Series: Part of the I Scream the Body Series - yes it's going to be a series, brace yourselves! Ha! No, but seriously more to come soon!
Pairing: B/J ...what would you prefer: J/B ? *snicker* See what madness lies in the path of WIPs???
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be unfortnately.
Archive: Sure, gimme a yell where though.
Notes: It's NC 17. Big huge thanks to Will for the brilliant beta. Also I'm sure I missed more stuff in this post, so whatever it is, ack, I give up! Don't sue, thats all!
******Humpty Dumpty sat on a plane,
Humpty Dumpty phased it and pulled himself together again
Jesse swings his feet to the floor, winces. Back together again, better than Humpty Dumpty. He stands.
Teeters dangerously, but...stands. So far so good.
His body aches.
He pads to the bathroom slowly. Slaps on the light and then wishes he hadn't. The face in the mirror looks a hundred years old. Here, alone, he'll admit he feels it. Adam figures he'll be feeling this one for awhile. It feels like the first time he phased...though a dozen times over. Abruptly Jesse is aware his fingers are digging into the basin. Hard.
He breathes out slowly, feels his fingers loosen. Everyone is all right, he reminds himself.
Reaches for his toothbrush even though it's early still.
~~~
The stillness of Sanctuary now is a gift he cherishes. There is no Adam with his constant prodding and questions; Shal with her hovering or Emma with her guilt. Jesse isn't ready for any more revelations, though he's not quite sure he appreciates her determination in making sure he knows everything she's apparently done on his behalf...that Brennan knows how he feels. However it does explain Brennan's behavior. His distance even. Long ago confessions of playing both sides are one thing; he knows enough to realize the knowledge of this attraction is different. There's no where to run.
Jesse puts the coffee on, it's steady drip disturbingly interesting. He rubs a hand over his eyes.
"Snap out of it," he mutters to himself. It's done, and now he'll deal. With Brennan. All he has to do is follow Brennan's lead. Currently that seems to be distance, and Jesse can't fault the logic in that.
Distance. He can do that.
~~~
Shal can smell it on Jesse.
Pain, it's fainter now, there's something else in it's place. Defeat or something close to it. It's not hard figuring out why. The attraction, the scent of Jesse *wanting* is something she knows well. Well, that and she knows Emma's spoken to him.
Brennan...Brennan is different though. There is nothing she can place, no scent that reaches her above the rest. Above, Jesse is working out, dispatching hologram GSA agents with ease. Brennan, she notes is reading. In full view of Jesse, no less. Still, she can't *read* him.
Brennan turns a page.
A mission of sorts coalesces in her mind. She feels twelve again, but she'll take what inspiration she can get. The last GSA agent disappears and she makes her offer.
"Hey," she purrs, circles in on Jesse. Catches Brennan looking up at them briefly.
She turns her attention back to Jesse.
He stands before her drenched in sweat, looks extremely satisfied.
"Good workout?"
He nods, eyes bright.
"Come on, Adam says to take care of you," she says. He looks at her oddly until she holds up her fingers and wiggles them at him. He nods happily.
God, she loves him like this.
~~~
His room is immaculate as always. He's waiting for her, prone on the bed, in sweats only. His head is cushioned on his hands, his eyes closed.
He yelps when she swings a leg over his waist and straddles him.
"Hey..."
Half-hearted, she notes. He groans as she works her fingers into his back. Along the length of his spine, into the corded muscles there. Rhythmic until Jesse's breathing slows.
Relaxes.
He is beautiful, scarred too, she thinks, though he would never admit it. She adds stubborn to her mental list. It's saved him more times than she cares to remember. That he's told her. She knows, she's read his school file, back when he was new to Sanctuary and she didn't know him any better. There were medical reports there, before his mutancy developed, before he could defend himself. She knows why he hides so well, how he's learned those lessons. Breaks long since healed, scars left behind...and still he cares, falls...falls everytime.
Shal swings her leg over, kneels next to the bed. She cards her fingers through his hair until he stirs and smiles at her sleepily.
