“Ice cream.” Dean slid the bowl across the kitchen island, unable to help but smile at the confused head tilt of his recently exed-angel. “It’s good.”
Cas inspected the dessert with the intensity he usually glared down suspects with. It wasn’t until the blonde put the tub back in the freezer and spun around with his own bowl that he even attempted to pick up the spoon.
Dean noticed his face and raised an eyebrow, “It’s not gonna bite you, Cas.”
“That would be improbable.”
The blonde rolled his eyes as he picked up his own spoon. He did his best to ignore the staring as he scooped some ice cream up and brought it to his mouth. He had to avert his gaze to the counter as he chewed. Cas may have been human now, but he had yet to perfect relaxing.
Or blinking.
After he swallowed, he gave him a tight smile, “See? It’s fine.” He nodded to the bowl sitting across from him, “Now eat it before it melts.”
Cas nodded at that and straightened his posture as he reached for his spoon. With far too much concentration, he picked it up, scooping a bit of the dessert into it before he raised it to his mouth.
He hesitated as he held it up, prompting Dean to slam a hand on the counter. “Just put it in your mouth!”
The ex-angel wasted no more time and shoved the spoon in his mouth. His eyes glazed over as he lapsed into thought, mindlessly staring at the wall. The blonde shook his head at the seriousness, it’s just ice cream. Not like he’s hunting down a vamp nest. He leaned down so one of his arms was resting on the counter before tucking into his own bowl.
Dean continued eating in silence, Cas seeming to be stuck on whether or not he enjoyed the dessert. He kept flicking his eyes up every few spoonfuls to see if the ex-angel’s demeanour had changed. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when Dean was scooping up the last of his snack that the raven-haired man came back to the moment.
His semi-wild eyes scanned the room before they landed on the blonde.
After another moment of silence passed, Dean raised an eyebrow at the intense stare, “Well?”
“I like it.”
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Based on the song Beer In The Headlights by Luke Bryan. (Listen to the song here!)
He watches in wide-eyed amazement as she jumps out of his truck, floating over to stand in the middle of the dirt road. She starts swaying in the headlights, and he can’t help but smile as he reaches over, turning up the radio.
She returns his smile as the music gets louder, and points at him with the hand that’s holding her plastic cup. She wiggles her eyebrows at him before turning around, small dust cloud rising up around her ankles at the action. He shakes his head, so engrossed with watching her dance, even thinking about moving seemed ridiculous.
She narrows her eyes at him as she takes a sip from her cup, before gesturing again, more insistently than before. He chuckles before nodding, hopping down out of his truck bed, glad it was dark so she wouldn’t see the blush that crept up his face.
He joins her in the headlights, stomach fluttering as her smile widens. She closes the distance between them, gently draping her arms around his neck. She drops down off her tiptoes just as the song fades out.
He can’t fight off his urge any longer, and steals her cup from her, swallowing down the mouthful that was left before placing it down on the hood of the truck. Her brows furrow in confusion as another song starts. Before she can speak, he captures her lips with his, easily lifting her off the road, smiling against her mouth as her legs instinctively wrap around his waist.
He slowly walks them over to his waiting truck bed. He carefully sits down on the edge, adjusting his hands so he’s holding her hips. They break for air as he pushes the cooler backward, before laying himself down on his back. The image of her there, long brown hair blowing in the gentle breeze, smiling down at him against a backdrop of millions of shining stars makes his stomach flutter again. He can’t help but smile as she tucks some hair behind her ear, before beginning to unbutton her shirt, this is my last first date.
Sam bashed his head on the window in his haste to sit up. He brought a hand up to rub at the side of his head, frowning with confusion as his eyes landed on the empty driver’s seat. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he moved them to the windshield, spotting his brother staring at something laying on the road in front of the car.
The giant rolled down his window, doing his best to push his sleepiness down, “What happened?”
The blonde shook his head, kicking at whatever was in front of the Impala, “Ran over a squirrel.”
Sam’s brows furrowed, “What?”
“A squirrel!” He gestured to the road, “It was a fat one!”
“So?”
Dean scoffed, “His guts are all over the front of the car!” He shook his head before making his way back to the driver’s seat, “I just cleaned her, too!”
“Sioux Falls has a car wash,” Sam rolled his window back up, stifling a yawn, “we can run through it before we go to Bobby’s.”
