J2 Big Bang Fic: Hewitched Part 6

[lizzywinks]

Back to Chapter 5

Jared spends the next few days hiding out in his house. It's a weekend, and he isn't needed on set, but he half expects a call for most of Friday evening anyway. The part of the night he doesn't spend researching protection from witches, that is. There's a lot of conflicting information on the Internet. Jared can see now why Jensen was so shocked Gabe had managed to figure out exactly what could hurt a witch. Remembering that fact allows Jared to narrow his search, and he ends up dropping a silver paper knife into a bucket filled with water at the front entrance of his house. He feels a little stupid doing it, but forces himself to ignore the fact and concentrate on finding more things made out of pure silver to position around the house. When he's done, he climbs the stairs and curls up in one of the guest bedrooms, asleep almost before his head hits the pillow.

He wakes up with a jolt at three in the morning to the image of Jensen's betrayed face. He gathers up all the items he'd so painstakingly placed and throws the buckets filled with water outside before returning to bed. Ten minutes later, he's back out of bed and downstairs ramming the paper knife and candlesticks and various pieces of cutlery-that he's pretty sure weren't silver in the first place-into a garbage sack and dumping it with the rest of his trash out back. He also takes off the gold ring he wears on his right hand, because he has a vague recollection of reading somewhere that most gold isn't pure and contains other precious metals.

He's touched Jensen often, his mind shies away from how often, with the same ring on his hand, but for all Jared knows, it had been burning the hell out of Jensen the whole time. It would be just like him to have been suffering and never mentioned it, even though right off the top of his head Jared can think of about a half dozen good excuses Jensen could have come up with to get him to take it off.

Afterward, Jared stumbles back off to bed and finally falls asleep with Sadie and Harley watching him reproachfully from the corner of the room. Isis, unsurprisingly, had been nowhere to be found. When Jared gives in to his need for comfort and calls both dogs on to the bed beside him, only Sadie hops begrudgingly up. Harley turns in a full circle and settles down on the floor, his back to them both. Jared thinks he kind of deserves it.

*~*

The rest of the weekend drags. On Sunday morning, Jared tries the cell phone he'd given Jensen. When the call connects, Jared nearly breaks his ankle on the slippery hall tiles in his race to the kitchen where he can hear his ring tone. He finds the cell sitting in the middle of the large kitchen table. He's pretty sure it wasn't there before.

Almost sure.

He scoops the phone up and pulls up the list of calls made, which is apparently zero. Text messaging history is the same. Either Jensen wiped his sim card, or he never really used it at all. Given Jensen's discomfort with most modern technology, Jared's putting his money on the latter.

*~*

When it finally occurs to him late Sunday night that Danneel is probably a witch, too, Jared spends the hours after midnight mainlining disgusting coffee and waiting for morning to come. He's not quite desperate enough yet to try to call her or, more terrifyingly still, visit her at home, but it's a close call.

When his car arrives for him at 7.00 AM, Jared is up and waiting outside his door.

*~*

The first thing Jared does when he arrives on set is to go looking for Danneel. The second thing he does is kick the door of his trailer closed hard when he discovers she has a late call; she won't be in till after lunch.

When he thinks he's calm enough to risk interacting with the rest of the crew, he closes his door carefully behind him, and then less carefully when he realizes the kick seems to have caused some sort of damage to the locking mechanism.

On his way to makeup, he bumps into Gabe. Like, literally. Gabe falls backward onto his ass, and Jared can't hold back a fleeting feeling of mean-spirited pleasure. If it wasn't for Gabe, Jared wouldn't be feeling like someone had scooped out his insides with a butter knife right now.

Jared stares silently down at Gabe, and then sighs before reaching out a hand toward him. Gabe grabs it quickly, and Jared hefts him easily to his feet.

"Sorry, Mr. Padalecki," Gabe says hurriedly. There's none of the frantic fervor that had been in his face the last time they'd met; now it's just terror that crashing into the star of the show means he's about to be out of a job.

"I knocked you down, Gabe," Jared points out. "Not really sure what you're apologizing for."

"Um, oh, wow, I didn't realize you knew my name, sir. And I probably was in your way. I do that sometimes, get caught up and don't pay attention. My mom's always telling me-"

"It's fine," Jared interrupts. "Don't let me stop you from your work." Gabe looks equal parts devastated and mortified.

"No, of course not, Mr. Padalecki. Can I-should I get you a coffee? I don't think Genevieve has arrived yet-"

Jared barks out a sharp, "No!" then, "Thank you," he adds belatedly when Gabe's eyes round in fear. "I can get my own."

"Oh, okay, if you're sure, sir-?"

"Very," Jared says firmly.

When he gets to the craft services area, it suddenly occurs to Jared that he still doesn't know how he takes his coffee. He makes instead Jensen's beverage of choice, green tea with honey.

It tastes as bad as it smells.



