I Dream of Jensen (Part Three)
Title: I Dream of Jensen
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
The huge green eyes take a slow blink, then narrow and focus on Jared’s teeny tiny form.
“Well?” the giant asks again.
“Wa-wa-well what?” Jared stammers back.
“Aren’t you going to start ordering me around?”
Jared frowns, displaying his full confusion. “I…wasn’t planning on it. Why?”
“Cause that’s usually the way it works,” the giant states like it’s very obvious. “Lamp gets rubbed, I come out, and my new master-that’s you-starts laying down the law.”
“Wait…what? I’m your master?!”
Now it’s the giant’s turn to frown. “Well, yeah. You got the lamp right there in your hands. You rubbed, and here I am. You’re the master. I’m the genie.”
Jared sits down on the sand. “You make it sound so normal,” he chuckles. One of the enormous hands appears high over Jared’s head, and soon a huge finger is gently set on top of his hair.
“You feeling all right, Master?” the genie asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jared replies. “Well, no, actually, I’m NOT fine, ‘cause this is SO fucked up...” He’s trembling again, and he hugs his arms around himself. “And why the hell can’t I stop shaking?”
“Maybe ‘cause you’re only wearing a pair of underwear?”
Jared looks down at himself, remembers that he was in the process of changing clothes when he discovered the lamp, and turns a deep shade of pink. The genie wraps his enormous hand around Jared’s body, effectively sheltering him in a makeshift cave. “I’ll keep you warm,” Jared hears him say. “Where are your clothes?”
“In my backpack, uh…somewhere behind you.” Jared hears sand shifting, and a few seconds later, the genie lifts his hand up and drops the backpack at Jared’s feet. Then his hand covers him up again.
“Get changed. Maybe you’ll feel a little more like yourself once you have your clothes on again.” Jared already has his pants on as the genie speaks, but he doesn’t tell him that, fearing that he’ll get crushed if the genie doesn’t like smart-alecks like him. “What’s your name, Master?” the genie asks.
“Jared,” he calls back. “What’s yours?”
The genie doesn’t reply. As Jared pats the giant thumb to let him know he’s done, the cave lifts up and reveals the genie sitting up on his knees, looking like a surprised, 20-story building with a handsome face. “What?” Jared asks.
“Why do you want to know my name?”
“Why did you want to know mine?”
“I just like to know,” the genie shrugs.
“Well, same here,” Jared smiles, finding an odd sense of comfort in the genie’s shyness. “So what is it?”
Again, the genie looks surprised-though this time, it’s more of a confused surprise. “Don’t you just want to call me Slave or You or…just plain Genie?”
Jared is revolted and shows it with a grimace. “People have really called you ‘slave’ in the past?”
The genie nods. “Yeah. Most of ‘em do.”
“Well I’m not like that. I really, truly want to know your name, so let’s start over.” Jared holds his hand out. “Hi! I’m Jared Padalecki.”
The genie gets a cute little smile on his big face and extends his hand as well. As it reaches Jared, however, the huge hand becomes human sized, and it shakes Jared’s warmly. “I’m Jensen.”
“Jensen. Nice to meet you.” Jared releases the hand, and it immediately becomes gigantic again. By now, the dogs have decided that the scary part is over, and they join Jared at his side. The genie’s face lights up with a smile.
“Oh cool, you have dogs!” He reaches for them, and the dogs bark, then yelp, then run off again. Jared glares at the mean ol’ giant.
“You didn’t have to scare them,” he scolds him.
“I didn’t mean to, I swear,” the genie-Jensen-says sadly. “I just haven’t seen a dog in a really long time. I wanted to pet ‘em.”
And his pout is so overwhelmingly sweet that Jared’s anger crumbles away at once. “Well, no offense, Jensen, but they’re not gonna come anywhere near you when you’re so huge and scary.”
“This is not me being scary, trust me,” Jensen retorts, crossing his arms (and making himself look even MORE like a genie in the process). “And I’m not huge on purpose! This is how big genies are!”
“Well do you have to stay like that? Can’t you, I don’t know…be human-sized?”
Jensen shrugs. “Sure, if you want.” He turns to smoke and shrinks down, becoming whole again as he stands in front of Jared. “Most of my masters prefer it if I stay my normal size.”
Now THAT surprises Jared. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess it makes them feel important and powerful, ordering around a big guy like me.” Jensen, now just a couple inches shorter than Jared, smiles up into his face. “But you’re not like other masters, are you, Master?”
“Nope. And call me Jared.”
“You got it, Master Jared.”
Jared laughs, “NO, no, just Jared! Leave the master part out of it. It makes me feel weird.”
“Suit yourself.” Jensen smiles and rubs his hands together. “So! You want to make some wishes or what?”
Jared brightens as well-somehow, between Jensen’s cute but colossal face and the nearly being crushed and the entire What the Fuck-ery of it all, Jared had forgotten about the best part! “I can have anything I want?”
“Well…almost anything. There are some ground rules. First and foremost: you get THREE wishes, no more, no less.”
“Can’t I just wish for more wishes?”
“Well yeah, if you want to waste your wish,” Jensen sneers. “There’s a curse on my lamp to keep that particular wish from being granted.”
“Really? Why?”
