Sorry for the long wait! I've now gone full time at my job and have gotten a second job on top of that so I hardly have any time to write, which is very sad for me because I really enjoy writing these stories. Hopefully you guys will stick with the story even though there will be long waits in between chapters. Also a warning for this chapter, there is sexual content so just a head's up. Hope you all like it!
Dean strolled out of Command and started back for his house. He'd gotten his team together and met up with Bobby to figure out this hunt. It sounded like a fairly cut and dry vampire hunt; he and Bobby had done as much research as they could from Command to make sure they were dealing with something that first time hunters could handle, and luckily it looked like it was.
Dean had also told his team how to kill a vampire and the signs to look for if they thought they were hunting one in the future. Everyone on his team was really excited to get started with actual hunting, but they weren't leaving until tomorrow night.
"Dean! Wait up!" Sam suddenly called out behind him. Dean stopped and turned to see Sam, Harper, and Tera walking towards him.
"What're you guys doin'?" Dean asked as they got closer.
"We were just walkin' back to the house," Sam replied.
"Where's Alec?" Dean asked curiously. He knew his little brother could take care of himself, but he was still protective over him.
"Last I saw he was still at the bar," Sam said in amusement. "I think Garth and Rufus were gonna take up the challenge of getting him drunk."
Dean chuckled, "Well good luck to them…it can't be done. Hopefully they switched over to something not as strong as Jonny Walker Blue. He might not be able to get drunk, but he can still puke."
Sam gave him a knowing smile, "You worry so much. He's gonna be fine, and if he pukes, then maybe he'll learn something from it."
"Yeah…" Dean replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He was never going to stop worrying about either of his brothers. Sam shook his head, but he didn't push the subject any further.
"Heard you got a hunt," Harper said after a moment. She playfully bumped into him as they walked and he smiled.
"I wanna go on a hunt so bad!" Tera whined, and then said to Dean, "This is the first and only time I will ever be jealous of you."
"I'll make a mental note," Dean deadpanned back. He glanced over at Harper and saw that she was giving him a small, seductive smile. Her smile was enough to make his heart race in his chest and give him some ideas about how they could spend the rest of their night. He turned back to Tera and said, "Now can you make yourself scarce? I wanna talk to Harper, alone."
Sam rolled his eyes and Tera sighed dramatically, "You just wanna get it on."
"We'll hang out around the house or something," Sam said, gesturing to himself and Tera.
Dean nodded his thanks to Sam for distracting the demon for a while; taking one for the team. He and Harper hadn't been alone in a long time. They had some things they needed to talk about and if they happened to have sex, then who was he to stop them.
Harper smiled over at Tera, and then Dean grabbed her hand and started for their house. Sam and Tera followed until they got to the door, but then stopped outside. Dean pulled Harper inside and smirked at Sam before he shut the door.
Harper moved towards him and slowly put her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. "So, you wanna talk?" Harper asked softly.
"Yeah," Dean replied with a relaxed smile, "But I think we should go back to my room…"
Harper threaded her fingers through his short hair and brought him closer. Her lips ghosted over his; he moved his hands down so he could pick her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "We haven't been alone in forever…" Harper whispered against his cheek.
"Luckily everyone's at the bar tonight," Dean whispered back, walking through the empty living room. He kissed her below her ear, making her shiver.
He walked them back to his bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him, just in case. He lowered Harper to lie on the bed and he followed her down. He braced himself on his elbows and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were soft against his as he kissed her.
She ran her fingers through his hair and down his back before she circled back up. He moved one of his hands under her back to bring her closer to him, her breasts pressed against his chest. Her lips parted and he let his tongue explore her mouth until her tongue brushed against his.
He turned his head to deepen the kiss and Harper's legs tightened around him. He wanted this night to last since he and Harper couldn't be together much. He missed her; he didn't feel like this when he was with other women.
Dean sat up, still kissing her, and brought her with him so she was sitting in his lap. Her legs were still wrapped around him; she ground her hips against his, and even though they were still fully dressed, he knew she could feel him through his jeans.
