I Dream of Jensen (Part Five)
Title: I Dream of Jensen
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
They spend the evening like fanboys: eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching four episodes of Modern Sorcery in a row. They don’t talk much, other than Jensen asking questions about the show and Jared answering them. Around midnight, Jensen pauses the end credits and finishes off his sixth beer. The white noise of pouring rain fills the otherwise silent apartment, while thunder rumbles softly in the distance.
“So? Up for another one?” Jensen asks Jared, but he gets no answer. Looking down, he finds Jared sound asleep, every bit the sweetest, floppy-haired angel there is as his head rests on Jensen’s shoulder. The dogs are also sleeping, Harley sandwiched between Jensen and Jared and Sadie on the rug next to the couch. Aww, Jensen thinks with a smile. All tuckered out. He grows slowly until he’s about ten feet tall, and then he lifts Jared over his shoulder and rests him there, careful not to wake him. Likewise, he picks up the dogs, one in each arm, and then carries the sleeping trio to Jared’s bedroom. He sets the dogs on their doggie beds before turning to Jared's bed. He zaps the covers, and they roll open as he gently rests Jared down. Another zap swaps Jared’s clothes for his sleeping wear, which Jensen is delighted to see are only a pair of striped pajama bottoms, leaving his chiseled chest exposed to the world. And oh how Jensen wants to touch!
No, Jensen, you can’t, he orders himself. You KNOW you can’t! And besides, he doesn’t like you. Well, fine, he likes you, but he doesn’t LIKE-you like you. He likes David. His heart pangs at the thought, more than Jensen expects it to, and it frightens him a little. Then Jared rolls onto his side and snuggles into his pillow, and Jensen’s fingers find their way into Jared’s soft hair. His heartache melts away, and Jensen allows himself one, comforting caress, and no more. He steps away so that his master is out of reach. As it should be, he decides. His heart pangs again, but he ignores it this time.
“Sleep well, master,” Jensen whispers. The covers roll back up, and Jensen floats out of the room. His bottle is resting on the coffee table, right where Jared left it, and Jensen turns to smoke and dives in. He rematerializes next to his own little bed, and with a snap, he’s in his own PJs and settled under his own covers. Technically, Jensen doesn’t need to sleep, but he does it anyway. It’s relaxing, and it makes him feel a little more human and a little less genie.
Big day tomorrow, he thinks as he nestles into his own pillows. Get some rest. His heart gives one last pang for Jared, and Jensen nods in acknowledgement. I know. But it’s never gonna happen, and you know it. Let’s just find happiness in Jared’s happiness, okay? It’s the least we can do for such a kind master.
His heart and mind settled, Jensen shuts his eyes and falls fast asleep.
He’s roused just over an hour later when a giant doggie nose sniffs at the hole at the top of the bottle lamp. The storm is raging outside now, and when lightning cracks and lights up both his bottle and all of Jared’s front room, the doggie nose disappears, replaced by a scared whine. Jensen floats up and peers out over the edge of the lamp.
“Sadie? What’s the matter?”
The lightning crashes again, and she jumps at the sound. She’s shaking nose to tail. Jensen stays small and flies down, landing gently on her snout. “Poor girl,” he soothes, petting her soft fur. “Scared of the storm, huh?” She whines in doggie talk, which any genie can understand perfectly, and Jensen nods as he listens. “I don’t think you’ll wake up Jared,” Jensen tells her, addressing what she just told him. “I can hear him snoring all the way in here.” Another crack of lightning, and Sadie jumps and lets out a yelp. Jensen grows big enough to catch her, and he feels her heart pounding away against him. “You know, it’s a lot quieter inside my lamp. Would you like to try sleeping in there?” She wags her tail, and Jensen gives her a little kiss on her head. “All right. Here we go…”
He turns them both to smoke, and once they’re back inside the lamp, he creates a doggie bed for her next to his bed. But she doesn’t go near it: she jumps onto the big bed at once and looks back at Jensen, waiting for him to join her. He chuckles, and the doggie bed disappears. “Okay, you win,” he smiles, lying down next to her. “But no hogging the covers.” She licks his face, and he snaps his fingers to shut off the lights. They’re both asleep in minutes.
The next morning, Jared is awakened by a crash. He sits up fully alert at once, as his shocked, wide eyes search the room. Harley is on a rampage. Everything in Jared’s room is turned over or messed up, and right now the large dog is in the closet, pulling item after item out in his teeth.
“Harley?! What’s wrong?”
