Chapter Text
John's visits have never been very peaceful. Every time he comes back he acts like the problems he started last time didn't happen and the pictures his mother forced him to take showed the full story. Adam tried for the sake of his mother each time but the effort by the fourth time was low.
When John Winchester first arrived in Windom for Adam's 15th birthday he grabbed Adam by the shoulder and told him “Son I'll be staying here with you and your mother for a few days” That didn't fill Adam with excitement but he smiled and nodded anyway before John Winchester continued “We'll get some real quality time in how's that sound?” to Adam it sounded exhausting but of course he bit his tongue. That wasn't the case anyhow.
John had tried to fit a lot into the weekend he was there, he took Adam to the repetitious annual baseball game, which the team John told Adam to cheer for lost again. Immediately after he tired to teach Adam to drive but got frustrated when he pressed the brake too hard, he practically stole the wheel from him after that. And later that night John gave Adam a few beers and tried to give him a man-to-man talk but to be honest Adam wasn't listening he was mostly trying to get used to the bitter taste of John's cheap choice of beer.
The morning after their man-to-man ‘deep conversation’ Adam remembered maybe two sentences from about always staying a gentleman, which was absolutely golden coming from his dad. Adam woke up with a headache. He went to go make a bowl of cereal for himself knowing his mother was out on Sunday mornings shopping and couldn't do it for him. When he was about halfway down the bowl a fruit loops he remembered his father was there but he hadn't heard or seen him yet this morning.
He checked a few rooms before walking out onto the porch and seeing his dad in the driveway. John was leaning on his Impala seemingly frustrated on the phone “Dean I'm tellin’ you it's a salt and burn. That's all it is, you find the bones and you burn them, simple ok? Do I need to start leaving you with a babysitter again?” Adam did not know who this Dean was or what kind of scolding included burning bones but the man on the other line seemed to disagree with what John had suggested but Adam couldn't quite hear his exact response.
John noticed Adam and then his puzzled face and ended the conversation with the other man abruptly. “Hey, sorry bud,” John looked around for excuses as if the air would give him one. “That was uh” He gained a fake smile ”a buddy from work, they're practically useless without me there” He added all too seriously and grabbed Adam's shoulder as he did so with more force than the situation required.
Adam didn't understand why his father always did that; it wasn't as fatherly as John thought it was. He wanted to pull away but John did that for him.“Burn the bones?” Adam pushed for further clarification.
John blanked for a moment as if he wasn't expecting Adam to be curious. Adam's Dad's tone again turned too stern for what Adam believed the situation required “it's mechanic slang,” Adam waited for his father to continue but no further explanation came.
Just when Adam was about to turn back into the house to go finish his probably now soggy cereal. John spoke up again “Adam, I've gotta go help ‘em”
Adam scoffed “Really?” Adam wasn't too fond of his father being around but ditching him once again for his job as a mechanic was truly unbelievable to him. Didn't he want to try?
John looked in disbelief, he stepped closer to the teenager “Yes really, now when I come back we can go fishing like we did last year-”
Adam cut him off “when you come back? you mean next year” the sass rolled off his tongue all too easily and John didn't appreciate it.
“Look Adam I try alright I can't help that I'm busy, my work is unavoidable and it's demanding you understand?”
The thought of cowering down and keeping his mouth shut didn't cross his mind “You're a mechanic! if that-” He scrunched his face trying to remember who he was speaking to on the phone “Dean guy can't fix a car himself there are plenty of other people someone can get their car fixed by! You don't have to leave!”
John pinched the bridge of his nose so hard Adam thought it was going to pierce. “there are just some things you don't understand,”
Again Adam waited for further explanation that would never come so instead he encouraged it on his own. “Well enlighten me then, what don't I understand about how demanding the work of a mechanic is? How is it so demanding you have only seen me 4 times?”
John seemed to have lost his temper at that “Don't talk to me that way! you don't know what you're talkin’ ‘bout son!” He stormed to the driver side of his Impala “Now get back in the house i'll deal with your attitude when I get back”
Adam tried to speak multiple times but was cut off by John each time. All he wanted was an explanation. last thing he heard his Dad say before shutting himself into the car was “It should only be a few days”
Adam tried shouting at him to stop him from leaving but cut his losses quick when he heard the engine start. After storming back into the house he paced behind the slammed door he repeated to himself all the things he should have said. He had just started to think ‘god i should have just yelled that's not an answer’ when he remembered his mom would be home from the store soon and unbelievably upset Adam drove John off.
It had been a good few weeks since Adam had seen his father but of course, after their fight, it was radio silence just as he expected. And now Adam had just gotten into a fight with his mother that led to him getting kicked out.
