Laundry (SPN)

[SexualOddity]

Another meme one. I don't think I'm going to succeed in my aim to be prolific! I'm too slow! Ah well, plenty of April left for writing

--

Once, not all that long ago, Sam had spent a week pouring through books on symbology trying to find what turned out to be the Blue Oyster cult logo, he’s fought flesh-eating clowns and offered a five-year old identification to prove that he was a teddy-bear doctor. In retrospect, it has been a long career of doing lots and lots of stupid things. And still nothing, bar nothing, seems quite so stupid as what he’s just about to do right now, standing in the corner of a minimart.

“Just do it Sammy. Quick and painful.”

Sam eyes the cardboard box in his brother’s hand distrustfully.

“C’mon Sam, we need some clothes. I’m not hanging round naked with you.”

Feeling like an idiot, Sam spreads Dean’s bandana between his open palms and bends to place his nose just near the perforated opening in the container. He takes a breath.

It’s just a gentle sniff at first, but before he’s finished breathing in his mouth is open wide and he’s sucking in air to his lungs. He shakes his head mutely, desperately, and turns his back on Dean and the laundry powder, an irresistible itch burbling out of his sinuses.

“AHK’IHSHyew! KSHH’YEW! TCH’YEW! TCH’YEW! ThISHH! T’SHHH! T’CHYEW!”

He seizes a breath, the insides of his nose still bursting with fitful itching.

“Ahh...HuhhHHH’USSSssHHHuhhHHuh! Er... no...” he clears his throat. “I think... huhhh...Uhhhh....Huhh’ESSHH! I think I’m probably allergic to that one.”

God, his throat is sore. He’s getting sick, most definitely. He’s had a very slightly runny nose and a kind of heaviness in his chest all day, and sneezing so much is making everything ache, his head, his sinuses, his nose, his throat. And after a good couple of hours of listening to Dean cough and sniffle in the car Sam thinks it’s a pretty sure bet he’s in the same position.

“UhhhESHHH’YEW! ESHHH’YEW! ‘SsHH’YEW! Ugh! Jesus.”

The pair of them are a mess, quite honestly. They made it through their last hunt, barely. Sam’s not sure what he’s done to his knee exactly, but even after a double dose of asprin it’s still fucking agony to try to put any weight on it. Sam’s popped Dean’s left arm back into its socket twice in the past four days, and it has to be aching like hell. They’ve a basket full of dental floss and whisky because they’ve used most of what they have on stitching each other up almost constantly for the past week, and neither of them has had more than two hours of consecutive sleep since Tuesday.

Sam blows his nose on the bandana.

“You got another one of these?”

Dean shakes his head. “Just crappy, bloody ones. This is why we gotta do laundry, kid.”

They’d been within inches of stopping. They’d already booked out a motel room for three days. They’d gotten painkillers and cold medicine and bags of frozen vegetables to press against way too many bruises. Groceries, laundry, motel room. That’s what Dean had told him when he was just about ready to collapse and sleep where he fell. He’d been holding onto that. Of course, life wasn’t content until it had thrown in a road block.

“Hey. This one is the same brand. You wanna try this?”

Sam grimaces. He doesn’t. He doesn’t want to try this one or any of the next dozen that Dean is going to hold out in front of him. He’s had a shitty ass allergy to laundry powder for as long as he can remember. He must have been fourteen before they found a kind that he could handle and he finally stopped sneezing incessantly just from wearing clothes. This is honestly the first time since then that they’ve found it missing from the shelves. The first time. Really. When they’re tired and sick and stiff and throbbing, and they just need to get some fucking washing done so that they can disappear under blankets for a few days. This is when they are out of their usual detergent. When Sam feels like shit to begin with and has to choose between multiple self-inflicted allergy attacks, or waiting until the worst of this festering bug hits and then walking around allergic to all of the fabric that they own.

“Same brand,” Dean offers the box out to Sam. “Good odds, c’mon!”

Sam snatches it out of his grasp. “Don’t shake it around. You’ll make it worse.”

He holds his nose against the box.

“Okay, this looks good.” Dean suggests after Sam pulls away.

Sam can only shake his head.

Shit. He squeezes his eyes shut. His throat feels tight and it’s as if he needs to cough. There’s a crawling itch fucking deep within his sinuses, but it’s inexorable. He runs his fingers down the bridge of his nose squashing and concentrating the helpless discomfort.

“You okay, Sammy?”

Sam blinks tears out of his eyes. “Mnnnghh... Jesus...”

