Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (9/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (9/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 7,746
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jensen and Jared plan to visit their families before Christmas and make arrangements right after Chris leaves.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
MASTER POST
CHAPTER NINE
Chris was grinning at Jared behind his back, he just knew it. He looked round at the both of them and they looked back, blinking innocently. "I know what you're doing," he said. "Stop it."
"Well, you're being a little bit..." Chris trailed off, looking at Jared for help.
"Chris is right. He's packed everything, he hasn't forgotten anything, and I really don't think you need to make him a lunch-bag up like he's some fifth-grader going on a school trip."
"I'm just trying to be nice, is all," Jensen mumbled, putting things back in the fridge and wrapping up the sandwiches. "Figured it'd taste better than some soggy burger from a service station diner."
"You're gonna miss me, aren't you?"
"Miss you? Hell, no." Jensen laughed when Chris grabbed him around the neck and wrestled him down to his level. "All right! Yes, I'll miss you! Let me go, asshole!" Chris did, but not before he'd dropped a messy kiss on Jensen's cheek.
"That's what I thought," he said, triumphant. "Look, it's not for long. You guys are coming home before Christmas, right? Holly's just waiting on the dates. She got her crayons all ready to write it on the calendar."
"Cute, Chris. Yeah, we'll be home before Christmas. Just for a week. I'm going to book the time off tomorrow."
"Are you flying or driving?"
Jensen shrugged. "I think we'll fly. Maya should be fine with that. Hey, listen, thank you okay? Thank you for staying longer. I really appreciated having you here."
"It was no trouble."
They helped him get everything out to his truck and stood out in the street saying goodbye for a few minutes. They waved Chris off with instructions to call when he made it home and, when he was out of sight, Jared shoved one hand in his pocket and slung his other arm around Jensen's shoulder. Said,
"So we're up before noon on a Sunday for a change and neither of us is working until later. What do you want to do?"
"I think we should take a ride down to the beach. Grab a sub for lunch and sit down there for a little while."
"You have some really awesome ideas. Can I make a suggestion for what we do when we get back?"
Jensen bit his lip and pretended to consider it. "Does it involve sex?"
Nuzzling at his neck, Jared chuckled. "Mm, yeah. A lot of it."
"I'm shocked, really."
"Liar."
As they turned to head back inside and fetch their leathers and helmets, Jensen realized something. "Hey, know what?"
"What?"
"We haven't seen that rental car in a while. I wonder if it's 'cause Chris was here or maybe.." He trailed off and Jared poked his shoulder to make him finish. "Maybe we were just being paranoid. I don't know."
"I'm not the paranoid type," Jared told him.
The ride to the beach was, probably, the most fun Jensen had had all week. The roads were quiet at this time of day, and this time of week, and he and Jared both took advantage of the opportunity to have some fun. Jared definitely broke the speed limit, looking back over his shoulder at Jensen whenever they hit a red light. Jensen couldn't see his face, but he knew that Jared was grinning at him. He didn't want to speed, knew if he got caught it wouldn't be good, but Jared would always slow down at some point for Jensen to catch up with him. They arrived at the beach together, finding it about a quarter full of joggers and people setting up for the whole day.
Jensen loved it here, found it relaxing. They'd brought Maya down to this particular stretch the day before, with Chris, and she'd had a ball dashing through the sand and splashing out in the swells. They hadn't brought her today, since she was fast asleep when they'd left and they had no way yet to secure her on either of the bikes. Jensen thought maybe he'd suggest to Jared that they find an old car that they could bring her down here in. Nothing fancy, just as long as it ran and got them from A to B.
They both pulled off their leathers and helmets, making a stack of clothes near the spot they'd picked to set up. Jared had a back-pack with three large towels rolled up inside, one of which he now spread out on the sand. Jensen sat down and pulled off his boots, then his jeans and his t-shirt. It wasn't hot, there was a very slight chill to the air, but the sun was out and he was determined not to miss out on a little tanning time. He rolled onto his stomach once he was down to swimming trunks and flinched when Jared smacked his ass as he sat down beside him.
"God, you look so fucking hot right now."
"I always look hot," Jensen mumbled, voice muffled where he was resting his head against his arms.
"Hmm, true."
"Are you joining me?"
"In a minute. You want any sun lotion on?"
Jensen turned his head then, grinned cheekily. "You don't need an excuse to give me a rubdown, Jay. Feel free."
