"Sam! We're running late, we were supposed to meet them like fifteen minutes ago." Danny called, shrugging on his coat. No one else would really know what he was, but he settled on the title Time Keeper, even though he was basically a rip off version of Clockwork. His costume took the bare minimum of effort, a black cloak with a clock chain holding it closed on his shoulders.
"If I remember, it was your shower that is making us late." Sam spoke, popping out through the doorway. Danny smiled, glancing over the outfit Sam spouted. It took a lot of talking for Sam to be okay with dressing up. It made it a bit easier when Danny offered up joking or laughing about the stupid stereotype costumes they might see at the party. There was one slightly tense, deep conversation on why Sam didn't like Halloween, and a simple honest talk helped him feel comfortable being apart of the celebration.
Not like Sam was dressed up that much, he's only wear the jacket part of the wolf man costume but it was enough that neither of them would have to listen to the nagging from both Jess and Riley about the lack of effort on their part. As simple and quick the costume decision was, it was enough of not being in their normal wear for the girls to be more than happy their dressed.
"Okay okay fair, but! It's your fault my hair was a mess." Danny laughed at the slight blush that dusted Sam's cheeks at the reminder of their pre-party activities. "But now we really should get going, I'm pretty sure Tina is already there and you know how she gets."
"Alright, ready as I'll ever be." Sam followed behind him out their apartment. Danny exhaled, he really hoped the party won't be that bad, neither of them were much of a party person, but their friends knew how to talk them into going to one.
Danny smiled once they arrived at the bar, accepting the shot Jess passed to him. He glance over everyone's costume, Riley and Tina were both wear a post-apocalyptical style steampunk outfit, and Jess just had to be a semi-sexy nurse.
"Yes! I was so worried you guys would just show up in your normal clothes." Riley laughed, pulling Danny closer to the table. The googles on her head bumping uncomfortably against Danny's head.
"Watch it Ri, your a walking safety hazard." Tina laughed, looking at the couple. "We might have started before you guys got here."
"Okay okay!" Jess spoke, drawing the groups attention to here. "Here's to Sam and his awesome LSAT victory." Danny smiled, glancing at the slightly embarrassed Sam. The shot glasses clinked as Sam spoked.
"Alright, Alright. It's not that big a deal."
"He acts all humble but he scored a 174."
"Which is amazing, as I reminded him enough." Danny smiled, patting Sam's side with the arm wrapped around his waist.
"Sam, you are a first-round draft pick!" Brad grinned, speaking once he downed his shot.
"You can go to any law school you want! Your like the top athlete dude!" Tina grinned, already downing her third shot since they got there.
"Actually, I got an interview here Monday." Sam reputed, glancing among the group and smiling at Danny. "If all goes well, I think I got a shot at a full ride next year."
"He definitely has a solid shot at a full ride." Danny spoke, accepting another shot from Riley. "All he has to do is show up, they'll love him."
"More shots!" Riley cheered, grabbing Jess and Riley's wrist to drag them towards the bar. Brad followed along without having to be told. Danny laughed when Sam tried to say no.
"We already no there's no saying no to those two when they make up there mind."
"I know." Sam sighed, smiling even as he shook his head.
"Seriously though, I'm proud of you." Danny turned to focus on Sam. "You're going to kill it." Sam smiled, leaning in for a kiss.
"Okay that's enough lovebirds!" Riley called, walking towards them with the crew, multiple shots in each of their hands. "Today is going to be a night that we forget!"
"Don't worry, I have an excuse lined up for when we're done with all of this." Danny whispered into Sam's ear, accepting another shot.
"God, I love you." Sam smiled at him, conceding in taking another one.
"I know." Danny smiled, looking at his chattering friends as he downed his shot. "I love you too."
Danny wasn't sure how long he was asleep before a sound woke him, he glanced over to the empty side of the bed to see Sam already out the door. He rested his head against his pillow, breathing softly. He could go out and check what that was, but he'd rather wait a bit longer and see if Sam ends up coming back. There was an obvious sound of a struggle, fighting he assumed.
