Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (18/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (18/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,135
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jared's back home now, and things look like they're going to start coming together.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
MASTER POST
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Don't ask me if I want to talk about it." That was the first thing Jared said once Jensen was in the car with him and they were on the way home.
"I wasn't going to. I already know what I need to about the guy and you're right. You have a father. You don't need another one. Especially that one."
Jared looked over at him, smiled. "Thanks."
"Should we be worried about him, though?"
Shaking his head, Jared looked away again, out of the window. "He'll try again. I don't think that's the last I'll hear from him. But he's nothing to be worried about. He's just a weak old man trying to get someone to feel sorry for him. As far as he goes, though, I'm all out of pity."
Jensen thought that might be the harshest thing he'd heard Jared say, but he understood it.
They soon arrived back at the apartment and the driver who'd brought them helped Jensen get Jared situated with his crutches - in spite of the man's vocal and obscene protests - and then left Jensen to it. He looked happy to go, in fact, and Jensen didn't blame him.
"Are you going to stop being such a handful now we're home?" he asked, as he unlocked the main door and let Jared past.
"Who's being a handful?" Jared returned. "I'm being my usual, charming self. Ugh, stairs." Jensen stayed behind him as they made their way up to their floor, keeping an eye on how he was doing with the crutches and making sure he kept his balance okay. He needn't have worried, though. Jared was fine with both and Jensen figured that he'd be able to leave the apartment and get some air whenever he wanted, whether Jensen was there to help or not. Of course, it didn't stop Jared bitching all the way up about how annoying this was.
"Get used to 'em, princess. You'll be off the crutches before you know it," Jensen told him, opening their door up and moving Maya out of the way before she tried to knock Jared over with her enthusiasm.
"As long as it's before Holly arrives. I don't think I could chase after her so well on these." He flopped onto the couch, let out a sigh of relief, and dropped the crutches beside him.
"You're not gonna be chasing after anyone just yet," Jensen informed him, moving the crutches so that he could sit down too. Maya sat by his feet, realizing she wasn't allowed to jump up just now. "And we have another three weeks before Holly's break. You know, when she got home she got Jeff to call just to make sure she was still allowed to come see us, since she was only just here."
Jared chuckled. "Bless that girl. I bet she can't wait to come back without her mom and dad."
"And you'll be all right when she's gone?"
Thinking about it for a moment, Jared shrugged. "Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"
Jensen sighed. "Miami? You'd forgotten, hadn't you?"
His boyfriend rolled his eyes. "Jensen, there's a lot of things that have kind of slipped my mind lately. But yes, I'll be fine. Three days, I think I can cope."
"Invitation's still open for you to come with me. I think you could call it recovery time and get away with it."
Jared reached an arm around Jensen's shoulders and pulled him across, kissing the side of his head. "We'll see," he said. "Let me sleep on it."
"You need a nap already?"
"Madame Pain isn't coming today, right?"
"No, it's just you and me until I go back to work tonight."
"Then let me sleep for a little while. Then we can have dinner and, hmm..other stuff.." Jared was nuzzling against Jensen's neck now, his tongue lapping warmly at the skin. Jensen tilted his head to one side, trying not to laugh at the tickle.
"Ohh," he said. "You mean sleep."
"My balls are set to explode and I need some relief," Jared muttered, now kissing behind Jensen's ear. "You're gonna deny me that, doctor?"
Jensen could only moan in response. Jared pushed him back onto the couch, followed him down with open-mouthed kisses. It was only when he hissed in pain at a touch from Jensen that he stopped. Jensen looked up at him, already flushed and breathing heavily. "Maybe this isn't a good idea," he said, as Jared pushed himself up and looked annoyed.
"It's a great idea," Jared insisted.
"Look, why don't you take some painkillers, get some sleep and I'll fix up something to eat. Maybe after that it won't feel so bad. And we'll be awake enough to be careful about it."
"You do make sense sometimes."
"All the time. Stay here, I'll fetch your pills."
A couple of hours later, Jared looked better. More alert, cleaner and less like he might fall asleep any moment. He'd talked Jensen into helping him with a shower, not that Jensen had taken much persuading, and they'd eaten a stir-fry that Jensen had cooked while Jared dried off and found some comfortable shorts. He was back on the couch now, sprawled out, looking stupidly happy to be there. The worst of the bruising was barely noticeable anymore and Jared's skin on his arm and leg was healing well, scabs disappearing and scars forming. Jensen knew that he was still suffering with the pain if he caught himself wrong, but at least he was starting to look less like he'd gone ten rounds with a bear.
