Owner	Pose
Winifred Burkle	Fred and Sam have been spending quite a bit of time with each other. While they are not exactly 'joined at the hip' they have a habit of generally spending the night together. Either Fred comes to Hell's Kitchen or Sam stays at the Hyperion. Sam left early to 'check on something on a case'. While Fred offered to come and help, he insisted she stay and sleep. It didn't take a lot of convincing. While Fred is a generally curious woman, he was up a bit earlier than even she was used to. Instead she fell back to sleep and woke up an hour or so later. Dressing, she starts to gather her things and moves out to the apartment kitchen to make herself some coffee and some toast before heading back to Bludhaven. Hair messily pulled back into a sort of half bun, she glances about, unable to keep herself from nosily looking about to see how the two brothers tend to live together, now that she has a moment to actually study it unimpeded.
Dean Winchester	In the centre of the kitchen table, Dean's phone buzzes angrily--evidently he remembered to turn the ringer off, but had left it on vibrate despite the fact its on the hard wooden table. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. It complains until it stops. A few moments pass and two pings indicate that the caller has left a message. The pattern repeats itself minutes later. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. It's then that the front door opens and Dean, wearing a grease stained jumpsuit walks through the kitchen. His chin drops to spy the phone which buzzes with another message before his lips purse with something akin to a frown. It's only after he opens the fridge and takes out and opens a bottle of beer that he turns around and catches sight of Fred. "Jesus! Freddie, don't sneak up on a guy like that."
Winifred Burkle	The toast starts to heat up and the coffee percolates when the buzzing starts behind her on the kitchen table. Turning, she studies the phone for a few moments. It's not Sam's, it must be Dean's. The physicist looks about for the owner and doesn't see him anywhere. For a moment, she opens her mouth to call for Dean that his phone is ringing, but then she slowly shuts it. Sam did say that Dean was a late sleeper. Perhaps he left the phone out here so he would not be disturbed. It's not really her business, is it? However, she moves closer to the phone as it starts to buzz again. Then, Dean appears, not paying any attention to the room or her. He opens the fridge, gets a beer and then jumps. In return, she jumps as well, surprised that he is surprised. "I didn't! she defends. "I'm sorry! I was just standing here! Also, your phone was ringing. And beer is an afternoon drink!"
Dean Winchester	"You did," Dean replies while he takes a swig of his beer. The notion of beer as an afternoon drink earns Fred a sharp lift of his eyebrows: "And I thought overnights typically involved staying with someone who, y'know, lives in the apartment." He swallows more of the beer. "Seems we were both wrong." His eyes narrow when they turn to the phone and he shrugs. "If it's important, they'll call back later." Because they will, probably. "But seriously, shouldn't you be gone if Sammy's gone? Isn't that how it works?" Not that Dean Winchester has ANY idea how a relationship works. His lips curl up on one side, "Lady comes home with dude. Dude and lady--" he lifts his hand rakes his fingers through his hair, as much as he's able to talk about sex, somehow talking to his brother's girlfriend about it means he needs to use euphemisms instead of bluntness "--make a magical sandwich. Someone goes home." He shrugs. "Or did you move in without me knowing?" Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. He frowns and pockets his phone.
Winifred Burkle	"If me standing still qualifies as sneaking up on you, that means you don't really have good sensory perception." The way Fred says that is not an insult or even a condemnation, it is a statement that is even tinged with a bit of worry. "I learned how to sense predators in the forest for a few years. If you need help on sensing people in the periphery, I'd be glad to show you. It helped keep me alive for five years." As for overnights generally involving people who live here, Fred - again - studies Dean as if he is the one who doesn't understand. "Sam lives here," she tells him firmly. "He went out to check on a case." On this form, Dean and Fred might be actually completely of the same maturity level. Fred has no idea what people in the adult world might view a relationship. Her last one was in high school and that is far different from this."I didn't move in, I was just getting some breakfast before heading home. Should I---oh, do you not want me to be here?" Dean's pantomime and vague words clearly confuse Fred as he tells her that she and Sam should make a 'magical sandwich'. Instead, she tells him, earnestly and without any form of humor: "Sandwiches are good, but I generally prefer tacos."
