SPN_J2_BigBang: A Merman and the Centaur He Rode In On [7/7]

[ikira]

Previous

The next few days were busy. The King had to make an announcement to his council, who were understandably less than pleased with the news that their race had fallen from grace in the eyes of their Gods and that their lucrative slave trade was being shut down. Jared was concerned that they might try to overthrow the King in anger, but Jeff stepped in quickly and put an end to that idea. Some of them resigned in disgust, but afterward the King admitted that he hadn’t really liked those council members anyway. Of course, they would need to be replaced, but the King was already eyeing Richard and his men, so Jared supposed it would all work itself out.

After some prodding from Jeff, the King went on to make the same announcement to the people. They reacted in anger at first, but when they heard the reason for the Gods displeasure they became more subdued. The crowds seemed to be separated between those humans that agreed with the punishment, and felt properly chagrined, and those that were happy with their previous lifestyle and didn’t want to change their ways. Jared was amazed when they found out that the former group was much bigger than the latter.

The King decided to keep Jared and Jensen and their roles as the new messengers and representatives of the Gods out of the public eye for a while. He wanted to give them time to adjust to their new bodies and lifestyles before having to deal with the responsibilities and backlash that would surely occur. Jeffrey couldn’t personally spend the necessary time with them to help them learn how to do things like walk and run, but he ordered two of his men to stay at the palace and assist them. Jared hoped that somehow it was a coincidence that Chris and Steve were the ones ordered to stay behind, and not that Jeffrey somehow knew about what they had witnessed that night. Jared and Jensen were both a bit apprehensive at first, thinking that the soldiers would be less than pleased with their assigned tasks, but it turned out that they were both excellent help, being very patient with the two new humans, but also willing to be firm if they thought either Jared or Jensen were slacking. Jared needed less practice than Jensen, as legs were a bit more intuitive for him having already been used to walking, even though it had been on four legs, not two, and Misha often snuck by at night to help them practice. His gait was slightly different than a human’s, but he was able to give them enough pointers that they were often complimented on their progress the next day.

It was slow going though, and Jared and Jensen often woke up confused and disorientated when they noticed their different bodies and needed to be calmed by the other. They had taken to sleeping in the same bed, taking shifts so that one was always awake to comfort the other. They often broke down together, hating the changes that had been forced upon them, but the King and Jeffrey made sure they were well supported, with a friendly face nearby at all times, and they always had each other, so they slowly managed to adjust.

~*~

The worst moment since their transformation came when Misha returned one day from visiting their families to let them know what had happened. Jared had thought he had properly braced himself for whatever reaction his family would have, but when Misha looked up at them with sad eyes and ruffled feathers, Jared was almost sick to his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Misha told them after choking out their parents’ responses. Jensen’s mother had taken it slightly better than Jared’s parents, expressing remorse and pity for what had happened to her son, but she had still refused to see him, even if he came to her. Jared’s parents were even more disgusted by the news, and had been the ones to give Misha a hard time. Jared nodded after Misha finished, but then he started shaking slightly. Jensen clung to him tightly, trying to hold him together, but he was just as shaken up by his own mother’s reaction. Misha shielded them in his wings so that the human servants that came and went from the room couldn’t see their pain. He stayed with them that night as well, and Jared knew that without him he and Jensen would have never made it through their time as humans. The King and Jeffrey and his soldiers tried their best, but it was Misha who they knew and trusted most, and he was their rock through those trying times.

However, by the end of their first month as humans, things started looking up. It began with Misha arriving one morning with a bright smile on his face and great news to share. He had been sent to speak to the Harpy Empress when the King had finally decided that the leaders of each race should know what had happened with the Gods. He had told her about his adventures and explained why he had been away so often recently. She had listened to his story, and then decreed that he was to become the official ambassador to the Gods’ messengers on behalf of the Harpies, giving him a huge promotion in Harpy status, and the freedom to come and visit as often and for as long as he liked. When they had finished jumping around and hugging Misha in congratulations, Jensen mentioned that it was tradition among the Mer to celebrate an occasion like this with a big feast, and Jeffrey made sure that they did just that. Misha was allowed to invite whomever he chose to the palace to celebrate, and they finally got to meet Misha’s family, including his mate. Jensen blushed a pretty shade of pink when he saw her, thinking of his petty jealousy. Misha just gave him a knowing look, and said nothing.

