Smoke & Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder [19/?]
Master post.
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (19/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG to Adult.
Wordcount: 2,485
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jeffrey felt his stomach sink when Stevie opened the door to him. She'd changed into jeans and a thick pullover and he could see that she was upset still. But she smiled when she saw him and let him pull her into his arms and kiss her.
"Hey," he said, relieved. "I'm sorry."
"Jeff, you have nothing to apologize for."
"Jared's not likely to do it himself, though."
"He doesn't have to. Not if he doesn't want." She led him inside, shutting the door and leaning back against it. "I know you're angry with him, but I can understand why he behaved that way. And you know why he did it too."
"That's no excuse for how he acted."
Stevie touched his face then, gently. "He won't think of it that way. I've seen kids go through a lot worse while they were in my classes. And I've seen them go through changes that weren't even half as tough to adjust to. Most of them reacted a lot worse than Jared did tonight. He will come around, Jeff. I guess by now that he knows he was wrong and if you just leave him to think about it, to come to terms with it, then he will. I daresay having Jensen there will help. Young Mr Ackles is a sensible boy. In some things, anyway," Stevie added, thinking back to Jensen's evasiveness when she had questioned him about how he'd been hurt. "But I think he'll help Jared understand that there is nothing to be afraid of."
"Maybe. I guess I can...Understand it," Jeffrey conceded. "But still, I'm real sorry."
"It's okay. I promise."
"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Jeffrey asked her, drawing her in close. Stevie grinned up at him.
"Of course I know. But you can tell me again." She reached up to kiss him. "Do you want to stay tonight?"
Jeffrey thought about Jared, sulking in the garage, and about Jensen, bedded down on the couch - his usual spot - and worrying about everything that had been said. They would both cope, he was sure, and Stevie looked too irresistible an option right now. "I would absolutely love to."
Jensen was asleep and dreaming when he suddenly startled awake, not sure of where exactly he was at first, or of what had woken him. He heard a shuffling and turned over quickly, opening his eyes and blinking to try and adjust his vision.
"Jeffrey?"
The shuffling stopped and Jensen realized then that it wasn't Jeff at all. He sat up properly, licking his lips, and watched as Jared flicked on the lamp at the end of the couch. He looked pretty rough and Jensen knew that he'd started to feel the effects of the earlier drinking.
Jensen rubbed his eyes, watched Jared sit on the edge of the chair opposite him. "You okay?" He asked.
Jared snuffled out a laugh, scrubbed at his face with both hands. "I am so far from okay right now," he said, his voice quiet and scratchy.
Jensen stayed quiet, because he didn't know what to say. Because he wanted Jared to tell him that he was sorry, that things would be all right. That everything would go back to normal.
"You gonna come to bed?" Jared asked, looking over at him with bloodshot eyes.
For a fraction of a second, Jensen wanted to remind him about what Jeffrey had said, but then he looked again and could see clearly the hurt in Jared's eyes, the defeat in the set of his shoulders. "Yeah." He followed Jared out quietly and led the way up to the second floor of the garage. Jared crawled into bed fully dressed, laid himself flat on top of the covers, so Jensen did the same. He turned onto his side, spreading one hand flat upon Jared's chest. "Are you.." He stopped himself, blowing out a breath. "What happened with Jeff?"
Jared didn't seem to hear the question, or ignored it. Instead of answering he just stared at the ceiling. "You're honestly not leaving, right?"
"I'm not," Jensen told him. "I'm staying with you. Only way I'll ever go is if you tell me to."
"What if something else happens? What if I got myself in trouble again? What would you do then?"
"I'd stick by you. 'Cause I care about you. I don't know why I care so much, not after today, but I do. Can't help it."
Jared nodded, silent for a while. Then he covered Jensen's hand with his own, stroking his fingers. "I was a dick to you."
"You were scared," Jensen said, leaning across and kissing his shoulder through the cotton of his teeshirt. "And I'm used to people being dicks to me."
"Not like that. You didn't deserve that."
"Forget about it. I got my own back, right?"
