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Part 2
“Jeeez, Sam …. You think the music’s loud enough?” Dean complained from the passenger’s seat.
“Oh quit yer bitchin’, Deana. Zepplin’s supposed to be played loud – anything less would cause John Bonham to roll in his grave.”
“It’s giving me a headache.”
Sam huffed then reached for the radio knob and turned it down just a hair – making sure it was still loud enough to annoy his brother, “There … Happy now, BABs?” Sam asked.
“Bab’s?” Dean didn’t really want to know what his new nickname was, but he had to ask anyway.
“Yep … got to keep it quiet in here for the Big Assed Baby.”
“Really, dude? Very mature. Let me ask you something … is it hard being such a jerk all of the time or does it just come naturally to you?”
Sam mocked being hurt, grabbing his chest in feigned and over dramatic pain, “Owwww … your witty comebacks wound me.”
Dean sighed heavily then crossed his arms petulantly, “Bite me.” He grumbled, and then looked out the window, “So … how much further do you think we have?”
“I dunno … you’re the one with the map, genius. You tell me.”
Dean sighed again and unfolded his map. He waited for the next mile marker to come speeding by then checked it against the map and did a quick calculation in his head, “We’ve got about another 400 miles to go before we’re in Pennsylvania again. “
He then started the fold the map back up again, having trouble getting it to fold up neatly like it had been folded originally. One would think that after growing up on the road and reading maps his whole life that this task would be easier, but it still irked him from time to time. But then again – was it him that usual filled the navigator’s role, or Sam?
He couldn’t remember and that was more troubling than not being able to fold a map correctly.
“We should get a GPS for the car – it would be so much easier and more up to date than these old maps.” Dean suggested.
“Dude … what part of classic car do you not get?” Sam growled, “You are not gonna spoil her with all that tech crap, she’s just fine as she is.”
“Sorry, man …. I was just thinking that with all of the driving that we do that it would make sense to have one.”
“What would make sense is stopping somewhere to eat – I’m starving – how about you?”
“Yeah – I could eat, I guess.”
Sam drove on for another half an hour before an establishment that he thought would meet their needs came into view. He pulled into the parking lot and Dean automatically frowned.
“What?” Sam asked.
“Dude … this is a bar, I thought we were getting dinner.”
“Read the sign, Dean – It say bar and grill. It’s the best of both worlds – beer and burgers,” Sam opened the door. “C’mon – we gotta eat and I might be able to line our pockets with a little extra cash while we’re here. And after this we might as well stop for the night – we’ve already gone 400 miles today and I’m beat.”
Dean grumbled under his breath, but grabbed the laptop from the backseat, thinking that this might take a while and he might as well get some research done while Sam hustled some of the locals out of their hard earned cash at the pool table.
He followed after his brother into the joint as Sam strode directly to bar, forgoing any of the empty booths.
Sam ordered a beer and a bacon cheeseburger while Dean settled for a ginger ale and a Caesar salad – he wasn’t in the mood for anything with alcohol since he already had a headache from the loud music in the car.
The bartender handed them their drinks and Sam thanked her with a wink, appreciating the way she wore her tight, skinny jeans and how they accented her every curve. She smiled back, turning a bright shade of crimson, clearly pleased with her view of Sam as well.
Dean rolled his eyes, but deep down thought she was pretty hot as well, but kept those feeling to himself, not wanting to objectify the poor girl.
“You know … I’ve been thinking …” Sam started.
“Oh no … that’s never good.” Dean mumbled.
“Bobby has us going out to destroy this altar and stuff … I don’t know … what if … what if we didn’t …”
Dean lifted an eyebrow at his brother, “What?”
“I mean … what’s so bad about us staying this way, huh? I kinda like being me … or you … or whatever. Point is … what harm is there? It’s not like this is gonna kill us, right? And no offense, Dean, but if I’m supposed to be like you, then I must be one boring, tight-ass monk. I mean c’mon … you hardly even looked at that girl that just gave us our drinks and you brought your laptop into a bar for Christ’s sake! Besides … I like being who I am – I’m pretty awesome.”
Dean knitted his brows together, irritated, “Oh really? And you think you’re so great? You think I want to be like you? You who thinks the car is an animate object, who hits on anything with boobs, who talks with his mouth full, who tells bad jokes and leaves his dirty clothes all over ---“
“Okay … I get it. I’m not a saint – or you’re not a saint – whatever -- I just don’t see why we need to change.”
“We have to because who you are right now is who I am supposed to be and who you are isn’t really you … it’s me.” Dean replied quickly.
Sam scrunched up his face, “You’re making my brain hurt.”
“Look … We got to destroy that altar – that’s all there is to it. Its power is what’s keeping the potion we got soaked in going and who knows what other kinds of stuff we got exposed to and what will happen next. For all we know we could start growing another limb or become impotent.”
