Jensen freezes too when he hears the door, not because he wants to stop but because he knows August will. “Augie, look at me,” he breathes, his fingers moving to August’s chin to make the man do as he’s told. He’ll wrap his arms around August’s lower back when he’s kissed again, not wanting August to spook and leave him. “Look at me,” he’ll whisper between their lips because he can feel the seconds ticking down between them till August tries to go. He’ll slip a hand under August’s shirt, holding him around his bare back, trying to keep August close because he wants this so fucking bad. “Look at me.”
Gigi tried not to check her phone as she waited, tapping her pointer and middle finger on the bar top, lips pursed as she looked around and finally got a feel for the establishment. She hadn’t bothered to take a good look at it when she first walked in. She turned at the sound of people approaching, and smiled when she saw Rheon round the bar to come closer to her. “Everyone needs a change of scenery now and then.” she said simply, smirk pressed to her lips. Her eyes, round and wide, came to an alluring squint, “Besides, I told you I would come see the place eventually.” She did tell him that, though when they’d first met it’s hard to say if she had any real intention of following through. She said a lot of different things to a lot of different people she met while drinking. Tilting her head at him, she felt intrigue at whatever new thing he might be able to show her when he mentioned things she could find here that she couldn’t find on her own domain, she gave him the faintest once over that was coated in sugar, “I can think of a few things too.”
Gigi’s attention only left Rheon at the sound of Scotia dragging glasses across the bar top, causing her to look over at him, first slowly with her eyes and then with her full attention. “You’re the best.” she smiled at him, but her head tilted back the slightest bit as both brothers began to speak. She didn’t feel like part of the conversation, and almost hadn’t completely registered what was happening. It was at Scotia saying he didn’t trust his baby brother that Gigi’s eyebrows rose and her eyes grew wider, if even possible. Right, brothers. Duh! Her head rang and she looked back at Rheon, “You must be giving him reasons not to trust you then? He seems like a good judge of character.” she motioned over to Scotia, but her voice was teasing.
She laughed, assuming Scotia was joking about carding her, but when the spade grew silent for a few moments she realized that wasn’t the case. The gag was that she herself was a bartender. “Oh.” her lips pushed out, she felt her cheeks pinken faintly, “Oh, oh you’re serious.” She stumbled with her own utterings, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she felt the back pocket of her jeans and pulled her ID out for him, slowly sliding it across the bar jokingly as if they were making a sketchy transaction. “You’re the boss.” she said lightly, but she didn’t bother to look at Rheon the whole time. She could only assume he was losing his mind, and she kind of liked knowing that not making eye contact with him was probably making it worse.
Scotia certainly noticed the glances exchanged between his brother and Gwen, as she’d called herself, as he moved to interrupt them for a moment longer. He smirked when she jumped on teasing Rheon as well and felt he deserved the humbling that came to him in the form of a blushed collar line. Rheon, for his part, opened his mouth to defend himself, but closed it again, knowing both Gigi and Scotia would only enjoy seeing a rise out of him.
“I’ll deal with you later,” he told his brother, who feigned innocence. Scotia only nodded when Gigi fumbled in her surprised manner to present her ID. His expression was still casual, his amused demeanor touching at his lips as he picked up the card and gave the information on it a once over.
It was good to know the girl’s full name, her age, her address. Generally, Scotia didn’t have that luxury with most of the company his brother kept, something that had served as a downfall in certain situations. But now, if things went south he would at least know where to start, he thought, peaking over the edge of the card to the girl, as though to match her picture to her face.
And then he smiled, sliding the card back across the bar to her. “You bet,” he nodded as his hand tipped the rest of the way to pour a double rather than a single. “On the house, Gwen, thanks for coming by.”
Scotia began turning to tend to other customers when Rheon cleared his throat, and he stepped back to glance at his brother with a raised brow. He knew full well his brother was asking for a drink too and his eyes fell back to Gigi one more time before deciding he would spare the younger one more humiliation for the day. Just this one.
Scotia cautiously retrieved another whiskey glass and poured a single into it before sliding it over the bar to Rheon. He knew his expression was warning and that Gigi would pick up on the tension in it, but he didn’t care. Best for the girl to know what she was getting into anyway.
“Thank you,” Rheon gave a clipped response before he brought a hand to Gigi’s upper arm, “There’s an empty table over that way- lets sit.” He urged her even if she was already sitting. Considering he’d spent the last few minutes wanting to sink into the ground, he would do anything to trade Scotia watching them from a distance rather than up close.
Once he and Gigi were sitting down closer and with more privacy, Rheon took a sip of his drink quite immediately. “You know, in hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have invited you to my family’s bar just because I met you at yours. Maybe that was a bad idea since your family seems at least 62% chiller than mine.”
He chuckled, taking the opportunity to actually look at her for the first time, smiling because she was a pretty girl and she was there to see him.
There was a quiet synchrony between Charlie and his husband of ten years. In a crowded bar on their son’s 21st birthday, one word of “Honey,” and a shared glance was enough for Charlie to understand what Scotia needed from him. And when they bustled about their own home several hours later, settling their closest friends in for the night, Charlie’s palm on Scotia’s elbow was enough for him to read what the younger man wanted him to tend to.
They were a well-oiled machine, but the ease of their functionality never compared to the feeling of closing their bedroom door behind them. There was a slight hurry to them, stripping down and getting comfortable for bed after a long night of being intensely social because they knew what was to come.
The appeal wasn’t quite in the near-full nakedness, though that was certainly a bonus. It was moreso how their calves fit together, how there was just enough space between them to fit their hands, how the soft light of their bedside lamps reflected off their crisp blue eyes.
This was home, to share a breath with Charlie where their noses barely touched. To rest his head on Charlie’s pillow from their proximity instead of his own. He watched the younger man with glossy, tired eyes, almost whispering even if he didn’t have to because the unfiltered opinions they shared with each other about the night’s events were only for each other. Scotia was quite sober by now but there was still a pink tinge to his bearded cheeks. Charlie’s gaze made him lick his lips and squint his eyes with broadening smiles even after all this time.
In a lull between their opinionated words and chuckles of consensus, Scotia’s fingertips found Charlie’s jaw and he confessed his love in as many words.
“We will have our family, you know,” he insisted quietly.
“We’ll be dads to two if it’s the last thing we do. It’s just a matter of getting there,” he promised in his own way, knowing his past personal life was what held up their process, to begin with.
The lump in his throat was not from the persistent reminder of how hard it had been for them to conceive in the way they chose, and then to put their plans on hold for the sake of better timing. But now, lying tangled up with the man he was now and forever would be enraptured by, Scotia needed Charlie to know.
“I know we haven’t talked about it in a while and I know that’s my fault…I’m not good at being rational or level-headed when what’s best doesn’t match up with what I want.”
He held Charlie’s utterly lovely eyes with his own, fixated on them even in heavy moments. “But I think about it every day. I think about how good of a dad you’ll be again when we get there and how much you’ll smile in between your little moments of freaking out. The thought of you keeps this fire in me going sometimes, Charlie.”
A breath passed Scotia lips as he allowed them to gaze at one another after the moment of candidness, almost as though he was willing Charlie to read the sincerity off of him. And after that beat, he couldn’t keep himself from leaning up to press a lingering kiss to Charlie’s forehead. Such intimacy was reserved for moments like these alone and when Scotia settled back into his spot, their noses now touched.
Despite the weight of the things he himself had brought up, Scotia still felt a shiver trickle along his spine to feel Charlie’s touches of support and love reciprocating his own. He found a smile on his lips and he could have kissed his husband in that moment, could have held Charlie’s hand, and nuzzled to him for the night.
But distantly, a thump against one of their guest bedroom walls followed by the unmistakable sounds of quite the carnal activity rang out. Instantly both men furrowed their brows, though amusement crept onto their lips with each passing second until Scotia sputtered out a quiet laugh, connecting the only dots in his mind that made sense considering who was currently sleeping over in their home.
“Oh my god. Is your brother getting laid? After all that? Jesus!”
And Charlie laughed too, the corners of his eyes crinkling because he never thought he’d reach the day he’d be in such a situation. “Kids these days,” he teased, slipping an arm around the man he’d happily married so long ago, “You sure you still want one?”
His lightheartedness never failed to put a grin on Scotia’s lips in turn and this time the older man pecked at his lips. “Yes, Charlie Vogel,” he whispered between the gentlest and happiest kisses. “We will have our family.”
Gigi wasn’t phased by Scotia repeating her own wording back to her, she simply glanced up and gave him a charming smile, “Far be it.” She knew what she was about. It wasn’t until she’d realized what she had done, ordering Firewhisky at a muggle bar, that she felt a slight wave of embarrassment. However, had Scotia not already known about magic, any other bartender would have just been confused. Her lips faded softly until her mouth was parted, “…..Oh.” her eyebrows rose but, she moved quickly into a soft girly laugh before she shook her head. “Thank you…friend of Rheon’s?” she tilted her head questioningly, wondering if she’d get a name or relationship. She’d be honest, hearing Scotia was married with a child was a bummer, but it’s not like she was planning to leave alone regardless. Besides, he didn’t exactly give off fun and frisky vibes. Seeing him turn to leave, she could safely assume Rheon was at the bar, which was good news. When he turned back to her, she grinned, “…Gwen.”
