The Smile You Can't Forget (11/?)
Eleven
It was the sound of retching that had Jensen rousing from sleep.
He blinked fuzzily for a long moment, trying to figure out what had woken him up, and turned to glance at the bed next to him, already knowing that he was going to find it empty. The sheets were cool when he ran his hand over them, leaving him wondering just how long Jared had been in the bathroom. There was no reluctance in his movements as he abandoned the tangled nest of blankets and headed for the en-suite.
He and Jared had left the door habitually open when they’d climbed into their bed that night, but it was closed now, a thin strip of light showing around the edges. Jensen sighed when he realised that Jared must have closed it after himself in an attempt to hide the noise from his mate. Regardless of how many times Jensen had told him that he was quite happy camping out on the bathroom floor with his omega when he felt sick, it seemed that Jared still hadn’t quite gotten over the embarrassment of throwing up with an audience.
The young man was huddled between the bath tub and the toilet when Jensen nudged the door open, one arm resting against the cool porcelain of the toilet seat, protecting his forehead from the cold surface. He didn’t lift his head when he heard the alpha enter the room, just stretched out the hand that had been pressed against his stomach, as it willing it to settle.
Jensen felt something warm and happy curl in the pit of his stomach at the gesture, and he crossed the floor in a few smooth steps, settling onto the floor next to the younger man and wrapping a soothing arm around his shoulders. He hated when Jared was sick, but he couldn’t help the small burst of happiness at the thought that it was their baby causing it - sometimes it was easy to forget that there was life growing in Jared’s stomach, and as awful as it sometimes made him feel, he enjoyed the proof that their baby was doing well.
“Should’ve woken me up,” He reprimanded lightly, running a hand up and down the cool skin of Jared’s arm, trying to work some warmth back into the appendage. Jared stayed still for a long moment before slowly pushing himself upright and tipping himself sideways to snuggle in against the older man’s chest. “I hate the thought of you by yourself when you’re sick.”
Jared shook his head against his mate’s shoulder, wriggling impossibly closer. “You’ve been up with me nearly every night this week - you need your sleep. You’ve got work, and there’s no point in both of us being exhausted.”
“I’ve been up with you nearly every night this week because I want to be up with you,” Jensen told him softly, dropping a kiss on the top of the younger man’s head. “Besides which, it’s only an hour or so before I would have had to get up for work anyways.”
Jared nodded silently, tucking his face into the crook of Jensen’s neck. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a long while, and it wasn’t until the alpha felt Jared’s breaths deepen as he edged closer and closer to sleep that he reluctantly nudged the kid gently awake.
“Come on,” He urged quietly, tightening his grip around the young man as he eased him awake. “You’ll be a lot more comfortable in bed. You done being sick for now?”
“Think so,” Jared nodded, stiffly manoeuvring his limbs and climbing to his feet. He swayed for a moment, head struggling to keep up with the sudden change of height, and Jensen lightly gripped his elbow as he steered the both of them back towards the bed.
The omega sunk into the mattress gratefully, smiling sleepily as Jensen tucked the blankets back around him. The flashing numbers on the clock revealed that it was just gone five in the morning, still over an hour and a half before Jensen had to be up for work, and he grinned to himself as he slipped back into bed next to his mate, pressing up against his back.
An arm worked its way around the younger man, instinctively seeking out the warm skin of his stomach. At three months, there was a now unmistakeable roundness to Jared’s stomach that hadn’t been there before, and Jensen had found that it was usually more willpower than he possessed to keep his hands off it.
“Handsy,” Jared murmured quietly, and Jensen grinned into the younger man’s hair, pressing a soft kiss there and grinning wider when Jared sighed in contentment.
“You love it.” He teased affectionately, tracing patters over the small bump with his fingers. “Now get some sleep. You still going to class today? And work?”
Jared nodded a little, yawning before he responded. “Yeah. I don’t have to be at class until ten, and Jeff says that I can just work the front counter until after I’ve had the baby. Can you believe our twelve-week scan is this evening? How has it been that long already?”
