JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

The next morning
Dean woke with a start from a nightmare, gasping as he flinched and his eyes opened wide to stare at the ceiling. He blinked a few times, trying to blink away the images of Mika’s death from the back of his mind. The nightmares were still there, every time he closed his eyes without fail. It seemed, however, as if he had slept quite a while, because his head was groggy and his eyes were sore, as if he had been there a while.

He reached over with his free hand, and picked up his phone, frowning at the time. This was the latest he had slept in a while. It was seven in the morning. He tossed his phone back on the night stand and turned his attention to the weight on his chest. He smiled, pulling himself closer to Lexi who at some point in the night had ended up turned away from him, curled up on his arm. He rolled to press his face into her hair and breathed her in, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest.

“Good morning.” He murmured in a sleepy raspy voice, into her hair. He tilted his head up and nuzzled his nose against her ear with a soft smile, “We should probably get up before the banging on the door starts…”

Anya

Anya smiled as Sam brought her into his side, slinging her arm over his sweaty chest. She snuggled up to him and sighed, just feeling the difference in his gentle touches from the roughness of those same touches over the last hour. She was comfortable. She was safe. It was an odd feeling of safety, being so close to Sam, as if she had known him forever, and knew that he would protect her with his life.

She hummed silently at the feeling of him brushing his fingers over the skin of her arms, goosebumps forming at the light touch. And with his comment, Anya was reminded of exactly how new their connection was…and how innocent it had started. She laughed, her body shaking a bit against his side as the simplicity of the whole thing washed over her…again, like they were meant to end up…here.

“Definitely.” She signed, only able to sign half the word with her hand, using his chest as the base with another soft laugh. Moving herself up on the bed, she brought that hand to rest against his cheek, catching his eyes with her own for a second before pressing a loving and deep kiss to his lips. If this is how Sam was with someone he had barely met, her heart swelled with the thought of how he would treat someone he loved. How lucky that person would be. She broke the kiss, and a mischievous smirk crossed her face before she brought that same hand out in front of his face, signing just the number ‘2’. She raised her eyebrows, wondering if he would take the hint that she was proposing a ‘round two’ and then giggled, kissing him again.

—

The next morning

Anya barely stirred as her body alerted her that it was morning, and she had basically slept like the dead. She tensed her muscles against Sam’s side, made aware immediately that not only was she very sore, but Sam was still in bed. With a soft smile, she moved herself up on the bed with a little effort, wanting to be closer to his face. She then buried her face in the side of his neck, kissing him just behind his ear with his hair tickling her nose. She brought her hand up and buried it in his hair on the other side of his head, tempted to just watch him sleep.

There was no sound in the bunker, other than the slight rattling of the old metal upstairs, clanging and echoing through the halls. So, she had to assume that Dean and Lexi were still asleep, or if they were up, they were being very quiet. Everything echoed in the bunker. The thought brought her back to the teasing she had lobbed at Sam the night before about how ‘loud’ he seemed. Hopefully, Lexi and Dean had been too busy to notice.

The thought made her chuckle against his ear, her breath moving a bit of his hair in a way that made her smile wider. Today was going to be awkward. She just knew it. But at least the dam was broken. She would never look at Sam the same, and she was honestly…truly…okay with it.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean’s entire heart shattered when Mika wrenched her hand away from him, and then refused to look at him. It was a terror ripping through his chest that he normally only felt on hunts…when things went wrong. And then she said the words ‘you lied to me’, and Dean could have passed out from how hard he was holding his breath. He let it out in a shuddered sigh, and started to hold his hands up to defend himself…but he couldn’t.

“I know…I know…” Dean started, but as she continued, his heart fell into his stomach and he looked down. The feeling of seeing her like this all over again was so overwhelming that he could feel tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He would give anything to stop the verbal beating he was in for. He had never lied to her. It was the one thing that they had. Sure, she had lied to him but he had always been brutally honest with her. But this was something he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her about, until this moment. It killed him.

He glanced up at her face and he saw the tears falling down her cheeks as she somehow remained calm. He found his voice for a moment and shook his head, trying his best to diffuse the intense feeling in his brain that was burning like fire, “I um…I didn’t know how to tell you. I…I thought that it would just be something you didn’t have to know about, because it was in the past.”

Dean stopped trying to explain himself when Mika continued, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes as he leaned his elbows on his knees and squeezed his eyes closed. He pulled his hands away from his face when she asked if he was with Esme the day that he and Mika had run into each other, and he nodded, “Yeah…that was her.”, but she wasn’t actually asking him to confirm. She knew. Dean groaned as she called out how cold his actions were, calling Mika while he was sitting on the side of his and Esme’s bed. It’s what had brought the whole castle tumbling down in the first place. Esme knew. In a way, Mika and Esme both knew, he had to assume. His stomach cramped painfully and he covered his face again with a sigh.

And then came the hit. The words that he believed in his heart already were being said out loud. He deserved to lose them both. Esme walking away from him was definitely earned, and he definitely didn’t deserve Mika’s forgiveness after all these years. He would never have admitted to himself that he had almost strung Esme along with hopes that Mika would show back up, but that was exactly what he did. No matter how much he loved Esme, he still held that hope, and he deserved her walking away…

He almost groaned when Mika explained how she ended up in Ethan’s arms, a sore spot for him that he had fought down for years. He didn’t want to think about someone else touching her, comforting her, or even being in her life in a way that he should have been. He sat up straight, determined to give her the same time to spill that she had given him. As he looked at her, those tears spilled over, and he held no anger, just watching her face.

