(no subject)
Title: Cosmos: 1; Jared: 0
Author: poor_choices
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None that I can think of.
Word Count: 2600.
Summary: Jensen Ackles totally stole the girl of Jared's dreams in high school, so when he finds out Jensen is assigned to be his roommate in college, he figures the universe is laughing at him. He might not be wrong.
Notes: This is for mizface for help_nz! I spent a while trying to come up with scenarios, and then ended up getting inspired by the Digimon page on TV Tropes. Not that this fic involves any weird digital monsters. Although it was a close thing.
Disclaimer: Lies and untruths.
The day Jared got his roommate assignment for freshman year of college, he decided he was the butt of a mean, horrible, cosmic joke. And now, a month later, standing outside the door which has Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on two different brightly colored pieces of construction paper, decorated with cartoon dinosaurs, he can't say he's changed his mind in the least.
Jared figures everyone has a Jensen Ackles in their high school experience--someone they hate, but can't seem to get away from. Jensen's family moved to San Antonio at the beginning of senior year, and not only did all the girls think he was so cute and so cool, but Genevieve Cortese, who was totally the love of Jared's high school life, actually knew Jensen from when they were kids, and they'd been, like, best friends until Genevieve moved. And as soon as he showed up in San Antonio, they picked up right where they left off. No one was ever sure that they were dating, but she certainly never gave Jared the time of day.
And, as if that wasn't enough, Jensen was Jared's lab partner (who showed him up) and a star athlete (but Jared still kicked his ass at basketball, thank god), and pretty much stuck up and jerkish all the time to Jared. Who responded in kind.
"Fucking cosmos," Jared mutters, as he gives the door a perfunctory knock before putting his key in the lock and opening it up.
Jensen Ackles is on his bed, reading. He's in jeans and a dark t-shirt, no shoes or socks, and he looks completely relaxed. The beds aren't bunked, and Jensen has taken the left side of the room, with all his stuff there, so exact Jared has to wonder if he actually measured down the center.
Great start.
"Hey," says Jensen, barely looking up from his book. "Hope you don't mind I took this bed. We can switch if you want."
Jared tosses his backpack on his empty bed and drops his suitcase on the floor, feeling a little better when the clack of the impact makes Jensen jump. Fuck him for being so casual and laid back anyway.
"This is fine," Jared says, with a sunny and completely fake smile. "It's all good, man."
He feels kind of funny when Jensen gives him this hesitant smile back, like he's glad that Jared is not being a dick. Jared is not the dick in this situation. Jensen Ackles sucks.
"I was gonna go check out the dining hall in a few," Jensen offers, as Jared starts to unpack. "If you wanted to come with."
Jared's immediate instinct is to say no, but--he does have to eat. "Sure," he says, shrugging. "Yeah. Why not?"
*
Jared makes it about halfway through dinner before he asks, "So, why didn't you go to U of Chicago?" He'd known at the end of last year that Jensen was coming to UT, but he'd never bothered asking why. It would have involved voluntarily talking to Jensen Ackles.
Jensen looks confused. "Uh," he says, pausing with a fry halfway to his mouth. "Why would I go to U of Chicago?"
"That's where Genevieve went, right?"
"Oh," says Jensen. He puts the fry down and looks over at the line for food, pursing his lips. "I don't actually like living anywhere cold, for one thing. Also, Gen and I aren't attached at the hip or anything."
"So you guys broke up," Jared supplies.
Jensen looks back at him with a raise of eyebrows. "If by broke up you mean were never dating in the first place, then yes," he says. He sighs. "Also, she went up there because her girlfriend lives there, so it would be kind of awkward if I followed her up to date her."
Jared chokes on his soda and gets it on his own fries, which is nasty. Jensen doesn't look triumphant, which just makes it more annoying. That was masterful timing; Jensen should take pride in it. "Her what?"
"Her girlfriend. They met on the internet, and then in real life a few times, and then they got into the same college. It's cute."
"Gen's gay?"
"Yeah," says Jensen. He shrugs. "She didn't want to deal with being out in high school, which I get. So we just did the neither confirm nor deny thing about dating." He looks at Jared, like he's figuring something out. "I, uh. I didn't know we fooled you."
