JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

At the garage, Dean walked close to Lexi, making sure that anyone inside the place knew that she wasn’t alone, and she wasn’t going to be swindled easily. Dean narrowed his eyes, as Lexi seemed a lot more irritated about the price of the repair than he had expected, meaning that he probably should step in and complain on her behalf. Though, judging by the look on the man’s face and how easily Lexi conceded to pay, Dean didn’t think she would want him to step up. So, he didn’t. He just watched her pay with his hands on his hips, sizing up the man that took her card from her.

As she turned to Dean, he sighed and ran a weary hand across his eyebrow, “I can almost guarantee you it will. They’re charging you so much, because they want to scare you away from bringing it back. Mark my words.”

He followed her to her car, holding his hand out to open the drivers door when Lexi’s phone went off. He breathed a small sigh of relief that Sam and Anya seemed to be okay, and were on task, and probably about to be on their way home. He opened Lexi’s car door, sending back one warning glance to the mechanic who seemed to be having issues keeping eye contact with Dean. He then patted the side of the door and gave Lexi a small smile, “Keep close. Keep your phone out. If anything sounds off, call me and I’ll pull over. Just get it back to the garage. I want to look it over myself.”

Dean paused before he pulled away from the car door, “Please…”, he muttered with a toothy smile, being sickly sweet to Lexi in hopes that she would allow him to be paranoid.

Anya

Anya finished up, the artist waiting to put a film over her tattoo, until she could look it over in the mirror. She raised a hand and snapped to get Sam’s attention, smiling softly as he came over and she turned her back to him, showing him the tattoo. She kept the smile on her face as Sam paid for it, and the artist went to work on getting her bandaged up. After flattening the clear bandage, and making sure none of it was stuck to Anya’s hair, the artist sat down and waved at her. Politely, she smiled brightly and waved back before pulling herself close to Sam’s side and following him outside.

Anya slipped her arms back into her jacket as they stepped outside, and she pulled her phone from her back pocket. She glanced across the top of the car as Sam texted Lexi and Dean, opening her car door after a moment and sitting down in the seat. As soon as Sam stepped into the car, he mentioned heading back to the bunker, and Anya gave a tiny pout to the thought. She knew that the demon info from the motel had rattled him, but Dean didn’t seem too worried about it. So, why wouldn’t they just act normal.

She reached across and tapped a finger on the back of his hand, drawing his attention, before pulling her hand back and typing.

“So, no carnival? Dean didn’t seem too panicky about the danger out here. We have a bit of time and I would really like to go with you for some fun, just for a bit.”

She pressed play, giving Sam her best puppy dog eyes, the bright blue in her eyes screaming in the dim light of the car. She then typed without looking, “And we can pick up some pie for Dean.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean fought the urge to frown at Lexi bringing up the way that Sam spoke about him. It wasn’t that surprising. His personality irked the hell out of his brother plenty of times, and almost got him killed just as many times. But it was a reminder that Lexi was Sam’s friend first, and a lot of the things she knew about them and their dynamic was from Sam. He smiled a little wider when Lexi admitted to being stubborn. She was indeed the most stubborn woman that he had known in a long time. No one could top Mika, but Lexi was damn close.

“I have a bit of a thing for stubborn women.” He murmured with a wide smile. Lexi’s phone ringing pulled their eyes apart and Dean sat back a bit but didn’t move from his spot. He just watched as Lexi spoke on the phone, making sure that it wasn’t bad news from anywhere, or that Sam wasn’t calling with a problem. But from the sounds of it, it was good news. Dean raised an eyebrow, asking quietly what the call was about when Lexi explained that her car was ready.

With a relieved sigh, Dean nodded, “Yeah. Yeah we can go grab it. I wanna check it over, anyway and make sure they didn’t mess anything up. A woman dealing with a garage usually never ends well.”