He edged his hands beneath Harper's shirt and skimmed her skin with his fingertips. One of Harper's hands moved from his hair, down his chest and fisted in his shirt. He pulled up on the bottom of Harper's shirt; she lifted her arms up so he could get her shirt off completely.
He wrapped his arms around her back and kissed her lips once before he kissed her neck. Her back arched with pleasure, pushing her breasts closer to him. He moved one hand up her side as he sucked on her delicate skin. She moaned, and then bucked her hips when he cupped her breast over her bra. He gently pulled her hair tie off, causing her hair to cascade down her back.
Dean ran his hand through her silky hair down to the clasp of her bra. He slid his hand under her bra and gently squeezed her breast as he unhooked her bra with his other hand. She gasped in a surprised breath when he touched her and pushed herself further into his hand. The straps of her bra fell from her shoulders and down to her bent elbows. Her breasts were revealed to him and he brushed his thumb over her erect nipple.
"Dean…"Harper breathed out, her eyes closed with pleasure.
Dean hummed against Harper's skin. He let his other hand travel lower as he caressed her breast. He unbuttoned her jeans and slowly glided his hand beneath the edge. He pressed against her heat and she ground against him in response. He rubbed her, making her squirm and causing her pleasure to build. He knew she was close so he backed off just a little.
He was straining against his jeans; his need to be with her almost overwhelming him. He pulled away completely from her and quickly pulled his shirt off over his head. Harper watched him and she kicked off her jeans as he stood up to do the same. He pulled his wallet out and grabbed a condom before he dropped his jeans and his boxers to the floor. He quickly rolled the condom on over his length before he went back to Harper.
He slid his hands up her thighs, and then tugged her underwear down. He gently pushed her legs apart and slowly eased himself inside of her. She gasped once he was all the way inside, but he caught her lips with his, capturing her gasp. She wrapped one hand around the back of his neck and held on to his shoulder with her other.
He slowly started to move; his strokes were slow and deep and she writhed beneath him. He got into a steady pace, kissing her deeply as he got them both closer to the brink.
Dean slipped his hand beneath Harper's lower back and tilted her hips up so he could get even deeper. She moaned in pleasure and her grip on him tightened. He had to break off their kiss to duck his head beside Harper's. He was so close; he couldn't help but speed up his pace.
Harper suddenly cried out and squeezed around him as he pushed her to the limit. That was all it took for Dean to fall over the edge and release inside of her. He slowed his motions as they both came down from their high, but he stayed inside of her. They were both breathing hard; their bodies were slick with sweat and she was still pulsing around him.
He dropped his head down to her chest and ghosted his lips over her skin. She ran her fingers through his sweaty hair as they both slowly relaxed.
"That was a good talk," Harper said, a smile in her voice.
"Yes it was," Dean mumbled against Harper. They were quiet for a minute, and then Dean asked, "Have you and Tera really been hunting together?"
"Yeah," Harper softly replied. Dean hesitated; he didn't know how to ask if she was ok hunting with a demon. "She's not so bad…" Harper said before Dean could think of something. "She just takes some time to get used to."
Dean nodded, and then said, "I'm sorry we haven't found a way to kill her yet…we got a little caught up in the last hunt…"
"It's ok," Harper murmured. Her hands were soothing in his hair, almost making him doze off. "What were you guys hunting?"
"Windego…" Dean said sleepily. He nearly shuddered thinking about their last hunt. It hadn't been their best hunt and had nearly cost him both of his brothers. Harper must have felt his reluctance to talk about it because she backed off, but she kept her fingers in his hair for a while.
He felt Harper push on his shoulder, and he reluctantly rolled to his side. Harper tucked herself against his chest, and Dean fell asleep to her slow, even breathing.
Sam didn't mind sitting outside and hanging out with Tera. Ever since their moment in the kitchen he'd felt drawn to her. He wanted to be around her even though he knew Tera was a demon and it would be a disaster if Dean or Alec ever found out he was starting to like her.
They walked over together to a bench near the house. Since Harper and Tera were tied together, Tera couldn't go too far from the house. Sam sat next to Tera, close enough that their arms were touching.
