Smoke & Lightning Book 3 : City Of Angels (1/?)
SURPRISE! WE'RE BACK!
POSTING SCHEDULE INFORMATION:
Wednesday - New chapter of fic. (One per week.)
Sunday - EXTRAS (music, graphics, etc. One per week.)
Play yourselves a quick burst of THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN before reading. It's much more fun that way! ;)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (1/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,234
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jensen and Jared have made their move to L.A. so that Jensen can start a new job in a new hospital. But Jared needs to find something too.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Notes: The banner is not the banner I meant to use, but silly me forgot to upload it. Proper banner next time, bodged banner this time. :)
This chapter dedicated to letsgetstarted and tanpopo03 on the occasion of their birthday!
CHAPTER ONE
Waking up like this, held tight to Jared's solid body, was maybe Jensen's favorite part of any morning. This morning in particular, he didn't want to move. He didn't want to get up, because getting up meant that he had to go to work. His first day in the new hospital and it didn't matter that he knew the job, that he'd been there a few times already to look around, or that this was what he had been working towards for the past ten or more years of his life, he was still nervous. Now it was here, it was happening in a matter of hours, and he just wanted to roll over in Jared's arms and delay the inevitable.
As if he knew exactly what Jensen was thinking, Jared nudged him away. "You're conscious at last. Thank fuck. We need to move."
Jensen tried it anyway. Rolled over and brought his mouth down on Jared's, started to trail his hand down the center of the other man's chest. But Jared caught his wrist and grinned, shook his head. "Ah-ah," he scolded. "We have to get up. Time for that later."
Sat on the lid of the toilet seat in jeans and flip-flops, Jared played with the band around his finger as he watched Jensen brush his teeth. His lover was stood in front of the basin in nothing but a thin white towel and Jared let his eyes wander, roaming over the tattoos that covered most of Jensen's upper body. Jensen spat out toothpaste and then reached for the mouthwash, pouring out a cap full. He looked like he was shaking.
"You okay?" Jared asked.
"Ask me tonight when it's all over," Jensen replied, tipping his head back as he went to gargle with the mouthwash.
"You'll be fine, y'know. You've been training for years. You're ready. They wouldn't have given you the white coat otherwise. Or those two little letters after your name. Hey, will your mail start coming addressed to Dr. Ackles?"
Jensen spat into the basin and ran his tongue over his teeth. "I guess. And I don't have to wear the white coat all the time, you know?"
"You should. It looks good on you."
Jensen rolled his eyes as he ran his fingers over his chin. He had shaved last night and decided that he didn't need to do it again. Jared followed him out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of their bed to watch Jensen pull on his shorts, followed by his jeans and a t-shirt.
"Do you want me to stop by later?" he asked, as Jensen started yanking on his leathers.
"If you get a chance, it'd be great. But, honestly, Jay, this is no different from the past few months. It's just that now if I fuck it up I don't have anyone to hide behind."
"You're not going to fuck it up," Jared told him firmly, standing and setting his hands to Jensen's shoulders. He kissed him briefly and Jensen nodded. "I'll come by and have lunch with you."
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
Jensen finished zipping up his jacket and Jared helped him get his backpack straight, handed him his helmet. "I have a surprise for you."
"Jared, I already know about the bike." Jensen had protested getting a new bike the moment they got to L.A., but he had sold his other one back in Texas to save having to move it. Jared's two bikes had been delivered by Trevor in a borrowed truck, so Jensen had borrowed one of those to ride around on the first couple of days, but Jared insisted that he needed his own. And, Jared being Jared, he had made a great deal. His own bike had been part of the exchange, but he still had the one Jeffrey had given him so he was perfectly happy and the black Thruxton was a real beauty, exactly what Jensen wanted.
"Mm, but..I customized it for you. Spent the whole of yesterday doing it while you were unpacking."
"I thought you were checking the-"
Jared kissed him, interrupting him rather effectively. "That's what I wanted you to think. C'mon."
They went out of the apartment, a little way down the street to the garage that they were renting out for the bikes. Jared opened it up and let Jensen in first. The Triumph was off to one side, covered over. Jensen looked at Jared, then quietly pulled the cover away by one corner. He didn't expect what he found and the fact that Jared could still surprise him in such an amazing way made him feel more loved than ever.
"You did this?" He couldn't believe it. The bike had new mirrors, new wheels, but, more noticeable than any of that, it also had new paintwork. A stylized Caduceus was painted onto the body and Jensen touched his fingers to it lightly, as Jared's arms came around him from behind and the other man's head rested gently on his shoulder. He moved his head enough to allow the press of lips to his neck.
"You like it?" Jared asked, his voice a murmur.
"I love it. Thank you. I can't believe you did this." He turned to face him, reached up around his neck and drew him into a far more passionate kiss. He didn't want to let him go, he only did because he knew that he had to get to work.
"I'm proud of you," Jared said. "And I love you."
"Sap," Jensen told him, smiling fondly. "Love you too. Now I have to go. I don't want to be late on my first day."