~*~

Hearing Misha’s news gave the King an idea, which he brought up with the two one afternoon when they were walking through the garden, though far away from the end that overlooked the execution courtyard.

“You two are now responsible for maintaining relations between all five races, and mediating conflicts. Normally this would be impossible if you had to personally go to every race and hear their concerns, but the Harpy Empress had a clever idea, and I think you should look into it,” he told them, walking slowly to allow Jensen to keep up. Jared kept an arm wrapped around his waist at all times, just in case; Jensen wasn’t completely sure of his feet yet, especially on uneven ground like in the garden.

“What, the ambassador position that Misha got?” Jared asked absently, a little distracted by the fact that Jensen was wrapped close in his arms. He really wished the King wasn’t there right now. There were things he wanted to say and do to Jensen that he really didn’t think the King would appreciate being witness to.

“Exactly,” the King nodded, “You need a member of each race to speak on behalf of his or her people. Someone who can let you know what problems they are having and what they need. Then you can take this information and decide how to react.”

Jared and Jensen eyed each other thoughtfully. “I suppose we could ask the other leaders if it’s okay,” Jared shrugged. The King nodded, and they finished their walk. When they got back to the palace, the King sent riders to each of the other races’ territories, bearing the request for an individual to be chosen to represent them to the Gods’ messengers.

The Naga were first race to respond, asking for more information. Several messages were passed back and forth as the Naga deliberated, and eventually they agreed to send someone. Jensen was a little nervous about some strange Naga coming to the palace and seeing them in the state they were in. He spent the night tossing and turning, worrying about embarrassing himself in front of an important stranger, and he was exhausted the next morning as a result. Jared shot him worried looks as they took their seats in the receiving hall, but he didn’t have time to ask Jensen if he was okay before the great doors were being pushed open and the Naga ambassador was being announced.

Jensen had barely had time to register that the Naga coming into the room looked very familiar before Jared was out of his chair and launching himself across the room to embrace Danneel tightly. Danneel took it all in stride, laughing freely and returning the hug. When she made her way over, Jensen rose as well, smiling with relief, wrapping her in his own hug.

They spent the rest of the day telling her about everything that happened. To Jared and Jensen’s confusion she had only looked vaguely surprised to see them in a different form than when she had met them, and it only took brief moments to explain why.

“Jim,” she chuckled. “He knew the second it happened; had a vision or something, he wouldn’t give me exact details. That’s why we got back to you so quickly. He sent me to speak to the Elders about what had happened. He already knew that this ambassador thing would be put in place, so he told me to offer up myself as a candidate.” She seemed very pleased with her new status, and she twitched her tail smugly.

“But what about Jim?” Jared wanted to know.

“He hasn’t needed guarding for a long time. He prefers it on the outskirts of the mountains, there’s no chance he’d ever go back. There was really no point in me staying.”

“Well we’re glad you’re here, and we’re so relieved it’s you,” Jensen patted her shoulder. She nodded graciously.

The next ambassador to arrive was a bit of a surprise, both in his identity and how he got there. Jared and Jensen had been sitting in the gardens along with Danneel, trying to explain to her what it felt like to be human now, when they heard the flutter of wings beating above them. They looked up, shielding their eyes, frowning in confusion; Misha wasn’t supposed to be back again until later in the evening. When they saw what was actually coming they jumped up in shock, watching as Misha and another Harpy struggled past, carrying a Mer between them. They managed to glide low over an ornamental pond in the middle of the garden and then released the Mer, who landed with a loud splash. They all stared at the water for a moment until a dark-haired Mer reappeared, shaking his head.

“Tom?” Jensen gasped, and Jared finally recognized the Mer as the one with the dark blue tail he had seen Jensen fighting when they met on the beach. Apparently he was also the other merboy that had played with him when they were children. He watched as Jensen threw caution to the wind and jumped feet-first into the pond, creating another wave, before paddling over to his friend’s side. Swimming was apparently still natural for him, no matter what his shape, because Jared definitely didn’t recall any swimming lessons when they were getting used to their bodies.

Jensen just clung to Tom for a while, the two of them whispering to each other, and Jared felt the tiniest stab of jealousy, but he squashed it quickly. Jensen loved him. He said so often. Just because they hadn’t really even kissed that much didn’t mean anything. He had no need to be jealous.

