Jays2 (13/?)
Title: Jays2 (13/?)
Genre: J2 RPS, AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared although - Heh! You know major league teams have 25-man rosters, right?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings (overall): Language, Baseball, Schmoop, Angst, Boy-Sexin’ (wait, what kind of warning is that?)
Word Count: ~ 3,550
Disclaimer: Fiction not fact. All these beautiful guys belong to themselves. Jensen and Jared belong to each other, we all know that :D Only the words are mine. No copyright infringement intended for the use of the MLB teams/players/logos, the Toronto Star, or Rogers Sportsnet. This is for fun, not profit.
A/N: I apologize for the last chappie, lol - but I feel I must direct your attention to the warnings: did I not mention the angst, people? Did I not tell you this was a baseball soap opera? I rest my case ;o) And I present you with this chapter as a peace offering. This story was always headed in this direction - taking y’all to meet the Texas Ackleses. That’s why I introduced you to the Padaleckis first. We’re getting there, ladies, hold onto your horses. The end is nigh. You know in about ten or so more parts, because brevity is not one of my strong suits.
Enjoy! Comments = Love!
Summary: Alan Ackles is a piece of work, and yeah, a piece of shit, and he does a real number on Jensen. Again. But Alan Ackles doesn’t know that even dark days in Toronto are bright.
( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ), ( 7 ), ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 )
THIRTEEN: STAND UNDER MY UMBRELLA AND LEAN ON ME
Dinner had been an unmitigated disaster.
Jensen sighed as he finally settled into bed after wrapping up his midnight meeting with Alona. He tried not to think about the meal he had shared with his family. The conversation had been stilted, when his father and Jed Harris had not been discussing business anyway, and really, this was his family - dinner conversations had always been about business. Every conversation was about business. The excellent food had turned to ash on his tongue, tasteless, and he had given up any pretence of eating early on in the night. And he never touched alcohol with his father anywhere in the vicinity; you didn’t enter the battlefield without full control of all your faculties, so he couldn't even numb his mind that way.
He turned in bed, his stomach rumbling, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten, and then he couldn’t find a comfortable spot in the strange bed, and he just really wanted to go home.
And then it occurred to him: why the hell couldn’t he just go home?
He was dressed and out the door in five minutes.
|*|*|*|
Jared tossed and turned in bed, worrying about Jensen, wondering how he was, how the dinner had gone. He had told the guys to leave Jensen alone for the time being, even though quite a few of them had volunteered to kick his father’s ass; though they would have to line up and take a number behind Jared.
His stomach roiled in anger as he recalled the conversation he had inadvertently overheard when he had gone looking for Jensen in the owner’s box after the game. What kind of parent talks to their kid that way? Jared couldn’t wrap his brain around it; just the thought of his father doing something similar was ludicrous.
You’re a disgrace to this family.
His heart had gone out to Jensen, as a friend, as a teammate, as a fellow human being. How do you hear something like that and not have it damage you?
You’ve been a disappointment since the day you were born.
It had taken every ounce of self-control he had possessed not to walk into that room and punch the older man’s lights out. But he knew it wasn’t his place. Sure, he was Jensen’s best friend, and that gave him a few rights, but to interfere in this - he didn’t think Jensen would appreciate it very much.
But what Jared didn’t appreciate - apart from the obvious - was the way Jensen had let his father get to him. He had just stood there and taken it, and Jared could not understand that at all. He needed to talk to Jensen and he hoped tomorrow would be soon enough. It irked him no end that the Ackles' arrival had messed with Jensen’s game. As if his father had needed any more ammunition against him. And then, when Kripke had pulled him aside and told him that Jensen had asked to be benched for the next two games against Texas - well, that was just unbelievable.
Almost as unbelievable as finding out that Jensen was engaged. And getting married in December. Jared was pretty sure he had felt his heart break a little; first, because Jensen had never mentioned it, and second, because there was no love there - none that he could see anyway. And it made no sense to Jared to marry without love. Heck, he would bet every cent he had that he loved Jensen more than Danneel Harris did.
As Jensen’s friend, as someone who adored him and supported him and would do just about anything for him - and yeah, the kisses they had shared the other day was maybe an indication that perhaps there was a little more than friendship to their relationship - Jared just couldn’t allow it.
He started when he heard the front door opening, and the soft footsteps on the wooden floors. He was almost out of bed before realizing that it could only be Jensen, which was weird because he had been under the impression that Jen was spending the next three nights at the hotel.
