(no subject)

[weirddreams]

Had they gone on a proper date since they defined their relationship? No. Yet that wasn't the sole reason behind Sam's insistence to take Ruby out for dinner. Today marked five years since he had met her that fateful day. An anniversary of sorts. Or it could be. He arranged everything from the booth at the back of the diner to that cake with the cheeky candles of 2 and 0 to make light of her never aging.

The waitress already knew not to sing Happy Birthday at Sam's behest. All he asked of Ruby was to wear whatever was comfortable. What she decided to wear still managed to steal his breath.

On the flip side, he wore a solid blue shirt free of the usual crisscross pattern to be dressed up for the occasion. His hair combed behind his ears. The faint smell of cologne rose from his shoulders. He still did not know if he used it correctly. It was something he bought (was persuaded to buy) when he picked up a bouquet of red and white flora to present Ruby before they headed out.

The evening started with him holding the door open for her. The restaurant was neither high class or dingy. Yet it was clean-- Sam had checked the reviews and the health code rating it held. A cozy little interior that had something for everyone on the menu-- the meats and veggies. Sam's hand brushed the small of Ruby's as they were seated. "There's not many people that dine here at this time, in case you were wondering." He had checked all those boxes for their comfort by checking Google. This would be a quiet evening. The two of them.

Comments

[peaceonearth]

Ruby raises an eyebrow at him, a smile still curving her lips. "You're taking me on a treasure hunt?" Obviously, she thinks it might be fun. "What sort of things do we find? What do we leave? I probably have some protective charms in my bag we could leave."

[weirddreams]

"Yeah. Does it sound up your alley?" Sam tilts his head toward his shoulder in a shrug. Her smile is positive reinforcement that it's not an entirely bad idea. "Could be anything. Usually trinkets are left behind. What sort of charms do you have? It couldn't hurt to pass some along."

[peaceonearth]

"It actually does. Usually, I'm looking for a monster or a person or a magical artifact. This isn't that different except we've got a map to follow? Or clues?" She asks because she's not sure. "General protection and peaceful sleep. There's one for calmness too. Sometimes I put it under Dean's seat in the Impala." Not sorry.

[weirddreams]

"Sure. There are levels of difficulty, but we can ease into it. Generally the item is hidden high or low within 30 feet of the coordinates. Half the fun is finding it using on own map and devices." He'll show her tips for their first geocache with his phone later. He chuckles at confession. It explains a few recent rides in the Impala. "How about we remove that before Dean finds it. We can use it for our first geocache." Win-win.

[peaceonearth]

"Did you used to do this at college? Or as a kid?" she asks, curious about where he heard about geocaching. They'll have fun with it and it's a good activity to do without the interference of too many other people. She pouts a little at the suggestion of removing the charm from beneath the Impala's seat, but Sam is probably right. Dean will flip his lid if he finds it, or once he destroys it. "Fine, but the road rage-less trips were nice while they lasted."

Their food comes and Ruby automatically pushes their plates closer together so they can pick off each other's plates.

[weirddreams]

He lip twitches because her guess is correct. "Yeah, sometime between High School and college. Hard to remember when exactly. Some old friends and I got really into it. All I can say for sure is that it got really popular when coordinates became available on the world wide web." Popular to nerds like himself. They can even choose one outside of town so they aren't looking between buildings and sidewalks. "Don't pout. If you have any other suggestions where you two don't end up fighting again, have at it."

Watching her push their plates together brings him to smile. He starts with a fry from her plate just to see. Not under-salted nor over. He savors it for a second and sucks the salt off his finger. "Tasty. Looks homemade." It's not all prepackaged diner food here. He aimed for that.

[peaceonearth]

"I guess that would make things easier. It's a little like a treasure hunt with a clear map." Unlike the 'treasure' hunts they do for 'work'. She doesn't mind searching in a town or city, but a more nature themed hunt could be fun. "Suggestions that don't include witchcraft? Because I think magic is the only way Dean and I won't bicker." It's their way of showing affection in some part.

"Very tasty," she says, not taking her eyes off him.

[weirddreams]

"Here. I was going to wait to show you but you should choose." He opens the app, options, narrows the field to a beginner range outside of the town. Shortly, he slides the phone into her hand. If anything, somehow on the outskirts would be away from prying eyes. Neither of them would have to worry about too much public display of affection. He thinks about what Ruby and Dean have in common. Without realizing it, he scrubs his hands over his face. "Well...Fried food, to name one thing. You both have a collection of weapons." Periodically, he spies Dean hang up his gun collection in his room when they're taking breaks. Likewise, Ruby has access to her demon blade, an angel blade and other odds and ends with the sole purpose of destroying types of monsters. Beyond that, he can't think of anything else on the spot.

He can never not smile anew at her brand of flirtatiousness. "Oh, yeah? Have another bite then." He remembers to breathe even under her watch.

[peaceonearth]

She scrolls through the phone with one hand, sometimes pausing to pinch and zoom in on a map before moving to the next. "This one looks like it could be nice." There's a river that runs through the area or at least a small creek of some sort. She hums a little at his assessment of the similarities between her and Dean. "You," she adds to the list. "At least half of those we bicker over," she smirks. Sam forgets that bickering is a form of endearment for them, like siblings.

Lightly, playfully, she leans over and bites his shoulder gently before picking up one of the fries and taking a slow, appreciative bite of it. "Not bad," she agrees though she still finds him tastier.

[weirddreams]

Watching her scroll through the app, there's a comfortable silence that fills the space between them. Every so often he leans over to eye what she zooms in on. The last one she shows to him earns a smile and a nod. "Not too many people will be up in that area," he acknowledges. To his knowledge the fish travel more upstream where most campers, and even the hikers, tend to go. The two of them would likely only come across wild deer and squirrels in the surrounding area. His lip twitched at the corner, somewhere between the acceptance of Dean and Ruby caring about him and wanting to tell Ruby that isn't exactly what he meant. He concedes rather easily that she can have it. He was long past telling her what was beside the point. "I'm not ready to give up yet. Promise me you'll try to find common ground at least." It's true that he forgets that the bickering is endearment for them, yet he's not entirely convinced it's the best long-term strategy either. They're too of his most important people. One day he would like to see them communicate without the need to bicker.

He should have seen that coming. Ruby is a bit of a wild card, though, and his understanding of the situation leads to his mixup. He assumes she has the intention to kiss him and leans in. It feels more like a nibble to his shoulder and he neither feels any pain in his surprise nor pulls away. His body tingles from his shoulder to the look in his very eyes. Seeing her tease him, by moving back and having a bite of the fry, provides him with a bit of amusement at her boldness, behind the lingering desire to continue elsewhere. "Yeah, no. Let's try to get through our meal first." He can see they're on the same page.

[peaceonearth]

"We'll be alone, just how I like it," she says cheekily. She turns it into flirting, but Sam knows how serious she is about liking when it's just the two of them. The wildlife will be a bonus. If it weren't for the lack of a bathtub and a real bed, Ruby would enjoy camping very much. "Scout's honor," she says, holding up three fingers in the Boy Scouts of America hand sign. She will try to find common ground (she's aware they have a few things in common) but she can't promise the bickering will disappear.

She smirks at his admonishment. "An incredibly difficult task, but you'll need your stamina. For geocaching, of course," she jokes as she takes a bite of his food next.