Jensen and Tom eventually made it back to the edge of the pond, Jensen climbing out but keeping his legs in the water, and Tom smiled up at them and held out a webbed hand to shake. “Hi there, you must be Jared. I’m Tom.”

“Yeah, I remember you from when we were kids,” Jared smiled back, taking Tom’s hand. “That was quite an entrance.”

“Thanks. That reminds me, though. Thanks Mike!” Tom shouted at the other Harpy. The Harpy gave him a tired wave, said something to Misha, and then left. “Met up with him when I went looking for you,” he explained to the others, “He mentioned that his friend was also missing, so we kind of helped each other look. When I told him I needed to get to the palace, he and Misha offered me a lift.”

“Why are you here?” Jared asked, curious.

“On the MerQueens orders,” he explained. “The MerQueen eventually agreed that someone needed to be sent to meet the new messengers of the Gods. Originally she planned to send her son.”

Jensen wrinkled his nose. “Urgh, man, I’m glad she didn’t. I hated that guy.”

“Well you can thank your mother for that. She went to see the MerQueen, begging for an audience when she heard that someone was to be sent. When she was finally allowed audience, she pleaded with the MerQueen to send me as the ambassador, because she wanted to make sure you were alright, and she knew that I was worried about you too and would check on you. The MerQueen eventually caved, and named me as the ambassador.”

Jensen looked shocked at hearing about the uncharacteristic show of emotion from his mother. Tom rolled his eyes and then smiled. “Yeah, Jensen. She really cares about you.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Tom tell stories about how the Mer were doing, all working together to keep Jensen smiling and laughing until the sun set.

Jared tried to be happy for Jensen, and to a certain extent he was. But hearing about how Jensen’s mother had still gone as far as to approach the MerQueen herself to make sure that Jensen would have at least one familiar face visiting him, even if she wouldn’t see him personally, when Jared’s parents hadn’t even wanted to hear about how he was doing, hurt deeply. He was grateful for all of the support he had gotten from the others, and Jensen was there for him no matter what, holding him when he started shaking and kissing away his tears, but he missed the other Taur. He had only seen one other Taur since becoming human, an ex-slave that had been working in the market transporting goods for her human owners. She had seemed satisfied with her lot in life, but he didn’t know her and couldn’t bring himself to say more than a few words to her. He felt very homesick, and constantly looked out over the landscape hoping that this day would be the day that the Taur finally realized that they needed a representative and sent someone to see them.

Then, one day, it finally happened. Jared and Jensen had been lying in bed together, just basking in the sunlight and enjoying each other’s company, when the doors of their room were pushed open with a bang and Danneel beamed at them from the doorway. Jared and Jensen jumped up with twin shrieks, and she grinned wider.

“Cover your delicates, boys, because I come bearing news!” Danneel crowed as she rushed forward, already digging through their closets for a change of clothes. Jared and Jensen shared a confused and worried look, but jerked back to Danneel when she straightened up and whipped around, glaring at them. “Well? Get out of bed you lazy bastards! You’re going to have a visitor!” They rushed to comply, terrified out of their minds by her manic grin, and too scared to ask her what she was talking about.

When they were dressed and ready, Danneel lead them outside and down through the capitol, ignoring the curious and wary looks she got as she pushed through the crowd. The humans hadn’t quite gotten used to random people of the other races wandering by just yet. Danneel brought them past the market and all the way to the gate that marked the southern entrance to the capitol, a place that Jared hadn’t seen since he had been a Taur and had been brought here for the first time. It was the furthest he or Jensen had been since their transformation.

“What are we doing here?” Jared tried to ask, but Danneel shushed him as Misha appeared above them and came in for a landing.

“How far out?” she asked him, and Misha smiled excitedly.

“He’s just coming up the path. He almost got lost at one point, but I managed to get him back on track.”

“Excellent.”

Jared tried once again to ask what was going on, but then he saw that there was someone coming up the path towards the city, someone who looked very familiar to Jared in particular. He squinted, disbelieving, but as the figure got closer and easier to see, Jared’s mouth dropped open in shock. Before he could even begin to react, the Taur caught sight of them and changed his path to meet them.

