timed to May 28th

[weary_head]

The Winchester was empty.

Dean had wandered past its silent tables before, snuck in after hours in search of pie, but it wasn't after hours. It was seven p.m. on a Friday night, a prime dinner hour on a prime dinner night, and yet Dean stood alone in the doorway, pulling fitfully at the sleeves of his suit.

He'd worn the suit before. It was his favorite, and judging by the way Angua looked at him when he was in it, he looked handsom in it, so Dean couldn't understand why the collar seemed so tight now, or why the jacket seemed so hot. The lights of the Winchester were turned down low and intimate, emitting no heat for him to blame, and the breeze through the windows was fresh and sweet. Touching his hand to the flush on his neck, Dean swore quietly, taking another cool sip of water before he returned to the door.

Any time now, he'd see Angua on the path. She'd be beautiful, because she always was, and the sight of her would stop his breath, because it always did. It was strange to think on now when Dean felt so close to gasping into a paper bag, but he knew, as soon as he saw her everything would fall into place.

He'd begun working at the clinic more than a year ago. This last week he'd gone back to school. He had a best friend and a hobby that didn't involve a gun, he had a little girl who he looked on as a daughter, he had a dog and a home and a life that could be shared someone. Maybe Dean had a long, long way to go towards perfect, but he'd worked hard to be the kind of man a woman like Angua deserved. He loved her. Compared to the life he'd known, the island was still and safe, and there was time, and there was no one to take it away from him.

Leaning his shoulder against the door, Dean watched the path for a sudden spill of long blond hair. He loved her, he could have this, and it was time.

Comments

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Yes, gods, I don't think I've eaten all...day..." Angua blinked, losing track of what she was saying when she noticed the Winchester was completely deserted.

"Dean, did you kick everyone out? Are those candles?"

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Always could clear a room," Dean replied with a soft smile, dropping her hand only when he needed to pull out her chair. "I was feeling old school, I guess," he said as he gestured her into her seat. "Remember when there wasn't any electricity?"

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

Angua sat down and scooted up close to the table.

"I do. And as someone who comes from a world without this Electricity, this feels very nostalgic," she said, looking around at the flickering, soft glow of the lights. "Thank you, Dean, this is very sweet."

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome." Dean hovered there a moment, hand resting against her shoulder, then seemed to remember that he, too, was meant to sit down.

He took his chair with only a faint flush staining his cheeks. He pulled out his napkin and looked up, only to be frozen a second time, this time by the sight of her in the midst of all that soft light. She looked otherworldly in her golden dress, and his heart squeezed hard in his chest.

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

Angua felt a little warm herself, and nothing to do with the temperature. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she loved big romantic gestures. She felt loved, special. No one had ever bothered before.*

She smiled across the table at Dean, but her expression faltered when she noticed how wide-eyed and flushed he looked. "Are you okay? You look a bit...nauseous."


* Carrot's trips to the bread museum could not possibly count, much as his heart was in the right place. Fossilized bread, really now.

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

Dean cleared his throat. "Sorry, m'hungry, too." He reached for the plate in the center of the table, hand freezing just before lifting the metal warming lid. Fuck, there was wine.

"Hang on," he said, grabbing the bottle instead. "White okay?"

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Of course," Angua said, eyebrows raised at Dean's behavior. He wasn't queasy, she decided, he was nervous. It was kind of cute, really, to think that after they'd been together this long he'd still get nervous about a date.

She held out her glass toward him. "What are we having? Did you make it?"

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

Dean chuckled, tipping a flow of pale, sweet wine into her glass. "Would you eat it if I did? George made it. Did you know you can go gourmet and still go vegetarian?"

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"I would try," Angua said with a grin, taking a sip once he'd poured.

She laughed. "I don't doubt it. Do you know what George is?" Or was, she supposed.

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Uh, a damn good cook, I hope," said Dean, pouring his own glass. "Neil said he was one of his best."

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Well, don't say anything, but he was a werewolf, same as me. That's probably why he's so good," Angua said over the rim of her glass. Normally she wouldn't out someone, but she knew Dean wouldn't tell anyone.

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Huh." Dean wouldn't have pegged the other guy, not as cheery and, well, dorky as George was, but then not every werewolf was a sinister, growling monster. Angua and the wolves of her home world was proof enough of that.

"You guys should become BFFs," he said, "then we can eat like this all the time."

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

Angua looked amused, and tipped her glass toward him. "Could you really give up meat, Dean?"

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Not even if you asked me to," said Dean, but his smug smile soon faltered. "Well, probably if you asked me to." He did most things Angua asked him to. "You won't...ask me to, right?"

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"You let a giant hellhound sleep in our bed when it's storming and he's too scared to sleep outside," Angua said. "I hardly think eating meat is your worst habit."

She winked. "That's a no."

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

Dean's shoulders relaxed. The idea of never eating another burger was enough to make him tear up, however good the food in front of them smelled now. Reaching for it, Dean pulled off the smaller lid. "You ready for the first course?"

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Yes please," Angua said, remembering her manners and everything. Dean really was so sweet like this.

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"'Kay." Dean grinned and grabbed the larger serving fork, scooping a few sizeable chunks of caprese salad onto Angua's plate. He wouldn't admit liking anything with so much green in it, but Dean actually liked this one.

"There you go." He grabbed the wine bottle as he resettled and refilled both their glasses, figuring he'd be needing it tonight.

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"That looks delicious," Angua said in delight, appreciating a good vegetarian dish she hadn't had to make herself.

She gave the wine refill a curious look. "Why Dean Winchester, are you trying to get me drunk? You know I don't need alcohol to let you in my pants." She tried a bite of the salad. "Or up my skirt, in this instance."

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Why Miss Uberwald," Dean returned, "are you trying to distract me from this excellent dinner I've had prepared?" He made himself sip rather than gulp at the wine like he wanted to, gesturing for her to eat. He'd join her as soon as his stomach stopped turning flips.

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"I don't know, you seem content to watch me eat," Angua grinned, eating more, anyway. She nudged his foot under the table. "This is really good, honey. You picked a good chef."

"So how was your day?"

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Oh, you know," said Dean. "Class, clinic, couple'a hours of homework." He smiled, setting down his glass. "Beginning to regret this whole respectable thing."

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Maybe it'd be a good idea to only work during the day," Angua suggested. And she truly didn't say so simply because she hated the Catscratch Club, but it was kind of a lot, working days and nights.

[weary-head.livejournal.com]

"Was thinking about it," said Dean, but the truth was, most of the reason he liked working there was because he shared his shift with Roger. "But who'd watch over our cockjob roommate? Boy needs a sitter."

[loaded-wolf.livejournal.com]

"He is an adult," Angua pointed out. She twirled her fork. "Sort of."

She grinned. "Mostly."