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doctorbitchcrxft · 1 year ago

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Hook Man | Supernatural Series Rewrite | Dean Winchester x Reader

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings: canon violence, canon gore, mentions of religious trauma/parental abuse

Word Count: 4869

A/N: Guys. We hit a bit of a milestone earlier in the week. Just wanted to say in celebration that I am so beyond grateful for all of your love and support. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! Giving big big kisses to all of you!!! Taglist is open!!

Edit: Hey.... I suck I forgot to add the taglist when I published. So sorry!!! fixed now!!!!

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You and Dean were sat at an outdoor cafe; coffee cups in hand. He was clacking away at his laptop while you wrote in your journal. You wrote your excerpt on the shapeshifter next to a drawing of Dean’s necklace.

“Is that…?” Dean asked, pointing to your journal.

You nodded.

“I didn’t know you could draw,” he said.

“No offense, lovebug, but you don’t know much of anything about me,” you retorted.

He scoffed. “Will you take the compliment and be quiet?”

“I didn’t hear a compliment,” you giggled. “Well, maybe in ‘Dean Winchester Land’ it was a compliment.”

“Oh, shut up,” he responded playfully.

Sam hung up the payphone he was standing in and came back over to your table.

“Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin’ cold over here, Francis,” Dean jabbed at his brother.

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” you told him.

“So, anything?” Dean asked Sam.

Sam huffed. “I had ‘em check the FBI’s Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Does fitting Dad’s description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations.”

“Sam, I’m tellin’ ya, I don’t think Dad wants to be found.”

Sam looked disappointed.

“Check this out.” Dean turned his laptop around to you and Sam. “It’s a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It’s only about a hundred miles from here.”

“Thank god, a short trip,” you sighed.

“ ‘The mutilated body was found near the victim’s car, parked on 9 Mile Road,’ “ Sam read from the article.

“Keep reading.” Dean nodded at his laptop.

“ ‘Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.’ “

That last line caught your attention. “Could be something interesting.”

“Or it could be nothing at all,” Sam protested. “One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything? Doesn’t mean it’s the Invisible Man.”

“But what if it is? Dad would check it out,” Dean responded.

***

The one hundred mile drive concluded with the boys dropping you off at a sorority house.

“Remind me why I have to play barbies for the week again?” you asked.

“Because this is Lori Sorensen’s sorority house; the witness from the killing,” Sam replied.

“Great,” you mumbled.

“Have fun making s’mores and singing campfire songs,” Dean remarked.

“Bite me,” you snarked. “You’re going to a frat, though, Steve McQueen, so I wouldn’t be so cocky.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” he grumbled.

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” you said and shouldered your duffel bag. You bid them goodbye and reluctantly marched up to the door of the sorority house.

A girl with long, dark curls opened the door. “Hi,” she said. “Can I… help you?”

“Yeah, I’m (Y/N),” you explained. “I’m your sorority sister from Ohio State. Do you guys have an extra bed I could sleep in? I just transferred here.”

“Sure,” she grinned. “I’m Taylor, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.”

She led you inside and introduced you to Lori Sorensen. She was a sweet girl; very naive and a little stuck-up. Taylor seemed a little more like a party girl, but still relatively tame. You decided you could gel with these girls for the time being.

They told you they were headed to Sunday service at Lori’s father’s church and invited you to go with them. You obliged.

In the middle of the introductory rites, you heard the heavy church door slam shut. Your head swiveled to find Sam and Dean frozen and looking guilty. You scoffed amusedly and rolled your eyes, turning your attention forward for the rest of the service.

Taylor invited you and Lori out to a party after the service, but Lori said she couldn’t. Her father had dinner with her every Sunday since her mother passed away. She and Taylor hugged and Taylor bid you goodbye before heading off.

Sam and Dean came over to you and Lori.

“Guys!” you said excitedly. “Sam, Dean, this is Lori.” You introduced her to them. “They’re my friends from Ohio. They transferred with me.”

“I saw you inside,” she told them.

“We don’t wanna bother you. We just heard about what happened and…”

Dean cut his brother off. “We wanted to say how sorry we were.”

You knew where this was going; he was cruising for another hookup.

“I kind of know what you’re going through,” Sam broke back in. “I-I saw someone..get hurt once. It’s something you don’t forget.”

Lori nodded slightly. Just then, her father came up to your group.

“Dad, um, this is Sam, Dean, and (Y/N). They’re new students.”

Dean shook the reverend’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon.”

“Thank you very much,” he smiled. “It’s so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord’s message.”

“Yes, sir,” you replied and began leading him away from Sam and Lori. “Actually, we’re looking for a new church group…”

***

Later that day, you and the boys were sitting together in the local library. Sam relayed to you what Lori had told him about the passing of the guy she was with.

“So, you believe her?” Dean asked him.

“I do,” he nodded.

“Yeah, I think she’s hot, too.” Dean smirked at him.

“You think almost everything with a vagina and legs is hot, Dean,” you remarked.

“Not you,” he jabbed back, still smirking.

You clutched a hand to your chest. “I’m hurt, you dick.”

He rolled his eyes at you.

“Can we focus, please?” Sam broke in. “There’s something in her eyes. And listen to this: she heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car.”

“Wait, the body suspended? That sounds like the—”

Sam cut you off. “Yeah, I know, the Hook Man legend.”

“That’s one of the most famous urban legends ever,” Dean added. “You don’t think that we’re dealing with the Hook Man.”

“Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began,” said Sam.

“Yeah, but what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?”

“Well, maybe the Hook Man isn’t a man at all. What if it’s some kind of spirit?”

You had the librarian bring over boxes of arrest records. The three of you poured through pages upon pages for hours.

“Hey, check this out. 1862,” Sam said finally. “A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Uh, right here, ‘some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.’ “

“Get this, the murder weapon?” Dean was looking at another page. “Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook.”

You pointed to a page in Sam’s book. “Look where all this happened. Nine Mile Road.”

“Same place where the frat boy was killed,” Sam chimed in.

“Nice job, Dr. Venkamen and Annie Potts. Let’s check it out,” the older brother quipped.

The three of you headed to Nine Mile Road. Dean parked off the road in a clearing in the woods. He popped the trunk and handed Sam a shotgun. “Here you go.”

“If it is a spirit, buckshot won’t do much good,” Sam said.

“Yeah, rock salt. It won’t kill ‘em. But it’ll slow ‘em down.” Dean led the three of you through the clearing.

“That’s pretty good. You and Dad think of this?”

“I told you. You don’t have to be a college graduate to be a genius.”

“Cool it, Winchester. You and your daddy aren’t the first people to think of rock salt bullets.” You loaded your own gun with shells of your own.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“They’re a bitch to roll,” you said.

“Oh, one hundred percent,” he remarked.

You suddenly heard rustling in the bushes.

“Over there,” you whispered to Sam. The two of you aimed your guns and cocked it.

The “ghost” came out from behind the trees. A sheriff.

‘Dammit.’

“Put the gun down now!” he yelled. “Now! Put your hands behind your head.”

“Wait, wait, okay!” Dean told him.

You immediately dropped your gun and put your hands up.

“Now get down on your knees. Come on, do it! On your knees!”

You three obeyed.

“Now get down on your bellies,” he commanded. “Come on, do it!”

“Are you just on a power trip or something? ‘Cause— ah!” you were cut off by a sharp kick to the shin from Sam.

The sheriff brought the three of you into the station. It was early the next morning by the time you were able to leave.

“Saved your asses!” Dean jeered. “Talked the sheriff down to a fine. I am Matlock.”

“How was it that you were left in charge of talking him down?” You raised a brow at him. “And how in the fuck did you do it?”

“Sweetheart, this may surprise you, but I’m good at my job. And I told him Sam was a dumbass pledge, you were his girlfriend we’d dragged along, and we were hazing you.”

You and Sam both recoiled at the idea of dating each other.

“First of all, ew,” you started, “No offense, Sam.”

“None taken.”

“But what about the shotguns?”

“I said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank.”

“And he believed you?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, Sam looks like a dumbass pledge.”

“Can’t argue with that.” You stuck your tongue out at Sam.

Moments later, several officers ran out of the building to their cruisers. Barely needing to share a look with the boys, you hurried into the car and sped away to follow them.

You could see Lori wrapped in a disposable blanket in front of the sorority house you were staying in. You weren’t exactly sure what was going on, but you had no doubt that it was another murder. The stretcher carrying a body bag rolling out of the front door affirmed that thought seconds later.

