Fic: Misha Collins Makes A Match (3/3)

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He had no idea how long he’d been slumped over the toilet but there was no way he was moving. Just the idea of even lifting his head made him want to puke some more, and he was pretty sure he had nothing left to throw up.

“Jensen?”

Jared’s voice, frantic and worried, did manage to get him to raise his head.

“Jensen, are you in here?”

“Yeah,” he said, but what actually came out was more of a rusty whine.

He felt the door of the cubicle hit the back of his feet as Jared squeezed his way in.

“Shit,” Jared whispered as he crouched down beside him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

“Wasn’t,” Jensen moaned unhappily as his stomach started to roll again. “Not until we got here.”

“Come on, let’s get you out of here, then,” Jared said gently as he eased Jensen to his feet. For a moment Jensen was worried he was either going to pass out on top of Jared or puke down his shirt. His vision whited out for a moment and he reached out blindly to grab hold of Jared’s arm, but then everything settled down and all he could see was Jared’s concerned eyes looking into his.

“You ok?” Jared asked, and they were so close that Jensen could feel his breath brushing against his face.

Jensen nodded his head. Right now he wanted nothing more than to kiss him, and it was only the fact that he was all pukey and gross that stopped him. “Can we just get out of here?”

He let Jared steer him out of the bathroom, grateful for the warm body to lean on. Misha, Tom and Michael were waiting outside for them.

“I’m gonna take him back to the hotel,” Jared said and nobody argued. Jensen realized he must look at bad as he felt, which was pretty fucking awful.

“Come on, it won’t take us long to get back,” Jared said and Jensen simply nodded, letting Jared lead him out.



When they got back to the hotel Jared insisted that Jensen drink some water and brush his teeth before getting into bed. The truth was, once they were on the ground and outside Jensen actually felt a lot better, but Jared seemed determined to take care of him so Jensen wasn’t going to argue.

When he came out of the bathroom he found that Jared had laid a t-shirt and sweats out on the bed for him to sleep in. He ducked into the bathroom while Jensen changed and came out a few minutes later with a damp washcloth in his hand.

“I don’t have a fever,” Jensen pointed out as he climbed into bed.

“I know,” Jared replied, waiting for Jensen to get settled before putting the cloth on his forehead. “But it’ll cool you down a bit and that should help settle your stomach.”

Jensen sighed. “I’m sorry I ruined your evening, man. I’m just gonna sleep now if you want to go and meet up with the others.”

“Nah,” Jared said with a shrug. “I’m pretty beat. Figured I’d just stay and keep an eye on you. Misha will be pissed if I let you choke on your own vomit.”

A small smile curled Jensen’s lips as he closed his eyes. “Well, so long as you’re not going to just sit here and watch me sleep. At least find a book or watch TV or something.”

He fell asleep before Jared answered.



When he woke up he felt a hell of a lot better and a quick glance at the clock told him it was only 4am so he had hours yet before breakfast and hitting the road. The bed was warm and comfortable and he was just considering going back to sleep when he realized that he wasn’t alone.

Jared was sprawled in a chair beside the bed, in a position that did not look comfortable.

Jensen blinked.

Jared had kicked off his shoes but was still in the same clothes he’d been wearing when Jensen had fallen asleep.

Jensen blinked again.

As he reached out a hand to shake Jared awake, he was almost certain he was hallucinating. He couldn’t imagine why else Jared would still be in his bedroom at 4am.

“Jared?”

He shook Jared’s knee and frowned when he realized that he was very much real and still dead to the world. Jensen shook him again.

“Hey, Jared, wake up.”

Jared’s eyes opened into small slits as he peered through the dark at Jensen.

“You ok?” he finally asked in a raspy voice. “Feeling sick?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Jensen replied with a small smile. “Thought you might want to try sleeping in an actual bed for a few hours, though.”

Jared grunted and lurched to his feet, staggering a few feet to Jensen’s bed and collapsing face first beside him. He shifted his weight slightly and let out a contented sigh as he settled down while Jensen blinked again in surprise.

“This wasn’t exactly the bed I meant,” Jensen sighed.

Jared’s only response was a soft snore and Jensen sighed again as he closed his eyes. How the hell was he supposed to get to sleep now with Jared lying so close and looking so adorable? He lay there for a while, listening to Jared’s snores and wondering why the world insisted on continually torturing him like this.

When his alarm eventually went off he no longer felt well rested, he felt tense and irritable and in serious need of coffee.

He showered and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast, leaving Jared to sleep a while longer.



Misha looked highly amused when he joined Jensen at breakfast.

“Do I even want to know?” Jensen sighed wearily.

“I heard Jared didn’t go back to his room last night,” Misha said by way of an explanation, and if possible his grin got even wider.

“So?” Jensen asked with feigned disinterest. “Maybe he hooked up with some girl he met at the hotel bar.”

“Or maybe he’s naked and sated in your bed,” Misha suggested right back at him.

Jensen raised both eyebrows. “You know, for someone who’s happily married you have a rather unhealthy interest in my sex life.”

Misha shrugged. “Everyone needs a hobby.”

He tilted his head and studied Jensen for a moment, a mannerism which Jensen had no problem with when Misha was in character, but while sitting here at breakfast in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt it looked just plain disturbing.

“Oh,” Misha said disappointedly after a few seconds. “You didn’t fuck him then?”

Jensen was about ready for the floor to open up and swallow him now. “Jesus, Misha. Keep your fucking voice down, will you?”

Misha glanced around. “I’m not talking any louder than usual.”

“Yeah, well, stop talking then.”

Misha shrugged. “You know you’re going to regret it when you eventually hook up with Jared and realize all the amazing hotel sex you’ve missed out on during this trip. I’m just saying.”

“Hotel sex?” Jensen asked curiously, although he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Let’s put it this way,” Misha said with a sly smile. “Hotel beds are designed to be a hell of a lot stronger than regular beds.”