Jensen laughed quietly, nuzzling into the soft hair at the back of his mate’s neck, inhaling his familiar scent.
“I’m excited,” He admitted. Since the first scan, they’d had one every two weeks - the doctors checking to ensure that Jared’s body was coping with the baby and that everything was developing well - but somehow this one felt different. This was a milestone in Jared’s pregnancy - today marked the start of the second trimester, despite the doctor’s guarded warnings that they’d likely never make it this far. This was their baby proving that he or she was already a little fighter. “It’s crazy to think that we have a son or daughter growing inside of there.”
Jared nodded tiredly.
“Sleep now.” He muttered fuzzily, and the feeling of Jensen smiling against the back of his neck was the sensation that followed him to dreamland.
**
The shop had been quiet all day, the bad weather apparently convincing all of the garage's customer's to save their car troubles for another day.
Jensen didn’t really blame them. It had been raining on and off all day, reminding him with not a small amount of surprise that it was already late November, only a few weeks away from Thanksgiving. The past twelve weeks had flown past at such a speed that he’d never really thought to stop and take stock of just how close the holidays actually were, or of the fact he and Jared should probably figure out their plans.
It was bizarre to think that the holidays last year had been spent just like every other year before it - getting as much work done at the shop as possible so that he could have the holiday season off to return to his family, practically drooling at the thought of his mother’s infamous Christmas Pie.
This year, he had a mate and a baby on the way, and if that realisation wasn’t a shock to the system than nothing ever would be. He’d never have another year of driving home and spending a few weeks surrounded by his family in his old home; instead, he’d be celebrating the season with a family of his own. This year it would be just him, Jared and a small bump. Next year, and Jensen refused to entertain the thought of another possibility, it would be the two of them and the child that they’d created together. A son or daughter that they could spoil and love, maybe even start making some Christmas traditions of their own with.
The thought would probably have been terrifying three months ago, newly mated to someone who was nothing short of a complete stranger. Now he couldn’t imagine anything better.
“Hey, Jen,” A voice called, and the young man pushed out from underneath the car he was working on. He’d nabbed the cherry red Lamborghini off Tom when he’d phoned in ill that morning, because quite honestly, who wouldn’t want to work on one of those? It was a beauty of a car, and he knew that his friend would kick himself when Jensen gleefully informed him of what he’d missed.
A glance towards the entrance to the car port revealed Chris waving a bag of take-out food at him, grinning widely. Jensen’s stomach rumbled loudly as if on cue, and he was surprised to find that a glance at his watch revealed that it was half one already - no wonder Chris had appeared with food, it was over an hour past the time that they usually all headed out together to get something.
“Thanks, man,” He said appreciatively, taking the bag of food with a wide grin as he headed to the rickety table in the corner and sank down on the toolbox next to it, leaving the stool vacant for his friend. “Guess I didn’t realise what time it was.”
Chris grinned at him fondly. “You always did get too wrapped in your work when you’ve got a lot on your mind. Everything alright?”
Jensen grinned despite himself.
“Everything’s awesome,” He laughed, taking a grateful bite out of his delicious-smelling chicken salad deli, a dish that he’d picked up from Jared and his finicky eating habits and had been surprised to find he loved. “And… I have some news to share.”
Chris raised his eyebrow in apparent surprise, smiling slightly as if he might already have some clue as to what that news might be, and Jensen felt more than a little guilty for keeping the news from him for as long as he had. Jared had sat him down over a week ago now and pointed out that, whilst he had wanted to keep it quiet in the beginning, there was really no point in trying to hide it now that he was starting to show. Jensen had been planning some kind of way to tell his friends ever since, but had found himself chickening out over and over, though he had no idea why he was so nervous.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” Jensen nodded. “Jared’s pregnant.”
Judging from the way that Chris’ eyes widened almost comically, Jensen figured that whatever it was that his friend had been expecting him to say, it wasn’t that.
“Dude!” The older man exclaimed. “Pregnant? That’s awesome! I thought you were gonna tell me that he was moving in or something, but this? Wow. You’re gonna be a daddy, Jen.”
