Wings of Desire
Fic Title: Wings Of Desire
Author: sasha-dragon
Fandom/Genre: RPS, Romance, Humor
Pairing(s): Jeff/Jensen
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 17200
Warnings: None
Summary: Jared, the Commander of the Guardian Angels, is having a tough time; he’s got Jensen, a man so accident prone that three Guardian Angels have quit already, and there’s Jeff a hapless Guardian Angel who is on his last chance. Jared decides to bring the two of them together, what could possibly go wrong!
Notes: After a long period of writer's block my darling muse sat up sniffed the air and decided to get his backside into gear and I've actually finished a story! I have alist of people I want to thank for their help, to start with there is my wonderful artist beelikej who's orginal piece was so inspiring. I also want to thank chellexxx for her endless sjupport and encouragement in the face of my constant wibbling. I owe a huge thank you tojj1564 who perfomred a sterling service as emerngency beta as I knew I'd left it too late for my poor long suffering beta bigj52 to turn around for today's deadline. Thank you all for your help and support as I gibbered in a corner and sat up late and night scribbling frantically to get this done.
Please go and check outbeelikej's amazing art here
As Jared walked through the fallen leaves beneath his feet they crunched, crackled and filled the crisp cold air with a spicy scent. He heard barking and he looked up and smiled, Elizabeth was here with her dogs enjoying their daily walk. Of all the personal paradises in heaven this was one of his favourites to visit, he loved the simplicity and peace, and it was all too rare he had the chance to catch up with his old friend and spend time with her and her dogs.
Jared was just about to make his presence known and join Elizabeth on her walk when a soft rustle of wings stopped him. He turned to greet the newcomer, “Osric, what can I do for you?”
His assistant stood beside him holding two files, “Commander, I’m sorry to disturb you but there’s a couple of urgent matters we need to discuss.”
Jared looked over at Elizabeth and sighed regretfully; if he had time, he’d visit her later and they could sit in her kitchen and talk over coffee and cake. As an angel he didn’t need food and drink, but he always enjoyed the conversation. Jared raised his hand and the woods disappeared and in its place was his office in the garrison.Jared walked to his desk and sat down.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking Commander but what is so special about that woman’s heaven?” Osric asked
Jared smiled fondly, “Elizabeth was my last charge before I was promoted to Commander of the Guardian Angels. I was always rather fond of her, unlike many people she didn’t fill her heaven with material things, all she wanted was to be reunited with every pet she’d ever owned. And to be well enough to enjoy long walks with her dogs. It was a pleasure to help craft her paradise.” Jared thought wistfully of afternoons in Elizabeth’s kitchen surrounded by sleeping dogs with a cat on his lap as they talked. “She also makes the most sinful chocolate cake you’ve ever tasted, I’ll take you for coffee one day, she’d love to meet one of my friends. I have a feeling she’d take one look at you and you’d be adopted, I wouldn’t be her favourite Angel anymore.”
Osric laughed as Jared frowned comically at him, “That’s for another time, I believe you said we had urgent matters to discuss.”
Osric nodded, “We have a situation with Jensen Ackles.” He placed one of the files in front of Jared.
Jared opened the file and began reading, he was aware of Jensen and his reputation as the most accident-prone man on the Guardian Angel roster. As he read, he noticed the file was filled with annotations. “Can you tell me what the annotations are for?”
“They refer to the injury files we keep on Jensen, there’s nearly enough of them to fill their own filing cabinet now. There’s even a coloured coded filing system to the injuries now,” Osric confided proudly.
Jared nodded somewhat distracted by the thick file and its contents, then he looked up at Osric with a bemused expression on his face, “How on earth did he nearly cut his finger off?”
Osric clicked his fingers and a red file appeared, he quickly flicked through the pages. “That happened while Jensen was at college. He was opening a can of something called spam and according to his first Guardian Angel Elisha, the little key thingy broke and the metal strip rebounded wrapping itself tightly around Jensen’s finger cutting it deeply. This incident required Jensen to attend the E.R. where a doctor cut the can away and managed to loosen the metal, freeing his finger. Fortunately, there was no lasting damage.” Osric closed the file and waited patiently.
“I see.” Jared muttered as he continued down the impressive list of injuries Jensen had sustained in his lifetime, “And what about the time he broke his arm?”
The red file disappeared and a white one replaced it, as Osric opened it he asked, “Which arm?”
Jared’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “The right one.”
“First or second time?”
“I think we’ll go with the first time.” Jared replied
“When Jensen was thirteen, he tripped over his grandmother’s cat and fractured his arm in two places.”
