JustAnna

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean and Duke

Dean knew before he ever turned to his brother that Sam was seething. He could feel it in Sam’s grip as he pulled him back. Sam stepping in front of him caused him to pause, and for a second, he just stared at Sam’s chest, before raising his eyes to Sam’s face as his brother began to scold him.

“She told her!” He tried to argue with Sam, but Sam was probably right. Once Dean calmed himself down, Sam was right. This wasn’t Anna’s fault. She was just the catalyst to the consequences of his own actions. He didn’t back down, not wanting to show that he knew he was at least partially wrong. He simply glared at Sam until Sam finally shoved him back, Dean rocking back awkwardly on his feet at the force. Dean wiped a frustrated hand down his face, just as Duke walked through the door and asked about what was happening.

Dean turned to Duke and he huffed, staring him down as Mika explained what had happened, “I didn’t almost suffocate her! I just wanted her to hear every damn word I was saying.”

“Every word? So, you told her to leave, right?” Duke defended Anna, knowing all too well how Dean could be when he was this particularly mad. He tipped his hat back and stood with his hands on his hips.

“No I didn’t tell her to leave. I just told her that she’s not going to take my brother…” Dean started, but he didn’t like the way that Duke’s eyes narrowed at him. So, he continued. “She gets close to people, because of those big baby eyes and her soft voice. She digs into them. And then she turns them against each other!”

“You say that about a lot of people that call you out on your crap.” Duke reminded Dean, and Dean took a step toward him, as if he was going to go after his next. But Duke held his hands up, and he tilted his head with his eyebrows raised, as if to say ‘wait a second. Let me finish.’. “Ever think that maybe her tellin’ Nat was a floodgates thing? You and the little one haven’t seemed exactly close since you got back. Seems like it might be weighin’ on her shoulders a bit.”

Dean unclenched the fist that had balled up for Duke, and he frowned at him, before taking in Duke’s appearance, “And where the hell have you been during all this?”

“The RV. Esme was fixin’ me up and stuff. This ain’t about me.” Duke continued to try and diffuse his older brother, holding his hand up. He then pointed that hand at Mika, “You okay? You didn’t catch an elbow or anything…”

“Oh don’t do that!” Dean shouted, and Duke dropped his hand, letting his face go blank as he tilted his head back, a look that Mika knew well. He was challenging Dean, because Duke’s frustration was growing.

“Do what? Check on your girlfriend that you tend to conveniently leave out of the conversation…forcing her onto my tailgate in the middle of the night?” Duke asked condescendingly and Dean balled his fists back up, causing Duke to smirk, “I’m just sayin’ that if you’re this mad, maybe we should give you a breather.”

“And you’ll fix it and be the good guy.” Dean grumbled.

“I didn’t say that. But if you’re thinkin’ it, then I’m pretty sure you know that you’re makin’ your self look like one hell of a bad guy, right now. I’m talkin’ about coolin’ off. No good guy. No bad guy.” Duke explained simply, placing his hands back on his hips. Dean took a deep and shaky breath as he unclenched his fists and Duke nodded, “Or we can all calm down together, hmm?”

Cason

Cason caught Natalia’s nod, and he took it at face value, matching it with his own nod. After everything, at least they were okay. He let her just sit in silence and stare at the damage she caused, while eating, until she was ready to start talking. Cason had already kind of figured out what she was going to say. Dean had made her a promise that he never intended to keep. He had such a mean on for Cason that he had just completely obliterated Nat’s trust…willingly. He had assumed she would get over it, or it would be forgotten long enough that when it finally came out, it wouldn’t sting so bad.

Cason just nodded a few times. Everything Nat was saying seemed to be the absolute truth. Dean was an all or nothing type guy. Since he was ripped from Hell, it seemed like whatever personality type he went in with had only been elevated to a point of almost constant rage, fear, and control issues. He finally decided to speak up when she mentioned Mika, and he scoffed, “She stays with him, because despite all his faults, he’s still Dean. There are echoes of that old him, in there.”

Her next words, as she wrapped her arm around his and laid her head on his shoulders caused his chest to tighten a little. He felt a tiny pang of guilt rumble in his stomach at the fact that he had almost failed to escape the impossible situation in the barn. He blamed Dean, sure. But even after Dean let him go, he almost failed.

Cason brought his hand up, and brushed it across Nat’s cheek, before sliding it back into her hair, leaning his cheek against her head with a soft sigh, “Well, that’s over, alright? I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going to lose me, baby…I know there’s no way to convince you to not think about what could have been. But I’m here now. You’re touching me. You’re breathing the same air. We’re okay.”

As Esme approached them, Cason glanced up at her and he didn’t say anything. If anything, Esme might be good to be around, for Nat in the moment. Maybe being around Esme could curb a bit of her anger, and settle her down. He glanced down at Sarah and smiled at her, reaching a hand out, which she nuzzled gently, but stayed at Esme’s side.

“Let’s just say that the powder keg finally exploded…” Cason explained to start helping Esme understand the situation.

Anna

After running into Duke, the last thing Anna wanted was to see literally anyone else from the group. She was tempted to run off. She was tempted to just start walking down the back road behind Bobby’s and hope that she ended up somewhere that she could take a bus straight back to California. She wanted to be anywhere that wasn’t with the Winchesters, especially since it was obvious that Sam was going to stick to his brothers guns on literally everything.

