Chapter Text
Dean stares at the whiteboard of narrowed-down costume options in front of him and resigns himself to his fate. He wants to blame Charlie for this, but he knows it's his own fault.
Well, it’s still mostly her fault for encouraging the kids so much. Things were looking good for a while there. The most outrageous option was a smurf, which Dean was totally down to wear. One of his kids then had to go and mention the amazing costume he saw the other day, and it was added to the list.
That's where Charlie got involved, continuously encouraging the kids that it was just the best idea ever !
Unfortunately for Dean, they all agreed. So here he is, staring at the circled words on his giant white board.
Blow up Pikachu.
He's seriously going to kill Charlie.
Every year, Dean signs up for the local half marathon held in late May. He’s been doing it since Dad died. Sammy somehow convinced him to use running as a coping mechanism. But after a few months of running a few days a week, Dean ended up falling in love with it. Running gave him a chance to turn his thoughts off for a while and just run. One foot after the other. It was that simple, which was something he desperately needed in his life. The fact that it kept him fit and healthy (with a damn good looking body, if he says so himself) was an added bonus.
When Dean first started teaching at the local elementary school and his kids found out about the race, they had a lot of questions.
Do you win Mr. Dean?
Are you the fastest person in the whole world?
Are you going to the Olympics?
Do you get to dress up?
The last one got him thinking. There were people that dressed up in silly costumes every year. Most of them ran for a special cause and tried to raise money or awareness . Dean started thinking about the lack of funds for the elementary school. They were always running low on supplies, and the field trip funds got smaller and smaller each year, which was a huge bummer for everyone. He loves taking them to the museum and zoo every year.
So, Dean decided to run for the kids from then on. Part of that included dressing up in a crazy costume. And because it was for the kids, he had the brilliant idea to let them choose his costume.
When he signs up for the half-marathon at the beginning of the year, he asks his kids to come up with any costume ideas they like, and he keeps a running list. At the end of each week, they vote on their top five until a month before the race where they do a final tally, and that's Dean’s costume.
This is the first year he regrets this tradition.
Blow up Pikachu, really? Where is he even supposed to find something like that?
Later that night, after Dean goes on his run (thank god it was a lighter day, and he only had to go six miles) showers, and eats dinner, Dean finds himself sitting on his couch scouring the internet for his costume. Amazon is usually a pretty safe bet and, sure enough, multiple options pop up. Dean scrolls through to find exactly what he’s looking for. The more he sees and reads about the giant inflatable costume the more he dreads the upcoming race. Most of the reviews say the thing is great, but others say it’s hard to move around in and the visibility isn’t the greatest. Two things Dean finds really important while running a race.
It's for the kids, he reminds himself over and over again.
Dean finally settles on the one he wants and goes to order, only to find it won’t ship in time. He goes through the other options, but none of them will arrive quick enough either. He knows he should feel bummed that he might disappoint his kids, but really he is just relieved he won't have to wear the ridiculous costume for 13.1 miles. A smile finds its way to his face, and he shuts his laptop with a satisfying click. That night, he goes to bed with the smile still playing across his lips, and he dreams of little blue people in white pants and hats.
“Alright, time to re-vote! I tried to find the giant inflatable Pikachu costume, but nobody had it available,” Dean announces to his twenty-five third graders. The response is a mix of groans and cries of outrage, which he fully expected. He tries really hard to keep the self-satisfied smirk off his face, but he's really damn happy. Dean erases the cursed Blow up Pikachu and the previous tallies of the other four options.
“Listen up, squirts, these are now the options for the race next month, so I’m going to call them out. If you want that one, then raise your hand. Whichever option has the most votes at the end is the one I will wear for my race. Sound good?”
“Yes Mr. Dean,” most of them reply in different levels of enthusiasm.
“Awesome!” Dean smiles at the first option. “Smurf?”
Eleven kids raise their hands, which looks promising as the new favorite to Dean’s great delight. He marks the tallies and is about to announce the next option when a voice from the doorway catches the class's attention.
“It says here they have an inflatable Charmander available and can be here next week,” Charlie announces.
