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New Fic: Christian Kane/Jensen Ackles, RPS AU, 93 Dollars
Title: 93 Dollars
Summary: Christian's leaving and Jensen doesn't know why.
Word Count: 1634
Rating: PG
Pairing: Christian Kane/Jensen Ackles (with special guest appearance by Michael Rosenbaum)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not real. Well, they are, but this isn't. Please don't sue. I have no money anyway.
A/N: Inspired by Christian's song "Let Me Go." And my absolute love for this man as developed through Leverage. And Jensen, too. Love these boys. More notes at the end. Super special thank you to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gaeln for the beta. This story is so much better for having you beat through it. Thank you!!!
Please leave any feedback/comments at my fic journal.
93 Dollars
It’s a bright sunny, Saturday afternoon. Much too cheerful a day for what’s happening. There should be storm clouds with lightning and thunderous rain. He’s sitting on the tailgate of Christian’s old Chevy truck as they pass a cigarette back and forth like it’s any ordinary day. But it’s not.
"You know your whole tough guy act is a load of bullshit, right?" Jensen asks.
"Yeah, I know," Christian replies taking a drag off his cigarette.
"So why are you doing this?"
"You know why."
"No, I don’t. I really don’t." Jensen thinks back over the last three months, trying to find where things went wrong. But there’s nothing. Everything is great. Perfect even. Until the one day when Christian says "I’m leaving." Just like that. And Jensen knows what Christian means. He’s not just leaving North Carolina, he’s leaving Jensen.
Jensen was sitting in a bar one Saturday night, not far from the Duke University campus. He was midway through his first semester as a grad student in their sports medicine program and the exams he had that week left him feeling completely drained.
He was enjoying his beer, shooting the shit with his friend Mike, who was working the bar that night, and generally unwinding. And then that damn guitar started playing.
He looked toward the stage and his eyes fell on one of the most gorgeous men Jensen ever saw. His long hair fell loosely around his face; the sleeves on the plaid shirt he was wearing were rolled up to his elbows showing one wrist adorned with various silver and black leather bracelets. As if that wasn’t enough, the gravelly voice that came out when he started singing was enough to push him over the edge.
"Who’s that?" he asked Mike.
"Christian Kane," Mike replied. "He played over at Pinhook last week and the crowd seemed to love him. So, Tom got him over here for the next couple weeks."
"Yeah, he seems pretty good," Jensen said, his eyes never leaving the stage.
"Hang around then," Mike laughed. "I’ll introduce you."
"What?" Jensen exclaimed whipping around to face Mike. "No! You don’t…there’s no need to…"
"It’s fine, Jen. About time you got laid, anyway. You’ve been far too tense."
"Shut up."
"Drink your beer. I’ll be back after the show."
As Mike wandered off to cater to the other patrons, Jensen sat enthralled – soaking up the words and the stories Christian was weaving with his music. He heard stories about L.A., heartache and triumph in the name of love. He’d never been so enraptured with anyone before.
And true to his word, after the show Mike introduced them. Not like he had much choice as Mike was the one with Christian’s money and he’d glued himself to Jensen’s side of the bar near the end of the set.
"Great show, man," Mike said. "This here’s my buddy Jensen. Jensen, Christian."
"Nice to meet you, man," Christian said, a deep drawl coloring his words.
"You, too," Jensen said shaking hands with him. "That was a really great set. You’re really good with…words." What? Oh god, he was going to die of embarrassment right here and now.
"Thanks," Christian just said with a laugh and hand on Jensen’s shoulder.
Mike left them alone after getting Christian his money and the two of them sat there until they were kicked out of the bar, talking about anything and everything. The best barbecue – Carolina versus Texas style; their mutual love of dogs, Jensen hoping to adopt two or three when he was out of school and could have a yard and more time to spend with them. Then they went back to Jensen’s apartment and kept talking until the sun came up and Jensen had to get to class.
"You can, uh, crash on the couch if you want," he offered awkwardly. "I only have one class this morning, so I should be back by noon."
"Yeah," Christian replied with a smile. "Yeah, thanks. That’d be great."
"All right. I’ll see you later then."
Jensen fought the urge to lean down and kiss Christian good-bye as he gathered his books together. He was going to be seriously dragging this morning with not having gotten any sleep the night before. But a planned stop at the Starbucks near campus to get a triple shot venti mocha should help things.
Oddly, he didn’t feel at all wary about leaving a perfect stranger alone in his apartment all morning. There was just something there that couldn’t quite be explained. Perhaps it was something to do with their shared childhood of growing up in Texas.
Which is why he couldn’t understand why Christian was just leaving like this. He had crashed on Jensen’s couch that first day and just never left. And these past three months were some of the best Jensen had ever had. He was in love. At least, it felt that way to him, but maybe it wasn’t.
