Smirking sadly, Dean swallowed, pursing his lips at her words.  He was happy to hear it.  But something inside him still believed that they shouldn’t have even been allowed to be near each other, much less convince each other of something as heavy as love.  He glanced down at her lips, and then back into her eyes as he admitted his train of thought, “But you shouldn’t.  Isn’t that what the problem is?”

He didn’t want to kill the mood, but he also wanted to make sure the at they weren’t pretending everything was perfect too soon.  He brushed his thumb down the side of her face, smiling sadly once again.  This time would be different.  This time, he would keep to himself, shoulder what he needed to shoulder, and let go anything that he would normally explode over.

At least that’s what he told himself, in his mind.

“I never say the words…not because I don’t think it.”, he explained, “But because of what it means, to other people.  I love you…more than any person in this world, save Sam.  But that means the world ends, when you’re in trouble.  When you cry, I feel like my heart is ripping out of my chest and being run over by a train, or something.”

He laughed sadly, peering into her eyes, “And while I want this…I know what this means, for you.  It means if something happens to me, you’re alone.  It means that every time I mess up, and forget that I’m not supposed to grift anymore, that I don’t have to, we’re going to end up tearing each other apart.”

He spoke honestly, which was rare.  But he had to get some of this off his chest, before he exploded.  His fleeing brain wanted him to kiss her, and just get back to business.  But enough was enough.  She needed to hear it from his mouth.