| Touching a Dream |
| After a long dry spell, my first fic of 2007 ... at the end of the episode "What About Bob", Bob the ghost, who has been given a new life, sacrifices it to save Harry. He dies in Harry's arms. Then moments later, re-forms as a ghost. "How touching ..." They both laugh it off. But later that night, that moment haunts them ... |
| Harry Dresden tossed and turned in his sleep, reliving the events that had happened that evening. Returning 'home', to his mother's family estate, to find his evil Uncle Justin still alive � sort of. A copy, left behind to insure that Justin would truly come back at some point. Using the forbidden power to reincarnate that had gotten Bob sentenced to eternity in his own skull.
He couldn't believe Bob had turned against him. Sure, he'd been offered a chance at life again ... real life, as a solid, corporeal being, able to touch, smell, taste ... but what was that compared to 25 years of friendship? "Who the hell am I kidding?" the dream Harry asked himself. What was friendship compared to LIVING? No, he couldn't blame Bob� And then events played out just as they had in real life. At the last possible minute, Bob had shown his true plan, taking Justin and his 'copy' out for good, sacrificing his newfound life in the process. Harry huddled on the ground, holding his friend in his arms for the first time, real, solid, human. And felt something he'd almost forgotten. Love. A true, deep, abiding love for this person who would sacrifice his very LIFE for their friendship. Harry was the kind of guy who always tried to do the right thing. He was always the one charging in to save the damsel in distress. Some deep corner of him was determined to save the whole damned human race if necessary. He had, a couple of times, put himself at great risk to save people he didn't even directly care all that much about. Which was mostly everybody. He knew that ever since he�d lost his father, he�d never really let anybody else in. If you never let yourself expect much, you don�t have to worry about getting your hopes dashed. But it led to a meaningless sort of existence, where nobody really mattered. Until tonight. Those few, precious moments when he�d held Bob in his arms had touched something very deep inside him. He hadn�t realized the ghost had come to mean so much to him. Or worse, that Bob could care about him enough to give up his life to save Harry. It just didn�t make sense. But when he had looked down into Bob's eyes, he had seen something there. Something shining and true. Bob had willingly given his life to save Harry's. Out of love. Bob�s sudden �reincarnation� as a ghost had given them both the chance to laugh it off. But in the dream, it didn�t happen that way. In Harry�s dream, Bob died in his arms, and stayed dead, leaving Harry sobbing, full of regret for taking his friend so much for granted for so long. And feeling every bit as lonely as he�d been when his father died. �Bob! NO!!!!� Harry cried out, still mostly asleep. He sat up, memory of what really happened returning with wakefulness, helped along by the cold shock of his face passing through Bob�s outstretched hand. �Harry?� The ghost asked, startled by his outburst. Harry blinked, clearing away the sleep from his eyes. �Bob? What are you doing here?� �Nothing!� Bob replied a little too quickly. � � um � you seemed restless �� Harry gave his friend a long look, knew he was holding something back, but decided to let it go. He managed a wry grin. �You couldn�t sleep either?� Bob gave a small laugh. Harry had a talent for understatement. �No, I guess not.� He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The humor was gone when he added, �It�s been one hell of a day.� The emotions from his dream still very much with him, Harry looked up at his friend. There was something in Bob�s voice, more than the usual sarcasm. As hard as it had been on Harry, he realized it must have been harder for Bob. To be alive again, to be able to touch the rest of the world for the first time in centuries, to have to choose between Justin and Harry, then to �die� again, returning to his ghostly prison all in one day. His face now completely serious, Harry asked, �Bob? Are you all right?� Bob cocked an eyebrow in the ingratiatingly superior way he had. �I believe you are the one who woke from a dream screaming.� Harry wasn�t buying it. �That just means you woke up first � probably the same way. I just didn�t get to see it.� He paused holding Bob�s eyes with his own. �Seriously � you want to talk about it?� The ghost sighed. Harry really did know him better than anyone. Far better than Justin ever had. To Justin, Bob had been just another tool, another implement of power. Oh, he could play the jovial friend, but in the end, the power was all that mattered to Justin Morningway. Harry � Harry had been something different from the very beginning. Despite all the barriers Harry had placed around his heart, he was a good person at the core, a caring person. Whose true spirit had shone so brightly this night, when he�d thought Bob was gone. Seeing Harry break down over his own dead body had shaken Bob far more than he�d let on. It had made his sacrifice more than worthwhile. And it had done something to him that he really wasn�t ready to talk about yet. Which was why he'd been standing there, just watching Harry sleep, wanting to be close ... But the rest � yes, this he could trust to Harry. Tearing his gaze away from Harry�s soulful eyes, he eyed the foot of Harry�s bed mournfully. �Do you know what one of the worst parts about being a ghost is, Harry?