An Anniversary of Hellish Sorts (Crowley x Angel!Reader, #1 Flufftober 2025)
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Crowley/Reader
Characters: Crowley, Reader, Juliet the Hellhound
Rating: General Audience
Words: 769
Synopsis: Y/N comes back to Hell after a day away from their partner, Crowley. Little do they realize that he has been waiting for them and they do not know why.
Tags: Gender-neutral, Reader, Angel Reader-Insert, Angel!Reader, Crowley x Reader, Flufftober 2025, Fictober, Flufftober, Fluff, Crowley's (Supernatural) twisted vision of Romance, Romance, Angel/Demon Relationship, Anniversary, Established Relationship, mention of canon typical level of violences, light mention of the Winchesters and Castiel, Romantic, Fluff, Soft Crowley (Supernatural), Soft, Love, Short One Shot
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I'm already late as I'm catching the train 2 days too late but Fictober is always a good exercise to get back to writing!!! I'm following @flufftober's prompts so here's day 1 "Anniversary"! Hope yall enjoy it <3
Summary : On a witch hunt, Dean is willing to be bait. What could go wrong ?
Pairing : Dean x reader
Words : 9 991
Warnings : Fluff, a bit of angst, a hint of language (I think that's it, but let me know if I forgot something)
A/N : This is my very shamefully late participation for @avanatural‘s 300 followers celebration. Congratulations again my friend ! I'm sure you have much more now and you clearly deserve them but here it is. Thank you so so much for being so patient with me, reassuring me when I was worried because I had missed the deadline and being so kind when I explained to you my writing block. I hope you won’t be disappointed. My prompt was “ With great hotness comes great responsibility”
A/N 2 : I want to thank @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior too for being a very nice, helpful and patient beta reader. You really helped me, it was nice to have someone pointing at my mistakes and correcting them. Working with you helped me get back on track. You’re a great English teacher ahah, thank you for aggreing to this.
Text divider by the talented @talesmaniac89
Masterlist
“Why does it always have to be witches? I hate freaking witches! Give me the creeps.” Dean said, excessively shaking his body as if a huge shiver had run down his spine from his spiky hair to the tips of his toenails.
Not everyone liked witches.
They were the kind of magical beings you either hated or adored. Their magic and strength coming from the moonlight, the rays of the sun, or the soft and damp dirt of the woods could be fascinating. But the whole sacrificing Thumper and showering with lambs’ blood, could be an ugly and disturbing part.
Some people saw witches as devotee defenders of nature, protecting and worshiping the miracle that is Life, wanting to keep the balance intact. Others only saw them as mean women hidden in cabins, surrounded by skeletons of animals, drawing with blood and dirt, chanting in Latin, naked in the middle of the night, calling Satan as their one and only ruler.
Those representations of witches were just clichés. And truth was, both of those clichés did exist, but they weren’t all witches. Not all witches were psychopaths or lovers of nature. Some were just living their life peacefully without doing any harm to anyone - or any animals.
Unfortunately, Dean had only met the killer ones.
“You do know that not all of them sacrifice humans or think that Beelzebub is their true lover, right?” I told the older brother, rolling my eyes.
He turned to me, eyebrows slightly raised and arms crossed. We’d had this discussion before and I had proved him wrong multiple times, but Dean was a man full of pride and he didn’t like to be wrong. So it was the same argument over and over.
“You only say that because you owe them.” He said, standing in the middle of the motel room.
I crossed my legs on the bed I was sitting on, not needing to stand up to win this fight. And sometimes remaining calm had more power than yelling. I rested my back against the headboard behind me and took a breath, already bored with this discussion.
“You know that’s not true. Yes, some of them helped me in the past but I don’t owe them anything. I just learned that not all ‘monsters’ do monstrous things. The ones you hunt usually do but it doesn’t apply to every one of them. But you know that, your best friend is an angel, you’re friends with a werewolf, and you literally helped a vampire return to Earth. Not all monsters are killers, just like not all hunters are idiot brutes who don’t know anything besides killing ghouls.” I declared, tying back my hair to allow the very light air conditioner to blow on my hot neck.
“Dean, you guys have already talked about this. Can we move on and just focus on the case?” Sam interrupted the conversation, probably bored of this never-ending argument.
“You think hunters are dumbasses?” The older man asked, his voice a bit higher than usual, emphasizing his fake offended face.
I shook my head, a soft smile spreading across my lips because even though this discussion was always the same, it was also always funny to see how Dean could act like if he was genuinely outraged by my words. I let a soft chuckle out and pushed myself off of the bed, standing in front of him.
“No. Not all hunters are dumbasses. You are the exception.” I told him, patting his chest. I winked before walking to the bathroom, the heat of the season making me sweaty and smelly.
All I wanted was to take a shower.
Before I closed the door, I heard Sam frankly laugh and I could perfectly see in my mind the bitch face Dean was giving him.
In the bathroom, I sighed as the heat of the summer invaded the room. It couldn’t be normal to have such a warm day, even if it was the middle of July. Taking my shirt off, I already felt lighter and cooler but I desperately needed a cold shower to get rid of this sticky feeling. Getting rid of my pants, I could still hear the brothers talking in the room.
Motels walls were always awfully thin.
“She always wins, I don’t understand why you persist arguing with her.” He declared to his brother who growled in response.
“It’s just witches, man. I never liked them and never will. There’s nothing more to say.” Dean complained, and deep down I understood where he was coming from.
As hunters they were taught to hate everything related to the supernatural, trained to fight those creatures with weapons or their own fists. So witches and their spells could be very frustrating to them. They could never be sure of their next move or trick, so they could very easily feel powerless against them.
I understood that but Dean had a real obsession with them and I had asked him plenty of times if something had ever happened with one of them but the answer was always no. He just hated them.
“You have a deep-rooted hate against them, yet you never had trouble liking Y/N.” Sam told his brother with his teasing voice and the corner of my lips unconsciously lifted.
The tall man always loved teasing his brother and I about being friends, claiming there was something more than friendship between the two of us. And he never believed us when we answered that we were nothing more. Truth was, in my mind I always added a ‘yet’ at the end of my answer, hoping that one day I was gonna have the courage to reveal my feelings to the older brother.
“Y/N is not a witch.” Dean answered back, something protective in his voice.
He was right, I wasn’t a witch.
But witches had helped me through the hardest time of my life. When my parents died, killed by a demon, it wasn’t hunters who saved me. It was witches.
They had searched for this demon for a while, trying to stop it from committing more massacres, until they found it in my house, slitting my parents’ throats. I was sixteen and never screamed so loudly in my whole life. They killed the demon and kindly took care of me for a few years, showing me how they lived and what they did, explaining to me that they were neither good or bad, just bits of both, as we all are. But they also taught me that some witches could be real monsters, working with demons like the one who had killed my family.
Those were the ones hunters killed.
They were the reason I decided to become a hunter. I wanted to protect people from living through the same thing I had.
