Fic: When You Find Me There [You'll Search No More] (2/2)

[non_tiembo_mala]

Jensen sighs, relaxing into his bed, his body heavy in the afterglow and with Jared tucked along his side. There’s a part of him that wants to worry what on earth Danneel could want with him after this - this beautiful, exquisite, desperate boy. Jared is every unspoken wish he hasn’t even articulated to himself. He hates and loves Danneel for seeing him like this, the way he doesn’t want to be seen - except maybe by Jared. Jared was so hungry for him, so desperate for his dick, for his seed - Jensen feels himself start to stir again just thinking of how Jared looked on his knees and begging for him to keep going. He bites back a groan and tilts his head so he can look down at Jared now. His hair is horribly disheveled for the way Jensen had been tugging at it, his face isn’t exactly flushed anymore now that both of them are breathing as usual, but there’s a brightness to him that has nothing to do with the firelight dancing across his skin. Jared’s hazel eyes are sleepily watching his fingers where they’re playing on Jensen’s chest, squiggles and circles that bring him closer and closer to Jensen’s nipple while never quite making it all the way there. It’s a heady tease that’s doing nothing to abate the renewed swelling of Jensen’s cock. Watching Jared now, Jensen is painfully aware that there is so, so much more that he wants.

Sunrise. He only has until sunrise.

“We haven’t nearly enough time then,” Jensen finally responds, exhaling ruefully, and he reaches for Jared’s face.

Jared had started to look up at him when Jensen started speaking but Jensen palms his chin gently as he leans forward to capture Jared’s mouth with his own, pulling Jared to him. Jared makes a pleased little sound in his throat as Jensen strokes his cheek with his thumb and kisses him. He goes easy at first, tenderly. Jared’s hand moves from Jensen’s chest to Jensen’s wrist like he’s keeping it on his face and grounding himself with Jensen all at once. Jensen warms fiercely to feel his need like that again, the way Jared wants, and finally he deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue between Jared’s soft lips to taste and twist with Jared’s.

Jared whimpers now - Jensen will never have enough of that sound - and Jensen can feel Jared pressing hot and hard at his thigh. Jared starts to move, just tiny shifts of his hips for friction, and his long, long leg hitches up over Jensen’s. He sighs into their kiss and Jensen grins against his lips, licking into his open mouth to flick his teeth.

“Get up here, sweetheart,” Jensen purrs and encourages Jared to get on top of him.

Jared seems to come alive when Jensen tells him what to do. Jensen would be lying if he tried to say that didn’t do anything for him, too. He loves the way Jared’s breath hitches at the instruction and he moves so quickly to oblige. He’s still straddling Jensen’s one leg, one knee between Jensen’s, but between Jared’s size and the angle he’s at laying down on Jensen’s chest, their cocks are trapped between them and the feel of Jared against him makes Jensen groan. He slides a hand back up into Jared’s hair to tug his head up for more kisses while the other hand slides down his back to palm at Jared’s ass and hold him tight against him as Jensen works his own hips to grind them together.

Jared keens. Jensen does his best to swallow the sound and keeps a firm hand on Jared’s ass. They’re bucking into one another now, the slip and drag of their cocks almost too dry but still so good, hints of tacky precome on their skin. Jared is a big man - bigger than Jensen - and the weight of him feels good. Jensen likes feeling the solid warmth of his body pinning him to his mattress. It’s especially thrilling because Jared is so big but also so young; he’s a strong, an imposing figure of a man but with the eyes and unguarded heart of a child. Jensen still can’t quite pinpoint his age but - gods. When he’s down on his knees with wet lashes, blotchy cheeks and pink lips, he looks even younger than Jensen first guessed. There’s something innocent about him, even in this, even now as they rub together and Jared pants against his mouth, and Jensen would spend the rest of his days trying everything he can come up with to discover if that’s unique to this encounter or some special quality that is simply Jared.

Jensen is lost in his thoughts, in the taste of Jared’s breath and the feel of them catching and pulling as they move, but then Jared is shifting his weight considerably, pressing his hips heavily into Jensen’s and propping himself up a little on one hand. The other reaches back and grabs Jensen’s where it’s on his hip and Jensen’s eyes flick open. Jared is looking right at him, his eyes wide and bright. He’s still panting - they both are - and he holds Jensen’s gaze as he moves Jensen’s hand from his hip to the centre of his ass, guiding Jensen’s fingers to graze along the crease of his ass.