Scotia only gave Gigi a cautious nod when she tried to feel out his relationship with the person she’d come in search of. It made him wonder what his brother had gotten himself into, with what seemed like a stranger no less, but he’d told himself a long time ago that Rheon’s choices were his responsibility.
Scotia took one last look at the girl before heading to the back, where his younger brother was meticulously pouring over the bookkeeping aspect of the business. Say what he would about Rheon, the kid was sharp, and better versed in academics than Scotia could hope to be. It helped to have him around, not in the least because a sturdy day job kept him off the streets before his Knight Bus gig each evening.
It piqued Scotia’s interest that Rheon seemed surprised to hear that someone was there to see him.
“Brown hair, big brown eyes, seems sweet...on the outside,” he commented as he walked towards the liquor cabinet at the back of his office. “Someone you’re seeing?”
Rheon only replied with a “hopefully” as he closed up what he was working on, in a little more of a rush than he was a second ago. He was hoping that his brother, who wasn’t obligated to hang around behind the bar anymore, would stay back in his office, but of course, he had no such luck.
When they were back on the floor, Scotia moved back behind the bar while Rheon rounded it to approach Gigi with more proximity. He smiled to see her but tapered it as not to appear eager.
“I’m not gonna lie,” he said, reconciling the sight of her in a muggle bar in his mind, “I didn’t actually expect you to venture your way over here when you’ve got your own home base bar to hide out in, but I’m glad you did. I can think of a few things offered around these parts that aren’t over there.”
Rheon licked his lips, opening them to add another thought, but he was interrupted by the sound of a whiskey glass dragging across the wooden counter in Gigi’s direction. He looked up to his brother with a clear expression of exasperation, a beg to be left alone, but Scotia was focused on the girl.
“A single of Ogden’s. Neat, I’m assuming?” The older Fallon raised a brow as he began unscrewing the top on the intricately shaped bottle. “But first, if you wouldn’t mind-”
“Scotia, don’t ID her, I’m not...” Rheon took a pause to reroute from saying ‘interested in’ and instead went with, “spending time with someone under 18. Don’t.”
But Scotia raised a brow between the two, still looking particularly amused at the situation at hand. “Please, entertain me this once. It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s my baby brother,” he addressed Gigi, holding the bottle just a tilt from spilling its contents into the glass before them.
Bartenders, and men at bars in general, typically didn’t give Gigi a hard time when she asked for help. In fact, she was more used to having to make men disappear than getting them to help her. So, when Scotia didn’t just answer her very simple question, her head cocked and a sly smirk met her lips. Her smile was sweet, gaze charming and soft as she chuckled lightly and shook her head. It hadn’t clicked to her, maybe due to the small bit of alcohol she’d already ingested that night, that the blonde behind the bar could be Rheon’s brother. She figured he was just another bartender working a shift, much like Angus would at Courtney’s bar. Besides, she’d imagined his brother redhaired, given the little she even knew about Rheon.
Her smile never left her face, hair falling off her shoulder as they straightened and she leaned into the bar just the slighted bit more, “You see, I’d quite like to fuck him. So, if you’ve seen him around, it would be in his best interest to say hi while I’m in the area. I live a bit far, and it’d be a shame if I had to go all the way back home with nothing to show for it. Don’t you think?” she laughed, brushed her fingers over her bangs to move them. “If he’s not here, I’ll just have a Blishen’s. If he is here, I’ll have an Ogden’s.” she slid into the closest barstool, making herself comfortable.
Though Scotia appeared more focused in the task at hand than who he was speaking to, he did keep a close eye on her, watching her body language shift. His interest was quite piqued, however, at her completely blunt and unaplogetic honestly. His brows rose sharply and his lips parted slightly to let out a bemused chuckle.
“Right,” he shook his head as he set the now clean and dried glass down in front of her. “Of course.”
Scotia’s previously stern, suspicious demeanor relaxed off his shoulders, but only somewhat as he figured Rheon had simply used his bar as a means to his philadering. Not something a bit more...reckless.
“Well, far be it for me to stand in the way of Rheon getting fucked, huh?” he stated crisply, still shaking his head in disbelief.
“Good choices, but this isn’t that kind of bar,” Scotia nodded to her in a silent and secretive mannerism considering their present company.
“Still...the father of my child,” he stated the mouthful over simply ‘boyfriend’ to make it clear where he stood with her, “is quite literally the most magical person I’ve met in my life and he and our friends do like to keep a personal stash in the back. So I’ll see what I can do for you, friend of Rheon’s.”
Scotia turned away from her and began rounding the bar towards the back, stopping only a few steps in to turn back to Gigi, “And who should I tell him is waiting?”
I don’t want to say Gigi came with a mission, but was there really any other reason she’d go out of town just to hit up a random bar when her sister owned one not far from her apartment? She hadn’t seen Rheon since her bus ride, but she remembered the name of the place he said his brother worked at, or she thought so. (Turns out, she’d spent twenty minutes at the bar a few blocks down before she realized it was the wrong place. Got a few free drinks out of it, so, she didn’t count it as a loss.) When she slid into the place she gave the spot a full scan, thinking it’d be easy to pick Rheon out given the bright shade of his hair, but when she didn’t find him instantly it didn’t bother her. She wasn’t shy, and wasted no time going up to the blonde man behind the bar. Hands on the counter, her head dropped to the side so that her bangs slid from her eyes. “Hey!” voice sickly sweet, dangerously sweet, “You wouldn’t happen to know a guy, ‘bought yea tall” she made a motion with her hand. “Bright red hair, kind of cute? I mean, if that’s your type.” she smiled.
Scotia was used to people calling for his attention while he was behind the bar, but generally it was from arrogant male patrons who couldn’t be bothered to wait till someone was available to help them. And generally, he ignored such calls for attention, but the sound of Gigi’s enthusiastic voice made him look up right away, if only from curiosity alone.
Initially he thought the young girl might be lost, having walked into the first place she saw for directions. So he drew to his full height to listen to her but one of his brows rose the longer he listened. He certainly knew someone who fit that description, someone who more often than not, meant trouble. And for Rheon to have somehow brought his trouble around the bar?
“Depends,” Scotia regarded Gigi observantly as he continued drying the wine glass in his hands, breezing entirely over her cheeky quip. “What business ya got with him?”
It had been a rough week for Charlie and Scotia. What was supposed to be a romantic night, the first they got to spend together in some time, ended up being filled with waking up every hour to soothe a feverish Jensen and simply surrendering to letting the boy rest between them by dawn. Yes, Scotia managed to eventually put his son into a proper sleep in his own room so that he could take a morning shower- by himself. But between the trials of fatherhood and the abysmal week Charlie had been having at work and how little he was looking forward to going in that morning, the two men found themselves in a rare spot of temperamentally at odds as they got dressed for the day.
To make matters worse, they both overslept from the tiring night and were running late to their respective occupations when Charlie realized he’d left the exams he was meant to administer that day in class, at his own apartment. As he tore through his bag, willing all his materials to appear upon the third search, the professor leveled himself with the knowledge that he would be tardy regardless of the fact that his own place was just an apparition away.
It was in Scotia’s nature to offer solutions even if he knew deep down that Charlie simply needed some space. Still, the growing frustration in his partner began to quickly reflect off of him as well. So when Charlie gave a sigh of, “I should go. I’ll see you when I see you,” Scotia responded with a half-shout from across the bedroom of, “Just fuckin’ move in already, Charlie.”
Charlie, somewhat thrown off by his boyfriend’s tone of voice in tandem with the words of commitment, let out a breath of, “What?”
Scotia, still riled up, continued on, “You practically already live here anyway! You could put your work bag right there in that nook by the door! Just have all your things right there to grab, ready to go every day! No hassle!”
And that was when Charlie’s demeanor finally cracked. He didn’t love how they came to this but Scotia seemed quite adamant and Charlie could see their lives together already. “Seriously?”
“Seriously! I miss you every fucking morning, Charlie!” Scotia took a breath but barely before he rattled on, fueled by his adrenaline alone. “I miss you even more when I see half your things hanging around my things like they belong here but you’re not here. And I know last night wasn’t ideal or a good selling point for us living together but-”
“No, I want to live with you. I don’t care about the hard parts,” Charlie had to intervene because part of him prickled to see Scotia feeling the need to convince him on this.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Okay.” Scotia huffed. He seemed to fish for something more to say but instead, aggressively insisted, “I love you! You can start moving the rest of your things in whenever you want. After work today, I don’t care. We’ll even put a fixture in the living room so Solvig can get in. Okay?”
