raise up your mind; it's time to shine | part two
Back to part one.
~~~
Just a dream.
That tempting thought is waiting for Jared when he comes to, and it comforts him like a blanket fresh from the dryer until he gets to the thought that’s queued up right behind it.
As if saying that ever works.
He debates opening his eyes, delaying the inevitable for a few minutes until he hears Jensen laughing.
“Eyes open, Jared. You’re not dreaming.”
He squeezes his eyes tighter. “So you really brought me to Neverland?”
“Dude, Neverland was British kids and pirates. And I don’t remember flying on the way here, or dosing you with magic dust.”
Jared can’t resist; he peeks. “You dosed me with something.”
“I’m gonna plead not guilty to that one.”
Jared looks around, but it’s a minute before he begins to see. Jensen’s sitting next to him, elbows propped on bent knees, while Jared’s lying on what could pass as a normal lounge chair (except that it’s made out of gnarled white wood), in what could pass as a regular courtyard (fenced in by rose bushes woven together like Celtic knots), if it weren’t for the golden haze shimmering all around them. Jared’s eyes have a hard time focusing, and he distinctly remembers stumbling into another world.
Don’t even get him started on Jensen’s wings.
“I think this is the part where you start explaining yourself.”
“I probably should, huh?”
The silk he’s lying on is too comfortable; Jared doesn’t want to move, so he turns his head and waits for Jensen to spin him a tale.
“So, you fainted before I could tell you, but I’m not actually human.”
Jared thinks about that for a minute, then says, “Yeah, let’s table that one for now. Okay? Where am I?”
“This? This is an old garden my mom used to bring me to when I was younger. My house isn’t too far.” Jensen looks at the lounge, the trees, and the woven fence, eyes soft like he’s superimposing an old memory over what he sees. “I don’t really think anyone uses it anymore, and I wanted to bring you somewhere quiet until you woke up.”
“Why?”
“That would have made a great first impression, Jared.” He laughs. “The first time my parents meet you, and you’re unconscious.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“I didn’t make you faint!”
Jared sputters. “Um, hey! I wasn’t expecting to see my best friend grow wings!”
Said wings flutter at the mention, greens and gold twisting into the light. “Yeah, I kinda forgot about those. When you cross the fairy line, true selves are revealed.”
“So, wings? That’s your true self?”
“I was born with them. I mean, I’m a fairy. You’re sort of getting that, right?”
It might be the only thing Jared understands so far. Fortunately Jensen doesn’t skimp on the rest of his explanation, and Jared sits, listening and trying to take it all in.
Born to fairy-parents, Jensen grew up in a different reality.
“It’s not a parallel world. Not really. I’ve always thought of it as a world just around the corner,” Jensen tells him, and Jared vows not to react until he’s heard everything. “It’s always there, just out of sight, but sometimes you’ll be quick enough to catch a glimpse.”
Fairies were all about nature: cataloguing it, maintaining it, and bonding with it. But Jensen’s forward-thinking parents hadn’t hidden what else was out there, letting him see the human world as he was growing up. Jensen had been fascinated by human activities and all the ways they could live their lives, and when it came time for him to choose his own path, he’d done what only a handful of fairies had ever dared to: he left his home of carefully constructed fairy houses and moved to California.
“Why California?”
“My parents knew a fairy who’d left, and they thought I’d be safer with someone who knew what I was.”
Jared’s sitting up now. He’s got a better handle on his delicate constitution. “And your parents just let you go?”
“I’m pretty sure they thought I’d hate it and come back right away. But man, Jared, I loved it. Every second of it, even before the modeling or the acting. Being human-or pretending to be, I guess-was awesome. When I settled into acting full-time, I never looked back.” The smile that had taken up residency on Jensen’s face fades. “The only thing that sucked was losing touch with my family for so long.”
Because getting through to Jensen’s world was a bit of a problem. The gates were few and far between, but luckily for Jensen, they’d stumbled onto one during filming.
“The maze?”
“Yeah, mazes like that are almost always gates. Unless they’re, like, covered in wisteria or really, really ugly. When I went looking and discovered I could get through the one on set, my sister and my parents were waiting. They felt I was close, and they obviously had news for me.”
“I knew you were in there,” Jared crows, feeling a little more like himself. Jensen’s wings quiver on his back, forcing their way back to the front of Jared’s thoughts.
They’re glassine, fluttery things-blue iridescence shot through the length of them. Edged in gold and sparkling green, they seem to move on their own. Jared’s never really considered these things, but they’re nice as far as wings go, he supposes.
He suddenly has to ask: “Can you fly?”
