Dean woke up first the next morning. Rather than going out to fetch coffee and breakfast and returning after Sam had showered and dressed, he laid down on the bed beside his brother and waited for him to wake up. When Sam awoke, Dean was beside him propped up on his elbow. Sam had barely opened his eyes before Dean moved in for a kiss.
"That's the first time you've kissed me since you found out about Ruby," Sam said when his brother had pulled away.
Dean smiled. "I feel much better now that I know we're working on things," he explained. Then he leaned in and whispered, "Hellboy."
Sam's body fell back into the mattress with a thud as his arms collapsed underneath him. One of his elbows was at an awkward angle, but he didn't seem to notice. He looked relaxed, comfortable. His breathing was slow and regular.
"Very good, Sammy," Dean told him, still a bit amazed that this was even working. "It's easy to fall back into trance, to let your mind and body relax…"
He spent the next several minutes bringing Sam deeper into trance, reminding him how good it felt to relax, how good it felt to agree with him, how easy it was to just let his mind go blank. When he was satisfied with the depth of the trance, he moved on to more pressing matters.
"Now, Sam," he said evenly, "I understand you've been having a hard time lately. That you've been craving demon blood and struggling to fight that craving. Is that correct?"
"Mmm," Sam answered.
"Tell me, Sam, why do you like demon blood so much?"
"It makes me feel strong. Powerful. I can protect you. Fight demons without hurting people." His voice was flat.
"But now you're struggling against that craving, right?"
"Mmhmm."
"That's good," Dean told him. "Tell me, why are you fighting that craving?"
"It leads to bad things. I started the apocalypse. You can't trust me anymore."
Dean took a deep breath. "Alright, Sam. I'm gonna explain something to you. You listening?"
"Mmm."
"Great. Here's the thing, Sam. You've never needed demon blood. What you really want is to be able to feel close to me. That's right, isn't it?"
"Mmhmm."
"Good. So when you think you're craving demon blood, you're not. You're really craving me. You realize that now, don't you?"
"Mmm."
"Very good. Tell me that you don't need demon blood," he commanded.
"I don't need demon blood," Sam answered.
"That's right. What do you need?"
"I need you."
"Very good, Sammy." Dean was enjoying this a bit more than he expected: Sam laying helplessly on the bed, repeating Dean's words back at him on command. He wondered for a moment exactly how much he could make Sam do in this state. But for now he had a task to focus on. "Tell me again that you don't need demon blood."
"I don't need demon blood."
"Good. What do you need?"
"I need you."
He ran Sam through this routine several more times to reinforce it before he started wrapping things up. Several minutes of Sam repeating "I don't need demon blood" and "I need you" just because Dean had told him to, and for the first time in over a year Dean was able to really believe that Sam meant what he said. He then repeated a couple of times that when Sam thought he was craving demon blood he was really craving Dean to make sure that would stick, then started working on bringing him up.
"Alright, Sam, I'm going to start bringing you out of trance now. You won't remember having been in trance. You'll think this is your first time waking up this morning. Do you understand?"
"Mmm."
"Good. Now I'm going to count down from six. When I finish, you'll be fully awake, feeling alert and refreshed.
"Six. You can feel yourself beginning to wake up.
"Five. You can feel the strength returning to your muscles.
"Four. You're becoming more aware of the world around you.
"Three. Drifting back up out of trance.
"Two. Almost there.
"One. Fully awake, feeling alert and refreshed."
When Sam awoke, Dean was beside him propped up on his elbow.
"Good morning, Sammy," Dean grinned.
"Hey there," Sam answered, a bit surprised to see his brother in his bed. Before he got a chance to ask about it, Dean moved in for a kiss.
"That's the first time you've kissed me since you found out about Ruby," Sam said when his brother had pulled away.
Dean smiled. "I feel much better now that I know we're working on things," he explained.
Sam smiled and moved in for another kiss.