Jensen was knelt on the floor by the couch, leant over Jared as they kissed. He toyed with Jared's nipple and Jared moaned into his mouth as he did so. The rings were gone again, of course, but apparently that didn't matter too much. Jensen figured that he'd gone long enough without that everything must be plenty sensitive. He stopped kissing, put his head against Jared's chest instead. Moving his hand down he squeezed at Jared's dick, then pushed his shorts down so that he could get at it. Jared watched him, quiet, as Jensen worked his cock, letting it fill out between his skilled fingers. When Jensen looked up, Jared was biting at his lip. He flattened his hand down, rested it on Jared's stomach as he lifted his head up and looked down at him.
"How're you doing?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Don't stop."
"I don't want to make it worse."
"So you're just going to get me halfway there and leave me hanging? Don't think so. I'm the tough guy, Jen, don't worry. C'mon up here. Lose the underwear."
Jensen helped Jared with his first and then threw his own down onto the floor. Doubtfully, he got up on the couch with Jared, put a leg either side of him and sat down carefully on his stomach. Jared took in a short, sharp breath, but didn't tell him to move.
"Are we all right?" Jensen asked, settling his weight.
"Sore, but we're all right," Jared assured him. "Hey, stop worrying. I'll tell you if I can't handle it."
"You really think I can stop worrying about you any time soon?"
"I bet you will if you let me fuck you."
"You're so romantic."
Rolling his eyes, Jared just slid a finger into his mouth and Jensen watched him work his tongue around it, wetting it thoroughly with his spit. He pulled it out slowly, and Jensen readied himself for what came next. It had been way too fucking long since he'd had this, he decided, as Jared worked the finger into him slowly. He took a couple of shallow breaths, pushing back against it, and Jared grinned up at him. "Guess I haven't lost my touch," he said, and Jensen laughed quietly.
"Like I said, so romantic."
Jared took his time, opening Jensen up and getting him slick with spit and sweat. But Jensen was impatient and he soon gave in to it, moving Jared's hand away so that he could get in position. Jared held his dick instead, helping Jensen guide himself back onto it. They both groaned as they fitted together, Jared's other hand tight around Jensen's hip. They kept it slow, Jensen just relishing the feeling and Jared getting himself comfortable. It wasn't until he nodded, sweat already beading above his eyes, that Jensen picked up the pace. Jensen wasn't the hurt one, he wasn't the one trying not to put pressure on this muscle or that patch of healing skin, and Jared was rough with his hands, not caring.
Jensen didn't care either. He knew there would be a bruise on his hip from where Jared gripped him so tightly. He knew there would be indents from Jared's nails on his ass, red marks from Jared's hard kisses and from the rough stubble he now had. He wanted those marks there, reminding him that Jared had made it, that he was home again. Safe.
"Stop thinking." Jared's voice interrupted him and he looked down, found Jared looking straight at him. It made him work harder, riding Jared's dick like he'd been dreaming about for too many weeks. It was too much for both of them. Jared's fingers tightened so much that it hurt and Jensen lost it at that, coming on Jared's skin with a loud noise. He swore as Jared held him where he was, pounded into him only a few more times before he reached his own release. Jensen relaxed, moving until his head was on Jared's shoulder, trying to be mindful of not causing him any pain. Jared let him. His arms came around Jensen and he held him where he was, kissed where he could reach. Whispering a thank you.
When they could move again, Jensen brought Jared a towel to clean up and then went to shower properly, so he could get ready for work. He didn't want to leave Jared alone, not particularly, but he had to go and work his shift at the hospital. At least it was a night shift, he thought. Better that way because he could leave Jared to sleep and not worry about him trying to do too much. He wished he could miss work for a few days, have some time with Jared at home, but at the moment he couldn't. He had plenty of patients, and with the conference in Miami coming up quickly he needed to catch up on what he had missed in the past couple of months. He needed to make sure he was ready for it, so that he could do his workplace proud.
By the time Jensen came out of their bedroom, dressed in scrubs and leathers, Jared was already starting to doze off on the couch. Jensen leaned over the back of it, brushed Jared's hair back and kissed his forehead. "We need to get you a haircut tomorrow as well," he said, as Jared blinked up at him sleepily.
"Yes, mom," Jared mumbled.
"If you're going to sleep, get in our bed. It'll be more comfortable."
"Comfy right here."
Jensen sighed. "Okay. Want me to wake you up when I get home?"
"Mm..."
Jensen gave in, knowing Jared was too tired now to understand or care about what he was saying. "I'll lock the door after me. See you later. Love you."
"Love you, too," came the muffled reply.
Matty had been discharged about a week ago, taken into care, and Jensen did miss him. He'd given Matty his office number though, told him he could call if he had any problems related to his surgery. They both knew that Jensen meant he could call whenever he wanted, but so far he hadn't. Jensen guessed that he was getting used to being in care and hoped he was all right. He had other patients keeping him occupied during his day shifts now, though. Thomas was back in, after several months of being able to stay at home. He was quiet, the opposite to how Alissa had been. Jensen remembered his first day here, meeting them both and being surprised at the difference in two patients who had such similar problems.
