Ten O' Clock
Ten O' Clock
There’s blond hair in his nose and lipstick smeared across his cheek and probably half a shot of tequila down the front of his shirt and Dean’s smiling like an idiot because he doesn’t have to explain it to Sam when he gets home. One, Sam is standing right here beside him. Two, the blond who caused all the havoc is still in his arms, laughing and whispering “I knew you could do it,” in his ear. And three, well hell, the fact that he might need to explain it at all to Sam says something about the way things have changed in their relationship the last couple days.
As idiotic as it sounds, remembering the way Sam had introduced him to a former professor just that morning, “Just congratulating my boyfriend on finishing the GED,” had Dean smiling like an idiot.
He wrapped his arms around Jess a little tighter and she smiled at him again. “Thanks Jess. Couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“You could, you would, you did, and we all know it was Sam’s fault you did it anyway, so go thank your boyfriend,” she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “very publicly and very affectionately for me to watch.”
Dean laughed. “You are a perv.”
“Dean Riley," she used the full name she knew him by and he expected trouble but she winked instead, "you have no idea.” She pulled away from his arms and Dean had barely a chance to glance at his brother before Jess was hauling them both to a booth in the back by the pool tables. “We know how you boys like to shoot pool, so we reserved a table for the night.”
Everyone else was already there, all of Sam’s friends who Dean had slowly gotten to know. He’d taken his time, trying to make sure he didn’t overstep any boundaries with Sam and his friends. It had happened in the past, in small towns where Dean’s reputation and attitude had caused trouble for Sam and his attempts at making friends, so he was more circumspect in his actions at Stanford. These were people Dean liked though, people that saw both Sam and Dean as worth knowing.
They were drinking and talking loudly, going on about upcoming finals and term papers and how to make financial aid last long enough to cover the last month of rent before returning home for the summer. Dean had found them superficial and moronic, once upon a time. They still didn’t know what was out there, but that didn’t make them any less worthy and they were good people. He could understand their plight a little better now, knew how hard it was to study and work and try to make time to see people outside of that. It was a different life than what he’d grown up with but with Sam at his side, he found it more and more worthwhile.
Sam slid into the booth beside Jess and Dean stood on the outside edge, needing to keep to his feet with all his nervous energy. Sam smiled softly as he looked up at him and it caught Dean’s breath. Jess pushed a shot into Sam’s hand and into Dean’s but they were still looking at one another and Sam raised his glass, the words barely understandable above the din of the bar.
“To My Dean.”
The words warmed him, stroking something in him that only Sam had ever been able to touch. Jess must have heard the words though because she was raising her glass as well. “To Sam’s Dean and his kick ass test-taking skills!”
Sam laughed and they clinked glasses, downing the shots as Sam tried to get an already inebriated Jess to drink some water instead of more alcohol. Dean motioned to the bar and mouthed the word “water” to Sam before heading up to try to get a few glasses for the table. Jess had said they’d be ready to party at nine but apparently they’d been there a full hour before Sam and Dean had shown up.
It wasn’t his fault. They’d been in the parking lot for a good twenty minutes before Sam had finally slid off his lap and let him out of the car. It was definitely one of the highlights of Dean’s day. Coming in to find a drunken Jess was another because she was downright hysterical like that. Sam definitely had his hands busy trying to get her to drink anything but shots. Dean was thinking they should just replace her shots with water. She probably wouldn’t even notice.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone, man,” he heard as he took a seat at the bar.
He looked up to find Richie joining him there. “Hey man,” he said as he stood up, allowing Richie to pull him into a brief embrace, purposely not looking his brother’s way. “Didn’t think you were gonna make it tonight.”
Richie smiled at him. “Jess called and said you passed the GED today. Like I was gonna miss this.”
“Took it. We don’t know if I passed it yet,” Dean added for clarification.
“If you took it you passed it, Dean. None of us believe anything else.”
There was a warm look in his eyes and Dean didn’t know how to deal with this. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have told Jess to include Richie tonight.
“Sam didn’t tell any of us you were taking the test today. We’d have all been there when you got out.”
And that right there was enough to remind him of how wrong it could have all gone, and why it should never have happened in the first place. That sort of subtle put down toward his brother was unnecessary and nothing Dean was prepared to stand for.
“Sammy didn’t know. I wanted to do this on my own so it’s not his fault,” Dean clarified. “Look, Richie,”
“We didn’t get to talk after the other night.”
“Yeah,” He breathed the word out, frustrated with the whole situation but determined to see it done tonight. He didn’t want to leave this hanging over their heads any longer.
“Jess told me to back off.”
“What?”
“I didn’t think you were the kinda guy who needed a girl to handle business for you though, and I know how close Sam and Jess are so I figured she was just overreacting.”
“Richie,” he took a deep breath because he’d never said it before, never thought he would and a part of him was still reeling at the wrongrightmine feeling he got about it all. “You know I’m with Sam, so what are you doing here?”
“It didn’t feel like you were with Sam when we were out together, Dean,” Richie said softly. “Didn’t feel like it when you had me pressed against the wall.”
Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Richie wasn’t the only bad guy in this scenario. In Richie’s mind, Dean had been more than receptive to cheating on his boyfriend. “It was a misunderstanding and one Sam and I are putting past us. If you still wanna be friends, and I hope you do, then we’re all good. If you’re gonna try to cause trouble then I should tell you now, I will always choose Sammy.”
Richie looked up at him, eyes assessing as if he wanted to find the weak chink in Dean’s armor, to find a way to make his words untrue, but there was never anything he’d said that he meant more. Richie nodded slowly. “Aright, Dean, but if he forgets to appreciate you again, you know where I am.”
Dean opened his mouth to rebut it but Richie plowed on ahead. “Now, am I allowed to join in the celebration or is Sam gonna go caveman on me again if I join you at the table?”
The bartender came over with the water Dean had ordered and he smiled at Richie. “Lend me a hand with these waters and the next round of shots is already on the table to go.”
They approached the table and only Sam’s eyes betrayed his feelings about Richie joining them. Richie sat on the other side of the booth and when they handed the water around Dean passed the shots out as well. They downed them and Dean took the chance to lean over to Sam, catching his eyes as he placed his body between his brother and the rest of the bar.
“Alright?”
Sam nodded. “Just didn’t actually think he’d show after the other night.”
“I already set him straight, Sam. He’s here as a friend.”
“Which part did you set him straight about?”
Dean thought about what to say but then decided there really was only one way to get the point across to everyone. Besides, Jess had been awesome and she deserved her little drunken fantasy.
Dean smiled as he wrapped his fingers through Sam’s hair. “This,” he said softly, pulling him closer until their lips met. Sam gasped, and while Dean wasn’t sure if it was because of the public declaration or because Richie was right there, but Dean took advantage and slipped his tongue between his brother’s lips. Sam opened to him immediately, his hands wrapping around Dean’s neck to pull them even closer.
Dean ignored the catcalls and whistles from their friends and when they pulled back just slightly Sam was laughing. Dean pressed another kiss to his lips and enjoyed the feeling of his brother at his side. When he wrapped his arm over Sam’s shoulder and Sam snuggled up closer to him, their friends talking, congratulating him, discussing what would happen next in all of their lives, Dean was more than happy to be there.
Hell, it was barely past ten, he was surrounded by a bunch of drunken college students, one of whom he called his best friend, and his brother was smiling up at him like he’d just saved the world. He chased the next shot from Sam’s lips and it was all Dean could ever have wanted in life.
On To Six O ' Clock
There’s blond hair in his nose and lipstick smeared across his cheek and probably half a shot of tequila down the front of his shirt and Dean’s smiling like an idiot because he doesn’t have to explain it to Sam when he gets home. One, Sam is standing right here beside him. Two, the blond who caused all the havoc is still in his arms, laughing and whispering “I knew you could do it,” in his ear. And three, well hell, the fact that he might need to explain it at all to Sam says something about the way things have changed in their relationship the last couple days.
As idiotic as it sounds, remembering the way Sam had introduced him to a former professor just that morning, “Just congratulating my boyfriend on finishing the GED,” had Dean smiling like an idiot.
He wrapped his arms around Jess a little tighter and she smiled at him again. “Thanks Jess. Couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“You could, you would, you did, and we all know it was Sam’s fault you did it anyway, so go thank your boyfriend,” she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “very publicly and very affectionately for me to watch.”
Dean laughed. “You are a perv.”
“Dean Riley," she used the full name she knew him by and he expected trouble but she winked instead, "you have no idea.” She pulled away from his arms and Dean had barely a chance to glance at his brother before Jess was hauling them both to a booth in the back by the pool tables. “We know how you boys like to shoot pool, so we reserved a table for the night.”
Everyone else was already there, all of Sam’s friends who Dean had slowly gotten to know. He’d taken his time, trying to make sure he didn’t overstep any boundaries with Sam and his friends. It had happened in the past, in small towns where Dean’s reputation and attitude had caused trouble for Sam and his attempts at making friends, so he was more circumspect in his actions at Stanford. These were people Dean liked though, people that saw both Sam and Dean as worth knowing.
They were drinking and talking loudly, going on about upcoming finals and term papers and how to make financial aid last long enough to cover the last month of rent before returning home for the summer. Dean had found them superficial and moronic, once upon a time. They still didn’t know what was out there, but that didn’t make them any less worthy and they were good people. He could understand their plight a little better now, knew how hard it was to study and work and try to make time to see people outside of that. It was a different life than what he’d grown up with but with Sam at his side, he found it more and more worthwhile.
Sam slid into the booth beside Jess and Dean stood on the outside edge, needing to keep to his feet with all his nervous energy. Sam smiled softly as he looked up at him and it caught Dean’s breath. Jess pushed a shot into Sam’s hand and into Dean’s but they were still looking at one another and Sam raised his glass, the words barely understandable above the din of the bar.
“To My Dean.”