On a hunt I met Sam and Dean and we decided we were a good team; we’ve worked together ever since. We shared our pasts and I explained where I came from. At first they froze, wondering about my relationship with witches. But after some explanation and more information, they agreed to continue working with me, understanding that I wasn’t the enemy.
Thinking back on the words of the older brother, I smiled again, appreciating the defensive tone he had used while talking about me, but I couldn’t help but tease him, it was too funny.
So, in a tank top and panties I half opened the door, not completely revealing myself to the brothers.
“Well, I know the basics of being a witch.” I interrupted and they both turned towards me.
A grin illuminated Sam’s face; he was happy to watch me annoying his brother. Dean on the other hand scanned me from head to toe as much as he could, making me hide a little more behind the door. When he caught my eye, he acted like he hadn’t been ogling me, and cleared his throat.
“You want me to consider you as one or what? You know it’s not a compliment coming from me, Sweetheart.” He said, crossing his arms again.
“Maybe it’s time for you to accept that deep down you like them.” I said quickly before closing the door behind me, resting my back against it.
“I swear, that woman is stubborn as hell.” Dean declared, a smile in his deep voice.
“Dude, you’re the stubborn one because she’s definitely right.” His brother told him and I let a little laugh out as the older one scoffed.
“Yeah, of course you’re always on her side.”
I could see Dean’s pout and eye-roll even in another room, I knew him too well.
“I’m just always on the right side.” Sam explained and I heard Dean mimicking and mocking him.
I shook my head at their bickering and striped off my clothes before getting into the shower, enjoying the cool water easing my body.
Once I felt cleaner and lighter, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the first towel nearby, knowing that even if I had chosen one only for me, the brothers were going to mix them up and we’ll always end up using the same one.
Boys…
Wrapped in the dark blue towel, I looked around searching for my clean clothes. But the only piece of fabric I could find were the dirty ones on the floor. I sighed when I realized I had forgotten to take my other clothes with me before stepping into the bathroom. So, I tightened the towel around my body, making sure it wasn’t going to fall off when I walked out, and slowly opened the door.
I stuck my head out of the door and quickly looked at the front door, not hearing anything, nor seeing the brothers sitting at the table. On my tiptoes I got out of the bathroom and headed to my bag next to the table. But halfway there I heard someone clear their throat.
I jumped, letting a small scream out and putting my hands on my chest, both to keep the towel in place and to keep my heart from leaping out of my chest. When I turned around, I saw Dean sitting on his bed against the wall, his phone in hand and his eyebrows raised in curiosity, the smirk never leaving his lips.
“God, Dean!” I yelled, cursing under my breath when I lifted my head in annoyance.
“Are you putting on a show for me or something?” He asked, a dirty grin plastered on his stupid, pretty face.
I both hated and loved that grin, because as much as I appreciated the warm feeling it awakened in my stomach, he always sent it my way when he was messing with me, sometimes confusing me as to whether the flirting was real, or just simple teasing.
Trying not to not let him get to me, I shook my head, hiding the blush on my cheeks and the effect he had on me.
“You wish. I wouldn’t have come out like this if knew you were here. Why are you all silent, anyway? And where is Sam?” I asked him, crossing my arms to hide my chest.
Dean stared at me for a second and I raised my eyebrows at him, waiting for an answer. He shook his head slightly as if he was trying to erase his thoughts. I let a small smile reach my lips.
“Well, I was alone. You want me to talk to myself? And Sammy went looking for some ice, he’ll be back in a few.” He explained and I nodded, we definitely needed ice to cool our drinks down or we were going to melt under the warmth of this day.
“Good, we’ll definitely need some.” I answered and walked closer to my bag.
When I was ready to pick it up from the floor, I glanced at the hunter and realized he was still looking at me. I sighed and stared at him.
“Would you mind turning around or closing your eyes?” I told him off, but he just turned his body towards me instead, sitting on the edge of the bed, hands crossed between his knees.
I growled and he chuckled, proud of annoying me. I glared at him and squinted, hoping he would get the message. I might have been trying to intimidate him, but Dean isn’t intimidated by much, so, not surprisingly, it didn’t work.
“Why don’t you cast a spell to make me forget what I see? You said you knew the basics, right? So why worry about me possibly seeing anything?” The hunter said with confidence, assured that I was going to back down from the subject of witches.
But I wasn’t planning on letting him win so easily. I hummed and nodded.
“You’re right, I’ll make a few calls and find a spell that works. Thanks for the idea, Dean.” I told him, quickly but carefully grabbing my clean clothes and my phone on the table, wiggling it so he could see it.
“I think I know one whose specialty is amnesia; shouldn’t be too complicated.” I added before rapidly heading to the bathroom again, locking the door behind me. The hunter’s face fell quickly, realizing that I could indeed call a few witches to ask for help with these kinds of things.
If he had truly thought about it, he would have known that I would never use any kind of spell on him, let alone a spell to erase his thoughts. It could be really dangerous. But Dean definitely wasn’t using his brain as he hurried to the bathroom and grabbed the handle of the door, desperately trying to open it.
“Y/N, open the door! Give me the phone!” He yelled behind the locked door and I chuckled, amused by how desperate he sounded.
He banged on the door with strength and I laughed a little louder, just to annoy him. He growled as an answer.
“Come on!” He shouted and there was the sound of a door opening and slamming in the background. Dean stopped hitting the door when a voice spoke.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Sam asked, confusion clear in his voice.
“She’s gonna erase my memory!” The hunter said urgently and I shook my head, amazed by Dean’s naivete sometimes.
“Well, do you deserve it?” Sam asked and his brother rapidly answered.
“No! I barely saw anything!” He argued, the worry of me actually erasing his thoughts making his voice shake a little.
Chuckling, I got dressed, shaking my head over and over as the brothers continued to argue about whether Dean deserved to have his memory erased or not. Then, tying my hair in up a ponytail, I put my phone in my back pocket and came closer to the door.
“Right, thank you Becca, I knew you were the one to call for this. Take care, bye.” I said loudly so they could hear me clearly behind the plank of wood.
“Seems like you’re screwed, man.” Sam told his brother who grumbled in annoyance and defeat.
Sitting at the table in our motel room, I had to bite my cheek a few times to keep myself from laughing right in Dean’s face every time I felt his eyes on me.
Once I’d left the bathroom, I acted like nothing happened at all, completely ignoring Dean and winking at Sam for backing me up on this little prank. After some time, Dean understood it was just a little joke and that nothing was going to happen to him. And even if he was now aware he was safe, he was still eyeing me, making sure I wasn’t going to put a spell on him every time his back was turned.
I couldn’t help but shake my head and smile a little at the idea.
Sam began laying out our next case. “So, according to the witnesses I interrogated, all the men disappeared after hitting on a redheaded woman in the Outback Bar. The bartender said he saw the woman multiple times but never with the same man, despite them being good-looking and quote, ‘confident enough to think they could spend a night with such a woman’. Wait,” Sam shuffled some papers around, “I’m gonna show you some pictures.”
