breea1

Corruption of a minor!!

2009-11-14T11:55:42Z

I honestly don't know whether to be be deeply proud or deeply worried. The child - fourteen and actually quite delightful considering - was watching last week's Merlin whilst I was catching up on some paperwork a few minutes ago and was quietly eyeing the screen when Uther and Gaius had their big show down over the whole 'almost burnt you at the stake, whoops!' thing and then turned to me with a terribly level gaze and said, "This is the stuff you write, isn't it?'

I replied with 'Ew, no!' because, yes, I am shallow and Richard Wilson always reminds me of The Librarian from Terry Pratchett's discworld.

The child then continued, "Really?" He looked very surprised and - I kid you not, actually POINTED at the screen - said, "It's so obvious, mum!"

So, on the one hand - child NOT a bigot and clearly willing to accept love in all its forms and however it may come. Yay!

On the other - he is now, at the tender age of fourteen, apparently viewing the world through slash coloured specs and is seeing it EVERYWHERE. He's already suspicious about the two leads in NCIS: LA. There's a small possibilty I may have ruined him for life. I think I'll only start to worry when my QAF dvd's start disappearing off the top shelf - mainly because I wouldn't mind having someone to watch them with and he doesn't need to get sneaky about it!!

xx

FIC: The Dread Pirate Chad (1/1) PG13

2009-11-13T20:02:43Z

Title: The Dread Pirate Chad
Author: breea1
Disclaimer: Not mine, not a one.
Theme: spn_30snapshotsChoose Your Own Adventure Table, Prompt: Water
Word Count: 2653
Characters: Chad, J2, Donna Ackles, Mac Ac...actually, pretty much everyone.
Summary: Avast, me hearties!

~*~*~*~

“Look,” said the Dread Pirate Chad reasonably, “You're only making this harder on yourself, man. Let's talk about this.”

Jensen Ackles stared up from where he was valiantly defending the cabin doorway guarding his mother and sister from the suspected lecherous intentions of the Dread Pirate's crew and said incredulously, “Talk? You want to talk about this?” He swung his sword again, making Squint-Eyed Sammy (aka, Call Me Fred) yelp and jump back with a curse. “You've destroyed our ship and killed our crew and now you want to make free with my sister and my mother and destroy their honor!”

“I do not.” replied Chad indignantly. He looked at the incensed young man and hissed out of the corner of his mouth to Jared Padalecki, his first mate and best friend, “I thought all the crew made it through the battle? I don't remember killing anyone, do you? I'm pretty positive I'd remember something like that. You know how I get about blood and I don't remember vomiting and passing out.” He looked nervously at his crew. “They would have said something, right? It's pretty hard not to notice me doing that.”

“Yeah,” agreed Jared absently, eyes fixed on the pretty, pretty man beneath him and Chad on the lower deck. “It's kinda hard to miss. Maybe I should talk to him. I think you're frightening him.”

Chad stared boggle eyed at the six foot four man standing next to him, bulging with muscle and clad in nothing more than a tight fitting pair of breeches and open white shirt that displayed his honed chest with eye catching – and mildly intimidating – flair. “Yeah. Don't think that's going to help.” He turned his attention back to Jensen, muttering, “And stop looking like you want to tie him to the steering wheel and lick him all over. Not subtle, my man.”

Jared winced and hissed back, “Stop calling it the steering wheel. You're meant to be the captain of the most feared pirate ship in all the oceans. People find out you can't even name the main parts of your ship, we're sunk.” He frowned in momentary gloom, remembering the fate of their previous two ships. “Again.”

“Pfft.” Chad waved this concern away with a negligent hand. “That's why I have you.” He peered over the rail again and called reassuringly down to Jensen, “No one killed your crew. They're just locked up downstairs!”

Beside him Jared winced and clapped a hand over his eyes, moaning, “Below decks. Below decks.” Chad ignored him.

“And we definitely don't want your women.” Chad said with firm emphasis. “They're all...shrill and have needs and just....” He shuddered. “Just no, okay?” He beamed at Jensen. “We just want your cargo.” Jared elbowed him in the ribs and he cursed before continuing, “And you! We definitely want you! The women and crew can go!”

Jensen scowled warily. “What do you mean you want me?” He gaped up at Chad. “And leave in what? You put a hole in our ship!”

Chad frowned and said to Jared, “Seriously? You want this one? He's sounding pretty shrill there himself, buddy. I'm thinking we can do better.”

Jared looked over the trim figure in understated breeches and shirt, molding to his muscled body in the brisk wind coming over the sea and stared down into snapping green eyes, tracing his gaze longingly over the full mouth. “Yeah. I want this one.”

“Okay.” Chad said, with obvious reluctance. “But I'm just saying – don't come crying to me when he turns out to some kind of weird girly man-boy.” He raised his voice again. “Hey, we'll fix your ship. No charge! Just give us a couple of hours and she'll be as good as new.” He beamed again. “Meanwhile, you go pack and say your goodbyes and we'll go get you settled in your new home.” He pointed to where his ship 'The Awesome' was bobbing tethered alongside Jensen's captured ship and where the rest of his crew were lounging around on deck idly going through some of the spoils of their recent battle. “You don't mind sharing cabin space, right?” He jerked his head at Jared. “He'll be your new roommate.”

“Bunkmate!” Jared hissed, anxious that there be no misunderstandings between him and his intended, despite the murderous look on said intended's face. “Bunkmate.”

“I would rather die!” Jensen yelled defiantly, brandishing his sword again. “I'll fight you to the death!”

“Wow,” said Chad. “Harsh.” He shrugged and turned to Jared. “Well I'm all out of ideas, what about you?”

Jared glared at him. “You're the captain.”

Chad glared back. “You want to despoil him.” He rolled his eyes when Jared continued to glare and then bent forward and leaned his arms on the polished wooden railing of his momentarily purloined ship. “So, you against the whole pirate's life just on moral grounds or is it a whole across the board thing? 'Cos I gotta tell you, it's a pretty good life. The open seas....”

Mutthead Mike yelled helpfully over from The Awesome, “You get seasick!”

Chad ignored his wretched crew member. “There's the women....”

Jared whined pitifully in the back of his throat and peered down at Jensen. “Optional! No pressure!”

“Rousing sea battles,” continued Chad, undaunted.

“We win every two out of five!” shouted Tomahawk Tom encouragingly, from his position at Mike's side, twirling Mrs Ackles' best silk petticoat over his head like a victory flag. “And only been sunk once this year!” He paused, adding in the spirit of full disclosure, “And once last year.” He flashed Jensen a wide grin, concluding, “So we just get sunk once a year and nearly everyone makes it! You can swim, right?”

“The spoils!” said Chad triumphantly, pointing at Jensen's open mouthed face. “The spoils are totally worth it!”

Crusher Chris looked down from where he was molesting Silky Haired Steve (aka, Just Call Me Steve, Dammit!) in the crows nest and bellowed, “Three cargoes of bat guano the last three ships we shot up!” He leaned dangerously over the edge of the small wooden container and yelled entirely accurately, “I am bat shit crazy, man!”

Jensen stared around himself like he wasn't sure to be terror stricken or mortified at being caught by such a bunch of complete losers. “You're the worst pirates ever.” He stared up at Chad. “You get seasick?”

Chad looked wounded. “Only on rough seas.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Mostly.” He tilted his head the other way. “Nearly always anyway.”

“I've heard tales,” said Jensen, now leaning towards looking outraged. “You slaughter whole crews and hang their remains from your main brace!”

Chad looked surprised. “I do?” He looked at Jared. “What's a main brace?” He followed Jared's pointing finger towards The Awesome and frowned. “That's a main brace? Huh.” He looked back down at Jensen. “Nope, never done that. Hung the laundry a few times, never a crew.” He eyed his own crew speculatively. “Although I could be persuaded.”

The crew looked infuriatingly unmoved and continued rifling through their spoils or, in Chris and Steve's case, doing filthy, unspeakable things in the crow's nest.

Jensen's sword lowered slightly and he shouted accusingly, “You sink every ship you board and consign their remains to a watery grave!”

Chad blinked. “No, I don't.” He thumped the rail he was leaning against. “Waste of good wood. We mostly patch 'em up and send 'em on their way after we've disguised their lines and given them a new name.” He shrugged. “You'd be amazed at how many crews go for that if we give them the option.”

Jensen's sword drooped even more and he said doubtfully, “You ravish and despoil every woman you come across and leave her a ruined disgrace, unable forever to return to polite society and make a good match within her social sphere?”

“Uh, no,” said Chad, a little queasily. “We mainly just relieve them of their worldly goods and drop them off at the nearest port if their crew won't take them on in their new ship.” He grimaced apologetically and confided, “Like I said. Shrill.” He brightened suddenly. “Or we, you know, take them on as crew if they promise not to actually be a girl.”

Jensen looked confused.

“Hey, Dani!” called Chad, looking back towards The Awesome. “Come show our boy here how not ravished and despoiled you are! And how much you're not a girl!”

On Chad's ship a slender figure hung itself over the ship's rail and cheerfully waved a kitted cap that it had snatched off it's head, revealing a tumbled mane of red hair. Jensen stared. “Is that the Honorable Danneel Harris, presumed lost at sea and sold into white slavery some ten months ago on her way to marry Sir Kripke of West Virginia?”

“Maybe,” hedged Chad. “Mainly we just call him Dani and don't mention impending nuptials around him because he gets a little....” He looked at Jared. “Is stone cold crazy too strong a term?”

Jared shuddered, remembering the Honorable Danneel's strident – and distressingly painful and insistent - protests against being forced to resume her journey after the Dread Pirate Chad had boarded her vessel and made off with the cargo. He shuddered again. The scars he carried were only just healed and Zac the cabin boy still walked with a limp and looked distressingly teary eyed whenever he and Dani met on ship. “No. Don't think it's strong enough.”

Chad flashed Jensen a wide grin. “See? No one's here that doesn't want to be. Just a group of healthy, well adjusted guys trying to make a living! Whadda you say; you in?”

“You're criminals!” Jensen yelled. “You steal things and blow up ships....”

“Not blow up!” Chad interjected hastily. “More....temporarily inconvenience.”

“And steal people.” continued Jensen angrily, pointing accusingly at Danneel still draped over the ship's side and waving merrily away. “And now you're trying to importune me and ruin my honour and....”

Chad looked puzzled. “What's importune mean?” He listened intently when Jared whispered urgently in his ear and his face creased with disgust. “I am not!” He jerked a thumb at Jared. “He's the one that wants to importune you, not me. Christ!”

Jared widened his eyes and shook his head violently when Jensen narrowed his eyes dangerously, calling down, “No, see, not importune exactly. Just I'm on my own and you're on your own and....”

“I'm to be married.” Jensen shouted angrily, not actually protesting the fact that it was a man that was intending to importune him Chad was interested to note. “I belong to another!”

“Ah,” said Chad wisely whilst Jared made distressed noises at his side. “But do you want to?”

~*~*~*~

Three hours later the most recent conquest of the Dread Pirate Chad sailed on her way, considerably lighter in the cargo department and sans all three members of the Ackles family. Chad looked worriedly at his newest crew members, Damnation Donna (aka Just Call Me Mama, Dear), Murderous MacKenzie (aka Call Me Anything But Mac and I'll Cut You) and Jensen (aka Importune Me and I'll Kill You) and questioned hopefully, “So we're dropping you off at the nearest port, right?” Jared slammed an elbow into his ribs. “Except the guy! He stays!”

“Oh I don't think so, dear,” said Donna Ackles complacently, watching her youngest child swarm happily up the rigging beside Dani and whoop with joy when her newly acquired britches made the maneuver much easier to manage than her constricting heavy skirts. “I couldn't possibly let Jensen stay here by himself.” She ran a finger over the wooden rail of the ship and sniffed with disapproval. “And I find that there is just as much to occupy my considerable talents here as there would have been at Jensen's intended home.”

“No, see,” Chad said nervously, “You're a woman. No offense. We're pirates. It's just....”

Donna cast a disapproving eye over the decks and crew. “Just because you are pirates doesn't mean that you can't present yourselves in your best possible light.” She looked severely at Chad. “No one wants to be boarded by a bunch of ruffians do they?”

“Er,” said Chad, feeling that somehow she'd missed the point because...pirates. “Well....”

“And we really must do something about this haphazard way you have of picking your intended victims. Bat guano indeed!” said Donna. “I feel with the right guidance you could really make something of yourself and this ship. Show me your shipping charts and we shall decide where to strike next.”

Jensen watching from a few feet away couldn't suppress a twitch of an evil grin. “This is exactly how I found myself getting married. She'll have him Governor of the colonies before he knows it.”

Sidling up next to him, Jared said hopefully, “So now you're not getting married and I've carried you off and everything....”

Jensen eyed him dispassionately. “You didn't carry me off. I joined the crew.” He looked slightly incredulously around himself. “God help me.”

Jared beamed encouragingly at him. “Bunkmates?”

“But I don't want to have a fleet!” Chad protested weakly as he was shepherded by a very determined Donna to his cabin. “I don't want another crew. I don't even want the one I have!”

Jensen watched his mother leave to start Chad on his enforced upwardly mobile pirating, stared up at his sister and then looked at the man standing next to him, taking in the wide shoulders and impressive length of his legs. “It doesn't look like I have much choice does it?”

“Jared!” Chad yelled, clinging by the fingertips to the door of his cabin. “Jared! We're retiring! I'm thinking of going into farming!”

Not taking his eyes from Jensen's face, already pinkening under the bright sun and making his eyes shine like emeralds in his face, Jared yelled back, “Bad idea! You're afraid of cows, remember?”

“Dammit!” mourned Chad loudly, stumbling inside with a helpful shove from Donna, “How am I with horses? I can be a gentleman thief, right?”

“Not in those britches, dear.” said Donna with a disapproving frown.

“Navy ship!” bellowed Chris from the crow's nest, hanging precariously over the side and gesturing wildly with one arm whilst Steve hung grimly onto the back of his pants and leaned back to stop him plummeting to the deck. “Navy ship off the starboard bow! NAVY SHIP!”

“Oh sweet Christ,” muttered Tom, resigned, and began to kick off his shoes and strip his shirt from his torso. “We're sunk. Again.”

“Oh thank God,” cried The Dread Pirate Chad, trying to wriggle past Donna and get out on the deck again. “Rescue.”

Jensen stared around at the crew of The Awesome, the navy ship that was indeed fast approaching on the starboard bow and then up at Jared's slightly chagrined expression. “Seriously. Worst pirates ever.”

~*~*~*~*

The End.

re: Twitter

2009-11-02T22:57:54Z

Okay, I'm not sure why I've done this (or what it is to be fair, or, indeed, what the point is) but I have just been persuaded to join the above. Apparently I now need to tell people. As I am looking at this as a kind of glorified global txting service and have linked it to my phone ::looks piercingly at Mel:: this means I am now, in theory, able to play on line no matter where I am. I think. I'm not sure. I kind of stopped loving technology when two cups and bit of string fell out of fashion. Anyway, the user name is breea2 if anyone is interested...or understands the point of the whole thing.

B
x

FIC: Just Like Chad (1/1) PG, Chad, Kate Ackles

2009-11-02T15:10:47Z

Title: Just Like Chad
Author: breea1
Disclaimer: Not mine, not a one.
Theme: spn_30snapshotsChoose Your Own Adventure Table, Prompt: Friend
Word Count: 2044
Characters: Chad, Kate Ackles
Summary: Who ya gonna call?
A/N: This is a timestamp in the 'Just Like This' 'verse which can be found here

~*~*~*

When Chad was finally buzzed through the doors of Kate's school he nearly gave the school secretary a heart attack. “Kate Ackles!” Eyes frantic and flinging himself over the counter at the woman on the other side, Chad gasped for breath after his sprint from the parking lot and through the school, repeating urgently, “Kate Ackles! I'm Chad – uh, Chad Michael Murray.” He gasped some more and tried to sound like a grown up. “Uh, Mr Murray. I'm Kate's....” He gasped some more and stared a little helplessly at the woman looking at him like he was some kind of alien life form and realized that he didn't know exactly what he was to Kate. He figured that explaining to the secretary that he was the guy next door that had helped her newest adoptive father stalk her first adoptive father for months and now babysat and supplied more ice cream than either of the adoptive fathers could reasonably condone just wasn't going to cut it. He flailed his hands in the air a little desperately and repeated urgently, “I'm Kate Ackle's.”

“Uh-huh.” The secretary eyed him narrowly and then sighed. “Well before I go give you back to her do you want to slip into the men's room and clean up a little? She's still a little upset from her fall and if you show up looking like that then I don't think its going to do her any good, do you?”

Chad blinked. “What?”

The secretary gestured eloquently to his face and his shirt. “I'm assuming that's make up?”

Chad looked down at himself and took in the artful arrangement of fake blood splattered all over his front and the strategic rips in his clothing. He was horrified to note that his left nipple was peeking out and appeared to be winking at the secretary with every hurried rise and fall of his chest. He yelped and gripped his shirt, bunching it up around his throat like an outraged virgin. “Fuck, I'm sorry!” He yelped again. “Shit! Sorry, I cursed and....” He groaned when the woman looked at him with badly concealed amusement and said, “Normally I'm only allowed to talk to people with supervision.”

“I can see why.” The secretary shook her head and moved to a door at the far end of the counter, passing through and stepping briskly to Chad's side. “Let me show you where you can clean up.”

Finding himself marched away, Chad, still clutching his shirt said anxiously, “I'm not normally this much of a douche, I swear. I was at work and I've just had a car crash, see? But Jared called me and said that Kate had been hurt at school and Jensen's away working and Jared's shooting on location and he's at least a couple of hours out and Steve and Chris are touring and Sandy's in LA and that pretty much only leaves me and I was meant to be dragging some chick heroically out of the car but my cellphone went off and Jared said Kate's been hurt and there's no one else and....”

“Would you like some water?” said the woman sympathetically. “Maybe a chair so you can sit down and catch your breath?”

“Seriously, I can't be trusted with something like this!” Chad said hysterically. “I ran out on the chick I was meant to be rescuing and she was upside down in a car that was about to blow up! How is that responsible?”

The woman stared at him and then said comfortingly, “I'll get you some nice warm tea. Have you eaten today?”

Chad, wild eyed and crazy, blinked and replied, “Huh?” A thought occurred and he clutched at the woman's arm. “Scott! Scott's great with crap like this! Where's Scott? He can come and be all, y'know, Scott-like and I can just hang in the background and let him get on with his shit. I can do that, right?”

The secretary stared some more. “Scott's twelve.”

Chad looked bewildered. “So? He's great with the crying and shit! She's crying, right? I mean, Kate cries a lot and Scott always seems to know what to do. Okay, so a lot of the time he's the one that made her cry in the first place, but other than that he's got a pretty good handle on it.” He paused, thought and then questioned with worried suspicion, “Someone else didn't make her cry, did they? Is Scott not here because he found out someone else made her cry and he got all Scott-like on their ass and he's in the principal's office and you're waiting on the cops?”

“Um, no.” said the secretary, her eyes getting bigger and bigger at the seemingly endless flood of words. “I think he's in his Math class.”

“Oh.” said Chad. “Huh.”

The secretary pointed a little desperately at the door behind him. “Clean up?”

Chad looked over his shoulder at the door and then back at her, his face falling pathetically. “So, we're not calling Scott?”

The woman's lips twitched as she fought back a smile and she shook her head.

Chad looked positively mournful. “Danny?”

The wistful hopefulness nearly defeated her efforts to suppress her smile, but at the last moment the secretary held firm. “Kate's waiting, Mr Murray. I'll give you five minutes.”

“Right.” Chad's shoulders slumped. “On it. I could maybe just go buy her some crap from Wal Mart? That seems to work pretty well.” He looked utterly dejected when the secretary simply lifted a finger and pointed inside the men's room and reluctantly did as he was bid. “Fuck.”

The secretary rapped on the door as it swung shut and said sharply, “Language!”

A low, pitiful moan was her only answer.

~*~*~*

When Chad strode out of the men's room minutes later, the secretary was impressed. He was a different man. The fake blood had been washed off , leaving his hair more pink than blond, but a better over all effect. His ruined shirt had been stripped off to reveal a short sleeved t-shirt that had escaped the carnage relatively unscathed and was now sporting a jaunty 'Support Women's Free Enterprise – Bone A Hooker!' badge over the hole where his nipple had been poking through. He had his cellphone clamped to his ear and his face no longer looked pathetic and panicked, now he just looked irritated and impatient. “I'm not coming back in today. I told you, I got a family emergency.” He held up an apologetic hand to the secretary and mouthed 'two seconds!' before turning his attention back to his conversation. “Yeah, well I don't really care what it says in my contract, I got stuff I need to take care of.” He rolled his eyes. “Well maybe she could rescue herself, you think of that? Have you not seen Buffy? Girlpower, dude!” and hung up.

The secretary pursed her mouth disapprovingly at his pin. “Perhaps you'd like one of these?” She held out a small white pin stating 'Support Connelly School!” and nodded at his t-shirt.

Chad looked blank. “Why?” He looked down at his chest and frowned. “I like this one.”

“You are in a school,” hissed the woman when he still looked blank. “With children in it!”

Chad stared some more and then shrugged. “Whatever.” He took the proffered pin, removed his own – flashed his nipple again – and fixed the new one in place. “Go team! Okay, where's my princess?”

The woman shook her head and then gestured sharply to a hallway leading off to the right. “This way. She's a little uncomfortable and quite anxious about having to go to the hospital. When will her parents be able to get back into town?”

“They're meeting us at the hospital.” Chad said absently, running an anxious hand back over his hair and wishing profoundly that he wasn't quite such an accommodating guy. It was one thing to babysit Jared's newly acquired family when they were happy, not injured and not tearful in any way – it was quite another to agree to be a stand in daddy when one of the spawn had a suspected broken arm and would be wanting her daddies and some TLC and pretty much anyone else on the planet who wasn't goofy old Chad who was generally only good for candy and buying pink stuff. “I just gotta sign her out and get her there and they'll meet up with us.” His eyes widened with panic when they stopped outside a door labeled 'Nurse's Office' and he squared his shoulders manfully. “Okay, just get her there. I can do that. I can do this. I'm a motherfucking actor, I can fake a daddy.”

“Mr Murray!” squawked the secretary disbelievingly and made a lunge for him when he flung open the door. “Perhaps it would be best if we waited for....”

“Katie-girl!” Chad bounded through the door and ignored the woman sitting in the white tunic and pants behind the desk, eyes locking instantly on the pale faced little girl sitting on the narrow cot at the far side of the office. “You rock! Can't believe you broke your arm just to get me out of work! Sweetie, name your price, I am so totally in your debt!”

Kate blinked through wet lashes and tangled blond bangs at Chad and her mouth wobbled ominously. “Chad?” Renewed tears welled up in her eyes and she tried to wriggle forwards off the bed, yipping when her braced arm twinged. “Chad, I fell over. It hurts.”

“I know, Princess.” Chad reached the bed, dropped a smacking kiss on the top of her head and then carefully picked her up, swung her round and scootched back on the bed to get her on his lap. “I know. Your dads are on their way, but they sent me to pick you up and take you to the hospital to meet them because they're worried about you and didn't want to leave you all alone.” He whispered in her ear confidentially, “I think Jared was crying. The wuss.”

Kate rewarded him with a watery giggle. “He was not!”

“Was too.” Chad rolled his eyes when she squinted at him disbelievingly. “Seriously. He was a total pussy.”

The 'Mr Murray!' from over by the door was ignored in favor of Kate's tears drying miraculously and her white face creasing in disapproval. “Chad, no cussing!”

“Are you kidding me?” said Chad, sounding outraged. “You've broken your freakin' arm and you're yelling at me for cussing?” He shook his head, looking wounded. “Kate, Kate, Kate. What am I going to do with you? Have me and your Uncle Chris not taught you anything?” He grinned, bright and triumphant when Kate giggled and turned her face into his chest to hide it. “Wanna blow this joint, go get sugared up and then throw up over your dads when they meet us at the hospital?”

Kate breathed in his sweaty, make up heavy scent and relaxed against him with a relieved sigh. “Okay.” Her breath hitched a little when he stood, anticipating a jolt of pain from her arm, but nothing happened and she tipped her head back to look up at him. “You'll stay with me too, right? You won't go?”

Chad looked down at her, smiled wide and bright and promised, “Not going anywhere till you tell me to, honey.” He nodded his thanks to the secretary as she held the door open for him and gave him a reluctantly approving smile and strode out of the room. “I am awesome at this fake-daddy shit!”

“Chad!” said Kate disapprovingly over another disapproving squawk behind them, snuggling in as best she could. “No cussing!”

~*~*~*

The End.

Thank God THAT's over!

2009-11-01T22:54:28Z

You probably noticed I'm not the most chatty Cathy when it comes to personal updates on my journal, but I had to share...

I am now officially UNEMPLOYED...until Tuesday when I start my new job. But, still, UNEMPLOYED!!

No more grubby guests (I worked in a hotel), no more grumpy staff (for a grand finale I made the new chef cry on Saturday - yes, really - and I don't even feel the slightest bit guilty about it!) and no more idiotic owners who can't quite grasp the concept of we live on a freaking ISLAND and therefore have to put in our supply orders a little sooner than on the mainland because there's only so much room on a freaking boat and it's FIRST COME FIRST SERVED for space. ::breathes:: Morons.

I actually made it and completed my three big bangs this summer/autumn - okay, five days late on one of them, but for a girl that hasn't written anything in YEARS I felt that was worthy of a booty shake. ::shakes booty and knocks someone over in the next village:: Booty shaking complete.

This, of course, needs celebrating by signing up to do NaNo this year (which is where Chad comes in!) and for the sga secret santa exchange (which is where Sheppard/McKay/Dex comes in) and buying the neccessary to branch out into podfics because those things are just awesome and I think we should all stop reading and just start talking instead! If that wasn't enough to be going on with I plan on filling up all my new free time with the two apocofic big bangs I've signed up for, the two fanmixes I've committed to and the spn bigbang in January. ::looks in a pleased way at all the fun writing she's committed to:: And there's a possibility I may be a pinch hitter for the spn secret santa thingy as well. ::rubs hands:: Yum!

I'm shooting for releasing a fic a day about Chad (because he's just so funny) all through Nov starting from tomorrow (except tomorrow will be two because I gave myself the day off today) and writing the SGA fic alongside it to wrap it up for Dec in case I need the time to pinch hit for someone else. Oh, and I promised Mel a Travis/Beck fic for the small fandom fest too. ::grins in a slightly crazed way:: And before I do any of that I'm going to answer all outstanding fb before I go to bed tonight.

Okay, the usual fic only posts will be resumed as from now, but just be aware that if all goes according to plan the volume of output in this journal is going to increase a hundred fold as from tomorrow so if you're not that interested in teh Chad then feel free to de-friend for the duration. ::shakes booty again:: I get to play in the slash sandbox ALL THE TIME NOW!! Woot!

x

FIC: Bait, R, J2, RPS

2009-11-01T03:12:13Z

~*~*~*~

Steve was having trouble focusing. Admittedly his night had taken a severe turn for the worse ever since he had been forced from the safety of his team and into an unmarked SUV when he had visited the bathroom unaccompanied at the party a few hours before, but no one – seriously, no one – had expected him to catch the eye of their target when Jensen and Danneel were doing everything in their considerable combined experience to attract his attention and it seemed to be in keeping with his luck of late that Hernandez required the services of a small, blonde man to meet the request of a specific client and, as Steve had been presented as a hired escort for the evening for Christian, there had been nothing to suggest that he would be missed or even particularly lamented if he went mysteriously AWOL.

Steve was going to have serious words with Jeff about proper and in depth research on their targets when this was all over. Either Hernandez was letting himself get seriously over confident with his illicit dealings or the man was a lot better and a lot more experienced at covering his grubby tracks than any of them had given him credit for.

He tried again to co-ordinate his limbs where he lay sprawled on a couch in the centre of a large minimally furnished room and made a low noise of frustration deep in his throat when they failed to respond. He had been forced to take something when he had been dragged struggling inside the house by Hernandez’s henchmen and it had taken effect alarmingly fast, leaving him coherent enough to know what was going on but unable to do more than struggle weakly and curse increasingly confused curses and threats when he had either been ignored or casually smacked down when his resistance became too annoying to his abductors.

He really, really missed his computers.

The sounds of a fight drew his befuddled attention to the door and it took him a few moments to realise that the sobbing, struggling woman being dragged through the door by the man that Steve last remembered hitting him was Danneel. He tried to make his limbs work again, his mouth working uselessly to call her name, but the drugs in his system were just too strong and he fell back against the cushions again, helpless to do anything but watch as she was thrown to the floor.

“Please,” sobbed Danneel, clutching together the front of her dress that Mike had helpfully ripped open for her before boosting her over the high fence to the rear of the property and sending her like a particular vicious missile in the direction of the house. “Please, don’t hurt me. I just want to go home.” She shrieked when her hair was gripped in an uncaring hand and her head was yanked back, displaying Jeff’s handiwork and her tear soaked eyes. “Please, just let me go.”

Strolling over with a bored look on his smoothly attractive face, Hector Hernandez frowned down at the woman kneeling on the floor. “What’s going on?”

The man holding Danneel – a man who had taken almost five minutes to notice her crashing around loudly in the landscaped foliage of the garden and who was allegedly Hernandez’s head of security – shook her like a terrier with a rat and said, “Found her trying to sneak away. She’s not one of ours.” He looked at her bruised mouth with professional detachment, saying disinterestedly, “Looks like someone barely started before she gave them the slip.” He shook Danneel again when she let out another trembling plea for mercy and said casually, “Shut it, bitch, or I’ll give you something to really cry about.”

Steve, hazy and confused though he currently was, took great satisfaction in knowing that there would be only one bitch crying before the night was over and out of Danneel and her tormentor it wouldn’t be his friend kneeling on the floor.

As though hearing his thoughts, Danneel cut her eyes to him and met his gaze, the intention to commit a great deal of bodily harm evident in her eyes despite the artistic tears currently spilling from them.

“Find who she belongs to and tell them to keep a better watch on their property.” Hernandez said in annoyance. “I’m not having our whole operation fucked up because some stupid bastard is too wasted to keep to the rules.” He smacked a casual palm hard across Danneel’s cheek when she sobbed again. “Shut up, you’re annoying me.”

Danneel grunted with the force of the blow and flailed to keep her balance, yipping when her hair was pulled in the grip of her captor’s implacable hold and spat, “Nowhere near as much as you’re annoying me.” She took advantage of the moment of frozen silence at her outburst, yanked up the skirt of her dress, snatched out the slim blade she had strapped to her thigh and stabbed it gleefully into her captor’s foot.

Steve grinned sloppily at nothing in particular when a blood curdling yell filled the room and thought to himself that he really loved Danneel. Things were never boring around her.

“Get down on the floor and keep your hands where I can see them!” Tom spun into the room, closely followed by Mike, their guns up and pointed at the two men who had their friends. “Don’t give me any more reasons to shoot you!”

Danneel scrambled in an undignified fashion on all fours to Steve’s side and grabbed his torso to heave him to the floor and cover him with her body in case the bad guys decided to try and shoot their way out. “You okay?” She pushed up as far as she dared and peered worriedly into his face, gauging the severity of his blackening eyes and split lip and unfocused gaze. “Steve, are you tracking?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, trying to roll and get Danneel under him, vaguely aware that his manly pride was going to be seriously dented later if he let a woman who weighed one hundred and ten pounds soaking wet protect him like an unusually hirsute damsel in distress. “M’fine. They got....you got....kids...seen Kane?”

Danneel sighed irritably, pressed a hard kiss to his forehead and tucked him under her as best she could, saying, “Hang in there, baby, we’ll give you back to him soon.” She looked over her shoulder and saw Mike slowly approaching Hernandez and his henchmen as Tom covered him and mentally hurried him along to the take down, eager to move further on into the house and help Jensen and Jeff lock down the rest of the unsavoury inhabitants and their forced guests. “Just hang in there. We’re nearly done.”

Steve frowned unhappily when a lock of red hair spilled into his mouth and spat it clumsily out, muttering miserably, “Don’ like this. S’not good.”

Danneel looked down, smiled at him fondly and said, “I know, honey.” She looked back at Mike and Tom. “Remember this feeling and put in a good word to Jeff for a pay raise for me and Jensen? It’d be apprec...oh crap.”

Steve tried to thrash in alarm when the noise levels in the room rose dramatically – unfortunately it resulted mainly in him flopping weakly like a fish – and said, “Wha’...who...”

“Stay down,” came Danneel’s urgent response and her weight lifted abruptly off him and away. “Do not move!” She paused briefly to make sure that Steve heard her and then ran for the window, grabbing up a rather nice wooden footstool on her way and as soon as she was in range heaving it through the pane of glass without missing a beat. “Back up on way!” She spun on her high heels, bending to rip them off and then got a good grip on the gaping front of her already ruined evening dress and ripped it apart until it fell off her hips and pooled to the floor leaving her in thronged black panties, matching strapless bra and sheer black stockings that were held up by garters and had previously also held her hidden shiv. “Coming in!” She took a running leap, crashing into one of the two men that had followed Jeff into the room and were currently winning in the unfair fight the three were engaged in and took her prey to the floor. “Son of a bitch!”

Jeff grinned at his remaining opponent, slammed a heavy fist into his jaw and called, “Thanks, honey!”

“For fucks sake,” shouted Mike in exasperation when Hernandez took advantage of the distraction and took to his heels in the direction of the door at the far end of the room. “Get back here, you scum sucking douche bag!”

Tom grunted with the impact when he slammed into Hernandez’s security head and took them to the floor in a struggling heap. “Mike, I got this one. Go get him!”

“Gee, there’s an idea.” Mike yelled with scathing sarcasm, doing just that and saving time by hurdling the back of the couch – and by extension his buddy Steve still lying on the floor – and racing after the fleeing criminal. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Danneel rolled off the man she had tackled, scrambled to her feet to swipe a bottle of rather nice champagne on a bureau set against the wall and whirled to slam it pitilessly across his temple to send him unconscious to the floor. “I’m with Mike!” and took off after her friend, leaving Tom and Jeff to secure the room and Steve.

~*~*~*

Downstairs Jensen was also making his presence felt. Considerably annoyed by the fact that it had been Steve that had been taken and not himself and Danneel – and unhappily all too aware of what might have happened to him in the time it had taken them to get together a workable plan – Jensen was pissed. And not any less so thanks to the fact that he had engaged in a vicious fight with Jared before joining the rest of his team because Jared wanted to come in with them and Jensen had explained – loudly, slowly and clearly – that just because he was large, knew how to throw a punch when instructed by a stunt advisor in a controlled situation and was fuelled by righteous rage did not mean that he would last longer than five minutes with men who had lifetimes of knock down, drag out fights behind them, bottomless pits of meanness and a really pressing desire not to go to prison at any point in the future.

Then when Jared had refused to listen he had cuffed him to the steering wheel of their van and run off anyway with his colleagues leaving an extremely furious TV star and sometime musician behind him.

Jensen had elected not to follow Danneel with Tom and Mike – mainly because he had seen what she was capable of after previous ‘rough trade’ assignments and it wasn’t pleasant for anyone concerned – but had instead stuck with Jeff and had systematically worked his way through their chosen half of the house dispensing liberal and emphatic on the spot justice to anyone that they deemed worthy of it.

Jensen had lost Jeff a few minutes before, hearing the other man carry his fight upstairs, and had redoubled his efforts to secure his segment of their location and grab up Steve before heading out and letting the cops enter and legally take things ahead.

The sound of a window smashing had him breaking into a grin as he smacked a heavy wooden chair around the head of a middle aged man attempting to flee from him and leaving a slack jawed young woman in his wake and then an outraged cry of “Motherfucker!” had him turning to see Hernandez streaking down the main staircase of the house with Mike, and a barely clothed Danneel, barrelling after him.

A wide, happy grin exploded over Jensen’s face and he murmured to himself, “I really love my job.” He redoubled his grip on his chair as he started forward, yelling to his friends, “I got it!”

Mike yelled back, “No, no I want to shoot him!” and picked up even more speed behind an increasingly wild eyed Hernandez

Danneel, looking like blood crazed Victoria Secret’s model, shouted, “No, don’t shoot him! I want to kick his ass myself!”

Hernandez, veering sharply at the foot of the stairs to avoid Jensen, skidded across the lobby of his house and sprinted frantically in the direction of the rear of the property.

“Fuck!” yelled Jensen. “Okay, Mike, shoot him! Shoot him now!”

The sound of a lot of sirens filled the air and blue and red lights suddenly started to shine through the house’s windows when Jeff’s cop buddy arrived with reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed thanks to Danneel smashing out the window and quite a large number of his precinct’s night shift who had been promised lots of fun and hitting of resisting suspects.

“Dammit,” Danneel screamed in frustration. “I wanted some time to kick his ass, now he’s just going to get arrested, how is that....No! Get back!”

Jensen and Mike swore in unison when they saw that Hernandez’s escape route had suddenly been cut off by Jared and Chris appearing in the doorway leading in from the garden like the wrath of several vengeful gods, and with a severed handcuff still dangling from Jared’s wrist.

Hernandez swore and skidded to a halt, changing direction to run for the front door, evidently deciding that he would rather take his chances with the law rather than the crazy people trying to surround him. He was two steps away from his goal, with Mike and Danneel hot on his heels, when the door flew open to reveal Chad back lit by the lights outside and a thunderous look on his face. He stopped short in surprise when he saw Hernandez, glared and clenched his fist before pulling it back and launching it with everything he had at the equally surprised criminal.

Danneel and Mike nearly stumbled over each other trying to get out of the way when Hernandez’s feet left the ground and he flew backwards to land in a crumpled heap on the floor, a pained wheeze escaping him on impact.

Chad stared down at him, looked around at his friends old and new and said, “Tell me someone got that on camera. That’s gonna look awesome on E!Tonight. I’m a motherfucking hero, man!”

~*~*~*

Some hours later Steve was sitting in the ER morosely contemplating the tips of his dress shoes as he sat on a cot waiting for his discharge paperwork to be processed when Chris cleared his throat and stepped hesitantly through the curtains surrounding Steve’s bed. “Hi.”

Steve, still a little spacey from the drugs he’d been given and more than a little jumpy from recent events, jerked and rather suavely fell off the bed.

“Shit!” Chris said, and jumped forward to untangle Steve on the floor and help him back onto the bed. He pushed the gnarled mess of Steve’s hair back from his impressively bruising face and peered worriedly into his swollen eyes. “You okay? You want me to call a nurse?”

“No I don’t want you to call a nurse,” spat Steve irritably, trying to bat him off. “Go away. Job’s over. Why are you here?”

Chris flushed looking wildly uncomfortable and allowed himself to be pushed back, shifting from foot to foot. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. You know after....” He gestured with one hand. “Everything.”

Steve looked puzzled. “Everything what?”

Chris’ jaw twitched and he gritted out, “You got fucking kidnapped.”

Looking taken aback at the furious snarl, Steve leaned back and said defensively, “Not on purpose!”

Staring at him for a moment, Chris shook his head and said with exaggerated impatience, “I know that.” He dragged in a harsh breath, continuing raggedly, “I mean you got kidnapped when you were with me. Or not with me.” He flung up his hands and yelled in frustration and remembered panic, “I should have been looking out for you!”

It was Steve’s turn to stare. “Uh, no.” Still staring at Chris as though he was some kind of bizarre new life form, he said cautiously, “That was kind of my job. You were just there to get me in.” He lifted his shaky hands and gave Chris a double thumbs up. “You did. Good job. See you around.”

Chris opened his mouth, scrubbed a rough hand through his tousled hair, and then closed his mouth again. He ground his teeth for a moment and then blurted savagely, “I like you.”

Steve blinked at him and then frowned dubiously, evidently confused as to what kind of response Chris was looking for. “Thanks?”

Accustomed after years of TV stardom and musical acclaim to announcing his interest and generally having the object of his desire fall immediately into his arms, Chris was stymied when it became apparent that Steve was showing no inclination to do so. He studied the bruised man closely and realised that Steve was not only looking decidedly underwhelmed by his declaration, but appeared to be looking nervously past him in the hope that someone else would be joining them. He tried again, Steve was still fighting the effects of the drugs in his system, maybe he hadn’t understood what Chris was trying to say. “I like you.”

“Okay.” Steve edged further back on the bed and looked optimistically towards the curtains enclosing their little area. “Thanks.” He scooted back a little further when Chris looked murderously frustrated. “Again.”

“I mean,” said Chris dangerously. “That when you’re out of here and feeling better I want to take you out. Dinner. A few beers. Whatever you want.”

“Oh.” Screwing up his face – and instantly regretting it when his various bruises protested – Steve replied, “No thanks. I don’t really want to.”

Outside the curtains the sounds of a busy ER sounded, but inside all Chris could hear was Steve dismissing his invitation with unmistakable disinterest and the fearful pounding of his heart when he realised that Steve might actually mean it and wasn’t playing hard to get as he’d previously thought. “What?”

“I don’t want to.” Steve enunciated clearly. “You’re kind of an asshole.” He shrugged semi-apologetically. “Sorry.”

Chris stared at him bug eyed and tried to process this. The asshole comment – although a bit hurtful – wasn’t exactly new and he could deal with it, but....”I can not be?” He smiled without a trace of his usual cockiness and smooth confidence, instead seeming almost nervous. “I mean, I’m not always. An asshole. I can be....better.”

Steve looked like he sincerely doubted it, but none the less had the manners to at least pretend to give Chris’ announcement some consideration. Then he shook his head. “No. Thanks though.” He looked past Chris’ stricken face to the curtains again. “Do you know where Jeff is? I want to get out of here and he’s....mmpfhh!”

Chris – mindful of bruises and Steve’s already traumatic night – figured he had nothing left to lose and stepped forward, sliding his hands around Steve’s head and holding him in place as he pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. He tightened his grip when the other man jerked back in reflex and made a low sound of protest in his throat before pressing his mouth against Steve’s shock slack lips and kissing him again. He pulled back slowly, staring into wide grey eyes and said with quiet seriousness, “One date. I can not be an asshole for a few hours.” He grinned suddenly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Steve’s ear and murmured encouragingly, “You can even bring your gun.”

Stunned, Steve blinked at him and replied in a tone of mild complaint, “Stop doing that. It’s not as sexy as you think.” He frowned when Chris traced the high line of one of his cheek bones with a warm thumb and said again, “I don’t want to.”

“I can get you tickets to any gig in town.” Chris informed him, still stroking the bruised skin of Steve’s face. “Any one you want. I can get us box seats to pretty much any game you want.” He inched closer, nudging Steve’s legs apart and stepping between them. “I’m a great cook, what do you like to eat?”

Steve torn between annoyance and reluctant amusement and asked, “Are you trying to bribe me into going out with you?”

Flushing, Chris nodded. “Yeah, guess I am.” He studied Steve closely. “Is it working? I’ll consider begging. Pride’s overrated anyway.”

Steve shivered when Chris slipped a hand down to the back of his neck and stroked warm fingers over the chilled skin there. “I....” He frowned uneasily at Chris. “I’m not sleeping with you. It’ll just be a date.”

Chris, sensing capitulation and victory in the immediate future, nodded agreeably and thought that he could probably wait until their second date if he really had to. “Fine. Just a date. You call the shots.” He tilted his head when Steve still seemed to regard him sceptically. “What? This is me not being an asshole.”

Steve snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference.” He moved his head pointedly, trying to shake Chris’ hands off him. “One date and then you leave me alone. I don’t see you again.”

Chris, already musing on the new house he was planning on buying and moving Steve into within the next year, nodded and smiled and said straight faced through his lying teeth, “You got it. Dinner, a movie and then I’m gone. You won’t see me again.”

Steve gave him a jaundiced look and then sighed in defeat. “You’re a lyin’ bastard, I’m going to regret this, I just know it.”

Chris, caught up wondering if they needed a pool or should just go beach front, beamed at him in triumph and kissed him again, making a mental note to find out whether Steve preferred cotton or silk sheets.

~*~*~*~

Chad breezed into the curtained off area Danneel had been allocated her and pointed a finger at her, now dressed in some borrowed hospital scrubs and not just her underwear. “Last chance, woman. This time tomorrow everyone with boobs and no dick is going to be screaming for a piece of this – you want me, you’re going to have to fight for me.” His expression took on a dreamy cast. “With oil. Maybe a little mud. Definitely bikinis.”

Danneel stared mutely at him.

“You can't fight the inevitable.” said Chad wisely, tapping the side of his nose and winking at her in a horrifying way. “My buddy Chris is at this very moment staking his claim on your buddy's ass.” He stopped, thought and then clarified helpfully, “The short one, not the tall, pissy hooker one.”

Still staring, Danneel said faintly, “Not a hooker.” She stared some more. “Bait. And his name is Jensen.”

“Whatever,” said Chad dismissively. “Point is, they're getting it on because they've, like, got this connection thing. We should do that too.”

Danneel quirked an eyebrow. “Your buddy thinks my buddy's hot and wants to fuck him stupid.” Chad beamed at her in encouraging expectation. “That is not a connection!” She glared when Chad continued to look expectant and hurriedly realised that she really should have started her reply to him with the most important point. “And I am not fucking you!”

The nurse that was just coming in with Danneel's discharge papers after she'd been checked out by the ER staff, stopped dead and looked between them in concern. “Is everything alright in here?” She looked at Danneel intently. “Would you like me to call security?”

Chad waved her away. “Nah, this is my future wife, we're just hashing out some of the pre-nup, y'know? It's all good.”

Scowling fiercely, Danneel snapped, “I am not your future anything.” She turned the fearsome look on the poor nurse. “And I am security. I can handle this just fine, thanks.”

The nurse looked doubtfully at Danneel's bruised mouth and jawline. “Really?”

Jaw twitching, Danneel hissed, “Yes, really!” She looked pointedly at the paperwork clutched in the woman's hand. “Is that mine?”

“Yes.” The woman looked between Danneel and Chad again and questioned, “Are you sure you don't want me to call security?”

Ignoring Chad's sniggers, Danneel snatched the papers and said, “Quite sure, thanks. I'm leaving now.” She glared at Chad. “Do not follow me.”

Cheerfully ignoring the warning command, Chad waved at the nurse and followed Danneel out into the main area of the ER, calling after her, “No, see, I'm like a hero and stuff now. And I'm loaded! You'd have to be some kind of moron to turn me down.”

Danneel, flushing almost as bright a red as her hair, hunched her shoulders defensively and scuttled faster towards the exit, where a very amused looking Tom and Mike awaited her. “Punching one guy who was surrounded anyway does not make you a hero. It makes you kind of a wuss. A great big wussy douche.”

Chad nodded approvingly. “You should definitely play hard to get, I won't respect you otherwise.” He spread his arms in appeal and looked at occupants of the waiting area, watching them with varying degrees of interest. “She should play hard to get, right? Shows that she's not easy and a great big slut.”

Stopping dead, Danneel stared at him with incredulous fury, growled low in her throat and then resumed her stomp towards the door.

“Only you shouldn't play too hard to get,” continued Chad, breaking into a jog after her. “Because, like I mentioned before, my heroic deeds are gonna be all over the place tomorrow and there's going to be a lot of competition. You might want to get in there first. Stake a claim.” He jumped in front of her, spread his arms to stop her darting round him and told her earnestly, “There's a slim chance that there might be someone out there more awesome than you and then I'd have to go for them and then where would we be?” He looked her over – her tangled hair pulled back in rough ponytail, her marked face and the over sized, scratchy scrubs that covered her slender body – and conceded, “It's pretty fucking unlikely, but it could happen.”

Danneel rolled up the papers in her hand, smacked Chad smartly on the end of his nose with them like an errant puppy and then stalked around him when he yelped and clutched his face and out into the night, ignoring Tom and Mike smothering helpless chuckles by the door.

Blinking away the stinging tears from his eyes, Chad dropped his hands and raced after her. “Okay, so I can see you need some time to get used to the idea.” He skidded to a halt in front of her again, this time preventing her from reaching the safety of one of the company's SUV's. “It's a lot to take in, I'm pretty awesome.” He hurried on when Danneel's jaw dropped sharply and said, “I really am. I'm considerate and sensitive and I listen and I don't do disgusting things in bed,” He winked. “Unless you ask me too.”

Danneel raised her roll of paper again in an unmistakeably threatening gesture.

“Seriously, I do all the shit that chicks dig and I'm epic at it.” Chad said quickly, blinking earnestly down at her in the breaking dawn light. “You look like you could really do with a guy to show you that we're not all scumbags.”

Folding her arms over her chest defensively, Danneel snapped, “Well aware, thanks. And I have guys for that.”

Chad rolled his eyes. “They keep getting you drugged and beaten up.” He scowled and thought of Jeff backhanding her earlier. “Or they beat you up. You need a normal guy.” He held his arms out from his body and said triumphantly, “Ta-da!”

“You,” said Danneel with great certainty and accuracy. “Are not normal.”

“Lo-aded,” sang Chad. “Sen-si-tive. Hung like a....” He grinned at her from behind the hand she had slapped over his mouth and licked her palm, continuing when she jerked it away with a yelp of disgust, “Come on, I at least make you laugh, right? Chicks dig that!”

Danneel scrubbed her hand furiously against the leg of her scrubs and said indignantly, “Stop calling me a chick!”

Just as indignantly Chad shot back, “Stop saying no!” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward confidentially, “The playing hard to get thing stops being a turn on after a while. Just FYI.”

“I am not....” Danneel bit off her frustrated retort and took a deep breath. And then another one. “Look, I don't date, okay? Nothing personal, I just don't. I don't even remember the last time I went on one.”

Chad stared down at her disapprovingly. “That's just wrong.” He suddenly beamed. “But fixable. How about I buy you breakfast, you forget that you should be saying no, we catch a few hours sleep at my place, I sneak in a quick lunch at my favourite restaurant, we catch some more sleep and by the time I take you out to dinner tonight we're already on our third date and past the whole you just don't do it thing.” He beamed harder. “That work for you?”

Danneel opened her mouth, closed it and then just stared at him, lost for words.

“Great!” Chad – risking life and limb – took her arm and steered her in the direction of his own SUV, dropped off by his long suffering PA a couple of hours earlier as Chad had ridden in with Jeff and the others from Hernandez's residence and waved goodbye to Tom and Mike watching in open mouthed awe from the ER entrance. “I could really go for something greasy and fried, I know a great place not far from here.” He loaded a still speechless Danneel into the passenger seat and buckled her in, saying magnanimously. “And don't even think about all the calories and crap. I like women with big asses.” The door slammed on her indignant squeak and he flashed her a thumbs up through the window, saying in loud triumph, “Don't even care about zits. See? Totally sensitive!”

Danneel watched him jog around the hood of the car and muttered grimly to herself, “I am stabbing him with a fork first chance I get.”

~*~*~*~

Jared didn't manage to catch up with Jensen until after he and Jeff had dealt with still being inconveniently in situ – with several unconscious criminals and perverts – in Hernandez's house, more than a few traumatised sexual victims, a smattering of runaways and one young man that had been trying to catch a bus out of LA for the weekend to visit his folks and was unfortunate enough to be small, dark and blue eyed and exactly what one discerning soon to be former client of Hernandez had requested. Then there had been the controlled chaos of getting everyone to the hospital to be checked over, loved ones to be contacted, shocky victims to try and comfort and Chris to be restrained when he had seen the state of Steve and had tried to separate Hernandez from his balls – with his bare hands.

All in all it had been a very successful evening, aside from the looming court case that they would now be required to give evidence at and normally managed to avoid by hopping out various back entrances when the cops were coming in the front.

Jared stood back unnoticed as Jeff and Jensen stood in the small ante room at the hospital that had been turned over to the police for any necessary statement taking and talked with their cop contact, Paul Smith.

“You said you'd be out of there when we came in.” Smith, a hardened detective with some twenty years on the force and the face of a very sad hound dog, said reproachfully to Jeff and Jensen. “You said you'd go in there and give us a reason to go in there and then you'd leave. Without being seen.” He managed to look even more mournful. “This is not a definition of not being seen that I am familiar with. This is the very opposite of not being seen. You are highly visible.” He heaved a long suffering sigh. “I could probably see you from space.”

Jeff and Jensen exchanged furtive looks and then looked at the cop. “Sorry,” said Jeff, not sounding it in the least. “You know how Danneel gets.”

Smith fixed his droopy eyes on Jeff and said pointedly, “I saw the actor guy, you know. The unarmed actor guy that kept yelling to anyone that would listen that he was a,” Drawing out the moment he pulled out a small notebook, flipped it open and read laboriously, “'A god-damned, motherfucking hero who deserves a motherfucking medal because he is just that awesome. Dude.'” He flipped the notebook shut again and looked back up at Jeff and Jensen, both now fighting back wholly inappropriate grins at hearing Chad's words come out of their lugubrious friend's mouth. “And I also saw the short guy with the hair that kept trying to beat up all my perps. While they were cuffed and helpless.”

Jensen flashed a killer grin. “Best way. Less chance of them fighting back.”

Smith was not amused. “You know I hate having to explain you guys.” He managed, impossibly, to look even more depressed. “It never ends well.”

“Sure it does!” Jeff, himself not the sunniest of men, clapped a bracing hand on Smith's hunched shoulder and gave him a bright, slightly desperate smile. “This ended great! You got everything you needed, we got the kids we were after and no one got shot. This was an excellent ending.”

“There's going to be questions asked.” said Smith, not convinced by this rallying speech in the slightest. “The press.” He pointed past Jeff and Jensen to where Jared was standing in the doorway. “It's not like I can hide him, he's fucking huge.”

Swinging around, Jensen and Jeff stared at Jared, who waved a laconic hand whilst glaring at Jensen, and stepped into the room. “Hi. Everything okay?”

Jensen's eyes fastened guiltily on the handcuff still clasped around Jared's wrist with the cut chain still swinging jauntily from it and he said warily, “Yes?”

“Great,” said Jared, baring his teeth in a smile that bore more than a passing resemblance to a shark's. “You got a minute?”

Never accused of being an idiot, Jensen gestured hurriedly to Smith and said, “We're kinda busy, maybe....”

“Great,” said Jared, ignoring him and stepping forward to grab his arm and yank him towards the door. “Now totally works for me too.” He tugged Jensen out into the hallway and shoved him towards the exit, saying grimly, “In case you were wondering, this is not an accidental kidnapping. This time I know exactly what I'm doing.”

“Yeah, getting your ass kicked if you don't get the fuck off me.” Jensen snapped, seeing a couple of familiar faces from the crime scene cops go past in a speedy blur, and trying to tug his arm free. “Seriously, let me go!”

Jared did so the moment they were outside, only to spin Jensen and shove him up against the wall of the hospital. “Leaving me like that was not cool.”

Used to being intimidated by far more menacing people than Jared, Jensen pushed away from the wall and into Jared's personal space. “Well, getting my client beaten up or shot isn't cool either. I did my job, dude, deal with it.”

“Your job sucks,” retorted Jared, stiff with fury. “Really fucking sucks. You're an asshole.”

“I'm a professional.” said Jensen, stung. “A fucking professional who happens to be pretty fucking good at what he does, okay? Sorry your feelings were hurt, Princess, but as there's a lot of families that are going to be fucking ecstatic that they've got their kids back today I'm going to have to say that it was worth it and try not to let it keep me up when I finally get to my bed, alright?”

Jared resisted the urge to take a swing at his sneering face, but only just. “We were meant to be in it together! You should have let me have your back.”

Gaping, Jensen became aware they were starting to attract attention from a small huddle of smokers gathered a few paces away and made an effort to lower his voice to a growl and not a full out yell. “You're a fucking actor! What were you going to do; throw together an impromptu skit of Midsummer Night's Dream as a distraction while I snuck up behind and took 'em out from the back? I did the right thing!”

Taking a step forward, Jared used his superior mass to muscle Jensen back against the wall and hiss, “You fucking didn't do the right thing. What if you'd gotten hurt again? What if they'd got their hands on you?” His hands bunched into fists and he slammed them into the wall on either side of Jensen's startled head. “What would have happened then?”

Exasperated, Jensen threw up his own hands and tried to shove Jared away, forgetting in his angry frustration to keep his voice down. “What always happens. I would have handled it and my actual back up would have come through for me.” He waited a beat and then added scathingly, “You know, the guys that are actually trained for this.”

All the breath left Jared in a punched out wheeze and he snapped back, “Yeah, because they did such a great job last time. Or wasn't that you roofied, bruised and fucking naked in your offices?”

“That's my job!” Jensen yelled at the top of his lungs, no longer caring who was listening and sick to death of trying to justify himself to Jared. “I get beat up and I get drugged and I get naked and I catch bad guys. I'm meant to do that. I'm doing my job.”

Jared reared back at the bellow and stared at Jensen for a moment before saying hoarsely, “You don't get how fucked up that is? I've seen you, man, remember? I've seen you on your own, thinking that you won't be able to get away or fight someone off and I know how fucking scared you get. I know how much it takes out of you.”

Jensen froze, staring at him with an utterly naked expression before collecting himself and looking hurriedly away. “You don't know shit. It's an act. I know how to put on a good show, get what I want.”

“Liar,” said Jared, with certainty. “You can tell Jeff and the others that and you can even tell yourself that, but I've seen you, Jensen - you and Danneel - and I know how scared you can get.” His voice dropped, gentled, and he said quietly, “I just wanted to give you one night where you didn't have to feel like that. Where you knew you weren't alone.”

Jerking his eyes back to Jared, Jensen looked startled before frowning in bafflement. “Why? Why would you care? You don't even know me.”

“No,” Jared nodded in wry agreement. “And you make it really fucking hard to try, Jensen.” He grinned in bitter amusement. “Really fucking hard.”

Jensen continued to look baffled.

Sighing, Jared said, “Look, I know you think we got off to a really crappy start,” He grinned, thinking of Chad's outrage over his kicked out car window and then the punched out one that followed shortly after. “But I like you. When you're not trying to kick my ass or calling me names or being a totally defensive asshole then you're funny and smart and kind and kind of crazy brave and I want to get to know you better. I want to take you out for dinner and have a couple of beers after and I want to go to games and make sure you're okay after a tough case and listen when you've had a shitty day and...” He broke off in frustration when Jensen continued to stare at him incredulously and shoved away from the wall, shaking his head in defeat. “Forget it, okay? I thought there was something there and I guess I was wrong. Good meeting you.”

It took Jensen a good ten seconds of blinking after Jared's retreating figure before he shook off his inertia and jogged after him. “Hey, wait a minute.” He grabbed Jared's arm when the taller man ignored him and jerked him to a stop. “I said wait!” He pulled his hand away when Jared turned and glared at him and demanded, “And you want to sleep with me too, right? You want to get me in the sack.”

Jared narrowed his eyes dangerously. “You've had a rough couple of days so I'm gonna let that go.” His jaw twitched when Jensen looked confused and he spat, “I don't just want your ass, Jensen. Don't class me with all the other scumbags you know, alright? I want you. I want to get to know you, not the guy you show everyone else. I want you the way that Danneel gets you or Jeff or Steve or Tom and Mike.” He sighed heavily when Jensen still stared warily at him and said plainly, “I want to be your friend.”

Looking like he'd never heard anything more unlikely, Jensen squinted at Jared and said suspiciously, “Really?”

“Yes!” yelled Jared. “Jesus, why is that so hard to believe? You can't be that much of an asshole!”

Jensen's lips twitched in sudden amusement. “You'd be surprised.” He shoved his hands into his pants' pockets and stared at the ground, muttering doubtfully, “So, you want to....date me?”

Jared ground his teeth at the question and glared at the top of Jensen's bent head. “Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “Though God knows why at the moment.”

Biting off a laugh, Jensen looked up at him challengingly. “I'm not giving up my job. I'm still going to keep doing what I do.”

Even though he already knew that – and mournfully abandoning his idea of installing Jensen in his house and showering him with gifts and loving attention for the rest of his life – Jared said with a sudden stab of hope, “Yeah, I know.” He sighed. “And I'll try to find a way of dealing with it. I just want to be there for everything else. I think we could be good together.”

Back to frowning again, Jensen studied him closely for some moments before slowly nodding. “Okay.”

Jared blinked. “Okay?” He blinked again. “You're going to give us a shot?”

“Yeah.” Looking a little startled himself, Jensen nodded slowly again. “Yeah, I guess I am.” He looked uncomfortable. “It's, ah, been a while since I've dated anyone. I'm gonna need some time to remember how.”

Unable to believe his luck, Jared nodded eagerly. “Not a problem. Take as long as you need.” He reached out and touched Jensen lightly on his shoulder, not quite willing push for a kiss yet. “I...this is going to work out, okay?”

Jensen didn't look completely convinced, but nodded with a wary smile and said. “I hope so.” He smiled a little brighter when Jared beamed at him and said, “And you really think you'll be okay with the job? You can live with it?”

Taking a deep breath, Jared nodded and said, “We'll work something out.”

~*~*~*~

Three weeks later Jeff walked into the conference room to start the briefing on the new job he had accepted for them that morning and stopped dead, staring in disbelief at the sight before him. “Oh hell no!”

Chad waved cheerfully from over by the coffee pot and said, “Morning, boss! Coffee?”

Jeff raked his disbelieving eyes over Jared and Chris sitting sandwiched between Jensen and Steve and then looked at Danneel, red faced on Jensen's other side and the chair next to her that Chad had obviously just vacated before topping up his coffee.

Jeff swung his incredulous gaze to Tom and Mike – as ever side by side and looking like they were in danger of rupturing themselves trying to hold back gales of laughter – and then back to the three actors who were looking distressingly implacable and determined as they stared back at him in challenge. “No!” said Jeff, firmly. “No, no, no.”

Steve snorted and snuck a look at Chris, lounging at his side with a hand resting possessively on his thigh. “Trust me, that doesn't help.”

Jared stifled a laugh at the low comment and winked at Jensen, who flushed a dull red and stared at the table top, trying, and failing, to stop his own grin.

Chad rejoined the table, dropped a kiss on top of Danneel's shiny head and informed Jeff merrily, “Dude, we rocked last time. Trust me, this is going to be awesome.”

~*~*~*

The End.

FIC: Bait, R, J2, RPS (2/3)

2009-11-01T03:09:14Z

~*~*~*

Chris was more than a little worried that he was still drunk from the night before. He could certainly think of no other reason as to why he was seated in a very expensive suite of offices in the heart of one of LA’s more affluent business districts with Jared and Chad either side of him anxiously telling him why they needed to help the scowling man and woman by the door break up a forced prostitution ring – and why the man of his lusty dreams was standing uncomfortably across the room from him looking like he was desperately wishing he was anywhere else but where he was.

Chris, without taking his eyes from the compactly muscled blond across the room, waved a hand and said negligently, “Whatever. I’m in. Get gone, kiddies, y'all run along now and let us get better acquainted.”

Chad blinked and said slowly, “Wait, that’s it? Just ‘we’re going to risk our lives to rescue some hookers’ and you say okay?”

Chris eyed the blond lecherously and grinned when the man shot him a nervous look and shuffled back a defensive step. “Yeah, that’s about the size of it. Go on now. Get.”

“Uh,” said the blond in a worried, husky voice and darted a look at Jensen and Danneel standing hovering by the door. “I don’t think....”

“Good idea,” said Jeff brusquely, sticking his head through the door to his adjoining office and glowering indiscriminately around. “Jensen and Danneel, get downstairs. Mike needs to wire you up and run a sound check. Take Chad and Jared with you and drop them off to Tom, he can measure them up and get them fixed with their own equipment at the same time.” He pointed at the blond man. “Steve, you got ten minutes and then I need you back at your station making sure we’re as ready as we can be tech wise. If you’re on the front-line on this one then we can’t afford any glitches.”

“Uh,” said the blond – Steve – said again, with another wary look at Chris and his lusty grin. “I’m good. I can....”

“Now, people!” bellowed Jeff from his office. “The clock is ticking”

Jensen and Danneel shot their friend apologetic looks and then scuttled out the door, trailing Jared and Chad in their wakes and leaving Steve shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and eyeing the window appraisingly as though he was considering making like Jensen and diving head first through it.

Chris leaned back in his chair with a wolfish grin and laced his hands behind his head, taking his time in studying the man before him. “Well, now, aren’t you just a sight for sore eyes?” He raked his appreciative gaze up the neatly muscled body, dressed in tight fitting jeans, a white wife beater and a black leather vest thrown over the top leaving nicely defined arms bared and displaying the black tattoos there against honey gold skin. He whistled between his teeth when the handsome, almost wholesome, face trying to hide behind shoulder length hair flushed and turned away from him, hiding the stormy blue/grey eyes that contrasted so beautifully with the golden colour of Steve’s hair. “Aw, darlin’, you don’t need to be shy with me. I’m more than happy to make your acquaintance.”

Steve tensed when Chris stood up and sauntered around the table to cross to the door and close it, saying hastily, “You’re clear on the fact that we only pretend to be hookers, right? We don’t actually sleep with the clients.”

Chris strutted back towards him, delighted to realise when he got closer that he had a good couple of inches in height on the other man and he had an advantage with body mass too. Long ago resigned to his smallish stature, and knowing that what he lacked in height he was more than compensated for with practically everything else he had, Chris nonetheless appreciated being able to look down on potential partners once in a while and he definitely appreciated being able to tuck them into his body and just wrap them up in his arms. He really like to cuddle. He grinned when Steve jerked away from his reaching hands and drawled, “Aw, darlin’, don’t be like that. How we gonna convince the people we need to convince that we’re screwing each other silly if you won’t even let me touch you? I thought you were a professional.”

Steve, scowling darkly and tense in every well defined muscle, snapped, “I am - in tech and logistics! I don’t do undercover.” He curled his lip at Chris and stumbled back another step. “And don’t call me ‘darlin’.”

“Well, sugar,” replied Chris, grinning helplessly at the snarl of anger from Steve at the mocking endearment and not stopping his advance. “Then that there is even more reason to get a little practise in.” He let his twinkling eyes drift once more, murmuring, “And hiding you away behind a computer desk is a crime against nature, darlin’. That’s just plain wrong.”

Steve jumped and yelped in a most embarrassing way when he backed into the wall and then jerked his vest aside to reveal a small gun tucked neatly into a holster under his armpit. “I’m armed!”

Chris stopped short, took in the picture before him and then let his lusty grin widen. “That is so hot.” And moved in for the kill.

~*~*~*~*

Jared finally managed to track Jensen down some two hours later to a small office at the very back of the suite that Jeff leased for his company, hunched over a desk and studying a scattered pile of files there. “Hey.” He smiled hesitantly when Jensen’s head jerked up and then other man blinked blearily at him through a pair of wire framed glasses for a moment before his default setting of a dark scowl reasserted itself. “You got a minute?”

Jensen shook his head. “No. I’m busy.” He looked back down at his files and said dismissively, “I’ll catch you later.”

Jared, ruthlessly quashing a stab of irritation, advanced into the room and ignored the resentful glower that earned him from Jensen. “Seriously, I just need a minute. I just want to clear the air.”

Jensen snorted. “Uh-huh. Good luck with that.”

“Can you stop being such a defensive asshole for two seconds and just listen to me?” snapped Jared, pleased when that finally got Jensen’s head up and his eyes focused on him. “ I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but I just wanted to apologise again. I really am sorry, alright? I just wanted a chance to you without you running off and the guys just thought that....”

Jensen snorted again. “They thought that kidnapping me and cuffing and wrapping a fucking ribbon around me were the way to go?”

Jared winced and conceded that Jensen had a point. Although walking into his hotel room in West Hollywood and finding Jensen lying on his bed like the world’s most pissed off Christmas present had undoubtedly been a blessing on his side, he wasn’t under any illusions that Jensen felt the same way. He sighed heavily. “I really am sorry. They would never have done something like that if they didn’t trust me absolutely not to take advantage of the situation and you. I just wanted to talk to you and ask you to have lunch with me or something.”

Jensen laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I get that reaction all the time. People tie me up and confine me because they just want to get to know me better.” He looked away and down dismissively. “Look, we’re good, consider the air cleared. I have a lot of work to do.”

Grinding his teeth together, Jared didn’t move and instead settled back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest determinedly. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

Jensen glanced up in irritation and then refocused on his files. “You silver tongued bastard, you.” He splayed an elegantly manicured hand on top of his pile of paper and said heavily, “I’ve got a lot of work to do before we go out tonight. Seriously, we’re good. Can you please just leave me to get on with this and make sure I haven’t missed anything?”

Frowning, Jared took in the heavy circles under Jensen’s eyes and the white pallor of his skin, saying hesitantly, “You look like you need some rest.”

Startled, Jensen blinked at him and replied just as hesitantly, “I’m fine. I’ll catch a nap or something later.” His mouth twisted like he suddenly got a bad taste in it. “Not like I didn’t get enough rest last night. Or at least I’m assuming I did, the details are a little hazy.”

Jared studied him and said slowly, “Chris and Chad said you were really out of it when they found you. That happen a lot?”

For a moment Jensen’s face was utterly defenceless and looked so broken and young that Jared had to fight back the urge to leap the desk and wrap him up in his arms and then he shook it off and the cool assessing mask was back in place. “That’s the name of the game, right? Its what I signed up for.”

“Why?” Jared blurted the question before he could stop himself, a hand flailing in the space between them. “You and Danneel could have been anything, why are you doing this? Don’t you want to do something else?”

