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“You can come in, creep.”
Dean jolts a little, not realizing that Eileen could see him standing in the doorway. She turns to look at him with that grin of hers on her face, bright and mischievous and sweet, and motions him inside.
He walks in slowly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful feeling in the room. Eileen’s alone, standing in front of a full-length mirror, critically eyeing her appearance. He’d been watching her do that when she called him out, thinking, look at my sister. Look at my incredible, beautiful, badass sister.
Dean positions himself behind her in the mirror so she can read his lips as he talks. He clumsily tries to sign along; he’s definitely getting better, but his signs are nothing like Sam’s careful movements or the way they just seem to flow out of Cas and Eileen’s hands—it’s a learning process, he reminds himself. “Are you nervous?”
Eileen shakes her head firmly. She speaks as she signs for his benefit. “I’ve never been less nervous about anything in my life.”
“Good.” He watches as she smooths out the skirt of her dress for the umpteenth time, admiring the way it shimmers slightly in the midafternoon sunlight coming in through the window. It’s a pale, pale shade of green that Eileen had laughed about being very appropriate for a St. Patrick’s Day wedding. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She turns to look at him, and he’s startled to realize that there are tears in her eyes. He’s alarmed, and goes straight into big brother mode, reaching out to touch her shoulder, to hug her, to something , but she catches both of his hands and gently brings them down. “Can I tell you something, Dean?”
“Sure.” Internally, he’s panicking. What if she’s going to bail? It seems unlikely, seems crazy, but crazier things have happened in their lives, that’s for fucking sure.
Eileen must see it on his face, and she smiles, softer than usual. “It’s not anything bad.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I wanted to—” She stops short, hands hesitating in front of her, tears still shining in her eyes. Dean watches her carefully. He’s got a hunch that this conversation is going to end with him crying, too; he thought he’d at least last until the ceremony started, but it looks like he’ll be a goner before the wedding even kicks off. “I love Sam. I love Sam more than anybody I’ve ever loved.”
And Jesus, that knocks the wind out of him already. “I know you do.”
“He’s everything to me. And I know…” Eileen takes a steadying breath, voice wavering a little. “I know how hard you’ve fought to keep him safe, to keep him happy. I know what Sam means to you. I know what you mean to him.”
There goes Dean. He clears his throat, willing himself not to start actually weeping, but he’s close.
Eileen smiles a watery smile. “Dean, you raised a great man. And I want you to know, you don’t need to worry about him, not with me. We have each other’s backs. I’m going to look out for him, now, and he’s going to look out for me. You don’t have to worry.”
Before she can say anything else, Dean’s got his arms around her and pulls her into what he’d worry would be a bone-crushing hug if it was anybody but Eileen—he knows she’s used to the particularly intense ways the Winchesters show affection. She tucks her head under his chin, arms tight around his waist. They stand there for a moment, breathing in time and crying together. Then, Dean presses a kiss to the top of her head and pulls back. Eileen’s eyes are red, but she looks just as beautiful.
“I’ve never had to worry about Sam with you,” He says, voice cracking a little as he does. “You’re so good for him, Eileen, and he’s good for you. You’re good together.” And then he cracks a grin. “You’ve been part of the family for forever now, anyway. Couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to.”
Eileen laughs a little. “Yeah, I’m tricky like that.”
They look at each other, smiling and crying and being way too sappy for the most badass members of the family, and then Eileen pulls him into another fierce hug. Dean once wondered how the hell somebody so small could ever match up to his sasquatch of a brother; it didn’t take long for him to realize that she could kick either of their asses easily.
“You need to get out of here,” Eileen says, tears beginning to dry and her typical playful wit returning to her. “I don’t know if you know, but I’m getting married today.”
“Yeah, I heard. To some kind of eight foot tall, shaggy-haired jackass? You could do better.” Dean winks, and Eileen rolls her eyes. “Alright, alright, I’m getting the hell out. Sam is gonna be looking for me anyway.” Then he pauses, thinking of his own marriage to Cas, how weird it felt to be sequestered from one another in the moments before they finally, finally were together forever. “Want me to pass along any messages?”
Eileen seems to think about it for a moment, a really sweet expression of absolute love on her face, before saying, “I’ve got one, but I don’t know if you want me to tell you. It’s pretty dirty.”
Dean pulls a face. “Okay, gross.”
Eileen laughs, a lovely, joyful sound. “Just tell him I love him, and I’ll see him out there.”
“Aye-aye, captain.” He grins at her, and tries to memorize the way she looks in that moment, how excited he feels for her and Sam, the moment they’re having together right now. Not for the first time in the last few months, he wonders how the hell he and Sam got so lucky.
“I love you, Eileen,” he adds, because he’s the kind of guy who can just say that to people now.
“You’re getting soft, Dean.” But Eileen grins back, and with the utmost care, signs, “I love you, too.”
He has to leave before he pulls her into another hug and they both start crying again. She’s right—he really is getting soft. But, he thinks to himself with a smile, they all are, these days.