Supernatural: The Infernal Book

Cousin Drama

Ryder woke the next morning to find that the space beside him was bare. Glancing at his watch and noting the soft break of dawn through the mini-blinds, he rose from bed and promptly got into the shower. The spicy, fresh scent of Dean was all over his skin and hair as well as the room and adjoining bathroom. It drove home the fact that last night was real and not some figment of Ryder's imagination.

As the shower warmed up and unleashed steam into the bathroom, Ryder stared at his reflection as it grew hazier and smiled. Despite everything that was going wrong, hooking up with Dean felt right.

But then came the fears, as Ryder knew would be inevitable.

Dean was very clearly a playboy, even if it was obvious that his lover persona was just the surface layer to an obviously deep and nuanced man. It still stood to reason that Dean was going to use him like a napkin before discarding him. Even though Ryder was lost at sea with so much of what was taking place around him, being used and discarded would always be a hard pass for him.

Why does that even matter? Ryder asked himself as he got underneath the spray. This isn't even a permanent aspect of your life, remember? You're dealing with family issues and then you're going back to school. You're leaving all this behind, which includes Dean. Stop thinking too deeply and DO NOT fall for this man. Under any circumstances.

When Ryder got out of the shower, the sound of a door opening and a rustling paper bag caught his attention. Emerging from the bathroom, he stared at the figure of Dean as he stood there among the onslaught of morning light that now shone through the windows. Fully dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt and his leather jacket, Dean approached and cracked a smile. "You were sleeping so deep when I left I thought I'd have to kiss Sleeping Beauty awake when I came back," he teased as he held the bag in his hand out to Ryder. "I got us donuts and coffee."

Us, Ryder thought before hastily stopping that train of thought. He gingerly accepted a glazed donut and a paper cup of coffee. As he ate, he looked over at Dean, who had just taken a whole donut into his mouth and was chewing aggressively. "Wow," Ryder remarked as he set his coffee down and proceeded to get dressed. "What else can you fit in that mouth?"

Dean chuckled and tried to talk but the sound was muffled by the excess of donut.

"I'm sorry- I didn't catch any of that," Ryder teased.

"I said 'stick around, kiddo'," Dean growled. He walked over to where Ryder was tugging on his socks and whistled. "You've got a fucking great body. You know that?"

Ryder looked up at Dean and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Thank you."

Dean smirked as he moved close and wrapped his arms around him. "Look- Sam and Miles are probably going to tease us over this. I hope you're not too self-conscious about sex."

"I'm not self-conscious about sex," Ryder groaned. "You act like I'm some kind of cloistered virgin or something."

"Oh, you are definitely not a virgin, kiddo. Not with those moves you put on me last night."

Ryder looked around the room, noting the door leading to the adjoining room. "Did Miles and Sam sleep in the other room...together?"

"They slept in the same room but not together. Sam would've told me," Dean said as he chased a rogue droplet of water on Ryder's collarbone with his fingertip. "No, the only people who got fucky last night were you and me."

"Fucky?"

Dean shrugged. "Stop giving me grief, eat your donuts and drink your coffee like a good boy."

"Thank you," Ryder shyly said.

"No need to thank me," Dean sighed as he stood up. "But we do need to get a move on. Sam and Miles are waiting in the car."