Oooh look at all the lovely stories...

*waves hello to friends*

How's everyone doing? I've got the week from hell at work. At least I knew it was coming and have kinda prepared myself for it, but still...I may need lots of comfort by Friday evening.

So as is usual, I'm cheering myself up by pimping out some great stories that if you haven't already read, you should. Look at my resolved face.

I wanted to do first time stories, but then I was pondering to myself 'self, what really is a first time story?' Sex? Admitting they're in love? Being boyfriends? All of the above?' Er...so I went with all the above and have cunningly themed it 'getting together'.  There are lots of stories I enjoy, so this is part 1 because I am too lazy to type it up all at once.



J2 getting together fic recs A-K

6 Lessons to Live By (As Told By Jared Padalecki) by keepaofthecheez
Funny and squee inducing story where Jared and Jensen get together. Then they get to do it again, but properly this time.

A Breath Away From Where We Are by annkiri
Fantastic first time story where you get to follow the long slow-build journey from friends with their own relationships to boyfriends. By taking its time, the story really allows you to get to know all the players and enjoy the evolving nuances of their relationship even more.

A Season For Misunderstandings by jeddy83 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
Oblivious!Jared is oblivious in this bittersweet but happy-ending fic about the boys moving in together.

A Room With You In It by dontyouwaitup 
This is a long, satisfying story about how the boys eventually realise they’re made for each other following on from Jared’s split with Sandy. What makes this so good is that things aren’t always perfect - there’s awkwardness and fumbling and sharp snarky banter – so when they eventually do work out, it’s that much sweeter.

A Very Gay Christmas by celtic_cookie 
Written for fics4books 
Cute and schmoopy story where Jensen does his best to make sure Hared has a good Christmas holiday (and not just because the Padalecki family threatened him).

A Work Of Tragicomedy & An Exercise In PoMo Bullshit by shaychana
Yes. It is postmodern. Yes. It is a (not really tragic) comedy. But its not bullshit. This is sharp and smart and engaging. And, really, is anything more adorable than a grumpy Jensen? “…Jared has the worst timing for falling into giggle fits. He actually seems to find their dire situation funny. Jensen thinks at first that Jared's wheezing is just shortness of breath, but then Jared's clutching Jensen's shirt and laughing into his collar bone to muffle himself. Jesus fucking Christ on a pogo stick, Jared Padalecki is an idiot who was dropped on the head as a baby.”

Accidents Happen by causeways 
Adorable schmoopy goodness fic. Jensen accidentally falls asleep in Jared’s bed and the next morning Jared accidentally kisses Jensen awake.

All The Amenities by kestrelsan 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
A Jensen moved in with Jared story featuring their friends’ opinions and some truly great snark.

Alternate Universe by b_s_n_m (friends only)
Adorably sweet and cracky story where Jensen gets thrown into an alternative universe where he and Jared are boyfriends. Plus it totally feeds in to my fic kink where Jared gets to call Jensen 'baby'. “"Morning, baby," is Jensen's second clue, and the kiss that follows is when he stops being able to count, because his brain is too busy going, "Uh, what the fuck is going on? Help!" Unfortunately, the only person around that Jensen could ask for help is Jared, and that plan's never going to work for two reasons; one, Jensen doesn't want to try to explain this, because Jared is much more likely to freak out than to be of any help in these sorts of situations, and two, it's kind of hard to talk with your best friend's tongue in your mouth.”

An Extremely Circuitous Courtship by chasingtides 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
This is a really sweet and genuinely feel-good fic. Jared books a Christmas holiday for himself and Jensen. The only snag? It’s a couples only retreat. “Jensen sat up and looked at Jared through the sliding door. He was sitting half naked in a hot tub and trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. He did not look like he was have a particularly distressing existential crisis. He looked like he was having a good time, but was probably still fairly disgusted with his best friend/roommate/tenent/coworker.”

