Jared woke up with the sun, the sheets a tangle around his legs, a warm body pressed up against his side. His fingers trailed sleepily across the gentle curve of ribs and along a flat stomach. He smiled, his eyes still closed as images from the night before flittered through his mind. The party. That god-awful shindig JD had arranged for the company. He'd been paraded like prize cattle before the who's who of society; JD's protégé, still not licensed, but he's going to be brilliant, you mark my word.
He'd escaped sometime after midnight, too many flutes of Dom Perignon bubbling away in his empty stomach. After that things became hazy. He remembered a smile, blinding and beautiful, and green eyes that had sparkled in the thousands of lights wired through the garden.
He remembered going back to his hotel room.
The body in his arms sighed, still asleep by the feel of things, but unconsciously reacting to Jared's explorations. His hand moved lower, tracing soft skin and the warm muscle beneath. He had a thing for a toned body. Sandy had been a dancer, and Claire a swimmer. He liked a bit of muscle on his women, he liked something to hold on to.
By the feel of things, he'd picked a girl with plenty to hold on to.
One who hadn't shaved her legs since hitting puberty.
Jared's hand reached her crotch, and triggered a very unfeminine groan. He snatched his hand back in shock and scooted back as 'she' rolled over on to 'her' back, and Jared finally opened his eyes.
Beautiful...but considerably male.
"Aw fuck." Jared groaned. Not again.
He didn't do guys.
Alright, so he did guys, but he didn't make a habit of it. Experience had taught him that the kind of men who were willing to let him fuck them were either raging queens or as shallow and vapid as Paris Hilton. Sometimes they were both. The prettier they were -and Jared's taste, unfortunately, ran towards the aesthetically pleasing- the more high maintenance. Women, for all the bad press they got were, again, in his experience, much easier to fuck and bid adieu in the morning.
Still, for all his standard operating procedures, curiosity alone had him leaning in for a closer look and giving himself a firm pat on the back for picking up what had to be the hottest piece of ass so far. Long, almost feminine eyelashes fell across high, freckle covered cheekbones and the fullest lips he had seen on a man were red and swollen. He'd bitten into the mystery man's collar at some point during the night. He wasn't normally one for hickeys. He thought they looked cheap and vulgar, but he couldn't deny that there was something erotic, primal even, about seeing his bite on that smooth, pretty throat.
The man opened his lips and sighed, his eyes scrunching in an oddly sweet manner before fluttering open.
Green eyes.
That smile.
"Hm, mornin'." That accent! He didn't remember that! He'd grown homesick for Texas over the past few years. He'd have remembered a thick, honey soaked accent like that, surely?
His brain stumbled over what to say, but was spared an explanation when the door to his room burst open, and an irate JD stormed on in. He took one look at Jared, one at the man sprawled naked in bed besides him, and threw his hands in the air, belatedly remembering he was holding two cups of coffee.
"Christ Jared!" He yelled, obviously in a bad mood. Jared looked at the clock on the side of the bed. There was a full hour before he and JD were due in a meeting with Senator Ackles.
"Relax, boss." Jared said, wincing at the roughness in his voice. "I'll be there on time."
JD wasn't looking at him. He was looking at mystery man. "Mr. Ackles." He said soberly.
Mystery man smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and tilted his head in recognition. "Mr. Morgan."
Jared blinked and looked between them both. "You know each other?" How embarrassing. If he hadn't have known JD was sickeningly heterosexual, he'd have been concerned he'd picked up leftovers. Wait… he looked at mystery man with horror dawning in his eyes. "Ackles?" He near shrieked.
Aw crapity crap. He'd gone and fucked a client. JD was going to fire him before he'd even been officially hired.
Ackles held out a hand for a very proper handshake, a grin dancing in his eyes as Jared returned the gesture numbly. "Jensen Ackles. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The Texas had all but slipped from his voice completely.
"Oh fuck me." Jared groaned miserably.
