Morning Time
To be honest, Jensen's not quite sure what it is that wakes him. Maybe
it's a car backfiring outside, or the slamming of Jared's next door
neighbor's back door, or maybe it's Sadie, resting her nose on the bed
beside Jensen's face, because when Jensen opens his eyes, that's what
he sees. Nose and pink tongue as she licks her muzzle, brown eyes, wide
and pleading, and he can hear her weight shifting from one foot to the
other, her tail dusting over Jared's hard wood floor.
It's early still, the morning light soft and gray, easing through
Jared's blinds, but Jensen knows the signs. Knows what Sadie wants, and
what Harley will, too, as soon as anyone makes a move towards sitting
up on the bed. Usually, though, it's Jared who has to deal with it,
Jared who has to get out of bed at ass o'clock in the morning. To let
them out the kitchen door, to fill their bowls. And by the time he's
finished with that, Jensen's found, Jared's usually awake enough that
he just stays up, and when Jensen finally rolls out of bed an hour or
so later, Jared's got the coffee going. And possibly breakfast, too.
This morning, though, Sadie seems to have chosen *him* to do the
honors, and Jensen wonders if he should be flattered. Until he looks at
the clock and sees confirmation of just how early it is (for a
Saturday) and rolls over onto his back so that he can wake Jared up,
tell him that his dogs need him. As he does, though, two things happen.
First, his arm flops over the side of the bed, and immediately Sadie is
bumping at it with her head, and as always happens, his fingers curve,
scratching at the stretch of fur between her ears. Then, second, he
sees Jared: spread out on his stomach, face turned towards Jensen,
mouth slightly open and Jensen—
Jensen can't do it. He can't wake Jared up. Not given how deeply Jared
appears to be sleeping, how his lashes are brushing against his cheeks.
So Jensen rolls back over, already resigned. Sadie seems to realize it,
too, because she stands up, quickly backing away from the bed, tongue
reaching out to swipe at Jensen's fingers as they slide away from her
head, and Jensen can't do anything but sigh, even as he pushes the
covers down.
Sadie is already trotting to the door, though, and before he can even
stand up, Harley is right there with her, both of them dancing around,
waiting for him, watching him, as Jensen pulls a t-shirt on over his
pajama pants, as he slips his feet into a pair of flip-flops, as he
pads across the room.
He doesn't speak until he gets out into the hallway, until Jared's door
is mostly closed behind him. Then to Sadie, who's waiting for him at
the top of the stairs, he says, "Don't plan on making a habit of this."
She just wags and pushes past him, bounding down the stairs, nails
clicking and sliding on the wood.
She's in the kitchen when he gets there, twined together with Harley in
a quest to see who can be closest to the door when Jensen finally opens
it, but when he does, he thinks it's Harley by a nose. Sadie's the
first one at the bottom of the steps, though, with Harley just a
paw-length behind, and then they're off, over grass and into bushes,
tags jingling.
He means to go inside, means to get their food ready so that when they
come in, he can go right back to bed, curl up underneath the covers,
maybe kick at Jared with his cold feet and say, "Dude, the things I do
for you." But Jensen finds himself staying where he is, just inside
Jared's door. The air is still nighttime cool, but given how hot it was
the day before and is supposed to be again that day, it feels good.
Crisp and clean in a way that Los Angeles air rarely does, and Jensen
breathes it in. Closes his eyes. Lets himself drift for a minute.
Or maybe longer, given that the next thing he hears is the sound of
food being emptied into dog bowls, and when he turns around, Jared is
right there. Jensen opens his mouth to say something—he doesn't know
what—but Jared just smiles, wide and blinding, and Jensen finds himself
just grinning back.
Then Jared is there with him, coming up behind him and laying a hand on
Jensen's hip.
"I didn't mean to wake you," Jensen says, his voice still sleep-rough,
but Jared doesn't answer him. His chin brushes Jensen's ear as he moves
even closer and Jensen finds himself leaning back, just a little,
Jared's body large and warm behind him. Jensen's not quite sure how
long they stand there, watching the dogs, but it's peaceful enough,
still enough, that Jensen's almost startled when Jared finally speaks.
"You could have woken me," he says, his voice soft, and Jensen says,
"Yeah, well. I—" He doesn't really have an answer, though, and he
thinks Jared knows it, because the grin is back, just as bright as
before, and suddenly Jared's stepping away. Speaking again. Saying,
"It's still early, you know? What do you say we head back to bed?" He
doesn't wait for Jensen's answer before he calls out to the dogs, and
all of a sudden Sadie and Harley are right there, clattering up the
stairs and pushing their way through the doorway in a race to get to
their dishes.
Before Jensen knows it, Jared's on the other side of the room, at the
door to the hallway, looking over his shoulder, saying, "You coming?"
And Jensen nods, following behind.