(no subject)
Title: Maybe Somebody's Coming and I Don't Know Who
Author: poor_choices
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, background Alona Tal/Danneel Harris
Rating: PG
Warnings: None that I can think of.
Word Count: 4100.
Summary: Jared's a workaholic architect looking for his caffeine fix. Instead he finds Jensen.
Notes: For elanorelle, for spn_j2_xmas! She wanted an AU where Jared was the workaholic with no love life, and Jensen was the laid-back guy who worked at a coffee shop. She also mentioned a preference for fake dating, which I tried to work in a little too. I hope you enjoy, elanorelle! Title from Lewis Black.
Disclaimer: Lies and untruths.
The day Cafe Ole! closes isn't the worst day of Jared's life, not by a long-shot, but it's definitely the worst day of his month. He loved Cafe Ole!--dumb name aside, it was perfectly situated between his apartment and his workplace, and they knew him. If he left his apartment on foot at 8:30, he got to the cafe at 8:42, had his coffee by 8:50, and was in his office and ready to start his day by 8:55. It was perfect.
But then he gets there at 8:41 one Monday morning, and they're out of business. He didn't even know they were thinking of closing. It's like a punch in the gut. Jared just doesn't feel right without a cup of coffee in his hand when he gets to work, and now it's like he's coming in without his watch, or his pants. Well, maybe not his pants. But still. It's terrible.
"Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, boss," says his assistant, Alona, when he comes in. "What's wrong?"
"My coffee shop closed."
She raises her eyebrows, looking him up and down. "Well, that does suck. Which one?"
"Cafe Ole! on Monroe," says Jared. "I went there every morning."
Alona gnaws on her lip, worrying the stud with her tongue. "Well, Blur's not that much farther. You could just go there."
"Blur?" asks Jared.
"It's on Third and Elm," says Alona. "Not quite on your way, but the coffee is great, they have awesome cupcakes, which I know you love, and they have the cutest baristas."
"We don't actually have the same taste in baristas," Jared points out dryly. They're both gay, and Alona keeps trying to convince him he wants to be her wingman. Jared is pretty sure it would do more harm than good.
"I do know what a cute boy looks like," says Alona. "Even if I'm not sure you do," she adds, shaking her head.
"What have I said about your excessive investment in my love life?" Jared asks, glaring at her.
"That it's inappropriate and will get me fired one day," Alona says wearily. She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, you should go to Blur. It's five minutes away, you don't have any meetings until 10, and I don't want to deal with you without coffee."
Jared wavers. He doesn't like leaving work, even if he can, but he could bring some of his files for his 10 o'clock, and he can make calls while he walks.
"Okay," says Jared. "You've convinced me." He gives her a stern look. "You better work while I'm gone."
"Yes, mom," says Alona. For all she mouths off, Alona actually is a good assistant, and Jared wouldn't give her up for anything. "Get going."
"I'm gone."
*
Blur has a brightly painted sign that looks like it was drawn by a jittery hand, and the window is decorated with blue and white lights and a menorah. It looks kind of hip and trendy, and the girl behind the counter really is exactly Alona's type--red hair, nose ring, slightly bored expression. Jared is a little nervous being there, and it just gets worse when the redhead takes one look at him, calls, "Jensen, customer!" and wanders off.
It's not the best impression, but she's replaced a minute later by a guy a few inches shorter than he is with short, dark hair and an identical green Blur apron.
"Hi," says the guy, with a bright smile. "I don't think I've seen you in here before."
"No," says Jared. Maybe it's invite-only. "Can I just get a coffee? Black?"
"Sure," says the guy, not writing anything down or ringing him up. He just rubs his chin, kind of thoughtfully. "Except."
"What?" asks Jared, wrinkling his brow. "Seriously, did I do something wrong? Am I not supposed to be in here?"
The guy laughs. "Nah, man, nothing like that. I just like to meet new customers. Especially ones as hot as you," he adds, with a wink. "Anyway, you seem kind of on edge. You sure you should be having caffeine?"
"I'm on edge because I haven't had my caffeine," says Jared, a little annoyed. "Look, if you aren't going to--"
"Hey, hey," says the guy, holding up his hands. "I'm going to give you your coffee." He flashes Jared a smile. "I'll even give it to you on the house. To apologize. I really didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't," Jared says, but he's still kind of snapping a little.
"I should really know better than this by now," says the guy ruefully. "I've been working here for long enough to recognize a grumpy caffeine addict." He turns to the machines in the back, but he doesn't shut up. "So, are you new in town?"
"Uh, no," says Jared, confused.
"But you haven't been in here before, right? I'm not wrong about that."
"No, this is my first time." He considers leaving it at that, but the guy doesn't seem likely to take the hint and shut up. "I used to go to Cafe Ole! over on Monroe, but I guess it went out of business."
The guy snorts. "Yeah, that's one word for it. I hear Misha actually got called on tax evasion and skipped town in the night. Very hush hush."
"Wait, really?"
"That's what I heard. And, having met the guy, I believe it."
"Wow."
"So, how'd you decide to come to us?"
"My assistant recommended it."
"And who's your assistant?"
Jared blinks. "Uh, her name's Alona. Blonde hair, lots of piercings?"
"Ah," says the guy. "Danneel's girlcrush. Glad she's pimping us out." He smiles and gives Jared a mug. It's pink and has a picture of a cat on it, and there's whipped cream on the top.
"This isn't a black coffee."
