Foggy Morning

Who: Dean and Thia
When: Too early in the morning
Where: Their house

Dean couldn't sleep. Normally, that was because there was some annoying noise somewhere - someone playing music, or running their car engine or... something. Today he'd just woken up - thankfully now migraine-free, though he'd had a terrible night's sleep because of it - pre-dawn. He'd lain there in the dark for a while, then crawled out of bed. He'd headed downstairs without getting dressed and, shrugging on his jacket, headed outside to sit on the porch for a while, staring out at the darkness. The fog began to form as dawn broke, but he'd never minded fog - he quite liked it, in fact. It muffled sound, like a comforting blanket, even if the day was ass-cold. He'd have to go back inside eventually. Go upstairs, have a long warming shower, see Thia before he headed off to school. But, for now, he was just sitting quietly outside, the back door slightly ajar, in his own little tiny world with walls of fog.

Lullaby hadn't actually been to bed. She'd gone for a walk after she'd left Alexis' house, and just...thought for a long time. Of course, the thinking hadn't done her head any good. It had just spun her in more circles, and in the end, left her with just as much unsettling weirdness as previously. Though, she wasn't going to let it make her hide or anything. She in fact, decided that she was going to make Dean breakfast. If he wanted some. She put tea on, anyways, and then went up to knock on his door, but he wasn't there. Which had her looking for him. When she spotted him out the window on the porch, she relaxed. Breathing a sigh of relief, she paused, then went, got his tea, got herself some, and got a blanket to wrap around her shoulders. She padded out, trying to keep hold of both mugs and the blanket, and she went to sit just a little behind and to his left. "Good morning." she said. "I brought you tea if you want it." she told him, automatically bringing her arm up behind his shoulders so she could share her blanket. Even if he had his jacket on, it was cold. Though...the fog was really cool, she had to admit, and her eyes skated the treeline, liking how the first trees were barely visible, but the ones behind that were more indistinct, and it really wasn't that far where sight distance was obliterated.

Dean looked back a little and gave her the ghost of a smile. He'd missed her, which he wasn't going to say - he'd seen her yesterday morning, after all. Less than 24 hours ago. They lived in the same house. Missing her was ridiculous, but he had done. Though part of him had been thankful she wasn't there last night, glad to be able to crawl into bed and pretend to die with his migraine, the other part of him had really missed her. "Hey you," he greeted, shuffling in to her arm, slouching more, to make himself a better size for the position. "I'm good - you keep the tea," he told her. He'd never been able to stomach it, himself.

She smiled back at him, and got a little closer as he shifted too. "Want me to make you something else?" she asked him. And she gave him a hug, after setting the mugs down, because she'd missed him too. And she also understood on an intellectual level that that was insane of her. And needy and clingy and stuff, but maybe she was just needy and clingy right now. Or, she just liked getting to see him all the time, and while she'd been at Billy and Maddie's she'd not gotten those hours and hours of time that they usually did, so if she could have them back she wanted them...only they hadn't last night. So...he got hugs now. It was a thing.

He tilted his head slightly toward her. "You on another kick to get me to eat again?" he asked her, slightly amused at that. "Because I've been doing better." But he was never going to be 'normal', he knew that. He still probably managed only the equivalent of maybe one full meal a day. A little more on good days. but it was better than he'd ever been before.

She grinned at him cutely. "Yes?" she suggested. "Or, well. Kinda." she amended, propping her chin on his arm near his shoulder. "I just wanted to make you breakfast or something before you go to school." Cuz I didn't see you last night. And yet you were on my mind the entire time. She kept that bit to herself. "You don't have to if you don't wanna though." she told him, because he had been doing better. She paused, and slid her hand up his back and dipped her fingertips just below the collar of his jacket, to rest against his skin so she could start to clear him out. "The fog's really pretty." she noted. "I've been up in the really early mornings sometimes when it rolls in off the lake like thick white smoke."

Her fingers were cool against his skin as she touched him and for a moment he was hyper aware of her presence, before her voice distracted him again and he looked out at the fog. "It is," he agreed, turning himself to face her more, his voice sounding dull to his ears in the fog. "I like it like that - it's like the world's gone away..." Like it's just us and there's nobody else. Yet somehow, no, he couldn't add that.

She kept her fingers up against his neck, though the slid a bit as he moved. She re-situated the blanket with her free hand, then picked up her mug again, wrapping her fingers around it. It was good for things like warmth. When he said the bit about the world going away, she had to smile at him. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I mean..." she paused, looking around. "Can't even see the road from here. Can barely see the drive, the treeline's almost gone." she turned her gaze back on him and grinned. "We're in Silent Hill!" she said brightly. "Cut off from the rest of the world in a parallel dimension. All we need is a busted radio to play static for us when there are monsters. And y'know, some crazy puzzle to solve, and some reason to leave this house." she continued. "But we're one up on everyone else, cuz there's two of us. Plus a kitten. So, we'd just rock and roll and all would be well. I can be on map duty. I have a red pen and I'm not afraid to use it."

He chuckled a little. "Or it's just fog rolling in off the lake," he pointed out, a true spoilsport - though an amused one. But he'd really had enough of monsters. "So, you have a good time yesterday?" he asked her, not begrudging her time with other people, even if he had missed her. He'd been in a mood to curl up with her last night and dicect when an idiot he'd been.

"Well it could be super awesome fog that gives everyone super powers." She said. "You don't know." She poked his neck a touch, playfully. Then of course he asked about her time, and her demeanor changed. "Yeah, um. It was okay." she said, never that terribly good at lying, really. Particularly not to him, and she never even kind of thought to until it was too late. Like nowish. So, she sold herself out, and just continued explaining herself. "I think I'm kind of rusty with hanging out with girls." she admitted. "I don't a whole lot? Never did? I mean, not that there's anything wrong with girls. Besides they're crazy but that's just kinda how it is and everything but still anyways we got to talking and everything, but I dunno. Maybe I just don't have anything to bring to something. Ever feel like that? Like you're just kinda...lacking, I guess?" she asked honestly. That's how she'd been feeling towards the end of the night. Like she didn't have enough to bring to the table. So much of what she could say was edited with lies anyways and she hated that.

"Well, there's the argument that we both had super powers before the fog," Dean pointed out. "Though, really - not that super." In his opinion, his weren't anyhow. And hers, well - he had too much of an overprotective streak for him to really appreciate some of hers. he turned serious, though, when she continued and he felt the urge to reach over, take the mug of tea from her hands, set it down and then lift her up into his lap. But he didn't - he'd been asking for trouble lately, so he should probably watch that. "I know what you mean - I feel like that a lot of the time," he admitted. "But, I'm me and you're... You... You're never lacking, Thi. Not you. You've never... You're..." he didn't have the words to finish those thoughts off, not in an acceptable manner, but he knew what he meant. She was special, she was confident and friendly and the life and soul. She could handle any situation, she could entertain and make people laugh and smile and she did it without even trying, she did it naturally - it was just her nature.

She smiled at him. He was sweet when he wanted to be. Granted, he didn't often want to be, but it felt really nice to hear him say that, and everything about him said 'sincere' to her. So it was nice. Probably too nice. But...yes, it did get a smile out of her and it was genuine and heartfelt. She wanted to hug him. And, after a moment of hesitation, she did. She set her mug down and put her arms up around his neck to pull him in. "Thank you." she told him. She wanted to kiss his cheek, but didn't. It was a near thing. "Though, same for you. You're awesome, you know. I keep telling you." she assured him. Then she sat back, but she didn't stay back far. "But...I dunno. I guess like...like okay. She's this cute blonde girl who's really nice, and maybe a little strange, but nice. I guess she joined dance or something at school. And so she's got things to talk about I guess, but I felt boring. Plus, like there's this weird twisted thread of my life I have to lie about and you know I suck at that. So I have to kinda...just yeah. So...y'know. I can just talk about you."

