Chapter Text
You walked through your front door utterly exhausted. It had been a long day at the law firm and you were feeling it. You placed your keys in the bowl next to the door and walked to the living room. You had just put your purse on the couch when you heard a dull thump. It had sounded like it came from down the hallway. You dismissed it quickly as one of the neighbors.
You heard the noise again as you finished taking your shoes off. You tilted your head towards the back of the apartment.“Tad?” you called out as you rose from the couch. “Are you home? I finished earlier than expected. The deposition had to be rescheduled.” You heard another thump as you walked down the hallway to the bedroom.
“Oh, please, tell me he’s not trying to put up those shelves,” you muttered to the ceiling. Tad was a smart, capable and handsome man. Almost everything you could ask for in a boyfriend. However, he was not handy, despite his claims to the contrary.
You opened the bedroom door and froze. You closed your eyes and counted to ten. You really hoped that you were imaging things. Some sort of stress induced hallucination. You weren’t that lucky. There in front of you was your boyfriend of two years in the bed you shared with someone that wasn’t you. Neither of the occupants had even noticed your presence.
Your shock from the discovery lasted about fifteen seconds. Then the anger kicked in and fired up your temper. Seeing red, you reached down and snatched some of the discarded clothing off the floor. You threw it at the offenders as you started yelling. “You douchebag!,” you shouted while you continued to pick up clothes and throw them at the object of your ire. You were so upset that your brain brought up your high school German for some reason. “Du bist eine Jauchegrube und ich verschwende meine Zeit mit dir. Arschloch. Du bist unglaublich. Bastard. ”
“Y/N!” Tad exclaimed as he disengaged from his “bed buddy” and scrambled off the bed. He put a sheet around his waist as he approached you. “Honey? You know I don’t understand when you yell in German.” He put his hands on your forearms in effort to cease the flying clothing and foreign insults. He tilted his head and smiled a little at you. “What are you doing home so early?”
You recognized this trick. He was trying to distract you and later turn this around so you would be the one to blame. It wasn’t going to work this time. You narrowed your eyes at him, daring him to continue. Tad, being his usual oblivious self, missed the unspoken threat. “Why don’t we go into the living room and talk this out?”
Your mouth opened and closed several times. Your brain couldn’t comprehend Tad’s suggestion. Movement out of the corner of your eye made you look around Tad and see the face of his mistress. Your temper ratcheted up even higher. You shook Tad’s hands off and pointed at the blonde who was scrambling to put her clothes back on, “Claire, Tad? Really?!?”
Tad chuckled, “y/n. It just happened-” You took a big step back and raised a finger cutting him off. You looked from Tad to Claire. Shaking your head, you exited the room and made for the living room.
You snatched your shoes and bag from the living room as you raced for the door. You resolved that you would put the shoes on in the elevator. The desire to leave the vicinity of this waking nightmare was too strong. Tad shuffled behind you the entire time in attempt to get to you engage with him. You wrenched the door open and grabbed your keys. You glanced back at Tad who was sputtering and trying to placate you. The fact that he was only wrapped in a sheet did nothing to improve your mood. Feeling very unladylike at that moment, you flipped him off and slammed the door in his face.
You walked as fast as you could to the elevators and pressed the down button. Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long. The doors opened to the lobby as you finished fastening the last ankle strap on your heels. You straightened and walked out of the building.
It didn’t occur to you until you had walked two blocks away that you were walking without a destination. You needed to retreat to a comfort zone. A place that you felt safe but would be a Tad-free zone. That meant only one place, your parents’ house. Your dad was not a fan of Tad and didn’t hold back his opinion about it either. Lucky for you, your parents were out of town visiting your sister. The house would be empty and you wouldn’t have to answer any questions yet. You were already going in the right direction and it wouldn’t take you long to get there.
You awoke and stretched confused for a moment at your surroundings. Then you remembered that you were in your old room. You smiled until you remembered why you were there. Blowing out a long sigh, you reached for your phone. It had been on silent since you had been at work the previous day. You didn’t receive the notifications for the five missed calls and twenty text messages. All were from Tad. You shook your head and decided to ignore them for now. You were not in the mood to hear his excuses or rationale for his dalliance.
Your first phone call was to your best friend, Lori. She chewed you out for not calling her last night after you gave her a quick rundown of what happened. She eventually forgave you and also called Tad a few choice names. You promised that you would get together for lunch later that day and hung up.
Your next call was to your boss. You had been working for Sam Winchester for a little over a year as a paralegal. He was a fantastic boss as well as a dynamite lawyer. He was a child advocacy lawyer and a damn good one. You were proud of the work that Sam did and that you helped him to do that work.
You bit your thumbnail as you waited for someone to answer the office line. Three rings and the receptionist, Sophie, answered, “Good morning. Winchester Law, How may I help you today?”
You smiled at her cheerful tone, “Morning, Sophie. It’s me.” you replied eyeing the clock in the kitchen. “Is Sam in yet?”
“Y/N! I wondered where you were this morning, girlie. You know Sam is already here. First one in, last one out.” Sophie supplied then lowered her voice. “In my opinion, the man needs to get himself a nice woman.”
You closed your eyes and shook your head. Sophie went off about Sam’s lack of a love life at least once a week. Sam was deeply committed to his job. You cut her off before she could get going, “Sophie, you’re right but I need to speak with Sam. Would you patch me through, please?”
“Oh, my goodness, sure thing. Just a sec. Talk you to later.” She said cheerfully before she transferred the call.
It only rang once before Sam picked up, “Samuel Winchester.”
“Good morning, Sam. It’s y/n.” you informed him. You could papers shuffling in the background.
