reggie11 | This Could be the Start of Something Good Part 2, Jared/Jensen, Mature

Rating: M
Genre: RPS AU
Characters/ Pairings: Jared/Jensen, Chad Michael Murray
Word Count: approx 3800
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: This story in no way represents the actors' real lives. I think of them as actors cast in the roles of fictional characters and the story is strictly AU. Don't own anything but my own words.

Author’s Notes: This chapter is rated M mainly for language but the story will progress to NC-17 in the next chapter.

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Previous chapter

Jared had spent the first hour after waking explaining in detail the previous night’s events to Matt who had called at the ass-crack of dawn to find out where he’d disappeared to. Matt vacillated from appalled to angry to scared of a possible lawsuit and back again. Jared had assured him that he was almost certain Jensen wouldn’t sue them for what had happened but Matt felt they had at least owed him double if not triple his fee for what he’d gone through. At first Jared thought that the man might be offended if they offered to pay him more but the more he thought about it the more he thought Matt was right. After all Jensen said he was saving to buy that coffee shop and more money would surely come in handy. They’d just have to make sure that he knew he wasn’t being paid off to keep quiet. After telling Matt about his potential date, Matt decided he should be the one to talk to Jensen about the money so it wouldn’t be awkward for Jared when he called him.

Jensen had said he could call him – now that thought put an immediate smile on his face. He couldn’t believe how much he liked the guy after such a short time in each other’s company. It wasn’t just that he was hot – even though he was, blisteringly so – he also seemed so sweet and genuine and he couldn’t wait to get to know more about him.

He was sitting on the deck at the back of his house sipping a coffee and daydreaming about his potential date when his phone rang. Sighing at the interruption, he made his way inside and answered only to have Chad, who he had thought would be asleep until at least lunchtime, shouting at him.

“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? You punched out Paul. At my bachelor party?”

Jared answered on a sigh, “Good morning to you too, asshat. How are you even out of bed after the amount of alcohol you consumed last night?”

“Cast iron stomach. Now why in the hell did you, of all people, punch Paul in the face?”

After Jared had launched into the story for the second time in as many hours Chad was silent on the other end of the phone for so long that he thought maybe the other man had disconnected the call.

“Are you still there?”

“Uh, yeah. Christ, man, the three of them really did that?”

“Yeah, they really did.”

“You didn’t hit him hard enough then. Is the dude okay? Is he gonna press charges?”

“Nah, man, he was really fuckin’ shaken up but he said he wanted to put it behind him. He’s a nice guy. Personally, I think he should’ve called the cops.”

“Yeah, he should have. Damn, it was supposed to be a fun night...you know what? They’re history.”

“Good, you don’t need friends like that. I told you they were assholes – well except for Michael, I actually thought he was okay but I obviously really misjudged that one.”

“I wasn’t just talking about friendship, dude. Kris will be back from San Diego tomorrow and I know he’ll back me up on this. They’re out. I’m firing their asses.”

“Seriously? It wasn’t a work function, Chad, you ever heard of unfair dismissal? What if one of them tries to sue you or something?”

“You really think they’d make waves after what they did? That stripper could press charges any time and hell, you witnessed the whole thing. They’ll just slink off back under whatever rock they crawled out from beneath. I don’t want people like that working for me. Jesus, I knew Paul and David could be dicks sometimes but I would never have thought they were capable of anything like this. And I’m as surprised as you about Michael, he’s kinda quiet. I thought he was one of the good guys.”

“Well I’m glad you’re getting rid of them. You don’t need a bunch of amoral bastards bringing your company down; you’ve worked too hard for it. Is it going to be hard to replace them? This’ll affect the projects you’re working on. You could always poach Matt, he could do David’s job with his hands tied behind his back.”

“Yeah, we’ve actually spoken before about him coming to work for us. I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to get replacements pretty easily, there are a lot of talented people out there looking for work. I wonder if Matt’s still got a contact number for the stripper? I’d really like to apologize for what happened.”

“Well actually, I’ve got his number. We’re, um, gonna go out for dinner.”

“Jay-red, you sly dog!”

Jared happily spent the rest of the phone call babbling to Chad about what had happened after he’d taken Jensen home and how much he already liked the man he had rescued.

Waiting two days to call Jensen felt like an eternity. It had been ages since he’d been so excited about a guy and he actually felt real, honest-to-god butterflies as he was dialing. It felt good.

