I Want To Save You - Chapter Two
Title: I Want To Save You
Author: Blink-sum-new-muse
Rating: R
Fandom: CW RP
Summary: Jensen's a street-hardened hooker who's sure he knows how things are meant to be. Jared's a bleeding heart with more money than sense. He wants to save Jensen, but will Jensen let him?
Disclaimer: I do not own Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Michael Rosenbaum, Chris Kane, Chad Michael Murray, Steve Carlson or any of their families. I also don't own the song I Want To Save You; it's by Something Corporate. I do, however, own Loretta and Max. Fiction is the word, and the words are mine.
Status: Ongoing.
Previous Chapters: One
Notes: This is part of the street 'verse.
Over the next couple of days, Jared can't stop thinking about the hooker. It had been nothing more than a brief exchange of words, something which Jared does on an hourly basis, never mind daily, but something about the guy just struck him. Jared is intrigued, and it's driving him crazy.
His father had always told him he worries too much about problems that aren't his to worry about, but he can't help it. He always stops in the street when he sees someone canvassing for charity, no matter if they ask him to or not; writes down his credit card details like it's a heartfelt apology to people in need that he doesn't have to suffer like they do. He's only ever been in one fight, because he hates them, and that was because a kid was torturing a stray dog and words wouldn't make him stop. So Jared, ten years old, beat the hell out of the other kid and untangled the dog from the fishing wire it was wrapped in. He took it to an animal shelter when his daddy said no more dogs in their home, and cried about the incident for a week's worth of nights afterwards.
He confides almost everything, including this latest obsession with a hooker, to his housekeeper. Loretta is a warm-hearted, strong woman in her fifties, who he'd employed simply because out of all the applicants, he'd thought she needed the job most of all. She had lost her only daughter and son-in-law to a car crash less than a month before, and had been left with a four year old grandson to bring up alone. The medical costs for the few weeks her daughter had spent fighting in hospital had all but wiped out her life savings, and she was desperate. Jared knew he was going to hire her the minute she walked into his house, apologising for bringing the kid with her because she had no one else to look after him.
But like most of his altruistic decisions, he hadn't regretted it. He fell in love with Loretta's grandson, Max, the moment the kid asked him to play baseball with him, and fell in love with Loretta herself the moment he tasted her apple pie. They've been a beneficial addition to his life in more ways than one, which is why Jared simply changes the subject whenever his daddy tries to tell him he's too good to people. Two years on, Loretta is not only a housekeeper to him, but a confidante, a therapist, a second mother and most importantly, a friend.
"I just can't stop thinking about him, you know?" Jared says through a mouthful of chicken and biscuits, which he's eating standing up, leaning against the counter in the kitchen because it's just a snack for him rather than a proper meal. Loretta knows only too well that when Jared's got an idea in his head, he's like a dog with a chew toy. Can't get his mind off it for love nor money.
"Jared Padalecki," she tells him in her warm Southern drawl as she chops vegetables on another work surface, not bothering to turn around to converse, "That man you met is a prostitute and from the sounds of it, a right prickly one at that. You've got no business with him, and some might say you're a fool. But..." and here she heaves a great sigh, turning around to face him with a hand on her hip, "I say there's worse things you could be."
Jared's momentary grin reminds her startlingly of her grandson, and she's not sure who picked it up from who. But the expression is replaced by a more sombre one only moments later, and it makes her frown. "What, honey?"
"What if he just thought I was trying to trick him with the money? Like, gain his confidence and then rape him or murder him or something? Maybe that's why he said he didn't swing that way, 'cause he thought it was an out?" Jared's mind's working a mile a minute, as it usually does.
"Boy," Loretta sighs again, and turns back to her vegetables, "You are a grade A idiot."
"Why?" She would be worried she'd affronted the man if she didn't know him inside and out.
"He sleeps with people for money. He probably doesn't swing that way. And if he thought you were trying to trick him, he wouldn't have offered you anything in the first place. Now go on, before you eat this dinner 'fore it's done cooking," and she smacks gently at his hand when he tries to reach around her for a piece of raw carrot. Jared pouts, but goes easily enough, leaving her to smile and work in peace.
