"... Dean...?" Seth's voice was like a faint whisper.
The person at the edge of the bed he was in turned. Fluffy unruly hair... blue eyes...
"Seth...?"
He used his name...?
The swordsman moved from the edge, sitting down on his knees in front of him. "You're awake", he said. Fluttering fuzziness swept through Seth's body seeing him. Dean was smiling. A bright smile.
Flashes from before filled his head. The raupnir, the vines... how it caught him... the draining... It was like he was back there.
"Where... What hap... Dean... I..." everything felt so muddled and everything just wanted to get out too fast, all at once.
"Shhh... Everything's fine. You're safe. You're home." Home... he was... home. Home with Dean... Dean put his hand on Seth's, giving it a light squeeze. "Rest now, okay?"
Seth closed his heavy eyes, having a happy smile on his lips.
He slowly blinked his eyes open but they were resisting. His vision was blurry. But he made out he was in a bed. A bed...? Where was he? It was a bunk bed. He was back...? His focus wasn't the best and he just was so darn tired, like he could sleep for another week.
Bunk bed... he was sleeping in Dean's bed. Dean's bed... Dean... what had Roman done to manage to have him sacrifice his bunk...?
His head fell to the side, trying to get a view of their room. Roman was there, sitting at the table. Just feeling that he wasn't alone made him feel relieved.
"Ro..." he tried, but his voice failed him.
It still was enough to get the spearman's attention.
"You're awake", he smiled and got to his feet to sit down by his side. This seemed so familiar. Like he had been in this scene before... He wasn't sure though, maybe he had dreamed it. It had been Dean- He suddenly realized he wasn't in the room. "Where's Dean...?" Was the reason he was in Dean's bed...? He wasn't here? The jolt to his insides had him almost start panicking, all kinds of thoughts invading as he made an attempt to sit up. "Where's Dean?"
Roman put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, hey, don't worry. He's in the bathroom."
Bathroom...? He really was in there or did Roman just tell him to calm him...? What if- His thoughts came to a sudden halt when he heard flushing and the faucet going. Someone was in the bathroom, Roman was here, so Dean must be there. Seth felt himself relax into the pillows and mattress again. He really had let his imagination fly away with him there. Silly Seth...
"Just take it easy... you were Exhausted. You've been out for two days."
He'd gotten Exhausted once before. During training. Orton never let him hear the end of it. Shit happens but this time, to have been drained, and to have that cause Exhaustion. That had just been a freakish experience. Just feeling how the Magic was drawn out from him and he wasn't even the one doing it. At least he hadn't been out longer because of it. The last Exhaustion had been two days as well.
"My cousin Jimmy came over, checking up on you. He's a Rune Master and he said your Runes were fine though. I mean not damaged after the draining. How are you feeling?"
"Dead tired..." was the immediate, very honest answer. He sensed his Runes, which were completely depleted. "Don't have any Magic though... it's empty. Don't feel anything weird though..." Even in his tired state he should be able to feel if something was off.
"Greedy raupnir", Roman commented and Seth could just agree. "Glad to hear things seem fine though."
"What happened to it?" Then he was hit by his fear during the fight: "It was the twin, right? It was the one we were supposed to take down, the Runes were off and-"
"Don't worry, it was the twin, and we took care of it. I was the one giving the report and they confirmed it. They know their stuff." Another weight off Seth's shoulders. Roman must have seen it too as he smiled before he continued, a little more serious again. "When you got Exhausted, Dean took you to safety and returned with a vengeance. But we slayed it. And the gargoyles. That threat is gone."
Dean was the one who took care of him? That was a surprise. But then again, he had a faint feeling he actually had called out to him while he was being drained. His memory was still fuzzy around that part though. But to have had him actually help him. Roman maybe told him to. Maybe Dean was closest to him at the point. He didn't think it was because of Seth himself. Wouldn't flatter himself with that thought.
He was still worried about them. Roman seemed fine sitting there, and he still hadn't seen Dean. "Are you hurt?" was his natural question.
"Dean busted his knee, I've treated it the best I can though."
And Seth didn't have any Magic... "Is it bad...?"
"Infected, but just a wound. Don't think anything else's broken."
