Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/8761069.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki
  Character:
      Jensen_Ackles, Jared_Padalecki, Misha_Collins, Kim_Rhodes, Jeffrey_Dean
      Morgan
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_Fusion, Christmas_Fluff, Submarines, Military,
      Dolphins, First_Time, Bottom_Jensen, Consensual_Underage_Sex
  Series:
      Part 2 of 365_Days_of_J2_Fanfic
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-12-05 Completed: 2016-12-09 Chapters: 5/5 Words: 6572
****** Miracle on the 34th Parallel ******
by sinnerforhire
Summary
     SeaQuest DSV fusion. 16-year-old Jensen has been having a hard time
     lately, so morale officer Jared tries to make this his best Christmas
     ever. But what Jared thinks Jensen wants and what Jensen actually
     wants are two very different things.
***** Jared Has a Plan *****
“A holographic Christmas tree? Come on!”
Dr. Rhodes put her hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “Jared did the best he could. You
know we’re not allowed to have a real one down here.”
“Then let’s just not have one. This is lame.” Jensen crossed his arms and
glared at the hologram, which was twinkling merrily in the space usually
occupied by Professor Beaver, the captain’s holographic companion.
“Jensen—”
“I hate Christmas anyway.” Jensen turned and stormed out of the Captain’s
quarters, bumping into Jared on the way out. He shoved past him without
stopping.
Jared sighed and stepped inside Captain Morgan’s quarters. “I take it he didn't
like it.”
“Face it, Jared, I think it's hopeless.” The doctor shut the hologram off. “He
says he hates Christmas.”
Jared frowned, concerned. “Because of his parents, you think?”
“I'd imagine.” Dr. Rhodes gestured for Jared to follow her out. “The Captain
never quite came out and said it, but he’s implied that his parents were
neglectful—almost criminally so. He probably spent most of his Christmases
alone.”
“Then I have to make this special for him,” declared Jared with determination
in his eyes. “He's going to have the best Christmas ever. I'll make sure of
it.”
Dr. Rhodes stopped at the door of her lab. “Good luck with that, Lieutenant. If
you pull this off, you'll deserve that promotion.”
“From your mouth to Morgan’s ears,” replied Jared, grinning.
                                     * * *
As supply and morale officer on the UEO’s flagship submarine, Jared was used to
dealing with government bureaucracy. Supply chain logistics for submarines that
routinely went four to six months between ports were still evolving, and the
nature of the SeaQuest’s research mission posed some…unusual challenges, to say
the least. But as maddening as the UEO internal network was to navigate,
dealing with Jensen’s father’s company, Zeppelin-Arrow Energy, was
exponentially worse. When his emails had gone unanswered for three days, he
resorted to piggybacking on Jensen’s unauthorized satellite comlink to call the
company headquarters, only to be stuck in an endless automated phone tree with
exactly zero branches that led to an actual human. All Jared wanted was to get
some kind of acknowledgment from Alan Ackles that he remembered his only son’s
existence. Maybe Morgan was right—he was trying to scale Everest in flip-flops
and swim trunks.
“I thought you were supposed to be on the bridge,” said Misha. Jared jumped. He
hadn't heard the communications officer come in.
Jared checked the computer clock. He still had twenty minutes. “Don't scare me
like that, Jesus.”
“I generally answer to Misha, but I am grateful for your acknowledgment of my
divinity,” replied Misha. He sat down beside Jared. “Is that Jensen’s
unauthorized comlink that he thinks none of us know about?”
“Indeed it is,” answered Jared. “I'm trying to reach his father.”
Misha raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure the Man Himself could even pull that
off.”
“Tell me about it.” Jared cut off the connection. “I don't want much. A text
message would do. Just some tiny gesture to show he gives a shit. Is that so
hard?”
“Well, at least you can be sure that Jensen’s not expecting it.”
Jared sighed. “That's the saddest part of all.”
Misha frowned. “Why are you beating yourself up about this? Jensen knows he’s
got a worthless excuse of a human being for a father. That's not your fault.”
“I'm the morale officer,” said Jared. “It's my job.”
“That is so far above and beyond your job that Morgan would kick your ass back
to Headquarters if he knew you were attempting it.” Misha stood up. “Jensen’s
not expecting a Miracle on 34th Street, and neither should you.”
Jared jumped out of his seat. “You just gave me an idea. Thanks, man!”
Misha looked confused as Jared darted out of the room.
                                     * * *
Jared stood in front of the wall screen, flipping through notes on his e-pad.
He still had five minutes before Jensen was supposed to arrive. He had no idea
if this was going to work. It was kind of cheesy, especially for something
aimed at a sixteen-year-old boy, but Jared hoped Jensen would at least
appreciate the sentiment.
