Chapter 1: Past the Garden Shed and Straight Ahead (J2, NC-17)

[lucifersprize]

Fic title: Past the Garden Shed and Straight Ahead
Artist name: amberdreams
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: past domestic abuse, sexual language, cussing, Chad

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***

Being kind is not supposed to get you into trouble.

Jared’s best friend and co-worker, Chad, would argue that it was generally the source of Jared’s troubles. Jared always blamed ‘the faeries’.

This time, they could agree that the blame for Jared’s woes lay firmly with the mean spirited son of Mr. Spendlethift. R.I.P.

Chad helped to load a ride-on mower into a trailer bearing the words ‘Padalecki Landscape Services.’ His angry blue eyes glared towards the home they were leaving. Jared’s business was no fly-by-night concern and he would never steal a penny from anyone, let alone defraud a recently bereaved family. Unfortunately, he had allowed a large debt to build up in the case of a frail pensioner who struggled to get to the bank. So now, Jared mournfully ran a hand over the t-shirt which Mr. Spendlethift Jr had thrown a mug of coffee on. It clung to his chest and dripped onto his snug fitting cut-off denims. 

Jared sighed, “It’s my own fault. I should have mailed regular invoices.

“No! He’s hustling us! Who waits for the entire garden to be mowed before asking who we are? He knows we’re legit but he’s too tight to pay. There is no way the old dude was maintaining three acres, like this,” he pointed to a perfect lawn and lush flowerbeds, “...without professional help. You couldn’t know he would croak before he could pay.”

Chad might have been a good four inches shorter than him at six foot tall, but he had the sunkissed hair and good looks of a sports jock combined with an attitude that spelled out he knew it and mouth that never stopped running. Their friendship was a mystery to everyone.

“Don’t speak like that!” Jared scolded. He gave up trying to wring coffee out of his t-shirt and peeled it off, revealing perky nipples and an acre of muscular, tanned skin. A young mum with a baby in a stroller paused to stare. Her cheeks colored as she saw Chad smirk at her and she power walked on.

“It’s not like the old guy can care anymore. And admit it, his family never visited him while he was alive. You fetched his groceries most weeks, Jared, and I bet you didn’t get paid for those either. Huh?”

It was Jared’s turn to blush. “Yeah, well. I’m screwed. I have no idea how I am going to cover the bills this month. I was depending on this.”

They secured the trailer and got into the truck.

“I bet your faerie wife could pay your bills!” Chad joked.

“Don’t!” Jared slammed a hand angrily on the steering wheel and shushed him, “They might hear you. It’s not funny. Don’t even joke about it.”

“Oh, come on! It’s a little bit funny. Everybody could do with a fairy godmother!”

Jared relaxed a little, it wasn’t right to take his stress out on his friend. “A fairy godmother is a fluffy Disney concept. I could use one of those.”

“Ooh, Cinderella, what would you wear to the ball?” Chad joked.

“Crinoline and tulle,” Jared grinned.

“I dunno, daisy-dukes and a bare chest seems to work for you. ”

“But I want to feel special,” Jared whined back.

“You would have to shave. I never heard of a Disney Princess with a caveman beard.”

Jared tossed his head and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, “If the Prince doesn’t like me as I am, then he doesn’t deserve me.”

“Yeah, okay, Cinderella-Jesus. Our day is a bust. We should go for a bike ride and then drink beer.”

Jared fired up his truck and pulled away from the unfortunate Mr. Spendlethift’s property.

“If we ever want beer again, we have to find a new client. One who needs us to work three days straight and will pay us by Friday.”

Chad dramatically banged his head against the dash, “Like that is going to happen.”

Jared sighed, he concentrated on his surroundings and he took deep breaths. This was serious, and he didn’t know if his little business could survive it. He loved his job, he loved fresh air, the vibrant green of trees in Spring and the stunning reds of a New England fall. He loved the snip when pruning shrubs and even loved the burn of his muscles as he dug compacted earth in neglected gardens. He didn’t think he would survive a week in an office, or lamely quoting ‘the customer is always right’ in some ugly air-conditioned store.

Deep breaths weren’t working, so he tried something else, “Dogwood, Button Bush, Columbine,” he noted as he passed substantial, well maintained gardens in Ambrose Grove.

Chad unexpectedly joined in, “Moose,” he said.

Jared took a moment to process his identification then laughed, “Idiot!”

“Fucking white moose!” Chad screeched. 

And there was …a fucking white moose, casually stepping into the road in front of them.