"I think you've already gone past that stage." JD said dryly. "Now get your ass in gear, kid. Shit, shower, shave and be down for breakfast in twenty minutes or I'll have you licking envelopes for the rest of your natural life." Jared meekly nodded and slid from the bed, stealing a pillow to preserve his modesty when he realized his pants were hanging from a lamp on the other side of the room. JD looked once more at Jensen, who had propped himself up in bed, not in the least concerned with JD's presence, or Jared's birthday suit. "Would you like me to tell your father anything?" He asked.
Jensen looked thoughtful. "Not that it will make any difference, but you can tell him I highly approve of your firm's level of dedication to client satisfaction."
JD's lips twitched and Jared ran for the shower without looking back.
Breakfast was a manner of torture that the Inquisition would have found brutal and extreme. Jared sat, appropriately dressed and freshly shaved between JD and his PA. Senator Ackles sat between two members of his staff. Jensen, much to Jared's disgust, was sat next to a pretty blond woman named Katherine. Shop talked bounced around the table, with Jared keeping quiet, speaking only when spoken to. Jensen acted the same, but to Jared's relief, there was nothing inappropriate about his behavior, and when introduced, he had shown no sign of having already met Jared, let alone sucked his dick.
The bored, blank expression on Jensen's pretty face only confirmed what Jared had expected. All sparkle, no substance. Jensen was another pretty blue blood trinket, spoilt by daddy's money and parents who most likely didn't give a damn what he spent it on.
His father the Senator was everything Jared expected. Calm, sober, traditional. Jared wondered what he would say if he knew his son had begged for Jared's cock so prettily, ass in the air and his legs spread wide. He had enough sense to keep shtum.
Talk dragged on for hours, until Jensen finally gave up and excused himself, whispering in the woman's ear before leaving the table.
"Excuse my son." Senator Ackles said, his lips a thin line of displeasure. "Jensen has another engagement he needs to attend, and I see we are running behind schedule." The man was a true diplomat, and JD responded in kind.
"There are just a few more matters to cover, Senator, and then we shall leave you to your business."
Ackles nodded and the talks continued.
An hour later they were free. They stood as the Senator and his people left, shaking hands and exchanging cards. As soon as they were alone in their own company, JD turned to Jared and grinned. "So?"
Jared grinned back. For all the distractions, his heart pounded with the excitement of the game. "I think I got lost after the first twenty minutes." He admitted ruefully.
JD rolled his eyed. "The fuck you did." He laughed. "This is life kid, this is what you got coming."
Jared could barely keep from dancing on the spot. "If I qualify."
"You'll qualify." JD promised. "But if I catch you in bed with a client's son -especially a client like Ackles- again, I'll have you castrated for the good of the company."
Jared nodded. He wasn't about to make that mistake twice. "Sounds fair."
After spending the afternoon writing up all he had learned, and listening to JD as he explained the intricacies of contracts and careful wording within, Jared found time to himself shortly before dinner. The hotel's gardens were a beautiful paradise of exotic colors and fragrances, bridges winding across meandering streams and leading into secret gardens. Jared wandered for a long time, heading deeper until he ventured into a veritable mirage. At the center of the secret alcove was a marble statue, almost too beautiful and grand to be hidden away. It pictured a man laid out as though sleeping, his arm flung wide behind his head, his fingers curled around a spear that thrust perpendicular to the ground. Thick foliage had curled down from above to gently caress the figure, and wild roses entwined the statue's base with color.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Jared faltered, looking around until he spotted Jensen propped up on a small bench that had almost become hidden in the canopy of trees. He had changed out of the suit he wore at the meeting, thin caramel colored slacks fastened with a battered leather belt and a soft periwinkle shirt made of seductively thin cotton hung half unbuttoned from his shoulders. He wore nothing underneath, and no shoes or socks.
"You must be freezing." Jared said, marveling at the pretty idiot. Jensen shook his head calmly and returned to his task. A lump of black charcoal was held loosely between his fingers as he sketched an image onto a large pad of paper.
"I'm good." Jensen shrugged. "You finish discussing your plans for world domination?"
