A/N: So! You should get an account; if you haven't one… Because I would like to thank you for the wonderful reviews! I do, really do, FRUITCAKING love this story so it goes on. I can't believe how little love there seems to be out there for this AMAZING pairing… but such is life, eh? Please leave a review or PM me or SOMETHING. (Key points are all caps. Haha).

REVIEW. (see?)

~PT


Black and White

Chapter 4


Jem pulled the blankets up over his head as he blew out a breath in frustration. It had been a few days since his dramatic crying spell in the alleyway and he felt frustrated by his own actions as well as Will's reaction. Will seemed standoffish and a bit childish lately, his arms crossed and his gaze petulant this morning. Jem had been feeling rather well the past few days and was trying to let the news about the Yin Fen roll of his back. This, however, was hard with Will's brooding eyes following his every move, as well as his own sense of hopelessness.

Jem closed his eyes under the duvet.

It was now night time and the Institute was slowing down, dampening fires and dousing lamps for the night. Jem knew that Will would wait a while to check on him and he didn't want the boy to know that he was still awake lest he wonder why.

Jem regretted telling Will not to call him 'James'. He honestly loved it when Will said his first name fully. It sounded great coming off that welsh tongue. Lately, the dark-haired boy had taken more liberty with his first name and while Jem loved it, it also made him feel things he had no way of comprehending. When he had heard Will saying it in that tone and with that expression… he couldn't handle it. He wanted to throw his arms around the boy and never let go. That scared him. He didn't know what it meant.

Now he waited with his mind in turmoil and his heart heavy for the inevitable click of the door as it opened signaling Will's inquiry.

Jem slowly shifted so that he was curled on his side, making the most of his feigned sleep and actually trying to. He was, however, entirely conscious when that click did come. He slowed his breathing and waited for his Parabatai to see that he was alright and to leave. To his surprise he felt the bed dip as Will sat down next to him. He continued to pretend to be asleep as Will placed a hand on his forehead. Apparently satisfied by the temperature he felt, Will moved his hand – just not in the direction Jem would have thought. Will had slid his hand into Jem's hair slightly and gently rubbed with his fingers. It felt rather good and Jem moaned a little in appreciation. Will stopped and withdrew his hand. As Jem silently cursed himself for the noise, Will sat still probably trying to ascertain if his friend was asleep or not. Jem tried to keep his eyes shut as Will sat still. Will then took a hand and slipped his fingers back into Jem's hair, rubbing gently again. Jem relaxed until Will spoke.

"I can tell when you're asleep, you great lump."

Jem's eyes flew open at the whispered words. Will was leaning over him, hand still tangled in his hair with a huge grin on his face. Jem frowned at his friend, at the same time as thinking that it was good to see him happy again.

Jem didn't move until Will pulled his hand away and sat up. Jem sat up with him and blushed finally as he thought of their previous position and wondered what Will was thinking. Jem noticed that Will's hair was wet and pushed back, droplets of water still dripping on his shoulders. The boy was still smiling as he looked at his friend.

"So what is it then?"

Jem was puzzled for a minute before he realized that Will wanted to know why he was still awake. He gave a little smile; he didn't mind the inquiry like he thought he would. He wanted to talk to Will. They had said hardly more than a few words to each other over the past days.

"I'm just full of thoughts, I suppose. It would be useless to ask you the same thing, wouldn't it?"

Will smiled again, shaking his head causing water droplets to shower onto Jem's bare arms. Jem shivered at the sensation and that's when he heard the rain pattering softly against his window pane. He turned his head towards the sound and caught Will flush a little in the light coming from the moon.

"What were you doing outside, Will?" Jem asked cautiously. He knew that Will pretended to go out at night and get drunk for some reason that escaped him. He never smelled alcohol on the boy and he never knew him to actually drink for any reason.

"Oh, you know. Going to the bars." Will said just as cautiously.

Jem quirked an eyebrow, for once not going along with his obvious lie.

Will's lips pressed together in a thin line before he conceded, "I went to follow some leads."

