◖𓈈﹗ ﹙ chapter twenty-nine ﹚
❛ ▬▬ my kind of christmas . . . ❜
December had finally arrived, the last month of the year. Lilith was filled with a joyful sense of homecoming that she had missed during her months of solitude. She felt happier than ever with what she had achieved, finally understanding what made her truly happy. Together with her mom, they decorated every corner of their house with a delightful golden, red, and green aesthetic, accompanied by their favorite Christmas albums by Regina, including the legendary "Merry Christmas" by the undisputed queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, and one of her favorite singers, Etta James' "Twelve Songs Of Christmas." Occasionally, they would play an old, worn-out copy of Madonna's "Santa Baby" on the record player that her mom had since '87. One afternoon, Dorian had come over to their house to have lunch together and hang out. He mentioned that he had sold a couple of shares he had invested in YouTube back in 2005 for hundreds of millions and was very excited about new projects. But what Lilith remembered most from that afternoon was their futile attempt to build a snowman in the backyard, which they ended up naming Bob the Drunkard because the middle snowball turned out much bigger than the others, and they placed empty whiskey bottles at its feet to add to its character.
The Arduenn girls loved creating a grand display of lights in front of their house. Every year, they tried to outdo themselves, even though they had already been the best-decorated house on the block for twenty-one years. Not even the Smith family could beat them with their Santa Claus climbing the chimney. They had gone through all kinds of aesthetics, from an overload of lights to minimalism. This year, they wanted it to be as cozy as possible. It took them the whole day to hang the lights on the roofs and edges of the house and to make sure they were straight. It was more difficult than it seemed, but it had never been a nuisance. The result was one of their most beautiful decorations, which even the old Mrs. Maud admired.
"My decoration with candles and natural flowers is more Christmassy than anything anyone can do. It's more beautiful than those artificial lights that hurt my parrots' eyes. But I enjoyed seeing your decorated house; it's very pretty. The Milers stole the show last year, although in my opinion, their house was a jumble of senseless colors. It looked like the house of the crazy chocolate guy with the hat."
Lilith's family was small. Her mom was adopted and became the only child of the Arduenns. When she decided to become a mother herself, she didn't want another child, so Lilith had no siblings. The only person she considered as an uncle (and maybe a sort of father figure) was Bobby, but he didn't have any children either, so cousins were out of the picture. Their Christmases had always been spent with her mom and grandparents, until they passed away a couple of years ago. It was just the two of them now, and sometimes the Winchester brothers would show up. Their door was always open during the holidays; it was a matter of luck if they appeared. Lilith remembered that when they were younger, Sam and Dean used to be with her more often during Christmas, but as they grew older, hunting kept them busy and in faraway states, and Christmas Eve would already be over by the time they arrived. This year, more than ever, Lilith wished they would come to her house.
Dean
I see movement, I have to go.
Lilith
Okie dokie, be careful.
Dean
We'll talk later.
Sent on December 22 at 2:37 am.
Lilith and Dean would talk a lot when he had a hunt that required him to watch over a potential victim's house throughout the night. Usually, Lilith would stay up late trying to find a damn solution to her deal, but she always made time to chat with Dean. Sometimes she would call him and listen to his new anecdotes, like the one about Maple Springs, where they found a case in a remote town with murders resembling Grimm's fairy tales, or the one involving a rabbit's foot and Sam losing a shoe down a sewer drain. The hunter thoroughly enjoyed recounting his exploits and his most heroic moments, and Lilith was a receptive audience. They would laugh at the same things because they had a similar sense of humor, or they would digress and end up talking about how stupid people could be. Dean had dealt with all kinds of people in his cases, and Lilith couldn't understand how he didn't just tell them all to go to hell. She would've. She didn't only talk to Dean when Sam wasn't with him; on other nights, they would have long sessions with Sam, thinking of ways to save him.
Lilith
Hey! Are you coming to my house for Christmas? My mom is making a Christmas Eve dinner with turkey, rice, and a creamy potato dish she made for Thanksgiving that was delicious.
And some warm garlic and cheese rolls. I have some horrible Christmas sweaters for you both that match mine.
pleaseeeeeee. I'll also include a present and a Christmas breakfast as part of the bribe. There will be lots of delicious food. You love food.
Dean
You didn't need to convince me; I was going to go anyway if I didn't have a case.
WHAT?! Damn it. I understand then.
