[IC] Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

[JustAnna]

Dean Winchester

Dean sighed, feeling completely irrational as Mika explained that she didn’t see Anna as a threat, and also thought that Anna was just worried about his reactions to her existence. He had to admit that he had been cold to her, and that he had essentially threatened her behind her back, without even feeling her out, first. It was something that was starting to nag at his stomach a bit, “Yeah. I guess you’re right. I’ll um…I’ll have a talk with her when we finish here. I’ll just…talk to her.”

As Mika stepped back up to him, he placed his phone back into his pocket and sighed, staring cross eyed down at her finger as she tapped it on his nose. He shook his head and tilted it to the side with a smirk, “Since when are you all work? Once upon a time, you would have played fun before work. One bed. Time to ourselves. Eh?”

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, before pulling back, “Besides, all options are taken care of. I just sent Sam a text, after receiving a weird one from Cason. We’re gonna take the house, since it’s just hitting up the wife and shouldn’t be too much trouble. Sam and Nat can take the school, and Cason and Esme are apparently in one piece. They got stopped by that demon army, we might have failed to mention to them. At least he said something about demons. They’re on their way here.”

“But Esme’s out of commission…”, he started again, staring at the ceiling to make sure he had remembered everything. He then turned his eyes back to hers with a smile, “Just like the old days. Partners…”

Anna

Annabeth nodded with a small smile at Sam’s reassurance. Mika did seem like the type to leave things alone, even if she felt the need to talk about them with Dean. If she was concerned, Anna felt like maybe she could be friends with Mika, and maybe Dean would come around too. She nodded once again, and stepped closer to Sam as he brought up the night they met.

Mika was the one who wanted to let her go, and wanted Sam to make his own decisions. Shew as the one who had talked Dean down, when Sam couldn’t. Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at Natalia and matched her smile. She felt safe around Nat, as she seemed to also be a good adversary to Dean, if it was needed. They got along but she could see that Nat would be formidable at holding Dean’s emotions at bay, if he was going to hurt someone.

“I have noticed that she smiles at me sometimes. So, I guess that’s a start, along with the free ride.”, she quipped back at Nat, her shoulders loosening up the more she thought about things being okay. When Nat suggested they go back to their room and relax, she couldn’t help smile and let a small chuckle through her nose, still a bit surprised that Dean had let her and Sam have a private room. She turned to Sam, as Nat stepped away from him, reaching her arm out to brush against Nat’s, and then dropped her hand to lace fingers with Sam.

“So, um…we’re bunkmates. I was a little too tired the other night to notice, but you better not snore.”, she teased him, as she pulled him toward their room. She slipped the key into the lock and opened the door, pulling him inside. Tossing her bag on the ground, she looked around the room and raised her eyebrows, “And only one bed?”

Duke

Duke lowered his eyes to scan Esme’s face, as she placed his hat back onto his head. His face broke into a bright smile and he leaned his cheek against the top of her head as she laid her head back down against his shoulder. After a few moments, he saw her face tilt back to look at him again, and he met her gaze as they made it almost to his truck.

At her use of his old nickname, his heart fluttered in his chest, and his smile widened. He shrugged his shoulders at her question, glancing up at the truck as they approached and he answered, “Everywhere, really. I go where I’m needed. I take care of problems, track down hunters that use way too many aliases, and mostly, I just hunt when I find weird things that have absolutely nothing to do with demons. I’ve been trying not to go down that road again, yet here I am.”

“But from the sound of it, you missed me a little bit.”, he chuckled, tightening her elbow around her back as he pulled his hand away from her, to open the passenger door of his truck. Swinging it open a bit more, he stepped forward and gently sat her on the seat, careful with her thigh. As he sat her down, he brought a hand up to brush her hair away from her face, smoothing it behind her ears on both sides, before running his fingers gently over the deep bruise that had formed over her eye, “Let’s get you back to the motel, so I can clean you up. Sound good?”

He smiled, staring at her for a moment, as he scanned her eyes. He then stepped back quickly, as if snapping himself out of a memory, and pulled the seatbelt across her body, clicking it into place, and putting the strap behind her body, so he didn’t hurt her injured shoulder.

Walking around to the drivers door, he opened it and brought the old truck to life with a loud roar, peeling out of the gravel parking lot.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

When Duke met Esme’s gaze, she held it, her smile growing along with his when she used his nickname. His smile was still contagious after all this time. With her head still rested on his shoulder, she listened as he spoke and he looked up at his truck. She nodded softly to his words, being able to relate to what he had been doing all this time. She had been trying to stay out of it for the most part, but she still had her unfinished business and couldn’t fully pull out of the hunter’s life until she took care of it. At his statement and chuckle, a soft laugh escaped her as if she were being called out as he adjusted his grip and opened the truck door. She had missed him, she couldn’t lie to herself about that. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until now. She had missed his laugh, his smile, the warmth in his tone when he spoke to her, and those beautiful blue eyes that always smiled and had a sparkle in them.

“Of course I missed you.” Esme said softly as he swung the door open more and sat her in the seat. “I hope y…….” She trailed off when he brought a hand up and brushed her hair from her face and smoothed it behind her ears before gently running his fingers over the bruise over her eye. The softness from the simple action caused her breath to catch and her gaze to drop, then lifted her gaze back to his as he spoke. “Sounds good.” she replied as she returned his smile. As he stared at her and scanned her eyes, she once again became lost in his eyes until he pulled back from her. She quickly blinked her eyes and slowly released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as he pulled the seatbelt across her body and clicked it into place, then put moved the strap behind her to keep it from hurting her injured shoulder, a smile coming to her lips as he did. “Thank you.” she said warmly.

After he shut the door, she watched him as he made his way around the truck, opened the door, and got in. After starting the truck and pulling out of the parking lot, Esme looked out the windshield of Duke’s truck, her mind becoming a tangled mess of thoughts and memories. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Duke was actually there and had been the one to pull her and Cason out of the demon situation. Not to mention, she had met back up with Dean not that long ago after hearing he was alive. Two people she cared about most had come back into her life only days apart from each other. There was no way someone could plan for this to happen. It made her head spin. Closing her eyes and loosely crossing her arms over her stomach, she took a couple of deep breaths in through her nose, slowly letting them leave her mouth to clear her thoughts.

Leaning her head back, Esme opened her eyes and tilted her head to the side to look at Duke as he drove them to the motel. There was so much she wanted to ask him she hardly knew what to ask him first as she sat there looking at him. Then it came to her, a question that had been burning in her mind for a while after she had lost contact with him. She almost felt bad for asking, but she truly wanted to know. The smile that had been on her lips faded as she looked over at Duke, the question burning in her mind. “You said you were trying not to go back down this road.” she started softly. She fell silent for a moment, trying to find her words. “Were you……” A sigh escaped her nose as she paused again and closed her eyes. “Were you able to stay out long enough to……” She paused once more and opened her eyes to look at him again. “To fulfill that dream you told me about?” She really hoped he had or was at least close to fulfilling it.

[JustAnna]

Duke

Duke concentrated on the road for a bit, as he heard Esme taking deep breaths, almost concerned that the drive itself was causing her pain. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel at the thought, rushing through some painful memories of the last time they were in a dire situation, and he was behind the wheel. Unfortunately, for him, Dean was also in the car with them. Between the gravel road being bumpy and aggressively shaking the car, and Dean’s screaming from the backseat as he panicked over her injuries, the memory didn’t settle well in the back of Duke’s mind.

He swallowed the memory down, quickly pulling the corners of his eyes back into their signature smirk and watched center line of the road intently. He pulled the words ‘of course I missed you’ into his mind and swirled them around, letting them wash over his heart a bit. The fact that she had even thought about him, after he fell off the map was exciting, and that was after the break up with Dean had complicated their relationship. Dean was his brother, by choice, and when she left, he was stuck with a decision.

The decision wasn’t fair, but it was morally obvious. He chose Dean. He stayed behind with him, and he and Esme just…fell apart. Then Dean went through various existential crises, between meeting up with Mika again, and then essentially kidnapping his brother from college. Duke just kind of bowed out. He silently wondered if Mika was still around, or how things were after Dean had come back from Hell. Word got around in the hunter’s circles…

Esme’s voice shook him from his thoughts and he flinched, turning to look at her with a soft smile. Her fading smile caused him to furrow his brow, keeping an eye on the road, but glancing often back to her face as she finally asked her question. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back toward the road and took a deep breath, “Yes and no.”

He paused, and glanced back over at her, “I made it as far as New York City, ready to get on the next flight out of the country, straight to Cairo, and I kept seeing signs everywhere. You know, fate stuff. It started with a husky, of all things. He was a super sweet dog, lovin’ on me and begging to be petted while he sat out on the sidewalk with his owner. He looked so much like a wolf that I couldn’t help but think of you, you know?”

Duke tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, nodding his head to encourage himself to keep speaking, “And then I was in the airport, drinking some overpriced but super strong coffee, and this blonde girl sat down at the table next to me. At first, while she sat there, I thought nothing of it…but then it hit me. I didn’t want to go alone. I mean, sure, Cairo and Giza and all the curses and mummies would have been a blast to see. I’ve been obsessed since I was a kid.”

He turned his gaze back to hers with a small smile, tilting his head to the side, “But it just didn’t seem so tempting, being on my own. That was our little pipe dream adventure.”

