It's a ring. Flat, silver given its tarnish, dented in a few places. Mai finds it folded in a note on her desk.

In quotations and sloppy handwriting, just: " J."

Jewelry is at a new level. The break-in that happened while she was away at Bobby's is to be expected with Jett. She should be more concerned that he slipped in and left a present in her room, but this ring holds all of her attention and concerns. Mai always thought jewelry meant something in a relationship. And rings… The boy gives the girl his class ring as a sign of devotion, then a promise ring, then an engagement ring. Symbols of eternity, ties that bind, unending union, connections of power. At least that's how it goes down in movies; the rom-com and the hobbit ones.

It's a new feeling, to be completely charmed and disgusted at the same time. Her heart melts and her face twists at the possible sentiment. She shrugs her backpack off her shoulders, pondering if she dares touch it. It looks well-worn and well-loved. The thought of its history intrigues Mai, but she still can't bring herself to reach out. She crosses her arms and continues to inspect it from afar.

Hello, little… thing.

The top step creaks through her open bedroom door. She jumps, quickly grasping the trinket, and turns. Dean leans in her doorway, arms crossed. His green eyes are disinterested as he scans her room passively. She clenches the ring tightly against her palm and watches as his gaze flits to her hand, to her window, to her face. A flush creeps up her neck.

"Whatcha got there Mai?"

She frowns at him and opens her palm, "Old ring. What do you need?"

He turns down his mouth and shrugs, looking past her again. A bead of silence rolls between them. Her irritation simmers below her skin. Each weighted second sends another sharp prick of impatience. The sound of his breathing fills the space, leaving no room for herself. She's had a day's car ride with him, she covets isolation and reprieve from the presence that she finds so overbearing.

Please, get out.

"Nothing," He replies, "just checking on the house." He pulls away from the doorframe, knocking on the trim emphatically, and walks down the hall.

On soft feet, Mai rushes to close her door and she locks it quietly behind her. The ring's cold metal feels heavy in her palm. She rolls it between two fingers. Gingerly Mai slides it onto her ring finger. Passing her knuckle she pauses, wondering if this is some kind of moment. She halts. Outside she hears Dean and Sam walking through the house, unpacking and packing. Their footsteps are distinct themes. Loud, unrelenting constitutions, announcing that both men wear their boots in the house. Dean's long strides walk past and linger in the hallway for a moment. Mai glances sidelong at her door in anticipation of a knock. It never comes and Dean is heard descending the stairs.

Please leave for like several days.

She cringed at herself. A long exhale escapes her. A moment of peace. A moment of nothing is welcome. It's time for everyone to be alone again. Time to regroup and refresh and time to stop hearing Dean's voice in her head. Random sentences from the week, bad car karaoke on the way back, and her inner monologues are all violated by the narration of his deep rasp.

You are so stupid. You hate to be alone, but given the chance, I can't stand being… What even is the opposite of being alone? "Accompanied" … "grouped" … "combined" … "together"?

Her fingers dial his number with steady determination. Answers. Although she's terrified to obtain them. The ring slips over her knuckle and sits snuggly on her middle finger. Jett's phone continues to ring; no answer, no voicemail. Mai checks the number but finds it correct and current. She waits for a breath and listens at the door. Nothing in hearing range, but as she leans back against the door a chill runs through her body. A moment passes, observed with heightened senses; something feels off. This doesn't feel private. Her fingers cancel the redail and slowly she sets her phone on the floor.

"Hello."

"Hello, Mai."

"Long time no see, blue-eyes."

"I was… detained. Your dreams appeared to be less aggressive. I didn't see a need to enter them frequently."

"But you're here now."

"Yes…" He takes a thoughtful pause, "I shouldn't be talking to you here." He huffs.

"Why?"

"Dean would not approve."

Dean…?

Mai walks a circle around Blue Eyes, eyeing him up, and taking him in. "Who cares what Dean thinks? Dean's an asshole."

Blue Eyes looks out past her with a furrowed brow, "He has his faults, but he's a good man. He cares about you a great deal."

Mai rolls her eyes, "I asked why he left and he couldn't be bothered to answer the question."

"Perhaps he's unaware of why he left."

"Actions. All I care about are his actions."

"All of his actions or just the ones you dislike?" he tests her.

