Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (24/?)

[eviltwin]

Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (24/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 4,742
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jeff and Phin deal with Amos while Jensen and Jared take another step towards getting Matty.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.

MASTER POST



CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The day of the social services visit, Jeffrey and Phin came home late. Neither of them spoke, just walked through the front door, towards the kitchen. Jensen watched from the living room, where he was unpacking some things, as the two very dirty, wet men strolled through his home.

Jared met them in the kitchen, finding them both leaning up against the kitchen island, guzzling a bottle of beer each.

"My God, you killed him, didn't you?"

Jeff breathed raggedly as he lowered his beer. He didn't say anything, just looking over at Jensen.

"Killed who?" Jensen asked, straightening.

"His old man," Phin answered, pointing at Jared. Jared exchanged a look with Jensen, turned back to his friend and asked,

"You killed him?"

There was a little too much joy in his voice when asking that, Jensen thought. Scowling, he moved to the doorway and glared at his partner, annoyed.

"What?" Jared asked him.

"We didn't kill anyone," Jeff said. "He may have been a touch bloodied when he was dropped off at the police station. But he was alive."

"Conscious?"

Jeff smiled. "Yes, Jensen."

"Did you do anything you're gonna regret?"

Jeff grinned brighter. "No way."

"Anything we'll regret?"

"Not a chance," Phin said for Jeffrey. They clinked their bottles together and polished them off in a few last swallows.

Jared joined them later that night, while Jensen moved upstairs to unpack. Unable to work on Matty's room since Jared was still painting in there, Jensen told Jared he would finish setting up the bathroom instead, then moved on to the master bedroom. Jared had put up shelves for their stereo and speakers up there and Jensen wanted to get most of it unpacked if he could.

"So, what happened?" Jared asked. He, Jeffrey and Phin were in the living room, relaxing on the sofa and chairs, beers in hand.

Phin and Jeff's eyes met for a moment, trying to determine if they should recount the story. They must have had their silent conversation and come to a unanimous decision because Jeffrey cleared his throat, tapped his boot heel against the toes of his opposite foot, and looked at Jared.

"We found him down at the racetrack," he began.

"Already fucking next to homeless," Phin complained, "and he's out there betting the two pennies he found on the sidewalk. Breaking into your place for goddamn money that doesn't exist."

Jeff shook his head. "Reeked of fucking ganja and Vermouth."

"Jesus," Jared winced. He remembered that smell. Far too well.

"He was already high, so it wasn't hard to convince him to follow us into the alley," Phin explained.

Jared was pretty sure he knew that Amos hadn't followed anyone into the alley. More like he was manhandled back there. Jared tried to pretend that he wasn't wishing he'd been in on this.

"I don't think he remembered me right off." Jeff smiled. "He did after I kicked his ass some."

Jared was glad that they weren't going to sugarcoat the whole story. He wanted to know what happened. "What'd he say?"

"'Jesus fuckin' Christ!'" Phin mocked. "'Did that little bitch call you to fight for him?'"

Momentarily, Jared's smile faded and he felt like a little bit of a loser. That is, until he heard Jeff's response to Amos.

"I said, 'Fuck, yeah, asshole. And that's what a father does when he loves his son. Not like you'd fuckin' know anything about that.'"

"Right on," Phin said, nodding.

"So, what did he say about the money?" Jared asked.

"Oh, he thought I'd saved it all these years, or spent it on myself," Jeff told him.

Jared felt another pang of regret. Why had he been so stupid when he was younger?

"I told him that it was long gone, used to help you out," he continued. "Which is what your mom wanted it for and if you don't wipe that goddamn sour look off your face, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Jared straightened and met Jeff's eyes. "Sorry," he said. "I just..."

"I know what you just," Jeff nodded. "And stop it. It's over and done with and there's nothing you can do about it now."

"Yes, sir," he said, trying not to frown.

"Now get your ass up to bed," he demanded. "Your bride is waiting."

Jared laughed at that. He started to go and then turned around again. "You said you dropped him off at the police station?"

Jeff nodded. "After some good quality time in the alley, I think Phin and I convinced him to come clean about what happened."

"What'd you do to him?"

"He ain't any worse for the wear, Jay," Jeff assured him. "But I'm not going to give you specifics. Now go upstairs and tend to your significant other. We'll lock up and go to bed soon too."

Jared did as they advised. When he got upstairs, Jensen was in bed, sound asleep. He looked down at his watch, wincing when he saw that it was well past midnight. "Damn," he whispered to himself. He saw that Jensen had gotten the room pretty much taken care of. He also had gotten the master bath squared away as well. Jared hoped he wasn't running himself ragged. As quietly as he could, however, he got ready for bed and slipped underneath the covers after flipping off the light Jensen had left on for him.

