Of Wings To Fly (Part Seven)
Title: Of Wings to Fly
Author:
hunters_retreat
Rating: R
Summary: Jared Padalecki is the world’s foremost Augmentor, an expert in making life better through technological advancement. He’s designed steam-fueled carriages and even made improvements to his brother’s airship. His passion though is to help the less fortunate, to use mechanics and gear work to help heal broken bodies. In all his years as an Augmentor, Jared has never let any of his clients get under his skin, but no other client has ever been like Jensen Ackles before. Jensen is a Mer with surgically created legs instead of a tail and a broken exoskeleton that should make it possible for him to walk.
It isn’t a simple task. From the first observation, something feels wrong to Jared. His desire to help Jensen takes him on a long journey, through confidantes and betrayal, airship flights and naval battles, to grief and love. As Jared and Jensen find the truth behind the broken exoskeleton, they find an even greater truth. It doesn’t take wings to learn to fly.
Or, the J2 AU Steampunk Little Mermaid.
The Legatus were lying on the platform by the main greeting area, surrounded by the generals from each house of the Mer families. Standing at their sides were the human captains who had a nave of men and women who had come to the Mer call over the years.
Jared watched as their shadow fell over them and their eyes were drawn upward. He let Jensen take the lead, though he would be lying if he didn’t admit to himself at least that he loved to watch Jensen as he settled, his wings working the steady figure eight pattern that gave him the ability to hover so well. Jensen’s feet hit the ground lightly and he stood before his people for the first time in four years. Jared pulled his wings to full extension to catch the air and land softer. He took a few steps forward to control the momentum before he settled his wings down along his back.
“Sen,” one of the Mer called out, “I knew it wouldn’t be long before you found us. What news have you?”
“Legatus Jos,” Jensen bowed his head to the oldest of the Mer brothers. “I regret that my arrival is so late. I have an airship at our disposal to keep an eye on the Northern Navy coming towards us. I’ve learned that the King of the North has been seen with a new advisor as of late, a man that hates the Mer. I believe that it is his instigation that has caused the King of the North to abandon old alliances. His new advisor, a man named Jeff Morgan, also admitted to having the king poisoned.”
There was a gasp from the others but the two Legatus looked grim.
“Then you have come back just in time to see this threat ended, Centurion.”
“I have, Legatus Jon.” He looked back at Jared and nodded. “This is Jared Padalecki, an Augmentor and a member of the airship crew. He has volunteered to fly messages as needed from the Chaser to the Legatus.”
“You are well met then, Jared Padalecki,” Jos said.
“It is a privilege to be of service to the Mer,” Jared answered.
Jensen gave Jared a small, tight smile before he settled on the ground beside the Legatus and the planning began. Jared found a stump close by, obviously well used by humans who had come to visit the Legatus over the years, and folded his wings to wait out the planning.
Jared was to be stationed on the Chaser as Jensen left his side and began to move out with the human navy but he hadn’t left him yet. Jensen needed to be able to focus on the battle ahead but Jared wanted to make sure Jensen’s reception wasn’t as bad as Jensen believed it would be. Jared still had no idea what would happen when Jensen was alone with his brothers and they actually discussed what had happened, rather than play some public game where Jensen had been missing at their direction all along.
As Jensen moved among the humans there was a grim air about them, but that was about the coming battle, not their absent general. As the Centurion moved among them, men and women stood taller and smiled more to one another. The people that knew him best came forward and spoke with him, each and every one making sure to touch him at least once. With each accepting touch, the tension in Jensen’s shoulders relaxed a little more.
Even the Mer who swam at the side of the ships and on rested on the tiered platforms down the side of the boat called up to the Centurion in welcome and homecoming. Jared wasn’t sure Jensen would have been able to appreciate how much he’d been missed when he’d been in the wheelchair. Now though, Jensen stood taller and Jared could see him as a man who commanded armies, not the simple navigator who had been hiding behind a broken exoskeleton.
When Jensen turned back to him, Jared couldn’t help but smile. “Centurion,” he said in way of greeting.
Jensen gave Jared a small, warm smile. “It’s good to be home,” he said softly. “Even if it is for these dire circumstances.”
“Being the Centurion suits you well,” Jared replied.
Jensen took a step closer until they were almost sharing breath. “You suit me Jared,” he said. “You gave me the strength to face them again. Thank you.”
