Smoke & Lightning: Born To Be Wild (17/?)
MASTER POST
Title: Smoke And Lightning: Born To Be Wild (17/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 6,608
Summary: AU. They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and this road-trip that they're on will teach him plenty of lessons. It's a good thing, too, because he'll need what he's learnt when they return and venture onto an altogether more serious step in their relationship. Trust is a major aspect for the both of them and Jensen's will be tested to breaking point as the boys learn how they'll cope together on the road...and off it.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jensen had gone to bed early and fallen asleep easily thanks to the lack of sleep the night before. He still woke up when Jared arrived home, though. Rubbing his eyes he sat up in bed and glanced at the clock. It was nearly one. Wondering who the hell drank so late on a Monday night, he flipped back the covers and got up, padding through to the living room in his barefeet and boxers.
"Hey," he mumbled, moving to where Jared was emptying his pockets out onto the coffee table. He wrapped his arms around him, moving to let Jared face him and kiss him.
"What're you doing up?"
"Just woke up. I'm okay." Jensen blinked, sleepy, and then noticed the small roll of cash on the table. "What's that from?"
"Tips."
Jensen took a step back, reaching down and flattening the money out to see how much there was. He looked up at Jared. "Tips? Looks like you mugged a hooker."
Jared laughed, shaking his head. "Swear to God I didn't. I had this new crowd in, some clan moved over here from Houston. Led by a guy named Coulter. They gave me that on top of their bar tab."
"You were giving out lap dances? Didn't we talk about that?"
"You should go back to bed before you cut yourself on that wit," Jared told him, poking his tongue out and then leaning forward and licking Jensen's cheek.
Jensen wrinkled his nose, wiping at the wet skin with his hand. "Yuck," he complained, shaking his head. "But you know what I mean. That's one hell of a tip. A hundred dollars? Who has that kind of cash to just throw around?"
"Those guys did. They had a lot more than that, too."
"And you didn't wonder where they might have got it from?"
"Why should I care? If they want to come spend it in Mickey's then I'm not going to turn them away. Ain't good business sense to do that, now is it?"
Jensen didn't answer, couldn't think of what to say. He turned and went back to the bedroom, heard Jared following. Jared stood in the doorway, watching Jensen get back into bed.
"You want me to give it back? A hundred dollars to us right now is good money."
"You don't know it's good money, do you? If they come in again just ask them where it came from. See how you feel when they tell you it's from, I don't know, robbing a fucking bank or something."
"You watch too much TV, Jen."
"Whatever." Jensen turned onto his side, away from the door, and closed his eyes to try and get back to sleep. He heard Jared sighing and worried that maybe he had kind of over-reacted for a second or two. But then he thought about the kinds of people that frequented Mickey's, about Chuck, and he stopped himself from turning and apologizing. He knew it wouldn't matter whether he did or not anyway, and regretted the note he had left earlier in response to Jared's.
Wake me when you get in and we'll work something out.
There was a low creak and a shifting of blankets as Jared got into bed beside him and he didn't react when Jared's hand touched his shoulder.
"Hey. That's it, okay? If they come in again, I won't take any tips off them."
"Yeah," Jensen said, quiet and muffled. "Okay."
Jared kissed his shoulder, his mouth warm and dry. Jensen gave in when the other man's hand slid around to his chest and stroked back and forth there, brushing over his nipples. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Jared, bringing his hand up to still the man's fingers.
"What're you doing?" He asked.
"Helping you relax so you can go back to sleep."
"Then stop. That's not... Not exactly relaxing."
Jared grinned, teeth gleaming in the low light. "Hmm... Sorry. You really want me to stop?"
"I'm tired, Jay. Can you just let me sleep? You know you have me all weekend. And I get a late start on Thursdays, so I can afford to lose a little sleep on Wednesday night. But right now I feel exhausted."
