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phantismaFandom: RPS (Supernatural with added Buffy, Angel, SGA, STNG)
Title: In Service, Part 11 (Previous parts found: Part One Here, Part Two Here, Part Three Here, Part 4 Here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here, Part 8 here, Part 9 Here, Part 10 here)
Pairing/Characters: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Chris Kane, Eliza Dushku, OCs
Rating: Rish due to theme
Word Count: 3294
Summary: Jensen starts to feel the heat, despite making his ratings. JP starts to shows signs that he's wearing thin, and Jeff comes to visit.
A/Ns & Warnings: Ummm...yeah totally AU. It's...crack...No, seriously...total crack. I take great liberties with the families of the celebrities I...um...use...creating siblings, erasing siblings, aging and de-aging siblings...pretty much doing anything I want. Um...and just about anyone is game. As to Warnings: This is slave fic, dubious con to some degree...This part includes brief, off-screen non-con.
“You knew this would happen. You had to.”
Jensen glared at Jeff. Jensen slapped his hand down on the report on his desk. Twenty-four percent improvement in eighty percent of their programming, twenty-one over all, with three weeks left until the deadline. But it might be all for nothing.
“I warned you.” Samantha added.
“You didn’t tell me we’d need to worry about the FCC.” Jensen countered, rubbing his forehead.
“I told you we couldn’t put in prime time, not even with all of the censor blurs.”
“These fines will kill us.” Jeff said.
Jensen shook his head. “I won’t go down that easily. I’ll pay them myself.”
“You can afford to do that?” Jeff asked.
“Can I afford not to? It will break the station.” It might very well break him. It wasn’t like he was made of money. His father had offered more, but even that might not be enough.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” Samantha said. “This is just the preliminary finding. They’re launching a full scale investigation.”
“My god, you’d think we put teenagers having sex on the fucking television.”
Well, it hadn’t been far from that. Alyson’s report pulled no punches, and she’d gotten into the training center where they sent 16 year olds and up for beginner training. It had been pretty grim. Jensen had forbidden Jared and JP from watching it. Jared was having a hard enough time, and JP…well, if the sounds coming from his room in the middle of the night were any indication, the kid was having nightmares about his own ordeal.
“Nudity would have been preferable.” Samantha said. “That whole wardrobe malfunction thing wasn’t this bad.”
Jensen cursed and got up to pace. He was running out of ideas. But, they were safe for the moment…They’d hit the target, and early. Now they just had to find away to hit 50% in another four months…and not lose everything. “When will they be here?”
“Two days.” Samantha said. “We’ll coach everyone today and tomorrow, make sure no one—“
Jensen shook his head and held up his hand. “No. I want to approach this with the attitude that we have nothing to hide.”
“You what?” Jeff was looking at him like he was crazy. “They’ll eat us alive, Jensen.
“We didn’t actually break any rules, not in the strictest interpretation. This is in response to the uproar in the nobility. The government is reacting.”
“Maybe we should be too.” Jeff insisted. “How many death threats have you gotten since it aired?”
“Here, or at home?” Jensen asked dryly. He’d had to have recorders installed on all the phone lines, and make sure JP and Jared were insulated. He had fucking armed guards at his door. Alyson herself was in hiding. “I won’t be intimidated.”
“Are you insisting we continue?” Samantha asked, crossing her arms.
Jensen nodded. “Hell yes, as planned. We’ve advertised all month, we’re getting coverage on other stations. I’ve put the family through the filming.” He smirked. The footage of Stewart had been priceless. They’d filmed it before it became obvious what Jensen was doing with the studio. Stewart smiled and told the camera how he was only interested in helping the poor and destitute. They followed it with footage from street cameras that showed him screaming and grabbing a skinny twelve year old Jared, dragging him to his parents’ door.
It was an hour and a half that set Stewart up and pulled away the public façade. He nodded again. “Yeah. As scheduled.”
Samantha shook her head and stood. “And you’re not going to let us see the finished product before it airs?”
Jensen shook his head. “I need you two focused on what we follow with. We need to figure out the rest of the programming. Show that we’re not only telling one side of the story. That should even out the response a little.”
“Okay. You’re the boss. You’re insane, but you’re the boss.”
“She’s right, you know.” Jeff said when the door closed behind her. “You’re asking for more trouble.”
Jensen blew out a breath and turned to look at him. “Tell me I’m wrong Jeff. Tell me this wasn’t the best thing we could do.”
Jeff shrugged. “It worked. I’ve got to give you that much. But what’s the price? And can you maintain it?” Jeff sighed. “You’ve pulled off a short term miracle, Jensen, I won’t deny that. But what about tomorrow? Next month?”