Jensen blinked at him.

“Oh, look, there’s Jared,” Misha said with an innocent grin as Jared walked in. “I’ll leave you with that image.”

He grabbed an apple from the fruit pile and bit into it as he left, humming to himself as he passed Jared.

“Hey,” Jared said tiredly as he plonked himself down in the chair opposite Jensen. “Sorry for crashing on you earlier. I didn’t mean to fall asleep in your room. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I’m good. You look like hell, though.”

Jared managed a weak grin as he tucked into his breakfast. “Thanks, man.”

“We’ve got a few hours between here and our next stop,” Jensen said. “According to Rosey, anyway. So at least you can crash in the van. Seriously, you should have just gone to bed.”

Jared shrugged. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

And there was no way Jensen could be mad about that.

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence.



Jared passed out pretty much as soon as they got seated in the van, and it wasn’t long before he was curled against Jensen and resting on his shoulder.

“You enjoying the snuggles back there?” Michael asked as soon as they were on the highway. “Tom, why don’t you ever do that to me?”

“Because you’re driving, dumbass,” Tom pointed out. “I’m not going to cause an accident just so you can get some cuddles.”

Misha just looked at Jensen with that now patented amused smile.

“What?” Jensen asked, almost snapping. He was getting pretty damn sick of Misha turning everything into something about Jared’s imaginary lust for him. “He’s done this ever since I’ve known him. He crashes in the car and his body just sort of seeks out the nearest warm object.”

“He’s not cuddling me,” Misha pointed out and Jensen glowered.

“Fuck you, man.”

The journey through Indiana was about the most boring one they’d done yet and Jensen fell asleep after a while, resting his head against Jared’s and not caring what Misha or anyone else thought. He didn’t wake up until they were driving into Cleveland and Jared was already awake by that point and staring out of the window.

“Feeling better?” Jensen asked as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jared replied with a soft smile. “Thanks.”

By the time they’d parked up, Michael was practically bouncing in his seat.

“How much coffee have you had today?” Tom asked wryly as they got out of the van.

“Dude, do you even know where we are?” Michael asked with almost manic glee.

“Uh . . . Cleveland? Is this a trick question?”

“Cleveland!” Michael screeched. “Do you know who came from Cleveland?”

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

“The Cleveland Torso Murderer,” Misha volunteered.

Michael chose to ignore him. “Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel.”

Everyone except Tom looked at him blankly.

“The guys who created Superman!” Michael added. “Come on, this place is practically Mecca.”

Tom smiled and pulled Michael into a hug. “Isn’t he just the cutest little geek?”

“Fuck you, man.” Michael squirmed as Tom pressed a sloppy kiss to the top of his head. The others just laughed.

“So where are we going first?” Jensen asked once Michael finished glowering at everyone. “Please tell me we’re not going up any more skyscrapers.”

Jared smiled and gave Jensen’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Yeah, I don’t think any of us wants to wind up covered in your puke,” Michael grimaced, “so I thought we’d stick to some nice, safe museums.”

“Works for me,” Jensen replied with a smile.

“Alrighty then, let’s go.”



“And once he had lured his victims away, he hacked off their heads, arms and legs leaving only an unidentifiable bloody torso behind. To this day the police don’t know for sure how many people he killed.”

There was a manic glint in Misha’s eyes as he described the Cleveland Torso Murderer to them in gruesome detail as they walked around Cleveland Police Museum.

“I’m really starting to think there’s something wrong with him,” Jensen said to Jared in a stage whisper as they walked alongside him. “He’s way too into this.”

Misha grinned. “Ooh, look, death masks.”

By the time they’d finished the tour of the museum and Michael had announced it was time for dinner, Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to even look at food. Misha’s graphic descriptions had pretty much made him lose his appetite.

“Don’t be such a wimp,” Michael said as they piled into a nearby restaurant.

Jared nodded. “Besides, you need to replace all that food you threw up yesterday.”

“Yeah, because talking about puke is really going to make me hungry,” Jensen grumbled. He still managed to force down a salad and some fries and felt better for it afterwards.

They found a nearby hotel to crash in and Jensen was almost freaked out by how weird it felt to be sleeping in a bed without Jared in. He really needed to get a grip and get over this stupid crush before it fucked everything up. He tried not to think about Jared as he fell asleep, but still ended up dreaming about him.

“I think I’m actually losing my mind,” he told Misha quietly over breakfast the next morning. “Seriously, I’m going nuts.”

“I’ve already told you what you need to do,” Misha replied patiently. “Tell him how you feel. Even if he’s not interested, at least it’ll be out there and you can move on.”

“Well, what if I don’t want to move on?” Jensen said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to meet anyone like him again and I can’t fuck this up, you know.”

“So you’re willing to fuck yourself up instead?” Misha asked. “It’s not healthy, Jensen. Seriously.”

Jensen laughed weakly. “You’re never serious, apart from when you’re working.”

“I’m serious when one of my friends is doing something like this to themselves,” Misha replied and Jensen was shocked to see that there was none of the usual humor in his eyes. “Have you looked at yourself recently? You look like shit.”

“I’m still pretty, though, right?”

Misha simply stared at him and Jensen felt himself withering under the gaze.

“I’ll get over it. Don’t worry about me.”

Misha shrugged. “It’s my job to worry about you, since you’re apparently not going to do it for yourself.”

“Dude, you sound like Jared.”

“Yeah, well, we both care about you. Although I suspect Jared cares about you in a different way to me. Have you noticed he’s sitting alone this morning?”

Jensen glanced over Misha’s shoulder and saw Jared sitting at another table by himself, quietly eating breakfast. Jensen hadn’t even seen him come in.

“Go and talk to him,” Misha prompted. “I’m done eating anyway.”

Jensen was already halfway across the room and barely heard him.

“This seat taken?”

Jared shrugged and Jensen took that as an invite and sat down. “What’s wrong with you this morning? Hung over?”