Then she broke through a part of his brain that seared like fire again, by laying out exactly how much Duke had saved her. Duke had been there for her when he wasn’t. Duke had diffused situations that he couldn’t, and likely took up for him with a smile on his face…protecting him while caring for Mika when Dean was shattering her heart to pieces. He lost the ability to contain his emotions when Mika looked him in the eyes, snarling his nose as a couple of tears fell, “I guess he doesn’t get enough credit for cleaning up my messes…”

Dean paused, watching her face with almost a pleading look gracing his own, “I lied to you. And for that I’m sorry. I did love her. I wanted to walk away from all of it because I couldn’t handle stumbling across you anymore, and she…she was the only reason I wasn’t crazy. I don’t blame you for trying to be happy. Not at all. And I don’t blame you for hating me. You don’t know how long I wanted you to just tell me you hated me.”

He took a deep breath, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, and reached a shaky hand out to place it on her knee, careful, as if she was going to just push him away, “I was so scared when she showed back up, because I didn’t know how to bridge that gap. I didn’t know how to be around someone I slept with…that I loved…that I never got closure with, and also look you in the eyes. So, I lied to you. I lied to everyone but most importantly you.”

As he finished what he would normally consider groveling, he sniffled and glanced toward the front door of the house, “And it was complicated even more when Duke showed up. Me and him…our falling out…a big part of it had to do with her. He’s been in love with her, well, probably since the first time she hugged him. I lost her then. And that lack of closure has brought back a jealousy that I can’t quite place.”

Dean gasped at his own words, and he tilted his head down with a groan. He just admitted to Mika, while she was pouring his heart out to him…that he was still jealous of Duke.

Cason

Cason chuckled at the thought of Natalia fighting with Sam. The size difference alone brought on a hilarious mental image. He couldn’t even decide if he would step in, if they were in a scuffle. Sam would never hurt Nat, but oh would it be funny to watch her wrestle him into submission. As Sam spoke up, Cason shook his head. Dean Winchester, the perpetual death wish with legs, of course he was a dangerous driver. Putting people in danger was kinda Dean’s thing, in Cason’s eyes.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Cason tapped his hands on his jeans, eager to get out of the car. He hated how slow the thing was, how loud the engine was, and how easy it was for humans to just get crunched in the wreckage…while he was in the car with three humans. The last thing he needed was to show up at the house as the sole survivor of a massive car crash.

He opened his door and climbed out of the car, popping the passenger door open for Anna, before walking around to Nat’s side, popping her door and reaching in to grab her hand and help her out of the car. He pulled her toward the door ahead of Sam and Anna. Reaching for the door, he gasped and pulled his hand back as it burned and turned red.

“What is it with Sioux Falls and friggin’ iron!” He hissed at Nat with frustration, gesturing for her to open the door for him, as he wasn’t wearing his jacket.

Anna

Anna rode most of the way to the restaurant with her head leaned against the window. She was still feeling a little iffy about how real her surroundings were, and honestly, as much as she wanted to try to enjoy herself, she wasn’t sure how possible that would be for a while. It sucked. She just wanted to enjoy that Sam was smiling, and Cason was okay and flirting and playing around with Nat. It was nice. The weather was nice. Everything was…nice.

But in the back of her mind, it was all too good to be true. She straightened up as they pulled into the bumpy parking lot of the restaurant. She reached for her door handle, but before she could pop the door, Cason already had and was gone. Smirking, she pushed the door open and stepped out, realizing as she looked down to flatten her shirt that her boots were still covered in blood. She sighed, tilting her head up to the sky to take a deep breath with her eyes closed, just taking in the cold air around her. After being in the panic room, there was something about the crisp air that just…felt good on her skin.

She stood for a moment, letting the others get out of the car, and then walked over to Sam, wrapping her tiny hand in his, linking their fingers as Cason attempted to open the door to the restaurant. When the door handle burned his hand, Anna brought a leather sleeve covered hand up to hide her laugh and she pulled herself closer to Sam’s side.

This was real. It had to be real.

Duke

Duke laughed, turning and flexing his arm like always as Esme slapped his arm. He shrugged, and tilted his head, “I mean, if you consider almost drownin’, you gettin’ drunk because you’re a light weight and were being a drink hoarder, and then sweepin’ you off your feet with my dancin’ skills playin’ dirty, then fine. Guilty as charged.”

He chuckled and started the walk across the yard when he noticed that she was looking at their clothes. The action caused him to look down at his own clothes, and he sighed, realizing he was still in bloody jeans and only a flannel. As he ran his fingers down his chest, he nodded, “Yeah. Let’s um…not scare the hell out of the locals. C’mon…”

He walked with her across the yard, around to the covered carport. Her arm around him was so familiar, and yet it almost felt like they were sneaking around, like Dean was going to run out that door at any minute and start ranting. Duke smirked, realizing that it wasn’t even Dean’s place anymore, and he gently put an arm around Esme’s shoulders, careful to keep his touch closer to her neck. As her words about Sarah pulled him out of his thoughts, he glanced around as if he could see Sarah and shook his head, “I ain’t gonna lie, I’ll never get used to her being around but thank you Sarah!”, he beamed with a goofy smile. He didn’t want her to even think about the barn. He didn’t want her to think about him dying, even though he knew that it was a conversation that would come out eventually.

As they reached the RV, he reached up to open the door while she was grabbing her bag, but she reached up before he could and stepped in like she owned the place. It made him smile behind her head, and he grabbed his own bag and followed her inside. He stepped over to his bed, and tossed his bag down, suddenly super relieved to just have his stuff. He unzipped his bag and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, tossing them on the mattress beside his bag. He stepped out of his jeans quickly, and with a bit of a wince, he shrugged the bloody flannel off his shoulders before removing his hat and tossing it on the sink.

