Real Person Fic - CW: Rattling Your Locks [Epilogue]
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EPILOGUE
The guard who calls him back is unfamiliar to Jensen, so he doesn't know whether he's in trouble or not. He doesn't know how much it will be if he is. He doesn't think he's done anything wrong today, but that doesn't usually make a real difference when it comes to the guards' whims.
"You Ackles?" the man asks.
Jensen gives him a cool smile. "I used to be," he says. "Now I'm Omega-9430."
The guard rolls his eyes. "I'd beat your smart ass to the ground if you were still my problem." He spits, missing Jensen by an inch or so. Jensen decides not to take that personally. "Now you can stay here and be a pain in my ass, or you can be Ackles again."
Jensen feels his face showing his confusion. He tries very hard not to let men here see what he's thinking, but this catches him completely off guard. "I…sir, I still have nearly three years on my sentence."
The guard smirks, apparently very happy to know something Jensen does not. "Someone just came and paid off the rest of your time." He reaches into his pocket and brings out a familiar sheet of light blue paper. Jensen knows too damn well what this means. He's thought of little but the day he would get his since he arrived here, but he'd thought he was hardly halfway there. Not finished.
The guard extends the paper and Jensen snatches it from the man's grip before he can change his mind. This is not possible. There are so few people in the world this could have been, and only one of them Jensen wouldn't hate being in debt to.
But it can't be Jared; that makes no goddamn sense. Jared has every right in the world to hate him, and whatever Jensen thought there was between them, he always knew he was probably imagining it on Jared's end. Jared was a good actor. Jensen bought him for exactly that reason. He got so desperate to believe that Jared loved him back that he let himself buy into the act, but he's had three years of harsh reality to disillusion himself. Jared is free now. Off living the life he always deserved, loving someone who deserves him. Maybe he has a family by now. At any rate, he's not thinking of Jensen. Not freeing Jensen. Not saving Jensen. Most of Jensen is genuinely happy for him.
So he tries to kill the hope bubbling up inside of him, because this is all too much, and all it's going to do is crush the last bit of spirit Jensen has left when he gets outside and finds that whoever set him free, it just means a new master for him. Not freedom. He'll never be free again now that someone has bought his way out.
He has to pass through over an hour of red tape before he actually reaches the prison's exit. The whole time his skin is itching, and his mind keeps inventing increasingly elaborate explanations for how he's gone from being imprisoned to being free in the last few hours.
By the time he reaches the front, he almost just wants to turn around and run back into prison. At least he knows what to expect there. Jared had told him that once, when he'd asked why Jared had gone to such lengths not to sell at the slave trader's. It had seemed ridiculous at the time. There had been so much about Jared Jensen didn't understand.
"Ackles?" Jensen announces, stepping up to the release counter. He hands over the light blue paper.
"Hmm," says the man working behind the desk. His eyes flick disinterestedly over Jensen's paperwork and then he places the paper flat down on the desk in front of him. "Two years and ten months' payment on a Jensen Ackles."
Someone steps forward. His face is cloaked behind the cover of a hoodie, but Jensen knows the frame. He would know this body anywhere. Three years in prison-Jensen hardly remembers anything about being free, but he will never forget the exact size and shape of the man who just freed him.
Jared reaches up, pushing the hood back, and Jensen looks at the gentleness and warmth in his Alpha's expression. Jared should never have looked at him like this to begin with, but now that he's actually standing here in the flesh, Jensen doesn't know how he ever doubted Jared was going to save him.
"Jared," he says, his voice getting stretched and thin and beginning to break on the name. Jensen is so happy and so afraid of waking up that he doesn't even have the energy left to be embarrassed about it. "My Jared."
He had owned Jared once, but this isn't about that, and Jared understands. Of course he does. He smiles instead of looking offended or reminding Jensen that he doesn't belong to him anymore. "My Jensen," he replies, his lips quirking up in a playful smirk.