"No, but it is free," says the guy. He smiles. "I promise it's caffeinated and delicious. Word of honor."
"I also needed it to go."
"You can bring the mug back later. Or you could stay and chat with me. I was hoping you'd stay and chat."
"Do you harass all your customers like this?" Jared asks irritably.
"Nah, just the cute ones," says the guy, with a wink. He sobers quickly. "But, uh, you're straight, sorry, I shouldn't--that's inappropriate. You can keep the mug if you want. As an apology."
"I'm not straight," Jared says automatically. He takes a sip of the drink. It's not terrible. "Isn't your boss going to be pissed at you for giving stuff away?"
The guy grins. "Jensen Ackles," he says, extending his hand. "I own the place. So I can give away whatever I want."
"Oh," says Jared. He shakes awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."
"This is where you introduce yourself."
"Jared. Padalecki. I work at Kripke Designs."
"So you're an architect?"
"Yeah. And I have a meeting to get to."
The guy--Jensen--waves his hand. "Go ahead. You can bring the mug back next time you're here. Or just keep it, if the coffee is so bad you can never come back." He grins. "Either way."
"Okay," says Jared. He takes another drink of the coffee-thing. It's actually really good. "Thanks."
"Any time," says Jensen, and sees Jared off with another wave.
*
Jared realizes six hours later, when he's failing to work and staring at the mug, that he's an idiot, and he drops his forehead onto the desk with a thud.
"Boss?" asks Alona. "What's up?"
"I'm an idiot." Jensen was really good-looking. And, okay, kind of weird, but the drink was delicious, and he was hitting on Jared, and did he mention really good-looking?
"Okay," says Alona. "Can I help?"
"Not really. I'm just a failure."
"Do I need to get you a cupcake? I can get you a cupcake."
Jared looks up at her with a shrewd look. "Do you usually get the cupcakes that cheer me up from Blur?"
"Yes."
"They are really good." Jared sighs. "Do you know the name of the barista you think is hot?"
"Danneel."
"You are her girl crush," says Jared, grabbing the mug. "Congratulations. I'll be back later."
*
Jensen is at the register chatting with the red-haired girl when he gets back. The girl elbows him as she spots Jared, and Jensen turns with a big smile.
"Wow, back already? I'm more awesome than I thought."
Jared gives over the mug. "I, uh, was really grumpy this morning, and I'm pretty sure you were trying to be friendly. I wanted to apologize."
Jensen smiles. "Hey, I should apologize too. I usually read people better."
"You already did. With the drink. It was good. So, um, I thought I'd buy two cupcakes. And give you one."
Jensen grins. "You gonna eat it with me?"
Jared flushes. He probably shouldn't have noticed Jensen was good-looking. "I actually have to get back to work. But I'll be in again tomorrow morning, if you're working."
"Definitely," says Jensen. "For the record, my favorite cupcake is the double chocolate."
"Two of those, then," says Jared.
"Coming right up."
*
So in under a week Jared gets a new morning routine, which involves leaving five minutes earlier, but when he gets to the cafe, Jensen has a drink waiting for him, and even if it's only black coffee about half the time, whatever it is always tastes really good. And Jensen is--nice. He's so laid back and friendly that Jared loses any confidence he once had that Jensen might have been hitting on him, but that's okay. Jensen seems to know almost everyone who comes in, and Jared realizes that he's not special. Jensen is just amazing at his job.
Which is fine. Just because Jensen is funny, and surprisingly smart (Jared brings some work in one afternoon when his internet goes out at home, and Jensen comes over and sits with him and gives him information about how to design cheaper houses using Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian model), and really nice to everyone (he gives a woman a free cupcake just because her umbrella broke, and it kind of warms Jared's heart) and into all the same sports Jared likes (except he likes the Mavs, and when the Spurs lose, even to another team, he mocks Jared mercilessly) and just--kind of amazing.
But he's clearly not interested in Jared, and that's good. Jared is busy with work. He hasn't had a boyfriend in years. He's getting ahead. He's not looking for anything. He has a hand, and a TV. He doesn't need a relationship.
And if Alona has started seeing the red-haired girl and is disgustingly happy and gives him way more graphic information about her sex life than he wants, he gets revenge by giving her a lot of busy work that she hates.
Everything is fine.
*
"Shit," says Jared. "Shit, shit, shit."
"Hey," says Jensen, looking surprised. It's five-fifteen on Thursday, which is the latest Jared's ever come in. "What's wrong?"
Jared groans and gives Jensen a pathetic look. "I need a cupcake."
"Obviously," says Jensen. He looks at Jared for a long minute, and then goes back to grab one of the chocolate cupcakes, and a big glass of milk. "Danneel, you're on register," he says, and comes out from behind the counter and nods Jared over to a table. It's not that busy, which surprises Jared; he figured they'd have a lot of people in after work. "Here, sit down, eat," says Jensen. "What's up?"
Jared smiles. "So, we have this big company Christmas party, it's coming up on Saturday."
"Right," says Jensen, nodding.
"And it's a big event with the clients, and my boss, and all my coworkers. And there's this one potential client, huge client, and he's gay, so my boss thinks me and my boyfriend can charm him and his boyfriend and bring him in."
"Kind of offensive stereotyping, I guess," says Jensen. "But I'm not seeing why this is such a disaster."
