Fairytales

The next few days were tense around the apartment. Not that Johnathan regretted kissing Theodore because he didn't, not at all, but it put an extra side to the ordeal they were in. Theodore most likely returned his affections and that made the fact that this was temporary hurt all the more. He sidestepped the topic, choosing to rather enjoy the time he had with Theodore. Which is not to say that he stopped thinking about his last wish because he didn't do that either. He thought about it twice as much, knowing that he had to make it count.

While he tiptoed around the topic, it seemed not even to matter to Theodore who was staying out of the trejule for most of the day while Johnathan was at work. He only retreated to it at night, even though more than once Johnathan had thought of asking him if he maybe wanted to... nope. He wouldn't- couldn't- go there.

The trouble was, as the days inched by in an awkwardly domestic atmosphere, with Theodore helping Johnathan cook dinner and sharing stories of their days, it was also inching closer to Johnathan's trip back to his parent's house in Ohio. He hadn't given it much thought, had pushed it to the back burner along with the fact that he only had one wish left. However he couldn't ignore it anymore as he started to pack, calling in to work to check that his vacation days were still standing, and calling his mom to let her know that he would be there the next afternoon.

"I've got to... I'm going to visit my family. In Ohio, obviously, since that's where they live. My flight is in the morning." Theodore nodded, pausing halfway through putting the plates back in the cubbard.

"Yes, I remember you mentioning that a while ago. How long will you be gone?" Johnathan grabbed the plates from Theodore's hand and slid them into their place, since he had seemingly frozen.

"I'll be there for five days. Listen, do you... I mean, it wouldn't be hard for me to get another ticket. Would you like to come with me?"

Theodore turned to face Johnathan, biting his lip as he did so. The look the genie was wearing was making Johnathan believe that he might have once again stepped over some invisible line, but Theodore spoke before he could even think about apologizing.

"Are you asking me to come with you because you want me to come with you or because you feel like you have to?" Recognizing insecurity when he saw it, Johnathan leaned forward and placed his lips against Theodore's lightly before pulling away.

"I want you to come with me. Please." Theodore smiled, nodding through his mild embarrassment. Turning back to the plates, Johnathan could tell that Theodore was trying to keep from saying something. As much as he wanted to ask, he knew it would be better to wait. He'd already asked a few things that had caused Theodore to shut in on himself, which was definitely something he didn't want. He waited instead, hoping that Theodore would tell him whatever he was thinking.

After the dishes were put away, Johnathan went back into his bedroom to finish packing. He was almost done, just had to pack his shirts and pants and socks and... he was nowhere near done. While he pulled shirts out at random, folding them sloppily and throwing them into the bottom of his suitcase, he could see Theodore in the corner of his eye leaning against the door frame.

"You are hopeless, do you know that?" Tossing a smile over his shoulder, Johnathan continued to roll up his clothes but Theodore made a noise in the back of his throat before crossing into the room and grabbing his arm, trying not to smile as he took over, taking everything out and folding it.

"I guess... I mean, I think my family will get suspicious if they don't see you with a suitcase. I know you just, uh, snap clothes out of thin air, but that might be a bit suspicious." Johnathan hadn't even noticed for the first few days that Theodore's clothes did change, although they stuck within the dress pants, shirt and vest combination for the most part. It wasn't until Johnathan had offhandedly mentioned that he thought Theodore would look good in a tshirt (he really just wanted to see the tattoos on his arm again) that Theodore had changed up his usual wardrobe.

"Remember, I can do magic that benefits myself. Genies are notorious for going to extreme lengths not to be seen for what we really are when we're with our masters." Johnathan nodded, smiling as he watched Theodore fold his clothes and tuck them into his suitcase properly.

It was giving him that painfully domestic feeling again and he wanted to call them out on it, but Theodore's words came back to him. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. He repeated it over and over to himself while trying to tear his eyes from Theodore's back (erm, backside) while he bent over to retrieve a few dropped socks.

He just couldn't shake the feeling that they would be crossing the bridge soon.

