Fic: 'Venus to the Sun' (1/2)
Okay so, I'm noticing that Jensen can never just be a normal guy in my fics. Maybe subconsciously, I don't think anyone that hot can really be human. Hmm....
Well, here is the urban fantasy AU that took on a mind of its own. It ran away with me and this is the result. Hope someone enjoys...
*****
Title: Venus to the Sun (1/2)
Author: Never
Pairing: Jared/Jensen/Jeff, Jared/Jensen, and Jeff/Jensen
Rating: Hard R
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not true.
Summary: The day Jensen steps off the roof of his office building, he discovers a world where fairies, dragons, and gnomes not only exist, but live side by side with humans.
Notes: Apparently, this is the first in a series. Over 14,000 words. For wtf27 challenge #12: Fantasy AU (urban). Parts beta’d by arnie1967 and d41j0ubu - any other mistakes are all mine.
***
Like every day for the past thirty years of his life, Jensen stares up into the sky, watching the clouds slowly pass by. He ignores the guy standing beside him, and keeps his attention focused on the soft white shapes. There’s just something entrancing about the clouds. He can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to fly through them. Really fly through them, letting the moist air touch his skin as he blindly makes his way, and the thought of it makes him shiver and sigh.
The guy beside him keeps blathering on, and distantly, Jensen notices that most of his other co-workers have gone inside, leaving just the two of them alone on the roof of their office building. He’s barely aware of what he’s doing when he reaches up and pulls his tie loose and yanks it over his head to toss it off the side of the building. Jensen’s gaze follows it all the way down, then smiles as his shirt joins the tie on the sidewalk below. A second later, he’s standing on the ledge and the guy’s voice is frantic but Jensen just doesn’t care. It’s like the clouds are beckoning him; luring him with an irresistible call.
He wants to do this. He must do this.
With his eyes still on the sky, he takes a step and feels nothing but air.
***
From the city street below, two men witness the falling clothes. The slightly shorter man with dark hair turns to his blonde companion in silent question, then glances back up just in time to see Jensen step off the ledge.
“Shit.”
***
Chris grits his teeth as he swiftly weaves through the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Steve is barely keeping up because he’s got most of his attention on the sky. It’s only centuries of being together that has the blonde able to keep track of his companion without trying.
“What are we going to do, Chris?” Steve asks, his eyes still searching the air above them.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growls.
Steve feels that he needs to point something out, since Chris isn’t exactly in a rational state of mind at present. “We have to find him first.”
“I’ve got his scent; I’ll find him. You get back to The Ring and tell Samantha what’s happened. Try to keep it from everyone else, especially Jeff, as long as you can.”
“Nothing can be kept from Jeff - you know that.”
Ducking into an alley, Chris continues on with Steve until he’s certain the two of them are hidden by a dumpster. “Try. The last thing we need is Jeffrey Dean Morgan getting wind of this before we can get to Jensen.”
“How will you track him?” Steve asks. It’s a good question seeing as Chris’s options are pretty limited in broad daylight.
“I’ll steal a motorcycle. That’s as good as I can get for now.”
Steve nods, then grabs Chris by the shoulder. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
Chris snarls, “I won’t regret anything I do to him. Now get to The Ring.” With his last order given, he turns back towards the street, never looking back to see Steve fade into shadows.
***
Steve steps back into the light just outside of The Ring. He glances around, grateful that the street leading to the club are relatively empty. Taking a breath, he makes his way to the front door of The Ring, a safe haven and club for his kind, and knocks three times on the old oak door. A narrow panel in the door moves to the side revealing a pair of bright blue eyes. Instantly, the panel closes and the door opens.
Stepping inside, Steve turns to greet Tom with a nod. “Where is she?”
“Upstairs, why? What’s going on? Where’s Chris?” Tom’s forehead wrinkles as he asks question after question.
“We’ve got a problem. I need an audience right now.”
Tom nods, then leads Steve through the empty club to the side stairwell that curves up to the overhanging second floor and into an office. Once inside the small room, he holds up a hand to halt Steve, and moves over to an old-fashioned wooden desk where an older woman with long blonde hair is writing. Tom whispers something, then motions for Steve to approach.
Steve’s familiar with protocol, so he waits for the woman, Samantha, to acknowledge him before he reports. “Jensen leapt from the roof of his office building today.”
A gasp sounds from Samantha followed by a sigh from Tom. “Where is he?” she asks.
“Chris is tracking him.”
“Good,” Samantha nods as her eyes seem to focus on something distant. “Chris won’t lose him. Does anyone else know?”
“Not that I know of, however Jensen leapt in broad daylight. I have no idea who all could have seen.”
“What was he thinking?” the woman mutters just loud enough for Steve to hear, but he knows it’s not meant for him. After a few silent seconds, she addresses him again, “Go and help Chris. I want Jensen found. Now. Take Tom if you need him; Mike can guard the door.”
Mike is definitely not guard material, besides it would take him too long to get here, and now that Jensen’s jumped, Samantha is going to need all the protection she can get. “I’m sure Chris and I can take care of Jensen, but if it looks like we need help, I’ll call.”
The woman nods, and Steve considers himself dismissed.
***
Steve steps back out onto the street and feels around for Chris. He’s got nothing, but that’s not too surprising - Chris on the hunt is always more cautious. No point in wasting time. Steve pulls out his cell phone.
One ring. Two rings. Then to the point as always, Chris states, “I’ve got him.”
“Where?” Steve asks.
“Bastard went back to his apartment. Get here.” Click.
Steve barely makes it to out of the open before he’s fading.
***
Chris is still sitting on a stolen motorcycle when Steve walks up beside him. Chris’s eyes are focused on the window that Steve knows is to Jensen’s living room.
Steve breaks the silence, “You got a particular plan or-”
Interrupting, Chris throws his leg over the bike to stand, “Get him. Simple as that.”
“He may not want to come.”
“He’ll come.”
***
Jensen sits on his couch; ragged gasps for breath are the only sound in the room. He’s having a heart attack. No. He’s too young for a heart attack. Panic attack maybe? Yeah. A panic attack.
…Or maybe a nervous breakdown. His job sucks, so his subconscious came up with this whole scenario where he stepped off the roof and flew home. Yeah, that has to be it.
Seriously. That stuff doesn’t happen in real life, so it has to be a dream.
See? He’s just going crazy. That’s not too bad. He can live with that.
Nodding to himself, he tries to calm his breathing as he gets up and goes to his bedroom to change. He’s on his way back to the couch wearing worn jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt when there’s a knock at the door. He really doesn’t have time for visitors if he’s going crazy.
“Jenny!” Chris’s voice seems to fill up the entire apartment. “Open the door! I know you’re in there!”
Huh. That’s weird. Maybe Chris is part of his hallucination. If it is, it’d be rude not to open the door since that is a figment of his imagination out there. He stumbles across the living room and opens the door, letting Chris and Steve inside before closing and locking it behind them.
Chris looks pretty pissed, but the anger visually dissipates the second he gets a look at Jensen. At the same time, Steve’s eyes narrow on him. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m having a nervous breakdown - no big deal.”
Chris and Steve exchange looks, then Steve approaches with his hands up in - what Jensen is pretty sure is supposed to be - a calming gesture. “Jensen, you’re not having a breakdown. Everything you’re seeing is real.”
Laughing, Jensen slaps Steve on the back. “Good one, man. You’re my hallucination; you’re supposed to say that. Well, you guys want a beer?”
His guests share another glance, then it’s Chris’s turn to approach. “Jensen, I want to show you something, but you need to come with us, right now.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to see your mother. She’ll help explain things to you.”
Okay, Jensen’s confused. “We’re flying to Dallas?”
Steve cuffs Chris’s shoulder, then maneuvers his way in front of Chris. “We’re going to a bar. You look like you could use a shot of something.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Behind Steve, Chris rolls his eyes before moving across the living room to look out the window down onto the streets below. His body tense, he turns back towards Steve and Jensen. “Gnomes. We gotta move.”
Jensen’s confused again. “Did someone put in yard gnomes? Why are we running from that? Just move away from the window so you don’t have to see them.”
Chris is growling. Growling. “Do you know a back way out?”
“There’s side door that leads to the alley, but-” He doesn’t get a chance to finish as he’s manhandled out the door by Chris, who then shoves Jensen behind him so Jensen’s in the middle of their little parade.
The three of them quietly make their way down the stairwell that’s located at the opposite end of the hallway from the elevator. Actually, Jensen’s not that quiet since he keeps asking questions, but the others keep shushing him, so he gives up around the third floor.
Just as Chris is reaching for the door to the alley on the first floor, he stops, making Jensen crash into him. Jensen notices Chris’s nose twitch, like he’s sniffing. Weird.
“Shit. They’re outside waiting for us,” Chris explains. Not fully taking his eyes off the door, he turns back to ask Steve, “Do you think you can fade with him?”
Steve’s eyes rake up and down Jensen’s body. “I can try.”
“Do it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll meet you there.”
Nodding, Steve pulls Jensen towards the shadowy area under the stairs and takes a deep breath. “You might want to close your eyes.”
That’s all the warning Jensen gets before he’s yanked into a darkness that seems to stretch on forever.
***
Steve steps out of the shadows with Jensen at his side, and immediately Steve has to steady his companion. “It’s okay, give it a few minutes. It’s always disorienting the first time.”
“Wha…what was that?” Jensen asks as he’s leaning pretty heavily on Steve. His hand reaches out to the brick wall to help prop him up, but stops short as if he’s afraid to touch it. Probably thinks he’ll fall back through the way they came.
“We faded.”
Jensen’s eyes are wide as he turns to Steve. “Huh?”
“I’ll explain later. Come on.” He guides Jensen towards the street, one hand still offering support, but once Steve looks out to see the front of The Ring, he pushes Jensen back into the alley. “Hell.”
“What now?” Jensen looks a little wary, and Steve can’t really blame the guy.
“You still dizzy?”
“A little.”
