(Don't ask, please
Daneel doesn't exist in this one because Jensen is too kind and to considerate to cheat)
You'd known Gen long enough to know that smile. The smile that Jared had eventually grown to copy. It was The Smile, a facial expression that foreshadowed some sneaky thoughts.
"Whatever you're thinking, it's a no," you laughed at her that morning. The moment she'd met up with you at the café, The Smile had been plastered on her face, eyes shining mischievously as the two of you walked into the line to order some iced coffees and scones.
It was a relatively warm day despite being stuck in the middle of February, so you'd traded in your light jackets and boots for a cardigan and flats. That was the good part about being in LA. You never worried about the weather.
"Y/N, you haven't even heard me out yet!" Gen laughed, hitting your shoulder playfully. "Jared and I have this really fun idea..."
You groaned playfully, stepping forward as the line got shorter, shaking your head before she could finish. "I know what you're gonna say. That it's Valentine's Day and I should be setting up a date with some guy, blah, blah, blah. But I just want to spend the day with people I love."
The cheesy speech hadn't worked. You knew this because The Smile was still there, no signs of leaving, and that's when you knew that Gen was really being serious about whatever crazy idea was in her head. She had made it a personal mission to set you up with someone because she was dying to go on double dates with you, though she'd given you space about it until now. This must have been a big deal.
"I know how you feel about Valentine's Day but we had a really fun idea! And before you say no, I swear that we're really good with blind dates—"
"No!" you giggled, shaking your head immediately following those dreaded two words. "I literally cannot think of a single blind date that has ever gone right. Sorry, Gen. I'm treating myself to a wonderful night of chocolates and gossip."
The two of you got to the front of the line after a few more seconds of teasing and you insisted on paying for Gen's order, just to change the subject. She was always in a fuss about being the one to pay for you. It worked, though, and you enjoyed the rest of your brunch with lovely stories about the latest shenanigans her kids had gotten into together.
– – – – –
Just because you didn't have a date for today didn't mean you couldn't dress up and have a friendly date with your favorite girls.
You'd taken time on yourself since it was never a bad day to look good, and by the time you finished and headed out, you were running late. And if you hadn't been running late, you wouldn't have opened up the text from Jared, a vague one that only asked you which restaurant you were going to.
Our reservations for 10PM got cancelled...which one are u at?
Suspicious, but not too suspicious. If they did get cancelled, you wanted to help. So you told him without a fuss; it was only 7:30, so you wouldn't be raining on their date. The latest you'd be there would be 9 when you'd be saying your goodbyes.
The drive wasn't so bad and you managed to make it without being too late. Everyone was already at the table and had gotten their drinks, but no meal orders yet.
"Hey, I need to tell you about what Hannah's ex-boyfriend did," your best friend grinned after all the hellos were passed around.
The server came back and asked you for your drink and order, then it was right back to the gossip and the funny stories, all a bit more entertaining because of your margarita.
– – – –
Basically finished with your dinner, you opted for a quick trip to the bathroom, and your best friend tagged along with you to finish her crazy story about the job interview she'd just gotten through earlier in the week. Everyone else at your table had quieted into more serious conversations, which meant that your goodbyes would be said probably as soon as you were done in the bathroom.
Damn, we're lame, you thought to yourself. It isn't even 9 yet and I'm already throwing in the towel.
It was in the middle of your friend's story that you noticed a familiar face in a corner booth, but a group of people all standing up to leave blocked your vision before you could get a good look at who it was. Gen and Jared popped into your head, oddly enough, but you hadn't seen them. Just a reminder of them or something.
"And then boom! The cappuccino machine in his office literally just fell apart and a bunch of it landed on me," your best friend declared, jolting you back into the conversation. "He felt so bad about it and I think that's part of the reason why I got the job."
You laughed subtly, about to push open the door to the bathroom, when you felt a light tap on your shoulder. Your friend went inside, completely oblivious to your lack of following, and you turned to come face to face with that familiar figure from earlier.
His face was strong and a little embarrassed but you couldn't quite put your finger on why he was reminding you of Gen and Jared. Stupid margaritas. It took you even longer to process that he was holding an adorable little girl, who was looking at you with wide eyes.
