Somebody I Used to Know, for nagi_schwarz
Title: Somebody I used to know
Recipient: Nagi_Schwarz
Rating: G
Word Count or Media: 1,290
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thank you for all your lovely prompts. It was difficult to choose just one to work on. I had a lot of fun writing this and I fully intend to return to this and expand it after the exchange is over. :) No spoilers to speak of, set in the bunker.
Summary: Sam wasn’t himself when he woke up.
Sam wasn’t himself when he woke up. He felt off, the immediate sense that something was wrong coming over him. He felt the undeniable presence of another looming over him and he looked up to find Dean standing by his bedside silently staring at him. But there was something off with Dean too. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, just something was wrong. Something in his stance, something in the way he looked was just…off.
“Good morning Sam. We seem to have a problem I thought you should be aware of.”
That voice, it was his brother’s, but it wasn’t. It just sounded different somehow. A deep feeling of ill ease crept through him, pushing forward to the surface.
“Dean what’s wrong?” And…his voice wasn’t right. He looked down, and his hands, his body, they weren’t his own.
Maybe he was dreaming. That had to be it. “Am I dreaming?” He asked desperately, already knowing the answer.
“No. Try to remain calm.”
His mind went to what seemed like the only other logical conclusion. “Am I possessed? Are you?” His voice was too high, the panic he wanted to hide bleeding through. And the very fact that Dean wasn’t mocking him already was proof in itself that there was something wrong.
“….In a manner of speaking, yes.”
Castiel came crashing through the door, a look of panic mirroring Sam’s own. Following Cas was…Him. It wasn’t him, but it was certainly his body. This was a dream, it had to be. He had seen a lot happen in his long and perhaps sordid career as a hunter, but standing face to face with himself was a first.
“What the Hell is going on?” Cas seemed uncharacteristically panicked and there was something about the way he carried himself that seemed undeniably familiar. It was starting to make a sort of sense, and he slowly began putting the pieces together. The other version of himself was standing awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
“We switched bodies didn’t we?” He asked, not sure why the thought hadn’t occurred to him immediately. Granted it might not be most people’s first conclusion, but it certainly made sense. And given their line of work he felt like he should have figured it out sooner.
Dean who he now realized was Cas, nodded his affirmative. He was the only one who not only looked calm, but quite relaxed in his new body. Sam wondered if this was what it felt like all the time for the angel, to be yourself, but to look down and see someone else’s body. To always be aware that you were you, but not you, in control of a body that wasn’t yours, listening to the steady beating of a heart that didn’t really belong to you.
Cas, who was now in his brother’s body, this was getting confusing, even for them, put, what Sam assumed, was meant to be a reassuring hand, on Dean’s should - Dean who was now in Cas’s body. This did little to quell his brother’s look of panic. “That is correct, Sam. Dean and I switched bodies and you switched bodies with…”
“Charlie.” Sam filled in before the angel could finish.
The version of him who he now realized was Charlie was shifting, looking like she didn’t quite know what to do with the six foot plus frame. Sam ran a hand down his face and looked up, and up, at Charlie. He had always known he was tall, but it wasn’t until now that he fully appreciated what it was like for other people looking up to him. From this angle he just looked too big.
“How…how did this happen? And, more to the point, how do we undo it?”
Charlie looked upset, guilt unmistakable in the face Sam knew so well, even if it was no longer his. A similar shadow crossed across the angel’s face as well. “We didn’t know this would happen,” Charlie said, “We had no idea this was even possible.”
“It is my fault,” Cas added, “I knew the artifacts were very old, but I had no idea of their true power until it was too late. I should have been more cautious.”
Sam gave a long suffering sigh, “We talked about this. I thought we all agreed to not mess around with the men of letters artifacts unless we were very sure of the potential side effects.”
“We did, but it wasn’t anything we found in the bunker.” Charlie was quick to defend. “We found these figurines in this old antique shop and they were old and weird and they were just too cool to give up. It was just so perfect. We had no idea it was anything mystical.”