“When push comes to shove, you’ll leave me too…”

Her own words played over in her head and she squeezed her eyes closed, letting out a soft sob. She lost everything. She did the right thing, and lost everything, all at once. Because no matter how mean he was, or how much he hurt people, Dean was ultimately the one that they would all follow…off a cliff.

When she heard the heavy footsteps on the gravel, she instantly assumed it was Duke, and she started walking again. She didn’t want to talk to Duke. She didn’t want his blue eyes searching her soul, asking her to forgive Dean, or to come back to the house. She didn’t want to hear his voice as he tried to reason out ways that Dean was wrong…but misguided. She didn’t want to hear Duke, arguably the one that should have left years ago, talk her out of being upset, as the pain in her wrist throbbed and told her otherwise.

But then Sam’s arms were around her, and she turned quickly, her face pressed against his chest. His warmth washed over her like a tidal wave, and she fisted his jacket in both her hands, her body melting as he held her. To her surprise, Sam had come to…her. Sam had picked a side, and it wasn’t his brother.

The dam opened up against his chest, as he held her, her sobs shaking her whole body. She took a step closer to him, letting go of all her control and tried to concentrate on his voice without saying a word.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Dean listened intently, half expecting that Duke might have lashed out at Esme. But it seemed that he was relatively calm, even if his internal emotions were a mess around her. When she said that she could feel Duke lying about not leaving ‘because’ of her, Dean frowned, and he glanced away from her face for a few seconds as she turned her gaze up to the ceiling. Duke was quick to try and not impose himself on people, or to let THEM get attached to HIM, but Duke normally didn’t just run because he had a nice moment with someone. He didn’t seem particularly upset when Dean had walked away from him the night that he left. He seemed chill…almost too calm.

As she continued, Dean turned his eyes back to her face. He could see how upset she seemed about the whole situation. Duke wasn’t the lying type, unless he was trying to protect someone. He was actually pretty brutally honest most of the time. He could hurt your feelings with a smile, and mean every word of it, only to apologize later. He and Dean were alike in that fact.

Her eyes coming back to his as she said she didn’t want to think about it anymore caused Dean to smile softly, softening his expression to watch her eyes, “Alright. Well…”

Dean paused, as Esme, like always, turned her worry to his mental state. He scoffed, and relaxed his arm, just letting her kiss his hand. He sighed, keeping the smile on his lips, “Alright. I won’t worry about how pale you look if you don’t worry about any of this stuff. Duke runs off. He does it for a million different reasons and I’m pretty sure that even if it has a tiny…little bit to do with you, it’s not all because of you. Something got into his head.”

He paused, and pressed his lips tightly together, before leaning down and kissing Esme’s forehead. He had an idea, “How about this…You catch your breath, and you get comfortable. I’ll go get you some of that chocolate you like so much, and after a little rest, I’ll take you out tonight. How does that sound?”

A little bit later

Dean stepped into the kitchen, bag of goods in hand, and Duke was sitting at the kitchen table. Dean raised his eyebrow as Duke toyed with the top of a beer bottle, and seemed a little spaced out.

“You good Bub?” Dean asked, not an ounce of frustration in his voice. He was just checking on his baby brother’s mental state. Duke didn’t speak for a moment, and then he turned and gave Dean the fakest smile he had ever seen.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure? I mean, you’ve been pouting since you got back, and after talking to Esme, I’m still confused, man.” Dean checked on him further, while unpacking the grocery bag. Duke glanced up and held out a hand, as if Dean should have been able to read his mind.

“How am I supposed to be around you guys, if she doesn’t want to be my friend?” Duke asked, and it was then that Dean could tell Duke was a little tipsy…in the afternoon. It was odd and a little extreme that Duke would be so upset about all of this. Esme being a little agitated and not wanting to open herself up to Duke because he lied was something that would blow over eventually. Even Dean knew that. “And I can’t talk to her about it…she doesn’t even want to talk to me.”

“That’s not true. You just hurt her feelings, is all. Man, I can’t make her talk to you. I wouldn’t, even if I could. Whatever reason you had for leaving…she can read you like a book. You left because of her.” Dean told him plainly, and Duke raised his eyes up, slightly drunk blue eyes searching Dean’s face for clarification. So, Dean continued, “You need to tell her the truth.”

“No no no. The truth is a world of trouble. You wouldn’t understand.”

“You like her a lot.” Dean admitted, and Duke scoffed, but Dean continued. “You got attached to her pretty quick, because you guys talked and it scared you. God forbid you let yourself feel anything, man. If you tell her, she’ll get it. Esme’s good like that. She’ll get it.”

“And if it’s more complicated than that?” Duke asked, tapping his beer bottle on the table.

“Then uncomplicate it, and talk to her.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean’s body was tense as it seemed like everyone in the room was trying to keep him from being light hearted with Anna, and they all seemed worried about what was going to happen when Nat got into the house. Even Sam seemed to be warning him not to say anything to Natalia, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.

