Fic: 12 Days

[csi_sanders1129]

Title: 12 Days
Chapters: Days 5-8/12
Author: csi_sanders1129 
Genre: AU. Drama. Romance. Mystery.
Ratings: T
Word Count: ~3,400.
Pairings/Characters: Jason/Spinelli. Spinelli/Other.
Synopsis: Jason and Spinelli suffer through 12 days of complete and total hell at the hands of the Creepy Christmas Stalker out to win Spinelli over.
Comments: Major thanks to suerum  on this one as well. Um, after day 8, the days seem to get longer and longer, so they split kind of oddly. The last chapter will be posted on Christmas Day, though. It does get a little bit AUish at the end of the fic, but not ridiculously so. Boys aren’t mine. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Days 1-4

 

The rest of Day 4 was otherwise uneventful by comparison to the early morning events. Spinelli had stayed upstairs, Jason downstairs – although a safe distance from the menacing guardian of the tree. The elder stayed up through the night, alert for any sign of their trespasser. There had been no trace.

 

At least until Spinelli woke in the morning.

 

“Stone Cold!” The hacker had shouted, which sent Jason running.

 

He pushed the door open to the pink room, expecting something bad, but upon initial inspection, he found nothing more so out of place than Spinelli’s normal organized disarray. “What’s wrong?”

 

He held up his left hand, which now displayed a golden ring.

 

The remaining four rings of the set were chained along a blood red ribbon that ran along Spinelli’s headboard.

 

While Day 5’s gift meant that they officially knew who the target of this terrifying event was, it also meant that the doer had gotten past Jason and into Spinelli’s room. Hell, the gift giver had put the ring on Spinelli’s finger.

 

“He was in here, Stone Cold. He was in here and we didn’t know it and…” He shifted frantically, trying to extricate himself from his tangle of blankets, but his hand hit something that felt like paper. Another note. “The Jackal does not wish to read this one.” He said, offering the paper to his mentor.

 

Jason unfolded it slowly, not really wanting to read it himself, either.

 

~ Darling, soon it shall be time for you to come with me, abide with me in eternal love, our heart's blood shall warm the frozen ground.

 

He was more than glad Spinelli had foregone reading it. “Pack a bag; we’re getting out of here. Now.” Jason ordered, quickly retreating to his own room to do the same.

 

Spinelli hadn’t even bothered changing out of his pajama pants and old t-shirt. He’d pulled on shoes and a hoodie and thrown a few things into a bag, didn’t even bring his laptop - which he had to presume was corrupted after being hacked the previous day. “Ready.” He said, meeting Jason at the top of the stairs, fully prepared to escape this hellish situation.

 

They went to the Metro Court and booked a room under one of Jason’s aliases. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.” Jason told him, as they stepped into their gloriously bird free suite.

 

It was then that Spinelli realized that in his panic to get out of the penthouse, he’d forgotten – somehow – to remove the blasted ring. He tugged it off his finger and tossed it to the small table in the room.

 

Jason picked it up and examined it. “I wonder if we can find out where this is from, who ordered it?” He proposed, spinning the ring in his hand. “There’s an inscription inside, too.”

 

“Does the Jackal want to know?” The younger inquired.

 

“Forever.” Jason read.

 

Spinelli sat himself down on the bed, staring at nothing. “And we still have a week of this accursed carol to get through?”

 

“I don’t know how whoever’s doing this is doing this, but we’re going to find out and stop him, okay?” Jason tucked the ring into his pocket. “There’s a cybercafé downstairs, we can work on tracking the ring.”

 

“Alright.”

 

***

 

Day 6 dawned at a normal hour. And with a huge sigh of relief from both Jason and Spinelli, when they realized that the six geese a’lying had not found their way into the room in the night. There was no sign that the room had been broken into.

 

“Nothing?” Spinelli inquired, as Jason checked the bathroom and balcony for signs of the waterfowl.

 

“Nothing.” The elder verified.

 

“Perhaps we have lost our overzealous Christmas Stalker with our move?”

 

Jason shrugged. He wouldn’t be happy with this until they’d gotten through the full 24 hours of the day without the presence of geese. “We can hope.”

 

And for a while, Jason thought that they really might have. Like the previously day, they spent it in the cybercafé, tracking down the leads from the ring, all which led to the inevitable nowhere. When it started to get late, they headed over to the hotel’s restaurant to get dinner.