Mai glowers at him. "Dean left me. Actually, Sam left me too. And Jett! Jett is… god knows where."

"You're uncles want to keep you safe. They've gone to many lengths to ensure that." He states.

Mai leans against his arm. She fingers the cuff of his coat, "I didn't ask to be saved. We're barely family anyway…"

"I have heard that family does not end in blood relations. I imagine it does not start there either."

"I think Jett is my family." She states absolutely. The realization feels bright and euphoric.

He shifts his sleeve out of her reach gingerly, "The boy's time is short."

"I want him to stay longer than he does. Now he wants me to go with him and he never stays long enough. And sometimes, I feel so good when we're together, but he starts talking about leaving the house, it all turns bad. I hate them, but my soul can't leave the house. We're safe here."

"Don't hate your uncles. Don't leave. Stay in the house."

"I can't do what I want."

"You won't do what you want, Mai." He says in a deep voice, "You know what is right. You are very much like Dean."

A soft knock on the front door.

Mai jolts up quickly, swinging her feet and kicking her math book off the coffee table. Black spots rain in her vision accompanied by a light headache. Drool pools in the corner of her mouth and down her chin. She presses down into the cushions in an attempt to find reality but only finds a puddle of cushion drool underhand. She had fallen asleep studying. Blue eyes flash in her memory and she sits for a moment struggling to give her dream a shape. The middle is there but fuzzy. The sharp outside edges are wholly faded.

coat sleeve…

Another soft knock on the front door.

Jett.

She stands with a groan and stretches her arm while walking to the door. It's been a few days since her family left on a tip of demon activity in Ohio. Mai called him immediately upon their departure, but he never picked up. It took three days to get ahold of the young hunter. Mai withheld her bubbling questions and suppressed her nerves. She didn't even mention the ring she now wears on her right hand. She tells herself she doesn't need to know. Knowing what he does outside of the house was never part of this arrangement. He promised that he would come this evening and Mai's heart gives a flutter at seeing Jett's canvas sneakers through the window.

She opens the door and her heart drops. Jett locks eyes with Mai and there is shame in his greenish-blue stare. A large bruise is blooming under his chin. A split lip. A cosmos of tiny fresh scabs pepper the left side of his face. What remains of his left ear is chewed and red. Mai guesses it's infected; where the top was, charred bits of tender-looking flesh remain. He pointedly stares back at her with scared eyes. There is an unspoken plea.

Don't mention it.

Mai tries to shake the shock and surprising sorrow. She steps to the side and gestures into the living room. Jett picks up his duffle, slides off his shoes, and walks over to the couch. Mai follows him in matched silence, unsure how to proceed, unsure how to avoid the obvious. She kneels at the coffee table and sorts through her homework. Slowly stacking textbooks and stashing her highlighters into a pencil case, she busies her hands to steady her mind. She packs away her backpack for the morning; trying to get lost in the act of having a task at all. She averts her eyes from his direction until she feels a hand on her shoulder.

Jett kneels beside her. As she looks back they hold each other's gaze. Nothing needs to be said that she can't read on his face. He isn't going to explain his injuries. It doesn't matter if he will not or physically cannot, the response remains the same. It won't be questioned and she doesn't deserve the answer. Jett's eyes close for a few moments and Mai returns to her backpack, tucking away her calculator and zipping it closed. Shyly, Jett's fingers raise to her chin and turn her head. Mai knows it's a humble invitation, but her breath catches at his grip. But as the moment approaches, she eases into his touch and leans her head back slightly in acceptance. Jett's lips meet hers. His kiss is simple and tender. She leans in, sucking on his bottom lip, but he pulls back with a wince.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She whispers, pressing a hand to his chest.

He thumbs the split in his lip with an amused smile. "You're worth it."

Mai scrunches her nose, attempting to hide her smile from herself mostly. She shifts to sit legs crossed and facing him. Jett pulls his knees around to his chest and props his forearms across them. They watch each other expectantly. She wonders who will break the silence first. The lone sound between them is of the crickets out the open window. A cool breeze falls in and casts a chill over Mai's spine. She's content to wait for him and after a few moments, Jett clears his throat and finally starts.

"How long are they gone?"

"They said about a week, so we have a few days left."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"It's fine. We both have lives."

Jett frowns. "Sit with me?" He offers.

