sinka

Dean scowled at the fountain his brother had been looking at in awe for several minutes already. He just didn’t get it. It was old, and not that big. The white long pedestal in the centre was maybe a little too long, and it made the stylized statue on top look even smaller. But the worst part was that he knew for a fact that it was tremendously inaccurate.

Dean was definitely. Not. Impressed.

“I really think he should be taller.”

Sam snickered. “Dean...”

“I’m serious! Look at those wings. Cas would kick his ass in a heartbeat!”

“Well, I bet the sculptor didn’t have the chance to use a real angel as a model.”

Dean looked around. There were quite a few couples strolling through the park, but none of them were paying any attention to them or the fountain.

“Okay, I give up. What are we doing here? Why is this statue so interesting? It’s just an angel!”

They had been all packed up and ready to go when Sam had said out of the blue that he wanted to see something before leaving and had dragged him to a large park in Madrid. It was called “Buen Retiro” and according to Sam one of the oldest and most beautiful ones in the city, as it used to be the king’s private garden.

Yes, sometimes he did listen to his brother’s inane chatter. But it still didn’t help him to understand Sam’s thoughts process any better.

“It’s not any angel, Dean,” Sam explained with a sigh. “Look, do you see how he seems to be half-lying down? You’re in front of the only statue in the whole world dedicated to the Fallen Angel.”

Dean made a disbelieving sound at the back of his throat. “The Fallen Angel? You mean the Devil?”

Sam shrugged. “I read about it when I was researching and wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

“Crazy Spaniards,” Dean muttered. “I don’t understand why anybody would want to build a monument to Satan.”

Sam shook his head. “You are wrong, Dean. It’s not Satan or the Devil, at least not yet. Right now he’s still Luzbel, the most beautiful angel in creation. This statue captures his fall, the exact moment he was expelled from Heaven.”

“You really are a geek,” he snorted.

“Do you see his face? All that surprise, outrage and sadness... I think I can understand why people feel moved when they see it.”

There was something really close to compassion in Sam’s voice, and it gave Dean the creeps.

“No way,” he growled. “You don’t get to start feeling pity or sympathy for that son of a bitch after everything that’s happened! You hear me? You just don’t!”

“I don’t, Dean. I would never excuse what he has done.” Sam awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “But before everything went sour he had a family in which he felt loved and safe and it was suddenly snatched from him. His father expelled him and his most beloved brother was the one to push him down.”

“So what?” Dean was not impressed. Again. “He’s a spoiled child with family issues. I’ll give him the number of a good shrink. All that crap still doesn’t give him the right to throw a tempter tantrum of epic proportions and decide he wants to annihilate the human race. ”

Sam couldn’t deny it. “I’m not defending him, Dean. I’m not. But it’s still sad.” He lowered his voice. “He lost everything he loved and let himself be consumed by despair and loneliness until there was nothing left of him. Until he went mad and became another person altogether. And I think...” He hesitated. “I think I can relate to that.”

Seriously, as much as Dean loved his brother, Sam really tended to think too much and complicate things unnecessarily. “Well, you shouldn’t. You are nothing like him.”

“Maybe I’m just luckier.”

“You are stronger and better. It’s like comparing a Prius to an Impala for God’s sake!”

Sam chuckled and Dean felt a flush of embarrassment creep up his face.

“And which one am I supposed to be? Because I don’t think it’s...”

“Don’t you dare finishing that sentence!” Dean raised a finger in warning. “Priuses are evil and you know it! Impalas are sturdy and reliable and... and stop fishing for compliments, damn it!”

Sam dropped his gaze, smiling shyly. And Dean’s stomach fluttered. Because Sam was smiling. It was not a grimace, a smirk or a snort, but an honest to God light-up-the-room Sammy trademark smile. Before this trip he hadn’t even realized how long it had been since his brother had smiled for real (nor did he want to really think too deeply about it), but now every time he managed to put a smile on the kid’s face he felt like world was a brighter place.

Like he was slowly, but surely, recovering lost ground.

“Well,” Dean sighed. “Lucifer is a crazy son of a bitch, but there’s something I won’t deny.”

Sam looked at him in surprise. “What?”

“Michael is a fucking shitty big brother.”

And there it was. Dean’s stomach made another flip-flop.

“Yes, he is,” Sam grinned.

They looked at each other for a second, but then Dean broke contact and cleared his throat. He wasn’t quite ready for any more chick-flick moments.

“Okay, you’ve seen enough.” He patted his brother’s back. “I’m starving so let’s go!”

“Where are we going?”

“You wanted to see the Devil’s monument, I wouldn’t mind trying a couple more of those Spanish dishes,” Dean conceded. “But afterwards, there’s no excuses, we’re going home!”

“Home?”

“The States, of course! Do you know how much I’ve missed driving my baby? The open roads, the wind in my hair...”

Sam snorted. “The run down motels, the greasy dinners...”

“It’s all part of the charm. But do you know what I miss most?”

Sam made an educated guess. “Pie?”

“Well, duh!” Dean huffed. “But no, I mean other than that.”

“King-sized burgers?”

Dean threw up his arms in frustration. “No! I’m talking about people speaking a civilized language! I’m sick of not understanding a word of what’s being said around me!”

“That’s your problem,” Sam pointed out. “And I’ll have you know Spanish is a civilized language.”

“Yeah, you keep thinking that.” Dean started walking down the gravy path, Sam stepping by his side.

“By the way, Dean, are you totally sure we should ask Cas to take us? He’s probably busy and we could just buy a plane ticket.”

“Nonsense, he won’t mind and I’m not setting foot on a plane ever again. Besides,” Dean smirked evilly. “That’s what we have our own angel for.”

“He’s not your private jet, you know.” Sam tried to keep a straight face.

Dean turned, raising an eyebrow. “Says who?”

Sam’s open, hearty laugh echoed loudly through the trees.