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It’s dark by the time Jensen crawls out of the closet, joints creaking as he straightens up. His butt aches with the imprint of one of his dress shoes. There’s dust in his nostrils, in his hair. Dirt under his fingernails from the floorboards. The skin on his face feels stiff, tears turned to glue in their tracks. His eyelids are heavy with cooled down heat.
His head is finally quiet. No more ants crawling under his skin, trying to get out. His heart has stopped racing and slowed down to an easy jog.
He’s forgotten what made him lose control. Something Jared said? Something he did? It had seemed crucial at the time, but now he can’t even remember what it was. It’s all lost in the tycoon of anger and panic and not understanding.
He just remembers for one moment wishing he’d never laid eyes on Jared Tristan Padalecki, because Jared Tristan Padalecki is the only person in the whole world that can make Jensen feel like this. All this. Hatred for what he is, jealous of what he can’t be, angry at everything that doesn’t make sense. Afraid of what he does have, what he can lose.
So, so afraid.
He smoothes out the wrinkles in his clothes, runs a hand through his hair. Rubs at his face with his fingers to soften up the skin. Then steps hesitantly up to the door and twists the doorknob.
Sometimes Jared waits outside, back against the wall, long legs stretched across the hallway. Book in hand, a bottle of beer by his side. Face carefully void of all expressions as he stands up, trying to read Jensen’s mood. Then a hug or just a light kiss, Jared’s palm on Jensen’s face and a quiet “Hey,” and “Are you all right?” or just “I saved you some pizza.”
Jensen opens the door to reveal an empty hallway. Silent. Condemning. His stomach clenches. He steps out and walks through the too quiet house, nerves twitching with anxiety. Room after room after room.
He finds Jared asleep in their bed, arm slung over his eyes, mouth still set in a thin taut line.
Jensen stands still, watching. Hovering. Unsure. His eyes fall on the sliver of skin where Jared’s t-shirt has ridden up, showing a trail of downy hairs disappearing under the waistline of his jeans. Jensen purses his lips. Bites into the right corner of his lower lip and pulls on it with his teeth until it snaps free. Nods to himself. Then crawls into bed and starts working on Jared’s zipper.
Orgasms release the neurohormone oxytocin, which evokes feelings of contentment, reductions in anxiety, and feelings of calmness and security, as well as increasing empathy; all elements that will make Jared less inclined to hold on to his anger.
Plus, with his mouth full of cock Jensen is less likely to say something that might make the whole argument flare up again.
An hour later Jensen is lying half on top of Jared, fighting to catch his breath.
Despite Jensen’s concerns Jared had not woken up angry. Surprised, though, and a little confused judging by the repeated, “What? Jensen… What are you…?” before Jensen got his mouth on him. Then happy. And appreciative. As evident by the pleasant ache in Jensen’s anus. (‘Do you have to call it that?’ Jared had groaned one night, shortly after they got together. ‘It sounds so… awkward.’ Jensen doesn’t really understand why it’s awkward, but he’s tried to remember to use Jared’s words when he’s talking. Even if he finds the words ‘ass’ and ‘hole’ much more inappropriate, especially considering the number of times he’s been called an asshole for no apparent reason.)
Jared’s arm sneaks around Jensen, pulling him close. Jensen closes his eyes. His heavy breathing shifts into short, careful intakes as he tries his best to keep still. His body must release less oxytocin than a normal person’s when he has an orgasm; the feelings of calmness, security and contentment never hold on for long enough to help him through this part:
Jared likes to cuddle. Jared thinks cuddling is just as important as sex. Sometimes Jared even prefers cuddling to sex. Jensen thinks cuddling is more like strangulation. But he loves Jared so he tries, he really does. He’s getting better at post-coital cuddling. He’s up to forty seconds now, aiming for a minute.
Fifty-two seconds later he jerks away and rolls out of bed. As he heads to the bathroom to clean up and brush his teeth he hears Jared sigh behind him, and the sound makes him falter in his steps.
He is trying. He’s making the best effort he can. Jared just doesn’t understand how it feels. How someone’s touch can one minute be comforting and the next feel like a thousand hands all over his skin, greedy, grabbing, pulling him under. Suffocating him. There’s only so much he can take of it.
When he gets back Jared has pulled the covers up to his chest, his eyes are closed, and his t-shirt lies sticky and discarded on the floor.
Jensen picks it up and takes it into the bathroom, puts it in the hamper. Mutters, “Brush your teeth,” quietly under his breath to keep from saying it out loud. Jared is a grown man; if he wants his teeth to rot because he’s too lazy after sex to get up and brush them, that’s his prerogative. Or so Jared says. Even if it’s Jensen that has to tolerate his breath in the morning.
Jensen slips under the covers, lies on his back, closes his eyes. Counts the seconds until he can say goodnight without sounding dismissive. (More than fifteen but less than sixty-five, or Jared will think something is wrong.) He’s always found the practice rather pointless. If he wished Jared would have a bad night, then maybe it would be worth mentioning, but Jared has no reason to think Jensen’s changed his mind from the night before. Or the night before that. It’s ridiculous how much time people waste on repeating things they already know.
Just as he deems it safe to let the words out he hears Jared turn his head on the pillow beside him then feels him shift, the bed dipping from the weight. Moments later there are fingers at Jensen’s brow, slipping through the drops of sweat still clinging to his temple. His eyebrow twitches, but he manages to keep still and not jerk away from the unexpected touch. It’s his own fault. If he’d kept his eyes open he would have seen it coming.
“I do love you,” Jared says quietly.
Jensen hums in agreement. He knows. Jared keeps telling him, all the time. Jensen isn’t sure why. It’s not like he’s forgotten.
The hand finally moves away, but only to come rest upon Jensen’s chest instead.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” Jared pauses. Jensen can hear him nibble at his lips. “I didn’t mean to… do… whatever I did. I’m sorry.”
Jensen sucks in his breath then lets it out slowly. So it wasn’t his fault. Whatever it was.
“Okay,” he says, relieved.
“Okay?” Jared repeats.
“Yeah.”
Jared breathes out. His hand is heavy on Jensen’s chest. “Okay.” He kisses Jensen’s temple. “You are kind of amazing, you know that?”
Jensen blinks his eyes open, glancing warily up at Jared. “We’ve had sex before,” he points out, not sure where this is going. His head is still a little groggy from the orgasms. “Many times.”
Jared laughs softly. “I wasn’t talking about the sex. I just meant… you. I think you’re amazing.”
Jensen doesn’t really understand what’s so amazing about being a neurotic anti-social weirdo but arguing after sex seems counterproductive, so he lets it go.
“Okay.” He yawns. “Goodnight.”
