Eat Your Vegetables World: Part 3
The group of Winchesters waited together, both Sam's sitting beside each other on a park bench, the dimension traveller kind of fidgety while the other was nervously looking around. The traveller glanced at his counterpart and bit his lower lip before deciding to address the behaviour, "What're you looking for?"
"Our son ran off a day ago and we haven't been able to find him..." The other Sam groaned, dropping his face into his hands.
"Your... son? Like... you and Jet have a kid?"
"Yeah."
Sam was quiet for a while, curled his lips into his mouth and out again, "I hate to ask..."
"What's it like with Jet?" His counterpart laughed softly, knowing the question before it was even asked.
"How'd you-?"
"We're not that different, I'd ask you the same if I were in your position." The other Sam sighed and leaned back against the bench, "It's nice, he's capable, strong, and responsible when he needs to be but more importantly than any of that he loves so fiercely. When you're important to him there's nothing he won't do for you, and I mean nothing."
It wasn't so much what he said that got to Sam, Sam knew all of that about Jet already, what got him was how it was said. Like this other Sam had experienced it first hand, had seen the lengths Jet would go to and was so far in it that he almost couldn't imagine being with Jet in his life. "I nearly grew up with him around, he was friends with my brother." The traveller spoke up, his smile unyielding to his will to keep it down. "He was always there, when I needed him and when I didn't. I know what knowing him is like, being... being loved by him, but what's it... how is it in a relationship? Is it weird?"
The other Sam laughed, "At first maybe a little, he's got a personality that switches to a 'relationship mode.' He gets really sentimental and sweet, and I would never trade what I have with him for anything. Yeah okay, when we fight it's explosive but I don't know, it just works. I love him."
Sam didn't think he'd ever forget the yearning he felt in his being that day, to see Jet and tell him exactly that. 'I love you.' Everything his other self was describing he had felt, whenever they argued it was loud and angry but the rage never stuck with either of them, it never mattered. He'd felt it when Jet looked at him, that sweetness, the emotional side he'd never really seen growing up. Yes, Jet had been there for him whenever he wanted, but when they were younger Jet was emotionally disconnected a lot of the time. Like Sam was his buddy's little brother for the longest time, but it slowly changed and Sam ended up being Jet's family too. After all that time Sam wanted to say he was still family to Jet, but maybe it was more than that now.
Dean sat next to Castiel comfortably, they enjoyed each other's company, even though they weren't allowed to do much of anything. Dean looked at the dark haired young man and kind of smiled, "You're pretty young, huh? Is Dean older?"
Castiel nodded, "Yep, we met when I was in high school sneaking into bars." He grinned wildly and Dean was pretty sure he knew exactly why the other him fell for it. "I was pretty bad back then."
"Hence the crack references?"
"I never actually did it I just read books and watched movies that involved it. My body wouldn't be able to handle that kind of thing, I figure. It's okay, I just would never risk it, I did poorly enough in school as it was." Cas checked his phone absently, "Speaking of, school should be in session now. Mike had better be there, I swear if he's anything like me he won't be."
"Who's Mike?" Dean furrowed his brow, hoping it wasn't another child situation. And Mike? As in Michael? As in the priest he'd met not too long back? Dean wasn't sure he liked how everyone he was meeting could possibly be a priest somewhere else, it was kind of weird and maybe just in his head.
"My little brother, he's like thirteen now." Cas shrugged and stuffed his phone away, "Dean and I are taking care of him."
"Mom and dad not around?"
"Mom took care of him while Dean and I worked, dad works at the shop." Castiel cast a glance over at the Sam's, "Sam went to Stanford and Jet was working, so we left it to mom too often. Dean and I got on our feet and took over, Mike's been with us for a few years now."
Dean scrunched up his face a little, "So when you say mom and dad you mean your mom and dad or mine?"
"Uh... mine? John and Mary Winchester adopted me at a young age, they're my parents. My birth parents were... monsters. Michael and I are related by blood, but Sam has been my brother since I can remember. Dean went missing at a young age so we didn't meet until I was in high school, and even then I didn't know who he was. I guess it's all a little incest-y but I don't really care."