“Okay,” Charlie chuckled and the sight made the tension finally drain from Scotia’s form. The older of them scrubbed a hand across his face, knowing he’d revealed all his cards by that point, and stepping closer to Charlie he groaned, “I’ve been thinking about this for a little while...could you tell?”
Opening his arms for his larger boyfriend to step into, Charlie shook his head, “No, not at all.” He met Scotia’s turn of the chin for a chaste kiss before, “Let’s talk more about this tonight when we get home. Yes?”
“Yes.” A smile found Scotia’s lips for the first time that morning and he leaned in for a brief but deeper kiss. The expression on Charlie’s face when he pulled away made most of that morning worth it; Scotia knew it wouldn’t be a milestone with them if it wasn’t spirited but completely resounding in nature.
Charlie loves Jensen. And though he won’t say it yet, he loves Scotia too. It’s the base reasoning behind why he’s in the Fallon home, to begin with, on a Saturday evening, without any other adult company.
He’d never watched a child all by himself before. Hell, he had never even been the first choice to watch his own nephew when his brother was in a bind. But when Scotia called him that afternoon tiredly asking if he could watch Jensen for several hours, Charlie felt that he had to step up. If only because Scotia sounded desperate enough to try and sweeten the deal with a few boxes of wine on the house, or even, straight-up cash at that point.
His boyfriend- because that’s what they are now even if Charlie won’t readily say that either, has been pulling double shifts since the afternoon before, so Charlie agrees to help out before any begging can occur. But from the moment he had walked in to relieve the babysitter, Jensen was out of sorts, clinging to him one moment and whining in disagreement the next.
Charlie hardly recognizes the gentle, perceptive, and fun-loving toddler he’s come to know behind the distressed child he’s faced with that evening. Ordinarily, Jensen would follow Charlie around with his tiny steps, curious to where they were going together and what they were about to do. He would laugh each time Charlie brought him to a new activity and speak animatedly to the best of his ability, bright-eyed to the newest member of his little family.
But today he plops himself to the ground, refusing to follow along when Charlie urges him from one room to the other. Jensen refuses to eat most of his meal at dinner time and even cries at the notion of going to his room when it’s thankfully bed time. Even when Charlie offers to read a story he finds himself faced with Jensen’s small form, sitting despondently on the floor, red-faced and tense. At that point, Charlie is at his wit’s end. At that point, he considers calling Scotia at work to figure out what the hell is going on and what he can do about it.
Jensen seems to have the same idea because he begins to cry, but for the first time that Charlie’s heard of that evening, for his father.
“We’ve been in a really tight spot at the bar,” Scotia had explained when he and Charlie spoke on the phone earlier. “Didn’t even get to close up last night because there was a bust in the water main so someone had to stay and keep an eye on the place. And now I’m on the day shift again and it doesn’t look like our closer is going to show up so…” A massive sigh. “It’s a shitty situation and I really don’t want to be the one to deal with it but if I don’t...no one will.”
They weren't quite the sweet words that Charlie had expected to hear amid the busy lives they both led, which sometimes kept them from seeing one another. But Charlie had been able to hear the strain behind them. It was a strain that Scotia was able to process and verbalize, but it seems now, looking at his boy, that the same can’t be said for Jensen, save the one word he cries out over and over, as though it’s the only thing that can ease him.
“Daddy.”
Charlie finally takes a breath and leans down to scoop the tantruming child into his arms. Jensen resists at first, growing louder, but when he’s held tightly to Charlie’s chest in a way he has seen Scotia do on occasion before, it gives Jensen pause. He quiets for a moment, letting out a shaky breath before he shifts to be a little more comfortable against Charlie. Something in the man’s chest stirs hearing Jensen’s emotions settle, feeling the boy’s arms come around his neck.
“You miss your dad, huh?” He speaks quietly, walking not towards Jensen’s room now, but the bedroom where Charlie had spent many nights being soothed himself.
Jensen nods absently, his fingers fiddling with the tag at the back of Charlie’s t-shirt before he answers with a small, “Yeah.”
“Well, I miss him too,” Charlie admits as he eases onto Scotia’s side of the bed, still holding Jensen firmly to himself. He meets Jensen’s eyes as the boy looks up to him, a weariness in him that Charlie is sure his father is reflecting this very moment far away from them.
Charlie doesn’t speak again till Jensen blinks heavily, as though he’ll only make it through a few more till he simply can’t maintain the fight that’s been in him all day.
“He’s going to be back in a few hours and it’ll be great. He’ll be happy to see us and we probably won’t be awake but when we see him in the morning we’ll be happy to see him too,” his voice is low and as smooth as he can manage it to be after their challenging evening together. Jensen sighs deeper than Charlie’s ever heard an almost three year old muster up before and it only makes his hold more protective.
“...But until then we have each other, okay? I’ve got you, Jensen.” Charlie can feel the tension melting from the toddler’s body and it allows him to take a breath of relief to say out loud a sentiment he’s had a hard time believing from the moment Scotia came into his life. “I’m not going anywhere.”
- August stops by Nora’s for a surprise visit (Jensen is 21, August is 22, Nora is 22)
- August, Jensen and Nora spend time with her friends at a bar
- Jensen brings August home with him
- After several hours in bed together there is a miscommunication and August leaves upset
- Jensen and August both confide in Nora
- August returns to Jensen’s apartment and they talk about their relationship
After meeting over the summer, longing for each other and sleeping together two very intense times, August and Jensen parted ways abruptly a week before the end of the Ëklund siblings’ vacation. Despite thinking about each other they had no contact until August decided to surprise Nora with a visit a few months later.
August knew that visiting Nora would mean potentially seeing Jensen again, though he told himself not to get his hopes up; what they had over the summer was likely only physical for Jensen.
Upon seeing August, Jensen mentally sinks into the floorboards, looking at Nora appalled that she didn’t mention this. Nora just gives him a yellow smile, “Surprise?”
Jensen turns his gaze away from Nora to look at back August again and go, "Hey, Augie."
He puts a little smile on his lips because whatever's happened in his head and chest all this time, August probably doesn't deserve an attitude from him. He should just take a deep breath, let this encounter play out. And then die on his own time. Right?
Jensen’s eyes truly are his downfall. He could be casual as you like, interacting with Nora and August like they’re just catching up after not seeing each other for a while but how Jensen looks at August never changes, his eyes never change.
August sees that look from Jensen and thinks that maybe there’s more there to be explored. But then reasons it away, telling himself this isn't just them in a summer house having fun. Jensen has his real life here, must have his friends and maybe his hookups. He tries to focus on Nora and indulge her as she takes him out to her favorite places, introduce him to her friends and etc. but the more he catches Jensen looking at him, more he feels like they're going to end up the same way they did before.
-
When they’re all out with Nora’s friends at a bar and they’re pouring over August, how well spoken and handsome he is, Jensen notices.
The same manner in which August made Jensen's mind quiet the very first moment they met, such a sight also makes Jensen quiet, but on the outside. They don't quiet his eyes but they quiet his mouth and his demeanor.
August politely turns them all down and then looks at Jensen to see if he had heard his conversation, unsure of the answer he wants, but there Jensen is, already looking at him as if he's been watching him the whole time.
That’s when Jensen finally has enough. He pulls August aside when the attention is least on them, sneaking up and hooking a pointer finger with August's to be like, "Come on.”
August's lips form a smile when he feels Jensen pulling him and he throws a glance behind them, finding his sister's and he wiggles his eyebrows like "Yeah we're outta here," so she doesn't bother looking for them there.
Jensen brings August to the side street beside the bar where people go to smoke. They get out there and Jens is the one to put August's back to the wall and crowd into his space. His hands slip up to either side of August's neck and it seems like he might go in for a kiss right away, just like that, but he doesn't. His cheekbone finds August's and instead he whispers, "I've missed you."
August feels his back hitting the wall as soon as they're properly outside, but it's Jensen's touch and I've missed you that suck the air out of him. His gray eyes wide, staring back at Jensen with glee, using the hands around his neck to pull Jensen closer, their lips almost touching. There are shivers running down his spine and he would devour Jens if there weren't people around him, so he has to pull back, resist the urge to start kissing him right then and there. Instead he whispers, feeling his mouth brush against his when he says, "Where can we go?"
Where can we spend the following hours touching and feeling each other up without being interrupted by people, the weather and who knows what else. August is always intense, but that's for him and his partner's eyes only where they can both let go of any judgement and do whatever they want.
Where can we go, sets Jensen on fire. The consent in it, the confirmation that August wants him right back makes Jensen's stomach turn. His fingers tighten slightly on August and Jensen tells him, "My place- I'll get us a cab." Except he doesn't move. He can't move, fuck, he's wanted to be so close to August for months, tried to recreate the very feeling he has tingling through his bones right now. He tries to resist, tries to restrain himself, but instead he smashes a kiss to August's lips. Just this one, he tells himself, just this one little taste and then they can go.
They end up having to tip their cab driver rather well because Jensen climbs onto August’s lap the moment they get in the car.
Eventually though, August whispers in Jensen's ear to behave, "Or else I won't let you come until I say you can."
