The tale of a birds nest 2/?
Jared had a cat when he was a kid. Garmon. It was just this tiny little thing that used to sleep in a pulled out drawer in his dresser or curled up by his head in Jared's bed. Jared loved that cat and Garmon seemed at least content in Jared's presence. At peace.
Unlike Jensen.
Jared can't help but think about it as he lies in bed that night, sleep seemingly a million miles away.
Outside the sky holds the kind of dramatic light it always does when rain is near, the trees shining intently, brighter than the sky around them. Jared pulls the covers tighter around himself. He's still trying to get used to the air in this new place. The lightness of it. He takes a deep breath, letting it settle in his lungs before pushing it out.
His plan is to go back to the store tomorrow. He wants to talk to Jensen at least one more time before leaving him alone.
He takes one more slow breath. It feels differently breathing the air in, like his lungs aren't quite happy with it. He breaths out and eventually falls asleep.
Jared dreams about the day Garmon walked out the backdoor and never came back.
~~~
Jensen remains on the park bench long after Jones has left. Sometimes he walks the old man home but he usually stays until long after the sky has stopped blushing and smoothly blends into the blackness of the ocean.
The old street light at the end of the pier sprays the calm waves with soft light. The small patch of grass is nothing but a dark shadow on the pavement and Jensen finds himself wondering about the larva. It's probably doing alright, munching away on a birch leaf. If it didn't fall into the water.
Most things do.
Jensen plucks a thread from his light blue jeans and stands up. His breath is turning the air around him into a billow of light gray clouds. He zips up his jacket and starts walking.
It's always hard turning away from it, leaving the ocean oblivious to his absence as he walks back home. The sun will turn blue before the day comes that Jensen doesn't visit the ocean.
He glances towards the shop as he takes the shortcut straight through the park. The display window is dimly lit and he watches as a young couple stops to look. They're holding hands and the girl is leaning into the guy's chest. Jensen shakes his head at it all and keeps walking.
There are few things in Jensen's life he values as much as his daily pattern.
He wakes up at seven every morning, walks down to the ocean and sits there for thirty minutes before going to work. He eats his breakfast with Jones but always eats his lunch alone. He works, talks to costumers and then eats his dinner with Jones before walking back to the harbor and eventually home.
It has been a strange day in the sense that it broke Jensen's pattern. Because his pattern doesn't include getting to know his costumers. Only it had been more than that. At least in Jared's part. Jensen knows intention when he sees it and Jared definitely wanted something more from him.
Jensen just hopes Jared realizes he's not worth the effort.
Inside his apartment Jensen takes a long deep breath, hoping for a calming affect but it does nothing for him. He stands there for a while, slumped against the door, before dragging heavy legs to his bedroom.
He fumbles to get his shoes off while lying down and notices a twig falling out of the right boot as he finally gets it off. He looks at it. It's from a pine tree. It happens sometimes when he's walking through the woods. The trees follow him home.
Jensen wishes he could take the ocean home. He could wrestle it all into a big glass jar and keep it on the table by his bead. He would look at it all the time.
But instead he has a twig. A pine twig. So Jensen puts that on the table and deliberately turns his back to it when he lays down.
He'll have to toss it out in the morning. Why the hell would he keep a twig anyway.
He 's so close to falling asleep when he remembers again. Three days. There's only three days left.
And he can't take the realization without falling apart completely. He sits up, groaning when the pain comes. He almost falls over again trying to reach the twig. His fingers clutch it tightly and he doesn't even know why he's doing it, it's just something to hold on to, to hopefully keep him there. Jensen can feel the strong thuds under the grip he has on his shirt and he begs his heart not to panic over something so stupid.
But it is panicking and it's so, so loud. Inside of him, all around him, the noise is coming from everywhere and Jensen looses the grip on the twig and his shirt in favor of cradling his head and he gasps helplessly and
-and it's the ocean and it's right there. Jensen can hear it sloshing around inside him. Because that's where it is, the whole entity, living right inside his poor little heart.
