"Jack's dead." Dead didn't say anything else as he stormed into the room.

"What?" Sam asked, startled by his sudden announcement. Chase didn't say anything, though, instead looing intently at Dean like he was waiting for a certain answer.

"Yeah." Dean continued. "He was found headless at the bar."

Sam knew there was more coming. "And?"

"And the strange thing is, he was fine one second, decapitated the next. The entire bar was witness to that."

"Are we thinking a mass hallucination?" Sam asked, knowing it was improbable.

"No, Jack's definitely dead. They're burning the body in two days."

"So we've still got a hunt here, even though the target's been shifted." Sam summed up.

"Yeah, basically," Dean said. "And all we know about it so far is that it can move either wicked fast, or mess with time."

"That's not a lot to go off of." Chase finally spoke up.

Sam's head whipped around to face Chase. The other man had been so silent it was easy to forget that he was in the room with them. "We've worked off of less, before." He said slowly. "I'm sure we'll be able to get this solved too."

Dean nodded, though he gave Chase a look that Sam, despite all his years of knowing his brother, couldn't recognize. It looked vaguely shifty though.

"We should call Travis," Chase suggested rather suddenly. "Let him know that his target's dead, and we're focusing on what killed it."

Dean picked up one of his burner phones, already dialling the number.

Sam looked at Chase, studied his posture. The dynamic between him and Dean was strange. It was really as if overnight, Dean had decided to trust Chase. Not completely, no, that much was obvious, but more than he'd seemed to trust any other hunters they'd run into. Dean treated Chase like he was one of Dad's friends. Familiar, but wary.

Sam wondered.

"Travis? It's Dean." Dean was on the phone. "Your so-called rugaru is dead. Something supernatural did it, though." A pause. "Yeah, we're sticking around. Not letting something that can do that wander around free….. Thanks. You c'n go home, rest that arm…..Bye." He flipped the phone shut. "Well, Travis is off the case. It's probably best anyways, but that means it's down to the three of us."

Chase closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath, and Sam didn't know if he was cursing, or making mental notes.

"Chase," Dean said.

Chase cracked one eye open.

"You're good with esoteric monsters. Does anything come to mind?"

Was that…a compliment? Sam couldn't tell.

"Kronos." Chase said immediately. "Titan of-"

"Time." Sam cut him off, mind already working. "He'd be able to manipulate time. Freeze it, for instance. But what would a titan want with a rugaru? One that's not even manifested yet."

"According to legend, he's scattered all throughout Tartarus. He'd barely have a consciousness. I doubt he's using what little brainpower he has to kill minor monsters for us."

"What if he shared his powers with someone else?" Sam theorized.

"Tartarus is real?" Dean asked at the same time.

Chase nodded, though Sam couldn't tell if that was in contemplation or if he was answering Dean.

"Yeah, I've been. It's not a happy place." Chase shrugged. "And it's possible he sub-lets his powers, but I'm not sure if that's really the case here."

"Well, it's a better start than nothing." Sam said. "We can always talk to Bobby and see what he's got on time-manipulation, and the Greek myths. We can get started with that."

Chase fidgeted.

Dean dropped himself on the nearest seat and sighed. "We're not too far from a specialized bookstore. Sam, if you wanna go down and nerd out with your boyfriend there, I'm sure you'd be able to find something of use."

Sam tripped up over the boyfriend comment. Was Dean referring to Chase? Sam flushed at the thought. There was no conceivable way that he and Chase could be construed as in a relationship.

A small part of his brain whispered, Not yet, anyways. He shut it up fast.

Chase stood up and stretched, revealing his stomach, and Sam quickly looked away. The last thing he needed was to make this any more awkward.

"Well, I'm game." Chase muttered. "Just point me in the right direction and I'll go."

Sam wondered what gave him so much enthusiasm.

"Okay." He finally agreed. "Was it the one two streets up?"

Dean nodded. "You can walk."

.:~*~:.

The shop was titled Jess's Oterica, which was rather weak as far as Percy was concerned. It took him a fair moment to decipher, as well, because he kept thinking of Jessica Moore. He wondered what had happened to her. Maybe she'd graduated by now, maybe she had a husband. Or wife. Or kids,

Sam seemed to be having the same reaction.

Overall, the store brought back memories of Fleecy and Iris's hippie shop, with vegan Ding-Dongs and crystals everywhere. Percy didn't know what about it made Dean identify it as a bookstore, because other than a single row of books in the back, there was nothing but a bunch of tchotchkes.

When Percy pushed the door open, the bell rang, and Percy was hit with a wave of incense so strong he actually took a step back and bumped into Sam, who was behind him.

