Hope's Flame

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Continuation of Lucky Strike 'verse, the Supernatural/Shadowed Suspicions (Buffy/Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fanfic) Crossover AU.
Summary: Dean being Dean, I tried to get to the reassurance bit, but no, he had to sit there and beat himself up about things for a little longer first.
Word Count: 575
Notes: Angst! Continuing with the drabble thing for this, because it is and it isn't.
Rating: T

 

            A ghostly hand appears and turns the phone over so he can see who’s calling.  It’s Willow, which is odd.  She’d made it pretty clear she didn’t appreciate the him breaking up with Xander and then getting back together again.

            He misses her.  He misses all of them.  He’d never had friends before, but now that he has them he never wants to let them go.  But maybe it’s for the best?

            By the time he realizes, he’s pulled over, and the ringing phone is in his hand.  He pauses, staring at it.

            He feels eyes on him and looks up to see Wayward Son awkwardly sitting on the hood, staring at him with might be concern.  Maybe.  It’s hard to tell with that guy.  Eventually, as they stare at each other and the ringing stops, the Stand moves from their staring contest and pulls down the the cowboy hat just a little bit, a gesture of support that he really kind of needs right now.

            The phone begins ringing again, and he bites his lip again, eyes wet with what definitely isn’t tears, and answers like he’s not poised on a precipice about to fall.  “Hey, what’s up?”

            “Xander’s in the hospital.”  She sounds like she’s saying something else, but Dean hears none of it.

            The Impala’s starting up.  It’s entirely possible that he’s recalled Wayward Son and is half using it to drive, because otherwise he probably doesn’t have this many hands.  The car spins around as fast as it can go, and he hears himself talking to the witch, even though he can’t really remember thinking about what he’s going to say.  “I’ll be there.”

            He doesn’t really remember the drive.  He jumps out and runs across the street after he parks, and it’s only Wayward Son that actually remembers to take the keys out and close the door.

            Once he gets to the corridor outside the right room, all the Scoobies are there.  From the look on Willow’s face, she’d been yelling him out, but all the anger disappears on taking in his appearance.  Silently, they part and make a space close to the door for him, and it’s something he really can’t handle right now.

            “He should be fine, Dean.”  It takes Giles several tries to get through to him, but eventually the words make sense.  “They mainly just want to keep him for observation.  He’ll be all right.”

            He sits and stares at his hands.  Nothing makes sense.  It’ll be fine, they say, but his world is falling apart now.  He closes his eyes and breathes, just breathes, and it takes him a moment to realize that his Stand has gone in there, to keep company, to be there with Xander, with Jojo, and honestly, he knows then that he’s well and truly in this deep.  Deep enough that he can’t fight his way out, not that he really wants to.

            Xander will be fine, he repeats to himself, in a way he can’t quite understand, but it’s something, it’s more than nothing.  But he can’t keep this up, can’t keep lying to himself or to Xander.  The guy needs to know the truth.  Needs to know why Dean keeps running.  Needs to know how much he matters, and, well.  If he’s not up for dealing with all of a Winchester’s nonsense, that’s one thing.  And if he is, well.

            Then everything really will be fine.