure, and not as Jensen's home. He knew that Jensen had supposedly started looking at houses earlier than he had , and he had mentioned at one of the cons that he was moving out of the house he shared with Jared. Which had, of course led to all kinds of other questions.
"Yeah, it was okay." Jensen kept driving and sneaking looks at Misha. He knew that his co-star had seen the handwritten note he had left on the brochure. He was pretty certain, though, that Misha wasn’t going to ask. Wonder about it, yes, but no, he was not going to ask why Jensen had not taken the house, and why he still lived with Jared. "So you coming with me for an early dinner?"
"Sure, why not?" Misha shrugged. "Nothing better to do than go back at the apartment and look at the walls," he glanced at Jensen, "maybe you can help with the house decision? I don't think that I want to look at more of them."
"Sure!" Jensen replied as he parked the car outside Jared's house. His and Jared's house, where he could already hear the dogs having a party behind the door.
Misha was right behind Jensen as the other man opened the door and cleverly side-stepped the two crazy dogs. He watched as he threw his keys and mobile on the table next to the door. He watched as Jensen approached the kitchen door and was suddenly engulfed in a bear hug and enthusiastically kissed by an eager Jared Padalecki.
"Jensen! Sweetheart, I wasn't expecting you for another hour..." Jared's voice trailed off as he raised his head and saw Misha standing there.
It should have been awkward as hell, but people didn’t call Misha a funny man for nothing. "So, now I know why you didn't take that last house, Ackles." He walked past both of his embrace-locked co-stars, and headed to the kitchen. This whole thing definitely needed some beer, and even then, maybe something stronger. Judging from their reactions, the guys thought that he didn't know about them.
"Misha?" Came Jensen's hesitant voice, with Jared's almost incomprehensible mumbling following closely. He turned around and looked at them, standing at the door, their expressions guarded and shy, their shoulders touching. Misha hated that they were looking like that. People should not feel guilty and afraid just because they love somebody, and he knew there was a story behind their behavior, because there was no way that they were afraid of him. They shouldn't be.
"You know," he said, moving his beer bottle around, "you just lost me 100$ to my better half. I hate losing money to him, he becomes impossible to live with when he wins something and I really don't like threatening to withhold sex from him so that he can behave." He could see the exact moment his bomb got through their terrified brains, and their jaws dropped appropriately.
It's always fun to have the last word, Misha thought. He just hoped that "his better half", name withheld for now, would forgive him for eventually outing them to the boys. Well, at least the make up sex would be fun.
Christian & Steve.
Chris grinned at the sudden noise of excited barking and nails skittering across hardwood floors. He could clearly picture Harley and Sadie skidding to a stop in front of the closed door before dancing around in tight circles. He liked Jared’s dogs in all their over exuberant show of love for anyone who came to their home, but it made him miss not having a dog of his own waiting for him to come home. But there were days when it was pretty much impossible for him to care for himself, what with filming the show in Portland and still trying to meet all the demands from his record label for promoting the upcoming album, he wasn’t nearly self absorbed enough to think he could care for a dog.
But at least he had an open invitation to come to Vancouver whenever things got to be too much and he could spoil Jared’s dogs rotten. Both Jared and Jensen understood that sometimes he needed something other than human companionship, and sometimes he didn’t need to talk out his concerns or deal with his stress. Sometimes he just needed to live in the here, and now and a dog, or dogs in Jared’s case, gave that to him.
It kind of surprised him, though, when the door wasn’t even fully open and two bundles of excited brown fur forced their way out to try to simultaneously be the first to get his attention. Jared usually had better control of them than that, but since neither dog seemed to be interested in anything other than shouldering the other out of the way as they both tried to jump out and place their front paws on his chest, he wasn’t too concerned about it.
He pushed Harley down with one hand while holding the other out in front of Sadie to ensure she didn’t try to take his place. “Hey guys.” He let his duffel bag fall from his shoulder as he dropped to one knee and dug his fingers into the fur of their necks. “Did you miss me?”
He laughed as they squirmed and wiggled and tried to reach his face with their tongues.
“Jesus, Jared, did you put coffee in their water bowls this morning?”
“The boys had a late night shoot last night, but because of the convention, they had to shoot pick ups this morning. Jared overslept, so his babies haven’t gotten a walk yet.”
He glanced up at Steve as he disentangled himself from the dogs, grabbed his duffel and stood.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Steve there, as he was a guest at the con also, but he was kind of surprised to see him still at the house. “Hey man. I thought you’d be at the hotel.”
Steve backed up to give him room to get past the dogs and into the house. “Harley, Sadie, come.”
There was no need to turn around to make sure they obeyed, in fact there really had been no need to speak since they pushed past him and headed down the hall, he assumed, to reclaim whatever piece of furniture they had been reclining on before he had rang the bell.
