Fic: Be My Valentine
Jensen sighed with annoyance at the thumping and banging sounds emanating from the hallway of his apartment building. He gave up trying to read his work email and went over to the front door, peering out of the peephole. A pile of boxes sat in the hallway, black marker scrawled over them with “Living room” and “kitchen”.
He straightened up. Someone must be moving into the empty apartment across the hall, and he hoped it was someone better than the cranky old guy who used to pop out and bitch at anyone walking by.
Voices made Jensen jump, as if they could see him spying on them. Shaking his head at himself, he applied his eye to the peephole again. He couldn't really see who they were, but one had a shock of blonde hair, and one seemed to be quite tall. Jensen couldn't see his head, only a broad set of shoulders in a flannel shirt.
“Come on, Padalecki, put those muscles to work!” One voice brayed out. “Heave ho!”
“Shut up, Chad. I don't want my neighbors to hate me before I even meet them,” replied the other. This voice was deep and pleasant, warming Jensen's habitual curmudgeonly attitude into an almost friendly one.
Maybe he should offer to lend a hand?
A huge crash resounded outside the door. “Chad!” yelled the formerly pleasant voice. “Those were my dishes!”
“Sorry, man.”
Jensen retreated to his living room.
* * *
Jensen locked his car door and turned to walk inside his apartment building. Suddenly a tree was in his way.
“Hi,” said the tree, who was wearing a nice dark blue V-neck sweater, Jensen noticed. He looked up a few inches, and found a handsome face looking back at him.
“Hi,” said Jensen cleverly. He was rather distracted by the gracefully arched eyebrows, the soft, thick dark hair, the arresting cheekbones, and wide smile facing him.
“I'm Jared, your new neighbor across the hall. I just moved in the other day.”
“Oh hello, I'm Jensen. Yes, the banging and crashing.” Jensen nodded, fixating on the sweet little mole by Jared's nose. Oh look, there was one by his chin too.
“Oh God, sorry about that. I had some friends helping, or at least, they thought they were helping.” Jared shook his head. “I hope we didn't bother you too much.”
“No, no, it was fine. I needed to take a break anyway.” Jensen turned to go inside. “Are you coming or going?”
“I'm coming.” Jared blushed, cheeks tinting a lovely pink. “Uh, I mean, heading inside.”
They chatted as they went inside and rode up the elevator to their floor. Jensen took the opportunity to note that Jared's cologne was light and fresh and made him want to lick the man's throat, well-displayed as it was in the deep V-neck of his sweater.
“Well, see ya,” said Jared, turning to unlock his door. Jensen thought wildly for something to suggest for them to do together. Kind of like a date.
“Do you like dogs?” he blurted.
Jared stared at him. “I love dogs! I used to have two, but I couldn't keep them in an apartment, so they're living at my brother's house now.”
Jensen glowed inside. He shoots and he scores!
“Listen, there's a dog park near by, and they're having a pet rescue playtime thing, you know, come play with the dogs and hopefully they get adopted? Would you like to go? It's this Saturday afternoon.” If all went well, perhaps they could go out for drinks afterward, Jensen thought.
“Sure! I'd love that! Even if we can't bring a dog home, we can help them have some fun. Thanks, Jensen, that's a great idea.” Jared smiled, and again Jensen felt that happy glow in his tummy.
“Cool! Okay then, meet you here Saturday!”
Saturday morning found Jensen trying on different T-shirts with jeans combinations. These jeans made his ass look fabulous, but those had sexy rips at the knees. He finally decided on the ripped ones, figuring if they got ripped more by the dogs, it wouldn't make a difference. Choosing a Super Mario T-shirt, he slipped it on and tousled his hair with his fingers.
Jared was already in the hallway when Jensen came out, wearing a multi-colored flannel shirt and jeans. He clapped Jensen on the shoulder in excitement. “Let's go!”
The dog part was only a few blocks away, so they walked, enjoying the pleasant weather. “Now this is why I love living in Texas,” said Jared. “Just think, if we were in New England, it would be like ten degrees!”
“Brrr! That's horrible!” agreed Jensen with a shiver.
Dogs bounced and ran all over the place at the dog park. Jared's grin was ear-to-ear, and he dove in, rolling and running with the puppies, throwing balls and frisbees. Jensen held back by the sidelines, remembering belatedly that he was not a huge dog fan. It was highly amusing to watch Jared play, though, and Jensen couldn't help laughing at his new friend's antics.
Jared took a break, cuddling a soft puggle pup in his lap as he sat next to Jensen. “This is awesome! Thanks for bringing me. I'm thinking about volunteering at the rescue, they're short-handed right now.”
“Oh, nice. Then you can get your doggy fix,” smiled Jensen, watching how a few locks of Jared's shoulder-length hair fell forward, and noting how large and careful Jared's hands held the puppy. Did he mention, large hands?
