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The sound of the motel door clicking open woke Dean from his sleep. He tensed, his hand finding the knife he kept under his pillow.
“Mornin’ sunshine!” Sam called.
Instantly Dean relaxed, glad to know it was only Sam.
“Got you a coffee.”
“Mmm.” Dean groaned, burying his head deeper into his pillow. He could never understand why Sam insisted on waking at such and early hour, if left to his own devices he’d roll out of bed closer to eleven. Sam on the other hand seemed to think seven in the morning was an acceptable time to start the day.
He heard Sam plop the cup near his head onto the nightstand. “Better drink it before it gets cold.”
He let out another dramatic groan, but pushed himself up enough to drink. As he sipped at the hot coffee, he watched Sam move about the room packing up their few things in preparation to head out.
He rubbed at his eyes, wishing he could just lay back down and sleep just a bit longer. He looked over at his nightstand clock, it was eight-thirty. Sam must’ve taken his time today Dean realized with a small smile. He’d given him a little extra sleep time, what a great brother.
His eyes found the small calendar sitting on the nightstand propped against the lamp. May 2nd, May 2nd... Why was that familiar? He took another sip of coffee, hoping it would help his mushy brain remember. May 2nd was... His eyes went wide, and he snapped his fingers as he came to the realization.
Sam’s birthday! How had he forgotten? Damn, he was shit with dates.
“Continue to Virginia?” Sam asked from the bathroom.
“Whatever the birthday boy wants,” Dean replied with a shit eating grin.
Sam poked his head out of the bathroom to give him a disappointed glare, “don’t.” He warned.
“What? It is your birthday, yeah?”
“uh-huh.”
“uh-huh? Come on, show a little more excitement! What’ya wanna do?” He got out of bed and began searching for new clothes.
“Nothing,” Sam said calmly, coming out of the bathroom, “just treat this as a normal day.”
“A normal day? Come on dude! Let’s take the day off, huh? We can hit the bars later, I’ll be your wing man.”
“I’ll put this in the car,” Sam said swinging their bag onto his shoulder, “meet me when you’re ready, I’ve got a lead on the case in Virginia.” With that he was out the door heading to the Impala outside.
Dean sighed, he’d have to work on him while they drove. Sam had always been weird about his birthday. He took a swig from his coffee, when had it started? He remembered when Sam was just a little kid, he’d always been excited back then.
He stepped into his jeans still thinking about the past, it was when Sam was thirteen. He’d had a huge fight with dad, that was right. They were always at each others throats, Dean couldn’t even remember what the fight had been about. Only that it had been ugly, he remembered being torn about which side to take, his dad who he’d always followed without question? Or his baby brother who he’d do anything for?
In the end he hadn’t taken a side, he’d simply stared at the floor wishing it would swallow him up. When it was all said and done after John had left, angrily slamming the door on his way out, Dean had attempted to pick up the pieces. Sam hadn’t wanted anything to do with him, flipping him off before slamming the bathroom door and taking an hour long shower.
That had hurt but he’d figured he just need a little time to cool off, then they could do something for his birthday. Just like they always did, except, he didn’t think John would be back anytime soon, meaning no restaurant. When Sam came out of the shower he didn’t acknowledge Dean, he just went straight from the bathroom to his shoes by the door.
He hadn’t wanted to do anything. Dean tried everything he could think of but Sam didn’t want it. “I just want to go for a walk.” He’d kept repeating, eerily calm. Sam was almost always calm, at least on the outside, Dean couldn’t understand it. The only time Sam wasn’t weirdly calm was during a fight but even then he didn’t get angry the same way Dean and their dad did.
He’d grabbed Sam’s arm as he tried to walk out the door, worried they’d be in trouble if John knew Sam had left without permission. He quickly let go when he’d seen the look on Sam’s face, at that moment he’d known there was no saving the day, the only thing that would help Sam was to be alone. “We’ll do something okay?” He’d said desperately trying to salvage even the smallest of things for his brother.
“No, Dean. It’s too late.” Sam had replied before stepping out and pulling the door shut behind him, leaving Dean standing alone on the other side. He hadn’t tried to find Sam, he knew he’d be alright. He just hoped he’d come back before dad. That night while he’d laid in bed staring at the ceiling, he’d heard Sam come in, he’d kept quiet listening as Sam moved around the room before getting into bed beside him.
He hadn’t slept much that night, John didn’t come back until the early hours of the morning. Dean listened as he stumbled through the door, cursing under his breath as he bumped into a small table, knocking over a lamp, before falling into his bed. He smelled like the bar.
