#i grew up with a deadbeat dad n for a long time i never understood why we never did anything most families on tv did

[castorfell]

Imma be real I genuinely hope that the question as to whether Poppy and Viva have a biological mother or not never gets answered or even hinted at. I think it's cool how a majority of the Trolls characters don't have complete, nuclear families! It makes the whole family message stronger :D

[supernatural-jackles]

The Man on the Side of the Road - Part 15

Title: The Man on the Side of the Road - Part 15

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 4,747

Warnings: ANGST, Ketch, Violence, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Non-con, Reader’s Mother, Fluff! 

Summary: Driving down the road, going well over the speed limit. You come across a man walking in the opposite direction with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. His head cast down as he walked. Your gut instinct is telling you to check on this man, no matter what your parents told you growing up. Little did you know just how much this would change your life.

The Man on the Side of the Road - Masterlist

A/N: Only one more part after this! As always, please leave your thoughts when you finish reading! Your response is what keeps me going! Happy Reading!! 

 The sounds of beeping filled your ears as you adjusted yourself on the pillow. Your heart beat was steady and your mind was filled with a million thoughts, thoughts that weren’t necessarily good ones. You had stopped shaking for the most part, but the thoughts - well they weren’t going away.

 “Hi, Miss Y/LN,” a kind female voice filled your ears, grabbing your attention. You turned your head to glance over at her. A short blonde with her hair half up half down. Her clipboard in her hand and a soft smile playing on her lips.

 “Yeah?” you responded.

 “We’ve called your emergency contact,” she informed you. Oh god, who was your emergency contact again. It wasn't your mother, you had changed that a long time ago. It wouldn’t have been your dad. He was out of the country more often than not. Had you changed it to Dean? You definitely should have. You had been with him for awhile now. “He’s on his way.”

 “Dean?” you dared to ask.

 “Yes,” she nodded. “He’s looking forward to seeing his girl, is what he said on the phone.”

 “He’s a dork,” you smiled to yourself. “I’m lucky to have him.”

 “After what you’ve been through, I can imagine that you’re going to need him to lean on.”

 “He’s the best person in the entire world,” you breathed out.

 “He’ll be here soon,” she smiled. “Just press the button if you need anything, okay?”

 “Thank you,” you nodded.

 She slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. You turned your head back to the side, trying to make yourself comfortable as you waited for your knight in shining armour to get here. You couldn’t wait to see him walk through that door, and finally be in his arms.

 It took every ounce of you not to let the tears roll down your cheeks. You could feel the tightness in your chest growing stronger and stronger. Even the heart rate monitor was fluctuating the more your head spun in circles. Everything would be okay when Dean got here. He would fix you. He’d mend the broken pieces, and kiss the bruises you got along the way.

 You tried to replace the bad thoughts with good ones. You had plenty of good memories you had created over the last few months. The road trip with Dean where your feelings only grew stronger. The late night chats in your bed while you held each other. The movie nights. Mini golf. Dean was your person. He was your better half. He was everything you needed to be okay again. You only knew that because you were the very same for him. The two of you had come such a long way since that night.

 You heard the door open quietly, followed by the heavy foot falls. Your ears perked up, looking towards the door. Dean stood there with a sadness in his eyes. Not that you could really blame him. If the roles were reversed, you would have broken down already.

 “Hi,” you greeted him, looking over to him with sad eyes.

 “Sweetheart, what happened?” he frowned, making his way over to the hospital bed. You moved over a little, wanting him to sit next to you. You wanted to be in his arms. That was your top priority. Being in the arms of the man you loved. He kicked off his boots before lifting the blanket up, joining you in the tiny bed.

 You moved closer to him, not caring about how sore your muscles were. You wanted Dean. That was it. You threw your arm around his middle, resting your head on his shoulder as you breathed him in. He wrapped his arm around you, placing his lips to the top of your head.

 “I love you,” you whispered, “so much.”

