Gingerbread

A Jensen and Jared Christmas story

Fandom: Supernatural RPF

Category/Rated: Slash, R

Year/Length: 2008/~15,013 words

Pairing: Jared/Jensen

Disclaimer: Never happened, not mine, no profit, only having fun.

Author's Notes: Please have your insulin ready. The boys are sweet, very sweet

Beta: marys_scribbles

December in Vancouver means that occasionally, if the rain stops long enough, there'll be a frost. Returning from spending Thanksgiving in Texas hadn't prepared either Jensen or Jared for the way that downtown Vancouver sparkled in the freezing air. They'd been filming in an alley behind Sutton Place, and as they finally completed a scene to Kim's satisfaction, Jared grabbed Jensen's arm and tugged him off the set and away towards Burrard Street.

"What, man?" Jensen frowned. "Trailers are back that way."

"Yeah, I know." Jared was pulling on his ever-present beanie as he spoke. "We've got time. Come on. There's something I want to go and see."

Nodding, Jensen cast a quick look back towards the console where Kim was standing, intently studying the screens as he played back the scene they'd just finished shooting. "Kim? We got a few minutes?"

"Yeah. We'll need to relight, so I won't need you for an hour. Grab lunch or something." Kim didn't look up, and Jared renewed his pressure on Jensen's arm as he made for the street.

Christmas hung over the city, lights sparkling from the displays in the window, watched by the array of frosty stars above. Even though it was getting late there were still crowds rushing to and fro. Jared made his way through them to cross Robson and head down the hill. Jensen followed obediently, wondering what was on his mind.

The Hyatt Regency was a familiar sight, and as they approached it, Jensen was more and more perplexed. "Dude, you rented a room for old times' sake or what?" he asked, pulling up as it became obvious that Jared was making for the front door.

"You'll see." Jared's beaming smile was almost as luminous as the twinkling lights around the door, and Jensen felt a little flutter as something tightened deep down in his belly. He still hadn't grown used to having this enormous man-child as his lover, and each time he looked at Jared he felt his carefully guarded heart melt a little. He knew that whatever it was that Jared wanted of him he'd have very little chance of ever turning him down, and he was beginning to think that he'd never want to. Shaking his head a little, he hurried forward to catch up with his lover and see what it was that had him so excited.

Jared nodded a greeting at the doorman as he pushed through the revolving door with Jensen now just a step or two behind him. Jensen had not really been focused on anything other than getting inside as he entered the lobby of his former residence, so the sight that greeted him there made him gasp aloud. Jared turned to him, the enormous grin still gracing his face, arms outstretched - indicating the vastness of the entry way. "Look man, isn't this just awesome?" he said.

"Awesome." Jensen agreed, a grin spreading across his own face. He could see now why Jared had been so excited and keen to come here. Jared was standing in front of the largest gingerbread house Jensen had ever seen. To be honest, it was actually only the front of the house, but it was huge nonetheless. As he looked around the area to either side of this massive confection he could see that there were other houses, castles, lodges, and even a farm – all made from gingerbread, fudge, frosting and other delicious edibles. The second thing that registered in Jensen's stunned brain was the smell. It was delectable, and if it was making him drool, God only knew what it was doing to Jared, bottomless pit and possessor of the sweetest tooth on the face of the planet.

Jared didn't say anything but he continued grinning like a loon and practically bounced on the spot with delight. Smothering a laugh, Jensen moved further into the lobby. "All right then, let's take a look at them. Wherever did you hear about this anyhow?" he asked as they moved around to the other side of the room where there were even more of the gingerbread concoctions in various degrees of awesomeness.

"Molly told me about it," Jared said. "She told me her daughter's school was involved in making some of them, and that I ought to come and have a look."

Jensen vaguely remembered a muttered conversation between Molly and Jared that morning as she had commented on the fact that he was drinking a Gingersnap Latte. Jared had mentioned his love of all things gingerbread, and then Jensen really had stopped paying attention to the rest of the conversation as he had been concentrating on getting to grips with the script changes that Kim had just presented to them.

Now, faced with Jared at his most excitable, all Jensen could do was smile and attempt to ride the whirlwind, because there was no way that they would be leaving until Jared had seen it all.

"Okay," he said, grabbing for Jared's elbow just as he was showing signs of reaching over the ribbon separating spectators from the exhibits. "Let's be methodical. We don't want to miss any of this." He was staring at a carousel made entirely from gingerbread and candy. "Look, dude, it tells you who made it. This one was a catering school. I guess they'd have a pretty high standard."

"This one wasn't. It's a school." Jared's slanted eyes were wider than Jensen had ever seen them. "Wow, check it out. They built it out of blocks of cookie." The exhibit in question was a castle, complete with drawbridge. It had cannons on the turrets, made from Oreo cookies and chocolate, and even a coat of arms over the main gate.

Around the corner was a busy street scene, with a road and cars, stores and little people sitting at tables along the sidewalk. Jensen smacked Jared's hand down, as it stretched towards the exhibit seemingly unconsciously, although it would have been quite a reach even for Jared's long arms.

As they moved around the display, Jared's excitement seemed to increase rather than diminish. The heady scent of ginger and sugar was really starting to make Jensen's mouth water, so who knew what it was doing to Jared?

Jensen succeeded in keeping Jared in line until they got to the little display that was a mock-up of Whoville. There was the Grinch at the top of the mountain, and there were the weirdly rounded little Who-houses. The whole thing was much closer to the spectators than some of the first exhibits they'd looked at, and Jensen had been lulled into a false sense of complacency by his sweetheart. There was a little girl admiring a scene depicting gingerbread skaters on a pond, and Jensen watched her delight with fond amusement. When he looked back, Jared's cheek was bulging.

"Dude, what did you do?" he whispered, madly scanning Whoville for signs of abuse. The pathway that had been lovingly constructed from pieces of fudge was missing several steps. "Dammit!" He hissed. "Do you want to get us arrested? For God's sake, can't you behave?"

Jared looked a little sheepish, but continued munching and attempted to fob Jensen off. "What do you mean?" he asked, speaking around the fudge in his mouth, and trying to sound innocent but failing miserably. "What did I do?"

"Oh don't even try that one with me, Jay, you know full well what you did. If you have anymore of that fudge in your hand you'd better put it back right now," Jensen said.

He looked around nervously to see if anyone else had noticed Jared's crime. Fortunately it seemed that no one had so far, but he didn't want to take any chances. Jared flushed a hot pink and carefully placed back two squares of fudge to their former position. He hung his head a little, tilted it to one side and looked up at Jensen through his bangs, apparently attempting to look as contrite as possible. Jensen sighed. He ought to haul Jared out of there right now, but he just couldn't stay angry at him when he put on his puppy dog face.

He knew when he was beaten, but he resolved to keep an even closer eye on his lover as they looked at the rest of the exhibits. "Come on," he said, grabbing Jared's arm, "let's look at the rest of them, and for God's sake keep your hands to yourself from now on." Jared pouted but he put his hands in his pockets and allowed Jensen to lead him around to the next area of the display.

They both smiled in appreciation of one beautiful display which was called 'Snowy Pastures' and featured a farm, complete with water mill, a barn with little animals inside and a farm house. It reminded them both of the Kent Family Farm from Smallville, except that the farmhouse wasn't yellow. "It's incredible how much detail they've all put into these." Jensen said, marveling. "Even the animals are made out of marzipan and icing."

Jared nodded in agreement, but he looked subdued now. Jensen sighed, dammit, Jared's joy at the sight of all of the wonderful houses had been infectious. He hadn’t wanted to bring him down, but he had to make sure that no more of the exhibits went to fuel his lover's sugar high. "Hey," he said, nudging him in the arm, "don't mope. If you promise not to make off with anymore of the goodies, I'll buy you some gingerbread to take back to the set with us. I saw that they're selling it round beside the carousel."

Jared brightened visibly. "Really? You'd do that for me?" he asked. His face alight with joy again at the very thought of it.

"Dude, don't you know by now that there's very little I wouldn't do for you?" Jensen asked, smiling to see his lover happy again. "Now let's look at the last of these houses before we have to leave. We only had an hour and it must be getting close on to that now."

They went back to look at a couple of houses they had already seen. In particular, Jared's fancy was taken by a small lodge with Santa on the veranda and a reindeer and a snowman in the yard, and another small house with a doorway that had a white bow piped on it, and tiny marshmallows around the edge. There were lacy curtains made of piped icing at the windows and rainbow-colored Twizzlers forming the rooftiles. The roof itself was topped off with more of the white marshmallows on the ridge. In addition there were two small heart shaped cookies, covered in an icing sugar dusting, decorating one corner of the roof. It was beautiful. Then he noticed the card that showed which group had made it and bounced with excitement as he grabbed Jensen's arm.