Seth just nodded. He would look into it later on. As a reaction, he sat himself up more and kind of looked himself over some, noticing a shirt that wasn't his.
"Oh, yeah, I changed your clothes. Thought it would be more comfortable for you."
"Oh, okay. Thank you..." He tried not to be embarrassed by it. Didn't seem to be injured himself at least. Moving made him feel an unpleasant sting in his nether regions. "I... I may need to go to the bathroom..." He felt a little awkward admitting it, but it was kind of urgent. Thankfully, Dean came out of the bathroom, as if someone knew Seth needed it unoccupied.
Dean froze in place seeing him. Was he mad at him for being in his bed? Like, Seth was being on his turf still?
Seth just looked at him, not able to make out his expression at all. Dean opened his mouth to say something, but nothing seemed to be able to come out.
"Dean..." Seth let out instead, not sure what he wanted to say. Maybe he wanted to thank him.
"You're... okay", Dean said, sounding hesitant. "Well, good for you. Can't have you just lying around here now can we." He looked away adding it.
Warmth and relief had spread through his body seeing him again but he should have known Dean would have that kind of cold attitude... Couldn't he have been a little more... happy was probably stretching it but... yeah something like that... Kind of took some excitement from Seth too actually...
"I.. uh... I'll go out getting breakfast, okay?" Dean said and without waiting for an answer, he left the room. Seth did notice his limping.
"Some things never change, huh?" the Rune Bearer said, holding a sad smile.
"He... he was actually concerned about you, he just doesn't know how to express it", Roman said.
"Really?" Seth asked, his eyes widening. Another thing he hadn't been prepared for.
"Yeah, he wasn't cool with you being defenceless."
With how Roman expressed it, it sounded familiar. There had been something about that during his first Recovery with Dean.
His thoughts about it weren't long-lived at all as he still needed to get up. He stiffly tried to sit up but there was a lot of protesting, both in his limbs and insides. Roman helped him, even though Seth could manage on his own but his help got him up a little faster.
He felt so relieved in several ways when he got back from the bathroom. His legs still didn't quite cooperate, with the stiffness of not having moved for a while. He was glad Roman had decided to put these comfy loose clothes on, it made it feel easy to move around. The pants were a little too big though but they were okay, just kind of falling from his hips some.
He placed himself on a chair by the table, still feeling drained.
"You hungry? Dean should be back soon with something", Roman said and offered him a glass of water. He hadn't asked for it but he appreciated it. Probably needed the fluid.
"Not really", he replied as he accepted the glass.
"Maybe that's reason enough to actually give yourself some new energy? You haven't eaten in two days, so your body needs some nourishment."
Roman was right, so he just nodded. For some reason he felt bad about the Exhaustion. It hadn't been his fault, or at least in his control. He'd tried his everything to get out of that situation but his Magic had been cancelled as it was drained from him. So he hadn't been able to use his Magic to free himself and then just the sensation of being drained... The only thing that he would have had control over was being captured at all... or... rather not being captured... He had been so focused on the gargoyles and then his hand had been caught, then his other and... yeah...
"Roman... I'm... I'm sorry for getting Exhausted..."
"Dude, it wasn't your fault."
"If I hadn't gotten myself caught..."
"You did everything you could, what matters is that you're okay, I'm okay, Dean's okay, the raupnir's dead. Alright?"
Seth still felt bad about it... but it was nice to get that encouragement from him. Even though he felt like he didn't do anything to help. But he wanted to take what Roman said to heart, so he nodded. Roman gave him a smile.
His thoughts didn't get to roam free, and maybe that was for the best, as the door was opened and Dean returned. He had a couple of paper bags with him. Something smelled really nice coming from them. Herby and aromatic. And something sweet. Cinnamon?
Dean placed one for the bags on the table and kept the other one to himself. His fingers were tapping the top while he awkwardly looked around the room. Without looking at Seth, he held out the bag towards him.
Seth just stared at the gesture.
"Take it..." Dean said. It wasn't annoyed, more... nervous?
Seth reached out and took the paper package. It was warm, could it be...? He opened it up. Cinnamon syrup pancakes...
"It's no big deal, okay? Got some food but I don't know what you eat, so I just played it safe, alright?" He still avoided eye contact, not even looking towards him.
