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Charlie Bradbury is the little sister he never knew he wanted.
They’ve nearly lost her on multiple occasions - an occupational hazard, for hunters - but Dean couldn’t be more grateful that they have her, not only to lend a helping hand on hunts and tech stuff… But also to drag them out of hunting, and into something fun .
For example, the reason that all four of Team Free Will 2.0 are crammed into the Impala, driving a few hundred miles, some of the hunting supplies in the trunk replaced with costumes and faux weapons. Every first Saturday of the month is "Moondor day", and Dean had woken them all up at five-thirty AM to get them loaded into the car to make sure that they got there on time.
Charlie is a bright spot in all of their lives, but especially Jack’s.
Jack is the only other person as excited as he is; Moondor day is probably the only time that he gets to be a kid, if he’s honest with himself. Who knows what kind of “childhood” they’d manage to give the kid if they didn’t have Charlie?
Charlie has, somehow, maintained the event even while hunting, and it remains the most well-organised, well-attended, frequent, and beloved LARP-slash-medieval-recreation event in the country. Multiple community groups come together for the day, including professional acting troupes and local theatres, medieval reenactment groups, college clubs, local library groups, Saturday morning market stalls that have set up next to the event (including a thriving farmers market) - even a petting zoo. But it’s the multiple stables who bring horses to the event - including one reenactment group that do honest-to-Christ jousting - that is the sweet, delicious cherry on top.
Sam isn’t going to participate, because he’s boring and a coward; he’s brought his laptop, and is planning on setting up at some unbearable vegan-health-food specialty coffee place nearby. But Dean is practically vibrating the whole way there, because this is the first time that Cas has deigned to join them. For once, there are no hunts or other distractions to keep him away, and Dean was up half the night, planning what kind of character Cas should have. He’s hoping to steer Cas towards the knights, because the armour that they wear is so cool - and he just knows that Cas is going to look amazing in it.
Even Cas seems quietly content; he’s proud of the “Disney’s Peter Pan knock off” costume that he helped to make for Jack (though he expressed some disappointment this morning that he didn’t know how to make the shoes).
When they pull up to the drop-off area at the front of the park, Jack is the first to leap out of the door - heading to the new Fairy team he’d helped found (a new playable species included in the official Moondor game for fifth edition), because as Jack put it, "It's supposed to be fantasy, which is things you don't see in your everyday life - I've done fighting and magic, but I haven't met any fairies yet."
“Have fun,” Cas calls to Jack’s retreating form as the kid disappears into the crowd, as he himself steps out of the car, Dean bounding up to his side..
Sam, tucking himself into the driver’s seat, casually calls out, "Watch out for Oberon!", which makes Dean choke on his own tongue. He shoots Sam a glare as he drives away.
So Dean gets Cas alone to introduce him to LARPing, and can help him pick his character, class, specialisation, and - most importantly - outfit .
"You're with me , so I can get you a role in the Queen's court right off the bat," He says, leading Cas with a hand on the small of his back. They're still in their regular clothes; only Jack had dressed up ahead of time. Dean wasn't ready to pull into the local diner for breakfast in tights , and Cas still hadn't settled on a character build. "You're a great fighter, so you'd probably be great in the jousting, or with the knights - just don't kill anybody, big guy."
"My understanding was that this was a break from hunting," Cas replies, letting Dean lead him into Charlie's tent. "I'd prefer to not fight."
Dean holds the flap open for him. "Fair enough - what do you want to do?" He's only a little disappointed that he won't get to see Cas in the armour, or jousting - the armour wouldn't have shown off much of him, anyway. Maybe he can get him into one of the leather outfits from the barbarians…
Cas steps in and assesses the room with his inscrutable squint. It's impossible to tell if he has any interest in the proceedings, regarding the decor impassively. "I understood that there was a circle for practising sartorial crafts," He says, the picture of nonchalance.
"Sar- like, sewing ?" Dean blurts, pausing halfway to Charlie's trunk, where his costume is. "You came all the way out here to learn to sew ? You saw the horses , right?"
"My early attempts were unsuccessful," Cas admits grimly. "I wasn't able to complete the tailoring of Jack’s costume. I could use instruction from people familiar with costume design."
