longsufferingly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
longsufferingly) wrote2009-09-27 09:30 pm
longsufferingly) wrote2009-09-27 09:30 pm
(no subject)
God, kids have just been so cute this week I can't stop myself. Here's some expanded fic from here, with animal rescue Jared and dad Jensen.
2100 words, no warnings! Stay tuned for: the worst RPS fusion ever.
Jared used to think that being an animal rescue worker would make him feel kind of like a superhero. You know, saving defenseless pets from bad situations, that kind of thing.
Mostly, it makes him feel tired. Yeah, at the end of the day, he helps animals, and that's awesome, but it's beyond depressing what happens to them, how shitty people can be.
On the bright side (and, Jared has to wonder, when did this become a bright side for him), this isn't an abuse case. An old man was reported dead this morning, and he has some cats who need to be collected. Jared's crossing his fingers that they're young and cute, or, failing that, okay with dogs, because if no one else takes them, he knows he's going to.
The first two cats come easy, but then the third books it under the porch, and Jared is not the best guy for under-the-porch chases. The gap the cat got through is barely bigger than Jared's head, and he doubts Mr. Hardwick's heirs will appreciate it if his shoulders wipe out the stairs.
"Yonkers doesn't like you," says a voice behind Jared, and he hits his head against the floor of the porch.
"Ow Jesus," Jared says, rubbing the back of his head. He turns around and there's a dark-haired kid staring at him, all wide green eyes and freckles. "I mean--" he amends. "What?"
"Yonkers," says the boy. "Mr. Hardwick's cat."
"I can tell."
"He likes me," says the boy. "I can help if you want."
Jared looks around. "Where are your parents?"
The boy gestures behind him. "I live next door," he says. "My dad knows I'm here."
Jared wipes his hands off on his jeans and stands up. The boy watches him, kind of awed.
"You're tall," he says. "Even taller than dad."
He makes for the porch, and Jared says, "Hey, wait."
"What?"
"You're not going under there, right?"
"No," says the boy, "I'm just gonna call him. Yonkers usually comes when I call him. He likes our back yard." He goes over and kneels down, calling, "Yonkers," softly. There's a mew from the depths, and it's not long before he comes up with a dirty orange cat in his arms.
"Can I take him?" asks Jared.
The boy hesitates. "Why do you want him?"
"I'm from animal rescue. We need to find him a new home."
Jared should have known the truth was not the best choice here. Of course, the kid tightens his grip. "But he lives here!"
"I know, but--"
"Luke," says a new voice, patient but firm. "He's Mr. Hardwick's cat."
Jared turns, and--okay, that's a really hot guy. He's actually momentarily speechless.
"But Mr. Hardwick's dead and he's got no one to look after him," Luke protests.
"Sorry about the trouble," says the dad, looking embarrassed. "He's really attached."
"Hey," says Jared, to Luke, "how about this--can you take him over so he can see his friends?"
Luke nods.
Jared turns to the hot dad. "You aren't looking to adopt, are you?"
The guy rubs the back of his neck. "He wants to. He loves that cat. He's always feeding him, you know."
"But?"
"But he's six and he's never had a pet."
"Look, that cat's, what, three, four years old?"
The guy shrugs. "Around there."
"In all honesty, he hasn't got a great chance of being adopted. Everyone wants kittens. And, I mean, if no one else takes him, I will, but if you ever wanted to get him a pet, this is probably a good opportunity."
The guy quirks his lips a little. "You'll take him?"
Jared flushes. "I take most of them, yeah."
The guy smiles. "I guess you'd need to do some paperwork before we could adopt him, right?"
Jared nods. "And a checkup, yeah. The state officially turned him over to us, he already has a file." He smiles over at Luke. "We didn't have a name, though."
"The other two are Fluffy and Daisy."
Jared smiles. "If you can get him to give Yonkers up, I can make sure you can pick him up tomorrow. Or, if you're not sure, need to ask his mom or something . . . ?"
"She's--I'm a widower," says the guy. "We can be by tomorrow. Thanks for your help, uh--"
"Jared," he says. "Padalecki."
"Jensen Ackles," says the guy, shaking Jared's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," says Jared, and summons enough intelligence to give Jensen his card.
Tomorrow can't come soon enough.
*
"You look chipper," says Katie. "What have you got?"
"Three cats."
"All over kitten age?"
"Yeah."
"So why are you so happy? You take a shine to them?"
