how do you think dean feels about aging? obviously we know he never expected to live very long, so when he does i’m sure he’s thankful as hell!! but things like wrinkles, hearing loss, bad eyes, other disabilities that come with age — how do you think he takes it? especially when he was such a physical POWERHOUSE in his prime.
AHH GOOD QUESTION THANK YOU!!!
In general, yeah, every day is a gift because he never would've thought he'd live this long, especially not to see retirement. It wouldn't hit him until his birthday, when he's now in his forties, mid-forties, his fifties, mid-fifties, and so on. Watching his kids get older too would really make him feel old.
But looks-wise, Dean is largely in denial, as we see here
(courtesy of arcanespillo)
I don't think that would change lmao. I think it would take someone else pointing something out to make him feel conscious about it. Like the "What's a dad bod?" moment that one episode (it's escaping me rn I can picture it clear as day). But I think generally he's confident enough in his looks that it doesn't bother him. Especially since he's in a loving, committed relationship.
His body degrading would be much more disheartening (as you've seen in my ficlet about his bad knees) Like, he loves his new quiet retirement life. He still works out regularly and stays in shape in case he does need to fight, so he definitely could be worse-off if he wasn't exercising, but he still lived a really hardcore lifestyle and that did some damage. I think losing his hearing and eyesight would be difficult but losing his mobility would hit him like a truck. At first, he just powers through (to his own detriment later on when he's sore for the next day or two) and he learns the hard way he's better off taking it easier in the first place. But that takes a mental toll as well. It's hard, adjusting to this new normal and letting go of things he used to do, letting go of how his body used to be. He really beats himself up for it. But he has a good support system in his partner who accommodates his needs and they figure everything out together 💖
