PART III: Death's Door

Chapter 3

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Will did not wait for a response. A great sense of calm crashed over him, the words that had been brewing for so long finally out in the open. Sometimes, he thought, actions were not enough. These things needed to be spelled out. And now it had been. And Will was ready to keep moving forward.

Once again Will's lips were on Jem, and this time, he knew he would not let go, could not let go. The heat of Jem's body radiated out and covered Will like a familiar blanket, snug and all encompassing. Will needed to be closer. Suddenly, what little clothing remained between the two men became too much.

Will reached between them, taking his hands off of Jem's firm chest, only for as long as necessary, and pushed at fabric. The robe, which was still on Jem's body, opened the rest of the way, revealing uncovered flesh. For a moment, just one second, Will allowed himself the pleasure of taking in the full sight of Jem in all of his glory. His skin was golden-pale, practically translucent and covered in the faded white scars of runes long since faded. They inched over him, like a pale lattice of silver thread, delicate in repose yet so powerful when they had been active. He was no longer a warrior now, but he still had a warrior's body.

Again, Will let his fingers trail slowly over each and every mark. This time, however, his hands did not stop on Jem's chest and arms. They traveled farther, over his stomach, past his navel. And from the other direction up his thigh, reaching, parts of his parabatai he had never yet explored.

Under his light touch, Will could feel Jem reacting, feel his body arching up into Will's hand. Like a puppet on a string, Jem's body bent and bowed according to his will.

Still, their mouths devoured each other. Will could not get enough of Jem. The taste of him both familiar and totally foreign, smoke and ginger and blood. The metallic taste in his mouth only served to remind Will of all that had happened. He wanted no further reminder of how close Jem had come to death. In one swift motion, he threw off the bottom half of his gear, the last remaining barrier between them.

It was just them now. Jem and Will; just flesh and passion and searing heat.

Will resisted the urge to lower his body to Jem's, to feel their cocks meet, slick with pre-cum, and move. He had had his time to study Jem and he wanted to give Jem the same opportunity. Holding steady, leaning over Jem, but keeping distance, caused Will to shake with effort. Muscles bunching and twisting, every cord in his body demanding release.

Will decided to concentrate on other things. His eyes lingered on Jem's face as Jem moved down the bed; Jem's dark eyes were focused, studious, and hungry. He bent his head, licking his lips and leaning in, his skin prickling at Jem's attention. He could feel Jem's exhale on his dark pink head, pre-cum rising to dew at the tip.

Jem's mouth was intoxicating, full and dusty pink, and only millimeters from the place Will wanted it most. Will couldn't stop the desperate moan that escaped him. Looking up to the sky, sending out a silent prayer to the Angel, he was shocked, as he looked down, to see Jem's eyes on him. Black to blue, they always found each other - here or on the battlefield - always able to read the other - and right now Jem's eyes held a promise.

It was impossible to look away as Jem's tongue, sinfully wet, reached out and pressed his velvety softness to the flushed head of his dick, gathering the pre-cum, before retreating back into Jem's mouth. It was the lewdest, most erotic thing he had ever seen.

"You're incredible."

Jem smiled, "Your dick is incredible."

Smirking, as he reached between them, WIll grasped a hold of Jem's thick shaft and squeezed, watching as Jem gasped and bucked into his hand.

"So is yours." He gave Jem a few good squeezes and tugs before finally lowering his body to Jem's, gathering their cocks together, holding them in the calloused rough clutch of his hand. The wet sounds of their sliding flesh gave fire to Will's actions. His skin felt both cold and hot, tight in all the right places. He never wanted to leave this moment: Jem's cries in his ear, his lips on Jem's throat.

"Stop." At first Jem's request didn't register over his gasps and moans. He didn't sound distressed. "Will, please." Sudden and frightening panic flooded Will's brain. Had he hurt Jem? "I'm going to come, please, stop." Will calmed down and breathed in their sweat, resting his head on Jem's shoulder and stilling his hips - though not letting go.

"And that would be something," breathe "that would disappoint you?"

Jem softly kissed his temple and ran his thin violinist fingers up his spine, causing a shiver to run through his body. "Only if you weren't inside me first."

Will's heart skipped a beat, only to return louder and stronger, a thrum, he was sure, Jem could feel in his own chest.

"Jem." Will turned his head, meeting his eyes.

"I want you to, please." Will, straddling Jem's chest, sat up and looked down at his best friend, partner, lover, brother - parabatai. Jem's hair, matted with sweat, stuck to his forehead. His cheeks flushed red around the Silent Brother runes. Will leaned down and kissed both precious marks - in thanks for this chance - in forgiveness for the blame he placed in the Brothers for taking Jem away from him.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." Jem licked his lips and touched his chest, where only hours ago - days now? - there had been a fatal wound. "Use the salve, we'll go slow." Jem reached up and cupped Will's face, his thumbs tracing the sharp lines of his cheek bones.

Will nodded and leaned over the bed to grab the jar, almost empty from his frequent applications to Jem's wound and slid to the end of the bed. He couldn't say he hadn't thought of them before, hadn't dreamed of opening Jem up with his thumb, licking into him. Bundling Zachariah's robes, he lifted Jem's hips carefully, propping him up.

The salve was cold on his fingers, so he took a moment, rubbing them together, to heat them up. Slowly he inserted an index finger, feeling the tight clench of Jem around him. All the breath went out of Jem in that moment and Will froze, one finger still inside, but the gasp turned into a moan and Jem was inching back onto him. Jem's hole was hot and perfect and it made Will groan, with a sort of aching sound, that he imagined Lucifer made upon his fall from grace. Carefully, he added another finger. He stroked slowly and deliberately, pulling his fingers a little bit wider apart each time he moved them. The sounds - as he moved his fingers in and out of Jem's tight pucker - made Will's cock jump. He could come from just this, Will thought. Just this, the feeling of Jem around him, clutching him as if he'd never let go.

