FIC: "Shelf Ice Meander" (7/10)
Shelf Ice Meander
By Simarillion
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Universe: Alternative Universe
Rating: R
Beta: asm_z
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, others
Warnings: slash, M/M
Word Count: 3,030 (21,256)
Summary: What does it take to break you? (Of betrayals and broken trust)
Disclaimer: None of the herein presented happenings and events are true. Everything is 100% fiction and that includes the sexuality of the characters. I don’t claim to be in the know about their relations and private affairs, and I don’t make any money with the creation of this story.
Author’s Note: I changed the age of Jensen and Jared, they are the same age now. The plot wouldn’t really work otherwise.
This is part 4 of the Glaciology! ‘verse. Jensen is a scientist in the field of glaciology and he spends most of his time surrounded by ice, whereas Jared is a Hollywood movie star. Prequel to this story are Invisible Glaciers, Iceberg Anatomy, Avalanches Approaching and Crevasse Rescue.
[ Masterpost]
Part Seven
Originally Jensen had planned on staying for another day in Lethbridge and return together with Mike and Tom, but in the end, he just wants to return home and ignore the world for some time. True, he had been able to cheer along with everyone else when the wedding couple had danced and cut the cake. He had hugged Sophia and told her that he was happy for her, and he had meant it.
But now that all the excitement is over, reality catches up with him. And that reality has a Jared in it that is enjoying his time in France with a woman that he shares a bond with.
It’s not all that difficult to change his ticket, and he finds himself on a plane back to San Francisco in the early hours of the day after the wedding. There are almost no people at the airport or on board this early in the day, and Jensen is left to contemplate what to do with the situation he finds himself in.
The newspaper he gets from the flight attendant sports a huge picture of Jared and Genevieve, and underneath the photo he can read the headline, practically announcing their engagement. Jensen just folds the paper and drops it onto the empty seat next to him. He doesn’t want to read anything about them.
In San Francisco he takes a cab to his house, and he opens the door to an empty home. Dean is with Chuck, who agreed to take the husky for the three days Jensen would be at the wedding. The silence that greets him upon entering depresses Jensen further, and he climbs the stairs to his bedroom to unpack his bags.
While he’s sorting the clean from the dirty laundry, Jensen’s cell rings. There are not that many different people that would call him today. After the news about Jared, the caller will either be Chris, Danneel, or Mike and Tom. With Mike and Tom most likely still asleep from the wedding, the possibility of the caller being Chris is even greater.
Jensen lets it go to the mailbox. He really doesn’t want to hear either of his friends ask questions, and rag about Jared. That will be coming in the none too distant future anyway, but right now, with less than two hours sleep, and a slight hangover, Jensen really is in no state of mind to talk with them.
Once he’s taken care of the bags and the laundry, Jensen takes a short shower. He feels gritty and a little disgusting after the night’s celebration, lots of booze, and then hours of flight. The water seems to wash away some of the depression he’s been feeling all day long, and he even manages to get dressed and call Chuck about picking Dean up, a day early.
He slips into sneakers and a light jacket, and picks up his wallet and car keys. Locking the door behind him, Jensen gets in his car. He turns the key in the ignition and heads out. The drive to Chuck’s takes half an hour. The other professor lives even further out of San Francisco.
The small town is very quiet, and Jensen barely sees someone walking on the sidewalk as he drives down the main street. There are small shops, a barber, diners, a pharmacy, and an ice cream parlor. It looks to be a nice place to live in.
Chuck’s house is right outside the town. The two storey building looks to be older than even Jensen’s, and there’s a vast expanse of green all around it. Jensen drives down the gravel driveway to the front of the house. He can see Dean running up to the car, his tail wagging, and barking excited. The display has Jensen smile for the first time since he returned to his room at the bed and breakfast after the wedding.
Jensen parks the truck, and opens the door. Dean is almost climbing into the driver’s seat to get to him. The dog is licking his face.
“Did the evil man treat you badly.” Jensen laughs amused at Dean’s barking.
“Yeah, no food and lots of beatings.” Chuck has walked up to the car and smiles at the reunion of dog and human. “One would think that I did experiments on him while you were gone.”
Petting the husky, Jensen looks up at his colleague. “Who knows what kind of unspeakable things you did to my dog.”