"Why would you do that?!" Jared asks.
"So no one asked why we were single," Jensen says, maddeningly calm and logical.
It takes Jared a second to catch up, and Jensen flushes and fidgets until Jared puts it together. "Wait, we?"
"Yeah," says Jensen.
"So you're--"
"Yeah," says Jensen, looking away again. "On the down low, I guess--at least for now. But you're my roommate, you should probably know."
"Oh," says Jared, trying to reassemble his world view. Jensen wasn't with Genevieve. Jensen never was, never wanted to be. And she was gay, and Jared never had a chance.
It's a lot to process.
"If it's going to be a problem, I can put in for a room change," Jensen says.
Twelve hours ago, Jared would have said he'd give anything to not have to share a room with Jensen Ackles. But Jensen looks so nervous and miserable, and Jared can't possibly tell him that he doesn't want to room with him. Not if Jensen thinks it's because he can't accept him being gay.
"No," he says, shaking his head for emphasis. "No, that's fine. I don't care, Jensen."
Jensen looks up, surprised and kind of--happy. Like he cares if Jared leaves. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Jared says, surer. "More girls for me, right?"
Jensen's smile looks a little wistful. Maybe he wishes he had it as easy as Jared does with dating. "Yeah," he says. "Thanks for being, uh. Well, not kicking my ass or anything."
"It really sucks that you have to thank people for that," Jared says, without really thinking about it.
Jensen laughs softly, but it doesn't sound particularly happy. "Yeah. Tell me about it."
*
Not hating Jensen Ackles leaves all this weird negative space in Jared's feelings. Jensen is still there, but once Genevieve stopped being an issue, or even a legitimate concern, most of Jared's dislike of him fell away, and he's left confusingly unsure when he sees Jensen. Which is kind of all the time, since they're roommates.
The guy is generally nice, friendly, and respectful. He and Jared grab meals together most of the time. He's a good roommate, and seems like a good guy, and Jared finds it incredibly, incredibly confusing.
"So, you have a friend, and you're upset," his sister summarizes, when he calls home to check in.
"No!" he says, and then reconsiders. "Kind of. Maybe. Shut up."
Megan just cackles.
*
Jensen isn't particularly out, from what Jared can tell. But there's this guy, Misha, he talks to a lot. And Jared guesses Misha is probably--attractive? Maybe? He has blue eyes and dark hair and Superman looks like that, and Superman is hot, probably. Not that Misha is built like Superman (not as much as Jared is), or in the realm of as hot as Jensen. Because Jensen is tall and broad and has amazing eyes and freckles and is totally too good for Misha.
He figures this is perfectly normal--who wants his friend to be with someone who doesn't deserve him?--until he sees Misha and Jensen sitting on Jensen's bed studying one day, their knees brushing together, and he feels a burst of rage so strong it almost knocks him over.
Jensen glances up--he's wearing his glasses, so serious studying--and gives him a big smile. "Hey, Jare."
"I gotta go," says Jared, and runs to the bathroom. Shit. He's homophobic. He saw Jensen and some dude together, and it made him angry. He can't deal with Jensen being gay. He's a horrible person. He's going to have to stop living with Jensen and Jensen's going to be so hurt that Jared hates him and shit.
He does not throw up, even though he feels sick about how much of an asshole he is, and when he's sure the nausea has passed, he straightens up and tries to figure out what to do.
Eventually, he heads over to the health center. Obviously, he needs to talk to someone.
*
The girl at the desk at the health center is blonde and gives Jared a flirty smile when she sees him. Jared doesn't really know how to respond. He is not in the right space for that.
"Hi," she says. "Can I help you?"
"Do you have counselors here?" he asks.
"Counselors?"
"Like--I don't know. Someone on staff I can talk to. I'm having a crisis."
"What kind of crisis?" she asks. "Medical, or--"
"I think I'm homophobic," he blurts out.
"Um," says the girl.