"Hello," you greeted him gently, still confused and trying to pinpoint his face.
"Hey...you're Y/N, right?" he greeted you back, and his voice finally made him recognizable.
"You play Dean!" you blurted out, finally remembering him, and gave him a sheepish grin as you bit your lip to quiet down. "You're Jensen. Sorry, I was trying to figure out where I knew you from. You're a friend of Jared and Gen."
He gave you a grin that elicited a nice blush on your cheeks, one that wasn't from your margaritas, and you cleared your throat to make it less awkward for you, turning to look at the little girl on his hip.
"This must be JJ," you smiled, giving her a little wave that she returned shyly, and Jensen snapped out of whatever trance he was in and nodded quickly.
"Yeah, this is my valentine," he told you, then nodded towards the bathroom, looking a little hopeful as he spoke. "Do you mind doing me a quick favor? I can't exactly step into the ladies' room without getting smacked in the face, and I know for a fact that the men's bathrooms are way too traumatizing for a little kid. Can you just check on her, make sure she's not in need of a change? I'd owe you one if you could."
You were already holding your arms out for the little princess, nodding along to whatever he said as she snuggled into your arms. "I'll make sure she's nice and clean for her valentine," you teased him, grabbing the diaper bag he held in his hand before disappearing into the bathroom.
By the time you got in, your friend was already done and checking herself out in the mirror along the wall, reapplying some makeup as you wandered towards the biggest stall where there'd be a changing pad. She gave you a weird look when you entered, immediately setting her eyes on JJ.
"How long have I been in here?" she joked, making a silly face at JJ to make her laugh, then continued to primp herself before she had to go back out. "Or did you just decide to start snatching up babies?"
"Shut up," you snorted, closing and locking the stall behind you and setting JJ down. She was wearing one of those "pull-up" diapers, clearly trying to be potty trained, and you faltered for a minute to figure out what to do.
When was the last time you'd even held a kid?
"No potty," JJ declared, cute as can be, and you laughed with her a little as your slightly out of whack maternal instincts kicked in. You checked for wetness, any stinky code brown warning signs, but found that she was fine.
"We'll change you just in case," you decided, sliding her out of her frilly skirt with hearts doodled all around it, and did the deed as quick as you could, hoping that she wasn't giggling at your clumsiness.
You only briefly checked your appearance in the mirror, a quick flash of Jensen's shy smile in your mind, and your friend was waiting for you by the door with a knowing and smug smirk as you walked out with her, Jensen still waiting there by the bathroom doors with his arms folded over his chest.
He brightened when he saw you come out and took JJ from you, hauling her bag over his shoulder as he began his thank you speech. You tried your hardest to ignore your best friend's clearly taunting smirk, but felt your lip quiver up in a smile for a split second as Jensen went on about "owing" you a favor.
"Those two were supposed to meet me here like, half an hour ago," he rambled on, now talking about Jared and Gen, and you scrunched your nose up in confusion.
"What?" You checked the time on your phone. It was barely going to be 9. "Jared said he and Gen had reservations for 10 o'clock."
"What?" Jensen echoed, already pulling out his phone, probably to dial one of them. The gears were already starting to turn in your head but you kept your mouth shut.
Without thinking much about it, you followed him to his booth, playing with JJ as he tried to get a hold of the two masterminds. He got Jared's voicemail, Gen's voicemail, and then gave up and was about to text them when you saw two familiar people walking towards you.
"Oh, look who it is," you said loudly, making JJ and Jensen both turn their heads.
Gen and Jared both had The Smile on their faces, positively beaming as they sat down at the booth, with Jared next to Jensen and Gen next to you.
"Hey! What a great surprise, I'm glad you two met," Gen squealed, looking between you and Jensen brightly before taking JJ from your arms.
Jared was just as much of a little shit, already saying great things about Jensen to you and vice versa, but you didn't get a chance to rat them out. A text from your phone vibrated in your pocket and you took it out to reveal a message from your best friend, just tables away, saying that everyone was getting ready to leave and asking if you'd left with the "yummy single dad."
"Oh, look at that. I've gotta run," you grinned, shooting Gen a look before she stood up to let you out of the booth. You took a chance at ruffling Jared's hair, something you were always trying to do to him, and gave Jensen and JJ a smile and a goodbye before stalking off to your table, thinking of all the ways you were going to hold this against those meddling Padaleckis.