This has both of them chuckle. Dean noses at Jensen’s hand, demanding more pats and scratches. Jensen eagerly indulges the husky. He likes carding his fingers through the thick fur. The dog hair is warmed from the sun, and the heat feels nice on his skin.
“Careful what you’re saying. I know Loretta’s favorite flowers and I’m not afraid to use this knowledge for petty revenge.” Chuck grins smugly at Jensen.
“Everyone knows Loretta’s favorite flowers.” Jensen chuckles at the upset look on his colleagues face. “What? You thought you’re the only one who ever had to bribe her?”
At that they laugh. There isn’t a teacher, or faculty member who hasn’t at least once tried to get into the secretary’s good graces by bringing a bouquet of her favorite flowers. It’s actually one of the first things one is told when starting at EESS. That and Dean Madsen’s favorite truffles. Knowing these two things, there’s nothing that can’t be braved.
“Damn.” Chuck grins at him. “There goes my leverage.”
“Sorry.” Jensen looks round and then back to Chuck. “I know I said it the last time, but I really like your place. It’s great. Lots of space.”
“Yeah, but also a lot of work. I try to do most of the garden work, and the vegetables and fruits myself. During exam time I have to ask for help, but mostly I take care of everything on my own.” Jensen had already gotten the tour of the place the last time, and he knows how much work there is.
“Awesome.” He gets around to the back of the truck and opens the trunk. He doesn’t have the kennel with him, because he left it with Chuck, in case he would need to transport the husky. “Was he behaving himself?”
“Dean was behaving exemplary. Right?” Dean licks Chucks hand to show that he agrees with the human’s assessment.
“Thanks again, for stepping in and taking Dean.” Jensen pets Dean and follows Chuck to the garage where the kennel is stored.
“No problem, Dean was great to have around.” There are two cars in the garage.
One Jensen already knows, it’s Chucks car he drives to work with. It’s a silver sedan, and there’s nothing special about it. But the other car has Jensen stop in surprise. It’s a 1967 Chevrolet Impala. The paint job is in a bad state, there are scratches all over the side, and in some spots the rust shows through. The front of the car is dented, and three out of four tires are flat.
“That’s one hell of a car.” Jensen walks over to the damaged vehicle, and peers inside. The front seat is a leather bench of an off-white color. There are a couple of cracks but on the whole the interior looks great.
“Yeah, I inherited it from my uncle and ever since its been taking up space in my garage.” The words have Jensen look from the car to Chuck. There’s an exasperated look on his colleagues’ face.
“Why don’t you have her restored? She’s still got a lot of mileage in her.” He trails his hand over the roof of the car, his fingers tracing over scratches and rust, catching on patches where the paint had been sanded away and left only the metal underneath.
“I don’t really want to spend that much money on a car I’m not going to use in the end.” Jensen checks out the back of the Impala and then comes back to the front. His inspection of the car is brought to an abrupt end with Chuck’s next question. “Would you like the car?”
Jensen’s head whips from the beaten up Chevy to his colleague, his eyes are wide with surprise. He is sure he heard wrong.
“What?” Chuck looks from Jensen to the car and then back to Jensen. He shrugs and waves at the Impala.
“I don’t want it, and I’ve thought many times about just junking it, but it would be in bad memory of my uncle. I think he would want someone who likes the car to have it.” The words are having Jensen stare at Chuck and then he slowly turns to the Chevy.
True there are quite a lot of things to repair, and that’s only the obvious damage that can be seen, but it’s a 1967 Chevy Impala. This has been Jensen’s dream car ever since he thought about owning his own.
“You can’t just give me the car.” He just can’t accept the car like that. It feels wrong to take it without anything in return.
“Well, you can pay be a thousand bucks and we’re even.” The price is not much for an old-timer, but considering the amount of damage, and the costs for the repair, it’s not nothing either.
Jensen thinks a minute about it, but then he turns to Chuck and nods. “You’ve got a deal.”
They shake hands on it, like they are at a car dealership. The thought of driving a completely restored Impala has Jensen all excited. In this moment he doesn’t even think about Jared and Genevieve, and what they mean to Jensen’s future. All he’s thinking about is how to get his ‘new’ car home, and where to get a good mechanic.
With a last look back at the Chevy Jensen gets the kennel and carries it out to the truck. Dean has been running around while the humans had talked cars, but now he returns. He knows what the kennel means; it means that he’s going home.