I'll finish it as fast as I can.
Okay. :(
I'm serious.
I know.
Lili
You better bring your ass to my house for Christmas. I'll settle for you guys coming on the 25th. Don't be a party pooper.
Sammy Boy
I don't like Christmas, you know I don't have your holiday spirit, and we're in the middle of a case.
I said don't be a party pooper, and besides, Dean already agreed, and he's your older brother. You have to obey him.
Since when?
now.
Don't make me convince you with sentimentality.
think of Dean.
On the morning of the 24th, Lilith came downstairs wearing a Christmas pajama and a Santa Claus hat. She immediately caught the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and freshly toasted bread that her mom was spreading avocado cream and pieces of boiled egg on. The jazz music playing in the background added to the good vibes, accompanied by Etta James' voice.
"Santa Claus is coming to town," her mom said. She didn't have a good singing voice, but that didn't stop her from singing anyway. "Good morning, baby. I made a light breakfast so we can eat well at dinner. Will the boys join us after all?"
"I don't know," Lilith replied with a pout. She checked her phone while sitting next to her mom. There were no messages from the Winchesters. "What are we going to do in the afternoon?"
"Well, you have to help me decorate the cookies for tomorrow's breakfast," her mom said, taking a bite of her toast. She was terrible in the kitchen; she couldn't cook anything and was clumsy, but she could decorate a couple of cookies. It was just a matter of putting icing and colored sprinkles on them. "But then we can watch movies."
"I want to watch The Grinch."
"Ah, and we're going to the Christmas Eve mass. Maybe you can join and sing carols."
"To Father Coleman's church?" Lilith never thought she would be so excited about going to church, but she was. When she was little, her mom allowed her to join the choir, and there was Mrs. Brown, the only one who knew how to liven up a church. She wouldn't get bored if it weren't for her and her fantastic choir. That woman had a killer range, and Lilith was her number one fan. "I can't wait to sing with Mrs. Brown, and we can do a call-and-response! She always looks for someone in the audience to battle with her."
"If I knew you were so excited about going to church, we could have gone earlier, my dear."
"I just want to sing," she laughed.
In the afternoon, Lilith indulged in a warm bath and then took her time getting dressed for the rest of the day's activities. She picked out one of her mom's wide red pants from the closet, a beautiful turtleneck sweater in a lighter shade of red, and paired them with low boots. She finished her outfit with one of her mom's big, heavy coats. She had achieved a monochromatic look that felt very Christmassy to Lilith. She waited for her mom on the couch, checking her phone again. There were no messages from either of the boys.
"Shall we walk? It's not snowing, and there's a beautiful sun," she said, standing in front of the mirror on one of the walls in the living room, adjusting her straightened hair. She looked fantastic in her elegant outfit, similar to her mom's. Her mom was a lawyer, and her closet was full of stylish blazers and pants. She had to maintain a certain level of formality in court and with her clients.
"Then I'll go get some gloves because my hands won't survive."
Lilith was starting to feel back in her life, the one she wanted. She had discovered many things and learned others that she thought she had mastered. She supposed it was part of life, it came to everyone sooner or later. But the young witch continued to learn and, on her journey, she needed the person she loved the most in the world. She was a mama's girl, she would always be, she couldn't imagine her life without her company.
"Look how cute!" her mom said, pointing at a small cat coat through the shop window. "Should I buy it for Prayer?"
"Yes, please," she smiled.
They left the pet store with more than one cat coat. Lilith saw some very fun toys and added them to the purchase. Then, they continued walking, observing different shops until they arrived just in time for the mass. Lilith was always very respectful of people's beliefs, although her critical point of view prevailed. Her mother had taught her from a young age to respect the beliefs of others because she didn't know how important it could be for someone. But despite it all, she enjoyed accompanying her to mass and, above all, listening to the choir. Lilith loved to sing and was accustomed to any genre. On this occasion, Mrs. Brown stepped down from the small stage they had set up to the side, in front of some angel statues, and as the small band prepared to sing "Silent Night," she approached the Arduenns who were sitting nearby.
"I hadn't seen you in a long time," she said to them after Father Coleman finished his usual reflection and prayer. "How are you?"
"We're doing very well. How about you?" Mom responded.
"I couldn't be happier," she said, smiling broadly. She was a black woman who sang with soul, a singer with a range that would impress even Aretha Franklin. "Lilith! If I knew you were coming, I would have made time to play a little with our voices. I have to leave early today, my grandchildren are waiting at home."
