Nick had been expecting Dean when he pulled up to the bar in his big black car. He might not have recognized the man but he knew a man on a mission when he saw one, especially here when there were always feuded to be settled; angry brothers, boyfriends, husbands and wives that walked through his doors demanding answers for something or another. And thanks to Sam's warning that he would show up, he knew almost instantly who Dean was and what he wanted.

"Hey," Dean grabbed his attention, looking around as if looking for somebody in the crowd of patrons. "Is the owner in by chance?" Yep, this was definitely Dean.

"You're looking at him. What can I do ya for?" Nick asked, a large smile on his face as he pulled a shot glass out from under the counter.

"I want you to stay away from my brother." The man was hunched over the bar, trying not to make a scene but wanting to make his intentions clear.

"Brother, huh?" Nick said, pulling a face. "Can't say I know what you mean. Guys don't usually float my boat, if you know what I mean."

And the look on Dean's face made it priceless. His eyebrows shot up, his eyes got wide and his nostrils flared just enough to give away that whatever he had thought had happened with Sam, that had not been one of them.

"Sisters are who you should keep him away from." A nearby patron mumbled into his beer.

"Psh, she went back to her husband, didn't she?" Nick said dismissively, shaking his head, a smile in place.

The patron mumbled something about assholes but went back to his drink.

Dean shook himself, deciding that he should stay out of that particular conversation. "He was in here earlier. A giraffe? Definitely a lightweight? Passed out here?" Dean pressed.

"Ah, Colossus. Yeah, I remember him. Kind of hard to miss." Nick acknowledged.

"Yeah, he's really dreamy." Dean rolled his eyes and he swore he heard the man listening in on them laugh.

"What about staying away from him?" Nick asked, ignoring the other man. He could tell that Dean was going to try and play savior to his little brother but there was something about it that made him want to accept the challenge. To see how far he could push Dean before things came to blows. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted something so much as he wanted to make Dean squirm. There was just something about him that promised that he would be both an easy target and a challenge all at once but he had promised Sam that he would play nice.

"He's gone thorough enough. He doesn't need you making things worse."

Nick pulled a face he was sure looked like a sturgeon and leaned over the bar until they were face to face. "And what exactly did I do to make things worse for your brother?"

"I don't know what happened between the two of you but whatever it was it's not going to happen again." Dean growled, looking around them as if Sam could be skulking in a corner somewhere.

"Yeah?" Nick couldn't help but smile. "And you are going to make sure of this, how? Last time I checked, Colossus was a very grown man who is capable of making his own decisions. Who are you to tell him otherwise?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "The only family he has left. Today was the first day since Jess's funeral that he has even left the house. He's getting better and I won't let you screw this up for him."

"I'm not screwing anything up for him, Dean. I did nothing other than give him a place to sleep off his stupor. If that is a crime against humanity than guilty as charged. If not, than I'm pretty sure you have no say over anything. Sam can make his own choices and you can't stop him."

Dean didn't have anything to say to that. Instead, he stood up and adjusted his leather jacket

Nick couldn't just let him go, not that easily. He wanted Dean to know that he was not the one calling the shots. Not anymore. "Besides, who said that anything between us went further than letting him sleep it off? How am I supposed to know if he even wants to see me again?"

That caught Dean off guard, it was written all over his face. "What?"

"Well, you come in here like you already know that I have plans on ruining or corrupting your little brother but what happens if I never see him again?"
Dean actually rolled his eyes as if Nick was missing something . "Of course he will be back. There is nothing I don't know about that kid and I can guarantee that he will try to build some kind of relationship with you on the principle that you helped him alone. If he wasn't so... Broken, there would have been a chance that he would have left it alone but now..." Dean let out a long breath. "Just leave him alone. He doesn't need anything else right now."

"And you are the one who is going to decide this for him? Behind his back? And you just expect me to go along with it just because big brother ordered it?"

"Sam doesn't know what is best for him right now." Dean snapped.

"But you do, right?" Nick stood up as well and gave Dean a large smile. "Well, I hate to break it to you but I'm not going anywhere. If Sam comes back or contacts me in any way I am not going to push him away."

Nick would have bet the bar that Dean wanted to hit him at that moment. "What do you mean by giving him a place to sleep?"

"Alistair, Azazle and I carried him upstairs. I put him to bed."

"In who's bed?" Dean asked, his eyes getting narrower.

"Mine." Nick shrugged. "It's not like we have a drunk tank or anything. Had to do what we had to do."

"Sam slept in your bed?"

"Alone in my bed but I kept watch over him."

The man beside them laughed outright. "Alone, huh? I bet that was a first."

"Shut up, Gordon."

Again, Nick would have bet anything that Dean wanted to hit him, but instead he turned around and walked away.

"It was good meeting you too, big boy." Nick called, blowing a kiss after him.

Dean didn't dignify it with a response but Nick knew he had gotten under his skin.