He took a step back when Mika pulled him back, and Nat stepped into the kitchen. Dean raised his arms out to his sides, questioning Nat with his eyes as she ignored him and walked straight for the kitchen table. He turned, following her with his eyes, and before he even knew what happened, she had shrugged out of Cason’s grip and hit him. The blow landed heavy against his cheek and the side of his eye, and he groaned loudly, stumbling backward. His hand instantly came put to press against his cheek and he shook his head roughly to get rid of the stars that were swimming around in his brain.

“Son of a bitch!” He cried out, cracking his jaw a bit to make sure Nat didn’t break anything as she started to scream at them, mostly him. Dean’s angry expression fell and he reached a hand out for her as she screamed at him, “Nat wait. I know what this is about. I can explain…Nat!”

As he reached for her, she stormed out of the kitchen and Dean brought his hand back to his face as he turned almost in a complete circle, the anger and confusion rumbling up in his stomach. “Dammit! What the hell?! She goes out for an hour and suddenly she comes back and…”

Dean’s words were broken off as the smash of glass echoed in the lot. He figured, at first, that Nat had taken her frustration out on some random stacked hunk of metal in the lot. It was something he had done seemingly a million times. You go out in the lot with a crowbar and you beat the hell out of the beaters there, in order to vent some frustration. But as Sam walked over to the window, and warned Dean not to look outside, Dean quickly pushed Mika’s hand away and jogged over to the window. The Impala’s passenger side window was missing, and glass covered the gravel beneath it.

“MY CAR?! She punches me in the face and then she goes after MY CAR?!” Dean shouted in anger, studying the broken window as his anger and frustration bubbled like a boiling pot. He turned back and his eyes instantly fell on a target…Anna.

Anna

Anna stood still against the kitchen counter as the others walked in. She knew that the tension was going to boil over, right there and then, but she wasn’t quite prepared for what happened as Nat walked through the back door. The punch knocked the wind out of Anna, as she raised her eyes to look at Dean’s expression, trying to read what level of anger her actions had caused. He didn’t seem to even begin to blame her at first, until the glass smashing outside caught everyone’s ears.

…please don’t be the Impala…

The second that Dean cried out about his car, Anna closed her eyes with a sigh, and tightened her arms around herself. Nat’s outburst wasn’t going to be the end of this fight, not my a long shot. Anna almost regretted ever saying anything to Nat, until Dean’s eyes landed on her.

“What the hell did you do?” Dean practically growled at her, like an animal. Anna stepped away from the counter, and she walked toward the door, planning to just walk away from him before she listened to another one of his lectures. Suddenly, he crossed the room and wrapped an arm so tightly around her upper arm that she thought it was going to snap in half in his hand. He then turned her and shoved her aggressively into the corner by the door. “You’re not walking out of this house. I should have never let you walk INTO this house…”

“Dean…” Anna warned, glaring up at him as he pressed a little harder against her. “Let me go…now.”

“No. See? You’re not all hopped up on demon blood. So, until you look me in the eyes and tell me what you said to her, we’re getting comfy.” Dean growled, pulling up an arm to press against Anna’s upper chest, just putting a tiny bit of pressure on her throat. Anna tilted her head back, but she kept her glare, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Dean leaned a little heavier against her arm and Anna let out a tiny whimper.

“I just told her the t-truth. She deserved that much. You’re just angry you weren’t in control of the situation.” Anna spat at Dean through gritted teeth. Suddenly, Dean rolled his arm up and he pressed it harder against her chin, his own teeth clenched to the point that he was shaking with anger. He completely ignored that Anna was beginning to struggle a little more against him.

“You know…I’ve let a lot go. But I’m going to tell you this. You’re not a part of this. The only reason you’re still here is because everyone around here knows that if you’re out there, you’ll turn into some kind of monster.” Dean started, speaking through gritted teeth, disgust gracing his face in a way that made Anna whimper, a few tears falling down her cheeks as she struggled against his arm, “Ever since you showed up, it’s been nothing but chaos. It’s like you were sent here. You get a little demon blood in your system. You feel powerful, right? You think you’re in charge.”

“No. I don’t…” Anna sobbed, her angry scowl melting into desperation as Dean continued.

“I’m so close to just shoving you out that door, letting you become whatever monster you’re gonna be. Lilith…Alastair…they can have you.” Dean growled, pressing just a little harder against her throat, before finishing, “You knew what this would do. I was going to let her down easy. Nice and easy and painless. But you can’t leave well enough alone. You shut me out, and then you chose to bring the whole castle down, and for what? Hmm? To dig your claws into my sister the way you managed to do to my brother? No. I’ll fix this. But if you slip up…even once, I’ll be there.”

“You’re g-gonna kill me?” Anna struggled out, bringing a hand up to grip Dean’s wrist that was now pressed close to her ear.

“I’ll do what I have to do to keep my family safe. You’re not my family.”

And like that, Dean’s arm was gone and Anna didn’t even take time to catch her breath. She tore her eyes from his angry face, and pulled the door open, running out of the kitchen and onto the gravel. She nearly fell as she missed the steps on the back of the house, and as she stomped past Bobby, he called out to her, but she didn’t turn back. She just kept walking, toward the darkest part of the lot so she could cry alone.

“You’re not my family.”

