FIC: Can I Take A Mulligan?

[paulacas]

Title: Can I Take A Mulligan?
Author: YanzaDracan
Fandom: RPS
Pairing: Chris/Steve/Jensen/Jared
Rating: FRA
Summary: Prompt – AU on tour together. I posted a comment_fic, but wasn’t quite satisfied with it. Then it took on a life of its own.
 

 

It’d been a month since they wrapped Supernatural. After taking a week to wind down and catch up on much needed sleep. Jensen started packing to move back to LA. Jared had tried to get him to stay longer, but Jen said he had obligations. 

Now the house seemed empty and way too quiet—even the dogs were pining. He really should be thinking about his own next move. 

They’d talked on the phone and email, but Jared hadn’t seen Jensen since he left. He’d been back in LA three weeks, but no one had actually seen Jensen, and when he asks, Jensen’s evasive. Steve and Chris aren’t talking either. 

There are scripts and meetings, and decisions about what’s next, but he seems fixated on finding out what’s going on with his best friend. 

Getting desperate, Jared starts watching Christian and Steve’s websites. He knows it’s a little nuts but he also knows that if Jensen’s out there, someone somewhere will be posting just as fast as they get an internet connection. 

Chris is back in Portland filming the third season of Leverage. Steve’s played a few dates in LA, but he’s been as scarce as Jensen. 

Then a ‘SQUEE!’ that’s almost audible is heard across the fan sites when Chris’ MySpace page announces new shows in Portland--in a larger venue, and the newly reformed Kane will be going on tour when Leverage finishes filming, with rumors of a new CD. 

Jared’s jaw drops when he reads the playbill. Kane featuring Christian Kane, vocals, Steve Carlson, lead guitar and back-up vocals—and everything stops. Jensen Ackles, rhythm guitar and back-up vocals. 

He scrambles for his phone, cursing when all three numbers go to voicemail. 

An hour later the phone sings out Jensen’s ringtone. 

“Where the fuck are you and what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Jared yells into the phone. 

“Hello to you, too, Jay.” Jared bristles as he visualizes Jensen smirking at him. 

“Jen…” He grinds out between gritted teeth. 

“I’m in Portland filming a movie that wraps the same time as Chris’ show, and playing with Kane.” Jensen rattled off in a rush. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jared sounded hurt. “Nobody was tellin’ me anything.” 

“We didn’t know if things were going to work out.” The line got quiet. “Some other things have happened that’s been in the works for a while--we weren’t sure how you’d take it—I…I was afraid—you had all those offers and Gen…I didn’t want to be in the way…Steve said I was bein’ an ass…Chris said I was just bein’ an emo bitch.” Jen gave a shaky laugh. 

Jared could see him rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous habit he’d shared with his alter ego, Dean Winchester. 

“Think you could come to Portland? We’re doin’ a show this weekend. You can stay at the house, and we’ll talk.” 

“I’ll call you with my flight information.” Jared’s voice sounded relieved. “And Jen…” he paused to be sure the older man was listening. “We will talk about everything.” 

“Yeah, Jay we will. I just hope you’ll keep an open mind. If you get here in the evening I can pick you up.” 

As the plane touched down in Portland, Jared was sure the butterflies in his stomach would keep the plane from ever reaching the terminal. 

Seeing the face of the man that he’d formed an instant connection with five years ago, the butterflies settled and rushed forward and engulfed the shorter man in a hug. 

“That all you got?” Jensen asked as he tried to catch his breath. 

“Yeah. You’re lookin’ good, dude.” Jared stated as they headed toward the exit. 

“Steve’s on this healthy eatin’ kick. Chris and I have to practically plan a commando raid to get a cheeseburger and fries these days.” 

“You’re livin’ with them?” Jared’s eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. 

“Yeah, all things considered didn’t make much sense to get a place.” He stated flatly. 

“What type of things?” Jared turned so he could watch Jensen’s face. 

Jensen glanced at Jared before turning back to the road. “Steve and I were friends before he met Chris. Chris and I became friends through Steve. They formed Kane…then they became a couple…Even during their rough patches I envied them having each other…” Jensen’s voice trailed off. 

“Jen?” Jared was more confused than ever. 

The truck came to a stop in front of an upscale townhome. He saw Chris standing at the window glaring at the truck. 

“Remember when they came to Vancouver after Christmas?” 

“Right after you and Danneel broke up.” Jared nodded. 

“We didn’t break up. I decided to stop hiding, and she had this guy she was getting serious about.” Jensen turned to face Jared. 

“Before you go gettin’ your panties in a knot—I didn’t say anything to you ‘cause I didn’t want shit to get weird between us, you were busy with Gen. We were almost finished the show so I didn’t see any point. If things hadn’t worked out with Chris and Steve I didn’t want to ruin your friendship with them…” Jensen spouted in a rush. 