“No,” Jared replied. “Just didn’t want to bother you is all.”

Jensen laughed. “Wow, there really is a first time for everything. When has bothering me ever stopped you before?”

Jared’s head shot up, eyes narrowed and cheeks flushed. “Well, I’m sorry my mere presence irritates you. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way more often.”

“What the hell?”

Jensen could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Jared get actually angry. Generally, if he was pissed he’d go off and vent his anger somewhere alone before coming back and joining everyone else. He was the sort of guy who didn’t want his bad mood to bring anyone else down with him. So seeing him now, flushed with rage like this, pretty much freaked him out.

“Jared, what’s up? Are you pissed at me?”

“No,” Jared replied in a tone that suggested the opposite.

“Wow, I see you’re really putting those acting skills to work this morning,” Jensen said dryly. “Come on, man, it’s me. You can talk to me. What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Jared replied in the same sullen voice.

Jensen sighed. “You know what? Fine. You want to act like an emo teenager then that’s cool with me. I’m gonna go and pack. When you get done sulking and actually want to talk then come and find me.”

He marched out of the restaurant and back to his hotel room. He didn’t see Jared until it was time for them to meet at the van, and Jared climbed in without making eye contact.

Well, if that was how he wanted to play it then that was fine by Jensen.



They had been driving for two hours and by that time Jared and Jensen’s bad moods seemed to have hit everyone else in the van.

“Right,” Michael announced. “We’re stopping here and getting a few drinks until everyone has chilled the fuck out. We’re on vacation, guys.”

Nobody objected and they filed into the nearest bar and ordered some beers.

Jensen watched Jared staring at his beer, sipping it slowly as he slouched forward in his seat. He still had no clue what Jared was pissed about, but something was clearly bothering him and he apparently didn’t want to talk about it, which was so not Jared. Usually you had to bribe him to shut him up.

“So, who’s going to tell me what’s going on?” Michael said. “Because if you two are going to act like bitches for the rest of the trip I am leaving your asses here and you can make your own way back to LA.”

Jared shrugged and muttered into his drink. “Nothing. Just tired is all.”

Michael sighed his disbelief and turned his attention to Jensen.

“Don’t look at me,” Jensen said, raising his hands in surrender. “I don’t know what’s crawled up his ass.”

Jared slammed his bottle down on the table, ignoring the foam that erupted from the neck of the bottle and ran down onto his hand. “I’m going to get some air.”

He stormed out without another word, leaving the rest of them watching his back in silence.

“Okay, that’s weird,” Tom said once Jared was out of sight. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jared mad like that before.”

“Seriously, I have no idea what he’s so pissed about,” Jensen said helplessly. “He got mad at breakfast and wouldn’t tell me why. I’ve tried talking to him but he’s not interested.”

Misha rose from his seat. “Let me try talking to him.”

Jensen nodded. If anyone could get Jared to open up it would be Misha. Jensen had no idea how he did it but Misha had a knack of getting people to talk about whatever was bothering them. It was pretty much why he was in this situation now, in fact.

Misha headed outside and Jensen sipped his beer quietly.

“I don’t know why you two don’t just fuck and have done with it,” Michael said after a couple of minutes.

Jensen raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Michael retorted.

“You want me to fuck Misha?” Jensen asked incredulously. “Look, I know he has a very open relationship with his wife but I don’t think he’s into me in that way.”

“Don’t be a dick, Jensen, you know what I mean. I don’t know why you don’t just fuck Padalecki and have done with it. Might snap him out of his pissy mood, if nothing else.”

Jensen was getting pretty damn sick of everyone telling him to fuck Jared. Especially since right now Jared didn’t even want to look at him, never mind talk to him. Did the whole world think hearts, rainbows and world peace would occur if the two of them had sex?

“I’m gonna take a piss,” he said, ignoring Michael’s suggestion entirely as he rose to his feet. “Anyone want another beer when I get back?”

Tom and Michael nodded and Jensen headed to the bathroom.

“Don’t I know you?”

The guy that came in just after Jensen reeked of booze and was swaying on his feet as he fumbled with his zipper.

It wasn’t that Jensen was recognized everywhere he went, but when it did happen it seemed to be at really bad times, like right now while he had his dick in his hand.

“I don’t think so,” Jensen replied politely. “I’m just passing through and having a few drinks with my buddies.”

He deliberately tried not to make eye contact with the guy, who he could feel staring at him now.

“Nah, man, I’m sure I know you from somewhere.”

Now Jensen just wanted to finish pissing and get the hell out of there. He was really starting to regret those beers he’d had as well as the coffee and juice he’d drunk with breakfast.

“Just give me a minute and it’ll come to me.”

Jensen thankfully finished, zipped his fly and quickly washed his hands before making a break for the door.

“You’re on TV!”

He froze, his hand resting on the door handle. He’d grown used to avoiding talking about what he did over the years but he made a point of never outright lying to anyone.

“Yeah,” he said softly and he could hear the guy zipping up and splashing some water on his hands behind him.

“You gotta have a drink with us, man. My buddies will be so jealous I met a real-life TV star. Hey, are your friends from TV too? You should all join us! It’ll be awesome!”

The guy pulled the door open for him and rested his hand on Jensen’s lower back as he steered him away from Tom and Michael and towards a group of guys who could be heard before he even saw them.

“No, thanks,” Jensen replied, trying his very best to remain polite even though the hand on his back was freaking him out more than just a little. “We were actually just getting ready to leave.”

“Aww! Come on! You can have one drink. We don’t get many celebrities out our way.”

The pressure on his back increased a little and he found himself being almost pushed towards the large crowd of guys.

Enough was enough.

Jensen twisted away and turned so that he was actually facing the guy instead of being steered like cattle.

“Look,” he said firmly. “I’m sorry but I really have to go.”

It was like a switch had been flipped. One minute the guy was all smiles and the next he was glaring at Jensen like he’d just stolen the virginity of the guy’s daughter.

