Fic: Misha Collins Makes A Match (2/3)
Oct. 8th, 2009 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fandomcorner“Jenny! I think you need to sing for us.”
Michael swayed on his feet, eyes glazed as he pointed the karaoke microphone in Jensen’s direction.
“No, I really don’t.”
“Come on, man,” Michael pleaded. “You’re the only one of us who can actually sing. I’ll let you choose the song.”
Tom snorted beside Jensen. “This is the only time he’s ever admitted he can’t actually sing. You should make the most of it.”
“Nope,” Jensen replied. He’d lost count of the number of beers he’d had but he was still sober enough to know that he wasn’t going to sing. It was different when he was with Christian and Steve. He didn’t know why but it was.
Michael was actually pouting now. “You’re no fun. I hope you’re not going to be like this the whole trip.”
“Whatever, man. I’m beat and I’m going to bed.”
Jared struggled to his feet, handing his empty bottle to Misha before lurching towards Jensen. “I’ll come too.”
“Lightweights,” Misha smiled. “The night is young, right, guys?”
Tom’s only reply was a soft snore from the couch.
“I’m still with you, buddy,” Michael announced as he collapsed into the bean bag that Jared had vacated. “We’re the party guys.”
Jensen rolled his eyes and headed up to the bedroom. Somehow he doubted that the party guys would be awake for much longer, and he didn’t want to even think about whether Michael would be in a fit state to drive in the morning.
“You want the bathroom first?” he asked when they reached the bedroom, the large bed reminding him again of the awkward sleeping arrangements.
“Nah, you go,” Jared relied, sitting down on the end of the bed and looking up at the Justice League print that hung above him on the wall. “I’m just gonna . . . sit.”
Jensen shrugged. “Ok, man. Whatever makes you happy.”
It didn’t take him long to find the bathroom and he was surprised at how small it was compared to the other rooms in the house. It was typically Michael, though. There was a Rubix cube (unsolved) on the back of the toilet and a pile of porn magazines under the sink. Playboy and Playgirl, Jensen noticed with a wry grin. Michael was never one to let himself be confined to sexuality labels. He liked who he liked and that was it. Mostly it was Tom these days but that didn’t stop him letting his eyes wander once in a while.
He got washed up and changed into a pair of pajama bottoms before he padded barefoot back into the bedroom. He couldn’t help but smile. Apparently sitting had been too much effort for Jared and he was now sprawled on the bed with his feet still hanging over the edge.
“You awake?” Jensen asked as he put his clothes back into his bag.
“Mmm,” Jared murmured, twisting away when Jensen shook his shoulder.
“Come on, bathroom’s free. Move your ass so I can go to bed.”
“’Kay,” Jared groaned and struggled to his feet.
As his friend wandered to the bathroom Jensen slid into bed, making sure to be as far on his side as possible without making it too obvious. He lay there staring at the ceiling and wondering just when his life got so fucked up. He liked things to be simple and uncomplicated. Being in love with your best friend was so far from simple it actually hurt.
He didn’t realize Jared was back in the room until the light snapped off and he felt the bed dip. He lay there, stiff and awkward as he listened to Jared twisting around and hitting the pillow in an effort to get comfortable.
“Jensen?” Jared’s voice was muffled, as though his face was pressed into the pillow.
“Yeah?”
“Goodnight.”
Jensen sighed as Jared started to snore softly. “’Night, Jared.”
When Jensen woke up the next morning he was warm and comfortable and there was no way in hell he wanted to get up, ever. Until he heard a soft chuckle.
“You two look cozy.”
His eyes snapped open and he almost fell off the bed when he saw Misha grinning down at him from the loft.
“Jesus Christ! What the hell are you doing up there?”
If anything, the question just made Misha’s grin wider. “The other bed is up here. Didn’t Michael tell you?”
Other bed? There was another bed and no one bothered to tell him? Oh, he was going to kill someone. Probably Misha.
“I just figured you knew but you wanted to share with Jared.”
Definitely Misha.
“He doesn’t seem to mind anyway.”
It was only then that he realized half the reason he was so warm and comfortable was because he was wrapped up in Jared’s arms and pulled flush against his chest. Jared was one of the most touchy-feely guys Jensen knew. It figured he’d be the same when he was asleep. It sure as hell didn’t mean anything.
He slowly started to ease himself out of Jared’s grasp and naturally that was when Jared decided to wake up.
“Morning,” he rasped in Jensen’s ear before letting go of him. “Sorry about that. I must have got cold in the night. Hope I didn’t crush you or anything.”
Jensen leapt out of bed as soon as he was free, trying to make it look as casual as possible but all the while feeling Misha’s eyes on him as he grabbed some clean clothes.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna go shower.”
And he practically bolted from the room before anyone could see how hard he was.
One very long, cold shower and a jerk off later and Jensen felt ready to face the world again. Or almost. He still needed his coffee and headed straight to the kitchen while Jared and Misha decided who was going to shower next. He was surprised to see Tom and Michael already awake.
“Someone else is going to have to drive,” Michael moaned unhappily while Jensen poured himself a coffee. “I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying,” Tom scoffed. “Take some Tylenol, drink some water and suck it up. Besides, you have to drive. You’re the only one who knows where we’re going.”
“Man, sometimes my plans suck.”
Tom pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m glad you’ve finally accepted that.”
Jared stumbled into the room a few minutes later, face flushed and hair still damp from his shower. “Misha says he’ll be ready in ten minutes but we should go ahead and eat breakfast.”
“That’s a plan I’m not gonna argue with,” Jensen replied. “You gonna cook for your guests, Rosenbaum, or are we eating out?”
“I’m not cooking in my delicate condition. We’ll hit the road as soon as Collins is ready.”
After a brief stop to fill up on pancakes and coffee they were on their way, Michael behind the wheel with Tom riding shotgun and Jared, Jensen and Misha in the back. Michael had been right and the van was actually pretty spacious. Jensen could feel himself drifting back to sleep, lulled by the smooth sound of the vehicle’s engine.
“It’s gonna take us about six hours to reach our first stop,” Michael said, jarring Jensen out of his doze. “Who wants some music?”
Before anyone could object, the sound of Lionel Richie filled the van.
“Dude,” Jensen groaned, burying his head in Misha’s shoulder.
“Hey, a wise man once said ‘driver picks the music, everyone else shuts their cakehole.’”
That just made Jensen groan again. “I can’t believe you’re quoting my own show at me. Actually, I can’t believe you watched it.”
