I lay sprawled against the headboard, the sheet lazily tucked around me as I drowsily watched Dean play with the natural curl at the end of my long hair. He drew patterns on my skin with the curls, using the curve of my shoulder as a canvas. He had been idly playing for the past ten minutes and an adorable squint of concentration had started a small furrow in his brow. I couldn't hold back a smile as I reached over and smoothed it for him. He grinned at me without moving, every inch of his body relaxed.
"So …" He murmured softly, green eyes blinking at me contentedly.
"So." I echoed, unable to keep the tenderness I was feeling from my tone. This man was my world. No matter how long or short the rest of my life would be, my existence was inexplicable tied to his now. I couldn't imagine facing a single moment without knowing he was there fighting beside me.
"I got you something." He couldn't hold back a tiny grin and his eyes brightened.
That drew my full attention. "What?"
"I got you something. Not a present really, but I did some shopping when you got your tattoo." He rolled out of bed without a stitch of clothing on and I watched him cross the room to grab a small bag from the corner. Lord, he had a fine ass. He turned and caught me staring, his eyebrows raising and his grin going full blown. "Like what you see, Lexi girl?"
Hell. I was exhausted, every muscle in my body still quivering, but I couldn't stop the warm curl of lust in my belly. He was going to kill me. "Maybe I'm just trying to see what you brought me." I tried to play off my reaction to him with a teasing smile.
He sauntered back over to me, the slight bow in his legs only making his hips swing that much more. He raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you were just checking out my ass."
I rolled my eyes and huffed something unintelligible. He tossed the bag onto the far side of the bed and launched himself at me, ignoring my screech of surprise as he wrestled me onto my back and tickled me relentlessly. Sheer shock had me squealing in equal parts pleading and outrage. He didn't stop until the only sounds escaping me were gales of choked laughter.
"Surrender, surrender!" I giggled breathlessly. "Have some mercy!"
"Admit it – you think I'm sexy." He growled, eyes bright with delight.
"You're sexy! God, stop-!" I squealed again as he flipped me over effortlessly and tickled along the sides of my spine.
"Say it again!"
"You're sexy! Now give me my present!" I scrambled to try and escape him but he just laughed, a deep belly laugh that warmed every inch of me. He turned me over to face him and my laughter eased as I took in the sight of a tousled and flushed Dean Winchester looming over me. Damn, he took my breath away.
"Do you really think you deserve a present?" He teased, sneaking in to steal a quick kiss.
"I put up with you, don't I?" I said imperiously, arching a brow at him that was ruined by a renegade snicker.
He kissed me again, his warm lips lingering. "That's true." He gave me one last quick peck before settling back on his heels. "Do I get bonus points if I make you dinner?"
"Well, it's certainly not losing you any."
He rolled his eyes at my attempts to stay straight faced. "Just wait 'til you taste what I've got planned for dessert. Then we can talk about how many bonus points I get for cooking. But first up is this." He snagged the bag from where it was ready to topple off the edge of the mattress and rested it on his knee, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "It's really not much of anything. You haven't had any clothes of your own since Cas brought you back and don't get me wrong, seeing you in my clothes is sexy as hell—"
"Dean." I cut him off gently, crooking my fingers for him to hand it over.
"Just, don't think it's much of anything, because it's not." I got my hands around the loops of the plastic sack and nearly got a peek inside when he tried to tug it back from me, regret suddenly crossing his features. "Wait, Alex, forget it, it's stupid—"
I managed to keep from jerking it from his grasp but just barely. I stuffed it on my side opposite from him and gave him a warning look. "Dean, calm down."
He huffed out a breath and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Just—you don't have to wear it. And if you hate it we can take it back and you can pick something else out. I just saw it and thought of you—"
Curiosity bubbled up within me. What could he have possibly picked out?
It was a dress.
I drew out yards of a beautiful deep green fabric, speechless at its simple femininity. The dress had a basic neckline that would rest just at my collarbones, with three quarter inch sleeves and a loose length that would hit me just at mid-thigh. It was very simple in style but had corseted lacing across the front that would tuck and draw the eye to my curves. It was feminine but not fancy, something that would be completely comfortable for just putzing around Bobby's house. I had never been picky about clothes—as long as they covered me I didn't really care about the details, but this … this was perfectly me.
"It's the same green as your eyes and I could just picture you kicking ass in it," Dean's words tumbled over each other and he watched me warily.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You think I'm good enough to kick ass in a dress?"
Some of his tension eased when I didn't throw it back at him in disgust. "You could kick ass in anything, babe. Hell, you could kick ass in nothing." He waggled an eyebrow at me playfully, his nervousness breaking my heart just a little.
I stroked the material gently, trying to figure out what to say.
"Like I said, we can take it back. I've never bought a girl clothes before and I don't even know if it's the right size—"
I grabbed a hold of his hand where it was fidgeting with the edge of the comforter. "I love it."
He stilled. "Really?"
"Really really." I squeezed his hand and gave him the biggest brightest smile I could manage. "I've never been a dress kind of girl, but this one … it's perfect."
He stroked down the side of my face, his nervousness bleeding off and an aching tenderness taking its place. "You're really beautiful, you know that?"
"This dress is beautiful," I corrected, running my hands over the fabric again.
"You are beautiful and you deserve beautiful things. I want to spend the rest of our lives finding you beautiful things to enjoy, Lex. Now put it on so I can see you in it. Please." He tacked on the request.
"All right." I rolled my eyes. "But I'm showering first!" I put the dress back in the bag and noticed that he had a pair of leggings and sturdy boots in there as well. I couldn't hold back a grin as I scrambled to my feet and wrapped the sheet around me. He may want to see me in pretty things but he knew me well enough that they better damn well be practical as well.
"Want some company?" He asked roughly, watching me hot foot it across the room while trying not to lose the sheet.
"Ha!" I burst out, casting him a warning glance. "I remember what happened last time we showered together."
"Exactly. Which is why I think we should—"
I shook my head at him, laughing. "If you want me to stay awake through dinner, I better shower alone."
He pouted at me, dropping back against the mattress, the comforter on the bed just barely covering his interesting bits. He tucked his hands beneath his head and flexed, watching me swallow as he put on a show. All his wonderful muscles were just waiting to be stroked, kissed, licked…
I shook myself out of the lust-induced stupor. "No fair. You want me in this dress, you need to give me some time to prepare. Who knows when we'll get another chance to—" I stumbled over my words, catching myself before putting a dark spin on our time together. I flashed him an over bright smile and tucked the sheet higher into my armpits. "Stay here. I'll be ready before you know it."
I closed the door before I could watch the brooding worry settle back over his features. Damn it, everything in our little world had been perfect and I had to go and ruin it. I was going to wear the damn dress and I was going to look smoking hot for him while I did it. We were going to figure out this Krieger mess and move on with our lives. But somehow I couldn't quite silence the nagging echo inside us both that warned things would never be quite this perfect again.