He listened intently to the sounds in the room next to his, and heard the soft sigh as Jensen fell into bed. The sounds were familiar to him, they were soothing, and it made him happy that Jen had come home. He thought maybe now he could get some sleep.
It surprised him then, to suddenly hear Jensen getting out of bed. He hoped... and then he saw the other man’s silhouette in his doorway, illuminated from behind by the dim light in the hall. He was inordinately pleased; Jensen not shutting him out was an excellent thing. He lifted the covers off one corner of his bed and shifted over to the opposite side, wordlessly patting the empty space he had created next to him.
Jensen took about two seconds to move and another two to settle in beside him, the warmth of his body reassuring Jared more than words ever could, even though he faced away from him.
“I think maybe I need a hug,” Jensen whispered in the darkness and before he could even complete his sentence, Jared pulled him close, tight into the safety of his arms, into the heat of his body, Jensen’s back flush against his chest. Jared kissed the back of his neck and then nuzzled the short hairs just above his nape, just breathing him in. “I don’t know how you do it, Jared,” Jensen breathed, “but you just make the pain go away.”
“It’s because you let me.”
“It’s because you’re the best.”
“It’s because you love me.”
“Yeah well, you love me just as much, so...”
“No argument there, cupcake,” Jared kissed him again, and pulled him even closer, as if that were even possible.
Jensen laughed, the sound husky - sexy - in the dark. “Jared, I do love you, but I need to be alive to keep at it, and you’re cutting off my oxygen, man.”
Jared chuckled and let him go - just the slightest bit. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence, Jared waiting until Jensen was ready to talk, when Jensen turned so that he was facing him. He stroked a long finger down the side of Jensen’s face from temple to chin before cupping his jaw and letting his thumb lightly caress the freckles on his cheek. “I’m glad you came home.”
“Me too,” Jensen breathed, his eyes a murky jade in the dimness of the room. “Did you hear all of it?”
Jared blinked, a little nonplussed. “All of what?”
“What my father said to me.”
Jared started in surprise. “You knew I was there?”
“Not at first, but just before my father left...,” Jensen exhaled. “I can always tell when you’re close.”
“Yeah,” Jared nodded; he could tell when Jensen was nearby too. “I was kind of in shock.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me...”
“I am sorry, Jensen,” he interjected gruffly, “sorry you had to listen to that shit, sorry that maybe you had to grow up listening to that shit! So yeah, I’m sorry. But more than that: I’m mad as hell!” Jensen put his hand over Jared’s heart and rubbed placatingly. Jared’s own hand fisted in the hem of Jensen’s t-shirt as it rested on his hip. Jared sighed. “Why do you let him talk to you like that, Jen?”
Jensen thought for a long moment before speaking. “He likes to get a rise out of me. He pushes and pushes; tries to make me snap. It angers him when I just take it, when I don’t show weakness. It’s my way of not giving in to him.”
“Meanwhile, you have to listen to his vitriol. That is so fucked up, Jen.”
“No kidding.”
“You want to talk to me about it?” Jared asked hesitantly. “I’ll listen to anything you want to say. Or you know, I could just cuddle too.”
“Any excuse to cuddle, huh, Padalecki?”
“Pretty much, Angel,” Jared teased as he gently kissed Jen’s forehead. This time the silence lasted so long that Jared thought they would just drift off to sleep after that, but then Jensen spoke.
“I was kind of a late bloomer as a kid. Not all that bright, you know?” Jensen said, his eyes not quite meeting Jared’s. Jared cupped his cheek again, forcing Jensen to look at him, asking for his trust with his eyes. Jensen breathed deeply before continuing. “Nobody really knew why I was doing so badly in school, I don’t know if anyone really gave a damn. My father was disappointed I wasn’t as smart as my brother, Joshua, and he reminded me of it every chance he got. It was one of my teachers who figured out I was dyslexic. My father always called it my weakness, but once I learned that it wasn’t my fault - that I wasn’t really stupid - I found ways to get over it; to compensate, not to rely on just the visual words, you know? After that, studying was a breeze. My mother got me a tutor who helped me to read, but more importantly taught me to learn. I realized that if I kept everything vocal, I could do anything. So I got to go to college; I even did my MBA. Daddy didn’t have a leg to stand on. It was a good feeling. Then I got Alona - she’s my assistant - and even the business end worked out well.”
Jared found it hard to keep the awe from his face and his voice. “You’re amazing...,” he breathed.
“Stop...”
“No really, Jen...”
