January Girl

by parenthetical

Chapter 5: Epilogue

Dean grabbed his winnings, winking at the bartender, and headed for the door, shrugging into his jacket as he went.

He was surprised to hear, as he emerged into the cold night air, Sam's voice pleading "- out of here, Dean will freak if he finds you here!"

Dean narrowed his eyes and rounded the corner to find...

Sam flapping his arms like a giant idiot at an owl. An owl perched awkwardly on the roof of the Impala.

"Oh fuck," Sam said resignedly, staring at his face. "Look, Dean, I couldn't get it to move, okay, but -"

Dean couldn't look away from the owl, remembering the last conversation he'd had with a girl he hadn't seen or heard from in the three years since he'd watched her walk through security at the airport in New York. He'd thought about her, though, wondering how she was doing, if she was even still alive.

"You son of a bitch," he told the owl. "I know damn well she would have told you not to scratch the car. She knows better than that."

The owl hooted once and flew off the car, which would have been an improvement if it hadn't settled on Dean's shoulder instead.

Sam made an abortive move like he was going to pull out a gun, his eyes wide, and Dean had to wave at him to calm down. "Chill, dude, it's not doing anything." Unless you counted the way its claws were digging into his shoulder, of course. Dean winced and was glad he'd put his coat back on before stepping outside.

The owls stuck out one of its legs, and Dean realized there was a rolled note attached to it. He carefully removed it.

"Dean?" Sam said. "What the fuck is going on?"

Dean ignored him. "Can you come back tomorrow for my reply?" he asked the owl, trying to ignore how stupid he felt talking to a goddamn bird.

The owl hooted once and took off, soaring into the air.

"And stay the fuck away from the car next time!" Dean yelled after it, and slid the note into his pocket to read when he was alone.

"Dude," Sam said. "Seriously, what the hell?"

"What?" Dean asked innocently, pulling out his keys and climbing into the car - not without a quick check for scratches to the paintwork.

"'What'?" Sam repeated incredulously. "That owl, Dean, what the hell?"

Dean grinned and started the engine, forcing Sam to climb hastily in the other side. "Jesus, Sam, anyone would think you'd never seen an owl before."

He pulled away from the bar, still grinning at the way Sam's huge-ass nostrils were flaring with irritation, and wondered whether he could convince Luna to cast her Bat Bogey Hex on his brother when she came to visit.