Jensen considers him, wings spread like a butterfly ready to take flight-as if he’s going to show Jared. Then he laughs. “I’m gonna wait ‘til you’re a little steadier before I answer that. I don’t want you fainting like a delicate little flower again.”
“Hey!”
“Dude, you went down like a wet rag!”
Fairy or not-crazy, gorgeous wings or not-this is still Jensen. That thought hits Jared like a slap upside the head. The guy that spends eighteen-hour days on set with Jared, the person who teases him and supports him and loves him, is the same guy who’s sitting here in this bright, magical courtyard. If the fairy realm reveals someone’s true self, then Jared’s been getting the real Jensen all along. Wings can’t change that.
And just like that, Jared breathes a little easier. He can totally deal with this whole fairy thing.
“So, are we gonna sit here for the rest of the weekend?”
“Aww,” Jensen mocks. “Is the Texas Belle feeling better?” He slaps Jared’s thigh and stands, wings perking up where they inexplicably peek through his shirt. Jared knows better than to ask how that’s possible. “C’mon, man. Time to meet the family.”
They set out on a wooded path through the meadow where they’d first appeared. Jared’s going to suffer through a crick in his neck from looking up, down, and all around. He hadn’t noticed before-no surprise, given the whole fainting thing-but there are houses tucked up against the giant trees, each blending into the meadow. Roofs made of overlapping leaves, steps that look like river rocks, and colorful mushrooms growing taller than Jared giving shade. The scale of everything is way off.
“Hey, Jensen. Are we-did we get smaller?”
“Would you feel better if I said you shrank or that everything here is gigantic?”
Jared sighs. Figures. “I’ll get back to you on that.” He tries to pick a subject that won’t mess with his head any further. “So, are you in your sister’s wedding?”
Jensen picks a flower that has sprung into bloom at his feet, staring at the pink swirl through its petals. “That’s not really how fairy weddings work,” he says. “Everyone there’s a part of it. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand, you know…if you’re there.”
Ignoring that last part, Jared says, “I’m gonna be in a fairy wedding?” He takes the flower when Jensen absentmindedly hands him the stem; its petals seem duller in Jared’s fingers. “That’s…seriously insane.”
Jensen smirks, the expression so human. “And you thought this weekend would be relaxing.”
“Hey, I’m relaxed,” Jared argues.
There’s something different-special-about the air here: dazzling warmth that soaks into Jared’s skin and diffuses throughout his body, making him feel lighter than he has in years. If Jensen grew up here, it’s no wonder he’s always radiated tranquility and comfort; it must be a part of him down to the tiniest cell.
Crazy fairy air pollution.
“Are you really okay with all this?” Jensen asks as they step through another patch of sunlight.
“Okay?” Jared laughs. “That word doesn’t even make sense right now, Jensen, but that doesn’t mean I’m upset, or angry. I’m not. Not even close.”
“But you’re something.”
“Yeah, but whatever it is, it hasn’t caught up with me yet. You’re a fairy, Jensen.” Even the word tickles Jared’s tongue. “That’s gonna get me sooner or later. I was totally prepared for a few awkward moments when I finally met your family, but them not being human was never even on the board.”
Jared feels good when he can joke about the circumstances, and even better when Jensen laughs, so he rolls with the crazy thoughts in his head as they walk.
“I’m surprised no one figured it out before this,” Jared says. “I mean, the way you looked on Days of Our Lives? Ridiculous, man.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“Are fairies even allowed to curse?” Jared can’t stop himself from chuckling. “You won’t, like, turn into dust with a single un-fairylike thought?”
“I could turn you into dust.”
“Tough words from the guy with sparkly wings!”
They’ve stopped at a stone pathway and Jared looks up at what he can only describe as a house, but it’s so much more than that. Three towers of birch bark-each one as tall as a three-story building-are nestled in the rolling hills of moss-covered roots, the reddest maple leaves overlapping as roof shingles, and gnarled branches over a dozen windows cut into the white bark. Next to the house, a creek has carved its way through the tree’s roots and created a watery oasis with bright green leaves throwing shade like tropical palm trees.
“This is your house?”
“My parents’ house,” Jensen says. “I haven’t been back in ages, so prepare yourself. This could get crazy.”
He’s right, as it turns out. Jensen usually is.
Three people pop outside through the front door-a curl of painted bark-each with wings the same shape and shade as Jensen’s. A blonde with purple flowers braided through her hair leaps down the stone steps and launches herself at Jensen who quickly throws up his arms.
“Del! Jesus, get off!”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so happy! I know I said you had to come, and Mom told me that there was no way you would miss my wedding, but Jensen”-Delinda finally takes a breath-“you’re here! I can’t wait for you to meet Aron. He had to go to meet with the regent, but-“
“Seriously, Del!” Jensen shouts. “Calm down before you hurt yourself.” She does, delicately dropping back to the ground and smoothing her green dress. “And before you ask, this is Jared.”
