They'd had it all planned out. They were going to get married in the garden of their new house, once the carpenters were done with it, of course. Sandy would wear a white flowing dress and Jared a fancy grey suit that Sandy had picked out for him. For their honeymoon they would go to Venezuela because Sandy always wanted to go there; Jared's mom would take care of the dogs.

In a couple of years they would have kids, at least three, because Sandy loved kids, and they'd be the picture of a happy family. Jared would sell his Mustang and buy a station wagon to cart around the kids and his lovely wife. They'd have barbeques in the backyard and maybe a horse or two in the old barn behind the house. They would be happy, beautiful and carefree, living the life Sandy always dreamt about.

Except it turned out that Sandy really always dreamt of living a vagabond's life, travelling the world with a raven haired photographer whose piercing blue eyes had her falling before he even asked. A week after they had moved into the new house, she left with a superficial sorry and a this was never your dream anyway. Leaving Jared alone in the old two-story house, with the torn wallpaper, creaky floors and barren rooms.

He missed her like a limb; they'd been together for years, she'd been his high school sweetheart for Christ's sake, and he'd never thought he would have to get used to life without her. He'd thought they were good, happy even. Sure, she'd invested an unhealthy lot of time into plotting their happy future life, but he'd believed in her fairytales. He hadn't had a clue that they were just stories she told herself to survive another day being with him.

She'd called once, a couple of weeks after leaving, giving him an earful of hurtful words, pissed off that he was drunk in the middle of the day. She'd thought he would handle it better, that he was stronger than that, and he hadn't known what to tell her. He'd built his life around her and without her there was nothing left. He sat on the run down couch in their - well - his, near empty living room, downing glass after glass of pure whiskey until he passed out; only to start over again the following morning.

His mother called three times a day, dismayed to hear the slur in his voice, but not yet ready to forcefully pull him out of his misery. She'd rescued the dogs a couple of days into his drinking binge, but other than that she let him be, maybe picturing what losing her own husband would be like. Jared knew that his mother had never really taken to Sandy, never really trusted her, despite all the years they'd been together and he hated Sandy for proving his mother right. Hated her for walking out on him, hated her for shattering their dreams for the future and he missed her so much he hardly remembered how to breathe.

No one came to visit him in his new house. He hardly had any friends outside he and Sandy, so therefore the doorbell startled him when it woke him up three weeks after Sandy had left. He'd fallen asleep on the couch again, his mouth tasted like something had died in it and his head was pounding dully. With a groan, he staggered to his feet, blinking against the harsh sunlight pouring in through the almost floor to ceiling windows. The doorbell chimed again, only it was more of a croak than a chime; it was old and run down like the rest of the stupid house.

He made his way to the front door and pushed it open, expecting to see his mother coming to rescue him from his misery, or Megan coming back from her vacation to beat some sense into him. It was neither of those options; a pretty damned gorgeous guy was standing on the doorstep, dressed in blue work-man's pants and a dirt-streaked white t-shirt. Jared peered over his shoulder at the assortment of vans parked on the front yard all bearing the same Ackles' Handy Men logo. Oh, right, the carpenters.

"Good morning, Sir," the guy on the front step said with a near blinding grin, like he could tell that Jared was having anything but a good morning. "I'm Jensen Ackles. We're here to start working on your house."

"Uh… Morning," Jared said, his eyes travelling over the other two workers that were milling around the vans talking to each other and laughing in the early morning sunshine.

"Now your fiancé sent us a very detailed plan on what she wanted done on the house, so you don't need to worry about a thing," Ackles said still smiling.

"I… uhm… good," Jared said unable to wrap his mind around what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Ackles said kindly. "You look a bit… under the weather."

Jared shook his head slightly, wincing when it felt as if his brain was sloshing around in there, then he shrugged. "I… I don't know."

"Well, never mind us," Ackles said. "We'll start on the second floor and work our way downward. There is a lot of work to be done."

"Oh… Okay," Jared said.

"You are Jared Padalecki, right?" Ackles asked with a lopsided grin.

"I… yeah… sorry," Jared mumbled, trying to get his sluggish brain to work properly.

"Good. You weren't around the last time I was here," Ackles explained and suddenly Jared got a picture of the gorgeous carpenter pounding into Sandy from behind in his brain.

He grimaced. "I… need something to eat," he said vaguely and turned on his heel, heading for the kitchen.

He heard Ackles shouting something to his workers behind him, before he shut the door to the kitchen after himself. Of course Sandy hadn't slept with the carpenter, no matter how good he looked, that would be way too cliché. He opened the door to the refrigerator looking for something to eat, but the only thing in there was a mouldy piece of cheese, so he shut it again when his stomach flip-flopped.

With a groan, he sank down to the floor with his head in his hands, back pressed against the cold metal of the fridge. He couldn't keep going like this, drinking himself into a stupor every night, living off whiskey and the odd package of instant noodles every now and then. The door to the kitchen opened and Ackles popped his head inside.

"Hey," he said, and Jared lifted his head to look up at him. "Take a shower, man, and I'll fix you some coffee."

Jared blinked. "I don't think I have any coffee."

Ackles showed him the package he had in his hand. "I do," he said kindly. "And you look like a guy that could use a cup."

Jared nodded, pushing himself up from the floor and grimacing when his head throbbed uncomfortably. "Thanks," he murmured.

"No worries," Ackles said.

Jared found a couple of painkillers in the bathroom cabinet, swallowing them down with lukewarm water from the tap. He barely recognized the guy looking back at him from the cracked bathroom mirror. His hair was hanging in greasy strands around his face and he'd lost so much weight that his face looked sunken. The dark smudges underneath his eyes stood out in stark relief against his neat, white complexion and he understood why Ackles thought he looked like a man in need of some coffee.

He grimaced at the smell as he stepped out of his clothes; he reeked like a wild animal. It was a wonder that Ackles had been able to keep his face straight when greeted with the mess that was Jared. Had it been the other way around, Jared was pretty sure he would have stepped back and crossed himself.

The hot, near scalding, water felt good on his skin and he scrubbed himself down thoroughly before washing his hair three times in a row. He almost cried when he found one of Sandy's conditioner bottles, but he bit back the hurt and found his own conditioner that cost about three times as much as the one Sandy had used on her long, silky hair.

Stepping out of the shower, he felt nearly human again, and getting rid of three weeks worth of beard growth felt even better. He combed his too long hair back from his face, brushed his teeth and wrapped a towel around his waist, feeling ready to venture to his room for some clean clothes.

He could hear the workers milling around in one of the spare bedrooms, but there was no sign of Ackles as he stepped out of the bathroom. Feeling like an intruder in his own home, Jared walked along the creaky old floorboards, almost walking into Ackles as he came thundering down the other way. The carpenter stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Jared, his eyes flittering up and down Jared's body.

"Did you have a good shower?" Ackles asked, his eyes lingering on Jared's chest.

"Yeah," Jared said, wondering if the other man was checking him out and why. If he was, Jared thought that was a good thing.

Ackles grinned. "Coffee's ready when you are," he said, brushing past Jared and continuing downstairs.

Jared fought the urge to look after him and continued towards the master bedroom. A stab of hurt wrenched his gut when he looked at the rumbled sheets of his four-poster bed; he hadn't slept in it since Sandy left and he wondered if the pillows still smelled like her. He forced himself not to find out and opened the door to the closet instead. The empty shelves where Sandy's clothes had been glared at him, but he ignored them, finding a pair of boxers and pulling them on.

He let the towel drop to the floor and pulled his oldest pair of jeans on, the soft fabric feeling comforting against his skin. Sandy had always been on his case, trying to get him to throw them away, but now he was glad he'd kept him. He found a ratty old t-shirt with a frayed collar and pulled that on as well, amazed by the way it hung on his lanky frame. He must have lost ten pounds in the last three weeks, making him leaner than ever.

He closed the closet door, looking at himself in the full-length mirror on the door. It wasn't exactly a fashion statement, but at least it was better than the old sweats and the dirty t-shirt he'd been wearing earlier. The lack of stubble helped too, since Jared had never really been meant to have a beard.

He made his way down the stairs, feeling a little more human now. There was a rolling wave inside his stomach, telling him it needed feeding. He walked into the kitchen, breathing in the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Sandy used to do that for him, make coffee to coax him out of bed in the mornings.

He smiled over at Jensen, watching as the other man used his tape measure on the kitchen windows, which were made of old wood and rotting. Jared found he couldn't remember if he had felt as cold when Sandy was still there, but lately the whole house seemed to be cold, especially at night. He supposed it could be the lack of body heat.

"Sorry, I know I said we'd start upstairs, but these windows are pretty bad, it'd be in your best interest if I took care of these first," Jensen told him as he jotted down some measurements in his note pad and let his tape zing back.

Jared took a sip of the hot coffee, closing his eyes as the velvety liquid slid down his parched throat. It burned a little, probably due to the whiskey he'd drunk the night before. "No," he answered after swallowing. "It's fine. I can set my laptop up in any room."

Jensen nodded, his green eyes taking in the appearance of the younger man. He had dark circles under his slightly bloodshot eyes, indicating that he had either been crying or drinking, possibly even both. "You work from home?"

