RPS: The Storm Outside and the Fire Bright
Mar. 2nd, 2010 06:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
errant_janeTitle: The Storm Outside and the Fire Bright
Date: March 2010
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: Approximately 7K
Warnings: WARNING! THIS STORY IS TOTALLY AWESOME AND NOT AT ALL SCHMOOPY AND RIDICULOUS, OKAY?
Author's Notes: Takes place sometime mid-S4. These are stories I made up. Thank you to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kadiel_krieger for the last-minute read-through and to rhythmsextion for going above and beyond the call of beta duty on this one. This story is also pretty much entirely her fault. So there's that.
Summary: In which the weather sucks, the power is out and cuddles just sort of happen.
The Storm Outside and the Fire Bright
***
They give up on filming around five when it becomes apparent that pretending the snow isn't there won't make the storm go away. There are already more inches on the ground than had been predicted and now they're calling for freezing rain.
The PAs have been keeping everyone apprised of the situation.
"Alright, everyone, get out of here," the director finally calls. "Drive slower than my fucking grandma and get home safe, okay?"
The only saving grace on the drive home is that everyone with any sense got off the road hours ago. It's one of the longest trips of Jared's life and by the time they get back to the house, he feels exhausted like they worked a full day. Jensen, by the look of it, feels the same. All Jared wants to do is have a beer, maybe watch some TV and then go to bed early. It's a luxury they don't get too often.
When Jared opens the front door and flips the switch in the entryway, nothing happens. He flicks it back and forth a couple of times, trying to figure out what that means. Sadie and Harley are suddenly there, bumping against his legs, clearly happy that Jared and Jensen are home early, but oddly subdued in the dark.
Jensen leans against the wall next to him and chuckles softly. "Of course the power's out. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Shit." Jared runs his hands through his hair, tries to process. "Shit," he says again when he draws a blank.
"C'mon, man. There are flashlights in the kitchen."
They fumble their way to the kitchen without tripping over the dogs and breaking their necks and Jensen manages to locate the flashlights.
Somehow the little beams of light are enough to make Jared's brain kick into gear. "Do you think we should try and get a hotel room?
"At this point, I think it's more trouble than it's worth." Jensen scratches the back of his neck and sighs. "Ah, okay. Shit. The fireplace in the living room works, right?"
"Yeah." Jared nods, realizing that the house is a little chilly. "I'll go start a fire."
Jensen looks at him and smirks. "That statement is sort of scary coming from your mouth, dude."
"Fuck you," Jared says without heat.
There's some firewood next to the fireplace and more stacked in the garage from the tree they had taken out of the backyard over the summer, so at the very least they'll be able to keep one room in the house warm. Jared's Boy Scout training doesn't fail him and it's not long before he has a decent fire going.
When he goes back into the kitchen to share the good news, he finds Jensen unloading the last of the food from the fridge into their coolers, which makes him glad Jensen is here because Jared probably wouldn't have thought to do that.
"Now what?" he asks after they're done moving their food out onto the back deck.
Jensen bends over and grabs a couple of beers from the cooler and hands one to Jared. "Now we enjoy the time off Mother Nature granted us."
Jared knocks the neck of his bottle against Jensen's. "Cheers."
They go back into the living room, which has already heated up considerably. The dogs have settled into their beds, curled up next to each other in a way that would be sweet if Jared didn't know any better. He's sure they're plotting something for later.
The thing is, with the power out, there's not really anything to do. Jared is able to make it a few minutes, just sitting there drinking his beer before he cracks. "You know what we should do?"
"What?" Jensen looks smug and amused, like he was just waiting for something.
"We should move your mattress in here."
"I—Okay. I was not expecting that," Jensen says.
"C'mon," Jared says, warming to the idea. "You know our rooms are going to be freezing. And the couches aren't exactly comfortable for sleeping."
Jensen's amused look is back. "Are you proposing a slumber party?"
"What?" Jared scoffs. "No. I didn't say we should tell ghost stories and shit." Though now that he thinks about it, that sounds awesome.
"Okay," Jensen says easily. He looks half asleep as he stands to shove the coffee table aside to make room.
"Really?"
"Really." Jensen turns to him then, holding up his finger. "This is not a story that gets told at cons. Ever."
Jared crosses his heart, hopes to die. This isn't even a story he's telling his family because, despite what he said, he's been around his little sister enough to know that this is totally a slumber party in the making.
The mattress is a little awkward to move, but between the two of them, they manage it without breaking anything. It's worth it considering how cold the rest of the house has become. Jared grabs some clean sheets and extra blankets from the linen closet and makes up the bed while Jensen lets the dogs out.
"Man, they were not happy about that," Jensen says when he comes back inside. "It's pretty shitty out, dude. We're lucky we got home when we did." He stops and watches as Jared throws the last of the blankets down onto the mattress. "Um."
It takes Jared a minute, looking from Jensen to the mattress and back again. Only then does it occur to him that maybe he should have dug out the sleeping bags instead, that this arrangement—the bed made up in front of the fire with all the lights off—looks rather cozy. He opens his mouth, then shuts it because he should probably think of something to say first.
Before he can, Jensen yawns and shrugs. "I'm gonna go take my contacts out." He grabs one of the flashlights and wanders off down the hall.
Jared finishes his beer and calls his mom to let her know they're okay, yes, they got home safe, no, they won't be driving anywhere until the roads are completely clear, yes, they have enough food that they won't starve to death in the meantime.
Jensen comes back into the room as Jared is promising that no, the house will not burn down and yes, he has the fire extinguisher next to the fireplace like Dad told him. He leans in, pats Jared on the stomach and says, "Hi, mom" into the phone.
It's more than a little absurd how pleased Jared's mom sounds when she says hello back. She is still completely charmed by Jensen, despite how well she knows him at this point. "She says hi back," Jared says dutifully.
"I'm totally the favorite," Jensen whispers in his smug voice as he tosses his pillows down onto the mattress. He's wearing his pajama pants and a sweatshirt and he has his glasses on, which always seems to make him look younger somehow.
"Are not," Jared whispers back. It's his mom, after all. "Okay, Momma, I'm gonna go now. I still need to feed the dogs and stuff." It takes five more minutes of assurances that they are completely safe and promises to keep her updated before he can actually hang up. "Jackass," he says when Jensen starts laughing out loud after he ends the call. "Have you called your mom yet?"
"Aw, shit." Jensen stops laughing.
Jared goes up to his room to change and wash his face as Jensen calls to give his mom all the same assurances that Jared just finished going through. Luckily, they still have hot water, which means showering won't be an issue. If only Jared had gotten around to putting in the gas stove like they'd been talking about.
"Yeah, we have that fireplace in the living room, remember?" Jensen is saying as Jared returns. He looks up at Jared with a wry smile on his face and shrugs. "No, we made up beds so we can sleep out here."
The plural there is something Jared tries to ignore as he tosses his pillows down next to Jensen. He goes over to the fireplace, throws another log on for good measure. It's weird that he didn't even think about it. Not that the mattress isn't big enough or anything, it's just not something guys do, typically.
That stuff doesn't really occur to Jared when it's him and Jensen like it would if it were him and Chad. So maybe that's weird too. Jensen doesn't seem to mind, though as he holds up his half-empty beer bottle between his fingers and shakes it at Jared. Despite the high-handedness of the silent order, Jared goes to grab them a couple more.
It's biting cold outside and the snow is coming down fast, wet and heavy. It covers everything and Jared is glad for the overhang that is keeping the coolers protected. He grabs the beers and hurries back into the house.
"I will, I promise," Jensen says as Jared hands him his beer. "Jared says hi."
"Hi, Momma Ackles," Jared calls out, feeling like a shithead that he didn't say it before. He grins as Jensen rolls his eyes because he knows Jensen's mom loves him just as much as Jared's loves Jensen.
"Okay, Mom, I gotta go. We're gonna make s'mores and tell ghost stories now." Jensen grins. "I'm not being smart, Jared is whittling sticks as we speak." He laughs. "Yeah, okay. Give everyone my love."
"S'mores is not something we joke about," Jared says as he settles next to Jensen on the bed. He props his pillows up where the mattress is shoved up against the couch so that they can lean back against it like a headboard.
"Yeah, don't think I don't know that that's exactly what we'd be doing right now if we had marshmallows."
