Chapter Text
The thing was, Jensen had this... issue. Well, it wasn't so much an issue as it was a circumstance. Chris called it Pada-Syndrome. Jensen called him a douche bag. It evened out. Either way, Jensen was a victim of his circumstance. But he wasn't miserable or lonely; in fact he was pretty happy with his life despite the whole, being in love with his completely oblivious best friend. Some people seemed to think he should be moping, like Tom who never failed to give him sad eyes when they happened to all be in the same room at the same time, but seriously Jensen wasn't the type to mope. He was alright being in love with Jared, because it was one of those things that just made his life that much better, even if it was, at the moment, unrequited.
Their friends as a whole shared this theory that Jared might be a little brain dead. At least where his Jensen-feelings were concerned. Chris insisted Jared was so gone for him it somehow succeeded in turning the man's brain to mush. Jensen went by the thought that it was better to just wait it out. If it was true that Jared felt likewise, he'd get it eventually. Until then Jensen would just hang around like the good best friend/roommate/co star that he was. And no, no matter how much Chris insisted, he was not going to force him into it. Chris had this whole plan laid out, some match maker plan that apparently would have Jared confessing his undying love within a matter of days. Jensen was fairly certain the next time Chris came around he was not going to leave the room, not even once. If Jared was meant to come around to it, he would.
It wasn't as if he had a lot of time to devote to feeling sorry for himself anyway. Not with the constant filming of epic season - Jared's words, not his. They worked almost sixteen hour days, waking up far too early and going to bed far too late, and by the end of their eight day work weeks they both generally spent any days off sleeping. Which was why, when they got a two week break in the middle of September, Jensen decided they could use some relaxing time. Generally that didn't include the presence of Chad Michael Murray but Chris was coming up and Jensen felt Jared deserved someone too. Plus the weather was still nice enough they could make do with the last few weeks before freezing cold mornings and piles of snow.
It was a surprise for Jared, the whole Chad coming up thing, and Jensen made Mike pick him up from the airport since he didn't really do much anyway. Mike did it but not without slinging a variety of teasing sentiments at Jensen concerning being the 'perfect girlfriend' and a 'Chad lover.' It would be worth any insults when Jared's face lit up with excitement. Having Chad around was pretty much guaranteeing two weeks of nonstop mayhem. There was a pretty good chance Jensen was going to need a vacation by the end of it.
"Why are you pacing? What has the floor done to you?" Chris leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest and eyebrows raised expectantly.
"Jared's going to be back from his run any minute," Jensen peeked out the curtain.
Chris walked over and smacked the back of Jensen's head. Which may have been deserved but certainly not for anything he'd done in the past five minutes. "Asshat. Anyway, Mike's running late. Chad's flight got in an hour ago."
"Chad?" Chris' voice definitely changed octaves and Jensen turned away from the window to stare at him. "You didn't say he was coming."
"I didn't realize that affected anything," Jensen considered him with narrowed eyes. When Chris just turned and walked into the kitchen Jensen smirked and followed him, leaning against the entry way and holding his hand out for the beer. "Christian Kane. Don't tell me you're scared of a little thing like Chad Michael Murray? I seem to remember you two hitting it off last summer."
"We did not hit it off. We just... were forced to talk because you spent most of the time drooling over Jared and he spent the time most of the time drooling over the girls in bikinis," Chris drained his beer and set the bottle down hard on the counter.
Jensen flinched slightly; face drawing together, "Ouch Chris. What's up your ass?"
"I... nothing," Chris shook his head and dragged a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh, heading back to the fridge for another beer.
Jensen probably would have pushed the issue only the door was being slammed open and Mike was hollering something about being awesome and people bowing down to him. Jensen turned and only half glanced over his shoulder at Chris as he walked back into the entry way. "About damn time, Jared's gonna be here any minute."
"Not my fault the Princess here packed so much shit," Mike scoffed and dropped a heavy bag on the ground, bumping his fist into Chad's arm.
Frowning, Chad poked a finger into Mike's chest, "you, Mike, are a shit." He turned to Jensen and pulled him into a hug, patting his back a few times then holding him back at arm's length. "How's Jared's number one fan?"
"Ah Chad, you never fail to remind me why I like you so very much," Jensen ruffled the man's hair, smirking at his slight grimace. He stepped to the side, peering out the front door up and down the street. "How was the flight by the way?"
Chris popped his head into the room a moment before walking in casually and leaning against the wall. "Chad," he nodded at the man.
Chad's face shifted through a few expressions then he smiled, "Kane. Good to see you man." He stood as though frozen to the spot and glanced back at Jensen as he ran his hand through his hair. "Where's my man anyway? If Jared was here I know I would hear him."
Jensen looked between Chris and Chad for a moment before glancing at Mike who looked just about as confused. "He's uh... he took the dogs out," Jensen leaned once more out the door.
"You're a creepy stalker you know that right?" Mike chuckled, head shaking slowly from side to side as he crossed to Jensen and rested a hand on his arm. "I gotta take off but I'll be by for the party this weekend," Mike grinned at them for a moment before fixing his eyes on Chris. "Good luck."
"Hey!" Jensen defended even as Mike headed out the door. Once the man had disappeared inside his car, Jensen turned back to Chad and slowly closed the door. "So this is a surprise, you know that right?"
"What is? Me? Dude, I'm the best surprise ever." Smiling his eyes darted to Christian for a moment, "so, are you tellin' me you want me to hide in the kitchen or something?" He raised an eyebrow.
