Smoke & Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder [32/?]
MASTER POST
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (32/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult..ish.
Wordcount: 3,126
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Keep your eyes peeled on the community, because I'm thinking Adorable is also posting some artwork for you to ogle soon! (And it's delicious!) Enjoy her chapter!
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The alarm went off way too early.
Startled, Jensen reflexively reached over and switched the beeping alarm off, glancing at the numbers on the clock. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," Jensen grumbled. He flopped his head back down on the pillow, groaning into the fabric and feathers.
Very uncharacteristically, Jared was up, wide awake and swinging his legs over the side to stretch. He reached over and patted Jensen's backside to rouse him. "Come on, get up."
"We've had forty-five minutes of sleep, you masochist," Jensen snarled. He pulled his pillow up over his head, trying to sink back into sleep.
Jared laughed and patted him again. "Come on," he said again, gentler this time. "We gotta go."
"Where?" Jensen asked, pulling his head out from underneath the pillow long enough to shoot a gaze-full of daggers in Jared's direction. "It's frickin' three AM."
"I know, Captain Obvious," he returned. "I told you we'd be getting up early to go somewhere."
"Yeah, early," Jensen nodded. "I figured eight, nine o'clock."
"You figured wrong." Jared stood from the bed and yanked the covers off, exposing Jensen's half-clothed body to the crisp garage air. He turned off the heater and gathered up some clothes from the floor.
"I hate you," Jensen grumbled.
"You love me."
Sighing, Jensen sat up in bed, catching a hooded sweatshirt that Jared threw at him. "Where are we going, anyhow?" he asked, threading his arms through the proper holes. He pulled the shirt on and then flopped back down to the bed.
"Skinny Christmas. We're breaking into your school."
Sitting back up, Jensen peered over at Jared, watching him pull on his own sweatshirt. "What?"
"Yeah, come on, let's go."
"We're not breaking into the school."
"Yes, we are," Jared nodded. "Every year, we find a different pool to use. This year, I chose your school. Come on, can we get going, please?"
"Jared, it's Christmas day."
Jared wiggled his feet into an old pair of trainers, not bothering to untie them. "Yes," he agreed. "The day baby Jesus was born, and the day we fucking break into your school."
Jensen could only stare at him for a moment. "We are not breaking into the school."
"Yes, we are," Jared grinned.
"What about Jeff and Stevie?" Jensen whispered.
"What about them?"
"I thought you said this was tradition?"
In the light of the flashlight, Jared looked down at him, smiling. "You expecting someone to be here?"
Jensen paused for a moment, slyly glancing to the side. "No."
"Then why are you whispering?"
"Because we just broke into my fucking school!"
Jared laughed and shook his head, pushing through the locker room door. "Relax," he said. "Only the parts of the school that have alarms are the ones that have important or expensive stuff in them. Like the computer lab or the science rooms."
"How do you know that?"
Jared winked at him as they headed towards the pool. "Used to be high society, Jen," he replied. "Remember?"
"This was your school?"
Chuckling, Jared shook his head, turned off the flashlight, never answering the question directly. He set down the torch, placing it on the wall that separated the swimmer's area from the spectator's. He toed off his sneakers and pulled off his sweatshirt. "You going to do this, or what?"
It was too damn early for this. Jensen sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "We broke into the school, on Christmas day at that, in order to swim in the pool?"
Jared paused in his movements, throwing a thumb towards the doorway. "You want to head off to the swimming hole instead?" he asked. "Might be a little cooler, just to warn you."
Jensen held up his hand, palm out. "No," he refused. "This will be fine. It's just weird, is all."
Shucking his jeans, Jared smiled over at him. "I'll make it worth your while," he said. "Grumpy-ass."
Jared had been going commando underneath his jeans, and Jensen eyed the skin bared to him. He watched, with a reluctant smile, as the man stepped to the edge of the pool, glanced down at the still blue water, and then plunged into it. Bubbles rushed to the surface, quickly followed by Jared, who spit water out of his mouth and laughed.
"Come on, beautiful," he encouraged. "Don't make me drag you in here."
