Who Will Love You (Who Will Fight) Part 2

[dime_liora]

Last Part

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks Vitaly.”

Jared hasn’t slept much since Sunday morning when he snuck out of the hotel room and made his careful way home. Sleep has just been too hard to come by. Despite his resolve in the shower his brain has circled back to the life that’s growing in him over and over again. Jared has considered every possibility a thousand times, and they all seem too final and too hard to bear. He wishes he had a time machine. That he could go back and just decide to spend the night at home playing his games and drinking beer on his couch.

Oh god, beer. He can’t drink beer anymore. He adds that to the ever-growing list of changes. Jared is going to go mad if he can’t get his brain off this endless loop of realization and panic.

He’s got one of his own customers coming in today, and the rest of his schedule is packed with Vitaly’s list of clients. It’s going to be a long day, and fairly routine. Which is good. Jared needs routine today. He needs to let his mind go and simply let his hands work. Watch himself create instead of spiral down the drain.

The Tower.

His brain returns to Jensen’s tattoo as he begins his first yowling pack of cats. The cats one he’s never understood. The rest--the religious icons and the weapons--those are designed to make them look tougher, but why the cats? Grown alphas getting…the Tower.

Jared had become obsessed with the Tarot in high school. He figures it’s the symbolism of it. The art changes from deck to deck, but the symbolism stays the same. Jared liked the idea of it. Portraying the same message over and over again but changing the delivery. It seemed like the epitome of creativity. To work within a series of lines at the same time you’re breaking them. He designed his own deck and used it. Read books after book about the history and practice of it.

Everything about the Tarot intrigued him. And as a result it was the first ink Jared had ever gotten. The Death card across his chest in the hopes that he could live up to its promise. That he could go through changes and renew himself. That he could reinvent the scrawny little omega who had seen a reading at a school fair and fallen in love with the idea of a world that was totally foreign to himself and his classmates.

And as far as Jared is concerned he succeeded. He managed to leave his hometown, to carve out a place for himself, and support himself in LA. He’d avoided all the clichés, refused to be subjugated, and kept himself out of the trouble that befell almost every one of his omega classmates.

Or he had. Until Saturday. Until he had to go to the stupid bar, the one that was supposed to avoid just this issue, and run into his goddamn mate. A slam brings him back to the present, and Jared’s eyes jerk up to see Vitaly staring at him darkly.

“Where the hell is Timur?”

Jared swallows and puts his tattoo gun down, the idiot he’s been working on looking up from his magazine at Vitaly with a fair amount of concern. His boss looks murderous.

“I don’t know. How the hell should I know?”

It’s risky. Jared isn’t necessarily afraid of Vitaly, not normally, but his boss looks like he’s on the verge of killing someone and Jared is sitting as his primary target right in this moment. And Jared isn’t little anymore, that’s not a problem, but inherent alpha strength and an extra fifty pounds gives Vitaly an advantage that Jared can’t hope to combat if his boss suddenly goes berserker on him.

Vitaly’s jaw tightens for a second before he bites off every word singularly.

“Find. Me. Timur.”

And Jared hops up, because as much as he’d love to ignore it a command with that much will laced in it from an alpha isn’t exactly something he’s biologically capable of ignoring. But his obedience is a kneejerk response, because underneath the seeming complacence Jared boils as he walks. How fucking dare Vitaly do that shit to him.

It’s not really socially acceptable for alphas to pull that shit, not legal for an alpha to do such a thing to an employee, and Jared resents the hell out of it. The one thing he could always positively say about Vitaly until this moment was that his boss never pulled gender rank on him that way before.

Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but until this moment Jared has only ever been upset about the theoretical possibility of it. Now that it’s happened there’s a sting that he can’t shake off. This is his life. Wasn’t it bad enough that his creativity was being consumed by the boring repetition of Vitaly’s customer base, but now he has to swallow down his pride for some knothead alpha bastard who thinks he can just tell Jared when he…

He’s pregnant.

