because the lives of the wicked should be made brief

[somanyadjectives]

Comments

[acdc_rules]

[He is coordinated enough that it does break cleanly, but he doesn't sink anything just yet (3). It's something of a relief, because he doesn't really know where to start, but once the balls settle and it's clear none of them are going to sink, he steps back.]

Your go.

[cholesterol]

( Dean focuses on a stripe that's angled perfectly to land in the corner pocket. But, he's doing this with his kid. The kid he half-raised for a year. And his actual kid, now.

His (19) sinks the easy stripe, turning. )

I'm stripes. I like the tattoos. How'd your mom react when you got em?

[acdc_rules]

[He smirks, before going back to his food as Dean goes through his shots.]

She was fine. I was twenty, so she said as long as it wasn't something stupid or offensive or the name of someone I was going to regret six months from then I could do whatever I wanted.

[His tattoo artist is a good friend, so they've worked on a lot of the designs, aside from the ones that came from memories that weren't all the way buried.]

[cholesterol]

( Dean makes a second ball, but makes a general personal rule that one ball a turn gets him a question. He's not about to inundate his spawn with q's. So, he sticks to the same topic for now. )

They mean anything?

( Another ball. Finally, he misses, the cue ball landing for a perfect angle on a solid. )

[acdc_rules]

[He takes a deep breath as he looks down at his arms.]

Some of them were just designs I thought were cool. My first couple were after I realized I wasn't going to be able to get where I was originally aiming to be, so fuck it.

[He hesitates because part of him doesn't want to give the implication that it meant anything, because at the time it didn't. It was just this thing he kept drawing. But he knows what it means now. He rolls up his sleeve to show the devil's trap on his forearm.]

And some of it was just things you tried to erase escaping containment.

[But he'll get up to take his turn after that. One, two, three of the solids down before he scratches on the last one.]

Shit.

[cholesterol]

( He knows tattoos hurt in certain places, more than others. He spies the devil trap, eyes finding Ben's.

It pushed through. )

You remember what that is, now.

( He tugs down on his t-shirt, showing the edges of his on his chest. He waits to aim at another stripe, because )

You got a question, too.

[acdc_rules]

[He nods as he considers, not really sure where to start. The tattoos were a fairly light option, so maybe he should keep in that vein.]

Sam still around?

[Probably neutral enough. It's weird that he's not here, looming behind his brother and making puppy eyes at everyone.]

[cholesterol]

( Like, did he die? )

We live in a bunker that's been in our family. We still hunt together. He's in California for Thanksgiving with his girlfriend.

( There's a lot more about Sam, and Dean, and Elena and what they're all mixed up in. But he only asked about Sam. So, he learns about Sam.

Dean misses his next stripe, no question for him. He goes over to his beer, taking a healthy sip, finally. He eyes the burger. )

How's the burger here?

( Like it ever needs to be good for him. He'll get a burger anywhere. Also, it's not about Ben, so it counts as not a question. )

[acdc_rules]

So you both have girlfriends now. That sounds healthier.

[It could be a jab, but it's not. The therapy happened while this part of his life was erased, but he can see the complicated dynamics for what they are not, looking out them as an adult. They needed more people than just the two of them, day in and day out.

He then realizes that if it's not a jab, it's also a very Rudy comment to make, and resists the urge to make a face.]

It's good. This place has some of the better food in town.

[cholesterol]

It's new. For the both of us.

( Elena's his first girlfriend - real girlfriend since Lisa. Things piled up, one after the other. Maybe Chuck was disinterested in Dean having a relationship, or thought Sam was due some happiness with Eileen, he doesn't know. But, ever since Chuck was chucked, Dean feels like it's his life again. Like he's not always angry. Like he could really, actually grow.

Healthier. Sam's always been the picture of health. Talks to his girlfriends. Had girlfriends.

It doesn't feel like a jab, though, so that's something. )

Make your shot, I'm going to nudge your friend over there for a burger and fries. ( And maybe to stop staring.

Moving around the tables, he returns to the bar and Helene. ) You keep looking like that, I'll think you got it bad for Ben.

[acdc_rules]

[She snorts. "No, thanks. Already been there, done that. We're better as friends."

If they were in a romantic relationship, they would have killed each other. But they did discover they were both disaster bi's together.

"No, I'm just watching in case Ben decides to turn into a petty little shit. Or if someone throws a punch."]

[cholesterol]

( He notes that. She's got - something about her. Rough around the edges but she has heart. Needs a haircut. Matches the bar to a T, though. )

I'd deserve it, ( but ) I doubt we'll come to blows. But, I promise, I'll let him get one good one in. After my burger and fries.

