MHA 19 - Friday Morning

[single_man_tear]

When Dean woke up this morning he had still been a dog. A dog sho had quietly hopped down from the bed he had been sleeping on to do one of those big stretches with his butt in the air that dogs were known to do.

And that’s when he turned back into a human being. Naked. In a freaking yoga pose.

“Son of a bitch.”

Quietly, so as not to wake Jane, he scrounged up some clothes of his that he must have left behind when he transformed and got dressed. Since things were a bit hazy in memory Dean went into the kitchen to listen to past radio podcasts (“Roadside attractions? Son of a bitch.”) and then started making breakfast.

Look, Jane got forced to take care of Dean all week as a dog. At the very least she deserves pancakes, eggs and bacon.

[For the astrophysicist/God of Thunder]

Comments

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane woke not terribly long after that, reaching for the spot Dean as a dog had been sleeping as she stretched.

"Dean?"

[single_man_tear]

For a brief second Dean had considered barking in response and then scratching at the door but figured Jane probably had enough of that.

“Morning Jane!”

Dean took a moment to turn down the heat on the stove and pour a cup of coffee before heading to the bedroom with said cup of coffee. “I got breakfast going. You want to join me at the table? Or would you like breakfast in bed. It’s the least I could do for taking care of me all week.”

[needsacatchphrase]

"I'll join you," Jane said, lighting up at the coffee. Look, you didn't get into higher levels of academia without an addiction there. "Glad to see you're back to normal."

[single_man_tear]

"It feels good to be back to normal," Dean said with a sigh and an eyeroll. He held out his hand to help Jane out of bed. "I wasn't too much trouble, was I?"

[needsacatchphrase]

"No, no. You were a good--you were good." Ignore how 'a good boy' almost slipped out there.

[single_man_tear]

Well, that would have been awkward. Nice save there, Jane!

"Good," Dean said looking relieved as he headed back to the kitchen. "My memory is a little hazy for the week. I was worried I might have chewed some shoes or furniture up. Did I miss anything this week?"

[needsacatchphrase]

Look, he'd been a dog! It happens!

"Well, I fought a giant peach in California. Which was a first for me."

[single_man_tear]

"Was that the road side attraction thing?" Dean asked. "Or was there also a small orphaned English boy inside the peach along with a bunch of polite giant insects?"

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane snorted at that joke and smiled into her coffee. "Cute, but no it was the roadside thing. Thor beat up a big, blue ox."

[single_man_tear]

"Man, I missed all the fun," Dean said with a snort of amusement. He loaded up the plate with pancakes, eggs and bacon and put it front of Jane.

"Stark's tower thingy didn't get leveled again, did it?" he teased. "I'd hate for him to have to redecorate."

Then again a peach is a lot softer than an elephant.

[needsacatchphrase]

"I was extra careful about it!" And she'd never live it down if it happened a second time.

Maybe some version of the Hulk would show up to do it and save her the embarrassment.

[single_man_tear]

The whole island will need to learn Natasha's lullaby if Banner ever showed up.

"I'm sure you were," Dean said, reassuringly and trying to hide his smile. "I'm just glad I didn't see the giant ball of string when I was a dog. That would have been a rough game of fetch."

[needsacatchphrase]

"I would have rescued you," Jane promised. Because it would end up thay way with a giant ball like that.

[single_man_tear]

"That seems to be a common thing with us these days," Dean said with a rueful grin. "Not that I mind being the pretty princess in our story."

[needsacatchphrase]

"You do have very pretty eyes," she teased.

[single_man_tear]

Dean batted his eyes at Jane for a comedic effect. "Dr. Jane Foster, I do declare you are giving me the vapors," he added for additional dramatic/comedic effect.

[needsacatchphrase]

"Even with bedhead?" Jane asked, laughing at the theatrics.

[single_man_tear]

"You know the 'roll out of bed' look is underrated in my book," Dean said taking a sip of his coffee. "Then again I've always like it when things get a bit messy."

