They got in late. The girl at the desk said they were lucky they still had a room available but it only had one bed. Dean said he didn't care, it's not like he was going to sleep that night anyway. She gave him a sly smile which he ignored and took the offered room card. Sam followed with their stuff grumbling about what it must look like having two guys show up near midnight looking for a room. Dean just rolled his eyes at his little brother and continued walking down the hall. Throughout the hotel they could hear the sounds of people partying. The boys headed to their room, closed the door and tried to shut out the sounds of people have fun.
Sam sat down immediately on the bed and opened his laptop. Dean took off his jacket, flopped down on the room's only chair, and turned on the TV. Flipping through the three channels the limited TV could receive, Dean gave up and shut it off. Three damn channels and all of them celebrating New Years. Dean tossed the remote in disgust. Neither of them dared to look at a clock and a strained silence began to permeate the room. Bored, Dean slouched back in the chair and stared at the room's god awful wallpaper while Sam flipped through sites on the web. Finally Dean had had enough.
"I'm going for a walk." He announced as he got up.
"What? Now?" Sam said knowing how close to midnight it was.
"Yeah I just can't stay here, this place is driving me crazy." Dean said grabbing his jacket and putting it back on.
"I'll go with you, we can grab something to eat." Sam said shutting off his laptop and getting off the bed.
"No it's cool, I want to be alone." Dean waved him off. Disappointed Sam sat back down and watched as Dean opened the door and walked out without another word. It was his last New Year's Eve, the start of the last year of his life and Dean didn't want to spend it sitting in another cheap motel.
The fact that he was able to get Sammy to rescind his Christmas humbug did not mean he was going to get Sammy to want to celebrate New Years as well. He got lucky with Christmas. He knew he couldn't expect Sammy to want to celebrate every 'last' holiday when it obviously pained him so much. Dean decided he was going to play it cool for the rest of what ever time he had. No more celebrations. No more reminders that what they were doing was the last time for what ever they were doing.
Dean walked out of the hotel with no particular destination in mind. People milled about on the street and he noticed many of them were heading across the street to the park. Following behind the crowd he found himself smack dab in the middle of the towns New Years Eve celebration. It was then that he heard it, the dreaded count down. Shouts of the final seconds of the old year were drowned out as fireworks shot up into the night sky celebrating the start of the new. Dean looked up and watched, with the long forgotten fascination of a child, the bright colors that lit up the night. Strangers slapped him on the back and shook his hand wishing him a happy new year. It was hard not to get swept up in the celebration and Dean found him self wishing his brother was there so they could enjoy the party together. The fireworks continued and someone handed Dean a beer.
It was Sam.
"Hey!" Dean exclaimed surprised to see his brother. Sam tipped his own beer to Dean's in a toast.
"Happy New Year." Sam yelled over the noise of the fireworks giving Dean a big smile. They both sipped from their beers and watched the crowd milling past them. Suddenly the sky exploded in bright colors as the finale began. Loud cheers went up and both hunters turned to watch the colors streaming down over their heads.
Within minutes it was over. The crowd began to dissipate and the boys found themselves alone near a picnic table. Dean headed over to it and sat on top, his feet resting on the bench. Sam joined him and they drank their beers watching the disappearing partiers.
"So this is it." Dean said suddenly breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
"Dean don't." Sam warned. The whole evening, this was the conversation he'd been hoping to avoid.
"You're right…" Dean said looking down at his beer bottle. "I'm sorry Sam I shouldn't expect you to want to celebrate the start of the last year of my life."
"Damn it Dean, what did I tell you?" Sam yelled exasperated at his older brother. He shook his head and started to walk off. Stopping, he whirled around and stomped back up to Dean.
"No I'm not doing it, I'm not! We're getting you out of this damn deal and you're gonna be around to celebrate New Years and Christmas and what ever the hell you want to celebrate for years to come. This is NOT the start of the last year of your life!" Sam shouted at Dean coming within inches of is face. "Damn it Dean, look at me!"
Dean looked up at the angry face of his little brother. At the sight of Dean's sad hazel eyes Sam relented and backed away.
"We're getting you out of this deal." Sam said with firm determination and it was then that Dean finally felt it. Hope.
"You promise?" Dean asked giving Sam a slight smile.
"Promise." Sam said sitting down next to Dean and nudging his shoulder. Dean looked back over at his little brother.
"You bring any more beers." Dean asked, a hopeful smile on his face.
"Naww these were the only ones I could swipe walking through the crowd." Sam answered sheepishly.
"That would explain the choice of lite beer." Dean said looking at the label on the beer bottle.
"Next time I'll let you steal the beer." Sam said with a laugh. Dean laughed with him and nodded.
"Let's go find a bar, you're buying." Dean announced leaping off the table.
"I'm buying? I think you're buying. I stole the beer…." Sam said jumping off after him.
"Soooo, call it an early birthday present." Dean said as the two of then headed down the street to the neon lit bar at the end of the block.
"What, you think I'm spending my hard earned money on beer for your birthday." Sam teased his brother. "You're lucky you got a candy bar for Christmas. I'm thinking about stealing the napkin holder from McDonalds for your birthday."
"Cheap bastard." Dean teased back.
"I learned from the best."
"Happy New Year, Sammy."
"Happy New Year, Dean."
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Authors note: I know the holiday was last week but I had this idea in my head and it took a while to get it all down. My original version of this story was little more maudlin than this one so I scrapped it and totally rewrote it to end it on a happier note. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading and leave a review at the door.