Dean is driving. Sam is sleeping in the passenger seat with his head tilted all the way back. It looks uncomfortable. Dean nods his head to the quiet music floating from the radio. Sam murmurs something in his sleep. It sounds like Dean's name.
The sun is starting to set. They're somewhere in L.A. Dean's stomach growls. He shakes Sam awake.
Sam jolts and scrunches his face as he sits upright. His fingers run through his hair and continue to the back of his neck. He massages it and moves his head back and forth.
"My neck hurts."
Dean chuckles and switches lanes.
"You shouldn't sleep with your head back like that, moron. Lean your head against the window."
Sam's stomach growls too.
"Hungry?"
"No."
"Heh. Yeah. I'll get off at the next exit."
Sam looks out the window and is surprised to see the ocean. He rubs his eyes tiredly and looks over at Dean.
"We're by the beach."
"Yup. I can see it too, Sammy."
"When was the last time we went to the beach?"
"Never."
"Wish we could've gone when we were little."
Dean says nothing as he takes the off ramp and turns onto a side street. There's a sign for a fast food restaurant a mile into the next town. They can see the sand and a few families playing near the ocean.
A dog is running parallel to the road on the sand. Sam smiles. Dean subconsciously slows the car down as they both watch it play. The dog's owner throws a Frisbee, which the dog leaps up to catch in his mouth. Sam giggles like a little boy.
Dean jerks the car to the shoulder of the road and turns off the engine. He unbuckles. Sam looks at him.
"Dean, what are you doing?"
"Come on."
He unbuckles and gets out of the car, heading down to the sand. Sam is pleasantly surprised. He follows. They race each other down the hill. Sand flies up behind them as they pick up speed. They don't stop until they are both waste deep in the ocean.
"It's cold!"
Sam's booming voice carries across the darkening sky.
Just as quickly as they ran in, the brothers hurry back out of the water. They go up the hill, sand caking onto their wet jeans and shoes. Halfway up they stop and sit down, facing the ocean. Both of them are grinning from ear to ear.
That's where they sit, hunger forgotten, until long after the sun sets.