SPN: The Brothers Grimm
Title:The Brothers Grimm
Beta: skylar_matthews
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Brothers Grimm verse, Fusion, adventure, horror
Pairings: Dean/Cas, mentions of Dean/Cassie, suggested Dean/Lisa
Spoilers: Some for The Brothers Grimm
Warnings: some sexual situations, violence, abuse of the French language, lots of UST
Word Count: 26 000 (in total)
Summary: Under the new French occupation, Dean and Sam Grimm have made a living conning people into believing that fairytales and monsters are real. But when they stumble upon the village of Marbaden, everything that they thought they knew gets turned upside down and instead of creating fairytales, they find themselves living in one.
A/N: Written as part of the dc-everafter Challenge. This is loosely based on the film The Brothers Grimm starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Some significant changes have been made compared to the film but there will still be plot spoilers for those who have yet to watch The Brothers Grimm.
Special thanks to my lovely beta reader, skylar_matthews, and to talli_approved for creating the challenge. This was an awesome excuse to fuse the SPN universe with one of my favorite films and I had a great time writing this! Lastly, I want to thank h4ppy-fun-b4ll for creating beautiful artwork to accompany my fic. It was fun working with you, darling! <3
Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Epilogue | Art Masterpost
Once upon a time, in French-occupied Germany…
“Now would be a good time, Sam!”
The possessed man flicked his hand, causing Dean to fly backwards over the short stack of hay and crash to the floor. Dean cried out in pain and began scrambling around for his pistol filled with salt rounds. As he crawled across the floor, his shiny, iron-plated metal clinked noisily but could barely be heard over the sound of the barn doors clattering open and closed.
“I still can’t get a clear-” With another flick of the demon’s wrist, Sam’s pistol went flying out of his hands. “-shot.”
The demon cackled, tightening its fist. Sam immediately fell to his knees, grasping at his neck as if trying to remove invisible hands from around his throat. “The infamous Grimm brothers…Sam and Dean…'m disappointed in you boys. Was expecting more of a fight!”
Sam choked and sputtered, face going red.
“Sammy!”
Shaking arms lifted Dean to his feet. Dean looked into the terrified eyes of the old farmer who owned the barn, dirt smudged across his face and lips quivering. “W-w-what d-d-do w-we d-d-do n-n-now?!”
“Get back behind those barrels!” Dean shouted, pointing to where the farmer had been hiding earlier. “Things are about to get ugly!”
Any bravado that the farmer had mustered up to assist Dean quickly disappeared and he leapt behind the barrels again, crying out a prayer, “O’ m-m-mother Mary w-w-who art in H-heaven-”
“You’re mine now!” the demon shouted, taking a few steps towards Sam, lips twisting into a crooked smirk.
Suddenly, the demon paused, eyes widening. His hand dropped to his side and like the invisible hands had been removed, Sam began gasping in breaths of air. The demon kicked at the hay covering the floor, exposing red painted lines. “No!”
“That would be a devil’s trap, you dick!” Dean said, grinning. “Now, Sam!”
“Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino qui fertis…”
The demon grasped at its neck, black smoke billowing all around it. The doors started clattering more noisily and from behind the barrels, the farmer began praying louder.
All the while, Sam continued the incantation: “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas…”
The possessed man had now fallen to his knees, surrounded by the black smoke. Dean joined in with Sam, their voices echoing off the walls of the barn as they finished the incantation.
“…Benedictus Deus. Gloria Patri!”
The man screamed and one of the barn windows shattered. But after a few moments, the doors stopped clattering and a sudden peace seemed to befall the room. As the smoke cleared, the farmer shakily peered over the barrels, glancing curiously at the body now sprawled on the floor.
“I-i-is h-h-he…?”
Dean approached slowly, crouching down to tap the man’s shoulder. The man gasped loudly, startling Dean, who then fell backwards.
“Jesus!” Dean cried out, in surprise.
“Erik!”
The farmer rushed over, helping the man to his feet. Erik stumbled, weakly relying on the farmer for support. Sam was immediately at the man’s other side, towering well above both of them.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Sweat dribbled down Erik’s face but he slowly nodded, lips trembling. “I-I’m…I-I-I think I-I’ll b-be o-okay.”
Relief washed over the farmer’s face. “I-I’m sorry, Erik. I-If I had b-been a better friend, maybe…”
“I-It’s okay, Pete. I-I’m fine now.”
