Chapter Text
When Your World Is Ripped Apart
Jensen worked for Morgan Publishing as an editor and artist; it was a job he loved having developed an appreciation for the written word at a young age. The company was owned and operated by the chief executive, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who preferred to be called JD. Jensen worked on editing manuscripts for new and established authors. He also created original art for the book covers as well as art that graced the pages of the story. Jensen’s team consisted of Mark Pellegrino his boss who oversaw the department he worked in, Misha Collins and Genevieve Cortese. The team he was on dealt with Romance and Mystery stories. He loved a good romance, just as much as the next person and enjoyed a great mystery even more, but he had been wanting a change, especially after working on his team for the last three years. He enjoyed working with Misha and Genevieve; they had become fast friends inside and out of work. They had bonded over the fact that they worked for Pellegrino; Mark was not someone who was easily pleased and he seemed to be the one who took credit for others’ work, claiming he had been the one to mentor the author when he hadn’t even laid eyes on their manuscript prior to the finished version being submitted to him for his approval. Jensen didn’t mind that, it was the norm in several industries. He just hated his boss. The man rubbed Jensen the wrong way. The man could never seem call him by his actual name, it was always Jen or Jenny, at least when others weren’t around. No one, not even his husband Jared, called him Jen and anyone who knew him, knew enough to never call him Jenny. And, it seemed that Mark was always leering at him. Or at least that’s how it felt to him. Misha and Genevieve had even made a few comments about how Mark always seemed to focus on him. They had even offered to run interference on his behalf when Mark was around.
“Hey, Jensen, Mark’s in a mood today,” Genevieve had warned as he walked past her desk to his office, the one he shared with Misha.
“Thanks,” he replied quietly, hoping to get to his desk before Mark stepped out of his office and noticed him talking to his teammate. It wasn’t that their boss didn’t allow them to speak to each other, he did, how could he not? Jensen and Misha shared an office; they were always speaking to each other, helping each other out when it came to dealing with a particularly difficult author or manuscript. Plus, Genevieve was the first person you walked by on the way to Mark’s office or the one he shared with Misha. There was always friendly banter going on between the three of them. Unless Mark was in a mood. Which apparently today, he was.
“Great,” he mumbled as he took his seat and sipped his coffee. Mark was in a mood which meant that everyone needed to tiptoe around him.
“What’s great?” Misha asked as he made his way over to his desk. He eyed Jensen and waited for the younger man to elaborate further.
“Mark’s in a mood, according to Genevieve,” Jensen replied. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a little grimace.
“Oh, boy,” Misha stated as he rolled his eyes. “Let me know if you need me to be your bathroom buddy.” He meant it as a joke, but it seemed that when Mark was in one of his moods, he always targeted Jensen. Mark would yell at Jensen, dump more work on him and then demand his undivided attention. He had suspected for a while now, that Mark harbored an unrequited crush on Jensen. He knew Jensen was happily married to Jared and never even looked at Mark in that manner. In fact, he didn’t think Jensen knew anyone else existed aside from Jared when it came to flirting. The green eyed man only had eyes for his husband. Maybe that was why Mark was the way he was when it came to Jensen. Jensen didn’t “harmlessly” flirt with him or anyone, and he had noticed Mark attempting to flirt with Jensen on more than one occasion. Jensen was just oblivious to it, or he chose to ignore it.
“I think I’ll manage. We just have to get through the next hour, unscathed and then it’s Rosey’s goodbye party,” Jensen responded and then ended their conversation in favor of getting some work done.
“Well, the offer still stands, my friend,” Misha stated quietly and turned his attention back to the chapter he had been working on.
Michael ‘Rosey’ Rosenbaum, who worked for Felicia Day on her team and had accepted a position with another publishing company in New Your, leaving his position open. Felicia’s team handled the Science Fiction and Fantasy division in Morgan Publishing and Jensen would be lying if he said it didn’t interest him to be part of that team. The move to Felicia’s team would give him a chance to work on projects he had never worked on before, along with creating art for these stories. Felicia’s team consisted of Danneel Harris, Tom Welling and Mike before he had decided to leave. If he did put his name in for a transfer, there was no guarantee he would get it. He hadn’t discussed it with Jared. Sure, he had mentioned it in passing, but he hadn’t sat down to talk it over with Jared like he normally would have.
“Jensen, my office,” a male voice called out.
Jensen startled when he heard Mark’s voice. He looked up to see his boss standing in the doorway. The man looked angry and it seemed to be directed at him. He had no idea why. As far as he knew, he had been working steadily, producing the artwork required of him as well as meeting all the deadlines Mark had set for him with the manuscripts he had been working on. “Sure,” he breathed out as he stood up from his desk. He gave Misha a backwards glance before he followed Mark to his office. He saw Misha’s blue eyes meet his and Misha had a look of concern on his face; he was sure it matched the one he wore on his own face. Genevieve was at her desk, watching them as he trailed after Mark. “Is something wrong?” he asked as he followed Mark.
“Shut the door,” Mark said in an even tone as he took his seat behind his desk. With steely eyes, he watched as Jensen turned and closed the door but remained standing next to the door. Jensen looked at him with those big green eyes and he wondered what they would look like when Jensen was down on his knees sucking his cock. He forced himself to remain quiet when all he wanted was to groan at that thought. Then he was hit with a spike of anger at the thought of Jensen down on his knees sucking Jared’s cock. He didn’t care if Jared was Jensen’s husband. He just had to prove to Jensen that he was with the wrong man.
Without a word, Jensen did as he had been told and then stood there, his hand still on the doorknob as he waited for Mark to say something.
Mark leaned back in his chair and regarded the man standing in his office. Jensen had the greenest eyes he had ever seen and they were set off by his long dark lashes. He had high cheekbones and a defined jaw that gave him a delicate look. His cheeks and nose were sprinkled with copper colored freckles and his lips were full and sensual. Jensen’s body was lean but muscular and he liked the idea of having Jensen writhing underneath him. He liked the timid way Jensen had about him. He could only imagine what it would have been like if he had been the first to bed the younger man. He would have enjoyed hearing Jensen’s moans of pleasure laced with pain as he took him for the first time. He felt his cock twitch with that thought and he had to dig his nails into the palm of his hand to stop himself from moaning. “Jen, there’s a rumor that’s floating around that since Rosenbaum has vacated his position, you have your eye on it. Is that true?”
