Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (28/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (28/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 2,618
Rating: Adult.
Summary: The boys take Matty to his first bike rally.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kim requested that she be brought back to her car. That way, she'd told them, Jared and Jensen could drive to their next destination like a family would. Jared commented on the fact that Matty was probably wearing a wire. She giggled and told them that she was sure he wasn't.
After Kim left, Jensen looked to the back seat. Jared had taken the place behind the steering wheel, claiming that he was tired of being the Mom. Matty was buckled up in the back seat, staring out the window, awaiting their new destination.
"Ready, big man?" Jensen asked.
Matty smiled over at him, nodding his head. "Yeah," he agreed emphatically. "Where are we going?"
"Nice try," Jared said, looking at him from the rearview mirror. "You'll see."
Matty giggled at him. "Okay," he gave in, "but tell me as soon as you see it. I want to know."
"You got it," Jared nodded. He pulled out of the lot, seeing that Kim had gotten into her car, and they headed south on the freeway. Jared made sure to keep Kim in his sights, to not lose her. Jensen kept reminding him of that, too. "Dude, I got it," he told him.
"I'm just reminding you."
"Yeah, well, I don't have a twenty-second memory," he said.
Jensen chuckled. "I wonder sometimes."
They finally took an exit that led them around a clover-leaf. Jared took it a little too fast. He could tell by the way Jensen looked at him, bracing himself on the dash and handle above his head. "Really?"
"Day's a-wastin'," Jared smiled.
"That was awesome," Matty laughed.
At the traffic light at the bottom of the exit, Kim had time to catch up. They turned left down the road, and after a few minutes, they could just barely see some of the attraction they were headed to.
"There it is, dude," Jared said, pointing out the windshield.
Jensen watched Matty try to see through the windshield without getting out of his seatbelt. He smiled as he watched the boy.
"Hey, a fair?" Matty asked.
"Kind of," Jensen nodded. "It has some rides there."
"What else?"
"Lots of motorcycles."
"Wicked!"
Jensen chuckled as he watched the excitement glitter in the young boy's eyes. He turned and watched Jared maneuver down the side streets to get to the waterfront, where the bike rally was going full-force. "Why didn't you go down, like, two streets and turn then?"
"What?" Jared asked, glancing at him. "Because this is the right way."
"No, down two streets would have brought us right to the parking lot."
"Since when are you better at directions than me?" Jared teased.
"Since forever," he laughed.
"Oh, what-ever," Jared smiled.
They got to the lot, Kim just on their tail, and piled out of the car. Jared surveyed the way they'd just come and smiled. "Hey, look at that," he said. "Looks like if I'd gone down, like, two streets, I'd have just had to go straight to get into the lot."
Jensen's eyes glittered with amusement. "Weird," he returned.
"This is awesome," Matty said, his own eyes alight with excitement. "I've never been to a motorcycle fair!"
"It's called a bike rally," Jared told him. "What do you say we go get our tickets and go see some awesome stuff?"
"Yeah!"
Jared leaned down and hefted Matty into his arms. He hauled him over his head and set the child on his shoulders. Matty was probably too old for such a thing, but if he felt he was, he didn't say it. Jensen thought that perhaps the boy had never done such a thing with his real father, and it made his heart swell that they were the first to do some things with him.
Kim went with them. Jared paid for her ticket before she could argue. She admitted that she was kind of excited about the rally too. It had been years since she'd been to one. The music was loud. There were thousands of people there. And the food smelled delicious.
"We're gonna get some fried dough," Jared announced, turning with Matty still on his shoulders. "Anyone else?"
Jensen chuckled. "You have any idea how bad that stuff is for you?"
Jared leaned in a little closer, as best he could, and winked. "I was bad for you too, and you liked it."
He couldn't help but laugh. "Go get your damn sugar, you freak," he said, pushing Jared away. "Get me a lemonade."
"Kim?"
"Oh, fried dough, thank you."
Jared grinned brightly. "I knew I liked you."
She laughed at him, watching them walk away. She gave Jensen a sideways glance, and could clearly see the worry in his eyes, darkening his brow. "Go ahead and ask," she said.
He turned and looked at her. "What?"
She nodded towards Jared, who was now standing in line and talking to Matty. "You can ask how you're doing."
Jensen let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "How are we doing?"
"Well, I have two words for you."