Jared nodded, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his jaw. "Okay. Get some sleep." Jared let Jensen shift onto his side again and then moved until he was flush against Jensen's back, one arm draped over him. He whispered a goodnight to Jensen and several minutes later they were both snoring.
He'd almost forgotten about it when he woke up, but then he went through to the kitchen to get some breakfast and saw the money still sat on the coffee table where Jared had left it. The sick feeling returned and he skipped breakfast, taking just a bottle of water again. He considered taking the cash, dropping it off with Jeff on his way home from college, but knew that Jared would just fight with him if he did that. And, after all, they didn't know that it was bad money. Not for sure. If Coulter turned out to be just an honest guy with a lot of money then Jensen was going to look like an idiot. He left it where it was and wrote a short note on the wall before he left. He didn't think about it, just did it. It would get painted over soon enough, after all, and it was quicker than finding something to write on and working out where Jared would see it.
He walked down to the bus stop and was only waiting a few minutes before it turned up. The bus journey to college wasn't too long, but it gave him a chance to take another glance at his homework and make sure he had everything right. By the time the bus pulled up outside the college, he was so engrossed in it that he didn't realize they'd stopped until someone slapped the window right beside him from the outside. He jumped, looked out to see Adam grinning up at him. Closing his book, he grabbed his backpack and got off the bus, embarrassed to notice he was the only one still on it.
"Hey, Scrubs," Adam greeted him, smacking his shoulder gently as he hopped onto the sidewalk. "Your new nickname, just trying it out. What d'you reckon?"
"What do I call you? Sparky?"
Adam laughed at that. "You can call me Sonny like everyone else does," he suggested.
"It's better than Jenny, I guess. That's what I used to be called at high school."
"Your high school buddies were an imaginative lot, huh?"
Jensen bit his lip from saying that nobody that called him that was a buddy. Instead he just nodded in agreement and shifted his bag to his other shoulder. "You want to meet up for lunch? I don't think we have any classes together this morning."
"Sure. I'll find you later, man. Have fun." Adam split off from Jensen's path, heading for the stairs, and waved over his shoulder as he went.
Jensen had a couple of first classes that morning and met the two tutors of his that he had not yet seen. They both seemed friendly enough, approachable, and the classes were more to do with his chosen field so they were certainly of more interest to him. He learnt that once the first week was over, he would have the opportunity to spend an hour or two each week at the hospital he would be working in doing research and speaking to doctors in every area of the hospital. This was not an opportunity offered to every student, he was told. This was a special request from Doctor Ballentine. He made a mental note to write some kind of letter of thanks to the man when he had the chance.
After his morning classes were over he found Adam waiting for him outside the cafeteria and greeted him with a smile before they headed inside. It seemed busier than it had the day before and Jensen figured that maybe now some of the older students were back too. They grabbed a light lunch each and found a table to sit and talk over their food. They'd barely been there two minutes before they were joined by a group of three other people. Adam seemed to know them all and he introduced them to Jensen as Lynn, Brian and Scott. With Adam there it was easier, Jensen thought. He acted like some kind of friendship catalyst and they talked well into their lunch hour about all sorts of things, getting to know one another a little.
They agreed to meet for lunch each day if they could and split up when they were done eating, having exchanged phone numbers. Brian was quite anal about that, Jensen thought, insisting on each person entering their own number into his phone and choosing a ringtone from a seemingly endless list of punk songs and classical music. Adam and Jensen's next class was a shared one, so they walked there together and talked about their new friends.
"I was thinking maybe we could ask Brian and Scott if they want to check out the new Angelina Jolie movie that's out Friday. I'd say Lynn too, but I think it's probably got more for us guys, huh?"
"Uh, I guess? I probably... I mean..." Jensen paused as he tried to work out how to tell Adam that he was gay.
"You don't like Angelina Jolie?" Adam asked, his face disbelieving. Like there should not be a man alive who didn't find her attractive.
"I'm more, well, a Johnny Depp fan. If you catch my drift."