Jared’s brakes were well maintained but they screeched almost as loudly as Chad, and the trailer behind them swayed as it came to a halt behind the truck with the thud of a lawnmower trying to break loose. Thank goodness he always secured it, he thought, before returning to the other thought of ‘Moose!’.

The moose stopped to stare at them - majestic, ghost white, and ethereal. Jared was sure that it stared into his soul with ancient wisdom and green eyes, but it had to be a trick of the light because moose don’t have green eyes. He thought he read somewhere that albino animals had purple eyes but he couldn’t remember.  

“Is that even real?” Chad asked. “If it charges, the truck is wrecked.”

“My truck,” reminded Jared, but it was a distracted quip. The moose was magnificent, terrifying and impossible. It was rare enough to see any moose in Burlington, but a white moose in Summer, in this wealthy suburb? That wasn’t right. For a moment, terror rose in his throat and his voice rasped as he forced one word, in a whisper, “Faeries.”

The moose blinked brown eyes and turned away. It ambled to the other side of the road and stopped at the edge of community woodlands, to munch on an aspen tree.

“Dude you’re obsessed with faeries. It’s a moose, it’s by the woods.”

He was right, thought Jared. It was just a moose. A moose with rare DNA, eating what moose eat, doing what a moose does. They watched as it crashed through trees into the dark interior of the woodland and then it was gone from sight. Jared checked his mirrors, lifted his foot off the brake and started to move off, then slammed his foot back on the brake and the mower bumped again in the confines of its trailer.

“Dude!” squeaked Chad.

“Look!” said Jared. “Grab one of our flyers from the glovebox!”

“What?”

Jared pointed excitedly, to the side of the road, where sky blue forget-me-nots bloomed in clouds around the  dilapidated gateway of what was once a grand, winding drive.  A ‘SOLD’ sign dangled precariously from a twisted branch of willow, and, just visible through a tangle of overgrown trees, stood a movers’ van. He reversed his truck to make a sharp turn into the drive and they bumped into potholes and over tree roots towards it.

“I didn’t know this was here, we’ve never canvassed it.” Chad commented.

“Exactly. Must have been fenced off,” Jared replied, pointing out a mess of fence panels in the weeds.

They came to a halt a few yards from the movers’ van and Jared leapt out of his truck clutching his flyer, without a thought to his unconventional appearance or what he would say.

“Er. Can I help you boys?” The low Texan drawl inexplicably made Jared think of molasses and possibly sex. And if he wasn’t thinking of sex before he saw the man who stepped  from the house, then he was now. He had to be a film star, all firm and perfectly formed with blonde tipped sandy hair that begged to be mussed up, and plush pink lips that looked like they should be kissed. His clothes were casual-designer and his shades screamed ‘rock star’.

“Oh, um. Yes. No. Yes. I mean,” stuttered Jared.

Chad came to his aid, “What he means to say is that we can help you. In fact, you absolutely need our skills.”

“Really?” Even with the shades it was obvious that he was checking Jared out - toes to head - slowly taking in his itty bitty denim shorts and his heat-slick bare chest. Pink tongue poked between his lips, licking them to a shine before they arced into an amused grin. “And what skills would they be?”

Jared suddenly realized how he looked, “Oh God! Not that! No …,” he flailed one hand to point at the mower in his trailer and shoved his flyer into perfectly manicured, elegant fingers.

Chad dissolved into fits of giggles beside him and Jared blushed, mortified that they had rushed in without an ounce of professionalism. “I am so sorry, this was inappropriate,” he apologized. He turned to leave.

The man glanced at the flyer he had been given. “Hey! Come back. I’m sorry. I was inappropriate too.” He stuck his hand out for Jared to shake. “I’m Jensen Ackles.”

“Jared. Jared Padalecki.”

“Of Padalecki Landscape Services,” Jensen read from the side of the truck.

“Owner, manager and laborer,” confirmed Jared.

“Seven o’clock then.”

“Pardon me?”

“You’re right, Jared. I need an expert for these sorry gardens. Come back tomorrow at 7 a.m. You may want to wear something more suited to clearing nettles and thorns.”

Jared blinked in disbelief, “I can provide prices, a competitive quote, give you a schedule of hours when we are available.”

“I am certain that they will be agreeable. I should prepare a cash deposit to retain your service. Is a thousand alright?”

“But … I have references,” Jared struggled with words.

There was a shout from within the house, “Jen!”

“Well, bring them if you like. I need to go.”

Jensen jogged off, leaving Jared gaping like a fish after his exceptionally fine ass.

They got back into the truck.

“Did that just happen?” asked Chad.

Jared fastened his seatbelt and started the engine, “I think it did.”

XXX

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