#broment

It was Arizona, midsummer and what else was a boy of only twelve supposed to do on a hot boring day. They had been there a couple of weeks, enough time for Sam to have made a couple of friends and they had frequented the pool while Dean did other things that a teenage boy would do on dull afternoons unsupervised.

The girl had been on the edge of the bed, just close enough for a kiss when Sam had busted through the door. The boy was crying and his clothes were stained with splotches of blood. His conquest was quickly forgotten when Dean jumped up and hurried to his brother’s aid. After ushering the girl out of the room, Dean sat Sam down on the bed and went for the first aid kit.

When he had first come in, it was impossible to see the extent of damage his brother had sustained. But when he set the box on the bed next to Sam, he took the time to examine the young boy. There was sympathy etched on Dean’s face where Sam had thought would be amusement. Instead of picking on his brother, Dean began to pick out the cactus needles from his body.

For a while, neither of them had spoke. But that was when Dean had only removed the smaller less embedded thorns. It was when Sam flinched and began to whimper that Dean knew the worst was yet to come. “Just take a deep breath, okay?” Dean frowned as he grasped a thick barb with the pair of tweezers and his steady hand stilled until Sam obeyed. Before he even exhaled, Dean tugged on the spike and Sam gagged on a scream. “I’m sorry, Sam but we gotta get all these out and cleaned up so they don’t get infected.” He hated to have to torture his brother this way but he did what he had to to take care of him. “Just talk to me. Tell me what happened.” Maybe providing a distraction, Dean could make this as painless as possible.

Sam still hissed and whined but taking another deep breath, he allowed his shaky sniffling voice portray the tale. “I was riding my bike…” Dean knew that part, he had watched his little brother ride off not that long before this. Dean waited a moment for him to continue before he ripped another needle from his chest. “I was coming back here to get some money because the guys wanted to get ice cream after we went swim-Ow!” He yelled, sneering at Dean when a trickle of blood slid down his skin. The older brother grimaced apologetically but didn’t stop what he was doing. “Can’t you be gentler?”

Dean’s face fell flat when he looked at his brother. “Do I look like a nurse maid to you? You see me wearing candy stripers and heels? Shut up.” Sam pouted but didn’t complain again. “Go on with your story.”

“Well, my shoe was untied because I just threw them on quick after I got out of the pool.” The shame in Sam’s gaze made Dean realize what came next and he gave his brother an understanding smile. “The bike fell over and I went down the side of the road, rolling down bushes and cacti all the way down before I landed in a big cactus.” He was trying not to cry again, always wanting to be tough around his big brother. “No one was around to help so I had to climb up the slope on my own and push my bike here.”

Dean’s expression was so broken and guilty. Even though he could have done nothing, he always felt responsible for Sam. The younger boy could see where Dean’s thoughts had taken him. “It was my own fault, Dean. I was dumb. Accidents happen. I’m alright.”

“I knew I should have just gone with you.” It seemed as if the teen were angry as he carried on his tedious task and that made Sam frown. “And why didn’t anyone stop to fucking help? Does no one give a damn about a kid crashed on the side of the road?” Dean’s anger had made his touch more rough without meaning to and when Sam cried out, Dean winced. “Sorry, Sammy. Once we get you cleaned up, we’ll go for ice cream, okay?” Sam’s head nodded slowly. “Hey, it’s ok to cry, dude. It hurts. Sometimes you can’t help but cry.”

“But you don’t cry when you get hurt and you’ve had worse!” Sam iterated and Dean grinned.

“Yeah, well, I’m just tougher than you, bitch.” He laughed and Sam rolled his eyes but Dean was happy to see that the boy finally smiled. “Trust me, I would have cried too. Cactuses are a son of a bitch. You’re gonna just look like you got chicken pox or some shit. Might set you down in the park and use you as a sprinkler for the kids.”