“Hello?”

“Uh, Jensen, it’s Jared...from the party the other night.”

He heard a soft chuckle through the phone, “Hey Jared, ‘m not likely to forget my own personal hero you know.”

Jared blushed hard and was grateful the other man couldn’t see him.

“So, um, how are you doing? It’s still okay that I called right?”

“More than okay. Yeah I’m good, thanks to you. Was a bit shaken up but I’m good now. Just going to file what happened away as a bad memory and forget it. So how have you been?”

“Good, real good. The weekend has been pretty quiet, just been relaxing. Hey I know you wanna try and forget about what happened and I know Matt’s already called you but I thought you might like to know that Chad, the groom, is really upset over it all and he wanted me to tell you how sorry he is and to let you know that as of tomorrow, those douchebags will be looking for new jobs. They work for Chad and he’s firing them, all three of them.”

“Shit, really? I’m kinda blown away, man. It’s...I mean...I strip for money, I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m really thankful for everything but I don’t get why you guys are being so nice.”

“Well hell, Jensen. I told you the other night that I thought of stripping as just a job. Nobody is looking down on you for it. I really admire the fact that you’re working two jobs to buy your own business and I know it might be hard to believe after what those dickbags put you through at the party but the rest of us are good guys. We’re not going to judge you. Plus I meant what I said the other night, I really like you and I really want to take you out on a date.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, you know we aren’t judging you or okay you’ll go out with me?”

Jared could almost hear the smile in Jensen’s voice when he answered, “Both.”

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Jensen was nervous. Jared was due to pick him up for their date in a little under twenty minutes. He really did like the guy. Even though he still didn’t know him all that well, everything he’d done and said thus far spoke volumes about how great a guy he was and Jensen was worried. It’s not like he never dated but it had been a long time since he’d been in a relationship. Most guys couldn’t handle what he did to earn money and they either ended up demanding he give it up, got ridiculously jealous and possessive or got downright nasty after a while so he’d given up the idea of finding someone until he had the money to buy the coffee shop. And there was something about Jared that made him think that he could fall for the guy easily and he didn’t much like the idea of opening himself up to possibly – no probably – getting hurt yet again.

But Jared did say that he pretty much thought of the stripping as just a job. Could he actually be that nice and that cool? He made his mind up, if the date tonight went well then he’d invite him to watch him perform at Poison Ivy on Thursday night. That way he could maybe get a bead on Jared by how he reacts when he sees a bunch of men shoving bills into his g-string. No matter how much he liked the guy there was no way he was going to give up the kind of money he made from dancing. It would have taken him three times as long to earn the money he was making from the clubs. He’d been dreaming about owning Caffiend ever since Linda had told him she wanted to retire early. He’d even come up with the name when he’d begun working for her part-time while he was in college. Now he worked there full time and it wasn’t just a job, it felt like home to him.

He’d just finished artfully messing up his hair when the door buzzer sounded. He buzzed Jared into the building and took a deep breath before opening the door...and found himself holding it when he took in the sight in front of him, he’d forgotten how gorgeous, not to mention tall, the man beaming a wide smile from the doorway was. Those dimples were going to be the death of him.

Seeing Jensen’s expression, Jared faltered a little. “I’m not too early am I? We did agree on seven didn’t we?”

Jensen mentally shook himself and smiled back. “No, yes, I mean no you’re not early, and yes we said seven. You look...(edible, lickable, hot)...great!”

Jared’s smile turned shy – and wasn’t that just the most adorable thing ever – and said, “Thanks but I don’t think anyone will even notice I exist while you’re around, I mean...Oh God, that sounded really sleazy didn’t it?” He blushed deeply.

Jensen couldn’t help laughing. How could almost six and a half feet of sex on legs be so shy and awkward when it came to giving and receiving compliments.

“Maybe a little but I’m gonna choose to take it as a compliment.”

“You must get people saying ridiculously inappropriate things to you all the time when you’re working, you don’t need me to be an idiot as well. Sorry, I’m kind of a dork, in case you hadn’t already noticed.”

“But cute.” Jared huffed out a laugh, his cheeks still in a rosy blush. “So where are we going?”

“You like steak?”

“Is the Pope Catholic?”

“Good, ‘cause there’s this great little steakhouse not far from where I live and they have the best Rib Eye in the state.”