Jared couldn’t think of anything else that he could say to that so he simply nodded.
“You should get back to Noah now before this starts,” Jensen said as he looked up into the sky behind his navy to where the Chaser was waiting for orders. “Keep safe. They might not have an airship or men with wings on their side, but a well-aimed cannon can still find you, especially once the Chaser gets involved.”
“You too, Centurion. Don’t think I won’t be watching for any incredulous stunts you might try today.”
Jensen laughed but as someone else called for his attention, they parted ways without goodbyes.
Jared jumped over the edge of the ship to the yells and waves of the Mer and their human allies. He flew over each ship and left a wake of cheers behind him. When he reached Noah and the Chaser, they were ready for battle to begin.
The Chaser wasn’t meant for war but there were cannons in case of air pirates and Noah intended to use them as he could. Their main part in the Legatus’ plan was to keep an eye on the Northern fleet and report any movements to the Centurion. Noah wasn’t thrilled with Jared being so close to the fighting, but as Jared reminded his brother more than once, at least he could fly away if something hit the ship he was on. The men and women of the Mer ship weren’t so lucky. If one went down, it would be on their Mer allies to see them to safety in the midst of the battle.
There was no attempt to meet in the middle under a white flag as the two navies prepared. They came within firing distance of their cannons and everything seemed to still for a few minutes. The air pushed at the sails of the Chaser as if to urge her on and Jared could feel the tension eating away under his skin.
When the first cannon fire sounded, it signaled the others and the Northern navy opened fire at the same time the Mer ships did. Jared fancied that in all that noise he could hear Jensen’s voice, loud and clear and steady as he called out to his soldiers.
It was the last moment of clarity Jared had. Noah noticed part of the Northern navy break away and he sent Jared down to the Centurion with the news. From then, Jared was in constant motion. He moved messages from one ship to another, pulled men from the water, and returned to the Chaser for the next instruction.
He had no idea how long he flew or how far but his wings grew tired and his shoulders ached with the movement. He wasn’t used to prolonged flights. He didn’t want to think about how exhausted Jensen would be. His wings and their constant motion meant that they required more energy expenditure than Jared’s. They would both be a long time recovering when it was all over.
“Jared!” Noah called out to his brother and Jared left his small reprieve to fly to his brother. “Tell the Centurion part of the Northern navy is retreating. They’re starting to run!”
Jared hoped that was the end of the battle and it was with renewed speed that he dove towards the Mer’s lead ship, the Guardian.
“They’re running,” Jared reported dutifully as he settled beside the Centurion.
Cannon fire ripped through the air and Jared shielded himself with his wings even as he felt Jensen step between him and the blast. The Guardian faltered in her glide forward and Jared knew without looking that she’d suffered a major blow.
“Jensen!” The name was screamed across the water and Jared and Jensen both looked up to the ship that was almost close enough to board.
“Fire!” Jensen yelled into the air. The ship across from them began to lurch to one side but the man on deck ignored the people that tried to pull him to safety.
“You deserved every moment of pain, Centurion!” Jeff called across the distance. “You all deserve it! The Mer are nothing more than salt breathing heathens that pray upon the innocent.”
Jared reached for Jensen’s wrist but the Mer was gone before he could reach him. He was in the air and landed on the other deck next to Jeff. Jared couldn’t hear the words any longer. Whatever they said to one another was lost in the sinking of the ship and the continued cannon fire of the rest of the Mer navy.
Jared watched as the mast of the ship began to fall towards the two men. “Jensen!” He screamed but neither men looked up to see the danger. The mast crashed beside them and even as Jensen jumped into the air and began to fly away, the sail came down around him and drug him under.
“Jensen!” Jared dove over the ship’s edge but there was nothing in the water for him to find. Jeff’s body was nowhere to be seen either. He flew in circles as he watched and waited. Jensen was a Mer. He wouldn’t drown but the wings hadn’t been designed for swimming. They were waterproofed, as much as he could make them and he had theorized that they weren’t so heavy that they wouldn’t be able to operate under water, but there was no way to test that theory.
Jensen could very well be sinking to the depths of the sea, unable to come back to him because of the weight of the exoskeleton.
Something caught his eye as he watched the water closely. He didn’t want to hope but there was something in him that couldn’t believe they’d been through so much to lose Jensen now.