By the time Danneel is due on set, Jared is about ready to explode from frustration. He isn't sure exactly what he's planning to say, but he knows he needs to talk to Jensen. Just talk. He hadn't handled the situation well, which was an understatement of epic proportions. He's actually fucked up to such a high degree that if it were an Olympic event, he'd be bringing home gold, silver and bronze, and probably the winner's podium, too.

He's pacing furiously outside of Danneel's trailer when a PA appears to tell him he's needed on set.

"What? Why? We can't start without Danneel," he says, jerking his head toward the darkened trailer.

"Oh, Ms. Harris is already on set, sir," the PA informs him cheerfully. "She arrived early. She's already been to makeup and wardrobe."

"Fuck!" Jared snaps. "I've been waiting for her all morning! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I'm sorry," the PA glances at her clipboard, unruffled. "I don't have a note that you needed to be informed when Ms. Harris arrived?"

The fact that she's right only leaves Jared even more foul tempered than he was before.



Danneel is sitting in her director's chair when he gets on set, cell phone in her hand as she taps away at the keypad. For a second, the scene is so familiar that Jared feels a disorientating wave of confusion roll over him. Has the stress of his career disappearing down the toilet actually made him crazy enough that he'd created some kind of insane alternate reality where witches and warlocks existed and he'd fallen in love with-

The thought shatters when Danneel glances up to meet his gaze. She looks seriously pissed, eyes narrowed and gleaming cat-like in the bright set lighting. Jared feels a shudder run through him when she leans over to pat the seat beside her ominously.

For a second, he has to fight the urge to run, until he remembers that Danneel is the only link he has to Jensen because he severed all the others himself.

His confused state is making it almost impossible to settle on an emotion and stick with it. By the time he sits down, fear has morphed into anger, and he's pissed enough himself to not care if he's risking being turned into a toad.

"I know what you are," he hisses, edging his chair toward Danneel in an attempt to cut them off from the rest of the crew working industriously around them.

"Good," Danneel says calmly. "Then you also know what I can do."

"Don't try to threaten me," Jared snaps back. "I can look after myself. I know stuff, and Jensen taught me stuff, too." Jared can bluff with the best of them, and he doubts-he hopes-Jensen didn't go into too many specifics about their relationship with his cousin. What Jared doesn't doubt though is that Danneel knows what happened between them. The scornful look she'd leveled at him when he arrived removes any question that she's judging him pretty damn harshly for what he did.

Danneel doesn't look even vaguely worried, and watches him coldly for a moment before sighing heavily. She pushes her phone out of sight and twists her own chair until she's facing him.

"What do you want, Jared? Do you want me to leave, too? Because, trust me, being around you is pretty much the last thing I want right now either, but I do take my responsibilities seriously. If I take off, there's every chance the show will be canceled before it's even gone to air. And no," she adds, pure sarcasm in her tone, "that isn't a threat. Just a basic awareness that there are plenty of other failed actors out there looking for work, and at this stage it will probably be cheaper for the studio to cut their losses and start again. And, correct me if I'm wrong," she adds, malicious smile peeking out, "but I'm guessing you'd rather put up with a witch than another flop."

Jared bites his lip because he probably deserves that, and reaches up to run a weary hand through his hair. He's facing off with an angry witch while he's running pretty much on zero sleep, no coffee, and adrenaline. Caution seems to be something he should be focusing on. Unfortunately, all he can think about is Jensen, and that's clouding everything.

"Look, Danneel," he begins carefully. "I get that I reacted badly, but, Christ, how else was I supposed to react to finding out that fucking witches and warlocks and magic are real?" He pauses and takes a quick glance around to be sure no one is listening, and then realizes it probably doesn't matter if they are. The whole conversation sounds like it got lifted straight out of one of their scripts.

"How about with a bit of compassion and understanding for your boyfriend?" Danneel says coldly. "Not a warlock, not a witch, but your boyfriend, Jensen. You think he wanted to hide this from you? None of this has been easy for him, Jared. His whole life he's been told that mortals are bad news, that exposing himself to them and their world would end in disaster, and the first time, the first fucking time he ignores the warnings and takes a risk, his father is proved right." Danneel's lips curl in disgust. "I didn't expect much from you, but I thought you were better than that."

Jared ducks his head, and tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. "I guess he doesn't want to see me?" he finally asks in a small voice.

Danneel snorts. "I don't know, what do you think, Jared? You think that after you call him a freak and basically accuse him of drugging and raping you with magic that he's sitting at home hoping the phone will ring?"

"No!" Jared says. "No, god, that isn't what I meant! Of course I don't think that! Jesus, Danni, Jensen would never-" Jared pauses and takes a minute to regain control of his breathing. "I know that isn't what happened, and I know he must blame me-"

"That's the worst part!" Danneel says, her voice suddenly thick with tears. "He doesn't blame you, he blames himself for not telling you sooner, for falling in love with you, and for sticking around long enough for you to love him back. Jesus," she says, pulling out a tissue and dabbing carefully at her made-up eyes, "he doesn't even blame me for introducing him to you in the first place."