“Don’t go gettin’ dressed without me. I’ll help you out, alright?” He called over his shoulder, as he heard her hiss, just at the action of pulling off her jacket. Duke pulled his jeans on, not even getting them buttoned as he turned to check on her. Seeing that she was already working on her clothes, he frowned, “Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on, I said!”

He took one wide step across the tight space and grabbed both her hands, lowering them to her sides before bringing his hands back up to her shoulders. He gripped the collar of her flannel with both hands, gently pushing it over her shoulders and down her arms, pulling her arms back as gently as he could to whisk it away from her hands. He tossed it onto the couch and then reached for the hem of her tank top.

“Careful…” Duke whispered seriously, frowning with a soft sigh as he looked over the bruises and other injuries that were visible now that her upper body was more uncovered. He swallowed heavily, and began pulling the fabric up, slowly raising her arms above her head. He pulled the fabric over her arms, tossing it behind him, and quickly wrapping his hands around her wrists above her head to help her lower them as slowly as he could. He took another shuddered breath, “I didn’t know it was that bad. I should have come and checked on you…”

As he spoke, he turned his eyes down to the button of her jeans, and he stopped with a sigh. After a couple of seconds to collect himself, he knelt in front of her, tapping her foot to have her raise it so he could remove her boots, removing one, then tapping and removing the other. He didn’t stand, simply looking up at her as he reached up and unbuttoned her jeans, careful as he tugged at them, pulling them off her hips to pool at her feet. He tapped at each of her legs again, and shoved her jeans aside, standing back up. He stood for a moment in front of her, brushing his fingers over the bruises around her neck and chest. His fingers then found their way down her sides, over the bruises there and he sighed again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”, he asked, his voice raspy and remorseful. The fact that he wasn’t there to take care of her, so that she never got this hurt, killed him. His carelessness in the fight had got him killed…and the only thing he could think about was how he missed protecting her. He hadn’t been there, and now, here she stood in front of him, bruised and cut up, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean raised his eyebrows, and caught Lexi’s eyes as she looked up at him. He wasn’t sure how she was going to react to him asking if she wanted to stay, until she explained that she would love to. She would love to. He didn’t even think about Sam’s opinion of the decision in that moment. Just hearing her say it, and feeling her touch on his cheek was enough for him. He wouldn’t be able to let her leave if she tried, without practically begging her to stay. He was hooked.

“O-okay. Well, I guess it’s good that you got your own room.” Dean joked lightly, as her thumb continued stroking his cheek. It was a motion that felt almost too intimate and under normal circumstances, he would have reached up and removed her hand from his face, placing it on his chest to keep any awkward attachment from forming in his stomach. But he didn’t. He just let her, letting a smile tease at the corners of his mouth.

As she pulled herself up and kissed him, he sighed happily into the kiss, kissing her back. The temptation to hold her there and just kiss her all night crossed his mind, but he relaxed his shoulders and just tightened his arm around her as she laid back down in her original position.

“Oh yeah?” Dean asked in response to her comment about Sam bringing her home. He chuckled lightly, and smiled up at the ceiling. Then he tilted his head and sighed happily, “I think you might be right.”

Anya

Anya shuddered as the little noises Sam made echoed through her brain. As soon as her back hit the mattress, she smiled brightly as Sam instantly appeared above her. If their body language with each other was this easy, she could imagine herself becoming a bit clingy. It was something she would have to remind herself…not to do, later on. In this moment, clingy was good, and there was no way she was pulling away from him, now.

As his lips met hers again, Anya’s hands raked up his bare back, and into his hair, pressing their lips together so tightly she was afraid that she might hurt his teeth. As he pulled away, though, she was afraid he had changed his mind, only to glance down and watch as Sam quickly worked through the buckle of his belt and the button of his jeans. The quickness of it all made her chuckle softly. Experienced and eager…it made her heart flutter.

His words brought her out of her thoughts and she came back to his eyes, her hands still in his hair as he double checked to make sure they weren’t making some sort of mistake. A smile covered her lips, and she nodded, pulling roughly against the back of his head to bring his lips back to hers. As she did, she wrapped a leg around his waist, pulling his hips down.

Of course she was sure.

——-

A little while later

Anya smiled as she lay there, staring at the ceiling. One arm was raised above her head, twirling her own hair against the pillow and the other was draped over her torso as she let out a sigh through her labored breathing. As she unraveled her hair from her finger, she trailed her fingers down the side of her face, over her neck where she felt the growing bruises there and the thought just made her smile brighter with a giggle that moved her body.

She didn’t know how many bruises and scrapes they both had on their bodies at this point, as everything had kind of blurred together. She did know, however, that if there was anything visible, Dean would never shut up about it.

Either way, it was a good sore. She could handle a little teasing from Dean. She had a passing feeling that she wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. Glancing over, she smiled at Sam with sleepy eyes and then brought both her hands up lazily to sign a simple: “Fire…”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke and Dean

Duke stepped away from Bobby after promising to help him with the Chevelle later on, and walked across the lot. As he entered the covered garage area, his heart began to beat a little faster. Coming face to face with Dean after a month away never went well. He slowly approached the house, reaching up to press his hat further down on his head and then opened the back door. The first person he saw was Dean, sitting at the table with a map and a sharpie. He figured Bobby had him on information duty, and sure enough, the closer he got, he could see that the case was already started. Dean was just pouring over notes.

“Mornin’.” Duke called to him, walking around the back of his chair. Dean didn’t say anything at first, as he kept drawing the line he was in the middle of, but when Duke wrapped an arm around his neck, Dean sighed and patted his arm.