“Long story, and I don’t feel like telling you right now,” Jensen answers, sounding defensive. Jared wisely decides not to press.
“Okay, so what else do I have to know?”
“Besides the No Wishing for More Wishes, there are three other rules. One, I can’t kill anyone. I also can’t bring anyone back from the dead. I don’t care how near and dear to you they were, all right? They’re dead. Deal with it.”
Jared nods. “That’s fine. I don’t want to kill anybody, and none of my loved ones are dead. So what’s the last rule?”
“I can’t make anyone fall in love with anyone else.” Jensen sees Jared’s face fall, and he winces. “Ouch. That one hit close to home, huh.”
“Sorta. It’s a long story.” Jared grins and adds, “And I don’t feel like telling you right now.”
Jensen smirks. “Touché.”
In the distance, they hear a roll of thunder, and both men look up and note the approaching storm clouds. “We’d better get home,” Jared says. He whistles for the dogs and waves at them to join him. “Sadie? Harley, come!”
The dogs scamper over, no longer afraid of the stranger since he’s not a towering, scary man anymore. Jensen holds his hand out to their sniffing noses before he leans in and starts petting them both. The dogs are both soon licking his face, and Jensen laughs. It’s a wonderful laugh, bright and merry like Christmas morning, and it temporarily replaces David’s laugh as the most beautiful sound Jared’s ever heard.
“They’re so sweet!” Jensen all but squeals. “Who’s who?”
“The big one is Harley, and the slightly smaller one is my girl Sadie.”
“Hey you two! I’m Jensen!” Both dogs drop to their backs and roll over for a belly rub, and Jensen happily complies. “Ooh, you’re in my power now, huh?” He laughs again, and Jared smiles down at his new friend. Now that Jensen isn’t so immense, Jared can get a better look at him. Catching his eye right away are the two golden cuffs adorning the genie’s wrists, engraved with some sort of pattern that Jared will have to take a closer look at later-for now, he just wants the big picture. Jensen’s skin is that slightly tan shade that makes his skin look healthy and radiant. He’s muscular, but not veiny-big, with broad shoulders, firm pecs, and a nice six-pack resting above a trim waist. His legs sport, well, genie pants-dark grey-blue accented by a red wrap at the top. The silk pant legs billow out just past the knees, where they come back in and stop at matching red bands around firm calf muscles. His feet are bare, but they’re not dirty at all. Jared admires the strong back that is bent over the dogs.
The wishes are great, but the stunning genie that comes with it is a real perk. Jared smirks at his own thoughts, and Jensen looks back up at him.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Jared answers a little too quickly, and Jensen smirks at him.
“Uh-huh. Enjoying the view?”
Jared turns bright pink again, and Jensen waggles his eyebrows. “Thought so.” He stands up and walks toward the sole car in the lot, and both dogs get up and run after him. It takes another rumble of thunder to stir Jared out of his embarrassment and join them. He keeps his eyes planted on his dogs as he lets them into the backseat.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Jensen’s question forces Jared to look at him, and he finds the genie on the other side of the car, throwing a semi-smug smile over the roof. Jared instantly gives himself a once over, making sure he didn’t forget his pants or his shoes or anything even slightly humiliating, but he can’t find anything wrong. He looks back at Jensen and shakes his head, not understanding. Jensen holds up the lamp.
“Holy shit.” Jared looks back at the beach. “Where did I-”
“You set it down while you were getting changed.” Jensen disappears with a pop! and then reappears right in front of Jared. Jared holds his hands out to take it, but Jensen keeps it out of reach. “You HAVE to keep the lamp with you at all times,” he instructs Jared. “If you don’t, someone else could steal it, and then they’ll be my new master and you won’t get all your wishes. All right?” Jared nods, and Jensen hands him the bottle. “Good.” He walks around to the passenger side of the car again. “Stopper’s in your shirt pocket, by the way,” he adds.
Jared notes the bulge in the small pocket and takes out the stopper. That wasn’t there five seconds ago…how the-?
“Magic genie?” Jensen says in a ‘duh’ tone, pointing to himself. “Yeah. Let’s go, Dimples.” He swings the car door open and climbs inside. Jared swiftly gets in behind the wheel and throws Jensen a look.
“Did you just call me Dimples?”
Jensen smiles, and it’s like the clouds parting to reveal the sun. It brings out Jared’s smile at once, and Jensen chuckles. “Naw, Dimples, that’s nuts, Dimples. Where’d you ever get an idea like that, Dimples?”
Jared chuckles right back as he starts the car. “Keep it up and I’m gonna start calling you Jenny.”
“You do realize I can turn you into a dung beetle with the snap of a finger.” Jensen holds his right hand up, thumb pressed to his middle finger and ready to snap. Jared lifts an eyebrow at him.
“Oh really? So the Genie Rule Book allows you to turn your master into a dung beetle?”
“Yep. Article 12, Section Three, Subsection F.”
“You’re not very good at lying.”
“I know.”
Both men are smirking as Jared drives them out of the lot.
Two routes will take Jared back to his apartment building, but unfortunately, both of them pass close enough to downtown that rush hour ensnares them just a few turns away from the beach. Jared sighs as they come to a halt behind a city bus. “Sorry, everyone. Looks like we’re in for a wait.”