“I only saw that one episode. Had to see if what you’d left us for was worth it.”
“Was it?” Jared asked with a faint smile.
“Totally.”
Jensen kept his head on Misha’s shoulder, deciding it was more comfortable than leaning against the window. Eventually he was able to block out the sound of the music and fall asleep
“Do you know the way to San Jose? I'm going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose.”
Jensen woke up to the sound of Michael singing along to Dionne Warwick and let out a long sigh before stretching. His neck was stiff from where he’d been sleeping on Misha and he was slightly embarrassed to see a patch of drool on Misha’s shirt.
“I’ll send you the laundry bill,” Misha said with a grin as he rolled his shoulder. “Did you have a nice nap at least?”
“Yeah,” Jensen replied, glancing out of the window to see they were still in the middle of nowhere. “Are we nearly there?”
“Not yet, children,” Michael’s voice piped up from the front. “We’re still a couple of hours out. You could play a fun game of I-Spy if you’re bored.”
“I spy with my little eye something beginning with J,” Jensen said in a sing-song voice.
“Jackass,” Jared replied immediately.
“Good call,” Jensen said with a grin.
“You two really do spend way too much time together,” Tom observed, and that was enough to make Jensen fall quiet again.
“Well, if the singing wasn’t enough to give it away I think it’s pretty obvious where we’re going first,” Jared said, breaking the silence.
The sign for San Jose flashed by.
Well, there were certainly worse places to start a road trip, Jensen mused to himself.
“Just because you know where we’re going doesn’t mean you know the awesome things I have planned for us to do.”
Jensen could practically hear the grin in Michael’s voice and that did not bode well.
“Just tell me it has nothing to do with porn.”
Michael cackled. “Not everything is about porn, Jenny. You need to get your head out of the gutter.”
“Hey, it’s only there because you put it there,” Jensen shot back. “I was an innocent until I met you.”
“I think Christian would have a thing or two to say about that,” Jared said.
Jensen flipped him off.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
He could hear Jared howling with laughter behind him as Michael grinned and patted him on the shoulder.
“Come on, man. It’s perfect. I can’t believe you guys have never been here before.”
“Yeah, because I don’t like to take my work home with me, you freak,” Jensen snapped, but there was already a smile curling on his lips, which he blamed on the sound of Jared’s laughter.
They stood in the car park of The Winchester Mystery House for a few minutes while Jensen got his camera out and took a few photos of the facade. House was an understatement really. It was a mansion.
“Are we just gonna stand here or are we actually going to go inside?”
Jensen grinned and slipped his camera strap around his neck as Jared practically bounced with excitement beside him.
“Wow, you’re really into this, aren’t you?”
“Are you kidding? It’s awesome!”
“See? I’m glad someone appreciates my efforts,” Michael grumbled as they walked towards the entrance.
They paid the fee and picked up a brochure on the way in. Misha then took it upon himself to act as tour guide and tell them about the house as they walked around.
“According to this, Sarah Winchester consulted a medium after her daughter and husband both died. The medium told her that her family was cursed because the guns they made had taken so many lives and the spirits wanted vengeance.”
Jensen grinned. “Dude, that sounds like something straight from an episode of the show.”
“That’s a hell of a lot of corpses to salt and burn,” Jensen replied with a snort. “We’ll have to mention it to Krip. We could drag that story out for a whole season.”
“This is so cool!” Jared exclaimed happily as they walked around the house. “It’s an actual haunted house.”
Jensen smiled and took a few discreet photos of Jared excitedly pointing at the various hidden doors and windows they were finding as they explored. The house was certainly impressive but Jensen had to wonder whether the grief of losing her family had sent Sarah Winchester insane. There were stairs that led to nowhere, windows in the floor, doors in places it was impossible to reach and, his favorite, a cabinet that opened into a another room. It was almost like looking into Narnia.
The gardens were no less impressive, filled with dozens of different kinds of flowers, trees and shrubs. The air was thick with the scent from the flowers and Jensen breathed deep, soaking up the sun as they walked around.
“Ok, that’s just weird,” Michael said, bringing their group to a halt in front of a topiary that had been cut into the shape of the number thirteen.
“Sarah Winchester was obsessed with the number thirteen,” Misha said, resuming his role of tour guide. “One of the chandeliers in the house was imported and then modified so it would hold thirteen candles, and all the wall clothes hooks are in multiples of thirteen. When Sarah died she left the whole place to her cousin Marian Marriot because M is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet and her name had thirteen letters.”
Jensen shook his head. Grief had definitely sent the woman insane.
“It’s kind of sad,” Tom said softly. “That medium played on her guilt and got her to spend the last forty years of her life living in fear of some curse that didn’t exist.”
Jensen hadn’t really thought about it like that, and he considered how he would feel if he lost the people he loved most, glancing at Jared and trying to imagine a life without him in it. Yeah, he could suddenly understand Sarah Winchester a whole lot better.
They stood there for a few minutes in silence, Michael slipping his hand into Tom’s and Jensen aching to do the same to Jared.
“Come on,” Michael finally said, clearing his throat to break the silence. “Let’s go and eat before we hit the road again.”
“I’m telling you we’ll save time if we go through San Fran. Maybe we can stop while we’re there.”
Tom sighed. “I’m not saying we can’t go. I’m just saying that the traffic will be hell and if there’s nothing for us to see there it’ll make more sense to go around.”
Jared, Jensen and Misha tried hard to ignore the conversation in the front that was rapidly heading towards an argument.
“It’s not like we’re in a rush or anything,” Michael pointed out. “Come on, Tommy, relax.”
“Don’t call me Tommy. You know I hate it.”
“Fine, whatever. Who wants some music?”
He switched on the stereo before anyone had the chance to express an opinion either way and the van was filled with the sounds of Chicago.
Apart from the music they drove in silence for a while, save for Tom sighing when Michael headed into the city instead of going around it.
Twenty minutes later, they were stuck in traffic. To his credit Tom didn’t gloat, but then Jensen couldn’t see his face from where he was sitting. Possibly he was looking smug without having to say it.
“Welcome to San Fran, everyone,” Michael said with false cheer and he started to sing If You’re Going To San Francisco.
They were moving, just incredibly slowly, and Tom sighed as they were overtaken by several people on bikes.
“Forty thousand people in San Francisco cycle to work every day,” Misha said as he peered out of the window over Jensen’s shoulder.
Jared grinned. “And I thought Jensen was a geek for knowing random shit like that.”
