J2 RPS fic: The one with the Beanstalk (1-3)
Title: The one with the Beanstalk
Summary: J2 fairy tale take on Jack and the Beanstalk. Jared comes across a bag of magic beans that sprout into a magic beanstalk that he climbs up and finds himself in a land where he's NOT the giant.
Rating: NC-17 (explicit)
Characters: Jensen/Jared, minor mentions of other folks from CW, and some OCs.
Warnings: Smut. Kinky cracky porny smutty smut. Size!kink, dubcon, bondage, pet play, just wrong in every possible way! You've been warned. *hides*
Author Notes: I started writing this with a j2_fairytale challenge but never finished it. I guess I'm posting it as WIP for now but if folks find it somewhat readable, hopefully, I'll make a more concerted effort to finish it. Please do re-read the warnings before you proceed!
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one
*-*-*-*
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (just north of Salem, Massachusetts) lived a not so happy couple - Jared and Victoria.
Like many a brash, virile youth of his times, twenty-one year old Jared was wont to make decisions led not by his brain, or his heart, but an organ situated much, much lower in his impressively long anatomy. So when despite six months of proper and gentlemanly courting his sweetheart refused to give up her virtue, Jared descended on one knee and made the biggest mistake of his life.
One might argue an even bigger mistake by far was yet to be made, but let’s not rush ahead of ourselves.
It was a lovely wedding to say the least. Victoria’s family disapproved of the match, but they sent a handsome dowry and bid their oldest daughter good bye (“and good riddance”). Jared’s parents gifted the newlyweds a quaint little homestead with three acres just outside of town where land was most fertile and a crop of pumpkins most profitable.
Unfortunately, Jared was no good at plowing the field. He had too much love and concern for the welfare of his beloved pet, a donkey called Tomatillo Munchalot. No joke, that’s the name given to him by the oddball gypsy-woman he bought the wretched beast from. And Victoria was no good at being a (let’s not say poor) humble young farmer’s wife with nary a social life to speak of, now that they lived so far away from the town center.
Soon her dowry dried up, thanks to her extravagant tastes in jewelry and garters and the latest Victorian fashion imported all the way from London. In its stead she aimed her demands at poor (fair to say it now), unskilled, no-good-at-anything-really Jared, demands he unsurprisingly failed to fulfill. So she nagged, and she moaned and she bitched and she nagged, until one day Jared could take it no more.
“What would you have me do - sell my soul to the devil?”
Victoria crossed her arms. "Lord knows that day might yet come to pass, but for now, how about we start with selling the mule?”
Jared gasped in absolute appalled-ness. “Not my Tomatillo Munchalot! He is too old for farm-work and will barely fetch a good price. Besides, he is the only friend I have in this world.”
Victoria narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps then you would like to sleep with your friend tonight, and every night henceforth and forever!”
The next morn, Jared packed a sack of apples and a piece of stale bread for lunch, and set off for the town market with his friend, Tomatillo. To be quite clear, dear patient reader, the threat of celibacy was not the only thing spurring the young man’s actions this day. Jared was a good lad after all. He was keenly aware of his duties as a husband to his young wife and possibly the mother of his future children, if she ever let him back into her bed that is.
In all seriousness, if he didn’t provide for them now, there would be no ration left in the house to speak of. Victoria might use the opportunity to lose a few pounds (and indeed would benefit from it) but Jared would most definitely be forced to starve, or beg for alms from strangers, neither situation he found to his liking.
His parents had sold everything they owned and left town a week ago, blissfully unaware of their only son’s domestic strife. They were still rather fit for their age, barely a day over forty having married quite young themselves. So they were heading westwards to test their fortune in the gold rush one last time. Naturally, that avenue was closed upon him as well.
“Do not look at me so, Tommy. I must do what I must do,” Jared rued softly to his beloved pet.
The donkey brayed softly as if to assure his master that he understood. But his head hung low for unlike the race of men, beasts could hardly ever disguise their true sentiments.
Shortly thereafter, Jared and Tommy came upon an old hag in the middle of the road. She looked to be a century old, at least, hunched over in two as she muttered to herself and walked right into the duo from out of town.
“Watch where you’re going, laddie!” She droned, not unkindly as she set eyes upon the kindly face of young Jared.
“Begging your pardon, ma’m. I was indulging in a bit of nostalgia for my carefree and joyous days gone by. So lost was I, did not see you there.”
