Show Time - Part 3
Summary: You and Dean get closer to finding your monster and you start to realize he's not all that bad. Maybe you could even learn to like him.
Part One Part Two
You woke up early and just laid in bed for some time, trying to organize all your thoughts. Last night had been... Good. Better than you had expected for sure. Normally when you worked with Sam and Dean, you spent all your time with Sam and all your free time antagonizing Dean. But this time, without Sam, you found yourself partnering up with Dean and antagonizing nobody.
But you didn't mind it. In fact, it was kind of nice.
You decided to use today as a new start with you and Dean. Maybe you'd even end up as friends.
Definitely nothing more.
You eventually forced yourself out of bed and down to the kitchen. Dean wasn't up yet, but that was fine. A slow morning to yourself was a luxury. And with a kitchen so fine, you decided to try your hand at a real breakfast. Maybe you could even offer something to Dean, as an olive branch.
There were eggs in the fridge and you figured you could fry some eggs and toast some bread. How hard could that be?
Very hard, apparently.
You set a pan on the stove and turned the burner to the highest setting. At the same time, you dropped two slices of bread in the toaster and let it start cooking.
Eventually you felt the pan was hot enough for the eggs and the second you cracked the egg onto the pan - with a small bit of shell - it started sizzling. With two eggs in the pan they seemed to be done all too quick. You wanted to flip them over, but realized you'd forgotten to oil the pan, and those eggs weren't going anywhere. The more you tried, the more they ripped, the bigger the mess became.
Soon enough smoke was coming from the pan as the bottom of the eggs burned. "Shit," you muttered, taking the pan off the heat. You stood in the middle of the room, the eggs still cooking on this hot pan, not sure what to do.
Then the smoke alarm started going off.
"Fuuuuck," you groaned. You still didn't know what to do, still had the pan in your hand, but were not turning in small circles, trying to find the best move.
"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded, rushing down the stairs. He was in pajama pants, but no shirt, and the sight of that alone stopped your movements. You just stared at him, mouth slightly open. "Well?"
"Uh, I, uh-"
"Jesus, Y/N," Dean all but shouted, ripping the pan from your hands and tossing it in the sink with cold water. He then grabbed a towel and started fanning right under the smoke alarm. "You can't even cook eggs?"
"Well I'm sorry the hunter lifestyle didn't really give me the chance to learn how to cook," you scoffed, feeling embarrassed. And to put the cherry on the shit sundae, your toast finally popped up, black as a hockey puck.
"Oh, Y/N..." Dean sighed, shaking his head with pity.
"Forget it," you threw your hands in the air and stepped away from the kitchen. "I was just trying to cook us breakfast. Never again."
"You expected me to eat this?" Dean asked, eyebrows raised high in disbelief.
"I didn't think it would turn out this bad," you grumbled. This whole situation was becoming more and more embarrassing and you wanted out.
"Ya know, I didn't grow up with a kitchen either, but at least I know how to cook an egg."
"Well you're just sooo perfect," you spat at him. "With your chili and your eggs and your... your... Can you put a shirt on?"
An amused smile started to spread over Dean's lips and it did nothing to help your mood. "How about I show you how to cook an egg?" He offered. You narrowed your eyes at him, trying to see if he was making fun of you. "I'm serious. Come here."
You sighed in defeat and made your way back to the stove.
Dean was surprisingly patient with you, surprisingly kind. In a matter of seconds you had tasty eggs.
Just as you and Dean sat down to eat, there was a knock on your door. "Who the hell is knocking at nine in the morning?" Dean groused, moving to the door.
"I'll give you one guess," you muttered sarcastically, listening as Dean opened the door.
"Oh! Deanie! Hi!" A voice that brought an instant scowl to your face said. "I was just coming by to invite you to dinner tonight."
"Uh- I guess I can ask Y/N-"
"Oh yes, Y/N too of course."
"Anybody else gonna be there?"
"Um, yes! Yes. Some other neighbors," Tori quickly confirmed.
"Deeeeeeeean," you mewled loudly, tired of listening to this woman hit on your fake husband. "I've got the whipped cream ready!"
"We'll see you tonight," Dean said, no doubt starting to close the door.
"Seven O'clo-" Tori started to say, but was cut off by the door slamming in her face.
Dean made his way back to the kitchen, an amused smile playing at his lips, "whipped cream?"
"As if she was gonna go away on her own," you scoffed. "Not with you standing in the door like that."
"Like what?" That sparkle in Dean's eye told you damn well he knew what you meant. You were certainly not going to give him the satisfaction of hearing you spell it all out.
"Your food is getting cold, jerk," you said, but there was a lightness in your voice that would not have been there yesterday.
Dean settled down next to you and you discussed the case as you ate. You could now narrow down the suspects to anybody that didn't use the silverware, which was still about ten people.
"If the monster even is a ghoul or skinwalker," you added. "If we're dealing with a witch or something random, then silver won't help."
Dean sighed at that, nodding. "Let's go to this dinner and ask about the murders. See if they heard more than what was on the police report."
