Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/5639275.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe, Age_Difference, Imaginary_Friends, Mythical_Beings_&
      Creatures
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-01-04 Words: 4061
****** Bring Me a Dream ******
by alycat
Summary
     Jensen gathered the courage to finally come out to his parents...
     just as they were heading out of town—so they couldn't explode, in
     the hopes he'd be spared their grilling and sidelong glances. But now
     he found himself all alone with his thoughts in a big empty house.
     Empty, apart from the reappearance of his childhood imaginary friend.
Notes
     Inspired by Just My Imagination, because of course there needed to be
     fic! Title from Mr. Sandman. Thank you Mistress_Magda for the beta/
     title work.
"Dad," Jensen said, sitting down on the edge of the chair. "Mom. I've got
something I kinda wanna talk to you about."
He'd never been so nervous in his life and he could see the worried frowns on
his parents’ faces before he let his gaze fall down on the table in front of
him. He was grateful that neither of them said anything, instead waiting for
Jensen to say what he needed to get out.
"So, I've kinda figured out this one thing, and it's really huge…"
When he drifted off into silence his father leaned forward, one elbow on the
table and chin resting on his hand. With both his parents watching him, Jensen
knew he had to say something.
"I mean, it's not bad and it's… At least I don't think it's bad. I hope you
don't."
"Jensen," his mother said when Jensen once more drifted off into silence. "What
is it you want to tell us? And why now? You know we have to leave for your aunt
Maeve’s soon. Please, what is it."
Jensen couldn't stay sitting down, instead he stood up and took a few steps
away, running one hand through his hair before he turned to face his parents.
"I think I'm gay."
The silent was palpable and Jensen stood waiting for a response. To his utter
surprise, both his parents only looked at him, blinking slowly before looking
at each other and then back at him.
"Yes?" Donna said, cocking her head to the side.
"Is that all?" Alan asked.
Jensen's mouth fell open and he stared in disbelief at his parents, trying to
make sense of their lack of surprise at his big reveal.
"All?" Jensen cried out, voice rising up a full octave. "Aren't you gonna say
anything?"
His mother smiled before standing up and walking over to him, wrapping Jensen
up in her arms and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"Oh, sweetheart. We've known for so long."
Jensen looked over to his father and the man merely nodded before also standing
up and walking over to Jensen, big hand clapping him on the shoulder.
"Look, son," Alan said with a chuckle. "Your imaginary friend was some guy
covered in glitter, singing show tunes and if I remember correctly the two of
you set up quite a few dance performances. Honestly, we've known you're gay for
years."
Jensen felt his cheeks heat up at the reminder of what his childhood had been
like, and he really didn't think he could be blamed for all the weird ideas of
his imaginary friend. Luckily he managed to stop the words from falling from
his lips when he realized how stupid it sounded.
"You knew?" he asked instead. "I've been worrying about telling you and you
knew?"
"We love you," his mother said, hugging him tightly. "All we want for you is to
be happy; we really don't care if it's with a boy or a girl. As long as they
love you."
His father hugged him close as well and Jensen had to wipe away a tear when his
parents smiled at him. It wasn't the response he had expected but it was many
times better than what he had feared. Relief was still coursing through his
system when he waved his parents off, and despite how well things had gone he
was glad that they would have a few days apart. Jensen had worked himself up
for the revelation and it was only when he stood alone in the living room that
things really got to him and to his own surprise he started laughing.
"They knew, of course they knew," he muttered to himself, almost falling back
down on the couch and stretching out, resting his head against the back. "And
because of my imaginary friend. Really, Jared wasn't that extreme."
"I don't see anything extreme about a bit of glitter."
Jensen screamed, tripping over his feet in his attempts to get up from the
couch and he ended up in a heap on the ground, staring up at a stranger
towering above him. A stranger whose slanted eyes were lined in black and green
glitter and whose shoulder length hair was also shimmering with glitter. A
stranger dressed in black leather pants that clung to strong thighs and
Jensen's eyes focused on the man's muscular chest, barely hidden beneath a
green and black vest that left impressive arms bare, all the way down to where
black gloves went halfway up his arms. The entire wardrobe rang a bell in the
back of Jensen's mind and he blinked a few times, thinking the figure would go
away.
