Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Unpacking didn't take long. Three bags held surprisingly little - two stuffed full of clothes, the third containing toiletries, a few books, some photographs, his Playstation. Jared dutifully put his clothes away, stuck the books on the shelves (they just emphasized the emptiness, but hey), and stopped dead when he found the candy Sandy had hidden in the case. There was a photo of the two of them, too, black and white in a silver frame. Jared placed it carefully on the nightstand and fell back onto the bed, pulling out his phone.

"I miss you," he told her.

"I miss you too, baby," Sandy said. It was good to hear her voice. She sounded tired, and like she was trying to sound more okay than she really was. "Tell me what the hotel's like."

Jared described every detail of his rooms so she could picture it, right down to the nondescript prints on the walls and the plant in the living room which might or might not be made of plastic. He dwelled lovingly on the shower he had every intention of trying out in the morning, telling her about the dark tiles and how she was going to look pressed up against them when she came to visit. He didn't get too carried away, though: they were both far too tired and upset. Some night soon, hell yes, but not tonight.

When they finally hung up, he lay on the bed for a while, and couldn't face getting up to switch on the lights.

The shower was every bit as awesome as it had looked the night before, and Jared gloried in the heat and steam and pressure. He jerked off slow and steady, picturing Sandy pressed up against the dark tiles, hair soaked and plastered to her skin.

There was no way he could pretend it was her hand on his dick, not even when he closed his eyes, but it was still hot and slow and good, and he braced himself against the tiles with one hand, imagining her caught between him and the wall, her whole body stretching up so she could kiss him. He shuddered as he came, slumping forward against the tiles, cool against his forehead.

God, he wished she was there.

He shut off the water and forced himself to climb out of the shower.

The towels were one of the advantages to staying in a hotel, Jared told himself as he dried off. Huge-ass towels, thick and soft, and by the time he got back from work, someone would have come in and left him some clean ones. There were plenty of cool things about staying in a hotel, really.

Getting dressed didn't take long, and Jared grabbed his wallet and keys and phone before slipping out the door, hearing the lock snick automatically into place.

The hotel was quiet so early: it was still more night than morning. The woman on duty at the reception desk gave him a tired, dutiful smile, and Jared struggled to muster one in return. Somehow it was the little things like that which kept reminding him how very far from home he was.

The car pulled up outside the hotel just as he reached the door, and Jared opened the door and climbed inside.

Jensen grinned at him. "Hey, man. Good to see you again."

Jared felt an answering grin spread across his own face as he pulled Jensen into a quick hug, made slightly awkward by the car jerking back into motion. "You too. How are you doing?"

"I need more coffee," Jensen said fervently, as they both settled back into their seats. "Other than that, excited about seeing how things go today, I guess. How's your hotel?"

"Fine," Jared with a shrug. "I only got in last night, so I haven't seen much of it yet, but it seems nice. Though I'm guessing I won't be spending much time there anyway."

Jensen laughed. "Yeah, safe bet."

It was good, really good, to see Jensen again. They'd hit it off while shooting the pilot, and stayed in touch with occasional text messages since, but Jared had somehow forgotten just how easy it was. It was comfortable, slouching down next to Jensen and talking about his hotel and what they were expecting to be doing that day.

Maybe he already had one friend up here after all.

Their trailers turned out to be right next to each other, which was cool. Jared was already pretty sure that he and Jensen were going to get along just fine, and weren't going to need to get out of each other's space between every scene. They could hang out together, maybe set up a Playstation in his trailer.

It looked fine, as trailers went, but it was as nondescript and anonymous as the hotel room. Come to that, he was likely to be spending more time in his trailer than his hotel. But at least there was a shower and a bed where he could crash, even a space where he could hook up a tv. It would do fine.

"Looks exactly like mine," Jensen said from the doorway, knocking on the side of the doorframe. "You even gonna fit on that bed?"

"You might need to fold me in half first," Jared joked. "Nah, it should be fine." He flopped down on the bed to demonstrate. It was a tight squeeze, but he fit on it, more or less. "See?"

Jensen gave an approving nod. "We should bring some shit in tomorrow, fix 'em up a bit."

Jared shrugged. It wasn't like he had a lot of stuff in Vancouver yet, but he might as well bring a few things in and make the place livable. "Yeah, guess so."

The first day was pretty easy going, compared to what Jared knew was coming. They spent a while getting measured and trying things on in Wardrobe, and looked around the sets that were being built up. It looked pretty cool, actually. Eric gave them their copies of the script for the first episode they'd be shooting, and the three of them had an awesome chat about the direction of the show and what Eric was planning. Normally he'd be based down in L.A., but there was no way he'd been about to miss the first few days of shooting.

In between the semi-work of meetings and prep, Jared got to meet the crew. Quite a few had worked on the pilot, too, but a lot of people were new, a whirl of names and faces and jobs to remember. Jared liked meeting people, and everyone he met seemed really nice, but even so, it was a bit overwhelming. Everyone was just a little too polite and getting-to-know-you awkward.