Jared’s hand lingers on Jensen’s chest before finally pulling away. “Sleep tight,” he says.
Jensen hums again. He’s halfway there already.
-------
Jared blinks owlishly up at the ceiling, at the bright light streaming through the curtains, then yawns and rubs a hand over his face. He still has the taste of Jensen in his mouth, a taste gone sour with sleep, but somehow recognizable just the same. It’s oddly comforting. He reaches for his watch where it lies on the bedside table, checks the time. Ten o’clock. Huh. No wonder he’s feeling disoriented.
Sleeping in on his days off became a thing of the past when he moved out of his parents’ home and got dogs of his own. It’s nothing he’s ever minded, preferred it even, but he has to admit it’s nice being allowed a few more hours of sleep every now and then. One of the many perks of living with someone who gets up early every morning anyway: they don’t mind letting your dogs out into the backyard if you’re too lazy to get out of bed.
Jared looks over at the empty space beside him. On the other hand it would be even nicer if he could share those few hours with Jensen snuggled up to him.
He understands it, he does. Totally respects Jensen’s need to keep to his schedule no matter what. But he can’t help feeling a little disappointed sometimes that they can’t spend their Sunday mornings like any other couple. Sleep late, laze around in bed, make love…
He swallows those thoughts down, before they turn destructive. He knew what he was signing up for when they started this. It’s just a matter of adjusting, the way all couples have to adjust to each other’s quirks and habits. He’s sure Jensen struggles with a lot of his habits and considering how much harder it is for Jensen to adapt to change than it is for Jared, he doesn’t really feel like he has any right to complain. And he’s not. It’s just… different. That’s all.
He gets up and brushes his teeth then takes a quick shower before getting dressed and heading downstairs. Jensen is sitting in his usual place by the kitchen table; glasses perched on his nose, half a cup of coffee cooling by his side as he works his way methodically through the Sunday crosswords. Down first, from left to right; then across, top to bottom.
“Morning,” Jared says as he comes up behind Jensen and leans over to kiss him on the cheek. Jensen smells of shampoo, and soap and a hint of shaving cream. His cheek is smooth as a baby’s bottom, weekends being the only times he’s allowed to shave Dean’s stubble off.
Jared’s own cheeks are rough, enjoying the temporary freedom from upholding Sam’s youthful appearance. He likes that they alternate their looks like that, from Dean and Sam to Jensen and Jared. It helps keeping their real and fictional lives separate.
Jensen hums in reply, his focus on the word puzzle in front of him. Jared skims through the clues but he knows better now than to try and suggest solutions. Instead he pours himself a cup of coffee and tops up Jensen’s without asking. Judging by the fast pace of Jensen’s pen tapping against the newspaper he’s on his second or even third cup already, but Jensen insists he needs caffeine to think. As soon as Jared’s had his breakfast they’ll be heading out for a few hours anyway. That should sober him up some.
As Jared moves around the kitchen – making toast, pouring himself orange juice, slicing an apple – he keeps glancing over at Jensen, watching him work.
Jensen’s expression is mostly vacant although every now and then there will be a small twitch, at his eyebrow, his nose, his lips… before his face smoothes out again, and he fills in each box with the right letter. His hair is meticulously groomed, split in the side and combed down. Jared prefers it Dean style but apparently this is the way Jensen’s mother taught him to comb his hair before going to church, and he’s having a hard time letting go of it despite having given up Sunday services years ago. He’s wearing his usual Sunday clothes: soft-worn jeans, and the blue t-shirt that says “I’m not anti-social, I’m just not user friendly” that his sister gave him last Christmas. It always makes Jared smile, if a little bittersweet.
Jensen looks so “normal,” and at the same time so Jensen it makes Jared’s heart stutter in his chest. He stands there, with his coffee mug in one hand and a piece of toast in the other, and he thinks, This is my life now.
It’s a little overwhelming to tell the truth.
“I really do love you,” he says.
“I know,” Jensen answers absently as he fills in the last word. He sets the pen aside then folds the newspaper and places it at the corner of the table in perfect line with the edge before picking up the pen and putting it on top, right in the middle.
“We need to buy milk,” he says as he stands up, not giving Jared as much as a glance before heading upstairs.
Jared closes his eyes. Adapt and adjust. That’s all there is.
-------
“Ridiculous,” Jensen says, clicking his teeth in irritation. “Give me the phone, I need to call Sera.”
“You’re not calling Sera at nine o’clock on a Sunday night to bitch about the script,” Jared tells him. He sounds amused. “What’s so ridiculous anyway?” he adds as he moves to peer over Jensen’s shoulder, breath warm on his neck.
Jensen’s jaw ticks, but he manages to resist shrugging Jared off. For now.
“The car!” he says, focusing his irritation on that instead. “It was crushed by a fucking semi, and they think Dean can rebuild it in a month? All by himself? It’s idiotic. Completely unpractical. Phone. Give me the phone.”
“No,” Jared says firmly. “Jensen, c’mon, it’s fiction. Let it go.”
Jensen starts to argue, but Jared just kisses him on the cheek then nuzzles into his neck. His stubble scratches Jensen’s skin. Jensen tries not to let it bother him that Jared never shaves on their days off, but he can’t help feeling annoyed. A man should either have a beard or not.
Unless, apparently, he’s Dean Winchester, and his creator thinks a permanent five o’clock shadow makes him look tougher. (Five o’clock isn’t permanent! And even if it was, (It isn’t and can never be.) hair doesn’t stop growing. There’s ignorant, and then there’s just plain stupid. Clearly this falls in the second category, but no matter how he tried to explain it to them they wouldn’t change their mind.)
Not shaving doesn’t make Jared look tougher; it just makes him look lazy.
“You’re cute when you get all worked up over technical details,” Jared says, totally misreading Jensen’s expression.
“I’m not cute, I’m good looking,” Jensen rectifies. “Phone.”
“How about I give you a blowjob instead?”
Jensen looks up with a frown. “How will that fix the script?”
A strange look passes over Jared’s face, but then he smiles. “I was more thinking it might distract you enough to forget about the script.”
“Your blowjobs aren’t actually mindblowing, Jared,” Jensen points out. “It’s just a figure of speech.”
Jared blinks. He takes a deep breath and smiles. “Okay then,” he says and walks out.
It takes Jensen ten minutes to realize Jared isn’t fetching the phone. An additional five to figure out it probably has something to do with what they were talking about. But no matter how he racks his brain he can’t figure out what he said wrong.
Jensen puts down the script, now covered in the usual red scribbles, and goes looking for his illogical boyfriend.
“Jared?”
He’s not in the kitchen, not in the bathroom.