"Jen, look at this one, number 24. It's made by Molly's daughter's school. Isn't it the cutest thing?" He sounded so wistful as he gazed at the beautiful concoction that it made Jensen smile. His lover was a very sentimental guy, and the little cabin certainly was cute, even if it was a little bit girly. He looked at Jared's face and swallowed hard when he saw the longing look in his eyes. He would never get used to how emotional his lover made him feel at the oddest of times. He found himself choking up regularly and getting blindsided by Jared's sentimental nature. Finding it hard to speak at that moment he merely nodded his agreement. Finally, he managed to find his voice and reminded Jared that they had to be getting back and they still had to vote for their favorite houses. Not to mention Jensen fulfilling his promise to buy his lover as much gingerbread as he could eat to take away with them.

They took one last look at the cute little cabin and walked around to the voting box. Jensen told Jared to vote for him as well whilst he went off to purchase the promised gingerbread goodies and some candy canes.

Handing over a bag of goodies to his lanky partner, Jensen succeeded in leading Jared back out onto the street through the revolving doors, with only a brief delay while Jared insisted on going around and around in them for a couple of turns. Laughing as the two of them spilled out onto Georgia Street once more, Jensen led the way back up the hill towards the set, and vowed that he would find a way to provide his sweetie with a gingerbread house.

"Dude, I got us a Christmas tree!" Jared's voice boomed through the house, and Jensen, who had been enjoying a lie in, slowly opened his eyes. A swift look at the clock revealed it to be nine thirty, and Jensen's heart sank. He knew from bitter experience that there would be no further sleep for him that day. He was contemplating getting out of bed and going to make coffee when the door burst open and Jared bounced in bearing a Starbucks mug.

"Did you hear? We've got a Christmas tree. It's downstairs in the porch waiting for us to decide where to put it. Hurry up and get up, man. We have to dress it up and make it sparkly." Jared's dimples punctuated the beaming smile, and Jensen felt his heart melt all over again at the sight of his enthusiasm.

"You got it, dude. Just give me a minute to steam my eyes open, and I'll come aid you in your folly." Jensen was smiling as he sipped the strong brew Jared had brought him. "You got lights and stuff to hang on it? Gotta have fairy lights, or it's not a real Christmas tree."

"You mean you want more than those air freshener things? Damn!" Impossibly, Jared's grin was even wider than before. "It was good enough for Sam, you know."

"Fairy lights, dude. I insist." Setting aside his now empty cup, Jensen rolled out of his nice, warm cocoon of blankets and headed for the bathroom. "Gimme a second to clean myself up, and I'll come show you just what a well-dressed Christmas tree should be wearing."

His shower revived him as much as the coffee had. Soon he was feeling much more human and even capable of coping with a bouncy Jared, two hyper dogs and the decorating of a Christmas tree. God help him but he was turning into Mr Joviality – living with Jared would do that to you he guessed. He grinned to himself, this would be their first Christmas together in this house and it would be great to share each other's traditions and make some of their own. He trotted down the stairs and towards the porch, not even thinking about breakfast yet. If Jared had gone to the trouble of getting a real tree then the least he could do was to postpone breakfast for a while.

When he went out onto the porch, the tree made him gasp. It was pretty tall, but he had hopes that it would fit in the living area of the house, it seemed to manage to stand upright in the porch at least. It was full too, a fabulous shape and the smell of the pine was warm and fresh. Jared grinned at him as he stopped to fully appreciate the sight of the tree.

"Isn't it great?" his lover said. "I was going to wait until you could come too, do the whole choosing the tree together thing, but this one caught my eye and I could see that it might be gone before we could get back to the lot." He looked a little apologetic, but Jensen wasn't bothered by the fact that Jared had chosen the tree on his own, he was too busy grinning at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement.

"Dude, what?" Jared said. "Do I have spinach in my teeth or something?" He frowned a little.

"No, not at all," Jensen said his face softening a little, "I was just thinking how much you looked like that Thomas Kinkade character you played, dressed in all that gear and clutching the tree and all."

Jared threw his head back and laughed. "I suppose I do," he agreed, "Especially as this scarf was one I wore in the movie, the jacket too, come to think of it." His eyes sparkled as he spoke, and Jensen couldn't resist leaning forward and planting a sloppy kiss on the end of his nose.

"You look adorable." He said. "Now let's get this tree inside and get decorating."

Jared blushed a glorious pink and ducked his head shyly. It was even more adorable and Jensen's heart swelled. He loved this man so much it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help it, and he didn't think he'd ever get used to it. He wasn't even sure he wanted to. If they could still be this happy when they'd been together for 20 years, and the relationship could still feel as fresh then as it did now, he'd count himself the luckiest man alive.

They grabbed the tree and maneuvered it through the front door and into the living room, pausing inside the doorway as it occurred to both of them that they had not yet planned where to put it. Jared started to giggle and the tree began to shake, shedding a few needles as it did so.

"Guess I should have thought about this before." He said

"Maybe," Jensen said, "But it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where to put it. How about next to the fireplace?"

Jared looked at the space Jensen was indicating with his chin, the only portion of his anatomy he could spare at the moment, the rest being occupied with holding up the tree. "We could put it there, but how about in the window?" He said nodding in the other direction. "There's lots of space there, and we'd be able to see it from outside as soon as we drive up, it'd be a welcome home."

Jensen considered Jared's point and had to concede that it had merit, it would be awesome to see their first tree greeting them every day when they returned home from work. "You're right," he said. "Let's get it over there now before we drop it." He was beginning to realise how heavy the tree was, it was a magnificent specimen and quite broad at the base. The needles were starting to prickle.

Together they shuffled the tree across to the window bay. Jared kicking the tree base he had bought along the floor so that it would be ready for them when they went to put the tree into its final position. After much sweating and straining they finally had it in place, secure in its stand, and they stood back to admire it. There was about 18 inches of space between the top of the tree and the ceiling in the window bay. The bottom branches reached to within about 6 inches on each side of the window. It would allow them ample space to reach around to decorate and still fill the window with its light and color.

Jensen smiled and looked expectantly at Jared. "So let's get the lights and baubles out then, dude." He said. "I can't wait to see what it all looks like with the lights on it."

Jared's face fell and Jensen noticed immediately. "What's up?" He asked, concerned.

"Dude, all we have to decorate this tree are those two awesome ornaments that girl gave us after the Chicago convention. You know, Thing 1 and Thing 2," he said as Jensen frowned at him.

"Jeanette you mean?" Jensen asked.

"Yes, Jeanette." Jared said, nodding in agreement. "The thing is though, I think this tree needs a little more decorating than just those ornaments, awesome as they are."

"I think you're right." Jensen said. "So we need to think about what we want on the tree, and then if we split up and get shopping quickly we can still get the tree decorated and ready before it gets dark again. I really want to see our tree from outside as soon as it gets dark."

Jared grinned, relieved. "Jensen, you are completely brilliant, that's why I love you." He said, flinging his arms around his lover and squeezing hard to show his appreciation.

"Dude, breathing!" Jensen gasped as he was all but crushed by the Padagrip. "I'm glad you like the plan though, so let's make some lists and divide the chores. We can have breakfast while we do it."

The mention of food perked Jared up, and before long the two of them were taking their seats at the counter, armed with plates of sausage, eggs, bacon and pancakes. Jensen, always one to plan ahead, was making two lists.

"Okay, man, what do you want to go at the top of the tree? A star, or an angel?" He nibbled the top of his pencil as he turned his head to look at the tree behind them.

"An angel would be cool." Said Jared, then he started to laugh. "We can put a dirty raincoat on it and call it Misha!"

"Okay, Castiel for the top of the tree," snickered Jensen, writing it down and then moving on to the next topic. "Lights... we need lights. You want to stay with the white ones or go for the colored kind?"

Jared frowned as he pondered the vexed question. "White... no, colored... no, wait..." He set his fork down and raised tragic, puppy-eyes to Jensen. "Can't we have both?" He asked, plaintively.

"Okay, dude. I'll just put lights, and you can choose what you think will look best." He reached for the syrup and added some to the pancakes on his plate. "We should get tinsel, and some of those bauble things. You wanna see what you can find? I'll go to Costco and get some candy canes and popcorn, because we have to put popcorn on a string and hang it on the tree. It's what we used to do when Josh, Mac and I were kids."

"Yeah, popcorn!" Jared was already shoveling in the last of his breakfast. "Okay, you go to Costco, and I'll hit Sears. We'll have the best tree ever." He was about to rise from his stool when he suddenly thought of something. "Dude, we should get some snow stuff for the windows and the branches, and a couple of stockings - maybe four, cos Sadie and Harley need one as well. Oh, and..."

