Fic: "Wherein Jared tries to figure what is appropriate for a first date" Jared/Jensen, PG-13
Fic title: "Wherein Jared tries to figure what is appropriate for a first date (even if it isn’t a real first date) "
Author: the_milky_way
Genre: RPS, College!AU
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4.167
Warnings/Spoilers: none
Beta: Thanks to parka_girl (my saviour)
Disclaimer: This story is fictional (not real, didn't happen). Not true in any way. I don't own anything.
Summary: This might be a date but Jared isn't sure about it. Not at all. Jensen is a tease. Mike is Mike, as usual.
Notes: This was written for hd_obsession who prompted me with "J2 and ice cream".
It is also the third part of the "Wherein Verse" but can be read as a standalone.
Jared is so nervous that no one's really talking to him anymore. Even Jeff left him alone after Jared started to go on and on about how this is not going to work and how he isn’t the type to be normal or have dates. Jeff had actually tried to point out that it wasn’t exactly a date, but Jared wasn’t really listening anymore anyway, so he gave up and left the room.
Jared's pacing, which isn’t unusual at all except for that he's trying on clothes while pacing and it's not making things any easier. He has no idea what to wear and despite the horrendous outfit Mike placed on his bed, Jared knows he hasn't developed much in the way of good taste when it comes to clothes. He also knows he shouldn’t care so much about it because Jensen's seen him in his usual clothes and doesn’t seem to be horrified by them … yet.
So right now he's trying to figure out the right combination of sophisticated, interesting, sexy without being too nerdy. Which is basically an outfit he doesn’t own. There are clothes thrown on the bed and strewn on the floor, shoes are hanging out of the boxes he stored them in and never taken out when he moved into the townhouse. And still he finds there isn’t anything that he'd want to wear on a date. Or a not-date, since this is only Jensen coming over to get everyone to celebrate his success with job hunting and school applications. It’s not like Jensen's only asked Jared or specifically hinted at them being alone or anything.
But Jared wants to look good when he's out with Jensen. They've become even closer than they already were, just by talking on the phone. They talk about everything like they usually do, but now they almost finish all their sentences for each other, they cuddle even - mostly when they're tired and squished on the couch together during one of their DVD evenings - they kiss sweet, slow, chaste; and they make Mike gag when they just look at each other. But nothing else has happened, at least not yet.
Jared wants stuff to happen. Stuff he can’t even say out loud without blushing and without Jeff covering his ears and Josh starting to sing loudly to drone out the words. If he can't have anything more, he wants to have one more kiss that's not just chaste or sweet before Jensen goes back home again. Is that too much to ask for? Does Jensen even want him that way?
Jared is about to hyperventilate when he catches sight of his alarm clock and promptly chokes on his breath. Jensen'll be here in five minutes and all Jared's wearing is underwear. And not even his usual kind, since Josh had insisted for Jared to dress to the occasion. Jared still isn’t sure what exactly Josh meant and why Josh had to be the one getting him black boxer briefs when he was about to go out with Jensen. Which technically isn’t true since they all are going out with Jensen, well not really going out as in a date, which it wouldn’t have been anyway, even with just Jared and Jensen being … going out.
Jared stumbles over a pair of shoes when he tries to go after the nearest pair of pants and almost smacks against the o,,pen dresser and manages to ram himself into his room door. It hurts and it'll bruise. Jared sometimes thinks his tendencies to accidentally self mutilate himself should have stopped once he'd stopped growing, but then Jeff says he is still growing, so Jared tries not to think about it anymore.
“You okay, dorkface?”
Of course it's Mike hearing the crash. Typical for this house, when you need someone it's always the wrong person to hear a call for help. Not that there is a really wrong person in this house, but Jared rather wants to talk to Jeff or even Josh instead of having to deal with Mike’s mocking.
“Yeah. Fine. Now go away.”
“Awww ... Jare-bear has a freak out. Over clothes, I assume? Honey, this is not a date. At least not in the classical sense since you and Jenny are way too repressed and shy to make the next step. Anyway, I’ll be there too and I don’t care what you wear. So put something on and stop admiring your manliness in the mirror. It’s not that big.”
Jared doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or shout out in rage but before he can decide there's a rather loud smack and thumbing noise outside his door and he can only hear Mike’s curse. Whoever it was of the big brothers deserves a medal.
“Come on, Jay. Jensen's already here. Put something on, stop freaking out and come down. Just please refrain from too much pink, even if you think it goes with black boxer briefs. That’s not the reason I bought them for you.”
Yeah, okay maybe not a medal then. Jared hears Josh walk down the stairs again and it takes him a minute to actually realise what Josh just said.
Jensen is here! Now! And Jared isn’t anywhere close to being dressed.
The shoes that have been in the way before are in the way now as well. The last thing Jared actually sees is the edge of the bed moving towards him ... fast.
***
There are voices around him and a slight shimmer of light before his eyes. He knows he again did something to embarrass himself horribly but right now only the pain in his head matters. It's sort of piercing and not comfortable at all. The fact that he's still just in his underwear will catch up with him later, but for now he's just sort of dizzy and maybe a little cold.
