(no subject)
There wasn't much they could do, Sam thought as he drove away to find another motel. They were tired, long hours of sleepless nights worrying about their missing brother finally taking it's toll. On the rear view mirror, he saw Alec, hands brushing unconsciously at the silky smooth hair of the child whose head rested on his lap. Alec was staring outside, staring at the roads and trees and sky as they blurred past them.
He felt he should be researching, to find out how to reverse the curse the witch placed on his brother. But there wasn't much they could do, she was gone and there wasn't really much in the house except normal household materials, plus minus strange herbs and lots and lots of salt.
Pulling over when he saw a vacancy sign of another motel (the manager on the other one threatened to call the police when other patrons complained of the strange conversations he and Alec had been having), he stopped as he parked the car. He sighed, ran his hands over his face, then twisted to look at the occupants at the back. He glanced at Alec, then at the child still sleeping there.
He frowned, "Is he okay?"
Alec shook his head, "He hasn't stirred once, but physically, there's nothing wrong. I checked, no broken bones, no wounds, nothing. It's either he's just sleeping or that witch did something to him on top of, of this." Alec gestured, implying the current state their brother was in. Yeah, Sam got that clearly.
"What do we do now?"
It was at these times that Sam looked at his brother for guidance. Dean always knew what to do, always had a plan ready when Sam had thought they've failed. Dean always said he was the belligerent one, and he was, he never quit, never backed down, always found a way to step back on up. And though Sam knew that he can be quite as stubborn, the things that've recently happened seriously shook him. He was bone tired, felt he's spent all his energies trying to find his brother. So he looked at Alec helplessly and said, "Uh, sleep, maybe? And then, then we'll call Bobby, tell him what happened, maybe search around the house some more, or go back to the library and check if we've missed any--,"
"Sam," Alec interrupted, "I meant, what are we going to do -now-? What do we do with Dean? How do we take care of him?" With a small smile on his face, Alec continued, "Because I've no doubt we can fix this, Sam. With your brains and my unparalleled, albeit genetically enhanced, genius there's no reason we can't fix this. We will. It's just, now. How do we deal with now? I dunno about you, but I've no clue how to deal with little kids."
Sometimes, Sam forgot that Alec was Dean, too. That no matter how different they were, Alec still bore the same strength of character. He smiled, calmed down by Alec's assurance. He took a deep breath, then said, "How about sleep?"
Alec laughed, "Sleep sounds good to me."
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They had a hard time bringing the kid to their room. For one, they looked suspicious. Two young men renting a room in a motel, with a small child. The clerk behind the desk kept on shooting them disapproving glances whenever she could because, "Children shouldn't be taken to places like this! Find yourself a job or get this child somewhere with a loving atmosphere!" Sam wondered how Dad faced do-gooders like these.
The second reason was because the kid had suddenly woken up. One moment Sam was trying to open the door with the kid in his arms, the next, the kid was screaming his lungs out directly in Sam's ear. Alec, who was by the car bringing out their things, dropped all the duffles he was carrying, then ran towards Sam, panic written all over his face. He stopped, eyes widening as the kid yelled and punched and kicked and cursed everything and anything that touched him. If it weren't for Sam's ginormous and hence, powerful arms, he would've dropped the kid in his surprise.
Tightening his hold around the kid's tiny body, Sam attempted to calm the kid down. In a soothing voice, he said, "Hey, hey, it's all right, everything's all right. You're not there anymore, okay? The witch is dead, we killed her, she's gone. You're here, you're here with us and we won't hurt you, we swear we won't hurt you. You're safe here, you're safe here with me and Alec."
Slowly, the kid quieted. Sam looked at Alec, then motioned for him to open the door. The kid gasped when he felt Sam move, but he didn't say anything. Hearing the soft click of the door as it closed, Sam bent to gently lay the kid on the bed. However, tiny arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his neck, small legs encircled his waist so he couldn't let the kid go. Sighing, he sat on the bed himself and then, in a soft voice asked, "Dean? You okay?"
Sam didn't know what he'd do if the kid said he wasn't Dean, if he doesn't know anyone named Dean or if he doesn't remember who he is. But the kid didn't. Instead, he tightened his arms around Sam's neck, burying his body closer to Sam's, trying to draw some comfort from its warmth. Head still hidden in the crook of Sam's neck, in a small and terrified voice he said, "'eres Alec?"