He reluctantly pulled away from Lexi, and glanced around the table for his car keys. He found them with his eyes, over in the corner of the map, where Sam’s were missing. Dean was really tempted to pick up his phone and text Sam, just to make sure he and Anya were still good to go, but he also wanted to give them space. Demons weren’t after them. They were after Dean. He was the one who needed to look over his shoulder, for now. With the first blade in the trunk, worst case scenario would be if he had to use it.

“Alright. Keys are acquired. Let’s get some clothes on and we can head out.”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke and Dean

Duke tilted his head to the side as Esme asked if he thought he should ask more questions about the necklace and he ran a hand over his mouth, thinking it over, but he paused as she agreed that she was up for a party. She was going to go out…with him. He had done plenty of groveling and keeping his hands to himself over the past couple of weeks. Taking her out for the night, dancing and drinking and having fun was almost his consolation prize for being ‘good’.

“Well. I can call the old lady back, ask her what the necklace is, if she’ll tell me. Then we can get you somethin’ to wear.” Duke chimed in as Esme turned to Dean. He also turned his eyes up to Dean, giving him his best puppy eyes from under his hat and Dean sighed.

“I have to wear a tuxedo?” Dean asked, popping another piece of candy into his mouth as Duke nodded at him, a mischievous smile on his lips. “And you’re good with wearing a dress?”

Dean’s eyes turned down to Esme’s face and raised his eyebrows, making sure she was a hundred percent okay with dressing up and going out. After a few moments of glancing between Duke and Esme, not able to deny Duke’s excitement, Dean shrugged.

“How hard can it be to steal one necklace? Did she say where it would be?”

“Locked glass case with an alarm. Ten seconds, and either one of us can have that thing in our pocket and ready to go.” Duke quickly explained, holding his hand out to emphasize his confidence. Dean shrugged again.

“Alright then. Let’s go shopping. But, I’m gonna drink and I definitely want some of those finger foods. No questions…” Dean grumbled, stepping away from the wall. He walked over to Esme, placing his hand on Duke’s shin to lean down and peck her on the lips quickly. “I’m gonna go shower and get dressed. Then we can haul ass out of here. Don’t forget your wire kit?”

He pointed a finger at Duke and Duke tipped his hat, “Gotcha brother.”

As Dean stepped away and toward the stairs, Duke leaned in close to Esme with a bright smile, “So, if I’m helpin’ you pick out a dress, I vote for somethin’ that’s gonna make your eyes pop. They’re awfully pretty not to use against the old men at the party. There’s no tellin’ what they got in their pockets.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke laughed softly as Esme looked over the sandwich he handed her, as if Bobby was going to poison her. He tilted his head back and pointed at the sandwich, “I watched him the whole time. Completely drug free, I promise.”, he muttered, nodding as she thanked him for bringing her food. It was the smallest of gestures, considering how long he had wanted to just take care of her in full, on his own.

“You’re welcome…of course.” He murmured. As she asked him if he wanted half of her food, he frowned, and shook his head. But he did answer her request to sit next to her, closing the small gap and lowering himself onto the bed beside her. He scooted close to her, and draped his arm over her thigh, looking down at the sandwich.

“No, I do not. I would rather you just eat somethin’ and let me have my greasy breakfast in the morning. I’ll survive the night. I promise.” He smiled softly, reaching up and removing his hat. He tossed it over to the sink, and leaned back to her, “And you’re in a lot worse shape than I am. A little food…a little rest…take care of yourself, please. I’ll give the eyes. The eyes get you every time.”

He chuckled, tilting his head forward to look up at her from under his eyebrows, his blue eyes soft and pleading, “Please take care of yourself? For me?”

Dean

Dean didn’t even have a chance to respond to Castiel’s request…or rather his order to come with him. Mika said exactly what he was thinking in his mind. He was spent. He was tired. He was a little hungry and he just wanted to go to bed. Whatever was happening with Alastair, if the angels had him, he was going to be in the same position in the morning that he was in at night.

“What she said. Call me in the morning, or show up…just not in this room. You need to learn about personal space, man.” Dean softened his eyes, trying to give Castiel a little grace as he and Mika explained humanity to the angel. Castiel let out a frustrated sigh, and he turned in a circle, holding his arms out to his sides as if he was going to argue, but Dean continued, “I’ll come with you tomorrow.”