“Jared! The Jared who plays Sam, Jared?” she asks just as Jensen’s parents are walking up to meet them. “Wonderful! With the way Jensen’s talked about you, you’re practically family. This is perfect!”
Ignoring his sister, Jensen introduces Jared to his parents, Ilan and Rebecca. Without the wings, they could pass for regular people-and Jared mentally kicks himself for how weird that sounds-only Jared takes a good, second look and, yeah, they’re much prettier than the average human. Ilan’s hair is dark and silvery, and he’d passed his green eyes on to Jensen. He’s tall beside Rebecca whose golden curls are as shiny as Delinda’s.
“We’ve heard so much about you, Jared,” Rebecca is saying. “You’re very important to Jensen-”
“Mom-”
“-and of course you’re welcome to make yourself at home while you’re here.”
Delinda jumps up. “But don’t get too settled in! As soon as Aron’s back, we need to get ready for the Blessing Dinner. Can you check on the flowers, Dad? You need to make sure the lilies bloomed orange and not pink, because if they’re pink we have to get new ones. Jensen, did you write your speech yet?”
“Speech?” Jensen shakes his head. “Del…”
“Delinda, I’m sure Jensen will say something wonderful at your Blessing,” Rebecca says, squeezing her daughter’s elbow. “Let Jared and your brother get settled into their room.” She turns to her son. “Your bags have already been brought inside.”
Jared’s so lost, he startles when Jensen touches his arm. Delinda and Jensen’s parents have disappeared through the door, with Delinda still delegating at a mile-a-minute in typical bride style, leaving Jensen and Jared alone on the steps.
Jensen looks over and smirks. “How’re you doing, Jay?”
Jared sighs. “I think I need a translator. Blessing Dinner?”
“It’s like a rehearsal dinner,” Jensen tells him. “No big deal.”
“Easy for you to say. Am I even allowed to go?”
“Afraid you’re gonna taint our party with your terrible human manners?” Jensen teases. “Dude, I don’t know what you’re so worried about. I have to give a speech! Now c’mon,” he adds, tugging Jared into the birch manor, “I’ll give you the grand tour.”
~~~
“And Jensey never told you how he learned to dance?”
Jensen collapses and nearly bangs his head on the long, wooden table. “Oh my god, Delinda. Stop it. Jared doesn’t want to hear-”
“Speak for yourself, Jensey.” Jared laughs. “I totally need to hear your embarrassing stories.”
The Blessing Dinner is exactly like the rehearsal dinners Jared’s been to, except for the fact that he has to dodge wings all night. Delinda’s family and Aron’s, plus a few dozen other guests, are seated beneath a billowing tent at the base of a willow tree, branches filtering the setting sun into a faint green glow. Jared’s at the main table, chair tucked in next to Jensen’s, feeling conspicuous in his slacks and button-down alongside Jensen’s white linen shirt and jeans. His wings make the casual ensemble surprisingly hot.
“My big brother was so determined to show off at the Maple Fair-”
“I think it was more about impressing his friend Marianna and her brother,” Rebecca says, smile matching her daughter’s. “What was his name, Jensen?”
Jensen looks mortified. “I don’t remember.”
“You must.”
“I don’t-”
“Shale!” Delinda shouts. Next to her, Aron nearly chokes on his drink. “It was Shale, and he was handsome.”
“I’m never coming home again,” Jensen says, sulking.
“Jensen kept asking Mom to practice dancing with him the entire week before the Fair, but she couldn’t do it all the time. So he went out and found a thick branch in the woods, as tall as he was, and started dancing with that!”
Jared blinks. “You danced with a stick?”
“No!”
“He did!” Delinda laughs, tossing her flowered hair. “I’d look out my window and there he’d be, dancing with his branch down by the creek. Swaying and turning, waltzing without music. It was adorable.”
“I could hardly get Jensen to come in for dinner,” Rebecca adds. Even Ilan is grinning behind his napkin.
Jensen’s family dissolves into laughter, each of them sharing another detail forgotten by the others.
“-I saw him dip his partner a few times-”
“-added golden leaves, the same color as Shale’s hair-”
“-but he looked so wonderful dancing at the Fair!”
“Alright, alright!” Jensen breaks in. “Enough about me, it’s Delinda’s special day. We should really be opening the family vaults and talking about her.”
“Jensen!”
