Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/251407.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Supernatural_RPF
  Relationship:
      Jensen_Ackles/Jared_Padalecki
  Character:
      Jensen_Ackles, Jared_Padalecki, Jeffrey_Dean_Morgan, Samantha_Ferris,
      Chad_Michael_Murray, Genevieve_Cortese, Danneel_Harris, Sophia_Bush
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe
  Series:
      Part 2 of Slayer_'verse
  Stats:
      Published: 2011-09-10 Words: 13344
****** Chosen ******
by transfixeddream
Summary
     In which Jared is still the slayer, except now he has a boyfriend to
     deal with and an impending apocalypse to stop.
     Also posted here.
"So the movie was good," Jensen starts off finally. It's the first thing either
of them have said since stepping out of the movie theater, but the silence is
far from awkward.
Jared snorts. "Yeah, if a movie with Nicholas Cage can be considered good."
Jensen elbows him. "Well I enjoyed it." Jensen doesn't point out that his
enjoyment was not because of the movie, but from Jared's reaction he figures he
doesn't need to.
Jared's arm tightens a bit around Jensen's waist. "Yeah," he says softly. He
smiles slightly and Jensen just wants to kiss him right now. "Me too."
The air is cooling with the night as they walk through the park, lamp lights
making a glowing path that they follow. Jared's hand is warm on his waist and
Jensen pulls in a little closer, just because he can. It's a nice night, stars
lit up bright in the sky with not a cloud in sight. Jensen's not sure if the
hot heaviness in his stomach is normal during a date whose number he can't even
remember--he's stopped counting after the third--but he can't bring himself to
care about it all that much.
"It's still kind of early," Jared says. "You up for getting coffee?"
Jensen smiles and nods, but before he can answer Jared verbally, there's a loud
scream coming from the edge of the park. Jared's hand leaves Jensen in an
instant and goes into his jacket pocket, extracting a small wooden stake as he
sighs. "I'll be right back," he says before he takes off running towards the
source of the cries for help.
Jensen stays where he is and uses the time to check his phone--one missed call
from his mother. He considers calling her back, but decides he doesn't want to
chance her hearing the background noises of Jared smacking around a vampire.
He'll call her at the coffee shop and let her know that he'll be home soon
enough.
Jared comes jogging back a couple of minutes later, grinning. He has barely
worked up a sweat, and he pushes his hair out of his eyes.
"Everything okay?" Jensen asks, mostly to be polite since Jared's expression
tells him everything, but he still feels the corners of his lips curling into a
relieved smile at Jared's nod.
"Vampires are no match for this slayer," Jared says as he tucks his stake back
into his pocket. "I'm too awesome for them."
"And so modest, too," Jensen says.
Jared's grin cranks up a notch, and he comes willingly when Jensen tugs him
against him. He laughs and presses his lips to Jensen's cheek for a quick
second and then pulls away. "Now, about that coffee."
*
"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm asking you to do my project for me," Chad says.
"I just want to look at yours and... revise it."
"Chad," Danneel starts, a wavering sigh coming off the name, "I am not letting
you cheat. You have to do the work yourself."
Chad sputters indignantly, looking affronted. Jensen's managed to witness a lot
of versions of Chad over the last few months, but this one is new. If he's
honest, he kind of gets a sick pleasure from watching it. "But--but! What's the
point of being pals with a super brain if I can't reap the benefits?"
"Jared's been teaching her some stuff," Jensen warns. "I'd watch what you say."
Chad glances between them, face going a little pale at Danneel's tiny smirk. He
stands up abruptly, chair screeching as he does so, and yells, "Jeff, my man!
You got anything about the Gulf War in this place?"
For the first time since Jensen walked into the library five minutes ago, Jeff
appears in the doorway of his office. His face seems to be set in a permanent
frown as he looks at Chad. "This is a library," he says, voice tired. "Check
the history section."
It surprises Jensen, honestly; Jeff's kind of grown a reputation for being
obsessed with his books, acting like an old man yelling at the kids to stay off
his lawn. Chad looks equally befuddled, but Jeff just goes back into his office
and Chad scowls, heading up the stairs to the upper stacks.
"Jeff seems a little tense," Jensen states casually.
Danneel looks up from her book. "Well, he's trying to find information on the
Master. That's more than six hundred years worth of history to look through."
"Still. The guy's gonna get grey. Greyer," Jensen amends.
"I offered to help him, but he said he wanted to handle it by himself." Danneel
smiles and shrugs, goes back to her book.
Danneel is pretty much the best at research, Jensen's come to find out, or
anything to do with books or computers, basically. She was the one who managed
to sit up with Jensen until two AM on Saturday, prepping him for his biology
test. That pretty much makes her awesome in his books forever.
Jared comes in a couple of minutes later, huge ass grin spread across his face
that makes Jensen smile back.
"Hey," he greets. "How'd it go?"
"Awesome," Jared says, taking a seat next time him. "I'm pretty sure I'll get
at least a B, and I soon I will never have to take creative writing again. I
can't complain. Hey, Danni," he adds with warm smile. He glances around and
frowns. "Okay, I'm in a library, but yet there's no Jeff. The end is nigh."
"He's cooped up in his office," Danneel explains. "Genevieve brought him that
book he wanted last night."
"Oh. And he's researching without us?" Jared blows out a breath in mock-
disappointment. "Darn. He never lets me have any of the fun." He says it all
like a joke, but Jensen can see the way Jared's hands squeeze themselves into
fists at the mention. The longer the Master sits in his lair calculating a way
out, the tenser Jared seems to become at any hint of his name or his plans.
"He's gonna make you do all the research when giant bugs start attacking
Sunnydale, just you wait," Jensen says, and Jared's hands unclench as he turns
to Jensen.
"Whose side are you on?" he asks with a pout.
"Okay, you need to stop that right now," Jensen says. "Yours," he says with an
eye roll when Jared looks expectant.
Jared just grins and moves in to kiss him, a short peck against his temple.
"And don't you forget it," he says. He backs up and looks Jensen up and down,
frowning. "You're in your uniform."
"Oh, crap," Jensen says, pushing his chair out quickly. He'd forgotten all
about cheerleading practice, shit. Even though there's no more games, Sophia is
still insisting on bi-weekly practices, and she is going to kill--
"Jensen!"
Jensen cringes and turns to where Sophia is pushing past the doors of the
library. "Soph, hey."
"Oh, look everybody, Sophia's entering a library for the very first time," Chad
says as he comes down the stairs. "I know it's a scary place, the land of
books..."
Sophia places her hands on her hips and scowls. "I can't believe you people
willingly put up with him."
"What can we say?" Danneel asks. "He's like our little puppy."
"Exactly!" Jared agrees, then makes a face. "Our little... sex-obsessed puppy."
"Who is still available as your date to the spring fling," Chad adds.
"I wouldn't be caught dead with you," Sophia says. "Besides, James has already
asked me," she adds, voice a bit smug.
"Lafferty asked you?" Chad asks. "Wow, the quarterback and the head cheerleader
going out! Look at you overcoming all of those high school stereotypes."
"Whatever," Sophia says with a wave. "Jensen, you're missing cheer practice.
Come on."
Jensen smiles fleetingly at Jared; there's really no point in denying Sophia.
"I'll talk to you later?" he tries, and Jared nods, smiles back.
"I can't believe you hang out with those people," Sophia says once they're out
of the library.
"Hey, watch it," Jensen says. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about. You
know, the one who saved you from invisible girl?"
Sophia looks a little white at the mention of Marcie Ross: a little invisible,
a lot homicidal, with a very personal vendetta against Sophia. There's a
bandage on her face from where Marcie managed to slice her cheek with a
scalpel, and Sophia presses her fingers to it in recollection. "Alright, fine,
Jared's okay," she relents.
"And Danneel helped me pass my history exam. And she's helping you with the
dance."
"Fine," Sophia says, back to all venom and no bite. "What about Chad Michael
Murray? Has he done anything that'll make me question my opinion on him?"
Jensen bites his cheek and thinks. Finally, he shakes his head. "Nope."
"Good," Sophia sneers as she enters the gym.
"Wait a sec," Jensen says, something just registering with him. "How do you
even know what his middle name is?"
Sophia shoots him a glare but doesn't answer.
*
Jared ends up sticking around school, and Jensen spots him in the library on
the way out of the showers. He's alone, headphones plugged into his ears, and
he's pacing himself, arms raised as he punches the air in front of him. He's in
nothing but shorts and a tank top, and Jensen takes a moment to appreciate the
smooth lines of his back, the pull of his muscles as he moves about. His skin's
tanned and sweaty and absolutely flawless, and Jensen admires the way Jared
moves so skillfully, body fluid with its motions as he tones his reflexes.
