(Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to this epically long adventure! :D Before you start this fic, I just want to remind you that this is the 6th part of a Destiel/Sabriel series. It's not necessary for you to read the first five parts, (Purpose, Seeds, Home, Normal, and History,) but some themes in this fic may be difficult to understand if you haven't read them, such as the addition of certain characters and events that have caused changes to this universe's canon. If you would like to start reading here though, feel free! :) Either way, please enjoy!)
Jude stepped back and stared down at the blue and red costume laying across his bed with a long breath. Once again, his parents had bought him an outfit for Halloween. It was the same costume he wore every year, just in a bigger size. But as he blinked down at the stretchy fabric draped over his comforter, Jude didn't feel very confident about putting it on this time. Superman? Again? Ollie's school friends were going to make fun of him this year for sure...
Jude had been trick-or-treating as Superman since he was three years old. The two years before that, he was a happy little bumble bee – Papa's idea, of course. But now, at age fifteen, Jude thought that wearing a Superman costume didn't seem very cool anymore. It was a kid thing, wasn't it? Only little boys wore superhero outfits. Teenagers dressed up like zombies and monsters and scared their friends. At least, the normal ones did. Dad and Pop would understand if he didn't wear the shiny red cape this year, right?
With his heart full of confusing emotions, Jude swiped the blue and red costume from his bed and wandered across the hall to his cousin Jessie's room. Now-a-days, her purple walls were covered in girly posters; the kind with boy bands and famous actors. But some of her colorful artwork was hanging on the walls too; paintings of rainbows, moose, and angels. The air in her room wreaked of lady perfume. It made Jude scrunch his nose when he walked in to find Jessie standing in front of her full-length mirror on the wall. She was admiring the Halloween costume she had on – a blue dress with a white apron that made her look like the girl from Alice in Wonderland – but paused to glance up at him with a smile.
"Hiya, Jude," she grinned, swishing around the bottom of her dress, "What do you think?"
"It's nice," Jude mumbled.
It was the truth. Jessie always looked nice in whatever she was wearing, even if it was sweatpants and a hoodie. She had such a pretty face, long blonde hair, and a lady-like figure. The only thing that Jude didn't like about Jessie's appearance was that she was now two inches taller than him. Uncle Sam said it was because of a growth spurt she had when she turned thirteen, but uncle Gabe said it was because she got moose-legs from her dad. Either way, Jude had to look up at his cousin when he talked to her. It wasn't much of a difference, but still. Jude was the boy. He wasn't supposed to be the short one...
"I hope Ollie likes it too," Jessie mumbled, mostly to herself, before giving Jude a weird look and saying, "Why haven't you put your costume on yet? We're gonna be leaving soon."
Jude glanced down at the fabric in his hand and shrugged. Part of him did want to put it on. He wanted to feel the cape whoosh at his back when he walked around like he did every year. But another part of him was worried. Their family wasn't going trick-or-treating this year. They were going to a Halloween party at Ollie's house instead. What would everyone at the party think if they saw him with red underwear on the outside? As if she could read his mind, Jessie strolled over to pat his shoulder – which made him kind of envious of her height because she didn't have to reach very far.
"Superman is a very handsome hero, you know," she smiled, "and I'm sure there will be lots of girls at the party who might need saving."
That comment made Jude gulp and blush. Lots of girls? Oh boy, girls made him nervous. He liked looking at them, of course – especially on Halloween, when they were all dressed up – but talking to them was a different story. Plus, Ollie had three really pretty cousins who were supposed to be coming to the party. What if one of them told him he looked cute? Or worse, what if they told him he looked stupid?
"I... I don't know," Jude muttered, fidgeting with the stretchy blue pants, "I'm gonna go find Dad."
Dad would probably be able to help Jude make a decision. He was always the best with figuring out stuff. Jude waved at his lovely cousin before backing out of her sweet-smelling room to wander down the bunker hallway. He eventually came up to his uncles' room, where the door was open, and paused to glance inside.
