Ripples in the Water (5/7)
Title: Ripples in the Water
Author: yahnknshadows
Rating: NC-17
Pairing/Genre: Dean/Jared; AU
Warnings: AU, slash, mpreg (non-graphic), language, hunting, life
Disclaimer: Lies, I tell you! It's all a lie!"
World Count: This part: 2,565; Total: 24,561
Summary: Jared keeps waking up in the wrong place, with people he doesn't know, in a world he doesn't understand, and he falls in love with it.
Beta: Let's all give a rousing round of applause to Sarah <3 <3 <3 <3! Thanks so much for your help, honey!
Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Epilogue
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Part V
~*~
When Jared woke up, he was warm and comfortable. Dean was lying behind him, morning erection poking him in the backside, and arms wrapped tightly around him. Jared stretched and then snuggled back against Dean, cheeks warming up when he pressed more firmly against Dean’s crotch. “God, I wanna wake up like this every day,” he murmured to himself, happier than he could ever recall being.
"Me, too," Dean answered sleepily as he ran a hand down Jared's belly and back up. He pushed forward into Jared slightly, cocking his head. "Could just skip training today, spend the day here."
Jared chuckled and pushed back more firmly, hips wriggling just enough to tease. “But, if we skip, then it’ll take longer to get me up to speed,” he reminded gently, peering over his shoulder at Dean.
Dean moaned and caught Jared's hips. "Don't tease if you want to walk right tomorrow," he said softly into Jared's ear before kissing his neck and pushing himself up. "Alright, if I have to kick your ass all over the backyard again today, I'm going to need coffee first."
“Maybe,” Jared said softly, cheeks flushing darker, “maybe later I can, um, help you with that.” He nodded at Dean’s prominent arousal and then crawled out of bed. “But, only if I manage to take you down, at least once.”
Dean moved to get out of bed, a pleased grin curving his lips at the idea. "Man, if you’re doing this well, just imagine if we started using sexual favors as rewards. Coffee first, though," he said with a frown.
Jared chuckled and waved Dean off. “Go take a piss and I’ll get a pot started. I swear, I should just set up a coffee IV and hook you up to it in the mornings.” He laughed over his shoulder and headed out to the kitchen. He stopped, frozen and wide eyed, at what was waiting for him.
John was seated at the little two-seater table with a big mug of coffee and Sam’s notebook. Jared swallowed heavily and fidgeted nervously. “Um, g-good morning, d-dad,” he said, silently cursing himself for sounding so awkward.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” John said tiredly, though he didn’t look angry.
Dean finished in the bathroom and followed Jared into the kitchen. "I don't need coffee that bad, I mean…." He stopped, noticing three things that just about made his heart stop: his father, the notebook open on the table, and Jared sitting across from him about as white as a ghost. His eyes flashed to each for half a second before he settled on his dad. "Hey, dad, you're… home early."
“Make some more coffee. This pot’s just about empty,” John said amiably, though he never took his eyes off of Jared. “Now, I’ve been waiting for either you or Sam to come to me and tell me about this, but it’s been months and neither of you has said a word. You or Sam was always writing in that damn notebook, so I assumed that’s where you were keeping your notes back and forth.” John sat back and took a long gulp of tepid coffee. “It’s nice to meet you, Jared, by the way.”
Jared gulped and looked down, nodding shortly. “You’re scary, sir,” he said quietly. “And I didn’t know if you’d, I don’t know, try to exorcise me or accuse me of kidnapping Sam or say I’m a witch, or something.”
Dean didn't move, no longer interested in coffee as he listened to what his father had to say. Dean just leaned against the counter, watching to see how it played out.
John chuckled and shook his head. “I might be scary, but you’re still a kid who looks an awful lot like my son,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows. “And if you’ve learned anything about me since you’ve been visiting, you should know that my boys are my world.”
“Yes, sir, I know.”
“And you still didn’t bother to tell me about this… why?” John prompted.
“I don’t know, really. Dean found out accidentally just a couple of weeks ago.” Jared shrugged helplessly, but didn’t bother to raise his head.
