"That was a heavenly burger," Dean said.
"You're gonna die early if you keep eating like that," Seth admonished.
"But I actually liked my life while living it," Dean grinned.
Seth shook his head and let out a little laugh before turning his attention towards Roman.
"And how was your food, big fellow?" He asked.
"It was..." Roman started.
His unfinished sentence hang in the air while he just stared towards the door and his whole facial expression changed. Dean and Seth both turned to look towards the door as well and there, with her hand still on the open door, stood a woman with piercing green eyes that stared back with the same facial expression as Roman.
"Roman?" Seth asked lowly.
Roman almost flew up from his seat, strode towards the woman fast and engulfed her completely with his broad arms. Her hand left the door as he moved them both outside. The door closed slowly while Seth and Dean just stared from their seats through the glass. From the way Roman's shoulders shook up and down, it was clear their friend was crying. Whoever this woman was, she had to mean something more than just the avarage friendship. They got up from their seats and walked outside. As they opened the door, the sound of both Roman and the woman crying reached them.
"Roman?" Dean asked concerned.
"Right," Roman said.
Dean's voice had brought Roman back to where he was and he leaned out to look at her face. His hands moved her hair behind her head while he smiled through his tears.
"Look at you," he said and choked back a sob that threatened to come out. "You've become even more beautiful with age."
"Stop," she whispered and blushed.
"Don't tell me to stop," he chuckled a little. "Eight years, Sage. I thought you were dead."
"Still standing," she tried with a little smile.
"Eight fucking years and not one single word," he shook his head.
"Sorry," she said. "Can we not do this right now?"
She looked behind him and he remembered that Seth and Dean were still standing there. She was right. This wasn't a conversation they should be having in a parking lot in front of a diner with his two friends watching without him at least introducing them first.
"This is Sage," he said as he turned around to look at his friends. "And these are my two best friends Seth and Dean."
"Never thought I'd actually see your faces on anything else than my tv," she said.
"You watch?" Roman asked.
"Of course. How can I not? I always knew you'd make it," she answered.
"You always had faith in me," he remembered.
He reached for her hand and interlocked their fingers. Her hand still fit perfectly in his.
"So you live here now?" He asked.
"No. At least not yet. I was actually on my way in to ask if they need any help and if the answer is yes, I'll stay for a while," she answered.
He looked at the backpack hanging on her back, wondering if her entire life was packed in that little thing. Somehow he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
"So where do you live?" He asked.
"Oh, you know. Here and there. Ever since I left our old town, I haven't really stayed in one place for long," she answered.
"And why did you leave?" He asked.
They both took a deep breath while his question hang in the air for a few seconds.
"You know why," she answered lowly.
"We had a fight. Big deal. Couples fight," he said.
"Are we gonna continue the fight right now?" She asked.
He looked into her eyes, those piercing eyes he had dreamed about many times and feared he'd never see again, and he knew they weren't. Not now when he had finally found her again after all these years.
"Come back to the hotel with us," he said.
"Yeah, about that," Seth started.
"What?" Roman asked.
"Sasha," Seth reminded him.
"Right, Sasha. Fuck! She's not gonna like this," Roman bit his lip. "Can she stay in your room?"
"Sure," Dean's smile lit up the half dark parking lot.
They shared the back seat together in their rental while Seth and Dean sat up front as always. So many things Roman wanted to say, to ask, to know, but there was time. He had found her and he wasn't about to let her slip away easy again. It had been eight long years in torment and silence. Eight long years where no one knew anything. Eight long years where he had thought she was lying dead somewhere and her body was yet to be found.
"We'll talk in the morning," he said as they stopped on front of Dean and Seth's hotel room.
He didn't want to let go of her and leave her in their room. Not that he worried anything would happen, he knew his friends would never do anything to her, he just wanted to be there too. In there with her.
"I'll still be here," she smiled. "I promise."
"You better," he said.
"Don't worry, big fellow, she's not gonna get past me," Dean grinned.
He watched as Seth slid the key card through the lock and the door opened. Seth and Roman locked eyes quickly and nodded. Sage was gonna be safe with them. No questions asked.
"Goodnight," he said.
"Goodnight, Roman," her voice was the last thing he heard before the door closed.
He continued down the same hallway, passing three doors before stopping in front of his own room. He let out a heavy sigh before sliding his key card through the lock and entering the room. He kept the light off as he got out of his shoes and jacket and walked towards the bed. He started undressing in the darkness, hoping this would be one of the rare occasions she was actually asleep already.
"Where were you?" Sasha asked from the bed.
"Out with Dean and Seth. You know that," he answered.
They hadn't even been gone for long and he hadn't left her in the dark about what they were planning to do and still she always suspected something. He knew he had to be up front, be as truthful as possible right away, or everything would crash down in the morning.
"I ran into an old friend I haven't seen in eight years," he said.
"That's nice," she said in an unfriendly tone.
"Yeah, it is," he smiled in the darkness.
"What's his name?" She asked.
"Sage," he answered.
He knew he should tell her Sage was a woman and not a man but he just didn't wanna fight right in that moment. Technically he wasn't lying. Her name was Sage. It didn't matter that Sasha would assume Sage was a man for the rest of the night. He would deal with it in the morning.
"What are we gonna do? We only got two single beds," Seth said.
"Can I take a shower before we get into that?" She asked.
"Of course," he answered.
Dean pulled his tee over his head and dumped it on the floor.
"Can I borrow that?" She pointed at the tee.
"Ehm... I guess," he answered.
She picked it up and moved towards the bathroom which made Dean chuckle.
"You don't trust us?" He asked. "With your backpack, I mean."
"There isn't actually anything worth stealing in it. Just clothes. Living like I do, you just tend to keep your shit close, you know," she answered.
She disappeared out in the bathroom before he could say anything else. They waited a couple of minutes until they finally heard the shower start.
"I think she might be the one," Seth said.
"Which one?" Dean asked.
"The one Roman's mentioned those few times he's been dead drunk," Seth answered.
"Oh, the conversations he conveniently never seem to remember in the morning," Dean chuckled. "You might be right. He did say eight years and dead drunk Roman always talks about one that got away."
After her shower she walked out in Dean's tee that was big enough to cover her to her knees. They watched as she emptied her packpack of clothes on the floor and moved the items into some sort of pillow.
"You guys mind if I borrow your jackets?" She asked.
"No," Seth tilted his head to the side as he wondered what she was up to.
She grabbed their jackets and tossed them on the floor before lying down on her homemade pillow and pulling one jacket over her legs and the other over her upper body.
"Goodnight," she said as she turned over on her side.
"You don't seriously expect us to let you sleep down there?" Dean asked. "Roman's gonna kill us."
"Then don't tell him," she said.
"It's gonna be uncomfortable as hell," Seth said.
"I've had worse. Now go to sleep, please. You use your bodies for work so you need the beds. And you paid for them. It's only fair," she said.
Seth and Dean exchanged a look from each of their beds and Dean just shrugged his shoulders before lying down under the covers on his bed. There wasn't any point in arguing with her all night when she clearly had made up her mind already.