Doing Life With The Boy Next Door, 1/2 [R] Jensen/Jared
Title: Doing Life With the Boy Next Door
Author: truelyesoteric
Rating: R
Pairings: Jared/Jensen
Warnings: Its RPS AU. The Slashy Kind (as if you are not tipped off by the paring) and tons of schmoop.
Spoilers: Its AU. (As if you are not tipped off by the warning)
Disclaimer: I don’t own real Jared and Jensen. Wow writing that made me sad. I will make do with claiming fake Jared and Jensen. (As I can because you can tell by the Spoiler that it is AU). I’m still not making any money.
Word Count: 13,000
Summary: Jared and Jensen grew up together in San Antonio. Jensen is gay. Jared is sure that he is partially gay. It might have started as a farce, but it doesn’t seem to be going away.
Beta: taltos_ made sure that the characters were still breathing, apparently it is useful to humans to breathe, who knew? As always kitiaria loved and hugged and helped this
A/N: This is the fourth in the Boy Next Door Series: The Boy Next Door, Dating The Boy Next Door, and Meeting the Boy Next Door’s Parents and Extended Family
Also this is so very very late for Sweet Charity. faith_mars has been patient and wonderful. I have been a huge slacker. Girl I’m so sorry. This is for you. Thank you so much for being awesome about this.
“Jensen, I need you not to freak out.”
Jensen stopped eating his ‘Jared Padalecki Special,’ which was actually just a peanut butter and jelly, in mid bite. He was on lunch break at the school and these calls were fairly common from his baby sister. Mackenzie always thought it was funny to call and harass him on his lunch break.
This phone call however was not from his sister.
And this information was also not turning out to be funny.
“Are you new?” Mackenzie said, apparently taking the phone from Megan, “Jensen freaks out, it’s his thing.”
“Jensen,” she said over the line, “We’re at the hospital. That nasty boy who lived down the street, the one who fucking used to torture kittens and his little cohort hurt Jared. They apparently are not in favor of same sex relationships and they think their fists make excellent points to prove this.”
“Way to break it to him,” Megan said apparently taking the phone back, “Jensen it’s not bad, but do you think…”
Jensen didn’t hear any more, he was in his car a second later. He really had stopped hearing. Everything was just a roar. It wasn’t even a conscious thought that he was leaving his job, all he knew was that he had to be with Jared.
Well there was one other thing that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Fucking Jason Dorhing and his little friend Teddy needed to die.
He was half torn on stopping first to make that happen before he went to see Jared.
“Stop with that thought,” Megan said softly on the other end of the line, “They’re not worth it, be here for him.”
So Jensen drove toward the hospital after hanging up because Megan didn’t need to hear his inner monologue that apparently, he was unable to make an inner monologue that wasn’t heard by everyone.
His inner monologue was very opinionated and it was screaming at him that Jared was going to leave him because he had finally experienced the joys of gay bashing in Texas. His inner monologue was telling him that this was going to be to heard for Jared to bear. His inner monologue was telling him that Jared was going to run away from Texas like he always wanted to. His inner monologue was telling him that the things that he had only recently began to hope and dream were going to be a moot point. His inner monologue was already preparing to grow old and die alone.
By the time he pulled up into the hospital parking lot, he was pretty sure his inner monologue had already bought cats and the scary house at the end of the road that children would be terrified of, in which he was going to die bitter and alone.
When he finally entered the little curtain lined room that Jared was in his inner monologue was immediately silenced
The sight of his very bruised boyfriend sitting next to their sisters replaced it and that was all that he was able to see. Just Jared.
Nothing else mattered.
He immediately didn’t care if Jared left him. All he could think about was the fact that Jared looked like shit and he just wanted to make this better, he wanted Jared to be okay. That was first in his mind, Jared was first and Jared was everything
Megan looked at the clock, “Twenty minutes, I didn’t know that it was physically possible to make it across town that quickly.”
“About fucking time,” Mackenzie said, coming up to him and giving him a hug.
She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “No guy is ever going to care about me as much as you care about Jared. I hate you.”
Jensen barely registered them. Instead his sights were focused on Jared.
Jared tried to smile at him, and Jensen’s heart nearly broke at the attempt to make it seem like nothing was wrong, when the purple marks on his skin belying the fact that life was far from perfect.
“Can we not do the talking right now,” Jared asked holding out his arms, his errant Jell-O sitting by the bed, “Can we just get to the part where you’re here?”
Jensen nodded and went to him, touching ever so lightly, he didn’t want anything in his touch to cause Jared any pain. Jared didn’t seem to care, Jared moved towards him, holding onto his arm as if it held the secret to life. He knew this is what he was needed for right now, just that he be here.
“I’m here,” Jensen whispered in his ear.
Mackenzie put her hands on her hips, “We’re screwed Meg, these guys have ruined us.”
Megan just smiled.
**
Jared wrapped himself around Jensen the only way possible for someone who had two broken ribs and a nose.. They just lay like that for minutes, not caring when the minutes turned into an hour.
“It doesn’t hurt that badly,” Jared whispered finally into Jensen’s neck, well aware that Jensen had barely moved in his uncomfortable position as Jensen was too afraid to jostle Jared.
“You’re on drugs,” Jensen pointed out, still not moving.
Jensen looked at Jared’s face, his eyes trying to be brave, trying not to hurt. It made Jensen ache a little more.
“They said,” Jared tried to get the words out, “They said things.”
“None of it is true,” Jensen interrupted, knowing what some ignorant people said, “If you want to you can tell me everything that they said, but it doesn’t matter, it isn’t true. They have no right to hurt you, nobody does.”
Jensen was so violently angry and scared right now he wanted to lash out, but he found that he could be the strong one in this relationship when he needed to be. He could stay and offer comfort. That is always how it had been for them. When one of them couldn’t measure up to a normal day the other could cover until the balance was restored.
Jensen had once hated this idea that they worked better together, that they worked better as a team. They together they were better.
His one weakness was that he was always there when Jared needed him.
Once he was this as a defect of his character, reliance on someone else.
When he was younger he couldn’t make the distinction between needing someone to tie ones shoes and needing someone to lean on because of a death in the family. There was a time when it felt like there was no difference between Jared needing him for support and Jared taking advantage of his good nature.
He believed it because he didn’t want to ever have to depend on Jared because he couldn’t bear Jared not being there.
It was only when Jensen realized that Jared would go to the ends of the earth for Jensen metaphorically, and stay in one place for Jensen literally, that Jensen began to think that, in the end it wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Just for the record I still love you,” Jared whispered into Jensen’s ear, his voice soft and scared, as if he expected Jensen’s answer to be anything different, he pulled Jensen as close as he could.
He could feel Jensen relax, “Of course you do, I’m awesome.”
Jared rubbed lightly at Jensen’s back. They lay in silence for a little longer.
“If it gets hard, it gets hard,” Jared replied in barely a whisper, painfully reaching a hand to touch Jensen’s arm, to rub in reassurance, “Don’t leave me for this.”
“I broke the speed limit for you,” Jensen assured, shifting to hide his face in the pillow, “I don’t know if it is physically possible for me to be anywhere else.”
“You’re not leaving me?”
Jensen felt warm wetness against his forehead.
“No seems too small of a word,” Jensen said in a muffled voice, “But I can’t think of anything more profound.”
“No will do just fine,” Jared assured, able to smile a little bit even through everything.
**
When Megan and Mackenzie came back from the cafeteria and Jensen was brought back to the real world with the beeping of his phone. He pulled away from the familiar comfort of Jared with a groan.
Jensen had two missed phone calls from the school and he managed to appease them.
He answered the calls with a simple ‘family emergency’ and Alana the school’s secretary did her magic and just like that his classes were covered.
Jensen could barely care about all of those little details. Every time he looked at Jared, bruised, he couldn’t think of somewhere else to be.
When Josh and Jeff showed up Jensen was a little surprised that they hadn’t shown up earlier with their sisters until Jensen noticed that their knuckles were all bloody.
He looked at Jeff and Josh and he applauded their dedication and regretted that they didn’t come and get him to help.
“You didn’t get arrested?” Jensen asked skeptically looking at their hands.
Jared looked down, “You didn’t have to do this.”
“You’re my little brother,” Jeff said simply as he always did, “And I have ALWAYS hated those two. Jason and Teddy had it coming.”
“They’ll never use the word fag again,” Josh added.
Megan glared at him, “So you fought violence with violence? That is brilliant.”
Mackenzie sighed, “You should have let me come.”
“This was a guy thing,” Jeff told her.
“Between the guy thing and the gay thing,” Mackenzie sighed to Megan with her special dramatic flair, “We’re so excluded. This is discrimination.”
Jared winced at those particular choice of words.
Mackenzie, for once, looked a little ashamed of herself.
Jeff tried to ease the tension, “We’re going to be a non discrimination family. Next time we do something that could quite possibly be illegal and get us in trouble with the cops I’ll make sure that you come along.”
“We’re going to become a mafia family aren’t we?” Jared tried weakly, but an attempt none the less, and everyone was so relieved that he might possibly not have lost his sense of humor.
“Awesome,” Jeff said lighting up, “I want to be the Godfather.”
“I’m going to be your Right hand guy,” Josh added.
They looked like they were mentally plotting a hierarchy and all the strip clubs that they were going to erect in their massive empire.
Jared looked at them, rolling his eyes, “The nurses are going to wash your hands with iodine now to fix your war wounds and it hurts like a motherfucker.”
With that in mind they took the sage advice and left fairly stealthily just in time to avoid the nurse who came in and pointed out that the room was way beyond maximum capacity.
Megan and Mackenzie complained about being forced to leave, but were pretty distracted by a hot orderly and left in a manner that could only be defined as the inverse of stealth.