“Jared? Come on, wake up. Otherwise it will be the hospital and no ice cream. Jared? Jay?”
There is a hand under his head, another on his chest rubbing slow, soothing circles which is actually not helping with the waking up.
“Oh, great. Dorkface's freaked himself into unconsciousness. That is new.”
“Shut up, Mike. For once in your life, just shut up!”
“Whoa there, Jenny…. I…”
“Come on Mike, let’s get you all set up and dressed properly. Hawaiian is so last year.”
Jared hears the door close and feels the body next to him shift closer. He should be freaking out again, should hyperventilate over the fact that Jensen found him like this, that Jensen is seeing him this way. But all he can do is relax into the half embrace and enjoy the feeling of being so close to Jensen. Yeah, no one ever said he isn’t fucked up.
“You think he'll be okay?”
“Yeah, Jensen. He didn’t really hit his head you know. He just sort of hyperventilated while going down. It's happened before, usually when he's stressed. It’s the way his brain works. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine once he finally wakes up.”
“I just …” One hand is now moving through Jared’s hair, as if searching for any kind of lump and it feels nice. So nice that he sort of starts to purr. Oh yes, this is really, really nice and isn’t allowed to end any time soon.
Jared's eyes are still closed and he just wants to listen in some more and lie there a little while longer. The next thing Jeff says, though, sort of makes him want to sit up and hug Jensen really close.
“I know you're worried. I get it. The way he was lying there. It gets to me every time it happens. And don’t look at me like that. It’s not your fault.”
“But he was freaking out over me.”
“True. But Jared freaks out over a lot of things. As I said, that’s how his brain works. Get used to it. After all, I'm pretty sure you want to. And look, he's awake and listening. Interesting way to twist yourself around someone, Jared.”
His cheeks are hot and he bets they're as red as a baboon’s ass as well. And why his mind comes up with such an image instead of the good old fire engine truck red is way beyond Jared. Anyway, this is completely embarrassing and Jared is so not opening his eyes or moving an inch. Except for when Jensen moves and pulls him up into a sitting position.
“Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“You good? Any pain?”
He opens his eyes then, prepared to be greeted by a mocking expression on both Jensen’s and Jeff’s faces, but all he sees is concern and a slight frown in Jensen’s, which is really cute in a way.
“My head hurts a little. But uh ... I guess I didn’t hit anything, just thumped on the ground.”
Jensen nods and moves again, away from Jared, who misses the closeness and warmth immediately. Jeff coughs a little, says something about Josh calling for him and vanishes. It’s strange, Jared didn’t hear Josh, but then he's a little occupied with staring at Jensen so it's possible that he missed it.
“Are you sure that you're fine? We can go to the hospital you know. Ice cream can wait.”
“No!”
That actually makes Jensen laugh out loud. Jared feels it go through Jensen’s body where they are still touching, hands and knees on the bedroom floor.
“Okay then. Are you good to go, then?”
Jared nods and is proud of himself when that doesn’t make him dizzy. The pain is receding and he think he really didn’t hit the bed after all. Jensen pulls him to his feet and for a second Jared thinks they are close enough to kiss. They foreheads almost touch, they are holding each other close, but neither really moves. It’s like they're suspended in time and space. This thought almost makes Jared laugh and it breaks the moment a little.
There is a small smile on Jensen’s lips and Jared can’t help but return it. It’s one of the things Jared finds really fascinating about Jensen. He can make everyone calm down and smile in seconds.
“You worried me there, Jay.”
“I'm sorry. I know I'm a freak.”
“No, you're not. You have an awesome brain, though.” Jensen's grinning which makes this situation a little less like the big freak out scenario Jared had in his head.
“Let’s go. I want ice cream.”
“Uhm, as much as appreciate your look don’t you think you should put on some more clothes first? And I think I wouldn’t like anyone else seeing that much of you.”
With that Jensen turns and makes it to the door before turning around again to smirk.
“I also like the creative chaos you have going on in your room. Not the way I pictured it but it’s nice to know that room doesn’t look any different from my chaos.”
Jared's too flustered to really look at the clothes he's putting on. He doesn’t really care anymore. This is the second time Jensen's seen him freaking out and it's also the second time that Jensen was the one bringing him out of it and then making the situation less awkward. Jared thinks he's really, really gone for the guy.
***
When he makes it downstairs, only Jensen, Jeff and Josh are present. Suspicious noises are coming from one of the upstairs bathrooms, though. They sound like pounding and cursing. Jared looks at his brother and Josh, but only gets wide grins in return.
“Nice outfit, Jay. Glad you could refrain from wearing pink.”
“Fuck you ,Jeff.”
But when he looks down at himself Jared has to admit that his choices look rather good on him. Dark jeans, white undershirt and dark blue shirt combined with black boots. So all that thinking and freaking out about clothes now seems rather pointless.
“You look good, Jay.”
“Thank you.” Jared looks at the others and frowns again. “So are we ready to go?”
“Uhm. You know what? Mike is sick in the bathroom upstairs so I think I’ll stay and look after him.” Josh is gone the second he says it.