“No, we can’t.” Dean shook his head as he pulled back out onto the road, “We’re on our way there to help with a vamp nest. She’s just gonna get dirty again.”
“Then you can wash her after the hunt.” Sam’s brows furrowed as he leaned his head against the window again, eyes slipping closed, “What’s the big deal?”
The blonde let out a sigh, “I just…” his voice trailed off before he cleared his throat, “Nothing. Never mind.”
Sam adjusted his position, so his neck wasn’t so craned leaning against the window. He listened to the tires rolling down the road, the gentle whoosh of the wind flying passed the car, and his brother’s breathing. The sounds worked together like a lullaby, pulling him back toward sleep. He groaned in annoyance as he felt a whack to his shoulder, not bother to open his eyes, “What?”
He heard the blonde take in a breath, pausing before whatever he was gonna say came out of his mouth. The youngest heard him adjust his grip on the steering wheel, “You’re drooling on the window.”
“You know where we could go to fix that?”
“Fine, fine! We’ll take her to a car wash.” Even with his eyes closed, he could see his brother shake his head, “Gonna need industrial strength cleaner to get your nasty salad-drool off the glass, anyway.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and enjoy your sleep, Bitch.”
“Jerk.”
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Crap, the blonde swivelled around in the chair, trying not to look as guilty as he felt as Cas came down the stairs, “Cas! H-hey,” He stood, in a failed attempt to block the wall, “What, uh, what’re you doing up?”
“Still adjusting, I guess,” Cas reached the bottom of the stairs, tired eyes flicking up to the wall, “You’re hunting?” He walked a few steps closer, wrapping the blonde up in his arms, “We just got you back!”
Dean let out a nervous chuckle, “I-I know. I just…” he let his voice trail off as he tried to think of a good lie, backing out of the hug.
“Is it important?”
Dean blinked in surprise, “What?”
“What you’re hunting,” the angel took a step closer to the wall, tilting his head to one side as he studied it, “Is it-” his sentence cut off into a sigh as he got a closer look, “Crowley?” He turned, raising an eyebrow, “You’re still hunting Crowley? After you almost died?”
“Cas-”
The angel took in a huffing breath, “You’ve been back all of two weeks, and you’re already planning on jumping back into the fire?”
Dean held his hands out in mock surrender, “I can explain!” At the raised eyebrow, Dean sputtered, running a hand through his hair, “H-he’s… he’s up to something! I don’t know what yet, but he is. I know he is.” At the scoff, he pointed to the wall, “Look! I saw him at Sam’s wedding. He snuck out right before the ceremony to make some shady deal. And when I followed him-”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Cas pinched the bridge of his nose, “That was the reason you left as they started down the aisle?”
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I hope you all had a relaxing break and are ready to get back to it.
This year, I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of jumping right into a brand new article on the first day, I thought instead, I could do a post that would show you what’s to come.
I figured this would be good for two reasons:
It gives you guys adequate time to get excited for what’s to come, and
It gives me an extra week to get some posts scheduled.
I’m (mostly) kidding on that second point. But, I have been doing lots of research in my time off from posting and, apparently, people like to feel like insiders, and like to see teasers of what’s coming up, so they can build the anticipation for the thing, have time to prepare, etc.
And while my blog doesn’t put out heart-stopping excitement, I still thought it might be cool to try out.
So, below, you’ll see some previews of posts to come.
Enjoy! (And get ready)
Puddles (PHSH Effect #19, Coming Apr. 4th)
Make It Count (Unlearning Series Fic #9, Coming May 9th)
Lens Flares (PHSH Effect #21, Coming July 25th)
Vegan Fast Food: KFC (Coming Aug. 22nd)
Curses (Coming Oct. 14th)
Who Gives a Crap Review (Coming Mar. 28th)
The Long One (A SPN x Marvel crossover, Coming Sept. 2nd)
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Reminder: This is 2021’s last story. I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off. I will be back January 14th with the first fic of the new year! (It will be the long-awaited 7th installment of the Unlearning Series!)
Started: 20.12.14
Finished: 20.12.18
Words: 1,642
Sam x Reader
Written for Shortyas part of the SPN Amino’s 2020 Secret Santa.
You place the tray of mini spring rolls down on the coffee table, just as your phone begins to ring, perfect timing. You reach over and smile as you see the caller I.D., “Hey, babe! I just set out those spring rolls you love. Don’t worry though, I saved you two whole boxes. You’re welcome.”