The husky’s dancing excitedly around Jensen as he installs the kennel. Once it’s secured and ready for transport, Jensen opens the door and has Dean jump inside. He locks the kennel and closes the trunk.
“I’ll try to get it organized as fast as possible, and get the car out of the garage for you.” Jensen glances one more time into the twilight of the garage where he can see the white of a front light.
“Don’t worry. The car has been here for so long, it doesn’t matter if it’s staying for another couple of weeks. Just find a mechanic first, and then worry about getting it from my place to the shop.” Chuck seems awfully happy about getting rid of the Impala, and Jensen can’t imagine how it’s possible that someone couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the muscle car.
“Okay, thanks.” He shakes Chuck’s hand once more and then gets into his truck.
He notices the display of his cell phone blinking, showing him five missed calls and three messages. He doesn’t switch off the silent modethough, just shoves the phone into the furthest corner of his glove compartment. Jensen doesn’t want anything to kill the joy buzz he feels right now.
Jensen waves at Chuck as he pulls away from the house and drives down the gravel road. As he reaches the end of it, and pulls out into town, he turns on the car radio. He dials until he finds a classic rock station that’s playing The Eagles. While some poor sod enters Hotel California, Jensen drives up the state road to San Francisco.
During the drive home, Jensen’s thoughts are equally occupied by Jared and his new car. Thinking about the car makes Jensen all giddy and happy, wishing for the Impala to be repaired already. While pondering about Jared drags him down. With all these mood swings he feels like a manic depressive.
Banishing all worries and fears about what will happen the next time he sees Jared in the back of his mind, Jensen manages to cling to the good mood from his visit with Chuck. Dean is with him again - so the house won’t be as empty - and he’s got a weekend ahead that he can spend in the garden, planting some flowers for the summer.
With these thoughts foremost on his mind, he pulls into his driveway and parks the truck. He gets out of the car and lets Dean out of the kennel. While the dog is skipping over the front yard, and checking that it is exactly like he left it two days ago, Jensen gets the keys and his wallet. After a second or two of contemplation, he digs through the glove compartment to retrieve his phone.
Jensen finds six more missed calls and five more messages waiting for him. Sighing he tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans and locks the truck.
Walking over the lawn, he looks up when his neighbor Bill calls his name. As annoyingly helpful the guy had been right at the beginning, he’s become a somewhat reliable helper in all things gardening and repairs around the house. There’s isn’t a power tool the man doesn’t own, and he has numbers for every handworker and gardener that you will ever need.
“Hi Jensen!” Nodding his greeting Jensen walks up to Bill.
“Hey! Are you already cutting back the roses?” His neighbor has a large bucket with him that is already half full with rose petals and blooms.
“Yeah, they are already starting to wither. If I cut them back now, they might bloom a second time this year.” Jensen curiously watches as Bill cuts blossom after blossom off the bright red roses. It seems like such a waste, and Jensen almost feels sorry about it.
“So, your trip ended sooner than planned?” The question has Jensen tense, but then he reminds himself that his neighbor can’t know anything about why Jensen returned early.
Thinking back on the times that Jared visited, Jensen admits that there is the slight possibility that Bill knows that Jensen and Jared are more than just good friends, but there’s no reason to get paranoid.
“Yeah, Things came up, and so I returned a little early. Was a good thing though.” Jensen reaches down and pets Dean who’s joined them, and is sitting next to him, leaning against Jensen’s leg. “I bought a 1967 Chevy Impala today.”
Bill is whistling, grinning impressed. “That’s awesome. Still in prime condition?”
“Not so much. The car needs a lot of TLC, but she’s a real beauty.” Just like before, talking about the car makes him happy, and distracts from his worries.
“You need the number of a good mechanic?” The question has Jensen smile. Why doesn’t it surprise him that Bill knows a mechanic as well. Maybe Jensen should just go to his neighbor the next time something is acting up, and have Bill and his army of business cards take care of everything.
“That would be great.” Jensen watches how his neighbor heads into the house with the promise to return promptly with the number of the recommended mechanic.
Jensen can feel the cell phone starting to vibrate in his pocket, and fishes it out. Chris’ ID is on the display, and Jensen wants to hide. Why do his friends always have to talk to him about his relationship with Jared? It’s bad enough the he has this insane urge to mope, but talking with Chris or anyone else about it, he’ll have to actually ‘talk’ about it.