Jared spared him a pitying smile. "Too many big words for you?"
"Too many big egos." Jensen countered. "And too many pompous, self-righteous pricks who think they can change the world over a caviar breakfast." Jared would concede that point. Caviar was one perk of the job he'd pass on in future.
"I take it you're not going to be following daddy's footsteps." Another spoilt brat who didn't know how good they had it. Jared sounded bitter. He was. Too many years living off the scraps society saw fit to give him had hardened any compassion he might have felt for the spoilt, pampered percentage of his generation. His family could have probably lived for a year off the spare change Jensen had laying about.
Jensen swung around on the bench and curled his legs under him, the soft vulnerable skin of his bare feet and ankles momentarily distracting Jared's thoughts. "My father can't even change the state he represents for the better, let alone the world. Politicians are all the same. They can't see past their own noses. They moan and complain about how fucked the economy is, but conveniently forget we live in one of the richest countries in the world." There wasn't a note of passion in Jensen's voice when he spoke, simply stating the fact for what it was.
"And that wealth belongs to less than ten percent of the population. Arrogant, hypocritical little shits like yourself who talk the talk but still spend a thousand dollars on a shirt and hoard their money greedily." Jared's temper was getting the better of him and he consciously bit back on it. He wasn't a nice person when he was angry, and he didn't know Jensen well enough to waste the emotion on him.
To his surprise, Jensen smirked and tugged on his collar. "Five dollars at Wal-Mart, actually." He grinned cheekily. "Tell me something. Do you hate me because you fucked me and got caught by your boss, or because my father is rich?"
Jared was taken aback. "I don't know you. I can't hate you."
"Good." Jensen enthused. "Now come take a look at this." He beckoned Jared over until he could sit down on the bench besides him. Pointing at the marble statue he asked, "What do you see?"
"Are you kidding?" he asked, shooting Jensen an incredulous glance.
"Does it look like I am?" Jensen responded smoothly. "Look."
Jared pulled a face, but Jensen nodded encouragingly. "Alright…" turning his eye on the statue, Jared followed smooth, supple limbs as they sprawled out, arm outstretched, spear in hand. "Death. He's dead. Kinda morbid."
Jensen shook his head. "Well no wonder you're going to be a lawyer with an attitude like that. Look again." Obediently Jared looked back.
"Still looks dead to me."
"That's not the point. Yes, he is dead, but beyond that, what do you see? What do you feel?"
Jared shrugged helplessly. He felt nothing.
"Look at his face…see how peaceful he is? How calm?"Jared tilted his head. Jensen took his arm and pointed towards the smooth features of the figure's face.
"He's dead." Jared said flatly. "Of course he's calm!"
"He's at peace." Jensen explained. "His task is complete. His battle is fought. There is serenity in knowing that one has done the job intended for them in life."
"That's a bit fatalistic, don't you think?"
"I prefer pragmatic." Jensen said wryly, "but yes, I suppose it is." He let Jared lower his arm, their hands still touching. "A man named Kritilas sculpted this over seventy years ago, and the emotions it evokes are still as strong. There is something special in that, something unchangeable." There was a soft, dreamy look on Jensen's face as he spoke, and Jared's heart pounded in his chest.
Jared leaned down and pressed his lips against Jensen's. He couldn't remember what they tasted like. The marble bench was cold beneath his hands as he leaned down and pressed Jensen beneath him, pinning him between Jared and the trees. Moaning softly Jensen let Jared crowd him down, soft and malleable like clay.
Without breaking the kiss, Jared began to fumble with the buttons on Jensen's soft shirt, baring smooth, golden skin and the elegant throat he had obviously found so enchanting the night before. Jensen sighed against his lips when Jared brushed a thumb across one of his nipples.
He couldn't remember the last time he had fucked someone so sensitive.
Jensen arched like a thoroughbred kitten, pressing closer to Jared as his mouth opened up to the demanding tongue pressed against his lips.
