Life For Rent

Chapter 26 : Zoetic

Author's Notes :
- Spoilers for S1E20. Some dialogue taken directly from that episode and therefore does not belong to me.
- Zoetic: of or pertaining to life
- Don't own Disneyland (or any of its rides or characters), Downtown Disney, House of Blues.
- Thank you to everyone for the graduation wishes! (It was from uni, for those wondering.) I'm now living it up in the wonderful world of unemployment! W00t!
- Thank you again to all my wonderful reviewers. You all just brighten my day and make me smile like a loon.

"You know what?"

"What?"

Callen turned to Jared. "If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, then waiting in lines must make people happy."

Jared grinned and threw his arms around Callen in a loose hug. They were waiting in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. His boyfriend planted a wet kiss onto his cheek before stepping back. "I think LA traffic disproves that idea."

Callen laughed. "I was cut off four times yesterday! Four times! And I was only going three exits."

"Try driving in San Diego," Jared advised. "We might seem laid back, but we're menaces on the freeway."

"I believe it," Callen grinned.

The line moved and they walked through the zig-zag of metal bars leading to the entrance. "How are you liking D-Land so far?" Jared asked.

"I'd like it more if I didn't feel like such a tourist," Callen said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"It's not tourist-y to take pictures!" Jared immediately protested.

"Not tourist-y to take some pictures. I think you must have taken a thousand with that camera of yours."

"Lindsey mentioned the other day that I didn't have any pictures of us together," Jared said with a shrug.

Callen touched Jared's lower back and leaned in. "You know any pictures you take can't be shared. I… I can't leave any kind of identity trail."

Jared offered him a sad smile. "I know. These are just for me, G. Eric said he'd encrypt a folder for me so I could keep them on my computer without worrying too much."

"You talked to Eric?"

"At lunch a couple of weeks ago. I need some tech advice and then he offered to safeguard anything I might have that relates to you."

"That's… disturbingly nice of him."

Jared shrugged again. "You have a great team."

"I do," Callen said with a shake of his head and a smile. "I really do."

"I feel ridiculous."

Jared grinned. "C'mon, G. It's tradition. Everyone gets Mickey ears on their first trip to Disneyland."

Callen scrunched his forehead up underneath the black cap. "I like yours."

"Next time you can get the Pirate ears," Jared smirked. "First time: it's the original."

Callen grimaced. "I still feel ridiculous."

Jared leaned in close, "How kinky would it be if I fucked you while you wore it?"

The agent swallowed and kept an indifferent look schooled on his face. "I think if I had grown up with Disney, the idea might seem more revolting than it does."

The younger man laughed. "How about I just fuck you without it?"

"Deal."

"After the fireworks though," Jared said.

"And fudge," Callen added. "You promised me amazing fudge."

"Dinner and then fudge and then fireworks," Jared bargained. "Let's go out into Downtown Disney for it, though. How do you feel about House of Blues?"

"As long as I can get a burger, I'm down."

"Awesome. House of Blues it is."

"So?"

Callen turned to face Sam. "So what?"

Sam set his gym bag down on the bench by the lockers. "So how was Disneyland?"

Callen shrugged. "Fine."

"Fine? Just fine?"

"It was… big?"

"Big?"

"Loud?"

"Loud? You went to the happiest place on Earth and you think its big and loud?"

"Don't forget fine," Callen added.

"At least tell me you have some pictures, G." Sam begged.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Jared took a bunch. If you come over again, I'm sure he'll show you all of them."

"You don't have any on your phone?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"… There might be one or two."

"Well, c'mon then, G. Share."

Callen hid a smile as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Sam came up behind Callen's chair to peer over his shoulder.

"Nice ears, G." Sam admired. "I have some from when I was a kid."

"Yeah?" Callen moved his thumb over the screen to go to the next picture.

"Oh yeah. It's tradition to get some the first time you go."

"Jared said the same thing."

"I knew I liked him," Sam said. "You look like you had a lot of fun." The slideshow ended and Sam went back over to his locker.

"It was nice. I liked Space Mountain."

"Yeah that one's great."

"So many kids though," Callen grimaced. "And they're so… self-absorbed these days! Cutting and screaming…"

Sam shook his head and unlocked his locker. "You know what young people say they want to be when they grow up?"

