Dean/Tessa - Fine Line Between Life and Death
Fandom: Supernatural
Title: Fine Line Between Life and Death
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dean Winchester/Tessa.
kissbingo Prompt: Face: Jawline
Content Warning: Spoilers through 518: The Point of No Return, AU
Summary: Dean Winchester has always had a bit of a love affair with death.
Author’s Note: Written for pandatini for spnrarepairs. I used the prompt “What would you do without me?” and it took me a while to figure out how to make it work, but I think I managed to pull it off.
Disclaimer: I don’t own. They belong to Kripke. I’m just borrowing and will put them all back where I found them.
The Apocalypse came and Dean made a deal.
It was the Winchester way after all-self-sacrifice and family first. Tessa was sure that from what she had seen of the angels, most of them didn’t deserve to even consider wearing them, but it wasn’t her choice to make. It was Dean’s. She had tried to warn him that he had a rough road ahead of him at the hands of the angels, but by the time she was able to, there wasn’t much she could do about it. He was already on the path, and from then on it was a matter of what choices he would make.
Tessa wasn’t sure if this particular choice was the right one, or even a viable one, but it was a choice. Dean was making it for the reasons that he always did-complete disregard for himself and the innate instinct beaten into him to protect Sam from all that he could, and that included the Devil. He summoned Michael, told him his terms, and Tessa half-expected the angel to laugh in his face. But he didn’t. Either Michael was desperate or he wasn’t as out of touch as she thought he was. Regardless, the world was saved, Sam was protected, and Dean’s body became the property of Michael the archangel.
Dean’s soul, however, became the property of Tessa.
Michael promised to place him back in his body, good as new, when it was all over, but for now, he needed someone to watch Dean’s soul and make sure that if something were to happen to the vessel, he didn’t move on too soon. Reapers weren’t supposed to interfere in situations like this, but even she could tell that Dean’s time wasn’t coming anytime soon. So she agreed-if for nothing else, but to be a familiar face when he was probably in desperate need of one. So Tessa hid him the only place she knew where he would be truly safe-limbo.
Limbo was a bit like Heaven in the sense that it did it’s best to be comforting and familiar. It didn’t go so far as playing your greatest moments, but it put you in a scenario you were comfortable with, and tried to make you feel as at home as possible. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t meant for long periods of time, but it was something and it was safe, and that was good enough for Dean at the time. Dean’s limbo was Bobby Singer’s home, surrounded with books and information as well as the comfort of family, even if there wasn’t any family actually there. She hoped that it would be enough to keep Dean busy for at least a little while, while adjusting to the shock of having someone else wandering around in his body.
He lasted about two weeks. Tessa clearly should have known better.
“I’m bored, man,” Dean sighed, slumping on the couch a bit with his beer. It wasn’t a real beer ,but it was the thought that counted. “I can’t just … sit here for however long it takes for Michael to take care of business.”
“Well, what did you expect, Dean?” she asked as she moved to sit on the coffee table across from him. “It’s not like we can just let you wander around haunting people.”
“ … Why not?” The look on his face was so earnest that she almost laughed. “I’m serious,” he nodded. “What if I just … go hang around Bobby’s real house and just piss off him and Sam for however long it takes?” He smirked. “You know-moving books from where they’re supposed to be? Cutting Sam’s hair when he doesn’t know I’m in the room?”
“I think your brother is pissed off enough at you for saying yes that he won’t take it too kindly to antics from the afterlife.” She sighed. This was not part of her job description. “Besides, it’s not necessarily safe there.”
“Well, there has to be something more for me to do here.” Dean smirked at her, before waggling an eyebrow as he leaned in closer. “Even if it … keeps me indoors.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Limbo or not-you’re still incorporeal.”
“So that means we can’t-” He waved a vague hand in a gesture that was sure to be lewd one and Tessa just shook her head. “-Right,” he sighed. “Of course not. Because why would limbo be easy.”
“Sorry.” She reached out and pat his knee gently, having enough practice that she didn’t slide right through him. “Nothing in this world is ever meant to be easy, Dean.”
“Yeah, I figured.” He looked really put out about the whole thing, and she couldn’t help but sympathize. She pushed up and moved over to sit next to him, giving him a bit of contact so that he didn’t feel so alone.
“You’re safer here. Out there, there are too many things that could go wrong. Especially with the world imbalanced the way it is.”
“I know,” he sighed. “You know I don’t give a shit about the danger, right? I mean, I’m already dead-what else could they do to me? And so long as I manage to keep my shit together, I won’t hurt anyone.”
“And how long do you really think you’ll manage to do that, Dean?” she said softly. “You don’t know how long Michael’s going to need your body. You want to risk losing it only to get put back in your body again?”
“Not like I’m gonna remember it anyway,” Dean pointed out, before shrugging a bit. “Tessa, I’ll go crazier here than I will out there. Just … please?”
She watched him for a moment, before nodding slowly. “I’m not making any promises. But I’ll see what I can do.”
His hand moved over to cover hers, and for a moment, it was almost as though she could feel them. “Thank you.”
