Archive of Our Own

Jensen sits up on the bed, propped against the headboard as he waits for Jared to be done with his nightly routine. He feels nervous as fuck and takes a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Eventually the door to the ensuite bathroom opens and Jared wheels out, moving towards the bed. Jensen watches him with a smile on his face. Jared just took a shower - his boyfriend always prefers to shower before going to bed - and his hair is still damp, which is a look Jensen loves on him. Plus, he smells very good.

Jared positions his chair diagonally next to the bed and swiftly transfers himself to it, then brings his legs up using his hands. Jensen just watches him as Jared arranges his legs, momentarily forgetting why he’s nervous. His boyfriend is so graceful in his moves, and Jensen can never get tired of watching him. Once Jared is all settled in the bed, he looks at Jensen and frowns at him, seeing the amused smile on his face.

“What is it?”

Jensen blinks a few times. “What do you mean?”

“You look weird.”

Jensen scoots closer to Jared and wraps his arms around him, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Can’t I just admire how beautiful you look? And you smell great too.”

Jared melts in Jensen’s arms and they share a lazy kiss, Jared caressing the back of Jensen’s head.

“You can,” He murmurs between kisses then pulls back to look at Jensen with a raised eyebrow. “But you look like you’re up to something. Is there something going on?”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “Can I ever hide anything from you?”

Jared chuckles and shakes his head. “Not really, love. I know every inch of you, you know that.”

Jensen smiles proudly. “That you do.” Jared and Jensen have been together for about five years, they moved in together a couple of years ago when they bought their own place, and they were able to develop a deeper level of intimacy during this period. The more Jensen discovers about Jared, the more he loves him. Sometimes Jensen can’t believe how he got so lucky.

So Jensen pulls away slightly to reach into the drawer of his nightstand, plucking an envelope.

“I have a present for you, Hot Wheels.”

Jared raises his eyebrows, looking from Jensen to the envelope then back at Jensen with a curious expression on his face. “Oh, really? Is it a special occasion?”

“Not today. But it will be in a few days.” Jensen gives Jared a pointed look, and from the dawning on his boyfriend’s face, Jared gets what he means. Today is September 8th, only three days away from September 11th. In three days it will be six years since the World Trade Center attacks, six years since their lives changed forever, six years since Jensen had to hastily escape from the North Tower, six years since Jared became paraplegic. It’s always a hard day for both of them, but maybe they will be able to change that this year since Jensen intends to make it a special date - a positive memory for what’s usually a hard day. “Steve was able to score these for us again.”

He hands the envelope to Jared, who takes it as his frown deepens, and carefully opens it, fishing out what’s inside. Jensen watches as Jared reads the pieces of paper, and how his frown lifts and his expression turns from curious to confused to surprised to shocked. He looks up at Jensen with brows raised almost up to his hairline.

“Are you kidding me??”

Jensen shakes his head. “Nope. Believe it or not, Green Day is having another acoustic gig in Manhattan on September 11th. Steve told me about it and said he could try and get those tickets if we wanted. I told him that of fucking course we want it, so he managed to get them for us. Since you’re famous now, it was very easy to get them, actually. And great seats too, by the way. I thought it would be a nice way to spend that day, what do you say?”

A smile the size of the world spreads on Jared’s face as he holds the tickets tighter in his hand. “Are you really taking me to see Green Day again?”

Jensen nods, his heart warming up as he sees the pure happiness on Jared’s face with the prospect of seeing his favorite band again, looking like a boy who just got his dream present for Christmas. “If you let me use the extra ticket, then yes I am!”

Jared throws himself towards Jensen, completely losing his balance, but Jensen holds him tight against his own body. “Thank you, Jen!” Jared whispers close to Jensen’s ear as he hugs him fiercely. “It’s amazing, thank you!”

Jensen buries his face in Jared’s neck, taking in his amazing scent. “Anything to make you happy, my love.”

