Dean's Hell burned hot.
He'd never said as much, of course. Dean didn't talk about Hell. Period, end of story, nothing to see here; move along. But Sam knew by the little things.
Sam always had plenty of hot water in the shower now, because Dean showered cold. When his brother came out of the bathroom, Sam could usually see his goosebumps from across the room. He knew better than to mention that though, so he tried to be grateful for the hot water instead of guilty (and failed spectacularly).
Dean no longer dove into his coffee with abandon. Before, he wouldn't touch the stuff if it was anything less than practically boiling. Now, he'd wait till the steam had long cleared before even taking a tentative sip. Often it had congealed into room-temperature sludge by the time Dean was happy with it. Sam had even caught him visibly enjoying an iced coffee, despite his brother's insistence that it was a 'girly drink'. There was always a full pack of water bottles and a cooler full of ice under the back seat now. Dean would be slurping on a chilled drink more often than not, even though it meant more 'annoying' bathroom breaks.
Dean abhorred anything non-original anywhere near his Baby, but within a month of his return he'd totally replaced the ancient air conditioner in the Impala with a brand-new-top-of-the-line model. You couldn't really see it from the interior, of course, but Sam had been shocked when the clanky old rumble of a tired fan was replaced with the smooth hiss of cool air. There was suddenly a heat shield in the window too, so the Impala didn't feel like an oven after sitting in the sun all day. Dean just turned AC/DC on loud when Sam tried to bring it up in conversation, so he let it go.
Dean let Sam light the Salt-n-Burns now. Even then, his haunted eyes would linger on the flames just a little too long, and he'd be too quiet in the car afterwards. Candles for rituals were now Sam's arena, as well as campout cooking. If a monster required burning, Sam handled the flame thrower and Dean stayed as far away as he could from it and still do his job. Dean didn't take any hunts, no matter how interesting, south of the 37 latitude line. Other hunters could take care of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and North and South Carolina. Dean didn't even like Kentucky. If it was warm enough to sweat in jeans and a flannel, Dean would turn the Impala north at the first opportunity.
When Dean was inevitably burned on the job, it hit him harder than it should have. After Sam ganked the monster, he'd found Dean curled around his scorched arm, breathing like a winded bull and trying not to show how spooked he really was. Once they were back at the hotel, it was all he could do to keep Dean from burying himself entirely in the ice machine. As it was, his brother cuddled up to the ice pack like it was a teddy bear.
Fevers were the worst. They stripped Dean of his natural defences and left him trapped in the Hell of his memories. Sam learned all about the fires and the brands Dean had endured through half-muttered pleas and whimpers. If Dean hadn't had a death grip on his arm, Sam would have rushed out of the hotel to gank every single one of those sons of bitches right then and there. Sam didn't mention any of it once Dean had recovered, but from the look in his eyes Dean knew he knew, and was ashamed. There wasn't a damn thing Sam could say that would make it better, so he bought Dean an extra-large tub of triple-chocolate ice cream and made sure he found a case in snowy Montana for their next hunt.
A/N:
It's hard to understate how much I adore Supernatural. I plowed through the first 11 seasons of this addictive show in less than four months, just in time to catch the start of season 12 as it was airing. The characters are so compelling and relatable and all of the actors are beyond talented. I love the fantastic community that the cast and fandom have built. Hopefully the angels won't mind me playing in their sandbox/gateway to Heaven :P
I realize that most of these behaviors have never been seen on the show. I would argue that just because we don't see all the nerdy things Sam does doesn't mean he doesn't do nerdy things and therefore just because we don't see all of the boys' idiosyncrasies doesn't mean they don't exist.
Fun Fact: If you look at a map of all of their cases, they haven't really gone below the 37 latitude line since the earliest seasons. I realize it's probably because it's hard to fake Mississippi in Vancouver, but I wanted an in-world explanation. Hence this fic.
~Always Keep Fighting : You Are Not Alone~