Well, I have finally started hashing out the ending for this story. I can't say exactly how many chapters are going to be left, but we are nearing the end. And because the end may be a bit of a roller coaster...here is some fluff. Enjoy!
It was only a few weeks I had been absent from my hunter life. In that time Crowley had begun making his move. Demon activity had increased tenfold. Monsters appearing at a rate that hunters couldn't keep up with. No one knew what caused it. But even news reports were starting to reveal the life we tried to keep hidden from normal people. Of course those reports were met with great skepticism. But it wouldn't stay that way if things didn't change. They told me heaven had fallen into shambles in my absence. Cas had been busy trying soothe things over. I grabbed a beer for Dean, Sam and I while they told me what I missed. I handed one to each of them before opening my own. I sat on the couch in the library next to Dean. They all looked at me. I calmly took a long sip of my drink.
"Well, that pretty much sucks," I said, "I was really looking forward to a day off."
"You hear all that and you just want a day off?" Bobby asked.
"Well, yeah, I wasn't just sitting around reading books. The practical work really got me."
"Well, we came back just to resupply and whatever," Dean said, "but if you'd rather hang around here..."
"Come on, Dean, if you want my help you just need to ask."
"I haven't even seen y-"
I moved my finger slightly. A grin popped across my lips. Dean continued to talk, but no sound came out. Sam laughed, Bobby spit out his drink. Dean looked like he was rather upset, but no sound came from him. He crossed his arms and sunk into the chair.
"James told me that might come in handy," I laughed as my hand reversed the motion.
"Do that again and I will make you pay," Dean huffed.
"Hey, had to show you I can do something."
"So this is what I'm thinking," Sam spoke with a slight chuckle remaining in his voice, "there is a lot of hunter coverage on the east coast right now. With growing number of vampire nests and shifters out west I am thinking we should head to Wyoming. I found a lead on one of the nests. They're moving in a pattern and we can follow it further west from there."
"A good ol' fashioned road trip. What are you gonna do Bobby?" I asked.
"I'm handling intel for the time being. A lot of people need info and directions right now."
"Will you be okay by yourself?"
"I might be older, but I can still handle myself, ___."
"Alright. Sounds like we need to get going," I said.
"Wouldn't be a bad idea," Dean said.
I finished my beer and stood up. And all I wanted was a day or two to relax. That wasn't our life though. My bags were pretty much packed. I went through them making sure everything I needed was there. I found an envelope tucked at the bottom. My hands pulled it from under my clothes. There as nothing on the outside. My hand slipped beneath the fold of the envelope. The paper tore free from the adhesive that held them together.
____,
We talked a lot about you. How to handle yourself, powers and keep yourself in the right mindset. However, we didn't talk much about me. Enclosed is another paper that has something I want you to keep on you. When Sam and Dean helped me another witch was messing with my head and memories. I was seeing things I thought were real, but weren't. Since then I had visions. I don't know how real they are, or if they are just dreams that are too vivid for my taste. But upon meeting you I had one that was almost painfully vivid. It was unclear what was happening except for what was enclosed. These words were so loud, so clear. And a voice told me you needed them. So when I woke I scribbled them down. I hid them in your bag. If they would help you, I can't be sure. But may you find them helpful in your endeavors.
Sincerely,
James
I pulled the second piece of paper behind it revealing what looked like a spell. I read it over but it didn't make sense why I should have it. Footsteps neared the door. Quickly I folded the paper and shoved it in my back pocket. The note slid back under the clothes in my bag. I deftly zippered the bag and picked it up.
"You ready, sunshine?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, are you?"
"Ready as I'll ever be. But it's a real mess out there. You can stay here. It will be safer."
"My place isn't anywhere except by your side, Dean."
"Yeah, thought you'd say something like that."
"Come on, you don't want to leave me behind, do you?"
"Of course not. I just know it's bad out there. And I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Sam and you are the best hunters around. I may not be as amazing, but I have a few tricks now that will help."
"Don't say that. You were amazing before whatever power you have now. Wouldn't have fallen completely head over heels for anyone else."
"Dean, stop," I blushed with a soft, nervous laugh.
"I don't know how much time we have together. Things are getting worse by the day. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me," he said taking my hand into his.
"Okay, wow. Dean I was gone for just a few weeks. It wasn't like I was never coming back. Did something happen while I was gone? Is there something I should know about before we leave?"
"No. Nothing unusual happened. It's just scarier, stronger things coming out of the woodwork. I took a pretty bad beating after you left, it made me feel weak. And if Sam hadn't been there, if..."
"If, if, if...there's always an if in our profession. But it's like you said we have to enjoy every moment we have. And I plan on doing that."
"Good, 'cause you're stuck with me now, sweetheart."
"Okay…"
He extended his hand. I caught a glimpse of something that had not always been of his hand. I grabbed his wrist. He laughed slightly, realizing I was finally catching on. He smiled with those lively, forest green eyes meeting mine. My heart beat faster, harder in my chest. He smiled at me. Without saying a word he said a million things to me. He grabbed my hand gently. My eyes looked down slowly. Earlier his fingers traced mine when he took my hand. But I was lost in thought between what James wrote and Dean was saying. I was not really paying attention to what he was doing. My gaze traced his left hand that intertwined into my left hand. Both reflected a ring on each of our ring fingers. This was stupid, he didn't even ask me if it was okay. That thought only lasted a moment. Of course it was okay. Dean smiled. That complacent smile that knew I had no objections to his implication. I couldn't have been happier in that moment. It was one of those moments you had to hold onto. It burned into my mind. His eyes, his smile. That my breathing was twice as fast as his trying to contain the building tears in my eyes. The creaking floor downstairs as Bobby and Sam paced around. The bag slowly slipping from the hand that held it. And the soft thud it made when it met the floor. How his hand held mine carefully as if it would break if he squeezed any tighter. The feel of his free arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me into him. My face met his chest. He was warm. The beat of his heart was steady. There was nothing else like the way he smelled. It was a lingering smell of some cheap motel soap. And I loved it. We said nothing as the faint, barely audible chatting between Sam and Bobby.
"Are you okay?" he asked as his lips softly pecked the top of my head.
"I am. I guess I'm a bit surprised. Didn't know you felt this way. I just needed a moment to take this all in. I don't think there will ever be a moment that can top this one," my voice was timid, afraid that even speaking too loud would break my memories of this moment.
"Well, after all we've been through we can handle anything they throw at us. I just wanted to let you know in case..."
"In case of the worst possible scenario we face with every hunt? Thank you, Dean. For everything you've done."
He smiled as he let go of me. His hand held the side of my neck while his thumb traced my cheek gently. I looked up into those eyes. Those bright, green eyes I had fallen for so long ago. In another life when I pretended to be something, and someone, I wasn't. When I was too afraid to love someone. To let anyone near me for fear they would end up the same way my family did. Because that's what this life does. It takes and takes. But it was these moments in between we had to learn to cherish with our entire being. And he loved every flaw, every aspect of me; my feelings reflected his. Dean's head lowered as his lips met with mine. It was a kiss filled with fear and hope, with love and lust, with every emotion we had and had not yet felt. The kiss broke as our foreheads pressed softly into each other. Both of us wanting to stay here. To escape into a normal life. But fate held other plans for us. And in between the bad and the tragedy that we come to deal with. We always had each other in the end.
"I'll always love you, ____," he whispered.
"And I will never stop loving you, Dean."
"Are you ready for this?"
"I'm ready for anything," I beamed.