Missed July by one day, oh well, better late than never! Good news is I've already started on the next one, so you all shouldn't have to wait too long for the next installment. This one is for guest Kathy, who wanted to see how Sam handled it when Dean finally started school. I hope you enjoy this! I don't write too many small Winchester stories, but I always love doing so. Thank you guys for all your support of these little stories, it truly means the world. I love getting your thoughts and prompts :) Dean is 6 and Sam is 2 here.
Don't own anything! But you guys know the drill! Any happy story prompts, feel free to leave them in a review or shoot me a PM!
"But how long are you gonna be gone?" Sam asked around a mouthful of cereal.
"Just a few hours, I'll be back before ya know it," Dean promised from across the table. His own plate, which had once held toast, was empty in front of him.
Sam wasn't so sure he believed him, but Dean didn't lie to him. The situation was just very confusing. Dean never left, never. Dad did, a lot, and Dean was always there to look out for him. But now Dean would be gone, what would happen if Dad left too?
John swooped in from above and put Dean's plate in the sink just as Sam was thinking about asking the question. They had their own sink now, it was exciting, and the little house was much nicer than the motels they usually stayed in.
"Come on, Dean, get your backpack. Sam, finish up, we need to get Dean over to school."
That was that. Dean left the table to get ready and Sam quickly shoved a few more spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth before he held the bowl up above his head for John to grab.
A few minutes later, John piled his sons into the car and pulled out of the dirt driveway.
"How far away is the school?" Sam asked as he tried to watch trees and bushes go past as they drove by. "Are the kids nice?"
He had heard Dean and John talking about it for weeks beforehand, so he knew what was happening, but now that it was here and Dean was leaving, it seemed so much more important.
"Not far, and I'm sure they're fine, Sammy," Dean replied and fiddled with his backpack strap.
"Just fine?" Fine didn't sound like much fun to be spending a lot of time with.
"They can't be better than you, so yeah, just fine," Dean smiled over at him. Sam immediately beamed back. He knew how much Dean loved him, and he was sure no other kids could compete.
As promised, the school wasn't far from where they were staying. Before Dean could reach over to open the car door, Sam wrapped him in a crushing side hug.
"Oof, Sammy, I gotta go." Dean tried to pry him off, but Sam could feel him laughing. That meant it was okay for him to still hang on.
"Sam, your brother has to get to class," came John's voice from up front, so Sam finally had to let go. Dean gave him a one-armed hug back and smiled as he stepped out of the car.
"You'll be back, right?" Sam just had to check.
"I'll be back, Sammy, promise," Dean nodded at him and situated his backpack. He waved just a little and shut the door. As John pulled away from the curb, Sam got up on his knees to peer out of the back window and saw Dean watch the car for a moment before he headed up the stairs and inside with a bunch of other kids.
The car was quiet without Dean. John played some music, but he didn't talk, and Sam didn't ask any questions. He hoped it would change when they got back to the house, but it didn't.
Sam played with his action figures, but didn't have anyone that knew how to make cool battle noises to go with them. He watched a movie but John didn't make commentary from his place at the table like Dean did. He played in the yard for a little while but playing tag was hard by himself.
Dad still read a comic book to him, which was nice, but mostly he read his own big books. He didn't play with him like Dean did, and he forgot to cut the crust off Sam's sandwich like Dean always remembered.
He hated school for taking Dean away from him. He missed his big brother.
"Sammy, you okay kiddo?" John asked as he got his own sandwich and sat down across from Sam in Dean's chair.
Sam looked at his imperfect sandwich and the toys he had put away and the dark television and started to cry. "I miss Dean," he mumbled as his hands rubbed at his tear filled eyes.
He looked up when he heard his Dad's plate clatter and saw that John had put down his sandwich as he sighed. "I know you do, Sam, but we have to get used to this, okay? School is important, you'll go too in a few years and see it's not so bad," he tried to placate.
Sam only shook his head. "Dean shouldn't hafta, why can't he learn here? He can…read and write and…and…why can't you teach him everythin'?"
John just smiled sadly at him. "I'm not that smart, Sam. I wish I could keep him here to help, I do, but this is good for him."
"Not good for me," Sam muttered and looked down at his hands in his lap. His tears made darker splotches on his blue pants.