"Damn my lack of planning." Really, how does he not have an emergency stash of marshmallows in the house? "So what do we do now?"
Jensen appears to consider the question as he drinks his beer. "Well, we don't have enough people for light as a feather, stiff as a board and I left my Ouija board at my parents' house."
Jared snickers. "I'm totally freezing your bra as soon as you fall asleep."
"Try it and I will show you the meaning of the word pain, my friend." Jensen finishes his beer and gets up. Jared doesn't watch him go, but he listens, mentally follows as Jensen deposits his bottle in the recycling bin and then goes down the hall to the bathroom.
There's a soft, static sort of noise in the background and it takes Jared a moment before he realizes that the freezing rain has started. He hopes that none of the tree branches break and hit the house, but hoping is all he can really do about it.
"What do you think, guys?" he asks the dogs. Harley gives him a bored look. Sadie doesn't even bother.
When Jensen comes back, he crawls under the covers, adjusts his pillows so he's lying down and then looks over at Jared. "Okay, man. Lay it on me."
"It?"
"Don't front. I know you're dying to tell ghost stories." Jensen brings his arms up, laces his fingers behind his head and closes his eyes, totally relaxed.
"Fuck off. Hey, do you think—" Jared studies Jensen for a moment and decides not to finish that question. "You look thrashed, man."
He does. The dark circles under his eyes that have been something of a fixture since the first season look more bruised and obvious now. Jensen's been doing a lot of heavy lifting lately, both in filming time and emotional content. Jared knows how hard it is to try and shake off a day of pretending like you're at the end of your rope and so far this season it seems like Jensen has had nothing but those days.
"Hmm?" Jensen doesn't open his eyes. "Naw, I'm good. Let's get this party started."
"Yeah, okay," Jared says quietly. "Did I ever tell you about the time Chad thought it'd be a good idea to leave a goat in Paris Hilton's trailer?" He knows for a fact that he's told that story at least five different times, but Jensen always laughs like he's never heard it before.
"Tell me," Jensen says, his mouth stretched into a happy smile.
So Jared does, but less animated than usual. He keeps his voice pitched low and about halfway through the story, Jensen's breathing turns deep and even.
When Jared reaches over to remove his glasses, Jensen mumbles, "I'm listening."
"You listen with your ears, not your eyes," Jared tells him as he sets the glasses on the couch behind them. He finishes the story just because and isn't a bit surprised when there's no laughter following the punchline.
It's only eight o'clock and Jared has no idea what to do with himself now. He gets up, grabs Jensen's unopened beer to put back in the cooler and deposits his empty bottle in the recycling bin. Then, since he's up, he heads to his bathroom to brush his teeth. When he goes back downstairs, he rouses the dogs to let them out one more time. They both get so far as the door and then look up at Jared like he's lost his fucking mind.
"Yeah, okay, I don't blame you," Jared says, watching as the snow/rain/sleet falls. "Just, y'know. Don't do anything on the carpet?" He gets caught in a yawn then, wide enough to make his jaw pop and realizes he could probably sleep.
Jensen's moved so that his hands are folded together on his chest. Jared thinks it's a little weird that sometimes Jensen sleeps like he's laid out in a coffin. He shucks his sweatshirt, crawls under the covers and feels creepy when he realizes that sleeping how he normally does means that he's facing Jensen. Like maybe he should have taken the other side of the bed or something, except that this is his side and it's not like he was intending to watch Jensen sleep or anything.
But he does watch Jensen sleep. For several minutes he watches the rise and fall of Jensen's chest, the way his lips are slightly parted and how his eyes will occasionally flicker. It's not exactly sexy, not really. Or, not anything beyond the fact that it's Jensen, who maintains a fairly high baseline of sexy at all times. But it is something, something close and quiet and familiar that sits heavy and happy in Jared's chest.
When Jared's eyes finally drift shut, Jensen's profile is still there, etched in the back of his mind.
***
Jared has no idea what time it is when he wakes up again, only that the fire has almost died out and Jensen is hogging all the blankets. He crawls out of bed and over to the fireplace. The room is cold enough that Jared feels goose bumps rise along his arms as he adds some more wood to the fire. He tries to keep his eyes half-closed to keep from waking up fully as the flames come back to life.
Once the heat starts seeping back into his skin, Jared closes the doors and goes back to the mattress, tugging the covers away from where Jensen now has them tucked around his entire body. He doesn't even really think about it. Just pulls the covers away and fits himself up against Jensen's back, slinging an arm around his waist.
It isn't until Jensen's hand settles over his own that Jared realizes what he's done. His eyes shoot open and he stares at the back of Jensen's head. He'd been moving on instinct, doing what he would if he were in bed with a girlfriend, except Jensen isn't his girlfriend. He's his platonic best friend costar, whose fingers are currently laced with Jared's against his stomach.
"Um, Jen?" Jared tries quietly, but Jensen's breathing is still deep and even and there's every possibility that Jensen wasn't even a little bit conscious for any of that.
Jared could try and pull away, would but for the way their fingers are tangled together. Jensen's been so tired and Jared doesn't want to risk waking him up for something this stupid. Chances are they'll move apart in their sleep anyway, it doesn't have to be a big deal. His decision to stay where he is has nothing at all to do with how good it feels to be wrapped around Jensen.
If Jared falls back asleep with a smile on his face, Sadie and Harley are the only ones there to witness it and it's not like they're going to tell anyone. They most likely don't even care.
***
The next time he wakes up, it's because Jensen is wriggling around next to him. Jared makes a noise of protest before cracking his eyes open to see Jensen squirming out of his sweatshirt. The fire's still going, so it can't be too much later. "Hot," Jensen says.
Jared makes another displeased sound, something that he hopes translates into, "Make up your fucking mind" and rolls onto his back.
"Like a furnace," Jensen says as he flops back down. Only, when he flops back down, it's onto his stomach, pressed up against Jared's side, his arm lying across Jared's body.
"If you're so hot, why are you plastered against me?" Jared asks. Or, he intends to ask, but before he can his fingers brush against skin. Jensen has taken his t-shirt off as well as his sweatshirt, or maybe he didn't have one on to begin with. Either way, Jared can't help himself. He trails his fingers along the hot bare skin of Jensen's side.
Jensen pinches him. "Tickles," he mutters against Jared's shoulder.
"Sorry," Jared says. "Hey, Jensen. Is this weird?" There are a lot of exceptions for the two of them in Jared's mind. Things that don't really need to be explained other than it's Jared and Jensen and that's how they are. Jared needs to know if this is one of them.
"Yes," Jensen says. He's asleep again two seconds later.
"Thanks, man. That totally clears things up." He smoothes his hand down Jensen's spine and Jensen smiles in his sleep.
Jared stares at the ceiling for a long time after that and thinks about nothing at all.
***
The bed is empty when Jared wakes up again. The fire's died down and Jared has lost all concept of time. He gets up and goes to the bathroom. When he comes back, Jensen's still not in bed and he realizes the dogs are missing, so goes to check the backyard.
Sadie and Harley rush past him as soon as he opens the door because they are obviously smarter than Jensen, who is standing there in his slippers, wrapped in one of the down throws.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Come out here for a sec," Jensen says.
Jared wants to reply that, no, he's not going out there, thank you very much, but instead finds himself shoving his bare feet into his sneakers and grabbing his jacket off the chair. "What's the matter with you?" he asks as he joins Jensen on the deck. "Or me, for that matter."
"D'you ever read The Twelve Dancing Princesses? It was my sister's favorite. I used to read it to her all the time."
"Um, yeah, I think I've read it," Jared says. "Something about shoes, right?"
"They go through the different forests. One is all silver, one is all gold and one is all diamonds." Jensen gestures to the trees with the blanket and Jared sees that the idiot didn't even bother to put his shirt back on. "This sort of reminds me of that."
Jared finally looks out into the yard. The snow has stopped and the clouds are gone. The sky is unbelievably clear with no lights from any of the streets or houses to obscure the view. The moonlight shines off of the ice that encases everything, making the ground and trees sparkle.
"It's pretty, right?" Jensen asks.
