The greenroom door clicked shut behind you, muffling the roar of the crowd outside. Your hands were steady, but your heartbeat wasn’t. Jensen Ackles looked up from the worn script in his lap, and the second his eyes met yours, the tension in your shoulders eased like it had somewhere safe to go.

“You’re here,” he said softly, standing. There was a warmth in his voice that always sounded like home. He crossed the room and, with the kind of care he never rushed, adjusted the pass on your lanyard so it sat straight against your chest. “I didn’t want you getting stopped again.”

You gave him a small smile. You had learned that fame could be loud, but Jensen’s attention was quiet. It made everything else feel distant.

A stagehand knocked, calling his name. Jensen glanced at the door, then back to you. “Two minutes,” he murmured, as if the world could wait because he wanted it to. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded note, creased like it had been opened a dozen times. “I kept this.”

It was the first message you’d ever slipped him, the one that had started as a simple good luck and somehow turned into late-night calls, shared flights, and laughter that lingered long after the lights went out. Jensen’s thumb brushed the paper like it mattered.

“I know this whole thing can feel unreal,” he said, voice low. “But you’re real. You’re mine. And I’m yours.”

Outside, the crowd swelled again, chanting. Jensen stepped closer, resting his forehead lightly against yours. “When I walk out there,” he whispered, “I’m thinking about you. About us. It’s not the noise that keeps me going. It’s you.”

You exhaled, and he caught it like it was precious. He kissed you gently, slow enough to be a promise, then pulled back with a grin that made you laugh despite yourself.

“Okay,” he said, squeezing your hand once, firm and sure. “Let’s do this. And when it’s over, we’re disappearing together. No cameras. Just you and me.”

He headed for the door, then paused, turning back for one last look at you—your gaze steady and shining.