We Ain't Ever Getting Older

The way Sam's face scrunched when Raelynn hugged him was all it took for Dean to start laughing again. He shook his eyes, smirking to himself as he watched his little brother grow flustered. But the moment Raelynn turned to face forward again, his smile had dropped and he was all sorts of serious again.

"What's Bobby going to say when we tell him he has the place to himself?" Dean asked suddenly. He raised an eyebrow, unable to figure out for himself what Bobby would end up thinking.

Raelynn shrugged lazily as she settled back into the middle of the seat. She wasn't quite sure what exactly Bobby would think. Raelynn knew that Bobby enjoyed her company yet she also knew that Bobby knew how much she wanted to be back with the boys. She was sure Bobby Singer could use some alone time anyways. Raelynn knew she could be hard to live with.

"Who knows," she smirked. "Grumpy old man might be estactic to have me off his back for once. I don't think he would mind me going back with you guys. He knew I wouldn't be there for long anyway."

Dean's eyes narrowed a bit at Raelynn's little confession. She probably hadn't meant it as such but now, he was on edge all over again. He watched her in the rearview mirror for a moment before returning his attention to the road.

"What the hell do you mean you weren't going to be there for long?" Dean spouted off, his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel. He sneered slightly, rolling his eyes when Sam told him to relax. Whatever Raelynn had been considering wasn't an option now because she was with them. But he couldn't help it. Had Raelynn been planning something stupid like disappearing?

“Don’t get your panties twisted, Dean.” Raelynn laughed at his sudden change of attitude. Raelynn always had a sense of what Dean was thinking, and half the time when it came to her, he was always jumping to conclusions. She knew that he was thinking the worst, like she was going to run away from Bobby’s and create her own life, but that just wasn’t the truth.

From the moment she stepped foot into Bobby’s house, and he saw the state she was he, he declared that he was going to get her and Dean Winchester back together. When Bobby figured out that that wasn’t going to happen, and he realized just how much she missed Sam and how much she missed being with the boys, Bobby Singer knew he had to act quick to get the trio back together. “Bobby said that I was welcome there, but, and I quote, I’ll be damned if those boys don’t come get you soon.”

Dean's eyes narrowed a bit at Raelynn's declaration about Bobby. He cleared his throat, tilting his head to the side. "So what you're telling me is this case was solely to get us to Bobby's," he replied, hugging as he let the thought run trough his mind. Dean Winchester did not like being made a fool of and as far as he was concerned, that was exactly what had just taken place.

Continuing to grumble and mutter to himself only caused for Sam to roll his eyes and turn his own attention over to Rae to keep her distracted. "Dean just can't handle that he doesn't always know everything that's going on. Don't pay him any damn attention, Rae," Sam said, letting out a small laugh.

Raelynn huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically. If Raelynn could lose her attitude and quit acting like a child, why couldn’t Dean? She ran a hand through her hair, biting back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. Keep it together a little longer Rae, don’t let him win. She silently reminded herself.

Raelynn took a heavy breath in, exhaling slowly. “Dean, you know just as well as I do just how damn mischievous and meddling Bobby is. I have no clue what this case is about, if I knew, I would have told you—or at least Sam! I’m not that stupid.”

Raelynn stared out the window and crossed her arms, muttering to herself. “Coulda just said you didn’t want me here instead of lying…”

Dean let out a low growl that he didn't even have time to consider before it sounded when Raelynn muttered under her breathe. He looked in the rearview mirror, his knuckles turning white around his steering wheel as he exhaled slowly. "What was that? Something you want to share with the class?"

Sam reached out and smacked Dean's thigh, causing the older Winchester to let out a huff, ignoring the other two in the vehicle now. Grinding his teeth together, he leaned into the driver's door.

Pulling off to the highway, Dean breathed a small sigh of relief. They wouldn't hit the town they were meant to be in for a good few hours yet but at least they were off the highway. He reached over, deciding to turn up the radio to help drown out his thoughts.

Raelynn rolled her eyes and shook her head once more, crossing her arms as she looked out the window. She continually reminded herself to breathe, jut breathe. If she could continue breathing, she would have to think about retorts, snide remarks, or fights she could pick with Dean. God knows those are her absolute favorite past times.

