Chapter Twenty Six
I apologize for this being late. I forgot that Evil's computer doesn't work with my files!! My fault!
Anyway, this has been spell-checked, but it has not had Evil's wonderful editing, so I'm SURE there's bound to be a mistake or two. You know how I like to make the SAME boy be in three different places at one time. ;)
Enjoy!!
Title: Smoke And Lightning: Born To Be Wild (25/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 5,952
Summary: AU. They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and he's learning from the best. The only thing that seems to stand between them is trust. Can they make it, or will it prove too much even for them?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
"You're off to an early start," Jared had noted early this morning, peeking out from half-closed lids. "Where's the fire?"
Jensen had smiled at him, almost raising his eyes to the ceiling. "I have to meet Adam and the gang for breakfast," he'd explained. "And I'm with John tonight, so I don't know when I'll be home."
"John who?"
"Doctor Lang?"
"Oh, Doctor Cop-A-Feel."
Jensen had chuckled gently. "He didn't feel me up."
"He would have if I hadn't been there."
Leaning down, Jensen had placed a kiss upon Jared's forehead, excited to start the day.
And after school, John had greeted him with much enthusiasm. "You ready to take the day on?" he asked. "It's flu season."
Jensen had nodded emphatically, more than excited to begin with the patients.
Though now, looking back at his day, Jensen wondered why he had been so excited. He stood in the exam room with a very sick kid, and a very worried Mom. He tried to remember what he had found so captivating about pediatrics, about wanting to be a doctor, especially when he saw what was coming.
The child, green from some sort of stomach bug, leaned forward and threw up whatever he had previously eaten, which apparently had been some sort of soup and crackers, probably chicken noodle soup, right onto Jensen. Jensen tried to jump back, but he caught the brunt of the projectile vomit. The mother, horrified, gasped and almost started to scold the little boy.
"It's alright," Jensen said, though his body language said otherwise. He stood with his arms splayed, his hips tilted out, standing on the very tips of his toes to hopefully keep his pants from soaking up any of the foul smelling stuff. It dripped down his shirt, to the floor in chunks and long strings. He swallowed back his own stomach contents, willing them to stay where they were. It wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with a kid with a sick stomach. Josh rarely tended to Kenzie when she was sick, knowing Jensen would.
"I'm so sorry," the child's mother apologized again.
"No, it's fine," Jensen told her. "Really."
John, successful in keeping his laughter silent, turned and picked up the telephone in the room. "Suzie, can we get the cleaning staff in exam four?" He hung up the phone and pulled Jensen back away from the puddle on the floor, his hand firmly clamped around the young man's wrist. "Clean up what you can at the sink, while I finish up," he told him. "Then we'll get you some new scrubs, how about that?"
"Great idea," Jensen nodded. He moved over to the sink while Doctor Lang asked the little boy how he was feeling now.
"Better?" John asked.
The boy nodded. "Yeah."
"Good," he smiled. He directed his attention to the mother. "What I'll do is write up a couple prescriptions, especially one for that nasty sore throat. I don't think it's strep, and with how he's throwing up, I'm not going to subject him to a throat culture. I'll just give him a low antibiotic and something for his tummy. His fever seems to be going down very well from the last night's ER trip." He reached up and felt the boy's forehead again. "Poor guy. We'll get you turning cartwheels before too much longer, okay?"
The boy only nodded.
Lang finished up with the patient. Jensen had been given the opportunity to leave, but he had stayed, not wanting Lang to think that a little upset stomach was going to turn him off, keep him from learning.
Rather than going to the locker room to change, John brought Jensen to his office, where he had a private bathroom and a shelf full of his own blue scrubs. He reached into the bathroom and grabbed a clean scrub shirt, bringing it to Jensen. "Take that one off, the undershirt too, and we'll plug them into a plastic bag and leave them for the laundry."
Jensen nodded, setting the clean shirt on the desk. He was momentarily insecure, disrobing in front of Lang, but then mentally scolded himself. The man was a doctor, for God's sake. Pulling the undershirt out from the elastic band of the scrub pants, Jensen gingerly removed the soiled undershirt and scrub shirt, carefully working his head out of them both. He separated the two once they were off of him, dropping them into the bag that John was now holding open for him. For a moment, he realized that the ink on his arms would be visible constantly now. He hoped it wouldn't matter.
"Ugh," he said, thankful for the wet stench being closed off when John tied the plastic bag closed.
Chuckling, John set the bag aside. "Comes with the territory, Jensen," he said.
"I know," he sighed. "I just wasn't expecting it so soon."
"Got christened early," he winked. "There's some stuff to clean up with in the bathroom." His eyes quickly raked over Jensen's bare midriff, then back up to his eyes. "That's some impressive art you have there. Do you mind?"
For the most part, he didn't really care who saw the tattoos. He wouldn't cover them up when he and Jared were out, but it felt odd to be standing in the doctor's private office wearing nothing but his scrub pants. He cleared his throat and looked down at his chest and arms. "No," he answered after a few moments.
He wasn't sure where, when or how it happened, but after a few quiet seconds of feeling John's gaze upon him, Jensen felt something more. John's fingers, just the very tips, grazed along the black lines at his shoulders. Jensen was suddenly aware of their close proximity. He looked up into John's blue eyes, but the man didn't return the look. Instead, his eyes were lowered to Jensen's chest, watching his own hands skate over the young man's tattooed skin.
Jensen's eyes drifted closed for a moment, his chest expanding with a deep breath. He wanted to say something, to let the doctor know that things had gone a little too far, but his voice was hiding on him, refusing to emerge. His mouth opened, but not a sound escaped him. Maybe he didn't want to say anything. Maybe, for just a minute, he wanted someone to flirt with him. Or, maybe he was just being stupid. After all, how could someone find him at all sexy, when he smelled like chicken soup vomit?
Regardless of the objectionable odor, John remained close. He trailed his fingers up to Jensen's neck, tracing the fluted edges of the koi fish tattoo. "I saw this one earlier," he said, his deep voice soft and rich. "Just the edges of it."
Jensen couldn't stop himself from turning his head just slightly, letting John's fingers brush over the ink. Chills threatened to erupt along his skin, but he kept his breath calm and even in an attempt to control the gooseflesh.
John was about as tall as Jensen. Just tall enough to have to lean into him to kiss him. Shocked, Jensen found himself returning the kiss, touching his tongue to John's and even inviting it into his own mouth.
Jensen tasted like the peppermint candy he had swiped from the nurse's station earlier that afternoon. Sugar and mint combined with his tongue, creating just a hint of the candy, not enough to overpower. John touched Jensen's jaw as he kissed him, liking the feel of the rough beard stubble against the pads of his fingers.
For some reason, a memory flashed through Jensen's mind, of the previous night. Jared had taken him down to the garage to see Jensen's new bike.
"I can't ride, why did you even buy me a bike?"
Jared had chuckled, leaning in closer to him. "I plan on teaching you, College."
Jensen's breath had been taken away when he saw the bike, all shining chrome and liquid black. Emblazoned upon the side was the word SHADOW. It looked like a million dollars, and it made Jensen worry that a comparable price had been paid.
"How the hell did you afford this?" Jensen had asked him, looking up into Jared's eyes.
Jared had smiled then, his eyes glittering. "I don't pay for anything, Jen," he winked. "I do favors."