 

It was there that they discovered that the adventure with the 12 Days of Christmas had not yet come to an end. Six silver trays had been wheeled out by clearly unsuspecting waiters while they were sipping their drinks – orange soda and coffee, respectively - even though they had ordered simple meals that would not require such an abundance of elaborate service.

 

“What’s this?” Jason pressed the closest waiter, who only frowned in confusion.

 

“We were told to deliver these to your table.”

 

The lids were lifted off of the six platters and beneath them were six honking geese. An occasional egg on the tray as well spoke of the connection to the carol. Jason and Spinelli exchanged utterly horrified looks.

 

“Who said we were supposed to get this?” Jason started to demand of the wait staff, but he found that Spinelli had taken off on him, was already heading toward the elevator. “Hey, wait!” He called out, racing after his grasshopper. If their stalker knew they were here then there was not a chance in hell that Jason was letting Spinelli go running off alone.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jason was aware that running straight back to the room made it insanely simple for the bastard behind all of this to follow, but a larger part of his mind was far more concerned with Spinelli ending up face to face with this guy. So, upon catching up to the younger man, they headed right for the room. Jason locked and chained the door behind them.

 

“Spinelli,” The elder began, sitting down beside the younger, who had sprawled himself across one of the beds. “We’ll get through this, alright?” He settled a reassuring hand on Spinelli’s shoulder, but found that he suddenly lacked the energy to pull it away again. “Hey, do you feel okay? I…”

 

Spinelli, likewise, had been sapped of his energy and his vision swam before him.

 

Within moments, they’d both passed out.

 

***

 

Day 7 began differently for both Jason and Spinelli.

 

For Jason, it began with panic. Upon recalling the previous evening’s events with the geese, he woke to discover that he was alone. Spinelli was nowhere in the suite and he made haste in his search for the Jackal, fearing the worst. Fearing the words that had been on the note two days prior.

 

Wobbly from whatever he had been drugged with – as there was no way he would have simply passed out last night instead of getting them out of their now compromised hotel room and somewhere safer – he started a frantic search.

 

For Spinelli, it began with a splash. He hit the water and came up spluttering and flailing in the hotel pool. He’d apparently been precariously balanced on the edge of the concrete pool in a lounge chair. Eventually, he’d tipped it. The water was cold, but it wasn’t that which alarmed him the most. Sharing the pool with him were seven elegant swans, which were honking and flapping their wings at him in protest of his frantic splashing.

 

Not only had their room been broken into, but he had been relocated without anyone being alerted. Surely carrying an unconscious figure about the hotel should have caused a scene. And why had Jason not stopped it?

 

He pulled himself out of the deep water, away from the swans, and flopped down on the concrete only to find a note awaiting him.

 

~ Beloved, ‘tis apparent that your heart is not pledged as eternally as is mine.  You cannot run from our love, nor should you.  We are destined and destiny entwines with death.

 

Jason wasn’t there to shield him from the malevolent words this time. Shaking now, from both cold and fear, he staggered to his feet, unsure as to why his balance was so unstable. He stumbled back into the hotel and automatically made for the elevator that would hopefully return him to Jason.

 

It was when he went to press the button that he realized he was once again wearing the inscribed ring. Quickly, he pulled it off and pocketed the gold band.

 

He’d just stepped into the elevator car when he felt himself be hauled backwards by the collar of his soaking wet shirt. For a second, he feared that it was his tormentor who’d grabbed him, but he found himself pulled into Jason’s arms instead.

 

“You’re okay.” The elder said, sounding relieved and furious and terrified all at once. “What happened to you?”

 

Whether he was speaking of the current rather dampened state of his grasshopper or where he had been disappeared off to, Spinelli didn’t care. He held tight to his mentor for a long moment before he managed to convince his shaking hands to offer Jason the note. “I… I found that when I woke up in the pool. Which had seven swans swimming it.”

 

Jason read the words, just as alarmed as he had been when he’d seen the last note. But, tomorrow marked the eighth day of this nightmare and that at least meant an end to the birds and a beginning to clues that might turn out to be useful. The elder sighed, and nudged Spinelli back toward the elevator. “Come on.”

 

“Are we relocating again?” Spinelli asked, still shivering from the chilly water as he curled his arms around himself.

 

“Nope, just changing rooms.”