The old hag eyed the boy and his donkey steadfastly. “And what befalls your days now, dear lad?”
Jared bowed his head sadly. “I must sell my dearest pet at the town market to make ends meet for my wife and I.”
The woman smiled and reached out slowly, peculiarly, to pat the side of the donkey’s head. “How about I save you half a day’s trip and buy this magnificent beast from you right now?”
Jared was naturally skeptical. “I’m not sure you can afford him, madam.”
“Come, lad,” the woman chided. “I may not care to carry the currency of this land, but I can offer you something no mere coins can purchase.”
“And what would that be?”
The woman pulled out a little bag made of sheepskin tied at the mouth with a jute string. She held it up for Jared to see and implored with such fire in her eyes, Jared was spurred to quickly step back.
“Magic beans! A whole bag of ‘em, just for you and your lovely wife.”
“Magic?” Jared gasped. “You’re a witch!”
“Aye,” she squinted. “I thought that should be obvious by now.”
Jared started to mount poor Tommy in a bid to escape. “Perhaps, I should get going. It is starting to get late…”
“Wait!” The witch caught the donkey by its stirrups. Tomatillo simply grunted but seemed not too inconvenienced by her intrusion. “You are a farmer, are you not?”
Jared grimaced. “I am trying to be.”
“Then surely you know this, my sweet lad. As you sow, so shall -”
“- you reap, yes, yes. But see I am in the business of pumpkins…”
“Perhaps you should diversify then? Take a chance, my sweet lad! A chance to find your perfect happiness - to have everything your heart secretly desires and nothing it wishes to be rid of, forever! In exchange, I promise to take good care of your friend to the end of his days. Trust me, young Jared, you will not regret this.”
The old woman seemed desperate and by the looks of it, she really could use a mount to ease her travels. She barely weighed as much as a feather and her eyes were gentle though being milked over with age and cataract. Jared looked down at Tommy, who seemed content enough to lean into the old woman’s hand as she fed him a lump of sugar.
Jared sighed, and took the bag of beans from her.
“Fare thee well, my friend. I shall miss you dearly,” he whispered in Tommy’s ear, and watched with sadness as the witch led his dear pet away.
He walked all the way home lost in thought, pausing but for a moment to ponder how the woman knew his name, for he could have sworn he had not given it.
It was not until much later, when Victoria towered over him, screaming her head off about the stupid bag of beans, did Jared realize how foolish he’d been. Not for having bought the beans, but for having believed this ill-tempered and selfish wench could ever make him a good wife.
“I curse you, Jared Padalecki! Curse you for ruining my whole damn life!”
Victoria grabbed the bag of beans from the table and flung it out recklessly through the open window. The string came undone and the contents of the bag scattered across their backyard but neither she nor Jared turned to see where they landed.
Jared went to sleep hungry and alone and heartbroken. He felt miserable, unloved, and uncared for. If something were to happen to him tomorrow, he was sure no one would even notice; no one would miss him at all. Jared blinked back tears and tried to sleep. He prayed at least Tomatillo would find happiness in his new home.
Lightning struck and thunder rolled, and then the skies opened, pelting and nurturing the parched lands with long awaited rains. Jared slept through the storm, unaware of how his destiny was about to transform in its wake.
*-*-*-*
The next morning, when the early birds started to chime, Jared rubbed his eyes and willed himself up to his feet. He had slept on the floor beside the fireplace in the kitchen, having been kicked out of the bedroom by Victoria the night before. He stood up and stretched his gangly limbs, yawning widely as he wearily contemplated the too-long day ahead.
What in heavens was he to do with himself?
He lowered his head and made his way to the outhouse to perform his morning ablutions. On his way out he noticed nothing unusual in his backyard. On his way back, he still noticed nothing unusual in his backyard. It was ten minutes later when he stood at his stove boiling water for a cup of coffee that he looked out of his window into the backyard.
“Holy sweet mother… what is that?”
Jared nearly dropped his cup to the floor. His eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open as he looked up at the magnificent, enormous, rainbow-colored, enormous… beanstalk, was it? Yes, a beanstalk had grown overnight in his backyard, right around the spot where the bag of seeds must have landed last night.
“The beans must really be magic!” Jared gasped, straining his neck to spot the top of the plant in vain.
“Uh, Victoria?” he called, absently for his wife. The woman grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘leave me be, you useless twat’, turned over and went back to sleep.