He browsed through the files and put the pictures of the victims on the table in front of them.
All of the men were indeed very good-looking, from the blond one with the shiny brown eyes to a couple dark-haired men with intense blue eyes, their body types and faces were different, but no one could argue with their attractiveness.
After observing all of them, I looked back at Sam who was reading through one of the files again, probably making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.
“So, what do we do?” I asked as Dean picked up one of the photographs to look closer at it.
The younger man raised his head, his long hair brushing against the sides of his face. He cleared his throat a little, thinking about it for a second, but I knew him well enough to know he already had an idea.
Running his hand through his hair, he let a sigh escape and looked at his brother and I.
“Well, the easiest option and the one most likely to work, is to use bait. One of us should go to the bar, find this woman, hit on her, and get her to lead us to her place – the one she uses for her victims.” Sam explained.
I wasn’t very fond of this idea.
Using someone as a bait for a hunt was never safe. We could easily lose track of the person being bait, mistake an innocent person for the monster, or something even worse. Sam was obviously feeling the same way because he looked like he wasn’t very happy about his own proposition. I opened my mouth, ready to try for another solution, but Dean cut me off before I could get a word out.
“Alright then, I think this one is for me. Sorry Sammy.” He declared and I turned towards him, brows raised at his quick and easy willingness to be bait. Sam scoffed at his brother and straightened in his seat.
“And why are you the one who has to be bait?” Sam asked. “I think we should talk about this a little more. You don’t have to do this; I’m sure we can find another way, right y/n?”
I nodded, in agreement. But Dean did not agree.
“What is the other option? Wait for another guy to disappear?” Dean asked. Sam and I didn’t have an answer.
“Come on, it won’t be the first time one of us has had to be bait. And you two will be in the bar, making sure I don’t get stabbed through the heart by this bitch.” Dean declared, leaving me silent.
To say I didn’t like the idea of Dean being bait was an understatement. I didn’t want either of them to be used to trick a monster, especially unpredictable ones like witches.
“But why does it have to be you?” Sam asked again. “I could be the one to do it.” The younger brother tried to argue but Dean shook his head at him, putting the picture down on the table.
“Well, no offense, Sammy, but I think this one is for me. With great hotness comes great responsibility.” He proudly declared and Sam and I rolled our eyes in sync.
“You did not just say that.” I sighed, throwing my head back in annoyance.
“You’re an idiot.” Sam said simply, his best bitch-face taking over his features.
Dean chuckled proudly and shrugged at our reactions. He was indeed an idiot and I was convinced he knew it because the smile he gave us at this exact moment, showed just how happy he was with his turn of phrase.
“What? You disagree, Sweetheart?” He asked me, cocking an eyebrow.
I crossed my arms. “Let him be bait.” I told Sam, not really agreeing with the idea, but with the fact that his brother was an idiot. Sam sighed and closed the file, shaking his head a little as his brother proudly smiled next to me.
The bar was crowded and it was a bit difficult to keep an eye on Dean. The pop songs blaring through the speakers at were making the customers dance, crowding the floor. If you wanted to go to the bathroom, you had to try and find a path between the girls jumping up and down and swinging their hair around, and the couples making out.
In the forty-five minutes we’d been there, we still hadn’t spotted the witch. Only a few girls had come to talk to Dean, awakening a feeling in my stomach.
Probably jealousy…
I didn’t want to be jealous of them because I knew he wasn’t really interested in them. Even if he wasn’t just there to catch a witch, even if he wanted to take them home for real, he’d probably show interest for a night and then move on, and if I was honest with myself, that wasn’t what I wanted.
I didn’t want a night with Dean, I wanted a life with him. It didn’t matter that as a hunter that life could end in five years. I just wanted to share things with him that those girls couldn’t. I wanted his tears and his laughter, the side of his personality those girls would never know – the caring and funny dork and the strong and determined hunter.
But none of that changed the fact that I hated the look he was giving them and the way they ran their hands up and down his arm.
“You think she’s gonna show?” Sam asked next to me, pulling me from my thoughts.
I looked at him quickly and I could see he was a bit worried and deeply focused. He wanted the witch to show up, but didn’t want his brother to get hurt. I felt the same.
“Well, I hope so but I also hope she’ll hurry up so we can get it over with before anyone else gets killed.” I told him, before looking back at Dean, who’d turned to look for us.
He searched through the crowd a bit before spotting us sitting in a booth at the end of the bar. When our eyes locked, Dean quickly winked at me and I allowed myself to give him a smile in return. He grinned a little before going back to his drink, scanning the people around him to find our target.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Sam confessed and I stopped looking at his brother to focus on the worried man on my left.
His eyes were fixed on Dean and his brows slightly furrowed. He looked truly tense and he hadn’t taken a single sip of his drink the whole time we’d been here. I lowered my eyes for a second and saw him wringing his hands in his lap, evidence of just how concerned he was. So, I gently put a reassuring hand on his forearm and he looked at me.
“Hey, it’s not the first time we’ve done something like this, right? Once she shows up, we’re gonna follow them outside and get rid of her. Everything’s gonna be fine. And Dean isn’t some random guy; he’s a hunter. He knows how to defend himself.” I told him, offering him a comforting smile that he accepted.
Sighing, he lowered his head and looked at his hands, probably thinking about my words. I wondered what else I could say to reassure him as he pushed a hand through his hair. He was worried and I understood that worry all too well, I was worried too. But before I could add anything, he nodded and straightened up, seemingly getting some of his confidence back.
“You’re right. It’s not our first time on a case like this. We just have to keep an eye on Dean and everything’s gonna be f-” Sam abruptly stopped speaking when he turned his head towards the counter.
The hunter immediately stood up and I quickly followed his movements, trying to understand what was going on. But when I turned around and saw the empty spot where Dean was supposed to be sitting, my eyes widened and my heart squeezed.
I quickly climbed out of the booth and scanned the crowd for Dean, pushing some people out of my way, cursing at them for not paying attention to the people around them. Once I finally reached his seat, I noticed a half-drunk martini with some red lipstick on the rim of the glass, and another glass half full of whiskey. There were some bills laying on the counter.
I turned around, hoping to see the hunter somewhere in the bar but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. When a waitress walked pass me, I stopped her by carefully grabbing her elbow.
“Did you see the guy who was sitting here earlier?” I asked her quickly and she let a smile spread on her lips.
“Oh yeah, I saw him alright, he just left. He probably won’t spend the night alone. Lucky girl.” She said dreamily and I growled before hurrying to the door. I was hoping I wasn’t too late and that I’d find them both outside.
But the moment I stepped outside, I was only met with the darkness of the night. The warm and humid air crashed on my face and the only things I could see clearly were the constellations in the sky and a street lamp a few feet away from me, illuminating the parking lot. I quickly walked towards it, trying to locate the hunter. I let a small sigh of relief when I spotted the black Impala still parked there.