Jensen stared at him and then his mouth quirked at the corner in a tiny smile. “So you mean you didn’t grow up dreaming that you were going to let rich, amoral bastards drug you and paw you and, on the really fun occasions, sell you to their friends for another round of the same fun?” He caught Jared’s stricken gaze with his own and sighed heavily after a moment, offering in a much softer voice, “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean that.” He cocked his head, studying Jared intently and then said quietly, “Danneel and I didn’t start out like this. We were actors, pretty good ones too. Got a few parts and things were starting to take off for us.” Real distress shaded his eyes as his voice grew husky and pained. “We shared a place with a girl who was trying to make it in the business like us, but she came from a wealthier background so she didn’t have to work in other places like we did to make ends meet between jobs and she got into the party scene pretty heavily. She went to a party one night one of the bigger agents threw and when she woke up nearly two days later she’d been dumped pretty much naked in a flea bag motel outside of town, marks over every inch of her and no memory of what happened.” Jensen stared down at his hands, clenching into fists on the desk and crumpling his paperwork, saying hoarsely, “She was a sweet kid, you know? Not bucking for sainthood any time soon, but she was sweet and she didn’t deserve what happened to her. She never got over it. Jumped at her own shadow, stopped caring about work, how she looked, her friends and then one night she just couldn’t take it any more and she killed herself in the private hospital her family had booked her into to try and help her. She was only twenty-two.”

Arrested by the bleak look on Jensen’s face, Jared said quietly, “I’m sorry. Did they ever catch who did it?”

His jaw tightening, Jensen shook his head. “No, not at first. There’s was nothing anyone could do. The cops investigated, but they couldn’t prove anything because there wasn’t anything linking her to the party that night aside from what she’d told us about where she was going and nobody there was talking. She was just another spacey party girl that got in over her head and she got shunted down the priority list when the new cases kept coming in. Danneel and I....we kept looking. Kept asking questions even after her family had given up hope and then Danneel came home one day and she’d gotten hold of tape and our friend was on it. That....” Jensen swallowed, looking pale and sick even after the intervening time. “That night they’d taped what had happened to her. It had been doing the rounds and...we went back to the police then and showed them the tape, but they still couldn’t identify anyone off the tape, they’d been too careful. Hell, they couldn’t even get a location.” He glanced up at Jared. “That’s when Jeff showed up at our door. He’d been told about us by a friend he had down at the station that thought he might be able to help. Turns out he’s been after the people that had hurt our friend for a long time and she wasn’t the first one that had been hurt. They'd made a business out of it over the years. Jeff asked us if he could ensure our safety if we’d go in undercover for him and get the evidence that he needed to help the police start a proper investigation and we agreed.” He shrugged. “The rest is history.”

Aching for Jensen and the pain etched over his face, Jared asked, “You got them?”

A look of vicious pride twisted Jensen’s handsome face. “In spades. We got them all. Danneel managed to find the unedited copies of the movies they were selling and from there ID’ing them was easy.” He leaned back in his chair with a weary sigh and said, “It couldn’t bring our friend back, but it stopped it happening to other kids like her. After that Jeff asked us to help him out occasionally and then we started doing more jobs for him than we were acting and then we were pretty much doing it all the time and it was five years later.” Almost to himself, Jensen muttered, “And its good work. Important work. We make a difference.”

Jared wished he knew what to say – or who Jensen was trying to convince, himself or Jared. He gestured to the files and paper on the desk. “So you’re going to save these kids too?”

Jensen scowled for a moment, glaring at Jared as though he suspected he was being mocked and then relaxed minutely when he realised he wasn’t. “Yeah. That’s the plan. I just gotta close out one more job later on today and then I’m with you until this ends.”

Jared smiled, wide and genuine. “I think I can handle that.”

*~*~*~*~

Hours later, Jared wasn’t sure he could handle any part of Jensen’s professional life. He wasn’t sure at all. He sat forgotten on a chair at the back of a room in Jeff’s suite of offices watching as Tom snapped pictures of a bloody and slightly bruised, nearly naked and unconscious Jensen and then finally put his camera aside after a small eternity and began to matter of factly wipe him clean. Jared stared impotently when Tom manipulated Jensen into various positions as he cleaned him and then finally covered him with a light blanket and sat on the edge of the couch he’d dumped his friend on. “He’s okay.” Jared started when Tom spoke and it took him a moment to realise that he was actually the one the older man was talking to. “We got to him in time.”

Jared looked past him to when Jensen’s slack face and tousled hair was just visible past the bend of Tom’s knee. “Yeah, looks like it.”

Tom flinched and hunched his massive shoulders unhappily. “He’s fine. This is pretty good. He’s going to be fine.” He laid a hand on Jensen’s shoulder when he stirred and slurred something in his sleep, saying reassuringly, “I got you, Jensen, you’re okay.”

Jared was totally ashamed of the spike of jealousy he felt when Jensen quieted down and relaxed with only a few more disgruntled murmurings.

Tom glanced back at him, eyes pained and miserable. “We had to let him take it through to the end to get what we needed. Believe me, none of us like leaving him or Danneel under when they’ve been compromised.”

Jared felt his jaw twitch angrily. “And by ‘compromised’ you mean ‘drugged within an inch of their lives’?” He took dark satisfaction in the shamed flush that suddenly stained Tom’s cheek and stared past him deliberately at Jensen’s oblivious face. “I hope it was worth this.”

Tom looked down at where his hand was still resting on Jensen’s smooth shoulder and his hand flexed once before he forced himself to let go. “He’ll think so.” Tom himself looked as though he rather doubted it, but he shrugged and muttered quietly, “He always does.”

A long silence fell between them when they both sat lost in their own thoughts and watching Jensen sleeping off the effects of his latest case until finally the man lying prone began to stir uneasily, frowning and his voice rising and falling in agitation as he fought his way through the cocktail of drugs he’d been slipped. Jared wasn’t even conscious of having moved until he was standing behind Tom on the couch and staring down over his shoulder into bleary and confused green eyes. Jensen looked at him with no comprehension for a moment and then shrank back into the couch cushions, eyes widening with a look of total terror and bewilderment and looking so helpless for a moment that Jared physically ached to shove Tom aside and scoop him up into a hug.

“Jensen!” Tom’s voice cut across the tension with quiet urgency. “Jensen, focus, you’re okay. You’re safe. We got you out.” He threw an angry glance back and up at Jared. “You want to back up a little? You’re freaking him out.” He turned back without waiting to see if Jared obeyed and moved himself into Jensen’s eye line. “Jensen, come on, focus on me. Just look at me, can you do that? Don’t look at anything else, just me.”

Though he had stepped back as requested, Jared only went as far as he had to to give the two men some space and still be able to keep Jensen in his sights. He watched as Jensen forced himself to keep his eyes on Tom and calm his panicked breathing, listening intently to the practised, soothing nonsense Tom was muttering at him even as he kept a grounding hand on his shoulder and forced him to listen. It seemed an eternity before Jensen’s breathing slowed to a normal pace and his eyes lost the panicked, wide eyed look and he licked at dry lips, slurring huskily, “What happened?” He struggled under Tom’s hand to sit up, growling angrily when his friend held him down and then grunting his thanks when the dark haired man heaved a deep sigh of annoyance and helped him up into an uncomfortable looking half sitting, half slouched position. “Ow.” He fumbled to lift his blanket and stared under it before looking back up at Tom, his face twisting in a mix of anxiety and annoyance. “Did I get roofied?” He paused and then growled angrily, “Again?”

Tom laughed mirthlessly. “’Fraid so, buddy.” He patted Jensen’s shoulder comfortingly. “We got you out though.”

Jensen looked up at him, his expression naked as the rest of him and desperate in its intensity. “Did they... I don’t remember. Did they touch me?”

Even from his awkward position from behind Tom, Jensen could see the stain of angry colour rising up Tom’s throat and face and his big hand clutching hard at Jensen’s shoulder before he could stop himself. “No. They got your clothes off, but we got to you in time. They didn’t touch you. Nothing happened.”

Jensen went utterly boneless with relief for a moment, eyes closing and hiding the emotions there before releasing a shuddering breath and smiling crookedly up at Tom. “Thanks.” He slipped to the side, making a wordless sound of annoyance when his face got smushed uncomfortably into the sofa back and he didn’t have the strength to push himself back up. “Thirsty.”

“Okay.” Tom stood and matter-of-factly bent to arrange Jensen more comfortably on the couch, his actions speaking of a lot of practice in doing so to Jared’s unhappy realisation, and then stepped back. “I’ll go get you some. Back in a minute.” He stopped when Jensen managed to grab his wrist and said, “What? You hungry too? You want something to eat.”

Jensen looked blank for a minute and then nodded. “Yeah, that’d be good.” He frowned to himself and said woozily, “But that wasn’t it.” He frowned some more while Tom stood patiently next to him and then his face cleared. “It was....we got what we needed, right? We can close the case out?”

Sounding exasperated and fond and not a little angry, Tom said, “Yeah, Jensen, we got what we needed. We’re closing the case down.” He gently tugged his wrist free, glancing back at Jared and said, “Watch him.” Before stalking out of the room.

Jensen jumped in surprise when his bleary eyes fell on Jared again, apparently having forgotten he was in the room. He pressed back against his cushions, wariness once more overcoming his features and clumsily tried to pull the blanket further up his torso rather than just leaving it to pool across his waist like Tom had. Jared, keeping his movements slow and easy, moved forward and caught the blanket to tug it up Jensen’s body and tuck it in around his shoulders. “Better?”

Jensen stared at him, looking confused and more than a little cute with his spiky hair and lean body swaddled in the fluffy blanket. “Yeah, thanks.” He blinked slowly, licking dry lips and asked in confusion, “You go with the guys?”

It was Jared’s turn to look confused and then his face cleared when he got Jensen’s meaning. “Oh, you mean to get you out? No.” He shook his head and privately thought that was a very good thing. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to keep it professional if he’d have been there when they had brought Jensen out. It was bad enough seeing the aftermath of the situation he had willingly gone into – actually bursting in on the man defenceless, nearly naked and hurt whilst being mauled and hurt by unforgiving hands might have done taken Jared some place he wasn’t sure he would have been able to come back from. “Jeff asked me and Chad and Chris to stay here and try and familiarise ourselves with the files you guys had on Hernandez and to see if we spotted anyone we knew in the missing people files you have attached to him. I was around when they brought you back and wanted to see if I could help.”

“Oh.” Jensen looked confused by this, but gave his head a clumsy shake after a moment and said tiredly, “You have any luck? You recognise anyone?”

Sheer rage and disgust flashed in Jared’s eyes. “Yeah. Couple of women.” He turned away unable to meet Jensen’s eyes. “Jeff says we couldn’t have known, but....” He scrubbed a rough hand over his eyes and snarled angrily, “We never touched them ourselves, but we were around at a couple of parties that they were at. We never noticed a thing out of place.”

Jensen looked up at him sympathetically. “That’s what these people do, Jared, don’ feel bad. Its nor your fault.” He smiled a glassy, sloppy smile as his eyes slid closed. “And you’re going to do something now, right? Now you know.”

“Yeah,” said Jared as he watched while Jensen slipped away into sleep once more and felt something warm and huge unfold in the general vicinity of his heart. “Now I know I’m gonna do something.”

~*~*~*~

“Seriously,” hissed Steve the following night when they had gathered in the conference room for a last debrief before heading out for their first op as an undercover team. “I think this is a bad idea to send me anywhere with the man unarmed. He won’t leave me alone. Just keeps touching me!”

Jensen and Danneel turned their heads in unison to look across the room at Chris with eyes fixed on Steve and an undeniably lustful look on his face. They looked back at Steve, who blushed hotly.

“You two are used to this!” continued Steve, trying to sidle behind Jensen and thus put an extra useful body between himself and his fake new boyfriend. “There’s a reason that I work behind the scenes, I’m no good at this! I don’t know what to do.”

Danneel raised a well shaped eyebrow in Chris’ direction when he licked thoughtfully at his lower lip and walked away from Chad without so much as a by your leave and headed in their direction. “Apparently you only really need to do the scared virgin routine. That seems to totally work for him.”

Steve glared at her from behind Jensen’s shoulder which was suddenly shaking with mirth. “I’m not a virgin!”

“Glad to hear it, darlin’.” Said Chris smoothly as he joined them. “That mean I can step up this seduction routine and get you in to bed sooner?”

Steve gaped at him incredulously as Jensen gave up the battle and laughed outright. “Seduction routine? This is not a seduction routine. This is assault and molestation.” He scowled, growling as an afterthought, “And don’t call me ‘darlin’!”

Chris not the least bit dissuaded, leered and informed him, “When you get all het up like that I just want to strip you down and lick you all over like ice cream.”

Steve jerked back against the wall, looking alarmed, and yelped, “I want my gun!”

His leer growing wider, Chris leaned around Jensen and waggled his eyebrows in invitation as he said huskily, “You want to play with mine instead?” He winked. “I’ve been told I’m really packing some heat.”

“Chris,” said Jared wearily as he joined the small group and Steve batted a stealthy groping hand from sneaking around Danneel and trying grab his ass. “Could you not? Leave him alone.”

Steve looked up at Jared and said doubtfully, “Thanks.” He switched his attention back to Chris when the brunette edged a little closer to him and said, “Seriously, I can go armed tonight!”

Chris, undeterred, licked his lips appreciatively and said huskily, “You promise just to wear a leather holster and nothing else and you got yourself a date, darlin’.”

“Chris!” Jared yelled when Steve looked mildly ill and pressed himself back against the wall again, fumbling under his arm for a gun that wasn’t there. “Quit it or I’ll shoot you.” He glared at his friend until Chris scowled back and folded his arms over his chest grumpily and then turned his head to look at Jensen. “Hey, you doing okay? You sure you’re ready for tonight?”

Jensen swapped a baffled look with Danneel at the low, concerned tone of Jared’s voice and said, “Uh, yeah?” He looked Jared up and down, taking note of the gentle earnestness of his expression and added as an afterthought, “You?”

Looking alarming like every door-to-door bible salesman that had ever tried to save Jensen’s soul in his youth, Jared fixed him with soft eyes and said, “I’m fine.” He raked his gaze tenderly over Jensen’s face and said, “If you’re not up to this tonight we don’t have to do it. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, you know that, right? Nothing. I’d never force you to do anything that made you uncomfortable.” He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, informing a decidedly nonplussed Jensen, “You’re safe with me.”

Jensen stared, lost for words.

Not afflicted in any way by that particular malady, Danneel sniggered and elbowed her friend in the side, crowing, “He knows that the last guy who tried to make you do stuff ended up in the ER nursing two black eyes and a cracked jaw, right?” She patted Jared’s arm condescendingly. “But you’re very sweet. For a total moron.”

“Hey,” said Mike, walking over and throwing an arm around Danneel’s shoulders. “What are we talking about?” He took in Steve still plastered against the wall and eyeing Chris with a combination of terror and murderous rage, Jensen standing slack jawed staring at Jared and Chris waggling his eyebrows and licking his lips suggestively at Steve. He frowned. “We good?” The hand not currently cupping Danneel’s shoulder dropped to his hip and twitched aside the edge of the long leather jacket he wore to reveal a gun. Steve’s eyes snapped to it and he made a low sound of yearning in his throat. “If we’re not good then I can do something about that.”

Danneel slipped an arm around Mike’s waist and snuggled in. A move, she told herself, that had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Chad had also strolled across to join them and was now leering cheerfully at her. “Padalecki was just telling Jensen how safe he was with him and that he would never force him to do anything he didn’t want to do.”

“However,” Chris broke in with another magnificent leer at Steve. “A little gentle persuasion never hurt anyone.”

His eyebrows snapping together in a ferocious scowl, Steve held out his hand to Mike and snapped, “Gun! Now!”

Mike looked between Chris and Steve, stared piercingly at the brunette and then let himself relax, evidently reassured by something only he could see in Chris’ smiling blue eyes. He looked at his smaller friend – a man who he personally thought spent way too long behind his beloved computers and other associated hardware and needed a little goosing every now and then – and said cheerfully, “I think you can handle things without hardcore weaponry, Carlson.”

Steve stared at Mike in bitter betrayal and spluttered indignantly, “Weapons of mass destruction might not be enough! He just won’t quit!”

Chris winked in thanks at Mike and informed Steve with a smirk and lusty relish, “You think I got stamina now, you just wait till I get you in the sheets. I’m unstoppable.”

Danneel patted Steve’s arm comfortingly, “I got some spare Mace. Say the word and its all yours.”

Abruptly Jensen shook himself down from where he held Jared’s gaze with his own incredulous one and bellowed indignantly, “I’m safe with you? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Jumping along with everyone else at the sudden yell, Jared looked in consternation at blazingly furious green eyes and said hesitantly, “That I’d never hurt you. Not like....” He trailed off and then repeated sincerely, “I would never hurt you.”

Jensen turned to Mike and held out an imperious hand. “Forget Steve, give me the fucking gun.” Looking like a particularly well dressed and attractive thundercloud, Jensen continued in a furious growl, “I look like I need protection to you? Fucking safe with him, I’ll show him safe!”

When Mike made no immediate move to hand over his weapon, Danneel tried to reach around his waist and free the gun herself, crowing supportively, “You go, girl!”

Mike rolled his eyes when Jared stumbled back in wounded surprise, Steve yelled a protest at Jensen getting the gun when he didn’t and Danneel fumbled again to get her hand on the grip of his weapon. “Okay, kiddies, lets take a moment here.” He dealt with the most immediate threat of Danneel and spun her neatly to shove her into Tom’s waiting arms as he strode across the room to join them after the air of armed neutrality had gone abruptly south.

Danneel squeaked indignantly when Tom immobilised her, glowered at Chad when he was helpless to stop his eyes being drawn to her abundant cleavage as it plumped attractively over Tom’s restraining arm against the bronze silk bodice of her chest and then kicked out with her spiky heels to try and catch Chad’s shin.

Yelling in surprise, Chad stumbled back, stared with worshipful eyes at Danneel’s writhing figure in Tom's arms and listened to her swear like a sailor and turned to Chris with a reverent expression. “I’m going to marry that girl.”

“Jesus Christ on a crutch,” said Chris, unsurprised. “Again? What’s that now? Number three?” He grinned to himself when he realised that everyone’s attention was now on Danneel and her extremely inventive threats being tossed in Chad’s direction and sidled with indecent haste over to Steve’s side, tossing cheerfully over his shoulder, “I think its my turn to be best man again!”

When Jeff entered the room thirty seconds later filled with gravitas and all the due professionalism that he felt the situation warranted he stopped short on the threshold and stared in gloomy annoyance at his crack team of retrieval and security experts fighting amongst themselves and yelling threats at their civilian volunteers cum clients. Jeff heaved a weary sigh to himself. “Ringmaster at a fucking circus would be easier.” And waded in to restore order.

~*~*~*~

Jensen was still bristling with outrage later on that night at the A list party they were attending. He stalked around the beautifully decorated room that was serving as venue to the starlet of the moment’s birthday, staying close to Jared’s side and being an attentive escort, but restricted himself to smiling prettily and nodding at Jared rather than engage in actual conversation because if he opened his mouth he was afraid that he might actually be tempted to bite something off his date.

Jared shot him the last in a long line of concerned looks, smiled absently at an actress he vaguely recalled working with back before she’d gone on to win a couple of Oscars and bent his head to whisper intimately in Jensen’s ear, “Are you still fucking sulking? I said I was sorry!”

Jensen turned his head towards Jared, letting his head tilt forward and his eyelashes sweep down to brush his cheeks and whispered demurely back, “Fuck you, Padalecki, I am not sulking.”

For the benefit of the actors, agents and press milling in equal measure in the packed room, Jared gave a throaty chuckle and brought one hand up to trail a slow finger down Jensen’s irritation heated cheek as he stared at him with besotted lust on his face. “You’re sulking like a little pussy. I got it, okay? You’re tough. You’re a rock. You don’t need anyone or anything – now grow the fuck up and quit being such a little girl.”

Jensen raised his eyelashes and looked starry eyed into Jared’s face, shivering noticeably under the touch of his trailing finger and replied huskily, “You call me a little girl again and I‘m going to rip your balls off and ram them down your throat.”

Over the earpieces they both wore, Tom’s despairing voice said, “Oh yeah, you’re professionals alright. You want to disembowel him with a butter knife while you’re at it, Jensen?”

Jensen stared adoringly up at Jared and licked his lips slowly as he muttered for Tom’s benefit, “He thinks I need protecting! Like a chick!”

Over by the bar Danneel, draped fetchingly over a very appreciative Chad, said indignantly, “Hey!”

“Sorry,” said Jensen hastily, remembering that Danneel not only knew where he slept, but had no compunction about visiting terrible and imaginative revenge on him usually focused on his hair or facial area. “I meant a normal chick, not you.”

“Hey!” Danneel repeated with considerably more emphasis and no little offence. “I’m normal! Oh, target over by the door! I’m allowed to shoot this one, right?”

“God,” Chad groaned, voice soaked with lust and no little fear. “Chris is right, the gun thing is totally hot.”

Over their earpieces, Jeff growled, “ You’re all fired. Every last god-damned one of you.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all night.” Steve panted breathlessly over his comm. “That mean I can beat this bastard into the ground and ditch his ass?”

Jensen and Jared looked around from where they were still staring intently into each other’s eyes and searched around the room for the last members of their intrepid little band. Finally two figures in a dim corner caught Jensen’s eye and he stared bug eyed at where Chris had a squirming Steve up against the wall and was trailing a series of open mouthed kisses along the straining line of his throat as he pressed one wrist almost out of sight to the wall beside Steve’s hip and had the other wrapped around a hank of blonde hair to keep Steve’s head tilted to the side and allow Chris access to his neck and mouth. Jensen blinked. “Uh,” he blinked again and asked doubtfully, “Steve, you need an extraction?”

Danneel snorted inelegantly over the comm, being a lot closer and able to see that Steve was flushed with something a little more than embarrassment and annoyance at Chris’ attentions. “Don’t think so, Jensen.” The next time she spoke her voice was considerably harder and much less amused. “Don’t even think about it, Murray. You go one inch above or below my waist and you’ll be picking my false nails out of your face for the rest of the night.”

Chad moaned piteously. “I will give you anything you want. Marry me. I want to hear you threaten me every day for the rest of my life.”

There was a pause and then Danneel, sounding a little disconcerted, said, “Uh, Jensen, I might need an extraction.”

Jared grinned helplessly when he glanced casually over to where Chad and Danneel stood by the bar and saw his friend with his arm wrapped around his date, leaning her backwards in his embrace and staring soulfully into her eyes. His grin widened when he saw that, despite her words, Danneel was staring up at Chad with a look of confused interest on her face. “The Murray magic – all think they can resist it, none so far have managed it.” He flicked a glance down at Jensen and said hopefully, “I have the same problem. People find me irresistible.”

Jensen looked unimpressed. “Yeah, roofies have a lot to answer for.” He searched out their prey and his eyes narrowed when he saw the figure at his side, a very slight and alarmingly vacant looking girl. “Jeff, confirmation on the girl with target. Think its Agnes Delgado”

There was an abrupt shift in atmosphere between all the teams in the room and Jared saw Chris let Steve go out of the corner of his eye and tenderly stroke his tousled hair back from his reddened face before taking his hand and leading him out into the room and back under the main lights. Chad likewise straightened Danneel, keeping one arm around her waist and her tight to his side as they both looked out onto the room with just the right amount of interest and aloofness of the beautiful people surveying their domain.

Long – long – seconds later Jeff’s tightly controlled voice came over the comm. “Confirmed. Tom and Mike are moving into position outside. Guys, I know its hard but try and remember that we can’t just focus on Agnes here. There are other kids and people involved and being abused. We need Hernandez to lead us to them and the evidence we need to shut him down for good. Don’t make a move unless you’re sure we can achieve the end game.”

“Jeff,” hissed Danneel furiously, “She’s thirteen and been missing for five months. I’m not leaving her with that piece of shit for another second.”

“Danneel,” Jeff hissed back. “That’s an order. You observe and report until I give the go ahead. We’re getting her out, okay? Just wait till we have everything we need.”

Chad watching with narrowed eyes as the man that he might have called a casual friend just days previously walked calmly around the room with an under-age girl on his arm without a care in the world said absently to Danneel, “You want to disobey that order, feel free. I’ll hire you to be my bodyguard or something. Don’t feel you have to hold back because of cash flow.” He looked down at the woman under his arm and questioned hopefully, “You can do something creative and painful with flatware and ice sculptures, right?”

Danneel stared up at him, caught the cold fury in his eyes that belied his mocking words and promised with a radiant smile, “He won’t even have the breath to beg for mercy.”

Chad beamed back. “Seriously. Marry me. I’ll keep you in scumbags and sharp weaponry for the rest of your life.”

“The plan!” Jeff yelled furiously over the earpieces as he sensed his previously professional team being completely corrupted by well-intentioned but dumb reactionary tactics instead of his well thought out and conceived planning. “We have a plan. We’re sticking to the plan!”

“We’re sticking it to someone alright.” Muttered Chris, sliding an arm around Steve’s waist and bringing him flush against his side as he steered them on a collision course with their target and his date. “Its going right up his ass and it’s called my foot.”

Steve winced at the pressure around his body, tried an experimental shimmy to loosen the hold and then forced himself to relax when Chris merely tightened his hold and made a warning noise in his throat. “Kane – Chris – I know you don’t want to....”

“Shut. Up.” Growled Chris, feeling his body flush with white hot anger when they got close enough to see the blankness in Agnes’ eyes that could only be caused by some kind of narcotics and the well practised way she responded to the way Hernandez touched her and prompted her movements. “She’s a little girl!”

“Yeah, I know.” Steve said, turning his head and brushing Chris’ ear with his lips, whispering, “Let us handle this, okay? I swear we’re getting her out.” Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Jensen, you’re up.”

Jensen felt his usual numbness descend when he looked up at Jared and flashed him a blinding smile. “You heard the man, you ready for this?”

Looking down into his eyes, Jared nodded, flashed a smile of his own and said soberly, “If this guy lays a hand on you I’m going to break every bone in his body, I don’t care how much of a pussy that makes you feel.”

Danneel's voice radiated approval over Jeff’s angry protests. “You know, he’s really starting to grow on me. I like him.”

Jensen looked away from the hazel eyes boring into his own, forced himself back to the matter in hand and tried not to notice that his instinctive response to her statement was that he did too.

~*~*~*

Three hours later things had gone to hell in a handbasket and Tom and Mike were practically sitting on Chris in the back of their unmarked black van to stop him lunging out into the night and storming the house they were parked in front of with nothing more than a penknife that he’d stolen from Mike and a spare spiky shoe that Danneel had lent him.

“He’s got him in there!” Chris yelled, beside himself with rage and terror. “He’s got him in there and he’s going to do things to him and I am not sitting out here and listening to it happen without doing something about it.”

Tom grunted when he caught a flailing fist to the jaw and grabbed wildly for the offending appendage to pin it down and try and contain the fury that was Christian Kane on a tear. “He’s a professional, he can handle it!” Tom yelled back. “This is what we do!”

“He plays with fucking computers!” Chris bellowed, managing to wriggle out of Mike’s grip on his legs and kick the taller man in the stomach. “He changes a lot of fuses! He nearly passed out when I made a move on him – he cannot handle this!”

“Jensen and Danneel do this all the time.” Mike wheezed, securing Chris’ legs again and swearing viciously when Chris dug the heel of one of his dress shoes into his thigh in retaliation. “He’ll be fine.”

This was totally the wrong approach to take.

“Jensen nearly got raped the other night!” Chris bucked even more furiously, the sound of ripping cloth sounding loud in the van as his jacket gave way under the pressure. “That is not fine! That is so far away from fine you can’t even see it!”

Danneel sitting hunched between Chad’s legs and listening intently to what was happening in the house via Steve’s thankfully still in place earpiece, shouted, “Shut up! I can’t hear and if I can’t hear then I can’t....No! No, Steve, don’t do that! Don’t fight! Just relax and let it happen, they’re just going to....” She broke off and said urgently to where Jeff was sitting in the driver’s seat, “We have to get in there. They’re hitting him again. Jeff, you need to give us a go.”

Jeff, calmly checking his gun and trying to ignore Chris redoubling his efforts to get to Steve in response to Danneel’s report, spoke to Jensen over the isolated frequency they were using to communicate with the van that held Jensen and Jared parked in front of them. “Jensen, have you contacted Smith?”

“Yeah,” came Jensen’s taut response over the speaker situated on the dash of the van. “He’s got his guys on alert. He’s just looking for a reason to come in.”

Jeff shoved his gun into his shoulder holster and said with satisfaction, “Then let's go give him one.” He turned in his seat and bellowed, “Quit it!” He glared when the three struggling men in the back froze and then pointed a warning finger at Chad and Chris. “We’re going in. You are staying here. Our contact with the police is waiting on our signal, but they can’t come in without a warrant unless they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed or that someone is in physical danger. Hernandez has always been too clever to give them anything to get a warrant so we need to get in there and give our guy a reason to follow us.” He looked narrow eyed at Chris. “Every minute you hold us up is another minute that Steve is without back up. Stop being an ass and let us go do what you hired us to do.” Without waiting to see if he would be obeyed, he turned to look at Danneel and looked apologetic. “We need an in. Rough trade.”

Danneel didn’t hesitate in pulling her headphones off and tossing them to Chad before scrambling to her knees before Jeff and saying briskly, “Hit me.” And crashing back on her ass when he did.

“What the FUCK?” yelled Chad, lunging for Danneel and yanking her up off the floor and as far away from her crazy, crazy boss as he could. “What the hell did you do that for?”

Danneel shook her head trying to shake the woozy feeling Jeff’s backhanded slap had caused and touched a cautious finger to her mouth, nodding in satisfaction when she felt the swelling already starting and the trickle of blood starting to spill. “Good job.” She patted reassuringly at Chad when he clutched at her and tried to swipe the blood away with his own hand. “This is a rough gig. They’re hurting people in there and we need to get in without alerting them that they’ve been compromised. I’m fine, happens all the time.”

Chad stared down into her beautiful, bruising face and said with heartfelt sincerity, “I’m not kidding. Marry me. You’re totally nuts and seriously need protecting from yourself. I have three houses and a yacht, I’m loaded. You won’t even have to rip a nail to get them.”

Danneel blinked, laughed and then pushed out of his arms and squeezed past Chris to jump out of the van in Tom and Mike’s wake. “Ask me again when I don’t have possible concussion.”

Jeff rolled his eyes when Chad turned an accusing stare on him and hurriedly vacated the van when Chris looked like he was shaking off his shock at Danneel being smacked to the floor and was seriously considering launching himself at Jeff in retaliation. “Stay here. We’ll be back soon.”

Chad stared at the space he had left and then turned to look at Chris. “We doing that?”

“Oh hell no,” spat Chris, practically vibrating with fury. He stripped off his ruined jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. “Go get Jared. I’m kicking the ass of anyone that even looked at Steve.”

~*~*~*

part three

FIC: Bait, R, J2, RPS (1/3)

2009-11-01T03:02:37Z

Author: breea1
Rating: R (for language)
Disclaimer: Not true in the slightest.
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Synopsis: Jared Padalecki would really like to stop accidentally kidnapping the hot, angry guy with the smokin' green eyes because - if nothing else - it makes it really damn difficult to talk to the man and get a date when he's trying to climb out of a window or scale a twelve foot high fence to get away. And Jared's a nice guy - accidental kidnappings aside, obviously. Jensen Ackles would really like the tall guy with the sincere smile and desperate explanations to stop abducting him because - well, because its really damn annoying, okay? He's trying to do a job here! Jeffrey Dean Morgan runs a private security firm that employs Jensen and his best friend Danneel because they're pretty, they're not bad at fighting off unwanted attentions until rescue arrives and they really good at what they do. He'd really like them to remember that they're good at their jobs and stop trying to wriggle out of the lucrative contract they've scored just because one of the clients happens to have accidentally held Jensen against his will a couple of times. Or three. They're meant to be professionals after all.

Author's note: I have no excuse. One day the image of Jensen lying on a bed, half naked, confused and scowling as he slurs 'Christ, I got roofied? Again?" popped into my head and, well, the above was born. Also Danneel scowling 'What's with the pretty boy parade?" was pretty damn funny too. Entry No. 2 in the rpf_big_bang challenge.

Dedications: To the two wonderful people who unfortunately got assigned me (an by extension my very disorganised life) for this project, and not only showed amazing grace and understanding through the ridiculous ups and downs of getting this done, but showed they were wonderfully talented to. Many thanks to awakencordy and Marcy (I don't have your lj name!), who also took the time to beta some of this for me when I flapped a week or so ago and forgot to send her the update in a timely fashion.

Art Post:wonderful art and fanmix

~*~*~*

Jensen Ackles stared at the man before him nervously chewing his lips and shifting from foot to foot anxiously. He looked around himself incredulously, taking in the big bed, the silken sheets and the silken and gauze drapes that hung from every available surface and then back at the big – really, really fucking big – guy staring at him worriedly.

Then he looked down at himself, his cuffed hands, the big red bow tied around his torso and at his feet bound together at the ankles with soft black rope. “Are you kidding me?”

The big guy winced. “Look, I know this looks bad, but there's a really good explanation for this, I swear.”

Jensen tipped his head back against the mountain of soft pillows supporting his back and head, sighing at the ceiling. “I hate you so much.”

The big guy winced again. “So this is probably a bad moment to ask if you want to get dinner with me sometime?”

Jensen tipped his head forward, fixed his abductor with a baleful glare and promised darkly, “When I get free I'm going to snap your fucking neck.”

Mournful eyes blinked before the guy said hesitantly, “What about lunch? Would that work better?”

“ I hate you.” Jensen's head went back again and he closed his eyes despairingly, muttering bitterly, “I hate my whole fucking life.”

Big Guy's voice sounded a moment later. “Uh, maybe just a coffee to start?”

And so started Jensen's forth accidental abduction at the hands of one Jared Padalecki.

~*~*~*

Three Months Previously.

It had been a long night by the time Jensen Ackles had crawled into the back of the black company SUV and stretched out as best he could on the back seat whilst he waited for the rest of his team for that night to join him and for them to head back to base and sack out for the night. He scowled irritably to himself when his tight fitting jacket and dress shirt conspired to make him feel like he was suddenly wearing a strait jacket and twisted until he'd managed to pull the jacket off and then tugged open the shirt until it was opened to mid-chest and he felt like he could breathe again. He bunched the jacket up into a makeshift pillow and wedged it between the car door and seat back, leaning his head back against it with a weary sigh and flexed his long legs in their designer pants with a bone weary sigh. The pounding bass from the club he had just vacated provided a vaguely ominous sounding counterpoint to the otherwise surprising serenity of the LA night and he closed his eyes, his face falling into the lines of the frown his face seemed to wear for much of the time these last few months.

He could remember a time when he had thought his job exciting. Something worthwhile. Being that last line of defence and surety for otherwise defenceless victims to turn to when the normal channels failed them and he could also remember the bone deep satisfaction that he had used to wear almost like a suit of armour through his many forays into the seedier side of life, but, recently, that trusty suit of armour had started to feel almost....tarnished.

He knew logically that he was on the side of the good guys. He knew it every time they delivered a scared kid back to their frantic parents, or saved some hard working family from losing their hard won business or, he scowled to himself, busted yet another human trafficking ring that seemed to be popping up like mushrooms all over North America, but every time they did that it was getting just a little bit harder to wash away the filth and grime from his own skin. Like every touch had left an indelible mark on his white skin or every word that was whispered in his ear somehow found away to sear itself into his mind and now refused to leave.

He blew out a breath, frustrated with himself, and tried to not feel the sense memory of the hands that had been all over him tonight whilst his back up had ransacked the mark's office and computer files looking for the evidence they needed to break up his delightful little under-age prostitution ring. He shifted sharply in his seat, arms coming up to fold over his chest in an almost defensive gesture, face turning into the seat back and pressing against the leather and trying to catch a scent of one of his team and not the man that he swore he could still smell all over him. Expensive cologne and eager sweat and lust and....Christ! Jensen pressed his face hard into the back and wished profoundly that the job had finished that night and he had been able to kick the fucking crap out of the guy because, Jesus, nothing said 'Not a pretty, brainless little twink!' like wrapping a chair around a scumbag's head.

His face suddenly creased in an anticipatory, evil grin. At least he had that to look forward to. His mouth opened in a sudden yawn, taking him by surprise and his shoulders relaxed slightly as he pictured the repellent individual he had been up close and personal with all night beaten and bloody on the floor and then being carted off in handcuffs – eventually. His shoulders loosened even more and he sagged bonelessly against the door another yawn overtaking him. In fact there should be two chairs and possibly a table too. He yawned again. Yeah, chairs, table and....he fell asleep before he could finish the thought.

~*~*~*

“This,” announced Jared Padalecki as he jumped hurriedly into the driver's seat of his black SUV and jammed the keys into the ignition without even waiting to shut the door. “Is all your fault.”

His colleague, co-star and – God help him – one of his best friends, Chad Michael Murray managed to look wounded and gleeful at the same time. “Dude, can I help the overwhelming hotness that is us? Man, we....ooze.”

Jared slammed his door and his foot down on the gas when the back door of the club flying open and the sounds of frenzied cries of their adoring fans spilled out into the night. “You ooze. Slime. Icky, nasty, slime that will one day get us both killed because you can't keep it in your pants and we'll be ripped apart and our families will have to identify and bury nothing but little chunks of bruised and bitten flesh because that's all that will be left when the fangirls get their hands on us.”

“Yeah,” Chad sighed happily as he waved to a particularly enthusiastic young woman that had thrown herself at the side of the SUV and was rubbing her naked breasts against Jared's window in a bid for his attention. “But what a way to go!” He scrabbled for his seatbelt when Jared swung out onto the main street outside the club and, ignoring the warning of the Jared's rigid profile, rubbed his hands together, “So where to next?”

“Home!” Jared gritted out and tried to ignore the stinging in his scalp from where his hair had been caught by an especially excited fan and she had been really insistent on wanting to keep some of it for a souvenir. “We are going home and....” He broke off when a small snort interrupted him and frowned. “Was that you?”

Chad looked confused. “What?”

Jared glanced at him and then returned his eyes to the road. “That noise. It sounded like someone...” The snort sounded again. “That! That's you, right?”

Thoroughly bemused Chad shook his head. “Dude, I don't know what....”

This time it wasn't so much of a snort as a sleepy grumble.

Jared spared the road in front and around a cursory glance and then yanked the wheel to bring them screeching to the side of the road, ignoring the sounds of protesting horns all around, and stomped on the brake. He and Chad stared at each other for a long moment and then both turned to stare into the back seat. And then continued to stare.

Jensen frowned grumpily to himself in his sleep and shifted, pressing further into the car seat, and curling to present his ass for their inspection.

Two pairs of eyes dropped and stared at that for a while before lifting and turning back to stare out the windshield instead. Silence stretched, long and thoughtful, before Chad said, “Huh.” He looked sideways at Jared, caught his friend's eye, and then they both turned in unison to look back at their unexpected passenger again. “Man, they really weren't kidding when they said this model came with everything, huh?” He released his seatbelt and turned all the way in his seat to look Jensen over more closely in the dim light afforded by the street and nodded to himself. “Well, he's not what I'd normally go for, but....”

Jared grabbed wildly for his wrist before he could poke a questing finger into Jensen's hip and hissed, “Are you nuts?” He kept one wary eye on the sleeping man on the back seat even as he pulled Chad in to whisper, “He could be some kind of psychopath!”

Chad rolled his eyes and twisted his head to look back at Jensen. “Oh please. What's he gonna attack us with? Kittens?” He let his gaze rove appreciatively over the lean body and what he could just make out of Jensen's peaceful profile. “He looks like he could blind us with the pretty, but that's about it.” His mouth twisted into a leer. “Come on, admit it, you would so tap that.”

Which was, unfortunately, the moment Jensen woke up.

He frowned when he hazily registered the words spoken in an unfamiliar voice and lifted a hand to rub muzzily at his face before turning his head and looking over his shoulder....and froze when he saw two unknown faces looking down at him. His eyes widened as his mouth dropped open in a yell of surprise and he flailed in an embarrassing way for several seconds that would have had his boss firing him on the spot before managing to twist round on the seat and get into an upright position with his hands raised defensively and his body humming with adrenaline.

Okay, thought Jared wryly, so probably not a psychopath. He took in the guy's shock slack face, the horrified and confused eyes and the defensive posture of his body as he tried to shrink away from them and work out just what the hell was going on. Jared smiled and said quietly, “It's okay, we're not going to hurt you, there's been a bit of a....”

Jensen jerked at the sound of his voice and exploded into motion, flinging himself at the car door and yanking on the handle to release the catch and free him into the night. He yelled wordlessly in frustration when the handle just moved uselessly in his hand and looked wildly back at the two men when they sat stock still and watching him with open mouthed expressions. “Motherfucker!” He yelled and pounded his fist against the door. “Let me go!”

Jared closed his mouth with a snap and said hastily, “No, see, I can't. The car's got this....” He watched, once more speechless, when Jensen twisted again at the words 'I can't.' and flung himself onto his back, kicking out hard with both booted feet at the passenger window behind Chad's head and sending glass exploding out into the night. He sat, still stunned, when the guy shot him a triumphant look and scrambled up on his knees to dive head first out the window and to roll out onto the street and nearly under a moving car.

“ Holy shit!” shouted Chad, twisting round in his seat and gaping incredulously out at where Jensen was struggling gracelessly to his feet and barely managing to escape being hit by a Volvo. “Did you see that? He kicked my fucking window out!”

Jared swallowed and finished weakly, “...central locking system. I need to release it from the master switch.”

They sat watching Jensen as he shot them one last hunted look and then took off to a cacophony of shouts and loud horns into the night. They continued to stare at where he had been and then turned to sit and stare back out the windshield, still silently. After a few seconds, Chad cleared his throat. “Weird guy.”

Jared flexed his hands on the steering wheel and frowned to himself, seeing again big panicked eyes and beautifully structured face and thought to himself not so much weird as hot. He cleared his own throat. “Yeah.”

They sat some more.

“Home?” said Chad after another couple of seconds. And then slightly more plaintively. “Beer?”

“Yeah,” said Jared, quashing the feeling of disappointment in his belly that their mysterious passenger hadn't stuck around and introduced himself. “Good plan.” He couldn't resist flicking one more glance over his shoulder at the direction the man had run off in and nearly jumped out of his skin when he caught a glimpse of the man himself bearing down on them with a determined expression. “What the....?” He nearly put his spine out of permanent alignment when he tried to screw his neck around the wrong way to follow the guy's headlong dash towards them that was taking him around the back of the car and this time to the passenger window behind Jared. “Jesus, I....”

Chad, looking utterly baffled, stared at him before looking past him and seeing something that made his eyes bug out comically. “Hey, no, don't....”

They both yelled when glass shattered again, but this time spraying inside the SUV. Jared had time to catch sight of a furious, handsome face twisted with fury before a fast hand darted through the ruined window, grabbed the jacket that had been left behind in the first headlong dash away from them and then pulled the fabric out and joined its owner in making like a rabbit into the night. Chad gaped incredulously at the back seat. “He fucking broke the other window!” He gaped some more, looking wildly between Jared and the back seat. “Dude, he totally punched that bitch out!”

Jared wasn't sure if he was impressed or horrified.

And so the pattern of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles' relationship was set.

~*~*~*~

A Month and a Half Previously.

Jared was not enjoying himself – and as it was his party he felt a little short changed on the enjoyment front. The house he was renting for the four month shoot in LA was filled with people – mostly ones that Chad and Chris had picked up somewhere along the line – and although he knew a few of them and had been able to have a couple of conversations, mostly he had been left staring in bewilderment at the masses and then had slunk off to the kitchen to grab himself a couple of beers from the fridge and snuck off upstairs to his room to wait out the storm and possibly find someone on X box Live to play Madden with.

Which was why he was somewhat surprised to find himself standing just inside the doorway of his bedroom and staring with blank incomprehension at the unconscious man lying on his bed. The – after he had stared for a few more moments – very familiar looking man. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder back out at the corridor and then stepped inside and shut the door, moving to the bed to look more closely and make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him and then very carefully place the beers in his hands on the bedside table and look his fill.

It was definitely him.

Jared took in the long lines of the well dressed body sprawled before him, the long sweep of the eyelashes as they lay on flushed cheeks and the full mouth that was slightly open and allowing just a glimpse of pink tongue to be seen between white teeth. He looked heavenwards.

“Thank you.”

God apparently decided that Jared had enough evidence of His existence with the miraculous appearance of the mysterious man on his bed and didn't deign to acknowledge the heartfelt thanks, but Jared was sure he had been heard anyway.

Jared looked back down, bemused. While he appreciated the sudden reappearance of the mysterious man back in his life, he was none the less confused as to how he got there. Judging from the reaction of the man the last time he had awoken in Jared's presence he'd been under the impression that he wasn't exactly on a list of people that would actively be sought out by the other man – especially as the man had kicked out a car window and scrambled out onto a busy street to get away from him – and he was perplexed as to why he was now here. Jared frowned. Maybe he was a psychopath? A weird, hot psychopath that enjoyed secreting himself away in and around the property of the people he stalked and then freaked out when he was discovered and ran away like a scared virgin.

Jared put his hands on his hips contemplatively. “Huh.” He looked at the man some more and then reached out and tentatively poked his shoulder. “Hey. Buddy. Wake up.” He couldn't help his grin when the object of his contemplation stirred uneasily and murmured unintelligibly under his breath before falling back unconscious. Psychopath or not the guy was seriously cute. “Hey. Come on. Wake up.” This time his touch was not so much a poke as a firm touch over the man's shoulder and down his arm, fingers curling over the wrist that poked out of the dress shirt twisted around the man's body. “Wake up.”

Another murmur sounded as the man shifted and then his eyes opened lazily and stared with blurry incomprehension up at Jared. Jared smiled down, entranced by the vivid green colour of the man's irises. “Hey there.” The eyes continued to stare up at him, bewildered. “You with me?” He gave a friendly little squeeze to the man's wrist and smiled wider as he said huskily, “This is quite the surprise.”

The eyes blinked, drifted closed and then slammed open with an accompanying yell from their owner when he finally seemed to come to himself, yanked his wrist from Jared's loose hold and rolled away across the bed to drop to the floor. “Fuck!” A deep, slurred voice reached Jared's ears but before he could move the man was scrambling up from the ground, snatching up Jared's alarm clock and holding it aloft threateningly. “Who the hell are you?”

“Uh,” said Jared, blinking in shock. “I'm, uh....” He frowned, suddenly stopping short. “Hey, wait, what the hell do you mean who am I? Who the hell are you? This is my house!”

The man's unfocused eyes widened and he staggered slightly when he looked around the room, nearly dropping the alarm clock on his head when his hold on it unintentionally loosened.

Looking taken aback when the man staggered again, Jared said slowly, “Are you drunk?”

The man shook his head and nearly toppled over again and then blinked at Jared like he was having trouble focusing on him. “No, I....” He looked around again, face creasing in a mixture of confusion and the early onset of panic. “Your...house? I....The club....” He stared at Jared as intently as he could manage when his eyes kept drifting in and out of focus. “Where's Danneel? What have you...” He caught himself against the bed again when he nearly faceplanted and concluded in a hoarse shout, “Done with her?”

And then fell over.

Jared stared at the space where he had been and then edged cautiously round the foot of the bed to peer downwards at the man lying sprawled on the floor, still clutching his alarm clock. “You okay?”

The man scowled and informed Jared's knees earnestly, “I going to kick your ass.”

“Okay.” Lips twitching in an attempt to stop the smile battling to be free – and that he didn't feel would help the situation at all – Jared bent and easily dodged the weak flails of the fallen stranger to grab him under his arms and heave him ungracefully to his feet. “Let's get you up here so you can get on with that.”

Jensen struggled against the grip of the giant that was manhandling him up and managed to get in a glancing blow from his weapon – he frowned at the black cube of plastic in his hand, whatever the hell it was - but then the guy took it off him and tossed it casually aside and threw him on the bed. “Oh hell no!” Things may have gone FUBAR in a big way, but there was no way he was going down without a fight. A burst if adrenaline hit his system and he rolled off the bed again, this time managing to keep his feet and make for the door. “Get off me!”

Jared made a wild grab for his unwilling guest and cursed when he missed and the guy made the door and managed to fumble it open. “Hey, get back here!” He cursed again when, with a last hunted look over his shoulder, the guy fell through the opening and staggered determinedly out of sight. “No, wait, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!” He rocketed out the door after the fleeing man and cursed when he ran smack into a puzzled looking Chad that was staring down the corridor, away from his room.

“Dude!” said Chad, surprised. “That guy from the car!” He pointed. “The guy from the car! In your house!” He took in Jared's wild eyed expression and scowled. “Did he break some more windows?”

“Not now, Chad!” Elbowing his buddy aside, Jared took to his heels and reached the top of the stairs just in time to see his elusive and reluctant guest fall down the last three and sprawl on his face in the midst of some raucous revellers. They cheered. “Stop him!” yelled Jared, pointing with dramatic flair down the stairs. “Someone stop that guy!”

The drunken revellers cheered that too.

“Oh my God,” bemoaned Jared when the man scrambled gracelessly up and began to stagger unsteadily for his freedom. “You guys are such tools.” And raced down the stairs after his prize, Chad hard on his heels.

“I'll take the back!” yelled Chad as they reached the bottom, sounding like he was enjoying this turn of events far too much despite not knowing what the hell was going on. “Cut him off if he makes a break for it that way!”

Jared thought of the Olympic sized swimming pool out back and his quarry's current less than desirable physical and mental state and called urgently, “Just don't let him fall in the pool and drown!” as he shoved his way through his guests towards the front door tried to fight off the hands that grabbed for him and laughingly tried to hold him back. “Seriously, complete tools!” yelled Jared in frustration when he finally reached the back door and tumbled through it into the cool night air and saw that the man had managed to make it half way down the drive way and was apparently making with single minded intent towards the twelve foot high security fence and gate that enclosed the property.

“Wait!” Jared shouted urgently. “You need a....”

“OVER HERE!” The feminine bellow cut through the night air and Jared flung up a hand as high beams from a car were shone through the iron gate and momentarily blinded him. “GO!”

Jared dropped his hand at the shout and began to run even though he still had spots dancing in his vision and couldn't see clearly. “Wait! Just wait a god-damned minute!” His vision cleared enough for him to see the man give one more look over his shoulder and then turn and run with what was obviously the last of his energy at the gate. Jared gaped when the man hit it mid way and somehow managed to wedge a foot against a bar to bolster himself enough to scramble to the top. He watched with a feeling of disbelief as a slight figure jumped onto the bonnet of the car pulled up right to the gates on the other side and got a good grip on the man to drag him over the rest of the way. “Holy fucking shit!” Jared slammed painfully into the gate, unable to stop his own momentum in time, and clung onto the bars watching when the two split to roll to either side of the car and drop to the floor. “Wait, please!”

He got a brief impression of a narrow face and long, tangled red hair when the female rescuer shot him a poisonous look and then she was racing around what was pretty obviously about to become a getaway vehicle and pulling and yanking on her friend to get him to his feet. “Up! Up! Damn it, move your ass!”

Jared swore again when he saw the two attain vertical status and backed up a few feet, intending to take the same path as the man that had just given him the slip again. “No, look, just wait. I don't know what's going on here, but....”

The girl ignored him, opened the nearest car door and shoved her friend inside before slamming it shut and rolling back over the bonnet like something out of The Dukes of Hazzard and lunging for the driver's door. “Go!” the man's voice yelled, winded and desperate from the interior and with one last hunted look at Jared the girl looked over her shoulder, threw the car into reverse and floored it.

Blinking, Jared watched through the gate as the car took off – along with the hot guy – into the night. He looked round when he heard the sound of pounding feet and Chad screeched to a halt next to him. They stared at each other for a moment. Chad broke first. “Something very weird is going on.”

Jared glared at him. “You think?”

~*~*~*~

Two Weeks Previously.

The thing was the benefit was for a really good cause and normally Jared, Chris and even Chad would have been happy to be there. They'd have performed and glad handed and networked and they would have fucking shone but Jared, still sulking about his weird encounter at the party at his home weeks before, had managed to infect his two friends, fellow actors and bandmates with his bad mood and so now all of them were hiding away from the great and the good that were arrayed in all their finery out in the main area of the benefit ball and concert and were making determined inroads into a very large bottle of whisky.

“See, the thing I don't get,” said Jared, looking grim and glaring at the far wall. “Is why he keeps falling asleep where I'm gonna be and then running off. I mean, what's the point? He wanted to get my attention, right? He got it! What's the fucking point?”

“You got me, son.” Chris Kane, actor and musician extrodinaire, took a healthy swig of whiskey at Jared's side and then passed the bottle to an impatient Chad. “This whole situation is fucked.”

Chad grabbed the whiskey and moaned plaintively, “Why are we talking about this again?” He gestured morosely with the bottle towards the door of the conference room they were currently occupying and the very faint sounds of the merriment wafting through it. “Why aren't we out there where there's girls and booze and girls. That want to sleep with us!”

Chris grabbed the whiskey back and glared at Chad. “We're sticking with our buddy. Supporting him. Being pals.”

“Being pussies more like.” Snorted Chad. “He's seen the guy a grand total of two times – one of those times ended up costing me a small fortune to get my car fixed, by the way – and the guy's been fucking drunk or high or something every time and keeps booking on him! We're not exactly talking the love affair of the century here.”

Jared groaned and sunk lower in his slouch, morosely reflecting that things were looking pretty bad in his world when Chad Michael Murray was pointing out that Jared was acting like an ass and it wasn't the other way around. “I know, I know! I don't even know why I'm so fixated on this, you know? Its just so....”

“Weird.” The other two chimed in, looking irritated and resigned at the same time. They'd heard different takes on this speech a lot in recent weeks.

Jared ignored them. “I mean, no one at the party would own up to knowing him and there's no way he got in without an invite or coming with someone because we just wouldn't have done that.” He leaned forward and joined Chris in squinting pointedly at Chad for a moment.

“Oh my God,” moaned Chad and clapped a hand over his eyes. “Will you let it go already? It was once and its not like she screamed 'skeezy reporter', okay?” He leered. “She was screaming quite a lot of other stuff, but not that.”

Chris bopped him over the head. “There is such a thing as too low standards, boy.”

Shocked, Chad blinked at him. “There is not.”

“Anyway,” interrupted Jared. “My point is that something's wrong with this picture. It should have been us that was wary of him, right? But he just looked at me like....” He paused an unhappy feeling in his gut and hands clenching in frustration on his thighs. “Well, it wasn't a good look.”

“Yeah, getting that.” Placidly, Chris took another swig, ambivalent to the motivations of the pretty boy that had managed to get Jared so tied up in knots after such inauspicious meetings. “Jared, you said yourself he seemed high that last time. Who knows what crack heads do and why they do it? Let it go, son, for all our sakes.”

Jared scowled again and then shook his head in irritation at himself. “Yeah, you're right. This is insane, right?” He forced the niggling little voice in the back of his head to quiet when it kept insisting that the man hadn't been high or drunk but just plain angry and scared and smiled weakly at his friends. “Let's get back out there. I'm probably never going to see him again and....”

The door crashed open, startling all three men, and two well-dressed and frantic figures rushed into the room before whirling and slamming the door shut and pressing their weight against it.

“Goddamn it!” said the taller figure, oblivious to the slack jawed men on the couch. “ Call it in, Dani, we've been made.”

The female half of the dynamic duo tossed her red head and yanked up the tight skirt of her electric blue sheath dress to reveal a cellphone sitting snugly in a modified garter clinging lovingly to a rather shapely leg. “Shit, shit, shit!” She pulled the phone free, stabbed a button and then yelped when a heavy crash came from the other side of the door. “Pick up, pick up, pick up!”

“You'd better open this door, you fucking little whore,” A man's voice bellowed from the other side. “I'm going to rip you apart with my bare hands when I get hold of you.”

The girl frowned and threw all her weight back against the door when it shuddered under another heavy thump. “Yeah, there's incentive.” She yelped again when another thump sounded and then yelled into her phone, “We've been made, we need an extraction.” She paused for the briefest of moments to allow whoever was on the other end to answer and the door to shake again and shouted, “Yes, I'm sure! Get us out of here!” She closed the phone with a snap and tossed it, planting both hands on the door and digging her spiky heels in. “They're on their way.” She glared furiously at the wooden door, yelling angrily, “And I am not a whore, I'm bait!”

Chad blinked dazedly at the woman across from him and then, reverently, at the bottle of whiskey in Chris' slack hand. “Damn that's some good shit.” He pointed at finger at her male companion and hissed to Jared, “Dude! Check it out!”

Jared was, indeed, checking it out. He blinked in amazement at the man that he had been so fixated on the past few weeks and thought abstractly how hot he looked in full evening wear with his face flushed with exertion. He blinked again and whispered back, “I know.”

Chris scowled. “What the fuck is going on?”

The door shuddered under another thunderous attack and the man swore long and viciously. “It's not going to hold. Weapons, Dani!”

“Got it.” The girl snapped back and turned for the first time into the room – and stopped dead when she caught sight of the three men sitting watching her on the couch. “Fuck!”

“Oh God,” sighed Chad, happily. “Yes please!”

Appalled though he was, once again, at Chad's astoundingly inappropriate mouth, Jared couldn't help but guiltily agree when his mystery guy's head snapped round at the words and he stared horrified past his friend and met Jared's eyes. He blinked, frowned and then bellowed, “Behind me!” and curled an arm around the girl's waist, yanked her off her feet and dragged her back against him as he leapt away from the door and backed them both against the wall.

“Er,” said Jared awkwardly. “Hi?”

“That's him.” The green eyed man spat harshly. “The guy. I told you he was in on it!”

“Uh,” said Jared. “Um.”

They all looked at the door when it shook again and a sharp crack sounded. “Crap!” said the girl. “Jensen, we've....”

The door crashed open and three large men spilled into the room.

“Got a problem!” the girl finished urgently and twisted away from her friend's hold to move swiftly to the centre of the room. She bent and hastily ripped off her high heels and then got a good grip on the split of her dress and yanked sharply to tear it up to her hip and free her legs. “Jensen!”

The man – Jensen – jumped to her side and raised his fists, saying tensely, “Danneel, stay behind me and keep an eye on the other three!”

Danneel turned frightened eyes on Jared and his friends and laughed slightly hysterically, “I don't think I can take them, Jensen. They look pretty big. Well,” she screwed up her nose at Chris, resplendent in full dinner suit and a rather fetching cowboy hat. “Apart from the pocket sized cowboy. I can probably take him.”

Chris scowled. “Hey!”

“Oh baby,” drawled the man in the lead, the one that had been yelling through the door Jared thought, a cruel leer twisting his olive skinned face. “Those guys are the least of your problems. Come to daddy. I'm gonna spank your little ass red.”

“We've definitely been made, right?” Danneel pressed shoulder to shoulder with Jensen and defiantly lifted her chin along with her fists at his sharp, exasperated nod, and purred back darkly, “Oh, daddy, baby is gonna beat your ass black.”

The man looked startled for a moment and then grinned appreciatively, “I'm gonna have some fun with you.”

“Yeah, really not.” Jensen snapped, trying to watch the three men in front of him and Jared and the others still on the couch and edge Danneel behind him all at the same time. “You don't get to touch her.”

Danneel hissed with annoyance, bouncing lightly on her stockinged feet with nerves and agitation. “I can answer for myself, you know.”

“Shut up, Dani.” Jensen shot back. “Shut the fuck up and get behind me!”

“Yeah, because that's going to help so much.” Danneel looked wildly between the assorted men in the room and her breath came a little faster. “Oh Jesus, where the hell are they?”

“Hey!” Jared said sharply when one of the men made a move as though he was going to launch himself at Jensen. “What the hell's going on here?” He stood, making Danneel moan gloomily when he unfolded to his full height, and stared at the three men. “I said, what the hell is going on here?”

Chad, moaning almost as gloomily at Danneel, scrambled up along with Chris to stand with Jared and said, “I swear, he even so much as looks like he's going to drop a glass and I'm out of here.” He smiled charmingly at Danneel. “But don't worry, sweetie, I'll take you with me.”

Danneel looked revolted. “Not even on your best day, honey. Touch me and I'll kill you!”

Chad blinked. “Uh, okay?” He shot at look at Chris and hissed, “Whoa, touchy much?”

Eyes flickering over the tableau before him, Chris casually changed his hold on the whiskey bottle and spread his feet to distribute his weight more evenly in preparation for moving fast if he had to. “Y'all might want to clear on out of here, now. This is a restricted area.”

The man who had threatened Danneel laughed darkly. “You heard the man.” He crooked a finger at Danneel and ordered softly, “Come here, pretty.” He jerked his head at his two companions. “Grab the guy. We're out of here.”

“Yeah, not happening.” Jared was moving before he'd even registered the thought, catching the expression of devastated resignation on Jensen's face and the panicked look he shot Danneel. “They stay with us.” He tried not to mind too much when the look of panic didn't decrease in the slightest, but actually seemed to deepen. “I'm calling security.”

“Look, buddy....” the man started and then cut off abruptly when a lithe, bald headed man sprinted through the door and spread his arms wide to leap at the unprotected backs of his friends and take them to the floor.

“Freeze, motherfuckers!” shouted the man, breathlessly. “You're not under arrest!”

Jared was forced to admit as an opening line it was a doozy.

He looked up when the sounds of more heavy footfalls sounded and a tall, dark haired man raced into the room yelling furiously, “For fucks sake, Mike, I said take it easy!”

Danneel rolled her eyes, stepped forward and tapped her 'daddy' on the shoulder to gain his attention – and then punched him as hard as she could across his jaw and sent him to the floor with his friends. She slapped her hands on her silky hips and snapped, “What the hell took you so long?”

The dark haired man dropped to the floor and helped the bald guy wrestle his now recovering opponents into submission as Jensen flung himself at the man Danneel had just sent to the floor, replying breathlessly, “We stopped for burgers.”

Danneel narrowed her eyes. “I hate you so much.”

The bald guy gave one last contemptuous slap to the back of his opponent's head as he finished tying off plastic restraints and jumped to his feet, grabbing Danneel and shoving her behind him as he squared off to Jared, Chad and Chris. “They touch you?”

Despite the lightness of his tone, Jared couldn't quite suppress a shiver at the hint of darkness in the guy's eyes when he asked his question.

“No.” Danneel answered reluctantly. She looked uncertainly back at Jensen, now getting to his feet after restraining his own man. “But Jensen says this is the guy that had him a few weeks back and that took him in the car.”

The dark haired man's head snapped up at that and he jumped to his own feet. “Out. We'll call security on our way out.” His hand moved behind him and then withdrew holding a gun and he levelled it at Jared, Chad and Chris. “Don't move.”

The three men looked wide eyed down the barrel of the gun, suddenly stone cold sober and weak kneed with adrenaline. “Not a problem,” Chad croaked. “Really.”

“Move!” snapped the man holding the gun and backed towards the door when the rest of his team hurried to obey. “Go, go, go!”

They went.

It was silent for quite a while afterwards, Jared and his friends too shocked to move and then Chris coughed. “Yeah, you might have a point.” At Jared's questioning, white faced look he said, “There's definitely something weird going on.”

Chad's shoulders sagged and he confided mournfully, “I think I peed myself a little.”

~*~*~*~

Now.

“So you see,” Jared finished with a hopeful smile. “This has all just been a series of really dumb coincidences.”

Jensen, still lying trussed on the bed, glowered at him and said grimly, “If you don’t let me go right now I swear to God I will kick your ass.”

Jared’s face fell. “No, see, you’re not listening. This is all pretty funny when you think about it.” He gestured unhappily up and down the length and tried not to notice how very hot Jensen looked all tied up and helpless. “And I have no idea what happened here!”

Jensen stared at him and then pointedly around the room that was empty of everyone but him and Jared. “Right because there’s so many other candidates.” He shook his bound wrists at Jared. “Let me the fuck go!”

Looking around the room himself, Jared ignored Jensen’s demand – mainly because he had a sneaky suspicion if he let the other man go he’d be diving out the nearest window and escaping again – and asked warily, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I don’t.” Said Jensen pointedly. “I have no idea what happened.” He glared at Jared. “Again.”

Jared flushed darkly and tried another winning smile. “Really. I know this looks bad, but the most I was expecting tonight was the sheets turned down and a little chocolate on my pillow.” He gestured at Jensen again and said earnestly, “Not that I’m not really happy to see you again because, dude, seriously, this totally rocks.” He winced at Jensen’s incredulous stare and continued hastily, “Not for you, obviously, but I’ve been looking everywhere for you and now here you are and its like fate or something.”

Jensen squinted at him. “Are you high?” He flopped around on the bed until he managed to swing his legs over the side and then struggled to a sitting position with a grunt of effort. He took his time looking Jared up and down and then looked around the room at the less than subtle décor. “You seriously expect me to believe this is all just a weird series of coincidences and that I’m meeting you here in a cheap knock off of a brothel all tied up with no memory of how I got here by accident?”

Jared beamed and stabbed a happily triumphant finger at him. “Exactly!”

Jensen squinted at him some more and questioned dubiously, “And you don’t want to fuck me?”

The blinding grin fell off Jared’s face and his finger dropped. “Er,” He found he couldn’t quite meet Jensen’s suddenly accusing eyes as his momma had always raised him to be truthful and as honest as he could be. “I was hoping to start with lunch?”

Looking like all his worst fears had been confirmed, Jensen sucked in an outraged breath and his mouth opened as a prelude to a truly caustic tirade but before he could get a word out the door to the hotel room was flung open and Chad sprinted inside yelling, “Dude, we are so totally busted! Have you boned the hooker yet?”

And then was promptly tackled to the floor when the red headed girl from two weeks previously barrelled through the door after him and crashed into the backs of his knees with a move worthy of an NFL star.

~*~*~*

Two hours after Jensen had been liberated from his most recent interaction with Jared and Chad had been picked up, dusted down and plied with a fairly liberal amount of alcohol to get over the trauma of being taken down from behind by an enraged red head, Jensen was arguing loudly and furiously against the latest assignment his work for his private security firm was presenting him.

“No, no and oh hell no!” shouted Jensen, incensed. “Are you completely fucking nuts? They abducted me!”

“Accidentally!” yelled his boss, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. “Not on purpose!”

“Four times!” Jensen accused at the tops of his lungs, almost purple with rage. “Four god-damned times is not an accident! That’s a plan! A scheme! A racket! We normally shoot people who do that!”

Jeff shot an alarmed look at the open door of his office and hissed, “We do not! Keep your god-damned voice down, they’re right outside.”

“I know.” Gritted Jensen, not lowering his voice even slightly. “And that was going to be my next question. Since when did we open up the doors to our super secret base of operations to people who keep abducting your employees and trying to fuck them?”

“I wasn’t trying to fuck him!” came a deep and slightly anxious voice from outside. “I was just trying to ask him out on a date. Just lunch, I swear!”

“With ropes!” Jensen yelled back, not the least mollified by the apologetic tone to the explanation. “And against my will! That does not scream romance to me.” He turned his attention back to Jeff and pointed a finger towards the door emphatically. “I’m not doing it. I’ve finally found my deal breaker. You try and make me and I walk.”

Jeff snorted, unimpressed. “You will not. You need this job.”

Snorting back, Jensen spun on his heel and walked off. “Yeah, think you’re making the mistake a lot of the marks do, Jeff. I’m not actually a whore. There are some things I won’t do for money.” He breezed through the door of the office and started across the small waiting area that lay outside, pointing at Jared as he tossed over his shoulder scathingly, “He’s one of them.”

“Hey,” said Jared offended. “I’ve never had to pay for it in my life.” He smiled worriedly when Jensen shot him a disgusted look and said hastily, “Not that I think you’re a whore. At all!”

“My bad.” Said Chad, sitting at Jared’s side and holding up his hands in a placating manner. “I did. Sorry about the whole ropes and cuffs thing, man.” He screwed up his nose thoughtfully when Jensen snarled at him and added, “The red bow thing was probably overkill, but I really wanted to make it special for my boy here and he’s been talking about nothing but you for weeks.” He shot Jensen a bright ‘lets be friends’ grin, concluding, “Could have been worse, right? Could have stripped you buck naked.”

Jeff lunged across the room just in time and managed to snag Jensen’s shirt collar just before he took a swing at Chad’s guileless face. He yanked Jensen back and around and nodded at the two younger men. “Be right back.” Twisting an arm hard up behind Jensen’s back he manhandled him across the office, ignoring his furious protests. “Help yourselves to coffee.”

Danneel walked into the room just as Jeff forced Jensen back through his office door and stopped dead in confusion when she saw Chris, Chad and Jared sitting in a row, apparently not long gone as she'd thought. “Hey!” She backed up a step and called after an uncaring Jeff, “What's with the pretty boy parade?”

Jensen stumbled across the room and caught himself against Jeff’s desk, spinning round as his boss slammed the door behind him and shouting, “I’m not doing it, I quit!” He started back across the room, fists clenched and blood in his eye. “I’m warning you, Jeff, you want to be getting out of my way....”

“Agnes Delgado.” Snapped Jeff furiously. “Petey Strong. Calvin Norman.”

Jensen stopped abruptly and scowled. “What about them?”

Jeff half turned and pointed back towards the closed door. “They’re our way in. We’ve been looking for leads on those kids for months now and got nothing. Whatever you’ve tried or whoever you’ve got close to, you’ve ended up with nothing. The cops got nothing and they have nowhere near the resources and flexibility we have.” He gestured again at the office door when Jensen’s face twisted angrily and said urgently, “Jensen, you may not like the guy, but he’s a known face on the circuit and he could be useful to us. I don’t think what’s happened between you is more than a series of unfortunate coincidences, but there’s also some kind of connection between his social scene and the jobs you were working. Something we can exploit and make work to our advantage and help us to find those kids.” He gave Jensen a hard look. “You really telling me that your hurt pride is going to stop you saving three little kids, maybe even more, from a life of little more than slavery and prostitution?” He took a deep breath. “And they want to hire us now they know what we're trying to do. We're doing this pro bono for the kids' parents, but if we make it paid job then we open up a whole lot of avenues that we wouldn't have had before. This could speed things up a lot.”

