Dean obliged, thinking there wasn't any harm in that. Things couldn't be that bad if Dempsey was still interested, right? Maybe Dean hadn't managed to make himself out to be this horrible monster if Dempsey was here, in his lap, warm and willing.

The kiss was soft and slow, not entirely like what they'd shared in the past, but more the right speed at the moment, if Dean had to define it. His hands rested gently on Dempsey's waist, still unsure of what the right thing to do was. Right now he felt like everything, including Dempsey, was too fragile, even for what used to be their normal. He was going to keep letting Dempsey call the shots for as long as seemed necessary.

When he pulled back, he stayed still, trying to adjust his expectations for whatever it was Dempsey had to say. It felt... almost incomplete, what he was saying, but Dean had said they could get back to how things had been. That was not an issue. He'd always been good at being a chameleon, of being what somebody wanted, but for some reason he kept fucking it up here. "Alright, on one condition." Dean had to make the one thing perfectly clear otherwise they'd just go around in circles. "You can't show up here, too far gone under the influence of anything, and expect me to do anything but tuck you into bed to sleep it off." Whatever it was that Dempsey got up to in his free time was obviously none of Dean's business, but Dean couldn't be responsible for anything after that either.