Jared's stomach clenches painfully, and his fingers tighten over the arms of his chair until his knuckles are white and aching. "Do you-do you think he might see me, if you ask him? Just to talk," he hurries to add, "so that I can make sure he's okay."

"Talk? What else do you need to say, Jared?" Danneel asks, voice turning hard as she regains control. "Have you changed your mind? Can you accept him for what he is now that you know?"

"I don't-I'm not sure," Jared stumbles, tiredness making him clumsy. Because up till now, all he's been thinking about is finding Jensen. Getting him to talk to him. The one thing he very definitely hasn't been thinking about is the impossible fact that Jensen is a witch. No, scratch that, warlock, and all that that entails.

"Then I think it's better that you leave him alone. For now at least." There's something odd in Danneel's tone, and Jared squints over at her, eyes searching her face.

"Why for now? How will it be different later?"

Danneel bites her lip. She looks torn, and all of Jared's senses go on high alert. "Is Jensen in trouble?"

"Not exactly," Danneel hedges. She isn't meeting his eyes now, and Jared's hand shoots out to grab her arm.

"What aren't you telling me? Danneel? Danneel," he presses, and she shakes his hand angrily away.

"Fine, it doesn't really matter now anyway. Jensen fell in love with a mortal, and, for our people, there are consequences for that."

Jared feels his blood turn to ice in his veins, and he leans forward, pinning Danneel with hands on either arm of her chair. "Consequences? What sort of consequences?"

"Once a warlock falls in love with a mortal, he has one full cycle of the moon to make the mortal love him back."

"How? With a spell?"

"No, there's no magic that can make two people fall in love."

Jared nods because Jensen has already told him that, although he's still stubbornly refusing to consider what exactly that means for Jared's own feelings.

"And what happens if the mortal doesn't fall in love with the warlock?"

Danneel's bottom lip trembles for a second, and then she purses them into a firm line. "Then the warlock's magic will be stripped from him."

Jared pauses, dumbstruck. Two days ago, he'd have said discovering that Jensen was just as human as he was would have been exactly what he wanted. Now he's not so sure. "So he'd still be Jensen, just without the-" Jared mimes a magical gesture, and Danneel laughs, the sound choked and containing no hint of humor.

"Oh, that's exactly what you'd like, isn't it? The perfect little boyfriend, mute and malleable and happy to bask in your reflected glory while the light of his own magic is torn from him."

Jared frowns. Torn and stripped don't exactly sound like painless methods of removal. "Does it-would it hurt to have it removed?"

"Hurt? Imagine having your heart ripped out of your body, imagine someone taking a knife and tearing the flesh away from your bones! Of course it will hurt. Magic isn't something we pull on like a scarf or a hat to ward away a chill. Magic is us, it's our essence, the part of us that glows the brightest, sings the sweetest. The part that makes us who we are."

"But then what-what happens afterward?"

"He'll be banished, but it won't matter because most witches and warlocks can't survive without their magic. I'll do what I can to help, but it will be difficult. I'll be risking banishment myself, which I couldn't give two shits about because they'd have to catch me first," she says, fire glinting in her eyes, "but I know Jensen, and I know he'd rather die than put someone else at risk to save himself."

Jared blinks rapidly, his vision blurring and stinging his sore eyes. "That can't-I don't want that to happen to Jensen. We have to do something!"

"Too late," Danneel says coldly. "Jensen's thirty days have almost passed. He's already returned home and reported to the council. The decision has been made."

"No! You said-before you said that it was best I keep away from him! You didn't say his time was already up!"

"It's as good as if you don't love him. What difference does a day make?"

"He has a day left? Danneel, you have to get me to him while there's still time! I have to convince the council-"

"It's too late, Jared. Once Jensen has gone before the council, the decision can't be reversed."

Jared's heart is pounding sickly in his chest, his thoughts veering, searching desperately for a way out. How could he have been so stupid, how could he have thought, even for a second that he didn't love Jensen? That there was a single thing on the planet that could ever change the way he felt about him? He would save Jensen, and if he couldn't- He clamped down on the thought, because panic was already clawing at him and making it almost impossible to think.

"Danni, there has to be something. Please!" Jared begs, hands scrambling to capture hers. "You don't have to do it for me, think about Jensen and what will happen to him!"

"It's too late-the only thing that can save Jensen now is if he sacrifices you-"

"Okay, yes, let's do that!"

"Jared, I mean actual sacrifice; robes and chanting and a dagger through the heart!"

Whoa. Jared sucks in a trembling breath, and then another, deeper one. He's not really ready to die, but if it's a choice between him and Jensen... "I'll do it."

"Jared," Danneel says a little despairingly.

"No, Danneel, I'm serious. This is my fault, I can't let Jensen... I want to do this."

Danneel looks shaken. Her hand plucks fretfully at a bright colored bangle at her wrist. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry, but you don't understand. Jensen would have to be the one to do it. And there's no way, no way he'd ever be prepared to harm you."

Jared moans, a lost sound that has more than one head turning in his direction. He barely notices them though, because he's dropping his head to rest it in his shaking hands.