Sam had been short with him for a long time after that fight, he’d tried to fix things but Sam wasn’t receptive. It had taken him a long time to understand what was wrong, he understood Sam being upset with dad, but why was he so mad at him? One night while John was out on a hunt and Sam was asleep next to him, the pieces fell into place. Sam thought he’d taken John’s side, that was it wasn’t it? But... He hadn’t taken John’s side, had he?
Dean shook his head, heading to the bathroom to relieve himself before their long drive. Sam’s next birthday hadn’t been much better, there hadn’t been any fighting this time but it hadn’t been the same as the previous years. The happiness had been drained away, leaving only a bitter slightly uncomfortable feeling. They went out to a nicer restaurant than usual, John gave Sam a new gun as a present.
Dean gave Sam some “healthy” snacks he’d shoplifted from the local health market. Sam had seemed to like his gift more, Dean couldn’t understand his interest in eating “clean” as Sam put it but if that’s what Sam wanted that’s what Sam would get, after all it wasn’t hurting anything. John noticed too, Dean could sense his annoyance, he’d had a pit in his stomach the whole day after that.
The rest of his birthdays had all been similar, the wholesome, excited vibe forever destroyed. All birthdays except for his 17th, John had dropped them off at Bobby’s, promising he’d be back in time for Sam’s birthday. He’d broken that promise of course, but Sam hadn’t seemed to mind, Bobby had taken things seriously and they’d had a lovely time, Dean smiled at the memory.
He couldn't take Sam back to Bobby’s this time but he sure as hell would do all he could to ensure Sam had a good birthday. He checked his reflection, he looked pretty good. On his way out of the room he took a second to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. Satisfied, he stepped out the door. Sam was sitting in the drivers seat.
“Took you long enough!” Sam said with a smile.
“Well I’m here now,” he said settling into the passenger seat, “you sure you don’t want to do anything? We can you know, the job’ll wait.”
“I’m sure Dean, I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Alrightttt...” He said drawing the word out so Sam knew he didn’t believe him.
Sam cast a sidelong look at him but didn’t say anything, instead he put the Impala into gear and with a sigh began the long drive to Virginia.
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Seven hours later Dean sat in the drivers seat while Sam read a newspaper, they weren’t making very good time. Dean reckoned if they continued driving another few hours today, they’d arrive in Virginia by tomorrow afternoon. He’d hoped they’d be further along in their drive by now but they’d run into road construction along the way and had been forced to creep along the interstate for the better half of two hours.
When they’d stopped for gas he’d switched with Sam. He’d never admit it but he was relieved to be back in the drivers seat, it wasn’t that Sam was a bad driver by any means. It just seemed whenever Sam or anyone for that matter, drove he’d get an uncomfortable feeling in his chest like something bad might happen.
“Anything interesting?” He asked, glancing over at Sam.
“Oh sure, but not our type of interesting,” he replied, pressing the newspaper onto the dash so he could write on the cross word.
“You’re such a nerd,”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Seriously, only old people do those!” He said with a chuckle.
“Just keep your eyes on the road, jerk.” Sam said with a small smile.
“Bitch.”
They faded into comfortable silence.
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Dean spent the next two hours trying to think of something they could do for Sam’s birthday, it wasn’t easy. He’d brought up the idea of hitting the bars again earlier but Sam had held firm, “that’s more your thing Dean. I’d rather stay in tonight alright?”
They were coming up on a larger town now, passing signs for fast food and hotels. Hotels. “I’d rather stay in tonight, alright?” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, if Sam wanted to stay in then he’d get to stay in a damn good place. He turned onto the exit ramp, heading into town in search of one of the hotels he’d seen advertised.
Sam looked over at him a little confused, “we need gas?” He asked.
“I was thinking we could stop for the night, I’m getting pretty tired,”
“Oh, I could drive a while if you wanted,”
“Nah, let’s stop for the night,”
“Okay, but I’m not going out to the bars tonight.” Sam said firmly.
“Don’t worry Sammy, neither of us are going out tonight.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Dean hummed in response, they passed one seedy looking motel, then another, heading into the nicer part if the town. Sam took notice.
“We just passed them,”
Dean ignored him, turning down a busy street he followed a large hotel sign to it’s parking lot.
“Dean.” Sam said as they pulled into the parking lot.
He pulled into a spot and killed the engine. He saw Sam opening his mouth from the corner of his eye, before Sam could say anything he quickly got out. Heading toward the main entrance with long purposeful strides, he heard Sam’s door slam shut behind him but he was nearly at the doors now.
