Your Strength

Jared, from the time of early childhood, had sometimes felt that his life passed him quicker than quantifiably possible. He distinctly remembered thinking, on his fifth birthday, that he couldn’t wait for his sixth. Then on his sixth birthday, he was struck—nearly to vertigo—with the realization that the entire year had passed by without his evening noticing. As he grew older, however, he realized this was a common realization: that time passes quickly. High school for Jared passed quicker than the year between his fifth and sixth birthday. Before he knew it, he was graduated and headed to college, with the steadfast decision that he’d live life to the fullest, not let life pass him by. Sometimes, he felt overwhelmed that it seemed time didn’t give a damn about his carpe diem attitude, that no matter how much he wanted to steadfastly appreciate every day, sometimes they slipped by seamlessly. It was this, above all else, that pushed him to move permanently to Los Angeles, thinking a change of pace and environment would help, which he had decided was the best decision of his entire life for one reason alone: Jensen.

Jared marveled at the fact that so soon after his move, it seemed as though—finally—time had slowed, fate had intervened, life had passed him by so fast to lead him to an exact moment: the moment his eyes landed on Jensen. Even though Jared had never been overtly religious or spiritual, whenever he reflected on how goddamn perfect everything had to be in order for his and Jensen’s meeting to happen, for his and Jensen’s relationship to flourish, he almost felt as though the planets had aligned, that it was predestined, fate. That he and Jensen were made for each other, no matter the circumstances. He felt silly thinking such things, felt a little immodest to even postulate that the planets or fate or whatever would give a damn about him finding the love of his life, but on the other hand, that’s exactly what had happened. He seemed to have found exactly what he’d wanted, what he’d needed. Jensen had told Jared that Jared was his ‘buffer’ to a world that chaffed at Jensen’s gentle intelligence, his emotional reclusiveness, made him feel calm in the chaos of both the world and himself. Jared had yet to tell Jensen that the elder man similarly helped Jared feel as though life was finally allowing him to admire, leisurely. That Jensen himself seemed to slow time for Jared, finally allowed him to carpe the hell out of diem.

He smiled, now, thinking this for the umpteenth time in his relationship with Jensen. They lay in their bed back in their house in L.A. They’d gotten back from the ranch a week earlier, and they were enjoying a lazy stay-cation, now. Jensen liked to think that following the stressful weekend at the end of their vacation qualified as work and therefore warranted another vacation afterwards. Jared had agreed that they could stay home and not worry about anything for a few days because really, why not? Jared wasn’t signed up for any new gigs until after the Awards season, and Jensen had been only idly beginning work with Felicia, who was still largely focused on finishing editing on the film they’d just wrapped. However, this was the last day of their stay-cation. Starting tomorrow, Monday, Jensen was going to Felicia’s office to formerly begin actual work on their project, while Jared was starting a three-day photo shoot for the film, largely getting the material needed for all the marketing that would begin rather soon.

Jared trailed a finger lethargically along Jensen’s spine as he thought about the months that awaited them, full of world travel in a very short amount of time, ending with the premiere. After the premiere, barely a couple weeks would go by before nominations would come out for awards, then shortly after, the actual ceremonies. Then before they knew it, the whole ordeal would be over with. Jared would do a brief stint on a Canadian television show that he was doing with an old bud, then over to Pixar to voice one of the characters to a new movie. Other than that, his agent had kept his plate open, waiting for jobs offered after the Awards.

“What are you thinking about?” Jensen murmured, somewhat surprising Jared, who’d been adequately distracted by his own thoughts to notice Jensen peering at him with his emerald eyes, which once had been guarded, when they’d first met, but were now clear and trusting.

“The film,” Jared replied honestly. “Press, junkets, world travel, award season, etc etc etc.”

“I thought we were on a stay-cation,” Jensen grumbled, rolling closer to Jared and kissing along his jaw line. “No shop talk in bed, and definitely no shop talk in bed during vacation.”

“Yes, sir,” Jared chuckled.

