JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean matched Lexi’s laugh, scanning her eyes as she watched his. He could see the wheels turning behind those eyes, and he knew that at any moment, she could get one over on him. She was likely a better fighter than he was. He was more of a ‘beat someone into submission’ type, rather than a careful and meticulous with the fundamentals type.

He couldn’t help the sharp eyebrow raise at her teasing about him ‘being desperate to get her wet’. He couldn’t even make out if it was a dirty joke or if she was being literal, but honestly? Either way, she was right. He shrugged his shoulders with confidence in his eyes, and a head tilt that said ‘meh, you’re right’, before chuckling. Then her lips were on his, and he kissed her back, letting his guard completely down. If this was how their day was going to go, there was a high likelihood that nothing was going to get done, while Sam and Anya were out. Well…nothing work related.

He was so lost in the idea that he had her pinned beneath him, stuck where she couldn’t move, and she was willingly kissing him. He merely hummed at her assertion that he was just as chaotic as he knew himself to be. He didn’t even notice that she was gearing up to get one over on him. Then her legs were wrapped around his and he was on his back before he could even react.

Dean’s eyes shot open, and he smiled widely up at her, relaxing his shoulders and just leaning into the idea of being dominated by a very strong and capable woman that he adored.

“You may be chaotic…but I don’t think you understand how hot this is…” He grumbled, biting at his bottom lip as he looked up at her. He reached up and pinched her chin with his thumb and forefinger, “If you stick around long, you’ll ruin my stellar reputation. Or help it…I haven’t decided which.”

Anya

Anya giggled as she heard the thud from the kitchen on their way by. She had a feeling that ‘doing the dishes’ had turn into ‘soapy wrestling’ and the thought just made her happy, for some reason. She loved love, and she could see it a mile away that Dean and Lexi were slowly…or not so slowly falling in love. She followed close behind Sam as he grabbed his keys and took off toward the spiral staircase. On one hand, she never wanted to leave the safety and the quiet of the bunker. On the other hand, she was excited to get outside and feel the cool air on her skin.

The second the door opened and they were in the cool air, Anya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Being in rural Kansas, the air was clean and crisp. The leaves falling from the trees all around them caught her ears, and gave her goosebumps. Fall was her favorite time of year. She made a mental note to step outside the bunker every now and then, so she didn’t miss the smell…or the general dampness of the air around them.

She picked one of the smaller leaves out of her hair as Sam unlocked the car, and she quickly got into the passenger seat, settling herself while waiting for him to get in. When he did, she smiled and glanced over at him as he began to drive and spoke up.

At first she shrugged, figuring they would just come back to the bunker and do work, but judging by his face, he was suggesting they stall a bit. Anya arched her back, and pulled her phone from her back pocket, typing her reply.

“It’s nice out today. We could maybe hit up a farmers market or one of those cute little fall carnivals. I read about a lot of outdoor events around Lebanon in the newspaper. Apple cider. Funnel cakes. Carnival games. Fall air. It could be fun. I’ll go get the tattoo. We can grab my stuff. Then fun. Unwind that tight coil that is Sam Winchester’s spine.”

She pressed play with a smile, and reached her hand out to pry his left hand from the steering wheel. She pulled his hand onto her lap, and toyed with his fingers, with a soft smile.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean should have taken Lexi’s warning of Karma. Now his ass was on fire, he was soaked, and she looked like he hadn’t even hit her with hardly any of the water he had thrown her way. Technically, he was losing the fight, whether he wanted to admit it or not. As bad as his ass hurt, Lexi’s laugh at his fall was music to his ears, and he laughed harder.

“I’m fine. I’ve taken harder bumps than a slip on a floor, darlin’.” He waved her off, resolved to his wet grave on the floor for the time being. As she took the mug from him, he dropped his hand onto his chest for a moment, and laughed, his face fully lit up with a smile so wide it kinda hurt his cheeks. It had been a while since he had laughed so hard, even at himself.

“I’m horrible at taking advice. That’s something you’ll definitely learn.” Dean joked as Lexi offered him her hand. He thought for a second about whether he wanted to let her help him up, or serve her a dose of Karma of her own. In a quick move, he reached up, wrapping his hand around her arm, just below her elbow and yanked her down.

As he pulled her down, he rolled, and with one knee between her legs, he hovered over her, pressing her back and hair into the wet floor with a wide smile on his face, “Now, about those quick reflexes. You’re just as wet as I am…”, he teased with a laugh, carefully placing his hand on the floor beside her head, to avoid leaning on her hair.

Anya

Anya watched Sam’s face as he took in her concerns, pleasantly surprised when he shook his head with that soft smile on his lips. She let out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding, and leaned into his fingers brushing the side of her face to tuck her hair behind her ear. His comment about having a naked woman in his room again made her giggle softly, and she also raised one of her eyebrows, wanting to ask how common it was for him…but she didn’t want to joke with him much, while he was being so sweet.

