Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to the writers and creators of Supernatural.

Notes/Warnings: Kind of AU, as it's set in an unspecified time in the future when Sam and Dean are starting to think about retiring from hunting. Obvious, but not explicit, Sam/Dean references.

Like a King

Sam didn't know what had changed between him and Dean. He just knew that something had changed between him and Dean.

It was difficult, really, working out what that something was, because on the surface, it didn't look like much had changed at all.

They might have stopped the Apocalypse, there might have been less demonic activity, their hunts might have decreased. They now had the perfect excuse to travel less, drive less, stay at fewer motels, maybe find more permanent homes, more permanent beds to sleep in, settle down. But they didn't.

Instead, they still took whatever hunts they could find, even if they went for months when hunts were few and far between; Sam still spent hours researching any possible cases, Dean still complained loudly about all the time that Sam spent researching before he insisted that they both go out to take a break; they still drove for hours in the Impala, they still stopped the car every so often so that they could sit on the hood and look at the stars; they still ate in diners, they still drank beers at bars, Sam still lectured Dean on his eating habits, Dean still flirted with hot waitresses; they still checked into cheap motels, facing the usual two-queens-or-a-king question.

But in spite of the familiarity, something had definitely changed.

At first, Sam wondered if the change in the dynamic between him and Dean was due to the fact that his older brother had now become the entire center of his universe.

In the past, other people seemed to play a more significant role in their lives: family, friends, lovers, angels. For a while, it seemed like several of them would play more permanent roles; but now, Sam felt more than ever like it was just the two of them.

They could go for days, weeks even, without seeing anybody else when they were on the road. Surprisingly, Sam no longer had a problem with the lack of any other company, as long as Dean was by his side in the Impala or lying in the bed next to Sam's in the motel room.

Even though a few familiar faces still showed up to help with their hunts, now it felt like those people were simply making guest appearances in their lives.

Whenever somebody started to hang around for a little too long-like one of Dean's many hot waitresses-an uncomfortable tension seemed to hang in the air between the two of them, until they would get into an argument that seemed to be about anything else but the new people around them, but really, they both knew what it was about.

Then they would eventually make up by having one of their 'chick flick moments', as Dean still called them, before they reached a mutual decision to move on to the next town, leaving everybody behind yet again.

Years ago, Sam had felt heartbroken when they left a town behind, when he was forced to leave someone he cared about, letting go of his dreams of stability and a family life all over again; but now, for reasons that he couldn't explain, he was perfectly content to spend long hours in the Impala, in motel rooms or at bars and diners with just Dean.

As it got easier and easier to leave people behind, Sam started to think that any settling down that he was ever going to do, however unconventional that setting down would be, would probably involve Dean from now on, rather than a woman like Jess.

He knew that his brother felt the same way, because Dean went strangely quiet when Sam first started to suggest half-heartedly that maybe now was the time to find a more permanent base to rest between hunts, because he had always wanted a home of his own.

Dean even stopped talking to him for a while, and while he endured Dean's silent treatment, Sam started to realize that he was still the center of Dean's universe, even after everything he had put his brother through; after every hurtful comment and insult and accusation that he had thrown at him over the years, because it was obvious to Sam that Dean wasn't really mad about the vague suggestion that their hunts and long drives in the Impala might come to an end one day; to Dean, this suggestion had always meant a lot more than an end to hunting-in his mind, it meant the possibility that Sam would leave again.

But then, for better or for worse, Sam knew that Dean had always been at the center of his universe, even though he had at times tried to rebel against or resist this idea, or he had simply refused to see it. Deep down, he had always known that the only future that he could ever picture always involved Dean.

He therefore decided that he couldn't really count this as a change between the two of them, when really it was more a matter of finally coming to terms with something that had always been the case.

Next, Sam wondered if their change in dynamic was due to the fact that Dean allowed their roles to reverse a little every now and again.

In the past, Dean normally refused to let his guard down in front of Sam and move away from his big brother role, but now-maybe because there was less pressure on the two of them with their decreased number of hunts and less people around them to notice- Dean sometimes let Sam see his more vulnerable side.