*

September 11th arrives, and even though it’s a happy day since they will be seeing Green Day tonight, it’s also, of course, hard for them as it always is. They stay in bed for a little longer just hugging each other as the exact minute when the first plane hit the North Tower comes. Jensen holds Jared tighter and he can see a few tears escaping his eyes, so he makes sure to wipe them and plants a kiss to the top of his head.

“I love you so much, Jay. Thank you for still being here and for being who you are.”

Jared looks up with shining eyes, and kisses away a tear that rolls down Jensen’s face. “I love you too, Jen. Thanks for putting up with me.”

Jensen smiles and places a strand of hair behind Jared’s ear. “The high maintenance is worth it, I promise.” Jared chuckles and Jensen takes the opportunity to kiss him. “Happy new day life, my love.”

Jared can’t even imagine what a special day this will end up becoming tonight. Jensen was happy to know the gig was happening on this very day since it means he can at least partially change the heavy meaning of it. But for now he keeps quiet, there’s more that has to stay a surprise.

They eventually leave the bed since Jared has to go to the bathroom for his bladder routine so he doesn’t have an accident, and they spend the day quietly, as they usually do on this anniversary. They go for a stroll in the neighborhood, and some of their neighbors who know their story greet them from afar, showing their respect. They have a light lunch and spend the afternoon vegging in front of the TV. Jensen can see Jared growing more and more excited with the prospect of seeing Green Day again tonight, and anticipation of something joyous quickly overcomes the broodiness of this date.

They haven’t been to a Green Day gig again since that first one years ago where they shared their (second) first kiss. It’s not very practical for them to attend rock concerts, since Jensen himself doesn’t feel too comfortable among a huge crowd, and even more for Jared since pretty much all of those gigs are held for a standing audience and it definitely wouldn’t be comfortable for him to be in the middle of a crowd being in a wheelchair. Of course those venues usually have a designated area for wheelchair users but they don’t typically have a good view. So they opt to just skip those events. Jensen can’t believe their luck that Green Day decided to have another acoustic gig, meaning a sitting audience, which is perfect for them.

They leave their house a couple of hours before the gig is scheduled to start since they need to drive to Manhattan, and they like to always arrive at places early so they can get settled. Jared is wearing a new Green Day shirt he ordered online two days ago that arrived just in time, and of course he plays their songs through their car stereo, happily singing along as Jensen drives. Jared keeps a hand on Jensen’s thigh and squeezes from time to time, giving Jensen beautiful smiles everytime Jensen quickly looks over. It warms Jensen’s heart to see Jared so happy. He hopes to make him even happier with the rest of what he has planned for tonight.

They arrive at the venue and park their car at the handicap spot, Jensen bringing Jared’s chair around so he can transfer to it. They go to the main entrance with Jensen keeping a hand on Jared’s upper back, and soon they’re inside heading to their seats. They’re situated right in front of the stage in the middle of the first row. The chairs aren’t fixed to the floor, and an attendant removes Jared’s seat so he can park his chair in the empty spot instead while Jensen takes the seat next to him. The stage is not too high so they have a perfect view of it. Jensen takes Jared’s hand in his, smiling adoringly at him.

“Anxious?”

Jared nods, feeling as if his heart will burst at any second. He can’t believe Jensen did it again, it’s almost like a deja vu to the day he took Jared to his first ever Green Day gig, and they finally shared their second first kiss, the one that really started their journey together after everything they went through from that first September 11th. Jared knows a regular gig like tonight can’t top that one since it’s extra special because of the kiss they shared while Jared’s favorite song was playing, but it’s gonna be awesome nevertheless. It’s amazing to be able to see Green Day live again and he can’t wait. Ever since Jensen gave him the tickets three days ago, Jared has been a bundle of anxiety waiting for the day to arrive.

And they’re so close, the stage is right in front of them with no one else to obscure their view. The chairs for the band are already placed, meaning they will be pretty close to them and Jared is sweating just imagining it. He could make direct eye contact.

Finally it’s time for the show to start, and Jared squeezes Jensen’s hand tighter, feeling his own hands sweating like crazy. The lights dim and Green Day is announced. Everyone cheers as Billie, Tré and Mike take the stage. Jared releases Jensen’s hand for a moment so he can clap as hard as he can, shouting loudly. His heart hammers in his chest as they take their seats to start.

