Unexpected Destinies Chapter 154
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,632
Summary: Dean reconnects with Ben and meets Lisa's new boyfriend.
PRESENT
When Dean turned around it was to find that yes, he'd in fact been correct, not that he'd ever really doubted it.
"Dean!" Ben cried out and lunged for him.
Small though Ben still was when compared to him, Dean still grunted with the force of the impact and how tightly he was grasped. Even with his shock he brought up his own arms to hug the boy. He'd never quite allowed himself to dwell on it too much due to all of the bad memories associated with that time, but he really had missed Ben and it was good to see him again. Even if Ben's being here made very little sense to him.
"Not to be rude or anything, but, dude, what are you doing here?" Dean asked when Ben finally released him enough to step back a little.
The fact that Ben was clearly so glad to see him and was reluctant to let him go despite the whole 'too big for that' phase the boy had just started going through when he'd left touched him and he gave him a huge smile. Despite that quite a bit of his good mood from earlier was gone as he knew that where Ben was, Lisa wasn't likely to be far behind. Quite understandably, she had a bit of a problem with letting Ben too far out of her sight since the whole changeling fiasco. It had already been leading to quite a bit of friction between mother and son and that was before Ben had even properly hit puberty.
"Milton's from this area," Ben replied with a roll of his eyes.
Dean's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Milton?"
"Yeah, I know, right? What a douche name, but it fits as he's the world's biggest douche. Seriously."
"And just who is Milton?"
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know," Ben said uncomfortably, looking away and fidgeting. "He's Mom's boyfriend."
The words made Dean flinch before he could stop himself. He didn't know why they hurt, just that they did. It wasn't like he hadn't found someone else, so really why shouldn't Lisa have? Especially since he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to get back together with her, or anyone else for that matter. Castiel was the one for him, no ifs, buts or ands about it. So, if anything, he should be glad that she'd found someone herself, he did want her to be happy.
There were times when, more emotionally stable or not, Dean did curse his greater self-awareness these days. It was true that overall it tended to make him more happy and content as it allowed him to go after what he really wanted instead if just what he felt he deserved, but sometimes (like now) it made him see things about himself that he'd far rather have remained blissfully ignorant of. Like how the fact that he'd not been good enough for Lisa still hurt. Sure, he knew it wasn't important anymore as the fact that he was more than what Castiel felt he needed (much as he personally might still question parts of that assertion at times) by far outweighed anything else, but still it was there.
It actually bothered Dean more that he was bothered by it than anything else, so at least that was something.
"Really? She's seeing a... Milton?" Dean responded.
Ben laughed. "Yeah, I was really hoping it was just a phase as he's nothing like you, but no such luck."
"They've been together for a while then?"
"Since almost right after you left."
That definitely hit Dean hard. Had Lisa really moved on so quickly from him? Or worse, had this Milton been part of the reason that she'd kicked him out in the first place?
"He's also really old!" Ben complained.
"Old?"
"Yeah, he's almost thirty-five."
Dean's lips twitched and he couldn't help but wonder just how old (or young apparently) Ben thought that he was if the boy was complaining of Milton being only a few years older than he was. He could admit that he liked the compliment.
"And so totally uncool. He drives a Honda civic!"
"Wait, for real?"
"Yes!"
"How about leather jackets, does he wear them?"
"No, only thugs and gangbangers do according to him."
Dean couldn't help but stare at Ben in shock. Lisa was dating an honest to God douche? That was what made her happy enough to stay in a committed relationship for over a year? What on earth had happened to her bad boy type?
"And don't even get me started on his music, ugh! He likes fucking Mozart."
"Language, Ben," Dean replied automatically and smiled at the eye roll it earned him. "And Mozart is... historical."
"Yeah, 'cause it was written for stuffy old men who wouldn't know a good time if it hit them in the face! That's what caught my attention here now, the Zep."
"And I recall he wasn't even your favorite."
"No but anything even remotely decent would have been music to my ears just now, literally."
Dean frowned, not at all liking the implications of that. "Wait, you've not heard any of this for a while?"
"No, like I said, he's got no taste in music."
"Yeah, but what about your music? Surely you've got a Walkman or one of those IPad thingies?"
"IPod, and yeah, but he confiscated it."
"What? Why?"
"I got into a fight at school. Some kid called me a dumb jock."
"And you used the punch I taught you?"
"Of course."
"Look, Ben, that wasn't really something you were supposed to use on other kids."