Jared cued up the slides and quickly flicked through them. They were all there,
thankfully, and still in the right order. He circled back to the beginning and
set the remote down on a nearby table. He sure hoped that this would lighten
Jensen’s mood a little. Morgan and some of the other crew members had
complained to him that Jensen was more insubordinate and mouthy than usual, and
he’d been spending an awful lot of time alone in his quarters. Even Winchester
the dolphin had picked up on it. When Jared had asked Winchester if he’d seen
Jensen lately, he’d said “Jensen not play. Winchester miss Jensen.” Considering
that Winchester was the closest thing Jensen had to a best friend on board,
that was definitely a bad sign.
Jared checked the time on the e-pad. Two minutes.
The door opened. Jensen came in, scowling. “What did you want?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” replied Jared, trying not to react to Jensen’s
snotty tone.
Jensen crossed his arms. “About what?”
Jared pointed to a chair. “You wanna sit down?”
Jensen rolled his eyes and dropped into the chair. Jared sat down next to him.
“You seem pretty unhappy lately. Is something wrong?” Jensen shrugged and
looked away. “Is it the season? Everybody’s excited about Christmas shore
leave, and you don’t have anyone to spend it with?”
Jensen picked at the hem of his flannel shirt. “How did you know?”
Jared decided at that minute to change his approach. He didn’t need a slide
presentation. He just needed to talk to the kid. “Look, just because your
biological parents are selfish dicks, doesn’t mean you don’t have a family that
cares about you. We’re your family now, Jensen.”
“That doesn’t count,” muttered Jensen.
“It counts to Winchester,” replied Jared. “You know what term he uses to
describe you? It translates to ‘brother.’ He misses you a lot. You need to stop
hiding from him.”
Jensen nods, still looking down at the floor. “I know.”
“You also know about the Captain’s Christmas party? You’re the only crew member
who didn’t RSVP. You are coming, right?”
Jensen shook his head. “I’m not a crew member, I shouldn’t go.”
“You don’t really think that, do you?”
Jensen shrugged miserably. Jared pulled his chair in front of Jensen’s and
tilted his chin up, forcing the teenager to look at him. “Listen to me, Jensen.
The Captain absolutely considers you a crew member—a vital one. And so do the
rest of us. You are a valuable member of the SeaQuest crew. You accomplish
things in minutes that the rest of us would take months to do. You’re the one
who gave Winchester a voice. Captain Morgan couldn’t even do that, and he tried
for years! Don’t you for one minute think that you’re somehow inferior to the
rest of us.”
Jensen nodded, pulling out of Jared’s grasp. Jared started to sit back, but
then Jensen surged forward and pressed his lips to Jared’s. Before Jared quite
knew what was happening, he was kissing Jensen. Sixteen-year-old Jensen.
Jared pulled back. “Jensen, we can’t. I’m twenty-three and about to be a
commissioned officer. You’re a minor. I’m not allowed.”
“I won’t tell.” Jensen turned pleading eyes on Jared. “Please. You’re the only
person on here who makes me feel like I’m not a kid. You treat me like your
equal. And I know you’re gay. I heard you talking to Collins and Sheppard about
your ex-boyfriend.” His voice dropped lower. “And you—you *see* me. In a way
nobody else does.”
Jared closed his eyes. “God, Jensen, I—I want to. I really do. But it’s my
career on the line here. If anyone finds out—”
“They won’t. I’ll never tell.” Jensen licked his lips, those plush pink
cocksucking lips, and it was damn near obscene. “Please?”
Jared swallowed hard. “Look, let’s take this to my quarters. I’ll go, and you
wait ten minutes and then follow.”
“Okay.” Jensen stood up. “I’ll see you in ten minutes. And—thank you. For the
speech. It helped.”
Jared smiled. “I’m glad.” He stood up and walked to the door. “See you soon.”
“Yeah,” breathed Jensen. Jared tapped on the doorframe and left the room.
This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. But Jared would be lying if he said it
didn’t thrill him. Nine months underwater was a long damn time.
Suddenly, Jared knew exactly what to get Jensen for Christmas. It was gonna
take work, some serious work, but it would be worth it in the end.
***** I Got You *****
Chapter Summary
     Jensen goes to Jared's quarters. A good time is had by all.
Jensen stood in front of the door of Jared’s quarters, heart triphammering in
his chest. It’s not like he's never done this before, but only with other
teenagers, never an actual grown man who could get thrown off the ship for
doing what they’re (he hopes) about to do. Although Jensen wasn’t exactly sure
why there would be a UEO rule covering fucking a teenager who happens to be
living on your ship because his dad is a rich, entitled dickwad, but he figured
Jared must know what he's talking about.