And Jensen breathes and breathes or rather lies to himself that he can.
chapter 3
Unlike Jensen.
Jared can't help but think about it as he lies in bed that night, sleep seemingly a million miles away.
Outside the sky holds the kind of dramatic light it always does when rain is near, the trees shining intently, brighter than the sky around them. Jared pulls the covers tighter around himself. He's still trying to get used to the air in this new place. The lightness of it. He takes a deep breath, letting it settle in his lungs before pushing it out.
His plan is to go back to the store tomorrow. He wants to talk to Jensen at least one more time before leaving him alone.
He takes one more slow breath. It feels differently breathing the air in, like his lungs aren't quite happy with it. He breaths out and eventually falls asleep.
Jared dreams about the day Garmon walked out the backdoor and never came back.
~~~
Jensen remains on the park bench long after Jones has left. Sometimes he walks the old man home but he usually stays until long after the sky has stopped blushing and smoothly blends into the blackness of the ocean.
The old street light at the end of the pier sprays the calm waves with soft light. The small patch of grass is nothing but a dark shadow on the pavement and Jensen finds himself wondering about the larva. It's probably doing alright, munching away on a birch leaf. If it didn't fall into the water.
Most things do.
Jensen plucks a thread from his light blue jeans and stands up. His breath is turning the air around him into a billow of light gray clouds. He zips up his jacket and starts walking.
It's always hard turning away from it, leaving the ocean oblivious to his absence as he walks back home. The sun will turn blue before the day comes that Jensen doesn't visit the ocean.
He glances towards the shop as he takes the shortcut straight through the park. The display window is dimly lit and he watches as a young couple stops to look. They're holding hands and the girl is leaning into the guy's chest. Jensen shakes his head at it all and keeps walking.
There are few things in Jensen's life he values as much as his daily pattern.
He wakes up at seven every morning, walks down to the ocean and sits there for thirty minutes before going to work. He eats his breakfast with Jones but always eats his lunch alone. He works, talks to costumers and then eats his dinner with Jones before walking back to the harbor and eventually home.
It has been a strange day in the sense that it broke Jensen's pattern. Because his pattern doesn't include getting to know his costumers. Only it had been more than that. At least in Jared's part. Jensen knows intention when he sees it and Jared definitely wanted something more from him.
Jensen just hopes Jared realizes he's not worth the effort.
Inside his apartment Jensen takes a long deep breath, hoping for a calming affect but it does nothing for him. He stands there for a while, slumped against the door, before dragging heavy legs to his bedroom.
He fumbles to get his shoes off while lying down and notices a twig falling out of the right boot as he finally gets it off. He looks at it. It's from a pine tree. It happens sometimes when he's walking through the woods. The trees follow him home.
Jensen wishes he could take the ocean home. He could wrestle it all into a big glass jar and keep it on the table by his bead. He would look at it all the time.
But instead he has a twig. A pine twig. So Jensen puts that on the table and deliberately turns his back to it when he lays down.
He'll have to toss it out in the morning. Why the hell would he keep a twig anyway.
He 's so close to falling asleep when he remembers again. Three days. There's only three days left.
And he can't take the realization without falling apart completely. He sits up, groaning when the pain comes. He almost falls over again trying to reach the twig. His fingers clutch it tightly and he doesn't even know why he's doing it, it's just something to hold on to, to hopefully keep him there. Jensen can feel the strong thuds under the grip he has on his shirt and he begs his heart not to panic over something so stupid.
But it is panicking and it's so, so loud. Inside of him, all around him, the noise is coming from everywhere and Jensen looses the grip on the twig and his shirt in favor of cradling his head and he gasps helplessly and
-and it's the ocean and it's right there. Jensen can hear it sloshing around inside him. Because that's where it is, the whole entity, living right inside his poor little heart.
And Jensen breathes and breathes or rather lies to himself that he can.
chapter 3