"But he-"
"Was still human and a child. That's a pretty powerful punch I taught you and you need to use that power responsibly, okay?"
The look on Ben's face was one that Dean recognized well from all of the times he'd worn it when being chastised by his father. It tempted him to ease up a little but he resisted, knowing how important this was. Plus he knew that it was his responsibility as he'd been the one to teach the punch to Ben. That didn't mean that he had to treat the boy as he'd been treated after he'd gotten the promise that he needed though.
"Yeah, okay. Sorry."
"Hey," Dean said, crouching down a little. "I'm not doing this to rag on you. Just think of how you'd feel if you had seriously hurt that kid."
"I'd feel like shit."
"Well there you go. Now, how about you find your favorite tape and pop it in, huh?"
Ben's head shot up. "For real?"
"Sure, you promised and I believe you, so go on."
"You're awesome!"
Dean smiled at Ben's excitement and opened the door so the boy could climb into the Impala.
"Ben!"
The cry was followed by rushing footsteps and Dean turned his head to see a man charging straight for him. He instantly shifted into a defensive stance and used the guy's own momentum against him, tripping the man up so that he went down, hard. Not knowing who or what this was, he followed him down, easily pining the guy to the ground. The ridiculous ease with which he did it all and the G rated mutterings that he thought were meant to be curses made him extremely uneasy as it was just too easy and he half expected someone else to attack him from behind.
"Dean, stop!" Ben cried out, suddenly beside him.
"Get back!" Dean ordered. "Get in the car."
"No, you don't understand, it's okay. That's Milton."
"This is Milton?" Dean questioned in disbelief as he grabbed the back of the guy's shirt and lifted him off the ground enough so that Ben could see his face.
"Yes. I think you broke his nose."
Dean chose to ignore the slight glee he could hear in the boy's voice in favor of dealing with the important stuff first. "Christo."
Though he couldn't see Milton's face, Ben could and Dean relaxed when the boy shook his head at him.
"You thought he was a...?" Ben asked.
"He attacked me for no reason," Dean explained.
"You were trying to kidnap Ben," Milton accused when Dean got up off his back, allowing him to breathe properly.
"Kidnap him?" Dean repeated, incredulous before he thought about what had happened and what Milton thought of people who wore leather jackets. "Dude, Ben's not stupid enough to climb into some stranger's car no matter what's offered to him. He's not a little child."
Out of the corner of his eye, Dean caught Ben beaming at him and the way the boy had come to stand beside him opposite Milton wasn't lost on him either. He kept most of his attention on Milton, though, as the guy slowly got to his feet, wincing the entire time. When he got a good look at the guy's face, he saw that though bloody, Milton's nose wasn't actually broken and for that he was thankful. He could already imagine how well this entire incident was going to go down with Lisa and he didn't need that on top of everything else. Not when Milton already had cuts and scrapes on his hands and knees, the latter despite wearing long pants, but then that was Milton's own fault for wearing what looked like suit pants to the park instead of jeans like sensible people did. Well, sensible human people anyway.
"He was getting into a thug car with a gangbanger, what was I supposed to think?" Milton snapped back.
"Dude, my baby isn't a thug car, she's a classic muscle car! And loads of people wear leather, Milton."
"That's Mr. Statton to you."
Dean's eyebrows rose and he glanced down at Ben in disbelief. "Is he for real?"
"Totally."
"I'm standing right here," Milton snapped. "And who are you anyway?"
"He's Dean Winchester, Mom's old boyfriend," Ben replied gleefully before Dean could stop him. "The cool one, remember?"
The way Milton stiffened would have been hilarious under any other circumstances but Dean's good mood had long since vanished once more. His ego couldn't help but notice the insecurity and uncertainty he caught flickering through the guy's eyes as he was assessed once more. He almost pitied the guy in a way. Not only was he far better looking than Milton, but he was also in much better shape.
"Milton? Ben?"
Dean stiffened as he recognized Lisa's voice, and noticed that he wasn't the only one to do so. Oh this was going to go so well. Best to just bite the bullet and get it over with. "Over here, Lisa."
"Dean?" Lisa demanded in shock as she turned towards them, then her expression turned alarmed as she caught sight of her boyfriend and rushed towards them. "Milton! Oh my God, what happened to you?"
"Your old boyfriend did," Milton replied.
"Hey!" Dean protested.
"Dean, how could you?" Lisa demanded, glaring at him.