Jared sat down at the breakfast bar, another thing that was going to be ripped out and replaced. Sandy wanted black counter tops and pine wood cabinets. "Yeah, I'm a writer," he said, wishing he had thought to bring down a sweater. "Though, I haven't written much these last few weeks."

Jensen nodded and continued to watch him as he moved to the other window and measured it up. They were installing new PVC, double-glazed ones. He noticed how shadowed Jared's hazel eyes were, and found himself wondering what had happened. When he had finished measuring up he turned to leave, to go upstairs with the others, but he stopped and turned back to the young man, who looked far too young to own such a house. He guessed his books must be fairly successful.

He went over to his bag and pulled out a box that they had stopped off for on the way. Every morning on their way to work they stopped at a bakery so that they would have fresh donuts and rolls for lunch. He fished out the ham salad roll that was meant for him and put it down in front of Jared.

"We always get extra, just in case," Jensen explained with a smile before turning and leaving.

"Thank you," Jared called after Jensen's retreating back, grabbing the roll and practically inhaling it in three huge bites.

He really should get some grocery shopping done, maybe today he could be bothered to do it. He was running out of whiskey too, but maybe it was time to stop moping. Sandy had left him and it hurt like a bitch, but it wasn't like he'd benefit from turning himself into a drunk.

With a start he realized that this was the first time in weeks he'd been completely sober, and that was a scary thought. What the fuck had he been doing to himself?

"I forgot to ask you something," Jensen said, walking back into the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Jared enquired, looking up from his perusal of the empty roll wrapping.

"Is it okay if I bring my dog tomorrow? I left him with a friend today, but generally I try to bring him with me."

"Uh... yeah. If he plays well with other dogs... I better pick my mutts up from my mom's place or she'll make them fat."

Jensen laughed. "It's not going to be a problem. He's so nice, he's stupid."

Jensen eyed Jared's hollowed cheeks with worry, the guy hadn't been eating enough. Not feeling the slightest bit ashamed, he pulled Chad's roll from the pastry box and handed it over to Jared who grabbed it eagerly.

"I'll buy you new ones, okay?" Jared said, tearing at the wrapping.

"It's okay," Jensen said. "You look like you need them."

Jared let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah," he said, running his hand through his still damp hair.

He knew that he'd have Mike on his case again if he didn't send him at least four pages buy tonight but he really needed to get out of this house, and he also needed to get some food, if not for him, then for the dogs.

"Listen, I'm gonna go out and get some groceries and pick up..." he trailed off, putting his head in his hand.

Jensen frowned and took a step closer to him. "You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on Jared's shoulder.

"I have a two-seater, Harley and Sadie can't... I'll have to make two trips," he concluded with a sigh.

If he didn't at least have something to send to Mike then he'd end up with one pissed of agent on his doorstep. He vaguely remembered a drunken phone call from his agent and friend last night, threatening him that if he was drunk again when he called the next day he was coming over to stage an intervention.

Jensen licked his lower lip and shrugged. There was something about this guy, something that made Jensen want to take care of him, make sure he was alright. In some ways he seemed older than his twenty-four years, but in other ways he seemed very young still, perhaps even a little vulnerable. "I could give you a ride. I have to make a run to the hardware store anyway."

Jared looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "Really? Are you sure? 'Cos I need to stop at the grocery store too."

Jensen just laughed. "Yeah, you do, you don't even have milk, man. I had to use my stash of the powdered stuff."

Jared smiled, showing dimples that had been hidden before under layers of sadness. "I was wondering why this coffee tasted so good, it's more creamy."

Jensen nodded with a smile. "I actually prefer it. Working on building sites I got used to the coffee machines and this is what they use. Listen, take your time with that roll, I'll just go tell the guys I'm going out."

Jared smiled at him again and nodded, knowing full well the roll would be finished in mere seconds.

Jensen made his way upstairs to the master bedroom where he found his two friends, and colleagues, stripping the tattered wallpaper. "Hey, I'm gonna drive Jared into town, I'll be back in an hour or so, you two all right here?"

Tom looked up from his task with a bright smile and a nod. He was a hard worker, someone who enjoyed what he did. He was the kind of guy who always had a smile on his face. "No problem. Just gonna get these walls stripped and then start on the windows."

Jensen clasped him on the shoulder with a grateful smile. Tom made his job easier, he thought to himself, unlike Chad, who he had only hired as a favor to his uncle.

"Driving the new employer," Chad said with a pointed leer. "Oh Jensen, always falling for the ones you can't have."

Tom frowned, like he often did when Chad found it funny to put someone down or insult them, but he never said anything.

"I'm just driving him to pick up his dogs 'cos he's only got a two-seater," Jensen defended himself. "And Tom's in charge while I'm gone, and he has my full blessing to dole out whippings as punishment for slacking," he said before leaving the room, winking at Tom who grinned back at him.

Jared was standing in the hallway when Jensen came downstairs, having put on a grey hooded sweater over his t-shirt. He looked good enough to eat and Jensen had to admit Chad might have a point, even if he was a total brat. He always fell for the guys he couldn't have, or the ones that were bad news. Jared might actually be a bit of both so he studiously ignored the little voice at the back of his mind that wanted to take care of the obviously lost writer.

"It's a good thing you're driving," Jared said as they walked towards the car. "I've been drinking so much lately, I'm probably still drunk."

Jensen winced. There was so much hurt and self-loathing in Jared's voice. "So... She left?" He asked. He'd assumed that was what had happened as soon as the ghoul that was Jared opened the door.

"Yeah," Jared said, sliding into the passenger seat of Jensen's truck. "Found someone else."

"I'm sorry," Jensen said and he meant it. He knew what it was like to have his heart trampled on.

Jared shrugged. "It's life I suppose. It's been too easy up until now, it was time I got my share of the bad times."

Jensen frowned at Jared's words and refrained from calling her a bitch. It was one thing to fall out of love with someone and drift apart, but to plan a future together, to let someone believe in something, only to run off with someone without giving a person warning, that was just wrong in Jensen's opinion.

"So how many dogs you got?" he asked, wanting to change the subject onto a happier subject.

"Two," Jared replied with a slight smile as they pulled out of his drive and away from the old house. It was a shame, he genuinely loved that house, but he couldn't live in it now. He'd have to sell it once it was all done up and maybe get an apartment in town.

He and Sandy had brought the dogs out on their second look at the place, they'd been in their element running around on all that ground, now he was going to have to move them back into a one bedroom, no yard apartment. "Sadie and Harley, how about you?"

Jensen drove down the roads of San Antonio in his pick up truck. He had an old Chevy for his every day use, but he needed a truck for his work. The radio was on low, playing some shit that Chad had tuned into on their way to work that morning.

"I got a golden retriever named Jake. Had him for two years now. My dad actually found him when he was about six months old. We were doing up a house and found him squatting there. Don't know if his previous owners lived there and left him or what."

Jared turned his head to look at Jensen, suddenly feeling like he knew this guy. He was clearly also an animal lover, just like Jared. "So you took him in."

"Yeah, well, I'm living with my dad and his girlfriend Samantha. He brought Jake home with him and he sorta became mine."

Jared sighed and wondered if maybe he should have taken four of the pain-killers this morning, his head wasn't half mad at him. "Sandy wanted to take Sadie with her, can you believe that? They're both my dogs, and she's the one who left. Sadie'll miss her, though."

Jensen turned and looked at him, he had to resist the urge to reach out and pat his knee. "I'm sure she would have missed you, though, if Sandy had taken her."

"I think so," Jared said. "She's my girl, you know... The only one I have left now."

Jensen nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. He just wished he could take Jared's pain away, and wasn't that silly of him after knowing the guy for an hour?

"I'm sorry, man," Jared suddenly said. "I'm horrible company, I know."

"Don't worry about it," Jensen said kindly and this time he did pat Jared's knee. "We've all been there."

Jared smiled at the contact. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jensen confirmed, his eyes firmly on the road as he pulled into the parking lot of the hardware store. "I was with someone for a year. It ended pretty badly."

Jared turned to look at him as Jensen parked the truck. "What happened?"

"He was married," Jensen told him, turning to him with a sheepish grin.

"Oh." Jared had gotten a slight feeling that Jensen had been checking him out a little earlier, and quite frankly he was used to that with Mike, but he guessed that this confirmed it. "Yeah, well, that'd do it."

"Thing is, I'm not that guy. I would never do that. Didn't even know he was married for a whole year," Jensen told him as he opened his door and stepped down. Jared stared after him, amazed, before mentally shaking himself and getting out too.

"How? I mean, how did he manage to keep that from you?"

Jensen looked down at the keys in his hand. It was still, even two years later, painful for him to think about. "He worked half the week here and half the week in Dallas. He had an apartment here, and a house, complete with wife and kids, over there."

Again Jared shook his head. "Asshole."

"Yeah, I think so. What really pisses me off is that he knew I would never do that to his family, and he made me think we had a future together," Jensen told him as they walked towards the entrance.