Immediately, Alec laid a hand on Dean's small back, rubbing slow circles in a soothing gesture. Then quietly he said, "M'here, Dean. I'm okay."
And then, like magic, Dean relaxed. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at his brothers with a small smile on his face. "Hey," he whispered.
Wiping the tears on his brother's face, Sam smiled as Alec said, "Welcome back, big brother."
Suddenly, Dean went stock still in Sam's lap, within Sam's arms. With wide eyes he looked at Sam, then he brought his hands towards his face, stared at it like he was seeing it for the first time. Then he touched his face, first his cheeks, his hair, his nose and lips and ears. Swallowing, he glanced at Alec, then at Sam, frightened and incredulous all at once. Releasing a breath, he opened his mouth and said, "Holy shit."
And then he was off. Dean began to spout curses of amazing variations, some of which both Alec and Sam had never heard of before. And if they had any doubts that this Dean wasn't their Dean, all those certainly flew right outta the window.
Still yelling angrily, Dean squirmed in Sam's lap, fists raised and flying everywhere. Sam had to evade the little hands, though he couldn't help the smile on his face as he ducked and avoided Dean's wild gestures. Alec wasn't so subtle though. Beside them, Alec sat on the same bed and began to laugh his head off. It didn't help any because Dean yelled more and squirmed more and flailed his arms around more. He even hit Sam's forehead a few times, and though tiny, boy do those fists hurt! Getting frustrated, Sam took Dean's arms and gently forced them to stay firmly at the child's side. Dean didn't approve, as proven by the small pout on his face. Sam almost couldn't take the level of adorable-ness his brother was displaying, though obviously unconsciously. He had to fight the extreme urge to cuddle the kid to death.
He had a feeling Dean wouldn't appreciate it.
"Dean," he said instead, trying to sound exasperate and firm, "Calm down, will you? Are you trying to take my head off?"
"Calm down?! Calm down?!" Dean yelled, high-pitched and loud, straight into Sam's still sore ear, "I am offended Sam! Look at me! Look at what she did to me! I-I... I'm friggin', I'm friggin' -tiny-! How can I fudging calm down when I fudgin' want to kill someone right now?!"
Dean shouting would have normally been terrifying because there was always something about Dean that spoke of danger. But then this Dean, this Dean was puny! He had small hands and small feet, big, big eyes set within a small, small face. Normally, Dean would have sent the nearest bystander running out of fear. This Dean, however, was friggin' adorable.
Sam almost couldn't stop himself from ruffling Dean's head affecionately. Alec, though, was a completely different story.
In a flash, Alec had seized Dean from Sam's lap, carried him by the armpits and spun themselves in circles, all the while laughing hysterically as he cooed and teased and cooed at the boy glaring at him unhappily. Clearly not amused, Dean growled, "Alec, I am not amused."
Alec laughed Dean's warning off, "Oh yeah? What're you gonna do o' big brother o'mine?"
Indignant, and knowing that he really can't do any damage with this body, Dean crossed his arms over his chest as he harrumphed and jutted his lower lips out in a cute little pout.
Alec, of course, couldn't resist cooing a, "Oh, aren't you the cutest little thing ever?"
Before Dean could say anything, no doubt something children like him shouldn't be saying till they're, oh say, in their sixties, Sam took mercy on his brother and took him from Alec's hands. Carefully placing him on top of the bed farthest the door, he gave a warning look at the still laughing Alec before settling beside his elder-little brother. Dean looked suspicious, wary of what Sam might do or say, but that was soon gone when he recognized the seriousness that had come over his younger brother's features. Big brother instincts taking over, he quieted and waited for Sam to speak. On the other bed, Alec too, recognized that look from Sam. So when he sat down, the room turned blissfully quiet once more.
"Look," Sam began, "Dean I know you're frustrated and angry," - "Murderous, more like," Alec muttered -, "And believe me, we're frustrated as well." - "Yeah, right," Dean grumbled -, "But right now? None of us can think straight. So how about we get some rest and go through this again in the morn-next morning?"