It hits him again randomly, suddenly, and Jared puts his hand against the doorframe of the storage building outside as he takes a long and deep breath and holds himself up. He’s pregnant. And this is the life he’s currently considering bringing a kid into. His apartment is not the greatest, but his fellow tenants are excellent and it’s not a terrible neighborhood. But this. His work. The people Vitaly brings in are wannabe criminals at best and Vitaly is without a doubt a thug. Jared might willfully blind himself to the type of people he’s been around for so long, but he hasn’t missed the way they all defer to Vitaly no matter their size. He hasn’t been blind to the way people dip into the storage building on a regular basis who have no business there, and how no one mentions it or bats an eye.

Jared isn’t blind, but he hasn’t needed to know more. Not until now, because what if these people really are criminals on a much larger scale than he let himself believe? Mark told all those stories about the biker club, and how he got along with those people. None of them included him trying to raise a kid, and Jared believes that even Mark wouldn’t let those sorts of alphas near a child. Wouldn’t have endangered his offspring even if ostensibly he didn’t want any.

So how can Jared? Admittedly it hasn’t been that long, and Jared hasn’t even taken an official test to prove what he thinks he knows, but how could he have overlooked this? His coworker’s goddamn head had just exploded next to him, and at the time Jared had tried so hard to believe that it was just a random act of violence in a city that held so much of it underneath its skin. But now Jared has to really consider how obviously not random such a perfect shot was.

His hand strays towards his stomach, and then Jared pulls it away and shakes it off. Ridiculous. All of it. He’s acting like a blushing little omega, batting his eyelashes and fainting at the first sign of danger. And that’s not Jared. He’s lived in this den of criminality for too long without ever giving it a second thought. If he’s been safe all this time then until he decides what to do with the fetus growing inside of him it will be safe too.

Jared tries the knob, and when it opens without any hesitation he knows he’s found his missing coworker. He steps into the shady interior, shelves of inks and pre-packaged clusters blocking what little light there is and casting odd shadows. The rows are set close together, and Jared weaves through them with ease, figuring that if Timur is in here he’ll be in the back room that serves as Vitaly’s office. Jared’s never been in there himself, but he imagines that it’s as seedy as his boss is.

“Timur? Timur! Vitaly is pissed!”

There’s no response, and Jared is too annoyed to wait and make sure that the idiot isn’t doing something Jared doesn’t want to see. If he’s jacking off or some other dumbass move then he’ll have to deal with the embarrassment of being found because Jared needs to get him back into the shop, finish his day, and go home to really think over what he’s realized.

A thump from inside the office is the last thing he hears clearly, because the sight that greets him is so horrific Jared’s stomach lurches and his vision grays a little. Timur is in there alright, but his throat is slit, and he’s been hung from a coat hook mounted on Vitaly’s wall. Jared sways, hand over his mouth, and then there’s a scrape to his right and he turns.

Later, when he’s telling Vitaly about it but not the police, Jared will be able to describe flashes. A brief burst of black, maybe a ski mask or a hoodie, a hint of smoke, and then a burst of light before Jared lost consciousness.

But that’s later. In this moment Jared knows only that there is someone in the room with him, and that someone is the killer. And then he’s falling, the floor rushing at him before the world goes black.


----


When Jared wakes up he’s in Vitaly’s car, the sounds of traffic muted by the Russian pop music blaring out of the speakers; his head hurts and his whole body feels slow and thick. Vitaly holds out a water bottle without a word, and Jared accepts it and sips slowly.

“What happened?”

Vitaly grunts, tongue slipping out to lick his lips before he engages his turn signal and makes a left that Jared recognizes as being incredibly close to his apartment.

“Someone killed Timur.”

He should bite it back. Vitaly has always had a temper, and the last week has brought it to the surface in ways that are entirely unhealthy. Jared should know better than to press, especially after Vitaly used the alpha-command earlier. Still, Jared’s own temper has always had a mind of its own.

“No shit. But what happened after?”

When he first started working for Vitaly Jared was always afraid his temper would get him hit. Mark had a story or two like that. Even now, with all the experience Jared has with the alpha, he’s surprised when instead Vitaly barks out a laugh.

Vitaly adds to Jared’s confusion by tousling his hair.

“Kid. One day you’ll be mated, and you’re gonna want to watch that smart mouth of yours. In the meantime it’s cute how much of a spitfire you are.”

“Never. What about the cops? I’m gonna need to give them a statement, Vitaly. Did you call them already?”

His boss’ face grows dark, serious, and he pulls up in front of Jared’s apartment building white knuckling his steering wheel.

