Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (25/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (25/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,113
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Phin and Kenzie help out in the shop while Jensen worries too much.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jensen felt shattered, but he wasn’t going to let it stop him from going to the shop the following morning with Jared, Phin and his sister. He had six hours before he was due to start at the hospital on a 24 hour shift and he wanted to make the most of Kenzie being in town. It wasn’t like he got the opportunity to see her all that much and he wanted to see how the shop was coming along now. He knew Jared was close, would be finished well before his planned opening date. Besides all that, it took his mind off worrying about the psych evaluations, about the rest of the process that would eventually, hopefully, end with them bringing Matty into their home.
Phin and Kenzie came over from their hotel for breakfast and Jensen took his sister on the back of his Triumph while Phin drove behind them with Jared. Jensen parked his motorcycle right outside the shop and stayed where he was as Kenzie got off and took off her helmet, running a hand through her flattened hair as she gazed at the shop-front.
“Wow, Jen, this is really impressive.”
“Yeah, he’s doing a good job. Should be finished early on all the work.”
“When does he open?”
“Twenty days time. He’s got some work on already, though. Stuff he can complete before the doors open, just so he can have a rep to go on.”
“So what does he need us for today?”
Jensen pulled off his own helmet and smiled. “I don’t know. Finishing touches, I guess. I think he just wants us around to see it, mostly.”
Kenzie turned as Phin’s rental pulled up behind them and she grinned when the two men inside got out.
“What d’you reckon?” Jared asked, drawing close to stand beside her.
“I think it looks great, Jared. Doesn’t it, Phin?”
Jensen watched as Phin neared his sister, put an arm around her and pulled her close. He kissed the side of her head, agreeing, and Jensen bit his lip. He had to learn to handle this, he knew. Jared had already spoken to him about it this morning, in the shower. Had told him that they both looked happy and Jensen should just let it be.
“Easy for you to say,” Jensen had said. “Of course it’s not gonna bother you. He’s your best friend, you’re probably proud of him.”
“Sure I am. Not everyone’s lucky enough to wind up with someone that cute. Like I did.” Jared had smiled and pulled Jensen closer to him under the spray, kissed the tip of his nose. Trying to distract him, Jensen figured.
It wasn’t working now, though. He took a deep breath and pasted a smile on his face, followed Jared as he headed for the door with the key in his hand.
The shop smelt clean inside and Jensen could see now just how little was left to do. There were already a couple of projects inside, at the back of the shop, and Jensen went straight to them to check them out. Jared threw the keys down onto the counter and told Phin and Kenzie to take a look around. He joined Jensen by the Sportster he was looking at and wrapped his arms around him, kissing the back of his neck.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice low.
“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”
“C’mon, I saw you outside. You didn’t bag an idiot. This has to stop being an issue for you, Jen. Don’t ruin your sister’s holiday.”
Jensen pulled away from Jared’s hold and turned to face him, annoyed at him and annoyed at himself. “Thanks for the insight, Jay.”
“Don’t be a prick. Just look how happy she is, all right?”
Jensen glanced over Jared’s shoulder at his sister, grinning as Phin held her and moved her around the shop. He looked back at Jared who lifted his shoulders and said,
“See?”
“Fine. She’s happy. He’s happy. Everyone’s happy.”
“What’s the big deal about this? Why are you so bothered by it?”
“She’s my little sister. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”
Jared sighed. “Sure. Whatever. Talk to her about it instead of standing on the sidelines with a face like you’re sucking lemons.” Jared left him to it then and Jensen watched him go over to the other two and start telling them about his plans. He knew Jared was right, of course, and he knew he should get over this before Kenzie and Phin left to go home again. He didn’t want his sister thinking that he was mad at her.
There was a little bit of painting left to do, which Jared and Phin got stuck into straight away, and some hanging to do in the office. Jared had pictures, insurance certificates and a few other things that he wanted up on the walls, so Jensen took Kenzie in there and let her sit at Jared’s desk while he fiddled with the drill Jared had left out for him. She watched him with it, smiling when he met her eyes.