“Jared!” Chad shouted at the top of his lungs, waving frantically and prancing happily. Jared started laughing, grin spreading across his face, and waving back. Chad didn’t even slow down when he reached them, sweeping Jared up into a hug, Jared’s feet swinging into the air. “Jared, you giant moron! I should kick the shit out of you for disappearing on me and getting your dumb ass turned into a human.”

“If I had known that was going to be the end result, I definitely would have dragged you along,” Jared told him, still laughing. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard this bird dude talking to your dad, and what he said about what happened to you. I tried to talk to him myself but your dad chased him off before I had a chance. I ended up hanging around that damn meadow for days, hoping he’d come back, but he never did. So, eventually, I said ‘screw it’ and the moment I could sneak away I headed off on my own to find you. You owe me big time man,” Chad stuck his tongue out, and then poked Jared on the forehead. Jared smacked his hand away and introduced him to everyone. Once Chad had met everyone, they decided to head back to let him get settled
“You know what else?” Chad mentioned as they headed back for the palace together.

“What?”

“Heh, check it out man,” Chad rested an elbow on Jared’s head. “I’m finally taller.”

“Get off of me, dumbass!” Jared grinned, flailing his arms above his head to knock Chad’s arm away. Chad laughed, and then jerked his head over at Jensen, who was a few steps ahead, talking with Danneel.

“He worth it?” Chad asked him seriously. It was a testament to how close they had been growing up that he had instantly known how Jared felt about Jensen, and that Jared didn’t need him to elaborate on what he meant.

Jared didn’t even need to think about it. “Yeah. He really is.”

Chad gave him a gentle smile. “Good. About damn time.”

“You got that right,” Jared agreed, and then he and Chad caught up with the others so that Jared could hold Jensen’s hand. Jensen looked up, surprised, but when he saw who had grabbed him his face broke into a warm smile, which refused to fade even when he turned back to his conversation with Danneel. Chad saw this, caught Jared’s eye over his head, and nodded approvingly. It was all the encouragement Jared needed, and that was the moment that he knew what he had to do.

~*~

Jared was nervous for the rest of the evening even as he laughed and enjoyed being surrounded by his friends and new family. The King had graciously offered his own dining room for the meal to celebrate finally having an ambassador for each race. Chad had been informed that he was now the Taur ambassador and, after Jared had pulled out the puppy dog eyes, had stopped arguing. Jeff had offered Chris and Steve as the human ambassadors - and they all crowded around the table enjoying delicacies from each person’s region.

Jared dug into his food nervously, trying to distract himself, but despite his best efforts his gaze kept flicking back to Jensen who sat beside him, caught deep in a conversation with Danneel. He tried to ignore how adorable Jensen looked when Danneel said something that made him turn bright red, but it was like trying to stop the tides; he couldn’t help it. Misha, thank the Gods for him, seemed to notice this because he kept the others from finding Jared in the act of staring at Jensen by constantly starting random conversations with anyone who tried to catch Jared’s eye. It seemed to take forever for the dinner to end, and Jared felt bad for wanting the evening to be over when it had been so long since he had seen Chad, but he had made plans and he was eager to act on them.

Despite this, Jared waited until much later in the evening before he made his move; long after everyone else had left for the night or had gone off to their own rooms to sleep. He and Jensen moved into their shared room, Jensen yawning and wandering towards the bed while pulling his clothes off tiredly. It was the same ritual they went through every night; they would get changed, prepare for bed, and then crawl in under the covers together. They had been sharing the bed to protect each other from the nightmares coming from their transformation, but now it was just habit, and Jared intended to take advantage of that. He stood by the door, watching Jensen moving about the room as he stripped down, highlighted in silver by the soft glow of the moon which was the only light source. He waited until the moment both of them had stripped out of their clothes and Jensen was reaching out for a night shirt to cover himself with. Then Jared moved.

Jared was across the room in a flash, gripping Jensen’s wrist gently, holding it in place, preventing him from trying to pick up the shirt. Jensen turned to look at him in confusion, but then he caught sight of Jared’s face and his question died in his throat. They stared at each other for a moment, uncertain and teetering on the brink of something big, before Jensen’s lips parted slightly to let his tongue dart out and wet them, and Jared was lost.

They had kissed only a few times since that first kiss in the glowpool, always tentative kisses, more just a brief press of lips for comfort than anything romantic, but Jared was going to correct this oversight now. He pulled Jensen closer with the hand he had wrapped round his wrist, reached up with his other hand to hold Jensen around the back of the neck and bent down to kiss him.