And If I Don’t Make It Known by blue_soaring
Jared’s unwavering attentions finally make Jensen catch the clue bus. The banter between the two boys in this story is so well done and seems so naturalistic, from Jared’s puns and over flirting to Jensen’s just-trying-to-keep-up come-backs, the slide into a relationship becomes obvious and instinctual for the two of them. It’s a really great story.

Any Given Thursday by t_fic
This tale has a really natural feel to its progression. The boys move from the best of friends to something more over thanksgiving, yet it feels like it’s been years leading them up to the moment. Very sweet.

Ask Me Why by __tiana__
I really like stories that mix the sweet with the angst, and this certainly does that. Jensen is jealous of the girls Jared keeps fawning over post Sandy break-up. Jared is waiting for Jensen to ask him why.

Assumption is the Mother of all Fuck Ups by chinas_rose
A really funny crack fic where Jared plays the practical joke to end all practical jokes on Jensen.

Balance by setissma
Adorable first time story that evolves from the boys having to teach each other to be Sam and Dean because they’re about to shoot an episode of Supernatural with a bodyswap storyline. Yay. "Jensen retreats to the other side of the living room – far away from Jared’s fucking enormous hands – and rubs a hand over his face, thinking about it. Jared doesn’t move the same way he does, he walks with a hell of a lot less intent, and Sam slouches around more than anything, not really focused on walking. He looks at Jared, leaning against the wall, and it just clicks, right there."

Basic Business Knowledge by telleer
This is a smart and unusual story about Jensen having to make a decision.

Bed, Bath and Beyond by pocketfullof
Written for fluffandfold
Adorably cute story that’s ostensibly about Jensen choosing new sheets but is really about the boys falling in love.

Better Off In Bed by embroiderama
Written for spnbreaksthelaw
Cute and lovely fic where Jensen runs away in a panic after making a move on Jared.

Between truth and the search for it, I chose the second by marishna
Angsty fic where Jared struggles to choose between Sandy and Jensen.

Between the days and nights by estrella30
This is a really great story that just pulls you right in. A threesome has unexpected consequences.

"Bottoms Up" by azewewish
Jared goes from wanting to kill Jensen to wanting to fuck him. This is one of my favourite first time stories. All the sweet little details and snarky banter and flailing emotions combine to make one great ride of a story. Featuring cocky Jensen, alpha Jared and even a cameo by to cool for school Chris Kane. “Now Jen? If possible, that boy's even more Texas than Texas itself. Talks louder, laughs longer, has tall tales the size of Paul Bunyan's balls, eats straight-up grease for breakfast and can still run laps around everyone on set. Jensen knows seventeen thousand uses for duct tape, knows how to swear and spit with the best of 'em, he can throw a perfect spiral, change the oil in an F150 in fifteen flat, and swear to fucking Christ, one day Jared might just have to kill him.”

Boys Like Girls by nevcolleil
Engaging fic where Jared doesn’t realise what’s going on until he’s in the middle of it.

By The Letter by winterlive
A fantastic story that you’ve all probably read because it’s a classic, and deservedly so. This is the fic where Jensen finds out about Jared’s crush from his ipod playlist. “The explanations race through his head as he leans back in the chair; he rubs a hand over his face and sighs. Could be any one of a dozen reasons, but there's no way to be sure unless he just outright asks, and there's no way he's doing that. How do you ask a question like that? Hey, man, I was fucking with your iPod and I heard this song on a playlist with my name on it, and this song makes it sound like you maybe want to sleep with me. What's up with that?”

Carbon by setissma
Jensen kisses Jared and things happen from there. This is soft and slow and you can really feel the friendship between the two boys even before they get closer, all thanks to the detail of Jared’s inner monologue. “It's not bad, but it's not a first kiss, not a kiss that changes anything – it falls somewhere between welcome-home kisses at the airport and Christmas morning kisses, delicate and not quite awake. Jared knows the familiar curve of Jensen's mouth, the taste of his chapstick, the kind Jensen's been using and Jared's been borrowing for years. He knows the way Jensen exhales against his cheek from sleeping in the Impala between takes, knows the way he looks down, then up a little too fast – Dean's tell when he's unsure”.

