Chapter 20: Past the Garden Shed and Straight Ahead (J2, NC-17)
Fic title: Past the Garden Shed and Straight Ahead
Artist name:
amberdreams
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: past domestic abuse, sexual language, non explicit sex, cussing, Chad
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***
Several hours after Jared finally had his cast removed, Mr. Tooley himself met with Jared. They drove to Ambrose Grove, all the while exchanging fond memories of Mr. Spendlethift Snr.
The attorney apologized that Jared had not received an invitation to his funeral. Spendlethift Jnr was supposed to hand deliver it, but his true character had gradually become clear and by then it seemed that Tooley had been thrilled to drop the bombshell that the house was bequeathed to Jared.
Apparently, before his death, Mr. Spendlethift Snr had mailed copious notes to him, detailing what he owed Jared, and lists of who had helped him in recent years. According to the recently deceased man, three calls from his own children, in the last year, two of them asking for money, was no basis for an inheritance. His family would have stocks, shares and family mementos, his cleaner had been given a generous sum and Jared would have the rest. It was subject to probate but with Mr. Spendlethift’s written testimony, any contest to the will was unlikely to be successful.
The house was not as grand as Jensen’s, but it was still a freakin’ mansion. Jared felt like a fraud. Yes, Spendlethift’s kids seemed selfish, but they were flesh and blood. He knew this shouldn’t have happened and didn’t know how to proceed. He stayed respectful and nodded along with Tooley’s commentary. When they were done, he was going to accept the offer of a ride home, but then he saw it - Jensen’s unicorn - gleaming as it turned into the Ackles driveway.
He forced a smile and waved the attorney away. “I’m good.” Oh, he had words to say to a deceitful, meddling, faerie.
It was a lot further to walk on his newly liberated and tightly bandaged ankle than he had thought. He met Chad half way up the drive, where he was clearing weeds.
“Jared? Dude?”
He held his hand up, “Do NOT try to stop me.”
Chad backed off and trailed a few feet behind him, with obvious concern
By the time he reached Ackles’ door he was in bright hot pain, red, sweaty and furious.
Contractors parted like the Red Sea on his crusade to find Jensen.
He cornered him in the kitchen. Jensen stood with his back to him, at the counter, his own mail in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. His jeans fit just-so, and his shoulders flexed visibly under a taut designer shirt. His hair was perfectly styled, to show off his biteable neck and the familiar freckles around the tip of his ear seemed to glow in the early afternoon light. How did he get to be so perfect when Jared was a mess?
Jared didn’t waste time with niceties, “Where do you get off meddling in my life, Jensen? Spendlethift had a family. What the hell is with you? You lied, you dumped me. Now this, when we no longer even have a bond,” he used air quotes for the word ‘bond’. “How dare you!” He slammed the Spendlethift documents onto the counter.
Jensen swung around, wide eyed and in obvious shock at the venom being directed at him. “Jared, whoa! Well, hi to you too. I would hardly call a few flowers, meddling. Inappropriate possibly.”
“This,” he banged his forefinger down on the documents, “This is not a few plants. This is magic and meddling! It harms people.”
“Ssh!” Jensen placed a finger on his lips. “Do you want everybody to know?” He moved to the kitchen door and slammed it shut. “Let’s keep it professional.”
“Professional? Well, maybe they should know what they are working with. You have cheated a grieving family out of their rightful inheritance.”
He looked genuinely confused, “I did what? I have done nothing of the sort. Why would I do that?”
It was actually a good question. Jared didn’t have an answer. “Because …,” he paused, “You are a faerie, you meddle.”
“Well that is prejudiced!” Jensen snatched the documents from him. “Give me those!” He pointed to the fridge, “Grab a lemonade and some painkillers and sit down, you look awful.” Jensen was freakishly composed.
Now Jared thought about it, his emotions were starting to settle and he was suddenly drained of energy. He really did need a drink and to rest. He obeyed.
Jensen studied the Spendlethift papers, taking time to read each word and cross reference paragraphs. It wasn’t the act of a guilty man (or faerie). When he was done, he sighed and sat in the seat opposite Jared. He looked directly at him as he spoke, “You’re right. There is magic in the inheritance. It is the most powerful and ancient of all magic.”