Raelynn watched the scenery go from city to farm land. She counted the trees and animals that passed them by. She leaned her head against the window, willing herself to take a short nap. She wondered about the case and what it would entail, falling asleep fairly quickly.

Awaking to the car coming to a stop and then parking, she snapped awake. Raelynn rubbed at her eyes, grumbling slightly. “Did we make it?”

Dean was more than a bit relieved when he noticed the all too familiar scene in the back of his Impala. Raelynn was fast asleep and he was almost positive that it would end up staying that way for awhile yet. She was able to sleep best in cars because as she put it, they were warm and they lulled her to sleep.

A few hours passed by with not much going on. Sam was deep in thought, trying to figure out how they could sort out the current case as quickly as possible and Dean was happy to allow it.

Looking up when Raelynn awoke, Dean scoffed under his breathe. He opened his mouth to say something but Sam beat him to it. "Yeah, Dean was just going to run and get the keys while we grab our bags. Right Dean?" Dean glared at the man before climbing out and disappearing into the motel's office.

Raelynn rubbed at her eyes, willing herself to wake up just a hair. She was fairly disoriented from the nap she had taken in the back of the Impala. Her dreams wouldn’t let her sleep restfully, it was the oldest Winchester’s face haunting her and keeping her restless. She let out a deep sigh before scurrying out of the back. She grabbed some of the bags, slinging her back pack over her shoulder.

Once they got by the motel door, still waiting on Dean, Raelynn leaned against the wall. She tilted her head back and forth, cracking the knots in her neck. “So what is the real deal with this case Sam, why am I even hear?”

Sam let out a strained sigh, shaking his head. “I really don’t know, Rae. I really don’t. You know I would tell you if I did.”

It wasn't as if flirting was something that came hard for Dean. So when the opportunity arose with a cute girl at the front desk of the motel, Dean couldn't let the opportunity slide. Not when outside was a situation that he had been actively trying to avoid for the past few months. And he would still be avoiding if it wasn't for the meddling of one Robert Singer.

Bidding the young girl a farewell, Dean headed out of the office and made his way toward where Sam and Raelynn were standing. He held up the keys, briefly wondering if he should have paid for a second room to better avoid Raelynn. He let out a quiet sigh, reaching up to rub his cheek.

"We can order in and figure out the case so that we're ready in the morning," Dean offered with a shrug of his shoulders as he opened the motel room. He stepped in, dropping the bag he carried on his shoulder. It didn't matter where, the room was small regardless particularly with three people to the room. "What does everyone want?"

Raelynn swallowed thickly as she allowed the boys to figure out what they wanted to eat. She had piped up with offering the suggestion for Chinese, but they turned their noses up at it. She pushed her bags over to the small love seat and started to make her small little bed there. For some reason, this room only had two double beds, and both the boys were way too big to fit on the couch.

Raelynn dug around in her back pack, producing her small laptop that she had saved up for while she had been at Bobby’s. She flipped it open and booted it up. Surfing the internet would keep her from saying something stupid to Dean, and if she knew Dean (which she did), he probably didn’t want to hear her speak anyways.

Raelynn licked her lips and looked up across the room, where Dean and Sam were sat at the small table. “Did we decide on food? I have some cash, I can help.”

Dean was satisfied when Sam offered up the suggestion of pizza. While he wasn't going to have a pizza specifically, he was aiming for a calzone with beef and bacon inside of it. Like a bacon cheeseburger pie. There was no way to go wrong with it, not really. He was just coming to the conclusion when he looked up, just as Raelynn spoke up. He scoffed, giving a roll of his eyes.

"No. Keep your money," Dean answered with a shake of his head. As far as he was concerned, Raelynn wasn't going to be paying for anything on this little trip of theirs. He stood, heading over to her, offering up a menu for the place that Sam had offered up.

"They have a bunch of other stuff if you don't want pizza," Dean offered after a moment, moving his weight from one foot to the next. He cleared his throat before turning away from her, shrugging his shoulders when he made eye contact with Sam. "Make sure you pick out a dessert. They have apple pie and I'm not sharing."

