Disclaimer
I do not own anything that you recognise. I am just borrowing these characters and using them to amuse myself for a bit. Everything you do recognise belongs to our Lord Kripke. Authors note at the end of the chapter.
Serah felt guilty and she hated the fact that she did.
Course there was no way that she was going to sit with Mary and chat on the phone like nothing was wrong. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she needed to go to practice and god knows how long an uncomfortable conversation between the four of them would have dragged out for. It was easy for Mary though to sit there and judge her for not wanting to sit and chat. Mary was the golden child, the perfect daughter and she'd never had to be the disappointment that Serah was. Serah had always done her best with things and tried to do what was right and she simply couldn't try and do more than that anymore. She was who she was and if she'd fucked some things up, and she had, then she had to just accept that and move on. She was done with the rest of the bullshit.
Serah had never much minded being in her sister's shadow when they were growing up because she loved her and been proud of her too. Sure she was the loud one who always had a big group of friends but she'd not been the one filling their house with trophies and awards. And while her Dad had always proudly displayed her report cards on the fridge and assured her that they were proud of her she'd been the daughter who'd done much else of merit growing up. But she was happy enough like that because she'd always made people laugh and their house always had a large stream of thankful parents visiting whose kids Serah had defended from some jerk-off or befriended when no-one else would. She'd always thought that she'd done enough things like that to make up for her lacking in the academic achievements until college had come around and it turned out that making some kid smile meant nothing in the real world. Serah had been the disappointment and she couldn't even hate her sister for making her inferior because she loved her and was still so proud of her that she could burst.
But even so she reckoned she was making a good enough go of things. Yes she didn't have any clue what she was going to pick for her major but her grades were decent enough and she was an awesome cheerleader. And while that might not mean a lot to most people it did to her. After all people had killed to get their kids onto squads not half as good as the one she was on. She had a good group of friends and she got on with most people she met. Sure Serah Winchester was never going to change the world and she was never going to be half as good as her sister but she was okay with that. She could deal with being average enough as long as she was happy and her sister was happy.
She'd been dragging her uniform top halfway off of her head when she'd heard her phone ring. Sariel sent her a pointed look that said quite clearly to make it quick. They were going over music selections after practice and Sariel was obviously keen to get started. No matter how much of a bitch she was when it came to the squad, Serah liked Sariel. She was blunt and direct and didn't ever pretend to be anything she wasn't. Sariel liked her to; she'd made no secret of the fact that she wanted Serah to captain once she graduated and as the squad was as dear to Sariel as a child, Serah was pretty touched.
However even if Sariel had picked her out as a prodigies she still didn't get any kind of preferential treatment.
She dropped her top to the floor and grabbed her phone quickly realising that it was Deanna who was calling. Serah loved her cousin nearly as much as she loved her sister. They'd been as close as siblings growing up and Deanna had always proved to be partner-in-crime that Mary never was. She'd headed off to Penn U to be pre-law and though it was close enough they still didn't see as much as of each other as either of them would have liked to do.
"Ola amigo" Deanna greeted to and Serah could hear the buzz of voices in the background of wherever she was. Deanna was the kind of person who was always on the go and always had a massive list of things she needed to do. Serah often wondered when Deanna actually found time to sleep but then again she was always chucking back energy drinks so perhaps she simply existed on sugar and caffeine.
Deanna was the same age as her and Mary but she hadn't taken a year out between high school and college so that she was already busy with her Junior year. Deanna had impressed everyone by being accepted into the Law Submatriculation Programme the year before and being allowed to combine getting her bachelors degree and her JD together. Serah had travelled up to see her when she'd been accepted and spent a long weekend watching cheesy movies with her cousin.
"What's up?" Serah asked her as she tried to hook the phone in-between her cheek and the curve of her shoulder as she rooted around for her vest top.
"Just letting you know that I'll be up for your birthday. I should hopefully have everything finished in time. I'll even come to your game and cheer for you in the stands" Deanna told her and Serah found herself grinning. She'd been worried that Deanna would be too busy with her work to come up for the weekend. She also knew that Sophia would be thrilled. Sophia and Deanna didn't get to see much of each other either and Serah knew they missed each other.
"That's touching Dee. I'll let Lil now. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to find a bed for the night and you can have hers" Serah suggested knowing her best friend well enough that she wouldn't even be upset at the suggestion that she find somewhere else to sleep for the night. Lil was a pretty brilliant roommate in the fact that she never brought people back to their room so she had plenty of people around campus who'd let her crash with them.
"Are you going to wash it first?" Deanna asked her and Serah had to laugh. Deanna and Lil had met a few times and though they got on well enough, Deanna wasn't as comfortable with Lil's extracurricular activities as Serah was. Deanna had been in a long-term relationship for what seemed like forever and seemed to think that the true love, marriage and babies was the right path for everyone else as well.
"Course. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I feel like it's been an age since we have" Serah admitted thinking back to the weekend she'd gone up to stay with her when she'd been excepted onto the sub course. She hadn't seen much of her since then as Serah had only had a fleeting trip home that summer. Serah would never have told Mary but she did miss home sometimes more than she would ever bring herself to admit to anyone.
