The Gloaming

Chapter 10: First Date

Later that evening... 46 Days to the Fade

"So I guess our first date was a bust." Jensen murmured, as he took another swig of the sweating bottle of beer in his hand.

Jensen had ordered pizza and the moment it had arrived, he'd grabbed beer from the fridge, threw it in a cooler and invited Jared out to the backyard where he had a fire pit and some loungers set up. Grabbing up the large box of pizza Jared had happily followed.

After starting a low fire in the pit, the two had settled down onto the loungers.

Jared paused before opening the pizza box and looked at Jensen with a questioning look. "Do you think your mom would like some pizza? Call her down, and I'll help to carry her if she needs it."

Jensen paused in splitting up the condiments, toppings and napkins that had come with the pizza and looked up at Jared with a bemused expression on his face.

Jared's breath caught, the look on Jensen's face sending tendrils of heat through his body. He couldn't really read what it meant, but it didn't stop his body from heating up, heat rushing up from his chest to suffuse his cheeks with a becoming glow. He bit his lip nervously as Jensen traced his features with soft, green eyes that dropped to his mouth as Jared released his bottom lip.

"What?" he asked, softly.

"Nothing." Jensen smiled warmly, turning back to what he was doing. He handed the paper plates to Jared. "With all the craziness going on and Amell Jr. still on the loose, I asked Mac to take Momma to stay with her for a while."

"Oh man... I'm sorry. And your poor Momma having to leave her own home to be safe."

"It's not your fault, Jay. It's just some deluded whackjobs who think they can tell others what's right and what's wrong. None of it is your fault, you got me?"

"Yeah, I got you. Man, when we finally consummate, you're gonna be a very pushy bottom aren't you?" Jared laughed.

Jensen's jaw dropped, and Jared flushed even harder. Stammering, he rushed to apologize. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume you'd consummate or that you'd even bottom or..."

Jensen fell back onto the lounger, laughing uproariously. Jared bit his lip as he struggled not to smile. But Jensen's beautiful laughter was just too infectious and he was joining Jensen in no time; laughing fit to burst.

Finally getting control of himself, Jensen sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He smile affectionately at Jared, then turned back to the food. "Let's eat. Sorry, we don't have self-heating plates so you'll have to eat fast before it all goes cold."

As they ate and talked over what had happened to the both of them earlier that day, Jared marveled at how comfortable he always felt around Jensen. The older man was nothing like any other person he'd ever known and Jared was reveling in learning all he could about Jensen Ackles. Even with his family's riches his parents had raised him and his siblings to appreciate what they had and to always try and treat others fairly and with respect. And yet, Jensen and his family's earthiness and open hearts were like a breath of fresh air to Jared who had grown up mainly interacting with the upper echelon of society. He realized that Jensen had shown him that despite all his parent's efforts to keep their children grounded and levelheaded, Jared had grown a little jaded and had taken some things in his life for granted.

After polishing off the last slice of pizza, Jared laid back on the lounger, gazing up at the early evening stars. There was a slight chill in the air, but the heat emanating from the iron fire pit kept it at bay, and Jared enjoyed the clear night sky above him. "You can't see a sky like this in the city." He murmured.