But there was still no sign of Dean.
I looked around for signs of a struggle near his beloved car but couldn’t see anything. But when I reached the black vehicle, I glimpsed something shining on the ground. I kneeled down and grabbed the shiny objects on the ground. When my fingers touched the cold keys, I sighed in defeat. Dean would never have abandoned his Baby, and he was always so careful with her keys, so if I found them on the ground, it could only mean that he’d left them here for us to find. I cursed myself for letting him be bait. It was never a good idea.
In one last attempt to see if he was still here, I cupped my hands around my mouth and screamed. “Dean !”
It was a few seconds before I saw a familiar silhouette coming around from the back of the bar and jogging towards me. My breath stuck in my throat when the light illuminated Sam’s face. A bit out of breath, the tall hunter shook his head at me and my heart squeezed.
We’d lost him.
“Sam, calm down, please. I know what I’m doing.” I said to the nervous man in the driver’s seat next to me.
“But you said it yourself, it’s been a long time since you used this.” Sam replied, worry in his voice.
After making sure Dean wasn’t anywhere inside or outside of the bar, we tried to locate his phone, but unfortunately, it must have been broken or dead because we couldn’t find any signal coming from it.
So we needed another way to find the hunter. We considered interrogating the customers outside, but we both agreed that it would probably just be a waste of time rather than a real option. So, I decided to take the pendulum I always kept in my bag and use it as a homemade compass to guide us to Dean.
It was true that I hadn’t used such a magical object in a long time but I was truly convinced it would lead us to the missing Winchester. It was our only hope anyway. So, I raised the pendulum a little higher in front of me, observing its movements going from right to left then back and front.
Watching the object swing in all directions, a part of me worried that it was just swaying along with the movement of the car and that this weird gadget was going to be of no use. But another part of me, a stronger and more confident part, truly believed it would work. So, I concentrated harder on the enchanted, green pendant and murmured the words Lady Salina had taught me during my time with her.
“Amisi quod amo. Redi ad me quod amo.”
I felt Sam’s eyes on me, probably starting to translate the words, but I ignored him. The more I stared at the pendant the more I felt the magic Lady Salina had put into it, awakening.
I remembered the day she’d put a spell on it. It was a warm and sunny day like today and I was looking for a book my mom had given me. When I accepted the fact that I had lost it forever, the brown-haired witch had come to me and offered me this pendulum. She told me she’d enchanted this pendulum so it would lead me to where my heart truly was, and that if I properly repeated her words, it would guide me to my lost things or the ones that were stolen from me. But I had never used it to find a human before.
I chanted the words over and over again until the pendulum stopped moving and was drawn tight. I waited a second, looking at the pendant starting to glow until it suddenly pointed to the right.
“Turn to the right, Sam.” I said quickly, and the hunter drove the car where the pendulum was pointing.
Once we were on the right road, the pendulum clearly showed us the way, moving to the right or left, indicating to Sam the path he had to take. After about fifteen minutes, the magical object slowed down when we reached a dirt road.
We continued to drive for a few miles until we reached an old farm. The building looked completely abandoned but we both knew it wasn’t. Sam parked the Impala behind some trees and I let go of the pendulum; it had been pointing at the farm. Putting it back in my bag, I pulled my gun out and looked at Sam.
Taking a breath, he nodded at me and quietly got out of the car. I followed him to the trunk and he opened it, searching for the Witch Killing Bullets. I took some and loaded my gun with them. Sam did the same and carefully closed the trunk.
“I take the front, you take the back?” Sam whispered to me and I nodded.
“Be careful.” I told him and he nodded back before putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
Watching Sam walking carefully to the front door, I took a deep breath and squeezed the weapon in my hand, before heading to the back of the barn. Everything was too quiet to be safe, not a bird was singing, no sounds of the forest were echoing far away. The only sound was // my boots crushing the gravel under my weight.
When I reached the back door, I stayed quiet, trying to hear if anyone was inside but unfortunately, I was only met with silence. So, I cautiously put a hand on the big wooden door and half opened it, aiming my gun in case of an attack.
But once again, nothing moved or made a sound.
When I entered the barn, my boots flattened some dry hay on my way, making it crunching sound. My weapon still raised, I carefully looked around. The rays of the moon slightly illuminating the area, not requiring my flashlight to be turned on. With a few more steps, I saw some chairs around a wooden table and noticed some vials, herbs of all kinds and an old grimoire. Everything needed for a good sacrifice.
But still no sign of life.
I continued my journey through the shed and the more I walked the more the smell of death filled my nostrils. I frowned at the scent and looked around, searching for this odor and hoping with all my heart that I wasn’t going to find any human body, but especially not Dean’s.
I distinguished a shape on a smaller table and walked to it, taking my flashlight out of my jacket.
I turned it on and immediately illuminated the table, cursing when it revealed a burst opened rabbit sitting on top. Bringing a hand to cover my mouth and my nose, I shook my head in disgust at the organs of the poor animal spread on the furniture.
“Ugh! So it’s a Sacrificing-Thumper kind of witch.” I whispered before continuing to inspect the place.
Once I made sure no one was there, I spotted another door with some warm light coming from under it. I walked to it, turning my flashlight off so I wouldn’t get caught, and carefully turned the knob. This time, the room was illuminated with candles, warming the place. But when I opened the door wider, the lights showed a long dark shadow on the wall opposite of me.
My heart beat faster while I entered the room, ready to shoot anything that moved. But when I took another step, I noticed the shadow wasn’t moving and was hanging by a thread – or maybe a rope.
My blood ran cold at the idea of finding Dean. No, it wasn’t an option. I wasn’t going to find his dead body and certainly not this way.
In a swift movement I turned to the left and found myself in front of the hanged body but instead of the horror I was preparing myself to see, I only met Dean’s broad shape hanging upside down and suspended by his feet. The rope tied his boots together and snaked down his body, holding his arms against his sides, preventing him from moving at all.
“Dean!” I yelled out recklessly before hurrying to the immobile man.
When I reached his side and the candles lit up my face, Dean turned his head, allowing me to see his red grumpy face. As simple as it was, this expression on his face brought me immense relief, because it meant that he wasn’t hurt or under a spell. He was just, understandably, upset.
Witches definitely had a thing for him.
“Muuuumuuum !” Dean tried to talk around the gag but the strip of cloth prevented him from making any sense.
I quickly grabbed the end of the fabric covering his mouth and undid the knot behind his head. Once he was free of it, Dean let a breath out and my heart finally slowed down.
“Son of a bitch! I told you!” He growled and I quickly covered his mouth with my hand, smiling at his grumpy face and he frowned at me.
He was definitely himself.
“I know, I know. You were right and it is definitely the kind of witch you don’t like but she’s still out there so stop making noise.” I told him and he nodded as much as he could.
I moved my hand away and scanned the area to try and find a way to bring him down without hurting him or making too much noise.
