More Than Meets The Eye, Dean/Carter, AU, 3/?
More chameleon-verse. Outsider POV, and written out of sequence. Still not NC-17 (this part is probably PG at most and just about needs a warning for fluff). And again, short because this 'verse is coming to me in ~5K snippets. Also still not betaed. Assume spoilers for entire season.
Part 1
Part 2, would recommend reading after part 3 to make the most sense
Gianna's surprised to hear from Dean. Her almost-son just called a couple days ago, and she's learned not to expect to hear from Dean on any kind of a regular basis. Dean's never told her any details about what he actually does, but Gianna has a pretty good idea anyway.
And when she hears what Dean has to say, she's not sure whether to be relieved or worried about a whole new set of concerns.
"I had to shift to keep Carter and me alive. He asked me afterwards if I'd be willing to use this like any other talent--even offered Amnesty if I wanted it."
Gianna really hopes he took Carter up on his offer. Amnesty doesn't guarantee safety by a long shot, but at least it means Dean won't have to worry about jail time for being Unregistered. And Dean's told her more about Carter than she thinks he realizes--enough to make her hope Carter offered as an almost-proposal and not just protection. "Did you say yes?"
"Yeah, I took him up on it. The first thing he did after I got marked was haul me off to his lawyer to make sure if anything happened to him I'd have inheritance and Survivor's rights."
Gianna's just about ready to cheer at that. She's not so concerned about the inheritance right now, but Survivor's rights mean that if Carter died tomorrow, Dean's Amnesty would still hold. Even if Carter doesn't have romantic intentions, it at least sounds like he's doing his best for him. And considering he might as well own Dean now, that's a relief. "Good for him--and for you."
"He's even been trying to get me to move in with him. I'm not sure whether his protective instincts are just in overdrive from the Talent thing or if he's actually making a move."
"Has he tried anything beyond that?" Gianna's going to make Carter regret it if he uses Dean's acceptance against him like that. She's fairly sure Dean's interested, but it's still basically blackmail. That's one of the big reasons neither of them's accepted Amnesty already.
Dean just says no, and his tone makes Gianna think he wishes Carter would. "I'm going to do the concerned mom thing here and tell you to say yes to moving in, too. The last three times I've been to your place, your fridge has had nothing but beer in it. You know that metabolism of yours needs real food--especially since it sounds like you're probably going to be using your Talent more now. And if he's making the effort to protect you if he dies, he's probably going to be willing to take care of you alive too. I love you dearly, but you suck at taking care of yourself, Dean."
Dean just laughs at that. "I'll listen to you for once then. I'm keeping my place, though. There's about four months left on my lease--that should be long enough to see if we can handle living together. I'm almost late for a meeting already, but in case you need to get in touch with me, call Carter, because I'm going to be unreachable for a while." He reels off contact information before they exchange good-byes and hang up.
Gianna's already planning how to best feel Carter out on his intentions--and threaten him if necessary. Dean's closer to her than her biological son has been in a long time, and she wants him happy. From what Dean's told her, not just today but over the course of his working for Carter, she thinks he might be able to do it. Or at least as happy as Dean's going to get--his emotional damage stretches back practically to day one.
Even before his parents kicked him out because he was Talented, Gianna wasn't exactly impressed by their parenting skills. Too many subtle signs pointed to some kind of abuse. And his constant presence at her modest house rather than inviting Tony over to play at his family's near-mansion made her think her house was more a home to him than his own.
She still remembers the conversation she had with Dean when he was fifteen and had a crush on one of his best friends. When she asked what was wrong, Dean couldn't meet her eyes. The expression on his face when he told her nearly broke her heart--he looked like he was barely holding the tears in check. And his body was tensed like he was expecting her to hit him. She wasn't really surprised--worried because this was one more thing that someone might want to hurt him for, but not surprised. She'd seen him check out guys the same way he checked out girls before, after all. When she hugged Dean and offered to curse any boy that didn't treat her baby right, she could feel the sudden relaxation in his body.