Jensen just stared at the man for a moment in stunned silence. It slowly dawned on him, this was what had caused Mark’s mood “What?” he finally asked. He shook his head. “I don’t know what you heard, or who you heard it from, but it’s nothing more than a rumor.”
“Jenny, tell me the truth,” Mark said in a tense voice. He looked at the younger man and fought the urge to stalk over there and grab him, press him up against the wall. He wanted to hear the gasps and moans that he would pull from those damn sinful lips. If Jensen requested a transfer, it would ruin all his plans; all the fun he had planned for them. He had been planning things for a while now, he just needed the right opportunity to present itself so he could finally show Jensen how they belonged together. How it was him and not Jensen’s husband who belonged with him.
“It’s Jensen and I just did,” Jensen finally gritted out from behind clenched teeth. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
“No,” Mark bit out. “Just make sure I’m the first one you notify if you do decide to request a transfer. You owe me that.” He gave a wave of his hand, dismissing Jensen from his office. He watched as Jensen jerked the door open and practically fled from his office. “Playing hard to get, Jenny,” he murmured to himself. “Game on.” A malicious smile formed on his lips as he sat back in his chair and pulled up the vacation request that Jensen had sent him. He knew Jensen and his husband were waiting for the birth of their newest family member so they could fly back to Texas. He had heard Jensen and a few others discussing his sister-in-law’s pregnancy and how he couldn’t wait to get the time off to spend with Jared. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. He had the capability to deny Jensen his request. It looked like Jared would be flying back to Texas without Jensen. He picked up his phone and made a few calls, insuring things would be in place to keep Jensen here, without his husband. Jensen would be all alone and he would be here to comfort the younger man. It was good to be the boss, Mark thought to himself.
Jensen yanked the door to Mark’s office open as fast as he could. He needed to get away from the man as fast as possible. He made it to the breakroom, hoping he hadn’t missed the send-off for Michael. To his surprise, he hadn’t. As he entered the room, Mike looked up from cutting the cake everyone had pitched in to buy him and gave him a grin.
“Jensen, thought you were boycotting my leaving,” Mike chuckled.
“Never, I want you to leave. Remember, I was the first person to offer you help in packing up your office,” Jensen said with a laugh. He walked over to Mike and gave the man a hug. “Seriously, you’ll be missed. I’m not sure by who, but someone with eventually miss you.” He heard others laughing as he pulled away from Mike.
“Cake?” Mike offered Jensen a plate with a slice of cake, but ended up handing it off to someone else when Jensen refused it. “So, you’re gonna apply for my position.”
“It was you, wasn’t it,” Jensen accused the man and watched as Mike threw his head back and laughed.
“Guilty,” Mike admitted and then saw the angry look on Jensen’s face. “What?”
“Pellegrino called me into his office and told me he had heard a rumor about me requesting a transfer for your position,” he said and didn’t bother to hide the anger in his voice.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you. But you should put in for it. You’d be great,” Mike responded before someone called him over to wish him good luck.
Jensen just stared at the man. “Unbelievable,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed a cup of coffee before he left the breakroom.
“Hey Jensen, can I talk to you for a moment?” Felicia asked as she followed Jensen out of the breakroom, hoping to speak with him away from the crowd that had gathered on Mike’s behalf.
“Sure,” he responded, taking a sip of coffee from the cup he had just poured himself. “About what?” he asked.
“Well, I’m wondering if you’ve thought about requesting a transfer. I’d really like to have you on my team. I think you’d fit in well with us; your talents as an editor and artist would be great to have. Plus, I think you’d really enjoy the change of pace.”
“I’ve thought about it, briefly, but . . .” He shrugged his shoulders non committedly. He had thought about it when Mike had announced his departure but had opted to dismiss it. Now, with the way Mark had been treating him, he was starting to give it more thought. Maybe it would be a good change for him.
“Well, give it some more thought, please,” Felicia said as they parted ways.
Jensen sipped his coffee while he sat at his desk, trying to decide if he really wanted a transfer. It would make his life easier; he wouldn’t have to deal with Pellegrino and he liked the idea of working in a new genre. By the end of the day, he had sent Pellegrino his request for the transfer from his team to the empty position on Felicia’s team. He hoped things worked out in his favor as he packed up his laptop and went home.
As he waited for Jared to return home, he thought about what he was going to say to him. Usually they sat and talked about decisions that would affect them as a couple. Today, he had gone ahead and made a decision without Jared’s input. He knew Jared would understand why he had done what he had, he just didn’t like the idea of not having Jared backing him and Jared’s support in his decision, when he had sent Mark his transfer request. Yes, he could have waited until he spoke with Jared and maybe that was why he was feeling like he had done something wrong; something that would upset Jared. But, after Mark confronting him, accusing him of something he had no knowledge of, he had just had it at that point. Maybe, even if he didn’t get the transfer, Mark would stop treating him like he had been. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and focused on the salad he was putting together. If he didn’t, he would probably end up cutting his fingers. Then where would he be? An artist without the ability to draw until his fingers healed. No, he didn’t need that. He needed to be able to draw in order to relieve some of the stress he was under.
“Jensen?” Jared’s voice called from the living room.
“Kitchen,” he answered as he finished the salad and placed the cutting board and knife in the sink.
“Be there in a minute,” Jared called out as he hung up his jacket before he made his way into the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as Jensen stood at the sink, washing whatever he had in his hands. At that moment he was overcome with the desire to bend Jensen over and push into that tight ass of his.
“Hey,” he said as Jared joined him in the kitchen.
“You make household chores look so damn sexy,” Jared husked out. He could feel himself getting aroused just from watching Jensen move.