There was something else behind Sam’s eyes as he picked up her hand, and he kissed her knuckles. She couldn’t quite place it, but it was a mixture of a painful memory, holding back, and also extreme vulnerability. There was always a light that almost came to the surface in his eyes, like it was hidden right behind a curtain, and he refused to let it through. It made her want to ask a million questions, in any effort to try and unleash that boyish light. But from that look, she knew he wasn’t ready to talk about it, yet.

She released his hands for a moment, and just signed, “All forgiven.”

As he asked if she was ready to go, Anya nodded, her expression a bit neutral, until she too caught Dean and Lexi’s laughter echoing down the hall. She couldn’t help the happy little smile that covered her entire face at the sound of them having fun, although, she didn’t want to know exactly ‘how’ they were having fun. She stood on her tiptoes, and pressed a gentle kiss to Sam’s lips, before nodding her head toward the door in a way to say “Let’s get out of here.”. Then she reluctantly pulled away from his warmth, and led the way out the door, shoving her phone in her back pocket as she stepped into the hallway, and Lexi and Dean’s laughing grew louder.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean rolled his eyes and taunted Lexi, bouncing his head from side to side when she accused him of not being able to go a moment without touching her. True, he had issues staying away from her, while she was available to him…but he was a professional! He nudged her side playfully, but then she splashed a bit of soapy water on his face. He closed his eyes and a hint of a devious smirk touched the corners of his lips as he brought a hand up, and wiped it down his face.

“We want to play this game?” He chuckled, stepping away from the sink. The look on her face, the closeness, all of it was nearly enough for him to pull her to him and just kiss her right there, but he didn’t. He reached above the sink, grabbing a mug, and then held it under the faucet to fill it up. Turning, he splashed the water toward Lexi, most of it landing on the floor, before he stepped back to the sink and got another cup.

“See, I’m a bit of a master of the water wars…wet towel wars…prank wars. Ask Sam.” He chuckled, chasing Lexi toward the center of the kitchen. He threw another cup of water at her, but his foot caught some of the water on the floor, causing him to slip. At first, he was able to fight the fall, but the more he fought against it, the more obvious it became that he was going down.

He held the mug up high, to make sure it didn’t slam into the ground and break and landed flat on his ass with a groan, “Okay. Alright. So, I misjudged how much water came out of a mug. Floor’s wet!”, he choked out, before he was forced to laugh at his own stupidity, laying his head back against the damp floor.

“And now Sam’s going to make me clean the kitchen. You didn’t win. This is…this is a timeout, a pause, a ‘Dean’s down’ break.”

Anya

Anya didn’t realize how shy Sam actually was. She should have know, considering how long it took him the night before to even think about kissing her…or doing anything else. He wasn’t a pig like most of the men she came across, and for the first time ever, she felt as if she was the one coming on a bit too strong. She felt like she was the one who was acting too confident for Sam’s comfort. As he turned around to look at her finally, she realized that he really was having a shy moment toward her, despite how fiery and crazy the night before was.

She couldn’t help the smile of absolute admiration that bubbled up on her face as she watched him run his hand through his hair, his lips pressed together in discomfort, as if he had done something wrong. She tilted her head, and stepped up in front of him. With her phone in one hand, she signed single handed with the other. It was a sign that she had taught him earlier in the morning, “One second. First.”

Anya then pulled her phone up in front of her, and she typed, “If you need me to slow down, that’s fine, Sam. I’m not here to uproot your life. I’m not here to push your boundaries. I’m here for business, but now…I’m staying because I want to get to know you. I want to spend more time with you. If that means that we’re hands off? Then we’re hands off. I’ll wear as many clothes as possible.”

She pressed play on her phone, scanning his face as she reached her hand out and placed it gently against his chest, sliding her fingers under his over shirt. If he was flustered because he was having trouble leaving the room, she was fine with that. But if he was flustered because he was overwhelmed…or because they were moving too fast for comfort, it was time to pump the brakes a little. She could tell that he had lost someone, a very big someone, and not just Mika. She could tell that he needed that touch, and that closeness, but that in some places he was holding back. She was prepared to wait until he decided not to hold back, even if it meant that she had to leave the bunker.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean stepped up close to Lexi as soon as they were in the kitchen, his instant instinct to be in her personal space until she told him to get out of it. As their hips touched, he looked around for something to do with his hands, only to have Lexi throw a towel at his chest. He caught the towel and smirked, holding it in his hand as he paused to just look down at her with a mix of admiration and surprise, “Yes ma’am.”