“Anything I can do?” she asked.
“Sit there and look pretty,” Jensen told her. “And call an ambulance if I end up drilling through my own fingers.”
“That isn’t funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“No,” Kenzie said. “I figured. You don’t seem to be in a great mood today, what’s wrong?”
“Please, don’t you start on me too. I’ve been getting this from Jay all morning.”
“I guess we must both be on to something, then. Is it because I’m here with Phin?”
Jensen looked away from her, pissed that he was so easy to read. “I just don’t get why it’s such a big deal for me to take my time getting used to the idea.”
“How long ago did you find out?” Kenzie asked, her tone challenging. “You’ve known plenty long enough. Is it going to take us moving in together or getting married for you to understand that I actually love him?”
Jensen’s eyes widened and Kenzie saw it and frowned.
“What, you didn’t think that was possible? Let’s pretend you’re not my big brother for a second, okay? Then maybe you can see how ridiculous you’re being about this. When you ran off to Jared you nearly tore the family apart. But I still got it. I still understood why you wanted that and I didn’t hate you for it. Mom didn’t hate you for it. You loved him and he loved you and that was all that mattered. So why should it be any different for me?”
Her words made Jensen suddenly feel like a heel. He lowered his head and sighed. She was right. Jared was right. He was being ridiculous about this. He shouldn’t feel so uncomfortable about the fact that his sister was an adult now - and didn’t he hate being reminded of that? - and could therefore do whatever she damn well pleased, just as he had all those years ago when he’d met Jared.
“Well?” Kenzie pushed. “Should it be different for me?”
“No. No, all right? Of course it shouldn’t.”
“So will you stop looking so disgusted every time Phin kisses me? I don’t do that to you and Jared.”
Jensen felt his cheeks warm and was embarrassed and slightly ashamed that she’d even noticed him acting like that. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking straight at her.
“I know.” She got up from where she sat and rounded the desk, and Jensen lowered the drill to his side as she hugged him carefully. “I still love you, you know. You’re still the one I look up to.”
“Don’t tell Josh that,” he said, although it came out slightly off.
“Are you really all right? It isn’t just me and Phin, is it?” She’d pulled away from him again, was studying his face closely. He wondered how they could spend so long so far apart and she still knew him so well. “What’s going on?”
“I’m just being impatient and stupid, that’s all.”
“Impatient about what? About the shop?”
“No, the shop… The shop’s going to do well. It’s his dream, of course it’s going to do well. I’m just worried about my dream. The one where I have a family with Jared. A son. We had our interviews and first set of evaluations and there’s just so much more to go through, you know? I guess I’m just worried that it’ll take so long that it won’t ever happen.”
“Of course it’ll happen. Don’t give up already.”
“What if Jay gets bored of waiting?”
“He won’t.”
They both looked around as the door opened and Kenzie smiled as Jared stepped in. “I didn’t hear any drilling going on, wondered if everything was okay.”
“Everything’s fine, Jared. Your boyfriend here obviously isn’t a big fan of power tools.”
Jared laughed, shook his head. “Aw, I know that’s not true. Maybe you guys should do the painting. We can finish up in here.”
Jensen stuck his tongue out. “I’m just fine with a drill and you damn well know it. Go on, go back to your painting, Da Vinci. Kenzie and I will fix your office up just right.”
“Okay, I’m going. Try not to break anything.”
They worked throughout the morning and by the time Jensen went to fetch everyone some lunch, there was nothing left to do. He thought about convincing Jared to open up early, start making money, but he’d planned everything for a particular opening day and Jensen didn’t really know what he had in store. He just figured that he shouldn’t try and disrupt the plans.
He bought some sandwiches from a diner round the corner, saw Memo and said hello on his way back. They ate on the floor in the front of the shop, Kenzie sat comfortably against Phin’s chest, his legs open either side of her. Jensen and Jared mirrored their position and Jensen wished like hell he didn’t have to go to work, he was so comfortable right there. More so when Jared’s arms folded around him and he was pulled back snug to the man’s body.