� Harry just shook his head. �Not being able to sit down!� Harry frowned. �Bob. It�s not like the floor is exactly holding you up �� The ghost blinked. �Well, no �� Harry shrugged. �So why don�t you just pull yourself together in a sitting position?� To emphasize the point, he sat up, pulling his legs up, making room at the foot of the bed. Bob thought about it for a moment, dissolved into mist, and rematerialized in a mirror image of Harry�s position. �Well, what do you know!� Harry grinned at the truly surprised look on Bob�s face. In a moment both of them were laughing. �Thank you, Harry. I really never would have thought of that on my own.� Bob said as their mirth dissipated. Harry just tilted his head in acknowledgement. �That�s what this is really all about, isn�t it? This afternoon, you were alive. Human. Solid. You could touch things, affect the world around you.� A single raised eyebrow made it a question. Bob�s head bowed in a silent nod, the laughter gone from his eyes. Harry sighed. �Why, Bob? Why did you give that up?� �Do you think I shouldn�t have?� There was a hint of incredulousness in the ghost�s voice. �No, of course not! Hell, I�m more grateful than I could ever say! I just don�t know � if I would have had the strength to turn that away.� Bob�s craggy features softened into an affectionate gentleness. �You would have, Harry. After all these centuries of being just a tool to the wizards and sorcerers who got hold of my skull, you taught me what it was to work with a friend. With somebody who cared about people, not power.� That wasn�t exactly what Harry had expected to hear. �Me? I taught you �?� Bob smiled at his former student. �Oh, yes, Harry. You�ve taught me quite a lot over the years.� �Wow!� Harry seemed genuinely surprised. Then he shook his head, focusing on the subject at hand. �Just because it was the right thing to do doesn�t make it easy to live with, though �� That drew another sigh from Bob. �No it doesn�t. Today brought back so many memories, Harry. When I first ... died ... I remember feeling like this. Trapped in my own skull, helpless, unable to touch another human being, unable to taste food, smell the freshness of a spring rain. I nearly went mad at first. It took me a long time to get past that, to put it behind me and get on with my 'life', such as it was ..." There was a sadness in his voice that went straight to Harry�s heart. He wanted to reach out, comfort his friend with touch, but of course that wasn�t possible. Which made Harry all the more determined to find a way to make it possible. They sat in silence for a little while, each wrapped in his own thoughts, taking comfort from just being together. �Bob?� Harry finally asked. �Can�t ghosts take control of a living body for short periods of time?� Bob sighed. He�d been over this so many times; there just wasn�t a loophole he could crawl through. �Some can, but my curse is very specific. I cannot take an unwilling host.� Harry grinned at him. �What about a willing one?� Bob blinked. �Who would be crazy enough to play willing host to a ghost?� Harry made a face. �I would! If it was a ghost I cold trust. Like one who died for me �� As Harry�s words slowly sunk in, Bob�s eyes grew wide. �Harry? You � you�d do that for me?� �Hell yes! Bob, after what you did today, how could I refuse you anything? Please � let me do this for you. Give me time to set it up, a gourmet meal, a beautiful woman � It can�t be permanent, but at least you�ll know when you �leave� that you can come back every once in a while ...� Bob looked into Harry�s eager eyes and realized that his friend truly wanted to do this. His eyes closed tightly. Ghosts couldn't cry, could they? After a long moment, he looked up. �Harry, I�m � overwhelmed �I�m not sure if it will work, but if you�re willing to try �� Seeing just how deeply this affected Bob tugged at Harry�s heart. He wanted more than ever to do something special for this very special friend. A wild thought popped into his head. �So what are you waiting for?� That got a double-take. �Now?� Harry grinned. �Why not? If I�m going to go to all the trouble to set up a special evening for you, I�d rather know in advance if it�s going to work.� Bob couldn�t believe this was happening so fast. But Harry was right � they really ought to know before he went to all that trouble. And although he wasn�t quite ready to think about it, the idea of sharing Harry�s body, of being so close, so intimate, was very appealing. �All right then �� The words were out of Bob�s mouth before he knew it, and Harry gestured for him to go ahead. If he�d had a beating heart, it would have been doing about 100 beats per minute. Somehow he managed to focus his concentration enough to dissolve his projected body, freeing his spirit and pouring it into Harry. He wasn�t sure what to expect, having never even tried to posses a willing mortal body before. He expected to find some resistance, but there was none. He felt Harry�s spirit welcoming him, making room, taking