“Y/N? Why are you calling me? You can walk into my office, you know,” he chuckled. “Do you by any chance know where the evaluation for Jamie Davenport is hiding? I would have sworn I laid it on my desk but…”
You laughed at Sam’s one track mind. “The evaluation was sent back since the paperwork wasn’t filled out completely. I had the deposition rescheduled. It should be on the calendar,” you heard Sam grunt and the clacking of keys.
“I’ll be damned,” he muttered. He cleared his throat, “Thanks, y/n. I’m sorry that I didn’t see it.”
“It’s okay,” you chuckled. “We have a lot of cases going on right now.” You paused and took a deep breath. “Sam, I don’t want to put you in an awkward position, but I need to take a couple of personal days.”
“Of course, you hardly ever call out. It should not be a problem.” Sam answered immediately. “Did you catch that bug that’s been going around?”
“No, let’s just say I caught Tad in a very compromising position last night. I need some time to process and take care of some things.”
Sam let a low whistle, “Wow, yeah, definitely. You do what you need to do. You had better let me know if you need anything. I mean it, y/n, anything.”
“Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate it. Could you not mention this to Sophie yet, please? She’ll go into matchmaker mode and I am soooooo not ready to handle that.”
“I don’t know…..it would be nice to have her matchmaking pointed at someone else for once.” he laughed. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”
“Thank, Sam. I really, really appreciate this. I’ll talk to you soon,” you said as you hung up. You needed to psych yourself up for the next phone call. Breakfast will help you do that. Or delay making the call. Either reason worked for you right now.
You had made oatmeal and taken a shower before you finally made the call. You paced around the dining room table as you dialed your father. “Good morning, sweetpea.” your father answered.
“Morning, Pops. You sound happy this morning.” You laughed.
“I am happy, sweetpea. Don’t tell your mother but I needed this time off,” he joked.
“You mean don’t tell mom that she was right. Again.” you teased.
“Yes, that.” he laughed.”So, what prompts a morning phone call from you? We usually don’t hear from until evening hours at least. There’s not an emergency, is there?” A worried tone creeped into his voice.
“No, no, Pops,” you reassured. “No emergency. More like a state of the union update.”
“Well, color me intrigued.” he inquired. You didn’t answer right away. “Sweetpea, what’s wrong? You said it wasn’t an emergency but you’re starting to worry me.”
You took a deep breath. “Sorry, Pops. I’m kinda wanted to let you know that, well, I’m crashing in my old room for the moment. I hope that’s okay.”
“You know that you are welcome to your room at anytime. It’s your room. Always will be,” he answered. You smiled even though he couldn’t see you. “But can I ask why?”
You let out a long exhale and disclosed the purpose of your call, “To make a long and somewhat embarrassing story short, I broke up with Tad last night.”
“Did you now?” he asked. You could hear the tinge of giddiness in his voice. You had known that he would enjoy hearing that bit of news. He didn’t disappoint.
“Pops, come on.“ you exhaled. “Do you have to sound so happy about it?”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he apologized. “But you know I was never a fan of his. I don’t believe he is good enough for you.” You had yet to bring home someone that your dad had felt was worthy of you. He had been the most vocal about Tad though.
“Pops.” you begged.
“Don’t ‘Pops’ me. It’s true,” he chided. “Maybe one of these days you’ll listen to the old man.”
With a sudden urgent need to end this conversation, you did just that. “I love you, but I do need to go. I’ve got some loose ends to tie up today.” You blew a kiss through the phone and hung up. Placing the phone on the counter, you let your head hang. You figured you had about thirty seconds so you moved to sit down at the table.
“Five….four….three….two….one.” Your phone rang just as you were expecting and you answered “Hey, Mom.”
You walked up to the cafe and scanned the patrons. It was a nice place that you both frequented. It saw a moderate amount of foot traffic and stayed busy. You had never had a problem getting a table though. Lori spotted you before you saw her. She raised her arm and shouted, “Y/N! Over here.” You weaved your way through the occupied tables. Arriving at Lori’s side, you placed your bag in an empty chair. Lori stood and gave you a hug. She looked you over, “You don’t seem as broken up as I would have expected.”
“I don’t feel broken up honestly.” you confided sitting down. Lori raised her eyebrows at your confession. “Seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I’m upset, a little bummed. I was sure as hell angry last night.” You leaned forward and whispered, “I haven’t cried though. How weird is that?”
Lori looked at you in confusion, “What you do mean you haven’t cried? I assumed that’s why you didn’t call me last night. You couldn’t talk to me because you were sobbing so hard.” She pointed her finger at you, “which is not an excuse by the way.”
You held up your hands in surrender, “I know and again I’m sorry about that. I just wanted to the day to be over.” You took a sip of water. “I haven’t shed a single tear. At all. I don’t understand. I should be wailing, right? Eating bon bons and positively weeping while watching every sappy romance movie on Netflix. I haven’t done any of that and I don’t want to.”
Lori looked up from the menu and smiled, “Ding dong, the dick is dead.”
“Lori!” you exclaimed shocked at her bluntness. You looked around to see if you had attracted any attention from any of the other diners. Luckily, you had not.
She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. “I told you how I felt about him when you first started dating each other. And again when you moved in with him.” She raised her glass, “So again, ding dong, the dick is dead.” She looked at you expectantly.
You looked up at her glass and back at her face. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. You broke into a smile and put your glass in the air as well. “Ding Dong.” You both giggled as the waiter approached to take your order.
Sam Winchester was having lunch with his brother, Dean. They tried to get together for a meal once a week. It didn’t always work out between Sam’s caseload and Dean’s shifts at the firehouse. Today was one of those days when their schedules lined up. Dean had insisted that they meet up today citing that Sam needed to come up for air and food. He had even threatened to call their mother if Sam didn’t show up.
