Piper was struggling.
She was struggling because her husband was handsome, he really should have been in magazines and movies. He had strong arms and legs, covered in just enough coarse hair. He had big hands with long fingers, muscled shoulders that were damn near mouth watering. And his face. Piper genuinely couldn't think of a word to accurately describe Dean Winchester's perfect face.
She wanted him. She wanted him in her mouth and on top of her and beneath her and behind her and pushing her up against a wall and taking her into his mouth.
She was struggling.
She did have quite a bit of practice wanting Dean and not showing it, luckily, so she was able to mostly keep it together.
If he kept touching her, though, she may lose her mind.
Dean seemed… Cuddly? He was constantly playing with her hair, or his hand was on her knee, or his lips pressed to her. He didn't say anything about it, but there was some sort of raw need coming from him that she was helpless against. So she put a lid on her raging libido and cuddled back.
She was sitting on his lap, flipping the pages of the book in front of them, trying to concentrate on the words instead of the warm strength of the man beneath her, when Sam walked in.
Dean looked up from where his face had been pressed into her shoulder. "How'd it go?"
Sam shook his head. "Um… No EMF, no sulfur. Ghost possession and demonic possession are both probably out."
"Hmm, that's what I was betting on," Piper said softly, frowning. Sam seemed distracted.
The taller hunter shook his head. "Nope."
Dean sighed and rubbed his eyes, keeping the arm around her waist tight. "Well, then what, then? Oh, dude! At the coroner's… You didn't see these bodies. I mean, these two started eating a-and they just…" He gestured with his free hand. "Kept going. I mean, their stomachs were full. Like-like...Thanksgiving dinner full. Talk about co-dependent."
Sam shrugged. "Well, I mean, we got our feelers out. Not much more we can do tonight. All right. I'm just gonna go through some files. You guys can go ahead and get going."
Piper raised her eyebrows. "What?"
Sam tossed a room key onto the table. "Guys, it's your first Valentine's Day as a married couple. I, uh, got you a room down the hall. So I won't have to hear anything."
Piper was on fire. She suppressed the urge to squeeze her thighs together and smiled at him. "That's so sweet, thank you, Sam."
Dean grunted behind her, and a cold splinter wormed it's way into her heart. Something was wrong.
They gathered their stuff and went down the hall. Piper watched as Dean opened the door, trying to figure out what was going on with him.
They got in and she set their bags on the bed, so ready to be naked underneath him she could barely think. But when she turned to look at him, the look on his face stopped her cold.
Instead of moving to him to ravish him, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Dean, what's wrong?"
He looked down at her, then wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. "I don't know," he said softly.
She tilted her head back to look at his face. "Okay, is there anything I can do?"
He shook his head and pressed his lips against her forehead. "No, probably just tired."
She fought her libido back, and fought the urge to jump him. He was hurting, and even if he couldn't tell her why, he needed her. So she leaned back and smiled. "Well, let me go shower, and we can go to bed, okay?"
xxxxx
The freezing cold water helped a little, as well as the detachable shower head that was in there, and she was able to hold him that night with a minimum of filthy thoughts.
Which was good, since he held her tight the entire night, never making a move to do anything but cuddle.
xxxxx
"Agent Marley, you just can't stay away," the coroner said cheerfully.
Piper smiled distractedly as Dean and the doctor spoke. Did Sam just sniff someone?
"Great," Sam was saying. "You mind if we take a look at the bodies?"
Piper shook her thoughts away internally. Probably imagining things, lack of blood to the brain will do that to you.
She was still wildly aroused, and couldn't seem to do anything about it. Another cold shower this morning had proved useless, and the fact that her husband was wearing his FBI suit wasn't helping, either. I'm practically panting, for God's sake.
"Not at all," Dr. Corman replied, "But like I said, their... Good-n-plenties, are already tupperwared."
Sam gave him a tight smile. "Super."
The doctor smiled in his way out. "Leave the keys with Marty up front. And please, agents, refrigerate after opening."
Piper handed out plastic gloves and watched as Dean opened the first plastic box. There was a heart inside. He picked it up and winked at her. "Be my Valentine?"
She chuckled and examined the heart. "Already am, handsome."
