Fic: "Somebody made you smile into their lens” Part 1 b
***
Thailand
It’s already too warm in the small office. Warm, dingy and there's no water around. Jared hates having to deal with officials, because no matter which country or which system, it always involves endless questions to answers, papers to sign and hours to wait.
It’s been only a week since he has left Europe to work for the British-Asian History Council and he hasn’t settled in yet. He isn’t used to the climate, people or the way things function in this part of the world. He just knows that someone is supposed to pick him up and take him to the temples outside of Bangkok.
He hasn’t really done much concerning work, just tried to finish up paperwork and get a feeling for the country and people. It’s a hectic time and Jared doesn’t think anything's managed to sink in, yet. But then again, he's pretty much only seen the hotel and the quarter around it so far.
And, of course, the library. There's no way to avoid it if he wants to expand his knowledge about local history. Of course, he's already gone through massive tomes, as well as other books and dissertations in Athens, but he always thinks that reading about history in the place it happened is so much better.
They'd given him a week to sort everything out.
He doesn’t even know why he's at this office. Up until an hour ago, he thought that everything had already been settled, but then he found out that apparently isn’t the case. He finished filling out the papers, but so far no one has come to take them.
Logically, Jared knows that Thailand isn’t one of the countries where he has to be careful with what he says and does. But considering the recent political developments, Jared isn’t all that fond of waiting around in an office that belongs to the government. Especially not when said office is in Bangkok in 2009.
He has a hard time not to start doodling on the pages in front of him. He doubts the officials would like to have comic strips covering their documents. So he just sits and waits.
And waits.
He wipes the sweat from his face and waits some more. His guitar case is leaning against the table and for a second, Jared thinks about taking it out. He's bored out of his mind, but on edge as well.
The door crashes open with a loud bang against the wall and Jared actually jumps in his chair. Everything's been so quiet in the room that he never even thought about something happening right in the office he's waiting in. And yes, he actually thinks it’s an attack by the red shirts and that he's in the middle of it.
Only the groan that comes from the open door and the ‘fuck’ that follows it indicates that it’s not some sort of attack and that he indeed has just been walked in on by a man he actually knows. A man he knows and never thought he’d see again. Or at least not so soon.
Greece is clear on his mind and Jared actually thinks it’s a joke for a second. There's no way that they're meeting up again when they clearly aren’t meant to be. Or Jared thinks they aren’t, because every time they've met so far, it's been awkward, tense and really uncomfortable.
“Jensen?”
“Please, tell me you aren’t the consultant for the temple project.”
“Sorry, can’t do that.”
Jared feels himself starting to grin, or actually smirk, at the utter disbelief and pain that crosses Jensen’s face.
“What did I do to deserve this?”
“A lot, I guess.”
“Thanks, your belief in the innocence of my person is stunning.”
“You never were innocent, Jensen.”
It earns him a laugh and a real smile. A smile he's only seen once, and that was two months ago. It seems like a different world, a different time. Not even in Greece did Jensen smile at him like that.
Greece had been so awkward that Jared often thinks that it never really happened.
“Hi, Jared.”
At those words, Jared's suddenly glad that there's someone there that he knows. It doesn't matter that it's Jensen, because it's just good that there's a familiar face.
“Hey. Good to see you here.”
“Really?” The raised eyebrow is still something Jared thinks is utterly sexy. Not that he’d ever said it out loud.
“Dude, I've been sitting here for three hours. Of course it's good to see you, no matter what an ass you still are.”
“Nice, Mr. Padalecki. And here I thought you’d actually be happy to see me. By the way, nice to know your full name now.”
Jared smiles all wide because yeah he's known Jensen’s name since London. Not to mention that he'd actually checked him out on Google and is still a bit stunned by the quality of work that came up in the search. And Chris is really rather helpful as well when Jared asks
He'd already come to the conclusion that Jensen was interesting and talking to Chris cemented the fact that he really did want to know more about him.
Jensen is an enigma and Jared knows he's good at deciphering those.
“What, as happy as you are to see me?”
“Touché.” Jensen laughs quietly. Jared likes this sound, likes Jensen’s laugh. He might have already liked it in London.
Turns out that Jensen is actually the project photographer and was send to collect Jared from the office. He just couldn’t get through the city with the reigning chaos and the police closing down all main streets into the city centre. Jared doesn’t know what it means, but he feels like it means something, the fact that they're both here.
Seeing Jensen makes him wish he could remember that night in London a bit better.
There are flashes of things, broken fragments of words, songs and alcohol. But Jared can’t get it together, at least not in a way that clicks. He does remember that Jensen had been gone the next morning.
He looks at the other man while he grabs his bag, the messenger bag, and the guitar case; then follows Jensen out of the office. Jensen’s raised eyebrow at the case make Jared smile.