He nudged the door closed with his foot and kicked off his boots, watching Steve as he made an exaggerated show of checking his watch.
“You do realize it’s only ten in the morning, right?”
“And…?” He pushed past him and headed towards the kitchen. “Tell me there’s coffee on.”
“And,” Steve followed him into the kitchen and settled into one of the chairs at the table. “I don’t have to be there until later this afternoon.”
Chris grinned; some things never changed regardless where Jensen was calling home, the mugs were always in the cupboard directly above the coffee maker. It made things easier for him when he came to visit and needed a caffeine quick fix, but he couldn’t help but wonder where Jared had kept them before Jensen had moved in, and how long it took him to get used to Jensen’s one truly odd obsession.
“So why are you here?”
He turned as he brought his cup to his lips and waggled his eyebrows at Steve as he took an appreciative sip. “Oh, that is so, so much better than that shit they served on the plane.”
He shook his head, “You and Jensen. Seriously, no one should sound like that when they’re drinking coffee. It’s obscene.”
“Like what?”
“Like coffee is better than sex, or like you just came in your pants.”
“Nice.” He muttered and pushed off the counter.
“Hey, where are you going?”
He paused in the kitchen doorway and glanced back at Steve, feeling suddenly lost at the pinched look on his friend’s face. Now that he was actively thinking about it, Steve had been looking kind of tense the whole time he’d been there. He had automatically assumed it had had something to do with the convention but suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
“The couch,” he waved towards the kitchen door, “You know, generally where people sit and relax.”
Steve ran his hands through his hair before scrubbing over his face. “Chris, why are you here?”
He had never felt like an outsider amongst his friends, not even the first time he had met Jared had he felt out of place. Jared had enveloped him in a tight hug before smacking his back and letting him know that he was welcome, and that had been when he had still lived in an apartment. He had never needed to explain where he was going or made to feel that he had to stay in one particular place in the house until now.
“Aldis is here for the convention so we all got the weekend off.” He explained slowly, trying to ignore feeling like he was unwelcome. “Figured I’d fly down and hang out with you boys. Maybe go out for beers tonight and then come back here and flip you for the couch.”
Steve stiffened and muttered something so low that Chris couldn’t hear him.
He could be a patient man, he could usually wait until someone was ready to explain what was going on, but he had just seen Steve and knew that they were good now. But suddenly he felt like he had been thrown back months, back to the time when he had to explain to his best friend that Columbia Records wanted to change the name of their band from Kane to Christian Kane. “Steve, what the fuck is going on?” As uncomfortable as he was, he couldn’t help but try to lighten the mood, “Do you have a girl in there that you’re worried will take one look at me and forget all about your sorry ass?”
He huffed out a breath and stood. “Come on.” He muttered, “let’s go to the living room.”
He let Steve lead the way, concerned and more than a little off balanced that there hadn’t been a snappy comeback.
Chris wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting; the room in disarray, looking like someone had maybe thrown a grenade in there and left the debris, or maybe a girl that Steve really had picked up and brought back to Jared and Jensen’s. It would be out of habit for his friend but it would have explained his behavior. What he didn’t expect was nothing.
The room was immaculate other than the usual dog fur, a half cup of coffee on the low table in front of the couch, and Steve’s ever present notebook full of lyrics sitting on the couch, a pen balanced on top of it. There was nothing there, no hint as to why Steve was currently frowning and gnashing his teeth as he settled onto one side of the couch.
Usually he just settled on the other side but this time there would be no room, Steve would have folded up the blanket he’d used the night before and placed it on the other side of the couch. And as much as he liked Steve, he wasn’t Jared, and he didn’t need to be in his friend’s personal space.
As he passed the couch and could see more than just the back of it and Steve he finally noticed what was out of place in the living room, other than his friend and his notebook, the couch was bare. But that didn’t make sense, Steve was supposed to be staying the whole weekend with Jared and Jensen, it would have been a waste of time to put his blanket and pillow back in the hall closet when he was going to need it again.
Unless he really wasn’t staying there, unless he had gotten himself into another situation, like that married woman he tried to hide from everyone a few years before, that he knew Chris was going to give him hell for.
He still sat across from the couch in one of the two armchairs, that way unless Steve got up and walked away, he would be able to see his friend’s face. Somehow it seemed like this was one of the conversation where he was going to need to.
“Steve, where are you staying?”
He grabbed his mug and held it tightly between his two hands. “Here.”
The answer was said into the mug, not to him.
