Dean stepped away from the counter and smiled when she reacted to him telling her he was proud of her.  He leaned in and gave her a grimy kiss on the lips, before talking against her lips briefly, “Well, I want to watch.  Every step of the way, saying goodbye.  Saying hello.  All of it.”

He kissed her one more time, rubbing his dirty nose against hers and smudging a bit of black against it.  When he noticed what he had done, he laughed with full teeth, his head thrown back, and tried to clean it with his sleeve, only to make it worse.

“Oh jeez.”, he giggled, looking down at his shirt.  He looked back up at her apologetically, “I need a shower.  Then I want to watch this change.  You’re welcome to join…or watch…or do whatever it is that Mika does.”

He opened the fridge, shoving his pie on the top shelf with the first phrase, then turned and placed his hand on the counter with the second phrase, before finishing up by booping the end of her nose.