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21

“You look like you just came from prom.”

Dean leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, a wide grin splitting his face.

Jack blinked. “What’s prom?”

Castiel, sitting beside him on a dusty motel couch, sighed. “It’s an American tradition involving awkward dancing and regret.”

“That,” Dean pointed at Cas, “is probably the best explanation you’ve ever given.”

Jack glanced down at himself. Okay, so maybe the button-up shirt and neat jeans were a bit much for just visiting Dean and Cas. But he’d been with Maya earlier that day. And she’d complimented the shirt. Which meant it was now sacred.

Dean narrowed his eyes. “You dress like that around her, don’t you?”

Jack’s silence was answer enough.

Dean groaned. “Damn, he’s gone.”

“I am not ‘gone’,” Jack mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve.

Castiel tilted his head. “You’ve been rather emotionally compromised lately.”

“I have not!” Jack shot back, too quickly. “I’m just... invested.”

Dean leaned forward, all predator-smirk. “So when’s the wedding?”

Jack choked. “What?!”

“I’ll officiate,” Castiel added, straight-faced.

Dean laughed. “Cas, my man!”

Jack was practically vibrating with flustered energy. “I haven’t even told her—!”

“Oh, you haven’t told her,” Dean interrupted, hands flying up. “What’s the hold-up? What are you waiting for? Divine intervention?”

Jack pouted. “No! It’s just... complicated. There’s stuff I can’t tell her. Yet.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Like how you’re God?”

Jack sank lower in his chair. “Yes.”

Castiel crossed one leg over the other, his voice calm. “You’ve been closer to her than anyone in a very long time, Jack. That connection... it’s rare.”

“Yeah,” Dean said, nodding. “I mean, you’re weird as hell, but somehow she likes that.”

“She kissed me yesterday,” Jack blurted.

Dean and Castiel both turned to him.

“She what?” Dean leaned forward, eyebrows halfway up his forehead.

Jack smiled sheepishly. “It was... really nice.”

Castiel nodded. “You appear to be glowing.”

Dean snorted. “He’s literally glowing. Look at him. The dork’s shining.”

Jack did in fact notice his skin was casting a faint golden hue. He willed it to stop. It refused.

Dean clapped him on the back. “You’re doomed, man. You’re all in. You gonna start writing poetry now?”

“I already did,” Jack muttered.

Silence.

Dean blinked. “You what?”

“Just one poem.”

Castiel looked intrigued. “Can I read it?”

“No.”

Dean cracked up. “Oh, I need this framed. Put it in the Bunker somewhere. Jack’s Ode to Love and Pastry.”

“It wasn’t about pastry!”

Castiel raised his hand. “Actually, didn’t she give you a cherry pastry on your first coffee visit?”

Jack groaned into his hands. “This was a mistake.”

Dean chuckled. “No, dating is the mistake. Welcome to hell, kid.”

Jack sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

Because deep down? He didn’t regret a single thing.

---

The Next Day – Maya’s Apartment

Jack lay flat on Maya’s couch, one hand resting dramatically over his heart.

“You know,” he said, voice deep and serious, “I think your cats hate me.”

Maya, changing into a hoodie, snorted. “They don’t hate you.”

Gucci, sitting near the window, narrowed her eyes at Jack like a mafia boss assessing a threat. Nodi just blinked once and continued licking his paw.

“They miss you,” Jack said dramatically. “You’re not home as much now. They’re used to having their queen around constantly.”

Maya chuckled and plopped down beside him. “You’re the one who keeps showing up and whisking me away.”

“I’d never whisk without your consent,” he replied, trying to look wounded.

She gave him a pointed look. “You literally teleported me mid-sentence last week.”

“I said sorry! And I brought sandwiches!”

Maya laughed, leaning back on the couch. “You’re ridiculous.”

He leaned closer. “If I were a cat, I’d definitely be a clingy one. I'd sleep on your pillow and meow until you gave me attention.”

“That’s... disturbingly accurate.”

Jack grinned. “Can I be your third cat?”

Maya turned toward him. “You’d have to get neutered.”

Jack looked horrified. “I take it back.”

She burst out laughing, and even Gucci looked vaguely amused.

---

Later that evening, after Jack left (with a whispered promise to come back the next day), Maya sat at the kitchen table with Eva and Mark.

Eva was sipping tea, her long hair in a messy bun. Mark leaned against the counter, munching chips.

They were waiting for it. She could tell.

“So?” Eva asked, not bothering to hide her curiosity.

Maya sighed. “Okay. You both deserve to know the truth.”

Both sets of eyes locked on her.

“I’m a hunter.”

Mark blinked. “Like... deer?”

“No. Like... supernatural things.”

Eva slowly lowered her tea. “You’re not joking.”

Maya shook her head. “I’ve been trained since I was a teenager. It started small—books, training, old legends. But eventually... I saw things. Real things. I’ve helped people. Fought creatures.”

Eva’s eyes widened. “And you never told us?!”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Maya said softly. “And honestly? It’s lonely. Most people can’t handle it.”

Mark sat down. “You’ve fought things?”

Maya nodded. “Ghosts. Demons. Creatures you’d think were myths. It’s not glamorous. It’s scary. But... someone has to do it.”

There was silence. Then Eva reached out and squeezed her hand.

“I’m not mad,” she said. “I’m... shocked. But I’m proud of you.”

Mark nodded slowly. “Explains why you’re so freakishly good at darts.”

Maya laughed, the tension easing.

“I didn’t tell you to scare you,” she said. “I told you because... something’s changing. The things happening lately, they’re bigger. Stronger. And Jack—he’s helping.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “That pretty boy you’ve been kissing?”

Maya flushed. “...Yeah.”

Eva leaned in. “Okay. Spill. What’s the deal with Jack?”

Maya hesitated, then smiled—soft, honest.

“He’s... incredible. Weird. Gentle. Crazy powerful in a way I don’t understand. But kind. And real. He doesn’t hide how he feels. He just... feels everything so deeply.”

Mark smiled. “You’re in love with him.”

Maya let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Yeah,” she said. “I think I am.”

Eva beamed. “Finally. Someone who makes you happy.”

Maya looked down at her hands. “I was scared, you know? That it was too fast. Too intense. But now... it feels right.”

Mark raised his mug. “To weirdly amazing guys.”

Eva clinked hers against his. “And to our badass supernatural huntress.”

Maya laughed, her heart full for the first time in days.

And somewhere near the window, Gucci blinked slowly. Approval, perhaps.

Or maybe just hunger.

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