***
Dean Winchester has always had a bit of a love affair with death.
It wasn’t intentional, but he always found himself straddling the fine line between life and the afterlife, never managing to stay on one side for long without treading in the other. Falling in love with an actual reaper however, was taking things a bit far even for him. Neither of them had ever said anything, and they weren’t about to, not with the very definite clock that had been placed on things, but it was there. Tessa could see it when they spent time together. She had been walking her plane of existence for a long time, and there very few people she could say she actually felt anything for, let alone something close to … affection. She was just as surprised as everyone else to admit that Dean was one of them.
Problem was that its hard being in love with someone you can’t see.
It’s also hard to come off being ridden hard by an angel of Michael’s caliber completely the same as when you went in. Michael promised to put Dean back better than new, and he kept that promise. Two years to the day Dean said yes, his soul slipped from her grasp and was placed back into his body. Two years of having his smartass comments over her shoulder as she tried to do her job. Two years of occasionally helping when she had a charge who she couldn’t quite handle. She had gotten used to him being there more often than not, and while it wasn’t long in the grand scheme of things … he’d made an impression.
She went right to him when he came to, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see her, and he wouldn’t be able to remember, but she wanted to make sure everything went okay. He was on the phone, trying to get a hold of someone to come get him when she walked through the door. His back was to her, but he looked like he was still in one piece, even as he turned around. Better than new, just as promised.
It was just that better than new had its advantages. She didn’t know that it would happen, but it took her all of a second to realize that he was looking at her, not through her. He had the phone to his ear, talking to someone on the other side, when his voice trailed off, his face melting into a look of confusion.
“Tessa?”
“ … You can … ” It was feasible. Demons and angels could see onto their plane of existence without hindrance, there was no reason to believe that two years of having Michael in his body wouldn’t have altered his basic abilities in some way. He still hadn’t remembered anything, however, and she just straightened, passing her flustered attitude as confusion. “Sorry. Just passing through.”
“Oh. Huh.”
She gave him a faint smile, before moving forward, placing one hand against his chest lightly. She still wasn’t real, and he still couldn’t touch her, but she could feel the weight of him pressing back against her, more so than when he had been with her. She pushed up on her toes, brushing a soft kiss against his jawline, before pulling back again.
“Good luck with the fresh start, Dean.”
“Uh-thanks. I guess.”
She continued with her ‘passing through,’ slipping through the walls and back out the other side, and she couldn’t help but give a bit of a smile. She didn’t know what Dean Winchester would do with an angel’s vision, but she sure that it would definitely be interesting.
Title: Fine Line Between Life and Death
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dean Winchester/Tessa.
kissbingo Prompt: Face: Jawline
Content Warning: Spoilers through 518: The Point of No Return, AU
Summary: Dean Winchester has always had a bit of a love affair with death.
Author’s Note: Written for pandatini for spnrarepairs. I used the prompt “What would you do without me?” and it took me a while to figure out how to make it work, but I think I managed to pull it off.
Disclaimer: I don’t own. They belong to Kripke. I’m just borrowing and will put them all back where I found them.
The Apocalypse came and Dean made a deal.
It was the Winchester way after all-self-sacrifice and family first. Tessa was sure that from what she had seen of the angels, most of them didn’t deserve to even consider wearing them, but it wasn’t her choice to make. It was Dean’s. She had tried to warn him that he had a rough road ahead of him at the hands of the angels, but by the time she was able to, there wasn’t much she could do about it. He was already on the path, and from then on it was a matter of what choices he would make.
Tessa wasn’t sure if this particular choice was the right one, or even a viable one, but it was a choice. Dean was making it for the reasons that he always did-complete disregard for himself and the innate instinct beaten into him to protect Sam from all that he could, and that included the Devil. He summoned Michael, told him his terms, and Tessa half-expected the angel to laugh in his face. But he didn’t. Either Michael was desperate or he wasn’t as out of touch as she thought he was. Regardless, the world was saved, Sam was protected, and Dean’s body became the property of Michael the archangel.
Dean’s soul, however, became the property of Tessa.
Michael promised to place him back in his body, good as new, when it was all over, but for now, he needed someone to watch Dean’s soul and make sure that if something were to happen to the vessel, he didn’t move on too soon. Reapers weren’t supposed to interfere in situations like this, but even she could tell that Dean’s time wasn’t coming anytime soon. So she agreed-if for nothing else, but to be a familiar face when he was probably in desperate need of one. So Tessa hid him the only place she knew where he would be truly safe-limbo.
Limbo was a bit like Heaven in the sense that it did it’s best to be comforting and familiar. It didn’t go so far as playing your greatest moments, but it put you in a scenario you were comfortable with, and tried to make you feel as at home as possible. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t meant for long periods of time, but it was something and it was safe, and that was good enough for Dean at the time. Dean’s limbo was Bobby Singer’s home, surrounded with books and information as well as the comfort of family, even if there wasn’t any family actually there. She hoped that it would be enough to keep Dean busy for at least a little while, while adjusting to the shock of having someone else wandering around in his body.