“I have known Timur since he was little boy at his momma’s knee. You will have to understand that this is going to go a bit different. Someone killed the boy on my property, under my watch, you understand? So, you are not going to speaking to any cops.”

Jared takes a breath, his eyes fixed firmly on Vitaly, and waits for the laugh or the pause where the big alpha tells him that he’s joking or something because the guy can’t really be saying that he expects Jared to…

But he is. Of course he is. And Jared is disgusted momentarily with himself for his stupidity. He’s mistaken Vitaly’s many slips of traditional behavior for some sort of friendship. How he can recognize one moment that Vitaly is dangerous and then forget it the next when the alpha’s warm and paternalistic manner pops out Jared doesn’t know.

“Yeah. Sure. No cops.”

Vitaly measures him for a moment and then nods. Face suspicious but not dangerous. Not visibly anyway.

“Good. I’ll see you in morning. Be safe Jared.”

And he nods, smiles, and then slips out of the car. His legs want to wobble, but Jared forces himself to walk upright and steady into his building. He doesn’t run, keeps his pace steady and slow, and makes his way upstairs and into his apartment where he locks all three locks behind him and collapses against the door.

He’s got to go. It’s time to go. This has gone too far. People are dying, he’s being brought into some sort of criminal conspiracy, and he’s carrying a baby and has run from his mate.

It’s time to go.


---


When Jared originally thumbed his way to LA all he brought was what he could carry in two bags. Now that he looks around he realizes not much has changed. He’s collected things in his time here, but none of them are particularly important.

There’s a sock monkey that he was given by a particularly odd client who wanted the date their unpleasant mating was dissolved tattooed on her hip. She stitched little tattoos into it, and Jared fingers them for a moment before lifting it and putting it in his bag. He still doesn’t have a car, hasn’t needed one with all the public transportation, so if he’s leaving tonight he’s going to need to choose a method of transportation.

The bus will be slower, but harder to track. Jared is pretty sure he can pay for the ticket in cash. He’ll be tracked more easily on a plane, and to be honest he’s never been too fond of flying. But the plane is so much faster, and the minute he touches down on the ground in Texas he can head home and tell them everything. Call the police back here and explain what happened and why he had to run.

Jared is in the middle of throwing underwear into his pack when the knock sounds through the apartment, and for a moment his feet are glued to the floor. Jared isn’t sure if he should check who it is, or duck out the window of his bedroom and climb down the fire escape. His feet refuse to move, and the fist pounds again.

If he doesn’t check and it’s Vitaly simply checking on him then there could be more outside. He has a vivid fantasy of them using radios, reporting that he’s running and they better catch him. How many could be waiting outside for him right now? How many will be there to simply kill him? Or will they torture him?

But it could be the police. Maybe someone else at the shop told the cops, and they’ve come to get Jared into protective custody. Or maybe it’s simply one of his neighbors checking on him, because that happens too.

Jared walks to his kitchen slowly, feet making no noise on the worn old boards he knows so well, and he draws a knife out of the chopping block and then makes his way to the door. The peephole seems huge, will certainly give him away, and Jared imagines that what will greet him on the other side is the barrel of a gun.

Except it’s not the barrel of a gun, and it’s not Vitaly, and it’s not a neighbor.

It’s Jensen.

His heart triple times for a completely different reason, and Jared licks his lips. Even through the distortion of the peephole Jensen is impossibly handsome, and Jared shifts his grip on the knife and wonders how bad he looks right now. He’s been knocked unconscious, seen a dead body, worked a full day at the shop, and he hasn’t showered since he got home.

The sheer stupidity of his vanity hits him, and Jared opens the door to tamp it down before he realizes that there’s no way in hell Jensen should know where he lives. As a result Jared ends up pulling the knife halfway up in his grip at the same time he tries to smile politely.

Jensen’s face says the mixed signals are received and not understood.

“Uh. Hi. Jared.”

“Hi. How did you find me?”

Jensen blushes, freckles standing out that Jared missed the other night and lips just as pink and plush as Jared remembers them. Perversion stands prominent in his thoughts.

“I kinda…snuck a peek at your wallet after you passed out. Sorry. I know it wasn’t right, but I just wanted to know more about my mate.”

