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saber-of-dreams · 4 years

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Dead as a Dodo (Birds of a Feather pt. 5)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

“Welcome home, Daughter.”

The heat washed over her first. And then the acrid, sulfuric smell. Raven didn’t bother to say anything. They’d played this exchange out many many times, and she was too tired to humor him. Besides, his over-pleasant tone told her everything she needed to know. Trigon was still imprisoned, and still trying to wheedle his way out.

Sometimes she thought she was being paranoid, for coming back to hell every single day. But then she looked up at the demon that had sired her and realized she probably wasn’t being cautious enough. Hadn’t Azerath been lesson enough for her? Weren’t her visions of that other life proof enough?

Raven opened another portal and returned to Earth.

The daughter of a demon seeking refuge in a church was the creme de la creme of ironies, in her book. But she had no where else to go. She’d considered trying to join the Titans, but she feared what would happen to them when the inevitable happened and her demonic father broke free.

She shouldn’t have approached Damian, either. But of all the memories she’d seen of that other life, it was the memories of him that had come with such powerful emotions. Respect on a level that was almost frightening. Trust so strong she was convinced even the literal end of the world couldn’t shatter it. And...love. Although, she had to admit to herself that the last one might just be her own wishful thinking. Probably her own unrequited feelings for him.

But she was an empath, and much as emotion for her were like trying to juggle chainsaws on a tightrope, she’d also spent the last who-even-knew-how-long in hell. She was emotionally starved. So when she’d sensed Damian’s familiar presence...he was the flame. She the moth.

Though, she had to admit even to herself, Damian’s brief flair of embarrassment and pure joy right after he’d offered her his hand was a positive sign. She sensed that he was probably just as drawn to her as she was to him. Perhaps they were both moths, then. Problematically, that made Trigon something like a metaphorical bug zapper. His coming would be the death of everything she’d ever cared about, and if her father learned that she had feelings for someone... She shied away from that thought.

If they could defeat her father though...she sighed.

Like Damian, she too had gaps in her memory. She remembered meeting him. Healing him after he’d provoked Blue Beetle in a stupid fight. But her last clear memory was of an encounter not long after that where he’d (sort of) thanked her for healing him, and then he’d mentioned seeing into her mind too, and the man he’d seen. Just recalling the memory made Raven shiver. Everything after that was a jumbled mixture of disconnected images and a riot of feelings that she had no context for.

Right now her sole hope was that she’d gained these memories early enough to prevent the end of the world. Surely now that she knew (mostly) what was coming she would be better able to stop it.

That night her dreams were fire and destruction and death. She woke in a cold sweat, to find she wasn’t alone.

“When I said I’d see you at 6, I meant pm.” She muttered.

Damian looked up from the copy of the bible he’d been scanning. “Oh I know. I had questions about why you ended up...here.” His eyes flickered over the bare room, the empty pews surrounding her.

“How did you know I was here?” She demanded groggily.

“I put a tracker on you, of course.”

Raven groaned and sat up. It was wwwayyy too early to be dealing with interruptions. She hadn’t even had...

Damian held out a plastic coffee cup. She wrinkled her nose, a refusal on her lips. Damian beat her to it. “It’s tea.”

“Oh.” She said.

“I remembered you wouldn’t drink much else. Hopefully it’s steeped long enough.”

She took the cup and took a tentative sip. It was a bit over-brewed, but she much preferred that problem to the opposite.

“So. How come you’re not living with the Titans. I noticed you dodged my question last night.” He kept his posture casual, his eyes on the page in front of him, but his interest in her answer rolled off of him in a wave.

She took a long, fortifying drink. Then she gave him the truth. “You know my father...what he is. I believe in that...other life...he escaped his prison, and that the destruction that he wrought is what brought the world to its knees. I think it will happen again. And when it does...I don’t want others to die fighting my battle.”

Damian scoffed. “Ridiculous.” He didn’t look at her. His eyes didn’t leave the page.

“What is?” She demanded.

“If you couldn’t defeat him with the help of the Titans and I would assume by extension the Justice League...you have no chance in hell on your own.” Damian snapped the book shut. “Besides. That isn’t the truth, is it?”

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t staying away from them just because you fear for their safety. If that was the truth, you wouldn’t have even come to this world. But you are here, and you’re the one who reached out to me - “

“I shouldn’t have done that.” She admitted.

“Which means” he continued, ignoring her, “that you didn’t go to them because you were afraid of something else. I would guess you were afraid that they will remember more of this other life and that they’ll blame you for it.”

Raven looked away.

“Which,” Damian concluded, “as I said earlier, is ridiculous.”

Raven opened her mouth, but suddenly found herself incapable of forming words.

“No one can blame you for your parentage, Raven.”

“But they can blame me for the destruction of everything they hold dear. You don’t understand, Damian. This has been my destiny from the moment I was conceived.”

“Raven, the only person you’re destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Emerson? I had you pegged as a Thoreau kind of guy.”

Damian shrugged. “I like variety. Now stop deflecting. I know you’re afraid, but I swear I will be there every step of the way. And we can’t do this without the Titans.”

Raven looked at the stained glass windows on the opposite side of the church. The light that spilled onto the aisle was appropriately red. “I close my eyes and all I see is death. People I loved and innocents who were slaughtered for no damn reason at all. I caused the extinction of life on Azerath, Damian. I don’t think I can bear it here too.”

“Then we’ll just have to stop it.” He carefully placed the bible back into the holder in front of him and stood. “But before that, we’re going to go get breakfast, and then I’m going to see about getting you a room at my hotel.”

Raven stood up. “I can’t let you -”

“Do you honestly expect me to just let you live like this?” He asked, gesturing around them. “Really, Raven?”

She flushed. “It’s not your problem.”

“Your comfort and happiness is most certainly my problem. Now, let’s go. I saw a bakery a couple of blocks over with fresh-baked croissants.” He walked up the aisle, stopping about halfway to the door when he noticed she hadn’t followed.

Raven groaned, knowing a lost battle when she saw one.

To his credit, the croissants were delicious. And the tea was divine. But then he’d gone on to try to book her a suite the size of his own. She’d put her foot down, insisting that all she needed was a simple room with a single bed and a small bathroom in it. He’d equally insisted that she would be more comfortable in something with more amenities and space. Eventually the helpful (though bewildered) desk clerk had helped them find a compromise in a much smaller room with a large king-size bed and a massive bathroom.

He gave her a few blessed hours to take a scalding hot bath and rest in the comfort of her new room, saying he had other business to attend to. He knocked on her door at a few minutes to 6 pm.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Not particularly.” She muttered, shutting the door behind her.

She took him to an arcade that she remembered Garfield and Jaime being fond of. Damian looked around at all the flashing lights and loud noise and sighed. They knew that it was unlikely they’d find the Titans on their first go, so they knew that would probably have to come back a few days in a row. They played a few uninspired video games and then Damian demanded they go somewhere else.

The next place Raven remembered was a cafe that she knew Starfire liked to frequent for dinner dates with Dick Grayson. This was where she’d learned that Nightwing and Batman had been out of town. Starfire had come to pick up a to-go order. The clerk had asked her where her boyfriend was because he hadn’t seen him around for a while, and Starfire mentioned that he was on a business trip with his father for a few weeks. Raven translated that pretty easily.

But they struck out there too.

But fortune was with them, because as they were getting ready to call it quits for the night, they heard screams and loud explosions a few blocks over.

They exchanged a look and bolted for the source of the commotion. They ran opposite to the crowd, up a few blocks to the busiest part of the city. She was so focused on reaching her goal that she almost missed the ice. The entire city block was a sheet of it.

Raven gasped as she went sliding, grabbing onto a streetlamp to steady herself.

“Ugh.” She groaned. Farther up the street, Captain Cold was having a megalomaniac moment, covering every visible surface in sheets of ice.

She’d lost sight of Damian in the crowd, but she knew he was careful and could take care of himself. Right now her priority was to stop Cold.

Overhead a familiar green bird swooped into view, closely followed by a flying Beetle and Starfire. As they swooped in to neutralize Captain Cold, three other members of the criminal family appeared, engaging them.

