Both Alike in Dignity

A/N: Apologies for missing the chapter on Tuesday - I'm having trouble adjusting to working and doing bi-weekly chapters. A few things came up and I just couldn't manage it. I have a surprise for you guys on Tuesday, though. ;D I really appreciate all the feedback I've been getting. Reviews make me happy. Leave a review and get a gift-wrapped Sebastian!

Word Count (overall): 28019
Word Count (this chapter): 1726
Updates: Tuesdays and Fridays

Chapter Fifteen

As inky darkness gave way to streaks of bright colour in the east, Sebastian had to concede that finding Jasper somewhere to change wouldn't be as easy as he had thought. It felt like they had walked through half the city, and they hadn't found anywhere. Sebastian would have to retreat back to shelter soon, leaving them with the real possibility of Jasper having nowhere to change. The thought made Sebastian's mouth go dry.

When Jasper changed, he would not be in control of himself. He would kill indiscriminately. He would rip apart everyone he came across, including Sebastian, who was likely to be the first person he laid his eyes on. Sebastian could survive a lot of things. Being ripped limb from limb by an angry werewolf was not one of them.

They turned a corner and Sebastian stared dubiously down the side street. “I'm sure we've been here before,” he said, his voice tight with anxious misery. If they were going around in circles, Sebastian might have to kill himself. Or Jasper.

“We haven't,” Jasper said, his voice firm.

Sebastian looked over at the werewolf and frowned, his forehead creasing.

“Sense of smell, remember? I'd be able to tell if we'd been here before.” Jasper shrugged. “I could fix on your scent from a mile away, if I had to.” Jasper was very familiar with how Sebastian smelled, by now.

“Oh,” Sebastian said. Somehow, he had managed to forget. Maybe because he didn't quite have the heightened senses that Jasper did. Sebastian's sense of smell couldn't compare to that of a werewolf's on a good day, never mind near the full moon, when Jasper's senses would be at their most sensitive.

“Yeah,” Jasper said. “Pretty useful. Even if anything foul-smelling makes my eyes water.” He grimaced and stared down the alley. “Like the dead cat down there.”

Sebastian stared down the alley – he couldn't sense it. Couldn't smell it, couldn't see it. That was weird. Like Jasper had some kind of sixth sense, even though Sebastian knew how the other did it. Who knew that smell could tell someone so much about the world around them?

“Down here,” Sebastian said, prowling down a different alley, trying to make himself useful in other ways. He felt a little inadequate next to Jasper, sometimes. It wasn't something that he was used to feeling.

“Looks promising,” Jasper said. “If we can find somewhere boarded up enough to keep me in that we can actually get into, this time.”

Sebastian stopped outside a large building with boarded windows, turning a corner in search of the door. A padlock, with thick chain through it. He tugged at the lock, but it didn't give. Good thing, really. If he could pull the damn thing off, then it was certain that the wolf could. He tilted his head and considered the problem, working through solutions and discarding them again in a split second. Bolt cutters, maybe. Although he didn't think anywhere would sell two men bolt cutters this early in the morning. It would be obvious they were trying to break into somewhere. Or maybe he was just being paranoid. He didn't think so.

A hand landed on his shoulder. Sebastian jumped so hard that he nearly head butted Jasper in the face. That would have given them something else to worry about. A broken nose would have been a very effective distraction. “Don't fucking do that,” Sebastian muttered, shrugging Jasper's hand from his shoulder violently.

Jasper, being Jasper, just put it right back again. He gave Sebastian's shoulder a mocking squeeze, grinning like a shark.

“Fuck you,” Sebastian snapped.

“Stop sulking.” Jasper peered over Sebastian's shoulder. “Move.”

“I'm not sulking,” Sebastian said, sounding petulant. “Don't you mean 'excuse me', or haven't you been properly trained, yet?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jasper snapped. “Move or I'll fucking move you.”

Sebastian sent Jasper a sharp look, but he stepped to the side without a word. Then, to his astonishment, Jasper produced a lock pick. “Who the fuck just carries around a lock pick?”

“I was a boy scout,” Jasper said, his voice dry. “When you're in danger of killing a bunch of people if you can't get home quickly enough, you pick up a few tricks. It's saved my ass a few times.” He bent over the lock, biting his tongue in fierce concentration as he tried to get the lock to do what he wanted it to do. “Come on,” he muttered, jiggling the pick, trying to get the tumblers to turn. The lock gave a quiet snick, then a clock, and it fell open undamaged. Jasper grinned in triumph and straightened up, threading the chains through until they could step inside the dark building.