"That is because it's been an age since we saw each other. I still can't believe that you managed to bail on us for the whole summer" Deanna pointed out and Serah had to admit that she had a point.
"I told you that I would have to work. I still need all the money that I can get and summer is the only time I have enough spare time to actually get a job. You could have come and been a counsellor with me" Serah reminded her and she all but felt Deanna shudder down the phone.
Even with her scholarship she still needed money to live and Sariel had told her about the cheer camp she'd been working at. It was a good enough job. They paid well enough and she enjoyed teaching the kids and looking after them as well as getting to know the other counsellors and holding bonfires out on the lake that the camp was sat next to. Plus it had been out in California and she'd convinced Sariel to take a trip up to Universal Studios and Disney Land with her and some of the other counsellors when they'd finished. Her parents had invited her to come to England with them and Mary but she'd been working and honestly she'd preferred watching Sariel puke after riding the new and improved space mountain with her four times in a row. And she'd not even felt that guilty about blowing them off for cheer camp and rollercoasters. It had been a fantastic summer and she'd already put her name down for the next one.
"You worked at a cheer camp Serah. There is nothing I would like to do less than spend my time with a bunch of nasty, starved teenagers girls in the back end of no-where for three months. I had enough of girls like that in high school to actually want to spend my free time with them now I'm older" Deanna pointed out and Serah nodded. Serah hadn't been a cheerleader in high school but she'd got on well enough with them regardless. Deanna, like Mary, had not really got on with the popular crowd and had been counting down the days till she'd been able to graduate and head off to college.
"It was fun and I was with the little ones. But I'll see you soon. I have to go. My Captain is giving me a come-hither-bitch look and she's threatened to flush my phone before now"
Serah closed the phone and finished getting dressed so that she could go and work with Sariel. She done enough gymnastics when she'd been younger that she'd been pretty confident that she could pull off cheer, she'd not been convinced she'd be able to think up routines. However Sariel had always thrown her in at the deep end and she had found that she wasn't actually half bad at it. They needed to do well at Sectionals this year so they could go on to defend themselves at Nationals.
It was funny, she thought to herself, that now she was actually winning trophies and the best at something her dads have never even seen her cheer. And she knew that hurt far more than it should when she'd long since decided she didn't care.
XOX
"You're Serah's friend right? I'm her sister, we met last week?"
Castiel looked up to see Mary Winchester smiling down at him. He'd decided to find the library as both Sam and Dean had headed off to class and he'd been left with nothing else to do. It was well stocked both with text books and a massive online library and he'd pulled out a few texts that caught his interest and started reading. He did not care what Sam said; staring at words on a tiny computer screen would never be as good as holding a book in his hands or the smell of them. Such sensations were one of his favourite things about his increasing humanity so he was going to embrace them as much as he could.
"Oh right yes. At the bar. You sang Celine Dion for Karaoke"
Castiel did not understand the attraction of karaoke. Half the people who got up were unable to hold any kind of tune while most of the rest seemed highly uncomfortable being up singing. Dean said that people did it for fun and that he wouldn't understand. There was usually large quantities of alcohol involved though so that obviously seemed to play a big part in it.
"Apparently I did so I've been told. Serah threatened to disown me again. How are you finding Penn State so far?" she asked him and sat down on the opposite side of the table from him.
"It has been proving a very interesting experience. I have been invited to a party on Friday and I am finding my lecturers interesting if not all entirely correctlyinformed" he replied thinking back to the history lecture he'd had this morning. He felt like pointing out that he'd watched the Seige of Troy as it had happened and that it certainly wasn't how he had described it but had stopped himself. Dean had told him to try and act human now that he was and he felt that pointing out the gaps in an Academic man's knowledge would not have gone down well. Nor would he be able to explain how he was at Troy without revealing exactly what he was and Dean had warned him off doing that as well.
"That would be Joe's party. He was in one of the bands that were playing at the bar. He's a nice enough guy but he's always stoned so don't ever expect to get much sense from him. I think we're going" she answered and smiled at him. Castiel liked her. Even as his powers dimmed he could still get a sense of a person's soul and hers was soft and a light blue colour. It was comforting and gentle.
"Do you often go to parties?" he asked her and she shook her head quickly.
"Not really but Serah and Lucas drag me out sometimes. I think they worry that I'll become a hermit if they don't force me to socialise every so often" she explained and Castiel debated pointing out to her that she was unlike any hermit he had every met especially as she liked any kind of facial hair but thought against it.
"Though if you do not want to go to these parties then you should not be forced to go to them"
"I usually enjoy myself. I just tend to get a bit focused with my work. I think Serah just worries that I work too much and stress myself out so she likes to make sure that I get some balance in my life every now and then" she explicated and as she talked about her sister Castiel could see her soul swell with love.
Twins were special and soul-bonded similarly to someone who'd found their one true soul mate and her soul reflected that bond. Twins usually were allowed to share a heaven together as well. The two were tethered together in a way that could not be severed. He had noted that despite the age difference Dean and Sam Winchester had a similar tether which each other no doubt explaining why they'd been allowed to share a heaven with one another when they died.
