JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna’s eyes began to slowly fade back to normal as she frowned so hard that it hurt her head. Sam’s begging tugged at her heart, somewhere behind her anger, but honestly, she was sick of being lied to. She was sick of not fitting in with the group, but being kept around as either some sort of weapon…or for sympathy. She was tired of being treated like a kid. Cason didn’t treat her like a kid.

“Why…does everyone around me feel the need to lie to me?”, she panted, taking a deep breath, before sitting down. The bus driver at the front of the bus continued to drive, his trance not broken, as if he was under a spell.

She shuddered, and flexed her fists, the burns on her hands healing. She then wiped her hands on the back of the seat in front of her and turned back to Sam. “When I was high on demon blood, and I was scared and alone, you told me that you ‘used to’ have a problem. You made it sound like it was some thing in the past. You made me feel like it’s possible to not have this issue, while still being useful. You lied. And the worst question comes into my mind and makes me want to kill Ruby.”

Anna wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and thought about her next words carefully, before finally taking a deep breath, “What is she, to you? Obviously she’s…feeding you. I’m not going to jealous girlfriend you, here. I just want you to be honest with me. Don’t bring me back and keep lying to me. If that’s your plan, let me off the bus and I’ll take my chances with Max.”

Dean

Dean wanted to shake his head and tell Nat to stop worrying about his feelings. While he was silently demanding that she acted less reckless and in his absolute best case scenario, Cason would be gone. But this wasn’t some perfect world, and Nat being in his arms was almost surreal, considering how much they had fought in the last few weeks. Cason held her down. Cason kept her alive. Cason protected her from herself, and without Cason, she likely wouldn’t be hugging him. The thought made him sigh.

“I won’t complain about that…” he responded to her declaration to be less reckless. Dean tensed slightly when Cason’s name popped up again and a bit more when she mentioned his time in Hell. He took a long and shaky breath, while holding her tighter. He wasn’t going to talk about Hell. He refused to discuss it, even with Nat. Eventually, everything that he had left out of the conversations would come to light. He just hoped that it would be on his own terms.

His thoughts were broken when Nat shifted and her eyes met his, softening any tension in his body. He smirked, and nodded, “Well, yeah. You’re that much like Sammy. Someone’s gotta keep you guys out of trouble, or you would kill yourselves. Unfortunately, as the big brother, that falls on me.”

A thought came to his mind, and he kept his smirk, to diffuse any thoughts of tension that might crop up from the question he was about to ask. He brushed his fingers across a very visable bruise on her neck and furrowed his brow, “Getting tangled up with demons isn’t safe, though. You know that…like physically.”

He was trying to carefully tell her that he knew about the night before, without opening the most awkward and heated dialogue of the day. As she had stated, he just wanted to keep her safe.

Cason

Cason groaned at the words that left Mika’s mouth first. Of course they were coming back for advice. There was no way that Anna had managed to make it out of a solo trip without being hit up by demons. He just hoped that whatever her need was, it didn’t have to do with their time together before she reached the group. The tension in his head had been building for days, and it felt like something big was coming…and that something big was to do with demons - big ones.

Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, Mika brought up the bigger elephant in the room. Cason tried his hardest to think of a way to lie to her, but it was going to be nearly impossible, judging by the look on her face. The warning that came directly after caused him to roll his eyes. He was very aware that if Dean was to kill him, of course Mika would be on board with all of it. If anyone would understand Cason’s sexual restraint, it would be Mika, though. So, he brushed off her threat, just taking it as an extension of Dean’s blustering. That fight was for if…not when.

Shrugging his shoulders he nodded, “Yeah. We slept together. She was in a bad spot. So, we went out. She had an amazing night and for once, she seemed okay. One thing led to another, and when we got back, it just seemed…appropriate. I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t use any weird demon power on her. I did my best to be gentle, in fact. I don’t do these things with humans, for a reason.”

He stopped and then tilted his head, “You know that I can be safe…”, he almost whispered, bringing up their brief moment together at Bobby’s. He ended the conversation there, and took a deep and shaky breath. At least the revelation had gone better than he expected it to. There was no blow up. Hopefully, this was the beginning of an understanding between all of them, and he could settle here.

Cason followed Mika inside, and the second he made it in, he gestured to Nat, “Can we talk for a minute?”

Duke

Duke relaxed at Esme’s reasonable tone, but the second she took the paper from him, the gasp from her throat caused him to flinch aggressively. He let go of the piece of paper, and grabbed both of her shoulders, leaning his head down to get on her level, as he stared into her empty eyes.

“Esme! Hey! No no no…” he groaned, scanning between her eyes as she stared blankly ahead. And just like that, she came back to him, grabbing onto his shirt. Out of reflex, he wrapped his arms around her, his breathing now coming out in pants as he remembered how to breathe. “Holy shit…”

She echoed his own concern, meaning she had no clue what had just happened. It was like she had a seizure or a stroke, right in front of him. With all the stress from her powers, neither would have surprised him. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath as she blanked out, causing him to shake her one single time before she finally started to talk. “Honestly? As long as you don’t zone out again, I can take anything…”

Listening to what happened, Duke’s eyes darted around her face, trying to make sense of what she was saying. He had heard of this sort of thing before, but not from anyone he was close to. She was seeing the future. He didn’t know how to bridge that conversation with her, and break that news to her, but he had a feeling that he had to rip that bandaid off. The thought of Dean being broken and bloody, and not knowing when it would happen sent a shiver down his spine.

“I um…” he started but broke off. When he found the words for the question, he took his own shaky breath, “Was there any idea of when? Like time of day…anything? Any other faces you could recognize? I’ve only seen this kinda thing once or twice and this ain’t good…”

He frowned slightly and then shook his head, “I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but you just saw the future or somethin’. Something is going to happen, and…I guess we have our answer on leavin’. We just gotta figure out how to handle this, and we gotta figure out how the hell that just happened…and what to tell the others.”