Jared was still looking at him like he couldn't quite believe it. "Does his wife know he's... gay?"

Jensen shrugged. "I dunno, when I found out I ended it and never saw him again."

"That must have been awful."

"Yeah," Jensen said tersely. "It was. Believe me, I've been where you are."

Jared felt like hugging Jensen, but that might send the wrong signals, so he just clasped his shoulder. Their visit to the hardware store was brief, Jensen just picking up something he'd ordered, telling the guy behind the counter to put it on his tab. The man that clearly knew Jensen just nodded, busy with another customer. Jared had never really thought about the fact that he was living in a small town now, the kind of town where everyone knew each other.

"Have you lived here long?" Jared asked as they walked out of the store and back to the car.

"Yeah," Jensen said. "Pretty much my entire life."

Jared looked around, it was a typical idyllic little town with maybe 10,000 inhabitants tops. He couldn't imagine growing up in a tiny place like this, especially if you, like Jensen, were gay. His family had lived in the city, and had only moved here a few years back. Jared had moved into an apartment in the city and had only moved out here when he wanted to settle down, wanting to be near to his family. "You like it?"

"Yeah," Jensen said. "It's small, but I know everyone and it's not like it's far to the city."

"Do people know..." Jared trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"That I'm gay?" Jensen chuckled. "I've never made a secret of it."

Jared nodded and got into the truck. "Are you seeing anyone now?"

Jensen let out a soft chuckle, ducking his head as he started the truck, "No, I'm not. There have been a few guys that I've dated, but nothing serious. But Jared, I know this isn't what you wanna hear right now, but it is true what they say about time. I mean, now I can actually see myself trusting someone again, you know?"

Jared looked at him hard. If anyone else had have just said that to him, he would have told them to butt out, that they didn't know anything. But for some reason he actually found comfort in Jensen's words, already having found someone he trusted, which was completely insane, since he'd known the guy for all of two hours.

They drove on in relative silence to the grocery store, Jensen talking only once to point out his dad's house to him as they passed it and telling him that he knew he should get a place of his own, but it was kind of nice coming home at the end of the day to people who loved him.

Once at the store they walked around pretty quickly, Jensen putting more in the cart then Jared did. "Dude, you can't live off tinned food and microwave meals alone."

"How do you think I got through college?" Jared asked with a smirk.

Despite what he said, it felt kind of nice when Jensen put some apples in the cart, along with various vegetables and fresh milk, cheese, bread and eggs. It felt like someone still cared. "I don't know how to cook this stuff, you know," Jared warned him.

"I'll get you a cookbook," Jensen replied with a grin. "So, college, where did you go?"

"Stanford," Jared replied.

"Cool... Major?"

"Literature," Jared said with a grin.

"I should have figured."

Jared laughed. "Yeah."

"So writer, huh? And you can live of it?"

Jared grimaced. "Yeah... Well... I freelance some as a journalist, write reviews for a few papers and such. I couldn't live off my books alone."

"I've never met a writer before. It's cool."

"Well," Jared said. "I've never met a carpenter before. I admire guys that can, you know... work with their hands. I'm hopeless, can hardly change a light bulb."

Jensen laughed. "You're exaggerating to make me feel better about not having a higher education."

"No, seriously dude, it's cool. There has to be all kinds you know, if everyone went to college and sat on their pasty white asses we'd still be living in caves."

Jensen shoved at him and Jared almost toppled over a pyramid of cans as he stumbled.

"Jerk," he said, shoving at Jensen in revenge.

"Smart ass," Jensen responded, and at that moment Jared knew he'd found a friend.

Jared actually found himself smiling as they went through the checkout. His head was starting to feel better, the pills working their way through his system. "So how long do you think you'll be working on the house?" Jared asked as Jensen helped carry the four shopping bags back to the truck.

"You want us out off your hair already, huh?" Jensen asked with a smirk.

"No, not at all. I just, I have to make some plans and it'd help to have a time frame."

"It'll probably take a couple of months. Beautiful house," Jensen informed him as he let them into the truck and started it. "My favorite kind of job, restoring something so old, with so much history. I'd like to buy a place like that some day, do it up."

Jared turned to look at him as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, he told Jensen to follow the road south for now. "Really? 'Cos I'm looking to sell."

Jensen's eyes flickered over to him for just a second, not wanting to look away from the road for too long. "You serious?"

Jared just shrugged and looked out of the window. "I dunno. I'm not sure I can live in it on my own, not without wondering what my life could have been like. Besides, I'll be like a guppy in a shark tank in there. All I need is a bed, a couch and a desk."

Jensen chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose."

"You can always think about it," Jared said. "I mean, if you can't afford to buy it, maybe you could rent it."

Jensen smiled fleetingly. "Yeah, I suppose."

"So uhm... I might have warned you that there's a forty-five minute drive to my mom's. That okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Jensen said, secretly happy to be spending more time with Jared. It was stupid, but the guy was irresistible.

They talked about all and nothing on the way, conversation flowing smoothly between them. It was weird how they just took to each other, after half an hour they were basically finishing each other's sentences. Jensen hadn't experienced anything like it since kindergarten, at least not in this way. Sure, he'd experienced instant attraction a couple of times, but this wasn't really attraction, it was more like instant comfort, or friendship.

Jared wasn't stupid. He had purposefully planned to pick the dogs up now, while his parents were at work. He loved them, but he really couldn't sit through another lecture on taking care of himself. The dogs took to Jensen right away. Jared guessed it was because he had one of his own, but that didn't really explain why Jared had taken to him so quickly.

By the time they got back to Jared's house, Chad was outside on the front lawn, talking to two girls, who Jared recognized as the teenage daughters of the family down the street.

"Oh, God," Jensen groaned. "Tell me they're over eighteen."

Jared laughed and opened his door, letting the dogs out. "I think they are, yeah. Barely."

"That's funny, the house doesn't look finished," Jensen said loudly, making Chad turn around with a start and hurriedly bid the two girls goodbye.

"They were just asking for directions," Chad told him before flashing a grin at Jared. "I'll go..."

"Slack off somewhere else?" Jensen asked, smiling back at him, though it was one of his do-not-cross-me smiles, the kind where his eyes were flashing daggers.

Chad, at least, had the good grace to look a little sheepish as he went off back into the house. Jensen bent down and ruffled Sadie's head gently, as she had been leaning against his legs, trying for his attention.

"I'll let you get back to work now," Jared said, giving Jensen a smile. "I should think about writing or my agent will come up here to chew me out, and I'd rather not deal with him at the moment."

Jensen chuckled. "I'm sure we'd all like to listen to the sound of you getting your ass handed to you."

Jared grinned. "Yeah, well... Mike's kinda intense."

Jensen unloaded the bags from the trunk and handed them over to Jared, who looked at them like they might bite him.

"It's just food," Jensen said with a grin. "It's not dangerous."

"Uh huh," Jared answered. "I wasn't exactly the cook of the family."

His face fell a little and he chewed on his lower lip, reminding Jensen that he had actually just lost someone he loved. Jared was not exactly in the right state of mind to be hit on, but damn it was tempting when he was all huge and gorgeous.

"Thanks for today," Jared said. "I think I'll hire you to be my friend instead of renovating my house."

"I'll be your friend for free," Jensen said easily, drawing a smile from Jared.

"Thanks," Jared replied, lifting the bags a little as he walked back into the house. He unpacked the groceries, not entirely sure where everything should go, but he just used his common sense.

After making himself a coffee, and some for the guys, Jared set up his laptop in the living room and started to write. It was a story of two brothers, traveling across America solving supernatural mysteries.

It wasn't on the best sellers list or anything, but the series had developed a small cult following which was better to Jared than any critical acclaim. He was about a quarter of the way through the third book in the series and the brothers, Sam and Dean, were chasing a coven of vampires who were living in underground clubs in New York.

He smirked to himself as he wrote Dean's sarcastic response to the vampire who thought he had captured him. Jensen actually reminded him of Dean. He'd never really developed a complete image of how Dean looked in his head, but he'd written him with short dark, blond hair, green eyes and a bit of a charmer. He wrote for a good hour before he was interrupted.

"Man, a tornado sweep through here without my knowing?" said the unmistakable voice of Mike. Jared sighed and shut his laptop, not wanting Mike to read what he had written until he was happy with it. He swiveled round in his chair and looked over at the man in the hallway, dark sunglass on, fine tailored suit, despite the hot weather. He was looking up as someone dropped a trash bag filled with wallpaper scrapings down over the landing.

"In here, man," Jared called to him. "I'm having some work done."

Mike looked through at him and grinned, taking off his sunglasses and stepping forward. "Well look at you, all showered and writing. That's what I like to see."

Jared grinned because he truly did love the guy, despite the fact that he was constantly on his case. But Jared knew that if it weren't for Mike constantly getting on at him, Jared would never meet any of his deadlines.

"This place looks worse than it did when you bought it," Mike complained as he made his way over to his friend and client, looking down at his shoe upon realising he had stepped in something gooey. His new Italian loafers were ruined. "Just great."

