4Title: What They Can Have
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing, Character(s): Ben Braeden/Claire Novak
Rating: PG-13
Genre, Warnings: Mildly Schmoopy. Set in a future where monsters have over run the world.
Words: 2275
Disclaimer: I do not own SPN
What started out as reply to comment_fic grew pass that. Hope the OP doesn't mind that I am going to also use it as a fill for lover100 for the prompt 097. Writer's Choice "First Love".
I'd never really thought about these two in any capacity together until I ran across the prompt. Now I can't get them out of my head! It's cute, maybe believable. I hope someone else enjoys!
It had been months since Ben had stopped to rest, but in these days there wasn't much time for a hunter to stop for a breather. Years ago the Winchesters may have diverted one Apocalypse but that didn't stop the next one from taking form and now the world was over run by monsters and it seemed every day there was some new Thing that took more and more to bring down. He'd run into his dad only a few weeks ago, the old man was still pissed that Ben was running around the country trying to stop the Big Bads, but as Ben had said, "What would you have me do?" He didn't have a mom to protect anymore, didn't have any family except Dean Winchester and his angel. Sam was strapped down in an institution because he just. Wouldn't. Stop. Scratching. It wasn't like Dean and the angel were just going to suddenly settle down in their picket white fence and have two-point-five kids.
No, Ben was happier being seventeen and on the road and doing what he could to stop the monsters. Mom wouldn't have approved but she may have understood.
This current Thing was starting to try his last nerve though. Any time Ben thought he had it pinned down it managed to squirm away and then he spent another week tracking it down to the next town; by then It already ripped it's way through two more kids and burned a home to the ground. As much as he loathed the idea of asking Dean and the angel for help it was getting to the point that he might need them to come in.
That was until he ran into her.
Ben didn't recognize her but he did recognize the weapon she was wielding against the monster. It was a Holy Blade; part-Fairy Tale, part-Legend. Most didn't even believe them to be real but anyone that did knew that to be in possession of one the wielder was powerful, important and no one wanted to mess with them. She cut him down in five fatal strokes and when the thing fell to the ground Ben just stared open-mouthed for several minutes.
"Just gonna stare, pretty boy?" she sneered. The blade disappeared some where into her sleeve and that was one hell of a trick.
"I-um- Where did you get that?" Ben wasn't one to be at a loss of words. He took after Dean in the sense that even in the tightest situations he had something to say.
A dark, murderous look passed over her face before it fell into an eerily familiar stoic look. "The angel that stole my father's body gave it to me. This and a few other tricks," she spit on the ground. "Name's Claire Novak."
Ben hadn't been so singly focused on hunting monsters that he didn't recognize pretty woman and Claire was definitely one of them. Her long blonde hair was tied back tightly in a bun made messy by her intense fighting. She had storm blue eyes and wasn't much shorter than Ben's five-eleven. Her clothes were worn and she was possible at the end of her laundry by the dirt covered knees and bloodstains, some new and most old.
"Ben...Braeden." It was the first time since his mother's death that he had used her last name to introduce himself, but he wasn't an idiot. Angels knew the Winchester name and he really didn't like fighting girls. And he didn't think he wanted to fight this girl for any reason.
She snorted, "You're a horrible lair." A small knife appeared out of no where and Ben was more than impressed by her skill. "I know you Ben Winchester. Who hasn't heard of Dean's son gallivanting around the country killing monsters almost as well as his father." Claire smiled then and Ben was thrown back at what a difference it made to her features. "So, you fight alone?" The knife twirled between her fingers and she looked at him, assessing.
"Mostly." They were in an abandoned warehouse and Ben didn't see any reason to on edge. He hoped up on the nearest flat surface and let his tiredness catch up with him. "What about you?"
"Try too. Castiel is such a bitch sometimes." Ben choked. "Yes, my dad's angel is your dad's angel." Claire rolled her eyes and plopped down on the dirty floor, using the knife to clean under her fingernails. "He's always flying in, when he's not needed," She glared at the ceiling like the angel might have been listening right then. Which was completely possible and made Ben sit a little straighter.
Ben tried to hold the question in but it came pouring out, "What happen to your mom?" That knife was suddenly buried in the wall only inches from Ben's head. "Hey! Hey, I'm sorry!" Claire stood up and stalked over to him and ripped the knife out of the wall. Before she could turn away he grabbed her arm and that murderous look was in her eye again. "I'm sorry," He said again.
Claire pulled away gently and nodded once. "Try to stay outta trouble Winchester." She turned and headed for the exit.
It only took the teen a second to come to a decision and he jumped down and quickly followed. "You got another hunt set up?" She snorted, "Yeah, of course, don't we all. Want some company?" Claire stopped and looked at him for a minute. "C'mon. It gets lonely out there, and I have a car."
"What makes you think I don't?" Ben knew she was boasting and it felt a little good to call her out this time.
He smirked, "You were already here when I got here. And since there is only one way into this place... C'mon, Claire, you can't say it wont be fun." She bit her lip but Ben could see she'd already given in.
"Fine, but don't try anything funny. I'll kick your ass and then tell Castiel so he can smite you." Ben grinned and Claire rolled her eyes. "God, you're just like your dad." Ben swung his arm around her shoulders and they left the building together.