Sam and Gabe were playfully arguing in hushed voices – like they always did. Only this time, they were wearing weird costumes. Uncle Gabe had on a cool purple suit and top hat with candy sticking out of his pockets, which made him look exactly like Willy Wonka. He was in the middle of fixing uncle Sam's long hair, which was having trouble staying in place because of the huge set of fake antlers on his head. Sam was wearing a furry brown vest too, and a touch of black paint on his nose that made him look like a real moose. On the floor, their dog Dickie was watching them. His fur was painted orange and there was a tuft of green fabric on his head, and he was dressed in an Oompa-Loompa costume. Which, surprisingly, he seemed to really like.
"It's not gonna work, Gabe. It's leaning too far to one side," Sam said, trying to shoo Gabe's hands away.
"Oh, stop being such a big baby-moose," Gabe argued, "I'll just use a little magic and -"
"No! No magic, please. I don't want real antlers. It's bad enough you've got me wearing the fake ones. I look like Rudolph for Chuck's sake. It's Halloween, not Christmas," Sammy grumbled.
"Would you relax?" Gabe chuckled, "You're the hottest stud in the forest, kiddo! Everybody's gonna love it!"
"We don't even match," Sam pointed out, gesturing between them.
"That's not true. We've always matched, Sammy-boy. The moose and the candyman, remember?" uncle Gabe hummed, craning up toward the taller guy's face.
Uncle Sammy actually smiled at Gabe's comment. Aww. Jude always liked when the adults looked at each other like that. It was so sweet. Like watching romantic couples on TV.
"Yeah. I guess," Sam murmured back.
Jude turned away when they started kissing, wanting to avoid seeing the gross tongue thing they always did. To give them privacy, the teenager eventually continued his trek down the hallway in search of his parents. Dad and Papa were, as usual, hiding out in their own bedroom. Like Sam and Gabe, Dad and Papa had left their door open and Jude could hear their voices as he walked up. He tip-toed inside to watch his parents with a smile.
Usually, Dad and Papa never dressed up for Halloween. They just wore their regular clothes when the family went trick-or-treating. But this year, since they were going to a party – and because Ms. Jane made it mandatory – Dad and Papa were both dressed up. They weren't exactly wearing full costumes, though. Dad had on a Batman t-shirt, black jeans and black boots, while Papa wore a blue Superman shirt, blue jeans, and blue tennis shoes. It wasn't very detailed, but it was enough to pass for a couples' costume and make them both look cute. And now, Dad was running his fingers through Papa's hair, trying his best to comb it to the side and make him really look like Clark Kent.
"I still don't understand how these outfits constitute as 'matching', Dean. They are not even the same color," Papa mumbled, glancing worriedly toward the mirror nearby.
"We match because of the superhero thing, babe. Don't worry. We're gonna blend right in. Besides, you look amazing in blue," Dad promised.
After making sure Papa's hair was nice and neat, Dad looked up and noticed Jude standing by the door. He smiled that warm grin when they met eyes, but then it sort of faded when he glanced down to see the costume in Jude's hand.
"Hey, little man," Dad said, even though Jude wasn't little anymore, "What's up? Did it not fit?"
Papa turned around and they both gave their teenage son confused faces. Jude glanced down at the clothes in his grasp and shrugged again, just like he did in Jessie's room.
"It... It probably fits, but..." Jude was unsure how to say it without sounding rude, "Dad, I'm too old for Superman, aren't I? I mean, I've been wearing the same Halloween costume for my whole life..."
By the look of utter disappointment on their faces, Jude might as well have told his parents that he was secretly running an underground drug cartel. The sight of his parent's woeful eyes made his stomach hurt, but at least he was telling the truth. Papa was the first one to speak. He stepped forward – looking exactly like Clark Kent with his wavy dark hair – and tilted his head.
"That's not true, son," he mumbled, "When you were merely an infant, we dressed you as a bumble bee and ushered you around in a stroller decorated with leaves and flowers. As I recall, you enjoyed it very much."
Jude could feel his own face turning red. Ugh, why did Papa always have to bring up embarrassing childhood memories? Thank goodness none of Ollie's cousins were there to hear that...
"I know," Jude admitted, "But I'm fifteen now. And I don't think many other fifteen-year-olds wear Superman costumes..."
