A Tweak and A Hug
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Sam browsed the items on display. Next to libraries, computer stores were his favourite places, certain to take the edge of his blue funk and up his moods.
In the past, updating his lap-top was a pondered decision, involving the use of false credit cards or the hard-earned cash Dean hustled at the pool tables.
None of that was necessary now. The bunker provided for all their needs.
Stocked in a corner of the store-room were a cache of old but harmless trinkets and selling them on E-bay provided all the ready cash they might want.
He huffed incredulously, if the memories of hanging-out in smoke-filled run-down bars watching Dean's back while he played his magic on the pool-tables made him nostalgic, he must really be getting old
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The check out-girl reached for the external hard drive he'd chosen and he felt flattered that she seemed to be checking him out as well!
If she only knew, she'd run a mile before even thinking of him in a sexual way!
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He and Dean. That was his life now, but then it had always been that way, he'd never wanted to accept it, had tried unsuccessfully to reach out for more, not just for himself but for his brother. All useless, they were in this together until it ended; with a hunter's funeral if they were lucky, corpses rotting away in some murky forest if they weren't!
He didn't have the problems of faith other humans wrestled with. There was an after-life, a heaven and a hell, but the knowledge posed new questions.
When they died where would he and Dean end up? Sam was in no way sure.
Hell meant Crowley, not the most attractive of options and Heaven was a freak-show. God seemed to have deserted his worthy souls, leaving them in the hands of angels who without an arch-angel to guide them, were running around like headless chickens.
Sam had been to Hell as had his brother, and the idea of going back wasn't on their preferred list but Heaven wasn't looking too good either.
He wondered where his mom and dad were, he fervently hoped they were together, taking comfort in one another.
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A cough from the cashier brought him out of his brooding, causing his cheeks to flush.
"Uh, sorry, I was kinda day-dreaming," he apologised sheepishly, hastily pocketing the change she was holding out.
"Happens to the best of us," she grinned. Her smile was infectious and Sam found himself returning it. She wasn't beautiful by accepted standards but she emanated a sympathetic vibe that instantly captured you.
"That your car out there?" she nodded towards the store window. "You were lucky to find a space right in front of the door."
"Just arrived at the right time, I guess. A guy pulled away as I drew up."
"She's a beauty, black as night and just as dangerous, huh!" the girl declared.
Sam let out a chuckle."You could say she's got some stories to tell."
"I'll bet!"
Sam picked up the bag, nodded a good-bye and headed for the exit. As far as women were concerned, he was jinxed and he had no intention of ever ruining another's life.
Often he wished he was more like Dean, a one-night stand kinda guy, but excluding his soulless period, he got no satisfaction from it. He liked to get to know a girl before jumping into bed with her.
Well, if he had to, he'd do without. An extra penance for all the evil he'd done. It wasn't much, but his body was all he had to offer.
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"Hey. I see you've finally managed to drag yourself away, geek-boy," Dean smirked. "Thought I was gonna have to hot-wire a car and come drag you home!"
Sam rolled his eyes.
"I went to a store, Dean, not into a nest of rabid vampires. When are you gonna stop treating me like a five-year old?"
"Never gonna happen, Sammy. You can bitch all you want but I'm always gonna be the elder brother, so suck it up and take it like a man!" Dean answered.
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Something inside Sam ignited at the goofy expression on Dean's face, creating a warmth that spread though him. His brother was incorrigible! He harrumphed but couldn't quite stifle the smile that curved his lips.
Dean was a hotchpotch of so many things, bossy, annoying, overprotective, at times downright childish and Sam loved him more than life itself.
He threw the hard disk down on the table and ambled towards Dean, an elusive expression on his face. He yanked his brother into his arms, ignoring the "Dude, get your gigantor ass off me! " that Dean was mumbling ineffectively now into Sam's jacket.
Sam held on even tighter.
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He'd come back here where Dean was waiting for him, stupidly worrying about his little brother's trip to a computer store. He'd come back to his home, his only home, embodied in the person he was encircling with his arms. The only one who truly cared for him, the only person he'd ever need.
Sam finally took pity on his big brother who to be honest, after his initial snark had hugged him back just as thoroughly, but Dean had his rules regarding chick-flick moments, so Sam pushed him back at arm's length and tweaked his nose, mirroring what he'd done years before in a mental home they were working a case in.
The expression on Dean's face made Sam's day, especially when his brother brought a hand to his offended appendage.
"Ow, that hurt. What the freaking hell, Dude!"
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Sam burst into heartfelt laughter and the elusive feeling of happiness, never one of the Winchesters' upfront sensations, fell over him like a cloak.
Everything important was right here before him and by the way Dean was holding his gaze, he understood it was the same for his big brother.
"Come on man. I fixed you a curry that's the end of the world," Dean said. "You're not gonna let it go to waste, are you?"
"No way, " Sam replied. "I could eat a friggin' horse."
"That's my boy," Dean grinned. "But tweaking my nose, man. You know I gotta get you back for that."
"Bring it on," Sam answered happily. "I ain't goin' nowhere!"
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The end