Jensen's warm smile from that morning had changed subtly, a bit more polite, a bit more impersonal. Jared didn't think anyone else noticed; he wasn't even sure that he was reading the signs correctly himself, until they finally escaped to one of the trailers for a while to run some lines and faint lines of tension faded out of Jensen's face again.

He was about to say something - ask Jensen if he was okay, if it was just the pressure of dealing with so many new people all at once getting to him too, or whether something else was wrong - but at that moment his phone beeped.

Good luck for today, babe, hope it's going well so far! Love you, S xxx, the text said.

Jared had to swallow hard, suddenly missing her so much it hurt. He could just imagine her in her apartment, sending the text as she sat half-dressed in her kitchen, eating breakfast. God.

Miss you, he typed in quickly in reply, then took a breath and added Going fine so far, just running lines with Jensen. Love you.

He slid his cell back into his pocket. Jensen looked up from the script he'd been studying with a little too much concentration and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Jared said, trying out a grin, and letting it go when Jensen's eyes narrowed slightly. "It was Sandy wishing me luck."

Jensen nodded in sudden understanding, and didn't press any further. "You ready to try running this scene?"

Jared felt a warm rush of gratitude towards his new co-star. "Yeah, let's do this."

By the time they finished for the night, Jared was about ready to just collapse in his trailer and sleep there.

"Nah, c'mon," Jensen mumbled, touching his back and steering him towards the parking lot. "They've got a car waiting for us. We can sleep on the ride back and everything."

Jared sighed and let Jensen tug him along.

The trip back to the hotel took about an hour, and Jared probably would have fallen asleep if he and Jensen hadn't started talking about their first day and the couple of scenes they'd shot. They'd gone well. Really well, actually. It had taken a few takes to get back into the swing of things from the pilot, but Jared had felt himself slipping back into the skin of Sam Winchester as it all came back to him. And Jensen had been awesome. Jared had worked with good actors before, but Jensen was something else. Working with him for the next nine months or so was going to be amazing.

Jensen nudged him, and Jared realized he'd spaced out, half-asleep after all. "Hey, it's your stop."

Jared scrubbed his hands over his face and reached for the door handle. "Wow, yeah. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, man."

"Get some sleep, Jared," Jensen told him, and raised a tired hand in salute as the car pulled away.

Jared stumbled into the hotel and took the elevator up to his floor, leaning against the mirrored wall. God, he was tired. And they hadn't even done anything major today. He hoped like hell he'd adjust to the routine fast.

He kicked off his shoes and pants, shrugging out of the rest of his clothes as he headed for bed. He hit the speed dial for Sandy before flopping down.

"Hey," he said when she picked up. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I've been lying in bed reading," Sandy said. "And even if I had dozed off, I'd still want you to wake me, you know that."

Jared smiled softly. "Yeah, I know."

"So how did it all go?" Sandy asked. "Tell me everything, I want all the details."

Jared told her all about it, leaving nothing out - the people he'd met, the meetings he'd had, the sets, the script, Jensen, the scenes they'd shot. He was tired, was vaguely aware of himself rambling off topic every once in a while, but Sandy's interest was energizing.

"Sounds like you did great," Sandy said when he'd eventually rambled to a halt. "And it sounds like you and Jensen are getting along well, too - that's awesome."

"Yeah," Jared agreed, "Jensen's cool. It'd really suck to be stuck up here with someone I didn't like. I think we're gonna get along well, though. He's a great guy. Hey, tell me about your day."

Sandy did, and Jared drank in every detail - the audition she was going to attend in a few days, the dance class she'd gone to in the afternoon, the sushi she'd had for dinner with a friend.

He sank back a little deeper into the pillows, letting her voice lull him, fill the impersonal hotel room with home.

Jared grabbed another cup of coffee from craft services and headed back, plopping down into his chair next to Jensen, who was sitting with his eyes closed, resting. Not that Jared blamed him. He was getting into the routine more quickly than he'd expected, but that didn't mean he was any less exhausted than he'd been at the end of the first night, because it was a tough routine.

He and Jensen had gotten into the habit of running lines in the car in the mornings. Jared had already come to enjoy that hour or so before the day began. They'd both still usually be yawning when he climbed in; Jared had started bringing coffee with him for them both, and the way Jensen had beamed at him the first time he'd passed across the Starbucks cup had been enough to convince him to make it a tradition.

Mostly they ran lines. Sometimes they just talked, shooting the shit, and Jared found himself telling Jensen about Sandy and his family and his dogs. Sometimes, if filming had run particularly late the night before, they dozed side-by-side, grabbing the chance of an extra hour of sleep.

Once they reached the set, they were usually busy with make-up and wardrobe for a while, and then the hard work would start. Jared had never worked on a show with such a small core cast before, and the responsibility of having to carry it was a bit overwhelming at times. But exhilarating, too, and he was proud of what they were achieving, even after just a few episodes.

Acting with Jensen was the best part. Something about him... Jensen was just such a good actor that Jared could feel himself stepping it up a gear, giving it all he had. And he could feel Jensen feeding off that and doing the same thing, which was... yeah. This, that energy, was why he did this for a living. When he and Jensen were on, they were on, and Jared loved that feeling.