"Whoa." Sam muttered, and when Percy turned around to look at him, he actually looked a little dizzy. Percy offered him a weak smile and plunged bravely deeper into the store.

Of course all the books were held at the back, right next to all fifty incense burners.

Percy was going to smell like vanilla and spices for days.

Hesitantly, he reached out and picked up a book titled, Time: 50 Ways to Spend Less of it. Sam loomed over his shoulder to look at it.

"Apparently Kronos wrote self-help books." Percy joked.

Sam was too close to him, and Percy felt his heart rate picking up. Dammit, he should so be over this by now!

Percy put the book down on a nearby shelf and started browsing the book titles, doing his best to ignore Sam, who was now flipping through the self-help book at an alarming rate.

He picked out three titles, one about Greek myths, one about time-travel, and one that combed through several other pantheons and was as thick as a desktop pc.

He turned around to go find the cash register and pay, when he bumped into Sam, who was still for whatever reason really close to him.

The books went flying and nearly hit a crystal ball, toppling it off its stand, but Sam caught it before any damage could be done and put it back. He bent to help Percy pick up books when he sort of… stuttered, physically.

Percy looked at the book he had been about to pick up and felt his heart leap up into his chest. The book had fallen open to a page titled, in bold letters, Perseus, the Best-Fated Demigod.

Sam's eyes seemed caught on the name.

Oh.

He snapped the book shut and picked it up, which seemed to bring Sam out of his trance.

"Sorry." Sam apologized. "I just wasn't expecting to see that."

"It's okay," Percy waved him off, feeling tumultuous inside but doing his best not to let it show on his face.

Sam finally backed off a little, but not before picking up the thickest book (more of a tome, reallly) and carrying it for Percy.

"Let's go pay." He said, softly, and began heading back to the front of the store. Percy stood there for a moment, numbly, trying to catch his breath.

Eventually, he followed Sam up to the front, where he was waiting expectantly for Percy.

There was nobody at the register, though, so Percy rang the bell,

A harried looking girl bustled out, smoothing her hair behind her ears. "Sorry for the wait-"

When she saw Sam and Percy, she froze. Slowly, her lips lifted into a snarl.

"Hunters." She hissed.

Percy didn't know how she could tell, but since she didn't call Percy a half-blood, he figured she was from the Winchester's world.

Percy drew his sword slowly, not making any sudden movements, while Sam pulled a gun from who-knows-where and raised it at her face. Percy looked at Sam and cautioned him to wait.

The could be simple, if neither side fought each other.

"Who are you?" Percy asked the girl.

"Melanie." She said, looking both scared and ferocious at the same time. "And I haven't done anything to anybody, so you can lower your weapons now. I dunno why you're here, but it's not my fault."

Sam looked skeptical. "Prove it."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "I'm a vegetarian were, dipshits. You ever read about heartless people in this area?" She seemed to be getting braver now that she knew they weren't directly attacking her.

"…No" Sam admitted.

Percy lowered his sword. "We're not here for you." He said. "We just wanted to buy some books."

At Percy's discretion, Sam reluctantly lowered his gun.

Melanie eyed the books they were holding. "Those?" She snorted. "Those're crap. I keep the good stuff in the back. Now tell me, why would I help a pair of hunters? Especially those that are actively on a hunt?"

"You made a mistake." Percy said, leaning in close to her. "I'm no hunter. I'm a camper. Maybe you've heard of us?"

She went slightly pale, and Percy knew she understood what he was talking about- specifically, the implications of being a godly child.

"Now," He continued. "We're here for some research. You said you have good books in the back. How about you show us what ne need?"

Melanie eyed the titles in their hands, nodded, and scurried away.

Sam looked at Percy, looking somewhat impressed, though Percy felt just awful. He hated pulling rank on people, and using it as an intimidation tactic made it even worse.

"What's a camper?" Sam asked.

Percy was hesitant to explain. "It's, um….there's a camp that trains people like me to fight monsters. We get really good at it, and…. Well, any self-conscious monster who's heard of it has a right to be afraid. One glance at the tacky orange shirts and they go running."

"Tacky…orange?" Sam echoed. "Was this camp called Half-Blood by any chance?"

Shit.

"Um…" Percy didn't know whether to lie or tell the truth. If he took too long to decide, though, Sam would guess anyways, and Percy had never been able to lie well to Sam.

"It was." Percy admitted, defeated.

Sam was getting excited, Percy could tell. He wasn't sure if it was agitation or not, but something was definitely bothering him.

