voluntaryapnea | 12. When the sun begins to shine/I hear a song from another time/And'll fade away

Well, you know he did a concert for the entire Barge one time, right? Knocked his communicator off the desk dancing around singing, broadcast the whole thing, hairbrush mic and all. They know what they'd be in for.

[He'd had trouble believing it himself, in his own head. Even after he'd come back and seen Sam after his first deal, even for all that he strongarmed his conviction onto others to help push them across the line, he'd doubted. Now? Not so much, except for one not so tiny detail he'd learned just today. The hunter wrinkles his nose, but it's a good natured expression, as is his easy dismissal shrug.]

It's cool. You'll crack eventually. I've got time and charm to spare.

[He laughs -- loud and genuine, leaning back in his chair.] I'm guessing that was either an accident and he had no idea the comm was on, or it was some kind of flood.

[He gives Dean a knowing look now.]

You have no idea how many people have said that I'd crack about this at some point, but it hasn't happened yet.

Dude, go look it up, you can probably still find it. It was some girly pop tune, I don't even know.

[Dean is grinning again though, bright and young like he used to, like he very rarely did on board the Barge, in snatches and glimpses.]

Yeah, but none of those people were me. They don't know what I know.

Yep I am looking it up right now. Oh god. Please don't tell me he was singing Call Me Maybe. [Scott, you and your music choices. Why. And he finds the video. Yep. That's what he was singing. He laughs and thinks maybe it's about time to replace some of his best friend's song selections with better ones.

He shakes his head. Then he hesitates for a moment, switching the feed to private.]

So uh. I got assigned an inmate.

Yeah I have no idea what it was? And I don't aim to change that.

[Dean is still grinning when the switch happens and, with his unsophisticated flip phone, he doesn't notice on his end except a quiet beep. This thing shouldn't even be able to run streaming video, though, so if all it does is beep at him? He's gonna call it a win.

He does, however, raise an eyebrow at the mood switch. He's curious, but still in a pretty awesome mood all told.]

Yeah? Someone awesome? God, I heard Stephen got Scorpius, so you dodged a bullet there.

[He hesitates again, mostly because he isn't sure this should be Dean's problem at all. He isn't sure that telling him anything is actually going to help, and he hates that telling him might make his mood dim in a way he really doesn't want it to.]

Well, that's the thing. My inmate is...another version of you.

Oh, you are shitting me.

[He laughs it first, but yeah, then his mood takes an almost tangible turn for the serious. He stops smiling first, eyebrows pulling together in consideration. It's... a strange feeling, thinking about that. He's already heard about the new version of himself so he's spared that surprise, but now he can't help but remember when he was demoted during Tosh's takeover, and wonder how it would feel to find out that Stiles is responsible for him. He likes the kid, there are certainly worse options, but it's still... strange.

Of course, he doesn't try to look at it from the other side. He'd have been more comfortable being assigned Steph, Felix, instead of stuck hoping that Bruce and Trip would stick it out. There is, however, the instant temptation of that file. Dean promised Felix he wouldn't try to talk to himself, which this wouldn't be, but he knows the purpose was to prevent him getting sucked into meddling with it.

His time on the Barge is done. He got his deals. He saved his brother, his world. He's happier than he's ever been.

But goddammit he still wants to know, completely separate from the sudden realization that Stiles had been handed a good deal of information about him, too.]

Sorry. I uh... okay. How's that going so far?

[It is strange. It's strange for Stiles, even if he's managed to completely separate the two Dean's in his mind entirely now. He can only imagine how strange it must be for Dean and he can't help but wonder if he shouldn't have said anything at all.

And then yes, there's the other thing. That Stiles suddenly knows a lot more about Dean his friend than he ever has, and that's also weird, invasive, and kind of uncomfortable.]

Dude. No apologies necessary. [That, at least, is very sincere.] It's...pretty new? So we'll see how it goes.

[In the end it's the experience Dean has had n board the Barge that lets him if not convince himself that it's okay then to at least make a dent in it. So little there is sacrosanct, so little off limits between files, truth floods, memory floods, dream floods, breach families, and whatever else happens along to intertwine two peoples' lives before booting them back to reality, that he'd long since given up on keeping anything to himself. Old habits die hard and he's back in the real world, now, where people have to ask and memories are private.

The only reason Stiles didn't know most of that already is because he just wasn't around sooner. The hunter nods, but he's watching Stiles carefully now, with less intensity than his older counterpart but no less focus.]

I'll open the floor in a minute for anything I can do to help, but can I ask something? Will you answer me straight? I'm not sure how warden-inmate privileges work when you're talking to your inmate, technically.

Just one question. Just one thing I need to know.

[He notices the similarities in focus even if this Dean isn't glaring at him, isn't looking like he'd like to reach through the screen and strangle him with his bare hands.]

If you were anybody else, I'd say no. [And that's true. He's not about divulge any information about Dean that he's learned to anyone. But this is also Dean. And it's different.]

What's the question?

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