"It's not his fault!" Ben shouted. "Milton attacked Dean and got his ass handed to him. It was awesome!"
"What?" Lisa asked, looking down at her son.
"Milton attacked Dean and Dean didn't know who he was so he just-"
"Reacted," Lisa finished and Dean relaxed slightly at that.
Clearly she could understand how it had gone from there. Dean knew that she'd watched him training enough to know how quickly he moved and that his job, such as it was, meant that he reacted first and questioned things later when attacked.
"He thought I was trying to kidnap Ben," Dean finished for, while he disliked how lowly Milton thought of the boy, he couldn't fault the protective reaction it had invoked. Even if the guy clearly didn't know the first thing about fighting or even self-defense.
"You broke my nose," Milton accused, taking the tissue Lisa handed him.
This time it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. "It's not broken, Mr. Statton, just bruised."
"Mr. Statton?" Lisa questioned.
"He insisted."
Lisa gave him a look and Dean just shrugged. It was true in the strictest sense, so what if he'd taken that request and turned it back around on itself? It was a skill and one that had driven many of his teachers nuts over the years. He'd never dared try it on his father, though, so the poor man'd had to put up with complaints from teachers that he didn't think Dad had ever quite understood. Not if his father's mutterings about teachers not being able to make up their damn minds was anything to go by. He'd always been careful not to overuse it, though. It had been ages since he'd last done it and he wasn't quite sure where the urge came from now, but he found that while he didn't plan on making this any harder than it had to be, he wasn't going to make it easy for Lisa either. She'd been the one to kick him out after all and that despite all that he'd done to please both her and Ben.
What more had she wanted from him than his best?
"Here, let me see," Lisa said, turning her attention back to Milton.
Not sure he wanted to see that, Dean was glad when Ben tapped his arm. "Yeah?"
"Can I still chose a tape to put on?" Ben asked.
"Sure, go ahead."
Dean leaned down to lean on the door and watch Ben as much due to the fact that he'd missed the boy as because he really didn't want to witness what might be going on behind him. "So, did you ever ask Sarah over?"
Ben blinked, pausing to look at him. "How'd you know about her?"
"Because I've got eyes and I saw the way you looked at her."
"Was I really that obvious about it?"
"Nah, only to me."
"Oh, that's okay then."
"Is it?" Dean smiled.
"Yeah, you're cool and you like observe for a living. You notice things other people wouldn't."
A fairly accurate opinion and Dean's smile grew as he watched Ben find the Metallica tape he liked best and open it. With a familiarity that sent pangs through him, Ben stopped the Zep tape and swapped it out for his chosen one, twisting the volume knob up even higher.
"Oh, yeah!" Ben exclaimed, delighted as the first riffs of the guitar come on.
"Hey, Cas?" Dean sent silently.
"Yes, Beloved?" Castiel replied instantly. "Sorry for the delay, there is a long queue."
"No, s'okay. Just get a third cone, would you? Rocky road."
"Of course. What is wrong?"
The words were accompanied by a sense of warmth from the bond and Dean closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation. It washed over his soul, soothing and reassuring, and he just wanted to get lost in it. Unfortunately that wasn't an option and he considered telling his husband what was going on but he wasn't quite sure how Castiel would react to learning that Lisa was here, but he didn't think it would be particularly conducive to keeping the situation calm.
"I ran into some unexpected people," Dean answered instead.
"I will not be much longer."
"Okay."
"Dean? Are you okay?" Ben asked.
"What? Oh, sorry about that."
"You were a million miles away."
"Actually I was a whole lot closer than that, but that's beside the point. Sorry."
"You're weird sometimes, you know that?"
Dean laughed. "Everyone's a little weird sometimes, otherwise they're just boring."
"But, Lisa-" Milton exclaimed behind them, drawing Dean's attention back to the two of them.
"No, Milton, I need to speak with Dean. Alone," Lisa replied firmly. "Just go back to the car and get some of the Tylenol from the first aid kit in the trunk, Ben and I will be along shortly."
Milton shot him a displeased and angry look and Dean couldn't blame the guy. Leaving your girlfriend with her old boyfriend was not something a guy ever wanted to do, but at least they were in a public place and Ben was sticking around, so really Milton didn't have anything to worry about. Not unless he was feeling insecure about something, though now that he thought about it again, the man actually should be. A woman like Lisa was so far out of his league it wasn't even funny and he just didn't get what she saw in him, he really didn't and that wasn't just coming from the jilted and hurt feelings he still, apparently, nursed on some level.