“Yeah, right. And I uhm… I totally forgot that I have an extra shift today. See you tomorrow morning. Have fun.” As soon as Jeff 's out of the door, Jensen turns towards him, shaking his head and then laughing.
“Very subtle.”
“They set us up, didn’t they.”
“Jeff and Josh? Yes. Mike? Nope, he actually wanted ice cream I think. Come on sasquatch, let’s get going before they really want to come along.”
Jared has the slight feeling that Jensen planned this and that his brother sjust went along with it, but never bothered to tell him or Mike. Not that Mike has any say in things anyway, and sure as hell not when it comes to Jared doing something with Jensen. Regardless of what that something entails. Jared never ever wants Mike tagging along when there's the slightest chance that he and Jensen might end up alone.
Jared grabs his keys, manages not to stumble over shoes or bags or even his own feet on the way out, which makes him high-five himself in his mind and promptly run into the mail box. Jensen just smiles and then opens the car door for Jared. And Jared? Well he doesn’t know what to be first, embarrassed, even more embarrassed, annoyed or just pleased for Jensen’s concern.
“Still want ice cream?”
Jared grins and it’s clear that the question doesn't require any sort of verbal answer. Jared likes how well Jensen already knows him. It makes him feel all fluffy, warm and maybe a little more in love than he already is. Because Jared's already given up on denial, at least to himself. And even if it makes him freak out like nothing else, it is a nice feeling and he wants it
“You and your candy. Good to know that I do have understand some of the things that make you happy.” Jensen’s smile is so worth the sigh that Jared absolutely does not let out.
***
There's this tiny little spot of chocolate sauce at the corner of Jensen’s upper lip. Jared can’t stop staring at it. He has been trying to find a way to either tell Jensen about it without sounding like a complete dick or a complete love-fooled moron, to come up with a reason for why he hasn’t told Jensen earlier or to let his thoughts drift towards what he would to the spot and Jensen’s lips if he was allowed to.
Jared also wonders if it would be okay to just reach over and swipe the chocolate away. With his napkin of course, and not with his thumb that would be sensually sliding over Jensen’s full upper lip in the process. Napkins are more sanitary anyway. And it is not like they're on a date or anything. They're just out having ice cream and celebrating Jensen’s acceptance to Grad School. Nothing more.
So this spot is in Jared’s field of vision and it’s driving him insane. Jensen seems to be oblivious, to the spot and to the fact that Jared's sort of going mad right across from him. Jensen doesn’t even look up when Jared actually whimpers at the sight of one more tiny spot of chocolate sauce being added to the first one.
Jared, for a split second, wonders if Jensen is doing it on purpose or if he just can’t eat his ice cream properly. When he lets his eyes stray away from Jensen’s tempting lips, he sees the mischief and smirk in Jensen’s eyes.
“You done staring?”
“Urgh… What?”
Jensen’s smirk is doing things to Jared. Things that shouldn’t be done in public or at least not in a café that is frequented by a lot of Jared’s fellow students, of which more than a few have never seen him as anything other than studious and geeky. He's aware of being stared at but attributes most of it to Jensen’s presence. Hell, Jared's staring too, which Jensen pointed just a second ago. Surprising as it is, Jared isn’t really freaking out. He's just blushing and trying to get his mind out of the gutter.
“So what is it? Do you just like to stare all intense or do I have something on my face?”
“Uhm.. actually.. Both.”
It’s not healthy how adorable Jared thinks Jensen’s blush is. It makes him do things he usually doesn’t do or doesn’t dare to do or you know, doesn’t even think about doing. So he reaches out, only faltering slightly when Jensen’s eyes grow wide, all traces of mischief gone, and finally drags his thumb over the bit of chocolate on the corner of Jensen’s lip.
Jensen hisses slightly and Jared has a hard time to suppress a moan. This might be one of the most erotic moments he's ever experienced and it just happened in a freaking campus café. It’s just his luck that it's the same moment his cell decides to ring, drowning the whole room in a very exuberant Miley Cyrus song. No, that's not embarrassing at all, Jared wants the earth to open and swallow him whole.
He fumbles with the cell, gets his hand stuck in his pants and actually knocks his spoon half across the room when he actually gets his hand plus cell free again. And of course it's Mike. He ruthlessly kills the call and shuts his cell off for the time being.
“’M gonna kill him.”
Jensen doesn’t answer. When Jared looks up from his flashy orange cell, he only sees the top of Jensen’s head and shaking shoulders. So yeah, maybe it was a little funny and Jared might laugh as well if it hadn’t been him causing the scene. But Jensen's laughing and Jared loves it. He loves to hear those small little hiccups and the snort that appears from time to time because he knows Jensen isn’t really laughing at him as much as about the situation. Jared can live with that.
“I believe this is your spoon?”
Jared actually jerks, knees crashing into the table making it hobble dangerously and causing Jensen to actually reach out to steady it. It’s Katie and Danneel standing next to their table, looking rather amused and maybe even a little jealous at the sight of Jensen. Jared's proud all of a sudden. Proud that he's the one sitting there with Jensen and not them. And he really likes those girls.