“Really…?” Chris set his mug between his feet and rested his forearms on his knees. He thought that Steve had learned from his mistake, it had taken him the better part of two years to get over that woman, a woman who had never really been his in the first place. He was going to kill him if he had gotten himself into a similar situation. “The boys didn’t have any spare blankets for you?”
Steve lifted his head, his eyes challenging, “The blankets are in the bedroom where they are supposed to be.”
“But I thought both extra bedrooms had been converted to offices.”
He nodded slowly. “They have been.”
He knew that the house only had four bedrooms, two on the second floor, two on the bottom and even though Jared had talked about getting the basement finished, that he hadn’t had time to even get a contractor in to get a quote, never mind start it yet. “So what spare bedroom?”
Steve growled and shook his head. “I’m staying in Jensen’s old bedroom.”
Chris understood sleep deprivation; he had spent the majority of the last several years intimately involved with feeling like he was moving underwater, where sight and sound were muted. But he had managed a full night’s rest the night before, and he knew he was wide-awake and sober. But he felt like he had lost the train of conversation somewhere, and he had to fight against the disjointed feeling of floating all over again.
“And where’s Jensen sleeping?”
He wasn’t expecting Steve to slam his mug back down onto the coffee table and glare darkly across the room at him. “Jesus Christ, Chris, are you being purposely obtuse? Where do you think Jensen is sleeping? In his and Jared’s room!”
Everything seemed to stop as his body locked up in shock. In his and Jared’s room kept repeating over and over in his head, echoing back and forth, until he had no choice but to fully understand the implications of what was being said.
“So, Jensen and Jared are together? Like together, together.”
“Yes, Christian. Together as in together, a couple, two halves of the same whole, in a relationship...”
“No.” He shook his head to try to get the thought out of it. It wasn’t possible, Jensen had been so careful, he had plans and to throw them away, to let Jared throw away any potential plans he had, it was unthinkable. “But Jared’s straight, and Jensen knows better.”
Steve snorted. “Apparently Jared is not straight. And what do you mean Jensen knows better? Are you saying that Jared isn’t good enough for him? I’ll have you know that Jared is perfect for Jensen; anyone with two eyes can see that. He makes Jensen come out of his shell; he makes him happy, he makes him...”
“That’s not the point!” He jumped up from his chair and started pacing the room. He had spent years watching Jensen kept his true self locked up tight. He had argued and pleaded and then grudgingly accepted that Jensen was never going to be true to himself because he wanted to be an actor. And now he was going to throw that all away? It didn’t seem possible, not after years of denial. There was no way he had thought this through.
“You can’t be gay in Hollywood.” It was his voice but Jensen’s words. “Not if you want any decent roles, and when this gets out,” he paused and pointed a finger in Steve’s direction, “and it will get out, they’ll both be blacklisted. I don’t want to see all the hard work that both of them have done be wasted. I don’t want to see either of them hurt.”
He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “And this is why they didn’t want to tell you. They knew you’d do this.”
“Do what?” He hissed.
“Your manly version of flailing around like a woman. Get over it, Chris.”
“I am not!”
“Are too.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
He threw himself back into his chair and shook his head. “Fuck you, Carlson.”
Steve grinned and his voice was teasing, “I said apparently Jared isn’t straight, not me.”
Chris couldn’t appreciate that his friend was trying to lighten things up, not with something as big as this. Didn’t he understand that he was only trying to watch out for their friends? That he wasn’t being an asshole, this really would ruin their careers and just when they were finally getting the recognition and respect they deserved. “Steve...”
He held up a hand, “I’m a little pissed on Jensen’s behalf that you actually think he went into this without first considering everything.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes love makes people do stupid things.” It was a low blow, but it was a valid point.
Steve’s face went hard and his eyes narrowed briefly, but he seemed to shake it off. “I know that Jensen’s told you that he’s considering going into directing. And I’ve talked to Jared, he’s perfectly content with staying on the small screen if this gets out and he can’t get any decent roles in movies.” He leaned forward, his face earnest and pleading. “Chris, as far as I can see, they’ve talked out every angle; every possibility and they are content with their solutions. Can’t you just be happy for them? I’ve never seen Jensen this happy, ever. Let them have this without your usual overprotective advice of 'what ifs,' okay?”
He reached down and picked his coffee mug up from the floor, surprised that it survived his earlier jump to his feet. He took a sip of the now cool liquid as he contemplated Steve’s word.
He was right, even without knowing what had been going on, he had noticed that Jensen had seemed happier, lighter for the last year. And he knew that Jared was a good guy and probably was everything that Jensen had always wanted in a partner. And it sounded like they hadn’t gone into this relationship half-assed, so maybe he didn’t need to play devil’s advocate for a change. Especially since, in the end, all he wanted was for his friends to be happy. And if they made each other happy, then who was he to stand in the way of that.