"Fine," Milton said with ill humor, though he still took the time to kiss her full on the lips.
"Eew!" Ben exclaimed from behind Dean. "My eyes!"
The reaction amused Dean, especially since Ben had never quite been that dramatic when the boy had caught him and Lisa kissing. Milton was going to have his hands full with Ben if the guy stayed with Lisa, that was for sure. It amused him a little to think of how they'd butt heads as he had no doubt of the form of rebellion that Ben would take given Milton's weaknesses. He could definitely see loud, blaring music and leather jackets in their future, that was for sure.
"Sorry about that," Lisa said once Milton was out of earshot, though Dean caught the guy looking back more than once before Milton disappeared from view. "Anyway, this is unexpected."
"You're telling me," Dean replied. "I hadn't expected to run into you guys here."
"We're taking a mini holiday."
Behind Dean, Ben snorted and he was sure he heard the boy mutter "Holiday for you perhaps." Apparently Lisa caught enough of it to understand the gist of it as well as she shot her son a scolding look. Well, either that or Ben had made his opinion on the matter more than clear already and she could guess what his reaction to her words would be.
"Ben," Lisa said, the one word laden with meaning.
"It's true!" Ben retorted defiantly, getting out of the Impala to stand beside Dean. "I'd rather be at home, attending school."
"We've already talked about this. This was on the only time that-"
"Milton's mother was free, yeah, yeah. Who cares about his stupid mother anyway?"
"Ben! We'll talk about this later."
"What's the point?" Ben scoffed.
"Ben," Dean interrupted. "Respect your mother."
The boy shot him a rebellious look but kept his mouth shut and Dean caught the look of relief that crossed Lisa's face. Although he'd always felt a bit uncomfortable when it came to disciplining Ben or taking a stand on various issues, this was the one thing that he'd stood firm on from the beginning and Ben knew he was serious on the matter. They'd had a long talk about it once and it had been one of the only times that he'd ever discussed his own mother with anyone other than his own families. For things to have gotten as bad as they had between Ben and Lisa proved that the boy really didn't care for Milton, but he hadn't seen enough to know whether that was merely the early stages of teenage rebellion kicking in or something far more sinister.
"So, how come you're here?" Lisa finally asked, turning her attention back to him. "There isn't something evil here, is there?"
"No, no, this place is supernatural free as far as I know," Dean responded hastily, not wanting to alarm her. "I was just in the area."
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Ben exclaimed. "You don't see each other for a year and this is what you talk about? For real?"
"Ben-" Lisa began tiredly.
"No, you were good together, you were! And I like Dean. Come on, Mom, can't you guys try again? Please?"
Dean felt something inside of him break for Ben as he could completely understand the sentiment and where the boy was coming from. Ben was trying desperately to save his family as the boy saw it and he couldn't help but sympathize with that even if he knew it to be an impossible dream in this case.
"Ben," Dean started, crouching down a little to be at eye level with the boy. "It's not that simple."
"But-"
"I'm married."
"You're what?"
"Married?" Lisa echoed, stunned.
"But," Ben stuttered, clearly shocked, looking at his hand.
The lack of ring suddenly made Dean feel incredibly self-conscious and his hand formed a fist before he'd thought about it even as he scrambled for a reasonable explanation. "It's safer this way. You know what's out there; what we're up against. It's better for both Cas and me if they can't immediately tell that we're together."
Both Ben and Lisa appeared far too shocked by the sudden revelation to immediately comment further and it gave Dean a moment to savor the fact that he'd actually just told someone about his bonding. Well, kinda, but it was close enough for government. The ring thing did suddenly bug him, however, especially since it was such an intrinsic part of human society. Not to mention the fact that he'd grown up seeing his father treat his own wedding ring with such reverence and respect. It had led him to always respect the sanctity of marriage even if almost everything else had been fair game at one time or another.
"Wait, you hunt with her- Cas?" Lisa finally questioned.
"Yeah. Turns out hunting actually is far too intrinsic a part of who I really am to be cut out of my life entirely."
"Oh."
There was a ripple of recognition from the bond accompanied by the flutter of wings and Dean just knew that things were about to get a whole lot more complicated even before he felt the wash of jealousy and possessiveness from his husband.
Crap.
A.N.: Okay, so I've been given my posting date for Hell Rises with Him (my dystopic Destiel fic), and it's Sunday the 22nd.
