Wrapped in Honey 22/49
Chapter 22
The next day Dean still wasn't sure what to think of the idea with the online shop. It sounded cool at first but the longer he thought about it the stupider it looked. Sam was willing to spend quite some money on this. Setting up a professional website alone was expensive but Sam was determined to do it right. No half-ass do it yourself crap.
Now Dean had to think of a name for his business. Sam wanted to have business cards ready to hand out with the cars Dean was working on and for that he'd need a name.
Shaking his head Dean went to work on the current car. He could think best while his hands were busy anyway. And with the additional order from Ellen he would be busy for a while now. These cars weren't a days work.
This time he knew he wasn't building the cars for himself so he went to work with more care and actually worked out things he'd brushed off with a "good enough" earlier.
It did feel good, though, and if he was honest he liked the idea of making a profession out of this.
A mean little voice in the back of his mind kept telling him that he would fail miserably with this, though. As always. When had he ever been successful with anything? He hadn't finished school, had never had a steady job or a relationship that lasted longer than three weeks. He was a failure as a son and why Bobby had put up with him after … he still had no clue. And now he would disappoint Sam as well.
He tried to ignore that voice but it was persistent.
Sam had been busy, too, and when Dean opened his emails that evening his inbox was full with design samples for the cards and the website.
"That was quick." Dean sat back in astonishment. Most of the text was placeholder nonsense to illustrate the idea but he saw where this was going. And he had to say, he liked it. Strict and clear, nothing too fancy.
"Benefit of being part of the community." Sam shrugged but couldn't hide a grin.
"Now I'm part of the community?" Dean raised an eyebrow to that. He wasn't sure if he liked that idea, though. "Do I want to know what kind of monster this Susan is?" He squinted at the screen to get the name right. Susan sounded nice. For all he knew she ate human liver for breakfast.
"Probably not." Sam confirmed.
Overwhelmed with the decisions Dean let it be for the moment and wrote an email to Bobby instead. He told him that he had yet another order for his scrap on wheels and that Sam wanted to waste money by going professional with it.
"Why do you call it scrap on wheels?" Sam asked while he typed the email.
"Because that's what it is. Just scrap." Dean kept his eyes on the screen, he didn't want to see the pity in Sam's eyes. He couldn't shake off the feeling that Sam did this just to entertain him.
"It starts as scrap." Sam said in a soft voice. "But what you make out of it … I saw Ellen's car, I saw the blueprints for the new ones, hell, I see the half-done stuff in the basement and all I can think of is how awesome it is."
"You don't have to sweeten this for me." Dean shifted uneasily in his seat.
"I'm not. This scrap on wheels." He even made the air-quotes. "Is pretty badass."
"If you say so." Dean wasn't convinced. "Write that I'll send pictures of the cars so he can have a good laugh."
Sam did type it but Dean could tell that he didn't like it.
"It would make a good name, though." Sam sucked in his bottom lip, thinking.
"What would make a good name?" With his mind on the email they were writing Dean must have missed something here.
"Scrap on Wheels."
"Hmm." Thinking about it, Sam had a point. And it was better than anything they'd come up before. It was catchy and it said clearly what they were dealing with.
"Scrap on Wheels." Dean tested the sound of it. "I like it." He decided and with that it was settled.
They spend the rest of the evening emailing back and forth with Susan to discuss the details and in the end they had a pretty good concept of the website, the business cards and Susan had a few tips on marketing in general.
That was all they could do on their end, now they had to wait for Susan to come back to them but Dean was more happy with the actual work in the basement anyway.
A few days later, Sam was at work, Dean stood in the basement, finishing the paintwork of the first of the ordered cars.
If this pays out, he thought to himself, I'll invest in some airbrush equipment.
He could work with spry cans but with airbrush he would get better results, he was sure of it.
The can still in hand he stepped back to have a critical look at his work.
Not bad, he had to admit.
The sound of the gate opening drew him out of his thoughts. A quick glance at his watch confirmed that this time he hadn't forgotten the time, it was only a little after one which was way too early for Sam to come home. And when he looked out of the window he didn't recognize the car coming down the driveway.
"What the hell?"
The car came closer and now Dean could make out the silhouette of the man behind the wheel. There weren't many people who would just come by for a visit, none to be exact, and Dean could only think of one wearing such a stupid hat.