“Actually,” your smile slides off your face as you hear the wrong brother’s voice, “It’s uh, it’s Dean.”
“Oookay. How close are you?” Your eyes flick up to the clock on the wall, “Even with the way you drive, this is cutting it kind of close to party time, don’t you think?”
You hear a nervous chuckle and feel your heart sink, “Well, uh, actually…”
Crap, you fly up the stairs, making your way to the bedroom, pulling your duffle from the closet, “What happened?” You hear him take in a deep breath and begin shoving clothes into it, doing your best to brace yourself, “Dean?”
“It’s Sam. He, uh… one of the vamps-”
You feel your stomach drop to the floor and freeze, “N-no, that- that can’t be-”
“What? Oh, no! It’s not- he’s alive.”
“Oh, thank God.” You feel the dread begin to dissipate, “Way to scare a girl! I mean, Jesus, Dean!”
“Y-yeah, no, he’s uh, he’s fine. They just took him.”
You shake your head, beginning to take the clothes back out of the duffle, “We gotta get you some sort of tact tutor or something, because that was just- wait, what do you mean ‘they took him’?”
“Well, y’know how we thought we were just going after two rogue vamps?”
You swallow thickly, “Yeah…”
“Well, turns out we were wrong. It wasn’t two rogue vamps. Well, it was, but their nest is -”
“What?!” You begin to pace, “So… you mean to tell me Sam is being held hostage in the middle of a vamp nest on Christmas Eve?” You begin throwing the clothes back in the duffle, “What the hell Dean? You told me you’d be back before the party! That this hunt was ‘in the bag’.”
“I-I know! I thought it was, alright? All signs pointed to just two, but once we got here… But it’s alright, I know where the nest is, so I can-”
You shake your head and zip the duffle closed, “I’ll be on the road in five. It should take me about an hour to get there, but I c-”
“You can’t come. You’re hosting.”
You scoff, “Screw the party.”
“Dude-”
“No! Don’t ‘dude’ me!” You place your free hand on your hip, “You expect me to just stay here and go on with the party when Sam was taken by vamps?”
“Yeah, be-”
“Vamps, Dean! I can’t just host a party and act like-”
“You can and you will.” His hard tone made you stop, and you sit back down on the edge of the bed, “You are gonna host the crap out of this party. You’re gonna put on the ugliest Christmas sweater you own, laugh at all the Quinn’s terrible puns, and you’re gonna pretend to love it, so that when Sam gets back, he’ll see you’re safe, instead of doing something stupid to try and get him back.”
You take in a deep breath, eyes landing on the picture of the two of you on the dresser, pang shooting through your heart, “Dean…”
“You won’t be any good to him if you get taken, too.”
You let out a heavy sigh and flop backward on the bed, “Fine, but you’re calling as soon as he’s safe.”
“I will.”
“That wasn’t a question.” You take moment, brain still trying to catch up with the pain in your heart, “Alright, well,” you run your free hand through your hair, starring absently at the ceiling, “I guess I better get the cheese platter out of the fridge.”
You hear him chuckle, “You do that.” You sit up, and hear him let out a sigh, he’s worried? Great…, “Hey,” his voice was soft, “I’ll bring him back.”
“You better.” You hear another chuckle before the line disconnects. You groan and toss the phone to the side, ugh! You place your head in your heads, forcing yourself to take some deep breaths, steeling yourself for what was sure to be a long night. He’s right, you get back up off the bed, grabbing your phone, if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do it right. You give yourself a once over in the mirror, plastering a fake smile on your face, time to party.
—
“Bye!” You stand at the door, fake smile still plastered on your face as the guests file out, “Thanks for coming!” You restlessly shift your weight from one foot to the other, hoping you don’t look nearly as worried as you feel.
You still hadn’t heard from Dean, even though it’s been three hours, and you can’t help the panic that’s started to settle in. You almost slam the door behind the last guest and rip your phone from your pocket, hitting call on Sams’ number a little harder than needed. You bring the phone to your ear as you make your way to the living room, surveying the mess, we need to get some cleaner friends…
“This is Sam. Leave me a message.”
You disconnect the call and toss your phone on the couch, running both hands through your hair, come on, guys! Your eyes turn skyward and you chew your lip a moment, before shaking your head, they could be in trouble.