As Lexi began washing the dishes, Dean took them from her hands one by one, drying them off and placing them in the strainer. He mulled over what he would say to Natalia, his brain nearly blank. It wasn’t as if he checked on her enough to ask her for any favors and even though he and her boyfriend were on decent terms, there was a deep and angry history between them that made it awkward to reach out.

After a moment, Dean spoke up, rattling off the top of his head, “I think I heard Sam and Anya talking about leaving, which means all the work at home is up to us, I guess. Not that there’s much to do with them gone…”

He paused and smirked to himself, staring at the wall in front of him as he placed another dish in the strainer, “And the question lingers if we can even work together, considering there’s no evidence you’ll keep your hands to yourself. Not that we couldn’t figure out how to pass some time…”

Dean chuckled, and tiny flashes from the night before boiled up in his head, causing him to chew at his lip.

Anya

Anya smiled brightly as Sam gave in without much of an arguing effort from her. She couldn’t tell if he was giving in because he couldn’t argue with her, or if it was because her idea was sound. Either way, she wasn’t getting left behind to stew in the bunker with the two lovers in the kitchen. She was actually going out with Sam. She stepped back from the table and nodded at his suggestion to get dressed. Though, when she glanced toward the kitchen, she giggled, and shrugged her shoulders before typing.

“They’re enjoying each other. I say let them.”

She shrugged her shoulders as she played the message and then stepped back over into the library, reaching her hand in her bag. She pulled out a black Ramones t-shirt that she had packed in case she ruined her other shirt (a paranoia she was very thankful for at the moment). After snatching the t-shirt, she skipped back over to Sam and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward his room to grab her jeans.

As soon as she stepped into the room, she bent and grabbed her jeans from their place by the door, where she had kicked them the night before. She nudged her boots near each other with her foot and then without saying a word whisked Sam’s shirt over her head, tossing it on the bed. She shook out her jeans, and shoved her legs through, before shimmying her hips to pull them up. She picked up the t-shirt she had dropped on the floor and shoved her arms through the sleeves, before pulling it over her head and flattening it around her waist. It was while putting on her shirt that she realized she was incredibly sore.

She stepped over to her boots, swiping her phone off the floor along with her socks, and then carefully kicked her boots toward the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and put her socks on, before shoving her feet in her boots, and typing.

“Fully dressed and less distracting.”, she teased, looking up at Sam with a playful smirk.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke simply stood there, being whatever emotional support that Esme needed in the moment. She and Mika were in a full civil conversation, and it was heavenly. They could potentially be friends. For once, Dean’s inability to have closure in relationships might not hurt the two women that Dean would call his ‘big ones’.

His ears perked up and he frowned with slightly widened eyes, turning his eyes down to Esme’s face as she mentioned being in the asylum at the same time as Nat. Duke’s mind flashed to that time, as the story was told by Dean, and he closed his eyes with regret instantly. Dean had called him, asking him to come and help with a demon situation. Duke had let the call go to voicemail, figuring that it was just a ploy for Dean to try and speak to him again, when Duke wasn’t ready to bridge the gap between them after the fallout. He listened with his eyes closed to Esme’s explanation of how things went down, realizing that maybe…just maybe if he had been the extra set of hands, he would have thought to even check for other rooms, or maybe he could have heard a noise. Deep down, he knew it wasn’t likely, but the guilt was still there.

As Mika spoke her own guilt and apologies, Duke sighed, clenching his jaw at the fact that Dean had brought Mika along and Duke hadn’t even bothered to answer the phone. He should have been there to back her up. It was a miracle, from what he had gathered, that they all made it out mostly in one piece. As the room fell silent for a brief moment, Duke shuffled on his feet a bit and he turned his eyes down to the floor, “I should…I should have been there too. Dean called me and I was so wrapped up in tryin’ to stay away from him that I didn’t come. Maybe…m-maybe I could have felt you there or somethin’. I could have looked for the door…or I don’t know. But I should have picked up the phone.”

He sniffled, not even realizing that he was getting emotional, he was so used to repressing emotions around everyone but Mika. He tilted his head, trying to push all those emotions away, “Just like if I hadn’t got hurt, because of my own stupidity, I could have protected you back at the farm. I guess…I guess I’m just sorry, like Mika. We didn’t know.”

Dean

Dean kept his gaze on Natalia’s eyes as she took in his words. The look in her eyes once again reminded him of Sam, and it was then that she realized how much the two looked alike. Both his baby siblings had the same eyes, and it was a bit of a weakness for him. He almost sighed with relief at her little nod, before she wrapped her arms around him, her face buried in his chest. With a deep breath, Dean released her hand and wrapped both his arms tightly around her body, holding her to him. At her words, Dean closed his eyes, pressing his lips to the top of her head, “I know. I know you have.”