"Yeah," Jared says. He glances back at Jensen, takes in his soft smile and thinks, but Goddamn you're too bright. It's from a poem or a song, something Jared can't quite place, but it bounces around his head until he clears his throat and looks away. "It's gorgeous. It's also cold as hell, dude. My nuts are about to fall off."
Jensen snorts. "Wouldn't want that." He gestures toward the house and the moment is completely gone.
When they get inside Jared builds the fire up, gets back into bed and doesn't pay any attention as Jensen sits in front of the fireplace, holding his hands out in front of him. He doesn't watch the flicker of the light against Jensen's bare skin and he isn't disappointed when he falls asleep alone.
***
It's morning when Jared wakes up again and both he and Jensen are on their own sides of the bed. Jared tells himself he's relieved at that. He's debating on whether or not he wants to go back to sleep when his stomach rumbles loudly, reminding him that he went to bed without eating dinner.
They have plenty of cereal in the cupboard and Jared pours himself a huge bowl and goes to retrieve the milk from outside. The world is once again grey and overcast. The ice is still pretty, but it's not the same. The endless possibilities that were there last night seem wiped away completely.
As if that weren't enough, the milk is half frozen.
Jared eats his breakfast in silence. Lets the dogs out and feeds them when they come back in. Jensen sleeps through it all, one arm covering his eyes like he is not yet ready to face the world. Jared doesn't blame him. The world is bleak this morning.
For lack of anything better to do, Jared picks a book from the reading list he made up last year and has been woefully behind on ever since. Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, suggested to him by Chad of all people.
He settles on the couch, gets about three paragraphs in when Jensen moves, turns over onto his stomach and hides his face in the crook of his elbow. Jared watches him for a long time after that and resolutely ignores the warm anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.
***
"Fascinating read, huh?"
Jared opens his eyes to find Jensen standing over him, smiling and freshly showered.
"Huh?" His book is resting on his chest, still open to the first page. He doesn't recall falling asleep. "What time is it?"
"One," Jensen says. "I made sandwiches."
"Awesome." Jared pushes himself off the couch and follows Jensen into the kitchen. In fact, Jensen has made them an entire meal with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and salsa and an apple for each of them. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
"Here I thought it was my pretty face," Jensen says easily.
The huge bite of PB&J that Jared has in his mouth thankfully prevents him from answering.
After lunch, Jared opts for a shower. He has a candle that his mom gave him as his only source of light and it's kind of weird showering in the semi-dark, but he feels better afterwards as he slips into a clean pair of sweats and hurries back downstairs to where it's warm.
Jensen is stretched out on the couch with his iPod, dead to the world. Jared skims his finger over the wheel to see what Jensen's listening to and laughs when he discovers that it's one of the NPR podcasts. He's not sure if Jensen started listening to them because of his pestering or because of Misha. Either way, it doesn't look like Jensen's at risk of becoming a huge fan. He doesn't protest when Jared pulls the buds out of his ears and sets the iPod aside.
Jared settles on the other couch and manages to get a few chapters of his book read before he falls asleep again.
***
Dinner, when they both manage to get up, is more of the same, which makes Jared hope that this power outage thing doesn't last too much longer. He's starting to jones for a pizza.
"Do you wanna play cards or something?" he asks as they go back into the living room.
"Sure." Jensen settles back down on the mattress instead of the couch.
Against all odds, Jared managed to find a pack of cards in one of the kitchen drawers earlier and they play a few rounds of poker with pennies from the change jar. It's not the most exciting thing ever, so Jared starts cheating.
"Dude!" Jensen throws his cards at him as Jared laughs. "You ass!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jared collects the cards and dumps the pennies back into the jar. "I won fair and square."
"Yeah, okay," Jensen says, but he's smiling, looking all happy and Jared thinks, I did that.
"You want another beer?" Jared asks, standing up. He needs to let the dogs out anyway.
"Sure."
Sadie and Harley do their business in record time and give him betrayed looks as they trot back into the house. As if the crap weather is his fault.
Jared hands Jensen his beer as he settles back down onto the bed. "To Ice Storm," he says.
"To a few days off." Jensen clinks his bottle against Jared's and takes a drink. He's smiling again when he sets his bottle aside.
"What?" Jared asks.
"Nothin'." Jensen shakes his head. "Just. I keep waiting to get sick of your ugly mug and I still think, if I have to be snowed in with someone, I'm glad it's you."
"Yeah. Me too." Jared wants to say more, but he can't quite seem to organize his thoughts into something that doesn't sound ridiculous or melodramatic. So he doesn't say anything.
"Yeah." Jensen looks away, laughs to himself and slides down until he's laying on his back. "Yeah. Okay. Tell me a story."
Jared grins. "What kind of story?" He sets his beer on the coffee table and stretches out on his side facing Jensen, his head propped on his hand.
"I dunno. Make something up. Dazzle me."
"Uh, hmm." Jared considers it for a minute. "Once upon a time," he starts without any idea of where to go from there.
It maybe shouldn't be a surprise when Jensen reaches out to grab the front of Jared's t-shirt and pull, but it is somehow. Jared barely manages to catch himself before he falls on top of Jensen completely. Jensen doesn't seem to notice at all because he's busy kissing Jared stupid.
Jensen's mouth is something Jared's thought a lot about. More than he would ever admit outside his own head, more than he generally likes admitting even to himself. Jared's thought about the way Jensen's smile would feel pressed against his mouth, the way the curve of Jensen's lips would feel under his tongue. The reality exceeds even Jared's most pornographic expectations.
There's nothing shy in the way Jensen kisses. He is all single-minded and intent as he grips the back of Jared's neck hard and he slides his tongue hot and lewd into Jared's mouth.
Jared groans and settles down onto his elbows, thinking closer, fuck, more and Jensen makes encouraging noises beneath him. It's not frantic, though, as Jensen slips his hand under Jared's shirt, presses down to pull Jared closer. It's a slow burn, desire coiling tightly at the base of Jared's spin, moving up through his body as Jensen's palm slides up his back.
It's perfect, every single thing that Jared's feeling. Jensen's hands, his mouth, the scrape of stubble because neither of them bothered to shave today. It's everything Jared could think to want, which is enough to make him break the kiss, pull back. Get a little bit of distance because Jensen's his best friend and Jared wants this so badly he can't even think.
Looking at Jensen doesn't really help matters. His lips are pink and shiny now, curved into that secret, pleased smile. He still has his glasses on.
"Um," Jared says, but when he goes to move further away, Jensen doesn't let him.
"Really?" he asks instead. "Do you really think we need to talk about this?"
"No." Jared realizes after he says it that it's true. He reaches down and removes Jensen's glasses and sets them aside. He's rewarded with another smile.
"Thank fucking Christ, you gigantic girl." Jensen tugs at Jared's shirt until Jared peels it off, then says, "Fuck. I can't see anything."
"Next time." Jared pushes Jensen's shirt up his body until Jensen sits up so that he can pull it off completely and settles back over Jensen, his stomach tightening at the feel of Jensen's skin against his. "Hey," he whispers when he's close enough to count the individual freckles over the bridge of Jensen's nose.
"Hi." Jensen laughs when he says it, but Jared can't take offense because he looks so happy.
Jared's heart thumps heavy in his chest in response. Before he can say anything else, Jensen kisses him again, slow and soft, unbelievably sweet and Jared loses himself in it. Like this, each kiss, is an end in and of itself.
"God, Jared," Jensen says against his lips. He slides his fingers into Jared's hair and tugs gently. "Do you have any idea?"
"I—" Jared stops himself and slips his tongue back into Jensen's mouth before he can ruin this with awkward confessions.
Jensen makes noises, low contented humming sounds as Jared strokes his hands down over Jensen's sides. It's enough to make Jared move from Jensen's mouth to his throat to feel the vibrations against his lips. He kisses down Jensen's neck, scrapes his teeth against his skin just to hear Jensen hiss.
"No marks," Jensen says. "Make-up will be pissed."
That makes Jared freeze, wonder one more time what the hell they're doing. Why now? What the fuck is wrong with him? Then Jensen tugs on his hair again, pulls him back up for another kiss and Jared thinks he'd have to be a far better man than he is to resist that.
The room is suddenly too warm with the fire crackling behind them and the blankets tangled around their legs. Jared can feel a trickle of sweat slide down his back and everywhere they're pressed together is hot and slick. It makes him want to taste Jensen's skin, but he can't stop kissing him long enough to do it.