Snorting, Jensen shook his head, "Just go put your stuff in the guest room, you're staying in the one upstairs, Chris is down here." Jensen looked between the two of them for a moment. "Am I missing something here?"
"No," Chris shook his head and stepped forward to pick up one of the bags. "I'll just take this upstairs for you."
Jensen watched him go before turning back to Chad. "He just carried your bag."
"He... uh... yeah, he did." Chad scratched his forehead and lingered there for a moment before taking a couple of steps backwards, "okay, I'll just, I'll go ..." he waved his hands toward the stairs and turned to follow Christian. Chad tugged at the leather band on his wrist nervously as he moved up the stairs and into the guest room. Christian was standing by the window when he walked in. "Thanks, for the bag ... thing," Chad offered as he put his carryon bag down on the chair by the door.
"Yeah," Chris nodded and turned toward him, hand dragging up through his hair in a classic nervous gesture. "I didn't realize you were coming but uh... it's good to see you," his lips quirked up in a small smile and he took a quick step forward. "Jared's gonna flip I'm sure. He was just talking about going to see you."
"I didn't know you'd be here, so we're...even." Chad walked a little closer, "Jared's awesome - batshit crazy but awesome. I'd do anything for the guy." Rubbing his hand over the blond stubble on his face Chad's expression darkened a little, "listen, Kane... I... let's just be cool about this okay?"
"What? You think I'm just gonna jump you in front of everyone or something?" Chris scoffed and shook his head, brushing past Chad as he headed for the door.
Chad snagged Christian's hand as he brushed past him, spun him round and pushed him back against the wall. Leaning in, lips almost touching Christian's, breath shallow he growled out, "that's not what I meant and you know it."
"Do I?" Christian exhaled slowly, body shifting up into Chad's almost out of his control. His tongue slipped out, trailing along Chad's lower lip before slipping forward just slightly inside his mouth and pulling back. "Hasn't even been ten minutes and you're the one who's got me up against the wall."
Licking his lips to cover the way he wanted to chase Christian's tongue with his own, Chad smiled slightly. "If I had twenty minutes I'd have you on the bed... but..." he stepped back, "I don't. I gotta..." he motioned toward the door, "just keep this," he motioned with his hand between them, "just us, okay? Lemme figure out..." he tiled his head and waited.
"I haven't said a thing to anyone," Chris said softly, eyes drifting down for a moment before he turned and headed out the door.
-=-=-=-
Jensen had this slightly sick habit of hanging around in the kitchen when he knew Jared was about to get back from a run. Only because it was the first place the man went, heading to the dog's water dishes to make sure they were full enough. And if Jared looked ridiculously smoking hot without his shirt, sweating slightly, well really, Jensen couldn't be blamed for looking. Besides, he did a lot for the man; he should be allowed the little things. This is where he was when Jared came home this time, only vaguely wondering why Chris was still upstairs with Chad when the door opened and the dogs instantly came skittering across the floor, bee lining for him.
His eyes lit up as he pet the animals, "Good run?" He asked Jared, eyes trailing along his chest and lingering for a moment before dragging up.
"Yeah," Jared looked up and wiped his neck with his balled up t-shirt, "Sadie took off after a squirrel so we all had a bit of an extra sprint there for a while." He grinned and pushed his damp hair off his forehead, "coffee on?" He tossed his wet t-shirt at Jensen and chuckled.
"Gross man," Jensen caught the shirt, curling his fingers around it for a moment before tossing it back across the room at him. "Yeah coffee's on." His eyes drifted to Chris as he came into the room, face slightly flushed. Jensen frowned as the man pulled open the fridge and grabbed a beer.
"Jay man, you smell like shit," Chris mused, face scrunching up as he twisted off the cap.
"Beer for brunch there Kane?" Jared leaned back against the counter with his freshly poured coffee and took a sip. He wondered briefly what had got Christian all worked up, work stress maybe.
Chris shrugged and tipped the beer back, "Extenuating circumstances." He glanced over at Jensen for a moment before heading out of the kitchen to the living room.
"Uh... alright," Jensen frowned and shrugged when Jared looked at him.
A thundering sound coming from the stairway had Jared putting his coffee down on the counter to investigate and as he rounded the corner into the living room he collided with a solid form that was wrapped around him instantly. He stumbled and managed to catch himself against the wall.
"Dude! You stink!" Chad unwrapped himself from his friend and tousled Jared's hair then looked in disgust at his damp hand.
Laughing, Jared grabbed Chad for another hug and made sure to rub his chest against Chad's lovely clean shirt. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Prying himself out of Jared's death grip and making a dramatic production of frowning and brushing off his shirt Chad waved over at Jensen. "Ask your wife there."
"If anyone is the wife it's Jared," Jensen informed, curling his hand around a cup of coffee and pointedly ignoring Chris' snort of laughter echoing from the couch. "Jared, I flew Chad in since Chris is gonna be here for the break. Figured you'd need someone to be immature with. Don't ask me why I thought I could actually handle Chad for two weeks."
"Seriously? Jensen," Jared reached out and tugged Jensen into a warm hug, "you're the best. I promise we won't kill too many of your brain cells with our idiocy." Jared had never had a friend quite like Jensen. It wasn't that he didn't have a lot of friends, he did, good friends. Jensen was different, he just seemed to always know the right thing to do or what Jared might need. It seriously rocked. Shaking his head he stepped back, "you're.... man. This is awesome. We're gonna have a blast!"
Chad grinned "we are, and we are most definitely drinking tonight. Jen - you think you can use your man-magic on Kane and get him to BBQ?" Chad wasn't sure that Christian would entertain many requests from him at the moment.