Jem knew immediately that he was talking about the drug. Instead of objecting to his behavior or feeling upset about it like he might usually do, Jem felt grateful for his friend's actions. He usually felt ready to accept his death, after all he had several years to come to terms with it… but after meeting Will his life had become fuller. Will had given him more reason to fight to live and he felt that fight in him now. If Will was willing to fight for his life, shouldn't he try to fight as well? Jem felt exhausted all of a sudden, as if the actuality of his life ending soon had taken the energy right out of him. Will must have seen something on his face as he touched Jem's shoulder with a tentative hand. Jem looked up at his Parabatai and felt tears well up at the hopelessness that he felt. Will was out there running through the rain looking for drugs that weren't there.

"You're going to be just fine." Will whispered, interpreting his facial expression correctly.

Will's arms came up and he wrapped them around Jem. Just like in the alleyway, Jem lost it. Tears streamed down his face and he sobbed until he choked on his breath and his tears. Will just rubbed his back slowly and whispered, "I'll find more, Jem. You'll be fine," into his ear. It just made him cry harder. Finally he pushed Will away weakly. He understood and pulled away and gave him space. Jem sat heaving breaths in his night clothes, wiping his face furiously with the crook of his elbow. He didn't want to cry any longer, like a pathetic child.

"Jame-Jem."

Jem caught his slip and looked at him with reddened eyes. Will looked hurt. Jem sniffled.

"I should probably let you sleep."

Will got up and went to the door. Looking back he said, "Let me know if you need anything." He left and the door clicked shut.

Jem almost wished that he was sick again so that Will would stay in his room again. He wished he hadn't told Will not to call him 'James'. He wished that he hadn't hurt him. He wished that Will would come back and climb into bed with him and sleep like they had a few nights ago.

Jem lay back down and closed his sore eyes. He wouldn't be able to sleep now, regardless of his exhaustion.

He resigned himself to staring at the water falling to the ground outside.

When dawn was seen peaking its way through the London clouds, Jem got up. He pulled on a warm shirt, coat and thick trousers, Intent on a walk.

As he came out into the hall, he realized that Will's door was ajar. He cautiously snuck towards it while pulling on a glove with his teeth, holding his cane in the other already gloved hand. Jem poked his head inside and looked around. Will was nowhere inside. He frowned and looked back down the hall again. Just as he turned to shut the door, he saw Will walking up the stairs.

It took him only moments to see that he was injured.

He dropped his cane and rushed to his friend's side. Will winced and almost fell to the carpet. Jem caught his arm and held him upright as best he could. Will was much sturdier than he remembered. Blood seeped through the wool of Will's pant leg. Jem hurriedly helped him to his room. Will's room was much darker than Jem's with black accents and drapes. Jem pulled him thought the doorway and pushed him to the bed. Will flopped down and brought his hands down to grip his leg. Jem batted his hands away and brought his knife out, cutting the pant leg at the knee swiftly.

"J-jem," Will cautioned quietly.

Jem swore lowly as he saw the wound. It was a sickly green and pus seeped from it. He knew exactly what type of injury this was.

"What the hell were you doing near a demon den?!" He said tersely, trying to keep his voice down. He glared at Will before running to his room, grabbing some rubbing alcohol, his stele and an old night shirt. He tore off his coat and gloves, and roughly pushed up the sleeves to his thick grey shirt.

Coming into the dark room again, he threw the curtains open and turned to sit on the bed with his supplies. He glared at Will again, but softened it as he saw the pain in his eyes. He gently lifted Will's leg and laid it in his lap where he sat on the bed. He took the old shirt and poured the alcohol over it. He looked at Will with some pity and said, "Hold your breath."

Will knew the procedure and held his breath with his eyes screwed shut. Jem quickly rubbed the shirt over the mess wiping away the pus and blood, looking for the entry point. He found it and grabbed his stele. He completed the three runes quickly – One to clean the infection, one to incinerate the barb, and one to heal the wound. Will writhed in silent agony the entire time. As the runes stopped glowing, Will relaxed slightly. Jem slowly began to massage the muscle around the previous wound, which was closing and healing, his fingers trying to alleviate the ghost pain that happens after a wound is healed by a stele. The surrounding nerves don't know what to do with the pain signals they had just felt and then are no longer feeling.

Will still had his eyes closed as Jem slowly lifted his leg up and settled it down on the duvet again. He began to clean up. He would need to throw out the shirt and the pants Will was wearing. No need for Charlotte and Henry getting all up in arms about Will's little escapade. Jem wanted to be angry, but looking at Will's worn features, he simply couldn't muster it again.

