Loved this. You beautifully portrayed not only some hidden depths but the relationship between the winchesters. Ace

Aww, boys.

'"Not you fault?" he repeated incredulously.' - shouldn't 'you' be 'your'?

Very bittersweet little moment here, Mariner.

It had taken years for Sam to reclassify those nights from "times when Dad felt like camping" to "times when Dad couldn't scam enough money for a motel room."
> Ah, the knowledge that comes with age. *sigh*

Which meant that Sam had been obliged to wade in, because one couldn't really leave one's ** brother to get stomped by six guys behind a dumpster, no matter how much the ** brother in question might actually deserve it.
> Good boy, Sam. Good boy.

"Dean, if I said anything like that to you, you'd call me a giant sappy girl."
"That's because you are a giant sappy girl."
> And that's just not fair, now is it??

"Dad told me," Dean said after a while, "because I wanted to hear."
"I know." The pang of regret was neither new nor unexpected, but not any less sharp for all of that.
>Beautifully played, my friend. I can smell the testosterone.

Thanks for sharing this private scene. Very lovely!
emily

Very well done! An insightfult conversation into the brothers' relationship with their father (and with each other). Very much in character with a nice touch of humor. Really liked it!!

Aw, that was really sweet and funny, but seemed really truthful too. I like the insight into their differing relationships with their father and the types of memories they both take away from that.

I especially like the distinction between how Sam must have thought of him when he was little and how that changed when he became older and more cynical in:

It had taken years for Sam to reclassify those nights from "times when Dad felt like camping" to "times when Dad couldn't scam enough money for a motel room."

A really enjoyable story all round. Thanks.

This was so very cool. I love how much you managed to tie into this pulling in not only Dean's layers, but both of the boy's relationships with their father and their childhood.

This part was just perfect as so very, very funny:
"Dean, if I said anything like that to you, you'd call me a giant sappy girl."
"That's because you are a giant sappy girl."
"And you are..."
"A tough, kick-** dude with hidden depths."

It's so very sad how both Sam and John missed out on learning about one another because they were so busy bashing heads.
Great fic.

Loll that was great! So funny and touchy at the same time. I like it when we see chilhood memories in stories. Thanks.

cute i like it!

So I was so flashing back on Jensen doing an English accent in Dark Angel when Dean was reciting the poetry... And why shouldn't Dean have hidden depths? I often wonder whether, had things happened differently, Dean would have followed John into the military in some way.

I love the idea of John sharing his memories and his thoughts with Dean, as in the show we never really get to see why Dean hero-worshipped his dad the way he did, nor did we get much of a glimpse into a relationship which was obviously an extremely important part of Dean's life, particularly after Sam was gone. And the regret from Sam in having been excluded from that relationship? Just heartbreaking.

Fabulous.

Aw, that was sweet. And funny. And yes, Dean would know some poetry and be able to quote it! I firmly agree.

I wanna say Kipling? Or am I revealing my ignorance?!