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English
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Part 5 of Keep on Carry(ing) On đŸ–€đŸ‘»
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Published:
2022-09-23
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2023-02-04
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Home Comes Calling

Summary:

Modern AU/No Hunting/No Monsters - Reader was Sam's childhood best friend and had a huge crush on his older brother, Dean. You lived with them in Lawrence until your parents marriage falls apart and your mother takes you away to live in another state. Your communication falls with Sam - and then a few years later you get an invitation to his Wedding.

Well of course, you're going. But what happens when you run into his older brother - who is even Hotter than he used to be, and you discover old feelings aren't so easy to squish. Is there really something there, or should old crushes stay in the past?

Chapter 1: Returning Home

Chapter Text

Lawrence, Kansas.

It was strange returning to your hometown after so long. It had to have been over fifteen years now at least. Growing up there with your less than desirable family well into your late teens with your parents who didn’t love each other anymore and made everyone around them know about it. You were an older sister by two years to a brother who had ended up someplace in a big city, and you would have liked to have said he did well there, got a job, had a family, but no. Your brother had fallen into the wrong crowd, picked up on drugs, and that was that. You hadn’t heard from him in years, and you certainly didn’t expect to find him returning here with you.

Even if it was your then best friend’s Wedding. Your parent’s house was down two streets from their childhood home, you had met at school, and even though you were shy and awkward and going through growing pains and dealing with a hectic household that had you building up walls at that young of an age – he broke through with wistful, kind smiles and his geeky persistence.

Sam Winchester. Your first real, genuine honest-to-God best friend. Truly, your only one, had scooped you up when you frankly needed someone. He had brought you up from the depths of your mind, steering you away from an early depression that might have honestly sent you the same road as your brother had ended up. Sure, you still had some depression – but Sam had shown you that there were people in life that were worth trying to break out of slumps, not to end up in a ditch somewhere, or a crackhouse.

Sam had been the person for you that taught you what it meant to be free in childhood. Instead of having to worry about what might set off your alcoholic Father that day, you got to go over to the Winchesters home. Their Mother, Mary, was the kindest woman you had ever met – even since then, no one could compare to her gentle, understanding smiles. Mary was always sure to pack an extra sandwich in Sam’s lunch box to make sure you had something to eat. And her sandwiches had to be the best.

Their Father, John, was a rough around the edges type of man – but he loved his family, and you could see the affection that burned within his eyes whenever he took long looks at his wife. You saw how they interacted, lovingly, happily, and at times it made you almost bitter – wondering if your parents had ever been that way together. John would treat you near like a daughter he never had, even going as far to gift you things on Holidays and pick you and your brother up from school with his boys rather than having you walk the distance home.

Boys. Right. Sam’s brother. Dean was a few years older, had his own life going on, but still made time for his younger brother – and since you were attached at his hip, made time for you as well.

Dean and his wonderfully green eyes and light dusting of freckles, his ivy-league dark blonde hair and boyish, charming smiles had enamored you the moment you had met him. It was a silly little-girl crush, but whenever you had seen him – your heart would like to think it was ready for a marathon.

He treated you like you were though, his younger brother’s friend – kept you at arm’s length and never took long glances at you like you imagined he would. You would picture yourself like his mother, and his father as him, and you would have a wonderfully happy life together in a big, comfy house with lots of love and affection to go around. You pictured a big wedding with his family and friends, and the eventual dream of having a family with him.

It was embarrassing really, the number of times you would doodle his name in your schoolbooks with little hearts and decorations. The childhood crush you had on him stretched beyond that, into your teenage years. You would like to think he would longer glances at you when you would come over to hang out with Sam, to watch TV or do homework together, but it was wishful thinking of a teenage girl in love with her best friend’s brother.

Besides, you knew the amount of girls Dean would snag. The pretty ones from Highschool with the long, beautiful hair and long legs and perfect bodies, while you were stuck in your developing awkward duckling phase. It hurt like hell whenever you saw them all over him, batting perfectly made-up eyelashes at him and he would give them his signature charming smile. You wanted him to give that smile to you.