Jensen’s dick twitches with interest between them and Jared sighs shakily at the touch, still watching Jensen’s face. Jensen can pinpoint the shift, the way Jared’s doe-eyes suddenly look pleading again as he teases himself with Jensen’s fingers. Jensen isn’t sure a single thing exists in this world that he wouldn’t give Jared should he ask for it in this moment, looking at him like he is.

“You want me to touch you, Jared? Want me to make you ready for me?” Jensen murmurs the words against Jared’s open mouth. He knows it’s what Jared wants but he wants to drag this out, wants Jared to be strung out - wants him to beg for it, because he knows he will. “So I can fuck you?”

Jared whines at the last question, his nodding turning frantic, and he squeezes at Jensen’s hand hard as he goes for Jensen’s mouth, teeth and tongue first. It’s ravenous, the way Jared kisses him, and Jensen moans into it, lets Jared take what he wants. Jared pulls more insistently at Jensen’s fingers, pressing them deep to search for his hole, and Jensen breaks the kiss and starts to pull away.

“Ah ah ah,” Jensen starts, teasing because Jared makes a small, upset sound and looks momentarily lost. “I set some oil out after cleaning you up. It’s on the floor next to the bed.” The fetch it for me is implied, but after Jared blinks once, he pushes himself up to lean towards the edge of the bed and reaches for the phial. He settles back where he was, straddling Jensen’s leg, but as he puts the oil in Jensen’s outstretched hand, he bites his lip and appears hesitant. Jensen carefully accepts the glass container while studying Jared’s expression.

“What’s that look for, baby?” Jensen asks finally, gently, using another name that seemed to please Jared earlier. Jared’s eyes flash up to his and his lover’s face darkens as he blushes further.

“Oh, um,” Jared stutters. Jensen can tell Jared is really conflicted as to whether or not he should speak further. “You… entertain often?” He doesn’t look at Jensen as he says it but tilts his head toward the oil. It’s Jensen’s turn to get hot-faced and blink.

“Oh!” he begins. He wasn’t expecting that question or the sheepish way Jared ducks his head when he asks it. “Um, no, generally. Not- practically never, really. I…” Jensen clears his throat. “I like it for myself.”

Jensen watches Jared carefully, assessing. Jared nods and his expression is well-schooled, neutral, but he bites at his lip and looks back up at Jensen through his lashes and Jensen can see the tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth. Jensen smiles broadly, can’t help it, and opens the phial, dripping the oil onto the first two fingers of his right hand.

“It has many uses, actually. It also has a lovely aroma,” Jensen explains, extending his hand for Jared to smell. It’s smells faintly of citrus though it’s richer and more complex, and there’s traces of mint. Jared hums and nods, smiles as he sits back up. “It’s one of the few frivolous things in which I indulge.”

“Oddly enough, it reminds me of home,” Jared offers shyly, taking the phial back from Jensen when he proffers it to be returned to the floor.

As Jared settles back on Jensen’s leg, Jensen can’t help but consider him. Home. He tries to picture what home looks like for a man like Jared, for the kind of man Danneel has dreamed up for him. Even dreams must have dwelling places, he supposes. His thoughts don’t get too far because Jared is folding himself down, sliding up Jensen’s body and then kissing him quickly, teasing and playful.

“Don’t think so hard, Jensen,” Jared whispers against his skin. “Please?”

For his question, Jared’s voice is small and timid again, deliberately so, and he’s grabbed the wrist of Jensen’s hand with the slicked up fingers, moving them suggestively. “Please.”

“Mmm, Jared, you beautiful boy,” Jensen murmurs, taking control of his movements now and reaching, tracing under his ass where it meets his leg. “How could I ever deny you?”

Jensen is grinning by the time his other hand reaches around and pulls Jared open. His wet fingers first pet at his hole and they both groan. The ring of muscle reacts immediately, tightening at the touch and relaxing as Jared wills it. Jared sighs, pushing back against Jensen’s hand, and Jensen keeps teasing him, just barely pressing against his opening.

