Chapter TenNo Air

Sammy thought they would never escape Kentucky and the effervescent happiness of the Crowe home. Esme prepared a feast that baffled even Dean's monstrous appetite and refilled their plates until finally the hunters begged for mercy for their overstuffed stomachs. Dalton and Benji sat side by side at the table their battered skin still glistening with the hospital's antibiotic ointment. The two boys' ate quietly glancing lovingly at each other every few moments. Sam wondered if he ever looked at Collyn like that without realizing it. Dean would have said yes then cracked some joke but he had seen Dean with equally heartwarming glances when they were alone.

After many hours the meal ended and the hunters started saying their goodbyes despite protestations from the proud mother and boys. Finally Dean gave Esme a slip of paper with their cell numbers on it and promised to visit the next time they passed through the area. On the way back to the hotel Sasha hooked his I Pod into the Impala's stereo with a tape deck adapter and played "No Air" for Dean. It was definitely not Dean's style of music, his taste barely extended past his birthdate, but he admitted the melody was nice and the lyrics were haunting. Haunting wasn't the exact word he used and he seemed a bit flustered by the tenderness of the words.

"It's too saccharine isn't it?" Sasha asked trying to hid his disappointment.

"What?"

"Lovey dovey," Sam said supplying a definition to the word his brother had probably never heard much less used.

"No, it's not…okay so maybe it's a little sappy but I like it." Dean admitted. "It fits." He said without taking his eyes off the road. Sasha smiled shyly and Sam was surprised to see the tips of his brother's ears go red. Normally Dean would refuse to admit emotion on pain of death and here he was blushing.

"I like it," Collyn said. "The devotion and the love lourn quality is something you don't find often in human music."

"Kid has a point. I haven't heard a song like it sense Jolene."

"Jolene? Dolly Parton?" Dean asked smirking.

"Don't you dare make fun of me, Metallica Boy, you already gave yourself away." Sasha said narrowing his eyes at Dean.

"I've heard the song. So what? That doesn't mean I'm a closet Dolly fan." Dean said scooting down in his seat.

"Dean, tell us what Jolene looks like." Sam commanded using his power.

"Flaming locks of auburn hair, ivory skin, and eyes of emerald green." The older hunter blurted a blank look crossing his face. "Damn it, Sammy." He said as his younger brother burst out laughing.

"Do you have that song, Sasha? I've never heard it." Collyn asked leaning between the front seats.

"Yeah." The incubus replied rolling his thumb across the controls. The opening bars of the song drifted from the speakers and when the country singer's voice came on Sasha sang along.

"Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm begging of you please don't take my man." Sasha sang. "Come on Dean sing with me. Please, I know you know the words."

"I do not."

"Please?" Sasha asked blinking his long red lashes over his cobalt eyes.

"One day I'll get immune to the puppy dog look then what are you gangly bastards going to do?"

"I have my own methods of persuasion, Sam's on his own." Sasha said grinning as Dean added his voice to the song.

"Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn, with ivory skin, and eyes of emerald green. Your smile is like breath of spring, your voice soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you Jolene." Sam rarely heard his brother sing and he knew it was a sign of true devotion that he would sing with Sasha so easily.

"You could have your choice of men but I could never love again. He's the only one for me, Jolene." Dean sang. Sam saw his brothers eyes flick to the tall redhead. No wonder Dean like the song enough to know it, every word of every line was true for him. Sasha was not just the only man he had every loved but the only person outside his immediate family he had ever shown any affection for. If Sasha ever left Sammy was sure Dean would never love again. Sam looked down at Collyn in time to see a single tear track down the banshee's face.

"Are you alright, Collyn?"

"It's beautiful." Sam smiled and wrapped his arm around the younger man's slender shoulder and drew him close. Collyn snuggled into the embrace. A few years ago Sammy would have said he could never love anyone but Jess but the warmth he felt in his chest when he held the little banshee boy close was as strong or stronger than the fire he felt for Jessica. He had always felt that she had saved him from a life on the road committing credit fraud and killing monsters; but the life she had saved him from was never truly far away and at the first chance had killed the blonde and he had gone back to it. Along the road he has saved countless live hoping secretly that each one would extinguish the guilt he felt. None had helped but his need to save people had lead in to Collyn in that alley in North Carolina. His burgeoning love for the fairy boy was beginning to push out the pain Jess had left in his heart.

As the Impala drew closer to the Ohio/Kentucky border the sun drooped closer to the horizon setting the sky on fire. Sasha flipped the Ipod back to "No Air" and he and Dean sang along. Sam heard Collyn's breathing slow and turn to a soft snore as he fell asleep listening to the singing.