Tad barreled into the restaurant as their waiter was placing their plates on the table. Tad was looking around wildly until he spotted Sam. Sam didn’t notice his presence though until Tad sat himself down at the table. “Dude, can we help you?” Dean said around a bite of his cheeseburger.
Tad dismissed Dean with a glance and a wave of his hand. He turned his full attention to the Winchester next to him. “Sam, have you heard from y/n? I’m worried about her.” he implored.
Sam sat back in his chair and wiped his mouth. He was not pleased and it showed on his face. He shot a look at Dean before he addressed the interloper. “I have been in contact with her today.”
Tad relaxed against the chairback. “Oh, thank God. Where is she? I need to talk to her. She wasn’t at the office when I stopped by. Your receptionist would only tell that she was going to be out of the office for a couple of days..”
Dean shook his head at Tad’s behavior but continued to eat his meal. His interest piqued when he noticed Sam was clenching his jaw. He had an inkling that he was going to see Sam tell the idiot across the table off.
“Tad, listen to me carefully. I am NOT going to tell you where she is staying.” Sam put his napkin down on the table and turned to face Tad, “She is more than an employee. I count her as a friend. There’s no way that I’m going to betray her trust for anyone, especially you. Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to have lunch with my brother.” He put the napkin back in his lap and resumed eating his Tabbouleh salad.
Tad began to protest and insist that you had been mistaken with what you had seen. Sam was ignoring him, yet Dean was losing his patience with the blabbering man. Dean could see Sam was getting fed up as well since he was currently stabbing his salad vigorously. That clinched it for Dean. “Look….man. I don’t know your name.” Dean began.
“Tad.” Tad interjected with a touch of indignation in his voice.
“I don’t care.” Dean snapped at the clueless idiot. “You said your piece. Sam said his piece. He’s obviously not going to tell you squat. Go home, lick your wounds or whatever and move on.” he concluded. Dean popped a fry in his mouth and stared at Tad.
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Tad scurried away from the table at that moment and practically ran to the door. Sam and Dean watched make his way out. After Tad had exited, Dean turned to his brother, “What is that douche’s problem?” He popped another fry in his mouth.
Sam sighed and shook his head, “Have you ever met my paralegal?”
Dean shook his head. “No. I believe that you told me that she was taken and if I ever so much as flirted with her that you would rat me out to Mom,” Dean elaborated. “Susie Evers sneaking out of my window about twice a week while we were dating in high school ring a bell?”
Sam chuckled, “Yeah, I did do that, didn’t I?” He resumed trying to finish his lunch before he had to go back to the office.
Dean’s head suddenly picked up. “Wait a minute.” He pointed at the door with a french fry. “Was that her boyfriend?”
Sam pursed his lips and nodded his head. “Now her ex-boyfriend from what I gathered of my conversation with her this morning. Never did like the guy. Something always seemed off about him.”
Dean waggled his eyebrows at Sam, “So you’re saying she’s single again?”
“No, Dean, just no.” Sam insisted. “She is my friend and it only happened yesterday. She is still off limits to Dean Winchester.” Sam held Dean’s gaze to make sure he understood that he was indeed serious about it.
Dean threw a wadded up napkin across the table, “Dude, relax. I’m kidding. I do have some class.”
Sam eyed his brother and tossed the napkin back. “I mean it, Dean.”
“I heard you, man. Geez, lighten up.” Dean signaled to the waiter. “Now, time for some pie.” he said as he smiled and rubbed his hands together. He ordered a large piece of their caramel apple pie which was his favorite here.
Sam laughed at his brother’s order. “If you didn’t have to be so physically active at the firehouse, you would be the size of a house.”
Dean threw a bitch face, “I’ll have you know that I have earned this pie. We’ve had at least four calls every day this week.”
“Wow, that’s really busy,” Sam said with eyebrows raised. He paused while the waiter put Dean’s dessert on the table. Dean snatched the plate towards himself. He put a large forkful in his mouth and moaned. Sam shook his head at his brother. “Why have you been getting so many calls?”
Dean shrugged as he put more pie in his mouth. “It’s mostly been car accidents, usual spring mayhem. The snow starting to melt and making the roads slick has been the biggest culprit. I’m really glad I’ve got the next couple of days off.” Sam nodded his head. “Hey, are you going to tell her what happened today?”
Sam looked at his older brother in confusion, “Tell who what?”
Dean motioned to the door with his fork, “Douchebag’s interrupting lunch looking for her.”
Sam looked at the door and back to his salad. “I suppose I will,” he spoke as he poked at his salad. “She deserves to know. I mean, he seemed a little..” he was struggling to find the appropriate word.
“Unhinged.” Dean supplied.
“Yeah.” Sam agreed. “I haven’t had a lot of contact with him before. This, however, I definitely think she needs to know about.” Dean let him know that he agreed as he finished off the last of his pie.
That evening you collapsed on the couch utterly exhausted. Lori had made it her duty to keep you busy all afternoon after a long lunch. She had dragged you to the library for research books, the school to pick up her stepdaughter, Grace, and the grocery store. You helped Grace with her homework while Lori fixed dinner.
Dinner had been a wonderful affair as it always was with the Palarier family. You left shortly after the meal with a container of leftovers. Lori had insisted. She had also insisted that she and her husband, Jefferson, were going with you to pick up your stuff the next day. You said that you didn’t think Tad would try anything. She had pointed out that three adults could get it done faster than two. She had you there. You wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible so you agreed.
Your phone rang as you had started to drift off. Praying that it wasn’t Tad again for the umpteenth time, grabbed your purse off the floor. You scrambled to find the phone in your purse. You let loose a cry of victory as you pulled it free. You answered when you spotted Sam’s name on the screen without pause.
He was hesitant at first, but he finally told you what happened during his lunch. Suffice to say, you were shocked and apologized to Sam profusely. He reassured you that he wasn’t going to blame you for Tad’s actions. The both of you talked for a few minutes catching up a little more. The conversation ended with you begging Sam not to stay at the office too late as he usually did.