"I don't have a boyfriend. And my boss implied that if this went well, awesome things were in my future. I don't even have a date. Last year I brought my cousin, and he doesn't even live in town anymore." He groans. "It's just--I already get my sister and my mom and my assistant asking me why I don't have a boyfriend, and now my fucking boss is doing it. And half the reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I'm working all the fucking time, and now I'm going to suffer at work because I'm single? I can't win."
"One, breathe," says Jensen. He's smiling gently when Jared finally looks up. "Two, eat some cupcake. Three, calm down, I'll go with you."
Jared stares. "What?"
"I'll go with you," Jensen says. He shrugs. "I mean, if you just need a date, that's not hard to fix."
"Seriously?"
"If you can't find anyone better."
"Are you kidding?" Jared asks, before he can stop himself. "You're perfect."
Jensen laughs. "I happen to think so." He considers for a minute. "But you have to do me a favor first."
"Of course, anything, what?"
"Wow, I was expecting more resistance. I wish I had something better to ask you for. Anyway, my friend Chris is in town this week, and he's doing a show this Friday. He thinks I can't hold down a boyfriend, so I'd rather not go along. How about it? You pretend to be my boyfriend for a night, I'll pretend to be your boyfriend for a night."
Jared can think of much worse ways to spend two evenings than pretending to date Jensen Ackles.
"Yeah, of course." He gives Jensen a big smile. "Thanks so much."
Jensen shrugs, but he's grinning too. "Yeah, well. I'm awesome."
*
"Is there a dress code I should follow for tonight?" Jared asks Friday morning.
Jensen blinks at him. "For Chris's show?" he says dubiously.
"Yeah."
Jensen flicks Jared's lapel. "No suits. If you own jeans, those are good. Casual. It's a total dive bar." He tilts his head at Jared. "You drink?"
"Some," says Jared. Not for a while, but he feels incredibly lame admitting that to Jensen.
Jensen looks amused. "Okay, well. Probably you're going to want to drink tonight."
"Wow, does your friend's band suck that much?"
That gets Jensen laughing, really laughing, and it makes Jared feel warm and like the most awesome person in the world.
"No," Jensen says, when he recovers. "I actually like them a lot, and it's not even just because he's my friend. But there's going to be some peer pressure to drink." He smiles. "I won't care if you don't, though."
"I do have fun, you know," Jared says, flushing a little.
"Hey, I know," Jensen says. He grins. "You're a pretty cool guy. Especially when you leave your blue tooth off."
Jared flushes again. "Shuddup."
*
"You," Jensen says, laughing, "are a total lightweight. Oh my God. This is awesome."
"'mnot," Jared mumbles. He's had three beers, and he's kind of draped over Jensen's back to keep from falling over. Jensen told him it was okay, because he's kind of Jensen's boyfriend right now. Not, like, actual boyfriend. But acting boyfriend. Honorary boyfriend. Jensen keeps leaning into him and, like, kissing his jaw when he thinks his friends are watching. Jared is hoping he's gonna get drunk enough to miss and they can maybe make out a little. It could be fake making out, if that would make Jensen feel better.
"You are," Jensen says. "It's adorable. You're ten billion feet tall, and you're ripped, and you have the alcohol tolerance of a college freshman. A girl college freshman."
"Shuddup," Jared mutters. "I like your friend's band."
"Do you even know which one Chris is?"
"The one wi' the hat," says Jared.
Jensen leans up to press another kiss against his jaw. "Congratulations. Lucky guess?"
"It's a nice hat."
Jensen laughs and pats Jared's hand where it's wrapped around his waist. "Of course it is."
*
Jared goes into Blur on Saturday morning half to apologize and half to make sure he wasn't such a horrible fake boyfriend that Jensen isn't going to follow through on his end of the deal at the holiday party tonight.
He's pretty surprised when Danneel is behind the counter and doesn't call Jensen. He's less surprised that Alona is there flirting with her.
"Hey, boss!" says Alona. "What are you doing here? I never see you on Saturday. It's weird."
"I was looking for Jensen?" he tries. He's never been to Blur when Jensen isn't in before. It's kind of weird.
"Jensen doesn't come in on weekends anymore," Danneel says, giving him a weird look, like this should mean something to him.
"Oh. Well, I wanted to check in with him about tonight?" Jared tries. He's vaguely afraid of Danneel. She always looks at him like he's kind of an idiot.
"Oh my God, boss, do you actually have a date?"
"No," says Jared, quickly. "Jensen is just helping me out."
"By going on a date with him," Danneel supplies. She grabs a napkin and scrawls down a number. "There. You can call him yourself, okay? He'll probably be up."
"Are you taking Jensen to the office party?" asks Alona. "That is so cute!"
"It's not a date! I was freaking out, and he said he'd help. And I helped him out too--"
"Also by going on a date," Danneel interjects.
"Fake date," says Jared firmly. "I'm going to go call Jensen. Not to date! Just to check in." He glares at both of them. "Not a date."
"Clearly," says Alona. "Please get laid, boss. For my sake."
If Jared didn't like her so much, he would fire her so fast.
*
"Hello?"
Jensen sounds a little rushed, but pleasant, and Jared suddenly has no idea what to say.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jensen! It's Jared."
"Oh," says Jensen, but he sounds pleased. "Hey, Jared. What's up?"
"I just wanted to apologize for last night," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to get that drunk."
Jensen snickers. "Dude, don't worry about it. But I'm gonna cut you off tonight, okay? What kind of shitty fake boyfriend would I be if I let you make an idiot of yourself in front of the whole office?"
Relief washes over Jared. "You're still gonna come?"