Dean parked the Impala around the back of the house.

“Why would the Hook Man come here?” Sam asked as the three of you crept around the building. “This is a long way from Nine Mile Road.”

“Maybe he’s not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it’s about something else,” Dean suggested.

You pulled his arm back seconds later to avoid being seen by your “sorority sisters.” You used the fact that you had now pretty much pulled yourself in front of him to allow you to lead the way up to the second floor.

While Dean made a stupid joke about a naked pillow fight, Sam was busy giving you a boost before climbing up himself. You looked back down at the ground to see Dean struggling to find his footing.

“Need help?” you smirked.

“No,” he grumbled.

“I think you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

You waited patiently, leaning your head in your hands on the railing of the balcony and smiling down at him. He struggled for a few more moments before he conceded. All he did was open and close his hand he was extending upwards, similar to a toddler asking to be picked up.

“What’s the magic word?” you sing-songed.

“Come on!” he hissed. “Please?”

“There we go,” you smiled. You dug your heels into the ground and pulled him up.

You then realized the window you were entering was the one in Lori and Taylor’s closet. You hoped to god in that moment that Taylor wasn’t the one dead.

Your fears were realized, however, when you entered Lori and Taylor’s room to find the words “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?” crudely etched into the wall above Taylor’s blood soaked bed. You didn’t exactly get attached to people on hunts, but seeing good people die was never easy for you. It didn’t get easier. Your dad would call you soft, but you always liked to look at your compassion as a strength.

“ ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?’ That’s right out of the legend,” Sam whispered.

“Yeah, that’s classic Hook Man all right.” Dean tapped his nose as he spoke. “It’s definitely a spirit.”

“Yeah, I’ve never smelled ozone this strong before,” Sam muttered.

“(Y/N), you okay?” Dean asked you.

You nodded, biting your lip. “Yeah. Fine. It’s just… look at this symbol.” You were referencing the one beneath the writing. “Does that look familiar to you?”

Your head jerked toward the sound of footsteps approaching. You quickly shooed Sam and Dean back into the closet and out of the house. Thankfully, you made it back to the car without being seen. You pulled the copy you’d made at the library of one of the pages on Jacob Karns out of the backseat. That was where you had seen the cross symbol; on Karns’s hook.

You showed it to the boys. “Told ya.”

“Alright, let’s find the dude’s grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down,” Dean said.

Sam took the page from your hand. “ ‘After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave.’ “ He flicked the page with his finger, looking aggravated; as were you and Dean.

“Super,” the older brother muttered.

“Ok. So we know it’s Jacob Karns. But we still don’t know where he’ll manifest next. Or why,” Sam pointed out.

“I could just be spitballing here, but Lori definitely has something to do with it,” you said, looking up at the sorority house.

***

You managed to get into a party at the fraternity house Sam and Dean were staying in later that night. Dean had been busy mingling with thin college girls dressed in mini skirts while Sam stuck to the outside wall. You bounced around from talking to Sam and hustling some of the drunk frat guys in multiple rounds of pool.

The three of you reunited around the pool table you’d been dominating that night.

“Man, you’ve been holding out on me,” Dean told Sam. “This college thing is awesome!” He smiled and winked at a passing girl.

Sam looked intensely uncomfortable. “This wasn’t really my experience.”

“Let me guess. Libraries, studying, straight A’s?”

Sam nodded. You chortled.

“What a geek. Alright, you do your homework?”

“Yeah. It was bugging me, right? So how is the Hook Man tied up with Lori? So I think I came up with something.” Sam unfolded a piece of paper.

“1932. Clergyman arrested for murder. 1967. Seminarian held in hippie rampage,” Dean read.

Your eyebrows knitted together.

“There’s a pattern here,” Sam explained. “In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality. And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings carried out— get this— with a sharp instrument.”

“What’s the connection to Lori?” Dean asked.

“Her dad. Man of religion who openly preaches against immorality,” you pointed out. “Maybe this time, though, instead of saving the whole town, he’s just trying to save his kid.”

“Reverend Sorensen,” Dean tsked. “You think he’s summoning the spirit?”

“Maybe it’s like when a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place,” you suggested.

“Yeah, the spirit latches onto the reverend’s repressed emotions, feeds off them, yeah, okay.”

“Without the reverend ever even knowing it,” Sam chimed in.

“Either way, you should keep an eye on Lori tonight,” Dean told his brother.

“What about you?”

Dean looked over to the opposite side of the pool table where the blonde you’d been playing with smiled at him. He reluctantly said, “(Y/N) and I are gonna go see if we can find that unmarked grave.”

“We are? I wanted to play more eight-ball,” you told him.

He looked back over at the blonde, back at you, and shook his head in disappointment. “C’mon. I’m not happy about it either.”

***

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go back?” you asked Dean as the two of you trudged through the Old North Cemetery. You were holding shovels and flashlights searching for the grave of Jacob Karns.

He shot you a look.

“I know, I know, I’m kidding,” you laughed. “But seriously. Now that we’re… acquaintances, we should go out to a bar sometime. Preferably one with a pool table.”

“That’d be cool, actually,” he said, smirking at you. “You’re pretty good.”

“What, at pool?”

He nodded. “I could probably still kick your ass, though.”

“You’re on, pretty boy.”

He stopped and turned to you. “Don’t objectify me.”

“What?” you asked, stopping next to him. “You know you’re gorgeous. You frequently use it to your advantage.” You marched on.

You smiled when you heard him mutter, “You are so confusing, woman.”

You walked for a few more minutes before your flashlight landed on a grave marked with that cross symbol from Taylor’s room. “Jackpot.”

You and Dean set to work exhuming Jacob’s corpse. Your back and shoulders ached more and more the deeper you dug. “How fucking far down is six feet?” you remarked breathlessly.

“I don’t know, but next time, I get to watch the cute girl’s house,” he replied.

“Aw, you don’t wanna spend quality time with this cute girl?” you asked playfully.

He eyed you strangely with a lopsided smile.

“What?” you asked.

“Nothing. You’re just funny,” he told you.

You smiled back and got back to digging. Your shovel finally hit the wooden box lying below. You broke through it to reveal his corpse. Or at least, what remained of it.

“Hello, preacher,” Dean said. He threw his shovel aside and helped you out of the hole you had dug. After he had climbed out, you poured salt and lighter fluid all over the bones.

“Goodbye, preacher.” Dean threw a match down into the grave.

Your nose twisted up in disgust. “I will never get used to that smell.”

“What, burnt, hundred-year-old preacher? Me neither.”

You and Dean packed up and headed back to the car that was parked in the cemetery’s parking lot. Your body was exhausted.

“Um, weird question,” you started.

He turned to you and threw his shovel and duffel bag in the trunk.

“You think we could sleep in your car for a bit? I’m running on two days of no sleep.”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. It should all be over now and Sam should be layin’ it down with Lori.”

And so, you did. You stretched out over the backseat, and Dean laid down on the front. A few moments of silence passed between the two of you, and strangely, you no longer felt tired. You supposed it was the strangeness of the situation. You were now sharing a somewhat intimate moment with a man you despised just weeks prior. You weren’t quite sure where your relationship with Dean was heading, and that bothered you a bit.

“Dean?”

“Hm.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, (Y/N).”

***

Four hours of shut-eye later, you felt recharged. You awoke to the sound of Dean’s phone vibrating over which Sam told you to meet him at a hospital.

“Hospital? Why? Is he okay?” you asked Dean, climbing over the front seat to sit shotgun.

“I think so, but he said the reverend’s hurt.”

About fifteen minutes later, you were walking down a long corridor only to be stopped by two cops in wide-brimmed hats.

The sheriffs put a hand to Dean’s chest to stop him.

“No, it’s alright, we’re with him. He’s my brother,” he explained. “Hey! Brother!” he called, waving dorkishly at Sam.

“Let them through.”

“Thanks.”

You and Dean began walking toward Sam, who met you in the middle.

“You okay?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” sighed Sam.

“What the hell happened?”

“Hook Man.”

You looked incredulous. “You saw him?”

“Damn right. Why didn’t you torch the bones?” Sam responded.

“We did,” you rebutted, confused. “You sure it’s the spirit of Jacob Karns?”

“It sure as hell looked like him,” Sam returned. “And that’s not all. I don’t think the spirit is latching on to the reverend.”

“Well, duh, he wouldn’t send Hook Man after himself,” you remarked.

“I think it’s latching onto Lori. Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman.” He whispered that last part.

