The so called late dinner was a quiet affair, only Sam and Dean ate anything. Dean hadn't eaten anything since work and they weren't quite sure when Sam had ate last. Mary and John nibbled on a few things but mostly just watched them eat, holding hands under the table.
Sam cleared his plate every time, whenever it got close to being empty Mary quickly moved to put more food which he didn't argue against and just kept eating. A few times Sams head would start to fall forward as he started to nod off but he always jerked himself awake, rubbing at his eyes with his knuckles.
Finally he seemed to reach his limit and pushed his plate away, some food still on it. "Thank you." he said quietly, staring at the table. "It was really good."
"When was the last time you had a real meal?" John asked, his voice tense and filled with worry.
Sam was quiet for a lot longer than they were comfortable with. "I haven't really had the time to eat." he finally said and it wasn't really an answer, they all knew that.
"Sam how are you living?" John asked, making Mary shift in her seat. "What are you doing? Do you have a home base or something? Anything?"
"Hustling mainly, lots of people like to make bets at bars after a few drinks." Sam mumbled. "And...other ways."
Dean didn't want to think about what those other things were and he hated how his mind was making a picture regardless. He glanced at their parents and saw what he was sure the same expression on their dads face.
"I mean I have friends, other hunters." Sam continued, either ignoring or oblivious to their discomfort. "One owns a roadhouse and when I really needed money I'd work there or get other small jobs."
John swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "But those other ways..." he said, trying to find the right words. "Is that...are you safe?"
Sam shrugged and then paused, staring at Johns face for a moment. "Are...are you thinking sex stuff?" he asked, a bit dubiously and that made Dean relax just a bit. "Like a hooker?"
"You mentioned other ways and I'm not sure what other types there are." John protested but he visibly relaxed. "Its not?"
Sam smiled again at that, a bit amused despite everything. "I'm not having sex with people for money." he assured them. "I was talking about fake credit cards."
What did it mean of what their life had become in just a few hours that the idea of fake credit cards were not only accepted but made things a lot more relaxed, Dean couldn't help but wonder but then pushed it out of his mind.
They had other things to deal with after all.
"Sounds like something my family would've done in this day and age." Mary said softly. "Back then there weren't any credit cards so we had to use real money sparingly."
"Yeah. It's the way of hunters now." Sam said softly. He rubbed at his eyes once more, eyes slowly closing before he forced them open once more.
"Alright, now you go to sleep." Mary told him firmly. "Upstairs. We kept...we kept your room the same way and your bed is still there."
Sam swallowed and nodded. "Thank you." he said quietly. He looked at the dishes and started to pick them up, taking them to the sink.
John got up and stopped him, taking the plates from him. "We'll take care of this, you go to bed son." he told him. He looked at Dean too. "You too, you both look dead on your feet."
If Sam wanted to argue, he didn't, he didn't look like he had the strength to argue even if he wanted to. He just nodded and glanced at Dean before slowly going back upstairs to his old room.
Dean shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at his parents. "Need my help?" he asked, his voice rough.
In an answer Mary went to him and tugged him up, all but shoving him towards the stairs. "Bed." she said firmly, uncaring about the fact that he was an adult. "Go to bed and go to sleep. Now."
He smiled despite himself and hugged her quickly which she returned, nodding at their dad before going upstairs as well.
He paused outside of Sam's room, somewhere he hadn't gone into for about as long as Sam had been gone. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and stepped inside.
Mom hadn't been kidding, they hadn't changed a single thing in the room since the day Sam had left. There was a mess of notebooks and textbooks on the desk and a pile of clothes in the corner that never got put away.
Sam was on his bed, somehow miraculously fitting on it, and he blinked sleepily up at him, moving to get up onto his elbows.
"Everything okay?" he asked, already getting out of the bed.
In an answer Dean just went across the room and slightly onto the bed, just staring at his brother. Sam laid back down but stared up at him in confusion.
"You planning on leaving again?" Dean asked roughly, not sure of what kind of an answer he was hoping for.
Sam hesitated and there was another answer, there were not many answers in his silence.
"I don't know." he finally said. "I have work to do and I have to get back to all of it, I'll explain more tomorrow." he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "But I'm here now."
Dean nodded and then moved onto the bed completely, wrapping his arms around his brother and just holding onto him. He felt Sam tense up but then relaxed, wrapping his arms around him as well.
"We fucking missed you Sammy." Dean whispered, feeling the hint of tears in his eyes. "I fucking missed you."
"Me too." Sam whispered, voice heavy. "I missed you too."
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