The dog pays no attention to the human, just keeps grabbing things, tossing them out, and sniffing further inside. Jared gets out of his bed and is forced to pull Harley by his collar to get him out of the closet. He soothes his big hands over the dog’s body as he kneels down in front of him. “Hey! What’s going on, buddy?” Harley whimpers something back, and Jared watches the dog’s eyes looking all over, as if he’s still searching for something. That’s when Jared realizes that Sadie isn’t in the room. “Aww, is that it? Are you wondering where your sister went?” Jared stands up and pats Harley on his back. “Come on, boy. She has to be in the apartment somewhere…”
Harley races past his human’s long legs as they begin their search. Jared calls for Sadie and checks the kitchen and the bathroom, but she isn’t in there. Then he joins Harley in the main room for a look, but he doesn’t see her anywhere in there, either. “Starting to get why you were so worried, bud,” Jared comments. “Sadie? Where are ya girl?”
He hears her bark, but it’s very quiet, like she’s somewhere outside. Jared opens his windows at once and looks out. “SADIE?” he calls. She barks again, but it’s from behind him, in the apartment. He turns around and scans the room. Harley’s ears are perked, and he’s sniffing by the coffee table. Sadie’s soft bark sounds a third time, and Harley’s tail wags happily as he barks back, licking at the base of the genie lamp. Jared smiles as he moves over and picks up the bottle. He peers inside.
“There you are,” he smiles, as a tiny version of Sadie barks back at him from the floor of Jensen’s round room. “Did Jensen put you in there?”
Sadie barks again, tail wagging away, and she runs out of Jared’s line of sight. He hears her barking and licking, followed by a groan of, “Nooo, five more minutes, mom, please…”
“That’s it, get that lazy genie up,” Jared laughs. He hears more licking, and finally, Jensen hollers that he’s up. A few moments later he wanders into view, yawning and stretching.
“Mornin’ Jared,” he drawls. “Thanks for the warning about Sadie being a slobber machine.”
“Yeah, she’s a happy girl,” he coos down at his little girl, who is jumping circles around Jensen’s legs. “You two ready to come out and start the day?”
Jensen yawns again but nods. “Yeah. Back off a minute, Sasquatsch, so I don’t get smoke in your eye.”
Jared sets the bottle down, and blue smoke pours out of the top at once. It grows and forms into Sadie and a very tired Jensen, who is still in his sleeping clothes. The dogs rub against each other and lick and wag their hellos, while Jensen toddles into the kitchen, wearing only a flannel version of his usual genie pants…and one adorable accessory. Jared follows him in with a grin.
“Your night cap is just darling,” he teases, loving the old fashioned stocking cap patterned with moons and stars that rests over Jensen’s hair and hangs down to his shoulder. Jensen doesn’t seem to sense the sarcasm at all: he just offers a sleepy smile to Jared as a cup of coffee materializes in his hand.
“Thanks. My favorite part is the pompon at the end.” He snaps his fingers, and the kitchen table is instantly set. A serving plate piled high with pancakes serves as the centerpiece.
“Jensen, I told you no more freebies!” Jared whines.
“Who said this is a freebie?” Jensen sits down at the table and takes a fork. “I wanted pancakes, so here are my pancakes.”
“Then why are there two place settings?”
“Because I SHARE, Jared. I’m a nice guy.” Grabbing a few pancakes from the stack, Jensen points to the empty chair. “You coming or what?”
Jared shakes his head at him but chuckles as he joins him. “Thanks, Jensen. For SHARING.”
“You’re welcome.”
They both saw into their pancakes and begin to eat. The dogs rush into the room, and Jared stands up to pour their breakfasts into their bowls, but Jensen motions for him to sit back down. “THEY still get freebies,” he reminds him with a smirk, and with a snap of his fingers, both food bowls and water dishes are full. Soon the kitchen fills with a symphony of chewing, swallowing, and the occasional lip smack, as all four of them enjoy their meals.
“So why was Sadie in your lamp?” Jared asks as he starts on his third pancake.
Jensen finishes the bite in his mouth before he answers, “Storm scared her.”
“There was a storm last night?”
Jensen laughs and looks back at Sadie. “Told you he wouldn’t hear you.” Sadie makes a grumpy sound, and Jensen laughs again. “Sure, you say that NOW…”
Jared smiles at the exchange. “You understand her?”
“Of course! I understand all animals and every language. I’m awesome like that.” He pauses to give a smug grin before taking another bite. Jared grins back and motions for him to continue. “Anyway, the storm was really loud, so she came over and asked me if I could help her sleep. She was scared she was going to wake you with her barking. I told her it was a lot quieter in my lamp, so she bunked with me the rest of the night.”
