Smoke & Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder [31/?]
SMOKE & LIGHTNING, HEAVY METAL THUNDER
MASTER POST
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (31/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG/ish.
Wordcount: 3,735
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.
GAH! SO. LJ was barely working last night. So, here's the next chapter TONIGHT. And, hopefully, the next one will be posted on Sunday and then, with luck, the posting schedule will return to normal. Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the last two chapters. I swear at some point I will get to answering them, it's just that, well, I suck! Adorable's working hard on the next chapter, so with me taking a little break from writing, I will have time to go through and thank everyone properly. We love you guys for sticking with us, and for reading.
Finally, before we get to the chapter itself, if you haven't then PLEASE go look at these completely awesome wallpapers that Adorable made. I mean...GUH. ♥ You won't be disappointed. ;)
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jared had teased Jensen about making a mess of the sheets, reminding him of how innocent he'd tried to act with his little sister.
"It's like she already knew that you'd come like a sixteen-year-old boy without even being touched," he murmured, his voice soft on Jensen's skin.
Jensen felt his cheeks flame, but felt the need to argue that Jared had been touching him the whole time, in case he'd forgotten. And also that he still was a teenager, only a few years off sixteen anyway, which made Jared laugh and pull him in for a brief kiss.
"Guess we'd better strip the bed, huh?"
"I guess." Between them they took the sheets off and then cleaned up and got dressed again. Jensen emptied out his bathroom trashcan into the larger one in the kitchen and Jared loaded the dirtied sheets and towels into the washer, switching it on. Kenzie came into the kitchen as he was doing so and gave him a knowing smile. Jensen shooed her out when she told him he was gross and heard her calling out to their mom as she went.
"I'll throttle that brat," he grumbled, but Jared pulled him back.
"She's just doing her job of being a little sister. They're meant to annoy the crap out of you."
"I guess."
Jared grinned, pulling Jensen firmly to him. He kissed him quietly for a few moments, giving up only when Kenzie whistled at them from the door.
"Yeah, yeah," Jensen said, pulling away, but not allowing Jared to let go of him. "Gonna kick your butt if you keep it up."
"Sure you are, Jensen."
"Kick your butt at Nintendo any day of the week."
Kenzie straightened. "You're on. Bet I beat the both of you."
They followed her into the den and Donna joined them a few minutes into their game, sitting beside her son. She ruffled his hair and laughed when he ducked away and told her to stop helping out the enemy.
None of them heard the car pulling up in the driveway.
None of them knew who it was until the front door slammed open and the voice of Alan shouted Jensen's name through the house. Jared simply looked up, but Donna paled and Jensen threw his controller to the floor and rose to his feet, as if expecting some kind of physical confrontation. He heard his father moving through the house and felt a lump rise in his throat as he struggled to swallow. The door to the den crashed open, the knob bouncing it off the wall again, and Alan stood in the doorway, staring in at them.
"What in the name of God is this?" He asked, his voice dangerously quiet. His face was a hot and angry shade of red and his attention was directed not at Jensen, but at Jared.
"Alan, please don't-"
"What is he doing in my house?" Alan wanted to know, turning to his wife as he spoke. He looked back to Jared, pointing one shaking finger at him. "You. You get out of my house now before I call the police. And take that thing out of my driveway."
Jared got up, shaking his head. "No problem. C'mon, Jen." He grabbed Jensen's arm and tugged him from the room, Alan following close on their heels. Presumably to make sure they left. Jensen felt sick to his stomach and went willingly. As he took their helmets from the stand by the door, Jared turned to look at Alan and was met with a ferocious glare. It didn't stop him. "I know you don't care, Ackles, but you're losing your son. Hope you can live with that."
"I'm not losing him. You're taking him away."
"And you can't be bothered to stop me."
Alan glanced to Jensen, unblinking. "Why should I? If he wants to go, then he wants to go. What the hell should I care?"
Jared stared at him some more, then tugged his helmet on and headed for the bike. Jensen didn't follow him right away. Swallowing his nerves, he held his own helmet in front of him and looked his father in the eyes.
"You're unbelievable, Dad."
Alan actually looked away. Only for a beat, but Jensen saw it. But then he was moving closer, a hand out in front of him as if to push Jensen out of the door. "I told you to leave," he reminded Jensen, not that he needed to. Within moments he was on the back of the bike, his arms around Jared's waist, listening to him rev the engine a few times before he sped out, tyres spraying up gravel.
It was only a minute after Jared pulled up outside Jeffrey's place that the cops arrived. One patrol car, blue lights flashing but the siren off, eased into the driveway right behind his bike. Jared recognised one of the officers inside it, and he pulled off his helmet and turned to face them, scowling. Jeffrey had come to the door, too, with Stevie right behind him.