"Jared," Danneel's voice is hushed and practically at his ear. She's so close he can smell her perfume and feel the soft strands of her hair brush against his neck. "There's maybe one thing we could try."

Jared jerks his head back, only missing beaning his head together with Danneel's thanks to her quick reflexes. "What? Anything, Danni, I'll do anything."

"It's dangerous, I couldn't be there to help you-"

"Help me what? Danni, seriously-"

"You could kidnap him, get him out of there before they can begin the ceremony."

Jared's eyes widen with hope. "That's possible? I can do that?" Jared frantically thinks back to all the action movies he's made, wonders if any of training he'd been given for them would be of use now, and then abruptly remembers that Danneel's talking about him heading off to do battle with a magical fucking foe. It's the equivalent of bringing a BB gun to a bazooka fight.

"Keep your voice down," Danneel hisses. "Maybe. Maybe, but it's risky. And you'd have to go into hiding afterwards. They'd never stop looking for the two of you. Jensen would never be safe."

"I don't care," Jared says, certain. "I'll do it. I can protect him."

"But your friends, your family. You would never be able to make contact with them again. And you'd have to give up your career."

"Danni, how many times do I have to say it? I. Don't. Care! Just tell me what I need to do."

Danneel sends a hunted look over her shoulder and then turns back to face Jared. She studies him long and hard, Jared's heart beating double time while he waits, until finally she sucks in a deep breath and nods.



The first step in Danneel's plan, apparently, was to arrange for an outbreak of diarrhea and vomiting on the set. Within the space of an hour, practically the whole cast and crew had made their way, stumbling and moaning, out to their cars, and the set had been declared closed until further notice.

Once everyone was gone, she sent Jared home to pack and warned him against doing anything obvious that might give any watching council members the heads-up as to what they were about to do. Jared only risked packing one small bag, stuffing it with as much cash as he had on hand, and arranging for Marie to come and pick up Harley and Sadie. When she arrived, he sent them off with stinging eyes, and then sat down to wait.

It's five hours later before he feels a rush of wind, and suddenly Danni is standing in front of him. For the first time since he's known her, Danni isn't looking like her usual cool and collected self. She's wearing a long dark raincoat, and has her bright red hair covered with a scarf. Overlarge, dark glasses complete the look-which frankly makes her look more conspicuous that her normal street clothes ever could have.

Danneel examines him from head to toe, and nods in approval at the small bag waiting at his feet.

"Here," she says, reaching into her pocket and tossing him a small leather pouch.

Jared weighs it in his hand, juggling it from side to side. It's fairly light and vaguely squashy to the touch. "What is it?" he asks, lifting it up to take a sniff.

"Poisonous for a start, so how about you get your nose out of there, big guy?"

Jared jerks the pouch away and holds it out at arm's length. "Poison? Danni, I'm not sure if I want to hurt anyone-"

"Oh, relax." Danneel grins. "It's not poison. But seriously, Jared, I'm a witch, and you're about to head off to take on a buttload of magical folk who aren't going to be anywhere near as friendly as me-probably a good idea if you bear that in mind and be a bit more cautious from now on?"

"Okay, point taken," Jared says, feeling slightly stung that he's already fucked up before the mission has even begun. "So what is this?"

"This is what's going to get you and Jensen home. Now, if we time this right, Jensen will still have his magic when you reach him, but he won't be able to risk using it anywhere within the council chambers-they'll be able to track him in an instant."

Jared nods, his hands twitching at his sides, part eager, part anxious, but all of him desperate to get moving and to finally be with Jensen again. "Do I use it to get me there, too?"

"No, I can do that. I'll just mask my magic so they can't track it back to me, but Jensen won't have enough time to cast a spell like that."

Jared nods, fingers nervously pulling and tugging at the pouch. Danneel reaches over to still his hands with her own. "Jared, this is really important, so you have to make sure you do everything exactly as I say, okay?" She waits for his nod, and pats his hand twice before releasing him. Jared feels like a fucking poodle who's just been trained not to pee on the rug. "Now, I'll get you as close to the council chambers as I can," Danneel continues, oblivious to his thoughts. "It'll be busy, and I don't know where exactly Jensen will be, but until you have him, you have to keep as low a profile as possible."

"Right, do I look okay? Will I blend in?" Jared asks, worriedly examining his jeans and shirt. "Should I be wearing robes or something?"

"Robes?" Danneel snorts. "You know this isn't Harry Potter, right?" Jared feels his face flush with embarrassment, and he nods quickly.

"I have a friend inside, Evelyn. She should be there at the main entrance, but if you can't get to her, or she can't risk acknowledging you, you're going to have to find Jensen on your own. Keep calm, don't go charging in, and don't raise anyone's suspicions, okay?"

"Okay," Jared agrees. "What do I do when I find him?"

"That's when you'll need this." Danneel taps at the pouch with a long, vivid-red, manicured nail. "Rip open the bag, and cover both of you with as much of the powder as you can. Make sure you're hanging onto Jensen at the time, and that way if the coverage isn't even, between the two of you it should give you just enough power to get home."

