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“Uh, Dean?”
“Quiet. Ah, crap. Now I have to start again.”
“Dean, you’re—
“Jared! Jensen! What the ever loving fuck are you two doing up there?”
Dean and Sam looked at each other, Dean raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He was pretty sure the dude down there was the one to blame for this mess. He nudged Sam, but not too hard. They were up a tree, after all. “Tell him, Padaboy.”
“Dean is braiding my hair,” said Sam helpfully.
“Damn straight, I am. Heh. And they said it couldn’t be done.”
It wasn’t easy. Sam had lots of annoying short bits that wouldn’t quite fit where they were supposed to, but if Sam would just stay still...
“Ow. Don’t tug, Dean.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but your hair is too short. It needs to be longer.”
“I’ll get right on that, shall I?”
Dean tugged again. “Quiet you. Or the ribbon’ll be pink.”
“Such a dick,” said Sam. But his tone was fond and Dean’s eyes filled a little.
“Okay, okay, you’ve had your fun.” This from Dude On The Ground again. “Now get down here and let’s get back to the scene, guys.”
“The one where Amelia tells me she’s pregnant with Sam and Don’s love child? Yeah. Not so much, Jeremy.”
Jeremy? mouthed Dean silently behind Sam, still trying to fix the last bits of hair in place. Jeez, who were these people?
“Make us a counter offer!” yelled Dean. He patted the last lock of hair down. “All set, princess.”
Sam put his hands up to feel it. He shifted round carefully to face Dean. “I can’t believe I let you do that.”
“I’m crossing that off the skills list, then.”
“Because the next Wendigo we meet, that’s going to be his weak spot.”
“Brat,” said Dean, pulling Sam’s ear.
Sam’s eyes got shiny and Dean guessed he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t heard fond in a while. Man, it was good to be up a tree with no crappy words to say.
“Tell you what, we’ll poison Dean and give Sam 24 hours to save him, okay?”
Dean and Sam exchanged another look. Dude On The Ground (no way Dean was saying the word Jeremy, even in his head) had been pacing, and then cursing into his phone for a good long while. Now he was looking up at them again.
“Long and lingering?” asked Sam, eyes still on Dean.
The man whispered urgently into his phone, walked away and then came back and sighed. “24 hours. So yeah, the whole 41 minutes. No Benny, no whatserface, no Castiel. C’mon guys, what do you say? Enough with the method. Just get the fuck out the tree so we can get the scene done before the light goes.”
Dean bit his lip. The bark was getting uncomfortable and Sam’s hair, dammit, was starting to come undone. He shrugged. As long as Sam saved him and he didn’t have to leave again, he could maybe climb down the tree.
Still, it was kind of nice being up here. He smiled without meaning to and reached out to tuck an errant curl behind Sam’s ear. The setting sun really was hitting it just right..
Sam smiled back, surprised and pleased, and Dean knew, just knew, they were having a moment. He remembered them well.
“Look.” Dude On The Ground was getting impatient. “Dean can lose his sight, get the shakes, the sweats, he can lie down a lot. I’ll clear it, the whole nine yards.”
“Sam gets to hold him up, tuck him in and everything?” This from Sam, ever the one to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Kid really should’ve been a lawyer.
Dean quite liked the sound of that. About time he got to lay around all day and do some emoting from a nice comfortable bed.
“And we get to talk?” asked Sam.
Dean rolled his eyes, suddenly not so keen. “Sam...”
Sam ignored him. “And we get to talk?” he repeated, louder. “Like, talk talk, not that shit we’ve been spitting at each other?”
Dude On The Ground threw a bunch of papers in the air. “Sure. Hell, Sam can cry a manly tear or two for all I care at this point.”
Oh crap
“Sam does not cry a manly tear or two! Dude’s a fuckin’ snot factory. I’m the one does the whole single perfect —
“Dean.”
“Yeah?”
“Not the point.”
“Right.”
They sat, settled, and watched what was taking place below. Castiel was there now, but with two tired looking twenty-somethings balancing coffee and bagels and hovering anxiously, so Dean reckoned it was Misha and not the angel.
Dude On The Ground was back from wherever he’d disappeared to for ten minutes or so. “Guys. Light’s fading, what do you say?”
Dean shouldered into Sam gently, making him turn and look. It was nice to see Sam’s face this close and personal, and without all that hair in the way. Sam smiled at him, slow and sure. “I’mma say yes, okay? Let the Polish dude back in.”
Dean swallowed and nodded, already feeling Jensen coming back.
His hand found the back of Sam’s neck and he closed his eyes, leaned in...
It was the sun, it was Sam’s hair shining just so, and it was not saying stupid things that broke two hearts at the same time.
“Sam and Dean, sitting in a treee-ee!
Kay-Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye-En-Geeee..
Sam and Dean, sitting in a treee-ee!
Kay- Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye- En- Geeee..”
“Not helping, Misha! Christ, that’s it, the light’s gone. Alright, we’re done here. Fucking wrap, people.”
In the tree, Jensen opened his eyes and smiled.
******