 “I love you too, Y/N,” he said lowly. “How hurt are you? Is it just the cut on your head?”

 “Some bruises too, but my head is the worst of it,” you shared.

 “What the hell happened?” he questioned.

 “I was studying in the library for most of the afternoon. I got bored of it and figured that I may as well go home and relax before my head exploded. I packed up and got ready to go. I was walking out of the library when I was pulled into one of the computer rooms.”

 “Fuck, Ketch?” he practically growled.

 “Unfortunately,” you nodded.

                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 You threw your bag over your shoulder, adjusting it so it wouldn’t dig into you too much as you walked. You were about done studying for the day. You had finales coming up, and you were finally almost done with this portion of college. It was only a matter of days until you found out if you got into a teacher's college or not. You had a good feeling about it, and so did Dean.

 You reached down to find your phone, only to realize you had packed it in your bag by mistake. You were going to text Dean to let him know you were heading home early. Just like you always did. You opened up your bag, searching inside it to try and find your phone.

 You felt someone grab you from behind, and pull you backwards into one of the computer rooms. You were more confused than anything, until you realized who dragged you in. You swore, your heart sank into your stomach at the site of him. How did you ever find this man attractive?

 “What the fuck, Ketch?” you furrowed your brows.

 “I wanted to talk to you,” he said, his voice deeper than usual.

 “So you grabbed me and dragged me into an empty room?” you growled.

 “Yes, but I knew you wouldn’t talk to me otherwise,” he stated.

 “You’re right,” you scoffed, moving to head towards the door. He moved quickly, standing in front of the door so you couldn’t leave. “Move.”

 “Not until I say this,” he began, taking a deep breath. “I made a mistake.”

 “Oh well,” you rolled your eyes.

 “Would you just listen to me?” he raised his voice a little, making you back up. “I have been horrible to you. I lied to you. I cheated on you. I made you feel worthless and I said a lot of things I didn’t mean because I was mad. I was pissed you left me at the altar on our wedding day, and I was pissed that you humiliated me in front of everyone.”

 “I humiliated you? Are you fucking kidding me, Ketch?” you groaned. “You cheated on me with my best friend for two years of our relationship. Two years! Not only that, you knocked her up, and where are you now? Oh yeah, you’re here instead of with her and your fucking daughter! You ruined her life, do you not understand that? You destroyed her future because you couldn’t put a damn condom on.”

 “She came onto-”

 “Don’t you dare give me that lame excuse! Jo already told me what you were doing! The money. The threesome! I know all about it,” you argued. “I didn’t humiliate you. You did that all on your own. You never thought I had it in me to stand up for myself when an asshole like you does me wrong. I spent so much time hating you and hating myself for what you did. I spent so much time trying to figure out what it was about me that turned you off. Then I realized, you were never into me. Not really. You never treated me as someone you loved and I get that now that I’m with someone who treats me like a queen.”

 “You’re not -”

 “I’m not done,” you pointed at him before crossing your arms. “I should have left you long before I did. All you ever did was lie to me, cheat on me, and treat me like your little bitch. How many times did you push me around? How many times did you have sex with me without my consent? Or my favourite, how many times did you degrade me, and remind me of why my mom would never love me? Too many to count, Ketch. You go around and pretend like your dick is the biggest out there. Well guess what? You are still that same disgusting low life I left at the altar. And that day is actually one of the best days of my life. I look back on that day every single day and smile because I made the best decision I have ever made. It was the day I finally realized that I didn’t care anymore. Not about you, not about my mom. Nothing. It was the day I met the love of my life, and every day after that has been a fucking blessing without you. While you’re out there fucking anything and everything, I know exactly what it’s like to be loved, and cherished. I know what it’s like to feel beautiful and appreciated. Something you’ll never make any woman feel.”