Sam, of course, was met with disdainful eyes. "I refuse to be babied."
Alec almost couldn't hide his snicker behind Sam. Sam ignored him, then frowned at Dean, "You can barely keep your eyes open, Dean! Your body isn't as it was, okay? You need to give it a rest. And the sooner you accept that you're stuck like that till we break the curse, the better it will be for all of us."
"Don't think I can get used to this, Sam."
"I'm not expecting you to," sighed Sam, "But you gotta give us a break, give yourself a break. Gotta learn to act like a kid again," - "Not that he needs help in that, Sam." - Dean threw himself at Alec, fists ready to fly. Sam barely managed to grab Dean as he shot out of the bed. "Dean! Come on! You too, Alec! Knock it off!"
Alec looked at Sam innocently, "I'm just telling the truth, Sam."
Sam narrowed his eyes at his younger brother and wondered why he was taunting more than usual. "Why are you taunting more than usual?"
Alec's brows raised at the same time that Dean's body stilled, still trapped within the arms of Sam. "Alec?" he whispered, voice still unable to hide the worry there, "You hurt?"
He looked at Dean, a small child in Sam's arms, staring at him with eyes older than his body should have, eyes that hasn't been able to build enough walls yet, enough that Alec could painfully see the concern sincerely reflected in them. Alec sighed, then ran his hands through his hair and shook his head, "No, Dean, m'not hurt," chuckling mirthlessly, he whispered, "More like, extremely worried."
Sometimes, Sam forgot that Alec was Dean, too. Dean, who covers everything with wit and humor and over the top sarcasm.
He should've been more vigilant. Sam swore to look out for him more.
"You don't have to look out for me more, Sam."
Sam raised a brow at Alec, then he shook his head and gave a small smile.
Alec stood up from the bed, walked towards them and sat near Sam who was still holding Dean on his lap. Alec smiled apologetically at Dean, then said, "Sorry, kiddo." That raised Dean's hackles again, but before he could say a word of protest, Alec stilled him by placing a hand on Dean's head and began ruffling his hair.
"I hate you," Dean muttered, eyelids beginning to get heavy just as Sam said. He yawned, then rubbed his eyes with the back of his small fists. Alec and Sam looked at each other, sharing an amused smile between them.
Alec took Dean from Sam and carried him as Sam pulled the covers up from the bed. Laying Dean down on the bed, surprised that no protest had spilled from the kid, he said, "I really am sorry, Dean."
Dean didn't say anything, just closed his eyes and gave a noncommittal sound. He shifted, so that he slept sideways, facing Alec. Then, lazily, he peeled an eye open, then he smirked and whispered, "You would've looked like me too, you know."
Alec laughed, as did Sam. "Yeah, we're both a bit narcissistic, aren't we?"
"We sure are," Dean breathed, voice muddled with sleep, "'s just right, too."
With a smile, Sam covered his brother with the blanket and said, "G'night, Dean."
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"Hey."
Dean woke up to the looming face of Alec staring expectantly at him. He took note of himself, patting himself gingerly, disappointed he was still stuck in the same tiny body. Frowning in disappointment, he sighed and whispered, "M'not back yet."
Alec gave him a small smile, "No. But when has it ever gone away by itself?"
Dean snorted, "Right. The infamous Winchester luck."
He pushed himself up, sitting as Alec sat beside him. Dean couldn't help but compare himself to Alec. He couldn't believe he was this small. Even as Dean was sitting as tall as he can, he barely reached Alec's chin. He frowned. "How old do you think she turned me into?"
Surprised at the question, Alec chuckled and answered, "Dude, how should I know?"
Dean shrugged, "It's not as if I've seen myself in a mirror so I really wouldn't know."
Dean had a point. Alec wracked his memory as he tried to remember at what he age he had looked like that. Alec, however, remembered countless lessons, lessons on how to assemble and disassemble guns, how to clean them and use them and kill.
Chewing his bottom lip, Alec fought the memory and said, "Maybe, six? Or seven?"
"Seven," Dean immediately said, "Definitely seven."
Alec chuckled as he fought the urge to cuddle his brother tight and ruffle his hair till the cuteness rubs right off. He settles for clapping Dean's back, in a very manly way, as he said, "Right. We'll stick with seven then."