If he's honest, Jensen could probably watch Jared like this for a long time,
but boyfriend or not, he's pretty sure that if he stares for too long it'll
move into the creepy category. Jensen's not idiotic enough to approach Jared
when he's like this, either--learnt that lesson quickly when Jared almost
staked Miss Ferris--so he pulls off his shoe and tosses it at Jared, hitting
his leg. Jared startles as he turns around, tense face melting away when he
sees his assailant.
"Jensen," he says as he pulls the buds out of his ears. "I didn't think you'd
be back."
"Yeah, well." Jensen shrugs and catches his shoe with a smirk when Jared throws
it back at him. "Kinda wanted to see you."
Jared grins and wraps an arm around him, ending any earlier appreciation Jensen
had for his sweaty body. "Dude, you stink," Jensen grumbles, pushing him away
half-heartedly.
"That's just my manly musk," Jared says, and tightens his grip on Jensen's
shoulder. Most of the time, Jensen's glad that the nervous, awkward Jared faded
away after their third date, but right now is not one of those times.
"Seriously, I can't breathe," Jensen says--it's not completely untrue. "Get off
me and go shower."
"Are you going to come with me?"
Jensen snorts and this time successfully shoves Jared off of him. "If you
manage to not smell like a dumpster in ten minutes, I'll get you food."
"It's a deal," Jared says with a wide smile.
*
They hit up Burger King once Jared's cleaned up in a tight fitting navy t-shirt
and jeans, and Jensen kicks Jared's foot each time Jared steals some of his
fries once his own are gone. It doesn't deter Jared at all--if anything, it
makes him lunge at Jensen's fries more frequently, fingers like vultures
feeding on their prey. Jensen can't bring himself to mind, though, especially
when Jared finally captures his foot between his own two.
It's definitely one of their more mild dates in the fact that Jared hasn't had
to kill anything so far, and Jensen finds himself grinning a little wider
whenever Jared runs his fingers along the sleeve of his shirt, laughing a
little harder when Jared cracks a joke. He feels good, feels happy, and when
they get into his car Jensen doesn't waste time and leans over and kisses
Jared, slow and deep.
"What was that for?" Jared asks when Jensen pulls away, a little breathless.
Jensen shrugs and turns the key, listening to the rumble of the car roaring to
life. "Just wanted to," he says.
They head to Jared's then, and get comfortable on his bed and watch TV. There's
a rerun of The Simpsons on but Jensen's not really paying attention to it. His
head is on Jared's chest and he can feel the expanding of his lungs with each
breath Jared takes. Jensen falls into a sort of lull, eyes staring at the
screen but not focusing on what's there.
He stays like that until Jared starts to move, making a short grunt as he
slides out from under Jensen. Jensen makes his own groan of protest but Jared's
already up, flipping the TV off with the press of a button, then he gets back
on the bed and crawls up to Jensen. Without warning he leans down and catches
Jensen's lips in his own, kissing him with a hard edge, teeth scraping over the
skin of Jensen's bottom lip. Jensen clutches at his bicep, moaning as he opens
up for Jared's tongue, and Jared's hand slides down Jensen's chest.
Jensen's fingers dig sharply into Jared's arm when Jared's hand finishes its
path and lands on Jensen's crotch, palm massaging his dick, getting it hard in
his pants. Jensen can't help but buck up into the touch, kissing Jared
senseless as Jared's fingers fit on either side of his cock, stroking it the
best Jared can.
And then Jared pulls away as abruptly as he'd come on, lips red and bitten, and
he pants a little, says, "I'm gonna do something, okay?"
Jensen nods dumbly, honestly a little surprised when Jared moves down to fit
between his legs. The pieces come together quickly for him when Jared slips his
fingers under the band of his jeans, popping the button open. Jared undoes his
fly and pulls his pants and underwear down, and Jensen manages to collect
himself enough to lift up to help. He releases a truly embarrassing noise then,
as Jared wraps a hand around him, hot palm fitting to his cock like it was made
for it.
Jared strokes it a couple of times, like he's testing the feel of it in his
hand, and Jensen could really give him some honest feedback right now. It's the
first time he's ever had somebody else's hand on him, and it feels infinitely
better than anything Jensen could do for himself. Jared's got his tongue caught
between his lips, frowning a little as he focuses intently on Jensen's face.
Jensen feels his face go red hot under the scrutiny, blood pounding in his ears
as Jared works his shaft, and then Jared just--stops.
"Jay--" Jensen tries, hating the way the name comes out, his voice too high and
tight.
Jared is cupping his own dick, ridged line visible under his pants. "Would you-
-can I try something?"
"God, anything," Jensen says, brain numb.
Jared bends down then, one quick motion, and he opens his mouth and sucks the
head of Jensen's dick. Jensen cries out in shock, hips lifting up automatically
and Jared pulls back abruptly, Jensen managing a quick, "Sorry," that Jared
shakes off. He presses his forearm to Jensen's waist, holding him down, and
then tries again. Wet hot lips slide over Jensen's head and he squeezes his
fingers in the blankets, eyes glued to where his dick is disappearing in
Jared's mouth.
Jared moves down a little more, taking Jensen another inch, and his tongue
flicks over the entire thing, sending sparks through Jensen. Jared's mouth
feels amazing, the heat of it bleeding through, and Jensen comes without
warning. It's the most intense thing he's ever felt, electricity racing through
his body as he spurts into Jared's mouth. He bites down on his lip as Jared
pulls off immediately, hand moving up the length of Jensen's dick and jerking
him through the rest, his other hand rubbing raw against the crotch of his
jeans.
Jensen comes down slowly, panting out breaths, and when he's coherent enough,
he pulls Jared up and presses their mouths together. There's the taste of come
in Jared's mouth, bitter and salty, and Jensen's dick twitches at the knowledge
that it's his. He gets himself together enough to slide his hand down the front
of Jared's pants, groaning into Jared's mouth when his fingers get sticky.
Jared came in his pants, managed to come just from rubbing himself and sucking
on Jensen.
It's enough to get Jensen feeling dizzy and he breaks the kiss, sliding his
hand against Jared's jaw. "What was that for?" Jensen asks when he catches his
breath.
Jared grins, breathes sharp punches of air through his mouth. "Just wanted to,"
he says, lips morphing into a smirk.
They clean up, Jared changing underwear, and then get back on the bed, TV
turned back on as Jared presses his head to Jensen's shoulder. Jensen's aware
of the dopey grin on his face but he can't bring himself to care, especially
when Jared's wearing a matching one. He's pretty sure that this night can't get
any better.
At some point, they must end up falling asleep, because the next thing Jensen
registers is the ringing of Jared's cell phone. Jared makes noises of protest
as he pulls it open and shuts the alarm off. Finally, he opens his eyes and
mutters, "I gotta patrol. I left my lucky stake at the library."
"Come on," Jensen says, nudging him awake when he closes his eyes again. "I'll
drive you."
*
The library's dark when they get inside, looking oddly malicious without the
harsh daylight invading it. There's a faint glow off to the side from the open
doorway of Jeff's office, and when Jensen steps further into the room he can
see Jeff inside, phone pressed to his ear and its cord twisted around his
finger. His glasses are off and he's frowning, deep lines set into his
forehead.
"Yes, there's no mistaking it," he's saying, voice a harsh whisper. "I don't
care-- Yes. Well, yes. No, I understand."
"Wow," Jared says. "Someone's pissing him off."
Jeff spots them then, eyes widening slightly. "Look, I have to go. Yes.
Alright, tomorrow then. Don't be late." He hangs up quickly, and then he grabs
his glasses from his desk and puts them on. "Jared, Jensen. What're you two
doing here?"
"Could ask you the same question," Jared says, crossing his arms. He relents
after a moment, holds up the carved wood. "I have to patrol and I forgot my
stake."
Jeff nods. "Oh, right. Well I--I'm just... researching."
"Still?" Jared asks. "You sure you're not going to overdo yourself?"
"No!" Jeff shouts, and Jensen startles; he honestly didn't know Jeff's voice
could get that loud. Running a hand down the lower half of his face, Jeff blows
out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I suppose I'm tired."
"Or high on coffee," Jensen offers.
Jared ignores him, eyes dead set on Jeff. "Who was on the phone?"
"Nobody. A--a friend of mine. Just a friend."