"What the hell do you want?" He called, his voice gruff and annoyed.
"Sir, we're not going to cause any trouble. We just have to check out your boy's bike, make sure it's not stolen. We had a report-"
"Report, my ass," Jeff interrupted, as Jared rolled his eyes and said, "Ackles."
Shelby raced out then, scrabbling free between Jeff and Stevie, and came to a halt in front of the two police officers. She yipped at them both, about as terrifying as a gerbil, and Jensen couldn't help but laugh at her. He stepped out in front of Jared and knelt down, scooping the puppy into his arms. The officers both waited until she was quiet, licking the outside of Jensen's helmet, until they spoke again.
"Padalecki, we need to see your papers for the bike and your license too."
"Jesus Christ, this is bullshit," Jeffrey muttered, his fists clenched at his sides. Stevie had a hand on his arm, though Jensen thought that if Jeff wanted to start throwing punches then there was no way she could stop him.
Jared held up his hands to the man. "Jeff, chill! I haven't even done anything, okay? I'll go get the papers."
"Sure thing, son," said the first officer. Pulman, his name was. Jared remembered him because he'd been the one to bust him for underage drinking one night. Thankfully he'd just brought him straight home to Jeff and told him to keep a better eye on the kid. "We'll be right here. Don't try going anywhere."
"I'm not gonna," Jared bit out.
"You guys seriously got nothing better to do than harrass the boy?" Jeff asked, as Jared went past him into the house. He noticed Clough, Pulman's partner, eyeing Jensen and told the younger boy to get inside too.
"We're not harrassing anyone, Mr Morgan. Just doing our job."
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Clough, you sound like a dick when you say stuff like that. You not taught him anything yet, Drew?"
Pulman lowered his gaze. "He's four months on the job, Jeff. Cut the kid some slack."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Jeff was still visibly pissed, but at least his muscles were more relaxed and he didn't look like he was about to knock someone out. He looked over at their squad car. "Turn those goddamn lights off, will you? Whole neighbourhood knows you're here now, so I don't think you need 'em any more."
Pulman nodded at Clough who headed back to the car and reached in to flick a switch. The front yard went mercifully darker and Jeff blinked a few times to try and get rid of the colors still dancing in his eyes. He turned as Jared opened the garage door and came back outside with all his documents and watched, satisfied, as he handed them over. Pulman looked through them thoroughly - just doing his job, thought Jeff, sourly - and then nodded and handed them back.
"Thanks for your time, Jay. We get a report like we did, we can't just ignore it, y'know?"
Jared's lip curled. "Yeah, I know. Ackles knows it too. You see him again, you can tell him he's an ass from me."
Pulman and Clough said nothing to that, and Jared didn't move again until they were both back in the squad car and it was pulling back out onto the road. Jared rolled his bike into the garage with Jeff following, while Stevie went back through the front door and locked up behind herself.
"So?" Jeff asked.
"Ackles came home while we were still over there. Guess he was more pissed off than I thought."
"Figures. Jensen okay?"
"I guess."
Jeffrey nodded, thoughtful, and then turned to go into the house. Jensen was in the kitchen with Stevie, his helmet sat on the kitchen table and Shelby in his lap as he tickled her belly. He looked up when Jeff came in, closely followed by Jared.
"You all right, kid?"
"I'm fine. Are they gone?"
"Yeah, they're gone. What happened with your Dad?"
Jensen shrugged. "He came home early, threw me out all over again. Up until then we were having a really good time. Uh. Speaking of which..." Jensen carefully set Shelby down on the floor and stood, pointing to the door through to the garage. "I really gotta go make a phone call."
Jared smirked and Jensen felt his cheeks flush, because he had a feeling that Jared knew exactly who that call might be to and what it might be about. He excused himself and headed out to his and Jared's space, closing the door behind him.
Stevie, who'd stayed quiet for the most part, asked Jared what exactly that had been about.
"I might've, uh, popped his cherry today."
"Do we want to hear this?" Jeff asked.
"Probably not, but I'm telling you anyway. Right there in his house. It was fucking awesome."
"Jesus Christ, Jay, shut the hell up."
"Why? You bragged about Stevie."
At that Stevie's eyebrows shot up and she turned on Jeff. "You what?"
"I did not!"
"Yeah, he did," Jared continued, oblivious to how much trouble he was probably getting himself into. "Said you were a better ride than the Harley."
Jeff's hands were clenched into fists once more and he reached out and grabbed Jared's collar, narrowing his eyes. "Better shut up right there, JT. 'Fore you lose some damned teeth."
Jared just grinned, lifting both hands. "Easy, old man. She knows I'm kidding."