The next afternoon, with Theodore pressed against his side outside of the airport in Ohio waiting for a cab, Johnathan couldn't help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into. His parents were going to ask so many questions, if they didn't just assume in the first place, and he wasn't sure what to answer. Not to mention they might put Theodore on the spot and-

The genie in question had his head tilted, looking around the airport silently. He'd been like that the entire flight actually, except for the few minutes that they had hit turbulence and he was squeezing Johnathan's wrist. Johnathan hated flying, but it was the quickest way to get from home to Ohio, but he had kept it together while letting Theodore hold onto his wrist. There was a moment when he had remembered every movie he'd seen about plane crashes, thinking that he could just wish them to be safe if something happened, and then selfishly thinking that he might rather not wish it. Theodore could save them himself, since it would benefit him, and Johnathan wouldn't have to worry about using his last wish.

It was selfish and wrong and a little morbid, sure, but Johnathan was beyond shame on that topic.

When the cab pulled up, Johnathan and Theodore put their bags in the trunk before sliding in together, with Johnathan careful to put just enough space between them that the driver wouldn't give them a look. Being back in Ohio was going to be hard, but he would put up with it for his family. He gave the general directions, knowing he was going to have to give better ones once they got closer, and then leaned back.

He couldn't help but ponder what he wanted as his last wish. He knew it had to count for something, if it was going to be the end of his time with Theodore, and he honestly couldn't think of something worthy. Technically he could refuse to make a wish, keep Theodore with him that way, but realistically it wasn't a good idea. Realistically, he should make the wish soon so that he wouldn't hurt forever once Theodore would leave. And Theodore would leave, it was inevitable.

Halfway through his internal monoglogue, Theodore reached over and subtly linked their fingers together. Johnathan's first reaction was to pull his hand away, but when Theodore refused to let go, Johnathan simply let it happen. It wasn't too long of a ride from the airport to his parent's house, he'd just have to hope that the driver wouldn't notice.

It must have been his lucky day because the driver either didn't notice or just didn't comment on it, simply asking Johnathan for more directions as they got closer to the neighborhood. Once they pulled up infront of the house, Johnathan paid the man and pulled their bags out. It wasn't until his father opened the door as they were approaching that Johnathan realized he probably should have told them ahead of time that he was bringing a friend.

"Johnathan, it's great to see you. Hope it wasn't too bad of a flight." Johnathan shook his head, glancing at Theodore before glancing back to his father.

"No it wasn't bad at all. Dad, this is-" Before he could get any of the introduction out, Johnathan's mother was pushing past her husband to envelope her middle child. Johnathan was overtaken not just by how strong her hug was, but by just how healthy she looked.

The last time he had seen her, she almost bed ridden for the full week because of the cancer. It made his chest ache, knowing that his mother was healthy again and it was thanks to Theodore.

"Oh, Johnathan, it's so great to see you. Honey, you're getting positively skeletal, have you been eating? Come in, come in, plea- oh. And who is this?"

Johnathan glanced over to Theodore who was smiling politely, his hands holding onto the handle of his suitcase, with his head lightly cocked to the side. He wondered just what information Theodore was gathering, but he pushed that aside to make the introductions.

"Mom, dad, this is my friend Theodore. Theodore, this is Maria and Jacob Galbreath. My parents." His mom looked between them with an eyebrow raised before smiling blindingly at Theodore and holding her hand out. Theodore smiled, his own smile matching Maria's blinding one, and took it, gently kissing the back of it.

Johnathan wasn't sure he'd ever seen his mother blush so much.

Afterwards, he turned towards Johnathan's dad and held out his hand, the handshake firm and quick. Johnathan watched as both of his parents seemed impressed by the greeting. It was like Theodore had gathered information as how to make a good impression. Which, honestly, Johnathan didn't put past him.

Inside, Johnathan's dad took their bags and went down the hall with them, leaving Johnathan and Theodore alone in the living room as his mom ran into the kitchen to make them all some drinks. Johnathan ushered Theodore to the couch, sitting next to him even though it was a sectional and therefore had many other places he could sit. His mom came in, gave him the all knowing look that he had been on the recieving end of all his life, before placing the tray with drinks and a bowl of vegetables and ranch infront of them.