Raven watched as Damian swept in, engaging Mr. Freeze while Beast Boy took on Killer Frost, Blue Beetle battled Icicle and Starfire went after Captain Cold. Raven joined her, teleporting just in time to throw up a shield and block a streak of Ice headed for Starfire’s head.

Starfire’s eyes widened when she saw her, but the alien princess’ attention was quickly claimed by their opponent. But between the two of them, they managed to subdue the ice villain. Behind her, Damian had already knocked Mr. Freeze out and Jaime had tied up Icicle. Beast Boy was wearing Killer Frost out. It wasn’t long before she too was subdued.

“Raven?” Starfire said.

Raven turned. “Hi, Starfire. Do you...do you remember me?”

Starfire smiled. “Yes. Yes...I thought it had all been dreams...”

“I think a lot of us are experiencing that lately.” She admitted.

A Tiger’s roar and Damian’s snarled curses shattered her brief moment of happiness. “Wait!” She cried, seeing Beast Boy and Blue Beetle starting to attack Damian.

“Stop!” Starfire commanded.

Reluctantly, the three teen boys looked up.

“He’s a member of the League of Assassins!” Beast Boy protested, pointing to Damian’s garb.

“Damian. Take off your hood.” Raven called.

Slowly, Damian did as she asked. Raven watched as the confusion and partial recognition distorted Beast Boy’s face as he tried to place the other. Jaime had clasped his head and fallen to his knees, groaning similiarly to how Damian had the day before.

“Damian...” Starfire said. She sounded relieved. Damian looked up, surprised. “You remember me?” He asked.

“Yes.” Starfire said, simply. “Though, I expected to see you dressed as Robin, not...as a member of the League of Assassins.”

“Who is Robin?” Damian asked.

“He...uh...doesn’t remember everything.” Raven explained. “We both have some pretty big gaps in our memories.”

“Yes, I feel holes in my own memories as well. Perhaps we should...compare notes?”

“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Raven agreed.

Damian sheathed his sword, but watched Jaime and Garth warily.

“I suppose some things never change?” Starfire remarked, following her gaze. The animosity between the three was like a charged battery ready to explode. Raven doubted they’d do anything, but she was still frustrated by the machismo. She’d hoped that they’d be past the grandstanding at least.

“I guess not.” Raven said with a resigned sigh.

#damirae #demonbirds #damian x raven #raven #rachel roth #damian wayne #robin #dcau #dc #jld: apokolips war #jldarkapokolipswar

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need-a-new-hobby · 4 years

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The Boogeyman

summary: oc is dr. piper bishop. you may find a full profile on my tumblr (soon). her qualifications are 4 Ph.Ds in different branches of psychology, a master’s in history and bachelor’s in literature all by 22 (I wanted her to compete w/ reid). based on S2E6: The Boogeyman

When her honey-brown eyes fluttered awake, it was still dark. 5:30 am. She rose out of bed, rubbing her eyes, like a child waking up on a Sunday morning. Slipping on her ruby slippers, she staggered to the kitchen, remnants of last night’s class schedule and history projects strewn across her beige countertop, to make a cup of tea. It was strange, here in Ozona, to drink iced coffee, never mind tea. She set the kettle, pulled her long cardigan to cover her chest and regarded the manor in the woods. The whistle shattered her gaze at the dilapidated house.

In Virginia, 6 agents discussed the death of two children in the middle of Texas. "Nicholas Faye of Ozona, Texas, was beaten to death roughly 13 hours ago. Blunt force trauma to the head," JJ sighed. There was never a good day nor time to deliberate on innocent and defenceless children. But she’d worked this job too long to slip into that pattern of doom and gloom. "He’s the second young boy to die the same way in the last 2 months. A local hunter found his body in the woods. First victim’s name, Robbie Davis."

"Are these boys connected somehow?" asked Morgan.

"Ozona’s population is roughly 2 500. Everyone has some kind of connection."

"Well, if they weren’t linked before they certainly are now." Morgan wore the same grim expression of exasperation as JJ. The agents agreed that they were both murdered by the same offender who was hunting children. The repulsiveness wasn’t lost on any of them.

^-^

Piper Bishop was a history teacher. She asked herself why every day. Every day she’d sit on her front porch, sipping on tea, asking why. Her entire life, she’d wanted to help people, and her entire life, she questioned if it was enough. She wasn’t smart enough to go to medical school, her father had made sure she understood that at most. Her clear preference for the humanities was seen as repulsive, condemned for "supporting these damn bleeding-heart liberals". Neither were Daniel’s remarks lost on her either. She remembered her last reunion with her siblings. "You have 4 Ph.Ds Pipes," he’d said, blues gazing at browns. "Why are you teaching school kids?" She’d find the answer every time a young girl whispered about a bully in her ear, every time a young boy bared his scars to her. She’d tried doing the psychiatry gig, but the stigma behind her patients meant she had none. Her father’s words still stuck to her. Though she’d shaken him off, his voice became her own. What if he is right though? What if you really won’t amount to anything? Piper laughed at her own absurdity. She’d almost missed the sunrise. The warm sun peeking out at her behind the trees melted away all her doubts. "Time for school Dr. Bishop."

^-^

"You guys hear Elle was cleared?" Spencer sat down with his cup of hot coffee next to Derek. Well, more sugar than coffee anyway.

"Self-defence," Derek stated, flipping through the files, with an air of disbelief.

"So it was a good shoot." Derek turned towards the young agent.

"She hit what she was aiming for." JJ commented without a glance at the two men in front of her, eyes focused on the case at hand.

"That’s not what I meant."

"I know." The blonde agent said.

"If they cleared her," Morgan asked, "then how come she’s not here with us? Or Hotch?"

"Focus on the case," Gideon reprimanded, seated away from them. Taking it as a sign to change the conversation, JJ handed out the autopsy reports. Morgan then suggested the bludgeoning was a form of frustration or rage.

"With no apparent sexual motivation," Reid added, "that’s rare when the victims are this young."

"The unsure is taking pleasure from the kill itself." Gideon contributed.

"If it’s not sexual, what’s the significance in killing young males?"

"Most serial killers prey upon specific types to carry out fantasies of revenge.” Spencer answered, drawing on his memory. “Bundy killed women that looked like an ex-girlfriend who jilted him, Dahmer claimed that schoolyard harassment federal into his fury."

"Okay, so maybe these kids represent someone who victimised the offender?"

"Unlikely," JJ replied, "they just found another body. 11 year old girl."

^-^

Piper glanced over her desk quickly once more. Her worksheets were ready, her timeline of Alexander the Great was drawn up and her map of Alexander’s territory was pinned, dotted with little flags and sketched out. She was determined to make this module the best one yet to make up for the tension in the classroom. She’d already lost 2 kids to that coward in the woods, she wasn’t about to lose a third. The Persian horde had arrived and the young doctor opened the gates to receive the 45 little kids raging to their beloved history teacher. No, 43 now, she chided herself. Closing the door, she mentally reminded her to control her emotions. She turned to face her little devils, "Who’s ready to fight the Macedons?"

Her warm eyes flitted across the desks. That was weird. Three desks were empty this time. "Has anyone seen Sarah?" She entertained her class for a while and told them to take a worksheet each while she made a call. Piper popped her head into Mr Davison’s class and asked him to keep an eye on her class. She tapped her fingers erratically while the administration office checked up on Mrs Peterson. "Well,?"

"Dr. Bishop, Sarah’s not at home either."

Piper took a shaky breath before entering her classroom. She’ll be fine. She probably got lost on her way to school. The police will do their job. Relax.

"Okay, who can tell me who Alexander is?"

Hailey jumped up and recited, "Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the…" The young brunette stumbled. Piper could see the happiness leech from the young girl’s face.

"Argead dynasty, idiot." Jeffrey yelled, sticking his tongue out. "She can’t even speak. Are you dumb, Hailey?"

"Enough, Jeffrey, don’t you ever put someone else down for trying. If you keep your head down and keep studying, maybe you can be a teacher too, but trying and failing is better than doing nothing at all." Piper turned her attention to the tears rapidly forming in the child’s blinking eyes. Piper handed her a tissue from her desk and kneeled down next to her. "It’s okay kiddo. We make mistakes sometimes. That doesn’t mean we stop trying. What do you think that word says?" After a couple of tries, Hailey got the hang of it, and Piper could move on.