Chapter 155
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,632
Summary: Dean reconnects with Ben and meets Lisa's new boyfriend.
PRESENT
When Dean turned around it was to find that yes, he'd in fact been correct, not that he'd ever really doubted it.
"Dean!" Ben cried out and lunged for him.
Small though Ben still was when compared to him, Dean still grunted with the force of the impact and how tightly he was grasped. Even with his shock he brought up his own arms to hug the boy. He'd never quite allowed himself to dwell on it too much due to all of the bad memories associated with that time, but he really had missed Ben and it was good to see him again. Even if Ben's being here made very little sense to him.
"Not to be rude or anything, but, dude, what are you doing here?" Dean asked when Ben finally released him enough to step back a little.
The fact that Ben was clearly so glad to see him and was reluctant to let him go despite the whole 'too big for that' phase the boy had just started going through when he'd left touched him and he gave him a huge smile. Despite that quite a bit of his good mood from earlier was gone as he knew that where Ben was, Lisa wasn't likely to be far behind. Quite understandably, she had a bit of a problem with letting Ben too far out of her sight since the whole changeling fiasco. It had already been leading to quite a bit of friction between mother and son and that was before Ben had even properly hit puberty.
"Milton's from this area," Ben replied with a roll of his eyes.
Dean's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Milton?"
"Yeah, I know, right? What a douche name, but it fits as he's the world's biggest douche. Seriously."
"And just who is Milton?"
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know," Ben said uncomfortably, looking away and fidgeting. "He's Mom's boyfriend."
The words made Dean flinch before he could stop himself. He didn't know why they hurt, just that they did. It wasn't like he hadn't found someone else, so really why shouldn't Lisa have? Especially since he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to get back together with her, or anyone else for that matter. Castiel was the one for him, no ifs, buts or ands about it. So, if anything, he should be glad that she'd found someone herself, he did want her to be happy.
There were times when, more emotionally stable or not, Dean did curse his greater self-awareness these days. It was true that overall it tended to make him more happy and content as it allowed him to go after what he really wanted instead if just what he felt he deserved, but sometimes (like now) it made him see things about himself that he'd far rather have remained blissfully ignorant of. Like how the fact that he'd not been good enough for Lisa still hurt. Sure, he knew it wasn't important anymore as the fact that he was more than what Castiel felt he needed (much as he personally might still question parts of that assertion at times) by far outweighed anything else, but still it was there.
It actually bothered Dean more that he was bothered by it than anything else, so at least that was something.
"Really? She's seeing a... Milton?" Dean responded.
Ben laughed. "Yeah, I was really hoping it was just a phase as he's nothing like you, but no such luck."
"They've been together for a while then?"
"Since almost right after you left."
That definitely hit Dean hard. Had Lisa really moved on so quickly from him? Or worse, had this Milton been part of the reason that she'd kicked him out in the first place?
"He's also really old!" Ben complained.
"Old?"
"Yeah, he's almost thirty-five."
Dean's lips twitched and he couldn't help but wonder just how old (or young apparently) Ben thought that he was if the boy was complaining of Milton being only a few years older than he was. He could admit that he liked the compliment.
"And so totally uncool. He drives a Honda civic!"
"Wait, for real?"
"Yes!"
"How about leather jackets, does he wear them?"
"No, only thugs and gangbangers do according to him."
Dean couldn't help but stare at Ben in shock. Lisa was dating an honest to God douche? That was what made her happy enough to stay in a committed relationship for over a year? What on earth had happened to her bad boy type?
"And don't even get me started on his music, ugh! He likes fucking Mozart."
"Language, Ben," Dean replied automatically and smiled at the eye roll it earned him. "And Mozart is... historical."
"Yeah, 'cause it was written for stuffy old men who wouldn't know a good time if it hit them in the face! That's what caught my attention here now, the Zep."
"And I recall he wasn't even your favorite."
"No but anything even remotely decent would have been music to my ears just now, literally."
Dean frowned, not at all liking the implications of that. "Wait, you've not heard any of this for a while?"
"No, like I said, he's got no taste in music."
"Yeah, but what about your music? Surely you've got a Walkman or one of those IPad thingies?"
"IPod, and yeah, but he confiscated it."
"What? Why?"
"I got into a fight at school. Some kid called me a dumb jock."
"And you used the punch I taught you?"
"Of course."
"Look, Ben, that wasn't really something you were supposed to use on other kids."
