Chapter Text
You weren’t quite sure when they days started blending. If you were being perfectly honest with yourself, you weren’t even sure on how long you’d been wasting your time here. Well, some would call a waste of time, in your mind, it served more as a retreat, an escape from the “option” on going back home. You’d settled in quite well here, a town in quite literally the middle of nowhere surrounded by wilderness and other people trying to avoid the general public and the attention they all seem to want to put on everyone. You’d thankfully missed out on that personality trait. The charm seemed to be lost on everyone else of the town was the main reason you’d decided that this place was far enough- that and the help wanted sign stuck up in the diner just off the road. Alex the manager had taken a shining towards you when you came in with your CV (something you were yet to decide was a good thing or not), and for the most part you kept to yourself, made sure people had their food and there weren’t empty mugs lying about the booths. A mind numbing career choice you had to admit, but with a semi decent jukebox in the corner and an apron full of quarters, you were content staying right where you were. Totally happy. Not at all looking for some sort of purpose or drive for anything else.
Striking the imaginary bell above your head, you snapped your mind back into your body from its wander from God knows where, you moved from behind your counter to see two new customers making their way to a booth. A rugged look bore into their worn clothes, their eyes scrunching at each other through their seemingly heated conversation. Grabbing your notebook and flattening down your skirt from where you’d been sitting you stepped out towards their chosen spot in the otherwise empty diner. They seemed similar to each other, brothers maybe? With so many irregulars and a constant flow of fresh faces, you often entertained yourself with giving each visitor a story as to why there where there- unfortunately, you never got to find out if you were right or not.
You turn you head and face into the kitchen window, letting the chef for the morning know you’ve got customers as you make your way round the counter.
Approaching the table, you put your usual customer service smile on and got to work.
“Morning guys! What can I get started for you this morning?” You gave them your name as you clicked your pen as you prepared to write.
Suddenly being clicked back into the real world, the men in front of you looked up at you, not realizing you’d come over.
Almost as if they were sizing you up, you watched their glance shift around you, one of them lingering more than the other.
Nothing you weren’t used to.
It’s only now that you take the opportunity to properly see who you were talking to. The man to your right- seemingly the bigger of the pair, was huge. If you hadn’t already prepared your smile before walking towards them, you had no doubt you’d be shying away from him instinctively. His hair was long and framing his face, it looked as though he was due a haircut with the way it was almost poking into his eyes. The hard look in his eyes made your shoulders shrink into themselves, staying that way even as it soften. Turning your eyes to your left, you go to take in the other visitor. The first thing that caught you was his eyes. Unlike his companion, his foresty eyes with silver spikes throughout struck you with warmth, like he’d just had a fleeting fond memory to the forefront of his mind. Much like his friend, he was clad in denim and deep, worn flannel with a plain shirt underneath, jacket protecting him from the fresh bite of the morning outside. He seemed to be in his late thirties, more probably his early forties- same as his company. All added together, he’s got this classic, timeless charm- a look that’s not hard on the eyes.
The bigger one spoke up, drawing your attention back to him. “Uh, just a coffee for me. black.” His gaze shifted to the man in front of him, eyebrows gesturing for him to give his order.
You turned back to the other man, his face now guarded his originally open look. “Uh, same for me.” He gives you a smile as the lines of his face reaching his eyes, you automatically find yourself returning it.
“All good, can I get you boys some menus?” Hopefully so, you think, would be nice to try and gauge if they’ll be coming in over the next few days or just driving through.
“Sure, sounds good to me.” Speaks the one on your right. You flash them both a smile before making your way back over to your counter, picking up the menus, mugs and some coffee.
What was that? You get all sorts of people in here, not all of them are overweight truck drivers. You’re just glad he didn’t seem to notice your internal drooling and ogling at him. Had it really been that long since you’d seen anyone attractive, just to make you forget your manners? You shook the thoughts out of your head as you walked back over to the men, placing the menus down as you fill up their mugs.
“It doesn’t say on there, but we have a variety of pies up at the counter- I baked them this morning.” You look to both of them, trying to see if either of them sound interested in the offer.
The bigger one chuckled as he looked down at his menu then back to the man in front of him, your gaze followed. Your eyes were met with his, the smile returned to his face with a glint in his eyes, clearly his interest was piqued.
He looked back towards the taller man in front of him, then back to you. “You figure out what you want Sammy, I’ll go have a look at the pies.” You weren’t sure how someone could make one word sound magical, but he’d managed to do it. Either way, you’d learned one of their names.
You led him up to the counter, gesturing to the bakes goods now separating you and the good looking man in front of you.