Adam looked puzzled for only a second, then his face smoothed out. "Oh! Oh. Hey, that's cool. I mean, we can do something else, if you want."
"It's okay. I mean, it looks like a good movie. Just 'cause I'm gay doesn't mean I only want to do gay stuff, you know? We can go see the movie, maybe go out after and shoot some pool or go to my place and get a few beers." He had stopped himself from offering to take them to Mickey's. Figured one just-out-of-his-teens customer was enough for Rock to hide from his other patrons.
"Your folks are pretty lax, huh?" Adam sounded impressed.
"Uh. I live with my boyfriend, actually. He's the one who buys the beer. But, I mean, he'll be out at work on Friday night so if you want to come round it's fine."
Adam was just staring at him and Jensen stopped in the hallway, uncomfortable.
"What?" He asked.
Adam's eyes slanted away from his face and he actually looked embarrassed about staring. "Sorry, it's just... It's pretty cool that you're already out of home and so, y'know, open about it. I had no idea, though. How come you didn't say anything?"
Jensen shrugged. "It wasn't exactly a good topic of conversation at school before."
"Yeah, but... That was high school, dude. Totally different ballgame now."
"I'm starting to notice that," Jensen agreed. "And thanks. For being so understanding."
Adam laughed. "Understanding? What's to understand? So you like dick, right? Totally not my problem. Hey, if we go out to a club and we get two girls going after us-"
"You can definitely have both if they're up for it," Jensen interrupted, and they both laughed at that. "Or just pick the best-looking one while I let the other one down easy."
Adam clapped him on the shoulder with a huge grin. "Fuckin' awesome!"
Instead of going straight home, Jensen left the bus several blocks over from where their apartment was and bought a couple of things that he felt they needed for that night. Jared had sent him a message to say that he was taking Tuesday and Wednesday night off again so that he would work the weekend. Jensen hoped he would sort it out with Rock so that he could get a weekend off at some point. He wanted to go out on a Saturday night with his boyfriend and get drunk and dance and not worry about waking anyone up when they returned. But they had a couple of nights together and he intended to make good use of them.
Once home, he stashed everything away and grinned when he saw Jared's note to him.
You got me all night.
What are you going to do with me?
The tip from the previous night had been forgotten about. Jensen wasn't going to mention it again and he didn't want to know what Jared had done with it. He didn't care any more. He just cared about his plans going smoothly. He checked the clock. Jared would be up soon enough, so he quickly got his books out and set himself up on the couch, spreading everything out on the coffee table in front of him. On the list for that weekend was finding a cheap, second-hand table, he thought. Something he could sit and work at a bit easier. He started his homework, thankful that today's tutors had not been so generous with it. He might get a chance to finish it before Jared started distracting him.
He didn't realize that an hour and a half had passed until he finished up his work and looked up at the clock. It was almost seven and Jared should have finished by now. Puzzled, he piled everything up neatly and made his way down to the garage to find out what was going on. The radio was on down there, tuned in to the local station. The volume was low and he could hear Jared humming along over the noise of it. He saw his boyfriend's legs, coming out from under an old Ford that was up on the ramps. They were bent at the knee, Jared's feet spread wide apart. Jensen smiled to himself and walked over to him quietly.
So engrossed in what he was doing, Jared didn't realize that Jensen was there until the younger man crouched down above him and bent down to peer at him.
"Jay."
Jared twitched in surprise, but didn't drop anything. He stopped what he was doing for a second, then went right back to it with a smile in Jensen's direction. "You're home."
"Sure am. Since it's halfway through the evening already." Jensen sat the rest of the way down, his weight resting on Jared's waist. "Why are you still down here?"
"I figured I'd get this done. They said I could lock up and left me to it. Guess I lost track of time."
"Just a bit," Jensen told him. "You about done?"
Jared looked at the wrench in his hand and then at Jensen's face. He smirked. "I can be. It can wait until morning. Go on up and let me sort out down here. I won't be long."