“But I can’t take you both. I can’t. My superiors…”

“Screw your superiors. Try that for once. Make a decision that’s going to piss them off. Kick up a little dust. C’mon…you want me to trust you.” Dean stepped forward, pointing at Cas and Cas turned his eyes to the ground, “Then trust me. Whatever you have planned, Mika won’t hurt anything by just…being there. If anything, it’s another set of hands against a demon who is likely trying to outsmart you, right now.”

“Alright! Fine. The girl can come with you. But she cannot be involved. She cannot touch anything. And Sam? He needs to stay away.” Castiel finally conceded and Dean nodded in a wide and resolved way. He held his hand out to Cas and Cas narrowed his eyes.

“Great! Sam’s not even here. He doesn’t have to know about any of this. Come back after we eat breakfast, and me and Mika will be ready for our little road trip. Deal?”

“I’ll be back tomorrow. Be ready. Be rested and fed. It’s going to be a long day, Dean.” Castiel said simply, and then he disappeared with the flutter of wings. Dean sighed, dipping his head before turning to Mika.

“Well…so much for two days, right?! Dicks.”

Cason

Cason smiled softly and tilted his head to the side to kiss Natalia on the top of her head as she laid down on his chest. He reached his hand down and made sure that the blanket was secure around her shoulders, before wrapping his arm around her, holding her tight to his chest. At her words, he shrugged his shoulders a bit and turned his eyes toward the wall that was furthest from the bed, “I wasn’t going anywhere. I could feel the anger and concern vibrating from him, and I’m not even really privy to that kind of power. It was just a vibe. I’m not leaving you outside in the cold with a pissed off brother…”

He chuckled, keeping the chuckle light so he didn’t move her head too much. After a few moments of quiet, she began to tell him goodnight, and he noticed that she had dozed off. He smirked, and brushed a bit of her hair from the side of her face with a sigh, “Goodnight sweetheart…”

Anna

Anna lay there, her arm slung over Sam’s chest as her head rested against his collar bone. She listened intently to his heartbeat, as it thundered in his chest and began to slow along with his breathing. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to try and slow her own heart as her eyes burned with sleepiness. She scooted a little closer to him, deciding to just give into the sleepiness and she buried her face in his hair, against the side of his face with a soft sigh.

But when he spoke up, she smiled happily, knowing that he rarely saw a smile from her, but maybe he could feel it against his jaw as she nuzzled into him, “I agree. We should really start spending more time in our room when we’re on the road. Just a thought.”, she joked with a small scoff, trailing her fingers up and down the other side of his jaw soothingly. After what only felt like seconds, she began to drift off, in her happiest of places, buried in Sam’s hair. The smell of his shampoo was the best aromatherapy, and would probably always be calming to her, along with the stubble that tended to grow along his jaw. She fell into the first deep sleep she had experienced in what felt like months, right there…safe.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean was so thankful to see Esme smile, considering the tension that had just left the lot and disappeared into the RV. He was a bit afraid that between Duke being drunk and Rachel showing up, Esme’s mood would have soured further. But it didn’t seem so, as she stayed close to him. The dynamic did seem at least civil, he had to agree with her. It was all he could ask for, after Duke had run off and come back in such an odd mood.

“Well I’m glad.” Dean barely breathed, nuzzling her nose with his. When she thanked him, he raised his eyebrows in a bit of surprise, but her lips on his shut up any witty remark he was planning to say. He breathed out softly through his nose, bringing his free hand up to brush her hair back from the side of her face as he smiled into the soft kiss.

“So, I know you just woke up from a nap but um…” Dean pecked her lips a few times and his smile turned mischievous, “But I think I could potentially give you a good reason to walk back up those stairs with me. I can think of a few reasons, actually…”

Dean smiled brightly, and he kissed her passionately for a moment, before standing and dragging her with him toward the stairs.