But it was night-time now and a lot of Jensen's patients were sleeping as he walked around the beds, checking charts and filling out paperwork. He was on call for the ER, but he was paged only once to go down there. He made use of the time by reading the new articles and publications that had built up on his desk during Jared's hospital stay, and napping. The next day would be longer, he knew. He was due to start in the early afternoon and be home before midnight, and then he would start his day shifts, continuous until the time off he had booked for Holly's visit. It was going to be tiring, between work and doing what he needed to for Jared, but at least the vacation at the end of it gave him something to look forward to.
It was starting to get light when he arrived home and Jared was already awake. Jensen might have thought he hadn't moved from the couch except that there was an empty bowl on the table in front of him and he was dressed again. He had the TV on, too, playing something on the XBox. Maya lay at the other end of the couch, fast asleep.
"Hey," he said, watching Jensen come in and dump his things inside the door. "Good night?"
"Not bad. How're you feeling this morning?"
"A bit more awake than last night."
"You got your own breakfast," Jensen said, sitting down to pull his boots off.
"Without falling over," Jared told him. "Good for me."
"It'll get easier," Jensen promised. "Want to go get your hair cut today?"
"No, not really. I like it like this. You can give me a shave if you want, though."
"Uh-huh. Let me get some breakfast first."
"There's not much milk left."
"Great. You want to come shopping with me?"
Jared pulled a face. "You know I hate shopping for groceries."
"Jay, you can't just stay up here in the apartment until you feel like it. You need to get out and get moving."
Grabbing his crutches, Jared struggled up to stand. "Fine, c'mon, let's go. C'mon, I'm waiting."
Jensen rolled his eyes. "And you don't need to be a dick about it. You want to get off those crutches, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"Then you need to do this stuff. You need to get as much exercise as you can. Laying in a hospital bed and doing the daily session of PT is fine, but you need to get your muscles sorted. You need to make sure you don't get lazy."
"I'm not gonna get lazy, Jen. I have a plan and it isn't to just sit around, all right? I'm going back to work after you get back from Miami."
"Oh, you think you'll be just fine by then?"
"I know I will," Jared told him. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy to start with, but you're right. I can't just stay here. Hey." He came close, leaning awkwardly on one crutch and reaching down to cup the back of Jensen's head. Jensen tilted his head back and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just-"
"Yeah. I know you are."
"Let's take Maya out with us, grab what we need, and then you can have breakfast and give me a shave. Maybe I'll do something nice for you, too."
Jensen was tired, but he agreed. He was hungry so breakfast was a must anyway, and getting Maya walked at the same time would save him from having to wake up early later on. He'd have breakfast, have some fun with Jared, and then go to bed when the nurse arrived so that he could sleep before work again. The therapist would be around in the afternoon for an hour and then the nurse would leave Jared alone at around five. Jensen knew he would probably just sleep.
Jensen fetched Maya's collar and leash from near the door and called her over. She woke up quick, tripping over herself almost as she raced to the door with Jared laughing and telling her to be careful. Jensen clipped the leash on, unable to stop himself from smiling too, and slipped his feet into a more comfortable pair of sneakers. He pulled a backpack on over his shoulder for their shopping and opened the door. "Ready?" he asked. Jared nodded and they made their way downstairs.
It took longer than it normally would, but it was a pleasant day and Jensen could see that the fresh air was doing Jared good. They didn't see many people on the walk to the grocery store, but Jensen supposed it was still too early for most people. He loaded the backpack with groceries while Jared sat outside with Maya, and then he got it settled on his shoulders for the walk home.
"You never asked about my plan," Jared said, as Maya stopped to sniff at the corner of a building.
"I thought it was just to go back to work."
"Yeah, mostly. But I thought I might go and make an appointment with our bank manager. Memo said he'd come along, see if we can get me a business loan."
"Memo's going to help you become his main competition?"
"He said these customers who are waiting for me to come back, that's proof enough that I could run my own place. But I'd only be doing the custom stuff and repairs, I said the rest of his business was safe. I'm not interested in setting myself up as a dealer. I leave that part of his business alone and he'll refer people to me in return. The best part? The place next door to his is shutting down. Memo reckons we could get that and fit it out, make it my workshop."
"When were you thinking about all this? Not just last night, surely."
"The whole time I was in hospital. I wasn't just waiting around for your daily visit all the time."
Jensen grinned, shook his head. "Alright, I take it all back. You are far from lazy and I'm proud of you. You think we can pull this off?"
"We?"