“Like the time she brought home those abandoned birds’ eggs and thought she could play mother by warming them over the oil lamp…”
As Jensen dives into a story, Jared sits back and watches. There’s laughter in every little fold fanning out from the corners of Jensen’s spirited green eyes, skin glowing more with every minute he’s with his family. Jared’s witnessed some extraordinary things since he stepped through the maze, but this is his favorite: seeing Jensen so relaxed, letting go of the pretense their job sometimes demands and radiating with happiness. And being here while Jensen and his father tease Delinda, Aron smiling behind his copper goblet-acting like any normal family-gives Jared something he can relate to.
He’s still amazed that Jensen wants him to be a part of this.
Once dinner is finished, their plates are cleared away and two more fairies-seriously, Jared is the only human here; he needs to start thinking of himself as the odd man out-bring tall glass bottles filled with orange liquid to each of the tables. Jensen pops the cork and pours a glass for his sister, his parents, and himself. Aron does the same for his family.
“What’s that?”
“Honeysuckle nectar and mango.” Jensen takes a long swallow, licking his lips and passing the bottle. “Don’t worry, it’s got plenty of alcohol in it.”
“Good enough for me,” Jared says, filling his cup.
Jensen finishes his first glass and Jared pours him another, noticing the way Jensen’s fist is clenched, knuckles pale. The willow glade goes silent as Jensen stands with his wings fluttering out, full glass in hand.
“First of all, I wanted to thank you all for joining us tonight,” Jensen says. “I know it means so much to our families that you encourage the union of two remarkable fae. Well, one’s remarkable and the other is kind of a brat.”
The guests laugh and Jared sighs in wonder at the sound of dozens of gossamer wings brushing against each other. He wants to reach out and touch Jensen’s wings, see if the gold and green shimmer is as delicate as it looks, but now is so not the time.
“When I was growing up, Delinda began chasing after me just as soon as she could walk. She wanted to do everything I was doing, pouting if she didn’t get her way. She might still do that, so watch yourself, Aron.” Jensen pauses while Delinda shakes her head and Aron smirks, the guests focused on their love. But Jared continues to watch Jensen, seeing the fond expression that transforms his face when he looks up and catches Jared’s eye. “I went to school first, stayed out late first, and I was the first to enjoy honeysuckle wine-probably a little earlier than I was supposed to. And Del followed every step of the way, hitting the same milestones.
“But here she is now with Aron at her own Blessing, and I realize that she’s beaten me. Del’s found the love of her life, the man she wants to commit herself to, and I’ve fallen behind. And I’m not afraid to say that I’m jealous of my little sister for having the courage to embrace the happiness that love brings, and everything else that goes with it.”
Jared’s cheeks are warm-from the honeysuckle or from Jensen’s speech, he’s not too sure. He’s always been one to roll his eyes at romantic sentiments, but hearing them from Jensen is like gospel, and Jared is spellbound.
“Love is relief from the weight of our everyday lives-the person who helps us to bear our responsibilities and makes sure we take time out to enjoy ourselves. Love’s the first smile you want to see in the morning and the welcoming arms you want to fall asleep in. And love’s a gift we can all have as long as we’re not too afraid to unwrap it.”
Jared rolls his eyes and Jensen catches it, grinning. “It’s totally cliche, I know. But love is a gift and I’m so happy for my sister and Aron.”
There’s more to the speech but all Jared hears is Jensen talking about love-talking about them. Everything Jensen’s saying is exactly how Jared feels, like he’d opened their relationship up to the world. It starts a fire in his heart and the warmth of it makes him want to stand up and kiss Jensen in front of everyone, to ignore all of the repercussions and we shouldn’ts, and seriously fall in love.
But the only thing Jared does is grab the bottle in front of him and pour another glass, drinking until he can’t tell if the warmth is from his heart or the honeysuckle.
When the sun has set, Aron and his family are the first to leave. Delinda, Jensen, and their parents stand to see them out. Tradition, Jensen explains in a whisper, holds that the bride and groom leave separately and it falls on the guests to clean up.
“So that the couple can focus on more important things, like tomorrow.”
Jared pouts. “Are you at least gonna stay and help me?”
“Huh?”
“Well”-Jared shrugs-“I’m a guest, so…”
“Hell no, Jay.” Jensen laughs and swipes a nearly full bottle of the sweet orange liqueur off the table. His wink promises that tonight’s excitement isn’t over yet. “You’re the exception, so you’re coming with me.”
~~~
Jared wakes up with déjà vu sitting thick in his throat like syrup. Just a dream. He swallows and, nope, it’s just the aftertaste of honeysuckle and mango, too sweet to taste any kind of good this morning.