As much as his own emotions were drilling his brain into mush, he was moving into protective little brother mode. If Dean was going to be hurt, he would always be the one to jump in front of that bullet. Between Dean and Duke…Dean would survive. It had always been that way, and it would always be that way. Esme knew this…

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

Anna nodded at Sam’s advice to just keep cool and try to stay aware of the strange man on the bus. Everything in her bones told her that they should avoid the bus altogether, but they had to get back to the group somehow, and it was unlikely Cason would be willing to just pop in, if she called. So, she followed the man onto the bus, keeping her distance with Sam behind her. She watched the man closely for a moment, and then took a seat a few rows ahead of him, dropping her bag on the floor at her feet.

“I mean, at least there’s the good news…you can exorcise demons.” She said offhandedly. She wasn’t sure if Sam’s powers depended on demon blood the same way hers did. She knew they were linked, but the extent of their link was still a mystery. Either way, Hell had plans for them both. The man’s heartbeat rang out in the bus like some sort of pissed-off snake. It drowned out every voice around them and Anna’s heart pounded in her chest with both annoyance and anxiety.

As the bus began rolling forward, the sound of the man’s heart grew louder, and then without warning, he sat in a free seat beside Sam. His hands were in his lap and he was staring straight ahead. Anna couldn’t handle the tension anymore. She turned, leaned across Sam, and asked, “What do you want?”

The man didn’t turn to her. He simply stared forward, as two men took seats behind Sam, reaching over the back of his seat, and wrapping their arms around his neck to restrain him. Anna yelped, and grabbed one of the men’s arms, trying to burn them desperately. It was then that she realized that no one on the bus seemed bothered by them. She stopped resisting and looked around at every single face. The people all sat, fake smiles plastered to their faces as they watched the struggle.

“W-what is this? Some sort of trap?” She stammered, as her eyes came back to the man in front of her. He was now staring straight into her eyes with a weird trance-like smile on his face.

“A gift…from Alastair.” He muttered, pulling a large dagger and slicing his wrist open. A set of arms wrapped around Anna’s chest, pulling her tight to the seat as the man roughly gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open, and began pouring his blood down her throat. Slowly, smoke began to pour from the arm around Anna and the demon holding her began to scream. The scene caused the demon that had force-fed her to cackle excitedly. “Amazing!”

Anna spat what little demon blood was left in her mouth, fury in her eyes as her heart hammered in her chest and her skin simmered with the heat of her blood. Without hesitation, she placed both her hands on the demon’s face as he laughed, melting him right in front of Sam’s face. She looked animalistic as the other demons released Sam and scooted back from him, terrified of the duo together. The melting demon never stopped laughing, “C’mon Sam! Take them out! Massacre them! It’s in your blood! Ruby made sure of that. She made sure you were fed. How much have you drank?! How much…”

With a tightened sudden grip, Anna burned him out, dropping his burnt husk on the floor of the bus alley, panting. She turned to Sam, using the back of her hand to wipe a dark smear of blood from her nose, her eyes solid white as she seethed at him.

Dean and Cason

Dean shook his head at Nat’s argument to his terms. He was unmoving. Cason would die if harm came to her. It was the most he was willing to offer in terms of concession. But when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, he melted into her grip, forgetting all about the situation with Cason. All he could think about at that moment was making sure she was okay.

Her soft mumble made him smirk, and he shook his head against the top of hers, “You’re not a disappointment, idiot. You’re just careless. I should know about carelessness. Keep your nose clean for a little while…that’s all I ask.”

Dean reached a hand up, stroking Nat’s hair as he held onto her tightly. It seemed like forever ago that she was willing to hug him like that, or even be near him for much of any reason other than to argue and bicker.

Cason looked up at Mika as she nodded, nodding back at her, but then he frowned in confusion and tilted his head. Why would Sam and Anna need them to hang back? It wasn’t like there was anything important happening in this town, anyway. But as she nudged her head toward the door, he took the hint and sighed. He knew exactly what she wanted him outside for. She was going to grill him, away from Nat and especially away from Dean.

As Cason followed her to the door, Dean pulled back from Nat, just enough to smooth her hair back from the sides of her face with a small smile, “I’m trying to understand all of this. You know that, right? You understand why this is…impossible for me. Between whatever the hell is going on with Sam and Anna. I mean, she showed up, with Cason. He’s a demon and she’s…whatever the hell she is, which just brings up whatever Sam is. I refuse to let anyone else get hurt by demons while we’re just…fine with it.”

Cason stepped outside with Mika, immediately buttoning his pants and placing his hands on his bare hips with a sigh, “So, I’m going to get the protective mom ‘I’ll kill you’ speech, aren’t I? I mean…hit me with it. As long as Nat doesn’t have to deal with it anymore, I’ll take it.”

Duke

Duke began to smile as Esme confirmed that she would love to run away with him. The urge to scoop her up and run out that door with her was strong, but as she continued, he realized she was turning the idea down. The word ‘but’ hit him in the stomach harder than any demon ever had and his shoulders dropped a bit. He scanned her face as he let her words wash over him, pushing away the disappointment to think with reason. He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued with the absolute truth.

They couldn’t just leave, and pretend that what was happening wasn’t the literal end of the world. Putting on blinders and leaving their friends and family to die wasn’t the answer, here. Even he, a runner, couldn’t disagree with that. Duke gritted his teeth and sighed through his nose, realizing that there wasn’t much way to get away. His conscience wouldn’t allow it.

He leaned his head forward, placing his lips against the top of her head for a moment as he thought it over and she gripped onto his shirt. His mind was made up before she was even able to ask him to stay. He and Dean weren’t as close as they had been all those years ago, but they had sworn to go out in a blaze of glory together, and that’s exactly what would happen if this was the apocalypse.


