Pairing: Gen (Benny Lafitte, Dean Winchester, Original Female Character)
Tags & Warnings: Canon-level violence/gore, Bloodlust struggle, Canon minor character death, Familial tension, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Purgatory, Fix-it
Summary: Dean and Benny thought leaving Purgatory meant leaving each other behind and going it alone, but when Benny's latest attempt to find his own footing is jeopardized, Katrina challenges that.
Starts in Blood Brother (8.05) and mostly takes place in Citizen Fang (8.09)
"Guys like us," Dean said after a moment, drawing both Benny and Katrina's attention, "we don't get a home. We don't get family."
"You got Sam," Benny pointed out morosely, ironically realizing that was part of the problem. He turned back to the water at that point, but if he hadn't, he might have noticed the way Katrina's eyes were narrowing.
"Yeah. Benny, you got to go deep underground, where nobody knows who you are."
He knew Dean was right. That if he wanted a chance at anything better later, he needed to disappear. He needed to get Sam off his ass, and Martin, as much of a half-wit as he was, and any other hunters that were bound to come sniffing around. Benny was on the verge of agreeing when another voice entered the conversation, angry and incredulous, but firm.
Based on Kashimalin’s 50 Types of Kisses prompt list.
Prompt: “Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand.”
Pairing: Ciri & Eskel (Gen)
Read on AO3.
Eskel and Ciri share a special bond, despite rocky beginnings. Even though it took Ciri considerably longer to warm up to Eskel - and get over her fear of his scars - the two formed a unique bond, or so Eskel likes to believe. Geralt is like a father to Ciri, that much is undeniable, and over the years Lambert adopted the older brother role rather than uncle. Come to think of it, Ciri never used the moniker ‘uncle’ for Lambert. He was always just Lambert.
Eskel guesses that him being promoted to the role of uncle may have had something to do with the fact that he and Geralt are as close as brothers, even though they aren’t related by blood. Ciri picked up on that early on, which is probably the only reason she started seeking Eskel out more only a couple of weeks after she first arrived at the keep. At first, she would only come find Eskel if Geralt wasn’t around, or was otherwise occupied. As time passed, however, Ciri came to Eskel just for the pleasure of his company, and the two soon bonded over their shared interests - animal care, signs, embarrassing stories about Geralt… Eskel had a lot of those in his repertoire, and they always end with Ciri doubled over with laughter, tears running down her face.
Eskel likes to indulge the child in Ciri. Just because she’s training with the witchers doesn’t mean that she should be deprived of a childhood. Eskel, Geralt and Lambert never got to be kids, never had the chance to play and have fun. For them, it was always very much about training, getting their skills up, preparing them for the Trials. It doesn’t have to be like that with Ciri, and Eskel will always encourage her to play and have fun whenever she can spare a moment from her training. Eskel often finds her crouching behind a door waiting for him to step into the room so she can scare him. It never works, not really, but Eskel pretends it does for her sake. It builds her confidence.
Ciri and Eskel like to play hide and seek together. That usually happens in the evening, in the time frame between bath time and dinner, when Eskel is not on cooking duty of course. Ciri will often find Eskel in his room or in the library, nose buried in a book, mending his armour, or whetting his swords. She’ll saunter into his room, her vibrant green eyes sparkling with the promise of mischief. Eskel will look up from whatever task he’s busying himself with and manage a lopsided smile, knowing full well what the little she-devil is up to. When she’s close enough, Ciri will reach out and slap Eskel’s comparably massive hand before uttering a quick ‘tag, you’re it’, and disappearing in a flash. Of course, Eskel could find Ciri easily by following her scent, or by listening to the rapid fluttering of her pulse.
But what would the fun in that be?
Eskel and Ciri will spend ages playing hide and seek, usually until the others call them down for supper - in which case their game of hide and seek turns into a race to see who can reach the dining hall fastest, regardless of where they are inside the castle. Eskel often wins those races, which has Ciri huffing, but the little devil is getting faster and faster each time. Besides, she never stays mad at him for long.
One evening, Eskel finds Ciri crying in her room late at night, long after they had retreated to their rooms for the night after dinner. The girl is clearly trying to be quiet about it, but there’s no fooling a witcher’s enhanced senses. Eskel knocks on her door softly and steps into her room, where he is met with the sight of his niece crying pitifully into her pillow.
“Go away,” she mumbles miserably, though the usual heat in her voice is absent. Eskel goes to sit on the bed next to Ciri, the mattress depressing under his weight. His large hand nearly spans both her shoulder blades as he rests it soothingly on her upper back. He can feel the way Ciri’s petite body shakes with the force of her sobbing.
“’s alright, pup. It’s alright.”
“I miss her.” The heartbroken declaration is followed by wet sniffles that tug at Eskel’s heartstrings. “I miss grandmama. She always knew what to say when I had nightmares.”
“What would she say?” Eskel asks, his hand rubbing up and down her back. It takes Ciri a little while to calm down so she’s able to answer Eskel’s question. She manages to sit up and shift onto the mattress until she’s pressed against Eskel’s side. He wraps his arm around her body and pulls her closer.
“She’d say… that she’d never let anything hurt me. Because I’m the Lion Cub of Cintra, and she is… was … the Lioness. And no one touches the Lioness’ cub.”
“Hm. Your grandmama was a wise woman. Strong, too. And fiercely loyal to the people she cared about.” Eskel leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of Ciri’s head. “And just like the Lioness of Cintra would never let anythin’ happen to her cub, so the wolves of Kaer Morhen will always protect their pup.”
Ciri cranes her neck and manages a grateful, albeit teary smile. Eskel returns the gesture fondly.