“Do you have any idea how you keep swapping with Sam? I know you are, because that boy argues with every word that comes out of my mouth, but you do what I tell you to, which is a relief, let me tell you.” John chuckled again and looked over at Dean, frowning at the lack of fresh coffee brewing.
Dean couldn't help but smirk at that comment and then noticed John looking at him and then at the coffee pot, and he pushed himself up quickly to start another pot.
“Well, Dean said something about maybe we were thinking about getting away from where we were. The first time, I wanted to get away from a really bad situation and Dean said that Sam had just had a fight with you. And when I got here, four days ago, I was thinking that I’d rather have Dean patch me up than deal with my mother.” Jared peeked up at John’s face, and relaxed when he found curiosity rather than condemnation on his face.
“You and your mother don’t get along?” John asked, a thoughtful frown furrowing his brows.
“No, we get along fine, but she’s disappointed by my, uh, lack of interest in the fairer sex,” Jared said delicately. “She says it’s why I’d rather mediate a verbal fight than get in the middle of one and why I’m not playing organized sports. I don’t have enough testosterone.”
John raised a brow and looked over his shoulder at Dean and then back to Jared. “You know that’s not true. Dean’s got more than enough testosterone and he’s as queer as a football bat.” Jared burst out laughing at that comment and then clapped a hand over his mouth to keep it in, unwilling to offend Dean.
Dean stopped and turned back to John giving him a glare. "Yeah and you're my father so at least we know where I get it from," he grumbled without heat. "Besides, Jared also wears pink everywhere but even I just found that one out." Dean looked over at Jared with a small laugh as he turned the coffee on.
The coffee pot, at least, was the one thing that worked well in this place and it was done within a few minutes. Dean's need for it came back very quickly. He poured himself a cup and one for Jared and his dad, passing them over.
"You ever heard of anything like this, though?" Dean asked. "I mean, if it isn't a witch or a demon or some shit like that, then what the hell is it?"
“I’ve been looking into it, and I can’t find a spell that would do this,” John said, thoughtfully blowing the steam off of his coffee, taking a small sip. “A demon could do it, but from these notes it doesn’t sound like they’ve even got demons there, so I’m not sure that a demon would have power in Jared’s world.”
“There aren’t any supernatural creatures in my world, at least, not that I know of. I did some hunting through newspapers and I couldn’t find a single thing that made me think it could possibly be something evil,” Jared offered, glad that John was being cool about this.
“That leaves innate magic,” John said. “Something about you two boys, probably something to do with how you look identical, and the need to get away from where you were allowed the shift, and now it’s easy for you to jump back and forth.”
"They don't seem to actually have control over it though, or at least they don't know that they do. I mean, Sam said the same thing; he just sort of wakes up in Jared's world or blinks and he's there. If that's what it is, will they always be able to do it and can they start to control it?" Dean asked.
“I can’t say for sure, not without tapping Bobby or Pastor Jim for info, and right now I want to keep it between us.” John looked Jared in the eye. “But, from what little I could find out, if it’s innate magic like I think it is, it won’t go on forever. You’ll have to decide where you want to stay and stop jumping back and forth.”
Jared looked over at Dean and then back to John, torn. On one hand, he wouldn’t want to deprive John and Dean of their son and brother, but on the other he didn’t want to go home and never see Dean again. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Sam, and have him talk to you. I can’t make that kind of decision on my own, and neither can Sam.”
That obviously wasn't what Dean wanted to hear. He looked away and pretended to finish his coffee. Dean looked at his dad after a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so calm about this?" he asked. John didn't even get demanding over what choice to make or the fact that Sam was in another world somewhere; it just seemed off.
“I’ve had a few months to come to terms with this,” John answered, taking another sip of his coffee. “While you and Jared have been dancing around each other, I’ve been researching.” Jared flushed bright red and picked up his coffee cup, sipping at it so that he wouldn’t have to look John in the face.