He wasn't expecting Jared to straddle him then, one knee either side of his ass, and settle his weight down. Jared's hands spread out over his shoulder blades then, though, and he couldn't really protest it since it felt so damn good. He groaned as Jared pressed in hard and then smoothed the skin out beneath his fingers, dragging them together. There was a subtle shift of weight and then Jared's chest was against his back, Jared's mouth at his ear. "Good?" he murmured, his voice a low tickle. Jensen shivered, nodded his head slightly. Jared stayed where he was, hands moving on Jensen between their bodies. Jensen let himself be pressed into the towel underneath him, glad of the pressure on his dick.
He let his mind wander for a little while, until Jared eventually stopped his movements and eased off him, letting him get some sun instead. When he looked over at Jared, he found the other man was almost asleep. He reached across and scratched a nail lightly over his chest.
"Aw, are you tired?"
"Ssh," Jared told him. "Sleeping."
"You could've gone back to bed if you'd wanted, you know. I wouldn't have minded."
"I would have. Knowing you were here all alone, all these men looking at you?"
Jensen raised an eyebrow and looked around, thinking Jared was joking. There were a couple of guys about twenty yards away, though, who were watching them. Jensen caught the eye of one of them and smiled as he looked away. "They're not gonna do more than look."
"No, not with me here they're not."
Shifting slightly, Jensen leaned over and kissed Jared's chest, sucking at his nipple ring for just a moment. "Just in case," he said, settling back.
"Uh huh. You going in the water?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"Then wake me up when it's lunchtime."
After a fresh made sandwich and another hour at the beach, Jensen and Jared reluctantly got back into their clothes and leathers and rode back to their apartment. Jared took it slower this time, following the traffic home. They put the bikes away and headed upstairs, found Maya in their bedroom, asleep on Jared's side. She lifted her head when they came in to the room, but relaxed again when Jared reached down and petted her. Since she was so comfy, they both went for the couch once they were undressed. Jared lay down first, pulling Jensen onto his lap, and they were pressed together from head to toe in a moment. Jensen had been getting steadily more turned on at the beach and it didn't take long to return once Jared started sucking at his tongue like it was made of candy.
Jared squeezed at his ass, pushing him down hard so their cocks rubbed together. They made out there for a while, eventually coming together, and then lay in each other's arms to cool off and calm down. Jared dragged the afghan from the back of the couch and laid it over them, kissing Jensen's throat as he settled. They had a couple of hours before they had to move, before Jensen had to shower to get ready to go to work and before Jared had to take Maya out for a walk before he showered himself and got to the bar. But after a half hour they were disturbed anyway by the phone ringing. It was Jeff, ringing to check up on them.
"How're you boys doing?" he asked, when Jensen had said hello. "Jared told us what happened. You okay?"
"I'm all right. Better now. I got another patient to help take my mind off it."
"Good. Stevie was worried about you and so was I. We both know you can be a soft touch."
Jensen chuckled quietly. "Yeah, I know. Maybe I should have decided to work with old people. It might have been easier to accept."
"Nice. So what have you been up to today?"
"We saw Chris off this morning. Don't think it'll be too long before we see him again, though. We were thinking of coming home for a week before Christmas. Early December, maybe, when Holly has that school trip?"
"That'd be great. Can you get the time off?"
"Benefits of working private. I'm sure I can. Jared's going to ask tonight. We'll probably fly over and bring Maya with us, is that all right?"
"You know the answer to that already, son. Just let me know when and where and I'll be there to pick you up."
"Thanks, Jeff. So how is everyone?"
"All good. At least this news will finally stop Holly asking me when you boys are coming back. She misses you the most, I think."
"More than Jared?"
"You know what I mean," Jeff said, as Jared said, "What more than me?"
Jensen handed the phone to him and told him to talk to Jeff while he went and got a shower. He left him to it, thinking if he took an earlier shower he might be able to put together something to eat too before he went. It would be nice to have a meal with Jared again. He'd kind of gotten used to being able to eat together over the past few nights, their shifts finally having worked out so that they could. When Jared hadn't been there, he'd had Chris to eat with and he was used to the company.
When he came back, Jared was still on the phone. He was talking about work now, the job at the bike shop, and it was good to see him so happy. The laptop was open in front of him and Jensen's wallet was sat beside it, but the screen was blank. Jensen frowned at it, but let Jared pull him down when he got near him, and sat half on his lap and half off.
"Mm, my sexy doctor's back, Stevie. I'm gonna go and ruffle him up a little bit. You too. Bye now." He hung up and tossed the phone to the end of the couch, then pressed a kiss to Jensen's mouth. "December 8th, we'll fly out, stay for seven nights."
"Uh. Okay?"
"I booked the flights already," Jared told him, indicating the laptop and wallet.
"And if I can't get the time off?"