Jensen grinned at him a little mischievously. “I like it when you call me sir.”

“Oh, a bit of an authority complex, huh?” Jared joked and Jensen didn’t answer, instead simply leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his mouth before pulling back and stretching languidly.

“I guess we should get up,” Jensen sighed.

“Why?” Jared inquired with a smile that he knew would dissolve any small hint of productive resolve Jensen had managed this early in the morning. Sure enough, as soon as Jensen saw the intent in Jared’s eyes, he fell back atop him.

“You’re right, what’s the rush?” Jensen murmured against Jared’s lips. “We’ve got time. All the time in the world. No hurry whatsoever.”

“And that is precisely why I love you,” Jared told him, reaching a hand up to cup Jensen’s cheek and firmly press his mouth against his own.

“Because I’m lazy?” Jensen murmured with a chuckle into Jared’s lips.

“No,” Jared laughed. “Because I have all the time in the world with you.”

Jensen pulled back slightly at the comment and stared at Jared seriously for a moment. “Yes,” he agreed slowly, and Jared smiled up at him before nodding in agreement and pulling Jensen’s face back down to his. They kissed indolently for a few long moments before a long groan at their bedroom door makes them both laugh.

Jensen pulled back. “Alright, maybe we should get up. At the very least, to feed the dogs.”

“Ugh, they’re so needy,” Jared playfully groaned, pulling at Jensen as he propped himself up on his elbow, staring down at Jared with a huge smile.

“Alright, you stay here,” Jensen allowed. “I’ll feed them.”

“You’ve fed them for the past two weeks,” Jared commented idly.

“It’s fine, you know I love them,” Jensen replied as he started out of the bed.

“Yeah, I know,” Jared nodded, following him. “But what if they start loving you more?”

“Jared,” Jensen turned to roll his eyes at the taller man as they both reached the door. “If you want to feed them, be my guest. But now that we’re both officially up, we might as well make coffee too.”

Jared smiled down. “Okay, but first…” Jared cupped Jensen’s face and kissed him one more time, deep and slow until Jensen let out a small groan in the back of his throat. Jared pulled back and grinned down at him. “Alright, now let’s get the day started!”

Jared decided to take the dogs out for a quick run after he fed them, just to make sure they still loved him most.

“Jared, they love you more,” Jensen rolled his eyes again, reassuringly, as Jared headed out the door. “You’re their dad, they love you more. They like me sure, but I’m just their dad’s toy.”

Jared stopped at the door, ran back to Jensen, and planted a kiss on his lips before he pulled back a millimeter and said, “You’re a lot more than a toy to me, Jensen.”

And with that, he was out the door, and running onto the sidewalk. The day was timid and pleasant, as spring quickly approached summer. Jared loved running, loved the tear at his lungs, and the sweat on his back. He also loved that Jensen had taken quite well to jumping into the shower with him when he got back. Plus, his dogs needed exercise: since he’d moved in with Jensen, their running schedule of almost every day, if Jared could swing it, slowly dwindled to three to four times a week. He could hardly help it, though—his boyfriend was just so damn pretty, especially in the morning when he was all grumpy to the world, but hardly ever anything short of adorable to Jared. Not that he felt too bad, especially since they spent the entire day running all they liked in Jensen’s huge backyard. Nevertheless, he vowed that he would try to spend at least one more day a week running them in the morning, especially since shower sex was a wholly convincing fringe benefit.

When he got back, Jensen was filling up the coffee maker for the second time, right on schedule. He usually blew through a pot if Jared went out on the run, sucking it down while he wouldn’t have to share, and then starting a fresh pot for Jared. Jared almost worried about Jensen’s coffee intake, but couldn’t quite make himself bring it up, since Jensen seemed to like his coffee more than the air he breathed. At least in the morning. At night, Jensen had a few glasses of whiskey, or rum while they sat around—wine, if Jared felt inclined to open a bottle. This was another thing that Jared couldn’t bring himself to comment on, but couldn’t help but notice. Jared had only noticed because of the way that their friends continually commented on, though less so of late. They’d somehow nearly convinced Jensen himself that he was a low-key alcoholic, though Jared really didn’t think so. Even if Jared himself didn’t drink as much, Jensen only had a few glasses—at most three, at home, and only more if they were at the bar—and only after six.