"Alex spent most of his years on a military campaign through western Asia and northeast Africa," Piper said, drawing their attention to what she’d say was an impressive map. "And by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India."

^-^

Gideon and the local sheriff trudged through fallen leaves to the site of where the battered boy was. "This isn’t a dump site," Gideon noted, "the murder happened right here." Kneeling down, he said, more to his own benefit than the sheriff, "Autopsy report claims no sign of a struggle."

"Poor little guy never had a chance."

Gideon envisioned the incident. The 8 year old boy walking past, turning back to see his abuser.

"The victims knew their killer." He muttered to himself. "Followed them to this spot."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, the kids went this deep into the woods because they trusted them. Probably stashed his weapon here beforehand. We’re looking for someone intelligent, methodical, but the method of killing doesn’t fit. It’s confusing. Doesn’t make sense." Gideon’s words were as fragmented as his thoughts, desperately trying to pull the pieces together.

Less than a quarter mile away from the other dumpsites, the gangly doctor stood next to the bagged and battered kid. "Violence was post-mortem," revealed the medical examiner on the case, equally horrified at the scenes unfolding over the past few weeks.

"So, the killer’s becoming more brazen."

"But now he’s spending more time with the victims even after death." Morgan glanced at the yellow 'Hunting Area' sign nailed to a tree. "If he’s a hunter," Derek turned to Spencer, "he’d know every inch of these woods."

^-^

The PA squealed out just as Piper was getting to the Persian conquest. "All students, please head to the assembly hall immediately, all teachers to the teacher’s lounge." The young woman herded the daydreamers out, grabbed her Doctor Who mug and rushed to the lounge. Whilst pouring herself a cup of coffee, James told her about the parents and the BAU members coming to discuss the murders. Steeling herself for a gruesome speech, Piper headed over to the hall to introduce the kids to FBI agents while James stayed behind to console parents. While the soles of her sneakers rushed, her head wandered. Who were these agents? Were these kids gonna be okay? At the entrance to the hall, her forehead wrinkled and her body collided with a lanky agent and her warm coffee stained the whole of both their cardigans, her brain juice spilling all over the floor.

"Sorry," they both exclaimed. Gideon and JJ walked by, snickering as she entered the hall, but Gideon barely spared them a glance.

"Seriously, I am so sorry." Piper gushed. "I have some tissues, and there’s a bathroom right there."

The agent just laughed and took the cardigan off. "Don’t worry about it, it’s brown anyway." He stared at your TARDIS mug. "Is that…" Piper blanched. Did she now also have to explain Doctor Who to him?

"I know it looks like a phone booth but it’s actually a…" She stumbled. "I have no idea how to explain this without sounding like I’m a complete lunatic."

"No, I know what Doctor Who is." He chuckled softly.

Piper sighed in relief. "Finally, you have no idea the glances I get for this thing."

"Reid!" Gideon yelled from the hallway.

"That’s me. Bye." Spencer waved awkwardly at the young woman in front of him, before sidestepping her quickly to get to his mentor.

^-^

"It could be someone you know or it could be a stranger you pass at the grocery store. But it’s vital that we keep our eyes open and our children close. Now as Ozona’s guidance counsellor, I can only help your children with the aftermath but our police department is working with the FBI, gathering information on the case. To elaborate on that, Agent Jason Gideon." James introduced the middle-aged agent to the anxious parents sitting in the lounge. Reid stood behind his mentor.

"We want you to know we’re doing everything we can to find the person responsible. Until we do there are a number of precautions you need to take. Let me go over some of them with you."

^-^

Piper watched the kids attentively, just barely paying Agent Jareau and Agent Morgan attention.

"It’s a buddy system," JJ started. "That means you always go everywhere with a friend."

"That’s because bad men and women only talk to us when we’re alone."

"We don’t know what these guys look like yet. It might be someone you know."

Hailey raised her hand.

"Yeah, sweetheart, you got a question?" Piper was touched by the kindness in Agent Morgan’s voice. You couldn’t fake that tenderness.

Hailey took a deep breath, "There was this little girl once on the news who just got grabbed right in front of our house. Could that happen to us?"

The tall agent looked back at Agent Jareau. Piper understood the hesitation.

"Hailey, sweetheart, nothing will happen to you, you have my word." She walked over to the young girl and gently rubbed her shoulder. "So long as you listen to the FBI, honey." She nodded to the agents and stepped back.

^-^

"Any more questions?" Gideon asked.

"Did you ever find his hat?" Mrs Faye asked in a trembling voice, fighting the urge to cry.

"'Scuse me?" Jason was confused.

"The red one I put on him. He was wearing it when he left."

"I’m sorry, Mrs Faye," Jason rubbed his hand.

"Mandatory curfew at 5pm." James interjected and dismissed the parents. "Just make sure you know where your children are."

^-^

Piper grabbed her bag after the last bell had gone. The ghosts of Robbie, Nicholas and Sarah hadn’t left your head. She wished she could kiss the fear away from those kids. Piper jumped at the rap on the door.

"Agent Morgan. What can I do you for?"

"Just a few routine questions." Piper gestured to the seat next to her desk.

"How can I help you?"

"How long have you worked here?"

"Must be about a year now."

"As a history teacher?" Piper smiled.

"Did you guess from the armour and the coffin?" The tall doctor swung his head to take a look at the almost replica of armour.

"Have you noticed anyone looking at the children in a strange way?" Morgan continued.

“Is this an original?”

“Gods, no. Everyone knows a teacher doesn’t make enough to own original Macedonian armour. Also Greece refuses to sell any artefact to American citizens considering their scuffle with the British Museum.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she considered Morgan’s question. "I don’t think so. The chances of a child predator in a small town are ridiculously low since state law requires registered sex offenders live 2,000 feet from schools and Texas’s registry is public. I suppose the problem would then be unregistered ones, in which case, kids are always under supervision. Most likely, only someone the kids trust would be the coward doing this. In that scenario, the only adults with that kind of trust would be family friends, family, the teachers and the bus driver. I’ve met all the parents and none of them fit the psychological requirements of a sexual predator and honestly, neither do the teachers."

Morgan smiled at your thought process. "Huh, you’d make quite the profiler, but we don’t think it’s a sexual act since the bodies don’t show any sign of a sexual assault."

Piper mulled over the new information. "I know those kids. They’re good kids and even if it just boils down to a case of rage, no adult within their inner circles would be capable of such a thing. It’s not that it’s impossible, but it is highly unlikely. A lot of these people have kids of their own." She saw the disbelief on their faces so she switched tacks. "What’s your profile of the killer?"

"We can’t disclose that to the public yet."

"Then think of it as a consultation." Piper said, pulling out her resume from an inner drawer.

Morgan whistled and Reid glanced at the sheet over his shoulder. "4 PhDs in clinical, child, abnormal and counselling psychology. Why are you a history teacher?"

Piper glanced at the door. "Everyone told me to start my own practice, and I did." She pointed at the glowing resume in Derek’s hands. "When people heard about this, they came too. But slowly they stopped. At first I thought it was a good sign. But I’d call them in a month, and they’d tell me they’d slipped back into their addictions, or their depressive episodes." She combed her hand through her hair.

"So I quit, packed my bags, moved to Ozona and asked for a teaching position." She let out a shaky breath. "I am more than qualified to help you out, Agent Morgan, so please let me." Morgan looked back at Reid who shrugged.

^-^

"Can I have your attention please?" The local department turned to focus on Agent Gideon. "We’d like to make something clear." He cleared his throat. "Due to the velocity of change, we predict this offender could try to strike again at any time. His confidence builds with every attack."

"Look for someone physically fit, shy, kind disposition. Someone you may trust with your own child. Because the killer targets kids, he may be small himself," Morgan took over, "and though we keep referring to this unsub as he, do not rule out a woman."

A mother and her young son rushed over to the small congregation. Piper recognised her. "Excuse me. My son Matthew never came home today."

