AN: I know, it's been a while. Sorry. Title comes from a Tom Waits song.
"You know him!" Dean exclaimed rather than asked. Sam was silent with his mouth slightly unhinged.
"Oh, god. So, then....you're John Winchester's boys?"
They nodded. Neither of them took their eyes off of Duff and he didn't take his off of them. They just stared at each other in awe for what could've been minutes with the way the room was so still.
"I don't believe this. You boys....your daddy...we..." Duff seemed to be having trouble putting his words together. This could've been blamed on the drunkenness, but Dean and Sam were convinced that the man was pretty well sobered by now. "I was in the Marines with your father. It was Nam. Your daddy and I were in the 2nd Battalion, Echo Company. In November of 1969, we were deployed. I'd never talked to him much before that. Then Jamie....in December, when Jamie died, John just quit talkin' to everybody. Jamie was sorta all he ever talked to in the first place, but once he bit it, John didn't really have a mind to talk at all. Until one day when I was....well....let's just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And your daddy...he made it there just in time to save my butt."
Sam shook his head.
"Man, I just don't believe it. What's the chance of us meeting you here?" Dean said, still taking the man on the bed in with wide disbelieving eyes. "I mean, in our line of work we find that coincidences rarely dictate reality..."
"I'm just as shocked as you are." Duff laughed a little. "What'd you kids say your names were, again?"
"Uh, I'm Sam." The younger boy smiled. "And this is Dean."
"Sam and Dean Winchester, huh? And...your mother?"
Both of the boys were silent for a moment. It was long enough for Duff to gauge that he'd come upon a tender topic.
"She died when I was a baby." Sam finally spoke.
"Well I'm mighty sorry to hear that. All John ever talked about out there was findin' him a wife and having him some boys. He must've been happier'n a pig in shit the day you two's born."
"Eh." Sam halfway smiled. "I don't really know that he's the type who could ever really be satisfied."
Dean shot his younger brother a small glare. "I dunno, Sammy. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He turned his gaze back to Duff. "As they say."
"When's your daddy coming back?" The blonde man asked.
"Who knows." Dean shrugged, finally taking a seat on his and Sammy's bed, feeling as though everything was easier to accept just being off his feet. "He takes off from time to time and he stays gone for days....maybe weeks. He just dropped in to stock up tonight and sped off right before we dragged you in here."
"Stock up?" Duff asked.
"Uh..." Sam stumbled over ten different half-thought-out explanations that were running through his mind, but Dean was quicker. He'd always been the better liar.
"Yeah. He's on this hunt with a few buddies of his. He came back for water and food."
"And you guys aren't with him? You're old enough to hunt. Hell, my daddy took me hunting when I was six years old. John's leaving you two in motels while he goes after the big game? I'm goin' to have to have a talk with him..."
Looking at the bedside table next to John's bed, Dean realized that he'd left his journal behind. That was odd for John. He usually brought it with him everywhere he went. Especially on hunts. Coincidentally, it was just then when the two boys recognized the sound of the impala on the asphalt outside of the motel room.
"Dad's back..." Dean muttered. "Forgot something."
"Really?" Duff stood up out of excitement. "John Winchester..." he recited again in awe. Dean and Sam were well aware of the impressions their father tended to leave on people, but this was different. This was some new degree of gratitude that Dean figured could only exist between war buddies.
When the door opened and John came in, grumbling, he hardly looked up until it occurred to him that there was a very small blonde man blocking the way to the nightstand. He cocked his head and assessed the impish biker, then broke into the most surprised grin the boy's had ever seen.
"Duff Kurtz?!??!"
"John! How are ya?!?!?"
The Winchester sons watched with great humor as their very large bear-like father made a disappearing act of the smaller one in a great big man-hug. It was a moment before he set him down again.
"How the hell did you end up here?" John asked.
"Your boys brought me in after they found me drunk in the street. I saw your dog-tags and...well..."
"Jesus Christ, what're the odds?"
Suddenly Dean felt the knuckles of Sammy's hand stroke the palm of his own, reminding him of the note their father had left on. He wondered if Sammy wanted to remind him. It was almost as if he was just waiting to bring it back up again in front of John. Like he was aching for a fight. Dean pulled his hand away, crossing his arms over his chest.
"These're some mighty handsome boys you've raised, here, John."
"I'm pretty proud of them." John beamed. "What about you? You got any kids?"
"Nah." Duff shrugged. "Just a couple of ex-wives."
"You and Susan...?"
"Ah, John, you know how it is. We was away a pretty good long time, there. She had to find some way to occupy herself."
"Man, I'm sorry."
"For what? It was a long time ago, and if I hadn't have found out, I'd be married to the bitch right now."
The two took another moment just to look each other up and down with fond remembrance.
"Get a room." Dean mumbled.
Duff broke into a smile. "You're one to talk, Dean. You and your brother certainly had me fooled back there at the bar."
John's smile crumbled. "You were at the bar?" He asked of Dean. "You took Sammy to a bar without me there?"
"Well..." Dean's tone was softer this time around. He didn't want to fight in front of Duff. "There was no money and no food, so I thought I'd just go hustle up some cash. Sam didn't want to be left alone."
"You're son's pretty good a pool, John." Duff came to Dean's defense. "But I don't know about that homo trick. That was pretty sneaky."
"What...?" John asked of anyone in the room. "Homo trick?"
"Yeah, Dad. Earlier...me and Dean were just practicing. We figured we'd come across a good escape plan and we just wanted to get it down perfectly."
Now Duff was the one who looked confused.
"Sam, that's bullshit. Because earlier, the story was that Dean was teaching you to kiss."
"He was. So that we would be convincing when the situation called for it."
"Dad...Whatever you're thinking, it couldn't be further from the truth. This isn't some VC Andrews novel, this I reality."
"Yeah well, our reality comes a lot closer to fiction than most fiction does." John sighed. He didn't buy his sons' story for one second, and the boys knew it. But there didn't seem to be much fight in him, now. Probably due to Duff's presence. He sighed. "Look, boys..." He took out his wallet and handed a stack of bills to Dean. "I want you to go get a separate room so Duff'll have a place to sleep tonight."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, John."
"I insist."
Dean just shrugged and stuffed the cash into his pocket, grabbed their bag and grabbed Sammy by the arm and lead him out of the room.
"Dad certainly was eager to get us out of there, don't you think?" He asked.
"What're you suggesting?" Sam frowned.
"I don't know. I mean....look at us. Danger brings people together and makes them close. Even the unlikely pairs may learn to find some sort of comfort in one another when there's nobody else around."
Sam trudged forward to the front desk, trying not to take what Dean said too literally, although he knew that was just how he meant it. And it seemed like he was probably right.
Afterward: I'm working on the next chapter right now, and it's looking like there might be some smex in it. So...that's something to look forward to. Also, I think you might like the story of how John saved Duff, and I'm going to try to work that in later. Probably not in the next chapter, though. (Forgive me for the plothole, also. I know...like John would ever abandon a hunt just because an old friend showed up. But I'll try to sort that out later, too.)