Wrapped in Honey 32/49
Chapter 32
Dean still preferred topping over bottoming but, damn, Sam hadn't been lying when he'd promised he'd make it good. Yeah, they could do this again. On occasion.
With the whole weekend being a constant emotional up and down Dean was glad when Monday rolled around and everything went back to normal. Sam left for work in the morning and Dean went downstairs to work on the cars. In the evening they had dinner and watched TV, Sam was once again too tired and too well fed to do anything else, and everything was good.
Then on Wednesday everything changed.
Dean was working on the cars like usual and because it was a rather warm day he'd opened some windows and the garage door. While he painted the current car ventilation was important as well, he didn't want to pass out on fumes or something, and so he'd set up his work place next to the open door where Sam's car usually stood. He just needed to remember to put his stuff away before Sam crashed into it by accident.
Engrossed in his work, the car came around rather nicely and he'd already three more orders in the line, he forgot the can of paint he'd set on the edge of his improvised table, just a board on two stands, and bumped into it with his elbow. It clattered to the ground and started rolling.
Dean realized two things when he spun around to see what happened. One, that this was his last can of metallic red he had and he needed that color to finish this car and two, it was rolling towards the open door.
Cursing Dean dropped the can he had in hand and jumped after the escaping one. He had to reach it before it crossed the invisible line of the spell or he would have to wait for Sam to come home to get it back.
"Gotcha." His fingers closed around the can and a wide grin spread on his face. For a moment he'd been sure he wouldn't catch it before it was out if reach. But when he looked around he realized that his outstretched arm was outside.
"Uh?" He made and stood up slowly. Had Sam given him a few more inches this time? He had no idea how the spell worked in the first place, however, so far the line had always been right on the threshold.
Dean stood right where the line should be, usually he could just lean against thin air here, and carefully stretched out his arm. He expected to hit the wall any second now but he could stretch out his arm all the way without hitting anything solid.
He looked down at his feet. The tips of his boots were just on the line the door had left in the cement which had always indicated the position of the invisible wall as well. Holding his breath Dean lifted his right foot and stepped over the line. And stood outside.
He was glad they didn't have neighbors because for the next few minutes he walked around the property with his arms stretched out in front of him, searching for the wall. It didn't matter in which direction he went, the only border he hit was the concrete fence enclosing the place.
Stunned Dean stood in front of the building, seeing it from the outside felt rather strange. He'd seen it from the car, sure, but standing here? That was something completely different.
Dean turned his back to the building, facing down the driveway. The gate was closed and locked, he knew that, but Sam had a spare set of keys upstairs.
Dean stood there for long minutes, biting his bottom lip, and tried to figure out what to do next. He could escape. He could go upstairs and get the keys or just climb over the fence. He could be out of here in less than a minute.
He did get the keys, though. He walked down the driveway, put the key in the lock and turned it. He opened the gate and stepped through. There was still a bit of driveway left before it connected to the road. Dean walked down that bit as well. A car passed. He didn't try to flag it down.
Hands deep in his pockets Dean took in his surroundings. When he'd been out with Sam he hadn't paid much attention to the neighborhood. Industrial buildings with empty places in between. Weed had cracked the asphalt and at least half of the buildings he saw were abandoned. The fence around Sam's place was covered with graffiti like everything else around here.
Dean turned to his left. Now he had the city in his back. This way would bring him out of town. It wasn't even noon. Sam wouldn't notice that he was gone for hours. More than enough time to get away. Call Bobby to warn him that there might be somebody coming for him. However, he doubted Sam would do that. Sure, Dean had given him Bobby's name and address for insurance but he just couldn't picture Sam hurting his friend because Dean escaped. He couldn't picture Sam hurting anybody, period.
Dean walked down to the corner of Sam's property. The next building was long abandoned, empty windows stared down on him.
"Fuck it." With that Dean turned around and walked back. He locked the gate and placed the keys where he'd found them. Then he went back to work. The car was due tomorrow, he'd promised the customer to get it in the mail on Thursday so he'd have it before the weekend.
Dean could think best with his hands busy and he had a lot to think about now. Had Sam lifted the spell on purpose? Was this a test? A trap? But wouldn't it make more sense if Sam would have let him know that the spell was gone? Dean had found out by accident. If it hadn't been for his clumsiness he might have never found out that he could leave.