“Hey.. yeah, thanks. Was being a spazz again.”
He grabs the spoon but doesn’t dare to use it anymore. He might even pout a little at the spoon, but not really in a conscious way, but a second later a second spoon enters his field of vision and Jensen is grinning at him.
“Far be it from me to deprive you of the rest of your ice cream, Jay. I know you need your sugar.”
Jared does not blush. Nope. He manfully turns and smiles at Katie and Danneel, even manages to introduce them to Jensen and doesn’t cause another scene while doing so, even though his shirt sleeve sort of gets caught under the plate with the ice cream cup on. Thank God nothing happens though. Probably due to Jensen’s hand closing around Jared’s wrist and stopping all movement, but still nothing happens.
Katie coos over them in a way that makes even Danneel blush slightly and then makes her drag Katie back to the counter where they were waiting for their own lattes and cheesecake menus. But both don’t leave before having talking Jared and Jensen into joining them for the next karaoke night.
Jensen looks a little bewildered, like he was just run over by a truck made out of pretty girls and an energy that even rivals Jared’s. Jared does feel a little sorry, but only a little because Jensen’s tear streaked face and the grin still firmly stuck there makes him really speechless.
“So you gonna kill Mike now? What for? The ring tone or for calling.”
“For calling. The ring tone is mine.”
“Miley Cyrus?”
“What? I like the music.”
No one can blame Jared for not really following the conversation after that. Jensen’s raised eyebrows are really, really distracting.
“Girls just wanna have fun?”
“No mocking my taste in ring tone music. At least I hear it that way. Don’t look at me like that. Shut up.” No, he's not pouting or using his puppy dog eyes. He hasn’t sunk that low yet and he'd never use that advantage over Miley Cyrus anyway. Taylor Swift, maybe. Even Jeff thinks that country has a certain justification to exist in Texas.
“I will. I'm not really sure what to say anyway. But whatever floats your boat. Just tell me, will I have to get up on the weekends for Hannah Montana marathons or will your let me sleep?”
Yeah, Jensen really knows hot to shut Jared up and bring his brain to a complete stop. Because that? That was so not on the plan for today. And Jared has no idea what to do or what to say. So he stays mute and just stares.
“Too much at once?”
“Urgh.. no.. not really. Just slow brain function right now.”
“I'm tempted to not believe you because your brain's too fast to keep up with.”
“Uhm, thank you I guess. And no, no Hannah Montana marathons when you're in bed ... with me. ‘Cause you know, I can think of better things to do then. And weekends? It's just mean to not let someone sleep in. Hannah Montana is for sick days, though.”
Jared has no idea where the words he's uttering are coming from but he doesn’t even try to stop them. He just sits there, eats the rest of his super delicious banana sundae and smiles at Jensen in a way he's pretty sure he's never smiled before.
“Good to know. And just to be clear, I like you. I like you a lot. And I want more dates like this one. You make me laugh and I love that. You make me want to spent more time with you, possibly a lot more time. Is that okay?”
Jared thinks his brain might never come back online. So he just nods, grins like a loon and looks down into his sundae cup to hide how much he's cheering inside. Not that he can hide anything from Jensen it seems, because seconds later there is a finger tipping up his chin and his looking into really, really green eyes.
And then there are lips on his and he realises that Jensen is leaning over the table in a café where a lot of people know who Jared is but don’t really know Jared at all. And it’s not a chaste kiss at all. It’s hot, steamy even and Jared wants nothing more than to sink his hands in Jensen’s hair and pull him closer. He settles for a hand on Jensen’s cheek and lets himself go into the kiss.
It last longer than any other kiss they've ever shared and Jared's so happy he could burst. And some day he really has to have a talk with his brain about mushy and inappropriate images and like that it seems to come up with lately.
When they part, Jared actually becomes aware of Katie and Danneel giggling from the table across the wide walk way and some of the others are looking. But the earth didn’t stop and neither did most of the customers in the café. Jared's actually really relieved about that.
“Freaking out?”
“No. Surprising as it might be, but no. Just thinking about how much I wanted that.”
“Well, you can always ask for it you know … For anything you want, Jared.”
Yeah, Jared knows he can. Knows it now and might have known it before as well. It’s good and not as frightening as he thought it would be. Jensen's there with him and he's actually feeling rather normal and pretty damn good.
“So another sundae?”
“Yes, please?” Okay, so this time there are puppy eyes.
Jensen leaves the table laughing out loud, but not without letting his fingers brush over Jared’s arm on his way to the counter. Yes, this is a date and Jared's not totally sucking at it. Sometimes his life can be pretty fucking awesome. And no one will blame him now for checking out Jensen’s ass without any qualms, not after being kissed within an inch of his life and then having to restart his stuck brain.
Right then and there, Jared loves his brain. It’s still somehow stuck on the kiss and on how to get Jensen to do it again.
