Sun, Sand, Tequila and Soulmates ch 2
That bitch with the spear must be stopped. Michael gathers some werewolves and puts them on her scent. No need for him to risk injury again. He looks at the scar on his vessel’s arm and wonders if Winchester felt it.
But, Michael doesn’t bother checking in on Dean. The world he created for Dean is based on all of the man’s favorite things. Winchester is so far back in his mind on “vacation” that Michael is confident he might never hear from him again.
Dean’s not bored. Not exactly. He’s having the time of his life with Sammy on this vacation, but he feels like he should be doing something more. It’s almost like he misses hunting. Maybe he only misses the adrenaline rush it provides.
Sam comes in from his morning run and pours himself a glass of lemon water. “So get this, I overheard the staff talking about el chupacabra.”
Dean stares at him for a long moment. He has the oddest sensation, like the room is expanding around him, but Sammy is waiting for a response. “So, you want to go hunt it or something?”
Sam shrugs but he’s also smiling which tells Dean that his brother definitely wants to hunt. Dean sighs like this hunt is a major inconvenience. “Okay. Go take a shower. I’ll see what I can find out.”
There are no coincidences, Dean tells himself when Sam leaves the room. He rubs the phantom pain in his arm and thinks about the figure with the spear. His thoughts are coming so fast he can’t focus. He steps outside for some fresh air and, when his eyes land on the cooler, everything becomes clear.
“That shouldn’t be here.” He turns and races back through the room. His hand is on the knob for the front door to their suite. If he opens the door, he’ll see the Impala. He’s as certain of this as he is his own name. But he knows if she’s out there, Michael still has him and Dean can’t risk the angel knowing he’s onto him.
Dean thinks about a hotel he stayed in when he was sixteen. It was in the Arizona desert. The air was crisp and clean and the sky was the bluest he’d ever seen and stretched out forever. With that memory fixed in his mind, he opens the door to the Arizona desert and Baby shining in the sun.
“Fuck!” he growls, slamming the door.
The room shimmers again and he fears Michael is on his way to tear him away from here and make this possession a million times worse.
But, when Sam’s done with his shower and Michael still hasn’t shown, Dean thinks he might have a chance. He fears he can’t hold his entire plan in his mind at once or that rat bastard angel will figure it out.
“So, what do you think? You want to hunt the chupacabra or what?” Sam’s eager expression ignites more hope within Dean.
“You know that it’s probably a dog with mange, right?”
“Obviously, but if it’s rabid, someone should put it out of its misery. You don’t want it attacking someone or something and spreading the infection.”
“Yeah, sure, but first I want to apologize about the whole Ezekiel/Gadreel mess I got you into. I know I had no right to do that, but I love you and I wasn’t ready to let you go. After you sacrificed so much, it didn’t seem fair that you didn’t get to enjoy it.”
Sam makes a face at the abrupt subject change. “Dean, I forgave you for that a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up now?”
“Because seeing you this happy is all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve always wanted to take a vacation like this, with you.” Dean looks out the sliding door. The sun is at the perfect angle and the palm trees are shading the extra large chaise lounge. A light breeze is rustling the privacy drapes and the sky is that perfect blue.
Dean watches his brother pull on some long cargo shorts and his mind goes back to the tremor from the other night. Maybe that wasn’t an earthquake. “You know, we haven’t done it on those lounges yet.”
Sam snorts a surprised laugh. “You wanna do it outside in broad daylight where anyone can see us?”
“There’s no one around and besides we’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“A pre-hunt fuck instead of waiting until we get back.” Sam smirks, but he starts to undo he shorts.
“Think of it as a fuck for luck,” Dean adds with a grin while grabbing the lube off the bedside table.
Dean’s laying back, drinking in the beautiful sight of his gorgeous brother riding him, when he feels another tremor and the world around him shimmers. He doesn’t know why sex effects Michael’s hold on him, but he doesn’t care. His joy at this discovery brings his orgasm faster than he would like. Not wanting to disappoint his brother, Dean blows Sam to make up for it.