The first two hunts together almost failed miserably. They were both leaders and so use to fighting alone that working around each other was impossible. The first time it was a nest of vampires and both of them were nearly bit and it wasn't until the last one was decapitated that they felt confident that they were going to win. The second hunt was a shape-shifter terrorizing a small town outside of New York. He was quite familiar with Ben's family and the distraction cost him.
"Fuck!" he shouted as Claire tired to work the bullet out of his arm.
"Shut up, baby." Claire finally got the tweezers around the lodged piece of metal. She pulled with a little more force than was needed in Ben's opinion but he just sucked in a deep breath of air and held his tongue. "You can't be distracted like that. There are monsters all over the country that know your name. And they're all going to use it against you. If you had listened to me none of this wou-"
"Go to hell, Novak."
Fire flew through her eyes, "I plan on it." Ben looked at her sharply but Claire didn't elaborate and he had an idea that it had to do with her mom. He let the subject drop.
"If we're going to be serious about this then we need to start working on our team work." And Ben wanted to be serious about it; the month with Claire had been one of his funniest months. He hadn't felt so normal since his mom had died.
Claire didn't say anything for a minute. Just stood there cleaning the blood from his arm, she packed the wound and wrapped it with gauze. "Where should we start?"
"First, I think we need to be use to fighting with each other. We need to spar, get familiar with the others moves." Claire smirked, her eyes dancing a little. "Yes, I'll actually fight you."
"And no going soft on me," She poked his arm, hard, right underneath his fresh wound.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
It was rough at first. Neither wanted to particularly hurt the other and even though Ben thought of Claire like a girl, she looked like a girl and even (on occasion) dressed like one. Claire Novak did not fight like one. She threw hard punches that left Ben bruised for days, knew a fighting style that he was certain she could have only learned from Castiel, and managed to pin Ben the first six times they fought. At least that was how it went until the first time Ben forgot to pull a punch and it connected squarely with Claire's jaw. Through a bloody smile she looked at him with pride in her eyes. Muttering something that sounded like, "Finally," she came at Ben with vengeance. Her punches suddenly harder, quicker; and Ben had to pull out all of his stops to keep up with her. He was never going to admit to anyone but he was impressed, more than impressed. It was probably the day he fell in love with Claire Novak.
It wasn't that they started fighting each other and miraculously they were the best hunting team in the world, but they did notice a quick difference. During a fight they didn't need to verbally communicate what their next would be. Claire would see Ben starting to pivot back on his left foot and she knew a roundhouse was coming. Ben could gauge Claire's attacks by the force she delivered behind them. And back to back they were amazing; using each other bring down enemies quickly, efficiently and with a lot of fun.
By the time Claire's seventeenth birthday rolled around they had been fighting side-by-side for six months and the slow building attraction between them was getting harder to resist. After a tough mission they would both tumble into the same bed too tired to care and it felt good– better to have the other as close as possible. Still waking up in their grimy clothes from the hunt killed anything romantic about waking up wrapped in each others arms.
There was a minute though when they were both still sleep-muddled and Claire's eyes would blink and Ben could think of nothing more than leaning in close and capturing her lips with his. But one or both of them would pull away and they'd untangle themselves quickly, not meeting each others eyes.
"Happy Birthday," Ben presented Claire with the cupcake he had gotten from the convenience store down the road.
She stared at the little piece of cake for a minute. "Th-thank you." She blew out the single candle and took it from him. She unwrapped it carefully and then pulled it into two pieces. "Here, no fun eating it alone." They ate in silence and Ben mentally psyched himself up to give her the present he had gotten.
"Here," he shoved the crudely wrapped gift into her hands. "I hope you like it, I really had no idea what to get you." At least he hadn't until she'd lost her favorite knife on a hunt a week ago. Ben was pretty sure it was the closest he had ever seen her cry before. The original knife was a gift from her mom right before...whatever happened did. The hilt had been a deep stained wood and the four inch blade always kept sharp.
Claire pulled off the brown paper that Ben decorated with balloons and smiley faces. She set it to the side carefully and it made Ben grin that she was going to keep it, maybe. Since he hadn't had the money to actually buy the knife (and neither of them were too concerned with stealing) he put it in an empty box of Claire's favorite candy. She looked at him and grinned, "Thanks," she rolled her eyes.
"Open it," he urged and her curiosity piqued. She shook it carefully and looked confused when a solid object rattled inside. "I know it's not your favorite color, but I thought..." He trailed off and watched her face as the knife fell into her hands. The first one he had been able to snatch had a dark purple hilt with pink inlays. Ben was sure the shop owner had thought ino one/i would steal it. Claire hefted it in her hand a few times and thumbed the blade out, testing it's sharpness.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," she said softly. Twirling it between her fingers before giving it an experimental throw. It bedded it's self neatly in the wall above Ben's head; he didn't even flinch. Claire threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "This is the first birthday I've celebrated since Mom was taken." Ben nodded against her shoulder, he knew the feeling. Pulling back she looked at him for a moment before closing the space in between them.
Ben gasped softly but didn't pull away. The opposite actually, he wrapped his arms tightly around Claire's waist and dragged her into his lap. All the imagining up to this moment of wondering what her lips would feel like, taste like did not disappoint as Claire swiped her tongue over Ben's bottom lip. The kiss deepen and Ben moaned. He'd fallen in love with Claire Novak a long time ago, but he was sure today was the day he decided he was never letting her go.