JustAnna

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya and Cason

Anya barely stirred when Dean banged on the door. After his little night cap, she was pretty out of it, still. She had slept so hard that the idea of opening her eyes made her pout in her sleepy state. But when Sam’s hand came to her forehead, brushing some of her hair away, she sighed, and reached for him. Unfortunately, his warmth disappeared as he got up, causing Anya to pout again and drop her hand. She finally opened her eyes and she brought a hand up to ruffle her own hair, looking around the room to see Sam getting dressed.

As Sam came back to the bed, Anya reached her hand out and brushed her fingers across his arm, watching him pull his boots on. She sighed again when he leaned over and kissed her head, realizing that he wasn’t going to accept ‘I don’t wanna leave the room’ as an answer. Before she could complain too much, Sam left the room and Anya reluctantly pulled the blankets back, sliding out of bed. She quickly walked over to her bag and grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, deciding that if they were expecting company, she probably shouldn’t just run around in Sam’s clothes all day.

After taking a quick shower, just to wash up a bit, Anya jogged toward the door and then took to the corridor in her bare feet, smelling the coffee that was obviously brewing over and over in the kitchen. She walked into the war room, not really seeing anyone at first, until she got to the library, where she heard voices. As she stepped in, everyone was greeting each other, but Sam seemed absolutely frozen in place, as if he had seen a ghost…all the way until the person she had to assume was his sister hugged him and they muttered to each other about something. She closed the gap between herself and Sam, stepping up beside him. She didn’t grab for him, the way she normally would, just stood nearby and picked up one of the mugs that Sam had sat on a table near him.

“And who are you, little one?” The man with Natalia suddenly spoke up, and Anya’s eyes snapped to his face that was smiling warmly at her, as if he was afraid he would scare her. She glanced between him and Nat, and narrowed her eyes. “Cat got your tongue?”

Anya sat her mug down on the table briefly, tilting her head.

“I don’t talk.” Anya signed simply, testing the waters to see if he understood her. As he tilted his head back with an ‘ah’ sound, Anya almost broke into a smile. He brought his hands up and signed to her.

“Sam’s new girlfriend, I presume?”

“No labels, yet. Are you the boyfriend? The demon?” Anya asked him and Cason smiled, nodding his head before signing.

“Yep. My name’s Cason.”

“Anya…” She signed, letting her hands linger for a moment.

Dean and Anna

Dean smiled a bit brighter as Nat confirmed that Cason had kept her on the straight and narrow, something he would have to thank him for before he was out of the bunker. He held his arms out as Nat approached him, wrapping his arms tightly around her, and burying his face in her shoulder for a moment. When she commented on his appearance, Dean shrugged his shoulders, pulling back from the hug with a sheepish grin, “Well, I’ve been a little more at myself lately. Things are…okay…”

He stepped back from her, shoving one of her shoulders before turning and walking the group toward the stairs. As they stepped onto the landing, Dean’s eyes immediately went to Anna as she caught sight of Sam and stilled, just staring at him. She awkwardly brought both her hands up to her shorter blonde hair and pulled it behind her ears with a heavy gulp, nodding. She turned her eyes toward the floor and sighed, pressing her lips together.

“So, he’s here…” She muttered, and Dean stepped over to her, leaning in close to her ear with a soft sigh.

“It’s been almost a year. You can handle this. If things get too tense, I swear, I’ll send him out.” Dean whispered in her ear and Anna nodded, her face blushing a bit at the idea of even speaking to Sam. Judging by how frozen Sam was in place, not only had no one told him she was coming, but he was just as scared to be face to face with her as she was him.

As Natalia jogged down the stairs and quickly hugged Sam, the others followed her, a bit more orderly. Anna turned her eyes to the ground and Cason placed a hand on her lower back, following her down the stairs with Dean trailing in the back. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Anna glanced up, seeing a girl slightly smaller than herself wiz by, and stand near Sam. She tilted her head, but then the girl started to speak to Cason in sign language, and Anna’s curiosity deepened. She frowned, trying to make out anything she could from the conversation, but the only thing she made out were the names.

Reading Sam’s name and then Anya’s introducing herself, Anna glanced up at Sam and then back to Anya. She kept her distance from Sam, putting Cason between them as Cason talked up the younger woman, but she had trouble tearing her eyes away from Sam and how different he looked from the last time they had met up in Denver.

Dean stepped over to Lexi, around the same time that Sam warned Nat to be nice to her. He placed a hand on Lexi’s lower back and leaned in close to her ear, “She’ll come around to you. Don’t worry. She’s…weary of new people.”, he almost whispered, brushing his nose against her ear before turning to Nat as she asked about the reason he had called them.

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than just a demon problem. Have you ever heard of a demon making a deal that is quid pro quo? Like ‘you do this for me, I do this for you’?” Dean asked, looking over at Cason. His eyes glanced over Cason’s shoulder a few times, seeing Anna’s tension and his heart dropped a bit. As much as he didn’t know if it would help, Anna and Sam needed to talk to each other, before this trip ended…

“Not crossroads demons. They give you something. You give them your soul. It’s pretty simple.” Cason replied with a shrug, but he winced, “But your ‘less friendly to hell’ demons can sometimes use deals like that to get through to unlikely victims. You pick someone vulnerable and convince them that you can do the bidding…even if you can’t. They give you what you want and you kill them. I know some demons who have made similar deals.”

“And how do you get out of it?” Dean asked quickly.

“Kill the demon that holds the fake contract. Should be easy enough. They’re likely young, fresh from Hell and think they’re getting one over on whoever smoked out their soul. If they get caught? They’re dead. Dust.”

“Interesting.” Dean said softly, suddenly very happy with their phone call. But Cason continued and Dean sighed.

“Give me a day or two, and I can point you in the right direction. Kill the demon. Release the victim. Who’s your victim?”

Dean nodded gently toward Anya, and Cason shook his head with a frown, and then placed his hands on his hips, “Well, then we kill the demon as quick as we can. What did he promise you?”

“My voice.” Anya signed, and Cason shook his head at her sadly.

“Other than parlor tricks…no demon outside of the crossroads can give you that.”

