Fighting Demons: Chapter 7 "Let's Try That Again"
Author: snuggle_muggle
Title: Fighting Demons: Let's Try That Again
Fandom: Supernatural/Dresden Files crossover
Characters: Sam and Murphy
Prompt: #019, "Analyse"
Word Count: 1672
Rating: PG
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery
Summary: Karrin convinces Sam that staying in Chicago might be worth it.
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Kripke; Murphy and Dresden belong to Jim Butcher, and they both belong to many others. I'm willing to negotiate, though. I make a great brownie.
Spoiler Warning: None.
Notes: This is chapter 7 of my continuing Dresden/Supernatural crossover, written for my fanfic 50 prompt table, located here. Also, this is the book universe of Dresden, not the TV universe.
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6
Let’s Try That Again
Sam stood outside for a couple of minutes because they hadn’t had an opportunity to get the new key made for the Impala yet. But, hey, at least it wasn’t raining. The door to the little pub opened and Sam was surprised that it wasn’t Dean who emerged, but Karrin. He felt his heart rate pick up a bit of speed as she walked toward him. He tried not to over-analyze his reaction. She was a cute girl. Dean had been messing with everything in skirts for the last five months while all Sam could do was wait in the damn car. No reason to think he was desperate for company of the female kind. See, he told himself, no analysis needed.
"Hey."
Sam nodded in response, unsure what to say back to her.
"I, uh, wanted to come talk to you."
"D’ya draw the short straw or something?"
Karrin laughed and Sam couldn’t help but smile in return. She had a nice laugh, not giggly or stupid, but pleasant and soft. "No. I volunteered."
"I sort of blew it back there." He nodded toward the door of the pub.
"I don’t know about that. It seems like it was sort of a sore subject and Harry wouldn’t let it drop, so I don’t really blame you for being upset." She stepped closer and then leaned against the car next to him.
Sam was tempted to shift a bit away from her. Or nearer maybe. But he stayed where he was, nervous about making her self-conscious. "What is it with you two?"
"Hmm?" She was relaxed, looking toward the door of Mac’s but not really like she expected anyone else to be coming out soon.
"You and Dresden. Do you date or something?"
She whipped her head around so fast that Sam was surprised she didn’t hurt herself. "Why would you think that?"
"I don’t know, just . . . well, I don’t know." He wasn’t sure how to tell her that Dresden was really protective of her and obviously liked her in a more-than-friends-type of way. If she didn’t know it, he didn’t want to enlighten her on the subject. Not at the moment anyway.
"Harry and I work together. That’s it."
"Sorry. I just thought . . . well, never mind."
"Harry’s used to working pretty much alone. He gets a lot of crap from people, but he takes it, because he knows he’s the only one that can do some of this stuff, being a wizard and all. I think you and Dean there threw him for a loop."
"We offered to help him, that’s all. Thought he might be able to help us." Sam tried hard to keep the bitter edge of his voice but he wasn’t exactly sure he had succeeded. Both he and Dean had acknowledged the fact (not out loud of course) that there was nothing in the ‘Hunter’s Handbook of Tricks" that would get Dean released from his contract. They had decided to do their best to get rid of these escapees from hell and hope that somehow something would come along that would help. Sam had thought maybe Ruby would be able to and still held out hope for that; but Dean had told him not to be too disappointed if it didn’t pan out. This Dresden character, though, he seemed to know what he was doing around demons, both his kind and the kind he and Dean fought all the time. Sam had allowed that small flicker of hope to flame into life and now it was being doused again. That made him madder than anything.
"I do think the three of you could get a lot done together." She shifted and Sam felt her arm brush his.
"Look, Sam, the fact of the matter is that we are seriously overwhelmed here. Harry’s dead on his feet. He’s been fighting these things for months now and doing magic exhausts him. I’m surprised he isn’t curled up under the table there at Mac’s, sucking his thumb and hoping that nothing else comes along. He may not want to admit it, but he really does need help."
"If he won’t let us-"
"Innocent people are dying, Sam. I know you hate that idea."
"Yeah. Innocent people are always dying, though, Karrin. I ‘m not sure we could make much of a difference."
She acknowledged his comment with a nod of understanding. "Come back inside, at least. You don’t need to decide right this minute. But Harry and Dean are starting to talk about how this could work."
