You've Been "Garthed"
"Is this your weird way of telling me that I'm bad at hunting?" (y/n) asks in a teasing voice, standing next to Dean outside of a small restaurant beneath a graying sky.
"No"
"Then why do we need another hunter?"
"Because-" He begins, avoiding her eye contact as he continues ,"-I'm used to being in a team of three, okay?"
Finding his embarrassment cute, nudging him playfully with her elbow as she stands next to him, she offers an understanding smile. (y/n) knew he was going through a rough time, but she could tell he was taking it fairly well. That's what she loved about him. She loved how he never seemed to give up when it came to family, always trying to find ways to work out an issue like this one.
"We'll get Sammy back, Dean. I promise" her voice is soft when she says this before quickly switching back to her usually playful self, joking lightly with the older brother ,"And when we do, I'm kicking his ass."
"Not unless I beat you to it" Dean chuckles for the first time since that morning at the couple's home, green eyes lighting up slightly as he jokes with the smaller girl. A few minutes pass as they stand in a comfortable silence, eyes scanning the surrounding parking lot to try and find the hunter Bobby hired for them. Nobody shows. (y/n), peering through the restaurants stained glass windows at the people seated in various booths, nudges to the older hunter
"Maybe he's already inside? Wouldn't hurt to check, you know?" She suggests, gaining a nod in agreement from Dean who begins to lead the girl into the dimly lit diner. Walking side by side, intimidating auras radiating off of their flannel clad bodies, the pair make their way through the winding aisles of the restaurant.
"Hey, you Dean?" A voice suddenly calls out to the older hunter, the pair turning to face the way it came from. Sitting at a red leather booth, sipping a chocolate milkshake through a twisty blue straw, was a scrawny looking man with eyes like a puppy. Dean finds himself hoping the man was referring to someone else in the room, green eyed gaze trying to pin point another Dean in that diner.
"Hmm. I thought you'd be taller..." The man chuckles lightly, scanning Dean's from quickly before sweeping his light blue eyes over to the smaller girl standing beside the hunter ,"You, however, are just as beautiful as I imagined"
"You must be Garth-" (y/n) laughs, extending a soft hand for him to shake ,"-I'm (y/n)"
"What a gorgeous name-" Garth swoons, lightly kissing the knuckles of her hand ,"-(y/n)...leaves such a sweet aftertaste after you say it"
Glancing over to Dean, silently asking for help with an awkward smile, (y/n) watches as the hunter is quick to intervene. Pulling her hand from Garth's grasp, he gently coaxes the girl to sit down beside him at the table, the pair now seated across from the scruffy looking man sipping at his milkshake.
"I assume Bobby filled you in on the road?" Dean asks, voice poorly hiding his annoyance. Garth nods
"He told me three things-" He begins, dramatically listing off what he was told on his fingers ,"-one, he's tangling with a major-league nest up in Oregon territory. Numero dos, he said you'd be all surly and premenstrual working with me. But, hey, man, sticks and stones"
"That was two things-" Dean narrows his eyes at the smirking hunter across from him ,"-what was the third?"
"To keep my eyes off of (y/n), but-" He sends a flirtatious wink her way suddenly ,"-that's a rule I'm willing to break"
"Stop or else I'll hit you-" Dean warns gruffly, feeling slightly protective over the girl seated next to him, before pulling out a crumpled up newspaper from his jacket ,"-Here. I think I found a case. Check the headline"
"First thing's first..." Garth slowly takes the paper in his grasp and completely avoids the case Dean pointed to, flipping through the off-white pages until he's scanning something the pair can't seem to see.
"What is it?" (y/n) asks curiously, wondering if he was finding something else to show them about the case. A few minutes go by before he chuckles childishly to himself, flipping the newspaper over to show the pair a black and white comic strip printed near the bottom of the page. His face lights up as he points to the goofily drawn dog on the paper
"Oh, Marmaduke, you're crazy!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With Dean sandwiched between the Phoenix and the scruffy hunter they hired to make their group feel more complete without Sam, the three watch as the wife of the CEO they were in line to interview begins to tell off the frightened looking secretary beneath her. Dressed completely in white in an attempt to conceal her devilish behavior, the woman hisses out orders towards the young girl shrinking in her office chair, words filled with venom as she slams a stack of papers onto the wooden desk in front of her. Before she storms off down the pristine marble hallway, she tosses a tight lipped smile towards the three seated on the couch a few feet away.
"You sure we're talking to the right boss?" (y/n) jokingly whispers to Dean next to her, narrowing her eyes at the woman's form as she disappears behind a corner. Before he's able to answer, the group is suddenly finding their gazes focused onto the pair of bodies exiting the room they were just about to go in. Sam and Becky. Dressed in a pair of grossly matching disguises and holding small notepads in their hands, the couple make their way out into the waiting area. Garth leans over to whisper to Dean
"Hey, is that your-?"
"Yes."
"Awkward..."
Sam and Becky, noticing the three gaping at them a few feet away, decide to politely greet the ones still holding a grudge against them from that morning. (y/n), avoiding their gazes from still being incredibly hurt from before, crosses her arms protectively against her chest. Dean, however, stands up to face his brother, eyebrows furrowed as he narrows his gaze when it lands on Becky
"Hey, lovebirds" he greets them bitterly, causing Becky to scowl hard in his direction before storming off. Sam sighs lightly before opening his notepad up, showing his brother the clumsily written notes from their interrogation
"No point in going in-" He states confidently ,"-guy's clean."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Positive. Becky grilled him like a pro. She's a real natural." Sam fondly states, eyeing his wife waiting impatiently for him near the hallway. (y/n) rolls her eyes, finding herself fighting the urge to blurt out something rude.