"Sure thing, Deanie." You pinched his cheek mockingly. "If that girl isn't the monster, I'll be shocked."
"She's just a bored housewife," Dean argued. "I'm fresh meat."
"With a wife."
"Fake wife."
"She doesn't know that. Stop using that as an excuse."
"At this point I'm just saying it to piss you off," Dean said, totally unashamed. "We'll go to that dinner, check all the guests off our suspect list, and then invite the rest to dinner tomorrow."
With a plan set, you and Dean set off to spend the day preparing. You sat on the bed in your room sharpening your knives and cleaning your guns, while he laid in the bed in his room, calling his brother and watching TV. You tried not to eavesdrop, but these walls were thin, so you couldn't help but catch a few snippets from his talk with Sam.
The most interesting bit being, "it's actually been kind of nice. I might even be starting to-" and then a lawnmower outside drowned out the rest.
It was good to know that the change in feelings wasn't one sided. You tried not to dwell too much on what he could have finished that sentence with. You liked Dean okay now, but just okay. He wasn't a friend, he was a colleague. A coworker that you didn't mind sharing a cubicle with. Nothing more.
Absolutely nothing more.
Eventually it was time to walk next door, and you and Dean met by the door. You were in yet another sundress, this one light blue with a white collar. Dean was in khakis and a blue button down shirt, unintentionally matching you.
"Oh, Tori's head is gonna explode," you said excitedly, noticing the perfectly matched blues you were wearing. "Think we can sneak off to the bathroom and make her think we had sex?"
"Calm down there, killer," Dean laughed. "Just be the handsy wife we all know you are, and I'm sure Thomas will be cleaning her brains off the floor before we leave."
"Pig," you muttered, straightening out your dress. "I mean, what was the plan? Some other female hunter was gonna come and just jump your bones right away?"
Dean shrugged at that, at least having the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "Can't blame a guy for trying."
"Pretty gross behavior, Dean."
"Yeah yeah, sorry."
You felt the mood turning somewhat sour, a big change from the morning you had shared, and wanted to stop it before you found yourself in old habits.
"Let's go," you said, grabbing the door handle. "And who knows, maybe you could be the handsy husband," you added, hoping to ease some the tension that had built in the last minute.
"Careful what you wish for," you heard Dean mumble as you left the house.
Tori's house was directly next door, so all you had to do was hop a small bush and suddenly you were at her door. Your fingers barely made a sound on the wood before it was thrown open. "D- the Winchesters!" Tori exclaimed, eyes dancing from you to Dean. "Come on in."
And into the lion's den you walked.
Thankfully Ross and John were there, and it looked like at least one more couple was going to be joining.
"Y/N! Dean!" Ross called out, quickly pulling you both into a hug. "Oh I'm so happy you're both here. We were just starting to gossip."
"Oh I love a good gossip," you said, following Ross to the table. John was already sitting, so you gave him an awkward half hug and sat beside him, with Dean on your other side. "What's the topic?"
"Do you know the Smiths? They'll be joining later," Ross started, "well we're pretty sure they're swingers."
"No," you said, giving Dean a conspiratorial look. "Don't you go getting any ideas."
"You're all I can handle," Dean joked. "How do you know they're swingers?"
Ross and John now shared a look. "They invited us."
"They did not!" You and Dean said at the same time. "Did you go?" You asked.
"No!" John said, laughing.
"We thought of it. What a story! But that's just not us," Ross added.
"Can I actually ask a question," you said. "I'm not trying to bring down the mood or anything, but those murders that happened in this neighborhood..."
"Jeez, Y/N, could you pick a more inappropriate dinner conversation?" Tori asked, obviously trying to shame you.
"I know Dean asked a bit and he told me everything, but it's kind of spooky." You acted the scared girl, and Dean acted the brave husband, grabbing your hand. "I mean, two couples?"
"It was a few months ago now," Ross said, "I'm sure we're safe."
"But what even happened?"
"Ugh nobody really knows," Tori said. "One day there were just police cars outside their houses and then we heard it on the news."
"Did you hear that one rumor?" Thomas, Tori's husband that was apparently at the table this whole time, asked.
"What rumor?"
"Apparently they found like this weird stuff in both houses. Like piles of skin or something," Thomas' face scrunched up in disgust at just the thought.
"Oh my God," you said.
"Who's skin?" John asked, horrified.
"I don't know. My buddy's a cop and he just told me it smelled bad and looked even worse," Thomas answered.
Tori now huffed in her seat. "That's enough. Judy and Dennis are almost here, and we're not talking about this with them. They were friends with the couples."
You and Dean shared a knowing look. The Smiths were now suspect number one.
Eventually Judy and Dennis arrived, greeted by hugs and warm food.
The dinner itself was nice, which you hated to admit. Tori might have been insufferable, but her cooking certainly wasn't. And the night was made all the sweeter by the daggers Tori threw your way anytime Dean grabbed your hand or you placed your hand on his thigh.
"Should we play a game?" Tori asked. "We have a dart board out back. I'm getting pretty good." She looked Dean at that last part, trying to see if she'd impressed him.