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Anya

Anya glanced up as her heart jolted at hearing Sam’s voice. She had hoped she wouldn’t wake him, but as keyed up as Sam was half the time, it wasn’t all that surprising that he would be jarred by her not being in bed. She nodded when he asked if she was okay and wrapped her arm around his waist, realizing she had no way to communicate in her little excursion out of the room. She had left her phone under her pillow. With a sigh, she smiled up at Sam, giving him a look that clearly read ‘sorry I scared you’.

“Yes or no questions, Sam.” Dean called out and Anya laughed, before shooting him a look. “But I think I can fill in the blanks. A little anxiety, cured by the Dean Winchester special. She’ll be back to sleep before she hits the pillow.”

Anya nodded, and she turned back to Sam, reaching across to grab his other hand and drag him back to the bedroom. She threw up a peace sign to Dean, who just chuckled to himself before stepping into the kitchen to grab some coffee to start his way too early day.

Dean

Dean had been buzzing around the bunker for a while, when he decided that the bunker was too quiet, and glancing down at his watch, he realized why. Everyone was sleeping in. On one hand, he was grateful that Sam was actually getting some rest, but on the other hand, Natalia would be there any minute and they needed to be up and around to work the case with Cason. Stepping off from his place in the kitchen, his fourth cup of coffee in his hands, he made his way toward the corridor and stopped first at his own door, banging his fist against the old wood.

“Rise and shine sweetheart! It’s time to get up.”

He then stepped across the hall and down a bit, reaching Sam’s door and did the same thing, banging on the old and heavy wood, “Up and at ‘em kiddos! We got work to do and it’s almost ten. Let’s go!”

Dean didn’t wait for any of them to answer him. He simply walked back down the corridor, walking straight for the library to turn the lights on. He figured it was the best place to work on whatever Cason would need to find when he got there. He moved some books into a pile and after a little bit, his phone buzzed and he picked it up, seeing that everyone else had arrived.

“There you are…”, he whispered at his phone, sliding his coffee mug across the table he was leaning against. He stepped away from the table and walked up the spiral staircase, across the walkway and to the garage door, opening the gate before walking up to the large wooden doors that Nat was hammering on.

Cason and Anna

“Do we want to bet money that he’s already drunk this morning?” Cason chimed in as Nat knocked on the door and he stood back with Anna, keeping her close to him in case it was Sam that answered the door. It had taken everything short of pulling teeth for Cason to convince her that she didn’t even really have to see Sam, as she was coming to help them bring Dean back from whatever ledge he was on…not to torture her with being around Sam.

But the anxiety in Anna’s stomach told her that there wasn’t much of a way she was going to avoid him. She glanced over at Mika’s car at the far end of the garage and she swallowed heavily, brushing a strand of her shorter blonde hair out of her face. As Dean opened the doors, Anna narrowed her eyes. He looked completely sober, like he had been eating, and he didn’t even look that tired.

Anna turned her eyes up to Cason and she frowned at him, shooting daggers that he ignored as he smiled, “Well don’t you just look chipper this morning!”, he called out to Dean, who rolled his eyes and turned, leaving the heavy door open behind him for them to come in. Dean didn’t even seem to notice Anna was there at first. As Cason stepped in front, leading the way behind Dean, while keeping his hands tight against his sides, avoiding any potential death traps in the process, Dean turned and his face paled.

“Anna…”

“Yeah. We brought her for an extra brain…nothing else. So, get it out of your head.” Cason instantly defended the decision to bring her. “I expected you to be a bit worse off than you are, Dean.”

“You’re here for me?” Dean asked, his breathing still a bit shallow and Anna softened her face, seeing how hard it was for him to even look her in the eyes. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Dean hesitated at first, and then he buried his face in her hair, hugging her back almost tight enough to bruise. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Anna muttered against Dean’s neck. As she stared over his shoulder, at Sam’s jacket hanging near the railing, the memory of that horrific day flooded her brain.

=====

“You’re not going. Sam, you’re not doing this without me! Sam!” Anna cried out, as Duke reached a hand out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Sam walked away from her, emotionless from where Anna could see the back of his shoulders. He stepped past Dean and out of the cabin as Dean turned to her with teary eyes. “Dean please. Please! I can handle this. Tell him I can handle this!”

“I know you can…I know. But, I have to back him up on this. You can’t be there when…” Dean tried to reason with her, and Anna shook her head at him with tears streaming down her face. “You’re safer here, Anna!”

“I’m safer WITH him. We’ve always been safer together.” Anna cried out, but Dean shook his head.

“I’ll come back for you when this is over. I promise you. Anna I swear to you that I will come get you when this is over. If Sam comes out on the other side of this, you can come home and we will act like none of this ever happened.” Dean cooed to her, walking back as Sam slammed the door of the Impala behind him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Anna’s body, burying his face in her hair as his hand came up to hold her head to him, “I promise you. I will get him through this, and I will come back for you.”

“Please keep him safe. No matter what you have to do…you keep him alive, Dean.” Anna sobbed into his shoulder, and Dean nodded.

“I will. But please…let them take care of you. Sam will be okay.” Dean cooed in Anna’s ear as she nodded. After a moment, without another glance back at her, Dean huffed. He forced himself away from her, not able to handle looking back, and walked out the door, closing it behind him. The last thing she saw were the tail lights of the Impala shining through the window, and they were gone…

====

Anna came out of the memory with tears in her eyes, and she let Dean pull her back to look her over for a moment, before Dean turned his attention to Nat.

“And you look good. What have you been up to to stay in shape like that? Let me guess…food police.” He teased her, glancing between her and Cason.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

After teasing Lexi nearly to death in the garage, they had fallen into the same muscle memory of running back into the bunker like teenagers, hands all over each other. Sam and Anya had stayed out long enough that by the time they got back to the bunker, Dean and Lexi were plenty tired and napping, which caused Dean to wake up before dawn, groaning as he rustled his messy hair and looked around the dark room. Lexi was plastered to his chest, and he smirked as he glanced down at her bare back, pulling the covers up just a bit to cover her skin.

His phone buzzed, lighting up the corner of the room near the nightstand and the memory that Natalia was on her way flashed across the backs of his eyes. He lazily reached over, picking up the phone and glanced at the message. They were in Kansas, and they would likely be arriving sometime after dawn. Dean sighed, a bit relieved that they were almost there…and a hunt was coming up, hopefully.