The words rolled around in her head. She had been around Dean long enough, at this point to know what he meant by those words. She was just another thing for him to hunt. She was just another hunter for him to write off in the wind, and leave to her own defenses. She squeezed her eyes shut and growled as the fear, anger, and heartbreak overwhelmed her chest to the point of pain. And Sam? As usual, Sam would choose his brother…

Cason

Cason was fast, but apparently the little firecracker in his arms was faster. He wrapped his arms tighter around Natalia, as she moved, as if she was going to slip his grip. But before he could grab for her arm, the punch had already been thrown, and Cason groaned audibly. He reached back out for her, wincing for Dean, “Dammit. Nat!”

He shut his mouth as soon as he began her outburst toward Mika, not wanting to add fuel to that fire. But when Sam told him to go after Nat, he didn’t hesitate. He took the gentle order from the younger Winchester, and he quickly spun, following Nat out the door. He followed quickly behind her, but paused as she picked up the hammer, “Natalia…put the hammer down. C’mon. Lets just go eat some food and…”

And she had already thrown the hammer with a scream. Cason threw his hands up, his eyes landing on the breaking glass that was still falling all around the passenger door of the Impala, onto the gravel. There was no way this wouldn’t be an explosion. Dean would be out there any second to explode all over the place, because if there was one thing that meant everything to the guy, other than his family, it was his car. Cason quickly pushed off, no longer feeling the need to chase Nat as she simply walked over to her car and perched on the hood to eat. Cason slowly approached, and climbed up beside her, dropping his arms over his knees as he stared across the lot and sighed, “I know you’re mad. But…you know what? I’m not going to correct you or your decisions. I’m just gonna sit here with you, alright? We’re good?”

Duke

Duke smiled a little brighter as Esme’s hand moved up his chest and onto his cheek. It was another small movement of affection that would normally have had him squirming to get away, but he stayed still and allowed it, just staring into her eyes as she repeated the words he had been dying to hear again. He flinched, tightening his grip on Esme’s jaw accidentally, before releasing his grip and placing the hand against her chest with a confused frown.

“That didn’t sound like Mika…” Duke murmured, raising his head a bit to listen for voices. He heard Cason and what sounded like possibly Natalia, and then suddenly Dean’s voice, screaming at someone. That…was his ‘you broke my heart’ voice. Duke groaned, laying back down for a moment with his arm over his eyes, “I think I gotta go check it out. Dean sounds pissed. I don’t want you gettin’ wrapped up in whatever it is and possibly gettin’ hit in the face or somethin’. I’ll be back.”

Duke reluctantly pulled the blankets back, and slung his legs over the edge of the bed, looking around for at least enough clothing to get him in and out of the house in decency. He stood up, grabbing his jeans off the floor and quickly pulled them over his legs, buttoning them but leaving his belt undone. He turned and grabbed his hat off the sink, before gesturing toward Esme with it, “If you don’t want to hang back here…go check on whoever it is that just exploded in the lot. It sounded like Natalia. Oh…”

Duke covered the small space he had walked away, and he leaned a knee on the bed, leaning over Esme and pressing a tight quick kiss to her lips, “I love you. I’ll be right back.”

He then stood back up, stepping into his work boots, leaving his jeans bunched up around the tops. He quickly left the RV before he could change his mind. He jogged down the steps, just in time to see Anna barrel through the door, almost crashing into his chest. “Whoa little one! Hey…hey, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t…touch me!” Anna snapped at Duke, who pulled his hands he had been hovering over her into the air as if she had a gun on him. Without another word, she jogged away from him sobbing. Duke sighed, placing his hat on his head, and stepped into the house. He wasn’t even sure what he was walking in to.

“So what’s goin’ on with the ladies? Let me guess…” He started, but paused as he felt the intense tension in the room.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

As Esme grabbed his hand and brought it down, holding it against her chest, Dean opened his eyes a bit wider with worry. He watched her face, keeping his eyes on hers as she opened her eyes and looked at him, her words causing him to sigh. Of course something had gone wrong with Duke. Dean tightened his own grip on her hand and he was tempted to bring the other one up to stroke her hair, or something that would help relax her. She seemed genuinely upset, tired and she was pale.

Dean couldn’t help the narrowing of his eyes as she continued to speak, rummaging around in his head to find a reason that either Esme or Duke would be frustrated enough to cause this sort of damage. Sure, she was aggravated at him and sure Duke was irritated at them for not welcoming him home with hugs and celebration. But it wasn’t quite so deep, or at least Dean didn’t think so.

And then Duke lied? That wasn’t all that much of a surprise, but it had affected Esme in an obviously negative way. And from the sounds of what had happened afterward, there was something about Duke that made Esme a sponge for his feelings, and possibly made him a sponge for hers. The thought of there being some sort of psychic weird connection between them caused Dean’s stomach to cramp with anxiety, but he pushed it down and covered that with a sigh as much as he could. He didn’t need Esme feeling any of his worry, on top of all this that she was already dealing with.

“Okay. So…maybe Duke just feels a little different when he has emotions. I mean, the kid’s not exactly an open book. He carries a lot of his emotions internally until he explodes. Even when he explodes, he just runs off to handle it. He doesn’t let people in. Maybe…maybe with your channeling stuff, he did it on accident.” Dean explained, trying to rationalize it all to himself. He scanned over Esme’s face and sighed once again, “Maybe he’s a little more hurt than we gave him credit for…or-or maybe something happened while he’s gone. It might not even have anything to do with you, is what I’m saying.”

