He Said, She Said

Disclaimer: So I’m totally going to play around with the Supernatural timeline. All five seasons have happened, but they’re pushed back three years so that Dean and Sam just defeated Lucifer a few months before Dean and Buffy first met. Buffy timeline stays the same. Also, I’m officially labeling this as a Supernatural AU, seeing as I have no idea how the series will end, so I have to assume an awful lot…

Staying true to the movie, this chapter is a compilation of scenes, jumping through the next year. Hope you enjoy!


+++

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Bobby smiled as he saw Sam and Dean on his doorstep.

He set the shotgun he was holding onto his lap and wheeled back away from the door so they could come in.

“So, what brings you two over to this neck of the woods?” he called out over his shoulder as he made his way into the kitchen.

“We’re just passing through,” Sam explained. “We’re on our way to Lisbon, Ohio, for another job.”

Bobby came back with two cans of beer. Instead of handing them to Sam and Dean, however, he eyed the brothers suspiciously. “Really? This ain’t just an excuse to check up on me, is it?” he asked, tapping on the side of his wheelchair pointedly.

“Please, Bobby,” Sam replied, eyeing the shotgun on the older man’s lap appreciatively. “We know you can take care of yourself.”

“Besides, if we were checking in, it would be because you’re old,” Dean added with a grin.

Bobby scowled at him for this, but Dean could see that there wasn’t any real anger behind it. He knew that the older Hunter was still sensitive about being in a wheelchair. Hell, Dean couldn’t blame him. But he wasn’t going to insult the man who was like a surrogate father by feeling sorry for him.

Mollified by their answers, Bobby handed the beers to them.

“Ohio, huh?” he asked, his forehead creasing with worry. “Must be something big goin’ on over there, seeing as you boys are headin’ back again. I’m surprised I haven’t heard of any omens.”

Dean inwardly cringed. He should’ve known Bobby would pick up on that. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to gloss over their frequent visits to Ohio, but he didn’t get the chance.

“Sam, why are you grinnin’ like a fool over there?” Bobby asked curiously.

Dean whipped his head around to look at his brother, who was quietly snickering to himself.

“It’s nothing, Bobby,” Dean quickly replied, hoping Sam would keep his damned mouth shut.

Bobby raised his eyebrows. “That don’t look like nothin’. Sam, you got somethin’ to say?”

“Dean’s got a girlfriend,” Sam smirked, purposefully ignoring the death glare Dean was aiming at him. “Who just happens to live in Cleveland.”

Bobby stared at Dean in shock, obviously at a loss for words. After a moment or two, he finally managed to get out, “You got yourself a girl?”

“It’s nothing serious,” Dean said brusquely.

“‘Nothing serious’ is seeing her once, maybe twice. This makes, what, the fourth time in three months?” Sam asked innocently.

Dean scowled; Sam was enjoying this way too much. “Only because we were in the area,” he argued. “She’s not even my type. Hell, I don’t even have a type because I don’t get involved.”

Now both Sam and Bobby were looking at him with matching grins. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“It’s just a phase,” he muttered.

Deep down, however, he wasn’t so sure, and a part of him resented it. He just wasn’t the domestic type. He didn’t want to be, either. So what the hell was he doing?

Dean made up his mind then and there; he wasn’t going to see Buffy anymore. It was the right thing to do – the only thing – even if it did feel like he had just been knifed in the gut. All the more reason, actually.


+++

Buffy and Faith surveyed their handiwork with twin looks of satisfaction. Ten Sokothra demons, all sliced and diced.

“Shit, that felt good,” Faith declared as she wiped her knife clean on the grass. “Just like old times, hey, B?”

Buffy, who had started to haul the bodies toward the woods, paused for a moment.

“‘Old times’?” she asked, arching an eyebrow questioningly. “You mean when we were Slayers Gone Wild? Or when we were trying to kill each other? Or when we were trying to survive the apocalypse of all apocalypses?”

“You’re such a kill joy,” Faith replied as she rolled her eyes. “I meant before we had all this older and wiser Slayer crap.”

“It sucks sometimes, doesn’t it? Lonely, too,” Buffy commiserated. “I know it made sense to spread the slaying wealth around and set up different branches around the country, but sometimes I could really use a carefree night out with the old Sunnydale gang.”