"Yeah, let's do it," Ross agreed.
You all followed Tori outside. It was a cool night, the sun had set long ago, but the backyard was lit up nicely.
"First to 201 points wins," Tori said, holding up three darts.
Tori started, of course. And to her credit, she was pretty good at darts. She started with hitting the 15, and ended with two 20s. Everybody else was middle of the road, but then Dean went. The show off hit all 20s, tossing you a self satisfied smirk as he handed you the darts.
"Not bad," you complimented. "But check this out." Years of throwing knives at any monster you could name had trained you for this moment. This moment to destroy some annoying housewife. Your first dart hit the green of the bullseye, pulling impressed sounds from those around you. You then hit the triple 20 and the regular 20, trying to give everyone a fighting chance.
If looks could kill, you'd be dead. Because while everybody else cheered you on, Tori stood with her arms crossed, obviously trying not to scream.
You and Dean made quick work of darts, finishing the game before the others even broke 150.
"How did you both get so good at darts?" Tori asked, obviously trying to hide her displeasure.
"We took a class," you said, wrapping your arms around Dean.
"Yeah, Y/N bought us tickets for this class run by some dart expert for our... was it fifth year anniversary?" Dean said, continuing with the lie.
"Fourth," you corrected him. "Fifth year you bought us that overnight stay in that castle."
"Now that was romantic, let me tell you guys," Dean said, laughing.
"Should we play again?" Tori asked.
"Oh, I think we should be getting home," Dennis Smith answered. "It's getting pretty late."
"But we should do this again!" Judy said. "Maybe we can host next time."
"That'd be great," you agreed quickly. "We should get going too."
You all moved to hug goodbye. Just before wrapping your arms around Judy, you pulled your silver necklace from your dress, hoping it would touch her. And just to be safe, you placed your hand, which wore your silver wedding ring, onto Judy's shoulder.
And she flinched.
"Oh!" You exclaimed, pretending not to know what happened. "I'm so sorry, did I pull your hair? Sometimes it gets stuck in my jewelry."
"Yeah, I think you did," Judy said, forcing her features not to show too much pain.
"I'm so sorry," you apologized. "How about we host dinner tomorrow, as a way to say sorry."
"Sure, we're in!" Tori agreed.
"Oh, uh-"
"Great," Dean said, stopping you from uninviting her. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. Let's say 7?"
"Perfect," Dennis said, grabbing his wife and walking around Tori and Thomas' house.
"Can't wait for dinner tomorrow," Tori said. "I'm so excited to try your cooking."
You smiled at her as sweetly as possible. "It'll be so much fun."
Tori hugged Dean goodbye, holding him for way too long, especially with you and her own husband right there. Then you both made your way back to your house. But you couldn't push away the annoyed feeling you got at how smug Tori looked, like she knew you couldn't cook for shit, like she knew you could do nothing about her hugging Dean for as long as she wanted. So just before you were out of eyesight, you grabbed Dean and brought his lips to yours.
Unlike last time, Dean didn't hesitate to respond. It was like he knew it was coming. His hand fell to the small of your back and pulled you close to him, practically lifting you off the ground. Your own hands snaked their way around his neck, letting you pull yourself even closer to him. Your mouths moved against each other's, and you found one of your hands slightly tangling in his hair.
"Dean-" you started in a low voice.
"Good thinking," he said, cutting you off. "The Smiths are watching us. Probably pretty suspicious with how good we are at darts. Gotta make sure they know we're just some married couple."
Your brain was trying to process his words after that kiss, so you just started nodding. Right. The hunt. The kiss was for the monsters, not to stake your claim on anybody or anything. Just for the hunt. For the monsters.
"Here, I'll pick you up. Wrap your legs around me," Dean instructed, giving you no chance to reply or argue, as he easily lifted you off the ground. His hands stayed steady on your back, and he carried you into your house, your foreheads touching the whole time.
As soon as the door was closed behind you, he dropped you down, giving you a big smile. "We're good at this!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, really good," you agreed, still trying to get your mind straight, trying to desperately ignore that feeling of disappointment in you. "I guess we've got a lot to do tomorrow, so I think I'll just go to bed."
"Ah c'mon, let's play some cards or something. We've got beer," Dean suggested, moving to the kitchen.
"I really think I should just go to bed."
"But we probably found the monsters and they sure as heck don't suspect us after our little show, so we can just-"
"Dean, no." You said firmly, interrupting him. You hated the edge you felt in your voice, hated admitting to yourself that you were somewhat hurt. And that it was your own fault. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
And with that you went upstairs and instantly into your room, closing the door behind you.
You sunk onto the bed, instantly berating yourself. What an idiot. Of course Dean didn't go from hating your guts to liking your guts to fancying your guts in 24 hours. And you shouldn't have flipped this quickly either.
Dean has always been attractive, and now that you didn't hate him, you were just feeling a little infatuated. That was it. You liked him as a human, nothing more. The kiss was for the hunt, to keep the monsters off your trail. For that kiss to mean anything more would mean you had feelings for the man, and you certainly did not.
It was easier when you hated him.