Jared is touched. “Thank you for taking such good care of my best girl.”
“My pleasure.” Jensen dabs the syrup from his lips with a napkin as he stands up. “So! You ready to make your dream come true?”
“Absolutely! Just have to take the dogs for a walk and shower.”
“I’ll do you one better,” Jensen tells him. “You shower, and I’ll walk the dogs.”
“You sure? I mean, you don’t have to…”
“Sure I’m sure! It’s been seven years since I’ve been out of my lamp, remember? It’ll be great to get some fresh air. Just gotta wash up and change my clothes.” He disappears for a moment and then reappears with freshly-washed and still damp hair and the same shirt and jeans he was wearing the night before. “Oops, forgot the shoes.” A finger snap, and socks and sneakers appear on his feet. Then Jensen grabs the leashes off the hook and jogs over to the dogs. “Come on, guys, let’s go for a walk!”
The bustle of wagging tails and scampering legs heads out the door and down the building’s stairs, leaving Jared alone but smiling. There’s an intoxicating aroma lingering in the air: woodland musk mixed with crisp autumn air and a hint of sea minerals.
“Jensen,” Jared moans, head buzzing from the genie’s freshly showered scent. He makes a mental note to ask where Jensen buys his shower gel-even though deep down, he already knows something so wonderful can’t be manufactured. It’s all magical. Just like Jensen, Jared smiles. He wonders if David smells half as good in the morning.
Then his cell phone rings, so Jared takes it out of his back pack and looks at the screen to see who is calling. It’s Chad. Jared clicks the button and says good morning to his friend.
“Hey, man! How was sleeping in this morning?”
“Weird,” Jared laughs, “but nice. I could get used to this. You guys surviving without me?”
“Barely, but we’ll manage,” Chad jokes back. “The all-nighter was insane, but we got everything done. And dude, you are NOT gonna believe what happened this morning.”
“Really? What?”
“Well, your douchebag crush came in and told us to forget about the desert sets-you know, the ones we just spent ALL NIGHT redoing just for his stupid idea? Yeah.”
Jared can’t believe that. Crush or not, that was just rude of David, and Jared knows it. “Ouch. What happened?”
“Sullivan blew a gasket-UGH, I wish you coulda been there to see it! He got all up in David’s face and pulled rank. He’s like, ‘Are you a producer, David? Or a director? Are you on the writing staff? What about the Art Director-is that you? NO, David, you’re an actor. You may have the Suits from the network eating out of your hand, but that stops RIGHT the FUCK NOW.’”
“Holy shit!”
“I know! And then he threw the new script revisions at David and told him to start memorizing. God, the look on David’s FACE!”
Jared winces; if Chad enjoyed it, then it must have been really bad for David. Tomorrow you’ll have someone in your corner, Jared promises his crush. And that reminds me… “Hey, Chad, did they find anybody to play Malakai yesterday?”
Chad laughs hard. “Yeah, right. The Suits are giving Eric till 5 pm today and then that’s it. I’ll call ya if any miracles happen.”
Jared beams at the news, happy that his wish is still on schedule. Not that he doubted Jensen for a second, but still, it’s good to hear confirmation from his friend. “Thanks Chad. Good luck, man.”
“Yeah, thanks. We all miss you, Jare. Bye!”
Jared clicks his phone off. “This is so COOL!” he shouts to his empty apartment. His cheeks are hurting from the nearly constant grinning, but he can’t help it: he hasn’t felt this great in, well, EVER. As he strolls to the bathroom to take his own shower, he catches his new reflection in the mirror, and he pauses to smile at it.
“Talk about a fresh start and endless possibilities,” he chuckles, thinking back to yesterday and everything that has happened since he last ‘spoke’ to himself in the mirror. “Well? Go lather up, Mr. Actor! You’ve got a new life to start living!” He whistles the theme song from Modern Sorcery as he strips off his clothes.
In complete contrast to Jared’s merriment is the pure wretchedness surrounding David Boreanaz. He’s been in a terrible mood since Eric Fucking Sullivan dared to insult him that morning. And the fact that the Suits granted him one more day of emergency auditions despite all the hypnotizing work David put in to change their minds isn’t sitting well with him, either. Now he’s in his trailer, stewing in exasperated juices as he thinks it all over.