You take a deep breath and clean a space on the couch, bowing your head, resting your arms on your knees, “Castiel? I-it’s me. Listen, I know you’re probably super busy doing Heaven-related things, but… Sam got taken by some vamps. Dean called me three hours ago, and I…” you swallow hard, willing the tears that prick at the corners of your eyes not to fall, “and now neither one is answering. I guess I was just hoping… y’know, if you had time, if you could ch-”
“Where are they?”
You jump up, startled at the sudden angel standing in the middle of the room, “Y-you came?”
Cas titled his head, “You thought I wouldn’t?”
“Well, yeah, I mean…” you shrug, “it’s not exactly like- nevermind.” You cross your arms over your chest, “All they told me was that they were crashing in the Tyros Motel, but I don’t know where-” you cut yourself off as he disappears, and deflate back to the couch. You let out a breath, grabbing the garbage bag and start cleaning again, please, Cas, bring them home.
—
You roll over and hit the floor with a thud. What the…? You crack an eye open and see you’re in the living room, I fell asleep? You stretch before sitting up, immediately reaching for your phone, checking the time, I slept all night? You deflate as you see there’s no missed messages. You swallow thickly and scrub a hand down your face, they should’ve been back by now. You look out over the half-cleaned room, unable to help the boulder that’s settled back in your stomach, “What the hell, Cas?”
You get up from the floor, chewing your lip, I can’t just sit here and continue to do nothing, you start back up the stairs, this is not how I wanted to spend my Christmas. You grab the duffle from the closet, and throw it over your shoulder, at this point, I hope something bad happened, because I swear to God if they’re fine-
“Babe?”
You rush to the stairs as you hear the front door open and feel as though your breath has been knocked from you as you see Sam standing there, covered in dried blood, “Sam!”
You drop the duffle and fly down the steps, knocking the giant back against the door with the force of your hug.
He wraps his arms around you and gives you a tight squeeze, “I am so sorry. It turned out to be a nest of vamps and-”
“I know, Dean called me last night,” you tighten your grip and feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes, “He said he was going after you a-and then you stopped answering, so I called Cas and then he didn’t show up, and I-” you cut yourself off with a sniff and bury your head into his chest, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.” He presses a kiss to the top of your head and let’s go of you, chuckling as you don’t back out of the hug, “I wasn’t gone that long, was I?”
“No,” you give him another squeeze before you reluctantly let go and take a small step back, “But it felt like I was worrying forever. You know I hate waiting.”
“I know.” His eyes scan the living room and he smirks, “Looks like you didn’t miss me that much, though.”
“Pfft, please.” You wave a dismissive hand, “That party sucks on the best of years. Honestly, I don’t understand why we even still have it.”
“Well,” he wraps you back up in a hug, pecking your lips, “How about next year, we have our own party?”
“I think we could swing that, yeah.” You smile up at him before breaking out of the hug, handing him a garbage bag, “But first, you have work to do.”
“Wha…?” He gives you an incredulous look, “You want me to clean up this mess? I wasn’t even here!”
“Exactly,” Your smile widens and you shrug, “Consider this your punishment for making me worry.” You make your way over to the stairs, pausing on the first step, “Just don’t take too long.” You peel your shirt off and toss it at him, “Wouldn’t want you to miss unwrapping your present.”
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This is the lastUnlearning Series installment that will be posted this year. The fics from now until the end of the year will all be holiday themed. But don’t worry! We’ll pick things back up with Fic #7 on Jan. 14th, 2022.
This is fic #6 of the Unlearning Series.
Written: 21.05.26
Words: 4,086
Sabriel, Destiel (Implied), C2C
“So, Big Bro’s missing?”
“Apparently.”
Gabriel nodded, jumping up to sit on the bed, “How long?”
“Since the wedding.”
Gabriel let out a whistle, “Damn.”
“Yeah,” Sam grabbed a fresh pair of clothes from the closet, beginning to pull himself into a pair of pants, “I know we had big plans for today, but-” he cut himself off as he tripped over one of the legs and fell to the floor, damn it.
Gabriel shook his head, “Don’t worry about it.” He snapped his fingers, eyes roaming over a now-fully-dressed hunter, “Just make sure you come back when you’re done.”
Sam snorted and got back on his feet, walking over to the bed to zip the duffle closed, “You’re gonna stay here?”
