boywonder
The final time he saw Vayne was the first time he really and truly saw him. On the deck of the Bahamut, Larsa had the last revelation he would really have about his brother's true nature, and was forced to make a choice that would, in essence, shape the future - not just of House Solidor, but all of Archadia.
If you'd asked Dean a year ago if he could live without Sam, he'd have laughed it off and secretly thought that it was impossible. But here he was, at a table with a woman and a kid, neither of whom was really his.
Without Sam. Without Cas. Without anything but the car sitting in the driveway.
Without *hope*.
Even Castiel didn't realize until later - the fallout of what had come to pass. The tools they'd been given were hardly enough, and the truth of the matter had been hidden from everyone's eyes for too long.
Humans were frustrating in their lack of belief. If only they had more faith, it wouldn't have come to *this*.
Even though he'd had it for some time now, having a wand that had belonged to someone else felt strange. Not off, not quite, but certainly *strange*. And the fact that this particular wand had belonged to *Draco Malfoy* made Harry want to break it on principle alone.
This was just his luck, really.
Even Sam had no idea how he'd gotten rid of the strung out feeling. It hadn't felt like that while it was happening, but looking back, he could see what everyone had warned him about.
He felt like an idiot. A demon-blood free idiot, but still an idiot.
It wasn't until Alfred made the alterations to the suit that Tim really felt it belonged to him. He'd gotten it from Jason, and Jason had gotten it from...
Okay, better not to think about it. But it was *Tim's* now. And what was more, there was no longer any need to distance himself from the people that he'd been avoiding for so long.
No need to distance himself from his *family*.
It was good to be home.
Dean pulled at the collar for the fifteenth time since he'd put the stupid suit on. Sam elbowed him and gave him a *look.*
"Damnit, Sam, I hate this thing," Dean hissed under his breath.
"You can't let everyone else see it, or you'll blow our cover!" Sam answered, in that frustrated tone that he reserved especially for Dean.
Every time he saw those eyes, chills went up his spine. Even in his dreams, with the thing's voice in his head, all around him, all that fake safety...nothing helped. That was part of why he stopped sleeping. It wasn't all about Jess at all, even though he told Dean it was.
The gong sounded once. Twice. The sound echoed in the air after, but it meant one thing only to the boy in the tree: dinner time!
He raced toward the temple, calling as he went.
"Sanzo!"