* * * * *
Jensen, for his part, has not been similarly afflicted. He hasn't thought about the guy who randomly gave him two hundred bucks any longer than it took to recount the story to a couple of his friends because when life gives you lemons, you eat them whole before even wasting time making any lemonade. Jensen is a street kid; he's been living hand-to-mouth for fourteen years now and he knows better than to think this is the start of some wonderful new existence for him.
So when Jared rolls up again in the same spot, two nights later, he's momentarily surprised to see him until Jared asks him how much he costs for the night. Another guy that wants him for sex. Figures.
Jensen hasn't been hooking for this long and not picked up on all the tricks. He lets his eyes roam over Jared's car again, and aims high. "A grand." It's not true; usually his nightly cost would be only about five hundred, less for his preferred customers [i.e. the less gross ones] and more for those he was trying to dissuade, but he figures this guy can afford it if he's giving out free money and he doesn't seem the type to squabble over the price.
Jared nods, as though he's thinking about it. He has no idea how much hookers usually cost, for a night or for anything else, but he doesn't much care, either. "Okay," he says, watching Jensen's face as the man leans in through his open window, arms crossed like he hasn't a care in the world. "I'll pay you a grand to come hang out with me tonight. No sex."
Jensen thought he'd seen it all, but this guy is a whole new brand of street crazy. "You're crazy," he half-laughs, eyebrows raising.
The response he gets is a similar laugh and an agreement. He can't really argue with that. "Whatever," Jensen rolls his eyes, thinking this guy is just asking to be jacked. But he's not the kind of guy that ties clients up and then walks out on them, stealing all their money on the way. He might be a hooker but he's still got values, and besides, he knows damn well if you do that sort of shit, one day it's gonna catch up with you. He just does his job and gets paid his money, same as anyone else out there making an honest living, and this idiot just better know he's lucky for having picked Jensen rather than someone like Mike.
"I gotta tell my bro where I'm goin'," he tells the man in the car. "What's your name and where you takin' me?"
"Jared Padalecki," the man replies with a bright smile that Jensen doesn't often see in this business. "One forty six Oakridge Road, Carmendale."
Jensen doesn't bat an eyelid at the mention of Jared's overpriced neighbourhood, although he's more used to hotel rooms, especially from the guys who had cash to throw about. He simply nods and says, "Wait here," walking a few steps away and then turning to note down the car's registration plate. He adds the address and the man's name [although the spelling is a complete guess] as he walks up to his leader, partner, best friend, mentor, pimp, and all-around one of the most important people in Jensen's life - Chris Kane.
"This guy is paying me a grand to hang out with him tonight, no sex," he says when he reaches the other man, hidden in shadows. Chris is dressed a little more for the weather than Jensen, owing to the fact that he's not hooking tonight, merely keeping tabs on everyone else. They know they can't do much to keep themselves safe, not in this line of business, but they go as far as they can which means if anyone doesn't turn up when they're supposed to, they'll know. Chris has had to go chasing after a few of his friends over the years and although the situations he's found himself in as a result haven't always been ideal, his family - in his definition which has nothing to do with blood - means the world to him.
"No sex?" Chris repeats, incredulous. "You sure that doesn't just mean no fucking, but whipping you till you bleed is fine?"
"I don't think so," Jensen shrugs. "He seems pretty fuckin' harmless. It's the guy I told you about on Thursday, the one who just gave me the money for nothing and left? I think he's honestly just this much of a loser. And it's a grand."
"Well, be on your guard," Chris warns, pulling Jensen into a hug. Jensen promises he will and walks back to the car, ready for a night of no sex and a grand at the end of it.
They've been driving for a couple of minutes in silence except for Jared asking Jensen his name, and Jensen's not one to try and control a situation but he's honestly curious as to what the night's going to entail. "So do you usually go around picking up hookers to hang out with?" is his stellar conversation starter, but if he thinks the guy's going to be embarrassed he's mistaken.
"It's not a hobby of mine, if that's what you're asking," Jared replies with an easy smile, looking over at Jensen as they pull to a stop at the lights. Again, he has the thought that he likes that Jensen isn't trying to be something he's not. That's what irks Jared about a lot of porn; it's thirty year old women dressed up as schoolgirls or twenty five year old men pretending to be the boy next door, and it doesn't wash with him. He can't find it sexy. But this guy is sarcastic and caustic and isn't bothering to hide the fact that he thinks Jared's an idiot, just like Loretta does, and he thinks it's great. "Actually," he adds as they pull away again, "You're my first."