Jared ran out of the house and looked up at the beanstalk. It was gigantic to say the least, growing so tall as to disappear completely into the clouds. By heavens, it may even be taller than the lighthouse at the end of Derby Wharf!
Jared suspected it might be growing still. Curiosity took over him in that instant, and the boy couldn’t help but reach for the thick sturdy column.
“A chance to find your perfect happiness,” he absently recalled the words of the old witch, but then paused, uncertain as to the best course of action in that moment.
“Ah, the hell with it. What have I to do with myself anyway?”
Jared gripped the stem with both his hands, dug his left foot stolidly into the slightly mushy ground around it, and placed his right foot on the side of the beanstalk. Then with one mighty pull, he hoisted himself up until both his feet were off the ground. The plant gently swayed, making Jared reconsider his capacity for adventure. But then it stilled, and Jared smiled, encouraged to keep going. He just had to see the top of the beanstalk, no matter how long it took him to get there.
He must have been climbing that stairway to heaven for ages. Weeks! Oh alright, a day and a night at least. Jared didn’t know wherefrom the brute strength to carry on came, but carry on he did. And then on a bright sunny morning, his hand reached up expecting a leafy green stem to grip but instead touched grainy, earthy, though he was miles away from earth at the moment… soil.
“I did it?” Jared whispered, panting, pulling himself all the way up to rest on a horizontal surface at last. “I did it!”
He looked around, and found himself in what looked like an orchard of fruits and flowers. Except every fruit and every flower here was so - very - big!
“Is this giant-land?” He wondered out aloud, looking at everything with absolute wonder.
Jared was one of the tallest lads in all of Salem. Hell, if not for the good old president in the funny stovepipe hat, he might have thought himself to be the tallest man in all of the Union. But that was back on Earth. It did not matter here, wherever ‘here’ was. Even the rose bushes and tomato shrubs were taller than him.
And by Christ, did the tomatoes look scrumptious! Jared was famished, and instantly made his way to one of the shrubs. In retrospect, he would term that to be a mistake of gigantic proportions, pun completely intended.
Just as he pushed a hand forward to reach for a low-hanging fruit, another, infinitely larger, hand descended towards him from above. Before Jared could scream or even begin to think of screaming, the hand had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and lifted him clear off his feet until he was suspended mid-air, staring into the face of a gigantic male… giant.
“What have we here?” The voice boomed as thunder, and the face peered at Jared, turning him this way and that as if studying a tuber of potatoes pulled freshly out of the ground.
“Unhand me! Please?” Jared squeaked, but was completely ignored.
“Where did you come from, little half-ling?” The giant asked him again, before looking around and spotting the hole in the ground and Jared’s beanstalk shooting up through it.
“Valhalla! Weeds! Weeds and pests!! In my own precious garden!?!”
“I said unhand me right this mo- no wait, wait, wait!”
Jared changed his pleas the moment the giant pulled his arm back to fling Jared back through the hole he’d climbed up from. His short, unfulfilled life of twenty-one years had already begun to flash before his eyes, when another voice made the giant’s hand stay.
“No, stop Father! That’s not a pest.”
“Oh, thank you, Lord!” Jared grunted in relief while still swinging precariously by his collar. If he’d been flung from this height back to earth, he wouldn’t have survived surely. This second giant, whoever he was, had just saved his life. For now.
“Let me look at him.”
“It’s just a half-ling climbed up from the underworld, Jensen. I thought we were rid of all of them blasted ladders…”
The second giant moved up closer until he was in Jared’s view. It was a young giant, by the looks of him. By Jesus, if he weren’t so enormous in size, Jared would reckon him not much older than his twenty-one years back on Earth.
This… Jensen… had a dark golden complexion just like his father, with more freckles than Jared had ever set eyes upon on a single face. He had short golden-brown curls for hair and kind green eyes that smiled as much as his upturned plush red lips.
Jared blinked, suddenly feeling more than a little lightheaded; must be that his features were just so big as to draw Jared’s attention to them. He’d never seen another man’s face so keenly before.
Jensen walked up to his father and bent down to peer at Jared. “Oh my, you’re a pretty one, aren’t you?”
Jared found himself blushing for no understandable reason as he continued to struggle with his lack of solid footing.
“Oh no, Jensen, I know what you are thinking. Don’t you have enough pets already?”
“But I’ve never had one from the underworld before! Don’t worry, Father, I shall make sure he doesn’t run around the house or the orchard unchecked.”