It was tough, though, physically and mentally. Since it was just the two of them, they were there all day, every day, usually until late evening, sometimes into the night. Even with the breaks while shots were set up and for meals, even with occasional naps in his trailer, Jared was exhausted, and by the time he got back to the hotel, he was ready to fall into bed, call Sandy, and sleep.

Jensen opened his eyes with a sigh, and Jared passed across his coffee. "Here."

"Thanks, man," Jensen said, and smiled at him.

Jared pulled his coat tighter around himself, leaning his head back against the back of the seat, letting the comforting hum of the engine wrap around him. "Jesus, I feel like I'm only starting to warm up again now."

Jensen hummed in acknowledgement. "That water was fucking cold."

Jared shivered slightly at the mere memory. He'd probably gotten off light, really: they'd shot his coverage first, before doing Jensen and the kid, since that was the more complicated shot, so he'd been the first back on dry land and wrapped up in blankets to warm up.

"Hey," he said, forcing his eyes open and tilting his head to the side to look at Jensen. "You did a real good job with looking after that kid today, man."

Jensen opened his eyes in something like surprise. "I was scared shitless, if you want to know. That kind of responsibility... Jesus."

"Really?" Jared said, honestly taken aback. Jensen had seemed completely calm throughout the whole thing, chatting quietly to the kid beforehand, practicing the signals for communicating with the divers with him, reminding him he could call for a break at any time. Jared had never suspected that Jensen might be worried behind that calm facade.

"He's just a kid, you know?" Jensen said. "And stuck down there under the water, held down, waiting - I mean, that's a serious stunt for any actor, let alone a kid."

Jared could see the tension creeping back into Jensen's shoulders and the tiny lines of his face. He closed a hand on Jensen's shoulder and left it there. "Probably easier as a kid. You know what it's like at that age - you're invincible, you don't think about the things that could go wrong. He thought it was the coolest thing ever, you heard him."

Jensen nodded, accepting the point. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Seriously," Jared said, tightening his grip on Jensen's shoulder, drawing Jensen's gaze. "Seriously, man, you did good. You did an awesome job of looking after him. It's no wonder he had a blast, you made it easy for him. Good job, man."

Jensen held his gaze for a moment, then smiled and let his eyes slip shut. Jared felt the tension leave his friend's shoulders, and let go.

"Thanks," Jensen murmured.

"Yeah," Jared said.

"You should have seen him," he told Sandy on the phone later, stretched out in bed with all the covers tucked over him, finally feeling properly warm again. "He seemed so calm when he was looking after the kid, you know? But he was really... I don't know, not nervous, just - he felt really responsible for him. Something about it really got to him."

"Sounds like it was pretty intense," Sandy said. "But it all turned out okay, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Jared said. "The kid thought it was the coolest thing ever. He was the only one who didn't even complain about how cold it was. And the director said the shot turned out great."

"Good," Sandy said. "Are you still cold?"

"I feel like I'm finally starting to thaw out," Jared said.

"I wish I was there to warm you up properly," Sandy murmured, her voice changing pitch. "I'd press right up against you, run my hands all over you..."

Jared inhaled sharply at the image, suddenly wide awake. And a hell of a lot warmer than he'd been a few minutes ago. "Oh yeah? You know, my hands are still pretty cold, what do you think I should do with them?"

"I'd suck your fingers into my mouth," Sandy said. "And then make you touch me, everywhere."

"They're really cold," Jared warned her. "You'd start shivering."

"Yeah," Sandy agreed. "But not just from the cold."

Fuck. They hadn't done this yet. Jared had always pretty much been wiped by the time he got back to the hotel, and it was just as late where Sandy was. He'd been jerking off a lot in the shower, wondering whether Sandy was getting herself off before she went to sleep, touching herself and thinking of him, curled up in her bed. He'd been fairly certain that they'd do something like this sooner or later, and loved Sandy just a little bit more for taking the initiative.

"You in bed?" he asked, wanting to build up a picture.

"Yep," Sandy said, and laughed softly. "You gonna ask me what I'm wearing?"

Jared felt his eyebrows creep up. "Why, what are you wearing?"

"One of your t-shirts," Sandy said. "The gray one. It's huge on me, comes down to mid-thigh. But I've got it pushed up higher than that right now."

Jesus, he could just see it. Jared slid his hand down and closed it around his dick, giving it a lazy stroke. "Maybe you should push it a bit higher so I can cup your breasts, warm my hands up on them."

Sandy inhaled in his ear. "Jared..."

"Do it, Sandy," he said. "Tell me."

"Your hands are cold," she said. "But your mouth is hot. I'd make you kiss me, suck on my nipples -"

Jared let his eyes slip shut, concentrating on the image. God, yes, running his mouth over Sandy's breasts, the warm scent of her... "Hell yes. And then I'd keep moving down, kiss your hipbones, your thighs - you'd spread your legs for me, wouldn't you, baby?"

"I'd be begging you," Sandy said, her voice breathless. "Your mouth -"

"You'd be so warm there," Jared said. "Hot, and wet, and your taste when I lick you - god, I can't get enough of your taste." His hand tightened helplessly on his cock at the thought. Jesus, this was going to be over fast at this rate. It'd been too long.

