Runaway – Ch 2

Pairing: Jared x Reader
Tags: return of mother-hen Jared, reader makes a proposition
Warnings: N/A 
WC: 2,382

Masterlist

Y/N had awoken the next morning to hear running water, accompanied by soft and surprisingly in tune singing. She had no issue remembering where she was or how she had gotten there and part of her considered just leaving and not looking back. Maybe taking an apple or granola bar from the kitchen, whatever she could find, to tide her hunger over. But something inside her whispered “don’t run”, and her feet were whining “don’t run” – and her mother had always told her to trust her instincts. That had led her here, to Jared’s kitchen, where she now found herself cooking him pancakes and humming to herself. 

She didn’t notice Jared pad his way softly from the shower to the kitchen corner where he was now posed, staring at her curiously. That is, she didn’t notice until he cleared his throat and caused her to nearly drop the mixing bowl in her hands. 

“Ahem,” Jared spoke up from his post and caused the aforementioned fright, followed by a deep blush as Y/N observed his very attractive, very wet, very half-naked body casually leaning against the wall. Jared was intimidatingly tall – around six-four she knew – and the fact that she had that information so readily to mind made her blush even deeper. His skin was tan thanks to the L.A. sunshine, his torso nicely defined with a classically sexy v-shape in his hips leading straight to his towel. His face was something that nearly escaped description because it was just too damn perfect in the girl’s opinion. His mouth was a pinky-red bow, he had a button nose, and his eyes– his eyes were hazel, but that didn’t do them justice. They seemed to alternate between gold, grey, blue and green depending on which way his head was turned, framed with some of the thickest eyelashes the world had ever seen. The whole package was topped off with a damp mop of sun-stained, chestnut brown hair, dripping across his shoulders. Stylists in the area probably killed for a chance to get to work with that hair. 

Y/N stared just a bit too long, and Jared suddenly realized why: he hadn’t bothered to get dressed, the poor girl was probably shell shocked. 

“Good morning,” she choked out abruptly.

“Good morning to you too,” Jared smiled back, a little embarrassed. “Ehm, I’m just gonna put some clothes on?” His voice came out as a question because he wasn’t quite sure he should leave this girl alone. To be honest, he was a little scared of her running off on him, and for some reason he really didn’t want that. Plus, if she ran off while the stove was on he would have much bigger problems to deal with. But he managed to pull himself away for the couple minutes that it would take to get dressed and towel dry his hair a little more thoroughly. 

When he came back in bermuda shorts and a t-shirt, there was a small pile of pancakes on the side of the stove, and two more sizzling on the griddle waiting to be flipped. The girl was standing there in her still-limp sundress, tapping her toes and her spatula in time with one another. 

“So, to what do I owe this fabulous smelling breakfast?” Jared strode farther into the room and leant against the countertop on the other side of the worktop. 

“Oh, it’s, you don’t– um. It’s a thank you, I know I can be stubborn and my pride can get in the way, even when I know I need help, so… it’s just– thanks for taking me in, and for not calling the police.”

“Well, I’m happy to help anyone who needs it. I would be a rather horrible gentleman if I had left you on a street corner outside some shady nightclub.”

“Can’t have been that shady if you were in there, right?” Y/N asked curiously.

“Yeah, well, Jensen has interesting taste in clubs,” Jared shakes his head and lets out a breathy laugh. “Plus paranoia of being attacked by the paparazzi when he gets anywhere near me these days. It leads to some probably ill advised venue choices.” 

“I see.” She flipped the remaining pancakes out of the skillet and onto another plate resting beside the first. 

“Here, let me grab those. You can get some milk out of the fridge, if you want? Glasses are over the sink.” Jared took the plates and moved them over to his little kitchen table which had already been set with forks, knives, butter, and syrup. He was a little surprised because, to be frank, he didn’t even know he owned syrup; or pancake mix. The girl joined him at the table with two glasses of milk in her hands and set each one down carefully before sitting in the seat opposite the actor. 