The door swung open. Jared silently motioned him in, and Jensen slipped in
without a sound, letting Jared shove the door closed behind him.
Jared’s quarters were neat as a pin. The bed even had hospital corners on the
sheets. “Wow, it’s really neat in here,” Jensen told him, feeling lame.
Jared shrugged. “I went to the Naval Academy. We got graded on that shit.”
“Really? That must’ve sucked.”
“It was easy points,” replied Jared.
“I would’ve flunked.”
Jared snorts. “Damn right. I’ve seen your quarters. I’m surprised you haven’t
evolved a new infectious disease in there yet.”
“There’s still time.”
Jared chuckled at that. He gestured to the bed. “Sit, make yourself
comfortable. You want something to drink?”
“Beer?” Jensen asked hopefully.
Jared shook his head. “You’re sixteen!”
“I went to college,” argued Jensen.
“Yeah, when you were twelve.”
Jensen sat down on the bed, shoulders squared. “I was fifteen when I
graduated.”
“Christ,” muttered Jared. “This is a bad idea. Have you even done this before?”
Jensen’s cheeks heated up. “I said I went to college.”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “With guys?”
“A couple.”
Jared flopped down on the bed next to him. “You’re making me feel like I’m
sixteen again. And I don’t think I like it.”
“You want me to leave?” Jensen’s heart sank.
“I need to stop thinking,” said Jared, and he surged forward to kiss Jensen.
It didn’t feel anything like Jensen expected. Jared’s lips were warm, soft,
yielding; he seemed almost shy, which confused the hell out of Jensen—wasn’t he
supposed to be the shy one? Jared was way out of Jensen’s league, not the other
way around.
Jensen slowly relaxed into the kiss, and Jared’s hands slid up his back to pull
his shirt off over his head. Jared unzipped his jumpsuit and pulled off his
turtleneck, and he nudged at Jensen until Jensen was flat on his back with
Jared straddling his hips. Jared ran a hand through Jensen’s short, spiky hair
and pressed his lips to Jensen’s jaw, kissing a trail down to the hollow of
Jensen’s throat. Jensen could only lean his head back and gasp as Jared gently
flicked his tongue over one of Jensen’s nipples, bringing it to hardness
instantly. Of course, that wasn’t the only part of him that was rock-hard, and
before Jensen knew what was happening, Jared’s hand was unzipping Jensen’s
jeans and freeing his hot, leaking cock.
Jensen tried to return the favor, but Jared beat him to it, and Jared wriggled
out of his uniform, giving Jensen a chance to do the same. Jared tossed their
clothes off the bed and took both their cocks in one huge, strong hand, jacking
them both lazily and making Jensen’s cock throb with need and desire. Jared
captured Jensen’s lips for a bruising kiss and thrust his tongue into Jensen’s
mouth, and Jensen’s never been so turned on in his entire life. The teenagers
at MIT were nowhere near as skilled as this; it was all fumbling in the dark,
breath heavy with beer and weed and soft fingers that had never done anything
close to real work. Jared’s hands were rougher, calloused slightly from weapons
drills and working on probes. Jared’s hands had known real work, and Jensen’s
so turned on that he even finds that fucking hot.
Jared reached over him and opened a drawer in his bed table. “You want me to
fuck you, huh? You want me inside you?”
“Oh, fuck yeah,” moaned Jensen.
Jared grabbed a bottle of lube and a condom, and Jensen breathed a sigh of
relief that Jared thought of that, because he sure hadn’t. Jared slipped the
condom into Jensen’s hands. “Put it on me. Please.”
Jensen carefully unwrapped it and his eyes widened when he saw just how big
Jared’s cock actually was. Holy fuck, he was like a fucking *porn star*. Jensen
suddenly felt a little nauseated at the thought of that inside *him*, but he
swallowed it down and eased the condom over Jared’s considerable length.
Jared squeezed lube onto his fingers and slowly started to open Jensen up.
“Fuck, you’re so tight,” murmured Jared, carefully slipping one finger into
Jensen’s hole. “Are you a virgin?”
Jensen swallowed hard. “Uh, yeah, kind of.”
“Don’t worry, baby,” replied Jared. “I’ll go slow. It’ll be good, I promise.
I’ll take care of you, Jen. I won’t hurt you.”
“O-okay,” stammered Jensen.
Jared pressed another finger into Jensen’s tight, sensitive hole. Jensen
breathed hard and Jared nudged his chin up. “Relax, babe. You’re too tight.”
