Lexi even surprised herself when she said she wasn't sorry for Dean kissing her, she was even more surprised at herself for leaning in and kissing him yet again but she wasn't regretting it in the slightest. She couldn't deny her attraction to Dean any longer and she knew she couldn't keep telling herself 'no' for the rest of her life either. She let him let go of one of her hands, liking how his hand felt on her cheek as she too deepened the kiss back, following his lead gladly.

The feel of someone's lips on her, the intimacy of the very action felt almost alien to her but it was so welcomed by her head and heart. It made her feel wanted and needed all over again, a feeling that she hadn't realised just how much she craved for all this time until now. Yet despite all that she still found herself mentally praying to her fiancee's soul wherever it ended up that he was okay with her finally making a move to move on with her life.

She could feel how the kiss was deepening more and more and getting more heated in the process as her hands had found their way round his waist from when he pulled her incredibly close to him tightly. She wasn't ready to go any further with him, so when he broke it off and nuzzled her nose with his as their forehead remained in contact with each other she couldn't help but smile as she caught her breath. As she heard him speak she opened her own eyes and looked at him unable to stop the small smile that appeared on her lips when he told her she could stay.

There was some part of her that wanted to stay more than anything, especially now. She couldn't keep living the hunter life solo, she knew that deep down. Yet another part of her that was worried about letting someone else back into her life even if this time round it would be another hunter and a hunter that was reknowned in this industry for surviving just about anything. Despite all of that though, she wanted to know Dean more just like he wanted to know her more and that need to know him and be around him was stronger than her other concerns and worries.

"I'd like that" she replied to him with a smile unconsciously leaning her face more into his hand as he stroked her cheek. She then consciously lifted one hand and placed it over his own, but kept both their hands on her cheek. "I'd really like to stay actually. I can only go solo for so long before loneliness gets too much to bear" she told him honestly. She couldn't say for sure if her departed fiancee would be wholly happy about her making the first steps to move on, but she knew he would want her happy also and if it meant living her life in the past and in fear of losing another loved one, or living life being a hunter but happy with someone else to have her back? He'd surely pick the latter option for her.

Dean sighed with relief as Lexi stated that she would like to stay with him. He had almost held his breath waiting for her answer, and as her face leaned into his touch, he brushed his thumb across her cheek even tighter. The warmth of her hand covering his just made his need to kiss her grow even further. This was intimacy he hadn’t realized he missed in general. It wasn’t just in his mourning that he missed that side of his bed being filled up. He missed the ability to take someone’s breath away, and to have his own stolen. He missed having someone’s hands on his, just that bit of warmth telling him that life wasn’t lost.

He nodded, brushing his nose across hers once again, smiling brightly, “I can definitely relate.”, he murmured softly, “I will have to tread a bit lightly around you, now…just…because I don’t want to push things to a weird level, if you’re staying.”

He laughed softly, and tilted his head down, brushing his lips across hers gently. He then nuzzled his nose up and over hers, before pulling back to look at her better. He then shrugged his shoulders, and pulled her hand with his as he dropped their hands to his lap, and he watched her eyes. He suddenly laughed, and raised his eyebrows, “But I guess we don’t have to be shy around each other anymore.”

As he said the words, his heart fluttered in his chest, just thinking about her being around the bunker on a regular basis. There were a lot of tight corridors and quiet spaces. The odds of him being able to keep his hands off her now were slim, yet he barely knew her. He didn’t know what her boundaries would be, despite how quickly they had almost fallen into a level of intimacy he never thought he would feel again. He took a deep breath, and pushed the thoughts from his mind, before they convinced him to push things to a point he would regret.

“I should probably let you finish getting ready. Sam might um…he might worry about us if we stay locked up too long.”, he chuckled, and carefully pulled himself from her to stand. As he stood to his feet, he leaned over her, brushing her hair back from her face, and pressed a tight kiss to her forehead, “I’m glad your foot is okay…”

Lexi smiled softly when he said he could relate to what she was saying. The fact that they had somehow bonded so effortlessly from their lonliness said many things to her. She knew for a lot of people bonding out of trauma or lonliness didn't always end up working out, but then she also knew most of those people weren't doing their kind of job and experienced those things as much as they did. Dean's presence around her made her feel like she could be someone again, made her realise that maybe, just maybe, letting someone in again wouldn't be an absolutely awful idea.

Feeling the touch on her cheek by his hand made her realise how much she missed that kind of touch. It made her feel like she was someone again, someone was worth more than just hunting. "I understand, I don't want things to be weird between us either." she replied to him, as she felt him brush his lips against hers, the very light touch making it difficult to not smash her lips onto his all over again.

As he lowered their hands to his lap, she let her eyes follow the action and direction as she listened to him say about not needing to be shy around each other. The very thought that they started off as such and now were unable to get enough of each other's kisses made her chuckle softly. "I guess not" she smiled, looking up at him once more. It was almost a relief to her that they just acted like grown ups and did something about the unspoken flirting that was happening between them. The memories of the day before and them being squished together in the armoury kept the smile on her face.

For some reason to her, the fa t they barely knew each other just didn't seem to matter to her. When he was smiling and chuckling, it seemed to reignite that fluttery spark in her heart all over again. A notion that she thought was long gone from ever being felt again. The idea of sneaking around the bunker trying to hide from Sam made her feel like a teenager but it wasn't an unwelcome feeling at all, infact it was the very opposite for her. Yet at the same time it was nice to meet someone who was respectful of boundaries and not wanting to push things to a breaking point before whatever this was between them even truly blossomed.

"r-right, yeah....of course" she replied, snapping out of her own thoughts as he stood up from her bed. She had expected to see him just exit her room without another word, so when he leaned over and brushed her hair back so he press a firm kiss on her forehead, she closed her eyes to savour the welcome and familiar sign of affection. Something she greatly missed feeling from her fiancée.