"Wait, that's it?" Jared barks out, startled.

"That's it? Jared, you have to take this seriously. If they realize what you're doing before you get Jensen out of there, then that's it for both of you! Trying to escape a council judgment carries a heavy punishment."

Jared's gulp sounds loud in the ringing deep silence. "How heavy?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Jared feels light-headed for a moment, and tells himself it's hunger and tiredness, not stark terror. When he glances back at her, Danneel is watching him with a satisfied glint in her eye. "Okay, that's all I can do," she says briskly. "The rest is up to you."

Jared nods, and ducks his head to plant a quick kiss on her soft cheek. "I guess I won't see you again?" he asks quietly.

"Huh." Danneel blinks, and her face clouds with sadness. "Probably not. Not for a very long time in any case."

"Okay, well, then I just want to say thanks." Jared takes a deep breath, and nods. "I've been an asshole, and I know this is all my fault and you're having to risk everything for me, but I want you to know that it'll be worth it. I'll love him enough that I'll make you proud of me."

"Oh, Jared." Danneel's face abruptly crumples, and she yanks him in for a hard hug. "I know you will," she says, and pushes him away so she can see his face. "You're perfect for each other, and I know you'll make him happy, and he'll make you just as happy in return." A single tear beads in the corner of her eye, trembling wetly before finally tipping over to slide down her face.

From somewhere inside the house comes the sound of a clock chiming, and Jared jerks toward the direction it came from, panicked. He doesn't own a clock that chimes. "Shit, Danni, is it time?"

"Yep." She scrubs at her eyes, then reaches over to place her hand on his forehead. "Take a deep breath, Jared, and remember what I said."

Jared nods and tries to shut his eyes all at the same time, but before they're even part way closed, he's overcome by the dizzying sensation of vertigo, followed by the unpleasant sensation of his stomach falling away from him, as though he's about to hit the downward slope on a roller coaster.

Jared slams his eyes the rest of the way shut and keeps them that way, with his hands fisted firmly against his face. He's concentrating so hard on not throwing up that it takes a second to register that the sensation of movement is gone: instead, his feet are once more firmly on the ground, while around him he can hear the sounds of people talking and footsteps falling from all directions.

When he cautiously lowers his hands to risk a peek, he finds himself in a large corridor. People are hurrying up and down it, most with tired, unhappy expressions on their faces. He's relieved to see he doesn't look out of place, just as Danneel had promised. He wants to start searching for Jensen immediately, but he forces himself to wait. His stomach is still churning worryingly, and he's pretty sure throwing up in the middle of the room isn't going to help in his attempts to remain inconspicuous.

From what he can see, the long corridor behind him leads outside; he keeps getting glimpses of a tree-lined street through the dark wood, but the door is so huge that it seems as though it's only inching open just enough to allow each person through. The stream of traffic around him is steady but light, and no one looks in the mood to answer questions. Jared hesitates, wishing desperately he'd thought to get Danneel to draw him some sort of map, and turns in a full circle, trying to work out which way to go.

The hallway is lined with doors, all normal sized but ornately carved in dark oak paneling. Ahead of him in the opposite direction of what he's assumed is both the entrance and exit is another cavernous door, this one reaching up to the high vaulted ceiling, about twice as high as Jared could reach on his tiptoes. This door, however, has another, smaller door set within it that opens automatically as each person approaches. Unlike the automatic doors he's used to, this one is made out of wood, silent and efficient, and shadowed so that it's impossible to see what lies beyond it.

Jared hesitates, uncertain, and then spies a small sign hanging above the door in tilting, ornate, gold copperplate script: Renewals, Reversals, and Revocations.

Revocations seems to be written in a slightly different font to the other words, burning a bright, sulfuric yellow, dangerous and repellent. Jared wipes his hands nervously on his jeans, checks his pocket again for the leather pouch, and hitches his backpack more securely over his shoulder.

He has a boyfriend to rescue.

*~*

The sliding doors are as silent as they'd appeared at a distance, and Jared finds himself at and then through them a lot quicker than the original distance seemed to suggest. He pauses inside, eyes darting wildly around him, and is nudged painfully from behind.

"Hey, sorry," a short, plump man looks up to say. "Although you are kind of blocking the entrance here. Are you in line?" He tilts his head to the right, and Jared follows his gaze to what looks like the beginnings of a huge queue. It snakes around, the path defined by pretty floating striped ropes, and stretches in a confusing line almost the entire circumference of the room. And that's saying something because the room is big.

"No." Jared shakes his head firmly. "No, I'm definitely not." He's not sure exactly how much time he has left; he's been racking his brains, but he just can't remember the exact hour he met Jensen, let alone hazard a guess as to when precisely Jensen fell in love with him. From what Danneel said though, it must be pretty much now, which means he has no time to waste waiting in freaking line.

The short man shrugs and sidesteps Jared to join the never-ending line of people, where he immediately strikes up an animated conversation with the guy in front of him.

