Title: Father's Smile
Fandom: Supernatural
Author: Mar
Spoilers: None
Character/Pairing: John, Sam/Dean
Summary: A father reflects on his sons.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Never will. *sigh*
Notes: I should be writing Christian Kane/Jensen Ackles/Steve Carlson for simplybeing (which I am in the middle of), but this came into my head and here is it.

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It should have surprised John Winchester the first time he found his boys in bed together. Five and nine. Sammy had crawled into his older brother's bed, Dean's arm around him protectively. In the dim glow of the nightlight John could see the tracks left behind from tears recently shed. A nightmare had driven little Sammy to his brother. He smiled with fatherly pride because he knew Dean would protect his little brother to the end.

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It should have surprised John Winchester the first time he witnessed his sons sharing a stolen kiss when they didn't think he could see. Sixteen and twenty. They had both grown so fast and they were old enough to know what they wanted. They only ever had each other and John knew he was partly to blame for that. He hadn't given them the normal life they deserved. It shouldn't have been that way, but still he smiled because he knew Dean was still taking care of his brother and to him that was all that mattered.

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A few years later, after Sammy had shot up to six foot four and towered over his brother, John left the boys alone to follow a lead. He came home to their rented apartment sooner than planned and found his boys on the living room couch. Hands down each other's pants. The moment he stepped inside, they pulled away from each other. Sammy had fled the room in embarrassment. His twenty two year old fixed himself up and stood, ready to take the brunt of his father's anger. John knew he had a right to be angry, appalled, but he'd had his suspicions for years. He told his son good night and left him with a fatherly smile.

****
The next year, his youngest informed him he was going to college. And they argued, but deep down, that pride was still there. His boys were going to be separated and he could see the conflicted emotions in Dean's eyes. Dean wanted to be happy for his brother, but Sammy was leaving him for another life. A different one that didn't involve them. Sammy had betrayed whatever had gone on between them. And that only made John angrier.

****
When next he saw his boys together, it didn't surprise him that time, in fact heal certain wounds. His boys were, in some ways happier now that they were reunited. They had fallen back on old ways. He could see it in the way they looked at one another. Brothers and more. He had learned to accept it if it made them stronger. If they were happy, John Winchester had plenty of reasons to smile.

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