Carry On by gilascave
Absolute cutie-pie of a fic. Jensen asks Jared out on a date, only Jared doesn’t know and maybe he’s too busy with Jeff anyway…

Clone-A-Willy,  Further Adventures of the Padildo and How the Padildo was Forgotten by nemo_88
Jared’s made a copy of his cock for Sandy. Jensen’s in the closet and harbouring a crush. What will happen when dildo and actor collide? A genuinely funny and sweet story, that’s what. “By now, Jensen started to believe that the damn thing was following him. A fucking stalker dick at its best game. Running around turning gay people on. Should be illegal. And in Jensen’s drunk brain, that actually made sense and seemed incredibly plausible.”

Common Knowledge by elucreh
Post-modern tale that’s as funny as it is smart and self-referential. Jared learns about fanfiction whilst appearing at a convention and then it kinda takes over his life. “It's interesting, too, to watch the fangirls when they don't know he's watching, like experiencing a new culture. He's making a list of words to figure out later: ”otipi,” and “pixpam,” and “capping,” and “arpeayes.” He's especially curious about the meaning of “elljay,”, because it seems to be some kind of sign-countersign ritual.”

Computer Verse by splashpink 
This is an amusing and downright adorable series where Jared uses Google to help him woo and screw Jensen – enhanced with suitably funny pictures and screen prints.

Context Is Everything by veronamay
Cracktastic fic where Jared will only talk in movie quotes. Is there anything better than the ‘The Breakfast Club’ being quoted during the first make out session? “"Are you a virgin?" Jensen asks softly, eyes trained on Jared's face. "I'll bet you a million dollars that you are." He feathers his fingers through Jared's hair, trails them down his cheekbone to rest on that pretty bottom lip. "Have you ever kissed a boy on the mouth? Over the bra, under the blouse, shoes off, hoping to God your parents don't walk in?"”

Costarfucking: An Idiots Guide to What Not to Do by causeways
Brilliantly written tale full of funny banter and awesome little character titbits (like Jared’s idea that a baseball cap would prevent people from recognizing him). And to make it just that little bit more perfect, we’re also treated to cameos by the rest of the CW folks.

Cover by nevcolleil 
Jensen’s freaked out because he may be a little horny for his co-star and that’s a big no-no in TVland. This is warm and funny but with that tiny touch of angst that just keeps it feeling real.

Crazy sexy baby by cathybites
This is a hot and funny fic about Jensen deciding that he’s totally going to seduce sweet innocent Jared once they meet, only Jared isn’t playing ball.

Creeping Around In My Head by lazy_daze 
This fic is sweet and sexy and exactly how I want to picture the boys at home. It’s a story about how Jared never realised how hard it would be to resist the Ackles charm once they started living together. “He'd never noticed the effort he'd spent every day walling off that part of his mind that fixated on the curve of Jensen's lip and the smattering of freckles on his ears and the stretch of his shirt across broad shoulders; hadn't noticed that he could finally rest when he got home, however briefly, just time to himself where he didn't have to worry about not-thinking about Jensen.”

Denial (Ain’t Just a River In Egypt) by siubhlach
Hee. This is a perfect example of crack!fic at its finest. So funny. Plus it features possibly the coolest Kripke ever. Okay, I’m a little biased because it was based on my dare, but the author totally took it and ran.

Disguises by emerald_angel9
This fic is seriously sweet and sexy. It’s also host to some great images like Jensen being whipped by Erica Durance during a one night stand, drunk Sandy making out with someone she shouln't be, Jensen dressed as Indianna Jones and so on. Jensen finds out that Jared isn’t in the type of relationship Jensen believed him to be in, which meant that things could happen between our two favourite boys.

Don’t Cha by jeyhawk
Very funny, almost crackfic, that still manages to be sweet and hot. The boys get together to the sound of the Pussycat Dolls.