"Ohh," Lilith was disappointed. "I really wanted to sing with you."
"My poor angel, come tomorrow. We have more songs prepared with the choir, and I'll have time to brighten the afternoon with music. My family will also come! All of them! My three children, especially Travis, with his children and his wife who traveled from Barbados. It's been a long time since I've seen them."
Lilith nodded excitedly. The singer handed her the pastoral songbook that she made for each mass and gave them to the choir members to practice at home and learn the lyrics.
"That's wonderful, Mrs. Brown," Regina replied. "We'll be here tomorrow."
When they returned home, they spent the rest of the afternoon decorating Christmas cookies: some were shaped like a pine tree, others were snowmen, gingerbread men, candy canes, and stars. Decorating cookies with Mom reminded her of Christmases at her grandparents' house. Grandma and Mom cooked together; they always had, and it was their mother-daughter time. Lilith only joined in the decoration because while they cooked, she was with her grandfather learning to play the guitar.
At seven o'clock, Lilith checked her messages with Sam and Dean... Nothing. The answer was obvious, and she didn't need explanations. She was used to the cases keeping the boys busy and away. It was fine; she didn't complain or feel bad about their absence. It was an important job that few people did. Lilith understood. She set the table, placing the plates and silverware, lit some scented candles, poured some glasses of white wine, and while she waited for Mom to.
At seven o'clock, Lilith checked her messages with Sam and Dean... Nothing. The answer was obvious, and she didn't need any explanations. She was used to the cases keeping the boys busy and away. It was fine, she didn't complain or feel bad about their absence. It was an important job that few people did. Lilith understood. She set the table, placing the plates and cutlery, lit some scented candles, poured glasses of white wine, and while waiting for Mom to take the food out of the oven, she played with Prayer, chasing a little mouse he was dragging around the house. He was a very affectionate and intelligent cat who quickly learned to pee and poop in a litter box, and soon she would teach him to use the toilet. She saw a cat do it on the internet. Prayer was with her all day, he also slept in her bed, under the sheets and duvet, as if he had his own cave. Lilith treated him like her spoiled child; he was the most adorable thing.
"Get the cat off the chairs, don't teach him to climb on the table, dear," her mom warned as she finally brought the last tray, filled with warm rolls.
"He's on me, not touching the chair or the table," Lilith replied.
The food was delicious, and she expressed her gratitude. They talked about trivial things, and among them, Mom mentioned the movies she used to watch at Christmas when she was younger, so they decided to watch one after dinner. Lilith washed all the dishes, and while Mom took the bottle of wine and the glasses to the living room, she answered a call from Dorian.
"Hello," she heard him on the other end of the line, with some background noise and other people's voices.
"Hi, Dorian," she replied.
"I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, and Regina too, of course. What are you doing right now?"
"Thanks, Dorian. Merry Christmas to you and your family," she said, and though he couldn't see it, she said it with a smile. "I'm about to watch a movie with Mom. What about you? I hear a lot of noise."
"Sorry," he paused, and gradually she only heard his footsteps moving away and the profound silence. "My father invited the whole family to his country house. There are many of us... Hm, a movie sounds nice. I'm bored to death here. I'm the only one my age; my cousins are either too young or married with kids," he chuckled.
"And I'm just celebrating with my mom, what a difference. I never experienced a big Christmas with many people. My Christmases were with my grandparents, and rarely with Sam, Dean, and their father."
"Maybe we can celebrate one Christmas together someday. My mom is with me too, and she and Regina would have a great time, and I wouldn't be covered in paint."
"Why are you...?"
"There are five-year-old girls here who are artists, and they took me as their canvas," Lilith couldn't help but laugh.
"That sounds cute," she said, and at that moment, her mom called her from the living room. "I have to go."
"Yeah, I heard it," he sighed as if he didn't want to hang up. "Goodbye, hope to see you soon," but he did hang up.
They started with the 1966 version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which had several iconic songs that Lilith and Regina sang along to while drinking wine. The short film was one of her mom's favorites because she vividly remembered how traumatized it left her. She genuinely believed the Grinch existed and would steal Christmas someday. Then they watched a musical, "White Christmas" directed by Michael Curtiz and released in 1954. By the middle of the movie, both of them were drunk enough to start singing "Sisters" loudly. They knew every part and every lyric, including the performances. Her mom was good at it and funny when she impersonated Danny Kaye's character. They finished the bottle by the end of the movie and opened another one while Lilith went crazy performing the entire Tim Burton film "The Nightmare Before Christmas." She knew all the dialogues and sang as if she were in a Broadway musical. Eventually, the alcohol made her fall asleep by the end of "Home Alone," feeling the warmth of the fireplace against her face.
