Fic: The Sixth Time's The Charm (Jared/Jensen, PG-13)
Title: The Sixth Time's The Charm 
Author: waterofthemoon
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (CW RPF)
Summary: Five times Jensen and Jared never comforted each other, and one time they did.
Word Count: 3,679
Disclaimer: Jared and Jensen own each other. I mean, themselves.
Notes: Written for tinkabell007 for spn_j2_xmas! She prompted "hurt/comfort of any kind," so that's basically where the whole premise of this came from, and I also threw in hooker!Jensen just for her. Sorry this is so very late! Thanks to the usual crowd, especially clex_monkie89, gigglingkat, and celtic_cookie, and more especially to sophie_448, who betaed this and saved me from melodrama. This story is also hosted at the AO3.
1. In which Jensen makes a terrible hooker
"So," the guy says with a leer, "come here often?"
Jensen sighs. "You used that line last night. And the night before that. Get some new material, dude."
The guy looks hurt. "You weren't supposed to notice. Aren't hookers supposed to be all, 'ooh, baby, I'll come wherever you want'?" He makes a terrible, contorted attempt at what Jensen thinks is supposed to be a sexy face, and Jensen bites back a smile.
"Aren't you supposed to start paying for my time instead of just driving by here like a creeper and trivializing my profession?" Jensen pauses. "Also, if you want me to come on you, I'm gonna have to charge you extra."
"Look, will you just get in the car? I don't have a lot of money, but I swear I'll make it worth your while."
Jensen looks the guy over. He's gotten that line before, and it usually ends in him getting all the way to the hotel only to find out the guy really can't pay, but hey, that's why he gets the cash up front. "What's your name?"
"Jared." He says it so earnestly that Jensen can tell it's not a fake name, and that's what makes him give in.
"Yeah, okay." Jensen opens the door and gets in. "So what's your story, Jared?"
Jared takes a deep breath. "Okay, so my girlfriend dumped me two weeks ago because she said I was smothering her, and my boss has been coming down on me really hard at work, like, way more than anyone else, and I'm trying to finish school, and I don't know, I just really needed someone to talk to." He glances hopefully at Jensen.
Jensen is not a fucking therapist. Jared's not the first guy to make that mistake, but for some reason, he's the first one Jensen wants to talk to. "Okay, slow down," he says. "No friends?"
"I tried that, but they were all Sandy's friends first, so none of them will even give me the time of day now, and my best friend's only advice was to get laid." Jared turns a corner and looks, wide-eyed, at Jensen. "Not that I-I mean, I don't want you to think-shit."
Jensen laughs and puts his hand on Jared's thigh just to watch him jump. It's a really nice thigh. "Hey, now, if I don't get you laid, then I'm not doing my job, right?"
Jared laughs nervously. "I guess so. Um, here we are." Jared pulls into the parking lot of a shabby-looking apartment complex, and Jensen raises an eyebrow at him. "I know, you're probably used to hotels or whatever, but I swear to god, I don't have a gun. And my dogs are at my parents' house, so they won't even be there to jump on you."
"Do you make a habit of telling strangers that you don't have a gun?" Jensen asks curiously as he gets out of the car. "What if they were just waiting for you to let that slip so they could come after you in your sleep?"
Jared flexes his arm in a really stupid, body builder kind of way that is somehow working for Jensen right now. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself."
"I can see that," Jensen says.
They go inside, and Jensen looks around Jared's apartment. It's about as well-kept as he'd expect from a student working a crappy job, which doesn't actually bother Jensen. The thing that strikes him are the pictures stuck everywhere. A lot of them are of Jared with the same four people, who are clearly his family. There are also some of him with his arm wrapped around a pretty, dark-haired girl and even a couple featuring two gigantic dogs. In all of them, Jared's grinning.
"These the dogs you mentioned?" Jensen asks, picking up one of the pictures and eyeing the one trying to lick Jared to death. "They look real fierce."
"Uh, yeah," Jared says. He comes over and takes the picture out of Jensen's hand, smiling a little. "They're good dogs, though. Always worry they're gonna forget about me when I don't get home as often as I want."
"Nah, never happen," Jensen says. When Jared looks at him, Jensen amends, "I mean, with dogs. You should have seen my family's dog when I first went home after coming out here. Freaking nuts."
Jared nods, but he seems distracted. "Oh, that's cool." He shifts a little awkwardly. "So, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here. Do you want to sit down? I can make coffee."
"No coffee," Jensen says. "You're nervous enough. Your couch comfy?"
"Sure, yeah," Jared says, gesturing at it.
Jensen sits down, testing the springs. It's a pretty good couch, all things considered. "You gonna sit down?" He watches as Jared sits. "Okay," he says. "Now, normally, this would be the part where I'd turn you over and fuck you into this couch. But it's my job to know what people need, and I think that's not what you need."