It's Jensen who gets his hand between them first, slides his fingers under the elastic of Jared's waistband and strokes over his belly in a way that makes the muscles jump before sliding his hand down over Jared's cock.
There's a realization there, as Jensen wraps his fingers around him, that fuck, this gets so much better. Better than just Jensen's mouth, which seemed an impossible thought three seconds ago. Jared needs a moment, sits there panting against Jensen's skin until Jensen squirms against him.
"Jared," Jensen says in a strained sort of way. It still takes Jared another few moments to process.
"Shit. Sorry," he whispers. Fumbles to get his hands down the front of Jensen's pants. Finally manages to get his fingers around Jensen's cock and give him a tentative stroke.
Jensen hisses and arches up against him like he's been whipped. Starts babbling, Jared's name and a lot of fuck and yes and God, your hands as he continues to jerk Jared off, stuttered and uneven. Jared can't seem to catch his breath. It's the single hottest thing he has ever experienced. He wants to kiss Jensen again, but he doesn't want to stop the litany. Somehow he didn't expect Jensen to be a talker.
"Good?" Jared asks. Jensen has stopped stroking him completely which makes it easier to think. Easier to watch Jensen's reactions, watch him come apart.
"So good, Jay. Fuck. Knew you would be," Jensen says, twisting up against him. "Please—"
Jared speeds up his movements, can't hold back his groan when Jensen finally comes, Jared's name rough and dirty on his lips and Jared does kiss him then. Bites down on Jensen's lower lip, probably harder than he should, but it's worth it for the way Jensen shudders against him. When Jared leans back, Jensen's watching him, his eyes dark, pupils blown wide.
"Dude," Jared finally says, rolling his hips a little.
Jensen blinks and seems to realize that he stopped holding up his end somewhere in there and has just been cradling Jared's cock in his hand. Not that Jared minds, but—
"Shit." Jensen leans up and kisses him, quick and sloppy as he starts moving again. "Sorry. Sorry," he says against Jared's lips.
"Yeah, god. Just." Jared pulls his hand out of Jensen's pants, tries to brace his weight on his elbows without touching anything. It shouldn't be this good, a stupid handjob, but it's Jensen watching him with this single-minded intensity. And then he starts talking again.
"What do you want? You want me to suck you? I've thought about it." He sounds breathless and amused, but there's want underneath there, too. Like he just came, but the thought of giving Jared head has him all wound up again. "About getting on my knees in front of you and—"
That mental image is enough, too much on top of everything else and Jared comes, his whole body shaking as Jensen strokes him through it.
When he opens his eyes, Jensen smiles at him, sharp and bright and says, "Next time, then." He carefully removes his hand from Jared's pants and brings it up between them.
Jared catches his wrist when he realizes his intent. "Don't," he says, because he's pretty sure that the sight of Jensen licking Jared's jizz off of his hand right now would constitute a sensory overload. His cock gives a painful twitch anyway at the thought of it.
Jensen licks his lips instead, smiles all cocky and mischievous and, somehow, adorable as hell.
It makes Jared wonder if he ever stood a chance.
"Guess I'll get us a washcloth then."
As Jared rolls to his side to let Jensen up, he feels his sweats stick unpleasantly to his leg. "I think I'll just go to my bathroom and clean up. I'm gonna need another pair of pants."
Some odd emotion flickers across Jensen's face but he's half in shadow, making his expression hard to read. He finally shrugs and turns. "Sure. Whatever," he says as he walks off.
Jared takes the stairs two at a time, eager to get cleaned up. It's only when he makes it into the bathroom that he realizes he essentially passed on an excuse to get more naked with Jensen. In order to get a different pair of pants which, at this point, probably could have been bypassed altogether.
Sometimes Jared is a fucking idiot.
He mentally berates himself as he cleans up and pulls on a pair of flannel pjs. It's not like he can go down there naked now. As he's pulling them on, he realizes that the nightlight in the bathroom is glowing. He wonders if he left any other lights on, if he can get away with pretending like the power isn't back until tomorrow.
The rest of the house is still dark, so when Jared passes the thermostat, he switches it off. It makes him kind of feel like a creep, but not enough to reconsider.
Jensen is in bed already, on his back with his eyes closed. He's obviously not asleep, but he's giving Jared an out. The weather was bad, they were bored, they had sex. It happens.
Jared doesn't say anything as he slips back under the covers. He just scoots as close as he thinks he can get away with, hesitates only a little before resting his arm across Jensen's chest. Jensen shifts and at first Jared thinks he's going to shove him off. Instead, he slips his arm under Jared's body and tugs him closer. Jared goes happily, fitting up against the Jensen's side and tucking his head against his shoulder like Jensen is the world's prettiest teddy bear.
"'Night, Jared," Jensen says. It feels like maybe he's laughing, but Jared's suddenly too tired to check.
"'Night." Jared smiles against Jensen's neck and falls asleep almost immediately.
***
It takes awhile for Jared to get his bearings when he wakes up. He's in the living room and he's pretty sure he and Jensen actually had sex. Which is why it feels wrong for him to be alone right now. He rubs his hand over his eyes and sits up.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Jensen says. He's poking at the fire and Jared watches as the flames jump and finally catch on the log Jensen just added.
"It's cool."
Jensen closes the doors and hangs up the poker before crawling back towards Jared.
"Though, really, you probably could have been a little quieter," Jared says, smiling as Jensen gets closer
"I'm totally known for my stealth. I don't know what you're talking about."
When he's close enough, Jared reaches out, grabs the back of Jensen's neck and pulls him into a kiss. He's still half-asleep, has no real intention beyond that. He just wants to taste Jensen's mouth again.
Jensen presses him back into the mattress, follows him down and they make out for awhile, long and slow and lazy. Jared trails his fingers up and down Jensen's spine, smiles when Jensen arches up into it like a cat.
"I like being able to do that," Jared says when Jensen finally pulls back.
"Yeah." Jared's pleased to note that Jensen looks sort of dazed. "Yeah, it doesn't suck."
***
The next time they wake up, it's because Jensen's phone is ringing. Jared groans and rolls away from the noise. He's vaguely aware of Jensen talking to someone, but he's still sort of drifting until Jensen pokes him.
"That was Singer. We have another day off and then it's back on set first thing tomorrow"
Jared cracks his eyes open in order to properly glare at Jensen. "You woke me up to tell me that we have the day off?"
Jensen shrugs. "You can nap later. It's not like there's much else to do."
"Um, yeah." Jared feels a surge of guilt. "About that. The power came back on last night. Before we went to bed." He's not sure what he was expecting, but Jensen's laughter wasn't it.
"Yeah, I know dude," Jensen says, slapping his cheek. "I'm not retarded and you're not the King of Subterfuge."
"Oh." Jared blinks at him, still confused.
"I won't tell anyone if you don't." Jensen looks over his shoulder and then back at Jared. "I don't think Sadie and Harley are going to call us on it."
"Oh god." Jared sits up and looks over to see that the dogs are still there, curled up in their bed. Beside him Jensen starts laughing again.
"You're just now realizing we had sex in front of the dogs last night, aren't you?"
Jared covers his face with his hands. "I'm such a bad parent," he moans.
"Come on, now," Jensen says, tugging Jared's hands away from his face. "It's not that bad." He straddles Jared's lap and rests his arms on Jared's shoulders. "Harley humps stuff in front of us all the time."
"It's like you never want me to have sex again." Jared frowns at him, but he can't maintain the expression with Jensen looking at him like that.
"It's actually like the exact opposite of that." Jensen's voice, low and dirty, is enough to have Jared completely hard.
"The dogs—"
"Can mind their own fucking business," Jensen says.
"Yeah they can." Jared nods. That makes complete sense. "I kinda love snow days."
It's the last thing he says for awhile.
THE END
***
End Notes: but Goddamn you're too bright is from Smokefinger by Drag the River. What? Jared totally listens to indie alt.country bands from Denver.
Title is from DMB's Say Goodbye (because some things never change—I'm properly embarrassed about this, believe me).
Date: March 2010
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: Approximately 7K
Warnings: WARNING! THIS STORY IS TOTALLY AWESOME AND NOT AT ALL SCHMOOPY AND RIDICULOUS, OKAY?