"Are you okay, Jensen?"
"No," Jensen said, but it wasn't really meant as a response. "This can't be
happening. Because you can't be happening. Just imagining. Must've hit my head
on something. Yeah. Not happening."
He struggled up to his feet, taking a few steps back but the man was still
there and Jensen knew he was coming scaringly close to hyperventilating.
Closing his eyes he attempted to pull in a few deep breaths but before he could
manage to get himself together he felt the firm weight of an arm around his
shoulders and a scent that was familiar even though he hadn't experienced it in
years.
"You're real? How can you be real?" Jensen mumbled, unable to stop himself
turning into the touch.
"I was always real. You were just the only one who could see me," his imaginary
friend said and when Jensen looked up he was met with a brilliant smile.
"Jared?" Jensen whispered and with speaking the name out loud it was like he
was transported back ten years, back to the six year old and the best friend no
one else could see. "I thought…people told me you weren't real but here you are
and… Why? Why are you back?"
There were so many more questions that Jensen wanted to ask, because how could
he be standing there, with the arms of his fucking imaginary friend around him?
"I shouldn't be," Jared admitted, letting go of Jensen and this time it was his
turn to take a few steps back. "Look, we're not supposed to come back but I
never forgot about you and I could feel it, how worried you were about telling
your parents. I had to come and see how you were doing."
Jensen's legs felt weak, but he managed to get himself to the couch before they
gave way and he almost collapsed down on it. Nothing of what Jared was saying
made sense, because Jared shouldn't be able to say anything. Imaginary friends
weren't real, Jensen knew that. Everyone knew that, and yet he could feel the
couch shift as Jared sat down beside him and he could smell the scent of long-
forgotten childhood memories.
"What are you?" Jensen asked, weakly. He wasn't really expecting an answer.
"We're called Zanna," Jared said, shifting on the couch so he was facing
Jensen. "We help kids. Give them a friend when needed, support them, help them
and make them find themselves. Kids can easily see us, grown ups only when we
want them to. I was never imaginary, it was just that you were the only one
that could see me."
He had wanted Jared to be real, more than anything, and he had been sad when
school and friends had pulled him away from his imaginary friend, until one day
the imaginary friend didn't come back and there was no more traces of glitter
in Jensen's room. Looking back at it, he figured that most people outgrew their
imaginary friends, but with what Jared was saying he started to have doubts.
"You disappeared," he said, accusingly.
"You didn't need me anymore," Jared said with a small shrug. "You made friends,
you started living in the real world and when a Zanna is no longer needed, we
fade away and after some time we're paired with a new child."
Jealousy shot through Jensen at that, because Jared was his friend and real or
not, Jensen wasn't keen of the thought of Jared replacing him with some other
nameless kid.
"I wasn't, though," Jared added. "I chose to not be paired again and I work in
management now. It's easier that way. No more risk of…"
He drifted off into silence and Jensen took the time to really look at Jared,
take in the way his hair was still the same, falling down to his shoulders and
curving slightly around his ears. The black and green leather clothes clung
perfectly to his body and watching the play of muscles under tanned skin,
Jensen knew why he'd never really questioned his own sexualtiy.
"Of what?" Jensen asked, shifting closer to Jared. "You said you couldn't
forget about me. You're here now, to make me feel better?"
 
Jared looked up, meeting Jensen's gaze and for some reason it was only in that
moment that Jensen realized that imaginary or not, there must be a considerable
age difference between him and Jared. And that was just counting the age Jared
looked, because he looked the same he had ten years earlier.
"I'm here because I couldn't stay away," Jared said with an embarrassed laugh.