They both look relaxed and cheerfully resigned to their long wait, so Jared's pretty sure whatever they're waiting for isn't going to be where Jensen is. He imagines Jensen's line will be somber and much shorter, nothing but terror and pain at the end of it.

Jared bites down hard on his lips, and refuses to give in to the rolling wave of sickness threatening to sweep over him. With fresh resolve, he picks his way around the room. The advantage of his height means that he can see that despite the room being a single space, it's actually split off into semi-defined areas, which presumably match the three functions the door signs implied it provides. Jared can't find any other indication of what each area is for beyond that, and the room is crowded with numerous, unnamed doors like the corridor outside, which is making his search, if that was possible, even more difficult.

Even towering above most of the room as he does, the number of people filling it is frighteningly huge, and a feeling of dread is pooling rapidly in his stomach as the minutes tick down and he's still no closer to finding Jensen.

Despite his promises to Danneel, Jared's about ready to start yelling Jensen's name when he feels a hand tugging at his elbow. He spins round, and his backpack nearly takes out a mother with a toddler in her arms. Jared's muttering fast apologies even as he's trying to locate the person who grabbed him from the surrounding throng. He's embarrassingly close to tears when he feels another tug on the hem of his shirt, and this time he drops his hand immediately to grab the wrist belonging to those fingers.

The woman he's hanging onto is ancient, face a mass of wrinkles and age spots, topped off with gleaming, tightly curled hair. The eyes looking up at him, however, are bright blue, a twinkle hidden in their depths that's shadowed right now with concern.

"Jared?" she asks, and only waits for his quick nod before she's beckoning him with a crooked finger and disappearing into the crowds. Jared lets out a soft curse and charges off after her, throwing apologies behind him and not much caring anymore if he's blowing his cover.

Despite her age, she's quick on her feet, and her tiny size means she has an easier time navigating the packed room than Jared does. Jared, however, is far more invested in keeping up with her than anyone else is in getting in his way, and it isn't long before he's caught up. Once he has her within reach he makes sure this time that he doesn't lag more than an inch or two behind her.

After what seems like miles, finally she stops, and Jared rests gratefully against a pillar. The old lady really has stamina. "I'm Evelyn," she turns to say. "Did Danneel-?"

"Yes," Jared cuts her off. "And I really am grateful for everything you've done, and I don't mean to be rude, but I'm on something of a deadline here. Do you know where Jensen is?"

She tilts her head to one side. "Of course; they'll just be finishing up through here." She lifts a hand to run a finger along the smooth surface of a door that Jared is almost positive wasn't there a second ago, and then her words finally penetrate.

"Finishing up? Oh god, I have to get in there-"

Evelyn blinks and stares back at him in surprise. "Oh no, dear, you can't go in while they're in session, and there's really nothing you can do to help. Anyway, it shouldn't be too much longer. Why don't you have a seat and wait for him here?" She waves her hand toward a small bench that Jared is also pretty damn sure didn't exist until a second ago, and he abruptly realizes that Danni has left the old lady in the dark. No wonder Danni had warned there was a risk he wouldn't be able to find her; Evelyn has no idea what he intends to do. Jared wonders suddenly if she even knows he's mortal.

"Sorry, Evelyn," he says, impatiently, "but I really don't have time for this. If you don't want to get involved, I suggest you get the hell away from here," he thinks to add, because he might be rude, but he's not a complete asshole, and then he's grasping the door handle and shouldering his way into the room.

As it turns out, he probably didn't need to put quite so much force behind it; the door opens easily, and Jared spills into the room, arms flailing wildly as he tries to save himself from careening over a tall, spindly lamp that's situated stupidly just inside the door. Although he manages not to land on his ass, the lamp isn't quite so lucky, and Jared winces as it hits the ground and shatters loudly.

There's a small stunned silence, and then Jensen says, "Jared, what the fu-uh, hell are you doing here?"

Jared takes in the rest of the room in one quick glance; a huge wooden table sits at the front on a raised platform, three hunched figures behind it, dressed in subdued colors that leave them shadowy and ill-defined against the dark walls they're sitting against.

Jensen is standing up with a chair pushed back behind him, and a look of astonishment on his features. Jared is probably the last person Jensen is expecting to see. After everything he's done, he has no doubt that Jensen would be certain that Jared would happily abandon him to his fate, if he could even be bothered to take the time to find out just what exactly that fate was. Jared firms his shoulders, determined to see the plan through, to save Jensen and to give Jared enough time to make it up to him.

A hundred years ought to do it.

The men on the dais seem to have finally realized what Jared's presence means, and they rise to their feet as one. Jared ignores them to crunch his way over broken glass to Jensen's side, and grabs him up into one-armed hug. With his other hand he pulls the leather pouch from his pocket and bites down on the laces fastening it like it's a grenade pin. When he jerks his head back, the pouch rips straight down the middle, and Jared quickly holds onto the bottom before lifting it high and upturning the contents over both of their heads.

He closes his eyes and holds on tight like Danneel had instructed, and waits for the feeling of weightlessness to hit him again.