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah," Sam said, looking over her shoulder. "These hearts both have identical marks. Check this out. It looks like some kind of letter."
"Looks like Enochian," Piper mused.
Dean looked down at her. "You mean like angel scratches? So you think it's like the tagging on our ribs?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."
Dean pulled his cell phone out and dialed. "Cass, it's Dean. Yeah, room 31C, basement level, St. James Medical Center."
Castiel appeared suddenly, still on the phone. "I'm there now." Piper laughed.
Dean cocked an eyebrow at her, sending ridiculous heat shooting down through her. "Yeah, I get that," he said dryly. She subtly tried to press her thighs together, trying to get some friction.
"I'm gonna hang up now," Castiel stated.
"Right," Dean said evenly, flipping his phone shut. Piper trembled with desire. What the fuck is going on?
The angel turned to pick up one of the hearts. "You're right, Sam. These are angelic marks. I imagine you'll find similar marks on the other couples' hearts." He nodded across the table. "Dean and Piper will share them, as well."
Dean frowned and wrapped an arm around Piper's waist. She felt a little dizzy and leaned into him.
"So, what are they?" Sam asked. "I mean, what do they mean?"
"It's a mark of union. This man and woman were intended to mate."
Piper smiled, her hormones taking a backseat. She looked up at Dean. "Aw, that means we were meant to be, baby."
He pressed a kiss to her temple. "Didn't need angels to tell me that, kitten."
xxxxx
"So, what, you just happen to know he likes the cosmos at this place?" Dean asked, irritated. It had been a long few days, he was tired, and for some reason, wildly depressed.
The only thing that seemed to help was touching Piper, and he clung to her like the lifeline she'd always been for him. He was currently holding her hand under the table, running his thumb along the soft skin of hers. She was uncharacteristically quiet next to him, just holding his hand and being very still. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but he was determined to fix it.
Cas continued to speak as Dean's order of food came to the table. He used his free hand to put ketchup on his cheeseburger while he listened. "This place is a nexus of human reproduction. It's exactly the kind of… Of garden the Cupid will come to… To pollinate."
Dean sighed. Then looked at the food in his hand and winced. He'd honestly gotten it out of habit more than anything else. He set it back down on his plate.
Piper squeezed his hand, and he looked down at her lovely face. "You're not hungry?"
He shook his head. "No." He looked at her closely for a second, wondering what was up with her. The long showers the night before and that morning, her flushed cheeks, her wide eyes and shallow breathing. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she-
His thoughts were interrupted by Castiel. "Then you're not gonna finish that?" He reached over and grabbed the cheeseburger off of Dean's plate. Dean frowned at the angel, then down at Piper.
Castiel looked across the room. "He's here."
Dean shook his head. "Hold up, what the fuck is going on around here?"
Sam frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Dean pointed at Cass, currently scarfing down food. "Since when does he eat?" He looked down at Piper. "And you-"
"I'm fine," she chirped.
Sam looked between them suspiciously. "What?"
Dean shook his head. "Forget Cupid. Let's go check something out."
xxxxx
Dean was watching Piper while he spoke to Sam. She was flipping through a book, looking for hints to what was going on, but that wasn't all she was doing. Her legs were crossed tightly, and she was constantly shifting and moving.
Was she…
"What the hell does a demon got to do with this, anyway?" he asked, trying to focus.
"Believe me, I got no idea." Sam said shakily.
Dean frowned. "You okay?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be all right."
Piper looked up, then stood to go to the briefcase. Was she shaking? "Let's open it up," she said softly, "What's the worst that could happen, right?"
She reached forward and opened the briefcase. An insanely bright light escaped, flying away.
Sam flinched. "Woah!"
Dean frowned. "What was that?"
"It's a human soul," Castiel said evenly. "It's starting to make sense. My hunger, it's a clue, actually."
Dean frowned. "For what?"
"This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect. It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact. Specifically, famine."
Sam's eyebrows shot up. "Famine? As… As in the horseman?"
Piper frowned. "Is it just starvation as in food?"
Cass shook his head and spoke with his mouth full. "No, not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something. Sex, attention, drugs, love…"
Piper closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, thank God. I'm not insane."
