JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean stepped forward toward the door of Rusty's reaching his hand out and touching the handle. He lowered his head for a second, and turned to the girls, his eyes first falling on Esme. There was a pit in his stomach, a pit that had been there since the day they parted. Things were so good. Things were almost perfect, and he made a mistake, that ruined everything. Just a few words and she practically ran from him.

But when he came to her, he was so broken. He was drunk, banged up, and actively trying to convince anyone that would have him...to kill him. Before he could succeed, she brought him in, gave him a safe ear and a warm bed. If it was possible in life, to have more than one great love...Esme was one of two. It's why his heart was so torn.

As he chewed on his lip, he thought back to the good times. One scene, in particular, played over in his mind, like a vivid movie. He almost knew that if Mika could have just seen (outside of the more illicit memories) how Esme kept him safe from himself, and from hurting others, she might understand.

------------
Ravenden, Arkansas - 5 years earlier

Dean sat with a small groan, glad to finally be off his feet for the day. The hunt he and Esme had been on was exhausting, and even though it was open and shut, he felt like they had walked for miles.

Shaking himself out of a tired haze, he looked up at her and smirked, "You know, I've been around you now for a while...and you still impress me, every day?"

He pulled her onto his lap with a small laugh and leaned in for a kiss, butterflies still coming up in his stomach when their lips touched. This was the happiest moment Dean Winchester could remember in a long time, on the road, with someone he cared about...no worries. Just hunting, and spending time together.

Esme stood close by Dean as he sat down. She was exhausted, but still felt wired at the same time as the events played out in her mind. Even if it had been open and shut, it had taken more out her than she expected. His voice pulled her out of her thoughts and brought a bright smile to her lips.

“I impress you? How could I possibly do that?” she asked in mock surprise. When he pulled her into his lap, she couldn't stop the laugh that followed. She put an arm around his neck, resting her hand on his shoulder and her other hand rested on his chest. When he leaned in for a kiss, she hesitated briefly, feeling her own butterflies in her stomach, before closing the gap by brushing her nose against his and kissing him back.

Dean didn't answer right away, just enjoying their closeness as he kissed her, and then pulled back, brushing his nose against hers with a sweet smile on his lips. Just the touch of skin was like a magnet, when he was stressed, or when he got lost in her thoughts.

"The fact that you don't know...", he scoffed, "The way you handle yourself on a hunt, but are absolutely calm and collected when we're home. It impresses me. I wish I could be more like that."

It was true. Every time they came back to the motel, he couldn't help but notice how calm they both seemed around each other. His rage wasn't as much of an issue, and honestly, he was getting used to the new constant.

Esme sighed softly into the kiss, taking in the closeness and calm that washed over her. She knew it sounded silly, but this was when she felt the most content and calm. With his arms around her and his lips against hers, how could she not? When he pulled back, she almost chased after his kiss, not wanting it to end.

A smile returned to her lips as his nose brushed her, and she saw his sweet smile. “That truly impresses you?” she grinned. She closed her eyes and shook her head softly before opening them again. “You want to know a secret?” she asked him in a whisper. She hesitated for effect, not really expecting him to say yes or no. “It’s because I’m returning with you.” she confessed.

“If I were doing this on my own, I don’t think I’d be so calm and collected.” She gazed into his eyes to show him she really meant it. Not to mention, she strived to be that way so he wouldn’t worry about her. She then slid her hand from his chest up to rest on his cheek. “You’re getting there. A little more work and you’ll have it.” she smiled as she stroked his cheek with her thumb.

Dean smiled even brighter at her question, and nodded, kissing her chin. He raised his eyebrows and pulled his head back to look at her when she confessed that he was her reason for her feeling safe and calm. He had always seen her as the reason he was able to handle himself, outside of just killing and being angry.

He had never seen herself as her calm. He looked into her eyes, scanning between each of them carefully, before letting his eyes flutter closed at her touch, with a gasp, “It just feels good to not feel…mad all the time. I can relate. I wouldn’t be alive, if it weren’t for you, if I’m being honest.”

