Pride and Joy
Title: Pride and Joy
Author: @klove0511
Artist: @angel-with-a-moonsword
Beta: klove0511′s lovely spouse
Rating: T
Ships: Gen
Warnings: Brief show level violence
Tags: pansexual!Sam, ace!Jack, aro!Jack, mother-hen!Dean, Season 13, Set between 13x22 and 13x23, Bloodlines (Episode 9x20) references
Summary: Things have been different since they rescued Jack from Apocalypse World, and Sam hopes a road trip and festival can help them reconnect.
Read on AO3
“Say that again.”
Sam barely suppressed his flinch. Dean sounded pissed, and he wasn’t sure why. “I want to go to the Chicago Pride Fest with Jack.”
“This weekend,” Dean said.
Sam nodded, still hesitant.
“What the hell for?” Dean asked.
That probably should not have been an unexpected question. He shrugged lamely. “I think it could be a good experience for him. Some time for us to bond. There hasn’t been a lot of time for that since we got back.”
“Because we’ve been working, Sam.” Dean huffed and pulled a beer out of the fridge.
“And we’re between hunts right now. It’s great timing.” Sam really didn’t know why this was pushing Dean’s buttons. They didn’t have to do everything together. Or was it because it was a pride parade? They’d never actually talked about Sam’s preferences, but it was because they just didn’t talk like that, not really. He’d never thought Dean would actually have a problem with it. Hesitantly, he asked.
For a minute, Dean was actually stunned into silence, and Sam felt his anxiety levels spiking. When Dean found his voice again he was indignant. “Of course I don’t care about that! So long as you aren’t screwing another demon then we’re good. The problem is that you want to go to Chicago without proper backup.”
Sam remembered their last Chicago case. Of course he did. The city had been quiet for years though. It might still be overrun by monsters, but then, apparently that was true everywhere. He told Dean so, then said, “Taking Jack isn’t exactly going without backup. Besides, we’re not going to be hunting.”
Dean grumbled under his breath.
Sam rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he’d been asking permission. Asking for Dean’s opinion, maybe. Letting Dean know he would be gone for a few days, definitely. But not asking permission, and Dean knew it.
“Fine. Check-in every few hours though, or I’ll bring the cavalry.”
“Once a day, unless there’s trouble, jerk.”
“Bitch.”
Sam smiled and left to go pack.
Convincing Dean had been one thing, but Sam wasn’t sure where to start with Jack. He’d been distant since they’d returned from Apocalypse World. Sam didn’t know how much of it was because he’d lost Lucifer and how much was just him avoiding Sam. Because it was just Sam he’d been avoiding. Dean and Cass had been teaching Jack to hunt, and while Sam was always there, ready to help however Jack needed him, Jack just…didn’t. He went to Dean or Cass first. It stung, but Sam supposed they were the logical choices, after all.
Sometimes Sam thought he was imagining it. They would all be together, and Jack would be utterly normal with him. No one else seemed to notice anything either. But Sam would. He’d catch a glance or a look from Jack that made his heart sink. Like he wasn’t really part of Jack’s family anymore.
So, maybe he was being selfish, hoping Jack would open up to him if they went on a road trip together. But hey, it had always worked for him and Dean. You know, eventually.
Sam rapped his knuckles lightly against Jack’s door. “Can I come in?” he asked.
Upon hearing Jack’s affirmative, he pushed open the door to reveal Jack slumped on the bed poking at Sam’s laptop. He looked every bit the sullen teenager, though Sam knew better.
“Hey,” he started. “I’m thinking of taking a trip for a few days. How would you feel about seeing Chicago with me?”
Jack looked up, eyes narrowed. “What are we hunting?”
Sam shook his head. “Nothing. There’s a festival I want to go to, and I thought you’d like to come with me.”
“A…festival?” Jack said, slowly.
“Yeah, a celebration. With food and street vendors. There’s a parade on the last day.” Sam shifted awkwardly, feeling uncomfortably large in the small room.
“Is Dean going?”
Sam tried not to let his disappointment show. Of course Jack would ask about Dean. “No. He really doesn’t enjoy big cities much these days. He and Cass are staying here.” He sighed, letting it turn into an embarrassed laugh. “I just thought it would be fun. Never mind. Have a good night, Jack.”
Sam turned to go, prepared to make a hasty retreat to his room.
“Wait, Sam.” He heard Jack call out before he could clear the door. He half-turned, acknowledging Jack with a quirk of his eyebrow. “I’d like to go with you.”
Sam smiled. “Great. Then pack a bag. We’re leaving in the morning.”
They had perfect driving weather. Warm enough to keep the windows down, just overcast enough that the sun wasn’t blinding, not a hint of rain. They took turns finding radio stations as they faded out. The one they were listening to was beginning to dissolve into static, and instead of spinning the dial to something new, Jack snapped the radio off.
Sam braced himself. Jack had been working up the courage to say something for an hour, and he’d apparently decided now was the time. “Why did you ask me to come with you, Sam?”
