Title: Battle scars
Author: Cindy Ryan
Category: one shot
Spoiliers: Everything's fair game.
Summary: The boys share a moment of normalcy
Author's notes: Dedicated to Jared and Jensen for making the Chicago convention this weekend so wonderful!
Another late night, another diner.
Another town, another hunt.
The normalcy that was their lives.
Or at least Dean had thought things had begun to get back to normal.
Whatever normal was for them any more.
Dean looked across the beat up table at his younger brother who had his nose in his laptop. Sam had one hand absently on a long cold coffee mug and the other busily tapping away as he scrolled through the internet.
They were somewhere in Northern Idaho. Dean's weary mind had long since given up keeping track of the towns once they got past eleven o'clock.
Dean took a sip of water and glanced at the bruise on the lower half of Sam's right cheek. That and the split lip were the only visible signs of their latest hunt.
They'd been lucky again.
They'd gone to salt and burn one ghost….something they both could do in their sleep and had been surrounded by five angry undead family members.
Dean shook his head and leaned back against the bench. As he reached for the newspaper he'd read twice already an angry mark on one of his knuckles caught his attention.
A fresh scar.
He hadn't noticed it until now.
It'd long since stopped bleeding and was now a dull red.
Long on it's way to healing.
Dean stared at it for a moment.
It was hardly the first scar he'd gotten since he'd been pulled from the pit.
It wouldn't be the last.
The scar reminded him of the battles to come.
The apocalyptic ones that Castiel warned about.
The ones that if lost would bring things to Earth that Dean didn't want Sam to see.
The things that still caused Dean nightmares when he was awake.
Dean would put up with Castiel's cryptic orders and tests if it would keep Sam from seeing the evils he had.
If it would protect his baby brother just a little longer.
"Dean?"
"Yeah, Sammy?"
"Why don't you get some sleep."Sam urged softly seeing the dark circles under his brother's eyes. "I'll find you if I get anything interesting."
"I'm good, Sam."Dean stated with a forced smile. "Besides I'm thinking of trying their special."
Sam shook his head as he glanced at the small chalk board propped on the counter. "You want chocolate covered French fries at three in the morning?"
A genuine smile crossed Dean's face as he caught the waitress's attention. "Why not, Sammy. You only live once, right?"
Sam laughed at the obviousness of that remark and pushed his laptop aside. "Do you put ketchup on those?"
"I think barbeque might hinder the chocolate."Dean countered with a smirk.
Sam chuckled as Dean placed his order.
It felt good to laugh….been too long.
Too long since he saw his brother smile.
Fifteen minutes later the waitress returned with a heaping plate of the steaming concoction and set it between the brothers.
Along side she set a bottle of ketchup and a shaker of powered sugar.
Dean dug in immediately while Sam just watched with a shake of his head.
"What?"Dean asked through a mouthful. "You chicken?"
Sam grinned and swiped a handful and placed them on a napkin in front of him. As he brought a French fry up to his mouth Sam couldn't help but think how good it felt to be back to normal.
If only for a few hours.
End