"Jay, you need to go buy up the store." Jensen was grinning now. Jared's enthusiasm was always infectious, and Jensen loved Christmas anyway. "I'll get the eggnog; you get the shiny stuff."

Half an hour later, Jared was heading off to the nearest purveyor of shiny seasonal decorations, and Jensen was in his truck on his way to Costco. Candy canes, jars of assorted confectionery and a two liter jug of eggnog went into his cart, and he paused to admire a nativity scene. He decided to pass it by in the end, although he did grab a couple of packs full of decorations. He was about to make his way to the check out, when his eye was caught by a particular display, and he instantly knew what he must do.

The thing that had attracted his attention was a stack of boxes, each containing a kit that would enable the lucky recipient to build their own gingerbread house. Grinning to himself, Jensen grabbed two, because he was really not sure how good he'd be at this, and it would be good to have a spare. Once he'd got them he went back to find a box of gingerbread men, and as he hit the check-out, he was already planning how to fashion an Impala out of marzipan. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

Knowing that Jared would still be out for some time, since he would be totally unable to resist buying up as much stuff as he could feasibly lay his hands on, Jensen headed directly for the kitchen as soon as he got home. Quickly unpacking his purchases he took some time to read the instructions on the back of the box containing one of the gingerbread house kits. He'd have time to do this and be tidied up before Jared got home. Grabbing Jared's flowery apron from the hook inside the walk-in pantry he put it on and headed off to wash his hands and begin work on his creation.

Jensen found that the kit contained a beautiful silver board to stand the house on, together with individual panels of gingerbread for the walls and the roof. The house he had chosen was similar in style to the one Jared had gazed at so wistfully. It was one of the reasons it had caught his eye as in the first place. There were also little tubes of colored icing for decorating the house, a few small candies and some ready piped decorations together with a useful set of diagrams for piecing the house together and suggestions for making the generic looking house much more individual. Taking a few moments to look at all of the pieces and carefully examining each one for strength and durability he was getting more confident with how well he would do in constructing the little cabin.

He began by laying out the pieces as shown in the diagram and then making a 'foundation' from the icing as directed. He then joined two of the wall panels together with icing and carefully stood them in the 'foundation' icing. So far so good, they stood up and didn't sag or wobble or even crack. He smiled, this was going to be so good, he could hardly wait to see Jared's face when he showed him what he had done. He made some more 'mortar' from the icing to hold the next wall panel in place and began to slide it into position when he heard the ominous sound of crunching and snuffling behind him. He stiffened and carefully let go of the piece in his hands, it slid into place perfectly and he turned to look and see what was going on. Harley lay on his stomach, grinning from ear to ear, (as he usually did, so much like his master it was uncanny.) and he was chewing away on a piece of gingerbread house!

Jensen stared at the dog in horrified fascination, unable to speak as he watched him consume a precious slab of gingerbread intended for the roof. Eventually he gained his voice enough to tell Harley what he thought of him, but even so he lacked that killer tone, the one Dean would have managed with no trouble. It just wasn't in Jensen to get too angry with either of Jared's babies. However, he had to try and keep some order here.

"Bad Harley, naughty boy, you know you shouldn't be in here when we're cooking, don't you?" He said, knowing that the animal was taking no notice of him at all. When had he ever? Instead he continued munching, completely unconcerned and still smiling his doggy smile. Finally he licked his lips and looked up at Jensen as if to ask for more.

That was too much, even for Jensen's tender heart, and Harley found himself banished to the back yard while Jensen sighed and opened the second box, thanking his stars that he'd had the foresight to buy two of them.

He finished putting the basic shape of the cabin together, and pondered the extra pieces. He was determined to make this something Jared would love, so he began to improvise, carefully sculpting his creation until he'd finally got a credible copy of Kinkade's Christmas Cottage. Once he'd gotten the basic shape, he began to embellish, adding candies and gingerbread men until it was so encrusted with goodies there was nowhere else to put one.

Jared still wasn't back, and it had been a good three hours since they'd gone their separate ways. Jensen looked at the tree, smiling as he imagined it once it was decorated. He was just about to start making popcorn, when the phone rang.

It was Jared, of course, reporting that he'd bought a whole heap of decorations, and wanting to know if he should pick up lunch for them. It only took Jensen a moment or two to calculate how long Jared would take, and he quickly asked his lover to bring back a pizza. Then he turned back to heat up the oven and took the cookie dough he'd bought out of the fridge, beginning to get out the things he'd need to bake them.

He carefully carried his Christmas cottage away to the bedroom he'd used when he first moved in and laid it down on the dresser in the corner. Closing the door to keep out Harley, the marauding opportunist, who he knew would be looking for more stolen treats once he was allowed into the house again, he returned to the kitchen to bake cookies for his sweetie.

By the time Jared came home, flushed with triumph and laden with bags and boxes galore, the entire house smelled delicious, and Harley was lying by the tree, sleeping soundly, full of stolen gingerbread.

"Oh My God Jen," Jared said as he burst through the front door, arms barely containing the packages he carried. "There were so many awesome things in the stores it was hard to choose what to bring home."

Jensen laughed at the bright-eyed, flushed expression of his lover and the enormous pile of bags and boxes he was toting. "Doesn't seem to have fazed you that much, Jay. Looks to me as though you bought out the entire stock. Is there anywhere in Vancouver that still has decorations for sale?"

"Did you know there's a shop on Robson and Bute called The Spirit of Christmas that's open all year round and sells nothing but Christmas trees, gifts and ornaments? There's a board at the back of the shop that counts down the days to Christmas," Jared continued, either ignoring or not hearing his lover. "And dude, there's another one called Christmas Presence on Johnston Street on Granville Island? It had the loveliest tree ornaments and wreaths and candy canes and this...."

He started to rummage through his bags as he was speaking and Jensen had to stifle a laugh. His lover reminded him of an excited four year old on Christmas morning, then he just gasped in awe as Jared pulled out what he was looking for from one of the capacious bags. It was a beautifully carved wooden nativity set, complete with star, Angelic Host, shepherds, wise-men, and the Holy Family. It took his breath away. He was so glad he had resisted the temptation to buy the one he'd seen at Costco. Not that there had been anything wrong with that one, it was just nowhere near as stunning as this one.

"This," Jared continued, "was from the Wood Co-Op on Granville." He gazed reverently at it and stroked the flank of one of the oxen as he spoke.

Jensen knew the place Jared meant. It had the most gorgeous turned wood bowls, carved ornaments, boxes, tables, in fact everything you could make out of wood and then some. He had often spent days mooching around Granville Island when he had first come to Vancouver for Dark Angel, and the Wood Co-Op was one of his favourite places to wander around, admiring the artist's work. The things were not cheap but they were beautiful and had obviously been produced with loving care. This, though, took his breath away.

"Jay," he breathed, "it's beautiful." He stepped forward to see more clearly, and couldn't help the tears that filled his eyes. Dammit, but he was getting as sentimental as Jared in his old age. He moved closer to his lover and snuggled into the side of his neck, suddenly overwhelmed by the love he felt for him.

"Let's dress the tree," he murmured, lips tickling Jared's neck. "And then I've got something special to show you."

"Oh, yeah?" Leered Jared. "Something I haven't seen before?"

"I guarantee that you haven't seen it before," smirked Jensen, pressing a kiss to Jared's rough jawline and pulling back reluctantly to start pulling Jared's purchases out of their carrier bags. "And no, it doesn't involve nudity of any kind."

"Curses!" Jared, as usual, was easily distracted, and now he raised his head to sniff the air. The cookies were almost ready, and the delicious scent of baking had begun to seep into the room. "Jen? Is there something you want to tell me? Did you bake something?"

"It's just cookies." Murmured Jensen, flushing a little under Jared's adoring gaze. "Thought it would be nice." He pulled out a strand of colored LED lights and turned to the tree. "We need to put lights and garlands on first, I guess, and then we can get to the dangly stuff."

"Cookies?" Jared hadn't heard a word Jensen said, and he was gazing at Jensen with an expression that strongly evoked Harley's earlier when he'd been begging for gingerbread.

"After we dress the tree. They aren't quite ready yet. The oven didn't ping." Jensen was half laughing as he rummaged through for the rest of the lights and began to wind them around the tree. "Look, there's plenty of cookies, and they aren't going to go bad if we don't eat them right away." He raised his eyebrows and tried to look severe, but he had a feeling that he was failing miserably. Jared, however, nodded in agreement.

"Okay, decorations first, cookies and eggnog after. Just as long as you don't let those cookies burn."

Jensen looked offended. "Dude, I can cook, you know, and I am not going to let them burn. That's one of the reasons I set the timer, so that I wouldn't have to remember when I turned the oven on. Just because you hardly ever use the oven doesn't mean that I'm clueless in the kitchen."

Jared grinned, his dimples deepening. "Relax Jen. I know that you're a good cook; I'm just kidding you. Now shall we start getting these lights on?"