"Your mouth," Sandy sighed again. He could hear her breathing stuttering in his ear.

"And then I'd roll over, pull you up on top of me," Jared said. "The way you look, Jesus, Sandy. I'd pull that t-shirt the hell off you, touch your breasts again - fuck."

Sandy gave a soft sound, almost a moan. "I'd slide down onto you, take you inside me - feel you filling me up, Jared -"

"Fuck," Jared groaned, fisting his cock. He could imagine it, the way she'd look above him, the way it would feel - "God, I love being inside you - hot and wet around me, the way you move - Sandy, please -"

"Do it, Jared," Sandy ordered. "I know you're close, baby, come for me -"

Fuck.

Jared came all over his own chest, gasping for breath, listening to Sandy's uneven breathing as he came down. "God, Sandy," he said when he could speak again.

Sandy gave a little moan, more frustrated than hot. "Jared, I can't - I need -"

"Shh, baby, let's get you there," Jared said. "Easy, slow down, I've got you. Run one finger over your clit - just straight, no circles. Keep it slow for now, okay? I've got you, Sandy."

Sandy took a shuddering breath. "Jared..."

"I've got you," Jared promised again. "Now touch your nipples with your other hand - you know the way I want to touch them, right? With just the tips between your thumb and your index finger, rubbing back and forth - I love touching you that way, the way it makes your nipples peak -"

Sandy moaned softly again, and this time it was purely turned on, not frustrated.

"Can you feel how wet you are?" Jared asked her. "Slide a couple of fingers inside yourself - you're wet, aren't you?"

"Yes," Sandy said. "God, yes..."

"That's it," Jared said. He could still picture her, lying in bed with her phone pressed to her ear, eyes screwed shut as she touched herself and concentrated on his voice. God, he loved this girl. "Now touch your clit again, circles this time. Let yourself speed up."

He could hear her breathing faster now, hear tiny, faint noises as she got closer.

"Jared," she murmured, almost a moan. "God, Jared, I want -"

"Let it happen, baby," Jared coaxed her. "Let it happen. I'm right here - you're close now, I can tell, let your hand speed up. Come on, baby, come for me."

Sandy gasped and then went silent for a moment, only the faint sound of her body arching and twisting in the sheets on the line, and Jared grinned. "That's it, baby. So good."

"God, Jared," Sandy said, sounding slightly dazed. "God, that was - I wish you were here."

Jared swallowed hard. "Me too. I really want to hold you right now."

Sandy's breath was still hitching, and he wasn't sure that there wasn't at least a note of tears in there. "I miss you, baby," she said.

"I'm gonna come home this weekend, okay?" Jared said impulsively. "I'll book a flight first thing."

Sandy huffed a little laugh. "You sure? Can you take the time? I mean, you need to give yourself a chance to settle in up there -"

"I don't give a damn about settling in up here," Jared said. "I want to curl up in bed with you, and go to sleep with you, and wake up in your bed and show you just how I want to fuck you -"

Sandy laughed again, more clearly. "You don't need to convince me, baby. You know I'd love to spend the weekend with you."

"Okay," Jared said. "In that case, sleep well, and I'll email you my flight details in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Sandy agreed, and her voice sounded happier, sleepier. "Sleep well, Jared. Love you."

"Love you too," Jared said, and forced himself to hit the off button.

He was exhausted, but it was only once he'd gotten up and booked flights that he was able to drop off to sleep.

His flight didn't get in until really late on Friday night, and the airport was nearly empty. Jared was looking forward to dropping into a cab and shutting his eyes on the trip to Sandy's apartment, except -

- except holy shit, she was standing there waiting for him.

Jared didn't think, just crossed the distance towards her in fewer strides than he'd thought possible. Sandy looked up as he drew close and beamed. She jumped up into his arms as he reached her, wrapping her legs around his waist, laughing as he spun her around.

"Oh god, I missed you," Jared told her, scattering kisses across her face. "I can't believe you came out here to meet me."

Sandy pulled him down for a proper kiss. "Of course I did. Had to give you a proper welcome home."

"I feel very, very welcome," Jared said, slightly breathless. "Also kinda worried we're going to get arrested for public indecency before we make it back to your place."

Sandy laughed again and reluctantly unwrapped her legs from around his waist, allowing him to set her back on her feet. "In that case, we'd better move fast."

The ride back to her apartment passed in a blur, kissing in the back seat of the cab. They stumbled into her building, barely noticed the elevator ride, and finally reached the door to Sandy's apartment. She pushed him inside, and Jared was just turning to pin her against the door when he was mowed down by two ecstatic, excited dogs, knocking him to the floor. Sadie whuffed joyously, snuffling at his face, while Harley tried to lie down on top of Jared. Jared laughed breathlessly, hugging and stroking his dogs. Oh man, he'd missed them, even more than he'd realized.

It was a good ten minutes before the dogs were willing to let him get up again, and Jared straightened slowly, brushing off dog hair and looking around Sandy's apartment properly for the first time -

- and promptly forgetting all about his surroundings as he caught sight of her.