Duke swept a piece of Esme’s hair from her face and he chewed at his lip, before finally speaking, “We can’t leave…not till we know the job is done. Just don’t seem right to go.” He muttered, turning his gaze to the wall behind her as he thought of what to say, or where to go with his thoughts. After a moment, he looked back down at her.

“Bobby gave me some information about a farm. Apparently, Anna was born there…and had a story kinda like Sam’s. Mom and Dad burned up on the ceilin', burned the house down and I don’t know if she even knows. I don’t know the poor girl too well. But the place is lit up with demon activity and from what Bobby was able to get from the weird nerdy angel…Castiel or whatever, the angels fully expect Dean to handle it.” He finally admitted, turning his gaze down to pull a piece of paper out of his damp pocket. On the paper was scribbled an address for a home in a small town in Western Missouri. “I guess while we make our plans to leave…we can keep him safe, together. That’s takin' care of each other, right?”

He shrugged with a slight glimmer in his eye. If they had to stay, he was going to do some reckless fun in the meantime. Taking Esme with him just kept his head on straight, while he did what he did best. He held the paper out to Esme, giving her a chance to look over it and see if she had any bad vibes before they had to break the news to Dean.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

“Do you remember the demon from Bobby’s? The one that made me drink all the demon blood and made me go all…crazy?” Anna asked Sam, as they walked toward the bus stop. She glanced around her frantically, her paranoia at an all-time high, now that it was evident Hell was in her mind. She paused for a long moment, and then finally took a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s only Lilith that wants to get to me. I hate sounding like the special child of the universe or whatever the hell, but I’m having hallucinations.”

Admitting it out loud just made her feel more crazy. The idea of having hallucinations this far out of drinking any demon blood was terrifying. It was a spiral that she hadn’t planned to have for a while. The closer they got to the seals being broken…and if they couldn’t stop them from being broken, she and Sam would both be targeted more. Knowing what they knew, at this point, either the seals were being shattered left and right, or this was just some wicked pre-game by the demons to tear them apart…to tear her mind apart.

“That woman back there was speaking in tongues. From the way you reacted, I’m assuming you didn’t hear it, which means that she was specifically sent to me, for some reason. I have a weird feeling it’s something big. That’s why I need to talk to Cason. I need to know what he knows about Alastair, and how I can kill him.”

As she finished, she shuddered at the idea of taking on Alastair again, considering how powerful he was. She had beaten him before, only to hear the laughter in her nightmares for months. He seemed excited that she could hurt him. He seemed to want her to be that powerful. Maybe, with Sam, she would be able to kill him…

…but only with demon blood.

She needed to see Cason.

Just as Cason’s face flashed in her mind, a man stepped out from around the bus terminal, as the bus approached. Anna stopped her steps, staring at the man as a quiet hiss could be heard (she wasn’t sure if it was in her brain or not). The hiss was almost rhythmic as if a heart was beating, but so fast that it made a buzzing noise. Was she hearing his heart beating? Was he a demon? The man simply stepped onto the bus as the doors opened, and made his way casually to the back, as Anna stood frozen next to Sam.

“And I think we have company.”

Dean and Cason

Cason’s instincts were to reach out and grab Nat’s arm as she pulled from him, but he stood still, just letting her say her piece. It was obvious that nothing he could say would change Dean’s mind about him. But maybe Nat could get through to him. However, when she brought up the asylum, his blood ran cold and he swallowed heavily. His role in the asylum was a sore spot in his mind, considering how much was taken from him. His rank, his titles, all ties to other demons, and his reputation were carved out of him, one slice of flesh at a time.

Dean narrowed his eyes, watching both Cason’s reaction to the mention of the asylum and also scanning his eyes over Nat’s face. The way she stared down, as if she was terrified of him, made him feel nauseated and if he was honest, broke his heart. Hearing that Cason had risked his own life softened his expression, and the realization that Nat’s attachment was deeper than just ‘fun with a demon’ hit like a truck. She trauma bonded with the guy. He understood that kind of bond better than almost anyone. He had seen it in hundreds of hunter couples. They were the least likely couples in the world, but because of trauma and a shared connection that no one else could see, they worked together. So did Nat and Cason, even if it wasn’t romantic. He sighed, turning his eyes down from her face, to the floor, weighing the options of what to even say in this moment.

Before Dean could even speak up, Cason cleared his throat and chewed at his lip, causing Dean to flinch at the sudden breach of quiet. As Dean raised his eyes from the floor, to look at Cason, his expression neutral and for the first time since they met, not aggressive, Cason spoke for himself.

“I have never lied to you about my intentions with Nat,” Cason said simply. He shrugged and chewed at his lip for another few seconds. “I told you that I would take care of her. I told you that I wouldn’t let anything hurt her. I told you that I would protect her from herself if I had to…and even from you.”

Dean flinched visibly again, and his expression flickered with anger but Cason didn’t give him a chance to respond. He simply reached out and brushed the back of his hand down Nat’s arm.

“I meant what I said. I’ve lost everything. I have nothing to lose by…being a rebel, I guess. I don’t like any of you. I think you’re a lost cause that will only end in misery, pain, and heartache for anyone who ever gets close to you. I feel it from your cowboy down the way, right now. But, I want Hell in ruins, just as bad as you do. If I have to be good to make that happen…so be it.”

Dean sighed and scrunched his nose to pull back his frustration and emotion. After a moment, he placed his hands on his hips and nodded softly, “Alright.”

“Alright?” Cason asked, urging him to continue, for Nat’s sake.