Dean brought a hand up, stroking his fingers through the back of Nat’s hair as he held her, just letting her cling to him until she didn’t need to. He didn’t care how long it took. He wasn’t losing his little sister…not after all that time. Not after managing to get her back from that horrible place all over again. It was time to put pettiness aside, and be her brother.

As Nat spoke, Dean nodded, a small scoff shaking his chest as she mentioned that both she and he were horrible with their feelings. Again, they were a lot alike, mores than they would ever admit, and Dean had to wonder if that’s why John never said anything to Dean about her. Maybe John thought that if she was around someone who she could see herself in…she would become all the parts of Dean that John hated. At the idea of Esme helping Nat, Dean nodded against her head and he petted her hair a bit more, “Esme’s a good ally to have for…dealing with uncomfortable emotions. That’s all a story for another time, but yeah…I do know that much.”

Bringing up the situation with Anna almost caused Dean to shake his head. He didn’t want to talk about that, while she was so fragile, but what he thought was going to be more calling him out for lying turned into her practically begging him not to kill Cason. Dean frowned, staring off at the gravel with hazy eyes as he let her begging sink in. He didn’t want her mixed up with demons. A huge part of him wanted to tell her that he couldn’t accept Cason. He probably never would, but couldn’t he? Cason was proving to at least be docile with Natalia. Dean didn’t quite believe that they loved each other. Sure, Nat seemed madly in love with the guy…but a demon feeling love? Nah. Dean couldn’t subscribe to that idea.

As he glanced up from the gravel, his eyes found Cason standing against a car in the distance, minding his own business and smoking a cigarette. He scanned Cason’s demeanor, and how he could tell that Cason had an ear ‘pointed’ at he and Natalia. At the very least, Cason seemed to care.

Dean’s heart clenched at Nat’s last words, and he held her a little tighter, turning his attention back to her as his heart dipped into his stomach. He pressed his lips tightly to the top of her head, and sighed, “I’m not going to do anything to him and I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. Alright? I’ve got you. I’ll talk to him…”, he promised, glancing back up at Cason again, before petting the back of Nat’s head.

Anna

Anna had to admit that she believed Sam about Mika. Mika seemed to be able to twist Dean’s arm in whichever way that she needed to. If anyone was going to break through his stupid shell, it was Mika. When he brought up Natalia breaking the windows out of the Impala, a pang of guilt hit her chest at first, but the idea of Nat going ton a full rampage and breaking the other five windows out of the car did bring a small smirk to the corner of her lips.

“I think he’s out numbered, at the moment…lots of women.” She joked softly, feeling a bit better just at the reminder to her brain that she wasn’t in danger. She wasn’t near Dean, and didn’t have to deal with his judgements or his mean words. She didn’t have to see the fall out of her dropping a bombshell on Natalia. She could just exist here with Sam.

When Sam’s phone vibrated, Anna sat up slowly, crossing her legs into a pretzel as she leaned into Sam’s chest, “Is that Dean? You can answer it if you need to. I’ll just…not be here.”, she offered, not necessarily wanting Sam to ignore his brother. She just wanted him to make his own decisions and to not blindly follow his brother into the pits of Hell, which seemed to be where Dean wanted to return, half the time.

“I hate this. You have so much bigger issues to worry about than squabbles between me and your belligerent brother…” Anna scoffed as more tears threatened to spill over her eyelids. “It just all seems so petty…self centered. And yet…I’ve craved being this close to you, alone for a while. I’ve wanted you to choose me…like there’s some meaning to our hearts beating in time, or me being guided to you. Something good can come out of this, you know?”

As Anna rambled, finally spilling all the thoughts she hadn’t been able to express while high that morning, she aggressively wiped tears from her cheeks, “Now everything is quiet, and it’s just me and you...we have a chance to talk, and to be close and I feel selfish…”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean expected but hated the reaction from both girls. He had known Cason for so long that him being a demon just never came up, unless they had an accident with some iron, or the odd devils trap in some random hunters house. It was rare that Cason ever made it very obvious. Sure, he could disappear at will. He could control hellhounds. He was vicious when it came to those he cared about, which pretty much only included Natalia. But to Dean, he was just any other human, after years of fighting himself over Cason’s nature.

Dean sighed, hearing Lexi’s mix of disbelief and what almost sounded like disappointment. He glanced over to her, and held her eyes as she explained that she would agree to trust Cason if he did. He nodded slowly, and raised his eyebrows, “Good. You can trust your gut instinct around him, just don’t look at his smile. He’s manipulative.”

Deans words were partially teasing her and partially serious. Cason was really good at getting his way, for better or for worse. At Lexi’s musing about Nat being ‘quite the sister’, Dean nodded, “Yeah. She is. We got a bit lucky, I guess.”

