The Long Way Home (Dean Winchester x Reader)

Epilogue

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You left the shower feeling dirtier than when  you entered and Dean had a grin plastered on his face that you couldn't  wipe off, not that you wanted to. You loved seeing him happy and  carefree if only for a night.

Afterwards, you and Dean settled  onto the couch to watch your show, though you weren't five minutes into  the first episode when you heard him snoring. The poor guy was exhausted  from hunting, training, worrying; he never took a break, as much as you  tried to force him to.

And when he did rest he was plagued by  nightmares, typically ones of losing you or Sam. Sometimes he'd even  wake you up in the middle of the night by screaming out your name.  Whenever you asked him about them, he told you that they used to be a  lot worse before you moved in, though you couldn't imagine that in the  beginning.

They were few and far between now, but you could  always tell when he was having one even if it was just a single twitch  of his lip. On those nights you held him a little tighter and in the  morning you'd wake tangled up with him, sweating through your pyjamas  simply because he ran hot, though you didn't mind. It beat those nights  alone in your drafty apartment where your feet felt like icicles no  matter how many blankets you used.

"Bedtime, De." You whispered, shaking him awake lightly. "Come on, big guy."

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In  the early morning you set out to visit your brother for dinner. Sam  stayed behind to do a little research, you thought there may have been  an ulterior motive on his part, though you weren't sure what that was  yet. Dean didn't seem too interested, only saying that Sam had a right  to his privacy and when he wanted to talk about something with you, he  would. You weren't exactly known as the patient type and Dean loved  egging you on like that when curiosity got the best of you. He thought  it was cute.

Not long after you moved in with Dean and Sam, your  brother had been offered another promotion in a bigger city because  let's face it, he's Simon. And Simon was a workaholic if you ever knew  one. Anyways, he'd sold his house and moved out to St. Louis where he  got back together with June. That was one of the selling points, that  June already lived there.

You were sad now that he lived so far  away but you knew he was safer from demons living in a much larger city.  Especially since he and June got married and he opted to change his  last name to Moore, as in Mr. June Moore. That's right, he took her last  name. The union had been a long time coming, since they'd been best  friends for years before even dating and all. You always thought that  they were made for each other and you couldn't be happier for him.

And  how much of a small world was it when you learned that June's younger  sister, Jessica, had dated Sam in college. The Moore's hit a rough patch  after her death and as much as you and Simon were there for them, their  parents wound up separating and moving out to St. Louis afterwards. You  were speechless when Dean told you that a yellow-eyed demon had been  involved in her death.

June followed her parents after college,  wanting to be close to the family she had left and her and Simon  navigated a long-distance relationship for a while. Until the trip with  you where he ended things, but now they were closer and stronger than  ever and you couldn't be more elated that they were finally together  again for good.

Of course, he told June everything about the  possession and the supernatural, and Dean even helped out by letting him  bring her by the bunker to check things out for herself. In the end she  couldn't deny that she still loved him, but made him promise not to get  into hunting, which you were more than fine with. You'd lost enough  already and you liked the idea of your brother staying as far out of  harm's way as possible.

It was a much longer drive now that Simon  lived seven and a half hours away, but you loved going for long drives  in Baby with Dean by your side and the radio on low. It reminded you of  when you first met and you loved the feel of that nostalgia. It had been  the best night of your life, in hindsight. You'd found your guy, the  one that made you feel safe, happy and content, all in a single glance.  The one you never thought you'd find.

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It was the  first time you really sat down with your brother after dinner and  talked. Sure, you helped him move and you were at his wedding which was  intimate. But you had a bit of a falling out after moving in with Dean;  Simon didn't think it was safe and made that abruptly clear which  created a bit of bad blood between him and Dean. You knew it was only  because you were the last family he had left in the world and he cared  about you in his own way.

So tonight was all about clearing the  air and to your surprise Dean had made good on his promise to start a  new slate with Simon. He couldn't exactly blame him anyway, since he  partially agreed with your brother's worries, but that's another story.

"We're  still a family even if you have a different last name now. I'd do  anything for you." You proclaimed, hugging Simon at the end of the night  when you and Dean were set to leave. "Call me anytime, even if you just  wanna shoot the shit." You said, making your brother laugh as you waved  goodbye.

"Same goes for you, kid." Simon said, you chuckled  loving the fact that both your brothers had the same nickname for you.  They really were cut from the same cloth in a way.

"Are you sure  you're ready to go so soon, we can stay a bit longer." Dean questioned  as you walked to the car with his hand in yours.

"That's okay,  we're in a good place now. Besides, I'd like to spend some time with  just me and you. Between all the training and studying lately we haven't  had much time together to just be." You smiled when he opened your door  for you. Joining you in the front seat a moment later. "Maybe we could  have Simon and June over for the holidays in a couple of months?"

"I  think that's a great idea," Dean beamed, pulling out onto the road and  heading for the highway. "We can have a big family dinner in the bunker  and they can even sleep over in one of the rooms if they want. I know  you would worry about them on the road at night."

"Have I told you recently that you're the best boyfriend?" You hummed, leaning in to peck a kiss to his cheek.

"Not today you haven't," he smirked, pulling you back in for another chaste kiss.

"Okay,  eyes on the road, Winchester." You giggled, kicking off your shoes and  resting your feet in his lap, leaning back against the passenger door.

It  was dark out and you didn't want to pull his attention away from the  road too much, especially since there was a long way to go yet. You  sighed at the feel of his hand lingering on your leg as he rubbed over  your calf. It felt like the first time he brought you home, the way he  couldn't keep his hands off of you.

"Anything else you want to do, Y/N/N, while we're still in the city?"

"I just wanna go home." You yawned, stretching out your toes and tickling Dean's thigh.

"Me  too." He smiled, gazing at you for a moment. He never could believe  that you were here with him, that you didn't leave him like everyone  else always seemed to do.

"De?"

"Yeah, baby."

"Let's  take the long way home." You smiled, figuring you could stop off at a  motel if the both of you got too tired, though at this moment you were  content snuggling to the seat with your feet in his lap.

"We already are, sweetheart." He smirked, giving you a sidelong glance before the road got too dark to see inside of the car.

You  stared out the window at the stars, the warmth of Dean's hand on your  leg kept you grounded and you finally knew what he meant by your  definition of home changing. You didn't get that feeling of  homesickness anymore and that's when you realized that you were already  there. It didn't matter if you were at the bunker or in a dingy motel  room or driving in Baby. No matter what, you knew you would always find  love and comfort and adventure, as long as you had him. You might've  taken the long way around to getting there, but you finally made it  home.  Because home is where the heart is.