The dogs both whine and Jensen mimics them, letting his face droop into a pout. “Aw, don’t give me those sad faces,” Jared begs of them all. “It isn’t my fault! It’s the stupid traffic.” The dogs slump their chins on the bottom of the opened windows anyway. Jensen looks from them to Jared, and then back at the traffic all around them.
“Oh what the hell,” he decides, snapping his fingers. “Drive, Jared.”
“I’d love to, Jensen, but I’m kinda trapped, in case you didn’t notice.”
“I know. I just threw you a freebie. Now drive.” The car doesn’t move, so Jensen turns to Jared. “Trust me! Put the car in drive and go!”
“O-okay…” I hope my car insurance covers Acts of Genie… Jared carefully pulls ahead, the bumper of his car inching toward the huge ad for McDonald’s on the back of the bus. Jensen rolls his eyes and disappears. “Jensen?” Jared looks in the back seat and all over, trying to find him. “Where’d you go?”
He feels something tap the toe of his shoe, so he looks down. A five-inch version of Jensen is right next to the accelerator. “Come on, Jare, get the lead out!” he calls up. Jared just looks at him like he’s nuts, so Jensen shakes his head. “All right, Dimples, you asked for it…” Jensen jumps up-
“Oh shit,” Jared cries, “DON’T!”
-and drops on Jared’s foot, smashing the pedal down with his extra weight. The car surges forward. Jared’s arms fly up, bracing himself for impact and the air bag and his dogs’ cries and police sirens and the top story on the local news about the idiot driver who hit a bus in standing traffic!
But none of that happens. Jared looks out between his forearms and sees them moving forward…and moving THROUGH. Jared, the car, and everyone in it are transparent, passing through the front of the bus and into the car in front of it with ease.
“Cool, huh?” Jensen asks, and Jared finds him human-sized again and back in the passenger seat.
“Cool is one word for it…!” he squeaks. “But the word that comes to my mind is ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?”
“Technically that’s four words,” Jensen smirks back. Jared’s eyes bug out even more, and Jensen can’t help but put his hand on top of his master’s, which is currently white-knuckling the wheel. “We’re fine, Jared. Just breathe. In…come on…” He nods as Jared listens and breathes. “And out. There you go. Now just drive like you normally would and take us home.”
Jared nods as they head into the intersection. The oncoming traffic flies through them, and Jared flinches up, but Jensen rubs his shoulder in comfort. “They can’t hit us, Jare. They can’t even see us! Just keep going.” Jared finishes his turn, and Jensen leans back in his seat to enjoy the view.
My new master is adorable!
Jensen is crushing on Jared-badly. Every part of him is throwing up big red warning lights, and he knows that they’re right. He’s been hurt before, after all. He can’t let himself go down that road again. But his eyes refuse to budge, rapt in Jared’s rippling muscles and cute emo bangs and those dimples! He can feel the butterflies taking flight in his stomach, and he has to keep his mouth tightly shut so they don’t fly out for Jared to see.
So I have a little crush, Jensen thinks to his more sensible side. I’m allowed a little crush every other century, right? What’s the harm in that?
And his sensible side counters with thousands of memories, all of them hurtful.
But it isn’t just his looks, Jensen argues, it’s all of him! He’s funny and he’s kind and…did I mention the dimples?
The most hurtful memories come forward, playing out slow so that his heart grows heavy from the reminder of past breakings. The message is clear: Jensen, do you really want to set yourself up to get hurt AGAIN? Jensen sighs inwardly in answer: No, of course not. I should know by now that good things do NOT happen to genies. His eyes well and he shuts them tight to keep the tears in. I have to accept that I’ll never get my own happy ending. His sensible side backs off, satisfied, and Jensen glares at it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.
“Jensen? You okay?”
Jared’s voice brings Jensen out of his inner turmoil, and he turns to his master and finds him looking adorably concerned, both of his adorable nostrils open wide and his forehead all furrowed in such an adorable way… Arrgh! Stop it!, he orders himself, and he fronts Jared a smile. “I’m fine. I’m great!” He gestures to the world passing by. “It’s nice to be out of the lamp again.”
“How long has it been since the last time you were out?”
“Seven years. I can’t really complain, though: I was with my last master for over 30 before he used his last wish.”
“What was his name?”
“Can’t tell you.” Jensen nods when Jared looks over. “Part of the rule book. I can’t give away a former master’s name, unless my new master guesses it.”
“Was it Bill?”
“Nope.”
“John?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Ray?”
“Please stop.”
“Sorry.”
They’ve just arrived at Jared’s building, and as they pull into the driveway, the car and its occupants solidify back into existence. Jared presses the garage door opener. “I share a garage with two of my neighbors-” He cuts himself off with a sigh as he sees the usual, annoying sight in front of him. “Who don’t like to leave me any room to park,” he grumbles, indicating the too-small area on the left.
Jensen lifts his right hand, tilts it on its side so his palm is facing Jared, and sweeps his hand to the right. The neighbors’ cars slide to the right, moved by an invisible force, until the middle car’s passenger-side mirror is touching the truck’s driver’s door and the truck itself is pressed up to the right side of the garage. Then Jensen turns his hand to gesture to Jared to drive right in. Jared lets out a little “heh!” as he pulls in to his now ample parking spot. After shutting off the car, he gets out to take a closer look at the neighbors’ vehicles.