“I don’t like any of this. I don’t like that he was there…when none of us even knew you existed. It’s not fair. It’s not right. But I…I can accept his existence, until the end of this. You’re willing to die to keep her safe?” Dean turned his gaze to Cason, who muttered ‘yes’ without hesitation. Dean nodded again. “You’re a means to an end. We’re not friends. I don’t want to be your friend. If she ends up hurt…at all, you’re finished. You’re mine. Do you understand?”

Cason nodded and shrugged, even though he knew Nat wouldn’t like the agreement, “Seems fair.”

“Good. Come here…”, Dean gestured to Nat, holding an arm out for her to hug him and squash all of this animosity. This wasn’t being the bigger person. This was creating an insurance policy and making sure that at least Nat would stay. He needed some time to process what Cason meant to her. Helpful or not, getting involved with demons wasn’t high on his to-do list.

Duke

Duke stayed completely still as Esme began to approach him. He didn’t know how to react to her staying silent. It wasn’t in her nature to just kick his ass, but it crossed his mind. The thought almost made him smile under the cover of his hat. But then he felt her warm hand against his cheek, and his breath hitched. He trailed his eyes up until he could see hers, and melted into her touch a bit as she began to speak. She wasn’t forcing him out. She wasn’t pushing him away. Instead, she was, with her body language, inviting him back in. He was almost emotional with his relief, letting out a shuddered sigh as she kissed his face.

“Esme…”, Duke whispered, involuntarily arguing with her kindness as his eyes fluttered closed for a split second. He opened them, just taking in her words. It was possibly the first time he could remember another human having any faith in him, whatsoever. It was the first time another human was willing to let him try to take care of something, with no disregard for his feelings or what he wanted. For that, his heart nearly exploded. The overwhelmed feeling only grew as Esme wrapped her arms around him, and the warmth of her body flooded through his numb and cold chest. He wrapped his arms so tightly around her that he was almost afraid he would hurt her.

“I don’t know that I’m the most trustworthy person to try and help anyone. I mean, Bobby says all the time he wouldn’t trust me with a puppy, much less another human. It's why I prefer to do things alone, most of the time.” Duke spoke softly, feeling rather small in his vulnerability. But the longer he held Esme against his chest, the closer to real everything felt. But then an idea that had been nagging his brain crept in again.

“We could leave together.”, he whispered. His heart began to hammer in his chest the second the words left his lips. The idea of running away together was not likely to go over well. Esme was close to Dean again. Together or not, they were on the same path…again. He squeezed her a bit tighter for a few quiet seconds and then pulled back from her, holding her by her upper arms, as his sad and teary eyes met hers. “We could take care of each other and we wouldn’t…we wouldn’t be in danger all the time. You know, just straight demons and vampires without all the angel stuff. I thought about it while I was drivin’ and I don’t…I don’t know if I’m any good to them. But I can be good to you…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna

As Sam and Anna walked out of the motel room and onto the narrow sidewalk outside, Anna frowned at the sight of a woman standing there. She was barefoot, staring straight at the brick wall in front of her, and she seemed to be mumbling in…Latin. Anna stared at her for a few moments, as a ringing began in her ears. In the ringing, there were slight whispers in various ancient languages, of which she could make out her name a few different times.

Entranced, Anna’s eyes dilated, and she began to rock on the balls of her feet until the woman turned and looked at her. At first, the sound out of her mouth was a loud hiss, which caused Anna to flinch, stepping closer to Sam. But the woman simply smiled and spoke softly.

“Such a lovely couple…”, she cooed at both of them, as Anna’s heart hammered in her chest. Outside of Anna’s head, the woman had simply been closing her motel room door. She was not speaking in tongues, and Sam likely wouldn’t have noticed anything was off at all. But to Anna, this seemed like some sort of omen.

“No. No. No. Not today. Not today…” Anna whispered to herself wiping a hand over her forehead as she squeezed her eyes closed and stepped away from Sam. She felt as if she was going insane, and maybe she was. Maybe the demon blood was finally beginning to seep into her mind. Maybe she needed demon blood to calm herself down. But she couldn’t do that. Drinking demon blood made her psychotic and uncontrollable. She turned and pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes still squeezed shut. “I hate to say this…but we need to tell the group to stay put. I need to um…I need to see Cason.”

Dean and Cason

Dean growled softly and scowled down at Mika, as she pointed a finger at his face, scolding him for defending Nat against a demon. But Cason seemed to back down as soon as he realized Mika was even somewhat on his side. He shrugged his shoulders and relaxed, smirking at Dean. He unfolded his arms, however, and turned with his eyebrows raised as Nat’s voice rang out from behind him. His expression was full of admiration as he watched her approach them and nodded along with her words.

“I mean…” he muttered.

Dean cleared his throat loudly, fully considering killing Cason right in front of Nat and just dealing with the fallout. Mika grabbing his hand told him that even she was going to protect the loser. There was a delayed reaction to Nat’s words, but the words hit Dean directly in the chest as Mika furthered what she was saying about their dad. Dean tilted his head back and took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger. He squeezed Mika’s hand tightly, and turned his eyes back to Nat, just in time to see her wrap her arm around Cason’s. His hand tightened slightly in MIka’s, and he cleared his throat.

“So that’s it, huh? I just have to deal with him…because what, he made you feel warm and fuzzy? What exactly happened last night, between you two? You don’t so much as hug other people, pretty much the entire time I’ve known you. And now, suddenly you have a cuddle bug. That cuddle bug just HAPPENS to be a demon.” Dean ridiculed Nat. As he spoke, he stepped away from Mika and into the room, finally and Cason straightened a bit more.

“It’s complicated.”