Neither of them had trouble seeing in the near pitch black. It was a big, empty space. There wouldn't be many people around this part of Berlin at night – most of the trade here was done in the day, and even then people were sparse.

“This might be okay,” Jasper said. “Help me check the windows.” Jasper started on one end, Sebastian the other. They checked each board, making sure it was firmly fixed in place and that no light shone through. “It'll do.”

“You'll need to teach me how to pick the lock so I can let you out again,” Sebastian said, stepping back out into the breaking dawn. It was a relief to be back outside. The warehouse made him uneasy, though he couldn't pinpoint why.

“Come here,” Jasper said. “It's really simple.” He closed the door and snapped the lock back into place before brandishing the pick. “You just have to very carefully turn the tumbler, and the lock should snap open.” He showed Sebastian, then closed the lock and handed the pick over.

Despite his age, lock picking was not something that he had ever mastered. He tried, clenching his jaw and working at the lock until it gave under his patient manipulation. It took him far, far longer than Jasper, but he managed. “I can do it,” he said.

“Good. Because once I'm locked in there, I'm not getting out until you let me out.” He took the pick back and made it disappear before chaining the door properly back to how they had found it.

“Where I'm standing, that's a good thing,” Sebastian said. He let out a hard yawn, his fangs sliding down into place for a brief moment. As he closed his mouth, they disappeared back into their sheath. He looked at Jasper. “Let's go get some sleep?” he asked.

“Mmm, let's go get some sleep.”

Back at the hotel, they wasted no time getting ready for bed. Jasper headed straight for the shower and Sebastian skipped it in favour of taking one when he woke. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him. Despite his exhaustion, the lack of Jasper's presence in the next bed bothered him. He couldn't hear him breathing, couldn't hear his heartbeat. Not clearly. It was all muffled by the raining splatter of the shower water.

As soon as Jasper thudded into his own bed and stretched out to sleep, his breathing deep and even, Sebastian fell asleep. He slept soundly.

-

“Sebastian, wake up, I need to go.” A hand shook at his shoulder.

Sebastian groaned and turned over, blinking blearily up at Jasper. His mouth tasted like someone had crawled in there and died at some point during the day. It took him a moment to work out why getting up was so damn important. Then, he sat up suddenly and patted his hair down.

“Do I have time to shower?” Sebastian asked, swinging his legs out of bed, ignoring Jasper's stare – he'd been forced to sleep in his briefs. He didn't exactly have pyjamas lying around.

“Only if you want to push it, and it's not a good idea to take risks when it comes to this. Trust me,” Jasper said. He looked nervous, on edge, with dark circles under his eyes. Every now and again his hands twitched, or he moved suddenly.

“I'll do it when I get back,” Sebastian said, heading straight for clothes. He pulled on a shirt and a pair of trousers, not exactly clean, but it was surprising how used to that he was getting. He barely spared a thought for it now.

“Great, let's go,” Jasper said, heading for the door and flinging it open. He paced outside impatiently, waiting for Sebastian, eyeing the sun. It wasn't even setting yet, the moon a ghost in the sky.

“You remember the way, right?” Sebastian asked, grabbing his coat and sunglasses. He didn't need anything more than that in the dying evening light.

“Yes. Do you?” Jasper asked.

“Yes,” Sebastian said. There was no way he was going to forget. No fucking way.

“Good. Come on. Quickly.” Jasper took off at a fast pace, leaving Sebastian scrambling tp keep up, his legs shorter than the werewolf's.

-

“Are you sure you're going to be okay in there?” Sebastian asked, peering into the depths of the warehouse. It seemed darker than he remembered. More sinister.

“I'll be fine,” Jasper assured, glancing nervously at the setting sun. “I won't even remember most of it. Trust me.”

Trust. Something that didn't come easily to Sebastian. He frowned. “Do I need to change rooms or anything?”

“If you want,” Jasper said. “Blaine and company will be busy with the same thing I am, so I wouldn't bother. But if you don't feel safe, change it.” He shrugged, then glanced at the sun again. “Look, I need to go.” He took a step back into the gloom.

“Okay,” Sebastian said. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Jasper grinned. It didn't reach his eyes. They stayed the colour of cool slate. “Don't forget to lock me in.”

He pulled the door closed behind him. The lock snicked closed with an edge of finality.