 “You know why you never felt that way? I never loved you,” he chuckled. “In fact, your mom practically begged me to ask you out. Please go out with my lame, no good daughter. She’s never going to find anyone to love her. I sympathized with her at one point, you know? I understood why she could never love you the way she loves me. I’m not a failure. I’ve got money-”

 “You have a shitty personality is what you have,” you rolled your eyes. “And that’s just to start. I don’t know what you thought you were going to accomplish here, but there is no way in hell I’m ever going to have anything to do with you again. You’re already a deadbeat dad, which, thanks for that because half the town bet money on that. But you’re never going to be satisfied with the life you live, and in a way, that makes me happy. I am happy with my life, and who I’m spending the rest of it with. Dean’s a great man, and an even better boyfriend than you could ever dream of being. Money doesn’t buy you everything. It’s not going to buy you someone to love that insanely insecure little boy that’s hiding inside you. The one who’s daddy didn’t care about him.”

 “You fucking bitch,” he shook his head.

 “Have a nice life, Ketch,” you shrugged as you uncrossed your arms. You walked past him, reaching for the door to finally walk out on him for the very last time. You twisted the knob, only to be shoved into the door by a strong force. “Get off me!”

 “Did you really think you were going to get away without a fight?” he said. You could hear the smirk on his face. Your heart began to pound in your chest, as you tried to wiggle your way out of his hold.

 “I said, get off me,” you declared, trying to shove him off you.

 “No, no! That’s not how this is going to go,” he growled in your ear. “Dean Winchester is never going to want to touch a filthy whore like you ever again. Not when he finds out that you wanted me again.”

 You took a deep breath, reminding yourself that this piece of shit wasn’t worth getting to you. You knew for a fact that Dean wasn’t going to believe a word that came out of his mouth. Dean trusted you more than anyone. You had that tight bond from the start. He’d want you to fight back with everything you had in you. That’s what you were going to do. Take all the pent up rage you harboured towards him and pile it onto him. He had it coming.

 You pushed yourself off the door as hard as you could. You sent yourself stumbling back, taking Ketch down with you. You removed your back from your shoulder, pushing it off to the side. It was only going to weigh you down and give him something to hold against you. You were quick in getting back on your feet, trying to keep yourself as calm as you could.

 “You know, it’s only a matter of time until Dean stops loving you anyways. You’ll come crawling back to me, begging me to take you back.”  

 “No he won’t,” you shook your head, trying to make a break for the door once more. Ketch kicked you down, effectively knocking you to the ground once more. “You can say whatever you want to me. This is going to end the same way.”

 “No it’s not,” he chuckled. “I always get what I want.”

 “No you don’t,” you let out a laugh. “That’s why we’re here. You can’t stand the fact that I left you. Not the other way around.”

 You got up once more, using the wall to keep you upright. He moved quickly, getting to his feet. You didn’t know what to expect from him. He was capable of anything and everything. You needed to get out of the room. You needed to put yourself as far away as you could possibly get from him.

 “You know, all of my friends saw you naked,” he smirked. “I used to show them all the naughty pictures of you to give them a good laugh.”

 “Too insecure to show them your tiny dick?” you clapped back. Before you could even register what was happening. His hand came up and striked you across the face.

 “I never felt bad for laying a hand on you,” he shrugged with a smile, grabbing your face in his hand. “You deserved it.” You brought your knee up, using as much force as you could to hit him where it hurt to get him off of you. You hoped that was what you needed to make a run for it. He doubled over in pain, cupping his junk in his hands before hitting the ground. This was it. Your time to go.

 You stalked over to the corner, reaching for your back so you could make a run for it. You needed to get home as fast as you could. Or better yet, make it to the garage so you were safe with Bobby and Dean. That would be the better place. You pulled your bag over your shoulder, reaching for the door knob once more, only to have something wrap around your foot, pulling you down.

 You felt a sharp pain in your forehead, along with something warm. You reached up to touch it, soon finding blood on the tips of your fingers. He had pulled you down and you hit your head on a desk on the way down.