Dean shot him an icy glare, then noticed that Sam wasn't in the room, "Sam got breakfast?"
"Yeah, just stepped out when you woke up."
"When you woke me up, you mean."
Alec was about to respond to that when Dean stood up and said, "Bathroom." He watched as Dean jumped off the bed then paddled over to the bathroom, smiled when Dean had to raise his arms a little to open the door.
No matter how much he teased Dean about this, he was more than a little worried. Sure he was certain that the three of them along with Bobby could think of a way to break the curse. But when? How long would they have to wait to find it? Dean was defenseless like this and that, honestly, scared Alec more than anything else. Because even when Dean was his normal, huge self, he always, always found himself in trouble but he always, always survived long enough for Sam or himself to get him back home. But now, Dean wouldn't be able to, not like this.
Sam came back at the same time Dean came out of the bathroom.
He took one look at Alec, then frowned at Dean.
"What, Sam?" Dean grumbled.
Pointing at Dean, Sam simply said, "You need clothes."
Rolling his eyes at his younger brother, Dean demanded, "Gimme my breakfast."
This time, it was Sam who rolled his eyes, but he set the package on the table anyway. Alec strolled over to Dean, smirked down at him before picking him up by the armpits - "Put me down, you heathen!" - pulled a chair and sat him there in front of the table. Sam, in tune with Alec, set the plate of take out pancakes in front of his scowling brother and, "Sorry Dean, no coffee for you."
Dean glared at the can of juice beside his styrofoam plate as if it were possessed. "I'm not really seven, Sam."
Sam and Alec looked pointedly at each other. Alec snorted, "Riiiight. And I'm not staring at a seven year old version of myself."
Dean was looking at the two of them like a petulant child. Sam couldn't help but say, "Eat your breakfast before it gets cold, Dean."
Knowing he was outnumbered, Dean grumbled about "ungrateful ingrates" then attacked his meal with gusto. In the next few minutes, the three of them ate in companionable silence. Once they were over - "Want me to help you wash your hands, Dean?" "You can bite my ass, Alec." - Sam sat himself in front of the laptop and began to research, knowing he wouldn't find anything. Still, it didn't hurt to try, right?
Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw that Alec was trying to wrestle Dean into the bathroom to shower. He couldn't help but remember the times when he was intentionally being difficult for Dean when he was trying to get him to clean up. The thought, however, sent a pang to his heart, knowing that Dean, and even Alec, hadn't had a chance to experience what he had as a child. And even then, hadn't he had a very crappy childhood to begin with? Sam sighed. He stood up, gently closed in the lid of the laptop, then trudged over to Alec and Dean.
Immediately, even trying to get himself free from Alec, Dean eyed him warily. Sam grinned at his brother cheekily before going inside the bathroom. He turned the faucet on, letting the water fill the bathtub till it was almost full. Grabbing their nearly non-existent soap, he went over to a still struggling Dean (Alec forgoing his transgenic strength to play around with their brother) and wielded it like a serial killer would a knife. Prowling closer and closer, he winked at Alec as Dean struggled more and more.
"ALEC LET ME GO! SAM, IF YOU COME NEAR ME I SWEAR I'LL PUT TWICE AS MUCH NAIR IN YOUR SHAMPOO--ALEC, DROP IT!! YOU TWO I SWEAR ONCE I TURN BACK YOU'LL REGRET EVERY MOMENT--SAAAAM!!!"
In the end, none of them hadn't made progress with the research. By the time they were finished cleaning Dean up - "If you friggin' touch me there, I swear I'll friggin' kick you where it hurts!" - it was almost noon.
"If you'd have just taken a bath nicely, Dean, we could've used the time to figure out a way to break the curse."
Sitting on the couch, scowling as he watched a "kid friendly" cartoon that Alec picked, Dean gave Sam the finger.
Beginning with the research again, Sam shook his head as he hid a small smile.
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Alec figured he would be stuck doing the motherly things. Grumbling about his luck at rock paper scissors with Sam, Alec grudgingly trawled through the aisles at Goodwill, trying to look for clothes for the now mini Dean. For a moment, when he finally found the right aisle, he was tempted to buy Dean the most horrendous sets of clothes he could find. He chose not to though because he wouldn't want to be seen with a kid with clothes like that, he didn't want people to think they were abusing the kid or something.