Opening her eyes again, she looked up at him, "thanks" she replied, "sorry for uhh..initially freaking you out over my cursing" she chuckled softly and sheepishly.

Sam eventually decided to exit his bedroom and head down the hall so he could get to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He was starving and really needing some coffee as there was no way he was going for his run this morning after the hunt the night before. Yawning, he tucked his hair behind his ear as a messy rogue strand was determined to get in his face.

He heard a bit of talking and recognised the voices as Lexi and Dean, surprised that he could hear Dean up and about already. "huh..well that's something" he mumbled to himself as he headed down the hall getting closer to where Lexi's bedroom was. When he did eventually catch sight of his brother, he looked at him, "morning...everything good?" he greeted.

Dean chuckled as he pulled back from the kiss to Lexi’s forehead, standing up straight. He shook his head, with a dramatic pout and squinted his eyes, “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t shoot anyone and…that…happened. So, after some coffee, we can call it forgotten.”, he held a hand out, before clenching it into a fist and turning to open the door.

He almost paused as he stood there, holding the doorknob. The temptation to turn around and just hang out with her, in whatever way she would have him, all day was strong. But he turned the doorknob and stepped out into the hallway, only to nearly yelp as Sam’s voice rang out, shattering the quiet of the hallway, “Jesus Christ! You can’t just sneak up on people like that Sam!”

He held his hand over his chest, bending slightly at the waist as he glanced up at his brother and shook his head, “Everything’s fine. I was just checking in with Lexi after she um…she tripped and it’s a bit of a maze in some of the rooms, you know? She’s good. We’re good. I’m starving.”

Dean cringed at his own awkwardness, as he pushed past Sam and walked down the hall in front of him, toward the war room. He didn’t even stop when he entered the war room. He simply walked quickly into the kitchen and stepped over to the sink, turning on the cold water. He cupped his hand under the cold water, and splashed it over his face. He stood and shook the water from his hair, before grabbing a bar mop, and wiping his face with it. After a moment of holding the towel over his lips, he reached up and grabbed two coffee mugs, one for himself and one for Lexi.

“Just act cool. She’s not going anywhere and things will be weird if you keep acting like a shy little choir boy…”, he muttered to himself, stepping over to the coffee pot. He pressed the button to turn it on, and sat the mugs in front of it, “And this is good. All is good. You’re good…”

Lexi couldn't help but smile at his reply about coffee will make everything right again. It was such an almost childish attitude and response but there was something endearing about it. She saw him pause at the door and she would have been lying to herself if she said she wasn't curious to what he was thinking about. Was he debating just coming back to her and having another makeout session? Was he debating apologising about even kissing her again and wanting to tell her it was a mistake and they shouldn't have done it? She didn't know but when he continued to open the door and exit, all ponderings left her mind.

She started to focus on finishing getting herself into a decent manner when Dean's yelping and scolding of Sam made her look up toward the door and hallway. Smirking at the scolding, she went back to her bag where she pulled out her travel hairdryer that she always kept on her as she hated the motel hairdryers, swearing they were about as useful as a chocolate teapot. It took her a few moments before she found a decently placed socket and started drying her hair as much as possible.

Sam smirked sleepily at Dean's yelping, even if he was being moaned at for scaring the crap out of his brother, he found it amusing nonetheless. It was more amusing how his brother was awkwardly fumbling with his words and trying to avoid some topic that Sam didn't even bring up. He almost revelled in Dean rambling awkwardly as he mentioned Lexi and how he brushed passed him to try and stop the topic from being continued.

He followed Dean into the war room and then the kitchen after letting Dean have a head start. He even pondered whether to check in on Lexi first but when he heard a hairdryer going on, he decided that following his brother to the kitchen for breakfast was the better choice to make. He barely heard his brother mumble to himself, but saw he clearly was. "not seen you mumble to yourself in a long time" he pointed out as he went to the fridge to grab the orange juice from it.

When Lexi's hair was a good 85% dry and she was satisfied that it wouldn't drop water everywhere, she unplugged the hairdryer and put it in her bag. She got her boots on out of habit and with the mindset she would help either brother do the supply run, as to her, it was one of the easiest things she could to help as a thanks for letting her hang out in the bunker for a while. "okay Lexi, you're gonna go out there, act like everything is normal...like you didn't just kiss Dean fricking Winchester." she muttered to herself.

"he's just Sam's brother. That's all" she muttered again and exhaled before looking upward. "Nate I really hope you're okay with me liking Dean. I will always love you, know that. But I can't be lonely all my life" she told the air as if his spirit could hear her from wherever he went. She would never stop feeling guilty for his death, but she also knew she couldn't let that guilt hold her back anymore.

With another exhale, she turned to the door and exited the room, heading straight for the kitchen, only getting lost once in the process. "morning Sam" she smiled when she got to them both. "morning Lexi, you sleep alright?" Sam asked back, "yeah, the beds here are surprisingly comfortable" she smirked.

Dean barely noticed that Sam had followed him into the kitchen as he picked up the pot from the coffee maker and filled three mugs carefully. But when Sam mentioned his mumbling, he scoffed and almost whipped around to just tell Sam what had happened between himself and Lexi. But after thinking about it for a few seconds, he simply turned and leaned against the counter, bringing his mug to his lips, while he slid Lexi and Sam’s mugs across the counter if they wanted them.

“I had a weird night sleep, that’s all. We’re dreams. Weird pain in the neck. I had to have a conversation with that side of my brain.”, he explained, raising his eyebrows. He took a long drink of his coffee, watching Sam’s face to see if he believed him. He was paranoid at that moment, that Sam would just figure out he was nervous around Lexi, more so than normal.