Sam froze mid-way between taking another sip of his beer and the ‘impotent’ part, “Okay … good point. Right … so first thing in the morning, we head on out and burn the altar. But, until then … we might as well have a little fun, “ Sam suggested with a waggle of his eyebrows and a cheeky grin, watching the bartender bend over and show off her tight backside.
An hour later, Sam had picked up a game of pool while Dean retreated to a quiet corner booth and tried to read up on the history of the house they were to return to in the morning. But the truth was that the words were starting to blend into each other and he was finding himself reading the same paragraph over and over with little comprehension.
On top of that, the headache that had started in the car had ratcheted up a notch hearing Sam’s laughter from across the bar.
Dean looked up to see his brother pocket a wad of cash from a couple of disgruntled losers at the pool table. The two other players Sam had just fleeced looked none too happy was they walked away, but Sam was beaming as he dropped his cue stick onto the table and made a cocky saunter over to the bar.
Dean watched him drop a bill onto the bar and order another beer from the pretty bartender as he flirted openly with her, flashing his most charming and disarming smile. Realizing that Sam was on his fourth beer and dangerously close to working his way into the giggling girl’s pants, he figured it was time to cut him off for the night so they could find a motel and rest up before they had to take off again in the morning – they didn’t have time for Sam to get completely wasted and distracted by sex. So Dean closed the laptop up, tucked it under his arm and stood, making his way towards Sam, only to find his way blocked on the way by a huge, imposing figure.
Dean stopped just in time before he collided with the behemoth. The man turned and snarled down at him menacingly, “Watch it!” He warned.
“Sorry,” Dean held up his hands. The man had to be at least a half foot taller and a good fifty pounds heavier than Sam even was. He turned his irritated attention from Dean and focused an ill-tempered glower at Sam’s back.
He heard Sam laugh again, “Oh honey … You’re so sweet you’re giving me a toothache.” The bartender giggled as she twirled her hair, only to stop suddenly as the gigantic man came up behind Sam and clamped one of his giant paws around the back of his neck.
“Tom …” She stuttered, alarmed to see the huge man, “What are you doing?”
“You talkin’ to my girl?” The man’s impossibly deep voice boomed, making both Sam and Dean jump a little simultaneously.
“I ain’t your girl no more, Tom. We broke up a week ago, remember?” She protested, bringing her hands to her hips, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” The big man dismissed her and kept his anger directed squarely on Sam.
Turning around smoothly, Sam shrugged off the man’s hand, not even a little intimidated by the towering giant. “We’re just talking here, buddy. You heard the girl … you better leave her alone unless you want to know what it’s like to eat from a straw for the next two months.”
Sam grinned, but his eyes were sharp with anger and Dean knew if he didn’t step in soon, there would be blood. He took a step forward and wedged himself between the man and his brother, “Look … we were just leaving, weren’t we, Sam?”
“Mind your own business, pipsqueak.” The man growled. At the same time that Dean turned to corral his brother out of the bar, he made the mistake of taking his eyes off of the brute while a beefy arm swung out, knocking Dean upside the head.
The impact caused a distinct and painful little atomic explosion within Dean’s head. He fell to the ground, his vision wavering and ears ringing like the bells of Notre Dame. His view was blocked by Sam’s legs, but through it all his he could still hear his brother curse and jump into action, “Don’t you dare touch my brother!” Sam growled dangerously.
“Whatcha gonna do about it?” The massive man asked smugly, clearly unused to anyone challenging him and stupidly unaware of what would happen when hurt Sam’s brother.
Sam didn’t even to bother to answer the man with words, instead, one of his legs struck out with vicious speed and thrust. His right, steel-toed boot sailed upwards and made sickening hard contact with the soft, sensitive space centered between the mastodon-sized man’s legs. For a second Dean thought he could actually feel Sam’s foot smash into the other guy’s balls through the floorboards and he winced sympathetically.
The man’s voice jumped an octave while a howling mewl escaped his lips and he doubled over, grabbing his crotch with tears spilling from his eyes. He fell to his knees on the floor right beside the hunter and Dean got a good look at the huge purpling face and crossed eyes before the man rolled onto his back and whimpered pathetically.
The next thing Dean knew, two big, familiar hands were grabbing his arms and hoisting him up, “C’mon, Dean … let’s get outta here.” Sam spoke into his ear. Dean leaned into Sam and let him help him to his feet, allowing his larger brother to herd him to the door and out to the car in a blur of movement.
Sam opened the passenger door for Dean and held onto his arm until he was all the way in the car and settled before running over to the driver’s side and turning the engine over quickly. They beat a hasty retreat from the bar and were on the road seconds later.
“You okay?” Sam asked, turning worried eyes on Dean, looking him up and down for injuries.