"Are we going to regret what they did?"

Jared peeked over at Jensen, who was laying on his side, facing away from Jared. His eyes were closed, but obviously he wasn't sleeping. "No," he said softly. "They handled it pretty well. And they left Amos at the police station. I don't think we'll hear from him again."

"Good," Jensen agreed. "I have to be in the OR at six AM. So, sorry if I wake you up in the morning."

Jared snuggled in closer, suggestively pressing his hips up against Jensen's. "Weird," he whispered. "I'm already up."

Jensen could easily feel Jared's erection pressing against him and he smiled. "You always are," he said.

"You're not mad about what Jeff and Phin did, are you?"

Jensen's smile faded. He turned over in bed and faced Jared. "I'm not mad," he assured him. "I just don't want anything to go wrong. This is really important to me."

Jared smiled devilishly before trying to put a worried expression on his face. "We might want to talk about my psych appointment then."

Jensen laughed, but reached out and smacked Jared's shoulder, sending him rocking backwards slightly. "Shut up," he said. "I know you'll be good."

Chuckling, Jared nodded his head. "I will be, I promise," he said.

It was quiet for a moment. Jensen stared down at Jared's tattooed chest, thinking. "Is this really what you want?" he finally asked. "You don't seem rattled by any of this."

Jared took a deep breath and sighed. "I want you," he said. "I want us to have a family. I want to do this."

Jensen smiled softly. "So this is important to you."

"It is."

His smile brightened. "You're going to be a great dad."

Jared grinned. "You're going to be a great dad," he corrected. "But I'll be a great follower."

Jensen shook his head, still smiling. Jared didn't give himself nearly enough credit. He wrapped his arms tighter around the man, sliding a little closer to him under the covers. "And since we're both up now..."

"When's your psych appointment again?"

"A couple of hours after yours, once I get off work. Don't worry," Jensen told him, his voice just above a murmur as he pressed his mouth lightly to Jared's throat. "I'm not nearly as crazy as you are." He pushed harder, licked at the skin there and felt Jared's arms surround him, pull him up. They kissed, eyes closed, and moved together lazily, taking it slow. Jared could tell that Jensen was far too tired for it, but he didn't let go until he felt his lover's breath even out, until he heard him quietly snore. He followed soon after, knowing that he would wake up with Jensen and get straight to work. Jared intended to spend the following few days hanging out with Jeff and Phin before he went back to work on the shop, not wanting to drag either of them into helping him more than they had already. Phin had also mentioned to Jared that he might stay a while longer, maybe invite Kenzie for a few days in a hotel in LA and surprise Jensen.

But, before any of that, they had their psych appointments. They were in just two days time and had come through quickly thanks to Jensen's hospital connections. Jared thought that Jensen was panicking over the lack of time to prepare and hoped that Jensen would realize that he didn't even need to. He already had all the qualities that Jared thought he could possibly need. Jared just hoped that he could look even half as good in comparison.

"Jared, welcome."

Regardless of the man's pleasant demeanor, Jared didn't feel better about the meeting. He didn't return the greeting, but instead sat down across from the psychiatrist's chair. On a sofa. A goddamn leather sofa. "Alright," he grumbled. "Let's get this over with."

The doctor -- by the name of Hansen -- smiled at Jared. "Am I to understand that you aren't happy about being here?"

Jared shrugged. "Know anyone that really ever is?"

Hansen wasn't offended. Instead, he laughed and nodded. "Touché," he said. He clicked his pen and looked down at the legal pad on his knee. He wrote something before returning his gaze to his patient. Jared was pretty sure that the doctor had written ASSHOLE on the page. Pretty sure. Pushing his glasses further up his very straight nose, Hansen smiled. "Well," he almost sighed. "Tell me about yourself."

Jared really really wanted this to work out. But he already fucking hated Hansen. Doing his best to hide his annoyance, Jared leaned forward on the sofa and leaned his elbows upon his knees. "Look," he said. "I don't know how to say this and not jeopardize the adoption, but we both know I'm only here for that. I don't believe in talking to shrinks. My problems are my problems."

"You've spoken to a psychiatrist before, am I right?"

Jared sighed. "Yeah, but only because of Juvy. And they made me after my mom died. I didn't know what to tell them then, and I sure as hell don't now."

Hansen seemed to understand. "Okay," he nodded. "Why don't you tell me about your mom?"

Opening his hands slightly, Jared shrugged, clasping his fingers together again. "What's to say? She was brilliant. She got sick and died."

"Cancer, right?"

