Faith was on her way back from grabbing some food when she noticed a familiar pair of feet sticking up in the impala.
She approached the car and knocked gently on the window.
"Dean?"
Dean
Dean jumped up, startled.
He groaned, before turning in his seat and winding the window down.
"Yeah?"
Faith
"Safe to come inside now," Faith said, then held up the bags of food.
"And I have food. And coffee.
Dean
"Pie?" Dean raised an eyebrow, still mostly asleep.
Faith
"Of course," Faith said.
"Come on, it's freezing out here too."
Dean
"Nah, it's barely cool," Dean waved her off, winding the window up again.
He pulled the jacket he'd been using as a blanket over his shoulders, grabbed his keys, and got out.
Faith
Faith waited until he was ready, then unlocked the motel room. She opened the door and walked through, putting one bag of food in the microwave for Sam to have later, and the other on the table.
Dean
Dean walked in and dumped his jacket after closing the door quietly. He made a quick break for the bathroom, and once he was done came back to the table.
Faith
Faith sipped her coffee, resting both hands around the cup. She was turned slightly, so she was watching Sam sleep peacefully.
Dean
Dean investigated the bag of food.
"So. It's only three in the morning. Have a fight?" Dean asked quietly so as not to wake his brother.
Faith
Faith shook her head, turning back to look at Dean.
"Nah, he was just exhausted, and I was hungry."
Dean
"Too much sex?" Dean's eyebrows rose.
Faith
"Yeah," Faith grinned, resting her chin in her hand, the ring on her finger sparkling lightly when it caught the dim light in the room.
"And the nervous energy, I think."
Dean
Dean instantly spotted the ring, and smirked.
"Yeah, I get that," he bit into his pie.
Faith
Faith brought her other hand up to support her chin and she studied the ring for a second.
"Yeah, I had a feeling he thought I was going to run out screaming."
Dean
"That was one of his many, many fears," Dean mused, taking another bite.
Faith
"You knew?" Faith asked.
She opened the bag of food.
Dean
"What don't I know about that kid?" Dean shrugged.
He got up to fetch a beer.
Faith
"Good point."
Faith shrugged, and leaned back in the chair.
"To be honest, I had to wait until he was asleep so I could actually look up what a promise ring is."
Dean
"Yeah, I had to ask for the particulars too. I'm not versed on rings and their meanings."
He came back to the table after taking a swig.
"Never gotten anywhere near that far. Never will."
Faith
"Yeah, I think it's like... a pre-engagement ring. Or like being married without ceremony. Basically... we're promising to be with each other."
Faith shrugged.
"Hadn't ever thought I'd get to this place again. Not after my last disastrous attempt at committment."
Dean
"...With a cheating jerk," Dean added for her.
Faith
"Zac wasn't a jerk," Faith said, reaching for her coffee again. "It was..."
She paused for a second, glancing behind her at Sam.
"You want the whole behind the music truth?"
Dean
Dean shrugged.
"Hit me."
Faith
"It was like... I don't know. I knew I had complete power in that relationship, I knew that I could hurt him. Not just physically. And... I don't know, I enjoyed it. I did it because I could. So we'd fight, and he'd go out and drink and then end up telling me he'd slept with someone else."
Faith paused to take another sip of coffee.
"And he'd tell me and it was like I didn't care. Well, I cared. But... not really, if that makes sense. I mean, if Sam came to me and told me he'd gone and slept with someone else, I would kick his ass. I would care. But, I just... with Zac, I just... let him do it. Because it didn't really mean anything to me. So I guess that's why I'm not freaking out about Sam's almost proposal. Because I care now. I'm not deliberately trying to hurt him, the way I was trying to hurt Zac."
Dean
"So..." Dean squinted with one eye.
"Basically the Zac relationship was just abuse and Sam's the knight in shining armour? Excuse my nausea at the thought, but you get the gist right?"
Faith
"Not really," Faith replied.
"I mean, I took myself out of the Zac relationship. And I was the one doing the abusing. It's more... I married Zac because I thought that's what I should do. But if Sam asked, I would because I'd want to."
Dean
"So... being cheated on counts as abusing him in your book?" Dean was confused.
"No," Faith said, shaking her head.
"But I did drive him to it more often than not. I would pick fights
deliberately."
She shrugged.
"I don't know. It's not a big deal, really."
Dean
"Nah it's not," Dean agreed with a shrug.
He polished of the rest of his pie, brushed off his hands, and took a swig of
beer.
Faith
Faith yawned, and pushed the food away from her.
"Think it might be bedtime again."