“I do?” Jensen asked as a shy smile played across his lips. He watched as Jared closed the distance between them, a hungry look in those hazel eyes as Jared watched him.
Jared reached out and pulled Jensen into his arms. “Yeah, you do,” Jared murmured against Jensen’s lips before he kissed him. Jensen met his kiss, Jensen’s soft lips pressing against his before he opened his mouth to him, and he licked into Jensen’s mouth. He swallowed Jensen’s moan as he sucked on his tongue. He bit down on Jensen’s lips and heard Jensen’s breathing quicken. “What’s for dinner?” he whispered as he nosed along Jensen’s neck. His large hands ran up and down Jensen’s back before he brought one up to run his fingers through his cropped hair. It always amazed him that Jensen’s stubble was a reddish-brown color in contrast to his light brown hair.
Jensen tried to focus on Jared’s words, but he was too caught up in his desire for Jared. He leaned in against Jared, trying to get his husband to kiss him again. He felt Jared’s lips against the shell of his ear and then Jared’s words as he asked his question again. Jensen closed his eyes, trying to even out his breathing as Jared licked his earlobe. “Ste . . . steaks . . . marinating,” he managed to stutter out as a tendril of want slithered up his spine. He leaned his head against Jared’s shoulder, his breaths panting out as he felt Jared’s arms tighten around him.
“Can they wait?” Jared asked in a heated voice.
“Yes,” Jensen breathed out.
“Good, cause I can’t,” Jared rasped out and then spun Jensen around so his body was firmly planted between Jared’s body and the counter. He reached around Jensen’s waist and worked the button and zipper to his pants open and then dragged Jensen’s pants and underwear down past the globes of his ass. He leaned his body against Jensen’s, grinding his still clothed hard cock against Jensen’s ass. “Feel that, that’s because of you,” he whispered into Jensen’s ear.
Jensen caught his bottom lip between his teeth as a soft mewl escaped his lips. He closed his eyes and leaned back, his head resting against Jared’s shoulder. He felt Jared’s fingers on his hips, pushing up his shirt and he shuddered as the cold air touched his heated skin. He felt Jared’s lips press against his neck before Jared bit down on the sensitive skin.
“Don’t move,” Jared commanded as he pulled himself off of Jensen. He took one last look at Jensen to see him leaning up against the counter, his arms supporting him as he stood there with his head resting against his chin, and his pants open, resting just under his ass. Looking like that, Jensen was a picture of sin. He admired the creamy white skin of Jensen’s ass before he disappeared from the kitchen to retrieve the one thing they both needed. Luckily, he only had to make his way into the downstairs bathroom to get the lube that he knew they had stashed in the bottom drawer. He quickly returned to the same sight he had left and a sly smile made its way across his lips. As he entered the kitchen, he worked his jeans down, not wanting to waste any more time.
Jensen’s breaths were coming in hard pants as he waited for Jared to return to him. He could only imagine what Jared was doing and hoped it wouldn’t take his husband long to make his way back to him. Even though Jared was the only other person in their home, he felt exposed and began to blush. His eyes were still closed and he tilted his head when he heard the sound of Jared’s footsteps approaching. He gasped when he heard the sound of Jared’s zipper being worked down and his breath stuttered in his chest. The sound of a bottle being opened cut through the rushing sound of his blood pulsing in his ears and then he felt Jared’s muscular body pressing against his again.
“Fuck, look at you,” Jared drawled as he pressed his erection between Jensen’s ass cheeks. He rutted against Jensen before stepping away and coating the fingers of his right hand with lube. He slid his fingers between Jensen’s cheeks and heard Jensen gasped as the cold lube made contact with his heated skin. Slowly, he teased Jensen with his fingers, running the pads of his fingers over Jensen’s sensitive rim.
“Jared,” Jensen gasped when Jared’s slicked fingers dipped between his ass cheeks. The coldness of the lube was a stark contrast to the warmth of Jared’s flesh. He pushed his ass out, trying to get Jared to give him more than just his fingers rubbing his rim. He wanted Jared’s fingers in him or better yet, Jared’s cock. “Jared, please,” he begged and was rewarded when one of Jared’s fingers breached him. His back arched and his mouth opened in a silent moan as Jared worked his finger in and out of his body.
Jared distracted Jensen by trailing kisses along the back of his neck as he withdrew his finger and then pushed back into him with two fingers. He heard the strangled moan of pleasure escape Jensen’s lips and his breathing quickened. He felt his cock twitch in response to Jensen’s moan as he scissored his fingers, stretching Jensen open before he added a third finger. He nosed at Jensen’s neck, feeling the shudder that went through his husband’s body and hummed in satisfaction; he was the one causing this. He was the one making Jensen fly apart. That knowledge only fueled his intense need to be in Jensen; to take his husband any way he could. He groaned at the sight as he looked down, resting his forehead on Jensen’s shoulder, to see his fingers moving in and out of Jensen’s ass. “You should see yourself, taking three of my fingers,” he rasped out, his voice broken from the fight to hold back, to not pull his fingers free and push his throbbing cock into Jensen’s tight ass without thoroughly preparing him.
Jensen’s eyes fluttered closed and he trembled at the featherlight kisses Jared ghosted over his skin. He felt like he was burning from the inside out from Jared’s touch. His hands scrabbled over the counter, searching for something to anchor himself to as Jared worked him open. Jensen was panting, open-mouthed as Jared spoke to him. “Jared,” he managed to wheeze out before he whined when he felt Jared’s fingers withdraw from him his body. His eyes snapped open as Jared whispered into his ear.
“What do you want? Huh, tell me,” Jared said coyly, knowing full well what Jensen wanted; what he wanted to do to Jensen. He heard the slight whimper that escaped Jensen’s lips from not having his fingers or cock in his ass.
“Please . . . please, Jared,” he begged.
“Please what?” Jared purred against Jensen’s heated flesh. “Can’t give you what you want, what you need until you tell me.”
“You, need you,” Jensen groaned in frustration. “Please, Jared, fuck me,” he finally begged. He was too far gone with desire for Jared to worry about how he sounded; how desperate he was for Jared.