“Dude,” Sam pants as he catches his breath, “vacation sex might be the best sex yet.”
Dean chuckles and they both lay back on the chaise, the sound of the ocean waves relaxing them. The shimmer has stopped. The only thing Dean feels is the light breeze and the heat coming off his brother.
Dean chooses his next words carefully. He doesn’t want to tip off Michael, but he needs a certain memory. “You were such a badass at Stull, owning Luci like that.”
Sam shakes his head at the praise, but gives Dean a confused look. “That’s because you were there. You never gave up on me.”
“And I never will Sammy. I knew you were strong enough, how’d you take control?”
“I remembered how much you loved me. My whole life, you were always there for me. Even when I thought you were gonna push me away, you accepted me and loved me.”
And Yes! That was it. The memory comes flying back to him. Fifteen year old Sammy, drunk from a bottle of dad's Jack and crying in the rain.
“I hate you!”
Dean sighed and pulled his little brother out of the pouring rain into their motel room. “Yeah, I know. What’d I do this time?”
“Why are you hanging out with Sheila Ward? She’s such a bitch. She's just using you. She’s tryin’ to make her old boyfriend jealous. She doesn’t love you.”
Dean wrapped a dry towel around his shivering little brother. “I know Sam. It’s okay. I don’t care.”
“You should care. You deserve better. I love you. I would be so good to you, Dean. Don’t you see you deserve someone better than her? If only you’d --,” Sam sobbed.
Dean hugged him. “Shh, Sammy, it’s okay. I love you, too. It’s just Sheila can do stuff you-”
“I can do those things, Dean. I’ll do anything you want.” Sam practically slammed his mouth onto Dean’s in a sloppy demanding kiss.
*******************
“That’s enough!” Dean’s voice bellows at him. Only it’s Michael and not him.
Dean’s torn away from his vacation and finds himself treading water in an endless black sea. “What’s enough, Mikey?”
“He’s your brother. It’s one thing when it’s your disgusting fantasy, but a memory?! How can an abomination like you be my perfect vessel?!” Michael’s voice echoes over the water.
“It doesn't matter what you do, Michael, Sam and I are soul mates. We love each other. We even share a heaven.”
“No, it’s not possible,” the angel sputters. “This is an outrage! An obscenity! You don’t belong in heaven.”
“No, it's not,” Dean argues. “It’s love, pure and simple.”
The space around Dean shimmers and he has a brief glimpse of Sam.
“Your father knew about me and Sam and never once did he call us an abomination. Hell, he even wrote books about us.”
“That can’t be!” Michael growls.
“Love is Love. God is Love. Love is the strongest force in the universe. And that’s what Sam and I have an abundance of and it’s something you can never take away from us.”
Michael screams in anger and the world around Dean vibrates with the angel’s rage. He drags Dean deep under the water until there is no light and Dean doesn’t know which way the surface lies. His lungs ache, but he keeps swimming.
*********************
Fearing this is the end, Dean focuses on Sam. He remembers Mary placing his brother in his arms when she brought him home from the hospital. He remembers carrying him out of the fire. He remembers that first kiss that was unlike all the other kisses. “I love you, Sammy.”
“GET OUT!”
Michael is gone in a blink of an eye and Dean is left, collapsing into his brother’s arms. “Sammy?”
“Dean, is it really you?”
“Yeah, it’s really me.”
Dean is exhausted and silent on the drive back to the bunker. He’s resting against Mary in the Impala’s backseat as she attempts to comfort him. All he can do is stare at Sam. When Sam meets his eye in the rearview mirror, Dean tries to reassure him with a smile. Sam’s too worried to smile back.
Sam can feel Dean’s eyes on him, he’s so desperate to have Dean back he fears he’s overlooking an obvious trap. He wonders if Michael is still in Dean, hiding the way Gadreel did. He worries that the refugees in the bunker will be too much for Dean. What if one of them tries to attack Dean before he can tell them he’s no longer Michael?