"Brings a whole new meaning to the word virgin in my line of work," Jensen remarks, and Jared laughs out loud. Jensen smiles faintly, still kinda confused about this guy and his motives, but he's feeling quite relaxed even despite Chris's warning.
When they pull into the driveway, Jared parking between his black '69 Camaro and his cherry red '62 Coupe DeVille, Jensen can't help but hold back a whistle at the sight of...well, everything Jared's got. The house is huge, its wrap-around porch is designed with stone columns every ten feet or so and the garage alone, Jensen guesses, is bigger than his entire family's living area.
"I like that," Jensen says, gesturing widely to the bicycle, sports equipment and other kids' toys lying around on the large front lawn. "Makes the place look lived in." Jared doesn't know exactly what he means by this, so he doesn't say anything, just continues on his way to the door.
When he lets them into the hallway, Jensen's eyebrows raise again. "Huh," he says flatly, gazing around at the multitude of drawings plastered all over the hallway. "Someone likes art."
Jared laughs. "They're Max's," he replies. "My housekeeper's grandson. He's six and unfortunately, he can already draw way better than me."
"Shouldn't you have a load of stupid expensive paintings?" Jensen wonders, gazing up the staircase that sits smack in the middle of the hallway and noting a rather large, purplish stain halfway up the stairs. The stain looks like it's been scrubbed at repeatedly, but the colour has stuck fast and someone obviously gave up on it a while ago. This house does not entirely fit with Jensen's idea of high-class living.
"Why would I?" Jared asks, shrugging his jacket off to reveal a loose, old t-shirt that almost rivals Jensen's in its level of wear. Coupled with the baggy jeans, he looks less like the businessman he did on Thursday and more like a big kid who's been left to play in his parents' house for the weekend. Given that he looks so young, Jensen is momentarily suspicious over whether this might not actually be the case, but it's not like he cares much. "I don't like stupid expensive paintings," Jared adds, shoving his hands in his pockets and meeting Jensen's gaze with a level stare.
"I thought it was like, a rule..." Jensen starts to say, looking around again. Then he meets Jared's eyes, realises the guy is looking like he's about to laugh and smirks himself before he can be the butt of a joke, "If you're mad rich, you have to have all the stupid expensive crap."
Jared simply shakes his head, but the smile's still on his lips. "I don't like rules that don't make sense," is all he says, before turning and saying, "C'mon," as he heads for the den. It's one of the smallest rooms in Jared's house but it's still pretty big by normal standards, and it's Jared's favourite because it's cosy. It's where he watches movies, reads books, plays with Max, drinks with Chad - it's the heart of his home, really.
"What do you want to eat and drink?" Jared asks Jensen the moment they're in the door. Jensen shrugs, not really expecting anything. If you don't expect anything, you never get disappointed. "Well, what do you like?" Jared presses, finding it hard to work with nothing. He himself will eat pretty much anything, but he also has firm favourites and given the choice, he'll pick those.
"Whatever, man. I'll have whatever you're having. I'm not picky," Jensen says, and it's the truth, because he can't afford to be. Jared sort of stares for a second and then shrugs, leaving the room by a different door to go straight into the huge kitchen.
"Well, pick a movie then, while I'm gone," Jared says suddenly, poking his head back in the doorway, and then he leaves Jensen to gaze up at the gigantic library of DVDs. The shelving that holds them almost covers one entire wall, and Jensen has to crane his neck to see the ones at the top. He looks for a while as he listens out for Jared still thumping around in the other room, but eventually he picks one at random since there are so many he hasn't seen, he wouldn't know where to begin. Reading the back of the box, he realises that Steve said he saw this movie once with a client, one who liked getting fucked with movies on real loud in the background as though he could fool himself he was at the movie theatre instead of getting fucked by a whore, and he'd said this one was good.
