When He Can't Sleep
Sometimes when Dean can't sleep, when he can't shut his brain off for his four hours or a nightmare he can't shake, he watches TV.
Sometimes it's those ridiculous infomercials that he can't help but chuckle at; other times it's stupid kids sitcoms.
Bobby had sprung for cable when he and Sam were kids and whenever they stayed with him, he made sure that they ate too much junk food and watched stupid cartoons until whenever John came back for them. For awhile they were normal kids.
Dean's favorite cartoon was G.I. Joe and had a few action figures; while Sam's favorite was Super Friends, his favorite member was Batman, naturally. Although he preferred reading the graphic novels and his favorite story lines were Batman: The Long Halloween and Year One.
When Sam was soulless and didn't sleep period, he would watch TV with Dean and they would mock the current shows and then would find a channel that played the shows that they had grown up with.
"Are you nuts? Donatello was the best."
"Stuff it geek boy, Leonardo was the best. Next you'll be telling me Luigi trumps Mario"
"Whatever. Jerk."
"Bitch."
XxX
Whenever Sam couldn't sleep when he was at Stamford, whether it was first adjusting to his new normal, apple pie life or he just couldn't fall asleep at all, he would read. Everything.
It was Jessica who got in into Harry Potter.
"You've never heard of Harry Potter? Have you been living under a rock Winchester? Here's the first one, do not talk to me until you've finished it." She had said, giving the book to him with a mega-watt grin.
He was caught up with the series in a week.
Their first date had been the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They dressed up, well Jess had gone as Hermione; the best she could do was to get Sam to wear glasses and draw a lightning bolt on his forehead.
When the last two books came out, Sam would take a week and sit next to her grave and read them aloud to her from dawn to dusk. When he met back up with Dean, Dean would think of everything possible to cheer up Sam; just because he hated seeing his baby brother heartbroken.
XxX
Castiel cannot sleep. He does not need to sleep, or breathe, or eat.
He wishes he could sleep and dream.
Sometimes if the Winchesters were up watching TV, Cas would pop in. Sam and Dean couldn't see him of course but whether it was for just a minute or an hour Cas would stay invisible and sit with them and he would watch TV. (Personally his favorite late night show was about the fat orange cat who loved lasagna. Jimmy, his vessel, had been fond of cats as a child.)
Whenever the show or movie Sam and Dean were watching ended, they would go to bed and get what sleep they could.
"G'night Sammy." Dean said, snapping off the lights.
"Night Dean."
While Sam and Dean slept, Cas would watch over them because that's all he could do. Sometimes he would review Jimmy's memories: when Jimmy met Amelia and the day he married her, when Claire was born.
Sometimes he would check in on them, just to make sure they were still safe. He owed that much to Jimmy.
Most of the time, he stays close to the Winchesters; the closest thing he has to a family.
He wishes he could sleep like them.
Fin
DISCLAIMER AND NOTES: I do not own these characters. This is also published on my hermioneinthetardisin221b tumblr and on AO3. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks!
Dannie