“Jensen,” Jared finally whines brokenly and Jensen gives in, pressing his first finger in as far as he can reach all at once. Jared gasps and slides a little further up Jensen’s body to make it easier for him to reach, and Jensen buries his finger in all the way to the last knuckle. Jared’s body is searing hot inside, smooth and tight, tugging at his finger as desperately as Jared begged for it. Jensen keeps his finger straight and moves it in circles, pressing against Jared’s muscles and making bigger motions as they give. Jared is making small, sweet sounds against his mouth, grasping sloppily for Jensen’s lips though his focus is obviously elsewhere. It’s exactly what Jensen wants.

Jensen keeps going, starts to fuck his finger in and out of Jared slowly, and Jared writhes, arching his back and canting his hips to wordlessly beg Jensen for more, and still Jensen holds back, waiting. It doesn’t take long before Jared realizes that Jensen is teasing him and he huffs, following Jensen’s hand whenever he withdraws.

“Jensen, p-please,” he implores him. “M-more.”

“Mmm, yes,” Jensen kisses him roughly, pulls at his lip with his teeth as he goes back in with two fingers, making Jared gasp again and still a moment. “Such a good boy, Jared, telling me what you want. I’ll give you anything you ask for, you need only ask for it.”

Jensen can feel the way Jared shivers against him, and he moves his two fingers inside him, petting and scissoring to stretch him out. Jared squirms and whimpers at the push, panting harshly, and Jensen kisses at his lips, his chin and his jaw. He drags his teeth across Jared’s skin, feels him shiver again, and smiles devilishly. Jared is too much fun.

By the time Jared’s body has accommodated Jensen’s fingers and lets them slide in and out easily, the ring of muscle open and slowly drawing shut only to have Jensen slip back inside, Jared is clearly desperate for more, thrashing, grinding them together where their otherwise neglected cocks are still trapped by their bodies. Jensen is wrung out, too, but he’s waited a long time to get inside someone again - he can wait a little longer.

“Tell me, Jared,” Jensen orders, lips pressed close to Jared’s ear. He bites at the soft lobe and Jared whimpers. “Tell me what you want.”

“Another, p-please. Another, I need another,” Jared cries out and Jensen kisses his ear.

“Good. Good boy,” he praises, rewarding him with three fingers. He’s worked Jared so well there’s not much resistance, despite the still unyielding pull and clutch of his body. Jensen spreads his fingers out to stretch him further, much to Jared’s apparent pleasure if the breathy moans and thrusting of his hips are anything to go by. They’re tacky-wet between them where their cocks leak steadily, both of them so ready. Jensen doesn’t make Jared ask for this. He withdraws his fingers and Jared whines, only to gasp, startled, when Jensen’s messy hand smacks him on the ass just the right side of gently.

“Jared,” Jensen nearly growls he wants this so badly. “Up. Let me up. Get on your hands and knees.”

“Gods, yes,” Jared scrambles to move off Jensen’s leg to let him out from under him, crawling up the bed on his hands and knees, his dick hanging heavy and dripping under him.

Jensen twists and bends down to get some more oil. He pours a generous amount into his palm and replaces the phial on the ground, turning back towards Jared as he slicks himself up. He fails to bite back a groan when his eyes find Jared, and he sinks his teeth into his bottom lip.

Jared is presenting for him, ass up on the bed, his pink hole shiny and exposed, and he’s bent forward, down on his elbows with his forehead on his forearms. He looks so pretty, so perfect like this as he cants his hips back in search of Jensen, that Jensen has to reach out with his oil-free hand to palm at his cheeks.

“Jared, fuck,” he hisses as he watches Jared’s hole flex and relax in turns. “Tell me you’re ready, sweet boy. Tell me.”

“I’m ready,” Jared is breathless, his words quiet and rushed. “Please, Jensen. Please, please, please.”

“Yes, baby, that’s it. You’re so good, so pretty like this,” Jensen shimmies closer on his knees, one just on the inside of each of Jared’s, because he’s so tall and his legs are so long that he needs to be spread so beautifully wide to be at the right height. Even still, as Jensen lines up the aching, wet head of his cock, Jensen has to press his hand to the small of Jared’s back and force his legs wider, make him sink a little lower. Jared groans and moves easily where Jensen guides him, so pliant and willing that it sends sharp, hot spikes of want through Jensen’s whole body.

They’ve both waited long enough; Jensen doesn’t hesitate. Properly lined up, Jensen presses in and sinks steadily all the way to the base, the plush curve of Jared’s ass snug against his belly. Jared grunts and whines while Jensen moans, fresh beads of sweat erupting on his skin from the combined heat of Jared’s body all around him and the effort of staying still to let Jared adjust. It’s mild agony waiting, fighting the impulse to move, and Jensen itches to really lay into him but he won’t hurt him, not like this, not for impatience. He grits his teeth and digs his fingertips into the flesh of Jared’s hips.