Jensen flushed a deep rose pink and tensed all over, glowering at Jeff and snarling silent curses to himself before finally snapping, “I want a gun. If I’m going in, I’m going in armed.”

“Yeah,” Jeff snorted. “Not a chance.”

~*~*~*~

“So,” said Jeff twenty minutes later to his unusually full conference room. “That’s about the size of it.” He rapped sharply against the whiteboard at his side and gestured to the picture placed prominently in the centre of it. “We’ve been trying to pin something on Hernandez for months, ever since Calvin’s parents first came to us, but the guy’s clever.” He nodded at Danneel and Jensen sitting side by side down one side of the large table dominating the room and stepped casually forwards to remove the pen that Danneel was toying with from her grasp and thus also remove the rather obvious temptation she was fighting to stab Chad right between his leering eyes with it. “Jensen and Danneel have done a remarkable job with what they had, but they can get so far in and no closer.” He held up a quelling hand when Jensen and Danneel both stiffened indignantly and opened their mouths, saying harshly, “And I am not prepared to sacrifice either of you to go further, no matter what the eventual rewards might be.”

Jared’s eyes jumped to Jensen’s taut face and he frowned. “Sacrifice?”

It wasn’t Jeff that answered this time, but Tom, one of the men that had jumped so enthusiastically to the rescue the night of the benefit dinner when Jensen and Danneel had been chased and then trapped by three less than careful admirers. “The kids we’re looking for are young. The oldest would have just turned fifteen last week. Hernandez doesn’t just run kids though.” Looking angry and sickened he gestured to Jensen and Danneel sharply. “He’s got adults working for him too, some not so willing as others. They thought that staying under after they’d been roofied might help maintain and cement their covers.”

Chad and Jared exchanged puzzled looks. “Sorry?” Chad mimed desperate confusion. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

This time it was Mike, the bald man that was Tom’s partner that answered. “They were going to let themselves get banged to get close to the marks.”

Jared felt sick and stared in disbelief at Jensen and Danneel’s defiant faces. “They’re not serious?”

Danneel flushed hotly under his incredulous stare and said defensively, “It was a good plan!” She exchanged sidelong looks with Jensen, continuing hotly, “And it’s not like it would have been the first time. We could have handled it.”

“That is so wrong.” Said Chad in disgust. “So very, very wrong!” He jabbed a finger at Hernandez's picture and said firmly, “I know this dude, seen him around a lot.” Looking a little green around the gills he muttered, “He’s introduced me to a few of my hook ups.”

Jared tore his eyes away from where they were still fastened in horror on Jensen and stared incredulously at Chad. “Aw, man, you didn’t!”

“Hey, I think they were all legal, okay?” Chad scowled, looking extremely defensive and annoyed. “And I didn’t pay for any of them, but if there’s a chance that any of them were under-age and being forced into stuff they didn’t want to do then I want to help get the guy that’s making them.” For once serious and without a hint of sarcasm colouring his tone, Chad said, “I want in on this. If little kids are getting hurt then I want to help.”

Danneel stared at him and then glanced at Jensen from the corner of her eye. “Your call.”

“No!” said Jeff loudly. “Actually that would be my call. I’m the boss!”

“Yeah,” said Jensen, staring grimly at Jared’s hopeful expression. “You just keep telling yourself that.” He glanced at Chad and then back at Jeff. “What did you have in mind?”

Jeff beamed and nodded approvingly at his two scowling employees. “You’re going in deep.” He ignored the brightening look on Chad’s face and accompanying leer, and spoke over Jensen and Danneel’s vehement protests. “You need someone who can get you in and who can watch your backs when you need it. If Chad and Jared are going to do this then they’re going to need protection and you need to be convincing to anyone who might get suspicious. You’re with them 24/7 for the duration.” He looked at Chad and Jared. “Thanks to your acting work and the fact that you’re fairly successful with your music as well you’re in a unique position and can probably get us a few other places we haven’t been able to get to. What about your band mate, you think he might be up for this? We can’t really have him around unless he knows what’s going on and we’re going to need to arrange protection for him. Unless you just want to make your excuses for however long this is going to take?”

Jared and Chad exchanged looks and thought of Chris’ likely reaction if they went ahead and did this without him. “Uh, no, that’s okay.” Jared smiled nervously at Jeff. “We should definitely call him. He’ll want to be in on this.”

“Okay,” said Jeff nodding. “In that case, there’s someone else you need to meet. Kane’s openly flexible when it comes to his partners, right?”

~*~*~*

part two

FYI

2009-10-25T23:09:41Z

Just to let you all know that I will be getting around to replying to feedback and comments this week - and I'm REALLY sorry I'm taking so long - but I've been away and only just got back and I'm snowed under with RL stuff. I'm very appreciative of all the comments left and will reply to all, but...::gets stomped by RL some more:: Am nearly on my knees at the moment.

On the upside - I now have a new job that lets me work exclusively from home and has given me 3,000% more time to write (well, that excites me anyway!) so am also very happy as well as completely exhausted! Yippee!

Hope everyone is okay and enjoying life in general.

x

FIC: A Jared's Rules For Dating His Jensen (2/2) NC17 RPS

2009-10-25T19:08:19Z

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my Jensen to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My Jensen is doing his hair, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car or walking my dogs?

Jared stared at the girl on his couch. She stared back. He looked her up and down. “You’re Jensen’s date?”

A wide grin cracked her angular face and merriment lit her eyes. “Yup.”

Jared looked at her some more. “He, uh, didn’t mention your name.”

The girl stood up and held out a hand. A hand, Jared couldn’t help but notice when he gripped it, that still had motor oil under the clipped short fingernails and was covered in the calluses that come only come from hard physical labour and frequently working with one’s hands. “Joyce Wellington. You must be Jared.”

Jared nodded faintly, disconcerted to realise that she only stood an inch or so shorter than his own not inconsiderable height. “Uh, yeah.” He darted a glance downwards and saw she wore flat black biker boots and whistled appreciatively. “Wow, bet you make a killing on pick up games.”

Joyce laughed and rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Yeah, that’s me. The white, female Michael Jordan.” She held out one long, slender leg and waggled it at him. “Still, these babies put me thought college so I’m not complaining.”

Jared couldn’t seem to stop staring. From the top of her shortly shorn – but very attractive – head to the tips of her scuffed biker boots there was no doubt Joyce was all woman, but....”You don’t really....I mean, I haven’t....”

Joyce placed her hands on her slender hips, covered by low riding, tight fitting jeans and said in amusement. “Really not his type, huh?” She laughed outright when Jared flushed a deep red and winced and continued, “S’okay, I mean I saw come pictures of the girls he’s dated before and, whew, that Danneel Harris is a total hottie, right? Who wouldn’t want to tap that?”

Jared’s mouth dropped open and he gaped. “So you’re...uh, this isn’t a real, um....”

Looking more amused by the minute, Joyce took her own chance to look Jared up and down. “Oh no, this is a real date. He brought his car into the garage where I work and we hit it off. Turns out we’re both pretty flexible about our choices in dating.” Her grin widened and she winked conspiratorially at Jared. “I’m hoping I can talk him into a threesome with the ex.”

Jared squinted at her suspiciously. “You don’t know someone called Chad by any chance do you?”

Squinting critically back, Joyce said cryptically, “Jensen said you were weird. I didn’t believe him.” She tilted her head and eyed him some more, finishing thoughtfully, “Although, like I said, I’m flexible. Jensen doesn’t have to be the filling in my little threesome sandwich, I’m happy to be the cheese if you two want to be the whole-wheat slices.”

Jared took a moment to sort that out in his head – mainly because he was thoroughly distracted by the thought of Jensen as the filling in any kind of sandwich – and then scowled and took a thoroughly understandable and not at all cowardly step back. “What?”

Joyce grinned, slow and easy, and hooked her thumbs in her belt loops while pushing her chest forward and licking slowly at her lips. “You’re just as easy on the eye as Jensen is. I could go for you too. How about it? Wanna oil my....”

“JENSEN!” yelled Jared at the top his lungs and abandoning all pretence at being manly and unafraid in the presence of a six foot, crew cutted Amazon mechanic propositioning him in his own damn living room. “Jensen, you’re going to be late! JENSEN!”

Joyce waved an airy hand and slinked her way forwards, eyes drifting up and down Jared’s body and making him feel very, very dirty. And he was a man used to being mentally undressed by hundreds of women at a time thanks to all the conventions he attended. “Don’t sweat it. He’ll be a while. That kind of shiny takes some serious maintenance, right? I got a vintage GTO that’s the exact same way.” She reached out and trailed one appreciative finger over Jared’s cotton covered chest, purring, “Besides, I’m sure we can find a way to occupy ourselves.”

“JENSEN!” yelled Jared again and backed away to fall over the couch.

~*~*~*~*

“Seriously, Jo, I can’t thank you enough for this.” Jensen said as he handed over the half pound box of Godiva chocolates and the keys to the Impala that was used for the drive into the sunset shots on Supernatural. “You were a genius.”

“I,” said Joyce smugly as she pressed a fast, wet kiss to Jensen’s mouth. “Am a frickin’ sex goddess, Ackles, and don’t you forget it.” She turned to wink at her husband. “Right, baby?”

Terry, her log suffering and adoring husband and partner in their garage business, looked pained and said plaintively, “Could you at least wait till I’m not in the room before you start talking about the hot TV stars you’ve been hitting on?” He rolled his eyes at Jensen. “And the one you’re actually hitting on. In front of me. Right now.”

Joyce grinned and shimmied to her husband’s side, wrapping her arms around his neck and dipping her head necessary to counter the couple of inches differences in their heights and planted a kiss on him that left him grinning dopily and seeing stars. “Aw, honey, you know you’re the only one for me.”

“Fortunately, yes.” Terry said with a slap to her ass and a sly smirk for Jensen. “Or I’d be cutting your brake cables the nest time you showed your pretty little face. “My girl’s a one woman guy kind gal.”

Jensen grinned wolfishly. “I could take her if I had to.”

Joyce snorted and rolled her eyes. “Sugar, not even on your best day.” She turned to look speculatively at the Impala they were standing besides. “Not even with all four of these bad boys on offer.” She ran a hand lovingly over the paintwork and shot him a sideways glance. “Ours for the night, right?”

Jensen nodded. “Just never – and I cannot stress this enough – ever tell me what you did in her. Or where. Or how.”

Joyce and Terry both laughed and Terry shot Jensen a speaking look. “Seems to me you could do with some pointers, boy. Using my girl here to make your boy jealous is pretty dumb at your age.”

Jensen spluttered. “I wasn’t using her to make him jealous!” He scowled at their disbelieving look. “I wasn’t. This was payback for him sabotaging my date last month.” He scowled harder when Joyce and Terry swapped smirks and insisted. “I was! Trust me, when I show the tape of him falling over the couch and crying like a little bitch for me to come save him from the big, bad Amazon trying to get in his pants to everyone we’ve ever met my revenge will be compete.”

“Uh-huh.” Said Joyce, unconvinced. “And the fact that he was obviously as jealous as hell – before I scared the pants off him anyway- and the only person he wants to screw silly is you has escaped you how exactly?”

Jensen stared. “He doesn’t. Trust me.” He tried not to think too bitterly of all the times he’d tried get Jared to look at him THAT way the first couple of years they had been working together before finally giving it up as a bad job and cutting his losses. “We’re just friends. Best friends.” He tried not to sigh too pitifully and waved a hand at the waiting Impala. “Now get out of here and go do things I don’t want to think about in my baby.”

Joyce opened her mouth again but Terry grabbed her hand and tugged sharply, evidently catching the warning glint in Jensen’s eyes that indicated the conversation as he saw it was over. “You got it, buddy. Thanks again for this, Jensen.”

Jensen shrugged and tied to smile, trying to shake off the sudden gloomy feeling that had swept over him.. “No problem.” He shot Joyce a sudden dazzling grin. “You did an awesome job, thanks.”

“Baby,” she purred looking thoroughly pleased with herself. “You can trust me when I say it was all my pleasure.” Her face softened and she thoroughly alarmed Jensen by giving him a look that was almost motherly. “Think about what I said, sweetie, okay? That boy is not looking at you and thinking just friends. Try looking back once in a while.” She pecked his cheek and waved once more before hopping into the car and roaring off for a night of debauchery and lust with her husband, leaving Jensen frowning thoughtfully after her.

Rule Eight:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the street for a demonic horde attacking with a mechanical army and contemporary weapons rather than just themselves and the odd superantural dagger. When my inner Sam Winchester starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my Jensen home. As soon as you pull up to the building, you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the correct latin incantations and blessings, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my Jensen home safely and early, then return to your car -- there is no need for you to come inside. The twitchy and bitch!please face behind the tree is mine.

“I've really missed you guys.” Jeffery Dean Morgan drawled as he stood poised in the bushes to the left of Jared's yard and peered into the darkened street. “No one else I work with manages to hit the highs of batshit crazy like you sons of bitches.”

“Shut up, Jeff,” hissed Jared, likewise peering down the street and trying to ignore the way the cold rain was dripping down inside his jacket collar. “I'm telling you, something's off with this guy.”

Jeff, taking the fact that he was spending his Friday night on a cool Vancouver evening loitering in the pitch black getting soaking wet and spying out onto Jared's street in remarkably good humour, grinned and swiped his stubbled face clear of rain. “Yeah, the fact that he's solvent, nice looking and seems pretty sane gets all my alarm bells ringing too.”

Gritting his teeth, Jared hissed viciously, “Exactly. Too good to be true!” He slanted Jeff a quick glare from his own hiding spot behind the tree opposite the bushes concealing his friend. “And Chris thinks so too.”

“Yeah. Kane.” Jeff replied flatly. “There's the benchmark for rational thinking and healthy relationships.” He swiped at his face again. “He managed to ball that guitar player of his yet or is he still pussying around town and banging everything with tits and no cock?”

Jared blinked. “What?” He frowned. “Chris isn't...he's not....wait, you know Chris?”

“Know of him.” Jeff said laconically. “Point is that he's not exactly who you might want to be listening to about bagging your guy, Padalecki.”

“I am not 'bagging; Jensen!” Jared shot back, stung. “This isn't about that. This is about Jensen going out with this guy and not getting screwed over.” He blew out a bitter breath through his nostrils. “Again.”

More amused by the minute, Jeff smirked to himself. “With you on the case the chances of the poor guy getting screwed any time soon are pretty much shot to hell anyway.” He smirked wider at Jared's irritated grunt and continued, “Anyway, point being, Kane's probably not the best relationship advisor you could have found.” He stared reflectively at the bush inches from his nose. “Hell, even that little weasel Murray would have been better. Least he ain't afraid to go after what he wants.”

Jared lifted his chin triumphantly. “Yeah, well, Chad happens to agree with me too. And Aldis. And Beth.” He played his trump card. “And Danneel.”

Jeff turned his head to peer incredulously through the gloom in Jared's direction. “Who the hell is Beth? And you got Danneel involved in this madness? Damn, kid, you got some balls.” He shook his head and asked warily, “Is there anyone who you haven't gotten an opinion from?”

Wincing, Jared muttered. “Sandy. Gen.” He shifted uneasily. “And Eric. He doesn't need the added pressure this last season.”

“Yeah,” Still staring through the darkness, Jeff said faintly, “Wouldn't want your main guy's head to implode before you finish out the season.” His attention switched to the street when a car's headlights suddenly cut through the night. “This them?”

Tensing himself, Jared narrowed his eyes and tried to see through the rain and darkness. “Think so.” They watched silently when the rather nice saloon car pulled up outside the house, unwittingly inches from two mildly inebriated actors, and tried to focus on the figures inside. “It's Jensen!”

Jeff rolled his eyes at Jared's less than subtle comment and hissed rather more quietly back, “I see that. What's the plan?” He flinched back when the car's interior light came on unexpectedly and illuminated the scene inside the car. “Okay, I did not need to see that.”

Jared scowled and silently agreed. Jensen attached at the lips to some guy who wasn't him didn't feature high on his to-do list either. He fumed quietly to himself when the lip suckage continued, absently confused when the interior light kept flickering on and off without any apparent aid from the car's passengers and then realised that it was because Jensen had a grip on his door and kept trying to disengage his lips from his date's face and exit the car but his date had some kind of a death grip on him and wouldn't let him leave.

Jeff jerked his head around at the low, angry noise that spilled from Jared's throat and was just in time to see six foot four inches of angry, beer-fuelled TV star rise from behind his tree like the very image of a vengeful Greek god. His eyes widened. “Uh-oh.” He started to rise himself. “Uh, Jared....” He couldn't seem to force his feet to move in time to stop Jared stride out of his hiding place and head for the car with a determined look on his face and an only slightly unsteady weave to his step. “Christo!” He groaned when the spluttered word did no more to help him than it usually did any of the Winchesters and rolled his eyes when Jared reached the driver's door and yanked it open to yells of surprise from inside. “Kane, I'm gonna kick your fucking ass.”

And staggered in Jared's wake to stop him making even more of a fool of himself than he already was.

~*~*~*~

Jensen slapped a cold cloth on Jared's puffy lip without an ounce of sympathy and ignored the yelp of protest to turn his attention to Jeff sitting miserably by Jared's side at the kitchen table and nursing his own blackened eye. Jeff reared back in alarm when Jensen snatched up the back of frozen peas sitting at the ready, but was unable to dodge quickly enough to evade the bag making solid contact with his head. He whimpered pathetically.

Jensen, seething and embarrassed and more than slightly damp thanks to having to break up a fight between his two thoroughly ploughed friends and his date in the rain, stomped past the two dogs cowering at Jared's feet and headed for the coffee machine. He flipped the switch to turn the thing on, flung himself back against the counter and folded his arms. “Well?”

Jared cringed at the icy tone of voice and swapped a hunted glance with Jeff. Jeff glared back from behind the peas and wished profoundly that he’d thought to grab the bottle of JD he'd brought with him to visit the boys on his way through the living room when Jensen had dragged them to the kitchen. The hazy mist of beer that had made it such a good idea to hide in the bushes and ambush Jensen's date was fast dissipating and he really needed a cushion of alcohol between him and the younger man's righteous anger.

Jensen glared harder, angry flushes of colour shading his otherwise pale complexion. “Seriously, can't wait to hear your explanation for this.” His eyes burned a vivid shade of green in his fury and Jared, although really regretting the anger was directed at him, appreciated the visual it provided. Angry Jensen was hot. Jensen ground his teeth. “You'll be lucky if you don't get reported to the police! That guy's never gonna come near me again!”

Jared hid his pleased smirk behind his cloth and tried to look contrite. Mission accomplished!

Jeff adjusted the peas against his face and muttered, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Swinging his head round Jensen glowered at Jeff and dared him to say another word. Jeff, usually a man not to be intimidated by anyone, cringed and tried to make himself disappear into the woodwork.

Jared wiped the pleased smirk off his face when Jensen looked away from Jeff when he satisfied he was suitably cowed and fixed his angry green glare back on him. “Well?” hissed Jensen, sounding more than a little snippy. “I’m still waiting.”

Normally a man that thought very well on his feet – and a man that had had the advantage of having an extraordinary amount of practice in recent months thanks to his new hobby of wrecking Jensen’s love life - Jared found his mind an alarming blank. He looked back at Jensen vacantly for a long moment, frantically wracking his brains for a suitable response, and eventually managed to croak out, “Uh.”

Even Jeff looked scornfully at him.

Jared cleared his throat and tried again, saying hopefully, “The studio says we’ve got to start being more careful?”

The scorn levels in the room did not decrease at this admittedly lame statement.

Jensen levelled an entirely undeserved glare at the coffee machine which seemed to be increasing his annoyance just by not heating quickly enough and then swung the look back on Jared, who entirely did deserve it and was unwisely starting to look sulky instead of contrite and abjectly miserable at being the object of Jensen’s wrath.

A big mistake in Jeff’s opinion and a monumentally huge one in reality as it turned out.

“I’m not kidding here, Jared.” Said Jensen, sounding angry and confused and a little hurt. “I don’t know why you suddenly think this is so funny screwing with my life like this, but its got to stop. You might want to ass around and sow your wild fucking oats or whatever, man, but I don’t. I want more than casual, okay?” He waved a flailing hand in the direction of the street, evidently to indicate the scene of the debacle that ended his date. “Okay, so maybe that guy wasn’t going to work out, but that still doesn’t give you the right to play these dumbass games.” He stabbed a finger emphatically at Jared, saying menacingly, “No more. You pull anything like this again and I will end you.”

Jeff watched him sweep majestically out of the kitchen, waited for the distant slam of his bedroom door mere seconds later and then looked at Jared. “Pussy.”

Jared pressed his warming cloth harder against his face and nodded mournfully in agreement. Things were not going well.

Rule Nine:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other guys. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my Jensen. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my Jensen, you will continue to date no one but him until he is finished with you. If you make him cry, I will make you cry.

“You realise you've lost your damn mind, right?” Steve Carlson's low, whisky rasped voice floated over the phone and had Jared sitting guiltily upright from his previous comfortable sprawl on his couch. “And before you try to deny it I know something’s going on! It’s only a matter of time before Chris tells me everything.”

Jared scowled. “Tells you what?”

An exasperated sigh floated down the line. “All about your little games with Jensen's dates. What the hell are you thinking, Jared,?”

Jared scowled harder. “I'm not seeing how that's any of your business.” He cursed silently in the privacy of his own head. This was exactly why they'd agreed not to include Steve in the first place. The man was distressingly mature and level headed at times for a free spirited and laid back musician. Talk about sucking all the fun out of perfectly reasonable campaign to ruin Jensen's love life and send him into Jared's waiting (and cowardly) arms. He slouched back against the couch and scowled at his feet. “And I’m not playing any games.”

“You’re a goddamned liar.” spat Steve. “I know something’s going on and when I get proof I’m going to tell Jensen everything!”

A small niggle of disquiet made its way down Jared’s spine but he gave denial one last college try anyway. “You’re imaging things.”

“Looks like I’m in good company because if you think that Jensen is coming anywhere near you after I tell him what’s been going on then you’re crazier than that little freak Murray.” There was a long pause and then Steve said hesitantly, “And do you know a kid called Dylan? Murray keeps showing up at my apartment and at the studio and keeps trying to make me or Chris take him for coffee.”

Jared, baffled as ever by Chad’s thought processes, replied cautiously, “Maybe?” When the silence on Steve’s end took on a decidedly ominous sound, Jared continued, “Uh, I think he’s a friend of Jensen’s?”

“So why is he running around with Murray?” Steve sounded totally baffled. “And why does he keep telling the kid how awesome my hair is?”

“Uh,” said Jared at a complete loss. “I have no idea.”

There was a long moment in which both of them considered the eternal mystery that was Chad Michael Murray and then Steve shook it off and steered the conversation back on track.

“Jared, if he’s that important to you, just tell him how you feel. It can’t be any worse than what you’ve got going on now.” Steve sighed heavily down the phone. “If you carry on the way you are you’re going to fuck everything up anyway.”

Jared swallowed hard, the niggle of disquiet blooming into a flower of panic. “What do you mean? Has he said something?”

“He doesn’t have to.” Said Steve wearily. “Friendship only goes so far. He’s not going to keep letting you get away with this crap, Jared. Its time to shit or get off the pot, son.”

Scoffing, Jared said, “The way you are about Chris, you mean? I don’t see you being so willing to risk everything there, Carlson.”

“That’s different.” Steve shot back, sounding a little startled, annoyed and amused all at the same time. “Getting Chris to come around was always going to take a little thinking outside the box.” He laughed quietly, this time sounding smug and knowing. “But don’t you worry none about me and Chris, Jared, that’s all going to be put to bed real soon.”

Jared blinked, not sure what to make of Steve Carlson – the laid back mediator of their eclectic band – sounding so arrogantly sure of himself and the notoriously hard to pin down Chris. “That’s good?” he finally said, doubtfully.

“That’s not the point.” Steve responded crisply. “The point is that you can’t keep screwing with Jensen like this. You really want to spend your life like this? Always on the outside looking in because you’re too chicken to take a chance and tell him how you really feel?”

Closing his eyes momentarily, Jared shook his head forgetting that Steve couldn’t see him. “Its not like that.” He opened his eyes and stared blankly ahead of himself as he said, “I just want him to stop getting hurt. I’m there for everything else, I just want him to see me there for everything else.”

“Huh,” said Steve gruffly on the other end of the phone. “Well then you’d best move fast, because when I finally get Chris to ‘fess up the first thing I’m gonna do is tell Jensen everything and let him deal with you himself.”

And hung up on him.

Jared let his head fall back against the couch and groaned, “Well, shit,” and tried very hard not to panic.

Rule Ten:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a lanky, affable goofball with the boundless affection and naievte of a particularly friendly puppy, but on issues relating to my Jensen, I am the all knowing, merciless God of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have access to guns, a shovel, and Chris Kane's as yet empty building plot in deepest, darkest Oregon. Do not trifle with me.

Jensen had been eyeing Jared narrowly for days, looking caught between wary and irritated with a side of bemused for good measure. Jared was aware that something was going on between Chris and Jensen too, but he had been unable to get Chris on the phone without either Jensen or other people around on his end and Chris was apparently being perpetually haunted by Steve at his end so he couldn't talk either because he wasn't exactly overenthusiastic about his friend or possible boyfriend finding out about his meddling in Jensen's love life.

Jared suspected a conspiracy.

Jensen was also watching Jared narrowly at home, too. When they cooked dinners together, when they walked the dogs, when they cleaned house and Jared was reflected in the mirror over the fireplace and Jensen thought he was being completely sneaky about it and – most bizarrely – whenever Jensen came out of the shower and he now apparently decided part of his new personal hygiene routine was standing around in a short towel, dripping wet, and chatting absently to Jared about nothing in particular for as long as he could whilst staring closely at Jared and cataloguing every nervous twitch and jerk as Jared tried desperately not to stare and/or jump him.

Jared not only suspected a conspiracy he suspected he'd managed to slip into hell too.

Things came to a head one Friday night when they stumbled back into the house after a particularly trying night shoot and Jensen was once again doing his Gypsy Rose Lee impression in the living room whilst Jared was cursing the fact that he was now most effectively shaken out of his numb, sleep deprived state and, thanks to acres of naked Jensen flesh, was now unlikely to be able to sleep anytime before the same time the following night.

“So,” said Jensen, interrupting his own monologue on the day's events and why he was going to do nothing but sleep for the entire weekend. “Steve tells me you've got a thing for me and you've been doing some freaky ass shit to the people I'm sleeping with to run them off. You got anything to say about that?”

Blinking, Jared stared at him and wondered if he'd heard right. Then he blinked some more because he was fairly sure he hadn't because, obviously, if he'd have heard what he thought he did then Jensen would either be a) running screaming from the house and his terrifyingly unhinged co-star or b) kicking his ass and then implementing option A as soon as he'd finished with option B. He settled on the relatively safe reply of “Uh?” and left it at that. That was nice and nondescript, right?

Looking flushed, uncomfortable and determined, Jensen folded his arms over his naked chest and glowered in challenge at Jared. “Only I think he's got it all wrong. I've been practically throwing myself at you for the last two weeks and you haven't done anything about it so I want to know if the other thing's true.” He fixed Jared with an uncompromising green stare and managed to look terrifyingly intimidating considering he was mostly just in a towel and some stray droplets of water. “Have you been doing things to the people I'm dating?”

Jared, his heart in his throat, stared back at Jensen and tried to fix an expression of amused dismissal on his face but was uncomfortably aware that he probably just looked guilty as all hell and possibly a little constipated. “Uh,” He stared some more and his eyes flickered nervously towards the suddenly very appealing front door and then back to Jensen, looking belligerent and a little hurt in front of the fireplace. “Steve said that? Why would Steve say that, dude? I haven't spoken to him in weeks.” He laughed – sounding choked and panicked – and repeated hoarsely, “Why would Steve say that?”

Jensen looked distressingly focused on the point he was trying to make and bit out tightly, “Chris is pathetic at keeping secrets when Steve threatens to withhold sex. He folded on the first day.” His gaze sharpened and narrowed accusingly. “He sold you out.”

Jared swallowed but still felt a curious sense of vindication. He knew there was a conspiracy. He looked helplessly at Jensen and flexed his hands uneasily on his knees. “I, uh, wouldn't say that I've been doing things per se....” He swallowed again when Jensen glared harder and said miserably, “Okay, yeah, there might have been a little...damage control...but, dude, your taste in dates sucks, okay? They were just so....wrong for you.”

“Damage control?” Jensen's furious growl echoed off the ceiling and walls. “You've been cockblocking me for months and you're calling it damage control?”

Jared shot to his feet, his hands held out in supplication. “No, no that's not what I meant! I just....it was....” He shoved frustrated hands through his hair when Jensen clenched his fists and looked as though he was seriously contemplating taking a swing at him and blurted, “I just didn't know what else to do! I just....I'd be so good for you, Jensen, and you never even looked twice at me and they all just treated you like crap and you just took it and Danneel said that....”

Jensen's jaw dropped. “Wait, what? You talked to Danneel about this? About me?”

“No!” Jared yelled and then amended, “Yes! I mean, she talked to me. She called and told me you were fucking the devil and then she smacked Harley and....”

Jensen looked angrily confused. “Danneel smacked Harley?”

“What? No!” Jared rolled his eyes and yelled incomprehensively, “The devil hit Harley!”

Jensen stared at him. “Okay, has Chad been giving you any weird coloured pills? Some odd drinks?”

“Why do you always blame Chad for everything?” Jared, outraged on his friend's behalf, threw up his hands. “He is not the problem here!”

“Yeah.” Still staring Jensen replied faintly, “But if I don't find someway to blame this on Chad then I got to start blaming you and, man, I really don't want to do that.” Looking helpless and angry – and still half naked – his mouth twisted unhappily. “Jared, you get how fucked this sounds, right? This isn't normal what you've been doing.”

“Yeah, you think I don't know that?” Suddenly exhausted Jared flopped down onto the sofa and scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, muttering, “You just never looked at me, man. Not once. You let all those....” He caught the warning look on Jensen's face when he dropped his hands and wisely finished, “People. You let all those people be with you but you wouldn't let me and I....” He sighed. “I just wanted a chance.”

Silence reigned for a long time, Jensen standing still in his towel by the fireplace and Jared slumped disconsolately on the couch for once not thinking about removing the towel from Jensen before Jared sighed and said quietly, “What gave me away? How come you figured it out?”

Jensen startled slightly from where he was staring at his feet and looked up at Jared before flushing a light pink and scowling angrily. “The death threats were probably going too far.”

Jared's jaw dropped. “Death threats?” He held up his hands. “Jensen, I would never....”

Jensen narrowed his eyes and hissed, “Lon told me, Jared. I know all about it. The poor guy thinks you're some kind of psycho and it took me nearly two hours to talk him out of a restraining order!”

“Oh.” Jared scowled – he knew that little weasel was going to be trouble the first time he laid eyes on him – and said heatedly, “It wasn't a death threat.” He coughed. “Exactly. And he was cheating on you!”

Jensen threw up his hands and then made a hasty grab for his towel when it was nearly dislodged with the motion. “We went out once, for lunch, because he needed someone to talk to because he was having problems with his partner. Who he's been with for eight years and happens to adore.”

“Oh,” said Jared again. Well, yeah, that kind of explained a few things. He shifted unhappily under Jensen's furious glare and muttered, “I guess maybe Tom had it wrong.” He risked a glance at his friend when a strangled growl erupted from Jensen's throat and said apologetically, “Sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry?” Jensen looked like he wanted to punch something again. Probably still Jared. “You scared the shit out of a perfectly nice guy and God knows how many other people through this dumbass crusade you got going on and that's all you got to say?”

“Uh,” Jared shifted again. “Really sorry?” He looked appealingly up at Jensen. “It's kind of flattering if you think about it.” He grinned half-heartedly. “I wouldn't have done this for anyone else.”

“And you're not doing it now!” Jensen stabbed an emphatic finger at him. “You hear me? This is done. Over.”

Jared swallowed hard. “Okay.” He stayed staring at Jensen. “So, what now? We're okay, right?” His eyes turned liquid with appeal and apology. “I never meant to hurt you, Jensen. Or anyone else. I just wanted you to be with someone who appreciated you. Who'd lo...treat you like you deserved.”

Jensen closed his mouth with a snap and blinked. He opened his mouth and then closed it, looking helpless.

Pushing himself to his feet, Jared moved cautiously towards him, saying rawly, “That's all I ever wanted out of this, Jensen. I just wanted you to be with someone that deserved you.”

Jensen eyed him warily. “Like you?” He swallowed nervously when Jared came within an arm's length of him and tilted his head back to look him in the eye, trying to hang onto his righteous rage in the face of the naked emotion and entreaty on his face. “You just wanted to get a shot at my ass for yourself, right?”

Jared's eyes flickered down to the waistband of Jensen's towel and then back up and his mouth twisted in a rueful smile. “Not exactly.” He reached hesitantly out and touched the corner of Jensen's mouth, whispering, “I kinda want the rest of you, too. All you got.” His finger drifted lower, tracing over the pulse pounding in Jensen's neck and then traced along him collarbone. “I just want a chance to show you how good we could be.” He stepped closer, making Jensen shiver in reaction and let his hand settle on the cool skin of Jensen's shoulder. “Just one chance, Jensen. Please.”

~*~*~*~

Jared had got his chance. They had made it to his bedroom, both of them shooting the other looks of nervous bemusement when they thought it was safe, Jensen in particular looking lost at the turn the evening had taken. They stood at the foot of Jared’s bed, staring at the suddenly decadently outrageously large piece of furniture and then had darted an anxious look sideways at the exact same time, leaving them both laughing nervously. Jared swallowed hard, raising one hand to touch Jensen’s bare shoulder lightly, suddenly anxious to make sure that they were both here for the right reasons. “You know I meant what I said, right? I’m not doing this just to have you, I’m doing this because I want to keep you.”

Jensen’s face twisted with some unknown emotion for a moment before he shrugged casually. “Let’s just see how this goes, okay?” He gestured awkwardly to the bed, not quite meeting Jared’s eyes. “I wasn’t expecting us to end up here tonight. Lets just see how it goes.”

Frowning Jared pushed against the warm shoulder under his hand until Jensen turned to face him properly, bringing his other hand up to wrap around one firm bicep. “So where did you think this was gonna end up? What did you think would happen after you yelled at me?”

Huffing a laugh Jensen rolled his eyes in a self-deprecating manner. “I wasn’t really thinking anything much at all. I figured that you’d tell me I had I had it all wrong – that Steve had it all wrong – and you’d yell back at me and then we’d just forget it.”

“Huh.” Jared looked at the firm shape of Jensen’s mouth and shrugged ruefully. “Surprise.” He grinned wryly. “And as much as I want to go to bed with you, I want you to want it too. A lot.”

Taken aback, Jensen frowned and cocked his head in puzzlement. “I do.” He indicated the warm, low lit room and said, “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Uh-huh.” Jared bent his head, pressing his warm mouth against the firm muscles of Jensen’s shoulder and dragged his lips along the skin, grinning at the startled gasp from Jensen as he jerked under the touch. “I just want you to be all the way here. If you’re giving us this chance then I want you to give us a proper one. Don’t hold anything back.” He dragged his mouth up and along the tense line of Jensen’s neck reaching his ear to promise huskily, “I won’t be.”

Jensen closed his eyes and tilted his head back before he registered the intention of doing so. His own mouth opened as Jared worked his way down his neck again, slipping the hand that had been holding his bicep down to curve around his waist and pull him flush up against the taller man’s body. “You don’t think this is weird?” The question burst out of him before he could stop it, even as his own hands curved around and up to flatten against Jared’s shoulder blades, hot under the thin material of his t-shirt. “This isn’t freaking you out even a little?”

Jared snorted and stroked down the length of Jensen’s naked spine, mouthing kisses along his jaw and making him shiver. “I got past the freak out a long time ago.” He snorted again, muttering with some amusement, “Probably had my last freak out right about the time Danneel told me that I wasn’t being as subtle as I thought about you.” He pulled back when he felt Jensen suddenly go tense under his hands and said softly, “She’s cool, I swear. You wouldn’t believe how much she wants this to happen.”

Jensen stared at him with a combination of annoyance and incredulity. “Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds.”

“Yes,” said Jared with feeling. “Very, very much.” He grinned down into Jensen’s wary eyes and laughed, “You really want me to tell you how many other people are wanting this to happen?”

“God, no.” Jensen tried to pull back a little and catch his breath, only to find breathing even more of a challenge when Jared tightened the arm around his waist and moulded him firmly to his front. “I don’t think I want you to tell me ever.”

Suddenly unable to stop helpless laughter bubbling up, Jared nodded and dipped his head to press into the curve of Jensen’s shoulder again to hide his amusement. “Okay, but I think we managed to scar Aldis for life. He thinks he ain’t got no choice but to fuck the life out of Chris now.”

Jensen opened his mouth, frowned, closed it again and eventually said, “I have no idea what to say to that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure Steve does.” Jared allowed the hand caressing the small of Jensen’s back to take a firm hold of the waistband of his towel and whispered hoarsely, “Can I?” He gave a light, testing tug, humming low in his throat with satisfaction when Jensen didn’t immediately protest and didn’t want for further assent. The towel fell to the floor, leaving Jensen completely bared and Jared felt his heart turn over in his chest at the look of challenge Jensen shot him that didn’t quite hide his sudden uneasiness with his state of undress. Jared palmed one ass cheek and squeezed, saying quietly, “We can stop. I want us both to be comfortable with this.”

Looking annoyed with both himself and Jared, Jensen shook his head, saying, “I don’t know why I feel so weird about this. I don’t get like this with anyone else.”

Still moving his hand in a gentle circle motion over Jensen’s ass, Jared pulled back a little and said hesitantly, “Maybe because this matters?” He dipped his head, barely touching their mouths together for a second before pulling back, whispering, “Maybe this is the one that really matters, Jensen?”

Jensen stood frozen for a moment, blinking up a Jared and his tongue suddenly feeling like it had grown ten sizes too big for his mouth. He swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes away from Jared’s serious ones and then found himself nodding, “Maybe.” He shivered when Jared’s hand clenched hard on his ass cheek and just as suddenly released and then, feeling that he’d been passive long enough in this new and startling turn of events and determined to take back some control, he shimmied suddenly against Jared’s hold and dropped to his knees, not giving Jared even a second to protest before he pulled down the waistband of the sweatpants Jared was wearing and wrapped his lips around the cockhead that sprang free.

“Oh my God!” Jared’s hoarse gasp felt like it tore his throat when it burst free and he couldn’t help the instinctive jerk of his hips towards the heat of Jensen’s mouth before he managed to get himself under control. “Jensen, you don’t have to.....” He made the mistake of looking down and the words died in his throat. Jensen knelt before him, hands pressed loosely against his lower thighs bracing himself and his feet neatly crossed together under his ass as he leaned forward to swallow more of Jared’s cock and then pull back. The sight that really arrested Jared though was that Jensen had kept his face upturned as much as he could in his position and was watching Jared with wide green eyes, his mouth wrapped mutely around Jared’s dick and looking eager to do nothing more than service Jared with his mouth. Jared wrapped one hand around the back of Jensen’s head and the other around the base of his own cock, whispering pleadingly, “Stay like that. Keep looking at me like that, Jensen.” He pulled back slowly, watching the length of him reappear from Jensen’s rapidly reddening lips, his skin glistening with Jensen’s spit and the first spill of his own precum. “Rise up on your knees, as high as you can go.” He groaned low in his throat when Jensen obeyed, the new position making it easier for Jensen to tilt his head back and keep eye contact and for Jared to feed more of himself in-between Jensen’s lips. “Stay like that. I want to look at you.” He pushed further in, his own hand keeping him from going too far, and said hoarsely, “Now move your tongue. Stroke me with it.” He firmed his hold on the back of Jensen’s head, giving him as much support as he could and groaned with mindless pleasure when Jensen’s did as he was instructed and curled his tongue around Jared as much as possible, stroking and stroking until Jared thought he would lose his mind. He kept staring down, unable to believe what he was seeing and feeling. Jensen on his knees and gagged by Jared moving in and out of his mouth, eyes glittering as they stared up at Jared and catalogued every emotion on his face.

“Let go my legs.” Jared gasped out, rocking his hips a little harder and a little faster, shuddering almost uncontrollably when Jensen moaned himself and tried to shake his head. “Please, drop your hands, I....” Jared groaned again when Jensen’s tongue increased its pace to nearly have him coming there and then. “Jensen, please, drop your hands.” He watched when Jensen closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, his hands falling away as asked and coming to rest against his own thighs, fingers curling into claws as he made himself hold on. “Yeah, like that.” Now the only means by which the pace and force of the blowjob could be controlled, Jared tilted Jensen’s head back just a little more and whispered, “Keep looking at me, Jensen. I want to see your eyes.”

Jensen let his head go heavy in Jared’s grip and stared upwards, looking steadily into Jared’s eyes that showed him everything the other man was feeling. Pleasure, desire , awe, tenderness and most overwhelmingly of all was love. Every line of Jared’s face was lit with it as he looked down at Jensen suckling at him and Jensen felt his own cock jump against his naked belly at the thought of what else he could get Jared to reveal whilst they enjoyed each other’s bodies.

Jared lost all sense of time as he rocked backwards and forwards in Jensen’s mouth, lost to everything but that hypnotic green gaze fixed on him and it was almost surprise that he felt the first warning tingle of orgasm uncurl in his belly. He bit his lip, stifling an urgent cry and pulled fully out of Jensen’s mouth, his cock slapping against Jensen’s lower lip on the way out and leaving a smear of precum in its wake. Not giving Jensen time to protest he dropped to his own knees, wrapping his arms around the other man and dragging him into a kiss that left them both gasping and panting. “Turn around.”

Jensen frowned and tried to recapture Jared’s mouth, making a wordless noise of protest when Jared griped his shoulders and firmly held him back.

“You’ll like it,” promised Jared, actually waggling his eyebrows at Jensen and giving him such a ridiculously over the top leer that he surprised Jensen into laughter. Taking advantage of the moment, Jared pressed a quick kiss to Jensen’s smiling mouth and then shuffled them both until Jensen was facing the bed and he was directly behind him. He looked down between their bodies, dragging one hand down Jensen’s spine and over his ass, following the curve until he reached thigh and then his hand delved between Jensen’s legs and urged his legs further apart. “Bend forward over the bed.”

Jensen’s head jerked around and he looked uneasily over his shoulder at Jared, trying to read his face. “Jared, I know I said that I’d give this a shot, but....”

“Trust me, “ said Jared, quietly. “You know me. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me too.” He placed one hand in the centre of Jensen’s back and applied pressure, gently encouraging him forward until his upper torso was draped over the foot of the bed with his ass on the edge , slightly raised and spread, and his knees were braced apart on the floor. Jared knee walked forwards, easing his way between Jensen’s legs until they were as far apart as he could comfortably get them and still have Jensen helping to support his own wake. He bent forward over Jensen’s body, sliding his hands along Jensen’s arms and folding them over the other man’s clenched fists and squeezing reassuringly. “You’re going to like this.” He gave Jensen’s hands one more tight squeeze and then dragged himself back, grinning at the helpless shiver from Jensen when he felt Jared’s still mostly clothed body rub along his own over heated and completely naked on. Jared took another moment to contemplate the ass displayed and raised to him, trailing the fingers of one hand lightly along the cleft before he palmed a cheek in either hand and separated them to reveal the pucker between.

Jensen jerked when he felt Jared part him and suddenly realised that his position wasn’t quite leading him where he had suspected – yet – and tried to push himself up, saying quickly, “Jared....” that did nothing more than turn into a startled moan when Jared bent his head and licked along his cleft from bottom to top. “Oh my God.”

Jared laughed against him, startling another moan from Jensen when he didn’t bother to take his mouth from Jensen’s pucker when he did so and murmured, “Let me do this, Jensen, I’ve been thinking about this forever.” He gave another wet lick and another until he felt Jensen go boneless under him, all thought of protest gone, and then he spread his cheeks apart as far as they would go and started to lick in earnest. He didn’t keep with one particular rhythm for too long, not giving Jensen time to get too comfortable, and soon had the other man writhing helplessly as best he could in his limited position against the edge of the bed. Jared slipped his thumbs gently to the edge of Jensen’s pucker and rubbed at the skin there as he stroked it with his tongue and then pressed in ever so slightly and pulled it apart. Jensen bucked helplessly up into Jared’s mouth when he felt himself being opened and then he gave a hoarse scream of shocked pleasure when Jared shoved inside him with ease thanks to his thumbs holding him open and began to messily fuck him with his tongue. Jared ignored any and all of the desperate and barely coherent flood of words spilling from Jensen’s mouth as he tried to simultaneously get away from the almost overwhelming pleasure of Jared’s mouth and get closer to it and instead concentrated on continuing to drive Jensen out of his mind.

Long, long minutes later Jared raised his head, panting and with his tongue sore in his mouth and looked down on the devastation he had wrought on Jensen’s body. His ass was flushed pink, the cleft and around the glistening, clenching pucker coloured a deeper rose from the friction of Jared’s stubbling cheeks and his torso was a trembling, boneless line on the bed. Jared rose quickly, taking advantage of Jensen’s pleasured daze and crossed to his bedside cabinet to snatch up condoms and lube was back before the other man even managed to raise his head. Jared dropped to his knees again behind him and spread lube over his fingers lightening fast and was pressing them against Jensen with a hoarse “Can I Jensen? Please?” before dipping the tip of the first one inside and rubbing at the already sensitive skin. “You going to let me?”

Jensen gasped and bucked in reflex when he felt Jared’s finger press a little harder into him and gasped out, “Yeah, okay, just....oh.” His eyes fluttered closed when Jared’s finger pushed inside him right up to the base and began to work back and forth with firm, abrupt thrusts. “More, I can take more. I’m...from your tongue.” He cried out hoarsely when Jared took him at his word and pushed another finger inside him without warning and began to shove them in and out of him with rapid desperate motions.

Jared looked down, watching his hand moving out of Jensen’s body with wide eyes and knew he was being a little rougher and a lot faster than he planned, but couldn’t seem to help himself. He could still taste Jensen on his tongue and his own cock ached from the sense memory of Jensen’s and he thought if he didn’t get inside the other man soon he might go a little crazy. He picked up the tube of lube and squirted it directly onto where his fingers were disappearing into Jensen’s body and then slipped a third finger inside, beginning to open him up in earnest and aiming for the spot inside that had Jensen jerking and open mouthed on the bed whenever Jared hit it.

“Jared!” Jensen tried to get his hands under him, shaking from the effort and collapsed back down when Jared hit that place inside him again and it felt like lightening was licking along his spine. “Jared, now!” He rubbed his aching cock against the warm softness of the comforter hanging down from the bed and cried out when Jared rubbed his fingers just so again. “Jared, come on, now! Do it no....Ah!” The surprised sound was punched out of him when Jared’s fingers disappeared and then were replaced seconds later with the head of his sheathed cock. Jensen felt Jared get a grip on his hips, tilting them a little higher and pushing his torso and face a little harder into the bed and then he was panting into the covers when Jared pushed slowly and implacably forward and forced Jensen to accept him all the way to the root.

Jared let his head drop back when his belly came flush against Jensen’s ass, gritting his teeth against the urge to thrust and widen and further heat the tight and already burning channel he had buried himself in, but the breathy gasps and moans from Jensen told him to hold still and let the other man adjust for a moment. He murmured wordless noises of comfort and reassurance as his hands rubbed gently at the skin of Jensen’s hips and his shivering buttocks and then he gave a startled yelp when Jensen bucked back against him and his cock was squeezed tight by a clenching channel.

“Okay, now.” Jensen moved his ass again, moaning and then laughing at Jared’s high pitched yelp when he clenched himself around the firm flesh forcing him open. “Now, Jared.” He groaned low in his throat when he felt the drag of Jared withdrawing and then the tingling burn of him moving forward again. “Come on, show me how good it can be between us. Show me what I’ve been missing out on.”

Jared shuddered at the husky words of command and slipped an arm around Jensen’s chest to pull him up and back, plastering his naked back against Jared’s still clothed chest and bending his head to his ear. “You got it.” His fingers dragged across one nipple and he pulled his hips almost all the way back before punching them forward again. “Hold on, Jensen.”

The rhythm he set up was hard and fast, taking advantage of the fact that Jensen was spread over his wide flung thighs and had no choice but to brace his weight against Jared’s chest and accept the pounding of his hips and cock. They moved together seamlessly, harsh pants and moans filling the air and hands clutching and stroking wherever they could reach. Jared looked over Jensen’s shoulder and watched his lover’s flushed cock bob in the air, slapping against his belly with every push forwards and leaking clear fluid constantly from the tip. “Touch yourself, Jensen, I want to see.” He slammed forward again when Jensen obeyed, wrapping one strong hand around himself and pushing his cock through his clenched fist with increasing desperation as they neared the finish.

Jensen came with a strangled yell of completion, shooting spasmodically over himself and the floor, shuddering in Jared’s embrace and shaking from the force of it. Jared echoed his shout moments later, his senses on overload from the visual stimulation of watching Jensen come and from the punishing squeeze of his body around his cock. His vision whited out and he bucked helplessly into the heat and pressure until he finally was spent and left clutching weakly at Jensen as he buried his face into the sweat soaked nape of Jensen’s neck.

There was silence for long minutes while they calmed down and their breathing steadied and then Jared pressed his lips to the top of Jensen’s spine making him shudder and whispered, “You convinced yet? You think this can be good between us?”

Jensen laughed raggedly, sagging further back into Jared’s embrace and said hoarsely, “New rule. We don’t get to do this with anyone else but each other from now on.”

Jared felt his grin explode across his face and pressed his face into Jensen’s sweat soaked hair as he slipped free from his body. “I can get behind that.” He laughed with delight when Jensen rolled his head to eye him narrowly and pressed a sloppy kiss to his over heated cheek. “Trust me, buddy, I am all over that.”

And proceeded to make Jensen yelp when he proved it all over again.

~*~*~*

The End.

FIC: A Jared's Rules For Dating His Jensen (1/2) NC17 RPS

2009-10-25T18:58:02Z

Title: A Jared's Rules For Dating His Jensen
Author: breea1
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: Not true in the slightest.
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Synopsis: Jared Padalecki loves Jensen Ackles. No, really, he does. He also has very high standards on his best friend's behalf. Standards that Jensen, aside from being unaware of, apparently doesn't apply as highly as he should to the people he dates. That's okay though because he has Jared to watch out for him. And Jared is very serious about standards being met.

Author's note: This is based on the completely hilarious 'A Father's Rules For Dating His Daughter' that made the rounds of the lists (remember the good old days of yahoo groups before the advent of LJ?!) a few years back and that I have now used for fic in no less than five different fandoms. Just. That. Funny. The idea for using it for fic was originally taken from the quite brilliant Diana Williams' 'Sentinel's Rules For Dating His Guide' over on 852 Prospect. Written for the rpf_big_bang challenge

Many, many thanks must go my assigned artist xeyraon this story who has shown extraodinary grace and patience through the many ridiculous problems that arose over the last few weeks and has been nothing but encouraging and supportive the whole time. I'm sorry I didn't know you better and I am very grateful that I got to benefit from your talents. Thank you.

Art Post: wonderful art!

Rule One:
If you pull up outside the building and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

The thing is Jensen's been doing this celebrity thing for a lot longer than Jared and he's maybe got a little turned around along the way on what rules still apply, no matter who you are or what circumstances you happen to find yourself in. For instance, Jared is at heart an old fashioned boy. Sure he likes to tear it up some, raise a little hell, but his parents raised him right and he knows whether you're Billy-Bob from down on the farm or Brad Pitt taking his latest hottie squeeze to stroll down the red carpet at the Oscars then when you go to pick up your date for that evening then you damn well get out of the car, get yourself to their door and pick up them up. Or, y'know, even actually be in the car you send for them because otherwise? That's just rude.

And the other thing about Jensen? He wouldn't dream of pulling the same stunt on one of his dates if the situation was reversed, but will some way find the whole rudeness aspect perfectly acceptable when applied to himself.

Jared does not. Jared most emphatically does not find this acceptable.

He was currently finding this unacceptable sitting sprawled on the couch in his living room, with the dogs lying on his feet and with a carton of half eaten chow mien balanced on his stomach and scowling at his big screen TV whilst Jensen tried to hurriedly conclude his phone call to his mom who was filling him in on the latest going's on with his family and get out the door to where the executive car sent for him had been idling at the curb for twenty minutes and had been beeping its horn increasingly impatiently every minute or so for the last fifteen of those twenty minutes. Jared caught Jensen's harassed and despairing gaze as he made another trip to the door and waved soothingly at the driver, grimacing horridly in a bid to presumably convey that he was being as quick as he could but, families, what are you gonna do, and Jared – being very helpful and an all around great guy – decided to help his buddy out. Because that's what friends do, right? They help.

He grinned at Jensen, dragged his slightly numb feet out from under his dogs and unfolded to his full height. He grinned wider at Jensen's quizzical look and jerked a thumb towards the door, mouthing, “I'll go talk to him. Take your time.”

Jensen looked utterly relieved and grinned back at Jared, bright and thankful, and said into the phone, “Momma, she's a grown woman! You can't give her a curfew, she left home three years ago!” and sent Jared chuckling out into the evening air.

He strolled unhurriedly down his path, waving casually over at little Stevie Parks from across the way who liked to pet Harley and Sadie whenever he saw them out and who was refreshingly unimpressed with Jared's celebrity status and mocked him remorselessly for completely sucking on a skateboard on the odd occasions they'd wasted a few minutes on their shared street. He came to a stop by the driver's window and thumped his fist down on the roof of the car. “He's on his way.” With a subtle hum the window slid down, revealing a guy in his mid-forties and scowling under a grey peaked cap. Jared cocked an eyebrow and thought of their own driver, Cliff, who you were lucky to catch with pants on some of the time, let alone with an actual uniform. “Just taking care of some family business.”

The driver looked unimpressed. “We're late. I was meant to have been at the restaurant ten minutes ago.” He shot Jared's house a dirty look. “I'm gonna get the blame for this and I'm gonna lose my tip. Happens every time.”

“Yeah, its not gonna look good.” Jared agreed and leaned his butt companionably against the car, bending slightly to look the guy in the eye and give him his very brightest, good ol' boy grin. “Y'know, I hope you don't mind me saying so, but the guy you're working for seems like a bit of a tool. I mean, what kind of a guy doesn't even come pick his dates up himself?”

The driver looked shiftily away for a moment, before cutting his eyes back up to Jared, his mouth pinched tight in disapproval. “Yeah, well, not someone I'd want my kid dating, that's for sure. The girl or boy.” His jaw flexed. “Had this job a couple of years now and he's not exactly enthusiastic about seeing them home either.” His eyes looked searchingly at Jared for a moment before cutting past him to the house and looking thoughtfully at the front door. “You're that guy off that show, right? The one with the demons or something. My daughter's a big fan.”

“Yeah?” Jared beamed. “Hey, you want me to sign something for her? Maybe get a picture? I think I got some t-shirts and stuff in the house, I could go get 'em.” He pushed away from the car and then stopped, looking down at the driver with his face creased in concern. “Hey, this is gonna sound stupid, but....this guy's just a bit of a tool, right? He don't actually...well, he's safe, right?”

The driver opened his mouth to answer and then stopped when he saw Jensen emerge from the house, pulling his jacket on and patting down his pockets to make sure his keys and wallet were where they should be. His eyes darted to Jared, back to Jensen and then looked back at Jared in understanding. He grinned. “You get him to sign something too and I might suddenly discover some really bad engine trouble that stops us going anywhere for, oh say, the next couple of hours. That'll buy you some breathing room tonight and you can work everything else out later.”

Jared grinned. “You got a deal.”

An hour an a half later when the driver finally went off into the night with his car duly 'fixed' , he did so with not only double his usual tip, but a box full of signed Supernatural memorabilia that Jared had wrecked the house to find, an assortment of t-shirts and pictures and a thirty second personal greeting video on his phone from Jared and a bemused, and slightly irritated, Jensen.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my Jensen in front of me. You may glance at him, so long as you do not peer at anything below his neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my Jensen's body, I will remove them.

“I thought you got rid of this guy.” Chris Kane leaned against the wall beside Jared and joined him in watching Jensen sitting close to his date and bending his head to whisper intimately with him in the midst of the party going on in Chris' home to celebrate Leverage getting picked up for a third season. “Why is he here taking up valuable space and air and alcohol when you were meant to get rid of him?”

“I sabotaged one date, Chris. I didn't have him sent to the harbour to feed him to the fishes.” Jared observed from under lowered lashes as Jensen laughed quietly at a murmured comment and then turned his face slightly to avoid an attempt to kiss him. “Not a lot I can do if Jensen likes him.” His hand tightened around the bottle in his hand when The Tool – as Jared thought of him – not put off by Jensen's subtle but firm refusal to partake in public PDA's and tried to worm a hand between suddenly tense thighs and evidently tempt him that way. “What is he doing?”

Chris looked amused. “Plannin' on spendin' the night in ER if he carries on like that. Jensen ain't goin' to be best pleased about bein' felt up like that in front of God and everyone.” He took a swig of his own beer, tilting eyebrow when Jensen politely but firmly removed the hand and muttered something that had his date looking momentarily annoyed before shrugging and casually leaning back to stretch an unobtrusive, but undoubtedly possessive, arm along the couch back and along Jensen's shoulders. “Huh. Was expectin' a lot more yellin' and tusslin'. Could be he really likes this guy.”

Jared gritted his teeth. “Could be.”

Chris grinned at Beth, one of his Leverage co-stars, across the room and shook his head when she picked the pocket of the guy trying to chat her up by the doorway of the kitchen, and shot him a look filled with triumphant glee. “Christ, that girl's gonna get us all locked up she keeps pullin' stuff like that. Keep tellin' her, just because she can doesn't mean she should.” He laughed outright when Aldis saw what was going on and rolled smoothly up to take back the wallet, tuck it discreetly back into the guy's pocket and then firmly extract Beth with a few equally smooth words and an uncompromising hand on her arm. He kept grinning when Aldis steered her across the room to join them and brought the protesting woman to his side. “Hey there, Dodger, you havin' a good time?”

Beth scowled and shook off Aldis' arm. “I was.” She glared up at her taller co-star. “I'm not actually Parker, you know. I would have given it back.”

Aldis looked unconvinced and said pointedly, “You're someone's mother. Woman, you should be settin' an example.”

Beth scowled harder. “I am!” Her pretty face creased in an impish smile. “I'm setting an example on how not to get caught.” She stole Chris' beer and managed a sip before he grabbed it back. “Yay me!” Disregarding both her co-stars – mainly Chris who was outraged at the theft of his alcohol – she beamed up at Jared. “Hi, we haven't been introduced, I'm Beth. I've just been cursed to spend another season working with these guys.”

“Hi. Jared.” Jared grinned back at her, unable to completely ignore The Tool's arm slipping off the couch and onto Jensen's shoulders proper in the background. “I like your show.” His eyes darted over to Jensen again and narrowed. “Big fan.”

“Yeah, I'm feeling the love.” Beth shoved Chris out of her way, disregarding the mumbled threats of physical violence because when he wasn't being Eliot Spencer he was about as scary as her small son, and followed Jared's eye line across the room. “Oh, Jensen Ackles, he's so great! I've liked him for years.” She leered at Chris when he shot her a suddenly sharp look and winked. “You know the best guys. Another season with you is totally worth the potential hook-ups.”

Chris looked mildly annoyed. “Like to point out that in some circles I'm considered quite the hottie.” He flexed his bulging biceps. “Seriously. Stud.”

Beth sighed indulgently, not taking her eyes from Jensen. “Yeah. Right up until the moment that women meet you in real life and find out you're two foot tall and spend more time on your hair than they do. Then the manly mystique tends to fade.”

Aldis choked on a laugh. “That is cold.” He moved out of range because he wasn't blonde, built like a delicate fawn and female and Chris could and would punch him for any smart ass comments, and then added, “Cold, but very, very true.”

Chris, slippery little fucker that he was, lashed out with his foot and caught Aldis squarely on the knee. “I am all about the mystique.” He turned to Beth whilst Aldis cursed and jumped up and down, clutching his leg and drawled, “And my boy Jensen is off the market.” He glared pointedly at Jared. “Apparently.”

Jared glanced at Chris and then at Aldis and Beth. “Not the time.”

“ They're cool.” Chris ignored Beth and Aldis, still cursing, and said, “Now what are you goin' to do about this jackass with his hands all over our boy? I'm getting' twitchy and I don't want in his pants like you do.” He frowned reflectively. “I could go find Steve and maybe arrange a little...accident.”

“ Oh my god,” said Jared, vaguely horrified. “You have got to start playing people with some kind of values system. The moral ambiguity is seriously fucking you up.”

All three Leverage stars looked offended. Beth frowned. “We have a code.” She frowned harder at Jared's wry look at the man she'd recently tried to separate from his wallet and said indignantly, “We do!”

“I'm not sayin' have him killed.” Chris snapped. “Just...removed.”

“ Jensen likes him.” Jared growled, unable to believe he was actually arguing for keeping the guy in Jensen's life and not trotting off to find a shovel to help Chris and Steve bury the body. “We should respect his choices.”

“Jensen thought brick pants were a good choice back in the day.” Chris observed dryly. “This is not a man known for his good decisions. This is man who clearly needs protecting from himself.” He flexed a well-toned arm encouragingly. “At all costs.”

Aldis, finally back on both feet, looked between the other two men and then at Jensen. His jaw dropped. “Wait, are you saying....” His eyes popped in his head when he stared at Jared. “Man, is all that shit on the internet true? Are you boning Jensen Ackles?” He looked in sudden alarm at Chris and then, with a little less alarm, at Beth. “I am not boning you, man! I don’t care what the internet says I should be dong.” He grinned hopefully at Beth. “Exceptions can be made.”

Beth ignored Chris choking on his beer and looked Aldis wryly up and down. “Not chance, Junior, I have leg hair older than you.” She slapped Chris companionably on the back, adding,” But, hey, its not like Kane here is known for his standards, you really should at least think about it. At least you know he’s a sure thing.”

Chris nearly went purple trying to talk, breath and clear his lungs of mis-swallowed beer all at the same time.

Jared looked mildly revolted and stepped away before he got caught in the spray of beer, mucus and spittle surrounding Chris. “Thanks. Y’all have been very helpful. I’m going somewhere else now.”

Aldis ignored his departure and looked in wounded indignation at Beth. “Hey, sometimes youth is a good thing, you get me? I could outlast this guy on my head.”

“Huh.” Said Beth, now looking casually around for Steve because if she’d managed to break Chris then she was going to want to get out of the way before his crazy, non-sexual life partner caught up with her. “Haven’t tried that one in a while.” She winced when she caught the glimpse of a shiny blonde head across the room. “Hey, I gotta split. I need to be wherever, um, the tall guy went to.”

Aldis watched her scuttle off and yelled after her. “I happen to be very fuckable!” and then scowled down at Chris, bent at the waist and hacking up what sounded like every major organ in his body and bracing his butt against the wall. “But I’m still not fucking you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Said a low, husky voice and Steve Carlson joined them looking bemused at Chris’ obvious distress and Aldis’ pronouncement. “At least have the class to take it to a bedroom.”

Aldis, a man who had done his research, backed smartly up a step and stabbed a finger at Steve. “Oh no. Nuh-uh. I’ve read about you too, dude. You’re totally the one to watch out for! He’s all ‘wanna fuck?’ and with the hair, but you, you’re sneaky.”

Steve blinked at him and then sipped thoughtfully at his beer. Yeah, that sounds like me.” He looked askance at Chris, slowly recovering and beginning to breath easily once more. “Do I need to start cutting people off this early in the evening?”

Chris waved a hand, glared at Aldis and said painfully, “We’re good. And I am NOT fucking you!” He glared at Aldis when the younger man snorted scornfully and looked at Steve when his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “’I’m not! He’s been looking on line.”

“Oh.” Steve’s face cleared at Chris’ dark tone of voice and he nodded in understanding. “Gotcha.” He winked at Aldis all friendly like. “Son, don’t sweat it. According to those crazy kids we’ve both been boning your jailbait ass since you first showed up on set. Apparently you deep throat like a pro.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard.” Jensen’s amused voice announced his arrival over Aldis’ indignant protests and Chris’ roar of laughter. “I took one look at that mouth on Supernatural and thought ‘there’s a guy that cocksucks like a champ, sign me up.”

Aldis glowered at Jensen and then stared pointedly over his shoulder at his very handsy date, now sitting next to Beth. “And if anyone should know it would be you. Thought you were gonna give us a live show there for a minute, man.”

Jensen flushed, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a small frown. “It was getting a little intense.” He looked around hopefully. “I though I saw Jared over here a while back, you know where he went? I could really use some chill out time.”

Aldis clapped a mournful hand over his eyes and moaned lowly to himself. “Oh my God, you’re doing it. The crazy, crazy fans totally nailed it.” He looked morosely at Chris. ”Its inevitable, isn’t it? You’re gonna try and fuck me. And I'm going to like it.” He staggered off looking wretched. “I knew I shoulda been a preacher like my momma wanted.”

Steve watched him go and then looked back at Chris, who stared back at him with a deer caught in the headlights expression. He smiled wryly to himself and said mildly, “I wouldn’t say inevitable, exactly.” And moved off after Aldis with a flip of his hair and Chris’ eyes glued, as ever, to his butt.

Jensen blinked. “Is everyone here very high or am I the one that’s hallucinating?” He looked at Chris’ beer covered shirt with distaste. “Dude have you barfed?”

Chris glared at the cause of all his problems so far this evening and snarled back, “You really serious about Doctor Octopus over there?”

Looking taken aback, Jensen looked towards his date who was quite a bit nearer to Beth than he had been moments before and wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think so. He’s not really...I’m just not that comfortable with the PDA thing, you know?”

Chris snorted. “Yeah, I notice you fighting Padalecki off all the time.”

Jensen looked taken aback. “Jared doesn’t MAUL me....”He stopped short when two large arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind and Jared started to enthusiastically hump his thigh. “Except when he does.”

Chris looked past Jensen and up slightly, evidently meeting Jared’s eyes. “We were just discussing how much Jensen here is not liking PDA’s.”

“Oh yeah?” Jared ‘irony is just another word to me’ Padalecki, craned his neck so he could peer down to see Jensen’s face and tightened his grip. “They can be a real bitch, huh?”

Jensen, apparently just as unfamiliar with irony as Jared, nodded sheepishly and said, “I just can’t shake the feeling that everyone’s watching, you know?”

Chris, seriously making up flash cards to explain the concept and definition of irony because he was finding it extremely painful watching his two friends make such asses of themselves, nodded slowly and ignored the room studying the two Supernatural stars covertly from under their lashes and from behind their drinks, saying, “Yeah, that could be a real problem.” He noticed that Jensen’s date had shifted his attention from Beth and was now scowling ominously in their direction. “You guys need another drink?”

Jensen shrugged with difficulty thanks to Jared still draped over him like an especially heavy blanket. “I could go for a JD.”

“Great.” Chris said with a wary eye towards Beth as she pulled a face at him and tried to pull Jensen’s date’s attention back to her and stop him coming across the room and pulling Jared off his boyfriend. “Get me one while you’re at it.”

Jensen scowled and informed him, “You’re a crappy host.” He leaned his head back and squinted at Jared. “I’m guessing you want one too?”

“You’ll make someone a good wife someday, sweetheart.” Jared drawled. He glanced back over his shoulder where the handsy date was now extracting himself from Beth’s clutches and was looking determinedly in his direction. “Make mine a double.”

Jensen rolled his eyes good naturedly but moved off and didn’t see his boyfriend come up behind him and join Jared and Chris.

The boyfriend glared. “Padalecki.” He switched his glared to Chris, looking, incredibly, even more annoyed. “Kane.”

Jared and Chris looked back and smirked as one. “Uh, Timmy isn’t it?”

The boyfriend glared harder and said through gritted teeth. “Tony.”

“Right.” Chris tapped his temple and winked knowingly. “Got it.” He waited a beat and then said, “Tommy. I am all over that.”

Jared choked back a laugh at the look on the guy’s face and thanked his lucky stars that he was past the stage of Chris being a total asshole to him the way he was to every new person looking to show up in Jensen’s life and become a permanent part of it. It was true that it did sort the wheat from the chaff as Chris put it, but while you happened to be the focus of Chris’ unhappy attentions it totally sucked ass.

Tony eyed Chris with a particularly jaundiced expression and chose to take the high road. “Do you know where Jensen went?”

Neither of them especially wanting to say, but not quite able to get away with ‘Jensen, Jensen who?’ Chris and Jared swapped looks and Jared said reluctantly, “Went to get some dinks.”

Looking vaguely annoyed, Tony said, “That’s what he said ten minutes ago. Then he didn’t come back.” He shot Jared a speaking look. “Although he probably tried.”

Chris finished the last of his beer and muttered around the neck of his bottle, “Not that I saw.” And then beamed an innocent grin at Tony when the other man out and out glared at him.

