Christmas Alone With You (AU!Dean Winchester x Reader)

Popcorn

"Dean, are you sure about this, like really sure?" You asked for what was probably the hundredth time as you stood outside of his modest two-story home.

Dean insisted you stay in his spare room until things started looking up for you. You refused at first when he brought it up the day after dinner, but eventually caved under the condition that you would pay him rent. Whatever you could afford without breaking the bank, it wasn't much but you knew he needed the money. Why else would he be working as a mall Santa, he didn't seem like the type that did it just for the holiday cheer.

You weren't going to be a burden on his shoulders, he had enough on his plate as it was and you would only be staying long enough to get back on your feet. Still, you were giddy at the thought that the holidays wouldn't be spent alone since Christmas was a week away. You couldn't remember the last time you had a real family Christmas.

"Positive, Y/N. Like a hundred and twenty percent and for the twelfth time." He joked, grabbing another box from the backseat of your car, Mary grabbing a pillow twice her size. She was stubborn, taking after her father and demanded she help move you in too.

You put the majority of the boxes in the corner of your room, only bothering to unpack a suitcase of clothing and some toiletries. You wouldn't be there long enough for anything else and didn't want to get too comfortable, especially since you were already finding yourself warming to the notion of living with them. You didn't want to get hurt and this was as far as things would only ever get between you two.

Dean and Mary needed someone with their head on straight, someone who had it more together, or at the very least, someone with a steady job. Photography had always been your first love, but it never really paid the bills. You were constantly just scraping by, up until recently when you lost your rent controlled apartment and got tossed out on your ass.

When you were done getting acquainted with your room you decided to take a quick shower. Humming to yourself when you hopped out smelling of peppermint and slipped on some fresh clothing. You opted to pull your hair up into a messy bun rather than dry it and decided to head downstairs to see if you could help out with dinner.

_____

"Mary, where are you going?" Dean asked, eyeing his daughter trying to sneak up the stairs.

"To see Y/N." Said Mary, pouting when her father waved her back into the kitchen.

"We need to give Y/N a little bit of space right now." He said, stirring the tomato sauce on the stove once more before kneeling in front of her.

"Why?" She asked, scrunching her tiny forehead, Dean smiling at how adorable her confusion was.

"Because we want her to be comfortable here, right?" He tilted his head, holding her tiny hands in his.

"Yeah," she agreed but glanced back at the staircase where Dean could hear the shower running now.

"And she's used to living alone, so she'll need time to get used to the change. We don't want to push her before she's ready. Remember when you lost Bunny at the park and uncle Sammy got you a new teddy bear."

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

Dean never told her that they did eventually find Bunny, but with the state the stuffed animal was in, it would've needed more than a few new seams and a couple of thorough washings. So, instead he decided it was time for his daughter to learn about loss and tossed it.

"Remember how you didn't like Teddy at first?" He asked and she nodded again. "And now he's your new favourite toy. You needed time to adjust and miss Bunny before you moved on. Right now, Y/N's feeling a little lost like that."