The boys were happy to be alone again.
**
The hospital was abuzz with the little incident, because Jensen had always been a darling in Austin and the fact that his boyfriend had been beaten up was something that hadn’t gone unnoticed.
So somehow within two hours the head nurse - who was neighbors with the cousin of the Mayor had informed the Mayor that there had been a hate crime in his town. Now the details about Jared’s attack had gotten out and the Mayor was bound and determined that his town was not going to be known for and condone those hate crimes.
The result of all of this was that Jared was made to wait for the police. Waiting meant that they received a ridiculous amount of coddling receive an over abundance of attention. It was making the boys crazy.
Mackenzie and Megan were called in because Jared was starting to hurt and get cranky from the diminishing pain meds.
“I guess you two are really out of the closet,” Mackenzie said snapping her gum and lounging in a very uncomfortable office chair, “I mean now the mayor is going to be involved and I think that the entire world will know.”
They all waited for the police. Then they waited some more.
The Padalecki’s were not known for their patience, hell they weren’t even known for their ability to sit still for ten minutes and Mackenzie hated being bored almost as much as she hated breathing, which she saw as a whole lot of mundane repetitive maintenance.
Finally a detective came.
Jensen was not expecting who came for Jared’s police report. It was an embarrassing situation and weird and definitely held the candle for the ‘what the fuck’ moment.
.
It took the edge off the circumstances, though.
“Mac Fuller what are you doing here?” Mackenzie asked the man in a bad suit standing before them.
“I’m working at the police station,” Mac said brushing the few strands of his hair over his shining dome.
There was a collective stare turned to the one Mac Fuller.
“I’m the one who works with the hate crime or sex crimes,” he offered in way of explanation.
They still all just looked at him. Mac Fuller had once been notorious in the greater San Antonio area for owning the sole porn shop in over 250 miles. He was looked down upon, but never run out. He knew everyone’s secrets and most people were scared of him. However he knew how to keep his mouth shut.
Jensen and Jared knew that Mac knew quite a few of their secrets.
“What happened to the porn shop?” Mackenzie asked in her typical brash manner.
He shrugged, “It burned down. I was thinking of rebuilding it but then there was this case with this sick-o and some kids and my cousin on the force asked me to help out. I got sucked in. They figured as I knew all this stuff that I should just take over working for the police.”
Which was an understatement, but when Mac Fuller came to investigate a child abuse case or an accused rape situation the situation typically ended well and quietly.
Mac knew how to distinguish freaky and kinky from just plain perverted and wrong. That was a distinction not most people could make. Strangely enough it made him an asset to the police force.
For Jensen and Jared it made Mac a person who knew way too much about their young personal lives.
Between Mac’s very prominent ears was vast amounts of knowledge about Jensen and Jared the early years.
Jared wrinkled his brow and winced as he realized that moving his face hurt. Jensen turned an impressive shade of pink and couldn’t look anyone in the eye.
The boys didn’t move from each other, that had been a little bit of a habit to break, but today they couldn’t bother. They just lay curled up together, looking at Mac warily.
“Isn’t there some kind of confidentiality in the adult store business?” Megan asked, more on behalf of Jared and Jensen than anything else.
Mac looked at her as if she were crazy, “Ummm, I ran a porn shop, I wasn’t a doctor or a priest. There really is no oath that we have to take in order to keep secrets, I’m not going to be kicked out of the porn owners guild. I can talk about it if I so choose.”
Jared and Jensen didn’t look at each other, but Megan and Mackenzie looked way too interested in Mac Fuller at the moment.
Mac Fuller looked at Jensen and Jared, two people he used to see quite regularly when they had been sixteen to nineteen, recently though Mac hadn’t seen much of them. He looked at the two men, lightly touching and understanding dawned.
He looked at the two men, lightly touching and understanding dawned.
Mac shot them a sly smile, “You two are back together? If I had known that you were together I would have gotten back in business. The amount that you two spent on lube on a monthly basis would have supported a whole new wing of the porn shop.”
Mackenzie grinned and clapped her hands, “That would have been fucking awesome. You two could have had the PadaleckiAckles sex booths.”
“Mom would have been so proud,” Megan said blandly.
Jensen and Jared looked at the floor, knowing that this conversation wasn’t going end anywhere near good.
“Why didn’t you just get lube at the drug store?” Mackenzie asked curiously, as always her thoughts just flowed in words. This happened even though no one wanted to know the answer.
Jensen and Jared both blushed.
“I always wondered that,” Mac said curiously and quite absurdly, “I mean you guys weren’t even legally allowed to be in the shop. Why go through all that trouble?”
“A real legal place that you were running there,” Megan muttered.
Mac grinned, “They were just too precious with all the bumbling and the wanting lube. I figured they were going to public toilets or banging some weird old dude. I figured that it wasn’t going to hurt anyone. They weren’t actually buying porn or anything that you needed to be 18 to be. Well except for that…”
“Stop,” Jensen commanded, “Just don’t tell us that part of the story.”
Jared was laughing and groaning and grabbing at his ribs.
“But why not just go to the drug store,” Mackenzie asked again, her mind fixated on that one issue.
Mac just looked at Jensen and Jared with a raised eyebrow.
“We did once and we got caught by Mrs. Peterson,” Jensen mumbled.
Mackenzie’s eyes widened, “Our Sunday School teacher?”
The boys nodded solemnly. Megan and Mackenzie started laughing hysterically.
“Then Jensen developed a liking for the good stuff,” Jared added with a sigh, “Lord knows that I couldn’t have sex with him without his kiwi flavored lube.”
Megan recoiled and Jensen looked like he wanted to die. Mackenzie opened her mouth and Megan clapped her hand over her friend’s mouth to stop the questions.
“Do not ask why they needed flavored lube for sex,” Megan said sternly, “Please do not ask the question.”
Jared looked at Jensen and gave a little grin and Jensen was just so relieved that Jared was smiling again that he didn’t care what humiliation he had to go through to make Jared remember those memories.
Because there were some really good ones.
Jared smiling at the little things of their youth made his heart skip a little beat.
“I should open up my store again,” Mac said wistfully, “Where do you get your lube now?”
“The internet,” Jensen mumbled still enthralled with Jared.
“You can get it in bulk,” Jared added, attempting to wink at Jensen and Jensen felt a flush of relief and something eased in his stomach.
“The internet has really ruined it for small porn shops everywhere,” Mac sighed, “Good thing I got out when I did.”
Megan raised her hand, “Can we get to the part where you go and demolish some gay bashing people and end this embarrassment?”
Jensen finally tore his eyes away from Jared, “I second that.”
Jared took a deep breath and Jensen took his hand.
“I’m ready,” Jared said, shoulders straight and eyes meeting Mac’s.
**
Their parents arrived and Mac had kept asking questions.
Jared looked like he wanted to cry most of the time, but he answered and Jensen just rubbed his thumb over Jared’s palm reassuringly.
It hadn’t been fun, but eventually they were allowed to go home. Sharon and Donna clucking over them like the Texas mothers that they were. Checking over Jared and making sure that Jensen was prepared to take care of him properly.
It was only Jared’s insistence that it be Jensen and Jensen’s almost ferocious protection of Jared that finally drove the mothers away.
Even Jeff had left the house and they were alone again. It was just the two of them curled up on Jared’s bed.
They were comfortable and safe and Jensen couldn’t stop touching Jared, reassuring himself that this wasn’t going to disappear.
Jensen had charted Jared’s body a million times, with his hands, with his body, with his mouth. He knew Jared’s body as well as his own. He had spent so many years thinking every time would be the last time. Always he thought that tomorrow Jared would leave, he just wanted to always to remember the last touch.
He had a full mental catalog of Jared over the years. He knew Jared’s body. Jensen had watched Jared’s body grow and develop. He had felt inches be added to Jared’s arms and legs He could recall the history of muscle growing longer and then bulking with firmness. Jensen could write dissertations on the difference between the size of Jared’s arms in the off-season and the regular season for basketball.
Jared’s body was as familiar to him as his own.
It never stopped the awe though. Jensen just took a moment to look, to see it.
Jared splayed out on their bed.
It was moments like this that made his heart stop because he knew that this wasn’t the last time, there was going to be another time. This was just part of their lives together.
Jensen leaned in and ran his hand over bruised ribs, over the colored spots, lightly and tenderly.
He heard Jared sigh and he was a little amazed to find that he was thinking that he could do this forever and that he just might get that.
“Want you,” Jared said into Jensen’s neck.
“Need you,” Jensen said huskily, “I can be gentle.”
Jared dimpled, “Show me.”
And it was true, but they had once had so little time between them to be gentle, they had so little time when they weren’t hiding or just so in need of each other that it always ended up being hard and fast. They had so few nights when they wanted to be gentle.
But they had time now. They had all the time in the world to touch because this thing that had always been there wasn’t going away, they had nothing left to prove. They could go slow tonight because they could go fast tomorrow.
Nobody in this bed was running anymore.
They had forever.
That thought was so big that Jensen had to shudder a little. He had never thought about the actual together aspect of all of this.
They weren’t just in this for now; they were in this for good..
“Forever,” Jensen whispered his lips touching the dip in Jared’s chest where his heart beat underneath.
He looked up at Jared a little amazed.
“For you, always,” Jared promised looking at him through slanted eyes.
It was odd; Jensen knew Jared’s body better than his eyes.
And it seemed as if he would have time to rectify that, but not now, now was to remember everything between them, hands and hearts. To drive away the angry marks of people who couldn’t understand that this wasn’t wrong.
Jensen wondered how something like this could ever be wrong.
Jensen moved up and slowly kissed Jared, one of a million times now and in the future Jensen moved up and slowly kissed Jared, kissed him like he had a million times before and a million times he would in the future. He kissed and just felt Jared moving under him, slow and familiar in a completely new way.