Dean shot her back a simple message to confirm that he knew they were coming, and then he went to work shuffling himself out from under Lexi’s body. He wedged his pillow under her face, dropping her hand gently against it as he scooted off the bed and walked over to his dresser, snatching a pair of boxers and a pair of jeans. He pulled them on, choosing to wear a shirt, since Nat would be there soon and would definitely have something to say about his ‘nudity’ if he didn’t. He tugged his simple black t-shirt over his head, dropping it around his hips. He returned to the bed, leaning over to press a feather light kiss to the side of Lexi’s face, and then he snatched his phone off the table and walked to the door, quietly stepping out into the hallway.

He stepped into war room and instantly flinched with a slight yelp as his eyes fell on Anya, sitting on a chair. Her legs were tangled and she looked exhausted as she read over a book she had found with her head in her hand. Dean cautiously stepped toward her and he held his hands out.

“You good?” He asked quietly and Anya glanced up, her poor tired eyes meeting his for a moment as she nodded. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She shook her head. So Dean nodded slowly and he stepped toward her, carefully reaching forward to take the book from her hands. He closed the book and sat it aside, before stepping up to the table, and perching himself on the edge of it with his hands clapped together, “I guess the easiest way to talk to you, is ‘yes’ or ‘no’. So, is it Sam?”

Anya shook her head. “Okay good. Is it your deal?” Agains she shook her head, but also tilted her head in a way that told Dean it was at least partially the deal that was keeping her awake.

“Well, my sister will be here soon and um…her boyfriend is gonna help us with that whole thing. So, my next question, you want a drink? I can whip up something that will make you take a little nap at least.” Dean spoke softly, trying his best to comfort her. And as he had hoped, Anya shrugged her shoulders. “Alright. Give me a second. I’ll be right back.”

Dean stepped off the table and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He grabbed a few things he had stashed for the nights when Sam would refuse to sleep while he was ill, and he grabbed a glass with one of his fingers. He stepped over to one of the library tables and placed everything on the top, before mixing his concoction for Anya. When he was finished, he left the bottles there, and swirled the glass around in his hand, before walking back over to Anya and handing it over.

“It’s gonna taste like crap, and if you need something to chase it with, I can go grab something. But bottoms up. You’ll be asleep in a few minutes. Sam still asleep?” He asked as Anya took the glass and nodded to him. She tipped the glass up and drank it all in one big gulp, making a sour face that Dean echoed in sympathy. She shook her head and handed him the glass, which he sat on the table behind him with a sigh. “Everything’s gonna be fine, alright? Go snuggle up with my giant brother and get some rest…”

Anya

Anya and Sam had a beautiful night, just drinking hot drinks and enjoying the autumn food. They played games and when they were thoroughly tired, they had driven back to the bunker. At some point, they were followed by a strange black car, and Anya’s anxiety had been a mess ever since. The car had turned off before the cemetery at the head of the road that led to the bunker, but it didn’t stop Anya from wondering if they knew the bunker was there…

At some point early in the morning, Anya snapped awake. She would have screamed from the sudden jolt the nightmare gave her, if she had a voice. Luckily, she hadn’t woke Sam up with her movements, running her hand against his bare chest to try and calm herself down. In fear of waking him up, Anya had decided to get up, carefully untangling herself from his arms and stepping out of the room into the bunker halls. She didn’t know what to do with herself. So, she found a book about demons, and she perched herself up…until Dean woke up and found her.

She just hoped that Sam was resting and hadn’t noticed she was missing. After she drank down the concoction Dean had forced on her, she slipped off the edge of her seat, and stretched, glad that Sam's flannels were incredibly long on her legs. She reached forward and patted Dean's chest, just over his heart with a thankful smile and then turned to push her chair up, following Dean's 'doctors orders'.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean smiled even wider at Lexi’s stammering. For once, he had been the one to break her. She seemed completely flustered and like she didn’t know what to do with her hands, or her words. He had her melting in his hands, and he wasn’t even touching her with anything other than a brief brush of his jeans. As she tried to avoid touching him, waving her hand in front of his chest, he laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

“I never said I was teasing you. You said that. I just got hot, and took off my shirt…which I admit is rare for me, these days.” He spoke casually, leaning in a bit closer to her face, “But…I think I’ll just work like this. I need to finish putting your engine back together before we can just go inside and pass…time…”

He brushed his nose against hers, breathing over her lips as he was once again tempted to touch her with his filthy hands, but he showed restraint, dropping his hands to his sides. He pressed his chest against hers, sandwiching her hands against his bare chest as he gently kissed her on the lips, and then pressed a careful kiss to the tip of her nose.

“I should get back to work. Judging by the color of your cheeks, I feel like you’re just dying to get back inside where it’s nice and warm.” He teased a bit more, before pulling away from her completely and walking back over to the car. He went straight back to work, as if he had never stepped away, piecing the parts of the engine back together with quick precision and a smirk on his face.

Anya

Anya welcomed Sam pulling her a bit closer, a sign that he was taking her words to heart, and was trying to give himself a little grace and comfort. She would give him every bit of comfort he was willing to take, and little by little, maybe she could build him back into someone who thought they deserved love…and happiness…and safety. He could heal. That was all she wanted for him.

Sam deserved to heal.

As he decided to confide in her, admitting that he wanted the same things, and that he deserved it, Anya’s heart fluttered with excitement. It was a small step in the right direction, and she couldn’t help herself. She sat her phone on her lap and reached her hand up, brushing her fingers against his jaw. She turned his face to look at her and then pulled her hand back, signing one of the things that she had taught him earlier with a single hand.

“I’m glad…” She said simply, with a soft smile. She tilted her head up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, closing her eyes as she rested her fingers against his cheek and just took in the atmosphere around them. There was nothing coming to hurt them. There were no expectations here, except Sam letting his guard down enough to let her in. They weren’t behind a closed bedroom door or sneaking around in hallways. They were just in the moment, together, moving forward. She knew the peace wouldn’t last forever, and eventually they would all be hunting and working again.

For right now? Her job was convincing Sam that he wasn’t just…broken. To Anya, he had the potential to be the entire world.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean

Dean tapped his foot nervously on the bottom step, waiting for Esme to call back to him and hopefully confirm that she was coming down. He was more than excited to see Esme in her dress, as he wasn’t 100% sure which one she had decided on. What he did know, was she would look gorgeous no matter what, and the thought made his heart flutter as she finally called down to him that she would be down soon. Dean glanced over at the clock on the wall and then he turned his eyes back to Duke briefly, watching him adjust his hat in the mirror…over and over, as if it was going to change with a few centimeters of shift.