Duke shrugged his shoulders, a little scoff escaping his chest as he wiped a hand across the stubble on his chin, self soothing himself from the admission. He kept his eyes on the road, until they pulled close to the parking lot, and he carefully drove the truck over the lip in the pavement, and parked it next to Dean’s all too familiar Impala.

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

Hearing Dean admit she was right made her give him the look of 'you know it'. She was also glad that he agreed to just have a talk with Annabeth and nothing more when things took a big enough gap to do so. Annabeth deserved Dean to just talk and to give her a chance before he pre-emptively judged her. It was only fair and Dean deserved to be seen for who he really was passed the cold judgy exterior he always put on.

She smiled fondly at him as he went cross-eyed from her tapping his nose playfully after he text Cason back with their location. She wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or not that they were okay after getting into some trouble or not, as she was still feeling a bit awkward over Cason and still working through not being a bitch toward Esme. Of course, she didn't wish either of them dead, and she knew deep down if Esme got seriously hurt Dean would no doubt be extremely worried about her, but she just wasn't sure how to be when it came to any news about them. Which is why when Dean brought them up a moment or two ago, she decided to not to say anything on the matter.

His comment about her being all work and no play made her chuckle and scoff as she smirked again, looking up at him. She kissed him back and reopened her eyes as he pulled away, listening to him tell her the options of whose going where. The plan seemed fine with her and made sense, especially as she knew Nat always preferred working with Sam than either of them if she could choose between them both, though she did like how efficent Nat's work style was.

Her smile lowered into a more serious expression when he mentioned Cason and Esme again, nodding in understanding. "Makes sense. At least they're alive still" she replied before smiling again at the old times remark, "I guess it is like the old days. Also I'm not all work, I'm aware of the one big bed" she replied, snaking her hands round his waist. "I still remember the first time you ever saw me in the skirt suit when we were younger, if I recall correctly it was a skinwalker case and you struggled so hard not to put your hands all over me" she chuckled as she remembered the good days.

"So how about you and me see how good this bed is whilst we can?" she smirked mischievously up at him.

SAM WINCHESTER

Seeing Nat being so welcoming and kind to Annabeth made Sam's mind feel a lot more hopeful that between himself, Mika and Natalia, they could get Dean to come round and accept Annabeth in their group. He didn't blame Dean for being the way he was with her, it was like having a new person in their group all over again and Dean was the more suspicious and introverted one out of the two of them. It took a lot to win Dean round, hell, even Natalia had a hard time winning him around and he presumed that was why she was so adamant on accepting Annabeth quickly, to show Annabeth that not all WInchesters were judgemental assholes.

The fact that when Nat left for her room, Annabeth made a point to touch her as well made him smile. He looked down at her when she reiterated that they were bunk mates. "That we are and I don't snore, that's Dean that sometimes snores" he replied, matching her teasing tone and chuckled, letting her lace their figners together as they then headed to their room. The fact he gave her a little insight to his brother showed hwo much trust he had for her. He was also certain that if Dean found out he said he snored, he would probably try and kill him, but had a feeling Mika would have his back.

As they got into their room and he looked around, even he was surprised that there seemed to be only the one large bed, not that he was complaining but he wasn't sure how Annabeth would feel about it. "I can crash on the floor if you would rather not share the bed" he told her as he put his bag down on the ground and his suit bag over the back of the chair at the usual table that nearly every single motel seemed to have. "I don't want you feeling uncomfortable." he added, looking at her with honest eyes.

-------------A WHILE LATER------------

When the sound of a truck came into the parking lot right by their room, Mika couldn't help but look out the window out of sheer habit of wanting to make sure everything was safe outside. Sitting up on the bed she recognised the truck instantly, which made her scramble off the bed and yank her jeans back on, doing them up and pull her boots on without undoing the laces. "No fricking way" she muttered, walking quickly over to the hotel room door and opening it.

Studying the truck properly and then looking through the windshield to see it was indeed who she thought it was she practically squealed like a kid. "BLOODY HELL! DUKE!" She exclaimed excitedly, waited for him to exit the truck and ran over to him nearly bowling him over as she threw herself onto him in a tight hug that nearly bowled him over, not dissimilar to how a sibling to hug another.

"what the hell are you doing here!?" She asked him, pulling back enough to look him in the face. This felt like a crazy week for her, first she got Dean back from Hell now she was being reunited with her friend Duke, the one person outside of family she trusted wholly and was always there for her.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

Duke’s flinch to Esme’s voice breaking the silence didn’t go unnoticed to her. It was clear to her that she had pulled him from deep thought and from a possible memory. When he furrowed his brow at her fading smile, it took her a little by surprise, not expecting it to affect him in such a way. It was a serious question in her mind and the way it made her feel stole her smile, and she wasn’t sure he would even answer the question. She watched Duke as he shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the road before giving a short answer, making her think that was all he was going to say until he glanced back at her. She watched and listened to him intently as he spoke about seeing signs everywhere that led to fate, this caused her eyebrows to raise in interest as he continued. As he spoke about the husky and its demeanor, and how it reminded him of her because it looked like a wolf, her soft smile returned at the thought of the husky making him think of her.

She was going to say something in response but stopped herself as she took in his actions, seeing that he was encouraging himself to keep speaking. So she remained quiet as to not stop him and only nodded, her smile growing a bit more as he began to speak once again. Esme took what he said and how the next sign presented itself to him, her smile fading a bit as he said he realized he didn’t want to go alone even though it would have been a blast and has been obsessed since he was a kid. Then he turned to her once again, smiling and tilting his head to the side, the action and his next words got her, causing her to tear up as she remembered them talking about it. When Duke turned his attention back to the road, she looked away, bringing a hand up to quickly wipe away the tears that had escaped her eye as she heard the little scoff escape his chest.

It was saddening to hear that he had gotten so close to fulfilling the dream but didn’t because signs of fate got in the way that made him not want to go alone. Yet it was sweet hearing him say that it was their little pipe dream adventure, and it warmed her heart that he had remembered that it was their dream. Closing her eyes briefly, she wiped away a few more tears that rolled down her cheek. Esme looked out the window with a small sniffle, watching the motel come into view. As the truck dove over the lip of the pavement, she winced a little from the slight jolt it gave the truck, then watched as Dean’s Impala came into view as Duke parked next to it. As she turned her head back slightly, she wiped away a few more tears that worked themselves free from her eye. She remained quiet, not knowing what to say after hearing Duke talk about not going through with the trip.

Esme just barely noticing Mika run out of her room towards the truck. When Mika’s form registered with her, she watched as she waited for Duke to leave the truck and throw her arms around him in a hug, almost bowling him over. It was almost strange seeing this side of Mika even though Esme knew she had a softer side.

[JustAnna]

Dean Winchester

Dean stared down at Mika with a flirty smile as she reminisced about the failed skin walker case. He had struggled so hard to keep his hands off her that he almost broke his cover, just so he could be personal, and not businesslike. And the night had ended up in a good place, albeit bruises and a few scrapes. He pouted his lips out, bobbing his head to the side, “I seem to remember something like that. I’m really…REALLY looking forward to seeing you all dolled up today.”

He bit his lip, and raised his eyebrows at her as she made it obvious what she planned to do to him, in full celebration of an actual king sized bed, “I think…just maybe…I could make something happen.”

Dean placed his hands on her hips and pushed her back toward the bed, wiggling his eyebrows in response to her mischievous smile.

Annabeth

Anna laughed at the fact that Dean was the loud sleeper of the two, not that she was particularly surprised with the way Dean ate and how little he slept. He was bound to sleep incredibly heavy when he finally did get some rest. She squeezed Sam’s hand as they stepped into their room and he instantly began finding solutions to the single bed. She was unable to stifle the small giggle that left her throat.

“I think…correct me if I’m wrong…but we left modesty in Bobby’s basement.”, she muttered softly with a giggle. She stepped up to him, and caught his gaze, wrapping her arms around his waist, “I wasn’t complaining about the single bed. I was just surprised…because Dean did this on his own. I half expected two beds in opposite rooms of one suite or something. You’re warm. You’re cute. You’re safe. One bed is fine, Sam. You’re not sleeping on the floor.”

She reached up and brushed his hair behind his ear with a smirk.

————-A WHILE LATER —————-

Duke

Duke put the truck in park and carefully stepped out the door, his boots landing heavily against the pavement. Hearing Mika’s voice, he instantly turned, pushing his hat back on his head in preparation for what he knew was coming. He smiled brightly and wrapped his arms around Mika, “HEY! That can’t be my pretty girl, up in here in one piece and still…STILL huggin’ on me.”

He laughed and spun her in a circle, before dropping her to her feet and pulling back, “I was um…checkin’ out some demon omens in the area and it led me to some weird warehouse full of torture supplies and stuff. Just so happens, some demons had a couple of your people all tied up and in rough shape.”

Duke glanced over Mika’s shoulder as Dean walked out of the motel room to see what she was doing, and his eyes widened as he slowly approached them, “And as usual, I came in and saved the day. You know…normal Wednesday.”

He flashed his signature smile at Mika, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back from her cheek, just as Dean made it to them. Dean and Duke stared at each other for a long moment, Duke not knowing what shape Dean was in since coming back from Hell, or how mad he was for Duke bolting all those years ago.

But then Dean threw his arms around Duke’s neck, holding him tight to his body and burying his face in his shoulder. Dean sighed before grumbling, “It’s good to see you little brother.”

