Your Strength

Jensen Ackles hated bar parties—that is, holiday parties thrown by bars. They somehow encouraged people to drink even more than regular parties, and thus increased the general stupidity of the overall crowd. Most bars only did it for St. Patrick’s Day, but of course Chris Kane decided his bar had to throw them for all his favorites. And as Chris’s best friend, Jensen was practically forced into attendance. The one Jensen had been forced into tonight was particularly horrible for two reasons: a) it celebrated Halloween, Chris’s number one favorite holiday of them all, and one of Jensen’s least favorite because b) it required him to dress up and deal with not only drunk adults but drunk adults hyped up on more candy than they had eaten since their trick-or-treating days. Jensen had gone as what he had for the previous five years: James Bond. He had chosen James Bond because it just meant wearing his tux, and taking the precaution of ordering a martini.

“Having fun yet?” Danny, dressed as a cat, had to nearly yell at him over a very choppy rendition of The Monster Mash by Chris’s band, Kane, who played at his bar most of the weekend nights they didn’t have real gigs. Jensen rolled his eyes at Danny in place of the sarcastic comment he wished he had the enthusiasm to yell back at her. She laughed in response nonetheless. Danneel Harris was Jensen’s second best friend, next to Chris, and who he always begged to attend these horrible parties with him. The sad thing was, he usually loved Chris’s bar; it was rustic but also trendy enough to acquire fairly high profile patrons now and again, being in a pretty prime location on the better side of L.A.

Kane finally ended Monster Mash and Chris announced into the microphone that they would be taking a small break. Jensen let out a guilty sigh of relief at the sudden hush that blew over the crowd the moment the music stopped.

“Oh, my God,” he murmured and Danny chuckled next to him.

“Seriously,” Danny agreed. “There are far too many people in here for Kane to try to compete for volume.”

It was true; the amount of patrons in the bar already raised the volume astronomically, and Kane turning their amps up all the way and Chris practically screaming into the microphone wasn’t doing any favors for the way they sounded, which was normally good.

“Chris is headed our way with Chad,” Danny warned and Jensen cursed. If Chris was approaching them, it was to rope them into something or other. The fact that he had already roped Chad, Kane’s bass player, worried Jensen further: somehow, Chad could usually convince Chris to leave him out of things. Jensen found it vaguely amusing, as they approached, that they had both come as pirates; he knew it probably drove them both crazy, which made his night a little better, no matter what Chris was coming over to convince him he needed to do.

“Jensen!” Chris called as they walked up to the bar where Jensen and Danny had stolen seats and had yet to give them up since they arrived.

“Whatever it is, Chris, he doesn’t want to do it,” Danny preemptively shut him down. Chris rolled his eyes at her but was still smiling.

“C’mon, Jensen! I’m not asking you to do anything,” Chris scoffed. “Yet, that is. We will be having a bobbing for apples competition in a few minutes, and I do want you to participate.”

Jensen groaned. “Dear fucking Lord, no!”

“It’ll be fun, you’ll love it! I even got Granny Smiths, just for you.” Chris shook his head, dismissing Jensen’s protests. “But, right now, Chad’s friend just moved from Texas and I wanted to introduce you guys. I thought maybe you’d be slightly nice to him, just for tonight, so he doesn’t decide he hates L.A. immediately.”

“The guy is an adult, I’m sure he can handle Jensen’s surely attitude,” Chad said. “But nonetheless, he is a very friendly dude, and wanted to meet my friends. Which I guess includes you now, Ackles.”

“It’s in moments like these that I really feel the love, Chad,” Jensen replied.

“Oh, baby, you know it’s all just foreplay,” Chad replied immediately, blowing a kiss which Jensen caught and shoved very animatedly against his mouth. Chad and he had a very interesting relationship: half faux flirty, half actual annoyance.

“You guys sicken me,” Danny said, sighing. “Two men as pretty as you really shouldn’t be gay.”

“I’m not gay,” Chad replied hotly.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Danny retorted, winking.

“As for Jensen, however,” Chris inserted. “I’m rather glad he plays for the other team. It really levels the playing field for the rest of us normal-looking guys.”

“Shut up, all of you,” Jensen grumbled.

“Aw, there he is!” Chad blurted loudly, then started yelling out, “Jared, over here, dude!”

They all looked in the direction that Chad was screaming in, and saw over the heads of the other party goers, a hugely tall man making his way over. When he finally made it, Chad waving with much enthusiasm the entire time, Jensen was awed at how tall he was. Jensen himself was 6’1”, and that wasn’t short. But this guy was inches taller than even him, and dwarfed Chris, Chad, and Danny. He was dressed as Paul Bunyan, with slightly longer hair and five o’clock shadow instead of a full grown beard.

“Jared!” Chad greeted with a grin. “God, finally. Alright, this is the general crew: Chris, owner of this here establishment, Jensen, his best friend, and Danny, also a friend of Jensen’s. Obviously, we all like Danny though. But Jensen is forced on us by Chris.”

“Oh, you wound me,” Jensen said dryly, swallowing down the rest of his drink in one gulp, and gesturing to the bartender for another.

“Shall I kiss it better?” Chad offered, leaning towards him with puckered lips, making Jensen grimace.

“Please don’t,” Jensen frowned.

“Chad, back off,” Chris intoned. “You know I’m the only one allowed to kiss him.”

Chris started leaning towards him too, and Jensen leaned back again, groaning. “God, why are we all flirting with me tonight. Usually it’s directed at Danny. Please start flirting with Danny again.”

“No, they’re evening the scales,” Danny told him. “You see, tonight, for once, your hot factor outweighs mine.”

“What.” Jensen glared at her. “Not you too.”

“I’m sorry, baby, but it’s true. I’m just a cat, at my usual level of hotness,” Danny explained. “Whereas you’re a true sex symbol: Bond, James Bond. I mean, you in a tux…it definitely outweighs me as a cat. So they’re going to pester you, and I get a much earned day off.”

“That, and you get so uncomfortable getting this much attention,” Chad added. “And you know I live to make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh, believe me, Chad, simply you living at all makes me uncomfortable,” Jensen told him. “Really, no need to add to it.”

“Do we need to hug it out?” Chad said, bolting at him with arms wide. Thankfully, there wasn’t room to run to Jensen and so he had the presence of mind to change the subject.

“So, Jared,” he redirected frantically. He looked at the tall man, who was grinning at the exchange, and found himself mesmerized slightly. Not only was the guy huge, but also extremely pretty. Jensen cleared his throat and continued. “Paul Bunyon, huh? Where’s Babe?”

“Yeah Paul Bunyon, but sadly no Babe. You offering?” Jared grinned at him, and Jensen choked on the gulp of alcohol he had just swallowed. He began coughing and motioned for the bartender to refill his glass; once he had, Jensen swallowed it all in one go, clearing his throat at the end. He turned back to the group to see everyone doubled over in laughter.

“Oh…Oh, that was good,” Chris laughed. “Dear God, that was hilarious. Alright, well, anyway. We’re going to start bobbing for apples. C’mon, guys! I expect you all to go first.”

Chris grabbed Jensen’s arm as he made a motion to bolt and practically dragged him off the stool.

“I hate you,” Jensen muttered at Chris as he dragged him towards the stage where the few employees were carrying a huge bucket into the center, which made Jensen cringe.

“Whatever you say, sweet cheeks,” Chris smiled at him hugely. “You’re going first.”