Dean had calmed down considerably during this exchange, that is one thing Sam could say for his brother, no matter how weird or out there, Dean had a way of adjusting to what was going on rather easily. His eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between Charlie and Cas, “What exactly were you two doing that was so secret you couldn’t share with the rest of the class? Going out, finding weird stuff to mess with, you could have, at the very least, included me and Sam.” Everything that was happening, and what was really upsetting to Dean was being left out. Sam still couldn’t quite get past the feeling of wrongness. Seeing his brother’s mannerism’s and voice, coming from Cas’ body, was a feeling he would probably never get used to.
“Charlie didn’t think you would be interested. She has been teaching me how to play dungeons and dragons. I find it to be a surprisingly compelling game and Charlie is an apt dungeon master.”
“So you two managed to get us all screwed up over some D and D game pieces?” Dean’s voice was incredulous, but really, Sam thought this probably wasn’t the strangest thing that had ever happened to them.
Sam could see the guilt pass over Charlie’s face once more and he could see Cas preparing to defend their actions, but he cut him off before they had to go through a long talk on the virtues of RPG games.
“How do we switch back?” That was really the most pressing question at the moment, and the only one Sam really cared about anymore.
“Given what has happened I believe; I better understand the nature of the artifacts we discovered. If I am not mistaken, they were once used to merge with sacred animals during pagan religious rituals. We should switch back to our normal bodies within a day, at most.”
“So what are we supposed to do until then?” Sam asked, not wanting to contemplate what might happen if the angel was wrong.
“D and D?” Charlie’s face lit up as the suggestion.
“I think that game caused enough trouble for one day.” Dean said, but then at Charlie and Cas’s crestfallen faces he added, “Yeah okay. But no more ancient whatever. Just normal mundane gameplay.”
Since Sam didn’t have anything better to do while he waited to switch back he too acquiesced to the plan.
Dean looked to Sam, his face serious as if something important had just occurred to him. “But Sam…right now you’re a girl and if you switch back…how are we even going to tell?”
He gave Dean his best bitchface, but honestly, it was strangely reassuring that Dean was still…Dean, even if he didn’t look it. One thing was certain, he would always know his brother…even when he was someone else.
Recipient: Nagi_Schwarz
Rating: G
Word Count or Media: 1,290
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thank you for all your lovely prompts. It was difficult to choose just one to work on. I had a lot of fun writing this and I fully intend to return to this and expand it after the exchange is over. :) No spoilers to speak of, set in the bunker.
Summary: Sam wasn’t himself when he woke up.
Sam wasn’t himself when he woke up. He felt off, the immediate sense that something was wrong coming over him. He felt the undeniable presence of another looming over him and he looked up to find Dean standing by his bedside silently staring at him. But there was something off with Dean too. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, just something was wrong. Something in his stance, something in the way he looked was just…off.
“Good morning Sam. We seem to have a problem I thought you should be aware of.”
That voice, it was his brother’s, but it wasn’t. It just sounded different somehow. A deep feeling of ill ease crept through him, pushing forward to the surface.
“Dean what’s wrong?” And…his voice wasn’t right. He looked down, and his hands, his body, they weren’t his own.
Maybe he was dreaming. That had to be it. “Am I dreaming?” He asked desperately, already knowing the answer.
“No. Try to remain calm.”
His mind went to what seemed like the only other logical conclusion. “Am I possessed? Are you?” His voice was too high, the panic he wanted to hide bleeding through. And the very fact that Dean wasn’t mocking him already was proof in itself that there was something wrong.
“….In a manner of speaking, yes.”
Castiel came crashing through the door, a look of panic mirroring Sam’s own. Following Cas was…Him. It wasn’t him, but it was certainly his body. This was a dream, it had to be. He had seen a lot happen in his long and perhaps sordid career as a hunter, but standing face to face with himself was a first.
“What the Hell is going on?” Cas seemed uncharacteristically panicked and there was something about the way he carried himself that seemed undeniably familiar. It was starting to make a sort of sense, and he slowly began putting the pieces together. The other version of himself was standing awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
“We switched bodies didn’t we?” He asked, not sure why the thought hadn’t occurred to him immediately. Granted it might not be most people’s first conclusion, but it certainly made sense. And given their line of work he felt like he should have figured it out sooner.