Next: "Wherein Jensen tries to survive meeting the parents (not that he is freaking out or anything)"
Previous: "Wherein Jared’s brain doesn’t shut up…" & "Wherein Jensen doesn’t really know what’s going on…"
Author: the_milky_way
Genre: RPS, College!AU
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4.167
Warnings/Spoilers: none
Beta: Thanks to parka_girl (my saviour)
Disclaimer: This story is fictional (not real, didn't happen). Not true in any way. I don't own anything.
Summary: This might be a date but Jared isn't sure about it. Not at all. Jensen is a tease. Mike is Mike, as usual.
Notes: This was written for hd_obsession who prompted me with "J2 and ice cream".
It is also the third part of the "Wherein Verse" but can be read as a standalone.
Jared is so nervous that no one's really talking to him anymore. Even Jeff left him alone after Jared started to go on and on about how this is not going to work and how he isn’t the type to be normal or have dates. Jeff had actually tried to point out that it wasn’t exactly a date, but Jared wasn’t really listening anymore anyway, so he gave up and left the room.
Jared's pacing, which isn’t unusual at all except for that he's trying on clothes while pacing and it's not making things any easier. He has no idea what to wear and despite the horrendous outfit Mike placed on his bed, Jared knows he hasn't developed much in the way of good taste when it comes to clothes. He also knows he shouldn’t care so much about it because Jensen's seen him in his usual clothes and doesn’t seem to be horrified by them … yet.
So right now he's trying to figure out the right combination of sophisticated, interesting, sexy without being too nerdy. Which is basically an outfit he doesn’t own. There are clothes thrown on the bed and strewn on the floor, shoes are hanging out of the boxes he stored them in and never taken out when he moved into the townhouse. And still he finds there isn’t anything that he'd want to wear on a date. Or a not-date, since this is only Jensen coming over to get everyone to celebrate his success with job hunting and school applications. It’s not like Jensen's only asked Jared or specifically hinted at them being alone or anything.
But Jared wants to look good when he's out with Jensen. They've become even closer than they already were, just by talking on the phone. They talk about everything like they usually do, but now they almost finish all their sentences for each other, they cuddle even - mostly when they're tired and squished on the couch together during one of their DVD evenings - they kiss sweet, slow, chaste; and they make Mike gag when they just look at each other. But nothing else has happened, at least not yet.
Jared wants stuff to happen. Stuff he can’t even say out loud without blushing and without Jeff covering his ears and Josh starting to sing loudly to drone out the words. If he can't have anything more, he wants to have one more kiss that's not just chaste or sweet before Jensen goes back home again. Is that too much to ask for? Does Jensen even want him that way?
Jared is about to hyperventilate when he catches sight of his alarm clock and promptly chokes on his breath. Jensen'll be here in five minutes and all Jared's wearing is underwear. And not even his usual kind, since Josh had insisted for Jared to dress to the occasion. Jared still isn’t sure what exactly Josh meant and why Josh had to be the one getting him black boxer briefs when he was about to go out with Jensen. Which technically isn’t true since they all are going out with Jensen, well not really going out as in a date, which it wouldn’t have been anyway, even with just Jared and Jensen being … going out.
Jared stumbles over a pair of shoes when he tries to go after the nearest pair of pants and almost smacks against the o,,pen dresser and manages to ram himself into his room door. It hurts and it'll bruise. Jared sometimes thinks his tendencies to accidentally self mutilate himself should have stopped once he'd stopped growing, but then Jeff says he is still growing, so Jared tries not to think about it anymore.
“You okay, dorkface?”
Of course it's Mike hearing the crash. Typical for this house, when you need someone it's always the wrong person to hear a call for help. Not that there is a really wrong person in this house, but Jared rather wants to talk to Jeff or even Josh instead of having to deal with Mike’s mocking.
“Yeah. Fine. Now go away.”
“Awww ... Jare-bear has a freak out. Over clothes, I assume? Honey, this is not a date. At least not in the classical sense since you and Jenny are way too repressed and shy to make the next step. Anyway, I’ll be there too and I don’t care what you wear. So put something on and stop admiring your manliness in the mirror. It’s not that big.”
Jared doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or shout out in rage but before he can decide there's a rather loud smack and thumbing noise outside his door and he can only hear Mike’s curse. Whoever it was of the big brothers deserves a medal.
“Come on, Jay. Jensen's already here. Put something on, stop freaking out and come down. Just please refrain from too much pink, even if you think it goes with black boxer briefs. That’s not the reason I bought them for you.”
Yeah, okay maybe not a medal then. Jared hears Josh walk down the stairs again and it takes him a minute to actually realise what Josh just said.
Jensen is here! Now! And Jared isn’t anywhere close to being dressed.
The shoes that have been in the way before are in the way now as well. The last thing Jared actually sees is the edge of the bed moving towards him ... fast.
***
There are voices around him and a slight shimmer of light before his eyes. He knows he again did something to embarrass himself horribly but right now only the pain in his head matters. It's sort of piercing and not comfortable at all. The fact that he's still just in his underwear will catch up with him later, but for now he's just sort of dizzy and maybe a little cold.