He pushes Jensen to sit properly as they have this 10 minute eternal drive, but August stares at the window, not really looking at anything just trying to keep his dick down. But he doesn't want Jensen to feel rejected, so he takes Jensen's hand, interlacing their fingers and letting them rest on the space between them.
"That sounds fucking delicious-" Jensen purrs through a smirk as he's pushed off. He doesn't particularly feel any kind of way till August really does just look out the window, and then he wonders if he really did cross a line and not the fun kind of line.
Jensen does adore the hand though. He is looking out the window after that too, if only to have somewhere to point his grin. They haven't held hands outside of the bedroom before and now they do it and August initiates it and Jensen prickles with how much he already wants it again, even if it hasn't ended this first time yet.
Once they arrive outside of the apartment, August lets go of Jensen's hand so they can get out of the car, but Jensen grabs it back and opts to scooch his way out of the same door, that way their contact doesn't break. It makes August bite his lip, trying to hold back a smile as he thinks, "Oh he likes that I hold his hand."
-
Jensen is a lot less rough around the edges when they get into his place. He knows now that they have time, that they can just be them. He likes that they're holding hands. He almost wants to just...spend time together? But he still can't be sure that August didn't come back with him that night expecting to fuck him raw like he used to. So once they get into his place Jens approaches August slow, his eyes full of want as it always is. But his hands come to August slow, not pouncing to strip him down just yet.
August is way softer when he's approached like that, enjoying the slow pace for a change, giving him time to think where he wants to kiss next and not just reacting to what's happening.
He would enjoy kissing Jensen at the entrance of his place, like a hello, now we can properly greet each other and then go on, walking inside and August following Jensen close behind.
Jensen dies to think that they don't have to rush till the sun comes up or have to muffle their cries. Jensen couldn't put into words how he feels having August with him like this again so he shows it with his kisses slowly dropping down August's jaw, his neck, hands peeling back August's shirt. It's a lot more affectionate than it usually is and Jensen seems to be taking the lead in regards to pace at least. August is right, they can go at this for hours, just kiss and touch and go mad in each others arms. There are no restraints.
They can make their way through the apartment if they want, losing an article of clothing along the way if they want.
The first time they have sex that night, August takes his time, grinding against Jensen while they make out on the bed now mostly naked. Jerking both of them together with his hand until they come just so they can get the edge off that built from the bar until there and then he can start trailing Jensen's body with his lips and kisses, opening Jensen's ass slowly and proper and only stopping when they're done sharing kisses and he can tell Jensen is more than ready.
Jensen adores that tender loving. He feels so grounded in the moment when he’s laying pressed against August, his breaths on the man’s lips, being able to say August’s name out loud as he comes all over his hand. Being able to press their foreheads together when he feels his stomach rippling with sensation and best yet- knowing for sure there will be more.
To be fucked in his own bed by August and to be able to ride him in his own home is something else. Because certainly when he sees August becoming worked up he’ll push to climb on top of him and ride him. Not just with August sitting up like he usually does, but laying down so Jensen can properly put a hand down on August’s chest as leverage to fuck himself down properly on the man.
August will now discover that Jensen fits nicely against his side, chin poking into the crook of his neck as Jens peppers soft and lazy kisses. He’ll feel the weight of Jensen’s limbs over his body, the hand resting over his still heavy breathing chest. He eats this up, being able to just look at August and know they don’t have anywhere to be but right there.
August easily lifts his arm to let Jensen rest on top of it so their faces can be close like that. This would make this time even more memorable for him because he's a sucker for cuddling like this but he rarely had opportunities or desire to do so with his other partners.
August places his hand on top of Jensen's on his chest, wrapping his fingers around it and keep it there.
-
They have been saying nothing for the past few hours but vulgar teasing and each other’s names and now that Jensen is settling back into reality and he doesn’t even know how to begin what’s on his mind.
August is mostly fine with the silence because he just had a handful of orgasms and his body is tired and comfortable with Jensen snuggling up on him, but it still irks him how Jensen doesn't talk to him. Even before, he waited to see if Jensen was going to share his own stories and thoughts like August did when they were sitting by the pool.
Jensen isn’t totally sure about the approach but as someone who isn’t great at speaking, all he can intelligibly think of in the moment is to ask quietly, “When are you headed back?”
August tenses immediately at the question, almost wishing he hadn't trapped his arm so he could at least get some space from Jensen. But his face still falls disappointed and he just hates how he went from feeling so good and enjoying the moment and now there's regret and he knows he won't look back at them earlier that night the same way.
Jensen’s eyes are on August’s face, he’s been looking at him all this time and he doesn’t want to stop looking at him either. So he does notice the tension immediately. He lifts his head off August just a hair, just to look at his eyes a little better because he isn’t sure why August looks like he’s suddenly been punched in the gut. “Because I don’t want you to go...” he adds, finishing the thought that he had been leading up to, to begin with. His brows furrow a little at the thought alone but he keeps looking at August, struggling to find more words to streamline how he feels about them.
But August has made up his mind about how Jensen’s statement made him feel. He gets up and gets dressed quickly, which Jensen tries to stand in the way of, of course. He tries to convince August to stay, apologizing even though he doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for.
August doesn’t let Jensen hold him back, he even yells at him to stop and let him go, "I don't wanna hear it, it's– I followed you here so joke's on me I guess."
For all of his determination, Jensen does back off when he’s yelled at though. He doesn’t like that at all, the sound vibrates through his nerves and freezes him where he stands no matter how sad he looks and feels.
August doesn’t so much slam the door on his way out, but he doesn't close it properly either. Hearing Jensen asking to stay then felt like an attempt to soften the blow or guarantee that August would come back again when Jens wanted him to next time. It feels so clear to him that Jensen really just wanted to have sex with him and nothing else.
Jensen is utterly confused, unsure of what he did to make August so upset. But his heart is in his stomach because once again, August is leaving him.
August runs back to Nora’s apartment in the middle of the night. He takes a long shower and then sneaks into the bedroom to sleep on the mattress on the ground.
-
Nora wakes up with the noise, turning her phone lamp on August, like "Oh, it's you." And turns to go back to sleep but then she notices his face, so now she's awake, sliding down to sit with him on the mattress and ask him what happened
And August doesn't want to say anything about Jensen, especially to her since they're good friends, but he is upset.
Jensen on the other hand, texts Nora in a little while like “Hey, is your brother there?”
When Nora check her phone to see who could it be and he gets a glance of the notification August just swallows his emotion. He tells Nora he's going to sleep and pushes her back onto her bed, like at least let me pretend to sleep here so you don't ask me anything while Jensen tells you how I must have freaked out for no reason.
Nora does text Jensen back because she wants to know what the hell happened:
N: yeah why
N: what's going on
J: I don’t know??? I made Augie upset and I’m not sure how.
J: We had a really fucking good night and then we were cuddling and I said like 5 words and he left?? Like angry left.
J: Is he okay?
J: I didn’t want him to go
Nora reads the texts and then shifts to look at her brother again. She doesn't think he's already asleep but he's turned to the other side and well at least Jensen is telling her things.
N: yeah he had a look on his face when he got here
N: I was half asleep but I could tell he was upset wtf happened
N: what did you say???
J: idk I was just trying to start a conversation
J: I really just wanted to talk about how much I missed him and stuff. But I didn’t know where to start
J: Like it’s obvious I like him right??
J: I think I asked him when his flight home was. Just to know how much time we had left together
J: Nora he fucking shouted at me. Like he was big mad???
Nora is shocked reading that her brother shouted? She and Hannes shouted, from happiness, sadness and anger and some extra but August was the opposite, he was the attempt to try to balance the chaos of his two other siblings.
N: I mean
N: sure it's obvs you two wanna screw each other??? duh
N: but are you saying u actually like him
N: like LIKE him
And she's puzzled now reconsidering those two since they haven't seen/talked to each other since summer ended and that was the only time they saw each other so she wouldn't think there might be anything real there. But it's true that her brother was upset and to hear that he shouted at Jensen? It must've been something very serious to him.
N: what did he shout?
N: he didn't say anything??
J: I feel like shit that he left and when I saw him again tonight i could’ve cried cause I missed kissing him and now I could cry cause he was literally right there in my bed like he was gonna stay with me and now he’s not there anymore? Like he was literally there one second and then he was gone. And that fucks me up, I hate it. So yeah I think I like like him.
J: I don’t even remember what he said like that. It was a lot and I was talking over a lot of it trying to say sorry for whatever
J: He just said he didn’t wanna hear it from me and then when he yelled he told me to just stop and let him go.
J: Is he okay?
Nora has to stop, get up and turn her lights on. She uses her foot to poke at August, wanting him to look at her, "Wake up or stop pretending, I need to talk to you now."
August groans irritated and refuses to move at first but he knows Nora will just find another way to annoy him until he gives in, so he sits up, hand covering his eyes from the bright light and he looks at her mad, "What."
