Summary: With Ms. Kitty’s encouragement, Y/N attempts to make peace with Jensen.
Pairing: None … yet. (But I think we all know where this is going.)
Word Count: 2303
Warnings: Set post-Season 15, which I know makes a lot of people sad to think about.
Square Filled: This entire series will fill my proposal square for BTZ Bingo.
A/N: Thank you for the continued support! I am loving writing this series :)
Masterlist
The next time you brought baked goods to The Farmer’s Stand, Ms. Kitty greeted you with a big smile. She took the box from you and set it back, until it could be added into the inventory.
“Good thing you brought in more -- we’ve got a visitor in town who has been coming in regularly. It’s a wonder he hasn’t turned into an apple.” She chuckled at her own joke.
You gave a polite smile. “A visitor? Well, I’ll take whatever I can earn at this point.”
Ms. Kitty’s son, Stephen, came out from the office. “Y/N, good afternoon. I thought I heard your voice. Brought some more goods for us?”
“I did,” you sighed. “Thanks.”
He took the box from behind the counter and brought it into the office. The sooner it got into inventory, the sooner it would sell, so you didn’t mention much else about it. Instead, you stayed to visit a little longer with Ms. Kitty. Before you could leave, she asked how things were at the farm.
With a sigh, you shook your head. “I’m going to have to call Dad next week, I think -- I mean, I know. It’s time. The bank denied me, and I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know why I’m putting it off at this point, since there’s nothing else I can do, and they’ve already got someone visiting who wants to buy the place.”
For the first time in this visit, Ms. Kitty’s smile changed to a concerned frown. “A handsome young man? Jensen?”
The thing about living in a small town was that if there was a visitor, and he was showing interest in baked goods from a specific farm that was also up for sale, and there was also a visitor interested in buying the farm … chances were, it was the same visitor. In this case, that was absolutely true.
“That’s the one,” you nodded. “I know he feels bad, but it’s hard to like him. When he came to see the farm the first time, he didn’t tell me why he was there. Now he’s made an offer. He even brought me flowers at the school to apologize. But I can’t get past any of the rest of it enough to care.”
The older woman thought for a moment, then went to the office where her son was working. She came back with one of the foil pans of apple-cinnamon rolls you had brought in.
“I don’t think he’s had these yet,” Ms. Kitty said, handing the pan over to you. “Take him these -- as a peace offering. You may figure out something, yet.”
A peace offering hadn’t crossed your mind before, but once she mentioned it -- this woman who had known you and your family all your life -- it suddenly seemed like the thing to do. She knew where he was staying, so you took the cinnamon rolls, thanked her for everything, and went to make an apology.
* * * * *
The last thing Jensen expected was a visitor. Except for Ms. Kitty, maybe, he hadn’t really made any friends in this town, and he didn’t expect her to be knocking on his hotel room door. He checked around to make sure the room wasn’t disastrously messy, then went to answer the door.
“Hi. These are for you.” Y/N stood in the hallway, looking more nervous than he had ever seen anyone before. “Um, I was dropping stuff off to the The Farmer’s Stand and Kitty said you’ve been buying a lot of it. She said you hadn’t tried these yet, and I mentioned -- anyway. That’s all more than you need to know, I suppose. I’m bringing these as a peace offering.”
“Peace offering?”
Y/N nodded. Now that he was holding the cinnamon rolls, she couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with her hands. “I was a jerk. I mean, well, you were a jerk because you lied, but then you brought the flowers and you were honest. I could have been more appreciative of that. My problems are not your problems. So, I’m sorry.”
Jensen wasn’t sure what to say. Y/N waited for about thirty seconds before giving him one last look and turning on her heel. Quickly, he set the rolls down in his room and jogged after her. He slipped around her and into her path, causing her to take a startled step backwards.
“Sorry about that,” Jensen chuckled, “didn’t mean to spook you. I wasn’t expecting anyone, let alone you, so it took a second to process that you were actually here and saying stuff -- I figured you’d hate me forever. Maybe you still will.”
Y/N was the one who had to process this time. “Um, no, I don’t -- I don’t hate you. Like I said, my problems are not your problems. I know you made an offer on the place, but it’s only fair for me to tell you, I’m not done fighting to keep my home.”
“I wouldn’t want you to stop fighting. I could tell right away how much the place means to you. Just consider me a last resort.”
A look crossed her face that Jensen couldn’t quite identify. She shook her head and put her hands in her back pockets.
“I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but do you want to come by for dinner? I have a crockpot of chili on that I definitely won’t finish on my own, and maybe we can keep talking about this, or other stuff. I did enjoy your company last week.” She was quick to add, “Unless that’s too weird, or I’m coming off as interested, because I’m not. And I don’t want it to be weird.”
He almost couldn’t believe this was the same woman he had spent an afternoon in the orchard with just days before. Of course, their interactions since then hadn’t exactly been easy.
“No, dinner would be great.”
She nodded. “Great. See you around six?”
Jensen nodded, too. “Six is perfect. I’ll see you then.”
She gave a tight smile and sidestepped him, hurrying out of the elevator without even looking back. Jensen made way back to his hotel room, hoping that she would be more at ease by the time he arrived that evening.
* * * * *
You whined into the phone, hoping Taylor would give you some idea of how to get out of the dinner invitation you had extended before you could even think about what a horrible idea it was to have Jensen Ackles over for dinner.
“I mean, what in the hell was I thinking? That I’ll have him over for dinner and he’ll eat the chili I made and suddenly not want to buy the place and I’ll be able to buy it? It’s not going to fix anything. In fact, it will probably make it worse.”
