“Hey, so I’ve been thinking.”
“Never a good thing,” Jared grinned as he lay sprawled on the bed with his phone tucked under his chin. “Unless you’re thinking about the next book which, considering you just came all over your hand, I’m kind of hoping you’re not.”
Jensen chuckled. “I was just thinking it sucks that we only get to see each other a couple of weekends a month.”
“I know,” Jared replied softly.
“And I know we’ve only been doing this long distance thing for a few months but. . .shit. Do you want to move in with me?”
The phone slipped when Jared’s head jerked up in surprise and he had to wipe his hands clean before he could pick it up again.
“Jared?” Jensen’s voice was slightly panicked.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m here.”
“Shit, don’t do that to me. I thought you’d hung up or run to the bathroom to throw up or something. I was just saying it doesn’t have to be living together living together. If it’s too fast we could just share a place. Separate bedrooms and everything. Like roommates. It’ll cut out all the travel and if you don’t want to move here I’ll come to LA. I don’t care.”
The words were rushing out so fast Jared was having trouble keeping up with them.
“You seriously think we could live together and have separate bedrooms?”
“I didn’t say we had to use them both.” Jared could practically hear the grin in Jensen’s voice. “Seriously, is this nuts?”
“A little,” Jared admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. I kind of want to do this. A lot. I really miss you.”
He heard the sigh of relief whistle down the phone and he smiled. The truth was, he’d been thinking about it too. Maybe not right now, but he’d been considering what they would do when they decided they were ready to start living together.
“Maybe we should go someplace new,” he suggested. “A fresh start for both of us. I dunno.”
“I like that,” Jensen replied. “Got any ideas?”
Jared smirked. “I read that Detroit is one of America’s most underrated gay-friendly cities.”
Jensen groaned. “Dude, seriously, no. We are not moving to the city that’s the site of the final apocalyptic showdown in the books. You have no idea how many times I had to fly out there for research.”
“I was just kidding.”
“How about we come up with a list of five cities each and see if there are any crossovers?”
“Yeah, that’s a better idea. Because you know I’d just suggest all the places you used in your books. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you set Hell House in your home town.”
“Hey, you’ve been here. Hell doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Jensen retorted. “Well, have a think about it and we can chat later. I really need to take a shower.”
Yeah, Jared kind of did too.
“Okay, talk to you soon.”

“Chicago?”
Jared glanced at his resignation letter which Jeff was holding in his hand and which he half expected Jeff to tear up judging by the look on his face.
“Jensen and I want to go someplace that’s new for both of us.”
Jeff sighed. “You sure about this? I like the guy and everything but you haven’t known him for that long.”
“I’m sure,” Jared nodded. “But I appreciate you looking out for me.”
Jeff shrugged. “Just make sure you’ve got my number and if anything happens you’ll always have a place to stay here, okay?”
Jeff had never been one for the touchy-feely stuff but Jared couldn’t help himself and he pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”
Jeff hugged him back. “Just take care of yourself, kid.”
Jared nodded.
“Right, back to work,” Jeff said when he pulled back with a cough. “You still work here for another four weeks and these books aren’t going to file themselves.”
“Yes, boss.”

The four weeks flew way too fast. Jared spent his days at the library and his nights packing.
They’d found a nice place out in the suburbs, with a big back garden for Harley, Sadie and Icarus. It was perfect.
“I can’t believe this is my last night here,” he told Misha who had been over most nights to help him pack. They’d moved all the boxes into the living room for the movers and were relaxing with a beer now.
“It’s the start of the next stage of your life,” Misha said sanguinely. “It’s exciting.”
“Yeah,” Jared agreed. “I’m kind of nervous too.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Just roll with whatever life throws at you, Jared. It’s just a series of obstacles to be overcome.”
“You’ll have to come and visit,” Jared said. “As soon as we’re settled. Seriously, man, I owe you everything.”
