Sam looked over at his brother. Something about the light filtering into the car emphasized crow's feet that Sam didn't remember being there just a year ago.
He knew he had changed too, his lankiness filling out into bulk, his boyish features sharpening a little. The changes had been so subtle that he hadn't realized that they'd come. And yet, here they were staring him in the face through eyes of his brother.
Dean, for his part was lost in a song. Humming to a tale of Death disguised with a cheerful tune. Sam wondered if Dean ever really listened to the lyrics to the songs he played religiously.
His brother's baritone cut through his reverie. "Sam, stop looking at me with the creepy stalker face."
Sam snorted. "I'm not making a face."
"Precisely my point." Dean stifled a yawn.
Sam took the ribbing good-naturedly.
He watched Dean blink a couple of times and roll his shoulder to get a knot out. He looked exhausted.
"Hey, why don't you pull over and we can catch a nap?" Sam suggested.
"Sure, Sam, I'll just swing over to the non existent shoulder of this highway and take a doze."
"You know what I mean."
Dean gave him a look that let him know that he did, in fact, know what Sam meant.
Sam knew that was his cue to argue the point. "Look, I don't want to die when you fall asleep and crash us into a ravine, okay?"
Dean took an exit ramp.
"How do you want to die?" He asked after a moment.
Sam blinked and wrinkled his nose. "Ummm. I don't know. Is there a preferred method?"
Dean shrugged. "I think so. I mean going out ganking some sonofabitch beats dying of a heart attack jerking it to porn at 50."
Sam shook his head. "Really. Those are your only two options? Fight to the Death or Masturbatory Infarction."
"Uh. Yeah whatever that second word meant."
"Means a heart attack."
Dean took them down a road that seemed to stretch forever and yet lead them nowhere. Baby's headlights cut through the dark. The starry sky spread over them like a thousand paint splatters against a navy canvas.
Dean found a field and pulled over. The Impala bounced a little with the uneven turf as he guided them far enough off the blacktop to not warrant of them some birds in the tall grass flew off, disturbed by the headlights. Dean cut the engine.
"I think I'd rather just die in my sleep." Sam offered.
Dean raised an eyebrow like that thought hadn't occurred to him. "Yeah but dyin' like that..."
"What."
"I dunno. Its like you don't know its comin. "
"That's the point, Dean. Peaceful."
Sam opened the door to get out and slip into the back seat. It felt good to unfold his long legs. By the time he'd crawled back in, Dean had already laid down in the front seat.
"I think I'd rather go down fightin." Dean said, closing his eyes. "Maybe just..." he sighed.
"Just what, Dean?"
Dean didn't respond and Sam realized he'd slipped off into a deep slumber. The kind that took him some times when he'd run himself into the ground.
The crow's feet had relaxed and all the little worry lines had gone away. And there it was, exactly what Sam wanted. His brother beside him, the warmth of the car below him, endless sky stretched above them.
Peace.
Sam dropped his head to the seat cushion and slipped off to join his brother in rest.
Thanks for the last reviews, guys. I've been lazy about replying, but I treasure every one.