The sun wasn't too hot yet, the breeze still refreshingly cool as it rolled from the ocean and through the city. The hospital was a fifteen minute ride from their apartment and Jensen hoped he'd never get bored of it. He rode into the covered parking lot, parked in the space that he had been given and then quickly secured the bike. He was tugging his helmet off as he headed for the hospital entrance and only just missed walking into somebody.
"Oh, damn, I'm sorry!"
"No problem." The young man looked him up and down, and smiled. "You must be Dr. Ackles."
"Um. Yes?"
The guy stuck his hand out. "I'm Dr. Parks. I'm down in the emergency room, but I expect we'll see each other now and again."
Jensen shook his hand. "I guess so. Sorry, I was just surprised you recognized me."
"The bike and leathers kind of helped," Parks said, smiling. "Everyone's heard about you, believe me."
Jensen didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He didn't say that, though, and Parks said goodbye as they took different directions inside the hospital. Jensen found the locker room and changed into his scrubs, a thin grey cotton t-shirt with long sleeves hiding his tattoos underneath them. The pediatrics ward was on the second floor and Jensen was greeted there by Samantha Wright, the doctor he would be working with the most. She was pretty, with sharp blue eyes, and married to another doctor working in radiology. She also, from what he had been able to tell at his meeting with her, took no shit from anyone. He'd told Jared about her and Jared had said she sounded like his kind of woman.
"Jensen, good to see you so early. Follow me, we may as well get right in and meet your patients. It's not going to be an easy first day like your regular jobs."
Jensen just nodded, told her he'd already figured that.
"We have short term patients, of course, and then we have the regular visitors and the long stays. The doctor who just retired, who opened up this opportunity for you, took care of two of our long terms, so you'll take over with them too. There's Thomas, you'll get on with him I think. He's pretty quiet, but very smart. Just accepts everything that's going on with him and tries to understand it. Alissa you'll love. If we can find her in her bed. She has a tendency to persuade the nurses or older patients to take her around the hospital. She's been coming in pretty much once a month for various procedures and sometimes the stays are short, two or three days, sometimes she has to be here for a couple of weeks. But if she doesn't have to be confined to her bed then she does everything she can not to be." Samantha smiled fondly.
"She sounds like a handful."
"Oh, she can be. But she knows what's good for her and if you need her to keep still or tell you anything, she'll do it and she won't complain about it like some of these kids do. Anyway, come on and meet them and then you can get started. Just see Sharon at the desk and she'll give you the charts you need."
Jared had been lazy so far, but it was already mid-morning and he'd promised to meet Jensen for lunch so he made himself get up and get ready. He should have done something around the apartment - tidied or cleaned or something - but he hadn't and he figured Jensen would probably bust his balls about that. Maybe if he got his job sorted out before Jensen got home then he would be less inclined to argue. Rock had given him the address of a friend of his before they'd left Texas, told him to settle down in the apartment first, get things done, and then call on the guy about a job. Apparently he'd been assured that there would be something for Jared to do.
It wasn't exactly the good end of town, he thought, walking through a neighborhood that looked seedy even in the bright hours of day. He'd decided not to take the bike yet, not knowing what kind of area the bar was in or where he would be able to park it close by. It wasn't too far a walk anyway, only twenty minutes from their apartment, and it looked a little like Mickey's used to look before the fire and susbequent refurbishment.
He pushed open the door and called out as he went inside. The guy's name was Roberto and he didn't look anything like Jared had expected. He'd had a mental picture of Cheech Marin, but Roberto had long blond hair that fell around his shoulders and steel-gray eyes. He had that healthy and deep kind of tan that made him look like he spent the whole day on the beach. The only thing about him that Jared had kind of expected was that he looked like he'd been in a few fights in his time. His knuckles were crossed with scars, his nose had clearly been broken at some point.
"Help you?" Roberto asked, a pool cue in his hand as he stopped his solitary game to see who wanted his attention.
"Jay Padalecki, friend of Rock's," Jared said, offering out his hand. Roberto shook it, bumped fists with him.
"How is that asshole?"
"He's doing good. Said you might have some work for me."
"Sure do. You okay to start tonight, right?"
Jared's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Tonight?"
"Sooner you start, the better. He said you were a good fighter, didn't take any shit off of anyone. Sure hope that's true, son. I need all the help I can get with the dicks I get coming in here. Cops visit every other week, just about. I've been lucky so far, but luck only lasts so long and I'm gettin' old. Need to clean this place up or move out and I'm hoping you can give me a hand with that. Rock said you did all right over there."
"So..what're we talking about here?"
"Throwing out the junkies, dealers, anyone causing trouble. I got a sign above the bar says no brawling, but you think that stops 'em? You get to serve drinks in between sometimes, too, but mostly it's avoiding the punches and breaking up the fights."
"Awesome," Jared said, almost meaning it. Jensen was going to love this.
"You think you can handle it, then you can come back at seven tonight and we'll give it a try. I'll pay you cash tonight, if they give you any tips they're yours to keep. But once you're happy you're staying then the pay goes through the books, right?"
"Sure, sounds good. So... Seven?"