Jensen frowns. The house is silent. Jared wouldn’t have gone to sleep already, would he? That’s hardly practical.
He heads upstairs, passing Sadie on the landing. She looks up at him with sleepy eyes before laying her head back down on her paws with a sigh. There’s a small crack on the door to Jared’s old bedroom, the one he slept in before they started sleeping together. Jensen can hear the soft murmur of Jared’s voice from within, and he’s about to walk in and ask if Jared is talking to Sera about the script when he hears his name mentioned.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy but… I was worried about the big things, you know. Like the tantrums, and the meltdowns, and the way he gets really stressed about stuff. And okay, yeah, how to ease up on the metaphors, because apparently I say a lot of stupid things that don’t make sense.”
He laughs but it’s not his happy laugh. This one sounds like he wants to, ‘Just get out of here. Jensen, you mind? Now.’ (Two months ago. A bar. Some guys kept whistling, laughing. Calling them boyfriends. Which they are, so Jensen didn’t quite get why Jared got so upset. They hardly made it through the door at home, before Jared had Jensen up against the wall, kissing him. They’d fucked right there in the hallway, and Jensen forgot about the whole bar incident. Until now.)
“I just never thought of how it would affect me. How I’d feel, you know. I just don’t know how to deal with...” Jared sighs loudly. “He never says anything. I know he cares about me, he practically told me he was in love with me when we first got together but… That was eight months ago! What if he’s changed his mind? No, I don’t think he’s changed his mind, I’m just saying, if he had, would he even tell me?” He sighs again. “Shit, Sandy. I’m so gone… it would fucking kill me.”
Jared goes quiet, the only sound detectable that of his labored breathing and the murmur of a female voice on the other end of the line.
Jensen stands in the hallway, eyes blinking rapidly. His teeth dig into his lower lip. He takes a step back, then forward, then turns around and heads first for the master bedroom then changes his mind and hurries back downstairs. Sadie watches him go, one eyebrow quirked, before getting slowly to her feet and padding after him through the house and out into the backyard.
Jensen sits down on the porch. His heart is going so fast he feels dizzy.
Jared is going away. Leaving. Jared is leaving him.
He has no idea what to do. How to make Jared happy. How to make him not leave.
Sadie lays her head in his lap, gazing up at him with soulful eyes. Jensen scratches her absently behind the ears, and she lets out a low happy noise.
“I don’t want him to leave,” he tells her. She licks his hand. “I just don’t want him to leave me.”
His chest really, really hurts.
“Jesus, Jen. How long have you been sitting here?” Jared asks, sounding concerned. He sits down beside Jensen on the porch and wraps his long arms around him, pulling him tight. “Shit, you’re freezing.”
Jensen forces himself to relax despite his heart racing like a runaway train. Jared likes hugs. Jensen mentally puts hugs on the top of the list of things he can do to keep Jared happy.
“Hey,” Jared says, nudging Jensen’s cheek with his nose. “Everything all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jensen answers; because 1) saying yes would be lying, and 2) he wants to know what Jared thinks is wrong. With him. With them. Why are you leaving? What did I do? Tell me how to fix it.
“No reason, you’re just quiet.”
“I never say anything,” Jensen echoes although he doesn’t quite get it. If anything he thought he talked too much.
Jared pulls back and looks at him. He’s smiling, like this whole thing is funny. Maybe it is. Maybe that’s one other thing Jensen just doesn’t get.
“You talked my ear off for almost an hour this morning about why we actually should forget the Alamo.”
Okay, now he feels even more confused. Maybe Jared meant he only talks about things no one wants to hear about? That he never says anything important, anything interesting? Was that what he meant?
“I’m sorry. I’ve told you, you need to shut me up. I’ll talk, I’ll talk, and I’ll talk if you don’t shut me up. Why didn’t you just shut me the fuck up!?!”
Jared’s smile falters. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I like it when you talk my ear off.”
Jensen closes his eyes. He is so close to the edge. He wants to scream, and yell and throw things, until the chaos in his head calms down, and he can think clearly again. But he did that yesterday, for some reason he still can’t remember, and now Jared is leaving.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I’m not good. I’m not good right now. ”
“It’s okay,” Jared says. He pulls completely away, shifting until there are a few inches between them. “Better?”
Jensen carefully opens his eyes. Nods. “Sorry. Too many thoughts in my head. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Jared repeats. He’s looking increasingly worried. “Stop apologizing. Anything I can do to help?”
Yes, Jensen thinks. Promise me you won’t leave.
He shakes his head. “I don’t need you to take care of me.” That’s not why I need you, he means but he can’t explain what exactly it is he needs from Jared. There’s so much. Love, sex, friendship, everything. To not leave. To just be here, always.
Jared looks at him. “I like taking care of you.” There’s a frown between his eyebrows, and his lips are slightly downturned. His voice is very quiet. That means he’s feeling hurt. Which means Jensen got it wrong. Again.
“Sorry,” he says. Everything is so confusing. Why are people so damn confusing? “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t…” Jared stops and sighs. “Never mind. How about we go inside? You’re not even wearing a sweater.”
Jensen jumps obediently to his feet and goes back into the house. It takes Sadie whining pitifully for him to look back and realize Jared is still outside, watching him through the glass door. There’s a moment of silence, and then Jared opens the door and steps through. He looks… Amused? Tired? Irritated? Jensen just can’t tell.
“Next time, don’t close the door in my face, all right?” Jared says and offers him a small strained smile.
Oh. “I didn’t mean to.” His skin itches. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to. I didn’t…” Fuck.
He slams the heel of his hand into his temple, before things get completely out of hand. It hurts a little, and it always makes people flinch when he does this but at least it shuts him up. He gets in two hits before Jared takes him by the wrist and pulls his hand away then kisses his temple.
“Don’t. It’s okay.” He kisses Jensen again, on the lips this time, light and warm. “Don’t worry about it. Just… go put a sweater on. You’re shivering.”
Jensen puts on a sweater. He sits down on the couch, moving closer when Jared asks him to. Mirrors Jared’s smile, kisses back when Jared kisses him. Searches his brain for something to say. Something important. Can’t find anything. Stares at the TV instead.
There’s a documentary about sharks on Discovery Channel. There have been programs about sharks on Discovery Channel for three days now. Jensen lost interest after the first two hours, but he still watches whenever Jared turns on the TV, because Jared loves sharks, and Jensen would rather be bored with Jared than watch interesting things without him.
Jared’s fingers are absently stroking Jensen’s neck. After a while Sadie shuffles over and lays her head on Jared’s knee. Jared starts scratching her behind the ears with his free hand, in the exact same rhythm as he’s stroking Jensen.