“How are they supposed to get out?” Jared asks Jensen as the genie joins him. Jensen shrugs.
“Who cares. You really think they ever gave YOU any thought?”
“No, but…”
Jensen looks up at him and finds Jared giving the perfect impression of a sad little puppy. It makes him want to fling his arms around Jared and kiss him until he’s not so sad anymore, but somehow he finds the willpower to restrain himself. The look remains, and Jensen sighs and asks flatly, “You want me to move them back, don’t you…”
“It would be nice. Thanks.”
Jensen shakes his head at him. “You’ve got a big heart, Jay, I’ll give you that.” He zaps the two vehicles and inches them back until each car has enough room to pull out without hitting anything. “Just make sure no one steps on it and breaks it,” Jensen warns, “cause it’s a bitch to put back together. Believe me.” The puppy dog look is back, and Jensen has to turn away. Your Cute is gonna KILL me! he both rejoices and despairs.
Jared lets the dogs out and they run up to the front door of the building, and Jensen runs after them and starts jumping up and down, spazzing out like a kid on a sugar high. Your Cute is gonna KILL me! Jared thinks fondly, and he takes his backpack and the lamp out of the car and shuts the garage door before he heads off to join them. They go inside, and Jared leads them to the stairs. “I’m up on top,” he tells Jensen.
The genie points to the closed elevator doors as they walk past them. “Broken?”
“Yeah, it breaks down all the time. Doesn’t really bother me, though-I like the stairs better anyway.” They reach the top, and the dogs are jumping and wagging and so excited to be home that Jared has to shush them. “Easy, guys. Don’t wanna piss off Mr. Randolph downstairs.” They calm down at once, and Jared opens the door and lets them inside.
“They’re good dogs,” Jensen declares, and Jared nods.
“Yeah, I’m so lucky they adopted me.” He pours out some doggie dinner into the bowls, and Harley and Sadie readily dig in. Jared sets the kibble bag back in the pantry and then looks back to Jensen. “If I ever find out who abandoned them when they were pups, I’ll throttle ‘em.”
“I’ll tag team with you.” Jensen lets his magic flare up as static around him to show he’s serious. But when Jared starts to look uncomfortable, Jensen quickly settles back down and sets off into a stroll, taking in the details of Jared’s apartment.
“It’s small, I know,” Jared apologizes needlessly. Jensen spins on his heel and looks back at him.
“You kidding? This place is a palace!” Jensen takes the lamp and holds it up to Jared’s face. “THIS is an itty bitty living space. I don’t even have windows.” He sets it down on the cheap coffee table and sits down on Jared’s equally cheap sofa. “And at least you get to leave whenever you want. If the stopper’s on the lamp, I can’t get out unless my master rubs for me.”
Jared peers into the spout and spies a miniature, round room, complete with tiny table and a sofa in the shape of a crescent moon. “At least you’ve got a TV,” Jared says as he spots the little device.
“Yeah but you know how it is,” Jensen grumbles. “Every channel in the universe, and half the time, nothing good is on.”
Jared sits down next to him on the couch. “So what do you do all day?”
Jensen shrugs but doesn’t look at him. “Exist, just like any prisoner.” He feels Jared’s surprise, so he lifts his hands and shows him his gold cuffs. The pattern that Jared only glimpsed on the beach is now crystal clear close-up: chains, bored deep into the surface as if their oppressive weight alone forged the design. “They’re shackles,” Jensen confirms. “They bind me to the lamp and to an eternity of servitude. It sucks-and not just the slaving.” Jensen holds his hands parallel to one another, and little bolts of lightning crisscross the space between them like yarn in a game of Cat’s Cradle. “I’ve got all this power, but I can’t use it.” The lightning turns to wisps of smoke and blows away. “Not unless my master bids me to.”
“You can’t use any of it for yourself? Not even to make your itty bitty living space a little roomier?”
“No. Only a free genie can use his powers for himself.”
“Okay, so how do you become a free genie?”
Jensen gives him a wry look. “What’s it matter? It’s never gonna happen.”
“Not if you don’t tell me.” Jared keeps his gaze steady despite the genie’s cynicism, and eventually, Jensen gives in, though he hangs his head before he speaks.
“The only way out is if my master wishes me out.” Jensen looks back up, clearly frustrated. “And no master will EVER waste a wish on their genie.”
“I will!”
One of Jensen’s eyebrows cocks. “Yeah, right. Jared, you’re a nice guy, but there’s no WAY that’s going to happen. People have promised me before, and something always comes up.”
“But I’m different from them, remember?”
Jensen folds his arms over his chest, not about to let himself fall for it again, when Jared sticks his hand out. “Let’s shake on it-then I can’t go back on my promise. I’ll use my first two wishes on myself, and then I’ll use the third one to set you free. Deal?”
The puppy dog look starts to make an appearance, and Jensen knows he can’t fight both Jared’s kind heart AND that sweet face. “All right,” Jensen says, shaking his hand back. “Here’s hoping.”
“You won’t regret it, Jen, I promise.”
Jared runs off to the kitchen, leaving Jensen on the couch. Despite the genie’s misgivings, his hopes lift off the ground and hover, and he smiles. Maybe this time will be different after all.