“Can I be violent with anyone who hurts them?”
Steve grinned. “Are you going to try to bring back outlaw country by seeing how many times you can get arrested before the album comes out? Or are you hoping that the extra attention you’ll get from being arrested over and over for assault will make you a household name?”
Chris shrugged one shoulder. “That could work.”
“Which one…?”
He grinned back. “Does it matter?”
He grew serious, “Are you going to be okay about this? Or am I going to have to punch you a couple times so that you aren’t an asshole to the boys when they get back here?”
“I’m good,” he swore. And surprisingly, he was.
Jeff, Jim... & the world.
It was the last day of the Salute to Supernatural fan convention in Chicago. Jim strode into the little lounge “staging area” the venue set up for the celebrities, looking for some company before he started his last autograph session of the convention. Since it was only 8 a.m., he didn’t expect to see either of the J’s, but Jeff and Misha were both morning people, so he wasn’t surprised to see Jeff sitting at one of the little tables with coffee and the New York Times crossword puzzle.
“Hey, Beaver.”
“Wally.”
Jeff looked up and chuckled as Jim got a disposable cup full of the hotel coffee.
“What’s a ten-letter word for ‘four-masted Roman war ship?’”
Jim pondered for a minute. “Got to be ‘quadrireme.’”
“How the hell do you spell that?”
Jim told him. Suddenly both of their cell phones indicated an incoming text message.
Jeff checked his. “Text from Eric.”
“Me, too. Huh. It says to check our email immediately.”
Both men went to their emails on their phones. They both had the same message. “Video you need to see right now.”
“What is this?”
Jeff laughed. “Only one way to find out.” He clicked the link.
Jim walked over behind him. Jeff had an iPhone; the screen was easier to see than on his older model Blackberry.
The video opened on a familiar couch in a very familiar environment. The picture of exceptionally high quality, looked as if the video had been taken from outside, through a chink in the drapes.
“That looks like the couch in Jensen’s trailer on set.” Jeff commented. “Wait; that is Jensen’s couch. See that poster on the wall back there? That autographed Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail poster? I got that for him for his birthday last year. What the hell?”
Suddenly Jared came into view, laughing. He threw himself down on the couch, and continued looking at something or someone off camera, laughing harder and harder. Jensen came into the frame. Jim had no idea how to describe how Jensen came into the frame. What do you call that move? It’s not quite a sashay, not quite dancing, swanning? Whatever you call it, it was disturbingly sensual. Jared was laughing so hard now, tears were in his eyes. Jensen did an alarmingly professional pirouette and stripped off Dean’s flannel button-up over shirt, tossing it to the floor. He approached Jared in the same rhythmic fashion and pulled off his t-shirt. Jared was hysterical. Then Jensen broke into a down-and-dirty bump and grind that calmed Jared down as effectively as throwing a bucket of water on him would have. He stopped laughing and began watching with a heated smile.
Jeff looked up at Jim. “Uh-oh. I don’t like where this is going.” Oh my God! What a way for this to come out. I know they aren’t ready for this. I wonder how Jim is going to deal with this?
Jim looking over Jeff’s shoulder said, “oh, shit.” Jensen had unzipped his jeans and smoothed them down off his legs and stepped out of them as if he had been practicing the move for years. As his two friends watched in increasing discomfort, Jensen dropped gracefully to his knees in front of Jared, clad only in his snug black boxer briefs and reached out to unbutton Jared’s pants. Jared clearly mouthed, “I love you.”
Jeff stopped the video and noted that it still had forty-three minutes to run. He gulped. They both sat in stunned silence for a minute.
“Aren’t the boys supposed to be doing one of those breakfast with the fans things this morning?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, Jared was in here getting three of those big travel mugs full of coffee a few minutes before you came in. Said he was having more trouble than usual waking Jen up.”
“We can’t let them walk in there without warning them about this thing. If we already have it-hell, if Eric already has it-then anybody in there from the west coast probably already has it and has distributed it to everybody they know.” Jim’s concern twisted his face as he worried about his young friends.
“It’s not like a big faction of the fans don’t believe this anyway,” Jeff commented.
“Believing it and seeing it in living color in front of your face are two different things,” Jim said. He tried first Jared and then Jensen on their cell phones. Both went straight to voice mail.
“Do you know what room they’re in? Or rather what room Jensen’s in?”
“Yeah. Jensen’s in the room right across from mine. That should make it 832.” Jim paused. “Who would do this to them?” he asked. “I mean, it has to be somebody with access to the set, right? This was taken right outside Jensen’s trailer, and the sound is even decent.”
“Let’s worry about that later-I think we should go up there and tell them in person.”
But they must have missed the boys in the elevator; there was no answer at their room.
~~~
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