“Okay, I’m going to lean you against the wall for a minute. Try not to move too much.” At seeing Jensen’s hesitant glance to the brick wall in question, Steve adds, “You won’t fall through, I promise. I just need to go back and see how many gnomes are already surrounding The Ring.”
With Jensen set, Steve goes back to the street, keeping close to the shadows that offer safety if needed. He reaches into his coat and pulls out his cell phone again to call Chris.
In the middle of the first ring, Chris answers, “Is he safe?”
“For now, but we can’t go to The Ring. The gnomes are already here.”
“Fuck. Where are you?”
“Alleyway across the street.”
A brief pause, then, “Think you can fade with him again?”
“Yeah, but I can’t do it yet.”
“Too weak?” Steve smiles at the concern in Chris’s voice.
“Nah, Jensen is still a little unsteady. If I fade with him now, I’ll be carrying him when we come out.”
“Alright. Keep out of sight, and once he’s ready, get him out of there.”
“Where do you want me to take him?”
Chris sighs, and Steve imagines that he’s rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know. You got any ideas?”
“I don’t know where he would be the safest. Where are you right now?”
“Up on a roof a few blocks from Jensen’s apartment.”
That didn’t sound good. “What are you doing on a roof?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Chris’s tone is harsh. “I’m getting away from the gnomes without starting a war.”
Granted, when he puts it like that, it makes a lot of sense. Steve just doesn’t like the idea of Chris flying in the middle of the day, especially after Jensen’s leap earlier. “Okay. We still need to figure out where I’m taking Jen.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…take him to Mike’s.”
Steve is half tempted to check his phone to make sure it’s still working and he didn’t imagine that last sentence, but he’s not creative - or crazy - enough to come up with that suggestion. “You sure?”
“No. But at least you two won’t be as exposed there.”
“Figuratively speaking.”
“Just go.” And then Chris is gone.
Steve puts away his phone, then returns to see Jensen standing on his own again. “You okay?”
Jensen nods.
“No more dizziness?”
“I’m fine, asshole.”
That’s the Jen he knows and loves. “Good. It’s time to move.”
“Where are we going now?”
“A friend’s.” He takes hold of Jensen’s bicep and herds him back towards the shadows. “You ready?”
“No.”
Grinning, Steve pushes him in the darkness, and follows just behind.
***
If there was any doubt before, it’s gone now. Jensen is going crazy. Not only did he fly. He has since run from gnomes, apparently. Steve has faded the two of them - whatever the fuck that means - into an alley, then to this…Jensen doesn’t even know how to describe this place. And now, he’s meeting some bald guy named Mike…who has horns. Fucking. Horns. Short, pointy horns that Jensen can’t stop staring at, and admittedly, that might be a little rude. But dude. Horns.
“I’ve got a tail too, in case you want to see it,” Mike smirks.
Not really. All Jensen wants to do is finish his breakdown and have some one-on-one time with a bottle of tequila. “No thanks.”
Steve is snickering beside him, that fucking traitorous hallucination. “I think my man here needs a shot of tequila and a beer, and I’ll have the same.”
“More than a shot,” Jensen mutters.
“Ah, right this way.” Mike ushers them towards a bar, then disappears behind the back to get their drinks.
Behind them is a very dark room filled with cushioned chairs and couches and…well…lots of beds. To be honest, it looks like a brothel, so Jensen is doing his best not to look around.
“Here you go, gentlemen. Now, can I interest you in a place to lie back and…enjoy yourselves?” Mike asks, wagging his eyebrows suggestively at Jensen. Jensen tries not to think about that as he takes his shot, or he might spit it out.
Steve speaks up, “We need a table and chairs.”
Immediately, Mike’s shoulders slump and his bottom lip sticks out in a pout. “Fine. There are two tables over there just as you walk in.”
“We’d prefer something not so close to the door.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a bed? Or a couch? A lounge?”
“Positive.”
Huffing, Mike points in the opposite direction of the door. “Fine, I’ll have a table set up over there. Two chairs?”
“Three.”
“Ah, a threesome!”
“Mike.” That one word has all the warning necessary since the guy jumps to get the table set up.
Jensen can hear Steve saying, “damn satyrs” under his breath. What the hell does that mean?
***
Jensen’s halfway into his third beer - what? going crazy is a pretty good reason to get drunk - when Chris shows up.
“You sure you weren’t followed?” Steve asks right off.
Chris quirks an eyebrow as he sits down. “I’m a cuélebre, show some respect.”
What the hell is a cuélebre?
Steve is grinning when he replies, “You didn’t answer my question.”
“No. I wasn’t followed. But I did some recon to find out exactly what’s going on out there.” The look he shoots Steve communicates something he’s not willing to say aloud, but it’s something not that great, judging from the tense set of his shoulders.
Nodding, Steve turns back towards Jensen. “So, you’re probably wondering what’s happening to you.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been wondering that a little bit. I’m going crazy, right? I mean it’s that or an acid trip.” Jensen’s expression falls. “You guys didn’t slip me acid, did you?”
“No,” Chris rolls his eyes, “we didn’t slip you acid. Look, I’m going to make this short and sweet.” Jensen is all ears. “You’re not human.”
Well, he certainly got the short part right.
Steve glares at Chris, then adds, “What Chris means is that the people who raised you aren’t your parents. In exchange for their human child, they were given you. You’re a changeling.”
“So. Acid trip it is.” Jensen downs his beer and signals for another one.
Chris grabs Jensen’s hand to get his attention, then sets it back on the table. “Jen, we don’t have time for this. We’ve been your friends for years - you’re just going to have to trust us.”
“Exactly!” Jensen points. “You’re my friends. You’ve known me since I moved here. You don’t know my parents, you don’t know about my childhood. How on earth do you know, or think you know, that I was exchanged as a kid?”
Instantly, Steve and Chris shift uneasily.
Oh. Oh no. Jensen really doesn’t like this.
Steve is the first to break. “What’s important to know is that we weren’t assigned to you. We wanted to watch over you.”
Chris raises a hand to cut him off. “Jen, we met you by accident, but I knew from the first second what you were. I smelled it on you. And hell, you were an okay guy, so we volunteered to protect you in case anyone else ever found you.”
“Protect me in case anyone else ever found me? Fuck.” Jensen scrubs his face with his hands before looking back up at Chris. “Okay, wait. You said I was exchanged, right? Well, pretending that this is all real and what you’re saying is true…” he hesitates a moment, noticing but ignoring Chris’s annoyed scoff, “what happened to the kid I was exchanged with?”
Steve sighs and shrugs. “We don’t know; we weren’t in the area when your mother switched you. She’s probably the only person who knows what happened to the Ackles’s real kid.”
Huffing out a breath, Jensen shakes his head. “Do you have any idea how crazy this sounds?”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Chris answers, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Now listen. Your mother - your real mother - is Samantha. She’s the oldest and most powerful sylph in the area.”
“Sylph?”
“Air elemental,” Steve answers, then yields the floor to Chris again.
“Jensen, magic is all about balance. And elementals are the epitome of balance. Four types, each counterbalancing another. Fire and water. Earth and air. Your mother is an air elemental, a sylph, so you’re a sylph too.”
Keeping his disbelief to himself, Jensen just nods for Chris to continue.
“Before, everyone thought that you were simply a powerless changeling, but you proved them wrong. You outed yourself as a powerful elemental in a single, idiotic move. So now the earth elementals, or gnomes, are accusing your mother of intentionally upsetting the balance and they are demanding retribution.”
“Retribution? What are they asking for?”
“I don’t know.” But Chris looks towards Steve for a split second, and just like that, Jensen knows he’s keeping something back.
“But you have an idea.”
Chris’s eyes meet his, though he doesn’t say anything.
Must be pretty bad. Jensen chews on his lower lip as he thinks about all this. “And since she’s my mother, she has to pay for my mistake.”
“Because she’s sort of like the head sylph in the area, but yeah. They’re going to take their anger out on her.”
“But the gnomes came after you too,” Steve adds. “That’s who we were running from at your apartment. We promised your mother we’d keep you safe, so that’s our priority right now.”
Jensen runs his fingers through his short hair. “I still don’t know if I believe all this.”
“You fucking flew, and you don’t believe us? What the fuck?” Chris asks. Not waiting for an answer, his fingers close around one of Jensen’s wrists like iron. “Get your hand out of my grip.”
“What?”
“Get your hand out of my grip.” His fingers constrict their hold until Jensen can feel his veins pulsing against Chris’s fingertips.
Obediently, Jensen starts tugging as hard as he can, but he can’t gain any headway.
“Get your hand out of my grip,” Chris repeats, his fingers tightening impossibly further.
It feels like Chris is about to crush the bones. Jensen has to get his hand out of that grip or Chris may just break his wrist to prove a point. Gritting his teeth, he focuses on his hand and watches as it seems to come apart, atom by atom until every last one is free of Chris’s grasp. He’s having a hard time believing his eyes, especially since his hand still feels the same - still feels whole. But then each atom comes back together as if never apart and Jensen is speechless. Okay, maybe not. “What. The fuck?”
“Believe us now?”
***
Jensen sets down his newly emptied beer and looks over at Chris. “So you’re saying that because I’m an air elemental, I’m basically made of air. I can become air when I want to?”
“And fly,” Steve grins, “but you already about know that one.”
“I think I need another drink,” Jensen says.
“No time. Now that the gnomes are after you and Samantha’s been taken, we have to get you to Jeff. He’s your best option now.”
“Then why didn’t we go to him in the first place?”
Chris shrugs as he stands. “He wasn’t your best option then. He is now. Let’s go.”
***
“So, if I’m a...” Jensen’s still having a hard time with this, “…a sylph, what are you guys?” He glances over at Chris and continues, “You called yourself a cuélebre earlier…is that your, I don’t know…race?”
Steve is snickering behind them as they move through the streets.
Chris has one hand on Jensen’s shoulder, and he’s grinning himself as he answers, “Yeah, I’m a cuélebre.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a type of dragon.”