His thoughts are interrupted by Bill’s return. His neighbor hands him the card, and promises that the mechanic will be perfect to restore the Impala. Also, that Jensen just has to mention Bill’s name at the garage, and he’ll get a special price.
Pocketing the card, Jensen thanks his neighbor. After some more talk about gardening, and a short discussion about Jensen’s plan for the next day (which does involve garden work), he says his thanks and his goodbyes.
Inside the house, he sets the card of the mechanic on the kitchen counter to make sure he’ll find it when he needs it, and once more gets his phone out of the pocket. Another missed call, and Jensen knows that if he isn’t picking up any time soon, he’ll have them all in front of his door, demanding to be let in.
With a heavy sigh, he selects Chris’ number and dials. Jensen presses the phone tightly against his ear, listening to the call being connected. Barley a single ring at the other endand Chris picks up.
“Dude, where were you?” His friend sounds both worried and pissed off. Jensen sits down to settle in for a long call. When Chris is in this mood (which is totally Jensen’s fault) there’s no way of ending the conversation before Chris says it’s over.
“I was picking up Dean from Chuck, and then I got talking with my neighbor.” He knows that this will not count as an excuse, since Chris knows that Jensen always has his phone on him.
“What the fuck, Jensen! I was picturing you doing something idiotic over that asshole.” Jensen cringes at the loud shout that hollers through the line and into his ear.
“I’m sorry.” And he is. But maybe he’s not sorry enough. Because thinking about it some more, it was a really shitty thing to do, letting Chris, and Danneel, and Mike and Tom callwithout picking up or calling back.
“You bet you are.” His friend sounds more pissed than worried right now. Jensen wants to calm Chris down, when the bell at his front door rings.
Trying to continue his conversation while opening the door, Jensen has the phone wedged between his cheek and his shoulder. When he finally gets the front door open, he comes face to face with a fuming trio going by the names of Danneel, Mike and Tom.
“Uh.” Chris is still ranting in his ear, and his other friends are shoving him back into the hall, glaring as they lug bags inside his house.
continue: Part Eight
By Simarillion
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Universe: Alternative Universe
Rating: R
Beta: asm_z
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, others
Warnings: slash, M/M
Word Count: 3,030 (21,256)
Summary: What does it take to break you? (Of betrayals and broken trust)
Disclaimer: None of the herein presented happenings and events are true. Everything is 100% fiction and that includes the sexuality of the characters. I don’t claim to be in the know about their relations and private affairs, and I don’t make any money with the creation of this story.
Author’s Note: I changed the age of Jensen and Jared, they are the same age now. The plot wouldn’t really work otherwise.
This is part 4 of the Glaciology! ‘verse. Jensen is a scientist in the field of glaciology and he spends most of his time surrounded by ice, whereas Jared is a Hollywood movie star. Prequel to this story are Invisible Glaciers, Iceberg Anatomy, Avalanches Approaching and Crevasse Rescue.
[ Masterpost]
Part Seven
Originally Jensen had planned on staying for another day in Lethbridge and return together with Mike and Tom, but in the end, he just wants to return home and ignore the world for some time. True, he had been able to cheer along with everyone else when the wedding couple had danced and cut the cake. He had hugged Sophia and told her that he was happy for her, and he had meant it.
But now that all the excitement is over, reality catches up with him. And that reality has a Jared in it that is enjoying his time in France with a woman that he shares a bond with.
It’s not all that difficult to change his ticket, and he finds himself on a plane back to San Francisco in the early hours of the day after the wedding. There are almost no people at the airport or on board this early in the day, and Jensen is left to contemplate what to do with the situation he finds himself in.
The newspaper he gets from the flight attendant sports a huge picture of Jared and Genevieve, and underneath the photo he can read the headline, practically announcing their engagement. Jensen just folds the paper and drops it onto the empty seat next to him. He doesn’t want to read anything about them.
In San Francisco he takes a cab to his house, and he opens the door to an empty home. Dean is with Chuck, who agreed to take the husky for the three days Jensen would be at the wedding. The silence that greets him upon entering depresses Jensen further, and he climbs the stairs to his bedroom to unpack his bags.