The words warmed him, stroking something in him that only Sam had ever been able to touch. Jess must have heard the words though because she was raising her glass as well. “To Sam’s Dean and his kick ass test-taking skills!”
Sam laughed and they clinked glasses, downing the shots as Sam tried to get an already inebriated Jess to drink some water instead of more alcohol. Dean motioned to the bar and mouthed the word “water” to Sam before heading up to try to get a few glasses for the table. Jess had said they’d be ready to party at nine but apparently they’d been there a full hour before Sam and Dean had shown up.
It wasn’t his fault. They’d been in the parking lot for a good twenty minutes before Sam had finally slid off his lap and let him out of the car. It was definitely one of the highlights of Dean’s day. Coming in to find a drunken Jess was another because she was downright hysterical like that. Sam definitely had his hands busy trying to get her to drink anything but shots. Dean was thinking they should just replace her shots with water. She probably wouldn’t even notice.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone, man,” he heard as he took a seat at the bar.
He looked up to find Richie joining him there. “Hey man,” he said as he stood up, allowing Richie to pull him into a brief embrace, purposely not looking his brother’s way. “Didn’t think you were gonna make it tonight.”
Richie smiled at him. “Jess called and said you passed the GED today. Like I was gonna miss this.”
“Took it. We don’t know if I passed it yet,” Dean added for clarification.
“If you took it you passed it, Dean. None of us believe anything else.”
There was a warm look in his eyes and Dean didn’t know how to deal with this. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have told Jess to include Richie tonight.
“Sam didn’t tell any of us you were taking the test today. We’d have all been there when you got out.”
And that right there was enough to remind him of how wrong it could have all gone, and why it should never have happened in the first place. That sort of subtle put down toward his brother was unnecessary and nothing Dean was prepared to stand for.
“Sammy didn’t know. I wanted to do this on my own so it’s not his fault,” Dean clarified. “Look, Richie,”
“We didn’t get to talk after the other night.”
“Yeah,” He breathed the word out, frustrated with the whole situation but determined to see it done tonight. He didn’t want to leave this hanging over their heads any longer.
“Jess told me to back off.”
“What?”
“I didn’t think you were the kinda guy who needed a girl to handle business for you though, and I know how close Sam and Jess are so I figured she was just overreacting.”
“Richie,” he took a deep breath because he’d never said it before, never thought he would and a part of him was still reeling at the wrongrightmine feeling he got about it all. “You know I’m with Sam, so what are you doing here?”
“It didn’t feel like you were with Sam when we were out together, Dean,” Richie said softly. “Didn’t feel like it when you had me pressed against the wall.”
Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Richie wasn’t the only bad guy in this scenario. In Richie’s mind, Dean had been more than receptive to cheating on his boyfriend. “It was a misunderstanding and one Sam and I are putting past us. If you still wanna be friends, and I hope you do, then we’re all good. If you’re gonna try to cause trouble then I should tell you now, I will always choose Sammy.”
Richie looked up at him, eyes assessing as if he wanted to find the weak chink in Dean’s armor, to find a way to make his words untrue, but there was never anything he’d said that he meant more. Richie nodded slowly. “Aright, Dean, but if he forgets to appreciate you again, you know where I am.”
Dean opened his mouth to rebut it but Richie plowed on ahead. “Now, am I allowed to join in the celebration or is Sam gonna go caveman on me again if I join you at the table?”
The bartender came over with the water Dean had ordered and he smiled at Richie. “Lend me a hand with these waters and the next round of shots is already on the table to go.”
They approached the table and only Sam’s eyes betrayed his feelings about Richie joining them. Richie sat on the other side of the booth and when they handed the water around Dean passed the shots out as well. They downed them and Dean took the chance to lean over to Sam, catching his eyes as he placed his body between his brother and the rest of the bar.
“Alright?”
Sam nodded. “Just didn’t actually think he’d show after the other night.”
“I already set him straight, Sam. He’s here as a friend.”
“Which part did you set him straight about?”
Dean thought about what to say but then decided there really was only one way to get the point across to everyone. Besides, Jess had been awesome and she deserved her little drunken fantasy.
Dean smiled as he wrapped his fingers through Sam’s hair. “This,” he said softly, pulling him closer until their lips met. Sam gasped, and while Dean wasn’t sure if it was because of the public declaration or because Richie was right there, but Dean took advantage and slipped his tongue between his brother’s lips. Sam opened to him immediately, his hands wrapping around Dean’s neck to pull them even closer.
Dean ignored the catcalls and whistles from their friends and when they pulled back just slightly Sam was laughing. Dean pressed another kiss to his lips and enjoyed the feeling of his brother at his side. When he wrapped his arm over Sam’s shoulder and Sam snuggled up closer to him, their friends talking, congratulating him, discussing what would happen next in all of their lives, Dean was more than happy to be there.
Hell, it was barely past ten, he was surrounded by a bunch of drunken college students, one of whom he called his best friend, and his brother was smiling up at him like he’d just saved the world. He chased the next shot from Sam’s lips and it was all Dean could ever have wanted in life.
On To Six O ' Clock