Smoke & Lightning: City Of Angels (27/?)
Title: Smoke & Lightning : City Of Angels (27/?)
Authors: eviltwin and bloody_adorable
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Wordcount: 3,390
Rating: Adult.
Summary: Jared opens up shop and Matty spends the day with what he hopes is his future family.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
MASTER POST
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
On the way home they stopped by Dr. Sam's and fetched Maya, knowing that neither of them would have time to do so the following day. Jared's shop would open the next morning and Jensen was back on shift as of 8am. She was more than happy to see them, and spent the drive back to their house in the footwell of Jensen's seat, her head against his knees as he petted her ears. It wasn't too late when Jared pulled into the driveway and parked up so they decided to unpack, get some dinner out and head around to the shop to make sure everything was ready.
There was a stack of mail waiting for them, which Jensen picked up on the way past, but everything else was as they had left it. After their last break away, Jensen was relieved to see it. Perhaps moving had helped. Jared went straight upstairs with their cases while Jensen put out some food and water for Maya and then turned his attention to the mail. It was a lot of junk, a couple of bills, and some personal mail.
"What'd we get?" Jared asked, slipping his arms around Jensen as he joined him at the kitchen island.
"Credit card, insurance-"
"Yay," Jared interrupted.
"An epic from mom and something from... I have no idea."
"Sounds interesting. Open it."
Jensen did so, frowning when something dropped out of the folded paper. It was a fridge magnet in the shape of the state of California. The letter was from Matty and Jensen felt Jared's arms tighten around him as he read it aloud.
"My social worker told me that we get to spend the day together soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing you and Jared again. She said if it goes well I might get to come home with you before Christmas. I hope I can. It'd be cool to spend Christmas with you. I guess it'd be every Christmas after too, if you like me living with you anyway, right? I hope you do. I wish every day that you were already my parents. I promise I'll be real good. See you soon, love, Matty."
"That's weird," Jared said, as Jensen finished up, folded the sheet in two and settled back in his partner's arms.
"What is?"
"Having someone who wants us to be his parents. I mean... Us."
Jensen thought about it and decided that, yes, it was a strange feeling. But not a bad one. "I just hope it works out."
Jared kissed the skin below his ear, breathed out onto his skin. "It will. What'd your mom have to say?"
"I'll read it while we wait for dinner. You know mom, she'll be trying to tell me everything as usual."
Jensen waited outside with Maya while Jared ordered their food, quickly read through his mom's letter while he did so. She told him everything that was going on in the family, how much Kenzie had enjoyed her trip to see them, and wished them luck with the shop opening. At the end of it all she told him to call his brother once in a while, since Josh had been asking after him. Loving that his mom could nag him even like this, he stuffed the letter into his jeans pocket and tugged on Maya's lead as she tried to follow another dog further down the street.
"C'mon, girl, forget it. You're too good for him."
"Did you seriously just say that to our dog?" Jared asked, making Jensen start. He had a bag full of food hooked over two fingers and was watching Jensen with an amused smirk.
"The last thing we need right now is puppies," Jensen retorted.
"Aw, I think having little Mayas running around would be cute as hell."
"You've never been the same since you hit your head that time."
"Which time?"
Jensen rolled his eyes. "Exactly." He started off in the direction of the shop then, walking slowly so that Jared wouldn't overdo it on his leg. It looked just as it had when they'd left, they found, although there was a thin layer of dust over everything. Jared wiped down the front counter and they sat there to eat, being careful with everything, while Maya waited by Jared's feet in the hope of dropped scraps. When they were done, Jensen cleared away their trash and Jared started wiping everything else over, getting rid of the dust that had accummulated.
"So are you finishing work early to come by tomorrow?" Jared asked, as Jensen joined him to help.
"Guess I'll find out tomorrow. What's planned?"
"The guys are coming in the morning to set out some of the finished projects. Caterers arrive at noon with the food and booze, and then the doors open at twelve-thirty. I've got music, and a prize draw for two free hours of custom work. Now I just gotta hope that people show up."