"But he-"
"Was still human and a child. That's a pretty powerful punch I taught you and you need to use that power responsibly, okay?"
The look on Ben's face was one that Dean recognized well from all of the times he'd worn it when being chastised by his father. It tempted him to ease up a little but he resisted, knowing how important this was. Plus he knew that it was his responsibility as he'd been the one to teach the punch to Ben. That didn't mean that he had to treat the boy as he'd been treated after he'd gotten the promise that he needed though.
"Yeah, okay. Sorry."
"Hey," Dean said, crouching down a little. "I'm not doing this to rag on you. Just think of how you'd feel if you had seriously hurt that kid."
"I'd feel like shit."
"Well there you go. Now, how about you find your favorite tape and pop it in, huh?"
Ben's head shot up. "For real?"
"Sure, you promised and I believe you, so go on."
"You're awesome!"
Dean smiled at Ben's excitement and opened the door so the boy could climb into the Impala.
"Ben!"
The cry was followed by rushing footsteps and Dean turned his head to see a man charging straight for him. He instantly shifted into a defensive stance and used the guy's own momentum against him, tripping the man up so that he went down, hard. Not knowing who or what this was, he followed him down, easily pining the guy to the ground. The ridiculous ease with which he did it all and the G rated mutterings that he thought were meant to be curses made him extremely uneasy as it was just too easy and he half expected someone else to attack him from behind.
"Dean, stop!" Ben cried out, suddenly beside him.
"Get back!" Dean ordered. "Get in the car."
"No, you don't understand, it's okay. That's Milton."
"This is Milton?" Dean questioned in disbelief as he grabbed the back of the guy's shirt and lifted him off the ground enough so that Ben could see his face.
"Yes. I think you broke his nose."
Dean chose to ignore the slight glee he could hear in the boy's voice in favor of dealing with the important stuff first. "Christo."
Though he couldn't see Milton's face, Ben could and Dean relaxed when the boy shook his head at him.
"You thought he was a...?" Ben asked.
"He attacked me for no reason," Dean explained.
"You were trying to kidnap Ben," Milton accused when Dean got up off his back, allowing him to breathe properly.
"Kidnap him?" Dean repeated, incredulous before he thought about what had happened and what Milton thought of people who wore leather jackets. "Dude, Ben's not stupid enough to climb into some stranger's car no matter what's offered to him. He's not a little child."
Out of the corner of his eye, Dean caught Ben beaming at him and the way the boy had come to stand beside him opposite Milton wasn't lost on him either. He kept most of his attention on Milton, though, as the guy slowly got to his feet, wincing the entire time. When he got a good look at the guy's face, he saw that though bloody, Milton's nose wasn't actually broken and for that he was thankful. He could already imagine how well this entire incident was going to go down with Lisa and he didn't need that on top of everything else. Not when Milton already had cuts and scrapes on his hands and knees, the latter despite wearing long pants, but then that was Milton's own fault for wearing what looked like suit pants to the park instead of jeans like sensible people did. Well, sensible human people anyway.
"He was getting into a thug car with a gangbanger, what was I supposed to think?" Milton snapped back.
"Dude, my baby isn't a thug car, she's a classic muscle car! And loads of people wear leather, Milton."
"That's Mr. Statton to you."
Dean's eyebrows rose and he glanced down at Ben in disbelief. "Is he for real?"
"Totally."
"I'm standing right here," Milton snapped. "And who are you anyway?"
"He's Dean Winchester, Mom's old boyfriend," Ben replied gleefully before Dean could stop him. "The cool one, remember?"
The way Milton stiffened would have been hilarious under any other circumstances but Dean's good mood had long since vanished once more. His ego couldn't help but notice the insecurity and uncertainty he caught flickering through the guy's eyes as he was assessed once more. He almost pitied the guy in a way. Not only was he far better looking than Milton, but he was also in much better shape.
"Milton? Ben?"
Dean stiffened as he recognized Lisa's voice, and noticed that he wasn't the only one to do so. Oh this was going to go so well. Best to just bite the bullet and get it over with. "Over here, Lisa."
"Dean?" Lisa demanded in shock as she turned towards them, then her expression turned alarmed as she caught sight of her boyfriend and rushed towards them. "Milton! Oh my God, what happened to you?"
"Your old boyfriend did," Milton replied.
"Hey!" Dean protested.
"Dean, how could you?" Lisa demanded, glaring at him.
