Whumpee: Dean
Caretaker: Caleb
Other Characters: Sam
Dean is 14
Sam is 10
Caleb is 22
TW: Implied child neglect, eating/food issues, starvation
Hey day 10 on the 24th isn't... that... bad... right?
Anyway, here it is regardless.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
~TH~
Caleb pounded on the door, holding the fast food bag tightly. Of course it had to start raining just as he got into town. "It's Caleb, let me in." He'd driven several hours to get there. Nothing was necessarily wrong, but the need to visit was too strong to ignore. John had rolled his eyes but hadn't told him not to come.
"What's the password?" Sam answered defiantly.
Caleb rolled his eyes, "Scooby Doo." It had clearly been Sam's week to pick.
The door opened and Sam was standing there grinning in the doorway.
"Caleb!"
"I told you it was." He appreciated the safety the password offered the two boys, but it could be annoying at times. Like now, when it was raining..
He went over to the table and dropped the bag of McDonald's cheeseburgers he'd brough. Dean had moved the gun back to the kitchen counter where a bowl was catching water dripping from the ceiling.
"What are you doing here?" Not exactly accusing, but definitely suspicious.
"Don't look so glad to see me."
"What's that?" Dean eyed the bag cautiously.
Caleb raised his eyebrows. "Food."
"Why?"
"What, are we playing twenty questions?"
"Dad didn't say anything about you coming."
"Johnny got caught up in a hunt, said he'd been away longer than he planned and wanted me to check. Passed a Micky D's and decided you could go for some burgers. What's the big deal?" Well it wasn't a lie. John had said he'd only meant to be gone for two weeks, but they were now exiting the third. Caleb had been reassured that the boys should be fine. Johnny hadn't so much asked for him to come check as Caleb had insisted. But semantics.
Sam was poking around the bag with wide, excited eyes. "Can I have one?"
"No, Sammy, they're all for me." Caleb rolled his eyes.
"Oh."
"I'm joking, kid. Yes you can have one."
Sam didn't wait any longer, he snatched a burger with a grin on his face. Caleb tossed one to Dean, who caught it then just stared at it.
"Hungry, runt?" Caleb commented as Sam reached for a second burger.
"I'm growing and my teacher says that growing boys should eat and all I had for lunch was toast and Dean wouldn't even let me put butter on it!" Sam said in a rush to get the next bite into his mouth.
Ah. That explained Dean's reluctance at Caleb's presence. It might also explain Caleb's need to visit.
Dean looked away, seeming to shrink into himself. He cleared his throat. "Now that you're here and can entertain the boy genius. I have some homework I need to finish." He pushed away from the table, leaving the burger.
"What about dinner?" Caleb watched the younger boy. He'd definitely lost some weight. If Sam was complaining about not eating much , then Dean probably hadn't eaten anything .
"Not hungry." Was Dean's murmured answer before he disappeared into his and Sam's room.
Caleb frowned. A quick sweep of the apartment confirmed his suspicions. The only thing edible (and that was debatable) was the heel of bread tucked into a back cabinet. There was no aforementioned butter, but there was an empty tub of margarine in the trash under a box of cereal.
Caleb sighed, picking up the abandoned burger, "Hey runt, if you're done gouging out on the fine dining, why don't you find something for us to watch." The "us" was a bit of a half truth.
Sam's eyes lit up and he hurried to the living room area and quickly turned on the TV. He settled on Tom and Jerry. Caleb eyed the boy as he intently watched the television screen. He wouldn't be moving.
Caleb knocked as he pushed the door open. "Dean?"
"I think you've missed the point of knocking."
The older man tossed the burger on top of the kid's homework. "Eat."
"I told you I'm not hungry."
"Yes I'm sure that piece of toast really filled you up." Not that Dean had likely even had that. He probably considered it taking food out of his brother's mouth. Which was absurd but very Dean logic.
Dean stiffened, his face turning an embarrassed light pink. "I can take care of myself."
"Never said you couldn't." But regardless, a fourteen year old shouldn't have to.
"We don't need you to show up and fix everything we were fine on our own."
This was an argument they seemed to repeat every few months. Dean would swing between warning Caleb there and taking his presence as a personal attack on his manhood. "Dude most kids would be glad that their crazy 'uncle' showed up with junk food."
Dean rolled his eyes, swiping the burger off his work.
Fine. If Dean was going to blow him off, he'd skip the pleasantries. "So," Caleb started, shutting the door behind him and casually leaning against it. "How long has it been?"
"What?" Dean's tone was dark but he kept his eyes on his homework.
"Since you've eaten. How long has it been since you've eaten?"
That poor pencil wasn't going to survive this conversation. "Aren't you supposed to be watching Sammy?"
"Trust me the kid is thoroughly entertained. Now you have two choices, you can eat the burger or we can talk."
Dean turned his eyes to Caleb. He was never relieved from the glare as Dean grabbed the burger, tore off the wrapper and took a bite.
Caleb crossed his arms as he leaned back against the door.
"Good?" He asked with a smirk.
Dean shoved the last bite into his mouth, still glaring. "There." He said with his mouth still half full. "Happy?"
"Not really. So how long has it been?"
"You said-!" And he looked angrier if that was possible.
