Good morning! This was a fun one to write. Hope you enjoy!

No. 23: WHAT'S A WHUMPEE GOTTA DO TO GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE?

prompt options: Exhaustion, Narcolepsy, Sleep Deprivation

setting: anytime after they've got the Bunker

"Anything?"

Sam shook his head at his brother's question. "You?"

"This is just stupid." Dean slammed the book closed, dust flying.

"You want to stop?" Sam asked, waving a hand to dispel the dust cloud.

"Yes, Sam, I want to stop. I want to stop and get some damned sleep!"

Dean shook the coffee pot and poured the last dregs into his cup.

"That's not really going to help, you know?" Sam flipped through the book in front of him. "This isn't ordinary sleep deprivation."

"Of course it's not." Dean slammed a hand down on the counter. "You think I don't know that?"

His words started off a tirade that Sam had neither the interest nor the lucidity to try to keep up with. Mostly, it was complaining about how they'd gotten into this mess in the first place and how stupid curses were and why was it always them who wound up in messes like this and if he wanted a damned cup of coffee he was going to have one! There was a lot more along with it, but those were the highlights Sam's sleep deprived mind unwillingly absorbed.

He yawned, the words on the page blurring into a muddle of blackness. Blackness that swept him away like a cold ocean wave. He didn't even feel it when his head hit the book.

But he sure felt it when his brother hit him in the shoulder with a fist.

"Dean!" His head came off the book immediately.

"Right here, Sleeping Beauty." Dean sat down across the table from him and gave him a hard kick in the shin. "Do not even think about closing your eyes again."

Sam groaned, rubbing his aching head. "How long?"

"How long have we been awake? I don't know. Couple days. How long till we can sleep? Well, when we're dead, we can sleep all the time. Which is what we're going to be if we don't figure this crap out."

"What?"

Sam blinked a few times as if that would help bring his brother's words into focus. None of it made sense. It all made even less sense when Dean tried to repeat it. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

Dean shook his head. "This is a freakin' disaster."

"We've been through worse."

"Yes, we have. Doesn't mean this isn't still a freakin' disaster."

"We'll figure it out."

"You sure about that?" Dean raised an eyebrow, looking more sleepy than skeptical.

Sam laughed. "No, actually I'm not sure about anything except how much I want to sleep."

"Yeah well, pretend you're cramming for a final exam, college boy," Dean said, shoving a different book his way.

"College was a very long time ago, you know?" Sam yawned, shaking his head.

"Well forget college then, pretend you're researching for a hunt. One that we need an answer to right now or else we're gonna die."

Sam laughed again, possibly a bit hysterically.

Dean grinned. "Just sayin'."

"Is there more coffee?"

"I thought you said, and I quote, this isn't ordinary sleep deprivation."

"I'm actually impressed that you got all the words in the right order." Sam rested his chin in his hand, yawning again.

Dean tilted his head, then said, "Actually, I am, too."

"So is there?"

"Is there what?" Dean frowned.

"What?" Sam only could keep one eye open.

"You asked me...something," Dean said, elbows on the table, hands pressed to his head.

"I did?"

"Mmhmm."

They fell silent for a moment. Then Dean's head hit the table and jarred them both to something resembling wakefulness again. Dean frowned, rubbing his forehead.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"I don't remember." Sam yawned, trying to focus. They had a pile of books and files spread out before them. "We need to…"

"Need to what?" Dean was leaning against the wall, his eyes slipping closed.

Sam honestly wasn't sure. He was too tired. Just way too tired. Nothing could possibly be that important. Not more important than sleeping. He was exhausted. They'd been up for...forever researching...something. It was time for a break. They deserved it.

He rubbed his eyes and debated if it was worth the effort to go to his bed or if he should just fall asleep right where he was sitting. Lowering his hand, his gaze drifted once more over the scattered books and files on the table. A lot of mess they were going to have to clean up later. Sam pushed some of the pile away and leaned forward to rest his head on his crossed arms on the table.

The scream of a klaxon blasted his eardrums and jolted his heart like an electric shock.

Dean's loud cursing drowned out the klaxon.

"What the hell is that?" Sam asked, sitting straight up, dry eyes wide, his pulse pounding.

"Damn alarm," Dean said, fumbling with his phone.

"You set an alarm that loud? Why?"

Dean held his phone up. The alarm was still blaring and the words on the screen said fall asleep and you DIE dumbass!

Sam rubbed his eyes and reread the alarm.

"I guess we shouldn't fall asleep," Dean said, finally turning the alarm off. "Just can't remember why."

"Curse," Sam said, looking at the book in front of him.

"Damn it?" Dean asked, looking at Sam like he was nuts.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Not that kind of curse, you idiot."

Dean groaned, his gaze following Sam's as realization dawned.

For a moment, they stared at the chaos before them. So much information. So many wrong turns they'd already taken. So many ways to lose time and not break the curse.

"We're missing something."

"You think?" Dean muttered, rifling through the paperwork. "But what? There's no cursed object to destroy or lock up in a warded box. The person who created the curse has been dead for centuries so no one to kill. We've been through everything."

He was right. They'd torn their extensive collection of lore to pieces looking for answers. Hours of searching to come up empty while they grew more and more fatigued.

"Well, we'll have to go through everything again," Sam said, pushing himself to his feet.

It was like gravity had increased tenfold since he'd been sitting down. Wearily, he dragged himself to the counter. He grabbed a couple apples from the basket then made his way back to the table. Another time he might have tossed the apple at his brother, but in their current states of exhaustion, neither of them were up for a game of catch.

So he handed the apple to Dean as he collapsed back into his seat.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" Dean asked, eyebrows raised. "This will break the curse?"

"No. But we need to eat something and apples can be as good as caffeine for…" Sam trailed off. Staring at his own apple, he didn't have the foggiest idea what he'd been about to say.

"As good as caffeine for...waking us up?"

"Yes. That. Eat."

"I thought you said caffeine wouldn't help." Dean narrowed his eyes. "Now you want me to eat an apple?"

"Anything's worth a try, right?"

"At this point, if you told me kale would keep me awake, I'd eat it," Dean said around a mouthful of apple.

"Really?"

"No, not a chance."

Sam smiled.

After their snack, he had to admit he did feel a little bit more energized. And by a little bit he meant barely at all, but it would have to do. Their lives depended on them being able to stay awake and solve this mess.

It was a good thing he'd just bought a big bag of apples...

Thanks for reading! Yes, I know that isn't a full ending so to speak lol. But you know they figure it out...somehow lol.

idk what time i'll be posting the next few days, have some family get togethering to do, but I am DETERMINED to post every single day (23 days i've made it so far!). So the posts may be later than usual, or they may be in the morning. just totally depends when I can find a moment to get them up. :)

tomorrow's theme/prompts: No. 24: YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE, Forced Mutism, Blindfolded, Sensory Deprivation