Dean glanced over to Anya, who still looked uncomfortable with the idea of having a demon in the bunker. He just let Sam calm her, as he could see her face brightening a little with how calm Sam seemed on his own. Dean turned and looked at Lexi, quickly standing from his chair as she mentioned that she was going to go wash up, “I’ll help. We might work quicker together and I’m good company.”

He gave a sheepish grin, and followed close behind Lexi

Anya

Anya took in Dean’s words but she was still shocked. She couldn’t imagine a world in which Dean Winchester would be okay with having a demon in his home. Sam’s hand being placed on her knee pulled her attention away from Dean’s face, as she glanced down at the hand. Anya narrowed her eyes at Sam’s explanation, and she pulled her phone up, typing a short message.

“Demons can feel love?”

She was a bit surprised, and in a way, intrigued by this demon. If he could feel love, then he could feel empathy. At least, he could feel something akin to empathy, she had to assume. So, maybe he was actually nice, in his human ways. The more she thought about it, the more intrigued she became, and the idea of meeting this demon didn’t feel as scary. It felt exciting. She wanted to ask him a million questions.

Hearing Sam call Cason a puppy only made her want to meet the guy more, and she giggled, pulling her phone back onto the table top, as Lexi stood and walked off to the kitchen, with Dean in tow. She was about to ask Sam more questions about the demon his sister was lovin’ on, when he asked about her clothes and things back in her motel room. With a short nod, Anya stood from her chair, brushing her fingers over the back of Sam’s neck as she walked to the library. She pulled her backpack off the chair she had left it on the night before, and dug out a motel room key, walking back to him with a small skip. She tossed the key on the table in front of him, and then typed.

“I’m coming with you, though. I mean…it is my stuff. I should ride along. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone and do the whole tattoo thing while we’re there.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke felt Esme tense against him a bit, and glanced down when she looped one of her fingers through a belt loop. He didn’t acknowledge it, keeping his attention on her face. She was obviously tired, and what little he knew about her empathy, she had to be emotionally overwhelmed around everyone, with all the tension. He moved his hips a bit closer to her, keeping his hand on her hip as she and Mika spoke.

Mika and Esme speaking so calm with one another was a relief, as Duke turned his eyes from Esme over to Mika as she thanked Esme for her efforts with Nat. Duke didn’t know Nat as well as he knew Mika and Dean, but he could tell that she was a lot like Dean. She was more like Dean than she would ever admit, he had to assume.

“Well, I mean, who better to have out there than someone who knows her type…” Duke chimed in before he realized he had spoken up. “I mean, you and Esme know Dean like the back of your hand. Nat doesn’t seem that much different. Maybe a little more closed off…different trauma and all that.”

He shrugged his shoulders, sinking into the calm in the room, between two women that he loved more than anything.

“Seems like we’re all makin’ strides tonight, right?”

Dean

It was Dean’s turn to listen, and listen he did. He waited patiently as Nat gathered her words, and glanced over to her when she finally did speak. Of course she just wanted him to respect her and to see her as a sister, and not some kid to babysit. He was her big brother. But when she mentioned that he resented her, he frowned, shaking his head instantly. It was a gut reaction, and he hoped that she would take it for what it was. He didn’t feel that way at all. There were times that he wished she felt she could come to him the way she came to Sam, but resentment wasn’t the word…

Dean didn’t voice what he was thinking. He just let her vent to him, the way she had probably needed to for a while. This had been brewing for a while. He had lost her trust, completely. He had taken away her agency, under the guise of protecting her…a habit of his. As soon as her eyes met his, Dean’s own eyes began to well up in tears a bit. He snarled his nose to try and press them down, but it was hard to deny the feeling in his chest that told him that he was the one who broke her spirit. He had done a lot of damage, in the heat of the moment.

“I don’t know…” He whispered in response to her question of ‘how can I believe anything you say to me?’. He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted, here. On one hand, he wanted forgiveness but on the other hand, he wanted to hear it all…to be tortured with it. He wanted her to hate him for his actions, and match his own internal feelings.

But her next words sobered him up a bit, and he almost stopped breathing. She felt unwanted. She felt like he didn’t want her around…like he didn’t love her. Dean shook his head quickly, and had to choke back his own sudden overwhelm as she sobbed.

“No no no. You’re wrong about that.” Dean stopped her, clearing his throat and sniffling. He scooted a little closer to her, grabbing one of her hands to wrench her hands away from her knees. He placed the hand on his chest, and used his other hand to push her legs down so he could pull her close to him.

“I want you to listen to me. Take a deep breath and listen to me…” Dean took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling under her hand. “There has never been a day that I regretted saving you. I don’t want you to ever…ever think that. And you’re not half of anything. Nat look up here at me.”