"A little." Dean pinched his fingers together with a somewhat scrutinizing face, he didn't mean to but it just kind of happened. By law Dean and Castiel were brothers but they were together now, it was kind of strange to think about. "But hey, if you love him then who cares, right?"
"Exactly." Cas nodded firmly, that little sparkle in his eye Dean recognized from his Castiel. It was adoration and nothing but love, Dean loved that glint because more often than not it was aimed his way. "So do you want to fuck him?" Cas asked out of the blue and nearly startled Dean from his seat.
"No." Dean regained his composure and shook his head immediately, surprising the other Cas a little. "I want to do so much more than that, to mean more than that. Cas..." He could picture it so clearly, those bright blue eyes staring at him from the base of a statue, the slow shift of that body when it moved driving him crazy, and more than that he could hear Castiel's voice in his head. "I love him. I need him, he's the love of my life beyond a shadow of a doubt. I wish there were more ways to say it, to share that, but I don't know how. I just do what I can and hope it's good enough for him, because Cas deserves the best and he wants me so he deserves my best. I'll do everything in my power to make him happy again, to see him smile easily like you can. He's been through so much and I can't begin to relate to it, all I can do is be there for him, tell him I love him, that he's okay... Cas will always be my baby." He smiled and looked at the other Castiel who looked so sentimental over what he was saying, eyes a little wet as they looked at one another.
"That was beautiful, Dean."
"Thanks." Dean sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, grinning like an idiot. "He's hot as hell too, like he's older than you are, he's got a hell of an attitude and I just love that ass. Like, we both wear these long coats so I don't always see it but when I do," he bit his lower lip, eyes staring distantly as a low rumble started to creep up on them.
"Sounds like you've got it bad." Cas' eyebrows bobbed up and down quickly before he got up and went to wave at the Impala approaching.
When it stopped the other Dean and priest got out, each going to their respective partners. The two priests smiled at one another when they stood face to face, wanting to hug but not sure they'd been apart long enough. They both decided it was stupid and went for it at the same time, Dean laughed softly and nuzzled his cheek against the stubble on Cas', enjoying the little scratching feeling. "I missed you." He whispered sweetly into his partner's ear, noting how Cas' skin started to form the little bumps, and he'd never forget the soft gasp Castiel let out when Dean's breath tickled his inner ear.
"I missed you too," Cas squeezed a little harder, cupping the back of Dean's head.
The other Dean and Castiel couple had hugged and kissed and stepped away from one another. "So you get any info?" Dean asked right away and his lover shrugged with a shake of his head.
"Not much explaining the situation, you?"
"No, he didn't want to explain it more than once." Dean pouted as he looked over at the outfit-matching priests, "Hey! Wanna let us in on what's up now?"
"We're from different dimensions," Cas answered first, something he was still more accustomed to. "There are many different realities and this is one we are currently visiting. While most of the time when we are around it means there's something threatening in your dimension, this time we were spat out here by something else so we may just be passing through."
The regular couple looked at one another, both feeling the urge to reference movies and television shows but neither said anything. "So... you don't really have an agenda here?" Dean decided to ask, raising an eyebrow at the strange group as Sam went to join his companions.
"Not really, all we're missing is Jet and we'll probably be on our way." Priest Dean answered with a halfhearted shrug, "He'll probably end up with your Jet or something, we tend to wind up around our counterparts or important individuals."
"Right..." The other Cas ran a hand through his hair just before Dean's phone started to ring, he recognized the ringtones Dean had and furrowed his brow, "That's the school calling..."
"Mike," Dean rolled his eyes and picked up with a somewhat flat expression and tone to match. "What'd he do now?"
"Dean it's me," Michael's voice came across the line and he sounded a little weirded out, "I was just wondering, is Jet there?"
"No, he'd be at work. Why? What's up?"
"Well it's kind of weird... I thought I saw him appear out of thin air. I feel kinda bad because he said not to tell anyone but it's just so weird... Do you think he's an alien or something? Jet can't do stuff like that for real, I bet it's aliens."