And Nora gets provoked so easily by her brothers it's just an instinct to fight them, but she has bigger issues to resolve now so she just swears under her breath for a second and then tries to get her head back where she was.
"August, what happened." And she talks to him in Swedish with a tone that says I'm not asking, I'm demanding you to answer me.
August wishes he could just ignore her, but the moment she says that he recalls Jensen's face so close to his and then him asking August when are you headed back and it makes his chest hurt because he also can't help but think of them together before that. How he felt like there was more than physical attraction, that's why it felt so good between them.
Nora watches his face go through so many emotions, she instinctively move next to him, pulling him for a hug and tell him "It's okay, you'll be fine, it's okay, Gus." Soothing him in a way she hasn't done in years.
Her head is spinning trying to understand how could Jensen catching feelings for August make him this upset?? Something must have happened that she doesn't know right?
And she grabs her phone back again, still staring at the last text and she's always been there for Jensen, he's basically a new brother she adopted once she got met him, but August is not fine, so she just texts:
N: no
N: he isn't
N: Give me a min
And toss the phone away, rubbing August's back and waiting until he's ready to look at her again
"Jensen and I, you know, back at the summer house..."
"Yeah, we all knew you two were also sleeping together."
"Not sleeping together the way he was with Hannes, though. It happened twice... The second time I said it wasn't even going to happen."
"Go on..."
"I didn't want to have this fling with him when he was already having one with Han, you know? We're weird but that's too weird for me."
"You don't do casual..." she recalled from a conversation the three of them had about sexual and romantic partners.
"I don't."
"So... He chose to stay with Hannes. Is that why you're upset?"
"Of course not, it wasn't like that with us or with them."
"Right."
"I would be lying if I said I didn't think of breaking my rules again for him," he confesses not able to look at her as he says it, "I even did it again tonight. All he had to do was tell me to follow him and I did."
"Okay, so far things appear to be weird but not bad."
"I was dumb, I thought he was... Maybe he wanted something more from me, but he made sure to tell me as soon as we were done."
Nora's frown deepens as he stops talking, realizing that he's done telling her the story, "Wait wait wait. Okay, so you two fucked around and then he did what?"
"He asked me when was I heading back, like hey we're done here, isn't it time for you to leave now?"
Nora's mouth grow wider if possible, like she knows Jensen has a very active sexual life, she would never expect him to be the type to tell his hookups to leave like that.
"That doesn't sound like him, Gus...." she tries to defend Jensen, because it had to be something else. But August just stares at her with red rimmed eyes and a serious face, silently asking her if she's really going to be by his side after he just said what happened?
He shakes his head, grabbing the pillow and comforter he was using and saying he's sleeping somewhere else. Near the oven, under the sink, who fucking cares, he thinks.
Nora grabs her phone again, this time to call Jensen, she needs to hear him say it. As soon as the call connects she goes, "Jensen, did you seriously kick my brother out after you two were done fucking?" She speaks quietly because it’s still the middle of the night after all.
Jensen picks up right away too, he was sitting with his phone in his hands waiting for her to text back.
“No! What the fuck? He kicked himself out! I told you that, we were literally fine one second and then he was super pissed and then he was gone. Like maybe he didn’t like that I tried to start talking after we were done? I don’t know. Nora, why the hell would I kick him out, I haven’t seen him in months even though I’ve been looking for him everywhere.”
Nora gets up, stomps her way to whatever hole August is hiding and then hits the speaker button. "Jensen, repeat what you just said to me."
Jensen hesitates for a second because he isn’t sure why she would ask that when he was practically yelling into the phone. But he gives her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she didn’t hear some part or she wants him to say something over to hear himself and learn a lesson from it.
“Uh...we were fine one second and then he got pissed and then he left? Like maybe I shouldn’t have started talking? Maybe he wanted to just...not talk about it- us, whatever. I didn’t kick him out cause I’ve been waiting for him to come around....like all this time. So. I don’t know what I did but I want him to be okay, I hope he can be okay.”
Nora watches as his brother hears what Jensen is saying and trying to comprehend what happened. "I think you two should spend less time having sex and more time talking." She huffs feeling mad these two just had to communicate better. She hits the speaker button again, to tell Jensen, "I'm passing the phone to August now, okay? Just tell him the truth, boo. You'll both be fine, I assure you."
And then she throws her phone at her brother who thankfully catches it and says, "Go outside and listen to him, August."
And she's looking at him with such fucking obey me eyes that he just nods, feeling his own anger dissipating. He looks at the phone in his hand and it feels like it weights 10x more than normal, but he stands up one more time that night to take the phone call out of the dorm, out of people's range.
"Jensen?" he finally says, still feeling hurt but confused to why he would say that August was the one who just left as if he wasn't the first one to hint that he wanted him out.
Jensen is pretty confused by what’s going on till he hears August’s voice on the line, saying his name like that no less. He licks his lips, forcing himself to speak up after a beat. “What happened?”
August hates hearing Jensen’s voice like that and for caring because does Jensen want him to humiliate himself and say that he felt hurt when Jensen said that? But he knows it will be useless to finish the call unless he's planning on leaving there right then right now, because otherwise Nora would find another way to make them talk. After a long pause he speaks, his voice hoarse, "You told me to leave, Jensen..."
Jensen’s brows are furrowed. He hasn’t known what to say in a while so he just shakes his head and says what he would have texted Nora if he were having this conversation with her instead. “I did nothing like that, I- anything I said to you was because I was trying to find a subtle way to tell you that I wanted the exact opposite. I didn’t want you to leave. I wanted to tell you that I didn’t want you to leave and I just thought I had to ease my way into that. That I couldn’t just come out and say that I’ve literally missed you for months and that I’m gonna miss you again when you go so you should just not. And I know that’s not plausible cause you have a life and a job so it’s even stupider that I wanted to tell you that...but it’s how I feel so...”
He rambles on and on in circles. His words aren’t pretty and he just hopes he got his point across and that it doesn’t all just make August even more mad.
August's confusion deepens, hearing Jensen's point of view of what had happened and how it's nothing like his own version. His heart does flip with hope when Jensen says that he didn't want him to leave, it was the opposite of that, he just said it in the worst way possible. He rubs his chest unconsciously as it fills with realization of what Jensen might be telling him. He wants him to stay? Not just at his house, but in his life? Is that what he meant? But it's how I feel so.
August covers his mouth wanting to scream to get out whatever started to bottle up inside of him since he left Jensen's place, thinking all he wanted from him was a bit of his time and body and he was done with him then. Turns out it's not like that at all, he said he wanted him to be there for more.
He feels so relieved, he must look ridiculous wearing sweatpants, socks and his flip flops while making this call but happiness bloomed inside of him. "Jensen, I'm coming over again. Wait for me there, please, just wait, I'll be there quick! I have to give my sister her phone back and let her know I'm out again but I'll be there soon, okay? I didn't want to leave you at all."
He sighs already making his way back to grab his own phone and shake his sister, "Be there soon, bye!" He remembers to say to Jensen before throwing the phone on her and saying he's going to Jensen's.
Jensen’s breath catches the moment he hears August going back on his words and actions over the phone. He thinks it must be too good to be true, that there’s no way August would give in to him so easily- god, he never has before and Jensen was ready to buckle down and fight for the long haul, possibly not even see August again for another few months before they resolved this.
But the breathless manner of August’s voice tells Jensen that the other man is serious, that he actually is on his way back over. His heart skips beats in his chest, looking around the empty apartment he’s been pacing since August left. It feels almost too good to be true and there is a part of him that worries in the time it takes August to reach him.
-
August doesn't run this time because that wouldn't be time efficient, he hails a ride and his legs shake impatiently the whole way there. Somehow this car drive seems to go slower than him on foot in the dark and as soon as they got on the right street, he just asks the driver to stop and thanks him before bolting out of there, running the rest of the way to the door he had walked out hours before.
"I'm at your door. Can I come in?" He texts, not wanting to ring the bell and waiting to see if Jens would read the message.
Jensen is sitting right by the door and August will see that his message is read the second it sends. Jensen wasn’t trying to hide at all that he was waiting for August.
As soon as he reads that August is outside, Jensen leaps to his feet, opening the door and pulling the man inside. Just seeing August’s face again, so close to him within the same night, turning to morning, makes Jensen’s heart thrum in his chest but he reaches out to hook their index fingers together again to tug August through his door.
It’s almost like a repeat of coming into his apartment earlier in the night, when they were both less emotionally compromised. Jensen pushes August back against his door once more, crowding into his space, pressing close to him, almost into a hug. But it isn’t that. Jensen just wants to be close to August, to know that the other man is really there with him. His hands find either side of August’s jaw again in that way he likes to hold him and Jensen touches their foreheads together, his own brows deeply furrowed.
“Augie, all you do is leave me behind while I’m telling you not to go,” Jensen whispers, his voice thick with emotion as his eyes meet August’s.
He can feel his heartbeat ripple through his entire being, never having felt like he had so much on the line before.