With everything that had been, and his sudden low about the Exhaustion, his drained feeling, and now this gesture. Dean brought him pancakes... Seth started crying.
"Hey, whoa...! It can't be that bad?" Dean kinda panicked. "I thought you liked them...!"
"No, it's not that", Seth tried to reassure him, giving him a smile through the tears. "It's just, it was so kind of you." Seriously, it was very sweet of him. To have given him something of his favourites. Like... Seth had done for him...
"Then why are you crying?"
"I don't know." Another smile through the tears. "It's happy tears."
Dean just stared at him. He probably tried his best efforts to look unfazed but he had shown some worry over Seth's sudden emotional outburst. It wasn't like he could help it. It just spilled over, even if it was over the weird reason of someone showing kindness. But maybe it was just that. Dean showed his well hidden kind side.
"Thank you."
Dean scratched the back of his head. "Just eat those damn pancakes before they get cold or soggy or something."
Seth made a chuckle at that. Dean could be quite cute when being awkward and flustered. He wiped his face from tears and placed the bag on the table and carefully opened it up. Two pancakes were wrapped up in one package and a small urn of syrup was also included. He opened up the lid and inhaled that delicious aroma. Instead of trying to pour it over, he took pieces of the pancakes and dipped it into the goo. It tasted just as heavenly as last time and it was just what he needed. He ate slowly not to upset his stomach but it was hard when it tasted so good.
Dean and Roman had their food too, some herb stuffed seedy bread. It looked good but the spicy smell alone was almost too much for his stomach to digest, so he just kept to his friendly pancakes.
He managed to eat one of them but instead of forcing the other one he decided to save it for later. Just as he had done to that egg sandwich. He kind of wondered what happened to it, and kind of hoped one of the other two had eaten it in his stead. Would be bad if it had just been spoiled.
Dean didn't protest when Seth made it back to the bed after he had eaten. The tiredness was still over him almost as badly as before, even though he had gotten new energy in terms of food. He was so tired... he just wanted to sleep... Being Exhausted wasn't like sleep, you were just... shut down... not aware of anything around you. It had just been like he shut down and then he returned back. But with tiredness.
He did have a feeling he had had some weird dream though. About waking up, and Dean being there... smiling... He had liked that smile... Dean had been so happy to see him. Saying he was home... He had called him Seth... He had used his name... Held his hand... It was a shame it wasn't real. He had really liked that...
The tiredness kept on like that. Every time he woke up after an hour or so of sleeping, he just felt just as tired, not able to keep his eyes open so he just drifted off again.
It wasn't until later in the afternoon when he finally wasn't feeling quite as heavy. He sat up, still feeling a little mushy. The low had faded even if he still had the tiredness. Maybe it was something that was enhanced by the Exhaustion, with a lot of the other things that had been going.
He should maybe Re-Set soon too... It needed Recovery so might as well take care of that as he was already tired.
He looked around the room. Only Dean was there. Did he dare ask him...? He would prefer him... not that Roman's were bad... it was just... Dean's were special... he liked those. And that was a kind of important aspect when it came to Re-Setting by itself.
"Dean...?" he said. The swordsman sat at the table, taking care of their equipment by the looks of it. He turned and faced him when spoken to.
"I... uh..." Seth's heart beat so fast in his chest just thinking of asking. It was kind of ridiculous, they should be used to it by now.
"Are you sure you should do it already?"
What was that? Why was he asking that? Did he know he wanted to ask about the Re-Set? Was he concerned...? Or did he just want it to sound like that? His voice didn't sound like how it usually did though.
"Roman's cousin said it would need like a kick-start", Dean continued.
Kick-start? Because it was emptied? What would that mean?
"So I was just... thinking if you were like ready for it, I mean after the Exhaustion?"
This wasn't like Dean, but Seth didn't complain. He was... caring. How weird it may sound. He wasn't sure what it would mean to go through a kick-start, but he couldn't help feeling more urgent for him to Re-Set with Dean, just because.. yeah he liked his Re-Sets... Maybe it wouldn't be as bad... if a kick-start hurt or just... felt more.