——————-------------

Duke

The Next Morning

Duke shook awake with a small shudder, realizing that the source was a tuft of hair blowing in the wind from his small fan, right against his bare collarbone. He groaned, moving his hand down from above his head to brush the hair away. His head was pounding, and he had no idea who was in bed with him but as he opened his eyes, he let out another groan.

He had avoided Rachel for a reason. He didn’t know how to leave her, but he didn’t know how to stay with her either. She was a sweet girl, and she deserved better than anything he could offer, but she was crazy about him. She nuzzled into his chest, as he mulled over an exit strategy and Duke sighed, carefully lifting her arm from him.

“I’ll be right back.” He whispered against the side of her face, pressing a soft kiss there as he carefully scooted out from under her, and then rolled off the bed. He quickly picked up his pants, slipping them over his legs and buttoned them, snatching his phone from the small table he had apparently thrown everything onto the night before. He exited the RV in a fog, his head hazy from a hangover as he stumbled down the stairs barefoot and closed the distance to the kitchen door. As he opened it, he didn’t look up, simply walked over to the kitchen counter, bending over it and sent Dean a text.

SOS. I need you to come get Rachel. I don’t want to tell her to leave. Please. I owe you one.

Two Weeks Later

Duke placed the ‘friends and family’ phone back on the wall, and he tore the piece of paper he had been writing on from the pad on Bobby’s desk. With a loud cackle, he stood quickly from the chair and practically danced across the living room floor to where Esme was sitting on the couch.

“You’ll never believe who I just got off the phone with.” Duke beamed, his smile bright and his blue eyes twinkling in the dim lighting of the living room. He flopped down on the couch beside her, and draped his legs over hers, tilting his hat onto the back of his head as he waved the paper in her face. “So, one of Bobby’s swanky friends needs us to pick up something for her. She said she’s sending a picture over. She didn’t say why she needs it, but I don’t care because guess where it is?!”

Dean stepped into the living room, and he just stood against the wall with his eyebrows raised in suspicion, “What’s got you so keyed up?”

“We’re going to a party, brother! Rich people everywhere. Money. Like real money. Tuxedos. Dresses. Jewels. Champagne and those little finger foods you love? Don’t that sound amazing?! I can steam the black hat. We can get all dolled up and all we gotta do is steal one tiny…little…necklace.” Duke practically screamed at Duke, his wide smile causing Dean’s lips to turn up in a smile of his own as he rolled his eyes.

“And what’s so special about the necklace?” Dean asked, popping a piece of candy in his mouth as he frowned curiously at Duke. Duke shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t know. Didn’t ask. We get the necklace and we get to party. That’s all I got.”

“When?”

“Tonight.” Duke beamed again, looking back over at Esme. “You up for a party?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean flinched as Lexi pulled back to look at him, and his last words were obviously what did it. He couldn’t decide if it was a mistake to let her know how he felt, or not. Judging by her words, and her refusal to allow her to push him away, maybe the timing was bad. He would much rather suffer in silence, than have her killed because of her own stubbornness. But the longer she spoke, the more his face softened. He couldn’t imagine saying anything cruel to her just to push her away. He had hoped that telling her how dangerous the situation was would do the trick.

He just didn’t have it in him to be hateful, anymore…not toward someone he loved. He sighed and tried to interrupt her, “Lexi…”

But she doubled down, making it clear that she was there, no matter what. She wasn’t leaving. He would likely have to tie her up and drop her off somewhere in rural central Kansas to convince her to leave and he wasn’t even sure that she wouldn’t just find her way back to the bunker anyway. He placed his hands on her thighs and brushed his thumb across them, looking away from her eyes for a moment as he thought about his next words. He wasn’t the ‘I love you’ type. It took a lot to pull the words from his throat, and he had managed to break one of his long standing rules thanks to whiskey, fear, and a host of other emotions.