Jensen let him up, staying just a moment to kiss him, and then left him to it. As he'd predicted, Jared went straight to the shower when he came up. He invited Jensen to join him, but he declined, said he needed to sort them out some dinner. Jared just shrugged and Jensen listened to him start the water up, waiting until he heard the cubicle door slide shut behind him. Then he started to get everything ready, knowing that Jared would be in the bathroom for at least twenty minutes. His conversation with Adam earlier had made him appreciate the way the other man had reacted to his being gay. In turn, that had made him think about how much he appreciated having Jared in his life. He had a strange, roundabout way of thinking, he knew that. Which was why he was now placing candles over the cleared coffee table and lighting each of them.
He drew the blinds closed and turned on the small lamp that was near the door. It gave just enough light that the candles and lamp combined were enough. He fetched two beers from the refrigerator, checking the pan atop the stove as he went past. He was stir-frying thin strips of beef and spring onions and it smelt delicious. His stomach was growling, since he'd had very little to eat since lunch. Just a snack when he'd got home. He was more than ready for this.
He heard the water shut off as he started to drain the noodles and added them to the pan as he listened to Jared sing while he dried and dressed. He dumped the dirty pots in the sink and grabbed the last few things that he had bought that afternoon, throwing them onto the couch from where he stood. He was just putting the food onto plates when Jared came in from the bathroom. He watched him stop short, taking in the scene. His hair was still damp, dripping onto his bare shoulders, and Jensen tried to fight the urge to just go straight to him and drag him into the bedroom.
"What's all this for?" Jared asked, continuing across the room to where Jensen stood with the plates in hand.
"It's just dinner," Jensen argued.
"Candles? Home-cooked food?" Jared narrowed his eyes. "Did you get into trouble with the principal already?"
Jensen nudged him with the edge of a plate and called him a jerk. "Just take it and let's eat. I'm fuckin' starved."
"Me too. This smells really good, Jen. Didn't know you could cook like this."
"Well, surprise." Jensen sat down on one end of the couch, pretending to ignore what was on the cushion between them as Jared sat beside him. Jared didn't ignore it, though. He put his plate down on the coffee table, moving a couple of candles to make room, and then raised an eyebrow.
"This... Uh. Jensen?"
"We don't have to use all of... I just. Um."
Jared turned the packages over in his hands and Jensen felt the blush creeping up his neck. He didn't know how he'd managed to buy the damned things without having some kind of panic attack right there in the store. Probably helped that the cashier was a weedy little high-schooler who probably thought Jensen was going to go have sex with a girl and consequently regarded him like he was God. Or maybe it was just that he'd spent so much.
"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Jared whispered, right in his ear. Jensen ducked away, shaking his head.
"Would you just eat your dinner? We can do that," he said, gesturing at the items in Jared's hands, "afterwards."
He'd seen Jared eat a meal faster, but he couldn't remember when. He took his time with his own food, watching Jared open up the ribbed condoms first, spreading the dozen packets out on the table. He watched him uncap the lube and sniff at it, muttering, "huh, wild cherry?" under his breath. Finally Jared picked up the last box and Jensen stopped eating, unable to swallow as the cuffs were unwrapped. They were leather, lined with sheepskin, and chains hung from each to a clip that could be fastened to, say, the posts of their bed's headboard.
He managed to get the last mouthful of food down his throat while Jared examined the cuffs and then he put his plate on the floor quietly, waiting.
"What brought this on?" Jared asked, after a few quiet moments.
"Nothing?" Jensen answered. "We're living together and I thought." He stopped again, unable to explain just what the exact thought process had been that had brought them to this.
"Do you want to tie me up?"
Jensen's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No. I want you to-"
"Cuff you to the bed, suck your cock, fuck you until you can't take any more?"
Jensen shifted, uncomfortable in his own clothes. "Yeah."
"You should've just said so." Jared twisted the cuffs in his hands and bit his lip, looking thoughtful. "You trust me, right?"
Jensen swallowed. "Of course I trust you."