"So Sam," Tera said after a moment, "You've been a hunter since you were a kid, but the life's killed your mom, your girlfriend, and your dad…so why do you do it?"
Sam glanced over at Tera curiously; she sounded genuinely interested to find out why he was a hunter. "Well, I do it for my brothers. I couldn't do this without them and we help people. We know what's out there and we know how to stop it."
Tera nodded like she was expecting him to say that.
"Can I ask you something?" Sam asked slowly.
"Sure," Tera replied easily. "I'm an open book."
"Have you always been a demon?" Sam asked curiously.
Tera chuckled, "No, I haven't always been a demon. Demon's used to be people before they became demons."
"So you really used to be human? Not just remembering the real Tera's memories or something like that?" He'd never been around a demon long enough to find out their life's story.
Tera sighed, "It's been so long since I've thought about my real life…"
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Sam quickly said when Tera trailed off.
Tera shook herself, seemingly coming back to the present. "No, I think it'd be nice if someone knew. My name used to be Isabella Badalamenti."
"Italian?" Sam guessed.
Tera smiled, "Yeah, 1734 Venice."
Sam looked impressed, "That sounds amazing!"
"Sure, especially if you liked falling out of gondolas into putrid water with a corset on," Tera said sarcastically. "That's why I had my first betrothed killed…couldn't trust him with the oar."
"You were betrothed?!" Sam asked, surprised. He couldn't picture Tera agreeing to an arranged marriage. "Did you actually get married?"
"No, of course not!" Tera replied with a laugh. "I hated everyone they tried to pass off on me. I made a deal that would conveniently kill them before the wedding. It was very tragic," Tera said. "Those leeches were just after my family's money anyway and my life was fantastic for those ten years."
"So, no regrets?" Sam thought that sounded like a tough situation. He'd hated not having free will with his family and to be forced to marry someone he didn't love would be a nightmare. But at the same time, she'd sold her soul for that, had gone to Hell for years before she'd come back as a demon. He didn't know what he would do in that situation.
Tera shrugged, "No, I wanted my freedom and that was the way I could get it. And now I get to live in the wonderful modern age where women have free will and some men are more respectful towards women."
Tera looked up at him through her lashes and Sam's heart skipped a beat. He knew he shouldn't be feeling like this, Tera was a demon, but he couldn't help it. Before he could think too much about it, Tera made the move for him.
She crushed her lips to his and he reacted instinctively. He brought is hand up and held Tera in place while his other hand fisted in her hair. She bit his lip and he pulled her hair in return. They were both breathing heavier now as their tongues tangled.
Tera's hand moved his jacket to the side and ran her hand down his chest. He pulled her closer so she was practically sitting on his lap. His fingers slid beneath the edge of her shirt as her lips moved down to his neck.
The sudden sound of footsteps was the only thing that brought him back to where he was. He pulled away from Tera and quickly looked over to see who was headed their way. He could just make out that it was Alec that was staggering towards them. He immediately put some distance between himself and Tera; he just prayed that Alec hadn't noticed. But Alec was giving him a wide, goofy smile as he walked closer.
"Sammy!" Alec called out happily.
Sam chuckled and gave Alec a small wave and casually returned, "Hey Alec."
Alec plopped down in between Sam and Tera. He put his arms over their shoulders, but he leaned slightly against Sam.
"This was a good night!" Alec stated with a decisive nod. "Had a lot of fun. Rufus and Garth and Bear…we had a lot of fun."
"Are you drunk?" Sam asked. Alec was definitely happier than usual and he smelled like alcohol.
"Not drunk, Sammy, just buzzed," Alec replied quickly.
"How much did you drink to get 'just buzzed'?" Sam asked curiously. He really wished Dean was here to see this, but there was no way he was going to interrupt Dean's alone time with Harper.
"A lot! But don't tell Dean 'cause he'd get all growly and say 'Alec…you know better than to drink that much'…He always says stuff like that, but I can't help how much it took to get this buzzed. Besides, it'll wear off really quick. And that Jonny Walker is some strong stuff. It's a good thing Rufus wanted to share. But I'm gonna havta get some more for him since he gave me a lot of his stash," Alec said with a smirk. He looked around suddenly and asked, "Where is Dean anyway?"