 

And when Jason said changing rooms, he meant giving up their room in favor of renting out an entire floor of the hotel. They randomly selected one towards the center of the floor, but still close to an emergency exit in the case that it was required.

 

While Spinelli showered and got warm, Jason set himself to the task of strategizing. The eighth day was represented by maids a‘milking, and while he wasn’t entirely sure how their Creepy Christmas Stalker would produce that, he wouldn’t be at all surprised to have it occur right on schedule.

 

He would not, however, allow himself – or Spinelli – to be drugged again. There was just no way he could risk this madman getting Spinelli away from him again. Since their follower hadn’t acted unless it was in relation to the day’s event, Jason figured it would be safe for them to go out and buy fresh food for meals. The room they’d selected - amusingly enough some sort of honeymoon suite, with its one bed and cozy two person table - did have an ample kitchenette included. These food runs, however, would be done together, because making sure Spinelli was safe and leaving him alone contradicted each other entirely.

 

With that solved, he could focus on the upcoming ability to question the components of the five remaining gifts. Days eight through twelve involved humans. Humans which could be threatened, interrogated, and otherwise manipulated into talking. Jason could get answers from them where he couldn’t from the rabid bird still in his beloved living room.

 

They headed to the store to stock up on groceries for the night. Jason was adding a couple of bottles of orange soda to their purchases when the inevitable happened. Not another strike from the Christmas Stalker, but something else Jason had been anticipating.

 

“Why me, Stone Cold?” Spinelli asked.

 

Jason could hardly blame him. “I don’t know, Spinelli.” He answered, why this psychopath had decided Spinelli was his beloved or whatever, Jason honestly didn’t know. Yes, Spinelli was a great guy and Jason himself might have entertained less creepy ideas concerning a future with Spinelli, but Spinelli being kind and generous and caring alone was not enough to cause this. Maybe Spinelli had held a door open, or said hello, or something equally kind but misleading in the mind of. “It’s not your fault, it just happened, and we’ll fix it, okay?”

 

The younger nodded, though didn’t look entirely appeased by Jason’s assurances. Jason was having trouble believing it himself.

 

***

 

Jason woke first on Day 8, with his arm curled around a still sleeping Spinelli. It hadn’t been his intention to fall asleep, especially like this, but at some point in the night he had. The presence of only one bed in their room hadn’t been a big deal, but Jason suspected that if they had hosted their nightly visitor again, this might not have gone over well.

 

The rise and fall of Spinelli’s chest against his palm assured him that no harm had come to either of them in their sleep. Maybe the Christmas Stalker hadn’t shown yet. But, nonetheless, he extricated himself from the bed, prepared once again to wait for the arrival of the eight potential clues the day would surely bring.

 

He’d just been getting ready to wake the hacker, sometime later, when he noticed that something had been slipped under the door. It was unclear if he simply hadn’t noticed it earlier or if it had just arrived, so he’d unlocked the door and peered down the otherwise empty hallways for any sign of movement. Seeing nothing, he turned his attention to the brochure.

 

It was an advertisement for the Convention Center next door. They were hosting an agricultural convention, which happened to land on today. Slipped inside it was a Polaroid of eight women jokingly dressed in holiday garb with eight cows.

 

“Spinelli!” He said, a little louder than planned. This was the gift for today. “Come on, get up and get dressed.”

 

“Stone Cold?” Came the sleep-thick reply from the bed.

 

“If Day 8 won’t come to us, we’ll have to go to Day 8.”

 

The convention was pretty crowded by the time Jason and Spinelli bought passes and got in. While it would have proven difficult to locate any one individual in the crowd, the display they were after wasn’t so easily hidden. It was one of the first things set up once you were in the door.

 

“Think any of them know anything concerning our mysterious gift giver?” Spinelli inquired, sticking close to Jason in the crowds.

 

But Jason had already waved one of the women over. Spinelli couldn’t hear what was being said between the mooing cows and the chattering mass of people, but a moment later, the woman scoffed and walked away from his mentor, looking quite insulted.

 

“No, they don’t know anything.” Jason replied, frustrated that their lead for the day had lead them exactly nowhere. “When we get back, look for events that might match up with the rest of the days, see if he can do this to us again.” If the people the Christmas Stalker used as the day’s gift were unaware that they were being used as the gift, it led them no closer than the birds had.

 

Spinelli dodged about, keeping pace with his mentor as they walked toward the exit. People bumped into him all over the place, but he hurried after Jason, unwilling to get himself stranded in the group.