"Michael you watch too many movies, Jet's not an alien." Dean cringed a bit because he'd thought the same thing, maybe there had been too many sci fi movie nights. "But I saw someone do the same thing, do you know where he went?"
"Well he kept on down the sidewalk, I don't know where he went after that. But you saw one too? Dean come on! Aliens! Or some kind of shape shifter! Is the real Jet alive? Is he okay? Can you call him?"
"Jet's fine, buddy. He's a tough dude, can take care of himself. There's no need to worry about these people coming out nowhere, they're nice guys and they aren't staying very long." Dean actually believed what he was saying despite everything happening appearing to be crazier than anything else he'd done in the last few years. "Just some save the world stuff."
"Whoa. Awesome. So the Jet I saw was like a superhero?"
"The Jet you see on a regular basis is a superhero, c'mon!" Dean protested with a chuckle, "But the one you saw is special in a different way I suppose. If you see him again let me know immediately, okay?"
"Sure thing, can I go look for-"
"No, stay in class." Dean hung up before he could get the whining portion of that conversation. "Friggin' kids." He looked at the dimension travellers and waved his phone a little, "That was Michael, he saw your Jet near his school so we should head over there, guy couldn't have gotten far."
"Jet's pretty resourceful," Priest Dean made a screwed up face and looked over at Sam who only nodded in agreement, "If he wanted to he could be twenty miles out of town by now."
"Well let's hope he saw no reason to do that." The other Cas chuckled and started toward the Impala, "C'mon, let's get over there and start looking."
"How are we all going to fit in that?" Both Sam's grumpily asked at the same time, they exchanged a quick look but didn't address it.
"It seats 6," Dean answered with a laugh as he walked to the car, it didn't matter which one because they both said it and they both believed it. Just in that scenario only one of them was allowed to drive.
"We're all full grown men, Dean." The regular life Sam grumbled as he hopped into the front after his Cas, the front seat taken up by one dimension occupants, the back seat taken up by dimension travellers. In both scenarios Castiel ended up in the middle. Neither of them really complained though, stuck between two members of his family and a little squished but not to the point of it hurting.
It was a cramped ride to the school.
Michael hung up the phone and made a face, if this was save the world big he couldn't just stay in school. So, like in every hero movie he'd ever seen, he didn't listen to the direct order and ran out the door. That other Jet had wandered off down the street, which would lead him to a number of places, in Michael's head the more important one would have been the mall. Of course he didn't know at that moment that there was no way Jet would know where the mall was, but Michael went there on a hunch all the same.
He reached the mall in no time, of course the wheels in his shoes helped him out quite a bit. Michael's body wasn't always in the best shape, he was weaker than other kids his age and hadn't developed as much as he should have while in the most influential stages of his life. Starvation was a hell of growth stunter.
There were a few other teenagers running about, not many though because it was still first thing in the morning and people were supposed to be in class. There were older people, adults with no jobs or jobs that started later in the day, but so far he couldn't see Jet. Michael adjusted his bag on his back and started really looking, he knew Jet's voice and he knew the way Jet looked so it couldn't be all that hard to spot him, right? Not right, Michael scowered the stretch of the mall with no luck whatsoever. It was starting to look like maybe he'd picked the wrong place, and while he spent more time looking the further away Jet could get. Michael sighed heavily and slumped on a bench, running his hand down his face in frustration. "Where are you, Jet!?" He shouted without much else coming to mind.
And the most amazing thing happened, he got a reply. "Turn around."
Michael perked up and twisted around to see a half smirking man and a familiar toddler holding hands. "Jet! Holy shit you're here!"
"Watch your mouth around Vince, man." Jet warned, raising an eyebrow disapprovingly. "And what're you doing? Isn't school on right now?" Jet was feeling more and more like a scolding parenting every passing second. First the little kid, then the teenager, god his life was a running soap opera of comedy.
"Sort of, Dean and the others are looking for you and asked that I come out to find you first, figured it'd be easier that way since I was closer and all." Michael was obviously shifting the truth and Jet was no stranger to it.
