What is love? Everyone has their own idea of what love is and each experience is different. But being loved is not the same thing as loving. For Annie it was the first time she kicked a soccer ball. It was Sunday morning pancakes with her dad. It was finding the courage to accept herself. It was realizing it was okay she didn't have all the answers. Because she wasn't a question. She wasn't a problem. It was returning home after being away for a long time. It was an experience. When Annie felt it, she didn't walk she ran. When she looked at Dean boy did she feel it.

For Dean it was an emotional experience that filled in the empty spaces. It was the smell of fresh brewed coffee in the morning. It was sitting in the Impala rocking out to his favorite songs. It was yelling at Cas for two hours because he didn't check in. It was the first time he met Annie and watching her walk away leaving his heart screaming like a car alarm. It was looking at her from that day forward like he was seeing the ocean for the first time after years of jumping over puddles. How do you stop loving the ocean after it left you breathless?

It had been an ideal afternoon. A quiet one stuck inside as the ground got saturated in much needed rain. The brunette was curled in a chair next to her bedroom window. Her head rested against the wall as her eyes stared aimlessly out the window watching rain drops splash against the glass. She hummed to herself the tune of a song she heard on the radio. Her mind was restless. She was thinking about Dean. She always thought about Dean. Even though he was laying in her bed a few feet away she couldn't find the courage to say the eloquently rehearsed lines she practiced in the mirror while she was alone. It was unfair what he was doing to her. How she felt. She didn't know anything about him because he didn't want to tell her anything. He was a complete mystery. He never tells her what he and his brother were doing. He shows up with random bruises and scratches covered up with excuses. He drank a lot. Yet, here she was falling harder then she ever thought possible. This wasn't lust. No, this was love. She wanted to tell him. The timing wasn't right. But was it ever?

"What are you doing over there?" The hunter stirred from his mid-afternoon nap. The rain called for relaxation. The stake out was exhausting and in his opinion kind of a bust though Sam felt differently. But all Dean wanted to do was see his girl. His girl… yeah, he liked how that sounded. Annie didn't work today, it was perfect. Just the two of them and T.V. Rerun's. The green-eyed male rolled onto his side, so he was facing the brunette.

"Just thinking." Annie smiled warmly as she continued to watch the street below.

Dean propped himself up on his elbows. Quietly observing her. It made his heart hurt. How much he cared about her. It scared him. It was such an unfiltered feeling. She was so good, and he felt like garbage all the time. He was always lying to her. Annie deserved better then him. Yet here she still was. Somehow, she made him think about a life without hunting. How unreasonable was it really to think he could have a life? Every time she smiled like she was right now it made him feel like Jell-O. She could tell him to do whatever she wanted, and he would do it. He didn't have a lot of experience with this stuff, but he knew. This was love he was feeling.

"Come here." Dean finally said after a minute. Motioning her over to the bed.

Lifting her head, her dark eyes drifted over to Dean as he patted the empty space next to him. Smiling, Annie pulled herself from her chair and made her way over to the bed curling up next to Dean. The brunette rolled onto her side, so she was facing him.

"How do you do that? Smile all the time?"

"I don't know." There she went again smiling as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

It felt like his soul was burning as he looked into her eyes. It was mesmerizing. She had no idea what she was doing to him. Gently, Dean reached over tucking strands of hair behind her ear. Without saying a word, the hunter gently touched his finger to her forehead running a trail down her nose. Smiling to himself as she crinkled her nose.

"What is going on in that mind of yours?" He asked in a whisper, she was noticeably quiet today. Annie wasn't chatty but today less than usual.

"Nothing… just stuff." Annie replied after a short pause. Then without being provoked… "Actually…"

"uh oh." Dean replied playfully "What is it?" he encouraged.

"I—umm." Her smile slipped away as her lip quivered a bit. This was hard, and she couldn't find the words. She didn't want to think it over anymore; her mind was made up. She felt a lump form in her throat as her anxiety started to rise "I—just." maybe she couldn't do it after all she thought to herself. Her eyes stayed on Dean who was patiently hanging onto her every word.

"Annie?" Dean asked softly. Whatever it was she was. mulling it over in her head. It must have been serious.

Biting her lip, Annie pulled herself up. She sat there watching the male. Her brows narrowed while her eyes nervously darted away from him, suddenly the stitching of her quilt had never been so interesting. The silence grew, and the hunter soon found himself sitting up too. She had to say it, she had stalled enough already. Whatever happens, happens. She took a breath and finally… "I think I love you..." she couldn't look at him when she said it. Her heart felt like it was going to bust through her chest. She felt stupid. Thinking it and saying it were two separate things and now she wanted to crawl under a rock. She refused to look over at him and he hadn't said anything, which was worst then him saying she was an idiot. She would have preferred that.

The hunter who always had something to say suddenly found himself incapable to form words. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't expecting those words to come from her mouth. Overwhelmed being the best way to explain how he was feeling. His heart raced and suddenly he noticed his hands nervously shaking as he rubbed the back of his head. They hadn't known each other long. He knew how he felt, and he thought he was crazy for feeling it so quickly. Hearing that confirmation. It was everything. The hunter then released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Finally, he knew what he had to do no matter how foreign it felt. Reaching across, he placed his hand gently on the back of Annie's neck "I need you to look at me." He could feel her insecurity pouring from her. Slowly the brunette looked over at him. Her hand gently brushing away the tears she no longer could hold back. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers. Squeezing his eyes shut… "I love you, Annie." He whispered. It felt so unnatural saying those words out loud but at the same time it felt so right. Pulling away he cupped his hand under her chin as he pressed his lips against hers. Letting the kiss linger. The brunette wrapped her arms around him, her head resting against his shoulder. Dean repeating the same action. That's all he wanted to do was hold her. Nothing could beat the way he was feeling right now. It was both terrifying and exciting, yet he felt so human.

While the two relished in their admission for each other, there was still uncertainty lingering silently in the air. Like, what was going to happen when Dean and Sam had to leave? How long could Dean keep lying to her about who he was?