"Of course I'm still gonna come," says Jensen, sounding surprised. "What, you thought I was gonna abandon you?"
"I didn't exactly follow-through on our deal," says Jared, flushing. "I mean, I was a shitty fake boyfriend."
"Nah," says Jensen easily. "Chris thought we were totally adorable together. He's proud of me for finally finding a boyfriend who can't keep his hands off me."
"Sorry," says Jared.
"Seriously, man, don't worry about it. So I'll meet you tonight at Blur and we'll walk over together?"
"Yeah," says Jared. "Hey, thanks again."
Jensen laughs. "Stop thanking me, man. I don't mind. Just stay calm, and I'll see you in a few hours."
Jared laughs too, feeling himself relaxing. Jensen's not going to let him down. "Yeah. See you."
*
Jensen seems to live in black polos, blue jeans, and the green Blur apron, at least when Jared sees him. He'd worn a black t-shirt last night, but for the most part, he seems to be a pretty informal guy. It works for him, but Jared's used to it.
Jared intellectually knew that he'd be dressing up for the party--Jared told him it was black tie, and Jensen had agreed easily--but that's nothing compared to seeing him, in a black suit and crisp green tie that brings out his eyes. And the smile he gives Jared when he sees him is--wow. He'd known Jensen was good-looking, but it's like a punch to the gut, how amazing he looks right now.
"Oh my God," says Jared.
"What?" asks Jensen, looking down at himself. "This is okay, right?"
Jared licks his lips. "Yeah," he says, throat dry. "You, um. You look really good."
Jensen looks up at that, and he's got this slow, gorgeous smile, all pleased and genuine, that makes Jared's heart stutter. "Thanks," he says. "You don't look so bad yourself."
Jared swallows. It's going to be really inconvenient if he wants to jump his fake boyfriend all night.
*
"Your boyfriend is quite the charmer," says Tom, and Jared tries not to grit his teeth. The client, Mr. Glover, is gay, but he apparently recently broke up with his boyfriend. And he thinks Jensen is charming. They're laughing and joking together, and Jared is really jealous. For no good reason. As long as Jensen sells the company to him, there's no reason he should care if Jensen gets a date out of it. It's probably easier for him, he can focus on his work, and not be thinking about how cute his favorite barista is.
"Yeah, he is," Jared says, and looks longingly at the champagne. Now that would be a really bad idea. But he's still kind of tempted.
Just then, Jensen looks over and gives him a big grin and motions him over. Jared throws one last look at the drinks and goes to meet them, prepared for Jensen to have told Glover the whole thing and be asking permission to date him.
Instead, Jensen wraps his arm around Jared's waist and says, "This is my boyfriend, Jared Padalecki, Mr. Glover. He's the architect, I'm just an enthusiast." Jensen smiles up at Jared. "Seriously, if you're looking for a guy for your hotels? Jared is it. I know I'm biased, but he's the most promising architect I've ever seen."
Jared flushes under the praise. "You really do have to say that, you're dating me."
Glover laughs. "Nevertheless, your boyfriend is very savvy, Mr. Padalecki. And he's clearly a huge fan of your work." He smiles. "Not that I don't expect a certain amount of bullshit at these things."
Jared laughs, mostly out of shock. Jensen grins at that, and Jared relaxes a little, wrapping his own arm around Jensen's shoulder. "In my experience, it's about 90% bullshit," he says.
"But not from Mr. Ackles, I suspect." Glover smiles. "I'll get in touch with your assistant on Monday, Mr. Padalecki. I'm looking forward to seeing your designs. If you'll excuse me."
Jared stares after him for a minute, and then stares at Jensen. "Holy shit," he breathes. "How did you do that?"
Jensen laughs, but he looks pleased with himself. "It was mostly you, Jared. I told him about some of your designs and he was salivating. I just happen to be good at selling good things." He smiles, all fond and happy. "I'm happy to help."
And Jared can't help himself--he leans down, and kisses Jensen.
He does it for about a second before his brain comes back and he realizes what he's doing, and he's pulling away so Jensen won't--so Jensen won't--
Jensen makes a soft sound, grabs Jared's lapels, and doesn't let him pull away. He just keeps kissing him, and Jared melts into it, can feel Jensen's smile when he does.
It's not long before Jensen pulls back again, but he's grinning up at Jared. "If I knew all I had to do to get you to kiss me was score you a client, I would have tried that weeks ago," he says.
Jared laughs. "You, um, wanted me to kiss you?" he asks.
Jensen rolls his eyes. "Shockingly, you are the first customer I've ever agreed to fake date. And I was gonna pretend to be drunk and make a move on you yesterday, but then you actually got drunk. Which was adorable, by the way." He flushes a little. "Alona said you didn't date, so I figured I was out of luck."
"I don't, really," Jared admits. He smiles. "But apparently I scored a really big new client. So I think I can try it out."
Jensen grins. "So, I have a confession to make."
"Another one?"
"I hate fancy parties. Do you want to go get some pizza?" He pauses. "Just to clarify, it would be a date."
Jared flushes. "Yeah, I'd love to."
*
Monday morning, Jared and Jensen walk over to Blur together from Jared's, and Jensen makes him coffee while he watches, and before he heads over to the office, Jensen gives him a kiss and says, "Have an awesome day at work, honey."
When he gets in, he's grinning, and Alona looks incredibly smug.
"Kripke wants to meet you in his office. You got the Glover account." She smirks. "I told you getting laid would help."
