Fandom Supernatural
Character(s)/Pairing(s) Dean, Sam; no pairing
Genre Deleted scene/Drama/Family
Rating PG
Word Count 750
Disclaimer Supernatural c. Kripke, WB, CW
Summary Of course Dean was cryptic when answering Sam's unasked question.
Warning(s) Season 5 episode 16 spoilers
Notes This is based on the hypothesis that one of the scenes was a perversion on one of Dean's memories. Mostly because his reaction to it made me think he might have heard parts of it before and maybe not as a nightmare.
Burdened
They rode in silence for a long, long time. Infinite gas stops, food runs, and driving duty changes seemed to stretch out for as long as the almost endless coastal highway they currently navigated. Sam kept his hands in his pockets, left hand clutching the necklace he fished out of the trash before following Dean. There was no music, there was no inside noise. There was only the noise of the traffic around them.
Sam licked his lips and then stretched his legs and looked to Dean. "Dean – "
Dean's fingers tightened around the steering wheel, growing pale. His shoulders moved closer to his ears and his teeth set together at an angle.
"I just wanted to pull off and stretch my legs," Sam stated quietly before Dean could speak. Somehow, Sam could not find anger when Dean emotionally closed him off this time. For the first time, he felt he could almost understand Dean's eccentricities if what he suspected were true.
Dean eyed Sam and then pulled over off onto the shoulder. He turned off the engine and exited the car, the door shutting loudly behind him. Sam let out a breath and tucked the necklace into the deepest corner of his pocket before exiting the impala. The shoulder was large enough to accommodate three cars and overlooked a large beachfront hugging the Pacific Ocean. Sam took in a deep breath of sea air, letting it fill and caress his body.
Dean eventually wandered over to the edge and looked down. His green hazel eyes surveyed the beach, searching for something, someone. Finding nothing, his eyes flickered upwards towards the horizon.
Sam shifted his weight. His eyes flickered between Dean and the scenery. He opened his mouth and then thought better of it. His eyes returned to the beach. He could see sand pipers picking through the sand for food. Sam tilted his head, considering the repetitive motions.
Dean shoved his hands into his pockets and turned his back to the ocean. He leaned his butt on the railing. "The answer is yes."
Sam blinked and looked to Dean, trying to tease out the context of the statement. "What?"
Dean slouched. He looked towards the high cliff face across the highway from them and clarified so his voice would not echo. "That question you keep trying to ask me." When Sam's eyebrows crinkled together, Dean continued, "You know, about Mom." Dean's brow crinkled and he looked away from Sam. His nose wrinkled as though his mouth tasted terrible.
Of course, when Dean shared he had to be cryptic. Sam wondered which question about Mom Dean was even answering. It had to have been in context of their time in Heaven. It did not seem to answer how Dean could consider that phone call memory a good memory. Then Sam knew. The question he ad never even considered hinting at ever.
"She said that to you?" Sam turned his body to Dean, his eyes remaining on his brother. "Really?"
Dean shifted his weight. His hand moved deeper into his pockets. "Not to me." She had not said everything Zachariah had made his corpse puppet state either, but the bastard had accessed that memory. Dean knew it. He looked around at nothing in particular and then stretched his neck before moving off the highway railing. He knew Sam was watching him closely. "It was…an argument." It was his own fault. He should have just stayed in his room that night instead of heading to the staircase to seek out his parents. "They didn't know I heard." Dean stopped talking when he thought he had said enough that Sam would not ask too many questions.
"When?" The question tumbled out on its own.
Dean took a few steps away from the railing. He remained quiet and then answered, "I don't know. Maybe before you were born." Sometimes he thought it was just a really vivid nightmare, but Dean rarely remembered his dreams. Dean did not dare look at Sam. He knew Sam's facial expression and did not want to see it. He was not a person to court or want pity. He brought these things upon himself. Once he was a few strides from Sam, he said, "Let's go. He's not here."
Sam looked around, and then he knew. "Cas?" He got back into the impala.
Dean started up his car and pulled off the shoulder and back onto the coastal highway. "Yeah." After a mile, he flicked on the radio.
The End