“Lexi, I…” He started, trying to find his words as her lips pressed to his, and he kissed her back, letting his eyes flutter closed at the welcome closeness. Sure, he wanted to push her away, fly her to Egypt, anywhere that wasn’t right next to him as the worst of the demon crap crashed down around him. But there was just no way. She wouldn’t leave willingly, and he didn’t have it in him to push her out with his old ways. He was too tired. As she pulled back from the kiss, he tightened his fingers around her thighs and sighed. “I’m sorry. I just want you to know what you’re getting yourself into. That’s all. I want you to keep yourself safe…and to let things play out how they will.”

He leaned a little closer to her, trying to salvage some part of the day without everything being quite so heavy, “But now you know everything. No more secrets. No more confusion. You know everything I do. Do you um…do you wanna do some work? I make a decent sidekick. But until Nat gets here, we can’t really do much. I need the intel.”

Dean smiled softly, and he leaned in, pressing a gentle feather light kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry. Can you forgive me for…being me?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean let the air hang around himself and Lexi as she took in the words he had spilled onto her. He hoped that his words didn’t come across as too scared, although in reality…he was terrified. He didn’t feel like himself, if he was anywhere near the first blade. He felt like all there was…was rage. As the silence hung heavy in the room, he suddenly heard the wheels of her chair rolling across the concrete floor and then her arms were around him and Dean melted into her touch a bit. Every part of his brain told him to push her away, to tell her to run or to break her heart to where she didn’t have a choice but to leave. It was his way of spiraling right back into the mode he needed to be, in order to get things done. If there was no one for him to hurt, he could handle being reckless. He could handle dying, if it was necessary. But knowing that he would possibly leave someone to deal with the same grief that had eaten him alive, it complicated things.

Lexi saying that she wasn’t leaving caused Dean to bury his face in her shoulder with a shuddered sigh. This was his time to force her to go, but he didn’t. He just let her talk. She said what he had kind of feared she would say. She wasn’t leaving. She wanted to help him, although that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her on the moon, if it would keep her away from all of this.

As she pulled back, Dean’s eyes scanned between hers, and he swallowed down emotion that was threatening to bubble up and roll down his cheeks, right in her hands, “I don’t um…I don’t want you to help. I don’t want you anywhere near this, Lexi. You have to understand. This is…this is probably not going to end well. And if this goes wrong, I don’t want you to watch me die. Understand?”

He took a deep breath, and leaned his head forward, pressing his forehead against hers, “And I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt…or worse. I think it would kill me, at this point. I don’t think I would survive losing someone else I love.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean turned his eyes from the bottle of whiskey, as Lexi’s hand came forward and she moved it away from him. He had to admit that the temptation was there to fight her over the bottle. It was his fall back to wash the emotions back down that he didn’t want to deal with. But then she began to speak, and he looked up, catching her eyes. If it was Sam telling him this, he would have already rolled his eyes, scoffed, grabbed the bottle and disappeared into his room, but he pressed his lips together and nodded at her words. Obviously, she had some experience with those same habits. Maybe her advice was exactly what he needed…

Her words about them having a lot in common rang true. She understood a lot of what he was going through, but there was still a huge secret lingering in the air that he didn’t even know how to bring up. He was swimming in grief, but he was also dealing with a constant rage that he struggled to swallow down. Mix that with a self sacrificial death wish that tugged at his chest every single time he left the bunker…he was a wreck.

He squeezed Lexi’s hand, matching her soft smile with his own and he nodded, “You’re right. There’s plenty of crap to dwell on. The past isn’t exactly something we can afford to get lost in, these days…don’t I know that…”

Dean’s brain flinched, and his ears rang a bit when she brought up the mark on his arm. He hadn’t exactly hidden it, choosing to ignore it and not bring it up, in hopes that she would just think it was some kind of weird remnant of a hunt from days long past. He thought about it for a moment, and he sighed, “Well…that story might sour any hopes of a good moment we might be having here.”, he finished his words with an incredulous chuckle, turning his arm over while still holding her hand. He looked over the mark and took a deep breath.