Dean leaned back on the counter and watched his dad. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything about he and Jared dating just yet. "You're, like, really okay with all this?" he asked.
“Okay with it isn’t something I’ll ever be, but I can handle it and be rational about it now that I’ve had a chance to get my head around it.” John pushed back from the table and took one last deep pull of his coffee. “For now, I’m headed out.”
Jared got to his feet, staring at John with wide, surprised eyes. “But you just got here!” he protested.
“But if I stay here I won’t get the research done that I need to. You and Dean go ahead and go back to playing house and training, and when I get back I’ll help with your training.” John patted Jared’s shoulder heavily and then turned to Dean. “Walk me out, son.”
Dean took the cups and put them in the sink before following John out. John led Dean over to the truck and leaned against the side, arms folded over his chest. He gave Dean a long look and then sighed. “Jared is in a really precarious situation right now. I’m not sure that getting involved in a sexual relationship with him is the smartest move. He’s a good kid and I like him, don’t get me wrong, but boys like that tend to want happily ever after or at least a sense of permanence that I just don’t think you’re ready to give him.”
Talking about sex with his dad was not how Dean wanted to spend his morning. "We haven't done anything," he said in a defensive tone, looking back at the house. He sighed and rubbed his eyes before shaking his head. "He says he wants to hunt," he admitted, but he didn't know if that was a good idea either.
“And I have every reason to believe that you’re the reason he wants to hunt. You saw how he broke down when you got hurt on that skinwalker hunt. His motivation to hunt is to make sure that you don’t end up getting killed right in front of him,” John reasoned, brows hiked up over his eyes as though daring Dean to deny it. “Look, whether he wants to hunt or not isn’t the point. If he and Sam decide to stay where they are right now, Jared’s decision will come from the fact that he wants to be with you. If this thing between the two of you goes south, what is he going to do? He won’t be able to go back, and if things with you end ugly, he’ll be out alone in a world with no one to turn to.”
"He said…" Dean just stopped, visibly not wanting to hear this. He looked away. "Then what am I supposed do?" he snapped. "Just send him back and forget about him? Keep him here, but keep my distance? Tell him I'm not interested just to make sure that he never comes back? What do you want me to do, seriously?"
John shook his head, smiling tiredly at his eldest. “While he’s here, while he’s working out whether or not he wants to stay here, you need to decide whether or not you can stick with him for good. Don’t go after him because that’s where your dick is leading you, Dean. I mean it. If you have even the smallest doubt that he’s not the one you want to spend your life beside, then tell him he can’t stay here. I already know Sam will want to stay where he is because he’s safe and he has the normal life he’s always wanted with two parents and siblings he can rely on. Jared is the one risking everything here.”
"Yes, sir," Dean mumbled, having nothing else to say. "I get it."
“I’m not telling you to go in there right now and rip apart whatever you’ve got with him, I’m just saying to think about it and make sure that you can be who and what he needs if he decides to stay here.” John clapped Dean on the shoulder and climbed into his truck. “I’ll be back in two weeks. If you fuck him, make sure he can walk by the time I get back.” With that he turned the key and started up his truck, pulled out of the driveway, and took off down the road.
Dean didn't say anything but watched his dad go before heading back to the house. He didn't bother going in just yet, instead he sat out on the step to give himself a second to come up with something good enough that wouldn't lead to more questions.
Meanwhile, Jared stood just beside the front window, face sad and shoulders slumped dejectedly. He’d been curious about what John had to say to Dean that Jared hadn’t been invited to hear, and now he fully understood the concept behind the saying: curiosity killed the cat. He felt gutted by the brutal honesty John had dropped on Dean, ashamed of himself for letting Dean be put in such a position, and angry with himself for being so needy that even John, whom he’d only spent such a small amount of time around, had seen it.
Jared went to the kitchen table and grabbed the notebook and took it back to the couch. He plopped down and started writing to Sam. He wrote about John finding out, the conversation they’d had, and ended it with the conversation John had had with Dean. Jared closed the notebook and curled up on his side, eyes closed as he tried to come to terms with never seeing Dean again.