"Wanna play?" she murmurs. She watches the sleep leech away, watches him swallow convulsively.
"Yes."
~~~
She dresses him, always does when they go out like this. Shal chooses blue, darker than his eyes, not quite black. It hangs on him loosely, highlights pale skin that needs no adornment, save...
Shal grins when she feels him tense, he knows what's coming. She presses her mouth to his chest, licks a wet stripe above his nipple. Desire rocks her, his desire fills her everywhere. His hand settles on the back of her neck now, presses down. She grins against his chest. Obeys his command.
Sucks on his nipple, hard.
And he's *hard* already.
"Too long," she whispers, reaches for the silver bar he has already.
"I know..." A rare admission that she cannot ignore, because he doesn't let himself play nearly often enough.
"Don't phase," she warns before she slides the bar through his pierced nipple. She hears him breathe in harshly as she screws on the end with it's onyx stone. She buttons the shirt for him, the material catching only just on the bar.
"Give me half an hour," she asks.
He nods.
~~~
She dresses to match him, a black dress, sheer so she doesn't bother with anything else.
Surveys herself in the mirror.
Good enough.
Earrings, she realizes with a start.
Emma.
~~~
Shal tries to ignore the arched eyebrow at her entrance.
"What?" she mutters finally. Emma grins disarmingly.
"Nothing."
"I'm taking Jesse out," she says, tugs on her dress.
"Well, I'm sure you'll both have a good time," she smirks.
"One can only hope," Shal retorts. "Can I borrow your earrings please?" she asks, gestures at the hoops Emma is wearing. Emma takes them off and hands them over. Shal peers into the mirror, screws them on.
"Where are you off to?" Emma asks standing behind her. There's something there, cautious in her features.
"Lost Causes, old hunting grounds," Shal answers. "Jesse's though, not mine."
"Ah," Emma says, confusion plain. It makes Shal want to giggle, but she quashes that impulse ruthlessly.
"He's ok, I promise," she says, surveys herself now. The earrings are perfect. Emma looks at her anxiously. She worries too much.
"Tonight isn't about anything, " Shal continues. "He...Jesse he doesn't let go, not often enough anyway. It just helps if he knows he's got someone there to catch him."
Emma nods slowly. Shal wishes she could see into her head to find the right words for her. But she can't so she settles for a hug. She knows Jesse isn't comfortable with Emma right now, like she knows he'll get over it.
"Later..." she waves, closes the door behind her.
~~~
Shal has never known anyone so deliberately oblivious than Jesse. Fucking glides across Sanctuary and it's enough for Brennan's jaw to hit the floor.
"Have a good time," Adam says. She palms the Tylenol he has, though after all this time she's pretty sure Jesse knows. Still the system works.
"We will," Jesse waves cheerily before he drags her out.
~~~
Emma finds Brennan staring morosely at a map of all things. She peers again before she realizes he's tracking Jesse and Shal. It's been at least an hour since they left. Definately enough time. She goes back down a few steps and then runs up noisily. Tries not to grin too much when Brennan starts in the chair and nearly topples over.
"Brennan, I'm heading out in a little while. Want to come?"
He glances at the screen a little guiltily but Emma resolutely remains fixed on him. Delivers the final volley.
"Shal mentioned a couple of places she and Jesse were going to try. I thought I might check out one or two tonight."
It works.
A scant hour later the crowd at Lost Causes envelops them.
There's no space here, no refuge from the sheer volume that crashes down on her. But Emma holds on, follows Brennan further inside to a spot at the bar.
"Will you be okay here?" he shouts. She nods and watches him disappear into the crowd. A new song, a renewed rush she can feel. Emma concentrates, wills the tide back.
Then, she sees them.
Blonde haired bewitching twins plastered together in the chaos.
Emma orders a drink.
Jesse's hands are on her hips, keeping Shal close. Her forehead rests against his.
The music gets louder, faster like the crowd and all they're doing is swaying, until without warning Shal lets him go. Lets the crowd swallow her.