Jensen tried to do as Jared said. Jared covered his mouth with his soft, supple
lips and Jensen momentarily forgot everything else until Jared slipped a third
finger in and started to scissor. Jensen gasped, tilting his head back, and
Jared nosed at his throat and wrapped his lips around the base of it. He sucked
gently but firmly, and Jensen knew he would leave a mark. The idea thrilled
him, being marked, claimed, by Jared. He’d have to button his shirts up all the
way to hide it.
Jared pulled his fingers out of Jensen’s hole and slicked his own cock up with
lube. “You ready?” he breathed.
“Yeah,” whispered Jensen. “Do it.”
Jared carefully eased his massive cock into Jensen’s tight, slick hole. Jensen
had to force himself to relax and let Jared fill him up. Jared stroked Jensen’s
hair, kissed his lips, tweaked a nipple between his fingers. “Relax. I got you,
Jen. I got you.”
Jensen tilted his head back, staring at the industrial white ceiling until
Jared’s non-regulation-length hair and warm hazel eyes filled his vision. Jared
pushed his cock in even deeper, drawing a soft moan from deep in Jensen’s
throat. “You okay?” asked Jared.
Jensen nodded. “Yeah,” he groaned. “‘sgood.”
Jared drew back and thrust into Jensen once, then twice, and then all the way
in, drawing a surprised yelp from Jensen. “Did I hurt you?”
Jensen shook his head so hard he saw stars. “No.”
Jared started to fuck him in earnest, the blunt tip of his cock hitting
Jensen’s sweet spot and making him shout Jared’s name and various curses. Jared
sealed his lips over Jensen’s, quieting him momentarily, and Jensen fisted
Jared’s hair and tried to stay relaxed as Jared drove home again and again,
making Jensen’s nerves sizzle with pleasure and pain mixed together until he
couldn’t tell which was which. Just when Jensen started to lose control, he
felt Jared’s release, and his own wasn’t far behind. Jared collapsed on him,
panting hard, and their sweat mingled where their foreheads touched. Jensen
couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe; it was the most intense sensory experience he’d
ever had. When he opened his eyes, he felt warm tears sliding down his cheeks.
Jared slowly eased his now-softening cock out of Jensen’s hole, and disposed of
the soiled condom. He lay beside Jensen, stroking his hair and pressing
feather-light kisses to his forehead, his nose, his jaw. Jensen just tried to
remember his own name and what day it was. His world had been rocked to the
core. Suddenly he knew without a doubt that he had become a man.
“You okay?” whispered Jared after a few minutes.
“I’m great,” replied Jensen, and his grin felt like it would split his face in
two. “That was…fuck, what are words?”
Jared chuckled against Jensen’s side, and it was kind of like being in a
massage chair. Jensen kissed Jared slow and soft, trying to show his
appreciation. Jared rested a hand on Jensen’s hip and kissed him back just as
softly, and Jensen couldn’t remember ever feeling this good. Not even when he
got perfect SAT scores at 5 years old, or when he gave the valedictorian speech
at his high school graduation at age eleven. It was better than hearing
Winchester talk for the first time and knowing that Jensen was the one
responsible for it. It was better than real milk chocolate from the last real
chocolate factory in the United States, the one in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It
was better than anything Jensen had experienced in the last sixteen years.
“Can we do this again?” asked Jensen, feeling the pull of sleep at his eyelids.
“Whenever you want,” murmured Jared, and then he was out, too.
                                     * * *
Jensen sat down on the edge of the moonpool and picked up the Vocoder. “Hey,
Winchester.”
“Hello, Jensen,” came the mechanical voice. Winchester popped up in front of
Jensen, and Jensen rubbed his smooth, rubbery head. “Jensen happy.”
Jensen grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am happy.”
“Jensen play?”
Jensen reached over and picked up a rubber ball. “Sure, Jensen play.” He tossed
the ball up into the air and let Winchester bat it back to him with his nose.
He caught it and laughed.
“Winchester happy,” said the disembodied electronic voice. “Missed Jensen.”
Jensen’s face fell. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t very good company there
for a while.”
“Jensen sad?”
Jensen nodded. “Yeah, I was sad. And lonely.”
“Jensen have friends on SeaQuest. Winchester Jensen’s friend.”
Jensen rubbed Winchester’s sleek nose. “I know. You’re a good friend. It’s
just…it’s family stuff.”
“SeaQuest family.” There was no trace of questioning in the voice.
“It’s not that easy.” Jensen held onto the ball. “There’s a difference between
your birth family and the SeaQuest family. You don’t get to choose your birth
family. And you have to deal with them whether you want to or not.”
“Birth family bad. SeaQuest family good.”
Jensen snorted. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Winchester love Jensen. SeaQuest love Jensen.”
Jensen sat back. “I know.” He held Winchester’s snout and looked deeply into
his eyes. “I love you too.”
