My true gentleman - Dean Winchester x Reader (1940s AU)
Title: My true gentleman
Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader
Warnings: None
Summary: You are Bobby Singer’s only daughter and while home one day, you meet an unexpected visitor, his friend and colleague. Dean Winchester is the epitome of gentleman who can easily charm his way in your heart. And yet can find all the right ways to make you blush every shade of red there is with his flirting, from winks to his full-of-meaning words. Despite the age difference you find your way attracted to the man in many more ways than it is suitable for a young lady and he does nothing to hide his own infatuation with you.
“Father, have you seen...” you started but trailed off when, the second you opened the door, you realized from the man's back alone that it wasn't your dad “You are not... my father.” you frowned, glancing around for a second to make sure he wasn't indeed in the room.
“I most certainly am not.” the man turned to look away from the painting on the wall to you, his naturally rough voice caught your attention and as your eyes fell on him, you felt a shaky gasp leave your lips.
If his back was something to admire then his front was certainly something to look in utter and pure awe. If someone ever told you a man like him even existed, you would have not once believed them, yet here he was standing only a few away from you. The man looked like one of the finest pieces of art you'd seen or studied in your life and at the same time he looked so much more aesthetically pleasing than any artist could ever imagine or conceive, let alone be able to capture. And being involved with the arts ever since you were young, you had seen your fair share of some of the most beautiful pieces created worldwide. And none of them could even begin to compare to this man.
Tall, very much taller than you for sure, broad shoulders and chest and no wonder very firm arms, all of which were hidden perfectly underneath his clean-cut suit. A dark vest and a dark jacket both of which were buttoned up, on top of a button-up white shirt and a classic tie; you actually remembered your father asking your advice on when he wanted to buy one for a friend. Turns out it was him, after all. Your eyes involuntarily focused on his face, despite the intensity in his green eyes as he looked at you that made you blush. You took in every little detail about him and – appropriate or not – you caught yourself staring at his full lips for a little longer than you should before you focused on his forest green eyes. The way he had his hair pushed back gave him the perfect gentleman aura that no doubt could win every woman's heart, and you rushed to look away to avoid being another victim.
“I- My apologies, I thought that my father was in his office. I will leave you to your own, now, I'm su-” but he didn't let you take more than one step back.
“No” he rushed to say, cutting you off gently “Please, do stay. After all this is your house, I am too waiting for him.” you saw a pair of classic '40s shoes before you looked up to see a hand extended for you “The name is Dean. Dean Winchester.”
Your eyebrows raised softly in recognition as you looked up to meet his eyes “Oh I've heard a lot about you. It is a real pleasure to finally meet you from up close, Mr. Winchester. I'm (Y/n), (Y/n) Singer.”
“Figured as much, your father talks all the time about you Miss Singer. And it's all the best of the best.” he took hold of your hand but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips for a soft kiss that made your eyes widen momentarily “Believe me when I say pleasure... is all mine.” the way he breathed ut those words made your knees go weak “Shame I have not had the pleasure to meet you before, I always met with your father at the police station.”
“Yeah, such a real shame.” you thought to yourself.
“Are you a detective yourself, Mr Winchester? I've always heard my father talk about you, but he never specified if you're a colleague or just friend.”
“Well, we do work together on the occasion. Your father is one of the best men I've known in my life, and it's hard to come by honest men these days.” he said with a soft smile “And please, call me Dean. I don't believe I'm that old yet.”
“Oh no, no of course not. I- I didn't mean that you're anywhere near old. It is just... only proper I call you by your last name because-” you rushed to say with wide eyes but his warm chuckle stopped your stuttering. You looked at him almost in awe, because if every other feature of his was breath-taking then his smile made you forget your own name. It made him look so much younger, not that he needed it, and was definitely the most beautiful smile you'd seen in your entire life.
“Relax, I was just kidding.” he chuckled, giving your hand a small squeeze before letting go “I was trying to make you more comfortable. Are you always this formal with people?”
You tried to hide the fact that you missed the contact and gave him a small shrug “It is only expected, don't you think?”
“Not necessarily, no.” he smiled, putting his hands in his pockets, so casually just like with his words that it got you intrigued “We live in a time where everyone thinks about what is right and wrong, expected and not, proper and not, that they don't act out of heart. We all follow the norms and we forget to be true, ever since we're young actually.”