"And you'll be here for eight hours, one break, and as much coffee as you want to drink. Tastes like shit, but you're welcome to it. I got Marco as well, he'll be around to help show you the ropes."
"I'll be here. Is there anywhere I can put the bike?"
"It should be fine out back. There's a gate, you can pull it through there and into the yard." Roberto paused for a moment then shifted his cue from one hand to the other and eyed Jared. "We done?"
Jared took the hint and left. Maybe Jensen would forgive him for not washing any dishes or throwing any laundry through the machine. He had a job now, after all, which was more than he'd had an hour ago.
Samantha was right - Alissa really was something. She hadn't been in her bed when they'd gone to see her, as expected, and they'd simply moved onto the other patients in that room while they waited for her to return. She did come back, all smiles, and pushed along in a wheelchair by a tired-looking nurse.
"Hey, Allie, where've you been?"
"Nowhere," the little girl said, offering up a cheeky grin. She looked bright and cheerful, but Jensen had read her chart and he knew how misguiding her appearance was. "Nowhere outside," she amended, at the look Samantha gave her.
"Hmm. Well, this is Dr. Ackles, your brand new doctor."
Her face lit up as she looked him over. "Brand new?" she repeated. She had an accent to her words which Jensen liked.
"Yup, he just started here today. I'll let you get to know each other," she said to Jensen, and then left them to it. Alissa pulled herself up out of her wheelchair and into her bed and the nurse with her helped her get her covers back in place. She gave the nurse a peck on the cheek before she left, said thank you to her, and Jensen realized then how it was so easy for her to talk people into helping her get out of her room. She was too adorable to say no too.
Once it was just the two of them, Alissa tucked up in her bed and Jensen sat on the edge of it, he stuck his hand out and introduced himself as she shook it. Told her to call him Jensen if she wanted to. He asked her if she wanted to tell him about her previous visits to hospital and she watched him carefully as she thought about it, asked him what he was writing down whenever he made notes. She was fun to talk to, bright, and he lost track of time quite easily. His pager went off as they chatted and he looked down at it, saw that he was needed at the reception desk. He told Alissa that he'd be right back and quickly headed out and down the hallway, surprised when he saw Jared stood by the desk, his helmet tucked underneath one arm.
"Jay? Is it that time already?" He looked down at his watch like he didn't quite believe it and saw that, yes, an hour had gone by since he'd sat down by Alissa's bed and started talking to her. "I'm sorry," he apologized, holding onto Jared's arm as he kissed him. "I guess I got carried away. I'm kind of busy this morning."
"Oh, you still want to have lunch then?"
Jensen glanced down, then met Jared's eyes again. "I should probably get back to this. Can you hang around a while?"
"You should eat, Jen."
"I can grab a sandwich soon. What kind of a morning did you have?"
"Productive," Jared answered. "I got a job."
Jensen smiled. "That's great! Tell me about it when I get back okay? I'm just..I'm-"
"Busy," Jared supplied. "It's okay, Jensen, you should get back to work. Just make sure you eat something. What time will you be home?"
"Not late, I hope." Jensen kissed him again, smiling against his mouth. "I really love it here. Thank you."
Jared looked down at him, wondering. "What're you thanking me for?"
"For coming with me. For letting me do this without me feeling guilty."
"You shouldn't feel guilty for doing something you love." Jared leaned in close, whispering in Jensen's ear. "Do something you really love later, though, got it?"
"You mean you?" Jensen asked, as he pulled away again. Jared just smirked, then lifted up his helmet.
"See you later."
Jensen remembered to eat at around four that afternoon. He got caught up talking to Alissa, checking on Thomas, not to mention dealing with all the other patients he'd been given that day. He was enjoying himself so much that he barely noticed he was hungry until he saw Samantha with one of the biggest sandwiches he'd ever seen. He asked her where she'd got it, she pointed him in the right direction, and he ate a very late lunch with her, her husband, and Dr Parks who'd made a point of coming up from the emergency room to see how he was doing.
"We were told that you're a keen swimmer," Parks said, setting his sandwich wrapper down and picking up his coffee.
"I..yeah, I guess. I used to be in the team back in high school. I kept up with it after that, but not exactly competitively."
"Interesting," Samantha said.
"Why..what?"
"The hospital staff like to get involved in sponsored events, sporting events. It's good fun and we can raise a lot of money doing it. Charity basketball matches, swimming competitions, bike rides. You name it, we'll give it a go. Interested?"
Jensen nodded. "Definitely. I'll ask Jared, too, he'll probably be up for doing something. He was involved in a huge charity event, this annual thing every Christmas eve back in Texas. He'd probably get involved in this too, somehow."
"Well, he can get involved real soon if he wants to. There's a charity ball in three months, just before Christmas. Our bicentennial, in fact. We do an auction of doctors, all in good fun, and people pay for the tables. The money all goes to charities for kids, hospices and things like the Make-A-Wish foundation, you know? It always gets a good turnout."