On to Part Four
Master Post
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
The huge green eyes take a slow blink, then narrow and focus on Jared’s teeny tiny form.
“Well?” the giant asks again.
“Wa-wa-well what?” Jared stammers back.
“Aren’t you going to start ordering me around?”
Jared frowns, displaying his full confusion. “I…wasn’t planning on it. Why?”
“Cause that’s usually the way it works,” the giant states like it’s very obvious. “Lamp gets rubbed, I come out, and my new master-that’s you-starts laying down the law.”
“Wait…what? I’m your master?!”
Now it’s the giant’s turn to frown. “Well, yeah. You got the lamp right there in your hands. You rubbed, and here I am. You’re the master. I’m the genie.”
Jared sits down on the sand. “You make it sound so normal,” he chuckles. One of the enormous hands appears high over Jared’s head, and soon a huge finger is gently set on top of his hair.
“You feeling all right, Master?” the genie asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jared replies. “Well, no, actually, I’m NOT fine, ‘cause this is SO fucked up...” He’s trembling again, and he hugs his arms around himself. “And why the hell can’t I stop shaking?”
“Maybe ‘cause you’re only wearing a pair of underwear?”
Jared looks down at himself, remembers that he was in the process of changing clothes when he discovered the lamp, and turns a deep shade of pink. The genie wraps his enormous hand around Jared’s body, effectively sheltering him in a makeshift cave. “I’ll keep you warm,” Jared hears him say. “Where are your clothes?”
“In my backpack, uh…somewhere behind you.” Jared hears sand shifting, and a few seconds later, the genie lifts his hand up and drops the backpack at Jared’s feet. Then his hand covers him up again.
“Get changed. Maybe you’ll feel a little more like yourself once you have your clothes on again.” Jared already has his pants on as the genie speaks, but he doesn’t tell him that, fearing that he’ll get crushed if the genie doesn’t like smart-alecks like him. “What’s your name, Master?” the genie asks.
“Jared,” he calls back. “What’s yours?”
The genie doesn’t reply. As Jared pats the giant thumb to let him know he’s done, the cave lifts up and reveals the genie sitting up on his knees, looking like a surprised, 20-story building with a handsome face. “What?” Jared asks.
“Why do you want to know my name?”
“Why did you want to know mine?”
“I just like to know,” the genie shrugs.
“Well, same here,” Jared smiles, finding an odd sense of comfort in the genie’s shyness. “So what is it?”
Again, the genie looks surprised-though this time, it’s more of a confused surprise. “Don’t you just want to call me Slave or You or…just plain Genie?”
Jared is revolted and shows it with a grimace. “People have really called you ‘slave’ in the past?”
The genie nods. “Yeah. Most of ‘em do.”
“Well I’m not like that. I really, truly want to know your name, so let’s start over.” Jared holds his hand out. “Hi! I’m Jared Padalecki.”
The genie gets a cute little smile on his big face and extends his hand as well. As it reaches Jared, however, the huge hand becomes human sized, and it shakes Jared’s warmly. “I’m Jensen.”
“Jensen. Nice to meet you.” Jared releases the hand, and it immediately becomes gigantic again. By now, the dogs have decided that the scary part is over, and they join Jared at his side. The genie’s face lights up with a smile.
“Oh cool, you have dogs!” He reaches for them, and the dogs bark, then yelp, then run off again. Jared glares at the mean ol’ giant.
“You didn’t have to scare them,” he scolds him.
“I didn’t mean to, I swear,” the genie-Jensen-says sadly. “I just haven’t seen a dog in a really long time. I wanted to pet ‘em.”
And his pout is so overwhelmingly sweet that Jared’s anger crumbles away at once. “Well, no offense, Jensen, but they’re not gonna come anywhere near you when you’re so huge and scary.”
“This is not me being scary, trust me,” Jensen retorts, crossing his arms (and making himself look even MORE like a genie in the process). “And I’m not huge on purpose! This is how big genies are!”
“Well do you have to stay like that? Can’t you, I don’t know…be human-sized?”
Jensen shrugs. “Sure, if you want.” He turns to smoke and shrinks down, becoming whole again as he stands in front of Jared. “Most of my masters prefer it if I stay my normal size.”
Now THAT surprises Jared. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess it makes them feel important and powerful, ordering around a big guy like me.” Jensen, now just a couple inches shorter than Jared, smiles up into his face. “But you’re not like other masters, are you, Master?”
“Nope. And call me Jared.”
“You got it, Master Jared.”
Jared laughs, “NO, no, just Jared! Leave the master part out of it. It makes me feel weird.”
“Suit yourself.” Jensen smiles and rubs his hands together. “So! You want to make some wishes or what?”
Jared brightens as well-somehow, between Jensen’s cute but colossal face and the nearly being crushed and the entire What the Fuck-ery of it all, Jared had forgotten about the best part! “I can have anything I want?”
“Well…almost anything. There are some ground rules. First and foremost: you get THREE wishes, no more, no less.”
“Can’t I just wish for more wishes?”
“Well yeah, if you want to waste your wish,” Jensen sneers. “There’s a curse on my lamp to keep that particular wish from being granted.”
“Really? Why?”
“Long story, and I don’t feel like telling you right now,” Jensen answers, sounding defensive. Jared wisely decides not to press.