Jared has no right to judge, he knows that, but he’s irrationally angry. Alphas have thrown his entire life into a tailspin right now, and Jared is just about done with it.

“You ever heard of privacy?”

His mate’s eyes fall, and Jensen looks properly ashamed. Which only makes Jared feel worse and more defensive.

“Sorry man. I just. Yeah. So hey, uh, what’s with the knife?”

Jared looks down at it, hanging shiny in his grip, and then lowers the weapon before stepping back into the apartment.

“I was chopping vegetables. What did you want?”

A brow is lifted, and pink lips purse for half a second before Jensen’s voice comes out confused and amazed.

“Seriously? I came to- Jared you know what happened the other night right?”

It takes every ounce of his willpower to not respond with, You mated and impregnated me before I figured out I’m caught up in serious criminal conspiracy, all my coworkers are dropping dead, and I’m in incredible danger.

“Yeah. I know. What did you want?”

Jensen huffs a breath, hand tousling his short hair and then making an aborted gesture.

“You. We’re mates. I want to get to know you. I came to get to know you. I don’t understand why that’s so hard, or why you took off that morning.”

Jared casts about for a reason, and then the perfect answer comes to him. He gestures to the bag he dropped in the hallway when the knocking started.

“I’m going on a trip and I needed to go into work to pick up my paycheck. Sorry. We’ll have to do this another time.”

Like never.

Jensen’s eyes show hurt, and Jared feels instantly guilty.

“Where are you headed?”

He hesitates, but there’s no reason not to answer. Vitaly doesn’t know who Jensen is, and Jensen himself seems more than completely harmless. The guy is practically curling in on himself. Not exactly normal alpha behavior.

“Texas. I’m going to visit my family.”

Jensen’s eyes light up, and he takes a half step toward Jared and then aborts the move.

“You’re from Texas too? Hey. What a coincidence! I’m from Texas.”

“Yeah. I thought I heard that.”

The smell is making him crazy, that bonfire and pine combination, and while it turns Jared on it brings the headache he expected earlier from getting knocked out back with a vengeance. Jared sways a little, and is surprised when a warm hand cups his elbow and holds him up.

“Hey man, you look pale, grab a seat.”

Jared takes the help, surprisingly, and once he’s seated he puts his head in his hands and takes deep breaths.

“You ok?”

He nods, licks his lips, and fights the urge to wring his hands or shuffle his feet like a nervous child.

“I just have a headache. Rough day. Listen, I really am sorry, and I know it was rude to take off, but this isn’t my thing.”

“Having a headache?”

“Having a mate.”

Jared realizes he’s a coward, but he can’t look up. He hears a low sound, and then the smell of Jensen is everywhere and those warm hands are resting on his knees.

“Listen. Listen Jared, I get that you’re the independent type ok? I can see that. But we’re- what we are isn’t a fluke and it’s not a one-night stand. I can’t let it be a one-night stand ok? We’re meant for each other. I didn’t bite you last night because I got the feeling you weren’t interested in that sort of commitment right away, but that doesn’t mean I’m not committed. If you want to take this slow and have me woo you I can. I’ll take as long as you want, ok? Just tell me what you need to make this work.”

A time machine, a thousand years, and an entirely new personality.

“Jensen, that’s really sweet but I’m not the mate for you. I can tell you that right now.”

There’s a half smile when he glances up, hurt and tremulous but there, and Jared’s heart breaks a little at seeing it.

“Is it how little ink I have? I can get more.”

Jared thinks of the Tower tattoo, the graceful and swooping lines, and then his train of thought from earlier in the day comes back to him.

“Why the Tower?”

The smile he gets this time is a little bitter, a little sad, and Jared is barely able to keep his hands to himself. Biology tries its hardest to get him to give in just a little bit.

“Because it seems like most of my life is wreck and ruin. Why Death?”

“All I’ve ever wanted to do was reinvent myself and promote change.”

Fingers, callused and warm, rub against Jared’s cheek. He’s unable to stop from leaning into them a little, and Jensen’s entire face lights up.

“Is that why you came out here? To reinvent yourself? Promote change?”

Jared manages to nod, swallowing around the lump in his throat, and Jensen’s fingers stroke his face again.

“I would never box you. I would never try to make you into something you’re not, or control you, and I promise that. I swear it here and now. All I want is to be together. Do you have to be alone to achieve your goals?”

