Who: Dean and Sam Winchester What: Brother time Where: Lou's Bar When: A few days after their cruise Warnings: language, maybe Status: complete gdoc
It felt like ages since he and Dean had actually hung out. They had seen each other and made small talk a lot, and there had been the thing with Lucifer a few months ago, but it felt like they were drifting apart otherwise. At least to Sam. It seemed like the daily monster drama they had in their earlier lives had been the glue that held them together. Here they had their own, separate lives, which was fine, they should, but he had just always assumed that they would be close. Closer than this. Maybe he was just overthinking and over feeling because of what he was going through with his nightmares and the way DJ was kind of still behaving. Maybe it just didn’t matter. Whatever it was, Sam wasn’t dense enough to think that having a few beers together one night would be what erased those thoughts, but at least it was something.
He made it to Lou’s several minutes before he was set to meet Dean, and grabbed a stool at the bar. He ordered a bottled beer when the bartender came his way, and when it arrived he took a swig as he turned around, eying the people around him and glancing at the door while he waited for Dean to walk through it.
When Sam had suggested they go out for beers, Dean was all for it. They hadn’t been spending nearly enough time together, and part of that was his fault. They didn’t live together, or even as neighbors and they weren’t working together anymore. Sam had his life and Dean had his, but it wasn’t the way he really wanted it to be. It was easy to get lost in his own world and forget about everyone else but Lisa. He barely talked to Mary, though the whole thing with Alec had put some distance between them, and Pam and Adam were just blips on his radar, along with his niece, two nieces. Fuck. He was just dropping relationships all over the place, though it wasn’t intentional.
He had just come off work at the Tap Room and hurried over to meet Sam at Lou’s. When he saw his brother already sitting at the bar he checked his watch for the time, but Sam must have been early, since it was only a few minutes past the hour. “Hey, I hope you haven’t been waiting too long for me.” Dean patted his hand agains Sam’s back and moved to take a seat on the stool next to him, waving the bartender over for a beer. “Okay, what’s wrong?” He questioned, turning to face his brother. “You have this sad puppy dog look in your eyes.”
“Nah, I just got here a few minutes ago. And it’s me, I don’t expect promptness.” The back of his neck was a little sunburned from being out in the sun today, he must have missed it when he was putting on his sunscreen this morning, and he reached back and felt over it. It was a little painful but nothing aloe Vera wouldn’t take care of when he went home.
He pulled a face when Dean asked him what was wrong. Was he that easy to read? “You know something’s always wrong with me, but that’s not why I asked you here tonight. I just wanted to hang out. Maybe.. get a dad break and let my neighbor deal with DJ’s tantrums for a few more hours.” He laughed and sipped at his beer again. “What’s new?”
He noticed that Sam didn’t deny something being wrong, but instead, brushed it off. “Okay, but if something is bothering you, you’re more than welcome to talk about it.” Dean shrugged it off and gave a nod to the bartender when he set down his beer. “DJ is acting up, or is that sarcasm?” He took a sip of beer and set the bottle down, pausing in thought. “Not too much, really. Lisa is doing pretty good so far, we’re working on setting up a nursery.” He reached out to grab the bowl of pretzels and tossed a handful into his mouth.
He looked around the bar with a sigh, recalling how Alec had thrown him through the front window and a smile came to his face. “The amount of baby things these days is absolutely ridiculous, I swear. I’ll have to take out a second mortgage on the house just to pay for the damn thing.” Dean joked, taking another swig of beer. “What about you? You plan to look for a house or just keep staying in the apartment?”
Sam certainly didn’t expect Dean to beg him to hear about his problems, and he was glad that he didn’t push to hear more. They just didn’t talk about stuff. He was probably in his twenties the last time they unloaded on each other with personal shit - the other mutual problem things like the apocalypses and the trials didn’t count. “DJ… he’s six. He was kidnapped by Lucifer so, sure, he’s acting up, acting out, but - what can you do.” That was totally rhetorical.
“Yeah? I would give you advice on setting up the nursery and shit because I’ve done it, but for the first few weeks after DJ was born, everything sat in the nursery in boxes, waiting to be built, but I padded one of my dresser drawers really good and let him sleep in there on my bed. I had no clue how to take care of an infant.” He took a drink of his beer. “Did you guys decide on colors for the room yet or are you keeping it white?”
Sam laughed at what Dean said about a second mortgage. “Just wait until your kid gets older and starts watching Nickelodeon and all the commercials they aim at little kids. Then you’ll really need to take out another mortgage or sell your car or something.”
Sam drank the last of his beer and motioned for another. “I think the apartment will be okay for a little while. The neighbors are nice, there’s a lot of kids from DJ’s school in the area, it’s safe. Close to the park. Yeah, it’s okay for now.”
DJ had seemed fine on the ship, but maybe things were different when he was at home, reminded of everything that had happened. If Sam wasn’t going to be honest with him, then Dean would just have to go to his nephew directly. Which was probably something his brother wouldn’t appreciate, but Sam had become too damn stubborn. The man could be drowning, with his mouth barely above water and still say that he was fine and didn’t need help.
His fingers tapped against the base of the bottle in his hand, guilt pulling at him once again. He had really thought that his brother would be fine on his own, but he had been dead wrong about that. If he had been there, then Sam wouldn’t have had to struggle on his own. Dean had taught Sam everything he thought his brother needed to know in order to survive in life. Everything aside from how to live without him.