 “You’re not going anywhere,” he breathed out, trying to catch his breath. He still had a hold on your foot. You needed to kick him again and move quickly. Your life depended on it now. No more fun and games. “You’re my little slut.”

 “You’re wrong,” you declared, reaching your foot down to kick him once more. He let out a loud cry, releasing your foot. You got up as quickly as you could, finally reaching the door to get out. The knob opened easily, and you took off running. You needed to put as much space between you and that room as possible. You could feel the blood trickling down the side of your head as you searched for a way - any way to get out of the library.

 “Y/N!” you heard a female voice call out. “Hey, hey! What happened?” Ruby. Thank god for Ruby.

 “Ketch,” you managed to say. “Ketch, back there.”

 “C’mon, we need to get you to the hospital to get you checked out,” she told you. “You’re going to be okay. He’s not going to hurt you again. I promise.”

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “Sweetheart,” he breathed out, pulling you in closer to him.

 “I’m okay, Dean. For the most part anyways,” you assured him. “It was a little touch and go before you got here, but having you here now makes me feel safer.”

 “God, if I ever see him again,” he growled.

 “I don’t think you’ll be seeing him for a while,” you swallowed hard. “I’m filing for a restraining order now. I’m not going to run the risk of this happening again, and certainly not to you either. I want me and my family safe.”

 “I’m proud of you,” he said softly. “I just wish I was there to protect you.”

 “You were,” you stated.

 “What do you mean?” he furrowed his brows.

 “Dean, I never would have been able to stand up to him the way I did today if it wasn’t for you,” you started. “I never would have gotten out of there on my own.”

 “I think you would have,” he shrugged.

 “I don’t,” you swallowed hard. “I was so weak before. I never would have stood up to him the way I did today. Not to the extent I did. I never would have forced him off me or hit him back. Ever since the day I met you, you have given me strength, Dean. You’ve built me up so much that I believe in myself more than I ever have. You’ve given me a life worth living. You’ve given me confidence, and shown me what happiness feels like. I know I didn’t need you there to fight that battle for me. You taught me how to do it all on my own. I hate to admit it to you, but the day I found you was one of the best days of my life.”

 “It was the worst day of my life, and one of the greatest,” he confessed. “You are strong. You always have been. You just never saw it the way I did. Y/N, if I’ve given you a life worth living, you’ve given me so much more. You’ve given me everything.”

 “I was laying here, waiting for you to get here. My head wandering over everything,” you paused. “I just wanted to say thank you for showing me what it’s like. To love and be so loved by someone. Thank you for trusting me, and for making it so easy for me to trust you completely. Thank you for always making me laugh, and for making me feel cherished. I know when I’m with you that it’s where I belong. After trying so hard my entire life to get my mom to love me, and everyone else; I didn’t have to try with you.”

 “Because I love you for everything that makes you the way you are. I love you more and more everyday,” he half smiled. “I can say all the same things to you, Y/N. You know the life I’ve lived. You saved my life, literally. From that day on, things have only looked up. Until today. I never want to get a call telling me you’re in the hospital.”

 “Understandable,” you let out a dry laugh. “You remember a couple of months ago when I woke up in the middle of the night after a dream?”

 “Yeah, the one you told me you’d tell me about someday,” he nodded, resting his head carefully on top of yours.

 “I was pregnant in the dream,” you breathed out. “We were pregnant with a little girl in the dream. It was a Friday and I had just got home from work to see you. You kneeled down and kissed my stomach and told our baby that you loved her. I have the dream again every couple of months. Same one every time. Sometimes I’m a little further along. After today and finally shutting that final door on Ketch. It feels like it’s actually a place I’ll be able to get to one day.”

 “We are going to get there someday, Y/N,” he said softly. “I can promise you that someday we’re going to get there and we’re going to have a whole lot of fun getting there. I’ve had that dream with you for a long time.”

