Why couldn't Dean just let Sam be mad at him?
Despite all he had said; he loved Dean more than anything or anyone. There was no point in even pretending otherwise. They had been through too much… and family was family, no matter how much he tried to escape it.
He just needed some time to… not like Dean.
Yet all Sam seemed to do at the moment was worry about him. Dean was an absolute nightmare. Sam's head was pounding. Wherever they went, he was always looking over his shoulder to make sure that Dean hadn't passed out, wasn't texting Crowley, or clutching his arm where the mark of Cain was. Looking after Dean had become a full time job.
The irony wasn't lost on him. It had always been Dean looking after him; always. He felt very uneasy about the roles being reversed. It wasn't that he didn't have Dean's back, they had each other's always… but Dean just wasn't acting like Dean anymore. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing that if had been Sam with the mark, Dean would have tried to find out much more about it than he had attempted, with a much greater urgency.
Sam had felt genuine fear when Dean hadn't dropped the blade earlier that day. He had tried to find Dean in his eyes- but it wasn't his brother staring back. He shivered at the memory. Again, the irony. Soulless Dean.
Sam looked sideways at Dean on the couch opposite. Dean was fast asleep, curled up in a ball, clutching his arm. Sam sighed. Sleep wasn't his friend tonight. Well, if the reversal was truly going to work he was going to have to try Dean's old trick. Walking towards the kitchen to pour himself a drink, Sam suddenly stumbled over a blanket banging his knee harshly on the corner of the table. Sam involuntary yelped.
"Shit"
Dean jerked awake and seemed to be alert in seconds. "Sam, you okay?" Sam grimaced and looked at Dean. Dean's face was puzzled…concerned. Sam had missed that look.
"Yeah, yeah Dean… just banged my knee on the corner here."
Dean rolled his eyes and got back into his ball on the couch.
"Wimp"
"Yeah, that's me." Sam shook his knee out and then said slowly,
"Dean?"
"Mmm?"
"Are you alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Sam opened his mouth to reply and then shut it.
"Do you want a drink?"
Dean kept his eyes shut but a small smile escaped his lips.
"Always."