Gideon stepped forward, asking where he was last seen. "His teachers saw him in the parking lot after school." At that moment, all officers and agents moved to start looking for the boy. Reid and Morgan turned to the map, trying to figure out how and where he may be taken. Noticing the woman in distress and panic, JJ asked the woman to take a seat. Piper watched the scene from a corner and focused on the little boy with her.

"What are you thinking about over here?" She knelt down in front of him.

"Nothing," said the child softly.

"You look awfully upset to be thinking about nothing. Wanna tell me what’s wrong?"

"Matty said he was just gonna ring the doorbell. At the haunted house. On the hill."

"Finnegan’s place," interrupted James.

"Forever kind of a local legend," the sheriff informed the agents. "Folks say he watches kids from the window. Hunts 'em. Skins 'em. Eats 'em."

"Why weren’t we told about this?" Morgan faced the sheriff. "Fables often come from an ounce of truth. We should exhaust every possibility."

^-^

As day turned to night and the FBI agents raided Finnegan’s manor, Piper sat on her porch, mulling the profile over and over. She knew the people in town. She’d have known if there was a killer in their midst. Do you, though? You think you know better that professional profilers? What, because you wrote a few research papers in 4 years. Get a grip. She glanced at Old Man Finnegan’s place. He’d stopped coming into the town after his wife died, she knew that much. No, it couldn’t be him. Why would the kids trust a man they fear? So, who? Shaking her head, the young woman walked into the house. She grabbed a mandarin from her little fruit bowl and busied herself making a cup of tea. I have to be making an assumption. C’mon Pipes! Her mind flashed back to class. The little boy in her 7th grade class yelling at little Hailey then the incident in April in the parking lot. Ignoring the yell of her kettle, Piper left her orange on the counter and rushed to her dining table to her binders. She scrambled to her 7th grade class binder. Jeffrey Charles and on top, her cursive handwriting that her mom was so damn proud of. Father, James Charles, guidance counsellor. Mother, unknown, left in Apr. 2006. She flicked to her notes.

Disruptive. Borderline bully. Possesses strained empathy for others. Loner. Apathetic towards school. Can be attributed to broken family.

She glanced at the time. 1:30 am. Shit. Should I call Morgan anyway? Piper pulled out her phone and the card Derek had given her. Not giving her brain the chance to overthink, Piper dialled the number. After 7 rings, she hangs up. Of course he didn’t pick up your call. Did you really think what you have to say matters? She brushed the nasty voice of her dad off, but left the phone on the table. She took the kettle off, turned the lights off, locked the door, and went to bed.

^-^

The boys separated in the night, torches and guns at the ready. Gideon and Reid took the back while Morgan and the sheriff took the front of the house. Morgan flicked the lights on and off, but nothing happened. "Definitely haunted."

Gideon and Reid edged towards the garage. "FBI," Gideon yelled, only to hear the soft mumbles of a child.

"I didn’t want the old man to find me."

"All right," Gideon said, rather gruffer than he intended, "No one’s gonna harm you."

^-^

Spencer settled down in the darkness. "Hey Garcia, did you get anything?" he greeted their tech analyst softly.

"Well, only that Finnegan’s house in the hill is like the Bates hotel of Ozona, Texas." She grinned and continued her knitting.

"Yeah, we heard the legends."

"Spencer, seriously, people that go into that house supposedly never come out. SpoOky!" Penelope sang.

"Garcia, could you at least pretend not to enjoy that rumour so much considering I’ve actually entered the house?"

"Sensitive," she mocked the young doctor. "Sorry,"

"Besides, local police say there are no reports of that happening."

"Yeah, this is true. All complaints filed were false alarms. But then there is that matter of his missing wife," the blonde taunted.

"Wife? What wife? When did she go missing?"

"Almost 50 years ago," she said sinisterly.

"Is there no record of her ever being found?"

"I got 2 words for you my friend, rear window." Reid abandoned his files to pay attention to his dear, quirky and unrelentingly mischievous friend. "That guy probably chopped that lady up into delicious, bite-sized little pieces."

Something creaked outside Reid’s window.

"Think about it, Spencer," she continued, "she may have never left the premises." Garcia could barely contain her giggles. "She may still be in the house," she whispered into her mic.

That creaking something creaked again.

"Garcia, I’m sitting here in the dark, alone. Thanks."

"While you’re waiting for a potential murderer to come home, that’s kinda dangerous." Garcia smiled into her mic, twisting her pen in her hand and picturing the deliciously scared features on Spencer’s face. "Kinda sexy," she added.

"I gotta go," Reid said, looking out into the darkness on the other side of the window.

"You’re having creepy fun, I wish I was there."

As Reid turned off his cell, he glanced back towards the noises on the stairs. Slowly standing up, he felt something. An entity. A presence. An existence. Spencer turned his head around, only to bump into a tall, dark stranger and he jumped, terrified. "You really are afraid of the dark," Derek said, smiling.

"I’m working on it," Spencer shot back quickly and walked away.

"You should work a little harder."

The sheriff came back to the group, reporting that his deputy would get the boy back safe. Morgan shook his head. The whole town was on edge. Perhaps that’s why Finnegan was in the wind. The agent flicked his torch to the wall, only to see a rack of rifles.

"The unsub didn’t use a gun," Gideon pointed out. He kept walking, piecing together his thoughts aloud. "Finnegan’s an avid hunter, why didn’t he use it?" He reached under the table to pull out Robbie’s lunchbox and Sarah’s backpack.

"I guess Finnegan brought the kids back here before finishing them off. But why wouldn’t he get rid of the evidence?"

"He considers them trophies,"Spencer said softly.

Morgan huffed. "When this is all said and done, I’d like to hang his head on a wall."

^-^

Morgan, Reid and Gideon paced the next crime scene, only this time it wasn’t a child. It was Finnegan. The medical examiner explained that he died of natural causes.

"His heart probably gave out while setting this trap," Reid suggested.

"Yeah, well, karma’s a bitch," the M.E. commented, "those coyotes were gnawing on him for a week."

"Before the second or third murders even happened," Morgan pointed out.

"This area’s off the travelled path, it’s a wonder anyone even discovered him at all."

"If you ask me," the medical examiner suggested, "those leaves didn’t cover him by themselves."

"If Finnegan’s been dead all this time, who’s living in his house?"

^-^

Piper Bishop rose later than usual. 7 am. She’d missed the sunrise. Shit. Pulling on her slippers, she went through the rounds; a cup of tea, pancakes, review of the class schedule and that’s when she remembered. She meant to call Morgan in the morning. She dialled his cell again. Nothing. Sighing, she told herself she’d drop by later today. She changed into her favourite outfit, white satin button-up, dark blue pants, grey blazer, drop necklace.

^-^

"Here’s a question," Reid asked, crossing his legs on the couch, "if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound in nobody hears it?"

Morgan stared at him. "What the hell are you reading over there?"

"I was just thinking," Reid gazed back at the journals on his lap.

"Found something," Gideon announced. The boys followed him into the kitchen.

"Provisions," he said, staring at the near-dozen near-empty dishes, "delivered by the church to every elderly’s doorstep." He waved his hand to all of them, saying, "Each one dated after Finnegan died."

"So the unsub ate everything?" Morgan asked.

"Almost everything," Gideon answered, "unopened bowls of creamed spinach thrown in the trash, each one wrapped with duct tape."

"One with each tray," Spencer noted, handling the casings carefully.

"So we’re looking for a guy who really, really hates spinach?" Morgan was exasperated.

"Who doesn’t?" Spencer retorted.

"Ritualised, meticulous, organised."

"He would eat the same particulars." Reid was confused.

"Full prints," Gideon ordered. At that, Gideon’s cell rang and seeing the name, walked out.

"It’s about Elle, isn’t it?" Spencer said, walking closer to Derek, arms crossed. "I talked to her in Ohio."

"Reid, we all talked to her."

"No, no, I talked to her before. I went to her room one night and…she was drinking."

"She almost died. I’d be drinking too."