"I mean--my friend, he's gay, right? And I thought I didn't care! Seriously, if he wants to be gay, that's great with me. But then there's this guy, and the guy's all, ooh, look at me, I do yoga, I have blue eyes, worship me! And that's fine, whatever, he can do all the yoga he wants. But he was all--touching my friend! Or, um, casually brushing up against my friend, I guess." Jared pauses. "They were sitting together and their knees were touching. That doesn't really mean anything, does it?"
"Uh, no," says the girl, looking completely baffled. "Not really. I don't think."
"So he's probably not dating this guy."
"I can't really make that call, given my total lack of knowledge. But I wouldn't say so?"
"Oh," says Jared. "Okay. Good."
"Can I ask you something?" the girl says, cautiously. Jared can't really blame her for hesitating. He's kind of acting like a crazy person.
"Sure," he says. "What's up?"
"Do you care if your friend dates generally, or do you just not like this guy?"
"I mean," says Jared. "If that's the kind of guy he likes, I don't approve. He could do so much better! Seriously, he's really good-looking, he's funny, he's nice. I thought he was an asshole at first, but--there were circumstances. Now that I know him better, he's a really great guy. He deserves someone who appreciates him, and knows how he smiles when he means it--which he doesn't do with Misha, by the way--and likes what he likes. If he found a guy like that, he could date him. I mean, as long as he was nice. And hot. And treated him right."
The girl clears her throat. "Okay, would you like my non-professional opinion?"
"Do you have any kind of credentials?" Jared asks hopefully.
"I'm a work-study student. I'm majoring in econ. So, no. Not at all."
"Whatever," says Jared, sighing. "I clearly need all the help I can get."
"Clearly," she agrees. "So, I don't think you're homophobic."
"Really?"
"Really. Actually, I kind of think you've got a thing for your friend."
Jared blinks. "Huh?"
"Well, you clearly don't think anyone's good enough for him, you think he's awesome, and you got pissed when you thought he was dating someone else. It's not exactly rocket science. Also, you totally smiled like a lovesick idiot when you started talking about him."
Jared considers this. "I did?" he finally asks.
"It was adorable," the girl confirms.
"Huh," says Jared. He considers the idea of--being with Jensen. Jensen is probably an amazing kisser. Not that having pretty lips guarantees that, but he seems like the type. And if he was under Jared, all warm and firm and-- "Oh," says Jared. "Wow. You are--wow. You should totally do this professionally. You're so right. I'm--huh. Wow." He grins at her. "Thank you so much. You just saved me, and I don't even know your name."
"Alona," says the girl. She grabs a post-it and jots something down. "Here's my e-mail. I have got to know how this goes."
Jared laughs. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Seriously, that was better than a soap opera."
"Glad I could help," he says, saluting. "I'm Jared, by the way. Just so you know who's sending you the e-mail about his gay love life."
"I think I could have figured it out," says Alona dryly. "Thanks for stopping by."
"Thanks again!" says Jared, waving. "I've got a guy to get."
Alona is still looking at him like he's a crazy person, but Jared really doesn't care.
*
When Jared gets back, Misha is gone, and Jensen has his laptop out. He's got a pen in his mouth that he's absently chewing, and Jared's really, really attracted to him. It's not even that new, he realizes. He just never thought about it before. Never managed to dissect all the layers of things he felt for Jensen Ackles.
"Hey," says Jensen, looking up with concern in his eyes. "You okay? What happened?"
Jared licks his lips. "I, uh. Man, I don't know how to explain this without seeming completely--wow. I really should have thought this through."
"Do you ever think anything through?" Jensen asks, with a small smile. "I'm genuinely curious."
"Not really," Jared admits. He sighs. "So, um--are you dating Misha?"
"Misha?" Jensen asks, looking baffled. "Dude, why do you think I'm dating everyone?"
"Well, who wouldn't want to date you?" Jared asks, and Jensen looks away and flushes.
"I'm not dating Misha," he says, finally. "You have the worst gaydar of all time. And I'm single."
"Oh," says Jared, sitting down on the edge of Jensen's bed. "Good. I mean--not good? I mean. Shit." He groans. "So--I kind of got really pissed? When I saw you with Misha. Because I thought you were dating."
"Okay," Jensen says warily.