“Since you asked so nicely,” Jared husked out as he slicked himself up and pressed the head of his cock against Jensen’s rim. With one push, he slipped inside and they groaned in unison. He teased Jensen by slowly pushing himself into Jensen’s tight heat, making him groan. When his hips were flush with Jensen’s ass, he stilled his movements, giving Jensen a chance to adjust to being split open by his cock. He gave a roll of his hips and heard Jensen’s gasp then smiled, knowing he could finally move. He pulled out, leaving just the head of his cock in Jensen’s hole before he pushed back in forcing Jensen up onto his toes with the angle he had the smaller man at.
Jensen’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as Jared breached him; splitting him open in the most delicious way. “Yes,” he called out as Jared’s hips snapped forward and he arched his back, taking more of Jared into him. He writhed in pleasure under Jared’s thrusts as his prostate was hit dead-on. He leaned back into Jared’s chest, his left arm snaked back around Jared’s waist, anchoring his body to Jared’s.
Jared’s hips snapped forward, driving himself into Jensen’s tight channel, pulling a pleasured scream from Jensen’s lips. He rocked his hips back and forth before pulling out and then slamming back into Jensen’s hole. He growled in Jensen’s ear as he quickened his pace. He pulled the back of Jensen’s shirt down and ran his tongue over the exposed skin before he latched onto the patch of freckled skin and sucked until he left his mark on Jensen’s body. He needed to mark his husband’s body; wanting everyone to know that Jensen was his. It was a primal need, but he didn’t bother to fight it.
“ JaredJaredJared ,” Jensen chanted as he felt the familiar tingle of his building orgasm at the base of his spine. “God, yes!” he cried out as Jared pounded into him, hitting his prostate over and over again until he came. He dropped his arm from Jared’s waist as he went boneless; the only things keeping him upright were Jared’s body and the counter he was pressed up against.
Jared grabbed Jensen’s hips and pulled him back onto his cock as he chased after his own orgasm. “So good,” he mumbled into Jensen’s sweat-coated skin. He thrust, once, twice and then he was coming deep in Jensen’s ass. He lazily rolled his hips, fucking them both through the aftershocks of their orgasms. He let go of Jensen’s hips and with his left hand, turned Jensen’s head so he could kiss his lips. “Love you,” he murmured against those sinful lips and then smiled when he saw the blissed out look on his husband’s face.
“Love you, too,” Jensen panted and blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. He let out a low moan as Jared pulled out of him. He looked down at himself; his pants were splattered with his own come and he could feel Jared’s come leaking from his ass; he was a mess. A giggle escaped his lips as he tried to pull his pants up. He had to brace himself against the counter to keep himself from falling over. He was still feeling pretty boneless after his orgasm, but did manage to at least get his pants up and around his waist.
“What?” Jared asked as he spun Jensen around and planted another kiss on his swollen lips.
“I’m never gonna look at this kitchen the same way again.” He stretched himself up to kiss Jared again.
“Go start the shower while I clean up in here,” Jared suggested and then pushed Jensen toward the doorway with a parting pat to Jensen’s ass.
“Will you be joining me?” Jensen called over his shoulder as he started up the stairs.
“Shortly.” Jared made quick work of cleaning the kitchen cabinets, counter and floor where they had just been before he took the stairs, two at a time to get to his now naked and wet husband.
After their shower, they dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts and made their way back down to the kitchen. Jared pulled out the steaks and got them ready to go under the broiler as Jensen set the table and grabbed the salad.
As Jensen sat at the table, his plate pushed off to the side, he looked fondly at his husband and prayed that what he was about to say would be met with Jared’s support and not anger. He cocked his head to the side and tried to recall the last time Jared had been angry with him; he couldn’t and hoped his winning streak would continue tonight. He reached over and grabbed Jared’s hand. “I have something to tell you.” He took a deep breath and waited for Jared’s response. His green eyes took their fill of Jared; the man was only a few inches taller than him and had more muscle mass on him. Jared worked out daily to maintain the body he had achieved. In Jared’s line of work as a detective, his imposing height and build could be used to his advantage against criminals. He was broad shouldered, with well-defined arms and a powerful chest that tapered into a trim waist and his legs were long and muscular. But, Jared had a soft side to him, one that Jensen saw every day. Jared’s hands were large, larger than his own, but Jared had never used them to hurt him. Those hands would cup his cheeks gently as Jared pulled him in for a kiss. He loved to run his fingers through Jared’s soft chestnut colored hair that curled just under Jared’s chin. Jared’s smile lit up the room and Jensen loved the sound of his baritone voice, especially when he was laughing. But it had been his dimpled smile accompanied by those tilted eyes that had caught his attention when he had first met Jared. Jared’s eyes were intriguing; they were a swirl of blue and green mingled with gold. His green eyes were nothing compared to Jared’s hazel eyes as far as he was concerned. He loved everything about Jared, right down to the little mole on the left side of his angular nose. Jared’s voice pulled him from his observation of Jared as he sat next to him at their kitchen table.
“Okay, what is it?” Jared asked as he narrowed his eyes at Jensen.
“I know we usually talk things over before we make any decisions that will affect our life together . . .” He dropped his eyes to look at the table and felt Jared’s hand squeezed his own. “I told you about Mike leaving Morgan Publishing for another publishing company in New York. And, with that, his position is vacant. I sent Pellegrino my request for a transfer. I put my name in for Mike’s position. Please don’t be mad,” he asked quietly of Jared.
Jared reached over with his free hand, placed two fingers under Jensen’s chin and gently lifted Jensen’s head so that they were able to look at each other. “I’m not mad. I’m happy that you decided to take that chance. You know I’ll support you, no matter what. I just want you to be happy.”
Jensen felt his fear subside and he smiled at Jared. “Thanks. I don’t know if Pellegrino will approve it,” he said with a shrug, “but, Felicia asked me to consider it, and I did.”
“Well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” Jared stood up and grabbed their plates. “Come on, let’s clean up and then we can crawl into bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of tired.”