Jensen laughed despite himself. “I know, it’s crazy, right? Hard to believe that in six month’s time I’m gonna have a son or daughter.”
“Six months?”
“Yep. Twelve-week scan is tonight, so. I’m, uh… sorry for keeping it from you for so long, it’s just that things have been moving kind of fast and we wanted to keep it just between the two of us for a while there. Give ourselves a chance to think some things through before we announced it to everyone we know, you know?”
Chris’ smile faded a little at that. “Think some things through? Did Jared not want it or something? I mean, you seemed happy, so I just assumed…”
“No!” Jensen denied quickly. “Jared does want it. We both do. It’s just… a little complicated.”
“Because he’s a guy?”
Jensen nodded, glad that his friend understood. “Amongst other things. We were kind of worried that we’d never even make it this far, but. Things look good. The doctors are surprised at how well he’s doing, so we’ve just got to be a bit careful and in a few months’ time I’m gonna have a baby to keep me awake through the night, and you’re gonna regret the day you ever made friends with me, because if there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I’m an asshole when I’m tired.”
“Dude,” Chris snorted. “You’re an asshole anyways. But I’m happy for you, man. You’re gonna be a great dad.”
**
Jared was jittering nervously on the examination table, fingers tangled with Jensen’s over the barely-there swell of his middle, feet tapping out a staccato rhythm against the rustling paper underneath him. Jensen wasn’t sure what was making him more nervous - the fact that it was their twelve week scan, or the fact that they had yet again found themselves in a doctor’s office.
Despite having had to return once every couple of weeks for a general checkup since the day that Jensen had first dragged him into the hospital, Jared was still every bit as fearful of medical institutions as he’d been that first day. Jensen had yet to discover what it was, exactly, that the fear was borne of. All he could do was try to distract his mate as best as possible and try to make the whole thing as easy it could be for him.
Thankfully, they seemed to have landed on their feet with their doctor.
Dr. Gilles Marini was a tall alpha with dark hair and a reassuring smile; he always explained what he was going to do before he did it, even if he’d done it countless times before, and he always seemed to sense when Jared was getting a little overwhelmed with things. There was also the added bonus of the man’s Spanish accent, which left Jared's cheeks a perpetually red colour and provided plenty of opportunities for Jensen to tease his young mate about his little crush.
“So,” The doctor said with a grin as he swept inside of the room, Jared’s file tucked under his arm. “Twelve weeks already, that went fast! Matilda assured me that she’d already weighed you and measured your bump, and things are looking pretty on track. I’d still be happier if you’d put a little more weight on, but you’re a lot closer to average now than you were before, so I’m not complaining.”
Jared sighed in apparent relief, nodding his head. Jensen knew that his omega had been making a concerted effort to eat the best he could, but with his morning sickness messing with his already delicate appetite, it had been a battle of wills for weeks. More than once Jensen had been left feeling hopeless as Jared faced down his second lunch of the day with tears in his eyes, having already thrown up the first but unwilling to give in until he finally kept something down.
“Your blood pressure looks good and your heart rate’s normal,” The doctor continued happily. “Which means all that’s really left for us to do today is the foetal scan. Are you guys looking forward to it? Today’s an important day for the two of you. Hitting the second trimester is, quite honestly, an impressive milestone.”
Jared nodded again, this time offering a hesitant smile. “I am. It feels… different this time. A little bit less scary. I’m not so worried that this might be the last chance I get to see my baby.”
Jensen’s heart panged uncomfortably at the admission, and he offered his mate a soft smile.
The doctor nodded. “It’s a natural feeling. At this point, I’d suggest that you try to not focus on the negative possibilities - despite our initial concerns, we’ve not encountered any problems. It’s all looking good for you, Jared, and as hard as it is, try to focus on that instead.”
The omega’s smile brightened a little, looked a little more real, and Jensen couldn’t resist the urge to lean over and press a soft kiss to his mate’s lips. It wasn’t often that Jared let himself look so young and defenceless; more often than not, the omega did his best to appear as collected and strong as possible. Jensen figured it would never get less difficult to see him so vulnerable.