As Faith began dragging a dead demon out of sight, she gave Buffy a sly look. “From what I hear, you’re doing just fine on your own. How is the new boy toy, anyway?” she asked.

Buffy wished she could’ve been surprised that Faith knew about Dean. After all, like Dawn, Willow, and Xander, Faith didn’t even live in Cleveland anymore; she had moved to LA. She was only there now for her yearly check-in, a requirement for all head Slayers. Unfortunately, Buffy knew that her girls gossiped about her love life like it was the front page in the tabloids.

And that’s all it was; just one sordid tale of sex. That’s what she tried to tell herself anyway. It was becoming increasingly difficult to believe that with each visit, however. And now Faith’s question made it nearly impossible, or at least her reaction to it.

“He’s not my boy toy,” she replied, a little more testily than she intended. “He just comes around every now and then, and… we get together.”

“If that’s not a boy toy, then I don’t know what is,” Faith said with a laugh. She looked Buffy up and down, clearly impressed. “Wow, B, I really didn’t think you had it in you.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. We go out and do things – nonsexual things,” she quickly added as Faith began to grin. “There’s just no strings attached – at all.”

Faith studied her for a moment before shrugging. “Okay, cool,” she said, and Buffy sighed inwardly with relief – until Faith asked her next question. “Do you know if he ever heads out to LA?”

Buffy’s jaw dropped open and she felt her face flush as she stared at Faith. What did she mean by that? Because it sounded like Faith wanted Dean-

For the briefest moment, Buffy had the urge to stake her, sister in Slayerhood or not. Before she could act on any homicidal impulses, however, Faith burst out laughing.

“Admit it, B, you got it bad for this guy,” she smirked.

Annoyed at being caught in a trap so easily, Buffy scowled. More than anything, though, she was angry at herself. There were a million reasons why she shouldn’t get involved with Dean, all of them good. She went over them in her head every time he called and casually said that he was going to be in the area. And yet, she still saw him, each and every time.

Still, if she couldn’t admit what was going on to herself, there was no way she was admitting it to anyone else.

“Are you serious?” she scoffed. “He makes mules look easy-going. He thinks pie and burgers make their own food group. And I can’t even begin to explain his love for that car of his because it just defies all logic.”

“So? Just sounds like he’s yang to your uptight yin,” Faith smirked.

Buffy made a sound of frustration. “Except that he’s obviously relationship-phobic,” she pointed out. “And my track record is less than stellar. I mean, any relationship of mine is bound to implode at some point, and maybe not just on the metaphorical level, because hello, on the Hellmouth here.”

“Life must be so much fun over in the Land of Denial,” Faith said in mock contemplation.

With a sigh, Buffy finally gave up the charade, to both herself and to Faith. “Alright, alright. Just call me Buffy the Glutton, waiting for some punishment.”


+++

Sam and Dean sat in a diner, finishing up lunch. They were on their way to Illinois to look into the mysterious deaths of some children there. Before they could talk about the details of the case, however, their waitress walked up to them – for the eighth time since they first sat down 30 minutes ago.

“Let me know if I can get you boys anything else,” she said with a wink, her focus solely on Dean.

Then she turned to walk away, putting an extra swing in her hips as she gave one last backward look.

Dean sighed in delight – at his slice of chocolate cream pie.

Sam looked at his brother incredulously. “Dude, she was totally hitting on you.”

Dean paused mid-bite, glancing up for a second. He looked at the waitress, who smiled flirtatiously at him. Huh, she was pretty cute. Then he turned his attention back to his dessert, shoveling a huge bite into his mouth.

Sam studied his brother for a moment. “You really like Buffy, don’t you?” he finally said.

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He could finally admit to himself that Buffy was important to him; he wasn’t ready to talk about it, though.

“Maybe,” he grunted, eyes firmly fixed on his pie.

Sam smiled. “That’s great, Dean,” he said sincerely.

Dean looked up at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Thanks, Samantha,” he replied dryly. “Now can we get back to the hunt? Tell me more about this demon bitch.”

