Present
Everyone in the audience, Dean and Hershey excluded, 'aww'ed out loud. More than a few people gushed about how cute it was, and they looked at Hershey with hearts in their eyes. He only had eyes for me, as did Dean. The ex-hunter was leaning against the wall, his shoulders slumped. Maybe he should have just gone home to Lisa when he left a few days ago. Maybe he shouldn't have come back. It would have been kinder than this.
I cleared my throat to bring the attention back to me. "So it finally happened. Hershey finally told me that he loved me. How long had I been waiting for that? How many times had I fantasied about how and when he would finally confess his love for me? Even after I left, I couldn't help but think… Maybe. A silly fantasy. But it came true. It actually came true."
"It's still true," Hershey said, and the audience melted even further. Dean looked down at the floor. It was a few moments before I trusted my voice again.
"I know."
2009
Hershey hummed contently, his head on my shoulder. I kept one eye on the screens; Sam was less than happy with the fact that he had to preform surgery.
"What's the next show?" I asked.
"Up to you, Miss Station Manager." I frowned slightly and stepped back out of his arms. Hershey followed me, wrapping an arm around my waist. What did Hershey and I like to watch?
"What's that show that we watched that one time with Stel and Marcus? It was Japanese. Nutcracker?"
"Yes! Why haven't I used that before? I should add it to my list."
"It would be perfect! Oh! Can I host it?" Hershey laughed at my enthusiasm.
"Of course," he said as he kissed the tip of my nose. I scrunched it up in reply and handed him the headset.
"Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone," I said with mock seriousness.
"Never," he said. Hershey stole a quick kiss. "Oh! And you'll be speaking Japanese when you ask those two idiots questions. Don't worry. I'll handle the translation." I nodded, placed the piece in my ear and checked on how Sam was doing. A bottle of whiskey and sewing supplies? And was that really dental floss?
"I got to go."
"Have fun!" he called after me. I left the office and entered a small, dark holding room. A set of blue cards magicied themselves into my hand. I heard music begin and bright, flashing light peered through the cracks in the door. This was going to be great. The doors slid open to thunderous applause. I grinned and ran out into the blinding light.
"Let's play Nutcracker!" I proclaimed, throwing my arms open. The applause from the imaginary audience grew. I looked at the Winchesters on either side of me. They were both stuck on a platform that had a pole with a ball on the end. I hoped that at least one of them failed to answer his question. Sam had his adorable panicked face again. Dean was just… sad. There was no other word to describe it. Resigned was too hopeless, wistful was too dreamy, melancholy was far too dramatic. But why would he - ?
A loud gong drew my attention back to the game. Right. I put on my best overly serious face and looked at the first card.
"Sam Winchester." He looked at me hesitantly. I know that I've said it before, but it really was adorable. He kinda looked like a lost puppy. "What was the name of the demon you chose over your own brother?" The crowd gasped. "Countdown."
"What?" he asked. "You speak Japanese?" I smiled innocently at him and watched the red countdown clock tick down. "What am I supposed to say?"
"You think I know?" Dean asked. "Nicky, what the hell is going on?"
"Just tell me in English. I don't understand Japanese," Sam told me. I sighed dramatically and repeated the question. In Japanese. Presumably. Only a few seconds left. Sam sputtered. "Are you screwing with me?" he asked. "I – I can't speak Japanese!" The countdown clock buzzed loudly. The audience gasped. I checked my cards.
"The answer is… Ruby!" I turned to Sam. "I would say that I'm sorry, Sam, but I'm really, really not."
"Sorry? For what?" I turned to the audience and mimed hiding laughter. "Dean?" His pole flew up, the ball landing squarely on his crotch.
"Nutcracker!" I yelled to the jubilant crowd. Dean looked absolutely horrified, especially when he realized that the same thing could happen to him.
"Sam?" Dean asked. The younger Winchester was still having trouble standing upright. I walked up to him and leaned in close so that only he could hear.
"That's what you get for kidnapping me and stabbing me at Mystery Spot." Sam's eyes widened as I gave him my best impression of Hershey's mischievous grin.
"Look, Nicky, we wanted to talk to you," Dean said. I tapped the cards against the back of my hand.
"You know, I'm honestly surprised that you even know my name, Dean," I said. "I didn't realize that I left such an impression on you." Understanding dawned on his face.
"It hasn't happened for you yet, has it?" he said. My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Depends. What hasn't happened yet?"
Dean looked to be at a loss for words. What the hell was up with him? I was about to ask when the spotlight on the door began to flash, followed by a few loud bangs.
"Uh, Hershey? That you?"
"Oh, now what?" Dean asked.
The doors opened to reveal a rather attractive man in a beige trench coat. We stared at each other for a few moments. His eyes were the most brilliant shade of blue. He tilted his head as he looked at me as if I was some strange, unexpected specimen that he was going to study in the lab. A sense of calm power radiated off of him that was completely different from Hershey's carefree energy, and yet oddly similar. Was this another god?