Jensen’s forehead wrinkles as he takes that in. “Then why don’t you just say you’re a dragon?”
Chris looks offended, and Jensen is suddenly even more lost. “That’s like me just calling you a fairy instead of calling you a sylph.”
Yeah, that is totally lost on Jensen.
Chris must read it in his expression because he immediately says, “Just trust me, it’s an insult. There are dozens of breeds of dragon, each with different powers, strengths, weaknesses, desires, loyalties, you name it.”
“What powers does a cuélebre have?”
Smirking, Chris leans closer. “What powers does a cuélebre have, or what powers do I have?”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Jensen’s confused again. Why can’t that asshole just answer a question?
“There are some standard powers like flight and fire, but for us older ones…let’s just say we get a bonus after a few centuries.” And the bastard winks.
Jensen gives up. “What about Steve?” He turns slightly so he can see the blonde man walking behind them. “What are you?”
Grinning again, Steve explains, “Cuélebres are known for kidnapping xanas, which are beautiful female nymphs, and hiding them away along with the rest of their treasure.”
“To be love slaves,” Chris whispers.
“To be wives,” Steve counters.
“Semantics,” Chris grins. “Anyway, I kidnapped Steve and I’ve been stuck with him ever since.”
That’s all good and well, but Jensen sees one small inconsistency that he thinks need to be pointed out. “Steve’s not a chick.”
“You noticed that too, huh?” Chris grins.
Another punch to Chris’s shoulder, then Steve comes up on Jensen’s other side. “I never claimed to be a nymph.”
“Then why did he kidnap you?”
Steve rests a hand on Jensen’s other shoulder. “Chris isn’t exactly a typical cuélebre either. Anyway, he caught me by accident -”
Chris interrupts, “Hey! I caught you using a very detailed, well thought out plan.”
“A detailed, well thought out plan meant to catch a nymph, not me.”
Jensen’s known Chris and Steve for years, and he’s never seen them like this. They’re usually so quiet and secretive, never saying more than necessary. A real ‘if it can’t be said in one word it’s not worth saying’ pair of guys. Guess now that Jensen knows their big secret, they’re not holding anything back anymore. And as interested as he is on all the little details that brought these two guys together, he redirects the conversation before they start bickering even more. “He caught you by accident, but…what are you?”
“There’s not a word in your language for what I am. The best description is a shadow-walker, sort of like a dark fairy, but not exactly. As he was waiting for a nymph to come along, I stepped out of the shadows,” he shrugs, “and now here we are, 600 years later.”
Wait. “You two are 600 years old?”
“Older. Especially that one,” Steve says, jerking his thumb in Chris’s direction.
“Shut up. I’ll have you know I’m not a day over 800.”
“Whatever you say, grandpa.”
***
Chris steals a car a few blocks down from Mike’s place and shoves Jensen into the backseat while Chris and Steve jump in the front. Not that Jensen minds driving wherever they’re going, but Chris just stole it. “Hey guys, why don’t we just do Steve’s shadow trick…thing?”
Steve turns back to look at Jensen while Chris steers their way through traffic. “I’m not strong enough to carry Chris through the shadows - he’s too big.”
Jensen eyes Chris skeptically. “Dude, I’m bigger than he is and you carried me just fine.”
“You don’t understand. When we pass through the shadow realm, we move in our true forms. Chris’s true form is too big - the guy’s a dragon. He’s over thirty feet long, and I’m just not strong enough to carry anything that big.”
So Chris doesn’t really look like that; he’s really a thirty foot long dragon dressed like a hick. Wow. “What about me?” Jensen asks. “What’s my…true form?”
“You’re in it…at least for now. Once you fully embrace your powers, you’ll change.” The smirk on Steve’s face tells Jensen he’s probably not going to appreciate what comes next. “Then your true form will be about two inches tall.”
Steve gets way too much glee out of that, so Jensen is totally within his rights to punch him in the shoulder. Ass.
***
Chris eventually pulls up to a two story white house that looks like it belongs on a plantation instead of in the middle of the city. All three men climb out and walk up the steps towards the front door. They don’t even get a chance to knock since it opens as they approach; Jensen doesn’t know if he should be surprised or not that there’s no one holding the door open. He hesitates a moment before stepping over the threshold, and immediately he feels a barely-there brush along his skin, like walking through a spider web. Some distant part of him instinctively knows it’s magic. Protective. He’s safe here. …Weird.
A really tall guy with floppy hair and a big grin strolls into the entranceway to look them over. “Chris, Steve,” he nods in greeting, then turns to Jensen. “You must be the little troublemaker.” He says it with a smile and a sparkle in his eyes, so Jensen can’t bring himself to be insulted.
“Jensen,” he supplies.
“Jared,” the tall guys responds, holding out a hand.
Jensen takes it, shocked by how warm it is. Damn near hot, but completely dry. On a deeper level, he feels a vibration - like an electrical hum that keeps building in intensity until it bursts in a shock against his skin that travels along the nerve endings through his body, finally settling heavily in his groin. What the hell? He glances up at Jared to see the giant’s eyes widen ever so slightly, but he doesn’t say anything. Must be more magic - Jensen just doesn’t think he’s ever going to get used to that.
Chris grunts. “He in there?”
Jared keeps his eyes on Jensen but nods at Chris. “Yeah, he’s expecting you. I’ll watch over Jensen here while you and Steve present your case.”
Shaking his head, Chris steps forward, “Jensen stays with us.”
Finally tearing his gaze from Jensen, Jared turns to Chris with a fiery flash in his eyes. “Jeff wants to speak to the two of you. Alone.”
The tension in the room builds as the two men stare each other down. Steve subtly inches closer to Chris while managing to keep himself between Jared and Jensen.
Growling, Chris breaks eye contact. “Anything happens to him, I’ll drop you in the deepest part of the ocean I can find and see how you fare.”
With a nod of acknowledgement, Jared gestures Steve and Chris into a side room. “Go on in.”
Steve glances back at Jensen and gives a reassuring wink just before he disappears into the room with Chris.
***
Jared leads Jensen into another side room that must be a library. There are shelves of books lining the walls from floor to ceiling, the only breaks being the door and a fireplace that is roaring behind Jared.
“Um, isn’t it a little warm for a fire?” Jensen asks. That’s an understatement; it’s early fall and the temperature hasn’t even started to drop yet.
“I like fire. I’m a vulcanus.” He stands - unbelievably - a little taller at that and puffs out his chest. Must be a big thing to be a vulcanus.
Too bad Jensen has no idea what the hell that is.
Jared obviously reads the confusion on Jensen’s face since he slouches a little. “A salamander?” Jared asks, hoping for some kind of recognition from Jensen.
The latter’s still got nothing.
With his shoulders slumped down in defeat, Jared explains, “I’m a fire elemental.”
Oh! Jensen knows what that is! “Cool…or…well…hot.”
And just like that, Jared is grinning at him again. “Definitely can be.” He shifts a little on his feet. “So, I understand that you’re just learning about our world.”
“Yeah. A few hours ago, I had no idea what an air elemental was, let alone that I was one.”
Jared’s eyebrows dip and he frowns as he approaches Jensen. “If you didn’t know you could fly…why did you step off the roof?”
Shit.
Luckily, before Jensen could come up with some answer, Steve appears at the door and says that Jensen’s been summoned to Jeff’s presence.
Saved by the bell. Or whatever.
***
Jensen is led into another room that has several couches and chairs facing each other, and again, the fireplace is lit. The room feels warm and inviting and Jensen’s tempted to sit down and put his feet up. He doesn’t mainly because Chris and Steve are nowhere to be seen, and that makes him a little nervous. He’s shocked to realize how much he’s been depending on Steve and Chris for everything throughout this whole nightmare.
A scruffy looking man with a beard and short dark curls comes forward to greet him. “Jensen, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Jeff.” The guy holds out his hand to shake and Jensen takes it, feeling that damn electrical hum again, but it’s different this time. The buildup is almost instantaneous, much shorter than the few seconds that he felt with Jared. When the shock hits, every cell in his body feels it - like firecrackers exploding all around him. And when it finally settles in his groin, Jensen feels his cock stir with interest. Outwardly, Jeff doesn’t show any reaction, but his breath catches in his throat before evening out again. Damn, Jensen wishes he knew what the hell was going on. “Please, have a seat.” Jeff gestures towards one of the couches while he takes a seat in the chair closest to the fire.
Jensen sits facing Jeff, but he doesn’t really know what is supposed to happen now. Is he supposed to explain his situation, or did Chris and Steve already do that?
“Don’t worry so much. Chris and Steve told me what’s going on as they see it, so now you and I are just going to have a little chat.”
Wait. Was that just perfect timing or…?
“Yes, I did read your mind. I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. If you want to hide your thoughts from me, it often helps to think of some kind of physical barrier between the two of us. Like a wall or a thick door.”
Holy shit. Jensen just… He doesn’t… Words don’t… Holy. Shit.
Jeff chuckles and shakes his head. “I can’t exactly turn off my powers, but I’ll stop replying to your thoughts, okay? I understand that you’ve had enough to deal with already today, and I don’t want to contribute to that.”
“Um. Thanks,” Jensen mumbles, shifting side to side on the couch. “I don’t exactly know why I’m here.”
“You’re here because you did something very unwise earlier.”
Nodding, Jensen looks down. “I’m aware of that.” He leans forward, eyes focused on Jeff. “Look, I didn’t know all this would happen, or I never would have-”
Jeff interrupts, “I know. But we can’t change the past, not without serious consequences. So now we must decide what to do about you. Chris tells me that he’s already informed you of the gnome situation.”
“Yeah, that they want retribution.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Shit. Jensen swallows thickly, then forces the words off his tongue. “What are they going to do to my mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you help her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is there anything you do know?” Okay, so maybe that came out a little ruder than he’d intended.