"Your sister obviously cares for you"
"Serah? Yeah she's great. I remember back when we were kids this guy from a few grades above tried to take my lunch from me and then Serah appeared out of no where and kicked his ass. I had literally never seen a 10 year old boy cry because of a tiny little girl before. They called our dads into school and they had to pretend that they were all mad at her but you could tell they were proud of her. I think Pops may have even bought her pie" Mary told him with a fond smile as she obviously thought back over a childhood memory she cherished.
"They didn't mind that she'd been fighting?" he asked and tried to put himself in a frame of mind of a parent. Castiel found that difficult. He'd never had a parent who'd nurtured him. Angels were warriors of God and brought up as such from the moment they were created. And the father he did have was mostly absent for most of his existence. He was still a warrior even if he was more human that divine now but he had still never nurtured anything in any way that could be described as paternal. Yet if this girl was his future child she seemed to have two fully functional parents who'd raised her and her sister so he must have the capacity to be a father, to raise something as delicate as the soul sat in front of him.
Mary thought to herself as if she was mulling over how to phrase her explanation before she turned to him with a smile "I don't think they liked that she was fighting but they were always proud of her for standing up for people especially if everyone else was to afraid to do it. Both of my dads hate bullies and we've all got dirty looks and stuff cause my parents and two guys. I can still remember when my Pops had to stop my Dad punching some homophobic guy in the face when he said he felt sorry for how they were corrupting us. Then up came Serah and she must have only been like five and she was all I feel sorry for you because you obviously don't know what it like to be loved if you think my dads are corrupting us. I think my Pops nearly cried he was that proud of her"
Castiel didn't struggle to imagine any of that. Dean had protected Sam most of his life with the ferocity of any parent and had then dedicated his life to saving people in need. Dean had always spoke back to him and the other Angels when he thought they were in the wrong despite how easily any of them could have crushed him. He could imagine that Dean Winchester would foster the same kind of attitude in his daughter and a thirst for justice and good. Because regardless of what he thought Dean was intrinsically good and always did what he thought was right no matter what the cost to himself. Dean had one of the brightest souls he'd ever seen and he knew exactly how pure and good it was as he'd cradled it in his own as he'd pieced him back together in Hell. He would never understand why Dean did not deem himself worthy.
Castiel also hated prejudice and needless suffering so he could see how he would not be angry at her for stopping that even if it involved fighting. He and Dean were both warriors fighting for good so it would make sense for a child they raised together to be a warrior as well. And she was; her soul was a vibrant purple and spoke volumes of bravery and strength even if it was tainted by an anger that Castiel couldn't quite place. Regardless of that anger it was still a soul that spoke of love and courage.
He also did not struggle to imagine that two men having a child together would still face discrimination and opposition. Many groups liked to pollute and twist his father's teachings. After all how could a Father who cherished nothing more than love view any form of love as an abomination worthy of being sent to hell for? The world could be an ugly place and it hurt him to see how much his Father's words were being used to fuel and justify hatred and anger. The unconditional love offered from a parent to a child was not altered or corrupted based on gender; it was a universal truth and came from the soul not a person's genitals. He could easily imagine himself wanting to punch a man which such backwards and offensive views in the face.
"She was right" he told her with a slight nod of his head and she smiled obviously happy that he was not homophobic.
"Course she was. I have a lovely family regardless of what male to female ratio we have. Serah's still like that though. I don't know what she did but when Lucas first came out he had all sorts of problems with some of the swim team but then magically they all left him alone and things went back to normal"
"I assume your parents are still proud of her for that?" he asked and there was a shift in her at his question, a sadness that settled on her soul that made something inside of him ache to take it away from her.
"I guess so. I don't think they know about that though. Serah doesn't talk to them much" she explained and cast her eyes down towards the table-top and away from his gaze as she spoke. He could feel the emotions rolling off her in waves – sadness, loneliness, hopelessness – and he tried to think of something that he could do to dispel them. However he was confused as their origins when she had been so full of pride and love as she'd just spoken about her family to him.
"But your family was obviously close?" he asked and she looked up to nod. The smile on her face was sad and almost wistful.
"We still are but sometimes things don't always stay exactly the same" she replied and then looked away from him as quietness settled between them "So if Joe invited you to his party that must mean that he wants to tap you" she spoke up suddenly and Castiel realised that she'd quickly changed the subject. He was used to the same avoidance tactics from another Winchester. Dean was a master at refusing to talk about things he didn't want to or that he felt was too girly to be talked about.
"So I have been told" he assured her though he still had no idea where Dean had got the impression that he'd been hitting him with a stick from. There was still a lot about humanity that he failed to understand.
"Just to warn you the guy is a player so don't expect anything to come of it. Lucas made that mistake last year" she told him and he realised that she was being protective towards him even though Castiel wasn't exactly sure what she was protecting him from.
"I don't know what you mean. What kind of game does he play?" he asked and she laughed at him affectionately.
"You know love-em-and-leave-em? Once he's had his way with you he'll toss you to the side for the next one. He's a bit of a jerk like that but everyone knows what he's like so I guess if people sleep with him they shouldn't really expect anything more" she explained and Castiel understood what she meant.
