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It happened somewhere in Nebraska.
They were driving back to the bunker, on the way home from a case that had taken more energy than either he or Sam had expected.
It was dark and rainy and Sam was snoring. Dean was humming along quietly to Bob Segar’s Turn the Page when the road became abruptly curvy and unexpected.
There was a bridge over some small river. That was all he saw before the Impala was sliding over and into the river. Dean remembered Sam’s eyes shooting open, flinging his arm across his little brother, and the distant yell of “Dean!” over the melodies of Bob Segar. And then black. Nothing.
* * *
His next memory was of sunshine. Warm and bright on his face, eyes still closed, a gentle breeze making it the perfect temperature. He could hear birds and the soft sound of water moving.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a lake, vast and peaceful. He was sitting on a dock.
Dean’s first thought was of Sam.
Before he could even get out of the chair, he felt a large hand on his thigh. He turned. And there, basking in the warm glow of the sun with a grin was Sam. Looking more like he was in a Pantene commercial than heaven. But it was his Sammy. He grinned back for a second, before the smile faded.
“Dammit, Sammy, I’m sorry. I should have been paying more attention. It wasn’t supposed to end like that. Not for you. You were supposed to get the big fancy house, the white picket fence, and the pretty girl. You didn’t even get to make to 40, so you could start getting grey hair.” Dean smoothed a hand over his face and through his hair.
Sam squeezed his brother’s leg and slowly shook his head. As if there was something Dean just didn’t understand.
“Psh. These locks will never turn grey. Now stop blaming yourself. It was an accident, Dean. We’re here together. And that’s all that matters. Because yeah, that all sounds great, in theory. But all I really need to be happy is you. After all these years, you have to know that. Dean and Sam. Sam and Dean. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Besides, we still got the house and fence. Looks like the angels even threw in some flowers.”
Sam place both of his hands on Dean’s shoulders and turned him around, away from the lake. There sat a two-story blue house, with a porch and white picket fence. There were even yellow tulips in the front yard.
Sam’s smile was one of pure happiness. And it was contagious. Dean found his lips stretching into a smile as well.
“Dude. Think they got beer in there?” He tilted his head towards the house. Sam stood and pulled Dean up with him.
“It’s our heaven. There’s totally beer in there. And probably stuff to grill burgers and AC/DC albums,” Sam said, heading towards the house. Dean watched his brother walk towards the house as he looked around.
If he really thought about it, they didn’t really need any of that stuff he was talking about. Sam was right. All they’d ever really needed was each other. And now, they were in heaven. Together. An eternity with Sammy, good beer, burgers, and a lake? Well that’s more than he could ever ask for.
Sam turned back to look at Dean as he reached the fence.
“Well, you just gonna stand there? Or help me make these burgers in our big fancy house?” Sam asked, opening the gate of the fence. Dean hurried to catch up.
“Ya know, this sure was a fine time to get lucky and land a sweet heaven,” he said, trailing behind his gigantor brother. Sam stopped on the porch and looked at Dean.
“I’d say it was more than luck. That we earned our own little slice of heaven,” Sam opened the door, a soft look on his face. As if he was remembering all the good that had done down on Earth. And, for once, Dean decided to just agree with Sam. To just follow his lead.
The kitchen was easy to find. And as Sam suspected, it was stocked with a variety of beer and burger fixin’s. And pie. Lots of pie.
But, for a moment, they just stood there, beers in hand, shoulders touching, staring out the kitchen window at the lake. In the corner of his eye, Dean could see the Impala, just off to the side of the house, and his smile widened.
Because here, in this moment, in the kitchen of a little blue house with the person that he loved and trusted more than anyone else that had ever come into his life, Dean was happy. And, though he didn’t know it, Sam was thinking the exact same thing.
And that was just the first day of eternity.
* * *