Summary: Quarter Creek Ranch was just another kind of prison for Jensen, but at least this one came with some eye candy at the reins.
Rating: 18+
Pairing: PresentDay!Jared (38) x Young!Jensen (19)
Warnings: Homophobia and gay slurs - This story is set in Texas in 1990. Sexual activity with someone of the same gender was illegal in Texas at this point in time. If depictions of homophobia and use of derogatory, anti-gay language will be triggering for you, please scroll on.
Summary: Quarter Creek Ranch was just another kind of prison for Jensen, but at least this one came with some eye candy at the reins.
Rating: 18+
Pairing: present day!Jared (38) x young!Jensen (19)
Warnings: Homophobia and gay slurs - This story is set in Texas in 1990. Sexual activity with someone of the same gender was illegal in Texas at this point in time. If depictions of homophobia and use of derogatory, anti-gay language will be triggering for you, please scroll on.
Tags: ranch owner!Jared, ranch hand!Jensen, juvenile delinquent!Jensen, twink!Jensen, homophobic language, fist fighting, thirsty thoughts, male masturbation, age difference, taboo relationship, homophobic language, fist fighting, animal cruelty (not graphic), age difference, thirsty thoughts, male masturbation, kinda sorta voyeurism (listening to someone get off)
WC: 4.3k
Created for: @spnfanficpond - Alpha Reader Programme w/ @katbratsupernaturalwhore as my amazing Alpha/Beta ❤️ who has been so wonderful to put up with my wanting to make this fic way longer than it was meant to be 😅
Mini Series Masterlist
Jensen tried to control his breathing as much as possible, not wanting the snake to notice that there was potential prey within very easy reach. Luckily – or unluckily, really – Cameron and Baxter were still running around in panic, also having spotted the snake, and were currently trying to hide behind the horse that José was fighting to restrain. The whole conglomeration of them were making so much noise that Jensen figured must have scared the diamondback, because it slithered straight past himself and Jared, making its way slowly out of the paddock and towards the open field of wild grass that bordered the nearest boundary of the ranch.
When the snake was far enough away that they couldn’t hear the telltale shaking of its rattle any longer, Jensen let out a heavy sigh of relief and let the tension melt out of his body, collapsing forward and resting his forehead on the nearest surface – which just so happened to be Jared’s naked collarbone. Jensen could smell the sweat and fear that he was positive came from his own body as well as Jared’s, but he was also keenly aware of some deep scent of wood and musk and man that was unfamiliar, and he assumed it was all Jared. Unconsciously, his head rolled to the side a little, and his nose pressed against the crook of Jared’s throat, and he breathed deeply.
“Ackles,” Jared’s voice was soft and calm, but it sounded like the crack of a whip to Jensen’s ears, breaking him out of the incredibly inappropriate reverie into which he had fallen.
“Thanks for the cover, but I’m gonna need you to get your ass up and in my office now,” Jared’s words sent a crash of ice through Jensen’s overheated veins as he scrambled off his superior.
He’d forgotten, temporarily, why he’d been out in the paddock in the first place, and why Jared had rushed out to the yard despite being only half dressed. They’d been fighting – him, Baxter and Cameron – and Jared had made it very clear that he wouldn’t tolerate any more screw ups from them. They’d all had their warning; even if it hadn’t been Jensen’s fucking fault this time either, why would Jared believe him? He couldn’t keep telling Jared the same sob story of the other guys calling him names and trying to provoke him, and he knew that wouldn’t be the way Cameron and Baxter would tell it. It would be the words of two against one, and then they’d all be shipped back north to that fucking prison. At least Cameron and Baxter would be getting locked back up too. Those pricks fucking deserved it, especially after what they’d been doing to Baby. Jensen still couldn’ believe they’d stooped so low.
“Boys!” Jared hollered, and Jensen turned to see Cameron and Baxter casually walking towards the other end of the paddock, as if they were hoping in the excitement of everything, Jared had forgotten they were there. “Get your asses up to the ranch house and in my office! Now!”
For a moment, Jensen thought they might try to make a run for it, but the pair exchanged a look between themselves, and then slowly turned, trudging through the dust back towards the house.
“C’mon son, you too,” Jared shot him a stern expression and held out an arm to Jensen, gesturing for him to lead the way and indicating that he would follow. With a heavy heart, Jensen spun on his heel, his boot carving a dent in the dust, and led the way towards his own execution.