"Really? Dean’s talking to Dresden in a reasonable way? No threats or slightly veiled insults?"
"They were talking when I came out here. About stuff. No threats."
Sam shifted against the car a bit and their arms brushed again.
"How old are you, Sam?"
"Almost 25." Sam gulped, wondering if she wanted to know for the same reason he wanted her to know.
"You’re just a baby." This was said in a lightly teasing way, though, not like a dismissal and Sam gulped again.
"Not really. I’ve seen a lot of stuff. If that matters."
"Sometimes it does." They were both quiet for a minute. "I’ve seen plenty of stuff with Dresden. He does some scary crap."
"Yeah. I bet. He shouldn’t have you around when he’s fighting demons."
She laughed again, low and soft and Sam felt it in his gut. "Don’t get all protective on me, Sam. I can hold my own in a fight. He’s taught me some stuff. I can do some stuff, too. I may be small, but I’m mean."
Sam turned against the car so he was looking down at her. "I don’t think you could ever-"
Her eyes were sparkling when she turned against the car to face him. "Trust me."
"’Kay. I do."
She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and leaned forward. Sam felt her lips brush his lower jaw and he started in surprise. He moved his head slightly and caught the edge of her mouth with his. Oh. She moved again and Sam slid his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head to hold her still. Oh. Her mouth did taste like strawberries. Sam took one step closer to her and slid his other arm around her waist. It had been a long time since he’d kissed someone and it felt incredibly good. Her hands came up to his chest and Sam let her go. They looked at each other for a minute and then Karrin pushed away from him. "Probably shouldn’t have done that."
"Why not?"
"Multiple reasons. If we wind up working together on this whole demon mess, you really shouldn’t be distracted by me. That’s one. There are others."
"So, if I promise to throw you out to the demon first, can I kiss you again?"
"I kissed you."
Sam shook his head. "I think it was mutually agreed that kissing each other would be nice."
"Mutually agreed?"
"Mmm, yeah. Mutually. So, that promise?"
"Could work." She looked up at him, blue eyes sparkling, and Sam didn’t even try to resist the invitation in her gaze. He slid his hand into her hair again, marveling at how soft it was and how small she was. His hand could cup the back of her whole head. He bent down this time to her level and kissed her gently, unsure exactly how far he could push things. She wrapped both arms around his neck and opened her mouth under his. Sam leaned against the car, pulling her against him. It felt fantastic and he didn’t want to stop any time soon. After a minute, though, he lifted his head.
"Kissing you is definitely a distraction."
Karrin’s arms slid down from around his neck and she stepped away from him. "I-"
"However," Sam’s finger brushed across her lips. "I’m willing to deal with it if you are. And we don’t need to tell them, at least not yet."
"Harry’ll know. I’ll probably get some lecture about corrupting minors or something later."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Does he read minds?"
"No, no. He’s just incredibly observant and pretty smart." Her hand reached up and brushed his lips. "My lip gloss is gone for good now and your lips look a bit more pink than they did before."
"I’ve got lip gloss on me?" Sam wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. Karrin slapped his arm.
"You weren’t complaining earlier."
"No. So, uh, if we go back in there and start planning some strategy to get these crap-head sons of bitches, do I get a reward?"
"Maybe. It depends if you come up with any great ideas. I’ll keep track and pay you later."
"Can I trust you?"
"I think so. After all, paying your reward is nice for me, too. In fact, I may accidentally give you credit for some of Dean’s ideas."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Or bad ideas. Those, too."
"Mmm." And then they were kissing again and Sam held on to her tightly for a few minutes. She was small, but curvy, and he found that she fit very nicely against him. He set her down again. "That doesn’t count as part of my reward, does it?"
Karrin pushed away from him and took his hand. "No. Just incentive. You’ve got to think about lots of really fantastic ideas." They walked back toward the pub again. "Harry won’t want to talk much longer here, I don’t think. It’s secure and all, but he likes to do most of his heavy work back at his apartment. He’s got reference material there, I think. He usually comes up with most of his ideas down in what he calls ‘the lab.’ But, come on in. We’ll let him decide."
Sam decided not to over-analyze why holding hands with her felt so unbelievably good, either. Sometimes it was best just to let things happen. Sometimes, there were pleasant surprises.