"The burger postponed the conversation. It didn't cancel it."
"Cheap, Damian." The darkness in Dean's tone caused Caleb to hope that he hadn't crossed a line. But they were here now. No going back.
"Talk, Deuce."
Dean rolled his eyes slamming his school book shut. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope."
The teen sighed. "I don't know man, not that long."
"But you hadn't eaten today."
"Don't make a bigger deal about this than it has to be."
"Or yesturday. Probably not the day before it either. It's been long enough that you must have lost your appetite." Dean had likely stopped eating the second he realized they were running low on food. Sammy always came first.
"Lay off, man, I'm fine."
"Johnny was supposed to leave money." He'd promised as much in fact. The comment must have come out harsh because Dean's eyes snapped to him.
"This isn't his fault." He said tensely.
"So he did or didn't leave money."
"He left money."
"And what happened to it?"
"I spent it." Food came first. It wasn't something Dean had to be taught. It was ingrained through a lifetime of not nearly enough.
"On what, Deuce. Stop making this so difficult."
"Look, Sammy had a field trip, okay? Dad wasn't expecting it, I didn't even know about it until Dad was gone. It's not on him, it's just life."
Oh yes, not eating so your kid brother could go on a field trip was such a common factor of life. Caleb sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "When'd you start running low on food?"
"Now who's playing twenty questions?"
"Look if you really want to play it this way I can go out there and ask Sam for an itemized list of everything he's eaten since your dad left. He's nerdy enough to remember. And enjoy telling. It's easier if you just talk but hey I'm not against bribing the runt."
"I dunno man," He ran a hand through his hair, truly resigned now. "Sometime last week? I swiped some bread and peanut butter but the cashier saw me. She didn't say anything but- but I can't go back, man. And that's the only grocery story in this one horse town."
"So what?" Caleb was trying to direct his anger at Dean. That would just make things worse. But he was very angry at the situation. "You just stop eating?"
"I would have figured something out."
"Yeah I have no doubt but the question is what."
Dean's eyes darkened, the resigned tone fading back into his defensive posture. "What are you implying?"
He wasn't sure and he didn't want to dwell on it. "That starving yourself and stealing is only going to get you so far."
"Dad would have been back soon."
"And you think he'd like this arrangement?" Caleb scoffed.
"What's it matter? Sam's been eating. That's what's important." And the problem was that Dean actually believed that. He wasn't being hard to get along with, he genuinely believed that so long as Sam was taken care of John would be happy. The bigger problem was that Caleb didn't know that he was wrong.
"You really think that's good enough, huh?"
"I would have figured something out." Dean insisted.
"For Sam." Caleb clarified. But it wasn't a question. It was a fact.
"What's your point?"
"That you need to take care of yourself too. You can't just starve yourself."
"That I- I'm not some girl, Damian."
"You know that's not what I mean." Caleb pushed himself up, frustration beginning to take over.
"Then what do you mean?"
"I mean you can't just not eat so that your brother can."
"What do you want me to do, Caleb?" The cavalier attitude was back as he rolled his eyes. Whether genuine or put on didn't matter.
"I want you to put yourself first for once. Or at least equal if not first."
"Stop making a big deal about this, dude. I've gone longer."
"What ."
Dean realized his mistake immediately, reopening his homework and once again abusing his pencil. "Forget about it, you're just making a big deal about nothing."
"No I'm clearly not. You're telling me that this isn't a first."
"It doesn't keep happening, but life happens man."
Again with the wildly unrealistic view of 'life'. "Not eating isn't just something that happens ."
"Your concern is touching Damien, really it is." Dean said dryly. "But it's completely unnecessary. I would have figured something out."
"I still think-"
"Well you can stop." Dean snapped, done with the conversation. "This entire conversation is pointless. We both know it's not going to change anything. I ate your burger. Delicious. Now if you really want to do something for me you can go watch my brother so I can finally finish my homework."
Caleb frowned. He didn't like this. At all.
"I want you to call me next time."
"I can take care of myself."
"One of these times the cashier isn't going to ignore it." And that would either lead to Dean being mixed up with the law or both he and Sam getting put in the system. Both had left Caleb scarred and he had no intention of allowing the Winchesters to relive his fate.
"Then I won't get caught."
Caleb didn't know what else he could say. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Deuce-"
"Drop it. And don't even think about mentioning it to Dad." To be fair, Johnny would probably leave less money to make a point.
"I'll pick up some things tomorrow."
"You do that." Dean said without looking up from his assignment.
Caleb sighed, giving up his attempt to discuss the topic. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at the fact that John had so recently given him fifty grand for his company. The idea that Dean wasn't eating because, when it came down to the truth, John hadn't left enough money, while Caleb was using Winchester money for his business. It felt dirty and wrong on so many levels.
There really wasn't much he could do now. The money was long out of his hands. Not that John would have accepted it back anyway. He could take Sam tomorrow to go buy some groceries. Give Dean the day off. And make sure both kids were eating while he was there. And if he left a hundred dollar bill in Dean's duffle when he left, what was the kid going to do about it?
~TH~
I don't know if this would actually be considered "whump" but we're going with it anyway lol.
Would love to know what you guys think!
Feed the author comments and get more and better content lol.
God bless,
Jamie
