Are You Finding Everything Okay? (1/1)
Title: Are You Finding Everything Okay?
Author: Surevesta
Rating: PG
Fandom: CW RPS, J2
Characters: Jensen, Jared, a little: Sandy, Mentions: Steve/Chris
Words: 1,224
Beta: NONE
Prompt: Starving-artist!Jensen, friendly-boy-at-the-grocery-store!Jared by woodstarling - Written for the Crack Open the AU Cans fic meme
Disclaimer: Jensen and Jared are NOT mine. They belong to themselves. I'm just borrowing their names and looks and inserting them into original stories.
Note: I wrote this while taking a break from essays. It wrote itself in less than have an hour. Why can't I write this fast all the time? *pout*
Originally posted: http://dev-earl.livejournal.com/204730.html?thread=4385978#t4385978
*****
Being an artist wasn't exactly good for Jensen's pocket book, especially with the six month leeway on student loans having just ended and it being only a few days before Christmas. He'd gone to art school and even sold some works during his days as a student, but since then it didn't seem like anyone was hiring and he hadn't sold a painting- or even a sketch- in weeks. If it wasn't for his pride, Jensen could have gone home to his parents for Christmas, but he didn't want to admit that being an artist wasn't all it was cracked up to be at times.
Which is why Jensen was standing in the middle of the frozen food isle staring at cheap meals with twenty two dollars and 73 cents in his pocket. He'd scrounged around the apartment he shared with his friends, Chris and Steve, upturning cushions and reaching under furniture and looking through draws, just to find that much. Blowing out puff of air, he huffed out a sigh, slightly amazed that his breath wasn't visible.
“Are you finding everything okay?”
Turning sharply, Jensen's hand fell from the handle. There was a kid standing there, more of a man really, six and half feet tall, lean but muscular, with dark brown hair that trailed past ears and into hazel eyes. The guy was gorgeous, and Jensen didn't define men that way often. Being an artist didn't mean he bucked all of societies norms. He liked girls- liked girls a lot. Jensen just happened to find some guys attractive as well. And this guy? This guy was definitely attractive.
“Uh,” Jensen wasn't speechless, he just wasn't what he was looking for in the first place. Grocery shopping was not his strong point. The guy just raised his eyebrow a bit, glancing down to the red plastic basket in Jensen's left hand.
“Are you trying to make something in particular?”
Shaking himself inwardly, Jensen forced himself to focus, “Not really... I, uh, just trying to figure out something edible that can last a few days.” More like a week, actually. Steve and Chris were out of town for the holidays so he couldn't beg scraps off them till after New Years.
The guy grinned and his gorgeousness level skyrocketed. Really, he was already beyond hot without the dimples. “Well you certainly came to the right place.”
Jensen grinned, he just couldn't help it, “Yep... got any suggestions.” He wasn't flirting, that wasn't a flirting smile and his body certainly wasn't betraying his interest in it's movements. Except it was and Jensen knew it. And that would be why he could feel a flush heating up the back of his neck and cheeks. He'd deny it till the end though; it was the cold affecting him... nothing else!
“How much you got?”
“Um,” Jensen paused padding his pocket lightly. Being this broke was a tad bit embarrassing after all. “22.73? I won't get paid till the, uh, end of the week.”
“Got a stove? Frying pan?” The guy turned, starting to walk away. He paused halfway down the isle and looked back at Jensen. “You coming?”
“Yeah,” Jensen came back to himself, shaking his head slightly before jogging to catch up. The guy was hot all over- even his ass was hot. “Yes and yes...”
“Awesome,” The guy grinned, walking past the meat department. “What do you have at home? Any condiments? Noodles? Eggs?”
“Half a dozen eggs, some turkey lunch meat, beer, soy sauce, and some ketchup,” Jensen shrugged, trying not to stare. The guy was just being a helpful employee of the supermarket, that was all. There was nothing else going on here other than a man doing his job. “Maybe a can or two of veggies or beans in the cupboard. It's pretty bare though.”
“We can work with that, how much lunch meat we talking about?”
“Half a container?” They turned down an isle, noodles and sauces, oriental and Mexican foods surrounded them.
Halfway down the isle, the guy squatted, baring a stripe of skin above black work pants beneath an untucked blue polo. Jensen didn't even notice what the guy was grabbing till he dumped it into his cart. “This will take up about two dollars, but it should provide enough dinner meals to last a week.”
“Top Ramen?” Jensen blinked up at him before glancing back down at the noodles. Oriental flavor. “I don't really like this-”
“Flavor doesn't matter, you aren't going to use it anyway,” Grabbing Jensen's hand, the guy led him down the isle and around. “I'm Jared by the way.”
“Jensen.”
“Nice to meet you Jensen,” Jared grinned down at him. That grin should be patented; it made Jensen's stomach do little buzzing flip flops. They walked past the next two isles and into the vegetable section.
“Jared I can't really-”
“You have enough money,” Letting go of him, Jared made his way over to the tomatoes, picking up a few. “Just take advantage of the sales and trust me.”
In the end Jensen had a cart full of tomatoes, a large Walla Walla sweet onion, three cucumbers, a head of napa lettuce, two green peppers, Top Ramen, and two gallons of milk. And Jared was right, there was enough money to take care of it. He even had enough to buy a large bag of the cheap off brand cheerios and two loafs of bread- which were on sale for fifty cents apiece.
Jared bagged groceries at the check out while Jensen went through, grabbing the bags with a grin and a wave to the cashier. The girl waved back, smiling sweetly. According to her name tag her name was Sandy and she'd been working there for two years. Jensen thanked her when she handed him the receipt.
“You don't have to do this,” Jensen pointed out as they headed to the door. “It's two bags and a couple of cartons of milk. Plus I'm taking the bus-”
“Dude, so am I,” Jared grinned, shrugging.
“What?”
“I got off work half an hour ago,” Jared looked over at him, a sheepish grin painting his features as they walked through the sliding doors leading outside.
“You,” Jensen paused, frowning. “Why did you help me?”
“Well, for one, I like to help people,” Jared quirked a grin at Jensen, turning to face him. There was a blush staining his features as he ducked his head a bit.“And second? You're hot, probably the hottest guy I've ever met. Why wouldn't I help you?”
It turns out Christmas on his own wasn't all that lonely. He had a Jared who happily cooked up some awesome stir fry with noodles and hung out with him whenever he had time off work. They drank some of Chris' stash of tequila and by the time his roommates came back from wherever they went for the holidays, Jensen had an awesome boyfriend and managed to sell some paintings. Apparently there was a last minute Christmas shopper at the gallery his work was displayed in.
Needless to say, Jensen ended up having a very merry Christmas.
*****
The End