Sam would be fine on his own, but Danny itched to get up and make sure it was all good. Danny did start into a sitting position when he heard a too familiar voice and a too familiar name. He pulled himself up, pulling on a hoodie before quietly making his way out the door. He needed to see this.
"Dean?" Danny asked, flicking the light on to be meet with the two brothers standing in the middle of their living room. The surprise look on Dean's face was expected, his glance over Danny however made Danny realize he forget to put pants on.
"Danny?" Dean paused looking between Danny and Sam before grinning. "Damn, you too did end up together." Danny laughed, accepting the hug from Dean.
"I'm surprised to see you." Danny spoke once they separated, shooting a careful glance and Sam who looked just as confused as he felt.
"Uh yea, I gotta borrow Sam to talk about some private family business, but nice seeing you again." Dean spoke, motioning towards Sam.
"No, whatever you want to say you can say it in front of him." Sam shook his head, taking Danny's side and wrapping an arm around his waist. Danny raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze from Sam to Dean.
"Ok, um, dad hasn't been home in a few days."
"So? He's doing over time on the 'Miller Shift', he'll stumble home sooner or later." Even with Sam brushing him off, Danny felt the slight tense in his muscles. Danny could also read the seriousness on Dean's face. It only left one other option why Dean would go out of his way to make find Sam.
"Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days." Danny paused, glance at Sam and watched the way it shifted ever so slightly.
"What was he hunting?" Danny spoke, watching the surprise flash through Dean's eyes. "I mean, was it something completely out of his depth? Do you have an idea on where he went?"
"Wait, you know?"
"Dean, my parents were hunter." Danny smiled slightly. "I'm a hunter."
"I shouldn't be surprised." Dean shook his head slightly. "Look Sam, I just need your help on this one."
"Come on, you can't break in in the middle of the night and expect me to hit the road with you." Sam spoke, Danny softly exhaled from his seat at the kitchen counter.
"You're not hearing me Sammy. Dad's missing and I need your help to find him."
"Remember the poltergeist in Amherst, or the devil's gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too." Sam rebuttal. "He's always missing, and he's always fine."
"Not for this long. Now, are you gonna come with me or not?"
"I'm not." Danny pressed his tongue against his teeth, trying not to chime in.
"Why not?"
"I swore I was done hunting, for good." Sam was right, he did swear off it. Yes he was okay with Danny hunting, but that didn't mean he wanted to go back to it. However, Danny genuinely felt like this was something the other man needed to do.
"Come on, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad."
"When I told dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Danny shot a surprised glance at Sam, that wasn't actually something he didn't know. And the fact that he was five and told his mom he thought the underside of his bed was haunted, his mom gave him a small ecto-blaster and ecto-alarm was a little to similar to that.
"What was he supposed to do?" Dean asked, and Danny really felt like he wasn't needed here.
"I was nine years old." Sam spoke, the annoyance in his voice was almost tangible. "He was supposed to say 'don't be afraid of the dark'."
" 'Don't be afraid of the dark'? Are you kidding me? You should be afraid. You know what's out there."
"Yea I know, but the way you grew up after mom was killed and dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her, but we still haven't found the damn thing." Danny actually offered to help the search but Sam shut that down pretty fast, and he wasn't the type to push an issue like that. "So we killed every damn thing we found."
"Save a lot of people doing it, too."
"You think mom would have wanted us raised like warriors? Melting silver into bullets? Gun training?"
"So what? You want to live a normal apple pie life."
"No, not normal." Sam sighed. "Safe."
"It's hard to have normal when your boyfriend is a hunter." Danny finally spoke, and the quick glance from both of them made him realize they seemed to forget he was there.
"Should we be doing this in front of him?" Dean asked, motioning towards Danny. The shorter man slightly glared at the older brother.
"Dean, it's Danny. He's staying." Danny mouthed a 'thank you' to Sam, not wanting to break the conversation.
"Look, dad's in real trouble right now and he's not dead yet, I can feel it." Dean sighed, glancing between the two of them. "I can't do this alone."
"Yes you can." Sam scoffed back.
