Chapter 2
Jeremy and Cat were in the kitchen, casually. Like any other Sunday morning. Just two friends, sipping their coffee, waiting for the genie enslaved by a blood magic cult to appear out of Jeremy’s room.
Yep.
Totally casual.
“This is crazy,” Cat whispered from behind her mug. “Like– right? This is crazy.”
“I guess not any crazier than Kevin escaping a cult, befriending a werewolf, picking up the stray son of an infamous magic criminal, and then taking down an entire criminal coven.” Jeremy blinked and took a long sip of his coffee. “Actually, nope. It’s totally crazy.”
“I can’t believe I just have to– what? Go to class tomorrow? Learn about calculus? I should skip.”
Jeremy snorted and cast her a glance. “Cat. You literally look for any excuse to skip.”
Cat pressed a hand to her chest, mock-offended. “What the hell? I’m processing.”
“Just like you skipped to process watching Pride and Prejudice?”
“Ok– that was valid. I mean, come on. That hand movement Darcy did was–”
They heard the door to Jeremy’s bedroom open and they both fell silent. They stared at each other with wide eyes, seemed to both realize at the same time they looked not casual at all, and scurried to the kitchen table and sat down.
Jean stood in the mouth of the hallway, his impenetrable gray gaze studying them.
“Sleep well?” Cat asked cheerfully.
“No.”
Cat blinked and coughed into her hand.
Jean was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. When Jeremy had offered some of his own, Jean had given him a single scathing once over before turning away. Jeremy personally thought a no would have sufficed, but that was fine.
He had dark shadows underneath his eyes, and Jeremy was pretty sure the man actually hadn’t slept at all.
“We have coffee,” Jeremy said, lifting up his cup. “Want some?”
“If you close my vessel, you will not have to waste resources on me.”
Jeremy frowned. “Huh?”
“My vessel.” Jean let out a breath like they were idiots. “When it is closed, I do not require beds, or food, or anything.”
“Right,” Jeremy said slowly. If they closed the vessel, Jean would disappear until the next time he was summoned. “But then you would be in there, all misty. And we would be out here. And you couldn’t drink coffee.”
Jean looked at Jeremy like he was speaking another language. Jeremy felt a twist in his heart, at this beautiful, stone wall of a man in front of him. Acting like things like a bed or a cup of coffee were luxuries that were foreign to him.
“Here,” Jeremy stood up and took down a mug, filling it up with coffee, milk, and sugar. He handed it to Jean, who took it cautiously. “It’s not great, but it does the trick.”
Jean stared at it for a long moment before raising it to his lips and taking a small sip. He made no reaction whatsoever, but Jeremy was counting it as a win that he had tried it at all. He lowered the mug, and Jeremy couldn’t help but stare at the ancient runes twisting their way around Jean’s neck.
“You could command me,” Jean said, voice quiet.
Jeremy’s eyes snapped back up to his. Jean was staring at him. Only feet apart, Jeremy could make out each of his long, dark lashes. The slightly crooked tilt to his nose, that spoke of it being broken one too many times. The fact that his dark buzz was slightly uneven in patches. His full lips, permanently downturned into a slight frown.
And those eyes. Like the sky before a storm.
You could command me. Genies were powerful. The magic used to make and bind them imbued them with power, but it was also what ensared them. The person who was in control of the vessel had easy access to a well of power, nearly whatever they wished. Jeremy had been the witch to open that obsidian box, and he could feel the bond there– underneath his skin. A low thrum of magic-- and he knew all he would need to do was push a little bit, and it would be his.
“We won’t do that here,” Jeremy said firmly, willing Jean to see his earnestness. “Never again.”
Jean flicked the fingers of the hand not holding the mug. “Then you are a fool.”
“I’m fine with being a fool.” Jeremy grinned, and Jean blinked at the expression. “In fact, I lowkey revel in it. Just act Cat.”
“He’s stupid as hell,” she piped up.
“Hey!”
Cat laughed. “You literally asked for it.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes, returning to his spot at the table. Jean stayed standing where he was. Jeremy considered inviting him to sit, but then figured that would be pushing it. He was delighted enough to see Jean take another small sip of the coffee.
“Me and Laila were going to go to that museum today.” Cat looked at Jeremy and bit her lip. “Should we cancel?”
“Nah.”
Cat’s eyes flickered between Jean and Jeremy. “Are you sure? I don’t know if…”
“I could not hurt him,” Jean said. “Not even if I wanted to.”
“Uh… super comforting. Totally.” Cat looked at Jeremy again, her dark brows raised.
“We’ll be fine. I have to catch up on homework and Jean will… we’ll figure it out. Go have your date.”
Cat studied Jeremy for a moment longer before leaning back in the chair, seemingly satisfied. “If she ever wakes up, that is.”
“We both know that won’t happen unless she’s acted upon by an outside force.”
Cat snorted, a smile curving across her face. She stood up and waggled her fingers at Jeremy, moving towards the hallway. Cat stopped a couple of feet away from Jean and hesitated.
“Listen, Frenchie,” she said. Jean stared resolutely at the floor. “I know everything is fucked up. Probably has been for a while. But you got us now, yeah? And I promise we’re pretty fucking awesome.”
Jean said nothing. Cat stared at him a moment longer before continuing on, seemingly unbothered by his lack of response. Jeremy heard Cat’s loud shout of RISE AND SHINE BEAUTIFUL ten seconds later, and grimaced imagining Laila’s reaction to that wake up.