“Fuck you, man,” Jensen replied with a smile, desperate to break the tension a little. “I am a fount of knowledge. You’d be lost without me around to answer all your dumbass questions.”
Tom twisted around in his seat and grinned back at them. “Rosey once asked me if you mated a bulldog and a shitsu, would it be called a bullshit?”
Jared howled with laughter while Jensen groaned and buried his head in his hands.
“I thought it was a perfectly valid question,” Michael offered and Jensen could hear the smile in his voice now that everyone was laughing again.
“I think we should stop pretty soon and get a hotel for the night,” Michael said, and there were murmurs of assent from everyone else.
They got as far as Richmond and decided to call it a day, checking into the first hotel they came across that didn’t look like a total hole. By the time they’d checked in, showered, changed and headed down to the restaurant, Tom and Michael were holding hands again and all was right with the world.
“So, where are we heading tomorrow?” Jared asked while they ate.
“What? And ruin the surprise?” Michael grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see. I promise no more traffic jams, though. I’ve made Tom navigator.”
“Wait. So now Tom knows where we’re going and we don’t?” Jensen asked.
“Come on, Jensen. Live a little. It’s kind of exciting not knowing where we’re going to end up.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Maybe one day something will surprise you that you actually like,” Misha volunteered with a smile, taking Jensen back to their conversation about Jared. He’d been doing so well at not thinking about it, too.
“I doubt it.”
He seriously hoped that would be the end of the matter, but the sly look in Misha’s eyes told him this was far from over.
Crap.
The next day they hit the road straight after breakfast and drove solidly for five hours until they hit the first stop of the day.
“We’re here!” Michael exclaimed gleefully as they all got out of the car to stretch their legs. Jared in particular let out a moan of pleasure as he walked up and down to ease the kinks out of his knees. Jensen figured being stuck in the van for hours at a time must be worse for him, being taller than the rest of them. It wasn’t particularly cramped inside but there wasn’t a huge amount of space to move, especially for Jared.
“You ok?” he asked gently as Jared walked past him.
Jared nodded his head and then grinned. “I wouldn’t say no to one of your expert massages right now. My legs and back are killing me.”
“Don’t be such a pussy, Padalecki,” Michael crowed. “Come on, let’s go and explore.”
Jensen smiled and placed a hand on the small of Jared’s back. “If you’re still hurting when we stop at the hotel tonight I’ll sort you out, ok?”
“Awesome. Thanks, man.”
Jensen deliberately didn’t make eye contact with Misha. He could already feel those blue eyes boring into the back of his head.
Bandon was most famous for storm watching. Unfortunately, the skies were blue and there was barely any wind so they decided to take a walk along the beach before looking for somewhere to eat lunch.
Jensen turned when he heard Michael yell and laughed softly. Tom had thrown Michael over one shoulder and was threatening to drop him in the surf. Michael then decided to distract Tom from his quest by spanking his ass, and it seemed to be working.
Misha was up ahead exploring and poking around in various rock pools, which left Jensen alone with Jared for the first time since they’d left.
It was nice.
“Harley and Sadie would love it here,” Jared said as they walked.
“Yeah,” Jensen agreed. “Do you miss them?”
“A little,” Jared said softly. “But I’m glad we’re doing this. It’s fun. Nice to just get away from everything, you know?”
Jensen nodded. They really needed a break after intense levels of filming over the past few months.
“What about you?” Jared asked. “Are you glad we came? You didn’t seem too happy about the idea at first.”
Jensen glanced up at Jared, all windswept and tanned and smiling.
“Yeah, I’m glad we came.”
Jensen took a deep breath, exhaled and smiled as the fresh clean air filled his lungs. They’d made it to Olympic National Park just as the sun was setting and now that they were here he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make himself leave. Everything was so peaceful. He could hear the sound of the water lapping against the lake shore, the insects were chirping and the wind was rustling gently in the trees. Really, he could just close his eyes and sleep on his feet listening to the sounds of nature.
“Camping?” Jared yelped, breaking the silence and making Jensen frown. “In a tent? Dude, it’s cold! And there’s some lovely cabins over there that we could stay in where it’s not cold and I can sleep in a proper bed.”
“Don’t be such a wimp,” Michael replied, already in the process of erecting one tent. The other was still in its bag at Jared’s feet. “Come on, you want to experience the great outdoors, don’t you? This is the best way to do it.”
Misha wandered over from wherever he’d been exploring and started putting together the second tent. “Actually, if you really wanted to experience the great outdoors we’d be sleeping under a tree behind a shelter made out of fallen branches. I did that once and it was pretty awesome.”
He grinned when he realized everyone was staring at him. “I’m just saying.”
Jared was smiling now and he crouched down to help Misha assemble the tent. “Man, you really missed out not being around in the sixties, didn’t you?”
Jensen snapped a quick photo of Misha and Jared working on the tent and then wandered over to join them. “I’d offer to help but you guys look like you’ve got it covered.”
“You could go and get some water,” Tom suggested. “Since you’re clearly bored. There’s a faucet over near the cabins for clean drinking water and a water tank in the back of the van.”
Jensen was starting to regret opening his mouth but he put his camera away and got the tank out of the van. Luckily, it wasn’t too far to walk because by the time he’d filled it with water it was damned heavy.
“Next time we camp I’m putting myself on tent building duty,” he grunted as he set the water down.
“You need to work out more,” Jared grinned, flexing his muscles for effect, which left Jensen’s mouth dry.
“I’ve told you before, not all of us are crazy enough to get up before sunrise to get all hot and sweaty before going to work for sixteen hours.”
“I’m with Jensen,” Misha agreed. He sorted through the tent poles until he found the one he was looking for. “I can think of much more fun ways of getting hot and sweaty. None of them involve a gym.”
“Man, I miss my gym,” Jared mourned, totally ignoring the obscene way in which Misha was fondling the pole to demonstrate what he’d been talking about in case anyone hadn’t figured it out.
“I could teach you some yoga in the morning,” Misha offered. “I know it’s not the same as an intense workout but it’ll help with those cramped muscles from sitting in the van.”
“Awesome!” Jared’s face lit up and Jensen had to swallow back the completely irrational flare of jealousy that the smile wasn’t being directed at him.
“I’ll wake you up in the morning,” Misha promised.
“Not too early, I hope,” Jensen grumbled. “Some of us are on vacation.”
“Aww! You don’t want to get all bendy and stretchy with us?” Misha asked with a smirk that seemed far too dirty for Jensen’s liking. “You’ll be amazed at the positions I’ll be able to get Jared into.”