Sam glanced to the passenger seat. Jack’s brow was furrowed. He looked almost afraid of how Sam was going to answer his question. So, he paused before he answered. He wasn’t sure what Jack was afraid of, but he wanted to reassure the kid. “I know things have been tough this past year. Just thought we could both do with some celebration.”
Jack nodded, slowly. “What kind of festival is it?”
Sam considered his answer. “Have you ever heard of a pride parade?”
Jack shook his head. Sam smiled, and they filled the rest of the drive with conversation, mostly about the various facets of the LGBT community.
Chicago in late June could be surprisingly miserable. The buildings and asphalt raised the temperature downtown to an uncomfortable degree, and the lake did nothing but provide stifling humidity. To top it off, for a place called the Windy City, the air today was oppressive and still. Sam would have killed for a breeze as they wandered the festival.
The weather didn’t kill the festive air though. All around them were people laughing and shopping. There was an abundance of glitter and leather, and rainbows were everywhere. Jack was marveling at a pair of women with matching rainbow hair while Sam purchased a pan rainbow tank top. If tomorrow’s weather was anything like today, that would be what he was wearing to the parade.
“Cute kid. He yours?”
Sam turned toward the voice. It belonged to a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She was almost as tall as he was, and judging by her Adam’s apple, broad shoulders, and Trans Pride pendant, she hadn’t been born into a female body. She wore her femininity well, from long earrings to flowing flower skirt, and she was looking at Sam like she wanted to eat him. It had been awhile for him, a long while, and he was plenty interested, but no. This weekend was about reconnecting with Jack.
“He’s—my nephew. We’re just in town for the weekend.”
She smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Some friends and I are meeting up at a club later. Maybe you two would like to join us?”
Sam grinned, flattered. “Thanks, but I think we’re just going to crash in our hotel. I’m not really looking for extra company this weekend.”
She shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for trying, right?” She raised her eyebrows once more, suggestively, before disappearing into the crowd.
Oof. Flirting, being flirted with. It felt good, even if he was rusty. He’d never sought casual hookups at Dean’s pace, but once in a while that release felt damn good.
He turned around to find Jack watching him, expression unreadable.
“That was a woman?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, she was,” Sam said.
“And she wished to have sex with you.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“But you didn’t want to. Because of me?” Jack said, clearly trying to puzzle something out.
“This weekend is about us spending time together. Reconnecting. Not about me hooking up,” Sam said firmly.
They found a relatively quiet spot to rest for a bit, out of the main flow of pedestrians. Sam startled when he heard his phone ring, even though he quickly realized it was probably Dean making sure they hadn’t been murdered by a shifter yet. He loved his brother, but Dean in mother-hen mode was ridiculous.
“Hey, we’re still alive, jerk.”
“Shut up, bitch,” Dean growled. “You guys hit any trouble?”
Sam frowned. There was something in Dean’s voice that was setting off alarm bells for Sam. “What kind of trouble do you mean? Our kind?”
“You haven’t heard the news?”
Sam glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to them. “No, what news?”
Jack turned to watch Sam, now paying attention to the conversation.
“People are getting jumped leaving the festival. Three so far, at least.”
“It’s a pretty big city, you sure it’s not just random violence? I hate to say it, but this is Chicago. Three muggings doesn’t really sound like our kind of thing.”
“I’m not saying it is. I’m saying you’re at the damn festival, which makes the two of you targets. Watch yourselves.”
Sam could appreciate the concern, even if it confused him. Dean knew he was more than capable of handling some thugs—oh. He supposed it had just been a few weeks ago that the vamps had taken him down in that cave. He’d come back so many times now that it had hardly registered for him. Just another trauma in a long line of trauma. For Dean, though—
“We will. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll call you tonight.” He hung up and turned to Jack. “Ready to keep going?”
They moved back into the crowd and had purchased ice cream before Jack spoke again.
“I have been imagining myself in various scenarios, after that woman flirted with you. And they all seem very unpleasant to me.”
Sam looked sidelong at Jack. “What kind of scenarios?”
“All kinds. Sexual encounters, pre-sexual encounters, and with a variety of genders. None of it seems appealing. I believe I may be asexual,” he stated, more confident than Sam had heard him all weekend.
“Ok. Her flirting with me made you realize this?” Sam wasn’t sure he saw the connection, but he supposed that didn’t matter. If it helped Jack discover something about himself, then it was a good thing.
“You looked very happy. So, I wondered if it would have made me happy too. But I don’t think it would.” Jack had been eating his ice cream intermittently while he spoke, and was nearly done, while Sam’s was starting to drip down his fingers. He hadn’t been paying attention to it, too focused on Jack to eat.
They shopped and ate and people watched for a few more hours before they both decided they were tired enough to head back to the hotel. It was still plenty light out and still oppressively muggy and warm, so Sam opted to cut them through some back alleys. A stupid risk, probably, but he didn’t think anyone would want to jump a guy as tall as himself, especially since he wasn’t alone. He was wrong.