Stevie laughed. "I thought you were kidding, now I'm not quite so sure." She pulled Jeff back and he let Jared go so he could wrap his arms around her instead. "Good ride?"
"Huh."
She stood on her toes and kissed the tip of his nose, ignoring Jared's gagging sounds as she did so. Jeff called him an asshole, but was cut off as Stevie moved her kiss to his mouth. "C'mon, mister. Don't want the kids putting us to shame, do we?"
"Oh, seriously?" Jared moaned. "With us in the house? That's fucking sick."
Stevie shot him a sidelong wink and all but dragged Jeff to the stairs.
In the garage Jensen was speaking to the only person he wanted to tell: Chris. He didn't feel like going into detail; he just wanted his best buddy to congratulate him. To reassure him that he'd done the right thing. It was exactly what Chris did.
"I can't believe you did it in your Dad's house, though. You might as well have gone in there with spray paint and wrote 'Fuck You' on the walls."
"Almost felt like it," Jensen admitted.
"He deserves it, that asshole."
"Yeah, he called the cops out on Jay too. That was fun to come home to. They didn't do anything. I think Dad just wanted to embarrass him by having them come round here."
"You think it worked?"
Jensen snorted. "Take a hell of a lot more than that to make Jay feel any shame. I think the neighbours probably see more of the cops than he ever did."
"You're likely right. Hey, you doing anything Christmas Eve?"
"Jay says he's got something planned for the evening, but before then I think we're just hanging out here. Mom said something about coming over. If she still does, I don't know... Why, you want to come over too?" Jensen looked around as he heard Jared on the steps down to the garage and barely heard Chris's reply that he didn't want to interrupt anything. Jensen closed his eyes, tilting his head to one side as Jared wrapped strong arms around him and kissed the side of his neck. "You won't be intruding, idiot." He cut off when Jared took the phone from his hand and brought it to his own ear, keeping one arm tight around his boyfriend's body.
"Hey, Chris, it's Jay. Come over Christmas Eve, around six-thirty. 'Less you gotta go to church, 'cause it could be a late night. You game?"
"Uh... Sure."
"Cool, we'll see you then." He snapped the phone shut and threw it onto the couch behind Jensen, then covered the other man's mouth with his own, kissing him hard. He knew Chris wouldn't be too mad and if Jensen was about to tell him off for hanging up on his friend, then he forgot about doing so pretty quickly.
Jensen's mom brought Kenzie with her on Christmas Eve, much to his sister's delight. He was growing ever more certain that she was nurturing some kind of crush on Jared and he was secretly amused by the way Jared played up to that. They didn't talk about their last visit together, and Jensen didn't mention the visit from the cops that had followed either. His mom looked tired enough without having that added to her worries. He helped her carry in four large boxes from the car, while Jared fixed them all some coffee and found the cookies that Stevie had stashed away the day before.
"You all right, mom?" Jensen asked, as he placed the last box on the floor of the garage. She looked around, not meeting his eyes when she answered.
"I'm fine, hon. Just tired. Christmas preparation is pretty exhausting."
He nodded, pulling at a thread that hung off the left wrist of his sweatshirt. "You ever consider just leaving him?"
That got her attention on him. "Of course I have," she told him, her voice sharper than it had been a moment ago. "It's just not that easy, Jensen. I have Kenzie still at home and I want the best for her. I want her to have every chance you and your brother had."
"Dad didn't give me that many chances," Jensen reminded her.
"You know he would have if you'd stayed at home." Her expression softened. "You know what I meant, baby. He's a lawyer, he's not some stupid schmuck. If I tried to leave then he'd fix it so me and Kenzie had nothing left. Besides... Deep down I know he still loves you."
"He's got a hell of a way of showing it," came the muttered reply.
"I'm sorry. For God's sake, don't be disappointed in me."
Jensen shook his head, reaching out and stepping forward to wrap his arms around his mom. "I'm not, mom," he told her, burying his head in her hair. "I'm really not. I'm just glad you're here."
"Me too, honey." They stood where they were, holding onto each other, for a few more moments. Then Donna patted Jensen's back and stepped away. "Come on, let's go make sure your sister hasn't embarrassed herself."
"She knows she doesn't stand a chance, right?"
"All her friends are already talking about boys and she's not so young and naïve as she used to be either. She probably won't let the fact that he's your boyfriend stop her flirting."
"Then you're absolutely right, Mom. We should get in there and stop her."
He wasn't surprised to find Jared was busy having his arm tugged on by Kenzie as he held her Christmas present from him and Jensen well out of her reach. He was laughing at her futile attempts to try and climb him and wound up tossing the gift over to Jensen when he saw him come in.
"Jay, stop teasing my poor sister."
