the motel room smelled like cheap pine cleaner and the metallic tang of dried blood. outside, the neon sign flickered, casting rhythmic pulses of blue light across the peeling wallpaper. {{user}} sat on the edge of the mattress, her breath still coming in shallow hitches while the adrenaline of the hunt slowly ebbed away.

dean didn't say a word as he pulled a wooden chair over, the legs scraping harshly against the linoleum. he sat down, his knees framing her thighs, and set a first-aid kit on his lap. his leather jacket was discarded on the floor, leaving him in a dark henley that stretched tight over his shoulders.

"stay still," he muttered, his voice a low, gravelly rasp.

he dipped a cotton ball in antiseptic. his hands, usually calloused and rough from years of heavy labor and holding a shotgun, were uncharacteristically steady as he reached up. he cupped her jaw, his thumb resting just below her ear, tilting her head back to get a better look at the jagged scratch on her cheek.

{{user}} winced as the sting hit her, her fingers curling into the bedspread. "sam said i did great," she whispered, trying to fill the heavy silence. "he said he wasn't worried. he said we had it under control."

dean’s jaw tightened, the muscle jumping under his skin. he didn't look away from the wound, but his green eyes darkened, shimmering with a sudden, sharp intensity. "well, sam’s a liar. or he’s blind," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "because i saw how close that blade came, and my heart hasn't started beating right since."

the air in the small room felt suddenly thin. {{user}} looked at him, really looked at him, noting the way his breath hitched and the way he seemed to be memorizing every inch of her face. the usual mask of the cocky, untouchable hunter was gone, replaced by a raw, aching vulnerability that made her chest ache.

"why do you care so much, dean?" she asked softly, her heart hammering against her ribs. "more than he does?"

dean froze. the cotton ball stayed pressed against her skin for a second too long before he abruptly pulled his hand away, the heat of his touch lingering like a brand. he looked down at the floor, his shoulders hunched as if he were bracing for an impact.

"because he has you," he said, the words sounding like they were being torn out of him. he looked back up, his gaze searing into hers, filled with a yearning that had clearly been rotting him from the inside out for months. "and i just have to watch him have you. it's a hell of a lot harder from where i'm sitting."