When Johnathan's dad returned, he sat on the other side of the couch, rolling his eyes at his son, before turning on the news. It was normal behavior for them. Johnathan briefly wondered when his mom would tell them that she was better, but put that at the back of his mind. Maybe if he ignored the fact that he knew, he would be able to act appropriately shocked and happy when they did tell him.

Not long into the usual silence that encased the Galbreaths, Maria stood up and gave another one of her knowing looks to her son before smiling at them all.

"Johnathan, be a dear and come help me in the kitchen?"

"Oh, I can help-" Johnathan squeezed Theodore's wrist to cut him off. The only thing worse than Johnathan being drilled by his mother would be Theodore being drilled by his mother.

"Don't worry, I can do it." He gave Theodore a stern look, or as stern of a look as he was capable, before getting up and joining his mother in the kitchen. He wasn't worried about leaving Theodore with his dad, simply because his dad wasn't the kind to take an active role in any of the love lives of his children. He'd gotten over Johnathan being gay, it had been a non-issue for some time now, but he would rather not think of any of his kids in romantic (or god forbid sexual) relationships.

Despite the fact that Johnathan's older sister was engaged, he still pretended that she was his little girl. That's just how his dad worked.

His mom was leaning against the kitchen table with a smile, her hand fluttering around her neck in a nervous gesture.

"Honey, I wish you would have told you that you were bringing your boyfriend. You know that we don't mind, I just... I would have gotten your father to go into the attic to get out the photo albums, or all of those old school videos. Like the ones from that play you were in. Oh, or the Warblers. I guess you are here for a long weekend."

His mother looked absolutely sassy and while he loved that she was feeling better, her could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Please don't mom. Just, you know, next time. Definitely next time." She smiled, her hand reaching out to drift through Johnathan's curls before cupping his cheek in her hand. Her fingers were warm but her palm was cold, however he couldn't help leaning into her hand.

"Of course Johnathan, of course. I'm just glad that you're happy. You are happy, aren't you?"

Johnathan turned to glance at the living room, although he couldn't see anything. Was he happy?

"I am." If even for the shortest amount of time, he really was happy.

Later that night, after dinner, they sat in the living room drinking coffee and telling stories. Johnathan felt relaxed for the first time in days, which was strange, but he wasn't going to take it for granted. He didn't want to take anything for granted.

As it got later, his mom bent down to kiss Johnathan's forehead and gave Theodore a pat on the shoulder before disappearing down into the master bedroom. His dad looked like he was ready to follow her, so Johnathan stood up and stretched a bit.

"Did you put the bags in the guest rooms dad?" Johnathan's father gave him a look, one that Johnathan wasn't able to decipher before he spoke.

"We can pretend to be adults for the weekend Johnathan. I put both of your bags in your old room. Get some sleep." He nodded to the two of them, seemed like he wanted to maybe pat Johnathan on the shoulder or something, but disappeared down the hall on the opposite side of the house with a smile.

Johnathan felt his cheeks heat up again, just in time for Theodore to tilt his head for a second before laughing under his breath.

"I like your parents Johnathan." That wasn't what he was expecting, but he smiled and then motined for Theodore to join him. The guest rooms used to be the rooms that he and his siblings had when they were little, but once they grew up and all moved out, they turned into two guest rooms and an office. Johnathan's room was the main guest room, since it had been the biggest.

Just inside of the door were their bags, which Johnathan automatically went to in order to get his sleep clothes out. Theodore simply stayed in the doorway while Johnathan slipped past him towards the bathroom in the hall. When he was halfway there, he turned around to face Theodore.

"If you... if it would be more comfortable for you, you can sleep in the trejule? Or... I mean, even the other guest room... The bed is big enough for both of us, but if it would make you more comfortable, we don't have to share it." Theodore shook his head, a red tint climbing his cheeks.

"No I'd... I think I'm okay with it." Johnathan sighed, moving into the room and crossing his arms over his chest, tucking his clothes under his arm.

"Despite the fact that I'd never do anything with you or to you or anything like that, not without it being something both of us... without talking about it first, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Anything you want Theodore. If you want to sleep in the other room, it'll be fine. If you want to stay in your trejule, it'll be fine. I don't mind you sharing the bed with me. If that's what you want."