“Alright then, on with the show. I’m sure you know the drill from here?”
Jensen was forced to release his mate’s hand as the doctor offered him a small grin, shifting Jared’s shirt up out of the way and carefully nudging his jeans a little further down his hips. The omega had been joking since his tiny little baby bump had appeared that rather than growing out of his clothes, he was finally growing into them - his jeans fit better around his waist than they ever had before, much to his amusement.
“Ready?” The doctor asked, waiting for the omega’s confirmation before he squirted a dollop of the cold gel on to the young man’s lower abdomen. Jared flinched despite the warning, ducking his head and blushing lightly when both of the alphas laughed a little. His hand sought out Jensen’s instinctively as the doctor smoothed the gel around carefully with the scanner, fiddling with the ultrasound machine with his other hand, and Jensen squeezed it gently in anticipation.
It was barely a split-second later that the strange sound of their baby’s heartbeat, somewhat akin to the sound of raindrops bouncing off a tin roof, filled the room. Jensen felt the same twinge of relief in the pit of his stomach that he had every other time they’d had a scan, and one glance at Jared’s face told him that his omega was feeling exactly the same way.
The image on the screen gradually began to take shape, distorted lines forming the edges of the image, and the grainy outline of his child slowly came into view. The breath Jensen released caught on the lump in his throat as he made out those tiny little hands and feet, the perfect outline of a face; nose and mouth and a cute little chin. He knew that he was probably being ridiculous, but the image seemed so much clearer than the last time they’d seen it, no longer just a blur on a screen but instead a photo of a tiny little person tucked inside of his omega’s belly.
It was incredible.
Jared’s eyes met his, wide with wonder and sparkling with unshed tears. Jensen grin broke out wider, spreading across his face as he began to laugh.
“Pretty sure our baby's got your nose, Jay.”
**
Jared called his brother on the way home, bubbling happily and talking so fast that it was a wonder that Jeff managed to keep up, and even the sad realisation that Jared didn’t feel he could share their news with his parents came nowhere near to touching the happiness in the car.
Jensen felt like he was going to burst, like happiness was radiating from him, and he knew that they were celebrating this far too early but it felt like a win. It felt like they’d proven the doctors wrong - those of them that they’d seen in their first two meetings, the man and woman who’d sighed and told them that it was unlikely the foetus would make it to the second trimester. The alpha felt like driving over to the hospital and tracking them down, pulling the scan picture from his wallet and shoving it in their faces, telling them that he’d known that he could do it. That Jared could do it.
And they had.
By the time that he was pulling into the driveway, he felt almost drunk off it, giddy with joy and love and relief, and Jared was smiling wider than Jensen had ever seen him smile before. The two of them were laughing at nothing, arms brushing together as they tumbled through the door, kicking off their shoes in a pile on the floor. Anyone looking in would’ve thought they were insane, but Jensen didn’t care.
“I’m so happy I don’t even know what to do,” Jared admitted as he headed down the hallway, grinning at Jensen over his shoulder. “Do we order celebratory dinner? Champagne for you and applr juice for me? Or maybe run a hundred laps around the park? I feel like I've got the energy for it.”
Jensen laughed, reaching across to tug the younger man into his arms, squeezing him tightly.
“It’s ridiculous how much I love you.” He admitted quietly, tangling his fingers in the back of Jared’s hair and smiling down at him, catching the younger man’s mouth in a soft kiss when he tipped his head back in invitation.
Jared melted against him, one hand sliding down to rest against his hip and the other coming up to cup the side of his face, holding Jensen there when he tried to pull away. They kissed for a long moment, and Jensen felt the manic edge begin to wear off as the two of them shared breaths, slow and easy as if they’d been doing this forever.
By the time they pulled away the both of them were panting, foreheads pressed together. Slowly, almost shyly, Jared’s hand tangled with his and tugged him towards their bedroom, and Jensen raised an eyebrow at the suggestion on his omega’s face.