Jensen sighed, shaking his head. "If I do this," he said, tugging at the hem of the hooded sweatshirt he wore, "you can't tell a soul. Got it?"
"Got it," Jared nodded, as he watched Jensen disrobe. "The only ones that will know are you, me, and Jeff and Stevie, who are doing the exact same thing in someone else's pool."
Laughing, Jensen tossed his jeans aside, followed by his boxer briefs. "You come from such a weird family."
"Me?" Jared challenged.
He knew Jensen heard his question, but the young man let it go. Instead, he took perfect swimmer’s form -- albeit in his birthday suit -- at the edge of the pool and dove in, barely making a splash. When he surfaced, it was gently and easily, and close to Jared. They played for a few minutes, splashing each other and diving down to the bottom of the pool, daring each other to see who could hold their breath the longest. Of course, Jensen won that round.
Finally, Jared managed to grab hold of Jensen, maneuvering him to the edge of the pool. He clasped the white tile and leaned into Jensen, kissing him and letting himself half-hang and half-float in the water. Jensen's arms slipped around him, as well as his legs, clinging to him as they kissed.
It was a strange sensation to be naked in the pool. Granted, the swimsuit he always wore during practice and meets didn't cover much, but Jensen felt exhilarated. He felt even more alive when Jared let go of the edge of the pool, slipped his hand underneath the surface of the water to touch him. The contrast of the cool water and Jared's warm hand made him gasp slightly amidst the kiss. He pulled away long enough to look at Jared, pupils dilated, and then closed his eyes, his head tilting back to rest against the pool wall.
Jared knew the invite when he saw it. Smiling, he bowed his head and set his open mouth against Jensen's throat, tasting chlorine and salt. He found a nerve, a spot that made Jensen's breath catch in his throat, and worked it, stroking at the young man's hardened cock. He felt Jensen reach up to the edge of the pool, grasping at the edge to hold himself up, or maybe to ground himself, Jared didn't know. He bit at Jensen's shoulder, just enough to leave a red mark, and stroked him a few more times before slipping his hand even lower.
Jensen thought perhaps he should have been ready for the first circle around the ring of muscle that Jared had managed to exploit before. He should have known the electricity it sent through his system. Should have. But when he felt that first pass, and then the second revolution start, he couldn't pretend he'd been ready. His mouth fell open, and a ragged sound escaped his throat. Jared only circled a few times before pushing inside, sending Jensen's body rising out of the water just slightly.
Still gripping the edge of the pool in his hands, Jensen lowered his head down to look at Jared, who returned the gaze. Wet lashes and hazel eyes, skin beaded with a mixture of sweat and chlorine. Jensen let himself be opened, let Jared work him into a state of need and finally frenzy. Jared watched the muscles in Jensen's forearms contract as he clung to the edge of the pool, coming hard in the clear blue water. As the last moan escaped him, Jared leaned in to kiss Jensen again, eyes open and watching the young man's look of pure ecstasy.
Heart pounding, chest heaving, Jensen opened his eyes -- when had he closed them? -- and looked at Jared. "You don't play fair."
Jared smiled. "When have I ever?" he returned. "Told you I'd make it worth your while."
Jensen laughed and nodded. "Yes, you did."
"Come on."
"Where to now?"
Jared nodded towards the other end of the pool. "Shallower."
"Why?"
Again, he smiled. "We need to get a good footing."
Jensen returned the smile, knowing exactly what Jared was thinking of. And he would have been lying if he'd said he hadn't wanted to do the same thing.
Jeffrey and Stevie were already home by the time Jared and Jensen rolled in. Jensen set a hand to the hood of the muscle car, smiling. "Still warm," he announced. "Seems they got a little distracted just like we did."
Jensen chuckled and stashed his helmet where it belonged. He put his arm around Jared as the man draped his arm around Jensen's shoulders, and together they entered the house through the garage.
"Merry fucking Christmas and all that shit," Jared announced loudly.
The presents that had once been piled underneath the tree were now put in neat piles in designated areas. Stevie's organizational skills had struck again. They each had their own stack of presents, ready and waiting to be opened. Jared chuckled at the sight. He let go of Jensen when Shelby rushed at him, barking and wagging her tail. "Hello, baby!"