And it’s definitely morning, sunlight poking through the reeds pulled across Jensen’s window. Jared tries to swat at the bright rays but he’s pinned under an arm, a shoulder, and the broadness of a warm chest. His panic lasts only until he realizes that the sleepy snuffles against his forehead belong to Jensen and that they’d both fallen asleep wearing pants.
Comfortable for the moment-and unwilling to think beyond that-Jared shifts to get blood flowing into his tingling limbs and settles again.
That honeysuckle stuff really needs to come with a warning label. Jared doesn’t remember much after leaving the dinner last night, but his face hurts from smiling and laughing. They’d absconded to one of Ilan and Rebecca’s gardens with their bottle of spirits, talking and joking until even the stars began to yawn and fall asleep. The more they drank, the sillier their conversation turned until Jared was asking if fairies were created out of flowers and raindrops.
“Actually, my parents made me out of fluffy clouds and fresh meadow grass.”
“Oh, wow! Seriously?”
“No, Jared! My parents had sex and-oh my god, I do not want to be talking about this!”
After that, Jensen had hidden the bottle and they’d stumbled arm-in-arm to the birch house. Things went from blurry to obscured at that point, but Jared’s pretty sure he’d instigated the cuddle-nest he’s curled up in now, though Jensen certainly hadn’t argued.
Lost to sleep, Jensen sighs against Jared’s temple before sliding over onto his back, freeing Jared’s arm. He could move, put a respectable distance between them and grab a little more sleep without a fairy sloth on top of him. But Jensen looks too tempting-chest slick with night sweat and an opalescent luster to the rest of his skin-that Jared can’t resist rolling against Jensen’s side, grinning into his shoulder when Jensen breathes deeply and curls his hand around Jared’s hip.
~~~
The grotto is beautiful. Jared’s not sure if that’s down to natural fairy aesthetics or Delinda’s precise planning, but he’s never seen anything so awesome. Blood orange lilies circle a raised stone platform, strings with delicate paper lanterns hang above, and bright green vines drape like streamers from low branches.
“Wow,” Jensen says, coming up to stand next to Jared. “Del really outdid herself.”
“It’s seriously amazing. I-” Jared turns and gets his first look at Jensen’s outfit. His jaw drops.
And he thought the grotto was stunning. Jared’s other senses are figuratively frozen while his eyes soak up every detail. It’s like something out of a fantasy. A real fantasy with elves and wizards and fairies, of course, not one of the sexy scenarios that exist only in Jared’s imagination. Although after tonight, this outfit’s going to feature prominently in those, too.
Jensen’s loose white pants are tied low on his hips with a fern green sash, edged in the same gold that’s spun throughout his wings. He’s wearing a vest made from the same leafy green fabric, but it’s cropped above his belly button and leaves the rest of his chest bare and lustrous in the low light.
Jared might be drooling; he’s not sure. He is sure that wanting to lick the shimmer at the base of Jensen’s throat is an inappropriate reaction.
To top it all off, there’s a circlet of delicate gold and green wrapped behind Jensen’s ears and around the back of his head. He looks like the prince of some mythical, magical race, and Jared has to pinch himself one more time to make sure he’s not dreaming. Because it would seriously suck if he were.
“Jensen-”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Jensen says. “I know I look ridiculous, but Delinda chose it.”
Jared nudges him with his elbow, grinning. “Remind me to thank her later.”
Jensen ducks his face away but he can’t hide for long. Wedding guests-twice as many as there’d been at the dinner-step into the grotto as the sun begins to set, forming a circle around the platform. Jensen leads Jared across the grass until they’re standing with Aron’s two brothers at the foot of a short, flower-lined path that joins with the decorated platform.
In his dark gray pants and silver-threaded shirt, Jared sticks out like…well, like a human amongst fairies. Most of the attendees are dressed like Jensen: loose fabrics and warm colors, hair combed back with flowers or circlets, and everyone besides Jared is barefooted.
“Twilight’s the most magical time of day,” Jensen tells him, unable to hide the blush on his cheeks. Jared kind of wants to hug him-and never stop-but he stays put. “It’s also good luck for the bride and groom to get married while the sun’s setting.”
Jared keeps his voice low, respectful. “I’ll know so much fairy trivia by the end of the weekend.”
“But none of it’s gonna help you win trivia night at Pucks.”
Jared has no time for a comeback as the voices around him fade into a hush, anticipating. There’s no music and the procession is short, just Aron and his parents followed by Delinda, Ilan, and Rebecca. A man dressed entirely in white, long midnight blue wings folded against his back, is the last to step onto the platform, and he guides Delinda and Aron to the center, their parents standing to either side.
“The elder regent,” Jensen whispers, and Jared has to step closer-no space left between them-to hear. “Like a judge, priest, and mayor all in one.”
