Chapter Text
“Today’s challenge is called… Back Seat Driver!” The screen showed a squabbling couple in a car, going round and round in circles. “We all know that navigating to somewhere new can be a challenge, especially when you don’t have an accurate map! One half of each couple will be given directions while the other half has to drive. The team that gets to their destination the fastest – with the least amount of arguments – will win $10 000 to put towards their wedding!”
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Jensen glanced down at the set of instructions that had just been handed to him. 3 pages of text, no map to speak of. He flipped to the last line, which said nothing more than, "You have now arrived at your destination."
Thankfully, there were road names printed on the itinerary, but not always. "Couples, if you get lost, there is a number you can call for assistance. It's printed on the first page. Keep in mind that every time you call this number, you'll incur a 10 minute penalty on your final time."
"No speeding, no breaking the law, and no use of any other kind of map. That includes smart phones - if we catch you using these, your team will be automatically disqualified."
Jared glanced at Jensen. "Fair enough," he said.
Gretchen went through the more mundane details, then said, "Okay, teams, choose your driver."
And...that was making things interesting from the word go. Jared and Jensen barely knew each other - how could they possibly decide who was the better driver and who was the better navigator? Jensen didn't mind doing either, although he wasn't a particular fan of LA traffic (then again, was anyone)?
Already holding out his fist, Jared said, "Let's shake on it."
One, two, three, and Jared's paper covered Jensen's rock and he quickly picked up the keys. "Not that I don't trust you, Jen, but I'm happiest behind the wheel."
They clambered into the waiting car; the poor cameramen squished into the back-seat had even less space than usual due to the length of Jared's legs and the amount of room he required.
"Ready.... Go!"
At first it was easy. Jensen read out the instructions, one by one and Jared had no trouble following them. That was, until they got to a one way street. "Left on Dawson," Jensen said.
They got to the street in question. "Can't," Jared replied, noting it was a one-way street, and kept driving. "Did we miss something?"
"Nope, we've been right on the money all the way til now." He read the next instruction, which said, "Left on Bute, then take the fourth right."
"Do you think there's a Bute around here?"
"I'm gonna ask this guy," Jared said and pulled over to the kerb. "I know, I know, I'm breaking all of the man rules by asking for directions but, dear viewers," and he flashed a charming grin at the camera, "we are going to win this challenge by any means possible."
"Any means within the rules," Jensen quickly added, scanning the sheet of instructions again. But no, he hadn't missed anything. Jared's driving had been perfect.
The jogger told them that Bute was just up ahead. "Interesting."
"Interesting what?"
"I think they gave us some wrong directions on purpose."
As a result, when they came to a left turn that clearly said "No left turn", he just sailed straight past the sign.
"Jared!"
"What?"
"Did you see that sign?!"
"What sign?" Jared's face was the picture of angelic innocence, however, Jensen was beginning to suspect the other man was even better at acting than he'd first presumed.
Hanging his head in his hands, Jensen murmured, "I hope we don't get disqualified for that...." He looked back at the sheet in his hands and read out the next direction. Apparently they were still on track.
It got even easier from there, now that they knew the directions could be wrong. Jensen even sat back and started enjoying the ride - after all, he was in a flashy car, being chauffeured around by a very good-looking man, and hey, this was supposed to be a date, wasn't it? With the window down and the wind whipping by, he was almost tempted to turn up the radio and start singing.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination - a huge, empty parking lot halfway up a hill. "Okay, we're here. Now what?" Jared parked the car, carefully, and they got out.
Then the camera crew appeared from behind the building, Gretchen at the front.
"Congratulations, Jared and Jensen! You guys are the first team here!"
Jared grinned at Jensen. Jensen grinned back. They high-fived each other, knowing that even if they were penalised for a couple of not-quite-entirely following the road rules, the entire journey had been smooth running. And a couple of hours later, it was clear they'd won.
They saw the footage later - Kate screaming at Derek, which resulted in Derek pulling over and refusing to drive any more. It wasn't quite as bad as the team of Cordelia and Xander - she'd had actually ditched her partner halfway because she'd insisted she'd get there faster by herself.
Then there were Ana-Maria and Jack, who never actually made it to the destination at all. Apparently they'd stopped for a quick drink ("To calm me nerves," Jack had said just before downing a double shot of rum), and pretty soon neither of them were in any kind of state to drive.