Jensen nodded. "Okay." He said, then he looked at the huge number of lights that his lover had brought home. "Heck man, how many of these things did you buy? Are you figuring on decorating the whole house or what?"

"Well not the outside this year anyway, but I did want to put lights all around the room, then we can sit in the glow just from them in the evenings." Jared said, gazing at Jensen as if looking for his approval.

It struck Jensen then that Jared would often do that, seek out his approval as if he were somehow the one who knew everything. It touched his heart to know that Jared, normally so in control and in charge of every situation, including in the bedroom, still sought his approval in so many things. He smiled adoringly at his lover. "I think that sounds beautiful," he said leaning forward to kiss him. "And so are you."

Snorting and snuffling broke into their consciousness just as they were deepening the kiss. Harley had woken up and was sniffing around on the floor as if looking for something he'd lost. Distracted, Jared leaned down to pat his boy. "Hey there, Harley. What've you lost, boy?" he asked.
Jensen blushed a little, and Jared, the eagle-eyed, noticed it at once. "Jen? Something wrong?" he said.

"I might have fed Harley some sweet stuff earlier." Jensen muttered. "I think he's looking for some more."

Jared looked at Jensen fondly. "What happened to being strict with the dogs?" he asked "You said I spoiled them, and you weren't going to be so indulgent. Dude, you totally caved." Jared laughed delightedly. "My lover the big old softie," he giggled. "Brought to his knees by puppy dog eyes!"

Jensen looked directly at Jared, a fond smile on his face now, replacing the somewhat embarrassed look from before. "You'd better believe it," he said, his voice soft and warm. "After all, it's one of the reasons I fell for you."

Jared's eyes shone, full of emotion, as he let go of the lights in his hands and reached to pull his lover into an embrace. "And I thank God for it every day," he said. "I'm the luckiest guy in the whole world, and I wish everyone could know it."

"Yeah, you are," laughed Jensen, sweeping Jared's legs from under him so that he landed on the couch with Jensen pressing him down. There was a pause; Jensen gazed down, eyes of brilliant green crinkled in amused affection. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," he said, smirking. "How far down you wanna go?"

"I have a choice?" Jared was laughing, deep belly shaking chuckles that showed off dimples Jensen could drown in. "What if I tell you I want to go all the way?" He slipped his hands up to cup the back of Jensen's head and pull it down. "I can't think of anywhere I don't want to go with you," he growled, his voice low and sultry, two seconds before his mouth pressed up against Jensen's.

"I could probably think of a couple of places," grinned Jensen, nibbling along Jared's chin and around his mouth. "But I'm not going to bother; this is much more fun." He licked along Jared's lips, then pressed closer, deepening the caress. Busy hands slid under Jared's sweater, pressing it up under his arms and exposing firmly muscled flesh to his touch. Jared squirmed as Jensen's feather-light fingers fluttered over his ribs.

"Jesus, man! Quit that right now. It tickles." Straining hard, Jared's superior strength rocked them over until they fell off the couch, landing on the floor with Jared now on top. Jensen snickered again, nipped along Jared's lower lip and claimed his mouth again, tongue sliding wet behind his lover's lips to trace the sensitive tissues there. As Jared melted against him, giving himself over to the kiss, Jensen succeeded in sliding both hands under Jared's jeans and began to squeeze his ass, pulling it tight against him.

"You feeling frisky?" There was an amused glint in Jared's eye as he rolled to one side, the better to allow Jensen access.

"What gave it away?" Jensen pressed Jared back onto the rug and pushed himself up so he could unfasten the worn and faded Levis his companion was wearing. There was definite interest from Jared's dick as he peeled away the underwear to allow it to spring free, and he grinned wickedly and reached for a strand of tinsel. "Here ya go, dude," he chuckled as his nimble fingers tied the shiny gold into a bow around Jared's erection. "Your junk just won a prize for littlest and prettiest!"

There was a certain amount of spluttering going on as Jared digested that remark. "Ye know not of what ye speak," gowled Jared, reaching for the tinsel and pulling it off. "The Padacock takes great exception to that remark, and will now proceed to take it out of your hide."

Jensen smirked. "Ya know it's a more than a little odd the way you refer to your cock in the third person, right?" he said, quirking one eyebrow at his lover, only to find himself flipped over onto his back again as Jared put all those fabulous abdominal muscles to good use.

"Well, when you've got it you should flaunt it, shouldn't you?" Jared said, making short work of slipping Jensen's underwear and jeans down below his knees, effectively pinning his legs together. He ran his hands up under the shirt and sweater his lover wore. He watched with interest as Jensen's stomach muscles fluttered, and his already half hard cock sprang to life with interest, bobbing and leaking a little from the tip. He brushed his hands across his lover's nipples and was rewarded with a gasp of pleasure as Jensen closed his eyes and parted his lips. His lips were swollen and moist from their kissing, and his lashes fanned dark and lush across the top of his freckled cheeks.

Those freckles mesmerized Jared; they always had. He loved the way they highlighted the pale and perfect skin of Jensen's face and completed the enticing picture. It was as if every single one pinpointed the spot where his lover needed to be kissed, licked and generally worshiped. He could surely do that. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to one such sunny caress and ground his hips into Jensen's groin, making them both groan with pleasure as their erections aligned.

Their mouths were glued to each other, hands sliding over smooth, needy flesh, bodies beginning to feel the tingles that heralded climax, when the oven timer sounded.

Jared swore, letting loose a string of invectives that made Jensen blink. Then he let go of Jensen's cock, rolling away to leave his lover lying spreadeagled on the floor wondering what had happened.

"Jeez, dude, you kiss your mama with that mouth?" Jensen asked, smirking.

"Cookies! You need to go rescue the cookies." It was evident that Jared had his priorities.

"Relax. They're only cookies. I can make some more if they burn." Jensen reached for Jared's hand to replace it, because he too had priorities. Jared reared back in astonishment.

"Dude, that's just wrong," he said, his normally sleepy eyes open wide. "I want cookies. You gonna deny me?" He blinked pathetically. "At Christmas?"

Jensen opened his mouth to speak, then wordlessly rose to his feet, rearranged his clothing and shambled off into the kitchen to retrieve the ill fated cookies, shaking his head the whole way and muttering imprecations against his lover, knowing full well that he would not carry out one single threat when he returned - because, God help him, he loved the big lug.

He loved him so much that, even leaving their lovemaking there, leaving him hanging for God's sake, was not something he could get angry over. That pouty bottom lip of Jared's was his undoing every time. He sighed. How in hell it had ever come to this he couldn't have said, but it felt as though they had been fated to be together since the first time they'd met. He'd been putty in the palm of Jared's large palms ever since.

The kitchen smelled heavenly, even he had to admit. The scent of baking cookies was definitely overwhelming. He opened the oven door and reached in with one oven gloved hand to pull the tray of freshly baked cookies towards him. He could see that they weren't burnt, in fact they looked perfect. Sighing contentedly he removed the tray from the oven and placed it on the work top, and began to carefully remove each sweet circle of baked dough from the tray and place it on the cooling rack he had waiting. He felt Jared enter the kitchen, somehow he knew Jared was there even before one hand sneaked its way over his right shoulder and headed for the still hot cookie he had just placed on the rack.

"Oh, no you don't," Jensen said, smacking the marauding hand with his spatula. "You eat those now, and you'll get a belly ache. Wait a few minutes for them to cool first."

"But I want cookies," Jared all but whined, resting his chin on Jensen's shoulder. "I don't wanna wait."

"My god you're impatient," Jensen said, "I bet when your Mama makes cookies she makes extra just so you can eat the raw dough while the rest is baking."

"Of course she does," Jared said, as though it was madness to expect anything else. "It's cruel to deprive me of my cookies, and inhuman too." He nodded to emphasise the last point.

"In - human." He reiterated as he took a step to the side so that he could look Jensen square in the eye. "There's like a whole Geneva Convention ruling on it and everything." He looked doleful and was soon joined by Harley, who had a duplicate wistful expression fixed on his face.

Jensen sighed. "Oh for the love of... go on then, but don't come crying to me if you get indigestion later and don't feed that dog any more cookies."

Jared grinned as he snagged a still warm cookie from the rack and shoved it whole into his mouth.

"Mmmmmhmmm 's good," he said, around his mouthful of cookie. "What do you mean any MORE cookies?" he asked suddenly, hearing what Jensen had said. "Did you make Harley cookies, before you made some for me?"

"I made something earlier, but Harley filched a bunch when I turned my back for a minute. Dude, I was really mad, and he grinned at me. Can you believe that?" Jensen was thinking fast, hoping to distract Jared before he realized that there was another treat out there somewhere. "Sadie's a good girl. She didn't come begging for cookies or filch stuff like her dumbass brother! Come to think of it, I haven't seen Sadie for an hour or so. Where is she?"