Jared smiled and got up out of the chair, stretching his back until it popped. "Yeah, well I'm hoping it'll look better once they're done."

"So… you look good," Mike pointed out as he sat down on a couch that was covered by a sheet. "How are you doing really?"

Jared shrugged and looked anywhere but at Mike. He still felt like his heart had been put in a blender, but with some food and coffee inside him, and no alcohol, he was feeling a little more like he had re-joined the human race.

"I'm okay," he lied. "I might actually get this new chapter to you on time."

Mike raised his eyebrows at that. "Wow, then I guess workmen are good for something."

Jared looked down again, feeling a slight heat in his cheeks. He'd only just met Jensen today, but already he felt like he'd made a new friend, someone who made him feel better about everything.

"Now wait a minute... What's that blush all about? Did you meet someone? Jared, you dog."

"No," Jared blushed even harder, giving Mike a nasty look. "Jesus. They're all guys."

"And? You think I don't know you fucked around with guys in college? Think again, smart pants. You told me once when you were drunk."

"Mike," Jared whined. He really didn't want to think about Jensen in sexual terms, he was too happy to have found himself someone that could be a friend.

"Whatever. So are there any hot workers for me to come around and ogle? You know I have a thing for the working man."

"I would never have guessed," Jared dead panned, even though he knew Mike's extensive porn collection was almost entirely made up by titles like Men With Hard Hats and Harder...

Mike shoved him good-naturedly with his foot and Jared grinned. He was definitely feeling better today. They sat and talked for a while about the book and the changes that Jared wanted to make from his original outline. His readers seemed to focus on the relationship between the brothers much more than anything else and he really wanted to add something to that.

By the time Mike was ready to leave again, Tom came into the living room, laughing as he brushed down his pants, which had several muddy paw prints on them. "Your mutts like me," he said, grinning as he walked over to them.

Mike rose from his seat instantly, his eyes travelling down the gleaming chest of the six foot three man before him. "Michael Rosenbaum," he quickly introduced himself, holding out his hand. "It is very nice to meet you," he said in an appreciative way that left neither Tom nor Jared in any doubt that he was flirting.

Jared shook his head at his friend's obvious behaviour. "I'm sorry about your pants."

Tom just waved it away. "These are my workpants, they've had worse treatment, believe me. I was actually wondering if you'd like me to build a kennel for them out of the timber that we have left over."

Jared looked at him, stunned. He couldn't believe what nice guys his new employees all were. Well, maybe not Chad, the jury was still out on that one. "

It's just 'cos it gets hot here and it'd give them a place to lie down in the shade when you leave them out in the yard."

Jared nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great, if you're sure you don't mind."

"Not at all," Tom assured him, turning back to Mike. "It was nice meeting you. I'm sure I'll see you again," he said with a smirk as he left the room to go back to his work.

"I'm in love," Mike said theatrically, throwing himself down on the couch in a sprawl. "That man is pure perfection."

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you had company."

Jared looked up at Jensen, who was standing in the doorway of the living room looking sheepish. He felt his mouth pull up into a smile and decided that Tom, the man of pure perfection, had nothing on Jensen's picture perfect face and hot body. So maybe he was a little more gay than he ever thought he was.

"It's okay," Jared said. "This is Mike, my editor. Mike, this is Jensen, the guy who owns the carpenter firm."

"Can I buy Tom from you?" Mike asked Jensen, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Jensen was like ten times hotter than Tom. "Or at least hire him by the hour... I need some work done around the house... My bed it needs... shackles."

Jared reached over and slapped Mike over the top of his head. "Never mind Mike," he said to Jensen. "He still hasn't quite grasped the concept of how to behave in public."

Jensen grinned. "I don't mind, and about selling Tom... you better talk to him about it first. I wanted to talk to you about some of the changes we're doing upstairs, Jared, but if you're busy it can wait."

Jared looked at the open document before him and then at Jensen. It really wasn't that hard to choose. "I'll be right with you," he said, saving the document and closing the laptop. "Behave while I'm gone," he said to Mike before getting up and walking over to Jensen.

Jared followed Jensen into the kitchen, very aware of how warm Jensen's skin looked. He bet if he reached out and touched him, he'd be burning hot. "So this is about the bedroom?"

"Yeah," Jensen told him as he pulled out the page of the catalogue that Sandy had chosen. "Your... um... Your ex picked out these window panes, and they're nice and all, but we haven't ordered them yet and they don't really feel right for the period of the place."

Jared nodded, amazed that someone had mentioned Sandy and he hadn't flinched or crumpled to the ground like a sobbing little girl, taking the catalogue from Jensen.

"I mean, it's none of my business. Tell me to shut up and just do my job if you want, but I was thinking that these would give a much nicer finish to the exterior of the place," Jensen quickly added, leaning over Jared and pointing to the windowpanes he had spotted. Jared breathed in deep, letting Jensen's scent fill his nostrils, and he unconsciously moved closer to the other man.

He licked his lips and coughed into his hand. "Yeah, I think you're right. And you should absolutely feel free to make suggestions to me about this kind of stuff. I mean... I have no clue about any of this."

Jensen grinned at him and took the catalogue back. "They're actually a little cheaper too."

Jared grinned back at him. "See? I feel very safe in your hands." He very quickly realized what he had said when Jensen's eyebrows lifted. "I mean... my house feels safe with your recommendations."

Jensen smirked at him knowingly and nodded before leaving to go back to work. Jared let his head fall against the cupboards and he let out a pained groan.

~*~



Forgetting Sandy was easier than Jared ever thought it would be in the weeks following his first meeting with Jensen and his merry carpenters. Many nights when he went to sleep he found that he hadn't thought of her once all day and it kind of made him feel guilty, like he was cheapening their love. Then he remembered the part where she set their love on fire and pissed on the ashes, and the guilt soon dissipated.

Jensen turned out to be a great guy and three days into their friendship, Jared gave up and admitted to himself he had a crush on the guy. There was just no avoiding it after the first time he woke up with Jensen's name on his lips and come all over his boxers. He was smart, gorgeous, talented and kind, all the things Jared had once loved about Sandy, but in a neat, man shaped package.

He tried to tell himself it was just Sandy's betrayal and his broken heart that made him think about Jensen in romantic terms, but somehow it just didn't cut it. Jared wasn't looking for a fling, or some cheap sex, which was why he kept himself from asking Jensen out. He didn't want to ruin their friendship with sex, and Jensen was turning out to be the best friend he'd ever had.

It was a good thing, too, since the previous contestant for the best friend position, Mike, had all but forgotten about Jared in the face of his dream man, Tom. The two of them spent all their free time together and the rest of the time Mike hung out at Jared's house watching Tom work. Jared had never seen Mike so smitten by anyone before, and he had to hide his grins behind the back of his hands as not to offend either of them.

The house was slowly starting to take shape under Jensen's careful supervision. It looked nothing like it would have if Sandy had been the one calling the shots. Jensen had vetoed pretty much everything she'd planned in his gentle manner and Jared cheerfully agreed, because Jensen undoubtedly had an eye for stuff like that.

The finished rooms looked great and Jared really liked that his house reflected Jensen's taste rather than Sandy's. Suddenly it felt like a place he could keep on living in and he no longer thought about selling it.

Last week, when they had finished with the kitchen, Jared decided they should celebrate, so he had called his mom and asked for an easy recipe and set about cooking a meal in it for Jensen, Tom and Mike. He had invited Chad as well, but Chad had decided his life was gay enough already, what with spending all day with Jensen and Tom, without adding dinner parties to the mix.

So today when Jensen brought a bottle of scotch up to Jared's bedroom, after having just finished working on it that day and then staying late to help Jared bring his new four poster bed up the stairs, Jared laughed and went to get some glasses.

"So, are we going to christen every new room once it's done?" he asked upon coming back.

Jensen looked up from the bed where he was making it up with the new sheets Jared had bought. "Given that we're in your bedroom, Jared, that could be interpreted the wrong way," he said with a smirk.

Jared was used to Jensen's jokes, most of them laced with innocent innuendo. The sight of Jensen making his bed up made his chest tighten, as had the sight of Jensen moving around his kitchen as he helped him cook.

Jared poured them both a glass of the scotch and came to sit down on the bed, even as Jensen was still smoothing out the bed spread. He handed a glass to Jensen as he joined him, and they both looked around the room, admiring it.

"You've done an awesome job on this place, man," Jared told him as they clinked their glasses together.

"It's been fun," Jensen answered, sipping his whiskey with a smile.

Jared found himself grateful for the fact that there were still a lot of rooms to go through before Jensen would be done. He didn't want to lose the other man's constant presence in his life and his home.

"Where did you get this bed?" Jensen asked, looking up at the midnight blue satin covering the roof of the bed. "It kicks some serious ass."

"Found it at a yard sale of all places, although I admit it wasn't looking this nice. I found an old guy that specialized in restoring old furniture and this is the result."

"It's awesome." Jensen put his glass down on the nightstand and let himself fall down on his back. "You should put, like, glow in the dark stars on the roof... It would be like having your own night-sky."

Jared licked his lips and stared at the sliver of Jensen's stomach that had been exposed when he laid down, barely a hint of golden skin and it still had him achingly hard.