Sadie looks up and meets Jensen’s eyes.
Jensen shifts, uncomfortable. She’s wrong. He’s not like her. He’s not Jared’s dog, constantly seeking his master’s approval. Whatever the present situation might imply.
-------
When Jensen needs answers he doesn’t usually bother with people. Instead he turns to books.
He has pretty much every book there is about Asperger’s syndrome, most of them by courtesy of his mother. Some of them he knows by heart, others he has barely cracked the spine of.
After he started working with Jared his mother started sending him books about romance and relationships even if all he’d told her about Jared was that he was tall, nice, and very confusing. Seems she’d figured out before he did that for once his confusion had very little to do with his head and everything to do with his heart.
He’d skimmed through those books, but pretty much all of them are directed at NTs, like they are the only ones seeking answers when it comes to Aspie/NT relationships. After flipping through chapter upon chapter about all the problems his behavior could cause in a relationship, and how the poor NTs should go about coping with someone so difficult, he got too frustrated to continue and banished the books to their place on the shelf.
He’s perfectly aware of what he is, that is not the issue. But being an Aspie doesn’t define who he is, no more than being gay does, or being an actor, or Texan, or tall or handsome. He’s not a product of these things and these things alone. He has his own traits, and habits and feelings just like everyone. Just like “normal” people. Above all he is himself, Jensen. So as helpful as many of the books his mother has bought for him are, they also piss him off. A lot. All those general assumptions, like he’s a breed to be characterized, by professionals that in fact have no idea what it’s like inside his head. He wants to write the authors of those books long letters, telling them in so many words about all the ways that they are wrong. The only books he feels get it at least half-way right are the ones written by people who are like him.
But if Jensen wants to keep Jared from leaving he needs to find out what it is normal people, people like Jared, expect from a relationship. Then try to figure out how he can live up to those expectations. He’s a great actor, he should be able to play the role of a perfect boyfriend.
Of course there is no script, no outlined plot, everything is bluescreen, and he’s playing against someone who insists on improvising Every. Single. Fucking. Line.
Jensen sucks in his breath. Lets it out slowly. Cool it. No more panicking. He can do this.
He pulls out the books that focus on relationships and takes them to the kitchen table. Gets a ruler, a notebook, a pencil and a highlighter. And a very large cup of coffee. Jared won’t be home for at least two more hours. That should be enough time.
One hour and fifty-five minutes later he returns the books to their place on the shelf, his hands shaking with anxiety. The notes he made have been memorized, then shredded and hidden under an empty milk carton in the trash. Not that they’ll do much good.
He was wrong. He can’t do this.
He hadn’t realized normal people were so needy. And petty, and childish and just plain ridiculous. And they say he’s difficult! It’s a wonder NTs get married at all. How can anyone live up to all those expectations?
Just thinking about all the things he’s been doing wrong these last eight months has his heart racing in panic.
It all makes sense now. Of course Jared is leaving. The only real mystery is why he hasn’t left sooner. Out of pity, most likely. That’s the reason people usually interact with Jensen. That and curiosity. Always trying to figure out how that weird little brain of his works.
Plus Jared gets sex, of course. At least that’s one area where Jensen is doing all right. He thinks. Jared hasn’t complained. Not that the books actually get into the praxis of NT/Aspie sex. Mostly they just talk about how important sex is to a successful relationship. Apparently many Aspies have little interest in sex. They find it uncomfortable, overwhelming. Sensory overload to the point of painful. Guess he should be thankful he doesn’t have that problem on top of everything else.
Jensen likes sex. He’s always liked sex. First he liked it just as means of relaxation, but then he got curious and read up on all the different kinds of sexual acts you could perform, especially if you had a partner. Or several.
(He’s never gone for several; honestly, it’s complicated enough picking up one partner. Of course having a boyfriend means if he wanted to try it, at least this time he’d be one step ahead. But he doesn’t want to add to what he already has. He just wants Jared. He just wants to keep Jared.)
His first adventures into the world of dating had been disastrous. He’d sat there in the principal’s office with his parents on each side looking pale and harried as they tried to explain to him that there were some things you just didn’t do. Especially when you were only fifteen. Jensen still isn’t sure if they were more distraught by the fact that he’d been trying to hit on his math teacher, or that said teacher was male.
“Son, there are so many nice girls in your class,” his father had said, his lips thin and his jaw tight, the way he looked when he found Jensen especially difficult. “Don’t you like them?”
Jensen had nodded. “I like them,” he’d said and his father had breathed out in relief, but it was short-lived as Jensen continued, “But I don’t want to have sex with them. Breasts don’t interest me. I like muscles. And penises.”
“You’re only fifteen! You can’t possibly know…”
“Alan, he’s gay,” his mother had sighed. “Let it be.”
She’d laid a palm on Jensen’s cheek, smiling a little when Jensen leaned automatically into the touch. His mother’s hands had always been a source of comfort to him. So soft and warm.
“It’s okay, honey. We’d kinda figured. Just didn’t expect it to come up so soon, I guess. But now it has…” Her face turned serious and she pulled back and straightened up. “We’ll talk about the rules when we get home.”
The rules turned out to be both frustrating and irrational.
No sex before he was eighteen even though he had a perfectly functioning penis already and had been practicing self-gratification for the last three years.
“That’s the law,” his dad had said firmly. “You don’t break the law, Jensen.” Then why had Josh been having sex with his girlfriends at sixteen? “That’s different. Still illegal,” his father grudgingly admitted, “but different.”
Actually, a lot about dating boys was ‘different’. Apparently his sexuality was ‘private’ and ‘not to be flaunted’. Which meant no kissing, or holding hands in public or telling strangers he liked boys.
“Not everyone is tolerant of such things,” his mother had told him, looking very serious. “Some people… they can turn mean and hateful. Even violent. So don’t tell anyone, unless you’re absolutely sure they are real friends. Do you understand what I’m saying, Jensen?”
Jensen had nodded. He knew by then that not everyone who talked to him was a real friend. Some just pretended to be and then said bad things or even laughed at him as soon as he turned his back.
His dad had suddenly stood up and walked to the window to stare out into the dark. “You really didn’t get the easiest lot in life, did you, son?” he’d said after a while, and when he’d looked back he’d been smiling that little smile of his that really meant he was sad but didn’t want Jensen to know.
Jensen had just shrugged and smiled back, although he hadn’t really understood what his dad meant. The easiest lot of what?
He’d lost interest in sex after that, since he had to wait three years anyway. Wasn’t really until he got into acting in his senior year in high school that he’d approached the subject again, this time with considerable more success.
Apparently pretending to be someone else made him a lot more attractive in the eyes of others than just being himself did.