Author: yahnknshadows
Rating: NC-17
Pairing/Genre: Dean/Jared; AU
Warnings: AU, slash, mpreg (non-graphic), language, hunting, life
Disclaimer: Lies, I tell you! It's all a lie!"
World Count: This part: 2,565; Total: 24,561
Summary: Jared keeps waking up in the wrong place, with people he doesn't know, in a world he doesn't understand, and he falls in love with it.
Beta: Let's all give a rousing round of applause to Sarah <3 <3 <3 <3! Thanks so much for your help, honey!
Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Epilogue
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Part V
~*~
When Jared woke up, he was warm and comfortable. Dean was lying behind him, morning erection poking him in the backside, and arms wrapped tightly around him. Jared stretched and then snuggled back against Dean, cheeks warming up when he pressed more firmly against Dean’s crotch. “God, I wanna wake up like this every day,” he murmured to himself, happier than he could ever recall being.
"Me, too," Dean answered sleepily as he ran a hand down Jared's belly and back up. He pushed forward into Jared slightly, cocking his head. "Could just skip training today, spend the day here."
Jared chuckled and pushed back more firmly, hips wriggling just enough to tease. “But, if we skip, then it’ll take longer to get me up to speed,” he reminded gently, peering over his shoulder at Dean.
Dean moaned and caught Jared's hips. "Don't tease if you want to walk right tomorrow," he said softly into Jared's ear before kissing his neck and pushing himself up. "Alright, if I have to kick your ass all over the backyard again today, I'm going to need coffee first."
“Maybe,” Jared said softly, cheeks flushing darker, “maybe later I can, um, help you with that.” He nodded at Dean’s prominent arousal and then crawled out of bed. “But, only if I manage to take you down, at least once.”
Dean moved to get out of bed, a pleased grin curving his lips at the idea. "Man, if you’re doing this well, just imagine if we started using sexual favors as rewards. Coffee first, though," he said with a frown.
Jared chuckled and waved Dean off. “Go take a piss and I’ll get a pot started. I swear, I should just set up a coffee IV and hook you up to it in the mornings.” He laughed over his shoulder and headed out to the kitchen. He stopped, frozen and wide eyed, at what was waiting for him.
John was seated at the little two-seater table with a big mug of coffee and Sam’s notebook. Jared swallowed heavily and fidgeted nervously. “Um, g-good morning, d-dad,” he said, silently cursing himself for sounding so awkward.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” John said tiredly, though he didn’t look angry.
Dean finished in the bathroom and followed Jared into the kitchen. "I don't need coffee that bad, I mean…." He stopped, noticing three things that just about made his heart stop: his father, the notebook open on the table, and Jared sitting across from him about as white as a ghost. His eyes flashed to each for half a second before he settled on his dad. "Hey, dad, you're… home early."
“Make some more coffee. This pot’s just about empty,” John said amiably, though he never took his eyes off of Jared. “Now, I’ve been waiting for either you or Sam to come to me and tell me about this, but it’s been months and neither of you has said a word. You or Sam was always writing in that damn notebook, so I assumed that’s where you were keeping your notes back and forth.” John sat back and took a long gulp of tepid coffee. “It’s nice to meet you, Jared, by the way.”
Jared gulped and looked down, nodding shortly. “You’re scary, sir,” he said quietly. “And I didn’t know if you’d, I don’t know, try to exorcise me or accuse me of kidnapping Sam or say I’m a witch, or something.”
Dean didn't move, no longer interested in coffee as he listened to what his father had to say. Dean just leaned against the counter, watching to see how it played out.
John chuckled and shook his head. “I might be scary, but you’re still a kid who looks an awful lot like my son,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows. “And if you’ve learned anything about me since you’ve been visiting, you should know that my boys are my world.”
“Yes, sir, I know.”
“And you still didn’t bother to tell me about this… why?” John prompted.
“I don’t know, really. Dean found out accidentally just a couple of weeks ago.” Jared shrugged helplessly, but didn’t bother to raise his head.