"They will. Didn't Memo say something about putting the word out with the local clubs?"
"Yeah. Doesn't mean they'll come, but they should know about it."
"Then stop worrying. They'll be here and they'll be so fucking impressed with you that you're gonna be booked solid with work for the next three months."
"Here's hoping."
Jensen wound up being run off his feet the next day. A multiple vehicle accident meant that they had more admissions into the emergency room than normal and he spent the majority of his day between there and his own patients. He didn't even know what time it was when he finally got to his office to work on some papers that needed filling out. He barely noticed, in fact, until his phone beeped after a half hour with another message. When he checked, he found that he had seven missed calls as well as three text messages. All from Jared.
"Shit..." A glance at his watch told him it was already three hours since Jared had opened up his shop for business. There was no way Jensen was going to make it in time to meet anyone or show his face. He buried his head in his hands and gave a frustrated sigh.
"Everything all right?"
Looking up, he found Jack Devereaux leaning against his door and looking in at him with a worried expression. He rubbed his face and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I'd kind of told Jared that I'd try and be there for the shop opening today. Guess I'm not going to make it."
"Anything I can do for you in that stack?" Jack pointed towards the files that littered Jensen's desk.
"I'm good. If I go now he's going to be just as mad at me as he'll be two hours from now."
"I'm sure he'll understand. It was a rough day all round, huh?"
Jensen nodded.
Jack thumped his hand against the door frame and straightened again. "I'll let you get back to work."
At just after six in the evening, Jensen was finally out of the hospital. He zipped his Triumph through traffic, heading straight for the shop, hoping against hope that Jared had been so busy that he would still be there. The lights were still on, at least, when he arrived, but as he pulled the motorcycle up in front of the shop he could see that it was empty. He went ahead and knocked on the door anyway, already getting his phone out to call Jared and find out where he was. He didn't have to. The other man appeared from the back of the shop, and walked towards the doors looking tired out. He unlocked it and pulled it back, standing aside quietly as Jensen came in.
"I'm sorry-" Jensen started.
"It's okay. You got busy."
"I know, but-"
"Jensen, just stop. Don't say you're sorry again."
"I should've been here. I should've at least called to see if it was going okay."
"It went fine, all right? I've got enough work for seven weeks, all my business cards went and there's no free food left. So it went fine."
"Am I still allowed to be sorry? I wanted to be here."
"I know you did. But you weren't. It's okay." Jared turned, started heading for the back of the shop again, and Jensen stood where he was with his helmet in his hand, feeling like a heel. Until Jared stopped in his tracks and looked back at him. "Are you being a dick about this?"
"Huh?"
"Are you honestly standing there thinking I'm upset because you couldn't take time out from, I don't know, saving fucking lives, to come and hold my hand? I'm a big boy now. I coped. I heard the news on the radio, I heard about the pile-up, and I thought, 'okay, I guess Jensen won't be making it.' I'm not an idiot."
"I know you're not-"
"So come on. Get back here, or do I have to drag you into my office?"
"What's in your office?"
Jared smirked. "Hot food, cold beer and, well, a really comfy couch." He winked and carried on, leaving Jensen no choice but to follow.
As it turned out, the couch was a lot less comfortable than Jared had sold it, but with Jared's hands wrapped around his ankles and their tongues and bodies slipping and sliding over one another's, Jensen thought that it really didn't matter.
They'd been told how it would work, had everything explained to them, but that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking. At least, for Jensen it didn't. He knew he was on edge, snappy because of it, and he wanted to smack himself over some of the things he'd said to Jared that morning. It was days like this when he realized how truly lucky he was, how understanding Jared was, when Jared just took it as it came and didn't bat an eyelid. Eventually he'd taken Jensen by the shoulders and held him in place, told him to calm down.