“Damn.” You gritted your teeth. “I could see how that could upset her.”

Sam nodded. “She told me she was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished.”

“Ok, so she’s conflicted,” Dean chimed in. “And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he’s doing the punishing for her, huh?”

“Right,” the younger brother nodded. “Rich comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair.”

“Remind me not to piss this girl off,” Dean muttered. “But we burned those bones, buried them in salt, why didn’t that stop him?”

“We must’ve missed something,” you said.

“No, we burned everything in that coffin.”

“Did you get the hook?” Sam asked the two of you.

Realization struck you. “Fuck,” you grumbled. “No.”

“Why does that matter?” Dean asked.

“Well, it was the murder weapon, and in a way, it was part of him,” Sam told him.

“So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power.”

“So if we find the hook—”

The three of you finished Sam’s sentence in unison, grinning. “We stop the Hook Man.”

“Well, back to the drawing board,” you said as the three of you began walking away from the reverend’s hospital room.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“Do you know where the hook is?” you raised your eyebrows at him.

He said nothing.

“Exactly,” you giggled.

***

Your next stop was the library for the second time this hunt. As much as you liked to read, obnoxious amounts of research was not your thing. Finally, you thought you’d found something. “Log book, Iowa State Penitentiary. ‘Karns, Jacob. Personal effects: disposition thereof.’ “

“Does it mention the hook?” Sam asked you.

“I don’t know. ‘Upon execution, all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner’s house of worship, St. Barnabas Church,’ “ you read aloud. “That’s where Lori’s dad preaches.”

“Where Lori lives, too?” Sam asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

“Maybe that’s why the Hook Man has been haunting reverends and reverends’ daughters for the past two hundred years,” Dean added.

“Yeah, but I think someone would’ve noticed a blood-stained, silver-handled hook hangin’ around the church or Lori’s house.”

Dean pulled out another book and slapped it down in front of you. “Check the church records.”

Sam pulled the book to sit between the two of you. You and he flipped through pages upon pages of records before he found something. “ ‘St. Barnabas donations, 1862. Received silver-handled hook from state penitentiary. Reforged.’ “ He sighed. “They melted it down. Made it into something else.”

“Goddammit,” you grumbled.

Later that night, you and the boys returned to St. Barnabas Church. Dean shouldered a duffel bag and began leading you to the church. Sam followed close behind.

“Alright, we can’t take any chances,” the older brother began. “Anything silver goes in the fire.”

“I agree. So, Lori’s still at the hospital. We’ll have to break in,” Sam added.

“Okay, take your pick,” you told him.

“I’ll take the house,” Sam responded.

“Dean and I will take the church, then.”

“We will?” the older brother asked.

“Yup.”

You led Dean up to the church. He called back to his brother. “Hey. Stay out of her underwear drawer.”

You could hear the smirk in his voice and giggled.

You took the top floor of the church while Dean scoured the basement. The two of you, along with Sam, met up in the furnace room.

“I got everything that even looked silver,” Sam told you.

“Better safe than sorry,” Dean said.

Your head turned upward at the sound of footsteps. You could hear Dean taking his gun from his jacket as you grabbed yours.

“Move, move,” Dean told you quietly.

You crept up the stairs as quietly as possible. When you got back to the ground floor, you could see Lori hunched over, her shoulders shaking. You lowered your gun and lightly pushed Sam forward. He shot you a look, but headed over to Lori anyway. You and Dean went back downstairs to continue melting the silver.

“I feel for her,” you said quietly. “I know how much religion can fuck you up.” Silver clanked against the coals in the furnace as you spoke.

Dean turned his head to you. “You do?”

You nodded. “I’ve watched so many people go through crisis after crisis when their loved ones end up dead.”

“Me too,” he said earnestly. “Probably why I don’t pray.”

“Well, it’s a little difficult to believe in a higher power when all day, everyday is blood, guts, and monsters,” you remarked.

He chuckled. “Yeah. I don’t know if I’ve met one religious hunter.”

“I have,” you said. “My mom.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She was somehow still convinced of ‘God’s plan.’ “

“Catholic?”

“Oh, very.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied playfully.

“Yeah, me too,” you smiled. “My dad wasn’t, but, uh, he had his… other issues.”

Before he could ask further questions, you heard commotion upstairs. It sounded like running heading toward the opposite side of the basement.

“C’mon,” Dean urged, sprinting out of the furnace room with his gun in hand. You followed closely behind. You could hear the breaking of boards and slamming of what you assumed were bodies that practically shook the walls that got louder as you got closer. Sam was maneuvering himself behind the Hook Man’s clunkily-moving apparition.

Dean gruffly called to his brother, “Sam, drop!”

His brother obeyed and Dean shot the Hook Man, who disappeared.

“I thought we got all the silver,” you said.

“So did I,” the older brother answered.

“Then why is he still here?” Sam’s voice was frantic.

“Well, maybe we missed something!”

You looked around and noticed Lori’s cross necklace. “Lori, where did you get that chain?”

“My father gave it to me,” she responded nervously.

“Where’d your dad get it?” Sam asked.

“He said it was a church heirloom,” she answered quickly. “He gave it to me when I started school.”

“Is it silver?!”

“Yes!”

Sam ripped the chain off her and threw it to you. You caught it with ease and went to start running back down the hall when the invisible Hook Man started dragging his hook along the wall.

You threw Sam your gun and started running down another corridor you hoped would bring you to the same destination. You could vaguely hear Dean say to his brother, “I’ll cover (Y/N), shoot anything that moves!” before you heard approaching quick footsteps behind you.

You sprinted down winding hallways and thankfully quickly made it to the furnace room. You threw the necklace into the fire and watched as it slowly began to melt. “C’mon, c’mon,” you muttered anxiously. It took longer than you would’ve liked, but the cross broke off the necklace and burned into ash. As soon as it did, you and Dean ran back to the latter’s brother to make sure the ghost was gone. Thankfully, he had, but Sam seemed injured. He was clutching his left shoulder and wincing.

You called the police to the scene and urged them to send an ambulance. They arrived in no time, and Sam was able to get his injury patched up.

“And you saw him, too?” A sheriff was asking you and writing in a notepad. “The man with the hook?”

“Yeah, we all saw him,” you responded. “We fought him off and then he ran.”

“And that’s all?” The sheriff was skeptical.

“Yes, sir.”

“Listen. You and those two boys—”

Dean came up behind you and answered for you. “Oh, don’t worry, we’re leaving town.”

You laughed at his response. Sam and Lori talking near the ambulance caught your eye. You continued watching them in the rearview mirror once you’d gotten in the backseat of the car. Sam soon left Lori, who looked after him sadly, and stooped down into the car.

“We could stay,” Dean suggested.

You could tell Sam wanted to, but he shook his head. A deflated air had settled over the car, but you knew the younger Winchester wasn’t ready for anything yet. He’d been dating Jessica for a year and a half and had just lost her less than four months ago. You knew he needed more time. The best way you knew to comfort him was to wrap your hands around his shoulders gently, minding his injury, from your place in the backseat. He tensed for a moment, but allowed you to hug him nonetheless. He responded by holding your arm with his good hand. And for a moment, if you closed your eyes, it was almost like hugging Steven again.

Series Rewrite Taglist: @polireader @brightlilith @atcamillanorrman @jrizzelle @insomnia-bookworm @procrastination20 @mrs-liebgott @djs8891 @tiggytaylor @staple-your-mouth @iloveshawn @jesstherebel @rach5ive @strawberrykiwisdogog @bruhidkjustwannaread @mxltifxnd0m @sunshine-on-marz @big-ol-boat @mgchaser @capncrankle @davina-clairee

#dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x y/n #dean winchester x you #dean x reader #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean winchester #supernatural #spn #supernaturals series rewrite #spn series rewrite

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yesmansyesman · 1 year ago

Text

Fanfiction added (Yes Man x Reader)

AN UNUSUAL NEW UPDATE

[ Includes ]

Wireplay (Sort of?)

Filthy, filthy smut

Dub con (I guess?)

Really, really enthusiastic con the immediate next line

Overstimulation

Robophilia

[ Read at your own discretion! ]

[ Heavily inspired by this AO3 Fanfiction]

It was a relatively slow day at the Lucky 38. Well, as slow as things can be around here. You’d sent Yes Man out on a small quest on your behalf; getting rid of some remaining Caeser’s Legion members hiding out in Freeside.