The farmer clapped his friend on the back, smiling. But the moment was soon interrupted by Dean, who coughed uncomfortably behind the farmer. “So, uh, Mr. Schmidt, about our payment…”
“Right, right! How silly of me,” the farmer laughed, wiping at his eyes. Dean laughed too, ignoring the bitch face Sam was shooting at him. “It’s all here; 20 thalers, as promised.”
The farmer handed the old, worn leather pouch to Dean, Dean grinning as he felt the heavy jingle of coins in his hands. “Thank you, thank you for what you did for us! I will tell everyone, everyone I know, about the Brothers Grimm! Thank you, thank you!”
The farmer hugged Sam tightly, who made a shocked gasp and patted weakly at the old man’s back. But as the old man went to hug Dean, Dean quickly stepped back and held his free hand up. “Whoa there, padre. Not really big on the hugging thing.”
Instead, Dean held out his hand and allowed the farmer to shake it. “Thank you, thank you! Erik, you must be tired. Let’s get you back to the village!”
Erik nodded. But as the farmer rambled on about how the villagers would be happy to see him again, Erik and Dean exchanged a knowing look. With the farmer’s back turned to them, Dean leaned in towards Erik, dropping 10% of their earnings into the man’s coat pocket.
“For your services,” he whispered, “but next time, try to sound just a bit more ominous.”
Erik gave Dean a dirty look and was about to shoot something back when the farmer turned back around. Both Dean and Erik grinned innocently.
“Let’s celebrate Erik’s return at the pub! First round’s on me,” the farmer offered.
“You two go on ahead. Sam and I, we uh, we’ll clean up here,” Dean replied.
Both Sam and Dean forced smiles until the farmer and Erik had left the barn. After waiting a good minute or two, Dean shouted, “you guys can come out now.”
“What the hell was that all about, Dean?!” Sam demanded. He had the same, usual guilty expression on his face and Dean looked away to wave over their two companions.
“He knew the price when he signed up for our help, Sammy,” Dean argued, walking away from Sam. “The Grimm brothers don’t come free, ya know.”
“Dean!”
Dean ignored him and clapped their first companion, Ed Zeddmore, on the back. “Hey, Eddie! Great job with the doors there!”
Ed pulled at the ropes he was holding, causing the barn doors to open and close loudly. He untied the large knot and tugged at the rope again, feeding it through the metal ring attached to the ceiling and undoing their earlier handiwork. “Course we did great, slick. Only the best for the Douche brothers!”
Dean’s lips twitched but he continued to force his smile, already dreading the direction of this conversation. “Whoa, what’s with the attitude? I did my part, you did yours. We got paid. All’s good in the world of demon possessions and monster hunting.”
“What he means,” Harry Sprangler said icily, picking up their homemade flares surrounding the devil’s trap, “is we want an increase in the share! Ten percent’s not cutting it.”
“Guys, guys,” Dean started, throwing an arm casually over Ed’s shoulder. Inwardly, he cringed. “We’ve been through this: Sammy and I, we got expenses. We have to recruit some locals, buy the equipment, make the occasional bribe here and there to the authorities…if we start giving you guys more, we’d have nothing left for us.”
“Nothing left for prostitutes, champagne, and a comfy suite at the inn?” Harry responded, glaring at Dean.
Dean put his hands up defensively. “Guy’s gotta sleep sometime. And the wenches…well, that’s just an added perk.”
“You wanna know where I slept last night?” Harry demanded, tossing down flares noisily into a travelling bag they had hidden at the corner of the barn. “In a ditch. With Ed. Because the money WE make doesn’t get us a bed every night! It was so cold that Ed and I had to-”
“Whoa, ex-nay on the etails-day!” Ed said.
Dean had to resist rolling his eyes. “Look, I get it: you guys don’t have it easy. But we don’t either so take what you’re damn well given cuz-”
“Dean, give them twenty percent each,” Sam interrupted.
“What? No way, Sam! We worked hard for this!”
“And so did they,” Sam argued, picking up one of their bags and tossing it over his shoulders. His pissed off expression was the only warning Dean had of the explosion threatening to burst yet, somehow, Sam kept his voice calm and in control as he continued, “it’s only fair.”
Dean wanted to argue the point but the truth was, he was tired: it had taken them all day to set this up, not to mention a good day or two to bribe the local drunk into participating in this farce. All he wanted to do now was have a drink and crawl into bed.