Dean
I'm at your doorstep in the morning, I promise
sent at 1:37 a.m.
Lilith
❤️
sent at 8:00 a.m.
Sammy Boy
stupid damn door
sent at 8:12 a.m.
Lili
:D
"Merry Christmas, guys!" Lilith opened the door, singing and projecting her voice in an initial C#5, ending with a run similar to the intro of "Ain't No Other Man." What could she say? Her vocal style was heavily inspired by Etta James and Christina Aguilera. Her vocal cords naturally produced a distortion that sounded like a growl, not as pronounced as theirs, but it was there. If she exerted more effort, she could make it more distinct, but that would damage her vocal cords. "Now put these on," she said, completely serious. It was a threat. She wouldn't let them pass.
She threw them some sweaters she had custom-made, inspired by the Weasley family sweaters but with a Christmas twist and the colors of their respective Hogwarts houses. Lilith's sweater was green with a Christmas pattern, and in the center, it had a large silver embroidered letter "L." Sam's was similar but with the colors of Ravenclaw, and finally, Dean's was made to represent Hufflepuff. The brothers looked at her as if they were about to retreat.
"This is awful, Lilith," Sam said, extending the sweater. That was the point, for them to be ugly. "I'm not wearing this."
Dean's reaction was priceless; he was more lost, not understanding anything.
"I have some reindeer antlers for you, Sam. Put on the damn sweater or I'll force them on you!" she let out a sharp shriek.
"I'll wear this if you make Sam wear the antlers. Cast a spell so he can't take them off," Dean took the initiative to enter the house. He smiled as he took off his jacket and one of the shirts he usually wore, putting on the hideous sweater that, with a glance, he compelled Sam to do the same. "I beg you, give him the antlers," he said, unable to control his laughter.
As requested, Lilith made the reindeer antlers she had bought fly, and as soon as they landed on Sam's head, his brother burst into laughter along with the witch. Sam wasn't very happy; he had a scrunched-up face like a raisin.
"He's Gryffindor, by the way," he said, arms crossed, accepting the laughter directed at him. He nodded toward Dean with a head gesture. "So brave it's stupid, an idiot. That's Dean in a nutshell."
Dean stopped laughing, returning to his confused expression.
"You called me stupid? Stupid. What did you make me wear, Lilith? What does this mean?" He grabbed his sweater from the chest. "What does that mean? What do you mean? I prefer blue over yellow..."
"Nah, Dean is so Hufflepuff, literally 'Loyal to the family,'" she concluded. "Sam's is intelligence, a nerd in short, and I'm evil and ambitious, siding with the bad guys." As she walked to the kitchen, Dean took off the elf hat she was wearing and put it on himself. "Hey! It matched my outfit."
"What happened here?" Sam reacted to the mess in the kitchen.
"Haha, well... last night Mom got drunk and broke some glasses, and I mean, she broke them on purpose. She squeezed them because she wanted to hear the glass breaking... although she'll get mad when she comes downstairs. The glasses are really expensive; my grandfather left them to us. They have gold embroidery," Lilith was cleaning when the boys arrived. She hurried to finish picking up before Mom came out of the shower. "She also spilled wine all over the floor," she laughed; the truth was, it was hilarious to remember.
"Wow," Dean said, walking carefully. "Who's the guy in the yard?" From the window, they could see the snowman he had made with Dorian. "It's awful," he chuckled with Sam when they saw the whiskey bottles.
"It's not my fault; it's Dorian's fault. He told me he knew how to make a snowman, but obviously he didn't. Mine turn out much prettier. Haven't you seen the gay snowman in the corner? I made it, and it's beautiful."
"The one that's flattened and has a multicolored scarf hanging from a branch?" Sam asked, forming a playful smile, seeking revenge for what they had just done to him.
"That homophobic one! I knew she wanted to take it down!" Lilith growled. There was a crazy old lady on the next block who always attacked anyone who didn't look like a white stereotype. "Anyway, I'll rebuild it. So, did you guys celebrate Christmas Eve yesterday?"
