Fic: And There's That Pesky Thing Called Reality (5/5)
“Hey, so I’ve been thinking.”
“Never a good thing,” Jared grinned as he lay sprawled on the bed with his phone tucked under his chin. “Unless you’re thinking about the next book which, considering you just came all over your hand, I’m kind of hoping you’re not.”
Jensen chuckled. “I was just thinking it sucks that we only get to see each other a couple of weekends a month.”
“I know,” Jared replied softly.
“And I know we’ve only been doing this long distance thing for a few months but. . .shit. Do you want to move in with me?”
The phone slipped when Jared’s head jerked up in surprise and he had to wipe his hands clean before he could pick it up again.
“Jared?” Jensen’s voice was slightly panicked.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m here.”
“Shit, don’t do that to me. I thought you’d hung up or run to the bathroom to throw up or something. I was just saying it doesn’t have to be living together living together. If it’s too fast we could just share a place. Separate bedrooms and everything. Like roommates. It’ll cut out all the travel and if you don’t want to move here I’ll come to LA. I don’t care.”
The words were rushing out so fast Jared was having trouble keeping up with them.
“You seriously think we could live together and have separate bedrooms?”
“I didn’t say we had to use them both.” Jared could practically hear the grin in Jensen’s voice. “Seriously, is this nuts?”
“A little,” Jared admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. I kind of want to do this. A lot. I really miss you.”
He heard the sigh of relief whistle down the phone and he smiled. The truth was, he’d been thinking about it too. Maybe not right now, but he’d been considering what they would do when they decided they were ready to start living together.
“Maybe we should go someplace new,” he suggested. “A fresh start for both of us. I dunno.”
“I like that,” Jensen replied. “Got any ideas?”
Jared smirked. “I read that Detroit is one of America’s most underrated gay-friendly cities.”
Jensen groaned. “Dude, seriously, no. We are not moving to the city that’s the site of the final apocalyptic showdown in the books. You have no idea how many times I had to fly out there for research.”
“I was just kidding.”
“How about we come up with a list of five cities each and see if there are any crossovers?”
“Yeah, that’s a better idea. Because you know I’d just suggest all the places you used in your books. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you set Hell House in your home town.”
“Hey, you’ve been here. Hell doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Jensen retorted. “Well, have a think about it and we can chat later. I really need to take a shower.”
Yeah, Jared kind of did too.
“Okay, talk to you soon.”
“Chicago?”
Jared glanced at his resignation letter which Jeff was holding in his hand and which he half expected Jeff to tear up judging by the look on his face.
“Jensen and I want to go someplace that’s new for both of us.”
Jeff sighed. “You sure about this? I like the guy and everything but you haven’t known him for that long.”
“I’m sure,” Jared nodded. “But I appreciate you looking out for me.”
Jeff shrugged. “Just make sure you’ve got my number and if anything happens you’ll always have a place to stay here, okay?”
Jeff had never been one for the touchy-feely stuff but Jared couldn’t help himself and he pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”
Jeff hugged him back. “Just take care of yourself, kid.”
Jared nodded.
“Right, back to work,” Jeff said when he pulled back with a cough. “You still work here for another four weeks and these books aren’t going to file themselves.”
“Yes, boss.”
The four weeks flew way too fast. Jared spent his days at the library and his nights packing.
They’d found a nice place out in the suburbs, with a big back garden for Harley, Sadie and Icarus. It was perfect.
“I can’t believe this is my last night here,” he told Misha who had been over most nights to help him pack. They’d moved all the boxes into the living room for the movers and were relaxing with a beer now.
“It’s the start of the next stage of your life,” Misha said sanguinely. “It’s exciting.”
“Yeah,” Jared agreed. “I’m kind of nervous too.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Just roll with whatever life throws at you, Jared. It’s just a series of obstacles to be overcome.”
“You’ll have to come and visit,” Jared said. “As soon as we’re settled. Seriously, man, I owe you everything.”
“I’ll be there,” Misha replied. “Providing PETA doesn’t get hold of me after the flaming kitten incident.”
Jared laughed. There was nothing else he could say to that, really. “I’m going to miss you, man.”
“Oh, I’m never far away,” Misha promised in that vaguely threatening and creepy way that Jared had learned to ignore.
“Good to know, dude. Good to know.”
Six months later
“Jared, you’re going to be late for work. Again.”
“Uh huh. Just a few more minutes. I’m nearly done.”
Castiel always left a stillness behind him when he disappeared, like the room needed to take a few seconds to adjust to the lack of his presence. Quite often Sam found those few seconds of silence comforting, but not this time. Now it was just heavy and oppressive and he struggled to breathe as Dean moved over to the door and paused. As soon as he saw the amulet hanging from between Dean’s fingers, hovering over the trashcan, Sam felt something inside him break. He wanted to call out to Dean, beg him to stop, plead forgiveness for things that weren’t even in his control. But the words wouldn’t come.
The sound the amulet made as it hit the bottom of the trashcan echoed the sound Sam’s heart made as it broke.
Jared closed the manuscript slowly and slid it back onto the kitchen table.
“Jesus, Jensen.”
His eyes were stinging with tears. Again. Every single book did this to him.
Jensen pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Is it okay?”
“Okay? Jensen, my heart feels like it’s been run through a mangler and then stomped on for good measure.”
“Is it too much? Because I could change-“
“No!” Jared quickly snapped. “Don’t change a word. It’s perfect and I know your editor will say the same thing.”
He glanced at the clock. “Shit, I’m late.”
“Well, I did tell you.”
“Hey, I’m the owner of the bookstore,” Jared shrugged. “I’m allowed to be a few minutes late. It’s not like I’m going to fire myself. Besides, I need to tell all my eager customers how awesome the new Joshua Mackenzie is going to be when it hits the shelves.”
“No spoilers,” Jensen warned.
“No spoilers,” Jared agreed.
Jensen handed him a flask. “I made you some coffee. Well, there was some left over from breakfast.”
Jared grinned. “You make an awesome wife.”
“Have a nice day at work, honey. I’ll have dinner on the table when you get home.” Jensen smirked but his face softened and he kissed Jared. “Love you.”
“I love you too. By the way I’m totally going to write a fanfic about what happened when Castiel found Sam and Dean dead.”
“Knock yourself out,” Jensen shot back. “I’ll beta for you.”
It should have been weird but it really wasn’t. In fact Jared could hardly believe how weirded out he’d been when he’d first found out who Jensen really was. They’d fallen back into their old habits pretty quickly. Jared went to work at the bookstore while Jensen worked on his latest novel, they’d have dinner together in the evening and then Jared worked on fanfic while Jensen played his guitar or a video game. They still wrote together sometimes on the condition that Jensen kept what was going to actually happen in the books to himself.
Jared’s life was pretty awesome. He had an amazing house, the perfect boyfriend, his dogs, a job he loved and his fanfiction. He still loved to escape into the world of Sam and Dean, but now there was something worth coming out of it for.
The End.
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