Jared just eyed him. "You can get the time off. You just told Jeff you could. Oh, hey... I had a thought for Holly's Christmas present too."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Well..."
It was some time until the first week of December, but it seemed to pass much quicker than Jensen thought it would. He'd had no trouble taking ten days from work, as he and Jared had agreed to have a couple of days before they flew out to get ready and have some time to themselves, and another day when they got back to unpack and sort themselves out from the trip. Jensen pulled extra shifts in the couple of months beforehand, to make up for it, and Jared took on some extra hours at weekends in the bike shop. They dealt with not having quite so much time together much better now.
At the hospital things were still going well. They had a Christmas party coming up, the weekend after Jensen and Jared returned from Texas, and Jensen had promised to help out. Matty, the patient he'd been given by Sam Wright, was still in the hospital for now. Complications in the surgery on his leg, combined with an infection, had led to his stay being much longer than anticipated, but Jensen thought it was a good thing. It meant he was given a chance to get used to the idea of being safe, and it might make it easier for him when he was placed with another family. Other patients had come and gone, he had a few others who he saw regularly and was getting on well with all of them, as well as with the family and visitors they received.
Jared was having a good time too, in both his jobs. He'd given Rob ideas for the bar and they were starting to implement some of them and making profit from them. Not only that, but he was getting more and more work handed to him at Memo's place, including plenty of repeat customers. It was reaching a point where Memo had actually said to him that he didn't think it'd be long before he was setting up his own place. Jared promised him it would be a while before he was ready for that - he had things he wanted to do with Jensen first that meant he needed to save money. Things like buy the car they'd talked about, for taking Maya out places with them. Things like maybe finding a house or, at least, a bigger apartment in a better area.
One thing Jared did not lack was ambition.
The two days before they were due to fly back to Texas were meant to be busy ones. Jensen wanted to get laundry done, pack cases, get bills paid that were due and clean the apartment so that it wasn't too rank when they came back. Jared, however, reminded him that they were only going for a week and threw what clean clothes they had into bags before dragging Jensen to their bed. They got up once to take Maya out, paid bills while they were out, and then came back and went straight back to bed. By the time the day came to go away, Jensen thought he was more than ready for the break.
He was definitely excited for it. They got to see their families again and he would get to hang out with Chris for a while. There was a huge family dinner planned at Galileo's for their first night there. Holly was looking forward to seeing them again, they both knew. She spoke to them every other night and told them so, after all.
Jeffrey picked them up from the airport when they landed around four-thirty in the afternoon and, sure enough, Holly was there with him. She ran straight for Jared's legs and he managed to put Maya's carrier down and grab her up into his arms just before she hit him. She threw her arms around his neck and gave his cheek a noisy kiss.
"Hey sweetheart! They already let you out of school then?"
"Silly," Holly reprimanded. "School finished ages and ages ago."
"Oh, is that right? I thought maybe they'd keep you until you were properly smart."
"Holly's too smart for her own good sometimes, believe me," Jeff told them, as he released Jensen from a hug. Jared passed Holly into Jensen's arms so that he could also embrace his father. She clung tightly to Jensen, told him he smelt really nice. He thanked her and lifted his case with his free hand, carried her as they followed Jeff out to the car. Jared let Jeff take his case and he picked up the pet carrier again, Maya asleep inside it.
"New car?" Jared asked, as Jeff clicked the key to unlock it.
"Stevie decided we could do with something a little bigger. Don't worry, the old Chevy ain't gone far. Phin bought it off us. Got us a good deal on this one, too."
Jared just wrinkled his nose and put Maya behind the back seat, then got into the passenger seat of the black SUV. Jensen smiled at Jeff over the top of the car, knowing that Jared was biting his tongue from saying something disparaging about the choice of vehicle. He got into the back with Holly and got her settled and buckled in. Jeff and Jared talked about the car on the way home so Jensen asked Holly about school and her brother, and what she wanted for Christmas. She'd asked for a new bike that, as she enthusiastically explained, was bright orange and had streamers on the handlebars.
"I'm only sorry me and Jay couldn't come back here for your birthday. But you got your card, right?"
"Yep!" She told him, smiling toothily.
"And we brought something for you all the way from L.A. But you have to wait for Jay to unpack his suitcase before you can have it."
"That's okay! I can wait! What is it?"
Jensen laughed. "It's a surprise is what it is."
Holly reached out to him then, placing one small hand on his arm. "Are you tired, Uncle Jensen?" She asked. Despite their efforts to explain that Jensen was sort of like another brother, she still called him uncle most of the time. He was okay with it, used to it really. Puzzled by the question, he shook his head.