"He doesn't want to Sam." Danny watched Dean nod slightly, turning his gaze away from them. "You can go Sam, if you want to. I'm sure you'll be back by Monday."
"What's Monday?" Dean asked, hand nursing the beer Danny gave him.
"Nothing, an interview." Sam responded. Danny sighed, before speaking again.
"If Sam doesn't want to go, I can help if you want."
"No Danny, it's fine." Sam shook his head. "Your own school plan, I can... I can go."
Danny nodded, he was going to support whatever plan Sam chose.
"I'll help you find dad as long as I'm back in by Monday morning."
"Job interview? Skip it."
"School interview, for law school. My whole future life plan on the line." Sam explained, and Danny rested his hands in his pocket. It was weird being in the same room as the two of them after all these years. "So do we have a deal, or not?"
Danny sighed, wrapped in a blanket on the corner of the couch. A warm cup of coffee resting between his hands. Sam had left about two hours ago with Dean, a promise that he'll Danny updated whenever he could. The same rules of Danny going on a hunt applied here, they both knew that.
Since he left, Danny couldn't go back to sleep. A weird feeling was creeping in his mind, and he felt unusually nervous about Sam being away than he should be. It doesn't matter if it's been a while since Sam's last hunt, the two of them kept up their physical strength at the gym as sparring partners.
Sam would be fine, he's sure of it, but he was still worried. A small laugh left him once he realized something. This must be how Sam felt every time he left on a hunt, worried but knowing he'll most likely be fine.
He'll shoot a text to all their friends in the morning to let them know that Sam would be out for a few days but he'll be back by Monday. He'll just have to remember to send it out in the morning, for now he should just be focused on getting some sleep but as the seconds passed by the less tired he felt.
A shiver ran down his spine just as a soft green portal opened in his living room, he watched wearily until a friendly face stepped out. "Stopwatch." Danny smiled, placing his mug on the coffee table. "Long time no see. I guess you saw Sam leave."
"Hello Danny, and I have. Pandora wanted me to check in, make sure you are alright." Clockwork spoke, taking a seat next to the halfa on the couch.
"I'm okay, just... I get the feeling shit's going to hit the fan soon." Danny stared into Clockwork's red eyes, it was surprisingly rare to see the man in his full ghost form rather then the human cover he's created. He searched for any sign of what's to come, but as usual his eyes only told him he knew, just not if it was good or bad.
"He'll come home, Danny." Danny sighed, glancing out the window. There wasn't much that he can see through the curtains other than the soft moonlight.
"I know." Danny replied, but the eerie feeling didn't ease. His life always took a wrong turn somewhere, and with hunting on it's way back into Sam's life, now was the perfect time for the cycle to repeat.
"Relax Danny, there's only so much that you can do." Clockwork spoke, resting a steady hand on his shoulder. "Time will reveal what's to come, and all of it you can handle." Danny felt a slight bitter laugh leave him.
"Yea, I always handle it." Danny shook his head, meeting those eyes again. "It doesn't mean they don't mess me up a little more each and every time."
"I know, but each time you bounce back." The ghost quietly reminded. "I can't stay long, but my tower doors are always open."
"Yea, thanks Charles." Danny smiled, watching the older being stand up. A blue hand ruffled his hair before Clockwork turned, walking towards the newly reopened portal.
"I'll see you around, Danny." The portal closed behind him with that farewell, leaving the living room in the glow of the moonlight. Danny exhaled, resting his head on the back the couch. The sleep that never wanted to come before hit him full speed, his eyelids heavy and hard to keep open.
Sleepily, he stood and placed the mug into the sink. A yawn escaped him as he made his way to his empty bed. The sheets still rumpled just how he left it hours before. Sam was coming back, Danny knew that, but having the all-seeing Time Keeper say those words helped ease some of the anxiety. He knew something big was coming, he wasn't dense enough. The time since he ran back into Sam has been so uneventful that something was coming.
He just hoped Sam and him could make it through the end of it in one piece and still together.
AN: A double update! Just because I wanted to get a chapter out that I actually liked. I hope you guys like this one more.
We're finally at the point of where Supernatural starts!