“One thing at a time. We bought some breathing room.”
“Speaking of, I was thinking I could come by your place tonight, work there.” Jeff said.
Jensen frowned up at him. “Is it that bad for you?”
Jeff shrugged. “I can’t afford armed guards, and yesterday I got home to find red paint all over my door. I can’t work when I spend the whole evening checking my windows.”
Jensen circled around and put his hand on Jeff’s shoulders. “I have an extra room. Why don’t you pack a bag and stay at my place until it blows over?”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“Hell, it’s my crazy ideas putting you out, least I can do. I’ll call home and get Alecia to make up the room.”
Jensen nodded to the guards at the door on his way in, then paused to let them know Jeff was coming, before moving into the house. Chris and Eliza were coming down the stairs with suitcases. “Where you off to?”
“Band’s got a gig up north. Be gone about a week.”
“Good. Two less people I need to worry about.”
Chris grinned and pulled an envelope from his pocket. “From Lisa. She said not to open it until you’re ready for the ride.”
Jensen frowned at the envelope then looked up at his friend. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Christ shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
Jensen tucked the envelope into his briefcase and handed it off the Alecia. “You seen either JP or Jared?”
“Jared hasn’t come out of your room all day.” Eliza said. “JP is out by the pool.”
Jensen nodded. “You two have fun.” He looked up the stairs, then out at the pool. Jared had regressed since the incident at the movies, and it was hard to know what he was thinking. JP wasn’t a lot better, trying to play big brother to Jared, but hampered by his own issues.
Sighing, Jensen headed out to the pool. JP looked up from a book and sort of smiled. In the weeks the boy had been there, Jensen had grown rather fond. The kid was trying his damnedest to take care of Jared, even though Jared really didn’t let him.
“Hey, you’re home early.”
Jensen nodded a little. “Yeah, things are…tense. Look…Jeff’s coming over tonight.”
JP closed his book and stood. “I’ll hang out upstairs. No worries.”
Jensen licked his lips. “He’s staying. So…we…need to tell him something about you.”
“Staying? Like for how long?”
“Couple of days at least.” Jensen sighed. “I didn’t really think this through, JP. My people are getting threatened. I need to…protect them.”
“And by them, you mean him.” JP said.
“For now, yes.”
“So…what do we tell him?”
“The truth, I guess.”
“You trust him enough to tell him the truth?”
Jensen really didn’t know the answer to that question. He wanted to. He liked Jeff. He liked Jeff a lot. But sometimes…sometimes he looked at Jensen and it felt like he…like he wanted things from Jensen that had nothing to do with business. And sometimes Jensen didn’t feel at all like he could trust the man with private things. Like the day JP had come to be with them. “I don’t know.”
Truth was Jensen didn’t really know the man all that well, it had only been a few months. But then, he’d had Chris sleeping on his dorm room floor three hours after they’d met and they’d been best friends ever since.
“I’ll be your secretary.” JP said suddenly. “Make me feel like I’m doing something.”
Jensen frowned at him. “What?”
“You don’t have one. I’m good with the computer and phones. I can handle your stuff.”
“JP….I don’t need a secretary. I have one at work. She does everything for me.”
“Valet then.”
Jensen rubbed his hand over his face. “Whatever. Just…be careful around him for now. I’m going up to check on Jared.”
Jared was waiting, kneeling beside his bed, watching the door as Jensen came in. “Hey.”
Jared stood and Jensen went to him, kissing him lightly before moving to the bathroom. “Want to draw me a bath?”
He nodded, smiling. Jensen definitely liked to see him smile. “It would be my honor, my Lord…Jensen.” His eyes skipped over to Jensen’s face to see if he would be angry for the slip, but Jensen smiled softly instead. Since the incident, Jared slipped up on that a lot more. Jared moved around him, and into the bathroom, by the time Jensen got his shirt off he could hear water running.
“So, how was your day, Jared?” Jensen asked as he slid into the tub. Jared stood and removed his shorts, setting them on the counter to keep dry while he returned to sit on the edge of the tub.
“My day?”
Jensen nodded. “Eliza said you didn’t come out all day. What did you do?”
Jared blinked at him as if he were confused by the question. “I waited, my—“ He looked down at the soap water, dipping one hand and a wash cloth into it. “I waited for you to come home.”
“You know, you could spend time with your brother.” Jensen said it softly, anticipating the response. Jared stiffened, even as he reached for Jensen’s arm and began washing it. “He’s lonely without you. There’s no one here for him.”
