"Hey Saaaaaaam."
He pressed harder on his pen, digging it into the paper so the scratch of it on the table would drown out that stupid, annoying voice that tore up terrifying memories inside his skull.
"Saaaaaam! Pay attention to me!"
He grit his teeth now, grinding them together in his mouth as he wrote furiously, copying an important document Dean had brought home from the library. In the back of his head, he noticed his big brother had entered the room and was doing something behind him in the kitchen, but Sam was concentrating too hard on expelling Lucifer from his head that he didn't hear Dean asking if he wanted to take a break and grab something to eat.
"SamSamSamSamSamSamSam—"
His hand wound from falling on cut glass was regrettably starting to heal to the point where he could no longer use it to remind himself what was real and what wasn't. It was progressively getting worse, these hallucinations again, and Sam didn't know what to do, he just wanted to finish this damn paper—
"Saaaam, talk to me! I'm so bor—"
He'd been so far gone that he hadn't noticed Dean come up behind him, curling his calloused fingers into the hair at the bottom of his neck close to his scalp. He hissed when Dean pulled sharply, reaching behind him to grab his brother's hand and push it away out of reflex. Dean let go without a fuss, and when Sam turned to look up at him he saw concern rather than irritation woven in the green of Dean's eyes.
"Still with me, Sammy?" he asked with a frown, and Sam blinked, knowing now what Dean had been doing. He turned back to where Lucifer had been lounging in the chair next to him, and sighed in relief when he saw the blonde devil was gone, and in his place was a reassuring emptiness. He wasn't still in the Pit, being Lucifer's bitch. He was with Dean and Bobby. He was home, with family.
Sam nodded and huffed, running a hand through his steadily growing hair. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, thin brows furrowing in honesty as he looked back up at Dean, who hesitated a moment, eyes searching his before he nodded curtly and placed a cold beer by Sam's elbow and sat in the seat where Lucifer had been moments ago.
There was quiet for a few seconds, Sam watching his brother pop open his beer and take the first swig, drinking it down as if it were water and not alcohol. Dean took a minute to notice the younger Winchester's staring, but when he did he made a face. "What're you lookin' at?" he gruffed, spinning his bottle in his hand.
Sam shook his head, the corners of his lips tilting into a small smile. "Nothing, just… Thanks." Dean stared at him for a moment before he shrugged, taking another drink of bitter beer. "Don't mention it."
Sammy nodded, turning back to his document immediately and started writing again before Dean teased him about being mushy and girly or called him Samantha. It was quiet, Dean pulling out his laptop and plugging in his headphones, settling them on his head to watch some anime porn. Sam let out a long breath through his nose, the tenseness in his shoulders he hadn't realized was there releasing. The silence was blissful.