Jared raises an eyebrow. "Just a friend, huh? Does this friend happen to have
a--"
Jared's cut off by a rumble, and suddenly everything's shaking, strong
vibrations that Jensen can feel through his entire body. He grabs on to the
front desk and looks quickly for Jared, him and Jeff holding on to the archway
leading into Jeff's office. There's a sound of breaking glass and bookcases
fall over with dull wooden cracks, scattering books everywhere. Then the noise
and shaking stop completely, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.
It takes Jensen a moment to collect his bearings, to manage to stand on his own
two feet without wobbling over. By the time he's seeing straight, Jared and
Jeff are looking pensive, eyeing the sudden mess in the library.
"Some earthquake," Jared says quietly.
Jensen walks over to them. "I've been living here for a while now and never
felt one that strong."
"Something tells me that wasn't a normal earthquake," Jeff says slowly. "Jared,
you should get, um, going. And I'll... look into it, of course."
Jared shakes his head and mutters, "Of course."
*
"And don't forget about the sound system! The Bronze won't let us use theirs,"
Sophia says, adding to the checklist that already must have at least fifty
other things on it. Jensen's listened to her rattle them off but he can't
remember a single one, and he's not sure how James can.
But James just nods and says with a smile, "I won't."
"And you're picking up my dress today, right? Amy said she'd hold it until
five. Just tell her it's for me."
"You got it," James says, and Sophia grins, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"You are too sweet! Seriously, how are you so good to me?"
"No idea," James says, smirking.
"Well," Sophia says, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Keep it up. And make sure
you get that stuff to the Bronze no later than tomorrow night."
"Sure thing, babe," he says, and leaves as Sophia blows him another kiss.
"Somehow you've gotten Lafferty wrapped around your finger," Jensen says, a
little stunned. "I'm impressed. I didn't even think he could be charming, and
yet, there he is. I think he even washed his hair."
Sophia shoves Jensen with a laugh and starts walking. "Leave him alone. Do I
rag on your boyfriend?"
"Yes," Jensen says as he catches up to her. "Almost constantly."
Sophia considers this and then nods. "Okay, you have a point. And speaking of
Jared, you two better be at the dance Saturday night."
"Wouldn't miss it," Jensen says. Truthfully, he actually would rather miss it,
because spring fling is basically pointless to him, but Jared wants to go.
That, and since Sophia roped him into helping make banners, he figures he
should at least get to see them hanging up.
"Great!" Sophia tucks her books closer to her chest. "I'll see you after
school?"
Jensen nods, and then Sophia's going off to fourth period. He's got another
couple of minutes before the bell rings, so he figures he should check the
library and see if Jared's in there. He hasn't managed to see him since he
dropped him off at the cemetery last night, and well... he definitely needs to
see him.
There's nobody in the library when he gets there, though, not even Jeff in his
office. Jensen briefly wonders if he actually managed to get home last night to
sleep, and then he takes in the figure of Miss Ferris, the computer science
teacher, looking in the window of the library door. He opens it for her, and
she smiles, in her arms what appears to be a hundred or more sheets of paper.
"Thanks, Jensen. Is Jeff around? I have the papers he wanted."
Jensen shakes his head. "Nope, I haven't." He glances at the top sheet and
frowns as he reads the large, block print: 'NEW JERSEY BABY BORN WITH NO
MOUTH'.
*
"This feels wrong."
Jared looks at Jensen and rolls his eyes. "Come on, don't be like that. Jeff's
keeping something from me, and I wanna know what it is."
"I still feel... dirty."
They're crouched in the bushes outside the school, watching the front doors.
It's been almost an hour since sundown, and so far the only person to come in
or out of the doors was the janitor. Jensen feels restless, his fingers picking
off leaves from a branch.
"What if he's meeting Miss Ferris?" Jensen asks.
"Then I am going to be seriously disturbed," Jared says. "Also, very glad that
he didn't tell me." His eyes widen at the sound of footsteps. "Shh! Listen."
A few moments later, the figure of a woman comes into view, the sharp sound of
her heels on concrete growing louder. It's hard to make out who she is with the
lack of light, and it's only when she begins to climb the steps that Jensen can
make her out. She's wearing a leather jacket and tight jeans, black hair
falling over her shoulders as she glances around once before stepping inside.
Definitely not Miss Ferris, that's for sure.
"Genevieve?" Jared whispers, and Jensen's stomach twists into knots.
He's never actually met Genevieve, but he's aware of her. Or rather, aware of
what she is: a vampire. He talked it over with Jared when Jared found out about
it, listened to him discuss the possibility of having to stake her after he had
thought she was planning to kill him, and he'd been thrown for a ride when
Jared didn't kill her. Even now, knowing that she's a good guy--or at least not
a bad one, anyway--he feels uneasy. He really has no idea why Jeff would be
sneakily meeting up with her now.
"Come on," Jared says, already climbing out of the bushes and darting across
the pavement. Jensen has no choice but to chase after him; he doesn't like his
chances of being alone outside in Sunnydale after dark.
There's nobody in the immediate view of the library, and Jared enters silently,
waving at Jensen to follow him a couple steps in. Jensen can hear the murmurs
of voices, and though he can't make out the words, the tone sounds tense. Jared
stops just before the door to Jeff's office and Jensen steps up behind him--
almost knocks into him in the process--and then he's able to hear Jeff and
Genevieve clearly.
"You're reading it wrong."
"No," comes Jeff's tired response. "I am very certain I'm not. I've checked it
against my other volumes--"
"Well then there's gotta be a way around it. You looked through those books
that chick gave you?"
"Yes, and found nothing! Listen, I know some prophecies can be... they can be
dodgy. God knows Jared's thrown a wrench in many of them. But there is nothing
in this book that will not come to pass! And the text makes it clear: come
Saturday Jared will fight the Master, and." Jeff pauses, and when he speaks
again it's shaky. "And he will die."
Jensen feels the breath go out of him, feels the sharp dig of his fingernails
into his palm. In front of him, Jared's deathly still, not making a twitch.
Jensen reaches out and covers his shoulder with his hand, to no reaction.
"No," comes Genevieve's response, exactly what's being replayed over and over
in Jensen's head. "That's not right. It can't be. Maybe I--shit, I don't know.
Maybe I got the wrong book."
"What more do you want?" Jeff exclaims. "The prophecy is clear. I wish to God
that it wasn't, but there is nothing--"
And then Jared starts to laugh, soft, low chuckles devoid of all humor that
creep under Jensen's skin. It builds louder, disbelief growing from it, and
Jensen feels sick.
"Jared?" Jeff asks.
Jared steps forward then, into the dizzying light of Jeff's office. Jensen's
hand slips from his shoulder and falls ungracefully through the air in the
process. He watches as Jared looks between the two of them, arms crossed as he
blocks the doorway.
"So that's it, huh?" Jared says, voice too steady to be anything but
deliberate. "This is the big thing you've been reading up about? My death?"
"Jared--"
"How's it go again? One slayer dies, the next one's called?" Jared nods
furiously, lip caught between his teeth. "Yeah, real nice system you guys've
got going. Wonder who they'll be. Does it happen to mention that in there,
too?"
"Jared," Jensen says lamely. His head is reeling with things to say but he
can't get them off his tongue. And then Jared holds up his hand and Jensen
doesn't even try to get them out.
"Stop," he says, voice gone hoarse, eyes saying more than anything else. He
turns back to Jeff. "Were you even going to tell me, or were you just gonna
send me off to die?"
Jeff cringes. "Well, I was hoping that I could--"
"What?" Jared demands shakily. "What? You were hoping to save me? Hoping to
find some way around it? I've got a way around it: I quit." He traces the edge
of his lip with his tongue and nods, obviously liking the plan. "Yeah, I quit.
I resign, or I'm fired--whatever the hell you wanna call it, I give up."
Genevieve takes a step forward, and Jared takes another back. She holds up a
hand in peace. "Look, I get that this is hard for you--"
Jared laughs harshly. "You're gonna try and be comforting now? Really?"
Genevieve narrows her eyes, jaw clenched. "You can't run away from this. You're
the slayer."
"No, I was the slayer," Jared states calmly. "I quit, just now. You were here,
remember?"
Jeff frowns. "Jared, the Master is growing progressively stronger. That
earthquake last night was not even a fraction of his full power! And if you
don't stop him--if he rises--"
"I don't care!" Jared yells. "I really don't. Find somebody else to stop him,
'cause I won't do it. I can't do it."
"Jared, I--"
Jared shakes his head, fight gone out of him. "I don't wanna die, Jeff," he
says quietly, but the words ring louder in Jensen's ears than anything that's
been said tonight.