Jared comes back with two armfuls of stuff, chips and dip and candy and all sorts of crap Jensen hasn't eaten in years because they can't afford to splash out on this sort of stuff, and for a second or two he's insanely jealous, but it passes because if he was jealous every time he saw someone with more than he had, he'd never get anything done in life. This is the way the dice got thrown, so whatever. He has long since learned to deal. Jared takes the movie from Jensen and sticks it in the DVD player without comment, navigating the menus and fastforwarding until it actually starts because he rightfully guesses that Jensen won't have a clue how to do this. Then he smiles, "One second," and leaves Jensen, eyes flitting between the food and the TV, to grab a tray full of all sorts of drinks.
"You want a beer?" Jared offers in the same way he would offer one to Chad, which really means, "What beer do you want?" but the response is alarming. Jensen's whole face darkens in a second, his features looking suddenly quite nasty.
"No, thanks," he manages to grit out, not looking at the other man. Jared wants to ask, but he figures it's not going to be well received and it's not really his place anyway, so he simply shrugs like it's no big deal, and reaches for a Coke for himself instead.
They watch the movie in near silence, and although Jared's already seen it a few times he's entertained enough just by watching Jensen, the way he reacts almost comically to standard comedy plots and devices like a kid even younger than Max might do. These days everyone's seen everything and this is just generic, run of the mill kind of stuff, but Jensen seems to enjoy it a lot. He's glad for that; thinks probably the man doesn't enjoy himself as much as he ought to.
When the movie ends, Jared switches channels to a football game he'd TiVo'd from a couple of nights ago. He sort of keeps up with football, as much as he can with his workload, but he's not fanatical - not like some of the men he knows, anyway. The first few minutes are quiet and Jared wonders if Jensen maybe thinks he shouldn't talk and interrupt things, and he doesn't look as interested in this as he had been in the movie, so he tries to make things a little easier on the guy. "Who d'you root for?" he asks, looking at Jensen but gesturing towards the TV where the Cowboys are currently battling with the Dolphins.
"I don't really get a chance to watch much football," Jensen replies in a tone that clearly says he thinks Jared is an idiot, and Jared figures he deserved that. But he doesn't give up that easy; never has done.
"So what do you do when you're not out hooking, then?" he asks.
Jensen is impressed that he doesn't try to pussyfoot around the word, try to make it sound less vulgar than it is, but he tries hard not to show it. "Well, I live with a lot of other guys in my gang," he begins haltingly, unsure really how to talk about this because describing his life isn't something he's used to, but Jared's open expression and friendly demeanour, plus the fact that he seems to be genuinely interested, make it easier than it would be and soon he's opening up. "During the afternoon we just sleep mostly, since we're obviously up during the night but when we're awake we catch up with each other, listen to Chris and Steve play guitar a lot, just kinda hang out. And then there's cooking and all the domestic crap; everyone pulls together on that. You know, some of the things everyone's got to do."
Jared asks him about Chris and Steve and the others he lives with, what do they talk about, even some stuff about hooking but it's not in a creepy car-crash syndrome kinda way, which Jensen gets sometimes with the weird clients, it's just how he talks about that stuff with his friends and how he imagines normal people talk about movies and relationships and sports and stuff with their friends, so it's easy to get into. They stay up talking until four, Jared too giving details on his life as a car dealer and a lot of stories about Max.
But finally, when there's a pause in the conversation, Jared yawns, moves his head to crick his neck and catches sight of the clock on the TV. It's four am, and he realises suddenly that he's beat.
"Okay, I think if we stay here any longer I'm gonna fall asleep on you," he says with a smile, "And according to past boyfriends it's real uncomfortable to be slept on by a giant, so I'm voting we head to bed." Jensen can't quite connect the dots on that one, but he's only sort of surprised when Jared takes him upstairs and, instead of guiding him into Jared's own bedroom, shows him to a guest room.
"Don't be confused if you hear people in the morning," Jared advises as he leans in the doorway, yawning again. Jensen nods, concentrating on taking off his shoes and trying not to think about how weird this is. "It'll just be Loretta and Max. I'll be up around ten and I'll drive you back then, if that's okay?"
Jensen says, "Yeah, sure," and doesn't meet his eyes because honestly, he's kind of lost at this turn of events and how Jared's still treating him like a person rather than a sex toy, but Jared is too tired to pick up on it and so just says goodnight before leaving for his own room. Jensen lays back on the bed, still fully clothed [which is a novelty in itself] and tries to process the evening.