Sometimes it was through smaller gestures, like the times when he allowed Sam to drive the Impala for hours without complaining, or he let Sam choose where they ate, which motel they stayed at, which hunts they pursued.

Then there were the slightly more significant role reversals, like the few times when Dean got sick, and, after uttering his obligatory words of protest, he would eventually allow Sam to bring him extra blankets and pillows, and he would let Sam bring him hot drinks, as well as some sort of comfort food, like pie, simply mumbling a few words about chick flicks whenever Sam asked him if he was warm enough or he discreetly stroked his older brother's hair in a comforting and protective gesture.

Sometimes, Sam would ask for a hug for no other reason than the fact that he wanted one, or he needed the reassurance that Dean was still around, still here, that his older brother still needed him, and Dean would just sigh and give in, letting Sam wrap him up in his arms. And Sam would love every second of it, relishing the opportunity, after years of Dean taking care of him, to be able to take care of Dean and treat him like a king.

The biggest role reversal moment of all came not long after Sam mentioned finding a home to settle down in, and, after days of not speaking to each other, they finally got into a row when they were driving on a long, open road in search of their next hunt.

The argument got so heated that Sam had to pull over, and then they were both out of the car, slamming the doors behind them and getting right up in each other's faces.

It was only then that Sam noticed the tears in his older brother's eyes, even though Dean had never let Sam see him cry when they were younger, and all he wanted to do was to reassure his brother that he understood the reason why Dean was so mad at him for suggesting that he wanted to settle down, the reason why Dean was so terrified about Sam leaving him that he had stopped caring about letting Sam see his vulnerable side.

He expected Dean to push him away when he reached out a hand to comfort his brother, but to Sam's amazement, Dean just let Sam take care of him; he let Sam brush the tears away from his cheeks, he let Sam explain that he meant that they should look for some place to live together, that they could make it work, find somewhere with a couple of bedrooms or with queen-sized beds, just like the beds at the motels, or a couple of kings if the house was big enough, that that was what he meant all along. He wouldn't leave Dean alone to hunt while he went off in search of his own home, not now, and he wanted-no, he needed Dean to understand that.

After Sam wiped the tears away, Dean even let Sam pull him in for yet another hug, resting his head on Sam's shoulder-just like Sam used to do to Dean when they were kids and Sam was crying about Dad never being home or the fact that they had to leave another town when Sam was just starting to like it there. He let Sam be the big brother for a few minutes; he let Sam try to take the pain away.

But then, even though Dean could be stubborn as hell about it and he always refused to admit it, Sam knew that in reality, he had always been able to offer a form of protection and comfort to Dean, in his own way, or even just words of advice or a voice of reason, and he knew that, even though he maybe didn't deserve the honor after everything that he had put Dean through, his presence always made Dean feel better, whether his older brother was taking care of him or if it was the other way around.

He therefore couldn't really count their occasional role reversal as a change, not when he knew that they would always look out for each other, no matter how many or how few hunts they went on, in spite of the fact that Dean would always officially see Sam as his little brother.

After a while, Sam wondered if the change in dynamic was due to the new, strange and inexplicable tension that now seemed to exist between the two of them.

In a way, there had always been a sort of tension between the two of them, which Sam used to blame on their repressed feelings of anger, but the brand new and different feeling of thick tension in the air now crept up on Sam whenever he caught his brother's eyes from across the table in diners or at bars, and instead of averting their gazes like they used to, they would both just stare at each other for a couple seconds, the confusion that Sam felt mirrored in Dean's expression. It was like there was something that they both needed to say, or discuss, or acknowledge, but they couldn't find the words.

The tension got even thicker now that they spent so much time alone together, like on their long drives in the Impala, where Sam would constantly feel his older brother's eyes on him while he was trying to drive, or when they stopped at night to look at the stars, and instead of looking upwards, they spent most of the time staring at each other, neither of them saying a word.