While he’s sorting the clean from the dirty laundry, Jensen’s cell rings. There are not that many different people that would call him today. After the news about Jared, the caller will either be Chris, Danneel, or Mike and Tom. With Mike and Tom most likely still asleep from the wedding, the possibility of the caller being Chris is even greater.
Jensen lets it go to the mailbox. He really doesn’t want to hear either of his friends ask questions, and rag about Jared. That will be coming in the none too distant future anyway, but right now, with less than two hours sleep, and a slight hangover, Jensen really is in no state of mind to talk with them.
Once he’s taken care of the bags and the laundry, Jensen takes a short shower. He feels gritty and a little disgusting after the night’s celebration, lots of booze, and then hours of flight. The water seems to wash away some of the depression he’s been feeling all day long, and he even manages to get dressed and call Chuck about picking Dean up, a day early.
He slips into sneakers and a light jacket, and picks up his wallet and car keys. Locking the door behind him, Jensen gets in his car. He turns the key in the ignition and heads out. The drive to Chuck’s takes half an hour. The other professor lives even further out of San Francisco.
The small town is very quiet, and Jensen barely sees someone walking on the sidewalk as he drives down the main street. There are small shops, a barber, diners, a pharmacy, and an ice cream parlor. It looks to be a nice place to live in.
Chuck’s house is right outside the town. The two storey building looks to be older than even Jensen’s, and there’s a vast expanse of green all around it. Jensen drives down the gravel driveway to the front of the house. He can see Dean running up to the car, his tail wagging, and barking excited. The display has Jensen smile for the first time since he returned to his room at the bed and breakfast after the wedding.
Jensen parks the truck, and opens the door. Dean is almost climbing into the driver’s seat to get to him. The dog is licking his face.
“Did the evil man treat you badly.” Jensen laughs amused at Dean’s barking.
“Yeah, no food and lots of beatings.” Chuck has walked up to the car and smiles at the reunion of dog and human. “One would think that I did experiments on him while you were gone.”
Petting the husky, Jensen looks up at his colleague. “Who knows what kind of unspeakable things you did to my dog.”
This has both of them chuckle. Dean noses at Jensen’s hand, demanding more pats and scratches. Jensen eagerly indulges the husky. He likes carding his fingers through the thick fur. The dog hair is warmed from the sun, and the heat feels nice on his skin.
“Careful what you’re saying. I know Loretta’s favorite flowers and I’m not afraid to use this knowledge for petty revenge.” Chuck grins smugly at Jensen.
“Everyone knows Loretta’s favorite flowers.” Jensen chuckles at the upset look on his colleagues face. “What? You thought you’re the only one who ever had to bribe her?”
At that they laugh. There isn’t a teacher, or faculty member who hasn’t at least once tried to get into the secretary’s good graces by bringing a bouquet of her favorite flowers. It’s actually one of the first things one is told when starting at EESS. That and Dean Madsen’s favorite truffles. Knowing these two things, there’s nothing that can’t be braved.
“Damn.” Chuck grins at him. “There goes my leverage.”
“Sorry.” Jensen looks round and then back to Chuck. “I know I said it the last time, but I really like your place. It’s great. Lots of space.”
“Yeah, but also a lot of work. I try to do most of the garden work, and the vegetables and fruits myself. During exam time I have to ask for help, but mostly I take care of everything on my own.” Jensen had already gotten the tour of the place the last time, and he knows how much work there is.
“Awesome.” He gets around to the back of the truck and opens the trunk. He doesn’t have the kennel with him, because he left it with Chuck, in case he would need to transport the husky. “Was he behaving himself?”
“Dean was behaving exemplary. Right?” Dean licks Chucks hand to show that he agrees with the human’s assessment.
“Thanks again, for stepping in and taking Dean.” Jensen pets Dean and follows Chuck to the garage where the kennel is stored.
“No problem, Dean was great to have around.” There are two cars in the garage.
One Jensen already knows, it’s Chucks car he drives to work with. It’s a silver sedan, and there’s nothing special about it. But the other car has Jensen stop in surprise. It’s a 1967 Chevrolet Impala. The paint job is in a bad state, there are scratches all over the side, and in some spots the rust shows through. The front of the car is dented, and three out of four tires are flat.