It wouldn’t be even remotely challenging for the both of you, especially compared to the other things you’d fought in the wasteland. Compared to an army of charging Deathclaws, a couple of Rome cosplayers were trivially easy to deal with. So, you sent Yes Man out by himself. It would simply be more efficient.

Quest completed

PICKING OFF STRAGGLERS

Ah, speak of the devil.

Almost like clockwork, the doors to the Lucky 38 swung open, a blood-soaked Yes Man entering the building. Needless to say from his now crimson chassis, the mission was a success.

“Hello Courier! I’m glad to say the last few members of Caeser’s Legion have been properly dealt with!”

“I could tell. You might want to clean yourself off, bud. Dried blood doesn’t come out too easily.”

Yes Man inspected his dark red chassis, examining his arms, coated in dried blood.

“That sounds like a great idea!”

Yes Man began to make his way to a backroom in the Lucky 38, when he suddenly paused, and turned to face you.

“Oh, I almost forgot! On the way, I also paid a visit to Mick & Ralph’s!”

A hidden compartment revealed itself on Yes Man’s chassis with a satisfying hiss and click, as he reached inside, unveiling a slightly rusted holodisk. It looked fairly normal on the outside, only with a small label plastered on; ‘From, Ralph’.

“A man in a Buffalo Check shirt gave me this; he told me he’d ‘heard about how things turned out for you’ and asked me to help him deliver this! I’m not sure what it does, but boy, does it sound interesting!”

“Interesting, indeed. I’ll have Raul take a look at this.”

“That sounds like a great idea! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to be thoroughly scrubbed down! Really, really thoroughly!”

Quest added

TALK TO RAUL

“Hey boss, how can I help ya?”

You passed over the holodisk, placing it gently on his desk.

“Could you help me take a look at this?”

“Sure thing. I’ll see what I can do.”

He delicately picked up the holodisk, examining it closely. Inspecting the label, still on the device.

“Ah, from Mick & Ralph’s, I see.”

Raul lightly dusted the holodisk, before loading it into the personal terminal located on his desk. With a few swift clicks on his keyboard, the screen lit up, green text rapidly loading onto the display. He read the gibberish on the screen carefully, like it was a language only he could understand.

“Luckily for me, it ain’t some kind of malware.”

“Then, what is it?”

“It looks like some package of code intended for Securitrons. It’s not even anything major by the looks of it, just changes up some button inputs.”

Raul scrolled through the brief paragraph of code, discovering more text, this time actually understandable, product information, it seemed. Raul read through it thoroughly, scoffing when he finished. He rotated the terminal, facing the CRT monitor towards you.

“Boss, they wrote down what this thing does right here. Come and take a look, I think you’ll be… interested.”

Quest completed

TALK TO RAUL

Quest added

READ THE FOOTNOTES

Quest completed

READ THE FOOTNOTES

Quest added

INSTALL THE DISK

“Courier, are you sure about this?”

“Yes Man, I promise you; this holodisk won’t affect your personality in any way, and if you feel otherwise, you can always tell me to stop. You had that personality upgrade installed for a reason, right?”

“I-I’m not telling you to stop! I just sure hope you know what you’re doing, because you aren’t, this Securitron body may self-destruct! And that would be bad, really bad.”

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

You carefully installed the holodisk. Yes Man’s, unlike other Securitrons, circuits were haphazardly placed all over the inside of his chassis. Whatever Benny did to him, he sure did it messily. Eventually, however, after working through piles of unsorted wires and mismatched machinery, the disk was installed. With a brief system reboot, Yes Man had been successfully updated.

Quest completely

INSTALL THE DISK

Quest added

UPGRADE PLAYTEST

“Hm, that’s odd. I don’t feel any different. Or explosive. Well, that’s a good sign!”

“Not so fast, Yes Man. There’s still one more thing I need to do. I need to see if the upgrade works as intended.” “Sounds interesting! How may I help you with that?”

“Don’t worry, just stand still. You’ll find out what that holodisk does very, very soon.”

Gently, you lead your hand towards Yes Man’s keypad. You deftly place a finger on a key, pressing it before he had a chance to react.

“O-oh!”

“How was it?”

“D-do that again…please?”

“Sure thing, big guy.”

Click!

“A-ah!”

Click!

“Ngh-!”

Click!

“M-mph!”

Yes Man was losing his composure more and more with each deft click, his antenna spinning rapidly and a cool layer of condensation forming on his display. Of course, how could he have forgotten, Mick & Ralph’s had experience working on robots before with Fisto, didn’t they? Of course their idea of an upgrade would be… this.

Not that he was complaining, though.

“W-wow! That feels really, really good…”

You carelessly push a few buttons all at once.

“H-Hah-!”

There you go, just let me hear those beautiful noises.

“O-oh! S-six!”

You decide to go all in, discarding any resemblance of self-control. Using and holding as many keys as your fingers could reach.

“O-oh my-y-!”

“Having fun, bud?”

“I-I love you I love you I love you-!”

"I'll take that as a yes."

Yes Man’s vocal processor was being pushed to its limits, the audio scratched and staticy as Yes Man wore his metaphorical throat out singing moans of pleasure, screaming to the heavens above. His display was drenched in condensation as water droplets visibly dripped down his chassis. The tornado-like buzz of cooling fans were the only other audible noise amongst the squeals of pure ecstasy.

“Y-you’re my everything-g-g-g-!”

“Glad to hear it. You ready?”

“P-p-please!” Silly boy, his processors were already turning into melted plastic from the overstimulation.

“I’ll just press one more button, alright?”

“P-please please please please-!”

Click!

Quest completed

UPGRADE PLAYTEST

Quest added

CRASH LANDING

Quest completed

CRASH LANDING

“Yes Man? You there, bud?”

“W-what?”

“Oh thank god, you’re still alive.”

“Oh, hello Courier!”

Yes Man scanned his surroundings, having woken up on the floor of Raul’s workshop. His circuits were exposed, connected by several multi-coloured wires to a terminal being manned by the mechanic himself. He must’ve crashed.

“Luckily for you, your main circuits aren’t badly damaged. You just blew a few fuses.”

“Wow! That was… sure some upgrade!”

“Some upgrade, indeed.”

You deftly place a hand on his keypad, with a touch so feathery light that it didn’t manage to push down on any of the keys, but merely tease him with the warmth radiating for your hand. A sensation he could barely even feel, but felt so, so good.

“So, how about a round two?”

“Y-yes please!”

Raul scoffs, turning off his terminal and unplugging the several cords connected to it. He lifts himself out of his chair with a grunt, and makes his way to the door.

“I’ll let you two do your thing then, boss.”

Quest added

JUST A FEW MORE ROUNDS

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milla-frenchy · 4 months ago

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Last wip whatever of 2024

Thank your for the tag @aurorawritestoescape @mermaidgirl30 @magpiepills ❤️🙏

Here's a snippet for @jolapeno 's dear-uary writing challenge ❤️ with this prompt

I sent you a script, tell me what you think tell me more just read it, trust me

The informal messages between Joel and his agent, Will, were usual. They had known each other for a long time, they were friends, and Will had always found him perfect roles.

So as always, Joel trusted him- even though the first page of the script, delivered to him by a courier, was not completely filled, making him wonder why.

In the evening he put his cup on the coffee table, and lay down on the sofa, a soft light lamp behind his head. With his back leaning against the cushions, shirt, jeans, bare feet. Always the same ritual, always the same setup, when he was about to read a new script.

He started reading it, taking a sip of coffee from time to time, until his heart leapt in his chest as he got to one scene.

He closed it and took a moment before reading the first page again, with the name left blank.

It could only be you.

That was the only explanation for getting a script without the name of the author on it. And there was no way the scene he had just read, so familiar, so intimate, could be a coincidence. Or could be written by anyone else than you. He grabbed his phone and sent a message to his agent, unable to contain his annoyance.

that’s fucked up, Will

fic's here 🙏

See ya in 2025 😘❤️

npt: @toxicanonymity @jolapeno @iamasaddie @thundermartini @sawymredfox

@schnarfer @604to647 @iknowisoundcrazy @baronessvonglitter @guiltyasdave

@joelmillerisapunk @itwasntimethatdidit40 @corazondebeskar-reads @pascalssbabyy @evolnoomym

@arcanefox207

and whoever wants to join ❤️

#wip wednesday #wip whatever #wip game #joel miller #joel miller x reader #my wips

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dykedvonte · 1 year ago

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My only defense of conceptual follower Benny is that he was a warrior nomad and a raider, that still has it in him if we take the All Roads comic into consideration, and how he is not like a real dainty soft hand city slicker, cause it’s mostly an act.