“That is how society works, Mr- Dean.” you corrected yourself, noticing the way the corners of his lips lifted into a small smirk “And sadly, we do a lot of things we don't want to only because the principals say so.”
“But not with the people closest to us, right? I'm sure you're not this formal with your friends!” he shrugged softly, tilting his head to the side and only grinned widely when he got a chuckle from you.
“But you are not one of them.” you said with a small smirk an he frowned, placing a hand over his heart in a way that made you giggle more “Not to mention you barely know me.”
“Then how about you allow me to get to know you more?” smooth didn't even begin to cover both his words and actions as he motioned to on of the chairs in your father's office “I feel like Bobby is going to keep me waiting for much more. And it will be a true torture if I know that you are under this roof and I'm only left looking at a painting when we could have a beautiful conversation.”
You chewed on your lower lip, looking at the closed door of your father's office and then back at him. You had to admit his words were just as charming as him, he seemed like a very interesting yet mysterious man. He was surely a gentleman, a true one compared to others you'd met, but held a hint of playfulness in him that he wasn't afraid or even considered of hiding. He was true to who he was and honestly you'd love nothing more than to get to know him better.
“It's not... right.” you mumbled, fidgeting with your fingers and the pages of your sketch book, sneaking a glance at him only curious about his reaction.
“Well, do you believe that?” he asked surprisingly softly, a raised eyebrow but only genuine interest about your answer was on his face.
A rather heavy sigh left your lips as you shrugged “Too many 'musts' and 'dos' and 'don'ts' and I... I don't even know what is really my own beliefs and what's not.”
“I know what you mean but-” he licked his lips “We're not doing anything inappropriate, are we? I respect you too much for that... I wouldn't try anything you don't want me to do.” his words earned a raised eyebrow “Besides, I would really like to get to talk with you. Please, just keep me some company if you may. In case you don't have anything better to do, that is. I'm sure, a girl like you must have plenty of invitations and interesting things to do.”
“Only finish a sketch I started days ago and help my mother with cooking is all, believe me. Nothing special.” you shook your head with a soft smile before letting out a small sighed “Well, I suppose you're right after all. I don't think there is anything wrong with my staying here, it is not polite to leave you all alone.”
“That's a rule I think I actually like.” a boyish grin broke on his lips “Shall we?” and as he motioned for the chairs, you followed him and took a seat right in front of him.
You smoothed down your dress, looking down at your hands for a second before looking up. For a second you regretted it because even the way he was seated was so casual and effortlessly perfect, as he placed a leg over his knee and unbuttoned his jacket to be more comfortable and he leaned back comfortably, that it took your breath away. You actually wished that moment could last forever so that you could grab a pencil and draw out every little detail of Dean right then and there. There was something about the way he was sitting, a confidence in him you had never seen in a man before – not like you had had the chance to meet lots of men in your life anyway – but something else about him made it stand out, and as he had his hand over his mouth while he was running his thumb over his lip, you actually wished you could just grab your pencil and draw every little detail you saw right in front of you so that you could gaze at the drawing for hours later to come without any shame.
“So-” you blinked, looking away for a second because of how intense his gaze was when he studied you “Working on another case again?”
Another beautiful smile graced his lips “Well, I do think I have one for him, yes. We'll see how it turns out because it's not always our kind of thing. Uh it's a complicated thing, better if you don't know.” he pursed his lips, nodding his head and you gave him back an understanding nod as well.
“I see.” you gave him a soft smile “Dad doesn't talk much about it himself, I believe with everything you see on an everyday basis it must be hard to escape from all the... horror and inhuman things someone can do. But it's a good thing to have a family waiting for you, ready to remind you there can be warmth, care and compassion within the human heart as well. It must be very important and beautiful to come back to expecting arms and... a loving wife, ready to take away the problems off one's shoulders.” you said the last part almost in a low whisper, but took notice the way his eyebrows raised and a smile tugged at his lips.
“Yeah, uh that must be real nice but I-” he chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders “Don't have one. So I can't speak from experience.”
“You- you don't?” you blinked, surprise and oddly relief washing over you “How... how is that even possible?” the question came out in a small whisper before you could stop it, but you were in fact very curious how a man like him didn't have a woman by his side when it had taken 0.2 seconds for him to catch your attention.