Drunken Men & the Flaws of Science by __tiana__
Jensen just wants to make Jared feel better but things don’t quite go according to plan. This has a real sense of fumbling naturalness to it that works so well in terms of both the story and the boys. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Easy by cynthia_arrow
Well written first time fic that focus’ on the boys fears and insecurities as much as it does on the hot sex. “It started with boredom, a good deal of bourbon, and a cold, rainy Saturday night playing video games in Jensen's big, warm living room. Eventually, they gave up the gaming in favor of lying around lazy, talking in front of the fire: bitching about work, rambling about life. Open smiles of familiarity turned to bodies hovering too close together, knocking against each other with comments or laughter. Then, out of nowhere, with a squinting brown-eyed half-drunk stare, Jared said: "Jen, when are you just gonna fucking kiss me already?"”

Eight (+ one) easy steps to an organized household – a guide by Jensen Ackles (+ Jared Padalecki) by benitle 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
Funny and hot, this story tells the tale of what happens when OCD neurotic!Jensen moves in with live-and-let-live!Jared. This has possibly one of my favourite endings to a sex scene ever.

Endless Days Of Simply Waiting To Be Yours by halfshellvenus
A tender story where each development in the boys journey is equated to a traditional rhyme about a different day of the week.

Everyone Blames Chris by frayen
Written for paddywhacked
Very funny story where Chris Kane plays yenta and completely steals the show. “Jensen has a couple of mottos, more like rules really, words to live by that makes dealing with all the shit thrown at him easier to deal with. Top of that list, first and foremost, number one is; everything is always Christian Kane’s fault. Always. Eight times out of ten it will actually be his fault and he will just take credit for the other two because he is an ass.”

Ficmix series by lostt1
Sweet series of stories where Jared tries to woo an oblivious Jensen with music.

Find That Handsome Devil by watersword
This is a story, filled with both gorgeous and amusing moments, where Jared doesn’t realise he’s involved with Jensen until it’s too late. "There is just no way that he can muster up the concentration for a really good freakout, and Jensen's the kind of guy who deserves the first-class kind. So he puts it on his to-do list -- a mental to-do list, because he would never live it down if someone (*cough*Alona*cough*) found out he was the kind of girl who keeps to-do lists -- and sucks on Jensen's tongue for another few seconds, and dozes off."

First Fluttering Of Its Silken Wings by dev_earl
Sweet story where the instant attraction between the boys flares into something more. Gets even better when you add in a tattoo and piercing.

Focus by winterlive
The boys are fumbling and awkward in their attempts to get together until Jeff helps out.

For I Have Sinned by miss_begonia (friends only)
Powerful, melancholy but ultimately hopeful story that deals with questions of fundamentalism. Jared helps a damaged Jensen.

Go Fish by glasz_housez 
Written for cracktastic_j2 
Laugh out loud funny crackfic. Jared decides Jensen needs more stuff in his room so Jensen buys a goldfish bowl. Then there are fish. “That noise Jensen's making? Totally a squeal. It's the love child between a dolphin and a sea monkey. And yes, Jensen knows sea monkeys don't make noise, but he can't figure out how a dolphin gets on land and mates with a regular monkey, and therefore, it must be a sea monkey. "EEaagggaaghheee!" That's not something human vocal cords evolved to create. And he can't manage anything more coherent. Squirming like a worm on hot blacktop is the kind of base reflex that overrides all higher functions.”

Good Idea by jasmasson
Cute and funny story where Jared tries to convince Jensen that it’s a good idea for them to have sex. Even though Jared’s not gay. “But then Jared split up with Sandy a few weeks later, and Jensen did what any good friend would do. He took Jared out to get drunk. A drunken Jared was an even more tactile Jared than normal, and Jensen suffered being felt up all the way home. That was perfectly normal behavior for a drunk Jared. But the sloppy, drunken, open-mouthed kiss – all awkward teeth, silky lips and tequila – as Jensen laid Jared out on Jared’s king sized bed, was not.”