Damn right I’m an actor, he seethes. I MADE this show! People tune in to watch ME! And why the hell are they still pushing this…Maluku character?! I only get 85% screen time as it is, and most of that is in shared scenes! Now some hack is going to cut it down even more! The ratings will drop, I know it. Way to ruin the show, Sullivan.
David picks up his coffee mug as he starts to pace. “Has to be a way out of this,” he thinks out loud. “If only I’d gotten that LAMP!” He bristles at the memory of the bronze lamp crumbling into rust, and his snake ring’s ruby eyes flare into glowing red. David’s eyes immediately burn with the same magical fury, and he fights the urge to blow up his trailer. “Calm down,” he tells himself. “Focus. You’ll think of something. You always do.”
He sips at his coffee…and promptly spits it out.
“GAAAAABE!”
David’s long-suffering personal assistant jumps when he hears his name hollered from inside the trailer. He keeps his mind blank, not letting himself wonder what he did wrong this time-or right, or in between, or anything. It doesn’t matter what he does, because his boss is always in a bad mood in the morning. So Gabe takes a deep breath, climbs up the trailer’s stairs, and pokes his head in the door.
“Sir?”
David throws the remaining coffee into Gabe’s face. “I want coffee, not mud in a cup!”
“At once, sir. Sorry, sir.” Gabe grabs a towel as he heads toward catering. He thanks God that at least the coffee was lukewarm this time. Chad from Props is in the caf as Gabe arrives, and he salutes his friend with his travel mug.
“Lemme guess,” Chad says in greeting, “your boss is being even more of an asshole than usual today.”
“He doesn’t like being corrected, especially by Eric,” Gabe answers; his boss may be an asshole, but Gabe never takes the risk of joining in with the badmouthing. He knows all too well what being ‘fired’ by David really means. Grabbing a freshly brewed cup, he offers Chad a brisk smile. “Wish me luck.”
“It’s been nice knowing you!” Chad calls after him instead. Gabe hurries back to the trailer, knocks twice, and enters. David is pacing across the room, so Gabe sets the coffee down on the table.
“Anything else I can get you, sir?”
David laughs bitterly. “How about the last ten years of my life back?” Gabe says nothing in reply-he learned long ago not to bother-as David drops into his leather chair. “All that searching…all that WAITing…” He shakes his head. “I wasted a small fortune on bribes alone, just so I could find the next part of the trail. And all of that crap!” He points at the ancient artifacts on the gothic altar. “Summoning the spirits of ex-masters, making blood offerings to demigods, and for WHAT? To finally find the damn thing and then watch it disintegrate in my hands?!” His snake ring lights up, and he points his finger and shoots a bolt of energy at an idol on the altar. It blows up, and Gabe has to shield himself from flying chunks of debris.
Heaving a long sigh, David rubs his forehead. “I was so damn CLOSE, Gabe. It isn’t fair.” He motions to bring the coffee over, and the assistant complies at once. David takes a sip and, to Gabe’s great relief, swallows it down. “So close,” David says again. “And now that idiot Sullivan getting his way again… Did you hear about this morning?!”
“Yes, sir, I was informed of his last chance auditions. I think it’s a big mistake.”
“It’s a gigantic mistake,” David hisses, not taking any comfort in his assistant’s ass kissing. “Why bother casting another character when they've already got the BEST actor in their cast?"
“Well, why don’t you play Malakai?"
David shoots his assistant a glare for daring to speak up. “What?”
“I-I’m just saying, sir, that if they're unwilling to get rid of the character, you should play the role. Then you'll get twice the screen time."
A sly grin skulks onto David’s face. “Now there’s an idea with merit. I'd have to hypnotize Sullivan to do it, and that would mean giving the ring extra juice to override his strong will...but it's do-able." He twirls the ring on his finger as the plan plays out in his mind. "Very do-able." He smiles at Gabe. “I knew there was a reason I kept you alive.”
Ignoring his assistant’s stammered-out “thank you,” David moves to the stone tablet that doubles as his table and removes the cover. Then he removes his snake ring, and Gabe looks away, never EVER wanting to see the rotted skin and bone that exists under that evil thing again. Once he hears the familiar ching! of metal hitting its stone fitting in the tablet, he looks back. David is wearing that grin that always fills Gabe with relief that his boss is happy-and dread at what it means for everyone else.
“It’s time to show the idiots around here what a little REAL sorcery can do,” David announces, and as he pinches his finger to drop some blood on the stone, the ring and every carved rune light up in red.