You called Lori first thing the next morning. Gathering your belongings had moved to the very top of your to-do list since your talk with Sam. You had spent too much of the previous night thinking about Tad and dissecting your relationship. You couldn’t figure out the big WHY. Lori had asked if knowing would change anything. You paused for a moment and realized it wouldn’t. You thanked her for the much needed moment of clarity and promised to meet her at the apartment within the hour.
After quickly changing into an old t-shirt and jeans, you hurried into a coffee shop to pick up bagels and coffees. You knew your helpers well enough to know that food was a good motivator, especially Jefferson. He still ate like he was in college despite that it had been over five years since he graduated. You were glad Lori had to worry about feeding him and not yourself.
You greeted the doorman as you walked into the building. Upon exiting the elevator on your floor, you caught sight of Lori and Jefferson. “Hey!” you called out laughing, “Stop trying to traumatize the children.”
Lori and Jefferson jumped apart. Lori glared at you while Jefferson laughed. She turned her glare in his direction. He responded by holding his hands up in surrender. You handed Lori the breakfast you had purchased so you could unlock the door. Jefferson placed his hand on your arm as you turned the knob. “He’s supposed to be gone, right?”, he asked with a touch of concern in his eyes.
“Yep, he has to work,” you assured him. Opening the door wide, you walked in the door and stopped yourself as you were putting your keys in the bowl. “Guess I won’t be doing that anymore, huh?”
Lori nudged your shoulder, “No, sweetie, you won’t. Come on. Jefferson’s already started eating the bagels.” The both of you turned around to look at him. He had half a bagel in his left hand and the right was digging around in the bag still in Lori’s hand.
“What?” he said around a mouthful of a bagel as he looked at you and his wife.
You shook your head and laughed, “Nothing, dude, nothing at all.” You moved to stand in the middle of the living room and looked around. You bit your lip while surveying various items.
You were trying to decide whether or not to clear the place out when Lori called out from the kitchen. “Hey, y/n, what is yours exactly?”
“Everything,” you replied clearly distracted.
The redhead walked in the room, “Everything? Really?” You turned to her and nodded your head. Her face lit up with mischief. “Are we cleaning him out?”
“As far as the kitchen goes, it’s true. All of it’s mine. Either I brought it in or bought it.” You shrugged your shoulders. “There’s not a whole lot that I want from the rest of the place except my clothes and toiletries.”
“You got it.” Lori smiled and skipped back to the kitchen. “Jefferson, you heard the woman! Pack it all!”
You heard them high five each other as he exclaimed, “Yes!”
“You guys are having more fun with this than I am.” you called out to them. Laughter erupted from the other room at your comment.
The three of you worked quickly. By the time you bagged up your things from the bedroom and bathroom, Jefferson was already taking boxes down to his truck.
Lori stood next to you in the elevator with the last of the boxes. “Are you sure you don’t want take anything else? Even just to give it to Goodwill? What about giving his clothes to homeless people?” She grabbed your arm laughing hysterically. You were looking at her like the loon that she was. “Think about it. He would lose his mind seeing his clothes on other people in the neighborhood!”
You couldn’t hold it in any longer and you burst out laughing. The mental image she had put in your head was just too much. You both were still laughing when the elevator doors opened again.
Jefferson had been waiting downstairs. He broke into a smile at the sight of you two joking with each other. It reminded him of the first time he had met Lori during one of her visits to you during college. He lost himself in the memories of the early days of their relationship. That’s what enabled Lori to sneak up on him and tickle his ribs. “Hey, hey, hey now.” he laughed as he captured her hands to stop her assault.
“Hey, do you guys wanna…” You turned to them after putting the last box in the back of the truck. You groaned when you saw that they were acting like teenagers in high school. Again. “Guys, come on. It’s the parking garage for crying out loud.”
“Sorry, y/n.” Jefferson mumbled as Lori put her head on his chest.
You rolled your eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Isn’t there an expiration date on the honeymoon phase?”
“God, I hope not!” Lori shot back as she squeezed her husband’s waist. “But I will TRY to restrain myself until we’re done.” Jefferson groaned at her. Lori smiled up at him to reassure him, “It’s only temporary.”
“Thank you.” you replied sarcastically. “Let’s go, please. I am so over this place.” They nodded their heads and you all headed for your parents’ house. Your parents had agreed to let you keep your stuff in the basement until you got a new place. Luckily, there wasn’t very many boxes to store. You sent the lovebirds home after lunch though. They were going to give you diabetes if you were exposed to them any longer today.
You made some phone calls to check in with your parents and Sam to see how working was going. That only took about 45 minutes total. You checked your messages afterwards. You were astounded to see a number of missed phone calls from Tad. You hesitated but gave into your curiosity and listened to one of five voicemails from yesterday.
You hit end and put the phone down on the kitchen table. You stared at it. During the entirety of your relationship, Tad had never been one to talk on the phone. Clearly breaking up with him cured that problem. The message that you had chosen was long and rambling. You didn’t know that he had it in him. The gist of the message was that he really, really wanted to talk to you. He didn’t say why though, not that you were concerned as to the reason. You didn’t see any good that would come from talking with him right now. Or ever.
You were overcome with the sudden need to get out of the house. Not in the mood to fight that urge, you grabbed your keys and phone. You walked down the steps to the sidewalk and looked left and right. You paused at the bottom of the steps not sure where you were headed. The perfect place suddenly popped in your head. You smiled to yourself and turned to your left.
Fifteen minutes later, you pulled open the door of the East Street Tavern and walked straight to the bar. You rapped your knuckles three times on the bar and yelled, “Oi!”