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane kicked him gently under the table. Because he'd only just gotten back to human, no need to break him. "Well, I appreciate it."

[single_man_tear]

He has been broken enough in the last 15 years so the gentle kick was also appreciated.

Dean looked at Jane from behind his coffee cup. "You know, I might have forgotten a lot of things this last week, but seeing you in the morning is still one of my favorite things," he said, honestly. "And I also haven't forgotten what I was going to tell you on Saturday."

[needsacatchphrase]

That's what happened when your show runs that long, Dean!

"Oh?" Jane said, holding onto the mug with something between apprehension and anticipation.

[single_man_tear]

"Yeah, I-"

He paused for a moment and looked down at his hands. Nope. No paws.

"I love you."

He paused again and looked up at Jane in anticipation. Of what he wasn't sure. The apartment catching on fire? A rift in dimensions opening up and sucking them away for a year? Look it wasn't out of the question with Dean. When a moment had paused and nothing bad happened, Dean visibly relaxed.

"You don't have to say it back if you're not there or don't feel the same. I just wanted to tell you how I felt."

[needsacatchphrase]

No super hell here!

Jane let out a little sigh, but she smiled and leaned over to kiss him for it. "Give me a little more time, yeah?"

It would have probably been much easier before the embodiment of her emotional baggage hadn't rolled up on the island this summer.

[single_man_tear]

Kind of rough when the alternate version of your ex and your other ex show up wrapped in the same body.

He smiled at her and nodded. "Totally understand," he said, pushing his eggs a bit with his fork. "Whatever you need."

[needsacatchphrase]

Sometimes life just conspires to make things as awkward as possible!

"Well, I've got you here for breakfast and that's pretty great," Jane replied.

[single_man_tear]

Dean was now looking down at his plate of food and realized he should made his emotional speech after he ate.

“Yep. And this version doesn’t have fleas,” Dean said almost inhaling an entire pancake. “Hey aren’t you going to be late for class?”

[needsacatchphrase]

"Yesterday," Jane replied, watching him just demolish that pancake with raised eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

[single_man_tear]

Today’s Friday?

“Yep!” Dean said swallowing that mound of pancake with a wince. “I was just really craving pancakes when I was a dog.”

Which is totally the reason why he was piling his fork up with the other pancake.

[needsacatchphrase]

"Dean," she said like that would just get across what she was trying to get out of him here.

[single_man_tear]

"What?" Dean asked with as much innocence as he could muster with an entire pancake stuck on his fork. "I'm good."

[needsacatchphrase]

"This? This is good?" she asked, gesturing at the insane pancake situation.

[single_man_tear]

Dean looked at fork and gently put it down on the plate. “Are we good? Because I just realized I made things extremely awkward and that I should have waited.”

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane's expression softened at that and she reached over to put a hand over his. "We're good," she replied. "I know I should have expected you to say it after last week, but I'm still... working through some of the changes here. I want to say it back, but I keep overthinking everything."

Shocking for someone like her, right?

[single_man_tear]

Absolutely shocking!

Dean inhaled a bit before reaching out with his hand. “Just so we’re clear then: I don’t want you to feel pressured or uncomfortable by what I said. That’s just how I feel. I don’t expect or want you to respond if you don’t feel the same. I’m good with that. Honestly.”

Dean had been on the other side of this conversation more than a few times.

He nodded to the giant pancake stack on his fork. “I felt awkward and panicked. I’m sorry. “

[needsacatchphrase]

"Oh believe me, I know what that's like," she replied, giving his hand a squeeze. "All I'm saying is to give me some time to figure out my feelings."

[single_man_tear]

Dean looked a bit more relieved as he returned the hand squeeze. “Whatever time you need. I’m not going anywhere,” he promised.

[needsacatchphrase]

Jane smiled at that, lifting up their hands to kiss the back of his. "Now you can eat your pancakes like you're starving," she teased.

[single_man_tear]

"This is how they eat pancakes in Europe, you know," Dean joked, as he indeed shoved that entire forkful of pancakes into his mouth.