"But…how?" Jensen asks, looking back to the guard and the light blue paper on the man's desk. "How could you afford this?"
Jared reaches out, taking Jensen's wrist. "I'll explain at home," he says. "Please, let's just get out of here, okay?"
Jensen follows him easily enough, his feet working mechanically and his mind still reeling from the twist this day has taken. "Home? We have a home?"
Jared sends an excited look over his shoulder. "We have a home."
Jensen lets Jared drag him out into the sunlight where a car is waiting for them. It's an old, broken-down piece of junk. Jensen can tell Jared is only renting it and the driver for the day, because Jared doesn't introduce the man behind the wheel as he gets in and pulls Jensen after him. It doesn't matter to Jensen; Jensen would swear he's never been inside a car this beautiful in his life. Jared gives the driver an address and the man nods and begins to drive.
"It's not far from here," Jared explains. He's still holding tight to Jensen's hand as he strokes his thumb in a circle over the skin there. "It's going to look like nothing to you."
Jared keeps his eyes cast down to where their hands are connected, and Jensen snatches his back just to force Jared to look up at him.
"I'm sorry, Jen. You gave me so much. I hardly have anything to offer you."
"Jared, if you actually think I care about things like that at this point, you should have just left me in jail."
Jared shakes his head. "No, of course I don't. It's just…it's not what you were used to."
"I'm used to hard labor and food that's barely edible at this point," Jensen replies. "And the only company I've had for the last three years have all been criminals. Worse than that, in the jail they put men like me in? It was all asshole spoiled rich kids who thought they were above the law and did nothing but complain that the court didn't agree with them all day."
Jared nearly laughs. "Imagine, you surrounded by spoiled rich kids."
"Shut up," Jensen says, slapping Jared's thigh. "I'm trying to say whatever you've got, you won't be hearing me complain."
He nods, giving Jensen a sorry look. "I know that," he says. "I just wanted to do better. I wanted to get rich working on my own and buy you out quickly and bring you back somewhere comfortable. Turns out it's kind of hard for slaves to make decent money, even free ones."
Jensen swallows hard and nods. "Jared, how did you free me?"
Jared frowns, looking ashamed. "I left you in there for three years, Jen. I can't believe I left you in there so long, but I couldn't afford-" He wipes his hand over his lips and shakes his head as if he's trying to clear it. "Tell me they didn't hurt you."
Jensen squeezes the hand that's still wrapped around his own and reaches out with the other, pulling Jared's fingers away from his mouth and kissing each one slowly.
"They sort us spoiled rich kids when we go to prison, Jay," he says quietly. "Most of my fellow inmates were Omegas. There were no Alphas with us and hardly any Betas. I rarely had sex I didn't at least kind of want."
Jared barks out a bitter laugh. "God, I can hear everything you're not to saying there, but good try making me feel better."
"I'm not just trying to make you feel better." Jensen forces Jared to meet his eyes. "I've been through worse. You know I have."
"But you went through this for me. Because of me."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"Tell that to the judge," Jared replies.
Jensen laughs. "I remember trying to. He wasn't interested."
"It's not funny," Jared says, but Jensen has him smirking, as hard as he's trying to hide it. "I saved up every cent I've made since you freed me, Jensen, but I had to feed myself in order to keep working toward getting you out, and I had to pay for our home, pathetic excuse for one that it is."
Jensen is really not in the mood to entertain Jared feeling guilty when he's just fucking saved him. So he latches onto the one part of the conversation that really matters as far as he's concerned. "Tell me more about this home we have."
Jared laughs. "I paid the down payment with the money you put aside from my work and by selling the fancy clothes you bought me. It's…it's like four rooms in the middle of nowhere, Jensen, and I still owe almost everything on it. But it's ours."
"I'll love it," he promises, relaxing into Jared's arms.
The drive isn't more than half an hour, most of that through empty fields. Jared wasn't joking about it being in the middle of nowhere, or about it being small, but it's a tidy little house with a fresh coat of paint, as if it got dressed up just for him. Jensen only manages not to cry by reminding himself of how embarrassing that would be in retrospect.