"And I thought maybe I was homophobic? But I, uh--I talked it through with a friend, and I think I just hated Misha. Because I thought you wanted him?"
"The more you talk, the less sense this makes," says Jensen.
"I get that a lot," Jared admits. He sighs. "I think I'm into you," he says.
"Uh," says Jensen. "What?"
"I'm sorry! I thought I should tell you! So next time I go weird and crazy you can just be like, oh, right, Jared has a crush on me. That's why he just ran into a wall. I hope he doesn't reproduce, those are not good genes."
Jensen is still staring at him, slack-jawed.
"Okay!" says Jared, nodding. "Good talk. I'm just gonna go, let you process--" he starts to get up, but Jensen grabs his arm and hauls him back onto the bed, making him overbalance in the process. He kind of falls onto Jensen, and takes a moment to be profoundly glad he must have packed up his laptop at some point.
"I've had a crush on you since Mr. Morgan assigned you to be my lab partner," Jensen says, sounding completely disbelieving. "I didn't even--you like me?"
Jared grins. "I totally like you. A lot. I want you to continue to not date anyone but me."
"I already wasn't going to date anyone but you," Jensen says. He's kind of repositioning so Jared is on top of him. Jared really approves.
"Okay," Jared says. "Awesome. So now you just have to also start dating me, and we're set."
"I could date you," Jensen says, and his smile is better than Jared's ever seen it.
"Awesome," says Jared, and leans down for a kiss.
When Jensen kisses back, it's pretty much the best thing in the world.
*
"Are you sure?" Jared asks, poking Jensen in the side.
"Have you ever correctly identified two people who are dating in your life?" Jensen asks. "I'm genuinely curious."
"But they'd be so cute together! Look at them. It's totally implied."
"Yes, Jared," says Jensen. "I'm sure that significant brush of shoulders means Cam is going to hook up with Zach. You're psychic."
"You are such a jerk. I always knew it. The first time I saw you, I was like, that guy is a jerk."
"Yet more proof your instincts suck," Jensen points out.
Jared considers this. "Okay, point. But I get there in the end, right?"
Jensen grins and leans up for a kiss. "In the end, yeah."
Author: poor_choices
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None that I can think of.
Word Count: 2600.
Summary: Jensen Ackles totally stole the girl of Jared's dreams in high school, so when he finds out Jensen is assigned to be his roommate in college, he figures the universe is laughing at him. He might not be wrong.
Notes: This is for mizface for help_nz! I spent a while trying to come up with scenarios, and then ended up getting inspired by the Digimon page on TV Tropes. Not that this fic involves any weird digital monsters. Although it was a close thing.
Disclaimer: Lies and untruths.
The day Jared got his roommate assignment for freshman year of college, he decided he was the butt of a mean, horrible, cosmic joke. And now, a month later, standing outside the door which has Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on two different brightly colored pieces of construction paper, decorated with cartoon dinosaurs, he can't say he's changed his mind in the least.
Jared figures everyone has a Jensen Ackles in their high school experience--someone they hate, but can't seem to get away from. Jensen's family moved to San Antonio at the beginning of senior year, and not only did all the girls think he was so cute and so cool, but Genevieve Cortese, who was totally the love of Jared's high school life, actually knew Jensen from when they were kids, and they'd been, like, best friends until Genevieve moved. And as soon as he showed up in San Antonio, they picked up right where they left off. No one was ever sure that they were dating, but she certainly never gave Jared the time of day.
And, as if that wasn't enough, Jensen was Jared's lab partner (who showed him up) and a star athlete (but Jared still kicked his ass at basketball, thank god), and pretty much stuck up and jerkish all the time to Jared. Who responded in kind.
"Fucking cosmos," Jared mutters, as he gives the door a perfunctory knock before putting his key in the lock and opening it up.
Jensen Ackles is on his bed, reading. He's in jeans and a dark t-shirt, no shoes or socks, and he looks completely relaxed. The beds aren't bunked, and Jensen has taken the left side of the room, with all his stuff there, so exact Jared has to wonder if he actually measured down the center.
Great start.
"Hey," says Jensen, barely looking up from his book. "Hope you don't mind I took this bed. We can switch if you want."
