[Fic] "Shifting Destinies"

[lux_tuli]

Title: "Shifting Destinies"

Fandom: Supernatural

Rating: Teen

Pairing(s): Sam Winchester x Dean Winchester

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Rowena

Word Count: 4,040

Summary: Drove away from their hometown, the Winchesters set up a life for themselves in the deepest reaches of the woods, a place which was largely left undisturbed by most humans. If only finding peace was so easy.

Written for: Wincest Reverse Bang

Originally posted: June 19, 2017

Artwork by: bluefire986

It was either run or be hunted, that was the Winchester way of life.

 

There had been a time where they had attempted to live a normal life out in the village of Lawrence, where they had been born and raised, but someone had accidentally caught sight of Sam in the midst of shifting into his hawk form, which outed their well guarded secret. They became ostracized then eventually cast out by the people that they had once considered to be their friends.

 

Neither one of the brothers were confident that they would not get caught again in a different town so they settled for living out in the woods. It was not an easy life, they built a tiny hut that acted as their home from the ground up and they did not dare venture into the towns for supplies so they lived off the land completely, hunting down their meals and scavenging for resources.

 

---

 

It was liberating to be in his hawk form, Sam loved using his wings to soar above the woods with the wind brushing against his feathers and taking in the sights, seeing how far the horizon stretched. Unfortunately, he was unable to share the experience with Dean, who was grounded regardless of what form that he was in.

 

Though, Sam did not take flight solely for pure pleasure. His animal form was a bird of prey, after all. A predator. He would first scout out a potential meal, even at his size he was capable of taking down small mammals, and swoop down at his target with an immense amount of speed, as if he was a lightning bolt striking the earth.

 

He had even scared Dean a few times when they were just prowling through their territory. Sam would just dive down near him, purposely missing him, but it never ceased to make the fox jump then promptly followed by yelling.

 

However, Dean always found a way to get back at him for his pranks.

 

Strangely enough, Sam had woken up one morning to find himself alone in bed, Dean nowhere to be found. It was odd because normally Sam was an earlier riser than his brother, who enjoyed lazing about in bed.

 

“Dean?” He called out, pushing down the sheets and lifting himself up from the bed. Clad in just a pair of thin black boxers, he searched the room for his clothes. After Sam spent a good ten minutes looking, with Dean still not revealing himself, he noted that his clothes were conveniently absent as well.

 

“Dean! Seriously!?” Sam shouted out. His brother could not be that far away. No doubt that he was somewhere nearby to watch his reactions and get a laugh of it. He left the comfort of the bedroom to enter the main living area of the hut. There was still no clues about where his brother went or what happened to his clothes. With a sigh, he walked out of the front door, at least he did not have to worry so much about modesty in the woods.

 

The cool morning air brushed against his chest and if it were not the fact that he was used to cold night in the winter, he would probably be shivering. The dew covered grass brushed against his feet. And there was Dean, sitting on an old tree stump, looking rather pleased with himself.

 

“So, tell me, where did my clothes disappear off to?” Sam managed to keep his tone calm and even, not betraying any frustration that he was experiencing. A grin formed on Dean’s face and he casually shrugged, playing innocent. If only he had a better poker face then perhaps Sam would be more inclined to believe him. Not that there would really be any other suspects living out in the woods as they were.

 

“You sure about that?” Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest, “How about I ask again?”

 

“I don’t know...maybe they decided to grow legs and leave your lanky ass behind.” Dean responded, barely holding back a chuckle.

 

“Right.” Sam rolled his eyes.

 

“Not that I mind the view either,” His brother leered. There was nothing remotely normal about their lives from living out in the middle of the woods to how their relationship went beyond siblings.

 

“Look all you want but…” Sam strutted to where Dean was sitting, displaying no shame in his lack of his clothes, and leaned forward until his mouth was right next to his ear, “You’re not getting any of this anytime soon.” He purred out, knowing just how to hit his brother’s weak points.

 

A smug smile formed on his face when Dean let out a whine and Sam stood up straight. 

 

“That’s no fair.” Dean complained as he looked down at him.

 

“Then maybe you should start thinking about making it up to me.” He nearly chuckled as he started to walk away to track down his clothes and could make out the pout on Dean’s face.

 

It was not that Sam had any particular attachment to his clothes, he just used whatever was practical and provided enough layers to keep him warm. It was Dean that was more into looking stylish but still it would be a pain to go out and gather resources to make new clothes, especially when it took a lot of adjustments considering his height.

 

There was a lot of potential places that Dean could have hid his clothing so Sam decided to enlist some help. He let out a whistle and two minutes later, a kestrel showed up, perching on his head. Kestrels tended to be much smaller than red-tailed hawks, which Sam took the form of, but they were just as good as hunting. The lack of grey feathers on the kestrel’s head told him that it was female.