Jared gets out first, and Jensen follows him, watching as Jared leans down in the window and pays the driver. He turns back to Jensen. "I don't have a car," he says. "It's hard to get anywhere and not many people come out this way, but Gen and Misha visit sometimes. They're coming tomorrow."
"Gen," Jensen says, a little smile teasing at his lips. "How are they? Are they okay? How's Dmitri?"
Jared laughs. "They're doing great. You paid them way too much if you ask me. They were able to buy a place as soon as the house sold. A nice place, not far from your old mansion. They're actually damn near rich just off what they got from working for you."
"And the baby? He must be huge by now." Jensen frowns. "He must not remember me."
"He's coming tomorrow," Jared says putting a hand low on Jensen's back and easing him forward. "I'm sure he's missed his Uncle Jensen."
Jensen knows that's crap, but he rolls his eyes fondly, and lets himself focus on how real Jared's touch feels against the fabric of his shirt. There will be time to get to know the kid. There will be time for everything now. Three years earlier and one Jared richer than Jensen ever expected to be. He's smiling without even realizing it.
"Okay, be careful now," Jared says as he starts to open the door. "You might get mauled."
Jensen raises an eyebrow and then there's a giant ball of fur jumping up on him, trying to lick his face off.
"Sadie, down," Jared says, laughing. "Down, girl."
If Jared thinks he has the dog trained, he's sorely mistaken, but finally he manages to pull her away from Jensen and hold her down long enough for Jensen to make it in through the door. Jared closes it and gives Jensen a giant, dimpled smile. "This is Sadie," he says. "You're gonna have to share my heart with her. Hope you don't mind."
As if Jensen could mind anything that makes Jared grin like that. "You replaced me with a dog?"
Jared shakes his head. "Aww, baby, don't get mad. It was lonely out here without you."
Jensen smiles. "Not anymore, though."
"Not anymore," Jared agrees.
He kisses Jensen for half a second before pulling back and excitedly pointing to the sofa taking up the vast majority of their tiny living room. "See that?"
Jensen nods. It's a weird thing to see in a place like this. It looks like it cost as much as the house did.
"I built that," Jared explains, pride shining in his eyes. He turns, pointing to the dining room table shoved into another corner of the same room. "That too."
Jensen feels his chest swelling. "You've been doing well for yourself, huh?"
Jared nods. "Not bad, at least."
"Jesus, this stuff is better than Jim's used to be." Jensen takes a seat on the couch, bouncing once to test it out. "He'd better be paying you a hell of a lot more than he was when I…"
Jared sits next to Jensen and distracts him. "He's not paying me at all."
"Then how can you afford-?"
"I've got a shop," he says. "Not a physical shop, but I design and make the stuff myself, and it's spreading by word of mouth. Now that I've got you, I can start saving up to buy a real store."
"Jared, that's-you're something else, you know that?"
Jared shakes his head. "I just wanted to free you."
"No, you're something else," Jensen insists.
Jared ducks his head and ignores Jensen's compliment. "Gen and Misha helped me get it started about a year ago. I'd been saving up, but it was taking forever. It was Misha's idea, actually. He said I could probably make enough to get you out sooner if I did some business on my own. They even gave me a loan to get started." Jared reaches out, pressing his palm to Jensen's and lacing their fingers together. "They offered to just give me the money, but I wanted to do this on my own. So just a loan."
Jensen kisses him. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Give up your life? Your company? Everything before that." He licks his lips. "I can't list it all, Jensen. We'll get old."
"I hated that company," Jensen tells him. "I hated working for it. Every time I heard the damn name I thought of him." Jared doesn't have to ask who Jensen is referring to. "I'd rather have you any day. And your company," he grins, "I can help you, Jay. Not build things, but…I'm good with money. I could run it."
"I'm counting on it," Jared replies. He frowns. "We can't afford to have you living here without earning your keep. I wasn't kidding when I told you I couldn't offer you much, Jen."
"God, shut up," Jensen says, kissing him. "You know I thought you'd be married by now?" Jared barks out a laugh, and Jensen continues, "No, seriously. I'd think about it. I had her all picked out in my head. She was a pretty little blonde. A Beta." Jensen gives Jared a sheepish smile. "Even in my fantasy I wasn't selfless enough to be able to wish another Omega on you."
"You're my Omega, Jensen," Jared assures him. "I haven't even touched anyone since you."
Jensen looks at him askance. "Come on, you didn't have to do that. I'm not that jealous."
"I, uh." Jared looks down at his lap. "Jen, I've kind of had my fill of sex with people I don't love. It was nice to have a few years not touching anyone."
Jensen frowns, leaning in and giving Jared a slow, cautious kiss. "But you want me?"
"You're all I ever thought about," Jared admits. "My Omega."
"Your Omega," Jensen confirms. If Jared is why he was born one, Jensen thinks maybe it wasn't such a curse after all.
He looks down at the couch-the couch Jared built with his own goddamn hands-and around at the house Jared is sharing with him. Then he finds Jared's eyes, seeing love he will never deserve, and even if he can't understand that love, Jensen will take it. He'll live for it. Free, not just from prison, but from every awful luxury his life ever forced on him. He shakes his head, trying to chase away his thoughts before they make him break down.
He swallows a lump and says, "You must be really horny, then?"
Jared laughs. "You have a way with words, Mr. Ackles."
"Mr. Padalecki," Jensen corrects. "If you'll have me."
"If you really want that…" Jared brushes his fingers over Jensen's cheek. "I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the nearest court tomorrow."
"Well, I do know how to walk."
Jared kisses him so hard then and smells so good that for a moment, Jensen is pretty sure he's actually forgotten how to walk. "Silly me," Jared says, standing abruptly. "I forgot to show you the bedroom."
Jensen takes the hint, finding his feet and following the scent Jared leaves behind as he leads the way.
End.
EPILOGUE
The guard who calls him back is unfamiliar to Jensen, so he doesn't know whether he's in trouble or not. He doesn't know how much it will be if he is. He doesn't think he's done anything wrong today, but that doesn't usually make a real difference when it comes to the guards' whims.
"You Ackles?" the man asks.
Jensen gives him a cool smile. "I used to be," he says. "Now I'm Omega-9430."
The guard rolls his eyes. "I'd beat your smart ass to the ground if you were still my problem." He spits, missing Jensen by an inch or so. Jensen decides not to take that personally. "Now you can stay here and be a pain in my ass, or you can be Ackles again."
Jensen feels his face showing his confusion. He tries very hard not to let men here see what he's thinking, but this catches him completely off guard. "I…sir, I still have nearly three years on my sentence."
The guard smirks, apparently very happy to know something Jensen does not. "Someone just came and paid off the rest of your time." He reaches into his pocket and brings out a familiar sheet of light blue paper. Jensen knows too damn well what this means. He's thought of little but the day he would get his since he arrived here, but he'd thought he was hardly halfway there. Not finished.
The guard extends the paper and Jensen snatches it from the man's grip before he can change his mind. This is not possible. There are so few people in the world this could have been, and only one of them Jensen wouldn't hate being in debt to.
But it can't be Jared; that makes no goddamn sense. Jared has every right in the world to hate him, and whatever Jensen thought there was between them, he always knew he was probably imagining it on Jared's end. Jared was a good actor. Jensen bought him for exactly that reason. He got so desperate to believe that Jared loved him back that he let himself buy into the act, but he's had three years of harsh reality to disillusion himself. Jared is free now. Off living the life he always deserved, loving someone who deserves him. Maybe he has a family by now. At any rate, he's not thinking of Jensen. Not freeing Jensen. Not saving Jensen. Most of Jensen is genuinely happy for him.