“That’s one hell of a car.” Jensen walks over to the damaged vehicle, and peers inside. The front seat is a leather bench of an off-white color. There are a couple of cracks but on the whole the interior looks great.
“Yeah, I inherited it from my uncle and ever since its been taking up space in my garage.” The words have Jensen look from the car to Chuck. There’s an exasperated look on his colleagues’ face.
“Why don’t you have her restored? She’s still got a lot of mileage in her.” He trails his hand over the roof of the car, his fingers tracing over scratches and rust, catching on patches where the paint had been sanded away and left only the metal underneath.
“I don’t really want to spend that much money on a car I’m not going to use in the end.” Jensen checks out the back of the Impala and then comes back to the front. His inspection of the car is brought to an abrupt end with Chuck’s next question. “Would you like the car?”
Jensen’s head whips from the beaten up Chevy to his colleague, his eyes are wide with surprise. He is sure he heard wrong.
“What?” Chuck looks from Jensen to the car and then back to Jensen. He shrugs and waves at the Impala.
“I don’t want it, and I’ve thought many times about just junking it, but it would be in bad memory of my uncle. I think he would want someone who likes the car to have it.” The words are having Jensen stare at Chuck and then he slowly turns to the Chevy.
True there are quite a lot of things to repair, and that’s only the obvious damage that can be seen, but it’s a 1967 Chevy Impala. This has been Jensen’s dream car ever since he thought about owning his own.
“You can’t just give me the car.” He just can’t accept the car like that. It feels wrong to take it without anything in return.
“Well, you can pay be a thousand bucks and we’re even.” The price is not much for an old-timer, but considering the amount of damage, and the costs for the repair, it’s not nothing either.
Jensen thinks a minute about it, but then he turns to Chuck and nods. “You’ve got a deal.”
They shake hands on it, like they are at a car dealership. The thought of driving a completely restored Impala has Jensen all excited. In this moment he doesn’t even think about Jared and Genevieve, and what they mean to Jensen’s future. All he’s thinking about is how to get his ‘new’ car home, and where to get a good mechanic.
With a last look back at the Chevy Jensen gets the kennel and carries it out to the truck. Dean has been running around while the humans had talked cars, but now he returns. He knows what the kennel means; it means that he’s going home.
The husky’s dancing excitedly around Jensen as he installs the kennel. Once it’s secured and ready for transport, Jensen opens the door and has Dean jump inside. He locks the kennel and closes the trunk.
“I’ll try to get it organized as fast as possible, and get the car out of the garage for you.” Jensen glances one more time into the twilight of the garage where he can see the white of a front light.
“Don’t worry. The car has been here for so long, it doesn’t matter if it’s staying for another couple of weeks. Just find a mechanic first, and then worry about getting it from my place to the shop.” Chuck seems awfully happy about getting rid of the Impala, and Jensen can’t imagine how it’s possible that someone couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the muscle car.
“Okay, thanks.” He shakes Chuck’s hand once more and then gets into his truck.
He notices the display of his cell phone blinking, showing him five missed calls and three messages. He doesn’t switch off the silent modethough, just shoves the phone into the furthest corner of his glove compartment. Jensen doesn’t want anything to kill the joy buzz he feels right now.
Jensen waves at Chuck as he pulls away from the house and drives down the gravel road. As he reaches the end of it, and pulls out into town, he turns on the car radio. He dials until he finds a classic rock station that’s playing The Eagles. While some poor sod enters Hotel California, Jensen drives up the state road to San Francisco.
During the drive home, Jensen’s thoughts are equally occupied by Jared and his new car. Thinking about the car makes Jensen all giddy and happy, wishing for the Impala to be repaired already. While pondering about Jared drags him down. With all these mood swings he feels like a manic depressive.
Banishing all worries and fears about what will happen the next time he sees Jared in the back of his mind, Jensen manages to cling to the good mood from his visit with Chuck. Dean is with him again - so the house won’t be as empty - and he’s got a weekend ahead that he can spend in the garden, planting some flowers for the summer.
With these thoughts foremost on his mind, he pulls into his driveway and parks the truck. He gets out of the car and lets Dean out of the kennel. While the dog is skipping over the front yard, and checking that it is exactly like he left it two days ago, Jensen gets the keys and his wallet. After a second or two of contemplation, he digs through the glove compartment to retrieve his phone.