"That your expert opinion, huh?" Jared asks. "Why's that?"
"Don't worry, sugar, we'll get there if you want." Jensen lets his eyes trail over Jared before meeting Jared's eyes. "First things first-tell me about Sandy."
2. In which there is a minor family crisis
The door to Jensen's room is slightly open when Jared shows up, and he takes that as an invitation and lets himself in. "Jensen?"
He sees Jensen immediately, sitting on his bed and staring at his phone like he's trying to set it on fire with his mind. "Come in," Jensen says, not looking up.
Jared crosses the room and sits down next to him on the bed, pushing aside Jensen's history textbook and his notebook for literature class. "What's up?"
"That was my mom," Jensen says. He glances up at Jared, and Jared can see the fear on his face and how badly he's trying to keep it together. "Josh was in some kind of wreck. I don't know how bad yet."
"Shit, is he okay? Do you need me to take you somewhere?" Jared's mind is reeling, but Jensen shakes his head.
"She said we should stay put until we knew more," Jensen says. He gets up and walks from his desk to his dresser and back again, still staring at the phone. "I hate this part."
Jared doesn't know what he's supposed to do here. He's never seen Jensen like this, all restless and pacing like something really bad is going to happen if he doesn't stand still for just a minute. "Dude, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor."
That makes Jensen look at him, at least. "Really? That's all you got?"
"I thought you called me over here for-not this!" Jared protests. "Look, Josh is gonna be fine. You gotta know that."
"I know, I know, I just-" Jensen's phone rings. Jared glances over and sees that it's Jensen's mom, but Jensen seems frozen.
"Better answer it," Jared says. "Either way, you're gonna want to know."
Jensen nods and hits the talk button. Jared tries not to listen in as Jensen paces the room-Jensen's side is pretty quiet, anyway, just a lot of "yeah"s and nodding-but he can't miss Jensen's quiet, relieved sigh when Jensen slumps down on the bed. "Thank God," he says. "Okay. Let me know if anything changes. Yeah, I know. Love you, too."
"Well?" Jared says when Jensen hangs up. He doesn't think it can be that bad, but he figures Jensen needs to talk about it.
"He's fine," Jensen says. His voice is shaking a little. "Broken wrist, and he hit his head, so they want to observe him. His car needs some work, I guess, but they're saying the accident wasn't his fault."
Jared lets out a breath. "Lucky break, man," he says. "Are you okay?"
Jensen doesn't say anything for a minute. "It just-kind of freaked me out, I guess. I mean, he could have been-" He shakes his head, refusing to say it. "And what if it had been you? Or Mack? I don't know what-"
Jared's mind is a little blown at Jensen's quiet admission, at the idea that he thinks of Jared on the same level as his family, but he wraps his arm around Jensen's shoulders and pulls him in close. "Jen, I'm right here. See? I'm fine, everyone's fine."
Jensen turns his head and pushes his mouth against Jared's in a messy, bruising kiss. When he pulls away, he wraps himself around Jared, and Jared doesn't let go.
3. In which Jared falls off a swing
Jensen doesn't know what happened. Jared was just showing him how high he could go on the swings, and now Jared's on the ground, crumpled into a ball.
"Jared!" Jensen shouts. He runs over and tugs on Jared's arm, but Jensen's not big enough, and Jared won't get up. "I'm getting the teacher."
"No, I'm okay," Jared says. He doesn't sound very okay, but he leans on Jensen and pulls himself up, so he must not be hurt very bad.
Jensen helps him walk over to the grass and sit back down. "You need to rest," Jensen says firmly. "Your bones might be broken!"
"They don't feel broken." Jared sits quietly for a minute before he jumps up. "C'mon, I'll race you to the top of the jungle gym!"
"No, Jared!" Jensen tries to pull him back down, and Jared almost falls over.
"What's wrong?" Jared asks. "You just don't want me to beat you. I can totally beat you!"
"You'll get hurt," Jensen explains. Jared's really smart, so Jensen doesn't know why he isn't getting this. "I don't want you to be hurt."
Jared shrugs and sits back down. "Okay. You should check my bones, Dr. Jensen. They might be broken on the inside!"
Jensen's carefully poking Jared's arm when Chad runs by. "Jared and Jensen, sitting in a tree!" he yells.
"You're so stupid, Chad!" Jared yells back. "We're not in a tree!"
"Yeah!" Jensen adds.
Chad makes a face. "You're so gross. Why don't you just get married?"
Mrs. Smith calls them to go inside then, so Jensen just sticks his tongue out at Chad and grabs Jared's hand. "Come on, Jared! We'll be late!"
Jared smiles at him and grabs his hand again when they're line buddies, even though they don't have to hold hands in line, and Jensen smiles back.