He hugged her back for a moment, pulling out of the embrace as she talked. "You're not boring," he admonished. "You're never boring. You obviously just didn't click - it happens. I mean, I - I can't see you being all into dance and everything anyway, even if you were still at school. She doesn't sound like the kind of girl you would have hung around with or anything," he pointed out.

Lullaby thought about that. "Hmm. Maybe you're right." she agreed. "I never was the cheerleader type or anything, or the dance type. I'm not that coordinated." She smiled, though. "I'm not sure what kind of girls I would get along with. I kinda just always had a bunch of friends, but hung out mostly with Journey last year. He was the main constant, really. I guess I was always one of those people who knew everyone everywhere, but yeah. I dunno. I guess I just felt really out of place. Maybe I don't know how to relate to people anymore." she said, wondering if her having died had done it, or what. It was possible, of course. Then she smiled at him, and sought out his hand to hold onto with both of hers. She gave it a squeeze. "Thank you for being you. Who's always easy for me to talk to and who I never feel like that around, and who I can just relax and not twitch around and who...just everything. You're appreciated." she told him genuinely. After hanging out with a girl she didn't know how to talk to and spending a lot of that time feeling like she was completely lacking...being back around Dean again where the biggest problems she had was her newfound feelings for him, that whole wanting to kiss him thing, and his occasional twitching--that was nothing. She felt a huge wave of affection for him that was purely friendship based, and had nothing at all to do with those sticky new feelings. It had everything to do with why he was her best friend.

Dean chuckled a little and thunked his head against her shoulder. "God, I know," he said, then lifted his head and repeated it, in case she hadn't been able to hear him the first time. "Same, right back to you, really," he told her, thinking of the time he'd spent with Drea lately. Guys were easier, but girls - sometimes he thought he was doing okay, then he'd panic and everything would go sideways again, and then, sometimes, they really just crashed. That actually reminded him of something and he reached into his pocket and brought out a couple of lollipops. "Couldn't find any ponies or rocketships," he said mock-apologetically.

Lullaby lit up, looking at them and she laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth for a moment before she reached out to take them. "God, you are the best best best friend ever." she told him with feeling. Lullaby was never someone who was terribly difficult to please, she was easily amused, because she appreciated the little things. And that right there obviously amused her all to hell. She unwrapped one and popped it in her mouth and beamed at him cutely. "I'm a happy girl." she informed him.

"You're far too easily satisfied, you know that, right?" Dean teased. "You should at least have held out for a pony..." It was good to see her happy like that though and for that moment she had his entire attention.

"Well, I suppose I could have, but I'm happy with sugar." she told him brightly. "Besides, we wouldn't know where to put one, and if you found me a rocketship some day we'd need space for that...naw, I'm good. Thaaaank youuuuu." she said. "How was your adventure in getting warm things for winter, anyways?" she asked, settling a little closer to him to lean against him just slightly. It was chilly out, but she didn't want to go in yet. there was the shared blanketness, and the fog was still really cool to look at. It did give the alone sort of feeling that she liked. The one that they didn't get all that terribly often. Though the past few days alone in the house had been kinda nice. Save for last where she hadn't seen him, likely due to her own fault there.

"I felt boring," he told her. "And like an idiot and... yeah. I dunno. I'm not good at this stuff, but I got boots and gloves and shit. And a stupid hat that I look like an idiot in," he told her, curling his toes into the wood - his feet were still bare and they were getting cold. He didn't want to get into the rest of it - how things had gone so very sideways.

"Why would you feel boring?" she asked. "You're not boring. You keep me entertained all the time." she pointed out, pushing her shoulder against his for a second. "Was she uninteresting? Or is it like you were saying with me 'n Alexis? The non-clickly-thing?" she asked. "And I'm sure you don't look like and idiot. You would actually have to try really hard to pull that off, you know." she continued. "Like, wearing clown shoes and those little novelty disguises with big fake glasses and a nose and mustache. Then you'd look like an idiot. So as long as you didn't go in for clown shoes and novelties, I think you're good."

Dean shrugged. "I'm just... I have trouble talking to girls. Like, I say stupid things, or can't say anything at all, or I get nervous and babble and can't get my words out, or I think I'm going to sound like an idiot and... Overthink everything, I guess," since they both knew he did that anyway. Or I start feeling guilty about grieving for you at times when you're here and I shouldn't and I don't know how to feel about that and I can't really talk to you about it because it'll just make you feel bad. "Or, I'm careful about what I try and say, but that makes me quiet and, well, boring. And she said the hat looked ridiculous, kind of," he added, sounding dully belligerent.

"Well maybe she has no taste." Lullaby said first without thinking about it, and wondered immediately if she shouldn't have said it. But it was out there now. Maybe he wouldn't think anything of it... "And is it just...like, um." she started, kind of having a little trouble imagining it. "You never had that problem with me. Do you have it with all other girls? Or maybe just ones you like? or?" And she also kind of wished she hadn't said that, because she wasn't at all sure she wanted to know if Dean liked this girl. Because that gave her stomach a twist, and little kicked up feelings in the back of her head that were even more inappropriate than her crush on him.

"It's different with you," Dean told her, immediately, honestly. "But, usually, it's... I dunno. Girls I like, or might like, or - there's that pressure there, y'know? I mean, I don't even know if I like her like that, but... I mean, she's nice and everything, but, but - yeah. I dunno. But, it's kinda across the board, generally. I just - I'm an idiot. I come across as an idiot. You wanted to know why I'd never had a girlfriend before? That's why."

Her guts were still twisting around when he was kind of stumbling over the question of whether or not he liked the girl. She felt slightly better when he said he didn't know, but that still wasn't quite enough in her head. Then of course, she immediately felt really really bad about feeling that way. Way to be unfair and all. It wasn't her business. He could like who he wanted to like, and he should probably have some nice cute girlfriend who would like, get him out of the house, and be able to say, go out in public. Someone he actually liked, for one. Someone who wasn't her. Unfortunately she was kind of battling a strong, immediate twitch of possessiveness that she needed to cut out and kill. Like right now. That and it's sidekick the heart squeezing owie feeling over it. Yeah that needed to stop. At least she could take a moment to think about what he said, it wouldn't be too amiss for her to be quiet for a second as she glanced down for a few heartbeats. "You're not an idiot." she told him first and formost. "Why is there pressure there?" she asked, because her inner 'dean's best friend' of it all wouldn't let her not help him with this if he needed it. Even if it sucked. "There shouldn't be pressure. You're you, and honestly, that's all you need to be. So if people are going to like you, they will. And if you have to like...try and live up to some standard then they're not worth your time. They can take you as is or not at all. So don't feel like there's pressure, there really shouldn't have to be." she said reasonably, and she was proud of herself for sounding normal to her own ears. "You never came across as an idiot to me."

"I never felt that pressure with you," Dean told her. After all, there'd been Joshua then, that took it all away - it didn't matter whether he'd liked her or not, she'd had a boyfriend. He didn't have to worry about what she thought of him. "And anyway, I doubt you'd've noticed. You kinda... You always just assume that everyone's great until proven otherwise, always willing to see the best in people. Like you see the best in me. All the stuff I don't see. And - you say that there shouldn't be pressure, but, Thia - you know me, right?" Living up to imaginary standards was just what he did, all the time. She kept telling him off for it, after all.