"More people every year," Parks confirmed. "I'm on the commitee, but we could always use an extra hand. If you want to help then-"
"I'd love to," Jensen said, before he could even finish, earning himself a warm smile. "Sure, just let me know when and where, what I have to do."
Samantha reached across the table and squeezed his arm. "It's nice to see you getting so involved already, Jensen. I think you'll fit in really well here."
He nodded, pleased. He thought so too.
It was late by the time he left the hospital. He hadn't meant for it to be, but he'd got talking to Samantha and Dr. Parks - who had finally given Jensen his first name, which was Duncan - about the commitee and had lost track of time a little bit. He rode back home fast, frowned when he went to put his bike away and saw that Jared's was gone. He dug his phone from his pocket as he headed up to the apartment, turned it on to check for messages, but there was nothing. Still, the apartment was empty when he got there, and he muttered under his breath when he saw the breakfast dishes still in the sink and an empty pizza box abandoned on the table.
There was a note attached to the refrigerator with a magnet in the shape of Texas and he tore it down to read it as he opened up the fridge door. It was from Jared, telling Jensen that he'd had to go to work and he'd see him whenever. Jensen knew that tone of voice could not very well be determined from words on a scrap of paper, but the note looked like Jared had been angry when he wrote it. Jensen looked around the kitchen, saw the pile of laundry still in front of the washer and the unwashed dishes and wondered what the fuck Jared had to be angry about.
He washed pots, dried them and put them away in the cupboards, then loaded the washer and turned that on too. He went around the apartment, picking up and tidying away, and by the time he was done with that he couldn't really face making any food for himself. So he found the menu Jared had used for his pizza and called for one of his own. He ate, got himself a shower and then pulled on some cotton pyjama pants and went to bed. It was kind of early, he supposed, but he was more tired than he had thought. It was also hard to sleep without Jared there and Jensen didn't drift off until nearly midnight, his alarm already set for six the next morning.
But it was only three and a half hours before he was woken up again, and it took him a moment to realize what had disturbed him. He reached out and flipped on the light, listened. There was a clatter from the direction of the kitchen and he sighed loudly and dragged himself from the bed. The only light was coming from the open refrigerator. Jared was there, in front of the fridge, drinking the last of the milk from the carton. Jensen knew there was another full one in there, which was the only thing that stopped him from yelling. That and the hour.
"Where the hell've you been?" he asked, his voice still scratchy.
Jared put the empty carton down on the counter and wiped at his mouth. "Work," he answered, after a short silence. "I left you a note. Where were you?"
"You know where I was. At the hospital. And you know damn well I have to be there again in four hours-"
"So go back to bed," Jared interrupted. "I'm not stopping you."
Jensen leaned against the door frame, tired. "What's this about? Why are you being like this?" He didn't want a fight with Jared, especially not at this time of the morning, but he was weary and irritable and he just wanted..He didn't know what he wanted. Sleep, a little peace? Jared to have just silently got into bed beside him, kissed him so that he only just came out of unconsciousness long enough to know that Jared was there and safe?
"Because I thought I might see you today. I thought I might get lunch with you, or that you might come home in time to grab a bite to eat before I had to go to work." Jared's voice got quieter still. "Is this what it's going to be like now? Never seeing you?"
Jensen stepped into the kitchen, made Jared turn around to face him. He tilted his head back, pulled Jared down into a long kiss. "I'm sorry," he murmured, moving his mouth away from Jared's but still keeping him close. He licked over Jared's lip, frowned when he winced. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Jared said, but Jensen was already reaching back for the light. He stared. A cut made a thin red line on Jared's bottom lip and now that Jensen could see it, he could see that it was slightly swollen.
"What happened?"
"Don't overreact, all right? Rock gave my name to Rob because he thought I could help. The bar's in this shitty neighborhood and he has a lot of trouble there and he wanted me in to try and help clean the place up. I thought he was exaggerating when he said there was a fight just about every night. Turns out he was kind of understating it a bit."
Jensen moved back towards Jared, ran his thumb over Jared's mouth. "So you get to break up a fight every night?" He shook his head. "Guess it's a good job you live with a doctor, huh?"
"It's never going to get worse than this, I promise. I'm not that stupid kid I was when we met."
"I know that. I know. Can we go back to bed now? I need to sleep."
"Will you make it for lunch tomorrow?"
Jensen nodded, feeling guilty about earlier, when he'd forgotten all about his plans with Jared.
"Then you can tell me all about your day tomorrow, right? And I'm sorry I woke you up."
"Come on to bed. You can make it up to me. I'm sure I can survive on a little less sleep."
Jared grinned, that dirty grin of his that promised everything, and reached around Jensen's body to squeeze at his ass. "I'm sure you can, too."
NEXT
OKAY. SO. When I get home I am posting the fanart of Jensen's NEWLY CUSTOMIZED BIKE that loco_lobo did for us! You'll have to wait for it, though, sorry! But trust me, it's SO worth it.
ETA: I POSTED THE FANART YOU SHOULD GO LOOK
POSTING SCHEDULE INFORMATION:
Wednesday - New chapter of fic. (One per week.)
Sunday - EXTRAS (music, graphics, etc. One per week.)