“Do you wanna hear this or not?”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
“What no one expected was me getting a baseball scholarship to college. I jumped at it, of course. The chance to get out from under my father’s thumb? To get a college degree without him financing it? I was so there. I just didn’t expect to love it so much. I didn’t think I could be so happy playing this stupid game, as my father would say. Towards the end of my MBA, a scout came to one of our games; he made me an offer and when I considered my other choice - working for my father - it was a no-brainer. I signed on the dotted line.”
“Ballsy.”
“Yeah.
“I take it Daddy Dearest wasn’t happy?”
“The shit hit the fan, man. But he needed me; one of his biggest clients would only deal with me and he couldn't afford this guy bailing with all his investments. So after a lot of yelling, I made the deal. I deal with his client but I get to play in the minors until the majors came calling. If that happened, I would play one season and then come back to the company.”
“Jesus.”
“I just figured I wasn’t ever gonna be good enough for the majors, so I could just stay in the minors forever, you know?”
“Devious.”
“Yeah,” Jensen chuckled. “Until the Jays came along.”
“You know, I’m still glad they did.”
“Me too. There is nothing I regret about these few months. Well, except for those two weeks I pushed you away.”
“Never gonna happen again,” Jared assured him, pulling him a little closer for good measure, smiling a little when Jensen closed his eyes, as if savouring the contact. So many things about the way Jensen was made sense now. Jared sighed, and waited a full minute before asking the one thing that had had him tied up in knots since the Ackles family had walked into the Jays clubhouse. “Are you gonna tell me about Danneel?”
Jensen’s eyes sprang open, their gazes colliding, and he actually looked sheepish. “Would you believe I forgot she existed?”
“Strangely, yes.”
“Really?”
“You’ve never once even indicated that you were engaged or had a girlfriend, or if you were, you know,” Jared’s eyes darted sideways, “in love.”
“We’ve never even gone out on a date,” Jensen scoffed. “I’ve known her for a few years, since Harris and my father became business associates. I’m not even sure how exactly it happened but suddenly there was talk of a merger and a marriage and we were engaged, and you’ve seen her, right? I thought I would be an idiot to say no to that,” Jensen chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Things never seem to work out the way I think they will. She moved to Paris a couple of years ago - she’s a fashion photographer - and the family has been trying to get us married over the last two years, but I’ve been stalling by playing baseball. I think my father just got tired of waiting. And I guess Danneel is still okay with it. Makes me wonder how her boyfriend feels.”
“What?” Jared was stunned. “Seriously - what the fuck, Jen?”
“She’s not stupid, Jared. This merger translates into a lot of money all around. Even though she lives with the guy in Paris, she still wants to marry me.”
“And what do you want?”
“I thought I would be okay with it,” Jensen sighed. “I thought I could live with it. Do just one thing in my life to maybe make my father proud of me...”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” Jared sputtered. “You’re delusional. It’ll just be one more way for him to make you miserable!”
“Yeah, I realize that now. I was more naive in my youth. I still had hope for him. I can’t even bring myself to care about him anymore.”
“Well, he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Does it make me a horrible person to think that?” Jensen asked him, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. It made Jared suddenly see him as the little boy he had once been, just trying to do right by his daddy. And oh, how he loathed Jensen’s father at that moment.
“You’re a saint to have put up with him this long.”
Jensen smiled ruefully at him. “I think you might be a little biased in my favour.”
“It’s about time someone is,” Jared muttered darkly, and Jensen’s smile widened, his hand - still resting over Jared’s heart - rubbing in soothing circles.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Danneel.”
“It’s all right. She doesn’t mean anything to you... so, I dunno. I’m not holding it against you.”
“Good. Can we go to sleep now? I’m beat.”
“Thank you for talking to me,” Jared said sincerely.
“You’re the one person I want on my side, Jared,” Jensen told him, his thumb absently caressing the hollow at Jared’s throat. “I need you.”
“You've got me, Jensen,” Jared whispered against his mouth, stealing a soft kiss from his lips, “you've got me.”
|*|*|*|
Jensen went to his meeting, even though he had been loath to leave bed, especially since Jared had still been in it - and that knowledge had occupied his thoughts throughout the morning. He was pretty sure he should be freaking the fuck out about that, but he couldn’t muster up a good enough freak-out just quite yet.
The meeting had been productive though, and Jacobson had been amenable, and they were going to keep talking about his interest in Ackles Incorporated; that had been good enough for Jensen, but not his father. It would have been great if he could have completely avoided speaking to his father, but no such luck. And a good night’s sleep hadn’t helped his father’s disposition any; he was still a petty bastard, and he had been on fire that morning.