"Yeah, I know you." Lullaby said with a sigh. "But that doesn't change my point. And what if the pressure you're putting on yourself isn't what other people are looking for anyways? I mean seriously, Dean. You're..." she started, and knew she was going to be treading a line here. A really, really fine one. She paused to give herself a second, sucking on her lollipop. Like she had to organize her thoughts. Whatever, she knew exactly how she felt about the situation, she just needed to put it in a way that was true, wouldn't give her away entirely, and he might actually hear. That last part she knew was a pipe dream though. The first two were the real hurdles. "I see the things in you that I do because they're there. I'm not making things up. And I know that you don't see them. But trust me. You're really one of the best people I've ever known. I'm lucky to have you in my life." That started riding a little too close to how she felt about her situation in regards to him. That she understood she was lucky he was there at all. That she needed to be happy with that and just that. "I can't be the only person who'll see it. I don't know what kind of pressure you're putting on yourself what you're trying to live up to, but you don't have to. And anyways, even if you managed? Would it actually be you or a part you were trying to play?"

"You make it sound easy," Dean said, frowning slightly. "I just - it's not that... I just get all tongue-tied, or just..." God, he was feeling nervous just thinking about it. "What use is it being me, if... It's not that I don't believe you, Thia. But, we've been through a lot together. What you're talking about - it's because of that. Most people don't - there's no way for them to see that. They just see me and I'm nothing special. I'm just - scared that I won't be good enough, and that trips me up and makes sure that I'm not good enough and I just - sometimes I can see myself doing it and I just can't... stop. Or I'll be waiting for the axe to fall and I'll take something the wrong way and. Honestly, Thi - I'm a mess."

She was frowning as she was watching him and she reached out to lace her fingers through his, and she set their hands on her lap. "Dean, I thought you were special way before everything we've been through." she said, looking up and holding eye contact. She spoke clearly, so he'd get everything here, being it was important. "I don't see the things I do in you because of everything--yeah there are things that got brought out with different situations and everything, but you, just you. You're special. We met, and you know what? I wanted to be your friend. And that has nothing to do with anything else. I liked showing you around the school, and talking, and after that when we'd have lunch together, and you walked me home to help me put skype on my computer. I liked you just fine, as is. You were easy to talk to after the first couple of minutes, and I wanted to spend more time with you. So, we did. And there wasn't any...I guess I never felt like you were trying to live up to some standard. Or that you were trying to be someone you aren't. You were more than good enough just being you. And all that was before anything else happened." She finally stopped, even if she could say more, and gave his hand a squeeze again, brushing her thumb back and forth against his skin.

He looked at her, sitting there with him, in the morning fog, saying all that, meaning it. And he knew that he wanted to kiss her, almost needed to. He looked down, only to catch sight of their hands, so he looked away, out into the fog. It was either that or proclaim he was cold and needed to go inside.

She let him look away for a few moments, having expected something like it. That or him possibly leaving. He always took it poorly when she told him this sort of thing. She suspected it didn't fit in with his world view where he always assumed he sucked. But sometimes she had to add in her own views there, and try to offset his. She'd keep working at it til he got it through his head. Either way, she gave him a few moments, looking back down at their hands herself. Then she looked back up. "Dean, look at me." she said, voice quiet, but even.

He knew it was a bad idea, that he wasn't over his little urge thing, but he wasn't going to not, not when she specifically requested it. Still, as he turned to her, it was nervously, not quite meeting her eyes, afraid of what he might betray if he did.

She noticed he wasn't making eye contact, and so she ducked her head to try and catch his eyes. It was that or reach up and turn his head towards hers. And at the moment, she had a lollipop in her free hand, and his hand in her other. and sure, she could sacrifice the lollipop, but reaching up to touch his face might not work well for her right then. Her mind had actually shifted far past where it had been, when she'd been so queasily upset over things she shouldn't be, but that had died out entirely in the face of what he was going through in general. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't have the idea in the back of her mind to just say something without words, since the words she wanted to say she couldn't. So she went the simpler route. She just put herself in his line of sight. "You always were and always will be more than good enough. You're more than that. And I could see that all on my own without any help from anywhere. So you never really have to worry, all you've got to do is be you. That's the best face you could ever put forward."

He felt a little sick, and a lot nervous and a whole host of other things that he shouldn't be feeling right now and all of which he tried to push away. "You keep telling me that," he observed, his voice coming out a little strained as he tried for normal and missed the mark. "But - it... I - I guess it's like a phobia? You know, irrational, uncontrollable, doesn't really make any sense? I think that's the best analogy I can come up with. It's - it's not that I don't believe you, I just - you make me sound so different, then I get out there and. And - they're not you, Thia," he said, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them. Maybe she just wouldn't notice, or something. Shit.

She watched as little wisps coming off of him spiked up. They didn't necessarily explode outward into a steady stream, but he was definitely going through something, which she already knew. Whatever it was was just getting worse now. She set her sucker aside, dropping it into her mug that she'd set off and she fully turned to face him, and she reached for his other hand, if he would let her take it. Again, it was better than what her instincts said, which was to put her arms up around his neck, or touch his cheek. "It's okay." she said first, voice soft. Reassuring. It was still so much easier for her to ignore everything going on in her own head to take care of him in any respect. She definitely caught what he'd said. That they weren't her. And part of her latched onto it and held on, sinking deep down in the back of her mind with that information. That she was special somehow. "Why are things different with me?" she asked. "Maybe if we can figure that out, why you didn't do anything like that with me, why it's easier for you to talk to me and everything, we can figure out how to get around your twitching." Then she paused and bit her lower lip for a moment. "Or would it help if I was around? Like...if it was someone who'd never known about me? Do you think you'd still be nervous towards someone else if I was with you?" And god did she ever not want to be in that position. There to help him relax so he could hook up with some girl he may or may not like. It'd be like signing herself up for gut wrenching torture. But...she hadn't really hesitated when the idea had formed. If it was for him, she'd do that.

He relaxed a little then, because she hadn't seen into it what he'd meant, she'd just taken it and viewed it the way he should have meant it, the way a friend would have said it. That took some of the pressure off. "Things are different with you because they just are. Because I can talk to you, because you're my best friend. Because there was never that whole 'would she ever look at me that way' thing going on." After all, she'd had Joshua, and then, once she hadn't, well, he'd known by that time that he didn't really have a chance, so that level had mostly been put into it's box. Apart from the times that it escaped and he turned into a blathering idiot. but she didn't seem to have at all made that connection and he wasn't helping her to do that. "And I never felt like you would judge me. Not really. You just kind of, drew me in, I guess. And all of a sudden you were there and I... I couldn't imagine you not being there." Except then, suddenly, she wasn't anymore.

She watched as another surge of blackness rose up from him, and she didn't know why it happened. What he said, that wasn't a bad thing, was it? Or... She didn't know but she was looking at him, and when the blackness hit, her expression changed. She held onto his hands tighter, and concern rose up through all of her. "Are you okay?" she asked, because everything else faded back in light of that. So she had to get that out first. Then maybe she could address other things, but...first things first.

Dean shook it off. "Yeah, I'm - sorry, just. Memories, yeah? I couldn't imagine you not being there, only - then you weren't there," he explained, knowing he didn't need to add to that as he squeezed her hands back, then pulled her into a tight hug.

That made sense. When he pulled her into a hug, she hugged him back, arms going up around his neck, and for one of the first times, she shifted herself over to his lap. Most of the time he moved her there, but at the moment it seemed natural. He just seemed to kind of need things today. Or her, maybe, but she wasn't sure if that was her giving herself too much credit, or just being realistic. Not overthinking it though, she didn't keep her mind on those lines. Lullaby hugged him instead, and tried to project the idea that she was still there, and always would be. Hell. She couldn't be gotten rid of. If either of them was going to be leaving, it'd be him. Which was just a distressing thought and she wished she hadn't had it, and it made her hold onto him tighter.

Dean stilled as she moved herself into his lap. There'd been a reason why she hadn't been moved there - or, well, a reason consisting of him deciding to avoid potential problems that hadn't actually happened, but she was her and he was him and his body hated him at times, plus, thin cotton pants. So - the lap thing was nice and all but... But he was overthinking things and it wasn't like he could move her, so, he covered by hugging her tighter for a moment, then pulling back.