4. In which the show never happened
Jared first sees him across a crowded room, as stupid as that sounds, and tries not to pass out. He knew when he took the job on Burn Notice that he'd have to schmooze with everyone else on the network, and he realized that everyone else would include Jensen Ackles, but somehow, watching him run around with a gun on White Collar didn't prepare him for seeing Jensen in person, looking slightly awkward and unbelievably gorgeous.
Jared gets swept up in the party-he likes meeting new people, always has, and he knows his agent will kill him if he doesn't at least pick up a few business cards-and the next time he spots Jensen, Jensen's eyes are bright, and he's swaying a little. He gestures to make a point to whoever he's talking to, smiling a little, and Jared has to excuse himself from a random exec because he's completely forgotten what they were talking about.
Later, when Jared's a little bit past buzzed himself, he stumbles into the bathroom and avoids the guy with his head in the toilet, puking his guts out. The guy lifts his head while Jared's zipping up and washing his hands, and holy shit, it's Jensen Ackles.
"You all right, man?" Jared asks. "You should sit up or something. You'll feel better."
"You an expert on puking?" Jensen asks muzzily.
"Nah," Jared says. "Just an expert on drinking too much. This is why you shouldn't get wasted at network parties."
Jensen blinks at him. "Why? Because hot guys will come along and save me from myself?" He leans forward and retches a little, but thankfully, nothing comes out. "That seems more like a plus to me."
"I watch your show," Jared blurts out. "You're awesome." Jensen gives him a confused, drunk look, and Jared suddenly feels the urge to run away. "And now I'm gonna go get you a bottle of water. Stay here and don't move, okay?"
"Mmkay," Jensen says, resting his head on the toilet seat. "No problem."
While he's getting Jensen three complimentary miniature water bottles with Psych's logo on the side, Jared tries really hard not to think about the fact that Jensen Ackles just called him hot. Jensen's drunk. It probably doesn't mean anything.
When Jared gets back, Jensen looks even more pathetic than he did five minutes ago. "Here, drink this," he says. He helps Jensen up and escorts him out of the club, fortunately avoiding the press cameras still hanging around.
"I don't want you to vomit in your sleep and die horribly," Jared says while they're waiting for cabs, which is true. "Maybe you should come home with me. Or I should go home with you."
Jensen looks him up and down, and Jared tries not to blush. "Just so you know, there's no way I'm getting it up tonight," he slurs.
"You honestly think I'm trying to get in your pants right now?" Jared shakes his head. "Dude, no way. Sleep it off, take a couple of showers, and then-" He swallows because even after seeing him like this, he really does want to fuck Jensen Ackles. "If you actually still want to and don't just want me out of your house, then maybe we can talk about it."
Jensen considers this so hard that Jared has to catch him when he stumbles over the curb. "I guess if you're just keeping me from dying," Jensen concedes.
The next morning, Jared's uncurling himself from Jensen's couch and wondering if it would be rude to borrow his shower when Jensen comes in and sits next to him. Jensen looks exhausted, but his eyes are clear and focused behind his glasses.
"I hate those things," Jensen says.
"I kinda got that," Jared admits, "what with the whole trying to drink yourself into a coma thing. How're you feeling?"
"Like shit." Jensen glances at the couch. "Did you really sleep on this thing all night? Fuck. You didn't have to do that."
Jared shrugs. "No problem." Even as weird as last night was, a tiny part of him can't believe this is his life right now.
"Well. Thanks, I guess," Jensen says. "You want some food or something? I've got a bitch of a hangover, but I could probably manage coffee and cereal." His eyes light up. "Or, hey," he says. "Were you serious when you said we could fuck when I was sober?"
Jared feels his eyebrows raise. "Yes, fuck, yes," he says without thinking. He clears his throat. "I mean, if you want to."
Jensen grins wickedly. "I forgot to tell you that I watch your show, too. You want a tour, Jared?" He stretches a little. "I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten laid by a guy in way too fucking long."
"Jesus," Jared says, staring at Jensen. "This better be a short tour."
"Ten cent version only, I promise." Then Jensen grabs his hand, and Jared kind of loses track of time after that.
5. In which they are boys in the band
"Here, drink this," Jared says. He hands Jensen a mug-Jensen's favorite, the Cowboys one with a chip in it from where Steve banged it against the counter. "I know it tastes like shit, but you'll feel better."
"That's what my mom always said," Jensen croaks. He takes the mug from Jared with both hands, then takes a long drink and makes a face. "What the hell is this?"
"No talking," Jared reminds him. "It's laryngitis cure. Diluted honey, mostly. Did you take your pill?" Jensen opens his mouth, but Jared cuts him off. "Just nod yes or no."
Jensen nods, so Jared sits down next to him. "What about the-" Jensen starts.
"Nope," Jared says. "You heard what the doctor said." Really, they're lucky they even convinced Jensen's stubborn ass to see a doctor. "Do you want to get better in three days or three weeks?"