And all of Jensen’s hard won good humour from the night before had evaporated in the light of day.
So, as he and Jared walked to the ballpark a little later that morning, he was nursing a headache and feeling annoyed and grumpy and he really, really wanted to hit something hard. Luckily for him, Jared didn’t seem to hold his colossally shitty mood against him.
“Hey, you wanna get some?” He asked as they passed a gelato store. “Say yes, Jen, please!”
Jensen had to smile at the look on his face. “You are such a child... all right, all right. Put that pout away.”
As he and Jared excited the shop a few minutes later, Jared dancing to a song the radio piped from the gelato shop out to their patio area, they were accosted by an enthusiastic group of girls, all in their early teens, part of a summer softball team, all of whom were big Jays fans and who were on their way to the late afternoon game. So, they signed a few autographs, gamely posed for pictures and Jared being the people-person he was, they ended up sitting on the patio tables outside the gelato shop, chatting for a good while.
It was fun, actually, and his mood got progressively better as they talked to the girls about the game, giving them pointers and sharing little anecdotes about the rest of the team, the girls' giggles and shy smiles just about making his day; a day which, despite being bright and sunny, had a few scattered clouds, and absurd as it was, it was drizzling with the sun still shining above. The radio from the cafe next door blared out an appropriate song for the weather and after some consideration, Jared smirked at him as he picked up one of the girls’ pink umbrella and opened it over both their heads.
“Because,” he sang to Jensen, much to the amusement of their young audience, making up in enthusiasm anything that was lacking in his voice, although he did sound pretty good, “when the sun shines, we’ll shine together... told you I’ll be here forever... said I’ll always be your friend - took an oath, I’ma stick it out to the end. Now that it’s raining more than ever,” he sang, slinging his arm around Jensen’s shoulders, while the girls bounced in their seats in time to the music, completely in Jared’s thrall, “know that we’ll still have each other... you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella...”
Jensen laughed outright when the girls joined in on the chorus, attracting the attention of practically everyone else in the cafe and on the street.
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)
Not to be outdone, the radio from the gelato shop was suddenly cranked up, and the two boys who worked behind the counter there joined them on the stoop.
“Lean on me,” they crooned, snapping their fingers, and Jensen saw the moment that Jared recognised the song and joined them, leaving Jensen holding the pink umbrella.
“When you’re not strong...,” Jared sang along with them, getting wide smiles from their audience as people started snapping to the beat the gelato guys were setting. “I’ll be your friend, I’ll help carry on...”
The softball girls jumped in.
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
“For... it won’t be long, ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on...” Jared and the gelato boys sang. Jensen smirked at the girls sitting next to him and stood; no way he was letting Jared have all the fun. So Jensen sang - to Jared’s utter delight, if the megawatt smile on his face was anything to go by - the girls backing him up.
“Because - when the sun shines, we’ll shine together... told you I’ll be here forever... said I’ll always be your friend - took an oath, I’ma stick it out to the end. Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other... you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella...”
“Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand,” Jared’s little group took over, “we all need somebody to lean on...”
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
“I just might have a problem that you understand, we all need somebody to lean on... Lean on me...”
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)
The mash-up of both songs finished with a flourish, the boys and girls and a lot of the people watching the impromptu show singing along, and cheering at the end. It was a fucking awesome experience, and seriously... the people of Toronto rocked.
He and Jared hung out a little longer, signing more autographs and taking more pictures before they left for the ballpark, Jared’s arm thrown across Jensen’s shoulder as they smirked happily at each other.
Jared grinned down at him. “That was so cool!”
“Abso-freakin’-lutely!”
“I told Krip to put you back in the line-up,” Jared told him, just like that, completely out of the blue.
Jensen blinked at him in surprise. “You did what now? How did you even know?”
“He told me last night.”
“And you thought you could just make my decisions for me?”
“I don’t play as well without you, Jen!”
“So what you're saying is, you did it for you?”
“You didn’t think I did it for you, did you?” Jared gasped dramatically, looking affronted - or trying to, at least. “That’s really presumptuous of you, Jensen,” he tsked.
Jensen barked out a laugh. “You called him this morning?” Jared nodded. “What time?”
“Around ten.”
“I called him at nine,” Jensen laughed. “He must think we’re idiots.”
