[h2]Esme[/h2]
After Esme got what she needed off her chest, she fell silent, listening to Dean and Duke. She sighed softly when he commented on how he knew how people saw him and her heart. It was true she let people in and cared for them, but not all got that treatment from her. There were some people she knew she couldn’t get through to. But the comment about ‘Even if they don’t deserve it’ stood out in her mind. Did they both feel they didn’t deserve the kindness she had shown them or was Duke’s comment directed at Dean? The question slightly faded as she felt Duke was uncomfortable, possibly finding the answer to the question he asked her before Dean came out. Esme knew it had to be hard on him, knowing that Dean told her he was bolter and not to get too attached. She knew he had to feel Dean was trying to keep her away from him. Hell, she felt like he was trying to keep her away from Duke, but that’s a bit impossible when they are all in the same house, and she’s not where she can just get up and go somewhere if she wanted.  

Esme was pulled from Duke’s uncomfortable feeling by Dean stepping up behind her, placing a hand on her hip, and pulling her to him, which she didn’t fight against. She closed her eyes as Dean buried his nose in her hair and spoke. Sighing softly, she opened her eyes and looked at the fence post. She was well aware that Dean didn’t do ‘I love you’ and not getting his way, but he also knew that she didn’t do well with being told what to do. Not that his warning about Duke was telling her what to do. Another soft sigh escaped her lips when Dean kissed the back of her head, rested his forehead against her hair, and continued. She brought her left hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose. More space from him isn’t what she wanted, even if she did say she would leave his ass here. She hated hearing him grovel when he knew he had annoyed her. Esme rolled his words around in her mind as she also felt how much Duke was bothered. Duke chiming in about them needing beers pulled her out of her thoughts, and she softly shook her head. 

“No.” she said simply. Esme pulled away from Dean and walked over to her bag, placing her gun in it. Then, she finally turned to face Dean with no smile on her lips or in her eyes. “After everything I’ve said to you this morning, do you really think more time alone is what I want or need?” she asked him sternly. “Dammit, Dean!” Esme said under her breath, then turned her back on him once again, looking down into her bag of weapons. “But if you feel like that’s what you should do, go ahead. I won’t stop you.” she told him. She was done with having time alone. If she wanted time alone, she would come right out and say it. She already felt alone enough, with how much her father and other family went off on cases without her. She didn’t want to feel that way with Dean. Esme wished he could see that giving her so much time alone wasn’t always the answer. Running her hand through her hair, she looked up from her bag, sighing through her nose. “Before you do anything, though. You need to fix whatever is going on between you and Duke.”

“I won’t stick around and watch it build and become a brawl between you. I’ve watched it happen enough in my family, and I won’t watch it with you two. So, fix it.” she told him. As much as she cared for Dean and what she could feel Duke could be, she wouldn’t watch the two tear each other apart over built-up emotions they never worked through. Plus, what she could feel between them was starting to be a little too much to handle and making her irritable. Esme needed them to work it out so she could relax and not worry about a fight between them. She wasn’t looking forward to being in the middle of that, even if it wasn’t her place to try and break it up. But she swore to herself she wouldn’t be around if it started to build up to that point. Esme then zipped up her bag, picked it up, and turned to face the boys. “I don’t want to see either of your faces until you work things out. Got it?” she told them, looking them in the eyes. “Don’t even think about coming in and telling me you worked through it when you didn’t. Dean knows better than anyone. I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying.” With that said, Esme walked past them, without another look, and towards the house.