I met him late one night after closing at work...
2 years ago.
"You need a ride home?"
"No, I kinda want to walk tonight. It's not to cold out yet for that." I smile at Jason.
"Alright then, see ya tomorrow." He drives off and I begin to walk home passing the empty buildings and dark alleys. People say it's dangerous to walk alone here, but anything is dangerous if you're stupid enough.
I'm almost home and absorbed in my own thoughts when I think I hear something and pause... Nothing, just overworked and imagining things. An idle thought hits me that it's gotten colder and I adjust my coat hoping it will somehow help. It doesn't.
I suddenly see a man running down the alley a few yards away. Odd, but probably best not to get too curious and I continue walking. At least until I'm knocked down by what felt like an NFL player. When I look up there's a shadowy figure running towards the alley ahead.
Well shit, it looks like I may be dumber than I thought tonight... I cross the street and have my hand on my pocket knife just in case. When I finally reach the area in question I look down the alley instead of just running by.
I see the man from earlier fighting with the shadow figure. The fight looks fair enough if you were to judge by size. But somehow something tells me that something just isn't right. I'm walking over to try and break it up when I see the figure grab the man and throw him into the wall. I break out into a run and trip over something once I reach the alleyway.
I pick myself up and grab the object. An antique gun? I barely begin to process the gun when another crash brings me back to the situation. He's on the ground now and the figure is on top of him and beating him mercilessly.
"HEY! STOP IT!" I yell before thinking.
He looked up at me with a dazed expression for a moment before the figure noticed me. He looked horrified and I thought I heard him say, "Run..." before the shadow figure was heading towards me.
"Stay back!" I step backwards with the gun out and the figure advances faster. I realize I'm cornered now. Shit. The figure is close enough now that I can see that this is something not human when I see it's glowing eyes. Something that doesn't know fear and is something to be feared.
I close my eyes and hear a gunshot before everything is deathly still and quiet. When I have the courage to look I see the thing laying just in front of me and the smoking gun in my hand. A moan breaks through my moment of panic. The man is trying to get up. I rush over and catch him just before he falls.
"Hey... take it easy. Let me call an ambulance." I reach for my phone but his hand grabs mine.
"No ambulance... Have to keep moving..." He tries again to get up and I hold him back this time.
"You're going to a hospital. I just watched that guy—thing—beat the crap out of you."
"Suangi..."
"What?"
"It's called a Suangi..." He says weakly.
"I have no idea wha—hey stay with me!" I watch as his head begins to drop and his eyes close. "Hey!"
"Gotta get out of here... hide..."
"My apartment is close. Can you manage to walk if I help you?"
He nods weakly and I hoist him up and we slowly make our way to my place. I guide him to the bed and set him down.
"I'll be right back." I go to grab the first aid kit and turn on the light. By the time I get back he's passed out completely. I do what I can, but there's not much I can do with my limited supplies and expertise. I curse myself for not knowing how to help him outside of a hospital and pick up my phone to call my friend who's pre-med.
"Ugh... God... it's one in the morning-"
"I need your help Ashley." Words begin pouring out of my mouth. "I've got this guy at my place and he's really beat up... I don't know how to help him and he refuses to go to the hospital."
"You know I can't-"
"Please Ashley. Please help him." I'm begging now.
"Alright. I'll be right over."
I breathe a sigh of relief as I look back into the bedroom. I start taking off his shoes and his jacket before Ashley arrives and I realize that I don't even know his name. I pull out his wallet and look inside. I find a credit card for Art Vandelay, an ID for John Locke, some sort of government ID for Eric Bloom, and $256 dollars in cash... I put it back more confused than I was before.
"Who are you...?" I look at him. I imagine he would be quite handsome underneath the bruises and blood. He's far more muscular than what I first noticed and I reach my hand out to touch his face...
True to form Ashley knocks on my door before I can touch him.
"Thanks for coming over."
"Yeah yeah... where is this guy?"
"He's in my room."
Ashley heads down the hall and turns towards me, "Is there something I should know? You and I have been friends since high school and I've never seen you like this."
"You can't mention this to anyone..."
"Do I ever?" Ashley tries to lift my spirits but it's not working tonight.
"I killed the thing that was attacking him..."
"Like a dog or something...?"
"Not quite..." I look down. If I say anymore she'll think I'm crazy.
"Oh..."
"And I think he might be a criminal..."
We stare at each other for a moment before she goes in to look at him. I want to give him privacy so I wait on the couch until Ashley comes out.
"He's lucky. No concussion, I gave him some stitches, and I bandaged everything as best as I could."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"What are you going to do when he wakes up?"
"I don't know." I answered truthfully. "Take care of yourself tonight Ashley."