Dean pushed aside any bravado or facade that he had ever put on. They were alone. Nat needed him. His protective brother side took over before he even realized it, and for a moment…he saw Sam sitting in front of him. He remembered these sorts of conversations with Sam, after one of John’s rampages at the boys. Sam would be left feeling helpless and small, while Dean took the brunt of John’s anger to protect him…and then he picked up Sam’s pieces too.

He dipped his head to find her eyes, and he brought his hand up to cover hers.

“You feel that? That’s blood pumping. Our blood. You have that same blood pumping through your veins. You’re my sister…my blood. That ‘half’ crap doesn’t matter. You’re…a Winchester. You understand?” Dean spoke softly, his eyes wide and pleading, “And you’re going to do plenty of stupid shit because of that name. Me and you? We’re a lot alike. But don’t you ever…ever think that I don’t want you. If you can’t believe anything, please believe that.”

Anna

Anna nuzzled into Sam’s leg as he began stroking her hair. For a moment, at least, she felt safe and heard. Hearing that he stood up to Dean was a bit of a surprise to her. Sure, he had followed her out of the house, but she had assumed that he likely just walked away in an angry huff and left all the opinions in the air. It seemed very on par with Sam and Dean. But he actually stood up to him, and voiced an opinion. That was relatively new…

It was then that Anna remembered that Dean had hurt her arm, and she pressed her arm against Sam’s leg, forcing her jacket sleeve up so she could glance at the bruise that was forming. As Sam continued, Anna began to shake her head softly, barely moving it against his leg as the sobbing threatened to break out of her chest, all over again. She believed what Dean had screamed at her. Dean only wanted her around because he was afraid of her. They all were. In some small way, the whole group felt like she was a danger if she wasn’t tied to them.

But as he brought up the way Nat and Duke felt about her, she mulled it over in her mind. She could see Duke’s friendly smile, and sweet way that he called her ‘little one’ and Nat taking the time to talk to her and hug her in the bathroom at the restaurant. He was at least right about the two of them. They seemed to actually see her as a person, mostly because they hadn’t seen anything else from her…the way Sam and Dean had.

If it was everyone’s opinion against Dean’s, no one would win. Dean took over every situation. In a moment of panic, Dean could send her into a meat grinder, and someone would make an excuse for his decision, as if she died for some ‘greater good’. But yet, Sam was saying everything she had been practically begging him to tell her for months, before the situation at the barn happened.

He needed her. He loved her. He wanted her.

“It’s a bit hard to argue with someone like Dean, though.” She finally murmured, staring off into space as she spoke. Her crying had calmed, but the thoughts were now flooding in, and Anna couldn’t help voice them out loud. “No matter how much you love me…if Dean doesn’t want me around, then he’ll do everything he can to make sure I don’t…stay around.”

She paused and she brought a hand up to wipe tears from the tip of her nose, “And with all this stuff with Lilith and Alastair, I have a feeling he wants me as far away from you as humanly possible. Me telling Nat the truth is just the excuse he needed…”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean shook his head at Sam’s reminding him of all the ways he had tried to kill or just torture Nat’s boyfriend over the years. It was true that the two were almost sworn enemies, making the others life hell in any way they could, but Dean had grown. If it meant that Natalia would come and see them, he was willing to play nice. Plus, Cason had ears on Hell that they didn’t have access to, outside of Crowley, who he wasn’t really ready to hear from…just yet.

“I’ll give her a call in a bit. I’m sure they would just be chomping at the bit to come all the way to Kansas.” Dean scoffed sarcastically, although, the thought of hearing Nat’s voice echoing through the bunker halls brought a small smile to his face, “Yeah. I’ll call her.”

Dean gave Sam a look when Lexi asked about Natalia, not really sure how to bridge the conversation about her boyfriend being a demon. He was hoping she wouldn’t ask. But after Sam explained that Nat was their sister, Lexi asked the million dollar question, and Dean sat a bit straighter again with a sigh. He turned his eyes toward Sam. Seeing Sam’s expression, he raised his eyebrows as if to say ‘really? You’re going to leave me alone with this?’

“Um…Natalia’s boyfriend is different from…us. He’s not exactly the stereotypical hunting partner.” Dean started, glancing down at the table as he drew a devils trap on the glass with his finger tip, “He’s a demon. BUT…before anyone says anything, he has proven himself to be…docile.”

Anya

Anya glanced quickly between Sam and Dean, as Sam leaned his head down and whispered straight into her ear about going to get her stuff. She was just as intrigued as Lexi, as to what could be so dramatic about their sister’s love life that Dean seemed nervous. She turned her eyes to Dean and the second ‘he’s a demon’ left his lips, Anya stiffened a bit.

