Chapter Text
Jensen was exhausted. Last minute suit fittings and dramatic phone calls from the caterer and now this, a call back to the studio. For what? As far as he understood, they were done with filming for the day. It was 2 days until the wedding (and again, the thought of the wedding, and actually going through with it, caused his stomach to churn) and he needed every bit of extra sleep he could get.
"Jensen! You're here! Good, good, you're just in time," said the production PA. "Quick, get to make-up. We're doing a live broadcast tonight."
"Live?" That made no sense. Sure, the show was airing in primetime these days, but everything was filmed a few weeks in advance. And if any of the couples actually made it down the aisle, there would be week-by-week wedding specials. The producers were going to make it run as long as they could.
Informally, Jensen had been told the ratings were unexpectedly high despite (or perhaps due to) the disasters. Maybe that had something to do with this extra session. "Who else is here?" He looked around the make-up trailer, expecting to see some of the other frontrunners. But there was no one.
"You're the last one. Gretchen's already on, pumping up the audience." Katy dusted powder over his freckles, murmuring to herself, "I'm just gonna do a quick job, honey, so try and keep cool. Nothing looks worse on camera than a sweaty forehead!"
Before Jensen knew it, he was being bundled onto the stage, opposite Gretchen. There were two chairs opposite her, both empty, and Jensen took the one furthest from the audience. He was never really comfortable on stage - sure, he could act (and had been very successful at that so far, according to the backstage gossip) - but he didn't want to be any closer to the screaming fans than he had to.
And they did scream when they saw him. "JENSEN!" "WE LOVE YOU!"
He blinked, then managed to wave at the girls in the front row, which set them off screaming again.
"Well, what a reaction!" bubbled Gretchen. "Every week the support for you just gets stronger and stronger!"
She looked at him, obviously expecting a response. "Well, yeah, it's great," he managed. "Totally unexpected, but great!"
"Tell me, Jensen, have you been getting a lot of fan mail?"
That was a question he could answer, pretty easily. "Yeah, I've been pretty overwhelmed with the support. There seem to be a lot of you out there who really love me and Jared." It wasn't just letters of support he'd been sent, but gifts, marriage proposals, and some pretty interesting artwork that had made Jared laugh and Jensen blush bright red.
The girls screamed their appreciation once again and Jensen smiled at them. A camera swooped in close from the ceiling and he knew his image was being sent across the country. He wondered if his mom was watching. But now was not the time to think of that.
"What's the one thing your fans ask you most?"
He could imagine Jared's answer to that: "Who's bigger!" but there was no way that was coming out of Jensen's mouth. He looked around, wishing Jared was on stage with him. This wasn't exactly fair, blindsiding him with a solo interview, live broadcast, and no preparation time whatsoever.
He knew he couldn't give a funny answer, not with the amount of time he'd already taken to think it over. So he went with the truth, instead. "A lot of them want to know if I really believed I'd find true love on this show." Pausing, Jensen swallowed. "I guess that's the same question I had when I started this too."
Gretchen smiled warmly at him. "Keeping in mind that our viewers haven't caught up with the latest adventures yet, do you think you can give us a hint about how you're feeling now?" Her eyes communicated a warning, don't give away too much. There was no need to worry, Jensen was so very aware that this was all a game, and every single word and action had a bearing on the outcome.
"Let's just say that I never expected to meet anyone like Jared. He really has blown me away, with his kindness, his generosity, he just has such a heart for people." ("Aww," the audience sighed.) "Then there's his sense of humour, and..." He allowed his voice to drift off, as if he were remembering just how amazing Jared was. "And I guess he's not bad looking either."
That earned the laugh Jensen was looking for, and he pretended to look surprised. Gretchen was laughing along with the audience when she said, "Well, speaking of Jared, he's actually the one behind tonight's impromptu chat."
Slapping a hand to his forehead in mock dismay, Jensen said, "I should've known."
"Why is that?"
"This is something I've learned over the past few months about life with Jared. Expect the unexpected." For once, he wasn't speaking to the cameras. This piece of truth he allowed.
"Well, Jensen, it's interesting that you mention Jared's heart for people, but I think I'll let him explain himself. Jared Padalecki, come on down!"
The music amped up, the lights started flashing, and a spotlight appeared at the top of the stairs, right in the middle of the audience. Jared stood and waved, the fans around him cheered, and he came bounding down to the stage, offering high-fives to anyone who stretched out a hand.
The screaming and cheering went on for a good minute before Gretchen was finally able to calm everyone down. "Wow! What a reaction! Jared, are you sure Jensen's more popular than you?" That was a deliberate nod to a statement Jared had made earlier in the week (tongue-in-cheek, Jensen was sure).
"Well, I might be better looking, but you see, people just tend to fall for Jensen's boyish charms." He winked at Gretchen. "That kinda includes me." With that, he plopped into the chair next to Jensen and took his hand. "I'd kiss you, but they told me not to mess up your make-up."
