I was born at night, but it wasn't last night

[anoldgrouch]

Two days.

Two days Sam and Dean had been crashing in the guest bedroom upstairs and it hadn't taken him an hour to realize there was a weird tension in the air. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he figured it was only a matter of time until it came to the surface. Stubborn idjits... every time he tried to ask about it, they'd try to brush it off like it was nothing.

Must've thought he was blind or something.

Not that he had time to be wasting on their feelings right now. There were people being picked off in a town up north from where they were and they needed to figure out what the hell was doing it. Bobby's money was on a water wraith, but you could never be too careful.

He sat at his desk, reading over a few texts he had spread out across it and only giving passing glances to where Sam sat, pouring over his own book. Dean had been sent off for a dinner and booze run... and as far as Bobby was concerned, he was taking too damn long.

"You find anything?"

Comments

[anoldgrouch]

"I didn't tell you two idjits to pack up and head out," Bobby said, shifting a little, uncomfortable. They both looked like kicked puppies right now, damn.

"I ain't tossing you out." Like he'd ever do that to boys he practically raised.

"Just asking you keep the PDA to yourselves for a bit while I try to figure out what the hell to say here."

[willneversayyes]

Sam's entire body relaxes at that. He can handle this. He can handle keeping his distance from Dean for a little bit if it keeps Bobby in their lives. The relief is obvious on his face as he looks at the man who was a father to he and Dean their entire lives.

He doesn't know if there are words. If there's any way to express how much this means to him. To Dean.

"Okay," he says softly. "Onto the river wraith then."

[anoldgrouch]

"No offense, but the wraith isn't exactly something I can focus on right now." he pauses, looking between the two.

"We know how to handle it anyway, got a clue what to look for. You two should get some shut eye."

[willneversayyes]

"Shouldn't we get rid of it tonight?" He asks. Sam doesn't really want to push the issue, but he also doesn't want anyone else to die. "It won't take long."

[anoldgrouch]

"Give me a few minutes to get ready. Go grab your stuff." Better to get it done and over with anyway, he figures. This all explained why they'd been so antsy lately, restless.

Probably eager to get on the road right now and maybe a distraction would do them all some good.

[ahighwaytohell]

"Right. We'll be ready, Bobby." He motioned for Sam to follow him, heading for the stairs. Damn, this was awkward... didn't know what to say.

At least Bobby wasn't kicking either of them out though and that was a plus.

He just hoped it stayed that way.

[willneversayyes]

Sam follows his brother up the stairs. It wasn't open-armed acceptance, but it was a Hell of a lot better than he'd ever expected. There's still a home for them here. Still a man that loves them.

[ahighwaytohell]

Dean pushes his way into the bedroom and breaths out a sigh. Damn, he doesn't know how to feel about this just yet... it wasn't rejection anyway, not entirely. Moving forward, he goes to pack his duffel, looking back at Sam.

"You okay?"

[willneversayyes]

Sam thinks about that for a moment. Is he okay? Well, he'd been more than ready to get kicked out by the last person he has on the planet besides his brother, and that hadn't happened. So.

"Yeah," he says softly. "I'm alright."

[ahighwaytohell]

"Good." He sighs and straightens up a bit. "After we handle this thing... think it's probably a good idea we head out for awhile, you know?"

[willneversayyes]

"Yeah," he says, heading over to his own bag to stuff his clothes back into it. They'd been planning on doing that anyway, but now it's for a completely different reason.

[ahighwaytohell]

He looks back to make sure they're in the clear before he reaches out to rest a hand on the back of Sam's neck, squeezing lightly. "Told you... it'll be okay."

[willneversayyes]

Sam manages a weak smile for his older brother, comforted by the gentle touch. "I know," he murmurs. "Let's kill this thing and get out of here, huh?"

[ahighwaytohell]

"Yeah... yeah, alright." He smiled a little in response and leaned in to press a light kiss to the side of Sam's face -- not quite daring to kiss him on the lips right now.

[willneversayyes]

Sam savors the small touch, knowing it'll likely be the last of its kind until he and Dean are on the road and miles away from Bobby. He slings his bag over his shoulder, then casts a quick glance around the room to make sure he's gotten everything.

"Ready when you are."

[ahighwaytohell]

He grabbed his own bag and headed towards the stairs. Time to get this taken care of and get out of Bobby's hair awhile.

He just hoped that, after they left and Bobby had time to think on things, things didn't go south again.

[willneversayyes]

Sam follows his brother downstairs and back into the study, trying to switch his brain into hunter mode. Emotions needed to take a back burner until the wraith was dealt with.

[anoldgrouch]

Bobby looks up when he hears the footsteps and gets to his feet. "You girls finish prettying up now?"

It's light, the closest thing to a joke he can get himself to make. He doesn't even want to know what was going on up in that room, what was taking so long.

[willneversayyes]

"That was my fault," he says. "Couldn't find some of my stuff." It's a completely harmless retort with nothing to be read into it, which is what he's sure Bobby needs right now.

"Where are we starting?"

[anoldgrouch]

"We got a couple hours drive ahead of us... so we do that first, then we go look at where all these people died. See what we can figure out though I already got a clue what we'll find."

[willneversayyes]

"Alright," he says, toying with the strap on his bag. "We'll follow you." No point in piling into the same car when he and Dean were going to leave after the hunt.

[anoldgrouch]

He nods. There'll be time for heart to hearts later... right now, feelings ain't going to cut it. Those need to be put on the back burner.

[ahighwaytohell]

Dean follows Sam and Bobby out, tossing his bag in the back before getting in the driver's seat.

Part of him's just looking forward to getting this over with already, getting back on the road.

[willneversayyes]

Sam throws his own bag into the trunk before sliding into the front of the car beside his brother. This is familiar. Comfortable. This he can handle.

[ahighwaytohell]

Dean can handle this anyway. He settles in the driver seat and follows behind Bobby, focusing on the road as he cranks up the stereo. "Good to be back out, huh?"