Sandy was sitting at the breakfast bar, on one of the high bar stools, and at some point while the dogs were distracting him, she'd gotten rid of the clothes she'd been wearing.

She smiled at him now, heatedly, and parted her legs, sliding one foot down the leg of the stool.

Jared crossed the room to her before he'd even realized he was moving, tilting her head up for a kiss before he dropped to his knees and pressed his mouth to her, drinking in her scent and her taste and the little noises she made, knowing he was home at last.

They only left the apartment once that weekend, and that was for Jared to swing by his place and shovel some more things into bags to take back to Vancouver with him.

His apartment already had an abandoned feel about it, though it wasn't really surprising, since the dogs were at Sandy's place and it wasn't like he was living there at the moment. Jared shoved as much as he could fit into the same three bags he'd taken on his last trip, which was a surprising amount this time, now that most of his clothes were already in Canada. He had room for more books this time, and photos. On an impulse he grabbed the weirdly shaped clock that a friend from high school had brought him back from a trip to Europe, and stuck that in too.

Sandy didn't accompany him to the airport. Without either of them discussing it, they both knew why: it was going to be hard enough saying goodbye again without having to do it in public. He hugged Sandy close, as tight as he could, and she buried her head against his chest, holding on silently.

"You should go," she said finally, pulling back, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she tried to smile up at him.

Jared swallowed hard and dipped down for a final kiss, then pulled away and left, before he couldn't.

It was late when he arrived back at the hotel in Vancouver. He stacked the new books on the shelves, put the crazy clock up next to them, and called Sandy.

"I'm back at the hotel," he said softly.

"Good," Sandy said. She sounded a little like she'd been crying not so long ago, but her voice was determinedly cheerful now. "Did you have a good flight?"

"It was okay," Jared said. "Sandy..."

"So, I was thinking I might come up next weekend," Sandy said before he could continue. "If you have time. What do you think?"

Jared swallowed. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

"Good," Sandy said. "You'd better get some sleep, baby, you've got an early start."

Jared knew she was right, even if he wanted... he just wanted. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you too," Sandy told him quietly. "Speak to you tomorrow."

Jared hung up and crawled into bed, shutting off the lights. It had been a good weekend, but Jesus, saying goodbye to her didn't get any less sucktastic.

"How was your weekend?" Jensen asked.

Jared managed a smile. "Pretty good, mostly. It was great to see Sandy."

Jensen grinned at him. "When do I finally get to meet her? She sounds like a hell of a girl."

"She is," Jared said, unable to restrain a smile, because yeah. Sandy was something else. "I think you two'll like each other. Actually, she's talking about coming up next weekend, maybe."

"Cool," Jensen said approvingly. "You want to try running some lines?"

When they arrived at set, Jared added new books to his trailer, and an extra blanket for the bed. The place was gradually starting to look more homey, with little touches here and there now of him. His magazines beside the bed, his chess set spread out on the table, his iPod next to it.

He arrived at make-up and fell into the seat next to Jensen, cracking a grin at the way Jensen's hair was sticking up as the make-up artist attacked it. "Good look on you, dude."

"You've got no room to talk, Chewie," Jensen informed him. He risked the make-up artist's wrath by sticking a foot out and gesturing with it, careful not to move his head. "Check it out."

Jared did. There was a giant tub of gummi-worms stuck on a shelf under the table. "Oh, man!" He hauled them out and stuffed two in his mouth, before holding the tub out to Jensen, only to withdraw it again when the make-up woman scowled at him. "Awesome," he said around the gummi-worms. "Dude, did you put these here?"

"I think it was the candy fairy," Jensen said seriously.

"Wow," Jared said. "Maybe we should call the Winchesters in to investigate."

Jensen opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the make-up artist brandished a brush in his face and he closed it again hastily, holding his head very still.

Jared grinned at the tub of gummi-worms and shoveled another one into his mouth.

"So, you want to do something with me and Sandy this weekend?" Jared offered. "I'd like you two to meet."

Jensen looked at him thoughtfully. "I'd like that, yeah. But... is this her first visit up here?"

"Yeah," Jared said, losing himself for a moment in how it was going to feel to see her arriving at the airport.

Jensen chuckled, grinning widely. "Yeah, well. I won't hold it against you when you cancel, okay?"

"What?" Jared asked, pulled out of his thoughts. "No, I'm serious - we should go to that Thai place."

"Sure," Jensen agreed readily, still smiling. "Just remember what I said."

When Jared got back to his hotel on Friday night, ready to grab a quick shower and change before going to the airport to pick Sandy up, he was caught off-guard to find her lying naked on top of his bed. Caught off-guard, and really, really turned on.

"Hey, baby," Sandy said, smiling at him, slow and sexy. "Caught an earlier flight. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind?" Jared managed in a strangled tone, and then he was on the bed with her.

At some point late on Saturday, they resurfaced from each other long enough for Jared to send Jensen a text message. Yeah, so, maybe next time?

He could almost hear Jensen's laughter in the reply. Or the time after. Have fun, say hi to Sandy for me.

