"Hey, are you okay?" Dean asked when he saw Percy staring down at a receipt for the third time, "Did someone write a bad review?"
That caught the waiter's attention and he scoffed, "Since when has anyone ever written a bad review about me? I'm wonderful."
"Right," The Winchester nodded, humoring his friend. "Well, if it's not a bad note then what's on it?" He tried to peer over the other's shoulder but Percy moved away.
"It's a flirtation," Percy said dramatically, holding the receipt over his head away from the brunette. "It's none of your business."
Dean snorted, "What are you, eighty? No one says flirtation anymore."
"Whatever," The black-haired man stuck his tongue out at the other before pocketing the receipt. "I'm going to go on a walk. I'll meet you back here in thirty, yeah?"
"Sure," The Winchester nodded. "Give me your keys, I'll go get us some pie."
"Awesome," Percy tossed him his car keys before grabbing his jacket and walking out the door. "You're the best!" The waiter shrugged on his coat, blowing into his hands for a moment before placing them in his pockets. He walked for maybe ten minutes, turning corners at seemingly random and occasionally taking his hands out to blow on them once more. It was getting pretty chilly in Wisconsin, he'd have to buy some gloves soon.
Finally, Percy stopped, scuffing his shoes on the pavement and hunching his shoulders when a cool breeze went down his neck. "Alright, what do you want?" He turned to see Sam Winchester approaching him, dressed in plaid and a warm looking coat, the garment thicker than the simple zip-up he was wearing.
"You know why I'm here," Sam shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "I mean, you did read what I wrote, right?"
"I skimmed," The waiter admitted. "Read something about you looking for your brother, blah blah blah, it being urgent. Something about him being missing? Oh, and I read the word 'dad' somewhere there, think next to the three dollar tip you gave me."
The youngest Winchester nodded, choosing to ignore the tidbit about the tip, "Right. My dad and I are looking for my brother Dean. We think he might have come through here."
Percy squinted at him, "What, is he your baby brother or something? Why should it matter where he is?"
"No, I'm the youngest. I haven't talked to him in a few years, I wanna find him."
"Maybe," The black-haired man said slowly, in the nearly patronizing tilt he had in the diner. "He doesn't want to be found. Ever think of that- What's your name? George?"
"Sam," The brunette rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a George? Wait, nevermind. Maybe you're right, maybe my brother doesn't want to see me or something, but I want him to tell me that. I- I don't know, I miss him. He's my big brother."
Percy was quiet for a moment before he nodded slowly, "What's his name?"
Sam gave a quiet sigh of relief, "Dean. Winchester. Dean Winchester."
"Winchester," The waiter said it slowly, like he was testing it out. "I'll keep an eye out for him. Lots of people come in the diner, maybe there'll be a Dean. No promises. You got a number I can reach you at?"
"Yeah," The brunette pulled out a pen, patting his pockets for a piece of paper. Before he could ask, the other man was already flapping the receipt from before at him. "Thanks. Right, here you go."
"Mm," Percy glanced at it before stuffing it in his coat pocket. "I gotta close up the diner. See you around, Winchester."
"See ya," Sam waved, feeling a bit pleased that he got the waiter to help him.
"Dude," Percy started the moment he got in the car after Dean came to pick him up at the diner. "Guess who I ran into on my walk?"
"Who, Steve Jobs?"
"I wish. Your brother."
"What?" Dean nearly slammed on the brakes in his surprise, causing Percy to reach for the pies to protect them. "Why did my brother talk to you?"
Percy shrugged, "He was looking for you. Guess he figured he could catch me at closing. I mean, it worked, so, props to him, I guess."
"What did he say exactly? I'm not going back."
"He misses you," The man answered honestly, stretching as much as he could in the car to crack his back. It was times like these that he hated his long legs. "Said that even if you didn't want to see him again, he still wants you to tell him that in person. My guess…" Percy sighed, "My guess is that it's the last time he'd get to see him if you really didn't want to go back to your family."
"But I- I do want to see him. He's my baby brother," Dean's eyebrows furrowed. "I never said I didn't want to see him again…"
"Winnie," Percy sighed, playing with his seatbelt. "Your brother is obviously mixed in with whatever your dad is up to- and I really don't care what that is. Something tells me, though, that if you want to see your brother, you're going to have to face your father."
Dean lowered his head, acknowledging his friend's point even as he took a shaky breath, "I-"
"I'm not saying you have to make a decision now," Percy interrupted, looking out the window. "Or even tomorrow, or next week. If you're not ready to face your father, I can… I'll find a way to contact your brother so you can see him. But it's your decision, not mine." He got out of the car when they parked, gathering up the pies and offering the Winchester a smile, "Come on, hurry up or I get to choose the movie."
"I- Okay," Dean whispered to himself now that he was by himself. His voice shook but he reigned in his emotions, hands tight on the steering wheel even after turning off the car, "Okay…"
"Oh, my gods," Percy's jaw dropped when he walked into the diner before opening, running his hand through his white hair in surprise. "Oh, my gods, it's like a Winter Wonderland…"
The entrance of the diner had fairy lights over the doorway, the wire going along over the first two booths on either side. Fake snow dotted the wood of the booths and cute little paper snowflakes were on strings over the entire place. The fireplace was on, giving the whole diner a toasty feeling, and the menu was changed a bit to show that they now served hot cocoa with a side of vanilla ice cream, pumpkin latte, and candy cane cupcakes. His coworkers walked around wearing elves, Santa, and snowmen costumes while humming along to the Christmas music that crooned softly from the speakers. Lastly, some of the lightbulbs were exchanged with soft blue ones, creating a nice snowy atmosphere over the whole place.
"This is what you get for almost being late," May hit him lightly on the back of the head with a menu, smiling softly at him. "You miss decoration time."
"I forgot how cool everything looks when we switch into Christmas," Percy said, voice full of awe.
"The tree is supposed to come in later today after closing. Boss wants us all to decorate it and drink hot cocoa. We might do a secret Santa this year, too."
The waiter nodded, his eyes still taking in the place and it's homey atmosphere. He laughed delightedly when someone handed him a red and white striped hat to go along with his temporarily white hair.
"Where's your other half?"
Percy turned to see Boss wearing a full on Santa costume. He raised an eyebrow, "Dean? He slept in probably, I'm not sure. He'll be here later today though."
Boss nodded slowly, "Will you and May be able to handle the customers until he gets here to help?"
The waiter nudged May and winked at her before responding, "We've handled them before Dean got here, Boss. This'll be a walk in the park."
Dean drove quickly to the diner, cursing himself for getting distracted and becoming late. It was around Christmas time, they couldn't afford to be short on staff. When he hurried into the building, he was taken aback by the wonderful holiday vibes he got. It was beautiful and basically the embodiment of what Christmas should look like- for the Winchester at least.
Before anyone could react, Percy dashed by Dean, speaking fast so he could hurry and take someone's order, "HeyDeangladyoucouldmakeitMayisonherbreakbutjustgobackthereandclockinwewashedyourcostume!"
"I-" The Winchester blinked slowly, watching as his friend quickly took people's orders, seeing as he was the only waiter out at the moment since May was apparently on her break. He hurried to the back room, smiling at May, who looked exhausted, and changed into his suit as fast as possible. "Sorry!" He told the woman, who waved him off, and dashed out to help Percy take orders.
Percy grinned with relief when he saw Dean before turning back to the child at the table, nodding and smiling softly as she stuttered over her order of mac and cheese and dinosaur nuggets.