“It’s good to see you too…”, Duke murmured back, holding onto Dean’s shirt tightly, “And I want to catch up, but I have to grab Esme, alright? She’s in rough shape, and I’ll um…I’m gonna stick around for a couple of days. So, let me get her resting, and I’ll come find you, okay?”

“If you need anything, come knock. We got plenty of supplies. She always liked your stitches better than mine anyway.”, Dean teased, slapping the back of his hand against Duke’s chest. Duke turned and pinched Mika’s chin lovingly before he turned back to the truck and jogged around to the passenger side. He opened the door and leaned carefully across Esme’s body to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Slipping a hand under her legs, he slowly ran a hand around to her lower back and hoisted her into his arms, cradling her back to his chest with a sigh, “I got you, beautiful. Just relax. We’re safe here.”

He smiled down at her, just as Dean stepped up with a note from Cason that had been left on the hood of the Impala, along with Duke and Esme’s room key. Duke nodded, which Dean took as a signal to help him open the door. But Dean couldn’t help look at Esme as if he was incredibly worried. There was a lot of blood covering her clothes, and she looked as if someone had worked her face over good and hard. Duke saw Dean shake his head and run over to the door of their motel room, which was situated just to the left of Dean and Mika’s room, and he opened the door for Duke.

Duke tipped his hat, and stepped over the threshold with Esme, “I’ll see you cuties in a bit, alright?”

Closing the door behind him, he walked Esme over to the single bed in the room, and carefully lowered her to the mattress, holding his hand out to make sure she stayed steady. He then brought both his hands up to carefully cradle her face, looking into her eyes to make sure she heard him, “Alright. So, we’re here. Let’s get these clothes off you so I can stitch you up, yeah? That okay? And then I’ll run you a bath. I got some stuff in the truck that will take the edge off and help your stitches not itch so bad. What do you think?"

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

"Damn straight it is!" Mika replied with a chuckle as Duke spun her round as he hugged her back. She didn't think anyone other than Dean could make her smile so brightly after the last few days, especially the night before but here came in Duke barrelling into her life again and proving her very much wrong. He was always a breath of fresh air and the one bloke that she could be huggy with and Dean not get utterly irrationally possessive and jealous from. She realised from the way he brushed her hair out of her face just how much she had missed him.

She let him talk and explain how and why he was in town, nodding in understanding especially after what Natalia had told them all before they did their long morning drive to this location. At the comment about a couple of their group being tied up, Mika had to glance toward Esme in the truck and saw she looked very much worse for wear which got her worried for when Dean saw her. Which wouldn't take long for her to witness as Duke looked over her shoulder, making her look behind her and see Dean come out wondering what got her rushing out the room.

Stepping to one side, she nodded at Duke finishing what he was saying to her before she made sure she left enough room for Dean to come up and finally hug Duke and greet his mate. Hearing Duke say how he was going to see to Esme was of a relief to her internally as it took away the anxiety of Dean wanting to go patch the woman up. She may have promised Dean she would try and be civil with Esme, but that didn't mean it was going to be an easy task for her even though she had no intention of breaking said promise.

It was then she looked bck up at Duke and he lovingly pinched her chin before heading to help Esme out. As Dean helped Duke out by getting Esme to the door of the room Esme and Duke would be having, Mika walked to the door of hers and Dean's room, watching intently at how Dean looked at Esme and so on. That pang of jealousy coursed through her heart briefly as Dean's worried look reminded her again that Dean still had some kind of love for Esme. Mentally shaking the thought from her mind, she looked up and smiled softly at Duke's words. "See you in a bit" she said back, opening the door to her room once again.

"She's in good hands with Duke" she simply said to Dean, hoping that would remove the worry for Esme out of his mind, at least for a while. She was in such a good mood before Duke arrived and when she realised it was him that she didn't want that mood to be ruined and broken because of her internal battle with her jealousy.

Walking back into the room, she sat at the table as she debated in telling Sam and Natalia about Duke's arrival or not, but then decided against it. They could discuss all that later and right now they did have to focus on the job at hand rather than personal thoughts and worries.

SAM WINCHESTER

The time with Annabeth was a welcome one. After being in a tense car ride for the last three or four hours, it was nice to be able to be in a motel room and just relax with the one person he had become fond of all over again at a very rapid pace. The earlier conversation about being dignified and modest with each other made him half snort with laughter and look down at the ground as he knew she had a valid point.

He too had to admit his surprise that Dean got them one room for the two of them without being prompted, or so they thought. For all they knew Mika could have persuaded him to let them share a room which wouldn't have been beyond the realm of possibilities, but if it was done on his own accord then quite frankly, he was damn well surprised and impressed.

The sound of a truck turning up at some point in the parking lot that their rooms overlooked wasn't much of a surprise to him, so he didn't bother taking a look out of the window like Mika had done. However it was when he heard Mika's familiar squeal of excitement that made his ears and curiosity pick up. Standing up from the bed that he was sitting on as it was always more comfortable than the chairs supplied at the tables, he looked out the window and saw Duke's cowboy hat before he saw the man under said hat.

"Well I never..." he muttered under his breath. He then turned to Annabeth, "Cason and Esme are back and with an added member to the group, if he stays around that is" he explained to Annabeth. "I'll warn you now, the guy whose just shown up is a close friend to Dean's but he's highly liked by everyone-especially women and he bloody well knows it. So don't be surprised if he'll be playfully flirty with you" he smirked.

"He's a decent bloke though" he added before looking back again out the window and saw how battered Esme looked. "Seems whatever held Esme and Cason up, Esme got the worst of it, she looks pretty rough" he said then turned away from the window to put his focus on Annabeth in the room once more.

NATALIA WINCHESTER

Unlike the others, Natalia enjoyed her own company and did some research on her laptop of what had been happening in the town from the little information that Dean had previously given them. She wanted to see if she could get any additional information for herself before she no doubt had to head out with Sam and Annabeth. Unfortunately she didn't find anything that she didn't already know which just frustrated her.

To rid herself of her frustration she decided to take a shower before they had to head out, making the most of her solo room. Shrugging her jacket off that she realised she still had on, she threw it onto the table before grabbing her bathroom bag and as she walked to the bathroom she peeled off clothing, a garment at a time leaving a trail of clothing in the process before stepping into the shower. Turning on the shower she grimmaced at how the hot water was barely hot, but made do with it just to freshen up for a few minutes.

Being in the shower meant she missed the whole squealing of Mika and Duke's arrival with Esme. Feeling much more refreshed about ten minutes later, she stepped out, grabbed a towel that barely felt long enough for her long torso, wrapped it round herself and walked back into the main room hoping that she didn't have get any unexpected guests in the form of their friendly demon as she did so.

Grabbing her clothes off the floor, she carried them to her bag and then changed into her more formal wear, seeing no point in getting into casual clothing only to change again a little while later. Being suitably dressed, she dried her hair with the dryer that was attached to the wall in the bathroom, a style she detested greatly. With her hair dried, she styled it partially up to look more 'respectable' and slapped some basic make up on.

Looking in the mirror at herself she grimaced, "urgh you barely look like you. Disgusting" she complained, even though she far from disgusting but suits were always her personal hell.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

As Esme sat in the truck, she watched the interaction between Duke and Mika. A slight smile came to her lips as she watched Duke hug Mika and spin her around before setting her back on the ground. Being in the truck and starting to zone out, she heard little of what they said between them. She knew Duke must have mentioned something about her because Mika glanced at the truck and at her. Esme saw the worry on her face before her and Duke looked up at Dean as he came out of the room, and the small smile she had faded. She knew that Mika’s worry was about Dean and how he would react to the state she was in. It made her sigh heavily as she watched the three interact outside the truck. After she saw Duke and Dean hug, she sighed once again and turned her head to stare at the dash of the truck.

Even though she was zoning out, the feelings and thoughts she had pushed down about Mika were starting to bubble to the surface again. Esme knew Dean would be worried about the state she was in. It was only natural with the history they had. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily again, hoping that with Duke there, it would help ease things a bit. Duke had already offered to patch and clean her up, which should relieve some of the worry Mika felt about Dean wanting to take care of her. Though it made her wonder yet again, why in the hell she promised Dean she would stick around after the total fiasco with Cupid and the tension it brought with it between her and Mika. Then again, it was always hard to say no to him when he pleaded with her, and not to mention him saying he didn’t want to lose her again. Closing her eyes tighter, she brought a hand up and carefully felt around her chest for the necklace she always wore.

When she didn’t feel it, she moved her hand up more, finally feeling it on her neck. The demons had pulled it to lie on her back, so it was out of the way. Fiddling with it, she pulled it back to the front and held onto the charm made of wire. It was the necklace Dean had made and given her all those years ago. Even though they weren’t together anymore and wouldn’t be again, it brought her comfort in times like these. Duke pulled from her thoughts and self-comforting when he opened the door, causing her to jump and her eyes fly open. When Duke leaned over her and unbuckled her seatbelt, she relaxed a bit and stayed still as he put a hand under her legs and around her lower back, then into his arms. At Duke’s words, she smiled softy and relaxed into his arms and chest, still holding onto the charm of the necklace. “I know we are.” she replied as he smiled down at her.

Esme’s eyes then went to Dean as he came into view, holding the room key and a note. When Dean looked at her, she could see the worry on his face as he looked at her appearance. She tried to give him a look that said, “I’ll be alright. Don’t look so worried.” before he shook his head and ran to open the door to her and Duke’s room. As Duke carried her to their room, she couldn’t help but wonder where Cason was. She figured he would have been the first to the truck when they pulled into the parking lot, not Mika. Which made her think he’d gone off somewhere to possibly think, get her car, or he let his guilt over what happened to her get the better of him and went to handle things. There was really no telling with him. She came out of her thoughts as Duke stepped over the threshold with her and spoke to Dean and Mika. She turned her head to take in the room, then noticed the single bed in the room as Duke carried her over to it.