Dean turned to her and cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Her eyes widened, and a deep blush bloomed on her cheeks. "Uh, nothing?"
He grinned, despite his low mood. "No way, kitten. Let's have it."
She blinked, then smirked and stepped forward and went up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "I have wanted to fuck you so bad since we stepped foot in this stupid town, it's all I can do to not throw you down and have my way with you."
Dean was a little dizzy for a moment, with all of the blood rushing from his head. He turned and caught her mouth with his, kissing her hard. She reacted wildly, her hands fisting in his shirt and rising up to her tiptoes again to kiss him back. He moaned into her mouth a little, putting his hands on her hips and pressing her into him.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, don't you guys think we have more important things to do?"
Sam's voice brought Dean out of his haze a little, but it didn't seem to affect Piper at all. Dean turned his head to look at Cass and Sam, smirking a little when Piper simply moved her attention to his jaw, completely undone. "Yes, yes, we do. What does Famine even want?"
"He's hungry," Cass said around the food in his mouth. "He must feed on souls to get strong, so he can march across the land."
Piper bit his neck, and Dean had to grab her hand before it travelled all the way down his pants. "Jesus, kitten, slow down."
"No," she murmured against his skin, nibbling her way up to his ear.
Sam was looking truly horrified at Piper and Dean. He looked at Castiel. "So, what, this whole town is just gonna eat, drink, and fuck itself to death?"
Cass nodded. "We should stop it."
Dean was fighting to keep his shirt on, as Piper was currently trying to remove it. "Yeah, that's a great idea. How?"
Cass shrugged. "How did you stop the last horseman you met?"
"War got his mojo from his ring. Kitten, baby, come on," Dean said to Piper, who was pressing against him and biting his shoulder. He turned back to the angel. "After we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?"
Castiel nodded. "I know he does."
"Well, okay, let's track him down-" Dean grunted and put his hands on Piper's hips to push her away from him reluctantly. "Pipes, chill." He turned to Castiel. "And what are you, the Hamburglar?"
"I've developed a taste for ground beef."
"Well, have you even tried to stop it?"
Cass frowned. "I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want."
Dean rolled his eyes and looked at his wife, who was biting her lip and looking at him with those hot hazel eyes in a way that was extremely distracting. He put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her close to kiss her hard again, then twisted her so her back was pressed against his chest. "Sorry, kitten," he said softly, then looked at the angel. "Cass?"
Castiel nodded and stepped forward to press two fingers to Piper's forehead. She slumped, and he winced. She's going to murder me.
He scooped her into his arms and looked at Sam, who had gone into the bathroom to splash water on his face. "Sam, I'm going to drop Pipes off, then we can roll."
Sam winced. "Dean, I… Um… I can't. I can't go."
Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I think it got to me, Dean. I think I'm hungry for it."
"Hungry for what?"
"You know."
Dean's temper snapped at him. "Demon blood?" Sam winced. "You gotta be kidding me." He looked at Castiel. "You gotta get him out of here. You gotta beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here."
Cass shook his head. "It won't work. He's already infected. The hunger is just going to travel with him."
Dean frowned again. "Well, then, what do we do?"
"You go cut that bastard's finger off," Sam said firmly, meeting Dean's eyes. "Take Piper back to your room and lock her in there, then come back in here and lock me down."
Dean looked at him. "Lock Piper in…"
Sam stared back, emotionless. "Dean, she's not going to leave me cuffed if I put on a show, and if this hunger gets much worse, I could convince her."
xxxxx
"These make me… Very happy."
Dean was watching Castiel eat yet another cheeseburger incredulously. "How many is that?"
"I lost count. It's in the low hundreds." There was a beat of silence, then, "What I don't understand is, where is your hunger, Dean?"
Dean frowned. "Huh?"
"Well, slowly but surely, everyone in this town is falling prey to Famine, but so far, you seem unaffected."
Dean shrugged. "Hey, when I want to drink, I drink. When I want sex, I have Piper. Same goes for a sandwich or a fight."
Cass stopped eating for a moment to stare at him. "So… You're saying you're well-adjusted?"
Dean snorted. "God, no. I'm just well-fed."