He hated the words leaving his mouth, as he felt that they made him seem weak, but he felt the need to finally tell her.

Esme had watched his reaction as she confessed what she had been hiding from him. It wasn’t something she had fully planned on doing, but his reaction couldn’t have been better. It seemed that all this time they had been each other's calm, and it filled her heart with joy and she smiled. She then watched as his eyes fluttered shut and gasped at her touch, making her smile even more.

“I know it does. You don’t know how much it hurt seeing you like that.” she whispered as she stroked his cheek again. She then leaned in and placed her forehead on his when he said he was alive because of her. “You give me too much credit.” she whispered, closing her eyes. She knew it was something for him to tell her that, thinking she’d think him weak, but she thought the opposite.

Dean let out a shuddered sigh, and shook his head, "No. You don't get enough credit..."

Rolling his forehead against hers, he brushed his nose by hers, and kissed her deeply. After a few seconds of the kiss, he stood carefully from the chair, not pulling away from her, and picked her up.

He ran over to the bed with a giggle against her lips and threw her onto the mattress...

-----

Dean shook himself from the memory, and smiled warmly toward Esme with a sigh. He then turned to face Mika, walking over and opening her car door, offering his arm to her.

"Need a hand?", he asked her sweetly.

What Dean didn't know, was Cupid was placing an arrow into his bow...and the arrow was not aimed in the direction any of them had hoped. The cherub sat on top of Rusty's roof, tears still in his eyes from the scene earlier in the night. He wanted to get this one right. He took aim at Dean again, placing his bounty with a delay, for the right...time...

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Bobby smiled to himself, even if he was annoyed at Dean, and walked to his bedroom, shutting the door. For once, he planned to get a good night of sleep, since the hunters were on a break. Maybe the phones would be quiet, well…the ones that were still on the hook.

Dean sulked up the stairs, tripping a couple of times as his untied boots tripped him up with the help of alcohol. As Mika came up behind him and pushed him, he giggled, and leaned into her whisper, “Ohhh. Joint bath? I would love to!”

He realized then, that he was still pretty drunk. He could walk. He could talk, but he was still feeling playful and silly, which was definitely in his nature when he was drunk. Playful and horny. Walking into the room, he turned to her and flexed his pectoral muscles, almost forgetting how bad his chest still hurt at times.

“You just want to get me naked again…”, he joked as he walked backward toward the bathroom, “But we are absolutely disgusting…and I’m actually tired for once in my life. So, bath, and bed with plans for tomorrow?”

As he asked the question, his eyes glittered a bit. He wasn’t used to planning tomorrow, or next week. Half the time, he didn’t even know if he would be alive in the next hour. So, with his plans to stay with her for a while, and John not wanting him anywhere near his big hunt, he was happy to plan out their days, and adventures.

Pulling her to him, he gave her a smiley kiss and pulled her into the bathroom with him.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean listened to Esme stammer, her awkward guilt causing his heart to hurt. He felt as if he had caused all of this with his stupidity and his inability to let people go, once he opened up to them. He squeezed her knee tightly when she started to talk about his death, and simply shook his head. Even though she broke the sentence off herself, he felt the need to almost give her permission to not talk about it, yet.

“Well you’re here. And…”, when she stepped off the hood of the car, he stared at her intently, pulling his hand back to his hip and shook his head at her words, “There’s not going to be anything that is bad enough to push you out of here, alright? I want to know that you’re safe, and…I’ll keep things not strained, if it will make you stay. I know you want to.”

He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “And I know that you want to figure out where we should stand. So, just give me a chance to help.”

He didn’t want to say the last words to her, where either of the other girls could hear him. He knew Mika wouldn’t take things well, if she overheard them. Like clockwork, as he was thinking about her reaction she chimed in about the riding situation, looking at Esme.

“We could take the Impala, but that might just make things worse…”, he whispered to her, turning to Mika and Nat, “Let’s go. I need a drink, what about you girls?”