Jared stood, swiping several of the condoms from the table top and stuffing them into his pockets along with the lube. He held the cuffs in one hand and his other hand he offered to Jensen. "C'mon."
Once in the bedroom, Jared told him to get undressed and he did exactly that. He didn't know why he felt nervous. There was nothing new here and it was just sex, right? But the predatory look on Jared's face was making his heart pound. He lay down on the bed, raising his arms above his head. Jared threaded the clips around two posts of the headboard, one at each side of the bed, and then snapped the cuffs around each of Jensen's wrists. He dragged his fingers down Jensen's left arm, curling them under his armpit to clutch at the softer skin there. Then he leaned down and kissed the side of Jensen's neck, lapping at it with his tongue until the younger man squirmed and moaned beneath him.
Jensen had been wrong. It wasn't just anything. His normal reaction would be to grab at Jared's hair, hold his head where he wanted it, drag him up into a lingering kiss. But he couldn't, and it was a frustrating feeling.
Jared's weight shifted and he got up from the bed, fetching something from one of the drawers in the chest he'd claimed as his. He came back and straddled Jensen's waist, kneeling over him. "You still trust me?" He was stretching a cotton bandanna between his hands, twisting it around.
"Yes."
Jared nodded and leaned over him and Jensen stilled as the bandanna was put over his eyes and a knot was tied at the back so he was blindfolded. He was tense, relaxing only a fraction when Jared took a hold of his jaw and pushed his tongue inside Jensen's mouth. He kissed him hard, wet, and pulled away slowly. Jensen felt the mattress shift underneath them and then Jared's weight was gone once more. He heard the soft noise of clothes being shed and started, shuddering, when his half-hard cock was suddenly enveloped by the warmth of Jared's mouth. He swore, turning his head to the side and setting his mouth against his shoulder as he tried to breathe.
Jared's mouth slipped off his cock with a wet, slurping sound and he laughed as he blew across the tip and Jensen's flesh broke out in goosebumps in response.
"You all right?"
"Mm..."
"A dozen condoms, huh? You think we're going to use them all tonight?"
Jensen could hear the amusement in his voice and he heard the crinkling sound of one of the foil packets being opened. There was the snap of the rubber which told him that it was Jared who'd put the condom on, and then he was being pulled down, his legs spread and lifted so Jared could reach where he wanted. Because he couldn't see where Jared would touch next, because he couldn't expect it, he just about yelped when he felt the first, cold push of lube-covered fingers inside him. Jared used plenty of it, too. It seemed like he coated Jensen inside and out. Jensen felt like he was dripping with it and the smell of sharp fruit flavoring filled the air between them.
When Jared's tongue pushed into him he cried out again, his leg muscles tensing up so that his calves pressed into Jared's back.
"Warn... Warn a guy," he managed.
Jared laughed, the noise reverberating in every muscle in Jensen's body. He turned his head slightly, sucked a bruise into the soft skin of Jensen's inner thigh. "Where's the fun in that?" he mumbled, voice muffled. "You know, this stuff doesn't taste so bad, actually."
"Just fuck me," Jensen growled, desperate for more than Jared's tongue and fingers.
Jared didn't need asking twice.
Jensen groaned, reaching out to hit the button on the alarm. He was laid flat out on top of the sheets, which had been soaked with sweat and come and probably lube as well. His hair felt gritty and greasy with drying sweat and he ran a hand through it with a grimace. He needed a shower. His wrists were sore from straining against the cuffs and he looked down at them as he rubbed them. There were slightly dark marks, not quite bruises, on each of them. Empty condom wrappers littered the nightstand. They'd taken it in turns to fuck, taking breaks between each session, swapping over in the middle a couple of times. Jensen figured they'd fallen asleep at around four in the morning. Two hours ago.
Exhausted, he dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, his feet dragging on the floor. He set the shower going, not too hot, and stepped under the spray. Tilted his head back so it pounded down onto his face, making him feel a little better, but not much. He wanted nothing more than to go right back to bed, to Jared, and wrap himself around his boyfriend until he slept.
