Summary: Dean and the reader are forced to work together after the argument.
Warnings: None
Author’s Note: This is my entry for the SPN Buddy Writers challenge. My prompt is bold in the text. I am so glad I got to meet @squirrelchester and @ellen-reincarnated1967 through this challenge!! Love y’all! Feedback much appreciated!!! @spnbuddywriters
Read Part One by @squirrelchester here
Part Three by @ellen-reincarnated1967 coming soon
Phoenix was in your rearview mirror before you knew it. Dean had seriously ticked you off, and you couldn’t stay around him. When you were younger, you would have fought him a bit, telling him you’d hunt with him anyway, that you could hold your own, but you were more mature now. You knew when to let go of something.
The djinn was living in an abandoned school in the center of town. You, Dean, and Sam were going to split up, but Dean insisted on going with you. You didn’t argue, knowing it would be futile, but you didn't turn around until he saw the giant eye roll you gave him.
Dean made sure he walked in front of you, being his usual overprotective self. Yes, it irritated you, but not to the point where you yelled at him for it. It was just his nature, and at least you knew he cared about you as much as he cared about Sam. Unfortunately for you, it was as a sister--not the way you felt for him.
As you made your way through the school, your annoyance grew. Dean couldn’t keep treating you as if you were incapable of hunting. You tapped him on the shoulder. “Can I actually do my job and go my own way? Or at least not hide behind you?” Your only warning that something was wrong was Dean’s widening eyes, giving you barely enough time to jam the knife into the djinn’s heart.
You didn’t speak to Dean as you went to meet up with Sam. All you wanted to do was tell him that you were right, that him being overprotective did nothing, and the only reason you weren’t in a djinn-induced coma was because you were fed up with him.
The entire drive back to the motel, you and Dean argued. “Dean, you can’t keep treating me like I don’t know how to hunt!”
“I’m trying to keep you safe! I’m trying to protect you!”
“I don’t need your damn protection! I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, yes, because you heard that djinn behind you, you just decided not to turn around until the last minute.”
“But this proved that you trying to protect me did absolutely nothing. I’d be in dream-land even though you were ‘protecting’ me.”
“You know what? If you don’t like it, you can go off on your own.”
“Dean…”
“No, if you don’t want someone to have your back, just leave.”
“I’m not leaving. I like hunting with you, I’d just like you to let me do my job.”
You stopped in a little town in western Arizona, far enough from Phoenix that you could forget it existed. Laying in bed at the motel, you skimmed through some news articles, hoping to find a hunt somewhere across the country, far away from the oldest Winchester. There were some strange deaths, but nothing that couldn’t be reasonably explained.
Except one. “Phoenix Serial Killer Strikes Again.” There was no way that could happen, you and Dean killed the shifters. It was weird enough that there were two shifters working together, but three? That was next to impossible.
Your phone sat on the nightstand, yelling at you to call Dean and tell him. He might still be there, he could handle it. But you left him behind for a reason, you didn’t need to be calling him now.
Pacing back and forth in your room, you thought about reasons why you should and shouldn’t call Dean. For one, he was a jerk. But he was a damn good hunter. On the other hand, there have been times when both of you have almost gotten killed.
But you loved him. And you weren’t sure you could leave him again.
A knock at the door forced you to come out of your thoughts and back into the real world. One hand holding your gun and the other hand reaching for the doorknob, you slowly opened the door.
Seeing him still made those butterflies flutter in your stomach, no matter how pissed at him you were. But instead of melting, you hardened your features and said, “Oh. Great. The overbearing, overprotective asshole. I assume you want to come in?”
“Hi to you too.” Dean pushed past you into your room, taking a seat on the bed.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Y/N, I hunted with you for years. I know you almost as well as I know Sammy.”
“Okay, then what are you doing here?”
“I need your help. It looks like there’s another shifter.”
Dean drove the two of you back to Phoenix. You probably should have taken your own car so you could leave when--okay, if--Dean was being a jackass, but the riding in the Impala had just been too nice, and you wanted to do it again.
The sky was dark when you arrived in Phoenix, the stars muted by the lights of the city. You and Dean had already stopped for dinner. There wasn’t much of a conversation--you assumed he knew you were still pissed at him, because you were. But you tried to put that aside, because there was another shifter to catch and you had already gotten the first two. It made sense that you’d help get the third. After that, though, you weren’t going to stick around. Well, maybe long enough to see Sam. You missed him.
Dean dropped you at the motel office so you could get another room for a few nights. Walking to your room, you felt it. Those feelings, the ones you tried to deny having all those years ago--the ones you brushed off as just being an angsty teenager. You knew they were still there, the butterflies in your stomach told you that, but you had to push them away. He was impossible to hunt with sometimes, and you didn’t know when someone was going to get hurt because of it. This time it would be hard to leave, even harder than before. You had told yourself you weren’t going back to him, but… it was Dean. How could you not?