As for their actual competition, Chuck and Blair had arrived shortly after Jared and Jensen. It was obvious there was trouble in paradise because the two refused to speak to each other after they'd been told they were second. But apparently they'd been able to deal with whatever had gone wrong during the actual drive, their desire to win overcoming their personality conflict. Natasha and Clint had come in third by a hair.
"This was a pretty easy task," Jared said to the cameras in the pick-up shots they filmed later. "I think it's because Jensen's such a trusting guy, you know? He did his thing, I did mine, and it worked!" The footage was interspersed with a clip of the two of them giving each other an exuberant bro-hug.
Watching it a couple of weeks later, Jensen winced. That wasn't the way to sell a romance. He glanced across the room at Jared, who was watching the TV intently, a beer in hand. "Woah, do you think they put enough bronzer on me?" he joked. "I look orange!"
"You look just fine, Jay," replied Payson.
She was in one of the more contentious match-ups of the show, being barely 18 years old and matched with a man 12 years her senior. Apparently the studio was already getting angry letters about child abuse.
Having lived in a house with these people for several weeks now, Jensen knew they had nothing to worry about. Her match, Sasha, barely touched her, he was so concerned about being a gentleman and not taking advantage. But there was a spark between them, a connection.
It was fun, Jensen reflected, watching the episodes as they aired live. (Of course the cameras were on them, filming any good reaction shots.) Watching the first challenge, he seemed so naive. He hadn't known how the show worked and, more than that, he hadn't really known any of these people. Weeks on, there were several he could call friends.
And of course, there was Jared. Jared, who'd been like an instant best friend from moment one.
He glanced around the living room, reflecting that it already felt a little emptier. They'd lost two couples so far in the weekly eliminations. And it wasn't necessarily due to failed romance - some of the matches remaining in the house would obviously never last the distance, but the teamwork they'd displayed kept them in the game.
There were some pretty cool people here.
And there were others that, well, Jensen wasn't even going to allow himself to think those undiplomatic thoughts unless they accidentally came out on camera.
"You seem deep in thought," said Dell softly, coming up to sit beside him.
He gestured to the room. "Just wondering if any of us would have been friends in real life, if it wasn't for this show."
She gave him a pensive look. "Do you believe in soulmates, Jensen?"
He didn't know how to answer that and told her as much.
"I think there is something that brought each of us here, at this point in time, to be with these people. How else can you explain such vivid differences in all of us?"
Reality show? he thought sarcastically, but couldn't bring himself to say that to Dell. She was so earnest, so... innately good. She seemed like an actual believer.
"I'm sorry," she laughed, "I can see in your eyes you're not convinced."
"Do you believe in soulmates?" he countered. She seemed happy enough with her match, a guy called John, whom everybody liked.
"I think that there are people who come into your life for a reason," she answered. "Even in a highly constructed situation like this." An impish glint came into her eye. "Tell me, was what we saw tonight, when you met Jared on stage, truly the first time you met him?"
He didn't want to answer that.
Dell nodded. "People we are meant to be with - they have a way of coming into our lives in the way we least expect. I don't necessarily mean romance," and again, she looked around at their competitors. Some were chatting in small groups, others had gone in search of other entertainment already. "But I do think a lot of us were meant to be friends."
Jensen couldn't help but grimace. "I guess that's what Jared and I look like right now," he conceded. "Friends."
"Is that what you want?"
He looked at her. How could he possibly explain what he wanted when he wasn't entirely sure himself what that was? He wanted to win. That was the only answer he had right now. "I like Jared, I really do. I just don't know how to, well, how do you make romance happen?" he asked.
"You can't," she replied. "It either is, or it isn't. But you have to be willing to try." She glanced up, and John was bringing her a cup of tea. The smile on her face was beautiful. "Just be open, Jensen. See what the universe will bring you."
As if on cue, Jared finally peeled himself away from Kara. "Hey Jensen," Jared said, a serious look on his face. "Can we talk?"
His stomach flipped. Yeah, they needed to talk. About their romance, or lack thereof. There was attraction, to be sure, and there was friendship, but neither of them were actually acting on it. More than half of the couples had kissed already and he and Jared had barely held hands.
Nodding, Jensen said, "Sure," and picked up his beer and followed Jared out of the room. Away from the house would've been ideal but that was against the rules. Any conversation they had wouldn't be the least bit private; and it was so hard to have an honest conversation when you knew the world was watching.
They settled for the porch, which was at least away from the other contestants. The show had oh-so-kindly provided an old-fashioned swing-seat and Jared looked almost comical as he sat down and pushed it back with his long legs. He laughed, swinging back and forward a few times while Jensen waited for him to be done.