August’s heart rate is up from running the remaining distance, but the tug that he feels on it is all from having Jensen in his arms again. He listens and watches Jensen's lips whisper something he knows now was likely a misunderstanding from the start.
In a similar way as before, he takes one of Jensen's hand from his jaw, closing his around it and pulling it to rest against his chest, he could probably feel the beating of his heart beneath it.
Using the other hand, he tipps Jensen's chin up to connect their lips with a brute close mouthed kiss, it’s almost painful but so were the past couple of hours thinking Jensen didn't want him.
Once satisfied with confirming it was all real, he was in fact back at Jensen's place and holding him, August lets go of Jensen's hand and face to pull him by the hips, flush against him and inhales the scent of the other's hair, feeling his nerves starting to disappear.
They had both read each other wrong and perhaps it makes sense, they didn't really know each other all that well. All they knew was that there was a deep physical connection between them from the start, but to have it evolve into something else wasn't the plan, especially with someone August didn't know if they would cross paths again. He had hope when he decided to visit Nora this time, but he couldn't be sure and he definitely didn't think he would feel that hurt when he thought Jensen was asking him when was he leaving.
"I thought you wanted me to leave, Jensen, when you asked me when I was leaving right after we were done fucking, it sounded like you were trying to get me out of your house... In no way I could've thought that was a segue way for you to say you wanted me to stay."
The air leaves Jensen's lungs again as he’s kissed harshly. He doesn’t resist it at all, rather, he presses back into it and into August's body. He fits there and he’s glad to be held there. Jensen shakes his head as August is still speaking, denying it all even now. "I've thought about you, Augie," Jensen breathes, though it rips him up to admit so clearly. He wants to tell August that when he thought about the summer he thought about their time together the most, but even that is too much for him to stomach saying aloud- for now, at least.
"I wouldn't want..." Jensen shakes his head again, unable to take how deeply he feels and convert it into words for August to understand, now that he knows they need to be more open with each other than ever before.
"Just thinking that you're gonna go live your big life in a couple of days, exploring and being smart and inventive with all sorts of new people every day just..." he lets out a dry chuckle, glancing away from August's eyes for a moment because, my god, are his eyes hot? Is he really going to let August see him like this? "It makes me crazy. I just wanted to know how much longer we had together before we got put on hold again."
August's brows furrow, it’s strange to feel good and upset at the same time knowing Jensen might have wanted him for longer than tonight. That he thought of August even after he was gone. But it makes him feel so conflicted knowing that what he experienced in that summer house doesn’t fit right with this narrative.
Still he wants it to be true and that’s stronger than any theory not being accurate in his mind. To hear Jensen say he wants him like that, makes that good burning sensation rise on his body. Before we got put on hold again? He didn't even know there was really a we, but watching Jensen say it with that expression made him groan feeling starved, wanting to kiss their confusion away.
"Jensen, this past summer all I did was look at you and see if you would look at me back instead of looking at my brother." He admits feeling so childish, "Tonight when you said you missed me, I felt– Felt like you you wanted me more than just for sex... And when we got here, that expectancy only grew as you continued to respond. I think we're fucking stupid, but I want you so bad and I want you to want me, but can you? Be satisfied with just me?"
Because he wouldn't be able to deal with being with Jensen when they were present but knowing he was with someone else whenever August wasn't near him.
Jensen's ears grow hot as August brings up his relationship with Hannes. He knows he has to be honest and explain himself for August to trust him but that was much easier said than done.
"I've never," Jensen swallows, feeling the burden of having to own up to his own actions. "I've never just...stayed at one place with one person before. I wasn't thinking, I was just doing what felt right. And Hannes was there, he smiled at me all the time, he never said no-" like you did "I didn't know how much I was going to miss you until I had to think about it."
And then, tucking his forehead to the crook of August's neck, his hair brushing against August's jaw in a way it had many times that night alone when they were in bed, Jensen finally forces out of himself what he knows he should have said at the beginning of their night. "I'm sorry. I was stupid. I'm stupid a lot, but you get used to it."
Jensen's heart thunders in his chest, thinking about being fully committed, being in a relationship with someone he only sees so often. It makes panic rise in his throat, but not as much as the idea of August growing upset with him again, leaving him again in a whirlwind after a bout of loud and angry words.
"I can," he whispers with a nod. "I am satisfied. With just you."
He finally admits with a shake of his head, "Even when I didn't have you, I was trying to."
Jensen basically told him what he wanted him to say, but why does August still feel tense, even with the man in his arms? August shakes his head slightly disagreeing with Jensen putting himself down like that, but the words that made him stop truly are the last ones.
He pushes Jensen slightly so he could look at his face, wanting to know if that was true, but truth is August hadn’t known him long enough to be able to tell. He would trust him, though, because otherwise coming back here would’ve been pointless and he refuses to believe the way he felt kissing Jensen just now was pointless.
“I don’t care that you slept with my brother that summer. Until this very moment you had no reason to even give me any explanation I guess...” he thinks out loud seeking the explanation that would be easier for them to accept, “But if we, you know, if we do this... How would that even work? I also don’t stay in one place, literally,” he thinks of the crumpled map on his bag.
“As you can probably guess, all of my past relationships fell short within a few months because of my restlessness,” he caresses the spot close to Jensen’s left eye, “Not that I think I’ll ever grow tired of you, but it isn’t fun to be the one waiting.” He repeats what was once said to him during a break up conversation.
Jensen’s eyes search August’s just the same way the other man wants to find sincerity in his face. He’s so used to diving blindly and head first into what feels right to him that there is no doubt in his features that he’s committed to this.
But his heart does thrum at how August speaks about them, pushes to iron out the details and present problems in them trying to be together. It almost feels like too much to focus on the obstacles when they finally have a moment together now. Jensen shakes his head, as if to say I don’t know when August asks of him how they could possibly work. It isn’t a defeated gesture, rather a hopeful one, enunciating that regardless, they would figure something out.
Jensen only takes a breath as his attention is drawn by August’s touch to his face. He leans into it, wishing he could only think about that. But he knows August deserves his full focus and more importantly, his words in the moment.
“I...could come see you. Wherever you are. We could have summers.” Jensen feels his heart in his throat. He wonders if he looks as scared as he feels that they won’t land on the right conclusion, that one wrong word will undo everything they had gone through all night.
His fingers grip tighter to August’s shirt than they had a few moments ago and he doesn’t even know it. “You’ve never had anything tethering you to your other relationships,” Jensen states even if he doesn’t know entirely if that’s true or not.
“But we have Nora. She’ll always bring us back to each other. She’s everything to me and- well, she’s your sister so.” Jensen gives a chuckle even if it’s dry, “We can’t get rid of each other that easy. Even if the universe wanted us to.”
August's adrenaline starts to fade and giving the tiredness of all the physical activity that happened before. He doesn't think they can just sit and solve this, they would have to try. He couldn't guarantee that it would work, but they both wanted to, right?
We could have summers. The idea of spending weeks under the same roof as Jensen again brings a dirty smile on his face immediately. To be able to reach and touch him without feeling like they're doing something wrong or that they have to hide it under the bed.
"I like that idea," he answers already halfway to reaching Jensen's lips with his again, sensing the hunger and insatiable need to have him come undone for him all over again despite his legs protesting against it.
It is real that they don't know each other, but maybe they could learn as things progressed. It might be backwards the way that August is just certain he's more than physically attracted to Jensen, there was a string connecting his heart and Jensen's finger. Like earlier that night, how such simple gesture made his body move and follow him out of the bar.
"I was gonna leave the day after tomorrow to catch a bus to Boston for a meeting Tuesday morning, but... I could change my plans. I could stay until Monday night and get a red-eye." August’s life is very different, but every now and then he has to get in a suit and talk business with older men who already think he's too young to manage money like that.
"Will you let me crash your couch for the other days?" he suggests, feeling like that’s enough talking for them for now, neither are good at it anyway. They have their own ways to show how much they want each other. He takes a few steps forward until he has Jensen's foot catching the couch behind him. With a look that Jensen has seen multiple times now, August licks his lips and asked, "You don't keep any lube and condom in your living room, do you?"
Jensen’s brows already begin to furrow hearing how soon August planned on leaving. But he’s nodding in response from the second August talks about changing his plans, about staying with him. Jensen would have pulled any strings he had to in that moment if it meant having August for a few more days.
“Yeah, of course,” he breathes, eyes searching August’s once again, this time for truth and commitment in his words rather than actions. “I’d love it if you stayed with me.”
-
Jensen envisions a brief flash of watching the sun rise on August’s shoulder blades, but in an entirely different context than the times they’d been together on naked early mornings the past summer. It makes Jensen’s throat tight to think of being so attracted to August in such an intimate context, but it only solidifies his decisions.
He feels like a weight is taken off his shoulders when August pushes them back, his fingers gripping August’s shirt to keep from falling back once his foot hit the couch. Jensen can’t resist the heat that fills him in being looked at in such a way. He leans in to catch August’s lips tightly before whispering between them, “No, but that’s alright with me...”