“Earth to Jared,” Jensen leaned across the counter to shake his shoulder a little. “Come in, Major Tom? Can you hear me, Major Tom?”

Jared chuckled. “Yeah, sorry,” he laughed a little. “Just tuning out, my bad.”

“I figured,” Jensen nodded with a fond smile. “I was suggested that after we shower, we can go out to breakfast, because we seriously need to go on a grocery run, but I’d rather eat first.”

“Yeah,” Jared nodded. “That sounds awesome.”

He jumped off the stool and opened the back door for the dogs, who raced each other out into the yard where they immediately started a battle of tug-o-war. He then walked into the kitchen, chugged down his burning hot coffee, and took Jensen by the hand, leading him into the master bathroom. They are both efficient in stripping naked, taking very little time. Jared turned the water to the temperature that Jensen preferred, warm, where Jared preferred lava-hot. They both clambered into the large shower. Jensen dabbed a large drop of shower gel onto his palm, rubbed his hands together, and then began rubbing Jared with the soap. This close, Jared noticed again how very green-appley Jensen smelled, but was stopped from commenting as Jensen spoke.

“God, I love when you’re all sweaty,” Jensen states, pulling Jared close to him as he reached around to lather Jared’s tight deltoids and down his spine. Jared cupped Jensen’s hip as he leaned down to kiss along Jensen’s collar bone.

“Why?” he murmured, though he knows why—he and Jensen play this game every time he returns from his run.

“Because you taste delicious,” Jensen noted, pushing soapy Jared against the tile wall and licking along his jaw line. He lathered the chest next, moving his hands in circles down Jared’s torso until he’s messaging Jared’s abdominal obliques as he nibbled at Jared’s jaw. “And I love to get you all clean,” Jensen finally added.

“I know,” Jared moaned.

Without much further ceremony, Jensen dropped to his knees and licked along Jared’s erection a few times, making Jared resist the urge to buck. Finally, Jensen took Jared’s full member slowly into the very back of his throat, hollowing his cheeks as he pulled back again, slow and leisurely—exactly the way that Jensen knew drove Jared insane.

“God, you’re a fucking miracle,” Jared ground out as Jensen continued this deliberate pace, hollowing out his cheeks more and more with each tug. It didn’t take long to make Jared spill at this rate, probably even less time than it would were Jensen bobbing on his cock quickly. Jensen swallowed like he were dying of dehydration and stood, turning Jared against the wall. He put a new glob of soap on his hands as he more thoroughly worked suds down Jared’s back in deep, massaging circles until his hands began massaging Jared’s ass, slowly sliding a hand inside the crack and pulsating one soapy finger against Jared’s hole.

“Fucking miracle, did I mention?” Jared reiterated as a shiver ran up his spine at the prodding of Jensen’s fingers.

“You did,” Jensen agreed. “Right back at ya, Love.”

“I love when you call me Love,” Jared said almost conversationally. “It’s very British.”

“You’re very odd,” Jensen commented, inserting another gently kneading finger in.

“British in a good way,” Jared clarified. “Like, affectionate James Bond, or something. Like when we first met.”

“I was an affectionate James Bond when we first met?” Jensen chuckled, inserted a third finger, making Jared moan pleasurably for a moment before continuing the tête-à-tête.

“Well, you were James Bond.” Jared shrugged a little. “Maybe not overtly affectionate.”

“Yes, because I’m so often overtly affectionate.” Jared could hear the smile in Jensen’s reply.

“You are to me,” Jared managed to grunt out as Jensen finally inserted a fourth finger. “God, would you just fuck me already? You’re so slow.”