Jared swallows hard and then reaches up and links his fingers with Jensen’s. The truth is right at the tip of his tongue. The honest answer that no, he could do it with someone, but first he’d have to tell Jensen that the mate he’s ended up with was willing to hide a baby from him, is part of something dark and frightening, and doesn’t seem to be able to stay in a healthy relationship due to an extreme character flaw is too hard to put into words.

Instead Jared takes the easier way.

“Can we…maybe try after I get back? Will you still be visiting here?”

He watches the alpha, his mate, swallow hard before he looks over at Jared’s bag.

“I could be. But…how are you getting to Texas?”

And Jared has nothing. He still hasn’t decided, really.

“I was thinking maybe the bus?”

Jensen’s face cramps tightly, and then he stands shaking his head.

“No. Hey. No, not the bus. That’s not safe. What if I. Could I take you? I’m headed back that way anyway. My business trip is basically over.”

Jared’s brain stutters. It’s a great solution. Vitaly could never track his movements through a stranger that he’s never met or even heard of.

Negatives run through his head at top speed, but ultimately Jared looks at the honest and open face in front of him and then makes a decision. Jensen might threaten his sense of self, is being betrayed on a very deep level by Jared’s silence, but he’s safe. And that’s everything right now. Jared can figure out the rest of it on the way.

And maybe a couple of days on the road will help him figure out what exactly he should do about Jensen even as it takes him far from Vitaly and all the mess back there.

“Yeah. Ok. That’d be great.”

“Good. Great. We’ll leave in the morning ok? I just need to take care of one last thing and then we’re good to go. Is that ok?”

Jared looks at how eager, how happy Jensen looks, and he wonders what he’s gotten himself into. How bad it will be when he finally lets Jensen down.

“Yeah. That’s great.”

He doesn’t sleep at all that night, brain racing and eyes moving around the darkened room as he tries to figure out just how he’s going to handle all this.

And if his hand keeps settling on his stomach? What of it?


----


It’s earlier than Jared has gotten up in years, but when he stumbles downstairs with his two bags repacked and his eyes glued shut by sleep Jensen is already there in the big shiny black car waiting for him.

Jared accepts a cup of coffee, wonders if he’s allowed to drink it, and then sips it anyway. Jensen looks fresh, happy, and Jared tries to offer the ghost of a smile and is pretty sure he only manages something between a blank look and an offended scowl.

“Lesson number one: my mate is not a morning person.”

The offended scowl wins, but then wavers when Jensen responds with hearty laughter.

“Lesson number one: my mate is a dick.”

Jensen laughs more, and then pulls away from the curb and joins the flow of traffic. The car growls low and even, and Jared’s sleepless night says that the feel of the big car sliding smoothly along the roads and rumbling is the perfect lullaby. He sips the coffee a little more in the hopes that he can combat it.

“You know, I’m actually not a morning person either. I just got up several hours ago and have had way more coffee than you.”

He sips his own drink and then places it in the cup holder. Jensen has classic rock playing low on the radio, and Jared toys with the idea of changing his music just to see what the alpha will do. Instead he turns the air conditioning up a little bit, and then sends Jensen a look questioning to see if that’s going to be a problem. The smile on his mate’s face says no.

“You run hot right? I noticed that the other night.”

Jared blushes, and sees the moment the double entendre hits Jensen’s brain and his mate turns red too.

“Oh shit. No. Not like that. Man, there goes my foot-in-mouth disease.”

“You’re kind of a dork.”

Jensen casts a glance Jared’s way, eyes sparkling and bright, and a smile twisting the corners of his lips.

“Hey, hey now, I may be a dork but I’m your dork.”

And that’s true. He is Jared’s dork. More importantly he is the exact opposite of the people Jared is currently running from, and that’s refreshing. He hasn’t spent a whole lot of time with wholesome people lately, and Jensen is about as soft and inoffensive as a comforter as far as Jared can tell.

“So what part of Texas are you from?”

Jensen hums for a second as he gets on the highway, and Jared is impressed by how smoothly the man handles the big car.

“Richardson originally. Outside of Dallas. And you said you were from San Antonio right?”

Had he? He didn’t remember saying that, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t. Jared’s brain is so fried right now.