And then it went and hit the fan.

Your Father’s top blew, and you were left to reap the whirlwind. He had lost his temper, and this time, lost it a little too far and had beaten your Mother within an inch of her life. You had been at the Winchester’s Home as per usual when the terrified call of your brother ripped through their landline.

Mary and John were away that day, you remembered, and when you froze on the phone with panic rising while trying to piece together your brothers’ broken sobs, Dean had taken the phone from you with a serious expression on his face and used a soft, but firm voice with your brother to understand what was going on and instruct him what to do next.

You remembered when you couldn’t move, frozen to the spot, and Dean had bent over to place his palms on your shoulder and spoke your name to get you to break free from your stupor. You were in shock, but the touch of him on you jolted you out enough to look at him with wide eyes. He had gathered you, and Sam, when Sam refused to stay behind – stubborn and wanting to be their for you, the three of you hopped into Dean’s car and when you arrived at your home to find blaring sirens, flashing lights of white and red, and red and blue, you knew things weren’t going to be the same after that.

You still hear those sirens in your sleep on some nights.

Sam had let you cling onto his springy, spindly form and cry into his skinny chest. He shared a worried look with his brother, who had placed his hand comfortingly on your back that shuddered and wheezed in effort to breathe.

And you were right. The pendulum of your life shifted, crashed into the metaphorical wall, and sent you tumbling. You weren’t sure if you ever stood back up after that, not completely. Your irreducible desire to stay was warred with your other choice – staying with your Father. Of course, he didn’t go to jail. He spent two nights locked up to “cool down” but the fact that your father was the sheriff, he held enough sway to make sure none of what happened would get out. You remembered how much anger Dean and Sam had when they learned of it.

You had begged your Mother, who had just gotten out of the hospital and was staying with her sister a couple of streets over to reconsider – but you knew that it wasn’t fair of you. If she stayed anywhere near Lawrence, your Father wouldn’t let her live peacefully. And when she looked at you with sorrow and tears in her eyes, looking nothing like herself, broken and afraid – you never brought up staying again.

And so, you spent one last day with Sam and Dean. Normally Dean would drop you both off some place to hang out if you didn’t stay at their home, but this time Dean volunteered to drive you all over the city, buying you all a yummy lunch of burgers at the local diner, owned by their family friends, the Harvelles. You knew Bill and Ellen’s daughter, Joanna, from school. Everyone called her Jo – you never got along with her too well since you knew she had a crush to rival your own over Dean. But that was the last thing on your mind that day, even when she was the one to wait on your table.

Sam had been a lot touchier that day. Holding your hand, throwing his arm over your shoulder, shoulders bumping together when you walked next to one another and though he didn’t say anything – you could feel the ruefulness that came from him. You didn’t blame him; you were on the same page. You were having a great time with them, but your heart was hurting, knowing that this was most likely going to be the last time with them.

Dean was kind, all warm smiles that made your heart flutter – even though you knew he was trying to be nice for you and his brother, and if things were much different, you don’t think he would have tagged along.

You ended up at the arcade that was attached with a bowling alley. There you had snacked on pretzels and played a game, though you didn’t do too well. You didn’t know how to properly throw the ball – and thinking about the memory of Dean standing next to you, guiding you with his hands still made your face warm. It had been the closest he had been to you, his hand on your elbow, instructing you. He was taller than you, and you could feel the warmth radiate off him, and you could still remember how he smelled in that old jacket that used to belong to his dad.

The day ended after ice-cream. Sam had grown quieter, not smiling as much, unable to keep the front of aloofness to the situation and by the time you were driven back to their house to drop Sam off, he was crying and clutching onto you for dear life. You held him back just as tight, unable to handle the waterworks that flooded your cheeks.

