target practice (open)

[Deleted]

Sam, was all about routine. Target practice, was routine. He had chosen a remote location, out in the middle of the woods outside of the city limits so that he had less chance of a stray bullet accidentally hitting someone with a pulse and not the soda cans that he had taken from the trash can in their hotel room.

Pulling the trigger was only a matter of squeezing. However, he had come to realize that there was only going to be so long where he could be insisting that the trails weren't affecting him that much. He had already missed one time more than normal. Of course, Dean didn't believe him when he insisted he was perfectly okay, but that didn't mean Sam was going to admit that something was wrong.

Maybe he was just getting rusty. After all, when was the last time he had actually fired a gun? Even one day was enough to make someone get a little bad at what they had been good at, if they didn't keep up with the rhythm.
Sam stopped shooting temporarily, pausing to reload, and make sure that it wasn't possible for anything to jam. He was in the middle of the woods, it's always possible to get caught off guard.

[Dean Winchester]

To say that things between the Winchester boys were strained was putting it mildly.
But who could blame them?
Sammy hadn't been the same since starting the trials. Hell, if we're being completely honest here he hadn't been the same since Satan had him down in the pit. And he some major issues about Dean not trusting him. Unfortunately Dean didn't trust him. Not to hunt by himself at least. Not that Dean wouldn't lay his life on the line for his baby brother and knew Sam would do the same, just, after what the guy had gone through? Having one big boot in the grave back there in that church with Crowley?
He had some healing to do before the elder hunter was gon' let him get back out there on his own.

So you can imagine how freakin' pissed the hell off Dean was when he woke up to the sound of the Impala's engine firing up and Sam tearing out of the hotel parking lot in the middle of the night.
Only clad in boxer shorts the hunter leapt out of bed, burst through the door, and ran out into the car park after him waving like a naked mad man.
It was too late of course. Either Sam hadn't seen him or else he was ignoring his brother. Which Dean wouldn't have been surprised if he was as he felt more like a nanny lately than the cool big older brother.

Cursing, Dean stormed back into the room and got busy throwing on some jeans and shoving his feet into his boots and tucking some weapons away on his person once he was fully dressed. He went back out into the night and looked around as if the quiet lot might hold the answer to life's eternal question, and cursed when his hazel eyes landed on a kids bike strapped to the bumper of a car.

He knew his brother. I mean, he REALLY knew him. Knew exactly where the younger hunter would go to target practice in the sleepy little town they were calling home for the time being.
An hour later Dean when he spotted his 'baby' parked on the side of the highway he  accidently rang the little bell on the front of the kids bike cause his knees were all squashed up and the seat was way too small.
The hunter jumped off the bike and let it drop to the ground, calling out Sam's name loudly and clearly before trudging into the woods.

He heard a shot pop off and echo amongst the trees so he went 'round the other way, coming out of the clearing just in time to see Sam fire once more.
"What in the HELL are you doing, Sam."
Dean was pissed. You could hear it in his gruff voice, and see it in the tight flinch of his square jaw.
"Sneaking out in the middle of the night like an effing teenager? The hell is up with that?"

[Deleted]

Normalcy. It was all that Sam had wanted for the longest time. What did normal people do when they couldn't sleep? They'd turn on the television set and watch the crimes and the supernatural take place within the safety of their home while the glow lit up their house. Sam, however, had assumed it was beneficial to go shoot things. However, as Lucifer had once explained to him the gun was safety. It was defense but it was also a quick way to end things if he had to. As he had seriously considered not too long ago. Unfortunately, having a weapon in his hand had become normal. Was it even possible to have avoided this point in his life story? Or was it an unavoidable detail?

Of course, before Sam could get yet another shot off, there was Dean bursting out of the clearing. He was wearing the kind of expression that John would wear when he snuck out, anger, although maybe there was some worry in the lines of his older brothers face. It was hard to tell beyond the shouting that reverberated against the forest walls of pine green that was surrounding them.

"I couldn't sleep," Sam explained in a low voice.

He figured that at this point he shouldn't lie, and that was the truth. He hadn't been able to sleep so he had taken the car and gone out to shoot things.