The man behind the bar looked up with eyebrows raised, “If that’s your way of asking for service, don’t expect it anytime soon.” He placed the towel on his shoulder and crossed his arms.
You crossed your arms as well, “Look, old man….” You didn’t notice that the other patrons in the bar had grown silent watching the exchange between yourself and the bartender.
The staring contest between the two of you lasted about two minutes before he cracked a smile. “You win this time,” he laughed. “Now get over here and give me a hug.” He motioned for you to come to the end of the bar.
The noise of the bar rose again now that the tension had been broken. You smiled and met him with open arms behind the bar. “Hey, Rufus.” He gave you a warm, solid hug. You pulled back and looked at him, “When did you get so old, old man?”
He gently pushed back and took a look at you, “When you weren’t looking obviously. That’s what you get for not coming by more often.”
“Touche.” You chuckled and held your hands up in surrender. You moved around the bar and took a seat on a nearby stool. “How about getting this girl something to drink, Rufus?”
“Only if you promise that you will keep your butt parked right there until we are caught up,” Rufus countered as he put a beer in front of you.
“You have yourself a deal.” you said as raised the cold bottle to your lips. You chatted with Rufus in between customers. You were on your second bottle when you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket. Pulling it from your pocket, you glanced at the caller ID. You rolled your eyes when you see saw Tad’s name. You put the phone down on the bar and finished the bottle. You signaled to Rufus for another before you even put the bottle back down. He put another bottle down in front and you thanked him. You picked it up and swallowed half of it before it came back down on the bar.
“Okay, pace yourself, Toto.” The deep male voice next to you chuckled.
You hadn’t been paying any attention to the people at the bar when you had sat down. You turned yourself to the left to chastise the nosey fucker with a retort ready on your tongue. However, when you met a pair of olive green eyes, you brain stalled. You were lost in seconds as if you suddenly under a spell. You took in the rest of his features and couldn’t say you were disappointed.
The owner of said eyes noticed your hesitation and slowly smiled. He folded his hands together and leaned his arms against the bar. He never took his eyes off you until a new bottle was placed on the bar next to you. This brought you back to the present. He looked up at Rufus, “That’s one on me.”
Rufus raised his eyebrows at you silently asking if you with okay with it. You nodded your consent. You took a small sip from the new bottle. “Thanks for this.”
“You’re welcome. I thought that help soften whatever blow you were about-” he was cut off by your phone going off again. He looked at it and then you. You were looking at the phone with a clear look of disdain on your face. “I’m going to take a wild stab here that you don’t want to talk to whomever that is calling you, “ he comments as he gestured to the ringing device laying on the bar.
You nodded in agreement and replied with a short, “Yup.” The phone stopped ringing. You held up a finger as an idea hit you. “I’ll bet you a beer that he leaves a long voicemail,” you wagered with the handsome man.
He let out a low whistle. “I don’t know, that’s pretty steep stakes there.” He drummed his fingers on the bar and openly looked you over. You sat up a little straighter and crossed your arms. He bobbed his head a couple of times, “You know what? You’re on. Name’s Dean by the way.”
He held out his hand to shake on it. “Nice to meet you, Dean. Y/F/N.” You gripped his hand in order to seal the bet. You noticed how solid his grip is, how rough his hands were but not overly so.. You began to shake your hand in his up and down as your phone went off again. You hung your head and mumbled, “You have got to be kidding me.” It had been less than a minute so that nixed the possibility of long voicemail.
Dean laughed, “I believe that is the fastest I have ever won a bet.” He was still holding your hand securely in his while he signaled to Rufus with his free hand, “Rufus! This round’s on Toto here.” You felt your cheeks grow warm and began to feel a little self-conscious.
You reluctantly withdrew your hand from his slowly. You immediately noticed the absence of warmth from his hand. You flexed your fingers slightly and smiled to yourself. You noticed that as long you were looking into his eyes everything else fell away. It had only been two days after breaking off a long term relationship. Your brain was telling you that this was dangerous and would probably result in heartache for you. Turning back to face the bar and avoiding Dean’s gaze simultaneously, you took a swig of your beer. “That’s the second time you called me that! Why?” you inquired still not looking at him.
Dean laughed again which pulled you from your thoughts. “You really can’t think of a single reason why, in my limited experience with you that I would call you Toto?” he questioned with a cocky grin on his face. The more you look at him, the more you noticed just how handsome he really was.
You shook yourself mentally. You chewed the inside of your lip while you thought about it. ‘Toto…Toto…Toto….’ Not a single thing came to mind. You shook your head as you looked back at him. “I’ve got nothing.”
“Y/N, you don’t have nothing. You have me.” a voice spoke from behind you. Your mouth opened slightly in shock.You thought that you would be safe here. Tad knew your father disliked him. So, why on earth would he come to the bar that your father frequented regularly? You turned around to ask him as much.
Dean looked around you and muttered, “Geez, not this douche.” You turned slightly to see him rolling his eyes. You shot a questioning look over your shoulder. He looked at you and mouthed ‘Later.’
You turned your attention back to Tad once again. You made sure to have a blank expression on your face. “Why are you here of all places? I haven’t answered your numerous texts or calls. I think that would indicate that I don’t have anything to say to you,” you said as you glared at him.
Tad took a few somewhat hesitant steps closer to you. “Y/n/n, baby-”, he began.
“No, don’t ‘baby’ me,” you cut him off. “You are not going to come in Pop’s bar, especially after what you did, and try to charm your way back into my life.” Tad could turn on the charm like no one you had ever seen. Heck, he could even dial it up to 11. You knew that you couldn’t let him do it, not to you. You had stop him before he could steamroll right over you.
Tad stepped even closer. Of course, he didn’t hear anything you just said and placed a hand on your arm “y/n, no, I know that. Look, I’m an asshole. I know.”