She knew that once she was feeling a little better, he’d more than likely have a joke or flirty remark to throw at her about it. Esme winced slightly when Duke carefully lowered her to the mattress. It was then she let go of the necklace so she could steady herself as she sat there. When he cradled her face in his hands, she looked up and met his gaze, knowing this was his way of making sure she heard what he said. A smile came to her lips as she listened to him. He hadn’t changed a bit from what she could tell. He would always ask before he did something that could make her uncomfortable, and it was clear he never wanted to do that. Even though he’d flirt with her, he had always been respectful to her and it was just one of the things she loved about him. She then lifted a hand and placed it on his arm, a smile still resting on her lips. “Yes, that’s okay…... You and I both know it’d be a job if I tried to take care of all this on my own.”

She trusted him and it’s not like this would be the first time he’s seen her partially dressed or even naked. Most of those times were all because of bad timing on his part, but some were because he had to help Dean patch her up. Still holding his gaze, she gave his arm a small squeeze. “A bath afterward sounds heavenly.” she added, her smile growing a bit. Even if the water didn’t get too hot, it would be nice to just sit and relax in the bath, which was something she hadn’t done in some time. Esme then dropped her gaze from his, a smirk coming to her lips followed by a light laugh. “It’s almost like old times, isn’t it?” she questioned, her tone warm.

[JustAnna]

Dean

Dean nodded at Mika, taking in her words, and Esme’s look of dismissal. He turned and stepped away from Duke and Esme’s door and back over to Mika, “I know. I just haven’t seen her that beat up in a long long time. But, then again, he was always the one to patch things up when I lost my mind over injuries.”

He shrugged, and gave a small smirk before walking into his room with Mika. He walked over to the table, and sat down across from Mika with a huff, running his fingers through his hair, before dropping his hand on the table and shaking his shoulders of the sudden stress.

“So, we’re headed to talk to this woman. Do we have any idea what to say to her about why we’re there? I mean, from what I gathered, dude opened a fresh bucket of candy and ended up with a throat full of razors. Kind of hard to explain to a grieving widow.”, Dean explained, trying to take his mind off what had just happened. He was more than excited to see Duke, after all this time, and he had a million questions. However, the circumstances of Duke showing up were less than ideal, and he wanted to help, against his better judgement.

But they had work to do.

Annabeth

Annabeth watched Sam check the parking lot suddenly, as if he saw someone he knew, or a welcome addition to their little group. She couldn’t help but smile, when he turned and warned her about the new guy being super flirty. She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t mind a little flirting once in a while. Might be refreshing.”

She smirked playfully, teasing him with the idea of someone else flirting with her, but her smirk fell when he mentioned Cason and Esme. Of course Esme had ended up worse off than Cason. He had a strong self preservation gene in him somewhere, and somehow always ended up just fine, while the humans around him ended up hurt, or dead, it seemed.

“Well, I hope she’s okay. After what she did back at the house, and to help me through the angel attack, I would hate for anything to happen to her before I could return the favor, you know?”, she said softly, playing with the hem of her shorts nervously, “But we really do have to let them handle it. I’m sure Nat will be waiting for us, and while I would love to stay in this room with you, and enjoy the peace and quiet of a boring night, that’s not going to happen until we take care of this.”

Duke

Duke smiled softly at Esme’s permission, and he gave one quick nod, scanning her eyes, as her hand came to rest against his arm. It was then that he began to realize he could have lost her, back at the warehouse and he wouldn’t have even known. It was his fault, for not contacting her sooner, just to check in, or to stay close. He quickly pulled his lips back into a smile, “Well, the only difference between this and old times is that you’re locked up in here with me…alone, bout to be naked.”

He laughed, a bright smile spreading across his face as his eyes shined toward hers. He brushed his thumb across her cheek gently and then stood, removing his hat and tossing it on the dresser behind him. He turned back to her, and bent back down, “Raise that good arm for me. I’ll try to be gentle.”

Duke gently raised her good arm and pulled the sleeve of her shirt off of it, pulling it loose and snaking it over her head, before peeling it slowly away from the stab wound on her shoulder. When it finally came loose, he was gritting his teeth, feeling her pain for her almost as he pulled the shirt from her wrist and sighed, “Not too bad. Worst part’s comin’ though.”

He lowered his hands to the bandana around her leg, picking at the knot gently, “So, you remember that Vampire nest back in Toledo? I was all out of it and busted up, and we got trapped in that storm cellar. I figured I was gonna die, and I was out of my mind, and no one really knew where we were…”

The bandana finally came free and he winced, but quickly sighed with relief and tossed it on the floor, moving his hands to the blood t-shirt that actually covered her wound, “I remember what I said back there and um…I just wanted you to know. It wasn’t my place, and if I hadn’t been so banged up, I never would have gone down that road.”

He pulled the t-shirt free, and quickly placed it back against the wound with his hand as it began bleeding again. He honestly didn’t know why he was admitting to her that he remembered his death confession after all this time, but with her being so banged up, he just felt the need. But the words played over in his head.

2003

“In case I don’t make it out of here, there’s somethin’ you need to know. Just…shut up and let me say it, alright?”, he winced and pressed his hand tighter against the stab would on his abdomen, scrambling to sit higher on the wall.

He licked a bit of the blood from his lip and sighed, “I want you to be happy, and all that. Like, don’t push Dean away. He’s trying. But, since I’m not gonna get out of here any time soon, just know that I have loved you since the day you showed up, all pissed off and ready to fight. You’re gonna be alright…”

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

Mika decided to try and not let Dean's words about Esme's injuries get to her too much as there was no rational reason for them to, but she wasn't the most rational person, she knew that better than anyone. Her irrationality was usually the main key for her outbursts or toxic behaviour and she done so well not to let that rule her head, so she didn't want all that hard work over the years to be for nought now.

She listened to his words after he sat down opposite her and ran his hands through his hair, trying to shift the stress off of himself. "well it's not the only death in town right? So go in as FBI, act like the feds are looking into trying to find a concrete ruling for the death? One of us could do a sweep of the house at the same time because a load of candy turning into a throat full of razorblades is not normal by any standards, not just ours." she replied.

As she looked at him she could tell his mind wasn't 100% in the room, thinking about Duke's return and how badly injured Esme was. She had to admit to herself Esme did look in pretty bad shape and she couldn't help but wonder where the hell Cason disappeared to when he was so unbelievably smitten with Esme. She also knew if Dean had even an inch of leeway, he wouldn't even be in the room with her, but instead in Esme and Duke's room, helping Esme and as hard as Mika was working on her jealousy, that did actually still hurt.

"So I guess we should look at getting changed and get moving. We've spent so much time here already, testing the bed and what not." she commented, smirking at her last line. Standing up from the chair, she walked over to Dean and placed one hand on his shoulder. "Come on, the sooner we get focused on work, the better and the sooner you can gorge on candy as it's halloween" she told him with a soft smile.

Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she then walked over to her bag and pulled out her FBI skirt suit that was very similar to the one she used to wear when she younger and the heeled shoes with it. Laying it out on the bed, she began to pull her normal clothing off and switching it for the suit, doing up the buttons of her light blue shirt after she got the skirt on and finished with the blazer which she did up. RUmmaging through her bag, she grabbed her brush and made her hair presentable, but kept it down still before perching on the end of the bed to put her shoes on.

SAM WINCHESTER

Annabeth's teasing about not minding having someone else flirt with her made him smirk and roll his eyes. "Oh jee thanks!" he said sarcastically but his tone made it obvious that he was playing just as much as she was. His smirk however dropped when hers did, realising that mentioning Cason probably wasn't the greatest idea ever, but he couldn't stop himself from saying it before he did.

He nodded at her wishes for Esme to be okay, something that he echoed as he knew it would be so much more awkward for everyone if Esme turned out anything but okay. Though he knew Duke well enough to know that she was in safe hands. "I get that, but she's in good hands with Duke. They're pretty close so she'll be fine" he reassured her before nodding at her telling him they really needed to start doing what they came here to do.

"agreed, so let's get changed into something more professional and get moving to Nat's room before she goes insane at having to wear a suit" he smirked. "I would not be surprised if she's in her room complaining at how she looks because it's not her style" he added in amusement. "I still remember when myself and Dean had to take her suit shopping and every one she tried on she threatened to puke because and I quote 'it's not comfortable like my jacket' she even made retching noises in defiance and made Dean buy her lunch and dessert to make up for shoving her in a suit" he chuckled.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

Esme’s gaze lifted back to Duke's when she felt his emotion suddenly change, but before she could react to it, he was smiling again. Though she knew what she felt in that moment from Duke, guilt, and fear. Did he blame himself for her being in the warehouse and fear she could have died if he hadn’t shown up when he did? Before she could answer the question in her mind, he had answered her question about being like old times and laughed. She couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her, knowing that she had opened the door for that comment from him and it was true. “True.” she said simply, with a laugh in her tone. With his bright smile and shining eyes on hers, she couldn’t help but smile back. Even as he brushed his thumb across her cheek, her smile remained. When he stood, she let her hand slid from his arm and rest on her lap as she watched him remove his hat and toss it on the dresser.