"Hey, I'm not going to let you do all the work for it. I'll come help. Paint your shop, help set things up. Do you know what you're going to call the place?"
"Hadn't thought that far ahead," Jared said, sounding thoughtful. Jensen looked across at him, tugging Maya towards him as a bigger dog rounded the corner with its owner.
"You should think about it. It's important. And...okay, what?" The look Jared was giving him was kind of incredulous.
"I didn't think you'd be this..y'know. Involved. I thought-"
"Jay, listen to me." Jensen stopped now, and Maya obediently sat down by his feet. "You helped me more than you can possibly realize. You helped me get to do what I always wanted to do. If it hadn't been for you, if I'd never met you, I honestly don't think I could have come as far as I have - stop smirking, you know what I mean. My dad would have made me study for it, he would have made me pass all the exams and get all the training, but I wouldn't be enjoying it as much. I wouldn't be doing it for the sake of being a doctor if my dad had been the one in charge. I would have been doing it for promotion and money and power. I would have been doing it for him. Not me. You gave it meaning. Even more so after the past couple of months."
"Purely unintentional," Jared interjected, cracking a smile. In truth, though, he looked surprised. Affected by Jensen's words.
"I know, but you get my point, don't you?"
"Yeah, I get it."
"So it's my turn to help you with this. Whether you think you need it or not."
Jared nodded, shifting his weight on his crutches as he leaned forward and kissed Jensen. "Thank you," he said, pulling away slowly. "Don't know what I'd do without you."
"Same here."
Over the next week they fell into some kind of a routine with the nurse and the therapist, with Jensen's shifts at the hospital and fitting in some time together on their own. It was tiring, but having the nurse with Jared every afternoon really helped. She got some of the things done for him that would otherwise have had to wait for Jensen to come home and do. He was glad to have her. It also meant that his alone time to relax with Jared was just that, and they got to spend the time talking about plans for when Holly visited, amongst other things.
The subject of Matty came up, of course, and Jensen was glad to see how animated Jared was when he was talking about it. Now that the idea of having their own family, the possibility of it, had been planted in their minds, it seemed that Jared was embracing it much more enthusiastically. Meeting Matty had helped, Jensen thought. The kid had affected Jared just as much as he had Jensen. They agreed on getting back on track with their plans now Jared was home again, and Jensen scheduled an appointment with Social Services during the week after he returned from Miami. He also spoke to Matty on the phone for a few minutes, calling him to see how he was doing health-wise. Matty asked after Jared and, when Jensen said that Jared was back at home now, Matty went all quiet for a moment before saying that he wished he was there too.
"We're working on it," Jensen told him. "We won't forget. I promise."
"I know, doctor Ackles. Will it really take a long time?"
"I've no idea how long it'll take," Jensen answered, truthfully. "But Jared and me, we aren't the type of people who'll get bored and give up."
"I know," Matty said again. "You and Jared are really cool."
"I'll be sure and pass that on to him. Take care of yourself, all right Matty?"
"I will!" He sounded brighter again, and Jensen hung up with a good feeling. He allowed himself a few indulgent minutes imagining that Matty could come live with them sometime soon. After Jared had set the shop up, maybe. He imagined Jared finding a small model bike for Matty to ride and play on and chuckled, thinking that probably wouldn't be too far from the truth eventually. He wasn't worried about either of them coping with raising a child. He just hoped Matty would cope with having them as his parents.
He wasn't allowed to daydream for long, though. A few minutes later his pager went off and his quiet day was over.
Jared called him before he left the hospital that night, asking if he could pick up some dog treats on his way home. "Maya's looking at me like I stole her favorite toy."
"You ruin that dog," Jensen chided, only half-serious.
"She deserves it."
"Okay, I'll run by the store and grab something for her. Do we need anything else?"
"Deodorant. I think that's it."
"I'll see you in a half hour."
Jensen hung up and said goodbye to the nurse on duty, went down to where his motorcycle was parked. He didn't expect to see who was down there and he slowed down considerably, his helmet hanging from one hand. Jared's dad stubbed out the cigarette he'd been smoking and straightened, clearing his throat.
"I don't really want to hear it," Jensen said, before he could say anything. "Jared told you that he doesn't want to see you again."
"I thought maybe you could persuade him to reconsider. I just want to talk to him."
"He doesn't want to talk to you. Look, I don't know you and I don't much care to, but I do know that you coming back now is beyond idiotic. Jared doesn't want you in his life and he sure as hell doesn't need you. And if you think you can wear him down? It's not gonna happen. You know nothing about him so why now?"
Of all the things Jensen thought the old man might say, what he blurted out next was the least expected. "Because I'm dying."
There was a few moments of silence and then Jensen shook his head and walked over to his Triumph. "That's not going to work either. Don't bother him again, because next time he might not be so tolerant."
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