In the absolute quiet that followed, Jensen could hear the distant hum of traffic noise from the highway and the familiar sound of music played too loud about four houses down. Before, when he'd been unable to sleep, these sounds had been annoying. Now they were almost soothing in their routine. He felt Jared pushing at him and rolled onto his back, surprised when the other man curled into him, making himself as small as he could. He laid his head on Jensen's chest and Jensen responded by settling one arm around him and holding him. He turned to quietly kiss the top of his head.
"Don't let me do that again," Jared mumbled, voice muffled by Jensen's teeshirt.
"You really think I can stop you? That's what I love about you, Jay. You set your mind to something, you do it. Even being an ass."
"Jeff probably hates me." He sounded tired, defeated.
"Are you kidding? That guy couldn't hate you no matter how far you pushed him. He's like... I don't know, but I don't think I ever saw two people as close as you are."
"Yeah. I guess."
"So are you going to try and get some sleep?"
"Are we okay?" Jared asked, lifting his head so his words were clear. "You and me? Jeff I can handle, but...I landed you a pretty good one back there. Said some pretty ugly things. Most people would use that as an excuse. It'd change things."
"I'm not most people, Jay. And, even after all that, I still.." He paused, not wanting to say the next words out loud, but not seeing how he could avoid admitting it. "I still kind of love you."
Jared glanced up at him, surprised, but Jensen simply pushed his head back down and told himself to stay calm. It was quiet a long time after that, and Jensen almost believed that Jared had fallen asleep finally. But then Jared moved his head, kissing Jensen's chest, and said,
"So we're okay?"
It was the closest he was going to get to an outright apology, Jensen knew. The closest he would get to saying to Jensen that he loved him right back. He accepted it, told Jared that they were going to be fine, and it was quiet once more.
Jeffrey woke, wrapped in Stevie's arms. He kissed her awake, wishing he could stay in bed with her all day. But he knew he had to go home and make sure things were straightened out. Stevie had talked to him and she'd made an awful lot of sense and now he felt a little guilty that he hadn't given the boy more warning, more time to get used to the idea of someone else in Jeffrey's life. He knew that Jared had been wrong, but he had also realized that maybe the blame wasn't entirely his.
Stevie kept him there with her a little while longer. Long enough. They showered afterward and Jeffrey dressed in the clothes from the night before, which Stevie had washed and let dry overnight. She wrapped a robe around herself and followed him down to her kitchen, asking if he wanted some breakfast before he went. He declined, but said that he'd take her out to dinner that night, by way of apology for the previous evening's ruined meal.
"Nothing was ruined," she told him. "Your cooking's great, since I never got a chance to tell you that, and the pie was amazing."
"I kind of cheated with the pie," Jeffrey admitted, his eyes crinkling at the corners as Stevie laughed.
"I figured," she said, winking. "I won't tell. And besides, arguments around the dinner table? Really captured the essence of Thanksgiving."
"I promise Christmas will be better."
"You think we'll still be together at Christmas?" Stevie teased.
"If I let you go then I'm a madman." Jeffrey kissed her, letting himself get carried away for just a little while longer before finally pulling himself free with an apologetic smile. "I'd better go."
"Yeah. I'll see you tonight. And Jeffrey?"
"What?"
"Bring your toothbrush."
Jeffrey chuckled, shaking his head as he exited the house and went to his car. The drive home was silent, so he could think about what he might say. He let himself in, unsurprised to find that Jensen wasn't on the couch. Taking him away from Jared had been sort of a selfish move, he knew. Unfair on Jensen, not Jared. The poor kid had done nothing wrong except falling in with him and Jared, and he couldn't hold that against him. Looked like Jensen agreed, since he'd clearly snuck out to the garage the moment Jeffrey had left.
Expecting to find him in bed with his boy, Jeffrey headed out to the garage, not worrying about disturbing them. Except Jared was alone. He was sat by himself on the battered sofa, with some kid's cartoon showing on his TV. He wasn't watching it though, instead he was staring intently at his feet. Jeffrey's first thought was that the action the previous night had driven Jensen away. That he had left because he was now scared of both of them, and would rather go back to his father's 'I told you so,' than stay here.