“I’m gonna marry you some day,” Jared drawled out of nowhere, but Jensen could feel it too because this was something that you didn’t find in the dollar store. This wasn’t just want and need of horny teenagers. This was their lives and the reasons why not weren’t important. The words meant something because it was true; this was something that forever was made of.
Jensen touched Jared, worked his fingers into him and followed with his body, because at this time he needed to be complete and for him this was complete.
He moved slow and steady, wary of hurting Jared’s already banged up body. He didn’t have anywhere to be, he didn’t ever want to be anywhere else.
He moved slow, feeling, just being part of Jared.
Jared’s hands came up around him touching him, holding on to him. Jared had spent his life learning how to touch Jensen, how to know him. This was fundamental to him, it was like breathing.
This needed to be soft, to be something precious because the last hands that had touched Jared had been so cruel. Jensen never wanted Jared to think that the world and that people were to be avoided. Jared was so alive around people Jensen wanted him to never be afraid.
He just kept touching, reassuring.
Jared arched into him, matching the touches, matching the raspy noises of need that they both made. The world made it too complex, this thing between them was very simple.
He loved this man.
And he wouldn’t live without him.
Yours. Mine. Ours. It all combined and mingled and was one thing.
This wasn’t just love anymore.
This was life
**
They sat the next morning drinking coffee, touching, always touching.
“I’m not going to cower because of this,” Jared said his jaw set.
Jensen fell more in love with him.
“We’re not going to have much of a choice,” Jensen said holding up the morning’s paper, “We’re headline news.”
Jared looked at the paper, “I’m not ashamed of my life.”
“This might make things a little more difficult,” Jensen said, his strength from yesterday somewhat abated, “You’re going to be the gay basketball coach.”
Jared shrugged motioning to his bruised face, “I always have been. You’re going to be the gay teacher.”
“I’ve been out since I was twenty,” Jensen said quietly.
Jared leaned in and pulled the paper away from him, “I don’t care. To do anything different will have me drunkenly being molested at family picnics. It’s always going to come back to this, to you. I wasn’t lying last night.”
Jensen looked down at his coffee and he would deny to his last breath that he had blushed.
**
The next few months weren’t easy, but they weren’t completely as either one of them had thought it would go.
Some people just gave them strange looks. The looks were the easy part.
Most people tried to be sympathetic, the boys got to be annoyed by everyone telling stories about how they were opened minded and their cousin’s nephew’s best friend’s roommate was gay and they had always liked him.
Then there were the people who were openly kind.
Jared and Jensen got bunt cakes from other families in the neighborhood.
“We aren’t like that,” one mother told them, looking at their clasped hands and Jared’s broken face, “Not everyone thinks like that.”
Austin was not a hotbed of gay activity, but there were quite a few couples in the area of the same sex persuasion. It was like gay couples chose Austin to grow old and raise their kids in.
And it was so weird for Jared and Jensen, because they were quietly supported in a place they didn’t expect. It was like once people met them there wasn’t much of an issue any more. There were still detractors, but being out and giving it time wasn’t as bad as they thought that it was going to be.
Nobody brought out pitchforks. Once it happened they geared for the worst. But it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened.
It was Donna and Sharon glaring, that brought most people in line, as well as the siblings who were smoothing things over in a way that made the boys’ lives easier.
They were out, more out than ever before. Jensen and Jared had no sense of anonymity.
There was media and a new hate crimes bill bearing Jared’s name.
Jared’s basketball team suffered a tiny bit when a few players left, but most of them shrugged.
“Can’t suck worse than we do even if you are gay,” the point guard pointed out, which Jared and Jensen told the siblings later that night which caused them to laugh for almost half an hour.
Austin, Texas wasn’t overwhelmingly welcoming, but they weren’t happy when one of their own was threatened. People liked Jensen and Jared and most of people stood by them.
It was after the storm and things settled into normal that things began to get uncomfortable.
When the local gay fraternity looked to Jared as an advisor, it slowly became an issue bigger than either of them. Jared found himself being both, the basketball coach and the faculty advisor for the young gay, bi, or ‘thinking about it’ of UT Austin. For Jared it was almost eerily easy.
Jensen tried hard not to let it hurt that Jared was receiving praise and acceptance at the college while he tried to survive public school politics.
Things were strained between the two of them.
**
Jensen was sitting in the living room staring at the television.
“They have these things called remote controls,” Jared said coming in and sitting down next to him, looking at the blank screen, “They work better than mind power unless you have a Bluetooth installed in your head.
Jensen sighed and leaned his head back on the couch.
“They asked me to head up the Bi-Lesbian-Gay-Straight alliance at school,” Jensen said, “There are two kids who want to start it and they want me to be the faculty advisor to sponsor it.”
Jared knew Jensen, he however had no idea where this conversation was going.
“That is good,” Jared said slowly, “I mean, working with the basketball team, and the kids at the frat is great. These kids are lucky, I mean they have to deal with some pretty heavy issues, but they also get the advantage of having a place where they are able to ask simple questions like ‘how do you date?’ and get lots of answers from many sources.”
Jensen looked over at Jared and let out a sigh.
“I’m a hypocrite,” Jensen informed him.
Jared was still more than a little confused, “You mean you’re not gay?”
Jensen glared at him.
Jared continued, “You’re gay, you work well with kids, you’re in a relationship, why are you a hypocrite if you were the advisor for the Bi-Lesbian-Gay Straight Alliance?”
Jensen traced the veins on Jared’s hands with his finger before looking up and looking at Jared with his solid green eyes.
“Because I never would have joined it in high school,” Jensen said, completely sure, “I never would have been a part of something like that. I mean these kids look at me and want me to be the face of gay. The thing is that I never had to try. I had you to figure out everything with and then I had Chris. I don’t have all that much trauma or coming out experience. I’ve never had to fight for it. I don’t know how to be gay. I just am.”
Jared looked at him funny and then started laughing, which made Jensen mad. He got up and moved to the kitchen; Jared immediately followed and wrapped his arms around Jensen’s waist.
“Jen,” he said softly in his ear, “I’m not laughing at you. I just was thinking the other day that I am totally baffled how I got here. I mean. I’ve slept with enough people to know that they all work. I never thought I would have a relationship. I just jumped from one to another. Then suddenly I have this relationship and I’m not who I was. I’m working at something and it is hard. I’ve had to fight every prejudice with the basketball team and with people who really enjoy calling me a fag. I don’t know how to be gay. I really don’t know how to be straight. I just found out that I just do what I want.”
Jared took a deep breath and inhaled the soapy smell of Jensen. It was so familiar and comfortable, he just kept talking, being honest in a way that he could only be with Jensen, “This guy at the house asked me how I told my family. What am I supposed to say ‘my parents caught me getting a hand job by the neighbor boy? That doesn’t help anyone to figure out shit. How did I know I liked guys? Because I loved making out with the neighbor boy before I realized that it might be wrong? I’m nobody’s example of anything, but these kids are fighting for something in a time in their lives when it is damn hard and if you can say something that helps keep them from feeling ashamed or blowing their brains out then maybe it’s worth it.”
Jensen was still under him.
“I had you,” Jared said, “Yeah it was a secret and yeah it was something I kept hidden for a long time, but I wasn’t alone. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you would have joined it in high school. You can’t even know that for sure. What matters is that they need to know that they aren’t alone. All of the questioning little hormone driven things in your classes need to know that it isn’t something to be ashamed of and that they absolutely, positively aren’t alone.”
Jensen wasn’t only able to breathe in labored breaths and his eyelashes rested on his cheeks. Jared just held him tighter.
“I fucked everything that moved and it made me feel empty because I couldn’t talk to anyone, it wasn’t like when I was with you. You don’t have to be Super Homosexual, you just need to be there for those kids. It doesn’t matter how you got there, they need someone to talk to, and they need something more than just an idea.”
Jensen finally turned around in Jared’s arms and looked up at him.
“I’ve never been alone,” Jared said, “I’ve always had you. Even when I didn’t have you, you were there, at least once a year I knew you remembered me and that whatever happened, I was still not alone.”
Jensen looked up at him, “I hate you.”
Jared pulled away slightly, but Jensen pulled him back towards him, “You make it impossible for me not to try, Padalecki. I don’t want do this. I just want to be me, and to keep my life my own. Then you go and say something like that and I can’t not do it.”
Jensen pursed his lips and shook his head slowly, “I want to run away and you keep me right here.”
Jared rolled back on the heels of his feet, “Are you saying I make you a better person?”
“Of course not,” Jensen said with a roll of his eyes, pulling away and moving towards the fridge. This time it wasn’t to run away. It was more like he needed to root though the fridge.
“Mackenzie used to say before she knew all this that you would be a force of nature once you decided to focus all that charm and horniness on one thing,” Jensen said muffled from the fridge, “Do you want chicken tonight?”
“Only if you make mashed potatoes, corn and those biscuits,” Jared replied automatically before adding, “When did Mac say that?”
Jensen pulled his head out of the fridge, “Megan, Mac, and Jeff were always talking about your exploits. They made lots of bets on how long it would take you to find something to hone your attention on.”
Jared had the decency to blush and looked down ashamed, “I bet you didn’t enjoy that.”
The biscuit dough came straight for Jared’s head and he had to duck rather than catch it with his face. They both knew perfectly well that, that conversation must have made Jensen miserable.
“Its not like I asked her to, I didn’t ask them specifically to make you all jealous,” Jared said picking up the bag and grabbing the cooking sheet, as a sort of defense.
“You could have been less of a bed hopper,” Jensen said turning on the water in a huge pot.
“We’re getting off the subject,” Jared pointed out.