"Oh, be quiet," says Jared. But he's still grinning.
Author: poor_choices
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, background Alona Tal/Danneel Harris
Rating: PG
Warnings: None that I can think of.
Word Count: 4100.
Summary: Jared's a workaholic architect looking for his caffeine fix. Instead he finds Jensen.
Notes: For elanorelle, for spn_j2_xmas! She wanted an AU where Jared was the workaholic with no love life, and Jensen was the laid-back guy who worked at a coffee shop. She also mentioned a preference for fake dating, which I tried to work in a little too. I hope you enjoy, elanorelle! Title from Lewis Black.
Disclaimer: Lies and untruths.
The day Cafe Ole! closes isn't the worst day of Jared's life, not by a long-shot, but it's definitely the worst day of his month. He loved Cafe Ole!--dumb name aside, it was perfectly situated between his apartment and his workplace, and they knew him. If he left his apartment on foot at 8:30, he got to the cafe at 8:42, had his coffee by 8:50, and was in his office and ready to start his day by 8:55. It was perfect.
But then he gets there at 8:41 one Monday morning, and they're out of business. He didn't even know they were thinking of closing. It's like a punch in the gut. Jared just doesn't feel right without a cup of coffee in his hand when he gets to work, and now it's like he's coming in without his watch, or his pants. Well, maybe not his pants. But still. It's terrible.
"Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, boss," says his assistant, Alona, when he comes in. "What's wrong?"
"My coffee shop closed."
She raises her eyebrows, looking him up and down. "Well, that does suck. Which one?"
"Cafe Ole! on Monroe," says Jared. "I went there every morning."
Alona gnaws on her lip, worrying the stud with her tongue. "Well, Blur's not that much farther. You could just go there."
"Blur?" asks Jared.
"It's on Third and Elm," says Alona. "Not quite on your way, but the coffee is great, they have awesome cupcakes, which I know you love, and they have the cutest baristas."
"We don't actually have the same taste in baristas," Jared points out dryly. They're both gay, and Alona keeps trying to convince him he wants to be her wingman. Jared is pretty sure it would do more harm than good.
"I do know what a cute boy looks like," says Alona. "Even if I'm not sure you do," she adds, shaking her head.
"What have I said about your excessive investment in my love life?" Jared asks, glaring at her.
"That it's inappropriate and will get me fired one day," Alona says wearily. She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, you should go to Blur. It's five minutes away, you don't have any meetings until 10, and I don't want to deal with you without coffee."
Jared wavers. He doesn't like leaving work, even if he can, but he could bring some of his files for his 10 o'clock, and he can make calls while he walks.
"Okay," says Jared. "You've convinced me." He gives her a stern look. "You better work while I'm gone."
"Yes, mom," says Alona. For all she mouths off, Alona actually is a good assistant, and Jared wouldn't give her up for anything. "Get going."
"I'm gone."
*
Blur has a brightly painted sign that looks like it was drawn by a jittery hand, and the window is decorated with blue and white lights and a menorah. It looks kind of hip and trendy, and the girl behind the counter really is exactly Alona's type--red hair, nose ring, slightly bored expression. Jared is a little nervous being there, and it just gets worse when the redhead takes one look at him, calls, "Jensen, customer!" and wanders off.
It's not the best impression, but she's replaced a minute later by a guy a few inches shorter than he is with short, dark hair and an identical green Blur apron.
"Hi," says the guy, with a bright smile. "I don't think I've seen you in here before."
"No," says Jared. Maybe it's invite-only. "Can I just get a coffee? Black?"
"Sure," says the guy, not writing anything down or ringing him up. He just rubs his chin, kind of thoughtfully. "Except."
"What?" asks Jared, wrinkling his brow. "Seriously, did I do something wrong? Am I not supposed to be in here?"
The guy laughs. "Nah, man, nothing like that. I just like to meet new customers. Especially ones as hot as you," he adds, with a wink. "Anyway, you seem kind of on edge. You sure you should be having caffeine?"
"I'm on edge because I haven't had my caffeine," says Jared, a little annoyed. "Look, if you aren't going to--"
"Hey, hey," says the guy, holding up his hands. "I'm going to give you your coffee." He flashes Jared a smile. "I'll even give it to you on the house. To apologize. I really didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't," Jared says, but he's still kind of snapping a little.
"I should really know better than this by now," says the guy ruefully. "I've been working here for long enough to recognize a grumpy caffeine addict." He turns to the machines in the back, but he doesn't shut up. "So, are you new in town?"
"Uh, no," says Jared, confused.
"But you haven't been in here before, right? I'm not wrong about that."
"No, this is my first time." He considers leaving it at that, but the guy doesn't seem likely to take the hint and shut up. "I used to go to Cafe Ole! over on Monroe, but I guess it went out of business."
The guy snorts. "Yeah, that's one word for it. I hear Misha actually got called on tax evasion and skipped town in the night. Very hush hush."
"Wait, really?"
"That's what I heard. And, having met the guy, I believe it."
"Wow."
"So, how'd you decide to come to us?"
"My assistant recommended it."
"And who's your assistant?"
Jared blinks. "Uh, her name's Alona. Blonde hair, lots of piercings?"
"Ah," says the guy. "Danneel's girlcrush. Glad she's pimping us out." He smiles and gives Jared a mug. It's pink and has a picture of a cat on it, and there's whipped cream on the top.
"This isn't a black coffee."
"No, but it is free," says the guy. He smiles. "I promise it's caffeinated and delicious. Word of honor."