Even as he thought it, the water burst below him. Even though he knew what it was, he couldn’t help but gasp at the beauty as Jensen rose from the water, his wings sweeping him up and into the air. Jared’s wings could hover a little but they weren’t made for it like Jensen’s, but the Mer saw him and flew straight for him.
Jensen didn’t slow down and he didn’t stop either as he ran into Jared, his arms wrapped around Jared in a way that almost tangled their wings. Jensen laughed and Jared was too stunned to do anything but look at him.
Jensen caught his lips in a deep kiss and when Jared was still too stunned to do anything, he smiled against Jared’s lips. “You made them waterproof.”
Jared nodded. “Of course I did. I didn’t want you to get caught in the rain or have to worry about water damage.”
“No, Jared, you made them waterproof. They don’t just fly. Jared, I dove. I sped through the water faster than I have ever been able, even with a tail. I… I can go home now. I can go whenever I want. You gave me freedom.”
Jensen pressed his lips to Jared’s one more time but then he turned and flew towards the Guardian. Jared realized he’d finally done what he’d set out to do. He’d set Jensen free. At the same time, Jared had the realization that Jensen’s path was far different than he’d ever thought. Jensen had a place to return to now, a family and his people. Jensen would fly home instead of into Jared’s arms where he wanted him to be.
Jared’s face was turned towards the setting sun and he closed his eyes as he felt the last brush of the sun’s warmth on his face. He loved being on deck at night. His body had always run hot and he enjoyed the cool of the evening breezes as he stood watch on the starboard side of the deck.
Noise drifted up to his ears, music as the men and women of the Chaser celebrated. They were anchored in one of the Central Isles. Noah had been given a fair trade agreement for his help with Jensen and then his aid when they had been accosted by the navy of the Northern Seas. The Mer delegation had already departed - they’d used one of the transportation modules that Jared had designed, he’d been proud to see - but they would be back the next day to sign the formal documents with their new ally.
Jensen and his brothers had all agreed that someone needed to keep an eye on the world - land, air, and sea - and that an air fleet was just the thing to do it. They trusted Noah to find men and women with the same honor and so they were giving him the money to start a new fleet of ships. In name, it would be a trade delegation but through it, they would be able to keep tabs on the world as a whole.
“You should be inside, with the others.”
Jared heard the voice coming from the wrong side of the railing but he knew who it was. The only person it possibly could be.
“So should you,” Jared said as he looked away from the clouds to see Jensen before him. He was magnificent. The darkness of the evening had just begun to settle around them and it fit on his shoulders like a mantle. The light of their electric lanterns made the metal of his exoskeleton glimmer. Jensen had always been beautiful, but with his wings, he was breathtaking. So was the smile he directed at Jared.
“I was. When I realized you had disappeared, I thought I’d come find you.”
“Your brothers will be back in the morning,” Jared said as he looked away. The skin around his wing attachments itched where the newly healed skin had been overworked but he knew better than to try and scratch. At least he’d been able to design Jensen's wings without having to add more neural transceivers. Most of Jared’s ongoing healing was from those. “You’ll be able to go back home soon.”
Jensen didn’t answer and Jared was afraid to look at the other man. He’d been a client and nothing more, no matter the words that had been spoken between them or that Jensen had kissed him the day before. Jared had strong feelings about Jensen but he knew that Jensen had come to him out of need.
Jensen didn’t answer and Jared finally turned to look at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Jensen shook his head, a slow, soft smile began to grow across his face.
“You’re an idiot, Jared Padalecki.”
“It’s been said before,” he agreed.
“I’m not leaving with my brothers.”
“I know you are. Wait. What?”
“I said I’m not leaving with them. The way my father ruled his kingdom was far different from what my brothers and I had always envisioned. He was almost xenophobic and I feel that a great deal of the animosity that Jeff found in the Northern Nations came from my father’s attitude. My brothers and I want something new.”
“What will you do?”
“Jon will take the throne my father left behind and he will remain in control of the naval fleet. Jos will take my father’s army and fleet of traders. I will be left in the role I always had.”
“Centurion?”
“It was always my duty to protect our borders. My brothers and I have simply redefined how I will do that. I will stay with the air fleet and work my way across the known world to see that there are no threats and perhaps to sow a little good will as well.”
“You mean, you aren’t going home?”