“Morning. Where you coming from?” Dean asked and Duke shrugged his shoulders.

“Iowa. North Dakota. Few places. I feel worse than I look and I look better than I did when I left. So, that’s a win, right?” Duke joked, tossing his bag into one of the kitchen chairs. It was then that his eyes fell on Esme and he sighed, “Hey there beautiful. Good to see you’re still here…I guess.”

“We’ve been here the whole time. You got any broken bones?”

“No. Just a busted eye and some scrapes and bruises. Nothin’ bad.” Duke murmured back to Dean, before turning his attention back to Esme, “You look better than the last time I saw you. I should leave more often.”

“Well…no broken bones and you don’t seem on the verge of death. So, why did you come back so early?” Dean grumbled. And Duke sighed.

“Because I missed my house. I can’t miss you guys? We should go out tonight…the three of us. My treat.” Duke diffused Dean, definitely not wanting the fight he knew Dean was trying to start. He wasn’t really feeling the whole ‘where were you? What were you doing? Why do you always run? You’re a horrible son…blahblahblah’ at the moment. “We wanna go out together? What the hell happened while I was gone?”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean chased Mika’s lips as she pulled away from his kiss, and he frowned, looking down into her eyes. He scanned her eyes as she asked if he was okay and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah I’m fine…”, he muttered, taking a small step back to prevent himself from just kissing her again to prolong the inevitable. With the house silent, he was pretty sure the conversation he was trying to avoid was going to come up. It was going to hurt…no matter how he worded things.

When Mika brought up the conversation, Dean nodded, glancing down at the floor while pressing his lips together. He wanted to tell her ‘why don’t we just wait until after we’re done with the seals’ or anything to prolong things, but truth was, there might not be another time that they could have that conversation.

He followed her into the living room, “Yeah, we might as well use the privacy…”, he sighed, walking around to sit on the couch. As he sank down beside her on the couch, he avoided her eyes for a moment, until she spoke again, and he forced himself to turn and look at her.

“Um…So where to start.” He pondered, bringing a hand up and rubbing at his lips awkwardly for a moment, before dropping the hand back into his lap. He sat on the edge of the couch, as if he was on edge and ready to just run away the second things got awkward. “When um…when you left…”

He broke off for a second, fighting down the shaking in his voice, “I was on a hunt with dad. I was on a suicide run, blaze of glory ‘going out on my terms’ stint. Then, she showed up. She was younger and there was just something about her. She was able to take care of herself. She didn’t need any of us, even if we helped against her will. And after the hunt, we got to talking and found out that we had quite a bit in common…at least enough to be friends.”

“Well there was a point where we lost contact, and I went into a spiral. I think it was somewhere around the time me and you first met back up. I couldn’t handle the loss all over again, and I decided just to drink myself to death…I guess. It’s not like I had Sam and Duke was gone about half the time. I was lost…and there she was.” Dean shrugged, barely glancing up to look at Mika, before glancing to the wall behind her, “She wouldn’t let me kill myself. She wouldn’t let me give up. She was insistent. It was annoying at first, actually. I resented her, but I couldn’t…not really. She saved me and we grew closer. Bobby took us both in.”

Dean paused again and glanced toward the stairs, memories of the three of them drunk and trying to find their way to bed, only to end up all piled up together in various states of undress all over the room flooded his brain. He sighed, “And I fell in love with her. I won’t lie to you about that. I loved her so much.”

Before Dean continued, he reached his hand out and picked Mika’s up off her knee, as if he was afraid she would suddenly stand up and run off. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but he didn’t want to watch her leave…not again.

“I offered to settle down with her, to quit hunting and just…be together. I wanted to give her that normal life. I wanted to try. And she turned me down. I was still in love with you. She could feel it. No matter how much I loved her, she could feel that I would always find my way back to you. And she left me.” Dean said the last part almost incredulously, as if he had never said it out loud before, and as if it sounded ridiculous.

Esme leaving had brought on the worst fight he and Duke ever had. Duke blamed him. Duke accused him of pushing her away, of trying to hold onto both Esme and Mika. Duke hated him for a while after that.

“And Duke…hated me for driving her away.”

He let the room go silent for a few moments, figuring she would have a lot of questions, but also, he couldn’t decide on how to admit to Mika that he had lied to her about how deep the relationship with Esme had gone. He had told Mika that they hadn’t even been together long, or had sex…which was completely untrue.

“If you wanna ask anything…I’ll answer. Anything you want.” He choked out, trying to keep his guilty emotions in check.

Anna and Cason

Cason smiled brightly as Natalia stepped outside and saw her car. She had the exact reaction he had hoped she would have. Cason shrugged sheepishly and his smile widened as she pointed out how happy the simple (to him) action made her, “I just called in a few favors…that’s all. Plus, I’ve grown fond of the death trap…”

He let her go, watching the way that she treated the car much like, her brother seemed to treat his own. It was weird how much she and Dean had in common, even as close as she was with Sam. When Sam called out that he would drive, Cason nodded quickly pointing at Sam, “Yeah. I definitely agree. You need to rest and take care of yourself and…be lazy. Completely lazy. Like…hand fed kind of lazy.”, he teased her.

Anna followed Sam out the door, as he drug her to meet up with Nat and Cason. The cold air hit her instantly, and she was tempted to go and get her jacket from Duke’s truck. She hadn’t even thought about it that morning, but she regretted it, now. As if sensing her frustration, the second Sam let go of her, Cason stepped up and shrugged off his jacket, tossing it over Anna’s head with a chuckle.