"I have no interest in having sexual intercourse with him" he informed her and couldn't help wonder why everyone assumed he was interested in having intercourse with the first person who offered it to him in this reality.
"Well you have nothing to worry about then. But he does always throw a good party so it should be a good night. If he corners you just ring Serah or Lil and they'll come bail you out. Probably Lil actually. She's one of the few people Joe's slept with more than once"
"As long as she doesn't try to force me to eat jello from her cleavage again" he added and despite himself felt himself shuddering at the memory. Something like that was intimate and he did not feel comfortable being forced into something like that somewhere so public and without any choice in the matter. Of course Dean had rescued him like he always did. Dean would never admit it but he was just protective of Castiel as well.
"Oh I wouldn't worry. That's just her way of saying hello and welcome to the group. She's pretty harmless once she knows you're not interested in her" Mary told him with a snort obviously used to her friend's behaviour. However she seemed to find it amusing.
"I think I prefer the old fashioned way of saying hello" he muttered and realised he sounded quite petulant.
"So do I. But Lil is Lil and if you're friends with us I'm guessing you'll end up seeing her naked before the months out. And I do hope you want to be friends with us. It's nice having a friend I actually find in the library once in a while"
"Does your sister not come here?" he asked and she shook her head in response.
"I think Serah would actually spontaneously combust if she wandered in here. She studies but I think this many books at once would prove too much for her. If you're hungry you can come get some food with us? I think we're all meeting down at the cafeteria in like 10 minutes"
"I'll have to ask my friends" he pointed out and she nodded as she stood up and gathered her belongings together as she replied to him.
"No problem. As Lil always says the more the merrier but trust me do not question her too closely on what she means by that. I have a feeling you won't like what she suggests"
XOX
She had been on her way to meet her friends when she heard her named called. Practice had dragged on that afternoon and Sariel had practically had them all collapsing from exhaustion from the amount of drills she was forcing them to run through. Serah needed some kind of break or Sariel was literally going to kill her. She'd barely had the energy to get changed out of her uniform after they were finished. She didn't know how the other girls had the energy to fuss over their hair and face like they did.
Serah turned to see Em, the girl from the band, practically running across the walkway to intercept her. As soon as she reached her Em fixed her with a brilliant smile and all but yanked her into a tight hug. Serah was surprised but she didn't mind; her friends were always doing similar and she didn't really mind the invasion of her personal space as much as she figured other people would.
"Have you thought about auditioning for us?" Em asked her, voice eager and Serah was surprised at how demanding the curve of her eyebrow was as she stared at her.
"I have cheer so I think I'll be too busy" Serah answered her and for a moment she watched as Em's face fell. She look disappointed though Serah had no idea why she'd be disappointed that she wouldn't be trying out. As far as she knew this girl had never even heard her sing or anything.
"Please just audition at least? You might like it" Em continued obviously trying to convince her. The eager look was back on her face and for a moment Serah was convinced that the other girl was even pouting.
"Are you going to keep asking me till I promise to come and try out?" Serah eventually asked and Em nodded happily despite the fact that she was currently strong-arming Serah into trying out for her Acapella group even when she didn't really want to. But there was something about her, in the glint of her eye that spoke of a determination that wouldn't let her rest till Serah said yes. And she was simply too tired from practice to stand here and try and fend off the other girl tirelessly trying to convince her to join. Though really what harm was there in just trying out? It didn't mean that she had to join or anything.
"Yes I think so. Your sister has been telling me all about how you two took lessons when you were younger" Em continued and Serah nodded wondering when she'd become such good friends with Mary.
"I'll make a note to thank her later" Serah noted sarcastically but if Em picked it up she simply ignored her tone and handed her a flyer.
"Try-outs are on Friday at lunch. I know you don't have practice then so no excuse. Thank you so much for volunteering. I just have a feeling that you're really going to like it. Oh and I brought you something" she said suddenly and started to root through her bag; furiously searching for whatever she had brought Serah. Serah felt slightly uncomfortable. She was not used to people she hardly knew bringing her gifts randomly.
"You brought me a gift?" Serah asked and Em beamed back at her as she passed her over a plastic disc case. It had a hand-drawn cover was depicted a group of people sat around in a circle of chairs and if Serah had been interested in poetry she'd had been able to pick over several famous poets against the backdrop of a sunrise. Serah flipped it over in her hands and realised that there was hand written track listing slotted in the back, looping hand writing framed by the wings of the delicate hand drawn angel on one side.
"Yeah. I know you liked our music last week so I brought you this. We recorded it over the summer when I was practising with them so it's a bit rough but I'd like you to have it. I even put it on disc cause I know your sister mentioned that you listen to them in your car" Em explained and Serah wondered for a moment what else Mary had been sharing about her and why this girl thought this information was worth remembering in the first place.
"You and Mary sure have been talking about me" Serah noted and Em didn't look sheepish for a moment but simply shrugged and locked their gazes together.