Continue
Pic//Blink-sum-new-muse
Author: Blink-sum-new-muse
Rating: R
Fandom: CW RP
Summary: Jensen's a street-hardened hooker who's sure he knows how things are meant to be. Jared's a bleeding heart with more money than sense. He wants to save Jensen, but will Jensen let him?
Disclaimer: I do not own Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Michael Rosenbaum, Chris Kane, Chad Michael Murray, Steve Carlson or any of their families. I also don't own the song I Want To Save You; it's by Something Corporate. I do, however, own Loretta and Max. Fiction is the word, and the words are mine.
Status: Ongoing.
Previous Chapters: One
Notes: This is part of the street 'verse.
Over the next couple of days, Jared can't stop thinking about the hooker. It had been nothing more than a brief exchange of words, something which Jared does on an hourly basis, never mind daily, but something about the guy just struck him. Jared is intrigued, and it's driving him crazy.
His father had always told him he worries too much about problems that aren't his to worry about, but he can't help it. He always stops in the street when he sees someone canvassing for charity, no matter if they ask him to or not; writes down his credit card details like it's a heartfelt apology to people in need that he doesn't have to suffer like they do. He's only ever been in one fight, because he hates them, and that was because a kid was torturing a stray dog and words wouldn't make him stop. So Jared, ten years old, beat the hell out of the other kid and untangled the dog from the fishing wire it was wrapped in. He took it to an animal shelter when his daddy said no more dogs in their home, and cried about the incident for a week's worth of nights afterwards.
He confides almost everything, including this latest obsession with a hooker, to his housekeeper. Loretta is a warm-hearted, strong woman in her fifties, who he'd employed simply because out of all the applicants, he'd thought she needed the job most of all. She had lost her only daughter and son-in-law to a car crash less than a month before, and had been left with a four year old grandson to bring up alone. The medical costs for the few weeks her daughter had spent fighting in hospital had all but wiped out her life savings, and she was desperate. Jared knew he was going to hire her the minute she walked into his house, apologising for bringing the kid with her because she had no one else to look after him.
But like most of his altruistic decisions, he hadn't regretted it. He fell in love with Loretta's grandson, Max, the moment the kid asked him to play baseball with him, and fell in love with Loretta herself the moment he tasted her apple pie. They've been a beneficial addition to his life in more ways than one, which is why Jared simply changes the subject whenever his daddy tries to tell him he's too good to people. Two years on, Loretta is not only a housekeeper to him, but a confidante, a therapist, a second mother and most importantly, a friend.
"I just can't stop thinking about him, you know?" Jared says through a mouthful of chicken and biscuits, which he's eating standing up, leaning against the counter in the kitchen because it's just a snack for him rather than a proper meal. Loretta knows only too well that when Jared's got an idea in his head, he's like a dog with a chew toy. Can't get his mind off it for love nor money.
"Jared Padalecki," she tells him in her warm Southern drawl as she chops vegetables on another work surface, not bothering to turn around to converse, "That man you met is a prostitute and from the sounds of it, a right prickly one at that. You've got no business with him, and some might say you're a fool. But..." and here she heaves a great sigh, turning around to face him with a hand on her hip, "I say there's worse things you could be."
Jared's momentary grin reminds her startlingly of her grandson, and she's not sure who picked it up from who. But the expression is replaced by a more sombre one only moments later, and it makes her frown. "What, honey?"
"What if he just thought I was trying to trick him with the money? Like, gain his confidence and then rape him or murder him or something? Maybe that's why he said he didn't swing that way, 'cause he thought it was an out?" Jared's mind's working a mile a minute, as it usually does.
"Boy," Loretta sighs again, and turns back to her vegetables, "You are a grade A idiot."
"Why?" She would be worried she'd affronted the man if she didn't know him inside and out.
"He sleeps with people for money. He probably doesn't swing that way. And if he thought you were trying to trick him, he wouldn't have offered you anything in the first place. Now go on, before you eat this dinner 'fore it's done cooking," and she smacks gently at his hand when he tries to reach around her for a piece of raw carrot. Jared pouts, but goes easily enough, leaving her to smile and work in peace.