Theodore stared at Johnathan for a long second before smiling, nodding.

"I'd like that." Johnathan nodded, his cheeks burning a little, and turned back to go to the bathroom. He changed slowly, hopefully giving Theodore enough time to change (if he was doing it manually), before going into the bedroom. Theodore was already on the bed, under the covers and just a little off center. His clothes from earlier were resting on his opened suitcase, meaning he had dressed manually. For some reason, the thought made Johnathan smile as he slid into the bed beside Theodore, trying to get close but not close enough to touch him.

They were quiet for a while, Johnathan's cheeks permanently red as he tried not to watch Theodore. He couldn't remember being this nervous to be in a bed with another man, although he hadn't been in the bed with many men before.

"You've thought about this before." Johnathan let his head roll to the side to look at Theodore and tried not to smile.

"I thought you couldn't read minds." Theodore laughed, inching just a little closer to Johnathan.

"I can't. I told you, I just know." Johnathan bit his lip, turning to look back to the ceiling. If Theodore just knew that Johnathan had thought about sharing a bed with him, what else could he just know?

"It's... I've thought about it before as well."

Finally letting himself smile, Johnathan reached over and twined his fingers with Theodore's. Theodore squeezed his hand back and they both turned to watch each other in the darkness of the room. Johnathan wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, playing piano against one another's fingers, but he could feel his chest starting to ache with it.

He wanted so much more, but this was painfully temporary and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle it if it ended. When it ended.

Theodore seemed to know where his thoughts were going because his fingers stilled against Johnathan's before slowly pulling out of the grasp. Johnathan sighed before sitting up, leaning his back against the headboard.

"I think we need to talk about the bridge Theodore." The bridge that was between them and happily ever after. The bridge that was between them and simply "after".

"Do you already have your last wish figured out?" Theodore too was sitting up, however he turned to face Johnathan rather than lean against the headboard.

"No, not yet, but-"

"Then we don't have to talk about it. Not until it's for certain or-"

"Theodore, don't be like that. We have to talk about this. I have to know what my options are here."

Theodore sighed, flinging his hands out lightly before putting them in his lap and looking down. He was so used to being subservient that Johnathan wasn't sure he was used to speaking his mind, but that's what Johnathan wanted. He didn't want to keep Theodore around because he was genie, he wanted to keep Theodore around because he was dangerously close to falling in love with him.

"What options? Once I grant your third wish, I'm gone. I retreat into the trejule and it will disappear, to reappear somewhere else." Johnathan pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them under the covers. He hadn't sat like that in a while, but he was starting to feel a little numb.

"You... is there anything you can do? Do you have to go away right off? Can't you just... can't you stay?" Theodore sighed again, shifting so that he wasn't facing Johnathan so much.

"I don't know. I don't think so but... Johnathan, we have to be realistic about this. Logical. I'll always have to leave. A genie lives to serve and if I'm not serving, I'm not living." Johnathan leaned forward, ignoring the fact that Theodore was definitely putting out a vibe that said not to touch him, and grasped Theodore's hand in his own.

"Can't you... can't you live to love instead?" It was awkwardly presumptuous because they hadn't discussed love or feelings. They'd kissed and held hands, but they hadn't discussed what it was between them. There was a chance that Theodore didn't even feel the same way. There was a chance that he felt obligated to act this way because... because Johnathan was his master.

His stomach dropped, his skin felt too tight and too loose at the same time, his hands felt cold. He flinched away from Theodore, who had turned to face him again, before standing up and stumbling towards the bedroom door. He wasn't sure where he was going, barefoot and in his pajamas, but he couldn't stay in that room.

He had let himself believe that there was bridge to be crossed, but there wasn't. Theodore, as always, was trying to serve his master. He felt a little like maybe throwing up, but suddenly the walls seemed too close and he had to keep walking. He creaked down the hallway and through the living room, unlocking the front door and moving to the porch. He heard Theodore call his name twice between the bedroom door and shutting the front door, but he didn't turn around.

He could be wrong. Theodore might feel for him. It just made more sense that he felt obligated to act like this with Johnathan because of the role he had been forced into for his whole life. If he thought it would hurt when Theodore left, it hurt ten times more to think that it was a fake.