"About damn time," Jeffrey returned. "We've been waiting for hours."
"No, you haven't," Jensen chuckled.
"Yeah," Jared agreed, straightening. Shelby was in his arms, wriggling and licking at his face, her tail thumping against his belly. "The car's still warm, genius."
Jeffrey smiled. "Can't blame a man for getting distracted," he winked. "Seems you guys got a little distracted too."
"That we did."
"Alright," Stevie interrupted. "Get in here so that we can open presents. I want my loot." She sat in the recliner, Jeffrey plopping down on the floor in front of her.
"Whose pool did you get?" Jared asked, slouching down upon the sofa. He watched Jensen follow Jeffrey's example and sit down upon the floor, letting Jared stretch out on the couch. Jared set his hand against Jensen's shoulder, fingers grazing back and forth against the exposed skin of his neck.
"Alice Booker's," Jeffrey announced.
"Oh, my God," Jared laughed. "That old bat down the street that shoots any dog or cat in her yard with a damn pellet gun?"
"That'd be the one," he nodded.
"Shelby had a fantastic time in her pool," Stevie giggled.
Jared laughed boisterously, mouth wide open as he cackled. Old Lady Booker would have had a heart attack if she'd known a dog was in her pool.
Jeffrey let his head fall back against Stevie's lap and smiled at her. "I had a better time," he said.
As if on cue, Shelby walked up to Jensen and sniffed at his face, perhaps to make sure he wasn't eating anything that he wasn't sharing.
"Poor Shelby," Jensen cooed. "You had to be witness to all that awful stuff. You'll be scarred for life, won't you?"
While Jeffrey chuckled, Shelby sneezed at Jensen's words. She moved closer to Jeffrey and flopped down on the floor next to him, ready for a nap.
"Alright, let's open our presents," Stevie said, clapping her hands. "Gimme my stuff."
Jeffrey chuckled and handed her a present from her pile of boxes. He took one of his own, Jared and Jensen following suit. Stevie wanted them to watch each other open the presents, to stretch it out as long as possible, but Jared couldn't wait. Stevie later admitted that she couldn't wait either, and they had torn into their gifts.
They'd each gotten each other something, a kit for classic car maintenance, a gift card for the Harley shop in the city, a new set of strings for a guitar, a beautiful silver necklace, a box of liver snaps. Jared opened his gift from Jeffrey and stopped short. He looked over at his adoptive father and smiled.
"Is this what's in the box?" he asked, knowing how boxes tended to get recycled at Christmas time.
"No," Jeffrey answered. "They were selling the brand new, unmarked boxes, so I figured, 'why not fuck with Jay a little'?"
Jared laughed and tore off the rest of the paper. "Ha, ha! It is! Holy shit, Jeff!"
Jensen turned and saw an XBox360 kit sitting on Jared's lap, including the Guitar Hero game that Jared had been eyeing. He smiled knowingly, and looked up into Jared's happy eyes.
"Your sister is going to hate me," Jared told him.
Jensen laughed and shook his head. "I don't think that's humanly possible," he said. "She might have even more of a crush on you though, be warned." He tore open another present and furrowed his brow. "How the hell did you know about golf?" he asked, turning the box of golf balls around for Jeffrey and Stevie to look at.
"I have my sources," Jeffrey smiled.
"Your Mom," Jared admitted. "He grilled her. Found out you were on the school's team."
"Yeah, awhile ago," Jensen nodded. "But I really enjoyed it, thank you guys." He picked up another present, recognizing his mother's handwriting. "Speak of the devil, this one's from her." He tore off the paper and paused, seeing the brand name "Canon" looking back at him. "No way."
"What?"
Excited, he tore off the paper like a child that's just figured out the extra fun part of Christmas. "No way!"
"What'd she get you?" Jared peered over Jensen's shoulder, looking down at the box. "Holy shit, she got you a fucking digital camera?"
"Oh, my God, this is awesome." He opened the box and tore open the plastic packages. "Look at it!" He found a memory card that had been stuck inside the packaging. "Two gigabytes!"
Jeffrey looked back at Stevie. "I'm assuming that's good."