Jared tosses his backpack on his empty bed and drops his suitcase on the floor, feeling a little better when the clack of the impact makes Jensen jump. Fuck him for being so casual and laid back anyway.
"This is fine," Jared says, with a sunny and completely fake smile. "It's all good, man."
He feels kind of funny when Jensen gives him this hesitant smile back, like he's glad that Jared is not being a dick. Jared is not the dick in this situation. Jensen Ackles sucks.
"I was gonna go check out the dining hall in a few," Jensen offers, as Jared starts to unpack. "If you wanted to come with."
Jared's immediate instinct is to say no, but--he does have to eat. "Sure," he says, shrugging. "Yeah. Why not?"
*
Jared makes it about halfway through dinner before he asks, "So, why didn't you go to U of Chicago?" He'd known at the end of last year that Jensen was coming to UT, but he'd never bothered asking why. It would have involved voluntarily talking to Jensen Ackles.
Jensen looks confused. "Uh," he says, pausing with a fry halfway to his mouth. "Why would I go to U of Chicago?"
"That's where Genevieve went, right?"
"Oh," says Jensen. He puts the fry down and looks over at the line for food, pursing his lips. "I don't actually like living anywhere cold, for one thing. Also, Gen and I aren't attached at the hip or anything."
"So you guys broke up," Jared supplies.
Jensen looks back at him with a raise of eyebrows. "If by broke up you mean were never dating in the first place, then yes," he says. He sighs. "Also, she went up there because her girlfriend lives there, so it would be kind of awkward if I followed her up to date her."
Jared chokes on his soda and gets it on his own fries, which is nasty. Jensen doesn't look triumphant, which just makes it more annoying. That was masterful timing; Jensen should take pride in it. "Her what?"
"Her girlfriend. They met on the internet, and then in real life a few times, and then they got into the same college. It's cute."
"Gen's gay?"
"Yeah," says Jensen. He shrugs. "She didn't want to deal with being out in high school, which I get. So we just did the neither confirm nor deny thing about dating." He looks at Jared, like he's figuring something out. "I, uh. I didn't know we fooled you."
"Why would you do that?!" Jared asks.
"So no one asked why we were single," Jensen says, maddeningly calm and logical.
It takes Jared a second to catch up, and Jensen flushes and fidgets until Jared puts it together. "Wait, we?"
"Yeah," says Jensen.
"So you're--"
"Yeah," says Jensen, looking away again. "On the down low, I guess--at least for now. But you're my roommate, you should probably know."
"Oh," says Jared, trying to reassemble his world view. Jensen wasn't with Genevieve. Jensen never was, never wanted to be. And she was gay, and Jared never had a chance.
It's a lot to process.
"If it's going to be a problem, I can put in for a room change," Jensen says.
Twelve hours ago, Jared would have said he'd give anything to not have to share a room with Jensen Ackles. But Jensen looks so nervous and miserable, and Jared can't possibly tell him that he doesn't want to room with him. Not if Jensen thinks it's because he can't accept him being gay.
"No," he says, shaking his head for emphasis. "No, that's fine. I don't care, Jensen."
Jensen looks up, surprised and kind of--happy. Like he cares if Jared leaves. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Jared says, surer. "More girls for me, right?"
Jensen's smile looks a little wistful. Maybe he wishes he had it as easy as Jared does with dating. "Yeah," he says. "Thanks for being, uh. Well, not kicking my ass or anything."
"It really sucks that you have to thank people for that," Jared says, without really thinking about it.
Jensen laughs softly, but it doesn't sound particularly happy. "Yeah. Tell me about it."
*
Not hating Jensen Ackles leaves all this weird negative space in Jared's feelings. Jensen is still there, but once Genevieve stopped being an issue, or even a legitimate concern, most of Jared's dislike of him fell away, and he's left confusingly unsure when he sees Jensen. Which is kind of all the time, since they're roommates.
The guy is generally nice, friendly, and respectful. He and Jared grab meals together most of the time. He's a good roommate, and seems like a good guy, and Jared finds it incredibly, incredibly confusing.
"So, you have a friend, and you're upset," his sister summarizes, when he calls home to check in.