Putting that twice so you don't miss it. :D
POSTING SCHEDULE INFORMATION:
Wednesday - New chapter of fic. (One per week.)
Sunday - EXTRAS (music, graphics, etc. One per week.)
Play yourselves a quick burst of THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN before reading. It's much more fun that way! ;)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (1/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,234
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jensen and Jared have made their move to L.A. so that Jensen can start a new job in a new hospital. But Jared needs to find something too.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Notes: The banner is not the banner I meant to use, but silly me forgot to upload it. Proper banner next time, bodged banner this time. :)
This chapter dedicated to letsgetstarted and tanpopo03 on the occasion of their birthday!
CHAPTER ONE
Waking up like this, held tight to Jared's solid body, was maybe Jensen's favorite part of any morning. This morning in particular, he didn't want to move. He didn't want to get up, because getting up meant that he had to go to work. His first day in the new hospital and it didn't matter that he knew the job, that he'd been there a few times already to look around, or that this was what he had been working towards for the past ten or more years of his life, he was still nervous. Now it was here, it was happening in a matter of hours, and he just wanted to roll over in Jared's arms and delay the inevitable.
As if he knew exactly what Jensen was thinking, Jared nudged him away. "You're conscious at last. Thank fuck. We need to move."
Jensen tried it anyway. Rolled over and brought his mouth down on Jared's, started to trail his hand down the center of the other man's chest. But Jared caught his wrist and grinned, shook his head. "Ah-ah," he scolded. "We have to get up. Time for that later."
Sat on the lid of the toilet seat in jeans and flip-flops, Jared played with the band around his finger as he watched Jensen brush his teeth. His lover was stood in front of the basin in nothing but a thin white towel and Jared let his eyes wander, roaming over the tattoos that covered most of Jensen's upper body. Jensen spat out toothpaste and then reached for the mouthwash, pouring out a cap full. He looked like he was shaking.
"You okay?" Jared asked.
"Ask me tonight when it's all over," Jensen replied, tipping his head back as he went to gargle with the mouthwash.
"You'll be fine, y'know. You've been training for years. You're ready. They wouldn't have given you the white coat otherwise. Or those two little letters after your name. Hey, will your mail start coming addressed to Dr. Ackles?"
Jensen spat into the basin and ran his tongue over his teeth. "I guess. And I don't have to wear the white coat all the time, you know?"
"You should. It looks good on you."
Jensen rolled his eyes as he ran his fingers over his chin. He had shaved last night and decided that he didn't need to do it again. Jared followed him out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of their bed to watch Jensen pull on his shorts, followed by his jeans and a t-shirt.
"Do you want me to stop by later?" he asked, as Jensen started yanking on his leathers.
"If you get a chance, it'd be great. But, honestly, Jay, this is no different from the past few months. It's just that now if I fuck it up I don't have anyone to hide behind."
"You're not going to fuck it up," Jared told him firmly, standing and setting his hands to Jensen's shoulders. He kissed him briefly and Jensen nodded. "I'll come by and have lunch with you."
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
Jensen finished zipping up his jacket and Jared helped him get his backpack straight, handed him his helmet. "I have a surprise for you."
"Jared, I already know about the bike." Jensen had protested getting a new bike the moment they got to L.A., but he had sold his other one back in Texas to save having to move it. Jared's two bikes had been delivered by Trevor in a borrowed truck, so Jensen had borrowed one of those to ride around on the first couple of days, but Jared insisted that he needed his own. And, Jared being Jared, he had made a great deal. His own bike had been part of the exchange, but he still had the one Jeffrey had given him so he was perfectly happy and the black Thruxton was a real beauty, exactly what Jensen wanted.
"Mm, but..I customized it for you. Spent the whole of yesterday doing it while you were unpacking."
"I thought you were checking the-"
Jared kissed him, interrupting him rather effectively. "That's what I wanted you to think. C'mon."
They went out of the apartment, a little way down the street to the garage that they were renting out for the bikes. Jared opened it up and let Jensen in first. The Triumph was off to one side, covered over. Jensen looked at Jared, then quietly pulled the cover away by one corner. He didn't expect what he found and the fact that Jared could still surprise him in such an amazing way made him feel more loved than ever.
"You did this?" He couldn't believe it. The bike had new mirrors, new wheels, but, more noticeable than any of that, it also had new paintwork. A stylized Caduceus was painted onto the body and Jensen touched his fingers to it lightly, as Jared's arms came around him from behind and the other man's head rested gently on his shoulder. He moved his head enough to allow the press of lips to his neck.
"You like it?" Jared asked, his voice a murmur.
"I love it. Thank you. I can't believe you did this." He turned to face him, reached up around his neck and drew him into a far more passionate kiss. He didn't want to let him go, he only did because he knew that he had to get to work.
"I'm proud of you," Jared said. "And I love you."
"Sap," Jensen told him, smiling fondly. "Love you too. Now I have to go. I don't want to be late on my first day."