“Jen-Jensen, I beg you. Move,” Jared pleads, his voice breaking, and Jensen needn’t another word. He starts slowly, pulling back until the crown of his dick catches on Jared’s rim and then slams back in. Jared makes a hurt sound like he’s been punched in the gut and Jensen wants more - more of that sound, more of how it feels for Jared’s body to give way to him, more everything.

Jensen builds up quickly to a fast, harsh rhythm, the sound of their skin coming together loud in the otherwise quiet cabin, mixing with the sweet uh, uh, uhs Jared keeps making. Jared strains, the beautiful bow in his back glistening with sweat, and he reaches back for Jensen’s hip, trying to pull at him.

“Harder, Jensen. Please, more,” he begs, and Jensen doubles his efforts. His grip on Jared’s sides is bruising, and he’s echoing Jared’s moans with sounds of his own. Whatever shyness or inhibitions Jared came with are gone now. He chases Jensen’s thrusts wantonly, his other hand fisting tight in Jensen’s sheets.

Jensen needs to get his mouth on Jared, can’t keep panting, open mouthed and empty as he thrusts into him. He tugs back hard on Jared’s hips, lying him down a little flatter, and he drapes himself over Jared’s back. Jared squirms, pushing his ass against Jensen’s front, and sighs, shuddering, when Jensen’s mouth finds his ear. He kisses first, then nibbles along the shell of it and Jared moans his name. Jensen keeps thrusting ruthlessly as he kisses down Jared’s neck, dragging his teeth across Jared’s shoulder.

“D-do it, please, Jensen,” Jared whispers, reaching back to get his fingers in Jensen’s short hair. Jensen shivers then, and sinks his teeth in. Jared cries out but only tugs harder at Jensen’s head. When Jensen finally relaxes his jaw, he soothes the marks with his tongue and starts to suck there, hard, intending to make a bruise to match the ones blooming on Jared’s hips. Jared writhes under him, whimpering and bucking back to meet his thrusts.

Jensen releases Jared’s shoulder and gasps for breath, pleased to hear more of Jared’s mumbled curses.

“Fuck-” Jared wails. “Fuck me harder, please. You will not break me, Jensen. Please!”

“Oh, gods, Jared…” Jensen groans and shifts for better leverage, getting his hands on Jared’s hips and pulling him back. He fucks into him with abandon, not holding back, and soon Jared is crying out loudly enough on each thrust he could damn well wake the dead. Jensen’s never been more grateful for the solitude of his home.

“Jensen, I- I’m so- going to-” he struggles to find the words but Jensen understands. He’s barrelling towards the finish himself. He reaches around and gets a hand on Jared’s dick, making Jared startle and jump like he’s been burned, the long, drawn out moan he lets out turned staccato by the force of Jensen’s hips. Jensen does little more than provide a fist for Jared to fuck into, pushed forward by Jensen’s thrusts, but in the next moment Jared’s body goes frightfully tense and still as he sobs, then shudders as he comes, warm and wet and coating Jensen’s hand. His body tightens around Jensen like a vice, and Jensen cries out and comes as well. His own rhythm falters and his hips stutter to a stop with his throbbing dick buried in Jared as far as it can go.

Jensen feels Jared start to tremble underneath him, around him, and despite his own heaviness, Jensen moves carefully, to help Jared lie down on his belly, heedless of the mess underneath him, and Jensen doesn’t give in to the strong desire to simply collapse on top of him. Jensen is still inside, loathe to come out and lose that feeling for good, but his own arms are shaking with the effort required to keep him from crushing Jared, so begrudgingly he sits back. He slips out of the haven of Jared’s body, a trail of white following him and dripping down onto Jared’s balls. Jensen groans, both at the loss and the delicious sight. He tenderly palms Jared’s ass and leans down to kiss each of the dimples in his lower back.

“Gods, Jared…” he mumbles against his skin. “You were amazing. You are amazing.”

