Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (5/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (5/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,083
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jared starts his new job and Jensen gets a call from back home that cheers him up.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
MASTER POST
CHAPTER FIVE
Memo's place was awesome. It had tiled floors and dark blue walls, and there were six neat rows of bikes, one on each wall and two doubled up lines down the center of the shop. All kinds too, of different styles and makes. The back wall was nothing but shelves which were heavy, but neat, with accessories, from saddle bags to dog collars. You name it, Memo sold it. There was a low counter that sat just in front of the wall of shelves and that was where the sales were rung up. The work itself was done in the garage next door, where there was a huge space for bikes to be set up.
Jared had driven Jensen's bike to work that day so that he could show Memo what he had done, and that was what was currently sat just outside the front of the shop. The man was impressed as he looked the bike over. Some of the other employees and even the customers came over to check out what had been done to the Triumph. Questions flew, comments followed, and everyone told him it was a job he should be proud of.
As people drifted back to their own jobs, Memo led Jared inside and to the back of the shop where he turned and leaned back against the counter. "So, where do you see yourself, say, five years from now?"
Jared was staring at the dog collars. He picked one up, a neon orange web collar that declared "BAD TO THE BONE," and smiled. Deciding to get it for Maya he put it on the counter next to Memo before answering. "Five years? I see myself with a business a lot like this, putting yours out of commission."
Memo had been looking for perhaps a declaration of being the manager of the place, but he liked Jared's answer much better. He laughed and nodded his head. "Nice," he chuckled. "You're a cut-throat bastard, aren't you?"
Jared laughed too, nodding. "Sometimes," he admitted. "But I remember the ones that were good to me."
Memo nodded thoughtfully, brushing a hand over his greying goatee. He was a seasoned veteran. He looked like he had done his own share of time, be it in jail, the military, or both, and had the wisdom in his eyes of a man that had seen more than he'd ever bargained for. Lived a rough life, only to come out on top. He had experience with bikes and bikers. He knew how the creed went. "I hear that," he agreed with Jared. Reaching out, he took the dog collar from the counter. "Tell you what. Let's put you to work in the garage. I got a special order the other day that I want you to look at. We'll save learning the rest of the place for awhile, until I can make sure you won't gather up a full-scale mutiny and take over the place."
Jared laughed and stuck out his hand. "You got it," he agreed.
Memo shook Jared's hand, then held up the dog collar. "This is on me," he said. "You're welcome to bring the dog, as long as it gets along with the others. Some of the other fellas bring theirs. Mike has a Pittie and two Rotties he brings every day. Miguel has a mutt. Brad has a Mastiff mix."
"Awesome," he returned. "She's back home in Texas right now, but as soon as she gets back to us, I'll bring her." She would be one of the smaller dogs there, but Jared knew the feisty little golden dog could take care of herself.
Memo nodded. "As long as she can hold her own, she'll fare well," he said. "I think you will too. Come on."
Jared followed him through the back, to the offices, and they made short work of filling out some forms for his pay. Then he was led into the garage, where it seemed everything happened. There was a huge board on one side of the room that was a mess of clipboards, holding pages and pages of orders and notes and designs. They were all numbered, and there was a wipe-clean board beside it that had the names of everyone there and the numbers of what they were working on. Memo checked the paperwork Jared had given him and added his name to the bottom of the board on a new line. Then he reached for the appropriate clipboard and handed it to him.
"Here it is. We got a Triumph in right now, a lot like your boy's out front. You take a little time to look over that and I'll be back in a couple hours to see how you're doing. The guys'll show you around your work station."
Surgery was tiring, Jensen thought, slumping down in a seat in the cafeteria. He'd known it before, but he seemed to forget in between just how draining they could be - not just on his energy, but also on his emotions. He thought it was much worse when the patient was a young child, but when it was a baby, like it had just been, it seemed to hit him even harder. He checked his watch, but saw that Jared wouldn't be home just yet, that he still had a couple of hours to go. He wondered how it was going. Jared had assured him that morning that if this took off, he could probably give up the bar work, or at least cut it down to a couple nights a week instead of only having a night a week off. He hoped so.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to find Sam Wright smiling down at him. She squeezed her hand and then moved to sit opposite him. "How're you doing?"
"Not bad," he lied. She could tell, too, because she gave him a look that said, yeah, right.
"Dr. Guzman said he was really impressed with your work in surgery. And the little boy is doing great. His mother's in with him right now and she asked me to pass on her thanks to everyone who was in the OR."
Jensen nodded, feeling a little better at that.
"I'd say it gets easier," she continued, "but I'd be lying."