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Hi, excuse me?” A feminine voice interrupted them. Standing over them was a petite brunette girl, long hair curling down to a curvy bosom. Jensen felt his hackles rising. “I'm Sandy, I'm with the P.A.W.S. Rescue group, and someone mentioned to me that you were interested in volunteering?”
Jensen didn't miss how Sandy's eyes were roving all over Jared's manly form, and that her smile grew a little brighter and more flirtatious. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at her.
Ignoring Jensen, Sandy squatted down and petted the puggle puppy in Jared's lap. “I can see already how good you are with dogs. If we could talk for a bit, I can go over what we do, what you would do, and so on.” She looked between Jared and Jensen. “Is that okay? Is this a good time?”
Before Jensen could answer with a resounding “No!”, Jared said, “That would be great. Jensen, you don't mind, do you? I had a great time, and we'll catch up soon. I want to get started as soon as possible.”
Jensen swallowed his frustration and said, “No, of course, that's fine. You know where to find me.” Gritting his teeth, he winked jovially at Jared and gave a brief death-stare to Sandy, who smiled and tossed her hair.
* * *
Well, shit. It never occurred to Jensen that his dream neighbor might be straight. Maybe bi? Then at least he had a chance. A slim chance, considering Princess Perky Tits was cute, eager, and loved dogs.
When he didn't hear from Jared all day Sunday, Jensen knew it was over before it had begun. He wondered if he would have to send a wedding shower gift, being simply the neighbor across the hall. Morosely he left his apartment Monday morning, glumly worked all day, and just as morosely returned home.
Locking his car, Jensen turned around and found the tree in his way again.
“Jensen! Dude, the pet rescue is so great! I wanted to thank you again for taking me Saturday.” Damn that deep, liquid voice.
“Yeah, sure. Hope you and Princess—I mean, Sandy—hit it off and all.” Jensen didn't even raise his eyes, just grabbed his briefcase and tried to barrel his way to the entrance. It didn't work very well, what with the Jared-tree right there.
“What? Sandy? She was nice enough, but kinda pushy. Even if I liked girls, she was too pushy for me.”
Jensen looked up now, hope a fresh flicker in his chest. “You...don't like girls?”
“Naw, man, I'm gay as fuck. No titties for me.” Jared tilted his head. “Didn't you know? Chad says I radiate gayness for miles.” He stepped back and gestured to the entrance. “Come on, let's go in and I'll tell you about the puppers.”
They walked in step to the entrance, Jared prattling about the dogs and Jensen smiling about the beneficence of life in general.
* * *
Jensen decided that his next effort to attract Jared's attention would not be out in public, since there were too many chances for interruption and distraction. He'd learned by now that Jared had a hearty appetite, befitting such a large guy, and that he loved pizza. Jensen therefore decided to have pizza from the best place in town delivered for a pizza and movie night at Jared's place.
The night arrived, and Jensen was a little nervous. He found his affection for Jared growing more every day; aside from his considerable physical charms, Jared was funny, kind, super smart, and delightfully dorky all at once. They'd decided to watch some rom-coms, so Jared was surveying his choices on Netflix while Jensen answered the door for the pizza.
“Hey, Jensen, what about Mean Girls? Or Bridesmaids, that put the com in rom-com. Of course there's always the classic, Pretty Woman.” Jared called out.
Jensen put the pizzas down on the dining room table and came back to the door to pay the deliveryman. Momentarily distracted by calculating the tip, Jensen didn't notice someone come up behind the pizza man, only seeing him once the pizza man departed.
“Hey, look at that! What awesome timing!” A gravelly voice nattered and a skinny figure with a shock of blond hair pushed past Jensen. “Hey Jar-bro! What's going on? Looks like I came at just the right time!”
Jensen stared at this scarecrow apparition. A memory of seeing blond hair through the peephole the day Jared moved in came to Jensen. He realized that this was Chad, Jared's best friend and instigator of many antics, most of which ended badly, according to Jared's re-tellings.
“Um, Jared and I are having pizza and movie night,” Jensen began.
“Perfect! I'm starved! What movies? Something with lots of explosions, yeah?” Chad hopped over the back of the couch and plopped next to Jared.
“Well, we were looking at rom-coms—I mean, comedies, um, Bridesmaids, Mean--” Jared started to say.
“Jesus! Guys! You're gay, not emasculated! Come on, let's get a little action in here! Maybe a horror movies? Or there's always classics like Die Hard.” Chad grabbed the remote from Jared, who looked helplessly at Jensen.
Jensen was surprised he could speak, given how hard his teeth were grinding together. “Here's the pizza. This one is goat cheese and artisanal sausage, and the other one is pesto with tomato and feta.”
“Where's the extra meat deluxe? Oh well, I'm sure this'll do. Chard grabbed the goat cheese one and picked up a slice. “Hey, this is pretty good! Where's the brewskis, Jare?” The titles for The Conjuring came up on the screen.
Jensen sat in an armchair, slumping down with a sigh.