His breath begins to catch, sporadically at first, but increasing in both speed and volume. God, suddenly, as much as it’s going to hurt, going to clog up his nose, and scratch at his throat, he’s suddenly desperate to sneeze. The feeling is just buzzing underneath the bridge of his nose and as much as he grasps at it with his free hands, it just won’t settle down.

Sam’s first noise is a moan, more than anything, just a desperate escape.

“Uhhhh.... God. Duuhhhhh...Dean!”

And before he knows it Dean is pulling the box away from him, walking him down the aisle, away from dozens of powdery boxes, and scented fabric softener, and dishwasher tabs, and...

“UhhhESHHH’SHYEW! EHHhSHYEW! HUHK’KESHHH’ShYEW!”

Holy fuck, it’s all back. Squeezing up against Dean’s shoulder and sneezing helplessly while his Dad bundled things into the dryer. And in retrospect, he knows it was because he was too little for them to leave him home on his own, but he remembers that they kept dragging him along until he was ten, and even then, when they’d do the laundry by themselves, he’d have fits upon fits of sneezing when he dressed in the morning and not quit all throughout the day. Dean grips him at the waist as he flings his head back and gasps at nothing.

“Hehhhh.....Huuhhhh...Ehhhh.... Ahhh.... AHHH... HUHHhhh’Ahhhh...H’ESSHHHhhYEW! Eht’TCHYEW ! K’SHHH’SHYEW! ‘TCHYEW! Uhh’TCHHH! HUSHH’SHyew!

Sam leans back against the wall in the minimart.

“Hehhh... HUHHhhh... ESHHHH! HuhhESHHHH! Huhhh...uhhh... Uhhh.... Huh’ESHHH’YEW! Ugh! Godd Deand. I cand’t... EhhhTiSHHHyuh! HehhT’sHHYUH! Huhh’ESSSH!”

“Just one more. Come on Sammy. I know this is shitty on you, but I know you’re gonna be sick tomorrow, and I don’t wanna see you like this on top of that,” He holds out another box. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll go back to option A.”

Dean’s bandana is pretty much useless now, and Sam holds his hands against his nose, fingertips squeezing his nostrils shut. He’s not even sure he has the ability to pick out something that he’s allergic to any more. Every nerve ending is so Goddamn alive, he’s pretty sure could set off a sneezing fit with a deep breath through his nose.

Dean picks another box from the shelf. “Come on. I’ll be the one who has to explain to you why you’re allergic to all our shit when you’re feverish and out of it tomorrow . Try one more for me.”

Grimacing, Sam bends towards the box that Dean offers. He immediately scrunches his nose, and rubs at his nostrils, but at least he catches his breath sufficiently to speak.

“Hhhhuhhh...Ehhhh.... Huuhhhh... Ehhhh...” Sam pinches his nose. “I...uhhh...This onde isnd’t so bad.”

He manages to look up just long enough to see Dean grin, before it hits. He pulls his hand up into his jacket and sneezes into his sleeve. “HHhh’KNn’NSHHuhh! HEHTCH’CHHhhh! Hehh’IHTCH’CHUH! Huhh’USHHh’Yewww!”

When Sam looks up blearily and scans down the aisle, a security guard is looking across at them eyebrows raised. Dean shoves the last of the boxes into their grocery basket.

“Err... We’re buying this detergent.” Dean tells the guard hastily. “This one. Now.”

Feeling his brother’s urgency, Sam steps in pace with Dean, only slowing to drop his breath and whisper in Dean’s ear.

“Mbmaybe we should also gedt sombe extra Kleenex...”

--

Prompt (by SenBeret):

Sam’s always been pretty sensitive to laundry detergent, but a while ago they were able t find a brand that didn’t make him sneeze so much. When they finally run out and go to buy more they discover that it’s all sold out. So they have to go into the detergent aisle (which already sets him off pretty badly) and experiment with different brands to see which one he reacts to the least. (Of course it’s difficult because his nose is already sensitive from being surrounded by them and having sniff a bunch of different ones… but it’s the only way!_

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

K continue c: ILOvE ThIs xD amazing writing

[Sawyer]

Yessss THANK YOU GOD THANK YOU expect a detailed list over at the meme because I'm going crazy over here

[ID2006]

I totally knew the prompt by the title and that has got to be one of my favorite first paragraphs ever and then the sneezing, and getting sick, and Dean totally in tune to Sammy and knowing he's going to be sick as hell tomorrow and their already insanely rough week/injuries, and I an so in love with this in sooo many ways.

[MonaLisaSmile]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH AJSBFRHYUCIKSM

[stephab13]

OMG. Can this be continued? Please? Just... the two of them all sick, and Sammy all allergic too and ... please?