As Lexi stepped into the room, Dean nearly choked on his coffee, and he carefully sat his mug down on the counter beside him, watching her step into the room and greet Sam. She was a much better actor than he was, and as she played off everything, just commenting on the beds, Dean smirked and nodded, “Good! I’m glad to um…I’m glad to hear you slept good. I was worried.”

He stared at her face, trying to catch her gaze, but he also kept Sam’s gaze strong in the corner of his vision, in case he was onto them. He reached to his side, and picked up the mug he had prepared for Lexi, holding it out to her, “You up for a quick trip into town later on? I don’t figure Sam has much going on, and we desperately need food.”

Sam listened as his brother lied to his face, but he wasn't going to call him out on the lie. At least not yet anyway as he was certain it wouldn't take long before Lexi showed her face. He kept up his poker face and simply nodded at his brother's excuse. The only side of the lie he felt he could believe was the last part, putting it down to it possibly doing with the memories of Mika in the room. He knew Dean must have had those nights on and off, just as he had seen the odd days when seeing something mundane in the bunker would set him off and shut people out.

When Lexi came into the room and greeted him, before giving him a rather standard typical response, he smiled and nodded as he grabbed his coffee mug. He was about to reply when Dean choked on his coffee and then finally partially stammered out a reply to her. "What he said. The bunker may be old but we at least managed to get pretty comfortable mattresses in here" Sam replied to her as she stole a glance at Dean before looking back at him again. "yeah, I slept fine, I'm a tough old girl" she smiled back to Dean.

Lexi then took the mug from Dean's hand, purposely letting her fingertips catch a touch of his as she did so. "Yeah sure, I don't mind giving a hand with the supply run and from what I saw in your fridge and cupboards last night? Yeah, you definitely need food" she smirked with a soft chuckle. Sam sniggered as he couldn't deny that their food supply had gotten low lately and if Lexi was going to be staying with them for a few days at least, then he knew they'd need more food in. He also hoped that with two of them going out, they'd be able to buy more food than they would when it was just one of them picking stuff up.

"I was gonna head out myself, I need to pick up some stuff for my laptop, it's fritzing out a little" Sam then said, breaking up the not so subtle glances that Lexi and Dean were shooting each other. He didn't really have anything wrong with his laptop, but he did want to pick up some updated security software for it so he figured he would hea dout with them but then separate off to do what he needed then meet back up with them.

"then I guess we're all heading out today for a bit" Lexi said to the boys, sipping her coffee and sighing with content as the hot liquid ran down her throat and woke her up more. "If you guys need a third set of hands I can help with the supply run as well?" Sam offered.

Dean nearly flinched at the brush of Lexi’s fingers over his as she took the mug from his hand, and he glanced at her intently, clearing his throat. He brought his own mug up to his lips and took a drink as Lexi agreed to come with him on the supply run. He was less excited to leave the bunker as he was to just spend some time with Lexi, and see about getting to know her, if not to get his hands on her again.

As Sam spoke up about needing to run out as well, Dean raised his eyebrows and turned his glance from Lexi over to Sam, nodding his head as he sat his mug back down on the counter, “I guess we’re all heading out, then.”, he said almost in time with Lexi, to which he smirked and turned his eyes back to hers, amused. He tapped his fingers on the counter, and nodded to Sam.

“I don’t see why an extra set of hands wouldn’t be good. But if you need some um…computer stuff, it might be quicker to just split up and cover all our bases. You know? I think we can handle it, if you want to save some time.”, he explained with a shrug, working hard to keep his intent of having Lexi to himself under control. He took another drink of his coffee after a moment and slapped his hand against the cabinet, “I’m going to go and get dressed and um…and I’ll meet you guys in a few minutes. I’m honestly afraid that I might burn the second I step outside.”

He laughed, and stepped up to Lexi, almost dipping to kiss her, until he stopped himself mentally. Sam was still in the room, and his mind was moving way faster than it should have. He straightened, as if he was doing nothing, and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, before leaving her with Sam to go and get dressed.

---

After several moments, Dean stepped back out of his room, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. He had dressed in his nicest jeans, a white t-shirt and a flannel that was actually pretty new. It might have seemed like he was trying to impress Lexi, but in the pit of his stomach, he was still scolding himself, pushing his feelings for her down. He needed to, before he pushed boundaries that would interfere with Mika’s memory in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his bedroom door, and walked down the hallway, wondering if she was still waiting for him in the kitchen, or if she and Sam had wandered away, gathering their things.

Lexi was also surprised that Sam declared he wanted to pop out as well, wondering if this was some ploy to just separate the two of them or something along similar lines. She felt like she knew Sam well enough to get an idea of his actions, but she was still relatively new in his life and couldn't say for sure if his declaration was some alterior motive or not. She also wondered if Sam was picking up on the fact her and Dean were getting close. She let Dean do the replying to Sam, deciding to use this moment to drink her coffee. Hearing him give a completely plausible excuse for Sam to not join the two of them getting the supplies, made Lexi get a flutter in her heart, something she hadn't felt in what felt like a long time.

Sam simply nodded at the reasoning for just splitting up and doing what each of them needed before rejoining up to head back. Dean's comment about burning when he steps outside made both Sam and Lexi smirk and snigger. For Sam it was such a typical Dean remark to make, which he took as a good sign and for Lexi, she could understand the remark from her own experiences. She noticed how it was seeming Dean wanted to kiss her as he left the kitchen, but styled it out effortless and casually before she felt the awkward pat on the shoulder as he exited for his room.