"Oh, sure, take her side." Jared watched Jensen hand the present to his sister and tutted. "You know you don't get to open that 'til tomorrow, right?"
Kenzie hugged the box to her chest and ignored him. "Thank you Jensen! Thank you Jared!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. You can save the abuse for tomorrow when you find out what he got you. You like Henry Fonda, right?"
Kenzie wrinkled her nose at him, then decided ignoring him completely was the best policy and pulled a chair back to sit. She looked unsure, though, and Jensen just had to stifle a laugh. He sat next to Jared while his mom took the chair next to Kenzie and they each pulled a mug of coffee toward them. They were halfway through their drinks when Jeff and Stevie arrived back from a long walk with the puppy. Kenzie immediately turned into the young girl Jensen wanted her to be and crouched down on the floor to fuss and coo over Shelby, while Jeff made more coffee and Stevie talked happily to Donna.
Jensen looked around at everyone, smiling as he thought this was what Christmas should be like. Jared squeezed his hand under the table and he leaned over for a quick kiss, ignoring his sister's sudden eagle eyes as she watched him. Jealous, he thought, and laughed quietly to himself.
It was dark by the time they saw Donna and Kenzie out. Stevie promised that Jensen's sister could come over any time she liked to see Shelby, even take her for a walk if she wanted, and they all hugged out on the porch before saying goodbye and Merry Christmas. Jensen waved at them until they were out of sight, feeling a heaviness that he wished he didn't. Jared sensed it and asked him if he was okay as they headed back inside.
"Yeah, I'm good. Better for seeing them again."
"We got half an hour before Chris gets here. Long enough to grab a shower and get changed."
"Uh.. For what?"
"Told you. Christmas Eve tradition. You'll see." Jared winked at him and then made for the garage, already well ahead.
"What should I wear?"
"Anything you like!" Jared called back over his shoulder. "Just be comfortable."
Chris arrived right on time, to find Jared and Jeff both ready while Jensen and Stevie were still in the garage and upstairs respectively. He made a crack about knowing who the girl was in the relationship just as Jensen came in from the garage, his hair still wet and his shirt only half-buttoned over his long-sleeved undershirt.
"Hell, you need a little longer to get yourself pretty?" Chris asked, throwing one arm around Jensen's shoulders as soon as he was close enough.
"I already am. Prettier than you, anyhow," Jensen retorted, ducking away to rub the towel around his shoulders over his hair some more. He folded the towel over the back of one of the kitchen chairs when he was done and ran his fingers through his hair, combing it out. Once Stevie was downstairs Jeff told everyone to get their jackets on and said to Chris to just follow him and Jared. The bikes were both ready outside - Jeff's Harley and Jared's Suicycle - and Chris quickly got into his truck to follow. The roads were quiet this late on the day before Christmas, and, although the wind against them was biting, it was not cold enough to have frozen. Jensen was glad for that. He wouldn't have fancied being on the back of Jared's bike had it been icy.
Jensen had no idea where they were headed. They took off down the highway, Chris just managing to keep up, and Jeff turned his bike off on a turning after the one that led out to Mickey's. He didn't think Jared had ever brought him out this way before, which he supposed figured if this was something they only did on Christmas Eve. For about ten minutes there was nothing either side of them, just darkness and wildlife and open land. Then he made out hazy lights in the distance and, as they got nearer, he could see that the light was coming from three large bonfires. There were smaller lights between the fires, too, that as they got closer still he worked out were from bikes and trucks parked all around them.
The music was loud and Jensen could feel it going through him when he set his feet on the ground after Jared brought the bike to a stop. Chris eased into a space behind them and jumped out, shutting the truck door with a grin.
"Holy shit, this place is amazing!"
Jared took his helmet off and nodded over at him. "Thought you'd enjoy this. We got music, barbecue, Harley Santa-"
"Harley Santa?" Jensen echoed, his own helmet now resting on the seat of the bike.
"Yeah, big jolly red guy, rides a '79 Low Rider."
"Tell me he doesn't give out presents..."
"He doesn't. But he does take your money. Charity, Jen. That's what this whole thing is for. We come every year, for Mom's sake. Money goes to the hospital she was in when she died."
Jensen swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and nodded, not wanting to say something wrong. Jared just grinned at him.
"It's okay, Jen, you're still allowed to enjoy yourself. In fact, it's kinda mandatory. I save the getting upset for tomorrow when I go see her."
He still didn't know what to say to that, but Jeff saved him then as he approached with Stevie at his side. "Come on guys! Let's get some barbecue before it all goes!"
Jensen had to agree. He was starving and still more bikes were pulling up just as they stood there. He hunkered down in his jacket, turning the collar up around his neck. It was going to be a long night.