“He’d only be half-right,” Jared teased, getting a punch on the bicep for his sass.
|*|*|*|
hit counter
Genre: J2 RPS, AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared although - Heh! You know major league teams have 25-man rosters, right?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings (overall): Language, Baseball, Schmoop, Angst, Boy-Sexin’ (wait, what kind of warning is that?)
Word Count: ~ 3,550
Disclaimer: Fiction not fact. All these beautiful guys belong to themselves. Jensen and Jared belong to each other, we all know that :D Only the words are mine. No copyright infringement intended for the use of the MLB teams/players/logos, the Toronto Star, or Rogers Sportsnet. This is for fun, not profit.
A/N: I apologize for the last chappie, lol - but I feel I must direct your attention to the warnings: did I not mention the angst, people? Did I not tell you this was a baseball soap opera? I rest my case ;o) And I present you with this chapter as a peace offering. This story was always headed in this direction - taking y’all to meet the Texas Ackleses. That’s why I introduced you to the Padaleckis first. We’re getting there, ladies, hold onto your horses. The end is nigh. You know in about ten or so more parts, because brevity is not one of my strong suits.
Enjoy! Comments = Love!
Summary: Alan Ackles is a piece of work, and yeah, a piece of shit, and he does a real number on Jensen. Again. But Alan Ackles doesn’t know that even dark days in Toronto are bright.
( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ), ( 7 ), ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 )
THIRTEEN: STAND UNDER MY UMBRELLA AND LEAN ON ME
Dinner had been an unmitigated disaster.
Jensen sighed as he finally settled into bed after wrapping up his midnight meeting with Alona. He tried not to think about the meal he had shared with his family. The conversation had been stilted, when his father and Jed Harris had not been discussing business anyway, and really, this was his family - dinner conversations had always been about business. Every conversation was about business. The excellent food had turned to ash on his tongue, tasteless, and he had given up any pretence of eating early on in the night. And he never touched alcohol with his father anywhere in the vicinity; you didn’t enter the battlefield without full control of all your faculties, so he couldn't even numb his mind that way.
He turned in bed, his stomach rumbling, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten, and then he couldn’t find a comfortable spot in the strange bed, and he just really wanted to go home.
And then it occurred to him: why the hell couldn’t he just go home?
He was dressed and out the door in five minutes.
|*|*|*|
Jared tossed and turned in bed, worrying about Jensen, wondering how he was, how the dinner had gone. He had told the guys to leave Jensen alone for the time being, even though quite a few of them had volunteered to kick his father’s ass; though they would have to line up and take a number behind Jared.
His stomach roiled in anger as he recalled the conversation he had inadvertently overheard when he had gone looking for Jensen in the owner’s box after the game. What kind of parent talks to their kid that way? Jared couldn’t wrap his brain around it; just the thought of his father doing something similar was ludicrous.
You’re a disgrace to this family.
His heart had gone out to Jensen, as a friend, as a teammate, as a fellow human being. How do you hear something like that and not have it damage you?
You’ve been a disappointment since the day you were born.
It had taken every ounce of self-control he had possessed not to walk into that room and punch the older man’s lights out. But he knew it wasn’t his place. Sure, he was Jensen’s best friend, and that gave him a few rights, but to interfere in this - he didn’t think Jensen would appreciate it very much.
But what Jared didn’t appreciate - apart from the obvious - was the way Jensen had let his father get to him. He had just stood there and taken it, and Jared could not understand that at all. He needed to talk to Jensen and he hoped tomorrow would be soon enough. It irked him no end that the Ackles' arrival had messed with Jensen’s game. As if his father had needed any more ammunition against him. And then, when Kripke had pulled him aside and told him that Jensen had asked to be benched for the next two games against Texas - well, that was just unbelievable.
Almost as unbelievable as finding out that Jensen was engaged. And getting married in December. Jared was pretty sure he had felt his heart break a little; first, because Jensen had never mentioned it, and second, because there was no love there - none that he could see anyway. And it made no sense to Jared to marry without love. Heck, he would bet every cent he had that he loved Jensen more than Danneel Harris did.
As Jensen’s friend, as someone who adored him and supported him and would do just about anything for him - and yeah, the kisses they had shared the other day was maybe an indication that perhaps there was a little more than friendship to their relationship - Jared just couldn’t allow it.
He started when he heard the front door opening, and the soft footsteps on the wooden floors. He was almost out of bed before realizing that it could only be Jensen, which was weird because he had been under the impression that Jen was spending the next three nights at the hotel.
