Supernatural Fan Fiction ❯ Out of the Mouths of Babes ❯ Getting Along With Sam ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

 

After John Winchester told him to leave, Ryuji went to the park, because that was where the two boys had gone, and the boys were the only other humans that he was acquainted with in the whole world. That was the childish, ten-year-old reason. The grown-up reason was that the little one was Sam Winchester, and Sam Winchester was the person Azazel was after, only no one in the little family knew it.

 

So, for those reasons, and also for the simple reason that Sam and Dean Winchester were nice boys, Ryuji headed immediately for the nearest park, his hood once more pulled up over his head to hide his pointed ears.

 

He found Sam and Dean at the playground. Sam was climbing and leaping on the jungle-gym like a small monkey, while Dean watched, quite obviously torn between joining in the fun and playing the grown-up—a dilemma that Ryuji solved simply by walking up and saying, “Hello.”

 

Dean jumped a little and said, “God! Make some noise!”

 

“I'm sorry,” Ryuji said quickly, already seeing that this one was going to take much more work than little Sam. “Um…is it all right that I came? It seemed to me that your father wanted me to leave. He's thinking.”

 

Dean shrugged. “Yeah. He does that a lot. And now that you're here, you might as well stay,” was the rather ungracious answer to Ryuji's inquiry. Ryuji was torn between offense and amusement, and their conversation might have died completely then and there, if Sam hadn't caught sight of them right then and shouted, “HI, RYUJI!”

 

“Brace yourself,” Dean said as Sam started swinging his way to the ground.

 

“Why?” Ryuji asked bluntly, before he could think of a polite way to phrase it.

 

“Because I know that tone, and you're about to get yourself bowled over.”

 

There was something in his tone, and Ryuji thought maybe it was important, but he didn't have time to think about it before Sam made good on Dean's promise.

 

“HI, RYUJI!” the boy shouted again, the closed distance having done absolutely nothing to lower his voice, and then he flung himself forward and latched his arms firmly around Ryuji's slim waist. Ryuji stumbled a little under the sudden weight, and heard Dean huff out a breath of laughter.

 

Sam was grinning all over when he released Ryuji, and he asked, “How come you're here?”

 

“Dad's thinking,” Dean replied, and Sam immediately became solemn and serious and nodded his head as if Dean had announced that their father was putting on his red cape in preparation for saving the world.

 

“Daddy likes to think,” he said, with the air of a boy divulging the deepest of confidences. “And lots of times when he's thinking, he tells us to go to the park. Dean says he doesn't try to, but he isn't very nice sometimes.”

 

Dean cleared his throat loudly and said, “Look, Sammy, why don't you go play on the jungle gym for a little longer, and then we can go home and have some breakfast?”

 

Sam grinned a slightly gap-toothed grin. “`Kay, Dean!” he said, and then he turned big brown eyes on Ryuji. “Dean doesn't like to play with me. He's too big. Will you come play?”

 

“Oh, Sammy, I don't think he wants to…” Dean began, and Sam's face immediately fell.

 

The next thing Ryuji knew, he was being fixed with two separate looks—one pleading and one slightly threatening, Don't you dare hurt his feelings, kind of stare. The two combined were enough to make Ryuji forget that he had no idea how to play on a jungle gym, let alone play on one with a little human boy.

 

“Of course,” he said. “I'll be right behind you.”

 

That seemed to be enough for Sam, and he grinned again and ran off.

 

“I'm sorry,” Dean said quietly, watching him go. “He doesn't understand things sometimes.”

 

Something about the words reminded Ryuji that he really had no idea how much Dean really knew, and the guy certainly wasn't giving anything away, and could humans really be that impassive? He didn't think they were supposed to be…

 

But now was not the moment, and so Ryuji pushed the questions away and ran after Sam, while Dean stayed behind and got smaller and smaller.

 

XXX

 

John Winchester had just found a direct trail to the thing that had destroyed his family five years ago, and he had no idea what to do about it, or how to feel, or even, really, what to think.