Papa must have been confused – and a bit hurt – by what Jude said because he turned to look at Dad with large eyes. Dad sighed, but stepped close to rest a hand on Jude's shoulder. Jude actually liked feeling the weight and warmth of his Dad's fingers. The guy was always so gentle when they interacted with each other.
"Jude, you can be anything you want tonight," Dad calmly reminded with a nod, "If you don't want to wear a Superman costume, you don't have to... But don't feel like you shouldn't wear it just because of what other people think. That's called peer pressure and it's got no place in this bunker. You're free to be who you want to be. No matter how old you are. Okay?"
Jude glanced between his parents and could practically feel the love and acceptance radiating from their eyes. Deep down, even though he didn't really want to admit it, Jude did want to wear the costume. He was just afraid of being picked on by all the other guys that were going to be at the party... But Dad was right. So what, if people thought it was stupid? Why should Jude break the tradition that he loved just because of other people's opinions? While Jude pondered all of this, Papa came even closer to stand next to Dad and give the teenager a loving smile.
"I would also like to add, son, that if you were to go as Superman, we would match perfectly," Papa murmured in his deep voice, sounding secretly excited as he gestured to the giant red 'S' on his chest.
Jude couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Man. His parents were so persuasive some times...
"Alright," Jude finally gave in, lifting up from the doorway with a smile, "I'll go change."
"Thatta boy," Dad winked, patting Jude's shoulder, "We'll meet you in the garage in ten, okay?"
Jude nodded – and took one more glance at his parents, standing so close in matching superhero logos with big grins – before turning to jog toward the nearest bathroom. For some reason, his chest felt all fluttery. It was probably because he was super excited to go to the party and have fun like real teenagers did. Once he dashed into the bathroom and shut the door, Jude slipped out of his jeans and plaid to toss on the stretchy outfit. His parents got the right size just like they did every year, because it slipped right on and covered his body perfectly.
When he finished tugging the costume on and adjusted it into place, Jude paused to look at himself in the mirror. His face was the same it had always been; blue eyes like Papa's, spiky brown hair like Dad's. Plus, his pale face was completely dotted with freckles. But for the past few years, his jawline had been getting sharper. His Adam's apple had become more pronounced and he was slowly starting to get hair in weird places. His voice was even dropping low like his parents'. Sometimes, Jude felt like he was slowly morphing into a werewolf – but he knew better. It was only puberty, gradually turning him into an adult.
Now, as he stood at the bathroom sink and blinked at his own reflection, Jude felt comfortable. In a Superman costume, none the less. The teenager reached back to ruffle the red cape dangling behind him, smirking the exact same way his Dad did. It was weird, how much he loved wearing this outfit. Ever since he was a kid, Jude always wanted to be like Superman; to be fearless, powerful, and fly around saving people.
"You can fly, too," Jude whispered, reciting what his father told him a long time ago.
After quickly slipping on the boots, Jude jumped out of the bathroom and raced down the hall toward the garage, making his red cape wave in the air as he ran.
The Winchesters all piled into the Impala, looking like some kind of weird carnival side-show because of the costumes they were wearing. Uncle Sam's big antlers kept bonking people in the head by accident, after which he said long strings of 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' In fact, he did it so much, Dad nick-named him 'The Apologizing Moose.' Jessie – dressed as Alice – put a wrist watch on the arm of her white bunny and brought it with her, which made her costume even more like the storybook it came from.
Everyone was really excited to get to the party, especially when the Impala rolled up to Ollie's house and they could see the different colored lights flashing in the windows. There were cars parked all over the place. But of course, before Jude's dad let anyone out of the vehicle, he parked and turned around to look Jude and Jessie in the eye.
"Alright, kids," he began, "What's the -"
"It's the buddy system, uncle Dean. We've gone over this a million times. Can't we just go to the party? We know we have to stick together," Jessie huffed from the backseat.
Jude watched his dad share a flat look with uncle Sam, who only shrugged.
"Okay," Dad started again, "That's true. But how do you know if a demon is around?"
"Say 'Cristo'," Jude answered quickly.
"If real ghouls and vampires start to attack the party, what should you do?" Sam asked.
"Start flying people to safety. As many as we can," Jessie answered.
"And if angels ambush you? How do you fight back?" Papa prompted.
