I suggest no one complain about the frequency of my updates. There's no telling how long it will last...O.o

This one...could have ended differently, but I decided against it.


Truth in Dreams


Bartimaeus disliked hotel rooms. They always reeked of far too many human inhabitants. And with his recent master, hotels meant they were probably in the middle of something dangerous. Nathaniel didn't leave his posh little apartment if he could help it. In fact, with the exception of the steps of Parliament, Bartimaeus had only ever seen him sleep in his own bedroom unless they were in one of these damnable places.

…and that time hadn't really counted as sleeping so much as having a surprisingly strong old lady beat him over the head with a rock, causing him to pass out instantly.

…alright, so it had been Bartimaeus, but Nathaniel had never found that out, and it really had been for his own good, crumpling and rolling down several stairs had kept him from being devoured by the demon that had been chasing them, it had swallowed a lamppost instead.

The point was, nothing good ever came out of spending the night in hotels.

Especially recently, since Nathaniel had gotten the absurd idea that for his maximum safety, Bartimaeus should actually stay in the bed with him during this trip. This probably meant it was more dangerous or something, though Nathaniel hadn't mentioned that…the little worm usually liked to spell out what sorts of terrors Bartimaeus could be subjected to.

Bartimaeus had done this sort of thing before of course…but for really important people, like emperors…not scrawny little kids who thought too much of themselves.

And the previous masters who'd required that had been fine, and actually preferred, him to take a small, inconspicuous shape like a beetle or a mouse perhaps. That way he was unseen until it was too late by attackers…and they didn't have the awkward situation that came from waking up next to something pretending to be human.

Nathaniel was rather daft though, and that had apparently never occurred to him, because in his reasoning Bartimaeus should remain in Ptolemy's form because…something, Bartimaeus had been a bit too eager to argue to actually listen to the logic.

No doubt it was flawless…at least in Nathaniel's mind.

Bartimaeus had initially wished the bed would be a bit bigger, their elbows brushed even with the djinni wiggling as close to his edge as he could.

Two hours into it though, he supposed the room could be one giant bleeding bed for all the good it would do. Nathaniel would apparently still gravitate toward him and drape his skinny, unwanted little form all over him.

It had started with an arm which Bartimaeus had pushed away forcefully, hoping to wake him up.

He hadn't. Some magician this kid was…he'd just sighed and rolled back to his side.

Later it was both arms and a leg and at the moment he was basically using Bartimaeus as a mattress rather than the actual supplied one. His bony little backside was the only thing still hanging off of the djinni; everything else was wrapped or sprawled across him somehow.

And he wouldn't wake up. Bartimaeus had tried glowing, speaking, poking and rolling over…he wasn't allowed to actually hurt him, or this might have gone better…

His pale face, features far too sharp for someone his age…he really needed to eat more, was pressed against the tanned neck of Ptolemy's form.

Tucked there. Nathaniel's head was tucked under his chin. Like…like a…lover or something.

Lovely. He'd never live this down if something was sent to assassinate him…no doubt it would turn right around before Bartimaeus could untangle himself from Nathaniel.

There wasn't a punishment in the world that wouldn't be worth facing if it meant getting out alive to spread the word about another demon's humiliation like that…Bartimaeus certainly would be willing to accept it if he were in the position to have that sort of information over another demon…

He felt Nathaniel's lips part, brushing softly against the false skin of his neck. Was he waking up? Was he going to speak?

…oh what luck He drooled.

Bartimaeus couldn't wait to tell him this in the morning, though the idea of having to leave dried saliva on his neck as proof was unappealing.

Around hour four of this entire ordeal, just as Bartimaeus was wondering why he didn't just change into something else anyway…would Nathaniel even notice? He could be up and Ptolemy before the boy ever woke up…Nathaniel began to mumble.

His fingers were twitching and tugging at Bartimaeus' arm and he was whispering something so softly that it was hard to discern.

"What was that?" Bartimaeus asked conversationally, finding a new way to entertain himself.

"Said m'sorry you dun' like it." Nathaniel slurred, the words harder to enunciate without the majority of his active brain backing them up. Hm, he was still asleep, interestingly enough…Nathaniel wasn't a sleep talker, and Bartimaeus would have known, he'd ended up at least in the same room as the young magician quite a lot in the last few months.

"Don't like what?" Bartimaeus asked, pulling his arm away from the feeble grasp.

"Doin' this fer me. But it's th'only way…" Nathaniel rubbed his face against Bartimaeus' neck…he could just feel the now cold saliva getting smeared around…

"The only way for what?" Bartimaeus asked, a bit annoyed by that on top of the annoyance of having Nathaniel sleeping on top of him. "I'm perfectly capable of guarding you without doing this."

"Nuh-uh, s'not it." Nathaniel's fingers crept back to their tentative position on his arm.

Bartimaeus allowed himself a mental giggle at the word "snot" before speaking again.

"What is it then? Because you smell all fruity from the millions of girly bath things you use, and you're using me as a mattress and spewing your nasty bodily fluids all over me in the process." Bartimaeus said acidly.

"I am?" Nathaniel asked, sounding dismayed, even with his voice being so distant. "But I din'vn have th' dream 'gain…"

Bartimaeus became a lot more interested in their half-discussion now. He'd meant saliva obviously, but apparently dear Nathaniel had a guilty conscious as he'd interpreted that in an entirely different way.