On to Part Six
Master Post
Author: queeberquabbler
Fic Prompt: Disney's Aladdin
Pairing: J2
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for swearing. No warnings otherwise--it's your standard J2 :)
Disclaimer: See Master Post.
They spend the evening like fanboys: eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching four episodes of Modern Sorcery in a row. They don’t talk much, other than Jensen asking questions about the show and Jared answering them. Around midnight, Jensen pauses the end credits and finishes off his sixth beer. The white noise of pouring rain fills the otherwise silent apartment, while thunder rumbles softly in the distance.
“So? Up for another one?” Jensen asks Jared, but he gets no answer. Looking down, he finds Jared sound asleep, every bit the sweetest, floppy-haired angel there is as his head rests on Jensen’s shoulder. The dogs are also sleeping, Harley sandwiched between Jensen and Jared and Sadie on the rug next to the couch. Aww, Jensen thinks with a smile. All tuckered out. He grows slowly until he’s about ten feet tall, and then he lifts Jared over his shoulder and rests him there, careful not to wake him. Likewise, he picks up the dogs, one in each arm, and then carries the sleeping trio to Jared’s bedroom. He sets the dogs on their doggie beds before turning to Jared's bed. He zaps the covers, and they roll open as he gently rests Jared down. Another zap swaps Jared’s clothes for his sleeping wear, which Jensen is delighted to see are only a pair of striped pajama bottoms, leaving his chiseled chest exposed to the world. And oh how Jensen wants to touch!
No, Jensen, you can’t, he orders himself. You KNOW you can’t! And besides, he doesn’t like you. Well, fine, he likes you, but he doesn’t LIKE-you like you. He likes David. His heart pangs at the thought, more than Jensen expects it to, and it frightens him a little. Then Jared rolls onto his side and snuggles into his pillow, and Jensen’s fingers find their way into Jared’s soft hair. His heartache melts away, and Jensen allows himself one, comforting caress, and no more. He steps away so that his master is out of reach. As it should be, he decides. His heart pangs again, but he ignores it this time.
“Sleep well, master,” Jensen whispers. The covers roll back up, and Jensen floats out of the room. His bottle is resting on the coffee table, right where Jared left it, and Jensen turns to smoke and dives in. He rematerializes next to his own little bed, and with a snap, he’s in his own PJs and settled under his own covers. Technically, Jensen doesn’t need to sleep, but he does it anyway. It’s relaxing, and it makes him feel a little more human and a little less genie.
Big day tomorrow, he thinks as he nestles into his own pillows. Get some rest. His heart gives one last pang for Jared, and Jensen nods in acknowledgement. I know. But it’s never gonna happen, and you know it. Let’s just find happiness in Jared’s happiness, okay? It’s the least we can do for such a kind master.
His heart and mind settled, Jensen shuts his eyes and falls fast asleep.
He’s roused just over an hour later when a giant doggie nose sniffs at the hole at the top of the bottle lamp. The storm is raging outside now, and when lightning cracks and lights up both his bottle and all of Jared’s front room, the doggie nose disappears, replaced by a scared whine. Jensen floats up and peers out over the edge of the lamp.
“Sadie? What’s the matter?”
The lightning crashes again, and she jumps at the sound. She’s shaking nose to tail. Jensen stays small and flies down, landing gently on her snout. “Poor girl,” he soothes, petting her soft fur. “Scared of the storm, huh?” She whines in doggie talk, which any genie can understand perfectly, and Jensen nods as he listens. “I don’t think you’ll wake up Jared,” Jensen tells her, addressing what she just told him. “I can hear him snoring all the way in here.” Another crack of lightning, and Sadie jumps and lets out a yelp. Jensen grows big enough to catch her, and he feels her heart pounding away against him. “You know, it’s a lot quieter inside my lamp. Would you like to try sleeping in there?” She wags her tail, and Jensen gives her a little kiss on her head. “All right. Here we go…”
He turns them both to smoke, and once they’re back inside the lamp, he creates a doggie bed for her next to his bed. But she doesn’t go near it: she jumps onto the big bed at once and looks back at Jensen, waiting for him to join her. He chuckles, and the doggie bed disappears. “Okay, you win,” he smiles, lying down next to her. “But no hogging the covers.” She licks his face, and he snaps his fingers to shut off the lights. They’re both asleep in minutes.
The next morning, Jared is awakened by a crash. He sits up fully alert at once, as his shocked, wide eyes search the room. Harley is on a rampage. Everything in Jared’s room is turned over or messed up, and right now the large dog is in the closet, pulling item after item out in his teeth.