Taylor took her time in replying. “You did say that you two got along really well before you found out why he’s really here. Maybe it won’t be so bad -- you know, if you can take a deep breath and act like yourself.”
“Taylor, whose side are you on?”
“Yours, obviously,” Taylor laughed, “but it seems like you’re overthinking all of this. You were interested before you knew that he was potentially buying your place, right?”
“Right. My place. My beloved, cherished, beautiful family home.”
“All right, all right. Freak out if you want to, but I’m not going to give you a reason not to have him over.”
You groaned. “Some friend you are. I’ll call you when he leaves.”
“Have fun,” Taylor replied in a singsong voice before disconnecting the call. You set the phone on the counter and sighed.
Everything was ready. The house was spotless, the chili and a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls had filled the place with the wonderful smell of spices and apples. It was only a few minutes before six, which meant you still have several minutes to --
Before you could finish the thought, the doorbell rang. He was early. Crap.
You smoothed out your clothes and your hair and went to answer the door. With your hand on the knob, you took a deep breath and decided Taylor was right. You just needed to calm down and act like yourself.
* * * * *
“It smells amazing in here.”
Jensen had practiced his opening line over and over, and that wasn’t it -- although that one was probably better than the lame ‘hello’ he had settled on during the drive over.
Y/N smiled and motioned for him to come into the house. “Thanks. Chili’s ready and I made another batch of cinnamon rolls to go with it.”
He stopped in his tracks for a moment, then continued on to the kitchen behind her. “The apple ones?”
She nodded, raising her brow. “Um, yes? Is that okay?”
“Yeah, it’s okay! I had one after you left earlier. I heard you’re a really good teacher, Y/N, but I think you might have missed a baking calling, too.”
She laughed as she pulled two glasses down from the cupboard. “My grandmother taught me a lot, and I’ve done these recipes about a hundred times, is all. What are you thirsty for? I’ve got water, lemonade, beer …”
“Apple ale?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Hard cider?”
Her laugh grew in intensity, pulling a smile to Jensen’s lips. “Yes, I do a lot with apples around here but not in the way of hard beverages. No pumpkin beer, either, before you ask.”
“I’ll start with water, thanks.”
She pulled a filtered pitcher from the fridge and filled both glasses. After she put the pitcher back, she came back with two longnecks.
“Figured we’ll be into those sooner rather than later. Chili and water just … let’s be real.”
Jensen chuckled and helped her carry the drinks to the table. He noted the bouquet he had brought her settled in a goldenrod-colored vase in the middle of the table. He wanted to mention it, but maybe bringing attention to one of their negative interactions wasn’t the best idea.
Y/N told Jensen to have a seat. She went into the kitchen and came back with a tray of fixings, and two full bowls of chili. One more trip to the kitchen and back completed the array on the table with the cinnamon rolls.
She didn’t take long after starting her own bowl of chili to pop open her beer, so Jensen followed suit.
“So, I think you’ve really charmed Ms. Kitty,” she commented, biting into a roll.
Jensen chuckled. “She’s sweet. Probably the only person in this town who likes me at the moment.”
“I don’t know. Mr. Kemp says you’re all right.”
“I’m not sure he really believes that though, it might be more for your benefit. If he didn’t have to do business with me, he probably wouldn’t like me, either.”
She smiled big enough to show her dimples. “He’s a good man. You wanna know something?”
Jensen shrugged. “Sure.”
Y/N set her spoon in the bowl and sat back in her chair. “I think you’re probably a good man, too, but I haven’t given you a fair chance. This place means everything to me, but it’s just -- it’s just a place, right? It’s the memories that are important. Maybe it’s time for me to bow out, and more gracefully than I have up to now. Once I talk to my dad on Monday, make sure I really have run through all my options, then I’ll sign the offer and the place is yours. Will you just do me one favor?”
Jensen took swig from the bottle in front of him. “I’m sure whatever you can ask for, I owe you at least that.”
“Will you let me stay until after the New Year? So I can have one more Christmas here?”
He smiled. “Of course. That’s perfectly fine. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about the farm in the meantime.”
She raised her brow. “You want to stick around?”
“I mean, I like it here,” he said, raising one shoulder. “And if I’m gonna buy this place, I’ll be around more. I should work on getting people to like me more.”
He was happy to see that her joke had succeeded in making her laugh, and chased away the glaze of potential tears that had formed when she asked him to extend the closing date into the new year.
They packaged up the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher together. While Y/N wiped down the counters, Jensen finished off his beer -- and another cinnamon roll. She took the plate he had practically licked clean, along with his fork, and loaded that into the dishwasher before starting the machine. She picked up her own beer and leaned across the counter from him.
“Can I show you something before you go?”
“Yeah, of course.”
They bundled up in jackets and scarves, and jensen pulled a beanie over his head. Y/N led him back out to the farm truck, and drove them over to the orchard.
Every row of trees was lit up with white twinkle lights. He looked over at Y/N, who was grinning from ear to ear, and looking between him and the trees, waiting for his response. Jensen realized it had been a long time since he had indulged himself on the more simple pleasures in life.
“This is really great,” he finally ceded.
“Isn’t it?” she sighed. “The foreman set them up the other day. After Thanksgiving, they’ll do every other row with multi-colored lights. It’s silly, but we’ve just always done it that way.”
Jensen mingled his fingers with hers. Her hands were just as cold as his, but all he felt was warmth.
