Ah! I'm so excited by all the love I'm getting on this story here and on AO3! Thank you! I promise I'll update the other stories soon; I'm just having some writer's block with those ones.

I changed my username because I'm on AO3 now! And someones-big-sister wasn't available on AO3 and I wanted to have the same name so now I'm coffeeaddict13, which is honestly very fitting for me. At some point, I will be uploading all my stories on AO3, but obviously, because I've been writing so long, it's gonna take me a while lol.

Also: Apparently you now need to have email opt-in ON in order to receive story alerts so make sure that's activated if you're still following this story!

On with the show!


Dean groaned as he woke up, forgetting how bright the sun was coming through his bedroom window first thing in the morning. He stayed over last night, per his mom's insistence. Something about wanting both her boys near for a little bit, sentimental mom stuff, blah blah blah. Dean just said yes and Mary made John clean some of the stuff they kept in his childhood room for storage.

He literally rolled out of the bed and shuffled over to the door to the Jack and Jill bathroom he shared with Sam. He jiggled the doorknob, frowning when he found out it was locked.

"I'm in here!" he heard Sam yell through the door.

"Can I take a piss real quick? Please?"

Footsteps, followed by the click of the lock, and Sam opening the door with a toothbrush hanging out his mouth. "You can come in. I'm almost done."

At least he's talkative today. But if Dean wasn't already so desperate, he would have waved Sam off and told him he could wait until Sam was done. He was already practically unrolling the waistband of his high school wrestling team sweats; the only clothes his parents still kept that were worth sleeping in.

As Dean stood there, he watched Sam out of the corner of his eye. Sam was almost in a trance, zoning out as he leaned over the sink to brush his teeth. He wasn't sure if Sam was thinking about something or if he was just going through the motions. At least he looked like he got some sleep, but it also looked like he could burst into tears again any second. And Dean was already swearing not to do something to set off that bomb.

Dean finished and flushed. Sam stepped back from the sink so he could wash his hands. "Thanks," Dean whispered, drying his hands off on some decorative towel his mom hung on the rack.

Dean walked past Sam, who spit out his toothpaste in the sink. "Did Mom make you stay last night?" he asked, either sounding annoyed or pissed off. Dean couldn't tell the difference.

"Um... No, I, uh- It was late so I just-"

"Liar," Sam accused, not even looking at Dean. He just cleaned up his mess on the sink, shut off the lights, and went back into his room, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

"Yeah, okay," Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes and also slamming his door behind him.


Dean threw on his clothes from the day before back on. He figured today he'd go back to his place and get some things, stay at least a week, and make his mom happy.

He skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, finding Mary making muffins and John reading the paper at the table.

"Who's slamming doors up there?" John asked, not looking up from the article he was reading.

"Him," Dean answered bitterly, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "He's in a mood."

"Well, what the hell did you say to him?"

"Nothing! He started it!"

Mary sighed. "Alright, that's enough." She handed Dean a plate with a couple of muffins and bacon on it. "Is he coming down for breakfast?"

Dean took the plate and sat at the table across from his father. "He didn't say."

Mary made a second plate and left to go upstairs, already calling for Sam.

"You better not be trying to start shit with him," John huffed.

"I'm not," Dean mumbled, feeling like a teenager about to get scolded for pranking his little brother for the umpteenth time.

"I'm serious," John said, turning the page of the newspaper. "I'm not pulling the two of you off each other. You're too old for that."

"Dad! Stop!" Dean snapped. "How horrible of a human being do you think I am? I know he's going through his shit right now and I know better than to try to add to that."

John glared at his oldest, eyes barely peering over the edge of the newspaper. He didn't have anything else to say so he went back to reading as Dean munched on his bacon.

"But I'm not gonna let him act like a bitch to me either," Dean muttered under his breath. John pounded his fist on the table and scrunched up the newspaper. Dean feared for a second that John was going to smack him with it.

"Good news, he's eating," Mary announced, waltzing back into the kitchen, oblivious to the tension growing in the room. "He just wants to be left alone right now."

"I thought we brought him back home so he wouldn't be alone," John argued, still frustrated with Dean.

"We brought him home because it was the right thing to do for him," Mary corrected. John grunted in annoyance, obviously wanting to argue back that that's now how he remembered it. Dean started chugging his coffee. Good to be back home.