The only problem was that Jared hadn’t quite managed to get past his nerves yet, and he pulled Jensen forward a little too quickly.

“Ow!” they both shouted as their noses bumped against each other. Jared released Jensen’s wrist to bring his hands up to rub his nose.

“Sorry!” he moaned, watching tears of pain gather at the edges of Jensen’s eyes.

“No, no! It’s okay. You just surprised me is all,” Jensen waved him off as Jared darted around him, trying to get a better look at the injury.

“Is it bleeding?” he asked guiltily.

“Nah, just sore. Are you okay?”

“I’ve got a hard head, I’m fine,” Jared told him sheepishly.

Jensen laughed. “That’s good.”

They stared at each other awkwardly now, the mood ruined. Jared wanted to kick himself. He had planned on their first time being romantic and beautiful, a memory both of them would cherish for years, but it was already off to a terrible start. He flushed, feeling terribly embarrassed. Maybe Jensen hadn’t caught on just yet as to what Jared had been planning. Perhaps he could forget this for tonight, and try again tomorrow.

But when he looked up and met Jensen’s eyes, he saw a hot desire, and knew right then and there that they were going to do this tonight, no matter what. Jared was helpless to resist Jensen when his eyes looked like that, all dark promise and wanting. Jared had always loved Jensen’s eyes.

This time when they kissed, it was slower but no less heated, Jared grabbing Jensen by the hips and holding him in place so that he couldn’t get away. Jensen sighed softly against his lips, leaning into the kiss and deepening it. Jared didn’t have a whole lot of experience with kissing, but he made up for it with enthusiasm, making sure that by the time they broke apart Jensen was well and truly breathless and Jared himself was not much better.

Jensen took a step back as the kiss was broken, but didn’t move out of Jared’s loose hold on his hips. His eyes were fixed on Jared’s lips, still shiny with saliva from their kiss. They were both panting, the only sound in the otherwise silent room, until Jared spoke.

“Can we?” he asked tentatively.

Jensen’s eyes flicked down Jared’s body, lingering just below his waist. He licked his lips, the flush on his cheeks visible even in the dark room, and nodded. “Yeah.”

Jared couldn’t resist the grin that broke out on his face. It was all he could do to resist dancing for joy. Then something occurred to him, and the smile faded.

“Do you have any idea how human sex works?”

Jensen gaped at him. “Why the hell would I know how human sex works?”

Jared winced. “Shit. We probably should have asked someone, shouldn’t we?”

A thoughtful look crossed over both their faces, as they stood and contemplated their oversight. “That probably would have been smart,” Jensen agreed, but then he had to point out, “Who the heck would we have asked?”

“Steve and Chris of course, who else?”

“But then we’d have to admit that we saw them that one time.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jared winced. “Let’s not ask them, then.”

They stared at each other again, neither knowing what to do. Jared looked down at his feet, furious with how the night was going, before he heard something odd. He jerked his head up when he realized that Jensen was laughing quietly.

“What?” Jared asked, annoyed. This wasn’t going well at all, what was Jensen so happy about?

“I-it’s, ha! It’s just been so ridiculous!” Jensen laughed. Jared thought about that for a moment, and then saw Jensen’s point. The whole thing was actually kind of funny. He caught Jensen’s eye, and then it was all over. They both burst into hysterical laughter, Jared falling to the floor and Jensen sinking down into a nearby chair.

It took some time, but eventually they calmed down, occasional giggles bubbling past their lips when they looked at each other. It felt good to laugh, Jared thought. Plus it had the added benefit of breaking the nervous tension in the room. Something told him that this was a better environment that the romance he had originally been aiming for, so he decided to just go for it.

“Okay,” Jared huffed when he got his breath back. “This is going to be awkward as hell, but what do you say? Do you want to still try?”

Jensen looked over at him, his face flushed red and his eyes still sparkling from the laughing fit, and an easy smile broke out over his face. It made him look more beautiful than Jared had ever seen him, and it took his breath away. “Yeah. Let’s just try,” Jensen agreed.

It was only natural then for Jared to pull himself up and over to where Jensen was sitting, squeezing in between his knees to lean up and kiss him. Jensen bent his head to meet him halfway. Jared sighed happily as Jensen’s fingers came up to tangle themselves into his hair, pulling through the strands to play with the short hairs at the nape of his neck. It felt good, and Jared couldn’t resist moaning softly into Jensen’s mouth. Jensen took advantage of this, slipping his tongue between Jared’s parted lips, tentatively exploring.

