Author's Note: For simplicity, characters will be referred to as adultSam and adultDean and youngSam and youngDean unless their identity is obvious.

Young Dean seemed to believe them for the most part, and though he still tended to put his body between young Sam and "Stan" and "Deke," he was now willing at least to go to the bathroom and leave Sammy in their protection.

"Guess he believes we're hunters," adult Dean whispered to adult Sam.

"Yeah, he's probably thinking we're exactly like dad."

Dean made a face at that but then went over to tousle young Sam's hair as he sat drawing with the crayons they had taken from the nearest diner. Dean smiled and said, "Nah, we won them over with those greasy burgers. You liked those ooey gooey sopping with grease burgers didn't you, Sammy?"

Young Sam nodded happily, eliciting an eyeroll from his older version.

"Nothing's better than burgers!" young Dean agreed as he came back in and drew next to Sammy. He had refused to do "kid stuff" at first, but 'Deke' had convinced him it would be good practice to draw and label all the parts of all the weapons he knew. When that worked handily, adult Sam gave adult Dean a sympathetic look, as if to say I know how messed up this is. Adult Dean returned it with a different look, as if to say Screw you, you emo bitch.

"No, Dean likes girls even better than he likes burgers," little Sam said.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No, cuz you're a girl, and I don't like you."

Adult Dean snickered at the comment and said, "Good one," as he grinned at young Dean. He soon saw both Sams and his younger self staring at him.

"What are you, my age?" young Dean quipped, not seeming to like that anyone but him might have a joke at young Sam's expense. But hearing this, adult Sam couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

A few minutes of quiet drawing passed until young Dean had another comment. "Why does Deke always tell everyone what to do?"

"Because I'm the big brother," 'Deke' answered.

"But Stan's taller," young Dean answered.

"Height's not important," adult Dean said.

"But a big brother should be bigger," young Dean said.

Adult Sam answered, "You know, someday Sam might be taller than you, Dean."

Young Dean rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, whatever. Not gonna happen."

"It might."

"No way," young Dean said with certainty, "Seriously, if that ever happened, I'd like shoot myself or something."

Adult Sam tried very hard not to laugh as he tried to catch adultDean's eye. But adultDean was studiously avoiding looking back.

I always knew the height thing bothered him, Sam thought to himself, amused that Dean would be secretly insecure about something so ... dumb.

Adult Dean changed the subject swiftly, though, as he said, "So uh what do you want to be when you grow up Sammy?"

Young Sam answered, "I'm going to go on business trips."

Young Dean gave both men a pointed look of warning, reminding them not to mention hunting. But adult Sam was a little surprised to hear the response. But he was even more surprised to hear little Dean's answer.

"No, Sammy," the boy said, "I'm going on business trips with dad. You're going to study and go to college."

Adult Sam's eyes darted immediately to adult Dean, looking for some shared surprise or confusion. But Dean was again refusing to look at him, though Sam could see his jaw tighten. He remembers this, Sam realized, I don't remember, but Dean remembers wanting that for me.

Little Sam was considerably less surprised and considerably more annoyed. "No, Dean! I'm going on business trips with you and dad!!"

Little Dean snapped, "Don't be such a crybaby! Business trips are too dangerous. And you're smart. And you're such a weirdo that you like doing homework. You're going to college, Sammy, and don't even think about arguing!"

Little Sam made a face and stabbed angrily with his crayons at his paper, but he stopped debating. Adult Dean reached a hand over to little Sam's shoulder to comfort him and said to young Dean, "Don't be so hard on him. He just wants to be like his dad. I'm sure you can understand that."

Adult Sam watched him say that and could see how hard it was to do, to bare his own hero-worship like that, just to make little Sam feel better.

But little Sam corrected him, "I don't want to be like dad. I'm gonna be just like Dean."

Adult Dean seemed taken aback to hear this, and he finally looked at adult Sam again, briefly glancing up, but this time to see if adult Sam was as surprised and confused as he was.

He wasn't. Adult Sam just gave him a look as if to say, Yeah, that's what I remember. No use denying it now.

But young Dean just said, "We'll talk about this later, Sammy. Not in front of the you-know-whats."

"I want to go on business trips!" young Sam said.

Young Dean answered, "You don't know how! And as long as I'm around, you won't have to learn. So shut it before I tell everyone that you like wearing girls clothes."

"Jerk!"

"Girl!"

"Enough!" adult Dean said, looking desperate to end the conversation. "Draw quietly for the next ten minutes and I'll go buy some ice cream."

Young Dean muttered, "I don't need you, I'll steal some ice cream before you even know I left."

"I'm sure your dad will be thrilled to hear it," adult Sam said in a faux-innocent voice.

Young Dean's eyes widened for a moment and then he just frowned and said, "Fine. Be control freak douchebags. See if I care."

But a moment later, young Dean looked up at them again, this time a little nervous. He said, "Hey, don't tell my dad what I said okay? About... Sam not going into the family business. Don't tell him I said that, okay?"

Adult Sam tried to figure out what adult Dean was thinking, but though he peered at the wash of emotions on Dean's face, he couldn't figure it out. But the adult brothers reassured young Dean that they would not tell on him for that - but that they WOULD tell on him if he endangered them all by sneaking out of the room.

A few minutes passed, and none of the brothers said much of substance. But before adult Dean left to go buy ice cream at the corner convenience mart, adult Sam stopped him at the door.

"Here I thought college was my idea. My rebellion against the family."

"Sam, do we have to-"

"I'm not mad. I should be. I should feel like you were controlling me without me realizing or remembering. But I don't. I think it's... kind of cool of you. Young you."

"Fine."

"But why did you change your mind, Dean? About me being a hunter?"

"I was just a dumb kid," Dean answered, eyes blazing with annoyance and a hint of unease.

"Just tell me."

Dean sighed and said, "I decided it was safer to keep you with us."

"You mean Dad decided and you -"

"Yeah, Sam, I took his side, how many times do we-"

"I don't believe it."

"What?"

"I don't believe that 12-year-old Dean would tell me to go to college - KNOWING that it went against dad - and that 22-year-old Dean would refuse to. Don't believe it."

"Sam. I didn't understand about demons. I didn't know how dangerous you leaving could be. We learned the hard way what happens when Winchesters try normal."

Sam just stared at him, giving the adult version of the I'm-giving-you-the-sad-puppy-eyes-until-I-get-what-I-want pout they had seen so many times already from child Sam.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I was a dumb kid, Sammy. I stopped believing that you can be safe if you could get out of the hunting life, I stopped believing that I could lie to you forever. And then I changed my mind about you going to college. Though to be fair, I didn't think you would leave home. I figured you'd have to go to a local clown college or something."

Sam smiled wryly. It was as close to an answer as he would get. He stepped back to keep the kids occupied while Dean went for dessert. But Sam was starting to wonder how much he might find out about his brother, now that he was basically babysitting little Dean.

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Author's Note: The idea for this was inspired by a prompt and fic at comment_fic (Bite Sized bits of fic), which is a multi-fandom prompting community over at livejournal

Prompt was child!Dean and child!Sam are brought to the future where Dean and Sam have to take care of them