"... Or we could pay someone here to do it?" Dean suggests, his plans for the day slipping away from him - while leading battles was cool, he hasn’t yet managed to ride a horse , and now Cas might not ride one with him? "That way we can be free to do something fun ."
"... But Jack asked me to help him," Cas said sullenly, the corner of his lips twitching down into what can only be described as a pout .
Cas has learned the puppy eyes from Sam , Dean thinks sourly. "I mean, if you want to, go for it - Dunno what the uniform is for that, though..." Dean rifles through Charlie's costume trunk, not sure what he's looking for - what does a medieval tailor look like?
"Who dares defile the Queen's chamber?" Calls a familiar voice from just outside the tent.
"Your handmaiden," Cas helpfully responds as Charlie pokes her head through the flap.
Dean shoots him an annoyed glance. "I got a promotion , thank you," He says coolly. "M'Lady," he adds to Charlie, dropping the costumes into the trunk and stepping around Cas to pull her into a hug.
Charlie wraps her arms tight around him, squeezing back with all her might. "'Sup, bitches!" She says brightly, pulling back from Dean to look him over. "Not in costume yet? Where will Moondor be without her General?"
Dean turns his head to look at Cas over his shoulder, pointing to himself. "Promoted," He says happily.
"Am I the handmaiden, then?" Cas asks. "I'm going to join the sewing circle."
Charlie shares with Dean a gleeful look; Dean can sense that she is on the same wavelength.
We get to dress up an Angel of the Lord.
Charlie offers to take Cas around, as they don't have a dedicated "tailor" costume; as it turns out, most of the people involved in sewing are a) a group of theatre kids who like to embellish the "period clothing" they thrifted from Goodwill, b) two academics who have a personal interest in historical sewing methods who are renowned for their elitist disdain for the wrong fabric, style, and sewing method for the "era" - ("But it's a made-up game... It doesn't relate to any particular point in human history?"; "We know, Cas - just- Don't say that in front of them") - and c), a knitting circle that has made its own stall to teach knitting, to advertise their regular knitting circles at the local library, and who also take commissions for character or team emblems.
But their costumes consist of; a) Goodwill thrift-ware, b) thirteenth-century kirtle and cloak, and, c) off-the-rack "medieval peasant" costumes.
At least one of the knitting circle ladies is under thirty, though, and her off-the-rack costume is bolstered by an over-bust corset that makes her D-cups look like G-cups.
"Must think she's Superman," One of the academics sneers. "Wearing her undergarments on the outside."
"Stays were regularly worn as outerwear prior to the 18th century!" The other academic snaps back.
"It's a Victorian design , of course it's underwear," The other retorts harshly.
"Ignore them," Dean says casually, leaning over the booth to give the busty knitting lady a sly wink. "I think you'd look great in outer or underwear."
"Or neither," Charlie adds, leaning over the booth as well, dislodging Dean.
Cas watches the exchange, as impassive as ever.
The woman giggles, returning Charlie's wink. "You'd know, my Queen," She says, leaning over the table of knitted emblems and tea cosies to press a kiss to Charlie's cheek.
Dean politely glances down her corset as she leans forward; staring would be rude, of course. He doesn't miss Charlie's smirk, either.
"No Gilda?" He teases as they walk away from the stall.
"We have an open thing," Charlie easily responds. "No Cas?"
"Wha- oh, we're not-" Dean glances over his shoulder at Cas - only to realise he hasn't followed them.
"Cas?"
Cas is still at the stall, talking to the woman. Who's-her-tits. The knitting lady.
"You comin', bud?" He calls, and Cas looks at him and shakes his head .
"Guess he's joining the knitting circle," Charlie says, looking delighted.
Dean is more than a little disappointed; the next option was the leather workers, and they all had rad outfits.
"If we're still thinking of costumes for him, maybe we can start with a tunic from the trunk? I've gotta hurry it up, anyway - I'm going to be late for an execution I ordered, and there's a plot by the Shadow Orcs to overrun the Queen's court."
Dean is still watching Cas at the stall; the woman has handed him a flyer, and he's asking her a question that he can't make out over the ambient sound.
"... Can I count on my right-hand General to be at the execution to defend his Queen from orcs?" Charlie presses, nudging him with her elbow. "C'mon, execution is at eleven, and the insurgents are gonna bust in at quarter-past; we can resume our dress-up game after."