“What? You think you’re too good to hang out with a few regular guys?”

Jensen could feel flecks of spit hitting him in the face and it made him feel sick.

“It’s not like that at all,” he tried desperately to explain. “We only stopped for a quick drink and we’ve got places we need to be.”

The guy stepped forward, getting right into Jensen’s face. “Let me tell you something. You might think you’re better than me, but when was the last time you did a fucking honest day’s work? Huh? Lemme guess, it’s such a chore being paid thousands of dollars a day to play dress up. Fuck you, man.”

He poked Jensen hard in the chest. “You think you can just show up in our town and wave your money around like you’re a fucking king or something?”

The guy wasn’t even making sense anymore and that made Jensen even more uneasy. He’d obviously got himself worked up, and he was clearly drunk which meant that pretty much nothing Jensen said was going to make any difference.

He backed away slowly, jerking when the man’s hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Don’t you fucking walk away when I’m talking to you, you arrogant fuck.”

“Hey, you might want to let go of my friend right about now.”

Jensen had been so caught up in what was happening that he hadn’t even noticed Jared come up to them. He’d drawn himself up to his full height which was pretty damn scary at the best of times, never mind right now when it was coupled with an almost murderous glare.

The guy latched onto Jensen’s arm clearly wasn’t a total idiot because he let go of Jensen almost immediately, but he then turned his attention to Jared which Jensen knew was not going to end well.

“Jared, let’s go,” he said softly. “The guy’s drunk, just let him be.”

“Hiding behind your boyfriend?” drunk guy sneered. “Yeah, that figures. You Hollywood types are all a bunch of faggots.”

“Look,” Jared said calmly, even though Jensen could almost see the tension radiating off him. “We don’t want any trouble. Why don’t you just go back to your buddies and let us go back to ours and that can be the end of it.”

But the drunk was already calling over his shoulder. “Hey, guys, got a couple of Hollywood fairies here who think they can tell us what to do.”

Jared reacted quickly when ten people at the far end of the bar seemed to rise en masse and headed in their direction. He grabbed hold of Jensen’s arm and dragged him back towards their table.

“Come on, I think we need to get out of here.”

Tom, Michael and Misha were already on their feet, having apparently seen that something was happening.

“Shit, Jensen,” Michael laughed nervously. “I thought you were going for a piss, not starting a riot.”

“Maybe we should save this for the car,” Tom pointed out as they headed for the door.

Jensen came to a halt as he found the doorway blocked by several drunk and pissed off locals, but before he could do or say anything he found himself shoved unceremoniously behind Jared.

“Stay behind me,” Jared grunted over his shoulder. “Let me handle this.”

“Dude, I’m not a fucking girl,” Jensen hissed.

Tom strode forward and stood beside Jared, forming a protective shield in front of Jensen, Misha and Michael.

“We just want to leave,” Tom explained politely. “We only came in for a couple of beers.”

Only a complete idiot would fuck with Tom and Jared, being the size they were and physically fit on top of that. Which was why Jensen could only stare as the biggest member of the group staggered forward and took a swing, cheered on by his friends who quickly piled on top of them.

Jensen staggered backwards under the weight of several bodies and crashed into Misha who, in turn, fell into the wall.

“Shit, are you okay?” he groaned painfully as Misha’s elbow collided with his gut.

“Yeah,” Misha replied. “Where are the others?”

It was impossible to tell in the mass of flailing arms and legs. He could hear Michael yelling for Tom but couldn’t see anything. He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops.”

Before he’d even finished punching 911 into his phone he spotted the flashing lights and heard the sirens. Apparently, someone else had got there first and it was amazing how fast ten drunk guys could run. By the time the cops actually got there, the place was practically empty.

Tom stood in the middle of the room, panting heavily, his shirt slightly ripped and what looked like the start of a black eye forming. Michael was at his side, looking a little rumpled but mostly okay.

“Where’s Jared?” Jensen’s eyes scanned the room, heart suddenly pounding when he realized he couldn’t see him. “Jared?”

“I lost him in the fight,” Tom said softly. “One minute he was next to me and then he wasn’t.”

Jensen cursed softly under his breath as the four of them started searching. It wasn’t a huge bar but more than a few tables and chairs had been busted up during the fight and there was a lot of crap strewn all over the floor.

Jensen almost puked when he overturned half a table and found Jared in a crumpled heap underneath it.

“Shit! Jared! Someone call an ambulance!”

Everything seemed to fade out after that. He was vaguely aware of the others around him but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. All he could focus on was Jared and how still he was. He didn’t dare try and move him in case he was badly hurt so instead he flitted his hands over Jared, trying to find any obvious injuries.

Jared let out a soft moan and curled in on himself when Jensen’s fingers ran over his head.

“Jared?” Jensen called hopefully. “Jared, can you hear me? It’s Jensen. Are you ok?”

“Jen…” Jared’s voice was soft and slurred but he stirred a little more and uncurled himself “H’ppened? Y’ok?”

Jensen let out a surprised laugh. “Me? Yeah, I’m ok. Don’t try to move, all right? There’s an ambulance on the way. Need to check how badly you’re hurt.”

“M’ok.”

He seemed more alert now and actually tried to sit up before Jensen pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Jesus, Jared, you must have a concussion or something if you’ve already forgotten that I told you not to move.”

“I’m ok,” Jared insisted now that he was fully aware of what was going on. “Just got a little banged up is all.”

“How about you let a doctor decide that, ok?” Jensen replied although he was already feeling relief that Jared did seem to be more or less in one piece. At least he was talking. That had to be a good sign.

“Is everyone else okay?” Jared asked.

Jensen glanced up. Michael was hugging Tom, apparently reassuring himself that he was okay. Misha was standing by the door, looking out for the ambulance.

“Tom’s a little banged up but the rest of us are fine, so quit worrying.”

