A/N: This chapter is a re-posting of the one-shot 'Love Etc' by TheResurrectionist, who has kindly allowed me to adopt her fic and continue it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, its fandom, its characters or anything connected to them. I do not make money or profit in any way from this story.

Love Etc (Chapter 1) by TheResurrectionist

A/N Inspired by a real bus riding experiences. If only these two men rode my bus, however! :)

Riding the bus was never a fun experience in Dean's opinion, but when you were working two jobs and paying rent, the bus was what you got and it was what you took.

And it worked out fine, usually. Most people kept their noses out of each other's business, and with a little perfectly timed seat grabbing and ignorance, everything turned out okay.

Except for one day.

Dean had been on the bus for a while now, barely into half of the whole ride he was going to have to take. It totally blew that he ended up living as far from the mechanic's garage he worked at during the day, but it was a sacrifice he made. Bills needed to be paid, after all, and a long bus ride wasn't the end of the world. It was usually a time for Dean to think about his day, plugging in his head phones and staring out the window like everyone else. It gave him time to reflect, and, though he'd never admit it to anyone, was one of the more peaceful points of his day.

Except for today.

Dean had taken his usual seat towards the middle, ignoring the other people like usual. Something he'd noticed over the last few months was how easy it was to read people just by where they sat. It was stupid, he knew, but when you were forced to spend almost four hours on a bus each day, you took in things most people wouldn't notice.

The people who sat in the back did it on purpose, climbed the stairs and threw themselves down in a seat, eyes daring you to look away. The little old ladies and kids sat in the front, close to the driver. Dean sat in the middle, right next to the reserved seats for the disabled and elderly.

Sadly, some people ignored the signs that asked you to offer your seat to someone who needed it. Those were the people who Dean hated the most, the snaky kids or businessmen who thought their name was written on the seat before their asses even got on the bus.

It was a little ridiculous, honestly. If you were such a hotshot, how come you rode the public bus?

Exactly.

When a mother and her daughter got on the bus, everyone's eyes flicked to the little girl quickly. The whole bus was full, seats taken, even those next to the crazy people who muttered to themselves. The girl was limping, leg in a cast, and her face was pinched in a familiar expression of pain. Dean quickly got up out of his seat, smiling at her and her mother as he waved to get their attention.

"Here, take my seat." He said, noting the look of relief and thanks the mother gave him, steering the daughter towards the seat.

Just as she limped towards it, a short, pudgy man in an obnoxious suit with a cellphone in his hand plopped himself down, cutting off the little girl, not noting the look of shock the two women gave him.

The whole bus began to stare, and Dean decided to give the man a chance. Maybe he hadn't seen the two?

"Excuse me," Dean said in the politest voice he could muster up. So what if he wasn't used to sucking up. He could move this guy.

"I got up for that girl over there," He said, pointing to the girl and her mother a few feet away. "I was hoping you could let her have the seat?"

The pudgy man looked up from his cellphone, eyes bored. "I got here first, asshole. Get another seat." His eyes returned to his phone then, prompting a look of disbelief from the driver in the rearview mirror.

"No, you don't understand," Dean said angrily. "I got up so they could have the seat. Would you just move and stop being a dick?"

The man looked up then, and ugly look of anger plastered on his face. "Uh huh, and what are you gonna do, asshat?"

Oh, no. This man was seriously an idiot.

Dean was about to lay into the man, red tinting his vision, until a large, calloused hand fell on the asshole businessman's shoulder, shadow falling over Dean and the man.

"I think he said get up." a deep voice rumbled, causing both men to look up.

A large man stood next to them, tall and muscular, a deep tan covering his skin. His eyes were sharp, a gaze you didn't disagree with if you wanted to live, and something itching inside of Dean knew that this man had seen a lot of fights.

The businessman seemed to realize this too, paling as he took in the new man's full height, a few inches higher than Dean, which was saying something. Dean wasn't short by any means.

"Uh... I was..." the businessman stuttered, eyes on the stranger's large hand still wrapped around his shoulder. He seemed to collect himself, though, and glared up at them. The new man was having none of this, squeezing the businessman's shoulder to get his point across. It wasn't working.

"Do you know who I am? I could get you arrested for assault!" the man said snidely, causing Dean to snort. This little twerp? "Get your hand off of me." the businessman said, twisting slightly.

The whole bus was still watching them, waiting to see if a fight would break out. Call them childish, but this was what riders lived for. Better than staring out the window, at least.

"I'm not gonna say it again. I don't care who the fuck you think you are." the tall man said, eyes flashing behind brown hair. "Get the hell out of this seat before I make you." He paused. "Am I understood?"

The man went even paler at his tone, eyes wide. Dean still thought it was a little hilarious, fighting over a bus seat like little kids. This asshole deserved whatever he got.

The man finally got up, blushing furiously and muttering into his phone, glaring at the tall man as he walked by him, height difference obvious. The tall man waved at the mom and daughter, gesturing for them to come over. The mom's face had a look of pure adoration on it, shuffling her daughter into the open seat, gratitude obvious.

"I don't know how to thank you." She said to the tall man. "I can't believe you did that. Most people would have ignored us." She looked at Dean. "Thank you so much too. I can't believe people are like this."

They both smiled at her, and the tall man patted her on the shoulder, large hands seemingly less threatening.

"It was no problem, Ma'am." he said politely, country twang in his voice that wasn't there when he was using it to intimidate. "He was an asshole, pardon my language."

She smiled at that, eyes getting a little wet. "It's just been a really stressful week, you know?" She said, glancing at her daughter, whose face still had a little bit of pain on it. The tall man nodded.

"I'm glad someone else agrees with me." He said, looking at Dean.

Dean glanced at his feet, somehow embarrassed. God, the world must have been ending. Dean was blushing.

"Uh... it was no problem, ma'am." He said softly, smiling a little. She seemed happy, politely ignoring his sudden bashfulness.

"Well, here's my stop." the stranger said, shifting a little. "It was nice to meet you...?"

"Dean." He got out, frozen by the dimples appearing on the taller man's face.

"I'm Sam." The man said, hand out. They shook quickly.

"Maybe I'll see you later?" Sam asked, eyes a little too innocent for Dean's liking. He had the impulsive urge to follow Sam off the bus like a puppy. Damn those stupid dimples.

Dean nodded. "It was nice to meet you too." he saw the doors open, and impulsively reached out, pen in hand.

"Uh, call me?" He asked quickly, grabbing Sam's hand and scribbling his number on the humongous thing. "In case you need someone to help you intimidate people again?" he smiled a little at his lame joke.

Sam seemed amused, taking his hand back and nodding at Dean.

"Yeah. I'd like that."

The doors closed behind Sam as he got off, but not in time to prevent Dean from checking out his ass.

Oh yeah. Best bus ride ever.

End :)

A/N: Actually not the end...