Jared sat silent so long that Jensen finally broke eye contact with the two men standing at the window and looked at his former co-star. 

“Uh…I can take you to a hotel if you don’t want to stay here.” Jensen’s voice was low and small. 

“What?...No!...I mean…it’s a lot to take in all at once.” Jared grabs his arm. 

“Let’s go in before Chris pulls something tryin’ to behave.” Jensen jokes. 

“Still no patience?” Jared chuckles. 

“I think he’s gotten worse.” 

Before Jensen can turn the door knob, the door opens, but instead of Chris, Steve jerks Jensen inside and Chris firmly plants himself between them and Jared. 

Jared looked down at the older man as Jensen pulled away from Steve. 

“What the fuck has gotten into you two?” He snaps. 

“You okay?” Chris never looked away from Jared. 

Jared looked between the three men. He doesn’t care if Kane is six inches shorter and forty pounds lighter, dude’s scary when he gets like this. At the moment, Carlson isn’t much better. 

Jensen moved away from Steve, shoved Chris aside and grabbed Jared and pulled him toward the stairs. 

“Come on, I’ll show you your room. Maybe the cavemen will evolve while we’re gone, and someone can find a couple beers.” Green eyes glared at his lovers. 

Steve looked a little sheepish and Chris bared his teeth in a mockery of a grin. 

“Sure Jenny, boy…just don’t take too long.” Chris waggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

“Keep it up, Kane and you’ll have a matching scar on the other side.” Jensen growled as Jared followed him to the upper level. 

By the time he returned to LA, Jared felt more settled. He and Jensen had re-connected. The farewell hugs and admonishments to come and stay longer, and bring the dogs warmed places Jared hadn’t realized had grown cold. Watching the three men gave him a lot of other things to think about, too. 

The members of Kane tumbled into their coach, all hair, sweat, adrenaline, and unharnessed energy. Words, laughs, hugs, whispers tangled together as they moved in a symbiotic motion around the customized bus looking for a place to settle. 

Jensen fell on the couch pulling Steve and Chris with him. The tangle of arms and legs is soon sorted out as the smaller men cuss the younger, still laughing and enjoying the post show high. Steve reaches out snagging Jared’s wrist pulling the youngest down into the mix. 

Jared burrowed into the pile of hard bodies, ignoring the other band members trying to get around the human tangle. Three dogs swirled around the chaos of their humans. 

He was thankful that the three older men invited him into this life, and then into their bed. Jared displayed a knack for organizing and keeping their lives running smoothly, leaving them to be seduced by the words and music. 

Arranging the schedules of three actors, a successful musician, and an up and coming band had them doing a balancing act worthy of the Flying Wallendas but after a lot of cussing, yelling, whining, and awesome makeup sex, they worked it out. 

For six months their relationship lived in the bubble of the tour, concerts, fans, lyrics and music. The outside world went by without touching them. 

They rolled into Portland a month before Chris had to be back on the set of Leverage. Steve and Darren were working out the details for Kane to record their new material. Jensen and Jared were looking over scripts and offers their agents had been sending them while they toured. 

They’d been home a week when Jensen and Jared got calls to meet with the creators of a new project. 

The day of the appointment Jared was so excited Jensen was ready to knock him out just to get a little peace. 

Jensen was anxious about why they would want to talk to both of them. After reading the few details his agent had, the project looked like something that could be a monumental test of their relationship. 

Afterward, Jensen thought their first mistake was not going together in a united front, but their agents had been adamant about arriving separately. 

The project was along the lines of James Bond—Jack Ryan—thinking man’s action adventure. They were looking for an actor to create their brand ala Sean Connery becoming synonymous with James Bond. 

They were the final two choices for the character, with a few minor problems. If they chose one of them, they wanted them to either end their relationship with Chris and Steve, or relegate them firmly to the closet. Jensen would have to give up Kane. 

They wanted their star associated strictly with their project. 

The producer had no sooner finished his statement then Jensen was on his feet. 

“Sorry. I don’t think I’m what you’re wanting for this project. Thank you for asking me to be here today.” He spoke very quietly. “I refuse to give up everything I love for something that may be a total failure.” 

He looked at Jared who wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

“Jay?” 

The younger man finally looked up. 

“I’m going to stay and hear what they have to say.” He was proud that his voice didn’t crack. “It could be what I need to shake off Sam Winchester.” 

“You had your little walk on the wild side, but now it’s back to the real world? We were serious about you.” Jensen’s voice was husky with his emotions. 

“Jen…” Jared started to stand. 

Taking a deep breath Jensen held up his hand to stall the motion. 