Jensen let out a soft sigh as he flew closer. He sat on the edge of the railing in front of Jared. “Jared, when I left my people, it was from a misguided understanding of love. They might understand but I’m not sure they could ever forgive me. I don’t know that I can either. What I have learned to do is understand that while Jeff asked me to give away my legs, there was something in me that wasn’t happy under the sea. I was easy prey because I wanted to forget about the duty my father had forced on me.”
Jared wanted to reach out and pull Jensen closer but he didn’t have that right.
“I’m not the man that left home and got legs. I’m not even the scared Mer who showed up at your office, who wanted desperately to find a way out of his mistakes. It wasn’t the legs that kept me bound to the chair, Jared; it was what Jeff did to my spirit. I was broken and you fixed me. Not because you gave me wings, but because you taught me to believe in myself again. You showed me how worthy I was. Those were the wings I needed most.”
“You were worth everything, Jensen. I understand what happened to Jeff, but I don’t know how he couldn’t see it. You deserve the world, Jensen. You deserve far more than I could give you.”
“Let me remind you, you’re an idiot.”
Jared was about to agree but then Jensen’s hands cupped his face and he was pulled into a gentle kiss. Jensen let up for a moment to fly over the railing and then he was pressed into Jared’s side again as he wrapped his fingers in Jared’s hair and pulled him in for another kiss.
There was good natured hooting on the deck but Jared just smiled into Jensen’s kiss. Right up until he was pushed overboard.
Jared screamed as he fell but he snapped his wings open and he laughed at the pure sensation of flying. He heard wings before he saw them in the dim light of the airships and then Jensen was beside him again. “I was trapped in my head and in a chair, Jared. I asked you to repair my legs, but you did more than that. You gave me wings to fly.”
“So, no going home?”
“For visits. I’d love to have you go with me to meet the rest of my family, but I won’t go there to stay. You think I could really settle for living in the sea when I can have the sky as well?”
Jensen grabbed his hand and pulled up. They both flew closer to the ship where they could see better.
“We need lights,” Jared comments as they flew up to the ship’s railing again. “We could fly at night if I could figure out how to make lights work on our wings.”
Jensen laughed as they settled on the railing again. The electric lights glittered in the scales of his legs and Jared couldn’t help but smile as he watched him. Jensen was truly magnificent like this.
“You can begin your plans later,” Jensen teased. “We have other plans to make tonight.”
“Plans? For what?”
“We have a life to plan together, Jared, or did you think I was going to let you make all the decisions.”
“A life? Together?”
Jensen smiled fondly at Jared. “If you don’t believe me, ask all the men. The entire fleet is talking about it. When I met with my brothers, I told them what had happened. They told it to their people and they passed it on as well; the story of a stupid prince, an angry vindictive father, and a man with a heart as constant as the moons with a love as bountiful as the sea itself.”
“Oh yeah? And what do you call this story of yours?”
“I call it the beginning to a whole new adventure.”
Jared laughed as he watched Jensen. “I guess Noah was right all along.”
“What?”
“He said we needed time to figure out what our wings were for.”
“To fly?”
Jared’s smile grew bigger as Jensen unconsciously echoed his own reaction when Noah had said it the first time.
“You were trapped in a chair Jensen, but you weren’t the only one trapped. I’ve spent my life hiding who I am and how I feel. I didn’t need wings for my body. I needed wings for my heart.”
Jensen took Jared’s hand in his own and he kissed the inside of his wrist lightly. Jared shivered at the touch and Jensen smiled up at him. “You weren’t the only one. I was in that chair and I had become a shell of myself. You set me free, not with wings but with your spirit. You reminded me of what I could be. Of the person I should be.”
“So, I guess we didn’t need wings after all,” Jared grinned as he dared to rest the palm of his hand against Jensen’s cheek. Jensen leaned into the touch and let out a deep breath.
“We needed wings to fly Jared. They just weren’t the wings we thought they were.”
It was the right sentiment and Jared couldn’t help himself as he leaned slowly forward and pressed his lips to Jensen’s. Jensen pulled him closer and deepened the kiss right there on the rail of the ship where anyone could see. When he pulled back, he rested his head against Jared’s.
“Guess you don’t need an Augmentor anymore,” Jared teased.
“Jared, I will always need you. Our story is a long way from over, and until the end I will always have need of you. What would I do without the wings you give me?”
Jared pulled Jensen into his embrace and held him close, his words whispered against Jensen’s skin. “I will always have need of you, my love. Our story? It will always be the story of wings to fly.”