She immediately reached for the syrup and doused her pancakes before meticulously cutting them up into very uniform pieces. Jared watched her slightly comical behavior with a smirk on his face. He figured he would let her enjoy her hard work for a few more moments before he started to interrogate her, digging into his own helping of pancakes too. 

“So,” Jared broke the growing silence between them, “are you ready to tell me your name?”

“Y/N,” she spoke hesitantly, “but no one calls me that. It’s Y/N/N, usually.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Y/N/N. I’m–”

“Jared Padalecki. I know,” Y/N/N gave a small, embarrassed smile. 

“Well, people I like get to call me Jared.”

“Mr. Padalecki it is then,” Y/N/N said, her tone uptight as she continued to eat her pancakes rather delicately.

“Who’s to say I don’t like you?”

“Well, no one does. It’s not a big stretch of the imagination to figure that a big star like you probably feels the same.”

“Well, if that’s your logic I’m surprised you’re not more used to being wrong.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, I do like you. I have no idea why, I mean, there’s nothing extraordinary about you–”

“Oh, you’re a charmer I can tell,” Y/N/N scoffed.

“I just meant,” Jared sighed and put down his fork, taking a breath to study the girl across from him. “There was something about you, when I found you last night. For some incredibly insane reason–”

“Alcohol,” she coughed into her hand, looking determinedly at her plate and not at Jared. 

Jared gave her a stern flick of his brow but didn’t comment on her interjection. “–I felt like I needed to make sure you were safe. Honestly, I’m glad you chose me over the police, because I don’t think I would’ve been happy to let you out of my sight, kid.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m seventeen, that’s not that much younger than you,” Y/N/N’s objection was petulant, not supporting her argument that she wasn’t a kid. 

“Ha! I knew you were lying,” Jared smiled to himself but Y/N/N didn’t let it cow her. “Thirteen years is a pretty big age gap when it comes to growing up.”

“Well, good thing girls mature faster than boys then.” She stopped herself short when she realized what this was. She was having a conversation, exchanging bantering remarks, with a concerned, well-to-do actor. This might be the shot she had been misguidedly, hopelessly, naively praying for when she loaded herself on a bus to L.A. “You know, maybe it’s lucky you found me.” Jared looked at Y/N/N with a crinkled brow, outwardly confused by this turnaround on her part.

“Really?” His brow raised even higher. “Why’s that?”

“You helped me out, let me return the favor.” She expected Jared to interrupt her pitch, and when he didn’t she plowed on. “We could be good for each other; I mean, you barely have any real food in this place. When was the last time you actually used your kitchen to cook?”

“Yesterday!” Y/N/N gave Jared a hard look. “I used the microwave to heat up some leftovers,” he protested with a weak laugh. 

“Thought so. And you know, your apartment is a little scruffy looking, when is the last time you actually cleaned it? I bet it could use a thorough going over.” 

“What is your point exactly?” Jared asked incredulously, having literally no idea where this conversation was headed. 

“You want to look out for me? Here’s a way to do it: I have nowhere to go, I used the last bit of money I had on my ticket here. Let me stay here with you and I’ll look after the place. I’ll cook for you, you have to be sick of take out by now or eating out every other night. I could be, like, a live-in housekeeper. You wouldn’t need to pay me or anything, I just need a place to stay.” Y/N/N rushed out her proposition hoping she hadn’t forgotten anything that might’ve helped her case. Jared just stared at her, dumbfounded by her bold offer. 

