Who: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm What: Just brothers having a chat. Naked. In bed. When: Very early Saturday Morning Where: Wil's bedroom Warnings: Sexy chatter and various
The Grimm household was now a muse refuge as well. Jakob was absolutely happy to have them there. He didn't even mind them using his bedroom, which meant he had to bunk with Wil.
Half the time he was in there anyway. And the other half, Wil was in with him.
The brothers had managed to sneak away to grasp onto some time for themselves. They had a lot to discuss. A lot had happened recently, and Jakob especially wanted to talk to his brother about it. He had a daughter. He knew how to be around children, as he had helped with Wil's kids when they were growing up, but having one himself was different. And Greta was nineteen anyway. Wilhelm was the only person in the world he trusted enough to give him advice about this.
They had sex first, of course. Jakob wanted Wil for more than just talking. After it was over, he lay beside his brother, his hand on the other man's hip.
"This has just been...such a busy week..." he said lamely.
"You're telling me, we haven't done this all week." Wil gave Jakob an amused look. He rested his head against his brother's shoulder with a sigh.
"Certainly an unexpectedly eventful week," he agreed. "I mean, who could have predicted that?"
Jakob gave his brother an apologetic look. "I am sorry," he said, turning his head to kiss Wil's forehead. "I don't think it ever occurred to me that I could have a daughter out there. I just went along with my life and I had no idea."
"You and me both." Wal sighed and shook his head. "The question is, though, when and how and do we even tell her about us? Immortality, I mean, not... this." This was kind of private, nobody really needed to know about this. "We don't know if she's affected or not."
"This is ours," Jakob said, reaching up to brush Wil's hair back out of his face. "The rest of it- Well she did say she wanted to study fairytales at university. I almost choked on my tea, Wil, I really did."
"I know, I was kinda surprised too. They say certain things run in your genes... I'd say in this case, it definitely did. Rather unexpected." Wil stroked his fingertips down Jakob's chest. "You know we could help her with an amazing research project, if she goes. We have to help her get her education. You can pull some strings, can't you?"
Wil's fingertips on Jakob's chest made him smile and he licked his lips. "Of course I can pull strings, if that is what she decides she wants. It's funny, Wil. I feel like...if she asked me to perform a backwards handspring, I would try my best to do it. I only just met her and I want to do whatever I can to make her happy. Is that in our genes too?"
Jakob had loved Wil's children, but they hadn't been his. He had never experienced being a father before. "Is this what it's like?"
Wil shrugged a shoulder, growing solemn. "I don't really remember much, to be honest. It's different when you raise them, though. You will have to forge an adult relationship with her, where with my children, I was their parent first and foremost. Do you know what I mean? But you're naturally protective anyway, so I guess it doesn't take much for you to want to form an attachment. She is a sweet girl. She has an air of innocence."
Speaking of being naturally protective, Jakob immediately cupped Wil's cheek with his hand and he rubbed his thumb gently across it. "Are you alright, Wilhelm?"
Wil laughed softly. "Yeah I'm alright. It takes a bit to process, a new family member after all these years. And a Muse having a breakdown in your bed. What do you do to these women?"
"What do I do to them?" Jakob said with mock-indignation. Then he dropped the act and he leaned up to kiss Wil's cheek. "It does take a bit to process. But she is sweet, isn't she? As for poor Clio...I wish I could do more to help, I really do."
"The centuries she's gone through... it must be hard for her. We've seen our stories change so much, but they weren't really ours to begin with, and they're fictional. It must be so much harder for her, seeing history being rewritten with each new group in power." Wil yawned. "I mean, like those southern states who are trying to carry on like the Civil War wasn't fought over slavery, when it clearly was. It must take it out of her. I don't think we really can do much more than we're already doing."
Jakob nodded sadly. "I just hate to see her in pain. I am very fond of her and seeing her like she was... She just wouldn't stop crying, Wil. I sat with her until her sisters came and she hardly stopped crying once. It breaks my heart to know she's hurting like that."
"Do you know what it was about? It can't be just the changes... it has to be some kind of trauma." Wil rolled onto his back, hand behind his head. "We can only keep her safe until she comes around, I think. I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. I wonder if there's a Greek god we can call on for this kind of thing?"
"I don't know what it was about. I mean, the rest of it." Jakob didn't mention the marks on Clio's back. He didn't feel right divulging that, even to Wil, whom he told everything to when it was about just himself. "I know she is friendly with her brother, Hermes. I met him when I went to see her once because he was at her home. I don't know about anyone else. I suppose we'll just have to ask her. I just worry. You know me. I want to fix things and it's hard to accept that some things aren't mine to fix."
"Well at least her sisters came. They can call someone else if they need to, I guess." Wil took Jakob's hand the pressed the back of it tp his lips. "You're a good man, Jakob. We'll just do the best we can. And then when you need support, you can come to me."
Jakob let out a heavy sigh and he rolled over on his back as well, staring up at Wil's ceiling. He left his hand in Wil's and he laced their fingers together. "I know I can," he said honestly. He always had and he always would. Wilhelm was the only constant he had ever had in his life, save for the few, agonising years they had spent apart. And even so, every lonely breath had been for Wilhelm. The stories he wrote during those years had been coloured with his broken heart. Later on the stories had been wish fulfilment tales of long-lost brothers finding each other again.
It wasn't his best work and most of it he didn't dare read now that he and Wil had been reunited. There was no need to rehash such pain.
"You're a good man too, Wil. My favorite, as a matter of fact," he said, grinning because Wil obviously knew. He moved his leg under the covers until it was slung over Wil's, just to invade his space a little because Jakob liked that. "Our life is becoming less quiet. I want you to know no matter how noisy it gets, there will always be this," and he brought Wil's hand to his lips to kiss this time.
Wil smiled at his brother's affectionate words, rubbing his toes up the inside of Jakob's leg. "You're my favourite too, you big dork," he said, nudging Jakob's shoulder with his own. "But we're going to have to tell Greta the truth. You know what immortals are like, they're always getting in each others' business, and she'll find out and then be mad at us for not telling her first."
"I know. I know we have to tell her, but how do you even attempt to explain that kind of thing."
Jakob rolled over again so he could face Wil. He was quite close now, as one of his legs was between Wil's. He propped himself up on his shoulder so he was just a little bit above his brother and then he sighed. "It's clearly affected her. Being part...whatever I am. I didn't know fairytales could run in your blood, but they clearly do."
"Hi, we're actually the Brothers Grimm, and you're half immortal, so, like, a demi-god or something." Wil tried a chirpy voice, then shrugged and sighed. "You're right, it has affected her, somehow. It's uncanny that she shares that with us. Perhaps..." He made a face. "Do you remember Regina? From... I think we last saw her about 1918? The goddess of Fairytales that you had a thing with. Maybe she'd know how it's affected Greta. Do you think we should try and find her?"
He was starting to slowly respond to Jakob's closeness, and was beginning to think about telling him to stop talking and start with round two already.
"Ah yes, Regina. I think that might be a good idea, yes," Jakob nodded. "She could help, if she's willing. She might know how much it has affected Greta anyway." Jakob smiled down at his brother. "Aren't you so very clever?"
Jakob ran his fingers down Jakob's chest to his hip.
"So I've been told." Wil replied a little smugly. "Come here." Reaching up, he tugged Jakob to him to kiss his worries away, at least for a little while.