A soft laugh left his lips and you felt your cheeks heat up when you realized what you'd just said “Well, it sort of happened I guess. This life is not all that easy and for someone raised into it's... particularly hard to find a woman willing to stick around long enough. Or maybe I didn't stick around myself, who knows. One way or another it was all... just a night of passion here and there. You know, bodies taking over, pulling and pushing, the heat of the moment and all the touching and-” he paused when he noticed your flushed cheeks, licking his lips before lowering his head with a smile “It didn't work out, is all I'm trying to say.”
“If there is love things work out one way or another. I can't imagine myself being separated from the one I love because of anything less than death.” you said softly, looking down at your hands shyly.
“And you're more than right on that.” he sighed softly “But I suppose I had never felt what it was like to fall for someone any of those times to experience any of it. What can I say? There is a first time for everything.” his words were said so casually that it took you a second to comprehend it and to actually think twice what he could mean.
However, as much as you'd love to ask about it, you decided to not let your hopes get up or risk the blush to get even more obvious on your cheeks “What you do, though, is very important. You save people, reunite families, must be hard to deal with every struggle on your own. I wonder how you manage.”
“You get used to it, I suppose. And wait, of course, to find the right one as a more romantic would say it. Isn't that what everyone does? For example-” he licked his lips, once more distracting you from your trail of thoughts “Don't you think about the man who will win your heart over? Unless you have already found him.”
A soft laugh left your lips “I have many more interests than waiting for the right man, believe me. Sometimes I wish I could do something as important as you and my father, but we live in 1940, this is my place for better or for worse. Either way, my love life is certainly not a topic of casual chatting, Dean.”
“Why?” his grin got bigger “I'll talk about mine openly if that makes you more comfortable.”
“Well, it's simply not as exciting as yours, Mr heartbreaker.” you said with a confidence that surprised you both.
“Oh (Y/n)” boy you loved the way your name rolled off his lips “You wound me.” he frowned, placing a hand over his chest, before he just chuckled “I can actually be more than you give me credit for.” he spread his arms with a grin “After all... you haven't tried me yet.”
“By saying the truth? I don't believe it is that bad to be a womanizer, Dean, there's nothing wrong with that... unless it comes to my father, he'd probably not let you hear the end of it.”
“Oh I know Bobby very well, trust me I've already gone through that. He's been bugging me to “Find the right girl.” for so long I can barely remember.”
“You will, when the right time comes. You shouldn't worry.”
“As shouldn't you. Any man would be the luckiest on Earth to win over your heart.” he said with a soft smile that made your heart skip a beat.
“Well, he'd have to try very hard. I am nowhere near easy to win over.”
“There's nothing like a good challenge. Besides, you are more than worth all of the effort.” when he gave you a wink, you could swear you forgot how to breathe “But, enough about me. You know, despite how much Bobby has told me about you, I feel like there are many things about you that I have to find out.”
“Well, I am an open book. Although I believe you'd get bored pretty easily.” you shrugged, playing with the pages of your sketch book.
“I beg to differ.” he said with confidence “Say, let's start with something I can guess can describe you very well.”
“You think you can?” you asked back with a raised eyebrow and he grinned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
“Well, other than how your eyes sparkle when you're curious, or the way you bite your lower lip when you're nervous, or the way your voice softens when you talk about things and people you love or even how your entire face lit up when you smile, especially at something I say, I think there could be a thing or two that I've figured out.” he said with a calm expression yet lots of interest in his eyes “And of course, other than how beautiful and interesting you really are and nobody could have ever prepared me for.”
“Is there more?” you asked with a blush and he chuckled.
“Well, I could go on for hours but-” he cleared his throat “Art” he breathed out more softly “I think that one is big part of you and your personality, am I right?”
You nodded your head with a smile “It offers an escape, from reality sometimes. Even when I'm drawing things in front of me, I feel like I am transported into a different place because I can capture things other don't see and suddenly it becomes a new place.”
“Reality can be pretty hard. I understand.” he nodded his head, leaning back in his chair but not taking his eyes off you.