Finally able to feel his way across Jensen's entire torso, Jared slid a hand under Jensen's arm, tracing around his back before sliding lower and pressing teasingly against the waistband of Jensen's slacks. He tasted to Jared like cinnamon and coffee, rich and sweet but ever so slightly bitter. His hands clutched at Jared's shoulders, clearly willing to let Jared be the aggressor and take what he wanted.
A memory of pressing Jensen down into the cool sheets and licking him open rose in Jared's mind. Tiny mewling sounds of pleasure became the soundtrack to his thoughts.
He wanted to hear that again.
Drawing back, leaving Jensen breathless and his mouth bruised, Jared dropped to his knees and settled between Jensen's sprawled legs.
Jensen's hand curled tight in Jared's hair as he anticipated Jared's next move, obviously remembering last night better than Jared did, because he moaned loudly when his slacks were pulled down his thighs. "God, yes."
Sprawled out and debauched, his thin slacks dangling from one ankle, his shirt a pool of fabric at his elbows, Jared was left in no question as to what had caught his attention last night. He looked like he should have been a piece of art himself. With his hands braced wide on Jensen's thighs, Jared dipped his head and let the tip of Jensen's hard dick brush across his lips. He didn't suck cock often, enjoying it more for the effect it had on the man he was sucking than for any of its own merits. Jensen was so sensitive, so vocal, that Jared just needed to hear what he would sound like when he came apart.
Strong fingers gripped his hair tightly, holding him as he let the head of Jensen's dick slide across his tongue, teasing with quick, effective swipes before opening his mouth wide and swallowing him down.
Jensen's groan was pornographic. His thighs pressed against Jared's shoulders, open wide for every touch. Free to let his hands roam across smooth skin, Jared reached up to play with one of Jensen's nipples, rolling the bud between his fingers. He waited until Jensen was panting harshly to press a dry finger against his ass. The skin there was hot and swollen still, and Jared wondered just how hard they'd gone at it the night before. A curious press against the muscle had Jensen choking back a gasp of pained pleasure, and his fingers tightened in Jared's hair, a warning, before he came.
Jared had pulled back in time to catch the majority of Jensen's release in his hands.
Slumped boneless on the bench, Jensen looked up with half-lidded eyes. "Maybe I'mma have to change my stance on lawyers." He grinned.
Jared was already stripping out of his shirt and slacks with one hand. The garden was dead, and they were in more privacy than he would find in his hotel room. "I'm not a lawyer yet." He pointed out, climbing up onto the bench until he had Jensen pinned. With a playful wink, he twisted around, until he had his knees on either side of Jensen's head, and his own face by Jensen's spent cock.
"Thank god for that. Once you qualify you'll lose all sexual creativity." Jensen lamented playfully, licking his lips and opening his mouth to take Jared in deep.
Jensen had an amazing mouth. Jared knew as much, and now he remembered why. Apparently a gag reflex was something you left behind at private school. Biting his lip to keep from moaning himself, Jared used the come on his fingers to gently probe at the red skin of Jensen's ass. It was a difficult angle, but his height was an advantage.
His gut tightened with every skilled swipe of Jensen's tongue, but he was determined not to come until Jensen was hard again. He had his pride. With a careful finger, he pressed past the swollen ring on muscle and froze when Jensen's gasp reverberated around his dick. There was an advantage to be had, Jared realized as he added a second finger and wriggled them teasingly. Every gasp and whimper, every cry, was muffled perfectly by Jared's cock. He took Jensen's hardening dick between his lips and sucked gently, adding a third finger, his wrist aching at the angle.
His knees trembled. Jensen was pulling every trick going, taking Jared deeper than anyone else ever had. With a growl, he pulled back, his cock sliding from Jensen's throat with an obscene pop. He scrambled off the bench, took hold of Jensen's thighs, and sparing only a minute to line up, pushed past the ring of his ass with a brutal snap of his hips.
Jensen threw his head back, and Jared hastily pressed his lips over his mouth, stealing the loud cry.
Three quick thrusts and he came, pulling Jensen over the edge with him with a sharp jerk of his wrist.