"So, no offense or anything," Christian said a few weeks after that first night, "but how do you afford a place like this being a student? And not working, as far as I can tell."
So, maybe Jensen’s apartment was nicer than the typical student’s dwelling – two bedrooms, two baths, a nice terrace, and a state of the art kitchen. Nothing but the best for his dad’s son.
"Um, my dad is Alan Ackles," Jensen said.
"The movie producer?"
"That’s him."
Christian let out a low whistle in response to that revelation. "Well, I guess that explains some things."
"Does it…does it bother you?" Jensen asked.
"No, no. Just don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as rich as you."
"Well, I’m not rich. My dad is."
"Still…," Christian said, gesturing around the apartment.
"I guess I just…I don’t want this to change anything. You’re one of the few people I know that likes me for me. Not for what I can do or my dad can do for you. It was nice not having you think of me as some spoiled rich kid."
"Well, you certainly don’t act like one."
"So, we’re good?"
"Yeah, we’re good. Just don’t expect me to go to any ‘functions’ or anything. I don’t exactly fit in with those kinds of people."
"Well, now that you say that…"
"Oh, Jen. No. What?"
"My dad’s coming into town in a few weeks. Some new movie is starting production and I’d love for him to meet you."
Maybe that’s where things had gone wrong. Christian was clearly uncomfortable, Jensen could see that. But he pushed, dragged Christian wherever he wanted him to go. He wanted Christian to be in his life, be a part of it. But maybe that just wasn’t possible.
"I could come with you," Jensen says suddenly. Thinking that maybe if Christian couldn’t fit into his life, he could fit into Christian’s.
"What?" Christian exclaims, almost choking on the smoke from his cigarette. "Jen, no. You can’t do that. You’ve got something really good here. Friends who love you, a great family. You’ve got a year and a half left and then you’ll have an amazing career. I won’t let you throw that away."
Jensen knows he’s right. Intellectually, anyway. Emotionally, it just sucks no matter how you look at it.
"Besides, I’m not going anywhere."
"I thought you said you were heading to Texas," Jensen tries to joke.
"You know what I mean. I’ve got…93 dollars in my wallet and this piece of junk truck. I won’t drag you down with me."
"So, what? This is it?"
"Jen. Just let me go," Christian begs. "It’s for the best."
"No," Jensen replies, forcing Christian to look at him. "I don’t believe that. You’re just a chickenshit, is what this is. Why are you so afraid to let yourself feel something?"
"Because it never ends well. I’ll just break your heart before this is all over with."
"What do you call what you’re doing right now?" Jensen yells.
"Trust me, Jen. This is…this is the right thing to do."
"Bullshit."
"Stop saying that!"
"Maybe if you could look me in the eyes when you tell me these things, then I’ll believe you. You can’t hide behind those damn sunglasses forever."
"Yeah, well, I can try."
Jensen sighs. He wants to be angry, wants to feel so mad at Christian he’d be happy to see him go. Anything to stop this gaping hole that’s slowly forming in his chest. He gets up from where he’s sitting on the truck and stalks over to a nearby tree, feeling the sudden urge to kick it as hard as can. Do something to push away all the thoughts swirling around in his mind. Of course the only thing he succeeds in doing is bruising his toe. Defeated, he returns to the truck and stops in front of Christian, finally removing the sunglasses Christian is wearing.
"Don’t go," he whispers. "Please."
"I have to," Christian says, reluctantly meeting Jensen’s eyes. "You’ll be fine. Hell, you’ll be great even. Take care of yourself."
With that, Christian stands up and walks around to the driver’s side door. Jensen watches him pause, willing him to turn back and just stay. But he just opens the door, leaving Jensen standing there still holding his sunglasses.
"You, too," Jensen whispers before putting Christian’s shades on and beginning the slow walk back to campus.
TWO MONTHS LATER (SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS)
"Thank you, everyone," Christian says into the microphone at some rundown bar in the middle of nowhere. "I’d like to do something new for you folks. This song was inspired by recent events in my life. This one’s for you, Jenny. Wherever you are."
He starts a slow, steady strum on his trusty guitar before letting the words flow from him…
THE END
END NOTES
1. If you're interested, this is Christian's truck. Well, not his real truck, just the one for this story. :-)
2. You may be asking yourself, "Acoustic Alice in Chains? Really?" Damn right, I say. The idea came when I was looking for another song to round out the set and I thought back to when I had seen Three Days Grace in concert a couple years back. Adam Gontier came out and did an acoustic version of Rooster. And it was awesome. Then, I was looking through Christian's official site looking for some more musical inspiration, and what did I see as the picture of the day? This. And so it was fated that Christian would be playing acoustic Rooster in this story.
