Peppermint Sticks and a Bottle of Jack

Peppermint Sticks and a Bottle of Jack 

Halena Raske had always considered herself to be straightforward when it came to choices of food. If she was hungry for meat, she’d eat meat, or a salad or fries, or whatever suited her fancy. She wasn’t a health nut, by any means, and she rarely had food cravings or gave into the subtle tempting of sweets. . . At least, that had been the case. . .

After becoming mortal again, Halena had found to her surprise, that she’d gained a sweet tooth. She never went overboard, she was far too disciplined for that, but she had found herself taking pleasure from candies she’d never thought to try before. The newest on her list being the incredibly large Peppermint sticks. Not candy canes, or mints. . .  but the sticks. They had a fuller flavor and lasted far longer than their hooked counterparts, or so she’d learned, after several delicious tastings. Now, she was addicted.

The petite woman currently sighed happily as she raised her brown eyes to look up at the starry sky, and sucked some more on her sugary treat. It was a peaceful night, with a slight breeze and the relaxed sounds of the wild. Crickets, the leaves rustling in the canopy of trees, and in the distance, the sound of babbling brook.

After regaining her humanity, Halena had found herself longing to go camping. It had been years since she’d pitched a tent and sat by a fire pit, so she’d indulged herself. The woman giggled as she remembered Sam’s reaction to her request.

“Wait. . . You. . . You want to go camping?”

“Yes.”

The hazel eyes had regarded her with confusion. “You do? Really?”

“Yes, Sam,” she’d laughed, before rising on tiptoe to place a kiss to his stubbly cheek. “You make it sound like I’m crazy for wanting too. Has camping changed that much since I last went? Is it considered a horrific experience now?”

“No. No . . .  I just didn’t expect you to want to go.” He returned her kiss with a bemused smile of his own.

“I do, cowboy,” Halena said. “But only if you come with me. It’d be no fun camping all by my lonesome.”

He chuckled. “Well, alright. Let’s do it. I’ll meet up with you in a few days once Dean and I finish our new job.”

“I’ll bring the tent,” she’d crowed with excitement.

“And I’ll bring the sleeping bag,” he promised before kissing her goodbye.

Halena giggled again as she sucked happily on her peppermint stick. Sam was such a fluffy sweet roll. It was no wonder she’d ended up falling for him. Not that she’d ever told him as much. . .

“Wow, peppermint candy. . . I didn’t realize it was Christmas time in these parts.”

Halena’s mouth opened wide like a fish, as she clumsily spun around to look over her shoulder. Speak of the devil! A sexy, 6′ 4″ tall devil, with the best hair she’d ever seen.

“SAMMYYY!!” She waved at him with her free hand, and almost tipped over from the force of it. “YOU MADE IT!”

Sam’s eyes bugged out for a breath, before he laughed. “Yeah, I told you I would.”

“Yeahhhh, but you came to seeee meeee!” She chorused tipsily. “I missed youuu~!”

The tall Winchester studied her for a long moment, before a shocked smile rose on his lips. From the twinkle in his hazel eyes, he doing his best not to laugh.

“Umm, Halena?”

“Yes cowboiii?”

“Sweetheart, are you . . . drunk?”

“Ohhh definitely~!” She giggled before waving absently to the empty bottle of Jack Daniels that had long since been discarded at her feet. “It makes these peppy-peppi . . .peppa . . .it makes these candies taste wayyy better!”

Sam chuckled with amusement, as he moved to sit next to her on the ground. Before she’d gotten completely wasted, Halena had been conscious enough to place a thick blanket on the ground to sit on. Otherwise she’d most likely have gotten grass stuck in some unimaginable crevices by now. . .

“You know,” Sam said as he got settled next to her on the blanket. “I’ve never seen you drunk before.”

“I know,” she beamed at him. “One of the downsides of being a demon, is you can’t get buzzed! Oh mannn~! I’ve missed it, ya know!?”

“I bet you did,” Sam said, grinning as he openly watched her.