^-^

To say Piper was frustrated would not even begin to cover her chagrin at being unable to talk to Morgan. He wasn’t answering his cell and she couldn’t find a sub this last minute. Her students felt the tension and none wanted to see her explode. They kept quiet, answering their comprehension questions of Alexander the Great’s Persian conquests. As soon as the bell rang, she started, rushing students out the door and grabbing her bag. She dialled the sheriff’s number and asked to meet his as soon as possible.

"Just hear me out, Sheriff," she pleaded.

"You really expect me to believe that a child could do something as heinous as this."

"Jeffrey isn’t an ordinary child. His mother left him in April, you know that. Children grow resentful of other children anyway."

"That’s ridiculous. So he’s a little jealous." He got up and started pacing.

"Except he’s not just resentful about mothers, it’s about James too. You and I both know how much he cares about those kids. Some days he calls me at 3 in the morning to talk about how stressed he is. Not 'cause of his workload, but 'cause he’s worried he’s not doing enough. Sheriff, I’m begging you to see reason."

"No, you’re delusional."

"I don’t think you know what that word means and you definitely aren’t qualified to use it.”

"A child would never do this."

"That’s exactly why you’ll never find your killer."

"Are you doubting me, Ms Bishop?"

"No," she said forcefully, "Quite frankly, Sheriff, you don’t know the first thing about kids. I’ve seen how worried Langdon gets sometimes because he’s scared that his Daddy isn’t going to come home one day. I’m not doubting your ability, Sheriff, I’m doubting whether you’ll find the unsub before another child has to die. 3 children are dead, I’m trying to help and for the record, it’s Doctor." For once, she felt calmer and having said her piece, she walked out the sheriff’s office, greeting Agent Gideon politely before she walked away from the both of them.

^-^

"Why the woods, JJ?" Morgan asked, sipping his terrible coffee in station’s waiting room.

"Hmm?"

"Your fear, you said it was of the woods. Why?"

"Oh, I was a camp counsellor when I was a teenager. In the woods up in Vermont, I had the night shift. Tucked the girls in, turned off the lights, you know the typical stuff. Everything seemed fine, all the kids were asleep, you know. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until, I noticed there was some blood on the hallway floor. So I followed the blood trail out to the camp director’s cabin, walked up to his bed and he was just lying underneath his covers, dead. Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall, I just remember it being really dark and once I got to the door, there was another counsellor. I guess she must have heard me scream. Anyway, they caught the cleaner on his way to town. He must have had the knife on him. So, that’s when I decided didn’t like the woods." JJ fought to suppress her giggles at Derek’s expression.

"You’re serious?"

"No," She laughed. "No, I don’t know why I’m afraid of the woods. Why is he still afraid of the dark?"

"Yeah, Reid?"

"Because of the inherent absence of light," he replied.

"That was good JJ," Morgan’s phone started ringing, "Just know that paybacks are a bitch."

"Hey girl," he called to his favourite tech analyst.

"I love our relationship. We barely need words."

"Talk to me baby."

"So I pulled two sets of prints of those trays," she said.

"Two?"

"Yeah, one of them belonging to a child?"

"Okay, which one of the victims? Why don’t you work with the Ozona Coroner’s Office?"

"Oh baby, that’s so yesterday. I’ve already got those minions working on it. The other set, however, is on the database. Name is James Charles, he’s the-"

"He’s the local guidance counsellor helping with the investigation."

"You’re kidding. Sending address now." Morgan looked at the two agents who had just abandoned their cups.

"Call Gideon. We know who the unsub is."

^-^

Piper was supervising the history projects. She’d managed to pull off having a history fair with a Renaissance theme to cheer the kids up. Each kid had to make a diorama and the history department would judge based on creativity, historical merit and above all enthusiasm, a word she was not feeling. A month ago, she would’ve been over the moon, but now, all she was thinking about was when the next body would show up. She’d yelled at the sheriff and Agent Gideon had seen it. It was unprofessional and now they’d never listen to her. So you finally agree then? It was a stupid and unnecessary thing to say. Clearly you aren’t as praiseworthy as teachers say. "Ugh," Piper swept her short wavy hair into a tight ponytail. Kneeling next to Langdon, she asked him where Jeffrey was. His shrug was worrying. Piper pulled out her cell and called the administration office. "Hi ladies, is Jeffrey at school today? He’s not in my class."

"His dad called him in sick."

"Thanks, girls." Piper tried to push it out of her mind. Maybe she was wrong.

After school was out, Piper grabbed her things and left. That’s right baby girl. Just let the police do their job and just go home like the insignificant bitch you are. She grabbed her helmet and was about to drive home when she got a call from the ladies in Administration.

"It’s James. They’ve arrested them Piper. What do we do?"

"Hang tight Claudia, I’ll deal with it, okay."

^-^

"Here’s the deal," Morgan leaned over James in the interrogation room, "I could stand here and tell you what I think you were doing in Finnegan’s house for the last 2 weeks. Or, you could do us all a favour. Sign a confession, maybe get a little something taken off your time. What’d you say?"

"I never stepped inside Finnegan’s house." James stared right back into Morgan’s eyes.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" Piper slammed the door behind her. The agents turned from staring at the small television screen. "Seriously, you think Jamie would do something like this?"

"Piper," The sheriff started.

"No, you don’t get that privilege anymore. It’s Doctor or nothing because clearly you don’t value my experience, Sheriff. I’m sorry to interrupt what clearly isn’t a waste of your time, Agents, but James couldn’t have done any of this."

"Then why won’t he talk to us? He had the baseball cap at his house, his prints are all over the food trays. I don’t see another explanation."

"His prints were on the food trays because he volunteers at the church’s food drive and he’s not the one with the baseball cap, it’s his son. That’s why he called him in sick yesterday, it’s why he’s hiding the truth from you all. James doesn’t have the time nor the motive. If his wife left him, why would he attack kids? More importantly when? When he isn’t at school, he has a session with a kid. If not there, helping with your investigation or handing out food for retired folks. The man has no opportunity and no motive. If anything, he’d be killing women resembling his wife, but instead he’s devoting every possible minute of his life to this community. As for why I think it’s Jeffrey, if you’d listened to me, Sheriff, the kid lost his mom in April. If you don’t know, if a kid loses a parent when they’re in their formative years as a result of abandonment rather than death, they grow increasing resentful of kids who do have their parents. Except for Jeffrey, it’s like he lost both. When his mother left, James devoted his life to the community and as a natural consequence, Jeffrey lost his father too. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but 3 kids are dead and Jeffrey is missing." They were all standing up, ignoring the interrogation and gawking at Piper. Reid couldn’t stop staring at her and her ears began to redden significantly. Gideon broke the silence.

"Stay. Observe. You know him better than we do. Watch his behaviour and tell me if you don’t think he’s guilty."

Piper was slightly relieved that Gideon took her seriously enough to let her stay.

"How these last 6 months been for you James? Not too good huh? I don't know, your whole life is falling apart isn't it? Oh yeah you got to be feeling a loss of control, sense of abandonment. And I would guess, a little impotent maybe?" Morgan chuckled. "Come on man, give me something! Why did your wife leave you? What happened James, she get bored? I mean you don't seem all that exciting to me. She started feeling a little uninspired? You're not a minute man, aren't you? Uh, that's what it is!"

"You don’t think that’s a little uncalled for?" Piper exclaimed.

"We need him to talk. If he gets angry, he may slip up." Piper settled down.

^-^

"You think Dr. Bishop’s right?" Reid asked, playing with the handcuffs in his palm.

"I don’t know. I can’t believe a kid could be capable of something like this. She seems close to James too. Could be covering for him."

"I guess so."

"You know, it's bad enough his mother left and now his father's in custody. We’ve also got to take the poor kid into child services."

"It’s the law."

So is jaywalking. I don't have to like it. Good afternoon this is Agent Jareau, with the FBI, we're gonna be picking up Jeffrey Charles in about 20 minutes, if... Okay, I see. Thank you."

"What is it?"

"Dr Bishop may have been right."

^-^

"Jeffrey never was at school today. His father said he was sick." JJ informed them.

Piper’s instinct was to yell 'Aha!' but thankfully she went against it.

"Reid, go though his apartment." Gideon ordered.

"No, you don’t seriously still think this is his fault."

"I think he may have blamed his kid for his failed marriage."