"Yup, in our own way. Do you need help, Lilith?"
"Yes," she responded excitedly, wiggling her fingers that emanated magic as the mop came to life to clean the wine off the floor. "What do you want? Mom wants ginger tea, I'm going to make classic hot chocolate, and..."
" I want one!" Dean quickly exclaimed, looking at the picture in the recipe book that Lilith had opened on the countertop. It looked really delicious.
"Okay... So, does no one want coffee?" Sam said. Great, they had several things to do.
The three of them managed to get everything done as their mom would have in half the time. They were lucky that Regina took long showers and had so much hair to dry, giving them extra time. Just as they heard her coming downstairs with Prayer meowing and slinking around her feet, they finished up the final details.
"Good morning, boys. Good morning, honey," she kissed her daughter's head and took a seat next to her. "Oh! Prepararon todo el desayuno ya. ¿Tú hiciste eso?" she pointed at the cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream and a Christmas straw. It looked aesthetically pleasing, but her mom looked at it as if it weren't. She didn't know if it was a mom thing to look disdainfully at any food that wasn't made by them, especially when their kids made it.
"Yes, I made it all by myself," she proudly replied, although Dean didn't let her take (unjustly) all the credit, so he made it known by clearing his throat. "Dean checked to make sure the chocolate didn't burn, and it turned out delicious."
"You burned it on the first try," Sam exposed them fearlessly. Dean and Lilith deflated their smiles and glared at him, ready to pounce. Sam couldn't let them get away with mocking him time and time again without seeking revenge, especially when they did it together, "and that's even though you meticulously followed the instructions," he continued and then took a sip of his coffee.
"Dude, you're such a Grinch. Who broke your heart?" Dean teased.
"Don't get too clever, or I'll make you wear reindeer slippers," Honestly, he still hadn't forgotten the pain of the peppered condoms. That was brutal and cruel.
"The wine glasses!" their mother sighed, remembering what they did last night. She stayed silent for a moment, confirming that it was real what happened, while Lilith nodded, being the little devil on her shoulder. "Lilith!" she scolded her without reason.
"What?" she laughed, it was so mom-like. She was capable of finding someone else to blame, and she knew how to defend her argument very well, after all, she was an excellent lawyer. "I wasn't even at the scene of the crime," she sang. "You made a mess, and I had to clean it up."
"Now you're pushing it because today I won't take you to church," she asserted, and that made Lilith not say another word. They wanted to go to church together.
"Are you going to church?" Dean raised his eyebrows skeptically. He had a point; he went around questioning the existence of God, preaching that God didn't exist exactly as the Bible portrayed, and tired of the free interpretations, he only accepted a divine superiority. In his defense, he liked going to black churches; they knew how to have fun.
"I'm going to sing for Jesus," she indeed sang, "...and my mom."
"Are we obliged to go?" Dean asked in an intermediate term. It was difficult for him to tell if he said it because he didn't want to go or because secretly he did. Dean was prone to hiding his true feelings by saying the opposite or making fun of it.
"I want to go," Sam replied, eating a cookie and getting green icing on his lips. He noticed that Dean didn't believe him either. "What, Dean?"
All eyes were on him.
"Forget it."
After breakfast, they exchanged gifts. Every year, it became harder for them to think of what to give their mom. They had gone through all the clichés starting with handmade sentimental gifts, candy and flower arrangements, special clothing items, or a bag to expand her collection. It took them several days to come up with the perfect gift until the idea came to them. They would make a Scrapbook! Lilith had spent the whole month working on it, going through hundreds of photographs, buying colorful fibers, patterned papers, ribbons of different colors, and various types of textured paper, glitter, and stickers, all without their mom finding out.
Lilith crafted it, thinking about the most special moments she had with her mother: from photographs when she was just a baby being held in her arms to their trip to Europe. But she emphasized creating a duality between happiness and sadness; she needed to capture the love between mother and daughter with honesty, without masks, which meant including the most difficult moments that weren't captured on camera. It started with something as simple as scraping her knee while playing and progressed to the anorexia that landed her in the hospital and the death of her best friend from high school, Bella. She didn't forget to include the times they went to court together and celebrated with pizza and soda. She also added some fights and the time she forced her mom to pay for the Christina Aguilera concert, "The Stripped Tour." She had an emotional breakdown as she recounted for the first time (and still with tears) how she felt about Bella's disappearance and the discovery of being a witch. When she handed it to her mom, she hugged her tightly, glanced at some pages, and said she would look at it later that night because she didn't want to start crying in front of the boys. As for them, Lilith gave Sam a Kindle, expecting nothing in return other than the joy of finally having one. With Dean, something peculiar happened.