Smiling back, Jensen had eyed him. "These favors don't have anything to do with--"
"Nope, I'm all yours."
It was those words, that look that Jared had given him that crashed down upon Jensen, the guilt crushing him under its weight. He was sure he had stopped breathing, but not from the kiss. Instead, he knew his conscience was killing him. He knew who he loved, who he wanted to be with.
Interrupting them, Jensen set a hand to John's chest, pushing him back just slightly. Realizing what he was doing, John broke away, breathing harder than he was before. Swallowing hard against a dry throat, John looked at Jensen, stunned.
"Oh, Jensen," he breathed. "I--I'm so sorry."
Jensen didn't want to offend him, didn't want to ruin his chances of ever working with the doctor, learning from him. "It's okay," he said.
"No, that was--that was beyond overstepping my bounds. By miles," he returned, taking several steps back. "I'm not even sure what I was thinking. I'm very sorry, Jensen."
"It's okay," he said again, shaking his head. It was quiet between them while Jensen turned and picked up the blue scrub shirt from Lang's desk, and while John wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, swallowing hard again. "I'm just going to..."
He never finished his sentence. He saw John nod his head, and left him to compose himself while he washed up and changed into the fresh scrub shirt. After splashing water across his bare chest and cleaning up as best he could, Jensen stopped moving. He stared at himself in the mirror, gazed directly into his own eyes. He hated what he saw there. Tears stung his eyes, but they did not fall. What the hell was he thinking? Why had he let John kiss him?
Looking away from himself, Jensen rested his hands at either side of the sink and hung his head.
* * *
With a red marker cap in his mouth, Jared looked down at the blueprint copies. Phin had gotten them copied for him so that he could "think out loud," as Mickey called it. He had already sketched out the stencil he wanted to use on the walls, and had color swatches of the different paints he would use. He was excited to get started, even though ground had only just broken on the project. There were still a few things to tweak, but overall everything was ready.
"Dude, don't drool all over the specs."
Jared looked down to see that indeed he had drooled on the paper while holding the pen cap between his teeth. "Fuck," he snarled at himself. He took the cap out of his mouth and put it on the end of the marker.
"What are you doing anyway?"
Jared looked over at Phin, who was sitting on the sofa, his feet propped up on a thousand-year-old milk crate from Jeff's garage. "Working," he said. "Something new to you, I know."
"Fuck you, JT," he grinned, tipping a bottle of beer up to his lips.
"You wish," Jared returned, gazing down at the blueprints. "Mick wants to see something on here when he comes back, so I'm jotting down some ideas."
"Sure you're not just drawing dirty pics of you and your little girlfriend?"
Jared's eyes flickered up to Phin, serious. He looked back down at the papers in front of him, not addressing the derogatory term used for Jensen. He knew he didn't need to. Phin and he were close enough that the man would pick up on what he was thinking.
And sure enough, Phin did. "Sorry, man," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know it was a sore subject."
"He's tired of being the chick," Jared explained. "And if I wanted to fuck a girl, I wouldn't be with him. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good."
Standing from the sofa, Phin's boot heels pounded upon the hardwood floors as he neared his best friend. "So, where is the little--"
Jared cut Phin's sentence short with just a look, his head snapping up, his eyes saying all the warning that needed to be said.
"Jensen," Phin finished, smiling slightly. He set his beer bottle down, upon the papers he had gotten copied for Jared.
Jared removed the beer bottle and handed it back to Phin. "He's at work."
"God, you're worse than a chick," Phin complained. He moved around the bar and set the empty bottle of beer in the sink. There, he rested against the counter and lit up a cigarette. "So what's got your panties in a giant fucking twist?"
Sighing, Jared capped his red marker and turned to face Phin. "I'm just tired, alright?"
"What are you tired for?" Phin asked, smoke swirling around his bald head. "You still ain't old, your arm's healin' up, you're designing shit now."
"Because my arm's healing up, I'm still working at the garage downstairs, I'm going through the goddamn ringer with the court case, and because I'm designing shit now. I have a life, Phin."
He seemed to take offense at that. "And I don't?"
"I didn't say that," he returned. "You wanted to know. And by the way? Do you think that maybe you could talk to Jensen when he gets home?"
"I said hello to him."
"Don't hurt yourself, Phin."
Phin shrugged his shoulders. "Why do you want me to talk?"
"Because he thinks you don't like him."
"Of course I like him," Phin replied, flicking the ashes from his cigarette into the sink. "If I didn't, I would have beaten him to a bloody pulp."
Jared only arched his eyebrows for a second before rolling his eyes.
"What should I talk to him about?"
Concentrating on the blueprints, Jared took a few seconds to answer. "I don't know," he finally said.
"I could tell him about that time we vandalized the school," Phin returned, smiling as the fond memory flashed through his head.
"The time you vandalized the school," Jared corrected. "I just video taped it all."
"Yeah, and then left the damn camcorder there."
Chuckling, Jared nodded his head. "God, that was so bad," he laughed.
"I got in some serious shit for that, man," he returned.
"We both did, asshole," Jared told him. "See what happens when I listen to you?"
Interrupting their conversation, a key was slid into the lock on the door. The deadbolt turned and the door swung wide. Thankfully, Jared hadn't set the chain security lock, for he feared it would have been ripped off the wall, with how Jensen threw the door open.
Jared straightened upon seeing the look on Jensen's face. Serious, deliberate, afraid, anxious. "Jen?"
Jensen closed the door, dropped his backpack and practically stomped closer to Jared.
"Hey, Jensen," Phin smiled. His grin faded when Jensen didn't even look at him. Instead, the young man reached out to Jared, taking hold of his head, hands at either side of Jared's face, and pulled him closer. Surprised, Phin arched an eyebrow and watched the two men kiss, stunned at the sudden display of affection.
Jared was surprised, but returned the kiss, even if it took him a moment to respond. After a few seconds of getting kissed, he finally wrapped his arms around Jensen, pulling him closer so that their bodies were flush against each other's. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of Jensen's skin, the smell suddenly surrounding him, laced with the faint odor of hospital soap.
Phin cleared his throat, slightly uncomfortable with the display.
Reaching up to Jensen's face, Jared held him as he kissed him, delving his tongue deep into Jensen's mouth. He wasn't sure what had brought on the sudden need that rolled off of the young man, but he wasn't going to question it right now. He dropped the red marker, the blueprints forgotten about.
Phin pushed away from the counter. He patted Jared's shoulder, his cigarette resting between his index and middle fingers. "See ya, JT," he said. He reached the door, opened it and turned to look at them again, the cigarette now planted between his lips. "Later, Jensen."
He still got no answer, neither man even remotely caring to stop what they were doing. Barely hearing the door close behind Phin, Jared felt a tug to his T-shirt, Jensen both guiding him further into the apartment as well as telling him he wanted the shirt off. Jared did as was asked of him, yanking the shirt over his head as he moved towards the bedroom, Jensen never leaving his arms. He reached over Jensen's shoulders, rumpling up the young man's school shirt in his hands as he gathered it up to pull it over Jensen's head.
Once the shirts were shed, they reached the bedroom. Jared's back came into contact with the door jamb first. He reached behind himself to blindly guide him and Jensen into the room. He knew, without looking, exactly where the bed was and aimed for it, pushing Jensen down to the mattress.