“As you can see, we’ve got cherry, apple, lemon, blackberry, pretty much all you can think of really. We’re quite popular for it in this town, everyone tends to come here if they’re going out,” You smiled up at the man in front of you, only now taking not of the height difference. If he was this tall, how tall was the moose of a man you left in the booth? “Personally, I’d recommend the cherry- it’s a far running favorite and it’s still warm.”
The man’s eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head, eyeing up all the options presented to him. “Uh, right, I’ll have a slice of cherry and a slice of… apple, yeah, apple.” He aimed his eyes back towards yours, earning you rosy cheeks you prayed he couldn’t see.
You gave him a smile as you began to prepare his food, he spoke up again. “I’m Dean, by the way, that over there is my partner,” he pointed back towards the man in the booth reading through the vegetarian part of the menu. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the town’s recent bear attacks? We’ve been called in to investigate the situation.” You look up to see the badge he held towards you, “Agent Peverett” signed out on the bottom.
“FBI?” you questioned, looking back up to him. “Do they not think it’s bear attacks?” You felt your heart pace faster, it would be in your luck to pick a town that had a murderer lurking around.
His eyes soften, raising some of the worry off. “Just a standard procedure with the number of casualties, nothing to worry about.” he smiled again, though it seemed tighter and more practiced than before.
“Uh, sure, what did you want to know?” you queried as you continue to prepare his food, trying not to look nervous.
“Did you happen to know anything about the folks who went missing? Anything helps, even if it sounds strange.”
You cut a slice of the second pie and put it on a plate, squinting as you thought to yourself. “I’m pretty sure they’d come up here a few times for hunting, they all seemed to know the area pretty well- better than I do at least. They had some real nice gear with them too.” You thought harder to yourself, trying to think of anything of more use. The more you thought about it, the weirder the whole thing felt. “Uh, a few of them took a few bits to go for when they went up the mountains if that helps?” You asked, more trying to convince yourself that you’d be fine in your little room in the motel. Great, all you needed was nightmare fuel for the foreseeable future.
Dean looks you up and down again. “You go to school around here? I didn’t see any nearby when we drove through.”
You began to pick at your fingers. “There aren’t any colleges here, I just work here.” You put the pies back into the counter window. “Could the food be what lured the bear to them maybe?” You look back up to him, asking really more for your own sake rather than his.
“Yeah, probably.” Dean looks down as he pockets his badge, a grim look on his face. “Do you know any good places to stay overnight around here? We’ll probably stay for a bit just to look over the investigation.” You picked up his plates and walked with him back over to his table, ready to take his partner’s order too.
“Yeah there’s a motel only a couple miles up the hill here, I’ve been staying there since I got here actually, the guy who runs it does decent prices for the rooms.” You placed down his plate and land your line of sight onto Dean’s partner, “You decided what you want?” you ask, smile back on your face.
He smiled back at you, “Just the Caesar, please.” he responded politely, nodding as you head back to put the order in for the chef, it won’t take long, you think to yourself.
Since when do they call the FBI in for bear attacks? Isn’t that type of thing standard for a town like this? You turned you attention back to the new plate of food now waiting for you on the counter, picking it up to take over to the agents. Dean said they were staying for a while, maybe if they come in here often you could ask some more about it? Not a lot, just to put your mind at ease. You didn’t have any major commitments here, you could still up and leave if you needed. What were you even thinking? How could this be anything other than a bear attack? Barely anyone lives here long term, there’s nothing special about this place.
“Dean, I just think that by looking at the lore you can clearly see that they wendigos don’t ever come this far down south, let alone feed this much-” The man stopped as he saw you stop in front of the table, kicking himself when he saw your puzzled expression.
What? Lore? Wendi-who’s? Could they be referring to some crazed killer? You try to recover your face to save just standing and staring, placing his salad in front of him. “Enjoy,” you say softly, already losing your train of thought back into what they could possibly be talking about. “I’ll be over there if you guys need anything..” Trailing back over to your spot, you make yourself busy as you continue to ponder what he could possibly have been talking about, Maybe you’ll have to have a surf on the internet when you get back later.
“Nice going, dickwad!” Dean berates, kicking Sam under the table. Now you was going to think they were all kinds of crazy, so much for trying not to cause waves.
“How was I supposed to know! Besides, you didn’t seem to know what we were even talking about in the first place, you’re being dramatic.” He looked over his shoulder to see you wiping down the counters, eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeah, until she tells someone else we were in here talking crazy, I just want to get through a case without making it harder for ourselves.” For a second it looks like Sam believes him, until he sees Dean’s eyes go back to you, watching you with a look in his eye. You were polite, had a nice smile too- one that took him off guard. And the uniform wasn’t hard to look at… Nope. Too young. Not starting that question of morality. Dean shakes it off and looks back down at his pie, glee writing itself over his face as he tucks in. “So, what makes you think that this isn’t… what we think it is?” he asks, taking a bite.