“Dean!” Sam hissed from behind him.
He ignored him, stepping into the airlock style doors.
“Dean!” Sam said again, grabbing at his shoulder.
He shrugged him off reaching for the next door.
“Dean, what the hell are you doing?”
He looked at Sam, one hand on the door handle. “I’m getting us a spot to stay,” then he pulled the door open and stepped inside.
The lobby was a little intimating, it seemed huge, and it was clean, everything seemed to sparkle and shine. A man wearing a uniform stood behind a counter, patiently waiting for him to approach. Dean tried not to think about how the only time in his life he’d stayed somewhere this nice was when dad got them a room at a Holiday Inn to hunt a ghost when he was fifteen.
Sam was behind him, “Dean, come on, this is because it’s my birthday isn’t it? I told you I don’t want to do anything! This is way too expensive!” He said quietly.
“Sam.” He said turning to look at him, “it’s not too expensive, it’s not like this is a five star or anything, we never do something like this, never.” Sam looked unconvinced, “look, it’s just one night, you said you wanted to stay in, why not make it a little more enjoyable? It’s your birthday, you should enjoy it no?”
Sam didn’t seem to have a response to that, which was good, that way he could brush past him and step up the counter where the bubbly desk clerk stood waiting for him approach.
“How can I help you sir?” The clerk chirped as soon as he neared the desk.
“Uh, I’d like to book a room please.” He said, slightly thrown off by the friendly nature of the employee in front of him, it wasn’t uncommon for the cheaper motels to have rather poor costumer service.
“Certainly,” the clerk said, tapping on his computer, Sam came to stand beside him. The clerk glanced up at Sam, “we’ve got two room available,” the clerk said, “a standard room and,” he flashed a smile at them, “a honeymoon sweet.”
“Oh, uh, the standard please,” then, “we’re brothers,” he added with an awkward chuckle.
The clerk selected something on his screen, “one standard room, that will be $87.”
He felt Sam’s gaze burning a hole into him. He pulled out a credit card and handed to the clerk who promptly swiped it before handing it back. Then the clerk pulled out a room key and slid it across the counter.
“Your room number is 382, checkout time is eleven AM. Breakfast starts at six-thirty and ends at eight-thirty, the pool closes at ten PM, if you should need anything please ask us at the front desk, or call the number provided in your room.” The clerk said with his best costumer service smile.
“Thanks,” Dean said, grabbing the key.
“Of course, please enjoy your stay!”
Dean nodded, already turning to go back out to the Impala so he could grab their things. Sam followed close behind.
They had barely left the building before Sam exploded, “I can’t believe you did that!” Then quieter, “you really shouldn’t have done that,”
“I know, I know, I’m a terrible brother,” Dean said with a grin.
Sam lightly punched his shoulder, “you really are.”
“Hey!”
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Grabbing their bags from the Impala they made their way back inside. Heading straight for the elevator, it was a kinda stupid but Dean could feel himself becoming somewhat excited about staying in a “expensive” hotel. He thought Sam probably felt similar judging by how he hadn’t bothered to continue scolding him for his “reckless” spending.
The elevator dinged and opened it’s doors allowing them to step out onto the third floor. Taking a right they found their door easily, Dean pressed the key card into it’s slot. The door opened with a loud click, swinging smoothly open to reveal the small but nice room on the other side.
“Not too shabby,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips.
He stepped through the doorway allowing Sam in behind him, “Sooo?” He asked.
Sam sighed, “it’s nice Dean, thanks.”
“Mhm,” he hummed, a grin now stretching across his face.
Striding farther into the room, he tossed his bag onto the bed.
“Dude!” Sam exclaimed from behind him.
“What?”
“Your bag!”
“In a place like this? C’mon Sam,”
Sam sighed, “bugs are everywhere Dean, just because it’s nicer doesn’t mean it’s clean.”
“You worry too much,”
“You don’t worry enough,” Sam retorted, placing his own bag on the wooden TV stand, before kneeling down to check the mattress.
“So?” Dean asked after a moment.
“I don’t see any,”
“Excellent!”
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It took them less than five minutes to get settled, living out of a hotel your whole life made you fairly efficient. Dean waited patiently for Sam to shower, he wanted to get him a present. Not just a slightly nicer hotel room, but if he went out Sam would get suspicious. He wanted it to be a surprise, if Sam knew he’d just tell him no. So he waited, Sam usually took a while so he figured he could run across the street to the store with ample time to spare.