Jared hummed and went back to the file; there had been cuts, bruises, broken bones, concussions, burns and a couple of blood transfusions. “What exactly does Jensen do for a living? I can’t remember if he’s special forces or a police officer?”
Osric shook his head, “I believe he’s an Elementary school teacher.”
Jared tried not to laugh, “Ah I see, it can be a very hazardous profession.” He frowned, “I believe you said something about a first Guardian Angel, how many has Jensen had?”
“Jensen’s first Guardian Angel was Elisha, he had to take prolonged sick leave after an incident one Christmas involving a ladder and a string of lights. According to our Seraph healers he’s coming along nicely, and he no longer jumps at loud noises. Then there was Hannah.” Osric shuffled uncomfortably and his wings fluttered slightly as he mentioned Hannah’s name.
“I get the impression there’s a quite a story there.” Jared commented
Osric straightened, “It was before you were promoted and returned to heaven, the incident lead to Zachariah stepping down as Commander.”
Jared had been very familiar with Zachariah and his prejudices. For a chief Guardian Angel, he hadn’t much cared for humans, calling them ‘Mud Monkeys’ and insisting they cluttered up God’s paradise with their presence. He’d always been surprised Zachariah lasted as long as he did in the role of Commander. “Do go on, I need to be fully briefed if I’m to deal with this situation properly.”
“Yes Commander. It seems Hannah couldn’t take the constant stress of watching over Jensen and developed battle fatigue. It led to an unfortunate incident and Jensen was injured, the report is on page fifty of his file.”
Jared turned to page fifty to read Thaddeus Master of Discipline’s report on the incident. Hannah had lost her head after Jensen inadvertently knocked himself out on the underside of his desk while retrieving a pen that had rolled underneath it. When Jensen came to and staggered to the classroom door for help, Hannah picked up a text book and struck him on the back of the head with it, in her words “To try and knock some sense into him”. Jensen has sustained a concussion and needed four stitches in a head wound.
Jared looked up from the file, “That was a very serious incident, no matter how trying are charges are, we aren’t supposed to batter them when they frustrate us.” Jared frowned, “Why did Zachariah step down because of this?”
“When Hannah was brought before Zachariah, our esteemed Ex Commander suggested it would’ve been better if Hannah had just smitten Jensen and got it over with. As it would save everyone a lot of paperwork and effort in the long run. It seems word got back to the Archangel Michael and he was less than pleased about it.”
“I wonder how Michael found out?” Jared asked as Osric smirked then tried to look innocent. Zachariah had never been a popular commander and his views on humans were not widely shared. “So, Jensen has had two Guardian Angels….”
“Actually, it’s three, and now Balthazar has put in a request to be transferred to the garrison on the borders of hell. He feels that battling the minions of Satan would be easier than trying to keep Mr Ackles in one piece.”
“I see, so Jensen will soon be without a Guardian Angel. Considering his propensity for injury I think we need to resolve this situation urgently.” Jared stood and walked over to a large round marble table in the corner of his office. “Perhaps we should see how he is getting on.”
Jared laid his hand on the cool white marble, “Jensen Ackles,” he said softly, and the marble beneath his fingers grew warm and rippled gently as the figure of a man appeared out of the milky depths.
Jared studied Jensen, with his wire rimmed glasses and sweater vest he was the very picture of a teacher. The knot on his tie was loose and the top button of his shirt was open, his jacket was slung over one shoulder and there was a bag full of books hung over the other; it seemed Jared had found Jensen at the end of the day.
“Show me.” As Jared spoke the table rippled again as cars and buildings rose up and Jensen began to walk towards a car.
“Hey Jensen, wait up.” Jensen groaned, he really wasn’t in the mood to stand and chat, all he wanted to do was get home and have a long soak in a hot bath. Then head out to help Kane set up the haunted house at his bar. He took a deep breath, pasted a smile on his face and turned around, “Hey Rob, everything alright?”
Rob patted Jensen on the shoulder and flinched when Jensen winced, “Shit, sorry about that I forgot, I never knew you could dislocate a shoulder shutting a door.”
Jensen rolled his eyes, “You can’t normally, but if you’re running late, manage to spill coffee all over the place then slip on the janitor’s newly polished floor, it’s easy.” Jensen made a sliding motion with his foot and nearly overbalanced, fortunately Rob reached out and steadied him, “I went one way and my arm went the other, at least I didn’t break it this time.”
Rob nodded in sympathy, “I’ve got to admit I’ve never seen someone put their shoulder back by slamming it into a wall before. I take it you’ve done it before then?”