He dressed, bleary-eyed, and shoved his books into his bag. Left a note on the wall that told Jared he was a lucky bastard and that they were definitely giving it a rest tonight. There was a coffee shop on the way to the bus-stop and he left early so that he could stop there and buy himself a large americano with an extra shot of espresso in an attempt to wake himself up. Adam was waiting for him at school again and the first thing he asked Jensen was if he was okay.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay."
"Really? 'Cause you look like shit, man. Late night last night?"
"Uh... More like late night this morning." Jensen shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'm starting to wake up now."
"Well, we got Mathers first thing. That's a pretty full class. We can sit in back and you can catch a nap. She'll never even notice."
Jensen tipped his head back slightly, closed his eyes for a second. "Mm, that sounds like a plan."
"I'll take notes for you. And then next time we have Mathers you can return the favor."
Jared called him halfway through lunch. Lynn and Scott stopped talking and Adam watched him answer, smiling when he realized who it must be. Jensen turned away from them slightly, anxious of the attention being focused on him.
"Jay, what's up?"
"We're gonna be busy tonight," Jared answered.
"Look, I said we didn't have to use the whole box, right?" He was fully aware that Lynn had leaned in closer and he waved a hand at her in apology before turning around in his seat completely, so his back was to both her and Scott. "Can't we just save some for the weekend?"
"That's not what I meant, Jen. And you know we only have three left, right?"
"Yeah, because you thought it'd be funny to blow two up. 'One for each hand', you fuck. I mean, how old are you, Jay? Five?"
"Jeff asked if we could go stay at his place for an hour or two tonight and look after Holly. He wants to give Stevie a break from it."
"Can we stay over?"
"I guess. What about college?"
"My classes start late tomorrow so you can bring me in before work. Save me catching the bus for once."
"Ohh... You just want to impress your fellow students with your hot boyfriend and his hot motorbike."
Jensen could feel himself itching with embarrassment, for no real reason. "Fuck you, I'm not a girl."
"I know that. Think I figured that out more than enough last night. Listen, go straight to Jeff's from school. I'll meet you there when I'm finished at the garage."
"Okay. Don't be late tonight, okay? And bring pizza."
"I will. Hey, are you with your friends?"
Jensen fought the urge to look round at them. "Yeah. Why?"
"No reason. Love you." Jared went quiet, waiting. After a couple of seconds of silence, he asked Jensen if he was going to say it back.
"Why?"
"'Cause I have esteem issues today and I need validation. Tell me you love me."
"Can I tell you you're a dick?"
"You can tell me I have a huge-"
"I love you," Jensen interrupted, and quickly hung up. "Jerk," he muttered, under his breath, before turning back to Lynn's grinning face and Scott's look of mock disgust. Adam nudged his shoulder and asked if that had been the other half. It wasn't like he could lie now. "Yeah, that was Jared."
"What's he like?" Lynn wanted to know.
"He's... He's a lot of fun," Jensen finished, lamely. "He's bringing me in tomorrow, so you might meet him if you're around. And don't worry about not spotting him. He'll be pretty obvious."
"Is he tall and handsome?"
"Lynn," Scott complained.
"What? I'm just asking a question! Jesus."
"Yeah," Jensen said, stepping into the beginnings of their argument. "He's taller than me and, well, I think he's pretty hot, so, y'know.."
"What time did you say you'll be getting here?"
Jeff was out front when Jensen arrived at his and Stevie's house. He had the car out and was finishing off cleaning the mirrors and lights. It was still pretty light out quite late into the evening and Jensen figured he must be taking Stevie out for a drive, maybe park up somewhere to take a walk. He returned Jeff's hug, told him college was going well so far when he asked, and smiled in an aw, shucks kind of way when Jeff said he wasn't surprised and that Jensen was too smart to do badly.
