The Human Shop
Chapter 1
The Purple Room
Jared stayed quiet, keeping his head down and trying to look as small as he could. He’d done well, he knew that. Jensen wanted to talk to him and that meant everything was going according to Jim’s plan. It kind of came strange to Jared though, someone like Jensen being so predictable? But he had a mission and he wasn’t going to question his orders. He knew well what he was supposed to do. Charm Jensen into taking him in.
He was taken to the highest part of the building as far as he could tell, inside one of the four corner towers. The elevator stopped and Jensen stepped out first, followed by Misha who was still dragging Jared.
Jared studied the older man, trying to figure out his angle. Since there were no other guards up here Jared decided Misha had to be the one Jensen trusted the most, or knowing what he knows of Jensen, the only one he trusted. So he must be loyal. But that didn’t mean he liked what was going down here anymore than Jared did. He’d seen the look of disgust on the man’s face down there.
He looked more confident up here though, his face emotionless as he pushed Jared past the doors Jensen had just passed.
Jared tried not to asp, he really did but… It was so beautiful. The whole room. It looked like it was taken out of a damn Disney movie, it was dreamy.
Everything was in perfect sync. Jared didn’t even know where to begin with words to describe the place. Well, the first word that came to mind was Purple. Everything was purple, different shades of it but all the same very purple. And it smelled perfect. It smelled like Daffodils and Jasmines, mixed with a hint of mint. It smelled like Jensen. Jared had gotten a sniff in the elevator but here, it was the source of that heavenly smell. Jared felt dizzy.
He heard Jensen dismissing Misha as he tried to take in the rest of the room. The wall in front of him was actually made of glass, the whole thing a giant window, covered with a violet curtain, just the way Jared had seen on every window from the outside. In front of the window, there was a big desk. It was Mahogany, Jared could tell, but it was painted in a dark shade of purple, somehow even more beautiful than the original color. There were two well cushioned chairs close to where Jared was standing now and another chair, no scratch that, a throne on the other side, closer to the window. On the right end of the room there was a violet sofa, as long as the wall behind it. It was almost as big as the bed Jared had back home. And considering how big he was, his bed was really big. Really, really big. The walls were painted in a light shade of purple, almost gray, and there were almost no accessories on any of them. Only two gold swords on the left wall. Knowing Jensen they were probably very real and very old.
On the ground, there was an even more expensive Persian carpet. If Jared had the time, he could easily get lost in the patterns.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jared jumped as he heard Jensen’s voice from much closer than he’d remembered the man to be.
“Yes Sir… Very.” He answered, straightening his back and turning his head to look Jensen right in the eyes.
Wow! Ok, while they were talking about beauty, hello gorgeous green eyes. Jensen was the perfect addition, the exact shade of beauty that should possess this room, this palace. Jared felt like he’d go blind if he stared too long as Jensen flashed him his perfect white teeth and passed him to go sit on the couch.
“Come on, sit down.” He said behind his back and had to look back midway as Jared’s chains moved with his feet.
“Oh right, sorry I forgot about that.” Jensen said and he pressed a button on his watch. It didn’t even take a second before Misha opened the door and walked inside.
“Problem?”
Jensen pointed at Jared’s chains, distracted for the second, giving Jared the perfect chance to inspect the accessory on Jensen’s wrest.
Soon Jared was free and damn it felt really good. He pulled his muscles, giving his long body the stretch it was itching for. If he gave Jensen a full package show of his muscles meanwhile, well he didn’t feel guilty about it.
Misha was dismissed again and Jared finished his walk to the couch, sitting on the edge of it, on the opposite end of where Jensen was leaning back.
“Good thing that we got the chains out of the way. I’m sorry you had to bare them for so long.” Jensen said, still smiling charmingly. It was obscene how if you just saw him like this, you’d never even suspect he’d be running a human shop.
“That’s alright. I was actually more surprised that I got to take them off.” Jared gave back a small smile, playing his cards carefully. This was the trickiest part.
“And why is that?” Jensen’s eyebrows went higher on his beautiful forehead, his eyes widening in real shock. Wow. Talk about acting.