“Harley?! What’s wrong?”
The dog pays no attention to the human, just keeps grabbing things, tossing them out, and sniffing further inside. Jared gets out of his bed and is forced to pull Harley by his collar to get him out of the closet. He soothes his big hands over the dog’s body as he kneels down in front of him. “Hey! What’s going on, buddy?” Harley whimpers something back, and Jared watches the dog’s eyes looking all over, as if he’s still searching for something. That’s when Jared realizes that Sadie isn’t in the room. “Aww, is that it? Are you wondering where your sister went?” Jared stands up and pats Harley on his back. “Come on, boy. She has to be in the apartment somewhere…”
Harley races past his human’s long legs as they begin their search. Jared calls for Sadie and checks the kitchen and the bathroom, but she isn’t in there. Then he joins Harley in the main room for a look, but he doesn’t see her anywhere in there, either. “Starting to get why you were so worried, bud,” Jared comments. “Sadie? Where are ya girl?”
He hears her bark, but it’s very quiet, like she’s somewhere outside. Jared opens his windows at once and looks out. “SADIE?” he calls. She barks again, but it’s from behind him, in the apartment. He turns around and scans the room. Harley’s ears are perked, and he’s sniffing by the coffee table. Sadie’s soft bark sounds a third time, and Harley’s tail wags happily as he barks back, licking at the base of the genie lamp. Jared smiles as he moves over and picks up the bottle. He peers inside.
“There you are,” he smiles, as a tiny version of Sadie barks back at him from the floor of Jensen’s round room. “Did Jensen put you in there?”
Sadie barks again, tail wagging away, and she runs out of Jared’s line of sight. He hears her barking and licking, followed by a groan of, “Nooo, five more minutes, mom, please…”
“That’s it, get that lazy genie up,” Jared laughs. He hears more licking, and finally, Jensen hollers that he’s up. A few moments later he wanders into view, yawning and stretching.
“Mornin’ Jared,” he drawls. “Thanks for the warning about Sadie being a slobber machine.”
“Yeah, she’s a happy girl,” he coos down at his little girl, who is jumping circles around Jensen’s legs. “You two ready to come out and start the day?”
Jensen yawns again but nods. “Yeah. Back off a minute, Sasquatsch, so I don’t get smoke in your eye.”
Jared sets the bottle down, and blue smoke pours out of the top at once. It grows and forms into Sadie and a very tired Jensen, who is still in his sleeping clothes. The dogs rub against each other and lick and wag their hellos, while Jensen toddles into the kitchen, wearing only a flannel version of his usual genie pants…and one adorable accessory. Jared follows him in with a grin.
“Your night cap is just darling,” he teases, loving the old fashioned stocking cap patterned with moons and stars that rests over Jensen’s hair and hangs down to his shoulder. Jensen doesn’t seem to sense the sarcasm at all: he just offers a sleepy smile to Jared as a cup of coffee materializes in his hand.
“Thanks. My favorite part is the pompon at the end.” He snaps his fingers, and the kitchen table is instantly set. A serving plate piled high with pancakes serves as the centerpiece.
“Jensen, I told you no more freebies!” Jared whines.
“Who said this is a freebie?” Jensen sits down at the table and takes a fork. “I wanted pancakes, so here are my pancakes.”
“Then why are there two place settings?”
“Because I SHARE, Jared. I’m a nice guy.” Grabbing a few pancakes from the stack, Jensen points to the empty chair. “You coming or what?”
Jared shakes his head at him but chuckles as he joins him. “Thanks, Jensen. For SHARING.”
“You’re welcome.”
They both saw into their pancakes and begin to eat. The dogs rush into the room, and Jared stands up to pour their breakfasts into their bowls, but Jensen motions for him to sit back down. “THEY still get freebies,” he reminds him with a smirk, and with a snap of his fingers, both food bowls and water dishes are full. Soon the kitchen fills with a symphony of chewing, swallowing, and the occasional lip smack, as all four of them enjoy their meals.
“So why was Sadie in your lamp?” Jared asks as he starts on his third pancake.
Jensen finishes the bite in his mouth before he answers, “Storm scared her.”
“There was a storm last night?”
Jensen laughs and looks back at Sadie. “Told you he wouldn’t hear you.” Sadie makes a grumpy sound, and Jensen laughs again. “Sure, you say that NOW…”
Jared smiles at the exchange. “You understand her?”