“I know that your mother wants you safe, and so do I. That’s why I’m going to offer you sanctuary here in my home until this mess is cleaned up.”
“What does that mean?”
“You will stay here until the gnomes get their revenge or until your mother has been freed. While you’re under my protection, no one will harm you - even the entire gnome population in a blood-frenzy wouldn’t stand against me. You’re perfectly safe here.”
“That’s all good and well, but I want to help my mother. This is my fault; she shouldn’t be punished for my mistake.”
Jeff doesn’t move as he calmly watches Jensen fume in his seat. How can the guy be so cold and unfeeling? The guy can read minds but he doesn’t care about what he finds there? Aren’t telepaths supposed to be good guys who care about people?
Instantly, Jeff’s eyes narrow. “If I were you, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to insult your host - I said that the gnomes wouldn’t hurt you. I never said I wouldn’t beat some sense into you myself.”
That damn mind reading son of a… He cuts off the thought and takes a deep breath to compose himself. Steve and Chris say this guy is Jensen’s best hope, and the last thing he needs to do is piss him off, especially if Jeff might be able to help Jensen’s mother. Maybe Jensen just doesn’t understand what’s all going on here…okay, so maybe that’s more of a certainty than just a maybe. Chastised, Jensen nods. “Sorry.”
“If you really want to help your mother, you’ll stay here and do what I say until this whole mess blows over.” Jeff stands up and holds out his hand again. “Deal?”
Jensen has the strangest feeling. Like his body is warning him that he doesn’t know what he’s getting into, but he still stands and shakes hands with Jeff. “Deal.”
With the words spoken, a pulse rips through his body, leaving Jensen dizzy and weak. He looks up to see Jeff’s contented expression aimed down at him, and it’s only then that Jensen realizes he’s slowly sinking to the floor.
“Chris?” Jeff calls, and the door instantly opens to reveal Jensen’s dark haired buddy.
Chris rushes forward to wrap an arm around Jensen to hold him up and help him walk out of the room.
“Have Jared show you to Jensen’s room; he’ll need to rest now,” Jeff says before the two of them fully make it through the door.
“What the hell?” Jensen manages to ask once they’re back in the main entranceway with Steve and Jared.
“You made a deal with Jeff. You’re lucky he didn’t knock you flat on your ass, you idiot,” Chris replies.
“What…what is he?”
“Something you don’t want to tangle with,” Chris answers, “if you can help it.”
A few feet from them, Jared growls and his eyes do that angry flashy thing, and that’s the last Jensen sees before he passes out.
***
“I’m going out tonight,” Jeff says, shuffling the papers across his desk in search of something - Jared has no idea what.
Jared is leaning back in one of the fancy chairs because he knows it annoys the hell out of Jeff and Jared is just in that type of mood right now. Chris and Steve are watching over Jensen as he sleeps, practically barring Jared from the latter’s room, which pisses Jared off more than simple words can express. A small part of him can understand that Chris and Steve don’t want Jared interacting with Jensen because Jensen’s a sylph, and a new sylph, at that. And Jared is a salamander. Two species that shouldn’t mix, but Jared knows that somehow the two of them will. The problem is that Jared isn’t going to figure out how until he can get some alone time with Jensen.
“I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Jensen,” Jeff orders, and Jared’s ears immediately perk up.
“Huh?”
Jeff looks up at him and smirks. “Watch. Over. Jensen. Make sure he’s settled and he has everything he needs.”
“What about Chris and Steve?” Jared asks, finally setting all four legs of his chair back on the floor.
“I gave sanctuary to Jensen, but Chris and Steve proclaimed themselves as his bodyguards. They may remain here with him, as long as they stay out of trouble.”
Jared slumps in his seat at the news. It’s not that Jared doesn’t like the dragon and his mate, or that he wants to kick them out. But he does want them out of the way for a little while. Just long enough for him to get to talk to Jensen again. Is that too much to ask?
Jeff sighs. “Fine, if it will stop your whining, I will send Chris and Steve out for a little recon on the gnomes, alright?”
Beaming at Jeff, Jared jumps up and nods. “Thanks, boss. I knew I liked your telepathy for a reason!”
“Glad to know I’m of some use to you,” Jeff smiles. “I’ll let you go and tell them. I’m leaving now and I won’t be back until dawn.”
“Be safe, Jeff. With the gnomes up at arms, it’s crazy out there tonight.”
“I always am, Jared.”
***
Chris is nursing his beer while glaring at the occupants of the bar in general. Beside him, Steve has his hands around a beer, though he isn’t drinking, and he’s splitting his attention between the other bar goers and Chris. The latter is about to explode, Steve’s sure of it.
“Fuck this,” Chris slams his beer down. “I say we go back to Jeff’s and check on Jensen.”
Chris is already rising when Steve lays a hand on his forearm and pulls him back down. “We haven’t completed our mission yet.”
“The mission Jared sent us on?” Chris sneers.
Steve is half tempted to give in at this point because he doesn’t feel like arguing with Chris…and he’s worried about Jensen himself. But if they’re going to protect Jensen, they need to know what’s going on between the sylphs and the gnomes. “The mission that Jeff sent us on and Jared told us about, yes.”
The brunette’s gaze travels along the length of the bar. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, but when he does, his voice is much softer. “I don’t like how eager Jared was to be alone with Jensen.”
“I know,” he nods. “But Jared won’t hurt Jensen - he’s a good guy.” Then at Chris’s bland stare, Steve amends, “Okay, relatively, he’s a good guy. And for a fire elemental, he’s a saint.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Chris, we didn’t have a choice. Jeff wants us to check out the gnomes, we check out the gnomes. We owe him. I owe him. He was the one who gave me sanctuary, remember? When everyone else wanted to send me back to my realm in pieces.”
Chris’s head whips around so Steve can see his eyes flash yellow in rage. “I wouldn’t have let them touch you.”
Steve can feel waves of heat radiating off of Chris as the latter’s pupils slit, which is never a good sign. “Chris, calm down. You’re on the verge of changing into the dragon. Just take a deep breath, and drink your beer.”
He doesn’t move for a second. He just keeps his focus on Steve, eyes still a bright yellow, but at least his pupils are rounding out. Steve is about to tell him to calm down again when Chris’s eyes snap closed and he turns away.
Chris finishes off his beer and says, “Let’s get the damn information and get out of here.” He doesn’t look back at Steve, but the latter knows that Chris is as back to normal as he can get at the moment and that’s good enough for him.
***
When Jensen wakes up, he’s half expecting to find all of it - the gnomes, sylphs, dragons, flying, Jeff, Jared…all of it - a whacked out dream, and he’s fully prepared to give up alcohol for the foreseeable future to prevent such a dream from happening again. But when his eyes open, the first thing he sees is an unfamiliar ceiling, followed by an equally unfamiliar room. In fact, the only thing he does recognize is Jared, which dismisses Jensen’s drunken dream pretty damn fast.
It only takes a second to put together that it’s the middle of the night, judging by the darkness outside, and Jensen’s lying on an enormous bed with Jared watching him intently from a chair less than a foot away.
“Morning,” Jared grins so wide his dimples appear. Then he shrugs and adds, “Well, almost. It’s about 3:30 am.”
Jensen pushes himself up, and throws his legs over the side of the bed. “What happened? I remember meeting you and Jeff and then…Chris said I made a deal with Jeff and that’s why I was so dizzy all of a sudden.”
Jared’s grin turns rueful. “Something like that. Chris, Steve, and I brought you up here so you could rest.”
“Where are they now?”
“Jeff sent them to do a little recon.”
If Jensen didn’t know Chris as well as he does, he might believe that without question. However, Jensen does know Chris, so he has to ask, “And Chris actually went?”
Leaning closer, Jared’s smile fades a little, and his eyes are studying Jensen’s face carefully. “No one refuses Jeff anything.”
“That’s mildly creepy. What is he?”
“He’s a very old man. Very, very, very old.”
Jensen’s eyes narrow. Shaking his head, he counters, “That doesn’t tell me what he is.”
“There are a lot of theories; the most popular one is that he’s a titan.” Jared shrugs. “I don’t know if that’s the case or not. Tell you the truth, I don’t think even Jeff knows what Jeff is. There were none before him, and I’m pretty sure there were no more after him. Kinda hard to classify a species or race on just one person, you know? Now come on, let’s go get you something to eat. You’re probably starving by now.” He stands up and lightly slaps the side of Jensen’s thigh.
Jensen gets up to follow but he contradicts his own actions when he says, “Nah, I’m not really hungry.”
Jared turns towards him, eyes wide. “Really? Well, I’m ravenous, so you can come down to the kitchen and keep me company.” His right arm reaches around Jensen’s shoulder and pulls him close. Really, Jensen should push him off because he’s just met the guy and there is such a thing as personal space with strangers. But instead, Jensen finds himself leaning into the solid heat of Jared’s torso. The guy’s a fire elemental, and Jensen can’t help but think of how hot he would get if he was using his powers. Jensen tries to suppress a shiver at the thought, but Jared must still feel it because he looks down at Jensen with a note of concern. “Cold?”
“Uh…a little,” he lies.
And instantly, Jensen’s surrounded by heat like he’s standing in the middle of a flame. He unconsciously tilts his head back, closes his eyes, and breathes, his whole body melting against Jared’s. All except for the area south of his belt that hardens painfully in his jeans.
“Better?” Jared’s voice is a little breathy, which doesn’t really help Jensen’s situation at all.
Eyelids opening, Jensen’s vision is filled with Jared, and there is just nothing wrong with that in Jensen’s mind. It looks like Jared doesn’t have a problem with that either since he’s inching closer, his eyes focusing on Jensen’s mouth.
“Sylph,” Jared whispers, his expression pained. Even as he’s retreating from Jensen’s personal space, his eyes are fire - literally fire - and Jensen can’t look away. “You’re a sylph and we…I ca-… Food. We…I need to get some food.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head as he pulls away completely, taking all of his warmth with him.