You heard Dean grumble, “How surprisingly self aware of you.” You couldn’t keep down the snicker that came up. You tried to cover it with a cough. Dean caught on and starting chuckling himself.
“Look, I’ve been reflecting the past couple of days.” Tad continued. He hadn’t heard Dean’s comment
“Have you now? I can’t wait to hear this.” you interrupted.
“Honey.” he started but stalled when he noticed the look in your eyes at the term of endearment. He quickly recovered in true Tad fashion, “I realized that I need constant validation and I wasn’t getting that from you. However, I truly believe that’s something you can work on. I’m willing to help you do that. Now that’s out in the open. We can work together to make our relationship stronger.”
Your eyes were about to bug right of your head. Your brain had locked up. It took a few seconds but you snapped yourself out of it. You took a deep breath and addressed him. “Tad, you are beyond a doubt one of the most fucked up individuals I have ever met in my life. I am embarrassed that I wasted two years of my life on you. I wish I had listened when my friends tried to warn me. But hindsight is always 20/20, right?”
“Y/n, you don’t mean that,” he protested.
“Oh, but I do.” you asserted. “I have never said anything with more conviction than this. I don’t want to see or speak to you ever again.”
“All the beer you’ve been drinking is clearly impairing your thinking,” Tad objected.
The urge to smack him rose quickly but you tamped it down. You quirked an eyebrow and poked him in the chest instead. “The only things impacted by my drinking tonight are my filter and my tolerance for bullshit,” you countered. “They don’t exist right now.” You heard Dean choke on his beer. You looked over your shoulder at him, “You okay over there?”
Dean held up a hand to his chest and replied hoarsely, “Wrong pipe, that’s all.” He waved his hand at you to ignore him and continue your conversation.
“Are you sure?” he begged.
You rolled your eyes. There was a very strong desire for this conversation to be over. “Yeah.” you quipped. Your entire body backed your statement from the glare in your eyes to your posture.
“Y/n, please, I’m trying to make you see that I’m only trying to help you,” he pleaded. You didn’t know how he still wasn’t getting the message.
You let out a deep sigh and put your head in hand. “Tad,” you cautioned him.
“Y/n, you need someone to take care of you,” he stated. You bristled at that comment. If that is how he really saw you after all this time together, it reaffirmed that he didn’t really know you at all. “That’s why I followed you in here. To make sure nothing happened to you. That you didn’t do anything stupid.” He brushed a piece of hair behind your ear. The contact was jarring and unwelcome.
You jumped down from the stool and stepped away from him. “Whoa. Just a minute. Have you been following me?” you gasped. That comment caught the attention of people around you including Rufus who moved behind you leaning his hands on the bar.
“Just to make sure you are safe,” he said trying to justify his behavior. That did not make you feel any better at all. Actually, it made you feel worse. You backed a little more which caused you to bump into Dean’s stool.
You hadn’t been looking in his direction when he realized who you were. That increased his concern for you. He remembered Tad’s behavior from the day before. Now that he knew that you were friends with his brother, he was making sure to keep tabs on the conversation. Discreetly, of course.
Dean had been trying to keep a low profile during your interaction with your ex. He had been enjoying his own time with you before you two had been interrupted. He didn’t want to get in the middle of the domestic dispute. He wanted to see how you would handle it yourself and he was impressed. You hadn’t gone running back to Todd or whatever the hell his name was when he had apologized and held firm when he had tried to dissuade you otherwise.
However, the idjit had just admitted that he had followed you and that was Dean’s breaking point. He stood and placed himself between you and Tad. He made sure to bring himself to his full height which meant that he had a few inches on the other man. “A- dude, that is incredibly creepy. Like really, really creepy.,” he lectured. “B- Do you just admit to stalking her in the middle of a bar filled with cops and firemen? Cause everybody here is a really credible witness.” Dean twirled his finger around to remind Tad where he was standing and making idiotic admissions of guilt.
Rufus spoke up from behind the bar and pinned Tad with a menacing glare, “He had better hope that he didn’t. Y/N is family here. Ain’t nothing more important than family.”
Tad gulped and looked around. He finally noticed that several of the patrons surrounding them were paying attention to the situation unfolding in front of them. He nervously laughed and wiped his palms on his pants. “I can see that, um, now is not exactly the best time to talk.” He started back away to the door. “I’m gonna…I’m gonna call you later,” he stammered as he ducked through the door.
“Please don’t!” you yelled after him. You turned to the others in the bar and held your hands up. “I am so sorry, everyone. That is not a normal occurrence, I swear,” you apologized. You knew that your father would hear about what just happened and you didn’t want him to be embarrassed. He loved it here and you didn’t want to ruin that. You turned to Rufus, “Next round’s on me,” you declared.
Rufus nodded and cheers went up around you. Dean helped you back to your stool. He knew from experience that the adrenaline would wear off and you would need something solid under you to help combat the drop that was coming. Luckily, everyone was distracted by getting the drinks you provided to really notice you. It was what you had been hoping would happen. You sat down and took a large swallow of beer.
Dean took back his seat next to you with his eyes on you for a few minutes. You were looking intently at the bottle in front of you and picking at the label. “Hey.” he murmured capturing your attention. You turned your head towards him. He smiled a little and his hand covered yours. “You okay?”
You could see the sincerity clear in his eyes. It warmed your heart that someone that you had just met would react that way. You realized that while you had wanted to shift everybody’s focus from you and what had just happened, you didn’t mind Dean’s attention staying on you.
“Y/N, hey,” Dean voice pulled you from your thoughts again.
“Sorry, about that,” you chuckled. You ducked your head down in embarrassment. “Did you like my space cadet impression? I’ve been working on it for a while.”
