Café Lilou Curtain Call
Jared closes his eyes when Dylan climbs on the stool -the boy goes too fast, but then again, it’s Jared’s fault, because he wants the new sign to be up before Jensen’s arrival. Once Dylan is up, though, he gets himself centered, unhinges the old panel and holds it down to Jared. Jared puts it aside -he wants to keep it as a souvenir: he already has a place on the back wall of the shop for it. Then, he takes the new sign. Tahmoh’s wife, Alaina, is an art teacher, and she was more than happy to create if for him. It’s beautiful.
“You ready?” He asks.
“Yes, boss.”
Jared rolls his eyes and climbs his own stool. It’s not that high, and he takes hold of the wall to stretch, which gives Dylan time to grab his end of the sign. Then, it’s a matter of minutes, sliding the metal hooks into the holes, so that the sign will be held at the end of two thin metal chains.
Jared gets down from his stool and walks back a couple of steps. It’s perfect. He lifts a positive thumb at Dylan who claps his hands and smiles proudly, like they just accomplished some incredibly difficult task.
“Okay, let’s get everything inside.”
“Alright, boss.”
“Dylan…”
“Jared. I meant Jared,” the boy corrects himself, like he does every single time. Some issues will never be settled.
They do make a good team, though, and Jared knows the value of a good employee, even if that employee is a little bit like the caricature of what he’s supposed to be. Jared is taking way more days off work, these days, and he still hasn’t found a proper assistant manager, but Dylan has done a terrific job so far, and if it wasn’t for the fact that college forbids him to take more hours, Jared would definitely give him the job officially.
They store the material away, and Jared looks at his watch. Leeloo’s nap is usually over around three, three or three thirty in the afternoon, which means Jensen should be here soon. He thanks Dylan and goes back outside, holding two goblets of coffee. It’s a beautiful March day, warm and dry, Jared has been waiting for spring with impatience this year, if only because he can’t stand to hear Jensen complain about the cold one more time. He does understand it, though -everything is more complicated with a newborn in the winter, and this year, Pawnee’s winter has been incredibly cold.
Jared stares at the busy street toward the north, eager to see Jensen and Leeloo, and to watch the surprise in his boyfriend’s eyes when he sees the sign. He’s impatient. It doesn’t get better with time, or, well, it hasn’t, so far. He misses Jensen the minute they’re not together, and let’s be honest, it was a difficult beginning for their relationship. Instant love for each other, sharing the conviction that they are soulmates doesn’t not instantly grant them the perfect life together. Jensen is a new father, Jared always made his business the center of his life. There have already been moments where they thought it just wouldn’t work, that they had met at the wrong time, but, luckily, as time goes by, it's becoming easier. Jensen had a rough patch after Leeloo was born, a baby blues that lasted a couple of weeks, and Jared had trouble adjusting to it -or even understanding what Jensen was going through. It had taken Jensen’s sister, Mack, to corner him and explain to him how difficult it was for Jensen, and no, Jared might not have been able to understand, but he could more supportive.
They are close. Practically living together now -at Jensen’s place, because Jared's bachelor apartment doesn't work at all for two men and a baby. Learning how to be with each other, without butting heads too much. At the beginning, when Jensen had been so sad and hesitant all the time after his daughter’s birth, Jared had not been only scared to lose him, but to lose Leeloo as well. He knows he doesn’t have any rights, but he feels like she’s a little bit his too -you don’t help a child be born and not feel a link between you and her - the fact that she also happens to be the daughter of a man you’re crazy in love with, makes the thought of losing her unbearable. At the same time, Jared is trying to find the right balance in his relationship with her. Taking care of her has never felt like helping Jensen out, giving him a hand -more like it was what Jared was supposed to do, like he’s a tiny bit like a second father to her. Those thoughts, he hasn’t shared them with Jensen yet, but he knows that as their relationship progress, they will have to talk about it.
Jared is so lost in his thoughts he only sees Jensen walking down the sidewalk when he’s less than ten feet away from him. As usual, he carries Leeloo in a kangaroo pouch -it’s supposed to encourage the bond between a parent and his child- and all Jared can see is the tip of the little girl’s bright yellow hat peeking out from the thick piece of cloth Jensen wears across his chest.
Jared waves with the coffee paper cup he’s holding, and Jensen’s smile is, as always, astonishing, even from a distance. It’s Jared that walks the few feet that still keeps them apart. He wants to be the one showing Jensen the new sign for the shop.