"Use angel blades to defend ourselves," Jessie replied.
"But only stab someone if we have to," Jude added.
All the adults in the car glanced at each other, probably to make sure there weren't any more scenarios to ask the kids about. After five years of learning about hunting and training with his parents, Jude felt pretty confident about his own skills. He could probably fight a monster if he had to. Although, he had never done anything like that in real life, yet. Not since Raphael...
"Well, it sounds like you're prepared," Dad muttered, "Let's go."
Everyone finally got out of the car in a rush – except for uncle Sam, who had to carefully maneuver his huge antlers through the door. The closer Jude got to Ollie's front door, the more the butterflies in his stomach fluttered. He couldn't wait to see his friend, dance to some music, and eat candy. Dad and Papa knocked politely on the front door – and it opened to show Ms. Jane, completely dolled up in a white dress and a weird black wig.
"Ah! Winchesters! Hola!" she sang, reaching out to hug each of them, "Welcome to the haunted house party! Come in, come in!"
Ms. Jane – who was apparently dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, as uncle Gabe pointed out – ushered them all into the house, where they were engulfed by loud music, creepy decorations, and the crowd of people. Most of them were Ollie's uncles, aunts, and cousins; Jude remembered them from birthday parties and holidays. But others were just grown-up friends. And they were all dressed up. From where Jude was standing, he could see three witches, two firefighters, a big t-rex and dozens of other strange costumes. There was only one other person dressed as a superhero, though; Ollie's aunt Rosie, who was a really tall Wonder Woman.
From the Thompson's front door, Jude spotted Ollie's three really pretty cousins too. They were standing in a huddle by the coffee table across the room, holding red cups and chatting. One was dressed as a vampire, another was a cowgirl, and the last one was a black cat. Jude gulped as he bashfully stared at them from a distance, admiring their dark hair and long tan legs. Whoa. They were so nice to look at...
"Jessie! Jude! I've been waiting for you guys all night!"
Jude snapped his attention away from his friend's beautiful cousins to look at Ollie himself. He was wearing a baseball uniform, but it was all ripped up and oozing fake blood. His face and hands were painted green, as if he was a zombie baseball player. Ollie came rushing up to give Jude and Jessie each a hug to welcome them to the party.
"Hey, Ollie! Nice costume," Jessie complimented, even though she had probably already seen it in a dream.
"Thanks," he grinned, looking her up and down, "Wow, Jess. You are, like, really pretty."
Jessie giggled and swished the bottom of her blue dress around, hugging her bunny like a shy little girl. Jude was expecting uncle Sam to barge in and ruin their conversation, because he was usually doing stuff like that when Ollie said something nice about Jessie. But the 'Apologizing Moose' only cleared his throat loudly and eyed Ollie from a distance, looking suspicious. Though Ollie seemed happy that the Winchesters had arrived at his house, Jude could tell that he was also kind of nervous. The red-haired zombie grabbed Jude by the arm and leaned close to whisper over the loud music.
"Hey, I need to talk to you in my room for a second," he said.
Jude was a little concerned. What did his friend need to talk about? Was something wrong? Jude glanced back at his family, seeing that his parents and uncles were talking to Ms. Jane about the party and Jessie was starting to head toward a bowl of punch. They were distracted for the moment, so Jude turned to give his friend a nod.
Jude followed Ollie through the house full of people to get to his room, which led straight by the coffee table where the three lovely ladies were standing. He couldn't help but glance at them when he walked by, and he briefly made eye-contact with the cowgirl – but her eyes dropped down to his costume and she immediately turned around to giggle with the rest of her cousins. Jude's heart hammered hard in his chest as he quickly brought his attention back to Ollie's uniform in front of him. Oh, no. They were laughing at his Superman costume. Just like he was afraid of...
Though he was a bit upset about the girls in the living room, Jude tried to focus on his friend. Ollie pulled Jude into his room and turned on the light before shutting and locking the door behind him. Jude thought that was kind of weird. What was going on? Why was Ollie acting so strange?
"Uh, what's going on?" Jude asked, finally able to talk at a reasonable level.
Ollie glanced shamefully at Jude before going over to kneel by his bed and pull something out from underneath. It was a small black book bag that seemed kind of old. The straps were frayed and the zipper was bent. And when Ollie stood back up, he had a really embarrassed and worried look on his face.
