When Dean came back from Hell he had told Sam that he didn't remember any of it, but then the nightmares started. It had been a week since then, one week of Dean tossing and turning in bed, one week of him waking himself up shouting or screaming, one week of tired whimpers and hands clenched in the sheets. Sam slowly opened his eyes, he could hear his brothers soft whimpers on the bed next to his and his heart wrenched. He wished he could take away Dean's pain or at least share the burden. He glanced at the bedside clock, it read 2am in the faint glow of moonlight sneaking through a gap in the dusty, old curtains. He stared over at his brother, watching the muscles twinge in his neck as he ground his teeth together, his hands clenching into fists amongst the bed sheets. As he watched Dean's brow furrow, a single tear sliding down his cheek Sam decided he had to do something. He pulled himself out of bed and crossed the short space to his brothers, he carefully pulled back the bed covers and slid in next to Dean. His brother stilled for a moment and Sam softly wrapped his arms around him. Dean's skin was clammy and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Sam pulled him in close, and buried his nose against Dean's hair.
"You're safe, I got you," He muttered.
He felt eyelashes tickle at his collar bone and he guessed his brother had woken up a little, he was suddenly a little scared that he had gone too far, he wanted more than anything to help not to scare Dean off. He was relieved when he felt his brother relax, leaning into him and wrapping one arm over his side, leaving the other tucked up against Sam's chest. Dean slept like a log.

They continued that way for several days, the following day Sam woke at 2am to crawl into Dean's bed, the next day it was 4am and the next 1am. However the following night as Sam finished brushing his teeth he noticed his brother staring at him.
"You might as well sleep here tonight, if you want," he looked as though he was trying to work out if Sam really wanted to or not.
"Okay, sure Dean."
As he sat on the edge of the bed his brother moved over to give him room but when he settled down on his back Dean inched closer, tucking his head into his armpit, his arm slung over Sam's stomach. As they lay there, enveloped in each other he found that he was absent-mindedly stroking at his brothers hair, he was about to stop when Dean broke through the silence.
"Thank you Sammy."

The evening was warm, they had wrapped up a hunt without any serious injuries and so had decided to watch a movie on the crappy motel room TV whilst sharing some beers. They had argued for a while about what movie to watch but Dean had inevitably won and even though he had sulked about it for a few minutes Sam really didn't mind, he was just happy that he could spend some time relaxing with his brother. About a week ago the decision had been made to stop renting rooms with two beds, they were just paying for something they didn't use, they hadn't so much spoken about it, Sam had just walked in one day and found one double. He wasn't complaining though, it wasn't just Dean who slept better with his brother, he hadn't felt so rested in a long time. Sam hadn't realised that he had his arm slung around Dean's shoulders until he leaned in and rested his head against Sam. For a moment they were still, the old movie about werewolves running as background noise, Sam let his hand reach his brothers shoulder and stroked it gently earning a quiet, pleased sound from Dean. They must have fallen asleep like that because Sam woke to his brother bolting forward on the bed, breathing fast, eyes wide and afraid.
"Dean, hey, it's okay," he said and reached out to pull his brother back to him.
Dean didn't move so Sam moved to him, laying a hand on his neck, thumb brushing the light stubble on his cheek.
"I got you," he murmured, looking into his brothers wild eyes.
After a moment Dean calmed and rested his forehead against Sam's. He could feel his brother breathing against his lips and he found himself aching to lean forward and kiss him. Before he could stop himself he tilted his head and pressed his lips lightly over Dean's. He looked at Sam, taken aback, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. Sam clicked off the TV, pulled back the covers and lay down. Dean followed him, resting his head against one of Sam's arms he didn't say a thing. In his mind Sam was trying to justify the kiss, as brief as it had been, he had kissed his brother like that when he was younger but that was a long time ago. There was nothing to it, he justified, he was just trying to make Dean feel better.

Sam woke to Dean's nose brushing his and his morning breath in his face. As he stirred so did his brother and he watched as those green eyes opened, covered in a morning haze. He blinked once, twice, a soft smile broke the edges of his lips and leaning a little closer laid a lazy hesitant kiss against Sam's lips.
"Ugh man your morning breath is a killer," Dean groaned as he rolled onto his back, stretching out under the covers, his joints cracking.
"Pfft, coming from you," Sam huffed, raising an eyebrow.
He wanted to talk about the kisses, the bed sharing, the cuddling but he knew Dean would never agree to sharing. Sam felt almost shocked that his brother had kissed him, displays of affection were rare from Dean and he hoped he was the exception to that rule. His brother had headed into the bathroom and all Sam could think was:
What is happening?