After a brief welcome, the regent beckons Delinda and Aron forward and ties their hands together with a gold rope. Whatever he says goes right over Jared’s head. There are so many amazing things to watch-the expression on Delinda’s face, the way the trees seem to bend forward into the grotto-but again he’s stuck on Jensen and the way his best friend has evolved into something more over the last two days.
In the midst of frantic, last-minute preparations and a parade of visitors through Jensen’s house, Jared and Jensen hadn’t gotten the chance to talk after their night of alcohol-induced cuddling. But Jared had seen his feelings reflected on Jensen’s face every time they glanced up at one another; it’s only a matter of time before one of them cracks and says something to upset-or finally correct-the balance of their relationship.
“As the rain is bound to the earth and the sun to the sky, love will now bind Delinda and Aron together. As we bear witness, let our love be an example to them.”
Jared’s totally lost as the regent raises his hands and his palms begin to glow. And he’s not the only one. Around the circle, one by one, the fairies lift their arms towards the couple and add to the pale glow filling the grotto.
“What’s going on?” Jared asks Jensen in a whisper.
“We’re supposed to bless the new couple with love.”
“I have to show my love for Delinda and Aron?”
Jensen smiles. “No, you just have to love. Someone, something, anything.”
Brighter now, the grotto is shining, and either someone is singing or the trees and flowers around them have added their own wordless song.
“I’m not like you.” Jared holds his palms out to Jensen.
“It doesn’t matter. All you have to do is feel that love, out loud,” Jensen tells him, sweeping his palms over Jared’s. “Try it, you’ll be surprised.”
Jared doesn’t know how to feel out loud, but he figures that the only place to start is in his heart.
He loves his family-that’s the easiest thing to feel-his home, and the great state of Texas. And his dogs, and his friends, and his job. The job that gave him Jensen, and an infinite number of hours spent building the best friendship he’s ever known.
Feeling sweaty and warm, Jared looks at his hands and is shocked to see his palms glowing ember-hot without pain.
It’s Jensen making his body light up-literally. Jensen, who brought him here and trusted him with a secret, with everything.
It all leads to something Jared can’t ignore anymore.
“This was your plan all along, right?” Jared whispers, so close to Jensen their lights blend into one. “Bring me here so that I’d have no choice but to fall stupidly in love with you?”
There it is-Jared’s crazy declaration. He can’t go back to the way things were, to that stalemate between romance and responsibility that left neither one of them happy. And it’s not strange to want to be happy, right? Especially when the key to every happy moment is standing a foot in front of you, wearing the most ridiculously sexy outfit and sporting wings.
Jensen’s blushing, but he nods, settling his hands over Jared’s as he whispers back: “Stupid, no. But falling in love was definitely part of the plan. Did it work?”
“Oh, it worked,” Jared says. He’d show Jensen how well it worked, but yeah, there’s still a wedding happening right next to them, and Jared’s afraid of what Delinda might do to him if he interrupts the ceremony. But he has to know: “So you, too?”
Jensen’s smile adds to the glow. “I think it’s pretty obvious.”
Yeah, Jared’s happy to report, it kind of is.
~~~
“How are you not tired?” Jared goes along willingly, tripping over tired feet, as Jensen pulls him out of the grotto.
“It’s a fairy secret,” Jensen tells him.
“Red Bull?”
The fairy laughs. “Nope, but it does give you wings.”
“Hilarious,” Jared mocks, tugging Jensen around until they’re chest-to-chest, light on their feet despite hours of celebrating and dancing after Delinda and Aron were officially made husband and wife. Between the festivities and the food-no honeysuckle wine; whatever happens tonight, Jared wants to remember it-the fairy wedding is the most fun Jared’s had in years, counting network events and conventions. He feels like himself, which is weird, but he’s open and expressive in a way he hasn’t been since he set out in Hollywood.
The music is quieter away from the grotto-turned-reception, and it’s the first chance Jared’s had to keep Jensen all to himself. He’d be crazy not to take advantage. “Hmmm, I think we’re alone.”
“Really?” Jensen looks around, pushing Jared against a tree where creeping ivy tickles the back of his neck. “Finally?”
“Finally,” Jared sighs, kissing Jensen before either one of them can do something really silly, like talk some more.
He expects Jensen’s lips to be warm from the display of light and love at the wedding, but they’re cool and soft like a woodland stream. And wet, too, when Jensen licks his lips and his tongue catches Jared’s lower lip in the process, the tiniest hint of a tease in the flick. Jared doesn’t go after the bait, covering Jensen’s mouth without pushing for anything deeper. He’s got plenty to handle without trying to french Jensen’s tonsils right off the bat.