Gabriel shrugged, flopping back on the bed, “Well it is already paid for…” He shot a pointed look back to the hunter, “It’d be a shame if it went to waste.”
The giant rolled his eyes, “Sure.” He shoved his cell phone into his pocket, looking around the room, face growing serious, “Alright, I think that’s everything.”
“Good.” Gabriel sat back up, getting up on his knees so he was more-or-less eye height with the hunter. He wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Sam pressed a kiss to his forehead before backing up a few steps, swinging the duffle up onto his shoulder, “I just wish I knew where to start looking.” He ran his free hand through his hair, “He could be anywhere.”
“Hmm…” Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment, holding his arms out to his sides, before opening them, “Got it.”
Sam raised an eyebrow, “You found him? That quickly?”
“Well, no, not him. You guys still have that Enochian on your ribs. But I did find the car.” He popped a lollipop into his mouth, giving the hunter a victorious look, “And I think we both know if you find the car, you find Dean Winchester.”
Sam shook his head in amazement, placing another kiss to his head, “I knew I married you for a reason.”
“And here I thought it was because of my awesome bedroom skills.”
“Yeah, well, just because you can finish the marathon doesn’t mean you came in first.” Sam couldn’t help the smile that crept up his face at the offended look on his angel’s face. “So are you gonna tell me where the car is, or do you just expect me to guess?”
“Neither.”
“Neither?” Sam raised an eyebrow, letting out a sigh, “Gabe, come on. I know he’s not your biggest fan, but-”
“Ah-ah.” Gabriel held up a hand, cutting the hunter off. “Be careful.”
“Of course I’ll-” Sam cut himself off as he felt his feet leave the ground, what the…? He staggered backward a few steps as he landed on the ground with a thud. He looked around, and saw he was now standing outside a factory, Impala parked a few feet away. Sam shook his head and started toward the car, thanks Gabriel.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Dean shook his head as he pulled the car up the dark, winding dirt road.
Sam snorted, raising an eyebrow at his brother, “What do you mean ‘talked you into this’? I barely finished getting out the word ‘cottage’ before you jumped me with agreement.”
A faint smile crossed the blonde’s face at the memory, before regaining his stern expression, “Yeah, well, you could’ve at least packed the map.” He peered out the windshield at the barely-lit-by-headlights dirt road, “Are you even sure this is the right road?”
The giant rolled his eyes, tapping his chin as he pretended to think, “Now that you mention it, maybe we were supposed to turn the other direction and drive into the lake. I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten to mention we’d need a spy car to get there.”
Dean ran a hand through his hair as he let out a huff, “I just meant we’ve been driving down this road for what feels like forever, and we haven’t found the place yet. Isn’t it at all possible-” He cut himself off as the trees opened and they pulled up in front of a run down looking cottage “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He raised an eyebrow at his brother as he put the car in park, “This is the luxury getaway weekend cottage?”
Sam shrugged, getting out of the car, “I never said it was a luxury cottage.”
Dean sputtered as he followed his brother out of the car, giving the cottage a skeptical once over, “Y’know this is how most horror movies start, right?”
“Please.” Sam waved a dismissive hand at him as he grabbed the duffle out of the back, “You’re not exactly college age, anymore.” He ignored the offended look he was given as his brother grabbed the cooler and started toward the front door, “Besides, since when are you such a scaredy-cat?”
“I’m not scared,” Dean followed him up the creaking porch steps, “I just thought this weekend would be a little more romance, and a little less Camp Crystal Lake.”
Sam rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door, “Can you just give it a chance? This place will look totally different in the morning.”
Dean took another look around the dark, covered-by-trees exterior and snorted, if we make it that long.
“Are you, Dean Winchester seriously trying to tell me that you’re not going to be there for your brother?”
“Cas, he doesn’t-”
“And since when has that ever stopped you?” Cas took a few steps closer to his love, giving him a pointed look, “You’ve spent 99% of your life doing what was good for your brother – whether he liked it or not – but now you’re just gonna roll over and do what he wants?” He shrugged, backing off a few steps, “I never thought I’d live to see the day Dean Winchester abandoned his brother.”
“Whoa, hey,” Dean took a few steps closer, voice hard, “I’m not abandoning him. I’m doing what he wants.”
Cas rolled his eyes, “He wants you at the wedding!”