Jensen went more than willingly. He looked up as Jared hovered over him, their eyes searching each others. Jared wanted to know where all this had come from, what had prompted such a need, and Jensen just needed Jared at that moment, no questions asked.
Jared must've sensed that. Instead of interrogating Jensen, he leaned down to him, capturing the young man's mouth with his own. He only had to nudge Jensen's legs apart with the slightest of touches, smiling amidst the kiss when Jensen readily let him in closer. Standing beside the bed and hovering over him in the embrace, Jared reached down and expertly flipped open Jensen's belt, nimble fingers making quick work of the buckle. Once the button and zipper on Jensen's trousers was open, Jared left his mouth, trailing kisses down to Jensen's pierced nipple. He didn't linger there for long. Instead, he continued on his way, following the center line of muscle that marked Jensen's midriff. As he went, he pulled open Jensen's trousers, loosening the waist so that he could pull them off.
Jensen closed his eyes and let Jared go, raising his hips off the mattress so that the trousers could be tugged off. He wanted to sit up and make Jared lean back, wanted to hover over him, but he didn't. He was in such a need for love, such a need to be reassured that it was Jared he was there with. It was Jared that he wanted to do this to him, he knew that now. And even though he was there with the man he loved, guilt ate at him, wearing him down. He knew that, before long, he would tell Jared what had happened.
Rational thinking, however, was quickly abandoned when Jared's mouth closed around him, moving deep and fast. Hot and wet, Jared's mouth quickly made Jensen's skin slick, made his muscles quiver, his nerve endings cry out for more. He wanted Jared so badly that he was close to going over the edge, much too soon for his liking. To interrupt his climax, Jensen sat up, pushing Jared away from his cock. He pulled him up into a rough kiss, instead, turning and forcing the man back onto the bed.
Jared shifted so that he was laying across the bed properly, his head at the pillows. He raised his hips up and helped Jensen pull his jeans off, tossing them and his boxers to the floor. Jared reached up to him, threading his fingers through Jensen's hair, remembering when the young man had cut all the bleached blonde streaks off, leaving nothing but skin and soft stubble on his head. He liked having purchase there and showed him, by pulling Jensen in for another kiss. He traced his tongue along Jensen's bottom lip, waiting for Jensen to suck his tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard.
When Jensen's mouth left his, Jared closed his eyes and floated on air, it seemed, as Jensen worked his way down his body. He felt Jensen's tongue trace the lines of his tattoos, pressing wet kisses to the canvas. The nipple rings were tugged at, suckled into his mouth, clacked against his teeth until Jared was breathless, raking his fingers through Jensen's hair and pulling him down harder to feel more pain amidst the lovemaking. Jensen obliged, using his teeth until Jared hissed at him, dragging him back up into a needful kiss.
Jensen didn't stay long. He nipped at Jared's throat, lapped at the rings once more, then headed further south. With Jared's fingers still in his hair, his eyes flickered up, finding Jared watching him, guiding him. He smiled just before he took Jared's cock into his mouth, letting him push all the way to the back of his throat.
With a breath shuddering out of his lungs and open mouth, Jared watched himself disappear into Jensen's mouth, and then leaned his head back against the pillows. He reached up and rested his hands against the wall at the head of the bed. He had thought it a million times before, but Jared wasn't completely sure Jensen knew what he did to him. Time and time again, he'd tried to communicate just what happened to him when Jensen made love to him, but he'd never really gotten across the intensity of it all.
Raising his head off the pillows, Jared looked down at him again. Jensen had both arms curled around Jared's thighs, his mouth dipping lower down from the base of his cock, his tongue skating across soft, dusky skin. Jared's fingers curled into claws, nails scrabbling for purchase on the apartment wall. He took hold of the pillows at his head instead, his back arching, hips flexing.
Jensen propped himself up on one elbow. He slid one finger into his mouth and trailed the tip down Jared's cock, following the shadow of the thick vein on the underside. He grazed the pad of his finger lower, slipping into the cleft of Jared's backside, pushing in further until he found the ring of muscle there. He smiled when Jared moaned, flexing his hips at the shallow, soft circle Jensen made there. Lowering his mouth down upon Jared's cock, Jensen took as much of him into his mouth as he could, circling the ring of muscle with his finger. Jared couldn't help himself, pushing up into Jensen's mouth, a wanton cry escaping him. Jensen repeated his movements, working faster, deeper until Jared was coming undone, shuddering against his mouth.
Pulling back, Jensen took hold of Jared's cock, setting his thumb over the thick vein on the underside. He cut off the flow of come, not letting it escape. This way, Jared's body would believe that he hadn't already come, and the sensations would be magnified tenfold. Jensen remembered when Jared had performed this same ritual upon him, and he had been nearly wild when he'd come the second time.
When Jared's body stopped shuddering as much, Jensen removed his thumb from the vein and set the flat of his tongue to the tip of Jared's cock. He let Jared slip into his mouth, suckling gently, and smiled when he heard the most erotic sound rise from deep inside Jared's chest. He took all of him into his mouth this time, letting the head of Jared's cock hit the back of his throat. Jared mumbled something, his back arched, his legs falling open wider.
Every nerve ending was alive, on fire. Jared could feel Jensen moving back up his body, the man's mouth leaving a wet trail as he went. He tried to make up some sort of coherent sentence, but by the time Jared reached his mouth, all he could do was kiss him desperately, wantonly. With strong, muscled arms, Jared pulled Jensen to his side, turning him so that his chest rested against Jensen's back. Smiling and breathing heavily, Jensen closed his eyes and waited, listening to Jared's breathing, to his movements as he put on a condom, his movements rushed. When Jared pushed into him, hard and fast, his hands clawed at Jensen's chest, not meaning to hurt, but leaving red welts there. Jensen squeezed his eyes shut in pain for just a moment, and then moved in unison with Jared, his hips flexing, his spine arching. He reached back, his fingers slipping through the longish locks of Jared's hair and pulling his head down to his shoulder. Jared scraped his teeth over the soft, freckled skin there, soothing away any pain he'd caused with his tongue.
Nerve endings screaming, Jared pushed harder and faster, deeper with each thrust. He needed Jensen now, with every fiber of his being. His fingers curled around Jensen's cock, stroking him in time with his forceful thrusts. Jensen leaned back against him, letting Jared control everything. His mouth fell open just enough to let a shivering moan escape his throat. He felt Jared's own cry muffled against the taut, inked skin of his shoulder. He tightened his fingers in Jared's hair and held him there as they both came hard, crying out and shuddering violently against each other. Jared's body instinctively thrust into Jensen a few more times, gentler each time. Chills covered his skin, and his breathing came in sharp gasps. Sweat was beaded up on both their skin, the hair along their forehead and temples already soaked.
Chest heaving, Jared pressed his lips to Jensen's shoulder, where before he had nearly broken the skin. He peeked around at Jensen, finding the young man's eyes closed, his own chest rising and falling with exaggeration. He wanted to ask what had brought on such a display, such a need, but couldn't find the right words. Instead, he wrapped his arms around him and felt himself drifting off to sleep, still planted deep inside of Jensen.
* * *
It had started to rain sometime during the night. Jared wasn't sure when, and probably would have slept through it, had Jensen not awoken him.