* * *
Jensen told himself maybe a relationship with Jared was not meant to be. He almost wept at the thought of never seeing that beautiful man naked, of never getting to kiss those sweet pink lips. He'd been dreaming of hearing Jared's soft deep voice say “I love you” or “Fuck me, Jensen”, he wasn't picky.
He'd gone so far as to confide in his best friend at work, Chris, a would-be cowboy with a pony-tail, a truck, and a guitar. “You realize you are a living country music cliché,” Jensen told him.
Chris just laughed. “All the better to get my drink on and sing my tunes,” he retorted, slapping Jensen on the back so hard he almost bit his tongue.
Jensen told Chris about the two aborted dates, and he mulled it over a few minutes while Jensen nervously shredded some straw wrappers.
“Okay, here's the low-down,” said Chris, falling into his faux-cowboy drawl. “You got to give this one more shot. BUT!” He held up a hand as Jensen started to speak. “Boy, you got to be die-rect. Like, you got to lay it out, no holds barred, so that he gets it, even if there were tap-dancing elephants in the room. Can you do that?”
Jensen nodded. Chris shook his head. “Naw, don't go saying 'Oh yeah' when you ain't hardly thought about it. You got to think about it hard, and then if you're gonna do it, you got to commit.” He regarded Jensen over his coffee cup. “You got me?”
“I got you—I mean, yes, I understand.” Jensen swept away the wrappers and stood up, feeling refocused and re-energized. “I'm on it! Thanks, Chris.”
* * *
Direct. Commit. Lay it out no holds barred. The words floated around in Jensen's head. He saw what Chris was saying. It made sense.
He just had to figure out what exactly to do.
Staring at the calendar, Jensen noticed that the following weekend was Valentine's Day. Usually he ignored it, outside of sending some flowers to his mom. It would be kinda cliché, to say nothing of super schmoopy, but maybe that was the time to make his stand for the heart of Jared Padalecki.
No holds barred...
* * *
February 14th, Valentine's Day. Jensen was atremble with nerves and anticipation. He knew this was it; no way would Jared interpret this except as that Jensen wanted to jump his bones and win his heart.
Chris would be proud, thought Jensen, then quickly evicted Chris from his mind.
Jensen's Go-Pro sat on a shelf in the living room at an angle that allowed Jensen to see from his front door to his bedroom door. Starting at the front door was strewn an assortment of foil-wrapped Dove heart chocolates, making a little pink, purple, and red path to Jensen's bedroom door. In front of the bedroom door was a dozen wine-red roses in a simple crystal vase. A small sign hung on the doorknob that said 'Enter'.
And inside, of course, was Jensen.
He caught his breath and looked at his phone. Jared was opening the front door! As soon as Jensen had finished setting everything up, he had texted Jared to come over. Jensen watched eagerly as Jared look around in surprise, picking up a few of the chocolate hearts and smiling. He followed the path and stopped in front of the roses, picking up the vase and sniffing the fragrant flowers. He put it on the dining room table before picking up the sign. He grinned widely and turned the knob.
The bedroom door swung open, and Jared dropped the sign, his eyes round and jaw dropping open.
Jensen knelt on the bed, red sheets playing up his fair skin and the faint blush on his chest. He was almost naked; a red ribbon and bow were affixed to his neck, and a red ribbon wound around his erect dick.
Jared froze for a moment, staring at Jensen in his Valentine finery. Jensen felt a second's fear—too much? Too far? In a soft voice, he said, “Jared, would you be my Valentine?”
That broke the spell. Jared ripped—literally ripped, as in buttons flying and fabric tearing—his clothes off, flinging them anywhere. Naked in seconds, Jensen had only a minute to gasp at the masculine beauty that was Jared, all smooth muscles and impressive definition and just the perfect amount of chest hair.
Further thoughts were obliterated by Jared hurling himself onto the bed, arms reaching for Jensen and pulling him under Jared's body. Hot skin rubbed on Jensen, something hard poked him in the thigh, and then he was being kissed. It was kissing like you always imagine, like you see in a movie, where time stops and nothing exists but the pressure of those lips on yours, the tongue teasing your mouth, the weight of an exquisite body on your own.
Already hard, Jensen felt like the ribbon on his cock was going to cut off his circulation, so he pushed Jared off. Jared's hurt puppy dog eyes stared into Jensen's sadly, so he hastened to explain. “The ribbon...” Jared laughed and helped pull the un-intended cock ring off, flicking it away and diving at Jensen's mouth again.
Jensen knew Jared was a big man, knew he worked out, but he never anticipated how easily Jared could move him around. It was thrilling; Jensen was not small himself, but to find a lover who was even bigger and stronger than he was exhilarating. Yet Jared was responsive to Jensen's touches, including when Jensen pushed on Jared's shoulder so they could roll over, and Jensen lay atop Jared.
Sitting up on Jared's hips, Jensen reached behind himself and found Jared's cock, already fully hard. It filled his hand, and he shivered thinking about being breached by it.
“I switch,” panted Jared. “Whatever way you want.”
“I switch on occasion, but I mostly bottom.”