Author:
hunters_retreat
Rating: R
Summary: Jared Padalecki is the world’s foremost Augmentor, an expert in making life better through technological advancement. He’s designed steam-fueled carriages and even made improvements to his brother’s airship. His passion though is to help the less fortunate, to use mechanics and gear work to help heal broken bodies. In all his years as an Augmentor, Jared has never let any of his clients get under his skin, but no other client has ever been like Jensen Ackles before. Jensen is a Mer with surgically created legs instead of a tail and a broken exoskeleton that should make it possible for him to walk.
It isn’t a simple task. From the first observation, something feels wrong to Jared. His desire to help Jensen takes him on a long journey, through confidantes and betrayal, airship flights and naval battles, to grief and love. As Jared and Jensen find the truth behind the broken exoskeleton, they find an even greater truth. It doesn’t take wings to learn to fly.
Or, the J2 AU Steampunk Little Mermaid.
The Legatus were lying on the platform by the main greeting area, surrounded by the generals from each house of the Mer families. Standing at their sides were the human captains who had a nave of men and women who had come to the Mer call over the years.
Jared watched as their shadow fell over them and their eyes were drawn upward. He let Jensen take the lead, though he would be lying if he didn’t admit to himself at least that he loved to watch Jensen as he settled, his wings working the steady figure eight pattern that gave him the ability to hover so well. Jensen’s feet hit the ground lightly and he stood before his people for the first time in four years. Jared pulled his wings to full extension to catch the air and land softer. He took a few steps forward to control the momentum before he settled his wings down along his back.
“Sen,” one of the Mer called out, “I knew it wouldn’t be long before you found us. What news have you?”
“Legatus Jos,” Jensen bowed his head to the oldest of the Mer brothers. “I regret that my arrival is so late. I have an airship at our disposal to keep an eye on the Northern Navy coming towards us. I’ve learned that the King of the North has been seen with a new advisor as of late, a man that hates the Mer. I believe that it is his instigation that has caused the King of the North to abandon old alliances. His new advisor, a man named Jeff Morgan, also admitted to having the king poisoned.”
There was a gasp from the others but the two Legatus looked grim.
“Then you have come back just in time to see this threat ended, Centurion.”
“I have, Legatus Jon.” He looked back at Jared and nodded. “This is Jared Padalecki, an Augmentor and a member of the airship crew. He has volunteered to fly messages as needed from the Chaser to the Legatus.”
“You are well met then, Jared Padalecki,” Jos said.
“It is a privilege to be of service to the Mer,” Jared answered.
Jensen gave Jared a small, tight smile before he settled on the ground beside the Legatus and the planning began. Jared found a stump close by, obviously well used by humans who had come to visit the Legatus over the years, and folded his wings to wait out the planning.
Jared was to be stationed on the Chaser as Jensen left his side and began to move out with the human navy but he hadn’t left him yet. Jensen needed to be able to focus on the battle ahead but Jared wanted to make sure Jensen’s reception wasn’t as bad as Jensen believed it would be. Jared still had no idea what would happen when Jensen was alone with his brothers and they actually discussed what had happened, rather than play some public game where Jensen had been missing at their direction all along.
As Jensen moved among the humans there was a grim air about them, but that was about the coming battle, not their absent general. As the Centurion moved among them, men and women stood taller and smiled more to one another. The people that knew him best came forward and spoke with him, each and every one making sure to touch him at least once. With each accepting touch, the tension in Jensen’s shoulders relaxed a little more.
Even the Mer who swam at the side of the ships and on rested on the tiered platforms down the side of the boat called up to the Centurion in welcome and homecoming. Jared wasn’t sure Jensen would have been able to appreciate how much he’d been missed when he’d been in the wheelchair. Now though, Jensen stood taller and Jared could see him as a man who commanded armies, not the simple navigator who had been hiding behind a broken exoskeleton.
When Jensen turned back to him, Jared couldn’t help but smile. “Centurion,” he said in way of greeting.
Jensen gave Jared a small, warm smile. “It’s good to be home,” he said softly. “Even if it is for these dire circumstances.”
“Being the Centurion suits you well,” Jared replied.
Jensen took a step closer until they were almost sharing breath. “You suit me Jared,” he said. “You gave me the strength to face them again. Thank you.”
Jared couldn’t think of anything else that he could say to that so he simply nodded.