"It might sound weird, but some Zanna, we...feel more connected to a certain
kid. That's usually when we leave the field work, allow for new blood. Once
you've felt that connection, it's hard to care for another child again. You
were that for me, Jensen. You still are."
Connected.
There was no denying the words, not when something pulled Jensen in, making him
shift closer and closer to Jared and imaginary friend or Zanna, whatever Jared
was, he didn't move away.
"You connected with me," Jensen said. "What if I connected with you?"
Jared tilted his head to the side, hair shimmering in the light from the lamps
above and Jensen looked at the flecks of glitter that fell down on the couch.
"Humans don't bind with Zanna," Jared explained. "I'm not telling you this to
make you upset. It's just, I thought you should know. Why I'm here. And really,
I'm just happy your parents took it so well, although I always knew they
would."
 
"You're glittery," Jensen said, reaching out to touch Jared's face. "And you're
dressed like the superheroes I used to love as a child. Were you like this
before me or did you change for me?"
Surprise flickered across Jared's face and when he shook his head more of the
glitter fell down on the couch. For a moment Jensen thought about how upset his
mother would be, but then he remembered that his mother wouldn't be able to see
the glitter; only he could.
"This is me," Jared said, holding out his arms and allowing Jensen to fully
take in the strong body in front of him. "We're paired with kids who'll like
what we are but...you were my first and last assignment."
"Your only," Jensen said, shifting closer and the next time Jared looked at him
there was no way he could miss the way Jensen's tongue flicked out to wet his
lips.
"Jensen? What are you doing?"
Jensen took a deep breath, feeling himself relax when the scent of Jared
wrapped around him and he knew just what he had been missing for so many years.
He knew he was gay, but for the first time he also knew just why none of the
guys in school had been interesting to him and why gay porn had never really
pulled him in. No matter what Jared said, Jensen knew that he had connected as
well and there was only one person he wanted. So what if Jared wasn't fully
human? Jensen might not fully understand what a Zanna was but he knew what he
wanted.
"I think humans can connect as well," Jensen said, shifting forward to straddle
Jared's lap. "I've never been kissed, Jared. Will you kiss me? Be my first,
again?"
"You don't know what you're asking for," Jared said, but his hands were already
gripping Jensen's hips. "I just told you all of this and… why aren't you
freaking out?"
That made Jensen laugh, a full body laugh that made him throw his head back
before grinding down on Jared.
"The man of my dreams, the very reason I knew I was gay, appears in my home the
day I step out of the closet. I might freak out later, but you're Jared. You're
my Jared, and I want you to kiss me."
The next second a warm mouth closed over his and Jensen whimpered into the
kiss, hands coming up to grab Jared's hair and he could feel the silky soft
strands as well as the coarseness of the glitter against the tips of his
fingers. He could feel the grit of glitter on Jared's lips as they kissed but
it faded into nothing when Jared's tongue found its way into Jensen's mouth and
stroked over his own.
Nothing in the world could have prepared Jensen for how it felt to be kissed by
someone like Jared, or how it felt to be kissed in general. He wondered if it
was natural, the shivers that ran through his body and the way it felt as if
his blood was starting to boil with each movement of warm fingers up under the
hem of his t-shirt.
"Yes," Jensen moaned into the kiss and he could feel Jared's grip tighten on
his hips.
"No," Jared said and the next moment Jensen found himself pushed away, almost
falling to the floor. "I can't. It's...god, you were just a kid and I
can't...do this."
The next moment Jensen found himself alone in the room, Jared gone and only the
glitter still lingering on the couch revealing that he'd ever been there. He
didn't know how long he sat on the couch, staring at the patches of glitter
before he slowly got up and turned the lights off. He walked on instinct,
checking the locks and turning off lights before he headed up the stairs and to
his room. Even things like getting undressed and brushing his teeth happened
automatically, no real thought to it.