 

Sam conveyed his request and the kestrel took off, keeping his ears peeled for any vocalization from her conveying that she had found his clothes. Not long afterwards, he heard a high pitched screech and followed the sound until he found the kestrel perched on a branch, head pointed down at a sack seated at the base of the tree. He untied the rope around the sack and sure enough, there was his clothes. He wasted no time in pulling out a set to put on. Sam slung the sack over his shoulder and the kestrel swooped down to rest on his shoulder.

 

He had promised her a meal as a reward, after all.

 

---

 

Birds of prey were not particularly picky about what they ate, unlike humans. If only he could get Dean to eat more vegetables because if his brother had it his way then he would eat nothing but meat. Basically whatever falcons and hawks were able to hunt and kill was good enough. Sam hunted down a squirrel, there were plenty of them running around in the woods, and left it on the tree stump that Dean had previously been sitting on before entering the hut. As soon as he went through the wooden front door, he could make out the smell of Dean cooking.

 

Sam cooked from time to time but Dean did the majority of the cooking as he enjoyed doing it. It probably brought memories of their mother, whom Sam never got to know as she was killed when he was a mere baby. All he knew about his mother was stories that his father and brother had told him. How she used to bake these amazing pies, which started Dean’s whole obsession with pies.

 

Their mother was a shifter, and where Sam and Dean had gotten the ability from. Apparently she had been hunted down while in her foxy red jaguarundi form, which was incredibly exotic for the region. A hunter had killed her out of sport and for her beautiful coat. Their father had made up some excuse to their neighbors as to his wife’s disappearance and he had cautioned his sons against transforming into their animal forms.

 

And Sam had suppressed that side for years but eventually he grew discontent with shunning that part of himself. He first started sneaking out in secret while his father was passed out in his bed and took to the skies. Eventually Dean had caught him one night right before he made it out of the door. As much as his older brother had been tempted to inform their father, Sam had managed to convince him to keep his secret.

 

“De, please.” He had pleaded, “Dad, wouldn’t understand, this is part of who we are.” 

 

“And that’s exactly what had gotten Mom killed. What if some hunter decides to make you his prey? I couldn’t bear to face myself if I lost you too.” He could tell that his brother was only upset because he was concerned for his wellbeing, ever the protective older brother. His father used to tell Sam that after he was born, Dean had insisted on holding him first.

 

“I will be careful.” Sam had promised.

 

“That’s not enough, Sammy. Promise me that you won’t go out without me by your side.” That was the accord they had struck. Sam was allowed to fly around in his hawk form, so long as Dean was around to watch out for him.

 

It had worked well enough for five years until the day when Sam had gotten caught. Their father had not been around to protect them that time.

 

---

 

Normally, Sam was extremely careful when he was out flying, cautious of any potential dangers, but unfortunately he had slightly misjudged his path and clipped his wing against a tree. It hurt, badly. Right after the impact, he fell towards the ground, his wings unable to support himself, and Dean chased after him, hastily turning back into a human to catch him in his hands.

 

“I got you, Sammy.” Dean tried to reassure him but Sam had a difficult time concentrating on his voice because of the amount of pain that he was in. His brother rushed him back to their hut and laid him out carefully on their bed. 

 

He rushed towards the medicine cabinet, seeking out their bottle of healing salve, which Sam had gotten through bartering with a witch named Rowena. She was one of the few humans that he interacted with in recent years and there was no judgment for her as witches were just as ostracized, their powers looked upon with fear and contempt.

 

Dean did not care much for her but Sam had argued that they had little options otherwise. Most of the time, Sam tended to visit her place alone to avoid Dean having words leave his mouth without a filter. While he appreciated the fact that his brother tended to speak his mind, Sam preferred to tread lightly. If his tongue managed to piss off Rowena, where else could they get their healing supplies and other resources from?

 

Find another witch? They were few and far between. Like Sam and Dean, most of them lived in hiding, away from the sight of regular humans.

 

---

 

It had been chance when Sam had first met Rowena as he had not been out looking for a witch to trade with. No, he had been out on a simple hunt, what had passed as a way for him to kill time. He had ensnared a rabbit with his talons and as he loomed over the furry rodent, he had caught the witch’s eye while she had been picking herbs.

 

“My, my, what have we got here? Not too often that I see your kind.” She had recognized the fact that he was a shifter immediately, Sam had eventually chalked it up to her magical abilities once he had found out what she was.

 

He had let out an ear piercing screech in reply, which caused her to momentarily wince.

 

“Don’t get an attitude with me, mister.” She admonished him then proceed to scoop him off of the rabbit and into her hand, careful to avoid his sharp talons. He was not about to let himself get captured so he shifted back into his human form quickly.

