Sonny woke up, but didn't move. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling. Estimating it to be about two in the morning, Sonny wondered what had woken him up.
Feeling as though he weren't going to go back to sleep all that quickly, Sonny got up and walked down to the kitchen to make a mug of hot tea. He liked the stuff, but none of the boys could stand it, so he was left to drink it alone. While the cup was brewing, Sonny decided to check on the boys, making sure they were alright. He peeked into their rooms, one by one, and found nothing out of the ordinary until he reached Sam and Dean's.
Dean was sitting up against the head board of his bed, absentmindedly running his fingers through Sam's hair. Coming a little closer, Sonny could see little glistening trails on Sam's cheeks as the moonlight peeked through the window. Sam was asleep now, but it was clear that he hadn't been for long.
There was a listless look in Dean's eyes. As though he knew someone was there in the room with them, but didn't think it a big enough danger to bother processing entirely.
"Is he alright?" Sonny asked.
Dean's eyes focused, flicking up towards Sonny.
"He's fine." Dean answered.
"Nightmare?"
"Most likely." Dean gently extracted himself from beneath Sam, re-positioning him to be more comfortable. He drew the blanket up, covering him more fully.
As Dean stood up, he flinched.
"Timer?" he asked.
"Probably for my tea." Sonny said, "Want to join me?"
Dean looked over at Sam who was sound asleep, showing only traces of the distress he'd been in before. Dean knew he ought to go to sleep, but he wasn't all that tired... Sonny hadn't tried anything yet, and Sam was only upstairs. There'd be plenty of time to get to him if something went wrong.
"I guess."
"Regular or raspberry hibiscus?" Sonny asked, holding up two different tea bags.
"Just regular." Dean answered.
Dean was familiar with hot tea. He hadn't liked it to begin with, but over time he had learned to. It and coffee were the only thing that you could count on every hotel having. Some hotels had the fancier stuff with all the different flavors raspberry, orange, green tea, and Dean had tried it, but Sam liked those kinds a lot. As luck would have it, Dean preferred the regular.
As the tea steeped, they just stood in silence. Sonny noticed Dean absentmindedly massaging his fingers and hands, just squeezing and rubbing, trading off hands every once in a while. Thinking back, Sonny remembered seeing Dean doing that everyone in a while since he'd gotten there. It seemed to be habit when he was in uncomfortable situations. This made Sonny determined to put him at ease.
"So, you like old cars?" Sonny asked.
Dean nodded.
"Know how to work on 'em?"
Again, Dean nodded.
"I got an old car in the shed that I've been meaning to fix up. Not quite sure what she is, but I think she'll be a beauty once she's all cleaned up." Sonny said, "Think she'd make a good project for you once you get settled?"
For the first time, since he came, Sonny saw just the slightest bit of light in the boy's eye.
"Really?" he asked, hesitantly.
"Sure." Sonny said, "I haven't had time to work on her and other boys think she's more effort than she's worth. They want those flashy new things that are more plastic than metal. There's no real reason to keep her here unless she's cleaned up. So, what do you say?"
"Yes, sir." Dean said, "Thank you."
First kid I've met who's happy about working...
The timer beeped and Sonny went to the cabinet while Dean pulled the tea bag out of the mug.
"Sugar?" Sonny offered, as he stirred some into his own cup.
Dean nearly said "No thank you," out of habit. He always gave what ever sugar packets there were at the motel to Sam, because he refused to drink the tea without them. But Sam wasn't up. Dean looked into the container that Sonny dug spoonfuls out of.
There is plenty of sugar... Dean thought. With that, he succumbed to the temptation.
"Yes, please."
Sonny slid the container over to him and tossed him a spoon.
Sonny watched as Dean deposited a small spoonful of sugar into the tea, then moved to pick up the sugar and put it away.
"You can have as much as you like." Sonny said, "Just remember we've got to go back to bed after this."
Dean hesitated, withdrawing his hand and looked at the container. After a moment, he put another spoonful in. Then one more.
Dean quickly dropped the spoon into the tea. Sonny could tell that Dean did that to prevent himself from getting more.
They entered the living room, each choosing a seat. Sonny subconsciously noticed that Dean had chosen one facing the door. To begin with, Dean sat straight, posture stiff and feet on the ground. As time progressed, however, he gradually relaxed, slowly drawing his feet up to the right side of him.
He seemed to savor the tea as though he had never tasted anything better in his life. He did that with all food, Sonny noticed.
Dean paused when he noticed Sonny staring at him, hesitating.
"Sorry... I-" Dean began, but Sonny cut him off.
"You don't have to apologize, Dean, you're not doing anything wrong." Sonny said.
Dean opened his mouth to respond, but apparently couldn't find words to say. Instead, he just stared at Sonny in a way that made him feel like Dean was looking inside of him, boring a hole into his heart.
Sonny could almost see Dean's fear, his confusion, anxiety. He didn't know what to make of all this. Sonny only wanted to comfort the boy, but knew that all attempts at it would be read as an attack. So Sonny decided he'd just have to settle on being empathetic for now.
"Things have been changing pretty fast, huh?"
"Sort of, I guess." Dean answered, his gaze having shifted down to his cup, which he rubbed, just as he had rubbed his hands earlier. "Sam and I, were used to it."
"Probably a different sort of change though." Sonny said.
Dean hesitated, then nodded.
"Do you like it here?" Sonny asked.
"Sam does." Dean answered.
"I wasn't asking about Sam." Sonny said, "Do you like it here?"
"I don't know."
Somehow, Sonny knew that was the most honest answer Dean could possibly have given.
A/N: So here's another little snippet of Dean bonding with Sonny.