As he was watching Duke, he caught the sound of the door opening at the top of the stairs, and his eyes darted toward it, standing a bit straighter at the bottom of the old creaky wood stairs. He shifted his shoulders nervously when Esme walked out and his heart leapt into his throat. His mouth dropped slightly open as it went completely dry and he forced it closed after a couple of seconds, swallowing hard at how absolutely gorgeous she looked.

“Um…hi.” Dean muttered quietly, his voice hoarse as she descended the stairs and finally stood in front of him. Her compliment only made him blush, on top of his overwhelm, his gaze turning almost dopey as she reached up and fixed his hair. He knew he had some really strong feelings for Esme, but standing in front of him…looking like this…he would chop off his right hand and give it to her in gift wrap, if she asked him to. “Um…thanks. I showered…”, he muttered awkwardly.

As she turned and talked to Duke, Dean let his breath he was holding out in a huff and he straightened his jacket awkwardly, until Esme came back to him, complimenting him again. He honestly didn’t know how she could say anything about him looking good, in that dress. He was swimming as she teased him, and then leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“I um…I don’t think you have to worry about me lookin’ at anyone.” He drawled out in almost a whisper as she wiped the lipstick from his cheek and broke him from his haze by asking if they were ready to go. Dean cleared his throat and he nervously fixed his sleeves, fidgeting with the cuff links before nodding, “I’m ready when you guys are…”

Duke

Duke turned back and forth in the mirror, staring at himself all the way from the top of his cowboy hat, down to his boots that were nice and shiny and black and definitely matched the vibe of the evening. He brought his arms up in front of the mirror and smiled at the diamond cuff links in the shape of Texas, which was his home state. It was a little reminder of Bobby’s love for him, bringing tiny reminders of Duke’s background up…at least the happier parts.

Duke rolled his eyes as Dean called up to Esme, accusing him of being full of himself in the mirror. He was just surprised…that’s all. When the door upstairs opened, Duke glanced toward the ceiling, but he leaned into the mirror and adjusted his hat again, wanting it to look perfect when Esme came downstairs. For whatever reason, he wanted to look just as good for her as Dean did. Maybe he would get a dance or two out of it. When he heard her make it to the bottom of the stairs, he turned and he furrowed his eyebrows seeing the unfamiliar dress. All the colors of the dress were a mixture of his suggestions, which caused his heart to swim around in his chest, catching his breath in his throat as his mouth fell open and he instantly became fixated on her.

He barely even noticed that Bobby had placed a hand on the back of his neck, trying to keep him from gawking, “Wow…”

“Don’t gawk…remember?” Bobby whispered in his ear. But when Esme turned to him and she smiled, Duke’s arms went numb. Her compliments only made the blood rushing through his ears a bit louder, and it took him a moment…and a tight squeeze of Bobby’s hands for him to think of anything to say.

“I think I told you so, didn’t I?” He teased, managing to bring his signature wide smile onto his face, now less obscured by his hair. His brain tumbled around the idea that women would be falling all over him.

‘The only one I wanna dance with is you’

Before his lips could utter the words, and ruin the moment, Duke pressed his lips tightly together and he shifted his shoulders, almost glad that Esme turned back to Dean and gave him a moment to collect himself. Bobby chuckled and shook his head at Duke, causing Duke to shoot him a glare.

“Sorry. Having it bad is a bit of an understatement here, don’t you think?”

“You shut your mouth.” Duke grumbled at Bobby, elbowing him gently to push him away. Duke straightened up and he did his best to loosen his shoulders, bringing some of his careless swagger back into them as Esme asked if they were ready to go. He tipped his hat at her, but Bobby straightened up and rocked onto his toes a bit.

“I’m not gonna lie, seein’ you guys like this is nice. All three gettin’ along. It’s an in and out case. No one should be bleedin’ tonight. I feel a bit like you’re off to the prom.” Bobby teased back to Esme, before stepping toward her, placing a soft kiss to her forehead, “And you’re gonna be the prettiest girl in the room…count on that.”

At the mention of a photo, Bobby raised a finger and he nodded, “I think that’s a great idea! I like to keep them around the desk and all that.”

“Really? Prom photos?” Dean complained, but Duke took the opportunity, as Bobby pulled his camera from a drawer of his desk. He took a few steps forward, and wrapped an arm around Esme’s waist, his heart racing a bit at the touch, but he pulled her into his side and nodded to Dean. Dean grumbled a bit, but he stepped over and wrapped his arms around Esme, one of his hands under Duke’s awkwardly.

“Now, everyone smile. Sandwich her in there…” Bobby chuckled, before taking a few photos, with the boys both seeming to compete over where to put their hands. Bobby tilted his head and then he shook it, setting his camera on the desk. “Alright. Get out of here. Dean has my card. And you guys be careful…no drinkin’ and drivin’. You call ahead.”

“Wait…” Duke muttered, looking up at Dean with his head tilted. He and Dean communicated silently for a moment, and finally, Dean released Esme and let Duke pull her around the corner toward the kitchen. Duke rummaged through his jacket pocket, and he pulled the necklace he had stolen earlier in the day, along with the bracelet, “My contribution. I think, not like you need the help, they’ll bring out those pretty blue eyes. Don’t ask where I got them…I got sticky fingers. But, I couldn’t help think of you when I saw them…”

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Dean

Dean sighed as he walked down the stairs with Mika, glancing around the room to see if anyone else was awake and moving around. It seemed like he and Mika were the only ones stirring, except Bobby, who was already pouring over some research at his desk with a cup of coffee. He nodded as Bobby glanced up at him from his desk, not really ready to bridge the conversation about what they had planned for the day with him, yet. Bobby would be one that could talk him out of helping the angels, even if it meant fighting them and at the moment, Dean was willing to try and see what Castiel wanted, before he fought too hard.

He stepped into the kitchen with Mika and simply leaned against the doorway, as Mika searched the kitchen for food to make for them. As she called out to Bobby, Bobby huffed and called back to her, making Dean smirk.

“Yeah, yeah…I swear, having all of you back in the house is like raisin’ a bunch of kids. I’ll make a list of things so you can continue to eat me out of house and home.” Bobby called out with a small smile, and Dean couldn’t help the chuckle that left his chest. The reality was, Bobby loved having his house full. He loved feeling useful, and having plenty of minds to pick and a bit of noise around. He always had.

