(Untitled)

[hector_aframian]

Dean is also in Metropolis, in a much better mood. He and Sammy have staked an apartment close to the outskirts (but not too far from the city) and he's currently raiding every house in that street for knives, booze or weaponry. Most of the gun shops have been looted by now, but he's sure that there'll still be weapons in people's houses -

Comments

[notanoptimist]

Steph went off somewhere. Sokka has a sneaking suspicion that she's off Spoilering without him and can only be vaguely upset about it. Mostly he's worried.

...when he's not busy being jealous that she didn't take him with her.

Right now, he's wandering the streets of Metropolis. It's not as cheerful here, not as bright or homey as the farm, but it does have a lot more scrap lying around. He's got a bag over one shoulder and continuously pops the hood of an abandoned car in order to dig around inside and salvage the parts.

He sees Dean come out of a house just as he drags himself out of an old VW van. "Hey!"

Sokka's in a relatively good mood. Dean gets a wave.

[hector_aframian]

Dean glances up. "Oh, hey." Cheerful wave! "What're you doin' out here? Long way from Hippie Holl-- uh, the farm, isn't it?"

[notanoptimist]

Sokka's grin only widens at the nickname. But hey, he doesn't mind being safe. It's a point in the farm's favor, really.

Even if right now, it's not really... well...

Yeah.

"Steph wanted to come into town," he explains, shouldering his bag again. "I was kinda hoping to run into you, too."

[hector_aframian]

That gets Dean's attention. He dumps the bag he was carrying and folds his arms, tilting his head curiously.

"You wanted t'run into me? What, 'cause I didn't fail bad enough last time I tried to help out?"

It still stings, that he couldn't help with Katara.

[notanoptimist]

Yeah, that's a good way to get rid of Sokka's smile.

"...circumstances were... it was..."

Sokka swallows and looks away, shouldering his bag again. "A friend of hers... figured it out. We got her back." He smiles a little, though it's not as wide as it could be, still tinged with worry and uneasiness. "She's... okay. She seems okay."

[hector_aframian]

Oh crap. Good move, Winchester.

"Oh, right. Uh, good."

Awkwaaaaaard.

"That's ... good, yeah."

[notanoptimist]

And that is hwo to get Sokka smiling again: at someone else's expense.

"Appreciate the help you gave me, though," he says, still grinning.

And then moves it right along.

"But, y'know, I'm not real sure about how far that appreciation extends."

[hector_aframian]

Dean eyes him warily.

"Wait, what?"

[notanoptimist]

"Yeah, y'know," Sokka continues with the wave of one hand, vry vry casual. "Like, if you wanted to mess around with my car, I might let you, 'cause you tried to save my sister and I appreciate it. Or if you wanted to use my tools. I might even let you see my weapons, because my little sister is that important to me. That's how far my appreciation extends.

"But," Sokka arches an eyebrow, a warning, younger than Dean but fully capable of pulling off a threat, "screwing my other sister and then leaving the next day? Slightly over the line of appreciation."

[hector_aframian]

"Whoa. Wait, what?"

Dean stares at him, unconsciously shifting back into a more defensive posture in response to the unspoken threat.

"Oh. Right. You're Mel's brother."

Somehow, although he knew that, he completely failed to connect the dots till now.

"Well, crap."

[notanoptimist]

Sokka glares.

He's able to keep it up for about 0.05 seconds before he snorts.

"Man, I suck at fake intimidation," he informs Dean, laughing - partly at himself, mostly at Dean's expression. "That was awesome, I should've brought a camera!"

[hector_aframian]

Dean sighs with relief and rolls his eyes. "Shit, I thought I was seriously in trouble for a second. Mel's strong enough, I did not wanna tangle with a dude from that family."

He would get PULPED.

... obviously, Dean knows nothing about Slayers, nor has he figured out that Sokka and Mel aren't blood relatives. They could easily be half-siblings or something.

[notanoptimist]

Sokka seriously considers letting Dean think this for a few more seconds but-- well, siblings. He trusts the guy.

"We're adopted siblings," he points out, still grinning - and laughing a little at Dean's relief. "Which doesn't mean I can't fight, just that she kicks the shit out of me if I let her get close enough.

"Seriously, I don't care. The only reason I know is because she likes breaking my brain by telling me about that kind of shit."

[hector_aframian]

"Geez." Dean straightens up more and looks sheepish. "Well, fuck. Hilarious." GRUMPY.

"Just for th'record, okay, she's a freaking superhero. I couldn't'a hurt her if I wanted to. And I didn't!"

[notanoptimist]

"Oh, I know," Sokka replies seriously, nodding, still smiling though his words are serious. "If you'd actually hurt her, there's no line of appreciation. I'd say that I'd kick your ass, but that's only if Mel didn't beat me to it first." He pauses and then adds casually, "And in all honesty, you'd probably want me to find you before she did, in that case."

[hector_aframian]

"You're damn right I would." Dean's grinning a little. He can appreciate the need to protect your siblings. "You'd probably only break bones, not crush them. I don't think my ribs've recovered yet, and that wasn't even fighting."

That was LOOOOOOVING.