[h3] Cason [/h3] Cason listened to her explanation for the meal, wanting to stop her and tell her she didn’t owe him an explanation, but she felt like she needed to. That meant that she felt at least a little of what he was trying to convey. The thought caused him to smirk, echoing the look on her face, “I’m just saying that it’s probably not the best for your gut to eat all that grease. But for tonight? Knock yourself out. At least you’re not washing it down with whiskey, this time.” His smirk faltered just a bit when she mentioned every meal being like her last, as he was quickly reminded of how lucky she was to even be alive. He dropped the subject, and placed the soft smile back onto his face, and simply watched her as she took in the lights and sounds around her. If she was happy, for now, he was going to let her enjoy it until she had her fill. —— Cason laughed genuine laughs as she enjoyed herself, taking in every smile on her face. Taking in all the new kinds of laughs that could replace her screams in his mind when he thought too hard about her. And by watching her, he began to feel an odd pain in the pit of his stomach, something like attachment or something. Maybe it was the food. Then again, food never affected him. The feeling was unpleasant, but at the same time, he was relaxed and just wanted to spend time around her. It was odd. As they walked back across the parking lot, Nat’s skipping made him laugh a genuine laugh, his arm moving with ever bounce of her skipping. She just seemed so happy. He didn’t even want to break the silence that seemed so high and happy, but then she stopped skipping and thanked him. At first, he shook his head, but she was walking backward in front of him. The action tempted him to reach his hands out to make sure she didn’t fall on her ass. Before he could do that, she stopped, causing him to quickly pause and then kissed him. His eyebrows rose, and his eyes closed as he inhaled a deep breath through his nose, kissing her back. He was more than surprised at the action, considering the entire blow up at the motel had started with him kissing her, “Um…y-you’re welcome.”, he muttered, opening his mouth and giving his own small smile. When they arrived back at the car, he flinched and raised both his arms away from his sides as she fished her keys out of his jacket pocket, and he chuckled nervously. She was becoming very comfortable around him, which he both loved and hated. She was unpredictable and exciting, and honestly…intoxicating. Her leaning into the backseat and buckling the plushie into the seatbelt caused him to raise an eyebrow with a confused chuckle, and then her explanation caused his laugh to get a bit louder, “I never would have guessed that a plushie could do much damage. I honestly thought you were just looking out for his best interests.” He shrugged his shoulders and laughed again, but then he remembered she had the keys, just as she was running around to the drivers side. He held his hand up and opened his mouth to protest her driving, but she once again stopped him, and he couldn’t argue with her. He hated driving, “Better you than me. I’ll guide you…if you forget. Just don’t kill us. Well, don’t…kill yourself.”, he finished with a chuckle, opening the passenger door and sitting down in the seat. [h3] Dean [/h3] Dean raised both his eyebrows and pursed his lips in a shape that almost said ‘what is all this for’ as Mika brought all her snacks to the counter and laid them down on the surface. He looked over all of the food, and chuckled, “I’m not judging. It just looks like enough to feed an army. I mean, getting some of Nat’s favorite food seems like the best idea, considering she basically hates everyone in the universe and she’s out with a demon. Not like he eats…”, he grumbled, the grumpy feeling he had left at the motel trying to bubble up in his stomach again. But then Mika mentioned pie, and his eyes lit up, “You got the pie!”, he exclaimed happily, scooting a few of the snack items away, and pulling the pie boxes toward him. Before he could get too excited about the pizza, the lady came back and slid their box of pizza onto the counter with a smile. “Here you go sweeties! I love your hair. It’s just so unique and pretty. You don’t see girls like you around these parts often…”, the lady mused as she punched the pizza price into the cash register, “Is this all together?” “Yeah. Everything on the counter…”, Dean laughed, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. The lady scanned everything, and looked up at Dean, and then to Mika, as if she was just so happy to see two people together. Dean handed her his card, and as she took it, she winked at him and glanced toward Mika, which caused him to blush, “Don’t worry…most of this is for her.” [h3] Duke [/h3] As soon as Duke felt Esme’s forehead press against his neck, he took a deep breath, calming his heartrate a little more as he closed his eyes. His breath almost echoed her own sigh, although a bit heavier. He chuckled tiredly as she began to explain, but he dropped the smile from his face as she started to go through what had just happened. Truthfully, he just wanted her to take it easy until he was confident she wouldn’t fall out on him. She felt a bit weak, and judging by the stutter in her voice, whatever had just happened…hurt. She spoke his fears out loud, reading his mind. Truthfully, he was waiting for her to push her away, to give him a reason to leave, or to leave herself…like she had all those years ago. It wouldn’t surprise him a bit if he lost her again, and had to convince himself she was probably dead, “Well, I ain’t like all those other people. I know you inside and out and…”, he started to explain, but Esme turned, and he scanned her face with a serious and convicted look on his own. As she said that she wasn’t planning to push him away, he pressed his lips together firmly and took a deep breath through his nose, in pure relief, “Good…” The feeling of Esme’s hand on his cheek caused Duke to close his eyes, leaning his face into her touch a bit. He frowned though, as she began to explain that he could leave if he wanted to. The fear that she had somehow read his mind, and knew that he had been thinking of leaving without even telling her bubbled up in his chest and his slowly opened his eyes, just as she said the words ‘i love you too much’. He pushed aside that stinging fear and shook his head, taking another breath, before simply stating in a quiet voice, “I’m not gonna go nowhere without you. If I leave, you leave…” There wasn’t much time to dwell on the subject, and Duke decided to hold off on that discussion until she was in better shape, as her body language worried him. As she released him, he perked up at her instructions, ready to help in any way he could, though her words rang like an echo in the back of his head. He nodded at the instructions, and slowly walked her back, until she was able to lean her back against the side of the car, holding his hands out as he released her to make sure she wouldn’t fall. He then stepped around the side of the car to the passenger side, and opened the door, quickly flipping open the glove box. He spotted the chocolate bars immediately, along with a small bottle. Snatching them, he quickly shoved them in his pocket, before leaning over, and pulling her keys from the ignition. He pocketed the keys as he stepped over to her, chuckling at her question as he pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and ripped it open, peeling back the wrapper and handing it to her, “I think that if I called him and said I had a problem…and I wanted to cash in some son points for my girl, he would be a little more inclined.”, he laughed softly, and pulled the pill bottle from his pocket as well. He read the label for a moment in the dim light of the moon, before shaking two pills into one of his hands, and holding it out for her, “I don’t have nothin’ to drink. So, I hope dry is alright.” With a wince and an apologetic look, he finally pulled his phone, and dialed Bobby’s number. Within 15 seconds, Bobby had already agreed to come get the car, and had told Duke to never apologize to him again for needing help, as he was the easiest of the boys to deal with. He rarely needed anything. He closed his phone with a proud laugh, and turned his eyes up to meet Esme’s, “Bobby said that if we wanna go back to the motel and get some rest, he’ll come get the car. It’ll be safe at his place, and we can go get it in a few days…”