cained | 👻🎈🤡🥧

[ Something tells her a place called the Men of Letters bunker never anticipated women walking through those reinforced doors. The world's changing every day with monsters on the up and up and more and more people gearing up to fight them; the boys have told her that women do the job just as well as men, that it's about skill and experience more than anything else in the field. Beverly has no plans on becoming a hunter herself, she'd made that clear when she asked Dean to teach her a little about what they do — but now that she and the other Losers know things other than It go bump in the night, she likes being prepared. (They'd made it out of the cistern by the skin of their teeth.)

Anyway, came in handy, didn't it? She feels damn good about what she accomplished here today. And to celebrate that with Dean, in the best way they could in the moment, makes it even better. Beverly's come a long way in rebuilding her confidence but it still feels nice to hear when someone's proud of her. It's new. So much about this between them is. And the joy found in that novelty has yet to wear off.

Hearing his smile colour his voice brings a wider one to her own lips. Yeah. It's great, getting to share a life so fully with someone, even if they're thousands of miles away. ]

Hey, I'll take it. Better than being haunted, [ she agrees with her own chuckle. ] And I'm definitely not telling Jamie what happened in here — before, during, and after. But if every ghost hunt ends the way this one did, I want in on the next one. [ It sounds like a joke and it is, mostly; but she thinks back to earlier, the faint note of strain in his voice when he'd asked if she planned on doing this again, and adds, ] With you, of course.

[ A beat. Softer: ] Not this trip, though. This one's just for us.

[ Monster plans cancelled. Not always possible, she knows; but they can do their damn best. ]

( dean never wants to drag anyone into the hunter's life, but bev practically got dragged into it kicking and screaming and he didn't even have anything to do with it. so, yeah, when she said she wanted to learn more, just in case, just to be able to defend herself, he didn't say no. does he think she's ready to go solo yet? hell no. but that doesn't mean she didn't do good work today. doesn't mean dean won't consider taking her hunting with him eventually.

this one's just for us.

his smile softens, melts into the corners of his eyes. august, frankly, can't come fast enough. but the way things tend to happen so much so fast, it'll probably only feel like a few weeks rather than a whole month before she's in his arms again. and, hell, he's waited longer. )

Yeah, I like the sound of that. We can work up to a real hunting trip later. ( a beat. he pushes off the sink, his head perked toward a distant crash. ) Hey, you gonna be alright if I let you go? Think there's a moose in the kitchen and you know as well as I do that ain't gonna end well. Like letting a bull run loose in a damn china shop.

( there's a reason dean is there chef around here. not that sam isn't self sufficient when he wants to be, but his skills are, well, limited. better to let dean take care of it. )

[ Their jobs, vastly different in all respects but equally fast-paced, mean the time between their visits goes by in a flash more often than not. It's good to have something to look forward to beyond the looming chaos of NYFW in September; flying out to that quiet corner of the midwest, being wrapped up in that feeling of home... She can't wait, either.

Whatever surprise she feels at the promise of a real hunting trip (a date to fit their unconventional brand of romance) dissolves into mingled amusement, a pang of wistfulness to hang up. They talk on the phone all the time, but with what they shared on this call makes it a little harder to let go. (Oh, sweetheart, you've got it bad.) ]

Yeah, I'll be fine, honey. I've gotta get this mess cleaned up, anyway. [ No evidence left behind, formerly cursed watch included. ] You better get in there before your kitchen turns out the same. Say hi to Sam for me.

[ And then, just before they go — ]

Love you.

( truthfully, he never wants to let her go, but there are some things that demand his attention more than others, and she knows when it comes to sam, he's always going to be a little distracted, even if the most dangerous thing sam's getting up to is boiling water. dean just doesn't want his kitchen looking like a damn tornado blew through. they haven't really talked about what their next move is, either, and now that dean's significantly less wound up, it might be a good time to figure out where to go next. they've still got a missing kid to find and a mom to rescue. )

Yeah, you know I will. ( say hi to sam for her, naturally. ) And, hey, I really am proud of you, Bev. You did good. ( it bears repeating, just to reinforce the sentiment, that it wasn't just something he said to get her going.

the warmth of her i love you sinks into his chest, hurtling him back to that hotel room in chicago, the way she felt next to him in the afterglow of the first time he'd admitted it back and everything that followed. he almost doesn't think he can say it again so soon, doesn't know if he can dislodge those three words from where they feel stuck in his throat, thick and heavy with the weight of everyone he's ever loved and lost. but she's still here, she right there on the other the of the line, and she's not going anywhere, not anytime soon. she convinced him of that in chicago.

so after a moment of hesitation, as if he means to say something else entirely, he finally manages a soft, ) Love you too, babe.

[ Oh, that golden feeling is back again; the warmth blooming through her chest, spreading to her fingertips, lighting her up from inside and out. Hard to say what brings it on first — I'm proud or I love you — but her smile is bright and helpless all the same. Months ago, she wouldn't have trusted feeling like this. She'd been betrayed by it for years, until she couldn't tell what was genuine from what was just manipulation and empty platitudes. But this feels right in a way her bond with the Losers feels right. Honest, real, after a lifetime of wading through the bullshit.

She knows it's hard for Dean, too. Knows that words with that much weight have come with a price before — and she gets it. She's paid for it too, in her own way. It's only been a few short weeks since they confessed the depth of their feelings for each other but now that it's out there, mutual, Bev doesn't want to stop herself from telling him every chance they get. They deserve this and she'll say it for the both of them if she has to; doesn't make it any less true for either of them, anyway. He wouldn't have come back to her if he didn't mean it. And she wouldn't have let him back in if she didn't, either.

Still. It's nice to hear. God, it's so nice. ]

Thanks, Dean. [ Suffused with warmth and fondness, as always. ] Talk soon. Bye.

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