Jared hums lazily and doesn’t move, the sound muffled by Jensen’s pillow. He sounds as though he’s smiling, and Jensen smiles, too. Jared looks so inviting there, laid out in his bed, that Jensen moves quickly to collect a cloth and clean them both up. He rolls Jared over easily, still pliant for Jensen’s hands, and most of the mess Jensen had collected on his fist, so the sheets aren’t quite a disaster. Jared lays still with his eyes closed and a smile spread on his face as Jensen works, making more small, happy sounds as Jensen looks after him. When he’s done and he tosses the cloth aside, Jensen takes a moment to gently trace his fingers over the dark marks he made around Jared’s hip bone, four on each side, and he leans down to kiss them. When he looks up after doing one side, Jared is watching him with half-lidded eyes and a fond expression. Jensen smiles back and moves to kiss the other four, and then climbs back up over Jared’s body and holds Jared’s gaze a moment. They’re quiet now, so starkly in contrast to the noises and cries of their just-completed exploits, but Jensen feels as though somehow, they’re still talking. Jared’s hand comes up and it’s a little shaky but he reaches for Jensen’s face, gently stroking his cheek. Jensen turns to kiss his palm and then leans down to kiss the bitten bruise on Jared’s shoulder, making Jared shiver.

“Did I hurt you, sweet boy? Does it hurt?” Jensen whispers, kissing up Jared’s neck.

“Yes,” Jared sighs, blissful. “It was perfect, Jensen. Thank you.”

Jensen stifles a laugh. Jensen should be thanking him. He’s never been so satisfied in his life. Jared is perfect, and Jensen is painfully aware of how strongly he doesn’t want this night to be over.

He sighs and moves aside, lying down next to Jared and pulling him close. If this is the only night he gets, he’s not going to waste a single second. Jared is all too happy to burrow in against his chest, tucking his arms between them, and once they settle like that Jensen brushes the hair off Jared’s face, tucking it behind his ears so he can kiss his forehead.

Jensen feels good, too good to be getting wound up over the debt he’s incurring every moment more that passes in Jared’s company. An entire night they have - he’d say Danneel was being generous with her bribe but Jensen already feels a pang of longing and a stab of unfounded possessiveness when he looks at Jared lying in his arms. He can feel bitterness hovering in the shadows like a poison rain on the horizon; the thought of going back to his life after tonight - without Jared - unsettles him. His gut twists unpleasantly and he squeezes Jared a little more tightly.

They’ve exchanged scant few meaningful words between them but Jensen feels… connected to him - kindred somehow even. Being with Jared feels like coming home, except he didn’t realize he wasn’t home before. Maybe Danneel had good intentions but Jared has filled holes in him about which Jensen had long forgotten. How is he supposed to be pleased with her for giving him this only to take it away?

He kisses Jared’s forehead again, leaving his lips to linger there, and he deeply breathes in the scent of them while reminding himself that Jared isn’t his. Or at least, he won’t be after dawn. Jensen doesn’t want much, he never really did. He lives a simple life, always has, his possessions few and his desires for more even fewer still, but in all his life, even as a child before he found comfort and protection in the solitude of the forest, Jensen has never wanted anything the way he wants Jared - the way he wants to keep him. He listens to the steady, soft huffs of Jared’s breath, and tries not to think of the sounds like those of a ticking clock, counting down until this dream is over.

“Jared?” He inquires quietly, leaning back to better look at Jared’s face. Jared’s eyes are closed and his mouth is open, slack with sleep. Jensen sighs, rueful, and tucks Jared’s head back under his chin, settling in. He’s a selfish man but he’s not inconsiderate. He’ll let Jared sleep, and he’ll keep vigil until sunrise, committing everything to memory - the feel of Jared’s endless, smooth skin under his fingers, the silky strands of his hair, the slope of his nose and the pink of his lips.

The time passes much too fast. Jensen is tired but his fear of losing Jared keeps him awake. In his sleep, Jared shifts, so now, as dawn approaches, Jared is on his back and Jensen is lying next to him still on his side, resting his head in his hand, propped up by his elbow. He’s been watching Jared sleep, occasionally kissing his face, if only to better remember how it feels. He debates whether or not to wake him, but as the sky begins to lighten, Jensen knows he must say goodbye, and he needs to hear Jared say his name one last time.

“Jared, sweetheart,” he whispers and needlessly tucks Jared’s hair behind his ear again. “Wake up.”

Jared stirs, snuffles a little and blinks awake. He turns a little to look at Jensen, smiling languidly, then blinks again and startles.