“Do you have any idea how you keep swapping with Sam? I know you are, because that boy argues with every word that comes out of my mouth, but you do what I tell you to, which is a relief, let me tell you.” John chuckled again and looked over at Dean, frowning at the lack of fresh coffee brewing.
Dean couldn't help but smirk at that comment and then noticed John looking at him and then at the coffee pot, and he pushed himself up quickly to start another pot.
“Well, Dean said something about maybe we were thinking about getting away from where we were. The first time, I wanted to get away from a really bad situation and Dean said that Sam had just had a fight with you. And when I got here, four days ago, I was thinking that I’d rather have Dean patch me up than deal with my mother.” Jared peeked up at John’s face, and relaxed when he found curiosity rather than condemnation on his face.
“You and your mother don’t get along?” John asked, a thoughtful frown furrowing his brows.
“No, we get along fine, but she’s disappointed by my, uh, lack of interest in the fairer sex,” Jared said delicately. “She says it’s why I’d rather mediate a verbal fight than get in the middle of one and why I’m not playing organized sports. I don’t have enough testosterone.”
John raised a brow and looked over his shoulder at Dean and then back to Jared. “You know that’s not true. Dean’s got more than enough testosterone and he’s as queer as a football bat.” Jared burst out laughing at that comment and then clapped a hand over his mouth to keep it in, unwilling to offend Dean.
Dean stopped and turned back to John giving him a glare. "Yeah and you're my father so at least we know where I get it from," he grumbled without heat. "Besides, Jared also wears pink everywhere but even I just found that one out." Dean looked over at Jared with a small laugh as he turned the coffee on.
The coffee pot, at least, was the one thing that worked well in this place and it was done within a few minutes. Dean's need for it came back very quickly. He poured himself a cup and one for Jared and his dad, passing them over.
"You ever heard of anything like this, though?" Dean asked. "I mean, if it isn't a witch or a demon or some shit like that, then what the hell is it?"
“I’ve been looking into it, and I can’t find a spell that would do this,” John said, thoughtfully blowing the steam off of his coffee, taking a small sip. “A demon could do it, but from these notes it doesn’t sound like they’ve even got demons there, so I’m not sure that a demon would have power in Jared’s world.”
“There aren’t any supernatural creatures in my world, at least, not that I know of. I did some hunting through newspapers and I couldn’t find a single thing that made me think it could possibly be something evil,” Jared offered, glad that John was being cool about this.
“That leaves innate magic,” John said. “Something about you two boys, probably something to do with how you look identical, and the need to get away from where you were allowed the shift, and now it’s easy for you to jump back and forth.”
"They don't seem to actually have control over it though, or at least they don't know that they do. I mean, Sam said the same thing; he just sort of wakes up in Jared's world or blinks and he's there. If that's what it is, will they always be able to do it and can they start to control it?" Dean asked.
“I can’t say for sure, not without tapping Bobby or Pastor Jim for info, and right now I want to keep it between us.” John looked Jared in the eye. “But, from what little I could find out, if it’s innate magic like I think it is, it won’t go on forever. You’ll have to decide where you want to stay and stop jumping back and forth.”
Jared looked over at Dean and then back to John, torn. On one hand, he wouldn’t want to deprive John and Dean of their son and brother, but on the other he didn’t want to go home and never see Dean again. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Sam, and have him talk to you. I can’t make that kind of decision on my own, and neither can Sam.”
That obviously wasn't what Dean wanted to hear. He looked away and pretended to finish his coffee. Dean looked at his dad after a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so calm about this?" he asked. John didn't even get demanding over what choice to make or the fact that Sam was in another world somewhere; it just seemed off.
“I’ve had a few months to come to terms with this,” John answered, taking another sip of his coffee. “While you and Jared have been dancing around each other, I’ve been researching.” Jared flushed bright red and picked up his coffee cup, sipping at it so that he wouldn’t have to look John in the face.
Dean leaned back on the counter and watched his dad. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything about he and Jared dating just yet. "You're, like, really okay with all this?" he asked.