“As the tortoise and the hare benevolently taught us, slow and steady wins the race,” Jensen stated, laughing.

“Alright, Mr. Tortoise,” Jared nearly growled. “Mr. Hare is getting impatient, and if Mr. Tortoise doesn’t shove his delicious cock in already, Mr. Hare will have to turn around and take control of this whole goddamn race.”

“Wow, that was a very obscene misuse of a children’s classic,” Jensen commented.

“Jensen,” Jared pleaded.

Without further ceremony, Jensen pulled Jared’s hips out for better access and obliged the taller man’s demands. They had gotten very good at the logistical side of shower sex over the course of their relationship. The first time they had done it, it had been messy (though, easily cleaned given the locale) and awkward, but Jared had been convinced that if they simply practiced, practiced, practiced, they’d find their rhythm. Jared had been right, as was evident with their current shower debacle. Jensen knew the exact angle to bend Jared at the waist in order to hit Jared’s prostate immediately and repetitively, building force into the rough thrusts that Jensen knew were Jared’s favorite when bottoming. Jared knew how to brace himself into a near statue of inflexibility until he was weak at the knees and close to orgasm. Often, his cock would harden and erupt again while Jensen was thundering into him from behind. Usually what really would send Jared over the edge was the shot of hot semen that would forcefully hit his prostate when Jensen climaxed, as was the case that morning. It was a beautiful act of perfected love making, Jared reflected.

“We’re getting quite good at that,” Jensen mirrored Jared’s thoughts as he pulled out of Jared and pulled the younger into the stream of water to rinse, grinning.

“My thoughts exactly,” Jared replied, soaping up his hands to glide across Jensen’s body idly, pulling him in momentarily for a kiss before swinging him under the shower head. Jensen smiled as he pulled Jared into a wet embrace, before pulling aside the shower curtain and making to get out.

“What, you’re not going to wash your hair?” Jared inquired, eyebrows raised.

“Nope,” Jensen smiled at him. “But I have so much less hair to wash than you.”

Jared laughed, turning to get shampoo so he could quickly wash his hair.

“Don’t forget to condition,” Jensen said playfully as he toweled off. “I love when your hair is all soft.”

“Whatever you say, dear,” Jared replied, laughing. He’d planned on it, anyway.

Jared heard Jensen’s electric razor and then soon after, the sound of Jensen brushing his teeth before the door opened, as Jared assumed Jensen had walked into their bedroom to get dressed. Jared smiled to himself as he further reflected on the love of his life.

“Hey!” Jared shouted as he dipped his head back to rinse the conditioner out.

“Yeah?” Jensen called back, muffled.

“You’re the love of my life, you know that?” Jared called back good-naturedly. He didn’t expect nor have any sort of want for a reply from his partner, merely wished to convey the idea, so he was surprised when he turned off the shower moments later, pulled back the shower curtain, and was met with his gorgeous boyfriend wearing only teal boxer briefs leaning against the doorway with a small lopsided smile, holding a dry towel.

“You know,” the elder man said softly. “I was thinking the exact same thing about you, Love.” He walked over to Jared, unfurling the towel without pomp but somehow with circumstance, draping the warm terrycloth across Jared’s shoulder serenely. He leaned in and planted a firm and warm kiss on Jared’s smiling lips before turning back to complete his outfit.

A half hour later, munching on pancakes at a little breakfast joint near their house, Jared grinned at the idiot across from him, who had tried to eat half a pancake in one go, and was immediately recognized by a fan shortly after.

“Oh my God,” the woman walked over cautiously, eyeing the inch and a half of syrup-dripping pancake hanging from Jensen’s mouth. “I hate to intrude on your breakfast, but do you mind my saying, I love your work.”

Jensen choked down the pancake, his face brightening to a red that rivaled the cherry colored table cloth, and eventually managed to swallow.

“Thank you,” he managed.

