Now Dean may have been the elder brother but Sam was taller with the shoulders of a foot ball player. You never would have thought he'd turn out that big because he was born pre-mature by a full month and hadn't weighted more then four pounds and a few oz. John had nearly been able to fit Sam in his hands. Hell the kid was small enough to fit in a shoe box.
Sam stood at a full 6"5 while Dean stood at 6"1.
After Mary's death John did his best to care for the boys. But sometimes even his best was only cereal and spaghetti when they had money. Living on the road from crappy motel to motel wasn't easy on them. So looking at the boys as big as they were as grown men you had to wonder about it.
John remembered the day he looked at Sam after returning from a two week hunt one summer and the boy was nearly as big as he was. Then by that New Year Sam was as tall as him. By the time Sam left for Stanford when he was eighteen John was looking up at his youngest son while they argued.
John sat back for a second and wondered. How the hell did my son get to be so damn tall?
(Flashback)
They'd been driving down the road heading for Bobby's place they'd picked some burgers up from some nameless fast food joint. Dean was seven and Sam three. John noticed how Sam dug into his food happy to eat while Dean took his time looking into the back seat at his brother. Sam for a little boy could really put it away.
Sam finished first.
"Still hungry Sammy?" Dean asked into the back seat.
The youngest nodded. "Here you can have the rest of mine I'm not hungry anymore."
Dean lied. Sam took the half eaten burger with a smile and a thank you.
John knew his son wasn't full and handed Dean his other burger that he had yet to get two. "You need to eat too Dean don't wanna be short the rest of your life." John chuckled as Dean unwrapped the burger and took a bite. John could survive till Bobby's. It was only another 150 miles.
(End flash back)
Another time when dean woke up before Sam he realized there was only enough cereal for one of them so he let Sam have it before they got ready for school. Dean had always made sure Sam had food before he did.
Maybe it had been John's fault for not leaving them enough money to make sure there was enough for both of them. John realized that was another thing to add to the list of how he'd failed his children. The times he'd come home to find there was no food and Dean would always have to tell him to pick something up.
Dean shouldn't have had to give up his food for Sam; John should have made sure there was enough. But it went on for years until Sam left.
"Explains why Dean eats the way he does now?" John said.