“Don’t want you freezing to death.” He joked, and Anna couldn’t help the soft laugh that she breathed out under the curtain of hair and leather. She pulled the jacket down and shrugged her arms into it, wiping the smile off her face as she nodded a thanks to him. He sat down in the back seat without another word, and Anna took that as a sign to get in the passenger seat next to Sam.

“Thanks, Cason…” Anna called back to him, settling in her seat and looking over at Sam as he and Nat talked about where to go eat. She was honestly starving, but she didn’t trust her feelings anymore and wondered in the back of her mind if it was the proximity to Cason making her feel hungry. “I could eat. I don’t think I’ve eaten in a few days…I don’t remember.”

“Well then, burgers for the girls, then!” Cason called out, settling uncomfortably in the back seat. He hated cars. Nat knew that. But now that Sam was driving? He was even more nervous, “Just try not to drive like a maniac, alright Sam?”

Duke

Duke’s heart sank for a moment when Esme closed her eyes and nuzzled his forehead. He considered the way she did so, wondering if he had said something that was going to bring this entire thing crumbling down between them. Asking her to leave Dean was bold, maybe even now, it was bold. But then she opened her eyes and brought her hands up to hold his face and his heart fluttered a bit with hope. That flutter turned into an absolute explosion that forced out an overwhelmed sigh when she said that she would absolutely run away with him, but she echoed his exact thoughts about leaving the group. If they left the group, the group would be in more danger than if they just stayed.

“I know…” Duke whispered, ready to concede to just snuggling up on the couch with the tv or whatever she wanted to do. But she mentioned going out with him, and he raised his eyebrows, letting her continue as a smile began to rise on his face, especially when she kissed his nose. He tilted his head to the side, scrunching his face up like he was thinking, and completely missed Sarah being sent after his hat. He thought it was long gone after the incident in the barn.

“I mean, I wouldn’t complain about a little bar action. We always had fun at the bar…got in a little trouble at times, but we had fun.” He teased. He leaned into the gentle brushing of Esme’s fingers against his forehead. But flinched when his hat was placed on his head, making him feel strangely whole again. He brought a hand up, running his fingers along the edge of the brim with a chuckle, “Someone saved my hat. Well…I feel better already.”

As he turned his eyes down to look at Esme’s face, he raised his eyebrows again at the mischievous look on her face. He knew that face. As soon as she said what was making her eyes light up like that, Duke broke out in a laugh that caused him to wrap his arm around his stomach, “Ow. Okay…okay. So, possible drinkin’. Ramblin’ around…then gettin’ naked in the old lake back there, like the old days? I mean, I don’t know if I can say no to that proposal Sweet Pea.”

He stretched back, laughing again as he held his stomach and then shook his head, suddenly feeling lighter…and younger. Only this time, she was his. She was fully with him.

“I think it’s a little cold for swimmin’ but I’m sure we can find some trouble. I’ll be shrinkin’ up in all the wrong spots. Phew." Duke scrunched his nose up, briefly bringing a hand in front of his crotch with a worried but teasing look on his face. "Can't have that...Raskins? I almost got a kiss out of you the last time we were there.” He teased, nodding toward his truck in the parking lot.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Lexi matching his wit was enough to make Dean punch drunk. He felt almost giggly, as she didn’t miss any beats and seemed to genuinely enjoy his company. He didn’t know what the feeling was supposed to be called, but whatever it was, he didn’t mind it all that much. New romance? Budding love? Ew. Love. But Love?

As Dean’s thoughts rattled around in his buzzed brain, Lexi agreed with his joke about falling into bed together more often. He removed his arm from his face and looked down at her, raising his eyebrows before his face fell into a proud smile. So, she was going to be around. Nice. As she began tracing circles on his chest, Dean brought his own hand down to draw tiny little figure eights between her bare shoulder blades.

He couldn’t help but feel loss already, at the thought of her leaving. Even though she had shown no sign of wanting to, or needing to. He knew how hunters were. As soon as her car was fixed up, she would be gone, and he would…miss her? He had only known her a few days but they clicked in a way he couldn’t quite place. He gulped down the sad thought and pulled her a little closer, “You know, I was thinking…you could just stay here, you know. We have plenty of room and I don’t think Sam would mind. I wouldn’t mind picking your brain a bit…”

Dean snarled his nose at how cheesy it all sounded, like he was begging her to stay. He took a deep breath, “Not that I’m trying to, you know, convince you of anything. I was just thinking if you wanted to…”

Anya

Anya gasped, her mouth opening into the kiss as Sam’s kiss became a bit more rough, and his large hands slid up her torso. There was the touch she was looking for. She lowered her hips against him, pressing her knees forward to press their hips as tightly together as possible, and followed his lead, kissing him rough and deep.

After a few moments, Anya shuddered and broke the kiss, only long enough to reach for the hem of the large shirt keeping her from feeling him on her skin. She pulled it up and over her head, tossing it to the foot of the bed and then instantly reached for the hem of Sam’s shirt, struggling but eventually pulling it over his head with a giggle at how his long hair ruffled out around his face.

She brushed the hair away with her finger tips and a wide, but hazy smile, the action feeling way too intimate and loving. She gently pushed his hair back behind his ears, her smile dropping slowly as she just breathed him in, an unfamiliar flutter in her stomach causing her mouth to drop open. It wasn’t a feeling she had ever felt under the gaze of anyone, and she could stay there forever, just watching his face.

But she knew he wouldn’t allow that. Not after all the teasing. So, she crashed her lips roughly into his, tugging at his bottom lip with his teeth, as she pressed their bare chests together, just long enough to lean to her side. She released him, and laid back on the bed, reaching her arms out for Sam.