Green-Eyed Monster by agt_spooky
This is a wonderful fic where Jensen is in love with a seemingly oblivious and heterosexual Jared. Chocked full of angst, misunderstandings and one-sided longing until it all turns around to become sweet and shmoopy and hot.

Here To The Left Of You by nu_breed 
Jensen moves in with Jared and then things get complicated when realisations, mechanics and Fight Club get involved. This fic has such a great Jared voice, its impossible not to love him. “He takes a look back at Jensen, asleep on the couch. He's... God. He's so fucking gorgeous, and Jared doesn't know why he didn't guess what was happening before now. He'd loved Sandy, that's why, but he knows now what she meant by "There's someone else, isn't there?" He'd told her time and time again the "Jared Padalecki's a cheating douche" rumours were a load of bullshit, but she said it wasn't anything to do with that. That it was something else, someone else, and Jared hadn't known what she'd meant. Until now.”

Home by munibunny 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
Incredibly sweet tale of Jared slowly realising his feelings for Jensen while Jensen simply waits. There’s a scene-stealing appearance by Jared’s mother and great use is made of real-life events, subtly interwoven into the story to enhance the believability.

Home Steady by pocketfullof
A gloriously atmospheric and perfectly slow moving story. So wonderfully written that in parts it reads like poetry. Jared buys a house and Jensen makes himself comfortable.

How The Writers Strike Stole Christmas (And Jared Gave It Back) by apreludetoanend 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
Jared celebrates Christmas in March and sits in a dog-bed while Mike Rosenbaum leaves Smallville, all things that conspire to lead Jensen to Jared in this quirky and funny story. “Jared abandons his singing in favor of tossing red and green M&Ms into his mouth one at a time. He purposely overshoots about half of them forcefully in Jensen’s direction, but all in all, Jensen figures the convenient snack delivery outweighs the occasional chocolate missile that smacks him in the eye, so he doesn’t complain.”

How To Avoid Falling For Your Co-star, Roommate And / Or Best Friend by apostrophee 
Funny, sweet and made even more interesting by the formatting where emails, to do lists, not to do lists and notebook pages are intermingled with the text. They work really well in conveying the effort Jared and Jensen put into not getting together once they become roommates. “So Jared goes on and on for a moment telling the crowd why he misses Jensen and before he knows it he’s telling them how they talked on the phone for like an hour the day before yesterday, but what he really means is that they talked on the phone for three hours yesterday, and one hour earlier that morning, and the only reason that they hung up so soon was because Jensen had an appointment with a dermatologist. Apparently he had some sort of allergic reaction to some prosthetics and broke out in hives.”

I Think He Likes Me by immoralilly
Written for batoutofkansas
Adorable story that made me grin like the Cheshire cat. Jensen slowly comes to realise that he’s been involved with Jared since the day they met. “And Jared… Jared is, if possible, even more than usual. Happier, more excited, mainlining multicoloured candy and talking like crazy while he drapes himself across Jensen’s arm. Or his leg. Or his chair. And Jensen adores it, because he’s never had a friend quite like this, and he really, really likes it.”

I Think I Saw A Porno Like This Once by veronamay
Yay. Gym porn. Jared gets worked up when he watches Jensen work out.

If we were a movie by incompletework2
Sweet fic where Jared pines over Jensen. Chris tries to help by getting Jared to use the power of song to woo his beloved.

I’ll Bring the Pillows aka FORT PADACKLES; or, TEXAS/TEXAS by missdeviant
Jared and Jensen build Fort Padackles out of cushions. Y’know, to honour Texas. So adorable and funny. “It only takes three beers to start reminiscing, three more and Jared's pulled all of the covers off his bed, arranged the chairs in the middle of the living room, and set up a pile of unpacked boxes as a makeshift barricade. Jensen lounges on the sofa during all of this, lips around a bottle and surfing the flickering cable until he happens upon a History Channel documentary.”

In body and in soul can bind by cathybites
Delightful story where Jared and Jensen get stuck together thanks to a cursed amulet.