"The kid who lives next door is attached. They're gonna take at least one."
Katie raises her eyebrows.
"What?" asks Jared.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you got laid, but I don't even know when you would have had time to fit that in." She considers for a minute. "Pun intended."
"Not if you had to decide," says Jared. "And I didn't get laid, shut up."
"Well, now that you're back, I'm going. My shift was over ten minutes ago. Have I mentioned I hate you for having closing instead of opening?"
"Every day. Sorry I was late, the kid fought me about taking the cat for the night."
"Did he get you in the shins?"
"Shut up and go," says Jared, laughing.
Katie shakes her head. "I'm going to figure this out, you know. You suck at keeping your mouth shut, Padalecki."
Jared waves his hand. "Whatever. Get out of here."
He whistles as he does the files for the new cats, double-checking that Mr. Hardwick kept up with their shots and calling his vet, but he figures it doesn't matter. Katie can't hear him.
*
Jared convinces Katie to take the dogs for their walk, which she does with a look that suggests she knows he wants to be at the clinic for the day. Jared just pastes on his most innocent and grateful smile, and Katie shakes her head amusedly.
Of course, Jared isn't actually lucky enough that Jensen and Luke come in while he's alone. Katie gets back, and he doesn't disguise his disappointment when she opens the door, and of course, she figures it out.
"So, how hot is this kid's dad?" she asks, planing her elbows on the counter and leaning in close.
"Shut up," grumbles Jared.
"Divorced?"
"Widower."
"Gay?"
"Probably not."
Katie pats his shoulder. "So you're pretty much waiting around for a probably straight dude to come in with his young child to pick up a bad-tempered cat? And you're in a good mood?"
"He seemed nice," says Jared. "Shut up."
Of course, that's when the door chimes. Jared and Katie both glance over as Jensen follows Luke in. Jensen's just as hot as Jared remembered him, all messy hair and plush lips, and Luke is just as adorable. They probably have the most nauseatingly perfect Christmas cards in the world, or pose for children's fashion magazines or something.
Jensen smiles at Jared, a little nervously, and Luke marches up to the desk with a self-assured air. Katie neatly sidesteps, giving Jared an annoying smirk.
"Hello," says Luke. "I'm Luke Ackles. We met yesterday. I'm here for my cat."
"Hi again," says Jensen, waving a little.
"Nice to see you, Mr. Ackles," he says. He smiles down at Luke. "Mr. Ackles." He can feel Katie rolling her eyes at him.
"You're here for Yonkers, right?" says Katie, kneeling down to Luke's level. "He's in the back with the other kitties. You can come pick him up with me while he does paperwork."
"Okay!" says Luke, and cheerfully follows Katie.
"So, what do I have to do."
"Um, if you're--I didn't mention the fee yesterday," says Jared, rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel kind of bad charging you, cuz--"
Jensen waves his hand. "I don't mind. It's a good cause, right?"
"I think so," Jared agrees. "Um, I do need you to fill this out. And if you give me your card, I can process the payment while you work. Or check. Or whatever."
Jensen doesn't seem to notice Jared's incredible awkwardness. He just hands over his card and starts working.
This is where Jared's plan kind of falls apart. Not that he had a plan beyond seeing Jensen again, but he doesn't really have any way to go from "you're hot" to "do you happen to like tall and socially inept guys who work in animal rescue?"
He doesn't even really know how to cover "you're hot," he mostly just knows Jensen is really hot.
"Do you guys have any supplies for the cat, Mr. Ackles?" he settles on.
Jensen glances up. "Jensen is fine. And, no, not really." He rubs the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't know the first thing about taking care of a cat. We had dogs growing up."
Jared grins. "I'm more of a dog guy myself. Not that I don't like cats, just dogs are what I had of my own choice. The cats were all ones who didn't get adopted."
Jensen raises his eyebrows. "Just how many pets do you have?"
Jared flushes. "Um. Three dogs, four cats."
"Jesus. You're like Ace Ventura."
Jared snorts. "Slightly better taste in clothes."
"Way better hair," says Jensen dryly.
"So, um, what you need for a cat is, well. He's an outdoor cat, I guess?"
"He was always in our yard," says Jensen. "So I'm thinking so, yeah."
"You probably still want a litterbox, but he'll probably be used to going outside, too. He's old enough he should be housetrained. He's spayed, so that's great for you. Mostly it's food, maybe some toys--"
"You know," says Katie, coming in from the back with Luke and a carrier which presumably contains Yonkers, "Jared's actually our best home specialist."