"Where's Jen?" He asked, moving around the sofa and sitting next to Jared.
Jared shrugged. "I woke up, he'd gone."
"You know where?"
"No."
"Oh." Jeffrey looked down at his hands, fiddled with the signet ring he wore. He turned to look at Jared and saw that the kid hadn't slept. "You got anything you want to say to me?"
"Did I fuck things up?" Jared asked. "With you and Stevie?"
"Much as you tried? No, you didn't. I don't think she's going anywhere and I don't want her to."
Jared nodded, gazing at the floor still. "Good." He swallowed, audibly. "I'm...I'm sorry. I was an asshole last night. I shouldn't have been. And you were right."
Jeffrey reached across, pulled Jared against him by his shoulders. "I know, kiddo. Truth hurts, huh?"
"Yeah." Jared sighed, rubbing his hands on his jeans. "Thought you didn't want to see me again."
"Like I'd ever want that. I was mad last night. I cooled off. How about you?"
"I already said I'm sorry," Jared reminded him.
"You know what I meant. Think you can forgive your old man, too?"
"You didn't do anything wrong, Jeff."
"Maybe not. I just want to make sure we're not going to fight about this again."
"We're not. Stevie's real nice, I guess. She'll just never be Mom."
"Nobody ever will be. I wouldn't want them to be. It would hurt the both of us too much. But she's a good woman and she makes me happy."
Jared lifted himself up, looking at Jeffrey. "Yeah. I can see that."
Jeffrey returned the look, surprised. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. How am I looking?"
"Kind of tired. Did you get any sleep at all last night?"
Jared shrugged. "Don't remember. Maybe."
"Well, no offense, but it doesn't look like you did. You want to go grab a shower and I'll make some breakfast and then maybe you can catch a couple hours or something?"
"'m not tired. Or hungry."
"Okay. But you are in need of a shower, trust me on that one. Go on, go. I'll cook something anyway. Maybe you'll feel differently once you've cleaned up."
"Fine," Jared huffed. "Dad."
After his shower, Jared did indeed feel a lot better. At least on the outside. He ate a bacon sandwich, and then a second, having not realized he was so hungry until he started eating.
"You think Jensen's coming back?" Jeffrey asked, taking his time over his own meal.
Jared's head snapped up. "Why wouldn't he? He told me he wasn't gonna leave."
"I just... He's not here. Do you know where he went, then?"
"I have no idea. He didn't tell me. I was still awake when he left, sometime before normal people are awake. He left his stuff behind. Just said he was going somewhere."
"You think maybe he went home? Maybe just to see his mom or something?"
Jared sighed. "I don't know."
Jeffrey frowned. "Fair enough. Aren't you even worried?"
"No reason to be. He told me last night that he loved me."
At that, Jeffrey nearly choked. "Really?"
"Hey, why's that so surprising?"
Jeffrey shook his head, swallowing his mouthful. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at Jared as he set the mug down. "It's not surprising that he loves you, son. Okay, maybe a little surprising that he still does in spite of last night. I'm just shocked that he actually got the courage to say it. Kid's not exactly the bravest boy on the block, is he?"
"I guess I must put him at his ease."
Jeffrey chuckled at that. "Sure you do."
"So, am I still grounded?"
"Yeah, you are. Only 'cause the parts are in for your bike. Harry called, said I can pick 'em up today. So if I go get them later then you can spend the night fixing her rather than going anywhere. Means you don't need my bike back then. You ain't having her back anyway. You gotta get that Ducati up and running next."
"You're letting me work on the Ducati?"
"Sure. I'll pay for the parts, you sort her out. Fair deal, right? And when you get her done, you do what you like. Sell her, keep her, whatever."
"You know it'll take a while, right?"
"I know. It's not like the Suicycle is gonna take long, is it?"
"No. Not if I can't have the Harley." Jared grinned, happy with the deal he'd been given. He finished up his breakfast, feeling brighter and lighter all at once. "You seeing Stevie again today?" He asked.
"Not until tonight. I was thinking you and me could spend the morning like we used to."
"Okay, but I get to-"
"I get to throw first. You owe me. And you can start with that."