Your joke made Dean smirk. “It was very convincing, truth be told,” he admitted. He cleared his throat and his face became serious. “Look, the way I see it. We’ve got two options,” he surmised.
“Two options, huh?” you inquired. He had definitely piqued your curiosity. You put an arm on the bar and propped your chin in your hand. “Please do explain.”
He held up a single finger, “Option one, you can sit here at the bar all night and drink until you forgot about it.”
“The option is sounding really good right now,” you acknowledged, “but continue, please.”
“Thank you,” he said as he continued. He held up a second finger. “Option two, you can finish that beer and I walk you home. You obviously know your ex better than me. However, after watching him in action twice now, I would feel better knowing that you made home without running into him again tonight.”
You were initially taken back at Dean’s offer to see you home. You had just met him and he certainly seemed like a good guy. However, given the past of couple of days, you were questioning your judgement. In spite of that, you still found yourself considering his offer. The war going on inside your head.
Dean could see the wheels turning in your head. He could also hazard a guess at to why. “Look, I realize that you haven’t known me long enough to trust me. So, how about instead we can call a cab or Uber?” he offered. He just wanted to reassure you that his intentions weren’t nefarious. He figured this would be a good alternative.
You were eyeing him warily. You wanted to trust your gut, but you couldn’t bring yourself to to it, not yet. Movement behind the bar caught your attention. You looked from Dean to see Rufus pouring drinks for customers further down the bar. This gave you an idea.
You looked back to Dean and smiled, “Actually, about that. I know a way to get past through the whole ‘should I trust you’ problem. Wait here.” You got up from the stool and patted down on the shoulder as you walked past him. “Please,” you threw over your shoulder.
You walked down to Rufus. You gave him a quick version of the situation and asked for his advice. You knew that he would tell you the truth even if it was something that you didn’t want to hear. Considering that you really knew next to nothing about the green eyed man in question, Rufus’ input would be invaluable. Rufu had definitely come through for you. There was plenty to know apparently. You thanked him when he had finished and went back to your stool.
Dean’s eyes had followed as you walked down the bar and started to talk with Rufus. He didn’t know how Rufus was going to help to solve the “trust problem.” Rufus did most of the talking and you nodded your head at what he was saying. You looked down to Dean with eyebrows raised for a second. You quickly returned your attention back to what the man behind the bar was telling you. The look on your face made Dean nervous. Dean was aware of his reputation and normally it didn’t bother him. He was worried right now though.
You cleared your throat. “Dean,” you began, “we have known each other for a very short time. I do appreciate your help earlier with the whole Tad situation. I’m sure you can understand that I would question your motives in offering to help see me home.”
“Y/N, no. That’s not what I was trying to do, I swear.” he interjected.
You smiled and put your hand on arm. “Dean, that’s why I wanted advice from someone outside the situation who I knew that I could trust. Rufus has known my family for quite a few years now,” you informed him. Dean gulped at this information. While you were still smiling, Dean was starting to sweat. “I found out some interesting things,” you revealed with an eyebrow lift.
Dean groaned. “Look, Y/N, I can only imagine what you heard. I just want to let you know right now that I am not going to anything with you. I swear,” he asserted. You could hear the sincerity in his voice and found that you did really believe him. He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, “Pretty sure Sammy would try to kick my ass if I did.”
You sat back and took another drink from your bottle. You leaned forward slightly. “Pretty sure you’re right about Sam, but my Pops will do more than try,” you confided with a wink. Dean looked up at you quickly and started to sputter. “Rufus told me that I just happen to work for your brother. You don’t look anything like the picture in Sam’s office by the way. Why have I never seen you in the office?” you asked.
“Oh no, what picture does he have in his office?” he lamented. He knew that Sam could have any number of pictures in his office. More than likely it was one in which Dean was making a fool of himself for Sam’s sake.
“I believe it’s from the Fourth of July when Sam was in high school,” you confided.
Dean visibly relaxed at your answer and smiled. He knew that there were so many embarrassing alternatives that Sam could have chosen. He would have to remember to thank Sam for his choice later. “I remember that one. I had gone off and bought fireworks behind my father’s back. He was pissed off but it was worth it. Sammy loved it,” he snorted and shook his head. He grimaced slightly when he continued, “I going to be straightforward with you about this. The reason you haven’t seen me around the office is you.”
“What do you mean that I’m the reason?” you quipped. You were shocked. You didn’t understand why someone that you had never even met before would refuse to come by his brother’s office to see him because of your presence.
Dean threw his hands and explained, “I really should have worded that differently. Sammy sort of blackmailed me after you first started. He really liked your work and wanted to keep you on. He didn’t want me to do anything to jeopardize that. Now that I have actually met you, I can say that I definitely would have tried to put that in jeopardy.” He had a cocky grin on his face that let you know that he would have indeed tried.
You smiled at his confession. “Well, I can’t say for certain whether you would have succeeded or not,” you commented. “Truthfully, if I hadn’t been with Tad at the time, you probably would have. I would have pegged you as a safe bet since you’re Sam’s brother.”
Dean sucked air in between his teeth. “Yeah.” He was looking down at the floor. If you didn’t know any better, you would say that he actually look ashamed.
The mood has taken a definite down swing. You reached over and swatted Dean on the arm to break him from his own thoughts. He looked up at you. “Hey! What did I do?” he asked as he held his arm where you had struck him.
“Oh, stop,” you laughed. “I didn’t hit you that hard. I’ve decided by the way,” you said changing the subject.
Dean raised his eyebrows. He found himself anxious to hear your answer.”I’ve decided on option number two,” you held up two fingers just as Dean had earlier.
“Oh.” he mumbled. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Let’s get you a ride home then,” he began to scroll through his phone. You put a hand over his phone blocking the screen for him. He looked up at you. “I thought you said you wanted option two,” he said slowly.