And then he waits some more. Finally, he edges open his right eye to a slit, and peers around him to confirm that, yep, they're still in the same room.

In his arms he becomes slowly aware that Jensen is struggling weakly, and seems to be choking out words through a coughing fit.

"Jared," he wheezes, "Jared, what's going on?"

"I'm rescuing you," Jared hisses, and yanks Jensen back tight against him, desperately shaking the pouch to release the last few fluttering drops of powder.

He doesn't bother to close his eyes this time, so he's got a perfect view of the men at the top table stepping down from the platform and making their way toward them. Up close, they don't look as shadowed or grim. In fact, one of them is wearing a tie with kittens gamboling across it, but Jared's an actor. No one knows better than he does how deceptive appearances can be.

Danneel's warnings ringing in his ears, and unsure how much time they have left, Jared pulls away slightly, still clinging tight to Jensen but putting enough distance between them so that he can see his face. Jensen looks completely stunned, his eyes deep pools of shocked green. His face is dusted with the faulty magical powder, tinting his lashes and high cheekbones a soft gold that gleams gently in the shadowed room.

"I'm sorry," Jared mutters, "so sorry, Jensen. I shouldn't have said any of those things to you-I didn't mean it, I was just shocked, you know? No," he admits honestly, because he owes Jensen the truth, and anyway, he won't be around for long enough to be embarrassed by it, "not shocked, terrified. I know it's stupid, and I'm an enormous pussy, but Christ, Jensen, witchcraft? How the fuck is that even possible? But it was just for a second, okay, maybe a few hours, but I'm over it now. I don't care if you're a werewolf or Bigfoot or the fucking Lock Ness monster-I love you, and I really wish you would forgive me, but if you can't I just needed you to know that before-"

A sudden movement catches his eye, and Jared sees one of the men in front of him, fucking Kitten-Tie, reach into his front suit pocket and pull out a freaking wand. Jared glances down to find Jensen staring up at him, mouth opening and closing like an adorable fish, and Jared swoops down to capture his gold-dusted lips with his own.

Jensen resists for a second, and then melts into him with a moan. Jared tries to keep it tender, soft, but the sweet taste and feel of Jensen in his arms again, maybe for the last time, washes over him, and he crushes him tight, biting and sucking and thrusting his tongue into Jensen's mouth to tangle with his own.

The kiss seems to go on forever, before Jared realizes "seems" probably isn't the right word because he actually is getting a little short of breath. He eases away, dips immediately back down because he isn't ready to let Jensen go just yet, and notices that the room is a lot brighter than it was before.

He edges back a little, and Jensen chases his lips, so it takes another few moments before he remembers there was something strange going on. This time when he pulls back, he twists his head to take in the room, which is decidedly more cheerful than it had been when he'd first arrived. Then he notices the repaired lamp, and realizes he'd probably taken about forty percent of the room's lighting out when he'd smashed it.

Kitten-Tie is watching them from under furrowed brows. "Mr. Ackles?" he says, and then lets out a small cough when Jensen just stares dreamily up at Jared.

"Um, Mr. Ackles, do you need to reschedule?"

Jared glances around him, noticing the cheery painting on the wall to his left, the fire exit diagram across from it, and the pen in Kitten-Tie's hand.

"Mr. Ackles." Kitten-Tie is firmer this time, and Jensen straightens in Jared's arms to look over at him. Jared drops his own arms to his side, and hears the little leather pouch hit the ground with a dull thud. He kicks it carefully off to the side and hopes no one notices.

"I asked if you wanted to reschedule?"

Jensen pushes Jared away and shakes his head hurriedly. "No, no, that won't be necessary," he says quickly. "We were just-actually, I'm not sure exactly what just happened, but honestly I'm fine to continue, and I really do apologize for the interruption. Jared, too," he says, and kicks Jared hard in the shin.

"Ouch! Jesus, Jensen!" Jensen goes to kick him again, and Jared dances back out of reach. "Um, I mean I apologize, too, your... honor?" He adds a little bow to the end to be safe, and bites back a yelp when Jensen kicks him again.

"Wait outside," Jensen hisses, and Jared freezes, because he isn't sure quite what's going on here, but he's still not convinced they're completely out of the woods yet. Jensen obviously reads his indecision in his face, because his expression softens and he reaches out to squeeze Jared's hand in his. "Seriously, Jared, I'm nearly done here, and I don't want to have to come back and face that line again tomorrow. Just wait for me outside-we'll talk as soon as I get out."

"You'll still have your magic?" Jared checks, just to be sure.

Jensen blinks, and then nods. "What? Yeah, sure, if you'll get out of here and let me finish up getting my license renewed."

"Renewed?" Jared asks, a horrible certainty growing within him. Jensen nods, and Jared swallows hard. "Okay," he says, fighting back the humiliation that's clawing at his insides. Despite it, or perhaps because of it, Jared bends down for one last kiss. Just in case Jensen remembers he was mad at him when he gets out and Jared doesn't get the chance again for a while.