“But he said-”
“Right, yeah. Because you’ve never said something you didn’t mean when you were angry, right?” He placed his hands on the hunter’s arms, holding his gaze, “You not being there will only make things worse.”
Dean opened his mouth to reply, but closed it silently a moment later. He searched the angel’s face before sighing, “You’re right.”
Cas blinked at him in surprise, “I-I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
The corner of the blonde’s mouth turned up into a smile, “You’re right, okay? I know I should be there, and I want to be there, but I just…” he ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t know how to-”
“Listen,” Cas shook him slightly, “No one is saying you need to unlearn all your internalized hatred overnight. He’s only asking that you try. Do you think you can do that?”
Dean nodded before wrapping his angel up in his arms, “Thank-you.”
“Wow,” Cas backed out of the hug after a minute, cheeky smile on his face, “I was right and got a thank-you?” He bumped the hunter’s arm, “See? You’re getting better already.”
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Request #24, from hallmarkdestiel (Tumblr): I have another idea. There was only one bed. But it’s Crobby.
Started: 21.04.02
Finished: 21.04.05
Words: 1,425
Crobby
“I told you I’ll be fine,” Bobby growled into the phone as he shifted the file he was holding to dig out his motel key. “I did used to hunt solo before you idjits needed me to run phones on every case, y’know.” He wrenched the door open after a moment, tripping on the lip of it, “Balls!”
He landed hard on the motel floor, file and cell phone shooting out from his hands. He got himself to a sitting position, removing his ball cap to run a hand through his hair as he watched all the papers from the file flutter to the floor. He let out a long sigh, before grabbing the phone off the ground, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, Dean. I just tripped.” He got himself back to his feet and closed the motel door, “Who’s bright idea was it to put a step on a ground-level room?”
Bobby shook his head as he locked the door, resisting the urge to sigh again, “Listen, Dean, I’d love to continue this conversation, but unlike you boys, I don’t keep a pee bottle in my truck, so unless you wanna-” He cut himself off, face splitting into a smile as the line disconnected, I’ve gotta remember that one more often.
He kicked his shoes off before collapsing on the bed, letting out a groan as he sank into the mattress. He checked the time on the digital clock beside the bed, before his eyes slipped closed, I have time for a quick nap before meeting with the coroner.
—
“Bobby…”
Bobby rolled over, toward the voice of his wife, not bothering to open his eyes.
She chuckled as he flung his arm over her middle, pulling her closer, “Bobby, we don’t have time for that. You’re late.”
“J’s five m’re minutes…” He felt her roll over, arm falling onto the bed and he frowned, “Nooo…”
“I’d love to stay, Darling, but you’re really going to be late.” His tired brain was unable to place what sounded off with her voice, so he finally decided to crack an eye open – to see a brunette with a beard starring back at him, “Morning Sunshine.”
Whoa! Bobby startled awake, grabbing for the gun under the pillow, firing off a shot before his brain caught up to what was in front of him. He heard an annoyed sigh, before the springs of the bed creaked as the man got up, “Are you going to shoot me every time?”
Bobby finally placed the accent and stood from the bed, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Well I was checking on you,” Crowley huffed, checking out the new bullet hole in his suit, “But apparently even asleep you’re protected.” He shook his head, eyes going back to the hunter, “Seriously, I’m gonna have to start billing you for my dry cleaning.”
“Dean sent you to check on me?” At the nod, Bobby scrubbed a hand down his face, “That boy needs to calm down. I haven’t even been gone a whole day yet and-”
“Uh, what?” Crowley shook his head as Bobby blinked at him, “You’ve been gone three days, mate.”
“What?” Bobby dug his phone out of his pocket, “No, that’s not-” he cut himself off as his eyes landed on the date in the corner, that can’t be right. “I’ve been asleep for three days?”
“I know you’re getting up there, but that seems a tad overkill, don’t you think?”
Bobby shot the demon a look, “Aren’t you like three hundred years old?”
Crowley scowled, “Nevermind that.” He crossed the room, making a whiskey glass appear on the small kitchen table, “You weren’t snoring.”
“Excuse me?”
The demon took a swig from his glass, “You weren’t snoring.” At the unchanged expression, Crowley sighed, “Just… trust me, you snore when you sleep. But not this time. Ergo…”
“I wasn’t asleep.” Bobby’s brows furrowed, I was drugged? I haven’t even been in town- His face changed as he remembered the diner, “Shit.”