Jensen starts to say something, and Jared gets ready to cut him off, but then Jensen sets his mug down and reaches for the nearest piece of paper on the table in front of him. It doesn't work like that, he scribbles on the corner of Steve's set list.
Jared shakes his head. "Man, you are the worst patient I've ever seen. And I thought my brother was bad when we were kids."
Jensen takes another sip from his mug, wincing when he swallows, and glares at Jared over the top of it. "I have to play-"
"You have to get better," Jared says. "I know you, man. We'll let you out there just to play, and you'll end up not letting Steve cover your vocals and straining your voice all over again." Jared knows this is torture for Jensen-hell, he damn near made everyone want to kill him when he broke his arm and couldn't drum for a month, and that was at home-but there's nothing for it but to wait it out. Chris is the voice, but Jensen's their lead guitarist. They need him.
"But-"
"Misha's already rescheduled the next two shows and informed Twitter, so you don't have to worry about that." That seems to make Jensen relax slightly, so Jared goes on. "And some buddy of Chris and Steve's is apparently flying in to fill in tonight."
Jensen sighs. "I just want-"
Jared presses a finger against Jensen's lips. "No talking, no singing until you're cured. You can sit backstage and play your acoustic if that'll make you feel better, but there's no freaking way you're getting on that stage."
"Jared-" Jensen's voice is barely a hoarse whisper now. Jared just wants him to shut the hell up and stop trying to talk, so he doesn't think about it, just leans over and kisses Jensen and thanks the Thunder God and all the rest of Def Leppard that Jensen's not contagious. Jensen blinks at him.
"You gonna shut up when I tell you it's for your own good now?" Jared asks, pulling back just slightly and resting his hand on Jensen's arm. Jensen nods. "Good." He pecks Jensen on the lips, just because he can, and Jensen pulls him in and makes it last.
It's then that Misha and Steve come crashing through the bus, bass and keyboards in tow. "Yo," Misha says. "Ready to boogie?"
"Dude, don't ever say that again," Jared says. "Where's Chris?"
"Already there," Steve says. "Had to get Jason from the airport. He said we have to make the liquor run."
"Yeah, cool." Jared turns to Jensen. "You coming, or are you just going to stay here and sleep?" Jensen answers by squeezing Jared's hand and standing up, so Jared grabs his sticks and joins him. "I guess we're good to go."
"Geronimo!" Misha announces, reaching up to thump the roof of the bus and leading them out.
6. In which character bleed is a bitch
They wrap the scene. Jensen thinks it went well, except that as soon as they call cut, Jared gets up from the picnic table and walks away. Jensen thinks maybe he's just tired or restless or something, but somehow, watching Jared, he doesn't think that's it.
When he catches up with Jared, Jared's sitting on the steps of Jensen's trailer like he was waiting for Jensen. "Dude," Jensen says. "You just took off. You okay?"
"I care about you," Jared says.
Jensen blinks. "Duh. What?"
"I just had to tell you about ten times in a row that I don't give a shit about you." Jared shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. "It sucked."
"Oh," Jensen says. He's been trying not to think about scenes from Jared's perspective this season, to keep the distance between them on screen more real, but if it felt like a punch in the gut for Dean to hear it, then it had to be hard for Jared to say it, even if it wasn't hard for Sam.
"Yeah." Jared makes room for Jensen to sit next to him, and Jensen sits. "So I really, really need you to know that I care about you and don't want you to, like, go off and let me have my own, soulless life of killing without you. Okay?"
"If you're having any kind of life of killing, you might have some other issues to work out first," Jensen says. Jared actually sounds kind of genuinely upset by the idea of not wanting Jensen around, though, which Jensen also gets. It's been a weird season for everyone. He bumps shoulders with Jared, making Jared smile a little. "Hey," he says. "Not going anywhere. And for the record, you know I, that, too."
Jared jostles him a little bit. "Wuss. You can't even say it."
Jensen shrugs. "At least I didn't just say ditto, right?"
"You are the worst ever." Jared's smiling, though, and Jensen reaches over and squeezes his hand.
They kiss-Jared's still tense, but Jensen can feel him relaxing by inches, and he rubs slow circles into Jared's wrist with his thumb. "Course I care about you," Jensen says. "Don't know how to not anymore, to be honest. You doing okay?"
"Better than," Jared says against his mouth. "And now I'm gonna take you home and show you."
They stand up, squinting against the sun, and Jared tangles his fingers with Jensen's. Yeah, Jensen thinks, we're gonna be okay.
----
End notes: While I was writing this, cherie_morte summed up not just this fic, but the entire hurt/comfort genre, in the following tweet:
@waterofthemoon Jared has a dick and Jensen has a dick and one of them is sad so they use their dicks and it all gets better. :D?