Dean shook Sam awake and dropped a room key into his hand. Sam yawned and climbed out of the Impala. He packed his and Collyn's bags into the double room before coming back to wake the sleeping fairy. He stood beside the open door for a time watching the pale moonlight stream down on the sleeping teen's face. He looked so peaceful sleeping there that Sammy couldn't bear to wake him. Carefully he leaned into the Impala and hooked his arms beneath Collyn's back and knees. Silently he carried the banshee into the motel room and lay him on the bed farthest from the door. Normally he would have spent a few hours searching for paranormal activity on the web before going to sleep but Dean had called off all hunting until after the contest. It was very rare for the eldest hunter to take a break when not horribly injured but he did things for Sasha Sam wouldn't have expected in a thousand years. It didn't much matter anyway he felt far too tired to stare at the lap top's screen his eyes were already burning. He sat on the edge of his bed and peeled off his boots and socks before standing to shed his shirt and jeans. Clad only in his boxers he crawled between the sheets and fell asleep.

He awoke near midnight with a start. He didn't understand what had woke him so he quickly scanned the room for any sign of a threat. As his eyes adjusted to the meager light he saw Collyn standing at the edge of the bed. The small man stood a few feet away sheepishly gazing at his feet. He wore only a pair of boxers they had bought in Kentucky and the light seeping through the blinds made his skin glow in the moonlight.

"What's up, Collyn?" Sam asked sitting.

"People are dying all over this city. Men, women, children, young and old, in the hospitals and in the streets, there are so many voices calling out their last goodbyes. I cannot sleep and I feel so alone." He whispered his voice hoarse and trembling.

"You can feel every time someone dies?"

"My people, we mourn the dead, sometimes we are the only mourners. I can always feel when a life passes from this world but never have I felt so many pass so quickly and in such pain. Just now a little boy no older than seven died in a hospital across town. His blood was dying inside him, he died alone because he became lost in a system. In the same building a crone drew her last breath, she died not knowing where her children were. All these people dying alone, no one should leave this world not surrounded by love." Collyn sobbed hiding his face in his hands.

"Come here." Sammy said reaching to grasp the weeping teen's hand. He drew the banshee to the bed and pulled back the covers. Collyn climbed into the bed stretching out against the taller man. Sam rubbed his back with one hand while kissing the tears from his face marveling at how even his tears were sweet.

"You're right. No one should ever have to die alone," he said. "No one should be buried without mourners, but you are not alone. I'm here and I will be as long as you need me."

"When a banshee dies the entire village gathers at his house so he does not pass alone. Then everyone wails when he's gone. What sort of life is it to live completely alone without kind words and love everyday?" Collyn whimpered burying his face into Sam's chest.

"You were lonely after you left home weren't you?"

"Yes, no one smiles here. No one cares for anyone but themselves. I went so long whithout hearing anything but angry shouts."

"Some people care. I care about you. As long as I live there will be someone who loves you, who will smile at you." Sam replied kissing the top of Collyn's head and squeezing his shoulders.

"You won't leave me alone? I don't think I could stand being alone again."

"I won't leave you alone. You'll be stuck with me until the end."

"Promise?"

"I promise, now sleep if you can."

"It's not so bad with you here." Collyn said snuggling closer to the warmth of the large man. Sam wrapped his arms around the slender body and fell asleep.

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Both men through the night, through the sunrise, until Sasha knocked on the hotel room door with breakfast. Sasha came in and sat down at the table and began to unpack the food. Dean took note of Sam's duffle at the foot of the bed where the sleeping banshee lay. He pointed at the bed and then at his brother. Sam nodded, Dean smirked, and Sasha slapped him across the back of the head.

"What?!"

"We didn't have sex. He couldn't sleep and hew as upset so I let him sleep with me."

"Why was he upset?" Sasha asked.

"You know how banshee's can sense whenever someone dies? People were dying all over the city alone and it made him feel lonely." Sam explained sitting down on the edge of the empty bed.

"Damn."

"That sounds rough." Dean said actually sounding sympathetic.

"I promised I wouldn't leave him alone." Sam said standing to go to the table.

"You shouldn't have done that." Sasha said shaking his head.

"Why?

"Because you should never make a promise you don't know if you can keep, Sammy boy."

"I love him."

"Fairies can live hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years, Sam. As far as we know your powers haven't made you immortal. You can still die and you can still grow old. I don't know if the banshee can change people like the Incubi can. Eventually you'll leave him whether you want to or not." Sasha explained his face solemn.

"Oh, god." Sam moaned sitting heavily into a chair. "I didn't think of that."

"I would offer to make you a banshee but that involves sex things and Dean is glaring at me as we speak. Besides with your demonic blood adding a bit more probably wouldn't be the best idea."