No, this didn't feel like something Sam had set up. This felt more like Sam had forgotten to craft the spell.
They had been out to the bar on Saturday. Dean wasn't sure about the details of when and how they'd made it home but he was pretty sure that Sam had never left his side. He'd cleaned him up in the kitchen, then they went upstairs and turned in. Then Dean had started talking.
On Sunday Dean had slept most of the time so Sam had plenty of time to set the spell but he usually did that the second they came home. So he wouldn't think of it later.
"He forgot." Dean had to step back from his work and let that realization sink in. With everything that had happened on Saturday he'd simply forgotten to set up the spell. Which meant Sam didn't know. Sam still thought that Dean was safely locked away. This was not a test or a trap.
Dean had no intention to leave, though. Where should he go anyway? The only place coming to mind was Bobby's and that would be the first place Sam would come looking for him. And Bobby would be on the run as well thanks to Dean.
If he was honest, Dean liked living with Sam. Over the last few weeks something had grown between them and Dean didn't want to lose that.
However, now he knew that he could leave if he wanted to and that changed a lot. The thought alone that it was his decision if he stayed or left made him feel like he could do everything.
"You're in a good mood today." Sam observed over dinner.
"Finished the car." Dean said and it wasn't even a lie. "Could you bring it to the post office an your way tomorrow?"
The whole evening Dean didn't mention the spell and neither did Sam. Why would he? Sam thought it was still in place and neither of them liked to be reminded of Dean's situation so they rarely talked about it.
As soon as Sam had left the next morning Dean had to test it again. He half expected to run right into the wall but like the day before it wasn't there. Dean had a closer look around the building. Concrete and asphalt with patches of dry grass between them and weed sprouting in every crack. The building itself looked well cared for but the rest was a mess. People had dumped their garbage in the back and left-overs from the old fabric lay around everywhere. Sam didn't seem to care and with the fence now in place it wasn't likely that more got dumped here but Dean could only shake his head at this. His fingers itched to get at least some of the garbage in the front out of sight but he couldn't do that. Sam would see it and then he would know. This was Dean's little secret and he intended to keep it for as long as possible.
And there was still some work waiting for him.
He worked on the cars as usual and let his mind drift. During the week Sam was out all day. He wouldn't notice if Dean was gone for a few hours. The things he could do now ...
Humming to himself he thought about going into town. He could hitch a ride or something. The first customers had paid but Sam had refused to take some of the money back just yet so he had some in his account. He could buy himself a phone. Maybe even a cheap laptop. He could have a burger in a diner or just sit in park for a while.
But what if Sam came home early? That thought was what kept him from walking right out of the door. What happened if Sam came home early and he wasn't there?
"I could leave him a note." Dean mused. He could write that he went out but would be back. He'd love to see Sam's face when he read that note. Dean chuckled to himself and reached for the hammer. The curve wasn't just right yet.
Dean didn't go out that day and he didn't the next. And with that it was Saturday and Sam was home the whole weekend so it was out of option. For a brief second Dean thought about sneaking out in the morning while Sam was still sleeping and taking his car for a quick ride. It would feel good to be behind the wheel again, though. It would feel even better if he would be behind the wheel of his own car but that was completely out of option.
He liked thinking about it, playing around with the what-ifs and imagine-thats but in the end he didn't go for a ride. He just went for a shower and had coffee ready when Sam came downstairs like usual. After the disaster of their last trip neither of them suggested to go out this weekend and they spent two days with poker, pool and hanging out on the internet. By now Dean was used to Sam sitting next to him while he surfed the internet but the fact that he was allowed to surf the internet was a small victory on its own.
Days after he'd discovered that the spell was missing it occurred to him that the other effects had to be gone as well. Not that he intended to hurt himself or Sam but he could if he wanted to. He could do whatever he wanted and that coaxed a smile on his lips.
However, Sam would notice that the spell wasn't in place eventually so if he wanted to do something with it, he had to do it soon.
A/N Kudos to Anaas who was the only one who noticed the missing spell.
Chapter 33
Masterpost