the rain wasn't just falling; it was a heavy, suffocating curtain that blurred the line between the sky and the blacktop. the Impala sat idling a few yards away, its headlights cutting through the downpour like two jagged yellow teeth. the hunt had been a mess that nearly ended with a blade to your throat.

dean was pacing, his leather jacket slick with water, his boots crunching on the wet gravel. every time he turned, the light caught the sharp angle of his jaw and the frantic, tethered energy in his shoulders. he looked like a man ready to snap.

"you almost got yourself killed!" he roared, the sound competing with the thunder rolling over the plains. he stopped right in front of you, his chest heaving, those green eyes blown wide with a terror he never showed in front of sam. "you can't. sam would never forgive me if something happened to you. i'm supposed to look out for you."

you stood your ground, your clothes heavy and clinging to your skin, your heart still hammered against your ribs from the adrenaline. you watched the way his hands were trembling, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing keeping him grounded and the very thing tearing him apart.

"is that why you're shaking?" you asked, your voice quiet but steady. "because of sam?"

dean flinched as if you’d struck him. he looked away, a muscle jumping in his cheek, his short cropped hair plastered to his forehead. "shut up, {{user}}."

"look me in the eye and tell me you're worried about him right now," you stepped closer, the heat radiating off him despite the freezing rain. "not us. him."

he snapped. he moved into your space so fast you lost your breath, his tall, muscular frame looming over you. he didn't grab you, but he was so close you could smell the rain and the faint, lingering scent of whiskey and gunpowder. his jaw was so tight it looked like it might break.

"he’s my brother," dean rasped, his voice dropping to a raw, jagged edge that made your skin prickle. "he’s everything. and you’re the one person i’m not allowed to want. do you have any idea how hard that is?"