"Jay?"
He wasn't sure how many times Jensen had said his name, but by the time he'd become aware of it, there was a more insistent tone in the young man's voice.
"Yeah."
"I have to tell you something."
At some point during the night, the condom had been taken off of him. Whether he had done it himself or Jensen had done it for him, he couldn't remember. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Jared took a deep breath, finding himself on his back, where he had no doubt been snoring. "What?"
It was quiet for a moment. "First, promise me you won't get mad."
Jared cleared his throat, wishing for something to drink. "I can't promise that, Jen," he told him honestly. "It depends on what it is."
Jensen, still facing away from Jared, turned onto his other side so that he came eye to eye with his lover. "I need you to promise first."
"I can't promise, if it's something that's going to hurt you, or something that has hurt you."
Jensen shook his head as best he could while it lay against the pillows. "I think I hurt you."
"How?"
"Promise me, first," he said.
"Jen."
"Please? I can't take another fight, Jay. I swear I'll go fucking insane if we fight anymore."
Jared looked at him for a long while, his brow creasing with worry and curiosity. "Okay," he finally nodded.
"Promise."
He nodded again. "I promise."
Swallowing hard, Jensen suddenly wished he hadn't brought the subject up. It would be so much easier to hide behind what had happened, to bury it deep inside and never speak of it. Wouldn't it? Jensen knew that wasn't true. His conscience would never let him go on until he came clean about it all. "He kissed me."
Jared furrowed his brow further and moved so that he could look over at Jensen better. "Who?"
"John," he said. "Doctor Lang."
"Please? I can't take another fight, Jay. I swear I'll go fucking insane if we fight anymore."
"Okay."
"Promise."
"I promise."
Jared looked away from him then, up to the ceiling. He was aware of Jensen staring at him, knew that he couldn't hide the flexing of his jaw muscles from the man.
"And I let him."
Flex. Jared clenched his teeth, doing his best to keep control of his anger. "Okay," he finally managed.
"I'm sorry, Jared."
Jared nodded. "I know," he said.
Wincing, Jensen eyed him for a moment. "Are you mad?"
"Fucking livid," he answered truthfully. He turned and looked at Jensen. "But not at you. Well, maybe a little, but more with that fucking asshole."
"He's not a fucking asshole," Jensen said.
"He is too," he nodded. "I saw the way he looked at you at Galileo's. That's the same way I look at you, Jen."
Jensen propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at Jared. "He's not an asshole," he said again. "He's a good man, just like you are. Only, you're the man I love and want to be with."
Shaking his head, Jared returned the look, his eyes scanning Jensen's. "Then why did you let him kiss you?"
For a moment, Jensen couldn't answer. He shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. "I didn't really expect it, that's for sure."
Reaching up, Jared brushed the backs of his fingers along Jensen's cheek. "That's because you don't give yourself enough credit," he told him. "He saw in you, what I do."
Jensen felt that Jared gave him too much credit, but he didn't voice that thought. Instead, he just gazed down at him, his long lashes sliding down slowly, sleepily over his eyes. "I want to learn from him," he finally said. "He has a lot that he can teach me. But I won't do it if it makes you uncomfortable. I'll just tell Doctor Ballantine that I'm not interested in pediatrics anymore."
Jared wanted to give in, to agree that he should tell Ballantine to stuff it, regarding Lang. But he didn't. Instead, he sighed and opened his arms to Jensen, gathering him against his chest and planting a kiss in the young man's hair. "I'm okay with it," he said.
"Are you lying?"
"Kind of."
Jensen smiled. "It won't happen again, Jay," he said. "Ever. I promise."
And, he meant it.
* * *
Jared had thought for sure that he'd fooled even himself with the reassurances that he wasn't nervous about court. He had slept fine the previous night, had eaten a decent breakfast. He had shaved as close as possible, combed his unruly locks, and put on his pressed suit. He'd complained at feeling like a monkey in the suit, but Jensen had told him he looked stunning. He had smiled, feeling better about it. Now, however, he felt jumpy, and his stomach churned each time the lawyer spoke. And when he heard seven terrifying words, Jared swallowed hard.
"Prosecution calls Jared Padalecki to the stand."
He looked at Jensen just once, a slight plead for mercy in his eyes, and then headed for the stand. He was sworn in and suddenly had a need to crack a joke, something about this being the first time he was on the good side. He didn't think that was wise, however.
His heart rate was so fast, his mind such a jumble of nerves that he barely remembered what the prosecutor had told him about. They went through the questions the woman had told him about, and he could only assume he answered her correctly, as she had instructed. He couldn't hear himself speak, couldn't even really hear her speak. The answers simply emerged, and somewhere around the pounding of his heart and the sweating of his palms, he did what he was told.
He'd been in tougher situations. Hell, he'd been in jail a number of times. But, this time, he was so bent on getting it right, of settling things between him and Coulter, of making it right for Chris, Jensen, his family, that he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Documentation and photos of Jared's burned arm were put on display. He didn't remember the wound looking so raw and painful. And when Jared was asked what he saw that night, before and after the fire, he told them. He had seen Coulter dealing illegal arms. He had seen Coulter with the can of gasoline at his feet.
Of course, the defense had argued in an objection, that did not mean that Coulter himself had set fire to the building. Perhaps the jury should take into account Mister Padalecki's previous record? Jared felt his anxiety slip to the side for a moment as anger welled up inside of him. He glanced over at Jensen and clenched his jaw, forcing himself to calm down. They had already been through so much, even recently, and Jared wasn't going to screw this up.
The defense also tried it's tricks, the ones that the female prosecutor had warned Jared about. He answered as she had instructed, and when the man went overboard, she objected. Jared said a silent "thank you" for each "sustained" response she got. The defense even tried to bring Jared's family and sexual orientation into the mix. Quickly, the prosecutor shut him up, telling the judge that had nothing to do with anything that had happened.
"Perhaps Mister Coulter felt threatened by Mister Padalecki's advances," the defense shrugged.
"So he set fire to the bar to defend himself?" the judge sighed. "Mister Ludwig, you have a sad defense if that's all the ammunition you've got."
In the end, after Jared was allowed to leave the stand, the jury went away to deliberate. Chris, Jensen, Jeffrey, Stevie, Rock, Donna, and Mickey and his girlfriend all sat with Jared as they waited to hear the outcome. When the jury filed back into the room, Jared swallowed the lump in his throat and reached for Jensen's hand. Jeffrey clutched at both Stevie's hand and Jared's. They all said a quick prayer and waited for the announcement.
"We, the jury find the defendant..."
Jared leaned forward in his seat just slightly.
"...guilty."
He let out his pent-up breath. He hadn't known he'd been holding it all that time. He didn't hear for how long Coulter would be put away, and each of the clan members that had been arrested would have their own trial, but Jared felt happy, safe. Coulter was the brains behind everything, and he was going to be put away for a very long time.
Jared felt he had finally done something right. He felt accomplished, proud.
There were embraces and congratulations. There were smiles and handshakes. There was one last annoyed, angry glare from Coulter as he was taken away. Mickey leaned in closer to Jeffrey and Jared and offered his hand, saying something about how they won't ever have to worry about their safety, or the safety of their loved ones.
Jared didn't want to know how Mickey could make such a promise. He just accepted the handshake with a grin and a thank you.