Jared laughed and cuffed Misha around the back of the head. “Shut up, dude. You’re making Jensen blush.”
Blush was an understatement. Jensen could feel his whole face burning red at the thought of Jared bent into some of the positions Misha had demonstrated to him once when they’d been bored. Some of them had practically defied the laws of physics.
“Tent’s done,” Misha announced with a casual grin, shrugging his shoulders and giving Jensen a friendly pat on the shoulder as he wandered over to see how Tom and Michael were getting on with theirs.
Jensen watched him, plotting his demise in slow and painful detail. Misha clearly got some sort of twisted pleasure from fucking with him and now Jensen wanted revenge. He just had to think of something good.
When he turned back to look at Jared he found his friend frowning at him.
“What?”
Jared shook his head and the frown melted away. “Nothing. Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“There’s a stove in the trunk of the van,” Tom said. Apparently he was now in charge of organisation as well as being the navigator. “Misha said he’d cook dinner for us.”
“Do we even have anything to cook?” Jared asked, his stomach growling in a way that seconded his opinion.
“Relax,” Michael assured him. “It’s all taken care of. I picked up supplies while we were in Bandon.”
Supplies, as it turned out, was bacon, eggs, beans and more beer. A lot more beer. And tequila.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Jared asked when he saw the beer mountain. “Because Krip is going to be pissed if he has to recast Sam at this point.”
“Ain’t no way in hell I’m getting a new brother now,” Jensen replied. “Plus I’d have to move out.”
Jared flung himself at Jensen, sprawling across his lap and clinging to him. “Jensen! Protect me from the tequila! You’re my only hope!”
He stroked Jared’s hair and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll keep you safe.”
Jared cackled and climbed off Jensen, who found himself feeling cold at the lack of contact.
“I thought we’d stay here a couple of days,” Michael said, now happily nestled against Tom and sipping his beer. “Plenty to see and we’ll be on the road a few days after this.”
“You gonna tell us where we’re going next?” Jensen asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“Nope. But it’s going to be awesome!”
A few beers later and Jensen was feeling warm, content and sleepy.
“I’m gonna head to bed,” he said, receiving little more than sleepy murmurs from everyone else.
“Misha should sleep in the middle,” he told Jared when Jared slowly climbed to his feet. “He’s the smallest.”
“Why is Misha sleeping with us?” Jared asked, not unkindly, just curiously. “Our tent is the same size as Tom’s.”
“Because I don’t want to be caught in the middle of Tom and Michael having sex,” Misha explained. “Well, actually, I’d have no problem with that but I think they might object.”
“Yeah, ok, you’ve got a point there. Let’s sleep.”
Not surprisingly, Jensen dreamed about Jared and kisses in his trailer which quickly turned into something more NC-17 rated. When he woke up he wasn’t cold anymore but he was hard as a rock.
It was light outside now but Jensen’s internal clock told him it was still nowhere near time to get up. He let out a soft groan and tried to readjust himself without waking up Misha who was still sleeping soundly beside him, or underneath him, more to the point. His eyes widened when he realized that some time during the night he had cuddled up to Misha and was now practically grinding against him. He prayed Misha had slept through the whole thing because this went way beyond embarrassing.
He shifted away, closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. That was when he heard Jared moving around. For a moment he considered pretending to be asleep, but finally decided against it and raised his head the minimal amount needed to get Jared in his line of sight.
“Dude,” he croaked, “it’s still early. Go back to sleep.”
“Just need a bathroom break,” Jared replied. His eyes were fixed firmly on his shoes, which he was tying with a look of almost fierce concentration. “I won’t be long.”
He crawled out of the tent before Jensen could reply. He must have been really desperate for a piss, Jensen figured.
Jensen sighed and closed his eyes, making sure there was a healthy distance between him and Misha before he fell back asleep.
When he woke up he was cold again and there were soft voices coming from outside the tent.
“I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t be this hard.”
Jensen could hear Jared groaning and he sat up cautiously. The tent was now empty, Misha apparently having got up at some point after Jensen had fallen back to sleep.
“It’s just because you’re not used to it,” Jensen heard Misha saying, his voice clearly amused. “Just take a few deep breaths and try again.”
Jensen had to admit he was curious and he quickly pulled his clothes on and stuck his head out of the tent.
He was not prepared for the sight of Jared’s ass sticking up in the air just a few inches away from his nose. He froze, eyes wide as Misha spotted him and smirked.
“This position is called Prasarita Padottanasana,” Misha told Jared, circling him to check his posture. “It’s for relieving stress and anxiety.”
“Oh, god,” Jared groaned. “I think I’m gonna die.”
“Just remember to breathe and you’ll be fine,” Misha assured him. “Like I said, you’re just not used to using some of these muscles. Keep doing this every day and you’ll be bending your body into positions you didn’t even know existed.”
Jensen scrambled out of the tent with a muttered excuse about finding the bathroom. One very cold shower later he headed back to the tents and was relieved to find that Misha’s little yoga session was over.
“I may never walk again,” Jared whimpered as Jensen sat down next to him.
“I guess now’s not the time to tell you about the ten mile hike we’ve got planned for today then?” Tom asked with a grin.
Jared let out a small sob and buried his face in Jensen’s shoulder. “Jensen, don’t make me go. Please?”
Jensen grinned. “Jared, you’re the youngest one here. You’re not going to wuss out and leave us old men to do all the hard work, are you?”
Jared considered this for a moment. “I’ll never hear the end of it if I stay here, will I?”
“Nope,” Jensen replied. “Come on, you’ll be fine once you’ve had breakfast, I promise.”
Jared’s eyes lit up at the mention of food and Jensen laughed.
Tom had been exaggerating slightly with his talk of a ten mile hike. It was actually a fairly gentle walk and it gave Jensen plenty of opportunity to take photos while they ambled through the forest.
“This place is incredible,” Jared breathed as he walked alongside Jensen.
Jensen couldn’t disagree. He didn’t think he’d seen anything this green and lush in his life. The trees that towered over them were literally covered in green moss that was so dense it was actually dripping down off the branches. It was like something from a fantasy movie and he half expected to run into the characters from Lord of the Rings.
Misha was up ahead giving an animated commentary on the types of trees and moss they were looking at, most of which went straight over Jensen’s head. How the hell did Misha know so much about everything anyway?
“He’s like a walking encyclopedia,” Jared laughed, apparently reading Jensen’s mind.