3. If you would like to hear Christian's Set List, you can download it here. It does include a cover as seen below as I was feeling all super creative.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-D
Summary: Christian's leaving and Jensen doesn't know why.
Word Count: 1634
Rating: PG
Pairing: Christian Kane/Jensen Ackles (with special guest appearance by Michael Rosenbaum)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not real. Well, they are, but this isn't. Please don't sue. I have no money anyway.
A/N: Inspired by Christian's song "Let Me Go." And my absolute love for this man as developed through Leverage. And Jensen, too. Love these boys. More notes at the end. Super special thank you to
gaeln for the beta. This story is so much better for having you beat through it. Thank you!!!Please leave any feedback/comments at my fic journal.
93 Dollars
It’s a bright sunny, Saturday afternoon. Much too cheerful a day for what’s happening. There should be storm clouds with lightning and thunderous rain. He’s sitting on the tailgate of Christian’s old Chevy truck as they pass a cigarette back and forth like it’s any ordinary day. But it’s not.
"You know your whole tough guy act is a load of bullshit, right?" Jensen asks.
"Yeah, I know," Christian replies taking a drag off his cigarette.
"So why are you doing this?"
"You know why."
"No, I don’t. I really don’t." Jensen thinks back over the last three months, trying to find where things went wrong. But there’s nothing. Everything is great. Perfect even. Until the one day when Christian says "I’m leaving." Just like that. And Jensen knows what Christian means. He’s not just leaving North Carolina, he’s leaving Jensen.
Jensen was sitting in a bar one Saturday night, not far from the Duke University campus. He was midway through his first semester as a grad student in their sports medicine program and the exams he had that week left him feeling completely drained.
He was enjoying his beer, shooting the shit with his friend Mike, who was working the bar that night, and generally unwinding. And then that damn guitar started playing.
He looked toward the stage and his eyes fell on one of the most gorgeous men Jensen ever saw. His long hair fell loosely around his face; the sleeves on the plaid shirt he was wearing were rolled up to his elbows showing one wrist adorned with various silver and black leather bracelets. As if that wasn’t enough, the gravelly voice that came out when he started singing was enough to push him over the edge.
"Who’s that?" he asked Mike.
"Christian Kane," Mike replied. "He played over at Pinhook last week and the crowd seemed to love him. So, Tom got him over here for the next couple weeks."
"Yeah, he seems pretty good," Jensen said, his eyes never leaving the stage.
"Hang around then," Mike laughed. "I’ll introduce you."
"What?" Jensen exclaimed whipping around to face Mike. "No! You don’t…there’s no need to…"
"It’s fine, Jen. About time you got laid, anyway. You’ve been far too tense."
"Shut up."
"Drink your beer. I’ll be back after the show."
As Mike wandered off to cater to the other patrons, Jensen sat enthralled – soaking up the words and the stories Christian was weaving with his music. He heard stories about L.A., heartache and triumph in the name of love. He’d never been so enraptured with anyone before.
And true to his word, after the show Mike introduced them. Not like he had much choice as Mike was the one with Christian’s money and he’d glued himself to Jensen’s side of the bar near the end of the set.
"Great show, man," Mike said. "This here’s my buddy Jensen. Jensen, Christian."
"Nice to meet you, man," Christian said, a deep drawl coloring his words.
"You, too," Jensen said shaking hands with him. "That was a really great set. You’re really good with…words." What? Oh god, he was going to die of embarrassment right here and now.
"Thanks," Christian just said with a laugh and hand on Jensen’s shoulder.
Mike left them alone after getting Christian his money and the two of them sat there until they were kicked out of the bar, talking about anything and everything. The best barbecue – Carolina versus Texas style; their mutual love of dogs, Jensen hoping to adopt two or three when he was out of school and could have a yard and more time to spend with them. Then they went back to Jensen’s apartment and kept talking until the sun came up and Jensen had to get to class.
"You can, uh, crash on the couch if you want," he offered awkwardly. "I only have one class this morning, so I should be back by noon."
"Yeah," Christian replied with a smile. "Yeah, thanks. That’d be great."
"All right. I’ll see you later then."
Jensen fought the urge to lean down and kiss Christian good-bye as he gathered his books together. He was going to be seriously dragging this morning with not having gotten any sleep the night before. But a planned stop at the Starbucks near campus to get a triple shot venti mocha should help things.
Oddly, he didn’t feel at all wary about leaving a perfect stranger alone in his apartment all morning. There was just something there that couldn’t quite be explained. Perhaps it was something to do with their shared childhood of growing up in Texas.
Which is why he couldn’t understand why Christian was just leaving like this. He had crashed on Jensen’s couch that first day and just never left. And these past three months were some of the best Jensen had ever had. He was in love. At least, it felt that way to him, but maybe it wasn’t.
