The Winchesters have a ton of pain in their lives, right? Of course. So I figured it may be good to start up a oneshot series based just on some happy moments from their lives, because they need a few more. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, and I never will *oh well*. This story's title is from a Onerepublic song of the same name, to which they own the rights to *but I absolutely love the song*.
Sam had been watching the sky for the past half hour, keeping one eye on it and one eye on the road in front of him. After seven straight hours behind the wheel and little sleep the night before and while nursing an injury, Sam had practically forced Dean into the passenger seat and demanded the keys.
He had been met with some grumbling from his brother, but an hour later when the sun set, he was out cold, arms folded across his chest, head turned towards the window as the Impala rumbled beneath them.
They had passed into Kansas an hour or two ago, and considering they were only about twenty minutes from the bunker, Sam was taking the drive a bit slower. He was looking for something. Open space, clear skies, no lights around.
Dean hadn't noticed the car slowing down, which Sam took as a sign of how tired he really was, but he knew this was worth waking his brother up for.
Eventually, he found a small turnoff spot next to some wide open fields in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect. Sam shut off the car, checked his phone, and smiled a bit before he nudged Dean awake as gently as he could.
"Why're'we'st'ped," Dean muttered all together, not fully awake, but aware enough to tell that they weren't stopped because they were at the bunker. "If you beat her up, Sammy, I swear to-" he began to threaten.
Sam cut him off with a chuckle. "Your Baby's fine, Dean. Just stopped for a few minutes," he said, and looked out the windshield again, as if waiting for something.
That had Dean more awake, and soon he was shifting so he was sitting fully upright in the seat, and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "You gonna fill me in on why you stopped us in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere?"
"We're fifteen minutes from the bunker, give or take, so we can head back whenever you feel like it," Sam replied a bit vaguely, and shot his brother a smirk before he got out of the car and closed the door behind him. Even outside, he could hear his brother's confused grumblings and laughed to himself because of it.
He took up residence leaning against the hood of the car, looking at the stars like they had done many times in the past. Eventually Dean came out to join him, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets.
"Nice view," he commented with a bit of a smirk of his own as he leaned next to Sam and looked up at the sky. Sam looked at his brother for a moment, and though he could tell Dean was trying, he was really tired and probably wanted nothing more than to be at the bunker on his memory foam mattress with Netflix. But he wouldn't voice that because if Sam wanted to stay and watch the stars for a few minutes, or however long, that mattered more than some bruises and lost sleep.
"Yeah, it is," Sam nodded back. He was tempted to check his phone again, he knew they only had a few minutes before Dean would get a bit antsy, despite his best attempts to hide it.
Still, waiting under the stars wasn't a bad way to spend a few minutes. There was hardly any light save for the stars themselves, and the plants in the fields swayed slightly under the light breeze. The stars themselves were dotted across the sky, some of them clumped together.
Sometimes they'd try to name all the constellations. Sam would usually win, but Dean knew his fair share as well, and wasn't afraid to go toe to toe with his brother on who knew more. More often than not, it was a pretty close race.
Even now, Sam could see Dean eyeing the stars, then tilting his head a bit, as if he were mentally naming them all. When he did start to shift, about fifteen minutes later, Sam held up a hand.
"Five more minutes, okay?" he asked, and looked to Dean.
"Hey, all I'm saying is that stargazing is great, but maybe not after a wendigo hunt through a forest two states over. That's all," Dean put his hands up defensively, but leaned back against the Impala.
Sam was counting the seconds in his head, having barely passed a minute before he checked his phone and looked back up. Then he saw it. A bright white streak that seemed to start in the middle of the sky and then cross down to the left.
He hurriedly pointed to it, smile lighting up on his face as bright as the stars themselves. "You see that?"
Dean obviously had, as he too was grinning and watching the space where the star had seemingly fallen. Another thirty seconds passed and there was another streak, a bit smaller this time, but still easily visible amongst the mostly black sky.
"Meteor shower?" Dean asked, his gaze not leaving the sky in fear that he would miss one.
"Mhm," Sam hummed in affirmation. "Stargazing is great, you're right, but the shower hit its peak tonight, and there's clear skies, didn't think we should miss it. They're not exactly common things," he explained, though he knew he didn't really need to.
All Dean needed to see was a streak of light across the sky and he was sold. They had loved looking at the stars since they were kids, but meteor showers had always been a favorite of both brothers. No two were exactly alike, and often times they missed the showers because they were either on a hunt or staying in a town with too much light pollution to see anything. The past few years especially, they'd been too busy to sit down and enjoy one, even around the bunker.
And yeah, it was cold outside, but the smiles on both their faces said they didn't really care.
"How long's it go on for?" Dean asked a minute later when two more streaks passed by.
Sam shrugged. "Site said all night, but it depends on where you are. But we can head back whenever," he added quickly, knowing his brother was tired, as was he, just not to the same degree.
"Whenever, huh?" Dean said. He quirked an eyebrow up at Sam, and tore his gaze away from the stars to head back to the Impala. For a split second, Sam thought he was about to get in, as five or so meteors was enough for his night.
Instead, he returned with a few clean blankets they kept in the trunk for…various reasons, and spread one of them out on a flatter portion of land next to the car. The other two he bunched into shapes that resembled rectangles before he lay down on one and patted the other side.
"Already got thrown into a tree today, no way I'm busting my neck looking up at the sky for a few hours," he commented, and got himself comfortable.
It only took Sam another second to join Dean, immediately glad for his brother's idea. Laying down they could see the full expanse of the sky and the stars in all their glory. Another large white streak passed by, with a smaller one on its tail, that actually had Dean laughing.
"That one was good. More like that!" he shouted up at the sky itself, still smiling. Sam laughed along with him, relishing in the sound of their combined voices mixed with the silence of the night.
The Winchesters left the site along with the rising sun a few hours later. Sam was still driving, and Dean didn't complain, and neither could wipe the slight smirks off their faces. Dean had tried keeping track, but lost count once they passed a hundred ten, and there had been many more after. Sam wished they had one of those long exposure cameras to capture it with, and while Dean laughed a bit because 'what the hell else would they do with it after the meteor shower?' he agreed that yes, it would've been cool to use that night.
Sam was just as careful with the Impala on the way back to the bunker, but they still pulled into the garage about fifteen minutes after leaving the site, as promised. Once the engine was off, they both sat in their respective seats for a minute, enjoying the momentary contentment they both had.
"Thanks, Sam," Dean eventually said, breaking the silence as he turned to smile at his little brother. His expression was a tired one, but there was light in his eyes as he said it.
"No problem," Sam smiled back, "glad we were able to catch it."
"Same here," Dean nodded back in agreement before he stretched out his arms and rolled his neck. "Though if there are any more in the next eight hours, tell me how awesome they were after the fact, I can hear the mattress calling me from the garage."
Sam laughed a bit under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Meteor shower in broad daylight, I'll be sure to send pictures," he commented.
"Ha ha," Dean laughed back sarcastically, and got up and out of the car before he went to grab their duffels from the trunk. He tossed Sam his over the car, and Sam in turn tossed Dean back the keys.
The garage light went out as they left, images of the white streaks across the black sky still fresh in their minds.
Thanks so much for reading! As of right now, there's no update schedule, but reviews and prompts help chapters come up faster! if you want to submit a prompt either via review or PM, please do so, I'd love to write some! These stories will either be extensions of scenes we've seen, or new ones like this chapter. They can include other characters, but should center somewhat around the brothers. Yes, some stories will be angsty or bittersweet, but they should all have at least a partially happy ending. Until next time, thanks again!