When he looked into the mirror he could see that flecks of green and black
glitter still lingered on his lips, and he grabbed a towel to rub them off. He
kept brushing the terrycloth over his face until his lips felt numb from it and
his cheeks were heated, but at least there were no remnants of Jared on him and
Jensen allowed himself to go to sleep, even though he knew it was much too
early for bed. He just wanted the day to be over.
-¤-
"Jensen, hey, wake up. Jensen. C'mon, kiddo, wake up."
Jensen groaned, rolling over on his belly and hiding his face into the pillow
but the voice didn't give up, it just kept urging him into wakefulness. It
wasn't until strong arms slowly shifted him to the side and he felt a warm body
lay down beside him that he realized just who it was that had woken him up.
"I'm sorry," Jared said, fitting himself up against Jensen's back and wrapping
an arm around his waist. "I freaked out. I just want you to know that I had no
such thoughts of you back then. I mean, yeah, you were a cute kid and all but,
I didn't… not then."
Tension gripped Jensen and he was sure that Jared could feel it, a thought that
was confirmed when Jared's big hand moved soothingly over his belly.,
"And now?" Jensen asked, barely loud enough to be heard.
"Now, you're the prettiest thing I've ever seen," Jared said with an honesty
that surprised Jensen. "I checked up on you, from time to time, and I've seen
you grow. I've seen you change and… We were always connected, or I was
connected to you, but it changed when I saw you again.
Jensen thought about that, truly thought about it as well as he could with
Jared pressed up against his back and his arm tight around his waist.
"I liked kissing you," Jensen said after a while. "And for me, it's always been
you. I just didn't realize it until I saw you again. Until I figured out that
you weren't just a figment of my imagination.
Jared moved then, rolling Jensen over on his back before leaning in close
enough for Jensen to feel warm breath against his lips. Above him, Jared was
nothing more than a darker shadow in the room but Jensen didn't care, instead
he reached up to wrap his arms around Jared's neck and he didn't need to pull
before Jared leaned in and kissed him once more.
Their first kiss had been soft, hesitant and exploring and it had been so very
good. The second was nothing like that. Soft brushes of lips quickly turned to
Jared's tongue parting his lips again and instead of softness there was a heat
building between them, Jared's hands roaming over his skin and Jensen tried to
push into the touch even as Jared easily was strong enough to hold Jensen in
place.
"Mine," Jared groaned, shifting until he was mostly on top of Jensen, knees
pushing Jensen's legs apart to make a space for Jared just there.
Jensen couldn't protest, not when his own hands were exploring Jared's skin,
finding the places where smooth leather gave way to even smoother skin.
Wrapping one leg around Jared's waist, Jensen pulled his friend, his Zanna,
closer and he groaned when he could feel how much Jared enjoyed what they were
doing. When Jared shifted above him, their groins aligned perfectly and Jensen
threw his head back as pleasure shot through him.
"Oh, fuck, " he gasped, lifting one leg to wrap it around Jared's waist and
their lips met in a kiss that was more desperate than their previous ones.
Jared felt huge above him, strong body pinning Jensen in place and they rocked
together, trading deep kisses while Jensen let his hands explore as much skin
as he could find. He couldn't believe what was happening, couldn't really make
sense of it all but he found that he didn't care. It felt amazing to have Jared
above him, the difference in size making Jensen feel small but also protected.
If there was one thing he knew about Jared, it was that he had always had
Jensen's best interests at heart and that didn't seem to have changed. One hand
came up to cup the back of Jensen's head, lifting him up slightly so that the
kiss could deepen even further and Jensen felt his dick twitch as the position
became even better.
"So good," he mumbled against Jared's lips, lifting one hand to trace the
glitter lining Jared's eyes. "Please…"
He wasn't sure what he was asking for, but it seemed like Jared knew, because
he pushed down even harder against Jensen, pushing himself up on his knees and
it made the friction on Jensen's cock even better. A part of him wanted more,
wanted to strip Jared bare and touch and taste every inch of skin, but he could
already feel the orgasm building inside him and it was clear that wasn't about
to happen. Instead he clung to Jared's strong body, arching up against him and
he could feel himself getting closer and closer to the edge with each roll of
Jared's hips against his.