"Jensen says hi," Jared said, switching his phone off and dropping it on the nightstand.

"I want to meet him," Sandy said, and pulled him in for a kiss. "Next time."

"Next time," Jared agreed, and after that neither of them were thinking about Jensen any more.

"Nice to finally meet you," Jensen said, grinning broadly at Sandy.

Sandy laughed and hugged him like they were old friends. "Hi, Jensen."

Jared couldn't stop the smile at the sight of the two of them together. It had taken until the time after, like Jensen had joked, but Jared was glad it had happened at last.

"So how do you put up with the snoring?" Jensen asked her on the way into the bar.

"Dude, I do not snore," Jared said indignantly.

"Our driver took the car to get checked out the other week, he thought there was something seriously wrong with the engine," Jensen said, poker-faced, then spoiled the effect by winking at Sandy.

"The snoring you get used to, eventually," Sandy said comfortingly, putting a hand on Jensen's arm. "The drooling, on the other hand..."

"Hey!" Jared protested. "I do not -"

"It's like that thing where pet owners become like their pets?" Sandy said to Jensen, as if he hadn't said a word. "He can actually out-drool Sadie, it's kind of terrifying."

Jensen was laughing, that full-out, amazing laugh that Jared always tried to coax out of him, clinging to one of Jared's arms to support himself. Jared glared at him, then at Sandy, but couldn't keep it up, finally giving up and joining in their laughter.

It was a good evening, one of the best. Jensen got Sandy talking about dancing, and Jared loved how passionate she got about it, how clear it was that it meant a lot to her. He could see the respect in Jensen's face, too, and suddenly he loved both of them more than he could bear, watching them talk seriously to each other and connecting. It was like all the pieces were fitting together.

"So we should do this again next time I'm up," Sandy said at the end of the night, hugging Jensen again.

Jensen laughed and kissed her cheek, winking at Jared. "Absolutely. Next time, or the time after."

Jared loved Christmas. It was always an amazing time of year, and no matter what project he was working on, he'd always managed to make it home for Christmas. It just wouldn't be Christmas otherwise.

This year was even more special, though, after being so far away for so long. Arriving back at his parents' home, holding Sandy's hand, and his mom rushing out to pull him into her arms... Jared hugged her and didn't let go for a long time.

Two weeks off passed seemingly in a flash, and Jared enjoyed every moment, surrounded by familiar things and the people he loved. His momma's cooking, his sister's stupid jokes, Sandy's arms around him - he didn't want it to end. Except...

Merry Xmas, he texted Jensen from under the tree on Christmas morning.

He was surprised when the reply came almost immediately. Merry Xmas, J. See you soon.

Somehow, Jared found he wasn't dreading the return to Vancouver quite as much as he'd expected.

Going back was still hard, though. Jared had loved his time at home and wouldn't have changed it for the world, but it made it all the harder to come back to a deserted airport and a hotel room which seemed resoundingly empty compared to the warmth and laughter of his family's home. He put the framed family photograph that had been part of his sister's Christmas present to him on the shelf, and collapsed back on the bed, staring sightlessly up at the ceiling.

Maybe he could go back to visit at the weekend. Okay, maybe not Texas, but at least to L.A. to spend some more time with Sandy. As soon as he'd found out the shooting schedule, he'd look into flights.

His cell beeped, and Jared didn't bother to look at the screen as he clicked to open up the message.

Hey J, hope you made it back safely. Guessing you'll be too tired to meet for a drink tonight, so see you tomorrow, OK?

Huh. Jared felt his lips twitch into an unwilling smile. He was looking forward to seeing Jensen again, almost enough to force himself off the bed and out to meet him, but the truth was, he was exhausted and down, and unlikely to be any kind of company.

Back safe but half dead. See you tomorrow, man, he texted back, and crawled into bed properly. It was easier to fall asleep than he'd thought.

Work was tough. They hit the ground running their first day back, and it only got more intense from there. The pressure of not knowing whether they'd be picked up for another season overshadowed everything. They were working longer hours, occasional days at weekends, and it seemed like every free moment they had, Jared was working on learning his lines and getting into Sam Winchester's head, giving it everything he'd got. When they did have an entire weekend off, Jared would fly back to L.A. to see Sandy, and even managed to snatch a weekend back in Texas with his family. The pace was starting to take a toll, but Jared reminded himself how close the end of the season now was, and forced himself to keep going.

"You okay?" Jensen asked him one evening as they waited for the next shot to be set up.

"Sure, I'm fine," Jared told him. Told himself, too, as often as he could. He was fine. Everything was fine.

He flew back to L.A. to visit Sandy that weekend, and actually fell asleep on her in the cab. Sandy woke him up for long enough to drag him up to her apartment, but he was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillows. He made it up to her the next morning, but Sandy spent the rest of the weekend watching him a little too closely, feeding him too much and coaxing him to stay in bed with her. She didn't have to say aloud that she was worried about him.

"Have you slept at all?" Jensen asked when he climbed into the car on Monday morning.