"Then I can’t watch this interview. Let me help Dr Reid with the search." Everyone looked to Gideon.

"Okay, fine. Reid, keep an eye on her."

^-^

"Why are you so sure it isn’t him?" Reid asked her softly.

"Hmm?" Piper looked up from the abandoned dirty dishes.

"What you said back there, how are you so sure?"

"I’m not exactly the most experienced psychologist. I mean, I’ve studied it, wrote about it, talked in conferences about it, but I haven’t applied it, not the way he has. I guess, if he does turn out to be the killer," she huffed, "then he’s not the man I hoped he’d be." Reid stared at her.

Piper pulled the elastic from her hair and moved past Spencer to the bookshelf.

"It’s difficult. Being a single parent. Not that I would know. But I can understand." She pulled a book of the shelf. Kurt Vonnegut. "But James handled it as best he could. He put his personal trauma aside for the whole community. Only issue was," she turned to look back into Reid’s soft gaze, "his kid got the brunt of it. Most saints have something to hide, Spence. Gandhi accused his eldest son of 'alcohol and debauchery,' even sexual assault. And no-one believes me because no-one’s met the kid. He has serious rage issues, strained empathy for others and is apathetic to others."

"Huh. Look at this." Piper moved towards the doctor.

"It’s an EpiPen. So?"

"So, at Finnegan’s house, we found all the creamed spinach duck-taped and thrown out."

"Spence," Piper levelled her gaze, "Jeffrey has an allergy to dairy."

^-^

"Can I have a word with him?" Gideon asked. Morgan nodded and left the room. "It’s a rough day, huh? Coffee?"

"Yeah I wouldn't mind."

"Milk?"

"Please."

"So how long have you known that your son is a murderer?" Gideon abruptly asked without breaking eye contact.

"What are you talking about?"

"You might have been the one who brought the food trays to Finnegan's, but your son ate them, everything but the creamed spinach."

"You want me to confess? Is that what this game is? That's fine. You bring me another pen, I'll write out my confession."

"We found an EpiPen in your kitchen."

"So what that proves that my kid has an allergy."

"To milk."

Piper had had enough. "Let me in there, I’ll get him to talk. If Gideon threatens the freedom of his child, James won’t talk. He’ll talk to me."

"Not with Gideon in there." Morgan chided you.

^-^

Piper sat cross-legged on the chair, head resting on the back of her arms. Morgan was almost falling asleep. Reid was on his 8th cup of coffee. Piper’s ringtone woke Derek up and she couldn’t help laughing. "Big bad Derek Morgan’s afraid of a ringtone?" she laughed and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Mrs Belle. How can I help you? Is Tracy okay?" Piper’s change of expression from glee to gloom wasn’t lost on anyone. "Okay, sit tight Mrs Belle, we’ll find her. Please relax." Piper hung up the phone and tied her short hair up again.

"Tracey Belle was just reported missing. Last seen getting off her school bus on Fuller Road."

^-^

What happened after was just a blur. Piper had managed to convince Gideon to let her come, citing her certification for hostage negotiation. They’d all strapped the Kevlar suits on and found a spare for her. Reid and JJ left in one car, Morgan and the sheriff in another and Piper was paired with Gideon.

"Why are you a history teacher?" Gideon asked.

"Hmm?"

"You’re 25, you have 4 Ph.Ds in Psychology, a Masters in History and Bachelors in Literature."

"Thought I wasn’t doing much good in a university classroom. Swapped it for an elementary school"

"I’m a profiler. Don’t lie to me."

"Yes, sir. They wouldn’t come because they didn’t want people to think they or their kids were crazy. So I stopped. I wrote books and papers. I taught at universities. But I kept getting this nagging thing in my head, that I should be doing more. So I packed and moved."

"Where’d you teach?"

"The main ones. Guest lectured at Brown for months at a time. Harvard was my alma mater so I was there for a semester. Columbia offered but I rejected them. They were kinda stung that I chose a high school over them." He chuckled at that. "None of you smile a lot."

"Hmm?"

"Especially you. Do the cases get that bad?"

"Yeah."

"So why do it?" The car stopped near the woods. They both got out of the vehicle and headed towards the others.

"Because it has to be done." He looked over at her and smiled.

^-^

Tracy was running. Her bag was gone. Jeffrey was going to hurt her. She knew she was at the playground, but after a few minutes, the woods had enveloped her. She prayed that her mom was looking, that someone was looking, but the only thing that filled the little girl’s little heart was the dread. Dread that in these big bad woods, she was all alone with a killer.

"Split up, she’s gotta be somewhere."

Bishop and Gideon ran through the woods looking for the small blonde.

"Tracy!"

Trees.

"Tracy!"

Trees everywhere.

"Tracy!"

They were looking for a red and a blond needle in a green and orange haystack.

"Tracey!" Jeffrey cried in a sing song voice. "Let's just go home. I was only playing! Why do you have to be such a baby? Tracey?"

Tracy’s feet hurt. She should have been home by now. She staggered towards the nearest tree and hid. He couldn’t find her here, would he? Her breaths were jagged and she was terrified.

Bishop heard screaming. "Tracy!" They ran towards the piercing scream. She saw the scene unfolding and determined to be anything but helpless, Piper ran in between Jeffrey and Tracy. "Stop!" Gideon ran to Jeffrey, locking him in one arm, throwing the bat away with the other. Piper pushed Tracy into JJ’s arms and breathed with relief.

^-^

In the aftermath of things, James was pacing, scared of what his kid had become, terrified of what would happen to him. Piper held her head in her hands, sitting on the parkside bench. Morgan gently pushed Jeffrey into the car. Reid sat next to her.

"You did good."

"Did I? I blamed a kid for a serial murder because he lost his mother. What does that make me?" Piper lifted her head to look at him.

"A profiler." Spencer rubbed her shoulder and walked away. Piper glanced at James, pacing.

"You think you could have prevented this?"

"Maybe if I’d been there for him…"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "James, you’d put the world’s problems on your own back if you could. You can still be there for him. What he did, it isn’t his fault and it isn’t yours." He looked at Piper, his gaze shattered, his soul broken.

"You really believe that?"

"I believe that care and love can make anything possible."

^-^

Piper packed her things slowly. She folded her maps, packed away the Macedon’s armour and the Egyptian coffin.

"So where to next?" Gideon leaned on her desk, arms crossed.

"Vacation to Italy, maybe Venice. Figuring things out." She shrugged.

"You did good today, but…you could be better."

"I’m sorry?"

"I want you on the team." Piper levelled her gaze to Gideon, standing straight.

"In what capacity?"

"Consultant, on a temporary basis. If you put in the hours and do the classes, maybe even an agent. You in?"

"This a one-time offer?"

"Yes."

"I’m in."

#criminal minds #spencer reid #derek morgan #penelope garcia #jj #gideon #spencer reid x oc #reid x oc

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tardisheart134 · 7 years

Text

a destiel fic wrapped inside of a cockles fic...

Word Count: 3,568

Jensen slid into his usual booth at Honey’s Doughnuts. He would call it his usual booth but he really only got up here about once a month. His hectic schedule did not allow much time for coffee house ponderings and when he did have free time he was likely travelling to Austin to be with his family. But on occasion he would have a free afternoon when he wasn’t filming and wasn’t due to be anywhere else, he would sneak up here. It was about a 45 minute drive into the less populated side of town. The drive gave him time to clear his head and sing along to overplayed pop songs he knew too well. He was pretty sure the owner knew who he was by now but thankfully she never treated him differently. She never even asked for an autograph. The Doughnut shop was quiet during the week. It had it’s morning rushes but most of its business came in on the weekend. It was close enough to Baden Powell Trail Head that all the bicycle “tourists”, hikers and nature lovers would stop here for various refreshments. It offered a Vegetarian menu and even had some gluten free options so it had an appeal with the kind of people that hiked trail heads.

He liked it because you could get a decent cappuccino as well as a Corned beef sandwich and from his favorite booth, he had a view of the cove and and where the park spilled into the square. He’d brought Danneeel here the last time they came to visit (he’d sworn her to secrecy) and once he’d even seen Misha out here. Misha was actually one of the health nut, bicycle tourists that maybe once or twice mentioned that he stopped here to rest after his outdoor exertions. Misha didn’t spot him right away partly because the cafe was packed and partly because Jensen had ducked down behind the tall banisters that divided the booths.