Then there were the times when they would get into playful but pointless wrestling matches, bringing back a tradition from their childhood now that they both had more time on their hands and they felt more relaxed without the constant hunts. Usually, one would manage to pin the other in a random field when they stopped the Impala for a break from driving, or on a motel bed, and in those seconds before they started laughing and the loser shoved the winner away, conceding defeat with the usual 'bitch' or 'jerk' comments, they would stay still, staring at each other intently as though they were both frozen to the spot, and the tension would be almost tangible, even though Sam was pretty sure that they never shared these strange moments during their past play fights.

The tension was thicker than ever a couple of weeks after they resolved their argument over Dean's fears that Sam would leave to settle down without him, when Sam decided to take his brother to look at a few houses on the market, even though he wasn't sure that he really wanted to make such a permanent move in the near future. It was more about reassuring his brother that he would be involved in Sam's future.

The real estate agent was showing them around the third home that they decided to view, and everything seemed fine, right up to the moment when she led them into the master bedroom, where she pointed out the huge king-sized bed with a grin, while Dean stood on one side of it by the door and Sam stood on the other side by the window. She looked like she was thrilled to be highlighting this particular feature, like she thought that they would both be impressed by the bed.

Sam felt like he should offer her some sort of explanation, involving the words 'just' and 'brothers' and 'honestly', but then he caught a glimpse of Dean, who was looking at the floor like he was embarrassed, so Sam started to feel awkward and embarrassed too.

Then, slowly, Dean stared at the bed with the same intense look that he usually reserved for Sam, so Sam stopped looking at his brother and he stared at the bed as well.

After what felt like an eternity, Sam looked up from the bed, at the exact same moment that his brother looked up, and they stared at each other across the room and over the bed.

It was as though nobody else were in the room, apart from the two of them and the tension, and it felt like hours, years, passed as Sam looked at Dean, practically feeling the same tension spreading from one side of the room to the other and from the ceiling to the floor, pushing down on top of the two of them, and Sam wished that he could explain what this new feeling was.

Later that evening, they drove into the parking lot of the only motel that they could find, and Dean went to check in, with Sam following awkwardly behind him, thinking about why they hadn't spoken since they left the house earlier in the afternoon, even though they had been driving for hours.

Sam overheard the usual two-queens-or-a-king question, followed by what he could only describe as a tense silence.

He blinked in confusion, wondering why Dean wasn't offering one of his usual sarcastic comments, or his no-we're-brothers-I-swear protest.

Then, to add to Sam's confusion and the thick tension that still seemed to be swimming in the air, threatening to engulf them all over again, Dean slowly turned his head so that he was looking right at Sam, his eyebrows raised as though he were confused about something, as though someone had asked a question that only Sam had the answer to.

Sam held his brother's gaze, not knowing what Dean wanted, not knowing why Dean couldn't respond to the desk clerk's question, or why they weren't already in their beds in the motel room. It was like the question wasn't so simple and straightforward anymore, now that something seemed to have changed.

It felt like years of tension and unspoken words passed between them in that one look, as well as all the tension that had built up over the past few months, the past few hours, along with thousands of unanswered questions. Or maybe it just came down to one important question, one answer. Maybe they had just over-complicated everything for years, and now it could be simple.

Then, as though out of nowhere, as though Dean had put the word in his mouth, or, more accurately, as though Dean had read his private thoughts and dragged the word out of a deep, dark part of Sam's subconscious mind before Sam was even aware that he had done it, Sam heard one word.

"King."

It took him a few seconds to fully realize that it was his own voice. It sounded so much like it was Dean's thought spoken aloud, like it was Dean's answer.

At that one word, the thick tension finally seemed to leave the room and drift out of the motel parking lot into the night.

Dean let out a long sigh, and Sam swore that it was a sigh of relief.

As Dean visibly relaxed, Sam felt his own body and mind relaxing, as though he-no, as though they were finally at peace, as though everything made sense, as though the future would be okay, now.

Dean threw another intense glance in Sam's direction, before he turned back to the desk clerk.

"King," his older brother repeated with a knowing nod, or a nod that indicated that it all seemed so obvious now, now that Sam had said that one word and Dean had repeated it.

And that was when Sam knew exactly what had changed between him and Dean.