Both Sam and Dean were flung a few feet away from each other, Sam worse than Dean. "Ugh," Sam groaned, left momentarily breathless. It made it difficult to speak. He attempted to call out to his older brother, but no air would pass through his vocal cords. Instead of panicking, he tried inhaling again, which was a painful process, slow and painful.
'Good,' he thought, repeating the cycle of ventilation. Next, he checked on his limbs to make sure none were broken. Good news was nothing broken, but his body screamed in pain, which shot up like fire. To him, it felt like a burnt metal shoved all the way down his muscles and bones. 'Breathing is good. Maybe we should stick with that for right now,' making a mental note.
Dean fell on his left side, hard, but he did not show pain at all. That was because of adrenaline rush: pain blunted, heavy breathing, heart racing, heightened senses, electricity coursing through his veins. He didn't waste any time at all getting up and grabbing his gun off the small of his back. Even with sharper vision, thanks to his adrenaline, he could not see a thing, but that did not stop him from aiming his gun in front of him.
"Sammy? You all right?" He asked, keeping his eyes focused. There weren't any places to use for cover. They were sitting ducks and he hated it. "Sammy!" He repeated, louder this time.
"Ya..." Sam responded weakly. To Dean, Sam answering him was music to his ears. "You?" One-worded syllable was all the youngest Winchester could muster.
"Friggin' fantastic!" Dean answered sarcastically, flipping the safety off his gun. He was uneasy. Did he miss it? He clenched his jaw still trying to search for whoever or whatever sent them flying. He may not be hurting right now, but whatever witch, wizard, sorcerer did this was powerful. What he saw earlier that was all over the yard, he could barely make out. He stayed rooted to his spot, unsure what to do, if y/n was even okay. "Son of a bitch!" he grunted.
"I think I'm gonna stay down here for a bit and stare at the stars," Sam mumbled, nonchalantly. He was not as worried as his brother. With palpable darkness surrounding them, the stars were sparkling ever so brightly.
Dean broke out in cold sweat. Where was y/n? Was she captured? Was she killed? He didn't hear anything, no scream of bloody murder...not a thing. So many thoughts ran through his head. He tried searching for his phone with his left hand, but all he felt was wet grass and leaves. His adrenaline was running rampant. Crap or not on the ground, he didn't care. He promised Harry and Castiel he was protecting Y/N and that was what he was going to do. As soon as he decided to move, warmth caressed his face and his body and a whiff of cinnamon and maple assaulted his nose. All his worries dissipated that instant. It was her scent, her magic that took hold.
'Flickum Bickus.' Tiny, strong lights began to appear around the brothers little by little, surrounding the yard. It seemed romantic, but nothing screamed romance at the moment. Nothing all around, except for trees barely swaying in the night, police sirens going off from afar, and the earthly smell coming off the ground.
"Guys?" Dean could hear her but couldn't see where she was coming from. "Dean? Sam?" She called out again. This time laced with desperation.
"Yeah, over here," Dean replied after a few moments. Taking slow, deep breaths, he shoved the gun back where he got it. The anxiety that was there was immediately replaced with anger. Not because he got hurt but because Y/N was not where she was supposed to be. As soon as she got to him, he let it out.
"Where the fuck were you?!" His raw anger shot through him, jaws clenched. "You were supposed to be right behind us! Dammit!" All she could do was watch him explode with a frown on her face. She was puzzled. She couldn't understand why he was furious. "And...and...what are these? Bright nipples?"
Silence invaded the yard for a quick minute, until Sam started laughing. "Bright nipples! Dean said bright nipples." It was funny. Even Dean thought so, pursing his lips, but his frustration overtook his face. He saddled his hands on his hip and shook his head.
Hearing Sam laugh almost made Y/N break character, but she let it wash over her. Figuring out Dean's anger was more important or was it? "Are you done?" She bravely asked, with bored eyes.
"Princess, you better be where I tell you to be, do what I tell you to do, or else..." His voice seething, closing that gap between them with him towering over her. She was left under his care, so he expected her to be as obedient as any soldier. She could tell he meant business, but y/n being y/n was not about to let some hunter talk down to her. Not now, not ever.
"Try me," she snarled, glaring. And to prove she meant it, she shoved past him.
"Oh, princess." One thing about Dean is that when he's infuriated, touching him is a sign of provocation, especially if it was done out of anger. "You know," he clicked his tongue as she walked away. "Harry must have thought you couldn't hack it on your own because he asked us, me and Sam, hunters at that, for help. He must have thought you could not hack it, with or without magic." Witch or not, he did not care. That was how infuriated he was. He will fight to the bone. She may be a woman, but she is not someone to take lightly.
That made Y/N stop in her tracks. She knew some of the things he said were true, but to have him throw it back at her was a dick move. Her wrath awoken her power, slithering up her arms like heat. The thrumming was so intense her heart was racing, her skin stinging like a million pinpricks, her head as if splitting in half. She knew she could take him with her magic alone but not a fair way to fight. She had been Angelina Chelista Murphy for so long, magicless. She drew in a long breath and as she exhaled, all that negative energy that enveloped quickly dissipated like mist.