Sam had kissed the side of your head, and your cheek before you both finally managed to pull away from each other. He looked into your face, and for a moment, you swore he wanted to kiss you again – but he hesitated and didn’t. Instead, he gave your hands a tight, longing squeeze and you both mumbled your goodbyes. You remembered Mary watching from the porch with tears in her eyes. You wanted to run up and hug the woman who had treated you like a daughter, but couldn’t bring yourself to do so – instead, you waved, and she waved back.

You slunk back into Dean’s car. He’d be bringing you to your Aunt’s, where your things were packed and ready to leave your life in Lawrence behind. Your Aunt owned a home a few states away and would be giving it to your Mother and you to use. Your brother, even though he hated what your Father had done, refused to leave with you both. Your Father would have thrown a fit if he tried, anyway. Your Father and you were never really close, and when you pictured what he had done to your Mother – you couldn’t find it in yourself to give a shit anymore.

“You’re gonna be alright, kid.” Dean spoke finally when he got the car on the road. It was silent before he talked, with the radio turned down low. You glanced up at him, feeling a slight ache at him – your crush, calling you kid. Yet with everything else going on, you simply sighed and tried to put on a wavering smile. “I guess so.”

He reached over and his hand grabbed yours. You felt your face heat up in a blush, but Dean’s eyes were kept on the road in front of the car, his other hand on the wheel. Your heart was hammering in your chest, your mind was in a silent panic – emotions twisting up and leaving you feeling out of place and unsure of anything. On one hand, it may be the worst day of your life because you’d be leaving them behind, and on the other, the day was spent with two of the most important people in your life and your crush was holding your hand while ‘Your Love’ By the Outfield played on the radio, just loud enough that you could hear it over the steady rumble of the car and the sound of your heart in your ears.

And even though your emotions were a wreck, and you didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, his warm hand on yours brought you enough comfort for your shaky smile to become real.

You’d cry later that night into your pillow, stretched out on the couch in your Aunts home and then for nights on end when you ended up in your new bedroom in your new house in a new state where you didn’t know anyone and didn’t want to. You only wanted to be back in Lawrence with your friends.

Funny, you thought, as you drove the streets of your hometown – you were doing just that. Fifteen years later. No longer were you the little teenager that had one real friend with one real big crush on his brother. 

In your early thirties working as a receptionist, your own apartment in the state your Mother had taken you to all those years ago. You didn’t have much, but you had a place over your head, a job that was honestly, droll and bosses that made you work overtime too many times for you to be happy with, or those moments where you’re treated like a waitress and sent for coffee.

You didn’t even have any pets because the apartment building you lived in forbade them. Maybe thinking about your childhood best friend getting married left you with some bitter resentment for your situation – but you were happy for him.

You were surprised, also. While in the years that you left, you and him both kept in contact – a lot at first, and then life got in the way for the both of you and in the last few years daily phone calls became monthly, to maybe every couple of months to a happy birthday call. You couldn’t blame him too much, you knew he went off to be a lawyer and you were sure that was a ton of busy work.

And you knew that was where he met Jessica. He had mentioned her once during a birthday call and gushed about how she was amazing and how happy he was with her. You were happy for him, of course you were, but damn if it didn’t make you see how dead-end your life had ended up. It was like you spent the days just strolling into the next one without any bumps. Sure, that meant no real negative bumps, but nothing else going for you either.

You had your share of relationships. Your first boyfriend you had after moving was a cute guy with big smiles and big curly hair and you were with him for two years before he went off to college and dumped you over a text message.

The next, a man who worked in your building. He was kind, gentle smiled and a little geeky. He was tall, a little lanky and wore thick glasses. You liked him, he was good company. But he took everything so slow, that it was the third date before you even shared a kiss – to the cheek, at that. So, you had ended up breaking things off. He understood, but it didn’t keep you from feeling bad at his sad rabbit-like eyes peering at you behind his big glasses.

There were others after that, but nothing ever really stuck. And at this age, you were getting those talks from your Mother about when you were going to give her a grandchild. Yeah, right.

