Bound By Fire

5: The Weight of Us

Dean's POV: The hours bled into each other as we scoured the bunker for answers. Sam was in full research mode, flipping through pages of ancient texts, tracking leads I didn't even know we had. I tried to focus, tried to let the hunt take over my mind the way it usually did, but I couldn't shake the tension knotting in my chest every time I looked at Stella. 

She was sitting across from me at the long library table, her eyes scanning a book she was barely reading. She'd been quiet since we arrived, too quiet. And I knew it wasn't just the thing that was hunter her that had her on edge. It was what had happened between us. 

The kiss. The way her body had fit so perfectly against mine, like we'd been waiting for years to finally stop pretending. 

I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop thinking about her. 

Every time her eyes met mine, it was like everything else faded. The hunt, the danger, the uncertainty- all of it disappeared, leaving only this electric pull between us. It was messing with my head in ways I didn't have time for. But no matter how hard I tried to shove it down, It kept rising to the surface. The truth was, I didn't want to push it away.

Eventually, Sam stood up, stretching his arms with a heavy sigh. "I've got a lead on a couple possibilities, but it's gonna take me a few hours to cross-reference some of this lore. I think I'll head to the archives, see if there's anything that fits better."

I nodded, grateful for the time. Same always had a sixth sense when it came to reading a room. He didn't say anything, but I could tell by the way he looked at me before he left that he knew something was up.

The second he was gone, the air in the bunker felt heavier, quieter. Just the two of us now. Alone.

Stella sat back in her chair, closing the book in front of her with a soft thud. Her eyes flickered over to me, uncertainty etched into her expression. We'd been dancing around whatever this was between us since that kiss, too afraid to break the silence.

But I couldn't take it anymore. I pushed the book in front of me aside and I leaned back in my chair, locking eyes with her.

"You alright?" I asked, though I could see the answer on her face. She wasn't.

She gave me a small nod, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm just... trying to wrap my head around everything. Feels like the ground's been shifting under my feet since I showed up at your door."

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, my voice low and steady. "I get it. You've been through a lot, and I've thrown a lot at you tonight. But we'll figure this out, Stella. I'm not letting anything happen to you."

Her eyes softened at my words, and for a moment, the tension between us shifted. It wasn't about the danger anymore. It was about us. The unspoken pull that had been building for years, growing stronger with every glance, every touch, every moment we shared.

"I know" she whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet of the bunker. "It's just...everything feels different now. Between us."

I felt my chest tighten at her words. She wasn't wrong. Everything had changed.

I stood up, the scrape of my chair echoing in the silence, and crossed the distance between us. She watched me, her eyes never leaving mine, and I could feel the air between us grow thicker with each step I took. When I reached her, I didn't hesitate. I  couldn't.

Gently, I reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering on her skin. The softness of her touch, the warmth of her body- it was all I could focus on. 

"It has changed" I admitted, my voice rough with the weight of everything I'd been holding back. "I don't know when it happened, Stella, but somewhere along the way... this became more than just keeping you safe. This became about us."

Her breath hitched, and I could see the way her eyes flickered with a mix of emotions- fear, hope, uncertainty. She opened her mouth to speak, but I didn't give her a chance. 

I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.

This time, it wasn't tentative or unsure. It was everything we'd been holding back, all the feelings that had been simmering between us for years. My lips moved against hers, slow at first, but then deeper, more urgent.

She responded in kind, her hands gripping my shirt as she pulled me closer, like she was afraid I might pull away. But I wasn't going anywhere. Not now. Not ever.

We stumbled backward, my hands never leaving her as we made our way to the bedroom across the hall. The kiss deepened, our movements growing more desperate, more needy. There was no more holding back, no more pretending we didn't want this, didn't need this. 

I felt her body press against mine, and the heat between us ignited, burning away every rational thought I had left. The world outside the bunker didn't exist anymore. It was just her. Just us.

The bed creaked as we collapsed onto it, tangled in each other, and I pulled away just long enough to meet her gaze. Her lips inches from mine, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and the look in her eyes nearly undid me.

"Dean..." she whispered, her voice trembling with something more than just desire. "This... whatever's happening between us, I don't want it to end. Not when we're done with this fight. Not when the dangers gone."

Her words hit me harder than any punch ever had. I'd been running for so long- running from my feelings, running from letting anyone get too close- but with her, it was different. It was real.

"It won't end" I promised, brushing a thumb across her cheek. "We're in this together. Always"

I kissed her again, softer this time, letting the weight of my words settle between us. This wasn't just a moment, a fling born out of fear and adrenaline. This was something deeper, something I didn't want to lose.

The night stretched on, and we stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, the warmth of our bodies pushing back the cold that had followed us since the thing had first appeared. For once, I didn't think about the danger waiting for us outside the bunker's walls.

I only thought about her. About how long I'd been waiting for this, even if I hadn't known it. 

Eventually, exhaustion set in, and we lay there in bed, her head resting against my bare chest. The bunker was quiet, the storm outside finally calming. There was no going back to the way things were before.

I wasn't sure what the future held, or what kind of fight we'd be up against next, but I knew one thing for certain: I wasn't fighting it alone anymore.

And neither was she.