And that's why I love her. \o/
Author: waterofthemoon
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jared/Jensen (CW RPF)
Summary: Five times Jensen and Jared never comforted each other, and one time they did.
Word Count: 3,679
Disclaimer: Jared and Jensen own each other. I mean, themselves.
Notes: Written for tinkabell007 for spn_j2_xmas! She prompted "hurt/comfort of any kind," so that's basically where the whole premise of this came from, and I also threw in hooker!Jensen just for her. Sorry this is so very late! Thanks to the usual crowd, especially clex_monkie89, gigglingkat, and celtic_cookie, and more especially to sophie_448, who betaed this and saved me from melodrama. This story is also hosted at the AO3.
1. In which Jensen makes a terrible hooker
"So," the guy says with a leer, "come here often?"
Jensen sighs. "You used that line last night. And the night before that. Get some new material, dude."
The guy looks hurt. "You weren't supposed to notice. Aren't hookers supposed to be all, 'ooh, baby, I'll come wherever you want'?" He makes a terrible, contorted attempt at what Jensen thinks is supposed to be a sexy face, and Jensen bites back a smile.
"Aren't you supposed to start paying for my time instead of just driving by here like a creeper and trivializing my profession?" Jensen pauses. "Also, if you want me to come on you, I'm gonna have to charge you extra."
"Look, will you just get in the car? I don't have a lot of money, but I swear I'll make it worth your while."
Jensen looks the guy over. He's gotten that line before, and it usually ends in him getting all the way to the hotel only to find out the guy really can't pay, but hey, that's why he gets the cash up front. "What's your name?"
"Jared." He says it so earnestly that Jensen can tell it's not a fake name, and that's what makes him give in.
"Yeah, okay." Jensen opens the door and gets in. "So what's your story, Jared?"
Jared takes a deep breath. "Okay, so my girlfriend dumped me two weeks ago because she said I was smothering her, and my boss has been coming down on me really hard at work, like, way more than anyone else, and I'm trying to finish school, and I don't know, I just really needed someone to talk to." He glances hopefully at Jensen.
Jensen is not a fucking therapist. Jared's not the first guy to make that mistake, but for some reason, he's the first one Jensen wants to talk to. "Okay, slow down," he says. "No friends?"
"I tried that, but they were all Sandy's friends first, so none of them will even give me the time of day now, and my best friend's only advice was to get laid." Jared turns a corner and looks, wide-eyed, at Jensen. "Not that I-I mean, I don't want you to think-shit."
Jensen laughs and puts his hand on Jared's thigh just to watch him jump. It's a really nice thigh. "Hey, now, if I don't get you laid, then I'm not doing my job, right?"
Jared laughs nervously. "I guess so. Um, here we are." Jared pulls into the parking lot of a shabby-looking apartment complex, and Jensen raises an eyebrow at him. "I know, you're probably used to hotels or whatever, but I swear to god, I don't have a gun. And my dogs are at my parents' house, so they won't even be there to jump on you."
"Do you make a habit of telling strangers that you don't have a gun?" Jensen asks curiously as he gets out of the car. "What if they were just waiting for you to let that slip so they could come after you in your sleep?"
Jared flexes his arm in a really stupid, body builder kind of way that is somehow working for Jensen right now. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself."
"I can see that," Jensen says.
They go inside, and Jensen looks around Jared's apartment. It's about as well-kept as he'd expect from a student working a crappy job, which doesn't actually bother Jensen. The thing that strikes him are the pictures stuck everywhere. A lot of them are of Jared with the same four people, who are clearly his family. There are also some of him with his arm wrapped around a pretty, dark-haired girl and even a couple featuring two gigantic dogs. In all of them, Jared's grinning.
"These the dogs you mentioned?" Jensen asks, picking up one of the pictures and eyeing the one trying to lick Jared to death. "They look real fierce."
"Uh, yeah," Jared says. He comes over and takes the picture out of Jensen's hand, smiling a little. "They're good dogs, though. Always worry they're gonna forget about me when I don't get home as often as I want."
"Nah, never happen," Jensen says. When Jared looks at him, Jensen amends, "I mean, with dogs. You should have seen my family's dog when I first went home after coming out here. Freaking nuts."
Jared nods, but he seems distracted. "Oh, that's cool." He shifts a little awkwardly. "So, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here. Do you want to sit down? I can make coffee."
"No coffee," Jensen says. "You're nervous enough. Your couch comfy?"
"Sure, yeah," Jared says, gesturing at it.
Jensen sits down, testing the springs. It's a pretty good couch, all things considered. "You gonna sit down?" He watches as Jared sits. "Okay," he says. "Now, normally, this would be the part where I'd turn you over and fuck you into this couch. But it's my job to know what people need, and I think that's not what you need."