He was kissing August on the heels of the breath with which he spoke. He’s exhausted, physically and emotionally but he would die before he turned down even lying in bed with August, kissing and touching until they tired each other out and simply fell asleep tangled together.
August's eyes widen at this new information, his eyes darkening as he gets what that could mean. If they hadn't had already fucked for hours before, he would make sure to do it now, but as it is he feels like they both could use some sleep and rest.
"I... Am very interested in having a conversation about this," he gives Jensen a big smile, "But I think we have already used a lot of our energy tonight. Can we go to bed?" He nods towards the direction of Jensen's bedroom, wondering if he will find the place as messy as he had left or if Jensen cleaned everything, getting rid of his presence because he believed August freaked out for nothing.
"Are you as good as a bed partner as you are as a sex partner? I promise I'm not bossy when I wanna sleep, I can play nice..." his words say one thing but he keeps kissing Jensen every other word, unable to resist knowing they could do that with no other intention than lying in bed together. His voice is rough from all the talking and, well, moaning, but he doesn’t want to stop telling Jensen how much he wants this.
"What do you think... About you officially introducing your bed to your new boyfriend?" he asks, testing Jensen's reaction to the title, hoping it makes it clearer that he is committed to be in this journey with him.
Jensen's chest flutters hearing that August wants to go to bed. The last time they laid comfortably in bed was interrupted abruptly by his own idiocy paired with August's assumptions and Jensen is eager to right that wrong.
"Yeah, of course," Jensen says with a breathless smile, the stress of the night beginning to alleviate from his eyes as well. It’s the first proper smile he gives August in a bit and it feels good. He can hardly stand the way his chest swells hearing August speak so candidly to him, making the switch over from their heavily sexual relationship to a more comfortable and intimate one so easy. Jensen only wishes he could speak his mind so easily and hopes he can learn soon for August's sake.
"I don't believe you," he teases back gently in regards to August playing nice. He find it easier to focus on the lighthearted parts over all the rest. "But you can find out how good I am for yourself, just like you did with every other part of me."
He'd been rather easily distracted by August's kisses, melting into each one and letting them bring him back to the present moment, but hearing that August wants to solidify their relationship status before they'd even figured everything out tears him apart just as much as it elates him. There is a lump in Jensen's throat for a moment and he’s frozen against August, searching the man's eyes as he'd done earlier.
"Really?" he only manages to ask softly. Jensen's tone isn't doubting or mocking in any way. He just needs to be positive that he heard right, that the other man is sure. August had always been the more pragmatic one between them, surely he has to know how much more it would hurt if they couldn't find a solution to make them work and they were boyfriends, right?
August hums as if it that clarifies things. Moving both of his hands down resting them on the curve of Jensen's ass, he actually wants to grab them hard with his fingers but he has no idea how sore Jensen is or not from their early adventures.
Jensen must be truly vulnerable with the way he acts and speaks to him in that moment. He can remember the outgoing man who didn't seem to question himself too much on his decisions. Has he been like this all along? Wanting to be reassured but faking it with a pretty smile?
He closes one of his eyes, as if he needs to think harder on his answer, "Really. I want to be able to tell people that I have a boyfriend when they ask me, say that I'm committed to this one person right now. That the only touch, the kisses and also the ravishing good sex is only available for that one person. Do you want to be that person, Jensen?"
Jensen's smile widens into a smirk at the way he’s held. It may seem overtly and exclusively sexual, but it feels endearing to him. He adores it and allows himself to lean forward against August's chest, their chins just barely missing one another. He almost can’t believe what he’s hearing from the other man.
Of course, August had asked him for full commitment from their very first time sleeping together, so it should be expected that this would come, but Jensen is still stunned to see that the man, who had been but a fluttering presence in his life so far, wants him so fully now.
Jensen can’t stand it. He tucks his face against August's jaw once more, nuzzling against him as a way to take his focus off how much he feels in the moment. "Of course I wanna be that person, Augie. Shut up." He breaths against August's skin, hiding away from how red the man's words make the base of his neck.
August tilts his neck to give Jensen more room without letting go of his hold on Jensen, closing his eyes to take in the feeling of Jensen's breath on his sensitive skin.
He gives Jensen a couple of kisses on his cheek, releasing his hand to hold Jensen's and tug him to the room. He grins wanting to laugh but too tired to do so, the sunlight shining and reminding him that they didn't sleep anything last night. "Come on, boyfriend, let's get some sleep."
Jensen cuddles right up to August's side, his head resting in the curve between August's shoulder and his cheek. One arm draped around August's stomach, a leg draped around him too. He tells August to text Nora before they pass out too just so she doesn't worry.
They are content and they fall asleep together as the sun is coming up in a way they only thought about doing over the summer.
Scotia Fallon cannot scrub the smirk off his lips. Yes, there are light showers coming down around them despite the forecast having predicted no such thing. And yes, the small group of friends and family gathered for this special day had to help at the last second to move the ceremony under the tent where the reception was set to take place. Yes, Scotia’s hair is acting up just a touch from the cool but damp air, and his suit already has a spot on it from the mishaps of his 12-year-old best man.
Still, he is loosely holding the hands of the love of his life, whose gentle features are illuminated by the sunlight peeking through the thin clouds above. So yes, he’s grinning wide as the day he first saw Charles Vogel, infinitely as wide as when he walked into the Lion’s Den only to be surprised with a ring.
Scotia licks his lips before he begins to speak, his thumbs massaging over Charlie’s knuckles. “Do you remember on the night we met, how we couldn’t stop making each other smile? All night we were going at it like a game, trying to see which one of us could make the other smile so wide they’d be left speechless. I don’t think we ever stopped playing, Charlie. And it’s been a fucking godsend. You made me feel alive that night, you challenged me, you made me happy and you set the precedent for what it was going to be like for the rest of our lives.”
With his eyes moving fondly around Charlie’s cleaned up self, Scotia lets go of one of his hands. He brushes his fingers through the side of Charlie’s hair, resetting the locks that had fallen astray when they’d run from the rain.
“Of course you would look exactly the same all this time later on our wedding day as you did that night,” he chuckles.
“Only because I’m wet,” Charlie retorts and it makes Scotia laugh. They both become caught up in it for a moment, their decade long game.
“Shut up,” Scotia shakes his head with the utmost fondness and takes Charlie’s hand once more.
Laughter bubbles on his lips even as Scotia continues on. “Charlie, you’re my best friend,” he says ardently, “And I know I’m yours- even though I’ll never quite love you like Dex does-”
Instantly he’s interrupted by raucous, “Damn straight!” from behind Charlie. And of all the people that turn their attention to Dexter D’Angelo, Scotia is not one of them.
He simply licks his widening grin as he looks into Charlie’s eyes. “You’re my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my days telling you everything. About when I overhear bizarre conversations at the Den or when I find a new brand of boxed wine or every time I feel even a little proud of our son.”
“Charlie,” Scotia says the name, warm and at home in his mouth yet again, knowing he’ll never tire of it. “I’d say that this is the beginning of our next big adventure but you’ve already been an amazing husband and an even better dad for most of ten years now. There’s going to be tons of surprises in our lives in the years that are coming up but how great we’re going be together through it all isn’t one of them. You’re the biggest surety of my life. You always will be.”
Scotia raises Charlie’s hands to his lips to seal his speech just as the sky begins to clear- though he wouldn’t have minded the familiar pitter-patter overhead for a little while longer. He smirks because all is, as it was meant to be.
Amid the ocean breeze in Jensen’s hair, his heart racing beneath the pocket square of his tuxedo, and the hands he holds ever so dearly in his own, he can only truly focus on the pair of blue-green eyes staring back at him.
“Hi,” he grins, speaking perhaps quieter than he should for the occasion. “Thanks for coming,” he tells the man before him, as though either of them really had a choice.
That intro wasn’t part of the plan but it makes August smile wider so Jensen feels it was worth it. Several months ago he had written a general outline of what he wanted to say in this very moment but he didn’t bring it with him. He wanted most of it to be from his heart anyway.
Jensen opens his mouth to continue but a shaky chuckle escapes his lips instead. He leans in to touch his forehead to the older man’s and right away it helps him catch his breath.
“You still make me nervous,” he laughs quietly between them, “It’s the best feeling in the world.”
He closes his eyes for a second to bite back the tongue-tied heat welling inside of him just thinking about the words on his mind. His thumbs rub over August’s hands for a beat and then he’s able to pull back and speak louder for everyone gathered to see them that day.
“From the moment we met, I haven’t been able to stop looking to you. Not only because you’re ridiculously handsome, just so out of my league,” he laughs softly, eyes never leaving August’s. “But because you showed me from that very first day that you’re the one for me. Every part of you that was fun, daring, and thoughtful highlighted those parts of me too. And they haven’t stopped since.”
Jensen licks his lips, grounding himself in his partner’s gaze once more before he continues.