When he turned back to face her, and bent down, asking her to raise her good arm, she felt nervousness creeping in as she lifted her arm and he helped as he removed her shirt. It was all she could do not to suddenly flinch or tense up from his touch, even at how gentle he was being. The memory from a few years ago trying to creep into her tired mind at that moment, but she forced it back like she always did and spoke to herself. This is Duke. You can trust him. What happened that night won’t happen with him. He’s never done anything to hurt you. Her little pep talk to herself helped her calm her nerves a bit and helped her stay relaxed as Duke freed her arm from her shirt. With her arm free, she worked with the bottom of her shirt to make things easier in getting it over her head. After he snaked her shirt over her head, she readied herself for him to peel it from the stab wound on her other shoulder.

Esme gritted her teeth and hissed a bit as Duke slowly peeled the shirt from the stab wound. When it came loose, she looked over at him, seeing that he had also been gritting his teeth as if he was feeling her pain. When he pulled the shirt from her wrist, she also sighed, giving a small nod at his words. She knew the worst part was still to come, and she was preparing herself for it. “Not too bad, and don’t I know it.” she replied as he moved to the bandana. She watched as he gently picked at the knot he had made, then looked at him as he spoke, nodding her head softly. It was a night she had tried to forget, but it was one that constantly stuck around in her mind. She closed her eyes and sighed as she continued to listen, trying not to feel as the bandana came free from her leg. “I remember it.” she said softly. “It’s one of those memories that’s hard to forget.” She kept her eyes closed as she felt him move to the blood-soaked shirt that covered the stab wound on her thigh.

She moved her good hand to the mattress, gripping the blanket on the bed as he continued to talk about that day. As he spoke, she wondered what had prompted him to bring it up. Was it because of the state she was in? Or did he just feel the need to confess? With those questions burning in her mind and the memory coming back to her, she didn’t feel Duke pull the t-shirt free from her thigh and then place it back to stop the bleeding that started again. She could hear Duke’s words playing in her head as if he had said them yesterday, and could also hear her own words, as well as see the state he had been in. She fought the lump that was working its way into her throat and the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. Opening her eyes with a soft sigh, she looked at Duke, her eyes softening more than they ever had towards him and becoming glassy with tears threatening to fill them. The memory still hit her hard after all the time that had passed. She had thought she was going to lose him that day.

She released the covers on the bed, then moved her hand to rest on his, and squeezing it gently as her other hand came up to hold on to her wire necklace again, out of habit. She sighed through her nose as her gaze dropped a bit. “I know….. I know why you said what you did.” she whispered. “I even came to realize how you felt about me, even before you confessed that day.” She lifted her gaze to meet his once again, her grip on his hand tightening a little more. “I also have a confession for that day.” she told him. “Seeing you in that state scared the hell out of me, and hearing you talk like you were going to die scared me even more. I know I didn’t show it, because you know I could never let you or Dean see that in me.” She closed her eyes again, the memory playing out once more behind her eyes. “I felt you were giving up, and I was going to lose you. I couldn’t bear thinking about losing a member of my family, that’s why I was so hard on you.” she confessed.

2003

Esme stood looking at Duke sitting on the floor of the storm cellar, a machete in one hand and her other hand in a fist. Her eyes scanning over his injuries and falling on his stab wound on his abdomen. “Hellfire!” she muttered to herself. As he began talking, she gripped the machete tighter. “Don’t you….” she trailed off when he told her to shut up. She knew where he was going with his words, and she didn’t want to hear it. She had slightly turned away from him as he spoke, her grip tightened even more at his words. Her eyes closed, and she shook her head. She whirled around to face him when he finished, then knelt down in front of him, despite her own injuries. “Don’t you dare give up on me, Duke Hatfield.” she told him sternly.

She stood back up, turning slightly so she could see Duke and the cellar door. “You and I are going to get out of this. It may not be in one piece, but it will be alive.” Setting down her machete near Duke, she pulled off her jacket and then her overshirt. Kneeling at Dukes side, she pressed her overshirt to his wound and placed his hands on top of it. Putting her jacket back on, she looked back up into his face. “I don’t want to hear any more about one of us not making it out of here, alright?” She looked back at the cellar door, her jaw clenching as she did so. “We’re going to get out of here together and alive, even if I have to take on all those bloodsuckers myself.”

[JustAnna]

Dean Winchester

Dean nodded his head as Mika explained what was likely an obvious answer to their little mission. They needed to speak to the wife, but they needed to see what they could find in the house. Maybe the guy was just hit up by some sort of demon, trying to get their grips on the town and protect the seal. Even if that was the case, the wife might have seen or smelled something.

He shook himself from his thoughts as Mika mentioned getting dressed, and made a comment about the bed. He smirked and hilted his head to the side, “Meh. We deserved it after all the crap we’ve dealt with, and I just got back from Hell. I think I earned it.”

Dean chuckled, standing with a wide stretch of his arms above his head. He shook his arms, shaking off the rest of the stress in his shoulders. Esme would be fine with Duke, and they had work to do. He couldn’t let his need to save everyone and keep everyone around him safe get the best of him, and cause him to screw up the hunt, with Mika.

As she squeezed his shoulder and went to get dressed, he stepped over to his own bag, pulling his new dress shirt and the pieces of his suit out to toss them on the bed next to Mika, “You’re going to kill me today, with that suit, aren’t you.? Of course you are.”, he laughed and shoved his jeans down to start getting dressed.

Annabeth

Annabeth kept her smirked and she nodded as Sam reacted to her teasing, but she stood and walked around in front of him, ruffling the hair on the top of his head after he spoke about getting dressed, and what Nat’s reaction would likely be. She laughed, “Well, we shouldn’t have left her alone!”, she laughed.

She continued ruffling his hair as he told the story about Nat’s first time in a suit with the boys, and she laughed again, shaking her head. Her own dress was a lot less business oriented and made her look like a young newbie to the force, which was probably for the best. But the thought of Nat in a suit amused her, “That does sound like Nat. She’s going to be big mad when she sees my dress. I might have to buy her desert.”

Stepping away from Sam, she walked over to her bag and unzipped it, pulling a sleek black dress, not too long and not too short from her bag by the hanger, holding it up in front of her with a tiny wiggle of her hips, “Someone needs to be the sexy agent, I guess.”

Anna blushed at the insinuation that she was sexy, as she had never pictured herself that way, but she dropped the dress on the bed and began undressing, ready to try something new.

Duke

Duke furrowed his brow as Esme admitted that she had already known how he felt about her, back then. Even though he had been very careful about the way he looked at her around Dean, and the way that he executed the tiny touches and glances that showed everything. She had probably started to notice, before his death confession. He glanced down at their hands as she continued.

He turned his hand over, keeping his free hand pressed against the t-shirt to help it calm the bleeding before he could stitch her up. He wrapped his fingers around hers and then scanned her face as she spoke, his eyebrows raising when she admitted she had been afraid. She had been afraid to lose him.

“I was giving up. I mean, something about feeling the warmth fade out of your fingers while laying on a dusty floor will do that to you.”, he smirked gently, but then leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently against hers, “Thats-that’s all in the past. Somehow, I managed to get out of there in one piece, and I have been reliving that every day since I remembered it. I put you on the spot, and I know now why you were a little different around me after that…before things went to shit between all of us. But I’m here, now.”

Not wanting to get distracted from the task at hand, or to cross boundaries his mind wanted him to cross in such a tense moment, Duke tilted his head to press a careful kiss against the tip of her nose, “Let’s get you stitched up, and then we can catch up. I wanna know what you’ve been up to.”

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

Esme saw Duke's brow furrow when she told him she knew he loved her before he confessed to her. Yes, he had been very careful about the way he looked at her around Dean, and the way he touched her, and the glances that would have given him away. Being an Empath, she could feel just how strong his feelings were for her back then. Duke being unaware that she knew was no surprise to her. She and Dean had never told Duke she was an Empath. They had wanted to but were never quite sure how he would have taken it. Dean had said nothing out of respect for Esme and knew she was the one that wanted to tell him when she felt it was the right time. But the right time never presented its self in her eyes before the three of them went their separate ways and lost contact with one another. She often wondered if it had been a good or bad thing she never told him.

When Duke turned his hand over and wrapped his fingers around hers, she tensed ever so slightly as she had continued to talk. Before Esme closed her eyes, she had even felt his emotions change before she saw his eyebrows raise when she told him she had been afraid of losing him that day. To be honest, she was terrified of losing him that day and had become much harder that day to hide it. She could still feel the burn in her chest and the ache in her stomach that day brought on whenever the memory came flooding back into her mind. Something else she never admitted to either of them was, she loved them both. She loved them both with every fiber of her being, and at the time, the only family she had because her father and she were on the outs. So, of course, she was terrified of losing him as he laid there bleeding from the stab wound in his abdomen. She still considered Duke and Dean her family and the only family she had now, but wasn’t sure if they still saw her the same way after everything.

To be even more honest with herself, being back around both stirred things up she had pushed down after she had left. She still loved both of them, and it was fully clear to her now that nothing would change that, and she was almost sure she felt a spark of something from Duke. When he spoke and smirked, Esme could feel the smirk as she sat there with her eyes still closed, but couldn’t return it, it hurt too much to. When Duke leaned forward and pressed his forehead against her gently, she tensed a bit more, but couldn’t pull back. As he continued to speak, she closed her eyes tighter as she listened, a sigh escaping her nose. Yes, it was in the past. Yes, he put her on the spot that day, and yes, it had made her act a bit differently around him afterward. But it never changed how she felt about him, it just made things slightly awkward. When he said he was there now, she had to wonder for how long.