The corner of Crowley’s mouth pulled up into a smile, “Care to share with the class?”
“The diner,” Bobby scrubbed a hand down his face, “I stopped for a burger last night. That’s gotta be where the thing is hiding.”
“Excellent!” Crowley took a few steps forward, finishing his drink, “Then let’s go.”
Bobby raised an eyebrow, “You’re not coming.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t need your help?”
“Pfft, please. You just lost three days because of a burger.”
Bobby rolled his eyes, “Tell Dean I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Fine,” Crowley held his hands up in mock surrender, “Go without me. But don’t expect me to swoop in and save you when things go sideways.”
Bobby snorted, “Deal.”
With that, the demon was gone. Bobby took in a deep breath, looking around the motel room, noting the file was sitting on the kitchen counter – back together. He shook his head before shoving on his shoes, heading for the door, let’s hope whatever it is is still there.
—
Bobby dug his key out of his pocket, shaking his head, what the hell kind of monster is this? I’ve never seen a body that- He stopped himself just inside the door as he spotted Crowley sitting at the kitchen table, “What the hell are you doing back here?”
“My job.”
“Right,” Bobby closed the door, tossing his jacket down on the bed, “And since when does the King of Hell take orders from hunters?”
Crowley bristled, getting up from the chair, “Well excuse me for not wanting to stay indebted to those denim-clad nightmares. I do have more important things to do than sit around and wait for them to call.”
“Great,” Bobby plopped himself down on the bed, kicking off his shoes, “Then why don’t you go do those more important things, and I’ll get on with the case?”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re crochet-y?”
Bobby snorted, “It’s been said.” He readjusted his ball cap as he watched the demon, who seemed hesitant. He let out a sigh, “Why are you really here?”
“I already told you-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re settling a score with Dean. But that doesn’t explain why you’re hanging around. You could’ve reported I was fine this morning and went about your business. But you’re still here. Why?”
Crowley shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “Can’t a friend just drop in on another?”
“We’re not friends.”
“Fine.” The demon sighed, swallowing what was left in his glass, “I thought this case maybe had something to do with an escaped Hellhound.”
“And now?”
Crowley shook his head, “I saw the body. If this was my girl, there wouldn’t have been that much left.”
Bobby took his hat off, running a hand through his hair, “And you didn’t tell me this at the beginning because…?”
Crowley let out an exasperated sigh, “Because I don’t exactly jump at the chance to announce I screwed up. I am the King, after all. I have to maintain a certain… reputation.”
“You let a Hellhound escape?”
“See?” The demon pointed to his face, “That is exactly the kind of look I was trying to avoid.”
Bobby let out a sigh, “Fine. Stay and help. But it’s…” he checked the time on the bedside clock, “1am, so I’m gonna get some sleep.”
“Perfect.”
Bobby watched as he made his way over to the bed, “What are you doing?”
Crowley blinked at the hunter innocently, “What?”
“You don’t sleep.”
He raised an eyebrow, “So that means I have to stand on the hardwood for eight hours while you sleep?” He shook his head, “Watching hunters sleep is more Castiel’s speed than mine.”
“I was thinking more you could go to Hell.”
Crowley frowned, “And here I thought we were just starting to get along.”
“I’m serious. Go do your other royal duties.” Bobby placed his hat on the bedside table, before digging his phone out of his pocket, “Come back in four hours and I can fill you in.”
“Four hours?” Crowley tsk-tsked the hunter, “That’s hardly enough time to do anything productive.”
Bobby snorted, “Well we’re not sleeping together so…”
Crowley waved a dismissive hand as he pulled back the covers, “Get over yourself. This bed is big enough for two people with plenty of space left between. You won’t even know I’m here.”
Bobby let out a yawn, before nodding, “Fine. On one condition.”
Crowley perked at that, and turned expectant eyes to the hunter, half-sitting on the bed, “Yes?”
Puddles (PHSH Effect #19, Coming Apr. 4th)
Make It Count (Unlearning Series Fic #9, Coming May 9th)
Lens Flares (PHSH Effect #21, Coming July 25th)
Vegan Fast Food: KFC (Coming Aug. 22nd)
Curses (Coming Oct. 14th)
Who Gives a Crap Review (Coming Mar. 28th)
The Long One (A SPN x Marvel crossover, Coming Sept. 2nd)