The sound of a hammer being pulled back caused Lux to blink their eyes open. Their surroundings were a bit blurry but after a few tries, they found Dean standing over them and his gun aimed straight at their face. "Where is he?"
After that first night in Rhode Island, the brothers begrudgingly allowed Lux to tag along, teaching them the basics of hunting during the day and discussing the yellow-eyed demon at night. The Winchesters were still wary of the newcomer, Dean more than Sam, but they also soon realized Lux was useful when it came to identifying the creatures they hunted. Many of the cases wrapped up much easier with Lux around. Today, though, Dean wished he'd kicked the stranger to the curb the first chance he had.
"Didn't your daddy teach you it was rude to point at people?" Lux replied and turned onto their back, stretching. "I'm going to assume Sam must've gone somewhere and not told you, if you're thinking I did something. I don't blame you, though. It's the smartest assessment someone like you could come up with. I'm a stranger, I intimidate you, and your brother disappears a couple of nights after I come into your life. Except," Lux said and sat up, scratching at their neck. Dean's aim never faltered, his expression dark and closed off. "Would I still be here if I'd done something to Sam?" they asked Dean in a flat tone. "Come on now, Dean. Think. There's a reason you got a brain inside that lumpy head of yours."
A splash of water hit Lux's face straight on and they spluttered, wiping at it with both hands. "Can't be too careful," he said, and Lux didn't miss the smarminess in his voice.
Lux growled, but then stopped, noticing the salt line around the couch. "Seriously?" they asked with a choked laugh before running a hand through their hair. "I guess I can't fault your precautions, in this line of business. I'm going to shower first, and then I'll help you figure out what happened. You haven't touched anything in the room, have you?" they added as they stepped over the line and zipped open their duffle bag.
Even though the gun was still trained on Lux, Dean lost the bit of glower in his expression. "Why would I trust you?" he asked.
"Excellent question," Lux said with their back turned to him, picking through their clothes. Without looking at him, they lifted the back of their shirt and exposed their own gun. "Take it. I trust you because I trust – trusted – your father. Even if he was a bit of a prick, too. Whenever you feel you can trust me in return, you can give me my gun back." They thought Dean would hesitate, but his presence was behind them in a flash and the gun was removed from its usual spot. "Be careful with it now. It's a classic."
"Dirty Harry," Dean replied and Lux smirked at the awe in his voice. They turned towards him with their clothes for the day, only to catch him still admiring the gun. "Nice."
"The best hand gun for hunting," Lux nodded and pointed to the bathroom. "Or so I've been told. Anyway, give me ten minutes and we can start our search and rescue for Sam, yeah?" Without waiting for a reply from Dean, they headed to shower. Lux couldn't judge the brothers for the choice of motel, but man, did they miss real shampoo and soap already. When they stepped out, towel drying their hair, Dean was going through their bag. "Pervert."
He whirled around and Lux watched the flush explode onto his features. "It's not – I wasn't looking at – I was investigating!" he half-screamed. Lux rolled their eyes and reached into their back pocket, tossing him their wallet. He caught it with one hand, the other occupied by his gun still. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Investigate, Batman," Lux said easily and sat at the desk chair to pull on their boots. "I can wait. Does this place have room service?"
Dean gave Lux a deadpan stare. "Does it look like a place with room service?" he asked and turned away, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Lux had to hide their surprise – they figured the brothers had already investigated them, though looking back, it was only Sam's word that appeased Dean about Lux's validity. With him gone, Dean probably felt a need to reconfirm for himself. "Stay put. I'll be back in ten."
Lux set their dirty clothes in a laundry bag before placing it in their duffle bag. "So touchy," they muttered before folding up the blanket they used and setting it atop the pillow on the couch. Once everything of theirs was picked up, they made a slow turn around the room, studying as much detail as possible before heading towards the bed they knew Sam slept in and the area where his belongings were. He took nothing with him. "Smart move," they noted and didn't bother turning when the room door opened. It had been more than ten minutes. "What'd you find, Batman?"
"A trust fund baby," Dean stated in a booming voice and he began walking around the room. "Only child. Orphaned at a young age. Raised by a trusted employee of the family. Except while the other rich kids partied and snorted cocaine off each others' asses at nightclubs, you went to college, got a PhD in Forensic Psychology, and settled in as a professor at The University of Texas in San Antonio teaching criminal justice. Papers say you live modestly, if you can call that place of yours modest. You donate to charity, work on pro bono cases, and sometimes help manage your parents' old business since you still get income from it. Mostly you keep to yourself, though. Until now."