Jared rested his forehead in the crook of Jensen's neck and struggled to catch his breath. "Still hate me?"Jensen panted.
"Despise." Jared nodded, caught up in Jensen's laughter. "Now where the fuck did I throw my pants?"
JD had him in lessons all evening, the clock striking midnight before he was free to stumble up the stairs to his room. He was passing the elevator when out of nowhere Jensen appeared, his lips and his hands roaming across every inch of Jared he could reach.
"Hmmm, no, bed." Jared moaned, exhausted.
"My bed." Jensen countered.
Jared paused. "Yeah, okay." He was caught firmly in Jensen's arms and tugged into the elevator, his back hitting the wall. A tiny corner of his mind awoke and triggered a spark of panic when the doors slid closed, but Jensen's warm body was enough of a distraction. He held on tight and didn't open his eyes.
They moved up one floor before the elevator gave a violent jerk, then stopped, the power dying and the lights flashing to the emergency supply.
"Fucking hell." Jensen grumbled. "Hang on." He reached for the security phone and called reception, stepping out of Jared's arms.
Jared's breath caught in his throat as the walls of the elevator crashed in on him from all sides. He tried loosening his tie, fingering the sweaty ends of his hair as perspiration rose on his skin and his fingers trembled lightly. Oblivious to his turmoil, Jensen calmly conversed with the member of security on the line of the emergency phone.
"Yeah, no problem. Thanks." He ended the conversation and hung the phone up in its little metal case before turning to face Jared. "They will be us moving as soon as possible. Some kind of power fuck up." He shrugged. "Shouldn't be too…are you alright?" He changed track mid sentence, noticing the wide dilation of Jared's eyes and the way his tall body trembled frantically. "Hey." He rushed forward and caught Jared's elbows, holding him steady.
Jared, his eyes screwing up tightly, felt the firm grip and recoiled. His knees buckled as panic crashed down on him, stealing his breath and forcing him into places he'd thought he'd left behind. He felt himself being lowered to the floor and flinched back from the gentle brush of fingers against his cheek. A lean body slid behind his and he was pulled back into strong arms, held in a cage of flesh and bone as his heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Easy. Easy. Take a deep breath. Come on, breath." Jared tried to obey. He opened his eyes and the walls of the elevator crowded in on him. He whimpered, and warm hands curled gently over his eyes. "Don't look. It's okay. It's just dark, that's all. It's dark, and you're in the garden with me." Jared reached up and clung on to Jensen's wrist. "We've found another little hideaway, and it's something straight out of a story book. There are fireflies dancing around us, and the jasmine is sweet on the breeze." Jensen didn't stop talking; he simply changed subjects every time he ran out of things to say. "I'll take you to Africa with me some day. We'll stand on the yellow hills and look out across the Serengeti. You'll feel small, like the world just stretches on forever whichever way you look. It's almost like being in another world."
Jared was so busy clinging to Jensen and his gentle voice, using them as a shield against the panic, that he didn't notice the elevator begin to move until Jensen was encouraging him to stand. They came to a standstill on the ground floor and with a small, encouraging tug, Jensen lead him out into the lobby. They passed JD, who frowned as soon as he laid eyes on his protégé, but continued on without stopping until they stood in the gardens as Jensen had promised.
The fresh air was like a slap to the face, his senses snapping back into reality. Colors became sharp again, and the walls that rose around him faded away into nothingness. Jensen was looking out on the green paradise with an expression of peaceful serenity on his face, carefully giving Jared the space he needed without leaving him alone.
Utterly mortified, Jared tried to stammer out an apology. "I'm…shit…I didn't….sorry." He mumbled, not looking at the artist for fear for seeing the truth written in his green eyes.
"Hmm?" Jensen mused. "Sorry for what?" He asked, prompting Jared to finally meet his eyes. There wasn't a single hint of a betraying emotion on his face, and if Jared wasn't still feeling the aftereffects of his own panic, he might have questioned if anything had actually happened at all. That blank, bored, innocent look was back on Jensen's face, his wide eyes sweet and carefree and his lips twisted into a beatific, but ultimately empty smile.