"It's not his fault!" Ben shouted. "Milton attacked Dean and got his ass handed to him. It was awesome!"
"What?" Lisa asked, looking down at her son.
"Milton attacked Dean and Dean didn't know who he was so he just-"
"Reacted," Lisa finished and Dean relaxed slightly at that.
Clearly she could understand how it had gone from there. Dean knew that she'd watched him training enough to know how quickly he moved and that his job, such as it was, meant that he reacted first and questioned things later when attacked.
"He thought I was trying to kidnap Ben," Dean finished for, while he disliked how lowly Milton thought of the boy, he couldn't fault the protective reaction it had invoked. Even if the guy clearly didn't know the first thing about fighting or even self-defense.
"You broke my nose," Milton accused, taking the tissue Lisa handed him.
This time it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. "It's not broken, Mr. Statton, just bruised."
"Mr. Statton?" Lisa questioned.
"He insisted."
Lisa gave him a look and Dean just shrugged. It was true in the strictest sense, so what if he'd taken that request and turned it back around on itself? It was a skill and one that had driven many of his teachers nuts over the years. He'd never dared try it on his father, though, so the poor man'd had to put up with complaints from teachers that he didn't think Dad had ever quite understood. Not if his father's mutterings about teachers not being able to make up their damn minds was anything to go by. He'd always been careful not to overuse it, though. It had been ages since he'd last done it and he wasn't quite sure where the urge came from now, but he found that while he didn't plan on making this any harder than it had to be, he wasn't going to make it easy for Lisa either. She'd been the one to kick him out after all and that despite all that he'd done to please both her and Ben.
What more had she wanted from him than his best?
"Here, let me see," Lisa said, turning her attention back to Milton.
Not sure he wanted to see that, Dean was glad when Ben tapped his arm. "Yeah?"
"Can I still chose a tape to put on?" Ben asked.
"Sure, go ahead."
Dean leaned down to lean on the door and watch Ben as much due to the fact that he'd missed the boy as because he really didn't want to witness what might be going on behind him. "So, did you ever ask Sarah over?"
Ben blinked, pausing to look at him. "How'd you know about her?"
"Because I've got eyes and I saw the way you looked at her."
"Was I really that obvious about it?"
"Nah, only to me."
"Oh, that's okay then."
"Is it?" Dean smiled.
"Yeah, you're cool and you like observe for a living. You notice things other people wouldn't."
A fairly accurate opinion and Dean's smile grew as he watched Ben find the Metallica tape he liked best and open it. With a familiarity that sent pangs through him, Ben stopped the Zep tape and swapped it out for his chosen one, twisting the volume knob up even higher.
"Oh, yeah!" Ben exclaimed, delighted as the first riffs of the guitar come on.
"Hey, Cas?" Dean sent silently.
"Yes, Beloved?" Castiel replied instantly. "Sorry for the delay, there is a long queue."
"No, s'okay. Just get a third cone, would you? Rocky road."
"Of course. What is wrong?"
The words were accompanied by a sense of warmth from the bond and Dean closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation. It washed over his soul, soothing and reassuring, and he just wanted to get lost in it. Unfortunately that wasn't an option and he considered telling his husband what was going on but he wasn't quite sure how Castiel would react to learning that Lisa was here, but he didn't think it would be particularly conducive to keeping the situation calm.
"I ran into some unexpected people," Dean answered instead.
"I will not be much longer."
"Okay."
"Dean? Are you okay?" Ben asked.
"What? Oh, sorry about that."
"You were a million miles away."
"Actually I was a whole lot closer than that, but that's beside the point. Sorry."
"You're weird sometimes, you know that?"
Dean laughed. "Everyone's a little weird sometimes, otherwise they're just boring."
"But, Lisa-" Milton exclaimed behind them, drawing Dean's attention back to the two of them.
"No, Milton, I need to speak with Dean. Alone," Lisa replied firmly. "Just go back to the car and get some of the Tylenol from the first aid kit in the trunk, Ben and I will be along shortly."
Milton shot him a displeased and angry look and Dean couldn't blame the guy. Leaving your girlfriend with her old boyfriend was not something a guy ever wanted to do, but at least they were in a public place and Ben was sticking around, so really Milton didn't have anything to worry about. Not unless he was feeling insecure about something, though now that he thought about it again, the man actually should be. A woman like Lisa was so far out of his league it wasn't even funny and he just didn't get what she saw in him, he really didn't and that wasn't just coming from the jilted and hurt feelings he still, apparently, nursed on some level.