Jensen sighed, “I guess you’re right.”
Jared dimpled, “I like it when you say that.”
Jensen handed him the barbecue sauce and the chicken, “Just start the grill and I’ll figure out how the hell I’m going to convince Mr. Adamakis, evil close-minded principal who fought for ten years not to teach kids sex ed because it would give them ideas that I need to be able to start this club.”
Jared walked out to the porch leaving the door open, “Ask my mom to give him hell. He’s scared of her, I think that she has blackmail material on him.”
“Your mom would do that?” Jensen yelled back.
Jared popped his head into the doorway, “My mother loves you. I think that she loves you more than she loves me. Because of you I’m still in this town so yes I think that she would do anything for you.”
Jared leaned back against the doorframe and smiled, dimples a mile deep, teeth white against tanned skin.
“Just so you know, I would too,” Jared added and disappeared.
Jensen looked down at the food for supper. Their supper.
It was then that the little things clicked.
Forever. Dinner. Anything.
Together.
**
“Jensen is the most in the closet out of the closet guy ever,” Sophia said lecturing Jared with her fork stabbing at eggs.
Jared looked at the menu, his bruises having faded a month ago.
“Its like he opened the closet door, but stayed inside of the actual closet.” Sophia said taking a bite of toast, “He was completely real about being gay, but like hell he was going to be that loud about it.”
Jared sighed, “Its like he is mad at me for it not being difficult.”
Sophia looked at him, her eyes going wide, “Oh honey, you know that it isn’t true. He wants it to be easy for you, he would do anything for it to be easy for you.”
“Its not for him, he has to struggle to live his life like before,” Jared said looking half heartedly at his pancakes, “We should be suffering together.”
“No,” Megan said sliding into their booth and putting her head on her brother’s shoulder, “Jensen would rather it was him.”
“Do you believe fucking Adamakis,” Mackenzie said plopping down next to Sophia, “I mean at that hearing he said gay wasn’t a problem that he had at his school.”
“I thought you were going to hit him,” Sophia said to Jared, “Jensen looked like he had been smacked.”
Megan dimpled, “Mom was great; telling him that there wasn’t going to be a PROBLEM if the kids weren’t taught bigoted views on life.”
Jared pulled Megan closer, “Mom went head to head with the principal and he cowered after she got done with him. It was nothing short of awesome.”
Mackenzie took a piece of bacon off Jared’s plate, “It really was.”
Jared looked at his plate glumly, “Whatever, are you done eating my food, can we leave now?”
Somehow Jared got roped into shopping with Sophia, Megan and Mackenzie.
“What do you think about this?” Mackenzie said holding up a shirt.
Jared shrugged, “You do know that I don’t shop, you guys dress Jensen and me, and we really don’t do THAT.”
“Please J-Pad,” Sophia said rolling her eyes, “You blow dry your hair, Jensen has more product that I know what to do with. You guys are so like THAT. You let us dress you because you don’t want to take responsibility for being like THAT. You so are THAT.”
“Whatever,” Jared said throwing at jacket at Megan, “This will go with your shirt.”
“You should move in with Jensen,” Megan told him out of nowhere, looking at the jacket in approval.
Jared sighed and tried not to think of the million reasons that he did not want to have this conversation. It would only make him more maudlin.
“Why would I want to do that,” Jared said, trying for the flip easy answer.
“Mom will never let me move in with a guy without marrying him first unless you do,” Megan said practically.
“Why do I have to do it first,” Jared whined, suddenly feeling empty, because as normal as the conversation was it was something that at times he felt that he never would have. He couldn’t just marry Jensen and he was angry at the fact that he just couldn’t do what he had always taken for granted.
Jared felt sulky as marriage felt alien, something that he would never be apart of. Then there was the whole fact that they were guys and this just didn’t come up in discussion. Jensen was finding daily living a challenge without something like marriage, which the state of Texas didn’t think they should be allowed to happen between same sex couples.
“Because you were born first,” Megan pointed out.
“Remind me never to do that again,” Jared muttered, grabbing a pair of jeans and going into the changing rooms.
The girls just stopped and looked at him.
“Do you think he realizes that he took a 30” inseam?” Mackenzie asked, “That might hit mid calf.”
Sophia just glared at Megan, “You need to stop being all difficult, you know that he is that kind of guy when he sets his mind to something.”
Megan shrugged, “What?”
“I’m just saying that you’ve gotta give him a break,” Sophia said.
Megan put her hands on her hips, “I don’t see why. We’re supposed to treat him like its all normal so I am and now I am getting yelled at for it. I’m not treating any differently than I would Jeff.”
“But it’s not the same,” Sophia pointed out.
“Well then why do we try to treat it the same,” Megan asked putting her hands on her hips.
“Because it should be the same?” Sophia answered.
“That clarifies nothing.” Megan almost yelled.
“Well, balls,” Mackenzie said with a frown stepping between them, “Even when it’s not hard it isn’t easy either.”
**
“We’re good brothers,” Jeff sighed as the basketball missed the hoop by a foot. The University of Texas San Antonio basketball team was not having a good year. It wasn’t because of Jared being gay or anything. It was mostly just because they weren’t the greatest team.
However Jeff, Josh, and Jensen were at every, at times painful, game.
Josh just nodded, “Why am I here?”
“Cause one day your bother is going to make an honest dude out of my brother,” Jeff said, “You’re paying it forward. You’re gonna be owed for something that you really need.”
Josh and Jeff were a little bored, Jensen however didn’t have such a qualm. Jensen wasn’t really watching the game, he was looking at Jared who was watching the game with an all-encompassing fixation. Jensen had a little smile on his face. He loved basketball, but he mainly liked watching Jared enthralled with something that he loved, even more. Seeing Jared geek out turned Jensen on like nothing else.
Jared got laid quite often during basketball season.
Jeff and Josh had originally decided they weren’t going to come anymore, but the situation had kind of changed for them and so did their motivation. Jensen and Jared both knew that Josh and Jeff were here because two games ago the entire team had nearly been kicked off the court when somebody from the opposing team had used the word faggot. The team had become protective of Jared, and Jeff and Josh were just as protective of Jensen who didn’t need to sit through that bullshit.
When the team left for halftime Jensen looked up, a little startled that Jeff and Josh were still there.
“You’re so gone for that boy its ridiculous,” Josh said rolling his eyes.
Jeff leaned back, “When are you going to admit that you’re a sorry son of a bitch over him.”
Jensen shrugged, “I thought that I had. Grandma was asking me about grandchildren.”
“I don’t know if your grandmother is very progressive or very ignorant about how children are made,” Jeff commented.
Josh just looked at him.
“What?” Jensen asked.
“I’m just saying,” Josh said slowly, “You cringe every time anyone mentions a long term relationship.”
Jensen looked at him like he was crazy, “I’m fine with it.”
They just stared at him incredulously.
Jeff replied, “When there was that skirmish last week you looked you were going to do a runner.”
Jensen plucked his cup from Jeff’s hand and took a drink, “Your Texas is showing Padalecki.”
“You have a Pavlovian response,” Jensen pointed out, leaning in, “Someone mentions a relationship. You cringe.”
Josh’s phone rang and he picked it up.
“You’re lucky that my brother likes you,” Jeff said superiorly, “And you’re an idiot for being so scared-y cat of all of this. He’s more recently gay and so much more comfortable.”
Josh hung up his phone and looked at the two of them.
“That was Jared. He wants you to know that he didn’t know,” Josh drawled out slowly, the beer and hesitation making his vowels long, “The team set this up. He lost a game of HORSE with the team and they chose his forfeit.”
“What are you talking about?” Jensen asked, knowing that things like this came up and dreading them.
Josh looked down at the court where the team was returning.
“Jared lost a game of HORSE with the team,” Josh said, “They won and then they decided in light of everything that had happened they were going to support him. Jared called me because he doesn’t want you to be mad.”
“What am I going to be mad at?” Jensen asked as Jared walked onto the floor.
Jared stood tall as his team followed him out to the court and the whole Austin side of the floor erupted with hoots.
Jared, his hair shaggy, his hands in his pockets. Under his blazer he wore a vibrant purple shirt in pink letters was a shirt that said ‘My Boyfriend Gives Great Head.’
Josh and Jeff looked at Jensen whose jaw dropped.
The crowd around them only got louder as the rest of the team came out, all of them wearing shirts that said ‘Have You Seen His Boyfriend?!?!?”
The brothers tried to keep it together, but the sight of Jared Padalecki striding onto the court with his crew of pink shirt giants was just so insane that they lost it.
They looked over at Jensen who they expected to be embarrassed or angry. Instead Jensen just sat there.
“Huh,” Jensen said as Jared caught his eye. Jared stood with his hands in his pockets and shrugged, his eyes locked with Jensen’s.
Jensen just shook his head, a smile threatening his face.
Jared placed his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss into the audience. The audience erupted and Jared held his hands out so everyone could read his shirt.
“I think that I’m going to keep him,” Jensen said quietly.
Josh leaned backwards, “You know you’ve got to top him or you’re the bitch.”
Jeff grimaced, “I think that sentence didn’t come out like you wanted it to.”
Josh thought for a moment and then looked at his brother, “A. Please never tell me the accuracy or inaccuracy of that statement. B. You’re gonna have to come up with something bigger than t-shirts at a basketball game or he’ll always look like the better boyfriend.”
That was the good old family rivalry coming in full force. Jensen and Jared’s relationship seemed to become a part of that.
Jensen grinned, “I am thinking about it.”
Jared’s entire team stood behind Jared and they all blew Jensen a kiss.
“After I kick Jared’s ass,” Jensen amended.
Jeff drank his beer, “Completely understood. We’ll hold him for you unless this is naked ass kicking. Then you’re on your own.”