Dean relents - there's no way Cas won't get bored of knitting by the time he gets back anyway, and it's not even sewing , so as soon as he realises that, he'll probably go back to the tent.
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So the Queen and her General head back to the royal court (a long tent they rented for special events, with the sides rolled up for spectators to view the scene unfold) to oversee the execution of a spy ("Gwyn the elf", who had turned out to be a glamoured orc), and they were, as promised, raided by Shadow Orcs - with the unexpected backup of Jack and the fairies.
"Jack?" Dean shouted, genuinely stunned to see him in his hastily-sewn Peter-Pan-style get-up entering the "fray" (mostly over-acted death throes, a few arguments about what was or wasn't a fatal wound - "I'm immune to silver!"; "No, this blade is blessed " - and three guys who were professional stuntmen having the time of their life performing theatrical flourishes for the crowd in the mock battle).
"Actually, I'm Lepidoptera," Jack corrects, ever in character. "But my friends call me Leo."
"And you're helping the Shadow Orcs, huh?" Dean says, gripping his nickel-plated replica Claymore.
"For now," Jack - Leo - says mysteriously, eyes bright and grinning broadly.
Man, Dean loves Moondor day.
"Whelp, you invaded the wrong court, kid," He says, taking a swing at Jack.
Jack has been practising sparring for a while now, but it's clear that he's not using much of that training now; he mostly seems to be leading Dean around the "battlefield", dodging his attacks effortlessly, and Dean follows him step for step - caught between dodging the occasional swing from another player, and memorising the way Jack happily darts between the players, eyes on Dean as he leads him on a merry chase, his smile looking so much like Cas' that it melts his heart a little.
Which is why it doesn't click that Jack has been distracting him.
" Halt! "
All the fighters pause and turn - even some of the "corpses" - to see the Queen of Moondor being held hostage by the orc on trial, the current leader of the shadow orcs holding the end of his (foam) wakizashi sword to her throat.
"The age of darkness begins now!" The orc leader (Dean's met her - Jane, but her character is... Yemen, or something).
Charlie, though clearly amused, looks like she's cautiously observing events - big event days like these are usually partially scripted (or at least, the balance of forces makes it pretty clear who will win an event, and the main performers have a speech for either situation in mind), but Jack's intervention is unexpected (at least, for Dean).
A few of the other members of the Moondor court seem to be in on it, though; the ones not in character are smiling and nodding along, or unsubtly recording on their phones.
Glancing at the battlefield, the Moondor court fighters are outnumbered two-to-one; and that's because there's about one fairy and one orc to one court member.
"Traitor," Dean hisses at Jack, playfully.
Jack - Leo - smiles back. "I'm good at this game," He whispers back. "The trick is to make lots of friends."
"I, Yamarz," ( Yamarz, that's it ! Dean thinks) "Claim this throne for the long-suffering people of my kingdom! No more will humans reign over the fey-folk!"
"I'll be right back," Jack mutters, heading up to the raised platform where the dramatic monologue is taking place, Charlie still kneeling, and Yamarz and Gwyn standing facing the crowd.
In the second big twist of the day, Jack deftly pulls Charlie up by the arm, out of the reach of Yamarz's sword, and lifts her to her feet.
There's a collective intake of breath from the audience, as Yamarz stops dead in her tracks, watching Jack with confusion, which morphs into amusement - quickly covered by an exaggerated scowl. "Are the fairies betraying their alliance with the orcs?" She demands in a deep bellow.
He's pretty sure that Jane has acted on stage before, because she really knows how to carry her voice. Between that and her background in prosthetics giving her the best orc costume in the whole community, it's an impressive performance.
"Fairies are mischievous," Jack says simply. "And we don't want either of you to win."
"You don't?" Charlie asks, side-stepping away from Jack - she'd clearly been gearing up to fight the orcs alongside him.
"No," He states, turning to address the crowd. "The fairies are demanding a truce, because the summer solstice is next month. So either all the factions put aside their differences for a feast, or we'll abandon you right now."
"The orcs will never abandon their fight for justice!" Yamarz declares.
"We'll defend ourselves against attack!" Charlies retorts.