“But…if you’re going to stick around, now would be the time to scare you off.” He started, looking back up at her face. He scanned between her eyes, trying to decide how to tell her, and finally settled on just telling her straight out, “It’s the Mark of Cain. Like…THE Cain. There’s no good explanation for how I got it, other than I needed a means to an end for a really REALLY bad demon problem. So, I let a demon…”

Dean paused, as the words made him feel a little like an idiot, “I let a demon manipulate me into taking the damn thing. Now, the big bad demon is dead, the tool I killed her with is locked in the trunk of my car, and I’m stuck with the mark and all the crap that comes with it. I should have told you earlier…things are bad, Lexi. I wanted a normal few days. I wanted to feel human for a bit. But things are really bad.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean watched and poured himself a bit more whiskey as Lexi looked at the photos he had placed in front of her. As she commented on Anna being adorable, Dean nodded and a fond smirk covered his lips. She was adorable. She had hated him off and on the whole time that he knew her, but she never failed to stick up for both he and Sam. She was a needed light in Dean’s life that he had taken for granted, a lot. There were times he was tempted to reach out to her, but with his connection with Sam, he resisted bringing up any bad memories for her…or any temptation for her to come to Kansas. He nodded his head in a wide, and exasperated way when Lexi stated that they should hope Anna didn’t show up at the bunker.

“Yeah, well…she avoids Kansas just as much as Sam avoids Colorado. They both know how things are with them.” He grumbled, taking a small drink. He paused his drink as Lexi pulled a photo of Dean and Mika, his heart falling into the pit of his stomach. He tilted his head back and pressed his lips together with a small nod, “Yeah…yeah that’s her.”

His voice was more hoarse than he had expected, emotion threatening to break that really pretty barrier he had built between himself and handling her death. He liked not thinking about it, but he knew that eventually, there wouldn’t be much of a choice. He would have to try and move on. Eventually it wouldn’t hurt so bad, but he couldn’t imagine what that day would even look like. As Lexi patted his thigh, Dean perked up a bit and he nodded, watching her with a furrowed brow as she stepped away from the table and headed down the dorm corridor. Right on cue, his phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, looking at the screen with a frown.

He read over the message a few times, suddenly a bit worried about Anya and Sam being out alone. Sam could handle himself against a demon, but Anya was new to all of this. He didn’t even now if they took weapons with them. He pushed down the worry and texted Sam back with a deep breath.

‘Just take care of her. Make sure you have what you need to keep yourself safe and move normally. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And keep her close, Sammy.’

He sent the message and laid his phone back on the table as Lexi came back, a pouch in her hands. Dean turned to look at her, following her hands as she pulled a photo and pushed it toward him. His chest clenched as he realized she was opening up about her own loss, and they had reached a point of actually sharing their big traumas with one another. Hearing her correct herself into the past tense, Dean could feel the struggle in her voice and he knew that struggle well. It took a long time to be able to refer to Mika in the past tense, and he wasn’t even sure he could in normal conversation…even now.

He picked up the photo and took in how happy the both looked. The photo was beautiful and it captured Lexi’s real and natural smile to a fault, something that almost pulled a smile onto Dean’s lips. But as Lexi spoke about him, he realized how much their emotions and their loss echoed one another, “It does look like a happy day. Like…you look genuinely happy. I’m so sorry you lost him.”

Dean looked up from the photo, and he took a deep breath, scanning her face as she took a drink. He could tell that she was on the verge of becoming emotional, and he fought down his own lump in his throat, laying the photo on the table in front of him before drinking down the last of his second glass of whiskey, “That’s why we keep them, the pictures. Happier times and all that. It’s how we hold onto them. I’m sure Sam would rather I got rid of them all, but I can’t. You shouldn’t…”

Thinking of everything they had both lost, Dean was reminded of Sam’s text and he absentmindedly glanced at the mark on his arm, glaring in the dim light of the bunker. He rolled his arm just a bit, trying to ignore it as he tapped his glass on the table, tempted to pour more whiskey.