She nodded. "That's very good," she agreed with a smile. "Very cool of his Mom."
"Open yours," Jensen said to Jared, slightly distracted by all of the gadgets he had to pore over.
Jared found the package with the same wrapping paper that had been relocated to his pile. He thumbed open the tag and found Donna's name scrawled there along with "Much love." He smiled and ripped the paper away from one corner. He, too, saw "Canon" on the box and cackled. Opening it further, he found a camcorder staring back at him. "God, your Mom totally rocks, you know that?"
"I foresee many hours of porn being made with that," Jeffrey laughed.
Jared hugged the camcorder to his chest. "Get your own, you pervert," he teased.
"What'd she get you guys?"
Jeffrey glanced at Jensen for a moment before turning to look through the presents. He found a large box underneath the others he had yet to open and pulled it closer. "It's to both of us, babe," he said to Stevie.
"Bring it on," she motioned to him. "I like 'em big."
With a sparkle in his eye, he looked at her, chuckling.
"Eew, save the innuendos for when we're not here," Jared complained.
Jeffrey pulled at the pretty paper that had probably been taped on by a professional wrapper at some high-end department store. "That was a pretty big word, JT," he said to Jared. "I think maybe Jensen's rubbing off...on...you."
His words slowed as he gazed down at the box that he and Stevie were opening. "Holy shit."
The word "BOSE" was emblazoned upon the box, and everyone stared at it, stunned.
"She got you a damn Bose surround system?" Jared asked.
"Looks like it," Jeffrey nodded. "Jensen, you need to call your mother and tell her she's spent way too much money on us. We can't ever repay her."
Jensen smiled. "I have a feeling she'll disagree," he said. "And she's always saying that it's you she can never repay."
He was doing it again. Jensen could just feel it. With his glasses donned, he looked up from the Canon and, sure enough, Jared had the video camera pointed at him again. "Okay, really?" he asked, annoyed.
"What, you have your camera, and I have mine," Jared smiled. "Do something."
Jensen couldn't help but smile as he sighed. "What?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Take off your clothes."
"No stripping!" Jeffrey yelled from the kitchen, where he and Stevie were getting things ready to go into the oven for Christmas dinner. The food would bake most of the day, and the house would smell divine by the time it was ready.
Jensen laughed, looking back at him through the open floorplan, and then turned back to Jared, shrugging his shoulders. "No stripping," he repeated.
"Don't listen to him," Jared said. "The man's a prude."
"I am not a prude, Jared," Jeffrey corrected. "But stupidity is bliss. I don't need to know what you two do together."
Jensen chuckled, eyeing Jared. The camera wasn't going to be turned off of him until he did something, so he tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, exposing his chest to him for a split second.
"Yow!" Jared screeched. "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
"Come on," Jensen laughed. "Set up Guitar Hero. I'll kick your ass."
"The hell you will," he said, turning off the video camera. "No one that plays golf is going to kick my ass in Guitar Hero. You've seen me at the arcade."
"Yeah, facing twelve-year-olds."
"Hey, the world is a cruel place. Better they find out now than later."
"Meanie."
Jared smiled and straddled Jensen's legs. He bent at the waist and rested one hand at either side of him, leaned against the back of the sofa. "Guitar Hero now," he said softly, "and then you can take some naked pictures of me later."
Jensen looked up at him and smiled brightly, one of his eyebrows arching. "That sounds like a plan," he nodded. He leaned his head back and let Jared kiss him, tongues sneaking out quickly to touch. Jared shoved away from him, straightening and digging into the Xbox packaging. He would have it set up in no time, and Jensen would lose horribly. But he didn't care. This had been, by far, the best Christmas he'd had. And it wasn't because of the wonderful gifts he'd gotten. It was corny, but he believed he'd already gotten the best present there was, that day he'd stumbled into the gas station.
Sitting there on the sofa, in the house he'd moved into, and with the family he'd adopted as his own, Jensen thought things couldn't get much better than this.
Everything was perfect.
--TBC--
Title: Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder (32/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult..ish.