She had just barely caught him tell Dean and Mika he would stick around for a couple of days. Just what was a couple of days to him now after all this time apart? She gave a slight nod of her head in response, though, and it made her happy he was. Even though she was timid of his touch, she felt more at ease with him there, like she didn’t have to worry about certain things as much. Not to mention, it would be highly awkward if Cason were there instead of Duke tending to her injuries. Duke, tilting his head and carefully kissing the tip of Esme’s nose, pulled her from her small train of thought, and caused her breath to catch as her eyes flew open. It wasn’t something she was expecting in such a tense moment between them, but that didn’t stop the small smile coming to her lips at his words. “O...Okay.” she replied, a little softer than she intended. “If I share, you have to share too.” Pulling her head back and tilted it up slightly, unintentionally brushed her nose against his as she did so.

She froze after she had pulled away and averted her gaze from him. “S...Sorry.” she whispered. Looking down, she noticed her hand was still in his, with his fingers still wrapped around hers. She couldn’t help but noticed how small her hand looked and felt within his, and how he held it within his. Taking a small breath in to clear her thoughts and collect herself, she looked back up at Duke, giving him a look that said she was ready for him to stitch her up, just like she used to. She turned her gaze once again, slowly pulled her hand from his, and prepared herself.

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

After Duke had stitched her up, he left her side and headed into the bathroom to draw her a bath. As she sat on the bed waiting and collecting herself once again, she would occasionally look towards the bathroom to watch Duke. When not watching him, her mind would drift back to times of their past together before he confessed his love for her. One came to mind that made her look back to the bathroom at Duke and laugh softly to herself. “Do you remember that haunting the three of us went to check out at a bed-and-breakfast in Salado?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips. “Everything about that case was strange and ended up going sideways for a bit. I still don’t know how we got the job done and got out of there with only minor scrapes and bruises.” She dropped her head and shook it softly at the memory before looking at him again.

“Then we went back to our room to get cleaned up and changed before going out for a drink. I ended up getting drunk off my ass and I think I pissed a few people off, too. The two of you had to carry me out of there. Everything after that is a bit of a blur.” she laughed. “I’m still wondering if I truly did get drunk because I don’t remember drinking that much, or did I get roofied by some Asshat and was lucky you two were there?”

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

Dean's reply to her comment about 'testing the bed' made her smirk and she couldn't disagree with him in the slightest. She also thought they deserved it after the crap they just went through, and he certainly deserved it after spending so much time in Hell. She was just thankful that it was with her and not anyone else, but then had to mentally shake that last thought out of her head to stop her going down that self destructive rabbit hole.

She glanced up at Dean as she was getting dressed to see him also pulling out his suit and smart clothing, whilst also just throwing it beside her clothes. By the time she was slipping on her heels and just tidying up her hair as she decided to leave it down, she looked up at him as he made the remark he did.

She couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her lips and shrugged playfully, "Not my fault if i look damn good in this suit and heels and you can't keep your hands off of me in the process" she teased back at him as she waited for him to get changed. She knew all too well what her wearing her FBI getup did to Dean and she would have been lying if she said she didn't revel in it. The attention he gave her made her happy, not to mention it almost always meant she had to revel in him wearing his suit which she found equally appealing.

She grabbed her phone out of her normal jacket pocket and sat back on the edge of the bed, crossing her right leg over her left knee as she decided to check on it to make sure there was no emergency messages on it, which luckily there wasn't. "So which one of us wants to do the asking the wife questions and which one of us will do the searching?" she asked him as she waited.

SAM WINCHESTER

Sam found himself smirking back when Annabeth stated they shouldn't have Natalia alone if all she would do is bitch about having to wear a formal suit for the investigation. He coudl almost hear his sister in his head 'bloody suit! Bloody uncomfortable itchy damn suit! dad never had to do this!' and it just made it all the more amusing to him. Yet he also knew she could act incredibly professional when it came to it and was a damn good actor.

Annabeth ruffling his hair just made him half snigger and pull a grimacing face as she did so, never particularly liking it when people messed with his hair but for some reason he let Annabeth get away with it. He also had to admit he enjoyed telling her the story of Nat's first suit buying shopping trip, somehow just knowing that Annabeth would find it highly amusing, which she did. He laughed at her comment about nat probably being annoyed about her dress and nodded, unable to wholly disagree.

"Probably but she'll live with it" he replied as he got changed into his suit. He stole a glance at her as she unzipped the dress and revealed the look of it which took him aback mentally. He gulped as he made his mind come back into the room and smirked at her comment. "You fill that role perfectly" he told her truthfully, even though she didn't particularly see herself as such a person, to him she had grown up to be incredibly beautiful.

He pulled his plaid shirt off his shoulders then pulled his under shirt up and over his head so he could then pull on his white workshirt. Once he had that changed, he perched on the bed and undid his jeans and boots, pulling them down his legs so he could change into his suit trousers.

NATALIA WINCHESTER

After getting over the initial disgust of her being in a smart suit, she grabbed her laptop and had another look over what she was previously looking at. She wanted to make sure she hadn't missed anything on the information about the school kids that mysteriously died while at a halloween party bobbing for apples. To her there was no logical normal explanation for someone to drown by being unable to lift back up, not without someone physically holding them down.

She wanted to go to Sam and Annabeth's room to see if they were ready but something told her in her head that they weren't ready so she felt researching over what she had earlier read was the only option.

[JustAnna]

Dean Winchester

Dean narrowed his eyes and he shook his head as Mika teased him about the way he treated her when she was wearing her suit. It was his thing. It was a weakness. He pulled on his dress pants, and buttoned them, raising his chin to look down at her with his eyebrows raised. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, tucking it into his pants before picking up his crisp white dress shirt and slipping his arms into it, “It IS your fault that you move your hips more when you’re in that suit. It’s criminal.”

He shook his head again, buttoning his shirt as he watched her slip her heels on, “Criminal…”

A smile creeped up on Dean’s face as he stepped back from the bed to grab his jacket and tie from the top of the dresser. He pulled his arms through his sleeves, and began tying his tie as she looked at her phone. He shrugged his shoulders, “Since you’re so good at being sweet to people who are down and out, and I won’t have Sam’s puppy eyes, I’ll leave you to the wife. I can rummage through the house and see what I can find.”

He awkwardly tied his tie, and tightened it around his neck with a grimace, folding his collar down and stepping up to her. He placed both hands on her hips and pulled himself close to her face, already having trouble concentrating, “Criminal, I’m tellin’ ya.”, he chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose.

Annabeth

Anna blushed as Sam paid her a compliment, still getting used to just having him so close at all times. She had thought she would never see him again, and suddenly, he was with her pretty much all the time, and being so sweet. She smirked, shaking herself from her thoughts as she finished undressing.

She picked up the dress and stepped carefully into it, wiggling her hips to pull it onto her body fully, and then reached back for the zipper, “I might actually need help with this, when you’re finished with your pants. I don’t know of I can zip it myself.”

She laughed and turned partially toward him, trying to keep her eyes on his face as he dressed himself. She held the dress around her chest to walk over to her bag and pull a pair of tall black heels that she was sure would make her long legs look infinite, which she had to admit was a plus to this whole thing. Dropping the heels on the floor, she carefully stepped into them, raising her height by several inches.

Backing up toward the bed, she stood in front of Sam, patiently waiting for him to finish getting dressed so he could help her with her zipper, and action that she knew would make them both blush, as they continued getting comfortable around each other, despite the moment they had in the vault.

“These heels are tall tall. I might actually stand at your shoulders, now.”, she teased, glancing down at her feet at the sexy black heels.

Duke

Duke ran water in a large tub in the bathroom after stitching Esme up, and as he bent over the tub to check the temperature of the water, he heard her voice from the room and his ears perked up to listen to what she was saying. He smirked, hearing her mention Salado. Even though there were definitely drugs involved, and the night could have gone way far south, he found her the most adorable when she was left with him alone, and had to fight her hands.

“I definitely remember you being messed up on somethin’, and Dean left you with me so he could go get more waters. You were a mess. You were fightin’ and angry, and then you got lovey dovey and called me by the wrong name. It took every bit of effort to peel you off me like an octopus. I’m convinced someone slipped you somethin’. You were strong!”, he teased back through the door, before stepping into the room. He was still shirtless, and his newer muscles rippled as he shook his arms out, before walking to stand in front of her.

He carefully reached our and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to stand tight against his chest as he stared down at her, “And I remember giving you a bath, and Dean showin’ up all confused but once he saw you asleep in the tub, he forgave me for that.”

Duke laughed, walking backward slowly and pulling her with him by her waist. As they stepped over the threshold of the bathroom, he lowered his hands carefully to her hips, as if he was afraid he was crossing a boundary. Nervously hooking his fingers in the sides of her underwear, he pulled them down her legs, until they dropped onto the floor and he held onto her again, letting her step out of them.

“Sorry, love. I know this is personal. Just tryin’ to keep you from bashin’ your skull on any porcelain.”, he apologized, reaching a hand up to flick her bra open with his fingers. He lifted the straps to keep them from brushing her stitches on her shoulder, and tossed it on the floor with a nervous smile, “Now. Bath time. Your face already looks better, just from a little swelling gel. You still heal just as fast as you used to.”