"He's inside with Harper," Sam said, nodding to their house. Alec was talking so fast it was hard to keep up with everything he was saying, but Sam caught the last part.
Alec frowned in confusion for a second before his eyes lit up in realization. "Oooohh, I see!"
"Which is why we're outside," Sam explained.
Alec nodded, looking a lot like a bobble head, and then glanced over at Sam. "It's good they get some alone time. They both deserve it. It's good that he can be happy for a while. You need someone too. Everyone needs someone they can be happy with, and y'know I think we deserve to be happy. We do some good. We try to save people so I think we should be happy sometimes too…"
Sam smiled and reached over to ruffle Alec's hair. "You're right buddy, we deserve to be happy," Sam said quietly.
Alec dropped his head against Sam's shoulder suddenly and mumbled, "I'm sleepy…"
Sam chuckled and looked over at Tera, "I'm gonna find him somewhere to sleep, are you going to be ok here?" Tera smiled and nodded back to him. Sam slowly stood up, keeping one hand on Alec's shoulder so he wouldn't fall over. Sam grabbed both of Alec's hands and pulled him to his feet, "C'mon buddy, let's go find a bed." He kept Alec steady just in case; he didn't want Alec to trip or anything.
"Ok Sammy," Alec replied.
"You good to stand by yourself?" Sam asked. Alec nodded and Sam released him. He swayed just a little, but he remained standing. Sam gave Tera a small wave as he and Alec started walking away. "Let's find you some food first…sober you up a little," Sam said after a few steps.
"I'm not drunk, Sammy," Alec argued. "I'm-"
"Buzzed, I know," Sam cut in. "But you should eat before you sleep so you don't get a hangover."
"I don't get hangovers," Alec said.
Sam rolled his eyes, "What have you eaten today?"
Alec stopped walking to think about it, "Um…I had something sometime…"
Sam gently grabbed Alec's elbow and started him moving again. "Ok, pit stop to the Mess Hall, and then find a bed."
"Whatever you say, Sammy," Alec said with a wide smile.
Sam shook his head in amusement. He liked this version of Alec; he was happy and he didn't argue very much. He knew Alec not arguing with him wouldn't last very long, but it was nice to see him all goofy instead of always being put together.
Sam led Alec into the Mess Hall and sat him down at one of the tables while he went looking for some food. The Mess Hall was empty since it was the middle of the night, but Sam knew he could find some food in the kitchen. He found the stuff to make a sandwich, and then brought it out to Alec a few minutes later along with a big glass of water.
"Thanks," Alec said with a smile, but it wasn't as wide as it had been so Sam figured he was starting to sober up. Alec ate pretty fast, and Sam took his plate once he was done. He came back after a moment and waited for Alec to get up, but he just looked up at Sam with raised eyebrows. "Sam, I think I can find my way to Max's place from here…"
Sam shook his head no, "I'm going with you just to make sure."
Alec rolled his eyes, but finally stood up. They walked outside, but they weren't in any hurry. "Hey Sam?" Alec asked quietly after a few steps.
"Yeah?" Sam asked back curiously.
Alec rubbed the back of his neck and asked slowly, "Have you had a girlfriend before?"
Sam gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yeah, I've had a girlfriend…" Alec didn't say anything else; Sam knew he had more questions, but sometimes they had to nudge him along. Sam wasn't really sure where he was going with this, but he could talk until Alec jumped in. "I had a girlfriend for a long time, actually, back in college. We moved in together and everything."
Alec looked over at him in surprise, "Really?"
Sam nodded and cleared his throat, "Yeah, we lived together for about a year…" It was harder to talk about Jess than he thought it would be.
Alec's head popped up suddenly and he asked, "Was her name Jess?"
Sam stopped walking and turned to face Alec, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "How'd you know that?"
"The Djinn we hunted at the hospital a while ago," Alec said. "You said your dream world had a girl named Jess in it…I didn't think to ask about her before…"
"She was alive in my dream world," Sam said sadly. "But the Yellow Eyed Demon, the one that killed my mom, killed her too. That's when I started hunting again. I wanted revenge for what the demon had done, and you helped with that in the graveyard nine months ago."