He’d turned eighteen that spring, and within a month he’d lost his virginity in most ways possible. He got jerked off in the dressing room, blown in the small bathroom next to it. Fumbled his way through the actual sex act in the upstairs bedroom of the assistant director while the rest of the cast celebrated the premiere in the living room below.
It hadn’t hurt as much as he’d expected, hadn’t really done much of anything. Later he’d learned to appreciate the benefit of starting with someone so ungenerously endowed, but it didn’t take long before he went looking for something more substantial. He found it in the pants of his old ninth grade math teacher, whose moral objections had apparently worn off the moment Jensen graduated to high school. Turns out size really does matter. A lot. No wonder he likes sex with Jared so much.
He doesn’t know why he’s had an easier time acquiring sexual partners than most Aspies. Well, he is a good actor, there is that. There are plenty of womanizing characters in both movies and on TV whose tactics he’s been able to memorize and then utilize in picking up men. It’s quite possible though that being gay has even more to do with it. Apparently girls are a lot more complex than guys when it comes to sex. As in usually not wanting to have any, unless there’s an emotional connection, preferably romantic, with promises of commitment, established after an appropriate period of dating that serves to calculate the couple’s comparability. Talk about complicated!
Guys, as a rule, were easy once Jensen had fine-tuned his gaydar. Jensen’s pretty face and an open invitation was all they needed to be up and ready. Romance didn’t really figure into the equation, something Jensen was grateful for. Social interaction was complicated enough as it was. For the longest time he’d thought maybe he wasn’t even capable of feeling romantic love. Physically attracted to someone, yes. Intellectually interested in a person, yes. Caring for someone and wishing for their approval (although that mostly applied to his family), yes. A combination of all three towards one single person? No, not really.
Until Jared. Meeting Jared meant suddenly understanding, to a degree at least, what all those irrational love songs were about. The ones about the heart expanding and feeling like you’re flying, of butterflies in the stomach and seeing only one person in a sea of millions. All those physically impossible things he thought people were making up, suddenly applied to him.
It was a revelation. He was capable of love after all. He was in love. He loved Jared.
Like then it fills him as much with dread as it does with happiness. Because not only does he believe Jared is the only person he will ever love, he’s certain Jared is the only person that will ever love him. Which means losing Jared will leave Jensen alone for the rest of his life.
Before he met Jared he’d pretty much expected that to be his future. Had accepted it even, if rather reluctantly. But now… Being alone, being without Jared? The thought is terrifying!
The front door slams shut, making him jerk out of his thoughts so violently he swings around, heart caught in his throat.
“Shit, sorry,” Jared calls out from the hallway. “Jensen, you home?”
Jensen thinks about not answering. About slipping out into the backyard and waiting there until it gets too dark for Jared to find him. He quickly wipes at his eyes but they’re dry even if they sting. There’s a headache pounding at his temple. Maybe if he’s quick enough he can go hide in the closet again before Jared –
“There you are.”
Jared is smiling but something in Jensen’s expression must alert him, because he stops a couple of feet away instead of pulling Jensen in for the usual hug and kiss. “Hey. Everything all right?”
Jensen wavers. He has a feeling that if he starts talking he’ll say too much, and that’s never good.
“Yes,” he lies then smiles and adds, “I’m glad you’re home.” There. Stating the obvious. NTs like that.
Jared looks at him a little strangely. “Well, I’m happy to be home,” he says. “You sure you’re all right?”
Jensen searches his mind for how to respond since a simple yes obviously doesn’t do.
“You startled me,” he finally says because that’s true. “I was lost in thought.” Also true. “Nothing important.” Not true but as long as he keeps the same tone of voice Jared won’t know the difference.
Sure enough Jared smiles and pulls Jensen in for a kiss. “Sorry for startling you.”
“It’s okay.” Jensen swallows the lump in his throat. His eyes sting again so he hides his face in Jared’s shirt, clutching it in his fists to keep Jared from pulling back and seeing him. “You can startle me anytime you want. Whenever. Forever. I don’t mind. I don’t mind. I–” He bites his tongue. Presses his face into Jared’s chest. Stop. Talking.
There’s silence for a moment. “Okay,” Jared finally says. “I’m still sorry. The wind caught the door. I know you don’t like loud noises.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I don’t mind. I don’t –“
Jared’s lips are warm and soft, the kiss gentle. Jensen mumbles into his mouth a couple of more time but then Jared’s tongue is there, making it too difficult to speak and he forgets what he was saying.
If you were planning on leaving someone, would you be cruel enough to kiss them like that? Would you?
He just doesn’t know.
-------
They’re on the couch, watching some dramatic movie on HBO. Not much plot really but there’s nothing else on and they’ll be going to bed soon anyway.
Jensen fidgets by Jared’s side, his fingers tap-dancing nervously upon his knee. Jared has asked him a couple of times if he’d rather watch something else, but Jensen shakes his head, assuring him it’s fine, interesting, fine, fine, fine, fi– Fuck. Stop it!
He leans closer and puts his head on Jared’s shoulder. Takes Jared’s hand and braids their fingers together. Smiles back when Jared smiles at him.
He’s been cataloguing what makes Jared happy, and what doesn’t, then doing his best to act accordingly. Waking Jared up when he falls asleep on the couch instead of leaving him there for the night. (It made Jared’s back hurt and his mood grumpy.) Taking the dogs out for a walk in the morning when Jared is tired. Giving him blowjobs if he looks worried or stressed. (Actually, sex in general makes Jared happy, and since Jensen is more than happy himself to provide, they do a lot of that.) And then just things like this. Holding Jared’s hand, kissing him. Snuggling. Nodding when he’s talking, like it’s actually interesting. Making sure not to talk about stuff that’s not. (This one is hard to follow because what may bore Jared is still interesting to Jensen and knowing the difference is pretty impossible. So mostly he just keeps quiet.)
It’s exhausting. His home has always been the one place where he could just be himself. The one place where he didn’t need to cater to everyone else’s need and could just let loose and relax. Now… Now he’s on edge, all the time. Calculating his every move, mulling over every word before he dares to let it out, then, at the end of the day, analyzing everything while trying to figure out how he can make the next one better. But if it will keep Jared happy, keep Jared here, it’s worth it. It’s worth everything.
It’s been over three weeks and Jared is still here. So maybe… maybe.
“I don’t believe you,” the girl on the screen is yelling at her boyfriend, loud enough to bring Jensen out of his musings. “You’re lying. Look me in the eye and tell me you really love me. See, you can’t. It’s all a lie, isn’t it? Our whole relationship, it’s just a big fat lie.”
Jensen goes absolutely still. Oh.
“You okay?”