"Cool, well regardless of how much you're probably lying right now let's go, I have to get this little nutbar cleaned up. Call Dean up and let him know you found me." Jet continued on toward the rest rooms with Vincent in tow, he wasn't sure which Dean was looking for which Jet but he figured it was as good a place to start as any. Hell if he'd known this Michael knew Dean he would have stuck with him from the get go. 'But then you never would have found Vincent...' He furrowed his brow and gave the boy's hand a light squeeze, 'It's better this way.'
Michael was on the phone hesitantly, not wanting to call back after being told to stay in class but what could he do? He found the Jet copy, it was important, Dean and Cas couldn't scold him for that.
Jet picked Vincent up and put him on the bathroom counter, "Stay put, tin man." he smiled a little and went to get some paper towels. He ran them under warm water and lathered some soap in there before he started gently rubbing the food mess from the toddler's face. "So can you tell me how old you are, Vincent?" He asked teasingly, knowing that this kind of crap worked on kids, they had no idea that you didn't know.
"Three!" Vincent chimed happily, so much more cheer in him now that he'd been fed.
"How old am I?"
"Uhm..." He paused and put his finger to his lips as he thought again, it was the cutest concentration face Jet had ever seen in his life. "Very."
Jet snorted, "That's not a number!"
Vincent laughed instead of really giving him an answer, and Jet didn't care.
Michael waited for the phone to click and when it did he automatically put on an innocent face that Jet recognized through the mirror, it was something all guilty teenagers did when they were about to get caught. "Hey Dean-"
"You aren't in school, are you?"
The reply was immediate and interrupting and very deflating for Michael. "No, I went to find him and guess what?"
"You got lost?" Dean teased somewhat sarcastically.
"No, I found him. And guess who he had? Yeah that's right, he found Vincent. You're welcome."
The other line was quiet for a second and he could hear Dean telling Sam, Dean came back to the phone soon after, "How is Vincent? Is he okay?"
"He's ecstatic, thinks this Jet is his dad and everything." Michael chuckled as he watched Jet scrub the three-year old's shirt with little success.
"How the hell do people do this!?" Jet snapped in frustration, scared for a second that he might've frightened Vincent but the boy only laughed harder at him. "Glad at least you're enjoying this, you twerp." He smirked and continued to try and least make the kid look like a minor hobo instead of full-fledged.
"Thank god... Where are you guys?"
"The mall bathrooms at the moment."
"Stay at the mall, we'll be right there to get you." Dean hung up again, he had a bad habit of not saying goodbye sometimes. Michael figured it was a learned thing from Cas.
"Stay put are the orders this time." he put the phone in his pocket and looked at Jet with a large grin as Vincent repeated hit the soap button.
Jet stared at the growing pile of soap and sighed, "You are a natural born mess maker, aren't you? C'mere Tintin, let's get out of here." He hefted the boy off the counter and Vincent whined vehemently.
"Daaaaddddyyyyy! I'm all wet!"
"What do you want me to do about it?" Jet made a face at him and looked over at the air dryers, "Here let's do this then." he held Vincent under one and the boy squealed with joy as the sudden air pressure blasted down on his soaked tummy. Jet didn't think he could smile that much at one person in the span of a few hours but here he was, consistently enjoying this toddler's company. "Feel better?"
Vincent giggled and squirmed which was as much of a warning for Jet as anything, "I got to pee! I gotta pee!" Jet put him down right away and pointed at a toilet.
"Can you go by yourself?"
Vincent tugged on his pant leg insistently and Jet rolled his eyes, "Alright let's go over to this one." he chose the handicapped stall and closed it behind them, not sure he even knew how to teach this kind of thing, let alone help with it.
Michael chuckled, just glad it wasn't him stuck with Vincent duty again. "Good luck in there man, he misses!"
"Not helping, Mikey." Jet called back and Michael made a face.
"Don't call me Mikey."
"Well then stop being a pest."
Author's Note:
I think domestic Jet is my favourite thing right now, poor guy has no idea how to parent. Also I think we might finally get to some smut soon, whattaya say?