“I’ll be there,” Misha replied. “Providing PETA doesn’t get hold of me after the flaming kitten incident.”
Jared laughed. There was nothing else he could say to that, really. “I’m going to miss you, man.”
“Oh, I’m never far away,” Misha promised in that vaguely threatening and creepy way that Jared had learned to ignore.
“Good to know, dude. Good to know.”

Six months later
“Jared, you’re going to be late for work. Again.”
“Uh huh. Just a few more minutes. I’m nearly done.”
Castiel always left a stillness behind him when he disappeared, like the room needed to take a few seconds to adjust to the lack of his presence. Quite often Sam found those few seconds of silence comforting, but not this time. Now it was just heavy and oppressive and he struggled to breathe as Dean moved over to the door and paused. As soon as he saw the amulet hanging from between Dean’s fingers, hovering over the trashcan, Sam felt something inside him break. He wanted to call out to Dean, beg him to stop, plead forgiveness for things that weren’t even in his control. But the words wouldn’t come.
The sound the amulet made as it hit the bottom of the trashcan echoed the sound Sam’s heart made as it broke.
Jared closed the manuscript slowly and slid it back onto the kitchen table.
“Jesus, Jensen.”
His eyes were stinging with tears. Again. Every single book did this to him.
Jensen pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Is it okay?”
“Okay? Jensen, my heart feels like it’s been run through a mangler and then stomped on for good measure.”
“Is it too much? Because I could change-“
“No!” Jared quickly snapped. “Don’t change a word. It’s perfect and I know your editor will say the same thing.”
He glanced at the clock. “Shit, I’m late.”
“Well, I did tell you.”
“Hey, I’m the owner of the bookstore,” Jared shrugged. “I’m allowed to be a few minutes late. It’s not like I’m going to fire myself. Besides, I need to tell all my eager customers how awesome the new Joshua Mackenzie is going to be when it hits the shelves.”
“No spoilers,” Jensen warned.
“No spoilers,” Jared agreed.
Jensen handed him a flask. “I made you some coffee. Well, there was some left over from breakfast.”
Jared grinned. “You make an awesome wife.”
“Have a nice day at work, honey. I’ll have dinner on the table when you get home.” Jensen smirked but his face softened and he kissed Jared. “Love you.”
“I love you too. By the way I’m totally going to write a fanfic about what happened when Castiel found Sam and Dean dead.”
“Knock yourself out,” Jensen shot back. “I’ll beta for you.”
It should have been weird but it really wasn’t. In fact Jared could hardly believe how weirded out he’d been when he’d first found out who Jensen really was. They’d fallen back into their old habits pretty quickly. Jared went to work at the bookstore while Jensen worked on his latest novel, they’d have dinner together in the evening and then Jared worked on fanfic while Jensen played his guitar or a video game. They still wrote together sometimes on the condition that Jensen kept what was going to actually happen in the books to himself.
Jared’s life was pretty awesome. He had an amazing house, the perfect boyfriend, his dogs, a job he loved and his fanfiction. He still loved to escape into the world of Sam and Dean, but now there was something worth coming out of it for.
The End.
Art post ¦ Fic master post
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Date: 2010-08-06 06:35 pm (UTC)I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING! AHHHH! And so lame in retrospect as I really SHOULD have, but no. I was as shocked as Jared, lol.
Fun story, thanks so much for your time on this!
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Date: 2010-08-08 11:04 pm (UTC)So glad you liked it :)
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Date: 2010-08-06 06:52 pm (UTC)Jensen as the assumed lesbian was fun. (Gonna give a guy a complex.)
And, oddly enough, I think reading about Jared writing fanfic just jump-started me on my next story. Thank you!
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Date: 2010-08-08 11:03 pm (UTC)OH! I'm so glad this inspired you a little. That's awesome!