Jensen nods. He feels a little sick in his stomach.
“Hey,” Jared says softly. “Look at me. ”
Jensen sucks in air through his nose, and then he’s on his feet and out of the room, hurrying up the stairs.
That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why Jared is so unhappy. Because Jensen doesn’t look him in the eye to say anything?
“A big fat lie,” Jensen murmurs distraught as he sinks down on their bed. “Our whole relationship. A big fat lie.”
He should have known. He’s been held up in customs too many times to count, because apparently he looks shifty when they ask him questions. Guilty. Like he’s lying. Why would Jared think any differently?
Eye contact, it’s important, Jensen knows that. And he can fake it, pretty well actually, as long as he keeps a slight distance and focuses on a spot close enough, like between the eyes or on the forehead. The only people he’s ever really been able to meet head-on are his parents and siblings. And now Jared. But only as long as he keeps quiet.
Because that’s the thing. He absolutely can not maintain eye contact while talking. It’s just not possible. He can’t focus on two things like that at the same time.
“I never say anything,” he repeats to himself for the hundredth time. “Is this what Jared meant? That I never say anything directly. To him. To his eyes.”
Sadie whines from where she’s lying by his feet, startling him a little. She must have followed him up the stairs. He hadn’t noticed. He crouches on the floor, taking Sadie’s head in his hands. Stares into her eyes. She gazes back. Seconds tick by. A whole minute.
“My name is Jensen,” he says.
His focus shifts the moment he starts talking and he sighs. See? He just can’t do it. Not even to the damn dog.
“What are you doing?”
He freezes. Slowly stands up and turns around to meet Jared’s amused gaze. Takes a deep breath. “Jared…”
Jared raises his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
Jensen swallows. “Nothing.”
-------
“You got any idea what’s going on with Jensen?” Jared asks as soon as Danneel picks up.
“Hello to you, too,” she admonishes. “I can hear Jensen is rubbing off on you.” She pauses. “That came out wrong. Or right. I’m not sure.”
“Hello, Danneel. How are you?” Jared dismisses. “So Jensen? He talking to you?”
“He hasn’t mentioned anything out of the ordinary. Why? Is something wrong?”
Jared pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m not sure. He just seems… odd. Er. Odder. Really tense. I think he’s hiding something from me. He’s definitely lying about something.”
“Jensen?” she says, clearly surprised. “He hates lying. He’s awful at it.”
“I know!” Jared says, distraught. “That’s how I can tell. I’m just worried. He’s really tense. Like, he keeps repeating stuff –”
“His own words or yours?” Danneel cuts in.
Jared thinks. “His own, mostly.” Jensen repeats others as well, but it’s more like he’s mulling the words over. This feels different. More stressed.
“Palilalia,” she says thoughtful.
Seriously, how is anyone supposed to remember a word like that?
“Yeah, that. And he’s always disappearing somewhere and I don’t see him for hours. And…” Jared hesitates.
“What?”
“He’s… sex crazy. Like… all the time.” He can feel himself blushing. “It’s kinda exhausting.”
Danneel is silent for a while. “Did you have a fight?” she finally asks.
“No.” He pauses. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe he thinks you did. He hates having disagreements. It really stresses him out. Anything you said or did that he might have misinterpreted?”
Jared thinks back on the last few weeks. Nothing stands out.
“Or it might just be something bothering him at work. You have any new extras that might be giving him a hard time? Someone on the crew? New director?”
“No. We’ve had Kim. You know how Jensen loves Kim. And Jim’s been amazing. Jensen even told him he liked him, and he never says that to anyone.” Jared pauses. “Alona keeps hitting on him, but, honestly, I don’t think he’s noticed.”
“He notices more than you think,” Danneel reminds him. “There’s a lot going on in that pretty head of his that he doesn’t show, you know that.”
Jared knew that. He did. He does. He just doesn’t always remember.
--------
“Alona is nice.”
Jensen looks at Jared. Then over at where Alona is practicing her fighting skills. They’re rather limited. Her t-shirt keeps hitching up to reveal even more of her back and stomach. It’s a bit cold today, there are goose bumps peppering her skin.
Jensen nods, wondering why Jared is bringing that up all of a sudden. Maybe he just noticed.
“Sweet. Very friendly.”
Or maybe Alona just made him notice. Maybe she’s after Jared now. Her gaydar must really suck.
“She’s been talking to you a lot.” Jared smiles. “You seem to hit it off.”
Jensen looks up at him, not sure where this is going. Jared can’t mind that, can he? He talks to other people all the time. “Yes?”
Jared shrugs, smiles again. “I think maybe she likes you.”
“She wants to have sex with me,” Jensen rectifies. “She finds me sexually attractive.” He looks over at Alona again. She’s laughing; her eyes flickering over to catch him stare at her. She smiles and gives a little wave. Jensen waves back. “I am very hot,” he confirms.
“You are,” Jared says. His voice sounds strangled but when Jensen looks at him he’s nodding, his lips pressed together and twitching at the corners.
“So are you,” Jensen reminds him in case Jared is feeling jealous. “She probably wants to have sex with you, too. Especially since I told her you have a really big penis.”
Jared chokes on his breath. “What? Jensen, you– What?”
“That was a joke,” Jensen explains. He smiles when Jared just stares at him. “See, I do have a sense of humor.”
Jared laughs. His face is a little red. “So you’re not bothered by her constantly hitting on you?”
Jensen frowns. “No. Girls hit on me all the time. I’m really hot.” Something occurs to him and he looks at Jared. “Does it bother you?”
The smile drops off Jared’s face. “That she hits on you? A little. Yeah.”
“Why?” Jensen asks, honestly baffled. When has he ever given Jared any reason to think he might cheat on him? He lost interest in other men the moment he realized he was in love with Jared. Is this why Jared is leaving? Because he thinks Jensen might cheat on him? With a girl? No, Jared would never be that stupid. Would he?
Jared is quiet for a while. “Because,” he finally says, “she shouldn’t be doing it. You don’t hit on someone who’s taken. Who already has someone,” he explains when Jensen frowns.
Jensen rather likes that. Taken. He’s taken. By Jared. “She doesn’t know I’m taken,” he points out. Taken and possibly about to be returned.
“That’s my point.” Jared sighs when Jensen just blinks at him. “I’m just saying, if you were my girlfriend everyone would know.”
Jensen stiffens. “If I were your girlfriend I’d be a girl,” he says tightly. “And you wouldn’t be gay. You’d be straight. We’d both be straight except you’d sleep with women and I’d sleep with men.”
“I didn’t mean…” Jared groans. “I’m too tired for this. You’re confusing me.”
“Welcome to my world,” Jensen tells him.
Jared laughs.