Author's Notes: Takes place sometime mid-S4. These are stories I made up. Thank you to
kadiel_krieger for the last-minute read-through and to rhythmsextion for going above and beyond the call of beta duty on this one. This story is also pretty much entirely her fault. So there's that.Summary: In which the weather sucks, the power is out and cuddles just sort of happen.
The Storm Outside and the Fire Bright
***
They give up on filming around five when it becomes apparent that pretending the snow isn't there won't make the storm go away. There are already more inches on the ground than had been predicted and now they're calling for freezing rain.
The PAs have been keeping everyone apprised of the situation.
"Alright, everyone, get out of here," the director finally calls. "Drive slower than my fucking grandma and get home safe, okay?"
The only saving grace on the drive home is that everyone with any sense got off the road hours ago. It's one of the longest trips of Jared's life and by the time they get back to the house, he feels exhausted like they worked a full day. Jensen, by the look of it, feels the same. All Jared wants to do is have a beer, maybe watch some TV and then go to bed early. It's a luxury they don't get too often.
When Jared opens the front door and flips the switch in the entryway, nothing happens. He flicks it back and forth a couple of times, trying to figure out what that means. Sadie and Harley are suddenly there, bumping against his legs, clearly happy that Jared and Jensen are home early, but oddly subdued in the dark.
Jensen leans against the wall next to him and chuckles softly. "Of course the power's out. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Shit." Jared runs his hands through his hair, tries to process. "Shit," he says again when he draws a blank.
"C'mon, man. There are flashlights in the kitchen."
They fumble their way to the kitchen without tripping over the dogs and breaking their necks and Jensen manages to locate the flashlights.
Somehow the little beams of light are enough to make Jared's brain kick into gear. "Do you think we should try and get a hotel room?
"At this point, I think it's more trouble than it's worth." Jensen scratches the back of his neck and sighs. "Ah, okay. Shit. The fireplace in the living room works, right?"
"Yeah." Jared nods, realizing that the house is a little chilly. "I'll go start a fire."
Jensen looks at him and smirks. "That statement is sort of scary coming from your mouth, dude."
"Fuck you," Jared says without heat.
There's some firewood next to the fireplace and more stacked in the garage from the tree they had taken out of the backyard over the summer, so at the very least they'll be able to keep one room in the house warm. Jared's Boy Scout training doesn't fail him and it's not long before he has a decent fire going.
When he goes back into the kitchen to share the good news, he finds Jensen unloading the last of the food from the fridge into their coolers, which makes him glad Jensen is here because Jared probably wouldn't have thought to do that.
"Now what?" he asks after they're done moving their food out onto the back deck.
Jensen bends over and grabs a couple of beers from the cooler and hands one to Jared. "Now we enjoy the time off Mother Nature granted us."
Jared knocks the neck of his bottle against Jensen's. "Cheers."
They go back into the living room, which has already heated up considerably. The dogs have settled into their beds, curled up next to each other in a way that would be sweet if Jared didn't know any better. He's sure they're plotting something for later.
The thing is, with the power out, there's not really anything to do. Jared is able to make it a few minutes, just sitting there drinking his beer before he cracks. "You know what we should do?"
"What?" Jensen looks smug and amused, like he was just waiting for something.
"We should move your mattress in here."
"I—Okay. I was not expecting that," Jensen says.
"C'mon," Jared says, warming to the idea. "You know our rooms are going to be freezing. And the couches aren't exactly comfortable for sleeping."
Jensen's amused look is back. "Are you proposing a slumber party?"
"What?" Jared scoffs. "No. I didn't say we should tell ghost stories and shit." Though now that he thinks about it, that sounds awesome.
"Okay," Jensen says easily. He looks half asleep as he stands to shove the coffee table aside to make room.
"Really?"
"Really." Jensen turns to him then, holding up his finger. "This is not a story that gets told at cons. Ever."
Jared crosses his heart, hopes to die. This isn't even a story he's telling his family because, despite what he said, he's been around his little sister enough to know that this is totally a slumber party in the making.
The mattress is a little awkward to move, but between the two of them, they manage it without breaking anything. It's worth it considering how cold the rest of the house has become. Jared grabs some clean sheets and extra blankets from the linen closet and makes up the bed while Jensen lets the dogs out.
"Man, they were not happy about that," Jensen says when he comes back inside. "It's pretty shitty out, dude. We're lucky we got home when we did." He stops and watches as Jared throws the last of the blankets down onto the mattress. "Um."
It takes Jared a minute, looking from Jensen to the mattress and back again. Only then does it occur to him that maybe he should have dug out the sleeping bags instead, that this arrangement—the bed made up in front of the fire with all the lights off—looks rather cozy. He opens his mouth, then shuts it because he should probably think of something to say first.
Before he can, Jensen yawns and shrugs. "I'm gonna go take my contacts out." He grabs one of the flashlights and wanders off down the hall.
Jared finishes his beer and calls his mom to let her know they're okay, yes, they got home safe, no, they won't be driving anywhere until the roads are completely clear, yes, they have enough food that they won't starve to death in the meantime.
Jensen comes back into the room as Jared is promising that no, the house will not burn down and yes, he has the fire extinguisher next to the fireplace like Dad told him. He leans in, pats Jared on the stomach and says, "Hi, mom" into the phone.
It's more than a little absurd how pleased Jared's mom sounds when she says hello back. She is still completely charmed by Jensen, despite how well she knows him at this point. "She says hi back," Jared says dutifully.
"I'm totally the favorite," Jensen whispers in his smug voice as he tosses his pillows down onto the mattress. He's wearing his pajama pants and a sweatshirt and he has his glasses on, which always seems to make him look younger somehow.
"Are not," Jared whispers back. It's his mom, after all. "Okay, Momma, I'm gonna go now. I still need to feed the dogs and stuff." It takes five more minutes of assurances that they are completely safe and promises to keep her updated before he can actually hang up. "Jackass," he says when Jensen starts laughing out loud after he ends the call. "Have you called your mom yet?"
"Aw, shit." Jensen stops laughing.
Jared goes up to his room to change and wash his face as Jensen calls to give his mom all the same assurances that Jared just finished going through. Luckily, they still have hot water, which means showering won't be an issue. If only Jared had gotten around to putting in the gas stove like they'd been talking about.
"Yeah, we have that fireplace in the living room, remember?" Jensen is saying as Jared returns. He looks up at Jared with a wry smile on his face and shrugs. "No, we made up beds so we can sleep out here."
The plural there is something Jared tries to ignore as he tosses his pillows down next to Jensen. He goes over to the fireplace, throws another log on for good measure. It's weird that he didn't even think about it. Not that the mattress isn't big enough or anything, it's just not something guys do, typically.
That stuff doesn't really occur to Jared when it's him and Jensen like it would if it were him and Chad. So maybe that's weird too. Jensen doesn't seem to mind, though as he holds up his half-empty beer bottle between his fingers and shakes it at Jared. Despite the high-handedness of the silent order, Jared goes to grab them a couple more.
It's biting cold outside and the snow is coming down fast, wet and heavy. It covers everything and Jared is glad for the overhang that is keeping the coolers protected. He grabs the beers and hurries back into the house.
"I will, I promise," Jensen says as Jared hands him his beer. "Jared says hi."
"Hi, Momma Ackles," Jared calls out, feeling like a shithead that he didn't say it before. He grins as Jensen rolls his eyes because he knows Jensen's mom loves him just as much as Jared's loves Jensen.
"Okay, Mom, I gotta go. We're gonna make s'mores and tell ghost stories now." Jensen grins. "I'm not being smart, Jared is whittling sticks as we speak." He laughs. "Yeah, okay. Give everyone my love."
"S'mores is not something we joke about," Jared says as he settles next to Jensen on the bed. He props his pillows up where the mattress is shoved up against the couch so that they can lean back against it like a headboard.
"Yeah, don't think I don't know that that's exactly what we'd be doing right now if we had marshmallows."
"Damn my lack of planning." Really, how does he not have an emergency stash of marshmallows in the house? "So what do we do now?"
Jensen appears to consider the question as he drinks his beer. "Well, we don't have enough people for light as a feather, stiff as a board and I left my Ouija board at my parents' house."