He released her waist, and brushed his fingertips over her swollen, but much less angry cheek, actually able to see her eye relatively clearly now. He then shook himself from his stare, and he took both her hands, “C’mon. I’ll help. Just get in and relax.”

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

Mika smirked when Dean blamed her completely for him being utterly distracted by her in an FBI getup. Granted she did sway her hips a bit more than normal when it was just them on a case and she was in the suit and heels because she did know what it did to him, but it was also natural for her to walk in such a manner when in such high heels. "okay, you got me there" she smirked.

She listened to his reasoning for why it should be her who talked to the wife and he do the searching, nodding in agreement to the plan. "works for me" she replied as she glanced up from her phone and saw him awkardly doing his tie before managing to get it right without her having to come over and redo it for him for once.

With him stepping up to her, she stood up from where she was sitting as he grabbed her hips and pulled them close together, only to repeat his earlier opinion. She chuckled softly as he kissed her nose before looking up at him, her own hands out of instinct slipping onto his hips back. "I'm sure you'll cope" she told him, pecking his lips now she was a lot more near his face in her heels. "It's not like you're the only one who gets utterly distracted in these suits after all. You're just as much of a distraction to me as I am to you, and it's only more distracting now I've got you back" she told him truthfully.

"But we got a job to do and we really need to focus, no matter how difficult it is" she smirked, pecking his lips once more, deciding to steal as many as she possibly could before they had to exit the room and head out.

SAM WINCHESTER

As Sam pulled his feet out of his jeans, he grabbed his suit pants and pulled them on, hopping up off the bed as they reached his ass and he had to get them over his hips. He glanced over at her when she mentioned about needing help with the zip, smiling at the request. "Sure I can help you out, just give me a second" he replied to her as he did up the zip of his pants and did the attached belt up also before grabbing his smarter shoes and pulling them on his feet, lacing them up.

As he finished with his pants and shoes, Annabeth had managed to make her way over to him, to which he reached his hands out to hold the sides of the dress together at her back and with his free hand, zipped it up with ease. The heels she was now wearing making him realise how much taller she was in them. The action of helping her with her dress did give him a wave of butterflies and knots in his stomach, but he also wasn't completely adversed to the action either, having done it for past girlfriends and on one rare occasion, Natalia.

Her comment about the height of the heels made him chuckle, "that they are, you're on parr with Mika's height now and Natalia's" he smirked. "No longer the short stack!" he teased back, showing he could give as good as he got when it came to teasing, patting her shoulder when he was done with the zip to let her know he was done.

He leaned over to his suit jacket that was draped over the back of the chair at the table, swung it round and pulled his arms through the sleeves before straightening it out so he looked presentable. "Guess I should grab my fake ID and then we should go grab Nat before she goes insane" he smirked, forcing himself to peel his eyes away from Annabeth and how absolutely jaw dropping she looked in his eyes. He was seriously begin to think there was something about the women in their growing griup and family and their ability to scrub up extremely well.

He turned to behind him to go down his bag so he could grab his fake ID and tuck it inside the inside pocket of his blazer, then turned to Annabeth. "I'm ready when you are" he told her.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

Esme’s head dropped to look at the floor as Duke spoke about their time in Salado. Bringing a hand up and closing her eyes, she placed it on the uninjured side of her face and shook her head, not remembering that part of the night. “Oh, god.” she whispered. It was hard to picture herself in a state such as that. It made her cringe at the thought of her even acting like that. At his teasing, she opened her eyes and looked up from her hand to him as he came back into the room, not missing the rippling of his muscles as he shook out his arms. Blinking quickly, she looked up at his face as he walked over to her. “Of course I.” she grinned. “I always was before that and I still am.” she laughed. Being a hunter, you needed to be strong, otherwise, things could go south fast. She had trained long and hard and still did, to build up the strength she needed to face almost anything that she would come across in this life as not to fall prey to them. She never wanted to become someone that everyone thought they needed to save.

When Duke reached out and wrapped his arms around her, she went slightly tense and cursed herself for doing so. After he pulled her to her feet and tight against his chest, she placed her hands on his biceps as he held her and looked up into his face, meeting his gaze as he spoke. “I don’t remember any of that.” she laughed. Which was true. She could remember everything up to the point of where they carried her out and put her in the car, then everything else just went blank. But him taking care of her while Dean went out to get what they needed was definitely him. As he walked backward and pulled her along with him, she carefully walked along with him as to not pop the stitches in her thigh, wincing a bit as she went. Once in the bathroom, she put her weight on her good leg as his hands went to her hips. Esme could feel his emotions changing as if he was afraid, then felt his nervousness as he hooked his fingers into her underwear and pulled them down until they hit the floor.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise and couldn’t stop herself from tensing up as she looked at him, not expecting him to pull them off without some type of warning or even asking if it was alright. It explained his nervousness to some extent. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her naked before, but he had normally asked before removing an article of clothing from her. When he held her again, she carefully stepped out of her underwear and slid them to the side with a small wince before settling back on her good leg again. A small smile came to her lips at his apology and him calling her love. Then she gently shook her head as she looked down a bit. “It’s alright. I’d rather things be personal than…….” she lost her train of thought momentarily and swallowed hard as he flicked her bra open. “Than hitting my head on any of the porcelain in here.” she finished. As he lifted the strap over the stitches on her shoulder, she lifted her hands from his arms so he could slide the bra straps off her arms.

“Besides, we both know this isn’t our first rodeo. Even if I was a bit…… More out of it during those times.” she said with a small smile and laugh to calm herself and him. Once the bra left her arms, she rested them against his chest before she looked back up at Duke to scan his face, finding it hard to miss his nervous smile as he tossed her bra onto the floor. It was hard to stop the smile that crept onto her lips at his next words and laughed a little. “In this life, you have to heal fast.” she joked. “You also know it’s always been hard to keep me down. It also helps when you have someone to help take care of yourself.” she added before he released her waist and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. She closed her eyes for a moment at the action, then met his gaze again, noticing his stare as she became lost in his eyes once again. When he shook himself from his stare, she blinked and looked down at her hands as he took them in his, then looked back up at him.

A warm smile rested on her lips at his sweetness, happy he hadn’t lost that side of himself. At his request to get in and relax, Esme nodded her head softly, held his hands tighter, and moved closer to the bath with his help. “I think I can manage that.” she said warmly. With Duke’s help, she stepped into the bath and lowered herself to sit in the water. Once in, she leaned back and sunk into the water as she let go of his hands, resting her hands on her stomach with a sigh of contentment. The water felt wonderful and it was already working to relax her tired and stiff body, her eyes slowly closed as the water relaxed her more and more. “Thank you again for getting us out of there and patching me up, Bright Eyes.” she whispered after a bit, a soft smile resting on her lips.

[JustAnna]

Dean Winchester

Dean smirked, his smirk turning into a wide smile at Mika’s words. He was flattered, and yet somehow the words still amused the hell out of him. He caught her lips as she pecked his, “Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page. But if you keep up all of this flirting I’m going to have to buy more of these suits. You know…for science.”

He laughed, and pecked her lips back again, pulling away from her reluctantly. He let a small groan leave his throat in agony with having to go on this hunt. As much as he wanted to keep the seal safe, and obviously keep the world from ending in a giant blaze, he still hated that they couldn’t catch up and just enjoy each other’s company, after everything they had all been through. Hopefully the angels would back off for a bit, just to let them breathe. They were angels. Surely they could handle it for a day or two.

“Yeah. Let’s go, before we get too distracted.”, he muttered, pulling her with him. He grabbed his keys off the table and opened the door, stepping back out onto the sidewalk to leave for the interrogation.

Annabeth

Anna sighed biting her lip as Sam’s fingers zipped her dress, her stomach erupting in butterflies at the action, matching his. His casual demeanor however made her feel even more comfortable in the dress, as she at least didn’t seem to distract him too much, from her point of view.

At his comment about her height, she raised her eyebrows and turned to face him with an amused but surprised smile, “Well I’m sorry we aren’t all Sasquatches, sir.”, she teased him, slapping the back of her hand against his chest playfully. She stepped back over to her bag as he went to fetch his jacket and pulled her own fake ID that Dean had given her as a gift. She opened it, staring at it with a smirk, before tucking it into the bra of her dress carefully.

“I got mine. Let’s go get Nat. And make sure you tell her how pretty she is.”, she said with a small giggle, stepping up to him. She stood tall on her heels, rocking them forward to stand more on her tiptoes than she already was, and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips, before lacing her fingers with his and pulling him toward the door.

Duke

Duke helped Esme into the bath, careful to hold onto her hands until she felt it safe to let go of him and she sank into the water. He took a deep breath, and knelt to his knees beside the tub, picking up a clean cloth that he had draped over the side. Her thanks didn’t go amiss, as a smile broke across his face at her nickname for him, “You know it’s not a problem. I’m just glad I was in the area. It wasn’t lookin’ good for either of you, honestly…”

He frowned at the thought of not getting to her fast enough, and sat a bit taller on his knees to try and reach her shoulder across the tub. After a few moments, he sighed in frustration and stood from the tub, “I’ll be right back.”

He stood and stepped closer to the bathroom door, toeing off both his boots and unbuckling his belt. After opening his jeans, he stripped them off along with his boxers and shook his shoulders out, as nerves bubbled up in his stomach. He didn’t want to scare her, or make her uncomfortable, as they had never been naked around each other, within reach. It had always been a joke, or an accident that ended very quickly with a quick cover up, and a laugh.