Dean’s mind then fell on Sam, and he was tempted to pull his phone and call his brother, but he didn’t quite know if Sam would answer him if he even tried. He didn’t know how raw Sam’s emotions were from the night before, or if Sam would be even more angry with his plans. So, he pushed him from his mind as best he could, despite the sinking pit in his stomach at not having him within arms reach. No matter how much they fought, Dean’s priority was still to protect his baby brother.

“I keep just waiting for him to pop in and start grumbling…” Dean said suddenly, referring to Castiel as he glanced around the kitchen. He brought his hands up and ruffled his own hair, almost afraid to talk about the little nerdy angel, in case he accidentally called him down early, “And we gotta somehow make sure that we keep the kids away from wherever we’re going. The last thing that anyone needs is Anna showing up near Alastair. Remember the last time he got his hands on her? She turned into a nuke…”

Duke

Duke laughed softly at Esme’s agreement to make the warning list of signs that she was going to fall into something that would scare the hell out of him. He was appreciative, but the idea of her actually writing down every single detail of her powers was amusing to him. He leaned into her touch a bit but then frowned when she mentioned that they had to get out of bed. He could definitely use a shower, even if it would be a bit awkward with his bandaged stomach. He could still feel a bit of the dried blood that was sticky on his back, and he wasn’t sure if it looked as bad as it felt, but it felt pretty gross.

“Alright. I can’t really argue with that. Self care is valid.” Duke grumbled with a dramatic eye roll before breaking into a wide smile as she pushed some of his hair away from his face. He kissed Esme back, tempted to just roll over and pull her with him, forcing her to stay in bed. But he couldn’t do that. She needed to eat…and shower…and be human.

As she broke the kiss and glanced toward the house, Duke concentrated on her face, taking in every expression as he slowly started to realize exactly what she was feeling. Something was brewing in the house. As she complained about exactly what he suspected, Duke sighed and he brushed his fingers across Esme’s forehead.

“I should probably go and make sure Dean hasn’t started another fight. I’m kinda the only one that seems to be able to calm him down when Sam’s not around. It’s a good mornin’ for a broken nose.” He teased, moving away from Esme to allow her to sit up and leave the bed. He lay there for a few moments, just watching her get dressed with his hand resting on his cheek and his elbow propping him up. But then she turned and teased him with a line that he used…a lot, and Duke laughed.

“Well, I could just tempt you more and get you to stay here, safe and warm with me. But since you asked so nicely…I’ll get up.” Duke teased her back, reluctantly pulling the blankets back and sliding off the edge of the bed. He stood, stepping over to the sink where he had tossed his hat and his jeans the night before. He quickly got dressed, grabbing a flannel from the back of the couch and slipping it over his arms, before grabbing his hat and stepping into his boots.

“Let’s go check the temperature of that water, shall we?”

Cason

Cason shook his head as Nat spoke about her eating habits and then spoke as if she was hard to love, “I was just making an observation that when you get busy, you could forget to eat. Trust me…I know you eat. Sometimes, I wish I had some sort of magic wand to change the way you eat.”

He smiled, a small chuckled leaving his chest but then he continued, “And you’re easy to be around. Way easier than most humans. Give yourself some credit, or I’ll turn up the charm and make you believe it. I’m a demon. I can be full of surprises.”

He nuzzled Natalia’s nose, and then Bobby and Mika’s voices caught his ear as well. And he could overhear Dean talking about someone showing up out of nowhere, reinforcing Cason’s concern that today wasn’t going to be quite as relaxing as they originally thought. Someone was coming for Dean. The demon channels were right. With a sigh, Cason turned his attention back to Nat as she questioned why Dean and Mika were awake.

“They’re probably just excited to start their boring day.” Cason lied, using his ability to do so convincingly as a demon to his advantage. He hated lying to Nat, but he didn’t really have a choice. She was not leaving this house, if anything was happening with angels. Not a chance. “Maybe we should get up and around and find some way to make ourselves useful?”

Anna

Anna raised her eyebrows at Ruby’s explanation for her just barging in the way she did. Anna wasn’t even aware that Sam had still been drinking demon blood, especially not from Ruby. But as Ruby mentioned that Anna’s name had come up in demon circles, Anna’s stomach clenched painfully. She didn’t want demons talking about her. She didn’t want to deal with demons at all…and now she was stuck in a room with one that was just talking about her like an extension of Sam.

‘You both need to be stronger.’

Cason’s words about not taking anything from Ruby echoed through Anna’s brain when Ruby glanced to her, and she shook her head without realizing it, telling her that she wasn’t willing to accept blood from her. She only drank from Cason. As Sam attempted to reason with Ruby and she brought up Lilith riding in Anna’s body, Anna swallowed thickly and she wrapped her arms around her legs a bit tighter. The temptation to summon Cason was high, but she could never get him there fast enough to argue with Ruby, not really.

When Ruby pulled the bottles of demon blood, Anna shook her head again and she finally spoke up, figuring that it would probably go over like a lead brick with Ruby, “Cason told me not to drink any blood that wasn’t his or that he didn’t give me. So, I don’t think I want to. I also don’t normally drink that much. It would make me…high.”, Anna explained innocently, trying her best to play at emotions, or anything to keep from being force fed demon blood.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean let Lexi’s remark about him being ‘a life saver’ rattle around in his brain as he continued smiling at her. And just like that, she stammered a bit, trying to defend herself…but then admitted that she did have a thing for men that worked on cars. Dean gave a sheepish shrug and he turned back to continue working on putting her engine back together. As he worked, her little tiny praise rattled around his mind a bit more, and he pulled back from the hood, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead.

He stepped back from the car and quickly pulled his t-shirt off over his head, tossing it over to the same motorcycle, sighing happily as the cool air that was barely seeping into the garage hit his bare chest, “That’s better. I needed a little cooling off break.”