He stepped up to Mika, placing a careful hand on the small of her back and kissing her temple, trying to form a sort of truce before they got to where they were going. He held his hand up high, “I’m riding shotgun!”

—-

As they arrived at the bar, after the silent ride, Dean quickly got out of the front seat, and stepped around to open Mika’s door, holding a hand out to her. Rusty’s looked ultra busy tonight, but it also looked like the perfect place for limited talking, and limited communication in general. He fully planned to go inside, make a few hundred dollars in pool, and get drunk enough to forget this night had ever happened, resurrected or not.

Annabeth

Anna smirked, relieved to see Sam acting more like the sweet Sam she hadn’t really met for long. She rubbed both her wrists with a small hiss of pain, and turned toward the bowl, “Im thinking I might need help getting the blood out of my hair, to be honest. I’m drenched…I felt it in the cold outside.”

She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it heavily on the ground, the blood sticky and causing it to ‘slap’ on the concrete. Her shirt had soaked through so badly that her skin was lightly tinted in a faint pink color. She then shoved her jeans down, and onto the floor, stepping out of them with her hands out.

“Sam…you’re not some pervert. You’re just helping me…besides…”, she held her hands out in front of her, with her teeth chattering at the detox chills and showed him her shaky hands, “I don’t have the best control over my body, at the moment.”

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Bobby rolled his eyes at Mika’s explanation of events, not as surprised as he wished he was. He had patched Dean up from what seemed like a million bar fights out at Rusty’s. He simply stared at Dean, and narrowed his eyes, “And your clothes?”

“Vamp blood?”, Dean said sheepishly, raising his shoulders at Bobby. When Bobby didn’t cave, Dean outwardly cringed, and let his shoulders drop.

“Upstairs. Both of you…”, Bobby said simply, shaking his head, “And next time you come in from one of your romps…do it in the morning…dressed.”

Dean flinched at Bobby’s words, and started up the stairs, “Bobby for the record, we chose a car that…”

“Just get up stairs before I shoot you!”, Bobby yelled as he stepped back over to his desk. Dean turned to Mika, giving her a look that read ‘I’m drunk. It came out’ and then slowly walked up the stairs toward her room.

Bobby sat down and turned gently toward Mika, “I know you guys stumbled onto a hunt tonight, but I do hope you had a good night, darling.”

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Dean nodded reluctantly at the idea of having to make it through another door, before they could even attempt to walk up the stairs of the house. So many ways to make noise. When she stepped over to the next door, and poked her head through it, he couldn’t help but poke his head through as well. Holding both his shoulders, he leaned in above her head to check and see if the coast was clear.

When she gave him a signal that the coast was clear, he pulled his head back and released her, placing a hand on her lower back and slipping around her to tiptoe toward the stairs. Before he could touch the first step, Bobby’s voice shook him to his core.

“You wanna explain to me why I just got a call from Jessica Mosby, telling me that you left her with a mess at the bar? I had to call Rufus.”, Bobby grumbled from across the room. Dean froze, staring over at him as he continued, “I can see you, you idjit. Where are your clothes? And where’s my niece? Jess said you guys were pretty beat up and wasted…”

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Dean stood, waiting for her to exit the van, his hand held out. He grabbed her hand and took off across the lot after shutting the door of the bus quietly. He glanced around the lot, first looking up toward the attic, where he normally would just climb up. But he knew that climbing a ladder, while trying to be quiet, and while drunk was a horrible idea.

“What can I say? I like drinking if I’m in a bar. You’re a bad influence!”, he quipped at her, finally taking in her comment about his drinking for the night. He wasn’t nearly as drunk as he had been when they came back. He wondered how many random bruises they both probably had, considering he fell…a lot.

“I think we can go through the basement. The stairs are right next to the stairs to the attic. If we walk quietly, maybe take our shoes off? We might can get by him before he notices. His hearing isn’t the greatest…I hope.”, he explained, lowering his body and pulling him with her as they approached the house.