"Dude." Jensen punched his thigh. "Are you even listening?"

"Uh..." Jared dragged his eyes away from Jensen's stomach and took a huge gulp of his scotch, breaking out in a coughing fit as soon as he'd swallowed. One would think that the excessive drinking he'd been doing just a few weeks ago would have accustomed him to the potent burn of whiskey, but apparently not.

With a laugh, Jensen sat up and started rubbing circles on Jared's back as he coughed. "Stronger than you thought?"

Jared cleared his throat and took a small sip of the amber liquid to lubricate his throat. "I guess so."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Jensen pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them under his body. "So you're staying here now, right?"

Jared looked around the room again. The walls were a slightly bluish-white. It looked like the inside of a beach house, all fresh and sharp. The chair in the corner was white with a blue pillow, matching his bed linens. He couldn't imagine the colors that Sandy had picked out for this room now.

The blues and whites fit so well, and they fit him, too. The floral curtains that Sandy had ordered made Jared feel a little sick if he were honest. He much preferred the floor length, pale blue drapes.

"Yeah. I kind of love my house," he said with a grin. "Mostly thanks to you and your keen eye."

Jensen chuckled and looked around the room before pouring them both another glass. "Yeah, I kind of love it, too. I'm gonna be sad to say goodbye."

Jared looked at him sharply, any happy feelings he was having before now completely gone. "You'll still come over, though, I mean... we're friends, so you'll still come over."

Jensen smiled at him reassuringly and nodded. "Sure I will. But I won't be spending as much time here. I'll be working on another house. We've already been booked."

The idea of Jensen not being in his home everyday made Jared feel sicker than Sandy's curtains had. He looked at the face that was so close to his, so beautiful and kind. He'd lost Sandy; he couldn't lose Jensen, too.

"You should move in with me," he blurted out before thinking it through.

Jensen looked at him incredulously. "Are you drunk?"

"No," Jared replied defensively. "I mean, think about it. You love this house. We get along great. I have two spare bedrooms that apparently aren't being filled anytime ever. And you said you wanted to move out of your dad's place."

"Oh..." Jensen looked slightly disappointed, like he'd hoped Jared had meant something else, but then Jared could be imagining things, it was very potent alcohol after all. "I... Wow... That's quite an offer."

Jared looked down at the almost empty glass in his hands. Of course Jensen wouldn't want to move in with him. It wasn't like Jensen didn't have other friends beside him, and those friends probably had big ass houses too and would love to put Jensen up.

"Just think about it," Jared said, turning the glass around between his fingers. "I could use the company and your dog already loves my dogs, and your friends already love and make nice with the sexing with my friends, and even my mom loves you, and I kinda think she thinks you're my boyfriend, and it's totally okay if you don't want to, it was kind of..."

"Breathe," Jensen said with a laugh and Jared gulped for breath, cutting himself off mid-rant. "So your mom thinks I'm your boyfriend, huh?"

Jared blushed. Now why had he felt the need to blurt that out? "Well, she never said it out loud. There's just something in the way she sneaks in questions about you."

"Your mom totally loves me," Jensen said smugly, because of course he had not only won over Jared's dogs and friends, he'd also wrapped Jared's mom around his little finger the first time he met her. She had seen the change in her son and upon seeing him with Jensen had put it all down to him.

Jared huffed out a laugh and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, maybe even more than she loves me."

Jensen laughed and patted Jared's knee, unknowing of just how much Jared's entire body liked that. "So if I move in do you think she'd bake me pies too?"

Jared smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "I'm sure she would, 'cos, you know, there's no way you're sharing mine."

Jensen laughed again. Being with Jared was so easy, so comfortable. He felt relaxed here, in the house and in Jared's company. "You know what? Yes, I'd love to live here."

Jared's face broke into the biggest smile Jensen had ever seen and his dimples were almost enough to knock him out. "Really? That's great. 'Cos living alone in this big house wasn't looking like fun."

Jensen rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you sure your Momma's gonna be okay with this? I mean, with us living in sin and all?"

Jared just laughed and shoved Jensen lightly. "She'll have to be."

~*~



It took a week before Jensen finally moved in, because they still hadn't finished working on the new spare bedrooms, but as soon as they were done, Jensen brought all his stuff over from his dad's and set up residence in the bedroom next to Jared's. Jared soon found that asking Jensen to move in had been both the worst and best idea he ever had. It was the best idea because Jensen was an awesome housemate, he was effortlessly neat, a great cook and he actually liked doing the laundry.

It was the worst because Jensen was impossibly gorgeous and unbelievably grumpy in the mornings. Jared never dared talk to him before giving him at least two cups of coffee, so he spent most his mornings staring in awe at Jensen's sleep mussed hair and his bare legs while waiting for the coffee to kick in. It was the worst because Jensen fell asleep on the couch while watching TV with Jared, looking cuter than words could ever describe, and it was the worst because every day Jared just found himself wanting Jensen more.

Jensen couldn't recall ever being happier than he was living with Jared in his big old house. He loved the fact that Jared had coffee ready for him when he woke up, sticking a cup into his hand before he even said good morning, and he loved the fact that Jared had taken to taking all three dogs with him on his morning runs. He loved making dinner with Jared's bottomless pit of a stomach in mind and he loved falling asleep on the couch next to Jared, because Jared always woke him up when he was going to bed and they made their way up the stairs together.

Most of all, though, he loved the gigantic, puppy eyed and shaggy haired owner of his new residence, and he was beginning to worry it was going to be a problem. At first he'd told himself it was just a passing fancy, that Jared's allure would soon wear off like it had with so many other guys. Then he told himself that living with Jared would surely make him hate the guy when he learnt all his annoying habits.

When that didn't happen, because he happened to find all Jared's annoying habits, like dropping his clothes where he was standing and coloring Jensen's whites every time he did the laundry, unbearably cute, he decided that maybe he was made to love Jared all along and that spelled trouble in big letters.

They supported different football teams, but found themselves rooting for each other's when their own team wasn't playing. It became a regular thing for them on Sundays, watching the game together.

Jared had been going to his parents' house for dinner on Sundays ever since he'd moved out. It was the second Sunday after Jensen had moved in with him that Jared's mom had discovered that while they were all eating together, Jensen was at home doing nothing.

Since then, Jensen was always invited for Sunday lunch, something Jensen was thrilled about because Jared's mom cooked like no other. He especially loved the end of the meal, when they were going home together, and she would load up their arms with food to take home with them.

Given that Jared could make money in a roadside freak show for how much he could eat, they usually weren't through the door long before Jared was throwing himself down on the couch and tearing into the food they'd brought home with them. They'd sit together, side by side, and watch the football. It had become Jensen's all time favorite day of the week.

Today, however, Jensen was far too full from the barbeque that Jared's dad had put on earlier today to even think about eating again, at least until next Sunday. Jared, on the other hand, sat beside him stuffing left over sausages into his mouth. He'd bite half of the thing off and give the other half to one of the dogs, making sure that all three of them got a fair share.

"I can't even look at you right now," Jensen groaned, letting his head fall back against the headrest.

Jared chuckled and handed Jensen's dog, Jake, half of his sausage, laughing as the golden retriever licked his fingers. "I'm three inches taller than you are. I'm pretty sure it's three extra inches of stomach."

Jensen smirked and let his head roll to face Jared. "I believe that."

Jared grinned and Jensen felt his throat close up. Why did Jared have to be so goddamned gorgeous? He forcibly tore his eyes away and stared blankly at the TV instead.

"Something wrong, man?" Jared asked, nudging Jensen's knee with his own. "You look... sad."

Jensen turned his head to look at Jared again. "I look sad?"

"Yeah... or, I don't know... wistful."

"Wistful?" Jensen's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Seriously, who died and made you Dr. Phil?"

"Shut up. I'm serious."

Jensen blinked and smiled half a smile. "I'm not sad. What you're seeing might be constipation from all that delicious food."

"Gross," Jared said with a grimace, shoving at Jensen again, but there was as smile tugging at his lips. "Why do I put up with you again?"

"Uh... maybe because without me you would have become an alcoholic and starved to death, lying around here rotting until your dogs got so desperate they ate you for dinner."

Jared's face turned serious and he clasped Jensen's knee for a second. "It's true man, I owe you a lot."

"I was just kidding."

"I know. It doesn't make it less true. If you hadn't come into my life, I would have moped over Sandy until my emo took over and killed me."

Jensen swallowed, because he didn't really see himself as any kind of almighty savior. If he hadn't showed up he was convinced that Jared's mom and Mike would have pulled Jared out of his depression.

"Well," Jensen said, his voice a little louder, breaking the moment, "I only did it 'cos I wanted your house," he said with a smirk, patting Jared's knee and pushing himself up off the couch.

"Where're you going? The game's starting," Jared reminded him with a frown, not reprimanding Sadie when she jumped up onto Jensen's empty spot and laid her head on his lap.

"I'm going to find some Tums before I die," Jensen told him as he left the room, making Jared laugh and call him a lightweight.