He smiled widely, and stepped over to Lexi, careful not to touch her with his oil covered hands. He tilted his hips toward her, and then leaned in, placing a tight kiss to her lips before pulling back with a smile. He then snarled his nose playfully, surprising even himself as he smiled, “And I figured it might sweeten the view and gather me some favors for later…maybe just maybe, I get the girl…”

Anya

Anya smiled brightly with her cheek pressed to Sam’s shoulder as he replied to her message. So, he wasn’t absolutely hating his time out, and he seemed pretty relaxed. She couldn’t feel any tension in his shoulders. He was being normal, and he was enjoying it…as much as he could. She considered that a win. His next words made her heart swim a bit. As sweet and empathetic as Sam seemed, she half expected that he felt that way about her, but hearing him say that he was glad he met her just went straight to her head. She tilted her head, resting her chin against his shoulder to look up at him with a soft smile.

When he asked her to promise him something, she raised her eyebrows, her smile dropping just a bit as she listened and his eyes came down to meet hers. As he told her to hold onto her optimism, she frowned a bit, wondering if at one time in his life…he was also optimistic and happy. She wondered if he smiled more, or if his smile reached all the way to his eyes every single time that it came onto his face. She tried to picture what he looked like when he was younger, with brighter eyes, and his dimples almost permanent. The thought made her a bit sad, but she nodded her head at him.

She pulled her hands up and typed another message.

“I don’t think that will be a problem. I am the eternal optimist, after all, and when I’m with you? I’ll do my best to make you feel that way too. You deserve it, Sam.”

She held her phone out, and tilted her head to press a kiss to his shoulder, deciding that she was going to take care of him, just as much as he felt the need to care for her. He obviously needed it, and if she could make him smile…even a little, it was going to become her mission every single day. As weird as it felt rumbling around in her head, she was growing very quickly attached to Sam Winchester. If she wasn’t careful, he was easily someone she could fall in love with.

Supernatural - Hell On The Horizon

Duke

Duke settled a bit as Esme followed his breathing, happy that he could at least affect her enough to convince her to try the only method he knew to use. He kept his head still, just letting her use him for whatever comfort she needed in that moment. Whatever she had been dreaming about, while she was deep in her sleep was obviously pretty jarring. He would have to ask her about it later, after she was calm. He didn’t want to bring up any negative emotion, while she was worked up.

When she sighed and apologized, Duke chuckled incredulously and he shook his head gently against hers, instantly arguing for her not to apologize. But her explanation of what had happened took him aback. He remembered her being a particularly hard sleeper with Dean. He seemed to remember a couple of times that Dean had to work for a while to wake her up, but he never chalked it up to much. Now, it all made sense, and his heart stuttered, thinking about if he hadn’t thought to kiss her…and she fell into some sort of coma for a few days.

“Well, I do wish I would have known. I really do need you to make me a warnin’ list about these things.” He chuckled softly, trying to keep the mood as light as he could, while also trying to convince her that he wasn’t scared of the full scale of her powers. Truth was, a bit of it scared him, but he wouldn’t trade her…just because of a bit of anxiety toward the unknown. He continued massaging her scalp for a few moments, lost in his thoughts and worries, but pulled himself back to the present as quickly as he could, closing his eyes as he breathed her in.

He opened his eyes to see Esme looking into them, and a small smile curled into the corners of his lips, just at the gaze. He tilted his head, bringing his other hand up to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek as she nuzzled his nose, and seemed a bit calmer, at least.

“I’ll live. I got startled, that’s all. You’re okay and that’s all I really care about. Don’t worry about me.” He whispered to her, brushing his nose against hers before pressing a gentle kiss to her top lip, “As long as you’re good…I’m good, Sweet Pea.”

Dean

Dean sighed softly against Mika’s shoulder when she promised him in the most serious way she could that she would be careful, and she would get out of this in one piece. It’s all he could ask of her. He knew that the odds of anything good coming from the Angels needing him, whether for intel or something worse, to help with Alastair was not likely. He knew that he would likely come out bloodied, bruised and down for the count for a while, but Mika had to come out unscathed, or he would find a way…to kill every angel in the universe.

As Mika turned to him, he loosened his arms just a bit, staring down at her with somber eyes, and he wanted to nod at her words, but he didn’t completely believe it. He didn’t believe he would come out in one piece, but her being convinced both of them would, possibly meant that she would work really hard to protect…herself.

“We’re coming home…” was all he could muster, as he dipped his eyes to her chest. But her next words made him smile sadly. He still didn’t know if he believed that they could do this at all. He wasn’t even entirely sure what the angels wanted. But he nodded his head anyway, “You and me…”

He kissed her, bringing one of his hands up from her waist to cradle her chin, tilting her head so that he could kiss her a bit more passionately, pouring all of his anxiety and love and fear in to the kiss. After a few moments of holding her there, he was reminded of the timeline they were probably on, and he sighed, breaking the kiss, just resting his forehead against hers.

“We should probably go downstairs and prepare ourselves. I don’t know when he’s gonna show up, or call…or whatever he has planned.” He grumbled, before pecking her on the lips again. He pulled away from her, dropping his hand, only to pick hers up. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them gently, “We get this done, and it’s right back to laziness…as long as you want.”

Cason

Cason matched Natalia’s smile as she let her lips curl up, just a bit. And when she genuinely smiled, no matter how small, his head burned a bit with how much he actually cared for her. Her smile was enough to settle any worry he had, even if on the outside he would never show that he was worried at all. He closed his eyes briefly, as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, a welcome first move from her that reminded him of the first night they had spent together. Things seemed so much more relaxed and casual, as if he was going to be kicked to the curb after she took what she wanted from him, back then. Now, he didn’t think he could leave if she asked him to. He was too attached…

As she settled back onto his shoulder, he pulled her a bit closer to him and sighed at her words. He had already heard a bit of rumbling, when he opened his mind to some of the demons he still trusted. Alastair was trapped and chained up in some room somewhere by the angels. No one knew why they had him. No one knew where he was, but they knew about the situation. And the name Dean Winchester was floating in the circles. So, the odds of them actually having those few days of peace were not as likely as he wished they were, for Nat’s sake.

“Yeah. Hopefully we get them. Hopefully nothing comes up.” He muttered absentmindedly as his mind swam with all the ways he could pull Natalia away from a potential Angel on Demon fight that involved her brother. There was no way she was going to allow him to take the fight on without her getting involved but he wasn’t planning to allow her within a mile of an angel…not a chance.

“As long as you don’t forget to eat, I’ll stay in this bed as long as you’ll have me.”