Jensen shrugged and immediately regretted it as his sore muscles shrieked in protest at the sudden movement. “It’s not exactly a prescribed medical practice, but I’ve dislocated this shoulder three times now, and my right one twice. so, I’m kinda used to it and it’s cheaper than the E.R.”
“Right,” Rob sounded uncertain as he looked at Jensen with concern.
“Anyhow I’m fine, what did you want me for?”
Rob held out a thick sheath of papers, “Principal Kripke wants you to fill these insurance waivers, he said you know what to do.”
Jensen took the papers off Rob and gave him a weary smile, “Sure, I’ll have them back to him in the morning.” Jensen yawned and rubbed the back of his neck, it was going to be a long assed night what with filling in forms and helping at the bar. Jensen weighed up his options, he could just say screw it go home and crawl into bed until next Wednesday, but he’d promised to help Kane. And if he didn’t turn up, Kane would just turn up at his apartment door convinced he was lying in a pool of blood. He might as well give in to the inevitable and help his best friend, he’d just get Kane to do the heavy lifting.
Rob was still standing watching him expectantly, “Is there anything else?” Jensen asked.
Rob tilted his head to one side, “If I was you, I’d have a word with your Guardian Angel. I think he’s napping on the job. That’s the third time this semester you’ve had to sign insurance wavers, I think you hold the record for the most entries in the accident book.”
Jensen laughed mirthlessly, “Dude, if there is such a thing as a Guardian Angel, I think mine quit a long time ago. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and try not to drown in my bath.”
Rob laughed, “Good luck, keep your phone with you so if you get your big toe stuck in the tap, you’ll be able to call the fire department.” Rob was still laughing as he walked away.
Jensen put the insurance wavers on the roof of the car and rummaged around in his bag for his car keys muttering to himself as he did, “Been there, done that, got myself a date with the hot fire man that took me to the E.R. to get the tap cut off my toe.” He grinned in triumph as he pulled the keys out of his bag. He unlocked the car door got into the car and drove off leaving a trail of insurance wavers behind as they blew off the car’s roof.
“Enough” The images vanished, and Jared took a deep breath, “This might be trickier than I thought.” He turned away from the table and looked at Osric, “I believe you said there were two matters that needed to be discussed, what’s the second one?”
Osric handed Jared the other file and folded his hands in front of him. Jared looked down at the file and his heart sank, “What has he done now?” Jared asked.
“Thaddeus has reported him for inappropriate use of a halo and is demanding that Jeffrey is reprogrammed.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little excessive for such a minor infringement of regulations?” Jared tried to laugh the incident off, as he couldn’t help being fond of Jeffrey, he wasn’t exactly what you’d call a typical Angel.
Jared knew what the other Angels, especially Thaddeus, thought of Jeffrey. There were mutterings that he’d been made wrong. Jeffrey was too human, with a love of laughter and an inability to be serene. He was never on time for parade and when he did show up, he was always a mess with grass stains on the hem of his robes and his dark hair wild and unruly. He was tone deaf and been thrown out of the angelic host for singing flat and had broken so many harps he was banned from the halls of music.
Also, Jeffrey was easily distracted from his duties. Jared remembered an incident when one of Jeffrey’s charges was injured because he’d stopped to rescue a butterfly from a spider’s web.
Jeffrey’s response was he’d managed to reach Mr Simon’s in time and the car had only run over his foot. Jared had never seen Thaddeus so angry, it was the most emotion he’d shown in a century. Now this simple crime could be the last straw and as much as he liked Jeffrey, Jared wasn’t sure he was really cut out to be a Guardian Angel, perhaps he would’ve been better off tending to the heavenly gardens instead.
Osric interrupted Jared’s thoughts with a waspish comment, “Commander, Jeffrey’s minor infringements could fill a filing cabinet.” Osric straightened his robes, “Perhaps I could put it by Jensen’s.” Osric muttered.
“What did you say?” Jared asked, before Osric could repeat himself Jared smiled, “I’ve just had a brilliant idea and it’s all thanks to you.” Jared strode back to his desk and sat down, “Osric, please summon Jeffrey. I’m about to reassign him.”
Osric looked wide eyed at his Commander, “You can’t be serious?” He gasped when he realized what Jared was about to do.
“I think all Jeffrey needs is a challenge, now if you’ll just fetch him for me.” Jared beamed as Osric left the office, why hadn’t he thought of this before.