“Mr. Ackles, you’re a true inspiration,” she furthered with a huge grin. She was young, Jared thought. Probably early twenties, and pretty. Her eyes were wide with adoration, very thinly veiled, and Jensen’s immediate tensed shoulders told Jared that the older man knew the girl’s desire and was adorably uncomfortable.

“Thank you,” he stuttered a little. “That’s very kind, Miss…?”

“Valencia,” she told him grandiosely. “Which is a mouthful, so most people just call me Val.”

“Yes, well…thank you,” Jensen nodded awkwardly. “That’s, uh, as I said, very kind, Miss Val—“

“Oh, please, just Val!” The girl giggled a little, which made Jensen squirm. Jared was trying his hardest not to laugh, as he very rarely saw Jensen’s interaction with the public. He’d step in and save him in a moment, but for the time being, Jared wanted to see Jensen deal with a fan.

“Okay, Val,” Jensen agreed. “I, uh, don’t usually get approached. Writers are much less recognizable than actors, after all.”

“Well, we studied your work in my Intro to Screenwriting class at UCLA,” Val told him. “I think my professor has a small crush on you. We read all of your independent films, and, of course, the Oscar winner.”

“Well, that’s…something,” he tried, glancing at Jared with panic in his eyes. “I would never think…my stuff was, uh, educational. Jared, what say you?”

Jared almost lost his straight face at ‘what say you’, but managed to hold it together to direct his look at Val, who had seemed to just notice him.

“Sorry, I’m so rude! I didn’t mean to exclude you!” Val’s eyes widened as if petrified with horror, and Jared nearly laughed again, but tamped the hilarity down into a polite smile.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it!” Jared replied amicably. “Jensen’s quite distracting, I get it. I wouldn’t notice me, either.”

Jared was pleased to see Jensen’s face turn scarlet again, and Val laughed, a hint of hysteria coloring it, though he really had tried his best to soften her panic.

“Oh, no! No, you’re definitely not…not noticeable,” Val fumbled. “I mean…you’re very handsome. Not that that really is what I meant either…I just mean, I’m a big fan of Mr. Ackles.”

“Me too,” Jared winked, and Val colored a little rosy herself before departing quickly, as though caught in a trap, stuttering and stammering as she did so.

“I hate talking to people outside of you,” Jensen sighed heavily, staring down at his pancakes, as if offended at their gall of being so damn hard to swallow quickly when eaten in such large quantities at once at inopportune times.

“And our friends,” Jared retorted to which Jensen made a face and shrugged.

“Eh,” he retorted. “Maybe…Danny. Chris on days when the bar isn’t busy.”

“Chad?” Jared laughed, to which Jensen shrugged again.

“I have no training when it comes to talking to people…like that,” Jensen sighed suddenly, and Jared felt a little bad for deriving such entertainment from the experience.

“People like that?” he inquired.

“I don’t know, people who…recognize me,” Jensen clarified. “It happens so rarely. As in, that was probably the second time since I won the stupid Oscar, and only because of my stupid speech.”

“Fans, you mean,” Jared smiled at him fondly.

Jensen shrugged again.

“Well, you’ll probably get a few more after the interviews with Felicia,” Jared commented which made Jensen frown deeply. “But not too many more,” Jared amended.

“Hopefully, if they approach us when we’re together, they’ll go to you,” Jensen told him. “I mean, you are the star, after all. I’m just the word jockey.”

“Word jockey?” Jared laughed, loudly enough that a few patrons in the restaurant turned in surprise.

Jared was pleased to see Jensen ease a little, smiling at his guffaw.

“Well, I mean, that’s what I am,” Jensen told him, deadpanning for a moment.

“Oh, yeah, just a simple word jockey,” Jared rolled his eyes at him. “Just throwing together some words and, voila, there’s a film. An Oscar winning film.”

“God, stop bringing up the Oscar,” Jensen rolled his eyes this time.

“How about, if I ever win an Oscar, you have every right to bring it up whenever you please,” Jared offered with a grin.

“Tempting,” Jensen smiled. “Fair.”