Seeing Misha affected him. His heart was pounding in his chest. Part of him wanted Misha to find him, to spend the rest of the afternoon sipping coffee and green tea with him in his favourite booth, getting lost in conversation. He let his imagination run wild with the idea. He smiled at the thought of Misha laughing at something he said. But there was another part of Jensen that wanted Misha to stay on his side of the small cafe. Because if Misha didn’t see Jensen and they didn’t speak, than it would not shatter Jensen’s fantasy with reality. The reality that whenever he so much as parted his lips to speak to Misha it was awkward and painful and in the fluster of it all Jensen seemed to always say something to offend Misha or hurt his feelings. Jensen did not do it on purpose, but when he gets nervous he sticks his foot in his mouth and when he’s embarrassed he gets defensive. It was a vicious cycle.

Jensen made a terrible habit of falling in love with his co-stars. It had happened on Days, and with Danneel on Ten Inch Hero. Even Jared season one, Jensen was a goner from the beginning. And Jared had been good about it. The two of them were truly kindred beings and even though their friendship had taken different forms over the years, Jensen was comforted in the fact that it was always going to be there. Even if the direction may change, he knew their relationship was something that he could always rely on.

Jensen did not know what to do about Misha. The dude was weird. Jensen had never come on to a guy who had been so receptive. Most guys who give the appearance of being straight - i.e. wife - typically scoff at his public advances and innuendo until Jensen disarms them with his charm. But not Misha. Misha was mush in his hand from the beginning. And at anytime if Misha did have his wits about him, he used them to flirt back with Jensen and he was merciless. The crew was starting to pick up on it and their chemistry was so palpable that the fans were already frenzied about it. Jensen wondered how long they were going to flirt and if this would ever turn into anything more. He shamelessly eavesdropped on Misha and his fellow bicyclist. That was actually the day that Jensen wrote his first fanfiction.

Jared and Misha liked to tease Jensen about not being tech savvy and having almost no digital footprint. And Jensen wasn’t about to tell them any different. It wasn’t that he did not get on the internet or know how to use it...it’s just that he preferred to remain anonymous. People already had access to too much of his life. He wanted to be able to sit quietly at his favorite cafe on a spring afternoon and read slash fictions. Some of them were so well written and engaging that it was hard for him to differentiate between canon and fanfiction.

That day though, with Misha so close but still not quite his, it pushed Jensen over the edge between avid reader to writer. Once Misha finished and discarded his iced green tea and mounted his bike...Jensen logged into his tumblr account. He couldn’t risk having it pulled up while Misha could have walked up on him.

The first thing he wrote was a small coda from Season 4 episode 10. It was going back a ways and Jensen was pretty unsure of what he was doing. But there was a moment in Season 4 Jensen recalled how logical it seemed to both “Dean” and Jensen that Dean and Cas should have kissed. Jensen thought that from Dean’s point of view, he learned how much Castiel was really on his side and just how much Castiel was willing to sacrifice for whatever it was they had.

Those two winged dicks appeared out of nowhere. Sam and Dean exchanged a weighted glance as if to ask each other how the hell they found them. Anna was stashed away in the back bedroom. Dean was trying to reason with Cas. He was already ‘Cas’ to him. He could feel the angel shuffling through his thoughts, but he didn’t seem to mind. He used that to reason with him without words. Come on Cas, you know this is the right thing to do. Anna does not deserve to die. You know this is the truth. The angel’s gaze intensified and then Castiel looked off to the side of Dean’s head. He was concentrating and staring over Dean’s shoulder. Dean was about to try to snap him out of it when a sound like an explosion came from the back bedroom and then both Castiel and the other dick (Dean didn’t have time to recall the names of angels except Cas) vanished in front of his eyes. When he got to the bedroom there was blood everywhere and Anna was collapsed in front of some symbol on the wall.

“What did you do, Anna?” Dean and Sam were on either side of her helping her up.

“I don’t know..l just saw it in my head.” Sam busied himself with bandaging her up, but Dean studied the sigil. This was Castiel’s doing. Dean knew it immediately, he could just feel it in his gut. He wasn’t sure how yet but he knew he had Cas to thank for saving their asses once again. He wasn’t sure why the angel was loyal to him but he wasn’t going to question it. The Winchester’s needed all the help that they could get.

The next time he saw Cas, they were alone. “That symbol that Anna used to blast you and junkless out of that cabin the other night...was that you?”

“What do you mean?” Castiel gritted as he cocked his head to the side.

“I think you know damn well what I mean. Anna’s an angel, she’s in tune with your angel radio whether she wants to be or not right? So did you tell her what to do, did you put that in her head, cause you were staring off intensely there at the end...like you weren’t just rummaging through my thoughts any more.”

“You can feel me scanning your thoughts?” Castiel seemed to blush under the shock of it. (Can angels blush?)

Dean took note of the blush even though his mind should be on other important things like the impending apocalypse and not how flustered this angel looked with crimson cheeks.

Jensen nearly jumped out of his skin when the waitress appeared at his side. How long had she been there...could she see his computer screen? He cleared his throat and schooled his face into a tight-lipped but polite expression. The waitress cleared his dirty dishes. “Can I get you anything else, sir?”

Jensen nodded at her. “I shouldn’t have it, but can I get a piece of your chocolate cake and a refill on coffee.” The waitress smiled at him.

“Coming right up.”

Chocolate was thing thing you ate when you couldn’t have what you wanted. Jensen wanted Misha. Jensen chased to too sweet taste of the cake with the scalding, bitter coffee. Coffee and cake were perfect together. One day he was going to be done with this life of acting and the public eye. He was going to eat what he wanted and have a flabby belly and kiss who he wanted to kiss when he wanted to kiss them and the hell with what anyone else thought. He knew that wasn’t true. He would always care what other people thought, it was how he was brought up and no matter how far away he moved he couldn’t quite shake Texas. Sometimes he wished he never had to go back there. Not that he didn’t love it. He would always love it. It was part of him, it was his home and his family but he wished the expectations that were placed on him, that he felt he had to live up to....he wished they would just die. Sitting here 14 hours away from Dallas, Texas, he almost felt anonymous. He felt safe. It was the weirdest thing, wanting to be seen but not seen. He couldn’t articulate it.

“You helped us then...admit it…” Dean’s eyes were sparkling as he implored the angel.

Castiel averted his eyes trying not to admit to anything. Dean gripped his elbow and turned him back to meet his gaze.

“If you want to help us then why are you fighting with them...why don’t you go rogue?” Dean stepped closer and Castiel seemed uncomfortable which was ironic, considering his blatant carelessness when it came to personal space..

“Why did you help us, Cas?” Dean’s ‘voice was softer now as he studied the angel’s every flicker of expression.

“Because…” the angel swallowed thickly. “...because I’m on your side, Dean Winchester and I always will be…” Dean pulled the angel closer still. The silence was the worst kind of pleasurable agony. Dean was going to kiss him...just as soon as remembered how to breathe and move...just as soon as he found his way out of those deep blue eyes. He curled his fingers around the back of Castiel’s neck, it was a soft but possessive gesture. Castiel seemed to question it until Dean pressed a small kiss to the corner of his mouth. Both their bodies were rigid with exhilaration and terror. Dean had never been with a supernatural being before...and Cas...well Cas had never in all his millenia alive...he’d never been kissed by anyone. The held each other for a minute more, Dean’s hand still at the back of Castiel’s neck, playing with his hair and the other hand twisted in his trench coat. “Thank you, Cas.” Dean whispered. His lips were still so close to Cas that they brushed his cheek when he voiced his gratitude.

“You’re welcome, Dean.” and with that Castiel vanished leaving Dean holding nothing but the air where Cas was standing.

The cursor blinked as Jensen stared at the screen. There was something cathartic about writing it out. Even if it was just make believe he swore he could still taste Misha’s mouth...still feel him under his fingertips.

