Growing Up


"What was it like?" Thea asked, slouched on her parents couch as AJ looked over at her, slouched on the other couch.

"What was what like?" AJ asked tiredly, "God, I gotta open my pants." She shook her head, feeling stuffed after dinner, having had Thea, Dominic and the kids over for dinner.

"Growing up in the old days?" Thea asked as Punk sat on the floor, looking over at Thea.

"The old days?" Punk raised a brow.

"Well are you young?" Thea looked at him as Punk rolled his eyes.

"It was fine." AJ smiled to herself briefly.

"Just fine?" Thea asked her.

"It was better than fine." Punk scoffed, "I'm sure it was just like your teenage hood."

"Not quite." Thea said, "Unless you both had a secret cocaine and alcohol addiction, probably not the same."

"Not that I remember." Punk shook his head as Thea smiled a little.

"What did you guys even get up to?" Thea shook her head as Punk looked over at AJ.

"Nothing that would interest you." AJ said briefly, looking over to Punk who was smiling.


"Where the hell were you?" Seventeen year old Punk shoved Dean who showed up outside the twenty-four hour convenient store, "I said meet us here at eleven."

"I got caught up, didn't I?" Dean shoved Punk back.

"Caught up doing what?" AJ asked curiously.

"None of your business." Dean looked over at her, "Why am I even summoned here anyway? I think you're both capable of stealing some things on your own."

"We're not actually, there's a system. Now get to it." Punk nodded to Dean.

"You're a pain in my ass sometimes, you know." Dean nodded to him as Punk smiled, giving him a dead leg as Dean shoved him, both of them fighting with each other in the middle of the street as AJ rolled her eyes.

"I'm hungry!" AJ yelled angrily, stomping on Punk's foot, "Quit it."

"Hey, why you take it out on me?" Punk hopped a little.

"Cause she's scared of me." Dean smiled, "Aren't you, princess?"

"You wish." AJ nodded, "Go. Before I start eating you both." She advised as Dean shook his head, brushing his hand over his messy hair, heading for the convenient store as Punk and AJ followed a little while after, walking in whilst Dean headed straight to the counter to do the distracting.

"Where do you suppose he was?" AJ whispered, walking down the aisle with Punk, putting several things in her backpack.

"Getting high in that woman's house who keeps doing his laundry." Punk shook his head.

"You don't suppose…"

"Yes, I do suppose." Punk nodded to her as AJ cringed a little.

"Bunny boiler." AJ whispered, "He's a child." She shook her head, "People go to jail for that."

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, looking over to the cashier desk where Dean was standing distracting the man, noticing them beginning to yell at each other a little, "Let's pick up the pace a little."

"I only have two hands." AJ shook her head. This was their life. Most nights.

"Shit… he's coming." Punk panicked.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Dean followed the cashier, trying to get his attention as AJ quickly zipped up her backpack, watching the cashier come into the aisle they were standing in.

"Empty your bag, miss." He ordered as Punk kept a hold of AJ's zipper.

"There's nothing in her bag." Punk scoffed, watching as Dean got on his hands and knees behind the cashier.

"Empty it." The cashier ordered, "Now."

"What's the magic word?" AJ raised a brow as Punk pushed him hard, resulting in him falling over Dean who was kneeling behind.

"Go!" Punk pushed AJ forward, running out of the store as Dean got to his feet, running behind them.

"Hey, get back here!" The cashier got to his feet, running after them as AJ and Punk ran out of the door, almost tripping up over each other as Dean followed, running down the street as cashier gave up after realising they had sped away quickly.

"Well we won't be going there again." Dean shook his head, his run turning into a walk as AJ and Punk slowed down.

"I didn't get nearly enough." AJ shook her head, looking in her backpack.

"We got plenty." Punk shook his head.

"I needed… something." AJ said as they both looked at her.

"What?" Dean questioned, "We got enough for tonight and tomorrow." He looked at the food in the backpack, "It's fine."

"May I remind you both I'm a girl." AJ nodded discreetly as Punk folded his arms, turning to Dean with confusion.

"I've never noticed." Dean shook his head as AJ made a face at him.

"I needed tampons." She shook her head, realising there wasn't any discrete way to tell them, especially them.

"Oh." Dean nodded, "Oh, that's a damn shame." He nodded without much sympathy.

"Can't you just… use a sock or something?" Punk shrugged as AJ looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

"You… You're lucky you're pretty." AJ nodded to him as Punk smiled to himself, turning to Dean proudly, "No, I can't use a damn sock."

"I guess we're kinda close to Sam's." Punk realised as Dean shook his head.

"We're not going there." Dean scoffed.

"It'll only be for a minute." Punk said, "It's an emergency."

"Is it?" Dean raised a brow.

"Yes." AJ made clear.

"Look, it's not my fault Mendez is on heat. I'm not going to mom's." Dean shook his head.

"Fine, stay here then." Punk nodded, walking on down the street with AJ as Dean watched, rolling his eyes as he ran after them.


"You think she has company?" AJ asked, arriving at Sam's house.