"I need to ask you a favor... Well, two favors," Ollie eventually said, his voice kind of hoarse from where he'd been talking over the loud music.
"Favors?" Jude repeated, still lost.
Ollie paused to glance around his room, as if he was making sure no one was watching even though they were alone, and sat the book bag down to zip it open. He pulled out a few magazines and held them out toward Jude – and Jude's heart nearly leaped into his throat when he saw the picture on the front. Holy crap! Those were naked ladies! Why did Ollie have magazines with naked ladies on them?!
"Oh my God!" Jude breathed, instantly looking away in discomfort and embarrassment, "Wh – why do you have those?!"
Jude had never fully looked at a woman's naked body before. Not because he didn't want to, but because uncle Sam kept a pretty tight lock on the bunker's wifi and it was almost impossible to search for it on the internet. Plus, Dad and Papa still treated him like a kid most of the time, so he knew he couldn't ask them for anything like that. It would be too weird. But now that Jude was literally standing in the same room with nude female pictures, he found that they made him feel strangely squishy. Especially since Ollie was holding them.
"My dad gave them to me when I went to his house over the weekend," Ollie explained.
Jude, still avoiding the sight of the bare breasts on display in his friend's hand, understood what Ollie was talking about. When he was twelve, Ollie's parents finally split up. It was a really hard and messy divorce, especially for poor Ollie who was caught in the middle. It took Jude and Jess a really long time to help him understand that it wasn't his fault. Ms. Jane and Mr. Eddie just had lots of differences that they couldn't work out. And Ollie eventually became comfortable with the idea of his mom and dad being separated. Now, Ollie visited his dad on the weekends but stayed with his mom during the week.
Still, Jude found it bizarre that Ollie's dad would just give him nude magazines. Why would he do that? Dad and Papa would never give Jude that kind of thing. At least, not until he was much older. Even then, it would be weird for everyone involved...
"Dad says they're vintage, and that he wanted me to have them. But I can't keep them here. My mom might find them," Ollie said, waving the naked girls around, "So, c – can you take them to the bunker for me?"
"What?!" Jude gasped, feeling his heart pound again, "No way, dude! My dads would kill me if they ever found those in my room!"
"You don't have to put them in your room. The bunker has, like, a million rooms! Just stash it in one of them. Look," Ollie said, reaching over to pull open the book bag even more so that Jude could see down inside, "He gave me condoms and everything. If my mom finds this, she's gonna think I'm doing stuff and she'll get upset."
"Well, why don't you just throw it away?" Jude suggested, feeling clammy.
"What? Throw naked girls in the trash? I can't do that, man! They're naked girls," Ollie emphasized, sounding like he had just heard the craziest idea ever, "Plus, I don't want to make my dad upset... I promise I'll take it back to my dad's house next weekend and stash it there, but I need a place to hide it for now. Please, Jude? Can you just hide this bag in the bunker for me? I'll do anything you want! Pleeeease?"
Jude gulped again and reached up to run a shaky hand through his spiky hair. Ugh, why did Ollie have to do this to him? If Dad and Papa ever found that bag, Jude would be grounded forever! His parents would never look at him the same way again! Still, Ollie had that pleading look on his zombie-painted face. And it was only for one week, right? Jude could hide a small bag in the bunker for a week. It wasn't a big deal... was it?
"Fine," Jude forced himself to say while rolling his eyes, "Just put those things away."
Luckily, Ollie tossed the nude magazines back in the bag, finally ridding the room of the sinful pictures so that Jude could breathe evenly again. Once he zipped the bag, Ollie popped his head back up to give his friend a serious look.
"Oh yeah. There's, uh, one other thing I wanted to ask you," he said.
Jude huffed a breath and briefly covered his face. Oh, for Dickie's sake. Was hiding pornography for Ollie not enough? What else did he want?
"What?" Jude sighed, giving his friend a flat look.
Ollie tossed the black bag to the side before talking. Underneath the Halloween makeup, his expression had turned softer.