You weren’t sure if it was your own fault that all your relationships ended. But could you really blame yourself after what your Father did? You saw their relationship crumble around and felt the quakes. Then again
 You saw when a relationship worked. You wondered if John and Mary were still together and still as happy as they were then. You had a feeling they were.

You got your answer when your car pulled into their driveway. Staring up at the house from your car window, the one you had spent so much time in as a child filled you with anticipation and nerves.

You took in a deep breath and climbed out of your car. Your bags were left in the backseat, enough to last the next couple of days you’d be in town. The wedding would be in a week, and Sam had extended the offer for you to come in sooner, saying something along the lines of needing his best friend around so he could show off his fiancĂ©. It made you smile and feel touched, even after the years of the two of you drifting apart.

You straightened out your dark green utility jacket, paired with dark blue jeans and a pair of comfortable tennis shoes. You had thought about dressing nicer for the first visit back but thought better of it and decided instead to go for your average wardrobe.

And then, you walked up to the door, holding your breath – you knocked.

The breath you held exhaled when the door opened and your eyes met with baby blues and long, sandy blond hair. Those eyes lit up the moment they saw you – and for a moment you felt your chest tighten when you heard your name exclaimed from the woman’s lips. She recognized you.

“Hi, Mary.” You murmured, and smiled when she took a step out and wrapped you up in a hug that was so welcoming you felt it in your bones, warm and tender, the epitome of Motherliness.

“Look at you!” Mary gushed when she pulled back and touched her hands to your cheeks, smiling so brightly and tilting your face to get a look at you. “You’re all grown up!”

Mary looked the same. Age had been kind to her, you could see some new wrinkles and laugh lines, and her hair wasn’t quite as vibrant as it used to be, but she was still beautiful.

“Come in, come in!” She ushered you inside and you were greeted with the warmth of stepping into a memory. The house still felt the same, too. So much so that you could still feel the old, welcoming vibrance – as if the home was embracing you just as Mary had moments ago. “We’re so glad you could make it,” Mary spoke while leading you into the living space.

And then, your eyes landed on your childhood friend. But no longer was he the awkwardly, long limbed teenaged boy growing into his body. His shoulders were wide, and you could see the muscles he had even through the light green t-shirt he wore. Jeans hugged his hips. You noticed he let his hair grow, the shaggy brown curtain reaching his shoulders. Damn. He looked amazing.

Next to him was a woman that matched his attractive looks with long light colored blonde hair that touched down to her middle back and a round face that wore a beautiful smile as she looked up to her fiancĂ©, whose arm was held around her shoulders. She was gorgeous and you weren’t surprised that Sam had fallen for her.

Hazel green eyes lifted from his fiancĂ© with the sound of his mother’s approach, and there was a smile on his face. The smile faultered for a split second, and then grew two sizes. “Hey!” Your name fell from his lips. He squeezed Jess’s shoulders and then stood up, setting down a beer onto the coffee table and made his way over to you and his Mom.

Mary watched with a smile when Sam greeted you with a tight, firm hug. “It’s good to see you!”

Christ, you thought, squeezing him back and feeling the muscles in his arms. “You got tall,” Your next thought slipped out of your mouth and Sam laughed bashfully. “Growth spurts are the best.” He joked, shrugging.

Mary slipped around the corner, leaving you and Sam and his fiancĂ©. He gestured you over to the couch where Jess greeted you with a friendly smile, “Hi there.” She spoke, and even her voice was pretty, “It’s so good to finally meet you, I’m Jessica – but everyone calls me Jess.”

“Oh, I know,” You smiled in return and continued when her eyebrows rose slightly. You took a glance at Sam with a mischievous grin, “He’s told me all about you.”

Sam blushed a soft pink over his tan skin and Jess giggled softly when he took the seat next to her, leaving you with the spot on her other side. The three of you began to chat, small talk about where you lived and what you did for a living. It was odd, to be here again, talking to your friend who you hadn’t seen in so long and to his fiancĂ© who was an absolute beauty.