Part 2
Author: truelyesoteric
Rating: R
Pairings: Jared/Jensen
Warnings: Its RPS AU. The Slashy Kind (as if you are not tipped off by the paring) and tons of schmoop.
Spoilers: Its AU. (As if you are not tipped off by the warning)
Disclaimer: I don’t own real Jared and Jensen. Wow writing that made me sad. I will make do with claiming fake Jared and Jensen. (As I can because you can tell by the Spoiler that it is AU). I’m still not making any money.
Word Count: 13,000
Summary: Jared and Jensen grew up together in San Antonio. Jensen is gay. Jared is sure that he is partially gay. It might have started as a farce, but it doesn’t seem to be going away.
Beta: taltos_ made sure that the characters were still breathing, apparently it is useful to humans to breathe, who knew? As always kitiaria loved and hugged and helped this
A/N: This is the fourth in the Boy Next Door Series: The Boy Next Door, Dating The Boy Next Door, and Meeting the Boy Next Door’s Parents and Extended Family
Also this is so very very late for Sweet Charity. faith_mars has been patient and wonderful. I have been a huge slacker. Girl I’m so sorry. This is for you. Thank you so much for being awesome about this.
“Jensen, I need you not to freak out.”
Jensen stopped eating his ‘Jared Padalecki Special,’ which was actually just a peanut butter and jelly, in mid bite. He was on lunch break at the school and these calls were fairly common from his baby sister. Mackenzie always thought it was funny to call and harass him on his lunch break.
This phone call however was not from his sister.
And this information was also not turning out to be funny.
“Are you new?” Mackenzie said, apparently taking the phone from Megan, “Jensen freaks out, it’s his thing.”
“Jensen,” she said over the line, “We’re at the hospital. That nasty boy who lived down the street, the one who fucking used to torture kittens and his little cohort hurt Jared. They apparently are not in favor of same sex relationships and they think their fists make excellent points to prove this.”
“Way to break it to him,” Megan said apparently taking the phone back, “Jensen it’s not bad, but do you think…”
Jensen didn’t hear any more, he was in his car a second later. He really had stopped hearing. Everything was just a roar. It wasn’t even a conscious thought that he was leaving his job, all he knew was that he had to be with Jared.
Well there was one other thing that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Fucking Jason Dorhing and his little friend Teddy needed to die.
He was half torn on stopping first to make that happen before he went to see Jared.
“Stop with that thought,” Megan said softly on the other end of the line, “They’re not worth it, be here for him.”
So Jensen drove toward the hospital after hanging up because Megan didn’t need to hear his inner monologue that apparently, he was unable to make an inner monologue that wasn’t heard by everyone.
His inner monologue was very opinionated and it was screaming at him that Jared was going to leave him because he had finally experienced the joys of gay bashing in Texas. His inner monologue was telling him that this was going to be to heard for Jared to bear. His inner monologue was telling him that Jared was going to run away from Texas like he always wanted to. His inner monologue was telling him that the things that he had only recently began to hope and dream were going to be a moot point. His inner monologue was already preparing to grow old and die alone.
By the time he pulled up into the hospital parking lot, he was pretty sure his inner monologue had already bought cats and the scary house at the end of the road that children would be terrified of, in which he was going to die bitter and alone.
When he finally entered the little curtain lined room that Jared was in his inner monologue was immediately silenced
The sight of his very bruised boyfriend sitting next to their sisters replaced it and that was all that he was able to see. Just Jared.
Nothing else mattered.
He immediately didn’t care if Jared left him. All he could think about was the fact that Jared looked like shit and he just wanted to make this better, he wanted Jared to be okay. That was first in his mind, Jared was first and Jared was everything
Megan looked at the clock, “Twenty minutes, I didn’t know that it was physically possible to make it across town that quickly.”
“About fucking time,” Mackenzie said, coming up to him and giving him a hug.
She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “No guy is ever going to care about me as much as you care about Jared. I hate you.”
Jensen barely registered them. Instead his sights were focused on Jared.
Jared tried to smile at him, and Jensen’s heart nearly broke at the attempt to make it seem like nothing was wrong, when the purple marks on his skin belying the fact that life was far from perfect.
“Can we not do the talking right now,” Jared asked holding out his arms, his errant Jell-O sitting by the bed, “Can we just get to the part where you’re here?”
Jensen nodded and went to him, touching ever so lightly, he didn’t want anything in his touch to cause Jared any pain. Jared didn’t seem to care, Jared moved towards him, holding onto his arm as if it held the secret to life. He knew this is what he was needed for right now, just that he be here.
“I’m here,” Jensen whispered in his ear.
Mackenzie put her hands on her hips, “We’re screwed Meg, these guys have ruined us.”
Megan just smiled.
**
Jared wrapped himself around Jensen the only way possible for someone who had two broken ribs and a nose.. They just lay like that for minutes, not caring when the minutes turned into an hour.
“It doesn’t hurt that badly,” Jared whispered finally into Jensen’s neck, well aware that Jensen had barely moved in his uncomfortable position as Jensen was too afraid to jostle Jared.
“You’re on drugs,” Jensen pointed out, still not moving.
Jensen looked at Jared’s face, his eyes trying to be brave, trying not to hurt. It made Jensen ache a little more.
“They said,” Jared tried to get the words out, “They said things.”
“None of it is true,” Jensen interrupted, knowing what some ignorant people said, “If you want to you can tell me everything that they said, but it doesn’t matter, it isn’t true. They have no right to hurt you, nobody does.”
Jensen was so violently angry and scared right now he wanted to lash out, but he found that he could be the strong one in this relationship when he needed to be. He could stay and offer comfort. That is always how it had been for them. When one of them couldn’t measure up to a normal day the other could cover until the balance was restored.
Jensen had once hated this idea that they worked better together, that they worked better as a team. They together they were better.
His one weakness was that he was always there when Jared needed him.
Once he was this as a defect of his character, reliance on someone else.
When he was younger he couldn’t make the distinction between needing someone to tie ones shoes and needing someone to lean on because of a death in the family. There was a time when it felt like there was no difference between Jared needing him for support and Jared taking advantage of his good nature.
He believed it because he didn’t want to ever have to depend on Jared because he couldn’t bear Jared not being there.
It was only when Jensen realized that Jared would go to the ends of the earth for Jensen metaphorically, and stay in one place for Jensen literally, that Jensen began to think that, in the end it wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Just for the record I still love you,” Jared whispered into Jensen’s ear, his voice soft and scared, as if he expected Jensen’s answer to be anything different, he pulled Jensen as close as he could.
He could feel Jensen relax, “Of course you do, I’m awesome.”
Jared rubbed lightly at Jensen’s back. They lay in silence for a little longer.
“If it gets hard, it gets hard,” Jared replied in barely a whisper, painfully reaching a hand to touch Jensen’s arm, to rub in reassurance, “Don’t leave me for this.”
“I broke the speed limit for you,” Jensen assured, shifting to hide his face in the pillow, “I don’t know if it is physically possible for me to be anywhere else.”
“You’re not leaving me?”
Jensen felt warm wetness against his forehead.
“No seems too small of a word,” Jensen said in a muffled voice, “But I can’t think of anything more profound.”
“No will do just fine,” Jared assured, able to smile a little bit even through everything.
**
When Megan and Mackenzie came back from the cafeteria and Jensen was brought back to the real world with the beeping of his phone. He pulled away from the familiar comfort of Jared with a groan.
Jensen had two missed phone calls from the school and he managed to appease them.
He answered the calls with a simple ‘family emergency’ and Alana the school’s secretary did her magic and just like that his classes were covered.
Jensen could barely care about all of those little details. Every time he looked at Jared, bruised, he couldn’t think of somewhere else to be.
When Josh and Jeff showed up Jensen was a little surprised that they hadn’t shown up earlier with their sisters until Jensen noticed that their knuckles were all bloody.
He looked at Jeff and Josh and he applauded their dedication and regretted that they didn’t come and get him to help.
“You didn’t get arrested?” Jensen asked skeptically looking at their hands.
Jared looked down, “You didn’t have to do this.”
“You’re my little brother,” Jeff said simply as he always did, “And I have ALWAYS hated those two. Jason and Teddy had it coming.”
“They’ll never use the word fag again,” Josh added.
Megan glared at him, “So you fought violence with violence? That is brilliant.”
Mackenzie sighed, “You should have let me come.”
“This was a guy thing,” Jeff told her.
“Between the guy thing and the gay thing,” Mackenzie sighed to Megan with her special dramatic flair, “We’re so excluded. This is discrimination.”
Jared winced at those particular choice of words.
Mackenzie, for once, looked a little ashamed of herself.
Jeff tried to ease the tension, “We’re going to be a non discrimination family. Next time we do something that could quite possibly be illegal and get us in trouble with the cops I’ll make sure that you come along.”
“We’re going to become a mafia family aren’t we?” Jared tried weakly, but an attempt none the less, and everyone was so relieved that he might possibly not have lost his sense of humor.
“Awesome,” Jeff said lighting up, “I want to be the Godfather.”
“I’m going to be your Right hand guy,” Josh added.
They looked like they were mentally plotting a hierarchy and all the strip clubs that they were going to erect in their massive empire.
Jared looked at them, rolling his eyes, “The nurses are going to wash your hands with iodine now to fix your war wounds and it hurts like a motherfucker.”
With that in mind they took the sage advice and left fairly stealthily just in time to avoid the nurse who came in and pointed out that the room was way beyond maximum capacity.
Megan and Mackenzie complained about being forced to leave, but were pretty distracted by a hot orderly and left in a manner that could only be defined as the inverse of stealth.
The boys were happy to be alone again.