"That your expert opinion, huh?" Jared asks. "Why's that?"
"Don't worry, sugar, we'll get there if you want." Jensen lets his eyes trail over Jared before meeting Jared's eyes. "First things first-tell me about Sandy."
2. In which there is a minor family crisis
The door to Jensen's room is slightly open when Jared shows up, and he takes that as an invitation and lets himself in. "Jensen?"
He sees Jensen immediately, sitting on his bed and staring at his phone like he's trying to set it on fire with his mind. "Come in," Jensen says, not looking up.
Jared crosses the room and sits down next to him on the bed, pushing aside Jensen's history textbook and his notebook for literature class. "What's up?"
"That was my mom," Jensen says. He glances up at Jared, and Jared can see the fear on his face and how badly he's trying to keep it together. "Josh was in some kind of wreck. I don't know how bad yet."
"Shit, is he okay? Do you need me to take you somewhere?" Jared's mind is reeling, but Jensen shakes his head.
"She said we should stay put until we knew more," Jensen says. He gets up and walks from his desk to his dresser and back again, still staring at the phone. "I hate this part."
Jared doesn't know what he's supposed to do here. He's never seen Jensen like this, all restless and pacing like something really bad is going to happen if he doesn't stand still for just a minute. "Dude, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor."
That makes Jensen look at him, at least. "Really? That's all you got?"
"I thought you called me over here for-not this!" Jared protests. "Look, Josh is gonna be fine. You gotta know that."
"I know, I know, I just-" Jensen's phone rings. Jared glances over and sees that it's Jensen's mom, but Jensen seems frozen.
"Better answer it," Jared says. "Either way, you're gonna want to know."
Jensen nods and hits the talk button. Jared tries not to listen in as Jensen paces the room-Jensen's side is pretty quiet, anyway, just a lot of "yeah"s and nodding-but he can't miss Jensen's quiet, relieved sigh when Jensen slumps down on the bed. "Thank God," he says. "Okay. Let me know if anything changes. Yeah, I know. Love you, too."
"Well?" Jared says when Jensen hangs up. He doesn't think it can be that bad, but he figures Jensen needs to talk about it.
"He's fine," Jensen says. His voice is shaking a little. "Broken wrist, and he hit his head, so they want to observe him. His car needs some work, I guess, but they're saying the accident wasn't his fault."
Jared lets out a breath. "Lucky break, man," he says. "Are you okay?"
Jensen doesn't say anything for a minute. "It just-kind of freaked me out, I guess. I mean, he could have been-" He shakes his head, refusing to say it. "And what if it had been you? Or Mack? I don't know what-"
Jared's mind is a little blown at Jensen's quiet admission, at the idea that he thinks of Jared on the same level as his family, but he wraps his arm around Jensen's shoulders and pulls him in close. "Jen, I'm right here. See? I'm fine, everyone's fine."
Jensen turns his head and pushes his mouth against Jared's in a messy, bruising kiss. When he pulls away, he wraps himself around Jared, and Jared doesn't let go.
3. In which Jared falls off a swing
Jensen doesn't know what happened. Jared was just showing him how high he could go on the swings, and now Jared's on the ground, crumpled into a ball.
"Jared!" Jensen shouts. He runs over and tugs on Jared's arm, but Jensen's not big enough, and Jared won't get up. "I'm getting the teacher."
"No, I'm okay," Jared says. He doesn't sound very okay, but he leans on Jensen and pulls himself up, so he must not be hurt very bad.
Jensen helps him walk over to the grass and sit back down. "You need to rest," Jensen says firmly. "Your bones might be broken!"
"They don't feel broken." Jared sits quietly for a minute before he jumps up. "C'mon, I'll race you to the top of the jungle gym!"
"No, Jared!" Jensen tries to pull him back down, and Jared almost falls over.
"What's wrong?" Jared asks. "You just don't want me to beat you. I can totally beat you!"
"You'll get hurt," Jensen explains. Jared's really smart, so Jensen doesn't know why he isn't getting this. "I don't want you to be hurt."
Jared shrugs and sits back down. "Okay. You should check my bones, Dr. Jensen. They might be broken on the inside!"
Jensen's carefully poking Jared's arm when Chad runs by. "Jared and Jensen, sitting in a tree!" he yells.
"You're so stupid, Chad!" Jared yells back. "We're not in a tree!"
"Yeah!" Jensen adds.
Chad makes a face. "You're so gross. Why don't you just get married?"
Mrs. Smith calls them to go inside then, so Jensen just sticks his tongue out at Chad and grabs Jared's hand. "Come on, Jared! We'll be late!"
Jared smiles at him and grabs his hand again when they're line buddies, even though they don't have to hold hands in line, and Jensen smiles back.