* * * * *
Jensen, for his part, has not been similarly afflicted. He hasn't thought about the guy who randomly gave him two hundred bucks any longer than it took to recount the story to a couple of his friends because when life gives you lemons, you eat them whole before even wasting time making any lemonade. Jensen is a street kid; he's been living hand-to-mouth for fourteen years now and he knows better than to think this is the start of some wonderful new existence for him.
So when Jared rolls up again in the same spot, two nights later, he's momentarily surprised to see him until Jared asks him how much he costs for the night. Another guy that wants him for sex. Figures.
Jensen hasn't been hooking for this long and not picked up on all the tricks. He lets his eyes roam over Jared's car again, and aims high. "A grand." It's not true; usually his nightly cost would be only about five hundred, less for his preferred customers [i.e. the less gross ones] and more for those he was trying to dissuade, but he figures this guy can afford it if he's giving out free money and he doesn't seem the type to squabble over the price.
Jared nods, as though he's thinking about it. He has no idea how much hookers usually cost, for a night or for anything else, but he doesn't much care, either. "Okay," he says, watching Jensen's face as the man leans in through his open window, arms crossed like he hasn't a care in the world. "I'll pay you a grand to come hang out with me tonight. No sex."
Jensen thought he'd seen it all, but this guy is a whole new brand of street crazy. "You're crazy," he half-laughs, eyebrows raising.
The response he gets is a similar laugh and an agreement. He can't really argue with that. "Whatever," Jensen rolls his eyes, thinking this guy is just asking to be jacked. But he's not the kind of guy that ties clients up and then walks out on them, stealing all their money on the way. He might be a hooker but he's still got values, and besides, he knows damn well if you do that sort of shit, one day it's gonna catch up with you. He just does his job and gets paid his money, same as anyone else out there making an honest living, and this idiot just better know he's lucky for having picked Jensen rather than someone like Mike.
"I gotta tell my bro where I'm goin'," he tells the man in the car. "What's your name and where you takin' me?"
"Jared Padalecki," the man replies with a bright smile that Jensen doesn't often see in this business. "One forty six Oakridge Road, Carmendale."
Jensen doesn't bat an eyelid at the mention of Jared's overpriced neighbourhood, although he's more used to hotel rooms, especially from the guys who had cash to throw about. He simply nods and says, "Wait here," walking a few steps away and then turning to note down the car's registration plate. He adds the address and the man's name [although the spelling is a complete guess] as he walks up to his leader, partner, best friend, mentor, pimp, and all-around one of the most important people in Jensen's life - Chris Kane.
"This guy is paying me a grand to hang out with him tonight, no sex," he says when he reaches the other man, hidden in shadows. Chris is dressed a little more for the weather than Jensen, owing to the fact that he's not hooking tonight, merely keeping tabs on everyone else. They know they can't do much to keep themselves safe, not in this line of business, but they go as far as they can which means if anyone doesn't turn up when they're supposed to, they'll know. Chris has had to go chasing after a few of his friends over the years and although the situations he's found himself in as a result haven't always been ideal, his family - in his definition which has nothing to do with blood - means the world to him.
"No sex?" Chris repeats, incredulous. "You sure that doesn't just mean no fucking, but whipping you till you bleed is fine?"
"I don't think so," Jensen shrugs. "He seems pretty fuckin' harmless. It's the guy I told you about on Thursday, the one who just gave me the money for nothing and left? I think he's honestly just this much of a loser. And it's a grand."
"Well, be on your guard," Chris warns, pulling Jensen into a hug. Jensen promises he will and walks back to the car, ready for a night of no sex and a grand at the end of it.
They've been driving for a couple of minutes in silence except for Jared asking Jensen his name, and Jensen's not one to try and control a situation but he's honestly curious as to what the night's going to entail. "So do you usually go around picking up hookers to hang out with?" is his stellar conversation starter, but if he thinks the guy's going to be embarrassed he's mistaken.
"It's not a hobby of mine, if that's what you're asking," Jared replies with an easy smile, looking over at Jensen as they pull to a stop at the lights. Again, he has the thought that he likes that Jensen isn't trying to be something he's not. That's what irks Jared about a lot of porn; it's thirty year old women dressed up as schoolgirls or twenty five year old men pretending to be the boy next door, and it doesn't wash with him. He can't find it sexy. But this guy is sarcastic and caustic and isn't bothering to hide the fact that he thinks Jared's an idiot, just like Loretta does, and he thinks it's great. "Actually," he adds as they pull away again, "You're my first."