"Yeah, I'm sure" Dean sarcastically replies, his tone not quite registering with Sam since he's busy eyeing Garth slowly snaking an arm around the girl's shoulders.
"W-What's with the scrawny guy?" (y/n) can't help but notice the slightly bitter tone to his voice, light eyes almost challenging Garth.
"Garth here, is so kindly filling up the space of our old teammate-" (y/n) replies snarkily through a tight lipped smile ,"-the one who chose a fangirl over his family...The one who abandoned us."
Sam narrows his eyes at the girl, face like an ocean as waves of different emotions crash upon his shores. It was almost painful to watch as his eye twitched, almost as if fighting off some unknown force from keeping him hostage in his own mind. If (y/n) wasn't confident about Sam being under a spell, then she was sure as hell now. Before he's able to respond, his 'wife' is quick to tug at the man's jacket sleeve, concern written across her face in bold letters as he pulls him away from the group. Dean and (y/n) watch as the brother is practically dragged down the hallway, his hand finding itself pressed against his head as if his skull were cracking open
"You saw that right?" She questions Dean beside her, seeing him nod in return
"Can't worry about that now-" He explains quickly, motioning for Garth and her to follow him into the CEO's office ,"-let's go find what little miss detective missed"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I knew Cruella De Vil had something to do with this!" Garth states excitedly, earning and eye roll from Dean walking next to him
"The only problem now is finding her before she's ganked like everybody else whose dreams came true..."
"There!" (y/n) is quick to sprint ahead of the pair, surprisingly agile in her black pumps as she makes a mad dash for the flash of white she saw on the lower level of the building. With the two hunters following after her, (y/n) pushes past the rush of people walking through her path, smaller body able to weave through the fancy suits and briefcases as she continues towards the woman standing in the middle of the waiting area
"(y/n)!" Dean's voice calls out suddenly through the crowd, the Phoenix turning to catch hims as he motions for her to look towards the ceiling. Following his hand, (y/n)'s (e/c) eyed gaze lands on the thick chain holding onto the massive light hanging above the woman. Narrowing her eyes she finds her body pushing to move faster, catching a glimpse of one of the chain links slowly deteriorating from it's group.
"Watch out!" (y/n) helplessly screams for the woman, watching as the metal snaps and the light fixture falls. Slipping off her heels, abandoning them on the cool marble floor behind her, (y/n) bolts forward until she's leaping through the air, her body colliding with the woman's as she narrowly knocks her out of the way. Bodies sliding across the smooth stone floors, the pair watch just as the light shatters across the ground, cracking the marble beneath it. Dean and Garth rush to their sides, hands reaching down to gently lift them up
"You alright?" Dean gently asks (y/n), green eyed gaze carefully examining her form. She nods through a relieved smile.
"How did you know?" The woman shakily asks the group beside her, eyes never leaving the spot that could have been her grave.
"You're not the first" Dean replies, helping Garth steady the trembling woman. Once she's balanced on her own heels, the three pull her slightly to the side, voice hushed to keep eavesdropping to a minimum
"You want to tell us what's up here?" Garth asks her, hands to his hips as he sternly interrogates the woman. She lets out a labored exhale before answering, hands fidgeting nervously with her handbag
"I was having lunch with friends-" She explains quietly, eyes anxiously glancing to each of the hunters as she continues ,"-when this guy heard me bitching. Next thing I know, he's making me an offer."
"What kind of offer?" (y/n) asks, noting the hesitation in her face as she avoids their gazes
"Craig's job...for my soul"
"Your soul?" Dean echoes, glancing to Garth and (y/n) who share the same furrow browed expressions
"I know. Hilarious, right? I mean, what have I got to lose?"
"Well, there's your soul..." Garth mumbles before turning to (y/n) and Dean, nose scrunched up in confusion ,"What kind of demon deal is this? Timeline's wack."
"Maybe there's a new contract?" (y/n) suggests, shrugging her shoulders
"What are you talking about? 'Demon'?" The woman frantically asks the group, eyes widening upon seeing the seriousness in their faces. Garth sighs
"Let me back up here-" He uses his hands to explain somewhat bluntly to the anxiety ridden woman ,"-you made a deal with a demon in exchange for your everlasting...Maybe (y/n)'s right, the bill is coming due too fast, it can't be a normal ten year contract."
"Either way, people are dropping like flies and I got a bad feeling about who's next..." Dean replies darkly ,"We got to find Sam, pronto"
"All right, uh, here's the plan-" Garth is quick to stop Dean from rushing out of the building to find his brother, hands motioning towards the woman standing in shock beside them, "-I drop this lady at my cousin's. He'll stop anything trying to get her. We, uh, find Sam, hopefully fix this...everybody's home in time for 'America's Got Talent'."
"Garth-" (y/n) tries to interrupt, but he's already speaking again, talking directly to the woman
"Now, you! You'll be living with a tri racial paraplegic sniper until this all blows over, okay?"
Without another word, Garth turns onto his heels and strides confidently towards the front doors of the building. Dean and (y/n) watch his form as he swings open the glass doors and makes his way to the impala.
"He kinda grows on you" (y/n) chuckles lightly, nudging Dean who rolls his eyes in response
"Yeah-" He smirks, annoyance shielding the playfulness of his green eyed gaze as he continues ,"-like a rash"
"Play nice, Dean-o"
"In your dreams, Tweety-bird"