Jared, grumpy, a little drunk and more than past feeling like he had to be polite to the man who was occupying the space in Jensen’s bed that he felt should only belong to him, said shortly, “He’s coming straight back. We’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

“Yeah.” Said Tony. “I just bet you will.” He sneered at Jared. “Tell him I’m ready to go if you see him before I do. I got plans for the rest of the night that don’t include any of you.” He turned his back on them before they could reply – or Chris could smack him with his empty beer bottle – and walked off saying just loud enough to be heard, “Much as I’m sure you wish they did.”

Jared and Chris scowled after him and then scowled at each other. Jared broke first. “Okay, you said you had a plan?”

Chris beamed. “Now you’re talking, son!”

~*~*~*~

Half an hour later, Beth turned her biggest most innocent wide eyed expression on Jensen and let her lower lip tremble. “I am so sorry. I didn’t realise he was your date.” The wide eyed gaze flickered past Jensen’s shoulder to where Tony was sprawled on the living room floor, clutching his right wrist and swearing up a storm. She looked back up at Jensen and trembled her lip some more. “But he really needs to realise that no means no.”

Jensen, gentleman and sucker that he was, turned a far less innocent and much more accusing look on the hapless Tony and there and then changed the half assed plan to let him down gently after that night into dropping him loudly and messily from a great height. “No problem. You sure you’re okay?”

Beth swayed towards him and smiled brightly, ignoring Aldis shaking his head reprovingly at her just out of Jensen’s line of sight. “Fine. I’m just so sorry for you. I know this is none of my business, but you could do so much better.” She beamed brightly at him. “In fact, I’m avai.....”

“Beth!” interrupted Chris loudly and shoved his way bodily between his two friends practically snarling at his co-star. “Let me call you a cab. You look tired.”

“No, I’m fine.” Beth tried to peer around Chris, slapping at him irritably when he tried to herd her back and away from a bemused looking Jensen. “I was just saying that I’m....”

“Very tired.” Interrupted Jared loudly and made a much better job of blocking Jensen from her sight than Chris because he was basically the size of a small dwelling. “Aldis says he’ll take you home.”

Aldis looked startled. “I did?” He recoiled when Jared and Chris both narrowed their eyes at him and said, “I mean, I did. Do!” He grabbed Beth’s arm and tugged. “On it. We’re gone!”

Jared looked at Chris and hissed, “Dude!”

Chris hissed back, “What? I didn’t think she was serious!” He grinned at Jensen’s puzzled face and then gestured to where Tony was still howling up a storm on the floor. “You want me to get rid of him for you?”

Jensen looked back, met Tony’s outraged eyes and sighed heavily. “Nah. I’ll take care of it.” He glanced at Jared. “You wanting to hang around after?”

Jared shook his head and tried not to look too pleased at the implication he would be leaving with Jensen. “Nah. I got a pint of ice cream and a box of candy with your name al over it, Ackles. We’re gonna shake those break up blues right off you.”

Jensen snorted and wandered off to dump Tony’s ass, saying carelessly over his shoulder, “Make it a bottle of tequila and a night of porn and you got yourself a deal.”

Jared and Chris high fived. “Score!”

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for guys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes to big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my Jensen, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Jared wasn't proud of himself, he really wasn't, but he knew the moment he met the new woman in Jensen's life that she was trouble. Well knew the moment he met her and from the helpful phone call from Danneel the week before
.
“She's trouble!” Danneel hissed down the phone. “Trouble, trouble, trouble! You have to get rid of her.”

Jared had sat in his chair on set and looked covertly around to make sure that Jensen hadn't snuck up on him when he wasn't paying attention. He loved Danneel, he truly did, but her voice tended to carry when she got upset and the last thing he needed was Jensen overhearing his ex-girlfriend and current best friend talking trash about his new girlfriend.

“Danneel,” said Jared carefully. “Are you sure that this isn't you being a little, uh, maybe having some left over....”

“ This is not me being jealous.” Danneel informed him sounding, well, jealous. “This is me being a stand-up, caring, concerned ex-girlfriend who happens to know for a fact that her ex-boyfriend is fucking the devil.”

“ Uh-huh.” Said Jared sceptically, he frowned. “He showed me a picture. She looks okay.” If you liked that whole overblown, over made up, top heavy, pouting sex kitten thing anyway. And girls that would have to check downstairs for a reminder of what their natural colour was, because there was no way that girl was a natural blonde. He shifted awkwardly. Okay, so maybe Danneel wasn't the only one that was a little jealous.

“ The devil.” Danneel reiterated. “And not jealous! If I behaved like a bitch when I was jealous, then you would have been smothered in your sleep and possibly had all your hair Naired off years ago!”

“Wait, what?” Jared sat bolt upright in his chair and smiled sickly at a PA that wandered past and gave him a concerned look. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Oh please,” Danneel snorted, herself sounding more like a trucker than a bona fide TV star and sultry sex kitten. “What am I, blind? I could see the way you looked at him.” She paused and then added, sounding a little sad, “And how he looked at you. I'm not an idiot, Jared, I just played one on TV.”

Jared swallowed, guilt and shame flooding through him at her words. “Danneel, you've got it all wrong. I don't know what you think....”

“Jared,” huffed Danneel impatiently. “Its not like Sandy and I never talked without you guys there, y'know? Or that I never had a conversation with Gen. None of us are stupid. Please don't insult us by thinking that we are.”

Still flooded with guilt and shame, Jared's heart decided to kick into over drive with some good old fashioned terror. “Oh God.” He swallowed heavily. “Oh God.”

“Plus, I talked to Chris.” Now sounding more amused than anything else, Danneel said, “You had his co-star sprain Jensen's boyfriend's wrist? Lame, Padalecki. Really lame.”

Jared cringed in his chair. “I'm going to kill Chris!”

“You,” said Danneel with some asperity, “Should be grateful that we're all behind you on this. That you got a little help, because, Jared, so far you are making a complete mess of things.”

“Danneel,” said Jared, trying not to focus on how weird it was talking to Jensen's ex about his feelings for the man and how he was not only roping in shared friends but casual acquaintances to help him in his quest to subtly win the man's heart. “I'm sorry. Really. You know that when you and Jensen were together nothing hap...” He trailed off and frowned suddenly. “Hey, wait, what do you mean you saw how Jensen looked at me? Jensen doesn't look at me!”

“Jared,” sighed Danneel wearily, “He does nothing but look at you. Maybe he knows he does it, maybe he doesn't, but he does do it.”

Jared frowned harder and offered uncertainly, “Maybe I had something on my face?”

On the other end of the phone, Danneel sighed morosely to herself, “I really got to start going for substance instead of just the shiny. I really should have outgrown my ‘pretty as a picture, dumb as a post phase’ by now.”

“Hey!” said Jared, hurt. “You’ve read my bio! I’m fucking amazing!”

“Jared,” said Danneel wearily, “I’ve read my own bio too, that doesn’t mean I actually recognise half the stuff on it.” She ignored his annoyed spluttering and continued airily, “Anyway, I’ve decided that you’re far too dumb to be left to do this by yourself and Chris agrees. You need help.”

“I surely do.” Agreed Jared through gritted teeth. “I need help finding some new friends because the ones I have suck.”

Danneel gave the throaty chuckle that fuelled many a young boy’s torrid dreams when they heard it. “Only if you ask me real pretty.” She chuckled again when Jared squawked indignantly and continued, “So, first order of business, we need to get rid of the devil. Because she is evil. And the devil.”

Jared pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a long moment before shaking his head and putting it back in place. “You realise you sound more than a little obsessed? And crazy. Very, very crazy.”

Danneel snorted. “You say crazy, I say committed to protecting my friends’ interests and well being and being a selfless caring, person.”

Jared snorted back at her and reiterated, “Very, very crazy.”

Sighing, Danneel said, “So, Evilyn, you know she hates dogs, right?”

Jared floundered mentally for a moment, thrown at the sudden change in subject and said, “Huh?”

“The spawn of Satan, hates animals. Specifically dogs. We can work with that, right?” Danneel said pointedly. “You have animals. She hates them.” She asked more than a little hopefully, “Would they eat her? If you asked them nicely? Bribed them?”

Jared scowled. “I am not getting my dogs to eat Jensen’s girlfriend, no matter how evil she is. Animal Welfare will get called and they’ll get destroyed!”

“Oh.” Said Danneel in a small voice and then said hesitantly, “Maybe they could plead self defence?”

“No,” said Jared firmly, looking around again just in case Jensen was some place close. “We are no getting the dogs to eat her.”

“I mentioned she’s the devil, right?” said Danneel and then said irritably when Jared growled down the phone at her, “Oh fine, fine. So they’re not eating her. What else can they do? What about peeing on her, or will that insult their delicate sensibilities?”

“Okay, you know what?” Jared said worriedly, “I don’t think you should be allowed to have animals. I’m sending someone down to pick up Icarus and you only get supervised access from now on.”

Danneel laughed. “You are such a pussy. Come on, Jared, work with me here. Do you want to nail Jensen or not?”

“I don’t just want to nail him!” hissed Jared outraged. “Why does everyone think I’m just horny?”

“Uh, because you are?” said Danneel and then giggled. “So what, you just want to sit him down and feed him grapes and read him poetry?” She paused. “Wait, you don’t do you? I have to tell you I don’t think he’s going to go for that.”

Jared, suddenly having a horrible premonition on where the conversation was heading, tried to interrupt, “Danneel, please don’t....”

“He likes food, but you know that already.” Danneel mused, oblivious to the rising panic levels on Jared’s end of the phone. “And he’s not adverse to food in bed. Or on him.”

“Danneel!” yelped Jared. “I don’t need to know....” He stopped, thought, and then said slowly, “Wait, so when you say food are we talking just spreads or solid foods too?”

“Jared!” snapped Danneel. “Focus!”

“Right, right.” Jared said absently, heroically dragging his attention away from the mental image of Jensen smeared in a rainbow of candy body paint, chocolate and some silver sprinkles to add texture and contrast. “I’m listening. Hit me.”

“Okay,” said Danneel suspiciously, evidently not trusting that Jared was properly paying attention. “If we play this right we should be able to use the dogs against her. You got any ideas?”

Jared stared at his feet in Sam’s boots thoughtfully and said slowly, “Well, maybe one....”

~*~*~*~*

Jensen came back into the house later that night and stared at Jared, Sadie and Harley all lined up on the sofa, looking guilty. “She’s gone.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You want to tell me what happened?”

Jared stared up at him and looped his arms around the dogs sitting either side of him. “I don’t know. I swear, Jensen, I turned my back for one minute and the next thing I know....” He lifted his arms, flailed a little and then dropped them back around the dog’s necks. “Screaming! Lots of screaming.” He hugged the dogs a little tighter to him. “They were pretty scared.”

Jensen’s mouth twitched involuntarily as he caught Harley’s woebegone eye and he felt himself soften slightly from his state of indignant annoyance at the sorrowful look on the big dog’s face. “They okay?”

Jared nodded at the gruff question and said, “Yeah, I think they’re just a little shaken up, you know?” He nudged Harley slightly and encouraged the dog off the sofa towards Jensen. “Go say sorry.”

Jensen couldn’t prevent the grin this time when Harley slinked towards him on his belly, shivering and looking so utterly pathetic that not even Attila the Hun would have been able to hold out against the look of naked appeal in his eyes. “S’okay, buddy. You’re forgiven.” He crouched and laughed quietly when Harley squirmed across to him and rolled onto his belly, legs waving in the air. “What got into to you, huh? You’re normally such a good boy.”

Jared looked fondly down at Jensen and Harley roughhousing on the floor and firmly quashed the little pang of guilt that was trying to make itself felt inside his chest. He glanced at the corner of the room towards the bookshelf where he had stashed the jar of peanut butter he had used earlier to make sure it was still out of sight.

No matter how forgiving Jensen appeared now he was pretty sure that his forgiveness would to extend to understanding why Jared had felt the need to sneakily smear Harley’s favourite illicit treat on the hem of his new girlfriend’s expensive designer skirt and then let the dog in from the yard so that he made a beeline for the tempting treat and try to inhale as much of it as he could before he could be dragged away.

On the upside, from the girl’s reaction, Danneel was utterly correct in her estimation of her character. Between the flailing, the cursing, the kicking and, Jared was annoyed the notice, the smacking he didn’t think that Jensen’s taste was improving despite going back to the female side of the dating pool.

And he wasn’t the least bit sorry that the girl had had to go home in a tattered pair of Jensen’s old sweats when her skirt had been forcibly separated from her body and Harley made off victoriously with his prize into the bedrooms thinking it was all a game.

The ensuing screaming match and subsequent ultimatum issued to Jensen from the enraged woman had seen her flouncing out in a huff and Jensen once more single.

Jared was counting it as a win.

Jensen sat back from Harley with a sigh finally, legs raised and spread apart and his arms spreading comfortably over the top as he smiled wanly at Jared with a heavy sigh. “I’ve just had no luck recently, you know? I mean, I know this one was never going to last, but I just wanted to have a little uncomplicated fun." He sighed again, scrubbing a morose hand through his hair. “I just don’t get what’s happening with me. I haven’t sucked so much at dating since high school.”

Jared concentrated very hard on looking sympathetic and not at all guilty or ashamed. “Hey, everyone has a slump sometimes, you know? You still got me, buddy.”

Oblivious, and possibly clinically blind considering that when Jared wasn’t getting paid for it he was a terrible actor, Jensen smiled apologetically at Jared and said fondly, “Yeah, I know.” He tilted his head and said almost shyly, “ And you know that goes both ways, right?” He looked pleased and even more bashful when Jared beamed a blinding grin back at him and ducked his head, muttering quietly, “Just sometimes I miss having someone there physically, okay? Just someone to....touch.”

Jared’s throat clicked dryly and his heart beat hard in his chest as he stared down at Jensen’s bowed head and wondered whether he was brave enough to say what he felt he had been hiding forever. His throat clicked again and he opened his mouth....

“Still, I should be grateful for what I have, right?” said Jensen suddenly, with a short little laugh and a self-deprecating roll of his eyes. “At least you’re easy n the eyes even if you don’t put out.”

Jared, fortunately unnoticed by the object of his desires, opened and shut his mouth speechlessly like a particularly unattractive fish and tried to get out that he would be only too happy to put out if Jensen would give any indication that he actually wanted Jared to for real instead of just making wise ass comments and fucking practically everything else in the world that came with a pulse and was not called Padalecki.

“I’m going to get and early night.” Jensen shot Jared another flash of a smile and climbed to his feet, bending quickly to pat Harley on the head when the dog murmured a protest and said gruffly, “Its okay, buddy, we’re all good.” He straightened, grinned again at Jared and then was heading off to his room with nothing more than a semi-cheery, “Catch you tomorrow, dude!”

Jared sat for quite a while after he’d gone, staring blankly into space and ignoring Harley and Sadie watching him with doggy concern and panting hot, smelly breath all over him. He looked over again to where he had hidden the peanut butter, thought of where he’d really like to be smearing it the next time he had it out – and more specifically on Jensen – and then let his head roll back against the sofa back with a forlorn sigh. He fumbled after a moment in his pocket for his cell phone and with only a cursory glance at the screen and then thumbed speedial. He waited patiently for the call to connect and then without bothering with a greeting, “The devil woman’s gone. Tell me again how he looks at me?”

And was nearly deafened by Danneel’s whoop of triumphant glee.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "Barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Chad Michael Murray stared disapprovingly at the scene before him and then reached for his cell phone, snug in his jeans pocket. “Dude,” he said when his call connected, without taking his eyes off the tableau on his bed. “I thought we talked about this.”

On the other end of the line, Jared mumbled, “'S'at? Y'in jail? How old's she?”

Chad scowled and hissed defensively, “That happened once and we agreed not to talk about it again!” He scowled harder when the bodies on his bed – where he slept, for God's sake – moved in their sleep and he got to see a side of Jensen Ackles that he'd really never wanted to. “I am not in jail.” His eyes narrowed when the body that wasn't Jensen moved languidly and let a gently exploring hand go somewhere that only Jensen himself and Jared had a right to in Chad's opinion. “Although it's looking likely if you don't get over here and do something.”

At the other end of the line, Jared said in sleepy confusion, “Goin' to jail?”

“Will you forget about the jail?” Chad let his bedroom door close and stepped away down the corridor, hissing viciously, “There is no jail! Jail is not an issue! The issue is the guy you were meant to be confessing your undying, big gay love too has totally taken advantage of my hospitality and is in my bed – naked– with a guy that isn't you!” He took a deep breath, adding just in case Jared didn't get it the first time. “Naked!”

As always the mention of Jensen’s nakedness got Jared’s attention like nothing else. “What?”

“Jensen Ackles is naked in my bed.” Whispered Chad hoarsely, sounding appalled and outraged in equal measure and then tacked on hastily in case Jared wasn’t yet fully awake and thought that Chad was phoning to gloat instead of to beg an assist, “Not with me! With some guy that isn’t me.” He paused, frowned and finished with a return of his disapproving tone, “Or you. The guy isn’t you. Why isn’t he you? I thought you were going to confess your big gay love and stop this kind of thing happening. Stop this kind of thing happening in my bed!”

Sounding understandably puzzled, Jared said still a little groggily, “Why is he in your bed? Don’t you have a guest room?”

Chad screwed his face up in despair and resisted the urge to thump his head off the wall behind him, thinking somewhat despairingly that Jared was still missing the point of his call. Really, and people called him the slow one. He gritted his teeth and hissed, “Of course I have a guest room. I have several guest rooms. I wasn’t home when he got here and he had to let himself in with the security code I sent him. I haven’t gotten around to putting up my personal stuff since I moved in and maybe he just looked in all the rooms until he found one he liked. I don’t know and I don’t care, just get over here and get your boy’s naked ass out of my bed and his little friend’s too!”

“Whoa, whoa!” said Jared, alarmed at the rising pitch of Chad’s voice down the line. “What do you want me to do, dude? He’s all grown up and he can fuck who he likes.”

Goddamnit, he added in the privacy of his own head.

“Dude, do you want to bone the guy witless or not?” questioned Chad, in exasperation. “That’s exactly the kind of thinking that got us in this situation in the first place. “Man up, Padalecki, and come get your bitch.”

There was a pained silence on the other end of the phone before Jared said a little plaintively, “Can you not call him that?”

Chad rolled his eyes impatiently. “Better than calling you a bitch. Which you are.” He heaved a sigh and all but wailed, “And there are still naked man bits rubbing on my sheets that are not my own naked man bits. Get over here and make it stop!”

“What do you want me to do?” said Jared in frustration. “I don’t know what to say to him. What if he never speaks to me again?”

“Oh my God,” answered Chad in exasperation, fishing a Zippo lighter out of his pocket. “You are such a pussy.” He flicked the lighter open, thumbed on the flame and held it up over his head to the smoke detector. “You owe me big for this.”

Jared’s baffled reply was drowned out when the smoke alarm went off, the sprinkler system kicked in and from the bedroom high pitched shrieks announced that Jensen and his guest had been rudely awoken. Chad smirked, turned on his heel and bolted down his rapidly dampening corridor to the stairs. “Better get over here, Padalecki. Your boy’s gonna need somewhere else to sleep tonight!”

~*~*~*

Jared arrived outside Chad’s house twenty minutes late from the hotel where he had been staying for a weekend of fun catching up with his sister and stared for a moment at the three men standing damply at the curb, morosely watching two fire trucks and their full complement of crew investigate the mystery of the fire that never was at Chad’s. Jared sighed heavily to himself and then got out of his rented SUV and made his way over to his friends (plus one) and tried very hard not to notice that only Chad was fully dressed.

Or the fact that Chad took a subtle step back out of Jensen’s line of sight and flashed Jared a not at all subtle thumbs up as he leered at Jensen shivering in a thin blanket and showing quite a bit of naked flesh.

Jared focused on Jensen’s tight and unhappy expression and shrugged off his jacket to sling it around his friend’s shivering shoulders and hold it closed at the throat. “Hey, you okay?”

Jensen shifted unhappily under Jared’s hold and cut an uncomfortable look at the man standing to his left, likewise damp and shivering, saying gruffly, “Yeah.” He twisted his mouth into a rough approximation of a smile. “You didn’t have to come over. Thanks.”

“Yeah, like I’m leaving you and Chad to roam the streets after something like this.” Jared tried very hard to look like a man who hadn’t listened to a Chad set off a fire alarm and sprinkler system over a phone line to force his unrequited love interest (and unfortunate plus one) out of bed and away from naked fun times that weren’t with Jared himself. “They find out what set it off?”

Chad suddenly found the night sky very interesting and barely resisted the urge to whistle innocently at nothing in particular.

Jensen shook his head and darted another look at the man at his side before meeting Jared’s eyes with a wry grimace. “Just an electrical short they think. Uh, this is Dylan.” He cleared his throat and huddled a little more under his blanket and Jared’s jacket. “A friend.”

Jared was acutely aware that Jensen was closely watching every flicker on his face when he turned his head to meet Dylan’s wary and pissed off expression. “Hey, you doing okay too?”

Dylan looked taken aback and then smiled up at Jared with a disarming friendly smile and totally missed Chad behind his back looking at Jared with bug eyed incredulity. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He looked between Jared and Jensen with a strange look on his face and frowned slightly to himself, saying slowly, “You’re a really good friend.”

Jared involuntarily tightened his hand which was still holding his jacket closed around Jensen’s throat and then relaxed, nodding at the smaller man. “I hope so.” He glanced at Jensen, eyes skating piercingly over his face and said, “They said you can go yet? You look a little cold.”

Dylan looked between them again and the turned his head just in time to catch Chad roll his eyes and fondly shake his head at Jared’s anxious question. He looked back to Jared and Jensen and found himself looking at two men, staring into each other’s eyes and apparently oblivious to all the commotion going on around them. He shivered under his blanket, glanced back at Chad again and then wandered off to the blond man’s side when the man that he had been very recently sharing a bed with continued to rather rudely ignore him and stare into the eyes of the studly giant that had just ridden to the rescue. “They look good together.”

Chad jumped and looked round from where he had just realised that one of the fire-fighters was actually a rather hot woman and was leering cheerfully at her and said, “What?” He looked back at the woman and the colleague that she was talking to and said, “I guess.” He frowned in disappointment and said a little sulkily, “You think they’re together? Really?” His frown deepened. “Fuck. I was going to go for the sympathy vote and score a date.”

Dylan eyed him with distaste and pulled his blanket a little closer around him, checking to make sure that he wasn’t inadvertently touching Chad in any way and said, “Everything that gets written about you is true, isn’t it?”

Chad looked shifty, checked quickly on Jared and Jensen – still staring soulfully into each other eyes and now murmuring just as soulfully in low voices – and sidled closer to Dylan, muttering, “Depends. What have you read?”

Leaning backwards, Dylan scowled and said, “I was talking about Jensen and Jared.”

“Huh?” said Chad, still eyeing his hot fire-fighter and entertaining idle fantasises of her, him and his very impressive personal fire hose. “What about them?”

“They look good together.” Dylan enunciated slowly, as though talking to someone who had a myriad of special needs. “Jensen and Jared. Looking good. Together.”

“Yeah,” said Chad, now graduating his fantasy to one including a thick pole. “I guess.”

Dylan snuggled more deeply into his blanket, looked longingly one more time at Jensen and said in resignation, “Can you loan me some pants and the cab fare home?”

Chad shook himself out of his happy haze and looked a little guiltily at the man whose night he had so glibly ruined. “Aw, dude, let me give you a ride. It’s the least I can do.” He shrugged ruefully at Dylan when the man looked at him in wary surprise and nodded towards Jared and Jensen, still talking intently to each other and ignoring everything else. “When you’re right you’re right, man.” His conscience stabbed him again as he glanced around at the fire crews picking up and preparing to move out and he looked intently around for the fire-fighter in charge. “Gotta do something first. Hang tight.”

Dylan watched as he trotted across to his car, rummaged inside for a moment and then withdrew again and trotted back across again. “What’s that?” He gestured to the object in Chad’s hand and then did a startled double take. “Is that your check book?”

Looking defensive and more than a little shifty – truthfully, his expression a great deal of the time anyway – Chad glowered and snapped, “You got a pen?” He burst out laughing when Dylan gaped at him and flapped the edges of the blanket pointedly and said, “Yeah, my bad. Ignore that.” He looked around and then brightened when he caught sight of the man who had identified himself to Chad upon his arrival at the scene as the lead officer. “Gimme a sec.”

Dylan watched him go again slightly slack jawed and waited semi-impatiently for the couple of minutes that Chad spent talking lightening fast to the fire chief before getting his desired pen, scribbling something into his check book and jogging back over with a wide grin on his face. “Okay, let’s split.”

Gesturing to the check book still clutched in Chad’s hand, Dylan questioned, “What was that about?”

Chad looked at the book in his hand and then at Dylan with a defiant, challenging expression on his face. “Looks like they had a wasted trip. Shit like that costs money. I just gave them a donation to try and apologise.”

“Huh.” Dylan stared at him for a moment and then smiled before gestured pointedly to Jensen and said more than a little huffily, “I should at least say goodbye?”

“Nah,” said Chad comfortably, taking Dylan’s arm through the thin material and steering him firmly towards his car and away from his saturated house and Dylan’s water logged clothing. “Forget Ackles.” He bundled Dylan inside and helpfully buckled his seatbelt around the other man – incidentally quite neatly trapping his arms inside the blanket and immobilising him in the seat – and questioned cheerfully, “How married are you to the idea of your boy toys having hair? You okay with Jewish?”

Dylan gaped at him in speechless confusion.

Chad nodded in understanding. “It’s the bald thing, isn’t it?” He shrugged, slammed the door and jogged around the front of his car to his own door to jump behind the wheel and continue encouragingly, “It’s okay, I know a lot of guys, we’ll bag you one of those instead. Hey, you like musicians? I got musicians with hair. You’ll love ‘em.”

And able to do no more than watch forlornly as Chad floored the gas and drove him away, Dylan watched as Jensen Ackles disappeared out of his life forever.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my Jensen safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: "Early."

“So,” said the guy sitting on Jared's sofa, blinking at him nervously, “Have you always wanted to be an actor?”

Jared, leaning against his kitchen door with one hand absently lifting and lowering a twenty pound weight and the other absently stroking a large and attentive looking Harley's head, looked coolly back. “Yeah.”

The young man's eyes flitted worriedly between dog and man. “That must be cool.”

“Totally.” Jared said flatly. “It's the biggest thrill of my life.” He looked at the watch on his wrist pointedly and then back at Jensen's unfortunate date. “The movie starts when?”

Looking utterly terrified the poor guy said, “Uh, around eight I think?” He pushed his floppy dark bangs out of his eyes and tried to ignore the trickle of cold sweat inching down his spine thanks to the unfriendly looks Jensen's massive roommate and his dog were giving him. “I thought....I thought we'd get something to eat first.” He flinched when Jared's face darkened and spluttered, “Or maybe after. I don't know. Whatever Jensen wants to do! Whatever makes him happy!”

Jared, although thoroughly approving of the sentiment, did not approve of the possible extension of Jensen's date. “We got an early call on set.” His dark look increased. “And we already had dinner. He won't be hungry.”

“Uh,” said the hapless man, doubtfully. “Uh, okay. No food?”

Jared smiled grimly at the plaintive question and agreed, “No food.” He took his hand from Harley's head and levelled a challenging stare at Jensen's unhappy current love interest. “So what time can I expect you back?”

Deciding hurriedly that Jensen was hot and funny and kind and generous and hot but not that hot, the guy gulped and offered dejectedly, “Eleven?”

Showing all his teeth, Jared nodded and said, “Good answer.”

Rule Six:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my Jensen: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my Jensen to wear shorts, tank tops, or anything other than a goose down parka-- zipped up to his throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chain saws – or me - are okay. Basketball games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Jensen was not impressed. Not with the film – although to be fair it wouldn't be hitting his list of top ten films to see again – but he couldn't quite believe he was spending a whole evening, a whole date evening, sitting watching Jared Padalecki run around on a giant screen battling the forces of evil and smouldering shamelessly every chance he got.

Especially as he'd left the guy sprawled on their couch not two hours earlier, dressed in nothing but stretched out sweats and a tee-shirt yelling at the game they'd Tivo'd earlier that week and cramming popcorn into his mouth like the fluffy goodness was going to try and make a run for it if he paused more than a couple of seconds between mouthfuls. And looking decidedly unheroic and non-smouldery.

Also, they spent pretty much their entire working week battling the forces of evil so that thrill was pretty much non-existent as well.

His date leaned into him in the darkened movie theatre and murmured, “He's pretty good, huh?”
Jensen observed Jared hefting an axe with a business like glint in his eye and thought how extraordinarily similar it was to the look he got when he was about to tackle the pile of laundry that was forever threatening to spill out of control in his room or the awkward bit of bathroom floor behind the toilet that seemed to collect dust bunnies like Harley collected rotting, half chewed sticks. “Uh, yeah?”

Pleased, his date whispered, “He seems like a pretty cool guy.” He watched appreciatively – Jensen observed with more a jaundiced expression – as Jared shoved his love interest behind him and squared off against the psycho bearing down on him with bloodlust and carnage in mind. “You'd never guess how approachable he is in real life. So friendly.”

Sourly, Jensen watched when Jared was thrown into a wall with a manly grunt and managed to still display his buff physique and determined jaw line to their most effective cinematic best. “Uh-huh.” He thought longingly of the intelligent and provoking Booker prize adaptation that was being shown on the screen next door and wished profoundly that he hadn't shrugged and given an easy going answer of 'Whatever.' when asked what he had wanted to see that night.

“Really,” his date continued, apparently eager to demonstrate just how well he'd gotten along with Jared when they'd met briefly earlier that evening. “I mean, you hear things, you know? I was a little hesitant about asking you out after hearing how tight you guys were, but after meeting him, well, he just couldn't have been nicer. Really went out of his way to put me at my ease and get to know me.”
Jensen ground his teeth. Seriously, who was the guy interested in dating here, him or Jared? “Yeah, he's prince.” He frowned suddenly. “And what do you mean you ‘hear’ things?”

His date, not taking his eyes off the screen as Jared put the beat down on his opponent and bled and sweated attractively whilst he did it, whispered back, “You know, how he is about you. Real...interested in who you date. I was kinda afraid I was stepping on someone's toes if you get what I mean.” He laced his popcorn greasy fingers with Jensen's nice and clean ones and squeezed, not catching Jensen's pained grimace. “But he was nothing like I thought. Even suggested the restaurant to me because he said you'd been wanting to try it.”

Jensen stared at the screen. “He did, huh?”

“Yep.” The guy squeezed his hand again and laughed. “I tell you, things don’t work out between you and me I might think about getting his number. We really hit it off, you know?”

Jensen swung his disbelieving eyes from the screen and turned them on his date – who beamed back, oblivious. He pulled his hand out from under his now soon to be ex-date’s and said coolly, “I think the fish I had was bad. I’m feeling a little sick. I need to go home.”

His date looked taken aback and then glanced in disappointment at the screen, where Jared had now lost his shirt and was hovering protectively over his screaming co-star and ready to give everything he had in a last ditch effort to save her life. With flattering lighting and an equally appealing light covering of fake sweat applied to his bulging upper torso. “Oh.” His gaze lingered sorrowfully on the thirty foot high Jared on the screen. “Really?”

“Yes,” said Jensen through gritted teeth. “Really.” He stood up and began making his way towards the exit. “Don’t worry, I’m sure if you asked him he’d be only too happy to give you a private show.”

His date brightened rapidly as he followed, ignoring the disgruntled murmurs of their fellow movie goers. “Yeah? You think?”

“Sure,” replied Jensen, gritting his teeth and promising himself that he was going to make Jared pay for this. “He’s a really awesome like that.”

part 2

Prompt Table For spn_30snapshots

2009-10-04T00:26:39Z

Username:breea1
Claim:Chad Michael Murray
Genre:Supernatural/CW RPF
Option:Fanfic
Prompt Table Theme & Number: 09 Choose Your Own Adventure
Link:Chadalicious!

A/N: The original idea for this is not mine. Eva P first suggested the idea of doing a series of multi-one shots using Chad in a variety of different settings and guises because she thought it would be a pretty fun excercise. And she was right. Thanks to Eva for the original idea and the snapshots community for giving me the chance to do it!

01.	earth	06.	fire	11.	water	16.	wind	21.	tell	26.	regret
02.	jostle	07.	respite	12.	fear	17.	legend	22.	possesion	27.	cemetery
03.	surrender	08.	secret	13.	need	18.	beginning	23.	Four Corners	28.	Disney World
04.	Graceland	09.	Roswell	14.	yesterday	19.	tomorrow	24.	zombie	29.	goblin
05.	helpless	10.	heroic	15.	unexpected	20.	determined	25.	loyal	30.	friend

Cherish pdf and soundtrack

2009-09-11T18:25:57Z

So, in a manner typical to me, I'm only just getting up the nerve to post this instead of with the fic itself. Y'know, when it would be somewhat useful. Anyway, this is basically a collection of songs that I listened to ad nauseum and made me laugh when I was battling Cherish this summer. Most are tongue in cheek, some unbearably sugary - all utterly Cherish!

Track listing -

Beer For My Horses - Toby Keith
Trashy Women - Confederate Railroad
The House Rules - Kane
My Skin - Natalie Merchant
The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
Romeo - Dolly Parton
Foolish Games - Jewel
Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
We Were In Love - Toby Keith
Something To Talk About - Bonnie Raitt
Pinata Novia - Steve Carlson
If You Don't Wanna Love Me - James Morrison
White Flag - Dido
Hanging By A Moment - Lifehouse
I'd Come For You - Nickelback
God Blessed Texas - Little Texas
Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson

File uploaded as a zip and all songs in the itunes format. Sorry! http://www.sendspace.com/file/vszd70

In far, far better news the ever lovely too_rational has once again been WAY too kind to me and created a pdf version of Cherish which can be found here Thank you so much, honey, I love you to death for this. You're awesome.

There is also an updated link for Just Like This and Still Just Like This here just in case you didn't catch it the last time she was being utterly awesome.

FIC: Cherish (Master Post)

2009-09-02T03:07:24Z

Title: Cherish

Author: breea1

Disclaimer: Complete and utter fiction. I only wish real life operated like this! And, despite my enduring love for other people's Harlequin homages, I am deeply embarrassed that I wrote this. And had to fight off the urge to write 'pulsating manhood' and 'throbbing member' more than once. Just so's you know. Because those particular words
together never cease to be utterly hilarious.

Word Count: 75,421

Rating: NC17

Pairings: Jared/Jensen, Tom/Mike, Steve/Chris

Synopsis: Many years before six boys had sworn they would always be together, despite differing backgrounds and outside pressures, but one summer something happened to change that. Jared, Tom and Steve had eventually left Cherish, Texas to follow their dreams - but not their hearts - and Jensen, Mike and Chris had settled in to make what lives they could for themselves in a town that didn't want them but that they couldn't leave. Now the past is rearing its ugly head and three men are coming home to find answers that had been denied them and to claim the men that they'd never stopped believing belonged with them. Cherish's most beloved sons have been out in the wide world for a long time and they've got a few tricks up their sleeves - and no intention of taking no for any answer this time. Jensen, Mike and Chris - and Cherish - aren't going to know what's hit them!

Author's note: Okay, so we're only loosely following the prompt, right? Uh, well I am anyway. Also, Mac's line in the scene with she and Jared's first confrontation at the garage is plagarised from BtVS 'Pangs' where Buffy has Spike chained in a bathtub. Oh happy days. I miss thee Buffy fandom!

Author's note 2: This is very, very silly. I had no idea what I was doing at all and basically just typed what seemed like a good idea at the time. Sadly, this shows. Also, despite this being a J2 fic, I made my usual mistake of adding a supporting cast of characters and then giving them tons more screen time and much better lines than the main ones. So on the one hand I give you Chad, Mac and Megan – and on the other I give you my first published, non-anonymous porn written in about five years in reperation and penance. Also, English, so my attempt at 'writing' a Texan accent is probably way off the mark but....Heigh-ho, just think of them in hats, low riding jeans and nothing else. You'll be surprised how much it helps! And its completely legal for Mac to be working in a bar despite still being in high school. She's eighteen, it would be at her parents discretion if she still lived at home and the school or governing educational body would have no say. I checked!

Prompt:

30. High Stakes Bride

Special Forces agent Carter Rawlings was back - and Dani Marlow's world was spinning in his wake. The local arson attacks for which she was being blamed were only part of the problem. The feelings Carter's reappearance had ignited threatened far more dangerous territory - a past she tried to keep hidden, especially from him.

With the trouble on her land and Carter's tantalizing presence, Dani had to think about her future. Did she want to keep avoiding the truth - that she loved Carter and wanted to make a life with him - or could she finally face the stakes head on, deal with her enemies and seal her heart to that of the only man she's ever loved?

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11

FIC: Cherish NC17 (11/11) COMPLETE J2, Steve/Chris, Mike/Tom, RPS, SLASH

2009-09-02T02:45:09Z

Type your cut contents here.

The following Friday night Jared stumbled on his sister in the kitchen of Kane's, huddled in a corner and sobbing her little heart out. “Megan?” Heart pounding into overdrive in his chest and adrenaline shooting through his system, Jared nearly sprinted across the room and to his sister's side. “Megan, what's wrong? Did somethin' happen? Are you hurt? Megan?” His hands flailing wildly for a moment, he gritted his teeth and took a firm grip on her shoulders to draw her into his chest and made a promise to himself to give the girl a hug someday that wasn't the direct result of extreme emotional trauma or someone trying to kill her. “Honey, what's happened?”

“Ja...Jared.” Megan hiccuped and wound her arms tight round his waist as she pressed her wet face to his chest. “Jared, I...” She gave another broken sob. “Jared, I don't know what to do.”

“Okay, okay.” Patting her on the back and making what he hoped were soothing ssshing sounds, Jared hugged her tight and said fiercely, “It's okay. Whatever it is I'll fix it, alright? You don't need to worry, I'm here. Just tell me what's wrong and I'll fix it.”

“I can't.” Heartbroken, Megan wailed into his shirt. “You're the one person I can't tell and I promised.” She sniffed pitifully and lifted her blotchy face to inform him with desperate sincerity, “But you're my brother and you're going to be so hurt and....” She pushed her face back into his chest when his face creased in bewilderment and wailed again, “And I just got you back and you're going to hate me.”

Patting Megan on the back so desperately he was in danger of dislodging a lung, Jared said, “What? No, Megan, I would never hate you! I love you, okay? Whatever it is you think you've done we can fix it.” Suspicion flowered in his mind and he questioned darkly, “Did you do somethin' with Mac? Did she make you do somethin'? Is it illegal?”

Unnoticed in the far corner of the kitchen, behind the slightly ajar door of the walk in fridge, an indignant female voice said, “Hey!”

Coughing a little from the force of her brother's frantic petting, Megan sent mental 'shut up, shut up, shut up's' in the direction of the fridge and increased the volume of her sobs a little bit more, just in case. “Noooo....” Drawing out her answer with just the right amount of hesitant doubt, Megan clung harder and reveled for a moment in the warmth of her brother's love. Then she got back on track with her agenda and added with false reluctance, “It's not illegal.”

“So it is Mac!” Jared pounced triumphantly. “I knew it! What's she done now, sweetheart?” He pried Megan back from his chest, saying sincerely, “Whatever it is, it's not your fault, okay? Hell, everyone knows that girl's trouble. No one's gonna blame you.”

Megan winced at the sound of an outraged squeak from the fridge and then flung herself back at Jared when he frowned and started to turn his head in the direction of the noise. “You will! You'll totally blame me and I could have stopped him and....”

“Wait, what?” Successfully diverted from the fridge, Jared frowned down at the top of Megan's head and asked in confusion, “Stopped who?”

Sniffling like her life depended on it, Megan hid a smirk and sobbed, “Je..Je..Jensen!”

“Jensen?” Jared repeated in blank confusion. “I thought you were upset about Mac?”

“No!” Megan clutched shakily at the front of his shirt and lifted her tear stained face to his. “I'm upset because of Mac. Because she is!”

Now totally adrift, Jared blinked and said in wary disbelief, “Mac's upset? Really?” He stopped patting with one hand, to Megan's eternal relief, and waved it aimlessly in the air. “Like, really upset? Like this?”

Megan sniffed and nodded. “Yes.”

Jared stared. “Mac? Seriously?”

Scowling, Megan resisted the urge to kick him and repeated urgently, “Yes. Because of Jensen.” She scowled harder when Jared still looked dumbfounded at the thought of Mac having actual emotions that weren't either homicidal rage or evil malevolence, and said brokenly, “Because he's leaving. Tonight!”

Jared froze. “What?”

“Leaving!” Megan's face crumpled into pathetic lines once more. “Mac won't stop crying and Jensen won't listen to her and he's leaving and...and...” Going in for the kill, Megan flung her arms around her brother's neck and cried beseechingly, “Jared, you have to do something! Please!”

Jared reflexively clutched her to him even as his face creased in a thunderous scowl. “He's doin' what?” He'd spent every spare moment he had with Jensen since Clive Plater had been caught so memorably by their sisters, spent every night in the man's bed rediscovering each other and learning each other all over again, and all the while...”He didn't say anythin' to me.”

Megan grinned at the ominous growl of his voice and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, stuttering out, “I know. He hasn't said anything to anyone except Mac and she's so scared he won't come back now he doesn't have to and she's just so upset. Chris is still set on going off with Steve after he sees us graduate and who knows when he's gonna come home and Mike and Tom just keep arguing with each other and then disappearing for hours on end and they won't tell us where they are....”

Jared, despite the fury boiling up inside him, took a moment to pray that Mike and Tom never did share where they kept disappearing off to and what they did when they got there. He still hadn't forgiven Steve and Chris for the girls' unwilling induction into the know how of gay sex and he really didn't need them picking up anymore of the specifics from more of his friends.

“....and you're going back to Austin with Chad next week and Jensen will be all alone and....” Megan gave an especially pathetic sniff. “I think that's why he's not here yet tonight. This is the last night we're all going to be together and he just can't face saying goodbye to y'all again.”

Jared looked towards the door to the bar where the sounds of the celebratory no one-died-or-got-arrested-that-didn't-deserve-it party was going on – even including their damn parents for God's sake – and Jensen's fate was pretty much sealed. He squared his shoulders with determination and pried his sister off him. The hell with taking it slow. Jensen thought he was going to skip out on him now? So not going to happen. The sounds of Chris and Steve performing for the first time together in ten years drifted through the door, along with the sounds of a very raucous and appreciative audience, and he nodded to himself firmly. “Okay, Megan, this is what we're goin' to do.” He smiled reassuringly at her when she hiccuped at him and cupped her face to stroke his thumbs over her cheeks and wipe away her tears. “You're goin' to wash your face and then you're goin' to go on back to the party and find Mac and tell her I'm gonna take care of this, alright? I'm gonna go talk to Jensen and fix this and she's not to worry about it anymore.”

Megan shuddered a tremulous breath. “Really?” She blinked wide and guileless eyes up at him. “You promise? You'll go talk to him?”

“Yeah.” Careful not to upset his poor fragile little sister anymore by letting her catch a glimpse of the fury inside him, Jared nodded and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Just wash up and grab some more sandwiches to take out for me, huh? They're all out and Chad's wastin' away from hunger.”

“Okay.” Megan, brave little trooper that she was, gave him a trembling smile. “Okay, Jared.”

“I'm gonna slip out the back way. Cover for me, okay?” Jared patted her shoulder reassuringly once more and turned for the door. “Be back soon.”

Megan waited until the door shut behind him and then scuttled across the floor to crack the door open again and peer out, waiting until she saw his taillights speed past before calling over her shoulder, “He's gone!”

Mac, shivering and rumpled from crouching in the fridge so she could hear what was going on, tumbled into the kitchen and yelled, “Could you have taken any longer? I was freezin' my ass off in there!”

Megan sniffed, wiped her salt stiff cheeks and sauntered over to join her friend. “You can't rush perfection.” She helpfully brushed some fridge frost off Mac's hair and said, “So? Any good?”

Before Mac could answer the kitchen door swung open and Chad's curious face appeared. “He buy it?” He came further into the room when the girls frowned at him and said, “Been keeping an eye on the car lot to see if the car suddenly disappeared. It just took off out of here like shit out of pig so I figured he must have finished up in here whatever.”

Megan screwed up her face in disgust. “Like what out of a pig? That's disgusting. Who talks like that?”

“You people.” Chad nodded, a man in the know. “I'm down with it. I did the research. I'm, like, merging with my environment.” He waved away the offended looks on the girls' faces and said, “Anyway, did he buy it? Has he gone to get his man? Are we gonna be hearing the pitter-patter of little plaid, in-bred, web-footed ass babies in the near future?”

“No.” said Mac, scowling. “Mainly because we aren't actually related, you jerk.”

“So you say.” Chad tapped the side of his nose and winked at them. “Don't worry, I don't judge.” He grinned when they both scowled at him and said, “Come on, seriously, did he buy it? Has he gone after him?”

Mac held the angry expression on her face for another moment before relaxing into a dazzling smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I think he did.” She hip checked Megan admiringly. “We got ourselves a regular Gwyneth Paltrow here.”

Laughing, Megan hip checked her back. “There's a reason I scored the lead the last three years in a row in the end of year play.” She darted a mildly concerned look at Chad. “You really think that playing Jared like that was the way to go? He was pretty mad, what if he hurts Jensen?”

“Nah.” Chad slipped in between the two girls and extended an arm to each. “It'll be fine. Nothing hotter than angry sex, trust me. And it's not like you lied to him. Jensen is leaving.”

“For three days.” Mac hooked an arm through Chad's and absolutely did not think about her brother having angry sex with Jared. She was pretty much fading to black from when Jared hammered on Jensen's door. “To visit my brother. With my parents.” She flushed guiltily. “And me.”

“Uh-huh.” Chad nodded in agreement. “But this way we don't have to suffer through months and months of Jared playing it cool and not wanting to rush things and Jensen being all stoic and suffering heroically because he doesn't want to ruin Jared's life and me not jabbing pens in my eyes because it's just that painful.” He kicked the kitchen door open with his foot and led them back out into the party, stating airily, “It's for their own good. They'll thank us for it in the end.”

~*~*~*~

Jared pulled up with a screech outside Jensen's little house, but missed out on hammering or kicking the door down like he had been grimly planning on the speedy drive over because Jensen had pulled it open before he made it halfway down the path and stood on the threshold gaping at him in alarm. “Jared?” He frowned when he took in the thunderous look on the other man's face when he stalked towards him. “What's wrong? Has somethin' happened?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Jared kept on coming and shoved Jensen back inside the house with one hand whilst he slammed the door shut behind him with the other. “You're leavin'?”

“What?” Jensen stumbled, managed to regain his footing and then backed up hastily when Jared bore down on him again. “What are you talkin' about?” He rebounded off his couch and nearly fell when he twisted out of the way of Jared's grab for him and scowled angrily. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“You're leavin'!” Jared grabbed again, swearing foully when he missed once more. “Don't try to deny it! Megan told me everythin'.”

“What?” Confused, Jensen ducked another under another grab and crossed back towards the door. “Megan? What are you talkin' about?” He swore himself when Jared lunged for him and just about managed to escape being flattened against the wall. “Will you just stop for a minute, you crazy bastard, and tell me what's goin' on?”

“You.” Jared hissed angrily and had Jensen stumbling away in earnest when he ripped off his own shirt and sent buttons pinging wildly around the room when he stripped it from his body and left his heaving torso bared to the stuffy air of the room. “Leavin'. I know all about it and it's not happenin', y'hear me? I'm not lettin' you run out on us again.”

Jensen stared dumbly and shook his head when Jared hopped on one leg to tug one cowboy boot and sock off and then dropped his bared foot and began to hop up and down again as he tugged at the other one. “Run out on....?” He held up his hands in a calming gesture when Jared finally pulled his boot free with a triumphant snarl and stripped away his sock with a yell of victory. “Jared, I don't know what she's told you, but she's got it all wrong, okay? Just calm down.”

Both feet firmly on the floor once again, Jared advanced, yelling, “Are you callin' my sister a liar? Yours? I left them sobbin' themselves silly back at Chris' because you're leavin' and you've got the nerve to call them liars? Go on, deny it to my face. Tell me you ain't goin'.”

Struggling to stay reasonable in the face of Jared's insanity and an obvious misunderstanding, Jensen growled, “No, I'm not goin' to tell you that, but....” His eyes went wide with alarm and he just had time to yell, “Dammit, Jared, don't you even....” before the bigger man rushed him, bending at the waist to slam a brawny shoulder into his gut and took them both to the floor. “Jared....”

Ignoring the pained wheeze from the love of his life, now lying crumpled and winded beneath him on the floor, Jared pushed himself up and reached into his back pocket. “Should have done this the first time I thought it that mornin' Mac punched me.” He rolled to the side, knelt up and jerked a still winded Jensen onto his stomach, yanking his arms behind him and slapping his cuffs around the strong wrists with a grunt of satisfaction. “Let's see you try and run now, you asshole. Let's go.”

Jensen spluttered when he was pulled less than gently to his feet and shoved in the direction of his bedroom. “Jared, what the hell? You'd better let me go right the fuck now, or I swear...dammit!” He bounced face first onto the bed and lay stunned for a moment before flopping awkwardly over onto his back, swearing when his arms were crushed beneath him, and stared incredulously up at Jared, now stripping his jeans and underwear off in one savage motion. “You have got to be kiddin' me.”

Naked and furious, Jared climbed on the bed and straddled Jensen, yanking him up into a sitting position and snarling, “Do I look like I'm laughin' to you?” before bending his head and crushing their mouths together in a punishing kiss. He snarled again when Jensen tried to jerk away, and when that failed tried to bite him, but just kept crushing their mouths together and sucking the cuffed man's air until Jensen ran out of fight and sagged in his grip, quietened at last. “You ain't leavin'.”

Flushed, breathless and helplessly confused, Jensen panted out, “Not for good. I'm not leavin' for good.”

Jared gripped the back of his neck and shook him, before dropping him back down on the bed and getting a good grip on the neck of his t-shirt and ripping it straight down the middle to lie in tattered halves against his bond arms and tension tight shoulders. “At all, you son of a bitch.: He bent his head and caught a flat nippled between his teeth, biting sharply. “This is not over.”

Jensen arched and yelled hoarsely at the nip of pain and then yelled again when Jared's tongue swiped roughly over him in a half-hearted attempt to soothe the sting. “Jared, just stop a minute, listen to me.”

“No.” Jared bit him again and then fell on his neck, biting kisses up the straining muscles and skin until he reached Jensen's ear. “No, I ain't listenin' to you. The last damn time I listened to you I got my heart broke and you damn near ran me out of town and I am done, y'hear? Not listenin' to you anymore, unless it's you beggin' me to let you come and to touch you just that bit more.”

Jensen yelled again when Jared bit his neck again and he felt one strong hand snake down his body and cup him roughly before going to work on freeing the buttons on his waistband and fly. “Jared, wait, you got it all wrong....” He swore when his jeans were tugged open and Jared yanked down one side and then the other until they were bunched around the tops of his thighs. “Jared, please, let me explain. You have to let me explain!”

The frantic tone of Jensen's voice had Jared raising his head, but not stopping in his motions to pull Jensen's boxers out of his way. “Talk fast.”

Shivering at the wild, angry look in Jared's eyes and then at the feel of familiar long fingers curling around him and squeezing. “Shit! Jared, look I am goin' away, but....” Jensen's entire upper body arched off the bed when he was squeezed ruthlessly again and he panted desperately out, “But I'm only goin' for three days! I'm just goin' with my folks and Mac to see Josh in Dallas. We're just goin' for three days!”

Jared froze in the middle of bending down to take Jensen in his mouth and stared at the jut of a bared hip whilst he considered his words. “What?”

Shivering again at the exhalation of hot breath over his naked flesh, Jensen said hoarsely, “We're just goin' to see Josh. Just for a few days. We're comin' back.” He jerked when Jared's head fell forwards and thunked onto his hip, finishing lamely, “I'm comin' back.”

“I'm goin' to kill them.” Jared squeezed his eyes shut and thought long and hard about all the ways he could conceivably attain his new goal in life. “So, so much. I totally got played.” He pressed his head down hard against Jensen's belly for a moment and then reluctantly raised it, looking sheepishly up to meet Jensen's eyes. “They didn't mention the visitin' Josh part.”

Jensen looked down the length of his body to Jared's scarlet face and said not without humour, “I kinda guessed.”

Apologetically, Jared said, “Megan told me Mac was cryin'. Megan was cryin'.” He offered a tiny smile. “It kinda threw me.”

“Gettin' that.” Jensen flushed and shimmied his hips hopefully, saying haltingly, “Uh, you wanna let go now? Won't try and make a break for it, I promise.”

Jared opened his mouth, closed it and then frowned thoughtfully. “No?” He sat up, still keeping a firm grip around Jensen's hard flesh and stared thoughtfully down, starting to move his hand in a teasing up and down motion. “Huh.”

Jensen's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at the suddenly gentle touch, his hips twitching upwards before he remembered that he was actually meant to be trying to gain his freedom and not encourage Jared further. “Hey, Jared, you want to...Christ.” His hips thrust up when Jared bent his head, swiped his tongue over the smooth flesh peeking out of his curled fist and then, pleased with Jensen's helpless gasp of arousal, did it again.

“Yeah, I'm kinda thinkin' no on the lettin' you go front.” Jared licked again and grinned when Jensen cursed and pulled desperately at the cuffs still binding him. “But you'll do yourself and injury if we carry on like this.” He let go of Jensen, flipped him onto his belly and stripped his lower half bare in a matter of seconds. “You know you look really good like this.” He ran a hand over the curve of Jensen's bare ass, appreciating the curl of his hands lying helpless in the cuffs at the swell of his butt and the remnants of his t-shirt clinging to his shoulders and starting to stick with damp sweat to his skin.

“Jared,” Jensen jerked and squirmed when Jared nipped at the bottom of his ass and pushed his legs apart. “Jared, I don't know whether you remember this or not, but I don't actually get off on the whole helpless and cuffed thing.” He closed his eyes when the erection trapped between his belly and the bedcover throbbed insistently and silently called him a liar, and tried not to rut his hips forward for some relief. “Jared, just let me go and....”

“Can't do that, Jensen.” Jared pressed a series of soft kisses up the line of Jensen's back before reaching the nape of his neck. He trailed his lips against the damp skin there and grinned when Jensen moaned and twitched beneath him. He pressed his hips down hard, his cock nestling into the crack of Jensen's ass and whispered hoarsely, “Love you. You know I never stopped.”

Jensen went rigid, breath catching in his throat and fingers curling into fists between them, scratching at the skin of Jared's belly. “Jared, I....”

“I don't think you did either.” Jared started a gentle rocking motion with his hips, dragging himself backwards and forwards between Jensen's spreading flesh and making his own breath catch in his throat. “I think you still got feelin's for me too, right?” He pressed down a little harder when Jensen gasped and shuddered beneath him, whispering pleadingly, “Right, Jensen? You still got feelin's for me too, right?”

Jensen groaned when the tip of Jared's erection caught against the entrance to his body and he shuddered from head to toe. “Yeah.” He shuddered again when Jared did it again and gasped helplessly, “Yeah, okay? I do. I....” His pushed back hard, fingers scratching desperately back at Jared. “I never stopped either. Jesus, Jared!”

Relief washed through Jared and made him shake from top to toe. “Oh thank God.” He scrabbled for the bedside table, pulling open the drawer and fumbled for the condoms and lube that they'd already made pretty enthusiastic inroads into the past few days. “Can I? Like this Jensen? I won't hurt....Jesus, can I do it like this?”

Jensen's eyes slammed wide open and he stared blindly ahead of himself when he felt a slick finger circle him and then dip inside. “I...okay! Yeah, please Jared. Just....” He abruptly lost the power of speech when Jared pushed inside without waiting for further permission and began to stretch him open. He gasped and bucked back with his hips when Jared went to work in earnest, encouraging him with everything he had, until Jared finally pulled back and rolled on a condom and then pulled at Jensen until he got his legs under him and was kneeling on the bed.

Jared slung an arm low around Jensen's hips, kneeing his thighs wide apart and then pulled him back, looking down to line himself up and then pushing inside with one long, relentless push. They both groaned with the motion, Jensen's head falling back onto Jared's shoulder and then they were flush together and Jared was reaching around with the arm not clutching Jensen to him and wrapping a hand around his aching cock. He pulled back before pushing back in hard, his hand moving as hard and fast as his hips, and Jensen cried out helplessly at the dual assault, thighs spreading wider to balance himself better and unable to anything but accept the pounding and clench and unclench his fists trapped uselessly between their bodies.

Jared threw back his head, hips pounding harder and harder against Jensen, soaking up the breathless pleas and moans from the other man's lips and feeling the hot flesh he was buried in begin to spasm around him. He hung on when Jensen jerked in his arms, his orgasm pouring hot and wet over Jared's fingers and then held Jensen against him whilst he shuddered through the aftershocks. “I love you.” He grit his teeth to stave off his own finish, not quite ready to quit Jensen's body yet and pressed his mouth to Jensen's sweat soaked temple. “I love you so much.”

Jensen laughed hoarsely, sagging bonelessly back into Jared's body. “Yeah.” He twisted his head and opened his mouth blindly for Jared's. “Me too. I missed you. I love you too, Jared.”

“Finally.” Jared pressed their lips together, stroking his tongue inside, breathing, “This is us now, right? No more runnin' or pushin' away.”

Jensen closed his eyes tight and agreed, “Yeah, this is us. We'll work it out.” He kissed back for another moment and then reluctantly pulled away. “Uh, Jared.” He moved his hips clumsily, his thighs still shaking from his release. “Did you....”

“Nope.” Jared bit down on his lower lip and hissed lightly when Jensen moved his hips again. “That was kinda my insurance policy if you were still goin' to be difficult about this.”

Jensen frowned and looked back over his shoulder. “Huh?” His mouth parted on a gasp when Jared pulled back tortuously slowly and then pushed back in. “What are you talkin' about?”

Grinning wide and dirty, Jared rolled his hips firmly, “Well, the first time was to make sure you couldn't walk.” He rolled his hips again, laughing when Jensen's eyes widened in aroused alarm. “This next time is to make sure you can't move.”

~*~*~*~

The End.

Dedicated to Eva. P – I've known you less than two days, but you've pretty much rocked my entire world since then. Thanks.

FIC: Cherish NC17 (10/11) J2, Tom/Mike, Chris/Steve RPS

2009-09-02T02:36:13Z

Type your cut contents here.

Considering he'd had next to no sleep, he was sporting a less than professional hickey at the base of his throat and his ass hurt like a bitch after he'd spent the night screwing Jensen through the mattress, Jared was in a pretty good mood the next morning. A mood that only improved further when he and Chad managed to get through to their boss at home at nine on a Saturday and explained the situation to him and he had immediately authorized two extra Rangers and a tech support expert being dispatched to Cherish to help with the investigation into Jeb Dawson. He wasn't happy about it though.

“Why do you do this to me?” Senior Captain Jeffery Morgan growled through Chad's speaker phone on his cell. “Why is it never simple with you two? You had to investigate one suspected arsonist and either press charges based on available evidence or let him go. Stumbling onto a conspiracy of murder and embezzlement of local authority figures wasn't on the remit, officers.”

Chad grinned gleefully, never as happy as when he was making his superior officer sound like he was two steps away from crying. “Well, sir, that would have been kind of awkward.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jared. “Padalecki's boning the suspected arsonist and it wouldn't have looked good in the wedding photos for the bride to be in an orange jumpsuit and chains.”

There was a long and thoughtful silence in which Jared tried not to swallow his own tongue and Morgan tried not to let his head explode back in Austin. “That had better be a joke, Murray.” was the considered response from their beloved leader and Morgan went on to say, “Just get this wrapped up and get back here. I haven't had a complaint lodged for willful destruction or conduct unbecoming in nearly a month and the quiet's making me antsy. I'd forgotten what it's like to work with actual professionals the whole time. Your warrants and the other necessary paperwork are being signed and are on their way as we speak. Get me evidence, Sergeants, and get this sewn up.”

“Aw,” Chad looked pleased when the call disconnected with a decisive click at Morgan's end. “I think he misses us.”

“Dude!” Jared thumped his friend upside the head with a closed fist. “I can't believe you told him I was boning a suspect!”

“Former suspect.” Chad said airily and looked pointedly in the direction of Jared's room from where he sat sprawled on the couch in Steve's front room and where Jensen still slept the sleep of the throughly worked over. “And I think he's gonna put two and two together when you start dragging Pretty Boy to the department softball games and such in the foreseeable.” He nodded sagely. “The man has a hat of his own.”

“I hate you so much.” Jared collapsed back in his own chair, unable to keep the smug grin off his face at the thought of a future that could have Jensen in it and would actually warrant explanations of how they came to be together. “Seriously. Like possibly getting another partner hate.”

“Pfft.” Chad waved the threat away. “I'm awesome. You wouldn't know what to do without me.” He grinned, slow and wicked. “Now let's go arrest us some corrupt ass so you can get back and get you some more hot one. Days like this make me glad to be alive.”

Laughing, Jared stood up and headed for his bedroom to wake Jensen. “Dude, any day you get to flash your badge and make a bad guy cry makes you happy to be alive.”

“This is true.” Chad laced his hands over his stomach and beamed happily away to himself. “And that's pretty much every day I'm breathing and awake. I have an awesome life.”

~*~*~*~

At eleven o'clock life in Cherish, Texas officially changed forever. “Okay, everyone who covered up a murder and who's been blackmailing fine upstanding citizens stand up and raise your hands!” Chad, never a man who believed in being subtle, strode into the sheriff's office at the head of Jared, their extra two Ranger support officers and Aldis Hodge, the tech guy. He waved the warrant in his hand when Sandy gaped at him from behind her desk and Dawson stood at the door of his office and bleached bone white. “Or, my personal preference, you can make a run for it and I can shoot you in the back because I am just that pissed!”

Sergeant David Boreanaz looked pained and then down at his pretty blonde partner. “I told you Morgan was still mad about that drug bust last month. Why else has he done this to us?”

Julie Benz, looking at least as pained and more than slightly irritated, glared up at her much bigger colleague. “I am going to shoot someone today, Boreanaz, do not remind me that it was you that pissed Morgan off in the first place or it will be you.” She shot a cool, professional smile at Sandy sitting frozen behind her desk. “Miss, I need you to stand up and move away from your work station. Everything in this office and on the system is now evidence in an ongoing case.”

Sandy stared up at her blankly. “What?”

Julie stalked around the desk and gently took Sandy's arm, helping her to her feet, whilst in the background Chad was taking great delight in cuffing a protesting Dawson and shoving him towards his own interrogation room. “Miss, some irregularities have come to our attention regarding the legalities of certain practices being carried out by officials in town and, for the moment, this office is now under investigation by the Texas Rangers.”

Staring from Boreanaz to Benz and then to Hodge when he eased past her with a cocky grin and dropped into her chair, Sandy ignored Jared reading an equally indignant Iris his rights behind her and tugged her arm free of Julie's grip, snapping, “Well, finally.” She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and slapped her hands on her hips. “What the hell took you so long to figure it out?”

Julie looked taken aback. “Excuse me?” Her face creased in a bewildered frown whilst behind her David stopped watching Jared hustle Iris into a separate room to his boss and focused all his attention on the young secretary. “You were aware that illegal practices were being carried out?”

Exasperated, Sandy threw up her hands. “Well, who the hell did you think requested your involvement in the arson case in the first place? Dawson?” She nudged Hodge's shoulder, adding helpfully, “There's an encrypted file hidden in the office accounts folder with the information you're probably looking for on it. Password: Douchebag.”

Aldis looked up at her and his eyes darted uncertainly to Benz and Boreanaz before looking back at her. “Uh, thanks?” He laughed warily. “Folks aren't normally so...forthcoming about sharing evidence.”

“I've been collectin' it for the last two years,” Sandy said snippily, “Believe me, I am all about the sharin' at this point.”

Boreanaz frowned and planted his butt down on the edge of her desk, crossing his arms over his wide chest and fixing her with a stern glare. “It was Dawson's signature on the request for our help. You saying that it wasn't?”

Sandy stared at him pityingly. “Of course not. I faked it. Why on earth would he want you guys here with everythin' he's got goin' on?” She looked at Julie. “Should I just be talkin' to you? You got a handle on this, right?” She leaned forward confidentially. “To be honest, I've been watchin' Jared and Chad quite a bit these past few days and, well, they're not exactly quick on the uptake, y'know? I mean, I was kinda expectin' a bit more from them bein' Rangers and all.”

Light and silvery, Julie's laugh echoed around the room and she patted Sandy on the arm sympathetically even as David scowled blackly and Aldis crowed happily when he opened the encrypted file. “Honey, I know just what you mean. You want to point me in the direction of the coffee pot and some place we can sit down and have ourselves a little woman to woman chat?”

“Oh my God, yes.” Sandy gestured to the other side of the room and a door tucked into the corner. “Kitchen's that way.”

David watched them march away and his dark scowl increased. “Did she just compare me to Murray and Padalecki? Seriously?”

Ignoring him, Aldis clicked on some files randomly and his eyes opened wide when he skimmed what was before him. “Don't think you're gonna care, buddy. Check this out.” He sent a faintly admiring look in Sandy's wake. “Baby got game.”

Grumpily, David moved around the desk and looked down at the monitor and the information displayed there. “Baby's got no taste if she thinks I'm in the same class as those two losers.” He read some more and then curled down, one hand braced on the desk and the other curled over the back of Aldis' chair. “Oh are you fucking kidding me? How the hell did this fall into their laps? Swear to God, those two are the luckiest bastards I've ever met.”

Laughing, Aldis started to print off what he'd found. “I hear you, buddy. Go tell Murray he's a hop, skip and a whipping with a rubber hose away from the nearest Starbucks. We'll be out of here by supper time Monday and he'll have a brand new commendation to blind the ladies with.”

Turning, Boreanaz stomped off. “I hate that guy.”

~*~*~*

Chad was glowing he was so happy. Squinty eyed and floppy, hat flattened haired, but still glowing. “I am having the best day!” he gleefully informed his prisoner and then frowned, clarifying for absolute disclosure's sake, “Well, I was pretty much the only guy of my acquaintance that didn't get laid last night, but other than that I'm having a great fucking day. See, this?” He tapped the wonderful, wonderful pile of printed paper before him and smiled beatifically. “Means I can beat feet out of this lame ass little town at my earliest convenience and take my fine ass back to civilization where I can then join the ranks of the freshly laid. With actual girls! That aren't covered in fur or are a close relation!”

Next to him, Julie looked slightly ill and very firmly did not think about Chad in any other way than upright and fully clothed. Some things were just too upsetting to contemplate and she regularly investigated the origins of maggot infested corpses without barely turning a hair.

Chad leaned forward, oblivious to his temporary partner's slight queasiness, and fixed Dawson with a piercing stare. “Now 'fess up or I'm getting all 'Deliverance' on your ass! And you don't even got a purty mouth so it's gonna be at least as painful for me as it will be for you and that will make me really, really pissed.”

Julie dropped her head into her hands. “Oh my God. How did they even let you join the human race, let alone the Rangers?”

“Ssh.” Chad waved a hand without taking his eyes from Dawson's florid and incredulous face. “I'm on a roll.”

“On crack more like.” Julie spat and leaned forward herself to draw Dawson's attention to her and away from the crazy, crazy person sitting next to her. “Sheriff, this doesn't look good. Even putting aside the allegations about deliberately covering up a murder and blackmailing silence and compliance from the only witnesses, we now have a paper trail going back over twenty years that points to embezzlement, extortion and god knows what else all with abuse of your status as a law enforcement officer and the compliance of at least one town official.” She tapped the pile of paper. “And something tells me this is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the situation here. What we have so far has been collected by someone with only diligence, intuition and tenacity on their side and no proper training in forensic accountancy at all. I have a feeling when our guys really get to work then this is going to get a whole lot worse. This may be your only chance to help yourself here before we get enough against you that any kind of a deal or leniency is beyond reach.”

Chad scowled. “Already there, baby!” He jabbed a finger at Dawson's jowly face and spat, “Don't think I'm forgetting my own pain here, dude. Ten long years of weeping and wailing and angsting and their achy breaky hearts and you are going to pay.” He thumped the table between them with a clenched fist. “Pay, pay and pay.”

“Stop. Talking.” Julie narrowed her eyes at him whilst Dawson looked confused. “Now. You are not helping.”

Smirking, Chad eyed the beads of sweat starting to trickle down Dawson's cheeks and replied, “I really am. I own this bitch and he knows it.” He tilted a cocky and complacent eyebrow at the sheriff and asked sweetly, “You got anything to say?”

Dawson seemed to crumple in on himself, his body sagging even more than it usually did in his overly tight and wrinkled uniform. “I want a lawyer.”

Chad punched the air, triumphant. “Ker-chiing! And there's the money shot!”

~*~*~*~

By three in the afternoon the news had spread to the immediate centre of Cherish that something was going down with the Sheriff and Jared had taken the precaution of bringing in the rest of the guys and Mac and Megan into the sheriff's office where he could keep an eye on them as the good citizens of the town got onto their friends and relatives that lived in the outer lying regions and gave breathless updates – or sweeping generalizations as to what they thought was going on – throughout the day.

Mac and Megan, amazingly grumpy thanks to their sleepless night and refusing to look at Steve and Chris let alone talk to them, had promptly taken themselves off to the cell where they had renewed their friendship and had passed out leaning against each other after taking in the decidedly bedraggled and bruised appearances of their brothers and assorted friends and scathingly commenting on the benefits of at least putting up the pretense of having a little respect for oneself and one's body and not falling and tripping on the first dick that showed an interest.