It turned out that diplomacy had many forms, and Jensen's own brand was more deadly than any lie that could be spun. Jared's lips twitched into an involuntary smile despite himself. He'd figured Jensen's little secret. There was something between those lovely eyes of his. He was smarter than Jared gave him credit. Smart enough to know when to keep quiet and play dumb.
"I'd kill for a drink." He offered as a way of thanks.
Jensen tipped his head and smiled properly. "Ever tried sigri?"
Jared wasn't sure how Jensen had squared it with JD, but instead of finding himself dragged to a local hole in the wall, Jensen had made a few calls, and an hour later they were on a plane headed for Kenya.
Jared, who had never flown before in his life, eyed the jet with wonder, awed beyond belief, immensely glad that JD had insisted he apply for a passport, and feeling a little like Julia Roberts. Without the prostitution parts. Jensen eyed him carefully for a moment. "You flown before?"
Jared shook his head.
"Just pretend you're superman." Jensen suggested. "Or you can pop a Xanax." He held out a hand, the small blue pill sitting snug between smudges of paint. Jared shook his head again.
"Maybe later." He said, fully intending on at least making an attempt to enjoy the flight.
He need not have worried. They flew business class, and even Jared's long legs had plenty of space. There was a moment when the doors closed that panic rose up in his chest, but Jensen squeezed his arm, and excitement overtook all nervousness.
He talked Jensen's ear off. Did he fly often? How long did it take? How did it work? Were in flight movies always so sucky? Jensen weathered it like a pro, calling over a beaming hostess who handed out complimentary drinks like candy. Jared felt like a kid again. He wolfed down the meals and read the in-flight magazines back to front before turning his attention to the stewardess.
"He's new to this." Jensen explained with a wry grin when Jared began to bombard her with questions. Her confused expression melted, and half an hour later she returned with an invitation to see the cockpit. With eyes are round as saucers, Jared went exploring with her, and when he returned Jensen was fast asleep, an Airline stuffed plane with big eyes sitting in Jared's seat.
Torn between wanting some answers and wanting to watch Jensen sleep, Jared's curiosity won out. He poked Jensen in the arm until his eyelashes fluttered and his mouth opened in a jaw popping yawn. "Ya'll right?" he asked, accent back with a vengeance as he peered up into Jared's serious face.
"Why are you doing this? You've already got into my pants. Twice." He added as an afterthought. He didn't mention that his previous opinions of Jensen had been less than favorable, and certainly not the type to be rewarded with free vacations.
Jensen shrugged a shoulder and struggled to get more comfortable in his reclined seat, his eyelids drooping again. "Cos I felt like it." He admitted tiredly. "And because you didn't know who I was when you fucked me."
"I-"
"Get some sleep, kid. You've got a whole world to see before we're done."
Jared opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jensen killed it with a soft snuffle. With a fond smile, Jared signaled his new friend the stewardess. "Do you have a blanket or anything?" He asked, reaching over to touch Jensen's cheek.
"Under your seat, sweetie." She smiled back at him and looked down at Jensen. "Your boyfriend taking you away?" Jared's mind tripped over the title but he found himself nodding. She smiled wider. "You're a lucky young man."
Jared found the blanket at pulled it out of its pouch. "Yeah." He whispered, draping the warm fabric over Jensen's body. "Guess I am."
Jensen oozed old school glamour as he left the plane, his rumpled clothes and vintage shades somehow looking effortlessly stylish. Next to him, Jared felt like a long legged school-boy; mismatched and out of place. The dry, arid air hit as soon as they stepped out of the plane, making a Texas summer feel like a day spent in Alaska.
There was a car waiting for them, three parcels wrapped up in brown paper on the back seat. Following Jensen's lead, Jared swung his leg over the side of the open jeep and climbed into shotgun next to Jensen.