Jared was quiet, concentrating on his task. He washed every millimeter of Jensen’s arm and up onto his shoulder. When he had to move to reach the other arm, he looked down at Jensen, then away as he settled on the other side of the tub to wash his other arm. “JP is…difficult.” Jared said after he finished that arm.
“Difficult how?”
Jared made a face, then pressed his lips together to make the expression straighten out. “He…wants too much. I’m not who he wants me to be.”
“He only wants you to be his brother.”
Jared made a funny noise. It took Jensen a minute to recognize it for what it was. Jared was frustrated, nearly angry. “Tell me.” Jensen prodded.
Jared shook his head and turned his back, lifting Jensen’s leg to begin washing it. “It is not my place.”
“It is if I say it is.” Jensen said. “Tell me.”
Jared put his foot back in the water and turned to look at Jensen. His eyes were dark. “He wants me to be his brother.” Jared repeated. Jensen gestured for him to continue.
“And?”
Jared huffed, trying to control his emotion. “I am not.”
“Of course you are.”
Jared huffed again. He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. “Physically. But…we were both different. He’s…” He sighed and let his eyes touch Jensen’s briefly. “I am your Servant. Not his brother.”
“You can’t be both?” Jensen asked softly.
Jared looked at him like there was something wrong with him. “A Servant is trained to serve,” he answered after a long time.
Jensen pulled him down until he was in the water too, raised his hands to kiss them. “Most Servants are trained in more than simply service, you know. My father’s is a pilot and his valet. My mother’s is a secretary. They don’t just sit in their Master’s chambers and wait for service to be needed.”
Jared hung his head, the anger seemingly washed away. “I have no trade to offer you, my Lord. I have only Service. I was not seen as worthy of other skills.”
Jensen felt his heart tighten a little more, thinking about the way Stewart played to the camera, about how horrifically he had fucked with Jared’s head for eight years. “Come here.” He drew Jared to him, straddling his legs. He kissed Jared lightly. “You are seeing it all wrong Jared. Those trainers knew you were too good for anything menial…that scrubbing floors would roughen your hands….and…and…” He shook his head. “You are not unworthy, Jared. I wish I knew how to make you understand that.”
They were quiet then, Jensen stroking long fingers down Jared’s arm, drawing him to lay against him in the warm water. “Jared? Would you…like to learn to do other things?” Jensen asked after a time.
Jared stiffened in his arms. “I only want to please you.”
Jensen shook his head. “You do please me Jared, in every way. I am thinking about what would please you at the same time.”
“I have no need of pleasure.” Jared responded.
Jensen sighed. “I say you do. It pleases me to find you something to please you.” Or something. Anything. “Is there something you remember enjoying when you were little?”
Jared sat back in the water, returning to the task of washing Jensen, but Jensen could see he was thinking. “I remember I liked to read. I see JP reading. I was never required to read.”
Jensen squinted at him. “Are you saying you don’t know how to read?”
“I read a book. I remember I brought it with me when I left home. They took it away from me. It was about a boy nobody wanted and he ran away.” Jared smiled at him. “I remember thinking I wished I had a peach like his.”
“A peach?”
Jared nodded. “I think I liked peaches. May I wash your back?”
Jensen nodded absently and leaned forward. Reading was something he could probably handle. In fact, JP could probably help. Jensen relaxed a little more as Jared’s hands circled over his skin. Give them both something to do with their days.
Jensen came down when Jeff’s arrival was announced, smiling as Jeff held up a pair of bottles. “You don’t have to bring me alcohol every time you come to my house, you know.”
“Well, I can’t afford much else.” Jeff said, handing them off to Alecia who had appeared quietly. “Besides, it makes me feel less like I’m imposing on your hospitality.”
“Speaking of, come on up, I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.” He showed Jeff into the room beside Chris’. “My friend and his girl left for a gig this afternoon, so it should be quiet.”
“Which one’s yours?” Jeff asked and Jensen pointed down and across the hall. “So, what’s this one?”
“That is…JP. You’ll meet him…maybe tomorrow.”
“He an early bird or something?”
Jensen shook his head. “No, he’s with Jared right now.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow and Jensen chose to ignore it. “Come on. I had the cook set aside some dinner for you. We can crack open those bottles and look at whatever you brought.”
It was nearly midnight. Jensen was…drunk. Maybe not as bad as he’d been in times past, but well past the point of paying for it in the morning. He was sitting on the floor on his living room with Jeff behind him on the couch. The television was running, but he’d lost track of what they were trying to watch.