"Brings a whole new meaning to the word virgin in my line of work," Jensen remarks, and Jared laughs out loud. Jensen smiles faintly, still kinda confused about this guy and his motives, but he's feeling quite relaxed even despite Chris's warning.
When they pull into the driveway, Jared parking between his black '69 Camaro and his cherry red '62 Coupe DeVille, Jensen can't help but hold back a whistle at the sight of...well, everything Jared's got. The house is huge, its wrap-around porch is designed with stone columns every ten feet or so and the garage alone, Jensen guesses, is bigger than his entire family's living area.
"I like that," Jensen says, gesturing widely to the bicycle, sports equipment and other kids' toys lying around on the large front lawn. "Makes the place look lived in." Jared doesn't know exactly what he means by this, so he doesn't say anything, just continues on his way to the door.
When he lets them into the hallway, Jensen's eyebrows raise again. "Huh," he says flatly, gazing around at the multitude of drawings plastered all over the hallway. "Someone likes art."
Jared laughs. "They're Max's," he replies. "My housekeeper's grandson. He's six and unfortunately, he can already draw way better than me."
"Shouldn't you have a load of stupid expensive paintings?" Jensen wonders, gazing up the staircase that sits smack in the middle of the hallway and noting a rather large, purplish stain halfway up the stairs. The stain looks like it's been scrubbed at repeatedly, but the colour has stuck fast and someone obviously gave up on it a while ago. This house does not entirely fit with Jensen's idea of high-class living.
"Why would I?" Jared asks, shrugging his jacket off to reveal a loose, old t-shirt that almost rivals Jensen's in its level of wear. Coupled with the baggy jeans, he looks less like the businessman he did on Thursday and more like a big kid who's been left to play in his parents' house for the weekend. Given that he looks so young, Jensen is momentarily suspicious over whether this might not actually be the case, but it's not like he cares much. "I don't like stupid expensive paintings," Jared adds, shoving his hands in his pockets and meeting Jensen's gaze with a level stare.
"I thought it was like, a rule..." Jensen starts to say, looking around again. Then he meets Jared's eyes, realises the guy is looking like he's about to laugh and smirks himself before he can be the butt of a joke, "If you're mad rich, you have to have all the stupid expensive crap."
Jared simply shakes his head, but the smile's still on his lips. "I don't like rules that don't make sense," is all he says, before turning and saying, "C'mon," as he heads for the den. It's one of the smallest rooms in Jared's house but it's still pretty big by normal standards, and it's Jared's favourite because it's cosy. It's where he watches movies, reads books, plays with Max, drinks with Chad - it's the heart of his home, really.
"What do you want to eat and drink?" Jared asks Jensen the moment they're in the door. Jensen shrugs, not really expecting anything. If you don't expect anything, you never get disappointed. "Well, what do you like?" Jared presses, finding it hard to work with nothing. He himself will eat pretty much anything, but he also has firm favourites and given the choice, he'll pick those.
"Whatever, man. I'll have whatever you're having. I'm not picky," Jensen says, and it's the truth, because he can't afford to be. Jared sort of stares for a second and then shrugs, leaving the room by a different door to go straight into the huge kitchen.
"Well, pick a movie then, while I'm gone," Jared says suddenly, poking his head back in the doorway, and then he leaves Jensen to gaze up at the gigantic library of DVDs. The shelving that holds them almost covers one entire wall, and Jensen has to crane his neck to see the ones at the top. He looks for a while as he listens out for Jared still thumping around in the other room, but eventually he picks one at random since there are so many he hasn't seen, he wouldn't know where to begin. Reading the back of the box, he realises that Steve said he saw this movie once with a client, one who liked getting fucked with movies on real loud in the background as though he could fool himself he was at the movie theatre instead of getting fucked by a whore, and he'd said this one was good.