So in scenarios where he is forced to travel with the Courier I 100% think he’d be like “What do ya mean you can’t scale a mountain, pussycat? Watch how the pros do it.” And then you see him scuttle up a cliff face scarily fast only to have to save him when he bumps into a Cazador nest.

#reminder his ability stat is 6 and strength 7 so this guys moderately good at physical stuff #like in all realness military and raiders would have lower charisma and intelligence in fallout cause they may know basic stuff it’ would #usually only be for survival #cause what’s interesting about the tribes is that they are all raiders and copycats like yes they can be representative of indigenous tribe #of the wasteland it not of the culture of irl indigenous people as the game makes it clear they are just copying behavior they have heard #read or are just justifying their violent behavior cause the khans like literally read a book on the mongols and said we could bastardize #this and it’s not pointed out enough but it fits the themes of people misinterpreting the past #but back to Benny he’s like weirdly capable and I hate it but it is fascinating #he’d just be complaining other wise and then violently stab something and be like I kinda miss the old days #and then say ring a ding ding or some shit #courier six #the courier #Benny fnv #fallout new vegas #benny gecko #fallout #fnv #courier fnv

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destielaureversebb · 4 months ago

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Coming soon for the @destielaureversebb: “The Armageddon Code”

Author: @blackhorsedances | E.L. Artist: @marvfortytwo

Rating: Explicit Archive warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, major character death Length: 53,774 words Tags: Space AU, Major Character Death (Temporary), Canon-Typical Violence, Unreliable Narrators, Happy Ending Relationships: Dean/Castiel, Cain/Colette Mullen; Charlie Bradbury/Dorothy Baum; Benny LaFitte/Garth Fitzgerald IV; Archangel Michael/Adam Milligan

Summary: Dean Winchester didn’t expect to fall in love with an Angel when he joined the PanGalactic Space Force to fight monsters and bad guys. Now he’s in a bigger fight than he ever could have imagined: the fight to unlock the Armageddon Code and save the Universe.

Excerpt:

Dean pauses as he’s typing, knowing he’s going to lie to Sam.

We’re in our 2nd “evolution” of OCS, so we’re up and doing PT at 0430. In addition to the usual calisthenics and running, now they have us swimming. For real, what the fuck use is swimming going to be in space? But, whatever. When we’re done with that, we move on to hand-to-hand and edged weapons. I mean, Dad taught us a lot about knife-fighting but this is also swords, and these big claymore looking things, and some other things that I probably shouldn’t try to describe. Oh, and get this: today we were allowed to use an “Angel” blade. I’m telling you, I’m revising ALL of my opinions about Angels if this is what they fight with.

Speaking of Angels. I didn’t tell you. I’d just gotten off the FLT Courier that brought me here and the pilot was picking up their next passenger to take out to the Rift. He walked right by me and I swear the ‘coat’ he was wearing was really wings. I could see the feathers ripple. He had this sort of weird gold ring around his head like a halo and this–I dunno how to even describe it–it was like this rainbow spilling across his face. I tell ya, Sammy, it gave me the shivers, but not in a scary way, just really intense. The pilot called him Casti-El, which is an Angel name, so I guess he was the real deal. Remind me to ask Bobby if he still has that old book of Angel Lore in his library, or did he give that to you?

Posting date: February 21, 2025

#destiel au reverse big bang #promo post #destiel fic #destiel art #author: blackhorsedances #artist: marvfortytwo

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angelxmachinery · 2 months ago

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its just boone and those other two against the world 😔😔

its like my very boring au where benny joins the gang. My courier wouldn't forgive him at all for shooting him in the head ya know but I think its generally silly and i like it.

and for the love of everything i could not figure out how to position laika's arms omg why is he so difficult

#benny fnv #fnv benny #fnv courier #courier 6 #courier six oc #courier six #fnv boone #craig boone #benny gecko #fnv #fallout new vegas

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heartofbusan · 2 months ago

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Jikook love Japan/Tokyo don't they? Remember when Jimin recommended this song.

Say hello to Tokyo I can see myself living right here I gotta get me out of this hole So come with me, so come with me I might, yeah I might Fake my death tonight, tonight So we can start a whole new life So how do I, go off the grid? It's hard to just vanish without a trace Ya, I know we gonna be alright.

And this is lyrics from the song JK posted tonight.

Fck my to-do list and my plans I'm gon' go to Japan Take the train, Tokyo to Kyoto Explore the world, hit Hawaii onto Lanai We can leave life behind, no problem Turn off the phone and keep it off It's okay to ignore and log off.

I love coincidences. wink. I think we get it.

I wish I could wrap them up in bubble wrap and send them to Japan cia courier. Just so they can travel anonymously and without the prying eyes of the world watching. They really do feel at ease there. I love that they have that. The same goes for Hawaii. They've never traveled there together apart from during BV, but if Taehyung and JK traveled there without anyone knowing, then KM can too one day. We know Jimin went there with his friends in 2019.

As much as they love their work and the status they've achieved, these guys are just regular people who want to have some fun during their off time. Feelings like wanting to escape, logging off, and resonating that much more deeply for them, seeing as they attract so much attention.

These song recommendations are therefore very meaningful.

#jikook #park jimin #jungkook #jimin #kookmin #peak jikook #sol asks

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cainluvr69 · 7 months ago

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"Creeping Shadows" Cain SR Card Story - Boiling Sensibilities

Cain: Alright, so let's do this here… And put these herbs in next…

Snow: My, I thought I smelled something nice, and who should I find when I follow the scent but you. What's in that big pot you have? Are you cooking something, perchance?

Cain: Oh, Lord Snow. I'm trying to make that "curry" thing Master Sage was talking about, since it's apparently a camping mainstay.

Snow: …Courier?

Cain: No, curry. It's a kind of soup that's made by just throwing in all sorts of ingredients and boiling them together.

Snow: Ohoho, so a type of cooking you excel at, I see. I recall you saying you were just going to "boil up" breakfast for White and I once.

Cain: Ahaha, did I? Well I mean, pretty much anything in the world can be eaten if you boil or fry it.

Snow: Is that true…? Are you sure…?

Cain: So anyways, Akira and the previous Sage said that curry is spicy, with a brown roux, and that it smells really good.

Snow: I see, I see! So we've got a rather fiery soup on our hands, then. So would those herbs you put in be the finishing touch on the fabled "curry" flavor?

Cain: Honestly? I have no idea.

Snow: What.

Cain: Neither of the Sages could remember exactly what kind or how many herbs or spices are supposed to go into it. So the first time I tried to make it, it didn't really turn out very well, but there's all sorts of herbs growing around here, yeah? I figure if I put in a bunch of the herbs here that are close enough to how they remember it, it'll turn out better this time.

Snow: So you're just shooting blindly until you hit the target????

Cain: I'm being pragmatic about it. And well, I've definitely got the spice, but the color and aroma aren't quite right, I think. Please, Lord Snow. Could you also add something that you think might be good?

✦✧☾✧✦

Snow: Goodness, me too? Why, that sounds… …Super duper fun! Absolutely! But you'll be taking responsibility for it, Cain dearest!

Cain: Of course I will. Alright, let's get back to the hunt now.

Snow: How do these herbs seem to you? If my memory hasn't failed me yet they should add a nice bit of spice.

Cain: Sounds great! Go for it, toss 'em in. Ooh! It's smelling great!

Snow: It's still not exactly brown, though. It's almost minestrone-like.

Cain: Hmm… Oh! How about we add some of those yellow flowers over there?

Snow: Sure, why not! In they go!

Snow & Cain: …! Is this…!!

✦✧☾✧✦

Snow & Cain: We did iiiit!! Clap clap clap!

Cain: The moment we added those flowers, we hit "spicy", "brown", and "smells good" all in one go! Now it's time for the taste test. C'mon, you try it too.

Snow: Huh?! Umm~mm, I think I'd like to hear your review first, Cain dear!

Cain: You sure? Well then, here I go. Munch… …It's good!

Snow: For real?! Then, I suppose I shall as well… Munch. …Goodness, this really is quite divine!

Cain: Right?

Snow: I know I'm the one who added the final ingredients, but goodness, I'm amazed we ended up here with such rando--ahem, pragmatism.

Cain: Ahaha. Maybe you've just got a talent for boiling things up! I only could've done this with your help, Lord Snow. Thank you very much. Yay!

Snow: Ya~ay! High five!

Cain: Alright, lemme go call the Sage. I really hope they like our curry!