“Uh. Yeah. Spurs forever!”

Jensen’s face goes a little sour and he puckers his lips and shoots Jared a look.

“Well there’s our first fight. Mavs man. How could you not support the Mavs?”

“Because they suck?”

Jensen’s offended splutter sets off a laugh in Jared, and he doesn’t miss the softening in Jensen’s eyes or how the alpha smiles in response as if Jared’s laugh is the best thing he’s ever heard.

“We got a little over nineteen hours of drive time with no bad traffic for me to argue that point, and my GPS says we’re gonna hit some construction that’ll give us a little more. I’ll convert you to the side of good before we get there.”

“That is highly unlikely. A million years wouldn’t be enough time to make me consider rooting for the Mavs.”

Jensen settles a little more into the leather bench seat, and then looks over at Jared properly.

“Well then I’ll take a million years.”

And in that moment? It doesn’t sound like a horrible idea.

---


Jared wakes up to a parking lot, some kind of restaurant he doesn’t recognize, and he rubs his eyes sleepily and looks over at Jensen. The alpha is texting, face set into some sort of blank mask, and for a moment he’s unrecognizable to Jared. The only looks he’s ever seen on his mate are all so expressive, but this one gives away nothing at all.

He clears his throat and watches Jensen jump a little before looking at him guiltily.

“Sorry. Problem at work. I’m trying to figure out how to fix it from a distance.”

Jared rubs his eyes again and pushes himself fully upright. The scent of smoked barbeque and grilled steak drift out of the restaurant, and his stomach loudly protests them still being outside and not actively filling it.

“Oh? What do you do?”

“I’m a contractor. I was in LA to look at a potential job, but my home office is back in Dallas.”

Jared wonders about the Colorado ID, but he’s afraid to ask and bring up his snooping.

“Like houses and stuff?”

Jensen smiles then, and Jared feels all the tension slide out at the sight.

“Yeah. Houses and stuff. Hey, you’ve been out for a couple hours. You hungry?”

And he is. So hungry. They head into the restaurant and take a seat in a booth. Jared tries to make sure his legs are pulled all the way in while simultaneously finding the section of the menu with the most red meat and adjusting his silverware so his elbows won’t knock it. Years of awkwardness have taught him to set the stage early.

He practically jumps on the waitress when she arrives, placing an order for the biggest steak they’ll give him and a soda to wash it down. Jensen copies him with a smile and then waits for her to be gone.

“So, a red meat man huh?”

Jared nods eagerly, eyes roving over the place now that he’s awake and his stomach is slightly appeased by the promise of a coming meal.

“I eat like a horse. Momma said I was lucky I didn’t bankrupt them as a kid.”

Jensen laughs, settling into the booth and idly spinning his knife with his right hand.

“Sounds about right. I bet you had one hell of a growth spurt.”

“Oh yeah. Two years and three feet. I was aching all the time, but I was glad to finally be big. Runs in my family you know. My brother is actually taller than me.”

There’s a low whistle from across the table and an appreciative look.

“That’s pretty big. If your momma is as tall as you I might be a little intimidated.”

“No, mom’s a little smaller, but don’t worry about that. She’ll be so happy I finally mated you could probably be nine kinds of shady and she’d still be stoked.”

Jensen lifts an eyebrow as the waitress drops off their drinks and slips off with barely a word.

“Why are you so opposed to mating?”

He plays with his straw for a second before taking a long drink of his soda. The answer seemed so much simpler when there wasn’t someone right in front of him to have their feelings hurt by it.

“I feel like it boxes me in. It’s exactly what everyone always expected me to do, and I didn’t want to be predictable. I didn’t want to just get mated and have kids like every other omega in my class. I wanted to learn who I was and have my own life.”

“How’d that work out?”

“Well, I moved to LA, got a job at Vitaly’s shop, and my own place. I get to decide when I go out and what I do, and any night I want to come home and eat mac and cheese while watching mindless television super-loud I can. As long as I don’t upset my neighbors.”

Jared manages, by the barest hint of willpower, not to put his hand on his stomach and cradle the baby growing there. The one that will change all of that. Instead he keeps his hands on the table and his mouth near the straw. If Jensen notices him twitching he’s good enough not to say anything.