Jensen follows close behind Jared as they make their way through the house, and even though it’s a warm night, Jensen’s never felt so cold in his life.
Part 2
Well, here is the urban fantasy AU that took on a mind of its own. It ran away with me and this is the result. Hope someone enjoys...
*****
Title: Venus to the Sun (1/2)
Author: Never
Pairing: Jared/Jensen/Jeff, Jared/Jensen, and Jeff/Jensen
Rating: Hard R
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not true.
Summary: The day Jensen steps off the roof of his office building, he discovers a world where fairies, dragons, and gnomes not only exist, but live side by side with humans.
Notes: Apparently, this is the first in a series. Over 14,000 words. For wtf27 challenge #12: Fantasy AU (urban). Parts beta’d by arnie1967 and d41j0ubu - any other mistakes are all mine.
***
Like every day for the past thirty years of his life, Jensen stares up into the sky, watching the clouds slowly pass by. He ignores the guy standing beside him, and keeps his attention focused on the soft white shapes. There’s just something entrancing about the clouds. He can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to fly through them. Really fly through them, letting the moist air touch his skin as he blindly makes his way, and the thought of it makes him shiver and sigh.
The guy beside him keeps blathering on, and distantly, Jensen notices that most of his other co-workers have gone inside, leaving just the two of them alone on the roof of their office building. He’s barely aware of what he’s doing when he reaches up and pulls his tie loose and yanks it over his head to toss it off the side of the building. Jensen’s gaze follows it all the way down, then smiles as his shirt joins the tie on the sidewalk below. A second later, he’s standing on the ledge and the guy’s voice is frantic but Jensen just doesn’t care. It’s like the clouds are beckoning him; luring him with an irresistible call.
He wants to do this. He must do this.
With his eyes still on the sky, he takes a step and feels nothing but air.
***
From the city street below, two men witness the falling clothes. The slightly shorter man with dark hair turns to his blonde companion in silent question, then glances back up just in time to see Jensen step off the ledge.
“Shit.”
***
Chris grits his teeth as he swiftly weaves through the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Steve is barely keeping up because he’s got most of his attention on the sky. It’s only centuries of being together that has the blonde able to keep track of his companion without trying.
“What are we going to do, Chris?” Steve asks, his eyes still searching the air above them.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growls.
Steve feels that he needs to point something out, since Chris isn’t exactly in a rational state of mind at present. “We have to find him first.”
“I’ve got his scent; I’ll find him. You get back to The Ring and tell Samantha what’s happened. Try to keep it from everyone else, especially Jeff, as long as you can.”
“Nothing can be kept from Jeff - you know that.”
Ducking into an alley, Chris continues on with Steve until he’s certain the two of them are hidden by a dumpster. “Try. The last thing we need is Jeffrey Dean Morgan getting wind of this before we can get to Jensen.”
“How will you track him?” Steve asks. It’s a good question seeing as Chris’s options are pretty limited in broad daylight.
“I’ll steal a motorcycle. That’s as good as I can get for now.”
Steve nods, then grabs Chris by the shoulder. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
Chris snarls, “I won’t regret anything I do to him. Now get to The Ring.” With his last order given, he turns back towards the street, never looking back to see Steve fade into shadows.
***
Steve steps back into the light just outside of The Ring. He glances around, grateful that the street leading to the club are relatively empty. Taking a breath, he makes his way to the front door of The Ring, a safe haven and club for his kind, and knocks three times on the old oak door. A narrow panel in the door moves to the side revealing a pair of bright blue eyes. Instantly, the panel closes and the door opens.
Stepping inside, Steve turns to greet Tom with a nod. “Where is she?”
“Upstairs, why? What’s going on? Where’s Chris?” Tom’s forehead wrinkles as he asks question after question.
“We’ve got a problem. I need an audience right now.”
Tom nods, then leads Steve through the empty club to the side stairwell that curves up to the overhanging second floor and into an office. Once inside the small room, he holds up a hand to halt Steve, and moves over to an old-fashioned wooden desk where an older woman with long blonde hair is writing. Tom whispers something, then motions for Steve to approach.
Steve’s familiar with protocol, so he waits for the woman, Samantha, to acknowledge him before he reports. “Jensen leapt from the roof of his office building today.”
A gasp sounds from Samantha followed by a sigh from Tom. “Where is he?” she asks.
“Chris is tracking him.”
“Good,” Samantha nods as her eyes seem to focus on something distant. “Chris won’t lose him. Does anyone else know?”
“Not that I know of, however Jensen leapt in broad daylight. I have no idea who all could have seen.”
“What was he thinking?” the woman mutters just loud enough for Steve to hear, but he knows it’s not meant for him. After a few silent seconds, she addresses him again, “Go and help Chris. I want Jensen found. Now. Take Tom if you need him; Mike can guard the door.”
Mike is definitely not guard material, besides it would take him too long to get here, and now that Jensen’s jumped, Samantha is going to need all the protection she can get. “I’m sure Chris and I can take care of Jensen, but if it looks like we need help, I’ll call.”
The woman nods, and Steve considers himself dismissed.
***
Steve steps back out onto the street and feels around for Chris. He’s got nothing, but that’s not too surprising - Chris on the hunt is always more cautious. No point in wasting time. Steve pulls out his cell phone.
One ring. Two rings. Then to the point as always, Chris states, “I’ve got him.”
“Where?” Steve asks.
“Bastard went back to his apartment. Get here.” Click.
Steve barely makes it to out of the open before he’s fading.
***
Chris is still sitting on a stolen motorcycle when Steve walks up beside him. Chris’s eyes are focused on the window that Steve knows is to Jensen’s living room.
Steve breaks the silence, “You got a particular plan or-”
Interrupting, Chris throws his leg over the bike to stand, “Get him. Simple as that.”
“He may not want to come.”
“He’ll come.”
***
Jensen sits on his couch; ragged gasps for breath are the only sound in the room. He’s having a heart attack. No. He’s too young for a heart attack. Panic attack maybe? Yeah. A panic attack.
…Or maybe a nervous breakdown. His job sucks, so his subconscious came up with this whole scenario where he stepped off the roof and flew home. Yeah, that has to be it.
Seriously. That stuff doesn’t happen in real life, so it has to be a dream.
See? He’s just going crazy. That’s not too bad. He can live with that.
Nodding to himself, he tries to calm his breathing as he gets up and goes to his bedroom to change. He’s on his way back to the couch wearing worn jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt when there’s a knock at the door. He really doesn’t have time for visitors if he’s going crazy.
“Jenny!” Chris’s voice seems to fill up the entire apartment. “Open the door! I know you’re in there!”
Huh. That’s weird. Maybe Chris is part of his hallucination. If it is, it’d be rude not to open the door since that is a figment of his imagination out there. He stumbles across the living room and opens the door, letting Chris and Steve inside before closing and locking it behind them.
Chris looks pretty pissed, but the anger visually dissipates the second he gets a look at Jensen. At the same time, Steve’s eyes narrow on him. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m having a nervous breakdown - no big deal.”
Chris and Steve exchange looks, then Steve approaches with his hands up in - what Jensen is pretty sure is supposed to be - a calming gesture. “Jensen, you’re not having a breakdown. Everything you’re seeing is real.”
Laughing, Jensen slaps Steve on the back. “Good one, man. You’re my hallucination; you’re supposed to say that. Well, you guys want a beer?”
His guests share another glance, then it’s Chris’s turn to approach. “Jensen, I want to show you something, but you need to come with us, right now.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to see your mother. She’ll help explain things to you.”
Okay, Jensen’s confused. “We’re flying to Dallas?”
Steve cuffs Chris’s shoulder, then maneuvers his way in front of Chris. “We’re going to a bar. You look like you could use a shot of something.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Behind Steve, Chris rolls his eyes before moving across the living room to look out the window down onto the streets below. His body tense, he turns back towards Steve and Jensen. “Gnomes. We gotta move.”
Jensen’s confused again. “Did someone put in yard gnomes? Why are we running from that? Just move away from the window so you don’t have to see them.”
Chris is growling. Growling. “Do you know a back way out?”
“There’s side door that leads to the alley, but-” He doesn’t get a chance to finish as he’s manhandled out the door by Chris, who then shoves Jensen behind him so Jensen’s in the middle of their little parade.
The three of them quietly make their way down the stairwell that’s located at the opposite end of the hallway from the elevator. Actually, Jensen’s not that quiet since he keeps asking questions, but the others keep shushing him, so he gives up around the third floor.
Just as Chris is reaching for the door to the alley on the first floor, he stops, making Jensen crash into him. Jensen notices Chris’s nose twitch, like he’s sniffing. Weird.
“Shit. They’re outside waiting for us,” Chris explains. Not fully taking his eyes off the door, he turns back to ask Steve, “Do you think you can fade with him?”
Steve’s eyes rake up and down Jensen’s body. “I can try.”
“Do it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll meet you there.”
Nodding, Steve pulls Jensen towards the shadowy area under the stairs and takes a deep breath. “You might want to close your eyes.”
That’s all the warning Jensen gets before he’s yanked into a darkness that seems to stretch on forever.
***
Steve steps out of the shadows with Jensen at his side, and immediately Steve has to steady his companion. “It’s okay, give it a few minutes. It’s always disorienting the first time.”
“Wha…what was that?” Jensen asks as he’s leaning pretty heavily on Steve. His hand reaches out to the brick wall to help prop him up, but stops short as if he’s afraid to touch it. Probably thinks he’ll fall back through the way they came.
“We faded.”
Jensen’s eyes are wide as he turns to Steve. “Huh?”
“I’ll explain later. Come on.” He guides Jensen towards the street, one hand still offering support, but once Steve looks out to see the front of The Ring, he pushes Jensen back into the alley. “Hell.”
“What now?” Jensen looks a little wary, and Steve can’t really blame the guy.
“You still dizzy?”
“A little.”