Jensen chuckled and nodded. “Well, at least he’s happy.”
“What about you?” Jared asked with a sideways glance. “Are you happy?”
“Me? I’m peachy.”
Jared considered this for a moment, almost as though he was deciding what to do with the information. Then he smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
“What about you? You having fun?”
“Yeah.”
Jensen grinned and slapped Jared on the arm. “Come on. We should catch up with Misha before he realizes he’s talking to himself.”
“Where are Michael and Tom?” Jared asked as they quickened their pace a little to catch up.
A soft moan came from somewhere behind them and Jensen grinned. “Probably best we don’t know.”
He was tired by the time they got back to the tents, but happy. It had been a pretty amazing day. He almost couldn’t wait to get home to see how his photos had come out. There was only so much detail you could get from the little display on the back of the camera.
“We’ll head off after breakfast in the morning,” Michael said after dinner as they cracked open the next set of beers. “It’s gonna be a long drive but it’ll be worth it, I promise.”
“You up for some more yoga in the morning, Jared?” Misha asked with an innocent smile. “I’ve got a whole bunch of other positions you can try.”
Jensen didn’t even want to imagine.
“Are they going to hurt as much as this morning?” Jared asked sceptically. “Because I don’t know if I’ve recovered from that yet.”
“I told you, you just need to get used to it. Maybe we can get Jensen to give it a try as well.”
“No thanks,” Jensen quickly replied. “I like my spine in one piece, thanks.”
“Your loss,” Misha said with a shrug, and Jensen wondered for a moment whether he was still talking about the yoga.
Jensen made sure to leave a reasonable distance between him and Misha that night and put on a couple of extra layers of clothes to keep him from seeking out body heat in his sleep.
“Where do you think Rosey is going to drag us to next?” Jared asked and Jensen could hear him moving around in the dark, trying to get comfortable.
“I dunno,” Jensen replied, keeping his voice at a low whisper in case Misha was actually asleep. “I’m kinda gonna miss this place, though. It’s pretty amazing and we’ve barely seen any of it.”
“Maybe we could come back some time,” Jared suggested. “You and me and the dogs. They’d love it here.”
“Yeah,” Jensen replied softly. “That sounds nice.”
He felt Misha nudge him with his foot, which answered the question about whether he was sleeping or not.
“’Night, Misha,” he said pointedly and rolled over so that his back was to the two of them. “’Night, Jared.”
“’Night, guys,” Jared’s voice came back, already sounding sleepy.
Beside him he heard Misha sigh and chose to ignore it, closing his eyes and willing himself to sleep.
Thankfully, his night was dream free and when he woke up in the morning Jared and Misha were already up.
“I can stick the TV on if you want,” Michael offered a couple of hours into the journey. “We’re gonna be on the road most of the day and there’s no sense all of you being bored.”
Jensen had laughed when he’d first seen the small TV screen installed in the back of the van because, really, who wants their car to feel like a plane? Now, though, with nothing but a whole lot of nothing outside he was glad of something to do. Jared was staring out of the window looking about as bored as Jensen felt and Misha was busy tapping away on his phone.
“I didn’t figure you for the yuppie type,” Jensen said, gesturing at the phone. “Checking up on your stocks and shares? Wrong time to be investing in anything, or hadn’t you noticed?”
Jared grinned and snatched the phone from Misha, reading aloud from the screen.
“In times of war we must all make sacrifices. As such I have given up shoes in favor of leaves tied to my feet. I suggest you all do the same.”
He glanced at Misha and then laughed. “You know you’re insane, right?”
“It has been mentioned.”
Jared handed the phone back to Misha and grinned. “Well, so long as you’re aware.”
Jensen shook his head, still having no idea what the hell they were talking about.
“Hey, Tom, pass me my phone would you?” Michael asked and Jensen could hear the grin in his voice.
“Not while you’re driving,” Tom chastised. “You can play later.”
“Fine,” Michael sighed. “Next town we come to, we’re stopping for lunch.”
The town they stopped in could barely be called a town. It was one small street dotted with a few houses and a convenience store with a small bar at the far end. Still, the bar served food and it gave them a chance to stretch their legs and that was all they really needed.
“Do you want me to drive for a while?” Tom asked while they ate. It was obvious to anyone who looked that Michael was exhausted. He’d done all the driving himself since they’d set off from LA and even the small break in the national park hadn’t done him much good.
“Nah, man,” Michael said with a grateful smile. “Nobody drives my baby but me.”
At the slightly hurt look in Tom’s eyes, he reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll only drive for a couple more hours and then we’ll find a hotel for the night. Then you can help me relax after a hard day’s driving.”
Tom grinned. “Yeah, I think I can do that.”
When they got back in the van Michael put the TV on without asking whether anyone actually wanted to watch it or not, and Jensen had to laugh when he saw what was on the screen.
“Aww, man,” Jared groaned as the opening credits for Gilmore Girls started. “Put something else on. Seriously.”
“Are you kidding?” Michael asked. “This show is awesome. You ever seen it, new guy?”
“Can’t say that I have,” Misha replied innocently, and Jensen knew for a fact that he was lying. Misha had told him one day on set that he’d watched a couple of episodes of Smallville and Gilmore Girls as well as Supernatural before the audition so he could get a feel for who he’d be working with if he got the part.
“Watch and enjoy,” Michael cackled as Jared curled up as much as he could and looked at anything but the TV. Jensen felt kind of bad. He hated to see himself on screen even more than Jared did but at the same time it was fascinating to watch. Jared was so young, so different from the guy he was now. Except the smile. His smile was still exactly the same, so bright and dimpled that it made him want to smile back.
Jensen watched until the episode was over and then Michael switched the TV to one of the music channels.
“My god, that was embarrassing,” Jared moaned when he realized it was over. “Next time we have to watch Days of Our Lives or one of the crappy movies you guys did when you were starting out.”
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Misha said gently, patting Jared on the knee. “We all had to start out somewhere.”
“Yeah,” Jensen agreed, wishing he’d been the one to offer words of comfort first and wishing even more that he could reach Jared’s knee. “Seriously, man, I promise we can watch Dark Angel or something next time.”
The smile Jared flashed him was brighter than the one he’d given Misha and somehow that made Jensen feel better.
Jensen was lying on the bed of his hotel room doing a whole lot of nothing when he heard the tap at his door. For a moment he considered ignoring it. He was beyond exhausted and the only reason he was still awake was because it was way too early to go to sleep.