"Dream? Goodness, I didn't know my dear master had it in him…literally, I was expecting there to be girl bits down there…who were you dreaming about? Please don't say Kitty, I actually find her decent, this would ruin it…don't say that Farrar girl either though, she's dreadful, even for you…"

Nathaniel's nose wrinkled against the crook of his neck. "No, s'you."

Bartimaeus paled, nearly all the color drawn from him.

It was a long time before he spoke again.

"Me?"

"Mm, yeah." Nathaniel whispered. "S'why I's sayin' sorry 'm making you do this…I jus'…didn't know…how else…t'be close. S'driving me crazy not bein' close…n'cause I…" Nathaniel faltered here as though struggling. Did people struggle with words even in their sleep? "Cause I love you."

Bartimaeus sat up swiftly, not caring that it jarred the human atop him. Nathaniel slid down his chest, head lolling to one side.

Despite his current existence being titled sideways by what Nathaniel had said, Bartimaeus surveyed this with a different set of problems. No one should sleep that deeply.

He tilted his head; pressing a finger to those parted lips and pulling them open, leaning so that his own almost brushed them as he tasted the air around them. The crackling, bitter, and almost silvery taste of truth serum made him recoil.

He'd personally smelt everything Nathaniel had had for dinner…how had that happened? It explained a lot though…Nathaniel wasn't talking in his sleep, he'd been trying to wake himself up for hours, but was so out of his head that he probably had no sense of what awake or asleep was much less where he was, who he was laying on top of, or anything specific like that.

He was though, Bartimaeus realized with a sinking feeling, being absolutely honest about everything he was saying.

Nathaniel was in love with him. It was possible that he didn't even consciously comprehend it, but the feeling was there, and it was absolute. The serum, however it had been administered had no doubt been to extract information about his business here, maybe even his true name, but instead…

…though that did lead him to wonder why no one had come to take advantage of the serum's effects yet.

Just as he was contemplating, trembling little imp stuck its head in through the window. Well there was the information gatherer…late, no doubt…

Bartimaeus didn't know who'd sent it and he was too ruffled and angry to care. He didn't make it a habit of eating weaker demons, but it made him feel a tiny bit better to do so.

Threat taken care of, now all there was to do was to wait for the effect to wear off. He supposed now would be a good time to get more clarity about this, but he was still in shock. Nathaniel wasn't supposed to love him. There was a reason humans didn't fall in love with demons. The humans always ended up dead. If the demon loved the human back, chances were the death would come even faster.

Bartimaeus had more experience with this than he'd ever wanted. He didn't want it again…which wouldn't have been a problem if Nathaniel had only stayed even the slightest bit sane…

He did manage one more carefully thought out question though, for the sake of having something to say.

Another two hours of awkward, tense silence later, Nathaniel began to move again, not the sluggish, dreamlike movements of before, but sharp, desperate struggling as his body allowed his mind to become aware of what was going on.

Another few minutes and his eyes were open; pupils dilated abnormally, but open all the same. "Bartimaeus?" He gasped out, sounding even younger than he actually was.

"Here." Bartimaeus said dully. "Are you coherent?"

"Y-yes." Nathaniel said slowly, pawing at the air as he tried to keep himself from toppling over. Bartimaeus caught him distractedly. "What did you eat? Or drink, or whatever, without letting me check it?" He asked and he could tell the already shaken boy was unnerved by his tone.

"The chocolates they left on the pillow." He said, and at least he seemed to have the decency to feel stupid.

"Do you know what it did to you?" Bartimaeus asked.

"No. Made me sleep. I couldn't wake up…but not exactly, no." Nathaniel said quietly.

"It was a truth serum. Had you been questioned by whoever drugged you you'd have told them anything they asked." Bartimaeus supplied, though of course Nathaniel knew the general idea of what a truth serum did.

"Did anyone…"

"Sent an imp. It's taken care of."

"Thank you…" Nathaniel almost sounded sincere. Bartimaeus supposed he might actually be, now that he knew how Nathaniel actually felt.

"Did I…say anything? To you?" Bless his pathetic little human existence; he did know consciously, he was paranoid about it…

"Yeah." Bartimaeus said softly. Nathaniel tensed.

"What?"

"You wet the bed until you were eight." Bartimaeus said, grinning broadly. Nathaniel made an indignant squawk of protest, but let Bartimaeus' strong hand push him back against the bed. "Now get some real sleep. You'll find nothing you've had so far tonight will really rest you."

Nathaniel nodded, looking dazed and relieved. He was asleep five minutes later, curled against Bartimaeus' side once more. The djinni didn't bother attempting to push him away, even if he'd be woken easily this time.

Bartimaeus watched him for a very long time after that…the sun was already rising by the time he looked away.

Nathaniel loved him. If he said something about it…if he admitted to what he'd heard…and to how he himself had come to feel for the boy…perhaps something would come of it.

Perhaps, for the first time since Ptolemy, he'd feel like he had something worth properly existing for.

…and perhaps Nathaniel would end up dead within the week.

No. It wasn't worth it.

If Nathaniel really loved him, that meant he actually trusted Bartimaeus' ability to protect and care for him…

…and since Bartimaeus really loved him in return, he'd keep that his main priority.


Everyone made out basically what Nat was saying for the most part, right? D:

Review Please!