The sun wasn't too hot yet, the breeze still refreshingly cool as it rolled from the ocean and through the city. The hospital was a fifteen minute ride from their apartment and Jensen hoped he'd never get bored of it. He rode into the covered parking lot, parked in the space that he had been given and then quickly secured the bike. He was tugging his helmet off as he headed for the hospital entrance and only just missed walking into somebody.
"Oh, damn, I'm sorry!"
"No problem." The young man looked him up and down, and smiled. "You must be Dr. Ackles."
"Um. Yes?"
The guy stuck his hand out. "I'm Dr. Parks. I'm down in the emergency room, but I expect we'll see each other now and again."
Jensen shook his hand. "I guess so. Sorry, I was just surprised you recognized me."
"The bike and leathers kind of helped," Parks said, smiling. "Everyone's heard about you, believe me."
Jensen didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He didn't say that, though, and Parks said goodbye as they took different directions inside the hospital. Jensen found the locker room and changed into his scrubs, a thin grey cotton t-shirt with long sleeves hiding his tattoos underneath them. The pediatrics ward was on the second floor and Jensen was greeted there by Samantha Wright, the doctor he would be working with the most. She was pretty, with sharp blue eyes, and married to another doctor working in radiology. She also, from what he had been able to tell at his meeting with her, took no shit from anyone. He'd told Jared about her and Jared had said she sounded like his kind of woman.
"Jensen, good to see you so early. Follow me, we may as well get right in and meet your patients. It's not going to be an easy first day like your regular jobs."
Jensen just nodded, told her he'd already figured that.
"We have short term patients, of course, and then we have the regular visitors and the long stays. The doctor who just retired, who opened up this opportunity for you, took care of two of our long terms, so you'll take over with them too. There's Thomas, you'll get on with him I think. He's pretty quiet, but very smart. Just accepts everything that's going on with him and tries to understand it. Alissa you'll love. If we can find her in her bed. She has a tendency to persuade the nurses or older patients to take her around the hospital. She's been coming in pretty much once a month for various procedures and sometimes the stays are short, two or three days, sometimes she has to be here for a couple of weeks. But if she doesn't have to be confined to her bed then she does everything she can not to be." Samantha smiled fondly.
"She sounds like a handful."
"Oh, she can be. But she knows what's good for her and if you need her to keep still or tell you anything, she'll do it and she won't complain about it like some of these kids do. Anyway, come on and meet them and then you can get started. Just see Sharon at the desk and she'll give you the charts you need."
Jared had been lazy so far, but it was already mid-morning and he'd promised to meet Jensen for lunch so he made himself get up and get ready. He should have done something around the apartment - tidied or cleaned or something - but he hadn't and he figured Jensen would probably bust his balls about that. Maybe if he got his job sorted out before Jensen got home then he would be less inclined to argue. Rock had given him the address of a friend of his before they'd left Texas, told him to settle down in the apartment first, get things done, and then call on the guy about a job. Apparently he'd been assured that there would be something for Jared to do.
It wasn't exactly the good end of town, he thought, walking through a neighborhood that looked seedy even in the bright hours of day. He'd decided not to take the bike yet, not knowing what kind of area the bar was in or where he would be able to park it close by. It wasn't too far a walk anyway, only twenty minutes from their apartment, and it looked a little like Mickey's used to look before the fire and susbequent refurbishment.
He pushed open the door and called out as he went inside. The guy's name was Roberto and he didn't look anything like Jared had expected. He'd had a mental picture of Cheech Marin, but Roberto had long blond hair that fell around his shoulders and steel-gray eyes. He had that healthy and deep kind of tan that made him look like he spent the whole day on the beach. The only thing about him that Jared had kind of expected was that he looked like he'd been in a few fights in his time. His knuckles were crossed with scars, his nose had clearly been broken at some point.
"Help you?" Roberto asked, a pool cue in his hand as he stopped his solitary game to see who wanted his attention.
"Jay Padalecki, friend of Rock's," Jared said, offering out his hand. Roberto shook it, bumped fists with him.
"How is that asshole?"
"He's doing good. Said you might have some work for me."
"Sure do. You okay to start tonight, right?"
Jared's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Tonight?"
"Sooner you start, the better. He said you were a good fighter, didn't take any shit off of anyone. Sure hope that's true, son. I need all the help I can get with the dicks I get coming in here. Cops visit every other week, just about. I've been lucky so far, but luck only lasts so long and I'm gettin' old. Need to clean this place up or move out and I'm hoping you can give me a hand with that. Rock said you did all right over there."
"So..what're we talking about here?"
"Throwing out the junkies, dealers, anyone causing trouble. I got a sign above the bar says no brawling, but you think that stops 'em? You get to serve drinks in between sometimes, too, but mostly it's avoiding the punches and breaking up the fights."
"Awesome," Jared said, almost meaning it. Jensen was going to love this.
"You think you can handle it, then you can come back at seven tonight and we'll give it a try. I'll pay you cash tonight, if they give you any tips they're yours to keep. But once you're happy you're staying then the pay goes through the books, right?"
"Sure, sounds good. So... Seven?"