“Works for me. What do you want right now?” Jared's hands massaged Jensen's thighs, fingertips rubbing into his groin but excruciatingly avoiding his dick. It bobbed above Jared's rippled abs, dribbling clear liquid and smearing it with little smacks.
“Want to ride you,” said Jensen, cock jerking more vigorously at the thought. “Wanna watch you fall apart, you're so fucking gorgeous.” He reached forward, placing his palms on Jared's pecs, rubbing his fingertips on the little dark nipples hiding coyly at the edge of black chest hair and smiling at Jared's moan when they hardened.
“Yeah, okay. Want me to--”
Jensen shook his head. Taking one of Jared's hands, he brought it to his ass and ran a finger over his hole.
Jared laughed. “Oh fuck yeah! You got yourself all prepped ahead of time?”
Jensen nodded, momentarily speechless at the tantalizing feeling of Jared's finger at his entrance.
“That's so fucking hot. You in here getting yourself all stretched and lubed, fucking yourself on your fingers while you're thinking about getting my cock in you? Fuck!”
“Yeah,” gasped Jensen. “Figured you'd be big.”
Jared's eyes glittered. “Let's see how big...”
Jensen nodded vigorously. His ass was aching to be filled, and Jared's dick had been rubbing him. Raising himself up on his knees, Jared bracing him from the front, Jensen gripped and brought Jared's dick to his hole and pushed down.
He had prepped, but this was still a stretch. Jensen went slowly, partly to be careful and partly to savor the incredible sensation of Jared's meaty cock entering him. Jensen closed his eyes, focusing only on that area of his body, feeling himself stretch and stretch, Jared's heat piercing him deeper and deeper. Jared's control was amazing; he left it totally up to Jensen, resisting any action on his part despite the way he was trembling. Only his hands on Jensen's thighs clasped and rubbed, gripping Jensen hard as he worked his way down.
With a great sigh, Jensen finally alit on Jared's hips. He almost thought he might burst, so filled with Jared's cock was he, but Jesus, it felt so good. He ground his hips down a little, testing out his mobility, but a groan made his eyes pop open. Jared's jaw was clenched, the muscle there bulging, and he was panting in little short bursts. “Jensen...are you...please, I need...”
“Yeah, yeah. I got you.” Jensen pushed himself up a little and eased down, again and again. Every time he went up further and dropped harder, his breathing getting harder as well as he slid on that massive pole. Finally he was pulling up to the top, just keeping the fat cap inside before dropping hard, their flesh smacking together, hips grinding before he did it again. With every drop, Jensen's cock bounced off Jared's belly, slapping wetly in the puddle of pre-come that had collected.
Jared kept a hand on one of Jensen's hips, but wrapped the other around Jensen's dick, jerking it firmly. The pressure of those long fingers sliding up and down in his own slick made Jensen breathless. Jared started thrusting up with his hips, meeting Jensen in mid-slide and making them both moan loudly as they collided. Jensen's mind blurred, leaving him in a haze of sensation; skin tingling, cock swollen and straining, his inner channel subjected to the most fantastic, exquisite friction. He could feel his balls were tight and high, that he was close, and he almost couldn't decide if he wanted to prolong his orgasm or just explode right now.
Then a finger circled his hole, smearing lube and nudging its way in. The increased tension in his body, the extra stimulation, it was all enough to send Jensen over the edge. He cried out, his back first arching and then curling in as his cock pulsed and spat, shooting white over Jared's belly and chest, coating his fingers in thick spunk. Sparks flew underneath Jensen's eyelids, and he flopped bonelessly as Jared continued to nail him, driving up hared half a dozen more times before he too climaxed, hips pushing skyward before falling back on the bed and shuddering. Jensen could feel Jared's dick throbbing inside him, could feel Jared's balls contract, could feel the hot fluid filling him and seeping out to drip stickily on them.
Jensen half-fell into Jared's hands, strong but gentle hands that guided him off and down next to Jared. Pillowed on one muscular shoulder, an arm wrapped around him, Jensen sighed blissfully. At last, he'd made his feelings known, and had the best sex of his life to boot.
Except technically Jared hadn't said yes yet. Jensen's eyes snapped open and he propped himself up on one elbow, gazing at Jared's face, still flushed but relaxed in post-coital euphoria.
“So, will you?”
Jared's eyes opened, one eyebrow raising in curiosity. “Will I what?”
“Will you be my Valentine? And...and my boyfriend?”
“Of course! I was hoping you'd ask, I suck at that stuff. Why did you wait so long?”
Jensen's jaw dropped. “Wait? Who waited? I asked you out twice, and it didn't work out either time.”
“What? When?” Both eyebrows were arched now.
Jensen couldn't help rolling his eyes. “The dog thing! And then the pizza and movie thing! But there was Sandy, so I thought you were straight, and then there was...Chad.” They both shuddered.
“Dude, I had no idea those were your plans to seduce me.” Jared's soft laughter shook Jensen. “But hey, you made it crystal clear this time.” He pulled Jensen down and kissed him, then tucked him back on his side. “Sleep now.”
