Hey! I forgot to say happy late Thanksgiving in my last update. So, Happy -late- Thanksgiving!
(BLD)
As expected, it didn't take long for Sam to show up at the doorstep. In fact, Dean was fairly certain he was early.
"Sammy." Dean greeted his brother with a wide grin, ignoring how his arms were full of luggage and came up and hugged him. Sam groaned, dropping the baggage with a thud to hug his brother back. "Good to see you too, Dean." Sam chuckled, patting his brother's back.
After the brother's reunion, Dean took up the two bags of luggage on the porch and took them inside as Sam went out to his vehicle in the driveway to get the rest. Once they were both inside, Sam sighed, setting the last bit by the couch.
"I think you might've set a record, Sam." Dean muttered, leaning against the railing of the staircase in the living room with his arms crossed.
Sam chuckled, "Yea, I kind of started packing as soon as we got off the phone last night." He admitted.
Dean rolled his eyes, "Of course." He looked to his brother, shaking his head for a moment as he gave him a once over. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked, a brow raising questioningly.
Sam shrugged, "I could eat." He offered. He wasn't going to tell Dean that he hasn't eaten since yesterday, and that he was starving, because then he'd get a scolding. It was funny how Dean kept telling Sam he'd never grow up to be like Dad, but he proved himself wrong every day. It was very Dad-like with how he scolded him, and how he thought all his problems were his own to fix. He was already too much like their Dad.
Dean grinned, "Good." And he fell from his lean against the stair railing and headed through the living room to the kitchen, "I made burgers." He told Sam over his shoulder. He was only one second away from picking up fast-food when he thought better on it and decided to make them himself.
"Awesome." Sam mumbled, walking close behind his brother, mouth already watering.
There was a plate staked with four grilled beef patties, a plate with chopped tomato, lettuce, and onions and a whole jar of spear pickles. The brothers got down to making their burgers, conversation scarce while hunger commandeered their attention and focus. Sam had just put the finishing touches on his own burger, taking a seat at the kitchen table with a sigh when his phone began to ring.
"Shit…" he mumbled, quickly fishing in his pocket for his phone, "Hello?" he answered once he'd gotten it to his ear.
"Oh, hey Ruby." Sam sat back in his chair, his shoulders drooping as he stared longingly at his burger.
Dean gave a silent chuckle, coming over and sitting across from Sam.
"Yea, I made it here fine… Like, 15 minutes, why?...Oh my God, Ruby, I'm sorry I didn't call as soon as I hit the brakes, damn…" Sam ran a frustrated hand through his hair, ignoring the whipping sounds Dean was making to mock him. He turned in his chair, away from Dean, "No, all I'm saying is I just got here. Me and Dean made burgers and I'm about to eat… I guess when I got done eating…" Sam groaned, his head falling in his hand, "Ruby, please…"
Dean only feels slightly bad for Sam, and it doesn't hurt at all as he takes a bite out of his burger. First of all, he'd told Sam Ruby was crazy from the get-go, and did he listen? No. Now that there's trouble in paradise Dean is doing all he can to rub it in his face.
He understood that after Jessica Sam needed some time, but he didn't think that meant he needed time away from good girls. If he'd been aiming to pick a girl that was the complete opposite of Jessica, he'd found a winner. Dean glanced up from his plate at Sam, eating silently as he continued to listen in on Sam's half of the conversation. Though if he listened hard enough he could make out what Ruby was screaming on the other end.
"Yes, fine… Okay. Tonight, before I close my eyes to sleep, okay Ruby…? Jesus." And he pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up. "I swear to God, Dean." He groaned, shaking his head as he put his phone away.
Dean only raised a brow, "I tried to warn you." He told him, taking another bite out of his burger.
"Yea, you did. And can you please stop bringing it up?" he pleaded, and finally, he picked up his burger and began to eat. He closed his eyes with a sigh that came through his nose, enjoying the simple pleasure of eating.
Dean chuckled, "No can do, Sammy." And then smirked to Sam after he groaned again.
"Also, she knows you just lost your Dad, right? Why the hell is she being so bitchy, now of all times…" Dean asked, now becoming defensive for his brother.
Sam sighed, "Of course she knows, she just… She lost a second cousin a month ago, and she's using it as an excuse to make me feel bad for her." Sam finally admitted, running his hand down his face.
Dean's eyes narrowed, "So her second cousin dies, a month ago, and she thinks she needs more comfort than you right now?" Dean scoffed, "I bet she hardly knew her damn second cousin." He grumbled as he continued to eat, taking harsher bites than necessary into his burger.
"Yea…" Sam agreed, but because he had nothing to say in defense of his girlfriend, the only thing else he could say was, "Yea…" he repeated with a sigh.
The two brothers ate, talking about how things have been in New Haven, how Sam's classes have been and anything other than the elephant in the room. It's not that they needed to talk about it, though. Sam knew what he came here to do, and Dean knew what he needed to do, and they'd get it done. Because Sam knew talking about a plan of attack on tackling this debt would be like shoving the fact that Dean had failed right in his face.
So, they didn't talk about it. At least not yet. But Sam knew it had to come at some point, whether Dean was ready to admit he needed the help or not, and whether he realized he wasn't a failure for needing it or not.