For instance, Jensen’s vest, while silky, leaves wide planes of skin open for roaming, and Jared’s hands stake their claim around the curve of Jensen’s ribs, thumbs stroking in towards Jensen’s stomach. His skin is supple and cool, and his muscles jump and flutter when Jared hits a ticklish spot.
“I’ll have to remember that one,” Jared says when he finds a particularly sensitive square inch above Jensen’s hip.
“Just wait ‘til I return the favor.” Jensen leans up to smack a kiss on Jared’s pout.
“I really have to wait?”
“With my entire family less than fifty yards away, I’m gonna say yes, you have to wait.”
Jared shrugs; he’s not actually disappointed. Their little glade is lit from within, Jensen’s wings continuing to hold their glow from the ceremony. That light gives Jared courage.
“We’re doing this, right?”
“You mean this?” Jensen stretches up on his toes, lips pecking Jared’s nose. “Yeah, I like doing this.”
“I mean you and me,” Jared says. Damn his brain for thinking when it could just sit back and let his body soak up the affection. “This isn’t just a weekend thing for me, you know?”
Suddenly nervous, Jared fidgets and pulls a thin metal trinket out of his pocket: the inscribed silver disc he’d found in the maze earlier that week. He has kept it close ever since, wanting to give it to Jensen but constantly distracted. “Here, I meant to give this to you a while ago. I know you collect little coins and stuff.”
Jensen takes the coin and laughs quietly. “It’s a fairy thing, the trinkets. We really do get distracted by shiny objects. Thank you.” Closing his hand around Jared’s gift, Jensen presses their chests together, a warm line of comfort and reassurance. “You get me so well, Jay. Do you really think I could write this-you and I-off as a one-time thing? That I’d be able to go back to the way things were, knowing how you feel? I can’t, and I know you can’t either.”
Jared smirks. “So…”
“So, I think it’s pretty much settled,” Jensen says, and Jared will hereto remember this as the Best Decision Ever. “You and me, Jay.”
“The human and the fairy.”
“We’re quite a pair.” Jensen laughs until Jared swoops down and kisses him.
Jensen’s wings wave back and forth, throwing light bursts of air across Jared’s knuckles where his hands are wrapped around Jensen’s back. Right then he realizes that he hasn’t gotten to touch yet, to feel that gossamer under his fingertips. Drawing his fingers slowly up Jensen’s spine to ask for permission, Jared curls his hands around the base of the wings, feeling smooth skin where the vest’s fabric is cut away from Jensen’s back.
The wings are cool and dry, silky around the edges, tingling with tiny vibrations when Jared strokes across them. Little flutters travel up Jared fingers and into his arms, tickling his skin the whole way up. The sensation is better than petting a puppy or diving into a pool on a summer afternoon. Even better, Jensen’s wings react to Jared’s touch, colors shifting throughout their length.
It’s the hottest fucking thing Jared’s ever seen.
“Having fun?” Jensen asks, voice shaking like a tree in a hurricane. Jared can easily feel Jensen’s hard-on through the lightweight pants, knows his dick is just as interested where he’s rubbing against Jensen’s hip.
“You’re so hot, it’s ridiculous.”
“Sweet talker.”
Jared can imagine so much more after tonight: a never-ending string of days on set and evenings spent hanging out together, living their relationship to its full potential.
That, and having so much sex, they’ll need to schedule days off to recuperate.
Jared skims his lips lightly over Jensen’s cheek, sagging against the smooth bark and tugging Jensen into his body. Looking down at Jensen’s illuminated expression, Jared wants to gather up all of Jensen’s freckles with his tongue and spread them around in new patterns, but for now he’ll be satisfied with another long kiss.
God, he’s so done for.
~~~
“Do you think Eric will ever do a fairy episode?”
Jensen hoists his bag higher on his shoulder, leading the way down the meadow path that leads back to the maze. “Dude, I asked him once, and he told me fairy storylines were lame.”
Jared laughs out loud, scaring a few birds from a nearby bush. “Did you get mad?”
“Hell no, I was relieved! If he ever found out, it’d be my life story on Supernatural! He’d probably make me play the fairy.”
“But you make such a hot fairy,” Jared tells him, bumping their shoulders together. “And some of those outfits I saw in your closet? Serious fantasy material there, Jen.”
“Don’t push it,” Jensen says with a smile. “And no spilling any of this to Kripke, either!”
Their vacation might be over, but Jared’s excited to get back. The schedule won’t change, the friendship will still be there, but everything is going to be different now that they’re together.