Every move they made was slow and careful, trying to keep from bumping into each other again, and it gave the experience a surreal quality, like they were underwater or back at the glowpool. The silver moonlight highlighted Jensen’s skin as had the glowing rocks, but this time there was no barrier between their bodies. That realization hit Jared like a blow, and he was suddenly shaking, burying his face into Jensen’s chest.

Jensen started rubbing his back, hushing him and scratching at his scalp. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you. We’ll figure this out.”

“It’s just, wow,” Jared said, “It finally hit me that we can actually be together. Forever.” He looked up.

Jensen smiled down at him. “I know,” he whispered conspiratorially. Jared couldn’t help smiling back. He wrapped his arms even tighter around Jensen’s waist and pressed his cheek against his stomach.

He blinked when he felt something twitch beneath his cheek, and looked down. There, staring right back at him, was Jensen’s cock, which was slowly growing as he watched. He looked up to meet Jensen’s eyes, taking in his blush of embarrassment, and then let out a moan, rising up to lean into Jensen and kiss him fiercely. Jensen started pushing up against his chest, forcing Jared to stand, and Jensen rose with him, not breaking the kiss. Jared moaned again, incapable of resisting the urge to reach out and touch. Jensen’s breathing stuttered slightly as Jared’s fingers began trailing over his chest, and then up over his shoulders to start travelling down his back. Jared marvelled at the difference in the feeling of Jensen’s skin since the last time he had done this. Jensen had always been smooth, even as a Mer, but his skin was softer now, and covered in tiny invisible hairs that tickled Jared’s fingers as he brushed over them causing Jensen to shiver. There were no scales greeting him this time as Jared’s hands wandered below the waist, only two round butt cheeks that Jared couldn’t resist giving a little squeeze making Jensen yelp. It made Jared giggle against his lips, even as Jensen smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

Jensen deepened the kiss again, bringing up his own hands to Jared’s waist. Jared had to force himself to keep his body still as Jensen’s ice cold fingers started trailing up his sides with the lightest of touches. Eventually though, Jensen touched a spot right beneath his ribs, and Jared jerked away with a giggle.

“That tickles!” he pouted.

Jensen grinned. “Oh it does, does it?”

That was the only warning Jared got. The next second Jensen was pouncing, knocking Jared over onto the bed in the middle of the room and pinning him down to tickle him mercilessly. Jared shrieked in an entirely unmanly way and tried to escape from Jensen’s probing fingers, thrashing wildly, but somehow Jensen managed to cling to him no matter what he did.

“Do you surrender?” Jensen called over Jared’s laughter.

“Never!”

“Alright, you asked for it!” Jensen grinned evilly. That was all the warning Jared got, and then Jensen’s hands were leaving his sides and sinking lower, brushing over his hips and down his legs to tease at the inside of his thighs. Jared gasped, his eyes flying wide open, already panting from the tickling and now from the sensations of fingertips brushing over sensitive skin.

“J-Jensen?” he stared up at Jensen with an unsure expression, suddenly nervous again, tensing as Jensen’s fingers trailed higher.

“Shhhh, it’s okay,” Jensen whispered, reassuring, “it’s okay. I’ve got you.” He leaned up and pressed his lips gently against Jared’s, then pulled back and just rested their foreheads together. Their eyes slid closed as their breath mingled together, short gasps from Jared against Jensen’s more calm breathing.

“I trust you,” Jared whispered meaningfully, looking up from beneath his lashes to meet Jensen’s eyes. Jensen paused, his brow furrowing in confusion as he noticed that there was something more to Jared’s words, before they widened in realization.

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you be the one to - ”

“No, I want you to do it,” Jared insisted.

“But your previous anatomy matched up better, you probably know more about how we should - ”

“Jensen,” Jared cut him off. When he was sure that Jensen was paying attention to him, Jared gave him a shaky smile. “I want it this way, alright? You’ve got me, right?”

Jensen swallowed thickly, knowing what Jared was offering and how much it meant, before nodding mutely. Jared broke into a wide grin. “Awesome. Let’s do this.”