"Shit." Dean stumbled backwards, an icy fist clenching his stomach. There was only one reason why Benny would be here.
"Hello?" The door opened and Detective Lafitte stepped in. "Dean? Are you here?"
Dean got his bearings, more or less, and made his way around the corner.
"What happened?" He asked, his voice hoarse all of a sudden. "Is Sam okay?" Don't tell me he's dead, don't, don't …
Benny blinked at him before realization dawned on his face.
"Sam's okay." He hurried to say and Dean breathed easier. Which was stupid. If anything happened to Sam he would get out. At least he had said so. If Benny would carry through with that plan Dean wasn't so sure about.
"He's okay, Dean." Benny repeated. "He'll be home after work as usual."
"Why are you here, then?" If Sam was okay, why was Benny here? Wary of the situation, Dean squared his shoulders. Base line he was alone with a blood-thirsty monster.
Would the spell prevent him from defending himself against the vampire? He didn't know but he wasn't keen on finding out either. He wasn't sure if he would stand a chance against a vampire under best circumstances.
"I wanted to talk to you." Benny answered easily. "I'm not here to harm you."
"Okay?" Dean's mind was racing. By now it was clear that this had nothing to do with Sam but he couldn't for the life of his think of a reason why the vampire wanted to talk to him. For sure he wasn't here to do his job as a cop and free the kidnapped man.
"I know you don't want Sam to know about your past." Benny started but was interrupted by Dean.
"You ran my name?" Of course he did, everything made sense now. After what Sam had hinted at their last meeting, how could he not? Dean had to lean against the wall, he didn't trust his legs right now.
"Hey, easy there." Suddenly Benny was close. Too close.
"Don't." Out of reflex Dean kept him at arm's length with his palm flat on the other man's chest. Benny stopped and even took a step back to give Dean some room.
"Did you tell Sam?" That was the important question here. Benny knew, nothing he could do about that, but Sam?
"No." Benny answered, eying him for a moment.
"You really got fucked over." The vampire said and walked over to the workbench where the unfinished cars lay. Curious he picked one up. "And I'm not talking about Sam pounding your ass."
"That's none of your business." Dean snatched the car out of his hand.
"I guess it's not." The vampire took the hint and backed off.
"What do you want?" What was the price Dean had to pay to buy his silence? That was the big question here. There wasn't much Dean could offer, he was painfully aware of that fact.
Benny studied him for a long moment, reading him while Dean tried to read him in return. He expected to see pity there, maybe disgust, but Benny's face didn't give anything away.
"You would do everything to keep your past a secret from Sam." Benny finally said with something like surprise in his voice.
"Spit it out, what do you want?" If Dean had to go on his knees for this or bent over or whatever, he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
"You know it wasn't your fault." Benny repeated the words Dean had heard way too often since then. On a rational level he knew it hadn't been his fault but deep down he wasn't so sure. And the memory of Kyle's parents telling him to the face that they blamed him for everything was still way too vivid.
"I'm the one who came out alive." Dean avoided his eyes.
"Surviving doesn't make it your fault."
"And talking shrink doesn't tell me what you want." Dean snapped at him. Why couldn't he get some peace? It had been so long, why did it always have to come back?
Benny smiled at him with a hint of too many teeth.
"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" He asked when Dean failed to flinch at the sight of his not so human side. "I see why Sam likes you so much."
Dean just glared at him.
"Anyway." He turned back to the cars but didn't touch them this time. "I don't know how much freedom Sam allows you so this might do nothing more than to freak you out for no reason at all."
He paused and Dean fought the urge to throttle him.
"I read your file and then I had a look at your father's."
"That bastard is gone." That was the only good thing about this whole mess. John Winchester was rotting in prison and for all Dean cared he could die there.
"Not quite." Benny didn't turn, his eyes still on the unfinished cars.
"What do you mean?" Dean had forgotten how to breathe. Benny wasn't indicating what he thought he was, was he?
"Looks like fortune favors the assholes." Now Benny turned around. "Good conduct, ratting out a cell mate and cutting costs on the prison's side and voila your old man is getting out."
"When?" Gray spots swam in his vision and now he really needed the wall to keep him upright. But no way was he going to show his weakness in front of this stranger. Just no. Dean forced himself to breathe through the dizziness, slow and controlled.
"Soon." Benny answered. "There is no set date yet. But I'd guess a few month, half a year tops."
Chapter 23
Masterpost