“But it isn’t your spell?” He thought the freckles on Jensen’s nose were distracting, he wanted to kiss them.
“No, it’s not faerie magic.” Jensen took his hand, gently squeezing reassurance. “It is your magic. All of this is you. You weaved kindness into every encounter with the man. You cared for him. You showed him love. There was no fraud. You did not cheat. Love, in the end, is the greatest magic of all. This is who you are and it is why you work miracles. It is why plants grow for you. It is why I love you.” The last sentence was spoken in a rush, barely audible.
Huh. “You what?”
He looked so sad and earnest, “How have you not got the message yet, Jared?”
“You broke off our engagement! You could have ended the quest. Hell, we didn’t need to start it! It could have been ordinary with sex, movies and therapy. I wouldn’t have known anything.”
“Of course we had to take the quest. Every fiber of my soul wanted to deny you the reversal but it wouldn’t be right. Arranged marriages with humans are cruel, a relic of old days. I would never know what was real and what was magic. It would all end in ruin,” he gestured to the house, “...again.”
“How could it be cruel if I never found out? Wait a minute - your great, great, aunt - was there a spell?”
Jensen nodded sadly, “When lust wore away, there was no love, only a terrible, unbreakable bond. So, they wasted away, and the house with it. In the end, she cast a glamor, so none would see them, or the house, until death did them part.”
“You’re not her and I am not the man of the house. Felicia said that every contract was unique,” Jared argued.
“I know. And all your life you dreaded it coming due, and in the circle you spoke for yourself, your own truth, You said - I just want to live a normal life, make normal, bad dating decisions. Maybe good ones too. The point is I would like them to be my decision - Those were good, honest words, Jared. I could not deny them. And now I must accept the truth that what you felt was magic, not real. That’s my problem and I see how inappropriate I have been. For that I am sorry. I have tried to say sorry every day but I didn’t know how to get through to you.” He released Jared’s hand, got up and put his mug in the sink. He wouldn’t look at Jared, his voice shook. “There will be no more gifts. I will not make you stay and work for me. You will be a rich man in your own right. A neighbor. You will date the wrong men and maybe one day, the right one. It will be your own decision.”
Jensen was absolutely right.
Jared stood up. “You’re right. I can make my own decisions. I can keep the client with the awesome legacy garden, I can have one night stands, I can date. I can introduce my date to my mother, or whisk my love away for a romantic weekend. We could get a dog or cat or a parrot. We could argue and make up.” He was now directly behind Jensen, who was silent except for a suspiciously sad sniffle. He spun him around by his shoulder and crowded him against the deep vintage sink. He leaned down face to face, until their lips touched, Jensen’s tearful eyes widened in surprise.
“I could practice making decisions by asking you for a one night stand,” suggested Jared.
Jensen’s face lit up with hope, “You could,” he agreed.
He hooked his huge yeti hand around the back of Jensen’s neck and caressed the pressure point under his ear. He felt Jensen shiver, “And if we happened to break the rules, we might decide to date.”
He groaned, “Oh, yeah!”
Jensen tasted of summer days and peppermint. His body ground perfectly into Jared’s and the noises he made as they kissed, were pornographic. Jared hooked his fingers around his belt and pulled him out of the kitchen, towards the bedroom. He limped and hopped his progress and banged his head on a loose door jamb as a joiner jumped out of their path. He yelped but he wasn’t slowing down.
“Early finish for everybody, on me,” yelled Jensen to anyone in earshot. Tools were laid down and the house became eerily silent before a ripple of applause started with Chad and grew in a crescendo with wolf whistles and cheers from all corners.
“Fuck my life, fuck professionalism, fuck me,” Jensen declared as he stumbled after Jared into the bedroom. He tripped on a loose copper pipe and fell face first, bouncing on the on the soft landing of his own bed.
“Oh, I can work with that,” grinned Jared. He stripped off his shirt with enthusiastic flair, “ Let’s break some rules!”
~end~
This is the story I never expected to finish in time. In the end, lockdown and some unexpected and lovely comments on my old fic spurred me on as well as all my amazing pompom wavers). So here we are. Thank you for sticking with me all this way <3. Comments, however short, truly do fuel a fanfic writer x