Jensen and Jared both raise their eyebrows at her. "Home specialist?" asks Jensen.
"He's great with helping get the animals set up at home. For first-time owners."
Jared is going to kill Katie in her sleep. There is just no other option.
"That'd be good," says Jensen thoughtfully. "If you don't mind."
Jared grins. "Yeah, sure, it's no problem. Let's see what you guys need."
Luke manages to convince Jensen they need all kinds of things that he definitely doesn't--Jared suspects Jensen is just letting the kid go nuts with his first pet, and it's adorable. Jared helps them carry the kitty litter and the box and the bowl and the food and the cat bed and the metric ton of toys out to the car, and then tells Jensen he'll follow in his, because the last thing he wants to do is make Jensen give him a ride home.
On his way out, he gives Katie the finger, just for good measure. She gives him a big thumbs up.
*
Luke and Yonkers end up sleeping on the couch while Jared and Jensen attempt to assemble a scratching post. Jensen goes over to cover them with a blanket, and Jared has never seen anything so cute.
Jensen sits back down next to him on the floor and glances over, looking at Jared through his eyelashes. "Jared."
"Yeah?"
"This isn't a standard service, is it," he says. It's not even a question, because Jensen isn't stupid.
"Not standard," Jared hedges.
"Your coworker was trying to set us up," Jensen says.
Jared groans. "Jesus. I'm going to kill her. She's really not subtle."
Jensen chuckles. "You were pretty flustered too." Jared turns really, really red, and Jensen laughs again. "Just like that, yeah."
"Sorry," says Jared, looking down.
"Hey," says Jensen, putting his hand over Jared's. "In case you missed it, I said yes."
Jared looks up. "Oh yeah," he says, laughing sheepishly.
"You kind of suck at this," says Jensen.
"Shut up," mutters Jared. "Do you want to go out with me or not?"
"Yeah," says Jensen. "Someone's gotta help me take care of that cat."
"At least you're telling me up-front that you're using me."
Jensen just grins.
*
So that's how Jared gets a boyfriend--not that he officially declares him that until after the third date--and another cat, and a kid, kind of, because once Luke finds out Jared has seven pets, he decides Jared should be his new dad. Which--okay, they're not that far yet, but. Jared wouldn't mind. Someday.
2100 words, no warnings! Stay tuned for: the worst RPS fusion ever.
Jared used to think that being an animal rescue worker would make him feel kind of like a superhero. You know, saving defenseless pets from bad situations, that kind of thing.
Mostly, it makes him feel tired. Yeah, at the end of the day, he helps animals, and that's awesome, but it's beyond depressing what happens to them, how shitty people can be.
On the bright side (and, Jared has to wonder, when did this become a bright side for him), this isn't an abuse case. An old man was reported dead this morning, and he has some cats who need to be collected. Jared's crossing his fingers that they're young and cute, or, failing that, okay with dogs, because if no one else takes them, he knows he's going to.
The first two cats come easy, but then the third books it under the porch, and Jared is not the best guy for under-the-porch chases. The gap the cat got through is barely bigger than Jared's head, and he doubts Mr. Hardwick's heirs will appreciate it if his shoulders wipe out the stairs.
"Yonkers doesn't like you," says a voice behind Jared, and he hits his head against the floor of the porch.
"Ow Jesus," Jared says, rubbing the back of his head. He turns around and there's a dark-haired kid staring at him, all wide green eyes and freckles. "I mean--" he amends. "What?"
"Yonkers," says the boy. "Mr. Hardwick's cat."
"I can tell."
"He likes me," says the boy. "I can help if you want."
Jared looks around. "Where are your parents?"
The boy gestures behind him. "I live next door," he says. "My dad knows I'm here."
Jared wipes his hands off on his jeans and stands up. The boy watches him, kind of awed.
"You're tall," he says. "Even taller than dad."
He makes for the porch, and Jared says, "Hey, wait."
"What?"
"You're not going under there, right?"
"No," says the boy, "I'm just gonna call him. Yonkers usually comes when I call him. He likes our back yard." He goes over and kneels down, calling, "Yonkers," softly. There's a mew from the depths, and it's not long before he comes up with a dirty orange cat in his arms.
"Can I take him?" asks Jared.
The boy hesitates. "Why do you want him?"
"I'm from animal rescue. We need to find him a new home."