Jared snickers. "I'm totally freezing your bra as soon as you fall asleep."
"Try it and I will show you the meaning of the word pain, my friend." Jensen finishes his beer and gets up. Jared doesn't watch him go, but he listens, mentally follows as Jensen deposits his bottle in the recycling bin and then goes down the hall to the bathroom.
There's a soft, static sort of noise in the background and it takes Jared a moment before he realizes that the freezing rain has started. He hopes that none of the tree branches break and hit the house, but hoping is all he can really do about it.
"What do you think, guys?" he asks the dogs. Harley gives him a bored look. Sadie doesn't even bother.
When Jensen comes back, he crawls under the covers, adjusts his pillows so he's lying down and then looks over at Jared. "Okay, man. Lay it on me."
"It?"
"Don't front. I know you're dying to tell ghost stories." Jensen brings his arms up, laces his fingers behind his head and closes his eyes, totally relaxed.
"Fuck off. Hey, do you think—" Jared studies Jensen for a moment and decides not to finish that question. "You look thrashed, man."
He does. The dark circles under his eyes that have been something of a fixture since the first season look more bruised and obvious now. Jensen's been doing a lot of heavy lifting lately, both in filming time and emotional content. Jared knows how hard it is to try and shake off a day of pretending like you're at the end of your rope and so far this season it seems like Jensen has had nothing but those days.
"Hmm?" Jensen doesn't open his eyes. "Naw, I'm good. Let's get this party started."
"Yeah, okay," Jared says quietly. "Did I ever tell you about the time Chad thought it'd be a good idea to leave a goat in Paris Hilton's trailer?" He knows for a fact that he's told that story at least five different times, but Jensen always laughs like he's never heard it before.
"Tell me," Jensen says, his mouth stretched into a happy smile.
So Jared does, but less animated than usual. He keeps his voice pitched low and about halfway through the story, Jensen's breathing turns deep and even.
When Jared reaches over to remove his glasses, Jensen mumbles, "I'm listening."
"You listen with your ears, not your eyes," Jared tells him as he sets the glasses on the couch behind them. He finishes the story just because and isn't a bit surprised when there's no laughter following the punchline.
It's only eight o'clock and Jared has no idea what to do with himself now. He gets up, grabs Jensen's unopened beer to put back in the cooler and deposits his empty bottle in the recycling bin. Then, since he's up, he heads to his bathroom to brush his teeth. When he goes back downstairs, he rouses the dogs to let them out one more time. They both get so far as the door and then look up at Jared like he's lost his fucking mind.
"Yeah, okay, I don't blame you," Jared says, watching as the snow/rain/sleet falls. "Just, y'know. Don't do anything on the carpet?" He gets caught in a yawn then, wide enough to make his jaw pop and realizes he could probably sleep.
Jensen's moved so that his hands are folded together on his chest. Jared thinks it's a little weird that sometimes Jensen sleeps like he's laid out in a coffin. He shucks his sweatshirt, crawls under the covers and feels creepy when he realizes that sleeping how he normally does means that he's facing Jensen. Like maybe he should have taken the other side of the bed or something, except that this is his side and it's not like he was intending to watch Jensen sleep or anything.
But he does watch Jensen sleep. For several minutes he watches the rise and fall of Jensen's chest, the way his lips are slightly parted and how his eyes will occasionally flicker. It's not exactly sexy, not really. Or, not anything beyond the fact that it's Jensen, who maintains a fairly high baseline of sexy at all times. But it is something, something close and quiet and familiar that sits heavy and happy in Jared's chest.
When Jared's eyes finally drift shut, Jensen's profile is still there, etched in the back of his mind.
***
Jared has no idea what time it is when he wakes up again, only that the fire has almost died out and Jensen is hogging all the blankets. He crawls out of bed and over to the fireplace. The room is cold enough that Jared feels goose bumps rise along his arms as he adds some more wood to the fire. He tries to keep his eyes half-closed to keep from waking up fully as the flames come back to life.
Once the heat starts seeping back into his skin, Jared closes the doors and goes back to the mattress, tugging the covers away from where Jensen now has them tucked around his entire body. He doesn't even really think about it. Just pulls the covers away and fits himself up against Jensen's back, slinging an arm around his waist.
It isn't until Jensen's hand settles over his own that Jared realizes what he's done. His eyes shoot open and he stares at the back of Jensen's head. He'd been moving on instinct, doing what he would if he were in bed with a girlfriend, except Jensen isn't his girlfriend. He's his platonic best friend costar, whose fingers are currently laced with Jared's against his stomach.
"Um, Jen?" Jared tries quietly, but Jensen's breathing is still deep and even and there's every possibility that Jensen wasn't even a little bit conscious for any of that.
Jared could try and pull away, would but for the way their fingers are tangled together. Jensen's been so tired and Jared doesn't want to risk waking him up for something this stupid. Chances are they'll move apart in their sleep anyway, it doesn't have to be a big deal. His decision to stay where he is has nothing at all to do with how good it feels to be wrapped around Jensen.
If Jared falls back asleep with a smile on his face, Sadie and Harley are the only ones there to witness it and it's not like they're going to tell anyone. They most likely don't even care.
***
The next time he wakes up, it's because Jensen is wriggling around next to him. Jared makes a noise of protest before cracking his eyes open to see Jensen squirming out of his sweatshirt. The fire's still going, so it can't be too much later. "Hot," Jensen says.
Jared makes another displeased sound, something that he hopes translates into, "Make up your fucking mind" and rolls onto his back.
"Like a furnace," Jensen says as he flops back down. Only, when he flops back down, it's onto his stomach, pressed up against Jared's side, his arm lying across Jared's body.
"If you're so hot, why are you plastered against me?" Jared asks. Or, he intends to ask, but before he can his fingers brush against skin. Jensen has taken his t-shirt off as well as his sweatshirt, or maybe he didn't have one on to begin with. Either way, Jared can't help himself. He trails his fingers along the hot bare skin of Jensen's side.
Jensen pinches him. "Tickles," he mutters against Jared's shoulder.
"Sorry," Jared says. "Hey, Jensen. Is this weird?" There are a lot of exceptions for the two of them in Jared's mind. Things that don't really need to be explained other than it's Jared and Jensen and that's how they are. Jared needs to know if this is one of them.
"Yes," Jensen says. He's asleep again two seconds later.
"Thanks, man. That totally clears things up." He smoothes his hand down Jensen's spine and Jensen smiles in his sleep.
Jared stares at the ceiling for a long time after that and thinks about nothing at all.
***
The bed is empty when Jared wakes up again. The fire's died down and Jared has lost all concept of time. He gets up and goes to the bathroom. When he comes back, Jensen's still not in bed and he realizes the dogs are missing, so goes to check the backyard.
Sadie and Harley rush past him as soon as he opens the door because they are obviously smarter than Jensen, who is standing there in his slippers, wrapped in one of the down throws.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Come out here for a sec," Jensen says.
Jared wants to reply that, no, he's not going out there, thank you very much, but instead finds himself shoving his bare feet into his sneakers and grabbing his jacket off the chair. "What's the matter with you?" he asks as he joins Jensen on the deck. "Or me, for that matter."
"D'you ever read The Twelve Dancing Princesses? It was my sister's favorite. I used to read it to her all the time."
"Um, yeah, I think I've read it," Jared says. "Something about shoes, right?"
"They go through the different forests. One is all silver, one is all gold and one is all diamonds." Jensen gestures to the trees with the blanket and Jared sees that the idiot didn't even bother to put his shirt back on. "This sort of reminds me of that."
Jared finally looks out into the yard. The snow has stopped and the clouds are gone. The sky is unbelievably clear with no lights from any of the streets or houses to obscure the view. The moonlight shines off of the ice that encases everything, making the ground and trees sparkle.
"It's pretty, right?" Jensen asks.
"Yeah," Jared says. He glances back at Jensen, takes in his soft smile and thinks, but Goddamn you're too bright. It's from a poem or a song, something Jared can't quite place, but it bounces around his head until he clears his throat and looks away. "It's gorgeous. It's also cold as hell, dude. My nuts are about to fall off."
Jensen snorts. "Wouldn't want that." He gestures toward the house and the moment is completely gone.