Picking out the most normal looking ones, and some underwear, new ones of course, Alec went to pay for his purchases.
The lady at the counter eyed him thoughtfully, and though he prayed that she'd ignore him, his prayers remained unanswered.
"You have a kid? You're mighty young to have one."
He smiled painfully at her, "Yeah, well. Gotta make up for mistakes and all."
"Yeah? Mom leave the kid to you?"
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, because, hello, none of her business, Alec replied, "She figured she didn't want him, I guess. So she gave him to me."
Expectantly, the woman frowned worriedly and asked, "Is he all right? Coping okay?"
"Yeah," he said, wondering why the hell he went with this story. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes at himself, he shrugged, "He's good. He's a great kid. Strong, you know? And besides, he likes me better than that skank."
Handing him the now bagged clothes, the lady smiled at him brightly and said, "Right, you take care of the kid and yourself now. Have a nice day."
Reaching for his purchases tentatively, he smiled and before he nodded goodbye, she took his hand and gave him back his money. She winked, "Your change."
Brows raised, Alec thanked her and left.
If they could get freebies like this because of some nonsense story like that, Alec wouldn't mind if he kept on doing it. Maybe he could score a few supplies for them, too. All the better because it would be free.
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When Alec got back, Dean was sleeping on the couch, the TV still on, running some afternoon soap opera that he knows Dean would never get caught watching.
"Hey," he said as a greeting to Sam, softly so as not to wake Dean. "What happened?"
Sam laughed softly, "He exhausted himself watching TV."
Crossing the room towards Dean, Alec grinned at the sight of their usually rough looking elder brother lying sideways, curled around one of their pillows, face soft and peaceful, innocent. Throwing the clothes he bought for Dean on one corner of the room, he turned to Sam and asked, "Found anything?"
"Well," Sam said, sighing, "can't really find anything on the net. I was wishing there would be, but since this cult has been dormant for years..."
Alec sighed. He wasn't expecting to find anything either. Not without the journals of other hunters from Bobby.
Flopping down on the bed nearest Sam, he made himself comfortable before asking, "When do we head out to Bobby's?"
For a while, there was just silence in the room. And then a collective,
"Oh, shit."
They hadn't remembered to call Bobby.
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Safe to say, as soon as Sam and Alec found the courage to call Bobby, Dean had been woken up, rudely, from the noise. He had sat up quickly, tense and alert when he heard his brothers' strained and nervous voices. When he realized it was just Bobby though, he rolled his eyes and watched, amused, while Bobby gave both Sam and Alec earfuls.
It wasn't long before it was his turn.
Looking disdainfully at the phone, he tentatively took it, placed it against his ear and said, "Hey, Bobby."
Dean had expected Bobby laughing at the situation he found himself in, he even expected the angry yell and reprimand about his friggin' hero complex. He wasn't expecting Bobby's voice to sound worried and concerned without the guy trying to hide he was worried and concerned.
Bobby had talked to him longer than both his little brothers. From his health, to his memories, to what the hell did the witch do to him, Bobby asked them all. He even asked if his brothers were treating him right, and Dean had to roll his eyes at that because even if the two idiots never took care of a kid before, as Bobby so blatantly pointed out, it didn't mean that -he- forgot, it didn't mean that his brothers would be careless enough that something bad would happen to him. Dean told that to Bobby and Bobby just grunted and said, "Yeah, well. Sorry for worrying," though Bobby didn't -sound- sorry at all, "Hearing your voice like this, kinda disconcerting, boy. Brings back memories."
And yeah, Dean thought, that, too. Sure he looked and sounded like he was back then, back when it was supposed to be John who took care of them but didn't. But it wasn't back then, and his brothers weren't John. Alec hadn't even met their father. And Sam, Sam was like their father, even more like him than him, but Sam was also a lot of things that John was not.
"Bobby, it's gonna be okay," he said, trying to stop the older hunter from bursting an artery. "We're fine. We're gonna be fine. We're gonna keep on being fine. Alec's a genetically engineered super soldier. Sam's supposedly got his freaky powers and sasquatch-ness. Between the two of them, and my generally amazing self, I think we'll be more than fine."