“Yes, it’s mine and yes I can play. And no I never founded a band like you did.”
Jensen looks a little taken aback and Jared thinks it’s because Jensen has never seen him being so straight forward. But Jared doesn't care because he's tired, a little annoyed and he doesn’t want to deal with a snobby bitchy Jensen on top of it all.
Of course, Jensen chooses that moment to smile, all while taking the case with so much care that Jared actually misses a step and goes crashing into one of the empty desks along the way. Jensen shakes his head with some kind of amusement, and to Jared's relief, doesn’t say anything.
“You know I founded Kane? Have been Googling me, huh?”
It’s all Jensen says before he steps out the door Jared had totally missed while staring at Jensen and trying not to stumble over his own feet again.
Smiling but tried green eyes is all Jared can comprehend, so he doesn’t really come up with a good comeback. Instead, he lets the embarrassment stand for now. Jared thinks Jensen is still under shock of seeing him there and that this explains the lack of cynical comments.
Jared also doubts that it would go over well if he’d asked about that night in London just now. It isn’t the place or the time to have such a conversation. Not to mention the fact that he doesn’t know if Jensen is any better at remembering or if there even is something to remember.
It takes them almost three hours to get out of the city and on the way to the temple area where Jared is supposed to meet up with a group of archaeologists and historians to help analyze a newly discovered underground section of a temple.
Jared is grateful for the small niceties Jensen is treating him with, such as the water bottles in the cooler on the backseat, the air condition on full blast, and the choice of music that softly fills the interior of the car.
Halfway through the city Jensen sighs, Jared hopes he’ll start to talk because it’s getting awkward, the silence between them.
“So, you really are a super geek, huh?”
“And you really are an ass.”
Jensen laughs. Clear and strong.
Jared is so confused by Jensen’s non-sequitur that he doesn’t see it coming. He blinks and actually stares at Jensen. And sees a completely different man than he did in London, or even in Greece.
He seems less reserved, more relaxed. Sure, he was fascinated by those oh so green eyes and the well toned body, but other than that, Jared hadn’t paid all that much attention in London. Mainly that was due to Jensen’s mood and to Chris being there.
He suddenly feels bad for not having called Chris in a while. They had been in contact for weeks after London, but with Jared’s life suddenly being busy as hell and Chris still being on tour, he’d let that taper off.
Instead, what he sees now is a beautiful man, doused in sun light coming through the tinted glass of the car window. A man who smiles, is open and in a rather good mood. A man who doesn’t seem to mind that Jared is sweaty, tired and maybe a bit moody himself. Jared sees a man who holds all of his attention and isn’t anywhere close to the one emitting the anger and violence that Jared encountered in the hotel suite in London.
Jared is stunned. Surprised and maybe a little embarrassed at having this epiphany in a car sitting next to the object of said enlightenment.
“Yeah, well. I guess you're right. I just, I heard the profs talking about you. Not your name or anything but what you do and what you're needed for. Very impressive. I mean, all those languages and the knowledge? Just screams geek to me. Not that it’s something bad.”
“Thank you. Mr. über-jock.”
Jensen laughs again and Jared decides that he likes it. It’s new, exciting and so completely not what he'd expected to find in Thailand of all places.
“So, what're you doing here? Or, well, what're you supposed to do? Find mummies?”
Jared doesn’t need to take his eyes away from the scenery outside to know that Jensen is grinning at him. He doesn’t know when it happened, but the tone Jensen just used is connected to a very smug grin in Jared’s head and he's sure Jensen's sporting one of those right now.
“Funny. That will always haunt me, huh? Damn Sam for never holding back.”
Jensen laughs again. Jared thinks he could get used to that sound, that, in fact, he likes it.
“Yeah well, it was funny.”
Jared snorts, because of course Jensen would think it was funny and that it still is. But Jared remembers that day, the first time he met Jensen and how embarrassed and annoyed he'd been.
“You didn’t like me. You thought I was a freak.”
“Was?”
This time Jared actually looks at Jensen, mainly to make sure that the grin is really there. And it is. Jared can’t help but grin back.
“Ass.”
Yes, Jared thinks, he could definitely get used to Jensen laughing. It sends shivers down his spine and Jared isn't blaming the heat and the cold blasting out of the AC for it.
“And what are you doing here then?”
“One of the profs hired me via my agency. They want it all documented, photographed and filmed. It’s what I usually do when I'm not on a concert tour doing favours for friends.”
“Oh … that sounds interesting.” Jared mentally head desks. He sounds like a 13-year-old making small talk with his first crush in the cafeteria. He's pretty sure he’ll never learn how to do smooth. That train is long gone.
“It is.”