"Oh, I know it doesn't get easier. And I know it's all part of it, that it goes with the good stuff like seeing kids go home to their parents in time for holidays. It's just knowing that they're so young and going through this, more so when they don't understand what's going on. When the parents don't know why it's happening to them."
Sam smiled warmly. "You have a good heart, Jensen." He blushed at the words and met her eyes, embarrassed. "I'm being serious. We're very lucky to have you here, I think, and it's not going to take anyone here long to figure that out. But don't let yourself get too involved, not all the time. I don't want to see you making any mistakes."
"I won't," he promised. "I should..." He pointed towards the door, indicating that he had work waiting.
"I'll walk back up there with you," she said, getting up as he did. "I have a patient due back from x-ray any minute. Little boy with a couple broken fingers, poor guy. Playing baseball with his dad."
"Ouch. I think if I'd ever played baseball with my dad it would have killed me. He wasn't one for family sports, though. Tended more towards the brain training."
"He did a good job," Sam told him. "You're pretty smart now, aren't you?"
"I guess I can thank him for a few things. But there's a lot of things I wish he'd done differently, or even at all."
"Sore subject?"
He shrugged, pushing open the door and holding it for her. "Kind of. Things are a bit easier now. I don't really see him anymore."
"Yeah. My husband and his father don't exactly get along either, so I can sympathise."
They took the elevator up to their floor, Jensen telling Sam about Jared's new job on the way and asking more about the bicentennial party that was coming up. When they reached the correct floor she told him that the commitee would be getting together at the end of the week and that he should be able to make the meeting and find out what new developments there were.
"Did you ask Jared about getting involved?"
"I think he might not have the time to now, but I will ask." Jensen sighed. "I keep forgetting, I guess. Too tired and too rushed when we have time together."
She looked sympathetic. "It'll work out," she told him. "I'm sure you two will be okay. Right, I gotta go check on Matty's x-rays. I'll catch up with you tomorrow if I don't see you before."
After saying goodbye, Jensen went to check on Thomas, since Ally was, for a change, at home with her family. He sort of missed the little girl, knowing how she brightened his day, but Thomas was a good kid to talk to as well, quieter but still happy in spite of his circumstances. He was just finishing up his charts when he was paged. He checked his watch, he had a half hour until he was due to finish and go home to Jared, but he knew he needed to answer it. It was Duncan Parks, down in the ER, requesting him for a casualty who was on the way in. Jensen closed up the charts - he could finish them in the morning, come in early maybe - and hurried down to the ground floor.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Five year old girl was in a car crash and I could use your help since we'll have our work cut out with the parents. She has minor lacerations to her arms, possible broken ribs, and glass fragments embedded in her face. Probably in her eyes."
Jensen winced at the thought, but nodded. "What's the ETA?"
"One minute. Three's open for you."
Jensen got home about forty-five minutes later than he usually was, but he was determined even as he climbed the stairs to their apartment that he wasn't going to have another argument with Jared. He let himself in and immediately smelt dinner on the stove. He could hear Jared in the bedroom and he put his helmet on the table by the door, slipped his boots and leathers off. Jared came back through as he was approaching the stove, about to stir whatever was in the pan.
"Hey, hey, it's all under control," Jared chided, batting his hands away and taking over. He turned his head to accept the kiss Jensen gave him then. "You look exhausted," he noted.
"Yeah, I am. It was a long day. Sorry I'm late."
Jared glanced at the clock, then smiled back at him. "You're not that late. It's okay, we have a couple hours. Rob said I could go in a little later if I wanted. He has plenty of cover tonight."
"Sure? I don't want you to get in trouble."
"I'm sure." Jared looked him over again. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"Nah, it's okay. Honestly, it was just the usual. We had to do surgery on a ten-month old baby today, but he's doing okay."
"Makes my day pale in comparison, that's for sure."
Jensen kissed Jared's cheek, pressed against his back as he stirred the sauce in the pan to stop it burning. "I'm sure your day was just as interesting. You going to tell me how it went?"
"I'm going to tell you that you have to come over there sometime. Memo's place is just amazing, I think you'd love it there."
The enthusiasm in his voice was obvious and Jensen chuckled. "Sounds like you pretty much came on the spot when you saw it. What kind of work has he got you doing?"
"Since I took your bike in they gave me another Triumph to work on. Custom paint and mirrors, like yours. It's gonna look great when it's done. The other guys are all really cool, too. You know the guy you got your tarot tattoo from? His brother works there too. I asked him to have a word, see about fitting us in for ink out of hours for something, when we can manage it."
"You got any skin left to ink?"