“Jared? Come on, wake up. Otherwise it will be the hospital and no ice cream. Jared? Jay?”
There is a hand under his head, another on his chest rubbing slow, soothing circles which is actually not helping with the waking up.
“Oh, great. Dorkface's freaked himself into unconsciousness. That is new.”
“Shut up, Mike. For once in your life, just shut up!”
“Whoa there, Jenny…. I…”
“Come on Mike, let’s get you all set up and dressed properly. Hawaiian is so last year.”
Jared hears the door close and feels the body next to him shift closer. He should be freaking out again, should hyperventilate over the fact that Jensen found him like this, that Jensen is seeing him this way. But all he can do is relax into the half embrace and enjoy the feeling of being so close to Jensen. Yeah, no one ever said he isn’t fucked up.
“You think he'll be okay?”
“Yeah, Jensen. He didn’t really hit his head you know. He just sort of hyperventilated while going down. It's happened before, usually when he's stressed. It’s the way his brain works. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine once he finally wakes up.”
“I just …” One hand is now moving through Jared’s hair, as if searching for any kind of lump and it feels nice. So nice that he sort of starts to purr. Oh yes, this is really, really nice and isn’t allowed to end any time soon.
Jared's eyes are still closed and he just wants to listen in some more and lie there a little while longer. The next thing Jeff says, though, sort of makes him want to sit up and hug Jensen really close.
“I know you're worried. I get it. The way he was lying there. It gets to me every time it happens. And don’t look at me like that. It’s not your fault.”
“But he was freaking out over me.”
“True. But Jared freaks out over a lot of things. As I said, that’s how his brain works. Get used to it. After all, I'm pretty sure you want to. And look, he's awake and listening. Interesting way to twist yourself around someone, Jared.”
His cheeks are hot and he bets they're as red as a baboon’s ass as well. And why his mind comes up with such an image instead of the good old fire engine truck red is way beyond Jared. Anyway, this is completely embarrassing and Jared is so not opening his eyes or moving an inch. Except for when Jensen moves and pulls him up into a sitting position.
“Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“You good? Any pain?”
He opens his eyes then, prepared to be greeted by a mocking expression on both Jensen’s and Jeff’s faces, but all he sees is concern and a slight frown in Jensen’s, which is really cute in a way.
“My head hurts a little. But uh ... I guess I didn’t hit anything, just thumped on the ground.”
Jensen nods and moves again, away from Jared, who misses the closeness and warmth immediately. Jeff coughs a little, says something about Josh calling for him and vanishes. It’s strange, Jared didn’t hear Josh, but then he's a little occupied with staring at Jensen so it's possible that he missed it.
“Are you sure that you're fine? We can go to the hospital you know. Ice cream can wait.”
“No!”
That actually makes Jensen laugh out loud. Jared feels it go through Jensen’s body where they are still touching, hands and knees on the bedroom floor.
“Okay then. Are you good to go, then?”
Jared nods and is proud of himself when that doesn’t make him dizzy. The pain is receding and he think he really didn’t hit the bed after all. Jensen pulls him to his feet and for a second Jared thinks they are close enough to kiss. They foreheads almost touch, they are holding each other close, but neither really moves. It’s like they're suspended in time and space. This thought almost makes Jared laugh and it breaks the moment a little.
There is a small smile on Jensen’s lips and Jared can’t help but return it. It’s one of the things Jared finds really fascinating about Jensen. He can make everyone calm down and smile in seconds.
“You worried me there, Jay.”
“I'm sorry. I know I'm a freak.”
“No, you're not. You have an awesome brain, though.” Jensen's grinning which makes this situation a little less like the big freak out scenario Jared had in his head.
“Let’s go. I want ice cream.”
“Uhm, as much as appreciate your look don’t you think you should put on some more clothes first? And I think I wouldn’t like anyone else seeing that much of you.”
With that Jensen turns and makes it to the door before turning around again to smirk.
“I also like the creative chaos you have going on in your room. Not the way I pictured it but it’s nice to know that room doesn’t look any different from my chaos.”
Jared's too flustered to really look at the clothes he's putting on. He doesn’t really care anymore. This is the second time Jensen's seen him freaking out and it's also the second time that Jensen was the one bringing him out of it and then making the situation less awkward. Jared thinks he's really, really gone for the guy.
***
When he makes it downstairs, only Jensen, Jeff and Josh are present. Suspicious noises are coming from one of the upstairs bathrooms, though. They sound like pounding and cursing. Jared looks at his brother and Josh, but only gets wide grins in return.
“Nice outfit, Jay. Glad you could refrain from wearing pink.”
“Fuck you ,Jeff.”
But when he looks down at himself Jared has to admit that his choices look rather good on him. Dark jeans, white undershirt and dark blue shirt combined with black boots. So all that thinking and freaking out about clothes now seems rather pointless.
“You look good, Jay.”
“Thank you.” Jared looks at the others and frowns again. “So are we ready to go?”
“Uhm. You know what? Mike is sick in the bathroom upstairs so I think I’ll stay and look after him.” Josh is gone the second he says it.