When Jensen returned and flopped back down in his seat, after having picked Sadie up and moving her to the other side of Jared, the younger man reached over with his hand and started rubbing Jensen's stomach, not thinking about what he was doing until it was too late.

Jensen looked at him for a moment like he couldn't quite believe Jared was doing that, their eyes locking, the feel of Jared's hand rubbing so close to where Jensen's dick was making him harden. The space between their faces was near to nothing and Jared didn't even make a conscious decision to kiss Jensen, he just found himself leaning in and pressing their lips together softly.

Almost as soon as he'd done it, Jared pulled away and sat forward on the couch. "Oh man. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that," he quickly assured Jensen, thinking that the older man must think he was a freak, or worse, that he had only invited Jensen to live with him so that he could make a move.

"Jared," Jensen began, putting his hand on Jared's back in an effort to let him know that it was okay. Jared just shrugged away from the touch and stood up, making his way for the stairs.

"No, I'm really sorry, it won't happen again. I made a mistake." And with that, he took the stairs two at a time, leaving Jensen alone with the dogs, feeling like his stomachache was the least of his problems.

It was a week later that the house was finally completed. And whilst Jensen and his team had been working hard on the house, Jared had been working hard on his book, studiously trying to avoid his new housemate and friend. Mike was so impressed by the way Jared had gotten his act together, that he had insisted on throwing him a party, in his own home.

Jared had tried to protest, but Mike had assured him that Jared wouldn't need to do a thing, he'd get caterers in and cleaners the next morning. Jared hadn't been too keen on the idea at first, and Jensen had just shrugged when he mentioned it.

Things had been weird between them ever since the kiss and Jared just wished he could go back in time and just not kiss Jensen. They bobbed around the house like guppies in a shark tank, doing their very best to avoid each other. Jared still made Jensen coffee in the morning, but he'd stopped staying around to watch Jensen drink it, he just nodded in greeting before going for his morning run and then locking himself in the recently finished office to write the rest of the day.

He poured all of his frustration into his writing, amping up the angst levels for his poor brothers to almost unbearable heights. Luckily, Mike thought it was golden and that the underlying, unintentional, sexual tension would make the fangirls squee. Jared found that a little bit disturbing, but since Dean looked more like Jensen with every sentence and Sam was looking more and more like Jared himself, it was pretty hard to avoid. Of course Sam had always been modeled on himself, but it was becoming stupidly obvious now.

Jared wished he could find a way to talk to Jensen about the kiss and set things right between them, but in his head the conversation always ended with Jared on his knees getting a mouthful of Jensen's come, and he was afraid that he'd manage to fuck things up even further between them if he actually brought it up. He just couldn't stop thinking about the kiss, or how soft Jensen's lips had been, and in all honesty it had hardly even been a kiss. Just a quick press of lips against lips and thinking about it shouldn't make him achingly hard, but it did.

The party guests, plenty of people that Jared didn't know, and who he was pretty sure Jensen didn't know either, began arriving after seven. He wanted to lock himself back in his office, where he had spent all day.

When Mike finally arrived with Tom by his side, Jared let out a sigh of relief, finally there was someone he could talk to who he actually knew. He smiled at Tom and grabbed Mike's arm, pulling him to the side of the room.

"Dude, who the fuck are all these people?" he demanded, looking around at them. Mike had gone all out with the catering and the decorations. He'd even hired a bartender for the night and everyone was dressed smartly.

It was rare to see Jensen in anything other than his overalls, old jeans or his pajama bottoms, but tonight he was dressed in black pants with a black shirt that just made him look so delicious that it made Jared ache. The only other time Jensen had made an effort to scrub up was when they'd gone to have dinner with Jared's family.

Mike grinned and waved at several people. "They're friends."

"Yeah, of yours, not mine," Jared insisted, looking around at the strangers invading his home. He felt uncomfortable having them there, he kept wondering what Jensen thought of it all and how he felt about strangers touching the house he had so lovingly restored.

"Well, of course they're my friends," Mike said as though it were obvious. "If I'd invited all your friends, you'd have a maximum of seven party guests, and that includes your parents... who, by the way, just walked in."

Jared looked over to the front door and saw his mom and dad standing there waving at him happily. He waved back and was about to go over to them, when he saw that Jensen had gotten there first. He watched as his friend talked and laughed with his parents, accepting the dish of food that his mom had brought with her and going into the kitchen to put it away. He made his way over as soon as Jensen had disappeared into the kitchen, giving his mom a hug and a kiss, and shaking his dad's hand in a manly fashion.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said with a genuine smile.

"Me too," his mom replied, petting his hair. "But then I wouldn't miss my son's engagement party for anything in the world."

"Engagement... MIKE!"

Jared turned on his heel and scanned the room for Mike's familiar form, but neither Mike nor Tom was anywhere to be seen.

"Anything wrong?" his dad asked, looking genuinely worried and Jared shook his head stiffly.

"I just need to have a word with Mike, that's all. I'll be right with you."

He found Jensen before he found Mike, or rather, he walked into Jensen while looking for Mike. "Hey," he said a little stiffly.

Jensen, who was putting a cocktail sausage into his mouth, frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Did you know that Mike told everyone this is an engagement party? Our engagement party?"

Jensen choked on the sausage and grabbed his beer to wash it down with. "Are you serious? Why would he do that?"

Jared sighed and leaned back against the counter. He felt tired, this thing between him and Jensen this past week was exhausting him. He missed his friend. "I dunno. His sense of humor, I guess."

Jensen smiled at him almost shyly and came to lean beside him. This was the closest they had been all week and the most they had said to each other. "What about your parents? Surely they don't think..."

"Oh yeah. They're over the moon. They can't wait to have you as their son-in-law," Jared said with an incredulous laugh.

Jensen smirked and turned his head to look at Jared. It was killing him. Every night as he lay in bed he repeated Jared's words over and over in his mind. It was a mistake. Just a mistake. I meant nothing. Only it meant everything to Jensen. He was falling in love, something he didn't think would ever happen again after David. Maybe he could have gone on pretending they were just friends, if Jared hadn't kissed him, but he had, and Jensen couldn't pretend anymore.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you," he began, his breath catching as Jared turned to look at him, his beautiful eyes locking with his own. "I was thinking that maybe we jumped into this housemate thing a little too soon."

"Don't move out," Jared blurted out and then he blinked, looking slightly confused.

"I just... Look... The people out there think we're getting engaged and I like you, but..."

"Not like that," Jared filled in, his face falling.

Jensen chewed on his lower lip. "Well... that's kind of the problem. I do like you like that, and I can't keep living here pre...mmppphffmm."

Jared didn't make a conscious decision to kiss Jensen, much like he hadn't done the last time, but it felt so damned right. He brought his hands up to cup Jensen's face, sliding his tongue along the seem of Jensen's lips until Jensen gave in and opened up with a tiny desperate sound that set Jared's blood on fire.

This kiss was nothing like the first one, there was nothing chaste or short about it. It was a full frontal attack on the senses, Jensen's lips against Jared's, Jared's tongue in Jensen's mouth, teeth clicking as they both struggled to deepen the kiss further, until Jared pulled away to rest their foreheads together.

"If you say you're sorry I will hit you," Jensen panted.

"If you say you're going to move out, I will tie you to my awesome bed," Jared responded.

Jensen moaned. "Oh God, do it anyway."

Jared chuckled, feeling a little light headed from the kiss and tilted his head up to capture Jensen's lips again. Jensen's lips were so full and warm and Jared thought he could spend forever just doing this. Then he felt a hardness press against his leg and he suddenly thought of many other things he could fill forever with.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jared's mom said with a laugh from the kitchen doorway. "I didn't realize it was that kind of party."

Jared and Jensen broke apart and looked at her sheepishly. "We were... um," Jared tried to explain, but his brain cells had taken a hit with that kiss.

"No need to explain," Sherri said, walking over and kissing her son on the cheek before kissing who she thought to be her son-in-law-to-be. "You're young and in love."

Sherri's heart had broken seeing the mess that Sandy had left behind. She was a good person who believed in forgiveness, but she hated that girl for what she had done to her boy. Jared was always so full of life, it was how he was meant to be. After Sandy left he had become a shell of his old self, that was until Jensen came into his life and put him back together again.

"So have you set a day yet?" she asked, unable to keep the smile from her face. She didn't care that Jared was marrying another man, as long as he was happy, and he clearly was. She had two other children and already had one grandson, so she wasn't going to miss out on anything.

Jensen looked down, blushing in a way that made Jared want to jump him again. "Um, we were thinking of next year some time."

Sherri's smile left her face at that. "Oh, I see. I was hoping it would be sooner rather than later."

"We don't want to rush into things," Jensen said easily, giving Jared a furtive look.

"Oh... I suppose that's alright then." Sherri smiled. "Now come on and join the party. You're the guests of honor, after all."

She shooed them out of the kitchen and Jensen grabbed a hold of Jared's hand, not wanting to lose sight of him again. Jared's fingers curled easily around his and he looked up to find Jared grinning at him. Jensen smiled back, his grin getting wider by the second until they were standing in the middle of the living room grinning at each other like idiots.

