Dean fixed Dempsey with a knowing look. Just because he'd said so, didn't mean he would. There had been no guarantee either way. Dempsey had asked him if he'd intended to scare him away and it hadn't been what he'd wanted, but may have been the result anyway. It wouldn't be the first time someone had decided he wasn't what they wanted. Dean rarely took it personally, but this was already personal in ways he hadn't expected.

The discrepancy between their current states of dress had Dean chuckling. He appreciated the sentiment, was honestly a little surprised Dempsey had remembered last time had been his birthday after everything that had happened. "I think you're a little overdressed." The teasing felt a little foreign on his tongue as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, surveying Dempsey carefully. After last time he wasn't going to make any first moves.

For once, Dempsey was entirely at the helm.