 “Really?”  

 “Yeah, really,” he nodded. “You have always been my future, Y/N. Right from the second I got in your car after that motel room. You told me that there is always someone out there wanting to read my story. You opened that first page and you kept turning the page. You have never given up on me. You’ve never let me down. I feel sorry for the people in your life that couldn’t see the things I see. I know that I’m going to love you for the rest of my life. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

 “Best book I’ve opened up,” you let out a chuckle. “I love you, Dean Winchester.”

 “I love you more, Y/N Y/L/N,” he whispered. “How’s your head?”

 “I have a bit of a headache. They said that’s normal,” you informed him.

 “Alright,” he nodded. “That earns you a night of cuddling in a dark bedroom.”

 “Sorry to interrupt,” the female nurse said quietly as she stepped into the room. “I have your release papers here. But there is also someone here who’d like to see you. Dean, I’m going to need you to go over the papers since you’re taking her home. It just says that she has a minor concussion, and she’s to take it easy for the next ten days. Lots of rest, drink lots of water.”

 “Got it,” he nodded.

 “Who’s here?” you dared to ask.

 “Your mom. She caught wind that you were here when she was at the front desk. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you,” she smiled softly.

 “Alright,” you agreed. This should be good, you thought to yourself.

 “You sure about this?” Dean questioned.

 “I’m going all Cinderella Story. Only my ex and my actual mom in one day,” you declared.

 “Okay diner girl,” he joked.

 “I’ll let her in,” the nurse informed you before slipping out the door once more.

 You took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself for what was to come. You knew it wasn’t going to be good. It was your mom for crying out loud. She never cared about you and she wasn’t about to start now. She was more than likely going to take Ketch’s side and you fully expected it.

 The door opened once more, revealing your mother as she stepped inside, shutting the door once more. She let out a sigh as soon as she saw you and you almost wanted to roll your eyes.

 “What the hell happened?” she raised her voice, making her way over to the hospital bed.

 “Ketch,” you stated nonchalantly.

 “Can I have a moment alone with my daughter?” she said coldly towards Dean.

 “Whatever you have to say to me, you’re saying in front of Dean too,” you declared.

 “Fine,” she scoffed. “You need to get yourself together, Y/N. This is getting to be too dramatic now. You had your fun and games. You had your freedom to do whoever you please. It's time to take action and get your life together. You graduate in three weeks. You were supposed to be married by now to a great man-”

 “Excuse me? You think Ketch is a great man? I’m in the hospital because of him right now. How hard is it for you to understand that I’m never going to be the kid you always wanted. I have dreams of my own, and standards that I set myself to. I’m not going to marry someone that you deemed as perfect for me when he hurt me more ways than I can count-”

 “You humiliated him!”

 “No, I didn’t. He did that to me when he knocked up Jo, after he paid her to have sex with him and his friend, while he was with me. I’m not going to be your barbie doll anymore. I’m not going to stay with someone who thinks it’s okay to get violent when he doesn’t get what he wants. I’m not going to marry someone who manipulated me and god knows how many other girls in his life because he’s bored.”

 “He was going to take care of you so you never had to worry about work or money. He was going to give you the best life possible-”

 “No he wasn’t. He was going to try to make me like the person you always wanted to be. I’m not like you and I’m never going to be. I like the small house I live in with the love of my life. I like eating fries, and pizza. I like road trips, and hotel rooms. Diner food, and cheap dates. I have never needed someone to have money or give me the life you wanted. I’m happier now than I have ever been and that’s because I have him. Someone who treats me like a queen and not a house maid. Someone who shows me what love is because my own mother couldn’t do that for me. And you’re never going to. You’re always going to see me as a disappointment and that’s fine. As far as I’m concerned, you have no place in my life. I don’t need any toxic people that aren’t going to cheer me on. I have dad. I have Dean and I have his family.”