It was when Jared pulled away from his lips, instead trailing kisses down
Jensen's neck, that he was pushed over the edge. He came hard when Jared's lips
closed over the pulse point of his neck, biting down hard enough to leave a
mark but there was no way Jensen could care about that, not when he was seeing
stars with how powerful his orgasm was.
"Oh. Oh. Fuck. Jared, please, Jared," he cried out, body going stiff as he
pulsed out his release and he could feel when Jared went still above him,
groaning against Jensen's skin as he reached his own completion.
Jensen was still trying to catch his breath when Jared pulled away, rolling
over to lay down beside Jensen and right away he missed the warmth and weight
of Jared's body on top of his.
"I really hadn't planned on this," Jared said after several long minutes. "But
I can't regret it."
Those words had Jensen smiling and he rolled over, resting his cheek against
Jared's chest and placing a feather soft kiss against the smooth leather he was
dressed in.
"No regrets," he agreed. "I just… I have one question."
Jared wrapped one arm around him, pulling him even closer and pressing a soft
kiss against the top of Jensen's head.
"What?"
"Well," Jensen said slowly. "I'm kinda wondering… Will it happen again?"
To his surprise, Jared chuckled softly at that before shifting them so that he
could kiss Jensen again, a slow, languid kiss that made Jensen smile against
Jared's lips.
"We're connected," Jared said. "You and me, it might not be common but I don't
think I could walk away from this even if I wanted to. Well, I know I can't. I
tried, but there's something about you, Jen. Maybe there was a reason I was
drawn in to check up on you. We Zanna seldom mate, but when we do, it's for
life."
The words should have shocked Jensen, should have made him terrified and want
to pull away but instead he kissed Jared again.
"Good," Jensen said. "I've lost you once, I don't wanna do it again. You're
back for good now."
He was halfway to sleep, body feeling heavy and sated with the orgasm and the
feel of Jared pressed up against him, but he knew he needed to go get cleaned
up. They both needed to, and when Jensen got up, Jared followed him easily. It
should have been awkward, stripping down and cleaning the cooling come from
their skin, but it felt surprisingly comfortable. It wasn't until they were
back in bed, both of them naked and Jensen pressed up against Jared's side,
that he really thought of what had been happening.
Coming out to his parents had been terrifying, even if they already knew that
he was gay. But laying down next to Jared and feeling a strong body pressed up
against his, that was perfection and Jensen was sure that there would be more
nights like that.
Not like his parents would know that Jared was there; it was one of the perks
of having an imaginary friend, after all.
Or maybe it was an imaginary boyfriend.
-¤-
Jensen scrubbed at the splotch of glitter on his arm, but as always when they
had spent a night wrapped up in each other it was hard to get the remnants of
Jared's glitter off him.
"What are you doing? You keep scratching your arm."
His mother's voice made him look up from where he had been trying to finish his
homework
"It's just, itching a bit. Maybe I got a mosquito bite," Jensen said, smiling
even as he rubbed away the glitter.
He knew he was the only one who could see the green glitter that tended to
cling to his skin, but it still felt weird when he looked at himself in the
mirror and saw the remnants of Jared on his skin. And it really didn't help
that Jared was leaning against the kitchen counter, grinning widely and his
tongue came out to lick his lips as he looked at Jensen. There was so much heat
and lust in his gaze that Jensen felt his own cock twitch, straining to get
hard even with the orgasm Jared had given him not one hour earlier.
"The mosquitos seems to love you," his mother said with a laugh. "You're a
magnet for them. Oh, by the way, I'm forcing your father to do the grocery
shopping with me after lunch; you'll be alone for a few hours."
Jensen smiled, knowing full well that he should spend the alone time studying,
but when Jared grinned wide, eyes locked on Jensen, he knew that they would be
spending that time in bed
-¤-
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