Sam had thought killing the demon would make him feel better, but it hadn't really. Jess was still gone and there was nothing he could do to bring her back.
"I'm sorry Sam," Alec said softly.
Sam shrugged, and then decided to get back to Alec's original question and asked, "Why'd you want to know if I'd had a girlfriend before?"
Alec ran his hand through his hair and said, "I need girl advice…"
Sam lips tugged up with a smile, "Why do you need girl advice?"
"Never mind, forget it," Alec said quickly.
"No, c'mon Alec, talk to me," Sam said, nudging Alec's arm with his own.
Alec still hesitated, but then he eventually admitted, "I've never had a real girlfriend before…"
"Really?" Sam asked, surprised. Alec was just as smooth as Dean when it came to women. He had asked what he should tell Max the last time they had been here, but Sam had assumed Alec had had a girlfriend before Max.
Alec nodded, but then quickly defended, "I've been with lots of women-mainly to get information or to blow off steam, but I…I fell in love once when I was undercover, but that didn't work out…but I've never been in a real, long-term relationship."
Sam gave Alec a small smile. He wanted to ask his little brother about who he had fallen in love with and what had happened, but he thought he'd have to wait until later. Alec had a tough time admitting just that much to him and he didn't want him to clam up now.
"What kind of girl advice are we talking about here?" Sam asked after a moment.
Alec returned Sam's smile, grateful that Sam wasn't asking him questions about his past. "I wanna do somethin' nice for Max," Alec confessed. Sam smiled and nodded in understanding, but Alec didn't see him and quickly continued, "I mean, don't get me wrong, we have a lot of sex and it's awesome! I know she likes it 'cause she's pretty vocal when it's good. And she scratches up my back sometimes, but that's because I love to tease her. I know just what she likes and I can get her right to the edge before I back off again-"
"Alec," Sam cut off when he realized Alec wasn't going to stop. "That's way more information than I ever wanted to know about your sex life."
Alec gave him a sheepish smile before he said, "Sorry…"
"It's ok," Sam replied.
"So what should I do?" Alec asked, and Sam could suddenly see how young Alec was. He sometimes forgot how much Alec had never experienced before; he always seemed to know what to do and when he didn't, he just covered it up and pretended like he did. Manticore had made it so Alec didn't experience anything he didn't need to, to complete the mission.
Sam patted Alec's back and said, "You should get her something. Most girls like flowers or jewelry, but I can't see Max really liking those." Alec smiled up at him. "But honestly, she's gonna love anything you get her. You thought of her, and that's what matters."
Alec's smile widened, "Thanks Sam."
"Anytime," Sam said sincerely. He really liked being able to give Alec advice; Alec didn't ask often, but he always felt special when he picked him. "Any idea what you're going to get her?" Sam asked after a moment.
Alec thought for a minute. His look suddenly shifted; he smirked and had a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I think I might know of something…"
"Alec," Sam warned. He knew that look. Dean had the same look when he had a bad idea that he knew Sam wouldn't like, and Sam had seen it more than once on Alec.
"Don't worry about it Sammy," Alec replied. Sam wanted to question Alec about his bad idea, but they were in front of a house now and Alec quickly said, "And here we are a Max's place." He opened the door and slipped inside, "I'll see ya later!" he called out before the door closed completely.
Sam didn't know what Alec was going to be up to, but he was going to try and keep an eye on Alec for the next few days. Alec was way too sneaky for his own good, but he didn't want anything to happen to his little brother.
Alec woke up late the next day. He was still in Max's bed, but he was alone. Max had a lot to do since she was in charge so she would come and go, but he'd still been sleeping in her bed every night. Ever since their house had been invaded by more hunters, Alec had taken to sleeping at Max's place even though some of the hunters had been given their own house.
Alec stood up and stretched; he'd liked being buzzed, but it'd taken way to much alcohol to get him there. He would just have to remember the time fondly since he probably would never be buzzed again.