Winchester splashed him with water and Jensen laughed. He splashed back,
troubles momentarily forgotten, as the water fight intensified until he was
very nearly soaked.
“Having fun?”
Jensen whirled around to see Captain Morgan standing behind him. Jensen jumped
up. “You need me, Sir?”
Morgan shook his head. “Nothing serious. It’s good to see you smiling again.”
Jensen rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, it’s just…”
Morgan waved a hand. “No need to explain. But I do need to know if you’re
coming to my Christmas party.”
Jensen nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
Morgan clapped him on the back. “Good! Wear something decent, not those awful
flannel shirts you like so much.”
“What’s wrong with flannel?”
“It went out of style before you were even born,” replied Morgan. “You do own a
suit, don’t you? You did graduate from MIT last year.”
“Yes, I own a suit,” said Jensen. “Didn’t think you did, though.”
Morgan mock-glared at him. “It’s a UEO requirement. Must have monkey suit for
diplomatic engagements.”
“You expecting an international incident at your Christmas party?”
Morgan actually laughed at that. “Well, you’re gonna be there, so I better be
prepared, right?”
“Guess so,” Jensen teased back.
Winchester batted the ball to Morgan. “Morgan play?”
“Sorry, Winchester,” said Morgan. “Morgan must captain ship.”
“Morgan work too hard.”
Morgan knelt down and patted Winchester’s nose. “That’s the prevailing
opinion.” He tossed the ball to Jensen. “Jensen good substitute.” He stood up
and walked out of the bay.
“Jensen play now?”
Jensen threw the ball into the moonpool. “Yeah, Jensen play.”
***** Jared Has a New Plan *****
Chapter Summary
     Jared and Captain Morgan have a heart-to-heart, and Jared makes a new
     plan.
“Let me get this straight,” said Morgan, brow furrowed in what looked like a
fairly painful way. “You want to take a UEO launch sub to Hong Kong, which is
literally on the other side of the world from where we are now, so you can get
Jensen’s father to willingly sign emancipation paperwork in order to give him
his freedom for Christmas?”
Jared took a deep breath. “Well, Sir, when you put it like that…”
Morgan took a sip of his synthetic coffee. “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea.” He
set the mug down. “Or even that you shouldn’t do it. Alan Ackles is a colossal
asshole, to put it mildly.” Jared tried not to smile at that. “I’m just saying
I’m not sure how the UEO is going to feel about you using one of their launch
subs to do it.”
Jared clasped his elbow with one sweaty hand. “I was kind of hoping we could
just…kind of…not tell them.”
Morgan’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “So you want to steal a launch sub
and take it to Hong Kong? That’s a court-martial offense, son.”
Jared looked down at the floor. “I know, Sir.”
“Why is this so important to you?”
Shit. “I’m the morale officer, and I—”
“Padalecki.” It was Morgan’s command voice, and Jared was sure he wasn’t going
to like what was coming. “I’m not stupid, and I’m not blind. I know there’s
something going on between you two.”
“No, there isn’t,” Jared protested, but it sounded weak even to him. Morgan
glared at him, and Jared backed down. “Okay, fine. There is. Are you going to
turn me in?”
Morgan’s face softened. “Of course not. You really think I would do that?”
Jared shrugged. “It’s the law. I didn’t think you had a choice.”
“Discretion is the better part of valor,” replied Morgan. “You think I’m gonna
turn you in when Jensen looks happier than I’ve ever seen him? You’re a miracle
worker, Padalecki.”
Jared’s cheeks flamed. “I, uh—thank you?”
Morgan chuckled. “Look, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna give you an
assignment: deliver WHSKR probes to the UEO base in Taipei. It’s a legit
assignment, it’s just at the bottom of the priority list. Whatever else you do
while you’re in the China Sea is your business.”
Jared grinned. “Thank you, Captain. I really appreciate it.”
“You really think he’s gonna sign the papers?”
“Honestly? I don’t even think he’s gonna look at them.” Jared shook his head.
“Jensen’s record-breaking prodigy days are over. Alan’s got no use for him,
clearly, so I really don’t think he’s gonna object.”
“I hope you’re right,” replied Morgan.
“Besides, I have a backup plan.” Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Pennsylvania
automatically emancipates sixteen-year-olds who get married there.”
“To other sixteen-year-olds, not to twenty-three-year old Naval officers,”
Morgan pointed out.
Jared swallowed hard. “I’d have to resign first. But I’m hoping I could return
to service after everything became official.”
“You’re really serious about this.” Morgan looked dubious, but also a little
bit impressed.
“He needs me,” Jared replied, and left it at that.
“I guess the question is, what are you getting out of it? Besides the obvious,”
Morgan added quickly.
