Chapter Text
When Clif and Jensen finally entered the green room, it was buzzing with tension.
All of the actors had congregated around one of the tables, and everyone was speaking in hushed tones.
Jensen sighed. As the leads of the show, he and Jared took on the responsibility of acting as the go-between for the actors and the convention staff.
So, even though he felt like shit, he forced himself to walk over to see what was up.
Ruth was sitting in one of the chairs at the table, and Alaina crouched on the floor in front of her.
Rob who was sitting beside Ruth with a protective arm around her, gave Jensen a tight smile. “Justin shoved her,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.
Jensen’s hackles went up and his posture stiffened. “Come again?”
“ Apparently ,” Rob snarled, “she was taking too long speaking to a pair of girls who stayed behind to ask her about ballet, and when she told him no, he resorted to pushing her toward the door.”
It angered Jensen to no end to see his usually mild-mannered friend spitting mad. And Ruthie… She may very well be the sweetest of them all, and some asshole had…
Rob’s hand was trembling on Ruth’s shoulder, and Ruth was visibly shaken.
Jensen growled. Enough was enough.
“Family meeting,” he told Clif in a clipped voice. “ Now .”
Clif nodded once and left to retrieve Jared from his meet and greet. Then, once he had filled Jared in, the two men interrupted Misha and Alex’s panel to bring them back to the green room as well.
Jared’s concern sky-rocketed when he saw Jensen panting over a trash bin. His eyes then spotted a distraught Ruth and furious Rob. The rest of the cast members were all speaking over one another.
Joining Jensen, Jared placed a comforting hand on his friend’s back as Jensen retched. “What the hell’s going on?” he asked, wondering how everything could have gone so far south in such a short amount of time.
Jensen wiped the napkin in his hand across his mouth. Instead of answering Jared’s question, Jensen stated, “We need to have a family meeting.” He nodded his thanks when DJ unscrewed a bottle of water and passed it to him.
Jared’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, but he didn't question Jensen’s directive. If Jensen thought they needed a family meeting, then that’s what they would do. He trusted Jensen’s judgment more than anyone else in the room.
He checked how many volunteers and handlers were in the room with them and motioned to Clif.
Jared kept his voice lowered so no one else would overhear when he asked Clif, “Any chance you can clear the room for us?” His eyes flicked to the nearest volunteer, so Clif would know what he meant.
Clif nodded. He reached for his phone.
In under a minute, several of Clif’s guys had ushered all of the non-cast personnel outside of the green room and locked the doors.
Once their bodyguard gave Jared the go-ahead, he assisted Jensen so he could stand, and Jensen addressed the room.
“Alright, y’all, here's what's going on-” He gripped the top of one of the chairs and leaned forward, feeling dizzy. “I don't know if there's something in the water,” he continued after shaking his head, “-or if they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but mine and Ruthie’s handlers have both crossed some serious lines this mornin’.”
He waited for the murmuring to cease.
“Justin and Ryan both laid hands on us, which we all know is a huge no-no in our contracts.”
Richard piped up from his spot between Matt and Rob. “Also tried to deny you a bathroom break.”
Jared snarled. “What the fuck?”
Jensen spared him a brief glance. “Yeah, well, the asshole ended up with puke on his shoes, so…” He shrugged.
“What we need to know is this,” Jensen said, returning his focus to the crowd of their friends, “Has anyone else experienced inappropriate behavior from their handler or any of the other volunteers today?”
Jensen and Jared cursed synchronously when several more hands went up.
“Jesus,” Jared whispered under his breath. He was shocked and disheartened to hear that not only had Jensen been mistreated today, but several of their friends as well.
Jensen’s jaw ticked angrily. “Somebody get Stephanie on the damn phone.”
Clif made the call, and Stephanie had assured him she would be right over. She’d already been searching for the missing actors and was relieved to hear they were all accounted for.