“Okay with it isn’t something I’ll ever be, but I can handle it and be rational about it now that I’ve had a chance to get my head around it.” John pushed back from the table and took one last deep pull of his coffee. “For now, I’m headed out.”
Jared got to his feet, staring at John with wide, surprised eyes. “But you just got here!” he protested.
“But if I stay here I won’t get the research done that I need to. You and Dean go ahead and go back to playing house and training, and when I get back I’ll help with your training.” John patted Jared’s shoulder heavily and then turned to Dean. “Walk me out, son.”
Dean took the cups and put them in the sink before following John out. John led Dean over to the truck and leaned against the side, arms folded over his chest. He gave Dean a long look and then sighed. “Jared is in a really precarious situation right now. I’m not sure that getting involved in a sexual relationship with him is the smartest move. He’s a good kid and I like him, don’t get me wrong, but boys like that tend to want happily ever after or at least a sense of permanence that I just don’t think you’re ready to give him.”
Talking about sex with his dad was not how Dean wanted to spend his morning. "We haven't done anything," he said in a defensive tone, looking back at the house. He sighed and rubbed his eyes before shaking his head. "He says he wants to hunt," he admitted, but he didn't know if that was a good idea either.
“And I have every reason to believe that you’re the reason he wants to hunt. You saw how he broke down when you got hurt on that skinwalker hunt. His motivation to hunt is to make sure that you don’t end up getting killed right in front of him,” John reasoned, brows hiked up over his eyes as though daring Dean to deny it. “Look, whether he wants to hunt or not isn’t the point. If he and Sam decide to stay where they are right now, Jared’s decision will come from the fact that he wants to be with you. If this thing between the two of you goes south, what is he going to do? He won’t be able to go back, and if things with you end ugly, he’ll be out alone in a world with no one to turn to.”
"He said…" Dean just stopped, visibly not wanting to hear this. He looked away. "Then what am I supposed do?" he snapped. "Just send him back and forget about him? Keep him here, but keep my distance? Tell him I'm not interested just to make sure that he never comes back? What do you want me to do, seriously?"
John shook his head, smiling tiredly at his eldest. “While he’s here, while he’s working out whether or not he wants to stay here, you need to decide whether or not you can stick with him for good. Don’t go after him because that’s where your dick is leading you, Dean. I mean it. If you have even the smallest doubt that he’s not the one you want to spend your life beside, then tell him he can’t stay here. I already know Sam will want to stay where he is because he’s safe and he has the normal life he’s always wanted with two parents and siblings he can rely on. Jared is the one risking everything here.”
"Yes, sir," Dean mumbled, having nothing else to say. "I get it."
“I’m not telling you to go in there right now and rip apart whatever you’ve got with him, I’m just saying to think about it and make sure that you can be who and what he needs if he decides to stay here.” John clapped Dean on the shoulder and climbed into his truck. “I’ll be back in two weeks. If you fuck him, make sure he can walk by the time I get back.” With that he turned the key and started up his truck, pulled out of the driveway, and took off down the road.
Dean didn't say anything but watched his dad go before heading back to the house. He didn't bother going in just yet, instead he sat out on the step to give himself a second to come up with something good enough that wouldn't lead to more questions.
Meanwhile, Jared stood just beside the front window, face sad and shoulders slumped dejectedly. He’d been curious about what John had to say to Dean that Jared hadn’t been invited to hear, and now he fully understood the concept behind the saying: curiosity killed the cat. He felt gutted by the brutal honesty John had dropped on Dean, ashamed of himself for letting Dean be put in such a position, and angry with himself for being so needy that even John, whom he’d only spent such a small amount of time around, had seen it.
Jared went to the kitchen table and grabbed the notebook and took it back to the couch. He plopped down and started writing to Sam. He wrote about John finding out, the conversation they’d had, and ended it with the conversation John had had with Dean. Jared closed the notebook and curled up on his side, eyes closed as he tried to come to terms with never seeing Dean again.