An hour after they’d gotten there Sam announced his intent to shower, “sounds good,” Dean had told him, eyes glued to the TV.
As soon as he heard the shower turn on though, Dean was up. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he hurried out the door. Heading out to the parking lot he jumped in the drivers seat of the Impala, the store was close but he was in need of speed so walking was out of the question.
At the store he parked as close as he could to the main entrance and prayed no one would ding his baby with their car door. Walking across the parking lot he ran through a mental list.
-Beer
-Cake (a small one maybe?)
-Dinner
He got himself a cart before making his way to the alcohol section, after grabbing a case of beer he headed to the bakery. They were having a sale on fancy looking muffins, perfect, Dean thought to himself. Sam was always trying to cut down on his sugar intake, surely he’d appreciate a muffin more than a cupcake. He grabbed a small pie for himself.
The deli was right next to the bakery so he grabbed a rotisserie chicken while he was there, then making his way down the snack isle he grabbed some pre-popped popcorn. Only sea salt and corn! The package advertised. He scanned the isle looking for anything else Sam would appreciate, a package labeled Veggie Straws! Caught his eye, he had no idea if they were actually healthy or not but they were made of vegetables so they couldn’t be that bad right?
He put them in the cart. Next he headed to the produce isle, hoping to find a salad bar. He was in luck, this store had a rather nice one. Doing his best to remember what Same liked, he made Sam a salad, filling the container to the top.
He looked at his cart, beer? Check, cake muffin? Check, dinner? Check. Feeling fairly confident that he’d gotten everything he needed he heading to the checkout lane. The cashier was friendly but not overly talkative, that suited Dean just fine, he was in a hurry after all.
Throwing the groceries into the passenger seat he hurried back to the hotel, Sam was probably out of the shower by now. He pulled into the hotel parking lot and jumped out, hurrying past the front desk and into the elevator.
As he swiped his card and opened the door he couldn’t help but feel comforted by how heavy and loud the door was. He knew it was unlikely anything that wanted to hurt them would have any trouble circumventing it but still...
“There you are.” Sam said as he walked in the door.
“I ran to the store,” he said in explanation, “how was your shower?”
“Unusually nice, what’d you get?” Sam asked eyeing his bags.
“Dinner,” he said placing them on the small table sitting in the corner of the room, “got a chicken, and a salad for you.”
“Thanks,”
“Beer, too.” He said pulling it out of the bag and setting it on the floor.
“Sounds good,” Sam said, pulling another chair up.
“For you,” Dean said handing Sam the bag of snacks.
“Dean... I said no gifts,” he said sternly but Dean knew he appreciated it anyway.
“Got you this too, thought you’d like it more than a cupcake.” He said ignoring Sam’s admonishment, in favor of placing his muffin on the table.
“A muffin?” Sam asked, Dean was sure he heard a bit of laughter in his voice.
“Well I can just take it back,” he said, making a joking grab at it.
Sam was faster, snatching it off the table he held it in the air. “Oh no! It’s mine now!”
Dean let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he slid Sam’s salad over to him, “eat your salad first.”
“It’s my birthday,” Sam said, “maybe I want to eat it first.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Dean joked.
Sam smiled at him, “thanks for getting dinner,”
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After dinner they shared the pack of beer together while they watched the home improvement channel. Usually Dean didn’t particularly care for those types of shows but Sam did, and it was kinda nice to share something together.
Sam was definitely wayyy too invested in the house flipping shows but it was pretty funny how worked up he got when they made bad design choice. Every now and then he’d exclaim, “That’s a terrible choice!” or “Those knobs do! not! Match!” or even funnier, a simple distressed, “Why?” when they put an ugly “modern” spin on a once beautiful old home.
Soon though, they were ready to sleep. They had a long day of driving the next day and then a case to work once they arrived. Sam being the early riser shut the TV off around eleven, late for him, if he had a choice usually he preferred to be in bed around ten. Something Dean liked to tease him about.
Dean lay awake staring at the ceiling, he hoped Sam had had a good day.
“Dean?” Sam asked quietly.
“Hmm?”
“Thanks for everything,”
He felt his face break out into a smile, “yeah, no problem Sammy.”
“Don’t call me that,” Sam said sleepily.
“Bitch,” he said, still smiling.
“Jerk.” Sam responded, a smile in his voice.
Dean felt his smile deepen, good birthdays were still possible. Maybe next year they could swing by Bobby’s, Sam would enjoy that.