“Where is Sam?” Dean asked me, obviously worried about his brother.
I looked back at him and saw the concern on his features. Even when he was the one kidnapped, Dean was still always worried about his little brother.
“He took the front door; he’s probably taking care of the witch right now.” I explained, offering a reassuring smile.
Then I walked to a table and cleared off every object and paper on it, planning to use it to help Dean.
“I swear, I hate witches. I hate magic. Next time we have a case like this we give it to someone else. Maybe Garth, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” The elder hunter said as I tried to quietly pull the table towards him. The legs of the table creaked against the wooden floor and I cursed under my breath.
It wasn’t the time to draw attention.
“You know, magic saved your unsuperpower-y ass, ‘super-handsome’.” I sarcastically stated. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so close-minded about it; it can actually come in handy.”
He scoffed, probably thinking I was joking. But when I stopped and turned to glare at him, he understood I was serious.
“Really?” He asked slowly, a bit unsure, and I nodded, a little smile on my lips.
“Yep.” I answered, starting to pull the table again.
“So, you did put a spell on me after all.” He joked and I rolled my eyes, still tugging at the furniture, creating some high-pitched sounds every now and then.
“You’re an idiot.” I told him simply as I finally managed to get the table under his head.
Now that the furniture was under him, I would be able to untie him without making him fall to the ground from five feet in the air.
So, I climbed up on the table, testing the sturdiness of it before putting my feet on it too. I came closer to the tied-up hunter and kneeled under him. I grabbed the knife from my boot, and cut the ropes caging him. Carefully, I started to slice the rope next to his arm and before I could prevent myself, I let my thoughts out.
“Everything happened so fast, you disappeared so quickly. One second you were sitting at the counter and the next you were gone. But we were sure we’d lost you when we found Baby’s keys.” I explained, getting at the middle of the rope.
“Were you worried?” Dean asked and I bit my lip to prevent me from answering anything, acting like I was deeply focused on cutting the ropes without hurting him, which was true.
Dean must have sensed my reluctance to answer because he didn’t push, letting me work on the rope. Once one rope broke I started working on the one under it. The only sound heard was the blade against the fabric.
Until the hunter spoke up.
“You know… maybe I was a bit judgmental. With witches, I mean…” He started and I slowed down, lowering my head a little to see him better.
Dean wasn’t looking at me, his eyes glancing around the room for a second, trying to avoid my gaze.
“Oh yeah?” I answered and his eyes locked with mine sending a spark to my heart.
Still staring at me, the hunter licked his lips and slightly nodded at me.
“Yeah.” He said simply and the ropes around his torso broke, freeing his arms.
He let a grunt out when they fell and growled when he still couldn’t touch the table with his hands, his fingers inches from it. It was a bit funny to see him desperately try to reach it and I let out a little chuckle at the sight.
But I quickly stopped when his hands grabbed my waist, steadying himself and sending a shiver down my body. He let out a frustrated sigh , blowing some of my hair with his hot breath and I sat on the table to stabilize myself. When I raised my head, the older hunter was looking at me and hardly swallowed as his eyes met mine.
The green orbs stared at me and the flames reflecting in them made him look more beautiful than ever, even if his face was upside down and was starting to redden. The silence surrounding us created a new tension between us and I looked around, straightening up a little, trying to avoid this new feeling in my stomach.
But Dean cleared his throat, catching my attention again and when I looked at him again, he bit his lower lip.
“I have a confession to make.” He declared, licking his lips in a nervous way.
I rarely saw Dean, being shy and nervous, so I bit the inside of my cheeks to prevent myself from letting out a nervous laugh and possibly stopping him from opening up to me. I lowered myself as much as I could, so I could see him better, and I nodded to let him know I was listening. My heart beat a bit faster, my mind wondering, hopeful about what kind of confession he wanted to make.
Dean stared at me for a second before letting a little smile spread his full lips.
“You’ve got a funny face upside down like this.” He laughed and I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the fake revelation; a feeling of disappointment in my chest that I quickly tried to erase.
“You’re an idiot.” I said simply and naturally pushed his chest like every time he was being stupid. But this time, his hands lost their grip on my waist and he swung away from me.
“Crap.” I breathed out and jumped off the table to catch him but when he swung my way, his forehead hit mine and we both cursed. But at least I was able to stop him.
When he stopped swinging, I touched my forehead, closing my eyes, trying to ease the pain. I slowly rubbed the sensitive skin, hoping it wouldn't get too red. When the pain started to fade, I felt something warm touching my cheek and I suddenly opened my eyes, meeting Dean’s. A breath got stuck in my throat for a second when I noticed the sweet little smile tracing his lips.
“You didn’t hurt yourself too much, did you?” He softly asked and I smiled back at him, shaking my head. His thumb brushed my cheekbone in a gentle gesture.
“Nah, I have a hard skull.” I joked and he let out a little snort.
“Yeah, and I’m sure you have a little spell to ease your pain if needed.” He declared, an annoying smirk at the corner of his lips.
Letting a sigh escape, I rolled my eyes. Even when he was tied up, upside down and a bit hurt, Dean didn’t let go of the subject. And, to be honest, I’d had enough of this battle for the day.
“Listen. I know you despise and hate witches, that they clearly have a thing for you considering all the troubles you get into because of them, but can we let the topic go for today? I know your opinion on them but I just want to get you out of here, find Sam, get rid of her and go home.” I declared, willing to let him win for once if it meant he would shut up about it for a while.
Even if I didn’t consider myself a witch and knew he didn’t see me like one either, I was tired of fighting with him over the same thing for a whole day. I liked our bickering, it kept us entertained, but sometimes I just wanted a truce and stop arguing about such a silly thing. But maybe it was actually because I was a bit afraid that he truly, deeply hated them and everyone who had any kind of friendly behavior towards them.
I stepped back a little, my back hitting the table and Dean’s hand fell from my face.
“Hey, are you mad at me?” He asked, confusion clear in his voice.
I let a breath out and shook my head, looking back at him. I smiled slightly at his still upside-down face.
“No, of course not. I’ve just had enough of your hate for witches for today, if you wouldn’t mind.” I explained and Dean stared at me for a second, licking his bottom lip.
I ignored his eyes on me and sat back on the table, ready to take care of the others ropes. Dean shouldn’t stay upside-down for too long. So I grabbed my knife again and started to cut the ties around his torso, still not paying attention to the hunter’s gaze.
“You know… maybe witches don’t have a thing for me. Maybe I have a thing for them.” Dean broke the silence and I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“What?”
“Well, only for one of them, really.” He continued and I slowed down my movements a little, wondering where he was going with this.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, confusion and wonder all over my face.
Dean clenched his jaw, looking away for a second, and I frowned. He’d had the same facial expression a few minutes ago just to mess with me. So, this time I stayed on my guard a little, not wanting to misunderstand his words again.
The hunter cleared his throat and bit his lip for moment before looking back at me. His eyes met mine and something in the way he looked at me seemed sincere. I furrowed my eyebrows again, waiting for Dean to explain what he meant by that. He pursed his lips like he was hesitating.