Jared pulls out his stake then, lets it drop to the floor and roll away. He
turns around and moves right past Jensen in a fury, cheeks wet. Jensen grabs
his arm but he shakes it off immediately, hand coming up to wipe at his face.
"You shouldn't walk. Let me drive you home," Jensen says, trying his best to
keep his voice calm.
Jensen's reward is an empty smile. "I'd rather walk, thanks."
"Jay, you shouldn't be alone right now..."
Jared just snorts and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Apparently there are
a lot of things I shouldn't be doing right now," he says harshly. Then, softer:
"I'm fine. Thanks anyway, Jensen."
And then he walks out.
*
Jared's not at school the next day.
Maybe it was naive to hope that he would be, but Jensen still feels a sting in
his chest when he glances through the round windows on the library doors and
only sees Jeff and a janitor cleaning up the mess caused two nights ago. He
doesn't blame Jared for not coming because he's fairly certain he'd do the same
thing if positions were reversed, but it still sucks. Jared hadn't answered his
calls and texts last night, and Jensen just wants to know if he's okay.
Well, of course he knows Jared isn't okay, because who would be after being
told that? But he wants to know what Jared's thinking right now, if he made it
home okay. He didn't quite manage to sleep last night, turning restless in his
bed. The one time he did manage to relax, he dreamt of Jared gasping in front
of him, bleeding from his neck. Jensen didn't even bother to try sleeping again
after that.
At lunch, Danneel and Chad ask about him, and Jensen's not positive if he's
supposed to tell them or not. He ends up giving them most of the information
but leaves off the part about Jeff's hesitance to inform them. Jensen's doesn't
know why he withholds that--he's honestly angry with Jeff for not telling Jared
immediately, can't quite shake the wonder if Jeff would've even let Jared know
at all had they not overheard.
He is sure that Jeff's pouring over his books to find a way to put an end to
the prophecy, at least; despite what he did, he obviously did it with good
intentions. Jensen would like answers, would like to know everything Jeff
knows. He's certain that he couldn't do anything to actively help fight a
prophecy, but he needs to at least know the details. Maybe just knowing them
will give him peace of mind, or something. Anything.
He doesn't go to Jeff for the answers.
Fifth period begins and Jensen's pushing open the door of the computer lab.
Miss Ferris looks up from her monitor and looks surprised. "Jensen?"
Jensen nods and closes the door, and then doesn't wait before speaking. "What
do you know about the Master?"
It's not what she was expecting, clearly. Her fingers clench around her mouse,
and her face goes a little slack. She recovers quickly, though, shaking her
head and smiling softy. "Of course you know. Why would I assume otherwise?" She
pushes her chair out and stands, slides a drawer out from her desk and pulls
out a stack of papers, all neat and white. "I'm part of a network. About a week
ago, this guy starts spouting off crap about apocalyptic signs. Linked to
stories where dead birds fell out of the sky and spelt 'Him', a baby being born
with no mouth, wells of water producing nothing but blood."
Jensen picks up the first print out. It's from a newspaper, the headline in
bold print: 'POSSESSED PRIEST KILLS SIXTY-SIX.' He swallows and looks up. "That
all?"
"Not even close," Miss Ferris says. She shuffles through the pages before
passing it to Jensen. "Couple days ago, he warned of this... person named the
Anointed One? Said they'd lead us all to Hell."
Jensen shakes his head. "No. Jared killed him," he says. He can still remember
the guy's face, all twisted and wrong, the hissed prayers he spit out. Can
still remember how hard the blow hit him, the power in his fist. No way that
couldn't be the Anointed.
Miss Ferris frowns. "That's what Jeffrey said. Big, tall guy, right?" Jensen
nods, and Miss Ferris bites her lip. "This guy says the Anointed One's female.
A child."
The blood in Jensen's body runs cold. "No," he says. "No, that--that can't be."
"He was right about other things," she says. "That earthquake? That was one of
his first predictions."
"So what did Jared kill that night?"
Miss Ferris just shrugs her shoulders. "My guess is a decoy, maybe. Something
to keep Jared away from the scent." She gestures to the pile of papers. "I gave
copies of this all to Jeffrey," she says. "He's looking into it. Hopefully he
finds more concrete evidence, but that's really all I know."
Jensen nods and swallows, sets the paper back on the stack. "Did you also know
Jared's supposed to die tomorrow night?" he asks, and somehow he finishes on a
whisper.
Miss Ferris looks at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I did."
Jensen nods once more. "Right. Well, um, thanks for the information. I
appreciate it." Jensen turns to leave and manages to get his hand on the
doorknob before Miss Ferris speaks again, her voice soft but clear in the empty
room.
"Hey, Jensen?"
"Yeah?"
"Jeffrey may have made some progress. He'd be your best bet to find out
anything more recent."
Jensen nods but doesn't turn his head. "Yeah," he says carefully. "Thanks."
*
Jensen's in his room, staring at his math book but not really seeing anything
on the pages. His eyes are starting to droop but he doesn't want to go to bed,
not if he can fight it. He checks his cell phone every couple of minutes, the
lingering doubt that maybe he didn't hear it ring, or maybe he accidentally
shut it off. He keeps checking to make sure that the ringer's turned up as loud
as it can go, but it doesn't make any difference: Jared's not going to call.
It's fitting that a minute after he reaches that conclusion, there's a sharp
rap at his window. Jensen jerks his head around and can't hold back his smile.
Jared's crouched on the roof, looking in, and his hair is matted to his
forehead from the rain. Jensen's up in an instant, sliding the window pane up
so Jared can slip inside quickly. Jensen closes the window again and turns to
Jared, who's dripping water all over Jensen's floor.
"You're wet," Jensen says, unable to help stating the obvious. "One sec, I'll
get you a towel."
Jensen takes two of the biggest towels they have in the bathroom and brings
them back to his room. Tossing one to Jared, which he catches easily with a
quiet, "Thank you," Jensen sets the other on his bed and goes to sit down on
the chair at his desk.
He watches as Jared pushes the towel through his long hair, hands going a mile
a minute as they shake through the strands. Jensen stays quiet throughout the
entire thing, only speaking when Jared's finished with his head. "If you want
to take off those clothes, I can give you some of mine."
Not waiting for Jared to reply, Jensen heads over to his dresser and starts
looking for stuff that's a bit big on him. A quick look back at Jared shows
he's complying, stripping out of his jacket. Jensen manages to find a Zeppelin
shirt that should fit Jared, and a pair of shorts. When he turns back around,
Jared's stripped off his shirt and is currently toweling his stomach dry.
Jensen feels the sharp spike of arousal race through him at the sight, but he
keeps himself in check and sets the clothes on the bed, then heads to his desk
and tries to look busy.
"You can turn around," Jared says after what feels like hours. When Jensen
does, he's greeted by Jared fully clothed, looking a lot less wet than when he
started out. His hair still looks damp, but other than that he looks
comfortable in the worn black t-shirt and shorts. "Thanks," Jared says again.
Jensen just nods and says, "No problem."
Jared sits on Jensen's bed and then things go quiet, an awkward silence that
Jensen has never felt with Jared. He hates how it makes him feel, unsettled and
anxious, angry. He has things he wants to say, but he can't manage to get a
grasp of the words. Maybe that's a good thing.
"So, um," Jared starts, pushing a hand through his hair. "I--I should've
called."
Jensen releases a breath. "Yeah, you really should've."
Jared nods and scratches at the back of his neck. His other hand is folded into
a fist and resting on his knee, mirroring Jensen's own. "I just... I don't
know. I needed some time to try and register it, you know?"
"Yeah," Jensen says, even though he really doesn't. "Did you talk to Jeff yet?"
Jared flinches at the name, which presents Jensen a clearer answer than words
ever could. "You're the first person I've said more than two words to since--
" Jared swallows on the word and breaks off with a tight smile. "I thought my
mom was gonna throttle me, honestly. She made lasagna tonight and I didn't even
finish one piece, and she--"
Jared prattles on, constant flow of words leaving his mouth in a fury. If
Jensen didn't know better, he'd say it was probably due to the fact that Jared
hasn't spoken much since last night. "Jared," he says, cutting Jared off
because he does know better. Jared stops mid-sentence and looks at him, and
Jensen rushes the words off his tongue: "Are we going to talk about it?"
The tension in the room raises instantly, and Jared gets up from his spot.
"It's late," he says. "I should probably go, let you get some sleep."
He's already pushing up the window by the time Jensen understands what's going
on. He stands up quickly. "Wait, Jared, come on, don't leave." Jared turns back
to face him, expression unreadable, and Jensen feels suddenly brazen, feels
incredibly brave for one moment. "Stay, please? I won't bring it up, just. I--
I missed you and you could... stay."