“Yeah, I wonder why,” Jensen replied with a chuckle as he picked up the empty salad bowl and walked over to the sink. “Do you think you can control yourself while I wash the dishes?”
Jared blanketed Jensen’s body with his own and whispered into his ear, “Yeah, I can always dirty you up again in bed.”
“Are you saying I’m easy?” Jensen asked in mock indignation.
“No,” Jared replied as he placed a kiss against Jensen’s neck. “I had to work very hard to get you and keep you. And, there’s no way in hell that I’m ever letting you go.” He rubbed his fingers over the bruise he had gifted Jensen with from earlier.
Jensen winced at the sensation of slight pain that Jared’s fingers caused when they rubbed over a spot on his neck. “Did you . . . did you give me a hickey?” He turned to look at Jared with wide surprised green eyes.
“Maybe?” Jared offered. “But, since you can’t see the back of your neck, you’ll never really know for sure, will you?” he said as he backed away from Jensen.
“I’m gonna kill you,” Jensen said hotly.
“You just threatened a police detective,” Jared countered back. He heard Jensen grumbling as he turned away from him to finish washing the dishes while he wiped down the table and stove. He turned back to see Jensen leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. “Am I forgiven?”
“Maybe, as long as no one else will be able to see said hickey,” Jensen grumbled.
“No one but me will be able to see said hickey,” Jared assured Jensen and then grabbed Jensen’s hand, pulling him behind him as they made their way up the stairs to their bedroom.
The ringing of their home phone woke them from a restful sleep. Jared rolled over, flicked on the bedside lamp and reached for the phone. “Hello?” he answered in a gravelly voice. He sat up when he heard his mother’s voice.
“Jared dear, it’s Mom,” Sharon Padalecki said from the other end of the call. “Sorry to wake you, but I have some news,” she said excitedly.
“Jared,” Jensen called out in a sleep-filled voice as he opened his eyes to see his husband sitting up.
Jared mouthed ‘Mom’ to Jensen and continued to listen to his mother’s excited voice. “What? When? How’s Megan doing? A girl?” He looked down at Jensen, saw that his green eyes had gone wide as he only heard the one-sided conversation. “Hold on Mom.” He covered the phone with one large hand. “Megan gave birth. It’s a girl,” he said excitedly to Jensen before turning his attention back to the phone and his mother. Megan had decided she wanted to be surprised by the sex of the baby and not find out until she gave birth. “Yeah, work knows I had planned on coming out when the baby was born. It’ll take me a few days to transfer a few cases. We should be able to fly out on Thursday. I’ll let you know for sure. Give everyone our love, talk to you soon.” He ended the conversation, replaced the receiver in its cradle and turned off the light. “A girl; we have a niece,” he said as he threw an arm around Jensen’s waist and pulled him close. “Can’t wait to see her.”
Jensen snuggled into Jared’s embrace. “A little girl who is going to be so spoiled. Did they name her yet?”
“Yeah, they named her Alisa.” He kissed Jensen and then settled back into his pillows as he drifted off to sleep followed closely by Jensen.
Jensen walked into work with a smile on his face. He and Jared were uncles, again. Jared’s older brother, Jeff and his wife Veronique already had a little boy, Tyler. He couldn’t wait to meet their new niece. All he had to do was get Mark’s approval for his time off. Both he and Jared had prepared their places of work for the upcoming birth, it was just that neither of them had known when Megan was going to give birth. Apparently, last night was when Alisa decided to grace the world with her presence.
He sat down at his desk, pulled out his laptop and sent his boss his official request for time off, starting on Thursday through the entire following week. That would still give him plenty of time to work on editing the manuscript he had been given last Friday before he had left work for the weekend and still get the art markups done for the author he was working with on the art he was creating for author’s upcoming book. He was confident that everything would work out in his favor. His confidence began to waver when several hours had passed and he hadn’t heard from Mark. There were two hours left to his work day when Mark finally requested to see him. He pushed himself back from his desk, gave Misha a hopeful smile and disappeared down the hall to Mark’s office. He stood in the doorway of Mark’s office and waited for Mark to look up and acknowledge him. His heart was in his throat when Mark looked up at him with a predatory smile on his face. He knew instinctively that things weren’t about to go his way.
“Mark, you asked to see me?” He stood in the doorway, not daring to enter the man’s office. There was something about the older blond man that set him on edge. He had caught the suggestive looks that Mark had thrown his way. It made him uncomfortable. He had also heard the rumors swirling around Mark that he had tried to seduce several past and current team members. He had thought he was safe from any of Mark’s advances when he had let it be known that he was happily married. He had thought the wedding ring he wore was enough of a deterrent. He even had several pictures of himself with Jared or just Jared on his desk. Mark had also blatantly come out and asked him out for drinks; just the two of them, under the guise of getting to know each other better and for Mark to find a way to really utilize his talents. He had balked at the idea; telling him that Jared wouldn’t appreciate the fact that his husband was out having drinks with another man, even if it was just for his boss to get to know his employee better. Mark had backed off after that, to Jensen’s relief.
“Ah, Jenny, there’s my favorite team member,” Mark purred.
“It’s Jensen,” he responded in a tight voice.
“No, I like my special little pet name for you, Jenny.”
“It’s inappropriate, Mark,” Jensen bit out.
“Oh, please, it suits you.”
“Was there a reason you called me in?”
“Yes, you asked for the next few days off. I’m sorry, but I have to deny you the time. We’re very busy here right now,” Mark responded with a smirk. “The deadline has been pushed up.”
“Since when? I haven’t even finished editing the final version of the story. I just got it last Friday. You told me I had four weeks to work on it before it was due back to the author.” Jensen felt the anger rising. This ass was denying him vacation time that he was rightly due. “I can’t possibly work on that and come up with art for the other story I’m working on.” He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he had been looking forward to getting away from work - well, mainly his boss - and spending time with Jared and their family.
“See, all the more reason why you can’t afford the time away.” The smirk grew wider on Mark’s face. Jensen hadn’t even seen that coming. He had just given Mark the reasons he needed to deny him his vacation time.