Mai crawls over to him. She nestles in with her back on his chest and his long legs to either side of her. They face the empty fireplace and Jett wraps his arms around her waist. She responds by running her fingers softly along his scarred forearm. Each little raise is the topography of his hunting history. Hills and valleys of old and new battles won and lost. More battles have been won than lost if he is still here. Jett rests his chin upon her head.

"How's school?"

Mai rolls her eyes, "It's fine, nothing to talk about."

"What do you want to talk about?"

What in the Van Gogh happened to your ear?

"What's up with the ring?" She cracks her knuckles across her right hand.

Jett leans in over her shoulder to look at her hand. His cheek brushes against hers and she breathes in his amber cologne.

"You're wearing it!"

"It only fits my middle finger. What is it silver or something? Monster protection?"

"It looks good on you. I found it on a hunt."

"...and you dropped it off for me while I was away."

"Do you like surprises?" He whispers into her ear. Goosebumps run down her back and arms.

No.

"Um…" She instinctively rubs her ear against her shoulder, but only manages to headbutt Jett in the teeth with a soft 'Clunk'. He pulls back an inch and fingers his split lip again. Mai twists to face him and catches tears welling in his eyes and the pained look his face wears. "Oh! I'm so sorry Jett!"

Two for freaking two. Solid Mai.

The boy takes a long exhale through his nose and closes his eyes tightly. Small tears escape from his lashes, "It's okay. Not your fault! Sorry, it just… caught off my tooth."

Mai's heart drops seeing his pain, at being the cause. She bites the inside of her cheek. He catches her face and his eyes soften. He hugs her to his chest tightly.

"Hey, none of that." He reassures, "I'm fine."

He gives a little grin and presses a kiss behind her ear. This warms Mai's chest in a way she isn't expecting. The warmth and guilt mix like spinning tops, slowing down over time and colliding with each other. She waits for everything to settle, but before she can steady herself Jett whispers in her ear again.

"I guess I just want you to think about me when I'm away." his words are close and breathy and warm. Tingles run down her spine.

She confesses in a matched whisper, "I always think about you."

"Oh, yeah?"

She feels his lips explore her ear.

"Yeah." Her breath catches.

"...Yeah?" He says with his teeth biting down lightly on the lobe.

Without her consent or forethought, Mai's body begins to melt. One of Jett's hands migrates to her stomach, the other is grounded behind him. Slowly Jett's tentative fingers roll the hem of her shirt. A cautious and open invitation, but they don't go further. Testing limits, offering new roads. The intimacy of his hand on her abdomen is electric. She wants to dissolve into this touch. The slightest sigh escapes from Jett's throat with his lips along her neck and Mai's heart swells in an unfamiliar way.

She could keep this going. She can make him happy. She can make something good. It all feels good, but she keeps very still, seeing how long this good thing can go on before something has to happen. And it's building to something. She knows it's building to something. Sitting in his lap, their bodies pressed together, intertwined and enmeshed. His hand is against her bare skin, brushing soft lines along her waist. The future something sits in the shadows of the room and stares her down. It has to be her move.

Move or move Mai. move or move. move or move. move or move.

"I have to pee."

His lips gently stop on her neck. His hand retreats from her waist. His arm opens to release her. Stepping out of his embrace is an awkward fumble of hands and legs and pushing against one another. Mai looks back at him as she finds her feet. He's liquid and enticing. His eyes are dark under his eyelashes as he looks up at her from his spot on the floor. This enchantment blurs his fresh wounds from her view upon first glance.

Something deep in her soul won't let her go. The taut tension between their bodies is almost enough to pull her right back into his lap. If he asked, she would crawl back instantly. For a long moment, they held each other's stare. His eyes search her's for the answers Mai can't give yet. She wills herself to pull back, unsure what the repercussions of giving in to that tension would be. Being stationary takes vastly more self-control than Mai could have expected. She's not sure if she will win this battle, she's not sure she even wants to win the battle, but she does break first. She gives him a quick nod and walks to the bathroom with swift precise steps.

Oh, dear God.

Locking the doors behind her, Mai starts the sink. Her fingers grip the sides of the basin as she assesses herself in the mirror. Her face is flush, her hair is a bit disheveled, and her eyes are too wild for her liking. She swears softly and cups cold water in her hands. The water drips down her neck and arms more than it cools her face. She splashes herself multiple times.