They left the airport and headed away from Nairobi, leaving the mountain the country had been named for looming behind them. "We're heading towards Tanzania." Jensen explained as the roads turned to dusty meandering tracks. "Uganda is to the west of us, beyond Lake Victoria. Somalia is north east, and Ethiopia is directly north. The Indian ocean is east."
Jared nodded, as wide eyed as he had been on the plane. "It's beautiful." He said, eying the landscape, so vastly different to anything he had ever seen in his life.
Jensen smiled. "Isn't it? I fell in love with Africa a couple of years ago. My father wanted me to go to university. I had places lined up in Oxford and Yale. I don't think he has ever forgiven me for going AWOL on my gap year." There was something rather amused in his smile, and Jared was left wondering how the dynamics of the Ackles family actually worked.
"You took a gap year?"
Jensen beamed at him. "If a gap year can be measured in half a decade." He admitted. "I didn't tell him what I was planning on doing. I just told the universities I was deferring a year and left my school in the middle of the night two days before I was due to head home."
"And he didn't notice?" Jared marveled. His own father would have beaten him bloody for daring to do anything so drastic without telling him. When Jared had announced he was leaving for college he'd gotten a black eye for his troubles.
Jensen shrugged. "Kinda hard when he was in Texas and I was in the Swiss Alps."
"You went to school in the Alps?" Jared's jaw dropped and he got a mouthful of dusty air lodged in his throat. Jensen shrugged again. They had begun to climb, the land getting progressively steeper until they were winding in and out of the hills.
"I went to school in lots of places. I hitchhiked to Germany then caught a train to Spain. Crossed over Gibraltar to Africa and called my old man three weeks after I had set off. He hadn't a clue I wasn't where I was supposed to be." Jared half expected Jensen to sound bitter, but he was either the most well adjusted man on the planet, or the best actor Jared had ever met.
"Wow."
"Yeah." Jensen said dreamily. "I bought this place a year ago. It's a pretty good spot for getting around, and I guess I have a soft spot for Kenya." Jared looked up on cue, and as they rounded a bend in the road, they drew up before a small wooden house built against the rock face. It was isolated, peaceful, and surrounded by a riot of colors as flowers and foliage warred for place in the untamed garden. Jared's jaw was still wide when Jensen pulled to a stop and killed the engine. "Go on in." He encouraged. "The door's open."
Jared nodded numbly. He was lost in a whirl of colors. A week ago he had been pouring over his books. A day ago he'd been rubbing shoulders with the best of high society. Today he was in a foreign country with a man he barely knew, looking out across the valley to some of the most beautiful, untouched scenery in the world.
He walked up to the door in a daze, finding it open as Jensen said. Inside it was…beautiful. Everything Jared had ever expected a home to be. Bright and welcoming. Lived in and a little dusty, with loving touches shown in everything from the paint to the furniture. Jensen had decorated this house with love in his heart, and it screamed out from every square inch.
"Feel free to explore," Jensen said, carrying the three parcels into the kitchen. Food, Jared surmised.
The house was all on one level. He found the bedroom with a huge ornate bed and patchwork bedspread. All the furniture was thick, dark wood, worn and homely. The bathroom was cooler, locally influenced tiles around a deep set tub and a mirror framed with sea shells. Between the kitchen and the sitting room was a space Jensen must have used to paint, for easels and art supplies of every possible nature were piled up high. Beyond that was a small balcony that overlooked a terrifyingly steep drop and a hundred miles of beauty.
He was caught staring in awe when Jensen stepped up beside him and pressed a drink into Jared's hand. "That drink I promised you."
Jared took it, his fingers brushing Jensen's. "Better be worth all this effort." He said quietly, reaching out to touch the sunny golden skin on Jensen's throat. Out here there was no mask, the gentle smiles full of warmth and personality, the vapid smokescreen left behind on US soil.
"Oh it will be." Jensen promised, letting Jared take the drinks and set them on the table before being swept up in a kiss.
Breathless, they parted, and Jared absently stroked his fingers across the curve of Jensen's neck. "Yesterday…saying the things I said…I hurt you, didn't I?" With the rush of shame came an unexpected wave of defeat. He'd tried to think of Jensen as just another pretty bauble dangled in front of him, and within the space of a few days he'd found Jensen had somehow wormed his way right under Jared's skin.