“Of course! I understand all animals and every language. I’m awesome like that.” He pauses to give a smug grin before taking another bite. Jared grins back and motions for him to continue. “Anyway, the storm was really loud, so she came over and asked me if I could help her sleep. She was scared she was going to wake you with her barking. I told her it was a lot quieter in my lamp, so she bunked with me the rest of the night.”
Jared is touched. “Thank you for taking such good care of my best girl.”
“My pleasure.” Jensen dabs the syrup from his lips with a napkin as he stands up. “So! You ready to make your dream come true?”
“Absolutely! Just have to take the dogs for a walk and shower.”
“I’ll do you one better,” Jensen tells him. “You shower, and I’ll walk the dogs.”
“You sure? I mean, you don’t have to…”
“Sure I’m sure! It’s been seven years since I’ve been out of my lamp, remember? It’ll be great to get some fresh air. Just gotta wash up and change my clothes.” He disappears for a moment and then reappears with freshly-washed and still damp hair and the same shirt and jeans he was wearing the night before. “Oops, forgot the shoes.” A finger snap, and socks and sneakers appear on his feet. Then Jensen grabs the leashes off the hook and jogs over to the dogs. “Come on, guys, let’s go for a walk!”
The bustle of wagging tails and scampering legs heads out the door and down the building’s stairs, leaving Jared alone but smiling. There’s an intoxicating aroma lingering in the air: woodland musk mixed with crisp autumn air and a hint of sea minerals.
“Jensen,” Jared moans, head buzzing from the genie’s freshly showered scent. He makes a mental note to ask where Jensen buys his shower gel-even though deep down, he already knows something so wonderful can’t be manufactured. It’s all magical. Just like Jensen, Jared smiles. He wonders if David smells half as good in the morning.
Then his cell phone rings, so Jared takes it out of his back pack and looks at the screen to see who is calling. It’s Chad. Jared clicks the button and says good morning to his friend.
“Hey, man! How was sleeping in this morning?”
“Weird,” Jared laughs, “but nice. I could get used to this. You guys surviving without me?”
“Barely, but we’ll manage,” Chad jokes back. “The all-nighter was insane, but we got everything done. And dude, you are NOT gonna believe what happened this morning.”
“Really? What?”
“Well, your douchebag crush came in and told us to forget about the desert sets-you know, the ones we just spent ALL NIGHT redoing just for his stupid idea? Yeah.”
Jared can’t believe that. Crush or not, that was just rude of David, and Jared knows it. “Ouch. What happened?”
“Sullivan blew a gasket-UGH, I wish you coulda been there to see it! He got all up in David’s face and pulled rank. He’s like, ‘Are you a producer, David? Or a director? Are you on the writing staff? What about the Art Director-is that you? NO, David, you’re an actor. You may have the Suits from the network eating out of your hand, but that stops RIGHT the FUCK NOW.’”
“Holy shit!”
“I know! And then he threw the new script revisions at David and told him to start memorizing. God, the look on David’s FACE!”
Jared winces; if Chad enjoyed it, then it must have been really bad for David. Tomorrow you’ll have someone in your corner, Jared promises his crush. And that reminds me… “Hey, Chad, did they find anybody to play Malakai yesterday?”
Chad laughs hard. “Yeah, right. The Suits are giving Eric till 5 pm today and then that’s it. I’ll call ya if any miracles happen.”
Jared beams at the news, happy that his wish is still on schedule. Not that he doubted Jensen for a second, but still, it’s good to hear confirmation from his friend. “Thanks Chad. Good luck, man.”
“Yeah, thanks. We all miss you, Jare. Bye!”
Jared clicks his phone off. “This is so COOL!” he shouts to his empty apartment. His cheeks are hurting from the nearly constant grinning, but he can’t help it: he hasn’t felt this great in, well, EVER. As he strolls to the bathroom to take his own shower, he catches his new reflection in the mirror, and he pauses to smile at it.
“Talk about a fresh start and endless possibilities,” he chuckles, thinking back to yesterday and everything that has happened since he last ‘spoke’ to himself in the mirror. “Well? Go lather up, Mr. Actor! You’ve got a new life to start living!” He whistles the theme song from Modern Sorcery as he strips off his clothes.
In complete contrast to Jared’s merriment is the pure wretchedness surrounding David Boreanaz. He’s been in a terrible mood since Eric Fucking Sullivan dared to insult him that morning. And the fact that the Suits granted him one more day of emergency auditions despite all the hypnotizing work David put in to change their minds isn’t sitting well with him, either. Now he’s in his trailer, stewing in exasperated juices as he thinks it all over.