Jared comes back with two armfuls of stuff, chips and dip and candy and all sorts of crap Jensen hasn't eaten in years because they can't afford to splash out on this sort of stuff, and for a second or two he's insanely jealous, but it passes because if he was jealous every time he saw someone with more than he had, he'd never get anything done in life. This is the way the dice got thrown, so whatever. He has long since learned to deal. Jared takes the movie from Jensen and sticks it in the DVD player without comment, navigating the menus and fastforwarding until it actually starts because he rightfully guesses that Jensen won't have a clue how to do this. Then he smiles, "One second," and leaves Jensen, eyes flitting between the food and the TV, to grab a tray full of all sorts of drinks.
"You want a beer?" Jared offers in the same way he would offer one to Chad, which really means, "What beer do you want?" but the response is alarming. Jensen's whole face darkens in a second, his features looking suddenly quite nasty.
"No, thanks," he manages to grit out, not looking at the other man. Jared wants to ask, but he figures it's not going to be well received and it's not really his place anyway, so he simply shrugs like it's no big deal, and reaches for a Coke for himself instead.
They watch the movie in near silence, and although Jared's already seen it a few times he's entertained enough just by watching Jensen, the way he reacts almost comically to standard comedy plots and devices like a kid even younger than Max might do. These days everyone's seen everything and this is just generic, run of the mill kind of stuff, but Jensen seems to enjoy it a lot. He's glad for that; thinks probably the man doesn't enjoy himself as much as he ought to.
When the movie ends, Jared switches channels to a football game he'd TiVo'd from a couple of nights ago. He sort of keeps up with football, as much as he can with his workload, but he's not fanatical - not like some of the men he knows, anyway. The first few minutes are quiet and Jared wonders if Jensen maybe thinks he shouldn't talk and interrupt things, and he doesn't look as interested in this as he had been in the movie, so he tries to make things a little easier on the guy. "Who d'you root for?" he asks, looking at Jensen but gesturing towards the TV where the Cowboys are currently battling with the Dolphins.
"I don't really get a chance to watch much football," Jensen replies in a tone that clearly says he thinks Jared is an idiot, and Jared figures he deserved that. But he doesn't give up that easy; never has done.
"So what do you do when you're not out hooking, then?" he asks.
Jensen is impressed that he doesn't try to pussyfoot around the word, try to make it sound less vulgar than it is, but he tries hard not to show it. "Well, I live with a lot of other guys in my gang," he begins haltingly, unsure really how to talk about this because describing his life isn't something he's used to, but Jared's open expression and friendly demeanour, plus the fact that he seems to be genuinely interested, make it easier than it would be and soon he's opening up. "During the afternoon we just sleep mostly, since we're obviously up during the night but when we're awake we catch up with each other, listen to Chris and Steve play guitar a lot, just kinda hang out. And then there's cooking and all the domestic crap; everyone pulls together on that. You know, some of the things everyone's got to do."
Jared asks him about Chris and Steve and the others he lives with, what do they talk about, even some stuff about hooking but it's not in a creepy car-crash syndrome kinda way, which Jensen gets sometimes with the weird clients, it's just how he talks about that stuff with his friends and how he imagines normal people talk about movies and relationships and sports and stuff with their friends, so it's easy to get into. They stay up talking until four, Jared too giving details on his life as a car dealer and a lot of stories about Max.
But finally, when there's a pause in the conversation, Jared yawns, moves his head to crick his neck and catches sight of the clock on the TV. It's four am, and he realises suddenly that he's beat.
"Okay, I think if we stay here any longer I'm gonna fall asleep on you," he says with a smile, "And according to past boyfriends it's real uncomfortable to be slept on by a giant, so I'm voting we head to bed." Jensen can't quite connect the dots on that one, but he's only sort of surprised when Jared takes him upstairs and, instead of guiding him into Jared's own bedroom, shows him to a guest room.
"Don't be confused if you hear people in the morning," Jared advises as he leans in the doorway, yawning again. Jensen nods, concentrating on taking off his shoes and trying not to think about how weird this is. "It'll just be Loretta and Max. I'll be up around ten and I'll drive you back then, if that's okay?"
Jensen says, "Yeah, sure," and doesn't meet his eyes because honestly, he's kind of lost at this turn of events and how Jared's still treating him like a person rather than a sex toy, but Jared is too tired to pick up on it and so just says goodnight before leaving for his own room. Jensen lays back on the bed, still fully clothed [which is a novelty in itself] and tries to process the evening.
Continue
Pic//Blink-sum-new-muse