Sam grimaces as he watches his brother shovel a fork full of pie in his face, now loading up his own fork. “Well, like I said, according to the lore it’s near impossible to find them this far down south, there aren’t many previous incidents to back it up and there’s no suspicious witness reports. Surely that would point you away?”
Dean stares off for a minute, appearing deep in thought. “Nah. There’s a familiar feeling about this. I’m telling you, I’m right.”
Going back and forth respectfully, they finish off their food and start looking up directions to the police station as you head over to collect their plates and offer the bill or more coffee.
“Just the check please,” Dean grins up at you, Sam having given in and looking for other wendigo signs. “And, uh, what time do you guys close? Might have to come back for more of that pie.”
You smile back at him as Sam rolls his eyes at his brother’s appetite. “We didn’t see anywhere else to eat here, so you’ll probably be seeing us over the next few days anyways.” He says, giving you a brisk smile.
“Normally we’re open until around 10ish, later on the weekends if we’ve got a lot of people in. There’s a bar on the other side of town that I can imagine gets pretty busy late at night as well.” you assume, picking up the plates and mugs in front of you. “I’ll drop your check by now” You turn away, taking the plates into the kitchen.
Dean’s eyes follow you curiously, he wondered how you’d ended up in this town if you hadn’t grown up here or went to school here. Chasing a boyfriend? Running away from something? For some reason, you’d caught his spare thoughts.
You left their check on the table, now serving some new customers that had made their way in, the place seemed to be starting to pick up now. Assessing the general look of the customers, Dean can gauge what kind of town they’re in.
“To the station then? I’d like to try and get some further information before we head out to the site, that way we’re prepared for whatever it is.” Sam looked expectantly towards his brother, standing up from his seat.
Dean looked back forwards. “Uh, yeah, sure.” Leaving a few bills behind, being generous with the tip. Walking out of the diner, he nods to you before heading towards the Impala. You walk by the window to see what they came in, only for your jaw to drop. What kind of agents got to drive around in that?
The boys checked into their room at the motel, the Impala parked nicely in front of their window. They flick the lights on as they step in, the day now gone with hours of investigating the town and start of the trail all the victims seemed to disappear from. Sam chucked down the files from the police station down onto the desk, along with the snacks picked up from some gas station on the outskirts of town. Dean kicked off his boots and fell back onto the first bed, exhaling deeply on impact.
“Told you it was a wendigo, nothing else could be smart enough to make those marks without leaving a substantial trail.” Dean says, not bothering to look at the now unimpressed expression worn by his brother. “pass me that jerky.”
Sam reaches through the bag and throws it towards the bed, not needing to look to know Dean caught it. “You didn’t know any of that before today, you had a hunch and it was a lucky guess.” He sits down at the desk, pulling out his computer.
Dean sits up, now facing Sam. “Face it Sammy, my spidey senses are tingling and yours aren’t,” He grins at the reference. “You’re getting rusty.”
Sam sighs and rolls his eyes, keeping his focus on the screen in front of him. “I can map out the route of the trail over the graph of the land, hopefully it won’t take long to find any and all possible nesting sites.” He turns to face the rustling next to him.
Dean looks from the bag back to his brother, obviously displeased.
“What?”
“Dude. Where’s the pie?”
Sam looks in disbelief. “You had two slices this morning and another at lunch.”
That’s true. Dean had insisted they head back to the diner for lunch before they visited the parking lot of the trails, said it would be good to try and speak to the locals now that it wasn’t the ass crack of dawn. He’d noticed you weren’t serving though, probably on your break.
“Yeah, well, I wanted another.” He frowned as he looked at the clock, The diner would still be open, and he remembered you mentioning that some people took food away…
Sam saw his eyes train into the keys to the Impala. “Are you kidding? Can’t you wait until the morning?” His faith in his brother’s cholesterol slowly plummeting.
Dean pulled his boots back on and grabbed the keys, pulling the door behind him.
“Be back in ten, keep looking on that map.”
Dean steps out of the diner, pie wrapped up in his hand as he carefully carries sit over to the Impala, laying it down softly onto the passenger seat before walking round to the drivers side. He takes a deep breath, taking in the quiet and fresh air of the town. It had been a while since they’d left the bunker for more than a day, let alone just gone on an ordinary case. Sure, he missed his memory foam bed and the kitchen, but it reminded him of when him and Sammy first started out all those years ago when dad went missing, a bittersweet smile wipes his face as he remembers the simpler times.