To Be Continued...
Anyway, this has been spell-checked, but it has not had Evil's wonderful editing, so I'm SURE there's bound to be a mistake or two. You know how I like to make the SAME boy be in three different places at one time. ;)
Enjoy!!
Title: Smoke And Lightning: Born To Be Wild (25/?)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 5,952
Summary: AU. They're born to be wild. At least, Jared is. Jensen's learning, though, and he's learning from the best. The only thing that seems to stand between them is trust. Can they make it, or will it prove too much even for them?
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
"You're off to an early start," Jared had noted early this morning, peeking out from half-closed lids. "Where's the fire?"
Jensen had smiled at him, almost raising his eyes to the ceiling. "I have to meet Adam and the gang for breakfast," he'd explained. "And I'm with John tonight, so I don't know when I'll be home."
"John who?"
"Doctor Lang?"
"Oh, Doctor Cop-A-Feel."
Jensen had chuckled gently. "He didn't feel me up."
"He would have if I hadn't been there."
Leaning down, Jensen had placed a kiss upon Jared's forehead, excited to start the day.
And after school, John had greeted him with much enthusiasm. "You ready to take the day on?" he asked. "It's flu season."
Jensen had nodded emphatically, more than excited to begin with the patients.
Though now, looking back at his day, Jensen wondered why he had been so excited. He stood in the exam room with a very sick kid, and a very worried Mom. He tried to remember what he had found so captivating about pediatrics, about wanting to be a doctor, especially when he saw what was coming.
The child, green from some sort of stomach bug, leaned forward and threw up whatever he had previously eaten, which apparently had been some sort of soup and crackers, probably chicken noodle soup, right onto Jensen. Jensen tried to jump back, but he caught the brunt of the projectile vomit. The mother, horrified, gasped and almost started to scold the little boy.
"It's alright," Jensen said, though his body language said otherwise. He stood with his arms splayed, his hips tilted out, standing on the very tips of his toes to hopefully keep his pants from soaking up any of the foul smelling stuff. It dripped down his shirt, to the floor in chunks and long strings. He swallowed back his own stomach contents, willing them to stay where they were. It wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with a kid with a sick stomach. Josh rarely tended to Kenzie when she was sick, knowing Jensen would.
"I'm so sorry," the child's mother apologized again.
"No, it's fine," Jensen told her. "Really."
John, successful in keeping his laughter silent, turned and picked up the telephone in the room. "Suzie, can we get the cleaning staff in exam four?" He hung up the phone and pulled Jensen back away from the puddle on the floor, his hand firmly clamped around the young man's wrist. "Clean up what you can at the sink, while I finish up," he told him. "Then we'll get you some new scrubs, how about that?"
"Great idea," Jensen nodded. He moved over to the sink while Doctor Lang asked the little boy how he was feeling now.
"Better?" John asked.
The boy nodded. "Yeah."
"Good," he smiled. He directed his attention to the mother. "What I'll do is write up a couple prescriptions, especially one for that nasty sore throat. I don't think it's strep, and with how he's throwing up, I'm not going to subject him to a throat culture. I'll just give him a low antibiotic and something for his tummy. His fever seems to be going down very well from the last night's ER trip." He reached up and felt the boy's forehead again. "Poor guy. We'll get you turning cartwheels before too much longer, okay?"
The boy only nodded.
Lang finished up with the patient. Jensen had been given the opportunity to leave, but he had stayed, not wanting Lang to think that a little upset stomach was going to turn him off, keep him from learning.
Rather than going to the locker room to change, John brought Jensen to his office, where he had a private bathroom and a shelf full of his own blue scrubs. He reached into the bathroom and grabbed a clean scrub shirt, bringing it to Jensen. "Take that one off, the undershirt too, and we'll plug them into a plastic bag and leave them for the laundry."
Jensen nodded, setting the clean shirt on the desk. He was momentarily insecure, disrobing in front of Lang, but then mentally scolded himself. The man was a doctor, for God's sake. Pulling the undershirt out from the elastic band of the scrub pants, Jensen gingerly removed the soiled undershirt and scrub shirt, carefully working his head out of them both. He separated the two once they were off of him, dropping them into the bag that John was now holding open for him. For a moment, he realized that the ink on his arms would be visible constantly now. He hoped it wouldn't matter.
"Ugh," he said, thankful for the wet stench being closed off when John tied the plastic bag closed.
Chuckling, John set the bag aside. "Comes with the territory, Jensen," he said.
"I know," he sighed. "I just wasn't expecting it so soon."
"Got christened early," he winked. "There's some stuff to clean up with in the bathroom." His eyes quickly raked over Jensen's bare midriff, then back up to his eyes. "That's some impressive art you have there. Do you mind?"
For the most part, he didn't really care who saw the tattoos. He wouldn't cover them up when he and Jared were out, but it felt odd to be standing in the doctor's private office wearing nothing but his scrub pants. He cleared his throat and looked down at his chest and arms. "No," he answered after a few moments.
He wasn't sure where, when or how it happened, but after a few quiet seconds of feeling John's gaze upon him, Jensen felt something more. John's fingers, just the very tips, grazed along the black lines at his shoulders. Jensen was suddenly aware of their close proximity. He looked up into John's blue eyes, but the man didn't return the look. Instead, his eyes were lowered to Jensen's chest, watching his own hands skate over the young man's tattooed skin.
Jensen's eyes drifted closed for a moment, his chest expanding with a deep breath. He wanted to say something, to let the doctor know that things had gone a little too far, but his voice was hiding on him, refusing to emerge. His mouth opened, but not a sound escaped him. Maybe he didn't want to say anything. Maybe, for just a minute, he wanted someone to flirt with him. Or, maybe he was just being stupid. After all, how could someone find him at all sexy, when he smelled like chicken soup vomit?
Regardless of the objectionable odor, John remained close. He trailed his fingers up to Jensen's neck, tracing the fluted edges of the koi fish tattoo. "I saw this one earlier," he said, his deep voice soft and rich. "Just the edges of it."
Jensen couldn't stop himself from turning his head just slightly, letting John's fingers brush over the ink. Chills threatened to erupt along his skin, but he kept his breath calm and even in an attempt to control the gooseflesh.
John was about as tall as Jensen. Just tall enough to have to lean into him to kiss him. Shocked, Jensen found himself returning the kiss, touching his tongue to John's and even inviting it into his own mouth.
Jensen tasted like the peppermint candy he had swiped from the nurse's station earlier that afternoon. Sugar and mint combined with his tongue, creating just a hint of the candy, not enough to overpower. John touched Jensen's jaw as he kissed him, liking the feel of the rough beard stubble against the pads of his fingers.
For some reason, a memory flashed through Jensen's mind, of the previous night. Jared had taken him down to the garage to see Jensen's new bike.
"I can't ride, why did you even buy me a bike?"
Jared had chuckled, leaning in closer to him. "I plan on teaching you, College."
Jensen's breath had been taken away when he saw the bike, all shining chrome and liquid black. Emblazoned upon the side was the word SHADOW. It looked like a million dollars, and it made Jensen worry that a comparable price had been paid.
"How the hell did you afford this?" Jensen had asked him, looking up into Jared's eyes.
Jared had smiled then, his eyes glittering. "I don't pay for anything, Jen," he winked. "I do favors."