She pulled back when he did, though not too far. She just looked at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, voice quiet. She quirked a little half smile, that was really nearly just a tiny twitch that didn't last overly long. "You know I'm not going anywhere ever again, right?" she asked. "So you don't have to think about me not being there." At least, so long as he wanted her there, she'd stay.

He reached up absently and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I know that - it wasn't that I was upset about. But, yeah, I'm okay," he promised her. He just knew that he'd never forget those days when she'd died and he'd thought she was gone for good.

"What were you upset about?" she asked, watching his eyes carefully, not minding when he tucked her hair behind her ear. It was kind of something she usually did to him, or did sometimes, when she didn't think to stop herself. He didn't normally with her, however. It was nice. A soft little touch, one that had her head drifting into is touch just the tiniest bit before she caught it, but thankfully it was pretty short, so he probably wouldn't notice. She was more concentrated on him, that's what she blamed on the little lapse right then. She wasn't paying good enough attention to stop little things that felt natural to her. Even if she knew they weren't that she wasn't right on that.

He shook his head a little. "No - I mean, it wasn't the future that got me. It was just... remembering. Knowing it's not going to happen again, that doesn't stop... I'm sorry," he broke off, not wanting her to feel at all guilty for something that so very much wasn't at all in any way her fault and knowing there was a risk there. "I'm fine." I'm just all over the place about that, I don't know how to feel, or deal with it. Not really.

She nodded. "Okay." she said quietly, still watching him. His eyes. Giving him a kiss on the temple wouldn't be a good thing to do. But that's what she wanted to do. And probably at one point in their relationship, she would have, and wouldn't have thought about it. But then again, her mind wouldn't have gone to the next step, either. Like brushing a kiss down across his cheek, then finding his lips. Everything would feel better then. Or, in her diseased mind it would. Which meant it was time for her to move. So, she slid back off of his lap, and noticed his feet were bare. Which was a detail she'd taken in before but latched onto now. "You're probably cold, aren't you?" she asked him, shifting, standing to put the blanket down around his feet as well.

"A little," he admitted, feeling more so with her sudden absence, for all he'd tried to avoid her being there in the first place. He stood, making her efforts to cover his bare feet pointless. "Come on - let's go back inside," he suggested. "Get warm again."

She looked up at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if they were letting everything go right now, or if they'd go back to other topics when they were inside, and whether or not they should. She still believed every word that she'd said to him. Believed in him with a conviction she knew was rare. But then he was a rare individual. There was a lot that drifted through the back of her mind, and she ignored all of it. "Okay." she said, holding her hands up to him, with the faint ghost of a smile.

He took her hand as he led her back inside, because to not do so was incomprehensible between them by now. He did it without a second thought. It was warmer in the house, but all it did at first was make Dean realise just how cold he was. He'd been sitting outside for a long time.

Lullaby shut the door behind them, blanket dragged along with, though really the blanket just clung to the cold air, and so she abandoned it in the front entryway, fully intending to take care of it later. She kept hold of his hand, and was thinking of good ways to get warm again. Unfortunately, most things she could think about weren't really anything she could go with. She shivered violently, however, when the warmer air sort of started to sink in and she felt how freezing she'd let herself get. "Are my lips all blue?" she asked, looking up at him.

He stepped into her as she started shivering, rubbing his hands up and down her arms briskly. "No, they're not blue," he told her, looking down at her. Thoughts flickered across his mind and he momentarily put rather more effort into rubbing her arms.

She smiled up at him as he started doing that. That felt nice. But then, him standing in closer was nice too. "I think we need blankets." she said, though didn't in any sort of fashion actually try to stop him from what he was doing. In fact, if he wanted to continue that on a full scale sort of thing, he could. Buuut he wouldn't. Because that was just her inappropriate fantasy-mind kicking in. That would never in a million billion years come to pass. "Or a hot tub. Orrrrr an electric blanket. Or a fire."

"My original 'getting warm again' plan had been to take a shower," Dean told her. See: he'd had a plan. He was good at plans. But, of course, as soon as he'd said it, there were all those unhelpful mental images. "I - you could go first," he added hastily. Not that she'd even be thinking for a moment that... But he had to cover for his own mental images.

Lullaby's mind went careening down a mental path that she had more trouble blotting out than she should have. But there it was, dropping into her mind, that hey, one shower, they were both cold, they could just share. Of course, he'd probably miss school. Because if that was going on, there was no way in hell she'd be letting him leave the house for a while. Her cheeks flushed, but hey. She'd just come in out of the cold, so they were going to be red anyways, right? Right. That was her story and she was sticking to it, goddamnit. Her mind could just shut the fuck up, and stop entertaining any ideas about Dean, and less clothing than was appropriate. Even if she did get the mental image of him without his shirt on, like when she'd de-glittered him and he was lounging on her bed with her, and she could see the cross, and her ring, and...okay quit now. "Ohhh no mister." Lullaby said, reaching up to push his jacket back off his shoulders. "You were outside longer. You get to shower first." she told him firmly.

He didn't try and stop her as she pushed at his jacket. In fact, his mind supplied the next few steps. Where she pulled off his t-shirt as well and then started on his pants. And it wasn't like he was really wearing very many items at the moment, it wouldn't take... Stop. It. "But you were colder," he said, wondering if this was going to be another one of those arguments.

"Who says I was colder? You just made that up." she told him, smirking up at him. She was thinking about tugging at his shirt too. She did take his hands and lean back, tugging him forward as she walked backwards. "Soooo it just makes sense that you're going to shower first. You were outside longer...I don't even know how long! You could have been out there for ages. You could be freezing cold right now, and in dire need of hot water. I even came out with a blanket." she said. "And tea! And I had some! So you're first. Nyaa." She stuck her tongue out at him for good measure. It was that or, go with her desires, which involved reaching for the collar of his shirt and pulling it off. Thankfully she managed not to do that. Not even she could justify that in her mind in any fashion that wasn't sexual in nature. Unless she was giving him a back rub. But she wasn't. He was actually going to go get naked, and she was not invited.

"You were shivering," Dean pointed out. "Shivering: it's a world accepted sign of being cold. You were shivering, I wasn't - you're colder. So stop arguing and just go have a shower so that I can have one as well," he told, propelling her gently towards the stairs.

She was still pulling him along backwards even as he pushed her, and she started taking the stairs backwards as well. "So? I'm little. I get shivery sometimes. It happens. There's the huge temperature difference, cold, then you come in, and it's all warm, and that makes you shiver." she said. And she wasn't thinking about trying to find ways to make him shiver. Really she wasn't. Or, okay, not seriously. "You gooo fiiirrsssst." she singsonged.

"You know, you could have been in the shower by now, mostly warm and nearly ready to give it up to me," Dean pointed out as they hit the bottom of the stairs and she started up. "But no - you always have to argue, don't you?" he teased, as he put a hand on the rail.

Lullaby wondered if he at all caught the way he phrased that, and heat flushed through her cheeks again, but she was pretty sure they were still red from the cold. Her mind was so filthy at that moment she couldn't even take innocent statements, apparently. Or, alright. Playful ones. Because they were definitely being playful right now. Which actually made her wonder if she could get away with yanking his shirt off. She took another step up, and tugged at his sleeve. "I do! And so you should know this by now, and just be prepared to give in." she told him with a bright, impish grin on her features, taking the stairs backwards one at a time, being semi careful, though in the back of her mind she figured if she tripped he'd make sure she didn't fall.

"Maybe I just want to win one for once," Dean said, keeping pace with her up the stairs, oblivious to the way his previous phrase could have been taken - there was no way he'd have been able to get it out if he'd actually realised what he'd said. "It's been very 'whatever you say, Thia,' lately," he added, taking his hand from the banister to sign that as well, pulling a face.