She did an about face and plastered a sweet smile on her face. Dean kept his guard up and his eyes on her as she began to approach him. He widened his stance and had his hands on his sides. He knows hand-to-hand combat, but so does she and more. "You're right," she said. "I am weak who needs a man to protect her." She flashed him the most charming smile she could and began walking away. Dean was not sure how to take her quick change-of-heart, but he did, which was a fatal mistake. Y/N was banking on it.
The moment she noticed the slight drop of his shoulders and his fists and stance relaxed, she immediately did a roundhouse kick to the back of his knee, making him kneel. Before he knew what hit him, her right arm snaked around his neck, left elbow digging on his back. He was in a tight headlock. He tried breaking away grabbing at her exposed arm, but for a girl, she was strong. "Don't mistake me for those women you have slept with. Even the one with the rash, who you almost did." She hissed in his ear, while he struggled in her arms. "Do you understand?!"
Dean was not going to let up, but he was close to losing consciousness. His vision was becoming blurry, he was getting dizzy, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He was not one to call 'uncle,' but this was not his fight to win. He couldn't believe his ass was about to be taken down by a girl. He was even more upset he exposed his back to her. Rookie mistake. He double tapped letting her know he surrendered.
At first, Y/N hold onto him a second too long, which made him tap a little harder. "Uncle! Uncle!" He yelled, tapping on her arm, which should be stinging by now. She quickly released him, pushing him to the ground.
"You bitch!" He snarled raggedly, while having coughing fits. Dean being Dean obviously did not learn his lesson. If looks could kill, he could have killed ten times over. Y/N, on the other hand, did not feel threatened.
"You sure about that? I'm not the one on the ground." She spat back. Her anger was getting the best of her and she did not give a damn. She got on that ground so fast and grabbed him by the hair as hard as she could, almost lifting his upper torso off the ground. She was not about to let him walk all over her. In her mind, if she did not assert her dominance now, she never will. Dean did not look away and neither did she. Grinding his teeth, his jaw was locked, lips disappearing, but not his rage.
"Walk away all you want, but don't you ever think I'm powerless." She pressed her face to his, intimately close that he could feel her warm breath on his skin. Just like that, she discarded like him a used tissue on the ground.
"Um, can someone help me?" They both heard Sam's weak voice. It was a good interruption because it could have ended up bloody for one of them. Since Dean was in no condition to walk, he stayed put while Y/N rushed to Sam's side.
Y/N stared at poor Sam, laying on his back, looking so frail before helping him out. "You all right?" She asked, extending her arm, which he took.
It took all her might to pull him up in a sitting position and it took all of Sam's to remain upright. "Anything broken?" She inspected him visually, nothing seems to be sticking out abnormally.
"Just my ego." Sam flashed the girl a grin to show he was all right. The yard became much brighter as the "bright nipples" Y/N created with her magic were coalescing in one spot. Just like the house, the yard needed work, too.
Sam caught Dean limping towards them, weapons bag in tow. "What's wrong with you?" His older brother waved him off irritatingly, socially distancing himself from Y/N. If she and Sam noticed, they didn't acknowledge nor care.
"You okay?" Dean asked instead.
Sam contemplated whether to say it. "I landed on my back and I think something popped me."
Both Y/N and Dean were taken aback that they slid away from Sam by a few inches. Y/N hesitantly opened her mouth with a weird and cautious look on her face. "Did you want us to check? I mean, I don't know how we're supposed to follow through with that."
Dean made a nasty face and took a jab. "Your cherry got popped, dude." Y/N couldn't help but laugh, which she tried masking as a cough.
"Shut up. Just help me, you jackasses." The tallest of the three begged, stretching his limbs for the two to grab. "So, what in the hell just happened?" Sam asked. The two stayed quiet. "Um, hello?" Sam gestured, waving his hand.
"Princess over here happened. That's what." Dean growled. "She Forzare'd our asses. What I what to know was why." He gave her a side glance. Sam can tell something happened between the two because she was awfully getting the 'Dean' special of growls and angry look.
Y/N rolled her eyes and puffed. She wasn't hiding the fact that she used magical force to propel them away from the door. "The entrance to the apartment was warded with magic. One touch from either of you and..." She made an exploding sound and gesture. All said in a monotonous tone.
It was the brothers' turn to give her a 'what-the-fuck' look. "So you waited til we got that close?!" He expressed, each word getting louder. They could have died and he yelled so. "We could have died."
"You didn't, did you?" Y/N challenged, which irritated Dean even more. He was about to charge at her, but Sam's long limbs got to him first.
"All right, all right. Knock it off you two." He urged, but Y/N just had to have the last word or gesture by sticking her tongue out at Dean.
"Princess, I got something you can use that on," Dean returned, thrusting his chest forward, trying to pass through Sam. It was not happening. With broad chest like a football player, he held his own, pushing his brother back.
"I said, knock it off!" Sam glared at Dean then at Y/N, who looked away with embarrassment. Dean walked off, throwing his hands up, and mumbled some words that were difficult to understand.