Jared chuckled. “Well, there’s that, but you know everyone thinks I’m an
overgrown kid myself, so I just…get him. I don’t always feel like I fit in
either. Jensen and I are kindred spirits, I guess.”
Morgan frowned. “Has anyone said or done anything to you that I should know
about?”
“No, no,” Jared assured him, shaking his head. “I’m not being bullied or
anything. It’s just—I know gay rights have come a long way in the past thirty
years, but it’s still not exactly cool to openly date other soldiers,
especially on a submarine. Nobody else has really given me any hints of being
available. It has to be even worse for Jensen, since he’s got the double-whammy
of being the youngest person on the ship.”
Morgan nodded. “The kid could use some friends his own age, that’s for damn
sure.”
“Well, I’m the best he’s got.”
Morgan smiled at him. “I guess you’ll do for the time being.” His expression
turned serious. “You still planning to take the officer exam next month?”
Jared frowned. “Yes, why? Is that—will that be an issue in my performance
review?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it, but you’ve got to keep this thing
tightly under wraps if you don’t want word getting around to Commander Sheppard
or Admiral Pileggi. You know how it is with rumors on a closed ship.”
Jared nodded, pressing his lips together in a thin line. “I’m aware, Sir.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re not doing anything wrong. But UEO regulations
say otherwise. By-the-book guys like Pileggi won’t look kindly upon an officer
candidate flaunting regulations.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Morgan’s face softened. “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant. Go pack. I’m ordering
your departure at 0500 hours.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Morgan nodded. “Good luck, kid.”
                                     * * *
“You’re leaving?”
Jared nodded. “I’ll be back in a week.”
“But you’ll miss the party! I’m not going if you won’t be there.”
“I’m sorry.” Jared kissed Jensen’s forehead. “But I’ll be bringing back your
Christmas present, if that helps.”
“Well…maybe a little.” Jensen sat back and crossed his arms. “I don’t want you
to go.”
“Captain’s orders. Nothing I can do.” Jared put his arm around Jensen. “I’ll
call you every night on that comlink you’re not supposed to have.”
Jensen looked stricken. “You know about that?”
Jared rolled his eyes. “Babe, everyone knows about that. You’re kind of
terrible at keeping secrets.”
“I’m keeping you a secret,” Jensen pointed out.
Jared didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise. “You just keep on doing
that.” He squeezed Jensen’s shoulders and drew him in for a kiss. “It’ll be
over before you know it.”
“No, it won’t,” mumbled Jensen, so Jared just kissed him again.
***** Jensen Gets a Surprise *****
Chapter Summary
     Jensen sneaks into Jared's quarters and finds something special
     there.
Jensen hated fancy parties. He’d gone to more than enough of them as a kid; his
parents went to three or four of them a year. They were all the same—his mom
dressed him in a hand-tailored suit that cost more than the lowest-ranking
members of the SeaQuest crew made in a year and then abandoned him as soon as
they arrived to get drunk with the other bored trophy wives in the back rooms.
His father paraded him around to all his shady business-tycoon friends,
demanding that he show off his mental math skills or recite Latin poetry or, if
the place had a piano, forcing him to play Canon in D or Für Elise or some
other stupid classical piece that he hated. When he was thirteen, he’d
“accidentally” set the piano on fire while he was home from MIT on winter
break. His dad was so busy with work that he hadn’t noticed until long after
Jensen had returned to school, and he’d never bothered to replace it.
Jensen was currently huddled in the back corner with a glass of sparkling grape
juice, because none of the adults would let him near the spiked punch, glaring
at the monkey-suited crewmen and the ball-gowned women with resentment that
burned deep in his belly. It was so unfair that Jared had to go on some special
mission right before the party. He hadn’t been able to say what it was, only
that it was Captain’s orders and he couldn’t do anything about it. He’d blown
Jensen after he told him, but it hadn’t done much to make up for the awful
news.
Jensen clambered to his feet. He could think of way better ways to spend his
evening than this.
He left the dining hall and got in the MagLev. Once the door swished shut, he
untied his tie and unbuttoned his shirt collar. He took the MagLev to the crew
quarters and located Jared’s door. The doors were locked with passcodes, but
they were easy enough to override. After a few keystrokes, he was in. He
slipped inside and shut the door. He’d have to remove himself from the security
footage of the corridor later, but that was only about three minutes of work.
It was kind of alarmingly easy to defeat the ship’s security protocols if you
had any decent computer skills. Then again, more than half the crew members
were born in the twentieth century, when computers were giant boxes that sat on
your desk next to even bigger boxes called monitors that only displayed 16
colors and the internet ran through modems and wires that only carried a few
kilobytes of data at a time. Jensen was kind of amazed that any of them could
use modern computers after starting on that shit.