Training Episode: Typical Toppings

Cain: Master Sage. Did you enjoy the curry we made the other day?

Akira: Right, I wanted to tell you!! It was absolutely perfectly currylike. Thank you so much for letting me taste something from home.

Cain: Nice! I'm happy you liked it. You were eating it with bread, right?

Akira: Yeah, I wanted to pair it with some carbs. But yeah, next time, I'd really want to have it with rice instead. Oh, and then putting pickled veggies and cheese on top too… Oh, but scallions or egg would be good too. Ohh, my imagination's starting to get away from me now that I'm thinking about home…

Cain: Pickles…? And eggs and cheese? It's a very versatile food, huh.

Akira: It really is. It all comes down to personal preference, of course, but putting on all your favorite toppings is definitely one way to enjoy curry.

Cain: Ooh! Yeah, it did taste like just about anything could go well with it. Then I want to add some fried meat. Not fried as-is like I usually make, but properly breaded 'n stuff. Fried oasis pig meat would probably go great with it.

Akira: …Oh, I know, like katsu curry! We had that in my world, too! In fact it's so common that you'd see it on a store's menu separate from regular curry. I bet you'd love it, Cain.

Cain: Nice, a special Sage suggestion. I'll definitely have to try it out, then. I was just putting stuff in randomly, so I don't know if I'll be able to recreate that exact recipe, but… Next time we're in the area, I'll do my best!

#.mhyktl #.cardtl #cain knightley #dragging myself thru the dirt for my beloved cain. by god

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feral-ferrule · 2 months ago

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Saturday’s Child, Chapter 1

A Modern AU Bad Batch Echo/OC fic

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Word count: ≈4800

This piggybacks onto @clonethirstingisreal’s Hunter/OC fic Hunter and the Librarian but might end up diverging a bit (like a multiverse! lol)

Background: Modern AU; the Batch lives together in a vaguely modern, North American location. They are all actual siblings and veterans. (Well, Omega isn’t a veteran) My OC, Althea, is an artsy-crafty university student who has a part time job as a medical courier. Echo is a permanently disabled combat veteran and volunteers at the VA hospital where he starts noticing a new girl and becomes smitten. Althea is pretty much based on me but this story is not really autobiographical, although there are elements that are/were real. It is my escapism fantasy of how things could have been if I had had half a brain

Let’s see, warnings? Yes, warnings: so far I’ve got a very vague reference of abuse, but nothing specific and you’ll only notice if you don’t blink. There’s self image issues, characters going through medical procedures, some suggestive comments, and there will be discussion and situations surrounding mental health issues like depression and ptsd. It’s SFW (so far, at least this chapter, maybe not forever -I’ll warn ya)

Althea drove slowly around the service side of the hospital. She was still learning the ropes of her medical courier job and had started deliveries at the VA about two weeks ago. She was now comfortable navigating its large complex of buildings after getting lost the first time. She parked by the service entrance nearest to the lab and got out of the vehicle, zipping up her jacket against the winter chill. It was a sunny day but the crisp wind blew cold and dry. She pulled her lip balm out of her pocket and swiped a layer of shimmery pink on her lips.

Her wavy dark auburn hair was pulled into a ponytail under her fluffiest crocheted hat. Some strands framed her face and their red highlights caught the sunlight. Her skin was paler in the winter having lost its tan from the summer and her nose flushed pink with cold. She pulled out a small bin of vials and other packaged supplies from the trunk, closed and locked it and pocketed her keys in her hip pocket, the big plush school mascot on the keychain dangling. She walked up to the service door and balanced the bin on her hip. She tapped in the code to the door. It didn’t open so she knocked. The wind whipped around the building and through the too-thin material of her pants. She felt grateful for the warm, fluffy socks and boots the pants were tucked into.

A large pickup truck pulled up to the curb and a man in an orange vest got out with a tool box and approached her at the door. He glanced at her badge she wore on a lanyard around her neck.

“Delivery? Hold on, I'll get it open for ya,” he said, setting his tool box down and rummaging for something in it, “but we’ll be tearing this whole wall apart and taping it off so you’ll have to leave through another way.” Althea stepped out of the way for him to get at the door. Some more men arrived in another truck. Althea automatically widened her stance and held her head higher as they approached with a ladder and various construction tools. She leveled each in turn with steely eye contact then turned to wait as the first man removed the door’s keypad and got it open.

“Ok thanks for the help getting in, have a nice day,” Althea cheered and hurried inside wondering why they were getting started so late in the day.

The men went about their job while sneaking glances of her before she disappeared through the door. She was used to the male gaze. Althea didn’t consider herself pretty, but she was and had features that people always called “exotic” (she’d grown to really dislike that word) when she was younger and there were fewer people around who looked like her. Men, particularly, would stare- especially after she matured. Sometimes things got uncomfortable or downright ugly. So she was glad to get inside.

Inside she walked down a long hall, through a storage room and into the back of the laboratory where technicians were running tests on various samples of blood, taking things in and out of a refrigerator and checking logs on countertops. A timer for something beeped urgently. A shorter woman in a white coat and goggles came over and peered up at her. It was Phyllis. She was tiny, helpful, chipper and down to business. A real buzz bomb.

“Oh good, you’re here! I hope you have the reagent we ordered last week.”

She took the bin and unpacked it checking a printout of a manifest she pulled out of her pocket and unfolded. Althea looked around as Phyllis finished checking everything off. A door was propped open to what looked like the blood draw area across the room. She could see a tech wrapping an elastic band around the arm of a man who was sitting at her station. Althea thought to look away to not be nosey but she caught the eye of a man standing behind him. He looked familiar, maybe he worked here she thought. He seemed to startle but also seemed to recognize her then he looked away and down just as another tech paused at the door and blocked her view.

“Alright everything accounted for, thank you so much, how are you adjusting to the new job? Are you finding everything easier now?”

Althea handed the mobile device she carried for work over for her to sign for the delivery, “Yes, I think I know where everything is now and have made better time this week. Oh hey- they are fixing the door back there and said to go out another way, where should I go?”

“Oh there’s another way back there over past MRI.” She waved her hand vaguely towards the lobby, and tipped her chin up in that direction with her lips pursed out. “Just follow the signs but keep going.” Another alarm beeped, “gotta go -have a good afternoon.” She patted Althea’s arm and turned to another tech and started firing off instructions on what to do with the supplies.

“Bye, Phyllis,” Althea took her empty bin and opened the lab’s door to the hallway. Her device buzzed and she pulled it out. She tapped on the message and walked down the hall and through a door to the laboratory waiting room. There was a notification from dispatch, a stat pickup across town. Oh boy- just as rush hour was about to start.

As she approached the waiting room’s door to the main part of the hospital she noticed a person in a wheel chair in her line of sight as she was looking down at the map on her device. She reached out and pressed the door’s large silver accessibility button on the wall and stepped aside.

She looked over at the person and smiled. It was the guy getting his blood drawn. He’s just a kid, really, she thought. He had an arm in a sling and blanket over his legs -and the foot rests were folded up. Oh, Althea thought, and made her eyes move up again. That’s when she noticed two hands on the wheelchair’s handles- one was prosthetic. She looked up further and saw the man from the blood draw room, staring like a deer in headlights.

Up close she could see he had sharp features. A strong nose, almost hooded eyes. His cheekbones were prominent on his angular face. He was on the pale side of swarthy, like he should be darker skinned but lost his pigmentation- but didn’t seem unhealthy. He had warm, light hazel eyes and well defined lips and a hint of a five o’clock shadow along a square jaw. Oh he’s so interesting, handsome, Althea thought. She looked down at his volunteer badge. Echo, that’s an interesting name. And he was in shorts? In this weather? Oh- those are both prosthetic legs. Her eyes snapped back up to his face, self-conscious of staring.

The lower man looked up at him, smirked, and gave him big eyes and tipped his head toward her. Althea looked at the doorway and the spell broke. The volunteer, Echo, cleared his throat and stammered, “Thank you, ma’am, af- after you.”

Wow, nice deep voice, Althea thought to herself. “Thank you, gentlemen,” she said and walked out, pressing the button again to keep the door open for them. She strode into the lobby realizing she wasn’t sure which way to go. She turned around to see the two men just outside the lab. It looked like they were stopping a disagreement short as she approached them and asked Echo where MRI is.

He opened his mouth to talk but only said, “Um..”

The younger one in the chair pointed and said, “Just down there to the left.”

“Thank you again and nice day to both of you.”