“Moving on is tough…” He randomly muttered, staring the bottle down with his eyebrows raised.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke smiled brightly as Esme agreed to not only allow him to take care of her, but that it would be ‘absolutely wonderful’. Taking care of her was now his life mission, outside of all the hunting and the chaos in their lives…he just wanted to take care of Esme. He never thought she would come back to him, after the way the three of them separated. He honestly never had plans to see her again, but all their pieces had fallen into place. If there was a God, he was definitely on board with whatever this plan was…

As Esme sat down and Duke clearly heard her stomach rumble, he tilted his head and frowned, trying to remember if Bobby had anything in the fridge that she could eat. Duke was fine with his usual late night whiskey to hold him off until morning, but Esme was hurt and exhausted. She needed food, sleep and maybe a giant gallon jug of water that he would never convince her to drink.

He smiled sweetly and nodded, “You got it. I’ll be right back. Don’t…”

As he started to order her to not fall asleep and to get comfortable so she could rest, she read his mind and he simply nodded, turning to open the door. He jogged down the RV steps again, closing the door quietly, and he cleared the gap between himself and the house. He didn’t bother to look around the lot, figuring that everyone was already getting ready to go their separate ways…into peace. As he walked into the kitchen, Bobby had already come inside, and was making himself a sandwich at the counter. He turned his head and smiled at Duke, who stepped up next to him.

“You got it in you to make one of those for my very tired lady out there?” Duke asked Bobby with a smile, and Bobby chuckled, tilting his head back and forth in a mocking way as he pulled more bread from the bag in front of him.

“Never thought I’d see you guys so close again. It’s almost like a flashback, just with less awkwardness on your end. It’s nice.” Bobby chimed in his opinion of Duke’s relationship with Esme. Duke smirked, thinking back to how gentle and timid he was with her back before the big breakup. He was scared to even touch her, and the thought almost seemed foreign to him, now.

“Yeah, well…I think she would hold me hostage and make me get over it if I even tried to be shy around her, now. Life’s too short.”

“Speaking of life being short. You doin’ okay?” Bobby asked as he finished making Esme’s sandwich. Duke paused, glancing down at his stomach with a deep breath.

“Yeah.” He let the breath out as he said the word. “Good thing about dyin’ and coming back is there aren’t a lot of memories, ya know? I’ll be alright. I always am.”

“And you always bottle up whatever that is that’s buzzin’ around under that hat.” Bobby pointed a knife toward Duke’s hat and he sighed, cutting the sandwich in half, before handing the plate to Duke, “Let’s not do that anymore, while you got her back, alright? You ain’t gotta shoulder all that heavy stuff by yourself anymore, Jason.”

“I know…” Duke sighed, taking the plate from Bobby. He clapped a hand down on his shoulder, and simply turned, walking back out of the kitchen and to the RV. As he opened the door, he plastered a smile on his face and then hopped inside, holding the plate out in front of him. “I brought a Bobby special!”

Dean

Dean raised his eyebrows as Mika explained that she had helped Duke get Esme to the RV and that she had had a ‘good talk’ with Esme. The thought of the two women agreeing with each other, after the jealousy spill and vitriol that had flooded the house earlier in the night almost seemed like a miracle. Dean tilted his head, pressing his lips together tightly, impressed that Mika was trying to get along with her. It was definitely a start. He was proud of her.

When she explained where Sam took Anna, Dean took a deep breath and he let it out through his nose. Sam was likely more angry with him than he had been in a long time. Dean had lost his cool and assaulted Anna, which he didn’t even know he had in him, at this point in his life. He couldn’t allow himself to chalk the reaction up to trauma or any other excuse. He had simply lost his cool, and she was the first nail the hammer saw…and the only clear one for him to blame for his own mistakes. The thought cramped his stomach and he had no idea how he was going to apologize for the way he spoke to her, or physically hurt her.

“Yeah. He’ll cool off and come back…hopefully.” Dean muttered as Mika explained that Sam was just angry with him, and she was right. Sam always seemed to cool off, take a swing whether verbally or physically, and then he and Dean were able to reconcile. Dean just hoped that having someone to run away with, Sam would actually come back, this time.