“Here,” he said, irritably, shoving the earnings into Harry and Ed’s eager hands. “But only this one time. You better get your asses to Hamburg in the next few days. It’s the next stop on our list.”
Once everything was packed up and the group headed back to the village, Harry and Ed eager to spend their earnings on liquor at the pub while Sam and Dean tethered their horses, an uncomfortable silence fell between the two brothers. As Dean gave a reassuring pat to his black stallion, Impala, he could feel Sam’s eyes on the back of his head and the tension between them was becoming increasingly unbearable by the second.
“What, Sam?” Dean demanded, turning to glare at his brother.
Ruby, Sam’s auburn colored horse, snorted indignantly at Dean.
“I want out, Dean,” Sam said.
“No.”
Dean made to leave, indicating that he felt this conversation was over but Sam reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Don’t walk away from me, Dean. You do this every time!”
“That’s because you say the same shit every single time, Sam.” Dean roughly shoved Sam’s hand off of him. “I’m not quitting. And we both know if I don’t quit, you won’t quit. So as far as I can tell, there’s nothing else to say.”
“We can’t spend the rest of our lives conning people into thinking demons are possessing the locals, witches are killing their crops, and ghosts are haunting their houses!” Sam argued.
“And what would you have us do Sam, huh? Find some honest work? Not sure if it’s escaped your over-sized head but everywhere you look, there’s the French. We’re their bitches now and there’s no work left for any honest locals looking to make a bit of cash.”
“I can’t do this anymore, Dean. It’s not-it’s not right, and you know it!”
“So what, you’re gonna ditch me like you ditched dad a few years back?” Dean accused.
But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Dean instantly regretted them. From the low lighting of the lanterns, Dean could see guilt flash across Sam’s face. When Sam had taken what little money he had and ran off to Marburg for an education, their father had slipped farther into depression and eventually drank himself to death. By the time Dean had found Sam, it had been too late. To this day, Sam still blames himself for what happened to their father.
“…I’m going to head up to bed,” Sam said, quietly.
“Sam, wait!” Dean called out. But Sam just kept on going. “I’m sorry!”
That night, Sam slept in their room alone while Dean drank himself nearly blind and fucked a whore in the pub’s storage closet. In other words, it was another typical night for the Grimm brothers.
Chapter 1
Beta: skylar_matthews
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Brothers Grimm verse, Fusion, adventure, horror
Pairings: Dean/Cas, mentions of Dean/Cassie, suggested Dean/Lisa
Spoilers: Some for The Brothers Grimm
Warnings: some sexual situations, violence, abuse of the French language, lots of UST
Word Count: 26 000 (in total)
Summary: Under the new French occupation, Dean and Sam Grimm have made a living conning people into believing that fairytales and monsters are real. But when they stumble upon the village of Marbaden, everything that they thought they knew gets turned upside down and instead of creating fairytales, they find themselves living in one.
A/N: Written as part of the dc-everafter Challenge. This is loosely based on the film The Brothers Grimm starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Some significant changes have been made compared to the film but there will still be plot spoilers for those who have yet to watch The Brothers Grimm.
Special thanks to my lovely beta reader, skylar_matthews, and to talli_approved for creating the challenge. This was an awesome excuse to fuse the SPN universe with one of my favorite films and I had a great time writing this! Lastly, I want to thank h4ppy-fun-b4ll for creating beautiful artwork to accompany my fic. It was fun working with you, darling! <3
Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Epilogue | Art Masterpost
Once upon a time, in French-occupied Germany…
“Now would be a good time, Sam!”
The possessed man flicked his hand, causing Dean to fly backwards over the short stack of hay and crash to the floor. Dean cried out in pain and began scrambling around for his pistol filled with salt rounds. As he crawled across the floor, his shiny, iron-plated metal clinked noisily but could barely be heard over the sound of the barn doors clattering open and closed.
“I still can’t get a clear-” With another flick of the demon’s wrist, Sam’s pistol went flying out of his hands. “-shot.”
The demon cackled, tightening its fist. Sam immediately fell to his knees, grasping at his neck as if trying to remove invisible hands from around his throat. “The infamous Grimm brothers…Sam and Dean…'m disappointed in you boys. Was expecting more of a fight!”
Sam choked and sputtered, face going red.
“Sammy!”
Shaking arms lifted Dean to his feet. Dean looked into the terrified eyes of the old farmer who owned the barn, dirt smudged across his face and lips quivering. “W-w-what d-d-do w-we d-d-do n-n-now?!”