"My man-magic doesn't work on Chris," Jensen shook his head sadly. Truthfully, his mind was still reeling a little, skin tingling from shirtless sweaty Jared. He had adjusted to the touchy feely part of Jared's personality but sometimes it still managed to throw him. "What do you think Chris? I promise to keep the beers flowing."
"Yeah yeah, since none of you pansy's can manage," Chris pushed off the couch and headed into the entry room, glancing around at them. "How is that the only completely gay guy here is the only one manly enough to work the barbecue?" He fixed his gaze on Chad for a moment before smirking and dropping his gaze.
Frowning and shaking his head Chad moved into the kitchen, "who I gotta sleep with to get one of those beers?" Chad wasn't opposed to drinking at most hours of the day - but this whole Christian thing made it a requirement.
Jared looked puzzled for a moment watching people move in all different directions, "how can you be partially gay?" He turned to look at Jensen when no one else seemed inclined to answer him. Sometimes, when they all got together Jared felt a bit like he was running to jump on to a merry-go-round. "And Chad? Grab me a beer too," he yelled.
"God, are you all alcoholics now? It's like, eleven am," Jensen shook his head, chuckling softly and sliding closer to Jared. "And I... I have this feeling we're missing something. Though don't even ask me what. They've been weird since Chad showed up."
"You know we can hear you," Chris shook his head, heading once more back to the couch and dropping down. "And Jay, I swear if you don't shower soon I'm gonna take you out back and hose you down."
Leaning down to whisper in Jensen's ear Jared grinned, "he's bitchy." Once he straightened he looked down into Jensen's eyes, "I don't smell that bad do I?" It's not like he walked around like this all the time. How great could someone smell after running for forty minutes?
"No Jay, not too bad," Jensen shook his head, small smile on his face. He made a mental note to kill Chris when the man snorted in laughter once more. "I'm beginning to think I may have made a mistake. Maybe we should leave them here to fight it out and we'll go crash at Welling's."
"Okay," Jared squeezed Jensen's arm, "sorry to leave you here alone with these two, be back in ten." He glanced quickly at Chad as he turned to head upstairs and shower. "Behave..."
"You know it's a bad sign if he has to give you that warning already," Jensen chuckled as he headed back into the kitchen to refill his coffee. Whatever was going on, it was worth it because Jared hadn't stopped grinning since Chad showed up and clearly Jensen had been right on the mark. After a moment he headed back into the living room and dropped down into the chair, setting his coffee to the side. "So did you two get in a fight already? Cause really, it's Jared and I's only break for awhile and I'd rather not deal with two prissy bitches the whole time."
"We're fine Jen, Chad's probably just wound up from the flight," Chris glanced over at Chad as the blond came into the room. "You know how he gets, something's constantly up his ass about something," Chris smirked around his beer bottle.
"I know you're not talking about me, Kane. Even you wouldn't take me on this early in the morning." Chad flopped down on the far end of the couch. "Jen - what are we doing once Prince Charming is out of the shower?" Grinning he wiggled eyebrows.
Jensen glanced between Chad and Chris, shaking his head slowly. "Well, I thought you two would get up to whatever mischief. Take him out and do something fun. We'll meet back here for dinner," he sipped from his coffee, continuing to consider them curiously.
"Okay - you're not coming with Jen?" Chad's eyes glanced across at Christian before dropping to the coffee table. "What about you Kane?" Chad licked his lips and rubbed his free hand on his thigh.
"I think it's assumed I'll stick with Jen," Christian's eyes lingered on Chad for a moment before lifting to his friend. "We can go shopping for the new guitar I was hoping to get. If I try to go with those two I'll probably lose my mind."
Jensen laughed and pushed up. "Alright, I'm officially disturbed by you two. So Chad, you and Jare can figure out what you wanna do. Just anything that doesn't require much thought okay? This season is killer."
"Yeah," Chad fought the disappointment on his face, "we'll go for ice cream and pick up chicks or somethin'. Brainless work for that tall drink of water." His lip twitched when he looked over at Christian. " Well..." he put his beer on the table and slapped both hands on his thighs. "I'm going upstairs to throw cold water over the top of the shower and get the boy movin'. I know what he's like if he's left to his own devices when he's getting ready." Chad gave the other two men a slight smile and stood. "Don't talk about me," he threw over his shoulder as he jogged up the stairs.
Wetting his lips, Jensen dropped down onto the couch beside Chris and shook his head. "Man... it's gonna be a long ass two weeks."
"That's what you hope," Chris smirked and finished off his beer. "Why does he think we'll talk about him?"
"Because it's been less than a minute and you've already done exactly that?" Jensen let his head fall to the side and smirked at his friend. "What's up?"
"Nothing, I wish you would have told me though. That he was coming. I wasn't prepared to..." Christian's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at Jensen before sliding forward on the couch and rubbing at his knee. "Anyway. You down with going to find that new guitar for me?"
Jensen considered the back of Chris' head for a minute before he nodded. "Yeah sounds good," he hummed thoughtfully for a minute and glanced up at the ceiling. "You don't think Chad's really gonna take him to pick up girls do you?"
Chris chuckled softly and glanced over at Jensen. "Jealous?"
"I think you know the answer to that," Jensen shook his head and shifted on the couch so he could keep his eyes on the stairwell. "But Chad knows about... I mean..."
"Dude, please. Let's not talk about Chad and Jared picking up chicks okay?" Chris shook his head and met Jensen's eyes for a moment before looking away. He opened his mouth to add something more but shut it abruptly when a loud scream sounded from upstairs.