"Have to do it at some point", he just said, fidgeting with the blanket over his knees.
"Why... why do you do it?" When he met Seth's confused look he added: "The Re-Sets. They hurt you, right?"
Seth was kind of taken aback at that. Dean actually made conversation. "It hurts some, but it's more like a very unpleasant feeling. But... I... I need the Magic."
"If you didn't Re-Set... you could be a normal kid." He wasn't sure about Dean's tone there. It didn't sound accusing, it was more... lamenting?
"Well... Maybe I'm not supposed to be a normal kid. I got these Runes, and Healing nonetheless, it would be a shame not to put it in use by not Re-Setting. You're talented with a sword. I'm with Magic... we're both trained and skilled. You wouldn't want to lose your arm, right? To lose your talent?"
"Those Re-Sets still hurt you..."
"It's manageable. I'm sure your training hurts you too." Seth got even more surprised by this conversation. Not only was it civilized, Dean showed signs of actually being concerned, just by his voice, and look saying it. It warmed him, genuinely. Other times when he had showed concern he always tried making it sound like he wasn't. But this time he didn't do anything to deny it.
"And..." Should he say it? "But..." He hesitated. "It's... it's not as bad when you're Re-Setting me..." his voice was barely a whisper. He almost stopped breathing for a moment there. Had he ruined everything by confessing that?
Dean wouldn't tell him. He went into his expressionless state. Crap... But he didn't dare say anything else, for once he forced himself to shut up to minimize the damage.
Dean rose from his seat and Seth was sure he was leaving, as he always did whenever things got a little too much for him. But he went to the bed and placed himself by the edge.
"Are... are you sure you wanna do this?"
It was like he hadn't even heard what Seth had said. Maybe that was a good thing? Or maybe he had heard but didn't know to respond, even though it had been most likely for him to just take a hike.
He stopped his train of thoughts and decided it would be better to reply to his inquiry: "Yes..." Because he wanted, needed, it to be Dean. But of course he had to keep talking: "Why are you offering?"
"Maybe I just don't want to see you hurt."
Before Seth even processed what he could mean by that, Dean wrapped his arms around him and slid his hand in under his shirt and placed it doubtlessly between his shoulder blades. A strong jolt pulsed through his spine, making Seth cling to Dean with a surprised gasp. The fluttering was back, just so much more intense than before. It still wasn't painful, he just didn't know what to do with himself and that immense energy. He hid his face against Dean's shoulder. He was so glad it was him... Just having his arms around him made it endurable. Even if the sensation was stronger than before, he just lost himself in Dean's embrace.
The pulsing faded, leaving just the tingly fluttering. He lost the sense of the Runes, meaning they were filled up again. Nothing seemed off. His Runes worked and could still hold Magic.
He found himself panting. That kick-start really took... it's... toll... Just feeling... so... drained...
He woke up some time later, cradled securely into Dean's chest. They lay on the bed together, Dean holding him tightly. Happy the Hunter was still with him, he nuzzled closer and let out a content sigh. A blush warmed his cheeks realizing but he felt so... at home. And safe...
"How are you feeling?" Dean asked with a low, trying voice.
"I'm fine..." he said. He really liked this... just having Dean so close...
That didn't last long though as Dean moved to get up. "You didn't have to go..." Seth whined, hearing himself how needy he sounded.
"You're awake now." He scooted off towards the edge of the bed.
Seth felt rejected. "Dean..." He wanted to know if he also felt something... when they had been Re-Setting. But his words didn't want to get out. Maybe it was the rejected feeling that hindered him. "Thank you..." it was something, but it wasn't right. He didn't want to him to leave...
Dean was still on the edge of the bed, his back towards Seth.
"How's your knee?" Seth asked, doing his duty as a Healer, but also as a way to maybe have him stay.
"Don't worry about it."
"I'm Recovered. I... I can Heal you."
"You don't need to, okay?" He sounded so tired.
"Just let me. I want to Heal you."
Dean turned and faced him. Another one of his most conflicted expressions. It ended with closed eyes and a sigh as he moved around and threw his leg up on the bed. He made a face stretching it out. Seth could see the damage before even removing the bandages. Carefully, he reached out and got rid of the cloths. Even though Roman had made an effort taking care of it, it was still furiously infected. It looked very painful. Seth raised his hands over the knee and started curing. It wasn't hard. The soft glow illuminated their shared space as the wound closed up and the angry red faded.