But then, as if he had a sudden burst of courage, Dean took a deep breath and properly locked eyes with me.
“Actually, she’s not a really a witch. But she knows the basics.” He simply said and something in my stomach made it tighten.
I froze, letting his words, words that echoed mine, sink in. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to burst in laughter, to make another joking comment. But nothing happened. Dean simply looked at me, his eyes quickly going from my right one to the other. Without my consent, my heart beat faster, quivering at the idea of the hunter saying he had a thing for me.
It was no secret that we were close but none of us had actually said something about it. He was the full hunter and I was the half witch, the two of us killing the same monsters but always finding ourselves in conflict over the same thing.
But at this moment, with the heavy silence he was letting linger over us and the lack of laughter, I couldn’t help but truly hope he was serious. Because if he was planning on showing me his cocky smile and giving me a stupid joke, it wouldn’t only be my hint of hope that he was breaking.
“Are you messing with me again?” I asked, not wanting disillusionment to hit me right in the face if all of this was just another prank.
But Dean answered my question with just a shake of his head and a sweet smile. I felt myself blush at the realization and my hands got a bit sweaty. Every ounce of worry and denial was gone the second he gave me this simple, gentle grin and like a school girl I pushed a few strands of my hair behind my ear.
“Really?” I whispered, needing a vocal confirmation from him.
“Yeah, really. I think I’ve had a thing for her for a while now.” He answered, his voice no louder than mine.
I slowly got off the table to be at the same height as him and this time a huge smile wreathed my face.
“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked him, getting a bit closer to him and he quickly nodded, eager to know.
“She may like a hunter too, and it’s not Sasquatch.” I told him and he let out a little laugh, a sigh of relief escaping him.
I smirked at the idea of Dean worrying a bit about whether I liked him or not. Even if it was truly stupid to think I didn’t. Even Sam was aware of the tension between us, not that either of us had confirmed that of course. But now we were actually declaring the attraction we had for each other. No jokes. No misunderstanding. Only truth and shyness in our confessions.
The hand of the hunter interrupted my thoughts, a warm palm landing on my shoulder and a finger caressing my chin. I raised my head and the light of the candles illuminated the freckles on his soft skin, the flames reflecting in his green iris and creating some golden rings around his pupils. My breath got jammed in my throat at the sight.
Dean Winchester was truly handsome, no matter the lighting or his position.
Without adding another word, Dean gently pulled on my shoulder to bring me closer to him and my feet gladly lead me towards the hunter. For a second we looked at each other, hesitation and want clear in our eyes. The older brother and I had never looked at each other this way and a thrill// ran down my spine.
Still silent and without even thinking about my action, I raised my hands to his face and gently cupped it. Dean didn’t move at all, his green orbs staring at me and I started to lean towards him. When I didn’t sense any disagreement in his eyes, I smiled and he copied me, smiling wide.
In an instant, my face was inches away from his and I felt his hot breath landing on my lips, tickling them. I let my fingers brush his cheeks, caressing the freckles on them and Dean’s hands slide down my body, stopping on my waist as much as he could. Then, as if a mystical force had pushed me forward, my lips crashed onto Dean’s.
My nose bumped against his chin and his brushed the top of my throat. My hands flat against his cheeks, I slowly opened my mouth, catching his upper lip between mine. The moment I felt his calloused palms roaming on my body and the tip of his tongue asking for permission, a bright warmth invaded my body, sending an electrical wave from my belly to the hair on the back of my neck.
Our lips molded against each other, the kiss slow but deepening with every movement of our heads. I could have gotten lost in his kisses forever.
We had never crossed that line before. Sure, we’d had some lingering touches from time to time but now that I knew how his lips felt against mine, I was afraid I could never stop doing it. I could never stop feeling them brush mine, his tongue battling against mine for dominance even though I would gladly let him win if it meant he would kiss me all day and night from now on. I was afraid that I could never let him go now that I had been that close to him.
Dean let a small groan out as I unconsciously sucked at his bottom lip and I smiled against the plump pillows that were his lips. The hunter tried to kiss me harder but I was still holding his head between my palms, controlling his movements. I felt him complain when he tightened his grip on my t-shirt.
I couldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t enjoying the sense of power I had over him at the moment.
I let my fingers spread through his spiky hair at the base of his neck, enjoying every lock brushing my soft skin and, surprisingly, I felt him relax against my touch. Dean could easily get on my nerves because of a stupid grin, but he could also melt my heart with a simple sigh of relaxation. The hunter spent so much time on edge, worried and focused on everyone’s safety, that feeling him let his guard down under my hands was a blessing.
My thoughts were abruptly stopped when I heard two gunshots far away.
Immediately pulling away – panting – Dean and I stared at each other, eyes wide opened. The only emotion passing through the hunter’s eyes was fear, complete and dreadful fear. My heart beat faster but not thanks to the man in front of me this time.
“Sammy.” We called out at the same time, panic clear in our voices.
Without wasting a second, Dean grabbed the ropes around his body and pulled at them, desperately trying to break them. With the strength he always got when Sam was in danger, I thought for moment that he was actually going to break them with his bare hands. But unfortunately, he didn’t succeed and shouted in frustration, making me flinch.
“Get them the fuck off of me!” He yelled, frenetically moving, his body swinging a little from one side to the other.
I immediately got on the table and quickly used the knife against the ropes around his body, some dust of the fabric falling in his eyes but the hunter couldn’t care less at this moment. I hurried to free him of those links but my hands couldn’t move fast enough, making Dean growl and wriggle against the ropes.
Then finally, they broke.
The ropes fell from his torso, landing on the ground and without waiting a second, the hunter curled up to reach his feet, in order to undo the knots at his ankles. A sharp breath got stuck in my throat when I realized the strength Dean needed – and clearly had – to be able to contract his abs this way and touch his feet.
Watching Dean almost shaking in his panic, I tried to rationalize the situation, thinking that witches used spells to kill, not guns. So, it was more likely that the sound we heard was Sam shooting the witch and not the other way around. Yeah, it was the only solution.
I was about to say this to the man in front of me to try and call him down a little, to reassure him on his brother’s condition when we heard someone outside.
“Dean? Y/N?” The younger brother yelled from the other side of the barn and I let a loud sigh of relief escape. Dean let go of his ankles and quickly let himself fall back, closing his eyes; he looked reassured by the sound of his brother’s voice.
I turned towards the door and yelled back to Sam.
“We’re in the barn!”
Then some running sounds were heard, indicating that the hunter had heard me and was now heading to the barn.
“Thank God.” Dean whispered next to me and I looked back at him.
His eyes were still closed, probably too afraid that if he opened them now I would see how worried he had been for a second. But truth was, I had been scared too. So I simply let my index finger graze his cheek, and then get lost in his hair in a comforting gesture, letting him know that I’d felt the same way. The hunter opened his eyes and I immediately knew he had understood me.