Jensen's eyebrows arched and he locked his eyes with Chris as both slowly smiled. "Well, it should certainly be an interesting two weeks. Think we'll still be alive by the end of it?"
"I'm not worried about us. Those two though? Sure you want to leave them to their own devices today?" Chris chuckled and pushed up. "I'm gonna go get my shoes on."
Jensen nodded, watching his friend disappearing down the hall. Another loud crash sounded from up above and he looked up and smirked. Yeah, it was going to be an interesting couple of weeks indeed.
-=-=-=-=
Jared was halfway through a really great shower when he was hit by a huge amount of cold water coming from over the top of the shower door. When he stopped screaming like a girl, as Chad so kindly put it, he yanked the shower door open and leapt out. Jared's theory had been that he would capture Chad and toss him in the shower, teach him a lesson. It back-fired when Jared slipped and crashed into the wall and succeeded only in pulling the towel rack down on himself.
By the time of the demise of the towel rack Chad was laughing so hard he could barely see. Nothing ever amused him more than Jared flailing his gigantic body around. He was convinced that Padalecki should come with a "danger" warning pasted to his ass. When he managed to finally reduce his full on laughter to fits of chuckling he dropped down on Jared's bed. "Dude! You're like the fuckin' windmill of death when get going." Naturally, Jared's muffled curses from behind the door reduced Chad to uncontrollable fits of laughter again.
What with the laughing, the time they spent arguing over how to fix the towel rack and Jared needing an ice pack for his injured wrist (And yes, he threatened to attack Chad later when he least expected it) it took about an hour for them to actually head downstairs.
-=-=-=-
"God, finally, I was beginning to wonder if you'd actually already killed each other," Jensen chuckled as he listened to the two men coming down the stairs and pushed up from the couch, Christian following behind him with an echoing chuckle.
Chad was poking Jared in the back as they came down the stairs, "move it ya pansy, it's not your legs that you hurt." Chad was still chuckling periodically, in particular, when he was on the receiving end of filthy stares from Jared.
"I swear to God, Chad, I'm gonna kick your ass later." Jared hopped down the last few steps and walked over to Jensen holding out his wounded arm. "Look! he's been here half an hour and he's already injured me!"
"I should have known better than to invite him," Jensen shook his head sadly and reached out to cup Jared's wrist. "Chad, you're a vile, wicked man."
"You're biased," Christian pointed out, leaning over to peer at Jared's wrist. "I think Jay does about that much damage to himself on a daily basis without the assistance of any friends," he smirked slightly, laughing at Jensen's quick glare.
Jared flashed a smug grin at Chad, "see? Jensen loves me." He swung his free arm around Jensen's shoulders and planted a big wet kiss on the top of his head. "We're off ... picking up coffee. You guys heading out?"
Chuckling, Chad wandered over near Christian and reached out to squeeze his shoulder.
Jensen glanced over at Jared, watching him shrug before turning back to Christian and Chad, "Yeah, we've been waiting on you two."
"Jen's above leaving a note," Christian smiled, eyes settling on Chad for a lingering moment before he stepped forward toward the door. "We've got the steaks out and marinating for dinner. So everyone back here around six?"
Chad raced over to Jared and football tackled him toward the door knocking the icepack out of his hands and leaving him nearly breathless. "We'll be back!"
"Bye," Jared grunted out as he fought his way free of Chad. The two of them tumbled down the hallway and out the door slamming it shut behind them.
With a faint chuckle he looked over at Christian, "What was that all about?"
"Don't ask me," Christian shrugged and headed out the door, leaving Jensen to follow and lock up after him.
-=-=-=-
Chad's idea was sound - well - in theory. A trip to Starbucks for coffee followed by ice cream and people watching in Stanley Park. The problem was that Jared spotted a camera store on the way and cut across three lanes of traffic so they could go in and check for the new lens that Jensen wanted for his camera. It took a long time for Jared to figure out which lens they needed but he knew the smile on Jensen's face would be well worth it.
After the camera store adventure Chad gave up on the idea of parks and ice cream and convinced Jared to go to a pub. Chad and Jared both felt it unfair that they should go without lunch just because there was a BBQ planned for later. In what Jared proclaimed was a rare display of selflessness, Chad offered to drive so Jared could have a couple more beers. Secretly? It was for his own benefit. If there was anything more amusing than Jared falling all over himself in the bathroom it was Jared when he was drunk.
Jared, blissfully unaware of how amusing he was to his blond friend, took advantage of the offer and took the edge off his tension with a few pints of beer. Season Four had taken its toll on both Jared and Jensen. Jensen had more screen time and suffered with longer hours - but the whole demon-blood addiction thing had really taken a toll on Jared. Not only was it physically pretty challenging and often resulted in bruises and other minor injuries but the mental stuff had really worked him over. It was difficult to get into the mind set of being addicted to something - and even the research had really started to drain Jared. He was glad to be winding down with Chad and made a mental note to thank Jensen again later.
By the time Chad manhandled Jared into the truck - there was a puppy, it nearly got ugly, - they were going to be late for dinner and Chad knew he was going to wear it. They pulled into the driveway at about quarter after six and entered the house with about as much gusto as when they'd left.
-=-=-=-
Guitars for Christian were pretty much the equivalent of shoes and purses for the average girly girl. Jensen was fully aware of this going into the process, which was why he wasn't that surprised that they spent over an hour in the first store. Nor was he that surprised when Christian came up and claimed he hadn't found the right one for him here. Jensen had only smirked and nodded and allowed his friend to take him to the next place. This wasn't the first time Jensen had tagged along on a guitar shopping expedition. Though he was fairly certain this might be the last.