The first thing Jared did when he followed Cameron, Baxter and Jensen into his office was go to his wardrobe and pull out the spare shirt hanging there, sternly telling himself not to look over at the chair next to it where his dirty, cum stained t-shirt was still lying. He quickly did up the snaps while he was facing away from the boys and cleared his throat, turning and sitting down behind his desk, and summoning as much authority as he could muster.
“Which one of you would like to tell me what happened?” he asked gravely, eyes darting between each young man in front of him, all of whom looked shifty as hell. Jensen looked down dejectedly, refusing to meet Jared’s eyes, in what he hoped was shame at being here in this position, again.
“Ackles threw the first punch, sir,” Baxter said after a moment.
Jared raised a brow, not wanting to believe that was true.
“I see,” he mused, still examining the boys closely. “And Ackles just decided out of the blue that he’d like a punch up? Two against one isn’t a very fair fight.”
“He went at Cam, would have beaten him into dust if I hadn’t stepped in too,” Baxter objected earnestly, looking to his companion, who nodded vehemently in support of this narrative.
“Is this true Ackles?” Jared asked seriously, and only now did Jensen look up at him, meeting his gaze with angry green eyes. “Did you start the fight with Cameron?” The boy sighed shakily, red blazing up on his sun-freckled cheeks.
“Technically yes,” he admitted, “but Cameron started it. Him and Baxter had Baby out of her stall and they were messin’ her around!” Jensen started to explain as quickly as he could, but Baxter and Cameron cut across his story in their own defence.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong!” Cameron insisted with plaintive eyes.
“We were just walking her around,” Baxter argued. “We was mucking out the stall next to her an’ she was nearly kicking the door down ‘cause she wanted out so bad. We wasn’t ridin’ her or nothin’.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Jensen turned on the other two, seething mad. “You weren’t even on stable duty today, you took her out because you were gonna set her loose. I heard you joking about it at dinner last week. And I saw you kicking at her hooves an’ her legs tryin’ to get her to take off! I had to stop ‘em, sir,” he looked back at Jared imploringly. “They were hurtin’ her, I had to stop ‘em.”
“We wasn’t doin’ none of that,” Baxter growled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and Jared was half afraid he might start throwing punches again right here in the office.
“He’s just making that up to get us kicked out!” Cameron complained. “He’s already got one warning for fighting. And he’s one of the only violent offenders we got in our group, he can’t help himself.”
“Don’t talk about what you don’t know shit about,” Jensen growled, stepping into Cameron’s space and staring him down. Baxter made a move as if he were going to dive between them and Jared decided he’d heard enough.
“Alright!” he shouted, shoving back from his desk and effectively shocking the boys into calmer temperaments again.
“All three of you have had your one warning already, so doesn’t really matter who says what, I should have you all out on your asses and shipping back up to Gainesville first thing tomorrow morning!” There was a stony silence between all the occupants of the room, and Jared swallowed heavily.
“Baxter, Cameron; upstairs and pack your bags,” he said solemnly, nodding his head towards the door. “Clearly you can’t be trusted not to get into trouble in each other’s company, so you’ll stay in separate singles tonight, is that understood?”
“What about him?!” Cameron demanded angrily, pointing at Jensen, who was resolutely staring at the floor.
“I’m not done with him yet.” Jared’s voice was deep, and croaky, like he had gravel caught in his throat, and he saw Jensen flinch in reaction to his words. “Go on now, get,” he pointed the duo towards the hall, and they morosely left to pack their things.
Jared reached for the phone on his desk and pressed the speed dial for José, telling him to supervise their packing and get them into their solitary rooms, then call the corrections facility and arrange for a trooper to come down first thing tomorrow.
“When they’re out of our room, I’ll go pack my things,” Jensen said in a hushed tone after Jared hung up and had sat back down behind the desk with a heavy sigh.
“Huh?” Jared looked up, not quite registering what Jensen had said, his own mind whirring a bit too fast and clouding his thoughts.
“To go back to Gainesville,” Jensen muttered. “I’m uh… would it be alright if I saw the horses one more time, before I left? Don’t know when they’ll let me back out, after this.”
Jared’s heart broke for the kid standing in front of him. He knew Jensen had been growing to really like it here, even if never would have thought the boy would admit it; and he knew he shouldn’t bend the rules for anyone, that everyone should be treated equally, given the same chances, but he just had a feeling that Jensen hadn’t truly been to blame for any of the shit he’s been involved in, maybe not even what he went to Juvie for in the first place. He had to be sure, though. He needed to hear Jensen’s side of it – of all of it.