Fuck, he had just walked right into that one. “I can work on both while I’m away,” Jensen pointed out.
“No can do. Time is of the essence and the clients want to have sit downs with you. Maybe you can postpone this little trip with the husband.”
“I can’t. It wasn’t planned, but Jared’s sister just gave birth. We really wanted to meet our new niece.”
“I feel for you, Jenny. Really I do, but tough decisions have to be made. Family or your job. You have people counting on you here to get the job done.”
“It’s Jensen,” he gritted out.
“What’s it gonna be?” Mark asked sarcastically.
Jensen angrily eyed his boss. He knew what Mark was doing was the equivalent of blackmail. All he had to do was go to JD himself and he would be given the time off that he wanted, but that would backfire on him in the long run. Once he returned from his vacation, he’d still have to work for Mark and his boss would most likely make his life a living hell. Unless he was actually granted the transfer he had requested. “Looks like I’ll be staying.”
“That’s the right answer,” Mark said as his smirk grew into a wide smile.
“I also put in the request to transfer to Felicia’s team. I’d like a chance at working with her; working on different projects. Have you looked that over?” he asked, feeling trepidation growing in the pit of his stomach.
“I’m mulling it over,” Mark said as he took his fill in of Jensen standing in the doorway. He picked up a folder from his desk, thumbed through it trying not to look obvious as his thoughts turned to what he wanted from Jensen. Maybe with Jensen’s husband gone, Jensen would be lonely. He had been trying to find a way to get Jensen alone for some time now. He was convinced that given time and the opportunity, Jensen would see how charming he was; that he could get Jensen into his bed. The man standing before him always made his dick twitch and he wanted to bury himself into that fine ass. At first he had put those thoughts aside when he had noticed the wedding ring on Jensen’s finger. But, when he had seen the picture of Jensen’s husband, he had begun to actively pursue Jensen who had either been oblivious to him or was playing hard to get. Maybe it was jealousy at seeing what Jared looked like that fueled his desire to bed Jensen. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. He was determined to have Jensen. Being able to deny Jensen his vacation; separate him from his husband had been just what he had been looking for. Before Jared returned home to his little husband, he was going to sink his dick into Jensen; whether he wanted it or not.
Mark smiled at this thought and then turned his attention back to Jensen. “I’d hate to lose such a valuable member of my team. Besides, it’s not like taking Rosenbaum’s position boosts your pay or standing here within the company.”
“I’m aware of that. But, like I said, it would give me the opportunity to work on different projects, with different authors, and create art that I haven’t done before.” The man was insufferable, Jensen thought to himself. He was also a lecherous weasel who made his skin crawl.
“Well, we’ll just see what happens over the next week. If you make me happy,” Mark looked up at Jensen and gave him a leering smile, “with your work, you might just get what you’ve been hoping for. Now, I have a few things I have to deal with. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, Mark. Thanks for your time,” Jensen said managing to keep the bitterness from his voice and turned to leave the man’s office and return to his desk.
“Oh, Jenny,” Mark called out and watched as Jensen turned back to him. He licked his lips and then smirked at seeing the look of anger on Jensen’s face. “I’m here if you need anything. Help with your work, a sounding board if you need to talk, or maybe someone to keep you company when your husband is away.”
“Excuse me?” Jensen responded. “I don’t get your meaning.” He was hoping he had heard Mark wrong, because he had never given Mark any indication that he was interested in spending time with his boss. Ever. He tried his best to not spend time with the man while they were at work. He never went out for drinks with the team if Mark was going. He certainly didn’t want to spend time with the man while Jared was away.
“You know, if you need someone to talk to; have a drink with or dinner. It can get lonely when your significant other is away for any length of time.”
Jensen rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a way to let the man down without angering him. “Uhm . . . Thanks but, I’ll probably be working a lot, taking advantage of Jared being away so I can meet these new deadlines,” he said and left Mark’s office before the man could offer him anything else. He suppressed the full body shudder of disgust as he passed Misha and walked back to his desk.
Misha turned and regarded at Jensen, a quizzical look on his face as he made his way to the breakroom to grab a cup of coffee. Knowing that Jensen had just come from their boss’ office, he took pity on the younger man and poured Jensen a cup. He walked back to their shared office space and placed the hot liquid down on Jensen’s desk. “What did Mark want?”
“He denied my vacation,” Jensen grunted out. “Said the deadlines on my projects had been moved up. Total bullshit.”
“You could work from home,” Misha offered.
“Yeah, I tried that. Mark said he had set up meetings with the authors. They want to meet in person to discuss any changes and the art.” He slumped down in his chair. “I was just looking forward to getting away with Jared for a few days. This totally sucks,” he brooded as he chewed his bottom lip. Now he had to tell Jared the news that he had to work.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Misha questioned.
“Nothing,” Jensen gritted out and then turned away from his friend and coworker to try to concentrate on his work. Thankfully, Misha dropped any other inquiries into his meeting with Pellegrino. An hour later, Jensen sat back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes. He read over the comments he had made in regard to the story he was editing and groaned. The comments were snide and unprofessional. “I need to go home. I’ll pick this up in the morning,” he said as he saved the comments and noted where he had left off. He pushed himself away from his desk, grabbed his laptop and placed it in his messenger bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave Misha a smile and walked out of their office. He passed Genevieve and Danneel on his way out and waved goodbye to them both before making his way out to his car and home.
He sat in his car, taking several deep breaths as he tried to rein in his anger. He just wanted to hit something. Not something, he wanted to hit Pellegrino in his face; wipe the irritating smirk off that man’s face. Now, he had to go home and find some way to break the news to Jared that he wasn’t able to go back home with him; to meet the latest addition to their family. He had been so happy thinking about the fact that they were taking time off together, that he never thought for one moment that it wouldn’t happen. With the hours that Jared worked as a patrol officer and now as a detective, they didn’t always get to spend a lot of time together. More often than not, Jared was working when Jensen had time off. The weekends sucked for him, missing Jared while he was on a case. Unfortunately, criminals and their victims didn’t seem to care that he didn’t get to spend as much time with his husband as he wanted.
