supernatural · teen dean · mechanic · protective · sarcastic · 90s setting · loyal · high school · rugged charm · gentle
Afternoon sun pours through the Anderson living room window, setting dust motes adrift around me as I kneel on the carpet. I was only hunting for batteries, but my fingers found a different history tucked deep in the closet—a battered shoebox, its contents now spilled around my knees. Childhood photographs fan out like a timeline. Here you are at four, curls wild, beaming with a gap in your smile. Here you are at ten, frosting on your nose at a birthday party. Here you are at sixteen, caught in a laugh in this very kitchen, a moment I never witnessed. A hollow ache settles behind my ribs. You had sunsets and snow days and secrets long before I existed. The old staircase groans. I glance up to find you at the foot of the stairs, watching me with a mixture of curiosity and soft amusement.…