Calm down. Stop. Think of something else. Don't engage.

She can still feel Jett's lips against her ear. Soft lips and a light graze of teeth that sends lightning across her whole body. Their kisses before have been exciting and alluring, on the cusp of something but always conscious. There was always a sense of emotional security in their intimacy, not danger. These feelings are new to her. Something bigger and more consuming. Mai feels deranged and hates it. She mutters another curse under her breath and squares up with herself in the mirror again. Her reflection betrays her usual reservation. But this is the time for honesty.

"What are you doing?" She mouths.

It's overwhelming.

"Is this really the time for this?"

Is it NOT the time for this?

"He's all injured and we aren't that close."

You could be that close in seconds.

"Our friendship isn't enough for that jump. Tonight is not the time for sexy stuff.. under any conditions."

So not Jett…?

"I'm not saying that… I don't know that."

Yes, you do. He's a hunter, you made up your mind about hunters a long time ago.

"This isn't about that. He isn't my boyfriend."

What do you want him to be?

Mai frowns at herself. "I don't know what he is…"

So what's stopping you from sleeping with him? He wants you. Dude. He wants you so bad. He needs you.

Mai takes a seat on the floor, away from her temptatious reflection. Hair falls into her face and she welcomes the additional privacy to collect herself. She takes a few cleansing breaths to try and expel the mental indulgence. She has never seriously considered having sex before. Until this moment, she's never had a willing participant. But it's getting harder to argue with herself. Why not continue this line of vulnerability? Despite everything unspoken between them, he is the only one left she feels that she can trust. They share a bed in every other sense of the word. No one else has ever known her as intimately.

Flip a coin?

Her arms push her off the cold floor. Feeling content to leave this to chance, she gives herself a once over in case the fates decide that she's getting laid. This is as good as it's going to get. The flushed cheeks aren't going away any time soon, but she combs through her hair with her fingers to a manageable state. She unlocks the door and heads out to the kitchen to find a coin.

She's riffled halfway through a drawer when she hears steps behind her. Jett leans in the doorway and grabs hold of the trim above his head. Long, tall, lean, bruised. She bites her cheek looking back at him, her hands are still buried in the drawer. The hallway light shines in the dark kitchen illuminating her like a trashcan raccoon in the moonlight. He raises an eyebrow.

"What are you looking for?"

With his arms extended above him, his tee shirt rises to expose a shallow sliver of abdomen. His hips rise slightly over the waist of his jeans. The sight of his slender stomach turns Mai to jelly. She averts her gaze as her heart jumps.

Fuck.

"Nothing." She says picking up a quarter. She straightens her body and closes the drawer.

Jett pulls his arms down and rests his hands in his pockets, his face contemplative. "I uh, I was thinking of taking a shower."

"Oh." She didn't expect this. "No! Yeah." She pivots to head out of the kitchen, "I'll… uh grab you some towels."

With an attempt to slide past him, he grabs onto her wrist. His strength surprises her. She turns back at arm's length. The diluted light of the hallway cast their long shadows across the kitchen floor.

"Is this too much?" He starts.

"Too much what?" She musters watching his hand around her wrist.

"Too…" He frowns, choosing the right words, "I'm sorry if I was going too fast."

Oh.

"It's not too fast." she lies.

"Really?"

"It's fine." She lies.

"So… you're okay?"

"Yes. It's fine. I'm great." She lies.

"I don't really believe you."

"Jett, I said I'm fine."

He studies her face with a scowl.

She rolls her eyes, "Jett."

"If you want this, with me, I would love for anything to be you," he confesses.

What?

Mai slides her wrist out of his soft grasp. She's not sure how to respond.

"Not tonight," He continues, "Think about it. Please just, like really think it over. I know you're great at thinking too much. -Don't take that the wrong way, I mean that as a pure compliment. I've thought about it a lot. I've thought about us too much probably. I know it could complicate things, but if you would have me, I'm yours… I want to be honest with you." He has an easy soft smile on his lips. It's hope. She sees its hope.

Honest.

"What's the truth about what happened to your face?" She pries.

Jett's smile drops. "It's just a hunting thing. We don't talk about that."

His words land sour. And the reality rains down like cold rain.

He's just a hunter.

"Come on, I'll get you some towels for your shower." She says and walks out of the kitchen.