The night before, they’d returned to the reception hand-in-hand to face Delinda’s surprised shriek and Rebecca’s maternal smile. What followed after that was a night Jared will never forget, and his body is eager to repeat the activities in his own bed, waking up with Jensen every morning from here on out.
The maze comes up quickly-only a few steps left. Jensen turns around to take in the forest, and the longing in his eyes is countered by the way he squeezes Jared’s hand. Silently, Jared promises that they’ll come back, soon.
And this time when Jared steps into the maze, he’s holding Jensen’s hand, not a care in the world for anything but what lies on the other side.
~~~
“I guess I didn’t need to slip you a magic roofie after all,” Jensen tells Jared when they’re back in the car, cloudy sky keeping the interior cool. “Which is good, ‘cause those things will leave you with one hell of a migraine.”
“I like that you’re already considerate of my needs.”
“Oh, just you wait,” answers Jensen with a fairy wink that might as well come with its own sound effect.
Jensen’s light dims a little more with every street he puts between them and the maze, but his smile never fades. By the time Jensen pulls up in front of Jared’s rental, the light’s gone altogether. And the idea of splitting up kills Jared’s fairy-weekend buzz.
He can’t resist commenting. “This sucks.”
“Being back?”
“Not really that, it’s just that we got this awesome weekend, and now we have to go back to the regular stuff.”
“I’m a fairy, Jared. Think I’m ever gonna have a regular life?”
“That’s not what I mean,” Jared says. “It’s just that I live here, and you’ll be somewhere else, and we’ll only see each other on set.”
“Which is, like, sixteen hours every day.”
“Yeah, but what about the other eight?” He asks, and then has to listen to Jensen’s laugh. “What?”
“Nothing, I’m just really impressed with your math skills.”
“C’mon, Jensen. I’m serious.”
And Jensen, eyes sparkling in a way Jared’s never going to get sick of seeing, stops laughing and grabs Jared’s hand.
“So, what then?”
The answer’s obvious; Jared wonders why he didn’t come up with it sooner. Then again, his brain’s going to be processing fairy weddings, love that he can see and touch, and wings for a while. It’s no wonder.
“You’re just gonna have to move in with me.”
“What, in your one-bedroom rental? I know we’re close right now, but-”
“I meant a house.”
“You don’t have a house,” Jensen insists on pointing out. Jerk.
“I’ll buy one.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m brilliant,” Jared corrects, throwing Jensen a smirk. “I’ll get my dogs up here. We can share the mortgage-”
“-this is sounding better every minute-”
“-and we’ll have a huge backyard-”
“-and if we get sick of each other-”
“-so we can have a maze built, and you’ll be able to talk to your family whenever you want.”
That shushes the fairy right up. Until he looks at Jared with one eyebrow peaked and says, “You’re serious.”
Jared laughs and tries not to show how nervous he really is. “Don’t pretend like you have to think about it. You already know you’re gonna say yes.”
“Yeah?” Jensen’s fingers flex on the steering wheel. “What makes you so sure?”
“Do I have to bring up the whole love circle thing?” Jared asks. “And the way you were glowing because you love me so much? I don’t mind reminding you.”
Jensen sighs, but it’s not an unhappy sound. “I’ve always thought not seeing my family was the price for my decision to leave, and I’ve never been able to make the kind of commitment where I’d have someone to share this with, someone I could trust. So I never built a way to get back, but if you-God, Jared, if you’re willing to do this with me, I’m so in.”
“We’re doing it,” Jared insists, closing the distance over the center console so he can kiss Jensen. “We are so doing it.”
Their lips are quickly gaining a familiarity with each other, slipping into a pattern that feels old but is sparklingly new.
“Now, turn off the car and get inside,” Jared says, breaking off and grabbing his bag from the backseat. “We’ve got a six a.m. call time and two years of unresolved sexual tension to make up for. So we really need to get started on that.”
Jensen laughs, but he’s right on Jared’s heels as they climb out of the car and hurry into Jared’s soon-to-be-ditched rental.
~~~
Hours later, Jared has used up the last of his energy and collapsed against Jensen on the couch; he’s sweaty, sleepy, and irresistibly happy. And he’s pretty sure he wants to stay this way for a long time, so he shares that with Jensen.
“We’re gonna live happily ever after, aren’t we?”
“Jared, if you hadn’t noticed, I’m a fairy.” Jensen’s kisses chase Jared’s stray thoughts away and he whispers against Jared’s lips. “We always get our happy endings.”
Jared’s blush is part adoration and part mortification. He groans and tucks closer to Jensen on the couch, muttering, “Sap.”
“Jerk.”
“Fairy.”
“Human.”
“Hey!”
FIN.
~~~
Master Post
Thank you for reading!