He wandered through the house and made his way to the kitchen. He knew Max had some food in the fridge since he'd been staying there. He liked late snacks and he didn't like going all the way to the Mess Hall to get food.
Max didn't have very much breakfast food, but she did have frozen waffles. He grabbed two of them and dropped them into the toaster. They popped after a couple minutes and he grabbed them and put them on a plate. He was just about to pour syrup over them when a knock sounded at the door.
He ignored whoever was there and poured his syrup anyway. Whoever it was, was probably looking for Max and they'd get the picture that she wasn't here and look for her somewhere else.
They knocked again as Alec sat at the bar with his waffles. He was just about to take a bite, but the knocking continued.
"Open up kiddo, I know you're in there," Dean called out.
Alec looked up in surprise at hearing Dean's voice. He slid off his stool and quickly opened the door for his big brother. Dean smiled when Alec opened the door and came inside.
"What're you doing?" Alec asked curiously. He knew Dean was leaving tonight for a hunt and he figured he'd be with his team going over what was going to happen.
"Killin' time before the hunt," Dean answered. He walked over to the bar and saw Alec's waffles and immediately went to the freezer to make himself some breakfast.
"How'd you know I was here?"
Dean looked over at him knowingly, "C'mon Alec, you're always here."
"That's a fair point," Alec muttered. "Where's Sam?"
"He's still sleeping. He had a late night," Dean said with a smirk. Dean grabbed his waffles from the toaster and walked over to sit next to Alec at the bar. "So, I wanna ask you about something…" Dean said as he poured syrup over his breakfast. Dean wasn't making eye contact with him so he knew he wasn't going to like whatever Dean wanted to talk about.
"What is it?" Alec asked slowly.
"I was talkin' to Rocky last night and he mentioned-"
"Wait," Alec quickly cut off. He didn't know exactly what Rocky had told Dean, but he knew it wasn't something he really wanted to talk about. He knew Dean wouldn't make him talk about it if he didn't want to, but he had another idea. "I'm guessing whatever it is, it has to do with Manticore." Dean nodded so Alec continued, "In exchange for me tellin' you about whatever it is that Rocky talked about-"
"Alec, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Dean quickly interrupted.
"I know," Alec replied. "But I wanna know about something too…something about you and Sam…"
"What is it?" Dean asked slowly.
"Sam mentioned last night that he went to college…but neither of you have ever talked about it before…" Alec said. Dean froze when he said that and he figured Dean wasn't going to answer him at all.
Dean took a deep breath and finally nodded, "Yeah, Sam went to college…"
Alec quirked his head to the side; he wasn't sure why Sam going to college would be such a bad thing. "I'm still a little out of it on the whole being normal thing, but aren't people usually happy about going to college?"
Dean huffed a laugh and shook his head in amusement. He reached out and messed up Alec's hair and Alec let him. "I'm sure a lot of people are happy to go to college, but we're not normal, kiddo." Alec raised his eyebrows, silently asking for Dean to tell him what happened. Dean sighed and said, "Sam and Dad never really got along…they were too alike and headstrong. Sam always wanted to go to school, but Dad was all about the hunt. They had a fight when Sam said he was leaving…He'd gotten a full ride to Stanford…"
Alec could hear how proud Dean had been of Sam for getting a full ride to college. He wanted to ask, but he decided to wait and let Dean talk.
"I didn't know what to do when Sam and Dad were fighting. I didn't say anything…I think I was in shock because I knew Sam was leaving…and Sam was so mad. He looked at me like I betrayed him. And Dad told him to go and to stay gone, and that's what he did. I tried calling after he left and started school, but he never answered…"
Dean trailed off and Alec waited for him to say something else. He had a million questions going through his head and if Dean didn't start talking again soon; he wouldn't be able to hold back.
"I gave up after a while, but I would check on him if I was in the area…I was proud of him for going to college, but…he cut me out completely. There were times that I just wanted to talk to him and see how it was going, but he never picked up. There were a lot of times where hunts had gone wrong and I was by myself…A couple of close calls…" Dean trailed off with a distant look in his eyes.