"If I had money I'd bet on it." Punk nodded, walking into the house as AJ followed.

"I'm waiting out here." Dean said, sitting down on the front step.

"I can go if you like." AJ nodded.

"No, just stay here." Punk said, standing at the bottom of the stairs, "If I don't return in five minutes it's because I've combusted with all the fumes in here." He nodded as AJ smiled, watching him walk upstairs.

Punk climbed the stairs, making his way into the messy bathroom, opening up the doors beneath the sink to look for what he assumed tampons would look like. He really had no clue.

"Ok, is this it?" Punk shook a box, looking inside.

"That's for your feet." Sam nodded, standing at the door as Punk jumped, falling from a crouched position onto his ass.

"Jesus." Punk said with fright as Sam smiled, folding her arms.

"Looking for condoms?" Sam asked as Punk got to his feet, rolling his eyes.

"No." Punk said, "Tampons." He nodded as Sam smiled a little, intoxicated to say the least.

"Time of the month, is it?" She asked him.

"Yes, now where are they?" Punk asked her as Sam walked into the bathroom, opening up the top cabinet and taking a box out, handing them to him.

"I got some pain killers too if you've got some cramps?" Sam asked him as he rolled his eyes, shoving by her as he shook his head.

"You smell like a bar." Punk shook his head, leaving the bathroom and walking back downstairs as Sam staggered around the bathroom a little before making her way to her bedroom.

"Thank God." AJ said with relief as Punk handed the box to her, "Can I go use the bathroom?"

"Uh… sure, just beware of Sam." Punk nodded to her as AJ headed upstairs whilst he headed outside where Dean was sitting.

"We good?" Dean nodded.

"Ape is just using the bathroom." Punk said.

"Women." Dean shook his head, "I say we get rid of her." He nodded as Punk laughed a little.

"I wouldn't last a day without her." Punk shook his head, "Neither would you."

"Yeah, I know." Dean said quietly, opening up AJ's backpack and taking out some chips, opening them up and sharing them with Punk.

"How much you got?" Punk asked as Dean showed the few dollars he had in his pocket.

"You?" Dean asked as Punk brought out a fifty dollar bill from his pocket, "Hey, where'd that come from?"

"Ape's family friend, Rio, he gave me it." Punk shrugged.

"In exchange for what?" Dean asked him.

"I just delivered this box to an apartment on the south side." Punk said, "Don't tell April, though. She's weary of him. He seems nice." Punk shrugged.

"What was in the box?" Dean asked him.

"I didn't ask." Punk looked at Dean, breaking the stare when they heard AJ screaming from inside.

Punk immediately got up from the steps, running into the house and upstairs where AJ was standing at the bathroom door, looking on at the intoxicated man who had collapsed in front of her.

"What's going on?" Dean ran in behind Punk.

"Oh, she's being dramatic." Sam scolded, "He's just a little drunk."

"He was coming at me." AJ shook her head as Sam raised a brow.

"Let's get out of here." Punk shook his head, extending his hand out as AJ took it, stepping over the man in the hallway.

"Not even a hug for your mother?" Sam asked, looking over at Dean.

"We'll pass." Dean nodded to her, walking down the stairs behind AJ and Punk.

"Let's get out of here." Punk shook his head as Dean followed, slamming the door shut behind him.


"Would you two knock it off? I'm literally in the same room as you." Dean scolded, lying on the couch in the motel room.

"We're not doing anything." AJ scoffed, lying in bed with Punk.

"Why don't you go take a walk or something?" Punk asked, pulling AJ's shorts down under the sheets as AJ chuckled, shoving him from behind.

"I suppose I'll have to." Dean scoffed, getting up from the couch, putting some clothes on, throwing a shoe over which hit Punk on the head.

"That hurt." Punk laughed a little whilst Dean collected his lighter and some cigarettes, meanwhile AJ pressed her backside against Punk's crotch under the sheets, teasing him as he chuckled in her ear.

"You two make me sick." Dean shook his head, heading for the door.

"Take a long walk." AJ suggested as Dean slammed the motel room door behind him, feeling Punk grab her on top of him immediately as she giggled, "You're brave. Time of the month and all."

"I don't give a shit." Punk shook his head as she smiled, pushing his boxers down as she got on top of him, leaning forward and kissing his lips.

Meanwhile Dean wandered around the town for a little while, finding himself outside a record store which was still opened. He walked inside, nodding over to the man behind the front desk.

He spent a while walking up and down the aisles, looking at all the different vinyl records, taking them from the shelf and looking at the covers for them.

"You can play whatever you want on the record player over there." The owner of the store nodded to him, pointing to the record player in the corner of the store.

"Oh, I… I don't got any money. I'm just looking." Dean nodded to him.

"It's free, buddy. Knock yourself out." The owner smiled, walking off as Dean raised his eyebrows, looking at the record player and making his way over to it curiously.


"We just… watched movies and stuff." Punk shrugged, looking over at AJ who smiled a little.

"And ate pizza." AJ nodded, smiling over to him as he gave her a wink.

"Yeah, right." Thea scoffed, not believing it for a second.