He reached behind him and slapped Jeff’s knee. “We should go to bed.”
Jeff’s big hand fell on his head and rubbed his hair. “Good plan. I’m toasted.”
“Okay, up.” He pushed against the coffee table and nearly knocked it over, then slid sideways, almost ending up in Jeff’s lap. Jeff laughed, a deep, rich sound and tried to steady him.
“You’re toasted.”
Jensen got his legs under him and reached to turn off the television. It took a few tries, but then it went off and he turned to help Jeff up. They staggered and Jensen backpedaled, ending up with his back against the bar and Jeff standing entirely too close.
Jeff’s hand was on his face, his breath tickling across Jensen’s cheek. “You know you got the nicest lips I ever saw.” Jeff said thickly. Jensen licked his lips unconsciously and tried to step away, but he had nowhere to go.
“Jeff…you need to back off.”
“No.” Jeff said, shaking his head. One finger fell against Jensen’s lips as if to shush him. “No. Been backing off all along. Not gonna.”
“You’re drunk.” Jensen was getting really uncomfortable. He pushed on Jeff’s chest, but he only leaned in closer.
“You too.” Jeff looked like he was trying to kiss him.
“Jeff, man…come on.”
Jeff sucked in a deep breath and seemed to realize what he was doing, backing off a step. “Man, I am way drunk.”
Jensen exhaled in relief and chuckled. “I’ll say.” He turned them toward the stairs and together they staggered up. Jensen watched him go into his room and the door closed, then opened his own. Jared was asleep on his bed. JP was sitting in a chair, watching him. “Everything okay?”
JP nodded and kept looking at Jared’s back. “We talked about Mom and Dad. Made me realize how much I miss them.”
“Jeff’s gone to bed. You can do whatever.”
“I told him I was sorry.” JP finally looked up at him. “For taking him out. Told him I’m just dumb sometimes. Just want everything to be like it was, but it won’t ever be like it was.”
He looked so much like Jared, so young and vulnerable. Jensen crossed to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “No, it won’t be. But maybe we can make it okay.”
“I saw the show.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want us to see it, but the disc came by courier and I watched it.”
Jensen closed his eyes. “JP—you shouldn’t have.”
“I know. But I did. You can’t let that air.” JP’s fingers closed around Jensen’s hand. “Stewart’s going to kill you.”
Jensen shook his head. “No, he’s an ass, but even he won’t go that far.”
“You don’t know him like I do.”
Jensen frowned at him, pulling a chair closer with his free hand and sitting. “You don’t know him.” Jensen said. “He sent a rep to your house to get you.”
JP’s eyes danced away to Jared, then back. His voice dropped to a whisper Jensen had to strain to hear. “He was in the car waiting for me.”
He shivered and let go of Jensen’s hand. “JP? Tell me what he did.”
JP shook his head. “He was angry. Said he wasn’t able to beat Jared like he wanted but he could damn well give me his punishment.” A tear fell and JP sniffled, pulling back and looking away. “I spent my first week in training in the hospital. The cast on my hand had only just come off when Lisa got me out.”
“JP…” But Jensen didn’t really have anything to say.
They both turned to watch Jared. After a few quiet moments, JP sniffed again. “Did he tell you it was my fault?”
“What was?”
“The ball. I threw it. He doesn’t even remember.” He sniffed again and Jensen knew he was crying. “He’s…like he is because of me…and here I am all fucked up because I got beat up and fucked a couple of times.” He lurched to his feet, knocking his chair over. “I’m going to bed.”
“JP…” Jensen stood, following him to the door, but he really was pretty drunk and the room was spinning. He left off his pursuit and crawled toward the bed, managing to kick off his shoes before crawling in and falling asleep with the lights still on.
He was hungover and hurting the next morning when he woke up needing to pee. He staggered into the bathroom to relieve himself and take some aspirin, and it was as he was going back to bed that his eyes fell on the chair JP had been sitting in. There was an envelope. Jensen frowned down at it, then picked it up.
There was no address, no name, but it was open. Jensen pulled a piece of paper out and unfolded it. “You can’t hide under pretty boy’s skirts forever, Servant. When I find you I will put you on your knees.”
Jensen crushed the paper in his hands. “Son of a bitch!” Fucking Stewart. How had it even gotten through? Unless it came with the courier, with the delivery. Maybe he had underestimated the man. Maybe he was capable of physical harm.
“Is something wrong?” Jared asked softly, coming to stand beside him.
Jensen didn’t answer, just pulled him close and held him. He couldn’t let JP and Jared get taken…and Jared would never understand sending him away. Which meant it was time for more drastic measures.