“Jensen?”
Jared’s muffled voice coming through the wooden door had him up and out of bed in an instant, opening up to find his friend standing on the other side with a tentative smile on his face.
“Hey,” Jared said, his smile fading a little when he took in Jensen’s appearance. “You weren’t sleeping or anything, were you?”
“Nah,” Jensen said, stepping aside to let Jared in.
“Misha has gone off to commune with nature or something,” Jared explained as he flopped down into one of the armchairs. “Tom and Michael are ‘relaxing’ so I thought maybe we could hang out and raid the mini bar.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Several small bottles of booze later, they were sprawled side by side on Jensen’s bed and staring up at the ceiling. He wasn’t quite drunk but there was a sort of comfortable numbness that he was enjoying the feeling of.
“Can I ask you something?” Jared asked in a soft voice which was slightly slurred and told Jensen that Jared was about as drunk as he was.
“Sure,” Jensen replied. “But would it stop you if I said no?”
Jared chuckled quietly. “Only because I’m too tired to argue with you right now.”
Jensen grinned. “Ok, shoot.”
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
Jensen frowned. “Uh, yeah, I know. Why?”
He felt the bed move as Jared shrugged. “I dunno. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
Jensen’s frown deepened. He knew there was something Jared wasn’t telling him, or more specifically he was waiting for Jensen to talk to him about it and this was his opening.
Oh, shit! What if Jared knew? He knew and he wanted Jensen to tell him so he could let him down gently. It was the only explanation. If Jared returned his feelings, he’d have kissed him or done something by now, right?
“I know,” he said quietly finally, hoping to God he’d managed to keep the panic out of his voice. “There’s nothing, honest.”
“Okay.”
He wasn’t sure Jared believed him.
He jolted awake with a start and blinked when the first thing he saw was Jared’s face a few inches from his own. It took a moment for him to realize that they must have fallen asleep after their date with the mini bar and a quick check told him they were both fully clothed and lying on top of the covers. Jared was sound asleep, face relaxed.
Jensen smiled and allowed himself a few minutes just to watch Jared sleep. What he wouldn’t give to be able to wake up to that sight every morning.
Jared shifted slightly, letting out a small murmur as his hair tumbled into his face. Jensen brushed the hair back, smiling softly when Jared sighed contentedly in his sleep. The rational part of his brain told him he should wake Jared up, but the rest of him, the part that was still buzzing with alcohol, told him he’d rather cut off a limb than wake his friend when he looked so peaceful.
Jensen continued to watch Jared until he fell back asleep himself.
When he woke up again Jared was gone and a blanket had been draped over him. Jensen in no way rolled over onto the half of the bed Jared had been occupying so he could breathe in his scent.
The next day was not what Jensen would call fun. They spent pretty much the whole day cooped up in the van, only stopping for meal and bathroom breaks. The time in between was filled with listening to Michael sing along to Chicago (badly), watching crappy TV (thankfully, no Dark Angel or Days of Our Lives though) and watching a whole lot of nothing go by the window.
By the time they reached the hotel that night Jensen was pretty sure he was going to go stir-crazy and the amount of coffee he’d been drinking during the day didn’t help much.
“I think I’m gonna hit the gym or something,” Jensen announced once they’d checked in.
Jared stared at him. “Ok, who are you and what have you done with Jensen?”
“What? I work out!”
“Yeah, only when you have to,” Jared laughed.
“Well, I have to right now or I’m going to go nuts. Seriously, how are you guys not crawling up the walls after being stuck in that van all day?”
Misha shrugged. “I’m going to go and indulge in some herbal refreshment.”
The look Tom and Michael shot each other told him exactly what they’d be doing to unwind and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously, if all Michael had wanted to do was spend two weeks fucking Tom, they didn’t need to leave LA.
“I’ll come with you,” Jared announced, cutting into Jensen’s thoughts. “That yoga this morning did nothing to burn off my excess energy.”
“Philistine,” Misha muttered with a smile and Jensen went back to the receptionist to ask about the gym.
“They’ve only got a pool,” he said when he came back to rejoin the group.
Jared shrugged. “Works for me. See you back down here in ten? Just gonna dump my bags in the room.”
“Sure,” Jensen agreed. “See you in ten.”
The air was warm and humid, filled with the smell of chlorine as Jensen entered the changing area and found an empty cubicle to change in. It felt good to get out of his clothes and into a pair of shorts and he couldn’t wait for the cool water on his skin. He could already feel all his pent up energy melting away, just at the thought of it.
“Jensen? You in here?”
“Yeah,” he called back to Jared. “Be out in a minute.”
“I’m already changed so I’ll see you in the pool, ok?”
“Ok!”
He finished changing and shoved his clothes into a locker before heading to the pool. He really hated the humidity of indoor pools. Nothing like the dry Texan summers he was used to.
There were a few casual swimmers slowly making their way up and down the pool length. Mostly guys on business looking to unwind Jensen guessed from their leisurely pace.
It made Jared easy to spot as he powered past all of them, long arms gliding in and out of the water like he belonged there. Jensen had to take a minute to appreciate the way Jared’s arms bulged as he flexed them and the way the muscles in his back rippled as he ploughed through the water. Really, no one on earth had the right to look as good as Jared did right now. It was like something from a cologne commercial. He half expected Jared to rise out of the water in slow motion while some cheesy rock music played as he brushed the hair out of his face.
“Are you coming in or are you just going to stand there like a pussy?” Jared called, earning him a glare from one of the middle-aged businessmen.
Jensen grinned and jumped in, eyes closing in pleasure as the cool water enveloped him. When he came to the surface he found that Jared had swum over to join him.
“I’d offer to race you,” Jared grinned, “but I know you’d never keep up with me.”
Jensen smiled slyly and edged closer. “Oh, yeah?”
He dunked Jared’s head under the water and cackled before swimming as hard and fast as he could towards the other end of the pool. He could hear Jared splutter behind him before following.
Jensen kicked harder, feeling the adrenaline of the chase hit him hard. This was just what he needed. He swam faster, no idea how far behind him Jared was. All he was focussing on was getting to his goal.
He touched the side and turned around to proclaim his victory when Jared crashed into him. Jensen reacted instinctively, grabbing hold of Jared’s arm and pulling him close to stop him sinking under the water.
“You ok?” he asked, eyes warm with concern.
“Yeah,” Jared replied with a grin. “Thanks. You gonna gloat about your victory now?”