**
The hospital was abuzz with the little incident, because Jensen had always been a darling in Austin and the fact that his boyfriend had been beaten up was something that hadn’t gone unnoticed.
So somehow within two hours the head nurse - who was neighbors with the cousin of the Mayor had informed the Mayor that there had been a hate crime in his town. Now the details about Jared’s attack had gotten out and the Mayor was bound and determined that his town was not going to be known for and condone those hate crimes.
The result of all of this was that Jared was made to wait for the police. Waiting meant that they received a ridiculous amount of coddling receive an over abundance of attention. It was making the boys crazy.
Mackenzie and Megan were called in because Jared was starting to hurt and get cranky from the diminishing pain meds.
“I guess you two are really out of the closet,” Mackenzie said snapping her gum and lounging in a very uncomfortable office chair, “I mean now the mayor is going to be involved and I think that the entire world will know.”
They all waited for the police. Then they waited some more.
The Padalecki’s were not known for their patience, hell they weren’t even known for their ability to sit still for ten minutes and Mackenzie hated being bored almost as much as she hated breathing, which she saw as a whole lot of mundane repetitive maintenance.
Finally a detective came.
Jensen was not expecting who came for Jared’s police report. It was an embarrassing situation and weird and definitely held the candle for the ‘what the fuck’ moment.
.
It took the edge off the circumstances, though.
“Mac Fuller what are you doing here?” Mackenzie asked the man in a bad suit standing before them.
“I’m working at the police station,” Mac said brushing the few strands of his hair over his shining dome.
There was a collective stare turned to the one Mac Fuller.
“I’m the one who works with the hate crime or sex crimes,” he offered in way of explanation.
They still all just looked at him. Mac Fuller had once been notorious in the greater San Antonio area for owning the sole porn shop in over 250 miles. He was looked down upon, but never run out. He knew everyone’s secrets and most people were scared of him. However he knew how to keep his mouth shut.
Jensen and Jared knew that Mac knew quite a few of their secrets.
“What happened to the porn shop?” Mackenzie asked in her typical brash manner.
He shrugged, “It burned down. I was thinking of rebuilding it but then there was this case with this sick-o and some kids and my cousin on the force asked me to help out. I got sucked in. They figured as I knew all this stuff that I should just take over working for the police.”
Which was an understatement, but when Mac Fuller came to investigate a child abuse case or an accused rape situation the situation typically ended well and quietly.
Mac knew how to distinguish freaky and kinky from just plain perverted and wrong. That was a distinction not most people could make. Strangely enough it made him an asset to the police force.
For Jensen and Jared it made Mac a person who knew way too much about their young personal lives.
Between Mac’s very prominent ears was vast amounts of knowledge about Jensen and Jared the early years.
Jared wrinkled his brow and winced as he realized that moving his face hurt. Jensen turned an impressive shade of pink and couldn’t look anyone in the eye.
The boys didn’t move from each other, that had been a little bit of a habit to break, but today they couldn’t bother. They just lay curled up together, looking at Mac warily.
“Isn’t there some kind of confidentiality in the adult store business?” Megan asked, more on behalf of Jared and Jensen than anything else.
Mac looked at her as if she were crazy, “Ummm, I ran a porn shop, I wasn’t a doctor or a priest. There really is no oath that we have to take in order to keep secrets, I’m not going to be kicked out of the porn owners guild. I can talk about it if I so choose.”
Jared and Jensen didn’t look at each other, but Megan and Mackenzie looked way too interested in Mac Fuller at the moment.
Mac Fuller looked at Jensen and Jared, two people he used to see quite regularly when they had been sixteen to nineteen, recently though Mac hadn’t seen much of them. He looked at the two men, lightly touching and understanding dawned.
He looked at the two men, lightly touching and understanding dawned.
Mac shot them a sly smile, “You two are back together? If I had known that you were together I would have gotten back in business. The amount that you two spent on lube on a monthly basis would have supported a whole new wing of the porn shop.”
Mackenzie grinned and clapped her hands, “That would have been fucking awesome. You two could have had the PadaleckiAckles sex booths.”
“Mom would have been so proud,” Megan said blandly.
Jensen and Jared looked at the floor, knowing that this conversation wasn’t going end anywhere near good.
“Why didn’t you just get lube at the drug store?” Mackenzie asked curiously, as always her thoughts just flowed in words. This happened even though no one wanted to know the answer.
Jensen and Jared both blushed.
“I always wondered that,” Mac said curiously and quite absurdly, “I mean you guys weren’t even legally allowed to be in the shop. Why go through all that trouble?”
“A real legal place that you were running there,” Megan muttered.
Mac grinned, “They were just too precious with all the bumbling and the wanting lube. I figured they were going to public toilets or banging some weird old dude. I figured that it wasn’t going to hurt anyone. They weren’t actually buying porn or anything that you needed to be 18 to be. Well except for that…”
“Stop,” Jensen commanded, “Just don’t tell us that part of the story.”
Jared was laughing and groaning and grabbing at his ribs.
“But why not just go to the drug store,” Mackenzie asked again, her mind fixated on that one issue.
Mac just looked at Jensen and Jared with a raised eyebrow.
“We did once and we got caught by Mrs. Peterson,” Jensen mumbled.
Mackenzie’s eyes widened, “Our Sunday School teacher?”
The boys nodded solemnly. Megan and Mackenzie started laughing hysterically.
“Then Jensen developed a liking for the good stuff,” Jared added with a sigh, “Lord knows that I couldn’t have sex with him without his kiwi flavored lube.”
Megan recoiled and Jensen looked like he wanted to die. Mackenzie opened her mouth and Megan clapped her hand over her friend’s mouth to stop the questions.
“Do not ask why they needed flavored lube for sex,” Megan said sternly, “Please do not ask the question.”
Jared looked at Jensen and gave a little grin and Jensen was just so relieved that Jared was smiling again that he didn’t care what humiliation he had to go through to make Jared remember those memories.
Because there were some really good ones.
Jared smiling at the little things of their youth made his heart skip a little beat.
“I should open up my store again,” Mac said wistfully, “Where do you get your lube now?”
“The internet,” Jensen mumbled still enthralled with Jared.
“You can get it in bulk,” Jared added, attempting to wink at Jensen and Jensen felt a flush of relief and something eased in his stomach.
“The internet has really ruined it for small porn shops everywhere,” Mac sighed, “Good thing I got out when I did.”
Megan raised her hand, “Can we get to the part where you go and demolish some gay bashing people and end this embarrassment?”
Jensen finally tore his eyes away from Jared, “I second that.”
Jared took a deep breath and Jensen took his hand.
“I’m ready,” Jared said, shoulders straight and eyes meeting Mac’s.
**
Their parents arrived and Mac had kept asking questions.
Jared looked like he wanted to cry most of the time, but he answered and Jensen just rubbed his thumb over Jared’s palm reassuringly.
It hadn’t been fun, but eventually they were allowed to go home. Sharon and Donna clucking over them like the Texas mothers that they were. Checking over Jared and making sure that Jensen was prepared to take care of him properly.
It was only Jared’s insistence that it be Jensen and Jensen’s almost ferocious protection of Jared that finally drove the mothers away.
Even Jeff had left the house and they were alone again. It was just the two of them curled up on Jared’s bed.
They were comfortable and safe and Jensen couldn’t stop touching Jared, reassuring himself that this wasn’t going to disappear.
Jensen had charted Jared’s body a million times, with his hands, with his body, with his mouth. He knew Jared’s body as well as his own. He had spent so many years thinking every time would be the last time. Always he thought that tomorrow Jared would leave, he just wanted to always to remember the last touch.
He had a full mental catalog of Jared over the years. He knew Jared’s body. Jensen had watched Jared’s body grow and develop. He had felt inches be added to Jared’s arms and legs He could recall the history of muscle growing longer and then bulking with firmness. Jensen could write dissertations on the difference between the size of Jared’s arms in the off-season and the regular season for basketball.
Jared’s body was as familiar to him as his own.
It never stopped the awe though. Jensen just took a moment to look, to see it.
Jared splayed out on their bed.
It was moments like this that made his heart stop because he knew that this wasn’t the last time, there was going to be another time. This was just part of their lives together.
Jensen leaned in and ran his hand over bruised ribs, over the colored spots, lightly and tenderly.
He heard Jared sigh and he was a little amazed to find that he was thinking that he could do this forever and that he just might get that.
“Want you,” Jared said into Jensen’s neck.
“Need you,” Jensen said huskily, “I can be gentle.”
Jared dimpled, “Show me.”
And it was true, but they had once had so little time between them to be gentle, they had so little time when they weren’t hiding or just so in need of each other that it always ended up being hard and fast. They had so few nights when they wanted to be gentle.
But they had time now. They had all the time in the world to touch because this thing that had always been there wasn’t going away, they had nothing left to prove. They could go slow tonight because they could go fast tomorrow.
Nobody in this bed was running anymore.
They had forever.
That thought was so big that Jensen had to shudder a little. He had never thought about the actual together aspect of all of this.
They weren’t just in this for now; they were in this for good..
“Forever,” Jensen whispered his lips touching the dip in Jared’s chest where his heart beat underneath.
He looked up at Jared a little amazed.
“For you, always,” Jared promised looking at him through slanted eyes.
It was odd; Jensen knew Jared’s body better than his eyes.
And it seemed as if he would have time to rectify that, but not now, now was to remember everything between them, hands and hearts. To drive away the angry marks of people who couldn’t understand that this wasn’t wrong.
Jensen wondered how something like this could ever be wrong.
Jensen moved up and slowly kissed Jared, one of a million times now and in the future Jensen moved up and slowly kissed Jared, kissed him like he had a million times before and a million times he would in the future. He kissed and just felt Jared moving under him, slow and familiar in a completely new way.