4. In which the show never happened
Jared first sees him across a crowded room, as stupid as that sounds, and tries not to pass out. He knew when he took the job on Burn Notice that he'd have to schmooze with everyone else on the network, and he realized that everyone else would include Jensen Ackles, but somehow, watching him run around with a gun on White Collar didn't prepare him for seeing Jensen in person, looking slightly awkward and unbelievably gorgeous.
Jared gets swept up in the party-he likes meeting new people, always has, and he knows his agent will kill him if he doesn't at least pick up a few business cards-and the next time he spots Jensen, Jensen's eyes are bright, and he's swaying a little. He gestures to make a point to whoever he's talking to, smiling a little, and Jared has to excuse himself from a random exec because he's completely forgotten what they were talking about.
Later, when Jared's a little bit past buzzed himself, he stumbles into the bathroom and avoids the guy with his head in the toilet, puking his guts out. The guy lifts his head while Jared's zipping up and washing his hands, and holy shit, it's Jensen Ackles.
"You all right, man?" Jared asks. "You should sit up or something. You'll feel better."
"You an expert on puking?" Jensen asks muzzily.
"Nah," Jared says. "Just an expert on drinking too much. This is why you shouldn't get wasted at network parties."
Jensen blinks at him. "Why? Because hot guys will come along and save me from myself?" He leans forward and retches a little, but thankfully, nothing comes out. "That seems more like a plus to me."
"I watch your show," Jared blurts out. "You're awesome." Jensen gives him a confused, drunk look, and Jared suddenly feels the urge to run away. "And now I'm gonna go get you a bottle of water. Stay here and don't move, okay?"
"Mmkay," Jensen says, resting his head on the toilet seat. "No problem."
While he's getting Jensen three complimentary miniature water bottles with Psych's logo on the side, Jared tries really hard not to think about the fact that Jensen Ackles just called him hot. Jensen's drunk. It probably doesn't mean anything.
When Jared gets back, Jensen looks even more pathetic than he did five minutes ago. "Here, drink this," he says. He helps Jensen up and escorts him out of the club, fortunately avoiding the press cameras still hanging around.
"I don't want you to vomit in your sleep and die horribly," Jared says while they're waiting for cabs, which is true. "Maybe you should come home with me. Or I should go home with you."
Jensen looks him up and down, and Jared tries not to blush. "Just so you know, there's no way I'm getting it up tonight," he slurs.
"You honestly think I'm trying to get in your pants right now?" Jared shakes his head. "Dude, no way. Sleep it off, take a couple of showers, and then-" He swallows because even after seeing him like this, he really does want to fuck Jensen Ackles. "If you actually still want to and don't just want me out of your house, then maybe we can talk about it."
Jensen considers this so hard that Jared has to catch him when he stumbles over the curb. "I guess if you're just keeping me from dying," Jensen concedes.
The next morning, Jared's uncurling himself from Jensen's couch and wondering if it would be rude to borrow his shower when Jensen comes in and sits next to him. Jensen looks exhausted, but his eyes are clear and focused behind his glasses.
"I hate those things," Jensen says.
"I kinda got that," Jared admits, "what with the whole trying to drink yourself into a coma thing. How're you feeling?"
"Like shit." Jensen glances at the couch. "Did you really sleep on this thing all night? Fuck. You didn't have to do that."
Jared shrugs. "No problem." Even as weird as last night was, a tiny part of him can't believe this is his life right now.
"Well. Thanks, I guess," Jensen says. "You want some food or something? I've got a bitch of a hangover, but I could probably manage coffee and cereal." His eyes light up. "Or, hey," he says. "Were you serious when you said we could fuck when I was sober?"
Jared feels his eyebrows raise. "Yes, fuck, yes," he says without thinking. He clears his throat. "I mean, if you want to."
Jensen grins wickedly. "I forgot to tell you that I watch your show, too. You want a tour, Jared?" He stretches a little. "I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten laid by a guy in way too fucking long."
"Jesus," Jared says, staring at Jensen. "This better be a short tour."
"Ten cent version only, I promise." Then Jensen grabs his hand, and Jared kind of loses track of time after that.
5. In which they are boys in the band
"Here, drink this," Jared says. He hands Jensen a mug-Jensen's favorite, the Cowboys one with a chip in it from where Steve banged it against the counter. "I know it tastes like shit, but you'll feel better."
"That's what my mom always said," Jensen croaks. He takes the mug from Jared with both hands, then takes a long drink and makes a face. "What the hell is this?"
"No talking," Jared reminds him. "It's laryngitis cure. Diluted honey, mostly. Did you take your pill?" Jensen opens his mouth, but Jared cuts him off. "Just nod yes or no."
Jensen nods, so Jared sits down next to him. "What about the-" Jensen starts.
"Nope," Jared says. "You heard what the doctor said." Really, they're lucky they even convinced Jensen's stubborn ass to see a doctor. "Do you want to get better in three days or three weeks?"