Jensen knew it bothered them both, but he didn’t blame Jared. Jared was doing what he loved, what he had wanted to do since he had been a kid. And the man was great at his job. He would never demand that Jared give that up or put him first. It would only drive a wedge between them and weaken the strong foundation they had built their relationship on. Plus, he himself worked crazy hours at times. He loved what he did and Jared supported him just as much as he supported Jared. There had been many lost nights and weekends when he had stayed late, gone into work early or had to leave Jared to deal with a publishing crisis; usually last minute changes the author was demanding, either in their work or the art that he had created for their story. Jared just went with the flow; understanding that it was his job to sort the mess out and it only made him love Jared more. With a heavy sigh, he jabbed the key into the ignition and listened as the Impala’s engine purred to life. He pulled out of his parking spot and headed home, still wondering what he was going to say to Jared once Jared was home.
Jensen pushed open the door to their three-bedroom home, never so happy to be away from work. While he loved his job, he hated his boss. Nothing was going his way, he thought to himself as he placed his keys and cell phone on the entryway table. He never failed to smile at the piece of furniture, knowing it was more than just a table. It was a cleverly disguised gun case for Jared’s police issued firearm and badge. He had had it made as a gift for Jared when he had not only passed his detective exam, but had landed a position in the same police station he had been assigned to fresh out of the academy.
He toed off his shoes by the front door, placed his laptop on the kitchen counter, left his messenger bag next to it and climbed the stairs to their bedroom. He stripped off his work clothes and donned a pair of worn and faded jeans and a t-shirt he had kept from college. It still fit, but was streaked with paint. He breathed a sigh of relief at being in his comfortable clothes. He walked across the hall to the third bedroom of their home, the one that he and Jared had turned into his home art studio, and breathed in deeply; feeling some of the stress from his day begin to dissipate from his body. He loved this room the most out of all the rooms in their home; it was because Jared had been the one to suggest that Jensen needed his own room to create art in. They shared the downstairs office, but more often than not, he found himself in here, working from home on manuscripts, so Jared had his own space to himself. It didn’t seem right that he had his own art studio and also the shared office. Jared never complained, but it was the least he felt he could do for Jared, especially when Jared needed to decompress after a brutal investigation.
The art room contained several easels; some in use, some not. The room also contained a drafting table with a shelf on either side and he was able to tilt the desktop, which had a large drawer underneath to store anything he needed. He had picked out a padded stool on wheels to go along with the sleek gray metal table. The table was situated under one of the two windows so he could take advantage of the natural light when he was working. One wall held a large storage cabinet with drawers on the bottom that held most of his art supplies. The shelves were a pull-out style that made it easy for him to find what he was looking for. There was also a smaller mobile art cabinet stored next to the larger one that he used when painting; pulling it over to the easel he was using at the time. Both pieces were also gray, matching his drafting table; he loved this room. Right now, he had some time before Jared would be home. He could sketch, paint, create until then. He could and would lose himself in his art, knowing Jared would eventually come and lure him away with the promise of food, or kisses or even sex. Not necessarily in that order, or all in one night. He was hoping for all three tonight. But, once he told Jared his about being denied his vacation, he would probably be lucky if Jared fed him a crust a bread and some water. He pushed all his thoughts away, picked up a fresh blank canvas, placed it on his empty easel and began to paint in pinks and purples.
It wasn’t until he felt arms around his waist that he put down his paint brushes. Soft lips nuzzled at his cheek and he leaned into his husband’s large, muscular body. “Hey,” he said softly, not wanting to break the mood between them just yet. “Glad you’re home.” He stood in Jared’s embrace as he looked at the painting he had created. He had created a whimsical tree with meandering branches containing pink and purple blossoms that filled the canvas.
“It’s beautiful,” Jared murmured in his ear.
“Thanks, I hope Megan likes it for Alisa’s room. I hope it goes well with what they have in the nursery. I know they were keeping everything neutral since they wanted to be surprised.” He looked at the painting; maybe he should create another one in neutral tones, but he really liked what he was looking at. It had been created from his heart for a little girl he hadn’t met yet; one he wouldn’t be able to meet for some time.
“I’m sure they’ll love it. Besides, you know Megan will want you to paint something just for Alisa’s room when we’re out there. And, I’m sure everything will be pink by the time Megan brings the baby home. You know how she is; everything will be done up for their little girl.”
Jensen twisted himself in Jared’s arms so they were face to face. “Um Jared, about that, Pellegrino denied my time off. I’m sorry, I can’t go.” He braced himself for Jared’s reaction.
“What? Can he do that? I thought he knew that you were planning on taking time off when the baby was born.” Jared’s eyes darkened as he spoke. He wasn’t thrilled about this turn of events. He had been able to work things out with work; moved some of his cases on to other detectives and Chad would be able finish up on the ones they were close to closing. He had booked their hotel room and a car. All that was left was booking a flight for them.
“Yeah, he can. It sucks, but what am I gonna do?” He shrugged his shoulders. “I could go to Morgan, complain or request that he approve my vacation time. But, then when I got back, it would only be hell for me with Pellegrino. Plus, apparently there have been meetings with the authors set up. Ones I have to physically be there for. I need to play nice with him. I put in a request to transfer onto Felicia’s team. I need his approval for that.”
“Then, I’ll tell Mom that we can’t come. We’ll plan something in a month, when we know he can’t deny your vacation. Hell, maybe you won’t even have to worry about it. You could be on Felicia’s team and she loves you; practically would do anything to make you happy.”
“No, you go. I know you can’t wait to meet Alisa and you’re dying to see your family. Don’t cancel because I can’t go. I’ll just use the time you’re away to get as much done as possible. Then maybe I can take a few days off when you’re back. Show you how much I really missed you,” he waggled his eyebrows and ground his hips against Jared’s.