Dean brushed his thumb over the back of Esme’s hand, and he leaned over on the bed, bringing himself rather close to her face, so he could talk a bit lower, “You wanna talk about the conversation? What was said that would have made things so tense between you guys?”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya and Dean

Anya was a little more than impressed by how quick of a learner Sam was, and how eager he was to learn. As soon as he figured out his first few full sentences, Anya smiled widely, holding her hands up and clapping them beside her head, proud of him. Then came Lexi’s voice, and Anya nodded her head toward the kitchen, telling Sam to go and reward himself with breakfast.

As Sam stood, Anya took the opportunity to go and refill her coffee. As she passed Dean, he looked down at her with a smile that weirded her out just a bit, and he held up his hands, signing “Are you okay?”

Anya couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. He had been watching them and now he was making what she could only assume was an effort to try and get to know her, or at least show her a bit of grace. She didn’t ignore the grace, bringing her free hand that wasn’t holding a coffee mug up to her wrist, and signing “I’m okay.”

Then she brought her hand up to her chin and signed “Thanks” which Dean surprisingly seemed to understand, because he muttered out a simple, “No problem.”, with a nod. He then stepped away from the wall and followed her over to the food on the counter, smiling as Lexi teased Sam. For the first time in a long time, it felt like they were all home. There was a family atmosphere to the room, and Dean realized right then how much they had lost…and how much he missed having people around.

“Alright, alright. How about we all grab our food and our drinks and be adults.” He teased, grabbing a sandwich, as Anya reached over and snatched one for herself. She skipped out of the kitchen, her hair bouncing against her back as she did so, and Dean watched her, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“I could get used to mornings like this…”, he muttered honestly. He grabbed his mug off the counter, stepped around to where Lexi was standing, and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, before stepping the rest of the way around to head into the other room. “Let’s go plan the day over some good food, shall we?”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke looked down at Esme’s hand as she pulled it away from him, furrowing his brow in confusion. He couldn’t fathom her not at least wanting to talk to him about this. But then she said the word ‘no’ and Duke blanched, his head yanking back as if the word had slapped him in the face. He watched her face intently, searching for any sign where he had said something wrong.

“Esme I’m not…” Duke attempted to defend himself, cutting his words off as she continued accusing him of lying to her. He didn’t feel like he was lying, not really. He felt like he was protecting what could be some very delicate feelings toward him.

‘I can’t be friends with someone who lies to me’

That was the gut punch. He zoned out a bit after that, hearing Dean’s name. Of course she would bring up Dean, as if Dean hadn’t lied about a handful of things. Most likely, half the things she knew about him were lies. He reached his hand out, just as she disappeared into the kitchen and Duke let out an exasperated sigh, growling to himself through gritted teeth.

“You alright, kid?” Bobby called out from seemingly nowhere. Duke flinched, turning around with his fists balled up as Bobby walked up, wiping his hands on a shop towel. Duke lowered his fists and sighed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

“Jesus Christ, Bobby. How long have you been watchin’ us?”

“Oh. I ain’t watching you. This metal awning echoes, boy. I heard everything, including you offering a girl to…what was it again? Sit on the tailgate and talk about your feelings. I think it’s all adorable and everything, but what’s going on, Jason?” Bobby started with a smile on his face, but when Duke reacted badly, and then a little more badly with his body language, Bobby’s expression turned more to concern.

“It’s Duke.”

“Yeah. Alright. I’m sorry. What’s going on…Duke?” Bobby corrected himself, stepping a little closer as Duke threw up his hands. He wanted to spill the feelings and get them off his chest but he didn’t even know where to start.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to try and make the best out of her bein’ here, you know? I’m back and I thought she could use a friend. But it seems like a lot changed while I was gone.” Duke muttered sadly, and dropped his eyes to his feet. Which caused Bobby to shake his own head, his expression softening as he tried to think of a way to comfort the kid.

“I would say so. They’re stuck at the hip, now more than ever. They work all their cases together. They sleep in the same bed. It’s a little more…advanced than when you left.” Bobby explained, his voice gentle.

“Yeah. I can see that…”

“So that’s why you had a real hard time letting that girl walk into that house to her boyfriend. You…in your ramblin’ little brain…” Bobby started, before smirking sadly, “That heart of gold has feelings for a girl. Well…ain’t that something.”

“It’s not like that. I just want to get to know her, okay? She’s…I can’t get her out of my head…” Duke started and Bobby held up a hand, pointing at the kitchen door before gesturing toward the bay where his car sat, hood up.

“Lets go grab a couple glasses of whiskey, alright? No need to complicate things.”

Dean

Dean turned the shower off, his ear perking up as he heard the bedroom door open and close before he could step out. He assumed it was Esme and shrugged it off, before stepping out of the shower and drying himself off a bit, “Esme?”

He wiped at his hair for a second and then wrapped the towel around his waist, tying it off and then stepping out of the bathroom. The second he stepped out, he saw Esme laid back on the bed, her hands on her stomach. He sighed, stepping off and closer to the bed. Duke had obviously not been very receptive to whatever it was she had tried to say.

