Topic: Blast from the Past

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-04-26 19:49 EST
Teas and Tomes Sunday night, April 24th" Quinn had been quiet the entire walk to the tea shop, but when she reached the front door she grabbed it and tugged it open. She held it for him, making it clear that she was aware she wasn't alone. She just needed that bit of silence to straighten her thoughts. "Some things never change. The girl that works here at night still makes a wicked cup of coffee." "You still prefer to drink it Irish style?" Dean asked, stepping past her into the bakery, the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods assaulting his senses and making his stomach growl. "Yeah, sometimes when I have coffee I still drink it Irish. Though, most of the time these days I tend to skip the coffee and have the whiskey straight." She gave a dry smile and followed him inside. "I don't come around here much anymore, to be honest." He came to a stop at the counter, waiting for her to catch up to him, assuming there was a story there waiting to be told, but it could wait until they had their coffee. This was the place of their very first date, and he was flooded with memories. He frowned a little, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

He thought of their first date. She thought of the last place they said goodbye. She shoved her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "Don't say sorry. It wasn't your fault. Remember" We were okay that last time." She inhaled and the words came out on an exhale. "I just never thought I would see you again. I think I'm still sort of in shock." She leaned against the counter beside him and looked over to the girl waiting to take their orders. "Coffee. Obscene cream and sugar please." She looked aside to Dean, waiting for him to put in his order. As she waited she dug around in her pocket, pulling out a few coins to more than cover the bill and the tip. They were set on the counter and slid across to the girl. "Coffee black, and..." He suddenly wasn't really feeling like a donut. "Just coffee." He looked back at Quinn once he'd placed his order. "I didn't think I'd ever be back here. I can't remember why I'm here or what I'm supposed to do." "So I have to figure you're even more surprised than I am." Brows knit together. "I thought you were here on a job' You said you got what you were looking for?" Tilts her head. "How long have you been in town anyway?" So many questions all at once and he had no easy answers for any of them. "A couple of weeks," he replied. "I..." He paused a moment, unsure how to tell her they'd already met. "You don't like kids much, do you?" Her jaw dropped. "Are you frickin' kidding me, Dean' You've been here for weeks?" And then his question, which she felt was out of nowhere, got a weird expression. "Depends on the kid, I think. I thought I didn't, but I met one and she's sort of okay. I gave her Coke." Quinn really had to stop saying that. "You gave a kid Coke" You mean, coke as in....cocaine?"

Quinn blinked slowly. "No, Coke in the can." She burst into laughter. "Holy crap! You've been MIA for a year and yet you're fully aware of my ridiculous antics." She shook her head. "I wouldn't give a kid coke. They're better when they're sleeping." He looked relieved. "You scared me for a minute." Their coffee was ready and he handed her a cup of the sugar-laden stuff he remembered she had been addicted to and took up his own, waving her onward toward a table. "You still working in that coffee shop" What was it called again? Jitters?" "I'm a special breed of fantastic, but not that special." She moved over to the table, coffee in hand, and slid onto a seat. She then crossed her legs, one over the other at the knee. She hesitated at his question. "No, I quit Jitters early March." She gnawed at her bottom lip before taking a sip of coffee. "What about Jamie?" He followed her to a table and took a seat across from her, a polite distance away, not too close, not too far. He saw her gnaw at her lip, but said nothing about it, sensing a little nervousness maybe or awkwardness at his questioning. She gave a crack of laughter. "Oh, after the whole incident where that thing made a hidey hole out of her body she wanted nothing to do with me. Work was difficult after that. And I just hated it. But I needed the money and I needed to do something to feel somewhat useful. When I found a new cause....I quit." What she was doing now was bound to come up, she just wasn't sure how to explain it. Or how he would react. He arched a single brow at her explanation, not really surprised that Jamie had reacted badly to becoming a demon douche bag. That was bound to screw with someone's head and he didn't envy her one bit. But he had no idea what she meant by a new cause. He could only guess. "How's the band going?" He hoped it was the band she was talking about. He knew how much that had meant to her. It had been her dream, and if he couldn't have his dream, maybe she could at least have hers. She cracked a grin. "The Judes." She lifted a hand displaying the rock symbol. "We're still working on our original material, but we're really solid together. Me and three other girls. We all got together around the same time everything else went down." She would drop the hints that she had something else up her sleeve. If he wanted to ask, so be it. If not' They would drink coffee and talk about music. He shook his head slightly, not quite understanding. She was giving it to him in bits and pieces, but that was something they both had in common, always dancing around the bigger issues. "Everything else meaning what?"