“Not so fast,” Jared reached across the desk and grabbed Jensen’s wrist as he turned to leave the office. The boy looked up at him with startled eyes, and Jared saw goosebumps standing up on his arm, the sun-bleached hair sticking up like someone had shocked him with a cattle prod. “Take a seat son, and tell me one more time what happened today.”
Jensen raised a brow at Jared sceptically, but took a seat nonetheless. He had been positive that that was it, his ass was being handed to him and by this time tomorrow he’d be back under lock and key, waiting for the judge to schedule him a hearing date.
“I told you everything that happened,” Jensen said slowly, feeling uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny of Jared’s hazel eyes.
“Now, I think that right there was the first lie you’ve told me all day,” Jared fixed him with a small smirk, the first crack in his otherwise authoritarian exterior. “Jensen...” he started, but then paused again, considering his words very carefully.
The boy looked up abruptly at the sound of his first name being used, it wasn’t a form of address he’d come to be used to at the ranch, or any time in the past couple of years, actually. His name sounded gentle on Jared’s lips, also not something he was used to, considering the majority of his time at home had been spent with one or both of his parents shouting it at him instead.
“Jensen,” Jared started again, shifting awkwardly in his chair, clearing his throat. “You hear things, running the kind of facility I do, and most of them are straight up bullshit. I know how teenage boys operate, and I know the kind of pressures you’re all going through, being cooped up in such close quarters with a lot of – quite frankly – volatile personalities.” He exhaled lightly, and Jensen chanced a half smile in acknowledgement. “I hear what the guys say about Baxter and Cameron, and I got no issue if it’s true or if it’s not, doesn’t concern me.”
Jensen hardened at that, beginning to sense where Jared might be going with this little speech. He knew the whispers about his roommates too; he’d never spread them, never said anything to confirm or deny what he suspected was actually spot on truth.
“I also know what guys your age fall back on when they’re scared,” Jared continued, a look of empathy clear in the lines around his eyes. “They lash out, and they project their own insecurities onto whoever’s around them. And in this case, I think that’s been you for quite a long time, hasn’t it?”
Jensen’s lips sat in a thin, straight line as he tried not to react, but Jared was right on the money with that one, and Jensen suspected that Jared knew he was.
“It used to be me,” Jared admitted with a tight smile, clearly trying to force different words out of his mouth but not quite saying what he wanted to. “I used to be right where you are. They used to call me everything that they call you: faggot, fairy boy, butt buddy… and a hell of a lot worse,” he admitted, and Jensen swallowed nervously. “And I fought back, just like you did.” the older man took a deep breath, and Jensen’s heart stuttered in his chest. “Because I was terrified that if I didn’t fight back, they’d know that everything they were accusing me of was true.”
Jensen let out a deep, shaky breath as his heart skipped once, twice; stumbling back into a rhythm eventually as Jared let his statement sit between them in silence.
“I–” Jensen’s voice cracked embarrassingly when he tried to speak, but Jared didn’t react, just waited patiently for him to start again. “Do you think they did know? That it was true?” he finally asked, his voice still shaking nervously. “Or did they just say that shit because they knew it would make you fight back?”
“I don’t really know,” Jared admitted sadly. “Is that what happened again today, Jensen? The same thing that happened with Anderson?”
Jensen nodded weakly.
“They were messin’ with Baby,” he repeated. “That’s why I went over to ‘em in the first place. They were talkin’ at dinner last week about lettin’ all the horses out, driving ‘em crazy, make ‘em all skip out. I told them to shut it when I heard, told ‘em I’d beat the shit out of ‘em if they even went near the stables. So when I saw they had Baby out in the paddock, no harness no nothin’ I ran in there and–” Jensen broke off, taking a breath to steady himself, trying not to let his anger seep through to the surface, trying to sound neutral and unaffected, so Jared might, maybe give him another chance here.
“They started calling me horsefucker, ‘cause I like being around ‘em so much,” he scoffed, and Jared’s brows rose towards his shaggy, chestnut hair in surprise. “But then they uh, they said no, I wouldn’t fuck with Baby because she’s a girl. I’d be the one bending over for the stallions. Said I didn’t want to go back to Gainesville because I only had the guards to fuck me there, and I liked the horse cocks better,” he finished bitterly, his heart rate already jumping up in anger again.