"I also needed it to go."
"You can bring the mug back later. Or you could stay and chat with me. I was hoping you'd stay and chat."
"Do you harass all your customers like this?" Jared asks irritably.
"Nah, just the cute ones," says the guy, with a wink. He sobers quickly. "But, uh, you're straight, sorry, I shouldn't--that's inappropriate. You can keep the mug if you want. As an apology."
"I'm not straight," Jared says automatically. He takes a sip of the drink. It's not terrible. "Isn't your boss going to be pissed at you for giving stuff away?"
The guy grins. "Jensen Ackles," he says, extending his hand. "I own the place. So I can give away whatever I want."
"Oh," says Jared. He shakes awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."
"This is where you introduce yourself."
"Jared. Padalecki. I work at Kripke Designs."
"So you're an architect?"
"Yeah. And I have a meeting to get to."
The guy--Jensen--waves his hand. "Go ahead. You can bring the mug back next time you're here. Or just keep it, if the coffee is so bad you can never come back." He grins. "Either way."
"Okay," says Jared. He takes another drink of the coffee-thing. It's actually really good. "Thanks."
"Any time," says Jensen, and sees Jared off with another wave.
*
Jared realizes six hours later, when he's failing to work and staring at the mug, that he's an idiot, and he drops his forehead onto the desk with a thud.
"Boss?" asks Alona. "What's up?"
"I'm an idiot." Jensen was really good-looking. And, okay, kind of weird, but the drink was delicious, and he was hitting on Jared, and did he mention really good-looking?
"Okay," says Alona. "Can I help?"
"Not really. I'm just a failure."
"Do I need to get you a cupcake? I can get you a cupcake."
Jared looks up at her with a shrewd look. "Do you usually get the cupcakes that cheer me up from Blur?"
"Yes."
"They are really good." Jared sighs. "Do you know the name of the barista you think is hot?"
"Danneel."
"You are her girl crush," says Jared, grabbing the mug. "Congratulations. I'll be back later."
*
Jensen is at the register chatting with the red-haired girl when he gets back. The girl elbows him as she spots Jared, and Jensen turns with a big smile.
"Wow, back already? I'm more awesome than I thought."
Jared gives over the mug. "I, uh, was really grumpy this morning, and I'm pretty sure you were trying to be friendly. I wanted to apologize."
Jensen smiles. "Hey, I should apologize too. I usually read people better."
"You already did. With the drink. It was good. So, um, I thought I'd buy two cupcakes. And give you one."
Jensen grins. "You gonna eat it with me?"
Jared flushes. He probably shouldn't have noticed Jensen was good-looking. "I actually have to get back to work. But I'll be in again tomorrow morning, if you're working."
"Definitely," says Jensen. "For the record, my favorite cupcake is the double chocolate."
"Two of those, then," says Jared.
"Coming right up."
*
So in under a week Jared gets a new morning routine, which involves leaving five minutes earlier, but when he gets to the cafe, Jensen has a drink waiting for him, and even if it's only black coffee about half the time, whatever it is always tastes really good. And Jensen is--nice. He's so laid back and friendly that Jared loses any confidence he once had that Jensen might have been hitting on him, but that's okay. Jensen seems to know almost everyone who comes in, and Jared realizes that he's not special. Jensen is just amazing at his job.
Which is fine. Just because Jensen is funny, and surprisingly smart (Jared brings some work in one afternoon when his internet goes out at home, and Jensen comes over and sits with him and gives him information about how to design cheaper houses using Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian model), and really nice to everyone (he gives a woman a free cupcake just because her umbrella broke, and it kind of warms Jared's heart) and into all the same sports Jared likes (except he likes the Mavs, and when the Spurs lose, even to another team, he mocks Jared mercilessly) and just--kind of amazing.
But he's clearly not interested in Jared, and that's good. Jared is busy with work. He hasn't had a boyfriend in years. He's getting ahead. He's not looking for anything. He has a hand, and a TV. He doesn't need a relationship.
And if Alona has started seeing the red-haired girl and is disgustingly happy and gives him way more graphic information about her sex life than he wants, he gets revenge by giving her a lot of busy work that she hates.
Everything is fine.
*
"Shit," says Jared. "Shit, shit, shit."
"Hey," says Jensen, looking surprised. It's five-fifteen on Thursday, which is the latest Jared's ever come in. "What's wrong?"
Jared groans and gives Jensen a pathetic look. "I need a cupcake."
"Obviously," says Jensen. He looks at Jared for a long minute, and then goes back to grab one of the chocolate cupcakes, and a big glass of milk. "Danneel, you're on register," he says, and comes out from behind the counter and nods Jared over to a table. It's not that busy, which surprises Jared; he figured they'd have a lot of people in after work. "Here, sit down, eat," says Jensen. "What's up?"
Jared smiles. "So, we have this big company Christmas party, it's coming up on Saturday."
"Right," says Jensen, nodding.
"And it's a big event with the clients, and my boss, and all my coworkers. And there's this one potential client, huge client, and he's gay, so my boss thinks me and my boyfriend can charm him and his boyfriend and bring him in."
"Kind of offensive stereotyping, I guess," says Jensen. "But I'm not seeing why this is such a disaster."
"I don't have a boyfriend. And my boss implied that if this went well, awesome things were in my future. I don't even have a date. Last year I brought my cousin, and he doesn't even live in town anymore." He groans. "It's just--I already get my sister and my mom and my assistant asking me why I don't have a boyfriend, and now my fucking boss is doing it. And half the reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I'm working all the fucking time, and now I'm going to suffer at work because I'm single? I can't win."