--TBC--
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (19/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG to Adult.
Wordcount: 2,485
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jeffrey felt his stomach sink when Stevie opened the door to him. She'd changed into jeans and a thick pullover and he could see that she was upset still. But she smiled when she saw him and let him pull her into his arms and kiss her.
"Hey," he said, relieved. "I'm sorry."
"Jeff, you have nothing to apologize for."
"Jared's not likely to do it himself, though."
"He doesn't have to. Not if he doesn't want." She led him inside, shutting the door and leaning back against it. "I know you're angry with him, but I can understand why he behaved that way. And you know why he did it too."
"That's no excuse for how he acted."
Stevie touched his face then, gently. "He won't think of it that way. I've seen kids go through a lot worse while they were in my classes. And I've seen them go through changes that weren't even half as tough to adjust to. Most of them reacted a lot worse than Jared did tonight. He will come around, Jeff. I guess by now that he knows he was wrong and if you just leave him to think about it, to come to terms with it, then he will. I daresay having Jensen there will help. Young Mr Ackles is a sensible boy. In some things, anyway," Stevie added, thinking back to Jensen's evasiveness when she had questioned him about how he'd been hurt. "But I think he'll help Jared understand that there is nothing to be afraid of."
"Maybe. I guess I can...Understand it," Jeffrey conceded. "But still, I'm real sorry."
"It's okay. I promise."
"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Jeffrey asked her, drawing her in close. Stevie grinned up at him.
"Of course I know. But you can tell me again." She reached up to kiss him. "Do you want to stay tonight?"
Jeffrey thought about Jared, sulking in the garage, and about Jensen, bedded down on the couch - his usual spot - and worrying about everything that had been said. They would both cope, he was sure, and Stevie looked too irresistible an option right now. "I would absolutely love to."
Jensen was asleep and dreaming when he suddenly startled awake, not sure of where exactly he was at first, or of what had woken him. He heard a shuffling and turned over quickly, opening his eyes and blinking to try and adjust his vision.
"Jeffrey?"
The shuffling stopped and Jensen realized then that it wasn't Jeff at all. He sat up properly, licking his lips, and watched as Jared flicked on the lamp at the end of the couch. He looked pretty rough and Jensen knew that he'd started to feel the effects of the earlier drinking.
Jensen rubbed his eyes, watched Jared sit on the edge of the chair opposite him. "You okay?" He asked.
Jared snuffled out a laugh, scrubbed at his face with both hands. "I am so far from okay right now," he said, his voice quiet and scratchy.
Jensen stayed quiet, because he didn't know what to say. Because he wanted Jared to tell him that he was sorry, that things would be all right. That everything would go back to normal.
"You gonna come to bed?" Jared asked, looking over at him with bloodshot eyes.
For a fraction of a second, Jensen wanted to remind him about what Jeffrey had said, but then he looked again and could see clearly the hurt in Jared's eyes, the defeat in the set of his shoulders. "Yeah." He followed Jared out quietly and led the way up to the second floor of the garage. Jared crawled into bed fully dressed, laid himself flat on top of the covers, so Jensen did the same. He turned onto his side, spreading one hand flat upon Jared's chest. "Are you.." He stopped himself, blowing out a breath. "What happened with Jeff?"
Jared didn't seem to hear the question, or ignored it. Instead of answering he just stared at the ceiling. "You're honestly not leaving, right?"
"I'm not," Jensen told him. "I'm staying with you. Only way I'll ever go is if you tell me to."
"What if something else happens? What if I got myself in trouble again? What would you do then?"
"I'd stick by you. 'Cause I care about you. I don't know why I care so much, not after today, but I do. Can't help it."
Jared nodded, silent for a while. Then he covered Jensen's hand with his own, stroking his fingers. "I was a dick to you."
"You were scared," Jensen said, leaning across and kissing his shoulder through the cotton of his teeshirt. "And I'm used to people being dicks to me."
"Not like that. You didn't deserve that."
"Forget about it. I got my own back, right?"