Especially after the fourth shop and still no progress. He'd pointed out that there were only so many options and Christian informed him that there were, in fact, more than a dozen shops in their area alone that sold guitars. At this Jensen was neither surprised to learn Christian knew that, nor was he willing to visit all those shops. He informed Christian of such and threatened his man bits with his foot, should the man think he wasn't serious.
They stopped at some point for lunch, in which Christian once more went on about his super match maker plan. Jensen refused to even hear the details. It wasn't that he didn't want Jared to realize how he felt toward him. Hell, it was all for the idea of Jared scooping him up in his arms and declaring his undying love for him but Jensen wanted it to happen on the man's terms. It's why he didn't allow anyone to clue Jared in on Jensen's feelings. Even Chad had been sworn to secrecy, threatened with his very existence should he let it slip on any means.
Christian continued to insist that Jared needed some nudging in the right direction as they headed to the next shop on their quest and Jensen rationalized that he nudged Jared all the time without any avail. After all, what sort of 'friend' went out of their way to buy a plane ticket for a guy they weren't always that fond of just to cheer their 'friend' up. Who took that time out to seriously consider those things that would make their friend happy? Christian admitted to that being a little odd and dodged Jensen's next question of whether he was seeing anyone or not. Jensen found this odd - since Christian tended more toward the side of bragging - but he let it go. For now.
Finally, during their perusal of the sixth shop, Christian found the perfect guitar. He fondled it like it was his lover and Jensen rolled his eyes as they headed back home. Eventually Jensen just insisted they get a room and Christian once more insisted upon his jealousy and the fact that Jensen most likely needed to get laid. Jensen wasn't denying that fact.
They set up things for dinner pretty quickly, the steaks already thawed in the fridge and soaking in tenderizer and A1. Christian went to get the barbeque going and Jensen was just washing off potatoes to cut and fry when Jared and Chad showed up.
-=-=-=-
"About time I thought..." Jensen trailed around the corner, glancing at Chad and Jared - who was flung over Chad and giggling. "Murray. Please tell me you didn't get Jared drunk," Jensen's face pulled together and he sighed heavily. Not that he minded a drunk Jared, but in the middle of the day? Not so fun. Especially when they were supposed to be having a nice dinner and relaxing.
Jared looked indignant as he smacked Chad and managed to stand up on his own. "I'm not drunk, I'm relaxed and I got you something." He held out the bag, "it's a seven something or other to one fifty eight millimetre lens. That's the one you wanted for your Canon right?" He grinned at Jensen from under his hair.
Chad rolled his eyes and wandered past Jared looking for a beer. He had a lot of catching up to do.
Jensen swallowed hard as he stepped forward and took the bag, peering inside. "Jesus Jare that's... wow you didn't have to do that," he grinned brightly at him, stepping forward to pull him in for a tight hug. The man smelt like alcohol, but Jensen sorted through that to pull in the familiar wave of his cologne and the underlying scent that belonged to him alone. "Why don't you go upstairs, splash some water on your face? I've got the potatoes cooking and Chris is out back at the grill." He stepped back, smiling softly at Jared and reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind his ear.
Jared smiled, "sure, hey Jen? I just wanted to thank you for getting Chad up here. I know that we drive you nuts sometimes - but it's good ya know? I've been... well, I'm a little stressed." Jared's smiled faded a little.
"I can hear you two, Jesus!" Chad called out from the kitchen.
Grinning again Jared headed upstairs.
Chad peered around the kitchen door. "Yeah, dude," he whispered, "Jare doesn't like you at all - do you know how long I had to spend at the damn camera store? Do you?" Chad was mystified by Jensen and Jared's relationship. He knew it worked on many levels; in fact, he'd never seen Jared happier than when he was hanging out with his best friend, but there was this whole other underlying thing going on between them that made Chad's brain bleed out his ears. He didn't do confusion well.
Shaking his head, Jensen set the bag on the counter and moved back to the stove. "I know he likes me Chad. That's not really the issue," he glanced over at the blond and shrugged. "He'll come around one of these days," and really, Jensen clung to that hope. Because of moments like these, when Jared went out of his way to be so very thoughtful and clearly that meant something. "Take Chris one of those beers, he's probably bitchin' already about being stuck out there alone cooking," Jensen grinned over at Chad and resumed frying the potatoes.
"Maybe you should do that. Why don't I wait for Jared?" Chad didn't have nearly enough alcohol in his system yet to face Christian alone, or maybe he shouldn't have any. Again with the confusion thing. Chad took a few gulps of beer.
Jensen shook his head, "I'm actually doing something productive here so seriously, make yourself useful." After a moment in which Chad didn't move, Jensen turned to him and sighed heavily. "Look dude, I don't know what your beef with Chris is, but you're both here for two weeks and you can't dance around each other the whole time. You know how tension stresses Jared out and that's a little counterproductive to your visit so, go. Take him a beer, make amends, and be done with it." To make his point, Jensen headed to the fridge and grabbed another beer, setting it down on the counter in front of Chad.