In Which Jared Makes A Realisation and Jensen Isn’t Nice and timestamp ficlet Airplane Restroom Hijinx by veronamay
This story rocks so much, I may have a crush on it. Jared thinks Jensen is a gentleman. Jensen proved him wrong though vigorous dirty sex. Hooray. “So when he finds himself balls-deep in Jensen's ass in a Heathrow airport restroom, Jensen riding his lap and biting his shoulder hard enough to bruise, moaning the filthiest, hottest things he's ever heard, he's got to wonder: What else have I been missing?”

In which Jensen whines how much of a big, annoying puppy Jared fucking Padalecki is by benitle
Awesome story where Jensen talks to his best friend forever Chris Kane about how annoying Jared is, and then about how ok Jared is and then about how fantastic Jared is. This is really funny and adorable and, might I add, Kane rules.

Incriminating Evidence by timewillbe 
When Jared gets Jensen to move in with him, he ‘accidentally’ searches through his things and finds out some things about Jensen that he just can’t let go of. This is really engrossing with its great pacing and unique twist on the boys move in together story. Also, it’s really not hard to relate to Jared’s curiosity and that believability can’t help but draw the reader in. “Jensen only shrugs, rubs a palm roughly across his chin and then drops his hand to pick up his fork. It's like a silent language that Jared's had to learn over the past couple years. Jensenese. All these physical cues and tics that say more than Jensen ever actually manages with actual words. Even after months apart, Jared can still read it, still understand it. That's comforting. Or possibly disturbing depending on who he asks.”

It Just Is by the_viper_room
Delicious, funny and hot tale, with a really great build-up. Jensen doesn’t like Jared like that. Really. He doesn’t.

It Went Like This by renjifan 
Funny fic where Jared manages to unconsciously woo Jensen despite his proclivity for releasing gas in confined spaces. There’s also a scene-stealing cameo from the Rosenbaum, likable beard Danneeel and tales of filming Friday 13th.

Item: Two Lips, Indifferent Red… by candygramme 
Once Jared starts noticing Jensen’s lips, he finds he really can’t stop in this cute fic.

Jensen Ackles' Epiphany (or: It's Just Sex, Except It's Not) by akintay 
This is so damn cute. Jensen is pretty clueless when it comes to him and Jared until he finally starts picking up on the little clues like Chad calling him Jared’s boyfriend.

Jensen’s Big Gay Love Is The Most Normal Thing Around by lissa_bear
Funny as all hell and blessed with an easy going conversational style, this fabulous story in no way has Jensen hating Sandy, threesomes and Chad dispensing fashion advice. “Like that one time when Jared ran out to get beer and Sandy showed up with one of her girlfriends. And ok, so Jensen didn't actually get to spend much time with Sandy, what with his dick down her friend's throat and all, but had they talked? Jensen's sure it would have been great. And then there was that time when Jared had to wait in line for fifteen minutes to use the bathroom at some shitty hockey game. And come to think of it, they didn't really talk that time, either. But the silence was nice. Very non-hostile.”

Jensen’s Not So Secret Crush by jeyhawk
Sweet and hot and funny and angsty = perfect. Any story that starts with Jared recounting his caribou hunting trip sex dream complete with cameos from Chad and Tom, whilst Jensen almost comes in his pants, is gonna be good and this doesn’t disappoint. Jensen has a crush on Jared and Jared kinda knows about it. “Jared gave him a pointed look and Jensen took another forkful of food; Jared was worse than his mom. Only his mom didn’t have Jared's huge fucking sex hands, dimples or a mop of hair Jensen longed to dig his fingers into. Luckily enough, or Jensen would have given Oedipus a run for his money.”

Just My Imagination by audrarose
Tequila eases the way for Jared and Jensen to get together in this lovely first time story.


J2 getting together fic recs L-Z

As always, I'm sure I've forgotten to include lots of stories that I love. But feel free to let me know if there's any you recommend.

*big hugs*