 “Don’t come running back to me when he cheats on you-”

 “Like Ketch? Dean’s not like that,” you side-eyed her.

 “Yeah-”

 “I’m not in the slightest,” Dean added in. “You can’t even compare me to him when you don’t know the first thing about me. You don’t know the kind of person I am, or the relationship I have with your daughter. You don’t know that she saved my life, or that she’s got the biggest heart of anyone I know. You don’t know me and you don’t know your daughter, and that sucks for you. You’ll never get to experience the smile on her face when she’s happy to see you after a long day. You’ll never get to hear her laugh when she thinks something’s funny. You’ll never get the hugs that you need after a long day, because they make everything better. Worst of all, you’re not going to get to see her become the mother she always dreamed of having. You dictated so much of her life to try and cater to your needs instead of your own. But I can see that it didn’t work because there is nothing of you that I can see in her.”

 “Excuse me?” she growled.

 “I think it’s time you left. She has a concussion and you being here isn’t good for her head,” Dean told her, pulling you in closer.

 “Don’t you dare think about reaching out to me ever again, Y/N Y/L/N. I don’t ever want to hear from you again. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to me.”

 “Fine by me. You were never a mother to me so I’m not missing anything,” you pointed out. With that, your mother stood up and stormed out of the room without another word. You finally released the breath you were holding and nuzzled into Dean a little bit more.

 “You okay?” he asked you.

 “Yeah,” you smiled into his neck. “I’ve got you and that’s all that matters.”

 “She’s going to regret that everyday for the rest of her life,” he muttered.

 “I know,” you agreed. “But if she can’t take my side and hear me out, then we’re never going to see eye to eye. You don’t deserve to be compared to Ketch. You’re a good man with a big heart. That’s the man I love. Thank you for sticking up for me.”

 “I’ve wanted to give her a piece of my mind since the day I first met her and she made you cry,” he revealed. “No one hurts my girl and gets away with it.”

 “I’m ready to go home now,” you breathed out.

 “Alright, let’s get you out of here then. We’ll go home and get you to bed. I promise you cuddles all night in the middle of our bed. Maybe even a few kisses.”

 “I want thirty seven kisses,” you chuckled.

 “I’ll double that and let you see me naked,” he teased.

 “What did I ever do without you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Final Part Coming Sunday!

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[owlways-and-forever]

Father Figure

A/N: This is a little one-shot for the Houses Competition, which is happening over on FFnet. Because I like consistency, I’ll be posting all of my pieces on FFnet & ao3 as well, so if you prefer those platforms, feel free to hit me up there. No other notes, just enjoy!

Round: 1 Theme: Self-Discovery Type: Standard (950-2000 words) | Word Count: 1983 Prompt: “Does your mother/father know what you’ve been up to?” Summary: An unexpected knock on the door could reveal a truth Dean had never known and change his life forever. Links: FFnet | ao3

A knock on the door surprised Dean early one morning. He, Harry and Ron were renting a small townhouse in London, since they had always cohabitated reasonably well at Hogwarts, and all three of them had significant others that they weren't quite ready to live with yet (they were only 18, after all). Somehow, Dean had drawn the short straw, and gotten the bedroom on the lower floor, which meant that while he could hear the present pounding on their front door, Harry and Ron were probably still blissfully asleep.

With a deep groan, Dean pushed himself out of bed, stretching and cracking his joints as he stood, his fingertips grazing the ceiling. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he padded downstairs barefoot, somewhat sore from sleeping in a weird position all night. He still had so many aches and pains from his year on the run, new quirks of his body that he thought might never go away. It was another benefit to living with Harry and Ron - they understood some of the...aftereffects that year had left them with. Their house was full of plain food, and they'd made very sure that there was a bathroom for each of them, plus a downstairs half-bath for guests.

Dean scrubbed his hand across his face, feeling the stubble that graced his chin. He really needed to shave today. Sighing, he undid the deadbolts on their door, waving his wand to disengage the enchantments protecting them (they all slept better at night with extra precautions), and threw open the door.