Jensen, tugging up his shirt collar to hide the obvious bite mark on his collar bone, had fixed Steve and a shame faced Chris with a steely glare and had promised them there would be a conversation in their future and no one was going to enjoy it.

Mike had glowered at all and sundry and flung himself into the nearest chair to scowl at his feet and ignore all the blatant stares at his bruised cheek and split lip.

Chad had looked between he and Tom, whistled, taken in Steve and Chris' bedraggled appearances and then had spent the next fifteen minutes alternately laughing and singing 'Screw the Horse, Fuck A Cowboy' at the top of his lungs until both Benz and Boreanaz threatened to shoot him.

Jared sidled up to Jensen, trying to look like a professional instead of a man who had gotten laid but good the night before and would quite like to do it again in the near future. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jensen looked up at him, blushed furiously when his eyes caught and held at the hickey on Jared's neck, and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “So,uh, things goin' okay?”

“Uh-huh,” said Jared, focusing intently on Jensen's lips and thinking how much prettier they'd look wrapped around a certain part of his body rather than being chewed with nervous intent by Jensen's teeth. “Turns out that havin' the full weight of the Texas Rangers slam down on you without warnin' does wonders for makin' someone cleanse their souls and 'fess up to all their sins.”

Jensen's eyes darted somewhat disbelievingly around the busy room, taking in Aldis still hunched over his computer, Benz on the phone snapping commands to whoever was at the other end and Boreanaz in the process of making his own phone call as he flipped urgently through a sheaf of papers in his hand. “I can't believe this is happenin'.” He shook his head incredulously. “This seems....unreal.”

Jared followed his gaze and shrugged, saying lightly, “Well, if this was any other case then it probably wouldn't be happenin' so fast. There'd be a lot more investigations and stuff before we got to this point, but,” He shrugged again. “One, my chief really doesn't like it when a cop's family gets fucked with and two,” He looked down at Jensen, sincerity in every line of his face. “He trusts my judgment. I say there's a case here, then there's a case. And I trust you. I just wish you could have done the same all those years ago.”

Scowling, Jensen looked away. “It wouldn't have done any good, Jared. You weren't this then.” He swept an all encompassing hand out to indicate the busy room. “You were just a kid. You couldn't have done anythin' but get sucked down with us.”

Moving so his body blocked them from the rest of the room, Jared closed a hand around the back of Jensen's neck and leaned in close. “Yeah, but you could have called anytime, Jensen, and I woulda come runnin'.” He squeezed Jensen's neck when the other man tried to step away and said low and urgent, “There's no time you can't call me and I won't come runnin'. You don't need to be on your own anymore.”

Jensen shifted uncomfortably again and looked up at him before letting his eyes drop away. “I wasn't on my own. I had the guys.”

“Yeah, well,” Jared couldn't help but feel a little of the lingering sense of betrayal and resentment in his belly at the way he and Tom and Steve had been played and fucking lied to for the past decade. “Just for the record, you guys aren't havin' an unsupervised conversation again, ever. You suck at it.” He couldn't help pressing a hard, quick kiss to Jensen's suddenly tight mouth and then stepped away. “Gotta get back to it. Try not to throw yourself on any more swords for the greater good while I'm gone.”

~*~*~*~

“I,” announced Chad with astounding smugness and self-delusion. “Am the most epic lawman in the state of Texas. Possibly the country.” He pointed at the decidedly wilted and lethargic room and ordered, “Bow down and worship me for the god that I am.”

Mac glared at him poisonously. “It's seven thirty on a Saturday night and I'm sitting in a jail cell still wearin' Chris' clothes. You're lucky I'm not kickin' your ass from one end of the room to the other. Can we go home yet?”

Chad stared at her reprovingly. “That is not a properly respectful tone to address your god.” He spread his arms wide and beamed merrily. “Solved the case, got the bad guys, let's go get hammered and get laid!” He pointed forbiddingly at Megan and Mac. “Not you. You just get cookies.”

Megan shot Chris and Steve a speaking look where they sat side by side, perched on the edge of a desk. “Good. I'm never havin' sex again, ever. We've been put off for life.”

A very special kind of silence descended over the room and all eyes turned to Jared who was starting to frown and flush a very unhealthy shade of red. “Hey, wait, what do you mean again?”

Jensen's eyes snapped to Mac. “What did she mean we?”

“Oh God,” Mac's face screwed up in disgust. “No! That's just...no. No way. Trust me, the only one screwin' Padaleckis around here is you!” She nodded decisively. “Don't worry, guys, you've totally rubbed off on me. I am all about the dick.”

“Oddly, that doesn't reassure me.” Jensen gave his sister one more ferocious glare before turning his black look on a mortified Steve and Chris. “What the hell were you doin' last night?”

“Everything.” Megan answered for them and ignored Jared spluttering in the background. “Repeatedly and really, really loudly. We didn't get a wink of sleep.”

Chad, momentarily derailed from his own awesomeness, held up a hand to high five Steve. “Dude! Way to stick it to the man!” He leered. “Literally!”

Steve occupied in grabbing for Chris and restraining him from knocking Chad clear across the room, yelled. “For fucks sake, Murray!” He grunted when a wild flail of Chris' arm caught his chin and then yelped when his balls got crushed rather painfully down on to the desk top when he tried to pull Chris between his thighs and against his chest. “Jesus!”

Megan looked meanly satisfied and nudged Mac. “Well they're not spraining anything, but I'll settle for it. Looked painful, right?”

Snorting, Mac muttered, “If he's got any feelin' left in them after last night I'll be fuckin' stunned.”

Julie, looking like she;d rather be anywhere but where she was, yelled, “Enough!” She looked at Chris, still struggling to take a swing at Chad, and said sympathetically, “Look, I feel your pain and I promise you when this is over I will personally cuff him, lock you and him in a room and walk away singing a happy tune, but until then we really do need him so could you not kill him till we wrap this up?”

Nostrils flaring angrily, Chris paused. “Really?”

“I've known him five years.” Benz looked weary. “You've known him, what, five days? How serious do you think I am?”

“Huh.” Chris appeared to think this over and then relaxed. “Good enough.” He shook Steve's hold on him off and stepped away, smoothing back his hair. “Okay then.”

Unperturbed, Chad rolled his eyes. “Sucker. She's been threatening that pretty much since the day she met me.” He leered. “I can read the signals, man. She totally wants me. Anyway,” He clapped his hands and ignored Boreanaz hastily grabbing his partner when she lunged towards Chad and Chris started to puff up indignantly again. “Where were we? Oh yeah, I was being awesome.”

Jared eyed his partner, still smarting that he hadn't been allowed to interview Dawson over the course of the day. He figured that he was owed at least five minutes on his own with the sheriff after all the trouble he had caused and it rankled to say the least that Chad had refused to even let him within sniffing distance and instead had forced him to work with Boreanaz to interview Deputy Iris and try to make sense of the mish-mash of evidence Sandy had been stealthily compiling. “You're an unsung hero.”

“I know.” Chad pulled a face of tragic resignation. “Totally. Okay, so we got ourselves a deal going on. Dawson rolled on Plater and Plater and is giving us his full co-operation in exchange for me not stripping him down, basting him in butter and tossing him into general population at lockup with nothing but his blackened badge to cover the essentials.” He shot Jensen a wide grin and a double thumbs up. “See? So much funnier when it's happening to someone that actually deserves it, right?” He looked back at Jared. “He also fessed up to Clive Plater being the arsonist. Apparently old Clivey has been trying to get his daddy to supplement his lifestyle to a manner in which he's desperately wanting to become accustomed and, after threatening to dish the dirt on the stuff that's been going on around here over the years and getting nowhere, he decided to get a bit more proactive. Dawson forced a couple of locals to provide witness testimonies putting our boy Ackles on the scene to try and buy himself a little time figuring that, as resident whipping boy, he wouldn't be able to do much about it and he could find some way of stopping Clive before things went too far.” Chad shook his head dejectedly. “It actually hurts he's so dumb.” He placed a hand over his heart and winced dramatically. “Seriously. Actually hurts.”

“Wait,” Boreanaz frowned. “So we know who's committing the attacks, now?” He shot to his feet, hand going for his gun. “So what the hell are we standing around here for? Let's go pick him up.”

“Yeah, that's not gonna happen.” Chad shot him a withering look. “Clive's been living out of the area for the past few years, Dawson's got no idea of where he's been staying while he's been here. Hence the problem with stopping him. I got a description and mug shot being worked up, but the most we can do tonight is get it out there and circulated and notify the state police and such to keep their peepers peeled. Oh,” He nodded to himself. “And go pick up Papa Plater, who has also been trying to find his baby boy and cover up all the nasty. Schmuck.”

Mike, having been dodging around the office all afternoon trying to evade Tom being supportive and finally giving up around five and slumping down on the floor with the dark haired man's arm wrapped snugly around his shoulders, looked up. “Wait? So, that's it? It's over?”

“Yup.” Chad pointed at the essembled masses firmly. “We'll be keeping a careful eye on all of you because I'm pretty sure that it was Clive that ran the girls off the road last night even though Dawson swears he doesn't know anything about it.” He fixed a certain six men with a stern look. “Although if you boys don't dial it back some there isn't going to be anything left for Clive to come after because you'll have fucked yourselves into an early grave anyway!” He looked at Mac and Megan and raised an eyebrow. “Who you staying with tonight, ladies? You want to give our place a try? I'll get you earplugs.”

Mac looked a little sick. “I want my momma.”

~*~*~*~

By Tuesday afternoon they were still no closer to catching Clive Plater and the stress was starting to take it's toll on everyone. Jared and Chad because they were starting to take it personally that although they'd managed to take down Dawson and bring in the older Plater they were still missing the perp that had started to whole thing in the first place, Jensen, Chris and Mike because they were chafing at the constant surveillance they were under from the temporary help that had been drafted in now that Cherish was temporarily without lawful protection and Mac and Megan because they hadn't managed to escape their parents' clutches except to go to school since they had been made aware of their precious baby girls being run off the road and nearly killed on the previous Friday night.

Which was why when he picked up the phone and heard his sister's voice whispering down the line, he could be forgiven for not being as effusive in his greeting as he might have been. “What? I'm busy.” He glared at the pile of paperwork before him on the desk and imagined setting fire to it and running screaming into the sunset, never to be heard from again. It wasn't an entirely unappealing option. “Megan, what is it?”

“Jared,” Barely audible, Megan's voice was tight with tension and a little bit of fear. “Jared, we found Clive Plater.”

Jared sat bolt upright in his seat, getting Chad's attention immediately and causing the blond to stand up and hurry across the room towards him. “What? Megan, where are you?”

“I don't know.” Megan's voice shook a little. “Jared, I'm sorry, he was waiting for us outside school. He knocked out the escort and we had to go with him, he said he'd shoot him if he didn't.”

Jared cursed and fear flooded through him. “Us? Is Mac with you?”

“Uh-huh.” Megan whispered urgently. “He's locked us in the trunk of his car, I think he's trying to get out of the county. We're his insurance. We're okay. Don't worry.”

“Don't worry?” Incredulous, Jared stared at the cell in his hand before yelling, “You've been kidnapped and you're telling me not to worry?” He nodded when Chad swore and then turned to snap orders to get a trace on the call and try and track Megan with the GPS on her phone, and stood up. “Do not do anything stupid. Just do whatever he wants and I'll find you, okay? I'm coming.”

“No, no!” Megan hissed frantically, “We got a plan. Just don't let momma worry when I don't show up after school, alright? I'll leave my phone switched on, but on silent and...Jared, don't worry, okay? We'll be alright. We got a plan.”

“Megan! MEGAN!” Jared yelled with fury when the call abruptly terminated and threw his phone across the room, narrowly missing a nervous looking state trooper. “Chad!”

“On it.” Chad barking out orders and directing personnel with practiced competence. “I'm on it, Jared. Go tell the others what's going on, let your mom and dad know. We'll be ready to move in twenty minutes.” He gripped his friend's shoulder when Jared stood staring at him with devastated eyes and shook him lightly, “We're getting them back. Jensen and the others are at the court house giving their depositions, go tell them and then get back here. We're going to find them.”

~*~*~*~

The panic that was flooding the office was almost stifling in its intensity. Jared was fighting to maintain his professional cool, stay logical and objective, to use his training and keep things together, but all he could think of was Megan and Mac, out there alone with a desperate man who wasn't afraid to hurt people and....the map under his hand crumpled sharply as his imagination veered sharply out of his control once more. Jesus, if Plater fucking hurt them, he'd....

Chad stepped up to his shoulder and nodded at him, face tense but resolute. “They're going to be okay, Jared, and then we're going to kick their cute little asses for putting us through this.” He quickly and efficiently checked his gun was loaded and then tucked it back into his holster. “Come on, we're heading out onto the interstate. That's his most likely route out of town and I want to be the one to nail this fucker. Boreanaz and Benz are heading up the other team and Morgan's got state police and some more Rangers on the way. We're getting this guy.”

Jared nodded and swallowed to ease his dry throat. “Chad, I....”

“Do not even go there.” Chad turned away from the helpless fear and gratitude in Jared's eyes. “This is family.” His jaw clenched as he strode towards the door. “This is personal.”

Outside the car lot was heaving with people. Donna and Sherri stood wet eyed and white faced holding hands with their husbands staring around themselves blankly. Mike, Jensen and Chris stood bunched together with Steve and Tom standing looking helpless and angry behind them, obviously at a loss as to what to do to help without the help of having something to beat unconscious in front of them and....Jared's step hitched for a moment when he got a good look at the people around them. Word had spread throughout Cherish and, almost to a man, the entire town and surrounding area had turned out and were rather obviously there to actively participate in finding the girls rather than just rubber neck at events as they unfolded. He spotted Davey from the bar standing with a group of men, holding hunting rifles and wearing grim expressions and just waiting to be pointed in the right direction, and, rather more surprisingly, the entire high school football team grouped around a still bruised Brady Sloan looking uncomfortable and sullen but still undeniably willing.

“Holy shit.” Chad blinked and looked back at Jared, mouth stretching in an incredulous grin. “We got ourselves a motherfucking posse.”

Boreanaz and Benz swapped concerned looks, far less appreciative of the angry tension in the air. “Murray, I don't think this is a good idea.” David eyed the amassed ranks warily. “This place is like a tinderbox already and the last thing we need are a bunch of yahoos swarming over the countryside and shooting anything that moves.” He frowned when a loud horn cut through the early evening air. “What the hell was that?”

All heads turned in the direction of the road leading into town when the horn sounded again and then an astonished silence fell when pick up truck made it's ponderous way into sight, with what looked like a drooping bundle of clothes hanging from the hook at the back.

Jensen was already moving before the third horn blast sounded, shoving his way through the crowd and yelling at the top of his voice with Mike and Chris just a step behind. “Mac! It's Mac!” He stumbled when someone inadvertently stepped into his path to get a clearer look and shoved the obstacle out of his way without even bothering to see who it was. “Megan! Christ, they're okay!”

Mac, grinning wildly behind the wheel, leaned out of the open window even as she carefully pulled the truck to a stop and yelled back to her brother, “Jensen! We got him! We got Clive!” She yelled again, although this time with surprise and annoyance, when her door was opened and she was yanked out of the cab. “Hey, watch it!” She spluttered when she was clutched with fevered relief to her brother's chest and then wheezed pathetically when Chris and Mike hit them and sent them all crashing back against the truck in an uncomfortable heap. “Ow!”

Megan burst out laughing in the passenger seat at the tangle of limbs and bodies and then yelped herself when her own door was pulled open and she was snatched out of the cab and into Jared's arms. “Hey!” Spitting hair out of her mouth and trying to clear it out of her eyes, Megan flailed energetically for her freedom. “Jared, quit it! I'm fine!”

“I am goin' to kill you.” Her brother swore fervently, clutching at her and raking her with anxious eyes before pulling her close once more. “Seriously, actually kill you. What the hell were you thinkin'?”

Megan punched his shoulder when he held her off her feet and clutched her to his chest. “Stop it!” She flushed a horrible shade of red when she saw pretty much everyone she knew in town was standing witnessing Jared making complete fools of them. “People are watching.” Her eyes widened when she saw her tearful mother and panicked looking father struggling towards them and she punched him again. “You called momma and daddy? What's wrong with you?”

“You got snatched by an armed and dangerous attempted murderer!” Jared yelled back at her, still refusing to put her down. “What the hell was I meant to do, tell them you'd gone for a sleepover?”

Megan spluttered indignantly when their parents reached her and snatched her out of her brother's embrace and instantly smothered her in their own, with her mother's hitching sobs dampening the skin of her neck. “Momma, it's okay. I'm alright.” Megan hugged her parents as best she could whilst snapping back at Jared, “You were meant to trust that I could handle myself and that I'd be okay. Moron!”

“You're eighteen!” Jared fought the urge to grab her out of his parents' embrace and smack her stupid. “You're not even out of high school yet! You're not fuckin' Buffy the damn Vampire Slayer for God's sake!”

“Daddy, I'm fine. Not a mark on me.” Megan smiled into her father's eyes when he cupped her face in his, looked over her searchingly for signs of ill treatment and then hauled her in for another hug. She glared at Jared over her father's shoulder and picked up their argument without missing a beat. “And I know I'm not Buffy, asshole. I was fine, I had Mac.”

“Yeah, there's somethin' to make me sleep better at night.” Jared snarled. “Have you seen her? What was she gonna do? Flash the guy and then make a run for it?”

“Hey!” Mac's indignant voice made him spin in place and see the girl herself wedged securely between her own parents with Jensen, Mike and Chris bringing up the rear. “Don't knock it till you've tried it. It worked, didn't it?” She pointed towards the rear of the truck where Chad was standing and peering upwards with a curiously amused expression on his face. “See? There's your guy right there.”

Jared's mouth fell open and he looked closer at the bundle of old clothes hanging from the hook on the truck – and then realised that he was actually seeing a man, hog tied and gagged and suspended by his own belt from the tow hook. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Mac and Megan high fived each other, not intimidated by the fearsome growl. “Totally Daisy Duked his ass!” Beaming as wide as she ever had, Mac merrily informed a rapidly paling Jared. “My boobs are awesome.”

“What?” Jared looked wildly between his sister and her terrible, dreadful friend. “What?”

Megan smirked and drawled evilly, “You don't want to know what I flashed.”

“He ditched the car a few miles outside of town and switched to the truck.” Starting to shake with giggles and just a little delayed hysteria, Mac squirmed out of her parents' hold and smiled brightly up at Jared. “He was kinda bein' an ass and makin' a lot of nasty threats so I flashed him and Megan slipped around him while he was distracted and hit him with a tyre iron. Like this. See?” She gripped the hem of her vest top, pulled it up and displayed her awesome boobs to Jared. “Totally nailed his ass!”

“Oh my God,” Chad howled behind Jared. “My eyes.”

“MacKenzie Ackles.” Her mother snapped. “You stop that right now! This instant!”

“Mac, I'm gonna kill you.” Yelled her ever-loving brother, forgetting in an instant that he'd been terrified of Clive doing that exact some thing not five minutes before, and nearly getting trampled by Chris and Mike in their bid to do the same thing.

Mac rolled her eyes, grinned and lowered her top back into place much to the relief of both her own and Megan's immediate and adopted families and the disappointment of the rest of the town who knew good theater when they saw it and, now the danger was past, was having a remarkably entertaining time. Mac winked at Megan, pointed to her chest and mouthed, “Awesome!”

Megan high fived her again. “Totally.”

FIC: Cherish NC17 (9/11) J2, Tom/Mike, Steve/Chris, RPS, AU

2009-08-29T23:05:53Z

Type your cut contents here.

Steve watched silently when Chris stood at the door of his room, peeking in on Mac and Megan top 'n' tailing it on his bed, and then pulled the door to with a sigh. He stood for a moment with his head bowed, staring at his boots and the floor, and then sighed heavily and squared his shoulders, turning to face Steve. “So.” He cleared his throat, voice low and raw, and a small smile flickered across his full mouth. “Now you know.”

Steve really wanted to bite it.

Chris, possibly picking up on the biting idea, flushed a dull red and looked away. “I'm beat. Can we leave the ass kickin' to another night? I don't really want Mac and Megan to watch us fight after everythin' else.”

Cocking his head, Steve let his mouth curl in a humourless grin. “Pretty sure the last thing I want to be doin' to your ass is kickin' it, Kane.” He met Chris' startled and wary eyes with a tired, drained look and continued wryly, “And I'm also pretty sure that once Mac gets herself together after tonight she's not exactly goin' to be holdin' back on the ass kickin's herself.” He snorted and scrubbed a weary hand over his eyes. “Hell, I don't think I'm old enough to be seein' what that girl is goin' to do to y'all.”

Chris leaned back against his bedroom door, suddenly exhausted, and closed his eyes. “I think I'm just gonna settle for bein' glad she's alive to do it and worry about the pain and humiliation later.”

“Yeah. Good call.” Steve moved, slowly crossing the room until he stood a bare two feet away from Chris. He waited for the other man to open his eyes and look at him, the heat of their bodies caught between them and turning already warm air molten, and then reached up slowly to curve one hand behind Chris' neck and into the length of his hair. “We gonna get into it like last time?”

Chris pressed his hands flat against the door behind him, tense and looking like he wanted to bolt. “Don't think this is a good idea, Steve.” He tensed more when Steve's grip tightened and pulled him slowly forwards and away from the door, eyes flickering down to look at Steve's parting mouth and then back up into his stormy grey eyes. “Don't think this is a good idea at all.”

Steve released an irritated breath. “Uh-huh. Well considerin' the last bright idea you had regarding us was to break up with me and make us both miserable for nearly a decade, what say you just shut up and kiss me and we'll see where we go from there?”

Chris planted a hand on Steve's chest, straining back when the blond tried to bring their mouths together. “Steve, it's not that easy. We don't get to pick up where we left off just because....”

Angry, exasperated and just plain needing, Steve knocked the hand away and pulled Chris to him, winding his arms around him and squeezing hard. “Oh hell, no, its not that easy. You're goin' to be payin' for this for years. Its gonna take a long time for me to forget this and....” His breath shuddered out of him when Chris tried to half heartedly pull out of his embrace and then just leant against him with a defeated sigh. “Chris, its still there. Its never gone away, no matter how much of an ass you've been and how much I've stayed away. Just....let me come home, okay? Let me come home.”

Chris screwed his eyes tight shut, hands clenched in fists at his sides where Steve had his arms pinned and tried to ignore the warm, solid warmth pressed against him, familiar but alien thanks to the muscle Steve had packed on in his years away. He tried to ignore the never forgotten feel of smooth skin against his own cheek when Steve whispered to him, the smell of nothing but soap and clean sweat that enveloped him as sure as Steve's arms did and mostly he tried to ignore the yearning in the pit of his stomach at the husky voice and warmth of strong arms around him. He turned his head and buried his face in Steve's hair. “Never wanted you to leave.” His arms moved slowly, coming to rest against Steve's back and fingers digging into the slightly damp material of his t-shirt when he whispered what he should have said when their eyes had first met again. “Missed you. Welcome back.”

Steve closed his own eyes in relief, heart pounding in his chest and then pulled back until Chris' face was out of his hair and revealed to him. “Jesus, you're a stubborn son of a bitch.” He moved his head until their mouths were millimeters apart and said quietly, “I missed you too.” and then brought their lips together with a quiet exhalation of breath and an equally quiet moan of completion.

~*~*~*~

Tom changed the plan when they got back to Steve's house. “I'm takin' him back to his house.” He watched when Jensen, the first out of the car when they pulled up at the sidewalk, turned back in alarm. “He'll sleep it off better in his own bed.”

Mike made a spirited break for freedom in the back seat and was defeated by his own drunkenness and Chad gleefully slamming the car door shut in his face enabling Tom to activate the central locking system. “Hey, no, wait....”

Jared nodded. “Keep your phone on.” He stepped in front of Jensen when the smaller man looked like he was going to throw himself bodily in front of the car to stop Tom taking off and pointed at the dark house. “Let's get inside.”

Chad couldn't get out of the way fast enough when they stepped inside the house. “I'm going to bed. I am plugging into my ipod and I will be turning the volume up high.” He pointed a finger first at Jared and then Jensen menacingly. “I don't care who makes who squeal like a pig, just make sure I don't have to hear it!”

Jensen gaped after him when he spun on his heel after that delightful parting shot and disappeared in the direction of his room. “What did he just say?”

Torn between amusement and lingering fury at the revelations of the evening, Jared tossed his hat onto a low table with a snort and looked at Jensen with heated hazel eyes. “I think he just gave us his blessing to, uh....” He let his eyes drag slowly down Jensen's body and then back up again. “Well, I'm thinkin' you can probably guess at what he meant.”

Taking a fast look around the small, crowded room and the lack of available exits, Jensen swallowed hard and said firmly, “I didn't come back with you for that.” He gritted his teeth when Jared tilted a disbelieving eyebrow and spat, “I'm here because it makes sense for none of us to be alone and....”

“Jensen,” Jared's voice was low and rough with tension. “You came back here for that. We both did. I still want you and I think you still want me too.” His jaw flexed when Jensen shook his head in firm denial and added, “Despite you tellin' yourself you don't.” He moved closer, watching with an alertness that betrayed the casual way he held his body. “I think you wanted this just as much as I did right from the minute I walked in on you in that room. All chained up and nowhere to go.”

“Don't flatter yourself.” Jensen stared back at him, defiant and mocking. “I was mainly thinking 'Get me the fuck out of here'.” His mouth flickered in a cold smile. “Funnily enough exactly what I'm thinkin' now. This was a mistake. I'm outta here.”

Planting himself firmly in front of the door and making Jensen snarl with anger, Jared said, “Not gonna happen. You think that Mike and Tom aren't gonna be doin' the exact same thing? Or Chris and Steve?”

Momentarily distracted, Jensen's face creased in a disgusted scowl. “They'd better not be. Not in front of my sister!”

Jared blinked and then laughed. “I don't think they're gonna be askin' them to watch, Jensen. My sister's there too, remember?” He took a step closer, arms spreading slightly in anticipation when Jensen tensed. “I wanna hear you say it. You owe me that much.”

Expression flickering uncertainly, Jensen said, “You want to hear me say what? And I don't owe you a damn thing!”

“Yeah you do.” Jared came closer, herding Jensen back an unwilling step with his body and increasing proximity. “You've lied to me for ten damn years and I want to hear you say that. I want you to admit you didn't want me to go. That you didn't want us to come apart the way we did.”

Jensen took another step back, cursing when he bumped off the back of a chair and stumbled into the wall. “Jared, knock it off. This isn't funny.” He tried to shove away from the wall, cursed again when he realised that if he went forward he'd be right into Jared's arms and slammed back into the wall again. “Jared, I mean it, you lay a fuckin' hand on me and I'll....”

Jared slammed his hands against the wall either side of Jensen's head and leaned in close, lips curled in derision. “You'll what? Tell me, Jensen, what are you gonna do? Shove me off you? Tell me you've been screwin' around on me again? Tell me that you don't want me?” He stumbled when Jensen shoved him away and then came back, his hands punching against the wall and his hips slamming against Jensen's cruelly. “Go on, lie to me again.”

“Son of a bitch.” Panicked and enraged, Jensen struck out, his fist glancing off the side of Jared's torso. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Grunting with the impact, Jared pulled back and then grabbed for Jensen's arm and yanking him forward and off balance before using his momentum against him and spinning him round to push him face first up against the wall. “Lie to me.”

Jensen gasped for breath and tried to push back and away, his face crushed against the wall and slightly hysterically noted that it was still the same forget-me-not pattern that had hung there ever since the summer he had turned thirteen and they had spent two weeks of their break helping Steve's indulgent, and slightly exasperated, mother re-decorate the home she shared with her son. His eyes fixed on the strip tucked mostly out of sight behind the bookcase in the corner that had been hung upside down because Mike and Tom had been goofing around and not paying attention to what they were doing. “Jared, let me go.” He bucked again. “Jared.”

“No.” Shaking, furious and wanting Jensen more than he could ever remember wanting him in all their history together, Jared bent his head and dragged his open mouth up the side of Jensen's straining neck. “Tell me.”

“Fine. Fine.” Struggling and fighting with everything he had in him, Jensen hissed, “I didn't want you to go, okay? I wanted you to stay and I wanted us to be together. It damn near broke me when you left and I haven't been able to forget you since. You happy now? That what you wanted?”

“It'll do for now.” Jared pulled back far enough to flip Jensen around against the wall to face him once again and stared down into his wild green eyes. “Now tell me you want this still.”

Jensen swallowed hard, unable to look away from the hazel eyes searing into his. “What difference will make? You're not stickin' around. When this is over you'll be....”

“That doesn't matter.” Jared wrapped the fingers of one hand around Jensen's throat, feeling the pulse there throbbing under his touch. “That's not now. It's not tonight.” He tightened his grip when Jensen would have turned his head away, forcing the smaller man to keep eye contact. “Tell me you want me now.”

For long moments it looked like Jensen would still refuse, still deny the heat between them, and Jared thought seriously about clocking the stupid bastard across the jaw and beating some sense into him, and then abruptly Jensen sagged, all the fight going out of him. “Jesus....yeah, okay? Yes, I still want you.” He swallowed hard, skin and muscle flexing under Jared's hold. “You happy? I still want you.”

“Then let that be enough. Just for tonight.” Relaxing the hold he had on Jensen's throat a minuscule amount, Jared let his hand slip around to grip the back of Jensen's tension damp neck. “Don't think about anything else, Jensen, just come to bed with me tonight. We can sort everything else out tomorrow.”

Jensen dragged his tongue over dry lips, his eyes drifting half closed when Jared rubbed his fingers against the nape of his neck, shuddering at the hot pants of air playing across his face when Jared made his impassioned plea. “This is a really dumb idea.” He jerked when Jared placed his other hand on his waist, pulling his hips forward and mashing their groins together. They made a low, urgent sound in unison, Jared tipping his head forward until their foreheads touched and their breath mingled between them, lips not quite meeting. “Jared, this is really dumb.”

“Yeah.” Jared closed his eyes when Jensen's hands came up, almost against his will, and gripped at his biceps as though that was the only thing in the world that was real and keeping him on his feet. “We're doin' it anyway, right?”

Choking out a slightly hysterical laugh, Jensen surrendered. “Yeah, yeah we are.” And groaned low in his throat when Jared covered his mouth and crushed him back against the wall without waiting for any further permission.

~*~*~*~

Tom watched Mike stumble over the threshold of his little house and then turn to him with a dismissive smile. “Okay, so this is me. I'll see....Hey!”

“Not going to happen, Mike.” Tom shoved past him, eyes taking in what he could of the room in the spare lighting from the streetlights. “Where's the light switch?”

Mike, just barely catching himself against the wall when Tom knocked him off balance, righted himself clumsily and stared blearily through the gloom at the taller man. “You're not stayin'.” He pushed himself away from the wall and stood swaying by the door. “Get out.”

Tom looked back at him, nodded briskly to himself and then strode across the room to grip the door and slam it home into its frame so hard that the windows rattled. Ignoring the resulting yell of protest from Mike, he gripped the other man's arm in one hand and dragged him to the wide, low couch in the centre of the room and literally threw him down onto it. He bent at the waist and gripped the couch back hard either side of Mike's head and leaned down to say with deliberate calmness, “Don't ever try and shut me out again, y'hear?”

Mike gulped, not happy with this development at all. He stared up at what he could see of Tom's expression in the half-light and decided he liked the look of that even less. He pressed his head back into the couch cushions and brought his hands up to grip Tom's wrists, gut swirling unhappily when he felt the strength and tension there. “Back off, Tom.” He tried to push up and away with his hands, his heart starting to race when Tom didn't so much as budge an inch. “Tommy, back off.”

“No.” Tom ignored the increasingly frantic attempts to shove him away, leaning in even further and getting to within a hair's breath of Mike's gasping mouth. “I'm done backing off. That's not happening anymore.” Without warning he straddled Mike, pulling his wrists out of his hold and then fumbling until he had Mike's wrists in his hands and was able to pin them back against the couch on either side of his head. “We need to talk.”

Mike swallowed hard again and then smirked, pushing his hips up to Tom. “Doesn't look like talkin's what you got in mind, Welling.” He felt himself break out in a cold sweat when Tom merely clenched his jaw and ignored the move, just pressing his wrists further into the soft upholstery. “Boy howdy, you really are lovin' this alpha thing, ain't ya? This what gets you hot now, Tommy-boy? Pinnin' folk down and havin' your wicked, wicked way with them?” Unable to stop his mouth running and his body struggling against Tom's hold, Mike used the only thing he had available to him in his vulnerable position and went in for the kill. “Well, y'know one dick's pretty much like another and it's not like you're hard on the eyes so I'm up for pretty much anything you got goin'. It'll save me goin' out lookin' for a little somethin' else to take the edge off and....”

Tom growled and lunged forward, slamming his mouth against the filth spilling from Mike's and swallowing it down. He used the weight of his body against Mike when he gave a muffled yell beneath him and fought back in earnest and then kept on moving his mouth and tongue until he could taste blood spilling between them. He pulled back with a harsh gasp of air, staring down at Mike's stunned face beneath him and watched the slow drip of black blood in the dim light slip over Mike's bottom lip and snake down to his chin. Tom swallowed, shook his head like a wounded animal and ground out, “That what you're looking for, Mike? That really how you want this to be between us?”

Mike panted, mouth open and bruised and eyes disbelieving when he stared up at Tom in silent shock.

Pushing his hips down hard and letting Mike feel the hardness there, Tom whispered harshly, “You really want to do this with me now, when I feel like I could snap you in two I'm so mad with you? Feel like I don't know whether I want to punch you or fuck you unconscious?”

Jerking back without any success to try and get some distance between them, Mike tried to get his drink and kiss befuddled mind to understand what Tom was hissing at him. “Tom, quit it, this....I....”

“ You don't want to talk? Fine.” Tom, fast moving beyond reason, let go of one of Mike's wrists, got his hand between them to fasten onto the neck of Mike's t-shirt and pulled. The sound of the material ripping sounded ridiculously loud in the room and Mike's protesting yell followed just a few seconds too late. “That's just fine. We'll fuck and see who comes out best, huh? See who's on top then.”

“ What? No!” Shot out of his shocked state when Tom yanked again at his t-shirt and pulled most of the ruined material away from his body, throwing it to the floor, Mike began to fight back in earnest. “Motherfucker!” He swung with everything he had from his awkward position with the hand that Tom had freed and landed a solid hit against the side of Tom's head before he was grabbed by the back of the neck, Tom standing up and then found himself being thrown down onto the floor. He scrambled to roll onto his back before the other man dropped down on him and had just enough time and light to see the determined look on Tom's face as he descended before rough hands closed over his shoulders and the fight was on.

~*~*~*~

Unable to believe that he was here – that Steve was here – Chris pushed away from his bedroom door, saying in urgent pants, “Not here, not here!” He tried to move Steve backwards, fighting off urgent hands and hard kisses that seemed to be trying to say 'Right here, right here! Right now!” because the last thing he needed was for Mac or Megan to get woken by the thumps and sounds of them making out against the door and open it to let Steve and Chris tumble through it mid-grope. “Jesus fucking Christ, Steve.” Chris shuddered when Steve shoved a hand under his shirt and clawed against his back, guitar roughened callouses dragging at his skin. “Steve, the girls, I can't...they don't....”

Making an impatient noise that sounded almost like a growl – and, seriously, Chris marveled. Steve 'Mr Mellow' Carlson growling – Steve stumbled back wards and dragged Chris with him, biting impatient kisses at the side of his neck and under his jaw, mostly getting nothing but mouthfuls of hair for his trouble and spitting them less than romantically back out again. “I. Don't. Care.”

Chris' eyebrows shot up and he tried to twist out of Steve's grip. “Hey, you might not care about two little girls seein' your ass, but I happen to....”

“Christian.” Steve gripped Chris' neck, turned and then shoved him ingloriously down on the couch in a tumble of denim and hair. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Holy Jesus!” Chris tried to twist away again when Steve dropped on top of him, wincing when the couch creaked loud and protestingly, and then groaned when his hair was shoved back off his face and his mouth taken hard once more. “Carlson, you crazy son of a bitch, will you just....Christ!” His head snapped back and his eyes stared blindly up when Steve managed to shove a hand between them and cup him between his legs. He groped blindly for Steve's shoulders, panting desperately when Steve did nothing more than tighten his grip and start to rub the palm of his hand against the denim holding him prisoner and then he groaned again when Steve's mouth came back down onto his. “Steve.”

Steve rutted his own hardness against Chris' hip, swallowing the moans and pleas for him to slow down, take it someplace else, and instead concentrated on the feel and taste of Chris beneath him after all the years apart. He smiled against Chris' mouth when the other man thrust blindly up into his hand, past caring that they were getting busy with two teenaged girls less than twenty feet and a thin piece of wood away, and fumbled for the button on Chris' jeans, tugging it open and pulling apart the zipper. “Yeah, that's it.” He thrust a hand inside, working his fingers into the opening of the boxer briefs Chris was wearing and wrapped his fingers around the flesh waiting there. “There you are.”

Chris pulled his mouth away from Steve's, desperately trying to suck in air, and then shoved his face into the other man's neck cursing low and fierce when the fast drag of Steve's hand against him had him seeing stars. He curled his hands into claws, scratching at Steve's back and rutting mindlessly up with hips when that just seemed to spur Steve on faster and harder and then yelled hoarse and helpless when his orgasm was forced from him almost to fast to register that it was even approaching.

Barely waiting for him to shudder through the last shocks, Steve pushed his come slicked hand up and under Chris' shirt, curling a hand around his waist and turning him so that his head fell back and he could take his mouth again. “Almost forgot what you sounded like when you did that.” He pushed up with the hand trapped between the couch and Chris, balancing on the palm and looked down with satisfaction at the destruction he had wrought. “Almost forgot what you looked like too.” He grinned, slow and smug, when Chris stared up at him, lips working soundlessly in blissed out shock and let his eyes drag from the open waistband of Chris' jeans, to his still half hard cock and his bared, come smeared belly and then his bruised and reddened mouth. “Fucked out's a pretty good look for you.”

Chris shuddered and tried to muster up a really good glare, but, seriously, who was he trying to kid? He was pretty much down for the count. He blinked, once, twice, and said hoarsely, “You know, you've kinda changed.” He blinked again when Steve frowned in confusion, explaining somewhat weakly, “Don't seem to remember quite so much shovin' and cussin' bein' involved.” He laughed faintly, “Well, not from your end anyway.”

Steve's frown faded into a rueful smile and he pushed away a stray lock of hair from Chris' face before leaning down and kissing him softly. “You complainin'?”

Chris tried to swallow and ease his dry throat. “Oh hell no.” He chased after Steve's mouth when the other man lifted his head away and muttered, “Just gonna take some getting' used to, that's all.”

Steve laughed, pressed another kiss to Chris' mouth and said huskily, “Yeah, well, we got time.” He helped himself to another kiss, pulling Chris close and pressing his hips hard against the jut of bone and muscle, reminding Chris that one of them hadn't quite finished up yet. “You ready for round two?”

And chuckled when Chris' eyes widened as he felt Steve shove his pants down his thighs.

~*~*~*~

Jared closed the door gently behind him, watching Jensen walk to the foot of the bed and then turn around to look back at him with hooded eyes. He gestured up. “You mind leavin' the light on?” He shrugged and grinned at Jensen's blank look. “I want to see you.”

Jensen's eyes flickered up to the ceiling light overhead and he shrugged back. “Whatever.” His hands went to the hem of his t-shirt and he tugged it off over his head. “So, we doin' this thing or what?”

Forcing his startled eyes away from the ridged plane of Jensen's belly and the jut of one hip bone peeking out over the slouching waistband of his jeans, Jared licked his lips. “You in some kind of a hurry?” His eyes dropped again when Jensen's hands went to his waistband. “Huh. Dumb question.” He could still feel the urgency in his belly from the kisses and touches they'd exchanged out in the living room, but forced himself to tamp it down as he walked away from the door to stop in front of Jensen and place his own hands over the ones fumbling at the fastening of the denim. “Slow down, okay? We got all night.” He squeezed when Jensen continued to try and free himself from his jeans, repeating, “We got all night, Jensen.” He breathed in, taking in the smell of warm skin and beer and leant down to chase the taste of it in Jensen's mouth. “We don't got to rush this.”

Opening his mouth under Jared's, Jensen bit down on his lower lip, saying fiercely, “Maybe I want to. Thought this was what you wanted.” He shoved his hands up under Jared's shirt, sucking in a breath when he touched firm, hot skin. “Just do it already.”

Jared pulled back, narrowed his eyes and then shoved Jensen down onto the mattress with a surprised yell, moving quickly to cover him with his body and trapping him beneath him. “Don;t make me get the handcuffs, Ackles.” He pushed up to look at Jensen flushed and irritated beneath him. “I've been waitin' a long time for this and we're doin' it right.”

Jensen snorted and palmed his ass in both hands, yanking their hips together. “Hard and fast didn't seem to bother you the last time we did this. Seemed that was pretty much the only way you wanted it.” He ground up into Jared. “You've been given out the same kinda signals this time too.”

His eyes clouding over at the reminder of the last, desperate time he had been with Jensen – the pleading for Jensen to change his mind, for him to admit he was lying about cheating on him, for him to take it all back – Jared's mouth twisted with pain and he said lowly, “Then you're as dumb as you look if you think that's all I want from you.” He allowed Jensen to grind them together again and bent his head to whisper in Jensen's ear, “You stupid bastard, Jensen, I didn't come back just to get a piece of your ass, I came back to get the rest of you too.”

Jensen froze beneath him, head jerking away in reflex and stared at Jared with wide green eyes. “What?”

Jared cupped a hand around his jaw, bringing his face back within kissing distance and looked at him soberly. “I am not just fuckin' you here, okay? That's not all this is.”

His hands slipping off Jared's ass, Jensen's face creased in a scowl. “You said this was just for tonight.” He brought his hands up to Jared's shoulders and tried to shove him away. “You said this was just for tonight.”

“Yeah, well, you said that you were fuckin' everythin' in the county and that I was a lousy, unsatisfying lay.” Jared knocked Jensen's hands off him, pinning them to the mattress beside his head when the smaller man froze guiltily, looking stricken. “I figure you owe me a couple of half-truths, alright?” His thumbs began to move in slow circles against the soft skin of Jensen's inner wrists. “Now, will you just quit tryin' to make this about us fuckin' each other blind and let it be what it is?” He dipped his head and licked at Jensen's lips when he looked uncertain and whispered, “Jensen, just forget about tryin' to keep me out, okay? Just let me in.”

~*~*~*~

Mike's living room looked like World War 3 had been fought in it. The couch had been shoved out of alignment and was crushed up against the wall, a painting that had been knocked off the wall resting at a crazy and precarious angle on it and the frame split at one corner where the weight had been too much when it had fallen. The coffee table was a heap of splintered wood in the middle of the room, surrounded by ripped magazines and newspapers and the printer that had stood on a small computer desk in the corner of the room was now a sad heap of plastic sitting by the kitchen door after Mike's flailing foot had caught it and he had kicked it across the room.

Mike himself looked no better.

He was sitting propped up against the wall, completely shirtless and having lost one sock and shoe and his jeans ripped up to the knee on the opposite leg, with a packet of frozen peas wrapped up in a kitchen towel pressed against one reddened cheek. “You really know how to romance a girl, Welling.” He winced when he pulled the peas off his face and probed gently at his throbbing skin. “Seriously, what's next, you breakin' out your belt to give me a proper whuppin'?”

Tom, slouched catty-corner to him against the wall by the kitchen, scowled from under his own bag of frozen vegetables pressed to his eye and said irritably, “If you hadn't been such a jerk to start off with, none of this woulda happened.” He lifted the tattered remains of his own shirt and poked gently at his side where the beginnings of a bruise was beginning to flower. “You're still a vicious little bastard.” He stifled a yelp when he poked too hard and his side twinged the wrong side of painful. “I just wanted to talk to you for God's sake.”

“Right.” Mike pressed his peas back against his face. “Who was it who ripped whose shirt off, exactly?” He pointed an accusing finger at Tom. “I told you to get out! This is not my fault.” He looked forlornly at the wreckage of his home. “You've ruined everythin'.”

Tom flinched and dropped the hand holding the vegetable bag to his face, saying, “You really believe that?” He looked at Mike sitting bruised and battered and shirtless and tried to focus on the fact that they'd just tried to beat each other unconscious rather than talk out their problems rather than on the fact that Mike was tired, still half-drunk and shirtless just mere feet away. It was surprisingly difficult. “You don't think you maybe had somethin' to do with it. At all?”

Mike mourned the loss of his printer. “Okay, that one I'll give you.” He pointed at the painting on the couch. “But that one was all you.” He sighed gloomily. “I liked that picture. It was happy.”

Tom blinked, shook his head and threw aside his bag of vegetables to get on his hands and knees and crawl across to Mike. “Not the furniture, Mike. Pay attention.” He stopped when Mike jerked away from him and made himself sit back on his heels, giving the other man some space. “I meant the situation. How things are between us? How things are between all of us?”

Mike stared at him over his bag of peas, opened his mouth, winced when the cut in his lip opened up again and then shut his mouth again. He looked down at his legs, skin heating under Tom's intent stare before finally muttering, “We did what we thought was best. We were already screwed, there weren't no reason to drag you down with us.”

“And you don't think that we maybe had a right to decide that for ourselves?” Tom blew out an exasperated breath and looked down on the man before him. “Jesus, Mike, you don't think we would have done anythin' to stay with you?”

“ Yeah, and where would that have got us?” Mike looked up, sharp and defensive. “We knew if we told you guys what was goin' down you'd have stayed, okay? You were just that dumb. Dawson was already fuckin' up our lives, we couldn't let him have yours too. You were goin' places, all three of you were, but if you'd have known then....we just.....For fucks sake, Tommy, you'd have been buried in this town too and you would have ended up hatin' us and that's somethin' I couldn't handle, okay? I could do anythin' else, but never that.”

Tom curled his fists against his thighs, feeling his anger rise all over again. “Yeah? Well we ended up hatin' you a little bit anyway, so that plan didn't work out so great, huh?” He shook his head, impatient and still hating Mike just a little. “You don't get it, do you? There wouldn't have been a choice for any of us to make if you'd have just talked to us. It wasn't an either or situation. You were everythin' to me, all the other stuff that was goin' on was just window dressin'. Maybe I would have stayed, maybe I would have gone to college for a while or maybe I could have helped you along with Jared and Steve and between the three of us we could have stopped the three of you bein' such fuckin' morons for the last decade and had this wrapped up about a week after it first started!” He ended on a roar and reached out to slap Mike, hard, against the side of his shaven head. “You broke our fuckin' hearts!”

“ Ow!” Mike flinched away, hands coming up to defend himself from anymore sneak slap attacks. “It wasn't exactly a picnic our end either!” He stared at Tom, huge and furious kneeling before him, and lowered his hands cautiously. “We didn't want to hurt you.” He winced at Tom's snort and said, “Well, okay, not forever hurt you. Just enough to get you away.” His hands dropped all the way to his lap and he stared down at them, saying morosely, “We missed you all the time. The way it was. The way it could have been.” He swallowed and muttered almost inaudibly, “I missed you, okay? I did. All the time. I just didn't want you getting' hurt because of me.”

“Well I did.” Tom wasn't prepared to forgive and forget just yet. “I got hurt a lot.”

Mike hunched miserably in on himself, hissing at the unpleasant throb of his blossoming bruises. “Sorry.”

Tom looked down at him, taking in the dejected line of his shoulders, the unhappy droop of his head and sighed. “Yeah, I know.” He sighed again. “I know you thought you were doin' what you did for the right reasons, but....” He rubbed a weary hand over his face and yelped like a kicked dog when his eye protested violently. “Shit, that hurts.”

Looking up, Mike smiled tremulously. “Sorry.” His mouth turned down unhappily. “I'm really sorry, Tommy.”

Knowing that Mike was referring to more than just his eye, Tom tried to smile back. “Yeah.” He reached out slowly and rested his hand on Mike's ankle. “We're both tired.” This time his smile was more genuine. “And one of us is more than a little drunk. You want to go to bed and table this until the mornin'?”

Feeling weary down to his bones and the early onset of his hangover stirring to say hello, Mike nodded. “Okay.” He tried to get his feet under him and then was forced to accept a hand up from Tom when his body refused to comply. “God, I hurt.” He turned towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms and said, “The guest bedroom's all made up, Mac crashes here sometimes. I might have some sweats or somethin' for you to sleep in.” He looked up when Tom caught his arm, breath catching in his throat at the expression on the taller man's face. “What?”

“Mike.” Tom looked nervous and unsure as he took a step closer. “I don't want to sleep in your guest room.” He laughed under his breath and trailed a gentle finger down Mike's hot, swollen cheek. “This probably isn't what you want to hear after we just tried to beat the shit out of each other, but I want to stay with you tonight. Not anything else, just sleep.”

Hesitating, Mike frowned. “Tom, I don't know about that.”

“Just sleep.” Tom stepped closer, slipping an arm around Mike's waist and bringing him gently to rest against his body, letting his fingers relearn the feel of the smooth skin under them. “Promise.”

Mike's eyes slid away even as he shuddered at the caress. “I'm not that type of girl.”

Laughing low in his chest, Tom dipped his head and skimmed his tongue over Mike's cut lip and whispered fondly, “Liar. I know you, remember? Even after all this time, I know you.”

Mike's breath caught in his throat, his hands coming up to grip at Toms' waist to try and steady himself. His breath hitched some more when Tom put his other arm around him and gathered him close, hands moving slow and sure over the naked skin of his back. His head dropped to Tom's brawny shoulder in defeat and he whispered back, “Yeah, you do.”

Tom breathed a silent prayer of relief, kept his arms tight around Mike and moved them towards the bedroom.

~*~*~*~

Jared wasn't kidding about taking it slow. Jensen was beginning to forget there was life outside of the room and bed he was currently occupying, anything outside of the firm hands stroking over him and the lips mapping every inch of his newly stripped body. He gasped and twisted when Jared licked over the curve of his hip, hands threading into Jared's long hair and then slipping down to knead restlessly at his shoulders when Jared sighed his name and licked his skin again. He kept trying to catalogue all the differences between the Jared of now to the Jared of then, but Jared just wouldn't let up enough to let him focus for one damn minute. He remembered feeling awed – and more than a little nervous – when Jared had finished stripping him and then had gracefully removed his own clothes. Broad – really broad – shoulders, ropey muscle covering every inch of him that moved slickly under tanned skin and a small waist that was ridged with defined abs that Jensen found it almost impossible to tear his eyes away from.

Until Jared dropped his shorts. Jensen stared because he was fairly sure that he would have remembered that particular area being that large – no way would he have forgotten that – and came to the conclusion that his younger self was clearly even more reckless than he remembered because, god damn, this was going to hurt.

Jared, oblivious to Jensen's sudden wariness, crawled onto the bed and stretched out on top of him. “I missed this.” He bent his head, licking along Jensen's collar bone reflectively. “Really, really missed this.” He groaned happily when Jensen let his legs part, their groins pressing together and damp bellies rubbing deliciously. He took Jensen's mouth with intent, hands moving restlessly over his body and moaning low in his throat when Jensen began to play his own hands over his back and his ass. Time spun away from them as they relearned each other's hot spots and pleasure noises, taking it in turns to nip and suck at each other's bodies until finally Jared had managed to work his way down to Jensen's groin. He licked again at Jensen's hip and then turned his head and nuzzled the hard length of his erection that was lying flat against his belly.

Jensen arched at the sudden flicker of wetness and gasped, staring blindly at the ceiling. He reached out, his hands finding Jared's head and sliding his fingers into thick dark hair. “Jared, I...”

“Ssh.” Jared licked again. “I know I've spent the last few days tellin' you to talk to me, Jensen, but now is really not the time.” He slipped his hand around the base of Jensen's flesh and licked some more, grinning when Jensen half yelped and half laughed above him, back curving in a strong arch when he dug his heels into the bed and curved upwards. “You always were a contrary asshole.”

“Was not.” Jensen sucked in a breath and this time curled forward off the pillow when Jared sucked the tip of him into his mouth. “Goddamn it!”

Jared grinned some more and rubbed just right with his tongue to have Jensen trying to flop both ways at once and managing to do nothing more than look like a large landed fish. “Graceful.”

“Fuck. Off.” Jensen ground out through gritted teeth. “You never used to be such a tease.” He managed to stop himself squealing like the pig Chad had warned him against when Jared slipped a hand between his legs and cupped his balls, one long finger moving to rub enticingly between his clenching buttocks.

“Yeah, well, being cut off by my boyfriend and best friends and lied to for ten years will do that to a guy.” Jared looked up the line of Jensen's taut torso and met his guilty gaze with a pointed one of his own. “Trust me, this is nothin' to what I'm gonna be doin' to you when we get this mess sorted out.”

Jensen frowned. “Jared, you're goin' back to Austin, I'm stayin' here. There isn't goin' to be....”

“Wrong answer.” Jared knelt up, fumbled in the bedside table for a moment and then dropped a condom and lube onto the bed whilst swinging a leg over Jensen's waist to straddle him. He flipped open the lube, smeared some on his fingers and then put a hand behind himself and began to move his arm in a brisk, business like way. Jensen's eyes nearly popped out on stalks. “Swear to God, Jensen, you make me crazy.” He brought his hand back around, smeared on some more lube and then his hand moved back into position. “This is our second chance, man. We can make this right.” Jensen's eyes darted disbelievingly between Jared's now obviously thrusting arm and his disapproving face as he lectured him while he prepared himself. “I'm not sayin' there isn't a lot of ground to make up. A helluva lot of issues to work out, but there's still something between us that makes at least tryin' to give it a shot worthwhile, don't you think?”

“What are you doin'?” Jensen nearly came off the bed for real when Jared freed his fingers from their work, coated his hand lube and rubbed it liberally all over Jensen's dick – and then lifted up and sat himself down, neat as you please, without barely a hiss of discomfort. “Jared!”

“Ssh!” Looking pissed and aroused and still incredibly disapproving, Jared slapped a hand over Jensen's mouth – fortunately not the one covered in lube – and whispered, “Stop yellin', you want Chad bangin' on the door?” He lifted himself up and then eased himself back down again eyes narrowed with concentration, adding pissily, “And I'm doin' all the work here because if I waited for you we'd still be talkin' ourselves in circles this time next year.” The hand moved from Jensen's mouth, curved around the back of his neck and pulled him upwards until their mouths were scant millimeters apart. “Now, I'm getting laid here whether you're actively involved or not, so either get with the programme or lay down, shut up and let me get myself off.”

Jensen's hands crept of their own accord to Jared's waist and gripped on hard, fingers flexing on hot skin and he nearly bit through his lip when Jared lifted up and dropped down again, this time adding a firm squeeze of his inner muscles for good measure. His head dropped and he searched blindly for Jared's chest, mouthing desperately at one flat nipple when Jared obligingly arched his back and pressed the hard mass of muscle towards him.

“Yeah, that's it.” Jared closed his eyes and screwed his hips down, hard. “Jesus, I missed this.” He gasped and twitched when Jensen used a little teeth on him and then shoved the other man back down on the bed and covered him, grabbing his wrists and pinning them to the bed. “I'm gonna get off on just you inside me and nothin' else.” And swallowed Jensen's desperate gasp for air into him when he took his mouth savagely and started to fuck in earnest.

~*~*~*~

Mac and Megan lay side by side on Chris' bed in the slow light of the dawning day and stared silently up at the ceiling. Arms pressed straight against their sides and expressions fixed and traumatized, their hair lay tangled together on the pillows and their eyes were tired pools of colour in their pained faces.

Megan broke the silence first. “You think its over?”

Mac blinked. “Lord, I hope so.” She shook with a full body shudder. “I really, really hope so.”

Blinking herself, Megan said reflectively, “They're pretty old. You'd have thought they'd have gotten tired much sooner than this. And I thought we were meant to be saving Chris from this?”

“I'm guessin' from the 'harder, fuck me harder' that he wouldn't have thanked us.” Rolling her head towards her friend, Mac said mournfully, “Can we not talk about this? Like, ever.” She rolled her head back to look back at the ceiling. “Having to hear Chris begging to....finish up is something I never want to think about again.”

Megan cringed. “Oh God. Me either.” They stared some more at the ceiling. “You don't think that....you think the others were doin' that too? That Jared and Jensen were doing that?”

Mac scrabbled for a pillow and made a spirited attempt to smother herself under it. “Oh my God, stop talkin'!”

Loopy from being run off the road, the emotional confessions, lack of sleep and listening to Steve and Chris trying to have silent and athletic make up sex and failing spectacularly at it all night, Megan muttered sulkily, “Because I think there's a time and a place for that and the night someone tries to kill your baby sisters is not it.”

“I am not listenin' to you.” Mac shmooshed the pillow harder over her face. “I am not thinkin' about it. I am goin' to my happy place and I am goin' to forget that any of them have penises, let alone spent the night playin' with them.” She tensed suddenly, the pit of her stomach dropping away. “What was that? Did you hear somethin'?”

Megan tensed as well, saying nervously, “No.” She strained her ears and then moaned disbelievingly. “Oh come on, seriously?”

Mac felt like crying when a deep, pleasure filled groan filtered through Chris' distressingly thin bedroom door. “I said I wanted to go to my happy place not theirs.” She whimpered pitifully. “Again!”

Megan found her own pillow and dragged it over her face, hissing bitchily, “I hope they sprain something!”

Her only answer was another low groan and the couch starting to squeak loudly and rhythmically seconds later.

FIC: Cherish NC17 (8/11) J2, Steve/Chris, Tom/Mike, RPS, AU

2009-08-29T17:32:28Z

Type your cut contents here.

Partial credit for this next chapter goes to my beloved Mel who, over a period of many years, has provided a sounding board service on quite a few occasions for various fandoms and fics. . .and hasn't ceased to find it hilarious that I've done this to myself. Basically I was at the point the other night where the fic was all but complete but I still hadn't worked out what the big secret was or why they were so mad at each other. I'd basically cruised right the way through EVERYTHING without once bothering to sort out, y'know, the whole point of the fic. This includes all the make-up scenes and the happily ever after one! Half-assed writing – its an underrated talent! So, the following was born, amid much (literal) crying with laughter and the half-serious suggestions that we should just have Chris stand around in the revelation scenes, in nothing but tight jeans and a tan and flip his hair a lot. And there was a sword mentioned somewhere in there but for the life of me I can't remember how we got to that point. I know it had something to do with the 'Angel' fandom, but other than that....Anyway. Mel (aka, spikedluv) if I'm going down I'm taking you with me! Love you, babe – and thanks! Xx

~*~*~*~

In fact it was nearly an hour later when the group finally sat down around two tables and prepared themselves to hear what Jensen, Mike and Chris had to say. Mac and Megan had taken themselves up to Chris' apartment above the bar to grab showers and borrow some clothes to wash the stinky ditch water off them and the men had been forbidden by a firm Mac not to even think about trying to cut her and Megan out of the big revelations otherwise some tampered cars and bruised jaws would be the least of their problems.

Megan had hesitated when it had come time to pick a seat, eyes darting uncertainly between Jared and Mac, who had planted herself firmly by Jensen over the other side of the table with a murderous glare and her wet bangs dripping into her freshly scrubbed face. The brunette girl bit her lip, smoothed anxiously at the borrowed material of Chris' sweat pants and a hoodie Tom had retrieved from the trunk of his car and then had grabbed the back of a chair and planted it squarely between Jared and Mac, not on one side or the other, but within reach of both.

Jared had glanced at her briefly, lips tightening, and then had smiled at her gently. Megan stared back at him, unsure what to do, and then had remembered his frantic hands and voice when they had stumbled into the bar and smiled uncertainly back. Chad, seated between Tom and Chris, leaned forward and fixed Jensen, Chris and Mike with intent eyes over the bottles of beer and bowls of chips that he had retrieved from the kitchen. “Okay, shoot. Let's hear it. Who's setting the fires?”

All three men looked startled, eyes widening in tense faces before Jensen scowled. “Jesus Christ, we told you, we don't know.” He scrubbed a rough hand over his face, muttering, “It's not that simple.” He darted a look at Mike and Chris, looking rigid and trapped and resentful next to him. “I swear to God, we wouldn't let people get hurt if we could stop it. We would have told you.”

“Okay, okay.” Chad held up a placating hand, glancing sideways at Jared's expressionless face and then looking back at Jensen. “So who do you think is trying to set you up? Or why?” He pointed one finger of his hand at Jensen when his mouth opened automatically to dodge the question, snapping, “Do not.” He moved his pointy finger to first Mac and then Megan, stabbing mercilessly in the air. “Damn. Near. Died.”

All three men recoiled slightly and looked with guilty, tortured eyes at the girls before looking back at Chad. Surprisingly it was Mike that broke first. “Dawson. The sheriff.” He didn't look at Jensen and Chris when they jerked next to him, just kept his eyes on Chad's suddenly blank face. “There was somethin' – years ago – and we...” He licked his lips and looked at Tom, eyes darting away again when the dark haired man stared at him with shocked blue eyes and said huskily, “We saw somethin' we shouldn't and we've been payin' for it ever since.”

Chris tilted his chin defiantly when Steve's grey eyes caught his, questioning and accusing all at the same time, and said brusquely, “Y'all didn't need to be involved. We wanted you out of it.”

Snorting, Chad clicked his fingers at Jared impatiently and held out his hand. “What-ever.” He clicked his fingers again when Jared ignored him and continued to sit and stare inscrutably at Jensen, determinedly avoiding his eyes. “Yo, dude, show me the money! Twenty bucks!” He grinned sunnily when everyone stared at him in varying degrees of surprise and disbelief. “What? Oh come on, it was so obvious. There's not a lawman anywhere that is that damn bad at his job without working at it! I knew that pussy was hiding something.” He pointed up at the white brim settled high on his forehead, intoning solemnly. “The hat knows all.”

Jared ignored him. “What did you see?” He shot to his feet when all three of his old friends coloured and looked away from him, hands slamming down onto the table and making Megan and Mac flinch with shock. “What did you see?”

“It was just after Steve's mom got sick the first time.” Jensen put a reassuring hand on Mac's wrist, squeezing lightly before letting his hand drop away, letting his eyes meet Jared's furious ones reluctantly. “He was at the hospital a lot, you and Tom were just finishing up school and getting ready to graduate and you weren't around so much.” He let his gaze dart to Chris and Mike's tense faces next to him and then looked back at Jared. “We just wanted to let off some steam, just....shake it off a little, y'know?” He paused for a moment, looking for some indication of understanding or recognition in Jared's hard face but the taller man refused to give an inch. He stood, hands pressed flat to the table and the lines of his face hard and implacable. Jensen's jaw clenched briefly before he carried on huskily, “We went out to the old Ruis place in Chris' truck, just toolin' around a little and took some beer. It was pretty quiet, you remember that summer, right? Everything was so heavy, the heat was just so damn overwhelming and you just felt like you couldn't breath and there was no breeze at all.”

Jared nodded tightly. He remembered. He remembered long, sticky nights with Jensen, pressing their bodies together, gasping into each other's mouths and licking sweat from each other's bodies. “Yeah, I remember.” He stared into Jensen's eyes, letting some of the heat in his gut bleed into his expression. “I remember everything.”

Jensen's eyes widened and he flushed before licking his lips and continuing, gravel low and quiet, “You know how sound carries out in the country. It didn't sound like anything first, could have come from anywhere and from any direction, but then there was just somethin' and....” He shrugged. “We were just tanked enough to decide that it was a good idea to check it out.”

Choking a bitter laugh next to him, Mike muttered, “A mistake we're never makin' again, believe me.”

Steve stared intently across the table at Chris, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded defensively over his chest and his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. “What was it? What did you find?”

Glancing up, Chris met his eyes for a moment before staring back down at the toes of his boots and scowling darkly. “A gun. Rifle. We'd gone round the back down towards the lake and parked up when we'd arrived, the truck was hidden by the trees down there. You couldn't see it if you weren't lookin' for it and the noise was comin' up from near the front paddock so we figured that whatever was goin' on or whoever was there they didn't know they had company.” He breathed out, low and shaky. “We came up the side of the house, stumblin' a little cause we were pretty tanked and it was fuckin' dark and then Mike catches his foot on somethin' and stumbles and....”

Looking rueful, Mike touched his head and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Cracked my head off the house and fell on my ass and then once we'd stopped shushin' each other and gigglin' like a bunch of fuckin' girls we felt around and....” His mouth twisted again, this time bitterly. “What I thought was a branch or whatever turned out to be a rifle.” He looked away from Tom's fixed expression and said quietly, “We sobered up pretty quick then. Kinda thought we were gonna be interruptin' someone's little make out session at worst, nothin' we hadn't done before.”

“But it wasn't?” Chad, calm and professional, leaned forward and made 'get on with it' gestures with his hand. “You saw something else?”

“We'd picked up the rifle, carried it with us when we went on round to the front of the house.” Jensen picked up the tail again when Mike and Chris looked unwilling – or unable – to continue. “”First thing we saw was Dawson's patrol car. Second was the body on the ground.” His mouth twisted in an ugly sneer, impatient disgust creasing his face. “Still didn't put two and two together. Thought he was there investigating whatever happened.” He looked up, met Jared's eyes briefly and then looked away again. “He wasn't.”

“Jesus.” Jared breathed the words, stunned disbelief colouring the word. “He'd killed someone?”

“No, not him.” Jensen shook his head. “You remember Patrick Plater, the Mayor back then?” He half grinned when Jared's eyes hit his hairline and said, “No, not him either. It was his kid, Clive. Seemed like he'd had the same idea we'd had, only he'd decided to start his drinkin' behind the wheel early on in the evenin' and he'd managed to hit some guy on the road as he was toolin' around.” He folded his arms over his chest, fists clenching tight under his armpits, snarling, “Y'all know we get a lot of drifters through here that time of year, tryin' to pick up seasonal work, it was just some poor bastard passin' through and Clive took him out.”

Mike swallowed hard. “Only it turns out he didn't die straight off. Clive panicked, loaded him in the back of his car and took him out to Ruiz place and they had some kind of argument. The guy was conscious, barely from what we can make out, and was threatenin' to tell all when he got to the hospital. Clive freaked when the guy tried to head off when he refused to get him help and grabbed his huntin' rifle from the back of the truck and....” He swallowed again. “And he shot him. In the back.”

Mac, the first time she'd made a sound since the story hard started, hissed between her teeth and grabbed her brother's hand. “Son of a bitch.” Her fingers trembling as she wrapped them around Jensen's colder and clammy ones, she hissed again, “Son of a bitch.”

“We walked right into Dawson, Plater and Clive arguing over how they were gonna dispose of the body and cover the whole thing up.” Mike grimaced painfully. “And managed to pick up the murder weapon after they'd wiped the prints off it and put our own all over it.”

Jared dropped back into his seat and gaped. “And they threatened to pin it on you?”

“Give the man a prize.” Chris laughed without humour. “They still weren't real eager to have the whole thing come out whatever way, but at least this way if it did then it wouldn't necessarily be Clive that went down for it. Never found out what they did with the car he was driving, that was long gone by the time we got there, but if had tried to report it then it would have been the word of three drunk kids versus the local law and the mayor and they had the murder weapon with our prints all over it.”

Tom felt his temper start a slow burn. “And you just rolled over and took it? Just let it go at that?”

Mike's eyes snapped up, his own molten temper shining in the depths. “Don't be a fuckin' pussy, of course not. A man died for fuck's sake.” He shot a sidelong look at Jensen and Chris and continued, “If it'd been just us then we'd have taken the risk. No way we would have backed down.” His eyes slid to Mac and then away. “But it wasn't just us. There were other people he could have gone after.”

Steve snorted disbelievingly. “Right.” He gestured at Mac. “She was, what, eight or nine? What was he gonna do, bust her for a flat tyre on her bike?”

“No,” Jensen's voice was low and tense. “But he could have decided to do a lot more than go for probation when you got busted for weed the month before. That was still hangin' over your head, remember? Or he could have opposed Chris getting added to the license at the bar when Jim decided he was retirin'. My dad had just taken out a loan against the house to help set up his business. Plater was one of the ones who approved it, he coulda changed his mind just as easily.” A dull flush spread over his skin. “And they didn't exactly have proof, but Tommy and Jared were still seventeen at the time and me and Mike....weren't. You know that there'd always been rumours about us. Whispers.” Looking humiliated and miserable, Jensen shot Mac and Megan a mortified look when both girls looked puzzled and hissed pointedly at Jared, “None of us were what you'd call innocent. Despite two of us still meant to be by law.”

Jared flushed a brilliant red when his sister's wide eyes fixed on him and Tom's jaw dropped open before he spluttered, “That was completely consensual! And I was always the one that....Mike never made me....”

“Too much information!” Mac, the penny finally dropping, clapped her hands over her ears defensively. “I don't want to know who pitches and who catches! Stop talkin'!”

“Yeah.” Out doing both Jared, Jensen and Tom in explosive colour staining his cheeks, Mike glowered at his ex-boyfriend and stood up to make his way to the bar and the wonderful, wonderful whiskey that awaited him there. “Shut the fuck up, Welling.”

Mac stared after him, wide eyed. “Oh God. That there was something I just never needed to know.” She glared at Tom. “Ever.” She stared hard at her brother and then Chris, warning, “Never, ever tell me.”

Chris growled. “Not. A. Problem.” He directed a disbelieving glare at Tom. “Welling, what's wrong with you?”

