[TITLE TO COME ADFHADFHADHA.] (Flashback: 1991/'92)
It’s only three hours until midnight - until the new year - and Sam has a sinking feeling that Dean’s going to try to make him go to bed. Usually it doesn’t matter when Sam goes to bed, if they’re on the road or if they’ve just got into a motel and it’s after three in the morning - but when it’s just them and Dad’s gone (he’s not working he’s not selling anything, he’s fighting monsters), Dean seems to think he’s supposed to make him go to sleep early and brush his teeth (not that he wouldn’t anyway, because that would be gross) and generally acts like Sam’s still a little kid when he really, really isn’t anymore.
Since Christmas it’s been even more like that. Dad came back all apologetic and not monster-eaten, and Sam didn’t say anything about monsters, didn’t tell Dad he knew, and then they moved on again until Dad “found a new client” which probably means he found another monster to fight, so now they’ve been in this motel in Florida for two days by themselves. Sam doesn’t really like Florida, but he likes that it’s not as cold here, so when he and Dean go outside (which isn’t very often because Dean says Dad doesn’t want them out; probably because something could get them. But sometimes they go out together in the parking lot just to stretch their legs, run around and play tag in the empty lot behind the motel for a few minutes when Sam starts to get restless) they don’t have to wear every piece of clothing they own just to be warm enough to breathe.
Sam’s feeling a little restless right now, actually. They’re watching some dumb movie on TV, and he’s seen his brother glance at the clock on the wall as it inches perilously closer to nine thirty, which is apparently the time Sam is supposed to go to bed - sleep optional, as long as he’s in bed and keeps his mouth shut, which is boring and stupid and tonight of all nights he really, really doesn’t want to even do that much.
It’s probably all the sugar he had after dinner (they had pizza, and the delivery guy made a mistake and gave them some brownie bite things with their order for free, and he and Dean finished them all off even though there were enough there that they could have saved some for tomorrow, too). Or maybe just the fact that it’s about to be a new year, it’s about to be 1992, and there was a flier in their room when they got here that said there were going to be fireworks tonight at midnight, and he wants to go watch the fireworks but he hasn’t asked, and he doesn’t think Dean’s going to let him.
But it won’t hurt to ask, right?
“Hey Dean?” He nudges at his brother’s arm lightly to catch his attention away from the television, “Can we go see the fireworks, later?”