"This party," Jared murmured, "can't end soon enough."

"Don't be disrespectful. It's our engagement party," Jensen answered with a grin. "Speaking of engagements... Who asked who?"

"I asked you."

"You did? Was it romantic?"

"You bet it was." Jared grinned. "Flowers, violins, white doves and I totally got down on one knee, too."

"Doves? Really? I'm not so sure about the doves."

Jared smacked him over the back of the head before immediately rubbing the offended spot.

"Ouch," Jensen said, pouting slightly. "That hurt."

"I'll make it up to you," Jared promised, his eyes speaking of all that would happen once these people left their house.

"You're right," Jensen said, moving so that their sides were pressed together. "This party can't end soon enough."

It had been a long night filled with longing looks across the room and promises of Sunday dinner at a restaurant so that just the family could celebrate. Sherri had asked Jensen to invite his father and girlfriend out with them. Jensen had been ready to make up an excuse, not really wanting to tell his father he was engaged when he wasn't... or was he? But he decided that he wanted his dad to meet Jared and his family, so he'd have to figure out what to tell him later.

As soon as they had shut the door behind the last guests, Mike and Tom, who they had no problem in kicking out, Jared and Jensen looked at each other shyly.

"Have you ever..." Jensen began, leaning against the front door.

"Been with a guy?" Jared asked, his smile a little hesitant. "Yeah. Long time ago, though, and it never went very far."

Jensen nodded, feeling a little nervous now. He had found himself in a relationship, living with a guy, who hadn't gone beyond one or two blowjobs. He had this fear that Jared might not really know what he was getting into. He thought about suggesting they take it slow, ease into being together, but the words didn't get time to come out before Jared was pressing against him, his hands sliding around to grasp Jensen's ass.

"I want you," Jared whispered, before covering Jensen's mouth with his own.

Jared, it seemed, was not rooting for the taking it slow option and with Jared's tongue in his mouth and his huge fucking hands cupping his ass Jensen had no problems what so ever to change his view on the matter. Fast was good, fast was better than good. In fact, Jensen couldn't wait until he was spread eagled on Jared's bed with Jared's cock up his ass.

Somehow they managed to make it upstairs, stopping every two steps to kiss and touch, leaving them both in disarray as they finally stumbled into Jared's bedroom. Inexperience did not stop Jared from knowing what he wanted, and Jensen found himself being quite expertly undressed amidst kisses, nips and licks from Jared's clever mouth.

"On the bed," Jared ordered once he'd succeeded in stealing all of Jensen's clothes and his breath.

Jensen didn't hesitate in complying, pushing the bedspread out of the way and spreading himself out on the pristine whiteness of Jared's sheets. Jared stopped undressing himself in favor of staring at Jensen's body.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, eyes sliding up and down Jensen's naked form.

Jensen felt oddly self conscious, even though he knew for a fact that he was damned good looking, and he almost reached to cover himself, opting to grab hold of the sheets with his hands instead.

Jared hurriedly ditched the rest of his clothes without taking his eyes off Jensen, letting the clothes pile up at his feet. Jensen licked his lips as he took in Jared's naked body for the first time. He'd seen Jared in varying states of undress before, but he'd never seen all of him.

Jared was, for lack of a more eloquent word, huge. He was hung like a blue wale and Jensen felt himself moaning at the very idea of being stretched by him. He let his head fall back against the soft pillows, that he himself had picked out, as Jared climbed over him.

"Shit, wait," Jensen said, lifting himself up onto his elbows. Jared froze and looked down at him, thinking that he might have done something wrong. "Condoms and lube," Jensen breathed out. "In my room."

Jared let out a relieved laugh. "Okay, stay there, I'll get them."

He scrambled off the bed and practically ran to Jensen's room. "Top drawer," he heard Jensen call out.

When he arrived back, he dropped the items down onto the bed and covered Jensen's body with his own, their cocks aligning and making them both groan from the sensation.

"Do you... I mean... who?" Jared asked against Jensen's mouth.

Jensen raised his eyebrows at Jared's question. He'd assumed that Jared wouldn't even consider bottoming. The idea of fucking Jared drove Jensen crazy, but Jared's first time would require time and preparation, something he didn't think either of them had right now.

"Me," Jensen said as Jared's mouth attacked his throat. "I want you to fuck me."

Jared groaned, sinking his teeth into Jensen's shoulder, before soothing the bite with his tongue. "You have to tell me," Jared murmured against Jensen's skin as he moved lower. "Have to tell me what to do."

Jensen thought Jared had things pretty well in hand, especially since one of his hands was curled around the base of Jensen's cock, squeezing him slightly. He couldn't really believe he was in Jared's bed, being manhandled by Jared after attending what was, for all intents and purposes, their engagement party. Even in his wildest dreams he hadn't really thought he would ever have Jared, and yet here they were together in bed.

Jared moved even lower and opened his mouth wide around Jensen's cock, letting it slip past his lips. Jared might not have had gay sex for a long time, but from Jensen's point of view, he still remembered all the important parts. Like keeping his teeth covered and sucking just enough to make Jensen crazy without actually making him come.

"Tease," Jensen groaned out, arching off the bed when Jared used his tongue to do something clever that just felt amazing.

Jared smirked around his mouthful of Jensen's cock and let his fingers glide over his balls before sliding between his cheeks. He lifted his mouth off with a soft pop and grinned up at Jensen. "If I wanted to tease you, you'd be crying by now."

Jensen groaned and covered his face with one hand whilst grabbing the lube with his other and handing it down to Jared. Jared had fucked women with his fingers plenty of times, he assumed the rules were the same, be careful of fingernails and gently stretch.

The first touch of a cold, wet finger against Jensen's hole made him hiss and push down unconsciously. He spread his legs and moaned as Jared's mouth found his cock again, whilst his finger slid in slowly, wiggling a little.

The sheets under him felt gloriously cool and soft against his back, letting him know that he had chosen the right thread count. He wanted to say something to Jared, about how much this meant to him, but he couldn't let himself.

He didn't want to say something that would frighten Jared away or make him stop doing what he was doing with his fingers. Jared totally lied when he said he needed pointers, because he was managing very well on his own. If he wanted pointers, he shouldn't have made Jensen incoherent with need first.

One finger turned into two, slowly scissoring their way in and out of Jensen, while Jared kept up his gentle suction. One of Jensen's hands found its way to Jared's hair, sliding into the thick mass and just hanging on while the other balled up the covers.

"Unngh," he moaned when Jared added a third finger, and Jared lifted his head to look at him.

"Too much?" Jared asked, pushing his fingers in deeper and spreading them slightly.

Jensen shook his head mutely, pulling his legs further up and spreading them, wanting Jared to fuck him harder and faster. Jared's tongue came out to swirl around the head of Jensen's drooling cock, but he kept his eyes locked on Jensen's face, gauging his every reaction.

"Please," Jensen groaned, arching up and trying to get Jared's teasing fingers to hit that spot. "God... Jared..."

Jared chuckled, giving Jensen's cock another lick. "If I give you what you want, you're gonna come all over yourself," Jared said smugly, his lips pulled into a grin. "Is that what you want? Or do you want me to fuck you?"

For a moment Jensen was actually torn. He wanted to come, but he wanted to come whilst Jared was buried deep inside him. "Fuck me, fuck me," he muttered, his head turned to the side and his toes curling.

The sensation of having this power of Jensen, this embodiment of masculinity, made him a little heady. Knowing that he was about to posses him, take care of him and give him everything he needed so much. He'd felt close to Sandy before, hell, he was going to marry her. But he hadn't felt such a primal need and connection with someone as he did now.

He tore open the condom wrapper and carefully but quickly slid it down over his achingly hard cock. Squirting a generous amount of the lube in the palm of his hand, he slicked himself up and moved up to kiss Jensen, wanting to feel his breath on his face and see the look in his eyes as he entered him for the first time.

Jensen kissed him back hungrily, his hips pushing upwards, looking for some sort of friction for his cock. With their faces just inches apart, Jared reached between them and guided his cock to Jensen's entrance, pushing just a little at first until the ring of muscle let him in. Jensen's eyes went wide and his hands came up to clutch Jared's back. It was a tight fit, but it felt wonderful for both of them.

Jared slowly pushed in deeper, resisting the urge to just push in and claim Jensen for his own. Jensen was making a stupid amount of noise, keening and mumbling and essentially not making sense at all. His blunt fingernails were digging into Jared's back, trying to pull him closer while his body seemingly fought to keep him out. Once he was fully buried inside, Jared paused, lifting a hand to turn Jensen's flushed face towards his.

"You okay?" he asked, hardly recognizing his own voice.

"Yeah," Jensen answered, shuddering when Jared shifted slightly within him. "Just... fuck me."

Jared licked his lips and shifted his hips, starting a slow rocking motion into Jensen's unbelievably tight body, making both of them groan. Jensen was writhing underneath him, heels digging into Jared's ass as he begged for more, faster, harder, anything. It felt amazing to watch Jensen come apart at the seams, completely delirious by pleasure, and Jared was pretty sure he could come just from watching his face.