--TBC--
MASTER POST
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (31/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: PG/ish.
Wordcount: 3,735
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.
GAH! SO. LJ was barely working last night. So, here's the next chapter TONIGHT. And, hopefully, the next one will be posted on Sunday and then, with luck, the posting schedule will return to normal. Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the last two chapters. I swear at some point I will get to answering them, it's just that, well, I suck! Adorable's working hard on the next chapter, so with me taking a little break from writing, I will have time to go through and thank everyone properly. We love you guys for sticking with us, and for reading.
Finally, before we get to the chapter itself, if you haven't then PLEASE go look at these completely awesome wallpapers that Adorable made. I mean...GUH. ♥ You won't be disappointed. ;)
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jared had teased Jensen about making a mess of the sheets, reminding him of how innocent he'd tried to act with his little sister.
"It's like she already knew that you'd come like a sixteen-year-old boy without even being touched," he murmured, his voice soft on Jensen's skin.
Jensen felt his cheeks flame, but felt the need to argue that Jared had been touching him the whole time, in case he'd forgotten. And also that he still was a teenager, only a few years off sixteen anyway, which made Jared laugh and pull him in for a brief kiss.
"Guess we'd better strip the bed, huh?"
"I guess." Between them they took the sheets off and then cleaned up and got dressed again. Jensen emptied out his bathroom trashcan into the larger one in the kitchen and Jared loaded the dirtied sheets and towels into the washer, switching it on. Kenzie came into the kitchen as he was doing so and gave him a knowing smile. Jensen shooed her out when she told him he was gross and heard her calling out to their mom as she went.
"I'll throttle that brat," he grumbled, but Jared pulled him back.
"She's just doing her job of being a little sister. They're meant to annoy the crap out of you."
"I guess."
Jared grinned, pulling Jensen firmly to him. He kissed him quietly for a few moments, giving up only when Kenzie whistled at them from the door.
"Yeah, yeah," Jensen said, pulling away, but not allowing Jared to let go of him. "Gonna kick your butt if you keep it up."
"Sure you are, Jensen."
"Kick your butt at Nintendo any day of the week."
Kenzie straightened. "You're on. Bet I beat the both of you."
They followed her into the den and Donna joined them a few minutes into their game, sitting beside her son. She ruffled his hair and laughed when he ducked away and told her to stop helping out the enemy.
None of them heard the car pulling up in the driveway.
None of them knew who it was until the front door slammed open and the voice of Alan shouted Jensen's name through the house. Jared simply looked up, but Donna paled and Jensen threw his controller to the floor and rose to his feet, as if expecting some kind of physical confrontation. He heard his father moving through the house and felt a lump rise in his throat as he struggled to swallow. The door to the den crashed open, the knob bouncing it off the wall again, and Alan stood in the doorway, staring in at them.
"What in the name of God is this?" He asked, his voice dangerously quiet. His face was a hot and angry shade of red and his attention was directed not at Jensen, but at Jared.
"Alan, please don't-"
"What is he doing in my house?" Alan wanted to know, turning to his wife as he spoke. He looked back to Jared, pointing one shaking finger at him. "You. You get out of my house now before I call the police. And take that thing out of my driveway."
Jared got up, shaking his head. "No problem. C'mon, Jen." He grabbed Jensen's arm and tugged him from the room, Alan following close on their heels. Presumably to make sure they left. Jensen felt sick to his stomach and went willingly. As he took their helmets from the stand by the door, Jared turned to look at Alan and was met with a ferocious glare. It didn't stop him. "I know you don't care, Ackles, but you're losing your son. Hope you can live with that."
"I'm not losing him. You're taking him away."
"And you can't be bothered to stop me."
Alan glanced to Jensen, unblinking. "Why should I? If he wants to go, then he wants to go. What the hell should I care?"
Jared stared at him some more, then tugged his helmet on and headed for the bike. Jensen didn't follow him right away. Swallowing his nerves, he held his own helmet in front of him and looked his father in the eyes.
"You're unbelievable, Dad."
Alan actually looked away. Only for a beat, but Jensen saw it. But then he was moving closer, a hand out in front of him as if to push Jensen out of the door. "I told you to leave," he reminded Jensen, not that he needed to. Within moments he was on the back of the bike, his arms around Jared's waist, listening to him rev the engine a few times before he sped out, tyres spraying up gravel.
It was only a minute after Jared pulled up outside Jeffrey's place that the cops arrived. One patrol car, blue lights flashing but the siren off, eased into the driveway right behind his bike. Jared recognised one of the officers inside it, and he pulled off his helmet and turned to face them, scowling. Jeffrey had come to the door, too, with Stevie right behind him.