Back in the bunker, Dean ignores everyone and retreats to his room. Both Sam and Mary follow him, but Sam stops her with a hand on her arm. “I’ve got him, Mom.”
“But,” Mary begins looking a little disappointed but then aquiesses with a nod.
Sam taps on the door, opening it only a crack to say, “Can I come in?”
“I’m fine, Sam.”
Sam peeks his head in. “Can I come in anyway?”
“Yeah.” Dean sounds exasperated.
Sam closes the door behind himself and leans against it. He wants to rush across the room, wrap his arms around Dean and hold on for a lifetime or two but he knows he has to wait for Dean. And right now, Dean’s not able to look him in the eye. It’s a red flag and Sam’s ready with an angel blade but he silently prays he won’t need to use it.
“I’m sorry.” Dean finally looks at him with eyes begging forgiveness. “I shouldn’t have said ‘yes’ but Lucifer had you and I, I couldn’t let him hurt you again.” Disappointed in himself, Dean ducks his head. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Dean-”
“I know Michael did awful things but I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough.”
“Why’d he let you go?”
Dean looks up at him and for a moment considers telling him everything he remembers, but instead he shrugs. “I don’t know.”
Sam accepts the answer with a nod and edges further into the room. “Can I stay here tonight?”
Dean huffs. “I’m not him. He’s gone. You don’t have to worry-”
“I know,” Sam quickly interjects. “That’s not why I want to stay.” He blows out a shaky breath and steps towards Dean’s dresser. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. And if I did,” he sets the angel blade on the dresser, “I thought I’d have to kill you.” Looking over at Dean, he adds, “I don’t know if I could do that.”
“You could.”
Dean’s quick response makes Sam pause. Expressions of anger, hurt and sadness wash over his features. “I’m glad I don’t have to find out.” Dean has to understand how much he means to him. “I looked for you, you know. I followed every lead I could. Mom’s been on my ass ‘cause I haven’t eaten or slept --”
“Or shaved,” Dean teases with a small smirk.
Sam makes a face. He doesn’t want snarky Dean right now. He wants his Dean. He goes back to what has always worked for him in the past. He sits on Dean’s bed. “I was so scared, Dean.” His voice is just above a whisper. “I love you so much and I thought I lost you.”
Dean’s rounding the bed and is hugging his brother to his chest a moment later. “I love you too, kid.” He rubs a hand over Sam’s hair like he has since they were children with no one to comfort them but each other.
“Can I stay here tonight?” Sam asks again. “I don’t want, I mean we don’t have to do anything. I just want to sleep knowing where you are.” Dean goes to pull away but Sam doesn’t let go.
“What about the others?” Dean asks
Sam looks up at him. “I don’t give a shit about the others.”
“Mom?”
Sam scoffs. “Dean, God stayed down the hall from us. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about it so why should we care what anyone else thinks.”
Dean cradles Sam’s face in his hands and stares into his eyes like he’s memorizing them. “Yeah, okay.”
He walks back to the other side of the bed and strips out of the last bit of clothes Michael put on him. On the other side of the bed, Sam is quickly down to his boxer briefs and crawling under the covers. Dean snaps off the light and lets Sam curl up next to him. “You can stay on one condition, Sammy.”
“What?”
“Lose the beard.”
“Some people think it looks good,” Sam argues, rubbing a hand over his cheek.
“I thought we didn’t care what some people think.” Dean turns on his side and says, “And I am not getting whisker burn all over me.”
San chuckles and holds Dean close, pinning their bodies together. He rubs his beard on Dean’s shoulder before he kisses it. “First thing in the morning, it’s gone.”
Dean turns in the tight circle of Sam’s arms and kisses him with all the pent up passion of the last few weeks. Sam eagerly takes all Dean can give him. When they’re lying there, sated, but not ready to let the other one go, Dean whispers, “It was you, Sammy. You saved me. When you told me you loved me. When you trusted me with that love, that gave me the strength to fight Michael.”
They lay quietly together, their breathing falling into a synched rhythm as they drift off into the most peaceful sleep they’ve had in months.