The audience roared. Half with laughter, the other half shouting, "Kiss him!"
"What, you want us to kiss?" Jared addressed the audience.
"YES!"
"I don't know, Jensen, how do you feel about this?" he joked. "There's a lotta people here, what if we get...carried away?!"
Jensen glanced from side to side, pretending to be worried. "I don't want to get you in trouble!" He addressed the audience. "Don't get me wrong, I'm just looking out for Jared here!"
"Kiss him!" the audience roared again.
With a mock sigh, Jared leaned in, and gave Jensen a delicate peck on the lips. Even for that, the applause was thunderous. Jensen was stunned. He had no idea they - they idea of them together - was so popular. Sure, a good proportion of the audience was made up of teenage girls, but still. Things were changing. For the better.
After Gretchen had finally calmed down the screams, she turned her attention back to Jared. "Now Jared, this isn't the first time we've had an unscheduled chat, is it."
"Nope, it's not." That was news to Jensen. But not to the viewers, who kept up their enthusiasm.
"In fact, it was just last week that we had you right in this very studio, making a very special announcement. But how about we let Jensen in on the secret?"
Jensen paled. What kind of secret? Had Jared set up some kind of stunt? Some kind of major declaration to ensure that they won? But that was hardly fair; he didn't think the showrunners would allow it. It would give them an advantage - hell, even being on this stage, in front of the cheering fans, was giving him an advantage because now he was gaining more of an understanding of just how popular his “fake” romance with Jared was.
"Jensen, if you'll turn your eyes to the screen, this is what we all saw last week."
Soft music played over a montage of images. Of Jared, of Jensen, and...of their visit to Texas. More specifically, the days they spent with Jensen's family. Looking back, Jensen started to get choked up. His family had loved Jared. It was even more obvious when watching the footage and it was hard to believe that it had all happened just a few weeks ago. In some ways, it felt like forever.
The pictures changed, to Jared on stage, an extreme close up.
"Hi everyone, I'm Jared Padalecki. The past couple of months, I've had the extreme fortune to get to know Jensen. I never expected to meet someone like him on this crazy wedding show, but I can tell you that it's been an amazing journey.
"But there's something you don't know about Jensen. You all know he's an incredibly private man, and when I met his family, I learned the tragic truth."
Jensen's heart stopped. No. Surely not. He'd told Jared about his mom in confidence. He didn't want a sympathy vote. He didn't want the world to know!
"You see, his mom is sick. She needs a life-saving operation, but the family is struggling to pay for it. And I was hoping that all of you," Jared-on-the-screen gestured to the audience, "would be able to help with that.
"I know you guys love him as much as I do. I wish I could do something to help - and this way I can. We've started a fund for Jensen's family and over the next week, I've set a target of two hundred thousand dollars. I know we can raise this money. And if we raise more than she needs, then the rest will be donated to further medical research."
Jared smiled at the camera, his eyes shining with hope and even a hint of tears. "This is for Jensen, guys. You know how I feel about him and I want to make him happy. And if we can do this for his mom, well, that would mean the world to both of us."
Stunned, Jensen found himself blinking back tears of his own. He could never have done this on his own - he just wasn't that bold. Couldn't put his heart out there like that, because what if no one donated? If he’d given his mom hope like that only to be unsuccessful? What if it was a massive failure?
The thought chilled him, but it was only momentary. Surely there wouldn't be such a production if it was a failure. That would be too cruel, wouldn't it?
"That was a week ago," said Gretchen. "Since the live airing, this video has gone viral. Fans across the country - and across the world - have been donating thousands of dollars."
Jared jumped in, too excited to stay quiet. "It's been unbelievable, Jen. I watched the numbers going up hourly. Everyone wants to help!"
"So do all of us here at Kripke productions," interrupted Gretchen. "In fact, we pledged an additional fifty thousand dollars."
Jensen's jaw dropped. An additional fifty grand, on top of what Jared had already raised? That was... already, it was going to make an incredible difference to the medical bills they were facing. Maybe his family wouldn't lose their house after all.
The audience was still cheering as two members of the crew came out with a massive cheque. "Jared, would you do the honours?"
He walked over to Jensen, took his hand, and brought him forward. "This kinda feels like proposing all over again!" he joked. Resting one hand on the cheque, the other hand still in Jensen's, he said, "I would like to present to you a cheque for... three hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars."
Jensen barely comprehended the exact figure. All he knew that it was enough - definitely enough - to handle the crushing debt, to get his mother back into hospital as soon as possible, and pay for the ongoing treatment.
And Jared had made it happen.
He couldn't look at Gretchen, couldn't acknowledge the audience. All he was capable of doing was throwing his arms around Jared, burying his head in that warm chest, as the tears of relief flowed.