"What the hell do you want?" He called, his voice gruff and annoyed.
"Sir, we're not going to cause any trouble. We just have to check out your boy's bike, make sure it's not stolen. We had a report-"
"Report, my ass," Jeff interrupted, as Jared rolled his eyes and said, "Ackles."
Shelby raced out then, scrabbling free between Jeff and Stevie, and came to a halt in front of the two police officers. She yipped at them both, about as terrifying as a gerbil, and Jensen couldn't help but laugh at her. He stepped out in front of Jared and knelt down, scooping the puppy into his arms. The officers both waited until she was quiet, licking the outside of Jensen's helmet, until they spoke again.
"Padalecki, we need to see your papers for the bike and your license too."
"Jesus Christ, this is bullshit," Jeffrey muttered, his fists clenched at his sides. Stevie had a hand on his arm, though Jensen thought that if Jeff wanted to start throwing punches then there was no way she could stop him.
Jared held up his hands to the man. "Jeff, chill! I haven't even done anything, okay? I'll go get the papers."
"Sure thing, son," said the first officer. Pulman, his name was. Jared remembered him because he'd been the one to bust him for underage drinking one night. Thankfully he'd just brought him straight home to Jeff and told him to keep a better eye on the kid. "We'll be right here. Don't try going anywhere."
"I'm not gonna," Jared bit out.
"You guys seriously got nothing better to do than harrass the boy?" Jeff asked, as Jared went past him into the house. He noticed Clough, Pulman's partner, eyeing Jensen and told the younger boy to get inside too.
"We're not harrassing anyone, Mr Morgan. Just doing our job."
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Clough, you sound like a dick when you say stuff like that. You not taught him anything yet, Drew?"
Pulman lowered his gaze. "He's four months on the job, Jeff. Cut the kid some slack."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Jeff was still visibly pissed, but at least his muscles were more relaxed and he didn't look like he was about to knock someone out. He looked over at their squad car. "Turn those goddamn lights off, will you? Whole neighbourhood knows you're here now, so I don't think you need 'em any more."
Pulman nodded at Clough who headed back to the car and reached in to flick a switch. The front yard went mercifully darker and Jeff blinked a few times to try and get rid of the colors still dancing in his eyes. He turned as Jared opened the garage door and came back outside with all his documents and watched, satisfied, as he handed them over. Pulman looked through them thoroughly - just doing his job, thought Jeff, sourly - and then nodded and handed them back.
"Thanks for your time, Jay. We get a report like we did, we can't just ignore it, y'know?"
Jared's lip curled. "Yeah, I know. Ackles knows it too. You see him again, you can tell him he's an ass from me."
Pulman and Clough said nothing to that, and Jared didn't move again until they were both back in the squad car and it was pulling back out onto the road. Jared rolled his bike into the garage with Jeff following, while Stevie went back through the front door and locked up behind herself.
"So?" Jeff asked.
"Ackles came home while we were still over there. Guess he was more pissed off than I thought."
"Figures. Jensen okay?"
"I guess."
Jeffrey nodded, thoughtful, and then turned to go into the house. Jensen was in the kitchen with Stevie, his helmet sat on the kitchen table and Shelby in his lap as he tickled her belly. He looked up when Jeff came in, closely followed by Jared.
"You all right, kid?"
"I'm fine. Are they gone?"
"Yeah, they're gone. What happened with your Dad?"
Jensen shrugged. "He came home early, threw me out all over again. Up until then we were having a really good time. Uh. Speaking of which..." Jensen carefully set Shelby down on the floor and stood, pointing to the door through to the garage. "I really gotta go make a phone call."
Jared smirked and Jensen felt his cheeks flush, because he had a feeling that Jared knew exactly who that call might be to and what it might be about. He excused himself and headed out to his and Jared's space, closing the door behind him.
Stevie, who'd stayed quiet for the most part, asked Jared what exactly that had been about.
"I might've, uh, popped his cherry today."
"Do we want to hear this?" Jeff asked.
"Probably not, but I'm telling you anyway. Right there in his house. It was fucking awesome."
"Jesus Christ, Jay, shut the hell up."
"Why? You bragged about Stevie."
At that Stevie's eyebrows shot up and she turned on Jeff. "You what?"
"I did not!"
"Yeah, he did," Jared continued, oblivious to how much trouble he was probably getting himself into. "Said you were a better ride than the Harley."
Jeff's hands were clenched into fists once more and he reached out and grabbed Jared's collar, narrowing his eyes. "Better shut up right there, JT. 'Fore you lose some damned teeth."
Jared just grinned, lifting both hands. "Easy, old man. She knows I'm kidding."