Jared smiled and closed his eyes. “Good.”

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and after a brief examination the paramedics decided that it was safe to move Jared, but that he should get checked out in the hospital just in case.

“You go with him,” Misha said as Jared was loaded into the ambulance. “We’ll take a cab and meet you there.”

Jensen hadn’t even considered that anyone apart from him would be riding with Jared, but he nodded his head and climbed in.

Jared flashed him a weak smile. “So, this part of the vacation kind of sucks.”

Jensen couldn’t agree more but he forced a smile. “Oh, I don’t know. It’ll be something to talk about when we get home.”

“And Misha can conduct a second test of the healthcare system. Man, I hope I don’t get one of those crappy sandwiches.”

Yet again, Jensen was lost and he really hoped it was just one of those jokes he was out of the loop on and not the result of some massive head trauma.



“Well, there’s no sign of any trauma,” the doctor announced after conducting an examination of Jared. “Just a minor concussion and a few bruises. Someone should stay with you tonight and wake you up every couple of hours and you’ll need to come back if you experience any blurred vision, nausea or dizziness.”

Jared flashed his best smile at the doctor and then grinned at Jensen. “Told you, man, I’ve got a solid head.”

Jensen let out a relieved sigh quietly and then grinned back. “Well, you need it with the number of times you walk into stuff. Come on, are you ready to get out of here?”

Jared nodded and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “Uh…you want to give me some privacy while I get dressed?”

“What, you worried your hot body will be too much for my sensitive nerves to take?” Jensen forced a grin and had to will himself not to blush as he headed for the door, bolting before Jared could shoot back a reply.

Tom, Michael and Misha were sitting in the waiting area and looked expectantly at Jensen when he came out to join them.

“He’s fine. Someone needs to stay with him tonight but the doctor doesn’t think there’s any major damage.”

He glanced at Tom whose black eye was already starting to darken. “Shit, Tom, did you get someone to take a look at that?”

Tom waved an ice pack at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bruise. Thank god we don’t start filming for a few more weeks. The network would kill us if me and Jared showed up now.”

“Fuck the network,” Michael practically growled. “I’m just glad you’re ok.”

A sentiment Jensen matched exactly.

“Road trip is over,” Michael announced when Jared arrived a few minutes later. “We’re heading back to LA. You guys are welcome to stay with me for a few days once we get there but we’re not doing anything but sitting around and drinking.”

Jared’s shoulders slumped. “You don’t have to do that. I’m okay, and so is Tom. We shouldn’t ruin the trip because of a few assholes.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not okay,” Michael snapped. “You guys got fucked up because I dragged you out here. Now let’s find a hotel because I’m exhausted and I want to sleep.”

He walked out without waiting for anyone to speak and Tom sighed as they watched him go. “He’s just worried. I’ll talk to him.”

“Maybe going home isn’t such a bad idea,” Jensen suggested. “You and Jared should probably take it easy for a while.”

“Hey, I’m standing right here,” Jared pointed out. “I already said I’m fine.”

“You’d say you were fine if your intestines were hanging out,” Jensen shot back at him.

“Why don’t we just see how we feel in the morning,” Misha said gently. “We’re all tired.”

They all grumbled their assent and headed out after Michael.



Nobody questioned that Jensen would be the one to stay with Jared that night and they booked a twin room. Too exhausted to think about going out for food, they ordered room service, watched some crappy Vin Diesel movie on TV and then collapsed into their separate beds.

“I’m sorry you’re not going to get to sleep either,” Jared whispered into the darkness. “Maybe heading home tomorrow isn’t such a bad idea.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jensen replied softly. “I’m just glad you didn’t get your brains beaten in or something. You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours.”

He heard Jared shift around in an effort to get comfortable.

“’Night, Jensen.”

“’Night.”



Each time Jensen’s alarm went off it was harder and harder for him to drag himself out of bed to wake Jared, although the relief he felt each time Jared assured him that he was alright soothed him a little. By morning Jensen was about ready to keel over and Jared didn’t look much better.

“I think we should stay here for another day,” Jared groaned as they staggered into the elevator to go down for breakfast. “We could just sleep all day and it would be awesome.”

Jensen simply grunted, having lost the power of speech a few hours earlier.

“You can sleep in the van,” Michael told them as Jensen inhaled one cup of coffee after another. “It’ll take us about three days to get back if we only stop for food and sleep.”

Tom shrugged helplessly. His left eye was now swollen and a dark shade of purple. Michael was doing a good job of looking at anything but it.

“Hey, so long as I can sleep I don’t care where it is,” Jared said into his own coffee.

Jensen’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Jared had seemed happy enough to carry on the trip before they went to bed last night but something had clearly changed his mind. He didn’t press the issue. He kind of wanted to go home, actually. It wasn’t that he hadn’t had fun, apart from last night, but he was sick of the hotels and Misha fucking with him. Anyway, he missed his stuff and the quiet of the house he shared with Jared.

“Yeah,” he finally agreed. “Sleeping in the van sounds good.”

Misha just shrugged and didn’t argue either way.



Jensen fell asleep as soon as he got into the van and didn’t even register Jared slumping against him. When he woke up he was warm and comfortable and had absolutely no desire to move. REO Speedwagon was playing softly, much more quietly than Michael’s usual volume and Jensen appreciated it, especially when he realized Jared was still sleeping beside him.

“What time is it?” he asked gently so as not to wake him. “Did I miss anything?”

“It’s coming up to lunchtime,” Tom replied. “We’re gonna stop in the next town we come to.”

“And avoid any bars,” Michael added darkly.

“You missed corn,” Misha chipped in. “Lots and lots of corn.”

Jensen glanced out of the window. More corn. Well, at least he hadn’t missed much.



“Hey, Jared, come on. You need to wake up and eat something.”