“Grandpapa said that the Tuirseach bears would also watch over me. When I was small, he used to carry me around my room and dance with me. He taught me how to dance like they do on Skellige.” Ciri perks up at the memory, like she’s suddenly struck with an idea. Her green eyes meet his amber gaze, and Eskel recognises the now familiar spark of excitement in them. “Eskel, can you dance?”
A warm chuckle rumbles from deep within Eskel’s chest.
“Afraid that is not a skill we were taught here.”
“I’ll teach you,” Ciri declares, her sorrow long forgotten as she slips off the bed and stands between Eskel’s legs, “it’s only fair. You teach me how to fight, so I’ll teach you how to dance. It’s really easy.”
“Ciri, it’s late-”
“Please, uncle Eskel?” Ciri’s lip juts out pleadingly, her eyes growing teary once again, and Eskel is unable to resist that look. He heaves a resigned sigh, which Ciri correctly interprets as him agreeing to her idea, if the wide smirk that graces her features is anything to go by.
“Fine. I’m all ears, lil pup.”
“So first,” Ciri extends her hand, knuckles up, in a very familiar gesture in noble circles, “you ask the lady if she’d like to dance with you.”
Eskel’s lips curl up into a fond smile, but he happily obliges his niece and gently lifts Ciri’s extended hand to his lips, where he presses a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.
“Your Highness, may I have this dance?”
Ciri giggles, then nods her assent and pulls Eskel off the bed. She’s tiny compared to him, a fragile-looking little thing, but Ciri is growing physically stronger by the day. There is no doubt in Eskel’s mind that the child is mentally stronger than most people on the Continent - after what she’s seen, after what she’s been through, Eskel can only admire how resilient Ciri is in the face of tragedy. The Lion Cub of Cintra, the Wolf Pup of Kaer Morhen…
Eskel lets Ciri stand on his feet, barely feeling her weight. She’s holding onto his right hand and wraps her left arm around his waist for balance. Eskel’s left hand is pressed against Ciri’s back, supporting her as she gets into position.
“Now you move around the room. It’s very simple. Two steps to the left, then two steps to the right.”
Eskel follows Ciri’s instructions, letting her take the lead and guide him through the steps. It’s a moment which will remain branded in Eskel’s memory for many years to come and which will keep him warm on the cold nights spent out on the Path. Ciri wormed her way into Eskel’s heart easily, effortlessly, and if Eskel never understood the bond between parent and child before, he does now. To an extent, obviously. Ciri isn’t his daughter, but Geralt’s. But she’s collectively their wolf cub, and Eskel will rather die than let anything happen to her.
But enough of that now, he tells himself as he focuses on enjoying this tender moment. How often will he get the opportunity to dance with a princess, anyway?
Happy Valentine’s Day! Vote for your favorite fic that centers around non-LawRusso couples. Please vote for the Best Gen Pairing in the Cobra Kai Fanfiction Awards.
Summary: Jack buys a build-your-own gingerbread house and requests that Sam, Dean, and Cas build it with him. It turns out pretty cute in the end and the sides really show everyones different personalities.
This is Day 19 of 25 days of Christmas. Check out the full masterlist here!
Sam and Dean stared down the cardboard box. Jack had a point, it was Christmas but this was taking things a little too far. “We’re supposed to build that thing?” Dean asked, pointing to the fancy house shaped container.
“I read that it’s a Christmas tradition between some families,” Jack answered, sitting proudly at the table and waiting for the two boys to join him.
“Yeah, families with kids and both parents in the picture,” Dean scoffed.
“I thought it could be fun. Cas said it’d be fun.” Jack looked over at Cas who was sitting on the end of the table.
Dean turned to Cas. “So you gave him permission for this?”
“I guess,” Cas shrugged. “He pointed it out so I bought it.”
“When? When did you have time to buy this and with what money?”
“I went to buy him clothes and from the money, I’ve had since I worked at that gas station.”
“You’ve saved that money all this time?” Sam asked, watching as Cas nodded. “Nice!”
“So can we build it or not?” Jack questioned, breaking into the box before anybody could respond.
“How about each of us gets to do one side?” Dean suggested, licking frosting off of his fingertips. The house was all put together, with minor swearing and only a couple tip-overs, and it was now time to decorate the whole thing.
“Who’s gonna do the roof?” Jack asked.
“We’ll divide it in fourths.” It seemed like Dean had been planning this all along. He was more excited than Jack at this point. “I call a side!” he quickly added, turning the base so that one side was facing him.
“I can do the front. It’s my house anyway,” Jack said, trading places with Sam.
“You good with the back?” Sam looked over at Cas. “Or do you want to trade?”
“I’m fine,” Cas smiled, grabbing the frosting tube from the counter.
“We need more frosting baggies.” With that, Dean rushed to the kitchen to grab some ziplock bags. He divided the frosting up into the bags then cut off the tip of an end, squeezing some onto his finger to make sure it worked. He sucked his finger into his mouth, licking it clean before setting to decorating his side of the house.
In the end, the house looked… well, it was standing. Dean had written “Help” on the side of the house, then strategically placed a marshmallow snowman laying on the ground in front of the window. He covered part of it with red frosting, making it seem like a murder had happened.
The front of the house looked exactly like the front of the bunker. Jack was proud of his work. He took the longest to finish.
Cas had drawn little bees all over the back of the house. He even made them a hive on top of the roof, right by the chimney. His was the cutest overall.
Sam’s side was basic. He used all the little gumdrops to make it look like there were lights around the window, and had candy canes lining the “outside” area as if to make a fence. He even had icicles made of frosting hanging from his part of the roof.
It wasn’t pretty, but it captured each of their personalities. Jack took a million and one pictures, and Dean just wanted to break off pieces and start eating it. Maybe they could start a new tradition.
