The Great Gumball Affair

By: Maygin

Summary: Dean and Sam head south to deal with a thousand year old legend that no one will touch… perhaps because they're too busy laughing at it? (This is what happens when you sit staring out your window for too long at a tree. This was supposed to be a one-shot… don't ask me how eight chapters came out of it.)

The Blah-Blah Section: Okay, first off I'd just like to say, I know the leap year isn't until 2008, but I'm twisting space and time for my own personal agenda – therefore leap year is occurring in 2007. And because I am Queen of all I survey, you will deal with it. …please. This is just a fun fic with a little bit of humor, a little bit of adventure… and what the heck, I'll throw in some angst for ya too. Hope ya like it!! (there might be slight spoilers for S2 - nothing major though at all)

Chapter 1

Dean released a grateful sigh as he slid into the booth his brother was currently occupying, and set down two very large cups of coffee. "So what do you got?" He opened his cup and dipped his finger in, testing its scalding probability to his tongue.

Sam smirked, not looking up from his laptop. "You really wanna know," he asked doubtfully.

Dean sputtered as his first gulp of his coffee most definitely had not been the moderately hot temperature he'd thought it was. "Gah! Dammit," his tongue sought out the cooling air outside the boundaries of his lips followed by panting noises to which his brother dutifully ignored. "Yes, of course I wanna know," he said somewhat annoyed now.

"Well," Sam shifted in his seat, readying himself for the mocking which would surely begin, "looks like there's a possible black dog in Garrett-"

"Eh," Dean waved the idea off, "been there done that."

Sam gave a small, expected nod, "There's your typical haunting over in West Chester," Dean rolled his eyes dramatically. Sam sighed, trying not to smile and give his brother the satisfaction. "And Springfield, Illinois has a possible reaper," Sam finished, picking up his coffee, prying the top off and dipping his finger in it before taking a sip.

Dean deflated, letting his head drop into his arms on the table making a whining noise. "Whatever happened to something new and exciting?" He looked up with almost pleading eyes. "Something challenging you know?"

Sam gave a small nod, staring into his coffee cup, chewing on his lip. "Well…" he said hesitantly.

Dean's brow piqued; drawn to the miniscule ray of hope like a moth to a flamethrower. "Well what?"

Sam's right shoulder gave a small shrug, before he suddenly shook his head. "Nothing, nevermind."

"No, what??" Dean said sincerely and way too desperately, reaching across the table to grasp onto the younger man's arm. "Come on, seriously. What? What do you got?"

Sam's head tilted to the side, considering it with a self-conscious smile. "Well," he began hesitantly and then suddenly shifted in his seat a little straighter, decision made. "We're coming up to the end of February here in the next few days…"

"And," Dean asked somewhat cautiously.

"And," Sam drew the word out like he was suddenly reconsidering, "it's a leap year."

Dean suddenly grimaced and leaned back in his seat, a disgusted look on his face. "Oh God! Not that stupid Gumball theory-"

"You asked," Sam quickly defended, "You asked!" He was definitely regretting having brought it up.

"Every four years," Dean reminisced and gestured loudly, "you bring this up. Even in the off season! I mean what is with you and the gumballs dude-" Dean tried not to smile as his brother cut him off in defense.

"It's a fascinating theory and there's nothing to say it isn't real."

"Sam," Dean leaned forward and said in that it's for your own good type way, and then reiterated, "-exploding gumballs."

Sam sighed, unable to hide his smile anymore as he leaned back in his own seat. He was no stranger to how stupid it sounded; but that didn't mean it still didn't intrigue him. "You said you wanted something challenging."

Dean snorted, "Yeah challenging; not embarrassing."

"Dad always thought there was something to it," Sam reminded him.

"You mean after he stopped laughing and wiped the tears from his eyes."

"Whatever," Sam gave up, redirecting his attention to his laptop once more trying to swallow his grin and embarrassment. "Which is it then? Black Dog, haunting, or Reaper?"

Dean sighed slumping into his seat a little more with a half smile still on his face, watching his brother. He shook his head suddenly in disbelief he was actually even considering it. "Do you at least have any new information… something substantial this time?"

Sam's eyes latched onto his brothers over the laptop with a flat stare. "Dean, its a thousand year old myth… what new information could I have possibly come up with that hasn't already been discovered or exhausted?"

"How bout it's legitimacy," Dean mumbled into his coffee.

"Dude."

"Sorry," Dean straightened in his seat as if preparing himself for torture, "alright well tell me what you got on it."

"You've heard it already a thousand times," Sam reminded him, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah but I haven't had a good laugh in a while," he circled one hand in the air, "run it by me again."

Sam bristled and focused on his laptop. "Forget it."

"No seriously," Dean tried sounding sincere. "Let's knock this one out; I'm tired of hearing about it."

Sam paused, his eyes shifting up to gage just how sincere he was. "You're serious," he flatly asked.

"Sure, why not?" Dean said casually. "If it turns out to be nothing, then so what. But if it's legit and we stop it… then we'll live the rest of our lives knowing we defeated the evil gumball that would have surely destroyed mankind."