Smiling back, Jensen had eyed him. "These favors don't have anything to do with--"
"Nope, I'm all yours."
It was those words, that look that Jared had given him that crashed down upon Jensen, the guilt crushing him under its weight. He was sure he had stopped breathing, but not from the kiss. Instead, he knew his conscience was killing him. He knew who he loved, who he wanted to be with.
Interrupting them, Jensen set a hand to John's chest, pushing him back just slightly. Realizing what he was doing, John broke away, breathing harder than he was before. Swallowing hard against a dry throat, John looked at Jensen, stunned.
"Oh, Jensen," he breathed. "I--I'm so sorry."
Jensen didn't want to offend him, didn't want to ruin his chances of ever working with the doctor, learning from him. "It's okay," he said.
"No, that was--that was beyond overstepping my bounds. By miles," he returned, taking several steps back. "I'm not even sure what I was thinking. I'm very sorry, Jensen."
"It's okay," he said again, shaking his head. It was quiet between them while Jensen turned and picked up the blue scrub shirt from Lang's desk, and while John wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, swallowing hard again. "I'm just going to..."
He never finished his sentence. He saw John nod his head, and left him to compose himself while he washed up and changed into the fresh scrub shirt. After splashing water across his bare chest and cleaning up as best he could, Jensen stopped moving. He stared at himself in the mirror, gazed directly into his own eyes. He hated what he saw there. Tears stung his eyes, but they did not fall. What the hell was he thinking? Why had he let John kiss him?
Looking away from himself, Jensen rested his hands at either side of the sink and hung his head.
* * *
With a red marker cap in his mouth, Jared looked down at the blueprint copies. Phin had gotten them copied for him so that he could "think out loud," as Mickey called it. He had already sketched out the stencil he wanted to use on the walls, and had color swatches of the different paints he would use. He was excited to get started, even though ground had only just broken on the project. There were still a few things to tweak, but overall everything was ready.
"Dude, don't drool all over the specs."
Jared looked down to see that indeed he had drooled on the paper while holding the pen cap between his teeth. "Fuck," he snarled at himself. He took the cap out of his mouth and put it on the end of the marker.
"What are you doing anyway?"
Jared looked over at Phin, who was sitting on the sofa, his feet propped up on a thousand-year-old milk crate from Jeff's garage. "Working," he said. "Something new to you, I know."
"Fuck you, JT," he grinned, tipping a bottle of beer up to his lips.
"You wish," Jared returned, gazing down at the blueprints. "Mick wants to see something on here when he comes back, so I'm jotting down some ideas."
"Sure you're not just drawing dirty pics of you and your little girlfriend?"
Jared's eyes flickered up to Phin, serious. He looked back down at the papers in front of him, not addressing the derogatory term used for Jensen. He knew he didn't need to. Phin and he were close enough that the man would pick up on what he was thinking.
And sure enough, Phin did. "Sorry, man," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know it was a sore subject."
"He's tired of being the chick," Jared explained. "And if I wanted to fuck a girl, I wouldn't be with him. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good."
Standing from the sofa, Phin's boot heels pounded upon the hardwood floors as he neared his best friend. "So, where is the little--"
Jared cut Phin's sentence short with just a look, his head snapping up, his eyes saying all the warning that needed to be said.
"Jensen," Phin finished, smiling slightly. He set his beer bottle down, upon the papers he had gotten copied for Jared.
Jared removed the beer bottle and handed it back to Phin. "He's at work."
"God, you're worse than a chick," Phin complained. He moved around the bar and set the empty bottle of beer in the sink. There, he rested against the counter and lit up a cigarette. "So what's got your panties in a giant fucking twist?"
Sighing, Jared capped his red marker and turned to face Phin. "I'm just tired, alright?"
"What are you tired for?" Phin asked, smoke swirling around his bald head. "You still ain't old, your arm's healin' up, you're designing shit now."
"Because my arm's healing up, I'm still working at the garage downstairs, I'm going through the goddamn ringer with the court case, and because I'm designing shit now. I have a life, Phin."
He seemed to take offense at that. "And I don't?"
"I didn't say that," he returned. "You wanted to know. And by the way? Do you think that maybe you could talk to Jensen when he gets home?"
"I said hello to him."
"Don't hurt yourself, Phin."
Phin shrugged his shoulders. "Why do you want me to talk?"
"Because he thinks you don't like him."
"Of course I like him," Phin replied, flicking the ashes from his cigarette into the sink. "If I didn't, I would have beaten him to a bloody pulp."
Jared only arched his eyebrows for a second before rolling his eyes.
"What should I talk to him about?"
Concentrating on the blueprints, Jared took a few seconds to answer. "I don't know," he finally said.
"I could tell him about that time we vandalized the school," Phin returned, smiling as the fond memory flashed through his head.
"The time you vandalized the school," Jared corrected. "I just video taped it all."
"Yeah, and then left the damn camcorder there."
Chuckling, Jared nodded his head. "God, that was so bad," he laughed.
"I got in some serious shit for that, man," he returned.
"We both did, asshole," Jared told him. "See what happens when I listen to you?"
Interrupting their conversation, a key was slid into the lock on the door. The deadbolt turned and the door swung wide. Thankfully, Jared hadn't set the chain security lock, for he feared it would have been ripped off the wall, with how Jensen threw the door open.
Jared straightened upon seeing the look on Jensen's face. Serious, deliberate, afraid, anxious. "Jen?"
Jensen closed the door, dropped his backpack and practically stomped closer to Jared.
"Hey, Jensen," Phin smiled. His grin faded when Jensen didn't even look at him. Instead, the young man reached out to Jared, taking hold of his head, hands at either side of Jared's face, and pulled him closer. Surprised, Phin arched an eyebrow and watched the two men kiss, stunned at the sudden display of affection.
Jared was surprised, but returned the kiss, even if it took him a moment to respond. After a few seconds of getting kissed, he finally wrapped his arms around Jensen, pulling him closer so that their bodies were flush against each other's. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of Jensen's skin, the smell suddenly surrounding him, laced with the faint odor of hospital soap.
Phin cleared his throat, slightly uncomfortable with the display.
Reaching up to Jensen's face, Jared held him as he kissed him, delving his tongue deep into Jensen's mouth. He wasn't sure what had brought on the sudden need that rolled off of the young man, but he wasn't going to question it right now. He dropped the red marker, the blueprints forgotten about.
Phin pushed away from the counter. He patted Jared's shoulder, his cigarette resting between his index and middle fingers. "See ya, JT," he said. He reached the door, opened it and turned to look at them again, the cigarette now planted between his lips. "Later, Jensen."
He still got no answer, neither man even remotely caring to stop what they were doing. Barely hearing the door close behind Phin, Jared felt a tug to his T-shirt, Jensen both guiding him further into the apartment as well as telling him he wanted the shirt off. Jared did as was asked of him, yanking the shirt over his head as he moved towards the bedroom, Jensen never leaving his arms. He reached over Jensen's shoulders, rumpling up the young man's school shirt in his hands as he gathered it up to pull it over Jensen's head.
Once the shirts were shed, they reached the bedroom. Jared's back came into contact with the door jamb first. He reached behind himself to blindly guide him and Jensen into the room. He knew, without looking, exactly where the bed was and aimed for it, pushing Jensen down to the mattress.