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-04-26 19:50 EST
She took a sip of coffee. "I help people. Both Mack and I help people who are in need. I'm actually, really good at it. Surprisingly so." She paused then offered a grin. "I've learned how to shoot a gun." She grasped at the edge of her jacket and tugged it away slightly. The handle could be seen tucked into a holster hanging just under her arm before the leather was moved back in place. "Mack wasn't so sure about it at first, me with a weapon, but it was sort of mandatory and with her training I've gotten good. Still working on it of course. But I'm at the range a lot and improving by the day." She realized she still hadn't laid it all out in black and white. But yes, that was what they did. Faint details until one forced it out of the other. He took a sip of his coffee, lowering the cup and wrapping both hands around it while he listened to her story, which seemed to be coming out in a torrent of words which made little sense to him, other than the fact that she had for some reason learned how to shoot a gun and was helping people somehow, but he wasn't sure how the two were related. He lifted a hand, palm toward her, feeling a little bit dizzy, maybe from all the damned bourbon he'd swilled. "Quinn, slow down. You're helping people how?" She took a breath and squinted at him. "C'mon, Dean. Keep up here. I go a mile a minute and you have to stay with what I'm saying." She took another sip of coffee, as if she needed it. She actually was more on edge and going faster than she needed to. Maybe this is what happened when you didn't get to talk someone for a year. You tried to tell them everything in a rush. She fixed a serious look on him. "I hunt vampires, Dean." She said each word clear and concise to make sure he heard it. "Not all of them in general. Vampires here are just like when you were fishing for demons in RhyDin. All different shapes, sizes, and levels of evil bastard. But we have a particular coven that we're focusing on right now." She was still speaking calmly. It was rough. And she celebrated with another long draw of coffee. There was a look of dazed shock on his face when she finally got to the point, his jaw dropping open, eyes going wide. He must have heard her wrong. Did she say vampires" No, he must have heard her wrong. He shook his head and chuckled a little. "For a minute there I thought you said vampires." She set her cup down with a soft thunk and fixed a dry smirk on him. "What did I just say about keeping up, Dean' Vampires. Did you need me to draw you a picture?" "No, I know what a vampire is!" he exclaimed and then realized he'd said it a little too loudly and lowered his voice, leaning in. "What do you mean you hunt them' What the hell happened to you, Quinn?" Her brows rose and she glanced around. Luckily the coffee shop was in its usually dead state. "So smooth." Then she gave him a hard look. "Excuse me" Do you want to rearrange how you're asking that question and present it again? Because I'm not really enjoying this tone." He took a deep breath and took a minute to gather the right words, which was a challenge in itself. "You hunt vampires. Do you realize how dangerous that is" It's not a game, Quinn. They could kill you." Hadn't they had this conversation once or twice before when she'd wanted to make a deal with a demon" "What?" She gave a faux expression of surprise. "I thought Mack just shoved this damn gun in my hand because it went with my earrings. And the grueling hours of training with hand to hand and weapons day and night were just to give me buns of steel." She laid her hands flat on the table in front of them. "You have been gone for a year, Dean. You can't come back and start tossing a fit about what I have chosen to do with my life." "I'm not tossing a fit." Okay, maybe he was just a little, but only because he knew how dangerous it was and as much as he didn't want to admit it, she was still on his "I care about you? list. "So, I leave and you go all Buffy the Vampire Slayer." "I can't even see that fit anymore because you tossed it so hard." She narrowed her eyes. "It happened, Dean. Mack was involved before and when she told me about what she was doing I insisted on helping. I demanded that she let me help because it's for a good cause." She leaned back in her seat. "I accept that you're a hunter, but when I say I'm doing something you say it's dangerous and I could get hurt' Really"" He leaned back in the chair, jaw clenching, just watching her. He no longer had any right to tell her what to do with her life and maybe he never had. She was doing something dangerous, and the irony of it all hit him suddenly that as much as he'd tried to keep her from that life, she'd stumbled into it anyway, with or without him. "Why are you doing it?" The question was non-threatening, non-accusatory. He just wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing and she was doing it for the right reasons. She didn't move, but her gaze flittered around the shop. The girl behind the counter was lost in a book since the demand for coffee so late at night was low and aside from them it was empty. She looked back to Dean. "The coven that we're looking into right now has been using girls for blood dolls. Our goal is to wipe the coven and rescue the girls." She shook her head. "Some of them....they're young, Dean. They're young." Her hands curled into fists, her jaw setting in place. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't do what I could to help them' If I just didn't care" Would I still be the same person that you used to care about so much?" She shook her head. "That's not me. It never was. And if you think it was, you didn't know me to begin with." Her words hit him like a blow. There was no used to. He still cared, even if they couldn't be together. He'd always cared and always would. He blew out a breath. He'd been hearing stories like this all his life. It was what he and Sam did for a living. "I still care, Quinn. I never stopped caring. Just because I'm not here, just because we're not....You don't just stop caring."