Dean who he now realized was Cas, nodded his affirmative. He was the only one who not only looked calm, but quite relaxed in his new body. Sam wondered if this was what it felt like all the time for the angel, to be yourself, but to look down and see someone else’s body. To always be aware that you were you, but not you, in control of a body that wasn’t yours, listening to the steady beating of a heart that didn’t really belong to you.
Cas, who was now in his brother’s body, this was getting confusing, even for them, put, what Sam assumed, was meant to be a reassuring hand, on Dean’s should - Dean who was now in Cas’s body. This did little to quell his brother’s look of panic. “That is correct, Sam. Dean and I switched bodies and you switched bodies with…”
“Charlie.” Sam filled in before the angel could finish.
The version of him who he now realized was Charlie was shifting, looking like she didn’t quite know what to do with the six foot plus frame. Sam ran a hand down his face and looked up, and up, at Charlie. He had always known he was tall, but it wasn’t until now that he fully appreciated what it was like for other people looking up to him. From this angle he just looked too big.
“How…how did this happen? And, more to the point, how do we undo it?”
Charlie looked upset, guilt unmistakable in the face Sam knew so well, even if it was no longer his. A similar shadow crossed across the angel’s face as well. “We didn’t know this would happen,” Charlie said, “We had no idea this was even possible.”
“It is my fault,” Cas added, “I knew the artifacts were very old, but I had no idea of their true power until it was too late. I should have been more cautious.”
Sam gave a long suffering sigh, “We talked about this. I thought we all agreed to not mess around with the men of letters artifacts unless we were very sure of the potential side effects.”
“We did, but it wasn’t anything we found in the bunker.” Charlie was quick to defend. “We found these figurines in this old antique shop and they were old and weird and they were just too cool to give up. It was just so perfect. We had no idea it was anything mystical.”
Dean had calmed down considerably during this exchange, that is one thing Sam could say for his brother, no matter how weird or out there, Dean had a way of adjusting to what was going on rather easily. His eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between Charlie and Cas, “What exactly were you two doing that was so secret you couldn’t share with the rest of the class? Going out, finding weird stuff to mess with, you could have, at the very least, included me and Sam.” Everything that was happening, and what was really upsetting to Dean was being left out. Sam still couldn’t quite get past the feeling of wrongness. Seeing his brother’s mannerism’s and voice, coming from Cas’ body, was a feeling he would probably never get used to.
“Charlie didn’t think you would be interested. She has been teaching me how to play dungeons and dragons. I find it to be a surprisingly compelling game and Charlie is an apt dungeon master.”
“So you two managed to get us all screwed up over some D and D game pieces?” Dean’s voice was incredulous, but really, Sam thought this probably wasn’t the strangest thing that had ever happened to them.
Sam could see the guilt pass over Charlie’s face once more and he could see Cas preparing to defend their actions, but he cut him off before they had to go through a long talk on the virtues of RPG games.
“How do we switch back?” That was really the most pressing question at the moment, and the only one Sam really cared about anymore.
“Given what has happened I believe; I better understand the nature of the artifacts we discovered. If I am not mistaken, they were once used to merge with sacred animals during pagan religious rituals. We should switch back to our normal bodies within a day, at most.”
“So what are we supposed to do until then?” Sam asked, not wanting to contemplate what might happen if the angel was wrong.
“D and D?” Charlie’s face lit up as the suggestion.
“I think that game caused enough trouble for one day.” Dean said, but then at Charlie and Cas’s crestfallen faces he added, “Yeah okay. But no more ancient whatever. Just normal mundane gameplay.”
Since Sam didn’t have anything better to do while he waited to switch back he too acquiesced to the plan.
Dean looked to Sam, his face serious as if something important had just occurred to him. “But Sam…right now you’re a girl and if you switch back…how are we even going to tell?”
He gave Dean his best bitchface, but honestly, it was strangely reassuring that Dean was still…Dean, even if he didn’t look it. One thing was certain, he would always know his brother…even when he was someone else.