“Um,” Jared was lost for words. Letting someone crash for a night was one thing, sure it was a bit risky but he’d been drinking and she’d seemed harmless enough. Letting someone move in, though? “Listen, I know the media pegs me as the “do-gooder” type,” Jared added heavy air quotes and a healthy dose of exasperation to the phrase, “but…” he watched Y/N/N’s face fall as he spoke. “Look, for all I know you’re some clever paparazzi ploy trying to get into my private life. I shouldn’t just be trusting strangers from the street corner, should I?” Jared’s recklessness was much clearer to him now in the light of the morning, he had been foolish to be so trusting. Y/N/N slowly deflated while he spoke, realizing just how ridiculous her request must have seemed. 

“No, you’re right, I’m sorry. You have no reason to trust me. But I’m not the paparazzi. I’m not even some deranged fan or some creepy stalker, I mean, you’re a great actor and I love your stuff but I don’t have, like, a shrine to you or anything. I’m perfectly sane. I just–” Y/N/N stopped, considering what she was going to say next very carefully. If she was going to convince him, this was her last shot. “I’m a hard worker, and I– I just need something to do with my life and I’m running out of options pretty fast. It’s pretty much here or the homeless shelter for me at this point and I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.” Y/N/N finished her plea tentatively, wondering if he was about to throw her out – she wouldn’t blame him. 

“And why is it exactly that you have no place to go?”

“I–” Y/N/N started, trying to figure out how much she could say about her past and still get Jared to accept her proposal. “My parents kicked me out, I have no other relatives to speak of, all my friends have just gone to college, which I can’t pay for any more. I sold most of my stuff to get as far away as I could. This was supposed to be my shot at making something out of myself but I screwed it up pretty quick. I just wasn’t thinking or planning anything out, and I was stupid.” 

Jared felt a stab of sympathy work its way to his heart. He understood entirely what it was like to be kicked out of a comfortable life, to struggle for your dreams on the streets of a big city. He certainly would have gotten him and his sister back on their feet much sooner if they had had someone like him to help them out. 

He made his decision. However loudly his voice of reason shouted, the one that sounded like a combination of Jensen and Gandalf, he didn’t let his resolve waver. 

“Alright.” Jared nodded, and went back to eating his pancakes. 

“I promise I’m really quiet. I won’t disturb you, I just– wait. Alright?” 

“Yeah, I’m willing to give you a shot,” Jared confirmed..

“Oh my god, thank you! I promise you won’t regret it Mr. Padalecki.”

“I told you, people I like can call me Jared,” he tried to insist.

“Well, I was raised to always display respect towards my elders and employers, which you technically are now.”

“Okay, kid, call me whatever you want if it makes you happy.” When they looked between themselves they realized they had finished all their pancakes and milk without even noticing. “Well, ready to start your new job then?” Jared half-joked before gesturing to the plates left on the table. 

“Oh– yeah, of course,” Y/N/N jumped up and began to clear away breakfast. Jared laughed under his breath and shook his head to check he hadn’t hit it on something and imagined the last five minutes but it all seemed intact, so he stood.

“I have a meeting with my agent, then a training session later this afternoon but I’ll be home in time for dinner. Think you can handle that?”

“Of course,” Y/N/N said again from her place at the sink as waited for the basin to fill with soapy water. 

“Here–” Jared grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a credit card. “You’ll probably need to pick up some groceries. As you so keenly observed, I usually rely on takeout.” 

Y/N/N sheepishly reached out and took the proffered card. “You trust me with this?” she whispered, astonished.

“I’ve decided to take a leap of faith. You’re not going to run off on me are you?” Jared raised his eyebrows. 

“No, sir.” Y/N/N shook her head quickly. “You can trust me.”

“Alright, then I will see you later tonight.”

“Have a good day, Mr. Padalecki,” Y/N/N called out as Jared moved towards the front door, slipped his shoes on, and grabbed his keys off the hook hanging on the wall. 

“Good day, Miss Y/N,” Jared bowed his way backwards out of the door with a wide grin on his face. Y/N/N’s breath caught at the use of her full name, and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. As soon as she was sure Jared had gone she let her weight collapse in relief against the counter and let out a small private whisper.

“Yes!”