“Jensen, none of the guards at Gainesville… They didn’t, did they?” Jared asked with obvious concern.
“Oh uh, not um, not ever with me,” Jensen admitted awkwardly. “There were rumours, I mean, about others, older guys from a while ago, y’know. But they uh, they never tried anything with me.”
Jared nodded in relief and took a deep breath. He looked like he’d swallowed something incredibly sour, and Jensen couldn’t blame him. Most of his own memories made him feel the way Jared looked right now.
“I don’t know why I keep doin’ it,” Jensen said quietly, almost more to himself, an inner lament that happened to make it past a crack in the wall he usually kept all these thoughts penned behind. “I mean, I know where it started,” he kept speaking, looking up at Jared, and he didn’t know why but he couldn’t seem to make himself stop talking. Maybe it was the fact that Jared had opened up to him first, that he knew, with an astonishing amount of confidence, that Jared would never rat him out for this.
“When I was fourteen, I started dating um, this guy,” Jensen flicked his eyes up to Jared’s face, but there wasn’t any visible reaction, no shock, no disgust, just a mild, curious patience behind kind and honest eyes. “Me and him were uh, the only ones at our school, I think, anyways. And we never told anybody but somehow, someone found out. And one day the whole school was talking about it, and this other guy, Travis, he started sayin’ a bunch of shit to us. Said he’d tell the principal, get us expelled, said he’d tell our folks. Said he’d…” Jensen felt his throat close around the words, but he forced them out. “Said he’d knife us, and it would be doing the world a favour.
“I never believed him, thought he was just talking a big game to look tough at school, you know. But then, he followed us out one night, at the movies, then the bowling alley, we couldn’t shake him. And I got fucking sick of it and did the dumbest fucking…” Jensen wiped the moisture that was gathering in his eyes away, refusing to let it fall. “I kissed him, right there in front of Travis. Hoped it would scare him off. I didn’t see he had a knife in his pocket.”
“Fuck,” Jared swore under his breath, looking as if he might be on the verge of tears himself.
“I panicked, obviously,” Jensen scoffed and Jared nodded in understanding, but didn’t interrupt. “Kicked his feet out from under him, he fell back and cracked his head on the side of the curb and just like that it was over. He was in a coma.
“My parents didn’t know I was… y’know,” Jensen gulped. “And when I told them my side of it, and they got me the lawyer, they said I had to plead guilty, because if I pleaded self-defence in open court I’d have to tell them why Travis attacked us. The knife went down the gutter, there was no proof he ever had one. They were more ashamed to have a son who is the way I am than a son who was convicted of aggravated assault and locked up in juvie,” he scoffed, the reality of his life still unbelievably absurd, even to his own ears.
“So, here I am,” Jensen shrugged, clearing his throat. “They didn’t want me back when I was paroled, so this place was the next best thing.”
“I am so sorry, Jensen,” Jared grimaced, leaning forward on his forearms. “You never deserved any of this.”
“God might see it differently,” Jensen attempted a joke to lighten the mood.
“Fuck God,” Jared rolled his eyes, and Jensen let out a bark of laughter before he could stop himself. “It’s okay, you can laugh,” Jared smiled at him kindly, and Jensen let himself smile just a little. “Thank you for telling me, I know how hard that must have been for you.”
“Thanks for not pulling a knife on me when you found out,” Jensen smirked, and Jared laughed this time, throwing his head back wildly, his eyes lighting up in joy.
“Hey, same to you,” Jared grinned, and Jensen had almost forgotten for a moment that Jared had made the same admission. The man that he had been lusting over for the past six weeks had told him that they were the same. All of a sudden Jensen felt his heart in his throat because all he could think about was how he’d been lying on top of Jared in the yard, the stunningly attractive man shirtless and sweaty beneath him, and how he had most definitely felt himself popping a semi before he’d gotten his thoughts under control.
Fuck, what if Jared felt it? It’s one thing having Jared know he’s into dudes, it’s a whole other thing for Jared to know he’s into him.
Jensen leapt to his feet without really knowing where he was going, but just knowing he couldn’t sit here with Jared for one moment longer or his heart might actually beat so hard it exploded.
“I, uh… should I still go pack my stuff?” Jensen asked awkwardly, realising that despite the reasoning behind all of his violent behaviour, he had still broken Jared’s rules.
