tarotgal

Summary: Scenes of hurt/comfort from before
Sam figures about about Dean's care-giving kink...
and scenes set afterward.
Pairing: Dean/Sam | Rating: Various (G through NC-17)

Part 24. A Before

This is a mess. More than their usual amount of mess, even.

“Deeeeeean’d, I really deed a tissue…”

“I know, kiddo. Just hang on a couple more minutes, okay? We’re almost at the motel.”

“hah… ahhh…”

“Just try not to sneeze, okay?” It’d be better if Sam didn’t sneeze. They both knew that. But asking Sam not to sneeze when he had a raging head cold was asking the impossible. They both knew that too.

Sam’s nose wrinkles at the bridge. His nostrils flare with each hard sniff. His lips press together tightly, a thin line. But his jaw trembles. His nose twitches. His breath catches. “hahh… ah… ahh-Hah-CHISHHHHH!” He snaps forward, sneezing freely toward the dashboard of the car.

Dean winces. “Sorry, baby.” He reaches past the steering wheel to pet the car.

Sam’s indignant sniff makes Dean chuckle. He pulls into a parking place at the motel as Sam sniffs and wiggles his nose, as if that’ll rid it of the tickles. It doesn’t. He needs to rub his nose. He needs to blow it. And he can’t. “Deeeeeeeean’d?”

Out and rounding the car, Dean opens Sam’s door. Sam takes a deep breath and throws himself forward with more force than the sneeze. There’s a smacking sound as he unsticks from the seat. He looks back at it, at the sap left dripping and sticking there, though there’s still more on him than on the seat. “Sorry.” He follows Dean into the motel room.

Dean gets a towel for him to sit on. Then he runs warm water into the ice bucket and gathers up all the washcloths and hand towels placed around the bathroom. Last, Dean pries the tissue box out from under the bathroom sink and takes it with him. He pulls up a chair and sits facing Sam, who’s slumped over a little on the edge of the bed, the backs of his jeans already sticking to the bedspread.

His breath catches. “Sor… oh… hah… have to… hehh…”

As Sam struggles to hold it back, Dean whips out a tissue. He holds it up to Sam’s face, not wanting to touch him, or else the tissues will stick to Sam, but wanting to touch him, to comfort him all the same.

“hehhhh-IHFPshhhh! Heckishhhh! Ugh… sorry. Sniff! I’b sorry. So wet.”

Dean carefully dabs at Sam’s nose, the part that is too runny to be sticky. Then Dean tosses the tissues and starts to work on cleaning. The sap is virtually colorless but thick and strong. It doesn’t budge as Dean scrubs a damp washcloth over Sam’s palms. But once Dean adds some rubbing alcohol to the mixture in the bucket, the sap starts to come off.

Not nearly soon enough, however. “ahhh… eh… I… hahh… gotta sn… hahhhh…” Once again, Dean grabs a tissue and holds it up. “ehshCHUhhhhh!” Sam sneezes at the tissue. He tries to nuzzle in afterward, to rub his still tickling nose, but Dean pulls back. With it comes the tissue. He tries to toss it toward the trash basket, but the tissue is now stuck to his hand.

“Shit.”

“Shit,” Sam agrees. “I’b so sorry.”

“S’okay,” Dean says, flailing his hand and arm about, with the tissue remaining in place. He tries to pull it off with his other hand, but the sap just ensures he ends up with a tissue ripped down the middle and stuck to both hands.

And Sam’s sneezy again already.

“hehhh… heh-sorry! Hah-EHKIShhhh!” This time, Sam sneezes right into Dean’s cupped hands, both of which come with tissues now. “S-sorry.”

“It’s all right.” The reassurance is hollow as Dean looks down at his hands. Then he cups them both to Sammy’s nose. “Gimmie a good blow and maybe we’ll get rid of some tickles for the rest of this cleanup.”

It’s probably too much to ask; they both know that. But Sam does it and Dean rips the strips of tissues from his hands afterwards.

“B’sorry,” Sam snuffles. “You bust be hatig this. Here… wipe off by hadd so I cad at least rub by owd dose.” He sticks his hand out again, palm up.

Dean hesitates, staring at it for a few long seconds. Then he wipes the warm washcloth against the nape of Sam’s neck, deciding it’s the first place he wants to kiss.