"One, breathe," says Jensen. He's smiling gently when Jared finally looks up. "Two, eat some cupcake. Three, calm down, I'll go with you."
Jared stares. "What?"
"I'll go with you," Jensen says. He shrugs. "I mean, if you just need a date, that's not hard to fix."
"Seriously?"
"If you can't find anyone better."
"Are you kidding?" Jared asks, before he can stop himself. "You're perfect."
Jensen laughs. "I happen to think so." He considers for a minute. "But you have to do me a favor first."
"Of course, anything, what?"
"Wow, I was expecting more resistance. I wish I had something better to ask you for. Anyway, my friend Chris is in town this week, and he's doing a show this Friday. He thinks I can't hold down a boyfriend, so I'd rather not go along. How about it? You pretend to be my boyfriend for a night, I'll pretend to be your boyfriend for a night."
Jared can think of much worse ways to spend two evenings than pretending to date Jensen Ackles.
"Yeah, of course." He gives Jensen a big smile. "Thanks so much."
Jensen shrugs, but he's grinning too. "Yeah, well. I'm awesome."
*
"Is there a dress code I should follow for tonight?" Jared asks Friday morning.
Jensen blinks at him. "For Chris's show?" he says dubiously.
"Yeah."
Jensen flicks Jared's lapel. "No suits. If you own jeans, those are good. Casual. It's a total dive bar." He tilts his head at Jared. "You drink?"
"Some," says Jared. Not for a while, but he feels incredibly lame admitting that to Jensen.
Jensen looks amused. "Okay, well. Probably you're going to want to drink tonight."
"Wow, does your friend's band suck that much?"
That gets Jensen laughing, really laughing, and it makes Jared feel warm and like the most awesome person in the world.
"No," Jensen says, when he recovers. "I actually like them a lot, and it's not even just because he's my friend. But there's going to be some peer pressure to drink." He smiles. "I won't care if you don't, though."
"I do have fun, you know," Jared says, flushing a little.
"Hey, I know," Jensen says. He grins. "You're a pretty cool guy. Especially when you leave your blue tooth off."
Jared flushes again. "Shuddup."
*
"You," Jensen says, laughing, "are a total lightweight. Oh my God. This is awesome."
"'mnot," Jared mumbles. He's had three beers, and he's kind of draped over Jensen's back to keep from falling over. Jensen told him it was okay, because he's kind of Jensen's boyfriend right now. Not, like, actual boyfriend. But acting boyfriend. Honorary boyfriend. Jensen keeps leaning into him and, like, kissing his jaw when he thinks his friends are watching. Jared is hoping he's gonna get drunk enough to miss and they can maybe make out a little. It could be fake making out, if that would make Jensen feel better.
"You are," Jensen says. "It's adorable. You're ten billion feet tall, and you're ripped, and you have the alcohol tolerance of a college freshman. A girl college freshman."
"Shuddup," Jared mutters. "I like your friend's band."
"Do you even know which one Chris is?"
"The one wi' the hat," says Jared.
Jensen leans up to press another kiss against his jaw. "Congratulations. Lucky guess?"
"It's a nice hat."
Jensen laughs and pats Jared's hand where it's wrapped around his waist. "Of course it is."
*
Jared goes into Blur on Saturday morning half to apologize and half to make sure he wasn't such a horrible fake boyfriend that Jensen isn't going to follow through on his end of the deal at the holiday party tonight.
He's pretty surprised when Danneel is behind the counter and doesn't call Jensen. He's less surprised that Alona is there flirting with her.
"Hey, boss!" says Alona. "What are you doing here? I never see you on Saturday. It's weird."
"I was looking for Jensen?" he tries. He's never been to Blur when Jensen isn't in before. It's kind of weird.
"Jensen doesn't come in on weekends anymore," Danneel says, giving him a weird look, like this should mean something to him.
"Oh. Well, I wanted to check in with him about tonight?" Jared tries. He's vaguely afraid of Danneel. She always looks at him like he's kind of an idiot.
"Oh my God, boss, do you actually have a date?"
"No," says Jared, quickly. "Jensen is just helping me out."
"By going on a date with him," Danneel supplies. She grabs a napkin and scrawls down a number. "There. You can call him yourself, okay? He'll probably be up."
"Are you taking Jensen to the office party?" asks Alona. "That is so cute!"
"It's not a date! I was freaking out, and he said he'd help. And I helped him out too--"
"Also by going on a date," Danneel interjects.
"Fake date," says Jared firmly. "I'm going to go call Jensen. Not to date! Just to check in." He glares at both of them. "Not a date."
"Clearly," says Alona. "Please get laid, boss. For my sake."
If Jared didn't like her so much, he would fire her so fast.
*
"Hello?"
Jensen sounds a little rushed, but pleasant, and Jared suddenly has no idea what to say.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jensen! It's Jared."
"Oh," says Jensen, but he sounds pleased. "Hey, Jared. What's up?"
"I just wanted to apologize for last night," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to get that drunk."
Jensen snickers. "Dude, don't worry about it. But I'm gonna cut you off tonight, okay? What kind of shitty fake boyfriend would I be if I let you make an idiot of yourself in front of the whole office?"
Relief washes over Jared. "You're still gonna come?"
"Of course I'm still gonna come," says Jensen, sounding surprised. "What, you thought I was gonna abandon you?"