“Mm, someone else go do my shift for me,” he mumbled, as Jared’s mouth pressed down against his shoulder.
“Damn, forgot you were working tonight,” Jared said.
“I wish I wasn’t. Aren’t you?”
“Working? Not at the bar. I have some paperwork to do at home, shouldn’t take too long. I’m cutting down my shifts behind the bar now. He needs to get used to not having me there once this place opens up.”
“I think he’s come to terms with the idea,” Jensen said, amused. “He prefers you signing invoices to pouring drinks. And you can do that here anytime.”
“Well, that works out, because I like spending his money for him.”
“What are you guys doing tonight?” Jensen asked, looking over at his sister.
“Hanging out at your place,” Kenzie replied. “Distracting Jared.”
“Nice. Well, enjoy yourself. Offer of the room’s still open if you want it. At least then I might see a bit more of you while you’re here.”
Kenzie sat up and looked round at Phin, like she was silently asking his opinion.
“Sure,” he agreed. “Might as well save some money on the hotel. Maybe we can do some other stuff instead.”
“Good,” Jensen said, pleased. He knew it would be better now that he and Kenzie had talked things out. It wouldn’t be so weird to have them there. Jared seemed pleased, too, tightening his arms around Jensen further and kissing him again, this time hitting bare skin. His sister was only there for a couple more days, after all. It wouldn’t be a worry to have them stay, and they could continue decorating the rest of the house around their visitors if they wanted to. Matty’s room was the project for when they were gone, and Jensen was looking forward to it in a way, dreading it in another.
It was another week before they made a start on it. Well, Jared did. Jensen had argued with him, but Jared had held his shoulders and said please.
“Please, just let me do this one thing towards it. You’ve dealt with just about everything else, I’d like some part in this.”
Jensen had had to bite his tongue at that, and had agreed with a weary nod. He had no idea what was planned and it seemed that Jared wanted to keep it a secret from him. He made Jensen breakfast before work and then told him he’d be busy all day, kissed him goodbye and went upstairs. Jensen heard one of the doors upstairs lock shut and had gotten no response when he shouted a goodbye.
When he returned home there was still no sign of Jared, just a note telling Jensen not to worry about no dinner being ready, that Jared would go out and fetch takeout as soon as he was done. Jensen went upstairs to find him, hearing music coming from one of the rooms, and found Matty’s bedroom door shut and locked tight. He knocked several times before giving up and going for a shower.
Now he knocked on the door for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Come on, Jay," he said, sounding impatient. "You've been in there for hours."
"Busy," was the only response.
Jensen sighed, trying not to roll his eyes. "Come on," he repeated. "What could you possibly be doing in there?" He knocked again, this time not stopping.
Jared must have taken the hint because, over the din of his rapping knuckles, Jensen could hear the man grumble. He heard pounding footsteps, and then the lock on Matty's door clicked. He stopped knocking just as Jared whipped open the door, annoyed. "What?" he snapped.
"Jesus, you've been in here all day," Jensen said. "I wanted to see what you were doing."
"I had the door locked because I didn't want anyone to see it," he told him.
Jensen looked broken-hearted. "Oh," he said. "Well, go ahead then."
"No," Jared said. "It's fine now."
"No, I'm sorry I interrupted."
Jared didn't know why the man was being so moody. He rolled his eyes, leaned down to grab Jensen's wrist, and pulled him into the room. "It's fine," he said again, dragging Jensen over the threshold. "I'm almost done anyway."
Still kind of blue, Jensen looked around the room. He wasn't the only thing that was blue. Jared had taken the blues of the Pacific Ocean and put them all through Matty's room. The base coat was white, and could be seen behind a giant tidal wave that was painted across all four walls, just the very end of it splashing up against the white wall. Three surf boards were hung from the white wall, all three signed by a different surfer. Granted, they were ones Jared had probably just met down on the beach, but Jensen had a wave of love crash over him. "Jared," he breathed. "This is beautiful."