“Maybe,” The younger man said quietly, his voice taking on a husky edge that had Jensen half hard in his pants already. “I can think of a better way to celebrate than running laps of the park.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jensen questioned innocently, recognising the cat-like confidence in Jared’s movements that he’d only seen once before, back when his young omega was alcohol-brave in a smoke-filled bar. His stomach clenched in anticipation. He kicked the bedroom door shut out of habit as Jared led him towards the bed, and it wasn’t until the back of the younger man’s knees hit the soft mattress that he stopped and finally caught his alpha’s lips in a kiss that was nothing short of filthy.
“Yeah,” The omega panted against his ear, teeth tugging on the tender skin of his lobe. “I think you fucking me into this mattress would be so much more appropriate, don’t you?”
Jensen didn’t ever think he’d ever gotten so blindingly hard in such a short space of time, nodding like an idiot even as Jared’s hands reached for the buckle of his belt.
“Yeah,” He agreed, nodding as he tugged on the hem of the younger man’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
Jared laughed, and Jensen leant forwards to capture his mouth in another kiss, grinning when he felt the omega’s hands slip under his shirt, teasingly nudging it up across his chest, until it caught under his armpits. He laughed as he pulled away, twisting awkwardly to help Jared manoeuvre the material over his head, grabbing the younger man around the waist as soon as it was clear. Jared yelped in laughter and child-like delight as Jensen yanked him off his feet, carefully tossing him onto the bed and following him down, crawling across the mattress.
Jared rose to meet his mouth halfway, letting Jensen press him down into the mattress, careful of the young man’s little baby bump.
Kissing Jared was nothing like kissing anyone else Jensen had kissed before him; the young man tasted like candy apples and honey, sweet and alluring, and Jensen didn’t think he’d ever get sick of the taste of him. One of his hands snaked down between their bodies, brushing against the soft skin of his throat and down his chest, rubbing gently against the side of his stomach as he ventured further downwards, and he pulled away in surprise when Jared moaned at the sensation, hips bucking up into Jensen’s.
“Fuck,” The younger man panted, head tipping back on the pillow. “That really should not turn me on as much as it does.”
Jensen laughed, repeating the movement just to draw another sweet sound of his omega, and dipped his head to nip and suck at the delicate stretch of his neck even as he one-handedly popped open the button of Jared’s jeans and slid across the bulge of the omega’s cock, still restrained by the material.
Jared whined, bucking his hips up again and wriggling impatiently.
“Off,” He demanded, writhing his hips in emphasis, and it would take a much stronger man than Jensen to deny him that. He pulled away just long enough to grip Jared’s jeans and boxers and slide them off his legs, discarding them on the bedroom floor somewhere, before crawling back over his mate.
Jared’s eyes were hooded with desire, pupils blown so wide that the alpha could just barely make out the beautiful hazel surrounding them; his cock was hard and ready, curving up against the soft swell of his stomach, and his chest glimmered with the faintest hint of sweat.
Despite himself, the alpha paused himself to stop, to reach out a hand and gently nudge the younger man’s chin until he was sure the omega was paying attention to what he was saying.
“Are you sure?” He asked softly. “Because I don’t mind waiting a little longer.”
Jared whined in impatience, shaking his head as his hips bucked up again. “Waited long enough. Please, Jensen. Want to feel you.”
Jensen grinned, leaning down to give him a softer kiss this time, gentle. Jared whined against his lips and the alpha grinned wider at the omega’s impatience, slowly trailing one hand down across his stomach again, this time continuing downwards to give his cock one long pull. Jared sighed in relief, but Jensen didn’t stop there, hand sliding still lower until he felt the delicate rim of the omega’s hole pressed against his fingertips.
It was slick already, and Jensen groaned at the sensations as he slipped a finger inside of the tight, wet heat, feeling the way that the muscles gave way to welcome him. Jared bucked into it, pressing himself further down and Jensen grinned again as he slid a second inside, leaning over to suck a mark on the underside of Jared’s belly, a few inches from his hip.