After being allowed in the room by Clif’s men, chaos erupted.
Rob got right up in her face, yelling about how disrespectful Justin had been to Ruth. Jared glared at her while holding onto Jensen while the other man vomited into a trash can.
Stephanie’s eyes flew from one irate actor to another. She stuttered out a rehearsed apology and started backing up, but her way was blocked by several of the other cast members and a stone-faced Clif.
When Jensen was done being sick, Jared squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and cleared his throat.
“We’ve been good to you,” he started, eyes focused on the event coordinator. “We’ve done everything you’ve asked us without complaint, moving things around to make the schedule work, staying late when things run long, and never calling you out when inappropriate questions make it through the screening. We’ve done conventions instead of attending birthdays and weddings. We’ve worked ourselves to the bone, showing up in between shooting schedules and family events.”
He looked at Jensen, his gaze softening. Reaching out a hand, he ran his fingers through Jensen’s hair.
“When we’re sick, we push through. When we’re sad or hurting…”
“All we’ve ever asked for,” Jensen spoke up, “is for your respect and a little compassion. We chose to do this. We chose to see our families less and work longer, more draining hours to satisfy the fans and show them our appreciation. But what happened today…” He shook his head. “It’s not okay, Steph. It’s not respectful. It’s not kind, and-”
“And it sure as hell isn’t permitted in our contracts,” Jared finished. “Your employees had no legal right to place their hands on anyone. There was no emergency, and I can guarantee you that permission was not given.”
“Ryan denied me a bathroom break, Steph,” Jensen told the coordinator. “A fucking bathroom break that would’ve taken five minutes, but he had to waste time arguing.” He gave her a hard look. “That nineteen-year-old jackass tried to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom.” He stood, face red with anger. “I’m forty-two fucking years old! I am well aware of whether or not I can hold it, and that snot-nosed punk tried to tell me that he knew better than me! I don’t need some kid trying to tell me when I can take a dump!”
Stephanie looked at Jared, but he was just as upset as Jensen.
“The only reason Jensen is here right now is because of the contract he signed. He’s sick and he doesn’t feel well, and Ryan only made it worse. Instead of showing a little kindness and realizing that Jensen would only say something if he needed to, he berated Jensen and told him he was being obstinate.”
“Ruth stayed a few fucking minutes after her panel to speak to a couple of fans ,” Jensen added, jaw clenched against renewed nausea. “Fans- yet, Justin decided there wasn’t time for that. I’m sorry, what?” He threw up his hands and shouted at her, “The whole reason we’re here is for the fucking fans!”
“You’re here for the money,” Stephanie countered. She turned to each of the actors. “Every one of you is here for the paycheck.”
“If that’s what you think,” Rob spat at her, “then we may need to revisit having the band on retainer.”
“And also look at future attendance,” Matt said.
Jensen glanced at Jared, and everything froze around them. He’d seen that look in Jared’s eyes before, and he remembered the resulting Hell his best friend had had to slog through to feel okay again.
The anger fled and was replaced by the all-consuming love he had for the man who stood beside him.
“I quit.”
Everyone fell silent at Jensen’s quiet declaration.
Stephanie gaped at him. “You- You can’t quit !” She grew flustered. “What about the panel? Your meet-and-greet? They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to see you!”
“Refund them.”
“You can’t be serious…!”
Jensen looked directly at her and said evenly, “Look in my eyes, and tell me I’m not serious.” He settled his hand on the back of Jared’s neck and squeezed lightly to remind him he wasn’t alone.
“Your employees crossed a line, Stephanie. We came to you, so you could intervene, and instead, you accused us of being money-hungry egotistical pricks. So, yeah, I quit. We’re done. You can take your contract and shove it up your ass.”
With that, Jensen held his head high and led Jared out of the room. Rob and Ruth followed them along with Rich, Matt, Alaina, and the rest of the cast.
Stephanie stared after their retreating backs in shock.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”