“Sweetheart? You okay?” Dean asked, walking over to gently sit down on the edge of the bed. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over her face, and noticed how pale she was. Reaching across, he carefully placed the back of his hand against her cheek, and then her forehead. “Really…what’s going on?”

All Roads Lead To You

Duke

Duke held his hands up in defense as Esme shrugged out of his grip and took a few steps back from him. He had felt her struggling against his chest when he hugged her. He had assumed it was just her frustration with him in the moment, and so he had hugged her through it. But now, it was obvious she didn’t want to be touched…at all. The tone of her voice stung a little, but Duke straightened his cowboy hat and placed his hands on his hips, listening to what she had to say.

He was a bit surprised to hear her say that she wasn’t upset with him for leaving and that she understood why he left. In fact, he was instantly confused and he tilted his head, opening his mouth to speak before she continued. But she began speaking almost instantly and he closed his mouth again, his eyes widening at her assertion that he had blamed her for his leaving…or that she was at fault in some way. There was truth to her statement, but not because she had come between him and Dean. It was because his feelings toward her were complicated and he had only just met her.

“I didn’t…” He started as she continued again, looking almost more angry than before. He turned his eyes down to her clenched fists and he sighed. As she finished, he huffed, and took a step forward, holding a hand out in front of him to make sure she knew that he wasn’t going to touch her unless she wanted him to.

“Okay. First off…I’m glad that you want me around.” He half teased, his nose twitching as he fought down a smirk, to make sure she didn’t think he was patronizing her in any way. “Second, you ain’t puttin’ no more tension on me and Dean than we put on ourselves. We have been at it for a while. I’ve known him almost my whole life. In fact, I’ve picked up a few…quite a few of his girls and put them back together before sendin’ them home to their parents. You know how he can be.”

He shook his head, and pointed his finger at her, “And you are not leavin’ this house, because of me. Bobby likes havin’ you around and apparently so does Dean. You gotta understand that I leave to relieve that pressure valve, a lot of times. It’s easier to give Dean a breather, than to beat each other’s asses every few months when we butt heads. We’re too much alike.”

Duke raised a single hand, and he slowly reached down, leaning forward a bit while keeping enough distance to keep her comfortable, and he picked up her hand.

“How about we take a deep breath, alright? I’m sorry I made it weird the second I walked into the house. I’m sorry I ran off when things were tense and made you think I ran away from you. And I’m sorry…that I have to refuse to leave well enough alone, because I want to be around you. I want us to be friends.” He explained sweetly, taking one more step forward as he dipped his head. Half of what he said was an absolute lie.

He did leave to get away from her, at least partially. He could see her being a huge problem for him, but she was a problem his brain wouldn’t let him leave alone. He should have walked back into the RV, unpacked his stuff, and gone to a bar to pick up some sweet girl. But he was standing there, in front of Esme, practically begging her with his bright blue eyes to give him a chance…maybe not quite the chance he wished he would have had in a perfect world, but a chance none the less.

“So, how about this…” He glanced out toward his truck and then back down to her, “After we go to the bar, and we get back home…no girls tonight. I will be out there sittin’ on that tailgate and if you show up, I’ll do my best to explain. If you don’t, I’ll take the hint and we don’t have to be friends.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Anna and Cason

Cason frowned at Nat’s dismissive answer to his question. He let it go, though, and leaned back in his seat, glancing out the window. When Maddie came back with the food, he turned his eyes back to Anna for a moment, noticing that she was just absentmindedly playing with the zipper on the sleeve of his jacket, staring straight at the table in front of her. He could see the little tears in the corners of her eyes, as if they refused to dry and he wanted so badly to just ask her to spill, or he would make her spill.

But he wasn’t that aggressive anymore, unless he had to be. With Anna, he definitely wasn’t willing to cross that line. He sighed, and turned to Nat as she grabbed a bag, clutching it as if it was going to jump out of her hands and run off. He caught Sam’s eyes and nodded, reading his expression perfectly, as if he could see into his mind. He slid out of the booth behind Nat, gently placing a hand on her back as she walked toward the door.

Anna slipped out of the booth, and straightened the large jacket sleeves that covered her hands. She never looked up. She just followed along, knowing that when they got back to the house, all hell was going to break loose, and in a way, she had implicated Sam just as much as Dean. She followed Nat out the door to her car and chewed at her lip to the point that she tasted metal.

A bit later - Back at Bobby’s

As the car pulled to a stop, Anna took a deep breath and she almost thought that she heard Cason echo her breathing. She reached for the door handle, and then stepped out of the car, almost flinching at the sound of her boots on the gravel. The lot was relatively quiet, which meant that for once, no one was fighting. No one was battling anything. Everyone was relaxed…for the time being.

She didn’t wait for Sam, walking ahead of them to just get into the house, and hopefully Dean and Mika weren’t even still there. But as she reached for the door of the kitchen, and swung it open, Dean stumbled into the kitchen with an awkward smile on his face, buttoning his jeans and attempting to straighten his clothes. Anna didn’t make eye contact with him. She simply left the door ajar, figuring that Sam would be the next one in behind her, and stood by the kitchen counter with her arms crossed.

