Sam was starting to get worried. It had been almost noon when Dean had left the room, and he still wasn't back. He normally didn't start worrying about his brother until the older man had been gone for at least seven hours, but this time it was different. It was personal. Dean had his body. It was almost five, and Sam was pacing the room, wondering where the hell was and what the hell he could be doing for almost five hours without bothering to call.
Outside, a loud motor rumbled by, coming increasingly closer to the room. Sammy ran to the window and pulled back the thick curtains. The Impala. Finally.
The youngest member of the Winchester family laid down on one of the beds, closing his eyes and feigning sleep, as the motel room door opened and Dean entered.
"Stop faking, Sam, I know you're awake."
"How?" Sam asked without bothering to open his eyes.
"You snore. Loud. Now get up, I was thinking that maybe Madi would know what we're dealing with. We should go see her." A door closed and Sammy opened his eyes. Dean had gone into the bathroom.
"Already taken care of," he said, sitting up and gazing into the mirror, "she said that the only way back is the way we came."
"Huh?" Dean asked, his voice muffled through the bathroom door.
"That's what I said," Sam smiled, picking at a small scab on the back of his hand, "apparently it means that if we want to get back to normal we need to let the thing almost eat us again. If we shoot it while it's eating, it can suck out our souls and then send them back, hopefully into the right bodies."
"Hopefully? I don't suppose there's a door number two anywhere, is there?"
"We just kill the thing and leave. It won't help us any, but it'll get rid of the killer witch."
"But," Dean reasoned, raising his voice as the sound of running water became audible through the closed door, "if we have to wait for it to suck out our souls it could end up killing us."
Sam sighed, pulling his attention away from the scab as the bathroom door opened. "Yeah, Madi says you cut my hair?"
"How'd she know about that?" Dean asked, walking casually up to the mirror and running his hands through the untidy brown hair. It wasn't as short as he usually kept his own, but a lot shorter than Sam would have liked. "What do you think?"
"I think you cut my hair."
"Yeah, it was getting in the way. Be thankful I left it this long, I really would like it shorter, but I figured this probably wouldn't be a permanent arrangement. Besides, it stays out of my face if I mess it up like this. Looks kind of cowlicky, but who cares. Not like it's actually mine."
"But you cut my hair."
"Yeah, and you made fun of my… height. What's the matter, Sammy, don't you like it?"
"You cut my hair. I liked my hair, Dean. You can't just go off and change the way I look. It's not right. All I did was crack a joke."
"Relax, you can grow it back out. It's not like I went out and got a tattoo or anything. Besides, Lily liked it."
Sam looked at his brother as Dean sat down on the other bed, ruffling his hair with a contented smirk on his face. "You went to see Lily?"
"No," the elder replied, his playful smirk growing mischievous, "you went to go see Lily. She had a great time, by the way."
"Doing what?"
Dean laid back on the bed, closing his eyes and sighing. "Take a wild guess, Psychic Wonder."
Sammy had an idea, though the thought of actually vocalizing it made him sick to his stomach. The chance that his brother may confirm it scared him even more. "Dean, you didn't. Please tell me you didn't."
His older sibling's smirk faded to be replaced by a satisfied smile. "Oh, I did."
Sam closed his eyes and sighed, unable to suppress a disgusted shudder. "You had sex with her?" Dean nodded. "You, uh," Sammy struggled, not sure how to explain the delicate situation to his brother, "without my permission."
Dean chuckled. "Come on, Sam, it's not like you're sick. It could be worse. You could have been a virgin." He broke out into a brief gale of hearty laughter. "Why aren't you laughing with me, Sammy?" His brother just sat on the edge of the bed, silently fuming. "No. You're not…"
"Not any more," Sam growled, "thanks a load, Dean."
Dean laughed again. "Yeah, all right, nice joke, man. I know you and Jess must have, at least once." Sam shook his head. "So, you're telling me that you had never… with anyone?" Another negative. "Huh. Well, then."
"This isn't funny, Dean."
"Oh, come on. One of these days we'll look back and laugh. Besides, how many guys can actually say that their brother lost their virginity for them?"
Without a word, Sam propelled himself off the bed and ran from the room, grabbing the car keys as he went. He didn't know where he was going, just knew that he had to get away. He couldn't stand to look at that foreign smirk on his less-than-shaggy face anymore.