"You catch people's attention. I'm sure you're used to people asking about you. Anyway I have to go but please try and come on Friday" she reminded her and turned to leave. Serah reached out to grab her arm with the hand that wasn't holding the case she'd just handed over before she went and Em turned back to look at her. Her eyebrows were turned up slightly in expectation for the reason why Serah had pulled her back.
"I will and umm, thanks for the disc" Serah eventually managed to get out and sent the girl a smile. Em nodded and lent over to give her another swift, tight hug. Serah this time reached up to pat her on the shoulder though the gesture was a little awkward though she wasn't sure why she couldn't just return the hug like a normal person.
"No problem. See you later Serah"
XOX
"You two are so childish"
Dean looked up to see Mary watching her sister and her friend using their forks to catapult items of their dinner across the table. He assumed that they were trying to hit each other and avoid being hit by the other person's food projectiles. They were ducking and diving under the table and Abi all but jumped up triumphantly and pump her fist in the air when she landed a pea directly onto Serah's nose.
"Whatever Mary and score, pea to the nose. 10 points to me" Abi said victoriously still doing a miniature victory dance as the side of the table. Serah rubbed a smudge of food from her nose and glared across the table at her friend.
They had all met for food and were sitting at one of the large circular tables in the dinning room. It was busy despite the food being shit and to be honest Dean wasn't surprised that the group had resorted to throwing it at each other. With all the money that they were paying to get a college education, surely the food could be a little better this than?
"Have you guys actually made this a game?" Sam asked and Sophia nodded in return.
"The first rule of Food Battles is that you do not talk about Food Battles" Sophia informed him and all but tapped Sam on the end of his nose with her finger. Her tone was secretive and she actually leant in to practically whisper the answer into his ear like they were conspiring against the rest of the table.
"Please ignore them. Most of us do not spend our time flinging the food we've just bought at each other's heads like monkey's flinging their faeces at a zoo" Mary piped up looking over at her friends with a quick shake of her head.
"Is that not implying they're far more evolved than they actually are though? You know comparing them to monkeys?" Lil turned to Mary to ask and Mary laughed. Abi and Serah exchanged outraged glances over the table.
"If it means we're the fun ones I'll happily stay in my proverbial slime" Abi informed her and Serah stood up as well so that they could fist bump over the table top.
"Are you seriously writing the rules down?" Sam asked him suddenly and Dean looked up from the piece of paper that Sophia had been showing him.
"Didn't you hear the lady Samantha? No talking about it" he reminded his brother and went back to copying out the list onto the tablet that Gabriel had bought him. After all there was no harm in his embracing his full college experience was there? And if that so happened to include him throwing a shit-load of food at Sam's head for points and glory then who was he to argue?
"So are you going to that audition thing?" Sophia asked Serah who had returned to eating her chicken salad with a slightly sickened expression on her face. Serah shook her head and continued to push a cherry tomato around her plate with the end of her fork.
"Of course not and even if I wanted to go I'd need to sheet music and it's not like I have that just kicking around under the bed"
"Go to town then. You'd be really good at it" Sophia suggested and Serah looked up to meet her friend's gaze.
"It's a bit gay though" Serah muttered and her sister reached over to slap her in the arm. Serah rubbed at her arm and narrowed her eyes at Mary ""You're face is gay"
"Idiot" Mary muttered and Serah stuck her tongue out at her.
"Freak"
Dean felt something in his chest tighten at the routine that was so obviously based on his own with Sam. It was easy enough to see how much Serah was like him but this was something so entirely them that it felt like an undeniable smack in his face. He felt Cas staring at him with an curious expression on his face and Dean had to cast his eyes down onto the table as he felt it brush across his face and then the back of his head.
"Just go down to McGuire's and get some"
"McGuire's?" Sam asked questioningly and Abi spoke up to explain what it was for him.
"It's a record shop in town. Has all the classics you know for it you don't want to just download it all. They do sheet music there as well and they have a café there, makes awesome deserts" Abi explained and Dean had to admit that he was happy that somewhere at least still did records. Everything seemed to me digital now, even more than when Sam had installed an Ipod in his baby, and it made him a little homesick for the tape collection his had back in the past.
"Do they do pie?" Dean asked and Lucas nodded enthusiastically.
"The pie is awesome mate. For an ex-biker with prison tattoos and a mullet, Bill McGuire is an Angel in the kitchen"
"I want to go there. Let's go there" Dean quickly turned to Cas who frowned and nodded down to the plate that Dean already had sat in front of him.
"You already have pie. Why do you want to go and travel to get more?" he asked like a scolding mother and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Because this pie sucks"
"See? You can show the new guy McGuire's and can sheet music. Em is really hoping you'll try out and you haven't had a chance to sing in ages" Mary told her sister and Serah sighed but obviously decided that she was fighting a battle that she had no chance of winning.
"Fine whatever but you do not scratch my baby's seats or I will scratch your eyes out, capiche?" she informed him and the gaze she fixed him was like daggers.
"Baby?"