Alec couldn't hold in his questions any longer and since it appeared Dean wasn't going to keep going, he let them out, "How'd you guys make up? How did Jess die? Did you know Jess? Why wouldn't Sam answer the phone? Where was your dad when-"
"Alec, I can only answer one at a time," Dean interrupted.
"Ok, how'd you guys make up?" Alec repeated.
"Dad went missing," Dean said. "I went to where Sam was living and asked him to help me look for him. He'd never been gone that long and I didn't want to look for him alone. He didn't want to go, but he eventually agreed."
"How does Jess play into this?"
"She was Sam's girlfriend." Dean looked down guiltily, and then said, "When we went to look for Dad, Sam said he had to be back by Monday for some interview or something. We didn't find Dad, but we hunted the last thing he'd been after. When I dropped Sam off, I guess Jess was on the ceiling…the demon killed her, and then Sam wanted revenge so he got back into hunting with me."
Alec thought for a minute, and then asked quietly, "Why wouldn't Sam answer your calls?" He knew firsthand how close Sam and Dean were; it seemed impossible for them to be apart for that long without talking or anything. Alec hadn't been with them for very long, but even he couldn't imagine going a day without talking to one of his brothers.
Dean took a deep breath and ran his hand down his face, "Well, I guess, Sam was too mad at me for a while to talk to me. I hadn't defended him against Dad so he was pissed. But then he told me he was afraid I would talk him into coming back."
Alec didn't know what to say to Dean to make it better. It had obviously been a tough time for his big brother and he would've regretted asking, but he felt like he knew them better now. It made more sense now when Sam and Dean would fall into a tense silence or how they would steer away from those years when Sam was gone.
"So, that's enough of that," Dean said after a moment. He cut off a big bite of waffle and stuffed it in his mouth.
Alec waited until Dean was almost done chewing when he asked, "Ok, so, what did you want to know?"
"Rocky said you had a twin," Dean stated without wasting any time.
It was Alec's turn to freeze; he hardly ever thought about his twin, which was on purpose. It was his twin's fault that he'd been sent to psy-ops more than once and he'd been picked up for his twin's murders. 493 was the cause of a lot of his pain back at Manticore, and he'd never really forgiven him for that. He'd softened up a little bit towards him since Max had told him how his twin, Ben, had died.
"Yeah, I had a twin," Alec replied, his voice cold.
Dean looked over at him in surprise, "I'm going to guess that you don't really like him much…"
"493…um, Ben, escaped Manticore with Max when they were nine. I wasn't in his unit, but I'd heard about the escape…but the next thing I knew, two guards were there to take me to psy-ops…"
Alec remembered most of his times in pys-ops, but that one had been one of the worst. He'd tried to block it out, but it didn't work, no matter what he did, he couldn't forget.
"I didn't know why I was there…I didn't think I'd done anything wrong…That was the worst part. They were practically torturing me, but I didn't know why. They'd finally let slip that it was 493 and I knew he was part of the escape…I was there for six months before they finally cleared me, deciding that I wasn't going to follow in my twins' footsteps."
Alec saw Dean's fists clench, but he didn't say anything. Alec knew Dean hated Manticore, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"They brought me back in…" Alec stopped to think for a minute. "I guess over two years ago…I don't really remember, but I went back to psy-ops because my twin had gone crazy and had started killing people. I didn't know that at the time, it was like when I was a kid. They just grabbed me and took me to psy-ops. I didn't find out a lot about Ben until after I was out of Manticore…"
"What happened to him?" Dean asked softly.
"Max had to kill him," Alec stated. "He was killing people and taking their teeth, and Max being Max she had to stop him. I guess Lydecker was closing in on them and Ben had a broken leg so they couldn't both get away. Death is the better alternative to going back to Manticore."
"You never met him?" Dean asked.
Alec shook his head no, "We were in different units and he was dead before I got out of Manticore. I hated him though, for a long time…" Alec glanced over at Dean and was surprised to see he looked sad. "It's really not a big deal…I was in psy-ops a lot, these just sucked since I didn't deserve it those times."
"You didn't deserve it those other times either, Alec," Dean said seriously.
Alec just shrugged back; he knew when he messed up he'd need to be punished and he was ok with that. He'd grown up with that so he was used to it.
