Chapter Text
Colby woke to rustling.
He cracked an eye open. Vision hazy, he halfheartedly searched his room for the source.
Sam was standing in front of their dresser, pulling a shirt over his head so he didn't walk into his apartment with nothing but boxers. He didn't like doing that, and Colby didn't get it because he loved seeing Sam in exactly that. Sometimes, most times, even less.
When he joined Sam in the kitchen a minute later, he was clad in only his boxers. He moved quietly through their apartment, carefully stepping over floorboards, so they wouldn’t creak and alert Sam of his presence.
He ignored the small jump when he wrapped his arms around Sam’s waist. Colby tilted his head and pressed a soft kiss to Sam’s ear.
“Just me,” he mumbled.
“I know. Morning,” Sam replied. He melted into Colby’s hold and continued watching the timer count down on the microwave. “Do you want any pizza rolls?”
Colby laughed. “You just woke up, and your first idea was to make pizza rolls?”
“I’m hungry, and it’s,” Sam’s gaze slid to the digital clock on the stove, “almost one. It’s lunch time.”
The microwave beeped, and Sam reached forward to open the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the sigil still seared into his arm from his previous demon possession. It was a reminder of Sallos, the odd yet incredibly powerful and scary ally he’d made earlier that month.
It was also a reminder of the first time Sam ever lied to Colby. Although the sigil looked cool, it was in no way a positive remnant on his body.
As if he could hear his thoughts, Colby reached forward and wrapped his fingers around Sam’s forearm. He dragged his thumb across Sam’s sigil gently. It felt like a burn, skin raised and still irritated. He worried touching it would hurt, but Sam didn’t seem to feel anything.
“It feels like a dream,” Sam admitted, “everything that happened.”
“Yeah, a really fucked up dream.”
“Do you know what happened to Casey?”
Colby withdrew his hand. He released Sam and turned to a cabinet; he busied himself with searching for food.
“Uh, nope.”
“Really?” Sam hummed thoughtfully as he pulled his plate from the microwave. “I know he’s not living here anymore, but I wonder what they did with him. Huh, I thought the council leader guy would’ve said something when he dropped by that day.”
Colby took a deep breath.
“What? What happened to him?”
“As it turns out, Sallos had a larger bone to pick than I realized. Casey Claiborne is no longer your concern.”
“The only thing he said was we didn’t have to worry about him anymore. They probably threw him in magic jail or something.” He shrugged.
Sam laid his plate on the counter in front of Colby. He turned to grab a drink as Colby reached out to snatch a pizza roll. Sam smacked his hand away.
“You offered me some like thirty seconds ago!”
“I offered to make you some, and you didn’t respond. Now you can make your own.” Sam smirked as he turned to the fridge.
Colby scowled. With his eyes on Sam, he grabbed a pizza roll and popped it in his mouth. As soon as he started to chew, though, the insides started burning his mouth. He opened his mouth just enough to take deep breaths to cool down as he struggled to finish the food.
Sam glanced at him over his shoulder, and he smirked. “I told you not to eat my food.”
“Shut up.”
A glass of water was placed in front of Colby, and he mumbled his thanks. Sam sat next to him with his own drink and immediately got on his phone. He twisted in his seat, so he faced Colby and placed his feet on the bar around Colby’s chair.
Sam searched through his missed emails. He remembered getting a notification the day they left for Coachella, but their friends had placed strict rules on them about social media and business. The rule being absolutely none of it, of course.
His eyebrows furrowed when he came across one from a man named Matthew Jones. He hummed as he opened it and began to read.
“What?” Colby asked. He ate another pizza roll, this time not in one bite.
“This guy sent me an email a few days ago when we were leaving for Coachella. He wants to collab with me.”
Hey, Sam! My name is Matt. I’m new to the supernatural community, and I’d love it if we could work together on my next video! I’m doing a short documentary on rituals like the Midnight Man and The Three Kings. If you’re interested, my number is below. Hope to hear from you soon!
Matthew Walker (XXX) XXX-XXXX
“We’re taking a break,” Colby reminded. “That means no YouTube.”
“We’re filming with Elton in a few days.”
“No YouTube with strangers.”
“Well yeah, duh. That’s why I’m going to meet him first.” Sam turned to the counter and began typing up a response.
“You really can’t resist those ritual videos can you?”
Sam’s lips pressed into a smile was enough of an answer. Colby rolled his eyes.
"You're an idiot."
“Hey, you have your hobbies, and I have mine.”
“I can’t believe you’re still doing them after you actually got possessed by a demon.” Colby scoffed as he ate another pizza roll.
Sam glanced over at him. “I can’t believe you’re still eating my food––Stop it!” He smacked Colby’s hand away.
“You haven’t eaten any!”
Sam grabbed a roll and tossed it in his mouth. The heat made his eyes water, and he looked away before Colby could see.
But of course, Colby did see, and he laughed.
“So,” Sam swallowed quickly, despite the burning in his throat, “do you want to go with me to meet this guy?” He took a sip of his drink.
“Uh, yeah? Duh? He could be like a murderer or something.”
Sam laughed. “I doubt he’s that bad.” His phone vibrated as Matthew’s reply came through. “Oh, guess we’re meeting today.”
“Today? Why?”
Sam leaned an elbow on the counter and rested his chin in his hand. “He said he can only meet today. I don’t know why.”
Colby’s eyes narrowed; that sounded beyond sus.
Before he could air his thoughts, his phone rang next to him. When he checked, a chill ran down his spine at the No Caller ID in place of a number.
“Hello?” he asked cautiously.
“Colby Brock.”
Her voice sounded familiar. He frowned.
“Hailey?”
Sam looked over at him.
“Yes, this is Hailey Claiborne. As a member of my coven, you are responsible for carrying out the orders given to you by the council. I’ve chosen a witch for you to work with, and I expect you to be at the LaVeyan Church within the next two hours. Failure to do so will force me to call the council for help, and you don’t want me to do that.”
She sounded different. When they first met, she was more friendly and understanding than her husband. Now, her voice was cold and official… Much like Casey’s was.
“Okay…”
Hailey hung up without another word.
Sam raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to go start my witch training, I guess.”
“Right now?”
“In the next two hours. Otherwise, I’m gonna talk to the council again…”
Sam made a face. “Fuck, that’s not good. You’re gonna go, right?”
“Yeah, but…” Colby gestured to Sam’s phone. “I don’t want you meeting that guy alone.”
“I’ll be fine. We’re meeting at the mall, so there will be lots of people around. It’ll be okay.”
“Call me if something happens.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Sam sighed as he sent an email back to Matthew, confirming their meeting. He locked his phone and ate another pizza roll. They were beginning to cool down now, thankfully.
“Guess it really is time to get back to work,” he stated, smiling half heartedly up at his partner.
Colby scoffed. He rolled his eyes and headed for his room to change. As he went, he mumbled, “Guess so.”