The familiar smell of her own bed sheets kept Chloe's eyes from opening even after she woke up. She gave up the idea about having dreamt everything once she felt her palm stinging and stretching painfully around the cuts. The clothes she wore were the same and they felt a bit uncomfy, having twisted around her body while she slept.
'I suppose Sam or Dean carried me'
Drawing the blanket over her head for more warmth she reached for her boots and started taking them off. The socks and hoodie were removed after that and Chloe sighed, enjoying the feeling of being less restrained. While snuggling into her pillow she started rewinding all of yesterday's events.
'Was it yesterday? How long have I been out?'
She remembered everything with great detail, except the part where she stumbled to the car and got in. Sam and Dean got Kevin, she followed them with Castiel, she made it to the car (somehow).
'Did I get in the car on my own? Did I just fall asleep next to it?'
Stretching and turning on her other side, Chloe decided to give those thoughts a rest and allow herself a few more hours of sleep before seeing the brothers.
'And Kevin, he's here now. He's always gonna be here now.' The thought somehow made her anxious in a way she wasn't too familiar with. In time, she'll be able to see him the same way she sees Sam and Dean. If the brothers risked so much for him, he must be a good person.
'He's a good person..why am I so scared?'
Considering the fact that she might unconsciously find him dangerous, she remembered him holding up a pan and compared the situation with her pulling out her gun. A few seconds later she was muffling her laugh in the pillow and fell asleep after telling herself he'll be anything but a threat. Regarding pans at least. How else would he become a threat?
Another few hours of sleep later, Chloe opened her eyes and realised she's still under the blanket. Throwing it aside she saw a thin line of light coming under her door from the hallway and wondered what time it is or if anyone's up. Her boots were still in bed and she hit them, making them fall on the floor. Turning the lamp on, she cringed at how dirty her clothes were.
'I need a shower. Majorly'
Chloe jumped out of bed, and decided she's gonna have to change the bed sheets as well later. Not bothering getting her boots on, she left her room bare feet. The hallways were empty and the whole bunker was quiet.
'Maybe everyone's sleeping. Or they went out to buy stuff'
20 feet later, Chloe opened a door to what was the bunker's bathroom. Five showers and a huge bathtub served for washing while the rest of the room was occupied with anything one might need for hygiene matters. Two washing machines, baskets, cupboards with cosmetics and cleaning powders. The white and beige marbel that was used for the floor and the british style flower pattern on the walls made the room surreal but extremely comfy and relaxing.
Heading to one of the three bigger drawers that she and the brothers placed in a corner, Chloe opened the one in the middle and got herself new clothes and clean towels. She let her own clothes she was wearing fall to the floor one by one and got under the shower. The hot water made her tingly and Chloe took her time scrubbing all the dust and blood. After she was done with the cleaning part she stood still for a few more minutes, feeling her muscles relax under the water. Her mind was empty of any thoughts, as it always happened when she closed her eyes under a comforting shower.
When the steam gathered too much for her to breath properly she turned the water off and grabbed the towels. After wrapping them tight around her she went to pick up her dirty clothes and throw them in one of the three baskets that each of her and the brothers had for laundry. An unfamiliar shirt caught her eye in Dean's basket and after placing her own clothes she picked it up curiously.
'This one must be his.' Now that she was looking at Kevin's shirt, Chloe realised one of the reasons she was anxious about living with him.
'What if he accidentally sees me naked. What if I go in the bathroom to pick up something and he's showering and I see him naked?' Blushing furiously at the idea, Chloe threw the shirt back and thought she's being ridiculous. She doesn't care if it's the brothers she goes in on by accident, not even Garth if he's around. Kevin's gonna become just as familiar, why worry? Looking again at the shirt, she noticed it's a lot smaller than the ones the brothers wear, but not the kind a very skinny guy like Garth would need. The shoulders would need to be wider and the back muscles…
'Oh for Christ's sake Chloe!'
Turning away from the laundry baskets, she grabbed her clean clothes and started dressing up. A random pair of old jeans that hanged a bit loose on her legs and a dark green checkered shirt was all she needed for a quiet day at the bunker.
She left the bathroom bare foot and headed to her room for socks and boots. The bunker was still quiet and when she checked the clock next to her bed she noticed it was 3am.
'No wonder I'm the only one walking around the hallways'
Two minutes later, Chloe was heading to the kitchen while braiding her hair and once there she sat herself cross-legged on the table waiting for the teapot to boil the water. Her personal cupboard held dozens of types of teas and even though she liked the black ones, she settled for the comfy scent of vanilla.