"Course I have," Jared told him, raising his coffee to his mouth -

- only to have it taken away from him. Jared stared at Jensen in disbelief. "You did not just do that. You did not just take my coffee away from me, Jensen."

Jensen didn't look away from him, didn't back down. "We've got an hour before we reach the set. You should sleep."

Jared wanted to argue, so it wasn't entirely clear to him how he ended up dozing, slouched so his head rested against Jensen's shoulder.

It was a tough day, even with the extra hour's sleep. Jared felt slow with tiredness, like it was an effort even to sit around waiting for scenes to be set up. He pulled it together when the cameras were running, forced himself into Sam Winchester's bones and gave it everything he had, but when the scenes were over, he just felt... nothing.

Jensen didn't say anything, but he was right there, the whole day, and somehow if it looked like anyone was going to come and talk to Jared, Jensen was talking first, distracting them. Jared was almost sure it wasn't a coincidence, but he was too tired to think too much about it.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there," Jensen told him when they were finally free for the day. Night. Whatever.

"Sure," Jared said, and headed for the car.

He was half-asleep by the time Jensen climbed in beside him ten minutes later. "Okay, we're good to go," Jensen told the driver, his voice hushed.

"Jen?" Jared slurred.

"Go back to sleep," Jensen told him. "I'll wake you when we get there."

Jared was a bit hazy when Jensen finally elbowed him, but after a moment or two he figured out that something was weird. Jensen was getting out with him, for one thing. And this... huh. This wasnt his hotel.

"What?" he managed.

Jensen laughed. "I'm making you dinner. C'mon, you can crash while it's cooking."

It didn't make any sense, but Jared was too tired to try to figure it out. He followed Jensen obediently into the elevator and down the hallway.

"Here," Jensen said, unlocking a door and letting Jared past him. He gave Jared a little push towards the sofa, clearing a couple of magazines and scripts off it. "I'll wake you when the food's ready."

Jared sat down obediently, and found his eyes slipping shut before he knew what was happening. He drifted, not quite awake, not quite asleep, vaguely aware of the clattering of dishes in the kitchenette and the sound of what he finally realized was Jensen singing quietly. Huh. He hadn't known Jensen could sing.

He forced his eyes open properly, rubbing at them to wake himself up, and took in his surroundings more.

Jensen's suite seemed much like his in terms of size and even layout - a bedroom, bathroom, a small living room area and open-plan kitchenette. It felt different, though. Jared looked around again.

The coffee table beside the sofa had some weird kind of lamp on it that Jared was willing to bet didn't belong to the hotel, plus a couple of magazines. The shelves were full of books and dvds and video games, in some cases stacked shambolically on top of each other. There were several framed photos sitting on the shelves too, in front of the books and other crap; Jared stood to get a better look, and grinned at the sight of what clearly had to be Jensen's family. He wondered if their sisters would get along. Maybe they'd find out, someday.

Some of the other photos were of Jensen's friends, and Jared knew most of the faces. He paused at the end of the row, caught by surprise.

He didn't know who had taken the photo, but there he was, grinning out of it, one arm around Sandy and the other around Jensen. They all looked happy. It was weird how old Jared felt, looking at it.

But the weirdest thing on the shelves had to be the snowglobes. There had to be at least half a dozen of them: small, tacky-looking things. Jared stared at them for a long moment, then wandered over to the kitchenette.

"You embracing your inner twelve-year-old girl or what?"

Jensen looked round, blinking at him. "What?"

Jared jerked his head in the direction of the shelves. "The snowglobes. What's up with that, man?"

Jensen laughed. "My sister gives me them, mostly - souvenirs whenever she goes on a trip. My mom, sometimes, too."

Jared wasn't really sure what to say to that. Okay, he got the whole thing of not throwing away gifts people gave you, and having things around you that reminded you of your loved ones, but... tacky snowglobes cluttering up the shelves? Seriously?

"Okay, dinner's ready," Jensen said. "Grab those plates, will you?"

It was nothing fancy, just pasta and some kind of sauce, but Jared suddenly discovered his appetite, starving in a way he hadn't been all day, and he wolfed down two helpings before he even slowed down.

"Damn, that was good," he said finally, settling back in his chair. "Thanks, man."

Jensen shrugged and passed him another beer. "Anytime. Hey, stay here tonight, okay? You can crash on the couch."

Jared didn't argue: he couldn't really be bothered with grabbing a cab back at this time of night. "Yeah, okay, thanks." He took another swig of his beer. Proper Texan beer, like he hadn't had since he'd come to Vancouver. "I can't believe you have real beer."

Jensen snorted. "I've been living up here for three or four years now, Jared. I learned where to find the real kind a while back."

Huh, Jared thought, and looked at him. "Huh," he said aloud. "I kinda forgot you've been up here so long."

"Yeah," Jensen said, fiddling with the label on his beer bottle. "All settled in now. Was rough the first year or two, but..." He shrugged. "Got to know the place, made friends up here, figured out where to buy real beer..." He grinned at Jared. "You get used to it, you know?"

Jared nodded slowly. "That why you brought me here tonight? To tell me that?"