Wordcount: 3,126
Summary: AU. Jared's a classic case of rich kid gone wrong, whose only sense of family comes from his motorbike, the guy he rents a garage from to live in and the precinct cops who know his face better than most already. Jensen's a hard-working student whose family are helping push him towards great things. What happens when their two worlds collide, and will Jared's troublesome nature be too much for Jensen to handle?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
Keep your eyes peeled on the community, because I'm thinking Adorable is also posting some artwork for you to ogle soon! (And it's delicious!) Enjoy her chapter!
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The alarm went off way too early.
Startled, Jensen reflexively reached over and switched the beeping alarm off, glancing at the numbers on the clock. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," Jensen grumbled. He flopped his head back down on the pillow, groaning into the fabric and feathers.
Very uncharacteristically, Jared was up, wide awake and swinging his legs over the side to stretch. He reached over and patted Jensen's backside to rouse him. "Come on, get up."
"We've had forty-five minutes of sleep, you masochist," Jensen snarled. He pulled his pillow up over his head, trying to sink back into sleep.
Jared laughed and patted him again. "Come on," he said again, gentler this time. "We gotta go."
"Where?" Jensen asked, pulling his head out from underneath the pillow long enough to shoot a gaze-full of daggers in Jared's direction. "It's frickin' three AM."
"I know, Captain Obvious," he returned. "I told you we'd be getting up early to go somewhere."
"Yeah, early," Jensen nodded. "I figured eight, nine o'clock."
"You figured wrong." Jared stood from the bed and yanked the covers off, exposing Jensen's half-clothed body to the crisp garage air. He turned off the heater and gathered up some clothes from the floor.
"I hate you," Jensen grumbled.
"You love me."
Sighing, Jensen sat up in bed, catching a hooded sweatshirt that Jared threw at him. "Where are we going, anyhow?" he asked, threading his arms through the proper holes. He pulled the shirt on and then flopped back down to the bed.
"Skinny Christmas. We're breaking into your school."
Sitting back up, Jensen peered over at Jared, watching him pull on his own sweatshirt. "What?"
"Yeah, come on, let's go."
"We're not breaking into the school."
"Yes, we are," Jared nodded. "Every year, we find a different pool to use. This year, I chose your school. Come on, can we get going, please?"
"Jared, it's Christmas day."
Jared wiggled his feet into an old pair of trainers, not bothering to untie them. "Yes," he agreed. "The day baby Jesus was born, and the day we fucking break into your school."
Jensen could only stare at him for a moment. "We are not breaking into the school."
"Yes, we are," Jared grinned.
"What about Jeff and Stevie?" Jensen whispered.
"What about them?"
"I thought you said this was tradition?"
In the light of the flashlight, Jared looked down at him, smiling. "You expecting someone to be here?"
Jensen paused for a moment, slyly glancing to the side. "No."
"Then why are you whispering?"
"Because we just broke into my fucking school!"
Jared laughed and shook his head, pushing through the locker room door. "Relax," he said. "Only the parts of the school that have alarms are the ones that have important or expensive stuff in them. Like the computer lab or the science rooms."
"How do you know that?"
Jared winked at him as they headed towards the pool. "Used to be high society, Jen," he replied. "Remember?"
"This was your school?"
Chuckling, Jared shook his head, turned off the flashlight, never answering the question directly. He set down the torch, placing it on the wall that separated the swimmer's area from the spectator's. He toed off his sneakers and pulled off his sweatshirt. "You going to do this, or what?"
It was too damn early for this. Jensen sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "We broke into the school, on Christmas day at that, in order to swim in the pool?"
Jared paused in his movements, throwing a thumb towards the doorway. "You want to head off to the swimming hole instead?" he asked. "Might be a little cooler, just to warn you."
Jensen held up his hand, palm out. "No," he refused. "This will be fine. It's just weird, is all."
Shucking his jeans, Jared smiled over at him. "I'll make it worth your while," he said. "Grumpy-ass."
Jared had been going commando underneath his jeans, and Jensen eyed the skin bared to him. He watched, with a reluctant smile, as the man stepped to the edge of the pool, glanced down at the still blue water, and then plunged into it. Bubbles rushed to the surface, quickly followed by Jared, who spit water out of his mouth and laughed.