“You alright?” Dean asked her, but she said nothing, just staring at the floor. “You know, eventually, you’re going to have to talk to me…”

Cason quickly stepped out of the car and walked around, opening Nat’s door. He reached in and grabbed her hand, pulling her in close to his side, as if she was going to run off and start a war. Judging by her behavior…she just might. He pulled her along the gravel lot, up to the back door of the house, and he could hear Dean talking to Anna just past the door, which gave him pause.

“Yeah I wouldn’t count on that…” Cason warned Dean, as he walked inside and made room for Natalia. He didn’t know why Nat was suddenly so upset, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Anna, in her anger with Dean, had spilled the beans.

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked, glancing up to Nat as she walked through the back door.

Dean

Dean ran his hand down Mika’s bare back, holding her close to him as he ran tiny little kisses and bites down her throat. Then a car door slammed in the parking lot, and he froze, “I think the kids are home…”, he murmured against her throat, pushing himself up on his elbow enough to see over the side of the couch. He couldn’t see anything out the window, but he just had a feeling they were coming through the kitchen door.

“C’mon. Up! We’ll finish this tonight.” He teased with a slight serious tone to Mika, crawling over her, and onto his feet. He pulled his jeans back onto his hips, and grabbed his t-shirt from the floor, quickly pulling it over his head, before reaching back down for his flannel. He slipped his arms into it, just as the back door opened. Thinking quick on his feet, he jogged to the kitchen to try and give Mika time to get dressed before the others filed in.

Of course it was Anna that stepped in.

Duke

Duke nearly fell apart right there, all at once when she not only reciprocated his ‘I love you’ but added to it. She said it out loud. She was his. She was his. That fact spurred him on even more, and he wanted to pull away from her and tell her to say it again. He wanted to hear it again, echoing in his mind for the next decade. She had him wrapped around her finger in any way she would have him, and Duke had a feeling that she knew it, too.

He groaned against her lips, as her fingers traced the waistband of his jeans, her touch causing his abs to tense and his hips to roll forward, until she finally pushed his jeans off his hips. He stepped out of them, and brought a hand down to her thigh, wrapping his fingers around it like a puzzle piece. Just the feeling of her fingers in his hair caused him to groan a little louder as she began pressing kisses along his face, something he would never allow any other woman to do. It was too close…to intimate. It gave her too much control. But he stilled, allowing the closeness with shaky breath as he closed his eyes, simply brushing his thumb over her cheek.

He couldn’t help the toothy smile that broke out across his face as she kissed his eyes and the tip of his nose, his heart swimming by the time she returned to his lips. His kiss became much more urgent then, and he slipped his hands carefully under her hips again, pulling her tightly against him as he lifted her and carried her back toward his bed.

A little bit later

Duke stared at the stickers that were plastered to the ceiling of his little makeshift bedroom, his breathing calming slowly but surely as he just basked in having Esme wrapped up on him under his quilt…in his RV. It was something that he only would have dreamed about a few years prior but now…she was his. She said she was his. He tilted his head, gazing down at her lovingly as he brought the arm under her head up, brushing her hair with his fingers.

A shudder hit him, causing his heart to flutter as he ran that same hand over her bare shoulder, drawing a small circle there, while attempting to avoid any scrapes and bruises.

“You’re trouble…” He teased her with a tired chuckle, his ears perking up just a little at the sound of a door slamming nearby in the lot. He didn’t figure any of them would just burst into the RV. So, he ignored it and focused on Esme. He turned a bit, laying a little more on his side as he studied her face. He brought his other hand up, and caged her jaw, smirking at the way his fingers wrapped around. “And you’re…mine.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean sighed as Anya and Sam left the kitchen together, but he smirked the second his back was turned to them. It was oddly refreshing to see Sam so loose in the shoulders, and to see an echo of his brother’s old smile on his face. He would give him Hell until the end of time for everything, but in reality, Dean was happy to see Sam happy…for once. The guy needed a win. They both did.

He walked over to the coffee pot, and touched his fingers against the outside, to make sure it was still on and hot. As soon as he was happy with the temperature, he looked down at the counter, and paused, thinking about the sound Anya’s legs made against the metal. Without touching the actual counter, he made a mental note to make Sam and Anya clean the kitchen later, and reached for two mugs.

He heard Lexi’s light footsteps against the floor as he poured her coffee, and he turned to watch her walk…not to him, but to the fridge. The part of his brain that was food driven jumped to excitement, while the part of his brain that wanted to just keep a hand on her all day sunk into a bit of sadness. When she asked what he wanted for breakfast, he walked over to the counter, not far from the fridge, and placed her mug there. He took a drink of his own coffee and glanced down at her, tilting his head with pursed lips, “I’m thinking…”

And then Sam called out, and Dean sighed through his nose at the interruption, followed by Anya knocking on the table like it was a door to tell Lexi ‘yes’. That caused Dean to chuckle, and he shook his head.

“I’ll have what they’re having. Also, she might be too cute to bully. She’s quick. Competitive.” He raised his eyebrows as if he had been beaten at his own game, and took another drink of his coffee. “Sure is nice to see Sam smile, though…after the past few months. I don’t know how he’s held it together this long.”