The two of them made a very nice-looking couple, and you could tell by the gentle touches and smiles they gave one another that they loved each other a lot. It was refreshing to be back here, you could already feel the stiffness in your shoulders lessen, and got comfy on the sofa next to Jess, who talked to you like you were old friends and found it exceptionally easy to interact with her.

When Jess got up to use the restroom, Sam and you shared a look. Your eyebrows jumped, and it made him chuckle. “She’s great, isn’t she?”

You tucked one leg beneath the other and nodded, “Sure is. I’m not surprised though, always figured you’d end up with a good girl.”

Sam smiled bashfully and crossed his arms over his chest, sitting back comfortably against the couch cushions. “How have you been? I’m sorry I stopped calling – things got kind of crazy there for a while.”

You shrugged it off, offering him a soft smile. “It’s been fine,” You murmured, unwilling to go into how you actually felt about your slow end life. “No worries, though. I get how it is. And you had an awfully pretty distraction.”

He chuckled, showing his teeth with his big grin. “I always wondered if you would end up coming home.”

Home. The word felt foreign to you almost when you put it back with Lawrence. You think you would have come back as soon as you hit eighteen if you could have. But your Mother needed you – and she would never feel comfortable with you returning here as long as your Father were still in the picture.

“You, okay?” Sam asked, his brows knitting in concern. You realized the smile had fallen from your face and had turned sullen. You put one up quick as you could and waved him off, “Oh, yeah. I just missed this. Here – you – you know.”

Sam gave a short nod, his smile returning as well, though looking a little more pensive. “Do you ever plan on moving back here? Your Dad’s house is up for sale now—” Sam paused, wincing. You pacified him by tapping his knee with your fingers and mumbling a quick “It’s okay.”

Your Father had passed away two years prior to a failing liver. You hadn’t had anything to do with the funeral if there was one. The bridge was too far burnt up for that to have happened, and it only hurt when you thought about the times before he started drinking, as long ago as that was.

Thinking about buying your old family home at first filled you with dread to be in a place where such negative things had happened – but then again, the idea of reclaiming something that should have been a good, happy time in your life was also an attractive idea. Not to mention getting out of the busy city life and settle down back into small town living. You were sure you could find a job around here, and you had a good amount of money saved up.

“Maybe.” You settled on with a noncommittal shrug.

Sam opened his mouth to say something but the door opening to the house caught both of your attention. “Honey! I’m home!”

That voice sent a tremble down your spine. The tremble turned into tingles when your eyes turned away from Sam and landed on the man who walked into the living room.

Dean stood there, looking as handsome as ever – well, even more handsome than before. His boyish good looks had matured, and his emerald, green eyes drifted over to you, he glanced away, and then immediately looked back with a flash of recognition.

He wore the same jacket he wore when he was a teenager, though now it fit him better, forming onto his broad shoulders. His dirty blond hair styled into similar ivy-league style as before, and you were strangely overjoyed to see that his freckles were still there. His jeans hugged his hips, and you reminded yourself not to do a once over of him.

What surprised you was the heat you felt creeping up your neck and the way your heart began to beat faster in his presence, still, even after all this time.

“Dean,” You murmured and cleared your throat when your voice came off breathy.

Your heart skipped when he bit his bottom lip and you could see the flash of white teeth when he grinned, “Hey,” He said your name and your heart fluttered when it passed his plump, pink lips. “You grew up.”

Sam rolled his eyes good naturedly and welcomed his brother with their hands slapping together, “That’s what happens when you don’t see someone for years.”

Dean’s eyes traveled over you, and you felt yourself sit up straighter. Apparently he didn’t mind giving you a once over like you had been trying not to do to him, “You don’t say, Sammy.”