Jared pulled out a little further and pushed back in, making Jensen arch up from the bed with a guttural groan, his cock twitching against Jared's stomach, so Jared did it again, and again, and again, until Jensen's head was lolling limply back and forth on the pillows, noises spilling continuously from his lips.

"Fuck," Jared groaned, he felt like he was experiencing what they called sensory overload. He kept his eyes on Jensen as he pumped his hips a little faster, watching as the older man's eyes rolled back.

"Jared," Jensen moaned, his hands sliding down to grasp Jared's ass and try to force him in deeper. He felt so incredibly full and knew that as soon as Jared pulled out he'd feel like a part of him had been taken, too.

Jared was supporting himself on his forearms, but he could feel them begin to shake a little as he grew closer and closer to his orgasm. He wanted to try and make it last forever, he wanted to stay right where he was, he never wanted this to end, but when Jensen started mumbling, "Fuck me, fuck me," incoherently over and over again, Jared felt his balls pull up. He quickly reached between them, wrapping his hand around Jensen's cock and tugging on it.

It only took a couple of pulls for Jensen to come all over Jared's hand and both their stomachs, making a long drawn out sound that Jared hoped he would remember to tease Jensen about later. He kept thrusting into Jensen's pliant body for a few more moments before it became impossible to hold back. His orgasm began somewhere around his toes and hit him like a blow to the stomach, making him grind his hips into Jensen, pushing in deep and hard.

He just barely avoided collapsing on top of Jensen, choosing to roll to the side instead, keeping one hand around the base of his cock to keep the condom from slipping. Jensen protested weakly as Jared rolled away from him to dispose of the condom, reaching out to keep him close. Jared dumped the condom in the trashcan next to the bed and rolled back to pull Jensen firmly into his arms, pressing a soft kiss against his temple.

Jensen made a pleased little sound and rolled closer, nuzzling his head in under Jared's chin and sliding an arm around his waist. Within minutes they were both sound asleep.

~*~



Jared looked in the rear view mirror of Jensen's truck and tried to make his hair flatten. Jensen, who was sat beside him, looking impossibly gorgeous without even trying, laughed.

They had been parked outside the restaurant where Jared and his family were going to meet Jeff and Samantha, Jensen's father and step-mom-to-be. "You look fine."

Jared turned and looked at him sharply. "Fine?"

"Oh wow, you've really taken to the gay lifestyle; you're more sensitive than a girl. You look great," Jensen assured him, reaching out his hand and messing Jared's hair up again. It just didn't look normal when it was gelled down. Jared's hair was meant to be a floppy mop that Jensen could run his fingers through anytime he wanted.

Jared just laughed and shoved Jensen playfully. "I'm a little nervous, okay? I mean, if they don't get along then we're screwed."

Jensen tried really hard not to laugh at Jared's over-reaction. It was actually kind of cute. "Your parents are cool. My parents are cool. We make each other happy. I'm pretty sure it's going to be fine."

Jared closed his eyes and snorted at himself. He couldn't believe he was queening out (Mike's phrase) over this. "You're right. And besides, we're grown ups, it's not like your dad can forbid me to date you."

Jensen rasied his eyebrows and laughed when Jared paled. "He's not gonna forbid me to date you," he said, giving Jared's thigh a loving squeeze. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Jared grinned, flashing his impossibly gorgeous dimples at Jensen. "Really?"

"Yeah, really, and I'm pretty sure my dad recognizes that fact, too."

Jared leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. "Okay. Let's do this. Also... It's totally unfair that my parents are already eating out of your hand."

Jensen chuckled. "I can't help that people love me."

They walked side by side towards the restaurant, not quite holding hands, but walking close enough that they could if they wanted to. The gossip around town had pegged them for a couple long before the engagement party, and no one really raised an eyebrow when they saw them together. If people had issues, they kept them to themselves.

When they walked into the restaurant, both sets of parents were already sitting at a round table with drinks in front of them. It looked a little stiff, but at least they were not arguing over whose boy corrupted whose, like Jared had envisioned. He still secretly thought his parents had accepted the gay thing way too easily, they didn't have Jensen as an incentive to do so, which was why Jared had accepted it without question.

Jeff stood up upon seeing his boy and pulled him into a hug, not the manly hug that guys often gave each other where they tried their hardest not to touch hardly at all, but a real hug that spoke of the closeness between them.

"Jared, this is the old man," Jensen said, nodding to his father once he had let Jensen go.

Jared held out his hand formally, his mind going back to his prom night and how it had felt meeting Louisa Shackens parents. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Jeff chuckled and took Jared's hand, pulling him into a hug. It wasn't as full on as Jensen's had been, but the man had a good grip on him. "Sir?" Jeff asked with a smirk as he let Jared go. "Hell, I ain't your drill sergeant, boy."

Jensen laughed and patted Jared on the back before moving to greet Jared's family.

"So where do you get off not telling me you're getting married?" Jeff asked as they all finally sat down at the table.

Jared and Jensen shared a look, both of their eyes questioning. They hadn't spoken about it, what with it being so soon after they got together, but neither of them had mentioned a plan to get out of the whole engagement thing. It made Jensen wonder if it wasn't secretly what they both wanted.

"Well..." Jared said, his eyes searching Jensen's face. "We... uh..."

"It's not like it's legal or anything..." Jensen continued.

"But we..."

"Really..."

"Do want to get married," Jared finished, his face almost split in half by his enormous grin.

"Yeah," Jensen said, releasing a breath he hadn't know he was holding. "Yeah, we do."

Their parents were looking from one to the other as they beamed at each other across the table. Jensen kind of wanted them to just vanish so that he could throw himself over the table and just maul Jared.

"That's wonderful," Samantha, Jensen's so far unofficial step-mom, said with a smile. "I'm happy for you, Jensen, and for you, too, Jared." She reached over and patted Jared's hand. "Even if my horrible step-son, or my fiancé didn't bother to introduce me."

Jared shook himself out of his eye lock with Jensen and turned to her with a grin. "Well," he said. "I'm Jared and I figured you must be Samantha. I'm delighted to meet you."

"You too, honey." She gave Jared a wink and picked up her glass of wine. "You know, my parents have a ranch up in Toronto. It's got lots of open space. I reckon it could be made up real pretty," she said with a knowing smile.

Jared and Jensen both just looked at her with a frown, thinking that was nice, but not sure why she was bringing it up now. Was she inviting them up for a vacation or something?

Sherri rolled her eyes at how dense men could be. "She's implying that gay marriage is legal in Canada and she's offering you a venue."

Jared's eyes went wide and he turned to Jensen, hoping that, as it was his step-mom, he would reply.

"Uh, well, thanks," Jensen said, looking around for the waiter. He was going to need to drink tonight. "Maybe next spring. Give us time to plan... and stuff."

Jared nodded, thinking it was a sufficient amount of time, considering they had only been dating a week. Jared briefly thought of Sandy and how it had taken him years to decide he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, and only a week to realize it with Jensen.

They got through most of the meal without problems and their parents really seemed to hit it off. Jared and Jensen weren't expected to put much into the conversation, which was good because they spent most of the time staring at each other over the table and playing footsie underneath it.

Jensen couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he was actually, really, going to get married to the greatest guy in the world. It was more than a little surreal, especially since neither of them had actually proposed and he hadn't even told Jared that he loved him yet.

Despite what everyone else was thinking, their relationship was still really new, and even though Jensen was absolutely certain he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jared, it was also a little scary to be planning that far ahead.

He had a feeling that Jared wanted to talk in private about it as much as he did, so when Jared excused himself to go to the bathroom, he only waited a couple of minutes before following, ignoring the knowing looks thrown his way. Jared was indeed waiting for him outside the men's room, leaning against the wall and looking good enough to eat.

"That was... weird," Jared said, but he was grinning.

"Yeah," Jensen admitted, leaning against the wall next to him. He looked down at his feet a little shyly before glancing back up at Jared through his thick eyelashes. "It's moving kind of fast."

Jared nodded. "Look, if you wanna come clean to them all, I totally understand." He looked into Jensen's eyes, waiting for him to say something. "I don't want you to feel forced into this."

Jensen started laughing at that and reached out, pulling Jared into his arms. "You idiot."

"What?" Jared asked, pushing himself back enough to look into Jensen's face.

"I fucking love you. Of course I wanna marry you," Jensen said, bringing his hand up to cup Jared's face. "So I guess the question is… do you wanna marry me?"

Jared grinned and leaned his forehead against Jensen's. "God, yes."

They shared a kiss, standing in the middle of the hallway, not caring who saw them. When they finally pulled apart, Jared had a pensive look on his face. "You know, spring is a long time away."

Jensen smirked at him and nodded. "A very long time away." They started walking back slowly, both smiling to themselves. "Hey, you know what's great about being our own bosses? We can take vacation time whenever we want."

"A long one, too... that possibly includes Canada and a little less of our family than they would like."

They shared a grin and Jensen curled his fingers around Jared's, squeezing them slightly. Their future was looking brighter by the second and they were finally getting their much deserved happily ever after.

The End