Dragon Wings: The Clean War - Epilogue
The war would continue for another two years; two years of harsh conditions, vicious fighting, and a see-saw of defeat and victory on both sides. The arrival of land troops on the continent proved to be a turning point, but at no time was victory certain. With ships on the oceans, men on the land, and dragons in the air, it seemed like never ending chaos. Slowly, slowly, the Alliance made inroads across France, but when the Russians - who had watched on from a distance for so long but did not take so kindly to having their own territory encroached upon - moved on the Union, the end suddenly became visible. Piece by piece, country by country, the Union gave way, caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. There were countries that fought hard to keep the Allies out, and some that were happy to surrender, having never wanted to be a part of it all to begin with.
In this time, the emissaries and their guard were not left to sit in a palace, making the most of a bad situation. No. There were great battles - Calais, Paris, Berlin, Rome, to name but a few - where every dragon was called in from every corner of Europe. And these battles even the emissaries were drawn into. Each battle was a story in itself, a tale recorded in the history books, though never as any person there would remember it or, indeed, be haunted by it. Each time, Eirian and Grymus returned a little more broken than the last, but they would pull themselves back together as best they could and prepare for the next call. No one escaped those brutal battlefields - be they on water, land or in the air - unscathed. Those that were lucky enough to return home were never quite sure that ‘lucky’ was the right term.
Still, return home many did - possibly many more than if the war had continued on without the help of Spain and little Andorra. And the families of those returned, at the very least, were grateful to see their loved ones again. This was certainly true of two families in Texas.
Eirian landed on a field beside a home on the outskirts of Richardson, Texas. Minutes later, Jensen (now fully clothed) and Jared made their way to the front door of the house. They were desperate to see their families again, but afraid that too much of them had changed. They could hear the noise of two large families out the back, muffled only slightly by the bulk of the house. Jensen took a deep breath, and Jared laced their fingers together, before Jensen raised his other hand and knocked loudly on the door. The voices out the back cut off abruptly. Moments later the door burst open and two women stood there. Though Donna Ackles and Sharon Padalecki had little in common in the way of looks, they both wore identical expressions; a mixture of relief and worry and reassurance and, above all, love.
“Jensen! Oh, my baby. My sweet boy.” Donna took a step forward and opened her arms. With a sob, Jensen folded into his mother’s embrace and held on to her as tightly as she did him.
“Jared...” Sharon blinked, her eyes wet.
Jared moved to wrap her up in his arms. His breath shuddered out of him. “Momma...”
The reunion may have stayed there for the foreseeable future except a young woman’s voice called out, “Come on! We’re waiting out here!”
Jared gave a somewhat watery laugh and pulled back ever-so-slightly. “Nice to know that Meggy hasn’t changed.” Sharon laughed and shook her head.
“Let’s go. There isn’t enough room in this doorway for everyone, and they’ll only wait so long.” Donna stepped back, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to completely let go of her son. He was only twenty years old, but there was far more years in his gaze now. It broke her heart, but she knew enough of what her boy had done to also feel a quiet pride in the man before her.
Sharon likewise kept her hand on her son’s back as they moved through the house. He was a strong, grown man now. The way his eyes never truly left his mate also told her he was man who knew how to love. The devotion in Jensen’s eyes when they met meant that he was also loved in return. There was little more that she would have wanted for her younger son, except to never see the shadows that lived behind his smile now.
They stepped out onto the back porch and were immediately pulled down into a sea of welcoming arms. Each of them had a vague impression of laughing faces and wet eyes, of arms pulling them in and holding them tight before they were whisked away by the next person. There were several people standing off to the side watching with fond faces, but neither would notice them for some minutes. These would prove to be the newest members of the family; the mates of their siblings.
When they had been sent to Europe, Jensen and Jared had barely been adults. They had well and truly grown up; indeed, they were older than their years now, and would never be what they had been. Still, at heart, they were Jensen and Jared, and they had the love of their families. This was all they could ask for, and all they really needed. They stood back, side by side, and let the beginnings of their new life start to heal the wounds of the old.
***
That night they curled together, Jared spooned up behind Jensen, in Jensen’s childhood room. The bed - a King Single, thank goodness - barely held them, but they were making do. Jensen was trying to squirm without falling onto the floor, and his hand was curled into a fist against his mouth to help stop the little whimpers that were escaping him. Jared had his nose buried against Jensen’s neck, his lips curved up in a smile, as he twisted three slick fingers inside his mate. He knew the dragon was more than ready for him, but he was enjoying the desperate and yet shamed way the younger man was reacting to having sex under the same roof as his parents.
“Jared!” Jensen hissed so low it almost wasn’t even a whisper. “Jared, you have to stop! What if they hear...” The last was an almost silent moan, quickly stifled with his fist.