Jared should have known the truth was not the best choice here. Of course, the kid tightens his grip. "But he lives here!"
"I know, but--"
"Luke," says a new voice, patient but firm. "He's Mr. Hardwick's cat."
Jared turns, and--okay, that's a really hot guy. He's actually momentarily speechless.
"But Mr. Hardwick's dead and he's got no one to look after him," Luke protests.
"Sorry about the trouble," says the dad, looking embarrassed. "He's really attached."
"Hey," says Jared, to Luke, "how about this--can you take him over so he can see his friends?"
Luke nods.
Jared turns to the hot dad. "You aren't looking to adopt, are you?"
The guy rubs the back of his neck. "He wants to. He loves that cat. He's always feeding him, you know."
"But?"
"But he's six and he's never had a pet."
"Look, that cat's, what, three, four years old?"
The guy shrugs. "Around there."
"In all honesty, he hasn't got a great chance of being adopted. Everyone wants kittens. And, I mean, if no one else takes him, I will, but if you ever wanted to get him a pet, this is probably a good opportunity."
The guy quirks his lips a little. "You'll take him?"
Jared flushes. "I take most of them, yeah."
The guy smiles. "I guess you'd need to do some paperwork before we could adopt him, right?"
Jared nods. "And a checkup, yeah. The state officially turned him over to us, he already has a file." He smiles over at Luke. "We didn't have a name, though."
"The other two are Fluffy and Daisy."
Jared smiles. "If you can get him to give Yonkers up, I can make sure you can pick him up tomorrow. Or, if you're not sure, need to ask his mom or something . . . ?"
"She's--I'm a widower," says the guy. "We can be by tomorrow. Thanks for your help, uh--"
"Jared," he says. "Padalecki."
"Jensen Ackles," says the guy, shaking Jared's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," says Jared, and summons enough intelligence to give Jensen his card.
Tomorrow can't come soon enough.
*
"You look chipper," says Katie. "What have you got?"
"Three cats."
"All over kitten age?"
"Yeah."
"So why are you so happy? You take a shine to them?"
"The kid who lives next door is attached. They're gonna take at least one."
Katie raises her eyebrows.
"What?" asks Jared.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you got laid, but I don't even know when you would have had time to fit that in." She considers for a minute. "Pun intended."
"Not if you had to decide," says Jared. "And I didn't get laid, shut up."
"Well, now that you're back, I'm going. My shift was over ten minutes ago. Have I mentioned I hate you for having closing instead of opening?"
"Every day. Sorry I was late, the kid fought me about taking the cat for the night."
"Did he get you in the shins?"
"Shut up and go," says Jared, laughing.
Katie shakes her head. "I'm going to figure this out, you know. You suck at keeping your mouth shut, Padalecki."
Jared waves his hand. "Whatever. Get out of here."
He whistles as he does the files for the new cats, double-checking that Mr. Hardwick kept up with their shots and calling his vet, but he figures it doesn't matter. Katie can't hear him.
*
Jared convinces Katie to take the dogs for their walk, which she does with a look that suggests she knows he wants to be at the clinic for the day. Jared just pastes on his most innocent and grateful smile, and Katie shakes her head amusedly.
Of course, Jared isn't actually lucky enough that Jensen and Luke come in while he's alone. Katie gets back, and he doesn't disguise his disappointment when she opens the door, and of course, she figures it out.
"So, how hot is this kid's dad?" she asks, planing her elbows on the counter and leaning in close.
"Shut up," grumbles Jared.
"Divorced?"
"Widower."
"Gay?"
"Probably not."
Katie pats his shoulder. "So you're pretty much waiting around for a probably straight dude to come in with his young child to pick up a bad-tempered cat? And you're in a good mood?"
"He seemed nice," says Jared. "Shut up."
Of course, that's when the door chimes. Jared and Katie both glance over as Jensen follows Luke in. Jensen's just as hot as Jared remembered him, all messy hair and plush lips, and Luke is just as adorable. They probably have the most nauseatingly perfect Christmas cards in the world, or pose for children's fashion magazines or something.
Jensen smiles at Jared, a little nervously, and Luke marches up to the desk with a self-assured air. Katie neatly sidesteps, giving Jared an annoying smirk.
"Hello," says Luke. "I'm Luke Ackles. We met yesterday. I'm here for my cat."
"Hi again," says Jensen, waving a little.