"But it might make me immortal."

"It sure didn't stop Gordan's knife." Dean said his face pained. Sam might be alive and sitting beside him but that didn't change the fact that he'd held his baby brother as he died so few years ago.

"Well, no, but maybe it'll make me live longer." Sammy replied, he knew he was grasping at straws and he could tell by the looks on Dean and Sasha's faces that they knew too.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get too it." Dean said. "Go wake up Collyn so we can eat, we're going to try out for the competition today at two." Sam nodded and crossed to the bed. Kneeling by the banshee's head he swept the long lavender hair out of Collyn's face. Bending down he dropped a gentle kiss on the banshee's full lips. The fairy woke and stretched with a sleepy grin.

"You sleep well?" Sam asked smiling.

"Aye, a bit of warmth makes all the difference." Dean cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. It didn't matter if he slept every night wrapped in an incubus it was too early in the morning for sap. Collyn jumped at the unexpected sound.

"Dean and Sasha brought breakfast."

"Oh," he said pulling the covers closer to his body. "Could you bring me one of your shirts?" Sam stared at him for a moment before realizing he was too bashful to get out of bed wearing only boxers in front of Dean and Sasha.

"Sure," Sam said handing him a faded blue t-shirt.

"Looks like we have another modest one." Dean said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Just because you and I don't have any doesn't make it a bad thing." Sasha said looking towards the wall. Collyn pulled the shirt over his head and stood up quickly tugging the shirt to hand about his knees. Sam the cause of the banshee's embarrassment, he'd developed the teenage boy's usual morning affliction. Collyn went to the table and Sasha handed him a fruit cup, biscuit, and salad out of the bag and handed them to the banshee.

"You have no idea how hard it is to find a restaurant to caters to fairies for breakfast." Dean said his voice gruffer than his expression as he watched the banshee pour the fruit over the salad before tucking in.

"I told you he could eat an egg McMuffin." Sasha said taking a bite of his chicken biscuit.

"I hate McDonald's they're crappy fast food. Give me a road side diner any day." Dean said taking a bite of his gravy and biscuits.

"This coming from the man who lives off microwaved burritos and chips most of his life."

"You don't find chicken heads in microwave burritos."

"That's just an urban legend."

"So was Bloody Mary." Dean replied smirking. Sam could not think of an adequate response so he pretended not to hear and kept eating.

"We're gonna get out of here so you two can grab a shower. Be ready by one we want to get there early so we don't have to stand in line forever." Sasha said standing. Dean stood and followed him to the door. "If I let him think about it too much he'll freak out and run away then I'll have to hunt him down and make him do it anway."

"And no one wants that to happen." Dean said sullenly shutting the door behind him.

"Does Dean not like performing?" Collyn asked. "He has a powerful singing voice." Collyn stood and stretched causing the tshirt to ride up his thighs distracting the older hunter.

"Um….he's only sang for an audience a couple of times and those were with Sasha or because of Sasha. He sings really well but he doesn't like attention." Sam said his voice slow and stilted. "You want the shower first?"

"No, that's alright. You go ahead." Sam nodded grabbing a change of clothes and heading to the bathroom.

When he came back out fifteen minutes later Colllyn was sitting on the edge of his bed with a tank top and jeans lying beside him. . As Sammy walked out the door the banshee brushed past him to reach the shower. Sam felt something stiff brush his leg. The banshee still sported his morning erection and they had been up for almost an hour. It was uncanny. Sam sat on his bed and flipped onpen his lap top attempting not to think about the fairy in the shower or what he was doing lest he find himself in a similar predicament. After a while he heard the shower shut off, a few moments later Collyn stepped back into the room. His hair was still damp from the shower and hung close to his face. He wore a pair of black jeans and a deep violet tank top that went well with his lilac hair. When Collyn bent to tie his shoes his wing marks peeped out from under his shirt and Sam was again struck by its beauty.

As they rode to the auditions Sasha and Dean continued to sing along to the song warming up their voices and memorizing the words. Every so often Collyn would lend his voice. Sam could see that the closer they got to the auditions the more nervous Dean got. As they pulled into the auditorimm parking lot his knuckles were white where they clutched the steering wheel so tightly. Sasha looked perfectly calm but he sang for a living, Dean made his money hustling pool.

As they walked into the convention center Sam felt something was not right. The air felt thick and oily like the sky before a thunder storm and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He couldn't put his finger on it but something was definitatly amiss. He could tell Sasha and Collyn sensed something too. As they entered the building Sasha tensed involuntarily and Collyn lifted his nose to the air like a fox scenting the wind.

"There's something here."

"What?" Dean asked reaching for his absent gun.