Jesse doesn't seem to notice, to care. His arms drift upward, his body moves faster and faster and Emma's never seen him so...abandoned. It's good.
It doesn't take long for someone to appear. To drift closer, this other is as caught by him as everyone else is.
Like Brennan.
His face blazes in the crowd, watching as Jesse and the other start to move together. Emma is sure the entire place is watching these two.
She catches sight of Brennan again before the crowd surges forward. Jesse, throws back his head and laughs out loud, and so does the other.
She thinks he should laugh like that more often.
"Ready?" Brennan appears, shouts in her ear. Too soon, too soon she thinks frantically. He's supposed to stay. But instead he's already on his way out.
~~~
Cold air slams into her, cuts against her skin.
"Brennan," she yelps as she slips, but he catches her in time. He's flushed, voice heavy.
"Sorry," he manages. Eyes hollow.
"What?" she demands. Challenges. His eyes widen with understanding. The air between them stretched tight and she wants him to say it, wants him to say he saw Jesse. But.
"Nothing," he says.
She sighs.
Nothing.
~~~
He waits up. Prowls his room without his pants like a demented jet lagged Bruce Willis because they were too loud.
They were as well - Shal and Jesse when they arrived. Laughter, hurried footsteps upstairs. Shal's giggle. Doors closing...opening. Whatever.
It's there now, unavoidable. That he wants. More importantly, that he can have. That this might actually be worth it.That thought stops him cold. He pushes it away. Here and now he wants Jesse. The room spins a little but Brennan doesn't care. Doesn't stand still enough to care.
~~~
Jesse's door swings open on his second knock. Disheveled, Jesse clutches a towel to his chest. It's does nothing except make Brennan realize he's going to bed, which in turns makes him more nervous.
"Brennan?"
The towel slips lower and the nipple ring gleams. Brennan thinks he might be choking, the beads around his neck suddenly too tight.
"You're not wearing any pants," Jesse observes.
"They were too loud," Brennan mutters absently.
Kisses Jesse then, messily and loudly.
~~~
"Your pants were too loud."
Maybe, Brennan thinks, this is a bad dream. Or if he stays still long enough Jesse would think he was still asleep.
Except he remembers Jesse kissed him back. That's the part he wants to wake up to.
"Your pants were too loud..."
Thoughtfully now.
"Does that actually work?"
That brings Brennan out from under the covers. He peers into the low light of the room, to Jesse in the middle.
He looks nervous.
"That was my first time," Brennan mumbles. Clutches the sheets to his chin.
"I'm honored," Jesse smiles. Ducks his head and looks at Brennan shyly. He makes this look so easy.
"Did it work?" Brennan asks finally and is rewarded by soft laughter. By the bed sinking down as Jesse crawls from the foot to his side.
"I'm here."
They sit like that, just watching each other. For too long; not long enough.
The scar on his lip mesmerizes Brennan for the longest time. Until he traces it with his thumb and then his tongue. Tastes Jesse.
Feels the curve of Jesse's body against him. Lips, God, his lips he traces over and over until they're red and they're both hard. Then and only then does Brennan kick his sheets away.
Feels the warmth of Jesse against him, feels the weight of him and still all they're doing is kissing.
The rub of his nipple, of the bar through his T-shirt makes Brennan groan, makes him want to strip the shirt away, but Jesse beats him to it, Brennan isn't sure how.
All he knows is that his boxers are around his knees and Jesse's stroking him. Fucking him with deep, deep kisses and his hand and Brennan can't do anything but hold on and come.
"God," Brennan says into the curve of Jesse's neck. He tastes salt and sweat as he presses a kiss there.
"You okay?" Jesse rumbles. Almost protective. It makes Brennan blush.
"Yeah, you?"
"I'm good," Jesse smirks, gasps then when Brennan presses a hand against his cock.
"I don't need you to do anything," Jesse says, so polite.
Brennan just looks at him, lets him see for himself until Jesse leans back against the pillows, Brennan pulls his sweats down and makes Jesse come. Realizes he's beautiful when he does.
tbc...