Sam rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything more about Buffy. “Actually,” he began. “According to Celtic lore, Black Annis is a type of faerie-”

Dean cut in with a snort of disbelief. “Fairy? We’re ganking Tinkerbell?”

“Except that Tink is seven feet tall with blue skin and claws, which she uses to flay children before she eats them,” Sam pointed out.

“So I’m guessing we can’t just say ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ to kill her,” Dean smirked.

Grinning, Sam shrugged. “You can try. I’ll stick with an iron rod to the heart, though.”

Dean pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Iron, huh? Works for me,” he said.

He quickly polished off the rest of his dessert with a few bites. As he reached for his water, he noticed that Sam was staring at him again.

“What?” he mumbled, mouth still full of pie.

Sam hesitated for a moment. Then he asked, “Have you told her what we really do?”

Dean gave a snort of laughter. “Of course not. She’ll think I’m crazy. I’ll just be one sexy, charming, crazy person to her,’ he replied. “I like her, but I don’t know if this is going anywhere. Why stir up trouble before then?”

“Makes sense,” Sam agreed. “But you should tell her eventually, if you get any more serious… right?”

Avoiding his brother’s gaze, Dean looked out the window. “I don’t know,” he admitted honestly.

“Dean!” Sam exclaimed incredulously.

With a stubborn set to his jaw, Dean looked his brother square in the eye. “Look, I just want to let this run its course a little while longer and see what happens.”

Sam sighed. “I know you’re worried about her freaking out, but you’ll have to tell her at some point,” he said. “It’ll be worse if she finds out on her own.”

Dean knew that Sam was right. It could actually happen, too. Though she liked to play the dumb blonde routine – mostly to get out of doing stuff - Buffy was smart as a whip. It hadn’t been a problem so far, but that was only because they didn’t see each other that often.

He was more afraid of scaring her away, though. After all that crap with Azazel and then angels and Lucifer, he found himself wanting his own little slice of normal more than ever, like the Djinn had shown him. This was the closest he had ever gotten, and he didn’t want to lose it now that he actually had a chance at having it.

And what if she didn’t freak when she found out? That didn’t really sit well with Dean, either. Buffy was ballsy. It was one of the things he lov- liked about her. In the normal world, that was fine. He would dare anyone to cross his girl. But in his world, it would probably get her killed.

Then he caught himself. What the hell was he doing? He was turning into a total douche.

Sam’s voice broke through his thoughts. “And who knows? She may surprise you,” he offered. “From the few times I’ve met her, she seems pretty - scrappy.”

Dean gave a snort of laughter. “Dude, you don’t know the half of it.”


+++

“Buffy and Dean, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”

“That’s great, Dawn,” Buffy said, her voice full of exasperation. “I thought you were supposed to mature in college, not regress back to junior high.”

She could practically hear her sister smirk through the phone.

“You’re one to talk. You can’t even admit that you’re crazy about him,” Dawn retorted. “I mean, c’mon Buffy. This is the healthiest relationship you’ve ever had. For starters, he’s human.”

“My healthiest relationship is one where he’s gone most of the time with his brother doing their private investigator/bounty hunter gig while I’m here on the Hellmouth?” Buffy said dryly.

“Whatever. That’s just geography,” Dawn said dismissively. “You love him. Admit it.”

Buffy rolled her eyes, knowing that her sister wouldn’t let up. “Fine. I’m crazy about him. I think I might even love him. Are you happy?”

“Yup! Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Dawn said smugly. “So, next big hurdle for my emotionally stunted sister: when are you going to tell him that you’re the Slayer?”

“Uh, never?” Buffy offered.

She had to hold the phone away from her ear as Dawn screeched into it.

“What the hell do you mean, never?” Dawn exclaimed. “Buffy, how can you not tell him?”

“Because it’s a non-issue. Like I said, he’s not around enough,” she explained calmly. “And dating so obviously isn’t his thing. If I bring up the whole Slayer thing now, I can guarantee that I’ll never see him again.”

“And what if he is around more?” Dawn pressed.

“I don’t know, okay? I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” she said in non-committal tone, which Dawn immediately picked up on.