Dean is seriously going to kill that woman, queen or not.
“Charmander!” Every single student raises at least one of their hands, and Dean hangs his head in defeat. The kids cheer, chanting Charmander and clapping their little hands together.
Dean finally looks over to where Charlie leans in his doorway, a wicked smile playing across her lips. The fiery redhead even has the audacity to wave her phone in his direction.
“You’re buying it then, Charles,” Dean grumbles at his best friend.
With a quick wink, Charlie waltzes out of his classroom and back down the hall.
After Charlie leaves, it is entirely impossible to get the kids to settle down and focus on anything. At least he waited for the end of the day to do the re-vote. Ten more minutes pass with the kids just hanging out before Dean walks them outside to wait for their parents.
When he gets back to his classroom, he finds Charlie waiting for him at his desk with a hesitant smile on her face. Dean just rolls his eyes. They both know no matter what he can never stay completely mad at Charlie. She wouldn’t do anything that would cause such a thing, and he wouldn’t either. Dean knows that after the race they’ll laugh about it and have a good time. Until then though, Dean reserves all rights to be grumpy with her.
“Alright, Red, let me see this stupid costume.”
She hands over her phone easily with the page already up and loaded. The Charmander costume is pretty similar to the Pikachu he was looking at, except this one has a bigger tail. But it shouldn’t cause any more issues than what he is already expecting.
“I can’t believe you are actually going to go through with this, Dean,” Charlie says, messing with Dean’s various pens. “I mean, I know you don't want to disappoint your kids, but I think they would have understood.”
“Yeah, they probably would’ve, but you saw them today. They love the idea of the giant inflatable Pokemon,” Dean replies, returning her phone. “Man, I just can’t believe Pokemon is still as popular now as it was when we were growing up. I remember when Charmander was first introduced! He always was one of my favorites.”
“Squirtle was my go to starter.” Charlie smiles, a wistful look on her face as they reminisce on the pure awesomeness that is Pokemon. “Come on, Handmaiden! Drinks and fries are calling our name!”
“Yes, your highness.” Dean rolls his eyes and grabs his jacket before following her out the door.
Every other Friday, their group of friends get together for happy hour at the local bar and catch up. Of course, as soon as they get there, Charlie shows everyone the costume Dean will be wearing at this year's race, and they all promise to be there to cheer him on and laugh when he inevitably falls flat on his face.
“Dammit, Sammy, where are you?” Dean mumbles to himself as he looks out at the sea of people around him. His brother promised to get to the race early to help Dean into his costume and get the water system in place, but of course he's running late. Finally, Dean sees Sam making his way through the crowd, the puppy dog eyes already out in full force, begging his older brother for forgiveness. Dean just rolls his eyes and starts to pull the costume on.
The last few weeks have been trial and error on finding the best way to run in the ridiculous costume, but between Dean, Sam, and Charlie they think they’ve figured it out. There is nothing they can really do about the fan except strap it to Dean’s leg to prevent some of the extra movement. The thing is heavy as hell though. The visibility isn’t too bad, and he stares at the ground most of the time anyway. Hopefully people will just see him and move out of the way.
It became pretty obvious in the beginning that Dean was going to get very very hot in the damn thing. There is so much material, even being as light as it is, that it becomes uncomfortable pretty quickly. Charlie managed to create a spray mechanism that will mist Dean throughout the race, hopefully keeping him cool enough over the 13.1 miles. The only problem is that it drains his water supply. He has one of those fancy water backpack things with the straw that supplies both drinking water and misting water, but it will have to be refilled halfway through the race. Luckily, both Sam and Charlie agreed to meet him at one of the water stops to help him out.
Maybe then Sammy won't be late, like he is now.
The two of them quickly get Dean into the ridiculous costume. First, the fan gets strapped to Dean’s calf with the help of Sam, and then the water backpack goes on. The extra weight isn’t too bad right now, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts to feel it. Maybe this is a sign that he should train with a weight vest or something just in case he has to do this again. As the thing inflates, Dean’s vision is completely impaired, and he misses the majority of what's going on around him.