Dean rubbed his throbbing head and nodded, “He rang my bell pretty hard, but I’ll live.” He said, “You?”
“I’m good. Gigantor had balls as hard as granite and my toes still hurt, but it was worth it just to hear him sing soprano.”
Dean had to chuckle a little bit at that, but then his thoughts turned. For some reason none of this felt right – Sam defending him like that – he couldn’t put a name on the feeling – just that it all felt wrong … backward somehow.
Sam was still looking at him, “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah … let’s just get a room and get some sleep.”
Sam nodded in agreement and after they found a motel and had a room rented for the night, the feelings of offness continued. Dean strange emotions only got worse after Sam went out and got him some ice for his head and made a fuss about him staying in bed while he handed him some aspirin and a glass of water, ordering Dean to drink it.
Dean glared at the glass in his hand, still feeling weird and wrong.
“Let me take a look.” Sam said as he sat down on the bed next to him and turned his head to the side, ghosting his fingers through his hair and gingerly touching around the tender welt on his head, “Well … doesn’t look too bad … gonna have a bit of a goose egg though.”
Dean shrugged Sam off; suddenly uncomfortable with having his little brother take care of him like that when all at once and even harder than that man at the bar had swung at him, everything hit him – and he understood why all of those feelings of backwardness had been swimming around in his gut.
He was the big brother – he should have been the one defending Sam, not the other way around – he’s the one that should be taking care of his younger sibling …
He was the one that was supposed to check for injuries, supply meds, and order his brother to rest …
Everything snapped into place like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Intellectually he knew that Bobby had seen a difference in them back at his place and he had believed the seasoned hunter just because Bobby would never lie to them, but now he was feeling it … feeling the wrongness of it all …
He was the one that liked working on the car.
He was the one the enjoyed hustling pool.
He was the one that hit on random chicks in bars and got in fights with their gigantic boyfriends.
And dammit … he hated researching.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.
“Everything, Sammy … You … me …” Dean suddenly froze, his stomach dropping, “Oh. My. God … my car -- ”
Sam stared at Dean in concern, “What about the car?”
“You messed with my car?”
“I didn’t ‘mess’ with it … I fixed it.”
“Fixed it?”
“Yeah … it was making all kinds of noise when it accelerated. All I did was replace an exhaust pipe that was rusted. I didn’t even get to the manifold or the muffler --”
“Whoa … wait … it’s supposed to make noise when it accelerates … that’s what muscle cars do …”
“Dean … it’s fine. It runs better now –“
Dean was suddenly up and grabbing his duffel bag, snatching Sam’s up too and tossing it at his brother, “Okay … we’re outta here and we’re getting you fixed right now before you decide to ‘fix’ anything else.”
Sam looked a little like a fish out of water with his mouth opening and closing in confusion but Dean didn’t give him a chance to protest his decision as he grabbed his younger brother by the collar and hauled him to his feet, practically dragging him to the door.
OOOOO
Sam sulked, uncomfortable with being demoted to the passenger role when he’d rather be driving and in control of the situation. But Dean had won the physical fight over the keys despite Sam’s height and weight advantage over him and had literally taken over. (And maybe Sam was still a little embarrassed about that, but he tried not to think about it.)
Dean stared straight ahead, refusing to look at him as he drove on angrily, a strained silence hanging over both men.
Annoyed and angered as well, but trying to relieve some of the tension and finally end the oppressive quiet in the car, Sam reached for the box of cassette tapes only to have Dean snatch it from his hands.
“Oh no, you don’t -- you’re not touching another thing in this car until we get you back to normal, got it?”
“Me? You’re the one acting like a jackass. What’s your problem anyway?”
“My problem? I don’t have a problem, I’m back to normal … you’re the one that’s messed up, man and we only have room for one of me in here.”
Sam folded his arms across his chest, “You know if you’re saying that I’m messed up and I’m supposedly acting like you, then that means you’re just as messed up as I am.” Sam argued, trying to reign in his growing anger.
“That’s enough, Sam … we’re destroying that alter and getting you back to your geeky, emo self and that’s final.”
Who did Dean think he was anyway? A freakin’ general who could order him around like a private? Sam resented the fact that just by being the oldest, that that somehow put Dean in charge of his life. And this feeling of resentment had been building since Dean basically ordered him to the car and insisted on driving despite the fact that he’d taken a blow to the head earlier. Sam wanted to protect his brother, but another part of him wanted to kick his ass for acting as if he was just a child that couldn’t think or act on his own.
But then again … this anger … this resentment, this burning need to prove himself capable tickled at the back of his mind and Sam was starting to wonder if this was a new feeling or not – if this was something that he was familiar with and had been harboring for much longer than the few hours they had been on the road.