“But Buf-”

Buffy cut her off. “Being Called had ruined enough relationships. And it involves more than just me now. The safety of the girls is at stake,” she said. “Besides, you don’t know Dean. If he finds out, he’ll want to help, and he’ll only wind up getting hurt, maybe even killed. I mean, he can take care of himself just fine, but we’re talking about supernatural baddies here.”

“Right,” Dawn said sarcastically. “You’re doing this for his own safety and not because you’re scared.”

Buffy pressed her lips together in annoyance, mostly because her sister wasn’t completely wrong.

“I tried telling him once and it was disastrous,” she confessed. “I ended up making Headquarters sound like a reform school.”

Dawn gave a snort of laughter. “How the hell did that happen?”

“I tried explaining that we only took special girls who didn’t fit into a normal school,” she explained. As Dawn’s laughter grew louder, she got defensive. “Well, it sounded right in my head! Anyway, he looked weirded out just by that.”

“Maybe because your cover story is that you teach self-defense classes – apparently to juvenile delinquents,” Dawn said, cracking up into laughter again. Once she had her giggles under control, she added, “You should try again.”

“Give me one good reason,” Buffy snapped.

“Because you love him.”

That took all the wind out of Buffy’s sails. Still, she wasn’t going to admit defeat, least of all to her little sister. “I’m not telling him,” she said stubbornly.

There was a long pause on the phone. Finally, Dawn sighed. “You really do like putting the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional relationships, don’t you?” she huffed. “But do you have to make everything so difficult?”

“Don’t get too high and mighty, missy,” Buffy smirked. “Because it’s definitely genetic.”


+++

The newly rebuilt Roadhouse hadn’t opened to the public yet, but Sam and Dean walked in anyway. They immediately spotted Ellen working behind the bar. When she saw them, she held her arms up and gestured to the room.

“So boys? What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s great, Ellen,” Sam smiled. “Just like the old Roadhouse, only better.”

“Thanks,” she beamed, walking around the bar to envelop them both in a hug. “It’s good to see you two. Jo’s gonna be mad she missed you, though.”

Dean heard Sam mutter ‘maybe not’ under his breath, obviously referring to the not-quite-sisterly feelings Ellen’s daughter had for him. He shot his brother a dirty look. Sam played dumb, though, and looked back at him with an innocent expression.

Ellen noticed this exchange and put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on?” she asked warily.

“Nothing bad,” Dean quickly reassured her. “It’s, uh, good news actually…” He trailed off, feeling a little awkward.

“Come on, Dean,” Sam coaxed. “You can say it at least once without turning green.”

Dean scowled. “Bitch.”

Instead of responding with his usual retort, Sam grinned. “Not this time. Today that would be you,” he said, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“Boys!” Ellen said sharply, cutting in before Dean could respond. “Would one of you mind explaining what the hell is going on?” She looked at Dean expectantly, since he was obviously the one with something to say.

Dean took a deep breath. “Well, uh, you know that I’ve been seeing this girl… Buffy.”

Ellen nodded. “Little spitfire, from what you and Sam have told me. Just what you need, too, a girl who won’t be railroaded by your charm.”

“Some of it must work, because we’re getting hitched,” Dean said with a small smile.

Though the thought of him being in a relationship – let alone getting married - still scared the shit out of him, he didn’t have any doubts about being with Buffy. He loved her so goddamn much; that’s why he had popped the question spur-of-the-moment, just a week ago. And even though he questioned his sanity as he was saying it, it felt right once it was out there.

Ellen caught him up in a fierce hug. “I’m so happy for you,” she beamed, her eyes looking suspiciously moist. “Your daddy would be so proud right now.”

“Why? Because I’ve finally gone soft?” he joked, though his voice was a little rough with emotion from both Ellen’s reaction and the mention of his father, especially because he knew what she was getting at.

While his father would be concerned about how this would interfere with hunting, Dean had to believe that he would be happy that his son had found someone to love like he had loved Mary.

Ellen didn’t say anything, though, and Dean appreciated the fact that she didn’t put this to words. Of course, her next question wasn’t much better.

“So Buffy must not have a problem with you hunting then,” Ellen noted.

Dean looked down. “Uh, nope… especially since I didn’t tell her,” he replied warily, unsure of how Ellen would react.