"I have a gift for you," she said with a smile that was more like a flirtation.
"I also have something for you," Dean took out a typical Christmas envelope from inside his jacket. Lilith immediately knew what it was, well, she had the same gift hidden behind her back, and when she handed it to him, they burst into laughter. They had thought of the same thing: Lilith opened the envelope and read the medical report confirming that Dean didn't have any sexually transmitted diseases, and he read her diagnosis with the same response.
"What's that?" Mom tried to spy, wanting to decipher what they had in their hands. It was easy to tell that they had a similar document; it caught her attention. "Isn't that from the hospital?"
"It's nothing," Dean hurriedly moved it out of her sight.
• • ⛧ • •
After spending nearly three hours in the church singing with Mrs. Brown and getting to know her Barbadian family, Dean and Lilith had started arguing about what had more adrenaline: driving a car or riding a motorcycle? The discussion escalated to the point where Dean told her she couldn't have an opinion if she had never driven a car, unlike him, who had ridden a motorcycle. That's how they ended up in a construction neighborhood far from the center of Cambridge, perfect for Lilith to drive. Grave mistake.
"Slow the damn speed down! My caaaaaar! You're going to break it! Slow down! Gently, shift down slowly or you'll break the engine and... For God's sake, Lilith! You're going to get us killed! Idiot."
Lilith had to admit that sitting behind the wheel changed the experience of the car; she ended up eating her own words. It was fun! She needed to learn a thousand things she wasn't interested in and didn't pay attention to Dean's long and boring explanation. So she did what she wanted and learned the hard way, but she should have listened to how to brake without launching the Impala into the air and hitting her head on the steering wheel. Oopsie! She looked at the hunter and immediately knew she would never sit in the driver's seat again. Never.
"How did I do? It was so much fun."
"Switch places," Dean didn't look very well. He held onto the door with a look of terror on his precious car and, above all, his breath was so agitated that she thought he was having a panic attack. "I need air. I have to park; we're in the middle of the damn road. My car!"
"I'll park it," Poor Dean, she was making him suffer. Lilith started the engine, struggling against the man's futile attempts to stop her. How hard could it be to pull over? She approached the curb, checked the mirrors, put it in reverse, turned the wheel almost all the way, and ventured. "Get out! Get out! How did I do? Did I park?"
Dean got out of the Impala, not out of curiosity to see how she did, but because he would die right there. He walked around to stand in front of his door, and Lilith rolled down the window and stuck her head out to see the wheels parallel to the edge of the sidewalk, but she couldn't tell if she did it right.
"What the hell?" he said in surprise. "What the fuck? How is it possible that you can't keep the car in your lane, straight and firm, but you can parallel park in three damn moves on the first try? What the hell?"
"I'm amazing," she proudly replied. She grabbed her bag from inside and headed towards one of the houses for sale. "Let's go!"
"And my keys?" he said from behind, arms crossed.
"In the car."
The neighborhood had an industrial and boring aesthetic, surprisingly using brick instead of the cheaper wood. Lilith opened one of the houses using magic, the grand magic key. The interior of the house followed the same aesthetic. It wasn't fully furnished, but the limitations of the rooms were evident. How dull. All she wanted from a house was for it to be cozy, to show that someone lived there. She went up the stairs to the second floor, and Dean followed, complaining about how soulless and gray the house looked. She couldn't agree more. She entered what seemed to be the master bedroom. It had a fireplace installed and metal bars traversing the ceiling for aesthetic purposes. Who would want to live there? Lilith sat on the floor under a window.
"Would you like to get high?" he asked, rummaging through his wallet for some LSD tablets. The hunter's initial reaction had gone unnoticed; he had only noticed that he took a seat. "I'm going to do it."
"Give me one," he said without hesitation.
The hunter and the witch devoted a significant portion of their free time from festivities to enjoy the company of the hallucinogen, reaching their peak an hour after consumption. The effects brought forth spontaneous laughter and a profound trance that seemed like hours and hours of thoughts, eventually leading to meaningful reflections in the false reality they observed. Colors became vibrant, and walls melted like the sweet chocolate of breakfast. The wooden floor patterns formed amusing shapes, but the best sight was in front of her: sitting cross-legged, hands resting on his knees.