Sam noticed as well and couldn't help but be curious about it, waited until Dean was out of the kitchen and looked right at Lexi. "So, he seems to be coming out of himself since you've been around" he said in the most casual manner he could muster, trying to keep the accusatory tone out of his words, as he didn't want to outright assume at this stage that the two of them were either crushing on each other or desperate to be close in some manner or another. "I guess I just uhh, have that gift to help people out when they need. I guess going through the same grief situation helps him to be able talk or something?" she replied, matching his casual tone between mouthfuls of her coffee.

"Uh-huh, I guess so" Sam simply said back with a smile as he finished his own drink and put the mug down on the table. "I'm gonna go finish getting dressed myself, meet you in the war room?" he finally suggested, Lexi nodding in agreement, "sure!" she smiled, putting her mug in the sink when she finished her drink, watching Sam walk back to his room in a speed walk due to his room being the furthest away. Looking at the other mugs laying around, Lexi sighed with a smile, "damn boys and not cleaning up after themselves" she muttered to herself as she grabbed their mugs and put them in the sink also then washed them up.

---------------

By the time Dean was finished and heading back to the main room, both Sam and Lexi were leaning against the war table with their jackets on just talking about random mundane things whilst they waited for him. Despite their talking, Lexi still couldn't get the earlier make out session with Dean out of her mind fully, the moment replaying in her mind over and over. It felt like the more she tried to not think about it by distracting herself with the random chit chat with Sam, the more it became promiment in her mind.

She wanted so desperately to be happy again, but she didn't want to forget her fiancee either.

Dean walked quickly into the War Room, straightening his jacket as he looked around for his keys. But he quickly realized that Sam had them, after all this time. He had zoned out pretty much every part of his life since Mika died. So, little memories were going to slip his mind. Stepping up in front of Lexi and Sam, he scanned over Lexi’s face and lost his fight against licking his lips as he tilted his head back, “I’m good. Let’s go.”

He simply turned and began running up the stairs to the garage. He wanted to get into town. He wanted to grab the groceries, and maybe a little time with Lexi, while he had her alone in a neutral location.

As they managed to roll into town, after a short drive, Dean pulled up in front of an old mom and pop electronics store, stopping at the curb to let Sam out, “So, we’ll swing back around to pick you up in…around an hour? Don’t get lost. Don’t talk to strangers, and be polite.”, he teased Sam, glancing to Lexi with a smirk.

Inside the store, a young woman slapped her hand on the counter, before signing furiously at a very worried and very confused clerk. He threw his hands up and tried to speak in wide words, “LADY! I don’t know what you’re saying! But if you’re going to be aggressive, I’m going to call the cops!”

The woman simply signed faster, and tried to mime writing on her palm, to show him that she needed a piece of paper. She just wanted to explain to him what she needed, and to get out of the store before it got dark outside and she was stuck walking home alone in the dark. She tapped her hand on the counter and tried again, wishing she could scream just to resist the urge to choke the man.

Seeing Dean looking for his keys made Sam hand them over to him when he came over to him and Lexi. He could tell that his brother had simply forgotten that when he stopped going out, he had taken over keeping the car running for supply runs or hunts as it made sense and meant the impala wouldn't run the risk of getting a dead battery due to lack of useage. The licking of his lips as he looked at Lexi didn't go amiss on either him or Lexi but neither said anything as neither saw a point in saying anything. For Sam it was just another little notch on his mental notepad of signs that Dean was crushing on Lexi and possibly letting himself begin the process of moving on.

Both he and Lexi followed Dean up the stairs and to the garage where they both got into the car, Sam in the front passenger side as he always did out of habit and Lexi in the back. Lexi also wanted to get into town just as much as Dean did and she knew that when they got there and Sam got dropped off, she would move to the front to sit beside Dean.

Reaching the electronics store, Sam opened the door to get out when Dean made his teasing remark making him shake his head and roll his eyes, "yeah yeah...dont you do anything I wouldn't do either" he smirked back as he got out of the car and closed the door behind him, which Lexi took as her cue to climb over from the back seat into the front unashamedly. "I get the feeling he's far too used to your teasing" she chuckled, acting like she didn't just practically parkour her way over the back of the front seat and sit back down next to Dean.

Sam saw what Lexi did as he turned his back to the car and headed inside the store, "if I did that I'd be a deadman" he muttered to himself in an amused manner before his amused smile turned into one of seriousness as he overheard a member of staff at the counter raising his voice to a woman. He watched on as the woman frantically was signing, making him guess she was deaf, not realising there was another reason for her not speaking at first.

He walked over and stood beside her looking at the member of staff as well as her. "There's no need for the hostility surely." he spoke up then looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, are you deaf, is that why you're using sign?" he asked her politely and calmly, hoping he could be of some help. "Is there a way I can help?" he asked straight after, hoping it now wasn't a case of her being deaf, as he hated the idea of the staff member calling the cops on this woman.

Dean turned to Lexi as Sam stepped out of the car, waving his hand dismissively at his brother with a roll of his eyes. He smirked as Lexi climbed over the front seat, reaching an arm out to make sure she didn’t fall against the dashboard or anything else that she might hurt herself on. As she sat down beside him, he couldn’t help his smile from spreading, just staring at her for a moment.

“So, supply run…as partners.”, he teased, placing the car back into gear, before reaching that hand over to rest on the seat beside her. He didn’t want to be overly touchy, if she wasn’t into it, but to give her the option to hold his hand if she wanted. Little steps. Testing waters.

“I just have to keep my hands to myself, I guess.”, he said with a laugh, breaking any tension. He drove to the grocery story nearby that was butted up against a small liquor store, a run he was used to making before he had gone into hiding. It was almost a breath of fresh air to see the store again, and maybe he would see some familiar faces. But first, he wanted to take a slight advantage of having Lexi alone, for five seconds. He turned carefully and brushed a strand of her hair back from her face, just watching her eyes, “So, we probably have a few minutes. It won’t take that long in the store and um…I…”

He leaned forward suddenly and covered her lips with his, cupping her cheek to bring her closer to him as his heart instantly hammered in his chest. He deepened the kiss slowly, just brushing his fingers through her hair as he took a deep breath through his nose.