Sam might be more of a gentleman than his brother, but he was dangerous. She could feel that after tonight, she could easily become addicted…and that could be a problem.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean stepped through the living room, barely glancing up at Esme as he passed. He didn’t want her judgement or her chiming in on his relationship with Duke. He and Duke had a complicated one, and Esme knew that. The fought. They came back together. They fought more. They came back together, and while Dean wasn’t the best at smoothing things over in an actually constructive way, they never seemed to lose each other. At least in Dean’s mind, that is.

He stepped into the kitchen and sighed, walking up to stand beside Mika. He crossed his arms, just leaning back against the wall. He glanced over at her before staring at the floor, as a memory came into his mind like a freight train, just seeing Mika zoned out.

Autumn - 3 years ago

Dean laughed at a joke that Esme had made, their relationship at probably the most calm it had ever been, since Duke had left and left both of them with no one to worry about but themselves. Dean pulled Esme closer, and touched a trinket on one of the magic shop shelves. The clerk behind the counter sighed, as Dean’s hands seemed to land on just about everything, like a teenager that was planning to steal them blind.

“This one is cute. Means nothing…but it’s cute.” He chuckled, as he made the necklace swing against the shelf it was hung above. Absentmindedly, Dean glanced out the window, and his heart stopped as he saw what he could only assume was a false memory standing there. Mika stood, looking a bit roughed up, but beautiful to him as her hair blew in the light breeze outside. As she turned her head, Dean panicked and turned his head back down, clearing his throat awkwardly as he pulled Esme close. If it was a visage of some sort, he had to get it out of his head. He tilted his head down, pulling her chin up and passionately kissed her out of nowhere.

It took a moment for him to convince himself it was enough to make Mika disappear and sure enough, when he broke the kiss and glanced back up to the window, she was gone. His heart fell into his stomach, and he was instantly tempted to run out that door and see where she went, try to stop her, try to convince her to talk to him…but he didn’t. He stood there, the way the wind blew her hair playing over and over in his mind, until the clerk cleared her throat again and asked if he and Esme were going to buy anything.

——

Coming out of the memory, Dean suddenly turned and placed a hand on Mika’s cheek, kissing her out of nowhere as if they were the only people in the room.

Cason and Anna

Anna nearly broke out in a giggle when Nat told her she was awesome for putting up with Sam. Truth was, Sam was pretty amazing for putting up with her. She had been a mess from the moment that she had come back into his life, and she knew there were times it had to be too much. She nodded her head and sighed, “Noted. I’m glad that at least I fit in with the mess…”

Cason opened his mouth to speak when Nat said she was going to grab her boots. He was tempted to follow her, or pop into the room without her permission or asking, but he decided against it, dropping his shoulders, “I will be here. Don’t be too long.”

Sam speaking to him caught him off guard, and he raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Sam. He couldn’t see Sam being polite to him in any way and was half expecting the threats to start, but the guy was being legitimately polite. Cason smiled and chuckled, shaking his head, “I’ll take the quirks. As long as she’s safe. That’s what I’m here for. I know it’s hard to believe, but there’s no ulterior motive…”

“He knows. We know.” Anna spoke up, looking into Cason’s eyes with a small raise of the corners of her mouth. Cason rolled his eyes at her but he matched her almost smile, and looked across to the living room door, waiting patiently for Nat to come back. Something about being alone with the Winchesters would never be comfortable.

As Nat showed back up, Cason reached for her, pulling her in close as they prepared to leave. He didn’t wait for Sam to follow, just wrapping his arm around Nat and stepping out the back door. He was rather excited for Nat to see that he had managed to call in some favors to retrieve her car. The last thing he had wanted to do was walk out to the parking lot and for her to be reminded about it.

Duke

Duke almost cringed away from Esme as she brought her hands up to his face, and wiped the tears away from his cheeks. He still wasn’t sure how he wanted to bridge the gap of letting her see him cry. He wasn’t an overly emotional person, and he was the fixer…the one who made other people laugh when they were down. He didn’t ask that anyone returned the favor. Her words, requesting that he didn’t hide those emotions elicited a thick swallow from him, but he nodded obediently without speaking.

He sighed through his nose as she agreed to leave with him, leaning up and kissing his lips. It was the first time he had ever asked her to run away with him, and he had a feeling that she wasn’t actually planning to leave the group, even if he asked her to. He would take any separation he could, even if it meant just going for a walk to get his feet back underneath him, and run some of the frustration out.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was crowded, and the last thing Duke wanted to do was make eye contact with Dean after the conversation they had just had. It would be awkward, and there was no way Dean couldn’t read all over his face that he was not completely okay with the outcome. Thankfully, Esme dragged him toward the front door, and he followed, stepping out onto the porch. The Hellhound bark caused him to flinch really hard, and he brought a hand up to his chest, as if he could calm his heart while watching Esme talk to the dog.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that…” he muttered breathlessly, glancing back at the open door of the house as it moved a bit, and the Hellhound entered and exited with their bags. Duke wrapped his arm around Esme’s back as she came back to him, and took his own deep breath of the cold night air. It reminded him of a time that he came back to Bobby’s around this time of year, and the air was just beginning to get cold enough for a jacket. He could still hear Esme’s laugh and the crunch of the leaves under her boots, during a brief couple of weeks they were alone…without Dean.

