Asshole
"I can't believe he just kicked you out."
Jared shook his head in disbelief as he shifted the hamburger patties on the grill with the spatula in his hand. He hears the metal legs of a lawn chair drag over the wooden deck behind him and he knows Jensen has finally sat down. Jensen appeared at his door an hour ago fired up because his roommate dropped a bomb on him: he had one week to find a place to live.
"Hm, tell me about it. I mean, I get it. He wants his girlfriend to move in. Fine, but…"
"He could've given you a little notice." Jared finishes the other man's sentence not hiding the frustration in his voice. Another person might have thought the interjection rude, but after three years of working together the idea of "personal space" between the two men eroded into a place of familiarity Jared reserved for a precious few. That was the reason Jensen felt comfortable showing up at his door at 10pm after an 11 hour day on set, mad enough to spit bullets. Jared planned to go to bed without eating but when Jensen showed up their stomachs started to growl in unison. He suggested they move out to the porch and grill up some food.
Jensen gives a noncommittal noise in reply to Jared's comment about advanced notice. Jared turns to see his co-star sitting with his legs stretched out and neck craned up as he gazed at the sky. The light from the porch reflected off the beer bottle Jensen fidgeted in his hands. It's unnerving to see someone who is typically easygoing wound up so tight. Jared wanted to pull him into a reassuring hug as soon as he opened the door and saw the anxiety written on Jensen's face. Instead he opted for a squeeze on the shoulder and passing his friend a cold beer. He was always chickening out when it came to that stuff with him and Jensen. Whereas strong arms wrapped around Jared and squeezed him breathless when he'd told Jensen Sandy had left him. He wanted to get closer to Jensen but, for all their affectionate joking around on and off set, it almost seemed too close. He couldn't put his finger on why. Jared shut the grill, closing down any thoughts in his mind other than trying to help Jensen resolve his current predicament.
It takes two strides for Jared to ascend the steps to the porch and drop down in the empty chair next to Jensen. He removes his beer from the glass tabletop and takes a long pull from the bottle. Sitting here drinking beers with Jensen reminds him of the day he moved in. He'd been so excited; ready to marry Sandy and start their lives together in his new home. Then she'd left and he was stuck in a house with too many rooms. The sliding door of the house looked like a gaping mouth with fragments of furniture for teeth. Empty, it was just empty inside. Even Haley and Sadie's constant upbeat attitudes couldn't fill the vastness of the house.
Jensen being kicked out like this was awful, but Jared saw it as a blessing. He'd wanted to ask Jensen to live with him for a while now but he didn't exactly know how. They saw each other every day for ten plus hours at a time. He wasn't sure if Jensen would go for seeing him every hour of every day. As unsettling as the societal heterosexual norm said he should be with two men spending that much time together, Jared was totally fine with it. More than fine, he was actually excited about the idea. The perfect scenario had dropped in his lap. Now he just had to find a tactful way to ask.
Jared looks at Jensen out of the corner of his eye while taking another mouthful of beer. A silence hangs over them for a moment while he mulls over exactly what to say. His hands feel slick from the condensation on the bottle and his brain taunts, sweaty palms.Jared clinks his bottle on the side of the chair to get Jensen's attention since the other actor was busy with the demanding task of rubbing Sadie's belly. Green eyes meet his and he feels himself falter for a second. His eyes drop to the label on the bottle and he starts to pull at the paper with his thumb and index finger. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"Dunno. Move in with some asshole I guess." Jensen shifts in the chair and sits properly, Sadie lying at his feet. He holds his beer in one hand perched on his thigh while the other does two quick rubs through his short brown hair. The hair rub is one of Jensen's signature tells, the man is frustrated. It almost makes Jared feel guilty at the mirth bubbling through his system, threatening to turn the corners of his mouth up. This house was too damn big for one person and he couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather share it with.
"You could move in with this asshole."
Jensen was about to take a drink when Jared replied. Instead he pauses and smiles wide, the bottle resting on his bottom lip. The smile slides up to his eyes and Jared sees his entire posture relax. He knows it's a done deal before Jensen says another word.
"Move in with you? What kind of asshole do you think I am?" Jensen's smiling so hard he can barely pull a sip from the bottle in his hand.
Jared leans in, playfully punching Jensen on the shoulder. "Shut up, you'd love it…asshole."
Jensen laughs. "I don't think you can handle this asshole 24/7."
"Yeah well I'll have an entire floor between you and your asshol-er-y." Jared stumbles over the syllables of the last part. He's fifty percent sure he just invented a new word.
That has Jensen shaking with laughter and it's a few moments before he can compose himself enough to look at Jared. "Ok. Ok. You and me. Together. Assholes."
"How many more times are you going to say that?"
"This asshole would love a burger."
Jared gets up to check the grill and shoots a look at Jensen over his shoulder. "Jerk."
Jensen tips his bottle in Jared's direction. "Bitch."