Anya turned to look up at the tall stranger that was stepping in, trying to be the good guy in the middle of a fight that was just a second from becoming physical. As he asked her if she was deaf, she widened her eyes and shook her head, pointing at her ear. She slowed her hands down, and carefully signed to the man, hoping he would understand her.

“He can’t understand me and all I want is a stupid pen.”, she signed to him, but realizing that he probably didn’t understand her either, she flattened her hand in front of him, raising her eyebrows to make sure he was following along, and then she wrote on her hand with an invisible pen, before signing “I need…”

“Man, I have no idea what she’s asking for. She keeps doing that, and I’m assuming she wants some sort of receipt or something, but she’s violent, and I’m not helping her. Do you want a book or something?”, the clerk asked aggressively, causing Anya to turn furiously back to him, with a simple “Yes” hand gesture and “A Pen”.

She turned back to Sam, as the slow witted clerk scurried off to grab a notebook and something to write with and she thought about how to sign to him in a more understandable way, since he didn’t seem to know ASL either. She placed her hand at her throat, and hissed with her mouth open, trying to tell him that she was voiceless, but she had her hearing, as she had explained earlier. Not able to find a good motion for ‘frustrating’, she simply pointed at her temple and furrowed her brow as if enraged, holding her fists out toward Sam with a silent giggle.

Seeing Dean making sure she didn't hurt herself as she had parkoured over to the front seat and then proceeding to smile more broadly at her sitting next to him, she felt happy that he was still happy to be around her as well as being impressed that she even got away with her vaulting over. She knew if Dean was Nate, she would have been given 'the look' of disapproval by Nate and playfully lectured about not having respect for the car at all. So when Dean didn't give her that look, she felt surprised inside as he took her as the same sort of person.

She smiled back at him and chuckled softly that somehow seemed to follow into her eyes at his teasing remark. "I guess so!" she replied back, before looking forward again but noticed how he placed one hand on the seat beside her, glancing down she let her hand sit next to his, her fingers itching their way closer to his before brushing over them. She felt like she was in some cliche film or TV scenario, which honestly made her heart both flutter and laugh at how he was bringing so much more life back into her.

She smirked softly at his comment about having to keep his hands to himself. "maybe, maybe not" she teased back before she could even think about what she was saying, but now she had said it she didn't regret her words in the slightest. She looked out the windows in front of her and to her side as he drove to grocery store, recognising places from when Sam gave her a lift back from the garage. When they got to where he wanted to park outside the store, she looked at him again as she felt his hand lift up and brush some of her auburn hair off her face.

Listening to what he was saying, she couldn't get the smile off her face wondering where he was going to take this conversation when she felt his lips pressed onto hers. It took her all of a second to close her eyes and return the kiss, gladly leaning closer to him, her arms snaking their way round his waist and placing her hands onto his back. Gladly deepening the kiss back as it made her feel like a school kid all over again, sneaking in make out sessions when the adults weren't looking.

Lexi also knew it was probably a good idea that they were in a public parking spot as she was fully aware that she could easily get carried away early on as the more he kissed her, the more she wanted, he was proving to be that drug she so desperately needed to be her again. But she also wanted to be respectful of him and whatever time he needed. She didn't want to use him or make him feel like she was after only one thing. It was in that moment, she knew she had to pull away, and she did so but reluctantly. "if that's what I get for coming to help with the groceries, I should help more often" she teased, smiling more broadly.

Back at the electronics store, Sam looked at Anya as she seemed to take a small amount of offence to his question, tapping her ear to show she had no hearing aid in and that she was not, in fact, deaf. He gave her an apologetic look as she then continued to sign that she just wanted a pen and paper but he looked at her slightly confused.

It seemed his confusion was evident as she then dumbed down her ASL to which he nodded in understanding and patience. He held his hand out to the staff member to just pause for a second as he got what Anya was telling him then turned to the staff member when he finally got it also. He was fully prepared to tell the clerk for Anya that she just needed a paper and pen when the clerk somehow managed to figure it out and went off to get said items.

He watched her as she signed how she was voiceless but not deaf, it now dawning on him why she was using ASL. "ah I see, you're mute." he smiled at her before chuckling as she made a pretty universal sign for how frustrating it is with the clerk and in general. "I'm so sorry about him, think he's new here as I've only seen him a couple of times" he explained to him.

"I'm Sam by the way" he introduced himself with a smile, holding out his hand to her to shake.

Dean melted into the kiss as Lexi returned it gladly. He wasn’t surprised, but at the same time, he couldn’t help the jolt of electricity that flooded down his spine. He leaned forward, tempted to lean her back onto the seat, the fact that they were in public leaving his mind momentarily. But then she pulled away from the kiss, and Dean gasped, still holding her face in his hand. He chuckled breathlessly at her comment, “Yeah…I definitely think you should…”

As he said the last words, he squinted his eyes sarcastically, and tilted his head to the side, “We should probably get in there. Sam’s whiney when I leave him waiting anywhere, and I have a feeling that you’re sticking around.”

He chuckled softly again, leaning in to press his lips gently to hers one more time, before forcing himself to release her. He pulled back, trailing his fingers across her cheek as he reached for the door handle. He stepped out of the Impala and ran around to her door, pulling it open for her, just trying to keep a passive expression on his face, despite how much his heart hammered away in his chest.

“When we get back, I might just have to convince you to have another movie night with me.”, he randomly blurted out, wincing with gritted teeth the second the words left his mouth, and he turned his eyes down toward the pavement. Kicking himself, he took a deep breath and mentally shook himself.