“That’s a big call. But hey, if it’s close to where you live you should’ve told me and I would’ve come to you. You didn’t have to come all the way here just to pick me up.”

“Hey, I asked you out remember and I’m a gentleman.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t be much of a knight in shining armor if I didn’t come to collect the fair damsel on my trusty steed.”

“Hey, watch who you’re calling a girl!” Jensen replied in mock indignation.

As they walked past the only car parked in the visitors’ area Jared spoke, “I probably should have asked you how you felt about this before I came to get you.” He walked over and patted the seat of sexy looking Triumph motorcycle. “This here’s my trusty steed, you okay with bikes?”

He looked at Jared, all lean lines, towering height and muscles, standing next to the gleaming motorcycle and the scene was reminiscent of a wet dream. “Hot.." he muttered. "Um, the bike, it's hot.”

Jared chuckled. "She's a beauty isn't she? Took me a while to find the right one for me because of my size but she's perfect."

Jared handed Jensen the extra helmet before grabbing his own, “Sorry, it’s gonna kinda flatten your ‘do.” When Jensen’s hand automatically reached for his hair, Jared snorted out a small laugh. “Damsel.”

“Shaddup!” Jensen swatted him before snatching the helmet and getting himself positioned behind Jared.

“You ridden before?”

“Now there’s a leading question.”

Jared threw back his head and barked out a laugh before donning his helmet while Jensen secured his own.

“Just lean when I do, it’ll probably be easier to follow my lead if you put your arms around my waist.”

“So is all this just a ploy to get my hands on you?”

“Got any objections?”

Jensen molded himself to Jared’s back and snaked his arms around his waist but not before cheekily running his hands over the man’s muscled chest. The helmet muffled the sound but he could feel the vibration of the groan that escaped and he grinned to himself.

Dinner had been perfect. Jared wasn’t kidding when he’d bragged about how good the steaks were and they swapped stories as they ate and found themselves enjoying the easy banter. It turned out Jared lived only ten or so miles away from Jensen and when Jared had started to order himself a soda so he could drive Jensen home later safely, Jensen had told him to live a little and have a few beers – he could always catch a cab. They stayed at the restaurant for hours that were filled with laughter and more than a little flirting. When they had finished up neither was ready for the evening to end yet and when Jared shyly suggested that maybe they could go back to his place for a coffee, Jensen readily agreed.

Jared lived in a nice, neat little house which Jensen kind of envied. His apartment wasn’t tiny but it lacked the space and comfort that you only ever found in a house. As Jared unlocked the front door a large black German Shepherd came skidding down the wooden floor of the hall immediately jumping on Jared and startling Jensen.

“Oh sorry, I should’ve warned you. This is Cinder, she’s harmless; unless you consider being licked to death dangerous.” He rubbed behind the dog’s ears and pushed her back to the floor. “No jumping on our guest,” he admonished.

Cinder snuffled at Jensen’s hand, her tail wagging madly. He let her have a good sniff of his hand and then reached down to ruffle her coat.

“She’s gorgeous! I always wanted a dog but it’s too difficult when you live in an apartment and work days and some nights. It wouldn’t be fair. You had her long?”

“Two years now. I got her while I was still in school. I’ve been working at the shelter part-time since I was a teenager; it’s the reason I chose to study to become a vet. Cinder here was hit by a car and we never found an owner. She needed a lot of rehab and we were having a hard time finding a new home for her so I brought her home while she was recovering and I fell in love with her. Hazard of the job. If it wasn’t for my boss keeping me in check I’d probably have a house full of animals.” He smiled.

Jensen stood back up and looked at the man in front of him who was looking at his beloved dog with such love in his eyes and before he knew what he was doing he had reached a hand to cup Jared’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was gentle and sweet and when Jared’s tongue slid against his it was perfect. When Jensen broke the kiss he looked into those amazing eyes which seemed to have changed color yet again.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

“Yeah? Me too.”

Jared took him by the hand and walked him through to the kitchen. “I’m just gonna let Cinder out and I’ll give you the grand tour.”

He opened the back door and Cinder bounded outside, happily sniffing around. He turned around with his arms spread wide. “Well this is where I cook all my gourmet meals.”

“You cook too huh?”

“No,” he laughed. “But I’m a whiz with a can opener and a microwave. My cooking kind of sucks. You cook?”

“Yeah, I’m not bad either even if I do say so myself.”