When they get inside Jared builds the fire up, gets back into bed and doesn't pay any attention as Jensen sits in front of the fireplace, holding his hands out in front of him. He doesn't watch the flicker of the light against Jensen's bare skin and he isn't disappointed when he falls asleep alone.
***
It's morning when Jared wakes up again and both he and Jensen are on their own sides of the bed. Jared tells himself he's relieved at that. He's debating on whether or not he wants to go back to sleep when his stomach rumbles loudly, reminding him that he went to bed without eating dinner.
They have plenty of cereal in the cupboard and Jared pours himself a huge bowl and goes to retrieve the milk from outside. The world is once again grey and overcast. The ice is still pretty, but it's not the same. The endless possibilities that were there last night seem wiped away completely.
As if that weren't enough, the milk is half frozen.
Jared eats his breakfast in silence. Lets the dogs out and feeds them when they come back in. Jensen sleeps through it all, one arm covering his eyes like he is not yet ready to face the world. Jared doesn't blame him. The world is bleak this morning.
For lack of anything better to do, Jared picks a book from the reading list he made up last year and has been woefully behind on ever since. Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, suggested to him by Chad of all people.
He settles on the couch, gets about three paragraphs in when Jensen moves, turns over onto his stomach and hides his face in the crook of his elbow. Jared watches him for a long time after that and resolutely ignores the warm anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.
***
"Fascinating read, huh?"
Jared opens his eyes to find Jensen standing over him, smiling and freshly showered.
"Huh?" His book is resting on his chest, still open to the first page. He doesn't recall falling asleep. "What time is it?"
"One," Jensen says. "I made sandwiches."
"Awesome." Jared pushes himself off the couch and follows Jensen into the kitchen. In fact, Jensen has made them an entire meal with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and salsa and an apple for each of them. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
"Here I thought it was my pretty face," Jensen says easily.
The huge bite of PB&J that Jared has in his mouth thankfully prevents him from answering.
After lunch, Jared opts for a shower. He has a candle that his mom gave him as his only source of light and it's kind of weird showering in the semi-dark, but he feels better afterwards as he slips into a clean pair of sweats and hurries back downstairs to where it's warm.
Jensen is stretched out on the couch with his iPod, dead to the world. Jared skims his finger over the wheel to see what Jensen's listening to and laughs when he discovers that it's one of the NPR podcasts. He's not sure if Jensen started listening to them because of his pestering or because of Misha. Either way, it doesn't look like Jensen's at risk of becoming a huge fan. He doesn't protest when Jared pulls the buds out of his ears and sets the iPod aside.
Jared settles on the other couch and manages to get a few chapters of his book read before he falls asleep again.
***
Dinner, when they both manage to get up, is more of the same, which makes Jared hope that this power outage thing doesn't last too much longer. He's starting to jones for a pizza.
"Do you wanna play cards or something?" he asks as they go back into the living room.
"Sure." Jensen settles back down on the mattress instead of the couch.
Against all odds, Jared managed to find a pack of cards in one of the kitchen drawers earlier and they play a few rounds of poker with pennies from the change jar. It's not the most exciting thing ever, so Jared starts cheating.
"Dude!" Jensen throws his cards at him as Jared laughs. "You ass!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jared collects the cards and dumps the pennies back into the jar. "I won fair and square."
"Yeah, okay," Jensen says, but he's smiling, looking all happy and Jared thinks, I did that.
"You want another beer?" Jared asks, standing up. He needs to let the dogs out anyway.
"Sure."
Sadie and Harley do their business in record time and give him betrayed looks as they trot back into the house. As if the crap weather is his fault.
Jared hands Jensen his beer as he settles back down onto the bed. "To Ice Storm," he says.
"To a few days off." Jensen clinks his bottle against Jared's and takes a drink. He's smiling again when he sets his bottle aside.
"What?" Jared asks.
"Nothin'." Jensen shakes his head. "Just. I keep waiting to get sick of your ugly mug and I still think, if I have to be snowed in with someone, I'm glad it's you."
"Yeah. Me too." Jared wants to say more, but he can't quite seem to organize his thoughts into something that doesn't sound ridiculous or melodramatic. So he doesn't say anything.
"Yeah." Jensen looks away, laughs to himself and slides down until he's laying on his back. "Yeah. Okay. Tell me a story."
Jared grins. "What kind of story?" He sets his beer on the coffee table and stretches out on his side facing Jensen, his head propped on his hand.
"I dunno. Make something up. Dazzle me."
"Uh, hmm." Jared considers it for a minute. "Once upon a time," he starts without any idea of where to go from there.
It maybe shouldn't be a surprise when Jensen reaches out to grab the front of Jared's t-shirt and pull, but it is somehow. Jared barely manages to catch himself before he falls on top of Jensen completely. Jensen doesn't seem to notice at all because he's busy kissing Jared stupid.
Jensen's mouth is something Jared's thought a lot about. More than he would ever admit outside his own head, more than he generally likes admitting even to himself. Jared's thought about the way Jensen's smile would feel pressed against his mouth, the way the curve of Jensen's lips would feel under his tongue. The reality exceeds even Jared's most pornographic expectations.
There's nothing shy in the way Jensen kisses. He is all single-minded and intent as he grips the back of Jared's neck hard and he slides his tongue hot and lewd into Jared's mouth.
Jared groans and settles down onto his elbows, thinking closer, fuck, more and Jensen makes encouraging noises beneath him. It's not frantic, though, as Jensen slips his hand under Jared's shirt, presses down to pull Jared closer. It's a slow burn, desire coiling tightly at the base of Jared's spin, moving up through his body as Jensen's palm slides up his back.
It's perfect, every single thing that Jared's feeling. Jensen's hands, his mouth, the scrape of stubble because neither of them bothered to shave today. It's everything Jared could think to want, which is enough to make him break the kiss, pull back. Get a little bit of distance because Jensen's his best friend and Jared wants this so badly he can't even think.
Looking at Jensen doesn't really help matters. His lips are pink and shiny now, curved into that secret, pleased smile. He still has his glasses on.
"Um," Jared says, but when he goes to move further away, Jensen doesn't let him.
"Really?" he asks instead. "Do you really think we need to talk about this?"
"No." Jared realizes after he says it that it's true. He reaches down and removes Jensen's glasses and sets them aside. He's rewarded with another smile.
"Thank fucking Christ, you gigantic girl." Jensen tugs at Jared's shirt until Jared peels it off, then says, "Fuck. I can't see anything."
"Next time." Jared pushes Jensen's shirt up his body until Jensen sits up so that he can pull it off completely and settles back over Jensen, his stomach tightening at the feel of Jensen's skin against his. "Hey," he whispers when he's close enough to count the individual freckles over the bridge of Jensen's nose.
"Hi." Jensen laughs when he says it, but Jared can't take offense because he looks so happy.
Jared's heart thumps heavy in his chest in response. Before he can say anything else, Jensen kisses him again, slow and soft, unbelievably sweet and Jared loses himself in it. Like this, each kiss, is an end in and of itself.
"God, Jared," Jensen says against his lips. He slides his fingers into Jared's hair and tugs gently. "Do you have any idea?"
"I—" Jared stops himself and slips his tongue back into Jensen's mouth before he can ruin this with awkward confessions.
Jensen makes noises, low contented humming sounds as Jared strokes his hands down over Jensen's sides. It's enough to make Jared move from Jensen's mouth to his throat to feel the vibrations against his lips. He kisses down Jensen's neck, scrapes his teeth against his skin just to hear Jensen hiss.
"No marks," Jensen says. "Make-up will be pissed."
That makes Jared freeze, wonder one more time what the hell they're doing. Why now? What the fuck is wrong with him? Then Jensen tugs on his hair again, pulls him back up for another kiss and Jared thinks he'd have to be a far better man than he is to resist that.
The room is suddenly too warm with the fire crackling behind them and the blankets tangled around their legs. Jared can feel a trickle of sweat slide down his back and everywhere they're pressed together is hot and slick. It makes him want to taste Jensen's skin, but he can't stop kissing him long enough to do it.
It's Jensen who gets his hand between them first, slides his fingers under the elastic of Jared's waistband and strokes over his belly in a way that makes the muscles jump before sliding his hand down over Jared's cock.