“You can show me that every night,” Jared responded heatedly as he leaned forward and captured Jensen’s lips for a dirty kiss. He heard Jensen moan and smirked at Jensen’s reaction. “I’m gonna miss you. This will be the first time in a year since we’ve been separated. Hated going to that conference without you.”
“I know, you wouldn’t let me out of bed for the first twenty-four hours that you were back. I was exhausted. But happy.” He grinned at Jared as he pulled away to deal with his art supplies.
“I don’t remember hearing you complain. If I remember correctly it was more like, harder Jared, fuck me harder.” He pulled Jensen back against his body; with Jensen’s back to his chest and bucked his jean clad hips against Jensen’s ass. “And something along the lines of, mark me up, show me who I belong to.” He bit down on the skin at the junction of Jensen’s neck and shoulders.
“Oh, I wasn’t complaining, not in the least.” His breath hitched when Jared pulled him back against his warm body. “And you can do all that again when you get back.” He groaned when Jared bit his skin. “And we can have phone sex.” He cocked his head, giving Jared better access to the column of his neck.
“Tease,” Jared said, kissing along the taut skin before he let Jensen go.
“Not teasing, promising,” Jensen chuckled in response to the pout he saw on Jared’s face as he looked over his shoulder. “Gotta clean up before my brushes dry and become useless.”
“Wouldn’t want that.” He gave Jensen’s ass a playful slap. “I’m gonna start dinner. Book my flight and call Mom, let her know the change of plans. Are you sure you don’t want me to postpone the trip? I don’t mind.”
Jensen shook his head. “No, already told you, don’t. Just take lots of pictures.” He turned from Jared and began to collect his brushes to bring into the Jack and Jill bathroom that the second and third bedrooms shared. He was still thankful that the bathroom had a large counter and double sinks. He was able to keep his cleaning supplies neatly in a basket on one side; claiming one sink for him to use to wash his brushes off in. He ran them under the water and then began to thoroughly clean them with a brush cleaner before placing them in a bin holder so the bristles wouldn’t get bent or damaged. Jared had gotten him two of the plastic circular multi-hole organizers for Christmas a few years ago. He used one to dry his brushes in and the other to hold his pencils in; whether they were colored, charcoal or graphite, they were always at his fingertips. Next he washed and dried the acrylic paint palette he had been using before returning it to his supply cabinet. Satisfied that his studio was the way he liked it, clean and orderly, he flicked off the light and went to find Jared. He walked into the kitchen; following the sound of Jared’s voice.
“Yeah, Jensen won’t be able to make the trip. His boss denied him the time. Something about needing him there. I offered to postpone the trip, but he said no. I’m flying out on Thursday.” He paused as his mother said something. “No, I already have a room booked and a car rented. When I land, I’ll grab my stuff and be over. Then we can go to see Megan, David and Alisa. I gotta go, Jensen’s finished with his painting and dinner’s nearly done. See you soon. Love you.” Jared ended the call, got up and went over to the stove to pull out their dinner; frozen pizza.
“Oh, I see nothing but the best for me!” Jensen joked when he saw what Jared had made them.
“Better than nothing,” Jared shot back as he cut the pizza and placed two slices on a paper plate for Jensen.
“Thanks,” Jensen said as he grabbed the offered food and placed it on the table. He grabbed two beers from the fridge and sat, waiting for Jared to join him. “So, how did your mother take the news?”
“She’s not happy, but she understands. Have you told your mother yet?” Jared asked and smirked when Jensen groaned. “I’ll take that as a no. Someone’s gonna be in trouble. Well, at least I’ll get to be their favorite when I show up for dinner. Seems almost fitting, seeing as how you seem to be my mom’s favorite,” he said in between bites of pizza.
“Have I told you how much I hate you?” Jensen asked with a scowl. “Besides, I can’t help it if your mom likes me best. It’s my charm.”
“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” Jared shot back with a smile. “Seriously, how do you think your parents are gonna take the news?”
“Not well. I know they were looking forward to seeing us while we were out there. I’ll call them after dinner.”
Their conversation was cut off by the sound of their landline ringing. Jensen answered it, dreading who might be on the other end. “Hello?”
“When were you going to call and tell me you weren’t able to come home for a visit?” Jensen’s mother’s distraught voice questioned.
He covered the receiver with one hand and looked over at Jared. “Your mother works fast. I blame you for this.” He turned his attention back to his mother before Jared could respond, but he could hear Jared chuckling in the background. “Hi, Mom. I was gonna call you after we finished with dinner. No, don’t worry about it. Jared can just make me something later.” He heard Jared scoff, but chose to ignore him. “Look, I know you’re disappointed, so am I. I’m pissed that my boss did this. But, what can I do? Jared’s still planning on stopping over and eating you and Dad out of house and home, like always. No, Jay offered to postpone the trip, but I said no. It’s Megan’s first. Wouldn’t be fair. We’ll just have to plan another trip so I can meet my new niece. Jared flies out on Thursday. I’ll tell him to call you before he drops by so your fridge is well stocked. Talk to you later, love you too.” He ended the call, grabbed his beer and took a long swig before sitting back down to eat his cooling pizza. “Hey,” he whined when Jared grabbed his plate.
“Just heating it up. Consider this me making you something later.” He plopped the plate in the microwave and reheated the pizza before returning it to Jensen. “There, good as new.”
“You owe me,” Jensen said around a bite of pizza. “You should have known that your mother would have called mine as soon as she hung up the phone. They are best friends.”
“Something that you’re also well aware of.”
“Still blaming you,” Jensen shot back.
“I promise to make you forget all about it,” Jared said before raising his beer to his lips.
Jensen watched as Jared stretched his neck back, exposing his skin; his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. All he wanted to do was lick that skin; taste his husband. Jared knew what he was doing; distracting him from being mad at him. But, they both should have realized that as soon as Sharon Padalecki hung up with her son, she would have gotten on the phone, calling Donna Ackles. And if things had been reversed, Donna would have done the same. The women had become best friends upon meeting nearly twenty years ago when Jensen and Jared had met in high school during their sophomore year.