Jensen finds six more missed calls and five more messages waiting for him. Sighing he tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans and locks the truck.
Walking over the lawn, he looks up when his neighbor Bill calls his name. As annoyingly helpful the guy had been right at the beginning, he’s become a somewhat reliable helper in all things gardening and repairs around the house. There’s isn’t a power tool the man doesn’t own, and he has numbers for every handworker and gardener that you will ever need.
“Hi Jensen!” Nodding his greeting Jensen walks up to Bill.
“Hey! Are you already cutting back the roses?” His neighbor has a large bucket with him that is already half full with rose petals and blooms.
“Yeah, they are already starting to wither. If I cut them back now, they might bloom a second time this year.” Jensen curiously watches as Bill cuts blossom after blossom off the bright red roses. It seems like such a waste, and Jensen almost feels sorry about it.
“So, your trip ended sooner than planned?” The question has Jensen tense, but then he reminds himself that his neighbor can’t know anything about why Jensen returned early.
Thinking back on the times that Jared visited, Jensen admits that there is the slight possibility that Bill knows that Jensen and Jared are more than just good friends, but there’s no reason to get paranoid.
“Yeah, Things came up, and so I returned a little early. Was a good thing though.” Jensen reaches down and pets Dean who’s joined them, and is sitting next to him, leaning against Jensen’s leg. “I bought a 1967 Chevy Impala today.”
Bill is whistling, grinning impressed. “That’s awesome. Still in prime condition?”
“Not so much. The car needs a lot of TLC, but she’s a real beauty.” Just like before, talking about the car makes him happy, and distracts from his worries.
“You need the number of a good mechanic?” The question has Jensen smile. Why doesn’t it surprise him that Bill knows a mechanic as well. Maybe Jensen should just go to his neighbor the next time something is acting up, and have Bill and his army of business cards take care of everything.
“That would be great.” Jensen watches how his neighbor heads into the house with the promise to return promptly with the number of the recommended mechanic.
Jensen can feel the cell phone starting to vibrate in his pocket, and fishes it out. Chris’ ID is on the display, and Jensen wants to hide. Why do his friends always have to talk to him about his relationship with Jared? It’s bad enough the he has this insane urge to mope, but talking with Chris or anyone else about it, he’ll have to actually ‘talk’ about it.
His thoughts are interrupted by Bill’s return. His neighbor hands him the card, and promises that the mechanic will be perfect to restore the Impala. Also, that Jensen just has to mention Bill’s name at the garage, and he’ll get a special price.
Pocketing the card, Jensen thanks his neighbor. After some more talk about gardening, and a short discussion about Jensen’s plan for the next day (which does involve garden work), he says his thanks and his goodbyes.
Inside the house, he sets the card of the mechanic on the kitchen counter to make sure he’ll find it when he needs it, and once more gets his phone out of the pocket. Another missed call, and Jensen knows that if he isn’t picking up any time soon, he’ll have them all in front of his door, demanding to be let in.
With a heavy sigh, he selects Chris’ number and dials. Jensen presses the phone tightly against his ear, listening to the call being connected. Barley a single ring at the other endand Chris picks up.
“Dude, where were you?” His friend sounds both worried and pissed off. Jensen sits down to settle in for a long call. When Chris is in this mood (which is totally Jensen’s fault) there’s no way of ending the conversation before Chris says it’s over.
“I was picking up Dean from Chuck, and then I got talking with my neighbor.” He knows that this will not count as an excuse, since Chris knows that Jensen always has his phone on him.
“What the fuck, Jensen! I was picturing you doing something idiotic over that asshole.” Jensen cringes at the loud shout that hollers through the line and into his ear.
“I’m sorry.” And he is. But maybe he’s not sorry enough. Because thinking about it some more, it was a really shitty thing to do, letting Chris, and Danneel, and Mike and Tom callwithout picking up or calling back.
“You bet you are.” His friend sounds more pissed than worried right now. Jensen wants to calm Chris down, when the bell at his front door rings.
Trying to continue his conversation while opening the door, Jensen has the phone wedged between his cheek and his shoulder. When he finally gets the front door open, he comes face to face with a fuming trio going by the names of Danneel, Mike and Tom.
“Uh.” Chris is still ranting in his ear, and his other friends are shoving him back into the hall, glaring as they lug bags inside his house.
continue: Part Eight