03. Fade to Black, Part 2
After the awkward silence, Miranda had sat the two "agents" down on the love seat; facing the couch where she and Aiden were. She had placed two cups of tea down in front of her. Both of the men stared at the cups as if she poured poison in the drinks before serving them.
"Your names, please?" she asked sipping from her own cup. The two men stared at her as she gave out her demand. Striker began to speak only to flinch once she stared back at him coldly.
He frowned, clearing his throat. "...I'm Dean, John's oldest," he revealed, "and he's Sam, my brother." Summers—or rather Sam –nodded in agreement.
She nodded at them and set her cup down on the table in front of her. Aiden watched his aunt then looked to the two brothers. He gripped his hand closed as he bit his bottom lip. "So... you're not real FBI guys," he murmured.
Sam looked at him and shook his head slowly, a solemn look on his oddly gentle face. "No. I'm sorry."
Aiden gulped down the lump in his throat and looked at the table with a crestfallen face. Miranda rubbed his shoulder gently, looking at the two men. Moving a loose strand from her face, she cleared her throat.
"Is John here?"
"No," Dean said loosening his red tie as he murmured softly. "He's... missing."
A surprised look came over her face before she closed her blue-green eyes. She sighed lightly. "I see. Well, I suppose I can't be mad at you two." The brothers looked at her then at themselves. Sam shrugged his shoulders once the dark blond gave him a strange look.
"I'm curious to know how you know our father," the shaggy-haired man questioned. "And that you knew we were his sons."
Opening her eyes, Miranda raised an eyebrow as she grinned. She folded her arms across her chest. "It's obvious when you look at your older brother here. Dean's the spitting image of your Dad." The older brother scoffed lightly in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.
Aiden looked to his aunt in both confusion and surprise. "But Aunt Miranda, how do you know their dad? Did Mom know him?"
The blond woman turned her gaze to her nephew's, seeing the confusion written on his young face and blue eyes searching for answers. She placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Baby...you know the monsters that go bump in the night? The horror stories?"
He nodded in response. "Yeah... but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Aiden, they're real," Miranda said.
The blond boy let a frown come over his face. Did his aunt go off the deep end now?
"Aunt Miranda, what the hell are you talking about?" Aiden asked with a slight chuckle. "The boogeyman's real? I suppose there are little high school girls running around fighting monsters in mini-skirts too?"
She rolled her eyes in exasperation as the two brothers blinked at the younger man's words. "It's the truth, Aiden. Everything you saw in horror movies and books; ghosts, vampires, everything—they're all real."
"Except for the girls in mini-skirts," Dean added. "That's not real." He chuckled softly, turning to look at his younger brother. Sam stared at him in disbelief only to shake his head.
"What?"
"But I still don't understand," the blond boy echoed throwing up his hands. "What does this have to do with my mom's death?"
Sensing her nephew's distress, Miranda held his shoulder gently as he turned to look at her. "Your mother was a hunter. She fought against the monsters in the dark up until she met your father," she explained. She turned to the Winchester boys with a frown. "And your father is a close friend of hers. It annoys me that he's not here with you boys."
Dean looked down at his mug of tea then back up at Miranda who drank from her own cup. "I think he knows. He wanted us to come here, find out about Katherine's death."
The blond woman stared at him for a few moments before nodding, a warm smile slowly growing on her face. "I see. Well, whenever you find him, tell him thank you."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
As Miranda waved Dean and Sam off from the front door, Aiden moved to the guest bedroom; a deep frown adorning his round face. He huffed once he landed on the bed and hissed once the sharp pain of his wound made him sit up suddenly.
"Ow-ow-ow, damnit," he hissed clutching at his shirt. "Damned painkillers..."
He jumped when he saw his aunt standing in the doorway, arms across her chest. The blond boy chuckled nervously. Miranda sighed and made her way to the bed. "I leave you alone for 5 seconds and you hurt yourself."
"Hey, just so you know, the bed hurt me. It's the other way around."
She chuckled softly as she reached down to unzip his bag, taking out a small Ziploc bag and a first aid kit from the nightstand. Aiden watched her briefly then turned his head to the side. Lifting his shirt, Miranda peeled off the bandage gently before wincing at the irritated wound. It was red around the stitches; a small amount of blood appearing from the stitches.
As she cleaned the wound with a damp towel, Aiden watched her with a stoic face. "Do all Hunters lie, Aunt Miranda?"
The blond woman lifted her head to look at her nephew then sighed gently. "Don't be bitter at those boys," she told him. "They did what they had to do."
Aiden shook his head, frowning. "But why would Mom hide this from me? Even you knew about all this Hunter business."
The blond boy scowled darkly once Miranda wiped down the stitched wound with a medical wipe and placed a clean bandage over it. She stood up, sitting down beside him as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders gently.
"We were protecting you," she said patting his shoulder. "Katie didn't want you growing up in the lifestyle of hunting like she did." Aiden looked at her while the blond woman had a solemn look on her face. He bit his bottom lip, looking away.
"Were you a Hunter too?" he asked after a moment of silence.
Miranda nodded in response as she moved hair from her face. "I was, for a time, helping your mother with her "jobs". But those days... are long gone."
She looked at her nephew, his head lowered; gaze watching his hands intently. Aiden's shoulders shook gently. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Crap," he muttered while wiping his tears away. "I... why'd she stab me then?"
The blond woman's blue-green eyes softened as she pulled him closer into an embrace. Her eyes closed once his choked sobs filled the air. Aiden clutched her waist, his face hidden in her chest.
'I don't know,' she thought sadly. Miranda stroked his hair gently in an attempt to comfort her nephew. 'I just don't know anymore...'
Author's note: Sorry if this chapter took a bit longer than expected to be (and it's short too!). Already working on chapters 4 and 5 as we speak. Reviews are loved and so is criticism on Aiden and Miranda's personality.