"Good question." Jared looked around. Harley was stretched out, apparently guarding the Christmas tree, but Sadie was nowhere to be seen. He reached for another cookie, fingers hovering as he decided which was the biggest. Finally he chose, then swooped to grab a second before turning to go through and look for his girl.

She wasn't down in the gym, and Jensen's door was closed. He thought about checking in the room, but decided that she wouldn't have gone in and turned away. The door to the rumpus room was closed too, and finally Jared trotted upstairs, looking into all the doors. She wasn't in the laundry room or the spare room. When he finally arrived in the bedroom that he and Jensen had been sharing for the past couple of months, he spied her at last. She was stretched out on their bed, looking incredibly comfortable, and between her front paws she had Jensen's new cashmere sweater. He frowned at her, and she grinned a big, doggy grin at him.

"Oh, Sadie, girl, Jensen's gonna want your hide for a jacket, you know that, don't you?" Jared crawled onto the bed and pushed her off the sweater. She started to roll, and then, thinking that Jared was playing a game, she grabbed the sweater in her jaws and lolloped off the bed, heading for the door. Peeking over her shoulder at him as if to invite the chase, she went charging off down the stairs towards the kitchen, trailing the sweater like a very expensive, cashmere flag.

Jared, of course, was hot on her trail, and just as Jensen spied the sweater and made a dive for it, he loped into the kitchen after her, colliding with his beloved, who went down like a pole-axed ox. Jared, arms windmilling in a vain attempt to stay upright, finally lost the battle and fell on top of him, knocking the air from Jensen's lungs and causing Sadie to stop trying to evade him and come to poke a cold wet nose inquisitively into his ear.

There was a stunned silence, and then Jensen croaked, "Jeez, Jay, if you wanted to kill me you didn't have to go to these lengths; you coulda just shot me!"

Some days, all you can say is, "Sorry." Jared mumbled the word sheepishly as he climbed to his feet, only to catch sight of Harley, who was attempting to be surreptitious about the fact that he was stalking the cookies where they lay cooling on the counter.

"Harley! No!" he shouted, lunging towards the dog as he almost connected with the objects of his affection. He caught the dog by his collar just in time and prevented him from collecting any further illicit munchables. "Bad dog, sit!" he said, looking stern and wagging a finger at him. He turned to look at Sadie who appeared fairly repentant, though still holding Jensen's sweater in her mouth. "My goodness, what a pair you are. I don't know where you get your ideas from, really."

A slight wheezing 'Hrrmmph' was heard from Jensen who was still on the ground trying to get his wind back. Jared glanced at him, concern on his face, but he still needed to exert his authority over his babies, so, having seen that Jensen was still in fact breathing and not turning blue in the face, he turned his attention back to the dogs.

"Harley, Sadie, heel," he said as masterfully as he could, and was gratified to see that, even though they could be completely clueless at times, both of his dogs retained some memory of their obedience training. Sadie dropped the sweater she had been lovingly carrying and made her way to Jared's side first, keeping close and looking up at him all attention as she had been taught. Harley seemed to shake himself a little first, as if to say he would do it, but he wasn't keen, before following his sister to Jared's side.

"That's better, good dogs." Jared said. "Now let's get you out of harm's way for a little while, you need to let off some steam. It's my fault for keeping you cooped up so long. Let's let you out into the yard for a while shall we? I promise you a long run later. Just try and behave now will you, please?" He led them to the back door and opened it, letting them out into the cooling evening air. When they had gone eagerly through the door he closed it and turned an apologetic face to Jensen who was still prone on the kitchen floor, staring up at him.

"Jensen I'm so sorry," he began, moving back towards him. "I don't know why Sadie took it into her head to steal your sweater. She was sleeping on it. She seemed to think it was a game to make me chase after her with it. I was trying to get it off her when I knocked you down." He reached his lover's side and knelt down next to him his face shadowed with concern. "Are you all right?" he said, reaching out to check that he hadn't somehow managed to break a rib or something worse when he'd been all but flattened.

Jensen gazed at Jared, taking in the concern and love he saw on his face and smiled at him. "I'm fine Jay, a bit bruised maybe, but no harm done." He cupped his hand around Jared's cheek caressing it gently. "Just give me a hand up and then maybe we should get the tree decorated while we have the kids outside?" Grinning a little, he indicated the waiting tree.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Jared persisted, not wanting to risk hurting his lover any more than he had already. "I hit you pretty hard."

"Nothing a kiss and some TLC won't solve. Later though," Jensen said hastily as Jared had started to lean in to provide said kiss, "Because if we don't start now then this tree is still going to be bare on New Year's Day." Jared laughed and kissed Jensen's nose in any case as he extended a hand to help him to his feet.

"I guess you have a point; so far it's taken us over an hour, and we still haven't strung a single light or hung a bauble," he said.

"Well you distracted me," Jensen said, grinning at him. "But it might be best if you put the lights on while I get the popcorn done and put the pizza in the oven for later. Then we have to find a space for that nativity of yours, and when the tree is done we have to take those crazy dogs for a run."

"We?" Jared said. "You don't usually want to join in our running."

"Well maybe it's time I did," Jensen said. "After all families who play together stay together. Isn't that what they say?"

Jared just grinned. "I knew you loved them as much as I do; all your hard hearted grumbling is just an act."

Jensen smiled. "Who couldn't love them? They're so much like you it would be impossible not to." He kissed Jared on the cheek and made shooing motions. "Go on now, get decorating, or we'll never be done, and I want an evening with eggnog and cuddling after all of this. I think you owe me that much."

Jared laughed. " I guess I do, and it sounds perfect so I guess I had better get going." He picked up the strand of lights he had abandoned earlier and went back to the tree, a broad grin on his face.

Turning his attention back to the stove, Jensen got a pan out and began to get the popcorn organized. Once the butter began to smoke a little in the bottom of the pan, he loaded in the popcorn and put on the lid, listening for the tell-tale sound of the corn as it began to explode.

He could see Jared in the living room, tongue between his teeth as he concentrated on stringing strand after strand of lights onto their Christmas tree. Jared was in his element, and Jensen's belly fluttered as he watched him stretch and arch to get to the top. He never got tired of watching his athletic lover. Jared was graceful in his movements, and his body was certainly worth checking out. "All mine," thought Jensen, as Jared reached up to put a star on the tree, exposing a line of tanned skin over his taut six-pack as he did so.

By the time he was done, and the angel was sitting just below the star at the top of the tree, the corn had stopped popping. Jensen dumped it out into a dish to cool and went to see what was left to distribute amongst the branches.

"When I was a kid, we used to put chocolate coins and stuff on the tree and eat them on Christmas day," said Jensen. "Wonder where I can buy some?"

"Got some of those in the bag over on my desk," said Jared, standing back to admire his handiwork. "Ready for them next."

"Popcorn is ready, too, man," said Jensen, going to retrieve the carrier bag full of candy canes and chocolate ornaments. "Jeez, I think you cleared out the entire store. Look at this lot." He pulled out a box of candy canes and began to hang them off the tree, while Jared, never one to miss an opportunity, unwrapped one and stuck it in his mouth, sucking on it as he stood watching.

"Hey, you're supposed to wait til Christmas for those," laughed Jensen, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on, Jen, it's only one. Besides, you like me sweet." Jared winked and then went to get the thread Jensen had bought earlier. "Okay, I guess that the popcorn is next," he said, pulling out a thread and squinting as he attempted to thread up a needle. "You want me to do this while you find a place to put the nativity scene?"

Jensen smiled at his lover's clumsy attempts to get the thread through the needle. "I'd love to," he said, "but do you want me to get you started on that popcorn stringing first?"

"Nah, I'm good." Jared crowed as he finally succeeded in putting the thread through the eye of the needle. "You go and find the perfect place for our nativity."

Jensen nodded and went to look again at the beautiful wooden ornament. The people were separate figures, and so were the animals. There was plenty of scope for making the nativity scene as original as you wanted by choosing where to place them. They needed a location where the figures could be spread out and displayed for all to see. He considered the surface of a cupboard in one corner of the room; there was a gap between it and some shelving above, it had plenty of space but it was hidden away, and it didn't strike him as the best position. He sighed, the best position was currently occupied by their magnificent tree. A tree which was now festooned with lights, candy canes and baubles, the odd chocolate coin and now some popcorn, not forgetting the star and the angel of course.

Jensen had no idea where he was going to put the nativity, the mantlepiece above the fireplace was too narrow, the cupboard in the corner too out of the way, the table beside what Jared had dubbed 'Jensen's Chair' was hidden from view unless you sat there. Jensen did sit there fairly often when he was reading scripts or writing to his family, but no one else ever used it, and it would not make the ideal place to display something as beautiful as this.