“You should get back to Noah now before this starts,” Jensen said as he looked up into the sky behind his navy to where the Chaser was waiting for orders. “Keep safe. They might not have an airship or men with wings on their side, but a well-aimed cannon can still find you, especially once the Chaser gets involved.”
“You too, Centurion. Don’t think I won’t be watching for any incredulous stunts you might try today.”
Jensen laughed but as someone else called for his attention, they parted ways without goodbyes.
Jared jumped over the edge of the ship to the yells and waves of the Mer and their human allies. He flew over each ship and left a wake of cheers behind him. When he reached Noah and the Chaser, they were ready for battle to begin.
The Chaser wasn’t meant for war but there were cannons in case of air pirates and Noah intended to use them as he could. Their main part in the Legatus’ plan was to keep an eye on the Northern fleet and report any movements to the Centurion. Noah wasn’t thrilled with Jared being so close to the fighting, but as Jared reminded his brother more than once, at least he could fly away if something hit the ship he was on. The men and women of the Mer ship weren’t so lucky. If one went down, it would be on their Mer allies to see them to safety in the midst of the battle.
There was no attempt to meet in the middle under a white flag as the two navies prepared. They came within firing distance of their cannons and everything seemed to still for a few minutes. The air pushed at the sails of the Chaser as if to urge her on and Jared could feel the tension eating away under his skin.
When the first cannon fire sounded, it signaled the others and the Northern navy opened fire at the same time the Mer ships did. Jared fancied that in all that noise he could hear Jensen’s voice, loud and clear and steady as he called out to his soldiers.
It was the last moment of clarity Jared had. Noah noticed part of the Northern navy break away and he sent Jared down to the Centurion with the news. From then, Jared was in constant motion. He moved messages from one ship to another, pulled men from the water, and returned to the Chaser for the next instruction.
He had no idea how long he flew or how far but his wings grew tired and his shoulders ached with the movement. He wasn’t used to prolonged flights. He didn’t want to think about how exhausted Jensen would be. His wings and their constant motion meant that they required more energy expenditure than Jared’s. They would both be a long time recovering when it was all over.
“Jared!” Noah called out to his brother and Jared left his small reprieve to fly to his brother. “Tell the Centurion part of the Northern navy is retreating. They’re starting to run!”
Jared hoped that was the end of the battle and it was with renewed speed that he dove towards the Mer’s lead ship, the Guardian.
“They’re running,” Jared reported dutifully as he settled beside the Centurion.
Cannon fire ripped through the air and Jared shielded himself with his wings even as he felt Jensen step between him and the blast. The Guardian faltered in her glide forward and Jared knew without looking that she’d suffered a major blow.
“Jensen!” The name was screamed across the water and Jared and Jensen both looked up to the ship that was almost close enough to board.
“Fire!” Jensen yelled into the air. The ship across from them began to lurch to one side but the man on deck ignored the people that tried to pull him to safety.
“You deserved every moment of pain, Centurion!” Jeff called across the distance. “You all deserve it! The Mer are nothing more than salt breathing heathens that pray upon the innocent.”
Jared reached for Jensen’s wrist but the Mer was gone before he could reach him. He was in the air and landed on the other deck next to Jeff. Jared couldn’t hear the words any longer. Whatever they said to one another was lost in the sinking of the ship and the continued cannon fire of the rest of the Mer navy.
Jared watched as the mast of the ship began to fall towards the two men. “Jensen!” He screamed but neither men looked up to see the danger. The mast crashed beside them and even as Jensen jumped into the air and began to fly away, the sail came down around him and drug him under.
“Jensen!” Jared dove over the ship’s edge but there was nothing in the water for him to find. Jeff’s body was nowhere to be seen either. He flew in circles as he watched and waited. Jensen was a Mer. He wouldn’t drown but the wings hadn’t been designed for swimming. They were waterproofed, as much as he could make them and he had theorized that they weren’t so heavy that they wouldn’t be able to operate under water, but there was no way to test that theory.
Jensen could very well be sinking to the depths of the sea, unable to come back to him because of the weight of the exoskeleton.
Something caught his eye as he watched the water closely. He didn’t want to hope but there was something in him that couldn’t believe they’d been through so much to lose Jensen now.