Dean Winchester	Dean squints at Fred as she outlines in detail what kept her alive. Frowns when she asserts that Sam lives here. And arm-crosses when she asks if he doesn't want her here. And then she says she likes tacos better than sandwiches. The menacing Dean that had been standing attempts to conceal his expression and keep it stoic. His nostrils flare. His shoulders tense. And then they bob. The laugh actually has him bending over exploding with the laughter that he'd tried so earnestly to keep under wraps. When he straightens a mischievous smile tugs the edges of his lips. "You and me both, bro," evidently Fred has been upgraded to bro-friend. It's a wonder how long it will last. He takes a long swig of his beer, finishing the bottle when the buzzing--muffled thought it may be--continues from his pocket. He lifts his eyebrows when he extracts it and then returns it to the jumpsuit.
Winifred Burkle	Fred, clearly, has no idea what exactly it is that made Dean turn from aggressive and defensive of his space to laughing and calling her bro. However, seeing the transition easily allows her shoulders to drop and her to smile, though she doesn't exactly know why he is laughing. She was serious: when offered a sandwich and a taco, she would take a taco every time. "Oh, okay, good! I missed them when I was on Pylea." The fact that she is now 'bro' does not exactly escape her. Being alone for so long in a cave in an alternate dimension meant she didn't get called 'bro' often - read at all. And so, this development in their relationship is met with a grin. "You're phone is still ringing. Bro." She'll try that out, too. He just called her bro, why can't she? "You said if it's important they'd call back and they seem to be doing so!"
Dean Winchester	"Everyone would miss tacos," Dean snickers while his head ducks back towards the fridge. He takes out another beer. This one, however, is offered to Fred. The mention of his phone earns a faint shrug and a vague near-smile. "Right. But I know this caller. They'll leave a message if it's important and I'll get back to them." The phone pings with a new message. Dean's cheeks puff out with breath. "So... you have a day job?" because she's still around here. Although the question is substantially less aggressive. Bzzzzt. Dean sighs and he finally puts the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He pauses, "Oh the ringer was off. Didn't hear you or know you were calling," there's a cutesy tone in his voice. "Yeah, yeah... don't worry about it, I'll make the appearance... And I appreciated that... right, except... No." His fingers drum against the phone. "Nothing going on here except the usual... Any word on dad?... Yeah... Tell your mom I said hi." The call is brief and sees Dean hanging up without saying goodbye. His attention turns back to Fred, "So. Day job?"
Winifred Burkle	"Right?!" Fred is excited that she has found someone who has the same excitement for tacos that she does. Of course, she is taking the conversation far more literally than Dean is. To Dean's ensured amusement, they are having two different conversations. "I'm so glad you agree. I think Sam just says he likes them sometimes because I do. But, that's really what I love about him. He tries to like what I like." The offered beer is taken with a bit of a blink. Her coffee has just finished, but Sam's brother is telling her to drink with him. Bonding! This is how one bonds, right? Popping the top of the beer, she takes a drink and her eyebrows wrinkles. It's clear she is not exactly a beer drinker. "I work with Angel at Angel Investigations It's not really a day job as morning, noon and night job. We help people with supernatural problems." The call is listened to - not just because she is there and nosey (which she is) - but because she is standing right next to Dean. "Who was that?" she asks, unable to keep herself from being nosy. "Sounded like you liked whoever was on the other end."
Dean Winchester	"Oh, believe me, Sam likes tacos too. I mean, I can't say what kind of enthusiasm he likes them with," Dean's hand waves in the air. "He might like sandwiches too. Not sure which he would choose in a pinch--a sandwich or a taco. You should ask him sometime." And then as a kind of follow-up, he adds, "Make sure I'm there to hear the answer." His eyes gleam with unbridled mischief. He nods approvingly when Fred pops the lid off the beer. And even if she doesn't like it, he has an appreciation for the effort. "What do you do exactly? The same thing we do?" He shrugs. "It's a life not a job," at last that he can easily agree on. The last, however, has his expression softening. His chin drops to his chest and he becomes unusually shy. "Just a friend. Bailed me out of prison a few weeks back," and then, rather instinctively, he lifts a hand, "don't tell Sammy. Case'll get thrown out of court no problem. Just gotta make another trip to Virginia. Short trip."