Callen went back to his paper. "Probably not a Navy Seal."

"Not a teacher, not an astronaut, or anything that requires effort. All kids wanna be is famous."

"And girls just wanna have fun," Callen added.

Working with your dopple-ganger again. Callen texted.

A minute later his phone buzzed with a reply. It is seriously too early, G.

It's your day off! Shouldn't you be up already? Seizing the day?

I was seizing my sleep. I didn't get a lot last night. =P

Callen grinned. True. So worth it though.

Definitely worth it.

So you really have no plans for today?

I'm meeting Lindsey for lunch and then Bran wants to go shopping. There's also a farmer's market I'd like to hit up.

Get some strawberries?

Sure. Anything else?

Some peaches?

I'll see what I can do. =)

Thanks. g2g now. Ttyl?

Yeah. Stay safe, G.

"So how are things with you and the mysterious G?" Brandon asked.

They were at Jared's apartment after a long, but satisfying, afternoon of shopping. Brandon was laying on the couch while Jared puttered around the kitchen wondering what to make for dinner.

"Pretty good," Jared answered.

"Yeah? Last I heard things were just so-so."

"They were never so-so," Jared denied. He opened his pantry and peered in. "But we talked and I think we're on the same page now."

"You talked? About feelings?"

"I do do that," Jared answered. "How do you feel about couscous?"

"Love it with cheese," Brandon answered and Jared grabbed the bag out of the cabinet. "And when we went out, trying to get you to talk about feelings was like trying to wake up a deaf cat."

"I would hardly call what we did 'going out'," Jared responded. "Pork chops?"

"Sounds good. And okay, fine, when we fucked, then."

"Do you have to be so crude all the time?" Jared asked. He pulled out his steamer for the couscous. "And what we had is not the same as what G and I have." Brandon was quiet for a moment and Jared was afraid that he'd offended his friend. "Bran-"

"You love him," Brandon said suddenly, with awe. "You're in love with him."

"I-" Jared snapped his mouth shut. "No, I-I can't be."

He heard Brandon get up from the couch and followed his movements over to behind the counter where Jared was. "Why can't you?" His friend asked softly.

Because he could die any day! Jared wanted to say. He could leave or be kidnapped or something worse and I'd never know. Because I'd wait for him and I'm not sure he'd wait for me. Because I'm not sure he'll ever love me back. Jared settled for, "I just can't, Bran."

"Jared…" His friend reached a hand out and it landed softly on Jared's shoulder. There was a gentle look of compassion in Brandon's eyes, a look of sympathy.

"I can't," Jared whispered, looking down at the floor.

Brandon leaned in and kissed his lips lightly, in a comforting manner, before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug and Jared let himself be held. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about how much danger G could be in at that very moment. He tried to forget how often the other man had smelt like gunpowder. He tried to wipe out the memory of what G's scars felt like under his lips and all the bruises that would appear on his skin.

He gripped the back of Brandon's shirt tightly and just held on. Jared wondered if it was already too late. He wasn't sure if he hoped it was or not.

In the distance he heard his cell phone ring, but didn't move to pick it up. He inhaled Brandon's familiar scent and felt tears prickle behind his eyes. He didn't know why he couldn't just pick someone like Brandon. Someone safe, whose day job might not kill him. But, god help him, he didn't regret picking G. He didn't regret it at all.

"C'mon, pick up," Callen muttered. He pressed the phone closer to his ear as it rang.

The answering machine picked up. "Hey, you've reached Jared. You know what to do." *beep*

"Hey, it's me. Just wanted to let you know that I won't be in tonight. I'm actually going to some club to try and track down what happened to a missing girl. I have a sneaking suspicion that Sam has already sent you a picture of what I'm wearing. He is so not as stealthy as he thinks he is. Anyway, if you call I won't be able to answer and just wanted to let you know why. I'll see you later. Bye."

Callen ended the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. Showtime.

Later that night, Callen was looking up if his credit-card had been used to search for his personal information at the club when his phone rang. Jared's name flashed as the caller and he hit the answer button.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked in greeting.

"How was the club?" Jared asked.

"Expensive. I think all the years I've spent avoiding those kinds of places were years well spent."

Jared laughed softly. "Yeah, not my scene either. Did you find your missing girl?"