"Why? Do I look tired?"
"Daddy said that Jay told him you were in bed for a long time. Two whole days."
Jensen felt his cheeks redden and could see Jared grinning at him in the rear-view mirror. "Well, I wasn't tired, I promise. I was just being really lazy."
She turned very serious then. "You won't have time to be lazy now," she informed him, in a remarkable impersonation of her mother.
"Oh, I know. We don't intend to be. We're going to do lots while we're here."
"Holly?" Jeff's voice made the little girl look straight to the front of the car.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"You think you can be nice and quiet until we get home? We're not far away."
"Okay."
Jensen spent the last ten minutes of the ride with Holly watching him so intently that he had to bite the inside of his cheek not to laugh.
Jensen brought Maya in and let her out in the kitchen when they arrived, getting her food and water bowls ready. Jared walked past him while he fussed over her and took their bags into the garage, dropped them by the couch on the lower floor. It hadn't changed much, aside from maybe a fresh coat of paint on the walls. He came back into the house after a few minutes, where he got a hug and a kiss from Stevie before settling on the two-seater couch next to Jensen. Jensen had Holly sat on his lap and it wasn't even a minute before Corey had barrelled in and decided that Jared was his new climbing frame. They relaxed into their roles and pretended not to notice how much it was amusing Jeff and Stevie to watch them.
"You think Galileo's is ready for this lot?" Jared asked, trying unsuccessfully to stop Corey from kneeing him in the crotch.
"They'd better be. There's quite a lot of us going tonight. I already called ahead and warned them though."
"When you say 'quite a lot'..."
"The six of us, Jensen's mom and sister, Rock, Phin and Chris and his family. Yes, we invited them too."
"Can I ask Jay about Thursday now, Daddy?" Holly suddenly piped up.
"What's happening on Thursday?" Jared asked her, having managed to finally get Corey trapped in a firm hold on his lap. He knew very well what was happening on Thursday, but as far as Holly was concerned, this was just a well-timed visit.
"I have a class trip to the zoo and Miss Jameson asked if we could ask our parents to be chapones, but Mommy and Daddy are both working so Daddy said that I could ask you and Uncle Jensen to go."
"Oh, Daddy did, huh?" Jared asked, glancing up to find Jeff smirking down at him.
"Please, Jay? Miss Jameson said that if we don't have enough chapones that we'll have to post...postpo' it. And then we can't go until after the holidays." Holly was looking at Jared now with wide eyes, an expression of pure hope on her face.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe I should talk to Jensen about it tonight and we can tell you before you go to school tomorrow if we have time to go."
Jensen knew that they'd say yes, but he admired Jay's tactics as Holly went blissfully still and said she'd promise to be very good if they said yes.
"You'll be good anyway," Stevie told her. "And they will tell you in the morning. Now, why don't you come upstairs with Mommy so we can start getting ready to go out?" Holly grinned, leaping up from Jensen's lap so fast that she almost fell over him. "You too, Corey. Come on, bathtime."
"You want a hand, baby?" Jeff asked her, as she herded the children towards the stairs.
"I've got it."
"I'll be up in a few anyway. Leave these boys in peace to unpack."
Alone in the garage, Jared and Jensen made quick work of unpacking and stowing their clothes away. They got Holly's present out too and left it on the nightstand as they fell onto the bed and tangled themselves up in a slow kiss. Jensen pushed himself up, resting on his elbows as he smiled down at Jared.
"I wish you had holidays more often," Jared told him, his hands resting on Jensen's lower back.
"Me too. But it's not like we don't see each other every day anyway."
"No, I know. But this is better - knowing that neither of us has to run off to a shift at work."
"True," Jensen agreed. "What're you wearing tonight?"
"Mm... You."
Jensen rolled his eyes. "To Galileo's, idiot."
"The usual. Jeff didn't say we needed to dress up."
"We should make an effort, Jay. This is a big family thing. I bet Holly's getting put into her best dress right now."
Jared turned his head and eyed the dark suit that Jensen had made him bring, hanging at the front of the chest of drawers. "Ugh."
"Don't make faces. Anyway, you look beyond hot in that suit." Jensen stared down at him, slowly and deliberately pushed his hips down. "If you wear it, I'll let you do whatever you want to me tonight." As bribes went, it was pretty poor. They both knew that Jensen would let Jared do anything he wanted in bed anyway. But he grudgingly agreed and was rewarded by Jensen sliding backward down the bed, unzipping the fly of Jared's jeans as he went.
He had only just recovered when the door to the house opened below them and Jeff's voice called up to tell them that the bathroom was theirs if they wanted to get ready.