So he tries to kill the hope bubbling up inside of him, because this is all too much, and all it's going to do is crush the last bit of spirit Jensen has left when he gets outside and finds that whoever set him free, it just means a new master for him. Not freedom. He'll never be free again now that someone has bought his way out.
He has to pass through over an hour of red tape before he actually reaches the prison's exit. The whole time his skin is itching, and his mind keeps inventing increasingly elaborate explanations for how he's gone from being imprisoned to being free in the last few hours.
By the time he reaches the front, he almost just wants to turn around and run back into prison. At least he knows what to expect there. Jared had told him that once, when he'd asked why Jared had gone to such lengths not to sell at the slave trader's. It had seemed ridiculous at the time. There had been so much about Jared Jensen didn't understand.
"Ackles?" Jensen announces, stepping up to the release counter. He hands over the light blue paper.
"Hmm," says the man working behind the desk. His eyes flick disinterestedly over Jensen's paperwork and then he places the paper flat down on the desk in front of him. "Two years and ten months' payment on a Jensen Ackles."
Someone steps forward. His face is cloaked behind the cover of a hoodie, but Jensen knows the frame. He would know this body anywhere. Three years in prison-Jensen hardly remembers anything about being free, but he will never forget the exact size and shape of the man who just freed him.
Jared reaches up, pushing the hood back, and Jensen looks at the gentleness and warmth in his Alpha's expression. Jared should never have looked at him like this to begin with, but now that he's actually standing here in the flesh, Jensen doesn't know how he ever doubted Jared was going to save him.
"Jared," he says, his voice getting stretched and thin and beginning to break on the name. Jensen is so happy and so afraid of waking up that he doesn't even have the energy left to be embarrassed about it. "My Jared."
He had owned Jared once, but this isn't about that, and Jared understands. Of course he does. He smiles instead of looking offended or reminding Jensen that he doesn't belong to him anymore. "My Jensen," he replies, his lips quirking up in a playful smirk.
"But…how?" Jensen asks, looking back to the guard and the light blue paper on the man's desk. "How could you afford this?"
Jared reaches out, taking Jensen's wrist. "I'll explain at home," he says. "Please, let's just get out of here, okay?"
Jensen follows him easily enough, his feet working mechanically and his mind still reeling from the twist this day has taken. "Home? We have a home?"
Jared sends an excited look over his shoulder. "We have a home."
Jensen lets Jared drag him out into the sunlight where a car is waiting for them. It's an old, broken-down piece of junk. Jensen can tell Jared is only renting it and the driver for the day, because Jared doesn't introduce the man behind the wheel as he gets in and pulls Jensen after him. It doesn't matter to Jensen; Jensen would swear he's never been inside a car this beautiful in his life. Jared gives the driver an address and the man nods and begins to drive.
"It's not far from here," Jared explains. He's still holding tight to Jensen's hand as he strokes his thumb in a circle over the skin there. "It's going to look like nothing to you."
Jared keeps his eyes cast down to where their hands are connected, and Jensen snatches his back just to force Jared to look up at him.
"I'm sorry, Jen. You gave me so much. I hardly have anything to offer you."
"Jared, if you actually think I care about things like that at this point, you should have just left me in jail."
Jared shakes his head. "No, of course I don't. It's just…it's not what you were used to."
"I'm used to hard labor and food that's barely edible at this point," Jensen replies. "And the only company I've had for the last three years have all been criminals. Worse than that, in the jail they put men like me in? It was all asshole spoiled rich kids who thought they were above the law and did nothing but complain that the court didn't agree with them all day."
Jared nearly laughs. "Imagine, you surrounded by spoiled rich kids."
"Shut up," Jensen says, slapping Jared's thigh. "I'm trying to say whatever you've got, you won't be hearing me complain."
He nods, giving Jensen a sorry look. "I know that," he says. "I just wanted to do better. I wanted to get rich working on my own and buy you out quickly and bring you back somewhere comfortable. Turns out it's kind of hard for slaves to make decent money, even free ones."