It was all there, Jared was sure. The adoption agency had seen his records. He only nodded at Hansen, knowing there was no point in confirming it.

"What about your father?"

This was where Jared faltered. He looked away from Hansen, down at the floor for a moment. "He's fantastic."

Hansen knew something was off. "Why the pause?"

Clearing his throat, Jared shook his head. "Trying to think of something to say about him."

"Is it a lie?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No," he returned. "Jeff is awesome."

"Jeff," Hansen repeated.

"Yeah."

He looked down at his pad of paper where he'd already had some information written down. "I have your father down as...Amos?"

Straightening his spine, Jared sat up.

Hansen watched him. "I see you know the name." Jared was sitting in a very defensive manner. Like he was ready to fight. "Is Amos your adoptive father, or your real father?"

"My father is Jeffrey Morgan," he answered. "He raised me. He taught me what I needed to know. He straightened me out."

Hansen kept his eyes on his notepad, scribbling down a few words and peering through his round, wire-framed glasses. "How long did Amos abuse you?"

The question was asked so matter-of-factly that Jared knew there was no denying it. He closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair, making a fist at the nape of his neck. "I'm not him," he said.

Hansen shook his head. "Why do you think I think you are?"

Jared raised his eyes to look at the other man. "Isn't that what you guys do? Pin all our neurosis on a parent? His mother didn't love him, his father beat him, yadda-yadda-yadda?"

Hansen only chuckled.

"Look," Jared said, taking on the stance he had before, elbows upon his knees, looking directly at Hansen. "My real dad was an asshole. I may have picked up some of those traits, but I am not a spouse-abuser. I don't do drugs. I do drink, I won't lie about that. I love my partner, and I love my family. Jeff taught me that stuff. My mom died before she really had a chance to. Jeff taught me how to be a man, own up to what I've done. And then Jensen came along. He taught me what it was to really, really love someone. He taught me how to be gentle and thoughtful. My worst fear is that someday he'll wake up and realize that he's way too good for me. Pack up and leave. I think that would kill me."

Hansen smiled, seeming to understand. "But that brings up a good question, Jared," he pointed out. "What would you do if something tore you and Jensen apart? What about the child you want to adopt?"

That made Jared think. He gazed down at the doctor's legal pad, wishing he could see what was written there. "I think," he began, "if Jen left, he'd take Matty with him. But if...if something worse happened, I'd keep up one hell of a fight for that kid. He's important to Jen."

"Is he important to you?"

Looking directly into Hansen's eyes, Jared nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "He is."

Jeff had gone before Jared's appointment had started, and now Jared was at home waiting for Jensen to return from his own appointment. He had thought about going in to do some work on the shop, but he knew that Phin was picking Kenzie up today and bringing her over and he wanted to be here to see her again. He wondered how Jensen was doing as he wandered from room to room, unpacking a few last little things that hadn't been sorted out yet. They still didn't seem to have very much, but Jared supposed that now they had more space and maybe, hopefully, a kid on the way into their family, they'd start collecting a bit more. He started to feel slightly anxious as the time dragged on, thinking maybe something had gone wrong or Jensen had been called back to work after all, but then he heard Jensen's key in the door and Maya dashed past him to go and say hello.

Jared followed at a slower pace, watching as Jensen dumped his helmet and keys on the table in the hallway and hung his jacket on the hooks there. Jensen crouched down and gave Maya a fuss, grinned up at Jared.

"So?"

"I think it went okay. He asked about my dad," Jensen said.

"Yeah? He asked about mine, too. Maybe he's got some kind of a weird-"

"Please tell me you didn't suggest that to him."

Jared just smirked, pushing away from the doorway. Jensen straightened and waited where he was, letting Jared's arms circle him as they kissed. "I didn't. What did he want to know about your dad?"

"I don't know. How I felt about the divorce, about leaving home. That kind of thing. Nothing to worry about. I told him the truth about it, about how he was. How he is. He agreed that I did the right thing."

"Hell, don't need a shrink to tell you that." Jared let him go then, went back through to the living room and Jensen followed him, Maya trotting behind them both. "You want a drink? Phin'll be back here soon."

"Sure. How come?"

"He flew your sister out to see us. Thought she might like the break from studying." Jared turned because Jensen had stopped and was just looking at him. "Okay, what? I thought you were all right about those two now?"

"I... Yeah, I guess. It's just, it'll be different when it's face to face."

"No it won't. So what if Phin's doing your sister? I'm sure if she didn't like it then she wouldn't let him."

"Must you?" Jensen complained, making a face.