“Get back behind those barrels!” Dean shouted, pointing to where the farmer had been hiding earlier. “Things are about to get ugly!”
Any bravado that the farmer had mustered up to assist Dean quickly disappeared and he leapt behind the barrels again, crying out a prayer, “O’ m-m-mother Mary w-w-who art in H-heaven-”
“You’re mine now!” the demon shouted, taking a few steps towards Sam, lips twisting into a crooked smirk.
Suddenly, the demon paused, eyes widening. His hand dropped to his side and like the invisible hands had been removed, Sam began gasping in breaths of air. The demon kicked at the hay covering the floor, exposing red painted lines. “No!”
“That would be a devil’s trap, you dick!” Dean said, grinning. “Now, Sam!”
“Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino qui fertis…”
The demon grasped at its neck, black smoke billowing all around it. The doors started clattering more noisily and from behind the barrels, the farmer began praying louder.
All the while, Sam continued the incantation: “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas…”
The possessed man had now fallen to his knees, surrounded by the black smoke. Dean joined in with Sam, their voices echoing off the walls of the barn as they finished the incantation.
“…Benedictus Deus. Gloria Patri!”
The man screamed and one of the barn windows shattered. But after a few moments, the doors stopped clattering and a sudden peace seemed to befall the room. As the smoke cleared, the farmer shakily peered over the barrels, glancing curiously at the body now sprawled on the floor.
“I-i-is h-h-he…?”
Dean approached slowly, crouching down to tap the man’s shoulder. The man gasped loudly, startling Dean, who then fell backwards.
“Jesus!” Dean cried out, in surprise.
“Erik!”
The farmer rushed over, helping the man to his feet. Erik stumbled, weakly relying on the farmer for support. Sam was immediately at the man’s other side, towering well above both of them.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Sweat dribbled down Erik’s face but he slowly nodded, lips trembling. “I-I’m…I-I-I think I-I’ll b-be o-okay.”
Relief washed over the farmer’s face. “I-I’m sorry, Erik. I-If I had b-been a better friend, maybe…”
“I-It’s okay, Pete. I-I’m fine now.”
The farmer clapped his friend on the back, smiling. But the moment was soon interrupted by Dean, who coughed uncomfortably behind the farmer. “So, uh, Mr. Schmidt, about our payment…”
“Right, right! How silly of me,” the farmer laughed, wiping at his eyes. Dean laughed too, ignoring the bitch face Sam was shooting at him. “It’s all here; 20 thalers, as promised.”
The farmer handed the old, worn leather pouch to Dean, Dean grinning as he felt the heavy jingle of coins in his hands. “Thank you, thank you for what you did for us! I will tell everyone, everyone I know, about the Brothers Grimm! Thank you, thank you!”
The farmer hugged Sam tightly, who made a shocked gasp and patted weakly at the old man’s back. But as the old man went to hug Dean, Dean quickly stepped back and held his free hand up. “Whoa there, padre. Not really big on the hugging thing.”
Instead, Dean held out his hand and allowed the farmer to shake it. “Thank you, thank you! Erik, you must be tired. Let’s get you back to the village!”
Erik nodded. But as the farmer rambled on about how the villagers would be happy to see him again, Erik and Dean exchanged a knowing look. With the farmer’s back turned to them, Dean leaned in towards Erik, dropping 10% of their earnings into the man’s coat pocket.
“For your services,” he whispered, “but next time, try to sound just a bit more ominous.”
Erik gave Dean a dirty look and was about to shoot something back when the farmer turned back around. Both Dean and Erik grinned innocently.
“Let’s celebrate Erik’s return at the pub! First round’s on me,” the farmer offered.
“You two go on ahead. Sam and I, we uh, we’ll clean up here,” Dean replied.
Both Sam and Dean forced smiles until the farmer and Erik had left the barn. After waiting a good minute or two, Dean shouted, “you guys can come out now.”
“What the hell was that all about, Dean?!” Sam demanded. He had the same, usual guilty expression on his face and Dean looked away to wave over their two companions.
“He knew the price when he signed up for our help, Sammy,” Dean argued, walking away from Sam. “The Grimm brothers don’t come free, ya know.”
“Dean!”
Dean ignored him and clapped their first companion, Ed Zeddmore, on the back. “Hey, Eddie! Great job with the doors there!”