"There you go", Seth said, finishing up. "Any other injuries?"
"Nope."
Dean swung his feet over the edge. Seth knew no thanks were coming but some appreciation would have been nice. Didn't want to feel having been taken advantage of or something.
"You good now?" he pushed, hoping in vain for some acknowledgement.
"Yeah... it's fine." He drummed his fingers against the bed's wooden frame. "Hey... um..."
Seth's hopes rose. He anxiously waited for something, anything else.
"Glad you're okay", Dean got to his feet without looking at him.
Seth held a helpless smile. That was something, he guessed. Seemed to have been too much again, as the swordsman left the room. Seth wasn't that worried though. He probably had a lot to process. He had been so... sweet. Dean had been sweet. He really liked his attention though, when he was being held by him. And his hugs that came with the Re-Sets. When being held, there was no hesitation. That made him feel safe. And he was so warm.
That made him think of Fire. Maybe Dean would be Fire if he had an element. He sure had the temperament for it. But he had this calming aspect of a friendly fire too.
He just hoped... he would continue to be like that...
Roman was the one bringing them food later on. Some potatoes, sauce, meat and veggies. And Seth even had his pancake as dessert. It wasn't much talking, and Seth didn't mind since he just wanted an early night. Maybe it wasn't good sleeping so much... but he was tired to he didn't bother.
Finishing up in the bathroom later on, his eyes fell on his reflection. Or his blond patch to be specific. Did it look... paler than usual? He reached up and touched it. It seemed normal enough, maybe it was the lighting making it look like that? Or the reflection itself? He took a few locks and investigated them in front of his face. It was solid blond. He made a chuckle. It was just silly, it looked the same. It was just his imagination. And the tiredness.
When he got out, he contemplated his sleeping options; his floor bed or Dean's bunk, absentmindedly pulling on the hem of his shirt some. As he stood there he noticed Dean's eyes on him, lingering kind of long for some reason. It was like he scanned him. Probably analyzing him and his next move. He should probably get back to his own bed by now. He was Recovered and everything so he didn't need some more comfort because of that. And he didn't want to risk stepping on his toes by overstaying his welcome. He made it for his "bed" and reached for the blanket.
"What are you doing?" it was Dean.
"I figured I'd go to bed...?" Seth said. Shouldn't it be obvious what he was doing?
"You shouldn't sleep on the floor."
"Well... they still haven't fixed a real bed and I'm fine now so I'll just return to my sleeping place."
"We can share", he mumbled.
"What?" was all Seth managed to get out. Share?
"I don't wanna repeat myself. You heard me." He refused eye contact, looking busy with something else.
"You sure...?" He really couldn't be offering it voluntarily, could he?
"Sleeping on the floor sucks, okay? Just take the damn wall side."
Seth was completely stupefied for a moment. Dean really willingly shared his bed... heat started to spread across his cheeks yet again. "Th-thank you..."
"Yeah, whatever, if you kick me out of bed, you're out, you understand?"
Seth nodded. It wasn't really heated, just more like an embarrassed statement. "But... um... I'm going to bed then..."
"By all means, sunshine."
Dean and his nicknames... They could be worse though...
He just rolled up the bed stuff on the floor before he crawled onto the bed and made himself comfortable for sleep.
This day had just been... weird was maybe the best word to describe it. His concerns for Dean... and then how Dean had been towards him. Being both cold but then showed that kindness. Several times, but Seth had been equally surprised every time. What had happened? He really cared? He wanted to believe that. Dean had been nice. He liked him nice. A lot. He remembered his dream again. Was he still dreaming? Was he really out of Exhaustion? Or did it just play tricks on him still? He wanted it to be real.
The dip of the mattress indicated that Dean joined him. That was a reassuring thing, the warmth from his back, the weight beside him, the ghostly pressure of their bodies touching, the unique smell of his body mixed with a lingering soap, the sound of his breathing. It was all too real for just being a dream.
He could drift off to sleep, knowing Dean was very much there.