“Jensen? But I thought-”

“It’s not quite sunrise yet. We don’t have much time. I just… wanted to hear your voice one more time.” Jensen has to swallow hard. His own voice wavers. He’s never felt like this before. He’s going to have very strong words with Danneel later but for the moment, he keeps his focus on Jared’s beautiful face, the sparkle in his eyes, and the soft cadence of his voice.

“Oh, gods,” Jared laments. He looks pained and he’s blinking again, not from sleep but because his eyes have become glassy, too. “Jensen.”

Jared turns on his side, burrowing in close against Jensen’s chest again. He clings to Jensen this time, and as ridiculous as Jensen feels for how choked up he is right now, he takes solace in seeing that Jared is of the same mind. They’ve been on the same page regardless of the situation from the moment Jared arrived on his doorstep, and Jensen aches to keep him, to have someone who understands him the way Jared seems to.

“I’m such a fool,” Jared whispers, sniffling. Jensen doesn’t follow and it makes his brow furrow. His heart starts to race as the light outside gets brighter. Any minute now, Jared will be taken from him. “I only asked for one night, Jensen. I had no idea. I never thought- I couldn’t have dreamed… I should’ve asked for a lifetime.”

Jensen isn’t sure what Jared is talking about but Jared presses up and kisses him, so he doesn’t think on it, just focuses on the taste of Jared’s mouth and the way his lips soften and part for him. Jared holds onto him tightly and Jensen does the same. They’re both desperate and Jensen just wants to live in this moment forever but then-

Even through his closed lids the flash of light is nearly blinding. It passes quickly and Jensen’s eyes fly open, squinting for the lingering brightness, and the warm body that was pressed against him is gone, slipped right through his fingers. He’s suddenly cold and looking around his empty cottage in the early morning light, and his heart plummets. Jared is gone. Jensen is alone again.



Jared opens his eyes and he’s lying in his own bed. His breath catches and he blinks hard to force back tears. He always knew it wouldn’t last. He sighs, long and shaky, and surveys his room. His note is still on his desk, seemingly untouched, and his clothing along with his bag is folded and sitting on his chair, his boots on the floor next to it. She’s very thorough, he will give her that.

He swallows thickly, his chest still tight and swelling with emotion. He sighs again and lays back against his pillows, gazing up at the canopy above him. His bed is nothing like Jensen’s. It’s large and elegant. The mattress is plush as are the pillows, and the sheets and blankets are easily among the finest in the kingdom. But it doesn’t have Jensen. It never will, apart from in Jared’s dreams. He wants to weep, but he if he starts, he’s not sure he’ll be able to stop. He won’t mourn for this. Every second was a gift, and he’ll never regret that he had it, even if it was, indeed, for only a night. For one, blissful night, Jared was free. He was not the Crowned Prince, he was not bound by expectation and public opinion or the thought of guards lingering in hallways. He didn’t have to question that everything Jensen did was only to please him, to please his Prince. He gave in entirely, let himself be needy, let himself be used, and-

Jared’s fingers fly to his shoulder and as they touch the bruise there he sighs in relief. Temporary still, it’s a keepsake he’ll cherish for as long as it lingers. Under no other circumstances will Jared ever be likely to have a night like that again, where he doesn’t have to wonder if he’s behaving in a way unbecoming the monarch, instead only following his own desires. Jensen gave him everything, everything he was sure he wanted, and it was better than he could have imagined. Jared can’t be sure, since he’s never felt this way before, but… he thinks he just may be in love. His heart swells to think on Jensen, the way he just knew; everything between them happened so easily, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. How can he ever expect to find that again with someone real?

No matter. Jared has had his fun, found his love, even if he was just a well-crafted dream. His destiny, it seems, is to rule, so his own wants are second to his crown. Jared is a realist, after all - one of the reasons it had been so long since his last intimate moments not alone - so he will sleep now, and hope to dream of Jensen, but when he wakes he will put on his crown and move forward, knowing that his life is better for having had just that one, perfect night.



Danneel can sense Jensen’s approach long before the angry knocking on her door forces her to acknowledge him. She sips her tea nonchalantly and replaces the cup to the saucer before bothering to answer him.

“Come inside, Jensen,” she says sweetly, and the woodsman pushes open the door, closing it gruffly behind him. She raises an eyebrow and regards him with narrowed eyes.