Anna

Anna smiled as Sam caught her words, and he actually chuckled about something that seemed so heavy. It was odd that both of them had been through so much that they could laugh about some of it, together. Dean or Mika wouldn’t have found her words funny, at all. But Sam did. Anna leaned up, brushing her nose with Sam’s as the overwhelming emotion of excitement to be close to him washed over her all over again. She opened her mouth, ready to capture his lips in a deep kiss when the knock at the door jarred her from the sweet moment, and she turned her head toward the noise with a confused look. Who would have been coming after them?

She pulled the blankets up around her chest, sitting up a bit as Sam pulled his jeans on and he strolled over to the door, in full protection mode. His apologetic glance back made her think, for a split second that it was Dean that had showed up, for whatever reason. But as Sam opened the door, Sam spoke to…Ruby. Ah, Ruby. Nice.

Sighing, Anna adjusted the blankets around her chest and she brought her hand up to brush it through her messy hair awkwardly. She furrowed her brow in confusion as Ruby brought up texting Sam all morning. She wondered if it was actually Ruby who had been calling him all night, and when they had reconnected so deeply. She couldn’t say anything, if he was still meeting with her for blood, because she took blood from Cason all the time. But, why would she need to contact him at all hours of the night?

As Ruby called over to her with a grin, Anna blushed and she faked a smile, before looking down at the blankets in front of her, “You know…Sam, I’m all for bringing home a hot woman for some play time, but I’m not really in the mood to have a threesome with a demon. Why is she here?”

She blurted the words out before she even realized it, and blushed a bit deeper, pulling her knees up to wrap her arms around them. She didn’t want to deal with demons at the moment. She didn’t really want to deal with anyone but Sam, and fixing whatever was broken…or at least what seemed broken.

“I can step out if you guys need to talk…” She almost whispered, playing with the bracelet around her wrist under the blankets.

"From out of Nowhere" - SPN

Dean

Dean finished removing the bolts, and he disconnected the crankshaft rods, pulling them to the side before he pulled the piston that seemed the worst. With an quiet ‘AHA’, he laid it against the towel he had placed over the front of the car. As he did, he shrugged off Lexi’s comments about him being simple, but he chuckled at her comment about a bald Sam, the mental image flashing through his own mind briefly.

“You’re welcome for that.” He chuckled a bit louder. “I think she could be either really good for him, or a really good distraction that he does…kinda need right now. He’s been through a lot over the past year, and he has a bit of a bad spot in the back of his brain that keeps…itching for him to feel guilty about everything under the sun.”

Dean failed to mention the angel that had taken Sam for a ride for a while. He was nowhere near ready to talk about that. It was one of his biggest regrets and almost losing Sam in the process would probably haunt him forever. Lexi knocked him out of his internal thoughts as she stepped over to him, watching him work as he removed the piston ring that was completely obliterated and wiped the piston down, before toying around in Bobby’s old toolbox for one that fit at least a similar car to her own.

“Well, it’s actually a simple fix for anyone with the tools to fix it and either a manual or a general knowledge of engine blocks.”, he explained, holding the piston up in front of him as he stood up straight. He attached the new piston ring, and then reached back under the hood, dropping the piston back into place. “When that ring is all jacked up, it lets oil leak onto all the parts around the engine block. The pistons create fire, and that’s what drives the car forward…kinda. That’s why you need gas. So, fire…plus oil…and you got smoke. The rattling was probably caused by this crank shaft bolt right here.”

He reached across and tapped the top of the crankshaft, “It was loose. So, sounds a lot worse than it is. Once I put that back on, and tighten that bolt, you can take it out on the road and burn off the rest of that oil. It’ll smell like crap and it’ll smoke a bit at first…but she’ll be purring after that.”

Dean leaned over the car and began to reassemble everything he had taken apart, while he got used to the idea of being watched in the garage. Not that he minded Lexi’s eyes on him, but it was still new.

“And if you want, because I’m almost positive they didn’t, I’ll change your oil for you too, while I’ve got it in the garage. Something tells me you have a thing for men with a little grease on them.” He finished his sentence, tilting his body just enough to smile brightly back at her.

Anya

Anya was so happy to see Sam smile at her plans, and it told her that in some small way, he was having fun. Either it was because she was so happy, and he was having fun watching her or he was just relieved to be out of the bunker. She practically danced when Sam said that he was willing to go for a carriage ride. If anything, it was a simple snuggle moment under a blanket, letting someone pull them around the large fair ground. No effort. No showmanship. Just a carriage, covered in lights, carting them around. It was a bit of a neutral holiday olive branch to Sam.

She didn’t tug Sam as hard this time, linking her fingers with his as she walked across the small road, to one of the brightly lit horse drawn carriages. The handler didn’t step down, only gestured for them both to get in. Anya climbed up carefully, not using the rails as she daintily tiptoed her way to the other side of the carriage and sat on the bench, pulling the lap blanket back to let Sam get underneath with her.

Once he was settled, she made sure his legs were covered, almost feeling bad that he was folded up a bit in the tight space. But she leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder and took a drink. The handler glanced back at her.

“You guys good?”

Anya simply held up a thumbs up and wrapped her arms around Sam’s, getting comfortable. She reached forward, placing her cup in the wire cupholder on the back of the handler’s seat and then pulled her phone into her lap, typing with one hand.

“I can tell that you hate things like this and so I wanted to tell you thanks for coming with me, while we’re still and stuff. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than with you, during all this mess. So, thanks for letting me stay. And thanks for coming with me.” 

She didn’t press play. She simply held the phone out to him so that he could read the message and left her soft smile on her face.

All Roads Lead To You

Dean and Duke

Duke pressed his lips together as Esme teased him, taking it as an absolute flirtation. He pursed his lips and tilted his head back, before breaking into a wide smile, “Well, we’ll have to see, now won’t we.”, he quipped back at her with a wink, but as she turned her back to him, he quickly turned to Dean and slapped his thigh as Dean was handed a glass of wine, “You have to help me. Please.”

“I have to help you what? Flirt with my girlfriend?” Dean grumbled, taking a drink of the wine. He glanced down at his glass with a frown, snarling his nose just a bit and then turned his eyes back to Duke.