“I think we're gettin' off the point.” Steve cleared his throat when Jensen and Chris continued to glare at Tom, Chad snorted helplessly into his beer and over by the bar Mike was forgoing glasses altogether and just pouring the whiskey down his desperate throat. He ignored the unwillingly speculative looks that Megan and Mac were directing between himself and Chris and questioned, “Okay, so I'm assuming that you at least tried to put up a fight? Looked into your options?”

“Of course.” Jensen shot Tom one more heated glower and then directed his attention to Steve. “We were too drunk and too shocked stupid that night to think of anythin' much, but we put our heads to together the next day and pretty much every day after that lookin' for a way out. Dawson wasn't stupid, he kept his eye on us. Made sure turned up a lot where we were, where you were, and just...cruised. Didn't say anythin', didn't really have too, just made sure we knew he was there.” He dipped his head, hands picking restlessly at the material of his jeans. “The longer we took to try and work out what to do, the worse it got. Dawson's dirty, got his finger in a lot of pies.”

Chad rolled his eyes and snapped irritably, “Yeah, no kidding.” Looking offended and extremely put out, he continued, “The man's a walking cliché. I'm actually offended I'm going to have to bust him. This is so degrading.” He turned to Jared in appeal. “Remember the days when we caught real criminals? With style? And edge? And that weren't a living, breathing cartoon?” He rubbed a weary hand over his eyes, muttering sorrowfully, “I'm never going to be hold my head up at HQ ever again. I'm always going to be known as the one that busted Yosemite Sam.” He glared at Jensen and Chris and then over at Mike still sucking down the whiskey at the bar. “You guys are so putting out for this.” He screwed his face up in disgust when Mike choked on his liquor and spat it out over the floor and jerked his thumb at Jared, Tom and Steve. “Dude, not with me! Them!”

Eying Chad disbelievingly, Chris shook his head and said, “Anyway, he made us do some stuff for him. Pickin' stuff up, droppin' stuff off. Not much and not often, but enough that we were dragged into his messes right along with him and we could've been seen as accessories if he'd have been caught. Stuff that would've made it look like nothin' but sour grapes on our parts if we turned him in for coverin' up with Clive and would've made sure that no one believed us anyway.” He avoided Steve's eyes and stared down at the floor, saying quietly, “That's when we realised that we were screwed and if we stayed around you guys then sooner or later you'd be screwed too.”

Tom looked over to Mike, now leaning against the bar and watching the group with his bottle of whiskey dangling from one hand. “So you came up with a plan.” It wasn't a question. “You decided to get rid of us.”

Unrepentant, Mike stared back at him. “That's about the size of it.” He held Tom's angry glare for another few seconds before looking away and continuing, “You and Jared had graduated by then, had your sights set on college and I was due to go back for my second year. Steve had his mom back home and she was doin' better and he was startin' to talk about him and Chris takin' off again and....” He shrugged. “Well, there weren't no way that Dawson was gonna let us out of his sight like that. He started makin' noises about what we were to each other, droppin' little hints about how easy it'd be to give out a couple of tickets here and there, make it so you might be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and how it'd be a real shame if anythin' happened to stop Jared getting into the academy after he got his college credits or Tom getting booted outta school before he'd even set foot on campus and....” Mike tilted the bottle to his mouth again and sucked hard. “Look, we did what we thought was best, okay? We didn't exactly have a lot of options.”

Looking wildly unimpressed, Tom repeated flatly, “So you got rid of us.”

“Yeah.” With a calm he didn't feel, Chris leaned back in his chair and tilted a challenging eyebrow. “We did what we had to do.”

Jared stared piercingly at Jensen, his heart thumping wildly in his chest, his whole body suddenly swamped with a surge of hope that the truth he had believed for the past ten years was about to be emphatically debunked. “You lied to us. About everything?” He sat forward in his chair, eyes and voice urgent. “Jensen. Did you lie about everything?”

Jensen flinched and then looked up reluctantly, shame prevalent in his expression. “Yeah.” He flicked an unhappy look at their companions and then nodded at Jared. “Yeah. I never cheated on you. I lied.”

Silence fell for a moment before Jared surged to his feet once more. “You son of a bitch, I'm goin' to kill you!” and lunged across the table with hands outstretched and a murderous intent in his heart.

~*~*~*~

It took some time to restore order – mainly because Tom and Steve were decidedly reluctant to stop Jared trying to kill Jensen when they were fighting the urge to do the same to Chris and Mike, Chad kept swinging between laughing and yelling frantically that he was only kidding about punching out their issues and he really thought fucking them out was the way to go, Mac and Megan kept trying to jump between their brothers and getting confused as to which side they were on as they were both being complete asses and Chris and Mike were trying to help Jensen but Mike was decidedly unsteady after all the whiskey and kept falling over and clutching at Chris for balance.

Finally, when Jared had been forced back into his seat and Mike had been balanced precariously on his, they regrouped around the table and a semblance of calm descended. Chad was the first to speak. “Okay, well first things first, we need a statement of what happened tonight and what you guys saw.” He looked at Mac and Megan. “You recognise the car that hit you?”

Mac, dragging her eyes from Jensen, shook her head. “No. Had their high beams on. Best I can give you is that it was some kind of truck. All happened pretty fast.” Her face creased in a dark scowl again. “And then they threw fire at us.”

Megan, decidedly less used to being around boys and dealing with the occasional flare up of emotions that resulted in fisticuffs, shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to ignore the waves of dark anger pouring off Jared and the others. “I bumped my head.” She jerked back when Jared turned to her quickly and reached for to take a look for himself. “Not hard, but I kinda had my eyes shut.”

Jared floundered for a moment and then reached out more slowly to tilt her chin and move her head from side to side, looking intently into her eyes. “You feel okay? Not dizzy or sick or anythin'?”

“No.” Megan squirmed at his scrutiny and tried to twist her head away. “I'm fine. Just pissed.” She rolled her eyes when Jared looked disapproving at her choice of language and said irritably, “I'm eighteen, I can cuss if I want!” She finally managed to jerk her chin out of his grasp and folded her arms over his chest, straightening her shoulders defiantly. “Mac does it all the time!”

“And if Mac jumped off a cliff would you follow?” The response – instinctive and superior – fell from his lips before Jared realised that it was even forming in his brain and then he was blinking in horror at Megan and flushing almost purple under the incredulous looks from the rest of the room.

“Dude.” Spluttering laughter, Chad collapsed against his chair back. “You did not just say that.”

Megan gaped. “Did you just quote mom to me?” Her voice shook with suppressed giggles at Jared's mortified expression. “Oh my God, you did! You are so old.”

“Shut up.” Jared swore he could actually feel the tips of his ears burning. “Just....shut up.” He narrowed his eyes at Jensen, Mike and Chris who were all smirking at him and Tom and Steve who also looked kind of mortified that, by default, they had to be on his side and he was losing them cool points by the second.

“Okay,” Shooting Jared one more incredulous look, Chad shook his head. “Okay, lets call this a night.” He looked at the girls. “I don't think its a good idea you go home tonight.” He looked appraisingly at Jensen and Mike. “In fact I don't think its a good idea any of you be on your own tonight. After what you've told us we need to start thinking up a different game plan and we're still no closer to finding out just what the hell is going on around here. First thing in the morning me and Jared are going to pull the good sheriff in for questioning because there's no way that little fucker doesn't know more than he's letting on.”

Jensen shook his head. “No. I'm going ho....”

“We can do this easy or we can do this with handcuffs and a formal protective custody order, but we're doing this, Ackles.” Chad talked straight over his protests. “Who's staying where?” He looked at the girls. “You need to call home and tell your folks you're not back tonight?”

Mac shook her head. “Nope. I'll text my mom and tell her we're stayin' with the guys. Megan was crashin' at my house tonight anyway, so,” she shrugged. “It'll be cool.” Sharp green eyes darted around and she assessed lightening fast who might need her cockblocking services more. As Tom, Jared and Chad were all staying together and would probably insist on Mike and Jensen staying with them and she knew that Chris wouldn't leave the bar unattended even under threat of bodily harm and fiery death she figured that he was the most vulnerable to sneaky sexual advances at the moment. “We'll stay here tonight.” She guessed that Chad would step in to call a halt between Jared and Jensen if things started to spiral out of control between them and Mike looked like he could take care of himself if only because he would probably vomit all over Tom if the dark haired man tried anything.

Chris' eyebrows shot up. “The hell you will!”

Steve supported him in that. Although for entirely different reasons and not out of concern that they could possibly be still vulnerable to attacks in the middle of nowhere from unknown arsonists and/or dirty lawmen. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

Eying him knowingly, Mac snorted. “I bet.” She patted Jensen on the shoulder when he tried to protest and stood up. “We'll be fine. Chris'll take good care of us.” She smiled prettily at Steve when he glowered at her and added syrupy sweet, “I'm sure they both will.”

Chad grinned. “Then that's settled.” He continued to ignore the loud protests from at least half his audience and stood himself, stretching luxuriously. “Let's hit the hay and pick this up tomorrow. Got a feeling its going to be a long day.”

FIC: Cherish (7/11) NC17 J2, Steve/Chris, Tom/Mike, RPS, SPN, AU

2009-08-25T15:30:14Z

Type your cut contents here.

When Jensen pulled up outside the Sheriff's office he was greeted with the sight of Mike, Chris and Jared all united in yelling at his sister and Jared's sister, Mac and Megan wearing identical mulish and unrepentant expressions and both his own mother and Jared's standing to one side watching the spectacle with grim expressions and Chad trying to make awkward small talk. Jensen closed his eyes, counted to ten and then opened them again to find that, yes, this was still his life unfortunately. He sighed, got out of his truck and made his way over to the happy band. “Mac, what the hell have you done now?”

Mac, flushed and just a little bit closer to truly tearful than she had been since her fifteenth birthday, whipped her head round and then flung herself unhesitatingly into Jensen's waiting arms. “Why does everyone keep askin' me that?”

Jensen rolled his eyes, smiled ruefully at his mother and muttered, “Bitter experience?” He oofed quietly when Mac socked him in the ribs and squeezed her tightly. “You okay?”

“This was not my fault.” Mac hissed the words into his neck even as she squirmed further into the hug. “Well, okay, it was a bit, but I didn't mean too!”

“Words that will go on your gravestone, kid.” Resigned, Jensen squeezed her one last time and then pushed her back and looked at his mom. “Where's dad?”

“On his way home from a job.” Donna looked at her two youngest children for a moment and then smiled fondly, if a little weakly. “Tryin' not to have a heart attack.” She gestured towards Mike and Chris. “He told me to call Mike and he was already at Chris' so they came straight down.”

“Thanks guys.” Jensen nodded in thanks to his two friends and then tugged Mac with him when he went to his mother's side and wrapped an arm around her. “It's probably not too late to consider adoption. You might find some crazy who'd take us, momma.”

Donna choked a laugh and leaned into her son, closing her eyes briefly. “Honey, you and your sister take a very special kind of crazy.” She sighed. “Thankfully me and your daddy have it in spades so I think we'll keep you around.” She opened her eyes and smiled ruefully at Chris and Mike, adding, “All of you. You come in pretty handy.”

Mike grinned. “I do.” He jerked a thumb at Chris. “He's just eye candy.”

Jensen grinned and then looked down at Mac, still pressed against his side and asked only half joking, “Okay, how bad is it? We talkin' jail time here?”

“Pfft,” Mike waved a dismissive hand. “Don't be stupid, they got the best lawyer in the county workin' for them don't they?” He glared at Mac pointedly. “Whose job would be made a lot easier if we could get the full story out of them.”

Indignant, and with a nervous look at Megan, Mac said, “We told you the whole story!”

Looking exasperated, Chris snapped, “Mac, stars of the high school football scene do not decide to haul off and slap girls around in crowded car parks in front of the entire goddamned school for no damn reason.” He hooked his thumbs in his belt and glared hard at Mac's guilty face. “Better you tell us what exactly happened so we can get this cleared up and forgotten because we got more than enough on our plates at the moment without havin' to worry about you getting' kicked out of school and not graduatin' when you should.”

Mac looked between Jensen, her mother and then Megan and bit her lip unhappily. “I....”

“Jared's gay!” Megan looked just as surprised as everyone else at her outburst and barely resisted the urge to clamp a hand over her mouth when she suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention. She looked at her mother. “Sorry, momma, but he is. He's gay!”

Chad blinked and eased over to Jared's shocked rigid form. “Uh, this might not be the time, dude, but she's not on drugs or anything, is she? You've had her tested, right?”

Sherri stared at her daughter. “What?” She looked at her son and then back at Megan. “Honey,

what ?”

“Gay.” Megan blinked miserably. “Jared. He's gay.” She dropped her eyes, unable to meet her mother's wide-eyed expression. “He likes guys. He's gay.”

Mac, despite the sudden tense atmosphere, couldn't help her lips twitching in a wry smile. “Meg, you can stop sayin' it now, I think they get it.” She shrugged out from under Jensen's frozen arm and joined her newly discovered friend, shoulder to shoulder and face white with nerves. “They hear you.”

“I know that.” Bewildered, Sherri looked at her daughter, at Jared and then at the group as a whole. “Why would you think I didn't know that?”

Megan's jaw dropped. “You knew?” Her head jerked up and she looked at Sherri with huge wounded eyes. “And you didn't tell me?”

“Sweetie,” Sherri reached out to touch Megan's shoulder and stopped when her daughter jerked away from the touch. “It never occurred to us that you didn't. It's just Jared. We just assumed....I mean, it's just so....” She shrugged helplessly when Megan drew further away from her and Mac wrapped an arm around her shoulders and glared daggers on her behalf. “Honey, I'm sorry. We thought you knew.”

Donna frowned. “What does that have to do with why you girls ended up here?” Her eyes narrowed dangerously when Mac looked increasingly guilty and Megan's eyes spilled over with tears. “MacKenzie Ackles....”

“He said....he said that his daddy was gonna get Chris and Jensen and Mike and he'd make them sorry and I just....” Gulping for air, Megan began to sob in earnest, tears streaming down her face. “And then I thought that...that....”

Mac looked utterly terrified as she tugged Megan closer and whispered to her baffled audience, “He called y'all faggots and she freaked and whacked him with her bag. Thought he was gonna get Jared too.” She looked beseechingly at Jensen's suddenly white face. “I'm sorry. I got mad and I said some stuff and now....” She looked suspiciously close to tears herself. “God, I'm so sorry, guys. Everyone knows and y'all might get hurt because of my big mouth.”

Jared stared at his sobbing sister. “Wait, you hit him for me?” Completely at a loss, he twitched his hands as though to reach for her and then stopped himself. “You hit him because I'm gay?”

“Oh my God.” Mike rolled his eyes, slapped his briefcase into Chris' stomach making him woof a pained expulsion of air and strode across to wrap his arms around the two girls. “Honey, nothin' is gonna happen to us. I promise, okay? Nothin'.” He glared at Jared when the other man stayed frozen indecisively in place and said pointedly, “A little help here, please?”

Jensen grunted in annoyance when Jared continued to stare uncertainly at his sister and yanked Mac out of Mike's embrace and under his own arm – just before he raised his other hand and slapped her round the head. “I know we didn't raise you to be this dumb.”

“Ow.” Mac slammed an indignant elbow into his ribs and tore her eyes away from where Mike was hugging Megan and muttering in her ear, not all together sure how she felt about seeing the other girl where only she'd been before, and glared up at her brother. “What's that meant to mean?”

“Mac,” Jensen sighed and shot an apologetic look at his mother even as he hugged his sister hard with the arm wrapped around her shoulders. “It's not exactly a secret about us, okay? There's a whole hell of a lot that people round here don't like us for reasons other than we like to raise a little hell sometimes.”

Mac stared at Jensen uncertainly and then looked at Chris and Mike who were watching her with unreadable eyes. “I don't....what does that even mean?”

Chris grimaced when Jensen looked at him helplessly and moved to take Mac's hand in his, giving her a small grin and pressing her palm over his heart. “Darlin', we love you, but there are some things you just didn't need to know, okay? People can be real....ugly.”

Her skin suddenly bleeding of all colour and warmth, Mac swallowed the tight ball of anxiety in her throat and said in a small voice, “Has someone done something to you? Before I mean? Because you....” She shot a look at her mother and then looked back at Chris brokenly. “Have they been mean to you because you don't like girls?”

“Oh sugar,” Chris grinned at her fondly, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind one ear and sighed, “That's just one of many reasons people are mean to me. The point is that you girls, whatever went down, haven't done anything to get us hurt, okay? We're not going to get hurt. We can take care of ourselves – and whoever else – just fine.”

Mike shook Megan lightly and pushed her back a step, fixing her with a firm look. “You hear him?” He shook his head when she stared at him, hiccuping sobs and nose running. “Honey, the first thing I'm gonna do is teach you to cry pretty. That's just fugly.” He grinned when Megan gave a choked laugh and ruffled her hair. “Nothin's gonna happen.” He tilted his head and added honestly, “Well, nothin's gonna happen to us anyway.”

“Wait,” Chad stared at Jared with a ludicrously over-exaggerated dumbfounded expression. “You're gay?” He pointed an accusing finger at his friend and said, “I knew there was something off about you!” He grinned, winked at Mac and Megan and gestured to his ever present head gear. “Texas damned Ranger. Can't put nothing by us.”

~*~*~*~

“Okay, so maybe you can put some stuff by us.” Chad pushed the files he had been studying away from him across the desk and leaned back in his chair with an exhausted sigh. “This makes no fucking sense, man!”

“I know.” Jared dropped his head into his hands with a heartfelt groan. “How could she not know I was gay? I mean,” He gestured aimlessly with one hand around the small room they had appropriated at the sheriff's offices – little better than a broom closet – and groaned again. “This is Cherish. Everyone knows everything about everyone here. Everything! That's just....I can't believe she didn't know.”

Chad tipped his head forward from where he had been gloomily eyeing the ceiling and instead gloomily eyed his friend. “Jared, this may come as a shock so brace yourself, we don't actually get paid to resolve your pathetic love life and family crisis, okay? I'm not actually here at,” He checked the watch on his wrist and then moaned pathetically, “At fucking ten o' clock at night because I enjoy my job that much. Can we please try and focus here? Just a little? Please?”

“She's my sister.” Ignoring Chad completely, Jared scrubbed a rough hand over his face and muttered disbelievingly, “How could my own sister not know that about me? Not know me?”

Chad whimpered. “Oh come on, give me a break. Crime solving? Catching of the bad guys? Making it back to civilisation some time before I die of the heartbreak and the country and the plaid? Jared, work with me here, who do we have to shoot to get to the bottom of this?”

“Its not like I've ever brought a girl home with me, even.” Jared continued to mumble in the direction of the table. “I don't think I've ever even looked at a girl when I've been with her.”

Chad gave up and got brutal. “Which according to Megan is about a grand total of twenty hours in the last ten years.” He held up his hands when Jared jerked his head up and glared darkly at him, saying, “Hey, just repeating what she said, dude. You tell me if she's got it wrong.”

Jared continued to glare darkly for a moment before dropping his eyes back to the table and flushing red with shame. “No, she's not wrong.” He rolled his head down, one hand coming up to rub uncomfortably at the back of his neck. “Its just....I come back to see the family, y'know? I do.” Chad made an agreeable noise and surreptitiously checked his watch again – he had a feeling their elusive arsonist could sleep safe in his bed tonight because it looked like the crack crime fighting team that was going to track his ass down was taking some time out to share their fucking feelings. Jared continued, “But....its not like I come back to see her specifically. I mean, there's momma and my dad and Jeff when he's back visitin' too and.....”

Chad twirled an impatient hand in the air, hoping to encourage the excruciating caring and sharing session along. “Yeah, got it, and you gotta make the time to stalk Pretty Boy and creep around to spy on him and stuff.” He rolled his eyes when Jared looked up in indignant denial. “Oh please, do not even bother. I know you, man!”

Jared flushed again and admitted through gritted teeth, “It wasn't stalkin', I just wanted to see him.” His teeth gritted harder when Chad smirked at him and he spat, “He wouldn't talk to me, okay? Its taken him getting accused of fuckin' attempted murder and arson to even talk to me this time around and I still can't get near him unless I flash my badge and tell him its official business.”

“Yeah,” Both amused and a little irritated himself on Jared's behalf, Chad shook his head. “He's a stubborn son of a bitch I'll give you that.”

“And she's so mad.” Bewildered, Jared spread his hands in appeal. “I mean, what does she want me to do? I'll say sorry and, I don't know, maybe buy her something.” He brightened slightly, looking at Chad with something like hope. “Hey, graduation's in just a few weeks. I could get her somethin' nice for that. That'd work, right?”

“No, Jared,” Firmly Chad shook his head. “That will not work. In fact it will quite possibly lead to your death.” He sighed. “Jared, buddy, she doesn't want stuff, she wants you.” He shook his head again and held up his hand. “Actually, scratch that, what she wants is Jensen.” He grinned at Jared's indignant, and slightly worried, look. “Not like that, you douche. I mean she wants him the way Mac has him. All big brother-y and interested and involved and not giving her cash and fobbing her off with a pat on the head when she does get to see him.”

Jared glowered darkly and said defensively, “Oh for God's sake, Megan's a kid. Okay, I may not be all touchy feely and spending every damn minute of every damn day with her, but she's my kid sister not my damned buddy! There's ten years between us!”

“Just like there is between Jensen and Mac. Hell, even more between her and Mike and Chris and they aren't even related, but you see them letting that matter to them?” Chad held up his hands when Jared opened his mouth to retort and said hastily, “Hey, I'm not saying anyone's all the way in the right or all the way in the wrong here, okay? I'm just saying that maybe its not too late to change things if you wanted to. You can still make it be different.”

Jared stared gloomily at the tabletop. “I'm not so sure. She sure didn't seem that eager to be my friend earlier.”

“Yes,” Chad huffed with exasperation. “That's why she assaulted some kid and got herself arrested, because she doesn't care.” He reached out and whapped Jared around the side of his head. “Wise up and grow up, pal. All you gotta do is make the first move and you'll have yourself a life full of baby sister if you want it.” He paused, thought of Mac and shuddered. “Although why you'd want that is beyond me.”

His brow furrowing, Jared said uncertainly, “You think?” He thought of Megan's blotchy, resentful face when his mother had finally persuaded her away from Mac and into the family car earlier and frowned harder. “It might be too late.”

Chad – looking and sounding impressively wise beyond the pretty and his years – cracked a fond grin and said wryly, “Jared, buddy, pretty much our whole time in Cherish has been spent making the point to the locals that nothing is ever over or too late. What the hell makes you think this is any different?”

And grinned wider when Jared blinked and slowly grinned back at him.

~*~*~*~

Jared was finding it a lot harder to grin the following Friday when he arrived at Kane's to be greeted by none other than his sweet baby sister – although he did allow himself to be slightly mollified by the fact she was now wearing a matching 'Kane's' t-shirt to Mac's. “Meggy?” His eyes popping in his head, Jared looked up and down her lean body in tight jeans, her t-shirt and the flat black boots she wore. “What the hell?”

Chad elbowed him in the gut. “Dude, I told you that you shoulda swung by your mom's before the weekend! Now look what's happened.” He stabbed and authoritative finger at Megan. “No spitting or cussing!” He groaned when he caught a glimpse of a familiar blonde head bearing down on them over Megan's shoulder. “Oh God, here comes the other one. Everyone's armed, right?”

Megan glanced back, grinned when she saw Mac at her back and then turned an unfavorable look on her brother. “It's Megan and feel free to leave if you don't like the service. There are other places to get a drink.”

Steve turned his head from where he had just caught a very annoyed looking Chris' eye and tilted his head when he grinned slyly at the two girls. “Wow, you two got the friendly Texan welcome sewn the hell up, huh?”

“Fuck off, Carlson.” Mac had also caught the expression on Chris' face and felt reasonably sure that she could now get away with a more direct approach to overt sarcasm. “Either sit your ass down and order or get out. We're busy workin'.”

“Yeah, and that's the part I got some issue with.” Jared folded his arms over his impressive chest and glowered down at his sister, his drawl deepening and thickening in response to his annoyance at finding his baby sister apparently working in a bar. “Momma and daddy know you're here?”

Megan folded her arms over her own impressive – but for entirely different reasons – chest and glowered right back. “I'm eighteen. I go where I like.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sniffed disparagingly when Jared gritted his teeth and admitted loftily, “But if you mean do they know I have a job, then yes they do. They happen to think its a great idea.”

Tom, standing to the rear of the group and having just caught sight of Mike standing at the bar and chatting obliviously away to an obviously appreciative young woman, glanced at Megan and Mac, quirked an eyebrow and muttered dryly, “Yeah, clearly it's done wonders for you already.” His eyes drifted back to Mike. “I'll take a beer.” His eyes narrowed when Mike leaned forward and whispered something in the woman's ear that had her giggling and leaning into him, slender hand curling around Mike's bicep. “With a whiskey chaser.”

Megan followed his gaze, sniffed sharply in disapproval and said tartly, “You'll be getting soda and liking it.” She stared defiantly at Tom when his eyes snapped to hers and hissed with Mac looking on in approval, “They've had a bitch of a week and they don't need you getting liquored up and causing trouble for them.” She jabbed a sharp finger in Jared's chest and spat, “That means you too. Now go sit your ass down. There's a free table up by the stage.”

Mac spluttered laughter when she surveyed the expressions of disbelief and annoyance facing her and mimed mopping away tears of pride. “My little girl, all grown up.” She hip checked her friend out of the way and sang cheerily, “I'll seat 'em, you go get the drinks.”

“Gotcha.” Megan walked off with more swing to her sway than Jared thought was strictly necessary. “I'll check in with Mike and Jensen too.”

Mac, grinning like a fiend at the constipated looks on the four men's faces, led the way to the empty table. “Have a seat.” She extended a hand with a flourish, watching Megan out of the corner of her eye when the girl fetched up next to Mike and whispered in his ear and then headed down the bar to where Jensen was hunched over a beer. “She'll be right back with your drinks.”

Jared was also watching his sister and scowled when Jensen tilted his head to listen to her mutter in his ear and then glanced back and met his eyes with a bland stare before flashing a warm smile at Megan and ruffling a casual hand through her hair. He murmured something back causing her to laugh and then watched when she moved around the bar to grab a small tray and begin to load it up with four bottles and long glasses. “My sister is workin' in a bar.”

Steve watched with narrowed eyes when Chris made his way to Megan's side, said something to her and then gestured for Mac, now busy collecting empties from a recently vacated table nearby, to come over. Two female heads touched as they leant forward to listen to what Chris had to say and then looked back at Jared and his table before reluctantly nodding. “What's he doin'?”

Chad slouched back in his chair and eyed the group when Mike joined them and the quiet conversation. “Planning something evil. You hid the car this time, right?”

Tom ground his teeth at the mention of their last inglorious exit from the bar and promised Jared grimly, “Baby sister or not, those girls mess with my car and I'm givin' their asses a beatin'.”

Jared tracked Mac and Megan slouching reluctantly into the kitchen and then watched Chris pick up their drinks tray and make his way towards them, followed by Mike and Jensen. He quirked an eyebrow. “Personal service tonight.”

The four men sat back and watched as the other three approached, Jensen and Mike snagging three extra chairs on their way, and then looked at the tray with its four bottles of soda placed down on the tabletop. Chris smirked. “Compliments of Megan.” He didn't look at Steve when he took a seat and instead sucked smugly on the neck of his own beer. “On the house.”

Jared watched Jensen take a seat and with grim dignity grabbed a soda, refusing to give his old friends the satisfaction of seeing that he was balancing on the edge of a murderous rage. “Megan seems comfortable here.”

Mike glanced at Jensen and Chris and then looked at Jared, his face apologetic instead of mocking and superior much to Jared's surprise. “Look, we get that you're probably not goin' to be too happy to have her hangin' around here,” The words 'or us' hung unspoken in the air between them. “But....”

Jensen leaned forward, expression sober and earnest when he looked Jared in the eye. “My mom, and yours, thought it was best. Mac's here unpaid for the next two weeks – punishment detail for the business at the school – and Sherri figured it was only right that Megan got treated the same. We figure it's better that we keep a close eye on them at the moment and it makes it a lot easier if they're together. Mac's lost her car for school too, one of us are gonna be takin' them in the mornin's and pickin' them up at night and they're either gonna be at home studyin' or with one of us workin' till they graduate. Just seemed....sensible.”

Jared exchanged a concerned look with Chad and said blankly, “What the hell? You think they're in some kind of danger?”

“Nah, not really.” Chris glanced back over his shoulder at the kitchen as though to reassure himself that the girls had actually stayed put and weren't sneaking up behind them and then looked at Jared. “We kinda had a talk with Mac after the business at school went down, found out a few things that we weren't aware of and....” He shrugged and took a swallow of his beer. “And since Megan went all guardian gay angel on that little tool Brady's butt she's been kinda cut out of her social circle. It's not gonna do the kids at school any harm to show that they aren't alone, that we got their backs.”

Chad narrowed his eyes. “There been trouble?”

“A couple of remarks.” Jensen nodded, frowning angrily. “Some about our preferences, but some about the fires and stuff. We didn't know that Mac had been dealin' with a fair amount of shit at school over it, she didn't say.” He huffed an exasperated laugh. “Handled it by herself, as fuckin' usual.”

Tom quirked an eyebrow. “And now Megan's thrown in her lot with Mac she's handling it too.”

“Yeah.” Jensen shrugged, mumbling, “Barely speak for six fuckin' years and two minutes of beatin' the tar out of a kid at school and suddenly they're closer than sisters.” He glanced up at Jared, mouth twitching unhappily. “Look, I know this don't seem like it, but things seemed to have worked out pretty good. They're getting along great and Megan's fittin' in around here. We'll look out for her, okay? You don't have to worry. Just don't....don't make your mom and dad take her away, okay? She seems to really like bein' here and her and Mac....” He trailed off and then shrugged again, unhappily, “Turns out they both really need a friend.”

Steve looked from one man to the other, annoyance and amusement battling for prominence on his face. “That's why you came over tonight, isn't it? Not for anythin' else. For Mac and Megan.”

Three faces looked shifty and a little embarrassed. Chris glared hard at Steve, looking away when the blonde stared back at him in challenge and then turned nearly purple when his gaze fell on the bar where Steve had so fiercely kissed him days before. He hurriedly tore his eyes away and settled for glowering at the tabletop, jaw clenching furiously under the hair that swung forwards to hide his face.

Tom looked coolly at Mike who tried to meet his eyes with a casual, unrepentant air and said slowly, “You know what? Maybe we should take a leaf outta their books.” He smiled, easy and friendly when three sets of eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. “Bury the hatchet. Forget about everything else, just for tonight.” He smiled guilelessly at Mike. “Y'all have to set an example, right? Impressionable minds and all that stuff.”

Mike, boggle eyed at the thought of anyone thinking he was a good example to anyone else, spluttered hastily, “Oh hell, no. We just wanted to give Jared the heads up and....”

“And I really appreciate it, guys.” Jared nodded at them with all the friendliness of an especially pissed off and hungry lion. “Really. It'll be good to be able to tell my mom and dad that we've buried our differences too. Really set their minds to rest about this whole thing. Knowing that I agree Megan's in good hands.” He paused. “Could be a tough sell without it.”

Jensen scowled. “We already sold it. They're okay with it.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms defensively over his chest. “My parents talked to them. Vouched for us.”

“But that's not the same as family now is it?” Jared smiled, catching Tom and Steve wearing the same triumphant and hungry expressions as his own out of the corner of his eye. “As blood?” He raised his soda in a mocking toast. “So. Truce?”

~*~*~*~

It's actually okay once they got past the first, tortuous half hour. Certainly the looks on Mac and Megan's faces when they came out from their enforced break in the kitchen and saw all the men sitting together and chatting stiffly made it worthwhile. Thanks to Chris spending his Friday night sitting on his ass and setting a good example to his pseudo baby sister, they were short handed behind the bar and Mac ended up there for the rest of the night, relying on Megan for intel as the other girl became the server for their brothers' table and bussed drinks to the rest of the floor.

“They're discussing grades.” Looking appalled and incredulous all at once, Megan yelled over the music and noise at the bar to Mac while she filled the newest drinks order. “Our grades. Like they actually know what they are.”

Mac looked suitably horrified. “They're what?”

“I know!” Megan grabbed the drinks tray, wild eyed and resentful. “I think Mike made copies of our academic records!”

“Oh my GOD.” Agonised, Megan howled on her next trip to the bar, “They're setting up a schedule to get us to school and back! And they're including Jared and Tom and Mike!” She snatched the drinks tray up again, eyeing Mac balefully, “It is not as much fun as you made it sound having interested and involved older brothers. It sucks.”

Mac stared in betrayal across the room where Jensen and the others seemed to be huddled over a bar napkin and intensely discussing whatever they were writing down and were oblivious to their younger sisters darkening moods, saying weakly, “Preach it, sister.”

“This is so, so wrong.” Megan slammed her tray down on the bar a little later, fists clenching in fury. “We're the only safe topic they have between them. They're finding us dates for the prom.” She shuddered. “I think they're drawing straws to see which one of us has to go with Chad.”

Mac's knees threatened to give out. “They wouldn't.” She paled. “I don't even own a dress!”

Megan eyed her grimly. “They have that covered.” She took the newly refilled drinks tray, hissing, “Tom's volunteered to take us shopping and advise us.” She spun on her heel and marched off, yelling bitterly, “Apparently he was married and understands how women think.”

Mac shouted at her departing back, “That had better be a joke, Padalecki!” and reminded herself firmly that she wasn't allowed to spike anyone's drink with rat poison, no matter what the provocation. Christ, a dress.

Beaten and defeated, Megan returned half an hour later and whimpered, “Kill me. They're talking colleges.”

Mac felt faint. “What? Distract them, distract them now!”

Propping her elbows on the bar and dropping her flushed face into her waiting hands, Megan wailed, “I hate you so much! My life was so much better when we didn't talk!”

Mac looked squint eyed across the bar, alarmed when Jared caught her eye and beamed benevolently at her. “Oh my God, this is a disaster. Why is this happening?”

“Because God hates us.” Megan straightened, pitifully marshaling her strength. “We are evil, evil people and deserve to be punished.”

Mac looked startled. “Did you put frog spawn in the church font too?”

~*~*~*

The bar was silent, finally empty, and the lights sparse and turned down low around the room, casting everything into shadow. Megan and Mac had stalked out half an hour before, bristling with fury and resentment, and headed for Mac's place to grab some sleep before they met up with Jensen the next morning at the garage for another day's unpaid work and, allegedly, more punishment.

Although the bitter parting shots at the suddenly increased circle of men in their respective lives seemed to be trying to convey they both thought that evening had been punishment enough. For life.

Once the regular customers – and hate-filled, sulky staff - had left the seven men had migrated to the bar and ranged themselves along it while Chris dug out clean shot glasses and poured them all one for the road. Jensen, Chris and Mike had become noticeably more tense when they had been left with their old friends and Chad at the end of the night, evidently expecting some kind of resurgence of interrogation and/or possible sexual advances – Chris in particular made a point of keeping the wide bar between him and Steve – but they had looked warily relieved when the visitors to Cherish had promised to leave after a nightcap and were now engaged in laughing along whilst Chad regaled them with details of a bust he and Jared had been on in the early days of their probationary period with the police and Jared had single handedly taken out four gun wielding drug dealers – by tripping over a low stair railing and falling a flight and a half of steps onto their heads.

“Swear to God, I'm there, pinned against the wall and about to have the shit shot out of me and then this huge screaming mass slams down out of nowhere and there's just this little pile of squashed perp and Jared yelling on top 'Freeze, y'all are under arrest!'.” Chad grinned around at his appreciative audience, even though Tom and Steve had heard the story countless times before, and threw up his hands in despair. “And I wouldn't mind but he gets a fucking commendation out of it and all he did was fucking trip over his own feet!”

Jared rolled his eyes and looked offended. “Uh, no, I was bein' heroic and self-sacrificin'. Puttin' myself in the face of danger to save my brother in blue. I was totally awesome.”

Chad snorted. “Right.” He looked at Jensen. “He cried like a bitch all the way to the hospital because he'd twisted his ankle and they wouldn't give him any pain relief until he got checked over by a doctor. Really, it was kind of embarrassing.”

Laughing, his eyes shining and happy, Jensen looked at Jared's scowling face and felt his heart go thump in his chest when their eyes met and held, Jared's own eyes softening from mostly faked annoyance at Chad to fondness and heat and longing when he looked at Jensen. Jensen licked at his lower lip, his heart going thump again when Jared hungrily tracked the motion with his eyes – and nearly jumped out of his skin when the bar door crashed open and Mac and Megan tumbled through it, yelling at the tops of their lungs and considerably wetter and more disheveled than when they had left work earlier.

“Jensen !” Looking pale and shocked, Mac headed for her brother like a guided missile. “Jensen, someone just ran us off the road and threw a lit bottle at us! They fuckin' rammed us off the road!”

“Jesus,” Jensen was off his stool in a heartbeat, grabbing for his sister and looking her over and turning her this way and that as he looked for obvious signs of trauma. “Mac, what? Are you hurt? Are you okay? What happened?”

“Megan.” Jared snatched for his sister, yanking her to a stop when she looked like she was going to head straight by him and follow Mac, and practically lifted her off the ground in his urgency to make sure she was okay. “Jesus fucking Christ, are you hurt? Are you okay?”

Soaking wet from her knees down and with a reddened mark at her right temple where she had smacked into the car door when the car had been shoved off the road, Megan clutched at his wrists and blinked up at Jared. “Jared, they hit the car. They just....we weren't doing anything I swear, they just....they hit us and we were just driving.”

Swearing long and loud, Jared hauled her into his arms and crushed her to his chest, eyes slamming shut and skin paling at the hitch in his sister's voice. “S'okay, you're alright now. I'll take care of it. You're okay now.” He squeezed harder when Megan flung her arms around his waist and burrowed closer, muttered cursing and explanations being spluttered into his chest. “I got you.”

“Mac, for Christ's sake, Mac,” Mike and Chris converged on the Ackles siblings and grabbed for the blonde girl. “Are you hurt? Did you get hurt?”

“No I didn't get hurt!” Mac's voice, high and thin, shook just like her hands and body when she got grabbed by Mike and hauled in for a hard hug. “Mike, I wasn't even speedin'. They came out of nowhere, rammed up my ass and then fuckin' just slammed into us and knocked us into a ditch! Bastards.”

“Son of a bitch.” Shaking himself, Mike reluctantly turned her loose and into Chris' arms. He swiped a hand over his white face. “Son of a fuckin' bitch.”

Tom crossed hastily over when Mike swayed and yanked him onto a stool. “Head between your knees.”

“This is not the time, Welling.” Mike tried to shake him off, tried for some of his usual kick ass attitude, but it fell well short when all he could see was visions of Mac and Megan, frightened and all alone, being forced off the dark road between the bar and town, screaming and hurt and....”Fuckin' hell.”

Jensen retrieved his sister and clutched her close. “Jesus, you sure you're not hurt? You're okay?” He pushed her back, stared intently into her wild green eyes and then yanked her close again. “Christ, Mac, I....” He buried his face in her long hair, breathing in her scent and trying to reassure himself that he had her and she was safe. “Christ, you could have died. You really not hurt?”

“No!” Mac hugged back as hard as she could and then tried to wriggle free. “I'm fuckin' pissed as all hell, but I'm not hurt.” Her breath caught in her throat when she though back to the moment when she'd felt the car leave the road and careen down a slight incline and into the ditch they'd ended up in, terrified that she wouldn't be able to get them out of the car and to safety, but then she squared her shoulders and wriggled harder against Jensen's constricting hold and spat, “Someone broke my fuckin' car!”

“Someone nearly broke you.” Chad cut across the raised voices, his face thunderous and high spots of angry colour on his high cheekbones. “Someone went after a cop's family.”

“Oh fuck that. My car.” Incensed, Mac batted impatiently at the anxious hands of her brother and Chris and Mike and advanced on Chad with fury in her eye and blood lust in her heart. “That son of a bitch broke my car.”

Megan spluttered as she fought off Jared's grabby hands and howled, “And my boots.” Shoving her tangled hair out of her eyes and squelching across the floor in Mac's wake she joined her in advancing on a suddenly mildly alarmed Chad and pointed down at the offending articles and at the saturated legs of her best jeans, “I got pitched into a ditch and someone threw fire at me!”

Mac stabbed a finger into Chad's chest, eyes narrowed with determination. “When you catch that bastard I want a piece of him, do you hear me? It took me a damned year to build that car up, I worked my ass off, and now its drowning and bent and....” Words failed her and she grabbed the front of Chad's shirt and yanked until they were nose to nose, yelling, “My car.”

Steve watched in reluctant amusement – concern forgotten for the moment – as Chad tried to escape the attentions of the two teenagers. “They're takin' this pretty well.” He grinned when Megan got in on the act of yanking at Chad and yelled at the top of her lungs about the indignities of ditches, her best pants and boots and the enforced meeting thereof. He flicked a sideways glance at a likewise amused Tom and muttered, “God forbid they get hot and bothered about nearly getting fuckin' killed.”

“Shit.” Chris sat down with a thump on the stool next to Mike and stared with devastated eyes at their girl. “Shit. Someone tried to kill them. Someone actually tried to hurt them.”

Steve moved to his side and gripped his shoulder, hard. “They're okay, man. They're fine.”

Chris' hands clenched on his thighs and his shoulder shook under Steve' hand. “I....” For once utterly lost for words, he stared up at Steve helplessly. “Steve, I....”

Jared exploded into sudden motion, crossing to Jensen's side and yanking him round from where he was staring blindly at Mac. “That's it, this is over, y'hear me?” Furious, terrified and just a little crazy he took Jensen's shoulders in his hands and shook him until his head snapped back and forth like a balloon on a stick. “I don't care what the reason is that you guys aren't tellin' us everything, but it's now officially not good enough. You'd better fuckin' start talkin' or I swear to God....”

“Jared, quit it!” Mike stumbled off his stool, halting when Tom moved in front of him and raised a challenging eyebrow, his arms tensed for a fight, whilst Steve did the same to Chris. “Fuckin' quit it! This doesn't have anything to do with....”

“Shut. Up.” Jared hissed the words at Mike and then clamped one hand down on the back of Jensen's shirt and hauled him over until he had him standing bare inches from Mac, Megan and Chad. “Look! Look at them! They could have died. You're tellin' me that anythin' is worth that? You really want to face your momma and daddy and tell them that you let her get hurt because you were a stubborn bastard who....”

“No!” Jensen pulled free, his skin bleached white and his eyes appalled. “No, of course not.” He looked wildly between Jared and Mac, his face contorting with emotion before his shoulders sagged and he whispered, “No. Nothin's worth that.”

Mac shot Jared a heated look and moved to Jensen's side, wrapping her arms around his waist and hissing fiercely, “I'm fine. This is not your fault, Jensen. Don't listen to him, this isn't your fault!”

Choking on a bitter laugh, Jensen buried his face in her hair and muttered, “I love you, okay? You gotta remember that. I never wanted any of this.” He wrapped his arms around her and looked at Mike and Chris with tortured eyes, grinding out, “We all love you, okay? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.”

Frightened by the lost tone to his desperate whisper and the shaking of his body, Mac burrowed closer and tightened her arms as much as she could. “I know. I love you too. You got nothin' to be sorry for. I love you.”

Jensen lifted his head and looked at Chris and Mike, eyes devastated and bleeding fear and resignation. “This...it's gotta end. Jared's right. This has to end.”

Swallowing hard, Mike looked away and stared at the floor for a moment before looking up and into Tom's hard gaze. Their eyes held for a long, long moment before the smaller man nodded. “Yeah.” He licked dry lips and swallowed again before his head bowed in defeat and he muttered at the floor. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Well, thank the Lord for that.” Chad edged away from where Megan was still clutching at the sleeve of his shirt and put his hands on his hips. “Finally, we can get to the bottom of this and get the fuck out of this crazy ass town. Okay,” He clapped his hands together. “You.” He pointed at Chris, still white faced and tense by the bar. “Beer and shots all around. This is going to need alcohol.” You and you.” Megan and Mac. “Get cleaned up best you can and then find some snacks. Can't do heartfelt, desperate confessions on an empty stomach. Gives me gas.” Ignoring the pained expressions on the girls' faces he pointed lastly at Jared, Tom and Steve. “You, you and you. Chill the fuck out. You're getting what you wanted. Game over.”

Jensen swallowed a bitter laugh and thought of what they were now facing and the probable reactions to it. Game over, indeed.

FIC: Cherish (6/11) NC17 J2, Mike/Tom, Steve/Chris, RPS, AU, SPN

2009-08-25T15:26:52Z

Type your cut contents here.

Chad, it turned out, was not just fabulous but absolutely epic in Jensen's opinion the next morning – even if it was completely unintentionally and entirely by accident. Fortuitous and fabulous accident.

“You can't arrest me.” Jensen backed away, voice an angry growl, eyes flicking warily from Sheriff Dawson's corpulent, smug face to Deputy Iris' lean, smugger one. “I didn't do it.”

“Ackles, get your lyin', crazy ass over here or I swear to the Lord above I will shoot you where you stand.” Dawson, his brick red face radiating sly pleasure, dropped his hand to the gun at his hip and flipped the buckle of his holster up. “Last chance, son, don't make this any harder on yourself.”

Jensen, feeling cold sweat break out all over his body and aware of the unsympathetic eyes and condemning whispers of the other customers in the diner, flushed in mortification and defeat, said harshly, “I didn't do it.” and fought for breath when Iris grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and pushed him face first over an empty table, yanking his hands behind his back with cruel disregard for any pain he might be causing.

“Jensen, honey, I'm callin' Mike.” Jeannie behind the counter, and long time – and almost lone – champion of Jensen and his friends over the years, grabbed for the diner phone, pointing an accusing finger at the sheriff. “If even one hair on that boy's head is out of place when Mike gets to him Jeb Dawson, you ain't never set in foot in here again, y'here? You and yours can eat out in the damn street like the rest of the dogs!”

“Be quiet, Jeannie, this has been a long time comin'.” Looking at the skinny, blowzy blonde woman, Dawson smirked. “Got him bang to rights now, he's goin' down for a long time.”

“Or you know, not.” All heads turned from Jensen being yanked upright with a grunt of pain and focused on Chad and Jared as they burst through the door of the diner. Chad slapped a restraining hand on Jared's chest when he snarled wordlessly seeing Jensen bent awkwardly in Iris' hold and made to lunge forward, snapping, “You have exactly ten seconds to release that man before I start taking names and kicking butts and I am not even kidding.”

Dawson's jaw dropped and then he flushed even redder under the silent stares of the diner's patrons. “You're out of line, Sergeant.”

“And you,” Chad stalked forward, for the first time to Jensen's eyes, actually looking like an experienced and hardened law officer. “Will be out of a damn job and locked up in one of your own damn cells if he isn't released right now.” His flint hard eyes snapped to Iris' suddenly uncertain face, spitting harshly, “You too, deputy. Let him go.” When Iris' eyes looked to his boss for direction, Chad moved into his line of vision and saying flatly, “I gave you an order.”

There was another brief moment of hesitation before Iris unlocked the cuffs around Jensen's wrists and gave him a small, contemptuous shove to send him stumbling away.

Chad narrowed his eyes. “Just keep pushing me, asshole.” He glanced briefly at Jensen. “You okay?”

Reeling from being arrested and then released again just as abruptly, Jensen rubbed his already bruising wrists and nodded jerkily. “Yeah.” He glanced around the diner, jaw tightening in anger at shame at the curious faces staring unabashedly back at him. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Don't mention it.” Chad nodded back and then spun to advance back on the apoplectic sheriff. “Okay, seeing as you seem determined to do this with as many witnesses possible, let's get this straight once and for all. Jensen Ackles is no longer a suspect in any of the attacks that have taken place in and around this town and, from now on, will be treated with respect and courtesy by you or any of the people involved in this investigation or I will have your badge and have you suspended from duty so fast that your head will still be spinning this time next year, am I clear?”

Dawson puffed up indignantly at the younger man's furious tone, fists clenching at his sides. “Son, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but this is my town and....”

“Wrong.” Chad went toe to toe with the sheriff, eyes narrowed with calm confidence and authority. “Until this investigation is completed to my satisfaction this is my town and I will come down on you with unheard of levels of fury and general ass kicking if you try to stop me. I'm lead investigator and I call the shots. Deal with it.” His eyes moved past the sheriff and he said with dreadful formality, “Sergeant Padalecki, tell me Jensen Ackles whereabouts at the time of the latest attack last night.”

Jared dragged his eyes from where Jensen stood, looking shell shocked and weary to the bone. “Until approximately eleven last night Mr. Ackles was out on the interstate retrieving two vehicles and bringing them back to his home and place of business.” Fighting back the rage at the way they seen Jensen when they had come into the diner, Jared forced himself back under control and said with calm professionalism, “When he returned home he then went inside and spent the next hour talking with you. Until just past midnight.”

Chad noted the jerk of shock and widening of Dawson's eyes with interest and satisfaction, saying coldly, “So unless he's got a twin brother that you forgot to mention or some way of actually being in two places at once then I think we can safely assume that Mr. Ackles is innocent of the arson attack committed last night at quarter to midnight, clear across town from where he actually lives.” He cocked an challenging eyebrow. “Or are you actually going to be dumb enough to call me a liar?” He waited patiently for a moment, eyes taking in every tic on Dawson's suddenly nervous face, and then said, “You have exactly twenty minutes to go pick up the witness that placed Mr. Ackles at the scene of the crime, get him to your office and have him ready for me to interview - and trust me when I say that you do not want to fail me on this.” He stepped back, jerked his head and snapped, “Move it.”

Dawson and Iris moved it.

Jared waited until the door swung shut behind them and then walked slowly to Jensen's side. “You sure you're okay?” He glowered around the enthralled room until everyone bar Jeannie looked away in embarrassment or shame at his challenging look and then looked down at Jensen's tight, angry face. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Biting out the words as though they physically pained him, Jensen met his eyes briefly before looking away. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Not a problem.” Chad joined them looking pleased with himself and far too cheerful with recent events. “That's the most fun I've had in this town since we rolled up. Okay, stud.” He clapped an encouraging hand on Jared's shoulder. “We've got some more fun ahead of us. Let's go see if we can get that fat fucker to actually cry before we're done.” He tipped his hat to Jeannie behind the counter and drawled in a fair impression of every cowboy film he'd ever seen, “Sorry for all the trouble, ma'am.”

Jeannie, wreathed in smiles and practically vibrating out of her skin with joy at seeing Jeb Dawson not only knocked down a peg or two but also having said pegs metaphorically rammed up his fat ass, leaned over the counter and beamed ecstatically at Chad. “Darlin', if that's the kind of trouble that follows you around you be sure to come here every day.” Her smile grew impossibly wider. “And your money's no good here when you do. You eat here for free for the rest of your damn life, handsome.”

Chad beamed back at her. “Are you married?” He waited until she giggled and shook her head coquettishly. “Would you like to be?”

And pretty much made Jeannie's day when he leaned over the counter, pressed an enthusiastic kiss to her pursed mouth and sauntered out with his hat pushed back on his head and his thumbs tucked into his belt loops.

Jared and Jensen – who had known Jeannie since birth – shuddered in unison. “Oh, see, now that's just wrong.” Jared looked between Chad's departing back and Jensen's pained expression. “You sure you're okay?”

Jensen took his unwillingly fascinated eyes off Jeannie's blushing face and nodded distractedly. “Yeah. I'm sure.” He frowned suddenly and looked searchingly at Jared. “Dawson said someone else got hit. He said.....”

“Yeah.” Jared scowled, his chest and shoulders tightening angrily at the reminder of the catalyst for that morning's events. “It was Elsa Green. Her feed store went up last night. She got her and the horses out okay, but there's a lot of damage.” He sighed heavily and moved closer, lowering his voice so no one could overhear. “Jensen, I gotta ask, you might not have done these things yourself but you obviously have some kind of connection to them. Please, man, I'm beggin' you, if you know somethin' you gotta tell me. Help me stop this before someone dies.”

Jensen looked up at him, helpless and anguished, and said urgently, “Jared, I swear, if I knew who was doin' this then I would tell you. No matter what else, I would never let someone get hurt if there was anything I could do to stop it. None of us would. I swear to you, we would tell you.”

Their eyes held for long moments and then Jared nodded, oblivious to the renewed interest in the diner at their quiet, intense conversation. “Okay.” He blew out a long breath. “Okay, but Jensen I know that there's somethin' you're not sharin'. You said so yourselves. Please, don't you think it's time to tell me what it is? What are you and the others so scared of?”

And just like that Jensen's expression went from open and honest to closed off and tense. “We're not scared of anything.” He looked away from Jared, muttering angrily, “There's nothin' else to say to you, Jared. Nothin' else you need to know.”

Jared clenched his fists, thought longingly of his handcuffs again and weighed the probability of Jeannie letting him slap them on Jensen and drag him out without beaning him round the head with a skillet and possibly a rolling pin. He reluctantly concluded that he wouldn't put it past her and ground out bitterly, “Gotta go. Speak to you later. You'd better call Mike, we'll be wantin' you to come down and give a formal statement later about your whereabouts for last night. Just formality though.”

“Right.” Jensen nodded and refused to meet his angry eyes. “Will do.”

Jared hesitated for another few seconds and then nodded. “Okay. Later.” He stepped back, nodding again to Jeannie. “Bye. Sorry again for the trouble.”

Jeannie, eyes darting between Jared and Jensen, nodded back. “No trouble. You boys come back later for some lunch, y'hear? On the house.”

Jared smiled, shot one last look back at Jensen and then turned for the door. “You bet.”

Jeannie watched him walk out and then looked back at Jensen, still standing by the counter. “Jensen Ackles, I love the bones of you, boy, but you really are a horse's ass sometimes.”

Flinching, Jensen looked at her outraged. “What? How is this my fault?”

Narrowing her eyes, Jeannie turned to get the coffee and bagel he'd ordered before the excitement all kicked off and hissed, “That boy looked like you'd kicked his puppy, beaten it with a bat and then rolled over it in your truck. I don't know what went on between all you boys that you barely talk anymore, but I do know that all he wants to do is help you and you bein' your usual pigheaded self ain't helpin' none. Just you remember that pretty face of yours needs your nose before you go cuttin' it off, y'hear? And tell Chris and Mike I said the same to them as well!” She shoved his breakfast at him. “Five fifty.”

Jensen scowled, feeling thirteen all over again at the caustic dressing down. “How come I have to pay and they don't?”

Jeannie squinted at him pointedly. “They ain't done nothin' to piss me off.” She paused, considered and added fairly after recollecting some of Jared's stunts in his youth, “Yet.”

Jensen snarled, slapped the money on the counter and snatched up his goods. “Keep the change.” And stalked out in high dudgeon.

Snatching up the ten dollar bill, Jeannie yelled after him, “And tell Mike he's cut off until he pays his tab!” The door swung shut behind Jensen. “All three sixty of it!”

~*~*~*~

Mac's week was not improving by Wednesday afternoon – but as fair as she was hot headed she was prepared to concede that she wasn't entirely blameless in the situation this time. Which was possibly the only reason that she didn't think to hell with actually going through with high school graduation and kicking the living daylights out of the rest of the student body – and some of the faculty – once Megan's so called friends got finished spreading the details of their run in around the school.

Although Jensen's sexual orientation wasn't exactly a secret it wasn't actually a confirmed fact until Mac had opened her big mouth on Monday afternoon and – with the added excitement of outing Jared, Chris and Mike at the same time – she'd had plenty of practice gritting her teeth and turning the other cheek against snide remarks when she exited school with relief after her last class and made her way to her now, thankfully, running car.

And she still had to find some way of explaining to her guys that by the following weekend all of Cherish was going to know that they were card carrying members of the rainbow brigade.

She was so, so dead.

“Hey, Ackles, where you goin'?” Mac gritted her teeth and kept walking, determined that she wouldn't give the owner of the taunting the satisfaction of turning around. “Got some place to be?”

“Anywhere but here.” Mac muttered grimly under her breath when she reached her car and snatched her keys out of her pocket. “I will not hit idiots. I will not hit idiots. I will not hit....”

“Heard your brother's kept his ass outta the slammer again.” The taunting voice drew closer. “Heard he's trading a piece of it to Padalecki's partner now too. My mom says he was real....appreciative after Dawson got made to turn him loose at Jeannie's yesterday.”

Mac's keys dropped to the ground with a metallic jingle followed shortly by her book bag seconds later when she spun in place and glared warningly at her tormentor. “Brady, you'll want to be shuttin' the fuck up right about now or I swear to God I'll be pushin' your teeth so far down your throat you'll be needin' to stick your toothbrush up your own ass to clean them.”

Brady Sloan – jock, reasonable student and all around butt head – smirked at her, clearly not intimidated. “Kinky. Your girls teach you that trick? I hear their kind are real....imaginative.”

“What their kind are is real sharin' with the best ways to make a guy sing soprano for the rest of his life.” Mac hissed, eyes flicking over the small crowd behind Brady, to a boy or girl all laughing and enjoying the hell out of Brady finally managing to get a rise out of her. “So unless you want to find out first hand how it feels to only be able to get off takin' it up the ass for the rest of your life, then I suggest you walk away. I am not in the mood.”

“Scary.” Brady let his gaze drift insultingly over her body, fairly chastely attired in a vest top and jeans. “That may work on the pansies you hang around with, but I gotta tell you that it don't work so good on a real man.” He leered. “Maybe once Dawson finally manages to lock up your sick fuckin' brother you and me can get together and I can show you what I mean.”

Mac snorted, her own eyes traveling over Brady scornfully. “Havin' a dick and a vague idea where to stick it don't make you a real man, Sloan, it just makes you male.” She smirked at him. “Notice how I didn't bother to clarify that with human male? I got some standards, after all. I don't screw around outside my species. Get lost.”

Brady lost the leer and his expression darkened. “You're a little bitch with a smart mouth. It's goin' to get you into trouble one of these days. You need someone to teach you to watch it.”

Mac rolled her eyes, keeping alert to any sudden movements in the slowly growing crowd. “Sloan, it gets me into trouble every day of my damn life, the last person that's gonna treat me how to watch it is goin' to be you.” She took a step forward, hands curling into fists at her side, loose and ready just the way Mike had taught her and promised herself she was at least getting in a solid kick to Brady's balls before she was taken down. “Now I'm tellin' you for the last time – walk away and leave this alone. Now.”

“What's going on?” The cool voice cut across the rising tension like a knife through hot butter and Mac turned her head to see Megan standing at the edge of the crowd, her book bag clutched to her chest and her face tense, belying her neutral tone. “Brady?”

Brady sent Mac a last hate filled look and then strutted across to Megan's side, the crowd parting wordlessly to let him reach her and drape a possessive arm across her tense shoulders. “Nothin' to concern you, baby, just gettin' a few things straight with Mac here.”

Mac's mouth dropped open and she stared incredulously at her former friend. “Oh, are you kiddin' me? You're datin' him? Are you crazy?” She slapped her hands on her hips when Megan flushed lightly and Brady looked like he wanted to slap Mac silly. “He's such a tool.” Mac grinned spitefully at Brady and then nodded helpfully to Megan. “You can do better. Hey, there's an old guy that comes into the bar most nights. Bathes, like, at least once a month and has nearly all his own teeth. I can introduce you. You'll love him.”

Brady snarled. “Sounds more like your level, Ackles. Megan's got a little something we like to call class. You might not be familiar with it.” He bared his teeth at her. “Being as you've spent the last few years brushin' up on your white trash technique and how to be the best fag hag in the entire world ever.”

Unperturbed, Mac snarled back. “Hey, everyone's gotta be good at somethin', right? What's your claim to fame? Boy Most Likely to Be Fat and Past It At Twenty-One? Heard you blew your knee out pretty bad a few weeks back.” She cupped a hand to her ear as her audience stirred angrily and hissed, “Would that be the sounds of your scholarship and only shot in life goin' up in smoke? Why, yes, I believe it would!”

“Better than a fuckin' faggot!” Brady dropped his arm from around Megan's shoulder, thus missing her sudden tension at his ugly exclamation, and stepped forward threateningly. “My daddy was just sayin' last night that it makes him sick to think of those boys up at that bar, doin' god knows what to each other and no one doin' a damn thing about it.” He stuck his chin out when Mac paled and stared at him stricken, spitting darkly, “Just you tell them not to sleep too easy at nights. It ain't right what they're doin' and maybe there'll be some time when....Oof!”

Mac gaped when Brady pitched forward, bit his own tongue bloody in a sudden spurt of red liquid and turned to see Megan stumbling into a parked car from the force of her swing at the back of his head with her heavy book bag. She had time to take in Brady tensing, his fists raising in instinctive self-defence before he'd even properly registered who'd taken the swing at him and then her own, excellently honed reflexes kicked in. “Motherfucker! Megan, run!” And launched herself without further ado at Brady's once more unprotected back to take him down to the screams of her classmates and Megan's frantic yells for her to run.

Which is how the youngest members of the Ackles and Padalecki families found themselves in lock up down at the sheriff's office not half an hour later, sitting side by side and waiting to see which of their mothers would get to them first.

~*~*~*~

“So, this is awkward.” Mac slanted a sideways look at Megan sitting at her side on the narrow cot and then looked back out to where Sandy McCoy, the sheriff's secretary, sat calmly typing at her desk and studiously ignoring the two teenage girls in the cell not ten feet away from her. “You get that you were actually meant to be on Brady's side, right? As in, not hittin' him?” She waited a beat. “Also, I think you're goin' to need a new date for the prom.”

Megan flinched and eased away from Mac a little. “Yes. Thanks for pointing that out.” She twisted her trembling fingers together and bent her head until her hair fell in a shiny, brown curtain to hide her face. “I just....I don't know what got into me.”

Mac tried for levity. “Uh, a little taste and common sense?” She flinched back herself when Megan's head jerked up and the taller girl fixed her with a steely glare, and held up her hands defensively. “Whoa, there slugger. Just kiddin'!”

Megan glared at her for a beat longer and then dropped her head back down with a sigh. “My momma is going to kill me.”

Mac winced guiltily and looked sideways at Megan again. “Look, she doesn't have to.” She shrugged uncomfortably when Megan's head jerked up again. “I'm just sayin', no one's gonna be real shocked that I'm in here. We could just say that I started it – which I kinda did – and you just, I dunno, tripped or somethin'.”

For a moment Megan was speechless and then one eyebrow tilted above eyes that were the mirror image of her older brother's. The dry tone she spoke in was eerily reminiscent of Jared as well. “We should say that I tripped, smacked Brady around the head with my book bag – hell of a trip by the way considering he's half a foot taller than me – and then continued to trip when you had him pinned to the floor and I was still beating him with my book bag? That's gonna be your story.”

Mac opened her mouth, closed it and then frowned. “Okay, yeah, I see what you're sayin'. Not one of my better efforts. Plus, pretty much the entire school as witnesses.” She blew out an explosive breath and tipped her head back against the cell bars with a muted clang. “What the hell were you thinkin' anyway? I had it all under control. I didn't need you savin' me.”

“I didn't do it for you.” Megan's quiet reply had Mac looking at her in bafflement and then it was her turn to shrug uncomfortably. “I mean, I did, I didn't want you to get hurt, obviously. But,” She shrugged again. “When he was sayin' that stuff about...about Jensen and the others and sayin' that just because...because they were the way they were, I guess....I....Jared....”

Mac stared when Megan broke off helplessly and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, hey, Meg no.” Forgetting the past six years of cat fighting and bitching and generally making each other as miserable as possible, Mac reached out and wrapped an arm around the other girl. “Nothin's gonna happen to them, okay? Nothin'.” She squeezed tightly when Megan let out a muffled sob and pulled her friend into her side. “Jared isn't gonna be hurt, okay? No one's gonna do anythin' to him. The guys will look out for him.”

“ They hate him. You hate him.” Angrily, Megan swiped at her face, sniffing back tears. “Hell, I hate him too, I think. Mac, what if somethin' happens to him and I hate him?”

Hopelessly confused, Mac hugged Megan tighter and looked desperately at the door wishing with all her might that her mother – hell, anyone – would appear, because bitchy Megan she could handle, crying Megan she could not. “You don't hate him. Of course you don't.”

“I do!” Megan cried harder. “He just comes back and....I don't see him and....” Her mouth worked furiously as she tried to express all the mixture of emotion inside her. “And he gave me money.”

Mac blinked and offered in weak confusion, “That son of a bitch?”

Megan sobbed a laugh and scrubbed away more tears, asking in a small voice, “Is it true? Is Jared really....”

Wincing with guilt, Mac looked towards the door again and sighed mournfully when help still stubbornly refused to come. She sighed again. “Yeah. Sorry.” She gave Megan a small smile when the other girl looked up with teary eyes and a blotchy face. “He and Jensen were...together. Years ago. It ended pretty badly.”

“Oh.” Megan turned her face away, staring blindly to where Sandy was still typing furiously away and desperately trying to ignore the conversation going on in the cell. “I never knew. He didn't tell me.” She stared blindly some more. “He never tells me anything.” She sniffed again and looked sadly at Mac. “I wish he wasn't my brother. I wish I had yours.”

Mac couldn't help the wry grin that cracked her face. “Honey, he is free for the askin'.” She sighed forlornly. “Especially when he gets wind of what I've been up to now and he catches up with me. In fact, feel free to take all three of them.”

Despite herself Megan giggled at the mournful expression on Mac's face as she contemplated her imminent death by older brother. “They love you, you'll be fine.” She cocked her head enquiringly. “You're not worried about your parents?”

Mac snorted. “Hell, no. They can only ground me. Chore me up. You can bet that my mom woulda called Mike to get down here the minute she got off the phone from Dawson.” She shuddered dramatically. “The guys can make me suffer. It will not be pretty.”

Megan tried to smile, but it was twisted and just a little bitter. “Least they know you exist.”

Frowning, Megan said, “Jared knows you exist.” She smiled hesitantly. “He loves you as well. Just like Jensen loves me.”

“Oh sure he loves me.” Megan shrugged off Mac's arm, suddenly angry again. “I'm his sister, he has to love me. He just doesn't like me. He doesn't hang out with me like Jensen does with you. He doesn't do stuff with me or call me just because or get me jobs with his friends or....”

Megan blinked. “Wow, you've put a lot of thought into this, huh?” She cocked her head curiously. “So if he's such a prick – which goin' on available evidence I'm not gonna dispute – how come you leapt in to defend him? Why do you care what people say about him or him bein'....how he is?”

“He's my brother, isn't he?” Megan looked in challenge at Mac. “Just like you're my friend. Even if you've been a prize bitch to me since grade school.”

Mac's jaw dropped. “Me?” She pointed in accusation at Megan. “Hey, you stopped speakin' to me first! Got in with those sparkly airheads and went all....” She flailed one work roughened hand between them. “Sparkly.”

“What?” Megan looked affronted. “You wouldn't talk to me anymore! You were always following Jensen around or Chris or Mike and you wouldn't talk to me. You never had any time to hang out, you were always at the shop and....”

“I was workin'! They needed me!” Mac stood up, fairly crackling with righteous indignation. “What was I meant to do? Say no?”

“You were meant to take me with you!” Megan shot to her own feet. “You were meant to take me with you and not cut me out and share them with me because that's what we did, Mac, we shared and then you just....wouldn't and then I didn't have anyone but Chrissie and Alicia and I hated you for that!”

“Girls,” Without looking up from her typing, Sandy said quietly, “Don't make me separate you. I can call the sheriff out here real quick.”

Both girls' heads snapped around and they stared at her for a moment before flushing identical shades of pink. “Sorry.” Mac held up her hands in a peaceable gesture and yanked Megan back down on the bench, ignoring the grunt of protest. “Sorry, Sandy.” She waited for the older woman to nod and go back to ignoring them before looking at Megan warily. “I didn't think you wanted to come. I thought.....” She shrugged helplessly, gesturing between them a little sadly. “We're so different. I thought you outgrew me.”

“Mac,” Exasperated and angry, Megan rolled her eyes. “You were my best friend. I just wanted to be with you.” She jerked her arm out of Mac's hold, snapping, “Moron.”

“Oh.” Mac looked a little lost. “Oh.” She swallowed back a sudden lump in her throat and said hesitantly, “Sorry.”

Megan looked sideways at her, judging for sincerity and then gave a small nod. “Me too.”

An awkward silence fell between them before Mac cleared her throat uneasily. “I guess I....I mean sometimes, not all the time or anything....I....” She darted a look at Megan and then looked away again, skin darkening once more. “I kinda missed you, I guess. Sometimes.”

Looking at least as uncomfortable as Mac, Megan shrugged and studied her fingernails intently. “Me too. Y'know, sometimes.”

They sat side by side in silence for another few moments, idly studying the floor before Mac said curiously, “So now you've broken up with Brady who are you gonna go to the prom with?” She scowled. “And, seriously, Brady Sloan? What were you thinkin'?”

~*~*~*~

When a wild eyed Mike and Chris entered the sheriff's office thirty minutes later, it was to find Mac standing blinking innocently at Megan's side whilst Sherri Padalecki and Donna Ackles berated Jeb Dawson in an icy tirade for arresting two young, defenseless women who had done nothing more than protect themselves when set upon by a boy twice their size and with a cackling mob at his back to boot.

Chris and Mike, who knew Mac better than anyone else bar Jensen, weren't fooled for a moment. “Mac, what the hell have you done now?” Chris stalked across the floor, brushing a kiss over Donna's proffered cheek even as he bore down on her last born. “I swear to God, girl, you're goin' to give me a heart attack one of these days.” He hugged her hard and fast and then held her at arms length, looking her over intently from head to toe. “You hurt?”