On the other side of their threshold stood a man who looked so much like Dean that he couldn't help but gasp in surprise. It was like a spell was showing him exactly what he would look like thirty years from now, some kind of weird mirror reflecting the future. The same long neck, the same thin, pointed nose (maybe a little more flared than his own at the base). His features were a bit sharper, jaw more pronounced, and his lips a touch fuller, but the differences were subtle.

"I'm looking for Dean Thomas," the man said when Dean didn't say anything, although Dean had assumed as much - it would have been a hell of a coincidence otherwise.

"Yeah, that's me," Dean answered once he got his vocal chords working again. "Who the hell are you?"

(He had a guess.)

"My name is Adrian Wells, and… I… was wondering if we could get some coffee?" he asked, looking a little bit nervous and almost disappointed in himself.

"Sure…" Dean answered, feeling very suspicious, and a bit overwhelmed. "Gimme a mo'."

He rushed back up the stairs to his bedroom, throwing on clothes as quickly as possible. Dean honestly had no idea how he felt. He didn't know for sure, but he had a pretty good idea who the stranger might be, and if he was correct, well, then he had a lot of feelings indeed. Anger, mostly. But Dean, ever sensible, determined to at least hear the man out, willing to concede that he could, conceivably, be wrong. He hurried back down the stairs again, grabbing his denim jacket from its hook in the hallway, and closing the door behind him, flicking his wand to reinstate all their protective enchantments.

"You keep the place very secure," Wells remarked, nodding toward the front door absently, as if just to make small talk.

"Yeah, well, being kidnapped and tortured in the middle of a war will do that to you," Dean replied, a bit gruffer than was strictly necessary, perhaps.

"I can understand that," he said, quietly and directed mostly at the ground.

"There's a little cafe just a few blocks over that has good coffee," Dean said after a long moment, and he set off in the right direction, not turning to see if Wells was following him or not.

They walked in silence for the three blocks until they reached the cafe that Dean had spoken of, a little muggle place, very quiet and quaint. They ordered their coffees, Wells offering to pay, although Dean declined, and then sat at a table. It was fairly awkward. Dean wasn't sure what to say and really felt that it wasn't his job to say anything. The man had sought him out, and now it was time to share why. But across from him, Wells sat fidgeting with his coffee and barely taking a sip. He seemed nervous, which Dean could understand, but also agitated and uncomfortable.

"I'd like to tell you the whole story," Wells said at last. "Start to finish, and then you can ask me any questions you want. It's… it's easier if I just get it out in one go."

"Fine," Dean agreed, motioning with his hand for the man to begin whenever he was ready.

"I knew that I would be targeted in the first war," he began, with a deep sigh. He suddenly seemed much older, more haggard, than he had when he stood on their doorstep. "I was young then, but I was skilled, and I would have been a rather valuable… acquisition. For the Death Eaters. But I had a girlfriend, fiancee I suppose, and she was expecting a baby, and in those days… when the Death Eaters came, they took what was valuable, who was valuable, and they destroyed everything else."

"So you ran away?" Dean hissed, unable to keep himself from interrupting. He was right - this man was a coward, and deserved nothing from him.

"No, well, not exactly," Wells stammered, shrinking back from Dean's anger. "I knew they would come, and I wanted to protect my family as much as possible. I delayed getting married, I told Mabel to give the baby her name. That way, if I had to leave, they might still be safe. You might be safe. I didn't intend to leave, I didn't want to, but I wanted to make sure that if it came time, that I could keep my family as safe as possible."

He dragged his hands across his face, echoing Dean's motion from earlier this morning and giving him a weird sense of deja vu.

