Stranger Than Fiction

"I don't like it," Jason grumbled.

"We all ready agreed to it," Grant sighed, reminding his partner for the hundredth time.

"That doesn't mean I have to love selling my soul."

Grant laughed. "Sell your soul?"
"It's a TV. show G and from what I heard, the last time they featured "ghost hunters" on it, they portrayed them as buffoons."

"We have a contract and an agreement. That won't happen. Besides, we have a show ourselves and part of the deal is they do our Halloween special with us. Maybe they'll end up looking like buffoons."

"Like Elijah?" Jason laughed, relaxing just a little.

"Hopefully not like Mr. Burke. I think I'm still sore from where he pushed me."

"Are you? Show me where. I'll kiss it and make it better."

Grant pointed to his shoulder, then his neck, then his chin. From there Jason got the idea. After several long kisses, Jason's mind seemed to be off of their next gig which was an appearance on the
CW's show Supernatural. They already had their scripts, were packed and ready to fly to Vancouver. The script called for the shows stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles to pose as investigators-in-
training in order to get into a haunted home of a wealthy family. Jason feared the appearance would cause their credibility to suffer, hence the constant "selling our soul" statement.

Grant felt in some ways, having their own show always hurt their credibility. There would always be those who thought
they were in it for the money. Roto Rooter gave them time off because the show was free advertising, people on their radio program were always hawking their own books. Grant saw no reason not to profit a little from their success. Plus, he felt somehow they could educate their soon to be co-stars and maybe even the writing staff about what they do.

With their bags backed and Steve and Brian holding down the fort until they got back, they headed for the airport and their flight to Vancouver. Life had become crazy for them since their show hit the air. Over the last three years, they'd become closer than ever. There was always something between them, but the line had blurred long ago. On the road they were lovers; at home family men. They
lectured, they appeared at colleges and conventions. They walked a tightrope living a double life as married men and blue collar workers during the week and paranormal investigators and lovers on the
weekends.

The flight to Vancouver was uneventful. A car picked them up and drove them to the Vancouver Hilton where they shared a suite. A rental car awaited them in the parking lot of the hotel.

"This sure beats the Holiday inn," Jason announced, looking around at the deluxe accommodations they had.

"There's a Jacuzzi in here," Grant called from the bathroom. Jason joined him, admiring the plumbing work like the plumbing nerd he was.

"We'll put that to use later," Jason promised, wrapping his arms around Grant and pulling him back against him.

"Much later," Grant answered. "We are having dinner with Jared and Jensen tonight and we have an early call tomorrow."

"Listen to you," Jason purred,"going all Hollywood on me already."

Grant laughed and allowed himself to be held a bit longer before squirming out of the embrace. "Let's go sightseeing."

As much as Jason wanted to stay in, rest and try out the Jacuzzi, he agreed. When they were away,
they were like newlyweds. He liked walking with Grant, maybe even sneaking in a chance to hold
hands. He remembered when things really heated up between him and Grant. It was the time they
did the investigation in his hometown. He'd driven Grant around town, showing him everywhere he'd
hung out. When he'd asked Grant what he thought of his old stomping grounds, Grant's answer had
been so cute that he couldn't help but pull him into a hug. The hug turned into a kiss and soon he
found himself taking Grant to the spot he and young boys like him would go to make out. From that
point on, they always found time during an investigation to look around, have some alone time
together seeing the city or small town they were in.

They spent their first day in Vancouver eating lunch, sightseeing and of course going to a library. They
were going to be filming in a famous mansion noted for really being haunted. Grant watched Jason
pour over the materials about Fort Vancouver, where they'd be filming. Jason was like a child when it
came to hauntings. Part of the deal they'd agreed to included coming back to the fort with Jared and
Jensen and the TAPS crew and do a two day investigation.

"What?" Jason asked when he realized Grant was watching him.

"Nothing," the slightly younger man smiled. "Just like seeing you like this."

"Gee Grant, if I had known you were this much of a girl I would have married you when I first met
you."

Grant's smile faltered just a bit. There were a few rules they abided by when together: one was never to talk about their wives and the other was never to speak of anything being permanent in their
relationship. He knew Jason was joking but the "M" word always made Grant uneasy. As if sensing his misstep, Jason closed the book abruptly and extended his hand to Grant.

"Come on G, let's find you something pretty to wear tonight."

**********
"Which one is the bald one again?" Jensen asked, changing his shirt for the fourth time.

"Jason," Jared answered, vying for a spot in the mirror.

"He's the mean one." Jensen affirmed.

"He's the founder of TAPS and he's not mean, just exacting."

"You say tomato," Jensen whispered.

"What are you so nervous about Jen?"

"Him sensing we're queers and pounding us into one of the sets."

"Are you serious?" Jared shook his head. "Since when do you care what people think?"

"I don't. Just try not to act so much like a girl tonight. I don't want to ruin our chances of going on a real hunt with those two."

Jared mock punched his lover in the arm.

"See, that's what I'm talking about Jared. You hit like a girl."

Jensen got two harder punches as a reward for his comments.

"Look, the whole BDSM thing is really a turn on but we're running late sweetheart." Jensen ran for the bathroom before an even harder blow could be landed.

"I'll get you Smeckles."

"You always do," Jensen yelled out from behind the closed door.

*******

Neither pair of men knew what to expect from the other pair. They met at the restaurant as per their arrangement, Jason and Grant arriving first and being shown to a private booth out of sight from most
of the diners. Jason glanced at his watch a few times and grumbled something about Hollywood types always being late.

"One, we are not in Hollywood and two, how many Hollywood starlets do you dine with when my back is turned?"

Jason pretended to count the number in his head and received a swift kick in the shin for it. "If you like it rough, just wait until we get back to the room," he said under his breath. He loved making Grant blush. Grant was just about to say something equally wicked when their hosts arrived. Jason wasn't a big fan of their show but Grant watched Supernatural every chance he got. Both men stood to greet the
younger men.

"Hi, I'm Grant and this is Jason."

"I'm Jared and this is Jensen. Nice to meet you."

Handshakes were exchanged and a few pleasantries before the four were seated. Both pairs of men made a conscious effort not to sit too close to their partners. The foursome fell into an uncomfortable
silence. Jason stared at his menu, Grant kept sipping his water, Jared smiled uncontrollably and Jensen kept playing with his napkin.

"May I get you something from the bar?"

All four men eagerly ordered. All were hoping the entire evening wasn't going to be like this.