She laughed, mock gasping a moment. "That is so not fair!" she cried, still walking backwards, looking down at him. And thinking he looked way too good right there, and she wanted kinda more than anything to go with that instinct of hers. To pull his shirt off and maybe stop moving up the stairs, and he could keep moving and...and then her little fantasy world could crumble, because nothing would actually happen. "Maybe you should just say, think of it as taking something for yourself! See? That works!" she told him. "Tooottally not for me at all. It'll all be about you, and then you'll be all nice and warmed up again and all will be well. It'll be awesome."

"But, I think you should have a shower first," Dean pointed out. "So, if I took mine first, it'd only be at your insistence. So it wouldn't be about me at all - it'd be about you. So your logic doesn't work," he pointed out as she reached the top of the stairs and he stepped the last few up to her, gaining level and then height on her again. "So go, have a shower - I'll be good and go back to bed again, if it'd make you feel better."

Dean really needed to not put ideas into her head. He really, really didn't. Like, seriously. Because telling her that? Wasn't helping. Telling her that was just giving her another new fast track in fantasy land. Because she was quite abruptly aware she didn't actually have clean clothes to put back on when she got out of the shower. Yeah, her mind went all over the damn place. She also decided right there that he wasn't allowed to walk up the steps like that and invade her space, making her look up at him. This was entirely besides the fact that she always looked up at him because he was a hell of a lot taller than she was. But that whole little move thing there with him getting closer and going through the process of looking down at him to looking up at him...it did things to her. Bad things. Things what ought not be entertained. God it was unfair! He never even had to do anything to do that to her! She was looking up at him, and having way too many ideas all at once. She stayed where she was, even if she wanted to lean her back against the wall, and maybe tug him with her. "You promise? You'll go, and snuggle up and get slightly warmer?" she asked, narrowing her eyes up at him, that impish sort of glint still in her eyes. Really, that was helped out so much by the single track her mind currently occupied.

"Promise," he told her, wondering at that moment as he looked at her with that expression on her face, whether he should just cut his losses and go have a shower first, rather than having to go lie in bed. Alone. With thoughts of her all naked. And in the shower. Shit. That was... he really needed to not have an active imagination, especially not one that provided the thought that if he did go and have a shower, then since they were swapping places and everything, that would mean that she'd probably go curl up in his bed, all snuggly. Whilst he was having a shower. And then he'd come back in wearing just a towel and... Maybe she should shower first after all. For the sake of the continuance of their friendship.

She made a cute growly face at him. "Fiiiine then." she said. "You win. Go lay down. I'll be fast quick like a bunny." she told him. She also took the time to turn him towards his room, and she pushed at his back, a playful shove. It was a toss up between that and say, grabbing his hand, dragging him into the bathroom and locking the door behind herself. Yeah, that really wouldn't fly by any stretch of the imagination. Why the hell were there suddenly like six billion things she wanted to do or try or her brain was latching onto and running with?

Dean went with the shove, because it was sensible to do so as he headed towards his room and closed the door behind him, leaning back against it for a moment. He tried to think about Drea, just to get Thia out of his head, but - well, he'd fucked up twice now with Drea, and he didn't even know whether he liked her that way or not. And she'd made it really clear that yesterday hadn't been a date. Not that he'd been thinking of it that way, but even if he hadn't, it definitely wasn't and... He didn't know whether he had even wanted it to be, or whether he liked her at all. And surely he should know. He'd always Known with Thia, after all. Maybe that was the issue - maybe he'd always be comparing every girl he met to her, and, of course, they'd never hold up. But, he wasn't giving up Thia, even if he knew that his feelings were never going to be returned. Even if he knew that all of that, back there, all that was just him and the only reason that he'd got away with some of that was because she was so utterly oblivious that the thought of it meaning anything would never have crossed her mind. He held his head in his hands for a moment, then sighed and got to his feet, since he'd promised to get warm and he was, in fact, fucking freezing, and so he crawled gratefully into bed and pulled the covers up round his ears.

Lullaby went and shut herself in the bathroom, and leaned back against the door for a few long heartbeats. God, there was something the matter with her, and she needed to knock it off. Seriously now. What the hell. Pushing off the door, she turned the shower on, tugging her pajamas off and kicking them over by the door to pick up after a minute. She held her fingers under the spray, then got in, and hoped a few minutes in there would clear out the crazy brain syndrome she had going on. She kept it quick, but made sure she actually had warmed up. She didn't want to kill the hot water for him or anything, and she got out, wrapping a towel around herself. She tugged her fingers through her hair, and gathered up her clothes, before she walked out into the hall, shutting the door again to keep the hot air inside. She then impulsively walked up the hall, opened the door, and peeked her head in. "Your turn!" she informed him, before she shut the door again, to head downstairs to the basement. Where she had clothes. Where it was cold! And not like, Dean's bed where she wanted to be. 'course he was vacating it. But if she went and curled up, then he came back from his shower... Oh my GOD, stop it!!!!

He'd heard her walking up the hall, so he'd been looking at the door when she opened it. And he'd nearly had a heart attack because she'd only been wearing a towel! Actually, given that she just poked her head around the door and he'd just caught a glimpse of her shoulder, he'd thought for a second she was entirely naked, until at least part of his brain had kicked back in again. But that hadn't been able to override the part that thought for a second longer she was going to walk right in, whch sent him off in all sorts of interesting directions. Except, then she left and he? He stayed right where he was in bed as he listened to her head downstairs and it was only after he knew she was gone that he got up and practically ran for the bathroom, locking himself in.

Lullaby got herself changed into real people clothes, even if she just wanted to go curl up in Dean's bed. She headed back upstairs, and tried to think for a few minutes of what to do now. Because, she could totally go back up stairs and go lay down in his bed. He still had some time before he had to leave for school. They could snuggle for a while, right? Cuz that's a good idea. You wouldn't at all be trying to think of new and interesting ways to jump him or anything. she told herself. So, she kind of hovered at the bottom of the steps, wondering what now. She was also wondering if he'd brought clothes in there with him, or if he was going to be coming out with a towel on, and if her heart could take that. It was possibly masochistic of her to still hover at the bottom of the steps, walking up a few of them. He probably didn't want anything...and maybe he'd wanna hang out upstairs when he was done...And you should probably suggest otherwise you dumbass.

Dean spent longer in the shower than she had - the other benefit of going second as he stood there letting the stream wash over him until the water ran cold. Which meant that he had to shave in cold water, but he'd needed that shower just to empty his mind of some of the more inappropriate thoughts. He'd calmed down a whole lot by the time he exited the bathroom and was, in fact, just wrapped in a towel, his sleeping things dumped in the laundry basket as he padded back towards his room. He had a sudden wonder at whether she'd be in there, but he didn't really think she would be - that'd be far too good to be true. Or bad, dangerous, problematic, depending upon your point of view.

When she saw the light change up there, she looked. And saw him come out of the bathroom and head towards his room. She bit her lower lip, and decided that whole thing had been the best and worst idea she'd ever had. Because good god. He was really, really just...hot. No two ways about it. When the light changed again she assumed that he'd gone back into his room and shut the door, so she walked up the rest of the steps to sit at the top of them, figuring he might hear her and know she was there. But he could still get dressed in peace. Which was a shame, but...you need a lobotomy. There's an icepick in the kitchen, right?

He heard her walking up the stairs, but was fairly confident she wouldn't just walk on in. but, all the same, he hurried with pulling on clothes. As much as he could fantasise about the after effects of her walking in on him naked, he was realist enough to know that it would only end in embarrassment for both of them. So, clothes just in case. He pulled on some jeans and a hoodie over his t-shirt, running a hand through his still-wet hair as he pushed it away from his face. He pulled the new boots out from under his bed and sat on the edge as he laced them up, then headed out to her.