---

Anya smiled back at Sam as he understood exactly what she was trying to say, and with a smile, nonetheless. She shrugged, and waved off the newness of the clerk, even if he was so rude to her. She knew that the language barrier was strong with ASL and spoken languages. She just wondered how much Sam knew.

As Sam held out his hand, Anya stared at it for a few seconds, before taking it with a small smile. She shook his hand, and then as she pulled her hand back, she signed out her name, letter by letter, but sighed as she realized Sam probably couldn’t understand her, or maybe that was one of the few things he would know. A lot of Americans seemed to at least know most of the alphabet.

She didn’t have to worry long, as the clerk came back and shoved a notepad and a pen into Anya’s hands. She quickly scribbled down her name, with a tiny heart next to it, and turned it around to Sam with a soft smile. Turning the note pad back around to herself, she wrote down a list of things she needed, and tore it out, handing it to the clerk. He read over it, and sighed, “Miss…I’m going to have to order half of these parts. I hope you have a couple of days. We don’t keep a lot in stock around here.”

Anya rolled her eyes, and scribbled on the paper again, “Fine. Call me when it gets here.” And her number underneath, tearing the paper out and handing it to the clerk, before turning back with Sam. She wrote a single word on the piece of paper, and turned it to Sam, “Coffee?”

Realizing that she was asking him out without any context, she quickly turned the paper back toward her and wrote, “For helping me and not being a dick.”, and she turned it back to him.

“Just keep that. Consider it an apology for the delay, and…a little help with your friend.”, the clerk said with a smirk, folding the paper in his hands, before turning and walking back behind the counter. Anya stared up at Sam and shrugged her shoulders. She then signed to him, to test his knowledge.

“I’m nice. I promise.”, with a small giggle.

Lexi knew that if she hadn't pulled away, she would have easily let herself and Dean take it further, despite being in a car that was parked in a public space. So she felt slightly thankful that she still had her wits about her and managed to stop them both before it got awkwardly further. She chuckled back when he agreed she should come out supply shopping with him more, seeing yet again that it appeared they were rather alike in their personality with certain things, which made her thankful for meeting him and wanting to learn more and more about him.

She sniggered at the comment about Sam geting whiney if Dean didn't pick him up in a reasonable manner, that one sentence showing what a typical older brother he was to Sam whilst also making her trying to mentally envision a whiney Sam Winchester, something she can't ever say she has witnessed in her time knowing him. If anything, Sam has witnessed her being the whiney and mopey one but that was to be expected considering how he met her. "Oh I'm definitely sticking around- for a start I can't go anywhere until I get my car back from the garage." she replied and pointed out.

However she only just about got her words out when she felt his lips press against hers again, even though it was much more gently this time round. Lexi gladly returned the gentle kiss before letting him pull back and smiled as he stroked her cheek just as he reached for the car door where she watched him run round and open the door for her. Stepping out of the car she looked up at him, "such a gent" she teased, then smiled at his little musing he said out loud. "I won't need much convincing, maybe this time I'll actually stay awake!" she laughed lightly at herself.

"come on, lets get what you guys need" she then said, patting his arm and started walking to the entrance door of the store they were outside of, grabbing a trolley when they reached them. It felt like such a long ago since she last did such a mundane thing like this with anyone. Sure she had done the odd supply run with Sam between hunts but they were quick small runs, and nothing like going into a proper large store and buying proper items. This time most certainly different for her now she was doing it with Dean, and she fully had the plan on not letting the Winchester boys just consume rubbish food.

"So what's needed?" she asked Dean casually, trying to be as casual as possible around the other general public that were also in the store. She decided to save any embarrassment she would act in her head as if everybody knew the boys and thus, would have known Dean's departed ex as she knew small-ish towns like these did seem to know everyone, even if one didn't realise it. Being the outsider quite literally, she didn't be the cause of unwanted attention or conversation hints to Dean.

=====================

Sam felt relieved that she took his hand to shake and didn't leave him hanging or think he was being too forward in any way. With his hand back, he shoved both hands in his jacket pockets. He watched as she signed out her name, understanding what she was doing but found himself wracking his brain to remember the ASL alphabet well enough to get a grip on what her name was as he only grasped the letters A and Y. Luckily he didn't have to panic for long as she got given the notepad and she wrote down her name which made him smile, "Anya? That's a beautiful name" he told her.

He watched on as she wrote what she needed, listening to the staff member's reply all whilst completely forgetting that he came in to get stuff himself to fix up his laptop a bit, even though it was in working order still but he was aware of it slowing down a little and knew he couldn't have a slow working laptop in his line of work. At her agreement to wait for the parts to come in, he couldn't help but smirk slightly in amusement at how sassy she was, even if she wasn't able to be vocal. She had a firey spirit about her, something that he found to be a common thing with women he and his brother came into contact with.

He wasn't expect her to then suggest going for a coffee with him, so when she did he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow but the smile hadn't left his lips. Before he could reply, he watched her write out the context for her offer and the calling of the staff member a dick made him snigger. Instead of bombarding her with a reply as the member of staff spoke to her, he waited for her to acknolwedge him again where she signed to him once more.

He gave her the look to say 'one moment, I can get this' as he really thought about her hand actions before just about getting the jist of what she was signing to him. "I trust you're nice. I have good instincts about people" he smiled, hoping he was right, but was confident that he was. "I got some time, so a coffee sounds good" he then replied to her. Dean would wait for him, and with Lexi around, Sam was more than certain that he could grab a coffee with Anya and still be back before Dean started calling him or fretting on his whereabouts.

Dean was surprised that Lexi barely reacted to his offhand musing of watching a movie with him, after everything. It wasn’t like he believed for a second that they would be able to watch a movie and keep their hands off each other. He shook himself from his thoughts as she mentioned the whole reason they were out in the first place, and he turned to walk with her as she patted his arm and turned to the store.