"Well, my high school is having a dance in a few days, for a fundraiser or something, and I was thinking... maybe I could ask Jessie to come with me?" Ollie said it like a question, as if he was asking Jude for permission, "Do you think she would want to g - "
Before Ollie could finish his question, there was a knock at the door. Jude's heart jumped into his throat again and he almost felt the urge to disappear from the room. Oh, no! Was that Ms. Jane? Was it Dad or Papa? Did they overhear them talking about nude magazines?! Jude and Ollie both looked at each other and scrambled at the foot of the bed, creating a barrier between the sinful book bag and the door.
"Uh, yeah?" Ollie called, trying to sound casual.
The door opened – and Jessica's head of curly blonde hair popped inside. She stepped in and shut the door behind her, still holding her little white bunny and smiling brightly.
"Hey. What are you guys doing in here? The party is out there," she said, sounding genuinely confused.
Ollie instantly spun to look at Jude, and Jude could tell that he was waiting for the answer to the question he asked before they were interrupted. Jude casually nodded and gestured toward his cousin, urging him to go for it. Though he seemed really nervous, Ollie scratched his messy orange hair and took a deep breath.
"J – Jessica?" he stuttered, fiddling with his own fingers, "Um... my school is doing this thing, it's really no big deal... It's, uh, it's kind of a d – dance. You know, where people, like, get all dressed up and the gym is all decorated? Like on movies? But it wouldn't be a movie. It would be real..."
Jude physically cringed beside his friend, hiding his face so that Jessie wouldn't see the embarrassment on it. Wow. It turned out that Ollie was worse than Jude when it came to talking to girls...
"Well, anyway," Ollie droned on, "Um, I was just wondering if... M – maybe you would like to come with me? As my date? Or not! N – not as my 'date' date. You know, just as friends. Whatever you want to call it. I just wanted to see if - "
"Really?" Jessie interrupted.
By the soft and sweet look on her face, Jude knew that Jessie had already agreed to go. But Ollie still seemed flustered and worried, and kept talking for some reason.
"Y – yeah," he nodded, making his orange hair bounce around, "We could, uh, get matching outfits and go as a couple – er, a couple of friends. It's totally not a date or anything... I mean, unless you want it to be, in which case I would be completely fine with it. But either way, I would just be happy to take you with me. So... yeah. D – do you want to go?"
Jessie actually paused to giggle, holding her bunny up to her lips while she gave a tiny laugh. Ollie's nervousness must have been really funny to her. Jess's laughter slowly calmed down to a wide grin and she nodded gracefully.
"Yeah," she answered, curling some of her golden hair behind her ear, "Of course I'll go with you."
Relief and happiness flooded Ollie's painted-green face. He took a deep breath and smiled like the world had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Awesome," he breathed.
Jude felt kind of uncomfortable standing in the midst of Jessie and Ollie's warm stare. Did they even realize that he was still in the same room with them?
"Should we get back to the party, now?" Jude loudly suggested.
Ollie seemed to shake himself out of a daze before stepping forward.
"Uh, yeah. Let's go," he agreed.
The red-haired zombie ushered Jessie out first – but lingered back to look at Jude and point toward the book bag on the bed. After Jude waved him off, Ollie held a thumbs up and mouthed the words 'thank you' as he quickly followed Jessie outside, leaving Jude in the room with the bag of naughty things. At first, Jude didn't even want to touch the bag. He didn't want to have anything to do with all the bad stuff inside... But it was a favor for a friend. And Jude wanted to be the best friend he could be.
After taking a big breath, Jude picked up the book bag and slide it onto his back. He draped his red cape over it, which hid most of it from view. And though he still felt a little uneasy about the task of hiding it in the bunker, Jude knew he could do it. He could do anything.
He was Superman.
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was pretty much stuck in Dean's head by the time he parked the Impala back inside her usual spot in the bunker garage. The song was practically on repeat at the party, and he found himself humming the stupid tune when everyone started getting out. Jane's Halloween party was awesome. Granted, Dean had never been to any other Halloween parties, so he had nothing to compare it to. But he had a great time dancing with Cas when no one was looking. Swaying was more like it. Poor Cas had no rhythm at all. Unless he was using it in the bedroom...