Jensen swallows hard and nods. "Jared, how did you free me?"
Jared frowns, looking ashamed. "I left you in there for three years, Jen. I can't believe I left you in there so long, but I couldn't afford-" He wipes his hand over his lips and shakes his head as if he's trying to clear it. "Tell me they didn't hurt you."
Jensen squeezes the hand that's still wrapped around his own and reaches out with the other, pulling Jared's fingers away from his mouth and kissing each one slowly.
"They sort us spoiled rich kids when we go to prison, Jay," he says quietly. "Most of my fellow inmates were Omegas. There were no Alphas with us and hardly any Betas. I rarely had sex I didn't at least kind of want."
Jared barks out a bitter laugh. "God, I can hear everything you're not to saying there, but good try making me feel better."
"I'm not just trying to make you feel better." Jensen forces Jared to meet his eyes. "I've been through worse. You know I have."
"But you went through this for me. Because of me."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"Tell that to the judge," Jared replies.
Jensen laughs. "I remember trying to. He wasn't interested."
"It's not funny," Jared says, but Jensen has him smirking, as hard as he's trying to hide it. "I saved up every cent I've made since you freed me, Jensen, but I had to feed myself in order to keep working toward getting you out, and I had to pay for our home, pathetic excuse for one that it is."
Jensen is really not in the mood to entertain Jared feeling guilty when he's just fucking saved him. So he latches onto the one part of the conversation that really matters as far as he's concerned. "Tell me more about this home we have."
Jared laughs. "I paid the down payment with the money you put aside from my work and by selling the fancy clothes you bought me. It's…it's like four rooms in the middle of nowhere, Jensen, and I still owe almost everything on it. But it's ours."
"I'll love it," he promises, relaxing into Jared's arms.
The drive isn't more than half an hour, most of that through empty fields. Jared wasn't joking about it being in the middle of nowhere, or about it being small, but it's a tidy little house with a fresh coat of paint, as if it got dressed up just for him. Jensen only manages not to cry by reminding himself of how embarrassing that would be in retrospect.
Jared gets out first, and Jensen follows him, watching as Jared leans down in the window and pays the driver. He turns back to Jensen. "I don't have a car," he says. "It's hard to get anywhere and not many people come out this way, but Gen and Misha visit sometimes. They're coming tomorrow."
"Gen," Jensen says, a little smile teasing at his lips. "How are they? Are they okay? How's Dmitri?"
Jared laughs. "They're doing great. You paid them way too much if you ask me. They were able to buy a place as soon as the house sold. A nice place, not far from your old mansion. They're actually damn near rich just off what they got from working for you."
"And the baby? He must be huge by now." Jensen frowns. "He must not remember me."
"He's coming tomorrow," Jared says putting a hand low on Jensen's back and easing him forward. "I'm sure he's missed his Uncle Jensen."
Jensen knows that's crap, but he rolls his eyes fondly, and lets himself focus on how real Jared's touch feels against the fabric of his shirt. There will be time to get to know the kid. There will be time for everything now. Three years earlier and one Jared richer than Jensen ever expected to be. He's smiling without even realizing it.
"Okay, be careful now," Jared says as he starts to open the door. "You might get mauled."
Jensen raises an eyebrow and then there's a giant ball of fur jumping up on him, trying to lick his face off.
"Sadie, down," Jared says, laughing. "Down, girl."
If Jared thinks he has the dog trained, he's sorely mistaken, but finally he manages to pull her away from Jensen and hold her down long enough for Jensen to make it in through the door. Jared closes it and gives Jensen a giant, dimpled smile. "This is Sadie," he says. "You're gonna have to share my heart with her. Hope you don't mind."
As if Jensen could mind anything that makes Jared grin like that. "You replaced me with a dog?"
Jared shakes his head. "Aww, baby, don't get mad. It was lonely out here without you."
Jensen smiles. "Not anymore, though."
"Not anymore," Jared agrees.