He pulls out of the parking lot, about to make his way back up to the motel as he sees someone walking up the hill on their own. While it’s dark out? Surely even in a town with a negligible population, people would be more careful than that? He slowly drove up the road, trying to see if it was a hitchhiker or anything, stopping the car as he recognizes the face.
Since when did it start getting so cold? You could’ve sworn it was only summer last week, and now the nights are drawing in? You might have to speak to your manager about your hours, you felt nervous walking back home in the dark, especially with all the attacks going on at the moment. Car lights flashed behind you, though it didn’t come up to pass. You turn around to see the vehicle, hearing your name called out to you as you squint to see round the lights.
Oh, it was the agent from this morning. He did say they were probably going to stay around for a while. Was he still speaking to you?
“What was that, sorry?” You take a few steps towards the car, your eyes scanning over the beauty as you come closer.
“Do you need a lift back to the motel? You’re staying there as well, right?” Dean looked straight towards you, bending his knees slightly to look less intimidated as he leaned on the door. Did that sound creepy? He hoped not, he just didn’t want you walking back on your own, especially when he knew what was out in the woods right by the road.
“Uh…” You looked to the road ahead, then up to the sky. It would most definitely be raining by the time you get back, you were still waiting for the heater to be fixed too…
You look back to Dean. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be a bother?”
He smiled, “I’m heading that way anyways sweetheart, it’s no bother at all.” Hopefully he could figure out if you thought him and his brother were crazy too. He figured you’d be less likely to question it if he’d helped you out. Because that was the only reason he wanted you in his car.
You gave him another polite smile as you headed to the passenger door. “Thanks Dean.”
Dean, that sounded nice coming from your mouth- nope. Not today. You were just being polite. He really needed to get his head out of the gutter, especially at his age. He sat back down into his seat, pulling the pie to the side to make room for you as you sat down.
You chuckled as you saw the plate, his eyes looking back up to you to question what you found so funny.
“Like the pie that much, huh?” You plug in your seat belt as you speak.
“I mean if I’m being totally honest, I had some at lunch too.” He looks for your reaction while he continues to drive on, grinning to himself as he sees your shock. “You make these in the diner? or do you order them in?”
“I make them myself, tends to be nothing else to do when you do the early shift. Glad you like them so much.” You rubbed your arms, hoping to get some warmth back.
Dean reaches to turn the heat up, looking to you for approval.
“Thank you, um, should I be calling you agent?” You asked, hoping you weren’t addressing him too informally.
He smiled, keeping his eyes out the window. How sweet. “Dean’s just fine, sweetheart.”
The warmth in your cheeks deepens, you silently curse your quick reactions. “Well, Dean, you’ve got a beautiful car.” Your hand runs along the leather of the seat, admiring the classic look and feel of the interior.
“She’s a beauty, ain’t she? My Baby.” He spares a quick glance in your direction. “You know anything about cars?”
“Not all that much, just bits here and there from what I’ve read in magazines lying about- my dad was a real gearhead.” Your mind wondered as to what he was probably doing now, either out at a bar in the middle of nowhere or still in his garage.
Dean noticed the slight change of tone. “You don’t see much of your folks then?” Hopefully he wasn’t getting too personal, his curiosity was getting the better of him.
“No, I don’t, it’s just me at the moment.” You try to think of something to not leave an awkward note in the air. “I prefer it though, you know? I think we were just outgrowing each other.”
“Yeah, I get you.”
Dean pulls into his original spot, killing the engine.
“Thanks again for the ride, would really suck to get caught in the rain in this weather.” You smile to him as you grab your bag to exit the vehicle, Dean following suit.
“No problem, really, couldn’t leave you there on the side of the road, with all the bear attacks and all.” He follows you up to your room, it would be ungentlemanly to give you a ride and not make sure you got to your room okay. That, and he was pretty sure he’d heard something rustling from across the lot.
You stop at your door, a smile warming your face as you see he’d walked you up.
“This is me, thank you again.” You unlock the door, speaking out again before shutting it behind you. “Oh, and, by the way, the diner does a more expanded range of pies on the weekend. Goodnight, Dean.”
You shut the door behind you, placing your bag on the table as you draw the curtains to get into your pajamas.
He was cute. Who were you kidding? He was drop dead gorgeous. Cool car, those eyes, the stubble around his face… it had been a long time since someone that attractive had rolled by you. Hopefully he’d take up the pie offer.
Scooting to your bed, you lie down and pull out your laptop, loading up your next google rabbit hole.
“Wendigo”