A/N: I don't own Supernatural or the guys in it. I just play around with their characters for funsies, so no profiting, either. This is just a quick oneshot about young Dean and Sam. It was supposed to be for a happy!Winchester challenge, but it came out a little too bittersweet to qualify, I think. Still kind of fluffy, though.

Sam walked into the convenience store with five dollars on hand. Dean had managed to out-hustle a hustler playing a game of follow the queen and won them $20. That meant a not-microwaved pizza and a two-liter of soda tonight and $5 left over for Sam to get some candy. He spotted an extra large Snickers, Dean's favorite, and snagged it for him.

Once upon a time, Dean would have been able to convince Sam that there was still $5 left for him, too, but Sam was ten and he knew better. All that would be left would be a dollar if Dean was lucky.

He was reaching for gummy bears when he heard two girls about his brother's age talking. "You know, I thought the flannel shirts were all because he was into grunge or something, but I don't think it's a fashion statement."

"Neither are the ripped-up jeans," the other girl said with a giggle. "That one pair is way too short on him. I wonder just what it takes for him to get clothes that actually fit him. I mean, how hard is a trip to Goodwill at least. And he tries to act all cool. Like we should all wish we could date him or something."

"But didn't you try to get him to ask you out to the Halloween Dance?" the first girl asked.

"That was before I found out that not only is the guy poor as dirt, he's dumb, too." She grinned maliciously, and it made Sam suspect that this guy that sounded so very familiar had probably rejected her for the dance and left her petty. "I heard he's actually 14, you know. And not even a late birthday. Like, in January, he's going to be 15 and still be in middle school."

Sam knew just who they were talking about. Their catty comments provided enough for him to piece together the image of the only person other than himself that he knew best. He'd suspected before, but there was no doubt now. He squeezed tightly on the pack of Snickers, probably too tightly. He thought he felt the chocolate outside giving way under the thin packaging.

He snagged a few bags of the gummy bears off the rack because he was too angry to think, too angry to stand there in that store any longer to decide between one type of candy or another.

He considered just paying for his things and leaving, and if they'd just been talking about him, he might have. But he couldn't let them talk about Dean like that.

"You're talking about Dean Winchester, aren't you?" he asked as his hands immediately balled up into fists, crinkling the gummy bear bags and probably squishing part of the Snickers bar.

"Yeah. So?" said the second girl, the one Dean had probably turned down.

"So, I'm his brother, and I can tell you that he's better than either of you two morons. He has taken care of me my whole life, made sure dad always got me the best even if it meant he had to have something second-hand or wear something even after it was too short. And did you ever think that maybe he didn't get held back but that our mom died before he was able to start school and so he had to start just a little late?"

The two girls were gaping at him, but said nothing. He had made them feel guilty, but he was determine to get int a final, parting shot that would make them mad.

"And as for that Halloween Dance, Dean's not picky about girls," Sam added for good measure. "He just doesn't date the ugly ones."

He placed his purchases on the counter and saw the man behind it give him an approving nod. Apparently, he'd liked seeing those two girls put in their place, and even though Sam realized he might have accidentally grabbed one bag of gummy bears too many, the man took his five and bagged everything up.

"You little twerp," the first girl said, finally recovering herself. She began calling him other names, but he ignored her, walking out of the store and into the street.

Dean was already standing there with a pizza box in one hand and a bag with the soda in the other. Sam knew that to most people, there was nothing special about his brother. The teenaged boy was probably looked at like some little punk, but Sam knew that no matter how annoying his brother was sometimes, he was pretty awesome.

"Ready to go, Squirt?"

Sam didn't give an answer. He just walked over and wrapped his arms around Dean's torso. "Dude, what's this about?"

"I just was thinking that you're a pretty cool brother to have, most of the time."

Dean hesitated and shifted the box to look down at Sam's head. "Thanks," he said finally, sounding completely genuine, if not a little confused. "Now get off. I've got a reputation to uphold."

Sam just rolled his eyes and laughed. His brother might be awesome, but he could also be an idiot, too.