Jensen smiled too. What the heck, what counted was now, and now? Jared was indeed his Valentine.
He straightened up. Someone must be moving into the empty apartment across the hall, and he hoped it was someone better than the cranky old guy who used to pop out and bitch at anyone walking by.
Voices made Jensen jump, as if they could see him spying on them. Shaking his head at himself, he applied his eye to the peephole again. He couldn't really see who they were, but one had a shock of blonde hair, and one seemed to be quite tall. Jensen couldn't see his head, only a broad set of shoulders in a flannel shirt.
“Come on, Padalecki, put those muscles to work!” One voice brayed out. “Heave ho!”
“Shut up, Chad. I don't want my neighbors to hate me before I even meet them,” replied the other. This voice was deep and pleasant, warming Jensen's habitual curmudgeonly attitude into an almost friendly one.
Maybe he should offer to lend a hand?
A huge crash resounded outside the door. “Chad!” yelled the formerly pleasant voice. “Those were my dishes!”
“Sorry, man.”
Jensen retreated to his living room.
* * *
Jensen locked his car door and turned to walk inside his apartment building. Suddenly a tree was in his way.
“Hi,” said the tree, who was wearing a nice dark blue V-neck sweater, Jensen noticed. He looked up a few inches, and found a handsome face looking back at him.
“Hi,” said Jensen cleverly. He was rather distracted by the gracefully arched eyebrows, the soft, thick dark hair, the arresting cheekbones, and wide smile facing him.
“I'm Jared, your new neighbor across the hall. I just moved in the other day.”
“Oh hello, I'm Jensen. Yes, the banging and crashing.” Jensen nodded, fixating on the sweet little mole by Jared's nose. Oh look, there was one by his chin too.
“Oh God, sorry about that. I had some friends helping, or at least, they thought they were helping.” Jared shook his head. “I hope we didn't bother you too much.”
“No, no, it was fine. I needed to take a break anyway.” Jensen turned to go inside. “Are you coming or going?”
“I'm coming.” Jared blushed, cheeks tinting a lovely pink. “Uh, I mean, heading inside.”
They chatted as they went inside and rode up the elevator to their floor. Jensen took the opportunity to note that Jared's cologne was light and fresh and made him want to lick the man's throat, well-displayed as it was in the deep V-neck of his sweater.
“Well, see ya,” said Jared, turning to unlock his door. Jensen thought wildly for something to suggest for them to do together. Kind of like a date.
“Do you like dogs?” he blurted.
Jared stared at him. “I love dogs! I used to have two, but I couldn't keep them in an apartment, so they're living at my brother's house now.”
Jensen glowed inside. He shoots and he scores!
“Listen, there's a dog park near by, and they're having a pet rescue playtime thing, you know, come play with the dogs and hopefully they get adopted? Would you like to go? It's this Saturday afternoon.” If all went well, perhaps they could go out for drinks afterward, Jensen thought.
“Sure! I'd love that! Even if we can't bring a dog home, we can help them have some fun. Thanks, Jensen, that's a great idea.” Jared smiled, and again Jensen felt that happy glow in his tummy.
“Cool! Okay then, meet you here Saturday!”
Saturday morning found Jensen trying on different T-shirts with jeans combinations. These jeans made his ass look fabulous, but those had sexy rips at the knees. He finally decided on the ripped ones, figuring if they got ripped more by the dogs, it wouldn't make a difference. Choosing a Super Mario T-shirt, he slipped it on and tousled his hair with his fingers.
Jared was already in the hallway when Jensen came out, wearing a multi-colored flannel shirt and jeans. He clapped Jensen on the shoulder in excitement. “Let's go!”
The dog part was only a few blocks away, so they walked, enjoying the pleasant weather. “Now this is why I love living in Texas,” said Jared. “Just think, if we were in New England, it would be like ten degrees!”
“Brrr! That's horrible!” agreed Jensen with a shiver.
Dogs bounced and ran all over the place at the dog park. Jared's grin was ear-to-ear, and he dove in, rolling and running with the puppies, throwing balls and frisbees. Jensen held back by the sidelines, remembering belatedly that he was not a huge dog fan. It was highly amusing to watch Jared play, though, and Jensen couldn't help laughing at his new friend's antics.
Jared took a break, cuddling a soft puggle pup in his lap as he sat next to Jensen. “This is awesome! Thanks for bringing me. I'm thinking about volunteering at the rescue, they're short-handed right now.”
“Oh, nice. Then you can get your doggy fix,” smiled Jensen, watching how a few locks of Jared's shoulder-length hair fell forward, and noting how large and careful Jared's hands held the puppy. Did he mention, large hands?
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Hi, excuse me?” A feminine voice interrupted them. Standing over them was a petite brunette girl, long hair curling down to a curvy bosom. Jensen felt his hackles rising. “I'm Sandy, I'm with the P.A.W.S. Rescue group, and someone mentioned to me that you were interested in volunteering?”