“It’s complicated…right. Nat, what’s going on? If we’re gonna bury whatever this is, I need some…honesty. Is that a lot to ask from all of you? Can we be honest with each other? I don’t know what the hell is going on with my brother, or his…half demon girlfriend. I don’t know what’s going on with my sister, and all I’m asking for is for us all to be on the same page. If we need to fight, let’s fight. If we need to separate for a while…well.” Dean took a break and a deep breath and raised a hand to invite Natalia to explain. “What is going on with you?…right now.”

Duke

Duke stood outside the door, the rain pouring off his hat like waterfalls. He didn’t know how Esme would take him coming back, or if she would even want him to come back. When the door opened, his heart jumped into his throat, expecting to see a very hurt and possibly angry Esme standing there. Instead, there was no one. Or rather, there was a Hellhound, he realized as his jacket was tugged and he was forced to walk through the door by Sarah’s strength. The water from his hat continued to cascade around his feet, wetting the carpet as he stood there, staring at Esme’s back.

He gently sat the food down on the dresser, unable to hold onto anything as his hands began to shake and Sarah made Esme aware of his presence. As she stood and turned to him, Duke’s heart leaped into his throat once again and his throat began to tighten with tears he wanted to keep away. He tilted his head up so she could see his face from under his hat and he nodded.

“I came back. I don’t um…”, he stopped his words and sniffled, as his curly blonde hair dripped daggers of cold water around his neck. “I um…I don’t know if I can run. Not this time. I don’t know how to say sorry about it or anything. I was just hopin’ you’d let me back in. You don’t got much of a reason to. I’m not a team player. I obsessed over you for years without sayin’ anything. I almost get killed every time I pick up a knife. I don’t sleep. I barely eat. I’m a mess…”

He took a deep and shaky breath, wrapping his arms around himself like a nervous child. His hat covered his face and he cleared his throat. “But I wanna figure out how to…take care of you. I wanna figure out how to stop runnin’.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason’s shoulders relaxed a bit when Nat admitted that she slept okay. He hadn’t noticed as much thrashing and screaming as he had expected. So, he had to believe her. For the most part, she had slept like the dead, from the outside. He couldn’t help but notice that she was disassociated and fell into her thoughts for a moment. Watching her eyes, his brow furrowed but then she pulled back and sat up. He followed her, sitting up against the headboard of the bed.

“Ah. Yes! The parents…”, Cason groaned, his annoyance clear in his voice. But she was right. Dean would likely come barreling through the door, as if he was a child with no knowledge of privacy, any second now. “Although, you could just stay in bed and let them find out the hard way that um…I’m not going anywhere.”

He laughed softly, thankful that he had at least partially redressed during his boredom, while Nat was sleeping. He didn’t feel cold the way humans did, but he felt oddly vulnerable, lying on the bed in his boxers after she stole the sheet. At her words, however, his eyebrows shot up and he laughed with his whole chest shaking his head, “Unfortunate consequence of…demons, I guess. Must have been a bit…excited.”

He laughed again and waved off her concern about him being nice to Mika and Dean. He didn’t intend to start a fight today, but, Dean was Dean.

Just a few moments later, the dreaded knock came and Cason rolled his eyes but stopped his movements when he heard Mika’s voice. Dean had sent Mika? That didn’t seem right. Dean was the nosiest person on the planet and the one person in this group who wanted Cason dead the most. He stayed still for a moment, hoping Mika would take the hint that maybe Nat was asleep. But instead, she knocked again, confirming that Dean was not with her. Cason stood from the bed, swiping his jeans from the floor and slipping them on over his legs. He didn’t bother to button or zip them before opening the door and leaning against the frame with his arm above Mika’s head.

“Well, hello there. I didn’t expect you to show up this morning. Where’s the puppy?” He teased her, giving his most dazzling smile as he scanned over her head to look for Dean. Little did he know, Dean was against the wall to the side of Mika, and as he spoke up, Cason literally flinched.

“He’s right here. Where’s my sister?” Dean asked him, more of an order to answer than a question. Cason turned his eyes back down to Mika’s face, biting his lip.

“She’s in the shower. She knew you were coming. So, if you wanna come in, come in. If not, we’ll be over in a few minutes.” Cason shrugged and dropped his arm from the doorframe. Dean let a low growl leave his chest as he glared at him, and then he looked at Mika.

“Why we ? Why can’t you just go do something, away from her? It’s not like we’re going to hurt her.” Dean snapped and Cason sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Hurt her? No. Lose her or casually forget she’s there so that she gets hurt? It’s the Winchester way.”

“You’re treading on some thin ice.” Dean snarled, clenching his fists to which Cason shrugged his shoulders.

“Then kill me. See how that goes over with your sister.”

Anna

Anna believed Sam, but only to a degree. She knew that with everything going on, and with what Lilith had said to her, his brain had to be moving a million miles per hour. Then there was the looming question that she wanted to ask him about demon blood, and if she could be of use if she could just get ahold of some…without going off the rails and turning into a raging psychopath. With Cason around, it might not be the best of ideas, but it was something she wanted to ask about…at another time.

But Sam saying he was alright was enough for her, at that moment. She didn’t want to press him super hard when she had scared him to the point of following her to California. She couldn’t even bother to think about what the group must be thinking of her, abandoning them and taking Sam away, all in one swoop.

She simply nodded, her eyes fluttering closed as his lips pressed to her forehead. The gesture, along with a simple ‘I love you’ sent her heart off in a race, like the first time they had touched hands. She sighed and for a moment, she felt safe. He was safe. She was safe. They were together and no one could rip that from them.

“I love you.” She murmured, and then sighed at his next question, shrugging her shoulders gently. “We don’t have much of a choice, do we? I’m sure they’re headed somewhere. Maybe we could meet them there.”

Deciding to be the one to move first, she carefully removed her hand from his face, and rolled off the bed, onto her feet. She flattened Sam’s flannel against her chest and slipped her feet into her boots, before stepping away from the bed to at least try and do something with her thick and messy hair. She settled on pulling the hairtie from around her wrist, throwing her hair up in a loose bun on the top of her head.

