Title: The Red Flying Bicycle
Summary: A movie, a bicycle and a Christmas they'd never forget.
AN: Not set at any particular time but the brothers are pre-teens. Hope everyone has a great Christmas full of treats and memories. Thanks for reading!
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It was the first time a movie had caught their full attention. One hundred and fifteen minutes of silence gave their father time to finish off his work. The two small boys sat under a fortress of cushions, their eyes glued on the small television. The movie about aliens and flying bicycles had caught their imagination.
"So aliens aren't real?" Samuel asked his big brother with a slightly saddened tone. Straight after the movie the questions began. 'So much for a quite night', their father thought as he tried to answer as many as he could.
"Unfortunately not, baby brother," Dean pulled the thin bed sheets over his brother and tucked them in on one side.
"But he looked so real…"
"I know he did but it was just pretend," Dean moved around to the other side of the bed and tucked the blankets in again. He hated lying to his brother and sometimes telling the truth hurt even more.
The father watched as his oldest son re-read the children's book he borrowed from a library a year before. His dirty blond hair was getting shaggy around the edges and was in need of a trim. He hadn't even noticed it getting longer and a pang hit his heart when he thought of the one person who would have noticed little things like that.
Dean closed the book when he noticed his brother's eyes drop heavily. He flicked off the bed side lamp and kicked off his boots, readying himself for bed. When he reached up to pull over the curtains across, he was asked to stop.
"Leave 'em open," Sam mumbled through his tiredness. Dean did as he was told even though he knew the sun would be blinding them in the morning. He wriggled under the sheets careful not to disturb them too much. He snuggled up beside his brother as the full moon shone down on them.
Sam turned to face him pulling himself out of the tightness of the bed clothes. "Is magic real?" he whispered quietly trying not to disturb their father. Dean pulled his arm out from under the warmth to bring his brother closer to him. Sam rested his head on the comforting chest. "If aliens aren't real and magic isn't real, then how did the bicycle fly?"
Weeks passed and the questions faded. Cases and hunts took them on long journeys in the middle of the night. Christmas was sneaking up fast and for another year they weren't going to have a permanent place of residency. The two brothers slept as they always did, in a musty smelling double bed in a town they didn't know. It was Christmas Eve and apart from a few cheap decorations over the door, it was just like any other night.
It was the smell that woke them early the next morning. It smelt like ginger and salt. Dean woke with Sam's squeals and immediately ran to his aide. But he didn't need any help. And after nursing his toe from stubbing it on the bedside locker, he could see the reasons for the screams. In the corner was a tree. Not just any old plastic thing but a real tree with red and gold tinsel wrapped around it. On the table were two large ginger bread men and a large bowl of popcorn. But it was the other corner that grabbed all of Sam's attention. It was a wrapped present, a very large, wrapped present. Dean and Sam quickly swapped a look before tearing the paper down. They then stepped back to look at it in all its glory.
The room door opened and their father stepped inside. He looked over to the corner of the room and his eyes twinkled. "Well, look at what Santa brought you this year," he smiled even though he knew neither of them believed in the bearded man any more. "Aren't you going to take it outside?"
It had been a while since Dean had ridden a bicycle but after a few wobbly starts, he finally figured out his balance and rode his gift up and down the street. The bicycle looked just how it did in the movie. It was a shiny red with dipped handlebars that gave room for a basket if wanted. Sam and their father stood at the motel room door and watched Dean speed by. Each time he passed, Sam would squeal with delight and clap his hands. "Faster, faster," he'd shout. Their father smirked. This was one time he wasn't going to yell at his son to slow down. He hadn't seen him this happy in a long time. He felt a tugging on his pants leg. "Can I have a go, daddy?" he pleaded. His father shrugged and called out his oldest son's name. Dean pulled the brakes so hard, pebbles leaped up from the road and clattered through the wheels.
Sam giggled as he ran over into Dean's arms. In one movement, his big brother swept him up and placed him in the grove of the handlebars. Sam put his feet on either side of the wheel and leaned back slightly so as not to fall off. Dean had to peddle hard to keep the balance of two bodies' level but after a few seconds they were both able to enjoy the sensation. Their father leaned his shoulder on the door frame and watched with pride. Spending half the money he got from his last job was worthwhile seeing the joy in their faces.
Dean saw a slight slope in the road and peddled hard to reach it. He took his feet away from the pedals and let the bicycle sped over the top and all the way down. Sam closed his eyes and raised his hands out to the side as the wind brushed through him. "I'm flying Dean! I'm flying!" The sensation felt magical. This was one Christmas they would never forget.
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