It took Percy a moment, but then he remembered the Halloween "costume" he'd worn three years ago, before that fateful night when he supposedly 'died.'

"Did you know a Percy? Jackson?" Sam asked, and Percy winced. He was going to have to play this very, very carefully if he was going to be able to maintain his cover.

He wished that Melanie would come popping back in at any second, but she didn't show up.

"No, I didn't." Percy said. And technically, it was true. He hadn't known any other Percy Jackson.

"But he had the shirt…" Sam murmured, more to himself, than anything.

"Maybe he borrowed it from a girlfriend or something?" Percy suggested, knowing full well how ridiculous it seemed.

Sam shook his head. "He was dating me."

"I don't know what to tell you, Sam." Percy said.

.:~*~:.

Chase was lying, Sam knew that for a fact. His whole body language screamed discomfort, and he was fumbling with his words.

It was clear as day. Chase had known Percy, or at least known of him. So why wouldn't he admit it?

Melanie came walking back with her arms full of books, having taken on a meeker attitude with the threat of a "camper" looming over her head. Personally, it sounded fake to Sam, but there was no way he could refute it after having heard Chase's (mostly honest) explanation.

"Here." She said, placing the books lightly down on the counter. "These are old, so be careful with them. But they're accurate, more than the ones I usually sell. I hope you're happy."

Chase nodded at her and left a pile of strange coins on the counter. Melanie looked at them and sighed, like she had had to deal with them too many times before.

Chase started walking towards the exit, Sam following, as Melanie called out behind them, "I can't move these out quickly, you know!"

Chase didn't say anything, but Sam could have sworn he saw him smirk as the doorbell rang.

"So." Sam started lamely. He tried to sum up enough courage to ask why Chase had been lying, but he couldn't find it.

"So?" Chase raised an eyebrow, and handed him four books to hold, the pile proving too unstable to carry all by himself.

"I, uh-" Sam steeled himself. "Why did you lie?"

"About what?" Chase asked, nonchalantly.

"You said you didn't know Percy."

"I don't."

"Stop lying!" Sam cried, suddenly frustrated. "I know you knew him. You're a horrible liar."

Chase sighed. "Why does it matter so much? He's dead, isn't he?"

Something inside Sam broke a little more at Chase's words, and the dismissive way he said them.

"Yeah, he's dead, but I still loved him. And if he was at that camp…then he was hiding who he was from me."

"Do you ever think," Chase said. "That he wasn't hiding from you, but from his past?"

That…kind of made sense, though Sam was loathe to admit it.

"If you know anything about it, will you please just tell me?"

"Anything?" Chase said, mouth moving but his mind a million miles away. "I know everything about it. I was right there beside him as he walked his way through hell."

Sam felt a brief flare of jealousy. "Were you together?"

Chase snorted. "No, we were more like brothers."

"Oh." Sam said. "Tell me what you know?"

Chase seemed to come back to earth, then. He closed his mouth in a thin, tight, line and said, "Some secrets are better off dead."

Chase had already told Sam about his life. How could Percy's history be any more sordid? Sam didn't want to let it drop. "I don't think so. How bad could it be?"

Chase looked at Sam, then, and there was something unreadable in his eyes. He put the books down on the ground and drew himself up to his full height, which was sill shorter that Sam. "Sam, you're pushing for something that you're not gonna like the answer to." He said darkly.

"I still want to know! There's never an option where I would choose being in the dark." Sam shot back. Why did things always seem to escalate between him and Chase?

"Fine." Chase spit. "I'll tell you things about Percy. He had a girlfriend named Annabeth, and a brother named Tyson. His mother was the nicest person in the whole goddamn world, and she married the worst to keep Percy safe. He had a Pegasus named Blackjack, who called him boss all the time. He had a bossy camp director who never bothered to learn his name, and a caring teacher who saved him from Mrs. Dodds and every other evil piece of shit that came after him when he was just a kid." Tears were streaming down his face now, and Sam couldn't follow. These all seemed like minute details about Percy, why did they hurt so much?

They hurt because Sam didn't know them, he realized. And because Chase did.

"And most of all," Chase said, "He had a boyfriend that he loved more than anything, and no matter where he is, be it Hell, Elysium, or Earth, he still care about him. It hurts him every goddamned day to be away from him."

Then Chase did something totally unexpected.

He leant in and kissed Sam full on the mouth, face still wet.

Unconsciously, Sam started kissing him back, before he realized what he was doing. Before he could stop or say anything, though, Chase pulled away, and without looking back, he ran.

Sam was left all alone with books dropped on the ground, a tingling in his lips, and a head full of confusion and hurt.