Stepping up to the door of the basement, he stepped inside, pulling her in behind him and closing the door slowly, with a face. As it clicked closed, he paused, holding his hands out toward it to listen for Bobby’s footsteps. Hearing none, he turned back to her and giggled.

“Door one…success…”

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Dean shook himself from most of him thoughts, and smiled brightly in the dark, grabbing his jeans from the dusty floor of the bus. He didn’t really bother to look for his other clothes, figuring that if he wanted to come get them, he could come back out in the daylight and find them. He was more concerned about dressing decent enough to not cause Bobby alarm.

Laughing at the thought of walking into the house naked, Dean pulled his jeans on and then slipped his feet into his boots, looking around the lot that was now flooded with water in places.

“He’s probably going to figure us out, either way.”, he muttered, scooting closer to her to open the door to the bus. The rain was still lightly falling across the wet gravel and splashed a bit off the door as it hung open, “Or at the very least, someone has already called him about the vampire bodies. So, I fully expect a lecture about cleaning up our messes.”

Dean scooted toward the door, putting his feet down on the gravel heavily, and turning back to her, realizing that he was still pretty drunk. His head was swimming, and the rain was only making it worse as it fell on his bare shoulders. He stood straight and stretched, flexing his chest with a tiny hiss, “I’m still drunk…”

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Dean watched carefully as she traced the scars with a gentler touch, and seemed to be mulling over some emotions as she went. Although he repressed a lot of what happened to her, he couldn't help but wonder if she still dealt with it, and just didn't speak about it, which he knew from experience was likely the source of a lot of her anger issues, and withdrawal.

He smirked as she pulled away from the kiss, chasing her lips a bit, and letting both his arms drop in defiance. He wanted to say ‘no’ to going inside, as he knew it would possibly end with Bobby being incredibly pissed if they weren’t careful. He weighed his options visually on his face, before finally settling, “Yeeeeah. I think we should probably try to go and um…get a bath. I just hope I am as sober as I currently feel.”

He laughed, his eyes still swimming a bit if he turned his head too quickly, and pushed her back as he sat up carefully. Sitting up, he groaned a bit at how sore he was and scratched the back of his neck, “I think a few of those hits were spot on.”

He held up a thumb, congratulating the vampires for managing to actually hurt him a bit, chuckling.

“C’mon. Let’s sneak in. It’s gonna be a cold and wet trek, though…”, he quipped at her, still noticing how wet her hair was, “Think he’ll notice?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean Winchester

Dean sighed, running his eyes all the way from Mika, across the garage, and then with a start, stepped away from her completely, walking across the lot toward where he left Esme. He was almost afraid to confront her again, but Bobby made it clear that he wanted everyone out of the house, other than the Sam and Cason, for a bit.

His heart leapt into his throat as she appeared in his sight, his feet hesitating against the gravel. Seeing her sitting on the hood of her car, her head buried in her journal brought up a lot of memories, once again, and he wasn’t sure why all of this was coming forward, now. Maybe it was because they were finally in a safe place together, or the fact that they had all almost died, and emotions were heightened. Either way, he felt like they were just meeting, again, after all this time, and he couldn’t deny that he still had love for her. He tried to find the words to approach her with as he continued forward, and eventually just settled upon a simple, “Hey…”

“Um…Bobby wants some alone time with the books, and has asked us all to leave. You too.”, he started, before kicking a couple of rocks and placing his hands on his hips to keep from touching her, in hopes of calming himself down. His hand shivered at the effort, “I can come with you to get a hotel, if you need me, or you can…come…to the bar with us? Mika will have Nat to keep her away from you, and I’ll…I’ll be there too. But, what to you say?”