He wraps an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder and tilts his head to kiss him, before taking a look at Leeloo, who’s sleeping safe and sound, her heart-shaped mouth quirked into an adorable pout. She has Jensen’s eyes and lips, but her nose is pointier, and her skin a tad darker, which isn’t difficult, giving Jensen’s fair complexion. Some strands of hair have escaped from the hat: they've remained dark brown, and they are thick and straight. Jared rarely thinks about the other biological father -it seems unimportant to him -a simple sperm donor that had probably been in need of some cash. Jensen doesn’t seem to bother either, but he does think about a time when Leeloo will be old enough to ask questions, and wonders what he’s going to tell her.
“She hadn’t slept this afternoon,” Jensen whispers, accepting the cup Jared is giving him with the satisfied expression Jared has learned to associate with Jensen and pleasure -getting ready to make love or to drink coffee seems to be the same. Jared sometimes wonders if he should worry about it.
“Really?”
“Those red patches on her butt made her cranky,” Jensen goes on, adjusting his body gently from left to right. “She’s too young to be cutting a tooth, even though she has all the symptoms. I’m a little worried.”
“Does she have a fever?”
They start to walk in together toward the coffee shop.
“No. I took her temp like… three times. Maybe it’s just one of those days.”
“Maybe…”
Jared feels bad for her, can’t wait for his day to be over, so he can be with the both of them, giving Leeloo her milk and rocking her in the huge armchair that seems like it’s been made for him in Jensen’s living room. They've both had a busy week, and Jared would be lying if he didn’t admit he’s equally impatient to cuddle Jensen in bed and sleep with his lover as close to him as possible.
“So, ready for the surprise?” he asks when they reach their destination.
“What surprise? You never mentioned any surprise,” Jensen says, excitement clear in his voice. Sometimes, he has this childish temperament, and it’s one of the things Jared adores about him. It’s so easy to make him laugh, to surprise him, to show him how much he loves him. Jensen’s eyes are expressive, and when they get that clear and bright, it’s wonder you can read in them.
“Look up,” Jared says, positioning Jensen far enough from the coffee shop entrance that he can see the sign without breaking his neck.
The old sign had been a simple rectangle of wood, painted a peachy, creamy color, with brown square letters announcing “Café Lilou.” It’s now an oval, stylish cut-out, made from a block of maple, and the name has been painted by hand, black, curvy letters giving it a softer look. It says Café Leeloo now.
“Oh, my god, wow…” Jensen says, smiling wide. “When did you… How… You did it for her?” He asks, pointing at his sleeping daughter, like it’s surprising Jared would make such a gesture.
“Of course. She was born here. She deserves for my shop to be named after her.”
“But she was named after your shop,” Jensen objects, still looking at the new sign in wonder.
“Yeah, it’s like those time travel paradoxes,” Jared goes on, wrapping his arm around Jensen’s waist. “Which is cool, right? She was named after the café, then I renamed the café after her.Anyway, the new clients never knew how to pronounce it correctly, so problem solved. And I… I really, really wanted to do it.”
“I love it,” Jensen declares. “And if I didn’t have a baby stuck to my chest I would jump you and kiss you silly right in the middle of the street.”
They both stare at the sign for a few minutes, then Jared invites Jensen inside, scared that the baby might get cold -even if it’s still warm outside, he’s learned a lot about newborns in three months, and he knows that since they don’t move much, they’re way more sensitive to the cold. It's even gotten to a point where Jensen makes fun of him for being such a mother hen.
For some reason, hearing this coming from Jensen secretly pleases Jared.
They walk inside, and of course, Emily drops what she was doing to welcome Jensen and have a look at the baby. Jensen is a member of their small family here at Café Leeloo, and Jared is always content when he sees him sitting at a table, speaking with an employee or another regular client, with his daughter in his arms or sleeping in her stroller nearby. In those moment, it feels like Jared’s life really is complete.
He’s going to finish his work for the day, and the three of them will head back to Jensen’s place, the way it happens so often. And Jared will try to enjoy every moment, because you never know what the future has in reserve, but as hard as he tries, he can’t bring himself to worry. The life he’s building with Jensen and Leeloo feels too right.
A/N: The Labor and delivery Jensen experiences in this story is something that can happen in RL. It is sometimes refered as, in french, "accoucher comme une chatte" which translate litterally as "giving birth like a cat" meaning that female cats often gives birth very easily and without a lot of pain. It is rare but it happens and is often coupled with a precipitate delivery.
Jensen's androcologist, Dr. Capaldi, with his bushy eyebrows, is a personnal shout out to Peter Capaldi, the actor who currently plays Dr. Who, and for whom I have a lot of affection, even though my Jensen doesn't seem to appreciate him. :D
Happy holidays!
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