( Another beat. )

Thanks for having his back.

( Also, that was him ordering his fries and a burger. He also asks for a quick shot of whiskey he downs, before returning. )

You get one in?

[acdc_rules]

Two more.

[Missed on the third, but he's coming down to a limited number of balls left in his favor, so it's probably for the best.]

And you still have a question.

[He's not looking to try and skimp the rules, because that just seems like an excuse to start a fight.]

[cholesterol]

You and me both.

( He takes a sip from his beer, the foam pooling at his upper lip. He rubs his hand against his mouth. Another question. )

You uh - ever work on cars again?

[acdc_rules]

[He snorts because does he ever.]

Yeah. I work at a garage downtown.

[He tried to reach for something higher, but in the end it didn't really fit. But that's not a story he feels he has to share right now.]

How'd you and Elena meet? Is she a hunter too?

[cholesterol]

No shit.

( Apple doesn't fall, even if the tree's a deadbeat. )

She's not a hunter, but her dad - he was friends with ours - your grandfather, John. You remember, now, Sam and I, we were raised in the life. We passed through Mystic Falls when we were kids. Stayed with her parents, her and her little brother. Years later, she walked into the same gas station. We were - ( They were there for Jack's graduation, effectively their kid, each 1/3 of Team Free Will 2.0 claims him. Loves him. Forgives him. He's family. But, how does he even explain that. He's back in the inner circle, sure, and he understands the life. But, the Devil's kid? ) We were in town for something else, but her ex, this vampire named Stefan, he'd been attacked. Got roped into it. ( Roped him and Sam, really, but, facts are all there. ) We reconnected.

[acdc_rules]

[Ben pauses, then his head tips at the last bit of what he said.]

You're dating someone who has a vampire as an ex? And you left him alive?

[That doesn't seem like that jives with the hunter playbook as he remembers it.]

[cholesterol]

It's not as black and white. ( It never was, even though for him and Sam it's how they were raised. ) This vampire's not like the kind of vampire I taught you about. Comes from a different source of magic, not evolution.

( Everyone's capable of monstrous actions. Sometimes, it's the humans who are worse. )

Turns out, werewolves, vamps, even banshees. They're are types now. Different origins, different rules. One kind of vampire, you stake it, you dust it. Makes clean-up easy. That kind of vampire has no soul.

[acdc_rules]

[Ben already feels his head starting to hurt.]

And now angels too. Which, speaking of, where the fuck have they been? Like do they just hang out and watch people like creepers or do they actually do good like we're told they do?

[cholesterol]

( Well, there's no great way to put this. )

They're more like soldiers than fat babies with wings. Lot of them are just like people. Some are narrow-minded dicks. They're a billion years old and they know everything. But, also nothing. Like, they don't get basic stuff like tact or personal space. More time an angel spends on Earth, more human they become, more individual. Most angels stay up in heaven - yeah, there's a heaven, no there aren't harps - but some come down and they possess people - like demons - but the possessed are called vessels. And the host accepts the angel into them. Usually, they're religious.

[acdc_rules]

And you were one of the vessels?

[He remembers that somewhere in the rambling about Sam having been one. It would make sense if Dean was one too.]

How do they decide who's a vessel and who's not?

[cholesterol]

Bloodlines. Your grandmother, Mary's - and John's - your grandfather. Dad's bloodline was meant for Michael and Mom's -- ( He doesn't want to go into the Lucifer of it all. ) But, yeah. Heaven rode hard for Sam and me to say yes and go to war. But, a vessel can't be used without them saying yes, and we fought tooth and nail for the choice.

( he knocks a ball in (13). and then misses (2) )

[acdc_rules]

[Ben sits quietly, considering as he watches Dean make those moves, and he tips his head to the side curiously. Because if it's Dean's bloodline, that also means it's his bloodline and:]

And you're just finding out that I'm your kid now?

[cholesterol]

Your mom told me...

( This is not an excuse. He stops himself. )

Heaven found your uncle Adam. Resurrected him, used him to get to us. Michael ended up in him when all was said and done. He's still in him. ( It's a long story. ) Guess - they - ( But, now Ben brings up a good point and momentarily his blood boils. Heaven knew about Adam. Heaven knew about Adam. ) Sonnuvabitch.

[acdc_rules]

[Ben raises his eyebrow because yeah. Seems unlikely that Heaven at least didn't know. But it says at least one small thing in their favor that they didn't try to manipulate a kid into doing what they wanted.]

Guess you have to go have a conversation with your angel friend?