Chapter Text
“Dean!”
Benny’s voice cut across the gravel lot. Dean’s head whipped up from where he was shoveling jerky wrappers and paper coffee cups into a shopping bag. He liked to leave his truck tidy before he took a week off. It was like coming back home to a clean house. He stepped down from the cab of the truck, pushing the metallic black door shut behind him. Twisting the bag of garbage into a knot, he turned a grin on his friend.
“Hey, Benny, what’s up?”
“I have a problem, cher,” Benny said, an unhappy twist to his mouth. “Don’t know if you’ve been listenin’ to the weather, but there’s a Cat 4 aimed right at Ponchatoula.” He smelled agitated.
Dean nodded. Everyone knew about the hurricane. It was too early in the season for a storm this size, and it was all over the news. “I heard it was headed right into the Gulf.” Here, in Buffalo, the sun was sparkling off the Niagara River, but the ocean was angry, and Louisiana, Benny’s home state, was bracing for landfall. “Is Andrea safe?”
Benny took off his newsboy cap and wiped a handkerchief over his forehead. Only guy I know who actually carries a handkerchief, Dean thought. He used a bandana, like a normal person.
“That’s the problem, Dean. Garth normally helps her out when I’m not home, but he’s gone and broken his arm trippin’ over his own feet. With her bein’ pregnant, neither of ‘em can get the plywood nailed over the windows before they evacuate to Andrea’s mother’s place.” He glanced at the cloudless sky. “There’s a flight out of Buffalo to New Orleans this evenin’ –”
Dean’s chest sank a little, seeing his week of R’n’R fading into a memory. “Aren’t you supposed to do the Toledo run the next few days?”
Sighing, Benny nodded. “Two runs back to back. One Monday and one Wednesday.” He turned pleading eyes on his friend. His scent thickened even more, a smidge of anxiety hanging heavy in the air.
Dean sighed. “Stop. I’ll do it! Your worried Alpha is stinkin’ up the place!” Dean pulled a bandana from his back pocket and waved it dramatically in the air between them.
Laughing in relief, Benny grabbed the blue cloth and threw it in his face. “Andrea an’ Garth both thank you, cher.”
Wiping his own face clean of sweat, Dean nodded. “I have to use your truck, though,” He gazed at the monstrosity across the lot. The gaudy gold on copper steampunk design glittered in the sun. “Swayze is scheduled in for maintenance this week.” He glanced back at his own rig, solid black cab with tinted windows, the way a truck should look.
“No problem. I was gonna leave it here anyway and just Uber to the airport,” Benny replied. His face turned serious. “I know this is your vacation, Dean. I appreciate you helpin’ me out.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dean said dismissively. “Sammy’s busy with his new job, anyway. I’ll catch him some other week this summer.” Turning, he dunked his bag of garbage into a nearby bin and faked crowd cheers for himself. Laughing, Benny wrapped an arm around his shoulder as they headed to the dispatch office.
“Uh, just one more thing, Dean –“ Benny started.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll wear blockers,” Dean muttered. It was only the courteous thing to do, effectively working in another alpha’s living space for three days.
Benny clapped him on the back with a grin. “Thanks, my friend.”