"Our Pop's Impala. He gave it her for her 18th even though he looked like he was cutting off his own arm when he gave her the keys. Serah is a little protective" Mary explained and suddenly Dean felt a surge of pride. Obviously she must be a kick-ass driver if any version of him had given up his baby to her. Not that he could personally ever see him giving the Impala to anyone, kid or not and he felt suddenly gleeful at the thought that he might be able to see his baby. Maybe it was sad for a grown man to miss his car but he did. Walking sucked and he was not going to get one of those scooters that Cas and Sam had both been eyeing up. Fucking scooters.
"Protective? If that car was a guy she'd be sucking its dick" Sophia said with a grin and Serah crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her with an icy glare.
"My baby is a lady. Please watch how you refer to her"
"Whatever then, you'd be licking her carpet. It's a little creepy how attached you are"
"The Impala is a classic" Dean spoke up in his car's defensive and Serah beamed at him obviously glad to have someone on her side for once. He figured that for her, like him back home, her love of her car was a running joke within the group.
"Thank you, come on lets go then. And just to inform you that driver picks the music and shotgun shuts his cake hole okay?" she informed him and Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing at her when she spoke. She tilted her head to once side and fixed her gaze on him.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing, you just really remind me of someone else I know" Sam replied and sent a pointed looked towards Dean who merely shrugged and ran a hand across his hair.
"I'm sure that person is pretty awesome then"
The car was parked outside of what he assumed was Serah's dorm and he had to physically hold himself back from running towards it. It looked pretty much the same as it had when he'd last seen it aside from a few changes to the body work and aesthetics but it was obviously well cared for. The Dean in this reality had obviously taught his kid everything he knew about looking after her.
"Wow she's still a beauty" he exclaimed admiringly and she ran a hand over the door with a proud expression on her face. She obviously loved the car as much as he did.
"I know right? They just don't build them like this anymore. My Pops taught me how to take care of her and everything. In the end it was the only he really got to drive him. My Dad made him get a Toyota"
"That is sacrilege" Dean stated bluntly and Serah nodded solemnly. There was no way in hell that he would ever be seen driving a Toyota.
"And it was a hybrid. Something about not being able to fit car seats in the Impala"
"Bullshit, I bet you could if you really tried" Dean noted and looked into the backseat as they slid into the car. It was perfectly neat inside and when she turned it on the sound of a soft rock band he'd never met filled the air. It was nice though. No Led Zep of course but a thousand times better than the rubbish Sam had on if he ever got to choose the music.
"My Pops said that apparently but then my Dad printed out all these safety reports and best family car recommendations and he said he gave up. My Dad can be quite stubborn when he wants to be when he really has his mind made up about something and my Pops likes the easy life so they got the hatch back" Serah explained as they pulled out of the campus and onto a main road. Her fingers tapped on the steering wheel along with the music and she looked entirely at ease.
"So he gave up this to drive around like a soccer mom?" Dean gestured to the car they were sat in with a dubious expression on his face.
"Yeah but it made my Dad happy and so I don't think he minded as much. Plus it kinda became our thing to do at the weekends. We must have drive like half way across the country on our road trips" Serah smiled fondly as she spoke obviously turning over good memories in her head.
Dean could never imagine ever loving anyone, let alone Cas, enough to get a goddamn hybrid.
"Sounds like fun"
"It was. It was those trips that shaped my taste in music. I don't think my Pops wanted to admit to breaking his driver choses rule for me cause my Uncle Sam would have just called his a massive soft touch but by shaping my tastes into his he could pretend he'd put it on" Serah told him with a small laugh and Dean had to admit that it did sound exactly like him.
"Did your sis not mind you having it?" he asked and she turned to glance at him as they waited for the traffic light to turn to green. She thought for a moment and then shook her head as the lights changed and they started to move forward again.
"Mary? Course not. She has a scooter that my Dad bought her. And anyway she would have wanted to stick an Ipod dock in it and that was so not happening" Serah sounded so disgusted that Dean had to laugh "What's so funny?" she asked as she indicated and pulled in to park outside a shop that looked nothing like a place that would serve awesome pie.
"Nothing. She just really reminds me of someone else I know" Dean told her and she grinned.
"That person must have lame-ass taste in music and cars then?" she asked and he shook his head laughing to himself not caring that it was kinda a private joke that she wouldn't be able to understand. He chose to share it anyway.
"Nah it's her long, wavy hair. It's uncanny"
XOX
"You okay?"
Mary looked up to see Ella stood next to her with an ice-cream sandwich in her hand. The one that she was holding had started to melt as she stood and stared into space and she was forced to lick a slow trickle of vanilla liquid from her wrist leaving a sticky trail behind.
"Yeah I'm fine why?" she asked feeling her eyebrows knit in surprise.
"Your birthday is coming up and I know how upset you were last year. I was just worried you were stressing about it" she said softly. Ella was her best friend alongside Lucas and it had been down to Ella to pick up the pieces when Mary was upset if her sister wasn't around.
"Ella I'm fine. I'm too busy to worry about it" she assured her but her best friend didn't look entirely like she believed her. Ella knew her well and knew what it was like to have a twin sister that you didn't have much in common with outside of being twins. Ella was also the quiet one when it came to her and Abi. Mary always assumed it was why they were so close.