“I don’t know, son… your dogs and cats litter the grounds enough as it is.”
The older giant turned away and started to head back towards the hole. Jared prayed he would set him down so he could scale the beanstalk himself. But the rough swinging of the giant’s arm indicated he was more of a mind to play ball instead. Jared panicked and tried to hold on to the giant’s sleeve with both his hands and legs.
“Be careful, Father, you’re scaring him,” Jensen chastised his own parent, which Jared thought to be quite commendable. “Just hand him to me. I promise, you shall not even know he’s here.”
Yes, please just hand me over, please…
The older giant huffed, “Oh, alright! Here you go.”
And with another big swing, Jared was transferred from one giant to the other. At least the son was handling him more carefully than the father.
Before Jared could process it all, he found himself being cradled like an infant in this… Jensen’s arms. Per his best estimate, even if he were stretched out to his full height, Jared couldn’t be taller than the giant’s knee. He was suddenly and acutely aware of how his diminutive stature in this world. He wasn’t even being considered human! Or perhaps he was, but being human wasn’t exactly a privilege compared to being… whoever these giants were?
“Th-thank you,” he tried to say, not sure if Jensen could hear him.
Jensen suddenly looked down at him and smiled. “You’re welcome, pretty little one!” His voice boomed even though it was clear he was not yelling.
Jared couldn’t help but smile, feeling oddly flattered as well as comforted by the warmth of Jensen’s arms and the kindness in his words. But he noticed that Jensen was walking away from the orchard and into what looked like a monstrous castle. He had to do something now.
“J-Jensen, is it?”
“Yes, Jensen of Ackles. That was my father, Alan of Ackles and this is our home! And what is your name, little one?”
“Jared. Jared Padalecki.”
“Welcome, Jared Jared Pada-lecki?”
“It’s just one Ja- never mind. Jensen, wh-where are we going?”
“Inside, of course. You look like you haven’t been cleaned and fed in ages. Don’t you worry, little one. I shall take truly good care of you.”
Jared squirmed uncomfortably, which unfortunately only made Jensen adjust his hold around the half-ling and grip him more securely. “Hush, it’s alright… you have nothing to fear.”
“That’s… very k-kind of you b-but Jensen… I-I…”
“Come now, I know you’ve had a long day, and quite a scare with my father threatening to throw you back into the underworld. I cannot believe how cruel he can sometimes be, especially after you toiling so hard to climb out of there! But fear not, little one, I will keep you safe, I promise.”
Before Jared could argue further, Jensen had pushed his face into his black woolen vest, smothering any more squeaks though not his breaths. Jared couldn’t move, he couldn’t escape, and a tiny part of him wondered where he planned to escape to anyway - what waited for him back there in the ‘underworld’ besides more hurtful curses and denouncements of his incompetence as a man? Perhaps he was better off being here for a little while after all?
He quickly changed his mind about that a few moments later.
*-*-*-*
Jensen carried the ‘half-ling’ into the house and climbed up a flight of stairs until he was in what looked like a bedroom. And then he walked into what could only be an adjacent bathroom. Once there, Jensen casually hung Jared’s squirming little form on one shoulder, holding him in place with one giant hand. Jared couldn’t see what Jensen was doing behind his back but he heard the water running in a metal sink. Minutes later, the giant placed the human on his back on a counter top and started to peel off his clothes.
“Jensen… what are you… no-no, wait!”
“I very well cannot bathe you in your outer coverings, can I?”
“You cannot bathe me either way!”
Jensen chuckled. It was a loud, amused voice that went through Jared and made him shiver with a strangely euphoric combination of fear and excitement.
“You’re a funny little one, Jared. Don’t you worry, I shall make sure you get them back once they’ve been washed and ironed. Lauren washes the little doll dresses and linen for my sister’s dollhouse all the time. Now be quiet and let me take a look at you.”
Jared gasped and sputtered and before he knew it, his clothes had been peeled off his body (albeit carefully so as not to be torn) until he was naked as a jaybird and being eagerly examined by his gigantic caretaker.
“You don’t look very different from us, just smaller,” Jensen murmured, turning Jared this way and that like a little ragdoll, touching him everywhere without restraint.
Jared moaned, both terribly minding and not so terribly minding the treatment, feeling uncannily ‘special’ for having the beautiful giant’s whole and sole attention centered on himself.
