JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean kept his gaze, smiling a bit wider when Lexi met his smile, after asking about Sam’s wellbeing. It was hard not to notice that they seemed on the same page, or maybe it was her concussion. Either way, her eyes were warm and she seemed to appreciate his efforts to make sure she was okay. He didn’t even notice Sam looking at him, mulling over the way he looked at Lexi.

He tore his eyes away from her for a moment, to look at Sam, “I want you to keep an eye on your own head, stubborn ass. You need anything, you don’t hesitate to come get me. I’m not doing anything, anyway.”

As Sam stood up, and asked if they wanted anything from the kitchen, Dean sighed and crossed his arms, glancing between Sam and Lexi. Maybe he was rusty, but he felt like they both needed to be watched over. He hadn’t seen injuries come into the bunker in a while. Then again, he hadn’t been out of his room enough to check Sam over in a while. He turned his head toward Sam as he stepped toward the kitchen, “Yeah. I’ll take a cup of coffee. Or rather a pot of coffee. I’m gonna be up a while.”

He gave his brother a look, confirming that he was going to stay awake to listen for Lexi, just in case her head was worse off than he thought. He planned to just hang out at his desk and watch some bad tv after she turned in, or maybe he would go and sort through the vault down from his room, so he could be closer to her room, and could hear her better.

“You sure you’re good?”, he asked Lexi, turning his eyes back to stare at her with a serious look. He tapped his fingers on the table, and raised his eyebrows, his gaze a bit intense as he scanned her face, “I don’t know your tolerance to this sort of thing, but if you want, you’re welcome to come watch a movie or something, until you ride out this six hours.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean opened his eyes and kept his arm around Lexi for a few moments as she relaxed in his arms. He carefully relaxed his arm from around her, but kept his hand on her shoulder as he lowered her back down to the chair, and held her steady for a moment.

“You’re gonna want to stay awake for a bit, with that concussion.”, Dean muttered as he walked over to the nearest empty chair and pulled it to him, before sitting and turning his eyes back to Lexi, “I’m not far down the hall from you. So, you can knock if you’re feeling weird.”

He turned his eyes to Sam, and stared at his brother for a second, double checking that Sam seemed fine. Other than the sore head, he looked normal, and even his demeanor toward his head didn’t seem as if he was injured too badly. Dean took a deep and relieved breath, “Well, we’re all alive! It’s a good day.”

A smile came to his lips, and Dean turned his gaze back to Lexi, giving her a warm smile. He would have his ears open, all night, and chances were, he wouldn’t be sleeping. For some reason, he was incredibly paranoid about Lexi’s concussion. Maybe it was how much she reminded him of Mika, when he and Mika would go out on hunts and he would have to patch them both up when they returned. Maybe it was because she was fiercely independent and untouchable, and yet he felt the need to touch her at ever second he was near her.

Whatever it was, he needed caffeine. It was going to be a long night.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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?"

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean furrowed his brow when Sam patted his arm and explained that Lexi had ended up more on the wrong side of the hunt. Things must have gone really South, if Sam got out in better shape than anyone he was hunting with, but judging by his own appearance, Dean had to assume his head had taken a nice little knock….as usual.

“Alright, come here…”, Dean grumbled, backing up and holding his hands out to her as she walked over to the table. He pulled a rolling chair right beside her, and turned the chair to face her before sitting down. As Sam walked into the kitchen, he stood again and strolled over to the library, pulling a flashlight off the top of one of the bookshelves. Strolling back over to the table, he leaned his knee on his chair and reached a careful hand out to place a finger on the bottom of Lexi’s chin, pulling her eyes up to his.

“Look at me.”, he grumbled, turning the flashlight on and shining it over her left eye a couple of times in flashes, and then her right with a sigh. He frowned and sat the flashlight down on the table, “Not the worst I’ve seen. But I think you do have a little concussion. Keep that up and you’ll have a calloused brain like Sam.”

As he teased her slightly, he traced his fingers over any blood stains he could see, making sure none of them were actual skin breaks, other than the one on her head. To his relief, it seemed to just be her lip and her head. He sighed, and leaned back a bit, “Stand up. Hold onto me if you need to.”

As he helped her stand, he brushed his hands gently over her shoulders, shoving her jacket down her arms, and then reached his hands down to her wrists, tugging the sleeves free of her hands. He tossed her jacket on the table and did the same with her overshirt. He winced externally as the bruising of her shoulder, from being dislocated. He reached his hand up and gently brushed his fingers over the bruises.

“You know this is gonna suck, right?”, he asked her with a sad smirk. He walked around to her back, and pushed on her lower back to have her stand straighter, he took a deep breath. Bringing a hand around to the front of her shoulder, he placed the heel of his palm against the front, and brought his other hand around to wrap his fingers around the top of her shoulder, as his wrist rested against her skin, “One…two…”

Without saying three, he suddenly tensed, her shoulder popping loudly as it fell back into place. He held her for a moment, wrapping one of his arms around her body to hold her tight against his chest and let her relax from what he knew had to be a horrible jolt of pain, and at the closeness, he pressed his nose against the back of her head, inhaling deeply as he closed his eyes. On one hand, he was glad he fixed her shoulder, on the other hand, his stomach cramped painfully at the fact that he had hurt her. But breathing so close to her, his heart rate steadied, and he relaxed, “I’m sorry."

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean felt the presence grow a bit stronger as Mika sat on the bed beside him and touched his shoulder. He couldn’t quite feel her touch, but in a way, he knew she was touching him. He closed his eyes, just breathing in the presence and turned his head toward his shoulder, “If you’re here. Just stay for a while? Please?”

He sniffled and scooted himself back on the bed, leaving his boots on as he laid his head back against his pillows and turned over onto his side. He stared at the wall, turned toward the side of the bed that she would normally rest against, and he settled, sniffling as he pushed the grief down, with the help of a decent amount of whiskey.

---

After a little bit, Dean was starting to drift in and out of sleep, seemingly for the first time in months. But at the sound of the bunker door closing, and Sam’s voice calling out through the large and echoing room, Dean sat up and stared at the door. He gave some thought to whether he wanted to walk out, and face Lexi again, with Mika heavy on his mind. He shuddered, the pang of guilt that he had managed to avoid earlier in the day creeping back up.

After a few moments of thought, he rolled off the bed, and walked to his door, holding his hand against the doorknob. He paused, and held it tightly in his hand, as something in the back of his mind told him it was okay. They needed him.

He pulled the door open and stepped into the hall, walking quickly toward the war room, toward Sam’s voice. He stepped into the open room, and turned his gaze up the stairs, “Hey! You guys okay…Holy crap you both look like crap. What happened?”

Dean rushed over to the stairs and reached his hand out for Sam’s arm as he stepped into the room. He checked Sam’s demeanor and the way he walked, and after a moment, his shoulders relaxed. He didn’t seem hurt bad enough to fall over, or for his giant head to be damaged too much, “You okay? You gonna make it?”

His eyes then fell on Lexi, who looked worse. He didn’t want to rush to her, and make her uncomfortable, especially after what had happened in the armory. He stared at her for a moment, trying to assess her injuries without his hands, “What can I do?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

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.