Jared slips into a trance as they go over their repertoire, he can’t take his eyes off the stage even for a moment, singing all the songs down to the last word. He’s so mesmerized he doesn’t even notice how nervous Jensen is. And he can’t help tearing up when they sing one of their newest songs, Wake Me Up When September Ends. That one touches deeply.

Jensen watches Jared throughout, continuously sneaking glances and wishing he could just get this over with because he feels like he’s about to have a panic attack. But no. He can’t, he will be strong. He wants to do it at just the right moment. And he knows the song is the fucking last one, so he needs to suffer through the whole setlist and pretend he’s just fine and not nervous as shit. He’s glad at least Jared doesn’t notice any of this stress, he barely registers Jensen is even there since he’s so focused on watching his favorite band play in front of his eyes. And Jensen doesn’t even blame him, this is a rare opportunity and he wants his boyfriend to enjoy it as much as possible.

As the band fakes the end of the gig and leaves the stage under thunderous applause, Jensen knows this is it. He has followed Green Day enough through Jared to know they always come back to do an encore. So he quietly reaches into his front pocket and fishes the small box out, holding it discreetly in his closed fist, using the hand on the opposite side of Jared to do it. His heart is beating so loud Jensen is surprised Jared hasn’t heard it.

The band quickly comes back to the stage and Billie takes his guitar in hand. Before he starts playing, he thanks everyone for their presence again, and Jared turns to Jensen.

“It’s our song, Jen.” Jared reaches for Jensen’s hand and links their fingers together, squeezing tight. As Billie starts playing the first chords of Good Riddance, Jared’s eyes water, remembering this same day years ago that changed so much. Jared turns to the stage again and barely feels the movement happening next to him, he’s so engrossed in the song.

“Jay?” Jensen calls him, and it takes a moment for Jared to notice Jensen is calling him. Only when Jensen repeats his name does Jared pry his eyes away from the stage and look over to his side - but Jensen isn’t there. It takes half a second for Jared to locate him, he’s still holding his hand, so his gaze travels to the side until he finds Jensen on the floor.

And it takes Jared another nanosecond to realize Jensen’s on one knee.

Jensen holds up a velvet box with two bands inside, and Jared’s heart stops as Billie starts singing the song. Jared can barely hear it since his ears have started buzzing. He quickly lets go of Jensen’s hand so he can bring both hands to his mouth, his eyes growing wide in shock.

“Oh God.”

Jensen gives Jared an emotional smile, his eyes tearing up. “It had to be very special.”

“Oh God, Jen!”

Jared feels a few tears spilling down his face as everything else fades away. Jensen holds the box a tad higher.

“Jay, I–”

“HOLD ON!”

It takes a moment for Jared to realize what’s happening and who spoke. He blinks a few times as the spell is broken, only to notice the music stopped. He reluctantly looks away from Jensen and focuses on the stage, noticing none other than Billie Joe standing up right in front of them, on the edge of the stage, a hand on his waist, and Jared realizes it was him who spoke. Jared’s eyes widen more as Billie points at the two of them with an eyebrow raised.

“Is this a marriage proposal by any chance?”

Jensen nods, and Jared can’t find his voice to answer since there’s a lump in his throat, so Jensen answers for them.

“Yeah, yeah it is!”

Billie opens up a huge smile and makes a gesture for them. “Oh that’s awesome! Please come up here so you can do it properly!”

Everyone starts cheering and Jared needs a moment to understand what’s going on. Did Billie Joe actually invite them to the stage so Jensen can propose to him? In front of everyone? During their encore?

Apparently he did, as Jensen stands up and holds a hand to Jared, who has an excited and astonished look on his face. “Come on, Jay!”

Jared releases the brakes on his chair with trembling hands, wheeling forward a few inches, but he has a moment of panic since there’s a huge step to reach the stage and he can’t muster that. His cheeks warm up as he feels embarrassed and upset since he doesn’t want people to lift him to the stage in front of the audience, but Billie points to the side of it.

