Alone Together

Chapter 12

To Dean's surprise and relief, his dad lived up to his word and came back home at about nine o'clock that night. Sam was sprawled out on the couch, his long legs and arms taking up nearly all the space, and Dean was at the sink in the kitchen, washing the dishes from dinner that night. When he heard the door open, Dean set down the bowl he was drying and walked over to greet John. "Hey Dad," Dean said, offering his father a small smile.

"Hi Dean," His father replied, returning the awkward grin. "Were you able to talk some sense into..." John trailed off, gesturing to where Sam - who had turned the volume up on the television - was sitting in the living room.

"Uh, no?" Dean said, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. "I mean, I tried to talk to him," Dean lowered his voice, "but Sammy's just a little stubborn. That's all."

"I heard that," Sam said, obviously pissed. Neither John nor Dean had heard the television turn off. Sam walked over to them, his nostrils flaring.

Dean expected Sam's anger to be directed towards him, but instead Sam turned to face his father. Dean groaned inwardly. This wasn't going to end well. At all.

"Sam..." John said carefully and slowly, using that tone he only used when he thought Sam was being completely ridiculous.

"Dad. Stop trying to make Dean clean up your messes for you. You just know that Dean will do whatever you ask him to. He'll always think you're some kind of superman. But I know you're not," Sam said, his voice surprisingly calm.

Dean stood off to the side, frowning as he listened to Sam. He didn't do everything Dad asked him to. Did he?

"I just think you're being a little childish about this, son. Try to see things from my perspective," John said, his voice relaxed with just an edge of annoyance.

"This is stupid. I'll be upstairs," Sam said, disregarding his father's last statement and rolling his eyes as he turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait a second, Sam," John said, grabbing Sam by the collar and pulling him back. He didn't mean it in an aggressive way, but the action made something twist in Dean's gut.

Sam grabbed John's wrist and pulled his hand away, turning around to face him. "What?" He asked, glaring.

"Alright, alright," Dean said, stepping in between the two of them with a sigh, his back to Sam. "Both of you. Please," Dean said, addressing the two of them, but only facing his father. "I get that you guys aren't on the best terms right now. That's okay. But you ain't gonna stay pissed at each other forever," Dean said, turning his head slightly to glance at Sam over his shoulder. "Sam, maybe you should be a little more forgiving," Dean said, and that was it.

"Whatever, Dean," Sam huffed, shaking his head as he turned around to walk back upstairs. When he was gone, Dean sighed and looked at his father. He should've known that would set Sam off, especially when the younger Winchester was already very set in his opinion on his father's behavior.

"And...I think you need to try a little harder, Dad," Dean said, looking John square in the eye.

"What?" John asked, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, you apologized. And that's enough for me. But obviously not for Sam," Dean said, shrugging. He just desperately wanted all of this to be over. He hated having to be the mediator, but it seemed like whenever there was an argument between Sam and his father, that's exactly what he ended up doing. "Sam's got a science fair coming up. He's been working on the project for weeks. You should go. Show him you care."

"He does?" John asked, surprised. "How come I didn't know?

"You've been gone," Dean said, swallowing hard and clenching his teeth. He paused for a moment before continuing. "The fair is on Friday at Sam's school."

John thought for a long moment, which bothered Dean, because he shouldn't have even had to think about it. "Alright, I'll go," John said with a small sigh. "Not sure Sam will be too pleased to see me there, though."

"He will. Trust me," Dean said, smiling a little and patting his father on the shoulder. Sam would never admit it, but Dean could tell how upset he would get when Dad didn't attend his events. "I've got some homework to finish, so I'll be in my room," Dean said, giving his father a small nod before heading upstairs and sighing heavily.

When Dean reached his room, he pulled out his math homework and began working on it. Over the past few weeks working with Castiel, math had become so much easier to Dean. There were still a few little things that gave him trouble, but the majority of the problems were easy to work out.

After about twenty minutes of doing his work, Dean heard a knock at his door. "Come in!" He called, pulling his pencil out of his mouth. He assumed it would be his dad who entered, so he was surprised when it was Sam. "Oh, hey Sammy. What's up?" Dean asked, setting his work down and scooting over in his bed to make room for Sam.

"Do you think I overreacted?" Sam asked immediately, sighing and leaning against the headboard.

Dean thought about that for a moment. Originally, he was going to say yes, but then he started thinking about what Sam had said before. About how Dean thought John was a superhero, how he listened to everything his dad said and would do anything he was told. Maybe...Dean thought, just maybe, he was the one with the warped way of thinking, and Sam's reaction was completely normal.

"Nah," Dean said after a while, shaking his head. "You were right, anyway."

"About what?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"About me. And how I see Dad. You were right," Dean said, shrugging and looking everywhere but at Sam.

"Dean...I didn't mean that stuff I said. Really." Sam placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "C'mon, man. I didn't mean it."

"It's fine," Dean said, turning to Sam and giving him a reassuring smile, though he still believed that everything Sam had said that night was true.

Sam nodded. "Well, alright."

***

Sam left the room a few minutes later, leaving Dean alone again. He glanced at the time - about ten thirty. It would be a little early for him to go to bed, but Dean needed some kind of distraction. He was sure he'd feel better in the morning. Dean stood up and walked to his closet, slipping off his clothes and pulling on some soft black sweat pants. He walked back to his bed and laid down, flicking his lamp off before pulling out his phone and sending a text to Castiel.

'Hey. -DW'

'Hello. Is everything okay? -CN'

Dean thought about telling Castiel about the confrontation between Sam and his father, but he decided against it. He was still quite embarrassed about how messed up his family was, even though Castiel already knew about everything. Most of all, though, he just didn't want to worry Cas.

'Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just about to go to bed. -DW'

'Okay, that's good. -CN'

Dean was about to turn his phone off and go to sleep when he remembered something from earlier.

'Hey, who was at your door? -DW'

'My older brother, Gabriel. He decided to give me a...surprise visit. He'll be staying here for a week or so. -CN'

'I thought you didn't like surprises? -DW'

'I don't. He knows that. -CN'

Dean chuckled softly and shook his head at the text, when he suddenly became very worried. If Castiel had company, would they still be able to have their sessions? Dean didn't know why he was getting so anxious about this. A month ago, he would've jumped for joy if he found out he wouldn't have to go to Castiel's apartment to work on math.

'Are you still gonna be able to tutor me? -DW'

'Yes, of course. I just apologize in advance for anything Gabriel decides to do. -CN'

'Haha okay. Thanks Cas. -DW'

With that, Dean turned his phone off, placing it on the nightstand beside his bed before curling up under the covers and closing his eyes.