Jensen and Jared gave Holly her present before they were due to go out. They explained that Santa had asked them to deliver it for him and, since they were here, she got to have it early. Stevie had known what it was, had helped them arrange things, but she still looked teary-eyed when Holly turned the ticket over in her hands, confused. They'd attached it to a movie clapperboard which she had instantly clung to her chest, squealing happily. But the ticket had momentarily stumped her.
"It's a plane ticket, half-pint," Jared said, kneeling down and pointing out her name. "So you can come stay with me and Jensen for a week during the easter holidays next year. By yourself."
"By myself?" Holly asked, eyes wide.
"Yep. Just you, me and Jensen. Sound good?"
Holly nodded and Jared couldn't help but give her a huge cuddle.
"Let Daddy put that somewhere safe now, honey. We need to get going."
Holly handed the ticket over, watching Jeffrey very carefully as he put it in a drawer of the sideboard. She held her hands out to Jared and Jensen and they each took one to walk her out to the car. Corey was carried out by his father, laughing happily to himself about something or other - they had no idea what.
Almost everyone else was already at the restaurant when they arrived and Jensen felt nearly crushed in his mom's arms when she hugged him hello. She stepped back slightly, holding his face in her hands as she studied him.
"You're not working too hard, are you sweetheart?"
"No, mom. I promise I'm not. I'm on holiday right now, aren't I?"
"Wiseass." She smiled, kissed his forehead. "I'm so proud of you, honey."
"I know, Mom."
Donna then shifted her attention to Jared, stepping back and looking him up and down. The suit he wore had been one of Jensen's choices - charcoal grey jacket and pants and a crisp, black shirt with the collar open and a tie knotted loosely about his neck. "So what did my son promise you if you wore that?" She asked, as she gave Jared a hug that was almost as bone-crushing as the one she had given her son.
"You really don't want to know," Jared told her, as he extracted himself gently from her arms. Donna nodded, knowing he was probably right. Jared was glad he'd worn it anyway, in a way. Everyone else was dressed smartly, just as Jensen had told him they would be. Donna was in a midnight-blue silk dress and her daughter... Jared looked at Jensen's face when he saw Kenzie step forward, wondering what he thought of his little sister, all grown up. She wore a sexy little black number - little being the operative word in Jared's opinion. But she looked good, and Jensen looked more proud of her than worried.
He also looked pleased when she didn't get embarrassed or try to get away from him, even when he asked, rather loudly, what it was that she was almost wearing. She just rolled her eyes and tugged at the hem of the dress.
Hellos over, they went to their table. It was the largest one the restaurant had, but the chairs were packed tightly around it all the same. Jensen got between Jared and his sister, but was only sat down for a few moments before Chris and Lynn walked in with their son Johnny between them. He leapt up, grinning, and went straight to Chris, grabbing him tight around the shoulders and pulling him in hard. It hadn't been such a long time since he'd seen him, but he'd still missed him plenty. When he let him go, Lynn gave him a big wet kiss and then Johnny was there too, arms open and waiting. Jensen picked the little boy up, struck by how much he had grown since the last time Jensen had seen him and by how much more he was looking like Chris. There was another round of greetings as they got back to the table and then they were finally settled in, reunited, and most definitely ready for their food.
It was almost midnight by the time Jared and Jensen both made it to bed, after a few drinks with Chris and Phin over at Mickey's. Lynn had taken Johnny home, leaving the boys alone. The four of them had gotten what Jensen thought of as nicely drunk before finally clambering into cabs and heading to their own homes. They managed to be quiet going in and they made their way up to the upper level without incident, which Jensen was impressed by. Jeff had already been up, it seemed, as there was a bottle of water and two aspirin on either side of the bed. They both downed the water and the tablets and then stripped out of their clothes.
"You feeling up to anything?" Jensen asked, as he pulled back the covers and got under them.
"Uh, yes. I do believe you owe me, after all."
"I like when you used to drink so much that you just fell asleep."
"I'm older and wiser now," Jared reminded him, getting into bed beside him and immediately wrapping his limbs around the other man to keep him close.
"Thirty-two and still obsessed with sex," Jensen muttered.
"That's because you have the body of a twenty-seven year old."
"Nearly twenty-eight."
"Nearly, my ass. And since I get to fuck a younger man, it makes me feel younger by proxy."
"So, you old dog," Jensen said, grinning cheekily. "Learnt any new tricks lately?"
"Not that I didn't already know. Sure I can still surprise you one of these days, though."
"I bet you can. Are you going to kiss me, or just keep talking?"
"Hmm... I'm going to kiss you."