“Hey, Winchester!” the would-be mugger shouted, brandishing a gun.
Fantastic. Any mugger that recognized him was probably a monster, and he wasn’t exactly armed for a hunt. Sam instinctively pushed Jack behind him and said, “What are you?”
“Ghoul,” a familiar voice snarled from behind Sam, the woman that had flirted with him earlier. “You know what happens when you cross territory lines, vulture.”
Without further warning, she transformed and leapt at their attacker, slashing him deeply across the chest. The sound of a gunshot boomed, echoing in the narrow alley. Pain bloomed in Sam’s side and the world wobbled dangerously. Distantly, he heard Jack calling his name, and he felt rough concrete under his hands as a dark haze encroached on his vision.
The next things he became aware of were Jack’s face hovering over his and a bone deep ache he recognized from when Castiel healed some of his more egregious injuries. He was laying on the ground, in a puddle of something, if his damp clothes were any indication. Given the lack of rain, that only left disgusting, possibly body fluids options. Gross. Jack didn’t seem to care, as he flung himself onto Sam.
“What happened?” Sam coughed, voice rough. His throat felt like it was filled with sand.
“Please stop doing that. Please.” Jack was mumbling into Sam’s chest, repeating himself over and over in between hitches of breath.
He carefully dislodged the boy and sat up. The puddle turned out to be blood, and a lot of it. Judging from the dark stain on the front of his clothes, it had been his blood. That explained a lot. He hugged Jack close and muttered his apologies for getting hurt again.
The woman was watching them, obviously curious. “So, I hit on a Winchester. Huh. Guess you really do have nine lives.” She grinned.
Sam wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The ghoul was still on the ground, bleeding. The woman—the werewolf, Sam corrected—stood over it, claws pressing firmly into its throat. This was not a fight he especially wanted to get in the middle of.
“You two should go,” she said. “This part of downtown? Cops are probably already on their way.”
“What about you?” Sam asked, standing and helping Jack to his feet.
She smirked. “Plenty of wolves on the force. I’ll be fine.” She gave Sam one last long, appraising look. “My earlier offer still stands, by the way, if you’re ever out this way again.”
Once they were away from witnesses, Jack flew them back to the hotel. He was still upset, and Sam was feeling the crash from an adrenaline rush he hadn’t noticed having.
First things first, make sure Jack was ok. Then he could shower and check in with Dean. Dean, who definitely did not need to know what had happened tonight.
“Hey, you ok?” he asked.
Jack was pacing the room, obviously still too agitated to sit. Sam grimaced when he saw the blood spatter on Jack’s shirt. Maybe he’d let the kid have first shower. Mutely, Jack shook his head. “You—you almost died tonight, Sam.” His voice was shaky. “I’ve never healed anyone before. And—and you’re my family. But you almost died. Again. Why did you step in front of me? I would have been fine. But you—why?” The longer he spoke, the more hysterical he became.
Finally, Sam pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m ok, thanks to you, and I’m not going anywhere if I can help it. All right?” He closed his eyes. “Besides, I thought you were mad at me. You’ve been avoiding me since we got back.”
Jack’s arms squeezed Sam tighter. “Thought it would hurt less. If something happened again.” He shrugged helplessly. “I was wrong.”
Sam huffed a small laugh. “I’ve been there. Sorry. I promise to,” he paused, thinking, “to at least try to be more careful. But I’m not going to stop trying to protect you. Like you said, we’re family.”
Dean was furious when Jack told him on the phone that night, too fast for Sam to stop him. Sam left out the werewolf. No need to make all of Dean’s nightmares come true. It was bad enough his concerns had been justified. Sam wasn’t going to hear the end of this for a long time.
In the morning they made their way back to the festival to find a good place to watch the parade. It was already packed, no surprise since Sam had heard on the news that morning that they were expecting over 1,000,000 people to be in attendance.
They both wore their spoils from the day before—Sam in his pan tank and Jack wearing an aro flag draped around his shoulders. He’d picked up ace and aro wristbands, too. Sam still wasn’t sure if their bags had escaped unscathed last night by sheer luck or if Jack and his grace had something to do with it.
The weather was already hot and muggy though, despite a decent breeze, and Sam had pulled his hair into a small ponytail. What he could, anyhow. It was better than nothing. The massive crush of people made the heat worse, but it didn’t matter. Nothing could diminish the air of excitement around them.
Like yesterday, there were rainbows everywhere, in every color pattern Sam knew and several he hadn’t seen before. He watched friends connect and find each other from across the crowd, some obviously having not seen each other in a long time. This was what it was about. This event, bringing people together.
As the parade started, he hoisted Jack onto his back, so they could both see over the crowd. He thought about what had made him originally bring Jack to this. It had brought them closer, again, too. If nothing else, he had a better understanding of why Jack had been distant lately, but this morning the kid had been full of excitement and energy. It reminded him so much of the case in Dodge City (before it had all gone to shit) that Sam couldn’t help smiling. They were family, no matter what happened, and they would all take care of each other.