Dean pulled into one of the available parking spots in front of his new apartment building. He had finally found a place that was going to be good for him. He was daring to hope it would be anyways. "We're here Baby." He said to the impala, rubbing his hands along her steering wheel. He stepped out of the car and into the morning sunshine of Sioux Falls. As he breathed in deeply he tasted the fresh air. He let his breath out in a sigh and leaned up against the driver's side door. She was warm after the long drive from Lawrence. Her black paint would be hot to the touch by noon, but for now the warmth was comforting. Dean reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a small set of keys. Only 4 on the small silver ring. He played with them nervously in his hand while he watched the entrance to the parking lot. "C'mon Sammy" he muttered to himself.
Sam's white truck came around the corner, towing behind it a small U-Haul trailer. "Finally" Dean said as he pushed himself away from the impala, putting the keys back into his pocket. He could see through the windshield of the truck that Sam and Jess hadn't spotted him yet. They both had sunglasses on and were moving at a crawl, when suddenly Jess pointed towards Dean and waved. That made Dean smile. He loved his sister in law, even if she was the one who finally took Sammy from him. The truck stopped along the curb in front of the entrance to the apartments, creating its own temporary parking. Sam hopped out of the truck and waved to his brother walking towards them. "Nice place!" Sam called to Dean. Sam crossed in front of the truck to help a very pregnant Jess down from the high cab. Dean approached them, "Yeah, it's not a bad place. A little on the new side. Definitely not what I'm used to." Sam looked to Dean and said, "Well it's not a motel room, so yeah I would agree."
Dean and Sam had spent most of their lives on the road travelling with their dad. John Winchester had been a salesman, and a damn good one at that. It wasn't his fault the economy was shit. John would find side work on the road fixing up peoples cars for the extra cash. They traveled from place to place, staying in small cheap motels. They had been "home schooled" by John, which never enabled them to make a lot of friends growing up. As a result Dean and Sam were brothers and best friends. John was always out on house calls, and when he was back at the motel he tended to enjoy a drink, or 10 as the case usually was. John hadn't been a bad father, but he wasn't an attentive one. He worked a lot and took more jobs than the boys would have liked. Sam and Dean's mother passed away not long after Sam was born. John didn't handle it well, and the boys paid the price. Dean was in charge of Sammy and took care of him for as long as he could remember.
Now here they were, Sam beside his beautiful pregnant wife. Sam didn't need Dean to take care of him anymore, and Dean was finally accepting that. It was time for Dean to build his own life the way Sammy had. Dean couldn't see himself with the wife and children. He couldn't put his finger quite on why, but it just didn't feel right to him. Without that clear, cookie cutter path to follow, Dean wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with himself.
John Winchester had passed away 3 years ago now. It was a cancer in his stomach that got him. Sam had been away finishing his law degree at Stanford. Dean stayed with his dad at the old house until the end. The boys had been surprised to learn that John hadn't sold their home in Lawrence after their mom died. They lived on the road all their lives, when they had a home of their own the whole time. Dean wanted to be angry with John, partly for taking away their childhood, but mostly for making Sammy go through all of that when he didn't have to. When John got sick, Dean had to stow away his anger and be there for his dad. Care giver was a role Dean was comfortable in. Being in charge. Taking on responsibility for others. The idea of being on his own, with only himself to worry about terrified him.
When John passed away he left the house and everything he had saved to his boys. Sammy brought Jess home to Lawrence with him and they moved into the old house with Dean. Dean loved having Sam home again, and Jess was a great girl. Sam found a job at a small law firm in town, and Dean worked in an automotive shop. Dean would have been happy for things to stay that way forever. Once Sam put that ring on Jess' finger though, he knew it was the beginning of the end.
Sam offered to sell the house, they would split the money down the middle between the two of them. Dean wouldn't have any of that. He told them he had more than enough saved to go out on his own. He argued that the house was too perfect for raising a family in to sell. Some Winchesters deserved to grow up there after all.
After months of searching Dean found his new apartment. All the way out in Sioux Falls of course, but that meant he could be close to their Uncle Bobby. Bobby had a job lined up for him making more than double what he was making back home in Lawrence. The change of scenery would be good for him he told himself. Now, standing in front of his new home, he wasn't so sure.
Sammy walked around to the small U-Haul trailer and unlocked the padlock keeping it closed. "Well, let's get started" Sam said as he clapped his hands together. Sam grabbed a box and Dean followed his lead. Jess went to grab a small box too, but Dean stopped her. "Not you little lady" he said to her, "You are strictly on house decorating duty. Capeesh?". Jess raised an eyebrow to her brother in law, slowly reaching her hand into the trailer and picking up a small decorative lamp. Dean laughed. "OK, I can live with that. Let's go."
They walked towards the buildings main doors. Just as they got there and Dean was trying to balance his box against the wall while reaching back into his jeans for the keys, the door opened for them. Without looking up Dean grunted out a thank you to the stranger holding the door.
"You're welcome." Came a deep gravelly voice that surprised Dean into looking up and investigating who it belonged to. Next thing Dean knew he was lost in a sea of blue eyes. Time may have stopped, or maybe it was his heart. Dean opened his mouth, and closed it again. The man standing in front of him was a bit shorter than he was. A mess of dark hair that Dean knew from experience didn't just fall that way, it took work. The man was staring back at Dean intensely. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. Just standing their quietly looking at Dean with giant, too blue eyes, and a perfect jaw line, my god.
Things began to feel awkward, so Sam stepped forward with his box in hand and walked past the man holding the door. Giving him a smile and nod, Sam gave his thanks as well and continued into the building. Jess followed behind him. That just left Dean and his perfect stranger. "Are you moving in? I do have to go. I'm sorry." The man said to Dean.
Dean shook his head briefly and said, "Yeah, yeah, sorry. Um, thanks again." He tried for a smile but knew it was weak. He was concentrating so hard on not blushing. He walked through the open door. The stranger smiled at him then. It was a big smile, all gums and teeth, and Dean could feel his blush creeping up his neck. "Any time. Will I be seeing you around?" the strange, beautiful man asked Dean. "I'll be here" was all Dean could manage before turning to walk away.
When he had almost joined Sam and Jess at the elevator he suddenly thought to turn around and ask for Blue Eyes name. The door was already closed, and the man no where he could see. "Son of a bitch." Dean muttered to himself before meeting the other two at the elevator.
"What was that?" Sam asked Dean, a knowing smile behind his words. "Shut up Sam." Dean shot at his brother, which only made Sam's smile widen. "Jerk." Sam said. "Bitch." Dean replied, and despite himself smiled at his giant little brother.