Title: Light From a Burning Bridge
Author: kelleigh
Artist: blondebitz
Genre: RPS
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles
Rating: NC17
Word Count: 38K
Warnings: Off-screen Character Death. Mentions of life-threatening situations. Discussion of traumatic events.

Summary: Sometimes you get the brightest light from a burning bridge. Jensen Ackles is no stranger to loss. His parents are gone and today he’s burying his only brother after a rescue gone wrong. Jensen knows the tradition—that the fire department would send someone to help him as a way of honoring their late captain—but the last thing he needs is another firefighter hanging around, reminding him of what he lost. He especially doesn’t want to see this particular firefighter.

Jared Padalecki was wild, cocky, and always chasing the next rush. After parting ways three years ago, Jensen thought he’d never have to see him again. Little did he know that Jared had been transferred to his brother’s station just months before his death, catapulting them back into each other’s lives. Now, if Jensen has any chance of climbing out of this darkness, he’s going to have to accept a lifeline from the man he swore he’d never forgive.


READ IT HERE ON AO3
ART MASTERPOST from blondebitz




This story was born from my love for 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star. Firefighters, am I right? This is entirely a work of fiction, and I make no claim to understand the realities of being a first responder, except that I have the utmost respect for those that do this kind of work. At first, I was really hesitant to even attempt this year's spn_j2_bigbang given everything that's happening in the world. I wasn't sure I could take on a large project with actual deadlines, but I'm happy I pushed through. The world needs more Firefighter!AUs ♥

The concept of assigning firefighters to help out a spouse/significant other/family members after a tragedy is a real tradition, though I doubt this is the intended result :P



Thank you to blondebitz for making such a portfolio of art to go along with this story! I'm glad you were so enthusiastic going into the challenge. Thank you for being so patient, especially during these tough and crazy times ♥ I hope you had fun for this round of Big Bang!

This story would not have been possible without the help of dugindeep, ashtraythief, zubeneschamali, cherie_morte, and quickreaver. Our "Defend your Draft!" ZOOM discussions over the last few weeks made all the difference! I might have cried and complained a lot about your suggestions (WRITING IS HAAAARD), but they made this a better story and I'm very very grateful! You ladies are the best. Remember, when in doubt, add more Chad.

BIG thanks to Jerzcaligrl for the beta work throughout this entire process! Thank you for being patient with me and for taking the time to be so thorough ♥ ♥

Thank you to wendy for taking the time and bringing us this Big Bang challenge year after year! I was grateful to have it amidst all the craziness we're dealing with, and can't wait to read the other contributions.