Sam was perturbed at the fact that Y/N was thoughtless. They really could have died if they got to that door. Thankfully, she responded quick enough, but flinging them to the ground was a bit much. He shook his head. This has been a long few days and there's no end to it any time soon. When both Dean and Y/N finally remembered how to be rational adults, Sam looked around.
"Can we continue whatever this is inside the apartment? We're kinda sitting ducks out here." Like earlier, nothing was lurking, but Sam would be more comfortable when they got to the apartment.
"By the way, are you hungry, princess?" Sam heard Dean ask out of nowhere. The last words from Castiel, 'Beware of her Hunger,' was resonating in Dean's head and he has seen women when they got hangry. He shuddered to think how Y/N would be when hit by the pangs of hunger. Not one he wanted to wrestle with after what just went down between the two of them.
Y/N did not want to talk to Dean at all but that would be childish, wouldn't it? Especially when there wasn't any malice behind his words. Apparently she didn't have to speak up because her stomach answered with a mean growl. "I could eat."
Sam gave Dean the side-eye but stayed quiet. He knew what Castiel told his older brother, but what it meant, they don't know.
"Let's go." This time, Y/N led the way, the boys behind her. They went down the steps and watched Y/N do her thing. No need to get blown up, not tonight. She willed her magic to open the steel door safely and as soon as her hand touched the knob, they heard a click, which made the Winchester boys jump. If Y/N noticed, she didn't show it. Once they were inside, she willed more magic to re-activate the ward.
Flickum Bickus. All the candles in the room lit up all at once, including the fireplace.
"This is it?" Dean looked around the room: a living room with a lit fireplace surrounded by a couch, 3 recliners, bookshelves against 2 walls, and a kitchenette. By the door was a basket containing holy water, rock salt, iron, which served as protection. Behind the fireplace was a closet-sized master bedroom, which is also where the bathroom is located.
All Y/N could do was shrug. It was a small room, devoid of any technological devices. Fridge replaced by an icebox, wood burning stove for gas stove, and fireplace for heat. The basement always stayed cold even during the summer. It may not look much to the Winchesters, but this was perfect for her, just like it was 15 years ago.
Dean and Sam once again exchanged a bewildered look, which she caught. "I know this isn't up to snuff or up to your standard. So, there's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out. Goes for you, too, Sam. There's a 'decent' Motel 6 down the road." She wasn't having any of it.
There was silence except for the wood crackling in the fireplace. The room was surprisingly comfortable, considering it was the middle of August. "This will be fine," Sam said. He was slightly disappointed, but this was a better alternative than a motel, way better. "Dibs on the couch," he added quickly.
"Wh-?!"
Y/N left the living room and headed to the only bedroom in the apartment before she could witness the boys fight over the couch. She didn't have to see, she was hearing the argument and the tousle between the brothers.
She rolled her eyes. All she wanted was to lay down and be dead to the world for a few hours, but with the Winchesters, it was like herding two toddlers on a sugar rush. Before getting ready for bed, she approached an old armoire sitting next to the full-sized bed. "Need clothes..."
But she just stood there grazing her fingertips against the wooden inlays. There was magic, albeit faint, exuding through the wood. It was hers, Harry's, and someone else's. She doesn't remember this magic being present previously and it made her curious. Before she could push her will into the armoire, a voice rang.
'Before you grace me with your presence, don't forget the smut!' A male voice rung in her head.
"Do you have pillows?"
"What?!" She sneered and bumped into Dean, instead, which made her jump even more. "Hell's bells! Don't do that!" She screeched while holding onto her chest; it was going a mile a minute. As soon as she was able to collect herself, she turned to the oldest Winchester. "What do you want?!" she barked, her chest heaving. He must have scared her shitless.
His face contorted as if she said pigs were flying. "Hell's bells? Wh-what the hell is that? Are you swearing?" He got a stupefied look in return. "Just here for pillows," finally answering her question.
"Oh," she said absentmindedly. She was gestured to ask about the smut but decided otherwise. Not going there with him.
"Here," she handed him 2 pillows from the drawers. She also opened the cabinet, rummaged for a bit until she found what she was looking for.
She pushed Dean to the side and walked back to the living room, Dean right behind her, carrying two big fluffy pillows with baby blue pillow covers and ruffles. It resembled a scene from Cinderella but minus the glass slippers. He tossed one to Sam and placed the other on one of the recliners. "Here. Put them on." She handed each brothers a ring, non-descript gold rings looking like wedding bands.
"Aw, you shouldn't have. And I didn't get you anything," joked Dean, slipping the ring on his right ring finger while Sam on his right index finger.
"What's this for?" Sam asked.
"Protection. Allows you to come and go as you please without getting blown up," she explained and did an about-face towards the room. "Welp, good night."
"Hey, Princess," called out Dean from the living room. "Leave your door open." Ward or no ward, he wasn't going to take the risk.
They could both hear her scream expletives from the bathroom, which made the brothers snicker. She left the bedroom door open.