Then he all but hit himself on the forehead for his stupidity. The table might not be in the best position where it was now, but it was totally possible to move it to another part of the room. There was ample space for him to do so, and there was also plenty of room on the table's surface to display the stable and all the little figurines to their fullest advantage Now all he had to do was decide where to put the table and figure out how to stop the dogs from deciding that the pieces might be good to eat. He looked at Jared, a pained expression on his face. How were they going to stop the dogs, well Harley in particular, from munching on the baby Jesus?

"Water pistol works with Harley," said Jared, once Jensen had expressed his concern. "We show him the scene and tell him no, and then if he goes to it again we squirt him with the water pistol."

"Dude, you have a water pistol?" Jensen laughed at the idea of his large companion playing cops and robbers with him. "That sounds like a cool idea. Better fill it ready." He paused and then turned back to eye Jared suspiciously. "It's not a super-soaker or anything like that, is it? It's just a regular little water pistol?"

"You worry too much, that's your problem," smirked Jared, looking up from his task. "I wouldn't soak Harley; he'd never forgive me. You know what he's like when I threaten to give him a bath."

Reassured, Jensen moved off to reposition the little table, viewing it critically. It needed something over it to hide the marks where many beer bottles had been placed. They were guys. They didn't do tablecloths, and the paper kitchen roll would just look sad. After a few minutes thought, Jensen headed upstairs to grab his white linen shirt from its hanger. He didn't need to wear it until after Christmas, and he could tuck the sleeves under so it wasn't immediately apparent that it was a shirt. Problem solved, he started down the stairs again.

Back in the living room, he deposited his shirt onto the table and began to tuck the sleeves under, then put the stable on top to hold it in place. It looked fine, and he spent the next ten minutes arranging all the figures so that they were perfectly displayed. Finally he turned to check on Jared's progress and caught him with yet another cookie. They really did need to go for a run later, because all that sugar would make his boyfriend super restless.

"How's it going?" he asked, going back to the couch to see how things looked. "Did you hang up Thing 1 and Thing 2 yet?"

"I was saving them 'til last. They're over by the fireplace in their boxes." Jared pointed them out and then rose to hang the last strand of popcorn halfway up the tree. "Plug the lights in and switch 'em on, dude. I can't wait to see how it looks."

Nodding eagerly, Jensen bent to do as he'd been asked, and the tree suddenly blazed with light. "Hey, look at that," he murmured. "It must be Christmas."

"That means I can put your presents under the tree and taunt you, because you won't know what they are 'til Christmas," smirked Jared. "You'll never guess what I got you."

"I haven't done any shopping at all yet, man," Jensen confessed. "Gonna have to go do that sometime this week. I hope that they aren't gonna keep us all day and all night long. It makes it really hard to do anything. I have got you one thing though, and I'm not gonna put it under the tree. You'll just have to wait for it."

"Oooh..." Jared's eyes sparkled at the thought of a present. "What is it? Come on, you can tell me." He turned his best pleading puppy look on Jensen and sat back to let it work its magic. For once though, Jensen proved strong.

"Not a chance, sasquatch. It's a secret, and so it shall remain." He picked up a stray piece of popcorn and threw it at Jared, cheering as it went down inside his collar. "Okay, I'm gonna go heat up the pizza. You up for that?"

Jared sighed, it seemed that sometimes even his best was not good enough to crack Jensen's shell, but at least in this case he knew that it would yield good things in the fullness of time. He knew he had a reputation for being impatient and even impetuous. However, he could bide his time when he chose. He'd had to learn patience. After all, how long had he been in ' hot pursuit' of one J R Ackles, before he'd finally gained his heart's desire? His patience had paid off then, and he felt sure that it would do so now as well.

"Pizza is good, dude, then I have to take the dogs for a run, and you are coming too don't forget," he said.

"I haven't forgotten." Jensen murmured. "And then you owe me snuggling and eggnog not to mention very good make-up sex."

"Make up sex?" Jared queried. "We didn't break up, how can we have make up sex?"

"This is the kind of make-up sex where you make it up to me for a) leaving me high and dry so you could b)have cookies before they were really ready, c)rescue my favourite sweater from Sadie, d) knock me flatter than a pancake, and then e)land on me causing my life to flash before my eyes. I think that needs the very best kind of make-up sex, don't you?" Jensen said, both eyebrows rising up his forehead as he ticked off each item on his fingers.

"Guess it does at that," Jared acquiesced. "I really did give you a hard time of it earlier didn't I?" He grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Dude, really! Double entendres? Just for that I think you should throw in a nice back massage too. Now let me get that pizza done, and you clean up the mess in here, so we can get to the running part." Jensen was snorting with laughter as he went to put the pizza in the oven and make a salad.

Jared couldn't stop the contented grin that flooded his face as he turned to clear up the detritus of packaging left over from decorating the tree.

"And no more candy canes or you'll spoil the pizza," came Jensen's voice from the kitchen.

Jared laughed. "Yes, mom. Guess you know me too well," he replied.

"Never, I could never know you too well, I'll never get tired of trying to know you well enough though."

He jumped as Jensen was right behind him again. Jensen's voice was rough with emotion as he spoke. Jared turned and looked at his lover.

"I'll never get tired of doing the same with you either," he said pulling Jensen in close, hard body straining tight against him. It was rare that Jensen let his raw emotions show, even in private. Though of late he had been mellowing. It touched Jared very deeply that Jensen was letting him in - closer than he'd let anyone before from all accounts. He pressed a kiss to Jensen's lips and then pushed him lightly away swatting his ass as he did so.

"Now bring me pizza," he growled, lightening the mood again in case Jensen suddenly freaked that they were becoming too much like a hallmark greetings card. Though really, lately he thought that they might just be getting there.

Jensen grinned knowingly at him and went back to the kitchen, mumbling something about making him pay for treating him like a chick, but Jared was frankly too happy, hungry and; let's face it, horny, to really care. The lights from the Christmas Tree shone cheerily, elevating his mood still further as he put the boxes which had held baubles carefully away for later and collected the trash. He was so looking forward to this Christmas with Jensen.

Christmas Eve was full of chores. Jensen had prepared vegetables, and Jared had found a way of barbecuing a turkey he was determined to try. Their families had flown in, and both sets of parents were booked into a hotel downtown, while Megan and Mackenzie were staying with them - "slumming it," as Jared put it. Mack was going to be sleeping in the room that had been Jensen's, before he'd moved into Jared's, and Jensen had told her about his gingerbread house and sworn her to secrecy. She'd promised to guard it carefully.

He'd decided he was going to give his creation to Jared straight after Midnight Mass. He could hardly believe that he'd suddenly become domestic after so many years of being constantly on the move. He'd be thinking about interior design next, and that was a scary thought. He went to find his boyfriend.

"Jay?"

Jared looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor, wrestling with Harley. "What's up, dude?"

"You think we're getting too domestic?" Jensen frowned, worry lines etching his forehead.

"How do you mean?" Jared heaved Harley off his chest to lie panting and grinning beside him. "You don't feel the urge to go find drapes and shit, do you?"

"Dude, Christmas trees and stuff? I dunno. I had a moment of panic there." Jensen shrugged. "What can I say? I don't want to turn into a girl is all."

"Too late! You're totally the girl, man! Look at you with your long, curly eyelashes and your pretty, pretty lips." Jensen was about to protest, when Jared jumped him, rolling him over onto his back and kissing the verbally abused lips with intent to quell any objections. What would have happened next will never be known, because Mack came into the living room, stepped over them on her way to place a gift under the tree and snickered.

"Get a room!"

"This is a room, short stuff," growled Jared.

"And I'm in it, being scarred for life," she said, still giggling as she went back to wherever she'd come from.

"What time is it?" Jensen took the opportunity to sit up, his face the mix of wanton sexuality and exasperation that only Jared could instigate.

"Nine thirty, why?" Jared was frowning, wondering why Jensen wasn't beating him up for the earlier insults.

"Nine thirty?" Jensen said. "I need to get my gifts down to place around the tree. And there's still a lot of stuff to do before we have our parents over tomorrow, and we have to get ready to meet them for Midnight Mass and..."

"Man, relax, you're too wound up here. We agreed that we would be laid back and not get freaked about playing host to everyone. Go and get your gifts and then we'll get showered and ready, I'm sure if we're early Gary will give us something to do at the Church. Anything to stop you going all OCD on me." Jared said, fondly exasperated with his lover's behavior. "Go on, go and get your stuff while I get organized here."

"What have you got to get organized?" Jensen asked, intrigued.

"Just a little something," Jared said, waggling his eyebrows. "Don't worry, it won't be a bad thing. Go get dressed up, and I'll check that everything is as ready as it can be, so we can relax."

