Through Everything
Turning to face forward, Sam muttered, “You’re a jerk.”
“And you’re a bitch,” Dean declared, knowing that it made Sam happy to hear that particular insult. He understood, too. Sam was still wary that Dean would hate him for his powers. To be fair to him, Dean knew he hadn’t given Sam any reason to trust him with his powers before. Now, though, he was going to be there for his brother, going to stand by him and support him, and he was going to push his brother into training them, just the same way he’d pushed his brother into training sessions with dad that had saved his life hundreds of times over. Carefully wiping over the wounds a few more times, Dean began casually, “That last hunt really messed you up, huh?”
Silence met him for a few moments, before Sam admitted, “I guess I’m not as strong as I thought.”
He shrugged after that, a helpless ‘what can you do?’ gesture. From Sam’s tone of voice, it sounded as if he really believed that as well, hoped it, even. Sighing, Dean folded the dirtied cloth, putting it aside on Sam’s rumpled sheets. Picking up the needle, he began to carefully sterilise it, giving him something to do with his hands as he tried to pick the right words, the right way to tell Sam that it wasn’t his power that was lacking, but his understanding of how to use it.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26094178/chapters/63471469