“I’m gonna marry you some day,” Jared drawled out of nowhere, but Jensen could feel it too because this was something that you didn’t find in the dollar store. This wasn’t just want and need of horny teenagers. This was their lives and the reasons why not weren’t important. The words meant something because it was true; this was something that forever was made of.
Jensen touched Jared, worked his fingers into him and followed with his body, because at this time he needed to be complete and for him this was complete.
He moved slow and steady, wary of hurting Jared’s already banged up body. He didn’t have anywhere to be, he didn’t ever want to be anywhere else.
He moved slow, feeling, just being part of Jared.
Jared’s hands came up around him touching him, holding on to him. Jared had spent his life learning how to touch Jensen, how to know him. This was fundamental to him, it was like breathing.
This needed to be soft, to be something precious because the last hands that had touched Jared had been so cruel. Jensen never wanted Jared to think that the world and that people were to be avoided. Jared was so alive around people Jensen wanted him to never be afraid.
He just kept touching, reassuring.
Jared arched into him, matching the touches, matching the raspy noises of need that they both made. The world made it too complex, this thing between them was very simple.
He loved this man.
And he wouldn’t live without him.
Yours. Mine. Ours. It all combined and mingled and was one thing.
This wasn’t just love anymore.
This was life
**
They sat the next morning drinking coffee, touching, always touching.
“I’m not going to cower because of this,” Jared said his jaw set.
Jensen fell more in love with him.
“We’re not going to have much of a choice,” Jensen said holding up the morning’s paper, “We’re headline news.”
Jared looked at the paper, “I’m not ashamed of my life.”
“This might make things a little more difficult,” Jensen said, his strength from yesterday somewhat abated, “You’re going to be the gay basketball coach.”
Jared shrugged motioning to his bruised face, “I always have been. You’re going to be the gay teacher.”
“I’ve been out since I was twenty,” Jensen said quietly.
Jared leaned in and pulled the paper away from him, “I don’t care. To do anything different will have me drunkenly being molested at family picnics. It’s always going to come back to this, to you. I wasn’t lying last night.”
Jensen looked down at his coffee and he would deny to his last breath that he had blushed.
**
The next few months weren’t easy, but they weren’t completely as either one of them had thought it would go.
Some people just gave them strange looks. The looks were the easy part.
Most people tried to be sympathetic, the boys got to be annoyed by everyone telling stories about how they were opened minded and their cousin’s nephew’s best friend’s roommate was gay and they had always liked him.
Then there were the people who were openly kind.
Jared and Jensen got bunt cakes from other families in the neighborhood.
“We aren’t like that,” one mother told them, looking at their clasped hands and Jared’s broken face, “Not everyone thinks like that.”
Austin was not a hotbed of gay activity, but there were quite a few couples in the area of the same sex persuasion. It was like gay couples chose Austin to grow old and raise their kids in.
And it was so weird for Jared and Jensen, because they were quietly supported in a place they didn’t expect. It was like once people met them there wasn’t much of an issue any more. There were still detractors, but being out and giving it time wasn’t as bad as they thought that it was going to be.
Nobody brought out pitchforks. Once it happened they geared for the worst. But it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened.
It was Donna and Sharon glaring, that brought most people in line, as well as the siblings who were smoothing things over in a way that made the boys’ lives easier.
They were out, more out than ever before. Jensen and Jared had no sense of anonymity.
There was media and a new hate crimes bill bearing Jared’s name.
Jared’s basketball team suffered a tiny bit when a few players left, but most of them shrugged.
“Can’t suck worse than we do even if you are gay,” the point guard pointed out, which Jared and Jensen told the siblings later that night which caused them to laugh for almost half an hour.
Austin, Texas wasn’t overwhelmingly welcoming, but they weren’t happy when one of their own was threatened. People liked Jensen and Jared and most of people stood by them.
It was after the storm and things settled into normal that things began to get uncomfortable.
When the local gay fraternity looked to Jared as an advisor, it slowly became an issue bigger than either of them. Jared found himself being both, the basketball coach and the faculty advisor for the young gay, bi, or ‘thinking about it’ of UT Austin. For Jared it was almost eerily easy.
Jensen tried hard not to let it hurt that Jared was receiving praise and acceptance at the college while he tried to survive public school politics.
Things were strained between the two of them.
**
Jensen was sitting in the living room staring at the television.
“They have these things called remote controls,” Jared said coming in and sitting down next to him, looking at the blank screen, “They work better than mind power unless you have a Bluetooth installed in your head.
Jensen sighed and leaned his head back on the couch.
“They asked me to head up the Bi-Lesbian-Gay-Straight alliance at school,” Jensen said, “There are two kids who want to start it and they want me to be the faculty advisor to sponsor it.”
Jared knew Jensen, he however had no idea where this conversation was going.
“That is good,” Jared said slowly, “I mean, working with the basketball team, and the kids at the frat is great. These kids are lucky, I mean they have to deal with some pretty heavy issues, but they also get the advantage of having a place where they are able to ask simple questions like ‘how do you date?’ and get lots of answers from many sources.”
Jensen looked over at Jared and let out a sigh.
“I’m a hypocrite,” Jensen informed him.
Jared was still more than a little confused, “You mean you’re not gay?”
Jensen glared at him.
Jared continued, “You’re gay, you work well with kids, you’re in a relationship, why are you a hypocrite if you were the advisor for the Bi-Lesbian-Gay Straight Alliance?”
Jensen traced the veins on Jared’s hands with his finger before looking up and looking at Jared with his solid green eyes.
“Because I never would have joined it in high school,” Jensen said, completely sure, “I never would have been a part of something like that. I mean these kids look at me and want me to be the face of gay. The thing is that I never had to try. I had you to figure out everything with and then I had Chris. I don’t have all that much trauma or coming out experience. I’ve never had to fight for it. I don’t know how to be gay. I just am.”
Jared looked at him funny and then started laughing, which made Jensen mad. He got up and moved to the kitchen; Jared immediately followed and wrapped his arms around Jensen’s waist.
“Jen,” he said softly in his ear, “I’m not laughing at you. I just was thinking the other day that I am totally baffled how I got here. I mean. I’ve slept with enough people to know that they all work. I never thought I would have a relationship. I just jumped from one to another. Then suddenly I have this relationship and I’m not who I was. I’m working at something and it is hard. I’ve had to fight every prejudice with the basketball team and with people who really enjoy calling me a fag. I don’t know how to be gay. I really don’t know how to be straight. I just found out that I just do what I want.”
Jared took a deep breath and inhaled the soapy smell of Jensen. It was so familiar and comfortable, he just kept talking, being honest in a way that he could only be with Jensen, “This guy at the house asked me how I told my family. What am I supposed to say ‘my parents caught me getting a hand job by the neighbor boy? That doesn’t help anyone to figure out shit. How did I know I liked guys? Because I loved making out with the neighbor boy before I realized that it might be wrong? I’m nobody’s example of anything, but these kids are fighting for something in a time in their lives when it is damn hard and if you can say something that helps keep them from feeling ashamed or blowing their brains out then maybe it’s worth it.”
Jensen was still under him.
“I had you,” Jared said, “Yeah it was a secret and yeah it was something I kept hidden for a long time, but I wasn’t alone. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you would have joined it in high school. You can’t even know that for sure. What matters is that they need to know that they aren’t alone. All of the questioning little hormone driven things in your classes need to know that it isn’t something to be ashamed of and that they absolutely, positively aren’t alone.”
Jensen wasn’t only able to breathe in labored breaths and his eyelashes rested on his cheeks. Jared just held him tighter.
“I fucked everything that moved and it made me feel empty because I couldn’t talk to anyone, it wasn’t like when I was with you. You don’t have to be Super Homosexual, you just need to be there for those kids. It doesn’t matter how you got there, they need someone to talk to, and they need something more than just an idea.”
Jensen finally turned around in Jared’s arms and looked up at him.
“I’ve never been alone,” Jared said, “I’ve always had you. Even when I didn’t have you, you were there, at least once a year I knew you remembered me and that whatever happened, I was still not alone.”
Jensen looked up at him, “I hate you.”
Jared pulled away slightly, but Jensen pulled him back towards him, “You make it impossible for me not to try, Padalecki. I don’t want do this. I just want to be me, and to keep my life my own. Then you go and say something like that and I can’t not do it.”
Jensen pursed his lips and shook his head slowly, “I want to run away and you keep me right here.”
Jared rolled back on the heels of his feet, “Are you saying I make you a better person?”
“Of course not,” Jensen said with a roll of his eyes, pulling away and moving towards the fridge. This time it wasn’t to run away. It was more like he needed to root though the fridge.
“Mackenzie used to say before she knew all this that you would be a force of nature once you decided to focus all that charm and horniness on one thing,” Jensen said muffled from the fridge, “Do you want chicken tonight?”
“Only if you make mashed potatoes, corn and those biscuits,” Jared replied automatically before adding, “When did Mac say that?”
Jensen pulled his head out of the fridge, “Megan, Mac, and Jeff were always talking about your exploits. They made lots of bets on how long it would take you to find something to hone your attention on.”
Jared had the decency to blush and looked down ashamed, “I bet you didn’t enjoy that.”
The biscuit dough came straight for Jared’s head and he had to duck rather than catch it with his face. They both knew perfectly well that, that conversation must have made Jensen miserable.
“Its not like I asked her to, I didn’t ask them specifically to make you all jealous,” Jared said picking up the bag and grabbing the cooking sheet, as a sort of defense.
“You could have been less of a bed hopper,” Jensen said turning on the water in a huge pot.
“We’re getting off the subject,” Jared pointed out.
Jensen sighed, “I guess you’re right.”