"So, no offense or anything," Christian said a few weeks after that first night, "but how do you afford a place like this being a student? And not working, as far as I can tell."
So, maybe Jensen’s apartment was nicer than the typical student’s dwelling – two bedrooms, two baths, a nice terrace, and a state of the art kitchen. Nothing but the best for his dad’s son.
"Um, my dad is Alan Ackles," Jensen said.
"The movie producer?"
"That’s him."
Christian let out a low whistle in response to that revelation. "Well, I guess that explains some things."
"Does it…does it bother you?" Jensen asked.
"No, no. Just don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as rich as you."
"Well, I’m not rich. My dad is."
"Still…," Christian said, gesturing around the apartment.
"I guess I just…I don’t want this to change anything. You’re one of the few people I know that likes me for me. Not for what I can do or my dad can do for you. It was nice not having you think of me as some spoiled rich kid."
"Well, you certainly don’t act like one."
"So, we’re good?"
"Yeah, we’re good. Just don’t expect me to go to any ‘functions’ or anything. I don’t exactly fit in with those kinds of people."
"Well, now that you say that…"
"Oh, Jen. No. What?"
"My dad’s coming into town in a few weeks. Some new movie is starting production and I’d love for him to meet you."
Maybe that’s where things had gone wrong. Christian was clearly uncomfortable, Jensen could see that. But he pushed, dragged Christian wherever he wanted him to go. He wanted Christian to be in his life, be a part of it. But maybe that just wasn’t possible.
"I could come with you," Jensen says suddenly. Thinking that maybe if Christian couldn’t fit into his life, he could fit into Christian’s.
"What?" Christian exclaims, almost choking on the smoke from his cigarette. "Jen, no. You can’t do that. You’ve got something really good here. Friends who love you, a great family. You’ve got a year and a half left and then you’ll have an amazing career. I won’t let you throw that away."
Jensen knows he’s right. Intellectually, anyway. Emotionally, it just sucks no matter how you look at it.
"Besides, I’m not going anywhere."
"I thought you said you were heading to Texas," Jensen tries to joke.
"You know what I mean. I’ve got…93 dollars in my wallet and this piece of junk truck. I won’t drag you down with me."
"So, what? This is it?"
"Jen. Just let me go," Christian begs. "It’s for the best."
"No," Jensen replies, forcing Christian to look at him. "I don’t believe that. You’re just a chickenshit, is what this is. Why are you so afraid to let yourself feel something?"
"Because it never ends well. I’ll just break your heart before this is all over with."
"What do you call what you’re doing right now?" Jensen yells.
"Trust me, Jen. This is…this is the right thing to do."
"Bullshit."
"Stop saying that!"
"Maybe if you could look me in the eyes when you tell me these things, then I’ll believe you. You can’t hide behind those damn sunglasses forever."
"Yeah, well, I can try."
Jensen sighs. He wants to be angry, wants to feel so mad at Christian he’d be happy to see him go. Anything to stop this gaping hole that’s slowly forming in his chest. He gets up from where he’s sitting on the truck and stalks over to a nearby tree, feeling the sudden urge to kick it as hard as can. Do something to push away all the thoughts swirling around in his mind. Of course the only thing he succeeds in doing is bruising his toe. Defeated, he returns to the truck and stops in front of Christian, finally removing the sunglasses Christian is wearing.
"Don’t go," he whispers. "Please."
"I have to," Christian says, reluctantly meeting Jensen’s eyes. "You’ll be fine. Hell, you’ll be great even. Take care of yourself."
With that, Christian stands up and walks around to the driver’s side door. Jensen watches him pause, willing him to turn back and just stay. But he just opens the door, leaving Jensen standing there still holding his sunglasses.
"You, too," Jensen whispers before putting Christian’s shades on and beginning the slow walk back to campus.
TWO MONTHS LATER (SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS)
"Thank you, everyone," Christian says into the microphone at some rundown bar in the middle of nowhere. "I’d like to do something new for you folks. This song was inspired by recent events in my life. This one’s for you, Jenny. Wherever you are."
He starts a slow, steady strum on his trusty guitar before letting the words flow from him…
THE END
END NOTES
1. If you're interested, this is Christian's truck. Well, not his real truck, just the one for this story. :-)
2. You may be asking yourself, "Acoustic Alice in Chains? Really?" Damn right, I say. The idea came when I was looking for another song to round out the set and I thought back to when I had seen Three Days Grace in concert a couple years back. Adam Gontier came out and did an acoustic version of Rooster. And it was awesome. Then, I was looking through Christian's official site looking for some more musical inspiration, and what did I see as the picture of the day? This. And so it was fated that Christian would be playing acoustic Rooster in this story.
3. If you would like to hear Christian's Set List, you can download it here. It does include a cover as seen below as I was feeling all super creative.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-D