“Then they’ll be jealous and wish they were still our age.” Jensen went still, horrified, and Jared muffled his chuckle against Jensen’s nape. “Relax, my love.” He removed his fingers and pulled Jensen’s leg backwards and up over his own thigh, making room for himself between the dragon’s legs. With a slow but steady push, he sank into his mate’s body. Jensen shuddered and swore below his breath.”That’s right. Just keep quiet and they’ll never know a thing...” He knew that as much as he was afraid of getting caught, Jensen was equally excited by the illicit nature of the situation.
In their time together, they had spent many nights curled up together like this. They had mated everywhere from decadent beds in the rooms of Palaces to the muddy forest floor before a battle. They had spent hours teasing one another to the edge, backing away, only to crawl to the edge again. They had had moments of desperate, grasping rutting. Each knew what the other could take, and what they could not. And yet, every time they came together, it was brand new and infinitely exciting. It was also a coming home and wholly comforting.
“Please, Jay. Don’t make me wait...” Jensen whispered sounding drugged.
“I’ve got you, my beauty.” Jared reassured and began to move deep and fast within his lover. It was the pace and strength guaranteed to get Jensen to the peak quickly. When, in very short order, Jensen shook apart in his arms, Jared felt tenderness flow through him. He felt it every time and wondered vaguely whether he always would, but then his own climax was upon him and he pulled Jen in tight as he buried himself deep.
Afterwards, Jensen turned in his embrace and snuggled into him. It was how they always slept and it never failed to make Jared smile. Jensen’s breathing slowed and his body relaxed, but he wasn’t yet asleep. Softly, he murmured into Jared’s chest, “We made it, Jay.”
Jared’s heart swelled. He wasn’t sure it was even possibly to love his dragon more than he already did. “Do you remember what you said to me, way back before this all began?” Jensen blinked up at him and shook his head. Jared smiled softly. “You told me that ‘we were going to be alright and we would come home to our families’. And I never doubted you.”
“I love you.” Jensen whispered.
“And I you, my beautiful dragon.”
***
A week later, a copper heavyweight and a one-eyed green midweight made a landing in the field beside the Ackles home. Jensen and Jared ran out to meet them. Chris, Steve, Jeff and Hilarie were already half way across the field and smiling widely. “Well, ain’t you two a sight for sore eyes!” Chris bellowed.
“It hasn’t even been a fortnight, Chris.” Jared replied dryly, but for people who had spent every day together for more than two years, who had fought side by side, suffered side by side, it was like missing a limb.
“And you’ve been bragging about your Momma’s Chicken Fried Steak for so long that we had to see if it could possibly be as good as you said.” Jeff rumbles, clapping Jensen on the shoulder fondly and winking with his one good eye. They had all become good friends as they spent more time together, and it was unshakeable now.
“Shouldn’t you all be with your own families?” Jensen asked. “We’ve been gone so long...”
Steve gave the dragon a gentle smile, rubbing his sore shoulder. “We just came from the Kanes’ home and we’re on the way to my folks, but it can wait one more day. Who knows when we’ll next have a chance to all be together.”
“Then we’re glad you came.” Jared told them. ”Come on inside and meet everyone.”
***
Jared stood on the back porch of a modest house in the suburbs of Killeen, Texas. He had found work on one of the farms nearby and Jensen had enrolled to study at the university. The first thing they had done was find a home. The same day they had moved in they had come across a farmer giving away pups, and they had taken it as a sign that their family needed two more members. That had been six months ago, and Jared watched the rambunctious mutts chasing each other across the backyard.
Jensen sidled up beside him and watched them for a moment too. “What are you thinking?”
“How lucky we are.” Jared answered. He put his arm around Jensen’s shoulders. “We met each other when we were just kids and were always friends. We became mates. We were sent to war with our best friends beside us, and we survived that war. We got to come home to our families. We’ve got our health and we’re still young. We’ve got a second chance and a new start.”
Nodding, Jensen agreed, “We have been lucky. I think as long as we’ve got each other, we will always be lucky.” Jared leaned down and kissed him soundly. He broke away when Sadie and Harley began to yip wildly. Merlin was gliding overhead, preparing to land.
“Guess we better get that barbecue going. If the Brits are here, Chris and Steve won’t be far behind.” Giving credence to his words, Grymus’ roar could be heard in the distance.
Jensen laughed. “Let’s get moving, then.”
Interludes I - IV: http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/37457.html
The title for Part Two was taken from the following poem:
The War In The Air
Howard Nemerov
For a saving grace, we didn't see our dead,
Who rarely bothered coming home to die
But simply stayed away out there
In the clean war, the war in the air.
Seldom the ghosts come back bearing their tales
Of hitting the earth, the incompressible sea,
But stayed up there in the relative wind,
Shades fading in the mind,
Who had no graves but only epitaphs
Where never so many spoke for never so few:
Per ardua, said the partisans of Mars,
Per aspera, to the stars.
That was the good war, the war we won
As if there was no death, for goodness's sake.
With the help of the losers we left out there
In the air, in the empty air.