“Okay, I’m going to lean you against the wall for a minute. Try not to move too much.” At seeing Jensen’s hesitant glance to the brick wall in question, Steve adds, “You won’t fall through, I promise. I just need to go back and see how many gnomes are already surrounding The Ring.”
With Jensen set, Steve goes back to the street, keeping close to the shadows that offer safety if needed. He reaches into his coat and pulls out his cell phone again to call Chris.
In the middle of the first ring, Chris answers, “Is he safe?”
“For now, but we can’t go to The Ring. The gnomes are already here.”
“Fuck. Where are you?”
“Alleyway across the street.”
A brief pause, then, “Think you can fade with him again?”
“Yeah, but I can’t do it yet.”
“Too weak?” Steve smiles at the concern in Chris’s voice.
“Nah, Jensen is still a little unsteady. If I fade with him now, I’ll be carrying him when we come out.”
“Alright. Keep out of sight, and once he’s ready, get him out of there.”
“Where do you want me to take him?”
Chris sighs, and Steve imagines that he’s rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know. You got any ideas?”
“I don’t know where he would be the safest. Where are you right now?”
“Up on a roof a few blocks from Jensen’s apartment.”
That didn’t sound good. “What are you doing on a roof?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Chris’s tone is harsh. “I’m getting away from the gnomes without starting a war.”
Granted, when he puts it like that, it makes a lot of sense. Steve just doesn’t like the idea of Chris flying in the middle of the day, especially after Jensen’s leap earlier. “Okay. We still need to figure out where I’m taking Jen.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…take him to Mike’s.”
Steve is half tempted to check his phone to make sure it’s still working and he didn’t imagine that last sentence, but he’s not creative - or crazy - enough to come up with that suggestion. “You sure?”
“No. But at least you two won’t be as exposed there.”
“Figuratively speaking.”
“Just go.” And then Chris is gone.
Steve puts away his phone, then returns to see Jensen standing on his own again. “You okay?”
Jensen nods.
“No more dizziness?”
“I’m fine, asshole.”
That’s the Jen he knows and loves. “Good. It’s time to move.”
“Where are we going now?”
“A friend’s.” He takes hold of Jensen’s bicep and herds him back towards the shadows. “You ready?”
“No.”
Grinning, Steve pushes him in the darkness, and follows just behind.
***
If there was any doubt before, it’s gone now. Jensen is going crazy. Not only did he fly. He has since run from gnomes, apparently. Steve has faded the two of them - whatever the fuck that means - into an alley, then to this…Jensen doesn’t even know how to describe this place. And now, he’s meeting some bald guy named Mike…who has horns. Fucking. Horns. Short, pointy horns that Jensen can’t stop staring at, and admittedly, that might be a little rude. But dude. Horns.
“I’ve got a tail too, in case you want to see it,” Mike smirks.
Not really. All Jensen wants to do is finish his breakdown and have some one-on-one time with a bottle of tequila. “No thanks.”
Steve is snickering beside him, that fucking traitorous hallucination. “I think my man here needs a shot of tequila and a beer, and I’ll have the same.”
“More than a shot,” Jensen mutters.
“Ah, right this way.” Mike ushers them towards a bar, then disappears behind the back to get their drinks.
Behind them is a very dark room filled with cushioned chairs and couches and…well…lots of beds. To be honest, it looks like a brothel, so Jensen is doing his best not to look around.
“Here you go, gentlemen. Now, can I interest you in a place to lie back and…enjoy yourselves?” Mike asks, wagging his eyebrows suggestively at Jensen. Jensen tries not to think about that as he takes his shot, or he might spit it out.
Steve speaks up, “We need a table and chairs.”
Immediately, Mike’s shoulders slump and his bottom lip sticks out in a pout. “Fine. There are two tables over there just as you walk in.”
“We’d prefer something not so close to the door.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a bed? Or a couch? A lounge?”
“Positive.”
Huffing, Mike points in the opposite direction of the door. “Fine, I’ll have a table set up over there. Two chairs?”
“Three.”
“Ah, a threesome!”
“Mike.” That one word has all the warning necessary since the guy jumps to get the table set up.
Jensen can hear Steve saying, “damn satyrs” under his breath. What the hell does that mean?
***
Jensen’s halfway into his third beer - what? going crazy is a pretty good reason to get drunk - when Chris shows up.
“You sure you weren’t followed?” Steve asks right off.
Chris quirks an eyebrow as he sits down. “I’m a cuélebre, show some respect.”
What the hell is a cuélebre?
Steve is grinning when he replies, “You didn’t answer my question.”
“No. I wasn’t followed. But I did some recon to find out exactly what’s going on out there.” The look he shoots Steve communicates something he’s not willing to say aloud, but it’s something not that great, judging from the tense set of his shoulders.
Nodding, Steve turns back towards Jensen. “So, you’re probably wondering what’s happening to you.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been wondering that a little bit. I’m going crazy, right? I mean it’s that or an acid trip.” Jensen’s expression falls. “You guys didn’t slip me acid, did you?”
“No,” Chris rolls his eyes, “we didn’t slip you acid. Look, I’m going to make this short and sweet.” Jensen is all ears. “You’re not human.”
Well, he certainly got the short part right.
Steve glares at Chris, then adds, “What Chris means is that the people who raised you aren’t your parents. In exchange for their human child, they were given you. You’re a changeling.”
“So. Acid trip it is.” Jensen downs his beer and signals for another one.
Chris grabs Jensen’s hand to get his attention, then sets it back on the table. “Jen, we don’t have time for this. We’ve been your friends for years - you’re just going to have to trust us.”
“Exactly!” Jensen points. “You’re my friends. You’ve known me since I moved here. You don’t know my parents, you don’t know about my childhood. How on earth do you know, or think you know, that I was exchanged as a kid?”
Instantly, Steve and Chris shift uneasily.
Oh. Oh no. Jensen really doesn’t like this.
Steve is the first to break. “What’s important to know is that we weren’t assigned to you. We wanted to watch over you.”
Chris raises a hand to cut him off. “Jen, we met you by accident, but I knew from the first second what you were. I smelled it on you. And hell, you were an okay guy, so we volunteered to protect you in case anyone else ever found you.”
“Protect me in case anyone else ever found me? Fuck.” Jensen scrubs his face with his hands before looking back up at Chris. “Okay, wait. You said I was exchanged, right? Well, pretending that this is all real and what you’re saying is true…” he hesitates a moment, noticing but ignoring Chris’s annoyed scoff, “what happened to the kid I was exchanged with?”
Steve sighs and shrugs. “We don’t know; we weren’t in the area when your mother switched you. She’s probably the only person who knows what happened to the Ackles’s real kid.”
Huffing out a breath, Jensen shakes his head. “Do you have any idea how crazy this sounds?”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Chris answers, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Now listen. Your mother - your real mother - is Samantha. She’s the oldest and most powerful sylph in the area.”
“Sylph?”
“Air elemental,” Steve answers, then yields the floor to Chris again.
“Jensen, magic is all about balance. And elementals are the epitome of balance. Four types, each counterbalancing another. Fire and water. Earth and air. Your mother is an air elemental, a sylph, so you’re a sylph too.”
Keeping his disbelief to himself, Jensen just nods for Chris to continue.
“Before, everyone thought that you were simply a powerless changeling, but you proved them wrong. You outed yourself as a powerful elemental in a single, idiotic move. So now the earth elementals, or gnomes, are accusing your mother of intentionally upsetting the balance and they are demanding retribution.”
“Retribution? What are they asking for?”
“I don’t know.” But Chris looks towards Steve for a split second, and just like that, Jensen knows he’s keeping something back.
“But you have an idea.”
Chris’s eyes meet his, though he doesn’t say anything.
Must be pretty bad. Jensen chews on his lower lip as he thinks about all this. “And since she’s my mother, she has to pay for my mistake.”
“Because she’s sort of like the head sylph in the area, but yeah. They’re going to take their anger out on her.”
“But the gnomes came after you too,” Steve adds. “That’s who we were running from at your apartment. We promised your mother we’d keep you safe, so that’s our priority right now.”
Jensen runs his fingers through his short hair. “I still don’t know if I believe all this.”
“You fucking flew, and you don’t believe us? What the fuck?” Chris asks. Not waiting for an answer, his fingers close around one of Jensen’s wrists like iron. “Get your hand out of my grip.”
“What?”
“Get your hand out of my grip.” His fingers constrict their hold until Jensen can feel his veins pulsing against Chris’s fingertips.
Obediently, Jensen starts tugging as hard as he can, but he can’t gain any headway.
“Get your hand out of my grip,” Chris repeats, his fingers tightening impossibly further.
It feels like Chris is about to crush the bones. Jensen has to get his hand out of that grip or Chris may just break his wrist to prove a point. Gritting his teeth, he focuses on his hand and watches as it seems to come apart, atom by atom until every last one is free of Chris’s grasp. He’s having a hard time believing his eyes, especially since his hand still feels the same - still feels whole. But then each atom comes back together as if never apart and Jensen is speechless. Okay, maybe not. “What. The fuck?”
“Believe us now?”
***
Jensen sets down his newly emptied beer and looks over at Chris. “So you’re saying that because I’m an air elemental, I’m basically made of air. I can become air when I want to?”
“And fly,” Steve grins, “but you already about know that one.”
“I think I need another drink,” Jensen says.
“No time. Now that the gnomes are after you and Samantha’s been taken, we have to get you to Jeff. He’s your best option now.”
“Then why didn’t we go to him in the first place?”
Chris shrugs as he stands. “He wasn’t your best option then. He is now. Let’s go.”
***
“So, if I’m a...” Jensen’s still having a hard time with this, “…a sylph, what are you guys?” He glances over at Chris and continues, “You called yourself a cuélebre earlier…is that your, I don’t know…race?”
Steve is snickering behind them as they move through the streets.
Chris has one hand on Jensen’s shoulder, and he’s grinning himself as he answers, “Yeah, I’m a cuélebre.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a type of dragon.”