There's a realization there, as Jensen wraps his fingers around him, that fuck, this gets so much better. Better than just Jensen's mouth, which seemed an impossible thought three seconds ago. Jared needs a moment, sits there panting against Jensen's skin until Jensen squirms against him.
"Jared," Jensen says in a strained sort of way. It still takes Jared another few moments to process.
"Shit. Sorry," he whispers. Fumbles to get his hands down the front of Jensen's pants. Finally manages to get his fingers around Jensen's cock and give him a tentative stroke.
Jensen hisses and arches up against him like he's been whipped. Starts babbling, Jared's name and a lot of fuck and yes and God, your hands as he continues to jerk Jared off, stuttered and uneven. Jared can't seem to catch his breath. It's the single hottest thing he has ever experienced. He wants to kiss Jensen again, but he doesn't want to stop the litany. Somehow he didn't expect Jensen to be a talker.
"Good?" Jared asks. Jensen has stopped stroking him completely which makes it easier to think. Easier to watch Jensen's reactions, watch him come apart.
"So good, Jay. Fuck. Knew you would be," Jensen says, twisting up against him. "Please—"
Jared speeds up his movements, can't hold back his groan when Jensen finally comes, Jared's name rough and dirty on his lips and Jared does kiss him then. Bites down on Jensen's lower lip, probably harder than he should, but it's worth it for the way Jensen shudders against him. When Jared leans back, Jensen's watching him, his eyes dark, pupils blown wide.
"Dude," Jared finally says, rolling his hips a little.
Jensen blinks and seems to realize that he stopped holding up his end somewhere in there and has just been cradling Jared's cock in his hand. Not that Jared minds, but—
"Shit." Jensen leans up and kisses him, quick and sloppy as he starts moving again. "Sorry. Sorry," he says against Jared's lips.
"Yeah, god. Just." Jared pulls his hand out of Jensen's pants, tries to brace his weight on his elbows without touching anything. It shouldn't be this good, a stupid handjob, but it's Jensen watching him with this single-minded intensity. And then he starts talking again.
"What do you want? You want me to suck you? I've thought about it." He sounds breathless and amused, but there's want underneath there, too. Like he just came, but the thought of giving Jared head has him all wound up again. "About getting on my knees in front of you and—"
That mental image is enough, too much on top of everything else and Jared comes, his whole body shaking as Jensen strokes him through it.
When he opens his eyes, Jensen smiles at him, sharp and bright and says, "Next time, then." He carefully removes his hand from Jared's pants and brings it up between them.
Jared catches his wrist when he realizes his intent. "Don't," he says, because he's pretty sure that the sight of Jensen licking Jared's jizz off of his hand right now would constitute a sensory overload. His cock gives a painful twitch anyway at the thought of it.
Jensen licks his lips instead, smiles all cocky and mischievous and, somehow, adorable as hell.
It makes Jared wonder if he ever stood a chance.
"Guess I'll get us a washcloth then."
As Jared rolls to his side to let Jensen up, he feels his sweats stick unpleasantly to his leg. "I think I'll just go to my bathroom and clean up. I'm gonna need another pair of pants."
Some odd emotion flickers across Jensen's face but he's half in shadow, making his expression hard to read. He finally shrugs and turns. "Sure. Whatever," he says as he walks off.
Jared takes the stairs two at a time, eager to get cleaned up. It's only when he makes it into the bathroom that he realizes he essentially passed on an excuse to get more naked with Jensen. In order to get a different pair of pants which, at this point, probably could have been bypassed altogether.
Sometimes Jared is a fucking idiot.
He mentally berates himself as he cleans up and pulls on a pair of flannel pjs. It's not like he can go down there naked now. As he's pulling them on, he realizes that the nightlight in the bathroom is glowing. He wonders if he left any other lights on, if he can get away with pretending like the power isn't back until tomorrow.
The rest of the house is still dark, so when Jared passes the thermostat, he switches it off. It makes him kind of feel like a creep, but not enough to reconsider.
Jensen is in bed already, on his back with his eyes closed. He's obviously not asleep, but he's giving Jared an out. The weather was bad, they were bored, they had sex. It happens.
Jared doesn't say anything as he slips back under the covers. He just scoots as close as he thinks he can get away with, hesitates only a little before resting his arm across Jensen's chest. Jensen shifts and at first Jared thinks he's going to shove him off. Instead, he slips his arm under Jared's body and tugs him closer. Jared goes happily, fitting up against the Jensen's side and tucking his head against his shoulder like Jensen is the world's prettiest teddy bear.
"'Night, Jared," Jensen says. It feels like maybe he's laughing, but Jared's suddenly too tired to check.
"'Night." Jared smiles against Jensen's neck and falls asleep almost immediately.
***
It takes awhile for Jared to get his bearings when he wakes up. He's in the living room and he's pretty sure he and Jensen actually had sex. Which is why it feels wrong for him to be alone right now. He rubs his hand over his eyes and sits up.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Jensen says. He's poking at the fire and Jared watches as the flames jump and finally catch on the log Jensen just added.
"It's cool."
Jensen closes the doors and hangs up the poker before crawling back towards Jared.
"Though, really, you probably could have been a little quieter," Jared says, smiling as Jensen gets closer
"I'm totally known for my stealth. I don't know what you're talking about."
When he's close enough, Jared reaches out, grabs the back of Jensen's neck and pulls him into a kiss. He's still half-asleep, has no real intention beyond that. He just wants to taste Jensen's mouth again.
Jensen presses him back into the mattress, follows him down and they make out for awhile, long and slow and lazy. Jared trails his fingers up and down Jensen's spine, smiles when Jensen arches up into it like a cat.
"I like being able to do that," Jared says when Jensen finally pulls back.
"Yeah." Jared's pleased to note that Jensen looks sort of dazed. "Yeah, it doesn't suck."
***
The next time they wake up, it's because Jensen's phone is ringing. Jared groans and rolls away from the noise. He's vaguely aware of Jensen talking to someone, but he's still sort of drifting until Jensen pokes him.
"That was Singer. We have another day off and then it's back on set first thing tomorrow"
Jared cracks his eyes open in order to properly glare at Jensen. "You woke me up to tell me that we have the day off?"
Jensen shrugs. "You can nap later. It's not like there's much else to do."
"Um, yeah." Jared feels a surge of guilt. "About that. The power came back on last night. Before we went to bed." He's not sure what he was expecting, but Jensen's laughter wasn't it.
"Yeah, I know dude," Jensen says, slapping his cheek. "I'm not retarded and you're not the King of Subterfuge."
"Oh." Jared blinks at him, still confused.
"I won't tell anyone if you don't." Jensen looks over his shoulder and then back at Jared. "I don't think Sadie and Harley are going to call us on it."
"Oh god." Jared sits up and looks over to see that the dogs are still there, curled up in their bed. Beside him Jensen starts laughing again.
"You're just now realizing we had sex in front of the dogs last night, aren't you?"
Jared covers his face with his hands. "I'm such a bad parent," he moans.
"Come on, now," Jensen says, tugging Jared's hands away from his face. "It's not that bad." He straddles Jared's lap and rests his arms on Jared's shoulders. "Harley humps stuff in front of us all the time."
"It's like you never want me to have sex again." Jared frowns at him, but he can't maintain the expression with Jensen looking at him like that.
"It's actually like the exact opposite of that." Jensen's voice, low and dirty, is enough to have Jared completely hard.
"The dogs—"
"Can mind their own fucking business," Jensen says.
"Yeah they can." Jared nods. That makes complete sense. "I kinda love snow days."
It's the last thing he says for awhile.
THE END
***
End Notes: but Goddamn you're too bright is from Smokefinger by Drag the River. What? Jared totally listens to indie alt.country bands from Denver.
Title is from DMB's Say Goodbye (because some things never change—I'm properly embarrassed about this, believe me).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-21 05:07 pm (UTC)Thank you!!! I'm glad you liked it!!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-21 11:45 pm (UTC)the secondthirdthis time around - Jensen's the world's prettiest teddy bear (TRUFAX), and Jared being all traumatised because they had sex in front of the dogs (hee!), and Jensen falling asleep with the NPR podcasts.But I think the bestest part ever is Jared thoroughly kissing Jensen The Morning After and saying he likes being able to do that. ♥ x forever.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-22 02:59 am (UTC)