Sam's expression remained flat; staring hard at his brother. He considered dropping the whole idea out of spite now, but he really, really didn't want to deal with another reaper; black dogs smelled, and well… he'd had his fill of ghosts for a while too. So he sucked it up and dully pulled up a password protected file he'd secretly kept and expanded on since he was younger. He began reading.

"In 1000 A.D. the Amerindian's, also known as the Mongoloids, were an originating tribe out of Nicaragua." Dean slumped down in the booth, getting comfortable; leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a small grin on his face. "They were the first to discover the uses of the Liquidambar Styraciflua; also known as the Gumball Tree. After being invaded several times over a period of a few hundred years, the Mongoloids eventually started migrating north. Each migrating family would carry a single gumball with them from the tree; believing it brought them protection and good luck."

Dean snorted, his eyes remaining shut. Sam paused, glaring for a moment before continuing.

"One of the tribal leader's son's, Chale, was taken captive while passing through Mayan territory." Sam shifted, leaning closer to his laptop, clearly becoming absorbed in the story. "Legend goes that Chale was taken to the top of the Mayan temple to be sacrificed during a holy celebration. Before he was thrown into the fiery chasm-"

Chasm, Dean mouthed humorously.

"Chale," Sam flipped his brother off without taking his eyes off the computer screen, "pulled his families gumball from a pouch at his side, cursed the Mayan's and threw it into the fire. A tower of flame shot out of the sacrificial pit and filled the sky before the entire temple exploded killing thousands of Mayan's."

"And Chale," Dean added helpfully.

Sam pressed his lips together with patience. "And Chale," he conceded. He took a deep breath, "Chale's family scoured the remains looking for him but only found the gumball he had thrown into the pit… unscarred and undamaged. They carried the gumball with them as they continued migrating to what we now know as Texas and planted it there in memory of their son."

"Chale."

"Dean." Sam stared his smirking brother down.

"No-no, continue please… the good parts comin up." Dean gestured for him to keep reading.

Sam swallowed down his pride, because he really wanted Dean to take this case; even if it meant humiliating himself. "Another gumball tree grew in its place and its seed quickly spread across the U.S. Apparently however, there have been stories once every leap year, which is the anniversary of Chale's death-"

"And the gumball grenade."

Sam ignored him this time, "Of villages and houses- entire buildings exploding in a ball of fire. And each incident had a gumball tree growing next to the destroyed structure." Sam finished reading and slumped back into his seat, grabbing his coffee.

"And the theory?" Dean encouraged, waving his hand in a circle. Sam sulked into his coffee trying to ignore his brother; but Dean leaned forward and put on a mocking puppy-dog look, like a four year old who was worried they wouldn't hear the end of the story. "Sammy."

Sam's eyes rolled to the ceiling and he grumbled out softly, "A possessed gumball from the originating seed line falls and explodes, taking out anything and everything nearby."

Dean sighed happily and contentedly with a huge grin on his face. "Now who wouldn't wanna save the world from that?!" Dean chuckled. "We'd be heroes. Hunters all over the world would bow to our greatness. The Winchesters… Vanquishers of the Exploding Gumball!"

Sam looked bored. "Are you done?"

"Not yet," Dean said, getting more exuberant, "Champions of the Evil Seed! …Destroyers of the Spikey Ball of Death!"

Sam snorted, unable to hold it in. He knew perfectly well how stupid and ridiculous it all sounded. "So is that a no?"

"No."

"No?" Sam asked a little shocked.

"Any ideas on where it does gonna happen next?"

Sam sat up, straightening his laptop and a little more than hopeful. "Well no. I mean it's always been just a random gumball tree somewhere in North America. And there's like, what… thousands of them."

"Okay well what about the originating tree?"

Sam nodded fully invested now and pulling up more of his files on his computer. "Well there's been some speculations on that and I've pretty much narrowed it down to a few different cities in Texas… Brownsville, Lyford, Gay Hill-"

"Gay Hill?" Dean asked incredulously.

"And Blackwell," Sam finished taking a long draw from his coffee.

Dean chewed on that for a moment. "And which do you think it is?"

"Lyford," Sam answered immediately.

"How come," Dean asked; honestly curious. His brother just gave him a small shrug, mumbling a casual I don't know into his coffee cup before taking a drink. Dean sighed glancing into his own cup. "Alright."

Sam froze and then warily, "Alright?"

"Alright," Dean confirmed, gesturing toward the laptop as he slid out of the booth. "You get directions and I'll go get our stuff packed and loaded."

"You're serious," Sam double-checked. "You're not gonna walk back in here laughing at me in five minutes?"

"Oh I'm gonna laugh at ya; but it'll be while we're driving down to Lyford."

Sam pressed his lips firmly together and nodded, trying to hold in his excitement. Dean snorted and shook his head as he left the diner muttering to himself, "Gumball geek."

TBC…

(Don't forget to drop a review if you have time. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts so far.)