"Nice to see you, Mr. Ackles," he says. He smiles down at Luke. "Mr. Ackles." He can feel Katie rolling her eyes at him.
"You're here for Yonkers, right?" says Katie, kneeling down to Luke's level. "He's in the back with the other kitties. You can come pick him up with me while he does paperwork."
"Okay!" says Luke, and cheerfully follows Katie.
"So, what do I have to do."
"Um, if you're--I didn't mention the fee yesterday," says Jared, rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel kind of bad charging you, cuz--"
Jensen waves his hand. "I don't mind. It's a good cause, right?"
"I think so," Jared agrees. "Um, I do need you to fill this out. And if you give me your card, I can process the payment while you work. Or check. Or whatever."
Jensen doesn't seem to notice Jared's incredible awkwardness. He just hands over his card and starts working.
This is where Jared's plan kind of falls apart. Not that he had a plan beyond seeing Jensen again, but he doesn't really have any way to go from "you're hot" to "do you happen to like tall and socially inept guys who work in animal rescue?"
He doesn't even really know how to cover "you're hot," he mostly just knows Jensen is really hot.
"Do you guys have any supplies for the cat, Mr. Ackles?" he settles on.
Jensen glances up. "Jensen is fine. And, no, not really." He rubs the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't know the first thing about taking care of a cat. We had dogs growing up."
Jared grins. "I'm more of a dog guy myself. Not that I don't like cats, just dogs are what I had of my own choice. The cats were all ones who didn't get adopted."
Jensen raises his eyebrows. "Just how many pets do you have?"
Jared flushes. "Um. Three dogs, four cats."
"Jesus. You're like Ace Ventura."
Jared snorts. "Slightly better taste in clothes."
"Way better hair," says Jensen dryly.
"So, um, what you need for a cat is, well. He's an outdoor cat, I guess?"
"He was always in our yard," says Jensen. "So I'm thinking so, yeah."
"You probably still want a litterbox, but he'll probably be used to going outside, too. He's old enough he should be housetrained. He's spayed, so that's great for you. Mostly it's food, maybe some toys--"
"You know," says Katie, coming in from the back with Luke and a carrier which presumably contains Yonkers, "Jared's actually our best home specialist."
Jensen and Jared both raise their eyebrows at her. "Home specialist?" asks Jensen.
"He's great with helping get the animals set up at home. For first-time owners."
Jared is going to kill Katie in her sleep. There is just no other option.
"That'd be good," says Jensen thoughtfully. "If you don't mind."
Jared grins. "Yeah, sure, it's no problem. Let's see what you guys need."
Luke manages to convince Jensen they need all kinds of things that he definitely doesn't--Jared suspects Jensen is just letting the kid go nuts with his first pet, and it's adorable. Jared helps them carry the kitty litter and the box and the bowl and the food and the cat bed and the metric ton of toys out to the car, and then tells Jensen he'll follow in his, because the last thing he wants to do is make Jensen give him a ride home.
On his way out, he gives Katie the finger, just for good measure. She gives him a big thumbs up.
*
Luke and Yonkers end up sleeping on the couch while Jared and Jensen attempt to assemble a scratching post. Jensen goes over to cover them with a blanket, and Jared has never seen anything so cute.
Jensen sits back down next to him on the floor and glances over, looking at Jared through his eyelashes. "Jared."
"Yeah?"
"This isn't a standard service, is it," he says. It's not even a question, because Jensen isn't stupid.
"Not standard," Jared hedges.
"Your coworker was trying to set us up," Jensen says.
Jared groans. "Jesus. I'm going to kill her. She's really not subtle."
Jensen chuckles. "You were pretty flustered too." Jared turns really, really red, and Jensen laughs again. "Just like that, yeah."
"Sorry," says Jared, looking down.
"Hey," says Jensen, putting his hand over Jared's. "In case you missed it, I said yes."
Jared looks up. "Oh yeah," he says, laughing sheepishly.
"You kind of suck at this," says Jensen.
"Shut up," mutters Jared. "Do you want to go out with me or not?"
"Yeah," says Jensen. "Someone's gotta help me take care of that cat."
"At least you're telling me up-front that you're using me."
Jensen just grins.
*
So that's how Jared gets a boyfriend--not that he officially declares him that until after the third date--and another cat, and a kid, kind of, because once Luke finds out Jared has seven pets, he decides Jared should be his new dad. Which--okay, they're not that far yet, but. Jared wouldn't mind. Someday.