The Few The Proud by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
boysinperil for <user site="livejournal.co
Mar. 21st, 2015 11:16 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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spn_springflingTitle: The Few The Proud
Pairing: Dean, Sam, John gen
Rating: G
Any warnings: none
Dean swore he started it, when at age five he hid a plastic snake he "found" at the Goodwill in baby Sammy's favorite blanket. Sam says, of course, that this is nonsense; he loves snakes and would never have cried. Also, he was like two, Dean. Sam's version is something about Saran Wrap and a motel toilet, which he learned from a boy at school and which got him grounded to the Impala for a week when John hit the head before Dean did.
The reality is, John started it.
Not right away, of course. He spent the first year and a half after That Night hanging on by his fingernails; most days he barely remembered he had children at all. But sooner or later even mindless grief eases , and one day he blinked and realized he had a six year old and a two year old and almost no idea of how to raise them alone. Pranking may not have been the best parenting decision, but it felt so good to do something so normal, so Dad-like, with his boys. Of course, he hadn't learned it from his own dad, but the Marines were a fine replacement.
And the boys were so much fun to prank. The first one John remembers is switching the filling in Dean's knock-off gas station Oreos with toothpaste. The look on his face was freaking priceless; John couldn't remember the last time he laughed so hard. Kid must have been six, maybe seven; old enough to start learning how to play. He couldn't condone Dean pranking Sammy much, of course - he was so much younger - but he taught Sam some easy things, like switching the sugar for salt for Dean's cereal. He was only a little bit mad when Dean got back at him with the same trick. Wasted a perfectly good cup of coffee.
As the boys got older and more creative, John drew the line at physical harm or anything that caused property damage to the motel or apartment where they were staying. He didn't need Dean coming up slow on a hunt because of some stupid prank, or a manager busting his ass because the boys overflowed the bathtub trying to one-up each other. They were good boys, but pretty damned competitive, and things could get out hand if he wasn't there to squash them. They had gotten carried away a time or two, when John had to be gone a little longer than he figured to be, although never emergency room or child protective services carried away, thank god. He'd get home, exhausted and filthy and ready for another drink and a hot shower, and they'd be there trying to convince him that Dean had gotten a black eye from sparring, or Sam was covered in a rash because of the cheap motel soap. Sometimes it make him laugh, and sometimes it just got on his last nerve. It was much harder to explain Sam losing half of his hair; they hadn't talked to each other for about three weeks after that one, and John vowed to keep them on prank-lockdown. Unfortunately, he hadn't had to try very long; within six months of that one Sam had walked out; slammed the door on them, his life and his family.
It wasn't nearly as much fun with just Dean.
Pairing: Dean, Sam, John gen
Rating: G
Any warnings: none
Dean swore he started it, when at age five he hid a plastic snake he "found" at the Goodwill in baby Sammy's favorite blanket. Sam says, of course, that this is nonsense; he loves snakes and would never have cried. Also, he was like two, Dean. Sam's version is something about Saran Wrap and a motel toilet, which he learned from a boy at school and which got him grounded to the Impala for a week when John hit the head before Dean did.
The reality is, John started it.
Not right away, of course. He spent the first year and a half after That Night hanging on by his fingernails; most days he barely remembered he had children at all. But sooner or later even mindless grief eases , and one day he blinked and realized he had a six year old and a two year old and almost no idea of how to raise them alone. Pranking may not have been the best parenting decision, but it felt so good to do something so normal, so Dad-like, with his boys. Of course, he hadn't learned it from his own dad, but the Marines were a fine replacement.
And the boys were so much fun to prank. The first one John remembers is switching the filling in Dean's knock-off gas station Oreos with toothpaste. The look on his face was freaking priceless; John couldn't remember the last time he laughed so hard. Kid must have been six, maybe seven; old enough to start learning how to play. He couldn't condone Dean pranking Sammy much, of course - he was so much younger - but he taught Sam some easy things, like switching the sugar for salt for Dean's cereal. He was only a little bit mad when Dean got back at him with the same trick. Wasted a perfectly good cup of coffee.
As the boys got older and more creative, John drew the line at physical harm or anything that caused property damage to the motel or apartment where they were staying. He didn't need Dean coming up slow on a hunt because of some stupid prank, or a manager busting his ass because the boys overflowed the bathtub trying to one-up each other. They were good boys, but pretty damned competitive, and things could get out hand if he wasn't there to squash them. They had gotten carried away a time or two, when John had to be gone a little longer than he figured to be, although never emergency room or child protective services carried away, thank god. He'd get home, exhausted and filthy and ready for another drink and a hot shower, and they'd be there trying to convince him that Dean had gotten a black eye from sparring, or Sam was covered in a rash because of the cheap motel soap. Sometimes it make him laugh, and sometimes it just got on his last nerve. It was much harder to explain Sam losing half of his hair; they hadn't talked to each other for about three weeks after that one, and John vowed to keep them on prank-lockdown. Unfortunately, he hadn't had to try very long; within six months of that one Sam had walked out; slammed the door on them, his life and his family.
It wasn't nearly as much fun with just Dean.
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no subject
Date: 2015-03-22 09:36 am (UTC)Those last two sentences really hurt, though...
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Date: 2015-03-22 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-22 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-22 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-24 06:27 pm (UTC)I love the idea of John starting the prank wars, wanting and having a little touch of a normal in his father and son relationships. I also loved how you handled the change of tone here, from humour, to heartbreak and back again. Beautifully crafted.
Thank you for sharing :)
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Date: 2015-03-24 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-27 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-28 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-28 11:49 pm (UTC)