[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme saw Duke's brow furrow when she told him she knew he loved her before he confessed to her. Yes, he had been very careful about the way he looked at her around Dean, and the way he touched her, and the glances that would have given him away. Being an Empath, she could feel just how strong his feelings were for her back then. Duke being unaware that she knew was no surprise to her. She and Dean had never told Duke she was an Empath. They had wanted to but were never quite sure how he would have taken it. Dean had said nothing out of respect for Esme and knew she was the one that wanted to tell him when she felt it was the right time. But the right time never presented its self in her eyes before the three of them went their separate ways and lost contact with one another. She often wondered if it had been a good or bad thing she never told him. 

When Duke turned his hand over and wrapped his fingers around hers, she tensed ever so slightly as she had continued to talk. Before Esme closed her eyes, she had even felt his emotions change before she saw his eyebrows raise when she told him she had been afraid of losing him that day. To be honest, she was terrified of losing him that day and had become much harder that day to hide it. She could still feel the burn in her chest and the ache in her stomach that day brought on whenever the memory came flooding back into her mind. Something else she never admitted to either of them was, she loved them both. She loved them both with every fiber of her being, and at the time, the only family she had because her father and she were on the outs. So, of course, she was terrified of losing him as he laid there bleeding from the stab wound in his abdomen. She still considered Duke and Dean her family and the only family she had now, but wasn’t sure if they still saw her the same way after everything. 

To be even more honest with herself, being back around both stirred things up she had pushed down after she had left. She still loved both of them, and it was fully clear to her now that nothing would change that, and she was almost sure she felt a spark of something from Duke. When he spoke and smirked, Esme could feel the smirk as she sat there with her eyes still closed, but couldn’t return it, it hurt too much to. When Duke leaned forward and pressed his forehead against her gently, she tensed a bit more, but couldn’t pull back. As he continued to speak, she closed her eyes tighter as she listened, a sigh escaping her nose. Yes, it was in the past. Yes, he put her on the spot that day, and yes, it had made her act a bit differently around him afterward. But it never changed how she felt about him, it just made things slightly awkward. When he said he was there now, she had to wonder for how long. 

She had just barely caught him tell Dean and Mika he would stick around for a couple of days. Just what was a couple of days to him now after all this time apart? She gave a slight nod of her head in response, though, and it made her happy he was. Even though she was timid of his touch, she felt more at ease with him there, like she didn’t have to worry about certain things as much. Not to mention, it would be highly awkward if Cason were there instead of Duke tending to her injuries. Duke, tilting his head and carefully kissing the tip of Esme’s nose, pulled her from her small train of thought, and caused her breath to catch as her eyes flew open. It wasn’t something she was expecting in such a tense moment between them, but that didn’t stop the small smile coming to her lips at his words. “O...Okay.” she replied, a little softer than she intended. “If I share, you have to share too.” Pulling her head back and tilted it up slightly, unintentionally brushed her nose against his as she did so. 

She froze after she had pulled away and averted her gaze from him. “S...Sorry.” she whispered. Looking down, she noticed her hand was still in his, with his fingers still wrapped around hers. She couldn’t help but noticed how small her hand looked and felt within his, and how he held it within his. Taking a small breath in to clear her thoughts and collect herself, she looked back up at Duke, giving him a look that said she was ready for him to stitch her up, just like she used to. She turned her gaze once again, slowly pulled her hand from his, and prepared herself.

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After Duke had stitched her up, he left her side and headed into the bathroom to draw her a bath. As she sat on the bed waiting and collecting herself once again, she would occasionally look towards the bathroom to watch Duke. When not watching him, her mind would drift back to times of their past together before he confessed his love for her. One came to mind that made her look back to the bathroom at Duke and laugh softly to herself. “Do you remember that haunting the three of us went to check out at a bed-and-breakfast in Salado?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips. “Everything about that case was strange and ended up going sideways for a bit. I still don’t know how we got the job done and got out of there with only minor scrapes and bruises.” She dropped her head and shook it softly at the memory before looking at him again. 

“Then we went back to our room to get cleaned up and changed before going out for a drink. I ended up getting drunk off my ass and I think I pissed a few people off, too. The two of you had to carry me out of there. Everything after that is a bit of a blur.” she laughed. “I’m still wondering if I truly did get drunk because I don’t remember drinking that much, or did I get roofied by some Asshat and was lucky you two were there?”