“I mean, I look like a hobo, but I think I have the right. I ran away. They’ll probably be surprised I’m so clean…” She teased, turning to Sam and holding her arms out to her sides. She then crossed her arms over her chest and chewed at her lip, “What are we going to tell them?”

Duke

Duke grimaced at Esme’s words. She was right. If he didn’t have a clue where he was headed, maybe he was just…running. He was good at that. He stayed completely still, just staring at her as she explained his thoughts back to him, almost word for word. He needed to figure out if he had a role to play, here. If he wasn’t needed, or if he could do better somewhere else, he could leave then. But the tendency to run was still nagging at the back of his mind, like some sort of addiction.

However, when she stepped away, his heart sank. Instantly, that familiar feeling of mourning crept back up in his throat, like the day that they all split up. He had mourned them as if they were dead and he had missed them both, every day. He would never tell Dean any of this, however. But if this feeling was any indicator, he didn’t like it. He felt like he should run after her, grab her, kiss her, and tell her he would stay forever. But he couldn’t move from his spot.

In frustration, he balled up his fist and banged it against the side of the truck, opening the door. He just stood there. He could get in this truck and just drive away. Cut clean and run. But he stood there, holding the cool metal in his hand. But then Esme came back.

“I don’t want support…” Duke whispered, as Esme stepped away for a second time and he was left standing there, holding the decision against his chest, like an anvil. After a moment, he gritted his teeth, and stepped up into the truck, slamming the door behind him. He needed to drive and think. Even if that’s all he did, it’s what he needed.

—-

About an hour later

Pulling back into the parking lot, Duke parked close to the Impala and shut off the engine. He reached over in the passenger seat and grabbed the bag of food and the crumpled-up note where he had information from Bobby for the Winchesters. Obviously, he would have to wait until Sam got back, but at least it gave him time to either convince Esme to leave with him or convince himself to stay…and help.

He walked up to the door of her motel room, took a deep breath, and shuffled his boots against the concrete before bringing his hand up to gently knock.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason chewed at his lip as he stared at the ceiling, basically waiting for Natalia to wake up. He didn’t know what was going to come from all of this, and honestly, he didn’t know what he had originally expected from that first kiss. All he knew, was that Natalia needed someone. She was broken, and he had seen the darkness that broke her. He had held her in his arms while she broke apart in front of him. In a small way, he felt obligated to take care of her.

Then there was the fact that he felt drawn to her personality. It was an emotion he didn’t recognize, as a demon. He had cared for Anna, but it was more of an…obligation to keep her safe. With Nat, he couldn’t place any of the emotions. He didn’t even know who to ask about them. He was just…drawn to her. He felt as if he would gladly die for her.

As the thoughts flooded his mind, Nat stirred against his chest, and he brought his hand up from the mattress to stroke her hair with a small smile, “Good morning. Where else was I going to go? I mean…you gave me plenty of reasons to stay, last night.”

He chuckled and tilted her head up to cover her lips in a gentle kiss, inhaling deeply as he took in the comfort of her still being in his arms. After a moment, he broke the kiss and smirked, “How did you sleep?”

Dean

Dean sighed, as Mika teased him. He was so high strung that he hadn’t even thought of how she might have slept, or if she slept. He shook his head, and sat up, roughly scratching the back of his head. But before he could apologize for ignoring her ‘good morning’ time, her words washed over him and he furrowed his brow, turning to look at her face a bit closer. He tried his hardest to read her expression, to see if he would be overreacting to worry about Nat in the moment. Her lazy shrug told him that the answer was ‘yes’, but he was worried nonetheless.

“I didn’t even think to check last night.” He grumbled, wiping a hand down his face in annoyance. Nat being up so late was odd for her, unless she was drinking, in which case, she usually wasn’t alone. After their fight, it didn’t surprise him that she would have trouble sleeping. The problem, in his mind?

She was with him.

“I feel like you should probably go. If I go over there, and he’s there…I don’t know if I can control myself. But if you go, at least there’s a buffer, you know? I promise to keep my cool and I promise that I won’t kill him, if he’s there.” He finally stated, giving his most convincing smile. He knew it wouldn’t convince Mika anymore than he could convince himself if he looked in the mirror. If Cason was with Nat, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t fly off the handle and kill him.

Anna

Anna barely felt Sam move, as he woke up. She was sleeping so hard that she didn’t even dream. The exhaustion from the day before had broken her. However, as the atmosphere of morning overtook the room, she began to stir and tightened her grip around Sam’s waist with a soft groan of annoyance, “It’s morning…”

She had no idea what had happened after she fell asleep the night before, but she could feel the tension in Sam’s muscles. She could feel the way that his breathing seemed a bit deeper, and more stressed and moreover, she could hear his pulse. Something had him rattled, and it may have been the entire situation that they found themselves in, or he may have been having anxiety from having to go off and find her.

But it felt like something bigger. She lifted her hand and placed it against his jaw, pulling his face to where she could see his eyes head on, “What has you thinking so heavily? Did you sleep?”

Duke

Duke stopped, just as he lowered his backpack into the bed of the truck. He felt the cold rush of a chill run down his spine as Esme’s voice broke the ambient noise of traffic and morning silence. He tilted his head downward, tapping his fingers on the side of the truck bed for a moment as he thought of what he could possibly say to her, after promising to stay. He wasn’t one to break a promise. But before he could say anything she continued, essentially speaking the words that were flooding through his brain. He had never intended to stay.

He closed his eyes, taking in her words, and opened his mouth to try and explain himself, but what could he say? He was leaving because he felt useless in this whole thing? He was leaving because being close to demons on a personal level was just a bit much for him? He was leaving because he felt he could be more use, just working for Bobby and doing his thing?