“I don’t care, we just can’t do this! I can’t stay anymore!” You were angrily throwing your belongings into your duffel, not caring if anything broke in the process.
“Y/N, please, you’re family.” That was always Dean’s argument. The two of you had been having a rough time, always fighting with each other after hunts. Either you weren’t able to do your job because he was too protective of you, or one of you got hurt and the thing you were hunting got away because you were too focused on treating the other. You couldn’t do it anymore.
“Dean, we keep having this argument, and every time you convince me to stay. But not this time. I have to go.”
“No you don’t!”
“But I do. This doesn’t work anymore. Besides,” you muttered, “you only see me as a sister.”
“What?” Dean’s eyes were wide, his head forward as if he were straining to hear.
“Nothing,” was your curt reply as you took your duffel and marched out the door. Tears streamed down your face as you stormed to your car, wondering if this was really it. Were you really leaving the only family you knew? Was this the way you would remember Dean Winchester?
Dean joined you in your room and you went over the details of the case prior to killing the two shifters. You wanted to see if there was anything that stood out, although you didn’t think Dean would miss anything. He rarely did. He was the best hunter you knew, and much smarter than people gave him credit for.
As you sat there with him, you traced his face with your eyes. Those beautiful green orbs, the perfectly shaped nose, the stubble lining his sharp jawline. There wasn't anything more perfect than Dean Winchester’s face.
“Y/N, you listening?”
His deep voices jolted you out of your stare and you became aware again. “Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. Anything else?”
“Nope, that's all. Let's get some shut-eye then we can go out in the morning.”
The hunt led you to an abandoned building outside of town--when didn’t it? The old factory had clearly been empty for at least thirty years, and there was no sign anyone had been there, not even a shifter. But Dean was smart, and there was only the tiniest chance he was wrong.
A nudge on the arm made you jump three feet off the ground. “You see that light up there?”
“What light?” You had no idea what Dean was talking about. There was nothing there.
“Just above the ledge. There's a tiny window with a light on.”
You squinted so hard it hurt your head, but you could see it. “What's the plan?”
“Well, we could walk in the front door, but we don't know what's in there or what to expect.” Dean looked to the left side of the building, and you followed his gaze. “Or…”
“No. No way. Ain't happening.” What you saw was a tall ladder--and by tall, you meant really, really tall. “If you think I'm going up there, you are crazy.”
“Hey, I'm just sayin’, it might be better than waltzing in the front door.”
“Nope.”
The ladder was even worse up close. Dean had a hard time choosing whether or not he should go first--either he could see what was waiting for you up there or he could go second and make sure you didn't fall.
Eventually he decided to let you go first. He knew you were worried about the height, and going behind you might set your mind at ease. As much of a pain in the ass as Dean was, he was always looking out for you.
The climb wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it'd be--you just didn't look down. But what was waiting, well, that was bad.
The shifter was quick. You barely had time to move before she was on top of you. Dean still wasn't on the roof yet, but he was yelling your name. You were too focused on the shifter to answer.
Thinking back on it, the fight wasn't very long, but in the moment it felt like a lifetime. The shifter was throwing punches left and right, giving you virtually no time to defend yourself. Somehow, though, you managed to get her off just long enough to grab your gun. She knocked it out of your hand almost immediately, but that didn't surprise you. You threw an elbow in her face and took a silver knife out of your boot, thrusting it up into her heart.
“Damn, Y/N.” You were too exhausted to smile at how impressed Dean was. All you wanted to do was go to the motel and get cleaned up.
“You were awesome back there.”
After finally cleaning up and tending to your wounds, you were able to smile. “Yeah, I guess. And hey, I was able to take care of myself. You didn't have to protect me as usual.” Yes, it was probably going to start an argument, but it was true. He didn't have to be an overprotective ass for a hunt to go well.
Chuckling, Dean said, “Yeah, about that… I know you're more than capable of hunting. I just need to make sure you're okay, and it comes off wrong. So… I'm sorry.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that, I really do.”
An awkward silence filled the air as you both waited for the other to speak. “Well, um, I should probably take you back to that town you were in. You know, for your car.”
“Yeah.”
As you sped out of Phoenix, one thing kept running through your head: you didn't want to leave Dean Winchester’s side again.
WAIT PEOPLE ARE UNFOLLOWING YOU FOR YOUR AGE??? Listen... Mimi is seasoned. Mimi is a pro. Mimi is wise. Mimi is queen. (Okay but really that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard wow.)
Sadly, it has happened before. I once lost around 15 followers after posting my age. It was crazy.
RIZ. THAT FIC. OH DEAR GOD. I know you've never heard from me but like I feel connected to you after You Can Leave Your Hat On because holy fucking hell I just have no words to describe that PERFECTIONNNNN