“You’re my favorite everything, August. My favorite person to wake up next to, my favorite drinking buddy, my favorite person to patch me up when I get lost in your eyes during a hike and sprain my ankle like an idiot,” he stops to chuckle and his cheeks nearly hurt from the gravity of his happiness. “You’re my favorite person to run, walk, and fly with. I want to make you happier than you ever thought you could be, now and forever.”
“I promise I’ll always be the best friend that you can have. I’ll always keep you on your toes but hold you tight when the tides get high. I’m going to love you more and more every day and I’m never going to stop- I hope that’s okay.”
Jensen feels a shiver run up his arms from how purely right he feels living in that moment. It’s otherworldly and makes him feel as though there is no one but him and August there, bound together.
He feels so elated that he leans in to kiss his grin to August’s lips, earning him a chastising from the officiant. But he doesn’t care. As he pulls back, Jensen steals just one more private moment with his soon-to-be husband so he can whisper a giddy, “I love you as ever.”
It’s August’s turn now, but as the waves crash to shore behind them, Jensen isn’t sure how it can get any more perfect than this.
ER AU meme, Scarlie: “Do you want to dance it out?”
“No, Charlie, I don’t want to dance it out! Just because Jordan’s dad wore the same bike jacket as me at the daycare’s Valentine’s Day party and it suited him better because I accidentally ordered mine a size too big, doesn’t mean I need to dance things out. Okay?”
Scotia takes a huff of a breath, casting an offended glance at the jacket in question draped over his couch. He’s paused for a moment before he looks back to Charlie with another huff. “Okay. Maybe. I want to dance it out.”
He takes two strides to close the space between himself and the man of his dreams, pressing their chests together and dropping his arms around Charlie’s hips. Stealing a peck from Charlie, Scotia asks with a pout in his voice, “You still think I’m the hottest dad in school, right?”
secrets | the fallon-vogels + charlie (butterfly effect au)
His head shook from side to side quickly, wanting to tell Jensen to stop saying such things, but his emotions kept him from asking at first, “You can’t say that, Jens, you can’t say it,” he wiped his face with the collar of his sweater, taking a step back to look at his son in the eye, “It’s not about what you deserving me or not, because it doesn’t change how I feel about you, son. It doesn’t make me happier to think I deserve better than you or even my brother… This is the life I have and, as long as you’re also okay with it, I choose whatever option leads to you being part of my life. Being my kid.”
He held Jensen’s face watching him overwhelmed with emotions. It must be so confusing for him to understand an old secret and how it affected his life to this day. Charlie hoped he didn’t make things worse by telling Jensen the truth, he was also selfish in wanting Jensen to know who he truly was and how much Charlie loves him.
“I imagine you must… Have some questions,” he clears his throat, opening the space between them now to include the other two on the opposite side of the room, “I’d understand if you don’t wanna hear them now or prefer talking to each of us alone. Whatever you decide is what we’ll do."
The way Charlie said it didn’t leave much room for other proposals so Sven simply nodded, trying to keep his gaze strong and positive so Jensen could see he agreed with Charlie and most important that he was open to answer Jensen’s questions, even if at this point he felt fragile and meaningless he still loves Jensen and given their past few encounters, Sven knows their relationship is already damaged, he can’t afford to make Jensen wait who knows how long for him to feel better, because it turns out Sven was sure what he’s going through is bigger than his relationship with Jensen, there isn’t one thing but a collection of them including his own actions that led him there.
To ask Jensen to treat him gently when Sven himself was never very caring with Jensen himself throughout all his life would be an insult. He made choices in the past and those choices created consequences that he had to deal with, especially if he didn’t want to lose his son’s love.
Sven’s grip on Scotia’s hand tightened, using it as support as Scotia has provided him during their time together. Because of him, Sven felt loved everyday, even when he feels like he is the worst person living, Scotia never made him doubt of his love for Sven, it was a powerful feeling to feel the unwavering love from someone.
"We love you, son,” he said it, his voice a bit rough, “And we’ll answer all the questions that you have for us.”
Jensen can’t help a small smile from touching the corners of his mouth at Charlie’s sheer devotion to him, to having him be family. “I just want you to be happy,” he tells the older man softly. “And I won’t go anywhere even if you decide to move on, find someone worth your time, worth knowing you completely. I’m an adult now, I can make decisions like that for myself and I can decide that you’ll always be a part of my life. I’ll always be your oldest even if your mid-life crisis is deciding to have a whole new brood of kids with someone new, okay?”
Jensen was startled out of the emotional bubble he’d enclosed around himself and Charlie at the sound of his father’s voice, visibly jerking in the direction of the sound to look at the other two men in the room. Involuntarily, it became a double take. There wasn’t a time in his life that he doubted that his dads love each other, he knew they were a unit and preferred to keep their closeness behind closed doors. But it had been a while since he’d seen them stand almost leaning together, holding hands as if to ground one another. His eyes dropped to the gesture, glued to it for a few moments before he looked back up to each of their eyes.
There was an obvious question in mind but Jensen was almost too afraid to ask it in fear of the answer he would receive. It seemed insensitive to ask the question in front of Charlie too. To dredge up the past and potentially reopen a chapter for these three men that they’d closed the door on long ago. But of course, the point of all this appeared to be honesty for once so Jensen took advantage of the adults in his life being forced into being candid with him for once in their lives.
Jensen’s gaze locked with Scotia’s and he asked the man head on, “Did you cheat on Charlie?” And then his eyes shot to Sven’s, narrowing with a silent follow up, And did you let him?
Scotia was taken aback by the forwardness, both in his son’s words and demeanor. His eyes moved to Charlie’s instinctively and as all the glances exchanged between them were, it was lingering and heavy.
“No,” and before Charlie could come at him, he added, looking back to his son, “Not physically. But as soon as I knew I had feelings- strong feelings for someone else, we talked about it.” We fought about it, we cried about it.
Jensen turned back to Charlie to confirm that the truth was being told. He kept his eyes on the younger of the Vogel brothers, intentionally keeping the attention away from the older. Though his relationship with all three of the men in the room was good now, it was the most fragile with Sven, the most susceptible to shattering with one wrongly placed revelation. He was exhausted from being broken hearted over Sven’s past time and time again in the last ten years and he was trying to prevent today from becoming yet another one of those times.
They were having a good day, which was relative to the circumstances considering they were indeed, still on the run from the cartel. But they were able to go to the store today, pick out some necessities and some not.
As had become habit recently, once they walked into the store, Jensen squirmed out of Scotia’s arms to run ahead and take Charlie’s hand, calling back, “Bye daddy!”
Scotia smiled slightly as a non-verbal reciprocation of the statement, not hesitating to go down a different aisle than the one Charlie headed for. He had things he wanted to grab too and he knew Jensen would be safe and entertained with the other man.
It was easier for him to cash out without a child at his heels and once he paid- in bills instead of a card, of course -Scotia craned his neck, peering around for the other two until the cashier interrupted his search.
“Is that blonde guy your partner?” she asked and Scotia reflexively nodded, not looking away from the aisles. There was a moment when his thoughts caught a mental tripwire. He could have just as easily said, “No, that’s my friend.” Or “No, that’s my brother.” “My neighbor.” “My roommate.” “My cousin.” But did he want to?
“Him and your kid went that way,” the cashier pointed down an aisle. Scotia gave her half a wave of thanks before moving on to find his “family.” When he rounded the corner toward them he saw Jensen in Charlie’s arms now, reaching up to a shelf even above the agent’s head.
The fondness in Scotia’s eyes grew when Jensen spotted him and froze. The boy’s hand hovered over a pocket-sized version of a vintage car, the model of which Jensen tried to recite for his father as Charlie mouthed it to help the boy along.
If Scotia didn’t know better he’d think that was pride in Charlie’s eyes when Jensen nailed the model number.
“You can have it, honey,” Scotia just chuckled, prompting his son to close his hand around the car and pull it down between himself and Charlie, beaming.
Charlie insisted on paying for the small material luxury being allowed to the child in his arms amid the chaos of their lives. Throughout the transaction Jensen kept his chin lowered to Charlie’s shoulder, arms around the man’s neck so he could wheel the car between the agent’s shoulder blades.
Scotia didn’t realize he was smiling at the sight until they had to walk out and as they did, he gave Charlie’s upper arm a squeeze in thanks. It simply felt like the kind of thing a partner would do.
The quick droplets of water falling from the sky didn’t give them any room to discuss, both of them running to get in Connor’s car, trying to keep their fancy clothing intact with little success and in Nora’s case it made her shiver with cold, since she was wearing a lightweight dress.
Connor turned up the heat immediately after starting the car, reaching to the back seat and pulling a jacket he kept in there just in case, handing it to Nora who quickly wrapped around herself, rubbing her hands together and saying a quick thanks.
When she first met him, she admits she wasn’t expecting her best friend’s father to be… Like that.
Jensen was cheerful, constantly smiling and had that type of personality that Nora latched on immediately, deciding right then and there that she would not just be his friend, but also a caretaker for him when they were together at school. It was in her personality to be watchful of others, especially with someone who reminded her so much of one of her brothers, Hannes.