All of your friends were already finishing up their drinks and ready to go their separate ways, so you quickly said your goodbyes and gathered your things, taking one last sip of some water before heading towards the doors.
Out of habit, you turned to catch a glimpse of the meddlers one last time, and managed to catch JJ waving goodbye with that big grin of hers, showcasing some baby teeth. You could almost hear her laugh as you left, and you definitely felt someone's green, green eyes on your back as you fell into the chilly night air.
– – – – –
Mistake number one of the night: driving yourself to the restaurant. You'd only had a couple of margaritas but you were never one to drink and drive, so you'd been trying to sober up by taking a small walk. It was nothing you hadn't seen before but you were still fascinated by it. LA could do that to a person.
Your hands were shoved into your pockets as you made your way back to where your car was parked, now feeling fresh and sober, ready to go home and binge on desserts and sappy movies. There was a takeout place you frequented just across the way from the restaurant you'd been at earlier, who happened to have some pretty delicious cake, and made a pit stop there before heading to your car.
A bell dinged to signal your entry, thirty minutes till they closed, and you wandered to where the cash register was to place a quick order of cake and a bottle of water. There weren't many people inside but you saw someone leaning against the wall, waiting on their order presumably, and this time you didn't forget who owned those intense eyes.
"Jensen?" you called softly, getting his attention, and he perked up a bit at the sound of your voice. He looked up from his phone and instantly smiled at you, eyes glittering in a way that reminded you of Disney movies (maybe you were still a little buzzed...), and he was quick to meet you for a hug. It was soft and he barely squeezed you, but you felt your heart swell.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with that smile still stuck on his face.
"I'm here for the cake, what about you?" you grinned, leaning against the wall with him now.
He shrugged and gave you a wolfish smile, tucking his phone away to pay all his attention to you. "You have horrible taste in restaurants," he joked with you, nodding towards the one across the street. "I could barely swallow the steak they had in there so I'm still hungry. This is my rebound place."
You laughed at the term, turning to take a quick glance out the window, and then turned to flash him a snarky grin. "Everyone knows not to order the steak there. Try the lobster next time, it's heaven."
"You'll have to show me all the good stuff next time," Jensen agreed, and the way he said it made your cheeks flush with color.
The two of you talked idly until his food was ready and someone came up and handed it to him in a plastic bag. Your order was still being processed, most likely, and your face fell at the idea of Jensen leaving you there. Something about him made you want to talk to him for as long as you could, like you could never know enough about him, and when you saw that he looked like he didn't want to leave either, your spirits lifted just a tad.
"So, any fun plans tonight?" he asked, clearly fishing around, and you shook your head a little too quickly.
"Nah, nothing like your fun day with JJ," you smiled. "Tell her I said hello, by the way. She's a cutie."
"Thanks, and I will," Jensen promised with a nod. The two of you turned when your name was called, a person coming over to deliver you a small bag with your cake inside.
It was coming, that goodbye was coming, but you wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. Jensen walked you out, still talking animatedly as if the night would never end, and you walked slowly to where you were parked, until there was nothing left to say.
"I better get back to JJ," he told you after a few more minutes, and you ducked your head and nodded once in agreement.
"Yeah, I should...start the drive back home," you replied vaguely, earning a small smile from him.
"Hold on a second," he blurted out as you unlocked your car, and you whirled around, hopeful and bright-eyed. Jensen walked over to you, phone in his hand, and held it out to you expectantly. "Maybe I could call you sometime? Grab that lobster we talked about?" He was grinning, a shy one that was nervous around the edges, but he looked nothing but relieved when you grabbed his phone from his hand and punched in your number for him.
"Sometime soon," you whispered, pursing your lips together to hide that impending smile, and Jensen took his phone back from you when you were all done.
"Have a good night, Y/N," Jensen called softly as you opened the door to your car, and you waved at him as he started walking the opposite direction, both of you still smiling even when you looked away.
– – – –
Gen was already waiting for you by the time you made it to the café, ready to start your weekly brunch to catch up on the minor things that had happened. She looked sheepish as you greeted her, both of you walking inside to wait in that ever present line.