"I didn't exactly follow-through on our deal," says Jared, flushing. "I mean, I was a shitty fake boyfriend."
"Nah," says Jensen easily. "Chris thought we were totally adorable together. He's proud of me for finally finding a boyfriend who can't keep his hands off me."
"Sorry," says Jared.
"Seriously, man, don't worry about it. So I'll meet you tonight at Blur and we'll walk over together?"
"Yeah," says Jared. "Hey, thanks again."
Jensen laughs. "Stop thanking me, man. I don't mind. Just stay calm, and I'll see you in a few hours."
Jared laughs too, feeling himself relaxing. Jensen's not going to let him down. "Yeah. See you."
*
Jensen seems to live in black polos, blue jeans, and the green Blur apron, at least when Jared sees him. He'd worn a black t-shirt last night, but for the most part, he seems to be a pretty informal guy. It works for him, but Jared's used to it.
Jared intellectually knew that he'd be dressing up for the party--Jared told him it was black tie, and Jensen had agreed easily--but that's nothing compared to seeing him, in a black suit and crisp green tie that brings out his eyes. And the smile he gives Jared when he sees him is--wow. He'd known Jensen was good-looking, but it's like a punch to the gut, how amazing he looks right now.
"Oh my God," says Jared.
"What?" asks Jensen, looking down at himself. "This is okay, right?"
Jared licks his lips. "Yeah," he says, throat dry. "You, um. You look really good."
Jensen looks up at that, and he's got this slow, gorgeous smile, all pleased and genuine, that makes Jared's heart stutter. "Thanks," he says. "You don't look so bad yourself."
Jared swallows. It's going to be really inconvenient if he wants to jump his fake boyfriend all night.
*
"Your boyfriend is quite the charmer," says Tom, and Jared tries not to grit his teeth. The client, Mr. Glover, is gay, but he apparently recently broke up with his boyfriend. And he thinks Jensen is charming. They're laughing and joking together, and Jared is really jealous. For no good reason. As long as Jensen sells the company to him, there's no reason he should care if Jensen gets a date out of it. It's probably easier for him, he can focus on his work, and not be thinking about how cute his favorite barista is.
"Yeah, he is," Jared says, and looks longingly at the champagne. Now that would be a really bad idea. But he's still kind of tempted.
Just then, Jensen looks over and gives him a big grin and motions him over. Jared throws one last look at the drinks and goes to meet them, prepared for Jensen to have told Glover the whole thing and be asking permission to date him.
Instead, Jensen wraps his arm around Jared's waist and says, "This is my boyfriend, Jared Padalecki, Mr. Glover. He's the architect, I'm just an enthusiast." Jensen smiles up at Jared. "Seriously, if you're looking for a guy for your hotels? Jared is it. I know I'm biased, but he's the most promising architect I've ever seen."
Jared flushes under the praise. "You really do have to say that, you're dating me."
Glover laughs. "Nevertheless, your boyfriend is very savvy, Mr. Padalecki. And he's clearly a huge fan of your work." He smiles. "Not that I don't expect a certain amount of bullshit at these things."
Jared laughs, mostly out of shock. Jensen grins at that, and Jared relaxes a little, wrapping his own arm around Jensen's shoulder. "In my experience, it's about 90% bullshit," he says.
"But not from Mr. Ackles, I suspect." Glover smiles. "I'll get in touch with your assistant on Monday, Mr. Padalecki. I'm looking forward to seeing your designs. If you'll excuse me."
Jared stares after him for a minute, and then stares at Jensen. "Holy shit," he breathes. "How did you do that?"
Jensen laughs, but he looks pleased with himself. "It was mostly you, Jared. I told him about some of your designs and he was salivating. I just happen to be good at selling good things." He smiles, all fond and happy. "I'm happy to help."
And Jared can't help himself--he leans down, and kisses Jensen.
He does it for about a second before his brain comes back and he realizes what he's doing, and he's pulling away so Jensen won't--so Jensen won't--
Jensen makes a soft sound, grabs Jared's lapels, and doesn't let him pull away. He just keeps kissing him, and Jared melts into it, can feel Jensen's smile when he does.
It's not long before Jensen pulls back again, but he's grinning up at Jared. "If I knew all I had to do to get you to kiss me was score you a client, I would have tried that weeks ago," he says.
Jared laughs. "You, um, wanted me to kiss you?" he asks.
Jensen rolls his eyes. "Shockingly, you are the first customer I've ever agreed to fake date. And I was gonna pretend to be drunk and make a move on you yesterday, but then you actually got drunk. Which was adorable, by the way." He flushes a little. "Alona said you didn't date, so I figured I was out of luck."
"I don't, really," Jared admits. He smiles. "But apparently I scored a really big new client. So I think I can try it out."
Jensen grins. "So, I have a confession to make."
"Another one?"
"I hate fancy parties. Do you want to go get some pizza?" He pauses. "Just to clarify, it would be a date."
Jared flushes. "Yeah, I'd love to."
*
Monday morning, Jared and Jensen walk over to Blur together from Jared's, and Jensen makes him coffee while he watches, and before he heads over to the office, Jensen gives him a kiss and says, "Have an awesome day at work, honey."
When he gets in, he's grinning, and Alona looks incredibly smug.
"Kripke wants to meet you in his office. You got the Glover account." She smirks. "I told you getting laid would help."
"Oh, be quiet," says Jared. But he's still grinning.