him in. It was a little crowded, but in a way it felt � nice. "Oh, my ..." Harry's vocal cords created the sound, so it sounded like his voice. But it was Bob speaking. He looked down at his hands, Harry's hands. He flexed his fingers and they moved. He reached over, touching his left forearm with his right hand, reassuringly solid, warm, human. He took a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. Harry watched from inside, realizing that he could reassume control at any time, but happy for now to let Bob run the show. It had felt strange as the mist that carried Bob�s spirit settled over him, cold at first, but then something had clicked into place, and an amazing internal warmth spread through him as he felt Bob�s joy at being able to feel again. �Oh, Harry � it works! It works!� Bob�s euphoria was quite contagious. They were both laughing, maybe even crying a little. Harry took control of his left hand, turning it and reaching around to clasp Bob�s right in a firm grip. Sure, they were both really his, but � somehow it made a weird sort of sense. And then suddenly Bob was hugging him, both arms wrapped tightly around him. Someone �outside� their combined consciousness would say Harry was hugging himself, but they wouldn�t have half of the picture. Feeling Harry in his arms was doing something not entirely unexpected to Bob. God, it had been so long � he hadn�t even had time to think about it this afternoon, but now, he couldn�t wait any longer. Harry was quite surprised to find his body getting aroused. // Bob? // Harry�s voice sounded mentally; he hadn�t taken external control. // Wh � what�s going on �? // Somewhat embarrassed, Bob scrambled to come up with an acceptable excuse. �Harry, it�s been an awfully long time � just to FEEL again � would you mind if I �� Harry thought about it for a minute and realized he really shouldn't have been surprised. Bob always had been a bit ... voyeuristic when it came to Harry's sex life. If he'd gone a few centuries without sex, he'd be eager too ... And there was that something else, that closeness they�d shared earlier today, and again now. He just couldn�t say no. Didn�t want to. Some part of him wanted to share this with his friend. // Go ahead, Bob. Have a party! // By the time Harry gave him the go-ahead, he was fully aroused, and Bob wasn�t sure it was all his doing. He stretched out Harry�s long legs and reached down between them. A soft, thin layer of fabric covered him from the waist down. He ran his hand over the tented fabric, making himself tremble with forgotten pleasure. Soft moans came from deep in his throat as he caressed himself. Harry felt it too. It was weird, feeling a hand on his dick, knowing it was his own hand, but not being in control of it. Weird, and surprisingly arousing. It felt good, so Harry just went with the flow. When Bob struggled briefly with the snaps, Harry took control just long enough to show him the trick, then slid back into the background. �Oh, Harry �� Bob moaned softly as his fingers wrapped around the warm stiffness of Harry�s dick. Hearing Bob call out his name really drove home the point. Was Bob jerking off, or was he making love to Harry? Or was it somehow both? Did it matter to Harry? At the moment, all he cared about was that it felt amazingly good. It was almost as though he could feel Bob's pleasure as well as his own. It seemed to amplify what he was feeling, like a feedback loop in a PA system. And the closeness they'd shared this day wrapped around them again, making it all ok. At first, Bob kept his touch light, almost afraid of hurting Harry. When the first drop of liquid seeped out of the slit, he caught it and gently spread it around. He wanted this to last, but the sensations were so powerful, so intense. God, it had been so long! And somehow, sharing this with Harry seemed to make it even better than he remembered. As though he felt both his pleasure and Harry's. Knowing that he was also giving Harry pleasure added to his fulfillment. Winnifred may have been his one true love, but Bob was no stranger to all manner of carnal pleasures. And somehow, Harry was becoming as special to him as she had been. Sex and love were an incredibly powerful combination. Soon, he intensified his efforts, now wrapping his long fingers tightly around the shaft, pulling on it in earnest. He could feel Harry�s heart pounding, the blood rushing through his veins, and most of all the ever increasing pressure deep inside him. It grew and grew until he could not contain it anymore and it exploded. And in that moment his soul and Harry�s merged. It took a while before Harry could sit up and survey the situation. He�d just had the most intense orgasm of his life. His chest was covered with his own cum. Bob�s spirit was still inside him, snuggled close, happy and content. He got up, ducked into the bathroom to clean up, then shut out the lights and crawled back into bed. As he shut his eyes, he felt Bob�s presence, warm and comforting. �Thank you, Harry,� came from a sleepy voice inside his head. In seconds, he was sound asleep. Continue to Chapter 2.. Send me some Feedback Back to my Dresden Home page Back to the Jade Palace Home Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
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| Chapter 1 |