Jared pauses longer than he probably should over the offer, but Jensen only
cares about what happens once he decides: Jared closes the window and walks to
the spot Jensen's standing and wraps his arms around him, squeezing tight.
Jensen's engulfed in quick heat and he presses his nose to Jared's shoulder,
smells himself from the t-shirt, smells the rain--smells Jared lying under
both. Jensen digs his fingers into Jared's back, strengthening his grip on him.
Jensen's not sure how long they stay like that, losing track of the minutes
with Jared pressed tight against him. He yawns eventually, a little too loud,
and Jensen can feel the soft rumble against his chest as Jared laughs. "You
should get to bed," he says quietly as he pulls away.
Jensen nods and rubs at his arm. "Yeah, probably."
He expects this next part to be awkward, but it's not; Jensen watches as Jared
slips his fingers under the cotton of his t-shirt and tugs it off in one smooth
move, leaving just his shorts as he climbs into Jensen's bed. Jensen's tongue
sticks to the roof of his mouth at the sight, mind not quite wrapping around
it, but he quickly gets down to his underwear before climbing in behind Jared.
Immediately a strong arm slides over his hip and pulls him in by the waist,
moving their bodies close enough to share breath.
Jared looks incredible up close, smooth skin and bright eyes. Jensen runs his
thumb over the bump of the mole by Jared's nose, Jared's nostrils widening in
response. This is new to Jensen, the heat of Jared's body in such close
proximity under the blankets, but he's far from complaining. Jared's fingers
are tapping out a light rhythm over Jensen's spine and Jensen closes his eyes,
takes in the feeling. He could fall asleep like this.
Then, Jared speaks, soft and slow: "Can I ask you something?"
Jensen opens his eyes, Jared's face swimming back into his view. "Sure."
"Do you--" Jared bites his lip and starts again. "Do you think I did the wrong
thing last night?"
Jensen feels his throat close up. "Jay--"
"Just," Jared says, pausing with a small, encouraging smile, "tell me. And not
just what you think I wanna hear."
It's a question that Jensen has thought about a lot over the past twenty-four
hours, but even now it still feels impossible for him to answer. "I think," he
says, weighing his words carefully. "I think you've saved a lot of people here,
and for that I don't think you should've quit. But at the same time, nobody has
the right to expect you to just... sacrifice yourself. That's asking too much."
"Yeah," Jared murmurs, but he doesn't sound entirely convinced.
*
They have a plan when morning comes: Jared sneaks out of Jensen's bedroom
window before his mom ventures into his room, Jensen goes downstairs to start
breakfast, and then Jared rings the doorbell and comes in. It's terrible and
Jensen's paranoid his mother is going to recognize the fact that Jared's
wearing his clothes. She doesn't, however, just ushers Jared into the house and
continues getting ready for work.
Jensen smirks and turns away from the eggs he's beating with a fork. "Funny
seeing you this early."
"Shut up," Jared says with a small smile, hip checking Jensen. "Can I help with
anything?"
"Wash your hands," Jensen says immediately. "Then you can do the toast."
Jared rolls his eyes but does as he's told. They eat in relative silence, just
saying goodbye to Jensen's mom as she's going out the door.
Afterward, when they're cleaning the plates off to put in the dishwasher, Jared
places a hand on Jensen's shoulder. He says, "I've been thinking," and then he
pauses, throat working as he contemplates. "I should go see Jeff today, just
to... well, I don't know. I just think I should."
Jensen nods, but doesn't say anything.
They find their way to the couch a little later, Jared handling the remote as
he flips through infomercial after infomercial. He finally settles on Saturday
morning cartoons, which is currently an extremely old episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! that
Jensen remembers watching when he was eight. He used to be obsessed with that
show, probably still has his cards stashed somewhere. He wonders if Jared's
ever played and if his eight year old self was as bad up for the show as
Jensen's was. Doubtful, if the expression he's wearing is anything to go by;
Jared seems more prone to Pokémon or something, anyway.
Maybe he could find those cards again and teach Jared, if he even can remember
how to play himself. Maybe they could do that tonight instead of going to the
spring fling. Just play cards all night, until the sun breaks through into
morning and Jensen can rest easy that Jared's still with him.
Jared snuggles in closer to him then, and Jensen clears his mind of everything
but the solid lump of warmth pressed against him. He relaxes into Jared and
watches half-heartedly as the climax of the episode approaches.
Jared never does go to see Jeff.
*
Jensen gets a text message much later that night, after his mother's cooked the
three of them dinner. It's fast-fry chops with mashed potatoes and broccoli,
and Jensen's half-way through it when his phone starts to beep. He digs it out
of his pocket and watches from the corner of his eye as Jared does the same.
It's from Sophia, and Jensen feels dread creep over him.
can you come over? right now
Jensen glances at Jared, eyes scanning over his phone. Jared stands up
abruptly. "I. Jensen, I need you to drive me to Danneel's, and you--"
"What's going on, dear?" Jensen's mom asks, and Jared's lips are tightly drawn
together before he speaks.
"There's been a couple of bodies found at school," Jared says, and then looks
at Jensen. "Danni and Sophia found them." He pauses. "One of them was James."
Jensen swallows tightly and nods. "Okay, yeah, come on."
*
Sophia is a pale figure when Jensen walks into her room. Her hands are between
her legs and her head is bowed, and she's trembling. She doesn't even bother to
look up when Jensen closes the door.
"Oh, Soph," Jensen murmurs, and she makes no movement as he sits down next to
her. He presses his hand to her back and she leans into him, her hair against
his chin, and then she starts crying: soft, shaky breaths against him. "You
wanna talk about it?"
She shakes her head and sniffs, but then pulls back anyway, slides her hands
through her hair to draw it back away from her face. "It was so awful. Benny,
the guy from the Bronze, he--he called and said nobody showed up with the sound
system. So Danneel and I, we went to the school to get it." She bites her lip
and wipes haphazardly at her eyes. "I was so angry at him, you know? The things
I said about him on the way up--I was such a bitch."
Jensen squeezes her leg. "Hey, you didn't know."
"And then when I opened the door to the AV room--" she cuts off, voice going
tight. "He just... he fell out onto the floor."
Jensen and Sophia have been friends since second grade, since she pushed
somebody for taking Jensen's book, and since then she's been nothing but loud
and sure of herself. It's a shock to the senses to see her like this. It's
unnatural.
"He was so cold," she whispers. "So pale. And his eyes--oh god, his eyes,
Jensen!"
"Okay," Jensen says quickly, running his hand up the length of her thigh.
"Just, calm down, okay? Breathe."
Sophia furiously shakes her head. "No. No, Jensen, I--I can't. James, he was--
he was nice. He was a sweet and he was a good guy, and he didn't deserve this.
I did this to him. If I hadn't asked him--"
"Hey, no," Jensen says, voice firm as he wipes a fresh tear on Sophia's cheek.
"You didn't do anything, okay? The only ones who're at fault here are the ones
who did it. And they'll pay."
Sophia lets out a shaky breath as Jensen stands. "How?"
Jensen doesn't know, truthfully. Jared's out of the game and he doesn't know
how much longer that'll go on, but if he's honest it doesn't really matter: if
Jensen could find the guys who did this, he'd drive the stakes in their hearts
himself. "Don't worry about that," he says finally. "Just--stay in tonight,
okay? Don't go to the dance."
Any other time, Sophia would pitch a fit if Jensen told her to avoid a dance.
Now, though, she just nods, and Jensen flashes her a tight smile as he leaves
her room.
*
Jared slides into the car looking comparable to how Jensen feels right now. He
doesn't say much as he shuts the door, just a quick, "Can you take me to my
place for a minute?" When Jensen nods, he just relaxes against the seat with
his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Jensen wants to ask what's up, how's
Danneel taking everything, if she managed to tell him more details, but then he
doesn't.
They drive in silence, and Jensen briefly considers putting on the radio to
drown out the voices in his head before vetoing the idea completely. Instead,
he concentrates on the road and the ever-growing darkness that's falling over
Sunnydale. He taps out a quiet rhythm with his fingers on the steering wheel on
the way there, one that dies a quick death when he turns his car into Jared's
driveway.
Jensen shuts the car off as Jared unbuckles, his seatbelt not even off before
he's pushing the door open. "I'll be less than five minutes," he says, and then
he's barreling up the steps and entering his house.
True to his word, Jared's out in under five, changed out of Jensen's clothes
and wearing all black: tight t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket. Jensen swallows
tightly at the sight of him, knows exactly what an outfit like that means for
Jared. It's easy to run in, easy to fight in.