They've never really talked about it since. The last time she asked if he was seeing anybody special, Dean just looked at her like she was insane. "Between the job and the Talent, I'm not about to try for anything more than short-term good times." She can understand his point, but she still wishes he'd find someone who could live with both. And if that someone's Carter, she can live with that as long as he's good to Dean.
Part 1
Part 2, would recommend reading after part 3 to make the most sense
Gianna's surprised to hear from Dean. Her almost-son just called a couple days ago, and she's learned not to expect to hear from Dean on any kind of a regular basis. Dean's never told her any details about what he actually does, but Gianna has a pretty good idea anyway.
And when she hears what Dean has to say, she's not sure whether to be relieved or worried about a whole new set of concerns.
"I had to shift to keep Carter and me alive. He asked me afterwards if I'd be willing to use this like any other talent--even offered Amnesty if I wanted it."
Gianna really hopes he took Carter up on his offer. Amnesty doesn't guarantee safety by a long shot, but at least it means Dean won't have to worry about jail time for being Unregistered. And Dean's told her more about Carter than she thinks he realizes--enough to make her hope Carter offered as an almost-proposal and not just protection. "Did you say yes?"
"Yeah, I took him up on it. The first thing he did after I got marked was haul me off to his lawyer to make sure if anything happened to him I'd have inheritance and Survivor's rights."
Gianna's just about ready to cheer at that. She's not so concerned about the inheritance right now, but Survivor's rights mean that if Carter died tomorrow, Dean's Amnesty would still hold. Even if Carter doesn't have romantic intentions, it at least sounds like he's doing his best for him. And considering he might as well own Dean now, that's a relief. "Good for him--and for you."
"He's even been trying to get me to move in with him. I'm not sure whether his protective instincts are just in overdrive from the Talent thing or if he's actually making a move."
"Has he tried anything beyond that?" Gianna's going to make Carter regret it if he uses Dean's acceptance against him like that. She's fairly sure Dean's interested, but it's still basically blackmail. That's one of the big reasons neither of them's accepted Amnesty already.
Dean just says no, and his tone makes Gianna think he wishes Carter would. "I'm going to do the concerned mom thing here and tell you to say yes to moving in, too. The last three times I've been to your place, your fridge has had nothing but beer in it. You know that metabolism of yours needs real food--especially since it sounds like you're probably going to be using your Talent more now. And if he's making the effort to protect you if he dies, he's probably going to be willing to take care of you alive too. I love you dearly, but you suck at taking care of yourself, Dean."
Dean just laughs at that. "I'll listen to you for once then. I'm keeping my place, though. There's about four months left on my lease--that should be long enough to see if we can handle living together. I'm almost late for a meeting already, but in case you need to get in touch with me, call Carter, because I'm going to be unreachable for a while." He reels off contact information before they exchange good-byes and hang up.
Gianna's already planning how to best feel Carter out on his intentions--and threaten him if necessary. Dean's closer to her than her biological son has been in a long time, and she wants him happy. From what Dean's told her, not just today but over the course of his working for Carter, she thinks he might be able to do it. Or at least as happy as Dean's going to get--his emotional damage stretches back practically to day one.
Even before his parents kicked him out because he was Talented, Gianna wasn't exactly impressed by their parenting skills. Too many subtle signs pointed to some kind of abuse. And his constant presence at her modest house rather than inviting Tony over to play at his family's near-mansion made her think her house was more a home to him than his own.
She still remembers the conversation she had with Dean when he was fifteen and had a crush on one of his best friends. When she asked what was wrong, Dean couldn't meet her eyes. The expression on his face when he told her nearly broke her heart--he looked like he was barely holding the tears in check. And his body was tensed like he was expecting her to hit him. She wasn't really surprised--worried because this was one more thing that someone might want to hurt him for, but not surprised. She'd seen him check out guys the same way he checked out girls before, after all. When she hugged Dean and offered to curse any boy that didn't treat her baby right, she could feel the sudden relaxation in his body.
They've never really talked about it since. The last time she asked if he was seeing anybody special, Dean just looked at her like she was insane. "Between the job and the Talent, I'm not about to try for anything more than short-term good times." She can understand his point, but she still wishes he'd find someone who could live with both. And if that someone's Carter, she can live with that as long as he's good to Dean.