I closed the door and sat on the couch. Sleep took over and suddenly it was morning. I smelled coffee and walked over to find a pot brewing and a post-it note attached to $50 on the counter.
"Thanks. Forget you saw me. Forget last night."
-W.
And he was gone. I felt really odd and unsettled with a million unanswered questions. I debated calling in sick to work, but I finally worked out that it would only seem suspicious if the thing I killed last night was actually a person. I grabbed my jacket and it felt oddly heavy and I realized that I still had the gun. I shoved it in the nearest drawer, grabbed my coffee and left.
I had an hour left on my shift when I finally took my break. I went out to sit in my usual corner, but I stopped in my tracks when I noticed one customer in particular. It was him sitting there and reading the newspaper. I ran back to the office and told my manager I'd need the rest of the day off. He wasn't going to get away from me again. Not when I had so many questions.
I walked over and sat across from him. "So you left in kind of a hurry this morning."
He gave me a puzzled look for a moment. "You must have me confused with someone else."
"Unless there's someone else walking around town with stitches, three names, and also slept in my bed last night, I'm very sure I am not mistaken." I leaned over the table as I spoke to him.
"What do you want?" He looked slightly annoyed.
"I want answers. Who are you? What the hell happened last night?"
"The only answer you need is that you don't want to know. Now if you'll excuse me..." He got up and started to leave.
"I have something that belongs to you." I stood and looked him in the eye. "Something very old..."
"I'm going to have to ask you to return it to me right now." He held his hand out.
"It's not with me. I left it at home."
"Are you off?"
"Yes. Just let me grab my coat." I was relieved to see him waiting for me when I returned. I started to walk back but he didn't follow. Instead he stopped at a car.
"Get in. It's not safe to walk that way quite yet."
I didn't question his judgment as I climbed into the passenger side. "What should I call you? I really don't know your name unless one of those ID's was real."
"Winchester. And that's probably more than you should know. Call me whatever you like." He didn't look at me as he said this.
"What's a Suangi?"
"It's a type of witch. Really rare in the US and I think this one may have had a friend but I haven't seen heads or tails of him so I think you're safe."
"A witch? You're serious?"
"Hey, you saw it for yourself." He was right. I couldn't deny there was something not right about the thing last night.
We parked and went inside. "Would you like a drink?" I noticed him grimace as he sat on my couch. "Or maybe some pain killers?"
"Actually, that's not a bad idea." He waited for me to bring him some pills and a drink. "Thanks you know, for last night. If you hadn't have helped me, I might be dead." I could tell that this was difficult for him.
"Well, that thing did shove me down pretty hard before it found you... It could be argued that I had a score to settle."
"You don't strike me as that type of person." He looked at me seemingly for the first time.
"I'm not." I looked away. "People don't normally notice me and I keep to myself."
"But you have friends?"
"Yeah, I have a few close friends. Which was lucky for you last night."
"Oh?"
"My friend Ashley came over and patched you up, she won't say anything though." I added.
"People should notice you though."
"Excuse me?"
"You're very kind, and brave." He leaned forward. "You don't think much of yourself do you?"
I could only shrug and try not to blush. He was probably the most handsome man I'd ever met and he was here on my couch complimenting me.
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?"
"I was actually going to watch the place tonight to make sure nothing happened to you."
"You're welcome to stay the night then. I don't imagine your car is very comfortable."
"Thanks. Like I said, you're very kind." He looked at me for a long moment and I didn't know what to do I was so lost in his eyes.
"I should give you your gun back." I stood up to retrieve the item.
"You're lucky you found this. It probably saved both of our lives."
"I know."
We ate dinner and he asked me about my life. I asked him about his life and as I expected he told me very little. I didn't mind though, it was just comforting to have company for once. I decided to head to bed early and he gladly took the couch so that I could have a mattress. I didn't sleep well though. For some reason all I could see were those horrible eyes and the man I had saved lying dead in the alley.
"Hey... Wake up... You're dreaming..." I opened my eyes to a dark room but I could make out his shape. "Are you alright?"
I nodded and I felt his hand brush my cheek. I must have been crying. "Sorry."
"For what? You've done nothing wrong." He held me a moment and I stiffened. "Perhaps I should go back to the couch now..." He misinterpreted my surprised reaction.
"No... it's just that... I've never met anyone like you." I summoned all of my courage. "And I'm very attracted to you..."
"I see..." He paused for a long moment. "I could say the same about you." And then he gently kissed me.
His hands were rough, but his lips were soft. We slowly moved together while I was trying to be mindful of his injuries. I thought I caught him wincing a few times, but every time I paused he only pursued me.
AN: First real romance. I'm not going to name which brother it is, nor give the main character a name or real description. The best things in life are seen with the heart and imagination.