Jared's buttoning the sleeves of his jacket, hair hanging in his eyes. "I just
need you to take me to the library, and then--"
"And then what, Jared?" Jensen asks, making no move to turn the key. Jared
glances up at him, eyes focused and determined. "You're actually planning to
face him."
"There's not many options here, Jensen. I don't, and people are just gonna keep
dying."
"You go and you'll die," Jensen bites out.
Jared smiles without humor, shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, maybe. But maybe I'll
take him with me." It's a complete 180 from what Jensen witnessed at the
library the other night, and it bothers him more than he can say.
"Jared..."
"You gonna drive me? Because I can walk," Jared says, implacable, but not
unkindly.
Jensen doesn't have to think it over. He sighs jerkily, says, "Yeah, of
course," and starts the car.
*
Jensen barely has time to park the car before Jared's climbing out of it and
shutting the door with a loud slam. Jensen jogs to catch up, then falls in
place next to Jared as they walk into the school.
"You're gonna need more than a stake," is the only thing Jensen can really
think of right now.
Jared laughs despite everything else. "Yeah, probably."
There's noise coming from the library, growing louder as they approach, until
they push in on the doors and Jeff's voice greets them.
"I don't care! Somebody's got to do something, goddamnit, and it's going to be
me!"
Jeff's back is to them, crossbow clenched in his hands, and he's currently
shouting at Miss Ferris, who's looking pissed standing on the opposite side of
a table.
"Yeah, and it's going to be you who gets your dumb ass killed," she fights
back. It's louder than Jensen's ever heard her, meaner than he's ever seen her,
too. He can relate. "I've read the information, Jeffrey, and you're kidding
yourself if you think anybody but the Slayer's got a shot in hell in killing
this thing."
"Well, Sam, in case you haven't noticed, we appear to be short on slayers right
now!"
Miss Ferris' eyes narrow. "Now don't you feed me that bullshit--"
"Guys?" Jared's voice cuts in between them, shutting them both up as they face
him. He smiles slightly and raises a hand. "One slayer, reporting for duty."
Jeff honestly looks stunned. "Jared," he murmurs. "How--why--"
"These guys need to be stopped," Jared says with a shrug.
"And they will be," Jeff says, stubbornness back into his voice. "I'll see to
it."
Jared just smirks and shakes his head. "Sorry, but no. You read the prophecy.
My job, remember?" He steps up to Jeff and holds out his hand. "Think that
belongs to me," he says towards the crossbow.
"I don't care what a damn prophecy says," Jeff growls. "I was wrong, and it was
wrong, and I--I defy prophecy!"
Jared rolls his eyes. "Okay so now you decide to throw out the books. Just my
luck."
"I'm serious."
Jared nods. "I know."
Jeff looks utterly confused for one quick moment before he covers it up.
"Right, then," he says, taking a breath. "You won't convince me otherwise."
Jared nods again and repeats: "I know."
Before Jensen can register what's going on, Jared's fist is traveling through
the air and colliding with Jeff's face, a loud crack filling the library as
Jeff tumbles to the floor.
"Jared!" Jensen manages. Miss Ferris is already rushing around the table and
leaning over Jeff, supporting his head with her hands.
Jared just leans over and plucks the crossbow from Jeff's slack hands and grabs
the group of arrows on the table. He loads one in, checks it, and then lowers
it. Jensen's glued to his spot as he watches Jared head into Jeff's office,
coming out a minute later with his stake in hand. He regards Miss Ferris,
currently running her fingers against Jeff's forehead.
"You're looking for a kid," Miss Ferris says. "They'll take you to him."
Jared nods. "When he wakes up," he says, "tell him thanks. Also that I'm
sorry."
"I'll tell him," Miss Ferris mutters. "You men are always resorting to
violence. Doesn't solve anything."
Jared tucks his stake into his jacket pocket, says, "Let's hope it does
tonight," and walks right past Jensen and out of the library. It actually takes
Jensen a moment to realize that Jared's gone, mind suddenly swimming with this
is the last time I'm ever going to see him.
"Jared!" Jensen shouts after him, but Jared doesn't turn around; Jensen's
actually sure that Jared picks up his pace. He lets the library door swing shut
and chases after Jared, who's now approaching the main entrance. Jensen can
feel his heart beating faster, stomach twisting and goddamn why won't Jared
just turn around?
It's a frantic rush down the steps after he gets outside, and once he's within
reach Jensen grabs Jared's arm and hisses, "Jared," and Jared spins around,
face carefully blank. Jensen doubts he's fooling himself, and he's sure as hell
not fooling Jensen.
"Go back inside, Jensen," Jared says, harsh and matter-of-fact: an actual damn
order.
Jensen shakes his head. "No way."
"Let me go, man."
"Or what?" Jensen asks, voice coming out too strained to his ears. "You gonna
knock me out, too?" He throws his arms out to the side, feels suddenly
invincible with adrenaline. "Go ahead."
"Jensen, come on," Jared starts, but that's all he manages to get out before
he's cut off, quiet voice carrying a simple sentence on the wind.
"Help me."
The girl is small and pale with straight, soft blonde hair, standing a couple
of feet away from them. She looks about seven, maybe eight, and she's wearing a
white sundress that ends just past her knees. Her shoes are dirty, the edge of
her dress tattered and torn, and she clutches the arm of a small, one-eyed
stuffed bear in her hand.
Jensen swallows as he takes her in. He was there when Jared fought what he had
thought was the Anointed and had the bruises to show for it, but now he feels
sick to his stomach, and more terrified than he's ever been. She looks
unassuming, her face completely innocent and devoid of anything but painted on
fear.
The girl--the Anointed, Jensen's brain supplies--holds out her free hand,
small, chubby fingers that might as well be claws spread out to attack. "Help
me, please."
"It's okay," Jared says, and then he takes a step forward. "I know who you are.
It's okay."
"Jay." Jensen steps in behind him, only to have Jared turn back and face him
head on.
"You come with me and they'll kill you," Jared says softly. "I can't watch
that, Jensen, so please. You can't follow me."
And maybe Jensen should stay firm, maybe tell Jared to shove his good
intentions, fight until he caves in. Instead, Jensen takes in the girl, young
face matted with fake tears and that small little fist squeezing tight around
the bear's arm. He can't contemplate what kind of monster she can become, and
he doesn't want to send Jared off with her. But still, he nods.
"Yeah, okay," he says, brushing his fingers against Jared's arm. "Just, promise
me you'll be careful."
Jared smiles then, small, warm and reassuring, like Jensen's the one about to
end his life and needs to be comforted. Jensen watches through tight breaths as
Jared steps up to the Anointed and takes her hand in his. They've faded into
the darkness by the time Jensen stops watching, turns around, and takes off
running into the school. Jared may have stopped Jensen from going with him, but
there's no way Jensen's staying behind while Jared gets killed.
Miss Ferris is still on the floor with Jeff when Jensen crashes through the
doors, and Jeff is still out cold. Jensen moves past them both and heads into
Jeff's office, into a world of a million pages that mean nothing to Jensen
right now and maybe--just maybe--one that might. There's a book lying open on
Jeff's desk, and Jensen glances at it as he moves around the room, eyes getting
caught on the drawing.
It's the Master. Nothing more than an artists rendition, but Jensen's stomach
twists at it all the same, taking in the twists and sharp contours of his face,
the paleness of his skin, the slant of his eyes. There's red around his mouth,
like it's been stained permanently from blood, and Jensen slams into the book's
edge with his hand, watches it go toppling over the edge and hitting the floor
with an unsatisfying smack. Jared could be facing that thing right now.
He searches Jeff's desk first, pulling out drawers one at a time and flipping
through the contents quickly, eyes concentrating on finding that single name.
"C'mon, Jeff," Jensen mutters, fingers spreading out the contents. "I know
you've got it. C'mon... yes!" Jensen pulls the sticky note from the pile and
shoves it in his pocket.
Miss Ferris looks up at him when he comes out, her eyebrows pushed together.
"You're not gonna be a fool and go after him, are you?"
Jensen ignores the question. "Could you do me a favor? Call Danneel and Chad,
let them know what's up." He waits for her nod and then he's pushing through
the library's doors, headed for his car.
*
The sound of Jensen's knuckles rapping on the door is too loud in his ears, a
frantic, hard pound that's his best way of getting across hurry the hell up,
it's life or death, open the door! He keeps at it, smashing his fist against
the wood despite the fact that he may very well leave blood on the door. It's
not like he cares either way but evidently the occupant does, shows it by how
they rip open the door with a twist of the doorknob.
