Unconditional Things (Destiel Reverse Bang 2017)
Artist: @nonexistenz Author: salesassociatesteve Fandom/Genre : Soulmate AU Pairing(s) : Dean/Castiel Rating : Teen Word Count : 6690 Warnings/Tags : None Summary: Dean's not gonna let his life be defined by some stupid soulmate mark... or his complete lack thereof. It shouldn't matter anyway, right?
1983 – Lawrence, Kansas
“We need to take him to a different doctor. He’s 5 years old. It should be there now.” John huffed; closing the fridge hard enough for the contents in the door to rattle. “Mine came in late and even then I was 4 years old. Something’s not right.”
“John Winchester, he’s our son and he’s perfectly healthy! It doesn’t matter if it’s not there yet.” Mary countered; voice becoming more resolute as she glanced toward the open kitchen doorway. “Even if it never shows up, there still won’t be anything wrong with Dean.”
At the mention of his name, Dean looked up from the coloring book he had open on the living room floor. The blue crayon he’d been using to bring Cookie Monster to life on the page, clutched in his tiny fist as he focused on his parents conversation.
Even without full understanding, Dean still knew they were talking about him not having a name on his wrist yet.
Most of the time, it was grownups, speaking in low voices meant for only his Mommy and Daddy to hear.
But then there were others like Nelson Turnberry, his kindergarten classmate, who were too loud.
A few months before, Dean had excitedly shown off to everyone in his class, the nonsensical, magic marker scribbles he’d hurriedly given himself in his bedroom as Mary called his name for breakfast.
The other students had responded in shared joy at the reveal. All except Nelson, who had laughed and pointed out that the “dumb mark” wasn’t real.
Excitement turned to hurt and shame as more children joined Nelson’s mocking. Tears sprung to Dean’s eyes as he pulled his arm into the sleeve of his shirt to hide it from view.
Ms. Nasworthy had quickly, blessedly, swooped in, and with a fierce scolding, broke up the group then deposited Nelson into timeout.
She’d then carefully ushered a crying Dean into the small restroom at the back of the classroom. After soothing then wiping away the steady stream of tears from Dean’s cheeks, she’d proceeded to clean the marker from his skin. Her voice every bit as gentle and caring as her hands.
“You don’t need this, honey. You already are and always will be loved, even if there isn’t a name there.”
Read on AO3