Title: In Service, Part 11 (Previous parts found: Part One Here, Part Two Here, Part Three Here, Part 4 Here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here, Part 8 here, Part 9 Here, Part 10 here)
Pairing/Characters: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Chris Kane, Eliza Dushku, OCs
Rating: Rish due to theme
Word Count: 3294
Summary: Jensen starts to feel the heat, despite making his ratings. JP starts to shows signs that he's wearing thin, and Jeff comes to visit.
A/Ns & Warnings: Ummm...yeah totally AU. It's...crack...No, seriously...total crack. I take great liberties with the families of the celebrities I...um...use...creating siblings, erasing siblings, aging and de-aging siblings...pretty much doing anything I want. Um...and just about anyone is game. As to Warnings: This is slave fic, dubious con to some degree...This part includes brief, off-screen non-con.
“You knew this would happen. You had to.”
Jensen glared at Jeff. Jensen slapped his hand down on the report on his desk. Twenty-four percent improvement in eighty percent of their programming, twenty-one over all, with three weeks left until the deadline. But it might be all for nothing.
“I warned you.” Samantha added.
“You didn’t tell me we’d need to worry about the FCC.” Jensen countered, rubbing his forehead.
“I told you we couldn’t put in prime time, not even with all of the censor blurs.”
“These fines will kill us.” Jeff said.
Jensen shook his head. “I won’t go down that easily. I’ll pay them myself.”
“You can afford to do that?” Jeff asked.
“Can I afford not to? It will break the station.” It might very well break him. It wasn’t like he was made of money. His father had offered more, but even that might not be enough.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” Samantha said. “This is just the preliminary finding. They’re launching a full scale investigation.”
“My god, you’d think we put teenagers having sex on the fucking television.”
Well, it hadn’t been far from that. Alyson’s report pulled no punches, and she’d gotten into the training center where they sent 16 year olds and up for beginner training. It had been pretty grim. Jensen had forbidden Jared and JP from watching it. Jared was having a hard enough time, and JP…well, if the sounds coming from his room in the middle of the night were any indication, the kid was having nightmares about his own ordeal.
“Nudity would have been preferable.” Samantha said. “That whole wardrobe malfunction thing wasn’t this bad.”
Jensen cursed and got up to pace. He was running out of ideas. But, they were safe for the moment…They’d hit the target, and early. Now they just had to find away to hit 50% in another four months…and not lose everything. “When will they be here?”
“Two days.” Samantha said. “We’ll coach everyone today and tomorrow, make sure no one—“
Jensen shook his head and held up his hand. “No. I want to approach this with the attitude that we have nothing to hide.”
“You what?” Jeff was looking at him like he was crazy. “They’ll eat us alive, Jensen.
“We didn’t actually break any rules, not in the strictest interpretation. This is in response to the uproar in the nobility. The government is reacting.”
“Maybe we should be too.” Jeff insisted. “How many death threats have you gotten since it aired?”
“Here, or at home?” Jensen asked dryly. He’d had to have recorders installed on all the phone lines, and make sure JP and Jared were insulated. He had fucking armed guards at his door. Alyson herself was in hiding. “I won’t be intimidated.”
“Are you insisting we continue?” Samantha asked, crossing her arms.
Jensen nodded. “Hell yes, as planned. We’ve advertised all month, we’re getting coverage on other stations. I’ve put the family through the filming.” He smirked. The footage of Stewart had been priceless. They’d filmed it before it became obvious what Jensen was doing with the studio. Stewart smiled and told the camera how he was only interested in helping the poor and destitute. They followed it with footage from street cameras that showed him screaming and grabbing a skinny twelve year old Jared, dragging him to his parents’ door.
It was an hour and a half that set Stewart up and pulled away the public façade. He nodded again. “Yeah. As scheduled.”
Samantha shook her head and stood. “And you’re not going to let us see the finished product before it airs?”
Jensen shook his head. “I need you two focused on what we follow with. We need to figure out the rest of the programming. Show that we’re not only telling one side of the story. That should even out the response a little.”
“Okay. You’re the boss. You’re insane, but you’re the boss.”
“She’s right, you know.” Jeff said when the door closed behind her. “You’re asking for more trouble.”
Jensen blew out a breath and turned to look at him. “Tell me I’m wrong Jeff. Tell me this wasn’t the best thing we could do.”
Jeff shrugged. “It worked. I’ve got to give you that much. But what’s the price? And can you maintain it?” Jeff sighed. “You’ve pulled off a short term miracle, Jensen, I won’t deny that. But what about tomorrow? Next month?”