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Date: 2010-08-06 07:28 pm (UTC)'s are and I'm still working out what a mete is, so I'm right there with Jared. So sweet. m :)
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Date: 2010-08-08 11:01 pm (UTC)Glad you liked the fic though :)
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Date: 2010-08-06 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:18 pm (UTC)Glad you're enjoying it
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Date: 2010-08-06 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 11:00 pm (UTC)I rewatched SPN from the pilot last summer. It was fun
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Date: 2010-08-06 09:48 pm (UTC)Misha for the win. That man is otherworldly... I can't even begin to imagine what will happen once his offspring is conquering the world.
Cat
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:59 pm (UTC)Yes, I fear that soon the Collins clan will be ruling the entire planet, and I suspect it will be kind of awesome ;)
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From:no subject
Date: 2010-08-06 10:36 pm (UTC)I knew Jensen was the writer for the Supernatural books from the first moment I saw his penname(His siblings!).
I was worried how Jared would take it when he found out on his own, but happily everything worked out.
I liked Misha.
Keep up the good work!
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:58 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it :)
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Date: 2010-08-06 11:45 pm (UTC)I totally loved reading it from start to finsih.
So glad Jared gave Jensen a chance and realised that he couldn't live without him.
Thanks for sharing.
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 12:12 am (UTC)Misha was AWESOME in it too, it's so funny to think that random crazy Misha just works in almost any situation. ;)
Really liked the reveal that Jensen was Joshua and how it all happened...and yay for making up and moving away together.
Great story.
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:57 pm (UTC)Yeah, I kind of have to include Misha in all my J2 fics now. He's just way too much fun to write.
So glad you enjoyed it :)
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Date: 2010-08-07 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:54 pm (UTC)Thank you!
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Date: 2010-08-07 01:27 am (UTC)The whole conference room scene was great for me because it reminded me of Notting Hill with the asking each other questions that could help their relationship. Most of all I loved the meta on fandom and the show. I remeber when I first went looking for fics and discovered Wincest and it shocked me, Now, its a lot of what I read. I've been reading fics and hopping in and out of fandoms for 13 years now and I'm glad that you showed how rewarding it can be. I loved all of those details because it can be nerve wracking when you first join a new fandom or start a journal. Even though I haven't posted any of my fics, it was nerve wracking the first time I posted a comment or made a friend request. I really loved when you mentioned that Jared was so busy with reading and writing fics that he hadn't read his "real" book. last year, I read so many fics that I fell way beyond my yearly reading goal. Now, I actually have to schedule time to read my regular books. Thanks for sharing.
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:53 pm (UTC)I totally know what you mean about fanfic taking over from books though. I haven't read a single book since the big bang fics started posting as that's all I've been reading it. Must get back into it once the challenge is over
Thank you so much!
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Date: 2010-08-07 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:51 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting
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Date: 2010-08-07 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 04:22 am (UTC)It doesn't hurt that the whole fandom meta thing is one of my favourtite premises but you just gave it the perfect spin. Brilliantly executed. Seriously, this is now my favourite for this genre.
I want to go back and read it all over. I think I'm still a little dizzy and I could go on gushing endlessly. Jeez I was so stupidly happy for Jared when the_jackle replied to him...
These two guys would like gods if we had them in our fandom. ~le sigh
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:50 pm (UTC)And, um, sorry for potentially waking up your neighbours with your snickering ;)
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Date: 2010-08-07 04:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:46 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for commenting and I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
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Date: 2010-08-07 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 06:55 am (UTC)I did see it, as soon as I saw the authors name was Jensen's siblings I realized that Jensen was the author, but it didn't detract from the story at all. It just had me sniggering at Jared any time he made a comment about the author to his new "girl pal"
Thank you for sharing.
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:45 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
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Date: 2010-08-07 08:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 09:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 11:36 am (UTC)I loved it a lot, just couldn't stop reading!
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 03:40 pm (UTC)So yeah, lovely!
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Date: 2010-08-08 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-08-07 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-08 10:41 pm (UTC)