"And you'll be here for eight hours, one break, and as much coffee as you want to drink. Tastes like shit, but you're welcome to it. I got Marco as well, he'll be around to help show you the ropes."
"I'll be here. Is there anywhere I can put the bike?"
"It should be fine out back. There's a gate, you can pull it through there and into the yard." Roberto paused for a moment then shifted his cue from one hand to the other and eyed Jared. "We done?"
Jared took the hint and left. Maybe Jensen would forgive him for not washing any dishes or throwing any laundry through the machine. He had a job now, after all, which was more than he'd had an hour ago.
Samantha was right - Alissa really was something. She hadn't been in her bed when they'd gone to see her, as expected, and they'd simply moved onto the other patients in that room while they waited for her to return. She did come back, all smiles, and pushed along in a wheelchair by a tired-looking nurse.
"Hey, Allie, where've you been?"
"Nowhere," the little girl said, offering up a cheeky grin. She looked bright and cheerful, but Jensen had read her chart and he knew how misguiding her appearance was. "Nowhere outside," she amended, at the look Samantha gave her.
"Hmm. Well, this is Dr. Ackles, your brand new doctor."
Her face lit up as she looked him over. "Brand new?" she repeated. She had an accent to her words which Jensen liked.
"Yup, he just started here today. I'll let you get to know each other," she said to Jensen, and then left them to it. Alissa pulled herself up out of her wheelchair and into her bed and the nurse with her helped her get her covers back in place. She gave the nurse a peck on the cheek before she left, said thank you to her, and Jensen realized then how it was so easy for her to talk people into helping her get out of her room. She was too adorable to say no too.
Once it was just the two of them, Alissa tucked up in her bed and Jensen sat on the edge of it, he stuck his hand out and introduced himself as she shook it. Told her to call him Jensen if she wanted to. He asked her if she wanted to tell him about her previous visits to hospital and she watched him carefully as she thought about it, asked him what he was writing down whenever he made notes. She was fun to talk to, bright, and he lost track of time quite easily. His pager went off as they chatted and he looked down at it, saw that he was needed at the reception desk. He told Alissa that he'd be right back and quickly headed out and down the hallway, surprised when he saw Jared stood by the desk, his helmet tucked underneath one arm.
"Jay? Is it that time already?" He looked down at his watch like he didn't quite believe it and saw that, yes, an hour had gone by since he'd sat down by Alissa's bed and started talking to her. "I'm sorry," he apologized, holding onto Jared's arm as he kissed him. "I guess I got carried away. I'm kind of busy this morning."
"Oh, you still want to have lunch then?"
Jensen glanced down, then met Jared's eyes again. "I should probably get back to this. Can you hang around a while?"
"You should eat, Jen."
"I can grab a sandwich soon. What kind of a morning did you have?"
"Productive," Jared answered. "I got a job."
Jensen smiled. "That's great! Tell me about it when I get back okay? I'm just..I'm-"
"Busy," Jared supplied. "It's okay, Jensen, you should get back to work. Just make sure you eat something. What time will you be home?"
"Not late, I hope." Jensen kissed him again, smiling against his mouth. "I really love it here. Thank you."
Jared looked down at him, wondering. "What're you thanking me for?"
"For coming with me. For letting me do this without me feeling guilty."
"You shouldn't feel guilty for doing something you love." Jared leaned in close, whispering in Jensen's ear. "Do something you really love later, though, got it?"
"You mean you?" Jensen asked, as he pulled away again. Jared just smirked, then lifted up his helmet.
"See you later."
Jensen remembered to eat at around four that afternoon. He got caught up talking to Alissa, checking on Thomas, not to mention dealing with all the other patients he'd been given that day. He was enjoying himself so much that he barely noticed he was hungry until he saw Samantha with one of the biggest sandwiches he'd ever seen. He asked her where she'd got it, she pointed him in the right direction, and he ate a very late lunch with her, her husband, and Dr Parks who'd made a point of coming up from the emergency room to see how he was doing.
"We were told that you're a keen swimmer," Parks said, setting his sandwich wrapper down and picking up his coffee.
"I..yeah, I guess. I used to be in the team back in high school. I kept up with it after that, but not exactly competitively."
"Interesting," Samantha said.
"Why..what?"
"The hospital staff like to get involved in sponsored events, sporting events. It's good fun and we can raise a lot of money doing it. Charity basketball matches, swimming competitions, bike rides. You name it, we'll give it a go. Interested?"
Jensen nodded. "Definitely. I'll ask Jared, too, he'll probably be up for doing something. He was involved in a huge charity event, this annual thing every Christmas eve back in Texas. He'd probably get involved in this too, somehow."
"Well, he can get involved real soon if he wants to. There's a charity ball in three months, just before Christmas. Our bicentennial, in fact. We do an auction of doctors, all in good fun, and people pay for the tables. The money all goes to charities for kids, hospices and things like the Make-A-Wish foundation, you know? It always gets a good turnout."
"More people every year," Parks confirmed. "I'm on the commitee, but we could always use an extra hand. If you want to help then-"
"I'd love to," Jensen said, before he could even finish, earning himself a warm smile. "Sure, just let me know when and where, what I have to do."