"Jesus Christ what is your goddamn--"
Genevieve's sendoff dies on her tongue as she takes him in.
Jensen holds out his hand dumbly. "Hi, I'm--"
"Jensen," she supplies. Her eyes crackle with--something. "Last person I'd
expect to see tonight."
"How'd you--"
"I can smell him on you," she says quietly, and she sags against the door,
looking Jensen over with unreadable eyes. He feels tenser all of a sudden, the
knowledge of just what she is coming back to him and ringing in his head.
Jensen tugs the collar of his jacket tight around his neck and doesn't miss
Genevieve's replying smirk. He's not sure he was supposed to. "I also saw you
at the library."
"Right," Jensen says, swallowing. "Jared's gone."
Genevieve's demeanor changes immediately, pushing herself off the door and
crossing her arms. "Gone? What do you mean, gone? He just took off?"
"No," Jensen says immediately. "No, Jared wouldn't do something like that. He
went to kill the Master."
Genevieve's jaw goes tight and her eyes narrow, shoulders one tense line as she
takes a step towards Jensen. "He-- The Master will kill him."
"So rumor has it. But we're not gonna let this happen."
Genevieve snorts. "We?"
"We," Jensen says firmly. "I'll bet the farm you either know where this guy's
hiding out or know somebody who does. Take me to him."
"Kid, I hate to break it to you, but the Master would kill you before you had a
chance to scream."
And vampire or not, Jensen just doesn't give a shit at the moment. He advances
on her, inches from her face. "I don't care. I'm not letting Jared go against
him alone. I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know you, but I have met
plenty of your friends. Jared tells me you're not like that." Jensen watches
her face for a reaction but gets nothing, just cold and calculated
consideration. He swallows tightly. "Prove to me he's right."
It feels like they spend forever standing there, just staring each other down,
and then finally Genevieve's shoulders collapse and she shakes her head.
"I'm driving," is all she says.
*
Genevieve's reckless on the road, weaving between cars when necessary and going
well over any speed limit when it's not. Jensen sits with his eyes closed and
fingers digging into his knees until the car stops and Genevieve murmurs,
"We're here."
There's a mausoleum standing tall and foreboding in front of the car, door
broken down the center and crumbling to the sides.
"They're in there?"
"No," Genevieve says, pushing her door open and climbing out of the car.
"They're in the sewers. This is just the most convenient access point to where
they're hiding."
Jensen frowns but follows suit. "Sewers?"
Genevieve snorts and shakes her head. "Yeah, the funny thing about being a
vampire is that you tend to be more willing to smell shit than risk being burnt
crispy by the sun. Here," she says as she pulls something from her jacket. It's
not until she holds one out to Jensen that the moonlight reveals just what it
is. "You might need one of these."
Jensen nods and takes the stake, then gestures to the mausoleum. "Lead the
way."
The crypt is almost pitch black inside, stale smell in the air, and Jensen's
already missing the little light the outdoors brought. In front of him,
Genevieve pulls open a half-hidden door and lowers herself down, and Jensen
follows close behind, climbing down the ladder.
He covers his nose when he drops to the floor, smell of sewage burning in his
nostrils. It's brighter down here, Jensen nervously realizes, and when he turns
around he can see why: along one wall of the tunnel are torches, the flames
rolling high up against the dark surface. It clears any possible doubts he
might've had that the Master might not be down here, and Jensen grips the stake
in his hand tightly.
"You hear anything or see anything, you stake it," Genevieve says quietly. "Got
it?"
"Got it," Jensen says, and then they're moving through the tunnel. It's long
and twisting, torches lighting the path through intersections, and Jensen has
the sudden, worrisome thought that maybe this is too easy, that maybe this is a
trap.
Before he can say anything, Genevieve stops dead in her tracks, Jensen slamming
into her back and earning a glare for it. Genevieve gestures with her head and
Jensen follows it, suddenly realizing why she stopped. In front of them, the
tunnel opens up into a large room. There's not much to be made out from their
vantage point, only large candles that drip wax like blood, and then Jensen
realizes a second thing.
It's quiet.
Genevieve must realize the same thing, because she approaches the opening
carefully and glances out quickly, pulling back just as fast before doing it
again, this time taking it slow. When she turns back to Jensen, he can read the
unease from the glare of the torchlight.
"The Master's gone, and--"
"And what?" Jensen asks. "Is Jared gone with him?"
Genevieve shakes her head slowly. "He--" She bites her lip. "We got here too
late."
"What?" Jensen says frantically. There's no way she means what she's implying,
because Jared can't--
His ears are pounding and he drops his stake, rushing past Genevieve and down
into the room, ignoring her shouts of protest. He scans the room for any signs
of Jared, and his stomach drops when his eyes land on the body lying in the
center of the place, facedown in a puddle of water and far too still for
Jensen's comfort.
"Jay?" Jensen barely manages, voice cracking as he takes in the entire image.
There's stark red glistening on the side of Jared's neck and Jensen pushes past
the sting in his eyes as he approaches.
"Jared?" he says softly, getting to his knees. He nudges Jared's body over just
as gently, still warm to the touch, and gets him out of the water. The breath
goes out of him at the sight, Jared's hair matted to his forehead, lips parted,
eyes closed...
"Move over."
Jensen jerks his head up just in time to see Genevieve crouch down to his
level. She presses her hand to Jared's bite and chews on her lip. "It's not a
deep bite. There might be a shot... do you know CPR?" Jensen shakes his head
swiftly and Genevieve nods, pushes up the sleeves of her jacket. "Alright, I
can do most of it. Just--I'm going to need you to give him air when I tell you
to. Hold his nose and breathe into his mouth."
Jensen nods shakily and rubs his palms on his thighs. "Okay."
Genevieve folds one of her hands over the other and presses down on Jared's
chest, counts out, "One... two... three... okay, do it now."
Jensen follows instructions and squeezes Jared's nose and breathes deeply into
his mouth, then pulls back. He closes his eyes tightly for a moment, says a
silent prayer and opens them again. No change, and Genevieve counts out the
rhythm again: "One... two... three... again."
Still nothing. Jensen can feel the hope slipping away, feel Jared slipping
away. "It's not working," he growls.
Genevieve doesn't reply other than counting out three more beats, and Jensen
does his role again. Come on, Jay, just c'mon. Don't you fucking dare leave me.
"Again," Genevieve grunts, and just as Jensen starts to lean down, Jared starts
coughing. Jensen's taken aback quickly, eyes going wide as Genevieve moves
Jared to his side, Jared sputtering out water and gasping for breath. He's
clutching his stomach and he looks like hell, but he's alive and that's all
Jensen cares about right now.
"Are you okay?" Jensen asks as Jared's breathing starts to regulate again.
Jared wipes at his mouth. "I told you not to come after me," he says, voice
shaky, and a moment later he smiles, just as unsteady. "Thanks for not
listening."
Jensen smiles tightly and nods, pushing Jared's hair out of his face. Genevieve
catches his eye then, and Jensen nods, grabs one of Jared's arms while
Genevieve takes the other and helps him up to his feet.
"Easy," Jensen says when Jared stumbles back. "We need to get you out of here.
You're weak, you need to lie down somewhere."
Jared shakes his head emphatically, and he almost falls back down. "No, I'm
fine. Where's the Master?"
"Gone," Genevieve supplies.
"Thanks to me."
Jensen squeezes Jared's shoulder. "Come on, Jay, it's not your fault. He was
just too--"
"No," Jared interrupts quickly, "it is my fault. Before he... you know, he said
he needed me to come to him before--before he could be free." His fingers ghost
over the fresh bite on his neck from the Master. "Slayer's blood," he adds
unnecessarily.
Jensen swallows and nods, but it's Genevieve who bites the bullet. "Look, you
can feel sorry for yourself once the Master's dead. Right now we need to get
you out of here."
"Yeah, you do," Jared says. "And then you need to take me to him."
"You can barely stand up," Genevieve growls, "and we have no idea where this
guy is. Are you goddamn retarded or do you have a death wish?"
"I'm fine. And I know where he is."
Jensen bites down on his lip. "How?"
Jared slips his arms out of their grasp. "I just know."
Jensen glances at Genevieve to gauge her reaction. She just shakes her head.
"If you fuckin' die again you can revive yourself, kid."
"Thanks," Jared says with a faint smile. "Come on."
*
Sunnydale High looks more sinister than ever as Genevieve parks the car in
front of the steps. She squeezes the wheel and sighs, glances to Jared. "You
sure about this?"