In the absolute quiet that followed, Jensen could hear the distant hum of traffic noise from the highway and the familiar sound of music played too loud about four houses down. Before, when he'd been unable to sleep, these sounds had been annoying. Now they were almost soothing in their routine. He felt Jared pushing at him and rolled onto his back, surprised when the other man curled into him, making himself as small as he could. He laid his head on Jensen's chest and Jensen responded by settling one arm around him and holding him. He turned to quietly kiss the top of his head.
"Don't let me do that again," Jared mumbled, voice muffled by Jensen's teeshirt.
"You really think I can stop you? That's what I love about you, Jay. You set your mind to something, you do it. Even being an ass."
"Jeff probably hates me." He sounded tired, defeated.
"Are you kidding? That guy couldn't hate you no matter how far you pushed him. He's like... I don't know, but I don't think I ever saw two people as close as you are."
"Yeah. I guess."
"So are you going to try and get some sleep?"
"Are we okay?" Jared asked, lifting his head so his words were clear. "You and me? Jeff I can handle, but...I landed you a pretty good one back there. Said some pretty ugly things. Most people would use that as an excuse. It'd change things."
"I'm not most people, Jay. And, even after all that, I still.." He paused, not wanting to say the next words out loud, but not seeing how he could avoid admitting it. "I still kind of love you."
Jared glanced up at him, surprised, but Jensen simply pushed his head back down and told himself to stay calm. It was quiet a long time after that, and Jensen almost believed that Jared had fallen asleep finally. But then Jared moved his head, kissing Jensen's chest, and said,
"So we're okay?"
It was the closest he was going to get to an outright apology, Jensen knew. The closest he would get to saying to Jensen that he loved him right back. He accepted it, told Jared that they were going to be fine, and it was quiet once more.
Jeffrey woke, wrapped in Stevie's arms. He kissed her awake, wishing he could stay in bed with her all day. But he knew he had to go home and make sure things were straightened out. Stevie had talked to him and she'd made an awful lot of sense and now he felt a little guilty that he hadn't given the boy more warning, more time to get used to the idea of someone else in Jeffrey's life. He knew that Jared had been wrong, but he had also realized that maybe the blame wasn't entirely his.
Stevie kept him there with her a little while longer. Long enough. They showered afterward and Jeffrey dressed in the clothes from the night before, which Stevie had washed and let dry overnight. She wrapped a robe around herself and followed him down to her kitchen, asking if he wanted some breakfast before he went. He declined, but said that he'd take her out to dinner that night, by way of apology for the previous evening's ruined meal.
"Nothing was ruined," she told him. "Your cooking's great, since I never got a chance to tell you that, and the pie was amazing."
"I kind of cheated with the pie," Jeffrey admitted, his eyes crinkling at the corners as Stevie laughed.
"I figured," she said, winking. "I won't tell. And besides, arguments around the dinner table? Really captured the essence of Thanksgiving."
"I promise Christmas will be better."
"You think we'll still be together at Christmas?" Stevie teased.
"If I let you go then I'm a madman." Jeffrey kissed her, letting himself get carried away for just a little while longer before finally pulling himself free with an apologetic smile. "I'd better go."
"Yeah. I'll see you tonight. And Jeffrey?"
"What?"
"Bring your toothbrush."
Jeffrey chuckled, shaking his head as he exited the house and went to his car. The drive home was silent, so he could think about what he might say. He let himself in, unsurprised to find that Jensen wasn't on the couch. Taking him away from Jared had been sort of a selfish move, he knew. Unfair on Jensen, not Jared. The poor kid had done nothing wrong except falling in with him and Jared, and he couldn't hold that against him. Looked like Jensen agreed, since he'd clearly snuck out to the garage the moment Jeffrey had left.
Expecting to find him in bed with his boy, Jeffrey headed out to the garage, not worrying about disturbing them. Except Jared was alone. He was sat by himself on the battered sofa, with some kid's cartoon showing on his TV. He wasn't watching it though, instead he was staring intently at his feet. Jeffrey's first thought was that the action the previous night had driven Jensen away. That he had left because he was now scared of both of them, and would rather go back to his father's 'I told you so,' than stay here.