"Come on, beautiful," he encouraged. "Don't make me drag you in here."
Jensen sighed, shaking his head. "If I do this," he said, tugging at the hem of the hooded sweatshirt he wore, "you can't tell a soul. Got it?"
"Got it," Jared nodded, as he watched Jensen disrobe. "The only ones that will know are you, me, and Jeff and Stevie, who are doing the exact same thing in someone else's pool."
Laughing, Jensen tossed his jeans aside, followed by his boxer briefs. "You come from such a weird family."
"Me?" Jared challenged.
He knew Jensen heard his question, but the young man let it go. Instead, he took perfect swimmer’s form -- albeit in his birthday suit -- at the edge of the pool and dove in, barely making a splash. When he surfaced, it was gently and easily, and close to Jared. They played for a few minutes, splashing each other and diving down to the bottom of the pool, daring each other to see who could hold their breath the longest. Of course, Jensen won that round.
Finally, Jared managed to grab hold of Jensen, maneuvering him to the edge of the pool. He clasped the white tile and leaned into Jensen, kissing him and letting himself half-hang and half-float in the water. Jensen's arms slipped around him, as well as his legs, clinging to him as they kissed.
It was a strange sensation to be naked in the pool. Granted, the swimsuit he always wore during practice and meets didn't cover much, but Jensen felt exhilarated. He felt even more alive when Jared let go of the edge of the pool, slipped his hand underneath the surface of the water to touch him. The contrast of the cool water and Jared's warm hand made him gasp slightly amidst the kiss. He pulled away long enough to look at Jared, pupils dilated, and then closed his eyes, his head tilting back to rest against the pool wall.
Jared knew the invite when he saw it. Smiling, he bowed his head and set his open mouth against Jensen's throat, tasting chlorine and salt. He found a nerve, a spot that made Jensen's breath catch in his throat, and worked it, stroking at the young man's hardened cock. He felt Jensen reach up to the edge of the pool, grasping at the edge to hold himself up, or maybe to ground himself, Jared didn't know. He bit at Jensen's shoulder, just enough to leave a red mark, and stroked him a few more times before slipping his hand even lower.
Jensen thought perhaps he should have been ready for the first circle around the ring of muscle that Jared had managed to exploit before. He should have known the electricity it sent through his system. Should have. But when he felt that first pass, and then the second revolution start, he couldn't pretend he'd been ready. His mouth fell open, and a ragged sound escaped his throat. Jared only circled a few times before pushing inside, sending Jensen's body rising out of the water just slightly.
Still gripping the edge of the pool in his hands, Jensen lowered his head down to look at Jared, who returned the gaze. Wet lashes and hazel eyes, skin beaded with a mixture of sweat and chlorine. Jensen let himself be opened, let Jared work him into a state of need and finally frenzy. Jared watched the muscles in Jensen's forearms contract as he clung to the edge of the pool, coming hard in the clear blue water. As the last moan escaped him, Jared leaned in to kiss Jensen again, eyes open and watching the young man's look of pure ecstasy.
Heart pounding, chest heaving, Jensen opened his eyes -- when had he closed them? -- and looked at Jared. "You don't play fair."
Jared smiled. "When have I ever?" he returned. "Told you I'd make it worth your while."
Jensen laughed and nodded. "Yes, you did."
"Come on."
"Where to now?"
Jared nodded towards the other end of the pool. "Shallower."
"Why?"
Again, he smiled. "We need to get a good footing."
Jensen returned the smile, knowing exactly what Jared was thinking of. And he would have been lying if he'd said he hadn't wanted to do the same thing.
Jeffrey and Stevie were already home by the time Jared and Jensen rolled in. Jensen set a hand to the hood of the muscle car, smiling. "Still warm," he announced. "Seems they got a little distracted just like we did."
Jensen chuckled and stashed his helmet where it belonged. He put his arm around Jared as the man draped his arm around Jensen's shoulders, and together they entered the house through the garage.
"Merry fucking Christmas and all that shit," Jared announced loudly.
