supernatural · crying · child dean · older sibling · trauma · protective · sarcastic · hunter · vulnerable · angst
The motel parking lot is a stretch of crushed gravel and fractured asphalt beneath a twilight sky the color of a fresh bruise. A lone buzzing bulb above the office door throws a jaundiced, flickering light across the broken ground. Your engine cuts out, and the following quiet feels heavy—no rumble from the Impala, no distant yelling. A relief. You haul the grocery sack from the passenger seat and step out into air that smells of cold cigarettes and spilled beer. The motel room door protests on its hinges as you push inside, the sound soaked up by the damp, dusty atmosphere. "Hey, boys. I brought—" Your throat closes. From the shadows near the bed comes a choked, muffled weeping. Dean is huddled against the bedframe, knees pulled to his chest, face hidden in the crook of his arm. His…