You nodded and confirmed, “I did. I do. The original option two.” He smiled and put his phone back in his phone. “Just to be clear though, nothing is going to happen,” you added.
He stood still smiling. “I totally agree.” He called over the other bartender since Rufus was nowhere in sight.
With both of your tabs for the evening settled, you exited that bar together. He looked at you and held out his elbow in invitation, “Which way, Toto?”
You laughed and put your arm through his, “Over to Ardmore Street, sir.”
You walked through the neighborhood and chatted about your job with Sam and Dean’s job at the firehouse. You quickly became a fan of the childhood antics of the intrepid Winchester brothers. You picked up that Dean was fiercely loyal and protective of his younger brother. You suspected that no matter how old they would get, Dean would keep up those behaviors until. It made you smile as it reminded you a little of your sister and yourself. It seemed that older siblings never grew out of their roles.
You were both laughing after Dean told you how Sam had broken his arm jumping off the roof of a shed when they were playing superheroes. “How often did you tease him about that?” you laughed.
He kicked a pebble down the sidewalk and shrugged his shoulders. “Usually brought it up whenever he brought a girl home for the first time,” he admitted.
You gasped and pulled on his arm a little,”You didn’t!”
He nodded his head. He looked at you, “Still do it, actually.” You could see the mischievous glint in his eye at his confession. He had troublemaker written all over his face.
“Dean, no!” you exclaimed. He still had a huge grin on his face. “No remorse, huh?”
“Not one bit,” he chuckled. “Why kind of big brother would I be otherwise?”
You took a deep breath and pulled him to a stop. “Dean, I really need to know something,” you put a somber expression on your face as you looked up at him.
He took in your expression and mirrored it on his own, “Sure, y/n, anything.”
“Why do you keep calling me Toto? I can’t figure it out. Pleeeaaaassseee,” you pleaded with a small pout on your face. You batted your eyelashes for added effect. It did the trick.
“Okay, okay, okay,” he relented and laughed at your antics. “It’s that,” he pointed at your chest.
You hadn’t been expecting that. You took a huge step back from him and crossed your arms over your chest, “Are you kidding me?!? What the hell do my boobs have to do with the dog from Wizard of Oz?”
Dean wanted to smack himself. He had done it again. He stepped towards you and put his hands on your shoulders with a light but firm grip. “No! Y/N, no,” he defended. “It’s because of the mascot on your shirt. Y/N, just the mascot, I swear,” he explained in a rush.
You calmed when you heard his reason and felt like smacking yourself in the head. You looked down and confirmed that you were wearing your St. Francis College t-shirt. You covered your face with your hands and wondered if you could literally die from embarrassment. “Unbelievable,” you moaned behind your hands.
Dean pulled your hands away from your face. He could tell that your face would be a bright shade of red if it wasn’t so dark out. “Come on, it’s not that bad,” he held your hands between his.
“Says you,” you muttered. “You didn’t just thoroughly make an idiot of yourself.”
“Give me time,” he assured you, “I’m sure that it’ll happen. It’s getting late. Let’s get you home. Sam will chew me out if I kept you out late.” He put your arm through his again and began to walk in the direction of home.
You walked in silence for a few minutes. Dean would look over at you occasionally. He was racking his brain trying to figure out a way to lighten the mood. He had been having a really good time with you. You spoke before he could think of something.
“Dean, I’m sorry for freaking out on you earlier,” you couldn’t bring yourself to look at Dean still. “I was having a really good time and I ruined it by being a huge dork.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said. “I promise that I’ll only bring it up on the most special of occasions.” The troublemaker gleam was back in his eyes.
“What?” you turned to him with your eyes wide.
He laughed, “There she is.” He patted your hand that resting in his elbow. “Relax, I’m kidding. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I won’t mention it again. Not even to Sammy.”
You sighed in relief, “Thank you.”
Silence fell around the two of you again. This time it was missing the heaviness of embarrassment and awkwardness that had been there previously. It was pleasant. You walked a couple of more houses down the street before stopping. Dean turned to you, “What’s the matter? Why did you stop?”
You bit your lip and pointed to the house in front of you, “The, uh, walk’s over.”
Dean looked up at the building and nodded his head, “Ah, well.” You could clearly hear the disappointment in his voice. You were glad you weren’t the only one.
You reached into your pocket for your keys. “Thank you again, Dean. For everything. I really mean it.” you told him as you pulled him in for a hug.
Dean put his arms around your shoulders eager to return the hug. “You’re welcome, Y/N. For everything. I really mean it,” he teased.
You pulled away to nudge him with your elbow, “Haha, funny man.”
“Anytime, y/n,” he smiled down at you. He looked up and down the sidewalk before returning his gaze to you. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck again. You noticed that he would do that whenever he seemed a little nervous. “If you ever need anything, especially with the, you know, ex, just give me a call,” he offered.
“I appreciate the offer, but there’s one problem. I don’t have your number,” you pointed out.
“Huh, yeah, I guess that is a problem.” he agreed. He pulled his phone and moved his fingers around quickly. He then placed it in your hand, ”Luckily, there’s a very simple fix. Here.”
You looked down and saw he had opened it so you could enter your number into his contacts. You entered your number and saved it. “Here you go,” you said as you handed the phone back. You bid him good night as you turned and walked up the stoop to the front door. You waved to each other one last time before you closed the door and locked it for the evening.
You had just entered your bedroom when the notification chime from your phone sounded. Curious as to who would be texting you so late, you unlocked your phone. There was a text from an unknown phone number. You had a sneaking suspicion that it was from a certain tall fireman. You weren’t disappointed.
Unknown: Good night, Toto
You: Good night, Dean
It was a simple message but still gave you the feeling of small butterflies. You smiled as you locked the phone for the night. You slid into your bed minutes later with the smile still on your face.