"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen," she told Dean. "Seriously, right now they're so bright, the moonlight illuminates them like a treasure, and I'm the only one who can see it. I can see the truth. You know? Like my cat, in the darkness, it's the only thing I see—his shiny green eyes looking at me with love. He loves me, and I love him like a part of my soul. Do you understand?"
The acid had already taken them to the most transcendent levels of conversation, a seemingly friendly journey that slowly peeled away the surface layer of perfection. What Lilith experienced was a vision of herself outside of herself, like a spectator who had been locked away for too long, piecing together an impossible puzzle, detached from reality.
"You're glowing too," he smiled, reaching out to touch the air around her, causing Lilith to be slightly startled by his movements, as she saw them distorted and was unaware of the passage of space and time. "Purple. Are you casting magic around your body?" The witch questioned herself if she was indeed doing so. "I like your mouth."
"You mean my lips?"
"Nope," he leaned back, losing his balance, "your mouth."
"You mean in a strange way?"
"Like a whole... starting with your strawberry-flavored lips that make me hungry every time I kiss you. Don't laugh, I'm being honest here, and it's your fault for wearing that edible thing. I also like your smile without braces, it's different and beautiful: sharp fangs, slightly misaligned teeth... you're pure Rock 'n' Roll... and you can sing," he sighed, releasing the held breath. "You sound like a delicious, sweet, soft pie, accompanied by tequila... I like your mouth."
"You're a weirdo... That reminds me! I should add 'Superfreak' to your playlist."
"What?"
"I have a playlist of you on my phone," she rummaged through her wallet for her headphones and mobile phone. With the drug in her system, something as simple as that became difficult for her. "Lilith has many playlists: one just for Madonna because I love her, another for parties and dancing, one for when I hang out with Mom, I have one for crying, I used to have one for Sam, but I deleted it, and I have one for you with songs you like or tell me I should listen to. You talk a lot about music when we talk at night, and I listen to you and add them, but I also have several that represent you or secretly like you."
"Show me," he settled down next to her, back against the wall, their bodies touching. It felt different, even more so when he wrapped an arm around her waist. It wasn't strange; they had grown accustomed to each other's physical presence after months of kissing. However, she could see how his heart raced in his chest, pulsating in euphoric rhythms and bursting when he cuddled closer to him.
Dean bitching about music
Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
Holding Out for a Hero – Bonnie Tyler
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy – Queen
Free To Be... You And Me – The New Seekers
Boys Don't Cry – The Cure
Let It Be – The Beatles
You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC
(I Just) Died In Your Arms – Cutting Crew
Don't Blame Me – Etta James
Since I've Been Loving You – Led Zeppelin
Old Time Rock & Roll – Bob Seger
Hold the Line – TOTO
Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Oh Father – Madonna
Jump – Van Halen
Don't You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds
Carry on My Wayward Son – Kansas
"It's a work in progress, but I'm sure it's a good start," she said.
"Wow," he blinked a couple of times and spent what felt like an eternity trying to read the song titles. "What are you, a witch? Did I ever mention that I'm actually a fan of Bonnie Tyler?"
"No, but I don't need to be a witch to know it."
"But you are a witch, right?"
"Yes."
Dean grabbed the dangling headphones and put one in his ear and the other in Lilith's.
"Let's listen to some music before the drug wears off."
Synesthesia was one of the most sought-after features of LSD, along with the desire for a memorable trip they would cherish forever. Luckily, they were in the right moment with the right person. They listened to music for endless hours, singing at the top of their lungs and constantly complaining about each other's joyful head movements or body dances that ended up yanking off the other's earbud. They simply enjoyed each other's company. That's how Lilith could describe the realistic reflection of what was happening, as the sensations twisted into indescribable whirlwinds—a topsy-turvy world. It wasn't just the taste of the music that had her laughing uncontrollably, stuck in a part of her mind that surrendered to the pleasure of guitar riffs or an angelic voice, it was also the physical contact she began to have with Dean. It started with occasional kisses, and then they were closer than ever, seeking warmth. They went through several songs amidst kisses and choruses, laughter and sighs. Dean treated her with care and affection, as he always did. Her body reacted differently, uncontrolled, and he wasn't even trying to arouse her—that was the problem. The kisses were slipping into the realm of tenderness.