Jeffrey shuffled as he sat outside the commander’s office, this wasn’t the first time he’d sat waiting to be disciplined but this time he was certain he’d gone too far when he’d used his halo as a lasso to rescue his charge. At the very least he’d be recalled to heaven, at worst Thaddeus would have him reprogrammed.
The door opened and Osric came out. “The Commander will see you now.” He ushered Jeffrey inside and closed the door behind him. As Jeffrey walked towards the desk, he tried to straighten his robes and he really wished he’d had time to groom his wings, but the summons had come out of the blue.
“Jeffrey, please sit down.” Jared pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
As Jeffrey sat, he looked around surreptitiously, and he was relieved to see there were no Seraphim there waiting to drag him away. “What can I do for you, Commander?” He asked trying to keep his voice calm.
“I’m sure you’re aware that your career as a Guardian Angel has had a few issues.” As he spoke Jared rested his hand on a thick file and Jeffrey’s heart sank, he recognised Thaddeus’ writing and he knew it was his disciplinary file.
“I promise to do better Commander, if you give me another chance, I won’t let you down I swear. Please don’t send me for reprogramming.” Jeffrey blurted out.
Jared raised his hand to quieten the other Angel, “It’s alright, I was about to say that although there have been a few teething problems, I feel we as your superiors have let you down.”
Jeffrey’s eyebrows shot up, “You have?” He squeaked.
“Yes, we should’ve nurtured your particular talents.”
“What talents?” Jeffrey was puzzled, he’d been accused of many things, but never of being talented.
“Your greatest gift is your ability to empathise with humans, and as such I have a very special role in mind for you.”
“Sir, are you sure you have the right Angel?” Jeffrey was certain he superior had the wrong file.
Jared stood up, “Come with me.” Jeffrey followed him to the marble table and watched as Jared summoned Jensen. “This is Jensen Ackles and he is your new charge; so far he has proven himself to be quite challenging.”
Jeffrey watched as Jensen got out of his car and went inside a building called Kane’s, once he was inside, he was greeted by a man with long hair.
“Well it’s about time, Jenny, I thought me and Steve were gonna have to start decorating without you.” Kane pulled a cloth out of the pocket of his apron and wiped his hands, then he pointed to a large box of Halloween decorations.
“Chris, please don’t make me help, you remember what happened last time.” Jensen pleaded as he walked over to his friend and sat on a bar stool.
“Look son, I know you can be a bit…”
“A bit of a walking disaster area?” Jensen shot back.
Chris shook his head, “I was going to say accident prone, but you can’t just sit alone in your place because you might trip over and scrape your knee.”
“Don’t you remember what happened last time I helped with the decorations? I was nearly garrotted by the Happy Halloween banner.”
Chris just grinned at him and put a hand on the back of his neck, “If it makes you feel any better Steve’s got you a crash helmet and some elbow and knee pads for you to wear.”
Jensen turned and glared at his friend, “Very funny. Alright I’ll help, but when I break my neck hanging your jack o lanterns don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Jensen got off the stool, walked over to the box of decorations and picked them up. As he walked to the stage, he felt more than a little nervous.
Jared and Jeffrey watched as Jensen sorted through the box, “What exactly do you want me to do?” Jeffrey asked, as Jensen started to climb the ladder.
“You see, Jensen’s other Guardian Angels followed the usual protocol of watching from the side-lines, and it led to them suffering a little stress due to his accident-prone nature. I feel we should do things a little differently this time. You should be there at Jensen’s side to offer comfort, succour and healing.” Jared stressed the last word as he saw Jensen stretching up to try and hang a bat from the ceiling as the ladder started to wobble.
Jeffrey followed Jared’s gaze in time to see the ladder starting to sway dangerously, and Jensen’s arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance.
“I think that’s your cue.” Jared said as Jeffrey vanished.
Without thinking Jeffrey appeared by the door of the bar, his wings disappeared and his robes transformed into human clothing as he sprinted through the room dodging tables. He just reached the edge of the stage as Jensen fell off the ladder. Jensen landed in Jeffrey’s outstretched arms and he staggered backwards as he tried to stop them from falling off the stage.
“Jensen are you alright?” Chris shouted as he jumped onto the stage. He looked over at Jeffrey, “Man, I don’t know where you came from but I’m glad you stopped this guy breaking his neck.”
Jensen’s heart raced as he clung onto the man in front of him, and he finally managed to get his breathing under control but as he looked up to thank his mysterious saviour, he suddenly felt breathless again. The guy was gorgeous, with his dark hair and beard shot through with silver and warm brown eyes that crinkled as he smiled down at him.