"Will!" Jem screamed, more a whimper than a name, as Will's fingers pressed onto something hard and pebble shaped inside Jem.

"Good?"

"Yes," Jem breathed loudly, writhing on Will's fingers, fucking himself onto them. "but, I need you. I'm not..."

"Shhh." Will leaned forward, kissing Jem's stomach, his fingers still stretching. "Shhh...I know, you feel so good Jem. So good, I can't wait to be inside of you." Jem howled as Will pressed again against his prostate. "How do you feel?"

Jem couldn't stop saying his name, it became a mantra as Will continued to stretch him. Will understood, he couldn't get enough of the wet, hot, tight feel of Jem's ass around his fingers. So different from anything he had ever felt before.

Jem whimpered. It was a heartbreakingly needy sound. "Will, by the Angel, please, please fuck me."

Will was as hard as he'd ever been and he didn't need to be told twice. He pulled his fingers out, messy and wet, the salve dripping on Jem's skin, and clutched at his hips, positioning himself just right before sliding in in one smooth long motion.

Jem's throat pulsed in the witchlight as he swallowed. His almond eyes were bright and dark as Will sheathed himself inside him. Angel above, Jem felt unbelievable. Will could barely breathe, the pressure around his cock was perfect, hot and unyielding. Jem needed to relax - if he didn't relax the pressure might drive Will insane.

"James," Will whispered, "you with me?"

"Always," Jem choked, rising his hips, letting Will's cock slide in and out of him in a movement that put stars in Will's eyes and sent a blaze to his balls. He felt rabid, crazed.

Will grabbed Jem's hips, stilling him. "I want..." He breathed, trying to control himself. Unable to silence the hunger.

"I know," Jem breathed, placing his hands on top of Will's, intertwining their fingers. Using his new leverage, Jem rolled his hips up, faster than before. James grunted, slightly changed position and did it again, this time hitting his mark. James writhed under him, a desperate whine escaping his mouth. James' fingers clenched onto his and reflexively dragged them both down onto the bed, bringing Will deeper inside. Both of them gasped at the feeling of completion. "I know," Jem tried again, swallowing, his hips making tight circles, "I want, too."

Any willpower William had broke and he began to thrust in earnest. He was being driven, desperately, by the need to be closer to Jem. The sounds of Jem's cries, the whispers between thrusts, the tight heat of him was all Will needed. Will was alive and Jem was alive and there was nothing in the world but the two of them. Will was on fire and he knew Jem felt the same. Every touch felt electric, every movement a strike of electricity.

Every bit of Will was covered in Jem. It was all he could think about, all he could see and all he could touch. He could feel Jem's heartbeat as well as his own, pulsing and quickening, excited and anticipating what was about to happen.

He was inside of Jem and even those parts of him which were not still had Jem on him. Like a

marked tree in the forest, he was covered in Jem's scent. His blood still caked Will's hair, still spattered his face, still lined his upper arms. Traces of the injury which had almost taken Jem away from him remained on him, like vicious tattoos, reminders of what had almost been.

Jem was whimpering as every thrust Will gave him was aimed at his prostate, giving him what he needed. Will itched to see Jem come. To see him unravel and shake under him. Will reached between them, wetting his hand in James' pre-cum, and wrapped his hands around his gorgeous cock. It felt like stretched silk.

"Fuck, Will!" Jem's body didn't know where to go - to buck up into Will's hand or to follow Will's rhythm.

Will was lost in it - in every pane of skin, every expanse of flesh. Their flesh finally as close as the one soul they had always been. For so long Jem had been unattainable, something he could only think about and dream about but, not be with. It was even worse since James joined The Brotherhood. He was there and yet not there at all. Still parabatai, but with a cold and broken rune. Neither living nor really dead.

And yet here he was, with Will. Will felt alive, he had rarely felt so alive in his life. Special moments with Tessa, or after a big kill, perhaps. But this, this was different.

Because Jem was here, Jem was flesh and blood and living and breathing. Here. And Will knew, instinctively, that this could be the last chance he would get to have Jem like this, completely and totally. They would see each other, but here and now, this was unique. They both wanted it, they both needed it and there was no telling if a moment like this would ever come again.

"I want to see you come." Will's hand moved over Jem , moving in rhythm with his thrusts.

Jem was beautiful, glowing in the soft light of the witchlight. Sweat-drenched and desperate, eyes clenched, lips between teeth. Will could feel Jem's balls as they tightened, his hips as they moved in desperate circles, he knew he was close.

"I want to see it," Will covered Jem with his body, lips worrying over his throat. "Let me feel you." Will captured James's moan with his mouth, his lips and teeth swallowing Jem's pleads as his seed spilled over Will's hand. It felt strangely warm and delicate, different from the hot vibrating heat of Jem's embrace. He sat up, lifting Jem's hips, emptying himself into Jem with three final thrusts.

Exhausted, Will collapsed onto Jem, softening inside him, resting his head on Jem's strong chest, Will's hand over where the parabatai rune used to reside. Jem's long finger stroked his face and gently turned him to his side. Facing Jem, Will couldn't imagine loving someone more.

"Ni hen piao liang." Jem said softly, his gentle eyes searching his face, running his fingers through the damp hair at the nape of Will's neck.

Will kissed him gently, lips parting softly and easily, like they had all the time in the world. "You don't know how beautiful you are." Jem might not know, but Will's heart beat with it, soared with it. James Carstairs was beautiful and James Carstairs was his, for at least this moment - he was his.

Jem smiled at him, a light leaping from him, unable to be restrained, warming Will. "I love you too."