Of course, seeing that it was from him and it was in regards to his health, Bobby hadn't believed him one hundred percent. He heard Bobby sigh, and then with a grunt, he asked for Sam. Holding the phone for Sam, Dean rolled his eyes and said, "For you."
Sam took the phone with a put upon sigh.
Dean looked at Alec then, and with one of his brows raised, asked, "Why's Bobby pissed? What'd you two do?"
Alec took a seat beside Dean, and with a shrug he said, "We forgot to call."
Realization dawning, Dean fought the urge to laugh. Because though Sam and Alec's faces were funny to look at, he knew what it felt like waiting. Now, it all made sense to Dean.
Dean just sat there with Alec, both listening to Sam's half of the conversation with Bobby. It didn't really take a genius to figure out what Bobby was making Sam do. After a while, Sam sighed. Then he crossed the room towards his brothers. Once he was in front of them, Sam held the phone out to Alec.
Dean was looking at Alec then. He noticed the strange, amazed look on Alec's face, like he couldn't quite believe the phone was for him, like he wanted to ask if Sam was sure Bobby wanted to talk to him, before he took the phone from Sam. Dean quickly glanced at Sam then, noticed that Sam too had seen the expression pass in Alec's face. Sam's gaze wandered over to Dean's then, and with that one look, Dean knew that Sam knew what he was thinking.
It didn't matter how long it took. They're going to take away that doubt from Alec's mind. Alec shouldn't doubt what his place is within this family, shouldn't doubt that he is family. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Bobby would lecture him too about taking care of Dean, about taking care of Sam and himself. It shouldn't, because this was what families do.
When Alec placed the phone down, it was obvious that he still couldn't make himself believe what had happened. Lifting his head up to where Sam was, he looked up, up, up and asked, "When are we leaving for Bobby's?"
Dean saw that Sam was thinking of a way to tell Alec that he shouldn't be doubting so much his place in this family. But Dean knew that Sam couldn't think of a way that was both subtle and un-embarrassing enough to not warrant a full blown chick flick moment. Because Alec, like Dean, couldn't and wouldn't answer to moments like those, and built walls stronger and faster before Sam could say, 'Let's talk.' So Sam, without any ideas, just shrugged and answered, "Tomorrow morning. No use going out now." And then, digging around the motel to look for his and Dean's wallet, he said, "Let's just eat at the diner nearby, and then sleep and then leave first thing in the morning."
Alec frowned at that, "But Bobby said--,"
"Bobby said," Dean interrupted as he rolled his eyes at the absurdity of what Bobby asked of his brothers, "to take care of ourselves. It doesn't matter how long we get there so long as we get there." Jumping down on the floor from the couch, he walked over to Alec and slipped his hand into Alec's now larger ones. Alec looked confused for a moment, and then seeing the look Dean was giving him, he stiffened and looked like he'd been stunned.
Dean, however, was getting hungry, and therefore, impatient. So he pulled at Alec's hand and said, "Come on, Alec. I'm hungry."
Alec willingly complied, thankfully, but even as he walked outside, both Dean and Sam knew he was a little more than surprised. Sam and Dean shared a look between themselves, a small smile that communicated more meaning than words can. Sam ruffled Dean's hair a bit (to Dean's chagrin), silently praising Dean for what he'd done.
Because this? This holding hands business? Everyone knew Dean didn't do it, wouldn't get caught doing it even if his life depended on it. To Dean, this was a showing of trust, a showing of how much Alec meant to Dean, to Sam, to this family. Because Dean was giving Alec fuel to tease him about acting like a 'baby', to do it in front of Sam, in front of other people. Dean trusted him enough that he risked looking vulnerable out in public.
To Dean, it meant that he was trusting Alec to take care of him, that he shouldn't doubt that he couldn't do what Bobby had tasked him to. And judging from the still stunned expression on his little brother's face, Dean knew that Alec had gotten this perfectly clear.
Because how can Alec not get it? They had the same genes after all.
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It only took another moment before Alec shook himself back into full on teasing mode.
Even if he had, however, Dean hadn't let go of his hand.
Alec would be lying if he said he still didn't trust himself, even just a little bit more, to look out for his brothers after that.