Jensen had been shaking Jared for about five minutes now and had so far got nothing beyond a few sleepy murmurs in response. Tom, Michael and Misha were already in the diner they had stopped at and were probably already eating. He’d briefly considered leaving Jared to sleep, except they wouldn’t be stopping again after this until they got a hotel for the night.

Jensen poked him in the ribs. “Come on, man, I mean it. Wake up.”

Jensen was starting to panic now. What if it was a concussion and he was in a coma or something?

Jensen was just reaching for his phone to call an ambulance when Jared finally stirred. “Jensen? What time is it?”

“Lunchtime. Come on, the others are already inside.”

Jared yawned and stretched, his back popping and giving Jensen a rather pleasant view of Jared’s bare stomach as his t-shirt hitched up.

“I’m starving,” Jared said around his yawn. “Come on, let’s eat.”



Jensen was reassured that no permanent damage had been done to Jared when he tucked in and ate three courses of food and went on to talk about taking more with them for the road.

“I’m gonna go stretch my legs for a few minutes before we go,” Jared announced after dinner as he gave his stomach a satisfied pat. “I’ll meet you guys at the van.”

“Is he okay?” Tom asked after Jared had left.

“Yeah, I think so.” Jensen replied. “It could have been a hell of a lot worse. Stupid fucker could have got himself killed.”

“You know he was just trying to protect you.” Tom flashed him a soft smile. “I heard him yelling that he wasn’t going to let anyone get near you.”

Jensen sighed. He’d been trying to avoid thinking about it ever since Jared had been hurt, especially since Jared seemed pretty damned determined not to talk about it.

“Guys, I need a minute. I’ll meet you out front.”



It didn’t take him long to find Jared, who had opted just to walk circuits around the back parking lot.

“Hey,” Jared greeted when he spotted Jensen walking towards him. “Come to get some exercise too? Man, I feel like I’ve been sitting down for a month.”

“How long have we known each other?” Jensen asked, cutting straight to the point. “Five years?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Jared replied and the smile faded from his lips as he spotted the dark look on Jensen’s face. “Why?”

“I was just wondering why, after five years of us working together and living together, you think I’m some delicate flower that needs protecting.”

“What? Jensen . . .”

“Jesus, Jared. Just let me talk, okay? Do you have any idea how scared I was when I found you under that table? I thought you were dead, hell you could have been, and all because you wanted to assert your masculinity or whatever. I’m not a girl, you know.”

“Oh, I know that,” Jared said with a dry laugh. “Believe me, I know. But you are my friend and I’m sorry if not wanting some drunk meat-head to beat the shit out of you gives you some sort of inferiority complex but I’m not going to apologize for the fact that you didn’t get hurt.”

“But you did!” Jensen exclaimed.

Jared sighed. “Look, I’m okay, Jensen. Really. Can we just not talk about this? I mean, what’s the point? It’s over, right? A few bruises and a mild concussion. It’s nobody’s fault. If I hadn’t stepped up then all of us would have wound up in hospital.”

“I just hate seeing you like this, man,” Jensen mumbled.

Jared flashed him a soft smile and drew Jensen into his arms and hugged him gently. “I know, but it’s okay. Come on, let’s go. The sooner we get back to LA the sooner we can forget about this and get wasted.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”



It was almost midnight when they reached LA two days later, and Jensen was pretty sure he’d lost all feeling in his legs and back from sitting still for so long. He was also now acutely aware of just how little there was to see when you’re not stopping off in towns and cities to look at interesting things.

“Home sweet home,” Michael said as the van pulled to a stop. His voice was dry and raspy with exhaustion and Jensen could sympathise. No matter how wiped out the rest of them felt, it was nothing compared to Michael who had been driving solidly for three days and only stopping when they needed to eat or sleep.

The five of them stumbled into the house and up the stairs. Michael and Tom disappeared into Michael’s bedroom and Jensen, Jared and Misha made their way into the room they’d used before setting off on the trip. It seemed like an age ago but had only been less than two weeks.

Jared collapsed face first onto the bed with a grunt and was asleep almost instantly. Misha shot Jensen a tired smile. “Do you want to take that bed or the one in the loft?”

The fact that he was even asking and not devising some scheme so he had to share with Jared told Jensen just how tired Misha was. He glanced down at Jared and smiled at the way his hair flopped over his soft and relaxed face.

“I’ll stay here.”

Misha nodded and gave him a small grin. “Goodnight, Jensen.”

“’Night, Misha.”

He didn’t even bother changing out of his clothes. He was too damn tired. Instead he just kicked off his shoes, flopped down next to Jared and closed his eyes.



They all slept late into the afternoon the next day and Jensen didn’t wake up until the smell of cooking bacon hit him and his stomach rumbled.

“Mmm . . .” Jared murmured sleepily next to him. “Smells good.”

Jensen smiled. “Thought you’d be down there by now. I’ve never known anything get in the way of you and food before.”

“I’m comfy right here. D’you think you can get Misha to bring us some food? I don’t wanna move and you’re keeping me warm.”

Jensen glanced up at the loft and saw that Misha’s bed was empty. He chuckled. “Sorry, man. I don’t think Misha is going to bring us breakfast in bed. Besides, you kind of need to shower. You’re smelling a bit ripe there, buddy.”

“Fuck you,” Jared growled with a lazy smile. “You’re not exactly smelling like a bucket of roses yourself.”

Jensen grinned. “Ok, how about I go get us some food while you shower and then you can fill the dishwasher while I shower. I bet Rosey will have some sort of plan for the rest of the day.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jared said around a yawn as he stretched. “I’ll see you downstairs, I guess.”

Jensen’s stomach let out another growl and it was enough to get him out of bed and downstairs.



Misha was in the kitchen, humming softly to himself as he cooked.

“You hungry?” he asked as Jensen padded in to join him. “I made plenty for everyone. Tom and Michael are already eating.”

“Sure, thanks. Jared’s just taking a shower and he should be down in a minute.”

Misha grinned as he handed Jensen a plate piled with food. “I won’t ask if anything happened this time because I know how out of it we all were last night.”

Jensen, as always, ignored him and headed into the dining room to join Tom and Michael.

“Hey there, Jenny!” Michael greeted with the first proper smile Jensen had seen since the bar in Ohio. “Sleep well? I’m having a party tonight to celebrate us getting home.”

The stream of words came out so fast that Jensen could barely keep up.

“A party? Wow, you don’t waste any time, do you?”

Tom grinned. “You weren’t here the time he decided to have a party thirty minutes before the guests started arriving.”

“Who’s having a party?” Jared asked around a mouthful of food as he and Misha headed in to join them. “Are we invited?”

“You’re the guests of honour,” Michael beamed cheerfully. “But that means you have to help me buy the booze. I’ve got caterers doing the food.”

Jensen faked shock. “You mean you don’t have enough booze in the house for a party? Are you losing it in your old age, man?”

Michael casually extended a middle finger and ignored him. “So, I take it you’re all sticking around for the party?”

Everyone nodded their assent.

“Awesome! This is going to be my best party yet.”

“He says that every time,” Tom replied with a grin.

“And I’m always right.”



Michael’s parties were infamous for being wild and crazy but Jensen had to admit it wasn’t as bad as some of Chad’s parties that Jared had dragged him to over the years. At least Michael wasn’t going around insisting that everyone was wearing too many clothes and refusing to let them in until they were sufficiently undressed. He had a drink in his hand, he was happy and no one was pressuring him to get naked. Life was pretty good.

“Jenny!” Michael slurred as Jensen made his way into the entertainment room, slinging an arm across his shoulders. “You’re just in time to sing some karaoke.”

“No thanks,” Jensen said as he tried to twist away from Michael’s hold. “I was just looking for Jared.”

“I’m right here,” Jared said from his sprawled position on the couch. “You missed me singing Duran Duran.”

“Now that I am sorry I missed.”

Michael grabbed hold of him. “So, now it’s your turn. Everyone who comes in here has to sing and I pick the songs. If Padalecki can do it, and he can’t sing for shit, then you can with your pretty voice.”

Before Jensen could argue there was a microphone in his hand and Michael was keying a song into the karaoke machine.

“You’ll thank me for this later,” he whispered as the song started to play.

I can’t fight this feeling any longer
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship, has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show

Jensen shot Michael a glare as he started to sing the words on the screen.

I tell myself that I can’t hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
Cause I feel so secure when were together
You give my life direction
You make everything so clear

He was doing his best to look at anyone but Jared now. Because if he looked at Jared while he was singing, it was all over. Michael had known exactly what he was doing when he picked this song and Jensen was damn sure he was going to beat the shit out of him for it afterwards.

The thing was, he meant it. The damn song was pretty much exactly what he felt for Jared, and now he was having to sing it in front of a bunch of people he didn’t know as well as Jared himself. Really, beating the shit out of Michael was too good for him.

He finished the song and kept his eyes on the carpet the whole time, barely hearing the whoops and cheers.

“You were awesome!” Jared said as Jensen tried to make a hasty exit from the room. “Hey, are you ok? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah,” Jensen mumbled. “I just need some air.”

“Shit, okay. I’ll come with you. Let me just get you some water.”

Jensen couldn’t really be mad at Jared for wanting to help but he just needed to be far, far away from him until he’d pulled himself together. He watched as Jared walked into the kitchen and headed out to the pool.

He took a deep breath once he was outside and searched around for a quiet corner to sit in for a while. He just needed a few minutes to not think about Jared or the fact that he had just sung his feelings in front of him like some cheesy musical.

There were a few people swimming lazily in the pool and others making out on the poolside loungers. His eyes widened as he recognised one of the people currently being straddled by a hot young guy that Jensen didn’t recognise.

“Holy shit! Misha!”

The words were barely more than a gasped whisper but they left Jensen’s lips just as Jared arrived with a glass of water in his hand.

His eyes followed Jensen’s and a moment later Jensen found the glass of water shoved into his hand as Jared stalked towards Misha and his companion. Jensen watched, more than a little confused as Jared sent the other guy packing and hauled Misha to his feet. He quickly put the glass down and hurried over to find out what was happening.

“I don’t give a shit what sort of open relationship you have with everyone else, but you can’t just make out with some random guy right in front of Jensen like that. It’s cruel, man.”

Jensen didn’t think he’d ever heard Jared sound as angry as he did right now.

“Jared,” Misha sounded calm and almost amused by the whole thing, “I really don’t think it’s any of your business who I choose to sleep with. Except now you’ve scared Ben away I’m going to need to find someone else.”

“Dude! Jensen is standing right here! Don’t you care?”

“About what?”

Jared’s fist shot out without warning and Jensen could only watch in horror as Misha stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the lounger he’d been lying on.

“Jesus Christ, Jared! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me?” Jared spluttered. “Jensen, seriously, I’ve tried not to say anything but he treats you like shit. The sex can’t be that good for you to put up with all this.”

Jensen blinked at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Come on, I’m not stupid. I’ve seen all the little private conversations you’ve been sneaking off to have, and you were snuggling in the tent back in Washington. I’d kind of hoped you’d just tell me about it but I guess you didn’t trust me enough or something.”

Jensen blinked at him again. “You think I’m sleeping with Misha?”

Jared glanced down at Misha who was rubbing his jaw and watching them curiously. “Uh, yeah?”

Jensen sighed. “You’re a fucking moron, Padalecki.”

He knelt down beside Misha and cupped his jaw gently, tilting his head so he could examine the spot where Jared had hit him. There was going to be a hell of a bruise in the morning. “Shit, man. Are you okay?”

“I’ve had worse,” Misha assured him. “Maybe you should tell him what we were talking about in all those private little chats though. You know, before he hits me again.”

Jensen glanced up to see Jared chewing on his lip.