"But then it wasn't just the Death Eaters looking for me anymore, it was Vol - him. And I knew I couldn't stay." Wells shook his head, and he looked like he wanted to pull his hair out, like he was having to make the decision to stay or leave all over again. "I couldn't tell Mabel, she didn't know about the war, and she would have insisted that we could weather the storm. She was always so brave. I intended to go into hiding but… he had so many men. They were everywhere, all around the world. They found me in Spain, trying to get to Morocco. I was kept, locked up and tortured, as they tried to get some use out of me. And then he fell, and the war ended. They had to get rid of me somehow, couldn't have me waltzing back into London and informing the Ministry about all of them. I was sent, wholly unwillingly, to Egypt first, then Belarus, then Pakistan."

Dean felt all the anger seeping out of him as he listened to his father's story. Maybe not all the anger; Wells had still left them. But it had been for a good reason, he supposed, not just because he was a deadbeat like Dean had always assumed. And, in a sense, he had been right to go - Dean and his mother had been safe, had been happy. He supposed he'd made the exact same choice when he'd gone on the run, to save his own life and to get as far from his family as possible, so they could be okay.

"I'm sorry Dean, I don't think I can talk about what happened, but it was…"

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Dean answered kindly, reaching out and laying his hand across his father's, giving it a small squeeze.

"I found myself entirely free," his father continued, smiling gratefully as he skipped over the years in between, "about two years ago. And as much as I wanted to come back, I couldn't."

"Because Voldemort was back by then," Dean stated, thinking he understood his father, the fear that if he returned to England again, he would only be going through the same tribulation once more. He couldn't fault his father for that.

"Yes, but also…" He seemed to struggle to find the right words, shaking his head and knotting his fingers in his hair, a pained expression on his face. "I was a broken man after everything, I wasn't fit to be around people at all, much less to meet you for the very first time. I imagine you grew up thinking me to be the worst kind of father, but if you had seen me in those days, I would have surpassed everything you could have ever imagined. Trust me, there are much worse things a father can do than leave."

"I know," Dean said, thinking of Claire Foley, who always showed up at the castle with bruises up and down her arms, but never seemed to acquire any when she was on her own at school.

His father nodded, but, his tale now being complete, he seemed unsure of what else to say. Dean supposed it was his turn to take a step, either forward or back, and he tried to gauge how he felt quickly, to know which direction to go.

"This is pretty complicated," he sighed, scratching through his scruff with his fingertips. "Mum moved on, eventually, and I had a dad - I have a dad. Sisters as well. But I understand what you did, and why you did it. I'd like to get to know you better, over time, and see what kind of relationship we might be able to have."

His father's eyes lit up at his words, and it made Dean smile to see the happiness he had brought. He had no idea how all of this would work out, but he was willing to give things a try.

"I dunno about Mum though, she won't be happy," Dean continued, sobering up after a long moment of idle grins.

"That's okay, I don't expect her to forgive me," Wells answered, trying to shrug off Dean's words as nonchalantly as possible. "But you, my son… I had to try with you, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

Dean nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that so much time had passed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to spoil the moment," Dean said, pushing back his chair a little, "but I do have to work today, unfortunately. But maybe we can do lunch on Saturday? I don't think Seamus and I have plans."

"Who's Seamus?" his father inquired, looking lost.

"Sorry, he's my boyfriend," Dean explained, smiling just at the thought of his partner.

"Maybe I'll get to meet him too, in due time, of course," Wells answered, his smile a mirror of his son's. "But yes, lunch on Saturday would be nice."

"Right, excellent," Dean said as he stood, and his father stood with him.

"Dean?" he asked tentatively. "Could I… could I perhaps give you a hug?"

"Yeah, okay."

Dean allowed his father to wrap his arms around him, and returned the motion, resting his chin on the other man's shoulder. Something about it felt right, as if a last bit of himself clicked into place. There was a ways to go before they even really knew each other, but it was a start. His father. He shook his head incredulously as he set off through the London streets, making his way to the studio where he worked. His father was alive, he was here.