He offered me a small smile that I immediately gave back.
“Come on, Peter Parker let’s get you down, shall we?” I told him in a mocking tone and the hunter mumbled under his breath, making a face.
I let out a chuckle and stepped back up on the table, straightening to grasp the knots around his boots. The hunter tried to touch the table but once again, he was too high to do so. Undoing the first knot, I heard the door slam open and someone panting behind me. I quickly turned around and spotted the younger Winchester, his chest raising and falling rapidly, out of breath, his gun in his large hand. I smiled in relief and he nodded at me.
We were all very glad that everyone was alive.
Then Sam noticed his brother behind me and burst into laughter, his voice higher while he was slightly bent, laughing. When he didn’t stop, I couldn’t help but join him, my cheeks hurting as I smiled widely. Of course, the suspended man didn’t find this funny at all and grumbled in annoyance, trying to undo the rope himself again as I had stopped, too busy making fun of him.
“Ugh, will you stop and help me?” He asked, clearly not happy.
“Ahah! So much for the great responsibility, man. Still wanna be bait next time?” Sam asked his brother, who finally let go of his feet, letting out a frustrated breath.
“Screw you.” Dean said and I shook my head, amused by the brothers.
Then I decided to finally put him out of his misery and found the last knot holding him.
“Watch out for your head.” I said quickly and before Dean could finish the ‘what’ escaping his lips, I undid the last ropes and he let out a small scream when he felt himself fall.
In an instinctive reaction, my hands reached for the falling hunter and in a reflex gesture he grabbed me back, dragging me down with him. I let a yelp escape me and suddenly felt myself hit a firm surface.
When I opened the eyes I hadn’t even realized I’d closed in the first place, I met some green orbs. I let a shy smile spread across my lips when I realized I was laying on top of the strong hunter. Dean’s arms were securely wrapped around my body, his hands holding me against him. Even if he had brought me along in his fall, Dean’s back had taken all the pain, preventing me from getting hurt.
I slowly moved to have a better look at him and he furrowed his eyebrows, showing that he had definitely hurt himself in the process. My face softened at this and I gently rubbed his shoulder with my thumb, giving him some comfort.
“Still alive?” Sam asked on the other side of the table and I realized that Dean hadn’t just hit the floor but also the table on his way down. I chuckled, raising my head towards Sam.
“Yeah, I had a shock absorber.” I answered and looked back at Dean who was trying to get up. But when he moved, the pain in his back must have woken up as he frowned, slightly grunting.
He managed to sit up, his hands leaving my body and pressing to the ground to steady himself. I was now sitting on his lap and I felt a warmth invading my stomach and spreading to my cheeks. Dean hissed when he completely straightened and his face lost the redness of all the blood that had rushed into his head while he was upside down. Then he brought one of his hands behind him, rubbing the ache in his back.
Gently, my palm landed on his torso and he immediately stared at me. I smiled at him.
“Don’t worry, I have a spell for back pain.” I told him with a wink.
The hunter blessed me with a huge grin, making the wrinkles around his eyes appear and I blushed at how cute he was in this moment. Dean put his hands back on my hips and drew some circles with his thumbs.
“I’m saved then, lovely Witch.” He answered simply.
The look in his eyes was different this time. There was still the usual mischief, of course, but something was hidden behind it. Something like peace of mind and trust. And all of this was for the girl who loved to be right and get on his nerves. For the half witch he always loved to annoy and pretend to dislike. For the one who always helped him on hunt and made sure he was alright after a rough one. For the girl who shared her fries with him but ate his pie. For the one who teamed up with Sammy to upset him but loved to go on drive in his Baby.
It was all for me.
Maybe I was going to have what those one nightstands couldn’t have after all.
The Truth at the Bottom of the Beer Bottle (Dean Winchester x Demon!Reader, #3 In Vino Veritas Flufftober 2025)
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Dean Winchester/Reader
Characters: Dean Winchester, Reader
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Words: 1,374
Synopsis: Y/N finds Dean Winchester drunk in a bar after he has discovered the truth about them: although they are a hunter, they happen to be a demon as well. A drunken debate then unravels.
Tags: Gender-neutral Reader, Demon-Reader insert, demon!reader, Hunter!Reader, dean winchester x reader, Flufftober 2025, Fictober, Flufftober, In Vino Veritas, Demon/Hunter Relationship, Getting Together, First Kiss, Slight Sam Winchester appearance, Sam Winchester Ships Dean Winchester/Reader, Fluff, Declarations Of Love, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, Drunk Dean Winchester, Drunk confessions, Alcohol, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Happy Ending, No Smut, Mild Language, Short One Shot, Dean Winchester Acknowledges His Mental Health and How He Reacts To Things
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
3rd @flufftober prompt: In Vino Veritas! I have to admit that my uncultured self had to go through dictionaries and Wikipedia to truly get the concept but I'm happy I did because it inspired me in the end especially as I never posted a Dean x Reader and that was something that I had in my system
Pairing: Sam Winchester/Reader, Soulless!Sam Winchester/Reader
Soulless!Sam - Character, Dubious Consent, Quickly becomes full consent, Dom!Sam, sub!Reader, Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, sex in a kitchen, Chance of Being Caught, Marking, Fingering, Sex Toys, Dirty Talk, Shameless quoting of The Nightmare Before Christmas for work and chapter titles
Summary: A sleepless night leads you to the kitchen, where you run into Sam. Something’s wrong and you’re absolutely sure of that, but Sam isn’t so keen on admitting it.
“Come on, Dean, don’t be like this.” You exclaimed with all the emphasis you could manage. “I just went out on a date! It’s not a big deal!”
“It’s a big deal when it’s your fifth date within the last week, Y/N!” Dean’s eyes held a sort of anger and frustration to them that you hadn’t seen at such an intensity before. “You don’t even get to know these people before you’re having drinks with them! What if one of them ends up being a murderer? Or maybe a psychopath?” His hands are balled into fists by his sides and his knuckles are white from the tension held inside his skin.
“Do you not trust my ability to defend myself?”
He sighs and makes sure to lower his voice this time. “Look, I’m confident that you can handle yourself, but this is all getting out of control.”
“What? My dating is a problem for you?” You ask, enraged by the audacity. “If you want me to stop, you’re going to have to come over here and make me.”
He looks slightly taken aback by your boldness, but recovers pretty quickly. You’re absolutely livid, and what makes it worse is your considerable feelings for him.
He stalks across the room toward you, feet making a heavy thumping sound that almost matches the heavy thumping of your heart.
“Dean--”
His lips crash into yours, fingers threading through your hair, holding you to him. Your heart somehow beats harder, faster inside your chest as adrenaline rushes through your veins.
Disappointingly, the both of you need to replenish your lungs with oxygen. He exhales against your lips and breathes in again, repeating the process in quick intervals. You open your eyes to see his bright green irises staring at you in wonderment.
