"The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
Because here they come"
- Florence + The Machine
The trunk of the Impala slammed closed, and Dean woke up with a start. His heart was beating rapidly, and he had the weirdest…
Then he remembered. It wasn't a dream. He had managed to prevent Sam from killing Lilith and opening The Cage. Ruby was dead. Lucifer was still in Hell. Everything was fine, for now.
Sighing, Dean lay back across the front seat, staring up at the roof of the car. It was dark outside—how long was he asleep? A figure passed by the window, and he heard his brother's voice call out, "You awake yet?"
"I am now, asshat," he grunted, moving to exit the car. When Dean stood to stretch, his joints started popping like crazy. Were they getting too old for the job? Nah, it couldn't be. He was barely thirty and Sammy was probably still in his prime for a young guy. Well, minus the whole demon blood thing.
Over four years, the brothers have risked life and limb (more than once) to protect people. To protect each other. Preventing the start of the Apocalypse was just another Tuesday for them.
Dean made his way to the front of the car, where Sam sat on the hood. His little brother gave him a halfhearted smile, holding out an opened Budweiser. The former nodded his thanks, taking a long swig and sighing.
They were parked off the main roads, in the middle of nowhere. It was warm out, but a chill breeze was beginning to roll through. The night was dark as pitch, and they could see the stars just right. Dean couldn't remember the last time they had time for a breather—not after Castiel pulled him out of Hell and all of Heaven started raining down on them. He wouldn't admit it to Sam, but Dean was just happy they made it out of the whole Lucifer thing alive. If he pretended that the world wasn't resting on their shoulders, he could make himself believe that they had just finished another regular hunt.
The elder Winchester looked at his little brother. Sam's face was illuminated by his phone screen. In another world, he could've been just some college graduate in his twenty-somethings, living with the love of his life. But in this world, he was a damn good hunter with a broken past and a brother that would do anything to keep him safe.
Dean, amused, huffed out a laugh. Hours ago, they were saving the world from the brink of an apocalypse, and now they were sitting outside, cracking open a cold one. At least they were breathing and not the worse for wear. That was worth something.