"I bet," John leaned across the table, making Sam look up again, "that he'll have tons of stories to tell you after. Won't those be cool to hear?"
Sam took a moment to think that over. Dean was really good at telling stories, after all. "Maybe…" he trailed off.
"And some stuff he learns that I can't teach him, maybe he can show you, since he's such a good brother."
Sam smiled just a little at that. Dean was a good brother, and he taught Sam lots of things, so could he teach Sam things he learned in school too? Maybe…maybe it wasn't all bad. "And maybe he can teach you too?"
John let out a chuckle. "Maybe, we'll see what he learns."
Sam was fairly content with that. When John said they'd be picking Dean up in just an hour, he was even happier. He made the time pass by quickly by watching a little more television while John read. Soon enough, they were back in the car and at the school.
Sam watched as students poured out, some bigger than Dean, and either walked together down the road or got into a waiting car. They only had to wait a few minutes for Dean to come down the steps and when he did, he was met with a screeched "Dean!" from inside the Impala.
Dean immediately grinned and jogged the rest of the way before he opened the door and was attacked with a tight hug the second he was in the car.
"Heya Sammy," he said while laughing as Sam refused to let him go.
"I missed you! It was so quiet all day and there was no one to make alien noises while I played or chase me around outside!" Sam stayed buried against his big brother even as John started driving away from the school.
"I'm back now, we can do all that stuff later," Dean assured, and Sam was perfectly happy with that.
He heard Dad asking how Dean's first day went, and Sam heard him say it was fine and that the kids and his teacher were nice, which was good. But Sam was much more focused on the fact that the back seat of the Impala was full and safe once again, and that was better than any game of tag or comic book.
When they got back to the house, Dean did just as promised. He left his backpack by the door and sat down on the floor where they always played with their few action figures. Sam was absolutely ecstatic and Dean's battle sounds were better than ever.
John had to take a call not long after, so Sam followed Dean outside where he promptly shouted "Tag!" and touched Dean's shoulder before he sprinted off. Dean ran after him as he always did and caught up quickly but made his hands dance around Sam for a few seconds before actually tagging him back.
Sam laughed as the tides turned and he went after Dean, hands outstretched to give him a bigger reach. "I'm gonna get you!" he shouted as he continued after his brother.
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!" Sam tried to pick up the pace, but stumbled on a tangle of weeds and crashed to the ground. It didn't hurt, it just surprised him, and his giggling abruptly stopped.
"Sammy! You okay?" Dean was immediately bent over him, checking for scrapes and bruises. Sam picked himself up so he was sitting instead of sprawling on the grass. Dean gingerly took his hands and wiped dry dirt off them.
"Anything hurt?"
Sam thought through how everything felt before he shook his head. Even though he felt fine, he was still glad Dean was there with him. His big brother always made everything better. And if he had gotten a scratch, Dean would've been right there to fix it up. But if he were at school and Sam fell…
The thought made Sam's lower lip tremble and Dean immediately sat down next to him. "Then what's goin' on? Did it scare you?"
Sam shook his head again. "What if…what if I fall and you're at school?"
He looked up from his hands to his brother, who was smiling at him. Sam knew it was Dean's special look, he hadn't seen Dean look at anyone else the same way. It made him feel safe, protected, and was better than anything a bandaid would ever be able to do.
"Dad will be here to fix you up, don't worry."
"But what if you're not?" Sam annunciated. There was a difference between his Dad and Dean, a big one.
Dean took a moment to think on it. "Maybe not right that second, but I'll be there eventually, Sammy, I promise. I won't ever be too far away."
Dean's hand was still on Sam's, and so Sam used his small pinkie finger to wrap around Dean's slightly larger one. Dean looked down to see what he was doing and when he realized, he shook their fingers together.
A promise.
Even something as big as school couldn't come between that.
I tried to get this up last week, but it just didn't happen, so I hope you guys enjoyed this! The main reason for that (major self-plug here, please forgive me but I'm still proud of it) was that I had to get my story, The Courage of Stars, ready for posting. It went up two weeks ago and has some gorgeous art by Quickreaver in it. I am super proud of how the story turned out, so if you guys like this series, that one has a bunch of peaceful/happy moments between the brothers in motels and diners and the Impala, bantering and being themselves on a road trip that culminates in them watching a meteor shower. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, please go take a peek, I'd be endlessly grateful! ;)