Sammy, who had finally discarded those ridiculous antlers, slid out of the backseat to help his fifteen year old daughter exit the vehicle. Jessica was such a lady; delicately taking Sam's huge hand and stepping out of the car like a sophisticated princess. The top of her head was even with Sam's shoulder when she stood up straight. Man, when did she get so damn tall? So grown-up? Dean could tell that she and Jude both had a blast at Jane's house. Even though it was almost midnight, neither one of them seemed tired. The kids were wide awake and bouncing around while their dads – the human ones, anyway – were dragging behind them.
"Pop, did you see what Ollie's uncle Miguel was wearing?" Jess asked, leaning over to wrap an arm around Gabriel's short shoulder.
Dean thought it was hilarious that Gabriel now had to look up at the child he gave birth to.
"I sure did, honeydew. What a copy-cat," the archangel grumbled, "It's okay, though. I was the best looking Willy Wonka there, right moose?"
Behind them, Sam shuffled along with a smile.
"You always are," he uttered playfully, tossing a wink toward his husband for good measure.
The three of them – followed by Dickie the tiny Oompa Loopa, who had apparently stolen a skeleton bone from Jane's decorations and was now carrying it around – all journeyed into the main part of the bunker. Dean lingered back to take Cas's hand, the same warm and soft fingers he had been clinging to for most of the night, and noticed their son walking ahead of them. Jude's head was down and his feet were moving fast – but the back of his cape was lifted up, like there was something underneath it.
"Hey, Jude," Dean called.
Jude's feet hesitantly drew to a stop and he turned around to blink toward his parents with innocent blue eyes. Now that he could fully see him in the light, Dean spotted the black book bag straps around Jude's shoulders.
"Yeah?" the kid asked.
"What's the bag for?" Dean asked.
Jude only took a second to look down and hook his thumbs around the straps. His head of spiky dark hair raised again and he shrugged.
"It's just some clothes and stuff I accidentally left at Ollie's house from the last time I stayed over. He gave it all back to me tonight," Jude explained.
Dean was a professional liar and could tell that his son wasn't exactly telling the truth. But he still wanted to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. As much as Dean hated to admit it, Jude was getting older. He was bound to have secrets that he didn't want to share with his parents. Hell, for all Dean knew, that bag could be full of porn. How weird and awkward would it be if he forced the kid to show it to him? Especially in front of Cas? Ugh, Dean didn't want to open that can of worms. Not tonight...
"Oh," he nodded with a calm smile, "Okay."
Jude gave a quick smile and spun around just in time to hide the red tint flaring on his face. He walked away as fast as he could with his head down again, trying to escape the room in a rush. Yep. It was definitely porn. Jude's behavior confirmed it. Only a hormonal teenage boy carrying a secret stash of nudes would run out of his parent's sight that quickly. Dean knew it from personal experience.
With Jude dashing ahead of them, Dean took his time wandering down the hall with his husband. Next to him, Cas seemed a little daze. The party must have given the angel some kind of buzz because he was smirking at nothing and playfully wiggling his fingers between Dean's.
"That was a very lovely celebration, Dean," Cas hummed,
The angel looked so cute in his blue outfit. It made his black hair seem even darker, and made his sapphire eyes pop. Dean reached over to rake his free hand through the angel's soft strands again, feeling so grateful that he had a good time.
"Yeah, it was. I'm glad you had fun, baby," Dean agreed, "You wanna stop by the kitchen and grab a beer before bed?"
"Of course," Cas replied.
The two of them made it to the control room, where Sam, Gabe, and Jess were trying to catch Dickie to get the bone out of his mouth, and paused to watch the commotion with joined hands. The dog clearly didn't want to remove the outfit or get rid of the bone he was carrying. He kept dodging everyone's hands, zooming from one side of the room to the other.
But while everyone laughed at the mischievous dog, there was a knock on the bunker door.
It was a weird kind of knock. A series of 'tappety-tap-tap's that Dean wasn't used to hearing. The Winchesters stopped to look at each other with suspicious glances, all wondering the same thing. Who was at the door? It was almost midnight. Why would they have a visitor now?
"Maybe it's Jane," Sam blurted with a shrug.
"Might be a trick-or-treater," Gabriel suggested, sounding just as confused.