“I should have done that a long time ago.”
A grin spreads across your lips at his words. Before you know it, your lips are attached to each other’s once again.
Pairing: Dean x Reader Author: iridianuniverse Summary: You’re staying at a pet-friendly motel when your cat gets out of your room. You go searching for it and stumble upon Dean, a stranger you’ve never met before. Reader gender: Female Word count: 1419 Warnings: Fluff, use of swearing by the Reader Author note: This is the first oneshot I’ve posted to this blog, (or any social media, really) so please feel free to give me your feedback! Constructive criticism is more than welcome. I'd love to write a part 2 to this if it's requested! --- You call out for your missing cat in a whisper-tone, due to the late hour of the night. You’d rather not get a call about being too loud while most people are sleeping. You’ve already knocked on over ten doors with no luck of finding your cat. You had left the motel room to make sure you had locked your car. When you returned, it was to the door you had accidentally left open, and your cat was gone. Taking a deep breath and hoping this would be the room where you would find your cat, you raise your hand and knock on the next door down the line. The door opens partway to reveal a man with tired-looking green eyes and scruff. His eyes study you as if he’s wary of you, but you think you see something of a glint in his eyes as he looks at you, and you can’t deny that he’s definitely on the more handsome end of the spectrum. “Can I help you?” “I’m Y/N.” You introduce yourself, offering a smile to make yourself seem friendlier. “I’m looking for my cat.” “Oh.” He says, lifting his eyebrows and opening the door the rest of the way and gesturing for you to enter the room. “You’re in luck.” Curled up on one of two full size beds in the room is your cat. At the sight of it, relief floods through you. It stretches as you rush over to the bed and kneel in front of it to pet it. “Oh, thank God!” “I saw it outside, figured I should let it into my room in case someone came looking.” He told you as he shut the door to the motel room. “Thank you so much.” You told him gratefully, looking at him over your shoulder. “I’m sorry to be bothering you this late into the night.” He went to sit down on the bed opposite from you and your cat and shook his head with a slight smile. “It’s not a problem, I’m happy to help.” You smiled back and racked your brain for the name of this man who had practically saved the life of your cat. “I don’t think I ever got your name…” “Oh, it’s, uh, Dean.” He replied, reaching a hand out toward you. You took his hand and shook it with yours. “It’s nice to meet you, Dean.” Your attention was soon captured by the various books scattered around pretty much every open surface that wasn’t a bed. “Are you an insane bookworm or something?” You asked jokingly. He lets out a chuckle and glances around the room, as if taking in for the first time the amount of books he has out, and nods in understanding. “Nah,” he denies, sitting up straighter and flexing the muscles in his biceps. You can’t help but grin in amusement. “Then I assume there’s another explanation?” “They’re my brother Sammy’s books.” He explains. “He’s the scholar of the family.” You nod in understanding. “So he's staying here, too? Where is he at…” Your eyes catch the digital clock on the nightstand. “Two fourteen in the morning?” You ask in surprise. You knew it was late, but you didn't think it was that late. “He, uh, actually left to go to another motel.” Dean tells you, scratching at the back of his neck and glancing at the floor. “Obviously, he didn't want to take the books with him.” “Oh…” You want to ask if they had gotten into some sort of argument, but you don't really know Dean that well and you don't want to be invasive. Plus, it's pretty obvious that whatever happened to make Sammy leave wasn't of a friendly nature. “Well, I hope everything's okay.” “It will be.” He assures you with a nod. “Sometimes we need to spend some time away from each other, just like all siblings.” You find yourself drawn toward this man that you've just met. Although you don't know him very well, he's been perfectly friendly to you, unlike many of the other people who you spoke to tonight while searching for your cat. “Well, thank you for finding my cat and keeping it safe.” You stand up and gather your cat up in your arms. The small animal doesn't like this much, which is made obvious by the three long scratches it leaves on your forearm when it struggles to get away. “Ow, shit!” You exclaim before you can stop yourself. Seeing as you're not one to back down from a challenge, you go for the cat again. “Woah, hey,” Dean stops you with a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Let's get you cleaned up before you try to face the beast again, alright?” You are once again taken aback by Dean’s kindness toward you. When you first met him, only a couple minutes ago, he seemed a little rough around the edges, but he continued to show that there was more to him. “Fine.” You agree begrudgingly. Dean seems amused by this as he turns to grab some bandages and antiseptic. Your eyes catch your cat, who is sitting proudly in the corner of the room. “I'm gonna kick your ass.” You mutter toward it and sit down on the bed. “Easy there, Jackie Chan.” Dean comments playfully from the bathroom. He returns to you with a wet, soapy washcloth and a first aid kit. He sets the first aid kit on the nightstand and sits down next to you. He takes your forearm in one of his hands and inspects it. “Looks like he got you pretty good.” You glance down at your arm and find that each long scratch is actually a pretty deep cut that bleeds moderately. “Must sting like a bitch.” He comments as he brings the soapy cloth up to your wound and dabs at it gently. You hiss inwardly through your teeth at the sudden rise in pain, but you try to sit still as Dean treats the wound. “Sorry.” He apologizes, looking at you and waiting to continue. You give him a nod and he goes on treating the wound. You close your eyes in order to deal with the pain. “So, why are you staying in this motel?” He asks you. “I'm in the process of moving.” You tell him, opening your eyes again and looking at the books. Most of the titles are in foreign languages, so you guess that Sammy must be bilingual. “Oh, yeah? Going somewhere bigger and better than your last place?” You give a small smile and chuckle softly. “Exactly the opposite, as fate would have it. I tend to move around a lot, so I usually live in small places.” “Sammy and I move around a lot too.” He gets up and rinses out the washcloth in the sink. He comes back over to you and opens the first aid kit. “Any particular reason why?” He thinks about this and shrugs as he looks through the bandages. “We like to travel all over the country.” You have a feeling that there's more to it than that, but you decide not to pry. “Have you been to all the states?” “Most of them. Conveniently, we haven't visited the tropical states, and yet, I'm not opposed to piña coladas and getting caught in the rain.” He jokes, flashing a smile. He gently pats a large bandage down over the scratches on your arm. “Alright, you're all set.” He says and closes the first aid kit. “I can't thank you enough, Dean.” You stand up and lock eyes with your cat, giving him a warning glare. He meows in response to the look and lets you pick him up without a fight this time. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?” He thinks on this for a few seconds and a soft smirk pulls one corner of his mouth up. “You could go out for drinks with me on Thursday night.” “Oh?” You raise your eyebrows in pleasant surprise, fighting back a large grin. “I could pick you up, say…seven?” He offers. You nod slowly, pretending to think it over. “Alright.” You agree, heading toward the front door. “Oh, and when you do pick me up on Thursday, you'll want to go to room 304.” “Room 304, got it.” He opens the door for you and gives you one last smile. “Goodnight, Dean.” You step outside the motel room and turn to face him, returning his smile. “Goodnight, Y/N.”