Leaned in to the crashing water, Jared put on a few extra finishing touches with his paintbrush. "Not bad, eh?" he said. "It said in Matty's papers that he liked surfing."
Jensen's eyes were hot, but he fought to not let the emotion get the better of him. "Yeah," he nodded. "Where'd you get the boards?" He spied at the signatures, trying to read the chicken scratches.
"Went down to the beach a couple mornings," Jared said, still preoccupied with painting. "Told 'em my son was coming home soon. Wanted something to hang in his room."
Stunned, Jensen turned to look at him. "Your son?" he repeated.
Turning from his painting, Jared returned the gaze. "He will be," he nodded. "Why?"
Jared had no real idea how that simple gesture had made Jensen's depressed mood materialize into nothingness. He smiled and neared him. Though Jared had his back to him, painting again, Jensen threw himself up against the man's shoulders, grasping him in a tight embrace.
"Whoa, careful," Jared warned. He patted Jensen's arm with his free hand, and swiped at a mistake made from the sudden jolt of their bodies.
"I love you," Jensen said, his eyes closed, his head resting in the valley between Jared's shoulder blades.
"Well, good, 'cause the feeling's mutual."
Jensen didn't know how long he stayed there like that. Eventually, though, he propped his chin against Jared's back and watched him paint. "This is perfect," he said. "He's gonna love it."
"Heard from the agency lately?"
"They say October," he told him.
"Well, bet on December or later then," Jared warned. "These people are never on time. Kimberly told us that."
"I know," he sighed. "I just want him home now."
Completing a dark stroke on the tidal wave, Jared set his painting stuff down on Matty's nightstand. "Is that why you're so down?"
Taking a deep breath, Jensen moved away from Jared, sitting down on the double bed they'd gotten for Matty. "Yeah," he sighed, settling against the mattress. It was covered with a sheet so that no paint got on the navy blue comforter set Jensen had put on it. He could still hear Jared telling him that the boy should have a double bed. But he's so little, Jensen had said. Why does he need such a huge bed?
Treat him like a man Jared had told him. Someday, he'll actually be one.
Jensen hadn't really understood Jared's methods, but he agreed to it. He figured it had something to do with how Jeffrey had treated him after his mother died. He'd given in, though, and they'd lugged the big bed up the stairs and into Matty's room. Now that it was there, Jensen was really glad he'd agreed. It looked perfect in there.
"They said we can go visit him again in a couple weeks," he told Jared, propping his head up on his arms. "The agency wants to see how we interact."
"Jesus, they're going to beat that into the ground, aren't they?"
"Well," Jensen said, shrugging one shoulder. "I guess they know what they're doing."
Jared mumbled an agreement to him, bent in close to the wall to make sure the detail in the painting was perfect. He took one last poke at the wet paint with his brush and decided it was done. Jensen watched him for a few moments more, quietly thinking to himself.
"You think we'll raise him right?" he finally asked.
Jared shrugged, dusting his paint-spattered hands off on his torn jeans. "We'll raise him like we think he should be," he told him.
"But will it be right?"
Jared smiled at him, turning away from the painting and sitting down next to him on the bed. "We'll teach him right from wrong as we see it," he nodded. "But that won't be the same for everyone."
Jensen made a face. "What if we screw up?"
"Then we'll try again," Jared answered, winking.
He had to chuckle at that. "You'd adopt another one?"
Jared nodded thoughtfully, but never gave a definite answer. "Let's see how we fare with this one," he said. "You never know."
His mood stayed light for the rest of the night. He and Jared ate dinner, played some music and relaxed for the rest of the night. Before he went to bed, Jensen stood in Matty's doorway, looking at the paint job Jared had done. It was beautiful. He couldn't wait for the boy to see it.
