The Search For John Winchester [REWRITE]

3) This Girl is on Fire - Too Soon?

Percy, again, slept in the back of the Impala while the two Winchesters faced the road.

"Okay, here's where Dad went," Sam said, looking down at the map in his lap. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming." Dean nodded. "How far?" He glanced back at Percy in the backseat through the rear view mirror, hoping it was a good distance. Percy didn't sleep much normally, restless and haunted, so if him being sprawled out in the back was how he got his rest, Dean wanted him to have as much of it as possible.

"About six hundred miles," Sam answered smoothly, trying to force down the smile on his face as he caught on to Dean's staring.

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning," Dean said.

Sam didn't have to fight down the smile anymore. It vanished on its own. He'd liked the time spent with his brother and his boyfriend, but he had a life to get back to. "Dean, I, um..."

Dean nodded slowly, like he'd forgotten and had suddenly remembered that, yeah, his brother wasn't sticking around. Sam felt guilty for a moment, but remembered Percy's words: "Props to you for leaving, Sam. I know Dean doesn't want you to go, but you've got a bright future ahead of you." His future was bright. He wasn't so keen on throwing it away.

"You're not going," he said simply. Sam expected a fight, but the statement wasn't harsh. Maybe a little cold, but definitely not harsh.

"The interview's in like, ten hours," Sam said, searching for an excuse even though he didn't really think he needed one. "I gotta be there."

Dean nodded again, clearly disappointed. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I'll take you home."

Home. Sam blinked as he clicked the flashlight off, rolling up the map. Dean hadn't hesitated to say it, to call Stanford his home, and Sam couldn't help but smile at that. Dean didn't like it, but Sam thought he got it. Hell, maybe Dean wanted a home of his own. Maybe he'd already found one in the boy in the backseat.

"So... Percy?" Sam's smile grew and he turned to take in Dean's expression. His brother's face was flushed like he'd expected, but it was also tight, worried.

Dean's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Yeah. Percy."

Sam's grin faltered. "Hey, man, it's cool. Percy seems... nice? He's probably nice. He kinda freaks me out."

Dean snorted, the tension in his shoulders not disappearing entirely, but diminishing. "Yeah. He, uh, he freaked me out at first, too. He's got a lot going on in his head, and most of it is nonsense."

"How long have you been with him?"

"Approaching a year, now. He's been traveling with us for three, though."

Sam fought down another smile. He'd never known Dean to take his time. It seemed that a lot had changed since he'd left.

"And he doesn't mind dealing with Dad and all the hunting stuff?" Sam questioned, glancing back at Percy.

"Oh, he minds." Dean smiled lightly at that, fondly exasperated. "He likes hunting well enough, hasn't ever asked me to stop, but he and Dad butt heads. I think they'd have probably killed each other by now if I gave them the chance." There was something in his tone, there, that Sam didn't get. Something a little too honest about that last sentence.

Sam didn't ask about that. Instead he asked, "Would you quit if he asked you to stop?"

Dean's face shuttered, and Sam grimaced. But Dean answered him, anyway, even if he didn't seem to like the prospect. "Yeah, I think I would. He, uh... he used to be pretty well settled down, like you, you know? College, family, friends.... Then he wasn't. I know he misses it. I know he's afraid to go back. If he wanted to, though, I'd go with him. If he'd let me."