Jensen returned the grin. “Hey, if you can’t accept that I beat you, that’s not my problem.”
Jared laughed and shook his head vigorously, spraying Jensen with water from his wet hair.
“I swear, man, you get more and more like your dogs every day. You need help.”
“You love it and you know it.”
It was then that Jensen realized he was still holding onto Jared’s arm and that they were practically chest to chest in the water. Jared seemed to notice it too but he wasn’t making any effort to get away. Instead his tongue snaked out to lick away a drop of water from his lip in a way that Jensen considered to be borderline obscene.
“Jared…”
Jensen realized in a moment of startling clarity that he wanted to tell Jared everything about how he felt, right here and right now. All his doubts, any insecurities he might have had about it ruining their friendship lay suddenly forgotten as he looked into Jared’s eyes and thought about kissing him.
For one split second he thought Jared was going to make the first move. His head tilted and he leaned forward slightly as Jensen readied himself for a kiss.
The kiss never came.
Instead Jared laughed softly, almost sadly, and gently extracted himself from Jensen’s grasp.
“Why don’t we go and see what Misha is up to?”
What the hell?
“You know what Misha is up to,” Jensen practically growled. “He pretty much told us less than an hour ago.”
“Yeah, well, why don’t we join him?”
Jared was already starting to swim away and Jensen was already aching at the loss of contact. He had no idea what was happening now but he had the feeling Jared knew something that he didn’t.
“Join him?” Jensen repeated incredulously. “I didn’t think you were into that shit.”
“I’m not,” Jared replied, now having to practically yell down the length of the pool to make himself heard. “I just think he could use the company. Come on.”
Jensen could only watch in baffled confusion as Jared got out of the pool and headed back into the changing area. After a few moments, when Jensen was sure Jared wasn’t coming back, he got out and followed him.
Breakfast was a quiet affair the next morning. They’d knocked at Misha’s door after the swim but had no answer so figured he’d either passed out in bed or gone out. They’d headed to their own rooms with a muttered goodnight and that was the end of it.
Now Jared could barely make eye contact with Jensen, and Jensen had no idea why. He was reminded of just why he hadn’t ever told Jared about his feelings for him. Because this was awkward enough and nothing had even happened.
“We’ll be at our destination in a few hours,” Michael told them once they were on the road. Either he was oblivious to what was going on between Jared and Jensen or he was just ignoring it.
“Great,” Jensen muttered in an unenthusiastic voice. Right now he kind of just wanted to go home.
The journey was made pretty much in silence save for the music coming out of the car stereo and Misha occasionally telling them something interesting about the wilderness they were driving through. There was only so much you could say about endless stretches of forest though, and soon even he fell silent.
Eventually they slowed down and pulled into a small car park.
“Here we are,” Michael announced happily and they all climbed out of the van. It was obvious what they were here for as soon as they got outside.
“Mount Rushmore?” Jensen snorted. “You drove us for three days of nothing to see Mount Rushmore?”
“What?” Michael asked, almost sounding hurt. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Jared tilted his head to one side and squinted. “I kind of thought it would be . . . more impressive.”
He grinned at Jensen, Jensen grinned back and suddenly everything was ok with them again. Like nothing had ever happened.
“I’ve seen it before,” Misha contributed and that just made them all grin harder.
“So have I,” Tom chipped in. “And it was kind of boring the first time around.”
“You guys suck,” Michael grumbled with a pout. Jensen managed to pacify him by taking a photo of them all standing in front of it. Michael had a huge grin on his face while the rest of them expressed various levels of boredom.
“Ok,” Michael announced, apparently happy again. “Let’s find a hotel for the night and then we can move on.”
“What’s next?” Jensen asked as they all headed back to the van. “The Grand Canyon?”
“Only if I get to toss you in it,” Michael shot back.
“You can try,” Jensen replied. “But you’ll have to get past Jared first and he’s bigger than you.”
“He’s bigger than all of us,” Tom said with a grin. “Maybe we should just avoid The Grand Canyon and go somewhere . . . safer.”
“Works for me.”
The next morning Misha announced that he wanted to swap seats with Jensen in the van so he could see out of the window for a while.
“We’re driving through Indiana, dude,” Jensen pointed out. “There’s nothing to see.”
“So it won’t make any difference if we swap then, will it?”
Misha had that glint in his eye again that made Jensen nervous but he didn’t want to question it in front of everyone. He traded seats without a fuss and found himself sandwiched between Jared and Misha. Now he knew where the glint had come from. Misha was getting less subtle with every day that passed.
“I’m totally using you as a pillow if I get tired,” Jared said with a grin once they were on the road.
“Right back at you,” Jensen replied.
“You know, I can tip the seats back into a bed if you guys want to sleep,” Michael offered.
Jensen blinked. “Your van turns into a bed? Wow, and I thought the strobe lights were tacky. Please tell me you never fucked anyone back here.”
Michael paused for a moment. “I had the seats cleaned afterwards if that’s any good.”
Jensen faked vomit sounds. “No, it isn’t.”
“Well, it’s either that or walk.”
Jensen muttered under his breath about this being the worst vacation ever until Jared gave his knee a comforting squeeze. Then things didn’t seem quite so bad.
They paused when they got to the Mississippi River and got out so they could stretch their legs and Jensen could take some photos before getting back into the car and driving for a few more hours before they had to stop for the night.
The next day Jensen found himself sandwiched between Jared and Misha again with no words being spoken on the matter. Apparently, this was the new seating arrangement and that was it. Even though he was still kind of pissed at Misha for doing it, he had to admit he’d been in worse places.
They arrived in Chicago late that night, having got caught up in traffic as soon as they crossed into the city. It had taken them nearly an hour just to get to the hotel and by that point none of them had really felt like trying to go out and explore. Instead they had dinner and a few drinks at the hotel bar and then headed off to bed.
Things seemed better the next morning. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect weather for doing the whole tourist thing.
“We’re not driving,” Michael told them all at breakfast. “I’ve got a few things we can do while we’re here but pretty much everyone has told me that driving in this city is hell. We’ll take buses and cabs to the places we need to get to.”
“Or we could try walking,” Misha suggested, which just earned him a laugh from Michael.
“Buses and cabs,” Michael repeated. “Now, who here likes baseball?”
Jensen shrugged. He and Jared often spent a quiet afternoon watching football when they weren’t working, but he was pretty much indifferent to baseball.
“I’m not really into the whole sport thing,” Misha said, “but I don’t hate it or anything.”