He didn’t want to think about it, but emotions and memories kept popping up in his mind, unwanted and unbidden until his head was filled with scenes from his childhood – of his father laying into him for not falling in line, for not training harder, for not wanting the life of a hunter. The scenes shifted and he was stepping out of an old, run-down house with tears in his eyes after leaving his family behind for college, but with determination in his heart to be his own man.
And then he thought about Stanford. He hadn’t been able to remember what his motivation for going there had been when Bobby had asked the other day, but with instant clarity, he now knew – he loved learning and he had loved being around people that were normal – people that didn’t worry about salting their windows before going to sleep at night and who didn’t constantly fear that their father or brother might end up being eaten by a monster one day.
And Jess …
He felt a renewed ache in his chest and looked down at his hands, suddenly realizing something very important.
These were the hands that worked on the car only a day ago – that changed out a rusted exhaust pipe and made the car purr like a kitten, but for the life of him … he couldn’t remember how he did it – or even why he would have wanted to in the first place.
All he knew was that he was Sam Winchester inside and out once again.
OOOOOO
Since the current owner had vowed to never step foot in there again, Sam and Dean didn’t have to worry about him being home and getting in was easy. In fact, getting to the altar, destroying it and burning every last thing on it for good measure was even easier than that and they were both pretty pleased with themselves for their rather anti-climactic operation.
It really hadn’t been necessary since both of them seemed to have come to their senses on their own, but it gave them both peace of mind to know that whatever power had caused the switch in the first place wouldn’t come back and bite them both in the ass again.
After all, neither one of them wanted to find out if there really was an impotence potion mixed in with everything else.
“Well … that was fun.” Dean declared as shoveled dirt into the hole they had dug to burn the witch’s alter, putting out what was left of the charred embers. Sam stood beside his brother and helped to fill in the hole as well until all evidence of their presence there that morning was effectively erased.
Lugging the shovels over their shoulders, both men walked side by side back to the car and dumped their tools into the trunk, dirty and tired, but satisfied.
Dean grinned and climbed into the driver’s seat after that while at the same time Sam yanked open his door and climbed in, loudly slamming it shut.
“Hey …” Dean nearly shouted, “Watch the paint job, Bitch.”
“The paint is fine, ya jerk … it’s just a car.”
Dean patted the dashboard lovingly, “Don’t listen to him, Baby. He’s just a little cranky because you’re more fun to talk to and I like you more than him.”
Sam glared at Dean before rolling his eyes dramatically, “You done talking to the car or can we get on the road already and find someplace to crash already? I need a shower,” Sam sniffed the air and pulled a disgusted face, “And so do you.”
“Yeah, yeah … Keep your crusty panties on.” Dean grumbled. He popped an Aerosmith tape into the stereo and cranked up the volume while Sam shot him a withering look as Back in the Saddle started blasting through the speakers.
Dean grinned at Sam’s annoyed facial expression and revved the engine before peeling the classic, black car off into the golden rays of the rising sun.
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:19 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:12 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:24 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:12 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:28 am (UTC)From:Thanks for writing this and sharing it!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:13 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:39 am (UTC)From:At least Dean didn't have time to do anything unforgivable (like sleeping with the next demon or monster skank)
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:15 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:58 am (UTC)From:Anyways, nice work! I especially liked that you paid so much attention to details, like gestures and speech patterns, instead of just turning Sam into a car-loving womanizer and Dean into a cranky bookworm - I'd never even noticed some of the differences and habits they had before you switched them! :D I loved the bar scene like whoa because protective!Sam makes me happy, and the scene where they were both acting like Dean was both hilarious and kinda scary.
The art is gorgeous, too. ♥
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:15 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 11:16 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:16 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 11:51 am (UTC)From:This was just about perfect! The story flowed, I could see everything happening! (few spelling mistakes, but nothing's perfect...)
You did just about the PERFECT fill for this prompt! THANK YOU!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:17 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 12:12 pm (UTC)From:As Angeltrap said, I was also impressed with the way you caught the fine nuances of the guys' personalities and habits-- and gave us a little bit of insight into why they do what they do.
Kudos to the artist, too. Yeah, I was seeing grease-daubed Jared myself here-- always an enhancement to any moment of the day!
Nice to see Smart!Dean as well, even if it's the result of major hoodoo here. ;-)
Thanks for a fun read!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:19 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 12:44 pm (UTC)From:I enjoyed this very much. It's always fun to revisit early seasons Winchesters. Bobby was especially terrific in this.
The artwork is really adorable.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 01:00 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:21 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 02:55 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 03:39 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 07:21 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 01:41 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 03:17 am (UTC)From:It's like the bodyswap ep I always wanted ; )
Very fun read!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 03:25 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 02:12 pm (UTC)From:But I have to say, my favourite bit was in part 1: "Busty Asian Biddies". LOL.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-04 03:07 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-08 06:37 am (UTC)From:And I´d love to see that happening on the show!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 02:53 pm (UTC)From: