The first time is entirely a coincidence. They're both at Starbucks, and the barista calls, "Venti ice latte for J-something," and he and another guy both go for it. The guy is tall with long hair and an easy smile, which he turns on Jensen when they both reach for the drink.

"J-something?" he asks. He has dimples.

"Jensen," he says.

"Jared," says the guy. He pulls his hand away. "You can take this one. Another one's coming, right?"

"Yeah," Jensen manages. "Thanks."

"Have a good day, Jensen!"

He can't help smiling. "You too, Jared."

*

And then it's like Jared is everywhere, like a pattern he's just become aware of and can't help seeing in everything. He's at the library. He's at the grocery store. He's all over Jensen's life, and Jensen can't help kind of liking it.

He finds out Jared is twenty-three, went to UCLA, and is a musician. He can't sing (he admits, with a self-deprecating smile), but he plays bass and lives with one of his friends from his band, who is a girl but not his girlfriend.

Jensen admits that he's in graduate school studying literature and likes books better than most people and is never going to get an ice latte again because he found it totally gross. He doesn't know if Jared remembers any of this stuff, but he's incredibly aware that he's admitting all of this, that he's opening up to this guy even though he never opens up to anyone.

Danneel tells him he's pathetic. Chris tells him he's a coward. Adrianne tells him fortune favors the bold, but in Latin, because she is a pretentious Classics person and he adores her.

He figures it's probably fate when he sees a sign up in Starbucks, advertising Jared's band for a show tonight. It's pretty much the universe telling him his friends are right. It's time to do something.

*

The bar is small but crowded, the kind of place Jensen would never come when let to his own devices, but the beer is cheap and kind of decent, and Jared is on stage, rocking out in the back. He spots Jensen a few songs before the end, and his smile is so wide and sudden that Jensen is pretty sure he missed a note.

"Fancy meeting you here!" says Jared. "Seriously, I see you everywhere. I'm starting to think the universe is giving us a sign."

Jensen laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Actually, this one was me."

Jared raises his eyebrows, a smile playing about his lips. "You, huh?"

"I saw a poster. I figured I'd come see how you guys were."

Jared beams. "Oh good. Because I'd been trying to run into you, and I realized I actually have no idea where hot literature PhD guys hang out."

Jensen flushes, but he's smiling too. "In our apartments, mostly."

"Well, that is a place I would love to visit sometime," says Jared. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Jensen ducks his head, laughing. "I could live with that."