Samantha reached across the table and squeezed his arm. "It's nice to see you getting so involved already, Jensen. I think you'll fit in really well here."
He nodded, pleased. He thought so too.
It was late by the time he left the hospital. He hadn't meant for it to be, but he'd got talking to Samantha and Dr. Parks - who had finally given Jensen his first name, which was Duncan - about the commitee and had lost track of time a little bit. He rode back home fast, frowned when he went to put his bike away and saw that Jared's was gone. He dug his phone from his pocket as he headed up to the apartment, turned it on to check for messages, but there was nothing. Still, the apartment was empty when he got there, and he muttered under his breath when he saw the breakfast dishes still in the sink and an empty pizza box abandoned on the table.
There was a note attached to the refrigerator with a magnet in the shape of Texas and he tore it down to read it as he opened up the fridge door. It was from Jared, telling Jensen that he'd had to go to work and he'd see him whenever. Jensen knew that tone of voice could not very well be determined from words on a scrap of paper, but the note looked like Jared had been angry when he wrote it. Jensen looked around the kitchen, saw the pile of laundry still in front of the washer and the unwashed dishes and wondered what the fuck Jared had to be angry about.
He washed pots, dried them and put them away in the cupboards, then loaded the washer and turned that on too. He went around the apartment, picking up and tidying away, and by the time he was done with that he couldn't really face making any food for himself. So he found the menu Jared had used for his pizza and called for one of his own. He ate, got himself a shower and then pulled on some cotton pyjama pants and went to bed. It was kind of early, he supposed, but he was more tired than he had thought. It was also hard to sleep without Jared there and Jensen didn't drift off until nearly midnight, his alarm already set for six the next morning.
But it was only three and a half hours before he was woken up again, and it took him a moment to realize what had disturbed him. He reached out and flipped on the light, listened. There was a clatter from the direction of the kitchen and he sighed loudly and dragged himself from the bed. The only light was coming from the open refrigerator. Jared was there, in front of the fridge, drinking the last of the milk from the carton. Jensen knew there was another full one in there, which was the only thing that stopped him from yelling. That and the hour.
"Where the hell've you been?" he asked, his voice still scratchy.
Jared put the empty carton down on the counter and wiped at his mouth. "Work," he answered, after a short silence. "I left you a note. Where were you?"
"You know where I was. At the hospital. And you know damn well I have to be there again in four hours-"
"So go back to bed," Jared interrupted. "I'm not stopping you."
Jensen leaned against the door frame, tired. "What's this about? Why are you being like this?" He didn't want a fight with Jared, especially not at this time of the morning, but he was weary and irritable and he just wanted..He didn't know what he wanted. Sleep, a little peace? Jared to have just silently got into bed beside him, kissed him so that he only just came out of unconsciousness long enough to know that Jared was there and safe?
"Because I thought I might see you today. I thought I might get lunch with you, or that you might come home in time to grab a bite to eat before I had to go to work." Jared's voice got quieter still. "Is this what it's going to be like now? Never seeing you?"
Jensen stepped into the kitchen, made Jared turn around to face him. He tilted his head back, pulled Jared down into a long kiss. "I'm sorry," he murmured, moving his mouth away from Jared's but still keeping him close. He licked over Jared's lip, frowned when he winced. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Jared said, but Jensen was already reaching back for the light. He stared. A cut made a thin red line on Jared's bottom lip and now that Jensen could see it, he could see that it was slightly swollen.
"What happened?"
"Don't overreact, all right? Rock gave my name to Rob because he thought I could help. The bar's in this shitty neighborhood and he has a lot of trouble there and he wanted me in to try and help clean the place up. I thought he was exaggerating when he said there was a fight just about every night. Turns out he was kind of understating it a bit."
Jensen moved back towards Jared, ran his thumb over Jared's mouth. "So you get to break up a fight every night?" He shook his head. "Guess it's a good job you live with a doctor, huh?"
"It's never going to get worse than this, I promise. I'm not that stupid kid I was when we met."
"I know that. I know. Can we go back to bed now? I need to sleep."
"Will you make it for lunch tomorrow?"
Jensen nodded, feeling guilty about earlier, when he'd forgotten all about his plans with Jared.
"Then you can tell me all about your day tomorrow, right? And I'm sorry I woke you up."
"Come on to bed. You can make it up to me. I'm sure I can survive on a little less sleep."
Jared grinned, that dirty grin of his that promised everything, and reached around Jensen's body to squeeze at his ass. "I'm sure you can, too."
NEXT
OKAY. SO. When I get home I am posting the fanart of Jensen's NEWLY CUSTOMIZED BIKE that loco_lobo did for us! You'll have to wait for it, though, sorry! But trust me, it's SO worth it.
ETA: I POSTED THE FANART YOU SHOULD GO LOOK
POSTING SCHEDULE INFORMATION:
Wednesday - New chapter of fic. (One per week.)
Sunday - EXTRAS (music, graphics, etc. One per week.)
Putting that twice so you don't miss it. :D