Jensen clenches his fists. His chest feels tight. Nothing about this is funny. He feels angry. Hurt. Really, really scared. After everything he’s tried to be what Jared wants, it doesn’t even matter. Because he can’t change reality. He can’t make Jared not gay. He can’t turn himself into a girl. He can’t be what Jared apparently wants: a girlfriend.
Jensen turns on his heel and runs off, ignoring Jared shouting his name. Locks himself in his trailer and doesn’t answer when Jared knocks. Or when the PA knocks. Not even when Kim knocks. The lights are turned off, and the space under the table is small and comforting.
-------
Jensen stares out at the dark streets passing by. It’s just past midnight. He can see the reflection of Jared’s hands on the steering wheel, knuckles so white they shine. Jensen didn’t even know Jared could get this upset, this angry.
Jensen presses his cheek to the cool glass, his shoulders curving as he tries to make himself as small as possible. He hadn’t planned for this part, how to handle this. He’d figured he’d just slip out of the trailer once everyone had gone home and then… Well, he didn’t really know where he’d go, and it hadn’t mattered anyway, because Jared had given Jensen no choice once he’d made sure he wasn’t hurt, just ordered him to get his ass into the car, they were going home, now!
Angry Jared scares the crap out of Jensen.
“You scared the hell out of me! Out of everyone. You can’t just–” Jared sucks in a deep breath then blows it out again. He sounds a little like a walrus. “Three hours! You have no idea how worried I was!”
Jensen disagrees. He has a pretty good idea, actually. Jared shouting at him through the door and then bursting in the minute they finally got it open, eyes wide and frantic with fear, was a big clue.
Jared breathes deeply again. He shakes his head. When he continues his voice is calmer but it still trembles. “I know there’s something going on with you, Jen. I need you to talk to me. Did I do something? Say something? I’m just… I’m feeling really lost here. You have to help me out.”
“When are you leaving?” Jensen asks. His voice sounds strange in his ears after the many hours of silence. Hoarse.
“What?”
“When are you leaving?” Jensen repeats. “I need to know so I can prepare for it. There should be a schedule. A plan. I work much better with a plan. You know that, so why do you think you can just spring this on me whenever you like? It’s not how I work. You know I can’t–”
“Jensen, Jensen, slow down,” Jared cuts in. “What’s…? Why do you think I’m leaving?”
“Don’t think,” Jensen says tightly. “Know. I heard you.”
“Heard me?” Jared echoes. “I’ve never talked about leaving.”
“On the phone,” Jensen bites out. He’s starting to get angry despite how terrified he is. Why is Jared denying something they both know is true? “You said you were going.”
Jared’s eyes shift from the road to Jensen. He looks utterly bewildered.
“Jensen,” he says slowly. “I’m not leaving you. I promise. Why would I leave you?”
It’s not the girlfriend thing. Jensen spent over an hour thinking that through only to come to the conclusion that Jared likes cock way too much to want to give it up for vaginal sex. Even if the vagina in question hypothetically belonged to Jensen. Then he spent another hour trying to figure out what Jared did mean. The only thing he could think of was that Jared didn’t think Jensen was someone worth telling people about. That he wasn’t good enough to be introduced as Jared’s boyfriend. After all Jared had had no problem telling everyone about Sandy. And she wasn’t even a real girlfriend.
Which brought Jensen back to where this all started.
“I never say anything! I never…” Jensen sucks in his breath. “Just stupid things. Right? Stupid, boring… fucking boring things!”
“Hey, they’re not stupid, they’re not boring,” Jared says quickly. “I like listening to you talk.”
“Don’t patronize me!” Jensen yells. “I’m not a child! Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid! I’m not stupid! I’m a lot smarter than you! You’re the stupid, stupid FUCK!”
Jared flinches. His mouth sets in a thin line.
“Yeah, I know,” he snaps. “I’m the dumb one. Like right now? I don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about!”
He’s yelling now. Loud, so very loud, and Jensen can’t stand it.
“I never say anything! That’s what you said. I never say anything. I talk and talk and talk but I never say anything! Just stupid, boring things.” He presses the heels of his hands into his eye sockets, his shoulders shaking as he cries. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to leave me.”
He’s vaguely aware of the car coming to a halt, and then Jared’s loosening his seatbelt and pulling him in close, fingers stroking through his hair.
“Sshh. Jensen… Please, don’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just tired. And confused. I really have no clue what you’re talking about, but I promise you, I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving. I don’t want to leave you ever.”
“You, you said…” Jensen hiccups.
“Whatever you heard, I promise you, that’s not what I meant. I love you. I never want to leave you. Ever.”
Jensen puts his hands over his ears and cries and cries.
-------
He wakes up in the middle of the night. He knows it’s night because the curtains aren’t drawn and he can see the moon outside. Only the small lamp on Jared’s side of the bed is lit, casting a soft yellow light over the room. He’s alone in bed.
“Hey.”
Jensen turns his head. Jared is sitting on a chair, watching him. He looks tired. Worried.
“I’m in bed,” Jensen says, confused. His eyes burn, and his head feels oddly heavy.
Jared nods. “You fell asleep in the car. I carried you in.”
“I’m too heavy for you to carry me.”
Jared cracks a small smile. “Apparently not.”
“You have been working out a lot,” Jensen acknowledges. He does like Jared’s muscles. They’re very firm. “Why are you not sleeping?”
Jared’s smile fades. “I think we need to talk,” he says, voice sounding strangely cautious.
And just like that it all comes back to him. The fight. Him crying. Jared leaving him.
Jared leaving.
Jared is instantly there, pulling Jensen’s hands away from his face. “Hey, hey. Sshh. Calm down.”
“You, you’re leaving. You’re –”
“I’m not leaving you. Okay? I’m not leaving. I love you.”
Jensen shakes his head. He has no idea what to believe. He heard Jared say it. He heard him! Why would Jared say something like that if he didn’t mean it?
“Okay, let’s talk about this,” Jared says gently. “Are you listening?”
Jensen hitches his breath. He nods.
“You know I love you.”
Jensen nods again, blinking as tears well up in his eyes. That just makes the whole thing worse!
“Okay. I love you,” Jared confirms. “So why would I leave you?”
“I never say anything,” Jensen whispers. His chest hurts so much.
“You never say anything?” Jared repeats, eyebrows knotting. “About what?”
“I don’t know. That’s what you said. I never say anything. And, and you said you were ‘so gone’. Gone!”
Jared is looking at him, the frown between his eyebrows the one Jensen recognizes from when he’s making it look like Sam is thinking really hard. Then he blinks, his eyes widening just a fraction. “Jensen, was I talking to Sandy? On the phone?”