He listened intently to the sounds in the room next to his, and heard the soft sigh as Jensen fell into bed. The sounds were familiar to him, they were soothing, and it made him happy that Jen had come home. He thought maybe now he could get some sleep.
It surprised him then, to suddenly hear Jensen getting out of bed. He hoped... and then he saw the other man’s silhouette in his doorway, illuminated from behind by the dim light in the hall. He was inordinately pleased; Jensen not shutting him out was an excellent thing. He lifted the covers off one corner of his bed and shifted over to the opposite side, wordlessly patting the empty space he had created next to him.
Jensen took about two seconds to move and another two to settle in beside him, the warmth of his body reassuring Jared more than words ever could, even though he faced away from him.
“I think maybe I need a hug,” Jensen whispered in the darkness and before he could even complete his sentence, Jared pulled him close, tight into the safety of his arms, into the heat of his body, Jensen’s back flush against his chest. Jared kissed the back of his neck and then nuzzled the short hairs just above his nape, just breathing him in. “I don’t know how you do it, Jared,” Jensen breathed, “but you just make the pain go away.”
“It’s because you let me.”
“It’s because you’re the best.”
“It’s because you love me.”
“Yeah well, you love me just as much, so...”
“No argument there, cupcake,” Jared kissed him again, and pulled him even closer, as if that were even possible.
Jensen laughed, the sound husky - sexy - in the dark. “Jared, I do love you, but I need to be alive to keep at it, and you’re cutting off my oxygen, man.”
Jared chuckled and let him go - just the slightest bit. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence, Jared waiting until Jensen was ready to talk, when Jensen turned so that he was facing him. He stroked a long finger down the side of Jensen’s face from temple to chin before cupping his jaw and letting his thumb lightly caress the freckles on his cheek. “I’m glad you came home.”
“Me too,” Jensen breathed, his eyes a murky jade in the dimness of the room. “Did you hear all of it?”
Jared blinked, a little nonplussed. “All of what?”
“What my father said to me.”
Jared started in surprise. “You knew I was there?”
“Not at first, but just before my father left...,” Jensen exhaled. “I can always tell when you’re close.”
“Yeah,” Jared nodded; he could tell when Jensen was nearby too. “I was kind of in shock.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me...”
“I am sorry, Jensen,” he interjected gruffly, “sorry you had to listen to that shit, sorry that maybe you had to grow up listening to that shit! So yeah, I’m sorry. But more than that: I’m mad as hell!” Jensen put his hand over Jared’s heart and rubbed placatingly. Jared’s own hand fisted in the hem of Jensen’s t-shirt as it rested on his hip. Jared sighed. “Why do you let him talk to you like that, Jen?”
Jensen thought for a long moment before speaking. “He likes to get a rise out of me. He pushes and pushes; tries to make me snap. It angers him when I just take it, when I don’t show weakness. It’s my way of not giving in to him.”
“Meanwhile, you have to listen to his vitriol. That is so fucked up, Jen.”
“No kidding.”
“You want to talk to me about it?” Jared asked hesitantly. “I’ll listen to anything you want to say. Or you know, I could just cuddle too.”
“Any excuse to cuddle, huh, Padalecki?”
“Pretty much, Angel,” Jared teased as he gently kissed Jen’s forehead. This time the silence lasted so long that Jared thought they would just drift off to sleep after that, but then Jensen spoke.
“I was kind of a late bloomer as a kid. Not all that bright, you know?” Jensen said, his eyes not quite meeting Jared’s. Jared cupped his cheek again, forcing Jensen to look at him, asking for his trust with his eyes. Jensen breathed deeply before continuing. “Nobody really knew why I was doing so badly in school, I don’t know if anyone really gave a damn. My father was disappointed I wasn’t as smart as my brother, Joshua, and he reminded me of it every chance he got. It was one of my teachers who figured out I was dyslexic. My father always called it my weakness, but once I learned that it wasn’t my fault - that I wasn’t really stupid - I found ways to get over it; to compensate, not to rely on just the visual words, you know? After that, studying was a breeze. My mother got me a tutor who helped me to read, but more importantly taught me to learn. I realized that if I kept everything vocal, I could do anything. So I got to go to college; I even did my MBA. Daddy didn’t have a leg to stand on. It was a good feeling. Then I got Alona - she’s my assistant - and even the business end worked out well.”
Jared found it hard to keep the awe from his face and his voice. “You’re amazing...,” he breathed.
“Stop...”
“No really, Jen...”