Or he was leaving because falling in love with his best friend’s ex girlfriend just seemed like a not so subtle stab in the back, considering he had thought about making his move while they were still together? Yeah. That was part of it.

“I don’t know how to explain any of it.” He almost whispered in between Esme’s questioning. He stepped back from the truck and crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his distance. He stared at the ground in front of him, shielding his eyes behind his cowboy hat as she began asking the real questions. He gritted his teeth and shook his head.

“This whole thing, what you have here, it used to me my life. I used to matter to Dean and you and all of this. And then we all split up and things got bad and I’ve been better on my own for a while now. Things are simple. They are quiet. I don’t have to wonder where I stand with people and to the people I help, I matter.” He explained calmly, although his voice rose just a bit in frustration. “I don’t want to take all that safety away from you. And I don’t want to intrude on what he has, either. None of them want me here…”

He kicked the pebbles in front of his boots in frustration and shook his head once again, lifting his chin to look at her, “I don’t even know where I’m goin’. I have no idea where I’m goin’…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason’s fingers tapped against the edge of the window as they pulled into the parking lot of the motel. He honestly didn’t know what he wanted to do for the rest of the night. Part of his brain was telling him to stay, just to make sure that Natalia was okay. The other part of his brain thought that this might be the perfect place for a clean break. He could watch her from afar. He could make sure she was safe, but without the danger of being so close. It wasn’t like he needed her to fall for him or anything, even if he was the one who initiated contact.

Nat’s voice shook him from his thoughts, and he raised his eyebrows, turning to face her. Chewing at his lip, he tilted his head to the side, contemplating his answer. “I um…”

He turned his head, to stare out the windshield of the car for a moment, still contemplating, until she confirmed that she wanted him to stay. With a heavy sigh, he shrugged, and pulled the handle, stepping out of the car. He straightened his jacket, and walked around to the front of the car, waiting for her. Once she joined him, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I can stay. I mean, the worst that’s going to happen is that your brother storms in, and I disappear at the last minute and make him look like a jackass.”, he laughed, and reached a hand up, brushing a strand of her hair from her face. He tucked it behind her ear and trailed his thumb down her jawline. “But I’m tempted to do something stupid…”

Cason chewed at his lip a bit, studying her face. A few silent moments went by, as he tried to talk himself out of his impulses. Without saying another word, he leaned in and covered her lips in a deep kiss.

Dean

The next morning, Dean opened his eyes with a groan. He brushed his fingers lazily over his bare chest, and squinted at the brightness of the sun that seemed to turn the wall into a spotlight. He tried to move his other arm, but it was pinned down. Turning his head, he smirked, seeing Mika’s hair, messy and sticking to random places on his chest and face. There was no way in hell he was waking her up, after all the drama of the day before.

The drama.

He turned his eyes toward the ceiling and sighed deeply. He needed to get up. He needed to go and make sure that Nat was okay. Or maybe he just felt compelled to make sure Nat wasn’t okay…with Cason. It was ridiculous. Even Dean knew that. Cason wouldn’t hurt her, or at least it didn’t seem that he would. But Dean couldn’t shake the feeling from the back of his mind that the demon was somehow using the women in their group to feed them straight to Lilith. It didn’t seem that farfetched.

Lifting his shoulder slightly, he nudged the side of Mika’s face, “Hey, sweetheart. It’s probably time to check on the kids…”

Duke

Duke laughed, tilting his head back at how excited Esme became when she realized her car was going to be safe, and likely to receive its much-needed repairs. He watched her closely as she walked around to the driver's side, causing him to push off from his spot and follow her. What she said next made him roll his eyes, and he shook his head.

“Nothin’ that was said on that phone or by me…says we have to go back to the motel without getting food. I think after all that effort and hell…the shock of it all, maybe we should at least hit a drive-through. I just don’t like the idea of us sittin’ out here like ducks, waitin’ for another crop of idiots to come through, thinking they’re gonna take you away.” He rambled, waving his hand around. He then shrugged, kicking a foot against the rocks on the pavement.

He was half tempted to call Dean and see if he and Mika wanted to go get something, but he also didn’t know the full chaos that was happening with them. Being a family again was probably not…going to happen, now that Mika was back in the picture. Esme’s voice dragged him back from his thoughts and he nodded.

“Of course, I’ll grab ‘em. Not that I don’t appreciate seein’ you in my clothes.” He replied to her with a wide and bright smile. Despite the night, he was still in pretty good spirits. As long as no more surprises popped up, it was unlikely his mood would shift much. He jogged around to the back and hoisted her bags and anything he could gather into his arms, bumping Sarah on his way by. Although his heart lept into his throat, Sarah didn’t react horribly. She just huffed and stayed firm in her spot. After gently hoisting the bags over the side of his truck bed and then jogged back over to Esme.

“Let’s go get you one of them burritos you like so much. I’m sure there’s somewhere around here that sells at least…something that resembles food.” He chuckled, deciding to push all of his fears and possible bad thoughts to the back of his mind.

It could wait for the morning.

———-

The next morning, Duke woke to quiet. No one was yelling. Obviously whatever war was brewing the night before was no longer on the horizon, or at least was being slept on. As he opened his eyes, he stared into the darkness, toward the ceiling, and then internally groaned as he glanced toward Esme.

As much as he didn’t want to leave, they weren’t going to be able to create the family they had before. He knew that. She obviously knew that. This was never even part of his plan, to get caught up with the Winchesters again, and get his heart broken…again. Yet, the odds of her leaving Dean, again, seemed slim. He had work to do. He had people that depended on him.