Esme’s hands on his hips stopped him in his tracks and he shook himself out of the vivid memory as her boots crunched the leaves at his feet. He turned his eyes down to her, sniffling and dropped his shoulders at her assessment. He didn’t want her to worry about him. He had made that clear to her, and yet here she was…worrying, “I’m fine…”

But she was right with her next words. She could read him like a book. She always could. Duke tilted his head to the side and then looked at the ground with a nod. It was the same cycle, all over again. He turned his eyes back to hers and squinted in frustration, “I would like to agree with the whole tyin’ him to a chair and makin’ him listen thing…but I don’t think it would work. He would wait patiently until you finished and took the tape off, and then he would tell you all the reasons he’s not wrong. It’s just who he is and I gotta stop tryin’, man…”

Duke shook his head sadly, glancing up over Esme’s head briefly, before back down at her eyes, “But that ain’t your problem. You know how this goes. For me and him…this is fine. This is as good as it gets.”

It was then that he was tempted to ask her to run away with him. But he couldn’t. She was in no state to travel, really and with everything going on, both of them were targets that would drag Dean into a trap…especially if they were together. He sighed and reached up, cupping both her cheeks as he pressed his forehead to hers, “I wish we could run away together. I wish this whole Angels and Demons battle wasn’t goin’ on and we could just run away. Would you run away with me?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean brushed his fingers through his sweaty hair as he lay still, catching his breath. Lexi’s bed suddenly felt more comfortable than his ever had as she lay on his chest, perfectly fitting right there, as if they had known each other forever. The images and sounds from the last hour would be seared into his brain for life, he figured, as he shook himself from his thoughts with the sound of her voice.

Her comment made him laugh breathlessly, a bright and relaxed smile on his face as he tilted his head to press a kiss to her forehead, his hand wrapping around to brush some stray sweaty hair away from her face, “Well, that’s good to know. But I could say the same about you. Jesus…”

Dean chuckled again, using humor to hide the serious feelings that were bubbling into his mind. He glanced down at the top of Lexi’s head, and flashes from their time together flooded his mind again, the sounds echoing through his brain causing his heart to flutter. He couldn’t tell if that flutter was anxiety, excitement, or a rush of something else. Either way, he wasn’t going to ruin it…not now.

“I’ve been thinking about this since the first time we touched, as pathetic as that sounds.” Dean grumbled, covering his eyes with his free arm. Then he laughed out of nowhere, “We should meet like this more often, darlin’.”

Anya

Anya chewed at her bottom lip when she felt Sam’s hands on her thighs. It seemed her teasing had worked, and when he voiced it out loud, she raised her eyebrows and shrugged as if to say ‘guilty as charged, I guess’ and then she laughed silently. She waited for a moment, toying with his hair as she stared into his eyes. There were a million things she wished she could say, if she had a voice. But she could use her touch.

She tightened her grip on the sides of Sam’s hair, tangling her fingers in the strands before pressing her forehead against him, moving her hips a bit to remind herself that he was touching her. She brushed his nose with hers, breathing against his lips as she pressed her chest against his, feeling his warmth there.

Anya brought one hand down, trailing it over his ear and down the side of his neck, feather soft touch that she knew would bring goosebumps to his skin. She let that hand trail over his shoulder and onto his back, tightening her grip to climb onto his lap, pressing her hips tightly to his. She slowly tilted her head and kissed him deeply, slow and gentle as if teasing his obvious urges, now that they were alone.

They had nothing but time…and each other, and all she could think about as the goosebumps formed under his fingers was ‘who is Sam Winchester behind closed doors?’ And ‘what version of him will be reserved only for me?’ As if she never planned to leave this place…

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Later That Night

That girl is trouble.
That was the thought that kept rolling over in Dukes brain as he lay on his bed. He stared at the ceiling of the RV, trying to find a water spot or some shape to concentrate on. It had been 24 hours. Just 24 hours, and his thoughts were consumed by the way she hugged him, the way she said his name, the way tears looked in her eyes, the specific tone of her skin under bruises, the way her hair fell onto her shoulder when she wasn’t paying attention, the way she seemed to care…

He growled as he wrinkled his nose in disgust at his own mushy feelings, never really paying much mind to women in any way than a colleague, when he was forced to work with people other than Dean. It wasn’t like him to even make friends, much less be this infatuated with someone. And that someone? Well there was a very well defined wall between the way his hands vibrated when he was in the same room with her, and his actual ability to try and form some sort of relationship with her.

Dean.
She was crazy about him. And obviously, by how sweet and awkward and weird Dean could get around her, the feeling was mutual. Duke groaned and wiped his hands down his face, embarrassed even though he was alone in the quiet trailer.

He sat up suddenly, “That’s enough…”
And as he threw his legs over the side of the bed, he sighed. She wasn’t awake to talk him out of leaving this time. He would be most of the way to Kansas before she even opened her eyes. He shoved his feet in his boots, opened the tiny closet next to his sink and pulled out his bug out bag. He hadn’t even stripped down for the night before bed, because he felt that he might change his mind. Sure enough, he grabbed his hat from the table, placed it on his head and then swiped his keys, throwing his backpack onto his shoulder. With one final look to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, he turned and walked out of the RV.

A few moments later his white truck roared to life, and he slowly pulled out of the parking lot with a sigh.

5 weeks later

Duke pulled into the gravel lot, the familiar wave of “home” washed over him, the second he parked beside Bobby’s Chevelle SS and turned the engine off. He didn’t know why he came back. Maybe it was to finish healing up from the last hunt he had managed to survive by the skin of his teeth, or maybe it was just the need to touch familiar ground. Maybe he just missed home.

He stepped out of the truck, closing the bloody drivers door with a scrunched nose. He really needed to wash his truck.

The gravel beneath his boots sounded so nice, it was like a choir singing, beckoning him into the old house to grab a beer and just…take it all in.