“Wait- what’s your name?” asked the younger man.

“Althea,” she said, turning back to face them.

“Oh that’s a beautiful name, don’t you think so, Echo?” He paused looking at Echo who just nodded slightly and swallowed. “I’m Trace and this is Echo. We were just going to get a coffee if you’d like to join us.” He said hopefully. Echo looked like he wanted to hide and Althea noticed his cheeks flush.

“Well, thank you, but I have to run a stat pickup right now.”

“Oh you’re a courier,” he said looking up at Echo, "Will you be here later?”

“Stop bugging her, she’s working.” Echo finally broke his silence- in his nice deep voice.

“Not today.” Althea said with a tiny smile at the two of them.

Trace made a show of disappointment.

“But I might be later in the week -just not sure exactly when with my schedule.”

“Ok well maybe we’ll see you around then, huh, Echo?”

“Oh yeah maybe yeah,” Echo blubbered.

Althea smirked at Trace and slid her eyes up to Echo who was standing rather stiffly at this point. Her work device buzzed “Alright gotta go guys, see you around, maybe.”

“Bye,” Trace cheered.

Echo mumbled a “ma’am” with a nod.

She smiled at him and he brightened up, the flush on his cheeks reaching his neck.

“Bye, Echo.” Althea said, holding his almost golden eyes in her gaze before turning away.

His body tension slackened and his mouth hung open a bit as she walked away briskly looking at her device. Turning the corner she glanced back and Trace was facing Echo gesturing and shaking his head. Echo was pacing around a bit, running his hand down his face and tugging at his collar. His legs looked really high tech and he wore actual shoes. He moved around so naturally, if he had long pants on she’d never have guessed he was an amputee.

That was interesting, she mused, Trace sure was outgoing and friendly. Does Echo not like me or was he embarrassed, he sure was acting funny? Maybe he was nervous around me. Guys can be like that. Oh maybe he does fancy me. The thought gave her a little thrill that she tried pushing down to focus on work.

She found the hall for the MRI, passed its door and pushed through the heavy exit door to the back parking area. The door she came through was covered in plastic and a scaffold was in front of it. The guys working on it milled around. She hopped in the car setting the bin on the passenger seat and started last week's recorded class lectures on the car’s audio system. Just this last job and then she could run to the store before doing some real cramming for tomorrow’s exam.

*******

“What in the hell was that?” Trace jibed, “ ‘Ma’am’,” he added in a mock lowered voice mimicking Echo’s deeper timber.

“What are you doing, Trace?”

“I’m doing what you should be doing, talking to that girl you’ve been mooning over the past two weeks.” Althea was out of earshot so he had raised his voice some. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been here a lot more lately, always with your head on a swivel. Lookin’ for her the whole time. Shoot, you almost pushed me into a wall last time she was here. Then, when you have a chance to talk to her, you blow it!” He threw his arms out to convey his point and winced, having forgotten his injury.

Echo sighs, “What’s the point? I’m not in her league.” He said as he went around to the back of Trace’s chair, gripped the handles and steered Trace into the coffee shop across the lobby.

“Stow the self deprecation, man. I saw how she looked at you,” Trace said and Echo’s eyebrows raised up a bit. But then he lowered them into a frown.

“She could have anyone, she could be with an athlete or some rich guy’s trophy girlfriend. Why would she waste her time with me?”

“Imma tell you right now if she wanted that she’d be doing that and wouldn’t be a courier going to university.”

Echo side-eyed Trace at the counter. “We’ll take two regular coffees please,” he said to the barista.

The barista pushed two piping hot, lidded paper cups over to him and took the cash he handed her. “Need a receipt?”

“No thank you, keep the change.” He said sliding the cups down the counter a bit.

He steered Trace over to a table and returned for the coffees. He sat down across from Trace, handing him one and asked, “How do you know she’s going to university?”

“Her keychain, it was hanging out of her pants pocket, eye level for me.” He waggled his eyebrows and Echo rolled his eyes. “It has the university mascot on it and she’s wearing one of those rubber bracelets with university logos. I'm telling ya- she’s going to school, not looking for a sugar daddy.”

“She probably has a boyfriend.”

“You can’t know if you don’t ask, Echo.”

They sipped their coffees. Echo stared across the cafe with a scowl. Trace had let up on him, letting him work it out in his head.

Echo drained his cup, “You’re right, I shouldn’t assume anything about her. Come on, let’s get you to your PT session, you’re making good progress.”

Trace shakes his head, “Yeah let’s go.”

********

“Bye Echo.” “See you later, maybe.”

Althea’s voice replayed in his mind along with the image of her deep brown eyes studying his face, her lips barely parted. He ran through all the glimpses he’d had of her over the past couple weeks. He was sitting in the living room at home. The tv was on but he was staring out the window watching his memories of her lips curving in an easy smile for everyone, her politeness to the veterans, and her sweetness to him and Trace, glimpses of her curves under her jacket, that perfect a-

“Is everything alright, Echo?” Tech had just come downstairs and noticed Echo sighing and staring out the window.

“What, oh, yeah, fine.” Echo said, grateful he had a throw pillow in his lap. His train of thought had started having an effect on him. He had it bad he suddenly realized.

There were voices at the front door and it swung open. Wrecker and Hunter clomped inside in their work boots and started peeling off their jackets. Crosshair came down the stairs freshly showered, in his work uniform.

“Ah hey Echo is here,” Wrecker boomed, “Where ya been?”

“Volunteering at the VA, like usual.” Echo said a little defensively, taking in the abrupt change in the room with everyone suddenly in it.

“This is the first afternoon you’ve been home in over a week,” Tech pointed out, picking up the tv remote and turning down a loud commercial.

“Yeah Crosshair was just asking yesterday if you still lived here” Hunter laughed.

“So, what’s her name?” Crosshair sneered with a knowing smirk.

Echo looked at him quick, scowling.

“Aha, it is a girl!” Wrecker pointed his finger at Echo.

“Hey I never said that.” Echo grumbled.

Hunter raised his eyebrows, he and Tech side-eyed each other. Cross smirked and went to the kitchen to make coffee.

“So, when do we get to meet her?” Hunter teased as he sat down on the couch near the chair Echo was in.

Echo sighed, “Never. She’s way out of my league, probably forgot I exist already.”

“Have you tried speaking to her?” Tech asked.

“Well, Trace was playing wingman for me today but I blew it big time,” Echo said despondently looking back out the window and rubbing his arm at the prosthetic absentmindedly. He huffed a louder sigh.

“So who is she? Does she work at the hospital?” Hunter asked.

“Not really she’s a courier, drives between the hospitals and labs and places. Her name’s Althea. Trace said she’s a student at the university.”

“I see why you’ve been there so much, you don’t know when to expect her, do you?” Tech said.

“Yeah,” Echo huffed through his nose, “I guess I’ve been kind of a creep.”

“Does she like you back?” Asked Wrecker.

“I don’t- I don’t know, she’s friendly enough but she seems to be that way with everybody,” Echo said a little bitterly.

Suddenly, Omega burst in the front door yelling, “Bye, thank you!” over her shoulder. She sees them all facing a pensive Echo. “Hi guys, what's going on?” she asked, picking up on the energy in the room.

“Hey Omega, how was your study session at the library? You got homework?” Hunter tried distracting her.

“Yeah my table group did a bunch of research today, Kate’s mom drove us all home, and we have a big history project due next week. I need to go to the store for supplies.” She was talking a mile a minute as usual.

“I can take you,” said Tech. “I was just going to go buy a few things myself. What exactly do you need to get?”

“Craft things. Like for a building model.”

“Perfect, the craft store is right next door to the electronic parts store.”

“Alright I’ll be right back.”Omega dashed for the stairs with her backpack, almost crashing into Wrecker who’d come out of the kitchen with a handful of something he was snacking on.

“Slow down on the steps!” Hunter calls up to her.

“So what are you gonna do, Echo?” Wrecker said.

“I don’t know. If I see her again and she can spare a moment I’ll try to talk to her. I just don’t know when that will be. And it’s making me so distracted while volunteering. Trace really gave me a ration about it today.” He shook his head rubbing at his temple.

“Well you better do something, I don’t think I can put up with you like this,” Crosshair snarked, sipping on his coffee. Echo glared at him.

“I know, you can write her a note and put your phone number on it and give it to her when you see her.” Wrecker said, “you got this! Just don’t over-think it, brother.”

“Hey, you’ve faced so much fearlessly, are you really afraid of a no from this girl?” Hunter asked.