"Nah," Jensen said easily. "I just couldn't wake you up when we got to your stop, and I figured if I was going to drag your ass up any stairs, I wanted to at least be able to sleep in my own bed afterwards."

Jared laughed at him. "Wow, thanks."

Jensen grinned at him for a moment, then asked casually, "You got plans for this weekend yet?"

"Not really," Jared said. "Was thinking of maybe flying down to L.A., but it's not definite."

Jensen nodded slowly. "Can I offer some advice without you taking it the wrong way?"

Jared took in his expression. There were little lines deepening at the sides of Jensen's eyes. Concern, Jared realized in surprise. Concern for him.

They'd known each other almost ten months now, been working together for the past eight, had spent coming up on twenty hours a day with each other five days a week in that time. They hadn't hung out together outside of work all that much, but only because they didn't have much time outside of work. They'd hit it off from the start, and now... Jensen had become a friend, Jared realized. A good friend.

"I'm not going to take offense, Jensen," Jared said, and nudged his leg under the table.

Jensen grinned at that, and kicked him in return. "Well, I was thinking you should consider staying in Vancouver this weekend."

Jared frowned, in confusion rather than annoyance.

"I mean, you can tell me to butt out," Jensen added hastily. "It's your life, you can do whatever you want to do. But you seem really tired at the moment, and traveling back and forth most weekends, on top of the hours we work... It gets to you. I mean, I did that too, my first year in Vancouver, and damn near ended up having a nervous breakdown toward the end, until I realized..." He trailed off, studying his beer bottle again.

"Realized what?" Jared asked, too curious to think beyond that.

"Realized this was where I was living," Jensen said, looking up at him. "It was funny, because of course I knew that, but... in my head, home was still Texas, or at least L.A., and I was just in Vancouver on some kind of long-ass business trip, you know? And then I realized that I'd never given myself a chance to get to know the place or spend time there or just chill the hell out. The only thing I was doing here was working."

Jared looked down at his beer bottle. "You think that's what I'm doing?"

He sensed more than saw Jensen's shrug. "Is it?"

Jared thought about it. If he was honest with himself... "I guess. I mean, I like it here fine, but... it's not home." He looked up at Jensen, suddenly curious. "Do you think of it as home now?"

"Texas'll always be home," Jensen said. "And I've got a place in L.A., though... by now it's more a place to stay, rather than home. But yeah, this is home now too." He waved vaguely at his surroundings. "Why d'you think I've stuck with this hotel when I could stay at yours and sleep an extra twenty minutes each morning? This is where they put me up when I started on Dark Angel, and by now I know the people who work here and the neighborhood and everything."

Huh. Jared had always vaguely wondered, somewhere in the back of his mind, why he and Jensen were in different hotels. He guessed it made sense, though that answer would never have occurred to him. "So you're saying I should stay here at weekends more often?" he asked.

Jensen shrugged. "All I'm saying is I found it easier to cope once I stopped living out of a suitcase and started making more of being here. More time to sleep, more of a chance to get to know the place... But I know you've got Sandy back in L.A., so I get it, I do. What worked for me might not be what works for you."

"I'll think about it," Jared said sincerely. "Thanks, man."

Jensen smiled, then cleared his throat and stood up. "I'll dig out the spare blankets."

Not long after, Jared found himself ensconced on Jensen's couch. It wasn't the most comfortable couch he'd ever slept on, but it wasn't the worst, either. And tired as he was, Jared was pretty sure he'd be out like a light in about five minutes flat.

"Maybe I just need a snowglobe or two," he said.

Jensen popped his head back in from the bedroom. "What?"

"Snowglobes," Jared said, nodding towards the shelves. "You know. To make my place seem more homey, or whatever. Maybe that's the secret."

"Maybe," Jensen agreed readily. "After all, god knows you're far more in touch with your inner twelve-year-old girl than I am."

Jared laughed, warm and comfortable and sleepy.

"See you in the morning," Jensen said, and switched off the lights.

The director turned them loose early on Friday, earlier than they'd finished in a while. Jared was a bit surprised, but not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"So what are you planning for this weekend?" he asked Jensen on the ride back to their hotels.

"Sleep," Jensen said fervently. "Watch the game. Nothing too special. How about you?"

"Sleeping in too, I guess," Jared said. "I decided to stick around here this weekend, take things easy."

Jensen looked at him, then nodded. "You feel like coming over for the game, in that case?"

Jared grinned. "I'll bring the beer."

Things got a little easier after that. Jared still went to L.A. and visited Sandy every few weekends, and she usually came up at least once a month, but some weekends he just slept and hung out. It helped more than he'd expected. And it turned out Vancouver wasn't such a bad place to hang out, especially with Jensen.

At the end of the second weekend they spent mostly hanging out together, Jensen passed him a small plastic bag. "Here."

Jared frowned at it. "What's this?" He looked inside. There was an extremely tacky snowglobe with the Vancouver skyline in it. "What the hell, dude?"

Jensen laughed at his expression. "Call it a late hotel-warming gift."

It was ugly as hell, but for some reason Jared placed it on the shelf next to the photograph his sister had given him for Christmas. Maybe just because it made him laugh a little every time he caught sight of it.