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Sam had tried to argue – really he had, but once Dean got something into his head it was pretty hard to shake him from it. They were both stubborn, but when it came to pie Dean seemed to plumb new depths of doggedness.
Or actually, plum them, Sam thought, as Dean absently wiped fruit preserve from his mouth and beamed up at the pretty brunette who was standing by with the next piece of pie.
He snorted and left Dean to pursue his goal of becoming the Pie Eating Champion of the Midwest, which, with every bite, was rapidly becoming a reality.
*
There was a little girl wandering around the outskirts of the County Fair, a forlorn red balloon drooping from her wrist.
“Hey,” said Sam, walking up to her. “Are you alright?”
She promptly burst into tears.
“Hey,” Sam said, looking over his shoulder. No-one was coming running to rescue her. He cast his eye around for something to distract her, and noticed the stall five metres away. “Do you want that bear?” he asked, pointing to the ridiculously tacky stuffed purple bear hanging from the nets at the end of the ring toss.
Eyes wide, she nodded.
*
Her name was Rosie, it turned out, and when he asked how old she was, she held out four fingers.
She refused to let go of the stuffed bear Sam had won for her – and if Sam was honest with himself, it had been immensely satisfying to watch the stall’s operator, a sullen teenager, drop his jaw in amazement as Sam proceeded to throw the rings one-two-three with deadly accuracy. Before Sam knew it, he had assembled a crowd of kids. Because he had some time to kill, and loose change in his pocket, he proceeded to repeat the feat, winning a total of nine stuffed animals for Jack, Kellie, Madison, Andy, Lisbet, Franklin and Emily, respectively.
He would have kept going, but eventually the teenage operator shot him a glare and refused to let him play anymore. Once he stopped winning things, the crowd of kids dispersed, parents in tow, and Sam’s ears ringing with a chorus of thank-yous from kids and parents alike.
Or, at least, mostly dispersed. When he turned around Rosie was still there, blinking up at him, clutching the enormous purple stuffed bear that was almost taller than her.
*
“Where’s your parents, Rosie?” Sam muttered under his breath.
Rosie just blinked.
Suddenly a teenage girl ran across to them. “Rosie!” she said, grabbing the little girl’s hands. Rosie dropped her bear, and Sam picked it up and stood there awkwardly, holding it. “I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“Let me guess,” Sam said. “Sister?”
The girl whirled around to face him. “Cousin, actually,” she said. “And who the hell are you?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on her,” Sam said, shrugging.
The girl’s eyes narrowed, and she pulled Rosie closer to her. “I bet you have,” she said.
Sam held up his hands in protest. “Whoa,” he said. “What should I have done, left her all by herself like you did?”
The girl had the grace to blush. “I didn’t mean to,” she said. “I just got distracted. Some guy ate so much pie, they practically had to pump his stomach...”
Sam said a word that made Rosie's sister clap her hands over Rosie’s ears. He dropped Rosie's bear to the ground as he took off in the direction of the pie tent.
*
“It’s sweet you’re concerned about me, Sam,” Dean said. “But I’m fine, really.”
“It’s not every day someone eats seven pies in a row, Dean,” Sam said.
“Nope,” Dean sighed, leaning back. He patted his belly - then winced - but the proud grin on his face never dimmed. “That’s why they gave me this trophy.”