A Winchester was dating a demon? Wait. Sam and Dean didn’t seem bothered by the fact that their sister was shacked up with a demon. That seemed out of character for them. She pulled out her phone and typed, pressing play and holding the phone out to Dean.

“And you’re planning to bring him here?”

“Like I said…docile. Cason won’t hurt anyone. He proved that years ago. He’s a good ally to have, right now.” Dean explained simply, his face stone still as he looked Anya in the eyes and then turned to Lexi, “I promise. Nat wouldn’t be out there alone with him, if we didn’t trust him.”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke almost breathed the largest sigh of relief as Mika explained what she and Dean had talked about. Other than a few details about Dean’s time with Esme, and what drove Esme away…it didn’t seem that Mika knew much more about the dynamic between the three of them. At the very least, she didn’t know any more than what he had told her about his involvement with Esme back in the day. He just really didn’t want the confusion and ‘what were you thinking’ speeches, when he was actually pretty happy with the way things were back then. It could have worked…if Dean had been able to let go of Mika.

“I remember those days all too well.” Duke muttered, tilting his head down a bit as the memories of Mika being shattered into pieces in his motel room flooded his mind, as well as the memories of her phone calls. Duke had no good answers to give her when she called, but he picked up…no matter what. “You guys always manage to come back together. Now, you just gotta work on all that brutal honesty together, if you’re gonna make it work long term, this time.”

He paused, just before Esme stepped in and as the back door opened, Duke nodded, “Yeah…we’re the best we’ve ever been, if I’m honest. Waitin’ around was worth it, this time.”

As soon as Esme was in the room, Duke stepped over to her and he wrapped an arm around her waist. He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, and dragged his hand down to rest against her hip. He could feel the pressure change in the room, the second Esme came in, and when he glanced back over to Mika, he was happy to see that she had on her kind face. She was ready to be patient and civil toward Esme, which caused Duke to smile a bit and turn his eyes back to Esme’s face. Bringing his spare hand up, he wiped a spare tear away from her face and sighed.

“Well he walked out there in a much different mood than he had when I first walked in. He was simmered down quite a bit. I don’t think Natalia has anything to worry about.” Duke said softly. He turned his attention back to Mika for a moment with a smile, “Seems like we’re all workin’ toward civil.”

Dean

Dean watched as Esme pulled away from the hug with Nat and started her walk toward the house to give Dean and Nat some space. As she passed, and echoed Mika’s words, Dean gave her a soft smile, even though he was terrified that he couldn’t do what they asked. He wasn’t exactly good at expressing anything toward his siblings other than protection and anger when they made stupid mistakes. But he had to try, or he would end up losing Nat…and from the feeling in the air, Sam was on his way out, too.

As Nat patted the car next to her, Dean sighed nervously, stepping forward with a bit of a foot drag. She was definitely more calm, and seemed less likely to hit him again, which he was thankful for. As he climbed onto the car, his nervousness in the pit of his stomach grew. Where to even begin?

“I’m not going to beat around the bush, because that’s not what you need from me.” Dean began calmly, his voice low as he glanced up at the busted window of the Impala. He took a deep breath, and continued, “I’m sorry that I kept things from you, like you couldn’t handle it. I treated you like a kid, which is probably what you’ll always be in part of my brain. For that, I’m sorry.”

Dean paused and frowned, glancing out into a random spot in the lot, before turning to look at Nat’s face, “I don’t want you to ever think that there’s anything you could do to change how much I love you. Alright? Take swings at me. Wreck my car. It doesn’t matter. When I told you ‘I’ve got you’ back when we first found you, I know I didn’t deliver. I was horrible to you, for the longest time. But I mean it, now.”

He knew that he needed to let her get her own feelings out there, if he was ever going to try and fix any of the mistakes he had made that had led to this level of distrust and vitriol between them. Dean wasn’t a fixer. He didn’t do the whole ‘I’m sorry I made you feel that way’ dance…but he was willing to try for his baby sister.

“I just feel like we’ve needed to talk for a while…”

Anna

Anna was a little zoned out as Sam booked their room, standing close to him, and moving even closer into his side every time someone passed. She really just wanted to be behind a locked door, safe and sound for the night while she processed Dean’s outburst, and where to go from here. If the tension with Dean was going to be as thick as it was before she and Sam had left the house…Anna had no desire to be around the older Winchester.

As Sam led her outside, she just followed along, handing Sam’s heavier bag off to him. Her own bag bounced against her leg as she walked absentmindedly, her body a bit numb, toward the room with Sam. She took his lead and walked into the room as soon as he unlocked the door, walking over to the side of the bed she preferred and dropping her bag on the floor. She then kicked her own boots off, realizing that she desperately needed a shower, but she was too keyed up to deal with it at that moment.