Jared dimpled, “I like it when you say that.”
Jensen handed him the barbecue sauce and the chicken, “Just start the grill and I’ll figure out how the hell I’m going to convince Mr. Adamakis, evil close-minded principal who fought for ten years not to teach kids sex ed because it would give them ideas that I need to be able to start this club.”
Jared walked out to the porch leaving the door open, “Ask my mom to give him hell. He’s scared of her, I think that she has blackmail material on him.”
“Your mom would do that?” Jensen yelled back.
Jared popped his head into the doorway, “My mother loves you. I think that she loves you more than she loves me. Because of you I’m still in this town so yes I think that she would do anything for you.”
Jared leaned back against the doorframe and smiled, dimples a mile deep, teeth white against tanned skin.
“Just so you know, I would too,” Jared added and disappeared.
Jensen looked down at the food for supper. Their supper.
It was then that the little things clicked.
Forever. Dinner. Anything.
Together.
**
“Jensen is the most in the closet out of the closet guy ever,” Sophia said lecturing Jared with her fork stabbing at eggs.
Jared looked at the menu, his bruises having faded a month ago.
“Its like he opened the closet door, but stayed inside of the actual closet.” Sophia said taking a bite of toast, “He was completely real about being gay, but like hell he was going to be that loud about it.”
Jared sighed, “Its like he is mad at me for it not being difficult.”
Sophia looked at him, her eyes going wide, “Oh honey, you know that it isn’t true. He wants it to be easy for you, he would do anything for it to be easy for you.”
“Its not for him, he has to struggle to live his life like before,” Jared said looking half heartedly at his pancakes, “We should be suffering together.”
“No,” Megan said sliding into their booth and putting her head on her brother’s shoulder, “Jensen would rather it was him.”
“Do you believe fucking Adamakis,” Mackenzie said plopping down next to Sophia, “I mean at that hearing he said gay wasn’t a problem that he had at his school.”
“I thought you were going to hit him,” Sophia said to Jared, “Jensen looked like he had been smacked.”
Megan dimpled, “Mom was great; telling him that there wasn’t going to be a PROBLEM if the kids weren’t taught bigoted views on life.”
Jared pulled Megan closer, “Mom went head to head with the principal and he cowered after she got done with him. It was nothing short of awesome.”
Mackenzie took a piece of bacon off Jared’s plate, “It really was.”
Jared looked at his plate glumly, “Whatever, are you done eating my food, can we leave now?”
Somehow Jared got roped into shopping with Sophia, Megan and Mackenzie.
“What do you think about this?” Mackenzie said holding up a shirt.
Jared shrugged, “You do know that I don’t shop, you guys dress Jensen and me, and we really don’t do THAT.”
“Please J-Pad,” Sophia said rolling her eyes, “You blow dry your hair, Jensen has more product that I know what to do with. You guys are so like THAT. You let us dress you because you don’t want to take responsibility for being like THAT. You so are THAT.”
“Whatever,” Jared said throwing at jacket at Megan, “This will go with your shirt.”
“You should move in with Jensen,” Megan told him out of nowhere, looking at the jacket in approval.
Jared sighed and tried not to think of the million reasons that he did not want to have this conversation. It would only make him more maudlin.
“Why would I want to do that,” Jared said, trying for the flip easy answer.
“Mom will never let me move in with a guy without marrying him first unless you do,” Megan said practically.
“Why do I have to do it first,” Jared whined, suddenly feeling empty, because as normal as the conversation was it was something that at times he felt that he never would have. He couldn’t just marry Jensen and he was angry at the fact that he just couldn’t do what he had always taken for granted.
Jared felt sulky as marriage felt alien, something that he would never be apart of. Then there was the whole fact that they were guys and this just didn’t come up in discussion. Jensen was finding daily living a challenge without something like marriage, which the state of Texas didn’t think they should be allowed to happen between same sex couples.
“Because you were born first,” Megan pointed out.
“Remind me never to do that again,” Jared muttered, grabbing a pair of jeans and going into the changing rooms.
The girls just stopped and looked at him.
“Do you think he realizes that he took a 30” inseam?” Mackenzie asked, “That might hit mid calf.”
Sophia just glared at Megan, “You need to stop being all difficult, you know that he is that kind of guy when he sets his mind to something.”
Megan shrugged, “What?”
“I’m just saying that you’ve gotta give him a break,” Sophia said.
Megan put her hands on her hips, “I don’t see why. We’re supposed to treat him like its all normal so I am and now I am getting yelled at for it. I’m not treating any differently than I would Jeff.”
“But it’s not the same,” Sophia pointed out.
“Well then why do we try to treat it the same,” Megan asked putting her hands on her hips.
“Because it should be the same?” Sophia answered.
“That clarifies nothing.” Megan almost yelled.
“Well, balls,” Mackenzie said with a frown stepping between them, “Even when it’s not hard it isn’t easy either.”
**
“We’re good brothers,” Jeff sighed as the basketball missed the hoop by a foot. The University of Texas San Antonio basketball team was not having a good year. It wasn’t because of Jared being gay or anything. It was mostly just because they weren’t the greatest team.
However Jeff, Josh, and Jensen were at every, at times painful, game.
Josh just nodded, “Why am I here?”
“Cause one day your bother is going to make an honest dude out of my brother,” Jeff said, “You’re paying it forward. You’re gonna be owed for something that you really need.”
Josh and Jeff were a little bored, Jensen however didn’t have such a qualm. Jensen wasn’t really watching the game, he was looking at Jared who was watching the game with an all-encompassing fixation. Jensen had a little smile on his face. He loved basketball, but he mainly liked watching Jared enthralled with something that he loved, even more. Seeing Jared geek out turned Jensen on like nothing else.
Jared got laid quite often during basketball season.
Jeff and Josh had originally decided they weren’t going to come anymore, but the situation had kind of changed for them and so did their motivation. Jensen and Jared both knew that Josh and Jeff were here because two games ago the entire team had nearly been kicked off the court when somebody from the opposing team had used the word faggot. The team had become protective of Jared, and Jeff and Josh were just as protective of Jensen who didn’t need to sit through that bullshit.
When the team left for halftime Jensen looked up, a little startled that Jeff and Josh were still there.
“You’re so gone for that boy its ridiculous,” Josh said rolling his eyes.
Jeff leaned back, “When are you going to admit that you’re a sorry son of a bitch over him.”
Jensen shrugged, “I thought that I had. Grandma was asking me about grandchildren.”
“I don’t know if your grandmother is very progressive or very ignorant about how children are made,” Jeff commented.
Josh just looked at him.
“What?” Jensen asked.
“I’m just saying,” Josh said slowly, “You cringe every time anyone mentions a long term relationship.”
Jensen looked at him like he was crazy, “I’m fine with it.”
They just stared at him incredulously.
Jeff replied, “When there was that skirmish last week you looked you were going to do a runner.”
Jensen plucked his cup from Jeff’s hand and took a drink, “Your Texas is showing Padalecki.”
“You have a Pavlovian response,” Jensen pointed out, leaning in, “Someone mentions a relationship. You cringe.”
Josh’s phone rang and he picked it up.
“You’re lucky that my brother likes you,” Jeff said superiorly, “And you’re an idiot for being so scared-y cat of all of this. He’s more recently gay and so much more comfortable.”
Josh hung up his phone and looked at the two of them.
“That was Jared. He wants you to know that he didn’t know,” Josh drawled out slowly, the beer and hesitation making his vowels long, “The team set this up. He lost a game of HORSE with the team and they chose his forfeit.”
“What are you talking about?” Jensen asked, knowing that things like this came up and dreading them.
Josh looked down at the court where the team was returning.
“Jared lost a game of HORSE with the team,” Josh said, “They won and then they decided in light of everything that had happened they were going to support him. Jared called me because he doesn’t want you to be mad.”
“What am I going to be mad at?” Jensen asked as Jared walked onto the floor.
Jared stood tall as his team followed him out to the court and the whole Austin side of the floor erupted with hoots.
Jared, his hair shaggy, his hands in his pockets. Under his blazer he wore a vibrant purple shirt in pink letters was a shirt that said ‘My Boyfriend Gives Great Head.’
Josh and Jeff looked at Jensen whose jaw dropped.
The crowd around them only got louder as the rest of the team came out, all of them wearing shirts that said ‘Have You Seen His Boyfriend?!?!?”
The brothers tried to keep it together, but the sight of Jared Padalecki striding onto the court with his crew of pink shirt giants was just so insane that they lost it.
They looked over at Jensen who they expected to be embarrassed or angry. Instead Jensen just sat there.
“Huh,” Jensen said as Jared caught his eye. Jared stood with his hands in his pockets and shrugged, his eyes locked with Jensen’s.
Jensen just shook his head, a smile threatening his face.
Jared placed his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss into the audience. The audience erupted and Jared held his hands out so everyone could read his shirt.
“I think that I’m going to keep him,” Jensen said quietly.
Josh leaned backwards, “You know you’ve got to top him or you’re the bitch.”
Jeff grimaced, “I think that sentence didn’t come out like you wanted it to.”
Josh thought for a moment and then looked at his brother, “A. Please never tell me the accuracy or inaccuracy of that statement. B. You’re gonna have to come up with something bigger than t-shirts at a basketball game or he’ll always look like the better boyfriend.”
That was the good old family rivalry coming in full force. Jensen and Jared’s relationship seemed to become a part of that.
Jensen grinned, “I am thinking about it.”
Jared’s entire team stood behind Jared and they all blew Jensen a kiss.
“After I kick Jared’s ass,” Jensen amended.
Jeff drank his beer, “Completely understood. We’ll hold him for you unless this is naked ass kicking. Then you’re on your own.”
Part 2