Jensen’s forehead wrinkles as he takes that in. “Then why don’t you just say you’re a dragon?”
Chris looks offended, and Jensen is suddenly even more lost. “That’s like me just calling you a fairy instead of calling you a sylph.”
Yeah, that is totally lost on Jensen.
Chris must read it in his expression because he immediately says, “Just trust me, it’s an insult. There are dozens of breeds of dragon, each with different powers, strengths, weaknesses, desires, loyalties, you name it.”
“What powers does a cuélebre have?”
Smirking, Chris leans closer. “What powers does a cuélebre have, or what powers do I have?”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Jensen’s confused again. Why can’t that asshole just answer a question?
“There are some standard powers like flight and fire, but for us older ones…let’s just say we get a bonus after a few centuries.” And the bastard winks.
Jensen gives up. “What about Steve?” He turns slightly so he can see the blonde man walking behind them. “What are you?”
Grinning again, Steve explains, “Cuélebres are known for kidnapping xanas, which are beautiful female nymphs, and hiding them away along with the rest of their treasure.”
“To be love slaves,” Chris whispers.
“To be wives,” Steve counters.
“Semantics,” Chris grins. “Anyway, I kidnapped Steve and I’ve been stuck with him ever since.”
That’s all good and well, but Jensen sees one small inconsistency that he thinks need to be pointed out. “Steve’s not a chick.”
“You noticed that too, huh?” Chris grins.
Another punch to Chris’s shoulder, then Steve comes up on Jensen’s other side. “I never claimed to be a nymph.”
“Then why did he kidnap you?”
Steve rests a hand on Jensen’s other shoulder. “Chris isn’t exactly a typical cuélebre either. Anyway, he caught me by accident -”
Chris interrupts, “Hey! I caught you using a very detailed, well thought out plan.”
“A detailed, well thought out plan meant to catch a nymph, not me.”
Jensen’s known Chris and Steve for years, and he’s never seen them like this. They’re usually so quiet and secretive, never saying more than necessary. A real ‘if it can’t be said in one word it’s not worth saying’ pair of guys. Guess now that Jensen knows their big secret, they’re not holding anything back anymore. And as interested as he is on all the little details that brought these two guys together, he redirects the conversation before they start bickering even more. “He caught you by accident, but…what are you?”
“There’s not a word in your language for what I am. The best description is a shadow-walker, sort of like a dark fairy, but not exactly. As he was waiting for a nymph to come along, I stepped out of the shadows,” he shrugs, “and now here we are, 600 years later.”
Wait. “You two are 600 years old?”
“Older. Especially that one,” Steve says, jerking his thumb in Chris’s direction.
“Shut up. I’ll have you know I’m not a day over 800.”
“Whatever you say, grandpa.”
***
Chris steals a car a few blocks down from Mike’s place and shoves Jensen into the backseat while Chris and Steve jump in the front. Not that Jensen minds driving wherever they’re going, but Chris just stole it. “Hey guys, why don’t we just do Steve’s shadow trick…thing?”
Steve turns back to look at Jensen while Chris steers their way through traffic. “I’m not strong enough to carry Chris through the shadows - he’s too big.”
Jensen eyes Chris skeptically. “Dude, I’m bigger than he is and you carried me just fine.”
“You don’t understand. When we pass through the shadow realm, we move in our true forms. Chris’s true form is too big - the guy’s a dragon. He’s over thirty feet long, and I’m just not strong enough to carry anything that big.”
So Chris doesn’t really look like that; he’s really a thirty foot long dragon dressed like a hick. Wow. “What about me?” Jensen asks. “What’s my…true form?”
“You’re in it…at least for now. Once you fully embrace your powers, you’ll change.” The smirk on Steve’s face tells Jensen he’s probably not going to appreciate what comes next. “Then your true form will be about two inches tall.”
Steve gets way too much glee out of that, so Jensen is totally within his rights to punch him in the shoulder. Ass.
***
Chris eventually pulls up to a two story white house that looks like it belongs on a plantation instead of in the middle of the city. All three men climb out and walk up the steps towards the front door. They don’t even get a chance to knock since it opens as they approach; Jensen doesn’t know if he should be surprised or not that there’s no one holding the door open. He hesitates a moment before stepping over the threshold, and immediately he feels a barely-there brush along his skin, like walking through a spider web. Some distant part of him instinctively knows it’s magic. Protective. He’s safe here. …Weird.
A really tall guy with floppy hair and a big grin strolls into the entranceway to look them over. “Chris, Steve,” he nods in greeting, then turns to Jensen. “You must be the little troublemaker.” He says it with a smile and a sparkle in his eyes, so Jensen can’t bring himself to be insulted.
“Jensen,” he supplies.
“Jared,” the tall guys responds, holding out a hand.
Jensen takes it, shocked by how warm it is. Damn near hot, but completely dry. On a deeper level, he feels a vibration - like an electrical hum that keeps building in intensity until it bursts in a shock against his skin that travels along the nerve endings through his body, finally settling heavily in his groin. What the hell? He glances up at Jared to see the giant’s eyes widen ever so slightly, but he doesn’t say anything. Must be more magic - Jensen just doesn’t think he’s ever going to get used to that.
Chris grunts. “He in there?”
Jared keeps his eyes on Jensen but nods at Chris. “Yeah, he’s expecting you. I’ll watch over Jensen here while you and Steve present your case.”
Shaking his head, Chris steps forward, “Jensen stays with us.”
Finally tearing his gaze from Jensen, Jared turns to Chris with a fiery flash in his eyes. “Jeff wants to speak to the two of you. Alone.”
The tension in the room builds as the two men stare each other down. Steve subtly inches closer to Chris while managing to keep himself between Jared and Jensen.
Growling, Chris breaks eye contact. “Anything happens to him, I’ll drop you in the deepest part of the ocean I can find and see how you fare.”
With a nod of acknowledgement, Jared gestures Steve and Chris into a side room. “Go on in.”
Steve glances back at Jensen and gives a reassuring wink just before he disappears into the room with Chris.
***
Jared leads Jensen into another side room that must be a library. There are shelves of books lining the walls from floor to ceiling, the only breaks being the door and a fireplace that is roaring behind Jared.
“Um, isn’t it a little warm for a fire?” Jensen asks. That’s an understatement; it’s early fall and the temperature hasn’t even started to drop yet.
“I like fire. I’m a vulcanus.” He stands - unbelievably - a little taller at that and puffs out his chest. Must be a big thing to be a vulcanus.
Too bad Jensen has no idea what the hell that is.
Jared obviously reads the confusion on Jensen’s face since he slouches a little. “A salamander?” Jared asks, hoping for some kind of recognition from Jensen.
The latter’s still got nothing.
With his shoulders slumped down in defeat, Jared explains, “I’m a fire elemental.”
Oh! Jensen knows what that is! “Cool…or…well…hot.”
And just like that, Jared is grinning at him again. “Definitely can be.” He shifts a little on his feet. “So, I understand that you’re just learning about our world.”
“Yeah. A few hours ago, I had no idea what an air elemental was, let alone that I was one.”
Jared’s eyebrows dip and he frowns as he approaches Jensen. “If you didn’t know you could fly…why did you step off the roof?”
Shit.
Luckily, before Jensen could come up with some answer, Steve appears at the door and says that Jensen’s been summoned to Jeff’s presence.
Saved by the bell. Or whatever.
***
Jensen is led into another room that has several couches and chairs facing each other, and again, the fireplace is lit. The room feels warm and inviting and Jensen’s tempted to sit down and put his feet up. He doesn’t mainly because Chris and Steve are nowhere to be seen, and that makes him a little nervous. He’s shocked to realize how much he’s been depending on Steve and Chris for everything throughout this whole nightmare.
A scruffy looking man with a beard and short dark curls comes forward to greet him. “Jensen, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Jeff.” The guy holds out his hand to shake and Jensen takes it, feeling that damn electrical hum again, but it’s different this time. The buildup is almost instantaneous, much shorter than the few seconds that he felt with Jared. When the shock hits, every cell in his body feels it - like firecrackers exploding all around him. And when it finally settles in his groin, Jensen feels his cock stir with interest. Outwardly, Jeff doesn’t show any reaction, but his breath catches in his throat before evening out again. Damn, Jensen wishes he knew what the hell was going on. “Please, have a seat.” Jeff gestures towards one of the couches while he takes a seat in the chair closest to the fire.
Jensen sits facing Jeff, but he doesn’t really know what is supposed to happen now. Is he supposed to explain his situation, or did Chris and Steve already do that?
“Don’t worry so much. Chris and Steve told me what’s going on as they see it, so now you and I are just going to have a little chat.”
Wait. Was that just perfect timing or…?
“Yes, I did read your mind. I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. If you want to hide your thoughts from me, it often helps to think of some kind of physical barrier between the two of us. Like a wall or a thick door.”
Holy shit. Jensen just… He doesn’t… Words don’t… Holy. Shit.
Jeff chuckles and shakes his head. “I can’t exactly turn off my powers, but I’ll stop replying to your thoughts, okay? I understand that you’ve had enough to deal with already today, and I don’t want to contribute to that.”
“Um. Thanks,” Jensen mumbles, shifting side to side on the couch. “I don’t exactly know why I’m here.”
“You’re here because you did something very unwise earlier.”
Nodding, Jensen looks down. “I’m aware of that.” He leans forward, eyes focused on Jeff. “Look, I didn’t know all this would happen, or I never would have-”
Jeff interrupts, “I know. But we can’t change the past, not without serious consequences. So now we must decide what to do about you. Chris tells me that he’s already informed you of the gnome situation.”
“Yeah, that they want retribution.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Shit. Jensen swallows thickly, then forces the words off his tongue. “What are they going to do to my mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you help her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is there anything you do know?” Okay, so maybe that came out a little ruder than he’d intended.
“I know that your mother wants you safe, and so do I. That’s why I’m going to offer you sanctuary here in my home until this mess is cleaned up.”
“What does that mean?”