“And he’s not going to, either,” Sam added. “That’s his plan, anyway.”

Dean didn’t bother telling either of them that he had tried, but that Buffy was so damned happy, he just couldn’t bring himself to ruin it.

There was a moment of silence as Ellen digested this information. Then two. As the silence stretched on to a full minute, Dean shifted uncomfortably.

“I didn’t say it was a good plan,” he said defensively.

“Good, ‘cause it’s not. You’re being a damn fool, Dean Winchester,” she said sternly, pinning him to the spot with a piercing gaze.

Dean clenched his jaw, ready to be read the riot act for his decision, just like Sam did. He was surprised when it didn’t come. Instead, Ellen cupped his chin in her hand.

“But I can understand why you wouldn’t want to. Sometimes I wish I didn’t know what Bill did. Then at least I coulda enjoyed the time we had together without worryin’ day and night about him,” she said, her eyes softening for a moment before she fixed him with another stern gaze. “That bein’ said, you’d better do right by her.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered dutifully.

“Good,” she smiled. “So, did you tell Bobby yet?”

Dean grinned. “No, ma’am. But we’re heading there right after we leave here.”


+++

Buffy paced back and forth in front of Giles while he sat in his office chair, the picture of calm.

“So we’ve been here in Cleveland for what, three years?” she asked as casually as she could.

“Thereabouts,” Giles replied, obviously amused by her antics.

Buffy didn’t notice, though. She was too focused on what she was going to say next.

“And we’ve gotten a pretty good handle on this Hellmouth,” she pointed out. “I mean, I know that things have picked up here recently, but evil works in cycles, right? Kind of like El Niño?”

Giles took off his glasses and looked at her. “Buffy, instead of dancing around the issue, why don’t you just say whatever is on your mind?”

She stopped in her tracks like a deer in the headlights. Here goes nothing, she thought as she took a deep breath.

“I want to retire once things calm down a little,” she said, twisting her hands nervously. “We have so many Slayers now that evil doesn’t really stand a chance. And Slayers weren’t meant to do this forever. I mean, seriously, I must be, what, 60 in Slayer years? Of course, we’re just supposed to die…”

“Buffy,” Giles cut in. “As you know, this has never been an issue before. But this is a new era, one in which we certainly must consider ‘retirement’ for older Slayers.”

Buffy brightened. “So that’s a ‘yes’? You don’t think I’m ‘abandoning my duty’ or anything like that?”

Giles shook his head. “You’ve certainly paid your dues as Slayer. Out of curiosity, though, what precipitated this? Have you had any difficulties in the field?”

“No, nothing like that,” she said, a blush staining her cheeks. She paused for a moment before looking up at him with a giddy smile on her face. “Dean asked me to marry him. And I said yes. I know we haven’t really even spent that much time together, but Giles, it feels so right. And I’ll pinch hit here when I need to, and I’ll definitely still work at the school.”

“That’s wonderful news, my dear. Dean is a fine, young man,” Giles said warmly, giving her a hug. “I’m glad he took the news about you being the Slayer so well. Many men, young and old alike, would have, er, inadequacy issues.”

Buffy’s face fell a little at this and she looked down at her feet.

“Am I correct in assuming that he knows?” Giles asked cautiously.

Buffy looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “How can I tell him now? All this time, not saying a single word…” she trailed off. “Giles, this is the first time I can see myself being really happy. I know it’s cowardly and weak of me, but I can’t risk losing him. And if I can retire, then it really won’t be an issue, will it?”

Giles studied her for a moment. “While I don’t agree with your decision, it’s not mine to make. I just urge you to think about this.”

“I have. I can make this work,” Buffy said confidently. “I know it.”


+++

A/N: Phew! That’s the last chapter of backstory! I’ve never had to make characters (especially ones with personalities like Buffy and Dean) fall in love so early in the story. I threw my laptop down many times in frustration over these chapters. The only reason I kept at it was because of the lovely reviews I received, so thank you!!!

That being said, I am a little worried that these chapters totally suck (if the decreasing number of reviews with each chapter is any indication, eek!), but I’m hoping that the story will pick up now that it’s moving onto the main plot… *crossing fingers*