Jared smirked. "You know I have."
"Huh-uh, nobody gets to touch that but me and you."
Laughing, Jared's breath hitched when Jensen demonstrated, shoving a hand into the front of his sweatpants. "Point taken, but you know that's not where I meant. Mm, keep doing that and this spaghetti sauce is gonna have more than one special ingredient."
Jensen stopped, but kept the flat of his hand against Jared's stomach as he finished up dinner and got ready to serve up. They ate at the table, trying not to make a mess, and Jared told Jensen that Chris had called just a little while before he'd gotten home.
"I said you'd call him back later on. He didn't say what he wanted, but he did say if you hopped on the computer he can get himself on messenger, you could chat with the webcams then."
"Sure you want me having dirty chatroom sex with my best friend?"
"You can do whatever the fuck you want over the internet," Jared told him. "But if he comes here for a visit without the family then it's only fair that I get a go too."
"Hey, I'm good with sharing him. This is great, Jay. You know, you can cook more often." He laughed when Jared's only response to that was to give him the finger. "Nice. At least I know you can feed yourself if I wind up leaving your ass for someone famous."
"Let me know how that works out," Jared teased, sticking his tongue out. There was an orange stain around his lips from the spaghetti and Jensen had no doubt that he looked the same, but he didn't say anything about it. They finished up and shoved the plates into the center of the table and Jared got up, needing to go and get ready for his shift at the bar. Jensen caught up with him in the bedroom, turned him around so he could reach his mouth.
"Hey, I need a shower too," he said, then kissed at the sauce around Jared's mouth. "Need to get out of these scrubs and into something more comfortable."
Jared chuckled. "I'm pretty comfortable," he said, and Jensen rolled his eyes. "What? Like you weren't expecting me to say that?"
"Precisely. Too predictable, Jay. But maybe you're right. I'm absolutely in the mood for some sex now. We have long enough, right?"
Jared shrugged. "I don't think Rob'll fire me over a few minutes."
Once Jared was gone and Jensen was settled on the couch with his laptop and a bottle of beer at his side, he sent a message to Chris's phone to tell him he was there. A few minutes after that Chris signed on and Jensen typed in, HEY BUD, HOW ARE YA?
His phone rang a moment later and he answered, surprised to hear Chris's voice. "Why are you calling me? I thought we were chatting online?"
"Nah, I can speak faster than I can type, believe me. You'd just wind up getting frustrated. But I'm sending you a picture over it, you getting it?"
Jensen clicked to accept the file and told Chris that it was coming through. A couple of seconds later a photo appeared on screen and Jensen felt his chest hurt when he saw it.
"Got it?" Chris asked, at his silence.
"Yeah, man, I... Who's the blond?"
Chris laughed. "That's Lynn, man. She got fed up of the dark hair. Suits her, right?"
"She looks different. I mean, good different. And you and Johnny, wow. He's sure starting to look like you, Chris. Poor kid. I should send him something."
"Asshole," Chris told him. "Yeah, Lynn took a day off and so did I, so we went and got the family portrait done. Thought I'd send you it here first, but I'll bring you a framed print when I come over there. Might be sooner than I thought. I got a week off coming up and I'd thought I was gonna be able to spend it with Lynn, but she has to work now. So I was thinking maybe I could drive over and stay with you for a few days? Maybe bring Maya with me if you guys are settled in enough to take her now."
"You're serious? When's this?"
"Couple weeks away still. And I mean, don't worry about taking any time off or anything. I can just take a look around L.A. myself, hang out with you guys when you're home."
"No, I can get a couple days off at least, I'll just swap a few shifts and do some extra before then. And I'm sure Jared can fix himself the same. I know he won't mind if it means we get Maya here."
"I figured you'd be missing her."
"What about Johnny?"
"My mom already said she'd take care of him while Lynn's at work. I'll bring them both with me after Christmas, but yeah.. This time you'll have to put up with it being just me. And I can fit on your couch."
"I'd like to see those guys again. I guess we'll visit at Christmas. You look so happy, you know."
"Yeah, we are." Then Chris's voice softened. "Hey, Jen, you know you have that too, don't you?"
"I know. But, well, kids would be..y'know. Icing on the cake and all that."
"There's nothing to say you can't do that. You know that, right?"
Jensen sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, I know that. Jared's just gonna take some more convincing, I guess."
"Well, I can try and help with that while I'm there. So I'll drive over on the Friday night after I finish work, hopefully get there by Saturday evening."
"That's a long-ass drive. You'll be all right on your own?"
"Hey, I'll have Maya to keep me company. If I get too tired I'll stop and take a break."