“You will stay here until the gnomes get their revenge or until your mother has been freed. While you’re under my protection, no one will harm you - even the entire gnome population in a blood-frenzy wouldn’t stand against me. You’re perfectly safe here.”
“That’s all good and well, but I want to help my mother. This is my fault; she shouldn’t be punished for my mistake.”
Jeff doesn’t move as he calmly watches Jensen fume in his seat. How can the guy be so cold and unfeeling? The guy can read minds but he doesn’t care about what he finds there? Aren’t telepaths supposed to be good guys who care about people?
Instantly, Jeff’s eyes narrow. “If I were you, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to insult your host - I said that the gnomes wouldn’t hurt you. I never said I wouldn’t beat some sense into you myself.”
That damn mind reading son of a… He cuts off the thought and takes a deep breath to compose himself. Steve and Chris say this guy is Jensen’s best hope, and the last thing he needs to do is piss him off, especially if Jeff might be able to help Jensen’s mother. Maybe Jensen just doesn’t understand what’s all going on here…okay, so maybe that’s more of a certainty than just a maybe. Chastised, Jensen nods. “Sorry.”
“If you really want to help your mother, you’ll stay here and do what I say until this whole mess blows over.” Jeff stands up and holds out his hand again. “Deal?”
Jensen has the strangest feeling. Like his body is warning him that he doesn’t know what he’s getting into, but he still stands and shakes hands with Jeff. “Deal.”
With the words spoken, a pulse rips through his body, leaving Jensen dizzy and weak. He looks up to see Jeff’s contented expression aimed down at him, and it’s only then that Jensen realizes he’s slowly sinking to the floor.
“Chris?” Jeff calls, and the door instantly opens to reveal Jensen’s dark haired buddy.
Chris rushes forward to wrap an arm around Jensen to hold him up and help him walk out of the room.
“Have Jared show you to Jensen’s room; he’ll need to rest now,” Jeff says before the two of them fully make it through the door.
“What the hell?” Jensen manages to ask once they’re back in the main entranceway with Steve and Jared.
“You made a deal with Jeff. You’re lucky he didn’t knock you flat on your ass, you idiot,” Chris replies.
“What…what is he?”
“Something you don’t want to tangle with,” Chris answers, “if you can help it.”
A few feet from them, Jared growls and his eyes do that angry flashy thing, and that’s the last Jensen sees before he passes out.
***
“I’m going out tonight,” Jeff says, shuffling the papers across his desk in search of something - Jared has no idea what.
Jared is leaning back in one of the fancy chairs because he knows it annoys the hell out of Jeff and Jared is just in that type of mood right now. Chris and Steve are watching over Jensen as he sleeps, practically barring Jared from the latter’s room, which pisses Jared off more than simple words can express. A small part of him can understand that Chris and Steve don’t want Jared interacting with Jensen because Jensen’s a sylph, and a new sylph, at that. And Jared is a salamander. Two species that shouldn’t mix, but Jared knows that somehow the two of them will. The problem is that Jared isn’t going to figure out how until he can get some alone time with Jensen.
“I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Jensen,” Jeff orders, and Jared’s ears immediately perk up.
“Huh?”
Jeff looks up at him and smirks. “Watch. Over. Jensen. Make sure he’s settled and he has everything he needs.”
“What about Chris and Steve?” Jared asks, finally setting all four legs of his chair back on the floor.
“I gave sanctuary to Jensen, but Chris and Steve proclaimed themselves as his bodyguards. They may remain here with him, as long as they stay out of trouble.”
Jared slumps in his seat at the news. It’s not that Jared doesn’t like the dragon and his mate, or that he wants to kick them out. But he does want them out of the way for a little while. Just long enough for him to get to talk to Jensen again. Is that too much to ask?
Jeff sighs. “Fine, if it will stop your whining, I will send Chris and Steve out for a little recon on the gnomes, alright?”
Beaming at Jeff, Jared jumps up and nods. “Thanks, boss. I knew I liked your telepathy for a reason!”
“Glad to know I’m of some use to you,” Jeff smiles. “I’ll let you go and tell them. I’m leaving now and I won’t be back until dawn.”
“Be safe, Jeff. With the gnomes up at arms, it’s crazy out there tonight.”
“I always am, Jared.”
***
Chris is nursing his beer while glaring at the occupants of the bar in general. Beside him, Steve has his hands around a beer, though he isn’t drinking, and he’s splitting his attention between the other bar goers and Chris. The latter is about to explode, Steve’s sure of it.
“Fuck this,” Chris slams his beer down. “I say we go back to Jeff’s and check on Jensen.”
Chris is already rising when Steve lays a hand on his forearm and pulls him back down. “We haven’t completed our mission yet.”
“The mission Jared sent us on?” Chris sneers.
Steve is half tempted to give in at this point because he doesn’t feel like arguing with Chris…and he’s worried about Jensen himself. But if they’re going to protect Jensen, they need to know what’s going on between the sylphs and the gnomes. “The mission that Jeff sent us on and Jared told us about, yes.”
The brunette’s gaze travels along the length of the bar. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, but when he does, his voice is much softer. “I don’t like how eager Jared was to be alone with Jensen.”
“I know,” he nods. “But Jared won’t hurt Jensen - he’s a good guy.” Then at Chris’s bland stare, Steve amends, “Okay, relatively, he’s a good guy. And for a fire elemental, he’s a saint.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Chris, we didn’t have a choice. Jeff wants us to check out the gnomes, we check out the gnomes. We owe him. I owe him. He was the one who gave me sanctuary, remember? When everyone else wanted to send me back to my realm in pieces.”
Chris’s head whips around so Steve can see his eyes flash yellow in rage. “I wouldn’t have let them touch you.”
Steve can feel waves of heat radiating off of Chris as the latter’s pupils slit, which is never a good sign. “Chris, calm down. You’re on the verge of changing into the dragon. Just take a deep breath, and drink your beer.”
He doesn’t move for a second. He just keeps his focus on Steve, eyes still a bright yellow, but at least his pupils are rounding out. Steve is about to tell him to calm down again when Chris’s eyes snap closed and he turns away.
Chris finishes off his beer and says, “Let’s get the damn information and get out of here.” He doesn’t look back at Steve, but the latter knows that Chris is as back to normal as he can get at the moment and that’s good enough for him.
***
When Jensen wakes up, he’s half expecting to find all of it - the gnomes, sylphs, dragons, flying, Jeff, Jared…all of it - a whacked out dream, and he’s fully prepared to give up alcohol for the foreseeable future to prevent such a dream from happening again. But when his eyes open, the first thing he sees is an unfamiliar ceiling, followed by an equally unfamiliar room. In fact, the only thing he does recognize is Jared, which dismisses Jensen’s drunken dream pretty damn fast.
It only takes a second to put together that it’s the middle of the night, judging by the darkness outside, and Jensen’s lying on an enormous bed with Jared watching him intently from a chair less than a foot away.
“Morning,” Jared grins so wide his dimples appear. Then he shrugs and adds, “Well, almost. It’s about 3:30 am.”
Jensen pushes himself up, and throws his legs over the side of the bed. “What happened? I remember meeting you and Jeff and then…Chris said I made a deal with Jeff and that’s why I was so dizzy all of a sudden.”
Jared’s grin turns rueful. “Something like that. Chris, Steve, and I brought you up here so you could rest.”
“Where are they now?”
“Jeff sent them to do a little recon.”
If Jensen didn’t know Chris as well as he does, he might believe that without question. However, Jensen does know Chris, so he has to ask, “And Chris actually went?”
Leaning closer, Jared’s smile fades a little, and his eyes are studying Jensen’s face carefully. “No one refuses Jeff anything.”
“That’s mildly creepy. What is he?”
“He’s a very old man. Very, very, very old.”
Jensen’s eyes narrow. Shaking his head, he counters, “That doesn’t tell me what he is.”
“There are a lot of theories; the most popular one is that he’s a titan.” Jared shrugs. “I don’t know if that’s the case or not. Tell you the truth, I don’t think even Jeff knows what Jeff is. There were none before him, and I’m pretty sure there were no more after him. Kinda hard to classify a species or race on just one person, you know? Now come on, let’s go get you something to eat. You’re probably starving by now.” He stands up and lightly slaps the side of Jensen’s thigh.
Jensen gets up to follow but he contradicts his own actions when he says, “Nah, I’m not really hungry.”
Jared turns towards him, eyes wide. “Really? Well, I’m ravenous, so you can come down to the kitchen and keep me company.” His right arm reaches around Jensen’s shoulder and pulls him close. Really, Jensen should push him off because he’s just met the guy and there is such a thing as personal space with strangers. But instead, Jensen finds himself leaning into the solid heat of Jared’s torso. The guy’s a fire elemental, and Jensen can’t help but think of how hot he would get if he was using his powers. Jensen tries to suppress a shiver at the thought, but Jared must still feel it because he looks down at Jensen with a note of concern. “Cold?”
“Uh…a little,” he lies.
And instantly, Jensen’s surrounded by heat like he’s standing in the middle of a flame. He unconsciously tilts his head back, closes his eyes, and breathes, his whole body melting against Jared’s. All except for the area south of his belt that hardens painfully in his jeans.
“Better?” Jared’s voice is a little breathy, which doesn’t really help Jensen’s situation at all.
Eyelids opening, Jensen’s vision is filled with Jared, and there is just nothing wrong with that in Jensen’s mind. It looks like Jared doesn’t have a problem with that either since he’s inching closer, his eyes focusing on Jensen’s mouth.
“Sylph,” Jared whispers, his expression pained. Even as he’s retreating from Jensen’s personal space, his eyes are fire - literally fire - and Jensen can’t look away. “You’re a sylph and we…I ca-… Food. We…I need to get some food.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head as he pulls away completely, taking all of his warmth with him.
Jensen follows close behind Jared as they make their way through the house, and even though it’s a warm night, Jensen’s never felt so cold in his life.
Part 2