He ignored the fact that for the past two days he had been desperate for Piper's touch, desperate to be showering some kind of affection on her. He ignored that he felt depressed and hopeless if her skin wasn't pressed against his. They had just gotten married, surely that was a byproduct of being newlyweds.
Surely it was that.
xxxxx
"It's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine."
Dean was staring Famine in the face, trying to cover his fear.
Famine smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that. I think you have plenty of hunger coming from you, Dean." He tilted his head and moved closer. "Yes, yes, haven't you wondered why the only hunger you seem to have is for your lovely wife? Do you think it's because you know you're not good enough? You know you're going to lose, and you know that you're taking her down with you?" There was a cold smile on the horseman's lips. "You're hungry for her, Dean, because deep down, you know you're killing her."
Dean winced, the words battering at his heart, when Sam spoke from behind him.
"Let him go."
Famine turned and smiled. Dean was horrified to see that Sam's face was stained with blood. "Sammy, no!"
xxxxx
"Let me out of here, please! Help!"
Dean winced and listened to his brother cry out from the panic room at Bobby's place. He honestly didn't know what was going to be worse, this, or talking to Piper when she woke up.
Castiel stood next to him. "That's not him in there. Not really."
Dean nodded. "I know." He sighed. "I'm going to go talk to Pipes… Wish me luck."
Castiel frowned. "Why would you require luck to speak with Piper?"
Dean smiled. "Because she's going to be pissed."
xxxxx
Piper was sitting on their bed, rubbing her face, when Dean walked through the door.
She looked up and watched him shut the door behind him, his face tight with trepidation. He winced a little, then opened his mouth. "Listen, baby, I'm-"
She didn't give him a chance to finish. She stood and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him fiercely. He seemed surprised, then put his hands at her waist and kissed her back.
Coming up for air, she smiled into his dazed green eyes. "Don't apologize, Dean, I understand. I'm just glad you're safe."
He stared at her for a moment, then crushed her to him, his hand behind her head. She buried her face in his neck, whimpering a little because he was here, and she'd been terrified when she had woken up in their bedroom that he wouldn't be.
"Love you, Winchester."
She felt him smile. "You, too, Mrs. Winchester."
xxxxx
Later, Dean was lying with her head on his chest, running his hand through her lavender hair, thinking about what Famine had said to him. Ah, fuck, that damn thing was right.
"All right, spill," Piper said softly, looking up at him.
Dean took a moment to wonder why he was still surprised when she read his mind. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by her shaking her head and sitting up.
"No lying to me, Dean, it's too late and I'm too tired." She met his gaze and patted his stomach. "Come on, out with it."
He debated with himself, his instinct being to tell her something that would get her to let it go. But her narrowed hazel eyes and his behavior that day demanded an honest explanation.
"Famine… He said that I'm killing you. That I'm going down with the apocalypse, and I'm dragging you down with me."
She blinked. "And you, what, believed him?"
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Kitten, if you'd never met me-"
"I'd be dead," she said briskly, interrupting him. "If I had never met you, that werewolf would have killed me, too." She smiled at him. "Dean, what do I have to do to convince you that I'm here because I want to be?"
The sadness in her voice had him sitting up next to her and pulling her into his arms. She went willingly, sighing and laying her head on his shoulder. "You're too good for this, Pipes," he said roughly, "For me. For this life. For all of this."
She looked up and gazed at him for a long time. "And you're not?" She whispered. He watched in horror as her eyes filled with tears. "Dean, how can you honestly believe that you deserve all of the bullshit that's been thrown at us for the past few years?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Dean, you're a good man. You don't deserve this, either." She smiled. "But you do deserve me. So shut up about it already, okay?"
He nodded, overwhelmed once again by the woman who called him husband. He pulled her back gently so they were laying down again, and she cuddled close.
"Can we go on vacation after this? A real, honest to God vacation, with a beach and drinks with little umbrellas?" She asked sleepily.
His voice was hoarse with emotions. "Whatever you want, kitten."
xxxxx
Hi everyone! Here's my notes:
I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural or the characters. (heartbroken)
Reviews, comments, and kudos give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.
If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.