“Okay, so what else do I have to know?”
“Besides the No Wishing for More Wishes, there are three other rules. One, I can’t kill anyone. I also can’t bring anyone back from the dead. I don’t care how near and dear to you they were, all right? They’re dead. Deal with it.”
Jared nods. “That’s fine. I don’t want to kill anybody, and none of my loved ones are dead. So what’s the last rule?”
“I can’t make anyone fall in love with anyone else.” Jensen sees Jared’s face fall, and he winces. “Ouch. That one hit close to home, huh.”
“Sorta. It’s a long story.” Jared grins and adds, “And I don’t feel like telling you right now.”
Jensen smirks. “Touché.”
In the distance, they hear a roll of thunder, and both men look up and note the approaching storm clouds. “We’d better get home,” Jared says. He whistles for the dogs and waves at them to join him. “Sadie? Harley, come!”
The dogs scamper over, no longer afraid of the stranger since he’s not a towering, scary man anymore. Jensen holds his hand out to their sniffing noses before he leans in and starts petting them both. The dogs are both soon licking his face, and Jensen laughs. It’s a wonderful laugh, bright and merry like Christmas morning, and it temporarily replaces David’s laugh as the most beautiful sound Jared’s ever heard.
“They’re so sweet!” Jensen all but squeals. “Who’s who?”
“The big one is Harley, and the slightly smaller one is my girl Sadie.”
“Hey you two! I’m Jensen!” Both dogs drop to their backs and roll over for a belly rub, and Jensen happily complies. “Ooh, you’re in my power now, huh?” He laughs again, and Jared smiles down at his new friend. Now that Jensen isn’t so immense, Jared can get a better look at him. Catching his eye right away are the two golden cuffs adorning the genie’s wrists, engraved with some sort of pattern that Jared will have to take a closer look at later-for now, he just wants the big picture. Jensen’s skin is that slightly tan shade that makes his skin look healthy and radiant. He’s muscular, but not veiny-big, with broad shoulders, firm pecs, and a nice six-pack resting above a trim waist. His legs sport, well, genie pants-dark grey-blue accented by a red wrap at the top. The silk pant legs billow out just past the knees, where they come back in and stop at matching red bands around firm calf muscles. His feet are bare, but they’re not dirty at all. Jared admires the strong back that is bent over the dogs.
The wishes are great, but the stunning genie that comes with it is a real perk. Jared smirks at his own thoughts, and Jensen looks back up at him.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Jared answers a little too quickly, and Jensen smirks at him.
“Uh-huh. Enjoying the view?”
Jared turns bright pink again, and Jensen waggles his eyebrows. “Thought so.” He stands up and walks toward the sole car in the lot, and both dogs get up and run after him. It takes another rumble of thunder to stir Jared out of his embarrassment and join them. He keeps his eyes planted on his dogs as he lets them into the backseat.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Jensen’s question forces Jared to look at him, and he finds the genie on the other side of the car, throwing a semi-smug smile over the roof. Jared instantly gives himself a once over, making sure he didn’t forget his pants or his shoes or anything even slightly humiliating, but he can’t find anything wrong. He looks back at Jensen and shakes his head, not understanding. Jensen holds up the lamp.
“Holy shit.” Jared looks back at the beach. “Where did I-”
“You set it down while you were getting changed.” Jensen disappears with a pop! and then reappears right in front of Jared. Jared holds his hands out to take it, but Jensen keeps it out of reach. “You HAVE to keep the lamp with you at all times,” he instructs Jared. “If you don’t, someone else could steal it, and then they’ll be my new master and you won’t get all your wishes. All right?” Jared nods, and Jensen hands him the bottle. “Good.” He walks around to the passenger side of the car again. “Stopper’s in your shirt pocket, by the way,” he adds.
Jared notes the bulge in the small pocket and takes out the stopper. That wasn’t there five seconds ago…how the-?
“Magic genie?” Jensen says in a ‘duh’ tone, pointing to himself. “Yeah. Let’s go, Dimples.” He swings the car door open and climbs inside. Jared swiftly gets in behind the wheel and throws Jensen a look.
“Did you just call me Dimples?”
Jensen smiles, and it’s like the clouds parting to reveal the sun. It brings out Jared’s smile at once, and Jensen chuckles. “Naw, Dimples, that’s nuts, Dimples. Where’d you ever get an idea like that, Dimples?”
Jared chuckles right back as he starts the car. “Keep it up and I’m gonna start calling you Jenny.”
“You do realize I can turn you into a dung beetle with the snap of a finger.” Jensen holds his right hand up, thumb pressed to his middle finger and ready to snap. Jared lifts an eyebrow at him.
“Oh really? So the Genie Rule Book allows you to turn your master into a dung beetle?”
“Yep. Article 12, Section Three, Subsection F.”
“You’re not very good at lying.”
“I know.”
Both men are smirking as Jared drives them out of the lot.
Two routes will take Jared back to his apartment building, but unfortunately, both of them pass close enough to downtown that rush hour ensnares them just a few turns away from the beach. Jared sighs as they come to a halt behind a city bus. “Sorry, everyone. Looks like we’re in for a wait.”