"So..." Jensen began.
"So...Jen, sit down." He patted the seat next to him and Jensen gingerly took his spot, trying not to spill his drink. "You can sit closer than that, I swear I'm not going to bite!" He leered closer. "Not unless you want me to, that is."
Jensen couldn't help it, he leaned away. It was fake, another fake come-on, and, well, he was tired of it. Jared was an amazing guy, an awesome bro, and they had so much potential. But right now, Jensen felt like they just weren't connecting at all.
Apparently his thoughts were obvious on his face, because Jared sighed, and pulled back. "I'm sorry, Jensen. I just...I just don't know where we stand right now."
It was true. They were breezing through challenges and hadn't been anywhere near the Bottom 3 so far. But that would only take them so far. The previous day, they'd been on a "romantic dinner date" challenge, and while the conversation had been great, and downright hilarious at times, the minute Jared made a romantic overture, Jensen froze.
"I'm sorry," Jensen managed. "I don't know what's wrong - it's not you, trust me," he hastened to reassure the other man. "You're everything anyone could ever want."
That was one of the problems, Jared had chemistry with everyone. He'd especially seen it with Kara. Jared had promised him there was nothing there, but it didn't stop their easy banter, or Lee staring at the ceiling in the boys' dorm, angsting that his match was in love with someone else.
Jared frowned. "I don't care about what anyone else wants. I care about what you want." He hesitated. "Jensen, is it... is it because I'm a guy?"
"No!"
Jared looked skeptical.
"Okay, maybe I never entirely thought through coming out as bisexual on national television, and I keep remembering that my mom and sister are watching this and I don't even want to think about my dad watching, because there are just some things parents shouldn't know, you know?"
Jared relaxed minutely. "Okay, I kinda get that, but I'm a camera-whore," and with that, he gave his cheesiest grin in the direction of the closest camera, "and I figure it goes with the territory." He sighed. "You gotta stop thinking about them, Jensen. Be present in the moment."
"How can I do that when I know everyone is watching?" He wasn't like Jared or the rest of the house. He just couldn't turn it off, the awareness.
"You focus on me. You talk to me." He paused, drumming his fingers on his thigh. "Okay, what about this. We tell each other about our lives. All those stupid childhood stories that no one ever wants to hear - but I want to hear them. I want to know you, Jensen." He winked, and whispered, "And I want to kiss you too."
For a moment it seemed like he would. But then he shook his head, and said, "But not unless you want it."
"I - I do want it," Jensen confessed. "Not like this, though. I'm kinda worried that the next stunt is gonna be which couple can make out the longest, or something like that."
"Shh, you'll give them ideas!"
They smiled, before Jensen grew serious again. "I'm sorry, Jared. I thought it would be easy to get romantic on this show. You know, do all the right things. Flowers and wining and dining and all of that." He paused. "Then I met you and realised that I didn't want to do that. If there's something here, I want it to be something real." As he said the words, Jensen realised it was true. Somehow, during the past few crazy weeks, he had actually begun to believe. Maybe it was because he'd been watching the others and the way some of the couples acted around each other - like John and Dell, or, as much as it pained him to say it, Chuck and Blair - it actually seemed like real love.
Or maybe, in the middle of a world of lies, he was looking for something true and real to cling to.
Jared, ever so gently, took his hand. "I know we have potential."
"We do."
"So do you think you can open up to me, Jen? Let me see the guy you really are?"
He wanted to trust Jared. He looked into his eyes and saw only warmth. "I can try," he managed.
Somewhere between the story of when Jared was rejected from the little league team for being so good that he intimidated all of the other kids (or so he claimed) and the memories Jensen shared of afternoons at his grandmother's house, Jared ever so gently placed his arm around Jensen and brought him close. And for once, Jensen didn't flinch away.
Finally, something felt real.
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"Let's go to the audience for their reactions!"
"I think Natasha and Clint are gonna win. They obviously have chemistry and they are, like, in the top three for every challenge."
"John and Dell are soooooo romantic. I ship them so hard!"
"Did you see the moment where he took her hand for the first time?"
"He is such a gentleman! I would die!"
"I'm in love with Stiles. And Derek. Actually, Derek AND Stiles. Don't make me choose between them!"
"I can't believe Harry and Hermoine got voted off so early... they were so cute together."
"Jared and Jensen are so hot. I would marry them both in a three-way if I could."
"Blair needs to dump Chuck's cheating ass already."
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