“You couldn't possibly.” you whispered, shaking your head “I mean, don't get me wrong but... you're a man. There are so many things I am expected to do, so many norms and rules. I have to... fall into a role I don't if I'll be even remotely good and drawing is... it allows me to be myself, to chose freely what and who I want to draw however I want to unlike with my everyday life. But you... you can't understand what it really is like.”
“Then how about you help? By letting me take a look at reality through your eyes.” he motioned to your sketch book before adding ever like the true gentleman he was “That is, if you'd like. I know it could be personal or-”
“It would be my pleasure.” you breathed out before he could continue and handed him your sketch book “It's a new one.” you explained as he slowly opened to the first page “So it doesn't have all of my drawings in it but I guess it can represent me as... a person.” you ended up mumbling, tilting your head to look at him with a frown “Everything alright?”
“It's...” every hint of frown that always seemed to be president vanished and a truly calm expression washed over his features, maybe for the second time ever since he first laid eyes on you.
“What?” you bit your lip nervously, waiting eagerly his reaction because it seemed to matter so much you could barely believe yourself.
“Amazing” he finally breathed out when he looked up to meet your eyes “Just like you.”
His words made you look down shyly “Do you really think?” you whispered and he nodded his head, focusing back on your sketchbook as he flipped through the pages and tried to take in as much of the details you had in it as he could. He looked more at peace than you ever thought was possible, as if by some magic he had managed to let go of his worries, every problem simply vanishing from his mind, and everything else that was in his mind and his eyes focused on the beauty that lay before him. Well, except from you in his opinion.
“This is...” he shook his head with a soft smile “So beautiful. You're incredibly talented, (Y/n). You've-” his lips fell apart when he saw a drawing of a person this time and his eyes widened “Oh wow, this-” he shook his head in disbelief “It's unbelievable, what you've created here. It's wonderful.” he flipped through the pages to see more drawings of people, each one taking his breath away just when he thought he'd seen it all. Everything, from the lines to the colors to, even, the smudges he realized made him feel all sorts of things he realized had been years since he experienced, ever since he was actually a kid and saw the world a different way.
“I- I haven't ever really shown anyone.” your weak whisper caught his attention and made him look up with raised eyebrows “I... it feels too personal, yes, you were right. And sometimes I feel like people can see what's going inside of me when they look at my art. It's like unveiling the most vulnerable parts of myself to them so I- I just keep it mostly to myself. Not even my parents have seen these.”
“And you...” he trailed off, surprise, fascination and adoration on his face “You chose to show me?”
“Well, I...” you shrugged, playing with the end of your dress “I trust you enough to.”
“Really?” he breathed out before he smiled widely “I'm honored... if not much more.” he held our gaze for a moment and for th first time you weren't feeling in the least bit embarrassed or uncomfortable, if anything you didn't want to look away. But you were so caught in his eyes that you almost missed his next words.
“But do you think you would be willing to do one more... of me?”
“Of- of you?” you blinked and he smiled, leaning back in the chair.
He nodded his head “Of me, yes. Have you never had a model before?” he asked but you only stared at him with wide eyes that made him chuckle “That is, if you find me inspiring enough.” oh he had no idea how much.
But before you had the chance to say something the door of your father's office was pushed open and your head snapped in his direction and as if electricity shot right through you, you jumped up from your seat with your hands folded in front of you “Father” you whispered.
“(Y/n)... Dean?” the older man looked from you to his friend who also got up but more calmly, handing you your sketch book closed very casually.
“Father” your voice was barely audible and you acted as if you'd been caught on the act, although nothing had happened. You still could hardly believe how casual Dean was about all this, making you wonder how many times he'd gone through this, getting caught in the act and all. And, now matter how wrong it was or how you shouldn't want it, deep down you hoped that you'd been with him in one of those cases because that would mean that things would have happened then, unlike now. Sadly.
“What... what are you doing here?” he asked with a deep frown, entering his office but not taking his eyes off the two of you.
“Hey Bobby.” Dean said with a casual smile, earning a look from your father that didn't make his smile not even flutter “I was just waitin' for you to show up and-”
“With my daughter?” he raised an eyebrow and you saw from the corner of your eyes, Dean roll his eyes.
He shrugged “As I was about to say, she was keeping me some company and we were having a normal conversation. You have a very well-educated and charismatic daughter, she's very interesting to talk with. Only makes me wonder why you were keeping her away from me all this time.” he put a hand in his pocket “Besides, not my fault considering you wanted to make an impression by being late.”