 

Rowena let out a whistle as her eyes raked over his form, “Quite a looker, too.”

 

“Shut up,” Sam had scowled at her.

 

“Is there any reason for you to be so rude? You best be careful, I could turn you into an actual moose and you would be stuck in that form.” She chastised him.

 

“What?” Was his dumbfounded reply to her idle threat.

 

“Are you dense as well? Are those looks just for show, nothing beneath those luscious hair of yours?”

 

“I don’t understand…” The more and more he had talked to her, the more he had gotten confused.

 

“Clearly.” Rowena had rolled her eyes at him, “I’m a witch, what part don’t you understand?”

 

“Oh.” He had heard about witches but never had met one prior to Rowena so she ended up being his introduction to them. Once he had cleared up the misunderstanding between them, she had offered him use of her services. At first, Sam had not thought much of it but as it turned out, he went to Rowena a lot.

 

---

 

Dean had applied the salve but after waiting for a few moments, it did not appear to have done much as Sam was staying lying motionlessly in pain and his brother was starting to grow antsy, pacing around the hut to consider what to do. Seeing the restless on Dean only made Sam feel worse.

 

He finally stopped in his step and told him, “I will be back.” Dean did not spare him another look as he rushed out of the hut, probably off to get help. But who?

 

It was not like they could go to a regular doctor to get treatment. All they had was the medicine that they could get their hands on.

 

---

 

Sam had presumably fell asleep while waiting that he was then aroused by two voices talking. He heard the distinct accent belonging to none other than Rowena speak, “Do I look like a veterinarian to you, dearie?” 

 

“Your salve didn’t work.” Dean accused and Sam could tell that if he was not currently relying on her to do something that he would probably hurt her for the salve not working.

 

“Of course it didn’t. That’s meant more for cuts, burns, and the like. Not broken bones.” She corrected him.

 

“Then what will fix him?” His brother demanded.

 

“Calm down, you getting ants in your pants is not going to help your brother any. I can brew a potion that can mend the damage to his wing.”

 

“What are you waiting for?” Dean spoke impatiently.

 

“And what kind of gratitude is that for the person who is going to help your brother? Honestly, you Winchester boys are more trouble than you’re worth.” Rowena was not taking any of Dean’s attitude, even if it was understandable.

 

“Just do it, please.” It was weird to see his older brother relent somewhat.

 

“That’s more like it.” Rowena smiled and gave Dean a pat on the cheek before going off to work.

 

---

 

The witch’s brew had worked and Sam was back in his human form, no longer needing to stay in his hawk form. He let himself sink further back into the sheets, feeling absolutely exhausted even if he had barely moved for the past several hours.

 

“Now then, you might want to avoid stretching out your wings for a few. You might be healed but give them some time to recover. Though I doubt you will feel up to it over the course of the next few days.” Rowena advised him and Sam could start to feel his eyelids grow heavy.

 

“Why, what’s wrong now?” Dean interjected angrily.

 

“Nothing, he’s just going to be drowsy for a while as his body adjusts. It’s a small price to pay for the great benefit that the potion provided.” What had Rowena once told him? Magic always came with a price for its use.

 

“I understand, thank you.” Sam replied before his brother could say anything rude to the witch. She smiled at him then took her leave. He felt the mattress dip as Dean sat beside him, placing his arm underneath his head.

 

“I was so terrified when I saw you falling out of the air like that. I’m just glad that I caught you in time.” If Dean had not been there to catch his body, Sam could only wonder how worse of a state he would have ended up in.

 

“Yeah, me too.” Sam mumbled, not having much strength to talk as the drowsiness started to take over his body, no longer able to fight to stay awake. He only managed to inform Dean that, “‘m sleepy” before he conked out in his arms.

 

---

 

It was not a bad feeling to wake up with his head resting on Dean’s chest, unsure whether his sleep laden body had wrapped himself around his brother as he was accustomed to doing when he slept or whether Dean had positioned his body in such a way. Either way, he did not mind.

 

Dean must have felt his body shift as he opened one eye to look at him, “How are you feeling?”

 

“Better. Still a bit groggy though.” He might have just woken up but he felt like he could go back to sleep already.

 

“Sure, Sleeping Beauty.” His brother teased him and Sam pinched him on the arm in retaliation, “Hey, what do you have against Sleeping Beauty?”

 

“I’m not a princess, De.” Sam grumbled, burying his head into Dean’s shoulder.

 

“Not with that attitude, you aren’t.” He laughed lightly before changing the topic, “I suppose you aren’t going to feel up to going outside. Nothing wrong with lazing about in bed, though. Can I get you anything?”

 

As if on cue, Sam’s stomach grumbled.