 

They’d just stepped outside when Spinelli found it. Jason was just a few yards ahead of him, pacing back and forth as he sorted through this unexpected turn of events. But, there, in Spinelli’s pocket, was a folded over piece of paper. It hadn’t been there on the way over, which meant that one of the people in the convention who’d bumped against him had slid it into his pocket.

 

~ To see my heart wrapped in the arms of another dims the light that leads us into the darkness.  The unworthy one may not be permitted to separate what is preordained.  Beloved, redeem thyself, take this sign of my troth and remove the impediment from the merging of our two hearts.  His death shall pave the way in ruby droplets which shall glisten as we tread the selfsame path to undying bliss.

 

The words, quite possibly the worst ones yet, sent Spinelli into a panic. He trembled where he stood, staring helplessly at the very man he’d just been tasked with killing. Now Jason was at risk because of him, because of something he’d done. He couldn’t let Stone Cold see this.

 

But it was already too late. The look on Spinelli’s face must have given him away, because Jason was approaching him quickly.

 

“Are you okay?” The elder asked, just as he spotted the note.

 

Spinelli only managed to shake his head as Jason read the note. “This…” He started, gesturing to the note. “This is undoubtedly the fault of the Jackal. That cannot be denied, Stone Cold.” He frowned, sniffling slightly as he plotted the ever increasing benefits of offering himself up for his crazy stalker – at least it would save Jason.

 

But, Jason did not approve of his statements. “No, no, it’s not. None of this is your fault. I need you to understand that.” For the second time in less than twenty four hours, Spinelli found himself pulled into Jason’s arms. “You’re making it through this and I’m making it through this. No matter what is written in those creepy notes, I’m not letting him hurt you.”

 

While it was hardly the first time Jason had said something along those lines, Spinelli really wanted to believe it this time.

 

The hug broke a short moment later and Spinelli stuffed his hands in his pockets to protect them from the December chill. Upon doing do, however, he found another gift from his stalker. A rather sharp short-bladed knife, its glinting blade obviously intended to do harm to his Stone Cold mentor.

 

“Ouch,” He hissed in pain as the blade slipped across his palm.

 

“What?” Jason questioned. His blood boiled when he spotted Spinelli’s wound. “What happened?”

 

“The knife that I was to use to slay you has apparently been placed in my pocket.” The younger answered, leaving it there as it wouldn’t be a good idea to remove it in such a public locale.

 

The bastard had had a knife close enough to Spinelli to slip it into his pocket, which meant he’d been close enough to use it, too. It was killing Jason that they’d been so close to the person behind all of this and he’d never even known it. He held Spinelli’s hand in his own, inspecting the wound.

 

“Come on, let’s get back to the hotel so I can fix that up.”

 

They headed back to the hotel feeling quite discouraged by their progress, but upon stepping into the main lobby, they were waved over to the main desk.

 

“You’re the gentlemen who took the whole floor, right?” The guy behind the desk inquired. Jason nodded. “Good, we’ve got a delivery for you.”

 

“A what?” Spinelli questioned, fearing a premature start of day 9.

 

The package was placed on the counter, which Jason opened and peered into quickly. Another countdown clock. “Who sent this?” He demanded, looking about ready to lean across the desk and throttle answers out of the unsuspecting member of the hotel staff.

 

“A messenger service brought it in just after you left.” The man answered, his job completed. “I don’t remember what company he was from, I’m sorry.”

 

“Get rid of that.” Jason ordered, ushering Spinelli along.

 

The room, at least, had seemed undisturbed, which Jason was grateful for. Spinelli had had about enough for one day, he didn’t need to see anything else that proved Jason had no control over this. He steered the younger into the bathroom and sat him down on the edge of the tub. The first aid kit below the sink was stocked and it didn’t take long to clean and dress the wound.

 

“You okay to look into those events? Maybe the security footage from our friendly neighborhood messenger service?” Jason prompted, as he taped the bandage in place.

 

“Affirmative. Anything that can be done to identify our green-eyed shadow.” Spinelli agreed. He slipped the knife from his pocket, offering it to Jason. “Can we dispose of this menacing dagger first? Its presence is quite daunting.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll get rid of it.” He promised, slipping it into his own pocket. When Spinelli wasn’t looking, he slipped it under the sink with the first aid kit, wrapped up in a towel. Just in case it was needed.

 

 

.