Jensen went more than willingly. He looked up as Jared hovered over him, their eyes searching each others. Jared wanted to know where all this had come from, what had prompted such a need, and Jensen just needed Jared at that moment, no questions asked.
Jared must've sensed that. Instead of interrogating Jensen, he leaned down to him, capturing the young man's mouth with his own. He only had to nudge Jensen's legs apart with the slightest of touches, smiling amidst the kiss when Jensen readily let him in closer. Standing beside the bed and hovering over him in the embrace, Jared reached down and expertly flipped open Jensen's belt, nimble fingers making quick work of the buckle. Once the button and zipper on Jensen's trousers was open, Jared left his mouth, trailing kisses down to Jensen's pierced nipple. He didn't linger there for long. Instead, he continued on his way, following the center line of muscle that marked Jensen's midriff. As he went, he pulled open Jensen's trousers, loosening the waist so that he could pull them off.
Jensen closed his eyes and let Jared go, raising his hips off the mattress so that the trousers could be tugged off. He wanted to sit up and make Jared lean back, wanted to hover over him, but he didn't. He was in such a need for love, such a need to be reassured that it was Jared he was there with. It was Jared that he wanted to do this to him, he knew that now. And even though he was there with the man he loved, guilt ate at him, wearing him down. He knew that, before long, he would tell Jared what had happened.
Rational thinking, however, was quickly abandoned when Jared's mouth closed around him, moving deep and fast. Hot and wet, Jared's mouth quickly made Jensen's skin slick, made his muscles quiver, his nerve endings cry out for more. He wanted Jared so badly that he was close to going over the edge, much too soon for his liking. To interrupt his climax, Jensen sat up, pushing Jared away from his cock. He pulled him up into a rough kiss, instead, turning and forcing the man back onto the bed.
Jared shifted so that he was laying across the bed properly, his head at the pillows. He raised his hips up and helped Jensen pull his jeans off, tossing them and his boxers to the floor. Jared reached up to him, threading his fingers through Jensen's hair, remembering when the young man had cut all the bleached blonde streaks off, leaving nothing but skin and soft stubble on his head. He liked having purchase there and showed him, by pulling Jensen in for another kiss. He traced his tongue along Jensen's bottom lip, waiting for Jensen to suck his tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard.
When Jensen's mouth left his, Jared closed his eyes and floated on air, it seemed, as Jensen worked his way down his body. He felt Jensen's tongue trace the lines of his tattoos, pressing wet kisses to the canvas. The nipple rings were tugged at, suckled into his mouth, clacked against his teeth until Jared was breathless, raking his fingers through Jensen's hair and pulling him down harder to feel more pain amidst the lovemaking. Jensen obliged, using his teeth until Jared hissed at him, dragging him back up into a needful kiss.
Jensen didn't stay long. He nipped at Jared's throat, lapped at the rings once more, then headed further south. With Jared's fingers still in his hair, his eyes flickered up, finding Jared watching him, guiding him. He smiled just before he took Jared's cock into his mouth, letting him push all the way to the back of his throat.
With a breath shuddering out of his lungs and open mouth, Jared watched himself disappear into Jensen's mouth, and then leaned his head back against the pillows. He reached up and rested his hands against the wall at the head of the bed. He had thought it a million times before, but Jared wasn't completely sure Jensen knew what he did to him. Time and time again, he'd tried to communicate just what happened to him when Jensen made love to him, but he'd never really gotten across the intensity of it all.
Raising his head off the pillows, Jared looked down at him again. Jensen had both arms curled around Jared's thighs, his mouth dipping lower down from the base of his cock, his tongue skating across soft, dusky skin. Jared's fingers curled into claws, nails scrabbling for purchase on the apartment wall. He took hold of the pillows at his head instead, his back arching, hips flexing.
Jensen propped himself up on one elbow. He slid one finger into his mouth and trailed the tip down Jared's cock, following the shadow of the thick vein on the underside. He grazed the pad of his finger lower, slipping into the cleft of Jared's backside, pushing in further until he found the ring of muscle there. He smiled when Jared moaned, flexing his hips at the shallow, soft circle Jensen made there. Lowering his mouth down upon Jared's cock, Jensen took as much of him into his mouth as he could, circling the ring of muscle with his finger. Jared couldn't help himself, pushing up into Jensen's mouth, a wanton cry escaping him. Jensen repeated his movements, working faster, deeper until Jared was coming undone, shuddering against his mouth.
Pulling back, Jensen took hold of Jared's cock, setting his thumb over the thick vein on the underside. He cut off the flow of come, not letting it escape. This way, Jared's body would believe that he hadn't already come, and the sensations would be magnified tenfold. Jensen remembered when Jared had performed this same ritual upon him, and he had been nearly wild when he'd come the second time.
When Jared's body stopped shuddering as much, Jensen removed his thumb from the vein and set the flat of his tongue to the tip of Jared's cock. He let Jared slip into his mouth, suckling gently, and smiled when he heard the most erotic sound rise from deep inside Jared's chest. He took all of him into his mouth this time, letting the head of Jared's cock hit the back of his throat. Jared mumbled something, his back arched, his legs falling open wider.
Every nerve ending was alive, on fire. Jared could feel Jensen moving back up his body, the man's mouth leaving a wet trail as he went. He tried to make up some sort of coherent sentence, but by the time Jared reached his mouth, all he could do was kiss him desperately, wantonly. With strong, muscled arms, Jared pulled Jensen to his side, turning him so that his chest rested against Jensen's back. Smiling and breathing heavily, Jensen closed his eyes and waited, listening to Jared's breathing, to his movements as he put on a condom, his movements rushed. When Jared pushed into him, hard and fast, his hands clawed at Jensen's chest, not meaning to hurt, but leaving red welts there. Jensen squeezed his eyes shut in pain for just a moment, and then moved in unison with Jared, his hips flexing, his spine arching. He reached back, his fingers slipping through the longish locks of Jared's hair and pulling his head down to his shoulder. Jared scraped his teeth over the soft, freckled skin there, soothing away any pain he'd caused with his tongue.
Nerve endings screaming, Jared pushed harder and faster, deeper with each thrust. He needed Jensen now, with every fiber of his being. His fingers curled around Jensen's cock, stroking him in time with his forceful thrusts. Jensen leaned back against him, letting Jared control everything. His mouth fell open just enough to let a shivering moan escape his throat. He felt Jared's own cry muffled against the taut, inked skin of his shoulder. He tightened his fingers in Jared's hair and held him there as they both came hard, crying out and shuddering violently against each other. Jared's body instinctively thrust into Jensen a few more times, gentler each time. Chills covered his skin, and his breathing came in sharp gasps. Sweat was beaded up on both their skin, the hair along their forehead and temples already soaked.
Chest heaving, Jared pressed his lips to Jensen's shoulder, where before he had nearly broken the skin. He peeked around at Jensen, finding the young man's eyes closed, his own chest rising and falling with exaggeration. He wanted to ask what had brought on such a display, such a need, but couldn't find the right words. Instead, he wrapped his arms around him and felt himself drifting off to sleep, still planted deep inside of Jensen.
* * *
It had started to rain sometime during the night. Jared wasn't sure when, and probably would have slept through it, had Jensen not awoken him.
"Jay?"
