[Fic] "Of New Beginnings and Past Regrets"
Oct. 3rd, 2016 09:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lux_tuliDean would be lying if he said that he was entirely convinced by Lisa’s denial that he was not Ben’s father. He saw a lot of himself in the kid but he was not going to push the matter with her lest it start up some kind of argument between them.
It was the beginning of October and Ben told him that he was looking forward to Halloween, for the opportunity to dress up in a costume and score some candy. Dean had never really had the chance when he was young to go trick or treating, aside from photos he had seen from when he was a baby and his mom had dressed him up in a cute angel costume - which was bitterly ironic now considering that he was supposed to be Michael’s meatsuit, so he was looking forward to taking Ben around the neighborhood and dressing up alongside him. He was thinking about being a pirate, the Jack Sparrow kind that was all about the rum.
He was also keeping his eye for flyers and notices around Cicero about other Halloween type activities occurring during the month like hayrides and pumpkin patches. Those should be rather fun as well.
Dean, wearing a nice and fluffy robe over his pajamas, always collected the newspaper in the morning while Lisa was sleeping in. It wasn’t that he was a morning person at all but he was all too accustomed to rising early for cases. Then after he placed the paper on the kitchen counter, he would start to make breakfast. The smell of which would creep through the rest of the house, the prospect of warm food causing Ben to eagerly rise out of bed.
He could hear Ben’s soft footsteps padding over to the kitchen.
“Bacon!” Ben cheered as he got a could whiff of the bacon that Dean was frying.
“When is that ever in doubt? As I say, you cannot have breakfast without bacon. It should be a rule.” Dean had almost let slip “goddamn rule” but he knew that he had to toned down his language around Ben. Though he was sure that even a ten year old had heard worst things before. “It’s still going to be a while, little dude, so why don’t you grab a glass of OJ and read the funnies?”
Dean had briefly picked up the spatula from the pan and gestured towards the newspaper sitting on the counter. Ben always loved reading the cartoon section of the paper. Honestly, it was the only good part of the newspaper. He hated looking at the rest because he would be reminded of the cases that he was no longer going on to save people and kill monsters.
No, that way of life was behind him now. The hunting lifestyle had died alongside Sammy.
“Oh, wow, they are setting up the old Wiltshire house to be a haunted house! Do you think that we can go?” Ben stated enthusiastically. He came up beside Dean and showed the page to him. The Wiltshire house used to belong to wealthy family of entrepreneurs but the line had died out fifty years ago and with no heir to claim the house, it was sold to the highest buyer. It then ended up in the hands of a catering company that used it for special events.
“As long as your mom gives us the go ahead then sure.” The chances of the place actually being haunted was slim but just in case he could make sure to go prepared.
Lisa was not enthralled by the idea of going to a haunted house, perhaps she was still traumatized from the experience with the changeling from two years ago, but she was not going to stop Ben from going, just so long as Dean accompanied him.
Honestly, he could not blame her for her reluctance. Sometimes experiences just changed you and your perception. Dean could not even think about angels without wanting to kick a trash can and cursing their existence. The lot of them were dicks, save for Cas. Sometimes Dean wish he could go back to not knowing that angels were real and not some fabrication or metaphor from the Bible.
“Do you think there’s a chance that we will run into real ghosts?” Ben looked at him as they stood outside the Wiltshire house, which had been completely decked out in Halloween decorations. Wooden figures of ghosts and zombies planted into the ground, pumpkins everywhere, and cobwebs lining the roof and outside walls.
“Naw, I did some research on the place and there has not been any paranormal sightings.” It was an old hunter’s habit but he wanted to check out the place before he went just so he would not have any surprises, like when the hotel of the Chuck’s lame convention actually turned out to be haunted.
He thought it would be a relief to Ben but instead he looked a bit disappointed.
“Hey, look, real ghosts are annoying and most of them aren’t friendly like Casper.” Even Leticia Gore who ended up being a good ghost by keeping the cruel ghostly boys in line had been off putting.
“You would protect me if something did happen, right?”
“Always.” He might have ultimately failed his younger brother but he was not going to repeat the same mistake with Ben. He would do everything within his power to keep him safe from harm.
The tours through the haunted house were free, though donations were accepted for the local children’s hospital, and self guided as it was a linear path. Dean took the lead, holding Ben’s hand through the house so that he would not lose track of him. While most kids were easily frightened, Ben was brave and did not show any fear. He would probably make a good hunter.
Most of the scares were just people in elaborate makeup jumping out of hiding places, some of which had even caught Dean off guard, and fake chasing them. There were no shouts of terror from them, though there was a few giggles from Ben as they ran down the hallways to escape their pursuers.
It was moments like these that Dean forgot that he once had the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was these kind of moments that he felt like he was experiencing the childhood that he never had due to his dad’s obsession with hunting and revenge.
Seeing the smile on Ben’s face was worth every hardship that he had ever faced and those that still have yet to come. Sometimes he wished that these moments could last forever and forget all about real live monsters, winged dicks, and brother snatching devils.