“Don’t…just don’t.” Head up, he pulled his dignity around him and left after throwing his agent a glare that promised this subject was not closed. 

When Jared got back to the townhouse, Steve was the only one home. 

Hurt blue eyes stared as he walked into the kitchen. 

“Jen?” He asked quietly. 

“Running with the dogs.” Steve’s voice was choked. “You take it?” 

“Yeah, but I wanted to explain…” His voice trailed off. 

“What’s to explain? You want this more than us.” Steve was interrupted by the dogs thundering into the room. 

“Come to pack?” Jensen’s voice was cold. 

Jared shivered. He’d never experienced this side of Jensen before. “They already had the tickets. I fly out tonight. I was wondering…the dogs?” 

“We’ll take care of them. Leave an address where to ship your stuff. Let us know when you have time for them and we’ll bring ‘em to LA.” He hugged Steve. “Gonna take a shower.” He signaled the dogs. “Come on, guys.” 

Looking back and forth between the men, the dogs finally followed Jensen up the stairs. 

“You better go pack. I don’t think you want to be here when Chris finds out.” Steve’s laugh was bitter. “Usually we get say ‘I told you so’ to Chris--Looks like he was right this time.” 

He grabbed his cigarettes and left Jared standing in the kitchen alone. 

He carried his suitcases and duffel to the door to wait for the limo. He looked out the window to the small yard where Jensen and Steve were curled into each other, the dogs laying protectively between the men and the house. 

His bags were loaded when Chris’ truck pulled in the driveway. 

“Jay?” Chris’ expression was confused. “What’s goin’ on, darlin’?” 

“That appointment we had this morning?” Chris nodded. “Jen turned it down.” Jared drew a shaky breath. “I didn’t.” He hung his head. “Steve and Jen can explain it. For what it’s worth…I’m sorry, but I just can’t turn this down.” 

Eyes widened as he watched Jared climb in the limo. He dashed for the house yelling for his lovers. 

It was six months before Jared’s new whirlwind life slowed enough for him to contact his former lovers about his dogs. He’d finally resorted to contacting the record company. Darren was coolly polite, took his number and promised to pass on the message. 

A week later he received a text with a time and place. When he called the number, Darren answered, and while he was still polite, Jared was told not to call again. 

With a sigh, he turned on the TV. The entertainment shows were going on about the number of premiers one actor/singer was having this week and when does the man sleep. 

Jensen’s movie had premiered the night before. The critics agreed that the actor had picked the perfect vehicle for moving from TV to the big screen. 

Kane’s new CD was being released tomorrow along with Steve Carlson’s, new CD on which Jensen Ackles and Christian Kane had provided backup vocals and instrumentals. 

Kane was going on a tour, as the opening act for Tim McGraw. 

Pictures of the three men arms around each other smiling broadly were splashed across the news channels and internet. 

One brave soul had shouted a question to the men about Jared. Their frozen smiles and polite, politically correct answers made Jared’s stomach roll into knots. 

Deciding to push the topic, the host cut Jensen from Chris and Steve. Jensen remained polite saying they were only in town until Friday when Kane were leaving for their first concert in San Francisco. They were heavily scheduled with interviews and would probably not be able to get together with his former co-star, but ‘Hey Jare, if you’re watching…break a leg, big guy’. 

A shout from Chris had Jensen ending the interview and rejoining him and Steve. The older men sandwiched him between them. Glares from Kane quieted any additional questions. 

Eyes prickling with tears, Jared hit the power button. 

The next day he arrived at a nearby dog park. Standing the shade of the Spanish Oaks were his three former lovers and his dogs. 

Seeing the tall man approach, Steve turned his back and walked to their SUV. With a glare that stopped Jared’s breath, Chris followed pulling the singer against his side with an arm around his waist. 

He was surprised at Harley and Sadie sitting quietly at Jensen’s side, but were watching him with bright eyes. At a word from Jensen, they scrambled to Jared. 

“Thanks for takin’ care of them for me.” Jared stepped forward. 

Jensen never moved but the expression on his face stopped Jared. 

“They get to be inconvenient, I’ll take them back.” Jensen snapped. 

Jared gasped at the older man’s implication. 

“I would never…” He trailed off as Jensen arched an eyebrow daring him to finish that thought. 

Jensen turned away to follow Chris and Steve. He paused and looked back. 

“Is it everything they promised?” 

“Mostly. They’re still working the bugs out of some of the stuff.” Jared answered quietly. 

“Was it worth what you gave up?” He started moving toward the parking lot. 

“For what it’s worth, I wish I could take a mulligan.” Jared spoke almost to himself. 

Jensen paused slightly before continuing on to his waiting lovers.