Jensen shook his head. "You'll find I am very hard to insult."
"I'm not talking about that…I was cruel. I wasn't thinking." He looked Jensen firmly in the eye, and it was suddenly more important that Jensen believe him now than anything else in the world. "I'm sorry. It will never happen again."
With a slow nod and an easy smile, Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared once again. "Apology accepted. Now shut up and fuck me already."
That was one order Jared would happily obey.
They spent two days wrapped around one another. In bed, on the balcony, in the garden and the orchard below, in the kitchen. Every moment awake was spent learning smoothing new about the way Jensen smiled and kissed, every taste catalogued and memorized. By the time they were back in the US Jared knew every place that made Jensen melt, each ticklish spot and every blissful look he got when he came. It wasn't until JD was bounding over with a sparkle in his eyes and Jensen was once again lost behind a pretty mask that Jared realized he'd never actually gotten to try that drink after all.
"Jared Padalecki." Jared rose at his name, mortar board balanced on his head, grin locked firmly into a suitable smile. There was no family to clap as his name was called, but JD whistled loudly from the middle of the onlookers and standing at the back of the auditorium, Jensen watched on with a real smile on his face. The Dean smiled and patted him on the back like a proud father once his certificate was handed over. Jared appreciated it, but it wasn't until he was crushed in JD's enthusiastic embrace that he let himself breathe again, pride at all he had achieved bringing silly tears to his eyes.
"Fanfuckingtastic kid!" JD beamed, almost beside himself with glee. "You start work on Tuesday."
The tears turned to ones of gratitude as he hugged JD back just as hard. "I don't know how to thank you." He whispered.
JD snorted and pulled back. "You can start by buying yourself a decent suit."
Jared choked on his laugh. JD stepped aside, and Jared felt a grin split his face in two.
Jensen had drawn more than a few curious glances, for once dressing up for the occasion. He wore a bottle green satin shirt and pressed dark slacks, his hair shinning almost golden under the artificial lights. He was holding back, waiting for Jared to make the first move and set the mood for their interaction in public. Jensen was always proper in public, always what he was expected to be, and Jared had no room for that today.
He pushed through the people between them, caught Jensen by the back of his neck and dragged him in for a bruising kiss.
When they parted, Jensen was panting as hard as Jared. "You up for a drink?" He asked, his eyes shining.
Anticipation throbbed in Jared's veins. His hands framed Jensen's face and he kissed him again, softer this time, waiting for Jensen to melt against him, oblivious to the cat calls of his friends. "What do you have in mind?" He asked, stepping back, but still holding on.
Jensen's brow furrowed as he thought. "You in the mood for some tequila?"
"Always."
"How's your Spanish?" Jensen challenged.
"Estoy enamorado de ti." He whispered. Jensen's eyes widened and propriety went out the window. He laughed, bright and loud, and jumped back into Jared's arms, all but crushing the life from him. Jared clung back just as tightly, wondering how he had come to find all he had never realized he had been looking for. Jensen was all he had dreamed of but never intended to find, the type of person he had only expected to see in old storybooks; someone who was as beautiful on the inside as their outward appearance.
"I know a great bar in Mexico City." Jensen promised. "Think you can find time in your busy, licensed schedule for your poor, lowly artist?"
Jared threaded his fingers in Jensen's hair, enjoying the extra length that hadn't been there when they had met. A week in Madagascar had lightened the soft lengths, and when he had come back, Jared had been unable to keep his hands to himself. He rarely could when Jensen was in reach. "I'll get my secretary to pencil you in."
Jensen laughed again and held on tight. Jared caught JD's eyes over Jensen's shoulder and couldn't help but smile at what he saw. With a finger curled under Jensen's jaw he guided his chin up and angled for a kiss, this one a soft, gentle touch, an acknowledgement of all they had, and a promise of all the things to come.
THE END