"Good-" Jensen started, but it was swallowed by Jared's mouth on his. He moaned against the tongue pressed to his, kissed back desperately. It was less than 24 hours since they'd last had sex, but he was ready for it again in that moment. Jared could still undo him with just a touch or a kiss - it was a huge part of how they'd lasted so long and not gotten bored with one another. He doubted it was even possible for them to get bored of each other.
Jared's hands were all over him as they kissed, smoothing over skin. Jensen loved the feel of his hands, warm and rough. His dick was leaking already and Jared stopped what he was doing, instead reaching down and wrapping his hand around its length. Jensen dragged his mouth away from the kiss and Jared's head ducked down as he tried to breathe again. He had learnt to control himself more over the years, not to make so much noise for one thing.
But then Jared tore away that control with his mouth and his hands and Jensen was panting and moaning into his skin, wanting him to finish it and not wanting to end it at the same time.
"Lube..."
Jensen's hand smacked down against the nightstand and he fumbled around until he felt the familiar bottle. He tossed it at Jared and rolled away, ignoring the protests.
"Don't go to sleep," Jared warned him, giving his fingers a liberal covering. He stroked himself a few times, his cock growing harder in his hand.
"I'm not," Jensen insisted, turning over onto his stomach. But Jared moved so that he was laid on his side and pulled Jensen back towards him, lined himself up. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but Jensen had learnt that it was quite pleasurable to start out this way. Jared slid into him slow, very slow, and he felt himself stretching open. Easy, since this was all they had done in the previous two days, and Jared held him tightly as he went as far as he could go. Jensen's skin was warm where Jared had been touching and it tingled as his lover now stroked over it again. Kissing the side of Jensen's neck, Jared fucked into him too slowly to let him feel it too much, too gently to make him come from just that. He whined, frustrated, but Jared's teeth grazed against his skin and he whispered to him that he owed him.
Jensen growled at that, pushing his body back into Jared's. There was a low chuckle behind his ear and then Jared finally gave him what he wanted. Pushing him onto his knees, Jared slammed into him, one hand wrapped around Jensen's dick as they fucked. They came within moments of one another, Jared collapsing onto Jensen's back despite his complaints about it.
"Mm... Getoffme," Jensen mumbled, as Jared started to pull out. He did as he was told then, getting up from the bed to find a towel so he could wipe off his hand and dick. Jensen turned onto his back while Jared was up, moving away from where he had come on the sheets. He was half asleep as Jared crawled back in next to him and barely responded to the kiss he was given, or the quiet goodnight.
Jensen woke up the following morning in a cocoon of heat and bare skin. Jared's arms tightened around him as he became more conscious and he shivered at the warm kiss to his shoulder.
"What time is it?" That was the first thing he asked.
"Time we were up. I think I remember promising to be up for breakfast today."
"You would," Jensen grumbled, but he slid his feet towards the edge of the bed and blearily tried to work out where his clothes were. They dressed, for now, in jeans and boots, and made their way into the house. They'd shower later, when everyone had gone to school or work. The table was already set and Jeff was making pancakes while Holly sat very still in one of the chairs and Stevie brushed her hair out. Corey was in the chair opposite her, his head resting on the edge of the table as he watched them both intently.
"Good morning, boys," Stevie said, smiling in the way she had perfected to let Jensen know that she was well aware of what kind of a night they'd had. "Sleep well?"
"Mm, just great," Jared told her, stretching his arms high above his head and wiggling his fingers near the ceiling light. It made Holly laugh and Stevie had to remind her to keep still. "You heard your mom. Don't want her to slip up and chop it all off, right?"
Holly looked at him carefully, then rolled her eyes as she realised he was joking. "You're silly."
"You're silly," Jared told her, sitting next to her and reaching for the coffee pot. Holly poked her tongue out at him and then scowled as Stevie pulled her back into place.
"You kids fighting again?" Jeff asked, not looking round from the stove. "'Cause if you are then you should just stop now before I come back to the table."
Jensen smiled at Jared, squeezing his knee under the table. "You heard the man. Stop winding your poor little sister up."
"Oh, sure. Take her side. So listen, squirt. Jensen and I had a discussion and we figured out that we should have enough time to come to the zoo with you. That still okay?"
Knowing that her mom would just get annoyed if she moved too much, Holly just smiled brightly and said a thank you to them both. Jared took a sip of coffee and then turned his attention to his little brother.
"You're pretty quiet there, Corey. You okay?"
Corey looked up, nodded slowly. Jeff turned round slightly and ran a gentle hand through his son's hair.