"Yup. Turns out she wasn't missing."

"That's good… right?"

"Definitely good," Callen confirmed. He clicked 'print' and waited while his documents printed out. "How was shopping?"

"Got your strawberries and your peaches."

Callen grinned. "Awesome. I've been craving a peach."

"Well now you've got some organic, locally grown ones, waiting for you."

"Will that make it taste better?"

"In theory," Jared answered. "So, um, about why I called…"

"Yeah?" Callen gathered his papers together.

"How do you feel about Brandon staying over?"

Callen frowned in confusion. "Fine… why?"

"Just thought I'd make sure."

"Okay." Callen paused. "By staying over do you mean…. sleeping together? In the same bed?"

There was a long silence on the other end. "It depends on if you'd be okay with that," Jared finally said. "In the past we've shared the bed."

"When you were together?"

"After that," Jared told him. "It wouldn't be sexual or anything."

Callen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can I ask a question?"

"Anything," Jared replied quickly.

"Um, do gay people do this a lot? Or is this just a Jared thing."

"I think more of the latter than the former. I'm not sure though. I've, uh, actually never really had a lot of gay friends. You would think I would have, right?"

Callen paused. "Is everything okay, Jared? Is there a reason he's spending the night?"

The younger man exhaled. "I… yes. We were talking and it wasn't all… happy… stuff."

"I don't mind if he stays," Callen said gently. "No sex though."

Jared coughed. "In the interest of full disclosure… he kissed me earlier. Not like a I-want-you kiss, just sorta a reassuring kiss, a friendly kiss. And that's something a lot of gay people do."

Callen felt something in his chest tighten at the thought of Jared kissing someone else. But Jared was right. Callen had seen other gay men use kisses to greet each other, or to comfort. He swallowed his unease and said, "That's fine. I don't mind if he kisses you." Callen had certainly kissed other people since meeting Jared, although those had all been on the job.

"Liar," Jared said softly.

"G! You comin', dog?" He heard Sam call out.

Callen covered the mic on his phone. "Yeah! One second!" He lowered his hand. "I'm sorry, I've gotta go."

"Stay safe," Jared whispered.

"I'll try," Callen promised. "Later."

"Later, G."

Callen hung up the phone and took a couple deep breaths. He wondered what Jared and Brandon had talked about earlier. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with him. With a sigh, he pushed those thoughts from his mind and focused back on the case.

Walking back out to Sam and Deeks he heard Sam say, "Which he hit now, didn't he …temp?"

"Club used my credit card to get personal information," Callen informed them. "Address, whether or not I made payments on alarm systems, a whole bunch of stuff…"

Callen slowly kissed his way down Jared's back. The younger man writhed underneath him and moaned deliciously with each kiss.

"Turn over," Callen said softly.

Jared complied, his blue eyes shining brightly with lust. His hair was wet with sweat and his forehead glistened in the light. Callen leaned down and pressed their lips together. His tongue eased its way into Jared's mouth and the other man opened it wider for him. Jared tasted like vanilla and peaches.

Callen kissed him greedily and Jared made soft noises of contentment. They were breathing heavily and hands moved everywhere, skin touching skin.

"In me," Jared gasped between kisses. "Get in me, G."

G reached for the lube and opened it up without breaking their kiss. He squirted some onto his fingers and gently began to prepare the other man. Jared moaned and bucked his hips up while G carefully stretched him.

A few minutes later he was sinking into Jared's tight heat. Jared wrapped his legs around Callen's legs and pulled him in as far as he would go. Callen brushed kisses across Jared's face as he began to slowly move in and out of the younger man.

"G," Jared breathed. "God, you feel good."

Callen took his time bringing them both to the edge and when they finally got there, Jared moaned his name loudly and came hard and shaking underneath Callen's body. Callen pressed his lips to Jared's mouth and thrust his tongue in while he came inside of his partner. Jared's tongue licked at his own as their mouths met over and over.

Panting, Callen finally pulled out and then collapsed down on top of Jared. Jared didn't seem to mind as he wrapped his arms tightly around Callen's body.

"Jared," Callen exhaled.

"Yeah?"

"Please don't kiss anyone else."

Jared's shining blue eyes met his and the younger man nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Thank you."

A small smile spread across Jared's face. "You're welcome."