Jensen's heart skipped a beat. The first thought that came to him was: "No way." But instead, Kim smiled and nodded.
"Flying colors," she assured him.
"Really?" he asked, relieved.
"Yeah," she agreed. She nodded towards Jared again. "He's going to be one hell of a dad."
Jensen swiveled his head around to look at his partner. Jared was so tall that he bent at the knees while Matty was on his shoulders, to talk to the concession owners. He ordered, peeked up and asked Matty if there was anything else. Matty remembered Jensen's lemonade, and then waved to him. Jensen waved back, smiling. "Yeah," he agreed. "He is."
"And once you adopt one," Kim said, winking when Jensen looked at her again, "you'll want to do it again."
"Ah, kinda like tattoos."
She giggled and nodded. "Yeah, kind of," she replied.
He turned back to watch Jared and Matty. "I think we need to get used to this first," he said. "But there's always that possibility of more."
"Good idea."
Jared and Matty returned with the fried dough and the lemonade. They found a picnic table and seated themselves around it. Jared hauled Matty off his shoulders with a dramatic grunt, and set him between him and Jensen. They nibbled on fried dough and talked. Matty asked questions about bikes and asked if he could get a ride on one. Jensen assured him that maybe someday, but probably not today.
"Do they always smell?" Matty asked.
Jared laughed. "Yeah, kiddo," he nodded. "That's the addictive smell of exhaust."
"I kinda like it," he returned, jamming a piece of fried dough into his mouth. "Fmel guh."
Jared interpreted that as smells good, and laughed again. "I think you're going to fare well in this family."
Once they were done eating, they cleaned up. Jensen had Matty go into the restroom and wash the powdered sugar and butter from his hands and face. Once that was done, they decided to wander and see some of the attractions. They strolled past a display of classic bikes. Jared lingered there, his gaze not able to find where it wanted to rest first. He felt a tug of nostalgia hit him, reminding him of the Ducati. It was still at Jeff's, completed, but not with him. He'd had such a great time working on that damn bike.
They came upon a booth that was advertising something. Jared stopped to read about polycarbonate windshields, versus acrylic ones. He'd heard the argument before, and had even thought of having a similar advertising booth in the shop to show people why they wanted the polycarbonate.
"Hey, there," the booth owner smiled. "You look like you're good and strong."
Jared just eyed him for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.
The man handed him a worn baseball bat. "Take a swing at that acrylic."
Jared took the bat, but just looked at it. He glanced over at Jensen, who shrugged in return. Matty, however, nodded his head, his smile bright. Jared returned the grin and checked to make sure no one was behind him. Jensen pulled Matty back a few steps. Jared pulled back and swung the bat as hard as he could. The acrylic shield shattered upon impact, sending pieces flying into the air.
"Now we didn't do anything to weaken that acrylic," the man said. "And look how it shattered."
"Wow," Matty breathed from behind Jared. "He's the strongest man ever."
Jensen chuckled, remembering a time when he thought the same damn thing. Hell, he still liked to believe that Jared was the strongest man he knew. "Yeah," he agreed. "He definitely is."
"Now take a swing at the poly," the man encouraged.
Jared repeated his actions, making sure no one was behind him, and then swinging full-force at the polycarbonate. The bat didn't even come close to breaking the poly. It was a good thing he had control of the bat, or else it would have bounced right back to his forehead and clocked him. "Shit," he cursed. He took a closer look at the poly, able to see where he'd hit it, but it hadn't shattered like the acrylic. "That's awesome." He explained to the man that he couldn't stay to talk, but he really wanted to know more about the poly for his business. He took the man's card, gave him one of his own, and they continued on.
They stopped at a few random vendors, looking at the stuff for sale, the stuff for giveaway. Jared got a new Harley belt buckle, Jensen got a pair of leather gloves. Matty got a few pieces of candy, but Jensen could tell he was a little bummed that they hadn't thought to have many kid-related things to give away. Before he could recommend they find something to buy the boy, Jensen's attention was diverted by the clicking of heels and the raucous laughter of a group of women. He and Jared looked up in time to see several scantily clad women walking down the avenue. They wore string bikinis and heels. They were part of a show somewhere nearby, taking a break to grab a bite to eat.