He heads back for the door, mindful of the lamp this time and sketches a quick wave and mouths Sorry! to the guys seated at the head of the table again as he leaves. Everyone but Kitten-Tie waves cheerfully back.



By the time Jensen finally appears, in reality only fifteen minutes later but seeming a hundred times longer to Jared, he's pretty much figured out that Danneel had been fucking with him, and he's just rushed in to save Jensen from the equivalent of the magical DMV. The furious anger lasted for maybe a minute, before he was forced to concede that he probably had it coming.

He's pretty much over his annoyance and happily replaying the kiss yet again when Jensen nudges him with his shoulder. Jared breaks into a grin so wide his face aches.

"Want to get out of here?" Jensen asks.

"God, yes," Jared groans. He's expecting to retrace his steps from earlier in the afternoon, but of course he's forgetting he's with a witch-warlock now, and in the blink of an eye he finds himself standing in his TV room, none of the vertigo from earlier plaguing him, and watching fondly as Jensen shakes the last of the gold dust from his hair onto the rug like Harley after a bath.

He reaches over to thumb away a stray gleam of gold under Jensen's eye, as Jensen stands placidly in front of him. Jared pulls back to examine the smudge on the pad of his thumb and holds it out to Jensen.

"What the fuck is this stuff, anyway? Some kind of magical aphrodisiac?"

Jensen grabs his wrist and guides his thumb into his mouth, sucking gently. Jared groans, and feels his dick stiffen at the twin points of arousal: Jensen's lips wrapped tight around the digit, while his tongue suckles softly to lick every last trace of powder away.

Jensen pulls off with a soft pop and grins. "Nope, because that doesn't exist. I think it's just powdered sugar dyed gold."

Jared groans again, from embarrassment this time, and drags Jensen down onto the couch beside him. "You know your cousin is to blame for this?" he demands, and pulls and tugs at Jensen until he's curled up against him.

"Mmm," Jensen sighs happily when Jared starts dragging his fingers through his hair to remove the last traces of sugar. "I'm not entirely sure what this is, but I definitely have to remember to send her a thank you card."

Jared lets out a soft growl, and Jensen peers up at him through lids half-closed in pleasure. "It's that bad? Okay," he says, pulling away slightly so he can sit a little straighter against the couch back, and Jared immediately regrets even mentioning the subject. "What did she do this time?"

Jared reaches out and runs a soothing finger across the bridge of Jensen's nose. "Well, she told me that if a witch, sorry, warlock falls in love with a mortal, they have thirty days to make them fall in love back before they're stripped of their magic and banished, which is basically a death sentence. Oh, unless they agree to kill the mortal who did them wrong."

Jensen grins, and then the grin widens until he's laughing, and Jared is staring back at him sulkily. "I know it sounds far-fetched now, but at the time-"

"It's not that," Jensen stops laughing to say, lips still twitching. "It's just that I've barely watched any TV in my life, and yet you're the one that gets suckered in by what was basically the plot of the Little Mermaid, but with less water."

Jared jerks upright, and then scowls furiously as it all slots together. "It is! Goddammit she was right, she is the wicked fucking witch in this version!"

"Don't be mad," Jensen says, reaching up to place soft kisses along Jared's neck until Jared feels his anger swiftly morph into something far more enjoyable. "She's got a good heart."

"Deep down," Jared concedes. "Very, very deep down."

"And she did get us back together," Jensen points out.

Jared lets out a soft moan when Jensen's hands start to stray.

"She did." Jared groans again, and surges up to push Jensen down beneath him. "Okay, you're right, we'll get her the biggest thank you card in the fucking shop."

"Well, maybe not that big," Jensen murmurs, "we don't want it going to her head."

"I don't mind," Jared gets out, only half of his mind on the conversation. "She can grow it to the size of a pumpkin-she deserves it."

"Yeah, but now she's in fairy tale mode, if she thinks we owe her too big, she might decide she wants our first-born son. You know, with her being wicked and all."

"Huh, yeah, maybe," Jared says, definitely with other things on his mind, until Jensen's words penetrate, and he jerks roughly away. "Shit, Jensen, first-born son? Are you saying...? You never answered me before, and although I'm pretty sure I can handle coming out to the press, I don't think I can pull off the first male pregnancy."

Jensen grins and stretches luxuriously. "Like I said, Jay, you're not actually the one getting fucked here."

"So does that mean-?"

Jensen shrugs and gets up to stand beside the couch. He reaches up to drag his t-shirt over his head and holds out his hand. "Want to go give it a try and see?"

Jared takes him in, broad chest, golden skin, the vulnerable curve of his shoulder sweeping into his neck, and scrambles eagerly to his feet, a feeling of bone-deep contentment settling over him. "You know," he says consideringly, "I always thought Darrin was an idiot for trying to make Samantha give up all her awesome powers."

Jensen pauses and tilts his head cautiously to one side. "And now?"

Jared grins. "Now I know he was." And he takes Jensen's hand in his to lead him from the room.

~End~



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