“Well, I was kind of expecting to be sent to where everyone else was going.” He shrugged dismissively.
“But you are not everyone else, are you?”
Jared felt his blood run cold for a second. What if Jensen knew? ‘Don’t be stupid boy! Just play your part.’ He heard Jim in his head again.
“No I’m Sam. I’m Sam Winchester.” He smirked as he said the words, having practiced them a thousand times before.
“It’s good to meet you Sam Winchester. I’m Jensen Ackles. This whole industry is mine. And this is my office, where I take my clients and make deals.”
Jensen was telling him these stuff for a reason and Jared knew exactly where this was going.
“Cool. So, why exactly am I here? You know damn well, I have no money to give you. That’s why I got on that train in the first place.” Jared said, playing his part just as well as Jensen played his. He was a professional for heaven’s sake.
“Oh, I’m well aware of that Sam. It’s not money I want from you. As you can see I’m pretty well set on that part.” There was that flash of white again. Ok maybe Jared wasn’t as professional as he claimed to be. Not when it came to this creature.
“What is it that you want then? What do I have to offer?” He said, trying to sound curious.
“We will get there Sam, be patient. Why don’t you tell me a little about your life before here? Who you were, what you did… I want to know why someone like you would end up here?” Came the question Jared had been preparing the most for.
He and Jim had spent hours arguing on what his answer should be. Jim believed he should make a story about a tax accountant, getting fired and his boyfriend leaving him, ending up on the streets. Jared on the other hand had studied hours about Jensen. He didn’t just want to be the toy-boy. He wanted to have access to the building. He wanted Jensen to trust him with the work too. So he had decided on another approach.
“What do you even mean someone like me?” He said frowning a little.
Jensen just shrugged, his eyes going up and down Jared’s body, as if to make his point.
“You’re well built, you seem healthy, you sound smart and you talk like educated people. And you’re not really hard on the eyes either.”
Jared let out a fake laugh, sounding pained.
“Yeah… well, I didn’t really have a family growing up, but yeah, I went to college, dropped out and joined the army. “ Jared felt Jensen shift on the couch at that but didn’t stop.
“Then, I made a mistake… I screwed up, got people killed… at least that’s what they told me when they were ‘letting me go’.” He finished with a sad smile.
“What do you mean what they told you?”
“I don’t remember anything from before that...accident. Apparently hit my head pretty bad and well, lost my memories… so I have no idea what really happened but what they accuse me of? I would never do something like that.”
“Memory loss, huh? Interesting… but I still don’t know why you’re here Sam Why didn’t you just get another job?.” Jensen looked a little confused.
“You don’t understand… They took away my life, my dignity… and well, they made sure no one would hire me. I think they set me up Jensen and well… I ended up in the streets, no money, no family… All my friends had died on the last mission. So when your guys found me, told me there was a place I could go to get away from those monsters… As you said it yourself, I’m smart.”
Jensen was now smirking, like he’d just won the damn lottery. See? Jared WAS a professional. He knew his case very well and knew exactly how to put himself in the blind spot.
“I see… And what did you exactly expect to happen to you here?” Those green eyes were searching his, as if he could see right through Jared and once again Jared found himself struggling with the lie.
“I… uh… I don’t really know what i was expecting… but I figured whatever it was, it was better than dying in the streets right?”
The answer seemed to have been enough for Jensen because he nodded and sighed dramatically.
“I guess that is the main question here isn’t it?” He got up from his place, motioning for Jared to do the same.
“Do you now know what’s going on here? In this building?” He asked as he led Jared to one of the seats in front of the big desk, going around the desk himself.
Jared shrugged.
“Kinda… This is what the world calls a human-shop, right?” Jensen nodded.
“Yes it is exactly that. I knew you were smart.” He smirked. “It’s amazing isn’t it? All this beauty and the harshness in the same place? I love the way it matches the world outside…” Jared could tell Jensen was in love with his handy work, his “business”. He knew Jensen wasn’t really waiting for an answer.
“What I don’t get, Jensen, is why I’m here, in your office. I still don’t know what you want with me.”