But did he? No one had called him for a few days. His phone was quiet. But maybe Bobby needed his help…

…no…

He was looking for a reason to leave. Whether or not that was because of Esme’s powers, or how insanely in love with her he was, he didn’t know. Running…was just his nature, at this point and he had learned from the best.

Carefully, he dropped his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He quickly dressed himself, grabbed his backpack, snatched his hat off the dresser, and carefully slipped out the door of the motel room. If he thought too much about it, the decision would tear him apart. He could explain himself later, but for now…he needed to go, even if he didn’t know why.

If you like Vampire Romance stuffs…

You should read and follow my story on Kindle Vella 🥰

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B0C3ZKX345

The first three chapters are free and chapter four will be 10 tokens and is released Friday.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

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.

Dean

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.”

Duke

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…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Cason

Cason smirked when Nat seemed to be ripped from her thoughts to order food. Though her order caused him to scrunch up his nose. They were direct opposites in their taste in food, which didn’t really surprise him. Her brothers were both walking heart attacks, especially Dean. At least Sam seemed to try to take care of himself. But when she pulled her wallet, he began to protest, holding up a hand until she spoke. He sighed and dropped the hand, and glanced around, “Fine…”

He gave a small smile to let her know he wasn’t upset, and as the food came up and they were ready to go sit down at a table, he reached for the food. Nat grabbed all the food she could carry, causing him to reach a hand out to try and keep her from dropping half of it on the ground, but with a small chuckle, he shook his head and reached back for the rest. Nodding politely to the cook, he followed her away toward the tables.

As he approached, he realized she had sat her puppy in one of the chairs, and once again, he couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head. He pulled one of the chairs and sat down, setting the food down on the table between them. He carefully pulled his fries toward him, making sure that he got the right ones, and quickly pushed one into his mouth. While was chewing, he leaned forward, “You really should eat better if you wanna live past forty, you know…”

He chuckled and tapped his fingers on the table, “I mean, we’re just now getting to know each other. I would hate something as boring as a heart attack to take you out.”

Dean

Dean smiled brightly, not entirely sure if his mood was a good one or just an obligatory positive one, due to all the human stress around them at the moment. Honestly, monster stress was easier to deal with, by far, than human stress. At the suggestion that giving her the choice of movies was a bad idea, he laughed loudly, and shrugged his shoulders, “Honestly? Even if the movie makes me wanna vomit, and I have issues staying awake or quiet because of how stupid the relationships are…it’s still better than any drama. I’ll take what I can get.”

As they walked into the gas station, his smile remained on his face. When she let go of his hand, he watched her head straight for the snacks, a moment that reminded him of the old days for sure. She was always the snackier of the two. He preferred actual pastries and pies, where it seemed Mika could fill an entire room with snack wrappers, and never even feel it in her gut. He stepped away from her with a wave at the suggestion that he go get the pizza and beer. Dean stepped over to the beer cooler, reached toward the bottom and pulled a case. Letting the door slam, he walked up to the counter, where a nice lady already had her book ready, having overheard him and Mika speaking.

“What would you like?”, she asked him in a sweet voice.

“Well, hello, sweetheart! We’ll take a pizza with basically whatever you got…”, he ordered, figuring that Mika could just pick off whatever she didn’t want, the way they always did. The lady blushed and nodded sweetly at him, walking away from the counter. Dean lifted the case of beer onto the counter, and then turned, leaning against it while he waited for Mika to finish finding her snacks.

Anna

Anna listened to what Sam was saying, but after the stress of the day, she honestly couldn’t think of anything she wanted to say about the drama. In fact, she was kind of excited to get back and just experience the tension…something normal. She watched Sam’s face for a while, a small smile on her face as she just took in all of his features, and concentrated on his fingers brushing her hair and her face, “Well, when we get back…I can’t wait to hear the girl gossip, if Nat is willing to talk, considering her thing with Cason.”

She smiled and closed her eyes. After a few moments of him being back in bed and close to her, she slowly drifted off to sleep. No dreams. No visions. No nightmares. Just sleep. She would wake up the next morning barely remembering falling asleep.

Duke

Duke held onto Esme, trying to ignore how helpless he felt. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know what would happen when she exploded, if he couldn’t bring her back from that edge. He gritted his own teeth a bit as she tightened her own grip on his arm. He didn’t move. He only provided as much support to her body, “I got you. C’mon…just hold on.”, he grunted, before she warned him, and her head fell back onto his shoulder. Duke’s heart began to race, and he glanced over in Sarah’s direction, hoping that whatever this was couldn’t hurt her. Esme would never forgive herself, if she hurt Sarah.

Before he could really warn Sarah or even react further, the explosion happened. He growled loudly as he clenched down on Esme, half trying to cover her head, as if this was something around them, and not from inside her. He faintly heard the screams of the demons that were lurking in the woods, mentally noting that at least they wouldn’t have to deal with them. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to fight today.

As things settled, he panted, dropping to his knees with her in his arms. He wasn’t just going to let her smash her face on the pavement, even if he was a bit freaked out. As he pushed Esme’s hair out of her face, Sarah showed back up and he took a big deep breath, calming his own heart a bit. He had to figure out how he was going to handle this, or Esme would start to push him away, and as usual, he would let her. When she asked if she had scared him, he swallowed heavily, looking off into the distance for a moment to try and find his words.

“Um…yes. But, it was bound to happen eventually…”, he panted, with an incredulous chuckle. He took another deep breath, trying to steady his breathing as he placed a kiss to the side of her face, “I um…I need a bit of a chance to process the whole thing. Not the wierdest thing I’ve ever seen. Definitely the weirdest from you…but I um…I think I’m okay. And you didn’t kill me with it, so that’s a plus.”, he explained breathlessly, finally breaking a smile as he processed things behind his eyes. He wasn’t upset or ready to run away from her, he was just genuinely confused as to what her powers…meant.