It was later in the day. Sam felt like he was going crazy. He had already unpacked and rearranged some of the belongings in his room, which looked the same as it did when he left for Stanford in the first place. He found some boxes in the garage and started packing up some of his old stuff that he didn't want out anymore. Posters, soccer team trophies, the teddy bear from when he was a baby. All of it was packed away and sitting in a box in his closet. The room was almost boring and empty now.

When Sam felt content with his cleaning, he finally sat down on the floor with the cordless phone line he had in his room. Many hours were spent on it, talking with friends or crushes. Discussions about homework, rumors about the girls at school, bitching about strict parents and stupidass older brothers. Now, it was being used to call Sam's voicemail.

"Hiya it's Sam- Jess stop! You're the one who told me to set it up! Leave a message. What do you mean I did it wrong? BEEP."

The first time felt like a stab to Sam's stomach. The second time felt like someone twisted the knife. The twentieth time felt completely numb.

"Hiya it's Sam- Jess stop!" Hang up.

"Hiya it's Sam," Giggles, "Jess stop!" Hang up.

"Hiya it's Sam," More giggles, "Jess stop!" Hang up.

"Hiya it's Sam," Uncontrollable laughter, "Jess stop!" Hang up.

"Hiya it's Sam," Uncontrollable laughter and relentless teasing, "Jess stop!" Hang up.

"Hiya it's Sam," Uncontrollable laughter and relentless teasing, "Jess stop! You're the one who told me to set it up!" Jess' blonde hair and blue eyes stand in the background. "Leave a message." Jess ran across the room towards him, smiling as big as she ever did. She says something the phone doesn't pick up. "What do you mean I did it wrong?" More laughter, right in Sam's ear. "BEEP."

"I come bringing lunch!" Dean announced with a silly voice, opening the bedroom door and holding a plate with a sandwich on it. Without hesitating, Sam threw the phone at him. Dean barely ducked as the phone smashed into the wall next to his head. "Dude!" Dean yelled, returning to his usual tone.

"Get out!" Sam screamed.

"Mom asked me to bring this to you!" Dean screamed back.

"Well I'm not hungry so just get out!" Tears of frustration clung to Sam's eyes. He stood up from the floor and Dean realized for the first time that his little brother is taller than him for a change.

Dean set the plate down on the dresser. "You wanna be mad, Sam? Be mad! But don't take it out on me."

Sam walked quickly over to Dean and shoved him out of the room. Dean stumbled backward, but caught his footing just in time. It took everything in him not to push Sam back. Sam could punch him, kick him, cuss him out, whatever. Dean knew he didn't mean it. Before, Dean would have just tackled him to the ground to redeem himself and show Sam not to fuck with big brothers. Today, Sam just wanted a punching bag that wasn't going to punch back.

"What happened up here?" Mary asked, running up the stairs. No doubt she heard all the commotion throughout the house.

"Nothing," Dean said quickly, turning around and going into his room.

Mary looked over to Sam. The kid looked like he had no idea what just happened.

Dean immediately tiptoed into the bathroom he shared with Sam. Sam's door was propped open, allowing Dean to stand in his doorway and hear everything.

"Sammy, Dean's just trying to help," he heard his mom's muffled voice say.

Sam said something back but it was so quiet Dean didn't catch it.

"What are you talking about?" Mary asked.

There were a couple of whimpers. Dean could hear the mattress squeak as both of them likely sat on Sam's bed. More muffled and hushed talking, still too quiet for sound to travel through the bathroom towards Dean. About a minute later, Dean heard Mary close the door to Sam's room shut and start making her way down the hall. Dean immediately jumped away from the bathroom, pretending he was interested in the books on the shelf next to it.

Mary knocked lightly on Dean's open door. Dean acted casual and turned to look at her. "He told me he pushed you and he's sorry," she explained, almost embarrassed for both of her sons. "Are you okay?"

Dean's eyes widened and he nodded. "Mhmm, yup I'm good." Even gave a thumbs-up for extra convincing.

Mary smiled gently at him, turning to go back downstairs. Not long after she left, he heard the shower in the boys' bathroom turn on.

Yup. Good to be back home.


coffeeaddict13