“Do you wanna hear this or not?”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
“What no one expected was me getting a baseball scholarship to college. I jumped at it, of course. The chance to get out from under my father’s thumb? To get a college degree without him financing it? I was so there. I just didn’t expect to love it so much. I didn’t think I could be so happy playing this stupid game, as my father would say. Towards the end of my MBA, a scout came to one of our games; he made me an offer and when I considered my other choice - working for my father - it was a no-brainer. I signed on the dotted line.”
“Ballsy.”
“Yeah.
“I take it Daddy Dearest wasn’t happy?”
“The shit hit the fan, man. But he needed me; one of his biggest clients would only deal with me and he couldn't afford this guy bailing with all his investments. So after a lot of yelling, I made the deal. I deal with his client but I get to play in the minors until the majors came calling. If that happened, I would play one season and then come back to the company.”
“Jesus.”
“I just figured I wasn’t ever gonna be good enough for the majors, so I could just stay in the minors forever, you know?”
“Devious.”
“Yeah,” Jensen chuckled. “Until the Jays came along.”
“You know, I’m still glad they did.”
“Me too. There is nothing I regret about these few months. Well, except for those two weeks I pushed you away.”
“Never gonna happen again,” Jared assured him, pulling him a little closer for good measure, smiling a little when Jensen closed his eyes, as if savouring the contact. So many things about the way Jensen was made sense now. Jared sighed, and waited a full minute before asking the one thing that had had him tied up in knots since the Ackles family had walked into the Jays clubhouse. “Are you gonna tell me about Danneel?”
Jensen’s eyes sprang open, their gazes colliding, and he actually looked sheepish. “Would you believe I forgot she existed?”
“Strangely, yes.”
“Really?”
“You’ve never once even indicated that you were engaged or had a girlfriend, or if you were, you know,” Jared’s eyes darted sideways, “in love.”
“We’ve never even gone out on a date,” Jensen scoffed. “I’ve known her for a few years, since Harris and my father became business associates. I’m not even sure how exactly it happened but suddenly there was talk of a merger and a marriage and we were engaged, and you’ve seen her, right? I thought I would be an idiot to say no to that,” Jensen chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Things never seem to work out the way I think they will. She moved to Paris a couple of years ago - she’s a fashion photographer - and the family has been trying to get us married over the last two years, but I’ve been stalling by playing baseball. I think my father just got tired of waiting. And I guess Danneel is still okay with it. Makes me wonder how her boyfriend feels.”
“What?” Jared was stunned. “Seriously - what the fuck, Jen?”
“She’s not stupid, Jared. This merger translates into a lot of money all around. Even though she lives with the guy in Paris, she still wants to marry me.”
“And what do you want?”
“I thought I would be okay with it,” Jensen sighed. “I thought I could live with it. Do just one thing in my life to maybe make my father proud of me...”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” Jared sputtered. “You’re delusional. It’ll just be one more way for him to make you miserable!”
“Yeah, I realize that now. I was more naive in my youth. I still had hope for him. I can’t even bring myself to care about him anymore.”
“Well, he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Does it make me a horrible person to think that?” Jensen asked him, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. It made Jared suddenly see him as the little boy he had once been, just trying to do right by his daddy. And oh, how he loathed Jensen’s father at that moment.
“You’re a saint to have put up with him this long.”
Jensen smiled ruefully at him. “I think you might be a little biased in my favour.”
“It’s about time someone is,” Jared muttered darkly, and Jensen’s smile widened, his hand - still resting over Jared’s heart - rubbing in soothing circles.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Danneel.”
“It’s all right. She doesn’t mean anything to you... so, I dunno. I’m not holding it against you.”
“Good. Can we go to sleep now? I’m beat.”
“Thank you for talking to me,” Jared said sincerely.
“You’re the one person I want on my side, Jared,” Jensen told him, his thumb absently caressing the hollow at Jared’s throat. “I need you.”
“You've got me, Jensen,” Jared whispered against his mouth, stealing a soft kiss from his lips, “you've got me.”
|*|*|*|
Jensen went to his meeting, even though he had been loath to leave bed, especially since Jared had still been in it - and that knowledge had occupied his thoughts throughout the morning. He was pretty sure he should be freaking the fuck out about that, but he couldn’t muster up a good enough freak-out just quite yet.
The meeting had been productive though, and Jacobson had been amenable, and they were going to keep talking about his interest in Ackles Incorporated; that had been good enough for Jensen, but not his father. It would have been great if he could have completely avoided speaking to his father, but no such luck. And a good night’s sleep hadn’t helped his father’s disposition any; he was still a petty bastard, and he had been on fire that morning.
