Fic: For the Sinners and the Saints
Title: For the Sinners and the Saints
Author: mummyluvr314
Rating: PG
Pairing: Dean/Nick, Nick/Sarah, mentions of Dean/Castiel
Summary: Chuck’s back, and that means it’s time for Nick to make a choice. Given his history with decision-making, it’s a nerve-wracking process for all involved.
A/N: The sixteenth in the schmoop_bingo ‘verse. The prompt was “Caught in the Rain” and the title is from “City on Our Knees” by tobymac.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never mine. Sad day.
Previous Chapters: Oh, look! A Master Post!
Chuck was in their living room. He was standing by the couch, smiling at Nick and Dean, who had probably been discussing exactly what the refrigerator meant when it had refused to declare its love. Sarah went to stand beside them, dragging Sam along with her. She didn’t realize that Chuck wasn’t alone until she was facing him.
She’d never been personally introduced to Castiel, but she knew what he looked like thanks to her brief glimpses into Dean Winchester’s past. The angel was standing beside his Father, hands clasped behind his back, face stoic, ignoring the terrified look that the hunter was sending his way.
“Well,” Chuck said, rubbing his hands together as he broke the awkward silence. “It’s been a week. I assume you’ve got an answer for me, Nick?”
Nick turned to his wife and met her indulgent smile with a frown. She glanced over his shoulder at Dean, who was pointedly not looking their way. Nick followed her gaze, his eyes resting the slumped form of the hunter, the way bitter resignation blanketed the younger man, weighing him down.
The older man pulled her close, squeezing tight and closing his eyes against tears. “I love you,” he whispered into Sarah’s hair.
She smiled. “I know.” She pulled away slowly, backing toward the former prophet and shooting a tearful smile at Dean.
“I’m gonna stay,” Nick said, the words rolling slowly off of his tongue to echo around the room.
Dean’s head snapped up, his eyes pinning the older man with a disbelieving gaze. “No,” he said.
“What?” Nick asked.
Dean shook his head. “No,” he whispered before running out the door and down the stairs.
Nick blinked. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said. He followed Dean’s course out of the room and into the parking lot. Rain was falling in big, lazy drops from the sky, coating them both as they stood underneath bright streetlamps. “What was that?” he demanded.
The hunter turned to face him, eyes wide and scared. “You can’t choose me,” he said, voice pitched high and shaking slightly. “You can’t choose me. You have to choose Heaven. You have to go back before they leave. Tell them you changed your mind.”
“I thought you wanted me to stay.”
“I did,” Dean said, “but then I saw him.”
“Saw who?” Nick asked.
“Cas,” the hunter whispered. “And I remembered. He chose me, too, and you know what happened? He regretted it. He regretted it more than anything else he’d ever done. Sometimes I think he hated me for it. It was my fault. I made him choose. I made him stay.”
“He has free will, Dean. You didn’t make him do anything.”
“You’ll regret it,” Dean said, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering as the rain picked up and a cold wind blew through the lot. “You’ll regret it like he did. You’ll leave, too.” His voice cracked. “He left.”
That was when Nick figured it out, put actions with words and past stories. “You loved him, didn’t you?”
Dean swallowed hard. “I thought… he chose me. Over everything.” He laughed humorlessly. “I liked it. Thought it was neat. Thought it meant something. Thought the way he looked at me sometimes, everything that happened… he just knew me, and I liked that. So, I thought maybe it was mutual.”
“And it wasn’t?” Nick asked, sneaking steadily closer to the younger man, scared to spook him.
“I told him,” Dean explained. “He was tarnished. He fell. He was just like me; I made him just like me. I told him I loved him, because I wanted him to know before I died. And then he went to the graveyard, too, and he died and I didn’t. But he came back, and then he left. He never said it back. He never did anything about it. But he changed his mind about me.”
Nick wrapped his arms around the shorter man and pulled him close. “I won’t change my mind.”
“You will. They all do.”
“I’m different.”
Dean shook his head. “Go with her,” he muttered. “Please. I don’t want you to hate me.”
The older man pulled back and locked eyes with the hunter. “I could never hate you. I love you.”
Dean gasped and stared up at him, wide-eyed and on the verge of some kind of breakdown. His mouth moved soundlessly as the rain pounded down around them, soaking them both to the bone. Finally, the younger man leaned up and met Nick’s lips with his own, kissing him hard and long enough that he didn’t need to repeat the phrase. It was understood.