“Oh, that's hilarious,” Sam says around a huff of laughter.
“What is?” Dean asks, twisting a little trying to catch sight of his (not so) little brother.
“Nothing,” Sam replies quickly. Too quickly.
Dean narrows his eyes in suspicion but ultimately lets it go since the Charmander is almost fully blown up by now.
“Need anything else, Dean?”
“No, I think I’m good for now. You and Charlie will still meet me at mile seven right?”
“Yep, she's bringing the extra water bag so it should be pretty quick!” Sam gives him a final glance over, making sure the suit is fully zipped up and nothing else is wrong. “Good luck, Dean!”
“Thanks, Sammy.” Dean gives his brother an awkward pat on the back with the limited movement of his arm. He can pump his arms perfectly fine, but raising his arms past a certain point is nearly impossible.
Sam leaves to join their other friends at the various points from where they will be cheering him on, and Dean makes his way to the start line.
The race takes off in different heats based on each person’s best half marathon time to avoid overcrowding the road. Normally, Dean would be in one of the first heats to take off, but, due to the giant costume he was forced to wear this year, he adjusted his time and now has a later heat. He makes small talk with a couple of the people around him. This is one guys very first half marathon and was asking if Dean had any advice. A lady dressed in everything rainbow gave him a double high five and told him she wants a picture after the race if they find each other again.
Before he knows it, his heat is up, and Dean stands at the starting line surrounded by at least twenty other people. Some in costumes, some not, but everyone ready to run. The emcee counts them down, and Dean is off. He starts slowly to get the feel of the costume while running again. If he goes out too fast, he will burn out around mile eleven, and nobody wants to be completely dead for the last couple miles.
Things are going well. Or as well as they can with a small fan attached to his leg, minimal visibility, and no real use of his arms. Dean takes it all in stride though (hah, get it? In stride?). The first mile flies by, and he sees a few of his students, past and present, cheering him on along the sidelines. He waves at them the best he can when they call out to him. Other random people cheer him on too, calling out, “Go, Charmander go!”.
Around mile three, he first catches sight of his friends and family. Sam is standing with his wife, Eileen, who is holding a sign saying “Charmander, I choose you!” complete with a mini Charmander and glitter, just because she knows the sparkly hell dust is the bane of Dean’s existence. Damn, he loves his sister-in-law. Glitter or no glitter, Dean still gives her a low high five when he passes her.
A few miles later, Dean really starts to feel the fan attached to his leg and is out of water. He’s almost to the mile seven water station when he starts to hear it.
“Catch Pikachu, Mr. Dean!”
“You gotta catch Pikachu!”
“Mr. Dean, you can't let Pikachu beat you!”
“Charmander always beats Pikachu, Mr. Dean!”
Pikachu?
He reaches the water station and finds Sam and Charlie just off to the side holding the extra water for him. Dean quickly turns around and lets Sam unzip him while Charlie replaces the empty water bag in his backpack with a full one. Once the exchange is done, Sam zips him back up, and they have to wait the thirty-ish seconds it takes to fully inflate the costume again.
“I keep hearing things about a Pikachu, you guys know anything about that?” Dean asks.
“Yeah, there's another guy dressed up in an inflatable Pikachu costume not too far ahead of you. I saw him at the start too,” Sam explains, smiling like it's the greatest thing ever.
“He's not looking too good either,” Charlie adds. “I don’t think he's had any water the entire race, and you’ve been gaining on him since the start. I tried to get him to come over here so I could help him, but he just ran right by.”
“Shit,” Dean hisses. He knows how it is to run for extended periods of time in these stupid costumes without any water. That was one of the first mistakes he made, and, thankfully, Charlie was able to help him find a solution. But if this guy has gone over seven miles without any water, then there's no doubt he's hurting. “I gotta go, thanks guys!”
Dean takes off at a faster pace than before he stopped. He's felt pretty good so far in the race, and the little break helped him catch his breath. Finding his stride isn’t too difficult after the many years running and the miles Dean has put in. Giant inflatable costume or no, Dean is a damn good runner.