She was half watching the door. She was sitting on the landing, back to the wall, one foot down on the top stair, the other curled under her. And she still thought he looked good, all clean and smelling nice and with his hair still a little wet. "All warm now?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Toasty," he agreed. "You?" he asked, sitting down beside her, leaning against the bannister at the other side of the stairwell.

She nodded. "Yes." she said. "All warm. So you still have some time before you've gotta take off." she pointed out. "Whatcha wanna do?" she asked. Because all the activities she got up to weren't viable options. She of course noticed that he'd put his boots on and everything too. So the snuggling option was probably out. There, see? Proof that he doesn't think of anything like that. Just wouldn't occur, right? So..there. Now stop thinking about the him smelling nice thing.

A whole lot of him really wished that was a loaded question, but it only was in his imagination, he knew that. And he'd been dealing with his unwanted feelings long enough to not be too disappointed by that. It was just a fact of life. "We can do whatever you want to do," he told her.

She made a face at him, and lifted her leg to push at his knee with her bare toes. "That's very helpful you, Dean." she said playfully. "Oh...um, I might have something for you by the time you're done with school." she told him. In her wandering the night before, she happened to have gotten information to Maddie about what she wanted for the design for Dean's tattoo, assuming they could ever get it done.

He raised an eyebrow, his comeback dying on his lips as he wondered what she was talking about. "Yeah?" he asked her, obviously intrigued by that. He wondered what it could be - she wasn't in line for giving him anything, after all. Then again, he was very aware of the cross and ring against his chest, cooling now after the warmth of the shower.

"Yep! You'll just have to wait." she told him giving him a far too sweet smile for it to be anything but playfully teasing. "So, you'll just have to hang out in total suspense all day, wondering. Which means I really hope I actually do have it for you by the time you're back, but I should. So...there!" she told him. And she hoped it was acceptable. She figured it would be, though, figured it would be fine. She'd told Maddie what she'd wanted on things, and the witch had seemed to latch onto the idea right away, and hadn't thought it was a bad one at all. In fact, she'd kind of seemed to think it was a good one.

"Do I get to text you at lunch to nag?" Dean asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees, attempting to look enquiring. "I'm really impatient, you know," he added, his eyes sparkling.

She grinned at him. "You can." she informed him. "And if you ask really nicely, I might even give you hints or something." she told him. "But I'm not sure. It'll really depend." she said firmly. She also was poking at the icky now-soggy scabs on the insides of her fingers. "If you've been a good boy...if you can answer password questions right...you may have hoops to jump." she continued, liking the look in his eye. She leaned forward too. "Think you'd be up for the challenge?"

"Password questions and hoop jumping?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not sure I can manage that - sure I can't just ask really nicely?" he queried, reaching out to take her hand to stop her picking at the scabs. "And don't do that," he admonished, lightly.

"Well you'll have to put a lot of effort into your asking really nicely." Lullaby said. "So, you'll have to give it a shot. We'll see." she told him, then made a face down at their hands. "But! They're all gross and icky! I have to let them breathe, then pick at them and get them off, so I can start practice again! It works really not so well with the bandaids. They're too slippery. But I keep trying! I've gotten better at hitting the target now not only just the tree!"

"No, you let them breathe then let the scabs dry out and they'll fall off when the skin underneath has healed," he countered. "You pick at them and you'll pull the healing flesh underneath - and they're more likely to scar," he added, carefully. She seemed to have a real predisposition towards scarring now and he wasn't sure if that was just wounds she took off other people or not.

She made a cute face at him. "It'll just be on my finger joints." she said. "They won't be awful or anything. I just hate when scabs are all squishy and gross." she added, poking at her finger again with her free hand, though she had to poke around his hold on her. "Squiiishhhyyy...groooosssss." she intoned, much like she would have said 'braaaiiiinnnsss'. He was cute when he got all...what was this? Protective in a roundabout way? Something like that. It was cute, whatever it was.

"You still shouldn't do it," he told her, batting her other hand away. "They'll take longer to heal. Now - are you going to be good, or do I have to put plasters back over these to stop you picking while I'm at school?" he asked, giving her a Look.

Lullaby made a cute sad boo boo face at him. "But!!" she said. "But they need to breathe! They'll be all even more ickygross if you do that!" she cried. And she was amused, because apparently him doing something like putting bandaids on her fingers would be expected to thwart her. Nevermind she could just tear them off when he left--though if he did do something like that, she knew she probably would leave them on. Just cuz. "You don't want me to have to deal with ickygross things on my person, do you?" she asked, flipping back from sad boo boo face to impish again.

Cute sad boo boo face was cheating and in defence he let go of her hand and leaned back against the bannister again. "Then leave them alone and stop picking," he suggested, leaving it at that because he'd managed to say that without sounding flustered.

She didn't like when he let go and sat back. She'd liked where they had been. So, she took it more as a serious thing, like he was done joking, and she sat back too. "Okay." she said. "I'll try. I'm bad at not picking at scabs though." she warned. "They bug, then I wanna scratch at them, and they catch on things and get in the way and it's like when you have a cut on your gums or something and can't quit poking your tongue at it." she rambled a touch. "But I'll try, promise."

"If you're good, I'll bring you another lollipop," he teased, easily slipping back into that now he had that little bit of extra distance and she'd stopped being so cute at him.

"Oooo." Lullaby said, narrowing her eyes and trying to hide a tiny smirk but she didn't do a very good job at that. "Bribery...it's blatant, despicable...but okay." she relented, as if she was conceding something huge for him. She was still unable to get the little smile to fade though, so that effect was ruined as well. She just wasn't very good at not smiling at him right then.

"Telling you - you set me on this path of deliquency and now look at me," he said, returning her smile. "You're corrupting me, Miss Chambers," he added, reminding himself to use her new name.

She giggled. "But you're doing well at it! Plus, you can pull it off. I know, I'm an awful influence on you. Resorting to underhanded tactics like bribery through sugar." she tsked, shaking her head. "I should be ashamed of myself, I suppose. Your little personal angel of darkness on your shoulder, leading you astray at every turn. Next thing you know you'll be taking candy from babies. Then it's straight to the big house for you. But don't worry. I'll come break you out."

"Well - I've got to get my lollipops from somewhere - I spent the last of our cash on some new boots," Dean deadpanned, seriously, though that was belied by the twinkle in his eye. And he wouldn't have spent everything they had on himself anyway. Not only was he slightly more responsible than that, he'd also have a hard time of it, considering how much they'd been left to live off for the few days they were alone.

That had her giggling again. "It's already started!!" she cried, hand going to her forehead, and she flopped over on the landing, grinning up at him. "That mean my work here is done? That I'll just need to monitor you now that you've been set on the path? Little gentle nudges here and there, but mostly you can be left to your own delinquent devices?" She reached out to poke his knee.

"More than likely," Dean agreed. "Annnnnnnnd - probably that means I should just skip school today and hang around, bugging you about what my surprise is," he added, bringing the conversation back full circle - because he was an impatient type who always wanted to know.

Lullaby narrowed her eyes at him, smirking. And she knew she probably shouldn't be considering him staying home from school that day. Really she shouldn't. He needed to go to school and stuff. What if there were tests? Of course, it was just as likely there weren't any. So, she kept her eyes up on him and looked like she was really pondering it over. "Hmmmmmmmmm."

Dean was actually surprised at that - he'd assumed she'd crack and bundle him off to school. She usually did - she had a right bee in her bonnet about him getting a proper education, after all. It broke through his act entirely and he gave her a slightly puzzled look. "You actually thinking about that?" he asked her.

She stilled a second because his tone changed a bit and she could hear that, plus the confused expression. "Well. It is kinda one of those days. With the fog and everything. One of those hang around and pretend the world has gone away types." she explained. "Now if you have any tests today or anything important, then you're going." she told him without hesitation. "But if you didn't..." I didn't get to see you yesterday. Which she wasn't saying. She shifted, propping her feet up on the wall, and she propped her head on one arm behind her head.