“Yeah, right. And I uhm… I totally forgot that I have an extra shift today. See you tomorrow morning. Have fun.” As soon as Jeff 's out of the door, Jensen turns towards him, shaking his head and then laughing.
“Very subtle.”
“They set us up, didn’t they.”
“Jeff and Josh? Yes. Mike? Nope, he actually wanted ice cream I think. Come on sasquatch, let’s get going before they really want to come along.”
Jared has the slight feeling that Jensen planned this and that his brother sjust went along with it, but never bothered to tell him or Mike. Not that Mike has any say in things anyway, and sure as hell not when it comes to Jared doing something with Jensen. Regardless of what that something entails. Jared never ever wants Mike tagging along when there's the slightest chance that he and Jensen might end up alone.
Jared grabs his keys, manages not to stumble over shoes or bags or even his own feet on the way out, which makes him high-five himself in his mind and promptly run into the mail box. Jensen just smiles and then opens the car door for Jared. And Jared? Well he doesn’t know what to be first, embarrassed, even more embarrassed, annoyed or just pleased for Jensen’s concern.
“Still want ice cream?”
Jared grins and it’s clear that the question doesn't require any sort of verbal answer. Jared likes how well Jensen already knows him. It makes him feel all fluffy, warm and maybe a little more in love than he already is. Because Jared's already given up on denial, at least to himself. And even if it makes him freak out like nothing else, it is a nice feeling and he wants it
“You and your candy. Good to know that I do have understand some of the things that make you happy.” Jensen’s smile is so worth the sigh that Jared absolutely does not let out.
***
There's this tiny little spot of chocolate sauce at the corner of Jensen’s upper lip. Jared can’t stop staring at it. He has been trying to find a way to either tell Jensen about it without sounding like a complete dick or a complete love-fooled moron, to come up with a reason for why he hasn’t told Jensen earlier or to let his thoughts drift towards what he would to the spot and Jensen’s lips if he was allowed to.
Jared also wonders if it would be okay to just reach over and swipe the chocolate away. With his napkin of course, and not with his thumb that would be sensually sliding over Jensen’s full upper lip in the process. Napkins are more sanitary anyway. And it is not like they're on a date or anything. They're just out having ice cream and celebrating Jensen’s acceptance to Grad School. Nothing more.
So this spot is in Jared’s field of vision and it’s driving him insane. Jensen seems to be oblivious, to the spot and to the fact that Jared's sort of going mad right across from him. Jensen doesn’t even look up when Jared actually whimpers at the sight of one more tiny spot of chocolate sauce being added to the first one.
Jared, for a split second, wonders if Jensen is doing it on purpose or if he just can’t eat his ice cream properly. When he lets his eyes stray away from Jensen’s tempting lips, he sees the mischief and smirk in Jensen’s eyes.
“You done staring?”
“Urgh… What?”
Jensen’s smirk is doing things to Jared. Things that shouldn’t be done in public or at least not in a café that is frequented by a lot of Jared’s fellow students, of which more than a few have never seen him as anything other than studious and geeky. He's aware of being stared at but attributes most of it to Jensen’s presence. Hell, Jared's staring too, which Jensen pointed just a second ago. Surprising as it is, Jared isn’t really freaking out. He's just blushing and trying to get his mind out of the gutter.
“So what is it? Do you just like to stare all intense or do I have something on my face?”
“Uhm.. actually.. Both.”
It’s not healthy how adorable Jared thinks Jensen’s blush is. It makes him do things he usually doesn’t do or doesn’t dare to do or you know, doesn’t even think about doing. So he reaches out, only faltering slightly when Jensen’s eyes grow wide, all traces of mischief gone, and finally drags his thumb over the bit of chocolate on the corner of Jensen’s lip.
Jensen hisses slightly and Jared has a hard time to suppress a moan. This might be one of the most erotic moments he's ever experienced and it just happened in a freaking campus café. It’s just his luck that it's the same moment his cell decides to ring, drowning the whole room in a very exuberant Miley Cyrus song. No, that's not embarrassing at all, Jared wants the earth to open and swallow him whole.
He fumbles with the cell, gets his hand stuck in his pants and actually knocks his spoon half across the room when he actually gets his hand plus cell free again. And of course it's Mike. He ruthlessly kills the call and shuts his cell off for the time being.
“’M gonna kill him.”
Jensen doesn’t answer. When Jared looks up from his flashy orange cell, he only sees the top of Jensen’s head and shaking shoulders. So yeah, maybe it was a little funny and Jared might laugh as well if it hadn’t been him causing the scene. But Jensen's laughing and Jared loves it. He loves to hear those small little hiccups and the snort that appears from time to time because he knows Jensen isn’t really laughing at him as much as about the situation. Jared can live with that.
“I believe this is your spoon?”
Jared actually jerks, knees crashing into the table making it hobble dangerously and causing Jensen to actually reach out to steady it. It’s Katie and Danneel standing next to their table, looking rather amused and maybe even a little jealous at the sight of Jensen. Jared's proud all of a sudden. Proud that he's the one sitting there with Jensen and not them. And he really likes those girls.