As Mika turned and cupped his face in her hands, Dean watched her eyes with a slightly furrowed brow, nodding at her words. Truthfully, he was exhausted all over again, and he wasn’t even sure what was coming for them. He didn’t know what they needed to prepare for, and that was mentally exhausting all by itself, “Alright. Let’s go get some sleep…I promise I’ll sleep.”

Hearing her say the words ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m proud of you’ after what had happened earlier in the day made his heart flutter in his chest, and his eyes softened as he stared into hers. He took a deep breath, and reached out, turning her around to wrap his arms around her from behind as he awkwardly walked them toward the stairs, “I’m going to try to be more…open. It seems to get me further with all the women in the house. But thank you, for being my voice of reason. I don’t know what I would do without you…”, he chuckled against her ear. He released her shoulders, placing a hand on her lower back as he guided her up the stairs to her room. As he reached the room, he pushed the door open, only to see Castiel standing there at the foot of the bed.

“I thought you might be coming to this…room.” Castiel muttered as Dean stepped in, and immediately stepped in front of Mika, even though he trusted Castiel. Dean frowned and shook his head.

“No. No no no. You’re not here for anything good.”

“No. I’m not. You need to come with me, now. Just you. We have Alastair and the garrison seems to think you may be our key to…understanding him.” Cas explained simply, glancing over Dean’s shoulder at Mika before meeting Dean’s eyes again as Dean shook his head and laughed.

“Don’t angels know all about him, by now? I mean, it’s not like he hides what he wants. He does…what he wants.” Dean shook his head incredulously, and Castiel didn’t move. He simply tilted his head to the side and he squinted at Dean.

“But you know him better than anyone. That’s why you need to come with me.”

Cason

Cason stepped away from the car he had been standing against while Natalia and Dean had their heart to heart. He was so thankful she was back. He was getting worried about the cold air, and her possibly getting sick, but he didn’t want to force the conversation to end. So, he had bit his tongue, but he wasn’t planning to do that much longer, “Yeah. Let’s get you inside before you freeze to death. This is your daily reminder that even though you’re hanging around a demon? You’re still human.”

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around Natalia’s waist as he led the way across the lot, ready to get her all bundled up in bed, preferably in his clothes, and resting. She may have had a pretty long nap that morning, but humans needed sleep-sleep. And sleep-sleep wasn’t something Nat had experienced in a while, that he could remember. As Mika and Dean crossed through the kitchen and into the living room, Cason pulled the kitchen door open and stepped inside, pulling Nat with him.

“Now. Warm house…time for warm bed. No pit stops until we get into the room.” Cason teased Nat as he walked across the living room to Bobby’s room, and pulled Nat inside. He closed the door behind him and quickly shrugged his jacket from his shoulders, quickly followed by his shirt being pulled from his head. Once her ‘pillow’ was sorted, Cason walked over to the bed and he flopped down, stretching his legs out and placing his hands behind his head, “Bare chest…just waiting to be laid on.”

Anna

Anna hummed her approval as Sam finally confirmed her words with a simple ‘mine’. She shoved at the waistband of his jeans, letting him take control in pushing them down his own legs and eventually, she heard his belt jingle as his jeans hit the floor. Her body erupted with goosebumps again, as his fingers trailed up her thigh, causing her mouth to fall open against his lips briefly. As his fingers made contact with her bare skin so that he could unbutton her jeans and push them down, she lifted her lower back from the bed, reaching a hand back to shove at the denim until it was far enough down her legs that she could shimmy them down to her ankles and then onto the floor with his pants.

It was then, mostly skin on skin that she melted into him. For once, they were present, there was no lingering fear of death hanging over them, forcing them into each other’s arms. There was no fear of dying, and never experiencing each other, like their first time together. There was just…this. No fear. Nothing but their bodies fitting together as if they were puzzle pieces, designed to snap right back into place…a perfect fit.

Anna opened her mouth to catch her breath, and she weaved her fingers through Sam’s hair, pulling his head back enough to look at her. She smiled breathlessly up at him, “I love you so much…”