Even as he thought it, the water burst below him. Even though he knew what it was, he couldn’t help but gasp at the beauty as Jensen rose from the water, his wings sweeping him up and into the air. Jared’s wings could hover a little but they weren’t made for it like Jensen’s, but the Mer saw him and flew straight for him.
Jensen didn’t slow down and he didn’t stop either as he ran into Jared, his arms wrapped around Jared in a way that almost tangled their wings. Jensen laughed and Jared was too stunned to do anything but look at him.
Jensen caught his lips in a deep kiss and when Jared was still too stunned to do anything, he smiled against Jared’s lips. “You made them waterproof.”
Jared nodded. “Of course I did. I didn’t want you to get caught in the rain or have to worry about water damage.”
“No, Jared, you made them waterproof. They don’t just fly. Jared, I dove. I sped through the water faster than I have ever been able, even with a tail. I… I can go home now. I can go whenever I want. You gave me freedom.”
Jensen pressed his lips to Jared’s one more time but then he turned and flew towards the Guardian. Jared realized he’d finally done what he’d set out to do. He’d set Jensen free. At the same time, Jared had the realization that Jensen’s path was far different than he’d ever thought. Jensen had a place to return to now, a family and his people. Jensen would fly home instead of into Jared’s arms where he wanted him to be.
Jared’s face was turned towards the setting sun and he closed his eyes as he felt the last brush of the sun’s warmth on his face. He loved being on deck at night. His body had always run hot and he enjoyed the cool of the evening breezes as he stood watch on the starboard side of the deck.
Noise drifted up to his ears, music as the men and women of the Chaser celebrated. They were anchored in one of the Central Isles. Noah had been given a fair trade agreement for his help with Jensen and then his aid when they had been accosted by the navy of the Northern Seas. The Mer delegation had already departed - they’d used one of the transportation modules that Jared had designed, he’d been proud to see - but they would be back the next day to sign the formal documents with their new ally.
Jensen and his brothers had all agreed that someone needed to keep an eye on the world - land, air, and sea - and that an air fleet was just the thing to do it. They trusted Noah to find men and women with the same honor and so they were giving him the money to start a new fleet of ships. In name, it would be a trade delegation but through it, they would be able to keep tabs on the world as a whole.
“You should be inside, with the others.”
Jared heard the voice coming from the wrong side of the railing but he knew who it was. The only person it possibly could be.
“So should you,” Jared said as he looked away from the clouds to see Jensen before him. He was magnificent. The darkness of the evening had just begun to settle around them and it fit on his shoulders like a mantle. The light of their electric lanterns made the metal of his exoskeleton glimmer. Jensen had always been beautiful, but with his wings, he was breathtaking. So was the smile he directed at Jared.
“I was. When I realized you had disappeared, I thought I’d come find you.”
“Your brothers will be back in the morning,” Jared said as he looked away. The skin around his wing attachments itched where the newly healed skin had been overworked but he knew better than to try and scratch. At least he’d been able to design Jensen's wings without having to add more neural transceivers. Most of Jared’s ongoing healing was from those. “You’ll be able to go back home soon.”
Jensen didn’t answer and Jared was afraid to look at the other man. He’d been a client and nothing more, no matter the words that had been spoken between them or that Jensen had kissed him the day before. Jared had strong feelings about Jensen but he knew that Jensen had come to him out of need.
Jensen didn’t answer and Jared finally turned to look at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Jensen shook his head, a slow, soft smile began to grow across his face.
“You’re an idiot, Jared Padalecki.”
“It’s been said before,” he agreed.
“I’m not leaving with my brothers.”
“I know you are. Wait. What?”
“I said I’m not leaving with them. The way my father ruled his kingdom was far different from what my brothers and I had always envisioned. He was almost xenophobic and I feel that a great deal of the animosity that Jeff found in the Northern Nations came from my father’s attitude. My brothers and I want something new.”
“What will you do?”
“Jon will take the throne my father left behind and he will remain in control of the naval fleet. Jos will take my father’s army and fleet of traders. I will be left in the role I always had.”
“Centurion?”
“It was always my duty to protect our borders. My brothers and I have simply redefined how I will do that. I will stay with the air fleet and work my way across the known world to see that there are no threats and perhaps to sow a little good will as well.”
“You mean, you aren’t going home?”