Dean raised Cas's hand up to peck a quick kiss to the back of it before letting it go.
"I'll go check it out," he volunteered, "You guys stay here."
As was the Winchester protocol, Dean grabbed a nearby pistol, made sure there was a bullet in the chamber, and tucked it into his waistband before heading up the stairs. It was midnight on Halloween, and he wasn't about to take any chances. Everyone else – except for Jude, who was probably hiding that book bag – watched him from the bottom of the spiral staircase with worried faces. When Dean reached the top, he took a second to brace himself before pulling the door open.
There was just enough light from the inside of the bunker to let Dean see the person standing on the doorstep. It was an young, average-looking guy. Maybe seventeen or eighteen years old, judging by the light stubble of facial hair on his chin and cheeks. He had sandy-blonde hair; the long, messy, kind like a grunge-rocker from the 90s. Hell, the dude even had a black guitar case slung on his back. There were cuts and rips all along his pale blue jeans, and the boots he had on had clearly seen better days. Where did he come from? And why was he here? Was this some kind of Halloween prank?
Dean had never seen this person before in his life. And apparently, the guy had never seen him either. For a second, Dean and the grungy guy just glanced up and down as if they were sizing each other up. It got to the point that Dean was getting uncomfortable.
"Um," the oldest Winchester eventually spoke, "Can I help you?"
"I don't know, grandpa. You tell me," the guy spat.
Dean was momentarily unable to function. Did... did that little asshole just call him 'grandpa'? To his face? Dean quickly snapped out of his shock and could feel anger taking its place. He stood up straight and narrowed his eyes, blocking the view of the bunker with his body. He was tempted to slam the door and walk away, but something told him this kid would just keep knocking until he came back. So why was he even here in the first place?
"Start over," Dean almost growled, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"
At first, the guy scratched his arm and craned his neck, like he was trying to steal a peek inside the bunker. But Dean barred the guy from the sight of his home. He wasn't about to let the kid in until he got some answers. The grunge-wannabe eventually looked Dean in the eye again.
"You're one of those hunters, right? Winchesters or whatever?" he asked.
Dean wasn't sure if he should answer truthfully. What if the guy had come here to kill him or something? Though it was against his better judgment, Dean forced a nod. The guy must have been looking forward to hearing that because a huge grin flashed on his face.
"I'm Clarence," he finally answered, sounding proud of himself, "My mom's name is Meg. And you're gonna help me find her."
(Author's Note: What's that? A cliffhanger? Already? On the very first chapter?! But of course! XD Hey, guys! I've missed you so much! *hugs you all at once* First things first: Yes. Jude and Jessica are fifteen years old, now! (Boy, time flies when you're writing fanfiction, huh?) ;D Both of them are in the middle of puberty and are going to have quite the journey in this part of the story. ;) And yes, Oliver's parents got a divorce between parts 5 and 6. (I think we can all agree it was for the best, but it did take a small toll on Ollie. Thank goodness that kid is so resilient.) I know that the thing with the nude magazines seems odd and inappropriate right now – especially since we want to keep Jude and Jess lil babies forever – but I have a plan to use it in this story. Just bear with me for a few chapters, pretty please? ;) I hope you guys enjoyed the glimpse at Jane's Haunted House Party, too!
About Clarence: Before we get to the rest of the story, I'd like to take a moment and give you guys some background info concerning the cliffhanger up there. First, I would like you to know that one of my sweetest and dearest friends – gothichic, as she's known on this site – helped me create Clarence's character. She also heavily influenced the making of, pretty much, the rest of this story. (So send her some love as well!) ;) And before you ask: No. Clarence is not physically related to any of the Winchesters, and that includes the angels. There is no baby-daddy drama here. Clarence is his own, stand-alone character, who is going to make a very entertaining addition. :) Also, he looks like a mix between Kurt Cobain and Sam Claflin, in case you want a visual aid. ;D And I really hope that you guys like him! More information about him will be revealed very soon! :)
Thank you guys so much for waiting for this new part! As always, I will try my best to post a new chapter every Friday morning. (With the exception of today, of course.) Happy Halloween, you guys! Stay safe and have fun! The next chapter will be out soon! :)