Jensen stood and went to climb the stairs to their room to collect his gifts, while Jared went to let the dogs out and collect a few last minute odds and ends he had stored in the garage that also doubled as his gym. The dogs were snuggled together in the warm 'nest' Jared had made for them. He'd found the most enormous dog bed in the entire world - or so it seemed to him, and it was just right for his babies. An old blanket and some of their favorite toys had been placed there, and it had become their 'retreat'. It meant that if they had a house full of people the dogs always had somewhere they could be without feeling threatened by crowds and without being in the way.

Food and water were placed in their own special corner of the multi-purpose room and they both seemed content to use it. Today they had been out for a run with Jared and Jensen in the morning, then after breakfast the girls had taken them for a walk around the neighborhood and they had gone for another short run with Jared alone while Jensen and the girls had cooked dinner. Now the dogs were tired and clearly happy to spend their time snoozing, which had been part of the plan for a quiet Christmas Eve.

Jared smiled down at Sadie as she raised her head in acknowledgment of his presence. "S'ok girl, you go back to sleep. Just going to fetch a couple of things before we go out. Don't wake your brother," Jared said, running a hand across her head to soothe her as he passed. She snuffled into his hand and then relaxed back into the warm cocoon she shared with Harley, clearly happy to stay where she was.

Jared collected a small bag from under the weight's bench, and a box from the corner shelf and went back up into the house. He hurriedly returned to the living room and headed for the fireplace. Stopping in front of it he carefully checked that he wasn't being observed and then put one small parcel in each stocking hanging there, making sure to tuck them way down so that they would be the last gifts to be discovered. He then took the box and walked towards the doorway of the room where he had recently put a hook in the ceiling. From this he now proceeded to hang a beautiful green bunch of mistletoe completely covered in small white berries and tied up with a green ribbon. Satisfied with his work he went to put the box and bag out with the trash before heading up the stairs to join Jensen in getting ready for Midnight Mass.

They were attending the Candlelight Service at St Andrew's Church downtown, on Nelson and Burrard. It was a place that had come to mean a lot to the both of them since they had been working in the city. Jensen had come across it first during his time on Dark Angel. The first episode he'd been in, and at the time he'd thought his only appearance on the show, his character had been living at the church and making offerings to a statue of Mary.

He'd loved the building, which was beautiful, and had taken to chatting to the priest in charge while waiting for lighting and various pieces of equipment to be maneuvered around the area where they were shooting. He'd taken an immediate liking to The Reverend Gary Paterson and had found himself drawn to attending the odd service there during his periods of work in Vancouver in the years following that first encounter.

Then Supernatural had used the church to film the episode 'Houses of The Holy,' and he and Jared had started attending services together; even getting involved, behind the scenes, in the fund-raising activities of the church community. They had become friends with The Reverend Gary and his spouse, Tim. It had seemed natural to both of them to suggest that they all attend the celebration of Christ's Birth here with both their families on this their first Christmas as a couple.

Despite their last minute rush, and waiting for the girls to be ready, they arrived in good time to meet their parents outside the church and get inside to their places in the old wooden pews, before the processional was played on the organ and the service began.

Jared soaked up the warmth of the atmosphere, the love and care were almost palpable in the church that night. He shed a small tear when the children of the congregation performed the nativity but those tears pricked the back of his eyes with a vengeance when Jensen rose from his place by his side and strode towards the front of the church to claim a guitar from a stand to one side of the children, where they stood in the final tableau. Turning to face the congregation Jensen started to play, sure and certain, caressing the strings precisely; then his clear voice filled the air as he sang the old hymn by Christina Rosetti.

"Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign."

As the final notes faded the congregation rose to receive the blessing and to share the peace. Jensen rejoined him, and Jared hugged him hard.

"That was beautiful," he said, voice cracking with emotion. "I love you so much."

Jensen held his lover close and whispered, "I know, and I love you too."

Then they were being shepherded out into the cold night air to greet the dawn of another Christmas Day.

They'd seen their parents back to the hotel next door to the church, and made their way back over the bridge to the south side of False Creek before turning their faces to home. Jared was still bemused by Jensen's performance. He loved to hear his partner sing, but he knew how shy Jensen was about performing in public. He was uncharacteristically silent, to the extent that Megan leaned forward from the rear seat to ask him if he was getting sick, making Jensen snicker.

The sky was black, frosty and star encrusted, and as they rolled out of Jensen's truck Jared gave a little cry and gripped his shoulder, pointing up to where there was a sudden burst of flashes. "Shooting stars, look," he called out, and for a few moments they stood, craning their necks to watch the display.

It was Jensen who clipped the back of Jared's head and smirked up at him. "See, Santa does exist, and if that was him, we'd better be getting to bed, or he won't come calling."

The girls both rolled their eyes, but pretty soon they were saying goodnight and heading for bed.

"Shut the door." Jensen pushed Jared back against the paneled wood and closed the space between them, pressing his shoulders back with a kiss to make sure the door clicked shut. "Don't want Harley in here right now. He doesn't get this. I made it for you."

Jared was frowning, confused, but he nodded, wondering what Jensen was talking about. He moved to pull his lover in for a more thorough kiss, but Jensen skipped deftly backwards, avoiding the clinch, and went to open his closet door. "Dude, could you do something for me?" he asked over his shoulder. "Just sit on the bed for me and close your eyes."

Thoroughly mystified, Jared could only nod and do what he'd been asked, a little flutter of anticipation running through him, warming his belly and tightening things down in the pit of it.

Jensen pulled open the door of his closet. Inside, nestled the gingerbread house he'd built, pristine on its icing sugar and white chocolate base. Carefully lifting it, Jensen carried it over to where Jared was sitting, hands pressed to his eyes, and laid it down beside him. This was showtime, and he was feeling a little nervous about how Jared would react. If the worst came to the worst, Jared would just eat the thing, Jensen knew that! But he wanted Jared to realize the love he'd put into making it. Taking a deep breath, he bit his lip. Then, dropping to his knees in front of him, he took hold of Jared's hands and drew them away from his eyes.

"Okay, dude. Check it out," he whispered, voice catching.

Jared opened his eyes, gazing deeply into Jensen's clear green ones and smiling at him. Then he noticed the item that Jensen had placed on the bed beside him and turned to look at it properly. His eyes opened wide in complete amazement at what he saw. It was an almost perfect replica of The Christmas Cottage from Kinkade's painting, and it was clearly not something that one could buy ready made. Even with all his merchandising activities, Kinkade had never produced a gingerbread house for sale, which meant either that Jensen had paid someone to make this for him or he had made it himself.

Suddenly he remembered the night when they had decorated the tree and Jensen had been baking cookies, that's when he had done this, Jared was sure of it, and he was completely overwhelmed at the effort his lover had put into making something that would have meaning for him. Not to mention that would make his mouth water.

"It's beautiful," he breathed, "it's completely awesome, and you made this all by yourself?"

Jensen nodded his face a little shy and slightly pink with embarrassment.

"God Jen it's gorgeous, look at the lights made out of candy on the edge of the roof, and the little red bows, and the wreath on the door, the fencing and the porch. It must have taken you hours! And you made it all for me?"

"It was the exhibition that triggered it," Jensen explained, "and then the tree and...I just had to do something nice for you after everything you've given me."

Jared looked at Jensen's earnest face. "Everything I've given you Jen?" he said. "All I've done is share with you, and ask you to share with me. I don't think I've given more than I've received." He took Jensen's face in his hands and stroked one cheekbone as he said, "I love you Jensen Ross Ackles, and I'm so very glad that we met, I am even more glad that we are sharing our lives together, and I want you to know that this is beautiful," he gestured to the house, " And that you, are all I need for Christmas." Then he kissed Jensen on the mouth, lips gliding over soft, pillowy sweetness as he fastened his lips against Jensen's.

"Harley ate the roof," murmured Jensen, when he could speak again. "I was kind of lucky, because I bought two kits just in case I messed one up. Anyway, there were extra bits, and I managed to get it to look right." He disengaged himself from Jared and carefully took the house, putting it up on one of the two dressers under the window. "Merry Christmas, Jay," he said, his face beaming now that he knew Jared appreciated his efforts. "I'm glad you like it."

Jared reached for him, grabbing a wrist and yanking Jensen down to sprawl across his lap. "Like it? I love it. Except I don't know if I can bring myself to eat it, because you made it, and, if I eat it, it will be gone."

"Problem solved," smirked Jensen. "In the morning I'll take a bunch of photographs of it, and then you can devour it whole as long as you don't spoil your Christmas dinner. That way you'll have a record of its passing. I may snap a couple of you taking bites out of it too." He chuckled, and as he reached his arms around Jared's neck, his boyfriend gave a throaty growl and carried him backwards onto the pillows, pressing his mouth down to capture Jensen's in a long, passionate kiss.