Jensen starts to say something, and Jared gets ready to cut him off, but then Jensen sets his mug down and reaches for the nearest piece of paper on the table in front of him. It doesn't work like that, he scribbles on the corner of Steve's set list.
Jared shakes his head. "Man, you are the worst patient I've ever seen. And I thought my brother was bad when we were kids."
Jensen takes another sip from his mug, wincing when he swallows, and glares at Jared over the top of it. "I have to play-"
"You have to get better," Jared says. "I know you, man. We'll let you out there just to play, and you'll end up not letting Steve cover your vocals and straining your voice all over again." Jared knows this is torture for Jensen-hell, he damn near made everyone want to kill him when he broke his arm and couldn't drum for a month, and that was at home-but there's nothing for it but to wait it out. Chris is the voice, but Jensen's their lead guitarist. They need him.
"But-"
"Misha's already rescheduled the next two shows and informed Twitter, so you don't have to worry about that." That seems to make Jensen relax slightly, so Jared goes on. "And some buddy of Chris and Steve's is apparently flying in to fill in tonight."
Jensen sighs. "I just want-"
Jared presses a finger against Jensen's lips. "No talking, no singing until you're cured. You can sit backstage and play your acoustic if that'll make you feel better, but there's no freaking way you're getting on that stage."
"Jared-" Jensen's voice is barely a hoarse whisper now. Jared just wants him to shut the hell up and stop trying to talk, so he doesn't think about it, just leans over and kisses Jensen and thanks the Thunder God and all the rest of Def Leppard that Jensen's not contagious. Jensen blinks at him.
"You gonna shut up when I tell you it's for your own good now?" Jared asks, pulling back just slightly and resting his hand on Jensen's arm. Jensen nods. "Good." He pecks Jensen on the lips, just because he can, and Jensen pulls him in and makes it last.
It's then that Misha and Steve come crashing through the bus, bass and keyboards in tow. "Yo," Misha says. "Ready to boogie?"
"Dude, don't ever say that again," Jared says. "Where's Chris?"
"Already there," Steve says. "Had to get Jason from the airport. He said we have to make the liquor run."
"Yeah, cool." Jared turns to Jensen. "You coming, or are you just going to stay here and sleep?" Jensen answers by squeezing Jared's hand and standing up, so Jared grabs his sticks and joins him. "I guess we're good to go."
"Geronimo!" Misha announces, reaching up to thump the roof of the bus and leading them out.
6. In which character bleed is a bitch
They wrap the scene. Jensen thinks it went well, except that as soon as they call cut, Jared gets up from the picnic table and walks away. Jensen thinks maybe he's just tired or restless or something, but somehow, watching Jared, he doesn't think that's it.
When he catches up with Jared, Jared's sitting on the steps of Jensen's trailer like he was waiting for Jensen. "Dude," Jensen says. "You just took off. You okay?"
"I care about you," Jared says.
Jensen blinks. "Duh. What?"
"I just had to tell you about ten times in a row that I don't give a shit about you." Jared shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. "It sucked."
"Oh," Jensen says. He's been trying not to think about scenes from Jared's perspective this season, to keep the distance between them on screen more real, but if it felt like a punch in the gut for Dean to hear it, then it had to be hard for Jared to say it, even if it wasn't hard for Sam.
"Yeah." Jared makes room for Jensen to sit next to him, and Jensen sits. "So I really, really need you to know that I care about you and don't want you to, like, go off and let me have my own, soulless life of killing without you. Okay?"
"If you're having any kind of life of killing, you might have some other issues to work out first," Jensen says. Jared actually sounds kind of genuinely upset by the idea of not wanting Jensen around, though, which Jensen also gets. It's been a weird season for everyone. He bumps shoulders with Jared, making Jared smile a little. "Hey," he says. "Not going anywhere. And for the record, you know I, that, too."
Jared jostles him a little bit. "Wuss. You can't even say it."
Jensen shrugs. "At least I didn't just say ditto, right?"
"You are the worst ever." Jared's smiling, though, and Jensen reaches over and squeezes his hand.
They kiss-Jared's still tense, but Jensen can feel him relaxing by inches, and he rubs slow circles into Jared's wrist with his thumb. "Course I care about you," Jensen says. "Don't know how to not anymore, to be honest. You doing okay?"
"Better than," Jared says against his mouth. "And now I'm gonna take you home and show you."
They stand up, squinting against the sun, and Jared tangles his fingers with Jensen's. Yeah, Jensen thinks, we're gonna be okay.
----
End notes: While I was writing this, cherie_morte summed up not just this fic, but the entire hurt/comfort genre, in the following tweet:
@waterofthemoon Jared has a dick and Jensen has a dick and one of them is sad so they use their dicks and it all gets better. :D?
And that's why I love her. \o/