Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also continuing themes of blood & canon apocalypse. Oh, and reference to John's A-Plus Parenting. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: Woo, but last semester kicked my ass, but I got both my theses in, so this semester should be better.
General Reminders: FFN does not allow for replies to guest reviews. Also, if you have any comments/suggestions/concerns about the length of things, how long it's been since I last updated, the meta junk included, and/or things like how/why characters are not white, neurotypical, or straight, then you should check my FFN profile before reviewing.
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Quidditch League (Season 10); Ministry (Winter Year 1); MC4A (Winter Year 5)
Individual Challenges: Finders; Canon of Spite; Loblolly; Red Lights; Red Lights; Red Bull; Red Bull; Bilingual Buddies; Behind Green Eyes (Y); Behind Green Eyes (Y); Torment (Y); Red Wave (Y); Happy Birthday (Y); Bi Rainbow; Lovebirds; Gryffindor MC; Hunter MC; Hunter MC; Hunter MC; Hunter MC; Nonhuman MC; Criminal MC; Criminal MC; Criminal MC; Criminal MC; Military MC; Neurodivergent; Neurodivergent; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Disabled; Booger Breath; Claimed; Hold the Mayo; Zed Era; Old Shoes; Old Shoes (Y); Above Average Natural; Feathers & Such; Endings; In a Flash; The Real MC (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon
Team (Position): Wigtown Wanderers (Seeker)
Round (Prompt): R00 (n/a)
Other QL Challenges: n/a
Ministry Challenges: Muggle Worthy; Monthly Challenges here
RAVEN: Colors [58](Gold); Items [157](Sweater/Jumper); Settings [98](New Moon)
Other MC4A Challenges: WiB [2A](Sleigh/Sled); Vocab [1A](Juggle); Ship (Mixtape)[WiMic1 (Fusion/Crossover); 2A (Cuddling/Snuggling)]; Chim [Rick]("Louder than Words" – Tick, Tick, Boom; Life/Death; Race Bend);Fire [x3](Impala); Garden [Nails (Bi/Pan); Bonsai (Timeline Shift); Gnome Army (Knife); Pot Garden (Dark); Network (Purple); Holiday (Angel)]; Harvest [A&B (Closing a Door; Rubbing); AUs (Apocalypse); Items (Dagger; Sweater/Jumper); Settings (Dark; New Moon)]; Hang [Phrase 3] (n/a); Soup [Let](Prompt); Swap [Tops (Purple Sweater; College Sweatshirt); Bottoms (Denim Overalls)]; Shop [PD (Mobility Impairment)]
Representation(s): Team Free Will as Family; Desi Harry Potter; Profound Bond
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Easy Zephyr; Lettuce Hold Hands; Second Verse (Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Most Human Bean; Rock of Ages; Bad Beans; Morrigan's Tentacles; Inky Shadow; Under the Bridge; Esbat); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Turtle-Duck; Forked Path; Some Beach; Hot Stuff); Demo 2 (Misshapen Pods)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Negate); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Ox); SHoE (Terse; Onus); FIN (Imprecate); War (Obstruction; Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Enfant); Mea (Ennui); Wings (Scintillate); Share (Ameliorate; Dragoman; Augur); DP (Immemorial; Terse)
Word Count: 737 words
(^^)
Needs and Wants
Chapter 20: Reorient
(^^)
Harry twitching as he struggled to regain consciousness made him tilt even more towards Dean. Instinctively, Dean jerked to support the twelve-year-old who turned into Dean's shoulder just like Sam used to do when he was young. Castiel's grip on Dean's wrist tightened briefly before releasing. The warmth lingered in a way that Dean pushed to the back of his mind.
He could deal with his little chick-flick feelings later. He would pencil that in right between surviving the apocalypse and the end of time. It wasn't like Cas would ever feel the same way, after all.
"De'," Harry slurred as he struggled from unconsciousness. The kid seemed to be heating up in the same way that Cas did whenever he used his grace for anything. His purple sweater was darkened even further with the blood going tacky soaking it. Getting it clean again was going to be a hassle, but Dean had a feeling that the oversized clothing was a comfort object of some sort, like the scrap of baby blanket that Sammy had carried around until it literally fallen to bits.
Dean looked around them as best he could with Baby blocking most of the view. The parking lot was still empty except for their group and the cars for the other patrons of the diner, including Jody's tan cruiser barely visible around the corner. The thunderclouds above them were moving on, even though there was still a thick fog lingering down the road and at the edges of the parking lot. The only sources of light were the ones from the diner and the weak street lights dotting the edges of the lot. Neither source could hide how pale Castiel looked in the Stanford sweatshirt he was wearing or how being on his feet for this long had Bobby trembling already. Assessment done, he did what John had trained him to do since he was young.
He took charge, because it was necessary.
"Here's what we're gonna do," Dean announced, capturing the attention of the group easily. "Sam and Bobby will take the Echo back while Cas will ride with me and Harry in Baby. No sense messing up a customer's car any more than you might have in your mad rush. We can discuss the situation once we're back where we're not likely to be interrupted by civilians." Dean rubbed a hand over his face, the late night catching up with him as much as all the stress. "We've been damn lucky that we haven't drawn a crowd already."
No one argued the point, even if it took some juggling to get it done.
At one point, Sam had to grab hold of the back of Bobby's denim overalls to keep him on his feet. A year in a wheelchair had a few lingering issues, even with a demon deal freebie taking care of most of them. Bobby was fine as long as he kept moving but standing for long periods was a bit more iffy. They were working themselves out as Bobby took full advantage of having his mobility restored. It was just clear that it had still only been less than a week at times.
Harry had slipped back into a deeper state of unconsciousness when Castiel had lifted him while Dean got the back door open. Castiel looked torn between sitting in the back of the Impala where they put Harry or sitting shotgun. Dean solved the dilemma by closing the door before the angel could start wiggling into the space and opening the one for the front passenger side.
"We've gotta talk, Cas," Dean said as Sam and Bobby drove off. Castiel nodded in that serious way he had of doing everything and took Raphael's angel blade from Dean's hand. Even in the dimness of the parking lot, the blue of his eyes reminded Dean of a perfect summer sky. Dean forced himself to break eye contact and look back towards the diner's windows. He listened as Castiel got in the car before closing the door.
As he crossed in front of Baby, Dean rubbed the back of his neck and fought the urge to sigh. It had been a long couple of days. The angel blade laying across Castiel's lap glinted gold as Dean slid into place behind Baby's steering wheel. Dean had a feeling that things were going to get worse before even hinting at getting better.
(^^)
To Be Continued
(^^)