Ed pulled at the ropes he was holding, causing the barn doors to open and close loudly. He untied the large knot and tugged at the rope again, feeding it through the metal ring attached to the ceiling and undoing their earlier handiwork. “Course we did great, slick. Only the best for the Douche brothers!”
Dean’s lips twitched but he continued to force his smile, already dreading the direction of this conversation. “Whoa, what’s with the attitude? I did my part, you did yours. We got paid. All’s good in the world of demon possessions and monster hunting.”
“What he means,” Harry Sprangler said icily, picking up their homemade flares surrounding the devil’s trap, “is we want an increase in the share! Ten percent’s not cutting it.”
“Guys, guys,” Dean started, throwing an arm casually over Ed’s shoulder. Inwardly, he cringed. “We’ve been through this: Sammy and I, we got expenses. We have to recruit some locals, buy the equipment, make the occasional bribe here and there to the authorities…if we start giving you guys more, we’d have nothing left for us.”
“Nothing left for prostitutes, champagne, and a comfy suite at the inn?” Harry responded, glaring at Dean.
Dean put his hands up defensively. “Guy’s gotta sleep sometime. And the wenches…well, that’s just an added perk.”
“You wanna know where I slept last night?” Harry demanded, tossing down flares noisily into a travelling bag they had hidden at the corner of the barn. “In a ditch. With Ed. Because the money WE make doesn’t get us a bed every night! It was so cold that Ed and I had to-”
“Whoa, ex-nay on the etails-day!” Ed said.
Dean had to resist rolling his eyes. “Look, I get it: you guys don’t have it easy. But we don’t either so take what you’re damn well given cuz-”
“Dean, give them twenty percent each,” Sam interrupted.
“What? No way, Sam! We worked hard for this!”
“And so did they,” Sam argued, picking up one of their bags and tossing it over his shoulders. His pissed off expression was the only warning Dean had of the explosion threatening to burst yet, somehow, Sam kept his voice calm and in control as he continued, “it’s only fair.”
Dean wanted to argue the point but the truth was, he was tired: it had taken them all day to set this up, not to mention a good day or two to bribe the local drunk into participating in this farce. All he wanted to do now was have a drink and crawl into bed.
“Here,” he said, irritably, shoving the earnings into Harry and Ed’s eager hands. “But only this one time. You better get your asses to Hamburg in the next few days. It’s the next stop on our list.”
Once everything was packed up and the group headed back to the village, Harry and Ed eager to spend their earnings on liquor at the pub while Sam and Dean tethered their horses, an uncomfortable silence fell between the two brothers. As Dean gave a reassuring pat to his black stallion, Impala, he could feel Sam’s eyes on the back of his head and the tension between them was becoming increasingly unbearable by the second.
“What, Sam?” Dean demanded, turning to glare at his brother.
Ruby, Sam’s auburn colored horse, snorted indignantly at Dean.
“I want out, Dean,” Sam said.
“No.”
Dean made to leave, indicating that he felt this conversation was over but Sam reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Don’t walk away from me, Dean. You do this every time!”
“That’s because you say the same shit every single time, Sam.” Dean roughly shoved Sam’s hand off of him. “I’m not quitting. And we both know if I don’t quit, you won’t quit. So as far as I can tell, there’s nothing else to say.”
“We can’t spend the rest of our lives conning people into thinking demons are possessing the locals, witches are killing their crops, and ghosts are haunting their houses!” Sam argued.
“And what would you have us do Sam, huh? Find some honest work? Not sure if it’s escaped your over-sized head but everywhere you look, there’s the French. We’re their bitches now and there’s no work left for any honest locals looking to make a bit of cash.”
“I can’t do this anymore, Dean. It’s not-it’s not right, and you know it!”
“So what, you’re gonna ditch me like you ditched dad a few years back?” Dean accused.
But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Dean instantly regretted them. From the low lighting of the lanterns, Dean could see guilt flash across Sam’s face. When Sam had taken what little money he had and ran off to Marburg for an education, their father had slipped farther into depression and eventually drank himself to death. By the time Dean had found Sam, it had been too late. To this day, Sam still blames himself for what happened to their father.
“…I’m going to head up to bed,” Sam said, quietly.
“Sam, wait!” Dean called out. But Sam just kept on going. “I’m sorry!”
That night, Sam slept in their room alone while Dean drank himself nearly blind and fucked a whore in the pub’s storage closet. In other words, it was another typical night for the Grimm brothers.
Chapter 1