“I’m not going to hit you again.” Jared murmured, sounding almost embarrassed as Jensen rose to his feet again.

“Come on,” he said, taking Jared by the arm. “We’re not talking about this here.”

They headed out to Michael’s front yard where there was a guy passed out on the front lawn but no one else around.

Jensen took a deep breath. “Ok, so you know I’m not fucking Misha, right?”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”

Jensen glanced at Jared and the way he was looking at him, eyes warm and concerned. It wasn’t making this any easier.

“Well, the reason Misha and I were talking in private all the time is because he knows something I wasn’t comfortable sharing with anyone else.”

“Not even me?” Jared asked, sounding so damn hurt it almost broke him. “Jensen, you know you can tell me anything.”

“I know, and if it was anything else I would have. I just didn’t want to screw things up, you know?”

“Screw what up? Jensen you’re not making any sense.”

This was it. He had to do this now or he never would.

He took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and pulled Jared down into a kiss.

Jared pulled back a moment later, eyes wide with surprise. “Jensen?”

“Tell me you want this,” Jensen pleaded. “God, you drive me nuts. Wanted you for so long.”

It took Jared less than a second to respond, and he let out a soft moan as he kissed Jensen back. Jensen’s body trembled with sheer need as Jared pressed into him, grinding their hips together and letting Jensen know quite clearly that Jared was enjoying this.

“God, Jensen, why the hell did we wait so long to do this?” Jared whispered between kisses.

“Because we’re stupid,” Jensen panted back as he slid his hand underneath Jared’s t-shirt. “So fucking stupid.”

Jared grunted his agreement and cupped Jensen’s ass with his hands.

“Jen, I want you. Waited too long for this.”

Jensen couldn’t agree more. “Come on. Bedroom. Now.”

They clung to each other as they stumbled back into the house, neither of them willing to relinquish contact now they had it. Navigating up the stairs was tricky but they made it and fell into the bedroom, clutching at each other and tugging at their clothes as soon as the door closed behind them.

Jensen pulled Jared towards the bed but stopped when he saw something on top of the covers that most definitely hadn’t been there earlier in the day. It was a box of condoms, a bottle of lube and a note.

Heading home for a couple of days. Enjoy the rest of your night. See you back on set.
Misha

Jared let out an unhappy groan. “Man, I can’t believe I hit him.”

“We’ll make it up to him,” Jensen whispered. “If I’d talked to you about this when Misha first told me to . . .”

Jared kissed him. “We’re here now, right? That’s all that matters.”

They finished undressing slowly and Jensen took in every inch of Jared’s flesh as he lay down on the bed. He was an Adonis. There was no other way to describe him with his long, lean body, taut muscles and eager smile.

“Are you just gonna stand there and stare?” Jared asked with a shy grin.

“It’s tempting,” Jensen replied. “Do have any idea how you look? God, I wish I had my camera.”

Jared’s grin widened. “You can take all the photos you like. Next time. Now come here.”

The bed dipped as Jensen knelt down and crawled up to Jared.

“Hi,” he whispered gently.

“Hi yourself.”

Jensen stroked his hand along Jared’s inner thigh until he reached his prize, lips curling at the soft gasps Jared was making as he stroked him.

“You know, it would be rude not to use the presents Misha left for us.”

“Yeah,” Jared agreed with a strangled moan. “Very rude.”

Jensen leaned in and nipped Jared’s earlobe with his teeth. “Roll over.”

Jared did as he was asked and for a few moments Jensen just drank in the sight of him as he skimmed his hands over Jared’s back. He picked up the lube, making a mental note to buy Misha anything he wanted when they got back to Vancouver, and slicked up his hand.

He felt Jared quiver beneath him as he slowly opened him up, taking his time to explore Jared’s body. He wanted this to last, for every moment and memory to be etched into his brain.

“Feels good, Jen,” Jared moaned softly. “So fucking good.”

Jensen pressed a kiss to the base of Jared’s spine and opened one of the condoms, sliding it on before he got to his knees.

“I’m ready for you, Jen. Need to feel you inside me.”

Jared arched his back as Jensen entered him, letting out a strangled moan and fisting his hands in the bed sheet.

“Christ, Jen. Yeah.”

Jensen started to increase his momentum under Jared’s encouragement, thrusting inside him and wrapping one hand around to stroke Jared’s cock at the same time. He was such a fucking idiot for denying himself this for so long. Jared was hot beneath him, the sweat from his back and Jensen’s chest fusing them together into one being.

“Faster,” Jared groaned beneath him. “Go faster.”

He tightened his grip on Jared and increased his pace, his breath coming in ragged gasps as Jared writhed underneath him.

“Jared, I’m gonna . . .”

“It’s ok, me too,” Jared gasped.

Jensen thrust again and let out a strangled moan as he came. A moment later Jared spurted onto his hand and collapsed beneath him.

They lay there for a few minutes, gasping for breath until Jensen slowly withdrew and disposed of the condom in the nearby trashcan.

“I’m gonna buy Misha a house,” Jared announced as they lay side by side in the tangled sheets. “Or a plane or something. Maybe a pony.”

Jensen nodded and pressed a kiss to Jared’s shoulder. “I’ll chip in for that.”

Jared smiled and pulled Jensen into his arms. “You know, even though you got sick and I got beat up this was a pretty fucking awesome vacation.”

“Mmm . . .” Jensen murmured sleepily. “Not as awesome as right now, though.”

“We should totally do it again.”

Jensen grinned. “I like your thinking, but you need to give me a few minutes recovery time.”

“Jackass. I meant the trip. We could go and see all the places we missed out on by cutting it short.” He paused for a moment. “Although I’m totally ok with us fucking again too.”

“Atta boy.”

As Jared leaned over and kissed him, slowly and lazily, Jensen was struck by just how right this felt. It was like he’d just found some part of himself that he hadn’t even realized was missing.

And now that he’d found it, there was no way in Hell he was ever letting go.



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