"Fine, Jesus you're bossy." Chad snatched up the beer, "I'm doing this because I want to, for the record, not because you're the boss of me." Chad stormed out the back door and took a deep breath. "Christian, I come bearing beer." He held out the bottle toward Christian. Christian, as usual, was incredibly hot and never seemed to have any idea he was. Not that Chad paid attention to those things. In fact, Chad particularly didn't notice how Christian's hair fell forward when he turned to reach for his beer. And, he certainly didn't think about having his hands wrapped in the dirty blond mess. Chad cleared his throat and turned away so that Christian might not catch the pink flush that was creeping up his body. "How're the steaks comin'?"
Contrary to popular belief, Christian liked Chad. And that was exactly the problem. He liked him a little too much and it seemed like whenever they were in the same room together - alone, of course - they couldn't keep their hands off each other. And it was all because Jared and Jensen had practically forced them to go on vacation with them last summer in Cabo San Lucas. There had been one night where the other two went out to some musical thing, Christian and Chad had both stayed behind, had a little too much to drink and well... now they were reduced to a series of awkward moments and incredibly hot nights. Christian had sort of hoped it would extend beyond the trip but since then he hadn't heard a word from Chad and he was fairly certain these next two weeks were going to be some of the hardest ever.
"They're comin' along. How do you like yours? I was just doing medium rare but..." he glanced at Chad, struck momentarily speechless when the sun seemed to halo along his hair, lighting up the man's body like some sun kissed Greek god. Christian kind of hated his luck. But not really.
"I'm fine with whatever," Chad ran his hand down his face, "listen, about what I said earlier..."
Jared burst out the back door with another beer. "I am here to help. Jensen says I have to do whatever Christian tells me." Jared grinned then got the sudden impression that he had interrupted something. "What are we talking about?" Jared knew that he was oblivious to a lot of things but Chad seemed particular skittish around Christian; he wondered briefly if they'd had some sort of disagreement or something.
Chad turned and pressed his lips together for a few moments then smiled, "nothin' my man, absolutely nothin'," he walked over and pulled out a deck chair. "Sit, Jare - tell me about what's new for you. You seein' anyone?"
Christian pretended like he had no desire to hear whatever it was Chad had been about to say and fixed his gaze on the steaks. But when Chad asked Jared about seeing someone he couldn't resist shifting slightly and glancing over with a smirk, "He means besides Jensen of course."
"You two are very funny." Jared grinned and drank some of his beer. "You guys know Genevieve? We've been hanging out a bit -she's really cool, lotta fun." He licked his lips and looked up at Chad and shrugged a shoulder. Maybe she wasn't perfect, but he didn't want to be tied down and Gen was cool with just hanging out, no big commitments.
Christian flickered his gaze over to Chad then looked away. It was almost automatic to bristle in defence for Jensen but he kept his mouth shut, knowing there was no use saying anything on the subject.
Thankfully he was saved by fighting it off by Jensen pushing the door open and carrying out two large platters. "Gee no one thought I could use any help huh?" Jensen chuckled and crossed to them setting down the potatoes and corn and pulling napkins out from where they'd been pressed into his side by his arm. "Still got the plates and silverware. Everyone good on beer?" Jensen headed back over the door, glancing over his shoulder at the three men who were considering their beer bottles. With another chuckle he mumbled, "I'll bring another for everyone," as he headed back inside.
Chad grinned, "never enough beer." He glanced over at Christian, "I'll go help Jensen." It was rather abrupt, but Chad was never good at keeping his mouth shut and listening to Jared talk about Gen was something Chad couldn't sit still for. Not only did Chad not like the woman, but there was the whole Jensen thing. He moved through the back door quickly and cornered Jensen in the kitchen. "Jensen - you gotta do something."
Jensen jumped a little and looked at Chad with wide eyes, "I do lots of somethings but I'm telling you dude, whatever your issue with Christian is, I can't fix it. Guy's as stubborn as a mule on something things." He handed Chad a stack of plates and silverware and went to the fridge to get some beers.
"This is so not about Kane. I mean about Jared. Look - I adore the guy - you know that, but he's clueless about you man. Did you know he's dating that ... Genevieve?" Jensen might not be Chad's biggest fan but really, he was a nice guy and even Chad had an inkling that Jensen was right. One of these days Jared was going to wake up and smell the coffee, that is, unless he got too tangled up with someone else.
Wincing slightly at the name, Jensen sighed, "I try not to think about her... but... I mean, what can I do that I don't do already? I completely fawn over him practically. His every wish is my command. And I'm not just going to flat out say it because he'll freak out. He needs time to warm up to the idea," Jensen shrugged grabbed a bottle of ketchup and A1. "So unless you have any brilliant ideas... I'm out of options."
"Christian said he had a plan. What's his plan?" Chad clutched the plates and tried to stop the silverware from falling off the top of the stack.
"I don't know, I've never let him explain it," Jensen shook his head, gathering up his items and heading for the door. "You can ask him about it if you'd like, but I'm not going to involve myself in some wild scheme of his," he hesitated halfway through the living room to look back over his shoulder at Chad. "I don't like it you know. This whole, him being oblivious thing, but I haven't been given a lot of options on the matter." He shrugged one last time before heading back outside. "Sorry, Chad nearly broke all our dishes," he laughed as he set the beers and sauces on the table and dropped down in the chair beside Jared.
Chad trailed behind Jensen and managed to get all that plates down on the table before he dropped any of them. "Kane? you need a hand?" He turned and walked over to stand beside Christian, leaning in a little closer than he needed to. God he always smelled good.
"Hand me that," Christian reached out for the platter on the other side of Chad, arm resting up against his. He tried his best to act like he wasn't doing it on purpose, and that he was completely unaffected by the man being so close to him. It was unlikely he fooled Chad but really, he didn't mind. It was Jensen and Jared he wanted to remain oblivious.