He finished the rest of his coffee with a harrowing realization settling into his stomach.
How the hell did you entertain an ex-cult genie on a Sunday?
----------------------------
“It’s supposed to be a flower bouquet,” Jeremy said.
Jean stared down at the mess of colored bricks and pieces on the floor. They were sitting on the floor of Jeremy’s room, legos spread out in front of them. The blonde was sitting cross-legged and leaned back against his bed, a sheet spread out on top of his knees.
“It is a toy,” Jean said with disdain.
Jeremy tipped his head to the side, expression considering. “Some people consider it more like an art piece.”
There was no way Jean could consider this art. Jeremy grinned at whatever expression was on Jean’s face, setting down the pamphlet of paper between them.
“Laila got it for me for my birthday. Since, you know,” Jeremy waved a hand over his body. “I’m a green witch.”
A green witch. Jean had spent his entire life surrounded by witches that practiced dark, blood magic and he was now sitting in front of a green witch. Witches that were known for being nurturing, life-giving. Riko was laughing in the back of Jean’s mind at the irony, and bitterness was a sour taste in Jean’s mouth.
Jeremy was watching Jean’s face carefully, as if waiting for some sort of reaction, but Jean gave none.
“We don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” Jeremy said. His cheeks turned slightly pink. “I just… you know. Figured you might not want to do anything too crazy today. And everyone loves legos. Well, I mean. A lot of people do. And I can put on music-- or we can do something totally different. Or I can leave you alone. Also an option–”
Jean pulled the instruction manual closer to himself to stop Jeremy’s incessant rambling. The blonde cut himself off and beamed. Jean had to look away from the force of it.
It was a strange experience, watching his own pale hands clicking plastic blocks together. Hands that had been covered in blood, hands that had killed people. Sure, he had been commanded to. But it had still been his magic. His hands.
Him.
Jean pressed that thought into the far reaches of his mind and attached another piece to the blocks. Jeremy was staring at him with such a pleased expression, for something as simple as this, that it made Jean feel unmoored.
Jeremy had fiddled with his phone at some point and soft music played through the small speakers. Sunlight filtered through the windows, bathing the floor in light.
It was clear Jeremy belonged in the sunlight. It made his tanned skin glow and his hair turn golden. His eyes were the exact shade of blue of a cloudless sky, like an easy summer day that Jean had never experienced.
Jeremy belonged in the sunlight.
Jean did not.
Still, he had his orders from Kevin. Sit tight. Wait. We will figure this out. So Jean focused on the colorful blocks, watching a flower bloom underneath his hands.
“So… what do you like to do?” Jeremy asked eventually. His face twisted sheepishly. “Sorry. That just made me sound like a second grader trying to have a conversation.”
Jean blinked at him.
Jeremy, undeterred by the lack of response, continued talking while clicking together pieces in his hand. “Me, Cat, and Laila go to the beach every weekend. I’ve also started taking this pottery elective that’s pretty fun. I also like to… garden.”
There was that look again. Like Jeremy was waiting for some kind of judgement from Jean.
“You are a green witch,” he said. “Green witches garden.”
It was a simple statement of fact, yet it eased something in Jeremy’s expression.
“And you?”
“I obey,” Jean said. Because that was all he did. All he was.
Jeremy grimaced, a frown marring his face. “How… long have you been like this?”
“Since I was eleven.”
Jean’s memories before then were fragments. Sunlight and salty air on his skin. Stargazing at night on his rooftop. Flour scattered across the kitchen and bread rising in the oven. And then. And then.
Pain around his neck and wrists like nothing he had ever experienced. A whisper in his ear, a hiss– you’re mine. Jean’s own magic leashed and twisted.
“I’m sorry,” Jeremy whispered. There was no smile on his face anymore.
Jeremy’s world was not Jean’s world.
“I cooked,” Jean said, turning his attention back to the toys in his hands. “Before. I cooked.”
He saw Jeremy brighten at this small tidbit of information, and there was that smile again. Jean wondered if it came about as easy as it looked, or if Jeremy fought to put it there. Jean had tired of fighting a long, long time ago.
“Croissants?”
Jean looked up at Jeremy, unamused.
The blonde laughed, free and unfettered. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist. But for real though– what did you like to make?”
“Croissants,” Jean said dryly, and Jeremy laughed loudly this time.
The truth was, he could not even remember. After being sold at eleven, Jean had slowly packed away all the memories of his old life. It was easier to be what Riko turned him into, without the weight of it dragging at his back. The weight of everything Jean could have been.
“You know, we could get you signed up for some cooking classes and–”
“No.”
Jean’s voice was hard and brooked no room for argument.
“Jean–”
“I will not be staying long,” he said. “I will be returning to a master.”
They finished the lego set in silence after that, the only sound between them was the soft music playing from Jeremy’s phone. Jean wanted to melt all the plastic bricks in his hands. Set fire to the ground underneath him. Slam his fist into a wall until it hurt.
Two days here, and Jeremy was promising impossible things.
Jean was property. Kevin had said we will figure this out and that he had a deal know with Ichirou for his freedom, but Jean knew that meant nothing for himself. Kevin was a person, and Jean was property. This stay in this little house with its cluttered trinkets and laughter and sunshine was nothing he could have.
Jean pressed a thumb over the sleeve of his shirt, against one of the tattoos encircling his wrist.
Always a reminder of exactly what he was.