Jared nods, says on a murmur: "He killed me. I should probably return the
favor."
It makes the hairs on the back of Jensen's neck stand up, the quiet
understanding of just what the Master did to Jared clouding his brain.
"He's on the roof," Jared says as they get out of the car. "I'm gonna need you
guys to make sure none of his minions follow me up. Then I'll go up there, dust
him, and... well, I don't give a shit what happens after that."
The halls are empty when they get inside, and if it wasn't for the completely
determined expression on Jared's face, he might wonder if Jared's hunch was
right. As is, he squeezes the stake in his hand and keeps close behind Jared,
Genevieve to the other side of him. When the red door comes into view, a lump
grows in Jensen's throat.
"Alright," Jared starts, turning around. "Once I go up there, nobody else does.
You go that?"
"We got that," Genevieve says. "And if you keep it up with these orders, I
swear I'm going to kick your ass after all this is over."
Jared just flashes her an easy smile and focuses on Jensen. "Nervous?" he asks
on an exhale.
Jensen snorts. "Right, I'm the one who should be nervous."
"Hey, I've met the guy before. The butterflies are dead this time around."
"Be careful," Jensen says.
Jared nods, gives him a reassuring smile. "I will. You too." And then Jared
opens the door to the roof and starts the climb, door slamming loudly behind
him.
Genevieve eyes Jensen carefully and holds up her stake. "You ever use one of
these?" Jensen shakes his head, and she nods. "Well, you won't be saying that
after tonight."
Almost immediately after, Jensen hears the telltale snarls and a spark of
tension mixed with nerves races up his spine. Two vampires come at them, tall,
lanky guys with their fangs bared and faces contorted and twisted, and Jensen
swallows, raises his stake and prepares for the impact.
The larger one pounces on him, growling as he tackles Jensen to the floor,
stake flying out of Jensen's hand. He pins him there, fingers cutting off the
circulation to Jensen's wrists and keeping him in place. Jensen groans and
turns away from the guy's mouth and the foul breath coming from it, tries to
get some purchase to throw the vampire off. He can hear Genevieve having
similar problems from beside him, grunts and fist connecting with bone echoing
in the hallway. Above him, the vampire sneers, beady eyes raking over Jensen's
face.
Jensen tries again to shake him off, putting all the weight he can to try and
turn them over, but the vampire's far too strong for that. Jensen swallows
weakly and closes his eyes when the guy starts to sink down towards his neck--
there's no way that he wants to watch this happen. He's dead. In less than a
minute, he's going to be a corpse.
Then, suddenly, there's a startled cry and the heavy weight pinning Jensen down
is gone. Jensen opens his eyes immediately and sees the vampire leaning against
the wall, crouched over and clutching his side. Genevieve is standing to
Jensen's right, looking pleased with herself as she says, "He's all yours,
kid."
Jensen gets to his knees quickly and finds his stake, then takes a deep breath
before slamming the stake in the vampire's chest, feeling the give of flesh and
bone as the wood splinters through him. He watches as the guy's eyes go glassy,
and then he's dust and Jensen's stake falls to the floor. Jensen pants heavily,
staring at the small pile of dust that's all that remains of what could've
killed him. What would've killed him.
Genevieve's hand comes into his view then, fingers spread and Jensen takes it
and lets her help him up. "Word of advice? Never let them get you on your back.
You're almost always vamp chow that way."
Swallowing, Jensen nods. "I'll keep that in mind." Jesus, he killed something.
Genevieve smirks. "Hope you didn't tire yourself out," she says, and Jensen
follows the tilt of her head to see three more vampires coming at them.
*
Jensen's about to dust his fourth vampire when she growls and shoves him, hands
pushing hard against his chest. The breath goes out of him and he ends up
tumbling backwards and collides with the wall, and then she's running away from
the fight, the one Genevieve was fighting going with her. Jensen clutches his
knees and takes a couple sharp breaths. He's not sure why they retreated--
they've been incessant after the first wave, not stopping until they got staked
and then more would come out--but he can't really complain right now if it
gives him a break. His body is bruised and his joints are sore and aching.
"That was... weird," Genevieve murmurs.
Jensen looks up at her. "Yeah, just what I was thinking. Any idea what's got
'em spooked?"
"I'm guessing that," Genevieve says, gesturing behind Jensen with a small
smirk.
Jensen follows her hand and almost collapses with relief. "Jared?"
Jared closes the door behind him and blows his bangs out of his face. He
smiles, tired but happy. "You guys okay?"
Jensen nods. "How about you?" he asks, only to see the ripped t-shirt and the
long scratch near Jared's neck, four thin lines of bright red that match the
aging bite the Master put there an hour ago. "You're hurt," he adds, reaching
out unconsciously and brushing the pads of his fingers over it, but pulls back
when Jared hisses.
"This is nothing," Jared says quietly. "You should see the other guy."
Jensen swallows tightly at the suggestion and squeezes his arms to his chest.
"What'd you do to him?"
Jared just shrugs and licks his lips. "You'll see."
"Nice job, kid," Genevieve says, cutting in with a smirk. "Looks like you did
okay tonight. Maybe your watcher will be able to remove that stick from his ass
now."
Jared cringes. "Oh crap, Jeff," he mutters, running a hand through his hair.
"I've gotta get to the library. The Master might not've killed me, but I'm not
so sure about Jeff."
"He, uh... slugged him," Jensen supplies at Genevieve's raised eyebrow.
"Nice," she says, a delighted grin on her face.
*
There's an entire gang to greet them when they enter the library: Chad,
Danneel, Sophia, Miss Ferris and Jeff, a purplish bruise coloring his cheek.
The five of them look exhausted, and it's only then that Jensen manages to take
in the destruction of the room.
The library looks like a tornado ran through it--tables are splintered into
sections, shelves are broken and books are scattered everywhere, littering the
floor along with pieces of wood. In the center of the room just under the
broken skylight is a jagged half of a table, a clean skeleton impaled on it.
Jensen swallows tightly at the sight.
Jared gave them a quick recap of what happened on the walk downstairs, and
seeing the Master's bones like this is unsettling. They're long and wide, and
Jensen's quietly relieved he never got the chance to see him in person.
"What happened here?" Jared asks as he takes in the room himself.
"Apparently the Master was chummy with more than just his fanged buddies," Chad
mutters, rubbing his shoulder. "Like huge motherfucking things with tentacles."
"Did anybody get hurt?"
Danneel shakes her head. "We're mostly okay. It's just couple of bumps."
"And bruises," Jeff adds, looking significantly at Jared. Jared smiles
apologetically and Jeff smiles back. "You did good tonight, Jared."
"Thanks."
Jensen heads over to where Sophia is, sitting on one of the few unbroken
chairs. "Thought you were going to stay in tonight," he says, which earns him a
small smile.
"Figured hanging with your loser friends beats lying on my bed all night.
Marginally," she adds.
Jensen smirks and flicks her arm. "Come on, admit it. You like them."
Sophia rolls her eyes but she doesn't deny it, the corner of her lip curling
up.
"I hate to break up the party," Miss Ferris says. "But what are we supposed to
do with him?" She points to the remains of the Master with uncertainty.
"The school could probably use a new skeleton for the science lab," suggests
Jared.
"We could feed him to some dogs," says Chad.
Jeff sighs and shakes his head. "I'll see to it that he's buried some place
where nobody will find him."
"Oh, come on, that's boring," Chad whines.
"And if you say another word, I'll see to it that you're buried with him," Jeff
says, and Chad blanches for a minute before spouting off a comeback.
Jensen tunes them out before long, because Jared walks over to him once
everybody else gets invested in the showdown, small smirk on his face as he
slips his arm around Jensen's waist. "You enjoying the show?" he asks.
"I am suddenly enjoying it a lot more," Jensen confesses, and Jared grins.
Jensen smiles back and mirrors Jared's hand on his back with his own hand on
Jared's, moves in a little closer. "The Anointed's still out there somewhere."
Jared shakes his head. "I don't care. Without her boss, she's nothing but a
glorified minion."
Jensen's not certain he agrees, but he nods anyway, pushes out a smile. "So,
Jared Padalecki, you just managed to save the world. What's next on your list
of amazing feats?"
Jared laughs and tosses the hair out of his eyes, hums in thought for a quick
moment. "I think," he says slowly, "that I'm gonna kiss you."
"And you think that that's going to be amazing?" Jensen asks, trying to keep
the smile off his face and failing completely.
"I don't know," Jared murmurs, "why don't you tell me?" And then he presses
their lips together.
If Jensen's honest, it is pretty amazing.
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