"I know you're worried," he'd said, "but you can't let that show through too much. This is our boy, he's going to become a part of our family. I know you want this so you really have to show that. And if we screw it up, we'll try again. But we won't, because you're going to take a breath and relax. Right?"
Jensen had ducked his head and sighed. Jared had squeezed his shoulders and he'd nodded. "Right. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Jared had told him, and then he'd kissed him, short and sweet, before pulling him out the front door.
He had wanted to turn up on the bike, but Jensen had gotten his way over that and rented a car. They not only had Matty to consider, but also the social worked who would spend most of the day with them and write a report on their interaction. They'd spent some time discussing what they could do with Matty, where they could take him, and eventually had decided to split the day in two. In the morning they would do whatever Matty wanted to do and after lunch they would show him their world, their idea of fun. There was a Harley fair on along a stretch of beach about twenty minutes from their home, and Jared had found out from Rob that it was a good day out for families, not just Harley enthusiasts. It sounded ideal.
Matty had changed since the last time Jensen and Jared had both seen him. He seemed more outgoing, and his hair was clipped short and tidy. Jensen thought it must be because he was with a foster family now - people who had the time for him and to see to things like that. He worried, briefly, that Matty wouldn't be too bothered about leaving his temporary home for a more permanent one with him and Jared, not when he had it so good here, but the fear was short-lived. As soon as Matty saw them both he yelled Jensen's name and came running. Jensen was nearly knocked over by the force of his hug, but he stayed on his feet, grinning at Jared as he returned the greeting. He pulled away, ruffled the boy's hair.
"How's it going, Matty?"
"Going good. Hey, Jared. How's the leg?"
"Much better," Jared replied. "I see you're doing better too, huh?"
"Yeah. Thanks to Doctor Jensen."
"Well, same here." Jared looked up as the door to the house opened again and Kim, the young woman who'd been helping them so far, came out and joined them. "Oh," he said, surprised. "You're doing this?"
"We usually try and keep the same person to a case, yes. What I'd like to do once the visit is over is talk to each of you on a one-to-one basis. It'll help with my review and recommendations."
"Sounds good."
Kim nodded. "So, where are we headed to?"
"We're hoping Matty will tell us. We've got plans for later, but for now it's whatever he wants to do. Matty?"
"Really? Wow, uh..." The boy looked up at Kim with a hopeful smile. "Can we go to the pool?"
"Don't ask me," she said, smiling back.
"You like swimming too? Did you know about Jensen's high school swimming history? Oh, yeah, he used to be on the team, did a lot of charity stuff."
"That's so cool," Matty said, looking between them both. "Maybe you can teach me some stuff?"
"Sure," Jensen said. "I'll try."
"Feeling better about this now?" Jared asked, as they shut the back doors of the car after Kim and Matty.
"Miles," Jensen replied, as he opened his own door. He got behind the wheel and Jared checked that everyone had their safety belts on, then launched into a spiel about travelling at a height of three feet and where the emergency exits were, which made both Matty and Kim laugh loudly.
"Your in-drive entertainment is the back of Jensen's head," he added. "And if your captain feels that an emergency stop is inappropriate, then and only then are you allowed to press the big red button."
"What's the big red button do?" Matty asked, leaning forward.
"Ejector seats," Jensen told him, before Jared could answer. "Okay, guys, we just need to make a quick detour to pick up some towels and swim trunks for us, and then next stop's the pool."
"Which one are we going to?"
"Our most local one. That way you can see where you might be going to. Hopefully it'll stand up to your regular pool."
"It will."
The pool was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday morning. Jensen had thought it would be packed out, but it was such a nice day he supposed a lot more people had decided to head to the beach instead. Kim told them she would sit in the cafe beside the pool and watch them, since she hadn't brought a bathing suit with her.
"So you're a pretty good swimmer?" Jensen asked, as he walked alongside Matty to the shallow end.
"I'm okay," Matty told him. "My dad didn't really like to go, but we did it once a week at school so I still got some good practice in."
"So you're going to show me what you're made of?"