Adam hadn't been kicked out before, more so he never even fought with his mom before. He didn't expect her to react like that; It wasn't a big deal. Adam honestly believed she would call him in a few hours and ask him to come home. He couldn't even say what the fight was about; it was just unreasonable to him it got out of hand and messy. It got so uncontrollable they started bringing up things that shouldn't even have been relevant such as the topic of John Winchester.
They were fighting for an hour when Adam said some overused teenage crap about wishing he had a better father and it being his mother's fault and Kate threw back unsustainable Mom logic to Adam about being her a terrible mother and how he should just call John. Even though they both knew that was a pointless idea and the exact opposite of what Adam ment.
He really didn't think he would have to, his mom loved him, she really didn't want him out of the house because of that… thing she found out about him. She would call and they would just forget about it. Adam wouldn't even bring it up again. He would have just done that in the first place if she asked
A few hours passed and he was still just walking around his neighborhood. He was able to pack a backpack of things and grab a little bit of cash, about enough to get him through a few days. But he wouldn't need that right? Kate would call, his mother would want him back.
The sunset before Adam was even thrown out and Adam could see his breath in the air. Adam put on another jacket he had in his backpack and that kept him settled for the moment. Adam was already getting hungry but decided to hold out. He kept walking till he got to a park. No one was around so he climbed up on top of the monkey bars and debated calling his mom to apologize. But he still didn't think he was in the wrong.
It got completely pitch black too quick for Adam's comfort and despite his better judgment he got nervous. He slid down into the playground under one of the plastic castle covers to be a little more hidden and warm. He sat there replaying the whole argument and everything that led up to it. He tried to understand why his mom would kick him out over something like that, over anything. He hugged his legs to his chest. She wasn't even supposed to find out.
He decided to call her and apologize anyway. He couldn't be alone without his mother with nowhere to go. This wasn't like having to make his own meals and put himself to bed for years; this was like being thrown overboard into iceberg infested waters without warning.
A ring and a voicemail was all he got.
“Shit,” His voice came out shaky. He didn't even notice he had gotten so overwhelmed. Adam tried for what felt like an hour not to cry but gave in eventually. He kept himself quiet just in case someone came through the park and heard him.
Adam felt miserable after, defeated even. He was cold, starving, face was wet, frustrated, had nowhere to go and his mom wouldn't answer, she probably blocked him. He tried to think of what to do when he remembered what his mother yelled at him “Well if you think i'm so bad just call your father!” He knew she was taunting him but he was out of options now and dialed his old number.
it rang and rang and rang until he got a voicemail “This is John Winchester.” He was about to throw his phone in frustration about getting another one of his parents voicemail “I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son Dean. 866-907-3235.”
Call. His. Son. What?
He called again to make sure he heard that right. He did. Of course. He should have figured that out, That's why he wasn't around. That's why He didn't have a father on his birth certificate. He was the second family. Now he was cold, starving, face was wet, frustrated, had nowhere to go and his mom wouldn't answer, and felt like an idiot for not realizing earlier.
And that guy he left him for and never came back for wasn't some guy he worked with but his other son.
As he was coming to that realization he was simultaneously redialing the number so he could get his brother's number. He had no reason to but he hoped Dean would answer. He had no clue what he was going to say but he needed help.
Four days, four days was the usual maximum Dean would wait for a call from his father on hunts. It had been five, and he didn't usually worry, and today was no different, hunting was not always what was expected so one extra day was something he could handle, he was on his own for a hunt as well anyway so he put that to the front of his mind instead of the calls that went to voicemail and his empty inbox.
But then five days turned to six almost a week with no contact from his Dad, he had failed to mention where exactly this hunt was going down so he had nowhere to start. He called Bobby and pastor Jim Murphy for any news on his father but that was a dead end too.
Just kill the monster he reminded himself and put his mind to the hunt. This proved to be effective. His adrenaline ran high when he got back to the motel covered in monster guts. He half expected a voice mail or a message from an unsaved contact or a drop of coordinates when he got back but only a text back from the waitress a few nights before. He debated returning the message but decided against it.
He took a shower and then returned her message.
His mind was promptly taken off his father's disappearance for another few hours. It was almost 3 in the morning when Dean chose to take his leave despite the woman's tired protest to get him to stay. He really needed to skip town before cop's found the mutilated imp’s body.
As he walked up the stairs to his second floor room he got a call from an unknown number and the thought that it could be his father calling from a throw away phone, as that wasn't an uncommon occurrence made him answer on first ring “Hello?”
