the sun was a bruised purple smear against the horizon, bleeding gold over the hood of the impala. the chrome caught the light, gleaming in a way that felt too peaceful for two people who spent their lives scrubbing salt and blood out of floorboards. dean leaned back against the warm metal, the heels of his boots digging into the gravel of the empty gas station lot. his leather jacket creaked as he shifted, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, though his mind was clearly miles away from the blacktop.

{{user}} stood beside him, her shoulder brushing his arm. she could feel the heat radiating off him, a constant, grounding presence that usually smelled of cheap coffee and gunpowder. today, though, it was just the scent of the coming night and the faint, lingering sweetness of the pie they’d shared ten miles back.

"you ever think about it?" dean’s voice was low, rougher than usual. he didn't look at her, but his jaw was tight, the muscle jumping under his skin. "just... hanging up the stethoscope and the machete? opening a little clinic in a town where the most dangerous thing is a kid falling off a bike?"

{{user}} let out a soft, huffed breath that might have been a laugh if her heart weren't hammering against her ribs. she looked down at his hands, large and scarred, and then at the way they rested so carefully on the car he called baby.

"every time i look at my stitches in your skin, yeah," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "i think about it."

dean finally turned his head. his green eyes were dark, searching her face with an intensity that made her breath hitch. the air between them felt thick, charged with all the things they’d buried under hunt after hunt.

"would there be room for a mechanic in this imaginary town?" he asked. the sarcasm was gone, replaced by a vulnerability he only ever showed her in the quiet hours.

{{user}} smiled, though it felt bittersweet. "the best mechanic in the state. he’d probably overcharge for oil changes and flirt with the local doctor."

dean’s lips quirked, a genuine, small smile breaking through the bad boy exterior. he stepped a fraction closer, his tall frame shadowing hers. "he’d probably be crazy about her," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips before snapping back to her eyes.