"He's not feeling so hot this morning. You don't mind looking after him today, do you? I mean, I know you had plans to-"
"Nothing important," Jared interrupted. "Come here, buddy." It was all the encouragement that Corey needed, as he got off his chair and ran around the table so that Jared could pull him onto his lap. "Maybe Dr. Ackles can take a look and see if there's anything he can do about it, huh?"
"Yeah, sure. After breakfast, though?"
Jared nodded, grinning. Breakfast, to Jensen, just meant enough coffee to wake him up. It was all he wanted in the morning before work, and Jared had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't eat properly while he was at the hospital either, since he had been losing weight gradually. Jared slowed it down by feeding him up whenever he was home, but these days Jensen was all muscle and no fat. Of course, Jared couldn't complain about that.
Corey stayed on Jared's lap throughout breakfast, his head laid on the table beside the man's plate. He looked miserable and Jared lifted him up and kissed his head once he was done eating. He carried him through to the lounge and sat on the sofa, holding the little boy gently against his chest. Jensen helped clear away in the kitchen and followed Holly through as she went to get a goodbye kiss from Jared before school. Within the space of fifteen minutes, Jeff and Stevie had both left to take Holly to school and go to work and the house had fallen quiet. Jared held Corey while Jensen looked him over, putting the back of his hand against the child's head.
"Is he okay?" Jared asked.
"He's a little hot," Jensen answered. "Corey, buddy, does it hurt anywhere?"
The little boy nodded, patting his stomach.
"A sick tummy?"
Corey nodded again.
"Anything else, buddy?"
"I haffa froat," Corey said, his voice very hoarse.
Smiling, Jensen chuckled. "You have a sore throat?" He watched the little boy nod once more and gently squeezed the child's knee. After having cleaned up from breakfast, Jensen had ducked out into the garage and gotten his knapsack that he took to work every day. Ever a doctor, the bag usually came with him no matter where he went -- just in case he was needed. He sat down on the coffee table, directly across from Jared and Corey and smiled at the youngster. "Let me look in my magic bag, okay, big guy?"
Corey nodded, leaning his head against Jared's chest. They both watched Jensen snag a digital thermometer from inside the knapsack. He put it to Corey's ear and, a click later, Jensen read a temperature of 102.4 F.
"What do you think?" Jared asked.
Jensen retrieved his stethoscope next. "I don't know yet," he answered honestly. "Let me take a listen." He warmed the diaphram on his hands for a moment before lifting Corey's shirt and setting it against the little boy's chest. A stethoscope could most definitely detect sounds through clothing, but Jensen wanted to get the clearest sounds he could. When he raised the boy's t-shirt, he caught a glimpse of a rash across Corey's chest. He made no reaction to it, instead glancing it over a little closer before listening to the boy's breathing.
As Jensen worked, listening intently, Jared watched the man's face, his own shadowed with worry over his little brother. "Jen."
Jensen did not answer him. He took the stethoscope away from Corey's chest, taking one last quick look at the rash that seemed to be worse in the crease of the child's underarms, across his belly. It looked almost like a speckled sunburn. After draping the stethoscope around his neck, Jensen reached up to Corey's throat, feeling for any swelling.
"Jen."
"I heard you, Jared," he said, almost scolding.
"Stop being a fucking asshole doctor then, and talk to me."
Though he was proud of Jensen, Jared wasn't a fan of medical personnel, he'd made that clear. He constantly reminded Jensen about having a good bedside manner, about relating to people and talking to them like they were equals. Jensen nodded his head at Jared, looking serious. "I think he has Scarlet Fever."
Jared looked stunned. "Scarlet Fever?" he asked, disbelieving. "Do they even have that anymore?"
"Clearly," Jensen said, motioning to Corey. "It's not life-threatening, Jay. The vaccination isn't even used anymore, because it's so treatable."
"Well, where did he get it from?"
Jensen shrugged. "Could be from anywhere," he told him. "One of the kids at the playground could have had strep throat and not known it. It could've manifested from there."
"Jesus," Jared breathed. "What do we do?"
Packing up his bag again, Jensen stood from his place on the coffee table. "We call Stevie and have her meet us at the ER," he explained calmly. "A round of antibiotics will kick out the infection. He'll be as good as new before you know it."
Jensen looked down at the sofa, seeing how absolutely horrified and frightened Jared was. It reminded him of the hundreds of bedside manner conversations he and Jared had had. Guilt washed over him for having trivialized Jared's fear.
Smiling, he reached down and hefted Corey up into his arms. "Come on, big guy," he said gently. "Let's go get some ice cream. That'll help that fever, okay?" As Corey rested his head upon Jensen's shoulder, Jensen held his hand out to Jared in a silent apology.