“It’s just been so long I didn’t know what to say. And besides, what do I have to offer her?”

Tech cleared his throat, “You are capable, strong, confident-“

“Uuuusuallly-“ Hunter interrupted. Echo side eyed him.

“Outgoing, resilient, intelligent and very creative in the kitchen.” Tech continued. “You are caring and dedicated and I’ve seen how women look at you- they find you alluring.”

“Are you trying to encourage him or stroke his ego?” Crosshair sniped.

“We’re trying to get him to get this girl to stroke his ego,” Wrecker laughed at his own awful joke. There was a round of groans, head shaking and snickering.

“That’s another thing- would she want to be with me?” He gestured toward his arm and leg prosthetics.

“Who knows? She could be a real freak,” Crosshair said into his coffee. Tech shot him a glare and Wrecker smacked him upside the head as he walked by heading back to the kitchen. Echo didn’t seem to hear that.

“Give her the benefit of the doubt,” Tech said, “You’ve got all the necessary equipment,” he added matter of factly.

“I’m leaving,” Crosshair sneered, acting disgusted. He took the mug back to the kitchen.

“I get you have concerns,” Hunter leveled Echo with a steady gaze, “but you have to figure this kind of thing out with the other person. You deserve love and happiness and you absolutely can give that to her.” He stood, patted Echo’s shoulder and followed Wrecker into the kitchen. Crosshair left for work and Omega bounced down the stairs babbling at Tech as they left for their shopping trip. Echo turned back to the window, considering his brothers’ advice and decided it was a good idea to have a note like Wrecker suggested on hand in case he saw her and she was in a rush again.

******

“I’ll be in here, if Hunter didn’t give you enough cash for your supplies come get me.” Tech and Omega were on the sidewalk in front of a row of shops.

“Ok, see you in a little bit, Tech,” Omega said as she bounced into the craft store. She wandered around until she found the aisle full of diorama supplies. She pulled the project outline and list of things she needed to build out of her pocket and started counting up the dollar amounts she needed for everything. It was adding up fast and she realized she didn’t have nearly enough money for everything. She put the few things she’d picked up back on their shelves and, looking at her project outline from her teacher, left the aisle and turned the corner to leave the store.

-And bumped into a woman carrying entirely too many skeins of yarn. All the yarn went down around them bouncing and rolling every which way in the aisle.

Omega looked around at it all and then up at the woman. “Oh I’m so sorry! Let me help you.” Omega said in earnest.

Althea laughed, “No worries kid, I wasn’t paying attention and really should have a cart for all this. I didn’t know it would all be on clearance. I couldn’t pass up all these great colors.”

“Do you knit?” Asked Omega as she reached for some pink yarn.

I only know crochet. But maybe I’ll try learning knitting.” She gathered up several skeins and picked up Omega’s project outline. “I remember making one of these in school. Are you here to get supplies for it?”

“Yeah but it’s all so expensive, I didn’t bring enough money.”

“Well the diorama stuff really is spendy, but you can DIY a lot of it for practically nothing. Do you have paints and glue?”

“Yes, I got a paint set for Christmas. And I have school glue”

“Well you just need some cardboard, newspaper and maybe some little sticks from outside to make trees.”

They walked up to the registers and plopped all the yarn down on the counter. Omega looked at the clearance stickers, “Wow you are saving a lot of money on these!”

“Oh yeah, they’re so expensive when full priced. It usually costs more to make a sweater than to buy one.”

The cashier rang her up and stuffed all the yarn into some bags. Althea made her way outside with Omega holding the door for her. “Thank you, you are so helpful!” Althea said as they walked towards her car parked backwards in a spot out in front of the store.

“You're welcome and my name’s Omega.”

“I love your name. I’m Althea, it’s really nice to meet you.”

Omega beamed. “I don't think I’ve met anyone named Aleetha before.”

Althea smiled, “Al-thea, but you can call me Allie if that’s easier. “It’s pretty old fashioned. I’m named after my mother’s grandmothers, Althea and Rose.” She opened up the back of her car and set all the bags of yarn inside then shut it. And turned back to Omega who looked a little sad for the first time since she’d met her.

“So you can get packaging materials in there that they just throw away,” Althea pointed at the electronics store. “They should have pieces of foam, too. Just go online and watch videos of diy diorama buildings and you’ll see so many demonstrations. Here, let me just show you where they keep it all.”

“Oh good, you’ll get to meet my brother, he’s a computer guy and is in there right now looking for parts.” Omega had cheered right back up. Althea opened the shop’s door and let Omega inside.

“Back for more trash or are you going to actually buy something today, Allie?” said a pimply, skinny guy older than Omega but younger than Althea. He was sitting on a stool behind the counter in front, slouched over a catalog.

“This is my charming cousin, Brad. Brad I have a crafting protégé here who needs supplies for a history project. You got boxes and foam in the back?”

“Yeah you know where to look.” He leaned back, flipping through the catalog which they could now see was for car parts.

They went to the back and found some boxes, foam panels, and scraps of clear plastic. “These are good for windows, you can color them with sharpies to make stained glass.”

“Oh that’s a great idea!” Omega’s eyes lit up every time Althea told her another technique or hack with different materials.

They heard a throat being cleared behind them and turned in unison. Tech was standing a few steps away with handfuls of cables and components, looking between the two girls with a curious expression.

“Hi Tech!” Omega turned to Althea, “This is my brother Tech. This is Althea,” she said carefully, “but you can call her Allie. She’s helping me with my project. She is showing me how to do it for free!”

Big age difference Althea noted, he’s probably close to her age. Maybe Omega’s the baby of the family. Ohhhh that makes her name make sense, hmmm. And why did he look familiar? He was good looking in a way she couldn’t put a finger on.

“Nice to meet you, your sister is so sweet, very bright.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you too.” Tech replied in his clipped manner. There was an awkward pause as Tech wondered if she is the same Althea as at Echo’s work; it's not a common name. He made a mental note to look up the company name on the jacket she was wearing.

“Well I better be going. I need to get back to studying.”

“What are you studying?” Omega asked.

“Getting my BS in biology- I want to go into medicine.

Remember what I said about scrounging and don’t forget the corrugated cardboard for the roof.”

“Can we meet again? I want to show you when I finish,” Omega pleaded.

“Well I don’t know….” She said giving Tech an apologetic look to convey that she’d understand if he wouldn’t be keen on a strange adult befriending his kid sister.

Without batting an eye he asked, “What are you doing for Super Bowl?”

“Oh I'm not the biggest football fan, didn’t have anything planned-“

Omega gasped, “You can come over for our Super Bowl party! We’re going to have lots of food! And all my brothers will be there and some friends and we can play games- pleeeeese can you come?”

“Oh ok that’s this Sunday right?” Althea chuckled.

Omega was carefully writing on a scrap of cardboard and handed it to Althea. “Here’s our address. It’s not too far from here, a little past the library.”

“Well alright I guess I could swing by for a little bit and see your project.”

“Ok great!”

“What can I bring?” Althea looked at Tech.

“Well we are not big alcohol drinkers so if you want anything like that- but really you don’t need to bring anything,” Tech said.

“Ok, I’ll come up with something.” Althea said playfully, “see you both Sunday. Good luck with the project, Omega.”

“Bye, Allie! Thank you for all your help, I can’t wait to show you Sunday,” Omega said.

“Good evening, Allie,”said Tech.

She waved as she left, shooting a “see ya around, Brad” at her cousin. She hurried to her car and turned on the heater as she drove out of the parking lot, it was getting really chilly. She went over the encounter in her mind. Well, this evening went differently than I thought it would. And now I’ve got some serious peopling to do on Sunday. I suppose that’s going to be safe, after all Omega will be there and they seem like a nice family. And it will be nice to do something besides school and work and rotting on the couch with yarn.

*****

Tech clicked the search button on the screen. The first result was a sponsored ad for medical courier drivers.

“…first in medical delivery services and logistics…”

Bingo. His hunch was right. He felt very pleased with himself and his observations and sleuthing. But then started thinking better of it- is this too manipulative? Is Echo going to be upset with him? Will this be too much? He sat there with his doubts.

No. No, she is genuinely nice and a new friend of Omega’s regardless of the Echo connection. No, this will work out nicely. Should he tell Echo now? But what if she doesn’t show up? He got up and headed down stairs. Hunter would know what to do.

#the bad batch #the bad batch au #modern au #the bad batch echo #ferrule writes #echo x oc #tbb echo #echo my beloved

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