alexisjane

Chapter One

"I can hear you twitching from here."

The earpiece crackled but Jensen could still make out the lilt of amusement in Aldis' voice. He smiled and pulled the microphone attached to his lapel to his mouth as he tilted his chin down towards it. He needed the extra volume for emphasis.

"I am not twitching..." He put his hand down to stop his leg from jiggling up and down so he didn't make a total liar out of himself and snapped, "Just get back here," instantly regretting it when Aldis hit transmit just so Jensen could hear him chuckle.

Jensen leaned back in the chair, his weight making it roll back slightly. He scanned the bank of monitors in front of him, letting his eyes run over the familiar monotone flickering shots of empty offices, deserted corridors and the quiet street outside. His forefinger went absently to his collar, pulling it away from his neck. He'd never gotten used to the whole suit and tie thing. And it seemed ridiculous to be wearing it now, when the only person that ever saw him was Aldis, and maybe their manager from the security company who would turn up unannounced whenever the mood took him.

The five years he spent in uniform, he hated it too. Being buttoned up like that felt claustrophobic. Getting bumped to Detective wasn't any easier. Maybe in some precincts you could get away with being more casual but his Captain had been certifiably OCD and that top button had to be fixed at all times.

When he was lying in the hospital bed, mouth dry as hell, still not quite sure which month it was, and the Captain had stood in front of him, stoically informing Jensen he was being pensioned off, the first thought that had popped in his head was ’At least I won't have to wear that stupid tie any more.’ All he ever wanted was to be a cop, and yet, all he could feel at that moment was relief.

How in God's name he had ended up in another job that was trying to choke the life out of him, was pondered long and hard while he stared at the streetlights illuminating the ceiling, longing for sleep, or death, depending on how long he had been awake.

His palms nervously smoothed down over the red silk tie, his left hand finding his right wrist as they moved, fingers hooking back the cuff, and he glanced at his watch. He faked casual even though no one was there to see it.

8:11pm. His knee started bouncing again.

Fucking Aldis. He's doing this on fucking purpose.

He craned his neck around to see if he could catch a glimpse through the frosted glass door of the security office but there was nothing. Most of the time, being stuck in the small room for a ten hour stretch was just fine. Aldis called it ‘cozy’, and it was. Except when it was 8:12pm and Aldis was fucking around with the schedule.

Jensen's finger went to his earpiece, ready to give him the hurry-up, when Jensen finally heard the lift doors slide open on the other side of the glass and sighed in relief. By the time Aldis was in the room, Jensen was on his feet, pulling his grey jacket closed and fastening the button.

"In a hurry, old man?" Aldis smirked.

Jensen grabbed the flashlight from the desk and pushed past him, mumbling, "Shut the fuck up."

Aldis laughed as he slumped back into his chair, wheeling himself back so he could keep sight of Jensen storming off down the corridor as the door slowly closed after him, and called out, "You're a sick fuck, Ackles. Sick!"

Jensen pulled the keycard from his back pocket, muttering to himself as he dragged it down through the reader. "I know. Believe me, I know."

The reception area was lit but only just. The bluish light actually made the fake plants, plastic venetian blinds and faux wood on the semicircular desk, almost look good. Almost. In the daylight it looked cheap and officious despite it's attempt at friendly. At least the night lights gave it an air of the unusual. Like something out of the X-Files.

Jensen checked his watch again. 8:14pm.

He moved slowly to the far corner, keeping his eyes on the window as he backed away from it. He wasn't hiding, exactly. It was the mantra he repeated to himself every night. Not hiding just...being discreet. It wasn't his fault that his sweep of the lower floor just happened to coincide with...he looked at his watch.

8:15pm, and like clockwork, he appeared. Jensen literally set his clock by him.

The kid rolled by the first window, leg raised to dismount the bike even though there was ten feet left to go before he got to the lamppost. Jensen's breath caught in his chest. He was wearing the combat shorts tonight. Hadn't seen them in a while. And with the dark green jacket too.

He looked good. Yesterday, he'd seemed a little tired, distracted but tonight, when he shook his bangs away from his face as he dismounted, he was smiling. Not wide, just the corners of his mouth turned up slightly and his eyes relaxed and happy. Jensen smiled reflexively, as if somehow the action made a connection between them.