"I told you I was Batman," Lux stated with a playful grin. "Sort of. Anyway, excellent job. In fact, I must say I'm impressed," they added. There was a hint of a flush creeping up his neck again, and Lux pointed at Sam's things now. "He didn't take anything with him, except his cell phone. We can try tracking him with that. If he doesn't want to be found, though, and I'm sure he doesn't want to be found if you can't get him on the line, he might've stashed it somewhere to lead us astray," Lux explained before stepping over to Dean and holding a hand out.
"No gun. I don't trust you yet," he said with a glare. "If anything, I trust you less. Rich people are the worst."
"You're not wrong about that," Lux replied, an amused laugh. "That doesn't mean I'm going to let you keep my wallet. I feel like you've got sticky fingers, Dean Winchester."
With a scoff, Dean slapped the wallet into Lux's hand. "Alright, Sherlock, what did you find while I was out?"
Lux grinned and winked at Dean. "Now that reference I like. Your dad called me that," they said and then pointed behind them before Dean could interrupt. "He left through the window. The latch is unlocked. I'm guessing the front desk didn't see him leave either?" Dean blinked and then slowly shook his head. "He's a smart boy. Covers his tracks. You know him, though. Any idea where he might've gone? I would think of places he'd go to where he can clear his mind, process things. You know a place like that?"
"I have a couple places in mind," Dean said after a minute of thought.
"Great! How about we grab some breakfast first then hit the road?" Lux asked. "My treat, Winchester."
"I'm not wasting time," he said and packed up his belongings. "I'm going to look for Sammy." Lux sighed and closed up their duffle bag before sliding it up their shoulder. "You got a car, right?" he asked after slinging the bag over his own shoulder. "We can split up. Call each other if we find anything."
"You trust me to go alone on this?" Lux asked with a raised eyebrow. Dean ignored them, heading towards the door. "Character growth."
A sigh escaped the older Winchester and he tossed his phone behind him to Lux who easily caught it as the two headed down the hallway. "Put your number in there. If you find anything, you call me right away, you hear?"
"Aye, aye, captain," Lux muttered as they dialed in the number and sent themselves a text. "What place should I check out first?"
Dean took the phone back when Lux tapped him with it. "Greenville, Illinois," he said and Lux gave him a cool look before he continued. "Mount Gilead Cemetery." The expression contorted into confusion before they realized it was probably where the men's parents were buried, or at least memorialized. "I'm going to drive around the city first, check places he might have tried."
A bright day met the pair as they stepped outside, and Lux squinted against the sun. "He's got, what, between eight to ten hours of a head start?" Lux mused aloud as the pair crossed the parking lot. "If he is headed to Illinois, he'd arrive in another four to six hours, if he drove nonstop. I could bypass the drive and take an aircraft. I'd still need to do a quick stop to refuel, seeing how it's over eight hundred miles from here. But, it's our best bet at catching him."
The jangle of keys reached Dean's ears and he turned to see Lux headed towards a car just two spots over the Impala. "You're shitting me," he said.
Lux's attention was pulled away from their calculations and they looked over at Dean. "What?" they asked and noticed his eyes glued to something. They followed his line of sight to their car. "Oh. You like?"
"That's your ride," Dean asked. "That's really your ride?"
"Her name's Stacey," Lux said with a grin, running a hand over the hood of the 1967 Corvette Stingray. "Get it?" they asked and waited for a response. When Dean only continued to stare, Lux sighed. "I was sure you were a Gone in 60 Seconds type of guy. Anyway, she was going to get junked so I rescued her. Built her up all by my lonesome as a little side project. Just for fun, you know?" An idea came and they smiled at Dean again. "Wanna trade?"
"What?" Dean asked in shock. "You realize your car is probably the more expensive one, right?"
"Well I would hope you wouldn't think of stealing it," Lux said with a light laugh. "I'm also hoping we find Sam soon, but – worst case scenario – let's set a place to meet in two, three days. The drive to Illinois is about fourteen hours, so say a day of driving. Some sleep. Searching the city would take about half a day, leaves a day and a half to meet at a place of our choosing."
Dean's jaw clenched as he considered Lux's proposal. "Lawrence. The park near our old house, in two days. Call me if you get delayed," he finally spoke and tossed the keys to Lux. They caught them easily, though with some surprise, and their smile widened. "Not a scratch on my baby."
"I don't have to tell you it's the same for Stacey, do I?" Lux said, tossing their keys to Dean in return. "Keep me updated too, will you?" They watched Dean reach the Stingray and run a hand along the body before opening the door. "Hey, Batman," Lux called out and Dean glanced back at them with a raised eyebrow. "We're going to find him, alright?"
"I know," he said, his voice full of conviction. "We'll be seeing ya, Lux."