"Where's Jen?" He asked, moving around the sofa and sitting next to Jared.
Jared shrugged. "I woke up, he'd gone."
"You know where?"
"No."
"Oh." Jeffrey looked down at his hands, fiddled with the signet ring he wore. He turned to look at Jared and saw that the kid hadn't slept. "You got anything you want to say to me?"
"Did I fuck things up?" Jared asked. "With you and Stevie?"
"Much as you tried? No, you didn't. I don't think she's going anywhere and I don't want her to."
Jared nodded, gazing at the floor still. "Good." He swallowed, audibly. "I'm...I'm sorry. I was an asshole last night. I shouldn't have been. And you were right."
Jeffrey reached across, pulled Jared against him by his shoulders. "I know, kiddo. Truth hurts, huh?"
"Yeah." Jared sighed, rubbing his hands on his jeans. "Thought you didn't want to see me again."
"Like I'd ever want that. I was mad last night. I cooled off. How about you?"
"I already said I'm sorry," Jared reminded him.
"You know what I meant. Think you can forgive your old man, too?"
"You didn't do anything wrong, Jeff."
"Maybe not. I just want to make sure we're not going to fight about this again."
"We're not. Stevie's real nice, I guess. She'll just never be Mom."
"Nobody ever will be. I wouldn't want them to be. It would hurt the both of us too much. But she's a good woman and she makes me happy."
Jared lifted himself up, looking at Jeffrey. "Yeah. I can see that."
Jeffrey returned the look, surprised. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. How am I looking?"
"Kind of tired. Did you get any sleep at all last night?"
Jared shrugged. "Don't remember. Maybe."
"Well, no offense, but it doesn't look like you did. You want to go grab a shower and I'll make some breakfast and then maybe you can catch a couple hours or something?"
"'m not tired. Or hungry."
"Okay. But you are in need of a shower, trust me on that one. Go on, go. I'll cook something anyway. Maybe you'll feel differently once you've cleaned up."
"Fine," Jared huffed. "Dad."
After his shower, Jared did indeed feel a lot better. At least on the outside. He ate a bacon sandwich, and then a second, having not realized he was so hungry until he started eating.
"You think Jensen's coming back?" Jeffrey asked, taking his time over his own meal.
Jared's head snapped up. "Why wouldn't he? He told me he wasn't gonna leave."
"I just... He's not here. Do you know where he went, then?"
"I have no idea. He didn't tell me. I was still awake when he left, sometime before normal people are awake. He left his stuff behind. Just said he was going somewhere."
"You think maybe he went home? Maybe just to see his mom or something?"
Jared sighed. "I don't know."
Jeffrey frowned. "Fair enough. Aren't you even worried?"
"No reason to be. He told me last night that he loved me."
At that, Jeffrey nearly choked. "Really?"
"Hey, why's that so surprising?"
Jeffrey shook his head, swallowing his mouthful. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at Jared as he set the mug down. "It's not surprising that he loves you, son. Okay, maybe a little surprising that he still does in spite of last night. I'm just shocked that he actually got the courage to say it. Kid's not exactly the bravest boy on the block, is he?"
"I guess I must put him at his ease."
Jeffrey chuckled at that. "Sure you do."
"So, am I still grounded?"
"Yeah, you are. Only 'cause the parts are in for your bike. Harry called, said I can pick 'em up today. So if I go get them later then you can spend the night fixing her rather than going anywhere. Means you don't need my bike back then. You ain't having her back anyway. You gotta get that Ducati up and running next."
"You're letting me work on the Ducati?"
"Sure. I'll pay for the parts, you sort her out. Fair deal, right? And when you get her done, you do what you like. Sell her, keep her, whatever."
"You know it'll take a while, right?"
"I know. It's not like the Suicycle is gonna take long, is it?"
"No. Not if I can't have the Harley." Jared grinned, happy with the deal he'd been given. He finished up his breakfast, feeling brighter and lighter all at once. "You seeing Stevie again today?" He asked.
"Not until tonight. I was thinking you and me could spend the morning like we used to."
"Okay, but I get to-"
"I get to throw first. You owe me. And you can start with that."
--TBC--