"Okay, but if it needs to take you longer don't sweat it. I'm patient, I can wait."
"Liar. You can't wait to see my ass."
Jensen laughed. "Yeah, and the rest of you too."
"So start planning your time off, man. You can show me the sights, it'll be fun. We can get drunk together and sing karaoke."
Jensen was nodding, even though Chris couldn't see him. "Sounds like a plan." They talked some more about what they could do while Chris was visiting, and Jensen told Chris about his rough day, listened to his friends comforting voice telling him that he was doing a good job. He felt happy again, knowing that Chris would be coming soon. Knowing that he'd bring Maya with him. He knew Jared would be thrilled by that. Everything seemed to be turning out at last.
"Sure you don't want a coffee before you go?" Tisha asked, as Jared headed for the back door.
"I'm sure you're just trying to get rid of the dregs so it's easier to clean," he shot back, over his shoulder. "I'm good, thanks. Got a hot man waiting for me at home."
Tisha leaned against the bar-top, looking amused. "Sure wish I did. You guys aren't into sharing, huh? Your boy's a little cutie."
Jared didn't answer, just blew her a kiss and laughed as he headed outside. His bike was parked out of sight and he fastened his helmet on and swung a leg over it, getting comfy. The ride home at night was pleasant, if only because there weren't as many cars around as during the day and Jared could notch up the speed a bit more than he could in traffic. He wondered if Jensen had spoken to Chris, what they had talked about. He hoped that whatever it was had helped Jensen cheer up further after his day. He hadn't said as much, or admitted it, but Jared could tell that it had been rougher on him than he'd let on. He knew the sex helped, it helped them both, but it couldn't be the answer to everything.
As he approached the garage to put the bike away, he slowed and noticed something out of the ordinary. There was a new-looking car parked across the street and he quickly realized why it looked less beat-up than most cars there when he saw the sticker on the fuel cap cover. The car was a rental. Curious, he got the bike stowed away next to Jensen's and locked everything up carefully, making a point of doing it. He turned and saw the car still there, someone sat in the driver's seat. It was too dark on that side of the road for him to make out who it was, or even if they were watching him. It could have been someone lost and calling for directions, just stopping to use their cellphone, but Jared had a feeling in his gut like something was off.
He started across the road, but as soon as he was two steps across the car's engine came on, along with the lights which dazzled him briefly. When he managed to blink the spots out of his vision, the car had pulled out and was already nearly past him. He shouted as it went past, turning and stepping back towards the sidewalk as he heard another vehicle approaching. This one went past slower and he knew from the state of it that it belonged here.
He headed up to the apartment building and took the stairs two at a time, getting inside and locking the door securely behind him. He stripped down in the living room, until he was in just his jeans, and then grabbed something to drink from the fridge. Jensen didn't come out to him, but he was awake when Jared went into the bedroom, unzipping his fly as he approached the bed.
"Hey," he said, voice soft as he bent over the bed for a moment and kissed Jensen's mouth. He straightened again and took his jeans off, shoving them onto a stack of his clothes which covered a chair in the corner. He lifted the covers and slid in next to Jensen, wrapping his limbs around the other man quickly. "There was someone watching the garage."
"What?"
"Someone outside when I was putting the bike away. Maybe I should report it in the morning." He kissed Jensen's shoulder, let his hand wander.
"Are you sure they were watching you?"
Jared shrugged. "I think so. They were in a new rental, which is odd enough round here. Parked right opposite the garage."
"Maybe they were lost," Jensen suggested. His voice was still thick with sleep, but his dick was taking an interest under Jared's hand.
"Maybe."
"Who would know exactly where we keep the bikes? Except for people we know?"
"I guess you're right. I'll keep an eye out for him again anyway. He drove off when I started over there."
Jensen snuffled out a laugh. "You know, maybe he really was just lost. Maybe he thought you looked a little scary and drove off because he thought you were going to knife him or something." He turned his head and looked at Jared over his shoulder. "I wouldn't blame him. You do look pretty mean in your bike gear."
Jared had to admit, Jensen had a point. "You're probably right," he said. "Mm, see, this is why I love you so much. You're like the voice of reason in my otherwise insane world."
"It's only insane 'cause it's yours." Jensen reached down, closed his hand over Jared's. "If you're done with the foreplay..."
"It's two in the morning. I gotta build up to these things."
Jensen rolled over, covered Jared's body with his and kissed him hard. Awake now, completely. "You have two minutes to build up to it," he told him. "And half an hour to get the job done. Think you can handle that?"
"Jesus," Jared breathed. "I love when you get bossy..."
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