When Theodore came through the door, shutting it quietly behind him, Johnathan looked up at him. He knew he needed to ask, needed to know once and for all, but it wasn't making it any easier.

"Did you kiss me just because you knew I wanted to kiss you? Did you do this because you felt like you had to?" He waited for a second after he said it, gave himself just a deep breath before he really looked at Theodore. His face was blank, except where his mouth was pulling down on the left side. Johnathan felt his stomach tighten again, but he waited. Theodore had to answer, had to say yes or no. Johnathan wouldn't jump to conclusions, not now.

"At first, yes. No, wait, Johnathan, please."

Johnathan had took off from the porch at those words. 'At first' meant that it had possibly changed in the time between then and now, but Johnathan couldn't help his reaction. He couldn't help the hurt, the betrayal, he felt at hearing that it had been fake... even just at first. He wasn't even halfway down the driveway before he felt a hand wrap around his wrist and pull him around.

"Please Johnathan, just listen to me. Yes, at first I was doing things because I'm used to doing anything to please my masters, but it's always been more. It's always been different with you. You asked questions, you cared about what I had to say. You never treated me like I was beneath you. I've never... Johnathan, you have to understand, I've never had these feelings before. I've never felt like this about someone, genie or human, and it scared me. It scares me to think that all you have to do is make another wish and then I'll be gone again. And I know that no matter where I go, who I go to next, they will never be like you. I will have a Johnathan shaped hole in me for the rest of my time and I'm just not sure how to handle that."

Johnathan had hunched in on himself halfway through Theodore's speech, his stomach loosening just a bit. No matter what it had begun as, it was real now. To him, that was all that mattered. He just wasn't sure it was enough for Theodore.

"Is there anything? Any way that we could be together?" He kept his eyes off of Theodore, staring instead at where his tattoos were on his arm. He'd asked Theodore about them and he had said that they were what linked him to his trejule. All genies get them, unique to each genie and each trejule.

"I don't... I don't know." Johnathan glanced up, his eyes meeting Theodore's and seeing the conflicting emotions there. He nodded, looking off to the side before looking back to him.

"Is it possible...? What I mean to say is, what if I make a wish? I could... I don't know. Make you human? Or free you from your trejule? Or... is there anything? I have one wish left and I would use it to keep you with me, in any way that you wanted.."

Theodore's eyes looked watery, as if he was holding in tears, and Johnathan stepped closer to raise a hand and cup his cheek. He kept the eye contact as he leaned up, pressing his lips to the corner of Theodore's mouth. When he pulled back, he felt as if his mouth was tingling.

He opened his mouth to ask if Theodore had felt that, but in a blink, he was alone in the driveway. His stomach turning, he ran into the house, barely remembering to be quiet or wake his parents, before getting to his room and pulling the trejule out of his bag. The cork was in, but it wasn't sealed over as it usually was when Theodore was in it. He ran his hand over it, scrubbing it over and over and hoping beyond hope that something would happen. He waited, placing the trejule on the bed and staring at it, but nothing happened.

It tipped over as he sat on the bed, the cork falling out, and Johnathan felt his stomach tighten again. Theodore wasn't in there, Theodore was gone. He didn't understand it, couldn't figure out what had happened. He fell asleep with the trejule clutch in his hand, his thumb running over the ridges that circled it, praying that something happened.

When he woke up, it was to his mother's voice and hand shaking him. He rolled over, the trejule still in his hand, and eyed the spot that Theodore had been last night.

"Honey? I just checked the other room and... where's Theodore?" Johnathan sat up, rubbing his forehead and dropping the trejule under the covers before she spotted it.

"He left." Or at least Johnathan thought he left. He definitely wasn't around anymore.

"Oh honey. Did you two have a fight? I thought I heard the front door last night. Come on, come into the kitchen and tell me all about it. Your father already left for work."

After dressing, Johnathan made his way into the kitchen where his mother had compiled three plates but was quickly trying to hide the third one. It brought back the pain in Johnathan's chest, the one he had fallen asleep with, but he tried to breathe through it. He didn't know what it meant that Theodore disappeared like that, he didn't know what to make of any of it.