"Sorry about Valentine's Day," she said immediately, turning to you as she bit her lip. "I know blind dates aren't your thing but Jared and I just thought that you and Jensen would—"
"It's fine," you said, waving her off as a grin swept over your face. "But I need to tell you about the date. I've been dying to tell you all about it."
Gen brightened up immediately, clasping her hands together in excitement. "A date?!"
You went off into the details not a second later, talking animatedly about what you'd been Jensen without actually revealing his name to her, but you trailed off when you saw the look on her face, like she already knew all of this.
"And then you went to get a carton of ice cream to share and you showed him your apartment," she finished, eyebrow raised, and you instantly turned a bright red.
"How did you know? I was gonna surprise you!"
"Jensen literally talked nonstop about it," Gen laughed, pushing you lightly as you approached the counter to place your orders. There was only one more person ahead of you, ready to pay. "I can't believe you made me apologize if you guys ended up going out anyway!"
"He did?" You couldn't help but be giddy about it. "What did he say?"
"Same thing you've been raving out," she smirked. "He also conveniently forgot to mention that it was a date with you. Did he really find your old photo albums and make fun of your school pictures?"
"Sure did," you nodded, laughing together as you placed your orders. This time, Gen won the fight about paying, and you didn't stop her or change the subject. Even she could tell that this was a new you.
– – – –
If there was a perfect time of day in LA, it was a tie between the time just before the first rays of sunlight broke out, and twilight. Those were the two times you liked to go out running the most and you had been looking forward to it today after Jensen was done working.
He'd been busy all day with promotions and interviews for the show and you'd offered to keep an eye on JJ for the day, since this was his weekend with her, and it had been a day full of fun with her as you both followed him around backstage whenever he had free time. It was one of those rare days that you got to see him in action, something you and JJ both loved, but you had to leave eventually, joining Gen and her little boys for a quick playdate before making it back to Jensen's home.
"Sorry I'm late," he called when you heard the front door of his townhouse open and shut a few hours later, and you gasped playfully with JJ when you realized he was back. "Traffic is nuts out there."
He first greeted JJ, who tumbled over to him with a squeal, and he picked her up and kissed the top of her head like you'd seen him do countless times before. It was still just as cute as the first time and you waited patiently for him to walk over and press a kiss to your cheek, both of you grinning ear to ear.
"We had a fun day," you told him, winking playfully to JJ, who laughed a little in response. "I'll let you two have some down time, though. Have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast."
You let JJ extend her arms out for you to grab her in a final hug, and while she had her head buried in the crook of your neck, you leaned in to peck Jensen on the lips quickly as a final goodnight.
"No," you heard JJ whine, pouting when she lifted her head up to you. "Pretty Y/N can't go."
It melted your heart and you nearly broke right there for her, but you were still in those new stages with Jensen, not knowing whether or not it was okay to spend the night or not.
Jensen cleared his throat but he was looking right at you, nudging you gently with a small smile. "Even JJ likes you too much," he whispered, but not quietly enough. JJ nodded in agreement, tightening her grip on your neck, and your smile was so big that it almost hurt.
"Well, if you guys are into taking a quick jog..." you started, and you mentally swooned at the way Jensen's face lit up.
"What do you think, J?" he asked the cutie on your hip, and she was just as excited as he seemed to be.
It wasn't long before Jensen had let you change into some really old clothes he still had lying around, clothes still too big for you, but you let it slide and rolled the sweats until they fit snugly around your waist.
You were just in time to revel in the peak of twilight, with Jensen by your side and JJ in her stroller, and the three of you settled for a brisk walk instead of the run you'd been anticipating. It was still perfect, though, and your hand found itself entangled with Jensen's halfway through. It was always the small acts that he did that made you fall for him even more.
"You always make everything fun," you sighed as his house came into view, and Jensen was clearly about to make some witty remark when both of you heard JJ pipe up.
"Pretty Y/N has to stay!" she called from her place in the stroller, and you turned to smile coyly at Jensen, butterflies rolling in.
"I think Pretty Y/N's staying for a while," he answered, never taking his eyes off of you.
As usual, Jensen had a way of saying something so that it made your heart flutter. You'd stay as long as he wanted you to.