He felt horrible at how the song had gone, and wanted to apologize directly, but he had to keep check of his emotions, or he was afraid a song might strike again. Reaching his hand out, he placed it gently on her knee and breathed a sigh of relief almost instantly, closing his eyes, “I’ll buy you your first drink…”

Cason and Bobby

Bobby stepped back into the house, as soon as he had confirmed with them that he wanted them to leave. He sighed loudly as he approached Cason, who was perched back on the couch, his eye now completely healed, other than some bad scarring around it. Bobby kicked at his feet, as he walked by and picked up a bottle of whiskey from the table, “Wanna get this party started? Start somewhere with love spells, blood magic, or things to do with wrecking relationships…like an anti-cupid.”

Cason’s head popped up at the term, and he glanced over at Bobby with a smile on his face, “Do you have an angel classification book? Say…1850?”

Bobby poured two glasses of whiskey, and pointed at Cason, “I’m starting to like you, boy. Let me dig…”

Cason smiled as if his father had told him he did a good job with something, taking his glass of whiskey from Bobby’s outstretched arm, as Bobby stepped over toward Natalia, “I don’t know if you heard what I said, out there to your brother, but we have a case right here looming over our heads. I need some time to work with our resident angel expert, in there.”

He gestured toward Cason, who was kicking back his glass of whiskey and fiddling with things on Bobby’s desk carefully, drawing his hand back as a bit of steam hissed from his fingers at the random salt Bobby had spread across everything. Bobby rolled his eyes, “So, use my tab at Rusty’s and you all go out. Get some fresh air. Try to get along, and keep an eye on those three for me until I have an answer?”

He heard her phone buzz and simply nodded to her with a soft fatherly smile. He patted her arm and turned back to go help Cason, and hopefully keep him out of his desk.

Annabeth

Anna pulled her wrist happily from the handcuff, but didn’t complain at having the other locked to the table. It didn’t hurt, if she didn’t fight against it. She fumbled for his hand, not even massaging her cut up wrist. Instead, she chose to just hold him.

When he agreed to help her clean up the demon blood that still covered her body, she nodded and her eyes lit up with hope, leaning her forehead against the top of his hand, pulling it to sit on top of her knee as he texted Nat.

When Nat arrived in the vault, Anna’s face perked up, staring at the hall outside the vault briefly, and then up at Nat, “Thank you…”

As she muttered the words, Nat closed the door,, and Anna’s face came back to look at Sam, happy that he didn’t seem to have been harmed in all the chaos. He was clean, for the most part, and it was the first time she had gotten a good look at him, “Thank you for coming down here, Sam. I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with all of this with me. It must be insane to see all of this blood…and…you must think I’m a monster.”

She dropped her eyes back down to their hands, squeezing his, as she wanted to remember what his skin felt like, if anything happened during her detox. She then looked down at her body.

“Not to sound weird, but…I’m probably going to have to get out of these clothes, and I’m locked up. So, I’m going to need help.”, she whispered nervously, not wanting to sound as if she was trying to just take advantage of him.

Supernatural-My Battle (FuriePhoenix+AnnaBeth)

Dean hissed a bit as she ran her fingers over the tender skin, as it was still healing under all the scarring. As she leaned down and kissed the scar, he couldn’t help his eyes drifting closed. The memories of the attack fluttered into his mind, and then slipped away as she touched his face. He smiled and nodded, “That we have…”

Thinking about the times together that they had almost died, one way or another was painful to remember, in a way. But he was thankful they were both still fine. Yeah, he had almost died horrifically, and mostly because his dad gave up on him, and it sucked…but now he was with her.

He then thought back to the night of her attack, and how everyone acted around him, when they broke the news of her death. He had stumbled out the door, and dropped to his knees for the first time in his life, screaming at the sky in the rain to the point that his throat bled. No one followed him, but Sam, confused and hurt to see him so torn up. He didn’t even remember how long he stayed in that position, not wanting to be around anyone as he punished himself, and verbally punished the universe for taking the one good. The one constant in his life. It was the single worse feeling he could remember, and coming out of the vision, he stared up at her face, her hand still on his cheek.

“But I’m still here…”, he whispered, reaching up to grab her own face, pulling it down to his in a thankful and passionate kiss.