As they entered the store, Dean glanced down at Lexi, and picked up one of the hand baskets at the door, “Basic stuff. Plenty of booze and I think we need more popcorn and some chocolate for you, if we’re gonna do the whole movie night thing again.”

He chuckled and grabbed his favorite whiskey off the shelf closest to the register, a habit that he didn’t figure he could break all that easily. He nodded at the cashier, who was sizing Lexi up as if she couldn’t believe Dean had a girl with him. He brushed off the uncomfortable thought that flooded his mind, sending an image of Mika through his headspace, “And if you’re staying for a bit, we may need some more…girly things for the shower. Or I guess you could just use Sam’s. It’s close enough.”

He teased her as he reached his free hand out to guide her with her lower back into the next aisle to grab snacks.

---

Anya sighed with relief as Sam understood a bit of her sign language, at least good enough to understand that she was doing her best not to scare him off. He seemed nice, and she wasn’t completely an angry mess of a human, other than when she was incredibly frustrated. His agreement to have coffee with her pulled her smile even higher into her cheeks and she held up a thumbs up, before signaling for him to follow her to the cafe across the street.

Once they were out on the street, she looked down at the pad of paper, and began scribbling, “I’m not always so angry. You seem nice. Sorry if I seem aggressive.”, she wrote down, before tilting the pad of paper toward him, as they stepped up to the door of the coffee shop. She pulled the door open, holding it to where he could catch it with his much taller frame, and then she stepped inside.

She wrote her simple coffee order down on the pad, sighing in frustration that she even had to, and then turned it around to the barista as soon as they stepped up. She then placed the pad against her chest, looking up to scan over Sam’s face, just taking in his features. There was something about the worry lines on his face, and the way his eyes drooped just a bit at the edges that told Anya he had been through a lot, and was either working on getting to a better place, or was happier, now.

After he ordered his own coffee, she scribbled on the pad, and turned it to him, “Clinical or loss?”, asking about his sad eyes.

As Dean rattled off a few things of what they needed, Lexi listened, smirking slightly at the end of the list as he wasn't exactly wrong in his assumption. She remembered that she ate enough of his snacks last night before falling asleep sometime half way through the film. She was determined this time round not to do that again, especially as it was proving there was attraction between them both and neither were capable of easily keeping theirs hands or lips off of each other. "you got a point there" she replied in amusement as he grabbed the whiskey off the top shelf for himself, and noted how the cashier was completely and utterly sizing her up and probably wondering who the hell she was to be with Dean.

Instead of saying anything, like Mika once would have done, Lexi ignored it. She knew being an unknown face in a small town would create side glances and such, she was all too used to it. So it never bothered her unless some smart ass remark was ever said to her to make her stand up for herself. She listened as Dean suggested getting stuff for herself for the shower room, laughing at him implying Sam's stuff was feminine. "you might have a point, I am getting low on those kinds of supplies actually and I respect Sam just enough to not use his supplies" she said back with a smile.

Feeling his hand on her lower back, she let him guide her round, knowing out of the two of them, he was the one to know where things were. As they reached the aisle, she found some of her favourite snacks, grabbing them and putting them in the small trolley she was pushing along. Snacks involved bags of popcorn and the big sharing bags of m&ms, along with potato chips-salt and vinegar flavour and then some general chocolate.

She wanted to strike up another conversation with him but she didn't know what to say as they moved through the store, collecting what they needed as they went. As they walked round, she caught a glimpse of the one deodorant her beloved and departed Nate would always use which made her mind flash her a memory of him walking out their old en suite bathroom spraying it as he did so. She didn't even realise she had slowed down walking as she had the memory until she was shaking herself out of it mentally.

-----------------------------------

Leaving the store with Anya, Sam noticed how she was scribbling on the notepad instantly to talk with him. He found it quite the skill that she had honed, being able to walk in the street and write on a pad at the same time. He knew if it was him doing that, or more accurately, Dean doing it they would have walked either into some poor stranger or a lamp post. With it being shown to him when she was done scribbling, he smiled, "don't worry about it. I can understand why you would have gotten frustrated in there. I don't think you're aggressive." he reassured her.

He knew situations like that could be frustrating for anyone, so he could easily see how much worse it must be for someone like Anya who was either deaf or like in her case, mute. Reaching the coffee shop, he out stretched his arm and grabbed the door, letting her step inside first before he followed her in and over to a table with her. With the barista at their table quickly after they sat down, he let Anya write down her order first before he ordered his standard black coffee.

He saw how she was clearly studying his face, something he wasn't so uncomfortable with due to her situation. He couldn't help but look at her back, unable to not compare in his head at how much she looked fresh faced in comparison to himself, or any hunter he knew of for that matter. At the question written down, he couldn't stop the small smile that crept at the corner of his mouth as he glanced down at the table before back up at her. "a bit of both... I guess. A few months ago I lost a family member, someone who was basically my sister in law...hit me and my brother pretty hard." he began saying, feeling that he didn't have to say the exact reason of Mika's death, but saw no harm in mentioning it.

"I guess for the other thing, it's not been the easiest life I've had, living on the road for a long time, getting by" he added, finding he was attempting some sign on certain words as he spoke to her. "what about you? What brings you to this town?" he asked her curiously, but he tried to make it clear that he hoped he wasn't asking something too personal.

Dean was awkwardly silent as he and Lexi walked through the store. She didn’t seem to want to talk much, but at the same time, the silence between them was heavy, as if she had something to say. But he let the silence lie for a while, just enjoying the simplicity of grocery shopping for a bit.

