Title: No One Else
Summary: Cole had another thing coming if he thought he could call his little brother Sammy. Coda to 10x15 The Things They Carried. Protective!Dean. BigBro!Dean.
Warnings: K+ for language and mild violence
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"Hey, Cole," Sam starts in his most genuine tone- the one that makes Dean cringe with sympathy whenever he hears it.
His brother is feeling guilty over what happened. It's obvious in the way his shoulders are hunched, and in the distant shimmer of sadness that resides in his expressive eyes.
Dean notices all these little things- one by one- without consciously realizing it. And he can't help but wonder, how Cole can stand there as if nothing has ever happened between them when he had held a goddamn' hammer to the kid's kneecap a few months ago.
"Listen, uh, I, uh... For whatever it's worth... I really wish it hadn't ended this way."
Cole shrugs it off even though it's pretty clear that his friend's death had shaken him to the core.
Dean can relate to that, having never been the share-and-care type himself. But he is not deceived by the man's fake indifference.
Not even for a second.
"Yeah, me, too, Sammy boy. I mean, Kit - he was gonna kill her and - I know. Jemma told me everything."
And there it is. Right there in the middle of their conversation.
Dropped like a bomb and still silent in its destruction.
Sammy boy.
Dean tenses up against his own will, features hardening and hands forming into fists by his side.
Cole has the audacity to smile- coy and playful as if he hadn't just overstepped his boundaries.
Because working a case together was one thing, but calling his little brother Sammy boy as if they went way back together, when in fact the guy had almost fucking killed Sam a few months ago- that was taking things too far.
Dean clenches his teeth when Cole shakes hands with Sam and claps him jovially on the back- another thing that will freaking cost him. Because you didn't get to touch Sam like that when you've hurt him before- when you've used that very same hand to hit him- to torture him.
Dean imagines Cole smiling that same freaking smile when he gleefully dug his fingers into his brother's dislocated shoulder juncture and it takes about every fucking ounce of self-control to not rip the guy apart right where he stands.
"I just want to go home, see my family," Cole says as if he had any right to talk about his own family, when he had dared to almost take Dean's remaining family away- when he had almost succeeded at ripping the one thing he still cherished out of his life.
Sam turns towards the Impala and Cole sends Dean a meaningful look. "I want to thank you, Dean-o, for keeping me standing."
Dean takes a step forward, smiling a dangerous smile of his own- tight lipped and fake friendly.
"The name's Dean…" he says with emphasis and tightens his fingers painfully around Cole's palm as they shake hands.
Cole never sees the hit coming, when Dean pulls back swiftly to land a mean left hook on Cole's chin, felling the ex-marine in one swoop.
Sam is out of the car in a flash- trying to see if Cole is alright, but Dean spreads an arm across his brother's chest holding him back as he looks down at the beaten man on the ground.
"Listen up, buddy, cause I'm only going to say this once," he starts in a low and dangerous tone, leaving no room for discussion. "Just because we've worked this case together, doesn't mean you're a hunter and it most certainly doesn't mean that we're friends. Yeah, I saved your bacon in there and yeah, I would do it again, because I refuse to believe that you're a bad person. But I haven't forgotten what you did to my brother—"
"Dean! Stop it—" Sam says in a warning hiss, but Dean opts to ignore him, as he watches Cole rub his jaw with a painful wince.
"You tortured him, Cole. And just so you know—anybody else who ever tried to do that didn't live to tell the story. So you can go back home to your family and protect them, just like I am trying to protect mine and you can count your lucky stars that you're still alive."
"Dean—"
"And if you ever call him Sammy again- or any variation of that-… you'll live to fucking regret it, you got me?"
Cole snorts, pulling up from the ground and dusting off his clothes, but his body is tense- shoulders drawn up and stance rigid with anger. "And for a second there, I actually thought we were getting along, Dean. Guess I was wrong…"
Dean releases his hold on Sam and shakes his head. "Guess you were."
He nudges Sam towards the car in a silent prompt to go, gentle, reassuring, comforting and Sam only hesitates for a second- wavering between apologizing to Cole for what had just happened and running off in embarrassment over Dean defending his dignity the way he did.
After a moment he turns away from Cole though, and Dean can't help but smile when their shoulders brush on the way back to the car.
"Let's get going, Sammy," he says a little louder than necessary, shooting Cole a last warning glare in goodbye.
And if it comes of a little more protective than he first intended, than that's okay, too.
Sam shoots him a bitchface and Dean can't even tell if it's for what had just happened or for calling him by his hated nickname.
But it doesn't even matter as long as Dean is the only person that gets to be at the receiving end of that look.
As long as he's the only one that gets to call his brother Sammy.
The End.
Okay guys, just a super short coda for the latest Cole-episode. For some reason it really bugged me that Cole got away with calling the boys by these nicknames. Sam or - preferably Dean should have put him in his place... Hope you liked! Please tell me what you thought! Reviews are always appreciated! :D