"Are your dads coming up?" Ella asked while she grabbed some fruit as well. Ella had a strange idea that she could eat an unhealthily as she liked as long as she balanced it out with something healthy aswell.
"Yeah on Friday night till Sunday"
"And you think it'll be okay?" Ella asked her and Mary found herself shrugging.
"I have no honest idea but it's my birthday and I want my dads here so"
"I know you do. I just don't want this to be a repeat of what happened last time" Ella told her with concerned eyes and reached out to wrap a soft hand around her arm.
"That was last year. I think we've all matured enough to be able to handle it this year" Mary assured her though honestly she wasn't sure if she was trying to assure herself aswell.
"It's your sisters we're talking about. Are you really sure about that?" Ella asked with a small smile and Mary had to laugh inwardly to herself as she pictured her sister throwing carrots at her friend and doing handstands that lunchtime.
"Course I am. Serah isn't a child as much as she acts as one and I hope that for my sake she can find it in herself to act like an adult" Mary replied knowing that she really wanted her sister to at least try and play nice when they came up. She knew her sister didn't want to upset her but Serah was one of the most stubborn people in the world when it came to whatever perceived wrongs she was upset about.
"Well if you're stressing promise you'll talk to me" Ella ordered and held out her little finger. Mary curled her little finger around her best friend's and they shook on it.
"Pinky swear"
"Do you think the new guy thinks he's taking Serah out on a date?" Ella wondered suddenly as she fished around in her pocket for her purse so that they could pay for the food they'd picked up. When she found it she dropped it down onto the tray in front of her and pushed it along towards the till.
"Well he's going to be in for a shock if he thinks he'd going to get lucky with her. And anyway I don't think that he is" Mary replied as she found her own money though by this point she'd been forced to lick most of her sandwich from her wrist anyway.
"Why?" Ella looked confused.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"Obviously not Mary" Ella told her with a roll of her eyes and Mary reached out to pat her on the head with the hand not covered in melted ice-cream.
"You're a smart girl Ella, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Come on, lets head back before out ice-cream sandwiches completely melt"
XOX
"I think my mouth just had an orgasm"
Dean exhaled happily as he swallowed down another piece of what may just be the most perfect pie that he'd ever had the pleasure of eating. Sure the place looked rough from the outside especially with one it's windows boarded up and dingy exterior but this was actually heaven. The owner was a huge man with a beard and two full sleeves of tattoos but he'd greeted Serah warmly and pointed out what song he thought would suit her. They had decided on Piece of my Heart by Janis Joplin and once she'd had the sheet music rolled up in a bag at her feet, Bill had talked him through the different varieties of pie that he had. Dean had stayed with a classic and picked cherry but he was definitely getting another slice before they left.
"Be careful how much you flaunt that or I may just stick tan in your stuff too" Serah told him darkly and he could that she was practically drooling over the plate that he had sat in front of him. He speared a huge chunk on the end of his fork and held it out to her.
"Just have a bit. I promise I won't nark on you" he assured him and he noticed her lick her lips.
"You're a bad influence" she informed him but barely hesitated to reach out and take it and stick the pie into her mouth.
"So I've been told"
The noise that she made was almost inhuman and she screwed her eyes shut as she chewed. Dean had to laugh at her. She looked like she'd just stumbled into nirvana.
"Holy shit that is good" she exclaimed and all but licked the fork when she'd finished chewing.
"I know right? I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time here" he told her as he looked around and she'd already grabbed another chunk of pie with the fork he'd just given her. Dean would have slapped her hand away and grabbed his pie back if it wasn't for the pure look of delight on her face as she chewed.
"Please stop talking and let me physically shove as much of this in my mouth as I can"
They'd sat in silence while she'd finished and he'd bought them both another slice after. Bill had let them listen to some music when they'd stopped eating and even wrapped up some pie for him to take out for Sam and Cas.
"Thanks for coming out. I had a good time" she said as they were locking up the Impala after driving back to the campus with a bright smile and when he looked at her he felt a feeling of panic settled in his chest.
"You know this wasn't like a date or anything" he told her quickly knowing that only he would be fucked up enough to end up taking his own kid on a date. He was sure that Gabriel was having a right good time laughing at him right then. Serah turned to him and he could see her face fall and for a moment he was worried she was going to cry or something.
"What? You mean you don't want to give me your class ring and take me to prom?" she asked crest-fallen and then after letting him panic for a moment she began to laugh and smacked him on the top of his arm "Dude I am shitting you course I know this wasn't a date"
"I bought you pie and we shared headphones, how was this not exactly like a date?" he questioned feeling oddly miffed that she hadn't thought that he was trying to get into her pants even if it was entirely fucked up.
"Because you're totally gay right and last time I checked down there I don't have a dick" she informed him matter-of-factly and he felt his eyes widen as he realised exactly what she was saying.
"What?! NO!"
"Oh, I just figured. Sorry about that, I don't tend to know when to keep my mouth shut" she replied eyeing her warily as he'd all but shouted his denial into her face "Don't worry about it if you are though at least not with us. If you hadn't noticed we've kinda like the big gay Brady Bunch here"
"I'm not gay" he repeated and she gave him a look that quite clearly said that she wasn't convinced by what he was saying at all.