 

He knew what he wanted to do, and feel, and think. He wanted to hate the young elf, Ryuji—wanted to want to kill him, because he was the only one available. It was true that Ryuji's mother had been responsible for the destruction of John's family, and it was true that with Ryuji hanging around his sons, there was now a direct link between himself and the evil creature that had killed his wife.

 

Ryuji was endangering them all by being there, and that provides John all the excuse he may have needed to hate the boy, to send him away, hell, maybe even to kill him.

 

Except…well, John didn't really want to do any of those things. Blame him if he couldn't bring himself not to like the kid! And then there was the way Sam acted around him…

 

But the bottom line was this: Ryuji was dangerous to have around—could very well get them all killed—and John found himself wanting to keep him around.

 

So, stuck in this situation as he was, John did what any self-respecting man would do: he sank into a state of denial. He very firmly told himself that his decision had everything to do with Ryuji's usefulness in hunts, and nothing to do with the way Sam's grin just wouldn't quit around the elf, and then he sat sown to wait for his children and his new guest to return.

 

XXX

 

“Hey, Sammy, how about a piggyback ride?” Dean asked after he'd wrangled his little brother half an hour later and they were heading back to the motel.

 

Sam's eyes widened. “But you said I was getting too big!”

 

“Well, I changed my mind.”

 

“But…”

 

“Sammy, do you really want to argue about this, or do you want to climb on?” Dean asked. He crouched down, and Sam discarded argument in favor of grinning and clambering up onto Dean's back.

 

As he straightened, Sam's arms and legs wrapped around him, Dean shot Ryuji a look. Ryuji couldn't really read his expression, but he knew it was not friendly, and he sighed inwardly, because he could already tell that it was going to be Dean, not John, and certainly not Sam, who was going to be his biggest obstacle to overcome.

 

XXX

 

“So here's how I figure it.”

 

Ryuji glanced over when John finally spoke, and just as quickly looked back to the stars. He and John had come outside after John put his sons to bed, and now, after minutes of silence, it seemed that a conversation was actually on the table.

 

“You're dangerous to me. To my family. I can only assume that it's possible this demon is after you, even though all you want is for it to be dead. It could come here at any time. I could face it…at any time.”

 

“And that isn't what you want?'

 

“Of course it is. It's all I want—except for my boys to be safe. I know I can protect them, but….I have two choices, and what I need to decide is, which one outweighs the other? That's what I've been thinking about…all day.”

 

Ryuji didn't really understand, but he kept quiet and looked serious, and waited.

 

John sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “So here's what I know. You could be dangerous to me. But you could also be incredibly useful, in a number of ways. You don't seem like a bad kid—my boy Sam likes you, and I know he's young, but he's also not usually wrong.”

 

“And…Dean?” Ryuji asked, almost timidly.

 

He was surprised when John laughed out loud. “Yeah, Dean. I'm sure you've picked up on the fact that he doesn't like you.”

 

“I have. And this doesn't worry you?”

 

“No, it doesn't, and I'll tell you why. See, it's not you he doesn't like. In fact, I think you two could be good friends. But…Sam likes you.”

 

Ryuji frowned. “I don't understand,” he confessed.

 

“Neither do I, really. But…look, Dean's always been the central figure in Sam's life. His best friend, his protector, his f—reaking night in shining armor. And now you come in here, and suddenly Sam has someone new in his life, someone to hang around, to idolize, someone that he doesn't know thoroughly and completely and can still have fun figuring out. And Dean thinks you're stepping into his territory.”

 

“But Sam doesn't look at it that way. Even while we played at the park, he never went too long without looking to make sure Dean was watching him. And he begins almost every sentence with `Dean says.' I haven't been here two days and already I how close they are. I couldn't change that if I wanted to. I don't, though.”

 

Ryuji couldn't entirely hide his awe at the depth of the brothers' relationship—even as an only child of an Elven family, he knew how hard that kind of love was to come by. It made him feel all funny inside, and even though he couldn't know it yet, that wonder would turn into a fierce determination, in time.