Winifred Burkle	Led along on the debate between sandwiches and tacos, Fred doesn't seem to think anything of it. "Sure!" She agrees to wait till Dean is there to ask about Sam's preferences between foods. Why not? As for what Angel Investigations does, Fred nods. "Sort of, yeah. We help find people who've been kidnapped by vampires or who've been haunted. Get demons to stop squatting in apartments. We help people who need helping." With a 'ding!' the toaster pops and Fred goes to pull out the toast, putting a bit of butter on it. Bread and beer, breakfast of champions. Fred's eyebrows raise. "You were in jail? Why where you in jail?" As for telling Sam or not, she frowns. It's not really like her to keep secrets: she has a pretty bad poker face. "I don't know...if you're going to have to go back down there, it might be better to have his help. He was applying for law school, after all. Wouldn't it be better to have someone with you who knows more about that?"
Dean Winchester	"It's fine, and I've got it handled," because jail isn't that big a deal in Dean's world. "It's just part of the life we lead." If it's fine, it's a wonder why he doesn't want his brother to know about it. He brings the bottle to his lips and takes another long drink. "Just a misunderstanding about a case." His lips purse and he inhales a long breath. "It's why I didn't get your messages for a stretch. Case, jail--both kind of eat the cellphone time." He rubs his chin while setting the now-empty bottle on the table. "And good on you with that Angel Investigations group. It's good there's so many folks willing to hunt what's out there." That he does have an opinion on. His lips hitch up on one side. "Good to partner with some of them. Meeting some more of your people might be good for Sam. Glad that he's connecting with like-minded folks."
Winifred Burkle	And Fred is exactly that kind of wonderer. She's not pushing, merely taking things to the logical conclusion as she sees them and stating them as facts as she sees them: "Sure, but if it's nothing, Sam'd understand that and wouldn't worry." As for why he didn't get her messages, she nods a few times. "What was the case?" It seems like an easy question to answer. As for the group, she smiles, unable to conceal the warmth she feels for her crew. "They're the good guys." It's not just that Angel saved her form a hell dimension, she genuinely likes them. Fred's own beer is barely touched. She takes another polite sip, immediately taking a bite of toast after it. "It's good to have him around," she agrees. "You're talking like you're not as like minded," she grins, gently attempting a tease.
Dean Winchester	The question about the case has Dean rubbing the back of his neck. "A hellhound disrupting things in a small Virginia city." He shrugs, "I dealt with it. Found the source," he swallows hard at that, "and have it well in hand." At that he winks. Nothing like a wink to encourage confidence. He takes a few steps away from the table and then nods slowly. The thought of not being like-minded wins Fred a mischievous, nearly self-deprecating smile, "Nah. I just don't play well with others. Need to keep their hands off my toys."
Winifred Burkle	"That's one of those things that nearly killed the boy at NYU?" Fred asks. It seems she hasn't dealt with those sorts of beings before. Continuing with her thinking, she asks a few more questions: "How do you get rid of those things without wishing them away? And how'd you get arrested?" The first is just for later knowledge; it's helpful to know how to deal with the multitude of baddies they find themselves facing. As for toys, she nods. "Oh, you mean like guns and axes and stuff? We've got a closet! Angel's pretty meticulous about keeping it organized."
Dean Winchester	"...yeah. Hellhounds are impossible to stop. They're controlled by demons or... someone. The key is finding whoever does the controlling," Dean's eyes train on the table. "Arrested because of a misunderstanding involving dispensing of the hellhound's summoner. It's fine. Honestly, the charges'll be dropped. Especially with the whole SHIELD legitimacy." His eyebrows tick up at that, suggesting that even he knows legitimacy has its uses. "I mean Sam is the people person. People like him. I'm... rough around the edges. So it's not that we're so different in though, just it's good for Sam. In fact," his lips twist to the side, "if you could get him more involved with your end of things, bet that'd be good for both of you."
Winifred Burkle	"Impossible to stop?" Fred doesn't like the sound of that. Her eyebrows furrow. "You don't have to kill the person who summoned them, do you?" While she's dusted vampires and taken care of demons, she has never killed a person - evil or otherwise. "Is that what happened? You had to kill the summoner and you got caught? How do you get out of that?" She's genuinely curious. Taking another sip of her beer, this one is a little bigger. She's either getting used to the taste or is distracted. "I see." There's a bit of a frown from Fred as he says that Sam should get more involved with Angel and possibly SHIELD. "And you don't want to be involved with that?" she asks, curious. It seems she's the kind of person that will ask a bunch of questions.