Jared only laughed, amused by his discomfort over the topic. He fetched out a couple of beers and twisted off the caps before placing one on the table in front of Jensen. He took a swig of his own as Jensen leaned back on the couch to take his boots off. He motioned for his feet once they were off and Jensen rested both in Jared's lap, leaning back with his beer and a sigh as Jared pulled his socks off and rubbed at his toes with warm hands. "So when's the next time you have a weekend off?" he asked, ignoring the way that Jensen was squirming at his touch.

"Uh, couple of weeks. Why're you asking?"

"Just so I can plan what I'm going to do to you," Jared replied, lifting Jensen's right foot and kissing his big toe. He didn't miss the hitch in Jensen's breath and he smiled at the reaction. Jensen shuddered and wriggled when Jared licked around the toe, took it into his mouth and sucked it once before releasing it with a wet pop. "Like that?"

"You know I do," Jensen said, gritting his teeth together again. Jared gave in torturing him, knowing it wouldn't do too much good to get him wound up right now. He went back to simply rubbing Jensen's feet as he downed his beer. He was loose and comfortable, halfway to turned on, by the time Phin got back with Kenzie. He'd rented a car while he was here and the sound of the engine noise in the driveway had Jensen pulling his feet from Jared's grasp as he got up to let them in. Jared tipped his head right over the back of the couch, watching him make his way to the front door. Kenzie gave her brother a tight hug, seemingly oblivious to how awkward he was being. Jared sighed and got up too, held out his arms.

"Hey, where's mine?"

Kenzie grinned over Jensen's shoulder at him, finally let her brother go and crossed the room so she could give Jared the same treatment. "Nice to see you looking better," she told him. "Is my brother taking good care of you?"

"Always," Jared answered. "How long are you in town for?"

"Phin booked us four nights at some cheap hotel-"

"You know, we have a spare room now," Jensen interrupted. "You could've just stayed here. We're almost done with the decorating."

"Didn't want to put you out anymore," Phin explained. "Or get in the way."

"You wouldn't have been in the way." Jensen sounded slightly upset, but only Jared really picked up on it. He said a soft hey, and shook his head. Jensen got the message, it seemed. "Sorry, it's okay. I'm sure you'd rather have some privacy, too. So, four nights, huh?"

"Yup," Phin said. "Figured we may as well help Jared out while we're here, make sure the place opens on time."

"Hey, I am perfectly on schedule, thanks," Jared protested. It was true. There was still plenty to do, but the biggest jobs had all been completed and now it was a case of tidying everything up and putting the finishing touches in place. "But, actually I might have a job for Kenzie. Just for a day, though. Make sure you, y'know, see some sights while you're here." He would have made a comment about not spending all their time in the hotel room, but thought that maybe that would be going too far in front of Jensen. Amused anyway, Jared headed for the kitchen and told them all to take a seat while he got some drinks.

The four of them sat together for the rest of the evening, talking and laughing, discussing the psych evaluations that both Jared and Jensen had gone through and talking about their plans for the future. Jared caught Jensen a couple of times just looking at his sister with an unreadable expression on his face, but he nudged him with his foot and Jensen just smiled and went back to drinking his beer. Jared couldn't hope to understand how he felt about it, having no sisters or brothers of his own, but he hoped it wouldn't take long for Jensen to feel more comfortable with the situation.

"Do you want us to come over tomorrow for the shop?" Phin asked, his hand tight around Kenzie's as the two of them headed out to make their way to their hotel.

"Nah, man. Jensen has the day off tomorrow. Come over the day after. Just spend tomorrow looking round the place. It ain't a bad city to be in. Go to the beach or something. We should get some more shit done around here."

"Okay, sounds good. See you then."

It had started with an ice cube down the back of Jared's shirt when he wasn't looking. He'd been busy painting, looked hot, and Jensen thought he might appreciate the cold relief. He didn't. When they'd finished up painting Jared had dumped a bucket of ice cubes on Jensen while he was in the shower. It wasn't that bad, in retrospect. But the sudden chill had startled Jensen so badly that he couldn't help but retaliate. Things might've been okay if he hadn't.

The extra chilis in Jared's burrito was actually kind of funny. The man always bragged that he loved spicy food, so Jensen just tested him on it. That's all. But later in the day, after more painting and moving furniture around - hard enough work to warrant a second shower for the day - Jensen fell for another of Jared's pranks and was locked out of the house in a towel for fifteen minutes. That was when he decided that things had gone overboard. He was mad at Jared, of course. Relegated him to the downstairs. Maya too.