"It's very old, very powerful,a nd it smells like fairy but it's not fairy." Sasha said glancing around the room.

"Gods." Collyn said. "It smells like the fog that drifts in during the worship ceremonies."

"There are gods in Cincinatti?" Dean asked his eye brows shooting up into his hairline.

"I think he's right, Dean." Sasha said beginning to look nervous.

"That he is, the little mourner has a good nose." A laughing voice came from behind them. The hunters spun to see three people who appeared from nowhere. The speaker, a tall man with blond hair and green eyes, was flanked by a curvy woman with curling red hair and another with straight black hair and violet eyes.

"Who are you?" Dean asked taking a step back.

"Oh, well, I answer to a lot of names. Most of them mean resurrection, most of them are in dead languages, but that's not really important you can call me B." The blond man said tilting his head in an eerie mimicry of Sammy's puppy dog look.

"You're the Holly King." Collyn said his voice trembling and his brogue thickening in awe.

"Aye that too, little one." He said smiling.

"And your friends?" Dean asked gesturing to the women.

"Laura, I am called by many Death." The dark haired woman said smiling coldly.

"Terra, I'm a mother." The red head said smiling brightly.

"The Goddess and the Crone." Collyn said quietly .

"Watch it, runt, do I look like an old biddy to you!" The raven haired goddess said stepping towards Collyn menacingly.

"Laura, be still. That's simply the name by which he knows you." B said quickly placing an arm between the angry goddess and awestruck banshee.

"Why are you here? Don't tell me you just love a good duet."

"We are music lovers, actually. In fact I used to be fairly good on the lyre, but you are right. We're here because your little family has caused quite a stir. You have escaped my sister once and your brother thrice and it's made her slightly irritable."

"You're here to kill us?" Sam asked.

"Oh, heavens no. That wouldn't be fair. Each time you escaped you did it fair and square. We just wanted to see you in person."

"My brother is also quite a fan of your people." Laura said rolling her eyes.

"Us personally or hunters in general?" Dean asked.

"Gays." The dark haired woman grimaced. Dean was beginning to grow tired of complete strangers making assumptions about his sexuality but correcting the goddess of death seemed like a bad idea.

"Why wait until now to meet us?" Sasha asked.

"Well we didn't want to distract you from your work, and I rather preferred to meet you when you weren't armed. Bullets don't really hurt, you see, but they do make Laura rather angry. She gets a little kill with the kill kill, and we would much rather you stayed alive you are all so very entertaining."

"And pretty." Terra said winking at the boys.

"You keep us alive because you enjoy watching us." Dean asked. "And we're pretty." He added when the earth mother raised her hand.

"Pretty much."

"So you gods are just a bunch of omnipotent voyeurs?"

"That sounds about right."

"I like me gay schmex." Terra said bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You what?" Dean asked the tips of his ears tinting.

"The catholic church would find that very interesting." Sam said smirking.

"Don't get me started on those people. The only time they see me is in baby pictures and hanging on that goddamned cross. It's like they're snuff film freaks." B said crossing his arms over his chest and pouting slightly.

"You're Jesus H. Christ?" Sam asked scratching his head.

"You watch us have sex?" Dean demanded.

"Look at the time, you two have an audition." B said quickly pointing at his wrist. His watch contained a very convincing replica of the universe.

"We'll be seeing you around boys." Terra said smiling.

"I'll get you my pretty and your little Sammy too!" Laura cackled pointing at Dean. The world lurched and the gods were gone. Dean and Sasha found themselves before a panel of judges, Sam and Collyn were suddenly seated in a waiting area.

"This says you will be singing "No Air" is that right?" The judge asked peering over his glasses at Dean and Sasha.

"Yeah," Sasha said handing her a CD.

"Did that just happen?" Sam asked looking over at Collyn.

"Yes, we just met the gods." Collyn said his eyes slightly glazed.

"He did say he was Jesus, right?"

"Uh huh, whoever that is."

"And your little Sammy too?"

"Yes, she did say that."

"That was fucked up." Sam said ditching his usual elegance.

"Sam?"

"Yes?"

"I think the Holly King and the Green Mother watch your brother and Sasha have sex."

"Uh huh." Sam replied quitly staring unblinkingly at the floor.

"We got a spot in the competition." Sasha crowed as he ran over to the waiting area.

"Good for you, where's Dean?"

"Um he might be a while he went to the bathroom and he can't go when someone's watching him."

"I hadn't thought of that." Sam said a look of horror crossing his face. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Jesus Christ and Mother Nature watch me like porn. I got nothing but confidence." Sasha laughed flopping down into a chair. Dean stalked over to the lounge and slumped down beside Sasha.

"I may never pee again."

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