Jensen nods.
Jared sits back. “Jensen… God! That was four weeks ago! You’ve been worrying about this for four weeks?”
Jensen nods again. It’s about all he can handle now.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Jesus!”
“You already knew,” Jensen reminds him, his voice shaking. “You were the one who said it.”
Jared just stares at him. “Sometimes I really wish I could see inside your head. Jensen, I… I didn’t… God. I’m sorry.” He rubs a hand over his face. “You’re right. I am a stupid fuck. I’m moaning about you not saying stuff, while at the same time I’m…” He shakes his head. “This, I should have talked to you about this. Not Sandy. You. I’m so sorry.”
Jensen doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say so he just keeps quiet.
Jared sighs. “Something was bothering me and I let it get to me more than it should have. It was temporary and it doesn’t even matter anymore but… I should have just told you. I’m sorry.”
“Told me what?” Jensen asks, anxious, since it doesn’t seem like Jared is going to make sense any time soon.
Jared bites his lip. He looks hesitant before taking a deep breath, eyes fixed on Jensen. “You have never said you love me.”
Jensen blinks, taken aback. What? That’s not true.
“I know you do. I know. It’s just… I sometimes wish you’d say it. That’s all.”
“I did say it,” Jensen protests. “I told you, the first time we had sex. You said you were in love with me and I said I felt the same way. Did you forget?”
Jared smiles. He looks a lot more relaxed now. Not like he’s going to cry. Which is good, because if Jared started to cry Jensen wouldn’t have any idea what to do. He doesn’t think Jared would fit in the closet.
“I didn’t forget. I just…” Jared stops. “Okay. Remember when we watched Ghost because you didn’t know what Dean meant about Swayze-ing something? Remember Swayze… I mean Sam, his character, he always said ‘Ditto’. Remember that? Every time his wife said she loved him, he said ‘Ditto’.”
Jensen nods. “It means ‘as above’ or likewise.”
“Yes. Okay, here’s the thing. Even if it meant he felt the same way she wasn’t happy because… it’s not the same as hearing someone actually say they love you.”
Jensen frowns. “You just said it meant the same thing.”
“Yeah, but… See, love is a very heavy word. It carries a lot more emotional meaning than any word you might substitute it with. So when, when you love someone you want to not just tell them, but you also want to hear them say they love you. Repeatedly. Not because you think they’ve forgotten if they don’t, but because… I can’t really explain it. It’s just very important.” Jared bites his lip. “It’s kinda like that with us. I told you I was in love with you, and you said you felt the same way. But you never actually said ‘I love you.’ And however many times I say it to you, you never say it back. And that... Well, it hurts a little. Even if I know you do love me. But I never considered leaving you because of it,” he adds quickly. “It’s not that important.”
“Yes, you did. You said you were gone,” Jensen argues. “So gone. That’s what you said.”
Jared smiles. “Yes. So gone. Gone for you. Meaning completely, utterly, irrevocably in love with you.”
Jensen blinks. “Oh.” He didn’t know it could mean that. Why would being in love mean you were going away? It makes no sense.
“Yeah. Oh.” Jared laughs a little. “I guess we both need to be more clear about what we’re saying. Talking helps. To each other, not other people,” he adds with a smile.
Jensen bites his lip. He takes a deep breath. “I can’t talk and look you in the eye at the same time.”
“Okay,” Jared says, still smiling.
Jensen shakes his head. “No. You’re supposed to look a person in the eye when you tell them important things. Or they think you’re lying.”
“Oh.” Jared frowns, looking thoughtful. “Is that why–”
“No. I just… You need to know I’m not lying. Even though I look away.”
“Okay.”
Jensen bites his lip. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath then opens them again and gazes into Jared’s eyes. “I love you,” he says.
Jared’s blurry face breaks into a smile. “I love you, too.”
Then his hands are in Jensen’s hair and they’re kissing like there is just the two of them in the whole world. Like there always will be. Like Jared is not now nor ever will he be leaving.
-------
“I don’t like cuddling,” Jensen confesses after.
Jared smiles at him. “I know. You do it just for me. Thank you.” He uncurls his arm from Jensen’s neck and moves away, allowing him to lie down on the pillow. “But you don’t have to do anything you don’t like, you know that, right?”
“If I never did things I didn’t like you’d stop liking me,” Jensen points out.
Jared raises himself up on one elbow to stare down at him. “You can’t really believe that?”
“Yes. Relationships are about compromising. Sacrificing. Adapting to your partner’s needs,” Jensen quotes.
Jared nods. “Yeah, they are. But… we’re two in this relationship.”
Jensen looks at him, uncomprehending.
“If you do things you wouldn’t otherwise just to make me happy then I should do things that make you happy,” Jared explains.
“You do. You’re here,” Jensen reminds him.
Jared smiles but it looks a little sad. “More than just being here. Tell me something I can do. Or something you’d rather not do. Like cuddling,” he suggests when Jensen hesitates. “I think cuddling is nice but I can very well live without it if it bothers you.”
“We can cuddle sometimes,” Jensen allows. “Just not for long.”
Jared nods. “Okay. That’s good. I’d like that. What else? Tell me. Anything,” he insists.
Jensen bites his lip. “I don’t like it when you don’t shave,” he finally admits.
Jared looks a little surprised but he nods. “Okay, I can shave. What else? It’s okay, I want to know.”
Jensen breathes in. “You read over my shoulder. You hug me from behind without warning. Sometimes you don’t brush your teeth after sex. You touch me with your bare feet when we’re on the couch…”
He talks and talks and talks. After a while Jared gets a notebook to write it all down. He never laughs, and he doesn’t get angry, and when Jensen’s done it’s Jared’s turn. Although most of what he mentions doesn’t make much sense to Jensen he dutifully writes every single thing down, just like Jared did.
When they’re done they go downstairs and hang their lists up on the fridge, side by side, and then Jared heats up last night’s pizza which Jensen eats without a word even if it’s not pizza night, because they missed dinner and crying always makes him really hungry.
Then they go back upstairs and Jared brushes his teeth and even showers before joining Jensen in bed. They kiss goodnight and share a smile, before settling under the covers, ten inches between them. Jensen closes his eyes, for the first time in weeks not feeling like he’s suffocating. He’s asleep within minutes.
Jared is just about to drift off himself when Jensen rolls over, his head landing on Jared’s pillow and his hand on Jared’s chest. Jared holds his breath. Jensen mumbles something in his sleep and snuggles closer, fitting them together like two pieces of a puzzle, before going slack, mouth open on a light snore.
Jared smiles. He stays awake for almost an hour, basking in the warmth of Jensen’s palm covering his heart.
Fin