there are prizes all around you if you're wise enough to see

[praevaricatio]

Comments

[positiveinfluence]

[That will be fun. And sure enough, after checking into a motel outside Salt Lake he will call, almost expecting it to go to voicemail because it's getting late.]

[slavophile]

( He may have called back Zoe for this, too. It's better to drink in packs than just with your sister. He tries to drink to hope and not to losing his boyfriend and not to his boyfriend losing his brother all over again. )

What do you think he meant. He's back and it's a trap. Like, if it's a trap, he's going, so it's not like a trap-trap, right?

( his phone rings and his eyes go wide. )

It's Cooper. It's a trap. He sprung the trap didn't he. But he wouldn't be calling. I should answer it right?

( well, he said he would. so, he does, tapping the connect button and bringing the phone to his ear. he almost falls backwards off the side of his sectional, but he catches himself with a yelp.

cooper can here the whoosh of almost falling and a small yelp. )

Hey, hi, sorry. Balance can be ... so challenging. Did you make it to Salt Lake?

( he gestures for them to bring it down, waving his palm down. does he care? does cooper? it feels polite? )

[positiveinfluence]

[Cooper does not, in fact, care, and a bit of a smile stretches across his face as he listens to William ramble.]

I did, and you sound like you're having a good time.

[Aka a little tipsy.]

[slavophile]

Well, I miss you already and Zoey had the perfect solution. And my sister has never met a shot she didn't take, and here we are. ( he swings his body upward, swaying his way back to the kitchen as he leans against the counter. ) All checked in?

[positiveinfluence]

Yep.

[He's flopped back on the motel bed, and he stares up at the ceiling with a sigh.]

And I already miss you too. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'll have an idea of when I'll be back.

[slavophile]

I just want you okay. And I want you to get answers. And, you need to be there. I'm just there in spirit.

( Literally. As he can track the GPS. )

[positiveinfluence]

I know. But things have been going pretty well, and I'm not looking to fuck them up, even if I do have a resurrected brother to deal with.

[A small pause.]

Maybe I can convince him to come back with me.

[slavophile]

You're not fucking anything up. Family's important, it's everything. You don't have to convince me or worry that I think you're being selfish or blowing me off. If anything, this is a good sign. Green flags all the way down the track, Sullivan.

( He feels settled. He isn't an insecure person. He needed to be talked around it. Talked into it. But, deep down. He knows. And Cooper is reinforcing what he knows.

And he loves him so fucking much. )

[positiveinfluence]

Good.

[He wants to make sure that's clear. He's not used to having to maintain something, so he wants to make sure that he's showing that he's making the effort.]

I think he'll like you, if you get to meet him. Not that he's a hard sell. He trusts me a lot of the time, but ... I think he'd like you all the same.

[slavophile]

Well, when you're ready and everything's sorted out. I would love to meet him. I can't wait, okay. And, if you do need me. Remember. Big jet.

( He can be there in hours. )

[positiveinfluence]

I do remember.

[And he definitely has been thinking about places they could possibly go with said jet. Places he's wanted to see but never thought he would because of the life he lead. But rich boyfriend does have it's perks.]

I'm thinking that maybe when everything's settled there's some places we could go, if you're not too busy.

[slavophile]

I don't know how many ways I can translate big jet into, I have the time to use said big jet and not make it sound obnoxious or entitled, so, I will just say I've thought about the same things. And I'd love to show you the world, but on an equal playing field and with trust, not Aladdin-style. ( he pauses as his thoughts reorder themselves, or try. ) I've been drinking, was that romantic or too me, me me?

[positiveinfluence]

I'm leaning towards romantic.

[If he's entirely honest, he sees himself as more of an Aladdin than a Jasmine in this relationship, but William's the one with the means. Their relationship is a little better for not having the pretense of him being a prince anyway.]

There's a lot of stuff I do want to see, one day.

[slavophile]

Then we'll get you to one day.

( That's a promise. )

How early are you going to head out tomorrow?

[positiveinfluence]

Pretty early. I want to try to get to the bunker as soon as I can.

[He has a feeling this isn't over yet, as nice as it is to have his brother back, and he wants to make sure there's no catches before he lets himself feel it too much.]

Then we'll see what happens.

[slavophile]

Okay. Do you... want to talk about any of it? Or, we can talk about one day. I'm here for anything.

( Even just being here also feels like enough. )

[positiveinfluence]

Not until I know how bad it is.

[Not that someone can do feelings wrong when it's their feelings, but he wants to make sure he's feeling the right ones. That he's not making a mountain out of a molehill before he even gets there.]

There's probably a catch.

[slavophile]

Because of the trap.

( There's the pit in his stomach, still lingering from when he first heard it. )

But, he's with everyone, so. The trap's not - ( he shakes his head. ) I don't know. But. You'll get answers and then you'll know how bad it is. If it's bad. Maybe it's not all bad. Maybe he's just back.

[positiveinfluence]

Nobody's ever just back.

[There's always a reason and the reason is usually dad. For right now, the only good thing that Coop knows is that he's human, and everything else is negligible.]

But I do appreciate you trying to look on the bright side.

[slavophile]

One of the only sides I know, but blame my stepmom for that.

( Felicity, not Laurel. )

Try to get some sleep, okay? And if you can't, you know where I am, Sullivan.

[positiveinfluence]

I do. I'll let you know when I get to the bunker tomorrow.

[Probably a text versus a phone call as he'll have bigger priorities, but he will keep William in the loop.]

Don't let the girls get you too drunk.

[slavophile]

I am my own man, Cooper.

( But, Cooper's not wrong. )

I love you.

[positiveinfluence]

Love you too. Talk to you tomorrow.

[And with that he will pass out to try and get some sleep, even if sleep isn't coming easy.

The next morning he gets up and drives the rest of the way, arriving at the bunker somewhere in the late afternoon and he studies the exterior for a bit before pulling out his phone and texting his mother:]

I'm here. How do I get in?

[disputable]

( After a morning run and an awkward group breakfast, Evelyn joins Sam and Dean with the books, in case something else emerges to give her son a leg up. So far, blood is the going idea and Dean has plans to make Lucas his own bullets before they fly out tonight or tomorrow.

She gets Cooper's text and Dean meets him at the landing.

From behind him, Cooper can hear the bunker's door unlock and in a few minutes, he'll see Dean's face greeting him.

"Over here," he says, veering him back across the grass and up. He exchanges quick pleasantries but knows he's a man on a mission, so he lets Coop make his way down the stairs himself. )

[positiveinfluence]

[Coop gives Dean a wave and a smile, but he's not wrong - as good as it to see him, any hunter, in one piece when they do the job they do is always good. But Coop is here to see the man who meets him at the bottom of the stairs and pulls him into a warm hug.

It's good to see Lucas again, touch him again. He asks all kinds of questions that Lucas doesn't have answers for, at least not yet, but eventually it gets down to "what are we going to do about it," and he's less than pleased.]

So in order to free them from the evil witch, Lucas has to go murder her. It has to be Lucas.

[He wants to make sure he's understanding the situation.]