A/N: Tada fourth chapter :) Fifth and Sixth will be up soon. Please feel to drop any questions you have in the comments section
Four
"Hey," Sam said. He smiled at Dean shuffled into the kitchen.
He had on Sam's old Stanford sweatshirt and a pair of worn sweatpants with holes in the knee.
"What are you smiling for?" Dean asked. His voice was on edge and he hunched a little as he dumped the coffee that'd been in the pot for the last couple hours and made a fresh batch.
Sam internally winced as Dean banged around the kitchen. Today was gonna be rough. Dr. Roberts had warned them that there would be good days and bad days as Dean's hormones sorted themselves out.
It took Sam a while to understand that Dean wasn't angry with him directly. Most of the time anyway. He tried not to think about Castiel's face when Dean went off at the angel for appearing in the middle of Bobby's kitchen while Dean was making lunch and nearly cut his finger with the knife. Since then, Castiel had learned to call ahead.
"I was just thinking about how nice of a morning it is," Sam answered lamely when he saw Dean waiting for an answer.
Dean muttered something under his breath and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. "Where'd Bobby go?"
"He went to check out a possible haunting with Ellen. Thinks it might be a family of ghosts," Sam answered.
"You didn't go with?" Dean asked.
"I figured we could look at apartments," Sam answered. "I found a couple close by…if you want to?"
Dean nodded a little. "Let me shower and change."
"Take your time, no hurry," Sam told him.
He watched Dean leave the kitchen and picked up the apartment listings he'd printed out when he got back from his jog, after an unsuccessful attempt to wake Dean with morning sex.
The first was only a half hour away from Bobby's. A duplex with the first floor unit available. One with a shared back porch and basement. The rent was cheapish, six hundred a month and it looked like a fixer upper. Sam considered it a nice distraction for Dean.
The second was part of a complex. A bit pricier, but with Sam's new part time job of translating old texts for the local college and Bobby pitching in for the hormone therapy, it was doable. Two bedroom, or one bedroom and one office, with a balcony.
The third was actually a house. One of those mobile homes in a gated community. Sam had been reluctant to even print out the information for it. The website was nice enough though and it didn't hurt to look.
"Ready when you are," Dean said as he walked back into the kitchen. His hair was still damp from the shower and he had pulled Sam's sweatshirt back on but traded the sweats for jeans.
"You want some breakfast?" Sam asked.
"Not really hungry," Dean answered.
Sam knew better than to push. He had already packed the cooler with soda and water and some fruit for when Dean undoubtedly got hungry.
He waited for Dean to pick up the keys to the Impala and grabbed them when the older male made no move to get them. He made sure to lock the door behind them and over to the car.
Dean slid into the passenger seat without a word.
Sam turned on the radio and involuntarily shuddered as Heat of the Moment began playing and quickly switched songs.
Dean didn't say anything but reached down and intertwined their fingers where they rest on his thigh.
The owner of the first apartment was an older Beta. He eyed Sam cooley and gave Dean a side long glance.
"Maybe I should wait in the car," Dean said under his breath.
"No, come on," Sam replied. He wanted to hold Dean's hand but with the way the beta was looking at the two of them he resisted the urge.
Dean shoved his hands in the front pocket of the sweatshirt and Sam heard the unmistakable sound of Dean fiddling with the Impala's keys.
"She's a bit of a fixer upper, basement unfinished. Had plans to convert it into an office before I retired," the man said, as he unlocked the door. "Single bedroom, course you put up a divider. Have a look around."
Sam nodded and followed Dean inside. The living room was spacious and open, with an arch doorway leading to the kitchen.
"What do you think?" Sam asked.
"Seems like a lot of work," Dean answered. "And I don't think he's gonna like the two of us sharing the bedroom if you catch my drift."
Sam looked over to where the man was standing by the door, He looked to be reading over something but occasionally glanced up to look at him and Dean. He looked back at the paper when he caught Sam looking.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Sam said. He sighed. "Some people can be so small minded."
Dean snorted. "Understatement of the century."
Sam chuckled softly.
"It's not a half bad place, but we're gonna try our luck with some place that doesn't have a small minded asshole for a landlord," Dean said as he walked past the man.
Sam caught up to him and grabbed his hand. "So all it took was an asshole to bring you out of your funk?"
"Didn't like the way he was looking at you," Dean answered.
"Pretty sure he was thinking about the two of us defiling his crappy apartment," Sam replied, as he unlocked the doors of the Impala.
"He wishes we'd defile his crappy apartment," Dean said. "What the next place you have picked out?"
"It's part of a complex. It's about an hour's drive from Bobby's place," Sam answered. He gave Dean the listing as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Pass," Dean said. "No condos, or apartment complexes."
"That doesn't leave us with much of an option on places to live, and we can't keep crashing at Bobby's," Sam replied.
"Yeah yeah, I know," Dean sighed.