Chad paused for a few moments, licked his lips and glanced at Christian's profile. "Okay," he said reaching for the platter and handing it to Christian. It was going to be a long two weeks. "You staying here at the house of love too?" His fingers brushed against Christian's when he took the platter and Chad's jaw started twitching.
Swallowing, Christian shifted the platter to his left hand and began lifting the steaks from the grill with the spatula. "I am," he nodded and glanced over at Chad, hand shifting for a moment so his fingers could brush along the inside of Chad's wrist. "That gonna be an issue?"
"N..n..no." Chad's eyes were locked on Christian's face. "S'fine, good." He tried to get his lungs to work the way they were supposed to, "I'll just.. gimme the steaks," he mumbled and turned to put the platter on the table. Christian's voice had this way of making its way straight through Chad's body to his dick. It was uncanny.
"Jeez what are you two doing? Planning world domination?" Jensen laughed as he shifted forward in his chair to admire the steaks. "All that whispering at the grill, Jared I really think we should be scared to go to sleep tonight," Jensen grinned over at the man as he pulled up the plate of potatoes and piled some onto his plate.
"You should be," Christian nodded and headed to the free chair beside Jensen, dropping down and scooting forward.
Jared slid his plate forward, "someone give me meat, I'm a growing young man." Christian had this way of managing to grill steaks right pretty much every time. It certainly wasn't a Texan thing because Jared couldn't manage a BBQ without singeing someone's eyebrows off. He leaned back and smiled at Jensen, "you open the lens? Was it the right one?"
"It was, thank you," Jensen grinned at Jared and helped himself to a steak. His eyes moved toward Christian and he kicked him under the table when the man smirked at him knowingly. "Anyway, what do you guys want to do tonight? Besides drink ... Chad," Jensen added and chuckled as he handed the platter of steaks to Christian.
Chad huffed, "I'm not the one who's already a little tipsy." He nodded at Jared. "Xbox? Movie? Wii? Tie Jared up and do nasty things to him? Oh, I'm sorry did I say that out loud?" He grinned and took the platter, stretching his legs out a little and resting his thigh against Christian's.
Jared's face brightened. "Wii! Jensen will you play to?" He rested his hand on Jensen's forearm and squeezed, "it'll only be fun if we all play. God. I sound like I'm twelve." He leaned back in his chair, leaving his hand on his friend's arm.
Wetting his lips, Jensen nodded and pulled up his beer with his free hand. "Yeah I suppose, if you get me drunk enough," he smiled over at Jared, head dipped. He'd do it without hesitation and he was fairly certain everyone at the table already knew that. Christian definitely did, judging from his smirk.
"I think we should play Rock Band and make him sing. We all know how much he loves that," Christian grinned and dropped his hand under the table, sliding his fingers over Chad's thigh until they rested just along the inside, high enough his pinkie touched the bunch of denim at the crotch.
Chad jumped, choked on a mouthful of steak and was quite certain his cheeks were on fire. "Beer," he managed to stutter out. Jesus.
Jared slid Chad's beer closer, "you okay, man?"
Grabbing the beer and gulping it down, Chad held up his index finger as he swallowed. "Yes, now I'm fine. Just hadda, there was..." he looked down at his steak. "This is really good, Christian." Even saying the guy's name sent sparks flying down Chad's spine.
"Thanks," Christian smirked slightly, stabbing at his food with his fork and keeping his eyes fixed on the plate. Once more his hand shifted over Chad's thigh. It was a lot more fun then he'd thought, and judging from the flush of color on Chad's cheeks, the man didn't object to the touch.
Jensen glanced over at them before looking at Jared with confused eyes and leaning forward to whisper, "Why do I feel like we're in some messed up version of the twilight zone?"
Jared grinned, "every moment with Chad is like the Twilight Zone." He laughed and turned in his chair a little as he shoved another forkful of steak in his mouth. It was so good. "You guys have fun today," he mumbled around his steak. Jensen generally had a great time with Christian although- truth be told Jared found their friendship a bit odd. Other than music and being from Texas, it didn't seem like Christian and Jensen had a lot in common.
With a faint smirk, Jensen shook his head, "If you call five hours of hanging around music shops fun, then sure."
"It was the best day ever and you know it," Christian chuckled and his hand slid once more between Chad's legs as he looked over. "What about you two? What did you get up too?"
Chad shoved some more steak in his mouth so he wouldn't have to speak. He was pretty sure if he said anything at all he would sound like an idiot. Shifting his hips slightly he let his free hand fall into his lap as casually as he could manage and slipped his fingers through Christian's.
Blowing out a breath Jared smiled and leaned back in his chair. "We spent some time at the camera shop then we went to the pub down by Stanley Park and sexed the place up a bit." He chuckled, "you should have seen this waitress there Jen, you would have liked her - just your type; she was tall, brunette, long hair, nice sway to her hips." He nodded knowingly at his friend and bumped their knees together.
"Not likely," Christian mumbled low in his throat, eyes darting to Chad and he smirked down at his plate a moment later.
Jensen shot him a death glare and smiled politely at Jared. "I'm sure she was something," he nodded and pushed his plate from him, dropping back in his chair. "I so claim not it on the dishes."
Chad slid down in his chair so that he could pull Christian's hand up over the growing bulge in his jeans. "Christian and I will do the dishes," he blurted out. Right at that instant Chad would have volunteered for pretty much anything if it meant he could get enough time alone with Christian to taste that smirk.