Jensen threw his jacket and tie onto Jared’s desk chair and sank down in it. He
noticed Jared’s e-pad sitting in its charging cradle and decided to see what
was on it. He overrode the passcode and brought the device to life. The
wallpaper picture was of two giant dogs, one with rounded features and floppy
ears and a smaller one with pointed features and ears that stuck straight up.
He wondered how long Jared had been away from them. He’d looked up Jared’s
service record and found out that Jared had come to SeaQuest straight from the
Naval Academy, which he had entered at age 16, and was the youngest actual crew
member on board. No wonder he and Jensen got along so well. If he passed his
officer test, he’d be the youngest officer on board as well. But he’d also have
a lot more responsibility and, Jensen feared, a lot less time for him.
Jensen started flipping through folders. It was mostly standard stuff, like
calendars, timekeeping, personal correspondence, crew communications—but then
he found a folder just called “Jensen34.” He immediately opened it.
Inside was a slide presentation entitled “Miracle on 34°N.” Jensen held his
breath and pressed play.
The first slide was a photo of Jensen in a wetsuit playing with Winchester,
while Morgan smiled approvingly in the background. Underneath was an icon
indicating text, so Jensen pressed it. The text appeared: “Jensen, I know that
your father doesn’t appreciate you and you haven’t spoken to your mother since
she left you, and that leads you to believe that you don’t have a family.”
There was an arrow icon indicating another slide. Jensen tapped it.
The next slide was a photograph of Jensen on the bridge, working with Commander
Sheppard and Lt. Commander Smith on a malfunctioning WHSKR probe. The rest of
the bridge crew—Lt. Collins, Ensign Chau, Lt. Commander Speight, and Lt.
Buckmaster—and the Captain were going about their normal business. “And you
also don’t consider yourself a ‘real’ member of the crew.” Another arrow.
The third slide was a photograph of Captain Morgan, Dr. Rhodes, and Jensen on
stage at a marine biology conference in Japan, presenting a paper on the
vocoder and dolphin language. “In fact, you might think that ‘common sense’
says that you have no family at all. That you don’t fit in anywhere.”
The next slide was a photo of Jensen and Jared playing with Winchester just
before Jared had left on his special assignment. “But, as my favorite Christmas
movie says, ‘Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.’”
After that, there was a slide of Jensen, Lt. Collins, Jared, Lt. Benedict, and
Ensign Chau in the dining hall. Jensen was laughing with his head tipped back,
and the others were laughing too. No text on this one, just an arrow.
The last slide was a picture of Jensen and Captain Morgan posing for a photo
with Winchester popped up between them. “So I want you to have faith that you
do have a family, and it’s right here on the ship. You are my family. You are
Captain Morgan’s family. You are Winchester’s family. You are part of the
SeaQuest family, Jensen. I want you to believe that, because I believe that.
Forget your dad. Your real family is right here.” No arrow this time, just a
square indicating the end of the presentation.
Jensen’s eyes brimmed with tears. He couldn’t believe that Jared would do
something like this, and he suddenly remembered that Jared had that e-pad with
him the day they kissed, and Jared must have intended to give this presentation
before they were even together. God, Jared really cared about him, even when he
thought Jensen didn’t return his feelings.
He needed to call Jared right the fuck now.
Jensen put the e-pad back on the charger and left Jared’s quarters. When he got
back to his own bunk, he quickly replaced the security video of his entrance
with a loop of blank footage taken from a few minutes before on which he’d
altered the time code. Then he called up his apparently no-longer-secret
comlink and called Jared’s launch.
It took a couple minutes, but Jared finally answered. “Hey!” he said brightly,
but frowned when he saw Jensen. “What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you show me that presentation?” he demanded, his voice rough with
emotion.
Jared’s eyes widened. “How’d you find out about that?”
Jensen looked down. “I, uh…kinda snuck into your quarters.”
“I’m not going to ask you how you did that,” replied Jared, and when Jensen
looked up, Jared had a bemused smirk on his face. “The truth? I thought it was
too cheesy.”
“It’s perfect,” countered Jensen. “I loved it. Thank you.”
Jared beamed. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it.”
“I wish you were here so I could thank you in person.” Jensen sighed.
“Two more days,” promised Jared. “I’ll be back in two days.”
“That’s Christmas Eve,” Jensen pointed out.
Jared grinned. “Indeed. But you’ll have to wait till Christmas morning for your
present.”
Jensen perked up. “I get to spend Christmas Eve night with you and a present?”
“Only if you’re good,” teased Jared.
Jensen smirked. “Don’t you know me at all? I’m a bad boy. Totally on the
naughty list.”