“My History tutor, Socrates, had many human pets over the years. He showed me how to care for your kind, and I’ve wanted to have one of my own ever since. You are in good hands, Jared, I assure you.”
Jared moaned again as he was turned and set down at last on his hands and knees, whilst the said good hands stroked the full length of his back repeatedly. The sink beside him was stoppered and warmed water ran into it loudly and incessantly.
“W-wait… there are others here, like me?”
“Not anymore. Socrates ascended to the third plane many years ago, taking all four of his pets with him. He couldn’t bear to part with either of them, and understandably so.”
“P-pets?” Jared panicked then, even as the two fingers fondling his neck and ears threatened to send him into a glorious reverie.
“Why? Are you not familiar with that word, little one? I admit, sometimes the All-tongue doesn’t translate all that well…”
“All-tongue?”
“It’s what lets us understand one another even when we speak different languages. Anyway,” Jensen brushed it aside, still pre-occupied with studying his new acquisition. “What I meant is - you belong to me now and I am responsible for your safety and well-being henceforth.”
Jared’s eyes went wide, but before he could protest, Jensen picked him up again and without further warning, gently dunked him into the water. Jared flailed and splashed but it only served to amuse Jensen ever more.
“Settle pet, I have you. You shall not drown, you little jester.”
There was no escape after that. Jared surrendered to the luxuriously warm water that admittedly felt amazing. He watched helplessly as Jensen soaped up a little wash cloth and ran it all over his tired, naked body, ridding him of days’ worth of sweat and grime.
“Oh, oh my…” he sighed, resisting the urge to quit resisting.
Jensen chuckled, that deep rumbling voice seeping through his bones, turning them into slop. After that, Jared even let Jensen play with him, tickling his sides and the soles of his feet to make sure he didn’t fall asleep.
“Such soft skin, so smooth and fur-less everywhere, by all heavens, you’re such a little beauty, Jared Jared Padalecki.”
Amazingly, all that unwanted manhandling caused Jared to develop that embarrassing little problem he’d only ever developed whilst around Victoria. And even with her, he hadn’t felt such a strong affliction for well-nigh a year. He’d come to believe that perhaps he never would.
“Oh, what have we here?” Jensen stared down at his shaft standing erect and poking its head out of the water. His generously endowed asset, and once a noble source of Jared’s vanity, looked so horribly puny in the giant’s hands! Jared turned a brighter shade of red if that were even possible.
“Socrates did warn me this happens to you earthlings. Don’t you fret, Jared Jared, we shall get to it soon after your feeding.”
“Wh-wha…my wh-whahhh?” But his words melted into loud groans instead, brought upon by the gentle meticulousness with which his nipples were being repeatedly scrubbed.
After he’d been cleansed to Jensen’s heart’s content, Jared was given a moment of reprieve in which Jensen left him to soak in the sink and went to find a towel. Jared contemplated making quick work of fixing his little ‘problem’ before the giant returned. He momentarily fantasized rubbing the terrible ache building in the pit of his stomach away, lest it make his ongoing ordeal all the more intolerable for himself. But before he could muster the courage to touch himself, Jensen came back.
“Here we are!” Jensen proclaimed, before eagerly pulling Jared out of the water and wrapping him tightly in a length of white fluffy towel from neck to toe.
“Jensen, can’t b-breathe!”
“Oh, sorry, darling!” Jensen loosened the wrappings, allowing Jared some wiggle room but not enough to escape his prison of fabric. “There, is that better?”
Jared could only wince in response. At least it hid his erection from Jensen’s eyes, for the moment. The giant picked him up, and kissed the top of his head, suddenly making Jared feel warm and safe once more.
“You must be starving, little one. Come on, I'm having a little treat arranged for you. You like tomato, don’t you?”
Jared nodded meekly; the giant must have seen him trying to steal one from his orchard. Jensen carried Jared, once again cradling him in his arms like a babe and walked into his bedroom. It was furnished much like houses back on Earth, with wooden furniture, cotton bed sheets, wall shelves overflowing with books bound in leather, more books covering a study desk, and a bedside table with what looked like a kerosene lamp on top and, surprise, more books.
Jensen picked up a little bell on his bedside table and shook it. A third giant came bounding up the stairs in response - this one was female, even though she was dressed in a man’s clothes - black leather breeches and a white silk shirt. Jared peered at her curiously, adding another item to his growing list of things he never thought he’d ever see in his lifetime - women did not dress in men’s attire where he came from.