"Okay," Jared laughed, "now I know there's something wrong with you Chad." He shook his head and turned to Jensen, "guess that means you, my friend," he grabbed Jensen's hand as he pushed up from his chair, "are stuck helping me set up the Wii." Pushing up to his full height, Jared tugged on Jensen's hand. He loved making Jensen play video games, he put up a fight but Jared knew that he always enjoyed himself.
"Alright," Jensen had to work to make his voice sound annoyed because Jared's hand in his was making his head flutter. He grinned over his shoulder at Chad and Christian as Jared pulled him to the back door. "You two behave yourself. I happen to like that dish set," he chuckled at their expressions as he followed Jared inside and closed to door behind him.
The minute the door was closed Christian had his hand around Chad's wrist and he pulled him up out of the chair, slamming him up against the wall and sliding his thigh between Chad's legs. One hand curled up at the back of his neck, the other settling on his hip as he brought their lips close together and whispered into shared breath, "Jesus I think you're trying to kill me."
"Me?" Chad leaned forward and bit down hard on Christian's bottom lip, "you started it," he growled as he slipped his hand into Christian's hair; the hair he had not been thinking about all god damned night. "You can't just be touchin' a guy like that - during ... during steak." He let himself slide down a little and rocked forward so he could slide his crotch further up Christian's thigh.
"Didn't hear you complaining," Christian murmured before letting his head fall to the side and sealing their lips together. The taste of Chad was familiar despite the lingering wisps of food. He'd spent quite a few nights in Cabo memorizing it and Christian thought about it enough since then that it was like coming home. His tongue slid easily forward against Chad's, body pressing flush as he ground his hips into Chad's thigh. "God," he rasped into the kiss. "Missed this."
Chad was already hard and Jesus, that voice didn't help. He tugged Christian's head back. "Guess you shoulda emailed me or something... guess you didn't miss it that much." Leaning in Chad dragged his tongue up Christian's throat. He could swear he actually felt the guy's pulse throbbing under his flesh.
"Works both ways. You must not have missed it at all," Christian's fingers tightened in Chad's hair as he rocked forward. "'Sides, the last night in Cabo you sort of freaked," Christian couldn't help smirking as he thought back to Chad seemingly realizing he'd spent quite a lot of time doing very non straight things for a guy supposedly all about the ladies. His hand on Chad's waist shifted lower, replacing his thigh as he slid back and rubbing into the hard bulge against in his crotch. Chad's tongue was like fire under his skin and he couldn't resist the quite moan.
Growling quietly, Chad's hips snapped forward into Christian's hand. "Well..." he murmured, "I have a reputation with the ladies to think about." Oh, it was complicated but it was hard to think about all those other things while Christian's hand was on his crotch.
"Clearly that's workin' well for you," Christian mused and stepped back, taking a deep breath and dragging his hands through his hair. "They'll notice if we're much longer. Wouldn't want your reputation being tarnished," he met Chad's eyes for a long moment before turning and heading to the table to start piling plates together.
He missed Christian's warmth the instant it was gone, like really missed it. He hated feeling like his was missing out on something which was pretty much how he felt every moment he wasn't touching the other man. "Did I hurt your feelings, sunshine?"
Snorting a harsh laugh, Christian shook his head, "Oh yeah Murray, I'm real torn up over you." He didn't add that it might be a tiny bit true. But Christian was going on the logic that he was just currently having a dry spell which was why he had resorted to things with Chad in the first place. And if there had been no one since then, well he had been busy filming and recording and it was just too much like-work. "By the way. You're doing the dishes. I cooked dinner."
"Worried about being alone with me in the kitchen?" Chad slid his hand over Christian's ass before he turned and started picking up the remaining plates. "Your loss," he murmured. Maybe he'd read things with Christian wrong, what the hell did Chad know about guys? "See you inside," he threw over his shoulder as he yanked the back door open. He headed straight for the kitchen and started loading things into the dishwasher. It was a good thing Jensen was occupied otherwise he would be reading Chad the riot act about where things went in the dishwasher.
Christian followed with the remaining items, glancing over at Jared and Jensen playing tennis on the Wii as he slipped quietly into the kitchen. He set the items in the sink and stepped in behind Chad, pulling his body flush against him, hand instantly falling to the still hard bulge in his jeans. Christian's lips brushed along the skin behind Chad's ear as he growled softly and rubbed hard, "You know I could have you down on your knees in a heartbeat if I wanted. Just thought I'd spare you the conversation with Jared as to why you liked sucking my cock so much." He dipped his head down and sucked along Chad's neck, hand sliding and shoving roughly at the denim until his fingers were dipping down inside and running along Chad's hard flesh. "I could spread you out right here. Take you up against the counter. And I bet you'd beg for it."
Jesus Christ. Chad's blood pressure had to be twice what it normally was. He could feel his blood inching through his veins and that sweet ache deep in his belly. "I'm not the one..." he gasped out, "who followed you into the kitchen." His throat ached from trying to talk and Goddamit Christian had better be planning to invite Chad into his bedroom later or there was going to be hell to pay. He let his head fall back onto Christian's shoulder and let his hips rock up so his cock slid against Christian's rough hand.
"We'll find out tonight who's really in charge," Christian nipped at the flesh along Chad's neck before he pulled out his hand and smacked Chad's ass and turned. "Do the dishes Murray. I'm gonna go school lover boy and Captain Oblivious in Rock Band," he smirked and managed to only slightly adjust his jeans as he headed for the living room.
Chad leaned against the counter, hard. Yeah, it was absolutely, without question going to be the longest two weeks of his life.