“I need you to help me clean up. You’re all clean cut and…you. I can’t look all messy and thrown together in a tuxedo, man. We’re gonna be there with…all this.” Duke whispered to Dean, waving his arms around to gesture to the dresses and the expensive jewelry all around them. Dean scoffed, shaking his head and Duke slapped his leg again, almost making him spill his wine, “Please?!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll…what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Make my hair look good under my hat, you know…trim up my face. That stuff. Stuff Esme would expect you to do.” Duke responded frantically, as a woman took his empty glass from his hand and replaced it with a full one.

“Esme doesn’t expect anything from me. She knows me better than that. I put on the tux. I flatten my hair to the best of my abilities and I go with it. With your hat on, no one is going to see your hair anyway. But it wouldn’t kill you not to wear a hat tonight.” Dean shrugged his shoulders as Esme stepped out of the dressing room in the first dress she decided to check out. Dean turned his eyes to look at her, raising both his eyebrows as he sat up a bit straighter. His eyes scanned over the front of the dress, noticing that it was a bit precarious and might…gather some attention. Not that Dean minded.

“She looks uncomfortable.” Duke spoke up, even though he couldn’t deny that she looked gorgeous in the dress. She didn’t seem happy, or like she could really breathe at all. He scrunched his nose and he shook his head, glancing over at Dean who was just staring at her. “She needs to be able to make it through the night, right?”

“Shut up. Just…let her decide.” Dean muttered, taking a drink of his wine as he tore his eyes away from Esme, just as she walked back to the dressing room with the women dressing her. Duke waved as Esme flashed them a smile before heading back in, following the wave with a thumbs up that teetered side to side, as if he was telling her that it was a ‘maybe’, like he had a choice.

After a few more times of Dean and Duke discussing each dress that came out of the dressing room, with Duke giving his very Emperor like opinions, the boys were practically tangled up on the couch, girls on either side and Dean nursing a plate of finger foods. The girl draped over Duke’s lap happened to stand up, just before Esme came out from behind the curtain, and Duke stood up, reaching for her before Dean could rid himself of his plate. As soon as Dean sat the plate down, he came to her other side, grabbing for her hand before Duke could.

Duke huffed, but when Esme commented on his drinking habits, Duke smiled brightly, “I was real good. I only had three glasses. So, I will be plenty ready to drink up at the party.”

“Alright. Let’s get you paid and squared away, so we can get Mr. wine and Hors d’oeuvres cleaned up and dressed. Bobby texted and said he picked up our tuxes from the cleaners.” Dean shot Duke a look and Duke frowned in confusion.

“I don’t have a tux.”

“And we don’t ask questions when Bobby picks things up for us. He said it would fit. So, it will fit.” Dean rolled his eyes and pulled Esme toward the front to pay for her things.

On the way there, Duke lingered back, running his fingers over some of the more expensive jewelry the shop didn’t even bother to put behind glass. Pinching one of the jewels between his fingers, he was a bit surprised that the stones were real. As Dean pulled Bobby’s card from his wallet and paid, Duke brushed his fingers over a few of the necklaces until he found one that he thought would go really well with Esme’s eyes. With a small pop, he removed it from the rack, and slipped it into the sleeve of his jacket, grabbing a matching bracelet that sat underneath it.

“Duke. C’mon…” Dean patted the counter behind him, and Duke tipped his cowboy hat at the lady behind the counter who gave him a polite smile, and he followed Dean and Esme out of the shop.

Back at the house

Duke grumbled through his tightly pressed lips as Dean seemed to be doing surgery on his beard. Dean suddenly pulled back from him, “If you don’t shut up, I’ll shave it off. Do you want me to fix it or not?”

“Don’t shave it. You said you were just gonna shave my neck.” Duke stared up at him with puppy eyes as she sat in a kitchen chair, wearing a blue mechanics tarp over his bare chest, and Dean did his best to trim his beard. Dean had already taken care of his long blonde hair, trimming up to where it feathered out close to the sides of his ears, and cleanly fell against his forehead, as best as could be done. Dean had even taken the time to wet his hair and fold it back from the side of his head.

“Tilt your head back.” Dean ordered placing the scissors between his teeth as he pulled the electric clippers and began trimming Duke’s bears around his neck. Then Dean grumbled, his words muffled by the scissors in his mouth, “You know, if you groomed more, maybe you wouldn’t have to clean up like this for events.”

“And what good would that do me? I live in an RV. I’m covered in blood more than I’m not. I don’t got much of a reason to ‘stay groomed’. Just hurry up so I can get dressed.” Duke groaned, rolling his eyes as Dean placed a palm on the top of his head to hold him still. He tilted Duke’s head back a bit more and sighed, holding him firm, “I just don’t want to potentially end up on that dance floor with Esme and look like some guy that’s kidnappin’ her…”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Dean teased him, shaking his head. “No one’s gonna be looking at you. Alright. You’re done. Go get dressed. I’ll help you with your tie.”

“I’ll have Bobby help me with my tie. I’ve had you too close for comfort long enough.” Duke joked, shoving at Dean’s shoulder as he stood from the chair and dropped the tarp from his chest. He flexed his chest muscles a bit and walked into the living room to retrieve his tuxedo bag from the railing of the stairs.

After a bit, Bobby stood in front of Duke, tugging at the sides of his bowtie with a proud look on his face, as if he was sending his little boy off to prom. Once he was satisfied, he clapped both his hands against Duke’s shoulders and turned him to stand in front of the long mirror he had leaned against the stair railing, “I think you look pretty damn good. Look at yourself.”

“I feel naked.” Duke complained, scrunching his nose as he stared at himself in the mirror. Dean stepped around Bobby’s desk, and he stood next to Duke, straightening his own bowtie as Bobby stepped away. Suddenly, a pristine black cowboy hat with a satin ribbon sat atop Duke’s head, and Dean rolled his eyes as Bobby covered all his hard work on Duke’s hair with the hat. Duke glanced up and pressed the hat further onto his head, adjusting the sides to his preferences, “Where did you get this?”

“A friend. Had it nice and pressed, just like you like, oil pressed…not water. It looks just as expensive as that tuxedo you’re in, and suddenly? You’re a rich oil tycoon from Dallas.” Bobby teased Duke, patting his back.

“Would you look at that…” Duke straightened his jacket, and then tipped his hat at himself in the mirror as Dean rolled his eyes, and he walked around to the edge of the bottom step, looking up at the bedroom door at the top.

“You good up there? We’re all dressed down here! If you don’t hurry up, Duke’s gonna start making out with himself in the mirror!”