The kid dragged the huge satchel slung diagonally across his chest, around to his front and pulled out his D-lock. When he'd got the new bike a few weeks ago, he'd invested in a better lock. The mountain bike was worth a lot more than the piece of shit he had previously, even Jensen with zero knowledge about anything with pedals could tell that, so it made sense.

The kid bobbed his head to whatever music he was listening to, as he secured the bike, having to fold his huge frame down to get in close enough to do it. Really, Jensen should go out, tell him to move it. Tell him, that for security reasons he couldn't keep it there. That's what he should have done eight months ago. Except he hadn't. He'd just taken a step back into the shadows where he was standing right now and watched.

Sick fuck is right.

Aldis didn't have any idea this was why he was such a stickler for the schedule. Jensen knew that but it was worth reminding himself sometimes. Aldis had made a joke about the kid once, when he realized that Jensen was always right there when the guy pulled up outside and chained up his bike. But Jensen hadn't laughed it off, he'd blushed, too shocked to do anything else, assuming he'd been caught out again. But it soon became clear that Aldis thought it was a joke, something to tease the new guy about.

Except that Aldis didn't know the half of it.

~•~

Twelve hours later, Jensen unlocked the front door to his apartment and his heart sank. The dog was barking. Short, sharp yaps, evenly spaced like a metronome. Which meant his neighbor was out for the morning. Which meant even trying to sleep without a little something to help him along was a waste of time.

Jensen slipped off his suit jacket and put it straight onto a padded wooden hanger he kept on the coat rail next to the front door. He crossed the wide living space and went into the bedroom, stripping naked as quickly as he could, trampling everything into a pile at his feet, desperate to lose the shirt and tie and anything else that was touching his skin.

He stood under the water for a long time until he realized that either he could hear the dog over the noise of the shower or he was starting to imagine it. He quickly soaped himself, letting his fingers linger on the thick rope of scar tissue running down the center of his chest, before rinsing off under the spray. He toweled off, but not enough to stop patches of damp bleeding into the fresh t-shirt and sticking the sweat pants to him in places.

His damp feet slapped on the bare wood floor, picking up grit or something as he padded back out of the bathroom but paid the irritation no attention. His stomach was growling but his need for something else was much stronger. He made a beeline for his jacket and stuck his hand roughly into the inside pocket for the memory stick.

Every day, he sat in the big armchair, every day cursing his laptop and it's slow-ass boot-up sequence, torturing him until he could work his way through files and applications until he hit the hidden file folder he wanted. Everyday telling himself that he needed this. To sleep. Nothing more.

There wasn't eight months’ worth of footage, but it was close. It didn't occur to him initially that he could copy the CCTV feed that covered the street outside the building. He didn't imagine that this thing – that the kid – needn't be a fleeting moment once a night, that it could be forever and always and right there in Jensen's home.

He stuck the memory stick into the port, tapped his fingers until the icon appeared and held his breath as he dragged the file across the screen.

'Files copying' were the two most frustrating words in the English language for the two minutes they mocked him. He watched the progress bar, willing it to go faster and pressed the heel of his palm to his fattening dick. But finally, the video player opened up and there he was. Grey. A little fuzzy. But right there.

"Hi," Jensen whispered to the screen as the kid cycled onto it. Jensen's hand slid under the waistband of his sweatpants, pulling out his screaming hard cock, momentarily disappointed that the fabric had claimed that first glob of pre-come. Somehow it felt better than lube and besides, he had no motivation to go get any when that ass was on the screen. He licked a sloppy stripe from his wrist to his fingertips and hoped it would be enough instead. His hand moved slow and determined as he drank in the sight of the shorts and the bangs and tattooed forearm bending and stretching, and that damn sweet smile. All he could think was sick fuck as he angled the screen a little closer, and for some reason it made him come harder than usual.

~•~

The first night the kid didn't show up, Aldis joked with Jensen about being an addict. Jensen laughed along with it and when he got home, consoled himself with watching a night from two months before. It had been raining and the kid was soaked to the skin, hair plastered to his face, and Jensen slept just fine.

Eight days later, it wasn't a joke anymore. Jensen stood in the darkened reception and watched the minutes tick by until it was 8:42pm and he was suddenly aware of Aldis yelling at him on the comm. Jensen's hands were shaking and he felt like his whole world was falling apart. So he did the only thing he could think to do. He took the earpiece off, placed it on the desk in front of Aldis with the barest of apologies and walked out. He hadn't slept at all in three days and all he could think about was finding the kid before it killed him.

Masterpost / Chapter Two >>>>>