“Okay, quit drooling, Dean.” Sam teased, but there was an edge to his voice that wasn’t easy to miss. You almost laughed. There was no way your childhood crush was drooling over you. But you could still feel the burn of his eyes on you even when Sam had sat back down and Jess returned, leaving Dean to sit on one of the armchairs while Mary took the other one.

Chatter filled the space, but you were far too distracted by the thump of your heart and the feelings swimming through your veins, heating you up from the inside when Dean purposefully let his eyes linger on you when he spoke to you. You were thankful he hadn’t had a place to sit next to you, or you might overheat at this rate.

You felt similar to how you did back in the day, but this time instead of cute little flutters, while the flutters were still there, having his eyes on you called to different parts of your body. You shifted uncomfortably, crossing one leg over the other to try and ignore the dull ache you felt between your legs and feeling quite silly over it. You had only just seen him, there was no need for your body to be acting like you hadn’t slept with someone in ages – even if that might not be too far from the truth.

There was something about him though that kept your eyes dancing back over to him, and each time your gaze connected, you felt a jolt and a tremble run over your skin. And honestly it was like he knew it, the little smirks, and grins he would give you when you all spoke together.

Besides all that, it was lovely to be in the living room with them again. John had arrived sometime later and welcomed you with a bone crushing hug, laughing all the while and talking also about how you grew up. Mary and John shared an armchair together, she sat halfway onto his lap and the armrest, and he let his hand sit against her hip. It made your heart swell when you saw just how happy the two still were and it made you smile so wide it almost hurt. You would cheer for the married couple for the rest of your life, you think.

“Where will you be staying sweetheart?” John asked you after some time.

You looked down at your wristwatch and realized the day was stretching into evening. “Uhm, I’m thinking that motel I passed on the way here.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that!” Mary rushed in to say, “That place is just awful, they don’t keep it kept up well enough – maybe we can clean out the spare bedroom and you stay here with us? I think we still have that roll out bed, don’t we hon?”

John hummed and rubbed his palm over his mouth thoughtfully, “No sugar, we tossed that out last time Adam visited.” You tilted your head at the unfamiliar name, but didn’t question it, instead saying “Oh, that’s alright. I couldn’t impose – I could always sleep in my car.” You joked.

Jess touched your knee with her hand, “No way! It’ll get way too cold,” Her head turned to look at Dean. “Don’t you have an extra room since Castiel is out of town visiting his brothers?”

Sam grumbled something about this ‘Castiel’ leaving for a family visit on the week of his wedding, but Jess calmed him down with a pointed look. You figured Castiel must be Dean’s roommate and found his name to be interesting. Oddly so. He must have come from a religious family.

Dean, who had been sipping from the neck of a bottle smiled behind it and shrugged one shoulder. “Sure, you can come stay with me, kid.” His eyes twinkled and you swallowed down a nervous lump that formed in your throat.

“Are you sure?” You asked, your voice coming off far too meek for your liking.

“Of course, he is sweetie.” Mary looked over to her son with a stern glance, who smiled at her, all teeth. “I’m sure.” He responded, taking a long gulp from his bottle and you had to look away when a bead of beer dripped down the corner of his lips.

“Thanks,” You mumbled, fiddling with your fingers. Truthfully, you were glad you didn’t need to stay in an old dusty motel. Staying in motels all around seemed like an icky idea and you felt bad for the people who had to do it often. Not to mention it would save you some money also.

“Come on, you two, let’s go cook these hungry men some dinner.” Mary offered to both you and Jess and you stood up to follow them into the kitchen, thankful to leave the heat in the living room that you think you only felt.

Cooking with the two other women was fun and reminded you of the times you cooked with your Mom after leaving Lawrence, after the healing process. It was just the two of you then, and it was hard for a while, with how depression had hit both of you – her for losing her husband and her son, and you for losing your brother and your best friend and the thought of never seeing your crush again.

But you had seen him. Boy had you. Your hands trembled when you cut the veggies, but you were careful enough not to nick yourself. You weren’t expecting your feelings for the man to still be alive after all this time – not only were they alive, but it felt as if they had doubled.

