Throwing Scissors
Sam finds it funny whenever they play rock, paper, scissors to solve any argument. What he doesn't realise is that Dean throws scissors every time for a reason. If he's predictable then Sam will beat him and if Sam beats him then he'll be the one going into danger. If the loser is the one risking his ass then Dean will let Sam win every time. It's not something he has to think about; he just does it to protect Sam. Although, with that whole Madison thing, it turned out to bite him in the ass. Dean would rather have carved out his own heart than put Sam through pain like that. Werewolf hunts were strained for them to this day. He'd never forget the look on his brother's face when Sam realised what the woman was asking him to do. If only he'd made the effort to beat his brother for once instead of letting him win then bitching about it.
He privately thought that his acting skills deserved awards. Sam would never find out about his ploy to keep him out of harm's way and Dean would carry on until the dangers he protected his brother from finally killed him. Although Dean hadn't let death stop him from saving his brother before. Yes, he had rotted in hell, and kick-started the apocalypse, but he'd gotten his Sammy back. They won the "Most Dysfunctional Family of the Year" award but no one could question their loyalty. After everything they'd been through they still gravitated back to one another. And Dean would be the first to admit that they had what was probably an unhealthy dependency on each other. He couldn't bring himself to care, though. They were facing the end of the world, for Christ's sake and, on top of that, being hunted down so some supernatural freaks could use their skins to play dress-up. But, so far, they had escaped the attention of Michael and Lucifer. And until that changed they would keep hunting. And Dean would keep on throwing scissors.
Paper Thin
Sam's not an idiot. Dean doesn't seem to realise that and conveniently forgets that his brother can see straight through all his pretences. He's well aware of the games that Dean plays. He's considered arguing; considered shaking his brother until the other man sees he's not a child anymore, but realises how futile that would be. Dean wants to protect him but it's more than that. Dean needs the responsibility, needs to know that he's making a difference. And Sam can't decide if he wants to hit his brother or hug him. Dean shouldn't need other people's approval as much as he does. Occasionally Sam wants to go back in time and tear his father a new one for screwing them up like this. For making them the only people they can rely on absolutely. As if the situation wasn't bad enough already, Dean has to literally throw himself in front of every bullet that comes Sam's way. He doesn't know what to do about it though. If he made himself completely independent then his older brother would be at a loose end. And he needed Dean to be there for him even if the other man couldn't be there without doing stupid things like selling his soul. It puts Sam on edge to have to worry like that the whole time. He worries not only about Dean's safety but about what will happen if he dies. Or dies again that is. His brother wasn't equipped to be alone like that. With their Dad gone Sam was the only family Dean had. And Dean needed family to keep him going. Without it he became self-destructive. He was like a bomb waiting to go off and the results of an explosion loke that would be disastrous. But despite all that Dean couldn't protect him for ever. One day, Sam was going to throw paper.
Rock Solid
Ask anyone you like. Bobby singer was a paranoid, cantankerous drunk with issues enough to make him qualified for any mental hospital in the country. He was angry and sarcastic and got into more trouble than most, although usually it really wasn't his fault. He was pretty sure that at least eighty percent of the time his trouble was caused by two particularly stubborn brothers with the survival instincts of lemmings. He couldn't count the number of times he'd bailed them out of trouble but that was what family was for, he supposed. And they were family to him, despite the fact that they shared no blood. They'd become the sons he'd refused to have with his wife and, by offering himself as a substitute father figure, he'd managed to heal some of the ache that was left behind after her death. They were going to send him prematurely grey, though, with all their ridiculious antics. The end of the world was getting like a bad habit for them. Azazel and Lilith had been bad enough but this was so much worse. He spent most of his waking moments worrying that Lucifer or Michael had gotten hold of his boys and the rest worrying that some other supernatural freak had killed them instead.
He wouldn't give it up for anything, though. Hunting was his life ande Sam and Dean were his family. Sure they were stubborn and stupid and far too self-sacficing for their own good but, so far he dadn't lost them. At least not permanently. He didn't want to dwell on Dean's time in hell and how Sam had cut himself off from the world. Honestly, he blamed John Winchester for a lot of their problems. The guy had been trying to prepare his children for the world but, ultimately, he'd made them grow up too fast. Monsters are real? That was far too much shit to put on any kids shoulder. No wonder his boys were the way they were. He knew they weren't going to change so he made the best out of the situation. Whenever they needed his support he would try and be there. Although, with the crap they got into, it wasn't exactly easy most of the time.