“Hey.. yeah, thanks. Was being a spazz again.”
He grabs the spoon but doesn’t dare to use it anymore. He might even pout a little at the spoon, but not really in a conscious way, but a second later a second spoon enters his field of vision and Jensen is grinning at him.
“Far be it from me to deprive you of the rest of your ice cream, Jay. I know you need your sugar.”
Jared does not blush. Nope. He manfully turns and smiles at Katie and Danneel, even manages to introduce them to Jensen and doesn’t cause another scene while doing so, even though his shirt sleeve sort of gets caught under the plate with the ice cream cup on. Thank God nothing happens though. Probably due to Jensen’s hand closing around Jared’s wrist and stopping all movement, but still nothing happens.
Katie coos over them in a way that makes even Danneel blush slightly and then makes her drag Katie back to the counter where they were waiting for their own lattes and cheesecake menus. But both don’t leave before having talking Jared and Jensen into joining them for the next karaoke night.
Jensen looks a little bewildered, like he was just run over by a truck made out of pretty girls and an energy that even rivals Jared’s. Jared does feel a little sorry, but only a little because Jensen’s tear streaked face and the grin still firmly stuck there makes him really speechless.
“So you gonna kill Mike now? What for? The ring tone or for calling.”
“For calling. The ring tone is mine.”
“Miley Cyrus?”
“What? I like the music.”
No one can blame Jared for not really following the conversation after that. Jensen’s raised eyebrows are really, really distracting.
“Girls just wanna have fun?”
“No mocking my taste in ring tone music. At least I hear it that way. Don’t look at me like that. Shut up.” No, he's not pouting or using his puppy dog eyes. He hasn’t sunk that low yet and he'd never use that advantage over Miley Cyrus anyway. Taylor Swift, maybe. Even Jeff thinks that country has a certain justification to exist in Texas.
“I will. I'm not really sure what to say anyway. But whatever floats your boat. Just tell me, will I have to get up on the weekends for Hannah Montana marathons or will your let me sleep?”
Yeah, Jensen really knows hot to shut Jared up and bring his brain to a complete stop. Because that? That was so not on the plan for today. And Jared has no idea what to do or what to say. So he stays mute and just stares.
“Too much at once?”
“Urgh.. no.. not really. Just slow brain function right now.”
“I'm tempted to not believe you because your brain's too fast to keep up with.”
“Uhm, thank you I guess. And no, no Hannah Montana marathons when you're in bed ... with me. ‘Cause you know, I can think of better things to do then. And weekends? It's just mean to not let someone sleep in. Hannah Montana is for sick days, though.”
Jared has no idea where the words he's uttering are coming from but he doesn’t even try to stop them. He just sits there, eats the rest of his super delicious banana sundae and smiles at Jensen in a way he's pretty sure he's never smiled before.
“Good to know. And just to be clear, I like you. I like you a lot. And I want more dates like this one. You make me laugh and I love that. You make me want to spent more time with you, possibly a lot more time. Is that okay?”
Jared thinks his brain might never come back online. So he just nods, grins like a loon and looks down into his sundae cup to hide how much he's cheering inside. Not that he can hide anything from Jensen it seems, because seconds later there is a finger tipping up his chin and his looking into really, really green eyes.
And then there are lips on his and he realises that Jensen is leaning over the table in a café where a lot of people know who Jared is but don’t really know Jared at all. And it’s not a chaste kiss at all. It’s hot, steamy even and Jared wants nothing more than to sink his hands in Jensen’s hair and pull him closer. He settles for a hand on Jensen’s cheek and lets himself go into the kiss.
It last longer than any other kiss they've ever shared and Jared's so happy he could burst. And some day he really has to have a talk with his brain about mushy and inappropriate images and like that it seems to come up with lately.
When they part, Jared actually becomes aware of Katie and Danneel giggling from the table across the wide walk way and some of the others are looking. But the earth didn’t stop and neither did most of the customers in the café. Jared's actually really relieved about that.
“Freaking out?”
“No. Surprising as it might be, but no. Just thinking about how much I wanted that.”
“Well, you can always ask for it you know … For anything you want, Jared.”
Yeah, Jared knows he can. Knows it now and might have known it before as well. It’s good and not as frightening as he thought it would be. Jensen's there with him and he's actually feeling rather normal and pretty damn good.
“So another sundae?”
“Yes, please?” Okay, so this time there are puppy eyes.
Jensen leaves the table laughing out loud, but not without letting his fingers brush over Jared’s arm on his way to the counter. Yes, this is a date and Jared's not totally sucking at it. Sometimes his life can be pretty fucking awesome. And no one will blame him now for checking out Jensen’s ass without any qualms, not after being kissed within an inch of his life and then having to restart his stuck brain.
Right then and there, Jared loves his brain. It’s still somehow stuck on the kiss and on how to get Jensen to do it again.
Next: "Wherein Jensen tries to survive meeting the parents (not that he is freaking out or anything)"
Previous: "Wherein Jared’s brain doesn’t shut up…" & "Wherein Jensen doesn’t really know what’s going on…"