Dean started to smile a little, still seeming slightly uncertain, as if this was all a bit of a joke and she was reeling him in. "I don't have any tests," he confirmed, wondering if she was really going to let him stay home. And then wondering at the 'let' in that thought, though, really, he knew he'd go if she told him to.

"No crazy chemistry labs, where if you miss it, you'll be horribly behind and confused and you'd have to borrow someone's notes and they're not complete and you'd never ever get what happened?" Lullaby asked, still watching him carefully. "Nothing else fantastically important like the first meeting of the chess club and you've been dying to join?"

"Me? In chess club?" he asked, drily.

"Hush up, I'm making allowances for things I might not know about." Lullaby said, sticking her tongue out at him. "But if you don't have anything like that, one day off won't hurt anything." she said. "Unless you just wanted to go." Which she wasn't actually figuring he did. He wasn't a 'school yay!' type. In fact, she recognized that this was a little backwards. Usually she was the one who was insistent that he always go and everything. But...today was different. And they had the house to themselves.

"Who are you and what have you done with Thia?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. "You feeling okay? I mean - staying home, that's great and... Maybe we could go somewhere, or do something, or... Anything you want. But... You sure?" he queried.

She made a face at him. "What?! Okay, I know, I usually push you to go to school all the time and stuff, but one day won't hurt. I mean I'm not a total slave driver, am I?" she asked. "You really don't have to stay home if you didn't want to. Just...it's kinda a strange feeling day. And Sophie and Oz'll be home...er. Sometime. And I'm betting there wouldn't be any hookey days after that. Every so often you just kinda got to go with your gut." She didn't say her gut said she wanted to spend the day with him today. That much he could pick out of things she didn't need to stumble over how to word that.

He picked something out of that, but probably not exactly what she was intending as his expression took on a worried frown. "Are you okay?" he asked her, moving from the other side of the stairs to sit next to her.

She looked up at him noting the concern. "I'm fine, Dean." she assured him, voice a little softer than it had been. "I didn't mean to make you worry. Forget about it. Honestly, everything's okay." she insisted, now kind of feeling bad she'd suggested it at all. Had she done something wrong? She hadn't thought it was that much of a stretch of the imagination, but maybe it was. It was probably asking a bit too much, that was a lot of time to be hanging out.

"You - you said it was a strange feeling day. I just... You'd tell me if there was something wrong, of course. Sorry," he apologised, knowing he should know better. "So - you fed BB today?" he asked her.

"Strange, not bad." Lullaby said. "I know the two are kinda synonymous in our world, but not today. I'd tell you if something was wrong." she assured him. "Don't be sorry." She gave him a little smile to try and get things back to normal. She wasn't sure if it would work or not, but she tried. And saw the subject switch there. "I generally give him food after you've gone to school, but I can go do that now." she said, pushing herself up and figuring she was kind of sorta being redirected to something else, so, she'd let him redirect her.

He knew she would - which had been the reason for his apology, but she was up and moving, so he simply got up and went with her instead, following her downstairs.

She walked downstairs and into the kitchen, where she got out a little scoop of the kitten food, putting it into the dish that was over by the fridge. She put some fresh water in as well, to give her something to do that wasn't wondering what was going on now. "B.B....." she called, walking over towards the basement door to call again. Not that the cat was that used to is name yet or anything, but that's how pets got used to their names. You called them by it. Glancing at the clock, she saw Dean had a little time left before school, and she wondered if he was going. "I think his favorite place in the whole house is the basement." she informed Dean, even if she figured he already knew.

Dean had already decided that he wasn't going - choice between school and Thia? That wasn't a choice at all. He leaned against the far wall and watched her, a faint smile on his face. He might have intended the kitten to be a distraction, a third party in their relationship, but - well, actually, possibly BB worked better than he'd imagined, since he could sit and watch the two of them for hours.

Lullaby squatted down at the top of the stairs, watching down. "Beeeee Beeeeeeeeee..." she called again. "C'mon, sweetie! There's food for you." she continued. What she wanted to do was see if she could attract the kitten's attention enough that he'd come to the bottom of the stairs. She waited a few long moments, then the kitten appeared, shaking his fur out. Smiling, she started down the steps, and scooped him up, to bring him upstairs. "Good boy!" she praised, snuggling him. And thankfully he was cool with the snuggling at the moment. When she got back to the top of the stairs, she pushed it shut with her foot, and smiled at Dean, before she went to the kitchen, to set him down. "Lookit! Foodstuffs!"

Dean was happy just watching them interact - not that the kitten was 'intereacting' so mcuh as 'trying desperately to get down and to the food'. But still - it was cute and he was easily entertained at times.

She sat down on the floor indian style, and watched BB attacking his food. "He kind of acts like this all the time. Like he's never before been fed and may never be again." she said to Dean, looking back up at him. "Was he the runt of the litter? Does he have a complex?" she asked, teasing.

"I don't think he was - possibly he's just a cat," Dean suggested, not that he'd know either way - he'd never had a cat before. "Maybe it's just really good food or something," he added. But hey, at least one of them in the room had a normal appetite - that had to count for something, right?

"Possibly. It could be really good food." she said, leaning back on her arms. She continued watching BB eat, scarfing it down in record time. "Watch this." she said. Then she slowly unfolded one leg from beneath her, and wiggled her ankle to make the bells chime. Which of course caught the kitten's attention and he immediately dashed over to investigate. That consisted of jumping up and batting at the bells then dashing back, before bunnyhopping back over, getting low to pounce, and going for the bells again. She had a few battle wounds on her ankle from it, but nothing bad. She had a kitty now, she was going to have scratches.

"Glad to see you too are getting on," Dean commented, sounding amused. "Even if 'getting on' is mostly him attacking you," he added. "Fiercesome little hunter than he is..."

Lullaby grinned up at him, then squinted one eye shut as BB dug a claw in deep. "Oooowwwwwww." she said. "But yes? It's a wonderful relationship. He claws me up, then snuggles later and becomes a vibrating kitty to say he's sorry. I think it works out quite well."

Dean had to think that the life of a kitten sounded like a damn good one - he could get used to something like that. Only possibly with less claws. "Well, that works out then, doesn't it?" he agreed, watching the little kitten play still, having jumped back at her oww, only to regroup and consider attacking again.

"It does." Lullaby agreed, leaning back again, and wiggling her ankle once more to make the bells chime. BB went in again to freak out on the bells, and she looked back up at Dean. "Are we amusing?" she asked, smiling. Because she was aware he'd kind of been hanging back, watching and all. Not that she minded. She didn't, he was allowed. She knew she kinda liked watching him when she got opportunity. Like...when he was driving. Of course she would have different motivations for getting vaguely stalker-like.

"Yeah, you're cute togehter," he admitted - because it was always allowed to use the descriptor 'cute' when baby animals were involved. He could explain it away as a kitten thing and not at all a her-thing.

She laughed. "Well I'm glad we're suitably entertaining, and adding Cute into your life." she said. "You need more cute in your life you know. It's a damn good thing you have me around to do that. Otherwise you might be living a life barren of cute things and that's never fun." she rambled a bit, being silly. She winced again faintly as BB got claws in again, and she reached down to swoop him up, laying back on the floor and holding the kitten above her head. "Yes! You help me serve an important function in Dean's existence! Yes you do! Oh--you don't like playing airplane! Okay okay...you can get down now." she said, setting the squirming kitten down on her stomach. There, he promptly eyed the floor and jumped down, before springing around looking for new things to attack. Dean's boot laces looked like they needed to die.

Dean looked down as BB attacked his boots, not really getting very far with that, given that the kitten couldn't get a proper grasp of the bootlaces - they kept slipping away from him, which only served to frustrate the kitten more. In the end, Dean reached down and picked him up, his efforts to stroke the kitty only meaning that the end of one of his fingers got munched on with tiny, sharp teeth. "Yes, okay, I'm tasty - I realise this," he said, patiently keeping his finger there to be eaten - it didn't hurt that much, BB's jaws weren't strong enough for that.