Jensen didn't miss how Sandy's eyes were roving all over Jared's manly form, and that her smile grew a little brighter and more flirtatious. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at her.
Ignoring Jensen, Sandy squatted down and petted the puggle puppy in Jared's lap. “I can see already how good you are with dogs. If we could talk for a bit, I can go over what we do, what you would do, and so on.” She looked between Jared and Jensen. “Is that okay? Is this a good time?”
Before Jensen could answer with a resounding “No!”, Jared said, “That would be great. Jensen, you don't mind, do you? I had a great time, and we'll catch up soon. I want to get started as soon as possible.”
Jensen swallowed his frustration and said, “No, of course, that's fine. You know where to find me.” Gritting his teeth, he winked jovially at Jared and gave a brief death-stare to Sandy, who smiled and tossed her hair.
* * *
Well, shit. It never occurred to Jensen that his dream neighbor might be straight. Maybe bi? Then at least he had a chance. A slim chance, considering Princess Perky Tits was cute, eager, and loved dogs.
When he didn't hear from Jared all day Sunday, Jensen knew it was over before it had begun. He wondered if he would have to send a wedding shower gift, being simply the neighbor across the hall. Morosely he left his apartment Monday morning, glumly worked all day, and just as morosely returned home.
Locking his car, Jensen turned around and found the tree in his way again.
“Jensen! Dude, the pet rescue is so great! I wanted to thank you again for taking me Saturday.” Damn that deep, liquid voice.
“Yeah, sure. Hope you and Princess—I mean, Sandy—hit it off and all.” Jensen didn't even raise his eyes, just grabbed his briefcase and tried to barrel his way to the entrance. It didn't work very well, what with the Jared-tree right there.
“What? Sandy? She was nice enough, but kinda pushy. Even if I liked girls, she was too pushy for me.”
Jensen looked up now, hope a fresh flicker in his chest. “You...don't like girls?”
“Naw, man, I'm gay as fuck. No titties for me.” Jared tilted his head. “Didn't you know? Chad says I radiate gayness for miles.” He stepped back and gestured to the entrance. “Come on, let's go in and I'll tell you about the puppers.”
They walked in step to the entrance, Jared prattling about the dogs and Jensen smiling about the beneficence of life in general.
* * *
Jensen decided that his next effort to attract Jared's attention would not be out in public, since there were too many chances for interruption and distraction. He'd learned by now that Jared had a hearty appetite, befitting such a large guy, and that he loved pizza. Jensen therefore decided to have pizza from the best place in town delivered for a pizza and movie night at Jared's place.
The night arrived, and Jensen was a little nervous. He found his affection for Jared growing more every day; aside from his considerable physical charms, Jared was funny, kind, super smart, and delightfully dorky all at once. They'd decided to watch some rom-coms, so Jared was surveying his choices on Netflix while Jensen answered the door for the pizza.
“Hey, Jensen, what about Mean Girls? Or Bridesmaids, that put the com in rom-com. Of course there's always the classic, Pretty Woman.” Jared called out.
Jensen put the pizzas down on the dining room table and came back to the door to pay the deliveryman. Momentarily distracted by calculating the tip, Jensen didn't notice someone come up behind the pizza man, only seeing him once the pizza man departed.
“Hey, look at that! What awesome timing!” A gravelly voice nattered and a skinny figure with a shock of blond hair pushed past Jensen. “Hey Jar-bro! What's going on? Looks like I came at just the right time!”
Jensen stared at this scarecrow apparition. A memory of seeing blond hair through the peephole the day Jared moved in came to Jensen. He realized that this was Chad, Jared's best friend and instigator of many antics, most of which ended badly, according to Jared's re-tellings.
“Um, Jared and I are having pizza and movie night,” Jensen began.
“Perfect! I'm starved! What movies? Something with lots of explosions, yeah?” Chad hopped over the back of the couch and plopped next to Jared.
“Well, we were looking at rom-coms—I mean, comedies, um, Bridesmaids, Mean--” Jared started to say.
“Jesus! Guys! You're gay, not emasculated! Come on, let's get a little action in here! Maybe a horror movies? Or there's always classics like Die Hard.” Chad grabbed the remote from Jared, who looked helplessly at Jensen.
Jensen was surprised he could speak, given how hard his teeth were grinding together. “Here's the pizza. This one is goat cheese and artisanal sausage, and the other one is pesto with tomato and feta.”
“Where's the extra meat deluxe? Oh well, I'm sure this'll do. Chard grabbed the goat cheese one and picked up a slice. “Hey, this is pretty good! Where's the brewskis, Jare?” The titles for The Conjuring came up on the screen.
Jensen sat in an armchair, slumping down with a sigh.
* * *
Jensen told himself maybe a relationship with Jared was not meant to be. He almost wept at the thought of never seeing that beautiful man naked, of never getting to kiss those sweet pink lips. He'd been dreaming of hearing Jared's soft deep voice say “I love you” or “Fuck me, Jensen”, he wasn't picky.