"Go on inside," Jeff told him. "I'll be in there in a second. Stevie was giving Holly a bath and feeding her, but she's probably done by now. You boys shouldn't have to do much, unless we stay out longer than planned."
He did as instructed and found Stevie sat on the couch with Holly in her arms, watching her baby with a happy smile. She watched him sit opposite her and her face lit up even further.
"Hey, Jensen. Thank you for doing this."
"It's okay," he said, shrugging. "I did promise we'd be here whenever you wanted us, right?"
"I know. I guess we didn't expect to be asking you so soon, but I really need a break. Even just a couple hours."
"Are you doing okay?"
Stevie looked like Jensen was the first person to ever ask her that. She nodded, the smile starting to slip. "I'm all right. Just really tired. I mean, Jeff's doing so much, but it just feels like it never stops at the moment." She stopped, rolling her eyes at herself. "I'm sorry. That's not really what you want to hear."
"Talk about whatever you want to," Jensen assured her. "I'm good. I'll listen."
"It's fine, Jensen. Honestly. That's what me and Jeff are going out for, so we can talk about things other than Holly. Here, do you want to take her? She may as well get settled with you for now."
She looked pretty settled right where she was, Jensen thought, but he stood to take her anyway. The movement didn't wake her, thankfully, and he sat back down and cradled her in his arms, looking at her tiny features. He still felt kind of awed by her. Maybe that was just the effect babies had on everyone, he told himself. Either that or Jared was right and Jensen had some extra chromosome tucked away in his cells somewhere.
"Shelby's asleep in the kitchen and the cat's outside. You can put Holly in her cot whenever you want," Stevie told him. "I just fed her before you got here and I'll be back before she needs feeding again. She'll probably need her diaper changing soon, so-"
"Stevie, relax. I'll cope."
Stevie patted the side of his face gently. "I know. I'm sorry. We won't be too long."
Jensen said it was fine and watched her head outside to where Jeffrey waited for her. Hopefully, he thought, Jared wouldn't be too long either.
He wasn't. Jared turned up about twenty minutes after Stevie and Jeff had left and Jensen had already changed Holly's diaper and got her settled into the small cot downstairs where they could watch her. He had a pizza box with him and they devoured the contents quickly, both hungry. Full, Jensen settled back into the cushions of the couch and found his eyes pulling closed. He felt shattered and didn't try to resist, soon falling asleep.
He woke up after only a half hour and Jared was no longer beside him. Holly was gone too and he frowned, getting up to go and look for them. He could hear Jared's voice carrying through from the garage and he went out there, stopping in the doorway to listen.
"So this is where daddy used to keep me and all the bikes. Someday you might get to live in here, but I doubt it. I think he likes you better, but then, you are prettier than me. I guess. And that over there is called a Harley Davidson. You're gonna hear that name a lot over the next few years, cause your daddy's batshit crazy. And you're gonna learn how to ride one of those 'cause then you can pick up all the cutest boys. I tell you, hot boys dig cool bikes. It's true. I think it's the only reason Jensen wanted in my pants in the first place..."
"You thought I was a hot boy?" Jensen asked, stepping into the garage. Holly was comfortably nestled in Jared's arms, awake but quiet. Shelby was sniffing around the garage floor, nosing at everything she could reach.
Jared grinned up at him, his dimples making Jensen want to do things. Like lick into those soft creases, kiss around his mouth, tangle his fingers into Jared's hair. He stopped himself, remembering where he was and what he was doing.
"You were pretty banged up when we met," Jared told him. "But, yeah, I still thought you were cute."
"I remember you seeming pissed at me for the first week I knew you."
"That was just my way of saying I loved you." He leaned towards Jensen a little, accepting the kiss he was given. "Did you have a good nap?"
"I feel a little better. I should start on my work."
"If you have a late start tomorrow, couldn't you-"
"I want to get it done. If I get it done tonight then I can stay in bed longer tomorrow. And I think I'm going to need to stay in bed longer tomorrow."