"Okay man, whatever you say. See ya" she waved at him and heading in the direction of her dorm leaving him to mull over what he'd done to give her the impression that he was gay. He was pretty sure that he'd been eyeing up the half naked women the night they'd first met.
Sam was sprawled out on his thankfully no longer pink bed reading something on his tablet and he looked up when Dean pushed the door open and sat down on Cas' bed opposite.
"You realise you kind of just took your own kid out of a date. That is fucked up even for you. Imagine if the Wincest shippers got wind of that"
"Yeah I realised. But apparently she thinks I'm like her new gay best friend so it wasn't a problem" he explained and for his credit Sam didn't laugh. In fact he looked just as surprised as Dean had been when she'd dropped that particular bomb shell on him.
"She thinks your gay?" Sam asked and Dean nodded. After that Sam, the fucker, did laugh and was all but rolling around the bed clutching at his stomach as he did. Dean kinda hoped that he'd fall off and smack his ass on the floor.
"Why is that so funny?"
"Well if the shoe fits" Sam answered waving his hand towards Dean as he propped himself up on the bed when his laughing fit had subsided.
"What the hell does that mean?" Dean demanded and Sam sent him a look that stated that Dean was obviously stupid.
"You're in a universe where you and Cas have two kids together. That is pretty gay Dean. You probably have a spice rack too" Sam pointed out and Dean made a mental note to make sure that Sam never found out that in this universe he had traded in his Impala to get a Hybrid to make Cas happy. Sam would never let him forget that one.
"I am not gay and especially not for Cas" Dean reminded him and Sam was silent for a moment as he sat thinking to himself.
"Well you do stare at him a lot" Sam said eventually and his tone was careful as if he was half-convinced that Dean would jump up and punch him just for making the observation in the first place.
"I stare at you" Dean tried to argue but Sam was obviously having none of it.
"It is not the same. You stare at him like he's a particularly nice piece of pie you've just got scent of and want to devour" Sam pointed out again keeping his eyes carefully trained on him in case he took too much offense to what he was saying.
"No I don't Samantha. I stare at him in a manly you-are-my-bro-and-I-have-your-back kinda way"
"Okay Dean, whatever you say" Sam whistled and like with Serah he was using the kind of tone that implied that he didn't quite believe a word that he was saying.
Dean looked up as Cas pushed the door open, his arms full of snacks and Dean all but jumped up and tackled him while pointing towards where Sam was still sat on his bed "Cas! Tell Sam I do not stare at you like you're a piece of pie"
"You do stare a lot Dean. I do not see how that has any impact of whether or not I am a piece of pie" Cas replied without missing a beat and then went about piling up the snacks he had bought on the desk in the corner of the room. Dean frowned at how unhelpful Cas was being and the fact that his brother was smirking to himself in an entirely self-satisfied way.
"If it's anything it's a bromance and god, do I feel dirty for saying that" Dean said with a visible shudder as the word left his mouth.
"Firstly, how do you even know the term bromance and secondly, that implies a romance between two guys and we're back to that being pretty gay"
"Bitch"
"Jerk"
"Tell him Cas" Dean said again with a whine and Cas sighed and pulled his eyes away from the packet of biscuits that he'd been inspecting as the two brothers bickered.
"Dean and I are two males, even if I truly don't really have a gender, who are also friends" Cas said and Dean groaned knowing that that was not the kind of argument he had wanted Cas to come up with.
"So like you're boys who are friends so you're like boyfriends?" Sam asked with a wicked gleam in his eye as he waited for Cas to reply.
"I guess the term could apply" Cas agreed with a slight nod of his head and Sam once again was all but rolling around the bed in fits of laughter.
"Cas! You are not helping here man" Dean told him with a shake of his head and disapproving frown. Cas however didn't seem to catch the unimpressed shake of Dean's head and instead looked far more interesting in opening the biscuits he'd been inspecting before shrugging his shoulders.
"To be honest I'm still confused as to why Dean views me as a piece of pie"
XOX
Author's Note.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favourited this story :D
I would love to hear any suggestions or feedback that you have. Please be honest if you feel the idea is to cliché and is not worth continuing. I really hope that I have managed to keep either Serah or Mary from becoming Mary Sue's and I would love to hear your opinions on them. There will also be more flashbacks as this story continues.
Thank you very much for reading and I hope that you enjoy reading as much as I have writing it. I look forward to writing more if you want me too :D
Face claim –
I have the following face claims for some of my original characters if you'd like to see what I imagine them to look like. I have no idea who to chose for our new, young team free will so if you have any ideas.
Serah – Anna Kendrick (mostly as Pitch Perfect's Beca)
Mary – Zooey Deschanel (New Girl)
Deanna Winchester – Missy Peregrym (most from Stick It)
Sophia – Ashley Benson
Lucas – Zach Roerig
Lil – Alice Englert
Fox – Deborah Ann Woll
Abi – Emma Stone (Zombieland)
Ella – Emma Stone (Spiderman)
Hanna – Emily VanCamp
Em – Shay Mitchell