His hair was a bit longer and messier on the top of his head, now just long enough to lose the slight spike it usually had. It was flattened down, laying over his eyes under a wide white cowboy hat that always seemed to have at least a little blood on it. His flannel that he sported under his denim jacket fit a little tighter across his chest from the tiniest bit of muscle growth. He had been working hard, hunting…surviving, and it showed. His face sported a healing black eye and a pretty deep bruise on his jaw and throat but in hunters terms…he was back in one piece.

Autumn was coming, and Duke could feel it in the South Dakota air as he leaned his head back and breathed deeply. The serene feeling was only broken, when he heard a tool clanging in the garage directly in front of him. Bobby stepped out of the covered carport and as usual, being used to Duke showing back up after his running spells, Bobby’s face didn’t hold any contempt. Bobby simply strolled across the lot, a wrench in his hand and as soon as he approached Duke, he threw his arms around his neck. Duke instinctively brought his hand up and caught his hat before it could be knocked off, and wrapped his free arm around Bobby’s back.

“It’s good to see you boy!” Bobby’s voice shook against the side of Dukes face and Duke sighed with a smile.

“You too, Bobby…”

Dean

Dean nuzzled Esme's hair as he woke up with a tired groan, not exactly excited to greet the day. He had work to do for Bobby, and the wire was surprisingly quiet, which meant he had been stuck around the house for the past week, just doing chores and work for other hunters that were lucky enough to have jobs. He tightened the arm she was laying on around her, brushing his fingers through her hair as he allowed his eyes to flutter open and stare at the ceiling.

It had been a peaceful month, even if the boredom was killing him. A lot of talking had occurred, feelings had been shared (even if his arm had to be a little twisted for it to happen) and he was feeling oddly rested and secure. But Bobby would want him. He could hear him tinkering in the garage below them, grumbling at the old car he was attempting to repair for a hunter.

"Good morning sweetheart." He mumbled in Esme's hair, scooting himself down on the bed a bit so that he could face her, as awkwardly as the position wrenched his shoulder. He nuzzled at her nose, and chuckled under his breath, "As much as I would love to lay here with you all day, we gotta get up and get to work. And then tonight...after dinner...I'll make it up to you."

The mischief dripped from his voice as he brought his other hand down to trace her eyebrows, in an attempt to make her open her eyes and look at him. He would never admit it to anyone outside of this room, but now that he had her...practically locked in Bobby's house with nothing to focus on but their relationship: He was in love with her.

About an hour later

Dean looked up as soon as he heard the truck door slam, a sound that he would recognize anywhere, any time, at this point. He was sat at the kitchen table, a map in front of him and a red sharpie in his hand, trying to piece together a pattern to relay to one of Bobby’s hunters. He didn’t expect Duke to be back for weeks. So, he made a mental note that this was some sort of record for the kid. Either he was injured, which Dean didn’t want to think about, or he was feeling more homesick this time. Dean would almost bet money on the former, and the thought caused his stomach to cramp. He really didn’t want to see the shape Duke was in.

He sat back and picked up his coffee cup, calling out to Esme with a sigh, “Dukes home…”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Esme even bringing up that he didn’t have to go made Duke’s chest hurt. She had never been around when he was ready to go. She had never had a chance to talk him out of it. And just telling him that he ‘didn’t have to’ was almost enough to make him stomp his feet and return to the living room. But as he stepped into the kitchen, he slowed his footsteps as he heard her groan in pain from standing from the couch.

The sound bothered him in a strange way, and he felt as if he was causing her pain. Her voice telling him to wait stopped his footsteps cold, his cowboy boots squeaking against the tile floor as he stopped. He slowly turned around, and knitted his eyebrows together, “Sorry? Why would you be…”, he started as his eyes widened and he quickly walked back into the living room, as she kept apologizing, and saying she was the one who should leave. What was she talking about?!

As she sat back down on the couch, Duke quickly lowered himself beside her and wrapped an arm around her back, wrapping his other hand around her upper arm to support her. He shook his head quickly as he held her, “You ain’t got nothin’ to be sorry for. The tension between me and…and him has been brewin’ since a couple years ago. I made some mistakes and he ain’t gonna forgive me for them any time soon.”

Duke reached in front of Esme, wedging his hand between her body and her legs and placed his hand on her stomach gently, trying to urge her body to straighten up, even a little.

“But I can’t leave while you look like this, darlin’.” He murmured sweetly, suddenly realizing that Esme was going to be a problem, for him. His need to make sure she was safe was trouble. His inability to upset her was trouble. His need to touch her, as long as she would let him was trouble.

He was in trouble.

Dean

Dean brushed the last bit of grass off his jeans as he stomped up the steps and opened the front door. He stepped inside and instantly stopped, seeing Duke sitting on the couch next to Esme, leaning with her and speaking to her in a low voice. He was taking care of her, and Dean, being the idiot he was…had been outside throwing a fit. He frowned, slowly walking over to the couch and sitting on Esme’s other side without a word at first.

Dean reached up, brushing Esme’s braid back to her back, and leaned forward, almost double on himself to press his forehead to the side of her face, “What’s going on? You okay?”

“I’ll stay…” Duke nodded to Esme, and Dean raised his head quickly, looking over at Duke with wide eyes. Was he thinking about leaving? Had he been on his way out the door? So, Esme had talked him into staying somehow. It sat weird in Dean’s mind, and as Duke lifted his own head and met Dean’s eyes, Dean gave him a look that asked ‘what are you doing?’. Duke simply tilted his head, pressing his lips tightly together, which caused Dean to sigh and bend back to whisper in Esme’s ear.

“Everything’s okay. Just try to relax…” He whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her ear.