Jensen licked his lips, giving his rescuer a shaky smile, “Thanks man, you’ve just saved me from having my health insurance hiked yet again.”
“Not a problem, are you sure you’re ok?” Jeffrey helped Jensen regain his balance before he let go of him.
“Yeah he’s fine, if he’s not gushing blood all over the place, we tend to take that as a win.” Chris said as held his hand out, “I’m Christian Kane, owner and chef for this fine establishment and Jensen here would like to buy you a drink to say thank you for saving his life. What can he get you?”
Jeffrey considered what he should do next; by rights he should make his excuses and leave, but Jared had made it clear he should stick close to Jensen, perhaps this was the best way to protect him. It certainly seemed like he needed to be taken care of. Jeffrey smiled warmly and answered, “I’ll have a beer then.”
Chris gestured to the bar and called out above the music, “Hey Steve, please get our hero a beer, me and Jensen will be over in a moment.” Chris patted Jeffrey on the back and sent him towards the bar. Then he turned and grinned at Jensen as he cheerfully ignored the dirty look his friend was giving him.
“What did you do that for?” Jensen hissed as he picked the ladders up and leant them against the wall.
“I saw the way you were looking at him, I thought you were gonna trip over your tongue.” Chris smirked as his friend blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jensen huffed.
“Tall, dark and handsome, with a twinkle in his eye, he’s just your type. I saw the way you swooned in his manly arms.”
“Fuck you, I’d just fallen off a ladder, of course I was a little off balance.” Jensen growled.
“Son, if you’d batted your eyelashes anymore, we would’ve had to put out a hurricane warning. Now let’s get over there and say thank you to the nice man for saving you.” Kane grabbed Jensen by the arm and dragged him over to the bar.
Chris went behind the bar, opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Jensen. Jensen took a long drink then turned to Jeffrey, “So do you make a habit of swooping in and saving people?”
“I’m actually a Guardian Angel, I just happened to be passing and decided to do a little moonlighting.” Jeff responded with a smile.
Jensen burst out laughing, “I’m in the market for a new Guardian Angel, I think my last one was defective. Is your name Michael by any chance?”
Jeffrey shook his head, “Nope, the name’s Jeff, Michael’s an Archangel and my boss’ boss.”
“If that’s the case where are the wings and the halo?” Jensen asked mischievously, looking Jeff over.
Jeff put his hand to his brow in a dramatic fashion, “Damn it, I knew l’d forgotten something when I left my cloud this morning.”
Jensen threw his head back and laughed, “I feel like I’m corrupting you by buying you a drink, fancy another?” Jensen asked as he tried to get Chris’ attention.
Jeff shrugged, “Trust me it takes make than a couple of beers to get an Angel to fall.”
Jensen smiled at Jeff and said, “You’ll have to tell me all about that.”
Jeff couldn’t help but be entranced by Jensen’s smile, he liked the way it made Jensen’s face light up and his eyes shine and being in Jensen’s company just confirmed for Jeff why man was his father’s greatest creation. After another couple of beers Jeff regretfully decided to slip away, he was certain when Jared had told him to remain close, he wasn’t suggesting that he sat drinking with him.
Jensen went to the bathroom and Jeff imperceptibly faded from view when Jensen returned, he looked around for Jeff. “Hey Chris, have you seen Jeff?”
Chris looked over and frowned, “He was there a minute ago, you lost your Guardian Angel?” He asked with a smile.
“Looks like it, and I never even got his number I must be slipping in my old age.” Jensen looked so dejected that Chris gave him another beer.
“If he really is your Guardian Angel, with your track record I’m sure he’ll turn up to rescue you again soon.” Chris reached over and patted his left shoulder and walked away. It was only later Jensen realized that it wasn’t painful anymore.
Up in heaven Jared watched events unfold with satisfaction, “There, I told you Jeffrey just needed to focus.”
“But he told them he was a Guardian Angel, it’s against all the rules.” Osric pointed out with a sour expression on his face.
“And no one believed him, they just thought it was a pick-up line. I think this is going to work out just fine. I’ll make a Guardian Angel of Jeffrey yet.”
“Well if you’re wrong it’s not as if it will be a long-term assignment, is it?” Jared turned and glared at Osric who blushed and looked down “I’m sorry Commander, I’m sure that Jeffrey will rise to the challenge.”
Jared soon settled into a routine, every day he would review his paperwork, working on reports and assignments. Then he would walk over to the table and watch his Angels at work. And if he happened to spend more time watching Jeff and Jensen then that was no one’s business but his own.
Part 2