Jared took it, pulling himself up from the sofa. "I'll call Stevie."
As promised, Corey was sent home from the emergency room with a round of strong antibiotics from his doctor, and after a couple of days he was more like the Corey they knew and loved. Jared offered to stay with the boy, but Stevie said she wouldn't dream of ruining their vacation, and took a week off of work.
Holly, however, was still being an angel. Jared side-commented to Jensen that all Hell was going to break loose after the zoo field trip. He knew the little girl couldn't possibly hold it together too much longer. She wasn't a bad child. She was just full of energy and, as Jeff had said, too smart for her own good. She managed to make it all the way to the exciting day of the zoo field trip, which surprised them both.
Jared and Jensen were up before she was, or so they thought, but when they entered the house with their things in order to use the shower, Holly was sat at the kitchen table. Her hair was back in a ponytail and a Texas Longhorns cap sat on her head. She was dressed in jeans and a sparkly, sequined Harley T-shirt that she'd gotten from Jared for her birthday a year ago. As she sat before a bowl of half-eaten Cheerios, she kicked her feet, smiling over at Jared and Jensen as they emerged from the garage. She waved excitedly, but didn't say much, instead chewing on a mouthful of Cheerios.
Adjacent to her, in his usual spot, sat Jeff. He had his head cradled in his hands and was still in his sleeping shorts and t-shirt. His face had what looked to be three days beard growth, even though it was just overnight. Eyes drooping, he looked up at Jared and Jensen as they neared the table.
"Were you up early, half-pint?" Jared asked, smiling from Jeff down to his little sister.
She nodded her head with the kind of enthusiasm only a child could have.
"Four fucking A M," Jeffrey announced in a sleepy, scratchy voice.
Swallowing her cereal, Holly looked disapprovingly at her father. "Daddy," she scolded. "You're not s'posed to say the F-word."
He met her eyes. "Daddy's allowed to when a little girl wakes him up at four in the morning by jumping on his head."
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "You must have alotta little girls jumpin' on you, Dad," she told him.
"Eat your breakfast."
Jared and Jensen tried their best to stifle the laughter, but weren't completely successful.
"And you," Jeff said, pointing at them. "Get ready for the zoo, and get out of here so I can get some sleep."
Jared clapped a hand on his shoulder. "No work today?"
"I'm calling in dead. Bite me." He nodded towards the upstairs level. "Go get cleaned up. I'll keep her busy for a little longer."
Even though he said he would call in sick, they all knew that Jeffrey would be at work a little early, just like always. He would be a bear for the rest of the day, and he would yell at his guys, but they would let him. Most of them had kids too, so they understood.
Instead of riding separately to school -- Holly on the bus, and them in a taxi -- Jared paid for a cab to take them a couple blocks from the place. They left early so that, on said block, they could get a very strong coffee. Jared paid for his mocha and Jensen's four-shot esspresso crowbar while Jensen held Holly's hand just outside the door. They sipped their coffees as they walked. Holly asked to have a drink of either, and Jared laughed.
"In your dreams, princess," he said to her.
Jensen just chuckled, one hand still in Holly's.
Jared felt her tug on his own hand. "Come on, Jay-jay," she begged. "Dad lets me drink it all the time."
"Well, if life's taught me anything, pipsqueak," he explained, "it's that Jeff's a big 'don't do what I do' kind of guy."
"Please?" she tried, giving him her best Disney eyes.
Jensen gently squeezed her hand. "You don't need the caffeine, kiddo," he told her.
She seemed somewhat satisfied with the answer, but she wanted to know just a little more. "Why?"
"It's a drug, honey," he explained. "It could give you a headache, or make it really hard for you to sleep. It raises your heart rate and blood pressure. And it could dehydrate you, if you're not careful."
"Jesus, Jen," Jared complained, looking over at him. "Anything else you want to take the fun out of?"
Smiling, Jensen returned his gaze. "I could give you a whole list of things that could be detrimental to night time activities."
"Do and you're dead, Ackles," he warned. The gates of the school were just ahead and Jared sighed, still looking at Jensen. "Almost there."
"It'll be okay. Think of it as practice."
"Practice for when we have our own?" For once he didn't look annoyed by the subject and Jensen felt a flicker of hope. He smiled and nodded and Jared laughed. "If I can survive this," he said, "I think I can cope with anything."
NEXT
Adorable and I would like to thank everyone for their patience with this 'verse. We really appreciate each and every one of our readers, lurkers, commenters and all, and we're grateful that you were so nice about us taking a break! Thank you!