He lasted about two weeks. Tessa clearly should have known better.
“I’m bored, man,” Dean sighed, slumping on the couch a bit with his beer. It wasn’t a real beer ,but it was the thought that counted. “I can’t just … sit here for however long it takes for Michael to take care of business.”
“Well, what did you expect, Dean?” she asked as she moved to sit on the coffee table across from him. “It’s not like we can just let you wander around haunting people.”
“ … Why not?” The look on his face was so earnest that she almost laughed. “I’m serious,” he nodded. “What if I just … go hang around Bobby’s real house and just piss off him and Sam for however long it takes?” He smirked. “You know-moving books from where they’re supposed to be? Cutting Sam’s hair when he doesn’t know I’m in the room?”
“I think your brother is pissed off enough at you for saying yes that he won’t take it too kindly to antics from the afterlife.” She sighed. This was not part of her job description. “Besides, it’s not necessarily safe there.”
“Well, there has to be something more for me to do here.” Dean smirked at her, before waggling an eyebrow as he leaned in closer. “Even if it … keeps me indoors.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Limbo or not-you’re still incorporeal.”
“So that means we can’t-” He waved a vague hand in a gesture that was sure to be lewd one and Tessa just shook her head. “-Right,” he sighed. “Of course not. Because why would limbo be easy.”
“Sorry.” She reached out and pat his knee gently, having enough practice that she didn’t slide right through him. “Nothing in this world is ever meant to be easy, Dean.”
“Yeah, I figured.” He looked really put out about the whole thing, and she couldn’t help but sympathize. She pushed up and moved over to sit next to him, giving him a bit of contact so that he didn’t feel so alone.
“You’re safer here. Out there, there are too many things that could go wrong. Especially with the world imbalanced the way it is.”
“I know,” he sighed. “You know I don’t give a shit about the danger, right? I mean, I’m already dead-what else could they do to me? And so long as I manage to keep my shit together, I won’t hurt anyone.”
“And how long do you really think you’ll manage to do that, Dean?” she said softly. “You don’t know how long Michael’s going to need your body. You want to risk losing it only to get put back in your body again?”
“Not like I’m gonna remember it anyway,” Dean pointed out, before shrugging a bit. “Tessa, I’ll go crazier here than I will out there. Just … please?”
She watched him for a moment, before nodding slowly. “I’m not making any promises. But I’ll see what I can do.”
His hand moved over to cover hers, and for a moment, it was almost as though she could feel them. “Thank you.”
***
Dean Winchester has always had a bit of a love affair with death.
It wasn’t intentional, but he always found himself straddling the fine line between life and the afterlife, never managing to stay on one side for long without treading in the other. Falling in love with an actual reaper however, was taking things a bit far even for him. Neither of them had ever said anything, and they weren’t about to, not with the very definite clock that had been placed on things, but it was there. Tessa could see it when they spent time together. She had been walking her plane of existence for a long time, and there very few people she could say she actually felt anything for, let alone something close to … affection. She was just as surprised as everyone else to admit that Dean was one of them.
Problem was that its hard being in love with someone you can’t see.
It’s also hard to come off being ridden hard by an angel of Michael’s caliber completely the same as when you went in. Michael promised to put Dean back better than new, and he kept that promise. Two years to the day Dean said yes, his soul slipped from her grasp and was placed back into his body. Two years of having his smartass comments over her shoulder as she tried to do her job. Two years of occasionally helping when she had a charge who she couldn’t quite handle. She had gotten used to him being there more often than not, and while it wasn’t long in the grand scheme of things … he’d made an impression.
She went right to him when he came to, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see her, and he wouldn’t be able to remember, but she wanted to make sure everything went okay. He was on the phone, trying to get a hold of someone to come get him when she walked through the door. His back was to her, but he looked like he was still in one piece, even as he turned around. Better than new, just as promised.
It was just that better than new had its advantages. She didn’t know that it would happen, but it took her all of a second to realize that he was looking at her, not through her. He had the phone to his ear, talking to someone on the other side, when his voice trailed off, his face melting into a look of confusion.
“Tessa?”
“ … You can … ” It was feasible. Demons and angels could see onto their plane of existence without hindrance, there was no reason to believe that two years of having Michael in his body wouldn’t have altered his basic abilities in some way. He still hadn’t remembered anything, however, and she just straightened, passing her flustered attitude as confusion. “Sorry. Just passing through.”
“Oh. Huh.”
She gave him a faint smile, before moving forward, placing one hand against his chest lightly. She still wasn’t real, and he still couldn’t touch her, but she could feel the weight of him pressing back against her, more so than when he had been with her. She pushed up on her toes, brushing a soft kiss against his jawline, before pulling back again.
“Good luck with the fresh start, Dean.”
“Uh-thanks. I guess.”
She continued with her ‘passing through,’ slipping through the walls and back out the other side, and she couldn’t help but give a bit of a smile. She didn’t know what Dean Winchester would do with an angel’s vision, but she sure that it would definitely be interesting.