It was Lullaby's turn to watch Dean. She kept her eyes on him, light little smile on her lips. "BB, you already ate. You shouldn't have to eat Dean too." she told the kitten. "That's just a little rude, and you'll need to get past that urge. I know it'll be rough, but trust me on this. I have faith in your kitty abilities. The twelve steps will work for you! The first step is admitting you have a problem!"

Dean lifted up his finger, only for a little claw to come round and hook it back down again. He looked over at Thia. "Don't think that's going to fly," he observed, lifting BB up and dumping the kitten on his shoulder where the kitten perched and started batting at his hair. "So - what did you want to do today then?"

She giggled as she watched BB on Dean's shoulder, and she pushed herself up to her feet. "I don't know. The possibilities are endless you know. The sky is the limit and all those other cliches. So, did you have the burning desire to do anything special? Or should we go with whim? Or sit down and think really hard about what we might want to do? There's always the suggestions drawn out of a hat, but we would need a lot of ideas for that plan to work. I mean currently, I might put something silly down like 'you pick something' and then we'd have to argue about whether or not that meant you, since in my head you'd be the one drawing the names, would have to pick because you picked it, or me since you'd read it out loud, and the statement would sound like you were saying it to me."

"You.. just lost me entirely," Dean admitted, giving up on following that explanation. He knew what he wanted to do, but that was never going to fly. He needed to stick with reality. "But - come down to the house with me," he added, after a moment's thought. "You know your surprise - Billy might have finished your room by now, we can figure it out... If you wanted. You could even bring BB - he could get used to it." Since, in Dean's brain, they were all going back there some day.

"Oh! Good plan." Lullaby agreed. "Then he won't be too shocked when he's suddenly not living here anymore. But good idea, I'm happy to do that. Plus, honestly, I miss that house in general." she admitted. "It was feeling like home and everything, and that's how I think of home now, so not being there is kind of weird. I miss my room." Then she paused. "I miss your room." she added. "I especially miss your closet."

Dean pried the kitten off his head before he started to lose skin. And he didn't think that giving BB the idea that his ear was a good hunt through his hair was any kind of a plan. "I think BB would like the closet," he agreed, feeling warm as she talked about home. He felt exactly the same way.

"It is full of happy fun times and dark places to explore." Lullaby agreed. "I'm sure he would. We'll have to test the theory, of course." she said with a sage nod. "We'll see if he likes Hennabean's castle, too." Since the kitten could probably poke around inside bits of it. "Hopefully he just won't become the destroyer of worlds on it or anything. It already took damage once, it doesn't need a second onslaught."

"Maybe that's the fate," Dean suggested. "The princess leaves the kingdom and when she returns, she brings with her the arch-nemesis who will start a chain reaction resulting in the ultimate destruction of everything," he added with an evil laugh. There were very few people in this world Dean felt comfortable being truly silly with, who he wouldn't be wondering whether they were just humouring him, or laughing behind his back. Thia, Thia he didn't think that of. Something about her gave him permission to just go with it.

Hearing Dean do that evil laugh thing was absolutely awesome. She was delighted, and that showed as she beamed at him. "Oh my god that was the best villain laugh I've ever heard!" she declared. "Well now it's perfectly clear that that will almost assuredly be the case! Poor Hennabean! She'll have tried her best to bring back positive things from her sabbatical, all for the good of her kingdom, and due to a bad call and slight size miscalculations, she'll really be bringing down ruin!" she gasped dramatically, hand to her forehead. "Whatever will befall her and her subjects, at the vicious hands of BB?!"

"Probably the great Lego rebuild," Dean told her. "Including some much needed modernisation and improvements to sanitation and living facilities. Once they've tamed the wild beast, of course. What appeared on first sight to be the worst thing ever, actually, in the long term, raised the general standards of living for the populous and made Hennabean the most well loved ruler in the histroy of her kingdom." And possibly Dean didn't know what to do with her praise, even if it was only to do with a villian laugh, and so he took the slightly more serious tack in defence.

"Ah, the positive side of the intense horror!" Lullaby said. "Perfect. And really after BB has been converted to being on their side and everything, he'd probably want to defend the place from other outside attacks. Such as giants wandering by. You can never be too careful, so he'd have to attack almost everything. Just not the homestead anymore."

"More than likely," Dean agreed, handing her the kitty back. "So - did you want to head over there now, or later, or..." he asked her, giving her the option of choice.

"Now is as good a time as any." Lullaby said. "There's always been more to do there in the first place, really. This place really lacks in a lot of entertainment. Plus, while we could go on the roof here to look around at the full circle of the fog bank, it wouldn't be nearly as impressive as home." she added. Because that idea had sparked into her head. "Unless you don't wanna drive in the crazy world-swallowing-fog."

That was something he hadn't thought about. He'd never driven in fog before, after all. And it wasn't like he was the world's best driver or anything. "Erm - okay, so, what's the chance that, say, a deer's going to bolt out of the fog in front of us?" he asked her.

Lullaby paused and gave that serious consideration. "...honestly probably no more likely than one would dart out in front of us during normal conditions." she said. "We can go slow. It's not like there's a ton of people on 550 anyways, and that's the main part of the trek over. I'll help you watch, I promise." she assured him. She gave him a smile. "And if you're nervous, and you don't want to, we can just wait. I'm sure the fog will lift eventually, and I have faith in our ability to entertain ourselves in the mean time, if that's the case." she told him, easily totally letting him off of the hook. She didn't want him to feel scrutinized, or pushed, or anything at all, she could understand his hesitation, either way.

"No, no - it's fine," Dean said, having thought about it for a moment. "Slow's good." He didn't admit openly to being nervous though. He was much better at doing things than thinking about doing them. He knew this - or, at least, he was learning that. It was becoming clear - he thought too much. If he could stop thinking then things would go better, he was sure. he just didn't know how to stop thinking. That was the problem.

"If you're sure." Lullaby said, still not solidly landing on a 'yes we're going now' decision. She also didn't say that it could be practice for driving slow when there was snow on the roads. She didn't figure giving him something else to worry about was the best plan. So, she just kept being non pressurey. She did have total faith in his abilities to drive in the fog, though, so her non-worry over the situation was fairly evident. She always had confidence in Dean. He was just someone who got things accomplished.

"You say that one more time and I'm going to think you're trying to talk me out of it," Dean warned her. "So, yes, I'm sure - but BB needs to go in his box, because I can't drive with a cat attacking my feet."

"That would in fact, be very bad." Lullaby agreed. "Okay, I'll go get stuff ready for him and put socks on and stuff." she said. "Maybe shoes...y'know. All that." She started back towards the door, then looked back over her shoulder at him, looking just a tiny bit impish. "You wouldn't happen to be inclined to loaning me your blue hoodie by chance, would you?" she asked innocently.

Dean pulled a bit of a face. "It's in the wash," he told her, shrugging slightly. Since he'd finally caved, having considered the other day that now that she was living here, he really should. Hopefully, though, she'd put it down to that being because he'd worn it, rather than it being because he'd not wanted to wash it after she had. She really didn't need to know about his freak-tendencies. He might be generally comfortable with her, but there were some things that you just didn't share if you wanted to keep friends.

"Awww." Lullaby said. "Oh well, guess I'll have to wear my own hoodie then." she said, grinning as she sighed overly dramatically. "My life is so hard." she added. "Okay I'll be back in a second." she said, heading off for the basement to get everything for BB and herself. It wouldn't take long, though she did stop to pack treats, some food, and a toy for BB as well, just in case.

Dean chuckled and watched her go, before turning and starting the search for his keys. Today? Today should be a good day.