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-04-26 19:51 EST
"Then you need to realize who it is you care for. I'm not just some blonde bimbo, Dean." She raised her hand before he could even react to the words. "I know, I know. You don't think that. I just mean....Have faith in me like so many other people here do. I'm not the same girl I was when you left here, Dean. Not entirely." "I always had faith in you, Quinn. I still do. I believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself, remember?" He sighed. They'd been through so much together in such a short time. It was almost like they'd lived a lifetime in a matter of a few short months. "Look, I....I don't know how much time I have....But if there's anything you need....anything at all..." She gave him a look. "Equating me to Buffy?" Shakes her head. "Usually not the way to go for a vote of confidence. Just telling you that now for future reference." But she nodded at his words. "That's fine, Dean. I appreciate the offer." She shoved her fingers through her hair, forcing the wild blonde locks out of her face with a sigh "It always happens. I go into the bar for a drink and the next thing you know" Fireworks out of left field." He smiled. "Buffy kicked ass. She was hot, too. Not as hot as you though. Quinn Benoit, Vampire Slayer..." He smirked, trying to lighten the mood a little. "You're like the Canadian Buffy." "She did, but your tone made it sound like an insult." Then she gave a smirk. "Oh yeah, that's my cause right there. I practice posing with my guns and knives in my mirror at night so I can get them just right the next day." She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her amusement. "I think you've gotten a bigger mouth in the last year" Is that what?s new with you? Hm' Bigger mouth?" She shot him a teasing look. "Naw, my mouth's always been pretty big. Ego may have gotten a little bigger though." He grinned at her, hiding behind the jokes and the teasing. Maybe she'd actually think he was okay. "Oh yeah' And what have you done in a year to make it grow?" She leaned forward in her seat. Her elbow was planted on the table and her palm cupped her chin. "What have you been doing while I've been getting my Buffy on?" She would give into the teasing, just a bit. "So, I've been gone a year?" The answer to that one question could explain a lot. He frowned at her question, not really having an answer. "I don't remember. Ask me tomorrow." She furrowed her brows thoughtfully. "About that, hasn't it been" I think..." She licked her lips while she pondered. "Beltane was one of the last things we did. We were both nominated for Queen. Shortly after that." She wiggled the fingers of her free hand. "Poof." Then she squinted at him. "You don't remember" What difference does a day make?" "Yeah, don't remind me." Beltane was not one of his fonder memories of Rhydin. He licked his lips a little nervously, unsure how to explain. Might as well just say it. "Because tomorrow I'll be a year older." She stared at him then gave a laugh. "Wait, what? Your birthday isn't for....well, I can't remember exactly but no?" "January," he reminded her, remembering the guitar she'd bought him for his birthday and the lessons she'd tried to give him. Smoke on the Water. "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but....I'm aging a year for every day I'm here. You remember the kid who gave you the finger a few weeks ago' Scrawny kid with freckles and a big mouth' That was me." "January." A snap and a point. Then she blinked and stared at him. She was silent for a long while, but....when it came down to it this was RhyDin. Anything was possible. "You were a douche as a kid." She thought back and gave a crack of laughter. "I think I told you I was going to put my cigarette out on your tongue!" He cracked a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I'm probably still a douche. Just bigger. And you were a bitch. Seriously who does that to a kid" You almost winged me with a beer cap!" "Hey, I didn't change or age by the day. I still am a bitch." She shrugged and grinned. "You earned it. And I wasn't aiming for anything vital with that cap!" "You could've put my eye out!" He grinned back, realizing in that moment how much he'd missed her company, though things would probably never be the same. "Anyway, theoretically, if I've been gone a year and I'm aging a year a day, it seems logical I'll remember last year tomorrow." "Well, if a kid is so slow that he gets taken out by a bottle cap I say the world is a better place with him walking around with just one eye." She laughed and shrugged. "But that makes sense. Did you pinpoint what did that to you or how you got pulled here" Or just another mystery of RhyDin that will never be solved?" Aaron wondered if he could find that book again, he needed to find out a new recipe, well sort of a recipe anyway. He huffed a bit and hooked his thumbs in his pockets as he wandered on down the path to the shop. It was the only place he liked to read, it was a nice quiet place. Ah there it was. As the shop came into view he sped up his pace a bit. After pushing the door open he wandered on inside and off for the counter. He could use a good tea. His thumbs were hooked in his pockets again as he ordered. He played a bit with his bottom lip as he waited.