The presents that had once been piled underneath the tree were now put in neat piles in designated areas. Stevie's organizational skills had struck again. They each had their own stack of presents, ready and waiting to be opened. Jared chuckled at the sight. He let go of Jensen when Shelby rushed at him, barking and wagging her tail. "Hello, baby!"
"About damn time," Jeffrey returned. "We've been waiting for hours."
"No, you haven't," Jensen chuckled.
"Yeah," Jared agreed, straightening. Shelby was in his arms, wriggling and licking at his face, her tail thumping against his belly. "The car's still warm, genius."
Jeffrey smiled. "Can't blame a man for getting distracted," he winked. "Seems you guys got a little distracted too."
"That we did."
"Alright," Stevie interrupted. "Get in here so that we can open presents. I want my loot." She sat in the recliner, Jeffrey plopping down on the floor in front of her.
"Whose pool did you get?" Jared asked, slouching down upon the sofa. He watched Jensen follow Jeffrey's example and sit down upon the floor, letting Jared stretch out on the couch. Jared set his hand against Jensen's shoulder, fingers grazing back and forth against the exposed skin of his neck.
"Alice Booker's," Jeffrey announced.
"Oh, my God," Jared laughed. "That old bat down the street that shoots any dog or cat in her yard with a damn pellet gun?"
"That'd be the one," he nodded.
"Shelby had a fantastic time in her pool," Stevie giggled.
Jared laughed boisterously, mouth wide open as he cackled. Old Lady Booker would have had a heart attack if she'd known a dog was in her pool.
Jeffrey let his head fall back against Stevie's lap and smiled at her. "I had a better time," he said.
As if on cue, Shelby walked up to Jensen and sniffed at his face, perhaps to make sure he wasn't eating anything that he wasn't sharing.
"Poor Shelby," Jensen cooed. "You had to be witness to all that awful stuff. You'll be scarred for life, won't you?"
While Jeffrey chuckled, Shelby sneezed at Jensen's words. She moved closer to Jeffrey and flopped down on the floor next to him, ready for a nap.
"Alright, let's open our presents," Stevie said, clapping her hands. "Gimme my stuff."
Jeffrey chuckled and handed her a present from her pile of boxes. He took one of his own, Jared and Jensen following suit. Stevie wanted them to watch each other open the presents, to stretch it out as long as possible, but Jared couldn't wait. Stevie later admitted that she couldn't wait either, and they had torn into their gifts.
They'd each gotten each other something, a kit for classic car maintenance, a gift card for the Harley shop in the city, a new set of strings for a guitar, a beautiful silver necklace, a box of liver snaps. Jared opened his gift from Jeffrey and stopped short. He looked over at his adoptive father and smiled.
"Is this what's in the box?" he asked, knowing how boxes tended to get recycled at Christmas time.
"No," Jeffrey answered. "They were selling the brand new, unmarked boxes, so I figured, 'why not fuck with Jay a little'?"
Jared laughed and tore off the rest of the paper. "Ha, ha! It is! Holy shit, Jeff!"
Jensen turned and saw an XBox360 kit sitting on Jared's lap, including the Guitar Hero game that Jared had been eyeing. He smiled knowingly, and looked up into Jared's happy eyes.
"Your sister is going to hate me," Jared told him.
Jensen laughed and shook his head. "I don't think that's humanly possible," he said. "She might have even more of a crush on you though, be warned." He tore open another present and furrowed his brow. "How the hell did you know about golf?" he asked, turning the box of golf balls around for Jeffrey and Stevie to look at.
"I have my sources," Jeffrey smiled.
"Your Mom," Jared admitted. "He grilled her. Found out you were on the school's team."
"Yeah, awhile ago," Jensen nodded. "But I really enjoyed it, thank you guys." He picked up another present, recognizing his mother's handwriting. "Speak of the devil, this one's from her." He tore off the paper and paused, seeing the brand name "Canon" looking back at him. "No way."
"What?"
Excited, he tore off the paper like a child that's just figured out the extra fun part of Christmas. "No way!"
"What'd she get you?" Jared peered over Jensen's shoulder, looking down at the box. "Holy shit, she got you a fucking digital camera?"
"Oh, my God, this is awesome." He opened the box and tore open the plastic packages. "Look at it!" He found a memory card that had been stuck inside the packaging. "Two gigabytes!"