Sure, there were times where you pictured him after you had left, thought of his smiles and his wonderfully green eyes. He had grown into a full man, looking almost like he was some sort of model. The smiles and smirks he gave you, and those eyes lingering on you now like you had wished they did then gave you the best kind of trembles. The kind you could feel in the pit of your stomach, leading straight down to your loins.

You wondered if he was seeing someone. Maybe not, if he had a roommate. But then again, you supposed you didn’t need to live with someone to be with someone. Your heart was squeezing in the hope that it wasn’t the case.

After finishing up the dinner where you all talked mostly about wedding plans and where the venue would be, a beautiful park that you remembered visiting often with the family back when you were kids – the lake there stretched on and was surrounded by trees on the other side away from the park, it had a fairy tail vibe to it with how the sun and moon could reflect on those waters.

The Geese were a little frightening sometimes though. Jess mentioned using the lake as a backdrop for the wedding and you smiled, telling her how wonderful and beautiful it will be and then it changed to her wedding dress, which she gushed about how excited she was to wear it.

The way she spoke to you like you were her lifelong friend was honestly nice. She was a great woman, friendly, fun to talk to drop dead gorgeous. If you were a guy, or if you swung that way, you were sure you’d end up crushing hard on the blonde.

She made you feel welcomed into her new life with Sam, even with how close you and her fiancĂ© had been before. There was no suspension or jealousy, and that was nice. You hadn’t ever had feelings for Sam, not now, and not then. Not that he wasn’t cute then, and not that he isn’t stupidly attractive now.

He had always been a source of safety for you – it just never turned into attraction. Maybe it could have, but none of that matters anymore because he’s happy and you are happy for him.

Dinner was served. You had set the plates with Sam, who had grinned and joked with you about how it was familiar. It was, since setting the table was always your guy’s job back when you were kids.

Sam sat next to Jess. Mary, and John at the head of the tables, leaving you sitting next to Dean.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s fine. No trouble. None at all.

Besides the fact that you could barely focus on your food, scraping at the veggies you had cut up for a stir-fry. It was tasty, sure, but your tongue was twisted and caught up with how your heart beat faster at being so close to him that you could feel the heat and the brush of his leg touching against yours occasionally. The fabrics of your jeans rubbing together with a soft ‘shwwft’.

Dean made no sign of knowing this time, enjoying the food that you three had prepared for them by shoveling it into his mouth in a very unattractive, yet sexy as hell, manner. Seeing the man of your dreams down the food you had prepared, for some reason, tickled you in just the right way.

Dinner was shared with laughter and reminisce, filling you with warmth and familiarity in a family that you weren’t ever really a part of – but might as well been. It left you feeling warm even after the dinner was over and you offered to help do the dishes, but Mary waved you off, saying she would take care of it.

At that point it had gotten late enough for everyone to be ready to settle down, and honestly you were tired from the long drive here. With goodbye hugs to everyone, including Jess, you looked to Dean who smiled to you and gestured to the door he opened for you, “After you, sweetheart.”

You tried to ignore the heat on your face when you stepped out of the warm house into the cool, nighttime air. Dean walked with you to his car, and you couldn’t hide the smile when you saw the Impala in the metaphorical flesh for the first time in years. Your fingers danced over the hood, appreciating the sleekness.

“Still beautiful, huh?” Dean asked. You turned your head and smiled with a nod, “Sure is. I loved this car.”

Dean winked playfully, “Yeah, the car is pretty too.” You flushed and bit your bottom lip. His eyes glittered when he hopped into the front seat, and you joined in the passenger.

The engine roared to life and an 80s rock ballad filled the air when he pulled out of the drive. The rumble of the car could be felt within your body, and you sighed, squeezing your thighs together when the closed space made you breath in Dean’s natural male musk. Motor oil and some type of manly scent like cedarwood filled your nostrils and you leaned your head back against the rest.

It was going to be a long week.