Dean Creations Challenge | hermionejean vs sanctifycas
↳ Prompt: Poltergeist [AO3]
They returned to the bunker the afternoon after Cas had killed Billie.
Dean, Cas, Sam, and Mary had spent the previous night in a small town hotel. They had woken up late, and ate lunch at a local diner they had found. Neither Dean nor Sam had had any decent food in several weeks, and they were incredibly grateful for the heaps of pancakes and sausages and eggs and toast they ordered. After that, they had begun the drive back to the bunker. It had taken several hours, and by the time they arrived, it was almost time for dinner. Dean had volunteered to make it; he was arguably the best cook of the four, and he actually enjoyed cooking quite a bit.
Cas had followed him to the kitchen, and they talked of this and that. Dean wanted to know about everything that had happened over the past six weeks. They had discussed it in the car, Cas and Mary explaining everything they remembered happening after Sam and Dean’s disappearance. They had asked about Sam and Dean’s time in prison, but neither had wanted to talk about it. They ended up discussing other things: past hunts, favorite memories, personal opinions. Mary peppered them with questions about their lives, seemingly determined to learn everything about them now that she had them safe and alive. She asked how they had met Cas (“You stabbed him? In the chest?” “I thought he was trying to kill me!”) and wanted to know about their other friends (“You’ve already met Jody. Claire and Alex live with her.” “Donna’s also a sheriff, she’s really cool.” “Then there’s Garth, and he’s…uh, well…Garth.”). They one topic they did not spend much time on was Sam and Dean’s imprisonment, and Dean wanted to know how Mary had handled it.
“She was really worried. Guilty, too, I think. For walking away. For not being there. We both were.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Dean said quietly. “It wasn’t either of your faults.”
Cas didn’t respond, so Dean asked another question. “Do you think she’ll stay now?”
Dean got his answer during dinner: Mary was staying. “I couldn’t leave again. Not after the last six weeks.” She smiled sadly. Sam Dean, as well as Cas, beamed at her.
Secretly, Dean was ecstatic. He knew Sam was too. They had understood that Mary had needed some space, but that didn’t make her absence any less painful. They didn’t want her to know how much they had been hurt by it though, and so tried to minimize their excitement for her return.
Towards the end of dinner, Sam declared, “We should have a movie night.”
On occasion, Sam and Dean would sit down and watch a movie together, whether it was to celebrate or relax or forget something. Oftentimes, their movie nights would occur when they stayed with Bobby, who would watch the movie with them. Those nights were filled with laughter and junk food and arguments over silly things, and they were some of the best of Dean’s life. He had almost felt like a normal person during them, with a normal family living in a normal home.
After brief deliberation, they decided to watch Poltergeist. Mary had seen it when it first came out, and Sam and Dean enjoyed watching horror movies. They found it fun to critique how movies portray the supernatural (“Oh my god, that’s not what ghosts are like at all.” “Do the writers know anything about demons?”) and laugh at the characters’ idiotic decisions. Cas was not the biggest fan of horror movies, but he thought Sam and Dean’s remarks would be amusing.
The four piled into Sam’s room with popcorn and beer in tow. Sam and Mary sprawled out on Sam’s bed; Dean and Cas pulled chairs over to watch. Both Cas and Mary joined in when Sam and Dean yelled at the characters, and Dean couldn’t remember the last time he had had so much fun.
Sitting there, watching the people he loved laughing and enjoying themselves, was incredibly precious to Dean. Just twenty-four hours ago, he was convinced that he was going to die, because there was no way in Hell he was letting Billie take Sam. But now? He knew Billie’s death would have consequences, but now he wasn’t worried about them. Now, he wanted to live entirely in the present, committing every single moment of this evening to memory. Now, he was content to be surrounded by the people he loved and the chance for a new tomorrow.
They’d handled difficult situations before. Dean didn’t think this would be any different.