Taking a fortifying breath, Jared pushed himself up on the bed until he was laying flat on his back, staring up at the strange shadows on the ceiling. He tried to calm his pounding heart, but the feeling of Jensen’s fingers on his body hadn’t quite left him yet, so he was anxious to start. He could hear Jensen get up and start moving around the room, digging around in the little drawer next to the bed, but he refused to look. Jared worried that he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself if he caught sight of Jensen’s naked body, that he would just pounce, his desire to let Jensen top be damned. Thankfully his willpower wasn’t tested for much longer, because just as he was getting anxious Jensen reappeared, sinking down to his knees on the bed and making the mattress shift with his weight.

Jared blinked in confusion at the small glass vial that had appeared in Jensen’s fist, held so tightly Jared was afraid it would crack. “What’s that?”

“It’s a lotion for my skin,” Jensen explained, “Danneel brought it from Jim, said it should help with the dry skin problem I’ve had since I changed, but she told me at dinner today that it was also good for…other things,” Jensen finished with a blush.

Jared swallowed thickly at the implication.

Jensen looked at him appraisingly for a moment, taking in his body spread out, pliant and wanting, a hungry expression growing on his face. Jared started feeling even hotter, his body flushing with an even deeper arousal. He was still nervous, but suddenly it all seemed so minor, secondary to the desire.

“Jensen, I need you now,” Jared pleaded. Jensen’s mouth dropped open as Jared arched his back off of the bed, shamelessly begging with his body for Jensen to hurry. Jensen thankfully caught the silent urgency quickly, and burst into motion. He popped open the vial and began coating his fingers without further prodding. Jared shifted closer, spreading his knees wide around Jensen’s sides, and waited as Jensen made sure his fingers were well coated. When Jensen seemed to think he had enough, he brought his fingers down and under to touch Jared’s ass. Jared hissed.

“You okay?” Jensen looked up, a bit of the heat in his eyes disappearing to be replaced with concern.

“Fine, it’s just cold,” Jared told him, shifting his hips up a bit to encourage Jensen on. Jensen still seemed uncertain, but he continued anyway, slowly letting his fingertip sink into the tight heat of Jared’s body. Jared groaned softly at the foreign intrusion, but he told himself to relax. He bit his lip to avoid making any noise as Jensen began to add a second finger, but Jensen seemed to notice, because he was suddenly much more careful in his actions, not adding another finger until he was sure that Jared was ready for it and recoating his fingers whenever Jared started to wince again. It was frustratingly slow, but Jared appreciated that Jensen was doing everything he could to make sure that he wasn’t uncomfortable. Jensen had him, just like he said. Finally, when Jared felt as lose and slick as they were going to get him, Jensen leaned back and met Jared’s eyes.

“You ready?” Jensen asked, clearly straining with want. Jared had no idea how he had managed to last so long, he himself felt like he was ready to burst and he at least had been getting attention.

“Do it,” Jared put as much confidence as he could manage into his voice, egging Jensen on with a small smirk.

Jensen was all too happy to oblige, lining himself up. He sucked air in through his teeth as the head of his cock touched Jared’s flesh, and then started pressing forward. Jared’s small hiss of pain was drowned out by Jensen’s groan as he slowly sunk into Jared’s heat, inching in deeper and deeper until he bottomed out, belly pressing down on Jared’s cock trapped between them and their hips locked together.

When Jensen managed to open his eyes again, breathing with short little gasps of air, he saw that Jared’s face was screwed up in pain and he paused, fear and guilt cutting through the haze of pleasure in his mind. “Jared? Jared, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Jared choked out. He took a deep breath. “I’m okay,” he repeated, sounding slightly more normal, “it hurt a bit, but not as bad as I expected. Just give me a second to adjust.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” Jensen said, trying not to shake as he struggled to hold himself still. The urge to thrust was almost overwhelming, and it took all he had to resist, but he would do it for Jared. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine, I don’t think we could have avoided it. Just give me a second.” Jared breathed deeply for a moment, eyes closed and trying to relax, and then he gave Jensen a short nod. “Go.”