Jack, apparently prepared for this, reaches into his leather satchel and pulls out what appears to be a purple, glass ball. "The orcs will stand down," He says confidently, "Or the fairies will destroy the heart of their leader."
Yamarz barks a laugh, before she remembers to keep in character.
She makes a show of hurling her sword at the ground (which is hilariously anticlimactic, as its foam, so it makes a soft "thwack" and bounces), and all of the orc players follow her lead.
"So be it!" She snarls.
Charlie beams.
Dean has been recording the whole thing, and he can't wait to show Cas - who knew Jack would lead a faction and alter the story line so dramatically?
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They're laughing and loudly recounting their favourite moments from the scene on the way back to Charlie's tent; Charlie, Jack, and Dean.
"What's the heart thing about?" Charlie asks. "I know that characters can put their life essence into an object, technically, but how did you get Yamarz's ?"
"Well, she originally gave it to her girlfriend," Jack explained.
"Oh, right - Lacey!" Charlie recalls. "She stopped coming a while back."
"Yeah, Yamarz did the heart thing with her favourite amethyst sphere, and gave it to her - but Yatul gave it back when they broke up. Yamarz thought it would be more dramatic to keep it for her lost love ."
"Yeah, but how did you get it?" Dean presses.
"I told you, Dean," Jack says happily. "This game is about making friends. She gave it to me!"
"She just gave you something that could kill her character?" Dean says disbelievingly.
"Well, she trusted me as a friend, but I also said that our faction wouldn't help them without something as collateral," Jack said, looking positively smug. "And she has a backup character anyway, so she decided it was worth the risk."
"That was cold , Leo!" Charlies says, slapping Jack on the back. "You're going to get a reputation around here - that's a trick you can pull once !"
"I've got lots of tricks still," Jack says happily.
Dean ruffles Jack's hair as Charlie opens the door for them. "After you, boys!" She crows happily.
"Actually," Jack says as he enters, "Lepidoptera is a girl."
Before Dean can even process that, he's on alert; there's a woman standing in the tent, rifling through his duffle. She's bent over, and while her gossamer dress shows off her fine ass ( particularly with the under-bust corset cinching her long dress at her hips directly above her bubble butt), there is no reason for anyone to be looking through his personal bag .
"Whoa!" He shouts, reaching for his real knife - when Jack walks straight up to her, and she straightens to turn to him.
And it's not a woman at all.
It's Cas.
"I won a battle today!" Jack announces, practically bouncing up to Cas.
Charlie enters as well, grinning from ear to ear. "That she did," She crows. "And brought peace to the land - for next month, at least."
"That's wonderful, Jack," Cas says, holding up a pair of green... Leaf-looking things. "I finished those shoe covers for you," He says, handing the leaf-things to Jack.
"Oh, to go over my sneakers?" He says, snatching them and immediately balancing on one leg to slip one of them over his shoe. "Perfect fit!" He says, lowering his foot to the ground and admiring it.
"So, you enjoyed the sewing circle, huh?" Charlie asks. "They certainly got you a nice costume."
"Yes," Cas says. "They were very accommodating. They even said that I could keep the dress for the future, if I'd like. Elaine said that it doesn't fit her; I was lucky she had some clothes she intended to donate in her car."
"And the corset? That looks like one of Matilda's."
"It is," Cas confirms. "Or, was - I purchased it from her. It was too big for her, regardless."
Jack, now wearing his new shoe covers, idly picks at one of the laces on the front of the corset. "Can I get one of these, too?" He asks.
"Of course - but let's take you to Matilda, first. She's very knowledgeable about how to properly wear them."
Dean still hasn't closed his mouth from when his jaw dropped. He isn't sure that he can remember how to speak.
"Hey," Charlie nudges him with her elbow. "Guess we don't get to pick out his costume now, but - he did better than I could've!"
Dean swallows, tongue thick in his mouth. "Yeah," He says, deliberately tearing his eyes away from Cas, who now has his phone out, taking photos of Jack in his completed outfit.
He would've made a joke to lower the tension, but no one else in the room seems tense. Jack is "Leo", who's a "she", and Cas is wearing a dress and corset, and no one is batting an eyelash.
And now that the initial moment of awkwardness has passed without any tension-breaking jokes, it seems... Rude to say anything. Jack is happy, Cas seems happy, and Charlie seems delighted .
