Fic: The Wild Hunt (7/10)
Author:
pen37 Beta:
strangevisitor7 Fandoms: Supernatural, Smallville
Pairing: Chloe/Dean (If you squint)
Rating: Pg
Timeline: For Supernatural: Assumes that everything up to Lazarus Rizing occured. For Smallville: Assumes that Chloe and Jimmy broke it off just before Bride, but that events in Legion occured. Also assumes that Chloe shied away from any relationship with Davis.
Written for the Supernatural Crossover Big Bang at
sncross_bigbang Summary: When an old high school friend contacts Chloe Sullivan about some odd happenings at his job, Chloe agrees to help out -- never realizing that "helping" means wearing a corset. When Sam and Dean check out a disappearance at a Renaissance festival, they don't count on the help of a blonde who knows everything there is to know about paranormal -- but not so much about supernatural. All Renaissance fairs ahve a little magic of their own. But when the magic at this fair goes terribly wrong, it's going to take the three of them combined to solve this case.
Ch. 1,
Ch. 2,
Ch.3,
Ch.4,
Ch.5,
Ch. 6,
Ch.7,
Ch.8,
Ch.9,
Ch.10 "Remember to drink plenty of water,” Chloe said as she patted the shoulder of an older man who had stumbled into the aide station a few minutes prior. “You got dizzy from heat exhaustion.”
A shadow fell across her face. Chloe looked up to see Dean standing in the doorway.
"Hey Bjorn?” Chloe turned to look at the head chiurgeon. “I'm going to take off, okay?”
The big man nodded in response, and turned back to bandaging a sprained wrist.
Chloe stood and followed Dean out of the tent. As she approached, she noticed Dean pull something round and fist-sized out of his coat pocket, and begin tossing it from one hand to the other like a baseball.
"Did you guys find anything out?”
"Some,” Dean said. “We're pretty sure that we're dealing with a huldra.”
"What's a --” she broke off as she realized just what it was that Dean was tossing around. “Oh no!”
"What?” Dean raised an eyebrow.
She pointed to the orange. “Where did you get that?”
"What?” Dean looked at the fruit in confusion. Then he held it out to her. “This?”
Chloe's eyes widened. She stepped back, hands out to ward him off. “No! Don't give it to me!”
"What's wrong with it?”
"It's kind of the Renaissance equivalent to putting a lampshade on your head,” she said as she backed further away. “The person at the faire with the cloven fruit is metaphorically one beer away from dancing naked on the coffee table.”
Dean looked at the orange with a frown. “It's just a kiss. You could lighten up.”
"It's not just a kiss,” Chloe snapped. “It's like kissing half the faire.”
"Fine!” Dean threw the orange in a nearby trash can. Then he turned on his heel and began to walk away. He heard Chloe cry out a second before he hit what felt like a wall.
Pain blossomed behind Dean's eyes. He touched his nose. Although his fingers came away bloody, he didn't think it was broken. He looked up in confusion. But try as he might, he couldn't see any sign of what he'd hit. Tentatively, he put his hand out, and felt a solid wall in front of him, preventing him from going forward.
He looked back at Chloe, and saw that she had fallen to her knees as if pushed there. A look of confusion etched her features as she looked up at him. “Something hit me from behind.” She said. Standing slowly, she held out her hands as if feeling for another invisible wall. “There's definitely a barrier here.”
"Over here too,” Dean confirmed.
The two of them felt their way around until they determined that the invisible wall was actually an invisible enclosure. One that seemed to move with them. Together, they could move anywhere around the faire. But anytime one of them walked away, they encountered the barrier at about five feet.
Occasionally a patron walked through the wall, proving that it was just the two of them that seemed to be affected. As they explored this new development, they started to draw an interested crowd of onlookers.
Dean paused to glare at them. “This entertaining to you?” he snapped at them. But the patrons continued to watch them as if they were street theater.
"Dean,” Chloe put a restraining hand on his arm.
"What?” he snarled at her.
She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. “Let's just get back to the trailer.”
Dean pursed his lips, brows knitted together. “Yeah, okay.”
Chloe put one hand on his bicep to keep herself even with him, and the two of them moved tentatively through the faire.
"Whatever happened to us seems to be trying to keep us together,” she said.
"No shit. You figure that one out on your own?” Dean snapped.
"It's called thinking out loud,” Chloe snapped back. “No participation from the peanut gallery required, thanks!” Behind them, their audience followed their slow progress.
"This is amazing,” an older lady said. “They're just like Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing.”
Dean rolled his eyes at that, and Chloe looked down to hide a smile.
"What so funny?” he asked her.
"Nothing,” she said while biting her lip.
"Doesn't look like nothing to me,” he snapped.
"Just wondering what the rest of the world did to keep you permanently pissed off all the time,” Chloe replied.
"Oh ha ha.”
She lapsed into silence. But as the two of them walked, Dean began fidgeting again. “Come to a conclusion yet?”
"What?” she asked.
"You said you were thinking out loud. You come to a conclusion yet?”
"You don't do good with quiet - do you?” Chloe said.
Dean looked away. “Forget it.”
"I was just thinking that we were both fine until you came to get me from the aide station. Something had to happen in that short amount of time. Maybe one of us tripped a spell or curse or --”
"The amulet.” Dean snapped his fingers.
"What amulet?” Chloe's eyes narrowed. In response, Dean held up the trinket that the gypsy had put around his neck.
"I don't believe this!” Chloe threw her hands in the air.
"What?”
"Star. I'm going to kill her.”
"This isn't the first time this happened?” Dean asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Star was convinced my cousin and my best friend were destined. So she tried to prove it by getting them both drunk on - love potion.”
"Love potions don't work,” Dean said automatically.
"They do if they're made of meteor rock and laced into a lipstick.”
"I'll take your word for it,” Dean said. “This chick sounds like a real Miss Lonely Hearts.” Then he shook his head. “She's missing a few scrabble pieces if she thinks I'm anyone's true love.”
Chloe cocked an eyebrow at that, but chose not to ask.
"We need to find her and get her to lift this hoodo off of us,” Dean said.
"Yeah, good luck with that,” Chloe muttered. “I looked for her everywhere yesterday. If she doesn’t want to be found, we aren't going to find her.”
Dean scowled at that. “Fine!” he grabbed her wrist, and pulled her along with him.
"Hey!” Chloe protested as she stumbled behind him. “Wait!”
Dean stopped and turned to her. “What?”
"Short legs here!” Chloe said. “You could slow down for me.”
"You're Miss Independent. Shouldn't you be able to keep up?”
Chloe grit her teeth, but refused to rise to the bait. “Where did you want to go?”
"Back to my brother,” Dean said. '”If anyone can get us out of this mess, he can.”
"Then I'll lead.” Chloe pulled her hand from his grasp, and pushed past him.
Dean rolled his eyes. “I'm either going to kill her, or I'm starting to like her.”.