When they finally went back up to the apartment, they found it empty.
Author: mummyluvr314
Rating: PG
Pairing: Dean/Nick, Nick/Sarah, mentions of Dean/Castiel
Summary: Chuck’s back, and that means it’s time for Nick to make a choice. Given his history with decision-making, it’s a nerve-wracking process for all involved.
A/N: The sixteenth in the schmoop_bingo ‘verse. The prompt was “Caught in the Rain” and the title is from “City on Our Knees” by tobymac.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never mine. Sad day.
Previous Chapters: Oh, look! A Master Post!
Chuck was in their living room. He was standing by the couch, smiling at Nick and Dean, who had probably been discussing exactly what the refrigerator meant when it had refused to declare its love. Sarah went to stand beside them, dragging Sam along with her. She didn’t realize that Chuck wasn’t alone until she was facing him.
She’d never been personally introduced to Castiel, but she knew what he looked like thanks to her brief glimpses into Dean Winchester’s past. The angel was standing beside his Father, hands clasped behind his back, face stoic, ignoring the terrified look that the hunter was sending his way.
“Well,” Chuck said, rubbing his hands together as he broke the awkward silence. “It’s been a week. I assume you’ve got an answer for me, Nick?”
Nick turned to his wife and met her indulgent smile with a frown. She glanced over his shoulder at Dean, who was pointedly not looking their way. Nick followed her gaze, his eyes resting the slumped form of the hunter, the way bitter resignation blanketed the younger man, weighing him down.
The older man pulled her close, squeezing tight and closing his eyes against tears. “I love you,” he whispered into Sarah’s hair.
She smiled. “I know.” She pulled away slowly, backing toward the former prophet and shooting a tearful smile at Dean.
“I’m gonna stay,” Nick said, the words rolling slowly off of his tongue to echo around the room.
Dean’s head snapped up, his eyes pinning the older man with a disbelieving gaze. “No,” he said.
“What?” Nick asked.
Dean shook his head. “No,” he whispered before running out the door and down the stairs.
Nick blinked. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said. He followed Dean’s course out of the room and into the parking lot. Rain was falling in big, lazy drops from the sky, coating them both as they stood underneath bright streetlamps. “What was that?” he demanded.
The hunter turned to face him, eyes wide and scared. “You can’t choose me,” he said, voice pitched high and shaking slightly. “You can’t choose me. You have to choose Heaven. You have to go back before they leave. Tell them you changed your mind.”
“I thought you wanted me to stay.”
“I did,” Dean said, “but then I saw him.”
“Saw who?” Nick asked.
“Cas,” the hunter whispered. “And I remembered. He chose me, too, and you know what happened? He regretted it. He regretted it more than anything else he’d ever done. Sometimes I think he hated me for it. It was my fault. I made him choose. I made him stay.”
“He has free will, Dean. You didn’t make him do anything.”
“You’ll regret it,” Dean said, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering as the rain picked up and a cold wind blew through the lot. “You’ll regret it like he did. You’ll leave, too.” His voice cracked. “He left.”
That was when Nick figured it out, put actions with words and past stories. “You loved him, didn’t you?”
Dean swallowed hard. “I thought… he chose me. Over everything.” He laughed humorlessly. “I liked it. Thought it was neat. Thought it meant something. Thought the way he looked at me sometimes, everything that happened… he just knew me, and I liked that. So, I thought maybe it was mutual.”
“And it wasn’t?” Nick asked, sneaking steadily closer to the younger man, scared to spook him.
“I told him,” Dean explained. “He was tarnished. He fell. He was just like me; I made him just like me. I told him I loved him, because I wanted him to know before I died. And then he went to the graveyard, too, and he died and I didn’t. But he came back, and then he left. He never said it back. He never did anything about it. But he changed his mind about me.”
Nick wrapped his arms around the shorter man and pulled him close. “I won’t change my mind.”
“You will. They all do.”
“I’m different.”
Dean shook his head. “Go with her,” he muttered. “Please. I don’t want you to hate me.”
The older man pulled back and locked eyes with the hunter. “I could never hate you. I love you.”
Dean gasped and stared up at him, wide-eyed and on the verge of some kind of breakdown. His mouth moved soundlessly as the rain pounded down around them, soaking them both to the bone. Finally, the younger man leaned up and met Nick’s lips with his own, kissing him hard and long enough that he didn’t need to repeat the phrase. It was understood.
When they finally went back up to the apartment, they found it empty.