"No!" he says, and then reconsiders. "Kind of. Maybe. Shut up."
Megan just cackles.
*
Jensen isn't particularly out, from what Jared can tell. But there's this guy, Misha, he talks to a lot. And Jared guesses Misha is probably--attractive? Maybe? He has blue eyes and dark hair and Superman looks like that, and Superman is hot, probably. Not that Misha is built like Superman (not as much as Jared is), or in the realm of as hot as Jensen. Because Jensen is tall and broad and has amazing eyes and freckles and is totally too good for Misha.
He figures this is perfectly normal--who wants his friend to be with someone who doesn't deserve him?--until he sees Misha and Jensen sitting on Jensen's bed studying one day, their knees brushing together, and he feels a burst of rage so strong it almost knocks him over.
Jensen glances up--he's wearing his glasses, so serious studying--and gives him a big smile. "Hey, Jare."
"I gotta go," says Jared, and runs to the bathroom. Shit. He's homophobic. He saw Jensen and some dude together, and it made him angry. He can't deal with Jensen being gay. He's a horrible person. He's going to have to stop living with Jensen and Jensen's going to be so hurt that Jared hates him and shit.
He does not throw up, even though he feels sick about how much of an asshole he is, and when he's sure the nausea has passed, he straightens up and tries to figure out what to do.
Eventually, he heads over to the health center. Obviously, he needs to talk to someone.
*
The girl at the desk at the health center is blonde and gives Jared a flirty smile when she sees him. Jared doesn't really know how to respond. He is not in the right space for that.
"Hi," she says. "Can I help you?"
"Do you have counselors here?" he asks.
"Counselors?"
"Like--I don't know. Someone on staff I can talk to. I'm having a crisis."
"What kind of crisis?" she asks. "Medical, or--"
"I think I'm homophobic," he blurts out.
"Um," says the girl.
"I mean--my friend, he's gay, right? And I thought I didn't care! Seriously, if he wants to be gay, that's great with me. But then there's this guy, and the guy's all, ooh, look at me, I do yoga, I have blue eyes, worship me! And that's fine, whatever, he can do all the yoga he wants. But he was all--touching my friend! Or, um, casually brushing up against my friend, I guess." Jared pauses. "They were sitting together and their knees were touching. That doesn't really mean anything, does it?"
"Uh, no," says the girl, looking completely baffled. "Not really. I don't think."
"So he's probably not dating this guy."
"I can't really make that call, given my total lack of knowledge. But I wouldn't say so?"
"Oh," says Jared. "Okay. Good."
"Can I ask you something?" the girl says, cautiously. Jared can't really blame her for hesitating. He's kind of acting like a crazy person.
"Sure," he says. "What's up?"
"Do you care if your friend dates generally, or do you just not like this guy?"
"I mean," says Jared. "If that's the kind of guy he likes, I don't approve. He could do so much better! Seriously, he's really good-looking, he's funny, he's nice. I thought he was an asshole at first, but--there were circumstances. Now that I know him better, he's a really great guy. He deserves someone who appreciates him, and knows how he smiles when he means it--which he doesn't do with Misha, by the way--and likes what he likes. If he found a guy like that, he could date him. I mean, as long as he was nice. And hot. And treated him right."
The girl clears her throat. "Okay, would you like my non-professional opinion?"
"Do you have any kind of credentials?" Jared asks hopefully.
"I'm a work-study student. I'm majoring in econ. So, no. Not at all."
"Whatever," says Jared, sighing. "I clearly need all the help I can get."
"Clearly," she agrees. "So, I don't think you're homophobic."
"Really?"
"Really. Actually, I kind of think you've got a thing for your friend."
Jared blinks. "Huh?"
"Well, you clearly don't think anyone's good enough for him, you think he's awesome, and you got pissed when you thought he was dating someone else. It's not exactly rocket science. Also, you totally smiled like a lovesick idiot when you started talking about him."
Jared considers this. "I did?" he finally asks.
"It was adorable," the girl confirms.