And all of Jensen’s hard won good humour from the night before had evaporated in the light of day.
So, as he and Jared walked to the ballpark a little later that morning, he was nursing a headache and feeling annoyed and grumpy and he really, really wanted to hit something hard. Luckily for him, Jared didn’t seem to hold his colossally shitty mood against him.
“Hey, you wanna get some?” He asked as they passed a gelato store. “Say yes, Jen, please!”
Jensen had to smile at the look on his face. “You are such a child... all right, all right. Put that pout away.”
As he and Jared excited the shop a few minutes later, Jared dancing to a song the radio piped from the gelato shop out to their patio area, they were accosted by an enthusiastic group of girls, all in their early teens, part of a summer softball team, all of whom were big Jays fans and who were on their way to the late afternoon game. So, they signed a few autographs, gamely posed for pictures and Jared being the people-person he was, they ended up sitting on the patio tables outside the gelato shop, chatting for a good while.
It was fun, actually, and his mood got progressively better as they talked to the girls about the game, giving them pointers and sharing little anecdotes about the rest of the team, the girls' giggles and shy smiles just about making his day; a day which, despite being bright and sunny, had a few scattered clouds, and absurd as it was, it was drizzling with the sun still shining above. The radio from the cafe next door blared out an appropriate song for the weather and after some consideration, Jared smirked at him as he picked up one of the girls’ pink umbrella and opened it over both their heads.
“Because,” he sang to Jensen, much to the amusement of their young audience, making up in enthusiasm anything that was lacking in his voice, although he did sound pretty good, “when the sun shines, we’ll shine together... told you I’ll be here forever... said I’ll always be your friend - took an oath, I’ma stick it out to the end. Now that it’s raining more than ever,” he sang, slinging his arm around Jensen’s shoulders, while the girls bounced in their seats in time to the music, completely in Jared’s thrall, “know that we’ll still have each other... you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella...”
Jensen laughed outright when the girls joined in on the chorus, attracting the attention of practically everyone else in the cafe and on the street.
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)
Not to be outdone, the radio from the gelato shop was suddenly cranked up, and the two boys who worked behind the counter there joined them on the stoop.
“Lean on me,” they crooned, snapping their fingers, and Jensen saw the moment that Jared recognised the song and joined them, leaving Jensen holding the pink umbrella.
“When you’re not strong...,” Jared sang along with them, getting wide smiles from their audience as people started snapping to the beat the gelato guys were setting. “I’ll be your friend, I’ll help carry on...”
The softball girls jumped in.
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
“For... it won’t be long, ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on...” Jared and the gelato boys sang. Jensen smirked at the girls sitting next to him and stood; no way he was letting Jared have all the fun. So Jensen sang - to Jared’s utter delight, if the megawatt smile on his face was anything to go by - the girls backing him up.
“Because - when the sun shines, we’ll shine together... told you I’ll be here forever... said I’ll always be your friend - took an oath, I’ma stick it out to the end. Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other... you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella...”
“Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand,” Jared’s little group took over, “we all need somebody to lean on...”
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
“I just might have a problem that you understand, we all need somebody to lean on... Lean on me...”
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay)
Under my umbrella
(Ella Ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)
The mash-up of both songs finished with a flourish, the boys and girls and a lot of the people watching the impromptu show singing along, and cheering at the end. It was a fucking awesome experience, and seriously... the people of Toronto rocked.
He and Jared hung out a little longer, signing more autographs and taking more pictures before they left for the ballpark, Jared’s arm thrown across Jensen’s shoulder as they smirked happily at each other.
Jared grinned down at him. “That was so cool!”
“Abso-freakin’-lutely!”
“I told Krip to put you back in the line-up,” Jared told him, just like that, completely out of the blue.
Jensen blinked at him in surprise. “You did what now? How did you even know?”
“He told me last night.”
“And you thought you could just make my decisions for me?”
“I don’t play as well without you, Jen!”
“So what you're saying is, you did it for you?”
“You didn’t think I did it for you, did you?” Jared gasped dramatically, looking affronted - or trying to, at least. “That’s really presumptuous of you, Jensen,” he tsked.
Jensen barked out a laugh. “You called him this morning?” Jared nodded. “What time?”
“Around ten.”
“I called him at nine,” Jensen laughed. “He must think we’re idiots.”
“He’d only be half-right,” Jared teased, getting a punch on the bicep for his sass.
|*|*|*|
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