Part of him thought that if his mother hadn't asked about Theodore, Johnathan would have thought he imagined him.

Johnathan couldn't tell his mom anything because he didn't know anything. He didn't know what he could tell her to make it make sense. He simply said that Theodore left, that he was okay, and that breakfast was delicious before going back into the bedroom and sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, hands shaking as he pulled the trejule into his lap.

He sat there for a while before crawling over to the television and rifling through the DVDs in the cabinet, pulling out one that made him smile. Would it be in poor form to watch Aladdin? He laughed as he slid the DVD into the player and turned on the tv, scooting back to his previous position once it started.

He was just past the part where Aladdin had tricked the genie into getting them out of the cave when he heard the door open. A glance over his shoulder showed his mom, a small smile on her lips.

"You always did love that movie. Listen, Theodore is in the living room, and he... Johnathan!"

Johnathan hadn't waited for his mom to say anything, simply shot off of the carpet and moved past her to the living room, the trejule still in his hands. Theodore was standing in the middle of the living room, wearing a gray long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans (which was not what he had been wearing when he disappeared), looking at Johnathan like he hadn't seen him before.

"You're... you..." Theodore nodded, glancing over Johnathan's shoulder to his mom before smiling a little awkwardly.

"Can we talk in private?" Johnathan nodded, motioning for Theodore to follow him into his room, giving his mom a look that clearly said that he was going to be fine. That she didn't need to hover. She huffed, but shot him a smile before disappearing into the kitchen as Johnathan shut the door.

"What happened last night? You were there and then you weren't." Sitting on the bed, Theodore motioned for Johnathan to join him before speaking.

"You... before you kissed me, you said that you had one wish left and you'd use it to keep me with you in any way possible. Physical contact is needed to seal a wish and when you kissed me... I took a chance. I used my magic to try to grant the wish and then I was gone."

"Where did you go?" Theodore shrugged, glancing down at the trejule in Johnathan's hands.

"Do you remember how I told you about the First, the being that explains to me the life and role of genies? That's where I went. The First explained that it was ultimately my decision, that that was a wish I didn't have to grant. I could stay as I am, stay a genie and disappear once my service was over. Or, I could grant your wish. Not many genies ever have this choice to make, in fact it's only happened once before."

Johnathan could feel that pain in his chest again, although it wasn't all bad. It couldn't be, not if Theodore was here with him now.

"What did you decide?" He watched as Theodore reached over, pullng the trejule from Johnathan's hands and setting it to the side. He moved so that he was kneeling on the bed and pulled Johnathan to him, leaning down to press their mouths together.

Johnathan reached up, his fingers tangling into Theodore's hair and pushing upwards, not knowing what this was but knowing he didn't mind. When he finally pulled away, Theodore leaning down once more to press his lips to the side of Johnathan's mouth before sliding them to the area right beside his ear, he shivered.

"I chose you. I always will."

Pulling back again, Johnathan reached up to touch Theodore's cheek. He had to know, had to hear the words.

"Tell me." Theodore leaned back, snapping his fingers. Johnathan had to blink a few times once he realized that Theodore had made his shirt disappear. The closest he had seen the genie to being shirtless had been the first time they'd met when he was only wearing the vest, but now was different. And the biggest difference was that Theodore no longer had his tattoos.

"You're..." His voice wouldn't work, his brain wouldn't work, nothing seemed to want to work. Except for his hand, which had dropped from Theodore's cheek to his arm, tracing over where the lines had been.

"I'm free. Still a genie, but no longer bound to my trejule or to the life and roles of genie. Now I am only bound to you in the most profound and truest way. By my choice, by my heart's choice."

Johnathan didn't care that Theodore was shirtless, didn't care that he was in his parent's house, didn't care that his mother would probably be interrupting them soon. He pushed Theodore back onto the bed, his mouth latching almost painfully to Theodore's.

Theodore was his and he was Theodore's and fuck if everything didn't suddenly fall into place. Nothing else mattered at that moment, the house could be on fire. All that mattered was that Theodore was there with him, by his own choice, and would be there for a long time coming.

Johnathan had gotten everything he'd wished for.