Dean stepped away from the counter, deciding to go to the door like a watchful father and check on Sam and Anya, keeping out of their eye sight. As he watched them, he smiled softly, watching Anya doing her best to teach Sam sign language. He couldn’t lie, it was new…and it was nice, seeing her little giggles and watching Sam’s face match hers. Seeing how intent Sam seemed on furthering their communication was welcome. There was no way he was forcing this girl out of the bunker…not at this point. It seemed the hunters training had to go forward. His brother…would be happy, even if he was uncomfortable with the means.

Anya

Anya plopped down in one of the old wood chairs, glancing at the lit up table in front of her as she pretzeled her legs in the wide seat. Any other time, she would have propped her feet up on the table, but in Sam’s shirt, she was afraid she might give Dean more of a show than he would prefer. So, she grabbed the edge of the table and rolled the chair forward, and then to the side to be a bit closer to Sam.

After a bit of just sitting there, taking in the morning, Sam had asked her to teach him a few signs. So, she held her hand out for her phone and then laid it on the table top, thinking of words that would be helpful, specifically to hunting.

She typed the word “gun” and then held her hands up, signing to him with a soft smile. Then she typed a few more letters and pressed play to read “he has a gun” and did a slightly more exaggerated version of the previous sign. She then typed “he’s over there” and signed it to him, smiling as he called out to Lexi in the kitchen. When she called back and asked if Anya wanted anything, Anya found a spot on the screen of the table that would echo, and knocked twice for “yes”, hoping that Lexi could hear her.

Anya turned back to her phone with a cheeky grin, and she typed the words, “Are you okay? What hurts?” And then typed “I’m okay.”

She played the first part, and signed it slowly for Sam, looking at his eyes. There was something beautiful about watching him learn, and watching how fast he picked up on information…and the fact that he was doing this to be able to communicate better with her. She then tapped the last message and signed it, pausing at the end to reach out and tap her finger gently on his nose.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean smiled widely as Lexi played right into his teasing, which was so refreshing. He didn’t even have a chance to quip anything else at her before she leaned up and kissed him while they were walking, something that for some reason made her even more intoxicating to him. There was no way that he wanted to separate from her, even for a moment, feeling oddly clingy. Anyone else, he would have left them in bed, went on with work, and hopefully would have shooed them out of the bunker by now. He sighed, as they stepped up to her room and she pulled away from him to go grab things from her room.

“I would complain, but you definitely deserve the coffee.” Dean chuckled, shaking his head. His eyebrows perked up a bit when she mentioned breakfast, and he tilted his head to the side as if to say ‘alright then. I’m keeping her forever.’.

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into…” He whispered to himself as he turned and headed toward the kitchen to fetch Lexi a coffee.

Anya

Anya’s heart fluttered into her throat when Sam studied her hands so intently, and managed to make out what she was saying, or at least the general idea. Just hearing him say that he felt happy made her beam with happiness for him. He deserved to be happy. She could see it in his eyes, every time she looked at him, that he had been through so much. There was a light flickering behind his gaze that seemed to be faded, as if everything he had been through had sucked the life from his eyes. All she wanted to see, for someone like Sam was his dimples dipping in so deep that they could hurt his cheeks, the creases in his forehead there for a reason and not for worry, and a smile on his face…a real smile.

She was broken from studying his face by him speaking up, and she pulled away from her thought with a small flinch, watching his hand as he retrieved her phone from his pocket. She laughed, taking it from him and quickly sliding her finger across the screen to type a message.

“Thank you. This is a lot easier.” She pressed play with a dramatic eyeball and then sat her phone on the counter. He was close enough that she could reach over and take his hand, tugging him toward her. She dropped his hand once he was close, and reached up, placing her hand on the back of his neck to pull him down to her. Once his nose touched hers, she pressed a tight, simple kiss to his lips, as if reminding herself she could.

A few moments later.

Anya barely heard Dean step into the kitchen as she stared intently into Sam’s eyes, trying her best to learn every color in his specific brand of hazel. It was mushy, but she didn’t care…

Then Dean cleared his throat.

“Can I get a cup of coffee or will I um…interrupt something?” Dean teased, and Anya broke her gaze from Sam’s face, rolling her eyes as she picked up her phone. She typed, and Dean watched her, placing his hands on his hips.

“If I said you were, would you be nicer?” Anya’s phone read and Dean seemed offended, but amused.

“Nicer? I’m wonderful today, alright? I feel great. You know what…I will even say that you look lovely this morning, wearing my giant brother’s clothes and sitting on the only countertop that’s anywhere near the coffee that I would like to take back to my…to Lexi.” Dean awkwardly explained, waving his hand around. Anya smirked and with a little bit of a squeak from the stainless steel against her bare thighs, she slipped off the edge of the counter, standing flush with Sam’s chest for a moment, before pushing him back and stepping to his side.

“Calm down Dean. I was joking. But thanks for the compliment.” She typed on her phone, grabbing Sam’s hand. She shoved her phone back into the pocket of Sam’s sweats, grabbed her cup and tugged Sam toward the doorway. The War Room seemed like a much less stuffy place for the barrage of parental questions she knew was coming.