At that moment, Sam was holding his arms out to her, asking her if she wanted a hug. She simply stood there for a moment, his arms looking way too inviting to say no to, especially now that they were alone, and she could fall apart if she wanted to, without prying eyes. After a moment of watching Sam, Anna walked around to him. She stepped up to the end of the bed, climbing up beside him, instead of into his arms, and laid down beside his legs, using his thigh as a pillow. She brought both her arms up, covering her eyes and just absolutely fell apart.

Dean’s words, mixed with the feelings she had dealt with not long before, when she ran away…were all enough to drive her into another fit of tears. As if she felt like part of the family before, she definitely didn’t now. If not for Sam’s actions, choosing her in the moment that she broke down, she would have run off. She was no good to them as anything other than a weapon…that she didn’t even want to be.

“Thank you…” She whispered, her voice shaky and heartbroken as she wrapped an arm around Sam’s thigh.

All Roads Lead To You

Duke and Dean

Duke was a little surprised when Esme was willing to talk to him, and hadn’t left the table, considering their meeting outside. When she told him that he would know if he crossed a boundary with her, he nodded but then tilted his head with a confused scowl when she mentioned that he was drunk. He was probably drunk, but he didn’t want to admit it. Plus, he would just blame Bobby’s top shelf ‘who knows how long it’s been open’ whiskey.

He watched every move she made as she took a bite of chocolate, and continued with her terms. He nodded, turning his eyes down to the table briefly, but when he lifted his eyes, she was staring straight at them. Duke swallowed heavily, and he opened his mouth to speak, before closing it. But then he found his words, “I might need clarification on that. I gotta know where that line is between keepin’ something to myself and lying, for you…”

Duke adjusted in his seat and he tapped his fingers on the table in front of him before nodding, with a smirk, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

“Alright then. Was that so hard?” Dean asked just as a knock at the door jarred both Duke and Dean. Dean glanced over to the kitchen door, and he turned back to Duke. Duke narrowed his eyes in confusion, “Who would be knockin’ on the kitchen door?”

Duke stood up, stumbling just a bit and walked to the kitchen door, before turning to give Dean a look that said ‘you could have told me’. He opened the glass door and leaned in the doorway, failing to block the view of the person standing there. She was a much shorter girl, her long brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she looked honestly devastated. She wore one of Duke’s flannels, and jeans, and the second Duke opened the door, she seemed confused, hurt and angry all wrapped in one.

“There she is…” Dean muttered, as the girl began to speak.

“So, you just run off…just like that and now you’re back? You didn’t call. Duke what’s going on?” The girl whimpered, scanning Duke’s face frantically. Duke sighed, and reached his hand out, grabbing for her wrist.

“Not here. Let’s go outside, alright?”

“I’ve tried to call you for weeks, Duke. Weeks…” She continued, as Duke pushed her out of the doorway and into the garage. Dean stood from his place at the table, and he stepped over to the kitchen window, gently raising it to be as sneaky as he could. “I mean, I knew that you did this, the whole disappearing act. But you had changed. My dad has even called you.”

“I just needed to get away from Sioux Falls for a bit, Rachel. I don’t know any other way to explain it, than that.” Duke explained as best he could.

Dean leaned down, dipping his head so he could whisper to Esme, “That…is Rachel. She’s what we call ‘Duke’s big one’. Off again. On again for about two years. Things kinda worked with them until about a month ago.”

“So, I just get thrown away, when you decide to leave?” Rachel asked a bit louder, and Duke said nothing, standing there with his arms crossed and his eyes on the ground at her feet, “You’re all beat up again. You said…that you would eventually tell me about your life. You would let me in. Where is that Duke, now?”

“I can’t do this right now.” Duke grumbled, turning away from Rachel, who instantly followed him, grabbing his wrist. “Rachel…”

“I’ll stay the night and take care of you. But you can’t run off before we can talk.” Rachel whispered, as Duke smirked, his eyes glassy from being a bit drunk.

“You’re pissed at me and you want to take care of me?”

“I love you. So, of course…” Rachel almost whispered, stepping up to Duke’s chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she leaned up on her toes, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. Duke, in his alcohol induced lapse of judgement a mile long, kissed her back. He stepped backward as she continued to kiss him, walking back toward the RV.

“Okay. So that was awkward…but this is what they do. They’ll be running around here like nothing happened, in the morning. Rachel is the only girl Duke has ever ‘dated’ for more than a hook up.” Dean chimed in, grabbing a chair and pulling it closer to Esme. He placed his elbow on the top of the table, and then placed his head on his fist, close to Esme’s face. “So, how are you feeling about the dynamic in the house, now? Did I help…like at all with this situation?”