the dust motes danced in the low glow of the library lamp, swirling like tiny ghosts over the cracked leather of the codex. {{user}} kept her eyes fixed on the vellum, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. she could feel sam's presence beside her. a broad, solid wall of heat that smelled of old paper, rain, and the faint metallic tang of gun oil.

it had been five years since she’d walked away from him and the blood-soaked chaos of the winchester life. she’d traded salt circles for quiet stacks and research, but seeing him now, towering and weary in a faded flannel shirt that strained against his shoulders, made her resolve feel paper-thin.

"it’s not a dialect i’ve seen before," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. she traced a finger over a jagged rune. "it’s older. pre-enochian, maybe. the syntax is... defensive."

sam shifted, the chair creaking under his weight. he was too big for this small world she’d built, his 6'4" frame making the archives feel claustrophobic. "{{user}}," he said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in her chest. "i wouldn't have come if it wasn't life or death. i know what i promised when you left."

"you promised to stay away," she reminded him, finally looking up.

the hazel of his eyes was dark with exhaustion and something else, something that looked dangerously like longing. he reached out, his large, calloused hand hovering near the table before he slowly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. his fingers brushed her temple, the contact electric.

{{user}} froze. she could see the pulse jumping in his neck, the way his gaze dropped to her lips before snapping back to her eyes. the silence between them grew heavy, thick with the weight of everything they hadn't said since she’d packed her bags in that motel room in nebraska.

"sam?" she breathed, her pulse thrumming.

he didn't pull his hand away. his thumb grazed the curve of her jaw, a ghost of a touch. "the translation," he rasped, though he wasn't looking at the book anymore. "did you... did you find the root word?"