"Maybe if you'd just let me breathe for a minute I wouldn't have to sneak out, alright?" Sam muttered.

Now he'd done it. It was something he shouldn't have said, and that yes, he was going to regret.

[Dean Winchester]

Hells yeah Dean was wearing the kind of face that John had worn on many occasions...the elder Winchester had seen it every time he'd gotten caught sneaking out, which was too many times to remember!
Only thing was back then the young playboy had been sneaking out to get a piece of ass, not land it in hot water with all the big, bad uglies that had been seeking them out lately.

And no...it didn't freaking matter that Sam had a perma-case of insomnia. What was new? There was a half way decent all -adult- movies- all- the- time channel on the hotel room television and about a million websites on the lap top to keep a non-sleeper busy.
Dean was just about to tell his little bro that when Sammy had to go and make it personal, and the tick that was working in the older hunter's jaw tightened and his green-blue eyes narrowed in pain.

"Yeah... well maybe if you could breath without it blowing open all kinds of trouble I'd give you a minute. Or  five. C'mon Sam!" Dean answered sullenly, trying his best to hide the fact Sam's words felt like a corporal shot to the gut.
"Besides, that's my baby you left out there for any teenage rebel with a Mohawk and a pair of skinny jeans to break into. The least you could do was park it somewhere hidden."


That's it. That's the ticket. Humor was always a good band aid  for whatever wounds were bleeding. Physical -and- emotional.

[Deleted]

Sam wished it could be as simple as Dean wanted it to be. But Dean's lack of emotional reasoning had made it impossible for Sam to reason with his brother in this situation. Or any situation, really. He wasn't going to be able to sleep, but most of all Sam wanted to get back into the hunting game as quickly as he possibly could. Playing on the sidelines was no one's favorite thing, and hunting was his sport. While once upon a time he wanted to get out of hunting, now it was the only thing he felt that gave his life an actual purpose after what had happened in his relativity short life.

Of course, Sam was not making the current situation any worse by snapping Dean, but he was already on a roll.

"What did I do this time?" He asked, while putting the safety on the gun and putting it back underneath his jacket. "Nothing even happened Dean!"

Dean mentioned his worry about the car though and this time, Sam finally picked his battles and nodded, although with the way his jaw was set it was obvious that he wasn't entirely pleased about the topic change.

"Right," He snapped rather bitterly. "I'll be sure to remember that next time."

That was if he was lucky enough to get access to the car keys to make a next time.

[Dean Winchester]

Dean was pissed. Damn right he was pissed!
Sam was being irresponsible yet again and the elder Winchester was tired of the young man putting himself into unnecessary danger.
Dean didn't want to feel like he couldn't trust Sam out on his own anymore, but goddamn it, he couldn't help it!

Nothing had happened this time...yet. That was because he had shown up. Dean wasn't stupid. He knew all the demons knew what he knew...which was that his brother wasn't safe out here alone.

Sam had grown weak during the trials. Hell, he'd almost given his life at the end; when he was so close to curing Crowley and completing the last test.
It was no secret that though Sam could still hold a gun and shoot, his hands were too shaky; his confidence wavering.
Dean didn't think the man could hit the broad side of a barn at this point!

But that was okay. He'd get there again...with help from his older brother. They were gonna' do this together.

More than annoyance or ire, Dean was worried about his younger sibling. He saw flashes of defeat and doubt in the hunter's unfathomably sad eyes and the elder hunter was worried it would drive a wedge between them.  Again.
Dean so didn't want to go there...

Inhaling deeply, the tawny haired Winchester held it in briefly while he forced a false calm. He resolved to let things go. For now.
Dean exhaled a cloud of white vapor and clapped his hands absently as if to clear the air.
"Okay Sammy. You wanna shoot? Let's shoot."

The hunter glanced around for a moment until he spotted his target; a silver can lying in the damp grass. Walking over to the empty, he plucked it off the ground and reached up to place it in the 'v' between two tree branches.
Dean moved to rejoin his brother; an impish smirk on his chiseled face.

This was good. Nothing like a little target practice to help the brothers bond.

"Hit that."