My Own Hero

Favorite Winchester

AN: Slight spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen up to season 11 of Criminal Minds.

-JENSEN'S POV-

"I just feel so awful about the whole situation with her and Jensen. If he hadn't started dating me, then she wouldn't be keeping JJ from him and this whole thing just sucks."

I paused before I could round the corner, hovering in order to listen in. I couldn't hear what Tom was saying on the other end, but I could hear Scarlett's response.

"No, I know. He made that very clear when we talked after. It doesn't make that feeling go away, though."

Another bout of silence before she thanked him and hung up. I waited for a count of ten before I rounded the corner.

"How's Tom?" I inquired conversationally.

"He's good. Glad we're back so he can come over and pester us whenever he wants again."

"Sounds about right."

There was a beat of silence, and I went over to sit next to her on the couch.

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, glancing over at me.

"How are you doing?"

"Why does it feel like one of us is always asking the other one that stupid question?"

I was a little taken aback by the question, but as I thought about it, I realized she had a point. It seemed like that phrase was uttered more times between the two of us than any other statement. We were constantly having to reassure each other, and I was getting kind of sick of it, too.

"I don't know, Lightweight..."

"Do you want to watch something?"

"Yeah, you go ahead and pick something out. I'll get us some popcorn."

I kissed her temple before heading into the kitchen to get the movie snacks. While the popcorn was in the microwave, I gathered Red Vines (the only true licorice for watching a movie) and the rest of Scarlett's candy stash from the pantry.

"Extra salt on the popcorn, Douchebag!" she yelled from the other room.

"I know!" I called back.

"My definition of extra salt, not yours!"

"I know, Scarlett!"

Grinning to myself, I shook the bag out into a bowl and then grabbed the salt shaker. Turning it all the way upside down, I passed it in three full circles over the popcorn and returned it to the cupboard.

"I don't get how you can eat it like that," I informed her, carrying everything into the living room.

"It tastes too bland without it. Plus I like licking the salt out of the bowl after," she informed me. "Now hush up and sit down, the episode is about to start."

"And what are we watching?"

"The newest episode of Criminal Minds," Scarlett winked at me.

I gave a dramatic gasp, putting a hand to my chest.

"You're cheating on your own show?! How dare you?!"

"Whatever, Drama Queen. Things are getting really intense in the season right now and there's been extra emphasis on Morgan lately."

"So now you're cheating on Dean."

"Would you shut up and eat your gummy bears?"

I plopped down on the couch next to her, planting a quick kiss on top of her head before grabbing the bag of gummy bears and settling in to watch with her. Since I hadn't seen any of the episodes leading up to this one, some of the references they made went over my head, but for the most part, I was able to follow what was happening. Most of the episode took place in a hospital, and a man who I assumed was the team's leader from his behavior took Morgan off the case because of it. Morgan's.... girlfriend? Wife?... significant other who was pregnant was shot at the beginning of the episode, so he was too close to the case.

Scarlett was freaking out next to me the entire episode and talking to the characters the entire time, mostly to Morgan. By the end, she was in tears because Morgan decided to quit the team in order to spend time with his fiancée (I figured that out) and new son.

"B-but he can't leave," she sobbed into my shoulder as the credits rolled.

"It'll be okay, Lightweight," I assured her, rubbing my hand up and down her back.

"W-what about P-Penelope? She w-won't have D-Derek to flirt with a-all the time any more."

"I'm sure Penelope will survive, Scarlett."

"I-I can't w-watch without D-Derek."

"So you don't have to. Now you can focus solely on your favorite Winchester," I joked.

"I d-do still h-have S-Sammy," she grinned into my shirt despite the tears still streaming down her face.

"And we're done."

I stood up from the couch, leaving her to catch herself before she fell without my shoulder for support. It had become a running joke for Scarlett to say Sam was her favorite Winchester since joining the show. We all knew that she had never been much of a Sam Girl, even from the beginning. She said it was all because of the hair. But since she was now working on the show, and had fulfilled every Dean Girl's fantasy of actually getting to be with Dean, she and Jared liked to tease me mercilessly that he was her favorite.

"Oh, come on, Jay, it's just a joke," she laughed.

I didn't answer, gathering up the wrappers and other food items left over. 

"You know I can't actually stand Sam," she continued. "He's not even in my top ten. Maybe if he cut that hair of his..."

Still silent, I carried the items into the kitchen to put away in their respective locations.

"I love you, and Dean will always be my favorite Winchester," she tried, following me.

This time, I looked over at her, but still didn't speak.

"You really aren't going to say anything to me?" she stuck her lip out in a pout.

I immediately felt my resolve start to crack, but tried to keep my resolve while I threw away the trash. I had told her how cute I thought she was when she pouted, and so she knew exactly what game she was playing at. A few moments later, her arms snaked around my middle from behind.

"I was thinking of taking a shower before bed... Care to join me?"

Feeling the rest of my resolve crumble as my walls came tumbling down, I turned around, scooping her into my arms and carrying her toward the bedroom and en suite bathroom.