“You,” he begins hotly. “I don’t know where you find the nerve, witch, or what you expect to extort from me, but-”

“Jensen!” She says sharply, cutting him off and standing up in a hurry. She lets her voice and her shadow be large, imposing - a warning against his tone lest he say something he come to regret. “Weigh carefully your words, woodsman. We’ve known each other a long time now, child. Do not forget.”

Jensen seems to reign himself in, going quiet and averting his eyes, showing her respect. She calms as well, and he tentatively looks back up at her, not quite apologetic but reserved. She narrows her eyes again, assessing him.

“Jensen, you are wound awfully tight and in a foul disposition for a man who had such a night as yours.”

His face burns immediately at her words and he opens his mouth to speak but promptly closes it again, taking a deep breath.

“How dare you,” he hisses. “What gives you the right to meddle in my life like this? What impossible debt do I owe you now?”

Danneel is stunned. She did expect that Jensen would visit her after Jared but she anticipated that he would be in a much better, grateful sort of mood.

“What are you on about, you fool? Jared was not a request for your services. He was a gift.”

Jensen looks completely baffled for a moment but his anger returns swiftly. “Still, Danneel! It is my life! How am I supposed to go back to it now?”

Danneel watches him intently and suddenly it dawns on her. He really doesn’t know. Jensen’s face is still red but not from blush. It’s blotchy and his eyes glisten and it’s clear to her - he hurts.

“How- how am I supposed to keep living after such a dream?” His voice is quiet, accusing, and broken, like his heart. Danneel sees it now. She sighs, shaking her head and moving towards him, reaching for his face and his hand.

“Jensen, dear,” she starts, and though she stands directly before him, he obstinately does not look at her. A single tear escapes the corner of his eyes and she can feel his humiliation rolling off him in waves, but she uses her thumb to wipe it away regardless. “Jared is not a dream. I did not craft him just for you, though I understand that it might seem that way.”

When Jensen’s eyes flash up to hers, wide in shock, she smiles gently. “Jared is real, flesh and blood. And though he is never really alone, he lives a lonely life, like you. But that needn’t be the case. You can go to him, if you're brave enough to choose all that comes with his life, which he cannot escape. You could be that for him. You could be that for each other, should that be what you desire."

Jensen only stares, blinking as he clearly works through what she said. She’s never seen him so stunned. She tries not to laugh, because she senses what a revelation this is for him, but he always was so endearing.

“I don’t- I don’t understand,” he finally says in obvious disbelief. She does laugh a little then.

“Jensen,” she chides playfully, giving his head a little shake where it rests still against her palm. “Jared is a prince, the crowned prince of Austerra. He upholds his position proudly and to great credit while also being trapped by it. You could be his freedom.”

“The- the prince?” Jensen echoes, eyes still wide as a hand flies up to run through his hair. “Oh. Oh, gods.”

Danneel smiles and goes back to sit and sip at her tea, leaving Jensen to fret over all this new information just inside her door. He mutters to himself, turning on the spot to face away from her - as if that matters. She can read him as easily as anything else, senses all his fears and all his desires. It’s why she knew sending Jared to him would be more perfect than any enchantment she could have gifted him instead. When she gets to the bottom of her cup and pours herself another she sighs.

“Jensen, you cannot oscillate in my sitting room forever. You know what the right path is, you need only find within yourself the courage to walk it. I can do no more for you than I already have. So, please. Begone, and, I beg you - do the right thing. For both of you.”

Jensen looks panicked as she speaks and then she claps her hands, and Jensen disappears in a flash of light. She sighs, shaking her head, and prays to the powers that be that Jensen not muck this up.



It’s been five days - not that Jared is counting, of course. Genevieve came to him the morning after to apologize about the night before and prep him for the journey to return the stone, but Jared simply explained that the stone had vanished into thin air before his very eyes. Returned to its rightful owner, he presumed. His advisors had seemed skeptical but with no jewel there was no need to venture into the forest, and business resumed as usual.

Gen sensed that something had happened, or that something was off with him. She always could. It hadn’t surprised Jared in the least that when no one else seemed to notice, she cornered him in a hallway to try and make him talk. He would say nothing, only that he was tired and sleeping poorly. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He had slept little with Jensen and the nights that followed were not easy either. Lying awake in bed, Jared could not stop his thoughts replaying every moment from that night, over and over lest he forget a single detail, even a single freckle from Jensen’s beautiful face.