The dogs both whine and Jensen mimics them, letting his face droop into a pout. “Aw, don’t give me those sad faces,” Jared begs of them all. “It isn’t my fault! It’s the stupid traffic.” The dogs slump their chins on the bottom of the opened windows anyway. Jensen looks from them to Jared, and then back at the traffic all around them.
“Oh what the hell,” he decides, snapping his fingers. “Drive, Jared.”
“I’d love to, Jensen, but I’m kinda trapped, in case you didn’t notice.”
“I know. I just threw you a freebie. Now drive.” The car doesn’t move, so Jensen turns to Jared. “Trust me! Put the car in drive and go!”
“O-okay…” I hope my car insurance covers Acts of Genie… Jared carefully pulls ahead, the bumper of his car inching toward the huge ad for McDonald’s on the back of the bus. Jensen rolls his eyes and disappears. “Jensen?” Jared looks in the back seat and all over, trying to find him. “Where’d you go?”
He feels something tap the toe of his shoe, so he looks down. A five-inch version of Jensen is right next to the accelerator. “Come on, Jare, get the lead out!” he calls up. Jared just looks at him like he’s nuts, so Jensen shakes his head. “All right, Dimples, you asked for it…” Jensen jumps up-
“Oh shit,” Jared cries, “DON’T!”
-and drops on Jared’s foot, smashing the pedal down with his extra weight. The car surges forward. Jared’s arms fly up, bracing himself for impact and the air bag and his dogs’ cries and police sirens and the top story on the local news about the idiot driver who hit a bus in standing traffic!
But none of that happens. Jared looks out between his forearms and sees them moving forward…and moving THROUGH. Jared, the car, and everyone in it are transparent, passing through the front of the bus and into the car in front of it with ease.
“Cool, huh?” Jensen asks, and Jared finds him human-sized again and back in the passenger seat.
“Cool is one word for it…!” he squeaks. “But the word that comes to my mind is ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?”
“Technically that’s four words,” Jensen smirks back. Jared’s eyes bug out even more, and Jensen can’t help but put his hand on top of his master’s, which is currently white-knuckling the wheel. “We’re fine, Jared. Just breathe. In…come on…” He nods as Jared listens and breathes. “And out. There you go. Now just drive like you normally would and take us home.”
Jared nods as they head into the intersection. The oncoming traffic flies through them, and Jared flinches up, but Jensen rubs his shoulder in comfort. “They can’t hit us, Jare. They can’t even see us! Just keep going.” Jared finishes his turn, and Jensen leans back in his seat to enjoy the view.
My new master is adorable!
Jensen is crushing on Jared-badly. Every part of him is throwing up big red warning lights, and he knows that they’re right. He’s been hurt before, after all. He can’t let himself go down that road again. But his eyes refuse to budge, rapt in Jared’s rippling muscles and cute emo bangs and those dimples! He can feel the butterflies taking flight in his stomach, and he has to keep his mouth tightly shut so they don’t fly out for Jared to see.
So I have a little crush, Jensen thinks to his more sensible side. I’m allowed a little crush every other century, right? What’s the harm in that?
And his sensible side counters with thousands of memories, all of them hurtful.
But it isn’t just his looks, Jensen argues, it’s all of him! He’s funny and he’s kind and…did I mention the dimples?
The most hurtful memories come forward, playing out slow so that his heart grows heavy from the reminder of past breakings. The message is clear: Jensen, do you really want to set yourself up to get hurt AGAIN? Jensen sighs inwardly in answer: No, of course not. I should know by now that good things do NOT happen to genies. His eyes well and he shuts them tight to keep the tears in. I have to accept that I’ll never get my own happy ending. His sensible side backs off, satisfied, and Jensen glares at it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.
“Jensen? You okay?”
Jared’s voice brings Jensen out of his inner turmoil, and he turns to his master and finds him looking adorably concerned, both of his adorable nostrils open wide and his forehead all furrowed in such an adorable way… Arrgh! Stop it!, he orders himself, and he fronts Jared a smile. “I’m fine. I’m great!” He gestures to the world passing by. “It’s nice to be out of the lamp again.”
“How long has it been since the last time you were out?”
“Seven years. I can’t really complain, though: I was with my last master for over 30 before he used his last wish.”
“What was his name?”
“Can’t tell you.” Jensen nods when Jared looks over. “Part of the rule book. I can’t give away a former master’s name, unless my new master guesses it.”
“Was it Bill?”
“Nope.”
“John?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Ray?”
“Please stop.”
“Sorry.”
They’ve just arrived at Jared’s building, and as they pull into the driveway, the car and its occupants solidify back into existence. Jared presses the garage door opener. “I share a garage with two of my neighbors-” He cuts himself off with a sigh as he sees the usual, annoying sight in front of him. “Who don’t like to leave me any room to park,” he grumbles, indicating the too-small area on the left.
Jensen lifts his right hand, tilts it on its side so his palm is facing Jared, and sweeps his hand to the right. The neighbors’ cars slide to the right, moved by an invisible force, until the middle car’s passenger-side mirror is touching the truck’s driver’s door and the truck itself is pressed up to the right side of the garage. Then Jensen turns his hand to gesture to Jared to drive right in. Jared lets out a little “heh!” as he pulls in to his now ample parking spot. After shutting off the car, he gets out to take a closer look at the neighbors’ vehicles.