He'd gone so far as to confide in his best friend at work, Chris, a would-be cowboy with a pony-tail, a truck, and a guitar. “You realize you are a living country music cliché,” Jensen told him.
Chris just laughed. “All the better to get my drink on and sing my tunes,” he retorted, slapping Jensen on the back so hard he almost bit his tongue.
Jensen told Chris about the two aborted dates, and he mulled it over a few minutes while Jensen nervously shredded some straw wrappers.
“Okay, here's the low-down,” said Chris, falling into his faux-cowboy drawl. “You got to give this one more shot. BUT!” He held up a hand as Jensen started to speak. “Boy, you got to be die-rect. Like, you got to lay it out, no holds barred, so that he gets it, even if there were tap-dancing elephants in the room. Can you do that?”
Jensen nodded. Chris shook his head. “Naw, don't go saying 'Oh yeah' when you ain't hardly thought about it. You got to think about it hard, and then if you're gonna do it, you got to commit.” He regarded Jensen over his coffee cup. “You got me?”
“I got you—I mean, yes, I understand.” Jensen swept away the wrappers and stood up, feeling refocused and re-energized. “I'm on it! Thanks, Chris.”
* * *
Direct. Commit. Lay it out no holds barred. The words floated around in Jensen's head. He saw what Chris was saying. It made sense.
He just had to figure out what exactly to do.
Staring at the calendar, Jensen noticed that the following weekend was Valentine's Day. Usually he ignored it, outside of sending some flowers to his mom. It would be kinda cliché, to say nothing of super schmoopy, but maybe that was the time to make his stand for the heart of Jared Padalecki.
No holds barred...
* * *
February 14th, Valentine's Day. Jensen was atremble with nerves and anticipation. He knew this was it; no way would Jared interpret this except as that Jensen wanted to jump his bones and win his heart.
Chris would be proud, thought Jensen, then quickly evicted Chris from his mind.
Jensen's Go-Pro sat on a shelf in the living room at an angle that allowed Jensen to see from his front door to his bedroom door. Starting at the front door was strewn an assortment of foil-wrapped Dove heart chocolates, making a little pink, purple, and red path to Jensen's bedroom door. In front of the bedroom door was a dozen wine-red roses in a simple crystal vase. A small sign hung on the doorknob that said 'Enter'.
And inside, of course, was Jensen.
He caught his breath and looked at his phone. Jared was opening the front door! As soon as Jensen had finished setting everything up, he had texted Jared to come over. Jensen watched eagerly as Jared look around in surprise, picking up a few of the chocolate hearts and smiling. He followed the path and stopped in front of the roses, picking up the vase and sniffing the fragrant flowers. He put it on the dining room table before picking up the sign. He grinned widely and turned the knob.
The bedroom door swung open, and Jared dropped the sign, his eyes round and jaw dropping open.
Jensen knelt on the bed, red sheets playing up his fair skin and the faint blush on his chest. He was almost naked; a red ribbon and bow were affixed to his neck, and a red ribbon wound around his erect dick.
Jared froze for a moment, staring at Jensen in his Valentine finery. Jensen felt a second's fear—too much? Too far? In a soft voice, he said, “Jared, would you be my Valentine?”
That broke the spell. Jared ripped—literally ripped, as in buttons flying and fabric tearing—his clothes off, flinging them anywhere. Naked in seconds, Jensen had only a minute to gasp at the masculine beauty that was Jared, all smooth muscles and impressive definition and just the perfect amount of chest hair.
Further thoughts were obliterated by Jared hurling himself onto the bed, arms reaching for Jensen and pulling him under Jared's body. Hot skin rubbed on Jensen, something hard poked him in the thigh, and then he was being kissed. It was kissing like you always imagine, like you see in a movie, where time stops and nothing exists but the pressure of those lips on yours, the tongue teasing your mouth, the weight of an exquisite body on your own.
Already hard, Jensen felt like the ribbon on his cock was going to cut off his circulation, so he pushed Jared off. Jared's hurt puppy dog eyes stared into Jensen's sadly, so he hastened to explain. “The ribbon...” Jared laughed and helped pull the un-intended cock ring off, flicking it away and diving at Jensen's mouth again.
Jensen knew Jared was a big man, knew he worked out, but he never anticipated how easily Jared could move him around. It was thrilling; Jensen was not small himself, but to find a lover who was even bigger and stronger than he was exhilarating. Yet Jared was responsive to Jensen's touches, including when Jensen pushed on Jared's shoulder so they could roll over, and Jensen lay atop Jared.
Sitting up on Jared's hips, Jensen reached behind himself and found Jared's cock, already fully hard. It filled his hand, and he shivered thinking about being breached by it.
“I switch,” panted Jared. “Whatever way you want.”
“I switch on occasion, but I mostly bottom.”
“Works for me. What do you want right now?” Jared's hands massaged Jensen's thighs, fingertips rubbing into his groin but excruciatingly avoiding his dick. It bobbed above Jared's rippled abs, dribbling clear liquid and smearing it with little smacks.