Jensen started moving again, his thrusts slow and shallow, but once he started the urge overwhelmed him and his hips started moving faster and faster, with longer strokes. The feeling was incredible, and Jensen found himself making noises that he was embarrassed to hear coming from his mouth. Jared still didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much though, despite his flushed face and the hard line of his cock trapped between their bodies, and Jensen resolved to fix that. Thinking of how Jared had reacted when he had touched him, he clumsily worked one of his hands between their bodies and down to Jared’s hips, searching blindly for Jared’s cock. He smiled to himself when he found it and started giving it a few experimental tugs, causing Jared’s eyes to fly open in shock. The look of amazement and pleasure in Jared’s face made Jensen work even harder to make it feel good. He was determined to live up to Jared’s trust.

Jensen tried to keep up jerking Jared, coordinating it with the hard thrusts of his hips, but after only a few seconds his wrist started hurting from the angle it was trapped at it, and he was forced to shift back on his knees to give him more room to move. This was apparently the right thing to do, because Jared shouted in shock and then looked down in excitement. “Whatever you just did,” Jared panted, “do it again.”

Jensen, uncertain what he had done differently, just continued to thrust his hips forward and sped up the movement of his hand now that he had more freedom to move. Jared moaned beneath him, throwing his head back into the pillow and starting to jerk his hips back to meet Jensen’s thrusts and up to meet his hands, and the sight was irresistible to Jensen. He started moving his hips faster and faster, pulling back further and pounding in harder, growling possessively as Jared started writhing beneath him. Jared reached out blindly as Jensen continued his assault, digging his fingers into the mattress and moaning loudly. “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” he whined, clawing blindly for Jensen’s hand that was supporting him over Jared’s body. His fingers found Jensen’s wrist and tightened painfully.

Jensen, however, was starting to feel a pressure building up in his body, a heat diffusing up and through his system a lot faster than he would have liked. “Jared, I - hah, I can’t - ” he struggled to speak, panting and groaning, his voice shaking from the force of his thrusts.

“Ah, yeah,” Jared gasped out, looking up at him with glazed eyes, “Me too. Just a bit more, just a bit more, just a bit - ah!” Jared’s mouth suddenly went slack, a whole-body shudder rocked his frame, and then there was something warm and white spilling over Jensen’s hand and up over his wrist, and Jared’s body was tightening around him. Jensen’s eyes practically rolled back into his head as Jared clenched and shuddered beneath him, and then his whole body was flooded with the most wonderful feeling Jensen had ever experienced and the world went away for a while.

When Jensen could remember which way was up again he realized that he had collapsed on top of Jared’s chest, and they were both now breathing heavily into the darkness, chests sticky and pressed together. Jensen worried for a moment that he might have been crushing Jared, but when he struggled to get off, Jared just weakly reached up and wrapped his arms around Jensen’s back, keeping him in place. They lay there together, just getting their breath back, slowly cooling off and letting what they had just done sink in.

“How’re you doing? Are you okay?” Jensen asked quietly, not sure he should break the silence that stretched between them. Jared started shaking beneath him, and for a second Jensen panicked and thought Jared was crying, but then he lifted his head and saw that Jared was choking back laughter.

“Okay? I’m more than okay, I’m great. That was amazing!”

Jensen flushed, and then smiled. “Yeah, that was pretty damn good for me too.”

“Good? Try ‘fantastic’,” Jared told him, and his face broke into a huge grin. “Try ‘Damn, we have to do that again the moment my muscles turn back from water.’ Why the hell haven’t we done that before?”

Jensen laughed and buried his face into Jared’s chest. “Can’t we wait until tomorrow? I think I’m limiting myself to one mind-blowing orgasm per night. I don’t think I have the energy for another.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Nymph.”

“Look who’s talking, Mer.”

“Hey now.”

They dissolved into soft laugher, twining their legs together further and pulling each other closer. Jared felt himself start to drift off, and he thought absently about getting cleaned off, or pulling up the covers from the bed, but he was comfortable and Jensen was warm beside him, and he found he was content to deal with it all in the morning. He was content to deal with anything in the morning, no matter what awaited them. He knew that they were in for some tricky times, and nothing was really fixed yet, but now he had a good circle of friends, the support of the Gods themselves, and Jensen. And really, that’s all that he needed.

“Good night, Jensen. I love you,” he whispered tiredly, already half asleep.

“I love you too,” Jensen told him warmly; pressing a kiss to their intertwined fingers, and laying his head back down. Jared let himself fall asleep to the sound of Jensen’s breathing, and for the first time in his life he looked forward to what the future would bring.

THE END