"Do you want to go?" Dean watched her get up from the floor, holding her phone and headphones. "I'm not sure if I can handle it, but I've driven in worse conditions."
That wasn't what I wanted.
"I've gotta take a little time, a little time to think things over," Lilith was more aware of what was happening around her, but that didn't mean she still savored the music and saw bright colors. "I better read between the lines..."
There was a window where the moonlight chased away the shadows from the corners of the room. Lilith lit the forgotten cigarette and opened the window, letting the winter cold take the smoke away. Her nose turned red within seconds, and a shiver ran through her body, but she didn't mind the cold as she gazed out, greeting the stars. They were beautiful, a blanket of lights thousands of light-years away. Lilith turned around, leaning her back against the windowsill, having a hypnotic view of the stars as she admired them from her back. They looked even more beautiful, multicolored in space.
"You're going to fall," murmured Dean. He held her waist, causing a ticklish sensation that almost made her drop the cigarette and, undoubtedly, fall five meters down. "Let me listen... you're crazy."
"You're jealous of the vision I have, I can see Mars... There!" Lilith pointed to a small red dot in the sky, smiling like a little girl, although she could be mistaken and confusing things due to the acid, but she liked to think it was Mars.
"You're going to fall," he insisted again, his voice slightly changing, sounding genuinely concerned, and as a result, he held her even tighter.
"I won't, you've got me. I trust my life in your hands."
She wasn't lying.
Again the original attraction they felt for each other resumed the nature for which it was created according to the young girl's open minded and disinterested in stable relationships of deep love bonds. She maintained that much of her reactions were due to the way Dean made her feel, she could not modify her desires and, frankly, it had been hours since the snogging had unleashed an impatient tingling in her body. However, the weight of the drug corrupting her thoughts made her come to a deep understanding and bewilderment of the exploration of her relationship with Dean Winchester. Was the physical contact created only to keep her from accepting that she enjoyed being with him (too much)? Or, indeed, was she just chewing on the causality of sex? Whatever the case, her actions spoke better than she could admit.
"What are you doing?" Dean knew exactly what he was doing, he wasn't an idiot and he wasn't naive either. "You're going to caaeeer" he said this time scoffing. "You have no idea how much you move..."
"Get your fucking cock out and fuck me."
Both understood each other perfectly in sex. Lilith used to exercise the most dominant part regardless of who her sexual partner was, if she didn't have control in her hands she felt a horrible sense of imprisonment, chains that left her frustrated and in a bad mood, but with Dean they had reached an unknown level where the rules were changed by the dictates of the present, whatever Dean did brought her to ecstasy every time. He had done some kind of witchcraft on him or found a manual written by Aphrodite. He had felt it in the flesh, in the middle of a secluded neighborhood, making the witch writhe moaning with each thrust, Dean had to hold her tightly by the waist and push her inward to get the best of the experience: just watching the stars twinkling to the musical beat of the crash and his own voice growing shriller yielding to the hunter's requests. She could say that it had been the best sex of her entire life and, the guidelines that shaped that trial were far from being reduced to a simple act, it needed to be a set of things.
"Fuck" moaned Dean letting go overwhelmed, he'd been holding back as much as he could to please her, he could tell. He moved to her neck and kissed her, compromising the position: Lilith clutched her legs around his waist and felt the jean shorts rip down his thighs. They kept their clothes on, they weren't going to die of hypothermia. "Are you okay, aren't you scared?"
The only thing that scared her was the amount of blood rushing up to her brain, just that.
"That was fun," she said taking a puff on her cigarette. Her hair was flowing down the wall in a funny way and when a blizzard was coming it made her shoulders tingle.
"Goodbye to this" Dean took the cigarette from him and tossed it mercilessly. "Much better."
"NoooOoooooooo."
Lilith turned around quickly so she could catch him with magic as a last-ditch attempt, but it was impossible and she watched him crash to the pavement in front of her. She rested her hands against the edge of the window frowning, it felt the same as when a baby's pacifier was taken away, how inconsiderate of Dean. He had been seriously annoyed - over something so silly. However, just as it appeared it vanished as soon as his body bent to the rubbing in her intimate area until the cycle repeated itself keeping them together for a while longer. Continuing the fur play leading her to move her hips faster and faster as Dean, from behind, matched her rhythm.
"Shit" moaned Dean penetrating her. "I love you."
⛧•