“No, Jensen, I’m not sending you back to Gainesville,” Jared shook his head. “But you’ve gotta stop beating up the other guys, even if they fucking deserve it, okay? Just get yourself out of the situation, and if you want, you come and tell me, and I’ll take care of it. If you keep kicking the shit out of people, they’re gonna start asking why I haven’t shipped you off yet, you understand?”
“Yessir,” Jensen nodded immediately, relief flooding every vein in his body.
“Okay, get yourself upstairs. You’re gonna have dinner in your room and stay inside until Baxter and Cameron are gone tomorrow. If we make it look like you got house arrest for the fight today hopefully that will keep the guys off your back.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jensen nodded gratefully, edging towards the door, desperate to escape and be alone with the tirade of thoughts that are spinning through his mind right now, becoming more and more inappropriate by the second.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jared smiled softly, nodding towards the door, and Jensen recognised the dismissal, shooting out the door and down the hall before Jared had the chance to notice that his downstairs brain had taken a keen interest in the topic of Jared’s sexuality.
Jared could have let one of the other boys bring the tray of dinner up to Jensen in his room, he could have even asked one of his other staff to do it, but here he was bringing it up the stairs himself. He told himself that he was thinking of Jensen’s best interests here, that the boy had had a difficult and emotionally exhausting day, and wouldn’t want anyone butting into his business. There was certainly some truth in that, but Jared knew that on the whole, his reasons were entirely selfish. He wanted to see Jensen again. He wanted to be near him again.
Since Jensen had left his office that afternoon, Jared’s mind hadn’t been able to pull itself out of the goddamn gutter. Sure, he’d had his suspicions, but actually getting the confirmation that Jensen was gay had set the gears in his mind spinning, and absolutely nothing he had done managed to slow them down. It was like his brain had forgotten every other reason that he and Jensen could never be involved with each other – their age difference, the fact that Jensen was technically in his care, the fact that being gay was still fucking illegal – and had decided to focus on the one reason why it might be possible: Jensen was gay, just like him.
And if Jensen was gay, that could mean that maybe, if the universe was interested in cutting either of them a fucking break for once, he might have the same inappropriate feelings for Jared that Jared was having for him. Jared knew how unlikely that was, but it didn’t stop him wanting to be around Jensen, because apparently he’s a giant masochist.
All the other boys were still downstairs in the canteen, and the hallway upstairs was eerily quiet. Jared could hear the floorboards creaking under his boots as he pushed off the top step and rounded the corner. As he came up to Jensen’s door, he realised he had a small problem: he couldn’t knock or open the door while he was holding the tray of dinner. Momentarily flummoxed, Jared looked between the tray and the doorknob, wishing he’d put tables in the hallway or something. He’d have to look into that. As he came to the conclusion that he could just knock with the toe of his boot, an odd sound reached his ears.
There was a creak of wood, then a groan of metal, and then a grunt of a far more human variety. Jared paused, listening curiously, and there it was again – that low, breathy moan, long and drawn out; at the same time conveying both aggravation and relief. A dull thumping started up, rhythmic and soft, and the blood in Jared’s body separated: half to his face, turning his cheeks beet red, and the other half to his cock, which went instantly stiff the moment the realisation of what Jensen was doing in his room crashed over him.
Jared had no idea what to do. Did he knock and interrupt the boy? Did he leave the tray of dinner outside for Jensen to find? Did he leave and come back with the food later? He was impossibly frozen. He didn’t want to knock and interrupt Jensen, that would be wildly inappropriate, because the only reason Jared was even contemplating that course of action was because he wanted to see what Jensen looked like when he was getting off.
Would he answer the door without a shirt, trousers hastily done up, skin flushed with the colour of his arousal? Would he be embarrassed? Or would he be able to brush it off and hide what he had been doing? No, Jared couldn’t invade his privacy like that. Not to mention, these poor boys barely got any time to themselves, living with roommates like they had at Gainesville, and now here at the ranch. This was probably the first time Jensen had had an opportunity to take care of business in ages.
Just as Jared had almost decided on leaving and coming back later with the tray of food – if he left it now, Jensen would know that he’d been overheard, and that whoever brought it up hadn’t knocked because they knew what he was doing inside – the low knocking of the bed frame against the wall, and the occasional soft groans, were eclipsed by a new sound; a whining, desperate, breathless sound. A word, actually. A name.
“Jared.”
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