The noise the omega made could only be described as a yelp, and Jensen grinned as the the young man's cock jerked against his stomach.
Jared was trembling with sensation, and Jensen was painfully aware of his own cock begging for attention. Some part of him had wanted the two of them to take their time when they finally did this again; slowly map out each other’s bodies in ways they hadn’t before, find those little spots that drove each other wild. Somehow, this was better.
Jared’s hands scrabbled at his back, finally gripping his shoulder and tugging, and Jensen went willingly, let the omega’s hands guide him until he was once more pressing his mate down into the mattress, lips interlocked.
“I’m ready,” Jared begged against his lips. “Please, come on.”
Jensen nodded, gently nudging at the younger man’s hip - indicating for him to turn over, but Jared shook his head.
“I know it’s easier to stay knotted that way, but I want it like this.” He admitted. “Want to see you.”
Jensen didn’t hesitate to nod his agreement, panting as he finally reached down to touch his own cock. It was an angry red, weeping precome from the tip, and his whole body shivered as he wrapped his hand around it. He stroked it once, smearing precome along the shaft, before gripping the already swelling base and pressing the tip of it against the omega’s hole.
Jared groaned as Jensen pressed forwards, and the alpha was amazed when he was met with hardly any resistance, Jared’s back arching into the thrust as Jensen slid steadily deeper inside. He paused when he was finally all the way in, giving Jared a chance to adjust and drinking in the sensation of the younger man’s inner muscles flexing around him.
“Oh, god,” Jared panted, arching his back in a way that had Jensen sinking impossibly deeper. “Come on, Jen, move. Please move.”
Jensen didn’t hesitate, pulling back until only the tip of his cock was still inside and then rocking back in, one continuous movement that had Jared keening as Jensen hit his prostate with perfect aim. His dick jerked again, leaving trails of precome on his stomach, and Jensen groaned at the sight.
They found a rhythm instantly, moving together so perfectly that Jensen found himself shaking with sensation, the warmth of an impending orgasm already curling in his gut.
Jared was beautiful underneath him; smooth skin and warm flesh, head tipped back and eyes squeezed shut, cock long and hard between his legs. Jensen didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so incredible, and his hips picked up the pace instinctively, until he was thrusting in so hard he was sure that he was going to leave bruises.
The omega was panting, breath catching in his throat and delicious noises spilling out of his lips, and Jensen dipped his head down, closing his teeth around that spot on his mate's throat that made him lose his mind, and he felt the moment that the body underneath his tensed. His muscles rippled, and the omega let out one last, sharp gasp before Jensen fucked in one last time and tied them both together.
Jared’s cock jerked underneath him and the young man came loudly and intensely; above him, Jensen’s eyes lost focus as waves of pleasure soared through him, muscles trembling as he held himself carefully above his omega. He lost all sense of time, knew nothing but the sensations of orgasm and the body underneath him, the undeniable connection between the two of them.
By the time that he managed to recover, Jared’s cock was softening between the two of them, and Jensen pulled his head away from the omega’s neck to see that his eyes were half-open, blearily focused on Jensen’s face, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips.
The alpha smiled, carefully sliding one arm around the omega and twisting them, reversing their positions and settling Jared against his chest.
The knot made movement difficult, and the aftermath of his orgasm left Jensen feeling light-headed and drowsy. He knew that he should clean Jared up, wipe the come from their bodies before they settled into sleep, but he Jared was a warm and content weight on top of him, the unfamiliar roundness of his stomach pressed against the sharp angles of Jensen’s muscular torso, and the alpha couldn’t bring himself to move.
Instead, he blearily reached one hand out to tangle in the short hairs at the back of Jared’s neck, the other sliding around his waist to support him comfortably against the alpha’s chest, and he let his eyes drift shut.
Jared smiled against his skin, pressed a soft kiss against it, and Jensen felt a smile tugging at the corner of his own lips even as he allowed himself to sink into sleep.
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So, I suck. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it a little. As always, comments are love... and they inspire me to write faster! ;)