“One thing at a time. We bought some breathing room.”
“Speaking of, I was thinking I could come by your place tonight, work there.” Jeff said.
Jensen frowned up at him. “Is it that bad for you?”
Jeff shrugged. “I can’t afford armed guards, and yesterday I got home to find red paint all over my door. I can’t work when I spend the whole evening checking my windows.”
Jensen circled around and put his hand on Jeff’s shoulders. “I have an extra room. Why don’t you pack a bag and stay at my place until it blows over?”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“Hell, it’s my crazy ideas putting you out, least I can do. I’ll call home and get Alecia to make up the room.”
Jensen nodded to the guards at the door on his way in, then paused to let them know Jeff was coming, before moving into the house. Chris and Eliza were coming down the stairs with suitcases. “Where you off to?”
“Band’s got a gig up north. Be gone about a week.”
“Good. Two less people I need to worry about.”
Chris grinned and pulled an envelope from his pocket. “From Lisa. She said not to open it until you’re ready for the ride.”
Jensen frowned at the envelope then looked up at his friend. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Christ shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
Jensen tucked the envelope into his briefcase and handed it off the Alecia. “You seen either JP or Jared?”
“Jared hasn’t come out of your room all day.” Eliza said. “JP is out by the pool.”
Jensen nodded. “You two have fun.” He looked up the stairs, then out at the pool. Jared had regressed since the incident at the movies, and it was hard to know what he was thinking. JP wasn’t a lot better, trying to play big brother to Jared, but hampered by his own issues.
Sighing, Jensen headed out to the pool. JP looked up from a book and sort of smiled. In the weeks the boy had been there, Jensen had grown rather fond. The kid was trying his damnedest to take care of Jared, even though Jared really didn’t let him.
“Hey, you’re home early.”
Jensen nodded a little. “Yeah, things are…tense. Look…Jeff’s coming over tonight.”
JP closed his book and stood. “I’ll hang out upstairs. No worries.”
Jensen licked his lips. “He’s staying. So…we…need to tell him something about you.”
“Staying? Like for how long?”
“Couple of days at least.” Jensen sighed. “I didn’t really think this through, JP. My people are getting threatened. I need to…protect them.”
“And by them, you mean him.” JP said.
“For now, yes.”
“So…what do we tell him?”
“The truth, I guess.”
“You trust him enough to tell him the truth?”
Jensen really didn’t know the answer to that question. He wanted to. He liked Jeff. He liked Jeff a lot. But sometimes…sometimes he looked at Jensen and it felt like he…like he wanted things from Jensen that had nothing to do with business. And sometimes Jensen didn’t feel at all like he could trust the man with private things. Like the day JP had come to be with them. “I don’t know.”
Truth was Jensen didn’t really know the man all that well, it had only been a few months. But then, he’d had Chris sleeping on his dorm room floor three hours after they’d met and they’d been best friends ever since.
“I’ll be your secretary.” JP said suddenly. “Make me feel like I’m doing something.”
Jensen frowned at him. “What?”
“You don’t have one. I’m good with the computer and phones. I can handle your stuff.”
“JP….I don’t need a secretary. I have one at work. She does everything for me.”
“Valet then.”
Jensen rubbed his hand over his face. “Whatever. Just…be careful around him for now. I’m going up to check on Jared.”
Jared was waiting, kneeling beside his bed, watching the door as Jensen came in. “Hey.”
Jared stood and Jensen went to him, kissing him lightly before moving to the bathroom. “Want to draw me a bath?”
He nodded, smiling. Jensen definitely liked to see him smile. “It would be my honor, my Lord…Jensen.” His eyes skipped over to Jensen’s face to see if he would be angry for the slip, but Jensen smiled softly instead. Since the incident, Jared slipped up on that a lot more. Jared moved around him, and into the bathroom, by the time Jensen got his shirt off he could hear water running.
“So, how was your day, Jared?” Jensen asked as he slid into the tub. Jared stood and removed his shorts, setting them on the counter to keep dry while he returned to sit on the edge of the tub.
“My day?”
Jensen nodded. “Eliza said you didn’t come out all day. What did you do?”
Jared blinked at him as if he were confused by the question. “I waited, my—“ He looked down at the soap water, dipping one hand and a wash cloth into it. “I waited for you to come home.”
“You know, you could spend time with your brother.” Jensen said it softly, anticipating the response. Jared stiffened, even as he reached for Jensen’s arm and began washing it. “He’s lonely without you. There’s no one here for him.”