“You called, my Lord Jen- by heavens, he’s so adorable! Can I hold him?”
The woman started to come towards Jensen and Jared, making the earthling cringe and attempt to hide himself in his keeper’s arms.
“Er, perhaps later Lauren,” Jensen halted her in her steps. “He’s a bit skittish still. We’re ready for our supper now.”
She looked disappointed but retreated as commanded. “Right away, my Lord.”
The woman, who apparently was a house-maid, ran back down the stairs, making a whole lot of noise than a servant should. Apparently that was acceptable in this world too.
“Are you a prince of this land?”
Jensen chuckled, the sound reverberating all around Jared. “Good heavens, no. Father is a Duke and a trusted advisor to the King. But I’m no nobleman, nor do I have any wish to be.”
“What are you, then?”
“Good question,” The giant rocked him softly from side to side and looked at him like he was the most precious bundle he’d ever beheld. “A scholar, perhaps? Would you like to see the land a bit more, my pet?”
Jared nodded and Jensen walked over with him into the balcony. For the first time since his ordeal began, Jared got a really good look at the lay of the land of these giants. It was immense, and gifted with lush natural landscapes, mountains and rivers and forests, interspersed with little towns and villages. At least from this altitude and distance, they looked small enough to be towns and villages.
“What do you call this world?”
“You might know of it as many things - paradise, Valhalla, first heaven. You could also call it the first immortal plane.”
“And how many heavens are there? Wait, don’t tell me - seven?”
“That we know of.”
“And what of Earth… my world… is it the mortal plane?”
“That’s correct. We refer to it and all planes beneath it as the underworlds. You know, it’s like how you refer to your underworlds as hell, or purgatory or what-have-you.”
“One man’s heaven is another man’s hell…” Jared whispered, finding himself fixated on the giant’s lush red lips.
“That was Socrates’ favorite saying! Of course he ascended from Earth too, perhaps that is how he knew of it. You must tell me everything about this world of yours, pet.”
“Did Socrates not tell you about it?”
“Of course he did! But from the looks of your outer coverings the underworld, apologies, your Earth seems to have greatly evolved since the time of Socrates. I’m very interested in the story of human evolution, so if you’d be so kind…”
“Uh, I suppose there is no harm. Sure, it’d be my pleasure,” Jared said. In return, perhaps he could ask to be allowed to return to it, but he didn’t get a chance to express such hope right away.
Lauren returned with what looked like a silver tray in her hand, which she placed on the bedside table. She made a few clucking sounds at Jared but thankfully retreated without trying to grope him again. Jensen walked to his bed and sat down with his back against the headboard. Then he picked up something from the tray and brought it around for Jared to see, who gasped at the sight that awaited him.
A feeding bottle? What could be more humiliating than to be fed by such an instrument? For Christ’s sakes, it had a rubber teat attached to it!
“What is that?”
“Tomato juice, my little one. Trust me, you would not be able to process the fruit in its raw form.”
“B-But I don’t need…” Jared didn’t get a chance to finish that outraged thought either. Jensen stuck the nipple of the bottle into Jared’s mouth, effectively shutting him up.
Jared resisted valiantly, even tried to pull his head back and not let the thing in through his lips at all. But Jensen was persistent, though gentle enough and aware enough of his own size and strength. Before long, Jared surrendered to the heavenly taste of the sweet and delectable fruit in his mouth. God was he famished! He’d be a fool to refuse nutrition at a time when he clearly needed to preserve his strength, not that it’d been any help thus far.
“There, my pet, is it not so much better when you’re not fighting me?” Jensen softly cooed at him. Of course Jared could not immediately respond.
“You’re mine now, little one. And you’re not going anywhere.”
Jared should have protested, revolted, panicked at the very least, he really should have. But the bath and the food and the gentle rocking from side to side made it impossible for him to care for much of anything at the moment.
A distant female voice called from somewhere below, it barely registered with Jared already on his way to sleep. “Jensen! You have a visitor!”
“Coming, Mother!” Jensen responded, and still Jared did not much stir.
He vaguely felt the feeding bottle being removed from his mouth and being carried over to a corner of the room he hadn’t yet paid any attention to. He heard a metallic latch lifted and a door opened. Jared was placed on a hard wooden surface that seemed to also sway from side to side. Then he heard the door and the latch close, before a set of footsteps disappeared into the distance.
For the first time in many months, Jared slept deeply, peacefully, without a care in all the worlds.
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