A/N: Based on a prompt from tumblr by whygodohgodwhy:
"When I was a kid, I used to watch other families and imagine having that life, imagine having a family like that one day."
"And? How does this measure up?"
"It's not like I expected. It's better."
Sam and Dean sat on a bench together, doing surveillance work. It was boring, as usual, and Sam was feeling wistful today. At least in a few hours they'd be with Castiel and Jack again. God, Sam loved that kid.
A family passed by: a dad, a mom, two little boys, and bickering because they could, because they didn't really have a care in the world at that age. It was how it was supposed to be. Sam was surprised he didn't envy them. A couple years back and he would've, even though he missed the chance at a normal childhood, but now…
He gave a half-smile, and turned to Dean, "You know, when we were kids, I used to watch families like that." He nodded over at them as they passed. Dean looked at him in recognition. "I used to… I don't know, imagine having that life. And then when I was with Jess I thought — I hoped — I could have a family like that one day."
"Well, we got a different kind of family," Dean responded, words gentle, thoughtful. "Shit happens."
"Yeah."
"So? How does it measure up? You ever dream of that apple pie life? The wife, the white picket fence, the annoying kids?"
Sam felt content as he contemplated it, thinking of how his brother would cook for them all, how he protected them, how Castiel protected them, and Sam would do the same. They'd go to the ends of Hell, Heaven, and Earth for each other. And he thought of their absolutely brilliant boy. It was an odd family. Extremely odd. But it was his, and somehow out of all his suffering it'd been built, and it was still together after all the crap and the bullshit. And it was his.
"It's not like I expected," Sam admitted.
Dean's lips lowered in a soft expression, showing sympathy, expecting that Sam was upset.
But then Sam answered, "It's better."
A/N: So sorry I've been doing so much writing for another fandom lately! It definitely felt good to get back to this one. I have two really big projects for SPN that I'm working on. Hopefully they'll be great!