While Jared was admiring their clearly athletic forms, he also reached out and pulled Matty up against his legs. The boy went willingly, staring at the women. Simultaneously, Jared and Jensen covered the boys eyes. Jensen realized that they'd thought the same thing, at the same time and almost smiled. Until he saw Jared's eyes, wide, staring at the women. He reached up with his free hand and covered Jared's eyes too.
Kim just giggled at them.
Once the women had passed, and were well out of sight, Jensen took his hand away from Jared's eyes. "You can thank me later," he smiled.
Jared just smiled and leaned down to him, planting a kiss on Jensen's mouth. "I just might," he returned.
"What were they for?" Matty asked, looking up at Jared and Jensen.
"They were for a bike show," Jensen said, looking at Jared as well. "One that we won't be going to see."
Jared smirked. "Yes, dear."
"Let's go," Jensen encouraged. "I want to get Matty something."
"You do?" the boy said, his voice squeaking. "What?"
"Let's go look."
They ended up buying the boy an Ed Hardy T-shirt that was too big, but he looked so damn cute in it that Jensen couldn't resist. And, he figured the kid was growing like a weed, he'd fit in it in no time. Jared also pitched in and found a leather biker jacket for the boy. It fit him like it did the T-shirt, but it left him room to grow.
"Is this so I can ride bikes with you?" he asked, hopeful.
"You got it," Jared said, knelt down in front of him. "You always gotta wear this when we go, okay? Even if it feels like it's way too hot out for it."
"Cuz it's safe?"
Jensen felt a wave of emotion. He had come so close to losing Jared that it still hit him every now and then and it did so now. He watched him crouched down with the boy, giving him safety pointers, and it made his eyes hot. He fought not to show that though.
Jared nodded. "I would have been a lot worse off if I hadn't had my leathers on."
Matty nodded back. "I promise."
"Good man," Jared said. He stood from his spot and dug into his back pocket for his wallet. "Let's get this stuff paid for and then we can get an ice cream and watch the parade, how does that sound?"
"Good, but..."
It was Jensen's turn to lean down to him. "But what, kiddo?"
Trying not to be too obvious, Matty glanced at Kim, who was standing nearby. "But then I have to go back."
Jensen felt a tug at his heartstrings, but smiled. "Aw, that's okay," he said. "Your foster parents are cool, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but..."
"No, no buts," Jensen said, still grinning. "They're cool, and you'll go back with them for a little while. But pretty soon you'll come home with us, okay?"
"Promise?"
He looked up at Kim. She smiled gently at him. With his gaze returned to Matty, he nodded. "Promise."
They paid for Matty's things, and he refused to take them off. Jensen bought them all an ice cream cone. Chocolate for Matty, a twist for him and Kim, and strawberry for Jared. They found an empty space along the street, just a little ways away from where they'd parked in the lot, and watched as a slew of motorcycles paraded past them. Matty pointed excitedly and asked questions about some of the bikes. He seemed particularly interested in the Choppers, which made Jared feel strangely proud. Thoughts popped into his mind with amazing clarity for as quickly as they went. Each one of them held the phrase, "That's my boy," in them.
As the sun just started to set, the bike parade ended. There was the promise of fireworks later in the night, but Matty was starting to nod off as he rested upon Jensen's lap. When his eyes finally closed, Jensen pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead and suddenly didn't want to let him go back with Kim. They managed to make it back to their cars, however, and Jensen carefully set Matty in the back seat, buckling him into his seat belt. "See you later, kiddo, okay?"
Sleepily, Matty nodded, his eyes at half-mast. He opened his arms and hugged Jared when the man leaned in to him, pressed a kiss to Jared's cheek.
"See you soon," Jared whispered to him. With the door shut, he and Jensen turned to Kim. "Thank you."
She smiled at them both. "You're welcome," she agreed. "You guys will make a great family." She didn't say anything further. She got into her car, and headed down towards the freeway. They watched her go until her car wasn't in sight any longer. Their smiles were gone when they glanced at each other.
"What do you think?" Jensen asked.
Jared shrugged. "I think we kicked ass," he told him. "Like always."
"Man, this is really gonna happen, isn't it?"
Jared rubbed at Jensen's back. "Having second thoughts?"
"No way," he answered, smiling again. He accepted the kiss that Jared leaned into him for. "Want to stay and watch the fireworks?"
"Nope," he returned. "I want to go home, have a beer, and stretch out on the sofa with you, and watch some really bad TV."
Jensen laughed. "That sounds perfect."
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