As Dean put their dirty dishes away in the sink to be cleaned, he yawned. He hadn't got much sleep the other night, and he'd been working most the day at Bobby's, so he was still pretty exhausted. He thought about taking a nap after Sam arrived, but decided against it, and instead told himself he could go to bed early tonight. He was sure he'd get a raised eyebrow from Sam, but he'd let him speculate.
"Did you have any plans today?" Sam suddenly asked, walking over beside Dean before he hopped up and sat on the counter beside the sink.
Dean turned the faucet on and squirted some soap in his hands from the nearby dispenser, "Actually, I was thinking about going to the store. You can come along if you want." He suggested as he washed his hands.
Sam shrugged, "Alright. It gives me a chance to look for some applications." He reasoned.
Dean's hands paused for a moment, "Right…" he mumbled. A moment later he went back to scrubbing his hands together. The thought of Sam looking for a job for Dean's sake didn't sit right with him. It made him feel even more worthless as an older brother.
He gave a near silent sigh, turning off the water and reaching for the cloth that Sam now sat on. Without asking him to move, he grabbed it and yanked it out from underneath his brother, making him jolt in surprise, "I would've moved!" he complained, punching Dean's arm in retribution.
Dean only chuckled, taking the punch good naturedly as he dried his hands with a grin.
Dean went upstairs to quickly grab a jacket and his keys and came back down, "You ready Sammy?" he shouted through the house, and it didn't take long for his brother to saddle up next to him so they could leave out.
Sam made sure to lock the door behind him as they exited, "Been having any problems with the house?" he asked, knowing the house wasn't in the best shape since their father let it start falling apart.
Dean shrugged, quickly descending down the short front steps, "It leaks and creaks. Nothing much." He then glanced back at the house, "Needs a paint job, though." He mentioned, noticing all the chipped paint. "And at some point the shower curtains in the bathrooms need to be changed. Most of them are ripped and faded."
He then stopped completely, Sam almost bumping into his back with how closely he was walking behind him, "And for some reason, the downstairs guestroom smells mildew-y."
Sam rolled his eyes, "So there's a fair amount of problems to deal with." He reasoned, walking around Dean to get to the passenger side of Dean's Impala.
Dean shrugged again, "Yea." He agreed with a sigh, unlocking his door and hopping in.
The drive to the grocery store was short, though the drive anywhere was short when you lived nearly in the center of town. Their neighborhood was one of the oldest in town, and the house itself was 50 years old, and had only been remodeled once. Their house, and the ones around it all matched in architecture, and it so happened to be one of the safest neighborhoods in New Haven.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, Dean narrowed his eyes to search for a spot. It was midday, and that was usually the store's busiest time.
"Over there." Sam pointed out an open spot, and Dean was quick to nab it.
As soon as they both emerged from the Impala, Dean pointed a finger at Sam, "Now we're only here to get what I have on the list. So don't go running around and getting all those sugary cereals." He scolded Sam.
Sam rolled his eyes, swatting the pointed finger out of his face, "Shut up, Jerk." He chuckled.
Before Sam got out of range, Dean lifted his foot and kicked the flat side of it against Sam's butt, making him stumble only slightly, "Bitch." He retorted.
The both of them chuckled, walking up to the store. There were a lot of reasons Sam being back was a good thing. But the one most gleaming was how Sam didn't make Dean feel like shit when he was around.
"Okay," Dean tore the piece of paper he brought out of his jacket in half and handed one piece to Sam, "You get all that crap, I'll get all this crap." He told him. They exchanged a quick nod and dispersed within the store, heading off to gather what was on their pieces of paper.
There wasn't much to get, mostly essentials like bread milk and eggs and then the specific things he needed for tonight's dinner. Dean didn't keep too many things in the house in the way of fresh ingredients, mostly because he ate fast-food on the regular. It meant Dean had less work to do and less to clean up afterwards. Though, that also meant an unhealthy lifestyle that had Dean belly aching every other day.
Dean eventually had to circle back to the entrance though, after he realized he couldn't carry all the items he needed in his hands alone and even though it made him annoyed, he picked up a grocery basket. It would be a hassle to push around a full blown cart, and the basket was more convenient.
Dean glared down at the basket, "This thing makes me look stupid." He grumbled to himself. He glanced around before he went down the canned goods isle, weary of anyone seeing him carry it around. He went back for the cans he needed, quickly dropping them in before he made a break for the next isle.
"Hey, nice basket." But Sam had caught up with him before he could round the corner.
Dean sighed, "Shut up." then turned around but then frowned, "Hey, you got one too!" he accused. Sam was carrying around the same kind of basket as Dean, filled with fruits and vegetables. Sam only chuckled.
"But you look dumber than I do with it." He laughed.
"Whatever." Dean grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Did you get everything?" he asked, peering inside Sam's basket, but Sam yanked his basket away, just to annoy Dean, "Yea, I got it all. You?" he asked, shoving a hand in his pocket.
"Just a few more things." He told him after he gave him a halfhearted glare, and then glanced back at the shelves and after browsing another few moments he grabbed up a can of black beans to put in the basket with the other many cans of various beans.
Sam's brows furrowed as he looked into Dean's basket and the can he put in with it. "Why are you getting so many beans?"
"You haven't guessed by now?" Dean smirked, "I'm makin chili!" he cackled.
"Oh God…" Sam sighed, "Please don't say you're making that hot as hell pot of lava you call chili?"
Dean only laughed harder.