Stevie laughed. "I thought you were kidding, now I'm not quite so sure." She pulled Jeff back and he let Jared go so he could wrap his arms around her instead. "Good ride?"
"Huh."
She stood on her toes and kissed the tip of his nose, ignoring Jared's gagging sounds as she did so. Jeff called him an asshole, but was cut off as Stevie moved her kiss to his mouth. "C'mon, mister. Don't want the kids putting us to shame, do we?"
"Oh, seriously?" Jared moaned. "With us in the house? That's fucking sick."
Stevie shot him a sidelong wink and all but dragged Jeff to the stairs.
In the garage Jensen was speaking to the only person he wanted to tell: Chris. He didn't feel like going into detail; he just wanted his best buddy to congratulate him. To reassure him that he'd done the right thing. It was exactly what Chris did.
"I can't believe you did it in your Dad's house, though. You might as well have gone in there with spray paint and wrote 'Fuck You' on the walls."
"Almost felt like it," Jensen admitted.
"He deserves it, that asshole."
"Yeah, he called the cops out on Jay too. That was fun to come home to. They didn't do anything. I think Dad just wanted to embarrass him by having them come round here."
"You think it worked?"
Jensen snorted. "Take a hell of a lot more than that to make Jay feel any shame. I think the neighbours probably see more of the cops than he ever did."
"You're likely right. Hey, you doing anything Christmas Eve?"
"Jay says he's got something planned for the evening, but before then I think we're just hanging out here. Mom said something about coming over. If she still does, I don't know... Why, you want to come over too?" Jensen looked around as he heard Jared on the steps down to the garage and barely heard Chris's reply that he didn't want to interrupt anything. Jensen closed his eyes, tilting his head to one side as Jared wrapped strong arms around him and kissed the side of his neck. "You won't be intruding, idiot." He cut off when Jared took the phone from his hand and brought it to his own ear, keeping one arm tight around his boyfriend's body.
"Hey, Chris, it's Jay. Come over Christmas Eve, around six-thirty. 'Less you gotta go to church, 'cause it could be a late night. You game?"
"Uh... Sure."
"Cool, we'll see you then." He snapped the phone shut and threw it onto the couch behind Jensen, then covered the other man's mouth with his own, kissing him hard. He knew Chris wouldn't be too mad and if Jensen was about to tell him off for hanging up on his friend, then he forgot about doing so pretty quickly.
Jensen's mom brought Kenzie with her on Christmas Eve, much to his sister's delight. He was growing ever more certain that she was nurturing some kind of crush on Jared and he was secretly amused by the way Jared played up to that. They didn't talk about their last visit together, and Jensen didn't mention the visit from the cops that had followed either. His mom looked tired enough without having that added to her worries. He helped her carry in four large boxes from the car, while Jared fixed them all some coffee and found the cookies that Stevie had stashed away the day before.
"You all right, mom?" Jensen asked, as he placed the last box on the floor of the garage. She looked around, not meeting his eyes when she answered.
"I'm fine, hon. Just tired. Christmas preparation is pretty exhausting."
He nodded, pulling at a thread that hung off the left wrist of his sweatshirt. "You ever consider just leaving him?"
That got her attention on him. "Of course I have," she told him, her voice sharper than it had been a moment ago. "It's just not that easy, Jensen. I have Kenzie still at home and I want the best for her. I want her to have every chance you and your brother had."
"Dad didn't give me that many chances," Jensen reminded her.
"You know he would have if you'd stayed at home." Her expression softened. "You know what I meant, baby. He's a lawyer, he's not some stupid schmuck. If I tried to leave then he'd fix it so me and Kenzie had nothing left. Besides... Deep down I know he still loves you."
"He's got a hell of a way of showing it," came the muttered reply.
"I'm sorry. For God's sake, don't be disappointed in me."
Jensen shook his head, reaching out and stepping forward to wrap his arms around his mom. "I'm not, mom," he told her, burying his head in her hair. "I'm really not. I'm just glad you're here."
"Me too, honey." They stood where they were, holding onto each other, for a few more moments. Then Donna patted Jensen's back and stepped away. "Come on, let's go make sure your sister hasn't embarrassed herself."
"She knows she doesn't stand a chance, right?"
"All her friends are already talking about boys and she's not so young and naïve as she used to be either. She probably won't let the fact that he's your boyfriend stop her flirting."
"Then you're absolutely right, Mom. We should get in there and stop her."
He wasn't surprised to find Jared was busy having his arm tugged on by Kenzie as he held her Christmas present from him and Jensen well out of her reach. He was laughing at her futile attempts to try and climb him and wound up tossing the gift over to Jensen when he saw him come in.
"Jay, stop teasing my poor sister."
