Title: My Turn

Rating: T

Disclaimer: What’s theirs is theirs, what’s mine is mine – It’s as simple as that.

Summary: E/O CHALLENGE. Dean works too hard at keeping Sam safe, and in return, Sam gets to be the responsible one for a change. Drabble Challenge Word: Steady.

A/N: Written for the lovely Woodburner’s birthday challenge! Happy Birthday, you crazy kid! Also, my first ever E/O Challenge Drabble, so feedback is lovely and very much appreciated. Pre-series Teen!chesters.

--

“Dean, you need to stop moving. Please.” Sam’s voice barely shook as he did his best to flush out the angry, red wound that spread across Dean’s lower back. The kelpie hadn’t done much more but reach out with its barbed tail and flick at Dean, but that had been enough. The damage that one action had inflicted was enough to cut a deep gash through Dean’s skin, an instant bleeder. Sam had shouted in surprise when Dean went down and the former immediately went into survival mode, dragging his brother through the weeds to safety while John placated the angry water demon. Dean wasn’t making much noise, and that freaked Sam out more than anything, but he was writhing in pain, eyes squinted shut, and that was making it very difficult for the whiskey to make contact with the cut.

Green eyes barely peeked open at Sam’s voice and the youngest Winchester heaved a sigh of relief. They were cloudy with pain, but alert and aware of everything around him. “Sammy?” Dean croaked, biting his lip as another wave of pain hit him.

Sam fumbled in the first-aid kit for the painkillers they always had in store, popping the lid off a bottle and feeding two to Dean. “You’re gonna be okay, man. It’s not even that bad.” That was a lie through his teeth, and Dean knew it. His forehead crinkled and his lips twitched in bitter amusement. “You’re a crap liar, Sam. You’re better off tellin’ it like it is.”

A weak chuckle escaped Sam’s lips as he measured out enough thread for sutures. “Alright. You look like hell. Just quit moving so I can stitch you up.”

“Fuck, I hate this part,” Dean groaned, hands fisting as the needle pricked his skin. “Watch it!” he yelped when Sam’s fingers, slick with blood, accidentally dropped the needle. The sharp point jabbed against Dean’s open wound and Sam marveled that his brother could feel it at all.

He needed to take Dean’s mind off the pain, get him thinking about anything else but the stitches currently connecting his skin together.

“Remember when I was eight and we went to that park and I fell off the monkey bars and split my lip open?”

Dean scoffed, wincing when it strained his wound. “You freaked at the blood. I had you cup your hands under your lip all the way home so you didn’t leave a blood trail.”

Sam nodded, recalling how white John’s face had been when Sam’s tear and bloodstained face had come through the motel door, but he had been proud of Dean who had known exactly what to do. Dean, who was always looking out for his little brother. “You had better sense than most of the kids, who just stared at me like I was a freak.”

“You are a freak, Sammy,” Dean muttered, lightly nudging Sam’s knee with his elbow. “But it’s okay, because you’re our freak.”

Rolling his eyes, Sam tied off the thread and bit it in two. “The worst is finished. Let me finish patching you up.” He lifted his head for a moment, listening. “I don’t hear anything, so either Dad’s killed the damn thing or we’re orphans.”

Dean snorted mirthlessly. “Bite your tongue, heathen. Just finish the job so we can get the hell out of here. And Sam,” he turned slightly to look at his baby brother, seventeen-years-old and an inch taller than he, “thanks for stitching me up. I…I’m not a big fan of the times when you have to be the responsible one, but I’m glad you are.”

Sam felt his cheeks get red, knowing that Dean would vehemently deny this moment in the morning, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening right now. He ducked his head shyly and finished bandaging up the wound. “You’re always steady for me, Dean,” he mumbled. “It’s about time I get to return the favor.”

--

Brownie points to the reader that picks up on the line that’s from season 2!