Jensen let out a soft sigh as he flew closer. He sat on the edge of the railing in front of Jared. “Jared, when I left my people, it was from a misguided understanding of love. They might understand but I’m not sure they could ever forgive me. I don’t know that I can either. What I have learned to do is understand that while Jeff asked me to give away my legs, there was something in me that wasn’t happy under the sea. I was easy prey because I wanted to forget about the duty my father had forced on me.”
Jared wanted to reach out and pull Jensen closer but he didn’t have that right.
“I’m not the man that left home and got legs. I’m not even the scared Mer who showed up at your office, who wanted desperately to find a way out of his mistakes. It wasn’t the legs that kept me bound to the chair, Jared; it was what Jeff did to my spirit. I was broken and you fixed me. Not because you gave me wings, but because you taught me to believe in myself again. You showed me how worthy I was. Those were the wings I needed most.”
“You were worth everything, Jensen. I understand what happened to Jeff, but I don’t know how he couldn’t see it. You deserve the world, Jensen. You deserve far more than I could give you.”
“Let me remind you, you’re an idiot.”
Jared was about to agree but then Jensen’s hands cupped his face and he was pulled into a gentle kiss. Jensen let up for a moment to fly over the railing and then he was pressed into Jared’s side again as he wrapped his fingers in Jared’s hair and pulled him in for another kiss.
There was good natured hooting on the deck but Jared just smiled into Jensen’s kiss. Right up until he was pushed overboard.
Jared screamed as he fell but he snapped his wings open and he laughed at the pure sensation of flying. He heard wings before he saw them in the dim light of the airships and then Jensen was beside him again. “I was trapped in my head and in a chair, Jared. I asked you to repair my legs, but you did more than that. You gave me wings to fly.”
“So, no going home?”
“For visits. I’d love to have you go with me to meet the rest of my family, but I won’t go there to stay. You think I could really settle for living in the sea when I can have the sky as well?”
Jensen grabbed his hand and pulled up. They both flew closer to the ship where they could see better.
“We need lights,” Jared comments as they flew up to the ship’s railing again. “We could fly at night if I could figure out how to make lights work on our wings.”
Jensen laughed as they settled on the railing again. The electric lights glittered in the scales of his legs and Jared couldn’t help but smile as he watched him. Jensen was truly magnificent like this.
“You can begin your plans later,” Jensen teased. “We have other plans to make tonight.”
“Plans? For what?”
“We have a life to plan together, Jared, or did you think I was going to let you make all the decisions.”
“A life? Together?”
Jensen smiled fondly at Jared. “If you don’t believe me, ask all the men. The entire fleet is talking about it. When I met with my brothers, I told them what had happened. They told it to their people and they passed it on as well; the story of a stupid prince, an angry vindictive father, and a man with a heart as constant as the moons with a love as bountiful as the sea itself.”
“Oh yeah? And what do you call this story of yours?”
“I call it the beginning to a whole new adventure.”
Jared laughed as he watched Jensen. “I guess Noah was right all along.”
“What?”
“He said we needed time to figure out what our wings were for.”
“To fly?”
Jared’s smile grew bigger as Jensen unconsciously echoed his own reaction when Noah had said it the first time.
“You were trapped in a chair Jensen, but you weren’t the only one trapped. I’ve spent my life hiding who I am and how I feel. I didn’t need wings for my body. I needed wings for my heart.”
Jensen took Jared’s hand in his own and he kissed the inside of his wrist lightly. Jared shivered at the touch and Jensen smiled up at him. “You weren’t the only one. I was in that chair and I had become a shell of myself. You set me free, not with wings but with your spirit. You reminded me of what I could be. Of the person I should be.”
“So, I guess we didn’t need wings after all,” Jared grinned as he dared to rest the palm of his hand against Jensen’s cheek. Jensen leaned into the touch and let out a deep breath.
“We needed wings to fly Jared. They just weren’t the wings we thought they were.”
It was the right sentiment and Jared couldn’t help himself as he leaned slowly forward and pressed his lips to Jensen’s. Jensen pulled him closer and deepened the kiss right there on the rail of the ship where anyone could see. When he pulled back, he rested his head against Jared’s.
“Guess you don’t need an Augmentor anymore,” Jared teased.
“Jared, I will always need you. Our story is a long way from over, and until the end I will always have need of you. What would I do without the wings you give me?”
Jared pulled Jensen into his embrace and held him close, his words whispered against Jensen’s skin. “I will always have need of you, my love. Our story? It will always be the story of wings to fly.”