Jeffrey looked back at Stevie. "I'm assuming that's good."
She nodded. "That's very good," she agreed with a smile. "Very cool of his Mom."
"Open yours," Jensen said to Jared, slightly distracted by all of the gadgets he had to pore over.
Jared found the package with the same wrapping paper that had been relocated to his pile. He thumbed open the tag and found Donna's name scrawled there along with "Much love." He smiled and ripped the paper away from one corner. He, too, saw "Canon" on the box and cackled. Opening it further, he found a camcorder staring back at him. "God, your Mom totally rocks, you know that?"
"I foresee many hours of porn being made with that," Jeffrey laughed.
Jared hugged the camcorder to his chest. "Get your own, you pervert," he teased.
"What'd she get you guys?"
Jeffrey glanced at Jensen for a moment before turning to look through the presents. He found a large box underneath the others he had yet to open and pulled it closer. "It's to both of us, babe," he said to Stevie.
"Bring it on," she motioned to him. "I like 'em big."
With a sparkle in his eye, he looked at her, chuckling.
"Eew, save the innuendos for when we're not here," Jared complained.
Jeffrey pulled at the pretty paper that had probably been taped on by a professional wrapper at some high-end department store. "That was a pretty big word, JT," he said to Jared. "I think maybe Jensen's rubbing off...on...you."
His words slowed as he gazed down at the box that he and Stevie were opening. "Holy shit."
The word "BOSE" was emblazoned upon the box, and everyone stared at it, stunned.
"She got you a damn Bose surround system?" Jared asked.
"Looks like it," Jeffrey nodded. "Jensen, you need to call your mother and tell her she's spent way too much money on us. We can't ever repay her."
Jensen smiled. "I have a feeling she'll disagree," he said. "And she's always saying that it's you she can never repay."
He was doing it again. Jensen could just feel it. With his glasses donned, he looked up from the Canon and, sure enough, Jared had the video camera pointed at him again. "Okay, really?" he asked, annoyed.
"What, you have your camera, and I have mine," Jared smiled. "Do something."
Jensen couldn't help but smile as he sighed. "What?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Take off your clothes."
"No stripping!" Jeffrey yelled from the kitchen, where he and Stevie were getting things ready to go into the oven for Christmas dinner. The food would bake most of the day, and the house would smell divine by the time it was ready.
Jensen laughed, looking back at him through the open floorplan, and then turned back to Jared, shrugging his shoulders. "No stripping," he repeated.
"Don't listen to him," Jared said. "The man's a prude."
"I am not a prude, Jared," Jeffrey corrected. "But stupidity is bliss. I don't need to know what you two do together."
Jensen chuckled, eyeing Jared. The camera wasn't going to be turned off of him until he did something, so he tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, exposing his chest to him for a split second.
"Yow!" Jared screeched. "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
"Come on," Jensen laughed. "Set up Guitar Hero. I'll kick your ass."
"The hell you will," he said, turning off the video camera. "No one that plays golf is going to kick my ass in Guitar Hero. You've seen me at the arcade."
"Yeah, facing twelve-year-olds."
"Hey, the world is a cruel place. Better they find out now than later."
"Meanie."
Jared smiled and straddled Jensen's legs. He bent at the waist and rested one hand at either side of him, leaned against the back of the sofa. "Guitar Hero now," he said softly, "and then you can take some naked pictures of me later."
Jensen looked up at him and smiled brightly, one of his eyebrows arching. "That sounds like a plan," he nodded. He leaned his head back and let Jared kiss him, tongues sneaking out quickly to touch. Jared shoved away from him, straightening and digging into the Xbox packaging. He would have it set up in no time, and Jensen would lose horribly. But he didn't care. This had been, by far, the best Christmas he'd had. And it wasn't because of the wonderful gifts he'd gotten. It was corny, but he believed he'd already gotten the best present there was, that day he'd stumbled into the gas station.
Sitting there on the sofa, in the house he'd moved into, and with the family he'd adopted as his own, Jensen thought things couldn't get much better than this.
Everything was perfect.
--TBC--