Jensen doesn’t even acknowledge the awkwardness, which surprises Jared again. He's known Jensen as someone who ruthlessly exploits weaknesses when it's something to make fun of. And yet here they are and Jensen doesn't even snark at him. Instead, Jared finds himself sinking comfortably back into the seat.
It's a relaxing ride once they are out of the city. Until Jensen opens his mouth again.
“Have you spoken to Chris recently?”
“Uhm no. Why?”
“Oh nothing. Just, you seemed to get along and I thought … Well, he hasn’t talked about you lately. Just wondered.”
Jared doesn’t even dare to think about what that casually mentioned information says about Jensen. He doesn’t dare to dig deeper because he thinks it might just be a little too much right now.
“Well, I was really busy and I just didn’t have time to call yet.”
“Oh.”
If Jared doesn’t know it better, he’d say Jensen’s oh sounded sad. He just doesn’t know whether it's because of him not calling Chris or because of him planning on calling Chris again.
Jensen's complicated and Jared just doesn’t have the time to figure him out. As much as he wants to, he really doesn’t have the time.
“I was on the way home when the call for this came through. I was finished in Greece, but this sounded too good to pass up, here I am. Haven’t talked to Chris since I left.”
“Home? Where's home?”
Jared blinks at the sudden change of topic and he's pretty sure that Jensen's just tensed up a little bit. His fingers are gripping the steering wheel and his shoulders are hunched.
“Uh.. Texas.”
“Really? I … well, yeah. You can hear it, actually.”
“Dude, same to you.”
Jensen grins and seems to relax again. They spend the rest of the drive out to the temples with small talk and a little banter. Jared ends up learning quite a bit about Jensen’s work and smiles when Jensen doesn’t seem bored with him geeking out over historical facts about the temples the pass along the way.
***
When they arrive at the temple complex, Jared is overwhelmed by the sheer space the complex covers, but also by the beauty of nature surrounding it. Bangkok has nothing on the temple and the villages around it, when it comes to a pure and simple life. Jared appreciates the fact the temples aren't in a multimillion inhabitant city.
Still, there are a lot of things he needs getting used to. The people working on the site are international and used to newcomers, so Jared is welcomed with professional friendliness and a lot of instructions of what to touch and what not to even step close to. He tries not to feel like a five year old.
Jensen silently stands by as introductions go on, doesn’t say more than a ‘Hi’ or ‘give me that,’ but seems to be as much part of the group as the lead archaeologist, who keeps trying to make Jared agree to more work than is stated in his contract.
Jared takes it all in with his usual laid back attitude. He's 26 and has two degrees in language history and ancient historic studies; and from quite good schools on top of everything else. He doesn’t need to be told what they're doing. He knows. When he says as much, in a very polite and British way as Jensen tells him later, everyone just stops and looks at him.
For a second, Jared fears he’s stepped on toes on his first day. But then the man who was speaking to him starts to laugh, claps him on the shoulder and tells him that he likes him already. And he says that they all know what kind of wonder boy he is, it’s why they asked for him in the first place.
Jared tries not to blush, not in front of so many people, and not to mention in front of Jensen. For some reason blushing, being embarrassed by his abilities and own intelligence, while Jensen's right there is even worse. When he dares to look, Jensen even seems to be a bit impressed. Or a least Jared thinks so, taking in the faint smile and the raised eyebrow directed at him.
Jensen mouths ‘geek’ and all Jared can do is laugh. Because it’s not an insult, not when it’s coming from Jensen and accompanied by a grin that wide. Jared briefly wonders what’s happening between them. But he doesn't know.
It’s Jensen who settles him in at the hotel the companies booked for the duration of the work. His room is nothing special, but good all the same. Spartan, but with comfort. Jared's never been one to need a lot of luxury. He can live with just a bed and a bath; he doesn’t even need a TV or a kitchenette.
His room looks over a small pond situated in some kind of atrium and Jared knows it’s not just any old place. They're staying in a highly rated hotel and, not for the first time, he wonders who's really paying for everything. After a moment he decides he doesn’t really want to know. As long as this is research and nothing more, Jared's fine with it.
Jared falls asleep the first night with lots of thoughts running through his head, excitement gripping every cell of him and he can’t wait to start working. But, oddly, the very last thought he has before succumbing to sleep is of Jensen, smiling at him, all nice and real, right before he left him alone in his room.
Maybe Jensen isn’t the asshole Jared thought he was back in London. Maybe Jared's just really tired and tomorrow Jensen will show his real face. But the smile was nice and Jared swears he doesn’t grin as he snuggles into the thin cotton sheet. No one is there to disagree with him anyway.
When he wakes up, Jared's surprised he slept at all. He figures he was lucky last night and that for the rest of the next few months, sleep will be an issue.
PART ONE: A (previous) * C (next)