"Fine," Milton said with ill humor, though he still took the time to kiss her full on the lips.
"Eew!" Ben exclaimed from behind Dean. "My eyes!"
The reaction amused Dean, especially since Ben had never quite been that dramatic when the boy had caught him and Lisa kissing. Milton was going to have his hands full with Ben if the guy stayed with Lisa, that was for sure. It amused him a little to think of how they'd butt heads as he had no doubt of the form of rebellion that Ben would take given Milton's weaknesses. He could definitely see loud, blaring music and leather jackets in their future, that was for sure.
"Sorry about that," Lisa said once Milton was out of earshot, though Dean caught the guy looking back more than once before Milton disappeared from view. "Anyway, this is unexpected."
"You're telling me," Dean replied. "I hadn't expected to run into you guys here."
"We're taking a mini holiday."
Behind Dean, Ben snorted and he was sure he heard the boy mutter "Holiday for you perhaps." Apparently Lisa caught enough of it to understand the gist of it as well as she shot her son a scolding look. Well, either that or Ben had made his opinion on the matter more than clear already and she could guess what his reaction to her words would be.
"Ben," Lisa said, the one word laden with meaning.
"It's true!" Ben retorted defiantly, getting out of the Impala to stand beside Dean. "I'd rather be at home, attending school."
"We've already talked about this. This was on the only time that-"
"Milton's mother was free, yeah, yeah. Who cares about his stupid mother anyway?"
"Ben! We'll talk about this later."
"What's the point?" Ben scoffed.
"Ben," Dean interrupted. "Respect your mother."
The boy shot him a rebellious look but kept his mouth shut and Dean caught the look of relief that crossed Lisa's face. Although he'd always felt a bit uncomfortable when it came to disciplining Ben or taking a stand on various issues, this was the one thing that he'd stood firm on from the beginning and Ben knew he was serious on the matter. They'd had a long talk about it once and it had been one of the only times that he'd ever discussed his own mother with anyone other than his own families. For things to have gotten as bad as they had between Ben and Lisa proved that the boy really didn't care for Milton, but he hadn't seen enough to know whether that was merely the early stages of teenage rebellion kicking in or something far more sinister.
"So, how come you're here?" Lisa finally asked, turning her attention back to him. "There isn't something evil here, is there?"
"No, no, this place is supernatural free as far as I know," Dean responded hastily, not wanting to alarm her. "I was just in the area."
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Ben exclaimed. "You don't see each other for a year and this is what you talk about? For real?"
"Ben-" Lisa began tiredly.
"No, you were good together, you were! And I like Dean. Come on, Mom, can't you guys try again? Please?"
Dean felt something inside of him break for Ben as he could completely understand the sentiment and where the boy was coming from. Ben was trying desperately to save his family as the boy saw it and he couldn't help but sympathize with that even if he knew it to be an impossible dream in this case.
"Ben," Dean started, crouching down a little to be at eye level with the boy. "It's not that simple."
"But-"
"I'm married."
"You're what?"
"Married?" Lisa echoed, stunned.
"But," Ben stuttered, clearly shocked, looking at his hand.
The lack of ring suddenly made Dean feel incredibly self-conscious and his hand formed a fist before he'd thought about it even as he scrambled for a reasonable explanation. "It's safer this way. You know what's out there; what we're up against. It's better for both Cas and me if they can't immediately tell that we're together."
Both Ben and Lisa appeared far too shocked by the sudden revelation to immediately comment further and it gave Dean a moment to savor the fact that he'd actually just told someone about his bonding. Well, kinda, but it was close enough for government. The ring thing did suddenly bug him, however, especially since it was such an intrinsic part of human society. Not to mention the fact that he'd grown up seeing his father treat his own wedding ring with such reverence and respect. It had led him to always respect the sanctity of marriage even if almost everything else had been fair game at one time or another.
"Wait, you hunt with her- Cas?" Lisa finally questioned.
"Yeah. Turns out hunting actually is far too intrinsic a part of who I really am to be cut out of my life entirely."
"Oh."
There was a ripple of recognition from the bond accompanied by the flutter of wings and Dean just knew that things were about to get a whole lot more complicated even before he felt the wash of jealousy and possessiveness from his husband.
Crap.
A.N.: Okay, so I've been given my posting date for Hell Rises with Him (my dystopic Destiel fic), and it's Sunday the 22nd.
Chapter 155