Chapter Two
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As the brothers stood by waiting for the flaming corpse to be reduced to ashes, they silently contemplated the situation in which they found themselves; the sensation of their hands solidly clasped together like four-year olds, making them both feel oddly self-conscious.
Sam was the first to break the embarrassing hush that had settled over them.
X
"Come on, Dean. Let's get the Hell out of here. We've got to solve this problem, as soon as possible. There's no way we're gonna be able to hunt like this."
"Right with you, Sammy!" Dean echoed fervently as he bent down to pick up his gear and in so doing inadvertently yanking Sam off balance, causing him to practically fall over.
"Dean, be careful!" Sam grunted, "if we're gonna get through this, then we're gonna have to work together, like conjoined twins."
"You mean Siamese twins, don't you Sammy," Dean quipped, the funny side of the situation now getting the upper hand.
Sam pursed his lips and continued on patiently," No, I meant CONJOINED twins, doofus. First we go together to pick up your stuff and then mine. Got that!"
"Yeah, Sammy! I'm not an idiot, you know. I get it."
Sam's eye-roll was more than eloquent to reveal what he thought of his brother's mental capacities.
X
"Okay, I'll go first and you bring up the rear," Dean announced when they had gathered all their gear.
"And just what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if you walk one step behind, I can pretend I'm holding hands with some hot chick instead of with a Sasquatch of a brother!"
"Yeah, right!" Sam huffed as he pushed past, striding vigorously on ahead and taking the lead, dragging his brother behind him." I've got the longer legs, so it's you who's gonna have to keep up with me and you are definitely NOT my type Dean."
"You have a type Sammy?" Dean smirked as he trotted along a step behind his taller brother.
"Yeah, female, intelligent and good-looking."
"Two out of three ain't bad, Sam," Dean quipped smugly, as he contiued. "Man; just think what a field day Becky and her weirdo fan-writing friends would say if they could see us now," he continued.. "They would be…"
"Dean,... just...shut up! I don't want to hear any more. Five minutes ago you were getting ready to cut our hands free with your knife and now you're all airy-fairy about it," Sam cut him off bitchily.
"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the atmosphere, bro."
"Well don't try so hard, Okay!" Sam huffed, for Becky's pawing and her habit of sending him meaningful looks were not amongst his better memories!
X
The sleek lines of the Impala came into view and the brothers threw their gear into the trunk, Dean with his left and Sam with his right.
"I wish I could wash off some of this goo before getting into my baby," Dean lamented wrinkling his nose at the sight and smell of his slime covered clothes, then hastily shut up as he remembered just what washing up would entail with his kid brother holding on to his hand.
No, he determined fiercely, this would have to be resolved even quicker. He was NOT taking a shower with Sam glued to him!
"Come on Sam. Let's get out of here pronto!" Dean ordered as he went to open the door of the Impala.
"Dean! Conjoined twins! Remember?" Sam reminded him patiently.
X
Dean turned, as the meaning of Sam's words hit him.
The momentary good feeling he had previously exhibited, disappeared completely as he let off a string of colourful curses gleaned from the frequentation of innumerable smoke-filled bars.
"If another Quagmire crosses my path, I swear to God I'll make it suffer a thousand-fold for this little trick," Dean hissed, as he pondered on how best to get into his car
"Right, we'll have to get in through the passenger door," he decided as he dragged Sam round to the other side.
"I'll slide across the seat and you get in after me."
X
He heard Sam's huff as he trailed along behind him. "You're lucky that it wasn't our other hands that got stuck together, Dean; otherwise you could never have driven back."
Dean halted for the second it took him to visualize the image, before answering
" No, Sam, it's you who's lucky, 'cause I'd still be driving but you'd be doing some running alongside the car." Dean retorted smugly, getting a full on bitch face from his younger brother.
X
Finally ensconced behind the wheel after their acrobatics of getting in with their hands joined, and thanking the fates that his baby didn't have one of those shift-sticks poking up from the floor, Dean felt a little bit better; at least there were no prying eyes inside the Impala.
He fumbled about trying to insert the key into the steering column with his left hand, when he felt Sam take it from him.
"While we're like this you gotta pretend I'm your right hand," his brother reminded him, as the Impala's engine roared to life under Sam's touch, giving Dean a chance at rolling his eyes too!
The ride back to the motel was as quiet as the tomb, Dean's left hand on the wheel, and Sam's right fiddling with his phone, while their other two hands lay awkwardly abandoned together on the bench seat between them, pointedly ignored by both boys.
TBC