Damn right I’m an actor, he seethes. I MADE this show! People tune in to watch ME! And why the hell are they still pushing this…Maluku character?! I only get 85% screen time as it is, and most of that is in shared scenes! Now some hack is going to cut it down even more! The ratings will drop, I know it. Way to ruin the show, Sullivan.
David picks up his coffee mug as he starts to pace. “Has to be a way out of this,” he thinks out loud. “If only I’d gotten that LAMP!” He bristles at the memory of the bronze lamp crumbling into rust, and his snake ring’s ruby eyes flare into glowing red. David’s eyes immediately burn with the same magical fury, and he fights the urge to blow up his trailer. “Calm down,” he tells himself. “Focus. You’ll think of something. You always do.”
He sips at his coffee…and promptly spits it out.
“GAAAAABE!”
David’s long-suffering personal assistant jumps when he hears his name hollered from inside the trailer. He keeps his mind blank, not letting himself wonder what he did wrong this time-or right, or in between, or anything. It doesn’t matter what he does, because his boss is always in a bad mood in the morning. So Gabe takes a deep breath, climbs up the trailer’s stairs, and pokes his head in the door.
“Sir?”
David throws the remaining coffee into Gabe’s face. “I want coffee, not mud in a cup!”
“At once, sir. Sorry, sir.” Gabe grabs a towel as he heads toward catering. He thanks God that at least the coffee was lukewarm this time. Chad from Props is in the caf as Gabe arrives, and he salutes his friend with his travel mug.
“Lemme guess,” Chad says in greeting, “your boss is being even more of an asshole than usual today.”
“He doesn’t like being corrected, especially by Eric,” Gabe answers; his boss may be an asshole, but Gabe never takes the risk of joining in with the badmouthing. He knows all too well what being ‘fired’ by David really means. Grabbing a freshly brewed cup, he offers Chad a brisk smile. “Wish me luck.”
“It’s been nice knowing you!” Chad calls after him instead. Gabe hurries back to the trailer, knocks twice, and enters. David is pacing across the room, so Gabe sets the coffee down on the table.
“Anything else I can get you, sir?”
David laughs bitterly. “How about the last ten years of my life back?” Gabe says nothing in reply-he learned long ago not to bother-as David drops into his leather chair. “All that searching…all that WAITing…” He shakes his head. “I wasted a small fortune on bribes alone, just so I could find the next part of the trail. And all of that crap!” He points at the ancient artifacts on the gothic altar. “Summoning the spirits of ex-masters, making blood offerings to demigods, and for WHAT? To finally find the damn thing and then watch it disintegrate in my hands?!” His snake ring lights up, and he points his finger and shoots a bolt of energy at an idol on the altar. It blows up, and Gabe has to shield himself from flying chunks of debris.
Heaving a long sigh, David rubs his forehead. “I was so damn CLOSE, Gabe. It isn’t fair.” He motions to bring the coffee over, and the assistant complies at once. David takes a sip and, to Gabe’s great relief, swallows it down. “So close,” David says again. “And now that idiot Sullivan getting his way again… Did you hear about this morning?!”
“Yes, sir, I was informed of his last chance auditions. I think it’s a big mistake.”
“It’s a gigantic mistake,” David hisses, not taking any comfort in his assistant’s ass kissing. “Why bother casting another character when they've already got the BEST actor in their cast?"
“Well, why don’t you play Malakai?"
David shoots his assistant a glare for daring to speak up. “What?”
“I-I’m just saying, sir, that if they're unwilling to get rid of the character, you should play the role. Then you'll get twice the screen time."
A sly grin skulks onto David’s face. “Now there’s an idea with merit. I'd have to hypnotize Sullivan to do it, and that would mean giving the ring extra juice to override his strong will...but it's do-able." He twirls the ring on his finger as the plan plays out in his mind. "Very do-able." He smiles at Gabe. “I knew there was a reason I kept you alive.”
Ignoring his assistant’s stammered-out “thank you,” David moves to the stone tablet that doubles as his table and removes the cover. Then he removes his snake ring, and Gabe looks away, never EVER wanting to see the rotted skin and bone that exists under that evil thing again. Once he hears the familiar ching! of metal hitting its stone fitting in the tablet, he looks back. David is wearing that grin that always fills Gabe with relief that his boss is happy-and dread at what it means for everyone else.
“It’s time to show the idiots around here what a little REAL sorcery can do,” David announces, and as he pinches his finger to drop some blood on the stone, the ring and every carved rune light up in red.
On to Part Six
Master Post