“Well, what can I say? I’m nothing if not fairly tempting,” Jared grinned.

“You’re dumb,” Jensen commented. “I still love you, though. I guess.”

“A real romantic you are,” Jared winked at him.

“Of course,” Jensen agreed. “White roses and champagne, declarations of love under a weeping willow: that’s me, a regular Nicholas Sparks character. The Notebook all the way baby.”

“The Notebook, huh? Wow. I cannot wait for this utter romanticism to bleed into our old age,” Jared commented off-handedly, smiling down at his pancakes as he cut them into precise rectangles as best he could. “I expect white roses, champagne, and declarations of love when we’re eighty, mister.”

A moment of silence fell before Jared realized what he’d just said, and a lightning bolt of panic shot through him as his eyes darted up to meet Jensen’s, who smiled at him fondly and without an ounce of the alarm Jared was experiencing at his own blunder. It wasn’t that Jared didn’t feel that way—not that he, nor Jensen, had openly discussed anything of the sort. Though, suddenly, the topic was there, staring him in the face. Long term.

“Oh, but you’re not picky about the type of tree?” Jensen inquired lightly, and Jared knew it wasn’t a calculated move to abandon the matter at hand, merely a sweet jibe reiterated by the kind fondness that colored Jensen’s eyes.

“No,” Jared allowed. “Oak, birch, cedar. I’m easy.”

“Well, when we’re old, I’m not going to lie to you, I’ll probably just pick the nearest tree, regardless,” Jensen told him, grinning.

“It’s okay,” Jared smiled too, knowing that the light acceptance was a step in the right direction. “I understand. Weak and feeble in your old age.”

Jensen opened his mouth to reply, and there was glint in his eye that suggested snark, but Jensen’s cell phone trilled out for attention, side tracking him. He pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the display before looking to Jared. “It’s Felicia. Do you mind?” he inquired.

“No, of course not,” Jared smiled at him. “Go right ahead.”

“Felicia,” Jensen greeted by way of hello. “It’s Sunday. I literally see you first thing tomorrow, for an extended period of time. So, unless this is a social call, I think whatever business it is you’re dying to tell me immediately can wait until tomorrow.”

He was silent for a long moment, as Jared was sure Felicia’s long-winded explanation of the urgency that couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

“That’s great, Felicia,” Jensen rolled his eyes at Jared. “Really, thank you, that’s great. But it really, really could have waited until we meet tomorrow…Uh-huh, I know…Yeah, I know…Because I’m at breakfast with Jared…”

Jensen sighed a pulled the phone from his ear. “She wants to talk to you too, since we’re together.”

Jared rolled his eyes, but held out his hand for the phone, which Jensen handed over immediately, seemingly glad he wasn’t the only one that was going to be berated with business.

“Felicia,” Jared sighed into the phone. “Most professionals keep office hours so that they can make business calls during usual business hours.”

“No, just Jensen’s was business,” Felicia told him. “Yours is gossip.”

“Oh?” Jared raised his eyebrows across the table at Jensen, who frowned curiously.

“Yes,” Felicia confirmed. “Have you talked to Chad recently?”

“Yeah, just the other day we were at the bar with him,” Jared replied. Misha and Chad had been unceremoniously living together since they pretty much first started dating, which Jensen and Jared found kind of annoying, but also at least slightly cute.

“Well, did the subject of…marriage come up?” she asked tantalizingly, and Jared’s eyebrows shot up.

“No,” he said. “Why? Oh, my God! Why?”

“Okay, well, Misha and Gen and I are very close friends, as you know, so Gen and I asked Misha to be our kid’s godfather,” Felicia explained at a million miles an hour. “So, apparently, Misha took this news back to Chad and Chad got all excited because that meant he would be a sort of godfather too—which, by the way, Gen and I are a lot less fond of thinking. But then Misha said that he was pretty sure that they had to get married, so Chad, I think jokingly, suggested they go to Vegas, get drunk, and see what happens. Well, that was, like, weeks ago…but apparently, this upcoming weekend, they’re planning on flying down to Vegas. Misha, of course, told me all of this in confidence, so tell all your friends not to tell Chad.”