"Huh," says Jared. He considers the idea of--being with Jensen. Jensen is probably an amazing kisser. Not that having pretty lips guarantees that, but he seems like the type. And if he was under Jared, all warm and firm and-- "Oh," says Jared. "Wow. You are--wow. You should totally do this professionally. You're so right. I'm--huh. Wow." He grins at her. "Thank you so much. You just saved me, and I don't even know your name."
"Alona," says the girl. She grabs a post-it and jots something down. "Here's my e-mail. I have got to know how this goes."
Jared laughs. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Seriously, that was better than a soap opera."
"Glad I could help," he says, saluting. "I'm Jared, by the way. Just so you know who's sending you the e-mail about his gay love life."
"I think I could have figured it out," says Alona dryly. "Thanks for stopping by."
"Thanks again!" says Jared, waving. "I've got a guy to get."
Alona is still looking at him like he's a crazy person, but Jared really doesn't care.
*
When Jared gets back, Misha is gone, and Jensen has his laptop out. He's got a pen in his mouth that he's absently chewing, and Jared's really, really attracted to him. It's not even that new, he realizes. He just never thought about it before. Never managed to dissect all the layers of things he felt for Jensen Ackles.
"Hey," says Jensen, looking up with concern in his eyes. "You okay? What happened?"
Jared licks his lips. "I, uh. Man, I don't know how to explain this without seeming completely--wow. I really should have thought this through."
"Do you ever think anything through?" Jensen asks, with a small smile. "I'm genuinely curious."
"Not really," Jared admits. He sighs. "So, um--are you dating Misha?"
"Misha?" Jensen asks, looking baffled. "Dude, why do you think I'm dating everyone?"
"Well, who wouldn't want to date you?" Jared asks, and Jensen looks away and flushes.
"I'm not dating Misha," he says, finally. "You have the worst gaydar of all time. And I'm single."
"Oh," says Jared, sitting down on the edge of Jensen's bed. "Good. I mean--not good? I mean. Shit." He groans. "So--I kind of got really pissed? When I saw you with Misha. Because I thought you were dating."
"Okay," Jensen says warily.
"And I thought maybe I was homophobic? But I, uh--I talked it through with a friend, and I think I just hated Misha. Because I thought you wanted him?"
"The more you talk, the less sense this makes," says Jensen.
"I get that a lot," Jared admits. He sighs. "I think I'm into you," he says.
"Uh," says Jensen. "What?"
"I'm sorry! I thought I should tell you! So next time I go weird and crazy you can just be like, oh, right, Jared has a crush on me. That's why he just ran into a wall. I hope he doesn't reproduce, those are not good genes."
Jensen is still staring at him, slack-jawed.
"Okay!" says Jared, nodding. "Good talk. I'm just gonna go, let you process--" he starts to get up, but Jensen grabs his arm and hauls him back onto the bed, making him overbalance in the process. He kind of falls onto Jensen, and takes a moment to be profoundly glad he must have packed up his laptop at some point.
"I've had a crush on you since Mr. Morgan assigned you to be my lab partner," Jensen says, sounding completely disbelieving. "I didn't even--you like me?"
Jared grins. "I totally like you. A lot. I want you to continue to not date anyone but me."
"I already wasn't going to date anyone but you," Jensen says. He's kind of repositioning so Jared is on top of him. Jared really approves.
"Okay," Jared says. "Awesome. So now you just have to also start dating me, and we're set."
"I could date you," Jensen says, and his smile is better than Jared's ever seen it.
"Awesome," says Jared, and leans down for a kiss.
When Jensen kisses back, it's pretty much the best thing in the world.
*
"Are you sure?" Jared asks, poking Jensen in the side.
"Have you ever correctly identified two people who are dating in your life?" Jensen asks. "I'm genuinely curious."
"But they'd be so cute together! Look at them. It's totally implied."
"Yes, Jared," says Jensen. "I'm sure that significant brush of shoulders means Cam is going to hook up with Zach. You're psychic."
"You are such a jerk. I always knew it. The first time I saw you, I was like, that guy is a jerk."
"Yet more proof your instincts suck," Jensen points out.
Jared considers this. "Okay, point. But I get there in the end, right?"
Jensen grins and leans up for a kiss. "In the end, yeah."