“You know it, Sammy!” Halena winked at him, before she pushed the peppermint back in her mouth. Her eyes closed blissfully as she sucked on the sugary stick, before she pulled it back out and haltingly offered the almost white candy to him. “Here, sweetie! I forgot to share~!”

Sam eyed it. “Uh, I’m good, Halena. But thanks.”

“Ohhh c’mon! You’ve gotten my cooties before! Kissing and sharing food is basically the same thing-a-ma-jig! C’mon! C’mon!”

Sam looked ready to protest, before he rolled his eyes and leaned in to lick the stick. She cheered gleefully, as he shared with her and then cooed his name encouragingly. After he’d gotten a good taste, Halena stuck it back in her own mouth with a snort.

“What?”

She giggled despite herself. “You licking my candy looked so dirty. . . Plus, the infinite amount of ‘stick’ jokes. . . It’s. . . It’s too good.”

Sam’s brows raised as he snorted himself. “Just know, if you start rapping Candy Shop, I’m going to confiscate your peppermints.”

Halena pouted before whining, “But it’s the ultimate song for inn-you. . . In-u. . .”

“Innuendos,” Sam offered, making her nod lopsidedly.

“Exactly!” She held out the stick for him again, and this time he popped it the full way inside his mouth without hesitation. As he sucked on it, she started at him with an unreadable expression, that made him almost believe she’d sobered. When Sam had gotten his sugar fill, he asked her about it.

“Hey, you okay over there?”

“Uhhh huhh, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“How pretty you are.”

Sam choked on his laughter, as she leaned into him and cuddled into his side. “Well, thank you. . .”

“You are a beautiful, beautiful hunk of man-ness.” She continued, unperturbed, as she ran her fingers down the side of his face, and then his jacket. “Every time I look at you, I just about die at how yummy you are!”

“Well, you’re quite beautiful yourself, Halena,” Sam teased, as he wrapped his arm around her. “I’m a lucky guy.”

“Nahhh, I’m the lucky one, Sammy-baby. No quest-question.” She shook her head so much that she smacked her forehead against his shoulder blade. But she didn’t seem to notice. “I just love, love, LOVE ya to bits! You’re like my dream man, ya know? I love you, and I love being with you, and I never want the fun times to enddd~”

Halena couldn’t see him as she rambled on happily, but Sam’s expression had softened with affection at her drunken declaration. Even in her state of inebriation, he took it to heart. Halena had never said the L-word. Neither of them had. . . But as she continued to giggle and smile, Sam found that the word choice rang true.  

“I love you too,” he whispered in her ear, before kissing her hair and chuckling. “. . .Even if you are addicted to the nastiest candy on the planet.”

“HEY! PEPPAMINTS AREN’T GROSS, WINNIE-CHESTER!!”

He hummed, as he began to pepper her face with humorous kisses. “Whatever you say, Candy Cane.”

It was sometime the next afternoon that Halena awoke in the tent, with a vicious hangover and a thick coat of sugar on her tongue. She groaned softly as she turned over and kicked her legs out of the sleeping bag.

When she was in a sitting position, she finally looked around groggily, and found Sam sitting across from her, reading an old book. Without hesitation, he reached over and threw her a thermos of water, and another object. Upon further inspection, it was a bottle of Aspirin. Gratefully, she swallowed two pills and chugged down the water.

As she thanked him, Sam nodded and glanced at her over the top of his book. The Hunter regarded her for the longest time, before he broke the silence.

“You’re welcome,” he said, before adding casually. “Halena.”

“Hmmm?”

“Love you.”

Halena stared at him for long moment, before she flashed him a tired smile. And despite her condition, the contentment reached her eyes in a genuine display.

“I love you too, Sam.”

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

“But if you ever let me eat another peppermint stick, as long as I live, I’m going to gank your pretty face.”

Sam grinned as he rolled the leftover bag of candy towards her tauntingly. “Welcome to the candy shop~! I'll let you lick the lollipop~!”

“SAM! NO!”