“Hope there’s room on the naughty list for one more,” replied Jared in a low
voice.
“Oh, there is.” Jensen’s face started to heat up. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Will you be donning your gay apparel?”
Jensen snickered. “Guess so.”
“I can’t wait.” Jared looked over his shoulder. “I gotta go. Love you.”
Jensen smiled. “Love you too.”
***** Merry Christmas, Jensen *****
Chapter Summary
     Jared gives Jensen the ultimate Christmas present. Jensen's reaction
     is...mixed.
On Christmas morning, Jensen woke from a dream about kissing Jared to the real
thing. Jared’s kisses were slow, languid, relaxed, easing Jensen into
consciousness in the best possible way. As Jensen opened his eyes, he caught
sight of the sprig of mistletoe that Jared must have hung above the bed while
Jensen was asleep. “G’morning,” murmured Jared, stroking a thumb down Jensen’s
jawline.
“It is now,” replied Jensen with a smile. He tangled his fingers in Jared’s
messy hair as they traded soft, lazy kisses.
“I made hot cocoa,” said Jared. “The real thing.”
Jensen’s eyes widened. “Where'd you get the real thing?”
Jared smirked. “Trade secret.” He sat up and crossed the room, returning with
two mugs of real hot cocoa with marshmallows.
“I love you so much right now.” Jensen slurped a few marshmallows and kissed
Jared with the spun sugar still on his lips. “This is amazing.”
“Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet,” replied Jared.
Jensen raised an eyebrow and sipped the cocoa. It was incredibly rich, must
have had real milk in it too, and Jensen wondered what black market Jared had
to have gotten this from, because it was beyond illegal. Africa, maybe, or
China—those were the only places you could still get stuff like that.
They sipped their cocoa in companionable silence, occasionally trading sweet
chocolatey kisses. When they were both finished, Jared set the mugs in the sink
and ran water into them, then returned to the bed with his e-pad.
“And now for your real present,” he said proudly, handing over the device.
Jensen shook his head. “Seriously, that was great enough. I don't have anything
nearly that good for you.”
“It doesn't matter,” replied Jared. He gestured to the screen. “Read it.”
Jensen looked down at the file. “Petition to Emancipate a Minor Child By
Parental Decree. Holy shit, you didn't.” He scrolled down to the bottom, where
his father’s biometric signature glowed up at him. “No way. He didn’t—this
isn’t real. Is it?”
Jared nodded, smiling. “The real thing. You’re officially an adult now. We can
be together and it isn’t a crime.”
Jensen’s breath caught in his throat. He’d often fantasized about filing for it
himself, but knowing that his dad agreed—that was a whole other thing.
“Jensen?” Jared’s voice was soft, hesitant.
Jensen blinked back hot tears. “I just—what did he say?”
Jared’s face fell. “Nothing,” he admitted quietly. “He read it, and then he
signed it. He didn’t say anything.”
Jensen looked down. Jared gently took the e-pad from Jensen’s hands and set it
aside, then stretched an arm around Jensen’s shoulder and pulled him close. “I
can see you’re upset, but why? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“I thought it was.” Jensen sniffled. “But I thought he’d at least care enough
to fight me on it.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry he doesn’t.” Jared tucked Jensen’s head under
his chin.
Jensen took a deep, shaking breath. “Is this why you went away?”
Jared nodded. “Technically I had a real assignment, but it was a cover. This is
the real reason I went.”
“Thank you,” said Jensen, pulling back so he could give Jared a kiss. “I can’t
believe you would do all that for me.”
“Jensen—” Jared looked deep into Jensen’s eyes. “There isn’t anything I
wouldn’t do for you. Fuck, I risked court-martial for you.” He kissed Jensen.
“Because you’re worth it.”
“No, I’m not,” Jensen replied in a small voice.
Jared kissed him again. “Yes, you are.” He pressed his forehead to Jensen’s.
“Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you’re not. Not even him.”
“It’s hard,” murmured Jensen.
Jared hugged Jensen close. “I’m here to help you with that. I think you’re
amazing, and I’m going to convince you of that if it’s the last thing I do.”
Jensen smiled shakily, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes again. “I
don’t deserve you.”
“With the kind of life you’ve had? I’m exactly what you deserve,” replied
Jared. He slid a hand down Jensen’s back and cupped Jensen’s ass. “Why don’t I
show you what I mean?”
Jensen tilted his head up and kissed Jared’s jaw. “I think I’d like that.”
Jared pushed Jensen down onto his back and Jensen chuckled when he caught sight
of the mistletoe above their heads. “Merry Christmas, Jared.”
Jared grinned. “Merry Christmas, Jensen.”
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