 

“I suppose that I can muster something up for breakfast in that case.” Dean grinned then rolled off the bed, leaving Sam to bury himself further into the sheets.

 

When the smell of hot food became too strong to ignore, Sam mustered the energy to rise out of bed and take a seat at their dining table. Dean set up the table with silverware before dishing out what he had prepared, which turned out to be a lot of eggs, bacon, and potato pancakes.

 

“I know that you prefer your healthy garbage but the protein will provide you with a nice boost of energy.” Dean did not hold the same fondness that Sam did towards fruits and vegetables. He had long given up about trying to argue with his brother about his restrictive diet. He was just grateful that Dean did not turn away all vegetables.

 

The food was delicious as always, his brother having a natural aptitude for cooking. While Sam would normally wash the dishes afterwards, Dean had insisted this time, saying that he should be resting instead so it was back to bed with him, pulling out a book to keep him occupied.

 

---

 

Once the grogginess started to fade, Sam decided to ease his way back into things and not immediately go back into flying. He started with walks around the woods surrounding their hut, building back up the strength in the legs that he had lost while mostly staying in bed for the past several days.

 

It was not long before he took to the skies again. However, during his recent flights, Sam was troubled by the presence of an unknown figure in the woods. The camouflage he was wearing along with the rifle that he was holding told him that he was some sort of hunter, not a sight that he wanted to see so close to their home.

 

Sam told himself that he would be even more careful, not knowing what the blond haired hunter was after. Perhaps it was bad luck that caused Sam to end up in these situations but the man had caught sight of him as he turned back into his human form. The hunter’s icy blue eyes lit up with devilish glee that sent a shiver down his spine.

 

He wasted no time to take off running, putting as much distance between him and the other man as possible. Sam wished that he could say that was the last time that he saw the hunter but he could not.

 

The next time he saw the hunter he was accompanied by a dark haired man with similar attire and Sam hid himself in the trees as he eavesdropped on their conversation.

 

“You’re obsessed, Luci.” The man commented to the hunter in a bored tone, “It’s just a bird.”

 

“I told you already, Mikey, he’s a shifter!” The blond replied angrily.

 

“You’re delusional, shifters are nothing more than a bedtime story to scare children.”

 

“Just you watch, I will prove it to you!”

 

---

 

Sam was not sure why this hunter had taken such an interest in him but it left him uneasy. The hunter knew what he was and there was no way that he was going to leave him alive if he ever caught up to him. Being caught as a shifter was almost always an instant death penalty. He had grown immensely paranoid, constantly looking behind to make sure that he was not being followed. Heaven forbid that he led the hunter back to their hut, the only home they had after they were forced to leave their previous one.

 

He had taken his concerns to Dean but his brother was keen on confronting the hunter and forcing him to stop. Sam was not having any of it though, “And then he will come back with a bunch of his buddies and we will be massively unnumbered. There’s no sense fighting them, no good will come out of it.”

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of just running all the time?”

 

“It’s the Winchester way. How else are we supposed to survive?”

 

“This isn’t right, you know. We haven’t done anything wrong but they treat us like a bunch of criminals. All because we’re a little different from them.” Dean grumbled angrily. Sam understood, it upset him too but he could not see how they could change the way things were in the world. It was unfair but this was their reality. A cruel and harsh reality.

 

“I don’t disagree with that but this is how things are.”

 

---

 

Sam woke up to the unpleasant smell of burning wood. Not the pleasant kind you would get from kindling some wood in a fireplace but a consuming, destructive fire. His body jolted in surprise as his eyes opened and found his surroundings completely engulfed in flames, Dean all the while still deep in slumber.

 

“De, come on, wake up!” Sam shook him violently.

 

“Little birdy, come out to play…” He heard the creepy voice of the hunter sing out to him.

 

“What the fuck!” Dean cursed as he came to and took in their surroundings, “I’m going to kill that fucker!”

 

“Not now, we need to get out of here.” Sam urged him. It was painful to watch as everything that they had built together was going up in flames, left without a home yet again.

 

“Dammit.” Thankfully when they had designed the hut, they had set up a secret exit just in case. Sam shoved the dining table onto the floor, it mattered little if it broke because it would not survive the fire regardless, and opened the hatch.  Dean stated bitterly, “Never thought we would actually have to use this thing.”

 

The opening led to a tunnel, which was too small for their human forms so they both transformed and ran through the tunnel until they reached the end of it, which was about fifty feet away. Not longer traversing through such a small space, they turned back.

 

“Where do we go from here? It seems like we’re not safe no matter where we go.” Sam let out a deep sigh, seeing the black smoke rising above the trees in the distance.

 

“We’ll figure out something.” Dean responded as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “We always do.”