Dean Winchester	"So far. Maybe there's a way out there somewhere, but," Dean shrugs. He doesn't know it. His expression turns grim at the notion of killing whoever summoned them. "Summoners who did it on purpose are trying to hurt people." He doesn't, however, answer the last about what happened. Instead, he switches tracks, "You ask a lot of questions." His eyebrows lift and his arms cross over his chest. "Not really used to ties. That's all. Not sure it's done any of us--Dad, Sam, or me--any favours, but this is the longest I've lived somewhere in a long time," and they haven't been in the apartment long. "Sam already seems taken with you. That's a tie. Should be easy to jump into more is all."
Winifred Burkle	The frown continues on Fred's face as she thinks all that through, looking down at her barely touched beer in her hands. "I know," she replies to the idea that summoners do it to hurt other people. There is someone already she knows that she would almost certainly not hesitate to kill should the need arise. But, in the harsh light of morning the thought skitters a bit. Her eyes lift as he says she asks a lot of questions. With a bit of a self-conscious smile and a shrug, she nods. "It's the scientist in me. Can't solve anything if you don't ask the questions!" If he was hoping that switch in conversation would lead her away from the old one, he's correct. Something a bit more pressing starts to form in her head. "So, you want Sam to form some ties, but you're not up to it." She's more or less just restating what he just said. They haven't ever stayed in one place very long. "You're not thinking of leaving are you?" she asks. There's a bit of worry in her voice at that. Fred knows how important Dean is to Sam. If Dean leaves, she wouldn't be surprised if Sam followed, no matter how me might feel about her.
Dean Winchester	Dean runs his hand through his hair and his green eyes squint at the latest question. "I think of a lot of things," there's a slight glimmer in his eyes. "Including what's best for my baby brother." His fingers reach for the cellphone he'd abandoned to the table. "I'm a hunter. I don't always get a say in my life and what I want. In fact, I rarely do." Pause. "But no, no plans to leave. Not yet." He knocks on the edge of the table. He manages a flicker of a smile, nearly sad in its inception, "Sam just needs folks to look out for him. One of us was semi-parented, it wasn't me. No, I got to be the parent," there's an oddity to his expression. And then with no shortage of bravado he adds, "Lack of ties means I look out for myself pretty well though. And I had to. No say in the matter."
Winifred Burkle	There's a lot to think about on that. He doesn't have a say in his own life or what he wants to do since he's a hunter. It's a lot to digest. She doesn't know a ton about Dean's past - only what she's overheard and gleaned from Sam and his stories about their father and how Dean practically raised him. "If you want ties," she hazards at first, "I think Sam'd like that. We could all do something together." Taking a swig from her bottle of beer, she shrugs her shoulders a bit. "I lived alone for awhile and even when I got back I thought I should keep it that way. I was scared." Pausing, she takes another sip from her beer bottle. It has to be close to room temperature by now, but she doesn't seem to notice it tasting differently. "But, being a part of Angel Investigations? Being with Sam? Looking out for them and letting them look out for me? It's better than being alone."
Dean Winchester	Dean arches a wry eyebrow at Fred's thoughts. His lip curls on one side. "I think it's good for Sam to start establishing some of that," he suggests as his hands drop to his sides. "We're not all wired the same. Not everyone is meant to be around others. Sammy is. Me?" His hand rocks in the air uncertainly. He issues her a vague shrug of his shoulders before stepping backwards towards the front door. "But it's good you found your niche." "Just keep an eye on Sammy, okay? Like I said, he seems to like you. Which is..." he rubs his chin, "different." He doesn't say whether it's good different or bad different. He inhales a long breath while his lips curve into a small frown. "Just keep an eye on him, alright?"
Winifred Burkle	Fred listens to Dean as he tells her that he's not certain he's wired to be around others, but Sam is. She's not sure what to say about that. She doesn't know Dean that well. In fact, this is the longest uninterrupted conversation she's had with him. While he steps back toward the front door, she remains in the kitchen. "I think if you want to find out it'll surprise you," is all she can think to say about that. There's a crinkle of her eyebrows when he says that Sam liking her is 'different'. "Thank you?" she says, unsure of how to take that. For now, she is going to hope that different is a good thing. "But, I will. I don't want anything bad to happen to him."
Dean Winchester	"....yeah. Neither do I." Dean shifts his weight from one foot to the other. His lips part for a moment only to press together again with a vague shake of his head. He turns on his heel and his hand turns the doorknob. He steps through the door, and from the hallway calls, "Take it easy Freddie." With that, the door closes.