“There’s a ramp over there we use to carry equipment, you can use that!”

Jared exhales and quickly makes his way to the ramp, Jensen following him closely. Soon they’re up on the stage and Jared feels his whole upper body shaking from being so close to his favorite singer. As Billie takes a good look at him, he opens up a smile.

“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?”

Jared feels shy, still insecure about being the center of attention, but Jensen steps in and answers for him as both are given mics, his voice oozing with pride. “Yes you do. Jay is a bit shy, but he’s awesome. He’s in the paralympic swimming team, he got us some gold medals a couple of years ago in Athens.”

Billie smiles wider. “Oh right! I knew your face was familiar! Dude, you’re so rad!”

Jared opens up a shy smile. “Thanks.”

“Okay, so back to the main issue here,” Billie says as he addresses both of them, then points at Jensen. “Were you proposing to him over there?”

Jensen nods, giving Jared a soft smile. “I sure was.”

“And may I ask why you chose to do that specifically during our set?”

Jensen makes a motion to Jared. “Jay here is the biggest Green Day fan I know. And I chose tonight, well… because we have a good track record at your shows.”

Jensen blushes and Billie raises his eyebrows. “Oh really? And why is that, Jared?”

Jared feels his cheeks warming up even more but he tries to get past his nervousness. “Well, Jen brought me to another acoustic gig a few years back, it was actually my first Green Day concert ever. And we had our, well, our first kiss while you were singing Good Riddance. Which happens to be my favorite song ever. I’m assuming that’s why Jensen chose tonight, and this song, to do it.”

Billie looks from one to the other with a huge smile on his face, before turning to face the audience. “Isn’t that the cutest thing you all heard tonight?”

Everyone applauds in agreement, and Jensen steps in. “Also, the date. September 11th is a very symbolic date to all of us, but especially to me and Jared. I worked at the World Trade Center and Jay was a firefighter who was called there with his unit that day. That event changed both of our lives forever in a lot of ways. It’s a tough date but I also wanted to have something good linked to it going forward. Once we had tickets for your show for this date, I knew it was a perfect opportunity.”

Billie doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just staring at both of them, and Jared can see he’s emotional with this new piece of information. Then he frowns and his gaze focuses on Jared. “Wait a minute. Didn’t I give you a signed guitar a few years ago? I remember hearing your story from a dude at the radio station about you being my number one fan and being a firefighter at the World Trade Center that unfortunately ended up in a wheelchair. Was that you then?”

Jared nods. “Yep. Jensen managed to get that with his friend Steve, and gave me the guitar as a Christmas present. Thank you for that by the way, I cherish it so much.”

Billie nods and clears his throat. “Alright then! I guess we can’t stay chatting here forever, these folks are waiting. And from what I recall, there’s a proposal in the making that I interrupted, and we need to conclude that.” He turns to Jensen and makes a motion to the front of the stage. “Would you mind doing it here with all of us as witnesses?”

Jensen shakes his head. “Not at all. I’m sure it’s going to be a proposal to tell our grandchildren someday, and Jay will surely never forget about it.”

“Okay. So the stage is yours, pretend we’re not here. I’ll be over there.” BIllie points to his chair and walks back to it, sitting down again. He grabs his phone and lifts it up, showing the light to the audience. Suddenly, everyone has their phone lights on, and it looks like a starry sky in front of Jared and Jensen. Billie takes his guitar and starts playing the chords to Good Riddance again, not singing, just creating the melody. Suddenly it’s just them, everything and everyone else fading to the background again.

Jensen closes the distance and Jared wheels closer, both meeting in the middle of the stage. Jensen drops to his knee once more and shows Jared the velvet box with the rings.