"Cas?" Dean asked. The being – there was no way this guy was human – finally looked away and turned his attention to Dean. Cas? This couldn't possibly be Castiel, the fallen angel of the Lord, could it?
"Is this another trick?" Sam asked, slightly hunched over like he was expecting another attack.
"It's me. What are you doing here?" His voice was much deeper than I expected it to be.
"Us? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you. You've been missing for days."
"Okay, we haven't been in here that long," I said, drawing his attention back to me. We better not have; Stella would throw a fit.
"Cas, just get us the hell out of here!" Sam said.
"Let's go," Cas said, raising his arms to touch the Winchesters. Crap. I quickly snapped my fingers, and the angel vanished in a burst of static. Huh. That actually worked. Nice timing, Hershey.
"Cas?" Dean asked before turning to glare at me. I met his gaze and shrugged.
"Hershey and I don't like pretty boy angels," I told him. Although I would be the first to admit that I was curious about them. I shook my head to clear it and read the next card. "Really, Hershey?" I asked, raising an eyebrow that the imaginary audience.
"Well, that sounds comforting," Dean said.
"It's a dick question, but would your mother and father still be alive if your brother was never born? Start the countdown." Dean's eyes immediately went to the pole in front of him.
"What do I do, what do I do?" he asked. "I don't want to get it in the nuts!" I laughed. Dean shot me a decidedly unamused look.
"I don't know. I, uh, just, wait," Sam said.
"What?"
"I played a doctor." I fought back a smile. I had a feeling that Sam would be the one to figure it out.
"What?" Dean still wasn't getting it.
"In Dr. Sexy. I played a doctor. I operated," Sam said.
"So?" Dean said.
"So I played the role that the Trickster – Hershey – wanted me to play. Maybe we should just go along with it."
"You don't get to call him that." Both Winchesters ignored me.
"Go along with what?" Dean asked.
"With the game! We're on a game show, right? So answer her question," Sam said.
"In Japanese?"
"In Japanese," I told him, eyeing the countdown clock. He was cutting it pretty close.
"I don't know Japanese!" Dean said.
"Try!" Sam said, starting to get a little exasperated.
"Damn it!" Dean slammed his hand down on the button just as the countdown hit zero. The music built to a crescendo as we all waited for the buzzer to sound. Then… silence. I motioned for him to continue. "The answer is… yes?" From Dean's expression, it was obvious that he didn't actually know what he was saying.
"Yes," I repeated as I checked the card. This really was a horrible question. I was almost glad that the Winchesters couldn't understand Japanese.
"Yes," Dean said.
"Dean Winchester," he braced himself, "Nutcracker Campion!" The crowd went wild as I threw the remaining cards in the air. I watched them flutter to the ground, mixing with the confetti that rained down on us.
The Winchesters had to play their roles. What kind of lesson was Hershey trying to get at? Even if we were only doing this because Sam and Dean showed up at Stella's house, there was always a lesson here. What kind of lesson was "Play your roles?"
Present
"How do I describe Castiel?" I said. "Dean can probably do far better job than I can. And I don't mean that in a shipping way! They've just had a longer relationship together."
"How does that not sound like in a shipping way?" Dean asked, pointedly ignoring the looks that the convention goers were sending him.
"Look at you being up with the lingo, Deano!" Hershey – Gabriel – said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. No, screw it. I couldn't keep calling him Gabriel. It just felt wrong, now matter how much it helped me push him away.
"Dean has known Cas longer than I have. Better?"
"Much," Dean said. He stared at Hershey's hand until he moved it. A small smile found its way onto my face.
"Alright. Back to the original question. Castiel is… he's… I've met a few different versions of him. The first one, in TV Land, well Cas was still a little uptight then. At least, compared to Hershey. Although to be fair, everyone is uptight compared to Hershey." I ignored his laugh. "But he was… kind to me, even though he probably shouldn't have been. And later on, he became one of the very few people that I would call my friend.
"But back to TV Land. Cas intrigued me. Besides Tyler, I had never met another angel before. Oh, stop rolling your eyes, Dean. I wanted to meet one of the people – beings – that I had been praying to for most of my life. I mean, how many people got that chance? Hershey had stuck Cas in a horror movie, your standard murderous, chainsaw-wielding zombie family at a cabin in the middle of the woods kind of thing. He was less than thrilled with the idea of me visiting him. It took me almost an hour to convince him to send me to the cabin, and to halt the zombie attacks long enough for us to have an actual conversation."
I was silent for a few minutes. The audience watched expectantly, although a few of them, including Dean, were getting restless. Becky just looked confused as to why I stopped. I wasn't really all that sure myself. I still had a few minutes before we got to the stuff that kept me up at night.
"Up until my conversation with Cas… I never really doubted Hershey. I knew that he would be there to protect me, that he cared for me, loved me, and that he never really purposefully lied to me about something important. And Cas made me doubt that, just a little bit."
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