However, when she zoned out while near the deodorant, Dean recognized that look all too well. He watched her, before grabbing something for himself, and spritzing it in the air with a smirk, “What do you think about this one? I mean, if you’re gonna be riding around in the car with me, I might as well smell good, right? Unless you’re more of a flowers and…powder? Type?”, he teased, picking up another brand that had more of a soft powder scent. He held it up with his eyebrows raised.

—————-

Anya watched Sam’s face as he began to explain himself to her. She stared between his hazel eyes, knowing that usually she would have instantly pegged him as a man with way too much baggage. But, as he kept talking, she felt the weight of empathy hit her chest and she chewed on her bottom lip a bit.

She could relate heavily to being dragged all over the country for some arduous task of her father, or nothing at all other than him running from his problems. Then, only to find herself continuing that stupid path when she was out on her own. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, wondering if Sam was a hunter. But she quieted her mind and tilted her head to the side at his question.

Pulling her pad, she wrote down her answer, “I can relate. I’m here on a ghost hunt of sorts. I guess.”

She turned the pad to him and sighed, before pulling the pad around to her again, trying to think of how to ask him the next question she had. If she didn’t play her cards right, he might think she was some crazy stalker, or possibly a murderer trying to track down people he knew…or didn’t know.

“Do you know anyone by the last name Winchester?”

Lexi had barely noticed that Dean grabbed a spray can of deodorant off the shelf near her until he had actually spoken up, snapping her out of her thoughts and memory. She really had thought that these kinds of moments were passed her, but it seemed she was incredibly wrong. Hearing what he said made her smirk and chuckle, truly bringing her back out of her mind and back into the present again. "do I truly strike you as a powder and floral kinda girl?" She asked him with her smirk never leaving her lips. She forced herself not to raise an eyebrow at the same time, something inside telling her not to do it, despite any other time with anyone else she probably would have.

Despite his own eyebrows raising, she just sniggered at the conversation they were even having right now. It felt so....normal. No words of hunts, monsters, ghosts, just normal life things like needing to smell nice in a car with other people. "If you make yourself smell like a bunch of flowers tied into some girl's hair I will instantly disown you" she told him before grabbing some deodorant for herself, her usual brand that didn't have a particularly special odour but was a nice fresh smell none the less. Chucking it into the trolley, she continued to stroll along the aisle with Dean, making sure not to go too far ahead incase he was still deciding on something they passed in said aisle.

-------------------------

Sam was honestly slightly concerned that he was about to scare off Anya by maybe explaining a little too much to why he was in this town. He had never felt nervous about someone writing something down before, but here he was feeling slightly on edge as she wrote down a sentence that seconds later when it was shown to him, would make him go from being concerned to intrigued. The choice of wording was interesting to him, especially due to his day job. To anyone else, he could imagine they'd think she meant the metaphorical kind of ghosts, but his kind instantly went to the literal sense of the word and he got wondering if she too was a hunter. He went to start to reply to her, when she quickly pulled the pad back and wrote again.

Instead of replying to her first sentence, he decided he would wait for her next comments before he spoke, and if he could, he would reply to both things in one go. Yet the next thing that she wrote down threw him off guard and made him lean back in his seat. Neither he or his brother had had anyone looking for them for a long while now, especially not since Mika passed and they got Bobby to make it crystal clear that no one was to come after either of them. Especially if people didn't want Dean beating them to death just for being near him.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to find the words in how to respond. He knew he had two options in this situation, 1) lie and say he knew no one of that surname or 2) admit he was a Winchester and then ask her if she too was a hunter. He also found himself briefly asking 'what would Dean do?' but in the end he cautiously let himself go down the middle ground of both his options, an option 3 of sorts. "I might do. If I give it some thought that is. Why you looking for a Winchester? If you don't mind me asking. Are you a hunter?" He replied with slowly, quietly and clearly so she could read his lips.

Dean was pretty happy with the small smile he saw on Lexi’s face as she took in his joke. But her own joke caused him to flinch, though he knew she was joking. He feigned heartbreak, holding his hand over his chest as if she had shot him in the heart with a gun.

“A little perfume and I lose her hand forever…”, he joked, his eyes closed. He chuckled loudly, and grabbed the side of the cart, following her as she weaved through the isles.

“So since you’re staying…”, he muttered, bringing up the most awkward thing he could think, at the most awkward moment he could bring it in, “How exactly do we balance…the us thing. I mean, not that I think Sam would care, considering he roots for any woman that comes within a mile of me to be in my face and all that. But…I was just you know…wondering.”

He cringed at how awkward the spiel sounded, and cleared his throat, “I guess what I’m trying to say is…do we make this a thing thing? Or just…a thing.”

And again he cringed, closing his eyes and dropping his hand in defeat. Hopefully she would catch onto his line of thought, but he highly doubted it. Mika was always the only one who could decipher his manic moments.

——-


Anya watched Sam’s face after she turned the pad around, a bit surprised at the opening and closing of his mouth. He was frazzled. Something she had said had frazzled him. But after a moment, he spoke and Anya sighed with relief, but quickly gasped when he asked if she was a hunter. Her brow twitched as she gave quick thought to her next words, but didn’t want to show enough emotion or thought to give herself away, too much.

She pulled the pad back, turning the page so she could write a pretty long explanation, wishing at that moment that she had her laptop or phone nearby, just to make things a bit easier to get out to him.

“It’s complicated. I know of the hunters. I know hunters. And when I asked a hunter I was following about a deal I was offered, and all that…they pointed me to the Winchesters. It took me forever to try and find them, but if you say you know them, I think I’m in the right place. It doesn’t hurt that I like your company.”, she finished writing the last sentence, holding the pen against the paper for a moment as she reread things, and with a small cringe on her lips, she slowly turned the paper toward Sam, not looking up to make eye contact.