Despite his lack of rest, Jared was back to normal as much as he figured he ever could be. There was no news about the thief Chad, but Jared knew better, biting back a knowing smirk when he overheard the guard mention him in passing. It was possibly his first genuine smile since he woke up alone after that night, but then again, wearing the crown meant wearing a face. It was nothing Jared wasn’t already painfully used to.

It’s five days later and Jared is pacing his throne room - he hates to sit when people are addressing him - with Gen and the rest of his counsel at his side. There’s the average gathering of people come to be heard, and while Jared is always attentive, his heart hasn’t been in anything but his dreams lately. He listens to each case and offers fair judgement as always, but more than ever he yearns for the solitude of his chambers, a part of him still grieving what will never be.

Stephen, the owner of the largest tavern in the city, nods gratefully and thanks him for Jared’s ruling before turning away to leave. Seeing his departure, Jared focuses again, ready to beckon the next subject in need of his justice.

“Please, if the next-” Jared stops mid sentence, frozen in place. A man of familiar build and dress has stepped forward. He’s dressed plainly, a sword at one hip and an axe at the other. He carries a large bag on his back, and it looks familiar, too. He wears a wide-brimmed leather hat and as he reaches up to remove it, Jared’s breath is caught in his chest. The room has fallen silent - or it hasn’t, maybe, it doesn’t matter. Jared can hear nothing but the furious pounding of his heart. When the hat comes down to rest on the man’s chest and their eyes meet, Jared can’t stop himself.

“Jensen,” he exclaims, confused, surprised, and suddenly so overwhelmed that if it weren’t for the audience he fears he might cry. Regardless, he feels his cheeks grow hot to see Jensen here, now, very real and with all the memories that they share.

Jensen looks up at him and his expression is fond, like it was so often that night, and Jared’s heart aches for it. Jensen licks his lip and begins to kneel, much to Jared’s horror, though the ceremony is mandatory and there are many eyes watching.

“My lord,” Jensen says as he genuflects, and Jared can move again, snapping out of it finally to rush down the steps to meet him. He can hear Gen call his name behind him, lost, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t stop until he’s standing right in front of Jensen, and he reaches down to tilt Jensen’s face up.

“Jensen, please, rise,” he pleads softly, just for Jensen to hear.

Jensen nods and stands, holding Jared’s gaze and shifting uncomfortably in his spot. Jared knows immediately that Jensen is out of his element here, in every way, but he also knows that Jensen has come here for him. He reaches for Jensen’s face, their audience be damned.

“You’re real,” Jared says behind a small laugh, because obviously he is, but Jared is sure that neither of them thought… Jensen nods against his palm and laughs a little, too. “And you came for me.”

Jensen’s eyes go impossibly soft at Jared’s words.

“How could I not, Jared? How could I live alone knowing you’re real and living alone, too?”

Jared still wants to cry. His heart is fit to burst with a happiness like none he’s ever felt before. He steps closer to Jensen. There’s nearly no space between them now and the room around them really is hushed. Jared speaks only for them.

“Are you sure, Jensen? My life- this life… it takes getting used to. I can’t promise you it will be easy. All I can promise is my love, but it’s yours until my end of days, if that could be enough.”

Jensen’s mouth quirks up in a crooked smile and he sighs. “You’re the only thing that really matters, my sweet boy.”

Jensen stutters, clearly uncertain if he should speak to Jared like that now, now that he knows who he is, and he drops his voice lower and softer so that no one else hears. Jared’s breath hitches at the words and whatever Jensen sees on his face must be good, because Jensen lets out a relieved laugh and grins widely.

Jared reaches for Jensen’s face with both hands now and kisses him without another thought. Jensen is stock still for just a moment before his hesitation fades away and he reaches for Jared, too. Jensen wraps his arms around him right there in Jared’s throne room in front of his friends and subjects, and he deepens their kiss. They get a little lost in it, maybe a little giddy that their dreams have come true after all, so at first they don’t notice all the hooting, hollering, and applause that goes up around them.

They’ll have to make it official, of course - as soon as humanly possible - there are logistics to consider, legal documents and gods only know what else - that’s for Jared’s counsel to be concerned with - but they’ll work it out. Right now, Jared has the man of his dreams alive and well in his arms, and everything is going to be okay - better than okay. It might even be happily ever after.




| Part One | Masterpost |