"Oh, sure, take her side." Jared watched Jensen hand the present to his sister and tutted. "You know you don't get to open that 'til tomorrow, right?"
Kenzie hugged the box to her chest and ignored him. "Thank you Jensen! Thank you Jared!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. You can save the abuse for tomorrow when you find out what he got you. You like Henry Fonda, right?"
Kenzie wrinkled her nose at him, then decided ignoring him completely was the best policy and pulled a chair back to sit. She looked unsure, though, and Jensen just had to stifle a laugh. He sat next to Jared while his mom took the chair next to Kenzie and they each pulled a mug of coffee toward them. They were halfway through their drinks when Jeff and Stevie arrived back from a long walk with the puppy. Kenzie immediately turned into the young girl Jensen wanted her to be and crouched down on the floor to fuss and coo over Shelby, while Jeff made more coffee and Stevie talked happily to Donna.
Jensen looked around at everyone, smiling as he thought this was what Christmas should be like. Jared squeezed his hand under the table and he leaned over for a quick kiss, ignoring his sister's sudden eagle eyes as she watched him. Jealous, he thought, and laughed quietly to himself.
It was dark by the time they saw Donna and Kenzie out. Stevie promised that Jensen's sister could come over any time she liked to see Shelby, even take her for a walk if she wanted, and they all hugged out on the porch before saying goodbye and Merry Christmas. Jensen waved at them until they were out of sight, feeling a heaviness that he wished he didn't. Jared sensed it and asked him if he was okay as they headed back inside.
"Yeah, I'm good. Better for seeing them again."
"We got half an hour before Chris gets here. Long enough to grab a shower and get changed."
"Uh.. For what?"
"Told you. Christmas Eve tradition. You'll see." Jared winked at him and then made for the garage, already well ahead.
"What should I wear?"
"Anything you like!" Jared called back over his shoulder. "Just be comfortable."
Chris arrived right on time, to find Jared and Jeff both ready while Jensen and Stevie were still in the garage and upstairs respectively. He made a crack about knowing who the girl was in the relationship just as Jensen came in from the garage, his hair still wet and his shirt only half-buttoned over his long-sleeved undershirt.
"Hell, you need a little longer to get yourself pretty?" Chris asked, throwing one arm around Jensen's shoulders as soon as he was close enough.
"I already am. Prettier than you, anyhow," Jensen retorted, ducking away to rub the towel around his shoulders over his hair some more. He folded the towel over the back of one of the kitchen chairs when he was done and ran his fingers through his hair, combing it out. Once Stevie was downstairs Jeff told everyone to get their jackets on and said to Chris to just follow him and Jared. The bikes were both ready outside - Jeff's Harley and Jared's Suicycle - and Chris quickly got into his truck to follow. The roads were quiet this late on the day before Christmas, and, although the wind against them was biting, it was not cold enough to have frozen. Jensen was glad for that. He wouldn't have fancied being on the back of Jared's bike had it been icy.
Jensen had no idea where they were headed. They took off down the highway, Chris just managing to keep up, and Jeff turned his bike off on a turning after the one that led out to Mickey's. He didn't think Jared had ever brought him out this way before, which he supposed figured if this was something they only did on Christmas Eve. For about ten minutes there was nothing either side of them, just darkness and wildlife and open land. Then he made out hazy lights in the distance and, as they got nearer, he could see that the light was coming from three large bonfires. There were smaller lights between the fires, too, that as they got closer still he worked out were from bikes and trucks parked all around them.
The music was loud and Jensen could feel it going through him when he set his feet on the ground after Jared brought the bike to a stop. Chris eased into a space behind them and jumped out, shutting the truck door with a grin.
"Holy shit, this place is amazing!"
Jared took his helmet off and nodded over at him. "Thought you'd enjoy this. We got music, barbecue, Harley Santa-"
"Harley Santa?" Jensen echoed, his own helmet now resting on the seat of the bike.
"Yeah, big jolly red guy, rides a '79 Low Rider."
"Tell me he doesn't give out presents..."
"He doesn't. But he does take your money. Charity, Jen. That's what this whole thing is for. We come every year, for Mom's sake. Money goes to the hospital she was in when she died."
Jensen swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and nodded, not wanting to say something wrong. Jared just grinned at him.
"It's okay, Jen, you're still allowed to enjoy yourself. In fact, it's kinda mandatory. I save the getting upset for tomorrow when I go see her."
He still didn't know what to say to that, but Jeff saved him then as he approached with Stevie at his side. "Come on guys! Let's get some barbecue before it all goes!"
Jensen had to agree. He was starving and still more bikes were pulling up just as they stood there. He hunkered down in his jacket, turning the collar up around his neck. It was going to be a long night.
--TBC--