Jared was quiet, concentrating on his task. He washed every millimeter of Jensen’s arm and up onto his shoulder. When he had to move to reach the other arm, he looked down at Jensen, then away as he settled on the other side of the tub to wash his other arm. “JP is…difficult.” Jared said after he finished that arm.
“Difficult how?”
Jared made a face, then pressed his lips together to make the expression straighten out. “He…wants too much. I’m not who he wants me to be.”
“He only wants you to be his brother.”
Jared made a funny noise. It took Jensen a minute to recognize it for what it was. Jared was frustrated, nearly angry. “Tell me.” Jensen prodded.
Jared shook his head and turned his back, lifting Jensen’s leg to begin washing it. “It is not my place.”
“It is if I say it is.” Jensen said. “Tell me.”
Jared put his foot back in the water and turned to look at Jensen. His eyes were dark. “He wants me to be his brother.” Jared repeated. Jensen gestured for him to continue.
“And?”
Jared huffed, trying to control his emotion. “I am not.”
“Of course you are.”
Jared huffed again. He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. “Physically. But…we were both different. He’s…” He sighed and let his eyes touch Jensen’s briefly. “I am your Servant. Not his brother.”
“You can’t be both?” Jensen asked softly.
Jared looked at him like there was something wrong with him. “A Servant is trained to serve,” he answered after a long time.
Jensen pulled him down until he was in the water too, raised his hands to kiss them. “Most Servants are trained in more than simply service, you know. My father’s is a pilot and his valet. My mother’s is a secretary. They don’t just sit in their Master’s chambers and wait for service to be needed.”
Jared hung his head, the anger seemingly washed away. “I have no trade to offer you, my Lord. I have only Service. I was not seen as worthy of other skills.”
Jensen felt his heart tighten a little more, thinking about the way Stewart played to the camera, about how horrifically he had fucked with Jared’s head for eight years. “Come here.” He drew Jared to him, straddling his legs. He kissed Jared lightly. “You are seeing it all wrong Jared. Those trainers knew you were too good for anything menial…that scrubbing floors would roughen your hands….and…and…” He shook his head. “You are not unworthy, Jared. I wish I knew how to make you understand that.”
They were quiet then, Jensen stroking long fingers down Jared’s arm, drawing him to lay against him in the warm water. “Jared? Would you…like to learn to do other things?” Jensen asked after a time.
Jared stiffened in his arms. “I only want to please you.”
Jensen shook his head. “You do please me Jared, in every way. I am thinking about what would please you at the same time.”
“I have no need of pleasure.” Jared responded.
Jensen sighed. “I say you do. It pleases me to find you something to please you.” Or something. Anything. “Is there something you remember enjoying when you were little?”
Jared sat back in the water, returning to the task of washing Jensen, but Jensen could see he was thinking. “I remember I liked to read. I see JP reading. I was never required to read.”
Jensen squinted at him. “Are you saying you don’t know how to read?”
“I read a book. I remember I brought it with me when I left home. They took it away from me. It was about a boy nobody wanted and he ran away.” Jared smiled at him. “I remember thinking I wished I had a peach like his.”
“A peach?”
Jared nodded. “I think I liked peaches. May I wash your back?”
Jensen nodded absently and leaned forward. Reading was something he could probably handle. In fact, JP could probably help. Jensen relaxed a little more as Jared’s hands circled over his skin. Give them both something to do with their days.
Jensen came down when Jeff’s arrival was announced, smiling as Jeff held up a pair of bottles. “You don’t have to bring me alcohol every time you come to my house, you know.”
“Well, I can’t afford much else.” Jeff said, handing them off to Alecia who had appeared quietly. “Besides, it makes me feel less like I’m imposing on your hospitality.”
“Speaking of, come on up, I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.” He showed Jeff into the room beside Chris’. “My friend and his girl left for a gig this afternoon, so it should be quiet.”
“Which one’s yours?” Jeff asked and Jensen pointed down and across the hall. “So, what’s this one?”
“That is…JP. You’ll meet him…maybe tomorrow.”
“He an early bird or something?”
Jensen shook his head. “No, he’s with Jared right now.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow and Jensen chose to ignore it. “Come on. I had the cook set aside some dinner for you. We can crack open those bottles and look at whatever you brought.”
It was nearly midnight. Jensen was…drunk. Maybe not as bad as he’d been in times past, but well past the point of paying for it in the morning. He was sitting on the floor on his living room with Jeff behind him on the couch. The television was running, but he’d lost track of what they were trying to watch.
He reached behind him and slapped Jeff’s knee. “We should go to bed.”