“I mean, you can still give me some advice and shit. Help me put all the stuff together so I don’t end up ripping out my hair.” Dean took a swig of beer and laughed, his hand casually reaching out to brush over Sam’s back. “Although I just might make my life easier and build it all from scratch. That way I don’t have to worry about following those ridiculous instructions they give you.” He finished off his beer and waved the bartender over for another round.
“You know what would be great? If you lived within walking distance and then you two could come over for dinner all the time, DJ could hang out with his cousin, come by after school when you’re at work. End the night with beers on the porch.” He couldn’t help but smile at the thought, the idea completely genuine. “I know you’re in no rush to move, but at least maybe think about it?”
“I’d be happy to help out with something like that,” Sam laughed, taking a pull of his beer at the thought. Dean was pretty good with his hands and with building stuff, whereas Sam… well, Sam wasn’t. Just like he wasn’t half the mechanic Dean was, blindfolded and with one hand tied behund his back. That was just their roles im life. Sam liked to stuff himself into a corner and read about life and Dean liked to live it. It was how it had always seemed to be. Those ridiculous instructions were a nice metaphor for the brothers if you looked entirely too closely at it, but tonight was a night for drinking and hanging out, something he missed doing with Dean a lot. Construction he could do , working with bigger pieces of wood or metal, but smaller stuff like the building of a crib and all the detail work that went into it? Nope.
“I’ll probably end up watching and passing you beers while you build stuff, but I’ll be glad to watch you, at any rate.”
Moving wasn’t something that Sam had ever thought about at least not in the short term but Dean did make it sound like it would be something good, Just a little taste of something that they had missed that on before. Something that they could fix now. “Yeah, maybe,” Sam said, shaking his own empty bottle at the bartender to gesture for another. Man, he was drinking fast. Maybe if he got drunk enough that he poured himself into an Uber or whatever they had later he’d end up getting a good nights sleep. DJ was at his friends for the night, and Sam was relieved he wouldn’t have to tiptoe silently and walk on glass around him at home, maybe it was time he finally got drunk and tried to help himself. Damnit, he was tired. He caught the bartenders attention and ordered two double shots of tequila, something he didn’t normally drink, but fuck it. The second shot could be for Dean, or Sam would drink it in a bit.
“A bigger place does sound good,” he said. “I’m sure DJ would love a yard to play in, too . And walking distance would give him ample opportunity to bother you and Lisa a lot more frequently. It would be nice. So. Maybe.” He thought about the empty house DJ and Chloe had been in with Lucifer, the one that sat directly next to Dean. “What about that house next door to you? Is it still empty?” Would that even be a good idea?
Dean laughed and shook his head. “I thought you’re supposed to be able to follow directions and all that shit? I can put the stuff together, but I usually do it the way I want.” He shrugged and took a long pull from his beer, thinking about all the stuff he needed to start working on. “I’ll probably build the crib myself, but the furniture with drawers and all that shit, that’s too much of a pain in the ass. Besides, the crib is the special piece, right? The most important thing.” At least that was the way Dean saw it.
“The house next to me? No, that sold like a few weeks ago.” While having his brother right nextdoor to him would have been ideal, it probably wasn’t the best idea for them to move into that particular house. “I think there might be one like a few houses down, though. I’ve seen the sign out front, just not sure if it’s sold yet. I’ll swing by on my way back home.”
The idea of Sam living just a few houses down excited him and when the bartender set the shots in front of his brother, Dean reached over to snag one and tossed it back with ease. “I think moving into a house would be beneficial for the both of you.”
“Being able to follow directions in theory, and actually applying them are two completely different things,” Sam laughed. “I can build you a wall, but the small pieces of things evade me. I remember trying to build DJ’s crib before he was born. Eileen couldn’t hear me cursing, but she thought my reactions were hilarious.” Sam drank beer, smiling softly at the memory. DJ might be different if Eileen were still there. Well, there was no might about it. Whether things had lasted between he and Eileen Sam knew that DJ would have had a better life with her in the picture. When the shots were set down in front of him, the noise of the glass clinking against the bar startled him back into the present. He picked up the remaining shot and toasted Dean’s chin as his brother drank the second shot and he threw his own back as well.
“Yeah, if you would take a look for me I’d appreciate it. Getting a bigger place - can’t hurt. And DJ would have all kinds of room to avoid me in.” Sam got two more shots and laughed his comment away. It was a nice thought, being that close to Dean again. He hoped something near him was available and it would be something he could afford. He was pretty excited now that maybe there was something to look forward to in his life.
Dean looked over at his brother with a soft smile and reached out to rub a hand over his shoulder. It was the first time he had really mentioned Eileen in a fond memory, and he hoped that was a good thing. “Well, we’ll see how all that goes soon enough, I’m sure. I should probably talk to Lisa about all of this so we can figure out what we’re doing.” Hopefully, if the dome had actually blessed them with a version of their future child, he already knew what the girl would love to have in her room.
“I am more than happy to look for you, absolutely.” He agreed with a nod, opting to gloss over the comment about DJ avoiding him. He still felt guilty about the entire situation, even though there wasn’t much more he could have done. But, if they moved closer, the two of them could be over for dinner all the time and DJ would have the opportunity to get more comfortable with Sam. He reached out for the second round of shots and clinked his glass to Sam’s before downing it, chasing it with a swig of beer.