But that was the last of the relaxing. All hell broke loose at the hospital the next day. Jensen was pretty sure there was some sort of lunar-related thing going on because it seemed like every one of the people they treated had gone psycho. He'd managed just to get his morning rounds done, when he was called down to the ER for an emergency surgery. A little girl had gotten hit by a car and it didn't look good. Jensen called Sam Wright and had her take over for him. He scrubbed in and accompanied the doctor into the OR.
After literally seven hours without a break, the little girl died. Jensen felt terrible, and swore under his breath as the doctor called Time Of Death. He and the doctor decided who was going to tell the parents. Jensen didn't envy the decision the other doctor made. While the parents were being told, Jensen went to the locker room to clean up. He sat on the bench for a long time, his head lowered, his mind blank. He didn't get time to sit there in his fatigue for very long. A nurse burst through the door and called to him.
"We got another one," she said, shaking her head. "Skateboarding accident. EMTs say skull fracture and broken femur."
"Jesus," he breathed. He'd be late getting home, but he didn't have time to call Jared. Instead, as he headed down the hallway, he told the nurse to call his house and leave a message. She agreed, but when she would get to it, Jensen didn't know.
It was dark by the time he got home. Only a few lights were on in the downstairs. As Jensen stepped over the threshold, he was surprised that he wasn't greeted by Maya. Usually she was jumping all over him before he could even get the door closed. He assumed she was upstairs with Jay, whom he could hear walking around.
"Hey," Jensen called, shouting to him. "You up there?"
"Yep," Jared called back. "Be down in a minute."
Setting down his gear, Jensen sighed, ready for a glass of wine or a beer, and the nice soft sofa he and Jared owned. He was ready for quiet, for rest and for some time with the love of his life. Stepping into the kitchen, Jensen grabbed a beer from the fridge. He kicked the door closed with his knee and started on his way towards the living room, where the stairs to the upper level landed. Just as he was starting to twist the cap off the beer, he paused. At the bottom of the stairs was his and Jared's suitcases. He was tired. So tired. And his processing skills were dulled. He just stood there, staring at the luggage until he heard Jared heading down the stairs. He looked up and saw Jared's black, chunky boots, his long legs clad in clean jeans, his buff torso in a tight Harley Davidson T-shirt, black with orange flames. It looked like he was going somewhere.
"What are you doing?" Jensen asked, unopened beer in hand.
Jared opened his arms just slightly, looking at Jensen as if he was nuts. "Vegas," he said.
Jensen's eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. "You're going to Vegas?"
Jared shook his head. "We are going to Vegas," he corrected, gesturing between them. "Your bags are there too."
"You packed for me?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Well, you're running late."
That reminded Jensen. "Did the hospital call you?"
Jared took the beer from Jensen's hands and strolled into the kitchen. "No," he told him. "I figured it out all by myself." He opened the refrigerator and replaced the bottle.
"I didn't mean..."
Straightening, Jared smiled. "I know," he assured him. "I just figured it'd save time if I packed for you."
It was quiet for a few minutes. Jared was gathering everything they'd need, and all Jensen could do was watch him. Scowling, he searched his memory for any hint of Vegas. "Did we plan this?" he finally asked, unable to come up with the answer on his own.
Jared picked up a set of keys. "Yes," he nodded. "You have the next four days off, right?"
"Yeah."
"Not on call, right?"
"No."
He nodded. "That's why we said we'd go to Vegas."
Jensen really wanted to make Jared happy, but he felt his shoulders sag. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just so tired. I just want to fall down and sleep."
Jared chuckled, reaching out to him. He curled his arm around Jensen's shoulders, pulling him closer. "Look," he said. "I rented a car." He dangled the key in front of Jensen's eyes. "I'll drive. You sleep. How does that sound?"
Jensen's eyes blinked heavily. "Can we stop along the way and get pancakes?"
He laughed again. "It's a four-and-a-half hour drive," he said. "I'll wake you up as soon as we get there, and we'll stop at an all-night diner. I'll get you your pancakes, okay?"
Jensen smiled happily, lacing his arms around Jared's waist and squeezing tightly. "Okay," he agreed.
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