Title: Adjective for Handsome Protagonists
Category: Smallville/Supernatural (Crossover)
Rating: K+
Genre: Humor/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Dean
Prompt: #7 - Kindness
Word Count: 1,324
Summary: There were a million and one ways to describe Dean Winchester, some less forgiving than others, but Chloe knew what fit him better than the rest.

Adjectives for Handsome Protagonists
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Of all the adjectives used to describe Dean Winchester, Chloe was sure kind was not one often used. Yes, he saved lives, and yes, he kicked ass, but usually it wasn't a reassuring gesture that left his mouth to the victims so much as a sarcastic quip at their expense. But, when it came down to it, she had no reservations in saying that he was full of kindness. He didn't show it in the most obvious ways and he'd probably laugh if she ever told him so, saying instead that he was something much cooler and kindness was reserved for lame people, like Sam. But she knew the truth and while he might not want to hear it, he was a good and honest man.

So he had some trouble with expressing his feelings; sometimes it was hard to say those kinds of things when you grew up the way he did. She understood that. And he didn't coddle the victims, especially those that put themselves in the situations he was left bailing them out of. In reality, no police officer would pat a criminal on the back and tell them it wasn't their fault when it clearly was. And while he wasn't as sensitive as he could be, he often had a right to be angry. Because of these people bringing up creatures they shouldn't or doing things that caused spirits to rise, Dean had to keep hunting things. He was shit out of luck when it came to a normal life because of these people... But still, there were times when a little less scrutiny could've been used, which is where Sam came in handy.

In her opinion, however, while Dean came off as the bad ass, never piss off, keep your distance and shield your heart type, he wasn't quite as hard as he was cracked up to be. Point in fact, he'd do anything for his brother; if it meant his life or happiness, anyway. And while he didn't always like the people he saved, he didn't let his personal biases get in the way. He kept their stupid asses from getting bitten off from what they conjured up or pissed off and he risked his own life to do it. And if he could save somebody from knowing what he knew, from experiencing what he had, he would. If he could delude someone into thinking what went bump in the night was nothing to worry about, then he would. Because while he came off jaded and annoyed with the world, he was still out to save it from as much shit as he could.

They were in the Impala now, on the way to yet another job, and she was probably driving him crazy with all of her click-clacking on her laptop while he drove up front, tapping his fingers to the Led Zeppelin song playing in his head. He was more than a little pissed that she had asked for silence while she was writing; if only because she got too caught up in the music to keep up with her inner-dialogue. He still shut the radio off though, irritated or not.

There's was a relationship on the brink of... something. She was never really sure what. There was charged bantering that led to Sam rolling his eyes and muttering about how they should just get a separate room already. There was jealousy from time to time, town to town, and a tension between them that often made her think it was leading to good, hard, wonderful things. She couldn't say she wasn't attracted to him; strip away all the personality traits and stare at nothing but the physical end and the man was downright sinful. But add in that snark, the quick wit and the cocky attitude and he was just that bit of bad mixed with good that made her that much more interested. They'd kept it in the grey area though; this was work and life and mixing it with romance usually messed it all up. But there was something there, always brimming beneath the surface, waiting to break free. And in all honesty, she couldn't wait for that moment and she was fairly certain that he wanted it too. That maybe now, after everything, he might just be ready for her.

"What're you writing, Blondie?" he finally asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Sam was fast asleep in the passenger seat, his face pressed against the glass of the window, drool escaping down his chin which Dean had already used his cell phone to take a picture of to bug him with later.

She looked up at him with a teasing smile. "Handsome protagonist with a penchant for smirks and sarcasm."

He lifted a brow. "Thought you were keeping logs on all our jobs not writing a Harlequin back there..." He frowned.

She grinned. "I am... Just so happens there's a little romance in the hunting world, too."

He looked back at her skeptically, shifting in his seat irritably. "If you're crushin' on my brother, I'm letting you out at the next town," he muttered.

She put her laptop to the side and slid to the end of her seat, resting her chin on his shoulder and catching his eyes through the mirror. "And if it's not your brother I have feelings for?"

His lips quirked with a real smile but he tried to cover it with a smirk.

"You can be real with me, Dean," she murmured, turning her eyes away from his to the side of his face. "Like it or not, I already know you, inside and out... You're not as rough and tumble as you try to be..."

He licked his lips, nodding. "Think I should try harder then?"

She laughed lightly. "You wouldn't be you if you went all soft and cuddly..." She smiled. "But you don't have to play it up for me." She reached up, traced his face from his temple to the rough texture of his jaw. "I like the dark parts of you just as much as I like the good..."

His expression sobered some. "I'll never be soft or cuddly," he told her gruffly.

She grinned. "We'll see about that, Winchester." She kissed his neck, felt him shiver just slightly beneath the caress of her lips. She sat back in her seat and drew her laptop into her lap.

It was quiet for a long moment, nothing but the hum of the Impala and the clicking of her fingers on the laptop to fill the silence.

"So this protagonist," he said, drawing her attention away from the screen once more. "He gets the girl in the end? Even if he's dark, messed up... twisted?"

She nodded. "He gets his own dark, messed up, twisted girlfriend..."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Any particular reason?"

"Quite a few," she said easily. "But in the end, she's pretty sure it's because despite how he tries to pretend he's not, he's one of the kindest men she's ever known."

His eyes widened, brows lifting high on his forehead. "Yeah?"

She stared at him. "The best part is that he doesn't even know it. It comes naturally. He was born to save people and he doesn't know how not to..." She shook her head. "So yeah, he has a kind heart, even if it's been chipped and battered and kicked around a lot." She lifted a shoulder. "Maybe his new girlfriend can help him with that."

He nodded, turning his gaze back to the road and settling into his seat more comfortably, his shoulders slumping into a relaxed position. "Yeah... I think she can."

So maybe it wasn't the first adjective to come to most people's minds but Chloe Sullivan knew him and while there were a million others that suited him, some less forgiving, she knew him for his kindness and to her, it fit him perfectly.