“How are they supposed to get out?” Jared asks Jensen as the genie joins him. Jensen shrugs.
“Who cares. You really think they ever gave YOU any thought?”
“No, but…”
Jensen looks up at him and finds Jared giving the perfect impression of a sad little puppy. It makes him want to fling his arms around Jared and kiss him until he’s not so sad anymore, but somehow he finds the willpower to restrain himself. The look remains, and Jensen sighs and asks flatly, “You want me to move them back, don’t you…”
“It would be nice. Thanks.”
Jensen shakes his head at him. “You’ve got a big heart, Jay, I’ll give you that.” He zaps the two vehicles and inches them back until each car has enough room to pull out without hitting anything. “Just make sure no one steps on it and breaks it,” Jensen warns, “cause it’s a bitch to put back together. Believe me.” The puppy dog look is back, and Jensen has to turn away. Your Cute is gonna KILL me! he both rejoices and despairs.
Jared lets the dogs out and they run up to the front door of the building, and Jensen runs after them and starts jumping up and down, spazzing out like a kid on a sugar high. Your Cute is gonna KILL me! Jared thinks fondly, and he takes his backpack and the lamp out of the car and shuts the garage door before he heads off to join them. They go inside, and Jared leads them to the stairs. “I’m up on top,” he tells Jensen.
The genie points to the closed elevator doors as they walk past them. “Broken?”
“Yeah, it breaks down all the time. Doesn’t really bother me, though-I like the stairs better anyway.” They reach the top, and the dogs are jumping and wagging and so excited to be home that Jared has to shush them. “Easy, guys. Don’t wanna piss off Mr. Randolph downstairs.” They calm down at once, and Jared opens the door and lets them inside.
“They’re good dogs,” Jensen declares, and Jared nods.
“Yeah, I’m so lucky they adopted me.” He pours out some doggie dinner into the bowls, and Harley and Sadie readily dig in. Jared sets the kibble bag back in the pantry and then looks back to Jensen. “If I ever find out who abandoned them when they were pups, I’ll throttle ‘em.”
“I’ll tag team with you.” Jensen lets his magic flare up as static around him to show he’s serious. But when Jared starts to look uncomfortable, Jensen quickly settles back down and sets off into a stroll, taking in the details of Jared’s apartment.
“It’s small, I know,” Jared apologizes needlessly. Jensen spins on his heel and looks back at him.
“You kidding? This place is a palace!” Jensen takes the lamp and holds it up to Jared’s face. “THIS is an itty bitty living space. I don’t even have windows.” He sets it down on the cheap coffee table and sits down on Jared’s equally cheap sofa. “And at least you get to leave whenever you want. If the stopper’s on the lamp, I can’t get out unless my master rubs for me.”
Jared peers into the spout and spies a miniature, round room, complete with tiny table and a sofa in the shape of a crescent moon. “At least you’ve got a TV,” Jared says as he spots the little device.
“Yeah but you know how it is,” Jensen grumbles. “Every channel in the universe, and half the time, nothing good is on.”
Jared sits down next to him on the couch. “So what do you do all day?”
Jensen shrugs but doesn’t look at him. “Exist, just like any prisoner.” He feels Jared’s surprise, so he lifts his hands and shows him his gold cuffs. The pattern that Jared only glimpsed on the beach is now crystal clear close-up: chains, bored deep into the surface as if their oppressive weight alone forged the design. “They’re shackles,” Jensen confirms. “They bind me to the lamp and to an eternity of servitude. It sucks-and not just the slaving.” Jensen holds his hands parallel to one another, and little bolts of lightning crisscross the space between them like yarn in a game of Cat’s Cradle. “I’ve got all this power, but I can’t use it.” The lightning turns to wisps of smoke and blows away. “Not unless my master bids me to.”
“You can’t use any of it for yourself? Not even to make your itty bitty living space a little roomier?”
“No. Only a free genie can use his powers for himself.”
“Okay, so how do you become a free genie?”
Jensen gives him a wry look. “What’s it matter? It’s never gonna happen.”
“Not if you don’t tell me.” Jared keeps his gaze steady despite the genie’s cynicism, and eventually, Jensen gives in, though he hangs his head before he speaks.
“The only way out is if my master wishes me out.” Jensen looks back up, clearly frustrated. “And no master will EVER waste a wish on their genie.”
“I will!”
One of Jensen’s eyebrows cocks. “Yeah, right. Jared, you’re a nice guy, but there’s no WAY that’s going to happen. People have promised me before, and something always comes up.”
“But I’m different from them, remember?”
Jensen folds his arms over his chest, not about to let himself fall for it again, when Jared sticks his hand out. “Let’s shake on it-then I can’t go back on my promise. I’ll use my first two wishes on myself, and then I’ll use the third one to set you free. Deal?”
The puppy dog look starts to make an appearance, and Jensen knows he can’t fight both Jared’s kind heart AND that sweet face. “All right,” Jensen says, shaking his hand back. “Here’s hoping.”
“You won’t regret it, Jen, I promise.”
Jared runs off to the kitchen, leaving Jensen on the couch. Despite the genie’s misgivings, his hopes lift off the ground and hover, and he smiles. Maybe this time will be different after all.
On to Part Four
Master Post