He snapped back to the present when he unmistakably heard Misha clear his threat. Jensen blinked up, wide eyed. “Cas?” The character name just sort of slipped out by accident. Misha doubled over in laughter. His face broke into a broad grin before he scowled and gritted in his deep voice…”hello, Dean”.

Jensen blushed he couldn't believe he'd just called him Cas. He slapped his laptop lid closed. Misha quirked an eyebrow before sliding into Jensen’s side of the booth.

“Porn in a public place...tsk...tsk…you kinky son of a bitch.” Misha glanced down to asses if Jensen was actually hard, to his disappointment he was not. “What brings you out to nature?”

Jensen stammered through a lie about their corned beef sandwiches. “It's okay. You can just say you’d rather not tell me the truth.” Misha said with a smug expression.

“That is the truth I don't often have an afternoon alone I like it here it's quiet, I can read no one knows me or at least they pretend they don't. There is no big secret here.”

Misha nodded in understanding.

“Why did you come back in?” Jensen blurted without really thinking it through.

“So you knew I was in here before and you ignored me is that it?”

“No it wasn't like that. You were leaving as I was getting here by the time I recognized you, you were too far away.”

“How did you know I was in here?”

“I recognized your car in the parking lot.”

“Oh.”

Silence passed between them.

“Well, I better get going if I'm going if I'm going to get back towards my apartment by sundown.” Misha squeezed Jensen's knee before sliding out of the booth.

“Do you want a ride?” Jensen offered. “I'm headed back that way myself.”

“I would love that. I'm just not feeling the two hour bike ride back. I'm getting too old.” Jensen tossed Misha the keys. “Just put your bike in the back, I'll finish up here and meet you outside in a sec.”

As soon as Misha cleared the door Jensen pulled his laptop back open.

“Hey guys, Here’s this little Coda. This is my first fic so I hope you like it but if you don’t then tough shit.”

Jensen posted the fanfic to his tumblr. Jensen threw a couple of tens on the table and winked at the shop owner on his way out.

He followed and had several followers but he did not expect his account to blow up the way it did. He had to turn off his tumblr notifications because for the next 3 or 4 days he got over 600 notes.

“Hey Ackles, did you get a new girlfriend or something...I haven’t ever seen you on your phone this much.” Jared asked.

“No.” Jensen grinned not even looking up from his phone to deal with Jared’s teasing.

“New Boyfriend then?” Jared was always good for taking it just a little further.

“You know you’re the only one for me Jared.” Jensen said with a sickeningly sweet grin on his face. Jensen clicked the phone off tucking it into his back pocket.

“Are we ready to do this scene again or what?” He gruffed in the general direction of the crew which gave him no answer as they were busy resetting the scene.

One of the hair and makeup technicians, Amanda, stepped forward to run her fingers through Jared’s perfect hair. It was her job, it wasn’t like she enjoyed it. And she was only grinning at him to be nice...not to flirt. Jared smiled back as he towered over. “Have you read any more good slash fics lately?” He crouched down giving her better access to the crown of his head.

“Oh yeah tons..you want to hear about the latest one…?”

“Of course…” Jared closed his eyes as she powdered his sweaty brow. Jensen had been paying attention since he heard slash fic, but he kept his eyes safely focused on the ground.

“Well, this one is a destiel fic…”

“What’s that?” Jared wiped some of the excess powder from the corner of his eyes.

“That’s a dean/cas fic. It’s a throwback to season 4 but it blew up this weekend. I keep seeing it everywhere.”

“What episode in season 4?”

“The episode where Sam and Dean are trying to hide Anna from Cas an Uriel.”

(Uriel...Dean muttered under his breath, that was his name...)

“That episode did not seem extremely Dean/Cas erotic to me?”

“Oh it really wasn’t…”

Jensen cleared his throat but didn’t open his mouth. Jared paused because he knew what that meant. He knew Jensen had an opinion that he was keeping to himself. Jared eyed him as if to ask if he’d like to share with the class. A imperceivable shake of the head queued to Jared that he did not want to comment.

“But it was more of a coda, kind of like a sneak peek of what happened within the framework of that episode or just after.”

“So what was the story?”

“Well, if you remember in that episode at the very beginning Cas and Uriel burst in and Sam and Dean are all like you can’t have Anna and then Uriel is like don’t worry we’ll kill her quick. Dean makes the comment that they are both heartless. Castiel agrees with him and then, he seems to blank out, stares at the floor as Uriel takes on Ruby and Dean.

“Ha! You know I married Ruby, right?”

“Everyone knows you married Ruby - Jared - shit man!” Jensen crossed his arms and looked back at the makeup tech as if asking her to proceed.

“Well, Cas walks hesitantly towards the door, knocks Sam out night night, right before Uriel and Cas get blasted to kingdom come. Sam and Dean burst in through the door and ask Anna how she did it and she claimed not to know...claimed it just appeared in her head. In the fic - Dean puts two and two together.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Jared,” Jensen butts in - “Dean realizes that when Cas blanked out - he was actually telling Anna how to help the Winchester’s how to blast the angels away with the sigil. He showed her how to get rid of the angels. Castiel was always fighting for Dean-- and Sam...Dean and Sam.”

“Oh, I guess I never really put that together.” Jared and the hair tech were just staring at Jensen. Since when did he care about slash fics or more like since when did he act as if even knew that slash fics existed?

“Well, they did not really bring it out in the episode unless you were watching closely and you as the audience may see it but what you really want is for Dean to see it...to know that Cas was in his corner.” Amanda continued.

“And in the fic you get to see it?”

“Yes - Dean realizes straight away with sigil that it was Cas’ work. He whispers the name under his breath. The next time they are alone together he shows Cas his appreciation with a kiss.”

“Oh- ho - ho!” Jared let out a big laugh and did a couple of vulgar kissy faces in jest.

“What are you guys laughing at now.” Misha joined them his trenchcoat flapping around him.

“We were just talking about how Jensen - I mean Dean - shows Cas his appreciation with his a kiss in one of the slash fictions that Amanda is reading.”

“Oh...sounds steamy…” Jensen and Misha exchange a darty-eyed glance before Jensen excuses himself - faking a phone call and stepping a few feet away. He couldn’t hide his red face but at least he could stare at the wall and pretend to talk to his mother until it subsided. He was sure the back of his neck was red too.

Jared turned back to Misha. “You two aren’t fooling anybody.”

“I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.”

Jensen pulls out his phone to read through the comments while waiting for the crew to reset another scene. If Jared would stop fondling Misha’s balls they may be able to complete a decent day’s work before night fall.

Dude - awesome fic - I always thought there was more there.

I loved this but I think you were channeling your inner Dean with that intro...it was very I want you to like me...but I don’t need you to like me.

asdkj;afls!!!

Please tag me in future fics :)

Do you have other fics?

Do you have ao3 account?

It felt good to not be assessed for his looks, his pretty face, his mastery of body language...as an actor he was under constant scrutiny, there was a standard he had to uphold in the public eye. Hiding behind a computer screen, he felt truly seen for the first time. It was wonderful and terrifying and a complete rush...Jensen couldn’t wait to do it all over again.

Notes: This has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while. I’ve barely proofread it so, I apologize for any continuity errors. It is not really set in any specific time. Also, this is done with the utmost respect for the actors, their friendships and families. I also respect all ships and as long as shippers are respectfully to each other and the actors, I welcome them. I have absolutely no tolerance for hate. I’ve tagged my usual tag list. If any one would like to be added or removed from future posts, please let me know. Thank you for reading!

<333 <333 <333

Tags: @bluecrystaldust @casdean91 @wanderingcas @fandom-life-alwayz @lindsayrose2016 @ships-a-lot @tardisdementor @glassofcity @fool-of-a-tardis @explicit-contentus @oaisara @mancamonster @deanxcasficrecs @destielfanfictions @deanreaderreblog @destieloneshots @destiel-oneshots @deancasheadcanons @youre-alive-and-thats-your-job @poeland @destielette @playfulpanthress @destiel-smut-motherfuckers

#destiel #destiel one shot #cockles #cockles one shot #j2 totally happened #J2M is my jam #J2M #tardisheart134 #hurricane #hate free

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