“I did for a reason, but I guess it's too late now.” your father sighed, looking between the two of “And I was being late because I got you a case, idjit.” he muttered, walking closer towards you.
“Hello, sweetheart.” he placed his hands on your shoulders and kissed your forehead tenderly.
“Hey papa.” you said a little out of breath but managed to give him a smile “How was your day?”
“Good for most part, honey. And yours?” he asked.
It was the same question he'd ask you every day yet this particular moment you felt that it had a hidden meaning behind it, as if he was trying to get something out of you and as if he was suspecting something or even worse knew. Not that anything had happened between you and Dean, but because he could see crystal clear that you were much more than just entranced by the green-eyed man. You glanced at Dean for a second, his forest green eyes already on you, but missed the way your father followed your line of sight and gave his friend a look.
You cleared your throat and looked back at your father with a smile “All good, thank you.”
“Glad to hear.” again there was a certain tone in his voice as he said the words “What are you doing here, by the way?”
“Oh I- I was merely looking for my soft pencil, I thought I had it with me last time I was here. But it seems it's just not here, sorry.” you gave him a tight smile, at least saying half the truth “Now I uh I should probably leave the two of you alone.”
“Alright, honey. I'll see you later, you and I need to have a talk.” your father gave your shoulder a small squeeze and you frowned at him.
“Everything alright?” you asked softly and he pursed his lips, glancing at Dean.
“I don't know either. Go, (Y/n), I'll see you later. Dean and I need to talk, he's in a hurry too.”
“Oh uhm alright then.” you could hardly hide your disappointment because deep down you hoped he'd stick around at least for dinner “Then... it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr Winchester.” you turned to the man and extended your hand for him to shake.
“Likewise, (Y/n).” he held your hand firmly in his, maybe for a second longer than he really should “I can't wait to see you again... sometime soon, hopefully.”
The smile that spread on your lips was impossible to hide as you breathed out “Likewise.”
Your father didn't say a word about it but he cleared his throat rather loudly, mostly to remind you to let go of each other's hands. With a small push on your back he made sure you left the room and got your attention off the Winchester.
Unknown to him was that even as you exited the half open door, you stood there for a moment and turned around to look back at the room. You hoped and succeeded to get a final glance at Dean who had just put a hand in his pocket again and was looking away, for a second the light shining through the window of your father's office created a divine image to say the least. You could stand there for hours and just admire him and the way the warm light made his beautiful features stand out even more, hopefully to try and understand how a man like him existed in the first place but it was simply impossible. Dean's head turned in the direction of the door where he locked eyes with you and a smirk formed on his lips before he gave you a wink.
And that was the last image of him that you got as your father closed the door and prevented any further contact. You could hear their voices for a second, speaking about some special case and how it was their kind of trouble but the words didn't even register in your mind to begin with.
Letting out a shaky breath you didn't know you'd been holding, you blinked and instantly rushed upstairs. You hastily closed the door behind you and collapsed on your bed. Feeling like your heart wanted to beat out of your chest, you took a couple deep breaths but it didn't do much. And to make matters worse, you only closed your eyes to bring back the imagine of the man from before as if to torture yourself. But oh was it a sweet torture. You caught yourself smiling when you could actually see almost every little detail of his in your mind. You traced your fingers in the air, not touching anything, but in your mind you were actually tracing the lines of his jaw.
“Oh gosh!” you groaned, burying your face in your hands “What the hell is wrong with me?” you muttered to yourself before shaking your head “Fuck you Winchester.” it slipped your lips in a low voice.
For a second you could almost hear him say with a smirk in his voice “Is it right for a lady to speak like that? You have quite the mouth, there.”
A chuckle escaped your lips, nonetheless, and biting your lip you opened your eyes and jumped up to grab the pencil closest to you. You flipped your sketchbook open faster than you ever had before, almost ripping a page in the process. You had never felt more inspired in your life before and for that you couldn't fight your smile, especially at all the rush of emotions that came at the thought of Dean.
However you paused mid-movement when you noticed something fall off your sketchbook and on your dress. You took the small card in your hands, wondering when you'd put it in there, until you flipped it and actually got a better look at it. It was nothing more than a simple business card, but the name was enough to send your heart on overdrive.