“My sweet Jay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but I wanted to wait for the perfect moment because you deserve that and so much more. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me, you make my life so much better and brighter. You gave me back the will to live and a happiness I never imagined was possible. As I’ve told you countless times, I love you just the way you are, you’re perfect exactly as you are. Finding you again will always be my miracle. And I’d love for us to be official so I can finally call you my husband. So Jay, my lovely Hot Wheels, in front of everyone here - and I hope they are taking pictures and videos of this to send to us later - with your favorite band playing your favorite song in the background, will you marry me?”

Jared feels his heart almost exploding with happiness. He thought nothing could top the day they had their second first kiss while Green Day sang his favorite song, but oh boy was he wrong. This here is a dream come true and even though he can’t walk, he truly feels he could fly away right now he’s so happy. Life took away something from him but gave so much more in return. So he nods, with a river of tears streaming down his face.

“Of course I will! Jensen, I’d marry you in a thousand lives if I could.”

Jensen smiles so hugely he feels his face is about to split in two. He can’t believe this is happening, he had planned for a special proposal but it became a million times even more wonderful. He could never have asked for something so amazing, but that’s been their lives ever since they met. This will definitely be a day they will remember for the rest of their lives.

He takes one of the bands from the box and places it on Jared’s finger. Then he offers the other band to Jared, who repeats the process and plants a kiss on Jensen's hand.

“And now the fiances may kiss!” Billie shouts from somewhere behind them, causing them both to giggle. Jensen scoots to the side of Jared’s chair, placing a hand on his neck and bringing him closer. Jared smiles and leans down, framing Jensen’s face as their lips meet in a sweet kiss.

The whole venue explodes in cheers and applause, and soon Billie’s voice finally sings along to the song he had been playing all this time.

They finally break the kiss after a while, but keep staring at each other for a few moments, both suffused with happiness. Billie approaches them and places a hand on each of their shoulders.

“You guys made me really happy tonight, and this gig even more special! Thanks for that and I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together. You deserve it, and you have my blessings!”

Both of them smile and Jensen manages to remember to grab his camera so they can take a selfie with Billie Joe. That will certainly be framed and displayed in their house.

They say their thanks and goodbyes to Billie and the rest of the band, and finally go down the stage. Both of them remain to the side of it since the show is ending anyway and there’s no point in going back to their seats. They hold hands as Billie sings the song one more time and says his goodbyes.

Once it’s really over, both head to the car in silence, getting well wishes from everyone who crosses paths with them. Jared takes his place in the passenger seat, and after stowing his chair, Jensen sits next to him. They stare at each other for a long moment, and Jared smiles feeling his eyes tearing up again.

“We’re engaged!”

Jensen nods, feeling just as emotional. “Yes we are! Thanks for saying yes though, it would have been embarrassing in front of a large crowd. I took a chance there.”

Jared chuckles. “As if I’d ever say no to you. Oh my god Jen, can you believe our wedding proposal happened on the stage of a fucking Green Day concert? With Billie playing Good Riddance for us??”

“It will take a while for that to sink in. I hope people took pictures and will send them to us. I’ll definitely want to see those.” Jensen takes Jared’s hand and links their fingers. “Are you happy, Jay?”

Jared opens up a smile the size of the world. “Happy? This is… wow. I never thought I could be happier after becoming paraplegic than I was when I was able to walk, but damn. I was never this happy in my whole life. Thank you for making my life so worth living, Jen.”

Jensen smiles back, a few tears streaming down his face for being able to make Jared this happy. “Right back at you, my love. Shall we go home, then? We have a wedding to plan and celebration is in order!”

Jared nods and they share another kiss and a tight hug, both sharing intimate looks during the whole ride home, holding hands the whole time. Jared knows the night to remember is far from over.

*

A couple of days later Steve emails them some pictures the professional photographers took of them on stage. They’re the most beautiful thing both Jared and Jensen have ever seen, and they choose one of them kissing after the proposal to frame and go on the wall above their mantle. It was taken from behind the stage so the sea of lights is visible behind them, creating a beautiful night sky, and the light shining on them from above makes them look almost holy. It will certainly be one of their most beautiful memories, one they will hold on to during the hard moments, one of the most soulful pieces of the lovely road they share with each other.

They are definitely the lucky ones.