Huffing, and bringing himself back to the fact that Esme needed his help, he stepped closer to the bathtub, and placed a hand on her upper back, “Lean up, babydoll. I’ll help you wash your back.”

Leaning her forward, he carefully stepped into the giant bathtub behind her, and lowered himself into the water, placing a leg on either side of her to help her be more comfortable, even if it was less intimate to keep his legs curled up against her back. He sighed, and pulled her back against his chest, reaching his hand out to grab the cloth again, “That’s better. Just relax.”

He gathered water in the cloth, and squeezed it out over her hair, pulling her head back against his shoulder, as his heart hammered against her back with his nervousness, “You know, under better circumstances, the old me would be a little too excited about this.”, he chuckled with a wide smile, pulling her wet hair back and reaching for a bottle of shampoo. He poured a bit of the shampoo onto the top of her head, and leaned her forward, just enough to massage the shampoo into her scalp. He kept his smile as he massaged her scalp, and chuckled again, “But all things considered, I’m a calm and respectful gentleman now.”

[FuriePhoenix]

MIKA CHAMBERS

The idea of Dean buying more suits 'for science' because of her flirting was highly amusing to Mika. This whole moment just made reminded her of when they were teenagers and they officially got together, all the times they'd playfully flirt with each other just amuse each other. It brought a sense of familiarity and comfort to her that despite everything they had been put through and what the Angels were now making them all do, they could still act like this with each other. Something she was cherishing so much more than before as she was convinced the night before that Cupid had well and truly torn them apart again and driven Dean into Esme's arms.

Like him, she wanted a break from hunting (not that she had done too much when Dean was in Hell- too busy grieving after all), and to just enjoy his company once more so she hoped after this job the Angels would let them take a break, though she wasn't holding her breath for it to actually happen. They didn't know these Angels well at all at this stage and had no idea if they would stab them metaphorically in the back, or even literally if they failed this job.

Mika then smirked as Dean said they should get going before they get anymore distracted, to which she nodded in agreement, knowing she'd be going back on her word after it was her constantly reminding them of the bigger picture this whole time, amongst the shameless flirting. "When this job is done we should totally give the bed another test before we leave. Y'know, for science" she smirked as she let him drag her behind him and out the room, onto the sidewalk.

The fact Dean picked up his keys told her they were taking his car for a change, which was very welcome to Mika. She walked to his car with him and went straight to the passenger side, waited for him to unlock the car before she opened the door and got inside by making a point of slowly stepping one leg in first, then slowly leaning down, sitting on the seat and then pulling her other leg inside before she pulled the door shut. There was absolutely no need for her to make a big deal of how she got into his impala but she was in the mood to just really deliberately wind Dean up.

Smirking to herself, she waited for him to get in the driver's side and take them to the house they needed to get to, whilst also making a mental note of how it was clear Sam, Nat and Annabeth were still sorting themselves out before heading to the school. Just as she thought that, she saw Sam's room door open.

SAM AND NATALIA WINCHESTER

Annabeth's comeback to his teasing of her height made him laugh and obviously fake feeling pain as he rubbed his chest where she hit him with the back of her hand. "I guess not!" he chuckled back at her as she then walked to her bag to get her own fake ID that he didn't even realise she had been given, but glad she had as it would make all their covers a lot more believable.

At his comment about going to get Natalia, he nodded at the suggestion with a smirk whilst also making sure he had absolutely everything they would need. "Yeah yeah" he replied, kissing her back then taking her hand to leave the room with her. As they left, he gave a nod to Mika and Dean who he saw just leaving for their location, whilst he took Annabeth to Natalia's room, where he knocked in a very specific rhythm on the door as he and Dean always did, so Natalia knew it was them and not anyone bad or anything monsterous.

It all came about because of her time in the asylum and mysterious knocks on her door always put her on edge and go into a fight or flight mode, it was why she had her gun out behind her back when Annabeth and Cason first showed up those few days ago. "Remember that knock beat incase you ever need her in the future. She'll know it's you" he told Annabeth quietly as he waited for Natalia to answer the door.

Natalia heard the knock and listened for the familiar beat that she instantly recognised and went straight to the door, opening it without any worries and smiled at the two of them. She then took in how Annabeth was dressed, then looked down at her pant suit and grumbled under her throat. "How come she gets the sexy number?" she asked, but gave Annabeth a wink that said 'you look great though'.

"let's get this over with, guessing it's my car as neither of you drove here" she smirked, leaning to her left and grabbing her car keys and fake ID before stepping outside and closing the door behind her after double checking she had her room key in her inside blazer pocket. She walked to her car with them when they were ready to move, unlocking the car in the process. "So i've been reading about the case involving the school whilst I was waiting for you two, turns out it was a kid who drowned in a bowl as they was bobbing for apples at a halloween party. The friends have stated they tried to pull them out but an invisible force was holding them down, until they drowned" she explained.

[Wolvena]

Esme Stirling

As Esme lay in the tub with her eyes closed, she smiled at the first part of what Duke said, then it faded at the last part. She knew how bad it could have been if he hadn’t had shown up when he did, and she was grateful he showed up. “I can’t disagree with you there.” she said in almost a whisper. Her mind drifted back to her being tied to the chair and being tortured by the demon, causing her eyebrows to knit together and her body to tense up. If Duke hadn’t shown up when he did, the only way they could have gotten out of the situation was if she had gone nuclear as she did before. A heavy sigh escaped her nose at the thought of going nuclear again. In the shape she was in, she would have been out cold soon after, and out for a few days. She shook the thought from her mind before it could get the better of her and began to relax again.

When she heard his frustrated sigh, she was about to open her eyes before she heard him say he’d be back, to which she gave a small nod. She could hear his footsteps as he walked away from the tub and to the door of the bathroom, then listened as he kicked off his boots. As she heard him unbuckle his belt, she opened her eyes and looked at the bathroom door to see him opening his jeans, causing her eyebrows to raise. “What are you…… You’re not….” she started softly, then trailed off, not being able to finish her sentences as he took off his pants and boxers. Hellfire! He is! she thought to herself. This is unexpected. We’ve never been naked in the same room. Let alone in a bath together. she continued to think. Her eyes had shot up to his face as he shook out his shoulders, and feeling his nerves grow stronger. I would have never thought he would get in with me to help. she thought.

Every incident that she could remember of them being naked was an accident, then they would quickly cover up with a laugh before either could see much of the other. This was definitely a new moment between them, one that really stirred up the nerves. As Duke stepped back up to the bath and placed a hand on her upper back, she found herself holding her breath as he asked her to lean up. She couldn’t stop the soft smile coming to her lips as he used her nickname as she leaned forward with his help, wincing a bit at her sore stomach muscles. As Duke stepped into the bath, she slowly let out the breath she was holding while being aware of his every move as he lowered himself into the water. When his legs were placed on either side of her, she could feel her nerves rising more, since she half expected him to curl up behind her.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on keeping her breath even and not letting her nerves take control of her, which wasn’t easy with Duke’s nervousness rising. As he sighed and pulled her back against his chest, she opened her eyes and nodded her head softly. That’s easier said than done. she thought to herself. Esme looked at the ceiling as he wet her hair with the cloth and pulled her head back against his shoulder. It was then she felt his heart hammering against her back from his nervousness. It felt as if he could have a heart attack at any moment. Before she could think more about it, he spoke again, and it caused her to laugh, as she knew it was completely true. “Don’t I know it. I remember how you were then.” she laughed. After he put the shampoo in her hair, her eyes closed as he massaged the shampoo into her hair and scalp after leaning her forward a bit.

One eyebrow went up when he chuckled again and said he was a calm and respectful gentleman now, followed by a smirk. “Psh….. I can agree with being a respectful gentleman, but you are far from calm right now.” she said with a laugh in her tone as she opened her eyes. Carefully shifting to one side, Esme carefully adjusted herself to where she was just about laying at an angle to look at him, a warm smile resting on her lips. “You’re going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm yourself.” she told him. Yes, her nerves were heightened as well and her heart was beating fast, but nowhere near as fast as his. As she lay there, she scanned his face, then brought up a hand to lie gently on his chest, still feeling his heart hammer against it. “Your heart feels like it could jump out of your chest at any moment.” As she spoke, she looked down at her hand on his chest a moment, then looked back up into his eyes.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him so nervous around her, but then again, they had never been like this together. She inwardly smiled at the thought of his nervousness being caused by her, and his fear of crossing any boundaries with her or scaring her. He was one person who scared her the least out of all those she knew. Pulling herself back from her thoughts, she held his gaze and softly sighed. “You need to breathe, Bright Eyes.” she spoke softly. “We don’t need you popping a blood vessel or worse.” she added, throwing a little tease to lighten things. Taking in a calm breath, she did a soft projection of calm emotion to him. It would be just enough to get the job done, but not enough to drain her of what energy she had. As she held his gaze and projected the emotion, Esme realized that this was the first time she had done a projection of emotion on him. It also felt different from all the other times she had to project emotion to someone.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on why it felt so different and it confused her greatly. Maybe it was because, deep down, she knew she caused his nervousness and was the one who could remedy it. She could calm the nervousness that bubbled up in him that was caused by her and the moment they were sharing. She also knew that with her projecting calm to him, he could pick up on how quickly his nervousness faded. Which at some point could lead to her finally telling him she was an Empath. It was something she was a little nervous about confessing to him after all this time.