He wasn't sure how many times Jensen had said his name, but by the time he'd become aware of it, there was a more insistent tone in the young man's voice.
"Yeah."
"I have to tell you something."
At some point during the night, the condom had been taken off of him. Whether he had done it himself or Jensen had done it for him, he couldn't remember. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Jared took a deep breath, finding himself on his back, where he had no doubt been snoring. "What?"
It was quiet for a moment. "First, promise me you won't get mad."
Jared cleared his throat, wishing for something to drink. "I can't promise that, Jen," he told him honestly. "It depends on what it is."
Jensen, still facing away from Jared, turned onto his other side so that he came eye to eye with his lover. "I need you to promise first."
"I can't promise, if it's something that's going to hurt you, or something that has hurt you."
Jensen shook his head as best he could while it lay against the pillows. "I think I hurt you."
"How?"
"Promise me, first," he said.
"Jen."
"Please? I can't take another fight, Jay. I swear I'll go fucking insane if we fight anymore."
Jared looked at him for a long while, his brow creasing with worry and curiosity. "Okay," he finally nodded.
"Promise."
He nodded again. "I promise."
Swallowing hard, Jensen suddenly wished he hadn't brought the subject up. It would be so much easier to hide behind what had happened, to bury it deep inside and never speak of it. Wouldn't it? Jensen knew that wasn't true. His conscience would never let him go on until he came clean about it all. "He kissed me."
Jared furrowed his brow further and moved so that he could look over at Jensen better. "Who?"
"John," he said. "Doctor Lang."
"Please? I can't take another fight, Jay. I swear I'll go fucking insane if we fight anymore."
"Okay."
"Promise."
"I promise."
Jared looked away from him then, up to the ceiling. He was aware of Jensen staring at him, knew that he couldn't hide the flexing of his jaw muscles from the man.
"And I let him."
Flex. Jared clenched his teeth, doing his best to keep control of his anger. "Okay," he finally managed.
"I'm sorry, Jared."
Jared nodded. "I know," he said.
Wincing, Jensen eyed him for a moment. "Are you mad?"
"Fucking livid," he answered truthfully. He turned and looked at Jensen. "But not at you. Well, maybe a little, but more with that fucking asshole."
"He's not a fucking asshole," Jensen said.
"He is too," he nodded. "I saw the way he looked at you at Galileo's. That's the same way I look at you, Jen."
Jensen propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at Jared. "He's not an asshole," he said again. "He's a good man, just like you are. Only, you're the man I love and want to be with."
Shaking his head, Jared returned the look, his eyes scanning Jensen's. "Then why did you let him kiss you?"
For a moment, Jensen couldn't answer. He shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. "I didn't really expect it, that's for sure."
Reaching up, Jared brushed the backs of his fingers along Jensen's cheek. "That's because you don't give yourself enough credit," he told him. "He saw in you, what I do."
Jensen felt that Jared gave him too much credit, but he didn't voice that thought. Instead, he just gazed down at him, his long lashes sliding down slowly, sleepily over his eyes. "I want to learn from him," he finally said. "He has a lot that he can teach me. But I won't do it if it makes you uncomfortable. I'll just tell Doctor Ballantine that I'm not interested in pediatrics anymore."
Jared wanted to give in, to agree that he should tell Ballantine to stuff it, regarding Lang. But he didn't. Instead, he sighed and opened his arms to Jensen, gathering him against his chest and planting a kiss in the young man's hair. "I'm okay with it," he said.
"Are you lying?"
"Kind of."
Jensen smiled. "It won't happen again, Jay," he said. "Ever. I promise."
And, he meant it.
* * *
Jared had thought for sure that he'd fooled even himself with the reassurances that he wasn't nervous about court. He had slept fine the previous night, had eaten a decent breakfast. He had shaved as close as possible, combed his unruly locks, and put on his pressed suit. He'd complained at feeling like a monkey in the suit, but Jensen had told him he looked stunning. He had smiled, feeling better about it. Now, however, he felt jumpy, and his stomach churned each time the lawyer spoke. And when he heard seven terrifying words, Jared swallowed hard.
"Prosecution calls Jared Padalecki to the stand."
He looked at Jensen just once, a slight plead for mercy in his eyes, and then headed for the stand. He was sworn in and suddenly had a need to crack a joke, something about this being the first time he was on the good side. He didn't think that was wise, however.
His heart rate was so fast, his mind such a jumble of nerves that he barely remembered what the prosecutor had told him about. They went through the questions the woman had told him about, and he could only assume he answered her correctly, as she had instructed. He couldn't hear himself speak, couldn't even really hear her speak. The answers simply emerged, and somewhere around the pounding of his heart and the sweating of his palms, he did what he was told.
He'd been in tougher situations. Hell, he'd been in jail a number of times. But, this time, he was so bent on getting it right, of settling things between him and Coulter, of making it right for Chris, Jensen, his family, that he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Documentation and photos of Jared's burned arm were put on display. He didn't remember the wound looking so raw and painful. And when Jared was asked what he saw that night, before and after the fire, he told them. He had seen Coulter dealing illegal arms. He had seen Coulter with the can of gasoline at his feet.
Of course, the defense had argued in an objection, that did not mean that Coulter himself had set fire to the building. Perhaps the jury should take into account Mister Padalecki's previous record? Jared felt his anxiety slip to the side for a moment as anger welled up inside of him. He glanced over at Jensen and clenched his jaw, forcing himself to calm down. They had already been through so much, even recently, and Jared wasn't going to screw this up.
The defense also tried it's tricks, the ones that the female prosecutor had warned Jared about. He answered as she had instructed, and when the man went overboard, she objected. Jared said a silent "thank you" for each "sustained" response she got. The defense even tried to bring Jared's family and sexual orientation into the mix. Quickly, the prosecutor shut him up, telling the judge that had nothing to do with anything that had happened.
"Perhaps Mister Coulter felt threatened by Mister Padalecki's advances," the defense shrugged.
"So he set fire to the bar to defend himself?" the judge sighed. "Mister Ludwig, you have a sad defense if that's all the ammunition you've got."
In the end, after Jared was allowed to leave the stand, the jury went away to deliberate. Chris, Jensen, Jeffrey, Stevie, Rock, Donna, and Mickey and his girlfriend all sat with Jared as they waited to hear the outcome. When the jury filed back into the room, Jared swallowed the lump in his throat and reached for Jensen's hand. Jeffrey clutched at both Stevie's hand and Jared's. They all said a quick prayer and waited for the announcement.
"We, the jury find the defendant..."
Jared leaned forward in his seat just slightly.
"...guilty."
He let out his pent-up breath. He hadn't known he'd been holding it all that time. He didn't hear for how long Coulter would be put away, and each of the clan members that had been arrested would have their own trial, but Jared felt happy, safe. Coulter was the brains behind everything, and he was going to be put away for a very long time.
Jared felt he had finally done something right. He felt accomplished, proud.
There were embraces and congratulations. There were smiles and handshakes. There was one last annoyed, angry glare from Coulter as he was taken away. Mickey leaned in closer to Jeffrey and Jared and offered his hand, saying something about how they won't ever have to worry about their safety, or the safety of their loved ones.
Jared didn't want to know how Mickey could make such a promise. He just accepted the handshake with a grin and a thank you.
To Be Continued...