Dean Winchester

Date: 2011-04-26 19:52 EST
"I don't know, but if I don't stop aging..." Dean trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. She could do the math just as easily as him. He lifted his mug for a sip of his coffee. Quinn furrowed her brows. "Emily is still in business if you need to talk to her. I also have some additional assistance I recently came into when I put the band together, though Emily would probably be a better choice" A tilt of her head. "I somehow attract the most interesting people." Her gaze flickered towards the front door at the latest patron and a smile bloomed across her face. Just as quickly it turned more serious. "Well, this just got more interesting." Dean's gaze darted toward the door and the newest arrival. He looked the guy over, getting the feeling he was suddenly the third wheel. Aaron paid and grabbed up his mug and spun around he took a sip and before he even made it to his usual seat he spotted Quinn and her conversation partner. He gave a bit of a wave. He wouldn't intrude. If he got called over so be it. He sipped his tea again and started for the table. He set the mug down and went to look among the books. Wonder where it was" It was a rather old and obscure tome, he didn't even know if it was still here. Books tended to disappear sometimes. Quinn's gaze shifted back to Dean. She was in silence, obviously trying to brainstorm a way to do this in the cleanest and nicest way fashionable. But she was coming up short. "I don't even know how to start this. I thought it was a conversation for another night since so much has happened, but I can't do that to you or him." Dean raised a hand, saving her the trouble. "It's okay. I get it." He'd only just remembered Quinn that morning, and all the memories that went along with their brief time together. Burned forever in his memory and his heart, just like the initials he'd carved in the tree. There was no such thing as forever. Aaron huffed again at still not being able to find the book and returned to his seat. He grabbed up his tea again and took a sip. Soon after he was fishing about for his cloves. "Third time I've looked and still nothing." He sighed a bit before he took a drag on the clove. His gaze was just wandering about the shop aimlessly. He didn't hear what the two had said so he was oblivious to the whole situation. Dean pushed the chair back and moved to his feet, knowing when three was a crowd. "If you need my help, the offer still stands." Quinn bit her lip and nodded. "Alright." She wanted to say more, but it was too much for one night. For him as well for her. She pushed out of her seat, rising to her feet as well. "Keep in touch while you're in the city. I mean it. We can go to the shooting range and you can tell me how I'm doing it all wrong." Dean affected a smile for her sake. "I'm sure you're doing just fine. Mack doesn't look like the kind of girl who'd steer you wrong." He wasn't quite sure what to do now. Hug her" Kiss her" Shake her hand" "Bit of advice" Try decapitation. Or a blowtorch." Quinn gave a mock look of shock. "No waaay. And here we've just been throwing flowers at them. Mack is going to be totally stoked when she hears about this new plan of action." She pointed a finger at him. "I'll give you the blowtorch though. That's classy." She hesitated for a moment then she decided on the next line of action. She held a hand out to him. "It was good seeing you, Dean. Catch me before you leave again." Aaron absentmindedly reached into his coat and pulled out that dagger; he twirled it about idly as he thought. He played with the studs in his lip a bit. Hmm, he could always just try different combinations, but that didn't go so well last time. He have to get a hold of that healer again. She was the one that helped him last time. He took another drag from his clove before he leaned back and sighed eyes closed. Dean shrugged, tilting his head sideways and smirking. "I have my moments." His eyes moved to the outstretched hand before him. He hesitated before reaching for her hand and then he was leaning in and brushing a kiss against her cheek whether she wanted him to or not. "Stay safe, Quinn," he whispered, for her ears alone. Those simple words meant a lot more than they seemed. Quinn's eyes widened briefly at the kiss to her cheek, but then her expression was back to calm and cool. "Try doing the same, Dean. And keep me up to date about your lack of unbirthdays if they continue past tomorrow." She was still shaking his hand and then she released it, her hands pulling back to hook her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. Her gaze trailed over to Aaron. A deep breath and she was looking back to Dean. "Right, so Emily can kick my ass." He smiled at her as he made his way toward the door, a brief nod to the other dude. "I'm sure she would love to rough you up for old time's sake. I'm much too well behaved for her to overly sass me." Quinn replied with a grin. Aaron offered up a bit of a nod in return to Dean. Maybe he shouldn't have opened his eyes when he leaned back. He saw that lean and the kiss. He didn't say anything though. If it came up later it would. He took another drag from his clove before he went back idly twirling his dagger about. Now back to thinking. He chewed on his lip a bit. "I'll see you around," Dean told her with a warm, sad smile, and then he was gone.

(Note: Dean's age in this scene is 32. He has reached his true age and has regained all memories of his first trip to Rhydin.)