“Want to ride you,” said Jensen, cock jerking more vigorously at the thought. “Wanna watch you fall apart, you're so fucking gorgeous.” He reached forward, placing his palms on Jared's pecs, rubbing his fingertips on the little dark nipples hiding coyly at the edge of black chest hair and smiling at Jared's moan when they hardened.
“Yeah, okay. Want me to--”
Jensen shook his head. Taking one of Jared's hands, he brought it to his ass and ran a finger over his hole.
Jared laughed. “Oh fuck yeah! You got yourself all prepped ahead of time?”
Jensen nodded, momentarily speechless at the tantalizing feeling of Jared's finger at his entrance.
“That's so fucking hot. You in here getting yourself all stretched and lubed, fucking yourself on your fingers while you're thinking about getting my cock in you? Fuck!”
“Yeah,” gasped Jensen. “Figured you'd be big.”
Jared's eyes glittered. “Let's see how big...”
Jensen nodded vigorously. His ass was aching to be filled, and Jared's dick had been rubbing him. Raising himself up on his knees, Jared bracing him from the front, Jensen gripped and brought Jared's dick to his hole and pushed down.
He had prepped, but this was still a stretch. Jensen went slowly, partly to be careful and partly to savor the incredible sensation of Jared's meaty cock entering him. Jensen closed his eyes, focusing only on that area of his body, feeling himself stretch and stretch, Jared's heat piercing him deeper and deeper. Jared's control was amazing; he left it totally up to Jensen, resisting any action on his part despite the way he was trembling. Only his hands on Jensen's thighs clasped and rubbed, gripping Jensen hard as he worked his way down.
With a great sigh, Jensen finally alit on Jared's hips. He almost thought he might burst, so filled with Jared's cock was he, but Jesus, it felt so good. He ground his hips down a little, testing out his mobility, but a groan made his eyes pop open. Jared's jaw was clenched, the muscle there bulging, and he was panting in little short bursts. “Jensen...are you...please, I need...”
“Yeah, yeah. I got you.” Jensen pushed himself up a little and eased down, again and again. Every time he went up further and dropped harder, his breathing getting harder as well as he slid on that massive pole. Finally he was pulling up to the top, just keeping the fat cap inside before dropping hard, their flesh smacking together, hips grinding before he did it again. With every drop, Jensen's cock bounced off Jared's belly, slapping wetly in the puddle of pre-come that had collected.
Jared kept a hand on one of Jensen's hips, but wrapped the other around Jensen's dick, jerking it firmly. The pressure of those long fingers sliding up and down in his own slick made Jensen breathless. Jared started thrusting up with his hips, meeting Jensen in mid-slide and making them both moan loudly as they collided. Jensen's mind blurred, leaving him in a haze of sensation; skin tingling, cock swollen and straining, his inner channel subjected to the most fantastic, exquisite friction. He could feel his balls were tight and high, that he was close, and he almost couldn't decide if he wanted to prolong his orgasm or just explode right now.
Then a finger circled his hole, smearing lube and nudging its way in. The increased tension in his body, the extra stimulation, it was all enough to send Jensen over the edge. He cried out, his back first arching and then curling in as his cock pulsed and spat, shooting white over Jared's belly and chest, coating his fingers in thick spunk. Sparks flew underneath Jensen's eyelids, and he flopped bonelessly as Jared continued to nail him, driving up hared half a dozen more times before he too climaxed, hips pushing skyward before falling back on the bed and shuddering. Jensen could feel Jared's dick throbbing inside him, could feel Jared's balls contract, could feel the hot fluid filling him and seeping out to drip stickily on them.
Jensen half-fell into Jared's hands, strong but gentle hands that guided him off and down next to Jared. Pillowed on one muscular shoulder, an arm wrapped around him, Jensen sighed blissfully. At last, he'd made his feelings known, and had the best sex of his life to boot.
Except technically Jared hadn't said yes yet. Jensen's eyes snapped open and he propped himself up on one elbow, gazing at Jared's face, still flushed but relaxed in post-coital euphoria.
“So, will you?”
Jared's eyes opened, one eyebrow raising in curiosity. “Will I what?”
“Will you be my Valentine? And...and my boyfriend?”
“Of course! I was hoping you'd ask, I suck at that stuff. Why did you wait so long?”
Jensen's jaw dropped. “Wait? Who waited? I asked you out twice, and it didn't work out either time.”
“What? When?” Both eyebrows were arched now.
Jensen couldn't help rolling his eyes. “The dog thing! And then the pizza and movie thing! But there was Sandy, so I thought you were straight, and then there was...Chad.” They both shuddered.
“Dude, I had no idea those were your plans to seduce me.” Jared's soft laughter shook Jensen. “But hey, you made it crystal clear this time.” He pulled Jensen down and kissed him, then tucked him back on his side. “Sleep now.”
Jensen smiled too. What the heck, what counted was now, and now? Jared was indeed his Valentine.