The sofa was too damn small. Jared tried laying down, but his legs went over the arm, and dangled down, feet close to the floor. "This is frickin' ridiculous," he complained, his mood sour. He grumbled as he tried to adjust the blanket covering him. The pillows at his back made him sit up a bit more than he usually did, but it was the only way he could lay on the couch. Still not comfortable, he loudly growled out a sigh. He let his body go slack, his head fall back against the mound of pillows.

"I'm sorry," he yelled towards the ceiling.

"Too bad!" came the response, muffled because Jensen had the door closed.

That made Jared grumble a sigh again, saying something about the whole thing being, "so fucking stupid."

He reached down to the floor and picked up his laptop. Opening it, he found the blogging site that he and Jensen had recently joined. It seemed a good place to whine. His typing skills were non-existent, and his spelling was worse, but he didn't let that stop him. He posted about what had happened, and how it was probably his fault. He did tend to take things overboard. After posting, he found his way to a game site and played some online poker for awhile, betting minimal amounts. He didn't need to get into more hot water.

After about a half-hour, he got a notification that Jensen had said something to his post. He bowed out of poker and looked at the response. Hey, I give. C'mon up to bed. Smiling, Jared snapped the laptop closed and leapt off the sofa. His feet pounded up the stairs. The bedroom door was open, but he didn't recall hearing it open. He wondered if Jensen had looked down at him from the top of the stairs.

Jensen was just shutting down his computer, gently closing the top and setting it on the floor beside his side of the bed. He was under the blankets, his bare chest looking a little more filled-out than it used to. "Hey," he said.

Jared, still at the doorway, nodded. "Hey."

"I'm sorry."

"No," he refused. "I am. I went overboard."

Jensen chuckled. "Yeah, you did," he agreed. "But so did I."

"Truce?"

He nodded. "Truce. Now come to bed."

Jared pushed away from the door jamb, making a beeline for the bed. He climbed down atop the mattress and almost rushed at Jensen, kissing him hard enough to make the man mumble a painful response. Jensen's voice was swallowed, however, by Jared's mouth, delving his tongue deep.

Jensen reached up and wrapped his arms around Jared's neck, letting Jared haul on him, moving him around so that his head was at the end of the bed. He didn't have pajamas on, which was normal for both of them. Jared only had some on because he'd been downstairs sleeping. It got cooler down there. It felt like Jared's hands were everywhere, his mouth too, moving from nipping Jensen's neck, to kissing him, to sucking at the piercing through Jensen's nipple. Jensen felt overpowered, taken. And he liked it.

When Jared took Jensen into his mouth, Jensen closed his eyes and gave himself up to all the sensations coursing through his system. His nerves felt raw, tingling, and Jared's tongue seemed to magnify that tenfold. He was gasping and moaning before very much longer. His fingers were curled into fists, being mindful not to pull Jared's hair, and his back was arched up to meet Jared's tongue. While he liked to take things slow and easy, he also loved it when Jared got in these moods where he decided he simply had to have Jensen right now.

Jared didn't even let Jensen go down on him. When he could feel Jensen working hard at keeping himself in check, Jared stopped what he was doing, slipped his fingers out of him, and lubed himself up. He hooked Jensen's legs over his shoulders and guided himself into position. With that first hard, deep push, Jared felt himself nearly come undone. He groaned, his mouth open against the inside of Jensen's knee, and let his eyes drift closed. He stayed there for a few moments, wrapped in heat and muscle, before starting to move again. His rhythm was hard, but not too fast. He felt Jensen lift his hips up off the mattress, making him slip even further inside. Both of them gasped, while Jared grabbed hold of Jensen's thighs. He thrust hard again and again, relishing the sound of skin on skin. He came just seconds after Jensen, looking down to see Jensen's chest slick with sweat and come. Jared thrust a few more times, rocking their bodies in unison, then let go of Jensen's legs and collapsed.

Their breathing was heavy, chests heaving against each other. Jared's breath was hot against the crook of Jensen's neck and shoulder, but he didn't care. He reached up and wrapped his arms around him, fingers following the trail of sweat along the column of Jared's spine.

"That was one hell of a truce," Jensen sighed.

Jared worked up the energy to prop himself up on his elbows, looking down at Jensen. "I love make-up sex," he said, still sounding breathless.

"Wanna fight again?"

Jared chuckled, but shook his head. "Not for a little while," he said. "You'll kill me."

"I can think of worse ways to go." Jensen pulled a face then as he shifted under Jared. "I should clean up."

Jared moaned at him, but let him go, pulling out and rolling onto his side to free Jensen enough that he could move. "I'm just gonna stay here," he said. "And enjoy the afterglow."

"You romantic bastard, you." Jensen slapped his lover's stomach and went for the door. I'll bring you back a towel."

Jared didn't answer. He was already drifting off to sleep.

NEXT

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