“Oh my god,” Jared groaned. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Hey! Misha loves Chad,” Felicia defended. “I think it’d be adorable if they got married.”

“They’ve barely been dating,” Jared retorted. “This is so impulsive. This is so Chad. Is this even how Misha wants to do things?”

“Misha honestly isn’t picky,” Felicia replied and Jared could almost picture her shrugging noncommittally. “I mean, he told me that he is both completely in love and completely captivated with Chad. Which…I mean, I guess the captivation part is a bit odd, but not bad. Plus, Misha has never been the one to want a whole ordeal. Why? Are you against a Vegas wedding?”

“It’s not that I’m against it…I mean, I personally would put a bit more thought into it, but this is just so very Chad.” Jared sighed. “He would run off and do this without telling anyone. Though, he might tell me. He’d need me there, right? To be best man?”

Jensen’s eyebrows shot up in the middle of another huge bite of his pancakes and Jared laughed at him, loving how where Jared cut his pancakes into a neat two-by-four rectangular pattern, Jensen cut his in half and tried eating all he could in one bite. It was a strange flip of roles, when it came to pancakes apparently: the usually pristinely neat Jensen, and the usually chaotically unorganized Jared.

“Maybe,” Felicia replied, pulling him from his thoughts on his and Jensen’s unique pancake eating habits.

“I guess we’ll see,” Jared muttered. “Although, I will be extremely hurt if he does this without telling anyone—especially me.”

“I’m sure he knows that,” Felicia laughed. “Anyway, gotta run! Pregnant wife is demanding chocolate. Say bye to Jensen for me!”

Without anything further, Felicia disconnected.

Jared handed Jensen back his phone. “So, apparently, Misha and Chad might get hitched in Vegas next weekend,” Jared told him.

“No,” Jensen’s eyes widened.

“Felicia said there were strong hints towards that, yeah,” Jared nodded.

“How could he not tell you?” Jensen immediately exclaimed. “You’re his best man!”

“Yeah, I would think so,” Jared agreed. “I mean, we’ve only been friends for our entire life. Or, at the very least, he’d tell me if he were even remotely planning on getting fucking married!”

“Did Felicia swear us to secrecy?” Jensen asked.

“No, we’re just supposed to keep our knowledge from Chad,” Jared explained. “Although, I’m sure Danny and Chris would think it just as outrageous and hilarious as we do.”

“I should text Danny, she’s probably with Chris,” Jensen said, chugging down coffee before swiping away at his phone quickly.

“Speaking of,” Jared laughed. “Maybe there are wedding bells in their future too. Danny and Chris. Huh.”

“Nah, Danny’s not the marrying type,” Jensen shook his head, putting his phone down having sent the text. “I mean, she’s always lectured about the patriarchal implications of marriage. Although, Chris I think is the marrying type. That might be weird in the future.”

“Yeah, there might have to be some sort of compromise one way or the other,” Jared agreed. “Anyway, what did Felicia want with you, since my conversation with her was just gossip.”

“Oh,” Jensen perked up a little. “Well, she’s been arguing with the studio since the whole decision that I should interview on a few of the panels. So, apparently, at first I was going to do all of them with you, but now she’s talked them down to only doing two: one for a film school in Rome that I helped set up anyway, and the one here.”

“Oh, good!” Jared grinned. “That’s good. That means you won’t have as much screen time, which means fewer in-person confrontations, which you are clearly horrible at!”

“Exactly!” Jensen agreed, smiling widely. “My sentiments exactly.”

“That seems like so far away, but I bet you, we’re going to blink and then all of a sudden, we’re flying across the Atlantic,” Jared commented, a little sadly.

Jensen reached across the table and grabbed his hand, smiling at him hugely. “No, remember, babe. We’ve got all the time in the world.”