Besides, it's Moondor day . And what happens in Moondor stays in Moondor.
"Did Richard and Jolene like your costume, Cas?" Charlie says, voice high and teasing.
Cas gives her a world-weary look. "They had a lot of things to say, but no," He surmised grimly. "I wouldn't say they liked it."
"Guess there weren't too many men in dresses in the dark ages," Dean commiserates.
"Oh, they were very open-minded about gender-conforming clothing," Cas corrected, resuming taking photos of Jack. "They were less open-minded about the empire-cut dress with the rayon chiffron skirt, or the fact that the under-bust corset is a twentieth-century invention."
"Yeah, they're cool and uncool like that," Charlie beams. She nudges Dean again. "You don't have to worry about these two - straight people don't play this game."
Dean tries not to choke on his thick tongue as he splutters, "Uh, yeah, we do ?"
Charlie makes a face like she's eaten a lemon, which - rude . "Sure, General," She says, waving a dismissive hand. "I just mean, if you're going to find open-minded people, Moondor is where it's at."
Which makes sense, with Charlie as the queen.
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When Sam picks them up, Dean feels like he's vibrating with tension. He'd tried to convince Cas and Jack to get dressed into regular clothes so that they could go to lunch, but Jack had flitted off with his friends, and Cas had flat-out refused.
"Don't you like it?" He asked, when Dean again prodded him about getting dressed.
"I-" And isn't that a loaded question. "It's great for the sewing circle, Cas. It's probably not great for Wendy's."
Cas' eyes narrow. "That's not what I asked," He says sternly.
"Uh-"
He's saved by Jack running past them, throwing his leg over the hood to show Sam his new booties.
"Hey, watch the car!" Dean shouts, eyes on Jack, even though he can feel Cas' gaze burning a hole in the side of his head.
Sam looks up from admiring Jack's shoes, and grins when he sees Cas - and Dean's hackles are instantly raised. Sure, he might've entertained the thought of teasing Cas about the dress, but in the end, he didn't ! And while he's not prepared to mock Cas' choice of attire, he'd feel... Maybe kind of weird, defending it.
Sam wolf-whistles , the little shit-head, and calls out from the window, "Looking good, Cas!"
"Thank you, Sam ," Cas replies pointedly, marching over to the car.
Dean hefts the duffle with their belongings over his shoulder and follows, confused and annoyed by the exchange.
Everyone knows that Dean drives baby, so Sam dutifully steps out of the car and moves to take the back seat with Jack, who's excitedly talking him through the plan he hatched and successfully pulled off with Jane-Yamarz and the tween dance troupe and their moms, who were his first recruits into his faction.
Cas moves around to take the front passenger side - Dean meets his eyes over the top of the car, and they pause. Dean senses that Cas needs to hear him say it, and he doesn't really want to say it in front of Sam, so- now, or never.
"It's a good look, Cas," He says quietly.
Maybe too quietly - Cas pauses, but doesn't respond.
... Until his face breaks into a gummy grin - the rarest Cas smile, the one that only shows up when he's really over the moon about something; the one that makes Dean think of a rainbow appearing suddenly. One of those really vibrant ones that catch you totally off-guard.
"Thank you, Dean," He says, reigning in his expression a little. "Matilda thought you'd like it."
"The big-titty knitting lady?" Dean asks, and Cas' expression immediately sours.
“The lesbian seamstress, yes,” He says, head disappearing under the roof of the car, followed quickly by the overzealous slamming of the door.
"Something I said?" Dean mutters to himself, following Cas' lead and getting in the car.
"Dean, don't forget that we're going to Wendy's!" Jack says excitedly.
"Not the diner we drove past?" Sam asks. "Their sign said they had four kinds of home-made nougat today."
"No!" Dean says, starting the car, "Because the diner doesn't have a drive-through!"
But he can see how big Jack's eyes have become in the rear-view mirror, and he knows that he's already lost.
"Dean, please ?" Jack pleads. "I won the battle today! Can we get the nougat?"
Dean wasn't ready to be seen among the general public in tights. As it turns out, he's slightly more prepared to be seen with a Peter-pan cosplaying twenty-something four year old, a man in a dress and a corset, and a moose with a woman's haircut.
And he might be wearing the tights under his jeans.
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