Jared tilted his head back to look at the upper level and wrinkled his nose at the new bed up there. "I guess."
They were just heading back into the house, Shelby following, when they heard Stevie's voice calling through from the living room. Jared answered her and a moment later she was there, holding her arms out for Holly.
"You haven't even been gone for two hours. What happened?"
"I missed her," Stevie answered, wrapping her arms around Holly and heading back to the living room with her. Jeffrey was there now, just shutting the front door behind him. He looked a mix of exasperated and relieved.
"There, see? She's fine. You didn't have to worry about it."
"I wasn't worried," Stevie insisted, annoyed. "I just missed her. Just because you don't get it-"
"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
Jensen glanced sideways, met Jared's eyes with an anxious frown. "Maybe we should just go."
"No," Stevie insisted. She sighed, her head coming down so that her hair hung over her face. "I don't." She stopped and Jeffrey sat down beside her, put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, holding Holly close, and Jensen felt a surge of discomfort at being witness to it.
"Boys, stay," Jeffrey told them. "Just give us a few minutes. Did you eat?"
"Yeah, we had pizza," Jared answered. He sounded just as uncomfortable as Jensen felt. "Are you sure you don't want us to just go home?"
"I'm sure. We said you could stay."
"We'll, uh, we'll take Shelby for a walk."
Jeffrey nodded, watching them get ready and get Shelby's leash fastened to her collar. He relaxed slightly when he heard the door close and sat up, pulling Stevie up slightly. He kissed the side of her head, brushed her hair from the side of her face. "You okay?" He asked.
"I'm sorry," she sniffed.
"I don't want you to be sorry, sweetheart. I want to make you feel better. What do I do?"
"You just keep doing what you're doing." Stevie pushed away from him and got up. "I'm going to feed her and put her to bed."
"Anything needs doing after that, you're going to let me do it, right?"
"Jeff, you can't. I mean, feeding her? Getting her to just... Just stay quiet?"
Jeffrey sighed. "I know. I can't do everything. But you have breast milk in the fridge and I can do more for you. Not just for her."
Stevie didn't answer, just headed upstairs with Holly by herself. Jeffrey gave her a couple of minutes and went after her. He found her in the nursery, asleep in the chair by Holly's cot. Holly was still awake, her face screwed up in a kind of cute confusion. He woke Stevie with a kiss and got her into their bedroom, carrying her the last few steps. She was exhausted and as soon as he let her down on the bed she was asleep again. He covered her up and went back to the nursery, picking Holly up to take her downstairs and feed her.
He was warming the milk through, Holly in her travel cot on the kitchen table behind him, when Jared and Jensen returned with Shelby yipping excitedly at them. He told them to keep it down since Stevie was asleep and Jared grabbed a couple of beers from the refrigerator and led Jensen back to the couch where he grabbed his book bag and started pulling everything out of it that he needed. Jeff joined them after a little while, holding Holly to feed her from a bottle. They talked in low voices, avoiding the subject of Stevie's exhaustion, concentrating instead on Jensen's college, new friends and Jared's job.
"Hey, you know a guy called Coulter?" Jared asked, suddenly.
Jeff thought for a moment, shook his head. "Not heard the name. Should I?"
"He showed up at Mickey's on Monday night. Got a crew from Houston. Friendly bunch. Just wondered."
"New crews coming up all the time these days," Jeff told him. "I think more people are getting into the life thanks to those goddamn TV shows."
"I guess so. Just... If you hear anything, will you let me know?"
Chuckling, Jeffrey nodded. "You'll probably know about it before me, Jay. Not like I get out much at the moment. Why do you want to know?"
"Huh. No reason."
Jeffrey watched him for a moment, puzzled, but then Holly gurgled at him and he looked down at her, lifting her up to gently pat her back. He thought of Stevie and looked up at the ceiling, hoping that the rest would help her feel better. He didn't know what more he could do.
--TBC--