“Well, we might check out a game later,” Michael said, “but we’ll do some other stuff first and see how it goes.”
Other stuff, it transpired, turned out to be one of the weirdest sculptures Jensen had ever seen.
“I don’t get it,” Jared said as they circled the thing so Jensen could take photos from every angle. “What’s it supposed to be?”
“A bean, apparently,” Jensen said. “I dunno, I kind of like it.”
Jared grimaced and glanced over to Tom and Michael, grinning when he saw Michael pulling stupid faces at his reflection and standing at different angles so that his shape was distorted.
Misha was standing back from the rest of them and just watching, taking the occasional photo of himself from different angles in front of the bean.
“That going on your Twitter?” Jared asked.
Misha shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Who wants to go on the Ferris Wheel?” Michael suddenly asked, bounding over and practically reeking of hyperactivity. “Come on, it’ll be awesome.”
They headed towards the pier and the giant wheel that was clearly the main attraction. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy and they only had to stand in line for about ten minutes.
It was two per car and Tom and Michael took the first one, leaving Jared, Jensen and Misha to sort out who would be riding on their own.
“You ride with Misha,” Jared insisted to Jensen. “I don’t mind going on my own.”
Jensen obviously wanted to ride with Jared but wasn’t going to press the issue after the incident in the pool so he just stood quietly while Misha insisted he wanted to ride on his own and that Jared and Jensen should share a car.
“I’m going to take some photos for Twitter while I’m at the top,” Misha finally said. “If you want Jensen to be in them, then fine, but I really don’t think he’d want that.”
“Hell, no,” Jensen quickly interjected. “Jared, I’m riding with you.”
They quickly climbed into the car while Misha waited behind them to get the next one.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as they slowly made the climb up. When they finally made a stop at the top the view was spectacular. They could see right out over half of Chicago and over the sea as well. Jensen took out his camera and snapped a few photos.
“Misha’s kind of an asshole,” Jared finally blurted out with such ferocity that Jensen almost dropped his camera.
“What? Why would you say that?”
“Dude, he threatened to put pictures of you on the internet just so he wouldn’t have to ride with you. Don’t you think that’s kind of a shitty thing to do?”
Jensen shook his head. “Come on, man. It’s Misha. You know he wouldn’t actually have done it.”
“Well, why say it then?”
That left Jensen stumped. He knew exactly why Misha had done it. He was still determined to push the two of them together at any available opportunity but obviously there was no way in hell he could tell Jared that.
“I dunno,” he finally said. “I find it easier not to question the weird shit that Misha does.”
Jared frowned.
“Look, can’t you just enjoy us hanging out like this?” Jensen pressed. “Or do you hate being around me that much.”
“Of course not,” Jared quickly replied. “You know I love hanging out with you. I just don’t like seeing Misha treat you like that, ok?”
The warmth that spread through Jensen heated him from his toes right to the tips of his hair as he gave Jared a gentle smile. “I appreciate that, man, I really do. But don’t worry about me, ok?”
“I always worry about you, Jensen,” Jared replied softly. “Don’t ever ask me to stop.”
Jensen had no answer to that and before he knew it they were back on the ground again.
“Right,” Michael announced with a big smile. “Food and then baseball. Let’s go.”
Jensen was surprised at how much he enjoyed the baseball once they actually got there, but was willing to admit that a lot of it was to do with how excited Jared was during the game.
“Did you see that?” he yelled, grabbing hold of Jensen’s arm, and when either team scored a home run Jared practically jumped on him with glee.
“That was awesome,” Jared said once the game was over, slinging an arm across Jensen’s shoulders. “We should watch more baseball on TV at home.”
Jensen simply smiled and patted Jared’s hand. He was always like this whenever he discovered something new, like a toddler in some respects. Jensen was almost certain that by the time they got home Jared would have forgotten all about baseball and would be fixated on something else instead.
“Wait until you see what I’ve got planned for after dinner,” Michael said with a grin. “I’ve saved the best till last.”
“Just tell me it’s not a pony,” Jensen replied. “I’ve been telling Jared for months that he can’t have one.”
“Only because I know what Misha does to ponies,” Jared replied.
Misha shrugged. “At least I’m being environmentally friendly.”
“I swear you guys are talking a foreign language half the time,” Jensen said with a shake of his head. “Can we go and eat now?”
Jared blinked at him in surprise. “Are you telling me Misha hasn’t shown you his Twitter page?”
“Uh, no,” Jensen replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Why would he? You know me, I can barely find the time to e-mail my mom once a week to let her know I’m still alive.”
“I dunno. I just figured…never mind. Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
“All is right with the world then,” Jensen replied with a smile and they followed Tom and Michael in the direction of the restaurant.
They spent the evening wandering the streets of Chicago, checking out the stores and a couple of bars until night fell and Michael took them to the final stop of their trip.
“I hope none of you are afraid of heights,” Michael said as they entered the observatory. “It’s a long way up.”
It wasn’t that Jensen was scared of heights, exactly. He could appreciate a good view when he saw one so long as he didn’t think about how far up they were and how many microseconds it would take between him falling and hitting the ground. As long as he didn’t look down, he’d be fine.
“Hey, look at this!” Jared exclaimed gleefully. “There’s glass balconies where you can see through the floor.”
Jensen could feel himself turning green at the mere prospect and forced a smile as Jared bounced happily next to him. “That’s great, man. I’m just gonna stay here, ok?”
He felt almost guilty when Jared stilled beside him. “Shit, are you ok? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m fine,” Jensen lied, and it would have worked, he was sure, if it hadn’t come out as more of a moan. He could swear the building was swaying in the wind and he found himself wondering if there was any chance of survival if the building fell over.
“You don’t look fine,” Jared frowned. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Jensen shook his head. There was no way he was ruining Jared’s vacation over a touch of vertigo. “Nah, I’m good. Go enjoy the glass balcony. I’m just gonna head to the restaurant and get some water or something.”
For a moment he thought Jared was going to insist on going with him, and the pathetic thing was that Jensen almost wanted him to. Jared had this amazing skill for making him forget about what was bothering him just by being there.
“I’ll come and find you in a few minutes, ok?” Jared finally promised hesitantly.
Jensen gave him a gentle shove. “Go have fun.”
He waited until Jared was out on the balcony before heading towards the elevators. He could have sworn the floor was rising and falling under his feet, like he was on a boat. He let out another soft moan and bolted for the bathroom where he threw up what felt like everything he had eaten that week.
Part three
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