Jensen sat back on his seat, picking up the bottle of whiskey and filling two glasses with the expensive liquid. Jared could tell only by the smell that it was at least a century old.
“My favorite kind… If it’s not this old, it’s just poison for your liver. And I’m planning on living a long healthy life.” He winked at Jared. Jared just raised his brows to insist on his unanswered question.
“You’re stubborn, I like that…” Jensen handed him one of the glasses before taking a sip from the other one.
“Normally, I’d put you with the rest of those pretty boys but I don’t know there’s just something about you… And well, I’ve been thinking for some time that I wouldn’t mind having a servant myself… you know? The last one didn’t really work out, which is why this time, I brought you here…” Jensen drank the rest of his glass putting it down and stared at Jared through his tiny glasses. It was stupid how they looked so good on the man. Jared was sure they were supposed to be looking stupid on a grown up man.
“I will treat you just like my other servants. You live here, eat with me, your needs will all be taken care of and in return you will take care of my sexual needs. You can accept my offer or you can still go down and join the others, until there’s a customer who likes you and will buy you from me. The choice is yours.”
Jensen smiled at Jared warmly, it was so out of place really. He smiled like he’d just offered to buy Jared a house on his good will alone. No expectations in return. Jared really didn’t need any persuading, he’d come here exactly to do this, but he was fairly sure there was no one in this world who could say no to this man. As far as he was concerned there was no downside to this.
He watched as Jensen put some papers in front of him and held out a pen to him. He stared at those gloved fingers, the long feathery pink scarf, the pink plush lips, the ever green eyes, and suddenly he was more into this whole mission than he was supposed to be.
He nodded once and took the pen, dragging the papers to himself and signed them without even reading them. He made the well-practiced “Sam Winchester” signature, smiling back at Jensen. It wasn’t his signature anyway.
“Didn’t you want to read them first Sam?” Jensen asked a little suspicious and Jared shifted a little, acting ashamed.
“Sorry… I don’t wanna know about the details of how I’m supposed to take care of your needs. I like to be surprised. And since I was in the army I doubt there’s anything you can do that’ll bother me.” He smirked and Jensen seemed convinced. He nodded once and then his covered fingers pushed the same button from before on his watch.
Just like the last time, within seconds Misha was inside, waiting on Jensen to tell him why he’s summoned.
“Please take Sam to the hospital and then to his room. Make sure the hot bath is ready when he gets there. Put Cohen as his personal guard and call Dani, tell her I need her here first thing tomorrow morning.”
Misha nodded once and stepped out again, this time leaving the door open for Jared to go out.
“Don’t hesitate to ask Matt for anything you need Sam. He’s yours now. And I think the clothes in the room will fit you well for now. Tomorrow Danneel will come and get your size. She will take care of everything from there.”
Jared just stared at the other man for a few seconds. One second they were talking and now he was supposed to leave? But…
“What about lunch?” He asked, his eyes staring into Jensen’s. “You said we will eat together.”
Jensen gave him this sweet smile and for just a second Jared forgot where he was and who this guy really was.
“Don’t worry baby. You will get plenty of chances to eat with me. But not today. You are excused.” He winked on the last sentence as if it would make it any less, damn Jared for even thinking it, any less rejecting.
He just nodded once, trying not to pout and got to his feet, turning his back to Jensen and to the door.
“And Sam, don’t pout. Although I find your enthusiasm very cute, like I said, we have plenty of time to spend with each other.”
Jared just walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Misha didn’t even throw him a glance, staring forward as he guided Jared to the elevator.
“So… Misha, how long have you been…” Jared started when the tension seemed to be getting too much but he was cut short with Misha’s firm deep voice.
“We don’t talk. I don’t care how lonely you get, you never talk to guards unless you need something. You never talk to the servants, or anyone for that matter except for Jensen and Danneel. And you should not care what everyone does. Keep your nose out of everything and you will be safe. Try anything else and you won’t make it past the second week.”
Jared stared at him for a bit longer and then nodded. So much for bonding with the head guard.
Chapter 3