"Now I get to unwrap another present," breathed Jared against warm, plush lips. "The best one ever."

"I didn't wrap it or anything," whispered Jensen, shivering as Jared drew a hand down his side to slide under his shirt and find his flesh.

"It's still way too wrapped up for me." Jared gave a little laugh and began to unfasten the buttons of his lover's shirt, deft fingers slowly opening the garment until he could push it off Jensen's shoulders.

"First the outer layer of wrapping comes off, and then you find the tasty bits," murmured Jared, pushing his thumbs up under the T-shirt that Jensen was wearing and tugging it up so that his lover's bare chest was exposed. "Every inch is delicious, but it's the creamy filling I like best." As he was speaking, he was kissing his way down Jensen's chest, pausing to browse on a pert brown nipple on his way.

Jensen shivered again as Jared's nose and then his lips brushed again the nipple sending spikes of sensation down his spine, directly to his cock. A small lick to that nipple and then Jared moved across to its twin, leaving the cold air to peak the sensitive tissue there. Suddenly Jensen could feel himself coming apart at the seams. His lover was moving again, further down his torso to lick at his navel, causing Jensen to blink hard as he realised that his eyes were leaking, and he felt ridiculously exposed. He was used to Jared's slow lovemaking by now, but this adoration of his body - there was no other word for it - was making him crazy. It was as though every nerve ending in his body was hot wired to his cock, but it also felt as though everyone in the whole world could see how it made him feel.

He felt as though he might just fall apart at any moment and it was both beautiful and scary. He had never, never been loved like this by anyone. He couldn't think any more, and he couldn't find his voice, but he could feel himself beginning to shake from the sheer amount of emotion inside him. It was almost too much to bear. Then Jared lifted his head and stared directly at him.

"Shhhh Jensen, let me love you," he said and kissed him on the end of his nose, before moving quickly to remove his own clothing and the rest of Jensen's. He gently pushed his lover over until he was lying on his stomach. He straddled Jensen's thighs and proceeded to lay his warm hands on the strong shoulders beneath him. He stroked and pressed gently and firmly over the muscles of his back and thighs by turns, until all remaining tension had ebbed from his lover's body. Then he moved down to press his tongue to the base of Jensen's spine.

Jensen shuddered again and gave a little groan, but Jared could tell that it was one of delight rather than of unbearable tension. He grinned and moved downwards towards his prize. Laving his tongue against the crack of Jensen's pert ass, he stabbed it inwards to that most sensitive of places and then pressed hard as he licked upwards, paused and then repeated the move.

"Fuck!!!" Jensen gasped, and his head came up sharply. "I'll come if you do that again."

Jared chuckled wickedly and leant down to deliver another round, adding his thumbs into the equation. He was not disappointed to see his lover begin to shake and grind against the bed as he fell over the edge into orgasm.

"What makes you think that I didn't want that to happen?" Jared said as he moved back up to brush his thumb across Jensen's now flushed cheek. "And don't think that's the end either, because I need to make certain that you know you're mine."

"God, you'll kill me," Jensen murmured, "But what a way to go."

"Don't die yet," said Jared, grinning like a fool as he pressed Jensen over onto his back and away from the wet spot. "I'm so not done with you."

"Greedy bastard," said Jensen, trying his best to capture the digit that was caressing his face with his lips. "I believe it's my turn to play a little," he said, his voice dropping until it sounded like Dean's seductive growl.

He finally caught the marauding thumb and sucked it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it as he plotted what he thought of as his revenge. Once he'd decided, he let the thumb escape with a wet pop and struggled to sit, pushing Jared back so that he could survey the length of him. Jared was gorgeous, and Jensen never grew tired of looking at him. Now he was smiling tenderly as he took in the long, strong limbs, the finely muscled chest, the rippled six-pack and the curved cock, rearing red and purple against toned brown skin.

Jared smiled up at him, love in his eyes that just about melted Jensen, sent fluttering pulses through him that set his cock to filling all over again, despite the fact that he'd just shot his load. He bent to nibble over Jared's mouth, lips plucking at it, then sliding moistly against it as his tongue delved inside to find its partner and twine around it. "Gonna make you feel good too," he murmured and reached down to capture and squeeze Jared's hard cock so that Jared gasped.

"Hold your horses," grinned Jensen, bending to nuzzle into the wiry curls that sprouted at the juncture of his lover's thighs. He heard Jared's little, choking gasp and smirked up at him, eyes full of mischief. "Feeling a little peckish here," he said and took hold of the cock that had twitched itself closer to his nose. It was leaking, slowly pulsing as Jensen drew his fingers down over it. Circling the base with one hand, he met Jared's lust-drugged gaze with his own steady stare and opened pornstar lips, bending over to suck in the head. Jared moaned softly as Jensen swirled his tongue around the tip of his dick, cheeks hollowed with the effort of sucking him. As Jared whispered filthy, filthy encouragement, he slowly lowered down over Jared's cock until he could feel it stopping his airway and making him drool.

The blowjob that followed was thorough and skilled. Jared reached down to bury his fingers into Jensen's short hair, hand resting as he tried his damnedest not to clutch and grab, not to force himself down Jensen's talented throat. He was almost there, could feel his balls drawing up under teasing fingertips, was panting in his attempts to get more air, breathe deeply enough, when Jensen suddenly pulled away.

"Uh, not so fast, Jay. Don't want you coming til you're deep inside me." He gave Jared a sweet smile and then scrambled up to sit over his lover's thighs. "Wanna pass me the lube?" he asked, running his hands over Jared's quivering stomach.

All kind of things were knocked unceremoniously to the floor in Jared's haste to find the requested bottle of slick, but it didn't take long for it to be placed in Jensen's hands, and then in even less time Jensen was applying it liberally to Jared's dick and his own crack. "You ready?" he asked, and pressed Jared into himself in one long downward lunge, coming to rest on Jared's thighs with his cock buried deep inside.

Jared had long since given up conscious thought. He was aware of slick, velvet heat, prickling, tickling pleasure and lambent green eyes that promised him the world. He bit his lip, trying his best not to come right there and lose it before it really started, and Jensen smiled, waiting for him, until he gave a nod and began to move, evidently satisfied with the state of Jared's libido.

"Let it go whenever you're ready," murmured Jensen, starting a slow, twisting roll of his hips that pulled any remaining blood from his brain south to join the rest. Orgasm was close, so close. He reached for Jensen's cock and began to work it, squeezing and stroking, until he could feel Jensen's movements starting to lose their fluid rhythm. "Come with me?" he asked, stroking harder, faster, matching the movements as Jensen slid up and down on him.

It was too much. He could feel the heated, tingling glow at the base of his spine, tightening his thighs, threatening a conflagration.

Jensen had thrown his head back, and he was moaning, riding him fast and hard as he approached his own moment of truth. He'd closed his eyes, sunk his teeth into his lower lip and looked for all the world like a debauched angel.

"Can't stop it," growled Jared, almost despairing as the tightly coiled pleasure inside him burst to coil around his spine and tighten it, ignited his balls and sent a burst of sheer sweet release tingling out through his cock to flood Jensen.

Moments later, Jensen gave a little cry and his tissues rippled and pulsed, tightening down on Jared's still fizzing cock. Jared swore as he felt the last of his orgasm intensify with Jensen's final movement, driving him to a point that was just this side of painful but definitely the other side of bliss. He saw stars for a moment and was barely able to breathe as his lover slid forward to lie spent against his chest.

"Fuck," he moaned, "I hope the girls didn't hear any of that, you made me get quite creative with language there, Jen."

"Mhmmm," Jensen hummed contentedly, barely able to speak in his blissful, fucked-out state.

Jared could feel him getting boneless and laughed a little. "Hey there, sleepyhead, need to get us cleaned up here before you get to the land of nod."

"Mmfffsppff," Jensen agreed, waving an arm aimlessly in his almost coma.

Jared carefully lifted his lover off his softening cock and turned him onto his side. "Okay sleeping beauty," he said, "you stay there. I'll be right back." He padded across the room to the en-suite to claim a washcloth to clean Jensen of the copious amount of come that had attached itself to his body, pausing only to take a piss and clean himself up. Jensen's eyes barely fluttered in recognition of his ministrations when he returned. He did lean in to Jared's brief kiss though, and Jared smiled contentedly as he returned the washcloth to the shower to deal with in the morning.

On his way back to bed he passed the little gingerbread Christmas Cottage. Once again overwhelmed at the effort that Jensen had put into the little gift, a whim, just to please him. He turned out the light and climbed back into bed with his warm, relaxed lover. Pulling him into his arms and kissing him once more, he said a brief prayer of thanks to whichever guardian angel had sent this man into his life. Then they were both blissfully asleep.

The End

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