“You can say that again.” Jared pulled Jensen into another kiss. “Not bad at all.”

Jensen laughed into the other man’s mouth. “Well if we’re talking about kissing then I’d say you’d get a gold star yourself.” They kissed for a few more minutes. “So, you said something about a tour.”

Jared smiled. “Well, there’s not much to see, the house isn’t very big but it’s all mine and I did a lot of the work myself so I’m ridiculously proud of it. C’mon, let me show you around.”

Off the kitchen was a small dining room with large French doors overlooking the back yard. Jared explained that there used to be a wall there which made the room feel small and closed in so he and Chad had put in the glass doors and added a deck to make the most of warm weather. The living room was cozy with wooden floors covered by a deep red Persian rug, big soft sofas, built in bookshelves filled with loads of books and framed photos surrounding an honest-to-God fireplace. There was a guest room opposite the living room and further down the hall was a bathroom with an enormous shower and Jared’s bedroom which also had French doors leading to the deck and it contained the biggest bed Jensen had ever seen. The room was in muted taupes, cream and chocolate browns with tasteful black and white framed photographs on the walls.

“So what do you think?”

“I’m jealous, this place is awesome.” Jared was positively beaming. “Are you secretly rich or do vet’s just get paid a shit ton? Really, the house is beautiful.”

“Hardly. I’m so far from rich it’s ridiculous and I've only been fully qualified for a few months. I’m gonna be paying off the house and vet school for many years to come. I told you how my dad died when I was sixteen, well my mom split his life insurance payment between my sister and me and I got my share when I turned twenty one. It provided me with enough for a good down-payment on this place and some for school. Plus, I bought it from my boss, Jeff, and he's been really cool with letting me pay what I could afford until I finished school.”

“Sorry, that sounded rude, I didn’t mean—“

Jared smiled as he shook his head cutting him off. “No, it wasn’t rude at all. Let me show you something.” He patted the bed gesturing for Jensen to sit and pulled a photo album from the desk drawer. He sat down beside Jensen and flipped it open. Inside were photos of what he could tell was this house but it was barely recognizable. In short, it was an absolute dump.

“This was what the place looked like when I bought it and it’s why I got it so cheap, it was so crappy I’m pretty sure it wasn’t far off being condemned. It took me six years and all of my spare time to get it to how it is now. I couldn’t have done it without Chad and Kristoffer, the other groom; they have a business together. Chad is an architect and Kris is a carpenter, they helped me get the most out of the space and also helped with the labor. I could barely put Lego together before this but now I’m pretty good with my hands.”

“Wow, color me impressed! Seriously, this is awesome.” He put the book on the bed beside him and cupped Jared’s jaw in his hand. “You are awesome.” He leaned into Jared and kissed him again.

Jared moved one hand to the back of Jensen’s head and another around his waist and pulled him closer as he deepened the kiss. The slow drag of lips and the slide of tongues becoming more heated as Jared lay back, pulling Jensen down with him, one hand slipping up under his shirt gliding over the smooth skin of his back and the other kneading the cheek of Jensen’s ass.

“You are really good with your hands aren’t you?” Jared barely stifled a laugh when Jensen’s hand skimmed his flank. “Oh my God, you’re ticklish,” Jensen teased, this time purposely tickling him.

Jared laughed, wriggling against the hold. “Stop! Yes, I’m ticklish there!” Which only made Jensen go in for the kill, pinning the larger man down and tickling him for all he was worth making Jared screech with laughter, begging through panted breaths for mercy. Jensen joined in the laughter as Jared tried to escape and eventually managed to flip him and pin his arms.

Breathing heavily with small giggles still escaping he loomed over Jensen and said, “Oh you are so gonna pay for that.”

Jensen looked up at Jared’s flushed face, messed up hair and kiss swollen lips and before his brain caught up with what he was saying, it was already out of his mouth. “God, I could fall for you.”

An instant of mortification hit but it was quickly quelled by the way Jared’s face lit up then he said in answer, “I think I already am.”

Chapter 3

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

catnthecradle.livejournal.com

Really enjoying this, they both seem such NICE guys. I hope things keep going well for them.(Although come to think of it that'll mean the fics over sooner, so go ahead and throw some obstacles at them)

Thank you for sharing.

From:

This Could be the Start of Something Good Part 2, Jared/Jensen, Mature

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