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Dean stretched out as comfortably as he could along the front seat of the Impala.
His baby was a big car but he and Sammy were big guys too, and the fit was pretty snug. He brought the can of beer to his mouth, the cool liquid sliding familiarly down his throat like an old friend.
He drank too much, he knew it, but of one thing he was certain, it wouldn't be alcohol that did him in. No, Dean Winchester would go out with a supernatural bang, no cirrhosis of the liver for him!
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His brother's tuneless singing detracted him from his morbid thoughts. The little shit was crooning in his sleep, all six foot four of him scrunched up uncomfortably on the back seat, yet somehow miraculously giving the impression of a little kid taking a nap.
Or maybe that was just the way Dean saw Sam, the eternal baby brother. He felt a wave of love sweep through him.
How was it that he held Sam so dear above everything else, just as he'd proven for the umpteenth time no more than a few days ago when he'd killed Death to save him, totally unbothered by letting another disastrous apocalypse fall upon the world.
One even more dangerous, for very few knew much about it. There was no lore to speak of. The Darkness was a threat from before the very universe itself was brought into being.
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Sam snuffled, his song interrupted as he snuggled deeper into the seat.
Once again the warmth of his love for his sibling radiated through Dean's body.
Here in the close confines of the car it was as if he and his baby brother were in a world of their own, closed in a bubble consisting only of them and the Impala.
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Dean brought the can to his lips once more and wondered how he could feel so good about that. He, Sam, and the Impala, just them, together for all eternity.
He gave a lop-sided smile, wondering what Sam would say if he spewed forth such girlie concepts.
Well, Dean supposed he'd had, many times.
Just back from Purgatory, he'd been more than explicit. "This is where I'm at my best, driving down crazy street next to you."
And in the church desperately trying to dissuade Sam from closing the Gates of Hell, he'd been just as forthright. Nothing past or present could ever come before his little brother.
Those words had been true then, just as they'd been in previous years and would always be in the years, months, or days that were left to him.
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Beyond the Impala's windows, the black dome of the universe was dotted with infinite stars, many of which Dean could name, many of which unknown.
The night sky was beautiful, Dean had always thought so.
He'd passed hours teaching Sammy all about the twinkling points of light when they were both kids.
Sam had huddled against him, his skinny body leaching heat from the older boy's bigger bulk, listening raptly as Dean pointed out the constellations.
"Which is your favorite?" Sam had asked him once.
Dean had glanced down at his brother before replying. "Not gonna say, Sammy. I might need to wish on it, and if you reveal its name then the wish won't come true."
The five-year-old had looked up at him, eyes huge in the little face, and nodded his understanding.
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Dean had certainly not been going to tell his baby brother that his favorite star was the very earth-bound one snuggling into him on the hood of the Impala.
It would have been too sappy for words, not befitting a gun-toting nine-year-old like himself.
That little Sammy no longer existed, now his brother was tall, capable, smart, and badass, yet he still shone in Dean's eyes like the brightest star in the firmament, and always would.
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He closed his eyes, listening to Sam's soft snores. For the moment they were safe, tomorrow the fight would be on again.
Amara had told him they were bound, and Dean was scared. He'd be a fool not to be. But Amara knew nothing of Dean Winchester, nor of the fact that he was already bound tighter than an anaconda to its prey around his little brother, and there was nothing, in this world or before it, which was stronger.
"Get in line, bitch," Dean grunted to himself, somehow feeling more confident that Amara would end up where all the other enemies of the Winchesters had. Ganked!
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Just then Sam's eyes opened and focused blearily on his big brother. Dean smiled. All was right with his world.
The end.