Mac took in his expression, took a quick look at Mike's equally unimpressed one and hastily decided that damage limitation was needed, stat. Her lower lip began to wobble ominously. “Where's Jensen?”

Chris looked alarmed and then glared. “Oh, don't even.” He gave her a sharp shake and then turned her over to Mike's less than tender embrace. “Jensen's on his way, but he was out on a job.” He jabbed a finger at Mac when Mike released her and she'd lost the tears she was trying to force and was instead glaring at him defiantly. “You better be ready for a hell of an ass kickin' , little girl, he is not impressed. Fightin'? At school? And you got arrested!”

“A situation which is shortly to be remedied.” Donna stared in challenge at Sheriff Dawson. “Unless you want to get yourself over to Brady Sloan's and arrest him for threatening behavior and attempted assault....”

Chris saw red. “He tried to hit you?” His face darkened so much even Mac took a step back. “That little punk tried to hit you? I'm gonna kill him.”

“No!” Mac lunged for Chris' arm when he made for the door and Sheriff Dawson suddenly perked up, looking like all his birthdays had come at once. “No! Not me! He tried to hit Megan. I just stopped him!”

“What?” Chris frowned and followed Mac's urgently pointing finger to where Megan was standing looking sheepish and trying to hide behind Sherri, who was wearing an expression scarily similar to Chris'. “Well, what the hell did he do that for? I thought you two were datin'?”

Mac looked incredulous. “Wait, what?” She glared at Megan. “How come he knows you were datin' that moron and I didn't?” She looked back at Chris. “How did you know that?”

Chris glanced at her absently. “Mike told me.”

All eyes swung to Mike. He shrugged. “I like gossip.” He smiled easily at Megan. “For the record, I think you could do better.”

“Well, duh!” Mac let go of Chris' arm and rolled her eyes. “Obviously. Anyway,” She beamed brightly at the assembled company. “Problem solved. They broke up.”

“Great. That makes it a lot less awkward when I go and arrest his ass.” Jared's voice cut across the room and had all heads turning in his direction, Sherri's face relaxing into an expression of relief as he stalked towards them, Chad following thunderously in his wake. “What the hell is goin' on here?”

Meg looked startled and then betrayed, staring at her mother incredulously. “You called Jared? Why?” She eyed her brother narrowly and then smiled tightly at Mac when the blonde girl sidled to her side supportively. “You didn't need to bother coming in. I'm fine.”

It was Jared's turn to gape. “You've been arrested. Someone tried to beat you up. A guy tried to beat you up. Where the hell else did you think I'd be?”

“Oh I don't know.” Megan crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her chin defiantly, hissing angrily, “Going on past experience? Pretty much anywhere but here.” She jerked her head to indicate Mac when Jared's face creased in hurt and Chris and Mike flinched in sympathy . “We handled the situation ourselves. You can go now.”

“Megan Padalecki, you apologise to your brother right now.” Sherri pushed her way past her son and glared in outrage at her daughter, her narrow face flushed with embarrassment and anger at Megan's behaviour and current circumstances. “I mean it, you apologise right now or when me and your daddy get you home tonight....”

“No.” Megan shook her head and ignored Mac's sudden urgent poking of a finger into her side. “I will not. I don't want him here. He's got no business being here.”

“Well, being as she's all of legal age and everything and has the right to refuse representation, I guess that means you'll be leavin' my offices Sergeant Padalecki.” Looking far too pleased with himself, Dawson stared gloatingly at a still stricken looking Jared and pointed a finger to the door. “You got no business here, boy.”

“Now wait just a....”

“Megan, I swear to the Lord God....”

Mac, what the hell did you....”

“ENOUGH!” Mike's forceful yell cut across the sudden swell of protest and Mac swallowed hard when she caught the expression on his face. She gripped Megan's arm hard enough to make the taller girl wince and shot her a warning glare when she opened her mouth to protest. Mike slapped his briefcase down on a nearby desk and pointed a finger. “Jared, shut up and stay put. You're goin' nowhere. Mrs Padalecki, I'll be representing Mac and Megan from here on out. Sheriff, I've already been on to the school on my way over and voiced my concerns about their security measures that allowed this situation to escalate in the first place and the validity of the suspensions currently in place against the girls seein' as they were forced to defend themselves when the school failed to do so.” The finger of doom swung round to point at the girls. “And you two will sit down and shut up or bein' arrested and put in a cell are gonna be the least of your problems, y'hear me?”

“Loud and clear!” Mac, a girl who knew when to stop pushing her luck, yanked Megan to two chairs placed by Sandy's desk – who was sitting staring at Mike open mouthed – and plopped her butt down. “You got it, Mike.”

“Right,” Mike narrowed his eyes forbiddingly at the two girls one more time and then turned to Sheriff Dawson with the light of battle on his face. “Let's talk turkey.”

~*~*~*~

FIC: Cherish (5/11) NC17 J2, Steve/Chris, Mike/Tom, SPN, RPS, AU

2009-08-25T15:22:58Z

Type your cut contents here.

Mac was having a pretty sucky day at school the following Monday. She hadn't started out the day in the best frame of mind anyway after spending her Sunday at church with her folks, her mid-afternoon having dinner with them and some assorted relatives and friends and then heading to Mike's for the latter part of the day and all of the evening and watching her brother and his friends twitch at every little noise and get increasingly snappy and nasty with each other – and her – before they finally all went their separate ways at eleven in dark moods and slinging insults at each other left, right and centre.

When she'd arrived at school in the morning she'd ran the gauntlet of sly looks and muttered comments – and not so muttered comments – about Jensen and the fires and had spent the day either seething quietly or clenching her fists and reminding herself that if she got suspended or excluded from school for fighting this close to graduation then her parents, and Jensen and the guys, would kill her.

And, to add insult to injury, her car had resolutely refused to start that morning so she'd had to call Jensen to come and pick it up with the tow truck and take her to school and then call Chris and beg him to come pick her up after school to drop her over to Mike's offices because the lawyer was in court all day and wouldn't have been able to deal with his messages and mail.

So when she burst thankfully out the front doors of the school when classes let out at the end of the day and ran almost smack into Megan Padalecki it pretty much put the cap on it. She turned clumsily, swearing under her breath as she swung her heavy book bag around to avoid catching Megan on the shins and then wobbled to an ungraceful stop up against the wall running up the steps to the school. “Goddamn it!” Mac snatched her hand away from the rough brickwork and cursed again when she saw the nasty graze now adorning her skin. “Hey, Princess, you know its only in your head that the world actually belongs to you, right? In reality you actually have to make room for us lesser mortals?”

Megan scowled at her from under her beautifully cut bangs and allowed her mouth to curl in a delicate sneer. “I'll be sure to take that on board. Thanks.” She paused for a moment and then added scornfully, “Or I would if you were anything like resembling a normal human being.” She smirked at Mac when the smaller girl glowered at her and her two friends, Chrissie and Alicia, giggled spitefully on either side.

“Gee, I'm stung.” Unperturbed, Mac swung her book bag on her shoulder and cocked her hip as she placed her hands on her hips. “As always, Princess, your opinion means the world to me.” She glanced over her shoulder when she heard a car horn beep and waved when she saw Chris parked outside the school and gesturing from his truck for her to get a move on. “Hey, gotta go. Turns out I actually got people who give a good goddamn if they see me or not.” Not above a cheap shot, Mac gave one of her own – considerably more practiced – smirks. “Hey, how is your brother? He bothered to give you more than five minutes of his precious time and a twenty yet? You even recognise him when his sorry ass showed up?” She felt a quick stab of guilt when Megan recoiled before she caught herself, but couldn't stop her mouth running. “He's about so tall, squinty little eyes, kinda pissy.” Her lips twitching, Mac gestured to her chin. “Got a bruise right about here.”

Refusing to give Mac the satisfaction of how much the spiteful jibe had stung – and it had been a fifty Jared had pressed into her hand, dammit – Megan tilted her chin loftily and replied, “No I haven't seen a great deal of him.” She smiled with chilly dislike. “He's been far too busy trying to do his job and save lives rather than endanger them.” She paused, delighting in the sudden paling of Mac's face. “And speaking of brothers, how's yours? I imagine you're making the most of having him around before Jared finally gets the evidence he's looking for and locks him up for good.” She shook her head in mock sorrow, hissing, “Then we'll see who recognises who's brother so easily when yours is doing fifteen to life in lock up.”

Mac swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that prickled at the back of her eyes at the voicing of her most secret terrifying fear and said shakily, “Not gonna happen. Jensen hasn't done anything wrong.”

Megan, slightly disconcerted at not either receiving a string of vicious curses or a fist to her face, narrowed her eyes at Mac and felt a sliver of shame uncurl in her stomach at the whiteness of the other girl's skin and barely perceptible shaking of her fingers around the strap of her book bag. “So you say.” Aware she was running on autopilot and not putting the usual effort she did into her barbed encounters with Mac, she jerked her head when Chris' impatient horn sounded again. “Still, at least you can still play lapdog to the other two losers. Might make things a bit easier to...be with them... without big bro around.”

Mac blinked, shook herself and then smirked back at Megan, saying with smug emphasis, “Oh it's not my ass they're interested in, Princess. Or Jensen's.” Malice and satisfaction dancing in her eyes, Mac delivered her smackdown mercilessly. “Which is more than can be said for Jared. Somehow I doubt he'll be lookin' too hard for that evidence he needs.”

Megan blinked for a moment, uncomprehending, and then felt her jaw drop in realisation. Mac wasn't saying....Jared wasn't....was he?

“Wow.” Mac grinned triumphantly and ignored the delighted looks of shock on Megan's friends faces. “Guess I was right. You don't really know him at all, do you?” She shook back her hair when Chris beeped again, the horn sounding long and urgent in the afternoon air. “Gotta go. Places to go, people that can pick me out of a line up to see.” She nodded cordially to Chrissie and Alicia “Bitch whores.” and turned on her heel and ran down the steps towards Chris.

Chris tilted an eyebrow when she threw herself into the cab of the truck, glancing back at the high school where Megan stood staring after Mac blankly. “That Megan?”

Mac buckled herself in and nodded. “Yeah.” She avoided looking at his inquisitive expression and slapped the dashboard. “Let's go. Late.”

Chris ignored her and looked back at Megan, frowning when he watched the girl shake off the two girls crowding round her and practically run towards the student car park, obviously fighting back tears. “Trouble?”

Mac stared straight ahead and watched herself while Megan fumbled to open her car door and then practically threw herself inside. She swallowed and said hollowly, “Nothin' I can't handle.” And resolutely ignored Chris' questioning gaze until he grunted irritably and threw the truck into gear, refusing to feel even an ounce of guilt for outing Jared to his sister and her friends. Or for reducing the girl who had been her best friend until they hit twelve to tears with a few deliberately chosen words.

~*~*~*~

Mike wasn't in court. Unsettled and feeling like he would burst out of his own skin if he didn't get out of town and let himself have a few hours on his own and just be, he'd spent a sleepless Sunday night after Chris, Jensen and Mac had left tossing and turning in his bed and staring at his darkened bedroom ceiling before getting up at just past five and packing his car with a few essentials and heading for the small fishing hole a few miles outside of town that he visited when the world just got to be too much and settling down for a day of quiet panicking.

So far it was going pretty well.

He'd made a cursory attempt at rigging his fishing pole, opened his crammed cooler and then sprawled on a blanket on the shore of the lake and occupied himself staring blindly up at the heat of the sky through the shade of the trees and trying to think of something, anything, that would get them out of the mess they were in.

His latest idea was to bundle up the three people he loved most in the world, make a run for Mexico and spend the rest of their lives on the run, pimping Mac out as the wild card in some underground racing circuits to make cash and resolutely forgetting that Cherish, and any of it's natives, ever existed.

“Mexico, huh?” The quiet voice behind him had Mike rolling over onto his stomach and scrambling to his feet, heart beating nineteen to the dozen and stumbling backwards defensively. Tom smiled at him ruefully. “Don't give much for your chances. Jared would have you picked up before you made it out of the county. You really need to break that habit of thinking out loud.” He gestured to the blanket Mike had so hurriedly vacated. “You mind?” Not waiting for a reply, he settled himself down on the topmost corner and nodded encouragingly at his former friend. “Have a seat.”

“What are you doin' here?” Mike stared down at him, adrenaline rushing through his body and leaving him furious that Tom could so easily get a reaction from him after all these years. Especially as the last time he'd seen him he was still lanky and only had half an inch on Mike and was now built like a barn and muscles on muscles on muscles had never really been Mike's thing. Far too easy to lose control of a situation if you were out matched in any way and Mike had learned long ago never to leave himself at a disadvantage again. “You followin' me?”

“Yeah.” Tom put a hand over his eyes to shade them as he looked up at Mike, his face grave and unapologetic. “Kinda. Went by your office and your place to see you and then skirted Chris and Jensen's places when you weren't there.” He glanced around them and shrugged. “You seemed pretty shook up to see us the other night, so I figured there was really only one other place you'd likely be.” He smiled suddenly, bright and devastating. “You haven't changed, man. Still run here no matter how old you get.”

Mike's lip curled in a snarl and he spat, “I don't run.”

Snorting, Tom lost the smile. “Except when you do. Y'all sure took off on us the other night.” He sighed, suddenly impatient. “Mike, sit the hell down, okay? We need to talk and I'd really rather do that without fightin' and puttin' up with your defensive bullshit while we do.”

Mike tried to gauge subtly the distance between him and his car – and the chances of him making it past Tom sitting squarely in the way without an outright fistfight getting underway. A fistfight he wasn't at all confident he could win.

This time Tom's sigh was less impatient and more angry. “Don't be an ass. I just want to talk, I'm not here for anything else.” He dropped his hand from his eyes and rolled his broad shoulders under his tight black t-shirt pointedly. “You really want to get into somethin' with me? I could always take you, man.”

Mike scowled. “You could not!” He folded his arms across his – tragically much smaller - chest and glared. “I let you win. All the time!”

Refusing to let Mike rile him, Tom shrugged coolly. “You willin' to test that theory?” He let the silence between them speak volumes and then nodded once more at the blanket. “Sit. Let me have a beer. We'll talk and then I'll leave you in peace.”

Mike hesitated some more, torn between wanting to make a break for it, wanting to kick Tom squarely in his calm face and wanting to drown himself in the lake behind him and then reluctantly moved forward sitting himself as far away from Tom as he could get and still have a sliver of blanket under his butt.

Tom watched him settle himself, eyes skating over the lean body in faded denim and loose white t-shirt, and then nodded out over the lake. “Forgotten how pretty it is around here. Quiet.”

Mike, eyes wary and watchful, moved restlessly and draped an arm over one raised knee, his fingers plucking restlessly at the fabric of his pants. “S'pose so. Don't really think about it much.”

“Yeah.” Tom took a deep breath and then looked dead on at Mike. “Sounds like you boys have had quite a time of it over the years. Y'all been busy, alright.”

Mike forced himself to stay calm, to match Tom's neutral tone. “Tom, I don't know what you think is goin' on around here or what you think you know, but....”

“Well that's the point, isn't it?” Tom let his legs fold under him and leaned forward to fix Mike with an intent stare. “We don't know jack shit about what's been goin' on, but from all that Jared and Chad've been tellin' me and Steve there's really a whole hell of a lot that we should have been told.” He held up a hand to stop Mike when the other man automatically opened his mouth in denial and carried on quietly, “But I'm not here to talk about that.”

Mike snapped his mouth shut, frowning uncertainly at the unexpected words. “You're not?”

“Nope.” Tom shook his head, black hair dancing over his blue eyes. “We're getting' to the bottom of whatever you boys are hidin' regardless, so I can hold on and wait for things to come out in their own time.” He huffed a laugh at the dumbfounded, stricken look on Mike's face and shook his head again. “It's gonna happen, Mike, best get used to the idea.”

Mike hunched in on himself, unable to stop the nervous flicker of his tongue over his lower lip – and also unable to miss the way Tom tracked and mirrored the movement when he did. “Well, you've changed.” He tried to laugh mockingly and flashed a thumbs up. “Seriously, the alpha male look really works for you, buddy.”

“Glad you think so.” Tom ignored the mockery and appeared to take the comment at face value, nodding amicably back at him. “Gotta feelin' you'll be seein' a lot more of it before this is over.”

Mike blinked back at him speechlessly for a moment before spluttering, “Jesus Christ, who the hell are you and what the hell have you done with Tom?” He scowled blackly. “Actually, come to think about it, what the hell happened to all three of you? You never used to be so.....:

“Hard to push away?” Tom scowled back at him. “Yeah, our mistake, one we're not goin' to be makin' again, believe me.” He pointed an accusing finger at Mike, enjoying the way the other man recoiled from it. “We never should have let you call the shots the way we did back then. Shoulda kept pushin' till we got some answers. Might have been we'd have ended up somewhere a whole lot different to where we are now.”

Mike tried to gather himself in the face of Tom's obvious rising anger. “And maybe not. You maybe think that we're exactly where we should be? Where we want to be?”

“Bullshit .” The snapped word hit Mike with all the force of a punch. “Bull. Shit. This was never what you wanted, Mikey, not any of you. You think that we don't remember all we used to talk about just the same as you boys? Chris always wanted out of this place, hell, the only thing he ever used to talk about was leavin' with Steve and tryin' to make it big with their music. Yet here he is, tendin' bar just like his daddy and just as trapped now as when he was fifteen and had his eyes always to the road out of town. All Jensen ever wanted was to head up to New York, try his hand at acting, hittin' the boards and bein' somethin' more than just the kid that everyone looked at sideways and wondered about because he was just too pretty to be true. And you,” Tom raked a frustrated and impatient hand through his hair, saying explosively, “You remember? Harvard, the law and then politics. You were goin' to make the world sit up and take notice, man! You were goin' to make it better. Hell, we were goin' to make it better. This, Cherish, was never where you wanted to be.”

Mike, his skin white, flinched back from the accusatory words. “Maybe you didn't know us as well as you thought. And I still got the law.”

Bitterly Tom laughed. “That's all you got to say? That's it?” He lunged up to his knees, hands planted in huge fists on the blanket and watched when Mike reared back, alarmed. “I knew you – hell, I know you – better than anyone else ever has. What we had, what we still have, doesn't come along every day, you stubborn bastard.” His eyes narrowed dangerously when Mike's mouth opened. “Don't even think about tellin' me that you don't feel it too or I swear to God that I will knock you the hell down and punch the shit out of you.”

Mike stared back at him, watching the heave of Tom's chest and the hard set to his jaw and muttered faintly, “You sweet talker, you.”

Silence stretched between them, blue eyes holding blue before Tom's tense shoulders abruptly relaxed and he sagged slightly, laughing reluctantly. “And you're the only one can that can still have me ready to spit nails one minute and laugh the next.” He tilted his head, saying almost shyly, “I've missed you. This. Us.”

Mike swallowed dryly and looked away, eyes fixing out over the lake and seeing nothing. “There isn't an us anymore, Tom. Not for a long time now.”

Tom sighed, sitting back on his heels and watching the smaller man with rueful resignation. “No, not for a long time.” He sighed again and looked down at his hands now curled loosely on his thighs and said quietly, “Until Jared called I tried not to let myself think of you much at all.” His eyes flickered up when he felt rather than saw the tensing of Mike's body at his words and he explained softly, “I couldn't, Mike, it just hurt too damn much. When I left town I couldn't let myself think of you or....” He shook his head tightly, mouth thin with remembered pain. “It really fuckin' hurt, okay? Those first years in Austin on my own I think I went through everything with a pulse tryin' to forget about you, lost myself in writing and school and whatever the hell else was around and it was never enough. You were always there.” He looked at Mike intently, wishing he could read the forced blank expression there that was still in profile as Mike stayed as still as stone and looking out over the lake. “I even got married for a couple of years.” His mouth twisted bitterly when Mike jerked and almost turned his head to look at him before he caught himself. “Yeah, to a girl and everything. Her name's Jamie. She's a great girl, you'd like her. Mouth on her like a sailor and can drink just about everyone she's likely to meet under the table, but....” Frustrated, Tom shook his head again. “I just couldn't....there was always somethin'....I couldn't give her everything, y'know? I just wouldn't let her have it all.”

Mike clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the slick curl of jealousy winding around his guts and heart. “So what, you're puttin' that on me?” He finally turned his head to look at Tom, curling his lip in a sneer. “I fucked you up so badly I ruined you for everyone else? How Harlequin of you.”

“Maybe, but its the truth.” Tom refused to let himself get derailed or pushed into a fight and instead made himself continue quietly and honestly. “I wasn't goin' to come back here when Jared called.” He laughed wryly. “Actually it took Steve nearly kickin' down my door and punchin' me stupid before I'd even listen to them because the minute I did I knew I was sunk. I'd be comin' back here and I'd be seein' you again and I'd have to face up to what happened between us and I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Jesus, I'm still not sure I'm ready for that.” He reached out, and clasped Mike's forearm, ignoring the warning growl and instinctive jerk away. “But the minute I saw you again I knew that I hadn't been imagining what we had back then or been buildin' it up in my head past somethin' that it wasn't.” His grip tightened until Mike met his eyes angrily. “And I know you felt it too. This isn't a one way thing, Mike. Not by a long shot.”

“Yeah, well, yours aren't the only pants I've wanted into over the years, Tommy-boy.” Mike made himself smile, trying desperately to look unmoved and unconcerned by the soul searching look in Tom's eyes. “Don't think because I'd still give you a roll in the hay that makes you anything special. You just another in a long, long line, baby.”

Sheer fury flashed across Tom's face for a moment before he suddenly let go of Mike and sat back with a dry laugh. “You fuckin' liar.” He cocked his head to the side and looked at Mike almost fondly before unfolding himself up and onto his feet. “Okay, have it your way. I said what I gotta say and I'll leave you be now. We'll be in touch.”

Frozen in place, Mike watched him leave and then sank his head forward into his hands with a long, shuddering breath. “I am so screwed.”

~*~*~*~

Late that Monday night, Chad stood from where he'd been seated on Jensen's front door step and nodded as the man himself pulled up in front of his little house and jumped down from the cab of his tow truck. “Hey.”

Jensen glared at him across the space between them looking hot and filthy from a long day first in the garage and then out on the highway bringing in not one, but two, local cars that had decided to expire in the relentless spell of heat the town had been enduring since Jared had blown back into their lives. “Murray.”

Chad kept the pleasant grin on his face while Jensen reluctantly walked over to him, despite the urge to bitch slap the pissy expression off his face and kick some respect into his grease covered ass. He was wearing the hat after all. “Sorry to bother you so late, I just wanted to ask you to come down to the sheriff's office tomorrow if you can.” He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and leaned back against Jensen's front door, effectively blocking Jensen from escaping into the house. “Got some more questions for you.”

Jensen gritted his teeth when he found he couldn't go any further without bodily moving the other man out of his way and said tightly, “I have a phone. You could have called.”

“Uh-huh.” Chad nodded agreement and tilted his hat back, eyeing Jensen in wry amusement. “I also could have sent Jared out here to deliver the message but I took pity on your tight little ass and came myself, so how about you cut me a little slack and ask me in for a beer, huh?”

Jensen's jaw dropped. “Are you kiddin' me? You arrested me, chained me up and threatened to make me a prison bitch. You're lucky I'm not kickin' your ass from here to the town square.”

“Okay, one – what is it with you Ackles people and the kicking of the asses? Two – I didn't arrest you or chain you up, I just took advantage of you the way I found you. And three – yeah, I find threats of forced ass-fucking a pretty good convincer when I'm trying to get the truth out of the scum bag of the week. Sue me.” Exasperated, Chad threw up his hands. “Dude, I'm trying to do a job here and save your pretty little butt from time in the slammer, cut me some slack.”

Jensen snorted. “Right, you've just been oozing caring and open-mindedness since you showed up. Really. Totally convincing.”

Chad's mouth twisted in an ugly line. “I was doing my job and trying to keep Jared from turning into a raving lunatic the minute he clapped eyes on you again. You want to be grateful I didn't just shoot you down the minute I met you.” He shoved away from the door and up into Jensen's face belligerently. “You got any idea how many fucking great drinking sessions you've ruined over the years, Ackles? You've been trashing my social life for years, that's gonna take a bigger man than me to let slide without some threats and a little bit of intimidation.”

Jensen blinked, startled, and took a step back from Chad, eyeing him like a crazy person. “What?”

“You.” Chad spread his arms around him, presumably indicating Cherish as a whole rather than the immediate area. “This. It just takes one little thing to trigger some memories of 'down home' and then suddenly I've got the world's biggest toddler sniffing into his beer and muttering about his Jensen and how he's never gonna be able to love again and how's he ever gonna get over you.” Chad snarled and poked a finger in Jensen's chest. “You owe me at least a year of solid Saturday nights involving a lot of whiskey and strippers before we're even close to even, pal!”

Jensen opened his mouth, flushed a deep enough red that it was apparent even in the moonlight and then closed his mouth again looking pained and stricken.

Chad glared at him. “And let's not even get into the fun times that Tom and Steve happen to be there, because then I'm treated to all of them going on with the 'remember when's' and the 'how about that time's' and I'm fucking sick of it! In fact, you know what?” He snatched his hat off his head and threw it to the ground and then held up his clenched fists. “I'm gonna give you a beat down anyway just for being a total dick.”

Jensen stared from the hat to Chad and then back to the hat again. “Uh....”

“Come on, put 'em up, you pussy!” Chad danced from foot to foot, swinging his hips ridiculously. “Let's go a round!”

Jensen stared some more at the hat and then back up at Chad, speechlessly.

“Come on, I'm gonna fight you for my boy's honour!” Chad informed him with more ridiculous hip swinging and a little Texas two-step thrown in for good measure. “Dude, man up already!”

Jensen continued staring, saying faintly, “I think I preferred you when you were threatening to lock me up and have me gang banged.”

“Yeah?” Chad squinted over his raised fists. “Huh.” He dropped them slightly and squinted harder, clearly going for threatening but getting closer to looking constipated in Jensen's opinion. “You gonna stop being such a little bitch if I abort the smackdown?”

Looking pained, Jensen hesitated but then nodded. “Only if you promise to stop callin' me names and dancin' around like a jerk.”

Chad dropped the fists, retrieved his hat and jammed it on his head and then looked wounded. “Those were some of my best moves.”

Despite himself Jensen found his mouth wanting to twitch into a grin. “Yeah? No kiddin'. And how have you managed to stay alive this long?”

Narrowing his eyes again, Chad said with lofty dignity, “I'm a lot better with a gun.” He grinned suddenly, utterly disarming and blinding. “And I had Jared. When all else fails hide behind the guy that can double as a wall, man!”

This time Jensen was surprised into a burst of genuine laughter. “That is so wrong.” He looked at Chad thoughtfully and then flashed a slightly sheepish grin. “Although, that's kinda why we keep Mac around too. Not the wall part, but the really fucking scary part. They never see her comin'.”

“Dude.” Chad clapped one understanding hand on Jensen's shoulder and nodded gravely. “I hear you. Your girl scares the shit out of me.” He pulled his hand back when Jensen shifted under it uncomfortably and said, “Now, how about that beer?”

Jensen's expression melted back into one of wariness. “It's late.”

Heavily, Chad sighed. “Look, pretty as you are, I'm not the partner who wants in your pants, okay? And I don't really want to talk about the case, either. All I got to look forward to when I head back is your three friends sitting around and moping and staring soulfully at their navels or feet or the fucking wall and it would be really fucking great to put that off for a little while longer and just chill, you know? And seeing as my options are either you or that bowl of jello that keeps trying to to pass himself off as a law professional then I'm gonna go with you....prickly little bitch that you are.”

Looking slightly overwhelmed by the exasperated flood of words, Jensen stared at Chad. “Do you have any kind of filter between your brain and mouth at all?” He glared. “And stop callin' me bitch!”

“Then stop being one!” Chad glared back. “Beer. Now. I will cry if I have to.” He tilted his head, considered and then added thoughtfully, “Or sing. That seems to work with the boys too.”

“Oh for chrissakes.” Jensen capitulated ungracefully and with a pained expulsion of air. “Just for the record, if you'd have whined like this the day we'd met, I woulda confessed to pretty much anything up to and including shootin' JFK.”

Chad moved out of the way when Jensen stomped forward and clapped his hands together with victorious grin. “Duly noted.” He followed inside when Jensen opened the door and looked around with interest when the other man flipped the light on. “Nice. Rustic. Very....rustic.”

Jensen shot him a withering look when he continued his stomping towards the refrigerator in the small kitchen area off the open plan living room and diner area. “You said that.”

“It bears repeating.” Chad looked around the comfortable and minimally furnished room, taking in the abundance of log walls, earthy colours and wooden features on the fixtures and fittings. “Seriously, all you need is a yellow hound dog and bits of tractor spread out over the table and you're starring in the country song of your choice.”

Jensen crossed back across the room, slapped a cold bottle in Chad's outstretched hand and said dryly, “I'm embracing my heritage.”

“Uh-huh.” Eyeing the colourful native tapestry hanging on the wall over the wood burning stove, Chad nodded his thanks for the beer and sank gratefully into the wide and squishy couch that dominated the room. “Oh god that's good. My ass thanks you.”

Jensen sat on the other end and looked pained. “Don't mention it. Ever again.” They sat in silence for a few moments before he turned his head and looked at Chad with a genuinely curious expression. “Isn't this somethin' like a conflict of interest for you? Sittin' drinkin' with your chief suspect, I mean?”

Chad snorted and took his hat off to throw it on the low coffee table his booted feet already rested on and sunk his head comfortably back against the back of the couch. “Dude, for the record, you don't even make the list of my suspects, okay? Never mind being the chief one.” An expression of genuine anger crossed his face for a moment before Chad turned his head and eyed Jensen lazily. “And I'd decided that even before we overheard you boys trying to figure out how to solve the case yourselves the other night.” He rolled his eyes when Jensen flushed at the reminder of Jared and Chad's fatal eavesdropping and kindly didn't make any cutting remarks drawing attention to it – despite really, really wanting to. Instead Chad continued levelly, “I trust Jared's instincts – even when he's mainly thinking with his cock – and he said you weren't capable of it so that was that.” He shrugged when Jensen stared at him in a mixture of incredulity and mortification and finished irritably, “That and I know when I'm being played for a sucker and there's no way Cherish's answer to Roscoe P. Coltrane is gonna put one over on me. Guy must think I'm as dumb as I am pretty, I swear.”

Jensen stared at the bottle he was rolling between his palms restlessly and muttered, “Thanks.” He flicked a glance at Chad and then looked back down at his bottle. “For, y'know, sayin' that.”

Chad looked at him for a long moment and then replied simply, “You're welcome.” Another silence fell, stretching long and if not comfortable then at least not angry and defensive, and then then Chad said, “Okay, so you probably want to know something about me.”

Jensen blinked and looked at him blankly, “Uh, not really?”

Waving a hand dismissively, Chad said, “Please, I'm fabulous, of course you do. Okay, so I'm originally from Buffalo, New York. Raised by my dad, no mom, and I got a bunch of siblings that I helped bring up.” He winked at Jensen. “Because I am just that awesome. Always wanted to be a cop, then I really wanted to be a Texas Ranger as soon as I saw 'Walker, Texas Ranger' when I was a kid because, seriously man, Chuck fucking Norris! Graduated early from high school, kicked ass taking the basic college requirements to get into the Texas PD and that's where I met Jared.” Chad broke off his monologue to scowl blackly at Jensen for a moment. “Who was, like, a serious downer for most of our training and probationary period because you broke his fucking heart and the dude just would not stop fucking moping like a bitch! And I applied a lot of booze and strippers to cheer him the fuck up so you can only imagine just how broken hearted he was.” He tilted his head enquiringly at Jensen's dark expression. “Am I being too subtle for you here, man, because I can dumb things down further?”

“I'm good thanks.” Jensen answered tightly. He nodded at Chad's beer. “You nearly finished that? Its late, I'm tired and you need to go.”

“Nah, I'm good.” Blithely ignoring the angry flush on Jensen's face, Chad continued happily, “Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, I was being awesome and Jared was being a mopey bitch.” He squinted pointedly at Jensen and then said, “So we did our time with the Texas PD and then as soon as we could we put in for the Rangers. And, naturally, because we fucking rocked we got accepted. The two youngest Rangers in the history of forever and they split us up for a time to work with 'more experienced officers' but after a while it was pretty evident that you don't mess with a winning formula and here we are!” Chad grinned blindingly at Jensen. “Being completely fucking awesome!”

“I'm all overcome.” Jensen stood abruptly and nodded towards the door. “Night.”

Chad ignored him again. “Soon as I saw your case come over the desk at Austin I knew it was ours. Took some pretty fast work to make sure we got assigned it – Jared nearly fucking combusted when I said we wanted the case and I had to bribe a lot of fellow officers with some more strippers and booze – but we got here in the end.”

Jensen froze and stared down at Chad. “Jared didn't want the case? He didn't want to come ho...back?”

Chad stared back. “What part of 'you broke his fucking heart' did you not understand, Ackles? Of course he didn't want to come back, you douchebag! Luckily,” Chad paused, presumably for dramatic emphasis. “He has me watching his back. And I'm not only the pretty one of the partnership, I also happen to be the brainy one.” He got to his feet, placed his bottle on the coffee table and drew himself up to look Jensen square in the eye. “One way or another this has got to end. Okay, so you're not guilty of the arson attacks – something which I'm actually pretty relieved about despite still being stuck in the ass end of nowhere instead of back in Austin – but you're guilty of something and we're going to find out what.” He took in Jensen's suddenly anxious look and the guilty flush to his skin, adding, “And when we do then you guys – all of you – are going to put this thing to bed once and for all. I don't care if you fuck it out, punch it out or yell it out, but you Cherish boys are going to get the hell past whatever happened way back when and you are going to move the fuck on.” His mouth quirked in a wry, mocking smile. “Believe it or not there's a limit to how many strippers even I can watch, man.” He tipped his hat. “And now I'm gone. I'll see you.”

Jensen stood rooted to the spot when Chad moved past him, staring blankly ahead of himself and only shook off his inertia when Chad cleared his throat roughly by the door. “For the record?” Chad looked wildly uncomfortable for a moment before saying with awkward sincerity, “I want you to work things out. I know how Jared feels about you and I think...I can see that you aren't exactly immune him either. Just....don't be an ass again, okay? He....just don't be an ass.” And with a final awkward nod Chad disappeared out the door and into the night leaving Jensen alone and with yet another sleepless night ahead of him fighting back memories of Jared and the ache of longing in his gut.

~*~*~*~*

::flails in mad PANIC::

2009-08-25T12:50:20Z

Oh God, I hope someone can help me here!! Remember the fearing of the technology problem I have? Shut up, Mel. Anyhoo...I went to sync my ipod this morning and somehow it went 'bleurgh' and rejigged my whole playlists ect, decided that it can't find about three quarter of my libaray in itunes and just.....HELP!

All the songs, podfics ect are still stored on my ipod but just under song and artist and not in their playlists and in order so I haven't lost them (THANK GOD AND ALL THE SAINTS) but as I basically download onto my pc, put onto my ipod and then wipe off my harddrive to save space I have no back up on my pc to restore my library and put my world to rights.

What I want to know is there anyway to make itunes recognise th ipod as a portable device and import the tunes BACK onto the computer so I can have everything back where it should be again? I've had a look myself and can't see anything obvious, but it is entirely possble I am being deeply, deeply stupid and just flailing instead of being logical and, oh I don't know, SANE.

Thank you anyone who can help!

xxx

Ps The playlists and order ect are still intact in my library there's just no songs ect there to play!

FIC: Cherish (4/11) NC17, J2, Mike/Tom, Steve/Chris, RPS AU

2009-08-24T20:10:43Z

Type your cut contents here.

If nothing else, Jared felt that it had been worthwhile calling Tom and Steve away from their lives and back home to Cherish for the look on Mac's face when the three men, plus Chad, strolled into Chris' bar much later that night.

The girl was the first to see them as she sashayed expertly between packed tables and rowdy customers and she stopped dead on the edge of the dance floor, eyes widening in stunned recognition in her exertion flushed face, and she fumbled to maintain a grip on the suddenly unsteady drinks tray in her hands.

Jared, at the head of the small group and looking forward immensely to the evening ahead, let his lips curl in a slow, dangerous smile and tipped his hat to her. “There's Mac.” He nodded to indicate the frozen girl, keeping his voice low. “Right there. The pretty blonde.”

Tom and Steve glanced at where he indicated and blinked, startled. “Holy hell.” Steve's eyes bugged out as Tom's jaw dropped. “She's the fuckin' spit of Jensen.”

Jared let his smile get bigger when Mac's eyes widened further under the incredulous scrutiny of his friends and she took an unconscious step back, the initial surprise starting to wear off and her eyebrows beginning to draw together in a dangerous frown. “You have no idea.” He watched when she darted a lightening fast look to the bar where Chris could be seen slinging beers and shots and oblivious to the impending implosion of his carefully ordered world, and then squared her shoulders before dumping her tray of drinks at the intended table and stalking towards the men without acknowledging the appreciative comments from her customers.

Chad eyed her from under the brim of his hat. “Tell me you're armed, Padalecki.”

Jared chuckled and then nodded amiably to Mac when she elbowed a pretty brunette out of her way as the girl stepped up to show them to a table and planted herself square in front of the group, steam practically sizzling from her ears. “Evenin' Mac.”

“Bite me, Jared.” She raked her green eyes over the men, nose scrunching up like she smelled something bad. “What do you want?”

“Lookin' to get somethin' to eat. Maybe some drinks. The usual.” Jared watched her eyes flick to the side, not quite able to check whether Chris had seen who had just strolled through his front door without moving her head, and took a little pity on her. “Not here to cause trouble.”

Mac, mindful of the dressing down she had received earlier from not just Jensen but Chris and – unbelievably – Mike too about not assaulting officers of the law no matter how much they deserved it, clenched her fists tightly under her armpits and hissed, “We don't have a table for four free. Come back another night.” He eyes darted to Tom and Steve, a mixture of wariness, anger and worry in them, and she added almost politely, “Please.”

Steve cocked his head, unable to believe that the skinny little tow headed kid he remembered had blossomed into, well, Mac and smiled, saying easily, “S'okay, we'll just go up to the bar. Not that bothered about food anyway. Good to see you again, kid.”

Taking a fast step to the side, Mac let her arms fall and shook her head, eyes now definitely more than a little nervous. “No!” She shook her head, repeating firmly, “No. I told you, there's no room.” She looked at the three of them, saw Chad behind them, and for the first time since Jared had met her again looked like the child she still mostly was. “Please don't. Not now.” She jerked her head at the bar behind them, heads starting to turn in their direction and murmurs starting to circulate as people began to realise just who it was that Jared had brought with him this time. “This isn't the time. Things are bad enough as they are, we don't need a scene.”

“Steve Carlson!” The happy bellow cut through the noise and relaxed atmosphere of the bar and Mac froze, eyes fixed and panicked. “Hey, STEVE! Long time no see, man!”

Chad winced in sympathy and grimaced at Mac. “Too late.”

Steve raised a hand, waving across the room at the rangy man saluting him with a mostly empty beer bottle. “Hey, Artie. Good to see you.”

Mac backed up, head whipping around and finding Chris' eyes across the bar floor, stepped away from Jared and his friends and started to shove her way to her boss' side without looking back. Jared took his own step back, taking his place between Tom and Chad and leaving Steve to the forefront aware this first moment belonged to his friend and no one else. Steve let his eyes follow Mac across the room, content to let her lead him to Chris rather than to make eye contact on his own. His lips twitched when she forewent the niceties of walking to the end of the bar and through the service hatch, and instead nimbly climbed a stool, planted her ass on the bar top itself and swiveled across it to drop neatly on the floor on the other side and hastened to Chris' side.

Steve took a deep breath before letting his eyes move from the girl to the man she was stepping around and pushing in behind – shoving down a sudden and unexpected spike of jealousy, because that was his place, dammit, he was the one who always had Chris' back – and found himself staring into Chris Kane's blue eyes for the first time in nearly a decade. If Mac had frozen solid on first sight of himself and Tom then Chris looked like he had been sculpted from rock. He stood those blue eyes impossibly wide in his blank face, his full mouth parted slightly in shock and the tan skin Steve remembered so well bleached what surely had to be an unhealthy shade of white.

Steve was more than a little pleased to note his reappearance seemed to have such an dramatic affect.

Letting his eyes drift slowly over the muscles that were more defined and fuller than he remembered, Steve took his time looking Chris over suddenly very aware why Jared had been so desperate to get himself and Tom home because if what Jared had felt at seeing Jensen again was even half of the complicated emotions now stringing Steve's body tight then....goddamn, it was a wonder Jared hadn't gone up in flames on the spot.

His mouth quirked up and he noted Chris' flinch in response, also noted the way Mac pressed in closer and the hand that crept around Chris' waist to flatten against his belly, and said lowly, “Let's do this thing.”

He moved across the room, raising a hand to acknowledge greetings and calls from old acquaintances, not taking his eyes off Chris and it seemed to take forever and at the same time just a split second before he was standing before the man that had turned him away and who he had never quite managed to forget with only the width of the wooden bar and ten years worth of different lives to separate them. “Hey Chris.”

Chris stared at him for a long moment, looking as though he wanted to deny the evidence of his incredulous eyes, before he shook off his stupor and nodded once. “Steve.” He patted at the hand laying across his belly, nails curling in to ruck up his white t-shirt and his lips turned up in a credible attempt at a smile. “Looks like we got ourselves a reunion going on here.” His eyes flickered to Jared and Chad. “Sergeants.” He looked at Tom. “Good to see you, Tom.”

Liar, thought Steve and grinned. “Got a beer for an old....friend?”

Chris' eyes snapped back to his and he stared for a moment before his whole body shook itself down and he plastered a wide, professional smile in place. “Sure have.” He patted Mac's hand again. “Darlin', you know what to do.”

“Yeah.” Mac tightened her grip for a moment before taking the hint and stepping away, following Chris' lead. “But y'all have been very clear on me not bein' allowed to do it.” She eyed Jared and Chad poisonously and then Steve and Tom only slightly less so. “I take it spittin' in the bottles is out too?”

Chris took a quick glance at the rest of the bar, mouth pinching in annoyance at the interested looks and casual comments being passed between the locals, and said dryly, “Yeah, kid. Eyes in the sky.”

Mac looked around from where she was begrudgingly getting four frosty bottles of beer out of the chill and squinted at the packed room before rolling her eyes. “What else is new?” She turned, slammed the bottles down on the bar top causing a frenzy of foam to burst up and over the sides and snarled, “On the house.”

Chad eyed the spilled beer. “Literally.” He grinned blithely at the narrow look Mac gave him and grabbed a bottle, raising it in a toast. “Just the way I like it.”

Mac eyed him with loathing. “This is what hell looks like, isn't it?” She switched her unimpressed look to Steve and Tom and looked them up and down. “So what brings you back? Suddenly just got a yearnin' for some down home cookin' or something?”

Steve nodded agreeably, not taking his eyes off Chris as he tilted his own bottle towards his mouth. “Or something.” He wiped his wrist casually over his lips still without breaking eye contact with Chris. “The old place looks good.”

Chris, now over his initial shock and determined not to give away the spiking, twisting emotions in his guts, nodded. “Yeah.” He gestured towards the far right corner of the room – coincidentally the point furthest from his own position behind the bar – and said, “Just got a table opened up. Mac'll show you.”

“Nah.” Comfortably Steve leaned up against the bar and smiled his widest, toothiest, good ol' boy smile. “We're good here. Thought we might visit some.”

Which was how Jensen and Mike walked through the door, saw Chris and Mac behind the bar apparently under siege from a convention of not so friendly giants (and Steve) and nearly had simultaneous heart attacks on the spot.

Mike, staring with horrified eyes at the back of Tom Welling's unmistakable head, croaked bleakly, “Jesus, it was one lot of frog spawn and one fucking font. The man upstairs needs to get a fucking sense of humour.”

Jensen stared, closed his eyes and opened them and then stared some more. “This is not happening.”

Mike, unforgivably considering turning on his heel and sprinting out into the night, spat bitterly, “Some words that seem to pretty much sum up my life from the age of nineteen and up.” He took a shaky breath. “Christ, what are they doin' here?”

Jensen, already having had over twenty four hours to get over Jared suddenly pop up in his life and considerably less shaken than Chris and Mike, narrowed his eyes at the back of Jared's head and gritted out, “One guess.” He started slightly when Jared tensed and then turned his head whip fast to zero in on Jensen with unerring accuracy. “That goddamned fucking bastard.” His hands curled into fists when Jared tipped his beer bottle at him in mocking salute and his mouth curled in a smug, satisfied smile. “Son of a bitch.”

Mike managed to make himself hold his ground when Tom slowly turned his head and their eyes met across the room. “Oh my God.” His tongue flickered out over his lower lip, rattled enough that his usual rock steady shields deserted him. “Christ, Jensen, what the fuck are we goin' to do? What the hell are they doin' here?”

“Pissin' me off.” Jensen glared across at Jared, glanced quickly at the rest of the room that had given up even the pretence of not watching the show, and then moved forward. “Come on.” He stalked towards the bar, Mike only hesitating a brief moment before covering his back, and gritted his teeth against the whispers and looks as he crossed the room. From behind the bar Chris looked almost pathetically grateful when he saw his friends approach and Mac looked torn between worry and fury as she looked wildly between all the men, seemingly unsure who to try and leap in front of first. Jensen bellied up to the bar and rapped shortly on the top. “Mac.”

His sister stared at him wide eyed for a moment before squaring her jaw and reaching for the beer. “You got it.”

Chad, enjoying himself immensely, commented happily, “Anyone else feel like there should be tumbleweeds and some eerie guitar music playing in the background?” He smirked and shoved his hat to the back of his head when Jensen, Mac, Chris and Mike all glared at him. “Just me then?”

Tom, his heart pounding in his chest, tilted his head and looked down at Mike's flushed and unhappy looking face. “Mike.”

Mike tensed, accepted the beer Jensen handed him and then looked up with a carefully blank expression. “Tom.” He darted a look at Steve, nodded, and then looked coolly at Jared. “This is becoming a habit.”

“I know.” Jared beamed brightly. “Just like old times.”

Chad whistled low at the identical dark scowls that creased Jensen, Chris and Mike's faces and whistled lowly to himself. “Fuck, let's hope not, or that's some fucked up childhoods you boys had there.”

Mac tugged urgently at Chris' arm, whispering, “Can I just hit him? Please?”

Looking mighty tempted for a moment, Chris reluctantly shook his head. “Nope.” Feeling that things might progress less explosively if his favourite girl was elsewhere he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and poked her in the side. “Back to work.”

Mac looked mutinous, eyes darting from one man to the next – lingering with cold disgust on Jared – before nodding. “I'll be around.” She glanced at her brother. “I'll be here if you need me.”

Jensen smiled tightly. “And we'll call if we do.” He waited till she stalked off and then looked at Steve and Tom, not trusting himself to stay calm if he looked at Jared's still smug expression. “What are you doin' here?”

“Heard you were in some trouble.” Steve nodded all friendly like at him. “Thought you might appreciate some support.”

Jensen gritted his teeth, a mix of anger and humiliation flooding his face. “You thought wrong.” He leaned back against the bar, his elbows taking his weight and eyed his old friends dispassionately. “Got all the help I need right here.”

Steve glanced at Chris and Mike, shrugging easily. “Few more friends never hurt.”

Jensen gritted his teeth. “Got all the friends I need, too.”

“Seriously,” Chad looked quizzically down at the floor and asked of no one in particular, “You guys really don't see the need for tumbleweeds?”

Tom looked at Mike, taking note of the tense jaw line and the way his eyes settled anywhere but at Tom. “You're a difficult man to get hold of. Been a while.”

Mike clutched hard at his beer bottle and wished profoundly it was a bottle of whiskey – and that he was drinking it at home, hiding under his comforter and with the doors and windows locked and bolted. “Been busy.”

“For ten fucking years?” Tom's voice cracked like a whip, making Mike, Jensen and Chris jump and look guilty as all hell. “That's some life you got there.”

Mike darted a look at Chris and Jensen and straightened his shoulders, trying for some of his normal kiss-my-ass attitude. “You know it, baby.” He winked. “I'm a man in demand.”

“Aren't you just.” Chad weighed in when it looked like Tom might actually take a swing at Mike's smug face. “You boys sure have racked up quite the rap sheet over the years. Pretty impressive.” He gave Mike a wink of his own, grinning widely. “And it takes a lot to impress me, lawyer boy, I'm a Texas Ranger.” He pointed upwards at his headgear. “Check it.”

Jared watched with narrowed eyes when all three of his old friends froze, flushed appealing shades of pink and red and then glared defiantly at Chad. Mike licked his lips, grinding out, “Never been convicted of anything.” He narrowed his eyes at Chad. “Still valid law license. Check it.”

Chad nodded affably. “Oh, I did. Very shiny.”

Jensen stared at Jared, ignoring the flash of awareness in his belly when the taller man looked right back. “Why are you here?” He cut his eyes to Steve and Tom and then back to Jared. “All of you. What's the point?”

Jared smiled – all sharp teeth and smouldering heat. “Seemed like the time.” He tipped his own hat to the back of his head and said quietly, “Looks like there's some things we should go over.” He cut his own eyes to Chris and Mike, both frozen to the spot and then back to Jensen. “All of us. Call it unfinished business.”

This time the three men couldn't have looked more guilty if there had been a big, neon flashing sign above their heads proclaiming 'BUSTED!' and had bells and whistles going off in tandem. Jared glanced at Steve and Tom and saw from their unwillingly amused expression that they were suffering from the same malady as he was experiencing – half irritated and half wallowing in nearly forgotten memories of a thousand times of their friends being caught doing something they shouldn't and frantically trying to find a way out of the mess.

Chris cleared his throat. “You're outta your damn mind.”

“Nope, don't think so.” Jared smiled, cold and unrepentant. “Heard something interesting last night, thought it needed looking into.”

“Yeah?” Defiant, Chris glared up at him, unknowing or just plain uncaring of the looks and comments from around the bar as the reunion moved obviously from neutral civility to obvious hostility. “Well, whatever you heard or whoever you heard it from, it ain't true. There ain't nothin' around here you need to go diggin' up.”

“Huh.” Chad rocked back on his heels and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Weird. Thought our source was pretty reliable too. Just goes to show.”

Jensen's skin crawled with the need to strike out, to get away, flushing under the far too complacent and knowing looks on Jared, Steve and Tom's faces. “Just goes to show what? Just what is it that you think you have? Who the hell is this 'source' anyway?”

Chad beamed. “I'm so glad you asked.” He pointed a hand at Jensen, shaped like a gun and mimed pulling the trigger. “That would be you.” He pointed the hand at Mike. “And you.” Then finally at Chris. “And you.” Enjoying the hell out of their slack jawed expressions, Chad shook his head sorrowfully and finished, “Might want to be a bit more careful where you have your top secret 'what-the-hell-are-we-going-to-do' conversations, fellas, you never know who might be listening.” He nodded in acknowledgement at Mike. “Though, for the record, your girl is definitely NASCAR material. My money would be on her every damn time.”

The blank looks continued for another few moments before slow realisation crept in. Steve watched appreciatively as Chris' eyes were the first to widen in horror, tan skin paling again and then he turned the most helpless, panicked look on Steve that it had ever been the blond man's privilege to witness. Up and to and including the time they had nearly been caught doing some extremely unsanitary things in the bar's kitchen by Chris' father when they were eighteen and thinking with nothing but their dicks.

Steve, in a manner most unlike his normal placid self, grinned wolfishly, tipped his beer at Chris and murmured, “Like the man said, unfinished business.”

And had the great satisfaction of seeing Chris gulp in a way that wouldn't look out of place if he had been facing down a hungry mountain lion instead of just his old buddy Steve.

Mike, rather worryingly in Tom's opinion as he actually thought they'd managed to break him, muttered faintly, “Oh God, its not like the Pastor even likes frogs.” and gestured urgently to an oblivious Chris to hand over the whiskey tragically out of his reach behind the bar.

Jensen stared at Jared, swallowing convulsively, and couldn't make his numb mind move past the horrible, horrible fact that Jared would have heard Chris and Mike remarking on Jared's intentions towards Jensen and his ass and....he swallowed some more when Jared caught and held his gaze, calm and ever so slightly challenging.

Oh shit, and were apparently right on the fucking money.

Tom eyed Mike grimly, sipped from his own beer and swiped a casual hand over his mouth as he swallowed. “Ah, home sweet home. It's good to be back, boys.”

~*~*~*~

“Okay, this?” In the kitchen area of Kane's, Mike threw up his hands despairingly. “Is a disaster.”

Jensen glared daggers at the floor beneath his feet. “Really? You think?” He hunched his shoulders, every muscle in his body singing with tension. “I woulda gone more with fuckin' catastrophic.”

Stepping closer to his two friends, and sending a worried and paranoid look back over his shoulder to the closed door, Chris said semi-calmly, “Okay, guys, this is no time to panic.”

“Yes, yes it is!” Mike pointed a vibrating finger at Chris' unhappy looking face and then pointed it at Jensen for good measure. “This is exactly the time to panic. In fact, I would go as far as to say, that of all the panic inducing times in the history of the world ever, this one is the one that tops the fuckin' list!”

Chris and Jensen stared at him. “Wow.” said Chris flatly, “Son, you're really no good at all under pressure, are you?”

“Oh God.” Mike moaned and pressed tightly clenched fists to his eyes. “Oh my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

“Hey, back away from the Messiah, man.” Despite himself, Jensen's lips twitched. “Two words, Rosenbaum. Frog. Spawn.” His face clouded in confusion for a moment. “And I never understood that anyway. You're Jewish, what the hell were you doin' hangin' around our church in the first place?”

Mike dropped his fists and stared. “This is what you choose to focus on? That's your biggest concern right now?” He continued on without waiting for Jensen's indignant reply, “And how the hell else was I gonna get through the doors? You guys kept ditchin' me every Sunday mornin'!”

Chris and Jensen looked perplexed, unable to follow Mike's baffling train of thought even after a lifetime of exposure.

Mike rolled his eyes. “When he caught me then he'd have to punish me so then he'd have to let me in.” Chris and Jensen continued to look baffled. “To Sunday school, with you guys. For punishment.”

Eyes widening in understandable concern, Jensen croaked, “Oh Christ, I can't believe I'm trusting my entire future to you.”

Blinking back his own concern, Chris looked away from Mike's wounded expression and looked back at the door leading to the bar. “Whatever. What we need to do here is figure out a way to head some trouble off at the pass. Or just head it off.” His shoulders slumped and he rubbed a hand over his eyes, muttering tiredly, “Or just figure out a way to come out of this not in jail and possibly dead. Jesus Christ, we are so screwed.”

“Nope, just wrong footed.” Mac's cheerful voice made all three men jump and yelp in a very unmanly way. She winked at the them as she slipped through the kitchen door that led out onto the land behind the bar. “Somethin' that will be made a whole hell of a lot easier when you guys take off for the rest of the night and get a little perspective.” She held up her hands and waggled them palm out towards them – two very dirty and oil stained hands. “You got my word you won't be followed.”

Jensen stared when she crossed to the kitchen sink and began to briskly scrub her hands clean. “What have you done?”

Mac hummed happily as she watched the water sluice over her slowly pinking skin. “Oh little of this. Little of that. Some of the other.” She grabbed a rag and turned to wink again at her three favourite people in the world. “Nobody likes a smartass and Jared's, fine though it may be, is way to smart for its own good. I don't know what kind of stunt he thought he was pullin' tonight, or what he thought he'd get out of it, but I'm not lettin' anyone pull that crap on you guys.” She flapped her rag at them encouragingly. “Go. Be free. Take a couple of hours and get yourselves together. I got things here.”

Chris blinked. “Mac, not that we don't appreciate whatever you did here, but...”

“Go.” Uncharacteristically sober, Mac's chin firmed with resolve. “I'm not blind. I can see you guys are freaked...and I'm not stupid either, I can pretty much guess why.”

“Oh, I bet you can't.” Mike's almost inaudible mumble had Mac narrowing her eyes at him and he forced a smile. “Baby girl, you're a lifesaver.”

“ What? Oh no.” Jensen shook his head when Mike grabbed his arm and started to march towards the exit. “Mike, no. I'm not leaving her here alone.” He yanked his arm free, spitting furiously, “I'm not running.”

“Regrouping.” Mac sashayed across the floor and pressed a reassuring kiss to Jensen's pale cheek. “Strategic retreat. Considered withdrawal.” She pressed another kiss to his skin. “Not runnin', Jensen. Just...considerin' your options. Please. For me?” She grinned up into his pained eyes. “Promise not to dose 'em with the rat poison.”

“Mac....” Jensen swallowed hard against the love and adoration in her face. He touched her hair gently, “I'm meant to play protector to you, kid, not the other way around.”

Mac crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue making him laugh. “And you do a bang up job, baby.” She smiled softly at Chris and Mike when they flanked Jensen on either side. “You all do, so just this once let me do it for you, huh? Just till tomorrow. I'll be okay.”

Chris shook his head. “What about the bar?” He rolled his eyes. “Hell, I live upstairs.”

Mac shrugged. “So, stay out with Jensen tonight, I can closer up.”

“No.” Firmly Chris shook his head when Mac puffed up angrily. “No, Mac, you never know who's around.” He chewed his lip and then said tightly, “You get Davey to stay back with you till you're sure everyone's gone and then you get him to follow you home in his truck. You don't clear up, you don't cash up, you just lock the place down and then you split. I'll get it when I get back. I won't stay out all night.” Angry, shaken and more than a little disgusted that Steve's reappearance was enough to reduce him to hiding behind a teenager's figurative skirts, Chris said grimly, “I'll come back when everyone's gone. I just need a few hours to.....”

“Get your shit together.” Briskly Mac nodded and motioned them to the door. “So go. I got this.” She hugged them all quickly and then shoved a still reluctant Jensen. “Go on. Before Huckleberry Hound and his posse come lookin' for you again. I'll text you all to let you know I got home safe.”

She kept smiling all through Jensen being forcibly dragged, still protesting, out the door and then turned to look at the door through to the bar. Then the smile turned into a very evil grin. “Now for some fun.”

~*~*~*

“Here you go, fellas, on the house.” Mac's grin was bright and easy as she pushed four beers across the bar where Jared and his friends still stood, patiently waiting for Jensen and the others to reappear after they had disappeared twenty minutes since. “Enjoy!”

Jared, eyes narrowing in mistrust and suspicion, looked at Mac's way too open face and scowled. “What?”

“Beer!” Enjoying herself immensely, Mac fluttered her eyelashes. “For our hard working law enforcement officers and such.” She pursed her lips and blew the four men all a kiss. “With our very best regards.”

Four men looked very doubtfully at the bottles arrayed before them and then at each other. Chad cleared his throat. “Uh, we'll pass thanks. Driving back, y'know?”

“Oh.” Mac propped her chin in the palm of one hand and fluttered once more. “Y'all are drivin'? Really?” She smiled, slow and smug, and advised dryly, “Have the beers, boys. Might as well make a night of it.”

Jared took a lightening fast look around the bar and glowered ominously when he looked back at Mac. “Where are they?”

Figuring she could push it a little bit more, Mac widened her eyes with an excruciating over abundance of confused innocence. “Who?”

Steve and Tom exchanged looks and tensed. “Son of a.....” Steve was the first to move. “I'm goin' to kill him.”

Mac smirked when Jared shot her a fulminating look and took off after his two friends when they started towards the door. “See you in a minute!” She sighed happily and then looked at Chad when he stayed in place. “Help you, officer?”

Lips twitching in amusement and a little irritation – though not for the reasons the other three were irritated – Chad leaned his elbows on the bar and said quietly, “You might want to wash up again before they come back. Got a little something under your nails.”

Mac glanced at her hands, saw the traces of dirt and oil trapped under her nails from her useful few minutes spent fiddling with Jared's car, and looked back up blandly into Chad's laughing, knowing eyes. “Well, fancy that.” She pursed her bee stung mouth. “I just can't think how that happened.”

“Uh-huh.” Chad sighed. “Would it do any good to ask if you care that we're driving a registered Ranger car tonight? Messing with it is a crime.”

“Really?” Playing the dumb blonde card for all she was worth, Mac sighed breathily, “Well I never.” Her mouth widened in a feral, sharp grin when Jared, Tom and Steve burst back into the bar and headed back her way with thunderous expressions. “Around here, so's messin' with my brother.” She winked and turned to saunter off down the bar towards some waiting customers. “Enjoy the rest of your night – and your walk home.”

And Chad, despite the loud and vindictive curses spilling from Jared's lips as he rejoined him at the bar, laughed.

~*~*~*~

It was near four in the morning before Chris arrived back home. They'd all received an all clear text from Mac at just after two to let them know that she was home safe and their erstwhile old friends were definitely elsewhere. He'd hung around at Mike's for another little while, unwilling to leave the dubious security of his two friends' company, before unhappily deciding that he'd been enough of a pussy for one night and it was time to suck it up and remember he was a man not a mouse.

It still didn't stop him from parking his truck a goodways up the track leading to his bar and tiptoeing in the early morning dawn light down to his home like a criminal, eyes searching around for any indication that he wasn't alone in the stillness of the early morning.

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief when he finally slipped in through the bar door, he closed it behind him and leaned against it for a moment, limbs heavy with exhaustion before moaning in earnest when he saw that Mac had done exactly as ordered and left the bar as it had stood when she had kicked the last customer out. Wearily he straightened, unable to make himself leave the mess till after he;d had a few hours sleep, and trudged towards the bar to grab a glass tray and begin the clean up.

“Need a hand?” The voice in the gloom from the back of the room had Chris yelling with surprise despite the quietness of its tone. Steve stepped down onto the dance floor, beer bottle in hand and an inscrutable expression on his face. “You look beat.”

Chris gaped at him, heart thundering a mile a minute – and not just from surprise – snarling, “What the fuck are you still doin' here? Get the hell out!”

“Nah.” Steve sauntered over to the bar and hoisted himself up on a stool, settling comfortably back against the wood and eyeing Chris. “Don't think I will. Been a long wait gettin' here.”

Chris scowled, pretty sure that Steve wasn't meaning just waiting for Chris to come back that night, and gritted his teeth. “We're closed.”

“See that.” Steve nodded agreeably, aware that he was skating perilously close to pushing Chris and his infamous temper to breaking point. “Don't really care. You lit out on me earlier.” He took a swallow of his beer before adding coldly, “Again.”

Chris clenched his fists trying to quell the impotent rage roiling in his gut. “Don't seem to recall it that way. I've been where I always have. You're the one with the glamorous music career, Carlson.”

Steve's eyebrows went up at the not quite hidden bitter undertone and he said mildly, “You coulda had it too, Chris. Was there for you for the takin'.” He swallowed some more beer. “I was too, come to think of it.”

Chris stared at him silently for a moment, chest hitching with shuddering breaths and then abruptly stalked behind the bar and grabbed the drinks tray he'd originally been after. “I'm busy, can we do this some other time?”

“Nope.” Steve watched when he marched back out from behind the bar, shoulders set in a defensive line, and began the long task of cleaning up the room. “Don't think so.” He watched some more when Chris gritted his teeth and began gathering up glasses and bottles with angry chinking and clattering, asking curiously, “You still play?”

For a moment it looked like Chris wouldn't answer and then he finally gave a jerky nod and muttered, “Some. Been teachin' Mac.”

Steve's expression darkened for a moment when he pictured Mac's laughing face when she had waved them off into the night earlier and then forced himself to relax. The little devil could wait. “Yeah? She any good?”

The laugh from Chris surprised him. “Nah. Can't carry a tune in a bucket and had to stop her beaning some guy round the head with my guitar couple of months back when he got a little handsy one night. Girl's got no respect.”

“You got that right.” Steve glowered again, Mac's pithy comments and hand gestures to them after discovering Jared's disabled car still rankling. “She needs takin' in hand alright.”

This time Chris actually met his eyes, his own mocking and alight with humour. “Yeah, let me know how that's goes.” He paused. “When you got your jaw unwired and all your teeth put back in that is. Our little girl's got some punch to her.”

“So Jared tells me.” Steve grinned back. “Little Mac, all grown up.” They smiled at each other for a moment, all that currently stood between them forgotten, and then Chris looked away, his black scowl back. Steve sighed, suddenly weary. “Jesus, Chris, what the hell happened to us? To all of us? Time was there wasn't a damn thing we didn't know about each other. Nothin' we couldn't trust each other with.”

Chris shrugged. “We just lead different lives now.” He loaded some more glasses into his tray. “You wanna finish up your beer? I want to finish up here and hit the hay.”

“I got a while left in this one yet.” Steve watched as Chris' muscles tightened under his shirt, saying absently, “You not gonna ask how come I'm still here?”

Chris' muscles tightened further. “Figure you slipped in through a window. Hid in the men's room while Mac cleared everyone else out. Fuck.” He slammed the glass tray down and whirled around, glaring hotly at Steve with icy blue fury. “Hid under the fuckin' bar for all I know. I don't care, I just want you gone.”

It hit Steve unexpectedly, the hot punch of want to the groin, and it made him simultaneously feel more alive and more angry than he could remember being in years. Coincidentally, pretty much the same as the last time he'd been alone in a room with Christian Kane. He half turned to slowly place his bottle down on the bar behind him and nodded thoughtfully, “Okay.” He looked back at Chris's suddenly wary face and nodded again. “Okay. Then I want you to do one thing for me before I go.”

Chris eyed him suspiciously. “I don't got to do a damn thing.”

“No you don't.” Steve nodded again in agreement and fixed him with an implacable grey gaze. “But if you want me to believe that there ain't nothin' between us anymore then you'll do this thing for me. Prove it to me.”

Chris looked ever more suspicious and shifted his weight uncertainly, looking like he was thinking of making a break for it. “What?” He licked dry lips, aware of Steve's eyes following the movement and said barely audibly, “What do you want me to do?”

Steve grinned. “Come over here and give me a kiss.”

“Oh hell no.” Bristling and furious, Chris took a half step back and unconsciously raised his fists. “Forget it!”

Steve tsked and shook his head. “Now, see, that there doesn't exactly go any way to convince me that you don't still feel somethin' between us. That says to me that you been thinkin' of the exact same thing I have all damn night and you don't trust yourself to behave if we get up close and personal again.”

Chris snarled. “May have escaped your notice, Carlson, but I'm not one of your damn groupies. The whole big singing star thing doesn't get my panties wet. You're always gonna be the snot nosed brat that cried three hours straight when he broke his arm in sixth grade to me. Go lookin' somewhere else if you want to get your rocks off while you're here.”

“Ouch.” Steve winced dramatically. “That hurts.” He smiled at Chris knowingly. “S'okay, I get it, you're scared. Don't worry about it.”

If possible Chris looked even more furious. “I am not scared.” Practically vibrating with anger, he spat, “'Specially not of you.”

“Yeah.” Inwardly laughing his ass off at how damn easy Chris was play even after all their years apart, Steve pointed at the ground in front of him and let his voice drop in register, anticipation curling in his belly. “Then get over here and prove it, Kane. Lay one on me.” He flashed a mocking smile when Chris still paused, glaring furiously at him. “Double dog dare you.”

Christian moved so fast that Steve barely had time to brace himself. He had an impression of wild blue eyes and an angry snarling mouth and then Chris' hand was coming up towards him, already curling to snatch a handful of hair to yank and bring their mouths together in what Steve was pretty sure was going to be a kiss that was going to leave one or both of them bloody.

Fortunately his body remembered how to handle Chris even if Steve's mind was still a little behind events.

Steve brought his own hand up, the palm clapping against Chris' wrist and fingers tightening to yank the man off balance and into the vee of Steve's spread thighs. Ignoring the angry exclamation from Chris, Steve took advantage of the moment and twisted the arm behind Chris' back, reaching around with his other hand to grip the strong wrist and pull it tight to the dip just above the curve of Chris' ass. The hand that had originally captured Chris' wrist came back up and speared into dark hair, curling roughly and pulling until Chris' swearing, spitting mouth was raised to his.

“You are so easy.” Steve kept his face calm even though it was taking everything he had to hold Chris' wildly bucking body still, even with the other man having the arm not bent behind his back trapped between his own body and Steve's. “Never could turn down a dare.”

“Get off me, you son of a bitch.” Chris bucked and slammed against him, fighting with everything he had to get free. “Get the fuck off me.”

In a manner most unlike his usual self, Steve's hand tightened cruelly in Chris' hair until the other man actually yelled with the pain and pulled his head far back, enjoying the hell out of the way Chris froze against him and his eyes widened in sudden worry. “You owe me a kiss.”

“Steve.” Chris tried to jerk free again, groaning when he only felt himself pulled closer and stretched back further. “Don't. Don't do this.”

“Shut up, Chris.” Steve eyed the line of throat exposed to him and the frantic bobbing of Chris' adam's apple. “You really need to shut the hell up now.” He bent his head and pressed his mouth over the pounding pulse point he could see under the skin, giving another warning tug on Chris' hair when the other man jerked in protest. “Jesus, you're a stubborn son of a bitch.” He pulled back and moved Chris' head until he had no choice but to meet his eyes. “And I missed the fuck out of you.”

Chris had one, maybe two, seconds to make a last bid for freedom before Steve's mouth met his with intent, but the husky, sincere confession disarmed him like nothing else and before he knew it the familiar, smooth surface of Steve's mouth was moving over his and – to his eternal shame- he pretty much forgot everything in the world up to and including his own name.