Matty shrugged, said he would try. They climbed into the water one after the other and Jensen looked around for Jared, saw him swimming further up, toward the deep end. Jared didn't look his way, but he knew he'd catch up with him later. He suggested a race across the width of the pool and Matty just grinned and told him there was no way he'd win, so they settled for a contest to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest before playing water tag with Jared and then heading for the slides. It was a fun if exhausting morning and it was definitely good to see Matty enjoying himself. When Jared took Matty to get a drink and sit with Kim for a few minutes, Jensen grabbed the opportunity to swim some lengths.
He swam until he couldn't go any more, loving the feeling it gave him. He'd missed this. The freedom of it. He needed to do this at the hospital more often and decided then and there that he would be making much more use of the gym than he had been lately.
"It's good to see you so happy," Jared said, leaning across the top of the car for their brief moment alone. "You should swim more often."
"I swim every time we go to the beach," Jensen protested.
"Which is how often these days?" Jared nodded like he'd won the argument when Jensen had to think about that, and got in the car. He heard Jensen tap his fingers against the roof in defeat before he got in as well.
"Your pool's way better than the one I go to," Matty said, from the backseat. His cheeks were flushed, his hair still damp, and Jensen was startled at how much Matty reminded him of himself at that age. He looked so much happier now, too, and Jensen hoped that the afternoon's activities would only inflate that feeling.
"So who's for pizza hut?"
Jensen looked over at Jared, glaring. "We're not going for junk food."
"C'mon, special treat for a special day, right?"
"This isn't supposed to be-" Jensen stopped himself, saw Kim watching him in the rearview mirror. "Sorry. I just wanted it to be..."
"It's okay, Jensen," Kim told him. "I hear they do salads."
"Hey, we could go home and cook, but I feel like a change. Okay?" Jared reached across and slid a hand over Jensen's knee for a moment. Jensen sighed.
"Yeah. Okay. Sorry."
At the restaurant, Jared and Matty both ordered pizzas, while Jensen and Kim asked for pasta and then went to the salad bar together. Jensen tried not to say anything, not wanting to dig himself any deeper, but Kim surprised him by making the first move.
"You know, the fact that you're so worried about screwing up just shows me how much you want this. But don't be afraid to treat this like a big day. It is a big day, when you think about it. It might be the first day with your new family."
"Oh man, don't say that." Jensen eyed her, anxious. "Don't say 'might'."
Kim grinned. "You know I can't make any promises, don't you?"
"I know."
"I like you and Jared. You seem to have a very solid relationship, but that's hardly surprising, given how long you've been together. If it helps your nerves any, I am rooting for you."
Jensen could feel himself blushing. "It does. Thanks." He looked back over at their table, saw that Jared was playing some stupid game with Matty that involved the condiments and their napkins.
"He'll make a good dad."
"You think?"
"Trust me. I've worked in this job long enough to recognize it. And he and Matty have a lot in common."
"I guess so."
They rejoined Jared and Matty back at the table and laughed off the comments about rabbit food from both of them. Jensen again felt the comforting warmth of Jared's hand on his knee, but then had to shift as it slipped higher.
"Uh. Jay?" Jensen said, warning.
"What?" So innocent. Jensen didn't think so. He pulled his leg away, out of reach of Jared's hand for now, and shook his head, but couldn't fight the small smile that threatened. Jared stifled a laugh, patted his knee, and kept his hands to himself after that.
"Where are we going next?" Matty asked then, reaching for a breadstick.
"It's a surprise. But it's going to be noisy, maybe smelly, and there'll be a lot of people there."
"The zoo?"
Jared shook his head. "Huh-uh. Way better than the zoo."
"Disneyland?"
Jensen laughed. "Better than Disneyland."
Matty pouted. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"
"Nope. But we both really hope you'll enjoy it."
The boy looked at them both in turn, saw the obvious excitement on their face, and Jensen could tell that he couldn't stop the smile that appeared back on his own face then. "Yeah," he said. "I think I will."
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