Jeff’s big hand fell on his head and rubbed his hair. “Good plan. I’m toasted.”
“Okay, up.” He pushed against the coffee table and nearly knocked it over, then slid sideways, almost ending up in Jeff’s lap. Jeff laughed, a deep, rich sound and tried to steady him.
“You’re toasted.”
Jensen got his legs under him and reached to turn off the television. It took a few tries, but then it went off and he turned to help Jeff up. They staggered and Jensen backpedaled, ending up with his back against the bar and Jeff standing entirely too close.
Jeff’s hand was on his face, his breath tickling across Jensen’s cheek. “You know you got the nicest lips I ever saw.” Jeff said thickly. Jensen licked his lips unconsciously and tried to step away, but he had nowhere to go.
“Jeff…you need to back off.”
“No.” Jeff said, shaking his head. One finger fell against Jensen’s lips as if to shush him. “No. Been backing off all along. Not gonna.”
“You’re drunk.” Jensen was getting really uncomfortable. He pushed on Jeff’s chest, but he only leaned in closer.
“You too.” Jeff looked like he was trying to kiss him.
“Jeff, man…come on.”
Jeff sucked in a deep breath and seemed to realize what he was doing, backing off a step. “Man, I am way drunk.”
Jensen exhaled in relief and chuckled. “I’ll say.” He turned them toward the stairs and together they staggered up. Jensen watched him go into his room and the door closed, then opened his own. Jared was asleep on his bed. JP was sitting in a chair, watching him. “Everything okay?”
JP nodded and kept looking at Jared’s back. “We talked about Mom and Dad. Made me realize how much I miss them.”
“Jeff’s gone to bed. You can do whatever.”
“I told him I was sorry.” JP finally looked up at him. “For taking him out. Told him I’m just dumb sometimes. Just want everything to be like it was, but it won’t ever be like it was.”
He looked so much like Jared, so young and vulnerable. Jensen crossed to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “No, it won’t be. But maybe we can make it okay.”
“I saw the show.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want us to see it, but the disc came by courier and I watched it.”
Jensen closed his eyes. “JP—you shouldn’t have.”
“I know. But I did. You can’t let that air.” JP’s fingers closed around Jensen’s hand. “Stewart’s going to kill you.”
Jensen shook his head. “No, he’s an ass, but even he won’t go that far.”
“You don’t know him like I do.”
Jensen frowned at him, pulling a chair closer with his free hand and sitting. “You don’t know him.” Jensen said. “He sent a rep to your house to get you.”
JP’s eyes danced away to Jared, then back. His voice dropped to a whisper Jensen had to strain to hear. “He was in the car waiting for me.”
He shivered and let go of Jensen’s hand. “JP? Tell me what he did.”
JP shook his head. “He was angry. Said he wasn’t able to beat Jared like he wanted but he could damn well give me his punishment.” A tear fell and JP sniffled, pulling back and looking away. “I spent my first week in training in the hospital. The cast on my hand had only just come off when Lisa got me out.”
“JP…” But Jensen didn’t really have anything to say.
They both turned to watch Jared. After a few quiet moments, JP sniffed again. “Did he tell you it was my fault?”
“What was?”
“The ball. I threw it. He doesn’t even remember.” He sniffed again and Jensen knew he was crying. “He’s…like he is because of me…and here I am all fucked up because I got beat up and fucked a couple of times.” He lurched to his feet, knocking his chair over. “I’m going to bed.”
“JP…” Jensen stood, following him to the door, but he really was pretty drunk and the room was spinning. He left off his pursuit and crawled toward the bed, managing to kick off his shoes before crawling in and falling asleep with the lights still on.
He was hungover and hurting the next morning when he woke up needing to pee. He staggered into the bathroom to relieve himself and take some aspirin, and it was as he was going back to bed that his eyes fell on the chair JP had been sitting in. There was an envelope. Jensen frowned down at it, then picked it up.
There was no address, no name, but it was open. Jensen pulled a piece of paper out and unfolded it. “You can’t hide under pretty boy’s skirts forever, Servant. When I find you I will put you on your knees.”
Jensen crushed the paper in his hands. “Son of a bitch!” Fucking Stewart. How had it even gotten through? Unless it came with the courier, with the delivery. Maybe he had underestimated the man. Maybe he was capable of physical harm.
“Is something wrong?” Jared asked softly, coming to stand beside him.
Jensen didn’t answer, just pulled him close and held him. He couldn’t let JP and Jared get taken…and Jared would never understand sending him away. Which meant it was time for more drastic measures.