Raelynn waited until Dean wasn’t facing her anymore to roll her eyes. She hated it when he did that. She wasn’t nearly even half the hunter that they were, the least she could do to actually help would be to throw twenty dollars towards some food every now and then. She figured she would just sneak some gas into the Impala in order to help out.

Raelynn looked over the menu, deciding to go ahead and go with a small sub sandwich and she opted for the cherry pie, knowing that even if Dean had his own he would still be trying to steal some of hers. She wrote down her order and placed it on the table for Sam to call in.

“Thanks guys,” she said before turning around and making her way back to the couch.

Once Sam had placed the order, Dean groaned as he sat up from the bed. He grumbled under his breathe before finally pushing himself to his feet. He took a few steps toward the door before turning around, a small frown on his lips. "I'm going to leave now so I can stop somewhere to grab some beer," he declared to the other two occupants.

His gaze flicked to Raelynn and he let out a small sigh, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "Do you want to come with? That way I can drop you to grab the food while I grab the booze," he offered, hoping that he didn't seem too desperate. It was better if he kept as much distance between them as he could because should the wrong thing happen, Dean knew it would hurt more than just the two of them.

Raelynn looked up at Dean when she realized that he was talking to her. She hoped that her face didn’t betray her by showing just how shocked she was that Dean was asking for her to come with. “Yeah,” her voice came out high pitched, causing her to clear her throat and shake her head. She tried to keep it cool as she spoke again, “Yeah, sure, I mean whatever. If I can help, yeah. You know.”

Raelynn knew she was making an ass out of herself, nonetheless, she stood up and grabbed her jacked and shrugged it on before following Dean outside. She wasn’t sure if she should try and strike up a conversation or just keep her mouth closed. But after ten minutes of silence, she couldn’t bare it. “So how ya been? You both seem pretty well.”

Dean hated just how comfortable he felt when he pulled away from the motel. It was so easy to just want to take off and make his own little corner of the world into his own. With Raelynn. It would be so easy but it was only a matter before things would turn sour. That was just the sort of life that Dean would have for the remainder of his days - it was the sort that most hunters ended up leading. By choice or force.

Glancing over when Raelynn broke the silence, Dean could only bring himself to shrug. "As good as we can, right? Same shit, different day," he muttered with a sigh. He readjusted, straightening up as he pulled up to the liquor store. "Coming in?" Dean asked, turning toward her with a raised eyebrow.

Raelynn nodded and got out of the vehicle. She had to keep herself from reaching for Dean’s hand, something that she had longed to do for quite some time. But they weren’t together anymore. As they weeks had passed, and eventually turned into months, it had become glaring obvious to Raelynn that this was the new normal. But being in such a close proximity to Dean, and it being just the two of them, brought back a lot of memories.

Raelynn watched as Dean picked out some beer. She cleared her throat and asked quietly, “Mind if I get a bottle of whiskey?” Raelynn had a feeling that she was going to need it in order to sleep that night. “Still kinda surreal me being back here with you two. Kinda want to relax.”

Going into a liquor store was routine for Dean at this point. On most nights once they were done dealing with whatever was the case at the time, Dean drank himself into a stupor so that he could sleep soundly. So that Raelynn wouldn't plague his dreams, so that his decisions wouldn't follow him into his nightmares. Liquor runs were routine for most hunters, Dean just had another demon or two lurking in the dark that he had to try and forget.

Glancing up at the sound of Rae's voice, Dean flashed a grin and gave a nod of his head. "Whatever you want. We'll probably want it to get through the rest of the day, huh?" When Raelynn had made her decision, Dean headed for the tills, deciding to grab a bottle of scotch on the way. He would need something a bit stronger for tonight.

As Dean stood in front of Raelynn, she couldn’t help but stair at the man. She couldn’t help but notice he was wearing that stupid fucking flannel that she loved and the dumb jeans that fit him so well. As soon as they were out of the store and in the Impala on their way to get the pizza, Raelynn was reaching into the back and grabbing the whiskey. She uncapped it and took a long swig, allowing it to burn down her chest.

When she noticed that Dean was eyeing her, she shrugged and offered him a small smirk. “Trying to get a head start and a good night’s sleep.” When they pulled to the pizzeria, Raelynn ran in and got all of their food and headed back out to the impala. She put the food in the back seat before slipping back in front once more. “They almost forgot our pies.”