 

“I'm glad you realize that,” John said, sounding relieved. “But Dean will be harder to convince. He won't believe it if you tell him.”

 

Ryuji sighed. “Humans are very strange.”

 

John smiled. “Oh, believe me. We know.” His quiet chuckle rose on the breeze and then fell and died. “So, back to the subject. How much of what you read in my journal did you understand?”

 

If Ryuji had been a little older, a little wiser, a little more suspicious and paranoid, he might have asked the traditional question, “How did you know about that?” But he was still a child—one forced into maturity well before his time, but a child nonetheless—and he simply told the truth without hesitation.

 

“All of it.”

 

“And do you know about anything that isn't in there?”

 

“Well, yes. I just can't think of them all at once. A little bit at a time, maybe.”

 

John nodded slowly. “Okay.” He was silent for a moment, before asking abruptly, “Do you sleep, Ryuji?”

 

Ryuji sighed and tried not to let his impatience show, but he didn't entirely succeed. “Yes.”

 

“Well, hey, gimme a break! I didn't even know you existed until last night.”

 

“I apologize.”

 

“See? I can't get used to you if you keep talking like that. Dean can't even spell apologize!”

 

Ryuji giggled. “Sorry. I'll try harder.”

 

“There, now, that's more like it.”

 

And then he headed into the motel room, and Ryuji was left wondering whether or not he was supposed to go back home now. He hadn't actually received an answer either way…

 

John had left the door open, though, so Ryuji drew the obvious conclusions and followed.

 

Humans were terribly strange.

 

XXX

 

“So you're sticking around awhile.”

 

Ryuji was surprised when Dean's whisper floated out of the quiet from the bed he now shared with Sam. He'd known the other boy wasn't asleep as he'd pretended, of course, but he hadn't expected Dean to speak to him.

 

“Yes. For a while. I think.”

 

“You are. Trust me. Dad wouldn't have left you back in, otherwise.”

 

“Oh. Really?”

 

“Yeah. Really.”

 

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ryuji asked, “Dean, why do you seem not to like me?”

 

Dean sighed. “I like you fine. Now go to sleep.”

 

“I have only been here a day, you know. You could give me a chance.”

 

“I said I like you fine.”

 

“No, you don't. Why do you have a problem with me?” John had already told him the answer, but maybe if Dean just said it they could argue about it the way humans liked, and then Dean wouldn't be so mad anymore.

 

His hopes were dashed, though, when Dean sat straight up. Ryuji could see him clearly in the dark, and his face was blazing as he said angrily, “Look, what do you care? You don't need me for a friend. You're not human. You don't belong here. You don't belong in this motel room, you don't belong in this world, and you definitely don't belong around my little brother.”

 

“Dean? Wha'z goin' on?”

 

Dean fell silent abruptly, then said softly, “Nothing, Sammy, everything's fine.”

 

“You sound mad…”

 

“I'm not. It's okay. Really.”

 

“Sure?”

 

“Yeah. Go back to sleep.”

 

“M'kay. G'night.”

 

“G'night.” Dean waited until Sam's breathing deepened and slowed, and then he leaned back against the headboard and said quietly, “Look, I know my dad has his reasons for keeping you around. And Sam likes you, so I guess I'm gonna have to get used to you.”

 

Before Ryuji could breathe a sigh of relief, Dean went on.

 

“But you're not human, and my family doesn't have the best history with that sort of thing. I don't think I can trust you. So just…do me a favor, and stick to sucking up to my dad, okay? And stop trying to steal my brother from me, while you're at it”

 

Ryuji gaped at Dean for a long time after the other boy turned over on his side, his face to the wall, and in his astonishment he could only think one completely out-of-place thing.

 

At least I finally found out how much he knows.

 

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Author's Note: Believe it or not, I really did know what I was doing for the first four chapters of this. But as of the last sentence of this chapter, I have no idea where I'm going with this, thanks to Dean's tampering. So from here on out, it's just me going off the top of my head. This is where it gets fun! claps hands