Cup in hand, she went to the living room, grabbed her books and laptop and lost herself in research about the supernatural. Taking a sip from her tea every now and then, turning another page, checking the internet for more details on a subject, Chloe felt out of this world peaceful, knowing that at least for a few hours nothing bad will happen, no case will arise, none of her loved ones are in danger. She can afford to be carefree and enjoy her day.
After peacefully working on her books for about an hour, Chloe's head rose at the echo of shoes coming from the hallways. Wondering which one of the guys woke up, she curiously eyed the entrance to the living room but whoever was walking around seemed to not be able to make up their mind on where to go.
Placing her cup on the table, she waited for the echoes to signal that the person's moving again and after a few more seconds the sound grew louder. Soon enough Kevin's profile greeted her, as he came into the living room and took in his surroundings. He looked exhausted and a bit confused, but he was cleaned up and - Chloe could tell – relieved. The clothes he wore were Dean's and hanged a bit awkwardly on his much smaller frame. He was so lost in his thoughts that Chloe almost didn't expect him to ever notice her and when he did, it took them both by surprise. Her eyes went wide as if caught doing something forbidden and he was startled, taking a step back.
For a while, neither said anything and just acknoledged the other's presence. Kevin was obviously relaxing and shyly smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Hi"
"Hi.."
"Want some tea?"
*Nod*
"Okay then. Make yourself comfy while I get you some"
*Nod*
Chloe nervously made her way to the kitchen to boil some more water while trying to figure what she's gonna talk to him about. How should they start their first casual conversation? How long will it take for them to become friends and more comfy around the other one?
'Why do I worry so much? He's just a friend of Sam and Dean's.'
Walking back to the living room with a big mug of green tea, Chloe found Kevin in front of on the bookshelves, keeping track of titles with his fingers. She went next to him and he turned around giving her a look she couldn't figure out what it held.
"Your tea" Chloe said raising the cup to her chest.
Kevin took it carefully and gave her a grateful smile.
Not knowing what to do next, Chloe just headed back to the table and took her seat in front of the laptop. A few seconds later, he followed and sat himself on the chair opposite her.
'Should I be the first one to say something? It'll just get more and more awkward if we sit like this. Maybe I should tell him about the stuff I was reading earlier and…'
"I know I already thanked you but…"
Chloe's head snapped from her laptop and stared at him, now that he made all her ideas of a random conversation useless.
"Thank you..for everything. You don't even know me but so far you're been really kind. You risked your life to save me and.."
"I'm a hunter. I always risk my life saving people" Chloe cut him a bit too sharp. Kevin didn't seem to give it too much thought.
"I know. That doesn't mean you don't need to get thanked for it."
"Well…you're welcome..." she answered unsure of how to react further and looking for something to do she picked up her cup to find it empty. Placing it back on the table awkwardly, Chloe couldn't help but try and avoid his gaze. Feeling stupid, she willed herself to look from the screen and found Kevin smiling at her.
'Why is he smiling like that? Is my lack of comfort so obvious and funny?'
"I'm glad I met you"
"..huh?"
"I know Sam and Dean would always be there for me but somehow…it's always been the two of them on the road and me by myself with the tablets. I often feel like there's no one there for me unless there's a life threatening situation, and that's mostly because I'm a prophet."
Kevin took his time sipping on his tea for a minute while Chloe got more and more confused, waiting for him to talk.
"You showed up that day with both of them and made me feel like all this time I had another friend there for me that I knew nothing about. You didn't seem to care much about the tablets or the trials, you were kind because you can't help being otherwise. When I woke up in that torture room and saw you working on getting me out, I felt safe. A different kind of safe.."
"A different kind of safe?" Chloe's mind was on fire.
"You were there for me. Me as a human being in trouble. Not for me as my role in the trials, or the war between Heaven and Hell. I stopped feeling alone and vulnerable knowing there's someone taking care of me just because they want to do it. So..thank you"
Chloe found it hard to breath and already gave up on giving back a decent reply. She wanted to tell him that she did it for the brothers, that Dean was upset because Crowley took him. She couldn't stand seeing Dean or Sam hurt. But when she summoned Death, or Sarah, or fought demons she didn't think of either of the brothers. She only thought about getting him out. Not that he was a human involved in a case she was solving but because she wanted to keep her promise on making sure he'll be ok. Her thoughts stopped the second Kevin started laughing.
"I didn't mean to make you feel awkward. I just wanted you to know why I'm so grateful."
Chloe found herself slowly relaxing and smiling back.
'This really is silly. Why am I being so stiff? I saved his life and he's grateful about it. I'll figure out the details some other time. Meanwhile, he's a guy the brothers care about. That's enough reason for us to be friends.'
"Don't mention it"
"So what were you up to, before I showed up?"
"Oh, just some research. Wanna help with finding new cases?" Chloe handed him the book and the notes she made on some paper.
Kevin took the book and smiled at her.