Will opened his eyes and gazed tiredly at Jem, "Thank you."

Jem nodded and came back to sit next to his hip.

Will sighed and then slowly began to tell Jem what happened. Will had gone back out after talking to Jem and had gotten a lead from a shadow hunter that hung out near the graveyard that a certain demon was around. Jem didn't quite get what the demon had to do with Will but he didn't ask because he assumed it had something to do with the Yin Fen. Will had then come upon an unregistered demon den and had gotten the barb in his leg after surprising a certain venomous demon. He killed several of them but the rest escaped.

"Did you find the one you were looking for?"

Will visibly flinched, "I thought I saw a glimpse of it…"

"You'll need to tell the clave about this. We'll make up a story to tell Charlotte so that she doesn't know you were injured."

Will gave Jem a grateful glance and closed his eyes again. Jem knew how to deal with the injury, simply because he had studied demons his entire life, first under his parents, and then upon the discovery of his 'illness'. He knew exactly which demon Will had encountered, and thank the Angel he did. He sighed and got up.

"Your pants, Will?" A sense of déjà vu overcame him and he stared at Will, flushing. He remembered Will saying the exact thing to him just a few days ago. Both incidents were completely innocent and Jem berated himself for making them less so. The silver-haired boy's breath hitched though as Will cracked an eye and quirked an eyebrow just as he remembered doing. Will first took off his shirt, slowly removing the cloth and revealing the toned muscle underneath taut skin. He flopped back on the pillows and without looking at Jem, slowly arched his hips. Just as he started pulling the fabric from them and sliding it all the way down to his knees, Jem caught sight of a large rune on his hip that disappeared under his underwear.

He winced as it slid over his still sensitive calf and his changed facial expression jolted Jem from his rooted spot. He had had his mouth agape slightly and he snapped it shut quickly. He almost lurched forward and helped Will tug the trousers from his feet, swept up the bloodied shirt and bundled it together with the torn strip of cloth he had cut previously.

Jem's face was absolutely scarlet and he kept his eyes to the floor. He really didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he had stood staring and admiring his friend's, albeit, insanely attractive body; nor did he want to dwell on the fact.

He quickly tore out of the room and snuck down to the cellars, where a big fire was kept going to heat the morning water. Jem slowly fed the soiled article into the flames and waited until they were sufficiently burned before turning and leaving.

He made his way up the stairs with a dazed feeling. So much had already happened this morning. He had gotten no sleep during the night, and it seemed that neither had Will. He blushed again at the vision of Will nearly divested of his entire wardrobe. It would certainly be burned nearly behind his eyelids, though the young shadow hunter wouldn't investigate further as to why. He shook his head to clear it and almost collided with the Institute maid, Sophie. She flushed all the way down her neck and bowed low, apologizing.

"No need, Sophie. I am a little out of it this morning, I'm afraid. Please, carry on." Jem slid by her and continued back to Will's rooms. Sophie looked after him with an odd expression.

Jem pushed the door to Will's rooms open and quickly entered. Will was just adjusting some cotton sleep pants on his hips and he turned around slowly. Apparently his nerves hadn't yet unseized. Jem helped him sit back down on the bed and tugged at his shirt collar. He was extremely hot. Will saw the motion and moved to get up again.

"I'm fine, lay back again," he reassured, but went to the window and opened it. The cool morning air flowed through and he breathed deeply. When he turned back, he saw Will looked at him concernedly. He gave a little smile then with a little blush, took off his thick shirt, leaving him in a white undershirt. It felt blessedly cool. He sighed and dropped the shirt over the desk chair next to him. Will patted the bed next to him and Jem realized just how tired he was. He went to shut the curtains once more and then with a quick afterthought, locked the door. He came back to the bed and slid onto it next to Will. He laid his head on the pillows and closed his eyes.

Will tugged the blanket that lay at the foot of the bed up over the both of them and gave a sleep-filled yawn. Jem hardly registered that he was moving until he felt the warm chest at his back. He fell asleep then to the smell of Will, to the feeling of Will pulling him closer, and the mumbled words, "That's better."


Please please PLEASE review :)

Loves,

~PT