chaletian | Sky & Laughter & Sam, 1/1

Title: Sky & Laughter & Sam
Author:

chaletian
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Dean, Sam
Summary: Dean will never regret the deal he made. But one day he realises something about his future. Post-AHBL.

One Tuesday in September, Dean Winchester realises that actually he’d rather not be taken off to Hell in several months’ time.

Not that he’s ever been keen on the idea. He’s not suicidal. But when he made the deal with the crossroads demon, he would have given anything – anything at all – to bring Sam back, and the rest of his life seemed like a fair exchange. And then afterwards, after the Yellow-Eyed Demon had opened the gates of Hell (Dean still gets a little kick out of being able to say that and mean it literally), they’d all been too busy trying to contain the damage for Dean to give much thought to the consequences of his actions, notwithstanding the many conversations Sam had tried to have on the subject. He was a persistent bastard, Dean’d give him that. And somewhere, underneath it all, was the feeling that Dean had no right to wish things were different because, what, would he rather Sam was rotting in a grave somewhere?

But now it’s several months on (only several months before the hellhounds come to collect), and just for now the pressure’s off, and Dean and Sam are sitting in a park somewhere in Tennessee with nothing to do all day except sit and enjoy the sunshine and wait to see who loses the battle of wills and slinks off to find food first. It’s a nice day – warm, but not too hot – and for the first time in a very long time Dean relaxes. Just lies back and stares at the sky and languidly moving clouds, feels the crisp coolness of grass under his hands, listens to the inevitable background noise of distant traffic, dogs barking, kids playing and Sam rustling in his backpack (nice try, Sammy, but the M&Ms are in Dean’s jacket pocket). It washes over him, sky and laughing and Sam right next to him, bitching away, and Dean realises that he doesn’t want to lose this.

And he doesn’t regret what he did, because those times he had said that he would give his life for Sam, he had meant it, and would always mean it. And part of him is scared to challenge what will happen – no matter that Sam has been using every spare moment to research ways to break the deal – because if it lost him Sam, he knows it would break him. But damned if he’s going to go meekly off to Hell, just give in, just surrender, not to any demon. He’s going to fight.

So Dean picks a handful of grass, and throws it lazily at his little brother, and just grins when Sam’s bitchface comes out to play.

“Go get us something to eat, Sammy,” he orders, still flat on his back.

“Go yourself,” says Sam, brushing off the grass.

“Hey, man, I’ve only got so many nice park days left,” says Dean, “gotta make the most of ’em.” Sam gets slowly to his feet and Dean notices, even about three miles above his current level, the expression on his brother’s face. He throws another handful of grass, mostly catching Sam’s right ankle. “Dude, chill. We’ll find a way.”

“Really?” There’s hope in Sam’s voice and something that sounds like relief, because Dean hasn’t exactly been co-operative on the breaking-the-deal front, and Dean knows that this hasn’t been easy for him. (He’s still never going to apologise for the deal he made, not ever. And he’d do it again.)

“Crap, Sammy, you’re such a girl.” And Dean smiles and puts on shades as Sam kicks him in the ribs and stomps off to find food. Cuz the sun’s shining, and he’s just thought of a plan that’s going to drive Sam wild, and they’re going to kick them some demon ass. Heh. Life was looking up.