Steve was the one who groaned this time, using the grip in Chris' hair to angle his head the exact way he wanted it and the arm that he had wrapped around Chris to grip his wrist and hold his upper body still to pull him even closer, groin to groin and belly to belly until his legs slipped around Chris' shaking thighs and his ankles hooked over Chris' calves. “Jesus, I fucking missed you.” He easily contained the renewed struggles and brought their mouths together again, pouring all the want and the need and the loneliness of the past few years into Chris and then let out all the anger and frustration and the pure fucking longing he had for everything they'd had and everything he found he still wanted between them, despite all the obstacles in their way.

Long – long – moments later, Steve lifted his head and stared into Chris' heavy, stunned eyes. The darker man was slumped against him, panting heavily as he tried to drag air into his lungs and his lips were swollen and bruised from the force Steve had used on him and Steve thought he'd never seen anything better in his life. He licked his lips deliberately, watching Chris' as he stared at his tongue and then said hoarsely, “That was real convincing, Chris. You're right. Nothin' between us at all anymore.” He shoved Chris away, sending him stumbling before he managed to catch himself on a table and stood staring at Steve with an open, wounded expression. Steve hopped down off his stool and took a moment to right his own shaky legs before he moved towards the door, pretty certain that if he wasn't out of range when Chris got himself together he was going to get a – not entirely undeserved – punch to the face. “Guess you don't need tellin' I'll be back.”

Chris dragged the back of his wrist over his mouth, scrubbing at the skin as though trying to erase the memory of Steve's mouth on him and shook from top to toe. “You are so fuckin' barred.”

Steve paused at the door, looking back at Chris standing wrecked and broken in the dim light of the bar and grinned sadly, “Don't recommend you try it, Chris. Got the full weight of the law behind me this time, you don't want to be tryin' anything unless you're sure you can win. You ain't getting rid of me this time around unless I decide we're callin' it quits.” He touched his finger to his forehead in a little salute “Be seein' you.” and walked out without another word.

Chris gaped when the door slammed shut behind Steve, body still vibrating with reaction and shock at the way he had been manhandled and had the breath kissed out of him – he was Christian Fucking Kane, that shit just didn't happen to him – and proceeded to swear viciously using every curse word he'd ever known or heard.

And then did it all over again when that failed to help and he still felt like he wanted to drop to the floor, curl up into a ball and bawl like a baby for someone – anyone – to come and make his previously rigidly controlled life make sense again.

~*~*~*~

FIC: Cherish (3/11) NC17 J2, Tom/Mike, Chris/Steve, RPS AU

2009-08-24T20:06:56Z

Type your cut contents here.

Mid-morning of the next day found Jared the one place he had sworn to Chad he wouldn't visit. Jensen Ackles' auto shop on the outskirts of Cherish and at least a mile from the next nearest neighbour. He sat back in his seat, fingers drumming slowly against the steering wheel as he let his eyes take in the scene. The autoshop itself was housed in what looked like an old barn, the double doors in front pulled open to allow what little breeze there was inside and showed two repair ramps with one of them in use. Outside and on the left hand side of the building was a small holding area for cars either looking for services or serving as somewhere for the fixed vehicles to wait until their owners came to reclaim them. On the right hand side of the barn, the edge of a small, low roofed cabin could just about be seen, neatly trimmed grass running down to where lawn faded into trees. Jared smiled to himself – pretty and closed off, just like the owner. He took a breath and climbed out of the car, slamming the door loudly behind him and strolling unhurriedly over to the open doors of the shop. “Anyone home?” He looked around the tidy interior, taking in the small office area set in back and the radio trilling some good old down home country tunes on the small shelf set on the wall. “Jensen?”

“Oh my god.” The distinctly unmasculine voice came from under the saloon parked on the ramp to his left. Moments later MacKenzie Ackles' dirt streaked face poked out from the pit underneath. “You just don't take a hint, do you Padalecki?”

Jared stared when she slithered out of the pit and yanked an greasy cloth out of the back pocket of her jeans, swiping it carelessly over her just as greasy hands. “Are you two joined at the hip or something?”

Mac eyed him poisonously and blew a lock of sweaty blonde hair out of her eyes, her skin gleaming with exertion in the dim light of the shop and her washed out 'Hey, Kitty!' vest top damp with perspiration. “I work here.”

Jared stared some more. “You work at the bar too.”

“Uh-huh.” In a voice dripping with condescension, Mac nodded like he was a particularly slow witted child. “And I also do some filing for Mike. Wasn't aware there was a law against making an honest living, Sergeant.”

Jared scowled down her, wishing with all his heart that she was still ten years old and he was allowed to send her to her room. He thought briefly of trying it anyway, but noticed the wrench poking out of her pocket just in time and wisely just said neutrally, “You're in high school. You live with your parents.” He frowned, realising that he didn't actually know that and that he hadn't really had a chance to catch up with Jensen and Mac in regards to their families and current situation. “Right?”

“Yeah.” Mac folded her arms over her chest, scowled and said scathingly, “But we aren't all like the Padalecki Princess, buddy. Some of us got a little more pride than just to take handouts from mommy and daddy, y'know?”

Jared's jaw dropped. “What? Padalecki Princess?” He frowned. “You mean Megan? My Megan?”

Mac snorted. “Honey, if you could pick Miss Sugar Tits out of a line up I'd be real surprised. Way I hear it you don't see her all that often.”

Completely floundering, Jared looked even more confused. “What?” He felt a scowl starting. “Wait, are you judging me? You're actually critising my relationship with my sister? You?” He looked her up and down in disbelief. “At least she doesn't go around dressed like a dime store hooker.”

And was knocked flat on his ass moments later when Mac socked him in the jaw. He gaped up at her from where he lay sprawled on the floor – more from surprise than from actual power behind the blow he told himself firmly - and watched while she massaged her knuckles absently, tipped back her head and hollered, “Jensen, I just assaulted an officer of the law. That's okay, right?”

“What? Oh Christ.” Jensen's deep, disgusted voice drifted from the side of the autoshop and Jared turned his head in time to see the man himself appear, take in the scene and jog towards them. “Mac, what the hell?”

Looking disgustingly pleased with herself, Mac shrugged. “He called me a hooker.”

“I said you dressed like a hooker.” Jared got to his feet, glaring. “And then you punched me.”

“Good times!” Mac grinned brightly at her horrified brother. “You can make bail, right? It was totally worth it!”

“What?” Jensen finally stopped gaping between his sister and Jared, his expression darkening ominously. “You called my sister a hooker?”

“Dressed like!” Jared held up his hands defensively and took a prudent step back. “I said she dressed like a hooker. And she called my sister a princess!”

“Which is so much worse than calling Mac a hooker.” Furious, Jensen curled his hands into fists and took step forward. “Ranger or not, I am going to kick your ass.”

“No, no, no!” Seemingly delighted that ass kicking now appeared to be on the agenda, Mac darted in front of her brother and slapped her hands on his broad shoulders, explaining earnestly, “You should let me do it. You don't want to give him an excuse to haul you in again and I don't mind, really. Just call Mike and he'll come get me out. I'll be back by afternoon.”

“No one is kicking anyone's ass.” Jared growled. “In fact the next person that even thinks the word ass is getting cuffed and hauled down to the sheriff's office and I'll keep them cooling their heels in there 'til this time tomorrow.” He narrowed his eyes warningly when the Ackles siblings looked at him, gauging the sincerity of the threat. “Seriously, I've just about had it with you people. Just give me a reason, I'm beggin' you.”

Jensen and Mac looked at him for another long moment and then looked at each other – Mac broke first. “Dammit.” She huffed a disgruntled sigh and squeezed Jensen's shoulders. “Okay, back up, Lancelot.”

Jensen glowered some more and then heaved his own angry sigh when Mac rolled her eyes and kicked his shin. “Ow, Jesus!” He backed up quickly enough then. “Christ, Mac, last damn time I defend your honour!”

“Oh, I think I got that covered.” Mac looked unbearably smug and waggled her hand in front of his face – and then winced when her bruising knuckles protested. “Ow, shit!”

Looking at her hand, Jensen looked torn between concerned and exasperated. “Have you hurt yourself? We promised Mrs Beeson we'd have the car done by three, Mac.”

“Wow, feel the love.” Mac pouted, waggling her fingers some more. “Nuthin' broken. Just a little bruised, I think.”

“Yeah?” Not the least bit concerned but plenty damn exasperated, Jared scowled. “Want to know what else is bruised? My face.” His scowl darkened when brother and sister stared at him blankly, either having forgotten he was there or not really caring that he was – either option nor really conducive to calming his simmering temper. “Because you punched it.”

“Were you always such a whiny bitch?” Mac stared. “I don't remember. Was he?” She turned absurdly innocent eyes on her brother. “Honest, Jensen, I don't think he was like this as a kid, was he?”

Jensen's face tightened and his mouth flattened in a hard line. “Mac.” He jerked his head back towards the garage. “Go run some water over your hand and cool off. Now.”

Mac looked like she wanted to protest, but another hard look from Jensen had her capitulating. “Fine.” She scowled at Jared. “I'll be right inside.”

Jared scowled back. “Good. Stay there.” He watched her stalk off, muttering under his breath, “Brat.”

“Better than hooker I suppose.” Jensen looked back over his shoulder to make sure Mac had gone inside and then back at Jared warily. “What do you want?”

Jared studied him, taking in the way the sunlight fell over his features and glinted in his light brown hair and – sadly following the habit of a lifetime – blurted out, “You look real good, Jensen. Really....good.”

Jensen's eyebrows made a spirited attempt to connect with his hairline. “Excuse me?” He shuffled his feet and then, throwing Jared a closed look, eased back some to put another foot of space between them. “Is this another kind of interrogation technique? You couldn't break me with threats and handcuffs yesterday, so now you're trying to flatter a confession out of me?”

Jared ground his teeth. “No. I just.....” He heaved an explosive breath. “Why the hell are you making this so hard? It doesn't have to be this way between us. We're friends. Let me help you.”

A brief flicker of emotion showed in Jensen's eyes before he managed to catch himself, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared and when he met Jared's hopeful gaze seconds later there was nothing there but studied blankness. “We used to be friends. That was a long time ago.”

Jared reminded himself firmly that it was unethical and morally wrong to use his cuffs to slap on Jensen and force whatever secrets he had out of him. Likewise unethical and morally wrong to picture strong, aloof Jensen breathless and helpless at Jared's mercy and unable to prevent him patting his vest and jeans encased body down for anything he might be....concealing.

Dammit.

“One way or another I'm getting to the bottom of what's been goin' on around here, Jensen.” Jared tilted an eyebrow and folded his arms over his impressive chest, slouching to one side and displaying the gun he wore on his hip pointedly. “I'm doin' it with you or without you, but I am doin' it.”

Jensen's eyes flickered but he stood firm. “Gotcha. If that's all.....” He turned away. “Some of us got actual work to do around here that doesn't involve just blowin' hot air.”

Jared moved before he'd even registered the thought to do so. One hand wrapped around Jensen's closest bicep and he yanked him off balance to stumble against his chest with a surprised shout, the smell of engine grease and honest sweat filling his nostrils. “I didn't say you could go anywhere.” He tightened his grip when Jensen tried to shove him away and yanked again, this time hard enough to give Jensen no choice but to flail for balance at his shoulders or risk going to his knees. “I got some questions I need answerin'.”

Jensen tried to strain away, eyes hot and furious and grimly reminding himself that he couldn't swing out and connect with that tight jaw above him because there was no doubt in his mind that Jared would just love the opportunity to slap the cuffs on him and haul him in for assault. “Let go of me.” His voice a gravelly demand, Jensen shot a look back towards the garage aware that Mac could see them any minute – and then it wouldn't be assault but explaining why a Texas Ranger had been plugged full of buckshot – and tried to pull away again. “Jared, I'm warnin' you, let me go.”

Jared looked down at Jensen's flushed and angry face. “You gonna answer my questions?” He felt the twitch in the muscles under his fingers and tightened them further, forcing a gasp of surprised pain from Jensen at the bite of flesh and bone. “Well?”

Jensen risked a glance up, pissed beyond belief that he had to do so because the last time he had been this physically close to Jared they had at least been the same height, and growled once more, “Let.Me.Go.”

Jared bared his teeth. “No.”

A stand-off of a few seconds stretched out before Jensen looked away from the fulminating hazel eyes staring down into his and he told himself that it was only to prevent Mac from being carted off to jail and not because he could feel his body start to hum with long forgotten awareness at Jared's proximity and the increasingly desperate need to put some space between them. “Fine.” He jerked his arm again. “Fine, okay? You win.”

Jared held onto him for another few moments before slowly relaxing his fingers, making it all too obvious that Jensen was being turned loose because Jared was letting it happen and not because Jensen's wishes had anything to do with it. He watched Jensen put as much space as he could between them as he could and still have a reasonably private conversation and ignored the residual heat in the palm of his hand from Jensen's skin as he said, “Where were you the night of the fires?”

Jensen glared at him spitefully, resentment written in every line of his body. “Here. Asleep.”

Jared let his eyes drift down Jensen's body, not bothering to mask his blatant appraisal and questioned, “Alone?”

“You know I was.” Jensen's hands curled into frustrated fists at his sides. “Y'all have my statement.”

“ No, the local yokels have your statement. All I got is some bad attitude and a whole lotta run around since I came back.” Jared hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and eyed Jensen closely. “You sleep alone often?”

Startled, Jensen's eyes flew to his and the smaller man stared at him blankly not able to miss the sudden drop in register in Jared's questioning tone. “What?”

Jared grinned, enjoying the tenseness in Jensen's body and look on his wide-eyed face. Back in the day it had always been Jared staring flushed and wide-eyed at an infuriatingly confident and in control Jensen and he was man enough to admit that, despite the circumstances, he was loving the fact that he was the one in control now. “I asked if you sleep alone often? It a regular occurrence?”

Jensen gritted his teeth, face screwing up in a mixture of fury and embarrassment. “That's none of your business.

Jared's grin widened. “That's where you're wrong. Until this thing is settled to my satisfaction then pretty much everything about you is my business.”

Looking trapped and uncertain, Jensen stared at Jared. “This thing? What thing?”

“The fires.” Jared let some of the heat he was feeling in his gut show in his eyes, dragging his gaze up and down Jensen's body. “What else could I mean, Jensen?”

Jensen opened his mouth, shut it again and looked away from those knowing, mocking eyes. He ground his jaw and bit out, “No one comes out here. Just me.”

Jared blinked in confusion for a moment before realising that Jensen was answering his question of how often he enjoyed company in his bed rather than call Jared on his blatant appraisal of him and the underlying taunting nature of his question. He looked around, taking note of the solitude of the place, and felt a sudden unexpected pang of something like pity in his chest. “Lonely.”

Almost snarling, Jensen spat, “Peaceful.”

Jared shrugged, still watching Jensen's face for those lightening fast change in expressions. “I'll go with my first impression, thanks.” Not giving the other man chance to answer him, Jared continued, “You got any ideas on who's tryin' to set you up?”

Jensen froze, staring at him wordlessly, eyes round with surprise and confusion in his face.

Raising an eyebrow, Jared said smoothly, “There must be someone that comes to mind, Jensen. This town ain't exactly overflowing with criminal masterminds. Who've you managed to piss off these past few years that they hate you this much?”

Jensen's throat worked for a moment before he could speak. “You don't think I did it?” His forehead creased in bewilderment and the faintest of cautious hope in his eyes, he questioned hoarsely, “You believe me?”

Staring at him like he'd lost his mind, Jared slapped his hands on his hips and snapped, “Don't be a horse's ass, Jensen, of course I don't think you're capable of somethin' like this. I know you.” He rolled his eyes when Jensen jerked and opened his mouth again. “Fine. I knew you. Whatever. The point is I knew from the moment I sat down across from you yesterday that you weren't responsible for what's goin' on around here.”

Drawing a shaky breath, Jensen nodded jerkily. “Thanks.” He frowned and averted his eyes to the floor, not willing to let Jared see how much his faith meant to him. “I....thanks.”

Chancing a step forward, Jared lowered his voice and bent his head to try and catch Jensen's eye, hoping against hope that he'd made some kind of breakthrough. “But I also know that you do know somethin' that could maybe help me figure out just what is happening and, for whatever reason, you're hidin' it. C'mon, Jensen, just trust me a little, okay? Let me help.”

For a moment Jared thought he'd managed to break through when Jensen's face softened and he looked up at Jared with his expression utterly open and looking so much like the much younger man that Jared remembered that his breath caught in his throat, but even as the slow smile of recognition blossomed on his face Jensen's own closed over again. “I'm not hidin' anything. I got nothin' more to say.”

I am going to end up leaving this damn town in handcuffs myself, Jared thought, because before this is over I'm going to end up shooting this stubborn son of a bitch.

Jensen stepped away, looking back over his shoulder at the garage where Mac could now be seen standing in the doorway, watching them both silently. “I got work to do.”

Jared straightened, nodding slowly. “Okay. You do what you got to do.” He watched Jensen walk away from him – again – and called after him just as he drew level with his sister. “And so will I.”

Jensen's stride barely hitched before he walked into the cool dimness of the garage and out of Jared's sight. Mac stared at Jared for a long moment before her expression crumpled slightly and she hurried after her brother. Jared narrowed his eyes at the building, wishing like crazy that the handcuffs and wall slamming option was available to him and then turned on his heel towards his car, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He slid behind the wheel and stabbed his speed dial, holding the phone between his shoulder and ear as he started the car. “Please tell me y'all are on your way.” He huffed a mirthless laugh at the comment on the other end of the line and said semi-apologetically, “Sorry, man, rough day. Hi. You okay?” He sat with the engine running while he listened to the person on the other end and then asked again, “But you're on your way, right?” His eyes closed for a moment, relief written on every line of his face, before opening them again and resuming staring at the garage. “Thank the Lord. When you getting in? Okay, go to my mom's, I'll meet you there. Yeah, me too, buddy. See you.”

He tossed the phone onto the seat next to him, shot one more glare at the garage and then yanked the wheel to send his car into a wheel-spinning u-turn and back towards town and, hopefully, some answers.

~*~*~*~

“I think I'm offended.” Chad sat in the town's diner and enthusiastically attacked his laden plate. “I mean, the good Lord knows I'm pretty, but I didn't think I'd officially hit bimbo status just yet.”

Jared raised an eyebrow in query as he bit into his loaded burger and waited for Chad to continue, looking forward to the punchline.

“Do they not see the badge? Do they not see the gun?” Scandalized, Chad rolled his eyes upwards. “Do they not see the hat? Dude, I'm a Texas fucking Ranger. The best of the best!”

Jared glanced at the white hat that was the only real hard and fast piece of regulation uniform that the Texas Rangers had – and that Chad mocked incessantly at every opportunity and yet was desperately proud of – and nodded encouragingly. The best they were. Them and their hats.

Chad pursed his mouth disapprovingly. “Yet still that jackass of a sheriff let himself get blinded by the pretty and tried to snow me with the very worst attempt at a name and blame I have ever seen and then tried to get me to fool my damn self into thinking that I'd concluded Ackles was carrying out his little Carrie impression all over town and to close the damn case.” Chad took a ferocious bite of his own burger and stabbed a finger at Jared. “Fair warning, man, I'm the one gonna be makin' that bitch squeal like a pig before this thing is over.”

Jared fluttered his eyelashes. “Will you wear the hat, stud?”

Grinning, Chad nodded complacently. “The hat, the gun and I'm buying some fucking spurs, baby.”

Firmly putting that delightful image out of his head, Jared took another bite of his burger. “So, what do we have?”

“A piss poor attempt to set up Ackles, that's what.” Now serious, Chad squeezed ketchup over his fries and scowled at Jared. “Someone's got a hard on for your boy and I don't mean you.” He eyed his friend closely. “How'd it go with him this morning?” He rolled his eyes impatiently at Jared's guilty flush and shoved a soggy fry in his mouth. “Dude, seriously, don't let yourself be blinded by the pretty too. I ain't that dumb. You really thought I'd buy the 'I just want to hang with my momma!' line you tried on me? Tell me, you even wait till I got to the end of the street till you lit out after him?”

Jared glowered and tore some more of his burger away savagely. “You've bought worse.”

Chad snorted. “Really, really haven't. I just choose to let you think I buy your bullshit.” He gestured upwards at his hat. “Check it. I have the hat. It means more than I got the sense to keep my head outta the sun.”

Jared grinned wryly. “Gotcha.” He looked at the burger in his hand and dropped it back on his plate, suddenly no longer hungry. “Didn't get anything out of him. Just the same old run around.” He leaned his arms on the table and turned his head to stare pensively out of the window, eyes raking over the town square. “He's....different. Harder.”

Looking pained, Chad held up his hand. “Dude, not in front of the hat. Let's keep your gay yearnings for our downtime, okay?”

Huffing a laugh, Jared frowned at his friend and said, “Not harder, harder. Just....closed off. Shut down.” He sighed and looked away again. “He used to be like that with other folks, but not with me. It....shook me.”

Chad eyed his own lunch regretfully and then pushed it aside momentarily, leaning forward to mirror Jared's pose and fixing his partner with an intent stare. “Jared, its been ten years. You're tellin' me you're the same person you were back then? That Steve or Tom are? Things change, buddy.” He breathed his own sigh, debated with himself for a moment and then continued, “Look, from what I picked up this morning I don't think Ackles and his buddies have exactly had an easy time of it these past few years.” He met Jared's eyes when the other man's head snapped round to stare at him in query. “They seem to attract more than their fair share of attention from the law, if you get my drift, and it's only the fancy footwork of that lawyer that's kept 'em out of jail before this. Seems the sheriff is only too happy to blame anything from cow tipping to, well, arson on them on the say so of just about anybody who'll raise a voice against them.”

Uneasy, Jared shrugged. “Yeah, well we always kinda skated close to the edge back in the day. Didn't mean any harm, but....” He shrugged again, lazy grin oozing good 'ol boy aw shucks charm. “Boys will be boys.”

Chad rolled his eyes. “Boys will be fucking morons you mean.” He looked at Jared, eyes level and serious and chin squared in a way that still took Jared off guard at times. He sometimes felt sorry for the various criminals they had brought to justice over the years – if he was still blindsided by Chad's serious and unwavering moral code, then it must shock the fuck out of the felons that thought the cocky blond with the quick grin and careless eyes was an easy mark to be slipped a handful of bills on the quiet to persuade him to look the other way and more often than not found themselves actually choking on them after Chad got done kicking them around whatever location they happened to be in at the time. “I'm not talking about a couple of hick pranks, okay? That ass of a sheriff was happy to blame them for anything and everything he could think of and unless they really haven't slept in the last ten years or there's actually another twenty of them hidden somewhere in this cesspool of a town then there's no way they could have committed half of what they're accused of.” He pulled his plate back in front of himself. “I fucking hate people underestimating me. It really fucks with my chi.”

Jared stared at his friend. “You have chi?”

“Or maybe cheese.” Chad flashed his usual cocky smile. “Whatever, dude. I just hate people playing me for a fool.”

“But, Chad,” Jared blinked at him earnestly. “You make it so easy.”

“I will end you.” Chad pointed his fork threateningly at Jared and grinned happily over his shoulder when Jared heard the door to the diner open behind him. “Hey, pretty lady, come sit with us!”

Jared turned and saw his younger sister Megan standing just beside the diner's counter, staring at the two men with an uncomfortable look on her face. She turned to say something to the two curious looking girls she'd come in with and then walked stiffly over. “Hey.” She gave both of them a tight smile and asked politely, “How are you today?”

Jared tried to smile easily up at her, unsure what to do to get her to loosen up a little. His expression clouded over as Mac's words from their earlier argument came back to him and he found himself wishing that he'd made a little more effort over the years to develop a relationship with his little sister rather than just exchanging the occasional words over the phone and seeing her for family holidays. She'd grown up without him realising and now stood tall and willowy with her shiny brunette hair swinging perfectly below her shoulders and an unmistakably womanly body filling out her chic and understated clothes. His scowl deepened when he remembered Mac Ackles habitual wardrobe and he took a moment to be profoundly thankful that Megan hadn't decided to settle on the white trash look before giving her a warm smile and mentally flipping Mac the bird. You just watch him bond with his little sister. He was going to bond his fucking ass off! “Hey, Meggy. Sit down. We'll buy you lunch.”

Megan gave him another tight smile. “Thanks, but I'm with my friends.”

“Hey, no problem.” Jared leaned back, all lean lines and jovial older brother smiles. “I'm pretty sure we can stretch to springing for them too. Bring 'em on over.”

Megan's narrow, pretty face creased briefly in annoyance before it smoothed out into her default politely casual expression she seemed to use around Jared whenever she couldn't avoid him. “Thank you, no. We just came in for sodas. We're going shopping.” She glanced back over her shoulder to where her two friends still stood, watching her talk to Jared and Chad with inquisitive eyes. “I should get going. Y'all have a good day.” She smiled tightly at Jared, favoured Chad with a slightly warmer one and then turned on her heel and stalked off with another word.

Chad looked after her, amused smirk firmly in place. “So, seriously,” He looked back at Jared. “Does every sister in town hate your guts or just the ones you know personally?”

Jared scowled. “Ha ha.” He looked over his shoulder at Megan, watched as she paid for her soda and then left the shop without even so much as glancing in his direction, loftily ignoring the coy looks and giggles of her friends. “I guess she just doesn't....know me that well, you know? I haven't really been around much.”

“Huh.” Chad shrugged and attacked the last of his lunch. “Well, could be worse, she could have turned out like the Ackles kid.” He arched his eyebrows at Jared pointedly. “Imagine coming home to that, huh?”

And Jared, thinking not of the foul mouth and trashy clothes, but of the fierce love and unquestioning devotion in Mac's eyes and her every action when she was with not just Jensen but Chris and Mike too, lost what was left of his appetite and pushed his plate away wishing like hell he'd never agreed to come back home.

~*~*~*~

He was still brooding when he pulled into his parents' driveway later that afternoon and saw Tom and Steve sitting in Steve's truck, side by side, looking about as enthusiastic as he was to be back in Cherish, Texas.

Chad perked up in the seat next to him, a long afternoon of picking through the evidence against Jensen weighing them both down and frustration that the 'witness' who placed Jensen at both scenes was now, inexplicably, impossible to trace for their own initial interview. He flung open the passenger door and bounded out, yelling, “Oh thank God! Tell me you brought coffee!”

Steve got out of his truck rolling his eyes and holding out a super-sized Starbucks cup to Chad in the manner of someone trying to placate a mountain lion with a raw and juicy steak. “Yeah, here, might be a little....goddamn it, Murray!” He snatched his hand back, shaking off spilled coffee and throwing the plastic cover that Chad ripped off and discarded down on the floor. “What the fuck is with you?”

Chugging back barely tepid coffee like his life depended on it and trying to talk at the same time, Chad glared at the smaller man over the rim of his cup, mumbling, “Yfckrs, fcng oopit oaun scin m wiff liff!”

Steve stared blankly. “Huh?”

“I said.” Chad dragged a hand over his wet mouth and tipped his hat back, eyes squinting accusingly, “You fuckers, this fucking town is sucking my will to live!”

Still staring, Steve repeated blankly, “Huh?”

Jared cracked a tired grin as he drew level with his friend, explaining, “Chad's too pretty for Cherish. He thinks they're all treatin' him like a bimbo.”

Tom nodded wry agreement when he joined them. “Man, we're all too pretty for Cherish.” He stepped forward, wrapping strong arms tight around Jared's shoulders. “Good to see you, Jared.”

“Yeah.” Jared hugged back, glad down to his bones to feel Tom's tree trunk arms tight around his shoulders. Chad was great and loyal and had Jared's back come what may but he wasn't....Cherish. He wasn't lazy summer days and stolen sticky nights and first swallows of pilfered beer or skinned knees and scuffed sneakers and....he wasn't them. He didn't know three bone headed, stubborn proud fools like Jared knew them and he just wouldn't be what was needed to find out whatever the hell was going on in Cherish.

Chad didn't have the power to make three men scared down to their very bones that he'd showed up in town and he sure as hell didn't have the power to make them give up the reasons why they were.

Jared was prepared to bet everything he owned on the fact that he and his buddies did.

He released Tom with a final thump to his back and exchanged a quick hug with Steve before nodding at his momma's house. “Y'all better come in with me to say hi and then we'll head on out.”

Steve shoved a hank of his blond hair back behind one ear and grinned toothily at Jared. “Your momma gonna be okay with her precious baby boy stealin' off to play with his buddies so soon after hittin' town?”

Jared shrugged, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “I called her after I spoke with you. Told her we were gonna crash with you and Tom at your place if that's okay?” He glanced up at the house, mouth tightening. “She was okay about it and I think that Megan could really use the space. She's not used to havin' guys around under her feet all the time.”

Tom laughed. “Huh, little Megs, forgotten all about her. How's she doin'? Bet she's all grown up now, right?”

Jared managed to stifle his wince at the thought of Megan being forgotten, inexplicably uncomfortable with the idea of her fading into the background of his friend's lives and forced a wry smile. “Just wait till you see Mac.”

~*~*~*~

It was early evening before Jared had a chance to talk to Steve and and Tom on his own. After a nice little visit with his parents, and an uncomfortably polite five minute chat with Megan when she'd arrived home from her shopping trip, the four men had decamped to the house that Steve had grown up in and he had been left when his mother had passed two years previously and breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had spent an hour or so sitting around and shooting the shit, catching each other up with what had been happening in their lives since the last time they had all been together before Chad – god bless his unexpectedly tactful little heart – had called first shower and taken himself off to the bathroom to 'polish the pretty' as he put it.

Jared was really, really hoping he only meant to shower and that he wasn't using the words as a euphemism for anything else.

The three remaining men had sat silently until the sounds of Chad starting the shower and starting to tunelessly belt out a horrible mish mash of country tunes – most of them seeming to reference sexual conduct with an astonishingly wide variety of animals – and then Jared looked at his two friends. “Thanks for coming.”

Tom, carefully ignoring Chad soulfully pleading with a dairy cow called Daisy not to take her love to town, looked back at him and then grimaced. “Jared, I have to be honest with you, I'm not even sure why I did. This,” He waved a hand around the room vaguely, presumably to indicate Cherish as a whole rather than Steve's living room, and frowned. “This is done for me, man. I haven't thought about this in years.”

“I know.” Jared sighed. “And I'm sorry.” He dragged a hand through his hair looking frustrated. “I don't even know why I care so much. God knows those bastards haven't exactly welcomed me back with open arms.”

Chad abandoned Daisy and her freely given love and switched to crooning with heartrending emotion of the devastation of D.I.V.O.R.C.E when it applied to him, a pig called Percy and their little piglet off-spring called Squealy.

Steve, valiantly biting back a grin, slid smoothly into the conversation. “Jared, they haven't been speakin' to any of us for years, buddy. Through their own choice. I'm not seein' how they're gonna welcome any of us back with open arms.”

Groping for the right words, Jared laced his hands between his spread knees where he sat tensely on one of the sagging armchairs in the room and said lowly, “You tell me you haven't thought about them once over the years. Tried to see them when you came back to town. Hell, even just driven out by their places just tryin' to catch a look at them and I'll let this go. Y'all can go on back to your lives like I never called you and we'll never bring this up again.” He looked up, eyes dark with anger, frustration and another older emotion that, to his secret shame, had never completely faded when it came to a certain Jensen Ackles and continued rawly, “You tell me that you haven't gone over every damn detail time and time again tryin' to work out what we fucked up so badly that they cut us out like they did and I will let you walk away, but if you can't.....”

In the strained silence that fell between them, Chad's flat voice warbled his pain at losing his loving partner and the fact that he was being left with a number of hungry children and an unspecified number of cocks in his field.

Jared stared intently between his friends, seeing beneath the carefully bland looks and older faces to the boys they had been and the friendships – and more – that they had lost so suddenly and without explanation years before. “If you can't tell me that, then we owe it to ourselves to find out just what the hell happened.” His jaw tightened. “And if the only way to do that is to use this situation with Jensen to force our hands then I got no problem doin' that.”

Steve lifted his eyebrows. “Boy, that there would be called abuse of your authority.”

Jared didn't mention he was finding it increasingly hard to resist the temptation of abusing the hell out of his regulation handcuffs regarding Jensen and his amazingly irritating stubborn streak.

Tom, who had been staring silently down at the floor between his feet, said quietly without looking up, “If we do this then we don't quit until the job's done.” His handsome face creased in a frown, teeth worrying at his lower lip. “I don't....I won't back off if there's something there, Jared. He....” Tom swallowed, hard and painful, saying almost inaudibly, “Its been a long few years. If I let myself go back there then we don't quit till we know it all.”

In the background Chad's voice enthusiastically informed the world that as the Wichita County Linesman he was absolutely – nay, expected – to have a long and fruitful relationship with both his truck and his faithful old nag, Betty.

Steve sighed, tilting his head back against the couch and closing his eyes wearily, an ache starting to make itself felt in his chest that he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge in years. “Goddamn it, Jared, you couldn't have joined the F.B.I?”

“Sorry.” Not sounding it in the slightest, Jared grinned weakly. “It was the hat. Couldn't pass it up.”

“Yeah.” Steve sighed again, resignation, determination and just a little bit of anticipation making his skin tingle. “I know the feelin'.” He opened his eyes and brought his head forward, nodding once. “Okay. I'm in.”

Jared's face flooded with relief and he turned his head to look at Tom. The dark haired man stayed staring at the floor for several long moments, teeth still chewing hard at his lip, before he let out a slow and steady breath. “Yeah.” He allowed himself to remember lightening fast smiles and lean muscles shuddering under his hands outside of his dreams for the first time since he had kicked the dust of Cherish off his heels and left town without looking back. “Yeah. What the hell.”

Chad defiantly warbled that he was not only going to stand by his man, but also do several illegal things to his person and then do them all over again but this time on film and with judicious use of some feathers and fur – still attached to their original owners.

The tension of the room broke and, to a man, the three laughed and for the first time in a long time felt like they were really home.

~*~*~*

FIC: Cherish (2/11) NC17, J2, Tom/Mike, Chris/Steve, RPS AU

2009-08-24T20:02:13Z

Type your cut contents here.

~*~*~*~

The evening of his first day back in his hometown, Jared pulled up outside Chris' bar and stared up at the blue neon sign proclaiming 'Kane's' into the sultry night air. Beside him Chad looked dubiously out of the front windshield. “You didn't tell me there was a dress code.” He squinted sideways at Jared. “I thought the plaid thing was just a homage to your youth, man, not a fucking requirement.”

Jared swallowed a grin. “Just blending in, dude.” He shot his own look at Chad's ensemble and in an exaggerated drawl, said, “You hearin' those banjos yet, boy? That there shirt sure do set off your purty eyes.”

“I hate you. I hate you so much.” Chad cocked his forefinger and thumb at Jared and mimed shooting him. “Just so you know, the first local yokel that tries to make me squeal like a pig is gonna get shot.” He smoothed a hand over his tasteful and torso hugging Armani t-shirt, mourning, “I am so wasted on this crowd.”

“Yeah, they just don't deserve you.” Jared got out of the car, looking around the crowded car lot and absently starting to nod his head along to the thumping country beat blasting out of the bar. “Looks like Chris is doin' okay for himself.”

Depressed, Chad also got out of the car and counted thirteen pick up trucks before he made himself stop and concentrate on getting through the night unravished and alive. “Jesus Christ, this whole place is like a living cliché.” He joined Jared at the hood of the car and started across the car park with his friend, saying accusingly when Jared started to hum along with the music from the bar, “You're going native. Come back to me, man. Remember Starbucks? All night delis? Cars that you don't buy just because you might need the extra room to carry a cow in back?”

Jared gave the various customers milling around outside the bar a sickly grin when they turned and stared at the newcomers and murmured, “Chad, inside voice, okay? Please!” He took the two steps to the wide wrap around porch in a single stride, nodding to a couple of guys leaning against the rail that he vaguely recognised from high school and took a deep breath. “You ready?”

Staring at the door to the bar with deep, deep loathing, Chad nodded. “Yeah.” He paused for a moment and questioned a little nervously, “The plaid and denim thing isn't contagious, is it? I'm not going in there a hot and amazingly well turned out stud and coming out a poor relation to Willie Nelson?”

Jared groaned and pushed open the swing door. “Okay, I changed my mind. Forget the inside voice, we're gonna go with no voice for the duration, okay? Just shut up and try not to get us shot.”

Following on Jared's heels, Chad stepped over the threshold and stopped short in disbelief at his first sight of the bar, replying faintly, “No promises.” He stared some more. “Dude, please tell me that isn't actual sawdust on the floor. That's gotta be against code!”

Jared swept his eyes over the packed room, smiling absently at Chad's horrified comment and took in the scene. The couple of times he had been here back in his younger days – when Chris' dad had owned the bar – it had always been closed and kind of creepy without anyone but Jim Kane stocking up and keeping an eye on the six boys pretending they were all grown up sitting at the bar with sodas and peanuts before they got herded out before opening time. Now the room was packed wall to wall with relaxed, happy customers, some dancing on the large space in the middle of the room kept free of the densely packed tables and booths that filled the rest of the area, and casually watching the four piece band giving it their all on the small stage at the back. He looked to his right and saw the packed bar running the length of the room, two or three deep in some cases and then his face split in a wide grin when he caught sight of Chris' gleaming head through the heaving mass as he filled orders and exchanged banter with his customers. “C'mon, this way.” He took a step and then pulled up short when a slender, female form slipped in front of him.

“Hey, welcome to Kane's.” Mac glanced up from the order pad she was hastily scribbling on and flashed a practised smile. “If you're here to eat we've got a.....” Her eyes widened angrily. “Get out. You're not welcome here.”

Jared stared down at her, ignoring Chad's 'Oh my god, people actually eat here?' from behind him and said in surprise, “Mac? You work here?”

Slapping her hands on her hips – to Jared's eternal gratitude a great deal more decently covered than the last time he'd seen them – Mac lifted her chin in challenge. “Wow, I can see why you're in law enforcement. That's some freaky ass detective skills you got goin' on there, Sergeant.” She looked down at herself pointedly. “What gave me away?”

Jared followed the direction of her look and took in the blue t-shirt with 'Kane's' emblazoned across her chest in stark white letters, the black serving apron around her waist and the practical jeans and flat boots she was sporting. He nodded and deadpanned, “Yeah, I got me some mad skills.” He sighed when Mac continued to stare scornfully at him, saying softly, “Come on, Mac, cut me some slack. I'm just tryin' to do my job here, I want to help.”

Unmoved, Mac raised an eyebrow. “Then turn your ass around and head on back to where you came from. Your kind of help we don't need.”

“There a problem, Mac?” The deep, rumbling voice had the three turning their heads and Mac smirking triumphantly even as Jared and Chad blinked and took a step backwards in unison from its owner. “Need a hand?”

“Nah.” Shooting Jared a final nasty glare, Mac sidled sideways and cuddled up to the behemoth that was studying Jared and Chad like he was considering them for an appetiser. “I got this, Davey. These guys are looking for something a little more....” She raked a disparaging gaze over Chad's chic and bang on trend outfit. “Citified.” She waved dismissively at the two silent rangers. “Bye. Y'all take care now, y'hear?”

Jared dragged his eyes momentarily away from Mac's scary looking buddy and returned dryly, “Thanks, Ellie May.” He looked back at the menacing looking individual now draping a meaty arm around Mac's shoulders and squinted thoughtfully before flashing a wide, delighted grin. “Davey? Davey Olson, right? How you doin', man?”

Davey – all six foot six, three hundred pound tattooed inches of him – looked briefly disconcerted before fixing a menacing scowl back on his homely face. “I know you?” He squinted back at Jared. “You the guy I tossed through the window of his pick up last month?”

Chad moaned behind Jared and whispered, “Step aside, partner, I got my finger on the trigger and I can peg him between the eyes before he knows what's hit him.”

Jared rolled his eyes, ignored Chad's comment and Mac's murderous expression and held out his hand. “Davey, its me, Jared. Jared Padalecki. From high school, remember?”

Chad moaned behind him once more. “Christ, don't give him your hand, you'll never get it back.”

Davey looked confused for a moment and then recognition flooded his face. “Jared!” He gripped Jared's hand and pumped it enthusiastically. “Man, I didn't recognise you. How you doin'? I didn't know you were back in town.”

Manfully suppressing a whimper as his own not inconsiderable paw was crushed in Davey's grip, Jared beamed back at his old friend. “Just got in this mornin'.” He ignored Mac's venomous glare and heaved a sigh of relief when his hand was released. “Been catching up with the folks all day.”

Davey flashed rueful grin. “An' you got out of the house already? I'm impressed, Padalecki.” His grin widened. “Though you always was a sly one, quick on your feet.”

Arms folding across her chest, Mac cut into the reunion, snapping, “The sly part's right, anyway.” She glanced up at Davey when he looked taken aback at her spiteful remark and explained sharply, “And he wasn't with his family all day, right Jared? The first part of the day he spent with my family and chaining him to fucking furniture.”

Looking even more confused, Davey said, “Huh?”

Pointing at Jared and Chad with a sharp fingernail, Mac spat, “These two are the city hotshots sent in to look into the fires and Tommy Neil's accident. Which they seem to think is all down to Jensen.”

Eyes widening in sudden understanding, Davey looked uncomfortably between Mac and Jared's suddenly unreadable face and hurriedly decided that a higher authority than his own was needed to deal with the situation. “You better go get Chris.” He waited until Mac flounced triumphantly off and then shrugged apologetically at Jared before planting himself squarely in front of the two lawmen. “Sorry, Jared. Chris and Jensen are still pretty tight and I don't know that he'd be real happy with you bein' here right now under the circumstances.”

“S'ok, Davey.” Jared waved aside the apology and watched as across the room Mac elbowed her way through the crowd and hoisted herself half over the bar to get Chris' attention. “She really works here, huh? Bet Donna and Alan are real happy with that.”

Davey glanced in Mac's direction and shrugged. “They seem okay with it. They know Chris'll keep an eye on her.” He huffed a laugh. “You see that t-shirt she's wearing?”

Jared looked away from where Chris had just turned his head in response to Mac's gesticulating hands and strident demands for action and was looking at him with a startled, wary expression and raised an eyebrow at Davey. “Yeah? So?”

Davey jerked his head back to indicate the rest of the room. “You see any of the other servers wearing them?” He waited for the confused shake of Jared's head and leaned forward to confide, “Mac's the only one. It's not so much advertising, more....ownership.”

Jared's eyebrows shot up. “Isn't Chris a little old for her?” He didn't add that back in the good old days Chris Kane was only interested in a certain type of blond, specifically one that came with considerably more stubble and much less cushioning around the chest area.

Davey snorted. “Not like that. All the boys know round here that if a girl's wearin' that shirt then they're talkin' to the girl that Chris thinks of as his own sweet baby sister and....” He shrugged and cracked his knuckles pointedly. “Well, lets just say you don't want to go making Chris think you ain't treatin' his little girl with respect.” He cracked his knuckles again, adding thoughtfully, “Or me.”

Jared cleared his throat. “Right. Gotcha.”

Chad scrubbed a rough hand over his eyes. “Oh God, we're gonna die.”

Lips twitching with sudden humour, Jared questioned, “Mac know that?”

His expression a mix of humour and alarm, Davey shook his head, “Oh hell no. She thinks its just because Chris can't afford to order the uniform for the rest of the staff yet. He told her it a was a trial thing, move things more upmarket.”

Jared pictured Mac and her likely reaction to finding out she'd basically been wearing a stamp of possession to work and winced. “Good call.”

“Jared. Hey.” The laconic greeting had Jared turning his head and then moving his gaze down somewhat until he met Chris Kane's unreadable blue eyes. His old friend jerked his head at Davey. “Thanks, man, I got this now.”

Davey's eyes darted between the men for a moment before he nodded. “Sure thing, Chris. Good seeing you again, Jared.” He looked between them for another moment and took to his heels wearing an expression of relief on his face that, on a man of his size and general menacing appearance, looked truly pathetic.

Jared kept his face pleasantly blank, aware of Chad moving silently up to his shoulder and of Mac moving somewhat less stealthily up behind Chris with stomping footsteps of doom. “Good to see you, Chris.” His eyes skated briefly over the other man, taking in the healthy head of hair, strong handsome face and the compact, muscled body that filled out his white vest and tight jeans so nicely. “You're looking good too.” Nodding to indicate the packed bar, Jared ignored the heads that were starting to turn in their direction as people began to realise something was going on and alert their friends. “Seems like you got a good thing goin' here.”

“Yeah.” Chris looped a strong – and restraining – arm around Mac's shoulders and pulled her into his side, standing hip shot as he looked Jared up and down. His eyes shifted to Chad. “Don't believe I know your friend.”

Chad, oozing professionalism from every well-ex foliated pore, held out his hand with a polite smile. “Sergeant Murray, Texas Rangers.”

Chris ignored Mac baring her teeth and growling under her breath and shook Chad's hand briefly before looking back at Jared. “This is an official visit then?” He glanced around them pointedly. “Not the best time for it, Sergeants.”

Jared gritted his teeth at the tone of casual dismissal in Chris' voice and pointed use of his title and shook his head. “No, we're just here for a beer and to kick back a little. Definitely off duty tonight.”

Chad cut in. “Sorry, my fault.” He shrugged ruefully. “Force of habit, I guess. Call me Chad.”

Mac blew her tousled bangs out of her eyes and stared disdainfully at the two men. “How 'bout I just call you Tool 1 and Tool 2? That works for me.” She glanced up at Christian. “That work for you?”

Chris grinned and pressed a smacking kiss to her temple before shoving her away with a friendly slap to her butt. “How 'bout you remember you're on the clock and that you only get to call customers names in your head till you clock out, little girl.” He sent her a speaking look when she opened her mouth indignantly and said quietly, “Mac, its okay. I'll deal with it. Take over from me behind the bar, forget the tables for the rest of the night.”

Mac paused for a moment like she was going to protest further and then nodded slowly without taking her eyes from Chris' face. “Okay.” She darted in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Call me if you need me.” Without looking back at Jared or Chad she stalked off towards the bar, hips swinging with her angry steps.

Chris smiled thinly at Jared's expression and shrugged, “We like to think we look out for her but, truth is, we all know pretty well that she's doin' most of the donkey work.” He folded his arms across his chest, biceps bulging attractively, and cocked his head. “So, you're not workin' now?”

Jared shook his head, eyes skipping over Chris' head and nodding to acknowledge the first of many raised hands and surprised nods as old acquaintances realised who it was that Chris was keeping standing in the doorway of his bar. “No. Just lookin' to catch a little downtime, I swear.” He looked down at Chris again, letting a little of his discomfort bleed into his eyes and maybe a little desperation for some hint of their boyhood connection. “Maybe catch up a little with an old friend.”

Chris' mouth twisted sourly. “Sorry, son, I'm about as comfortable as Jensen with the cuffs thing. You're welcome to drink here as long as you stay outta Mac's way, but you wanna talk to me then you go through my lawyer.” Touching his forefinger to his brow in a salute, Chris turned away with a final parting shot over his shoulder. “Jensen and Mike'll be by in a little while, I reckon it might be a good idea for you to be in a dark corner by then if you're stayin'. Don't think either of them will be too happy to see you. Have a good night, boys.”

Jared and Chad watched him walk away and then Chad turned to Jared with narrowed, accusing eyes. “Okay, seriously, what the hell did you do to those guys? Dude, did you Mrs Robinson all their moms?” He leered. “Did ya? You can tell me, man. Was it good?”

Fighting to keep the hurt and anger off his face, aware that he was now the focus for just about every long time Cherish resident in the bar that night, Jared smiled grimly, “Let's find a table and get a drink.” He met Chad's suddenly concerned eyes and raised a meaningful eyebrow. “Not now, okay? Just....not now.”

“Gotcha.” Chad clapped a hand to his friend's shoulder and winked, his own sharp eyes registering the interest being shown them and his professional demeanor sliding effortlessly into place. “Let's show these good ol' boys a good ol' time.” He moved forward, adding hastily over his shoulder as he began to shove his way through the crowd, “Only not too good a time. I got my pride after all.”

Jared squared his shoulders, lifted his chin and ignored the furious scowl being sent his way from Mac behind the bar, following close behind as he snorted, “Oh you do not. Remember who you're talking to, dude.”

And defiantly laughed longer and harder than he needed to when Chad flipped him the bird and he realised that Chris stood at the end of the bar, still watching him with stormy, worried eyes.

~*~*~*~

Jensen, against his better judgement, walked into the bar with Mike stalwartly by his side half an hour after Jared and Chad have arrived and his chin tilted defensively when he felt what feels like the attention of the entire damn room shift to him. His two friends had spent the pretty much the whole afternoon convincing him that the worst thing he could do after being brought in for questioning over the fires that morning was to lie low and hide from Cherish's inquisitive eyes and, although this was the last thing he wanted to be doing, he eventually agreed. Having lived in the claustrophobic little town all his life he knew that by now every neighbour and his dog would have heard about the latest development in the case and would be watching him for signs of guilt or contrition and the absolute worst thing he could do would be to give the town more cause for speculation.

“You've done nothin' wrong, son.” Chris had fixed him with an intent stare. “Hold your head up and face 'em down. This ain't nothin' but a storm in a teacup.”

“Fuck 'em all.” Had been Mike's far more earthy and pissy response. “I don't care if you've set the town hall on fire in broad daylight and danced naked on the embers in front of the town council, fuck 'em all.”

And so, more for the friends that he just knew were going to black a few eyes and bust a few noses before this thing was over, Jensen had grimly showered, changed and climbed into his truck to get Mike rather than crashing on his couch as he had wanted to do and letting the night fall around him while he relived seeing Jared Padalecki for the first time in eight years that morning.

He forced himself to keep an unhurried, casual pace over to the bar, trying not the see the speculative eyes turn away if he caught them and hear the whispers when he was safely past, aware that between him, Chris and Mike it wasn't the first time he'd run this particular gauntlet over the years and it was unlikely to be the last. In contrast, Mike strutted beside him like a peacock, seeming to relish the looks and hissed comments, visibly puffing up when they reached the bar and met Mac's bright eyes.

“Hey guys!” Also aware of the looks and comments, Mac hoisted herself up and over the bar and threw her arms around their necks whilst balancing precariously on her belly. “Thought you'd never get here.” She accepted the expected kisses to her cheeks as her due and then released them and slithered back down onto her feet. “Usual?” Staring in pointed challenge at the silent customers on either side of her brother and Mike, Mac waited till they turned away before reaching back to the chill and pulling out two frosty bottles of beer. “You eaten?”

Jensen smiled his thanks when the drinks slid across the bar top with practised ease and his beer slipped into his waiting hand with a familiar slap. “I'm good.”

Mac grinned and winked. “Darlin', you're fucking awesome, but that doesn't tell me if you're hungry or not.”

Mike grinned at the girl, his eyes crinkling up at the corners with love and laughter. “Kitchen's closed.”

Mac turned her head to check the clock hanging on the wall over the mirror against the back wall that ran the length of the bar and then turned back to the two men. “Just ten minutes since. There's gonna be chilli and fries still warm at least. You want me to go see what I can dig up?”

Mike hastily jumped in before Jensen could refuse once more. “Thanks sweetheart.” He smirked. “Now if you'd just grow a pair,” He nodded at her chest with another roguish smirk, “And lose a pair, you'd be my ideal guy.”

Mac laughed, shot another pointed look at two ranch hands that were standing nearby and looking disgusted after overhearing Mike's less than subtle comment and then winked back, drawling, “Baby, I'm already too much man for you to handle and my metaphorical balls are bigger than pretty much anyone in this room anyway, why the hell would I need to lose my awesome bod to prove that?” She blew Mike a kiss when he laughed delightedly and turned for the kitchen. “Back in a few, take a seat at the end of the bar and I'll let Chris know you're here.”

Jensen shook his head and watched his baby sister sashay off. “Remember when she used to be sweet and ladylike?” He sighed morosely. “And mostly silent?”

Mike sniggered and took a chug of his beer. “Nope.” He swiped the back of his hand over his mouth, adding, “And neither do you. I think you're gettin' her mixed up with....hell, I don't know who you're gettin' her mixed up with, but sweet and ladylike sure doesn't sound like any version of Mac I've ever known.”

Despite himself Jensen laughed. Yeah, that was his Mac. Crass, trashy and with a heart and smile bigger than their home state. He lifted his beer to his lips, letting his eyes drift over the packed bar....and then nearly drowned himself when he choked at meeting Jared Padalecki's hooded eyes watching him from one of the raised booths on the other side of the dance floor.

Alarmed, Mike hastily put his own bottle on the bar and pounded helpfully – and painfully – on Jensen's back. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“Yeah.” Chris sidled up alongside them, seemingly out of nowhere, shooting them both an apologetic look even as he eased Jensen out from under Mike's increasingly frantic pounding. “Wanted to warn you that we got some visitors in from out of town before you bumped into them yourselves.”

“What?” Mike looked mystified until he looked in the direction of Chris' subtle jerk of the head and saw Jared and Chad watching the three of them intently, Chad raising his beer in a mocking toast when he met Mike's eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? You let them in here?”

“What was I meant to do?” Hissing the words, Chris let Jensen go when he was sure that he was breathing under his own steam once more. “Kick their asses out for doin' their fuckin' jobs? We agreed we were gonna go on like normal and keep under the radar earlier, remember? Not draw attention to ourselves. Nuthin' like kickin' out an old friend for no good goddamn reason to advertise 'Hey, big 'ol top secret conspiracy goin' on here!' please, ask us what.”

Mike blinked. “Okay.” He eyed his friend askance. “Feelin' the pressure there, buddy?”

Chris glared, ran a rough hand through his hair and snarled, “Little bit, yeah.”

Looking at Jensen still red faced and with dribbles of beer down his shirt and Chris nearly vibrating out his skin with tension, Mike rolled his eyes and flashed his friends a double thumbs up. “Way to fly under the radar, fellas. Seriously, we rule at subterfuge.”

Jensen, a little hoarsely, said, “Mac seen them yet?”

Pained, Chris screwed up his face when Mike shot him a half wary half anticipatory glance. “She was on the door when they came in.” He darted a lightening fast look in Jared and Chad's direction and then looked back at his two friends, finishing sardonically, “No one came away bleedin' so I'm callin' it a win.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Jensen turned his back on Jared and inquired huskily, “You let her wait on their table?”

“I look like I wanna be shut down to you?” Incredulous Chris raised his eyebrows at his buddy. “The girl knows where I keep the rat poison, y'know.”

Mike's eyes softened with misty pride. “She's a firecracker, isn't she?”

“Who?” Mac sauntered up to join her three favourite men and tucked her arm companionably through Jensen's. “Who we talkin' about?” She looked baffled when the three stared at her with wariness, fondness and – in Mike's case – benevolent approval. “What?”

“Nuthin'.” Chris shook his head, made a mental note to hide the rat poison somewhere else and stared pointedly at Mac. “I'm payin' you to stand around and look pretty now? Thought I told you to tend bar for the rest of the night?”

Unimpressed by the rebuke, Mac ignored him and tugged at Jensen's arm. “Food's ready. Follow me.” She pulled her brother after her, shooting over her shoulder at Chris, “I'm on a break. The pretty's just a bonus.” She pulled up at the end of the bar, winking at Davey where he stood guard over two empty stools in front of two bowls loaded with chilli and an oversized basket of fries. “Thanks, Davey.” She stole a handful of fries and shoved Jensen onto one stool and then waited until Mike occupied the other one before hopping up on his lap and cramming them into her mouth. “So, you seen we got company tonight?”

Mike adjusted her more comfortably onto his thigh and less squashing his cock and reached around her for his bowl of chilli. “Jesus, you've got a bony ass.” He grunted when Mac elbowed him in the ribs and scowled when she dipped her fingers into his food and scooped out a bite of chilli. “Although how you have when you eat like a fuckin' trucker is beyond me.”

Mac nodded at her brother opposite her, staring blankly into his bowl of chilli with his shoulders hunched up defensively around his ears. “Good genes. Its the Ackles curse, we're all fucking gorgeous.”

“No argument there.” The deep, amused voice had Mac and her three companions turning their heads and looking up to meet Jared's slightly hesitant eyes. “Hello again.”

Mac hissed when the comfortable arm Mike had looped around her waist tightened like a boa constrictor and threatened to cut off her air supply when she tensed angrily. “What?” She swatted at Mike. “Its not like I'm gonna stab him with a butter knife or anything. I got some class don't I?”

Jared narrowed his eyes at her pointedly. “You spat on my shoes.”

Chris choked on the beer he had raised to his lips and slanted a look at Mac's smug expression, Mike's jaw flexing warningly and Jensen's rigid profile. “Okay, break's over. Back to work, Mac.” He jerked his head when she glared at him, snapping, “Now.”

“Fine.” Hopping down, Mac pressed a quick kiss to Jensen's cheek and stuck her tongue out at Mike and Chris. “I'm goin'.” She stared deliberately at Jared. “But I'm keepin' my eye on you.”

“Y'know,” Jared looked after her wide eyed and thoughtful. “I've been in law enforcement nearly ten years, I carry a gun and I still find that terrifying.”

Chris and Mike snorted in amusement before they remembered themselves and then scowled ferociously at Jared in unison for daring to remind them they had all once been friends and for making them forget that he had chained Jensen to a table only that morning. “You're off duty, right Sergeant?” Mike waited for Jared's affirmative nod and continued, “Then get lost. You're interrupting our dinner.”

“Mike, c'mon.” Jared took a step closer to his three friends, intensely aware of the speculative looks being sent their way from all around the room and the homicidal ones from Mac as she slung bottles and shots at the other end of the bar. “I want to help. I'm sorry about this mornin', he was already cuffed when we got there.” He turned to Jensen, daring to reach out and touch one tense shoulder. “Jensen, please, give me a break here.

Jensen shrugged the touch away, looking up for the first time to meet Jared's eyes and fixed a sneer on his face. “Thanks but I'll pass.” He looked away from the tightening of Jared's jaw and the flash of something that looked a lot like hurt in his eyes. “Pretty much met my quota for intimidation and humiliation today.”

“I'm here to do a job.” Jared clenched big hands at his thighs, itching to reach out and shake some sense into Jensen. Itching to feel the other man under his hands once more. Ten years should have been long enough to make the want and the ache go away, but.....damn, he hated when Chad was right. “Jensen.”

Jensen turned back to his bowl of chilli with grim determination, suppressing any and all memories of sweet kisses and slender gangly limbs wrapping themselves round him through one hot summer. “Go away, Jared. I don't want or need your help, I've done nothing wrong. You're not wanted here.”

Jared stared at the nape of Jensen's bowed neck, fighting hurt and fury and want with everything in him and somehow found the reserves of strength in him to nod shortly and not reveal any of the emotions inside on his face. He looked at Mike and Chris, and saw the same uncompromising looks on their faces that had been on Jensen's, not even a glimmer of empathy or hint of the connection they had once shared. He nodded again. “Fine.” Hooking his thumbs in his belt and squaring his shoulders mulishly, Jared said grimly, “I'm goin'. But don't make the mistake of thinking this is over, Jensen, because it's not. I'm back and I'm not leaving town until I get to the bottom of whatever's goin' on around here. Trust me when I say I don't care what I have to do or who I have to go through to get the answers I need.” He bared his teeth at the three men when they all stiffened under his uncompromising eyes. “Be seein' you guys.”

Chris watched as Jared stalked off, raising a hand to signal to Chad that the evening was over and then walked out without another look back. “Crap.”

Scowling, Mike followed a confused looking Chad with his eyes as he met Jared at the door and the two men disappeared into the night. “Jesus, who knew he could be such a mean son of a bitch?”

Hunching his shoulders up around his ears as though he could feel the weight of all the curious glances in the bar being directed at them, Jensen thought back to the last time he had seen Jared before he had left town to pursue his career and dreams and remembered hard hands, hot lips and breathless, cursing pleas down by the lakeside at the very edge of his parents property. He shoved his bowl of chilli away from him sharply, no longer hungry, and rubbed at his lips as though he could still feel the bruises that Jared had left there. “Me.”

~*~*~*~

As was typical when his best friends were the last ones left in the bar at the end of the night, Chris walked them out to their cars, grateful for the stillness of the night in the wee hours and the cool lick of air over his skin after the thick atmosphere of the bar after having two hundred people in close proximity to him. He opened his arms to a tired looking Mac when they reached her car first and wrapped her up tighter than he customarily did, needing the feel of her solid and sweat damp in his arms and the slow drag of her eyelashes against his skin when she turned her face into his neck with a small sigh. Being one of the privileged few – and by that he meant himself and his two friends – that ever got to see Mac at anything less than loud and brassy, he loved the quiet moments when she allowed herself to be petted and fussed like the child she still was in his eyes.

Despite the distressingly long list of curse words she knew and the mean right hook they had spent one long hot summer teaching her when she turned fifteen and developed her breasts and, subsequently, the attention of every man under the age of twenty-five in the county.

“Get some sleep, darlin'. You earned it tonight.” Chris pressed a kiss to her damp hairline and smiled when she huffed irritably against his collarbone. “Listen to your boss. Don't want me docking your pay do you?”

Mac curled closer for a moment, eyes squeezed tight shut when Chris' arms tightened even more and then wriggled free. “And if you actually paid me enough to notice it goin' into my account each week, I might worry, you tightwad.” She turned to Mike and squeaked unintentionally when he swung her off her feet and squeezed the breath out of her. Arms firmly around his neck and her legs scooching up to wrap around his waist, Mac turned her head until her lips brushed his ear and breathed barely audibly, “You'll make this okay, right? You won't let anything happen to him?”

Mike squeezed harder and said in the same firm voice he had used when she was twelve and he had told her that it was absolutely allowed to kick someone in the balls in a fair fight, and even if it wasn't then she should do it at all times anyway. Non-negotiable. “You bet, sweetheart. I am all over this.”

Mac pressed a wet and enthusiastic kiss to his mouth and ignored the traditional bellow of 'Ugh, girl cooties!' when she jumped down and turned to her brother. Her bow shaped mouth turned downwards at the tired strain on his face and the dark circles under the eyes that mirrored her own. “I still love you best.” She wrapped her arms around his waist when he smiled wearily at her and tucked her head under his chin. “Really. I'm only using them for the cash and treats. You're my best.”

“You too, kid.” Jensen hugged her tight, breathing in her musky been-working-my-ass off all night scent and the constant, never changing love and belief she had in him. “Go straight home, okay? I'll see you in the morning.” He tapped her cheek affectionately when she stepped back and with a final wave goodbye opened her car and climbed in. Just before she shut her door, he added hastily, “Wearin' some decent clothes, okay? Please!”

Mac rolled her eyes, started the car and then nearly reversed over all three of them when she gunned the car back and wheel span off into the night.

Chris shot Mike a speaking look. “And that is why I said that you teachin' her to drive was a fuckin' terrible idea. Girl thinks she's NASCAR material, I swear.”

Mike beamed proudly. “I know, great isn't it? I'm getting her racing for pinks next year. They'll never see her comin'.”

Looking alarmed, and a little thoughtful, Chris replied, “In her clothes? Son, that's all they're gonna see.”

Jensen, slightly worried by the increasingly speculative look taking over Chris' features, interrupted hastily, “Guys, before we get started on my baby sister's criminal career, can we focus on ending mine? Please?” He looked pointedly between his two friends, both looking a little chastened, adding morosely, “I don't think my momma can handle having two prospective felons in the family.”

Mike and Chris exchanged looks, both making mental notes to revisit the idea of Mac racing for pinks in the underground racing circuit that flourished county wide despite the law's spirited attempts to shut it down, and gave Jensen their full attention. “You're right.” Mike nodded, thinking to himself he needed to take Mac shopping for some new clothes. Something a little more....revealing than her current wardrobe. Some dental floss and a napkin ought to cut it. “We need to get organised. Okay, what first?”

Chris and Jensen stared at him in the moonlight. Chris coughed. “Uh, you're the one with the law degree, man. I tend bar and he fixes cars. No pressure, but you're kind of our last, best hope.”

“Huh.” Mike blinked. “Damn.”

Jensen closed his eyes, fighting down a spiral of panic in his chest. “I am so screwed.”

“No, no, no!” Mike tried to beam reassuringly. “I told you, I totally got this. Really.” He tapped thoughtfully at his lip with one long forefinger and frowned – a pose he was sure had gotten him through more than one class at law school when it seemed to convince his professors he was a deep, deep thinker and not deeply, deeply horny and studying the ass of the guy in front. In retrospect it was possible he should have been concentrating more on his class contents rather than the actual people the class contained. “Okay, I still think our best bet is getting the name of that witness. From there we need to find out why they lied about Jensen being at both scenes and, maybe, find out if there's someone else behind it all. That should be our priority.” He flicked a sudden wary look at Jensen. “That and keepin' the hell out of Jared's way. I don't like the way he was lookin' at you in there.”

Jensen felt himself flush dully, absurdly grateful for the darkened gloom of the night. “He wasn't lookin' at me any particular way. Unless you count the way he's pretty damn eager to lock me up and throw away the key.”

Chris flexed his jaw and shifted uncomfortably. “Jensen, come on, you know what we mean. He couldn't have made it any more obvious if he'd have tipped you over the bar face first and gone to town then and there.”

The flush on Jensen's skin turned radioactive. “Chris!” His throat seemed to tighten and he remembered Chad's predictions of what awaited him at lock-up if he ever got that far. “Quit it, okay, that's not funny.”

“And we're not kidding.” Mike, finally looked like the responsible, grown-up lawyer he was. “That boy's gonna be a real problem if we're not careful. He starts diggin' around and pretty soon he's gonna start hearin' things that aren't related to the attacks and that could start him lookin' in a whole new direction. A direction that we really don't want him lookin' in. Some things we don't need be raked up, fellas.”

Chris huffed a mirthless breath and absolutely did not remember sky blue eyes smiling down at him over a stubbled jaw through long, hot nights in his little gabled bedroom. “You're not kiddin'.” He scrubbed a hand through his tousled hair. “Jesus, you guys imagine how bad things could get if Tommy and Steve swoop down on us too?” He leaned back against Mike's car, suddenly weary down to his bones, muttering hesitantly, “You think they still talk?”

Mike, looking wrecked and open in a way that he rarely allowed himself to feel let alone show another person, shook his head. “We're not thinking about that.” When Chris and Jensen looked at him and then turned their eyes away again, he sounded almost panicked when he repeated, “We're not thinking about that.” He took a shuddering breath to steady himself and said almost calmly, “We just keep focusin' on keeping out of Jared's way and on findin' out on why the hell Jensen's bein' set up and why. That's it.”

Chris and Jensen looked at each other and then at Mike, nodding slowly. “Okay.” Chris nodded again, keeping his face blank and not showing any of the emotions churning inside him or his empathy for Mike's obvious precarious grip on his own emotions. “Okay. You're right. This is about us. Here and now.”

“You got it, baby.” Mike winked and gave his friends a close approximation of his usual devil-may-care grin. “I'm hittin' the hay. You two girls do the same, the lord knows you could both do with the beauty sleep.” He slid into his car and without another word drove off into the night.

Jensen and Chris watched his taillights disappear and then Jensen turned to Chris with a tired smile. “See you tomorrow?” He waited for Chris' affirmative nod and started for his own truck before pausing and looking back at his friend. “Chris? I think they do. They still talk.”

Chris stared back with a naked expression for a moment before nodding and saying huskily, “Yeah, me too.” He tried to smile. “So we do whatever we gotta to keep 'ol Sergeant Padalecki sweet and focused on the fire attacks, right? Get his lanky ass the hell outta town just as soon as we can so things can start getting back to normal round here.”

Jensen swallowed and ignored the punch of emotion to his gut. “Yeah, that's the plan. Don't even want to think about anything else.” He lifted a hand to Chris and made for his truck once more. “Get some sleep.”

After Chris headed back inside and to his small apartment upstairs and no sound but the crickets and gentle breeze filled the night, two tall figures – one considerably more so than the other – stepped out from their hiding place at the side of the building and stared thoughtfully up at the now silent bar. “Huh.” Chad tucked his hands into his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Interesting.” He slanted a look at Jared's hard lined face and ignored the wriggle of disquiet in his belly at the simmering look of fury in his expressive eyes. “Any of that make any sense to you?”

“No.” Jared was concentrating on grimly hanging onto the shreds of his normally even temper and fighting the urge to very unprofessionally go and kick down Jensen's door, slam him repeatedly into the nearest wall and demand some answers. Hurt licked inside at the dismissive way his former friends had discussed him, as though he was nothing more than an inconvenient bug on the windshields of their lives, and along with the hurt was anger – anger that apparently there was something that Jensen, Mike and Chris were determined to keep hidden, something even more important to them than the devastating arson attacks currently being blamed on Jensen, and something that not only involved him but Tom and Steve, too. Jared's eyes narrowed and he said thoughtfully, “Not a goddamned clue.”

“Huh.” said Chad again. “Weird.” And able to follow Jared's thought processes pretty well after being partnered with him for five years, Chad said with a grin, “So, what do you think would happen if good 'ol Tom and Steve blew back into town?”

“I don't know.” Inside Jared hurt and anger met, mated furiously and had a baby – one they named merciless determination. “But let's find out.”

Chad smirked when his friend reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, thumbing a number on speed dial. “Sure will be good to see those boys again.” He squinted up at the bar, watched when Chris clicked out his bedroom light and sighed happily, “I love Cherish.” He clapped Jared on the shoulder and then motioned for his partner to follow him back to where they had ditched the car with the intention of slipping back and sneaking around to see if they turned up anything interesting after the bar shut for the night. Chad sighed happily again as he heard Jared greet Steve and begin to fill him in on his whereabouts and the situation and took a deep breath of fresh country air. “This is shaping up to be the best case ever!”

~*~*~*~