"Was that all you wanted to know?" Alec asked.
"For now," Dean replied with a small smile.
A smile tugged at his own lips; he knew Sam and Dean both wanted to know more about Manticore, but he didn't know how to tell them. Sam and Dean were both good men and he'd done things without even questioning them. He wasn't a good person, but he was afraid to reveal his worst side to them. He knew he was selfish for not telling them because he didn't want to lose his family, but he didn't care. He'd never had a family before and he wasn't going to give them up.
Dean looked like he was about to say something else, but the door opening stopped him. They both looked to see Max walking in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Dean was there too, but she smiled after just a moment.
"Hey Dean, what're you doing here?" Max asked as she walked in.
"Was lookin' for my little brother," Dean replied. He ruffled Alec's hair as he stood up. "I'll catch up with ya again before I leave," Dean said to Alec before he started walking to the door.
Alec nodded his ok and Dean left leaving him and Max alone.
"What did Dean want," Max asked curiously. She walked over to him and kissed his cheek, sitting down in Dean's abandoned seat.
Alec hesitated; he didn't want to bring up bad memories for Max, but he didn't want to lie to her either. "He wanted to know about Ben," Alec finally said. Max's mouth dropped open, but Alec quickly said, "Rocky mentioned him last night and Dean…Sam and Dean both like making me bare my soul." Alec tried to cover up with humor, but he was still a little too raw to do it convincingly.
Max put her hand on his shoulder, but she didn't ask him about it. Ben was harder for Max to talk about since he was pretty much her family. She'd been nearly in tears when she told him about how she had to kill him, which was the first time he had been able to comfort her.
That had been a turning point in their relationship. She'd opened up to him, and after she told him, he understood why she hadn't liked him. He reminded her of Ben every time she looked at him. He was grateful that she seemed to have gotten over that since they were actually together now.
Alec grabbed her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. "What were you up to last night?" Alec asked to change the subject.
"Scheduling supply runs," Max said with a shrug. "What did you do?"
"I went to Rocky's bar," Alec said. "I got buzzed for the first time."
Max's head popped up in surprise, "You drank enough to get buzzed? How was it?"
"It was pretty fun," Alec said, chuckling. "But I had to drink a lot and it didn't last very long."
"I wish I could've seen it." Max leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
Alec pulled back after a moment and said, "Y'know, I missed my cuddling last night…"
Max gave him a smile and teased, "I'm sorry, but you sleep way more than I do and I had work to do." She thought for a moment, and then said, "I still do actually…I was just stopping by to get a change of clothes…"
"Don't let me keep you," Alec said, pecking Max on the cheek.
Max got up and started walking back to her room. "Do you want to help me in Command later?" Max asked over her shoulder.
Alec took a bite of his waffle and mumbled around his mouthful, "Nah, I've got somethin' I've gotta do today…"
Max peeked back around the corner, scowling at him, "What are you doing today? Hunting lessons aren't every day since we still have to do supply runs and I thought your group had the day off completely."
"It's nothin'…I just have to run to town to get some things," Alec hedged, but then quickly added, "And don't worry, I'll take backup this time."
"What are you getting?" Max asked, slowly walking back into the room.
"Just some of our more…hard to come by supplies," Alec said.
"You're going out for more liquor and cigars again?" Max said with a frown.
"Well, since I drank half of Rufus's stash last night I gotta get him some more and Mole's still pissed that I didn't get him any cigars on my last run," Alec explained. Now he was going to have to actually pick those things up too. He was really going out to get Max a gift.
"Who are you taking for backup?"
"Bear for sure…maybe Rocky if I can catch him before his hunt," Alec said.
"Alright, well, be careful…" Max said after a minute. She gave him another quick kiss before she walked towards the door. "And find me when you get back so I know you didn't get yourself killed."
"Ahh, Maxie, you're so sweet when you're worried," Alec said sarcastically.
Max scowled at him, but then more seriously said, "Just be careful."
"I will be," Alec said with a smile.
Max tried to fight off a smile, but failed. She rolled her eyes at him before she walked out of the house.
More (hopefully) soon...