But he wasn't met with the sound of his father greeting him back but instead “I need to speak to John, is he there”
Dean's key remained unturned in the motel door. “John’s not here” Dean thought it ironic that someone else was looking for John at the same time as him. “How did you get my number?”
It was a moment of silence before the boy on the other line took a shaky breath and responded “Dad gave me your number” Adam didn't want to get hung up on just yet so he gave a in between the truth and a lie answer.
Dean turned the key finally and got into his motel. He was still utterly confused by who this kid was. “Your dad? who is that, why is he giving out my number”
Dean heard the other voice mumble a regret to himself before speaking into the phone again “I don't know, I really don't know why John just didn't answer himself” Adam was getting frustrated again but kept his cool so as to not scare off the other man.
“Yeah, same here” Dean dragged his hand down his face. He was too tired to be talking to this random kid, he had a lot of driving ahead of him. “Just tell me what you need from John I'll see if I can help”
“Right, right I needed him to come pick me up?” Adam offered he figured that was not what Dean would want to hear
Adam was right as he could hear Dean annoyance slip out “Look kid, John isn't a taxi service. Tell your dad he can't be giving my number out for things like that. If your Dad has my number I'm sure it wasn't because me or my Dad were offering rides alright?”
“I can't”
“What do you mean you can't?” Dean asked as he started to throw his misplacing and messy clothes into his duffle bag
“I mean” Adam was deciding if he should lie or tell the truth either way, probably ending up with Dean hanging up on him. His mouth made the choice for him “I mean that John Winchester is my dad and he didn't answer and I need him to pick me up cuz I got kicked out and I don't know what to do I'm in the park and it's like 3:00 in the morning and-”
“Whoa whoa roll it back, John Winchester's is your what?” Dean dropped the duffle and sat back on the worn out motel bed.
There was a pause before either spoke again “im his son,”
“no i'm his son” Dean protested then slightly regretting they way he chose to word that
Adam jeered “Well the funny thing is people can have multiple children”
Dean rolled his eyes as if the teen on the other line would see it “Yeah alright, I meant that I would know if had another brother”
“I thought so too,” Another few seconds of awkward silence but no hang up tone yet “Wait I have another brother?”
“No! I mean- yeah?” Dean was trying to get his thoughts in order. His mind was racing. He wanted to hang up and forget about all this but the kid said he was kicked out. He couldn't let another boy go through that the way he did. “What's your name kid?”
“I'm Adam, Your Dean right?” Adam asked to confirm though by the conversation already he was pretty sure this was a child of John Winchester.
“That's me,” Dean started to talk with his hands as if he was laying out the situation for himself. “alright, Adam?” Adam hummed, confirming his name “Adam, if you're John's son, my brother, where are you? Why haven't we met?”
“I don't know and my Mom's? well I was until earlier tonight” Adam started pulling at the wood in the playground platform knowing questions about why he was kicked out would be coming.
Dean sighed he thought maybe alarm bells should be going off but an upsetting feeling in his stomach told him this wasn't a practical joke “Your mom kicked you out then?”
Adam just nodded before realizing Dean wouldn't be able to see him “yea” His voice died in the middle of his one word response
Dean was bouncing his leg as he decided what he was going to do, this kid who didn't sound over 16 was alone after being kicked out. Brother or not he was going to help “Where are you?”
“What?” Adam was surprised but before Dean would repeat himself he just kept talking “i'm in windom, minnesota” He stood up on the old playset looking to see if he could find an address “At the park”
“Ok Minnesota” Dean started to do some math “im in Wisconsin I can be there in 4ish hours?”
Adam was in disbelief he couldn't see his own face but he was sure his jaw dropped he was actually getting help. “You're coming to get me?”
Dean sighed as he pushed himself off the motel bed once again to get packing. “Yeah? you got kicked out and you're 14? You need someone to help you out. doesn't help that i'm probably your brother as well”
“15,” Adam had found a sign with the address and started texting it to Dean “You're not even going to ask why I was kicked out?” Adam was relieved he really didn't want to have to come out with the story right now.
“No,” Dean paused midway through putting his jacket on and switching hands that held the flip phone “Should I?”
“No!” Adam said a little to guiltily “I'll just text you the address of the park, see you in four-ish hours”
“Alright, see you then” He grabbed his artlessly packed duffle and scanned over the room to make sure he hadn't skipped over anything “And stay safe till I get there? got it?”
Adam hated being babied and was going to tell his apparent older brother so before remembering the only thing he knew about him was that he was just kicked out and had only learned of his existence ten minutes ago. “Yeah got it”
Adam fell asleep on the wooden playground a little more easily than he expected that night