“A shop? So you work retail?” There’s something odd about the tone Jensen uses, but Jared forgets it moments later when a steak appears in front of him and his mouth fills with saliva at the smell and sight.

He starts cutting into it immediately, talking without thinking as his knife slices through the tender meat and juices bleed out into the baked potato beside it.

“Tattoo parlor. It’s not the most upscale of places, but they’ll let an omega work there in a primarily alpha setting.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And I have to do a lot of work for Vitaly’s friends and acquaintances, but I have my own customers who like me, and I’m building up good word of mouth you know? So I feel like I’m making my own way there. One day I wanna open my own place, and hire nothing but omega artists. Then, when the alphas come in, we can-”

Jared looks up to see if Jensen is reacting to the disgust and superiority in his tone, but that pleasant and dorky smile is still firmly in place. He realizes too late he’s matching Jensen’s dorkiness as a bite of steak is literally hanging in the air an inch from his open mouth. Jensen reaches out and gently leads the bite into his mouth before releasing Jared’s hand and nodding encouragingly.

“The steaks are supposed to be awesome here.”

His hand stutters on its way back up, and Jensen tilts his head at it.

“Did you…did you look up a steak place to stop at with me?”

Jensen’s face goes through a progression of emotions that lead to the funniest and most endearing blush Jared has ever seen. Freckles stand out against the redness, and Jensen rubs his hair and looks away before answering.

“Yeah. I might have done that. A little.”

“Is this a date?”

They’re mates already. As much as Jared isn’t sure how to qualify that statement, or how much involvement with its meaning he really wants, the idea of Jensen wooing him is insane. At best when an alpha finds their omega mate they wait until biology takes over and the mating is finalized, and at worst they simply take what they want.

Instead Jensen is acting like he can talk Jared into agreeing to what fate has already commanded. As if Jared had a choice. And the idea of that is more than a little appealing. That Jensen believes Jared is autonomous enough to laugh in the face of thousands of years of precedent.

“Yeah. Sort of. If you want it to be.”

And in that moment? He really does.

By the time the steak is gone Jared has told Jensen about his entire family, Mark, and his school years. He’s edited the details enough that Jensen doesn’t know the exact depths of his geekery, but left in enough that Jensen gets how out of place Jared was in his own home. It’s not that his family judged him for his chosen path, although there was probably a little bit of that, but that they just didn’t understand. His mother was happily mated, his brother found his mate at eighteen, and Meg was pretty sure she knew hers by the time she was fifteen. But Jared…

He had decided to be alone. And his family didn’t get why someone would choose that form of self-imposed isolation over what they considered perfect happiness. He didn’t blame them for it, he simply couldn’t agree with it.

That being said, here he was having dinner with an incredibly kind and thoughtful alpha who was meant for him. And the guy wanted to give Jared a choice about the whole thing. Which was…unbelievable. It made Jared rethink a lot of his judgments about the whole process, because if Jensen had been any other way Jared would have repudiated him in a moment. Instead, here they were laughing over dessert like old friends and sharing stories.

Or. Jared was sharing stories.

“So, now it’s your turn.”

Jensen looked up from his plate, only the berries left from his serving of cheesecake, and then licked some of the cream from the corner of his lips. Which served to make Jared blindingly hard and incredibly wet in seconds. He tried to tamp it down, but from the look on Jensen’s face he’d picked up on it fairly quickly.

“Maybe we should table that discussion. I was thinking I’d get us separate hotel rooms and we’d start again in the morning. Sleeping in the car really isn’t good for your neck.”

Jared makes the decision in an instant, and his mouth moves even as his brain settles on it.

“We could share a room.”

His mate tilts his head again, eyes serious and shadowed darkly.

“I want that Jared. I want it very much. But you have to want it too. We can just sleep in the same bed, and nothing will happen. Or we could do more. But this is all up to you. I won’t push you one way or another.”

For just a second Jared toys with the idea of telling Jensen no now that he’s offered it, just to see what Jensen will do. If it’s real or just an act that the alpha is pulling off convincingly to lure Jared in.

Except it isn’t. Every line of Jensen’s body and every miniscule expression in his face says Jensen is serious. If Jared says no now, he’ll pay for Jared to sleep in a separate room and say nothing one way or another. This is his mate.

This is his mate.

“Let’s share.”

Next part
Masterpost