He kisses Jensen for half a second before pulling back and excitedly pointing to the sofa taking up the vast majority of their tiny living room. "See that?"
Jensen nods. It's a weird thing to see in a place like this. It looks like it cost as much as the house did.
"I built that," Jared explains, pride shining in his eyes. He turns, pointing to the dining room table shoved into another corner of the same room. "That too."
Jensen feels his chest swelling. "You've been doing well for yourself, huh?"
Jared nods. "Not bad, at least."
"Jesus, this stuff is better than Jim's used to be." Jensen takes a seat on the couch, bouncing once to test it out. "He'd better be paying you a hell of a lot more than he was when I…"
Jared sits next to Jensen and distracts him. "He's not paying me at all."
"Then how can you afford-?"
"I've got a shop," he says. "Not a physical shop, but I design and make the stuff myself, and it's spreading by word of mouth. Now that I've got you, I can start saving up to buy a real store."
"Jared, that's-you're something else, you know that?"
Jared shakes his head. "I just wanted to free you."
"No, you're something else," Jensen insists.
Jared ducks his head and ignores Jensen's compliment. "Gen and Misha helped me get it started about a year ago. I'd been saving up, but it was taking forever. It was Misha's idea, actually. He said I could probably make enough to get you out sooner if I did some business on my own. They even gave me a loan to get started." Jared reaches out, pressing his palm to Jensen's and lacing their fingers together. "They offered to just give me the money, but I wanted to do this on my own. So just a loan."
Jensen kisses him. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Give up your life? Your company? Everything before that." He licks his lips. "I can't list it all, Jensen. We'll get old."
"I hated that company," Jensen tells him. "I hated working for it. Every time I heard the damn name I thought of him." Jared doesn't have to ask who Jensen is referring to. "I'd rather have you any day. And your company," he grins, "I can help you, Jay. Not build things, but…I'm good with money. I could run it."
"I'm counting on it," Jared replies. He frowns. "We can't afford to have you living here without earning your keep. I wasn't kidding when I told you I couldn't offer you much, Jen."
"God, shut up," Jensen says, kissing him. "You know I thought you'd be married by now?" Jared barks out a laugh, and Jensen continues, "No, seriously. I'd think about it. I had her all picked out in my head. She was a pretty little blonde. A Beta." Jensen gives Jared a sheepish smile. "Even in my fantasy I wasn't selfless enough to be able to wish another Omega on you."
"You're my Omega, Jensen," Jared assures him. "I haven't even touched anyone since you."
Jensen looks at him askance. "Come on, you didn't have to do that. I'm not that jealous."
"I, uh." Jared looks down at his lap. "Jen, I've kind of had my fill of sex with people I don't love. It was nice to have a few years not touching anyone."
Jensen frowns, leaning in and giving Jared a slow, cautious kiss. "But you want me?"
"You're all I ever thought about," Jared admits. "My Omega."
"Your Omega," Jensen confirms. If Jared is why he was born one, Jensen thinks maybe it wasn't such a curse after all.
He looks down at the couch-the couch Jared built with his own goddamn hands-and around at the house Jared is sharing with him. Then he finds Jared's eyes, seeing love he will never deserve, and even if he can't understand that love, Jensen will take it. He'll live for it. Free, not just from prison, but from every awful luxury his life ever forced on him. He shakes his head, trying to chase away his thoughts before they make him break down.
He swallows a lump and says, "You must be really horny, then?"
Jared laughs. "You have a way with words, Mr. Ackles."
"Mr. Padalecki," Jensen corrects. "If you'll have me."
"If you really want that…" Jared brushes his fingers over Jensen's cheek. "I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the nearest court tomorrow."
"Well, I do know how to walk."
Jared kisses him so hard then and smells so good that for a moment, Jensen is pretty sure he's actually forgotten how to walk. "Silly me," Jared says, standing abruptly. "I forgot to show you the bedroom."
Jensen takes the hint, finding his feet and following the scent Jared leaves behind as he leads the way.
End.