Sam gently massaged the back of Dean's neck with his fingers. "Did you like the duplex option? Or there's the mobile home development."
"No housing developments." Dean's shook his head. "Let me do a little looking okay?"
Sam nodded and laid his arm across the back of the seat as Dean settled against him once more.
"You two having any luck on the homefront?" Bobby asked.
"Not really," Sam sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and set down the pen he'd been using to write down the translation's he'd been working on. "Dean didn't like any of the choices I picked out and he hasn't made any mention of finding something he liked."
"You boys don't have to head out so fast, I do enjoy having you here you know," Bobby told him.
"Bobby you've already done so much for us," Sam replied. "I still think you should let me pay you back for the hormone therapy."
"Don't start with that," Bobby said. "You just focus on helping Dean through this. If your daddy were here he'd do the same."
Sam shifted a little in his seat and glanced towards the back door as he heard Dean's footsteps. "I'd like to think so."
"Baby is purring like a kitten," Dean said as he walked into the kitchen. "And shining like a diamond. We should take her for a ride later."
"Yeah?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded and grabbed a coke from the fridge. "Drive down to the lake? Give your brain a break from all that reading."
"Sounds great," Sam smiled.
He watched Dean walk out of the kitchen and heard him go upstairs.
"Rufus called about a demon possession out in Wisconsin," Bobby said as he stood up. "I'm heading out tonight, shouldn't be gone long."
"Yeah?" Sam nodded. "Try to kill the demon and not each other."
Bobby rolled his eyes. "Try to keep your bedroom activities to the bedroom. Some things are better left the imagination you idjit."
Sam blushed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he drained the rest of his beer.
"Real sorry about that Bobby…" he apologized.
Bobby just patted his shoulder as he walked past him.
Dean returned to the kitchen twenty minutes later in a pair of ratty blue jeans and a thin baby blue sweater. He had his boots in one hand and a blanket in the other.
They packed a cooler with some beer and soda and stopped by the store to pick up some food. Dean kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other was draped across the back of the seat his fingers playing with the ends of Sam's hair.
Sam hadn't realized he'd fall asleep until he felt Dean's lips against his and he smiled a little. He sat up and stretched as Dean pulled back and looked around confused.
"This isn't the lake," Sam pointed out.
"Actually...it is," Dean answered. He got out and Sam followed suit.
"I found the listing online, owner's this old lady. The place used to belong to her husband but he died a few months back and she couldn't handle the upkeep," Dean said as he walked over to the house.
Dean leaned against the porch railing and braced his hands on the wood. He looked at Sam expectantly and Sam looked at the house. It was nice. Nicer than what Sam had originally picked out.
Sam ran a hand through his hair and gave Dean a smile. "How much is she asking for?"
"She's willing to let it go for 5,000," Dean answered.
"...What's wrong with it?" Sam asked.
"Nothing, she just doesn't want it anymore," Dean answered.
"Dean, there is no way in hell someone's going to give away a lake house this good unless there's something wrong with it," Sam said.
Dean rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with the place. Come on, she gave me the keys, let's just...take a look?" He held up the keys.
Sam nodded a little and joined him on the porch. "Alright, we'll look."
Dean smiled and unlocked the front door. Sam wrapped his arm around Dean's shoulder as they stepped into the house.
"...Okay...so the outside looks better than the inside…" Dean said after a beat of silence.
"That is understatement," Sam replied. "When was the last time she said her husband came out here?"
"She didn't," Dean replied. "But, look all it needs is a little TLC…"
Sam snorted. "It needs new floors, new wallpaper, I swear I'm getting tetanus just by being in here."
"But it'd be ours Sam...we wouldn't have to worry about paying rent, hell, we could paint the walls pink...really make it our own you know?" Dean told him.
"...We're not painting the walls pink," Sam replied. "She's just asking for 5,000?"
Dean nodded. "That's all she wants."
"It's gonna take forever you know, won't be liveable for at least a month," Sam told him.
"I know," Dean nodded.
"And the lake's not like haunted or anything is it?" Sam asked.
"Triple checked, only things in that lake are fish," Dean answered.
Sam nodded. "If you're happy I'm happy."
"You sure?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure...it might be nice to live on a lake."
Dean grinned.
"...You already told her yes didn't you?" Sam asked.
"I knew you were gonna say yes," Dean answered with a shrug.
"Dean," Sam said.
"Hmm?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Run," Sam answered.
Dean laughed as he dodged Sam's attempt to grab him and ran out of the house and towards the backyard. Sam mock growled as he ran after him.
Dean grabbed a low hanging branch and jumped up to grab it, He hauled himself up straddled the branch as Sam caught up to him.
"Oh no fair," Sam said. "Get down here."
"Nope," Dean replied and swung his legs a little. "Show me all those pull up's at five in the morning pay off."
Sam rolled his eyes and jumped up to grab the branch. He pulled himself up and swung a leg over, quickly righting himself before he fell.
Dean smiled. "See, you did it."
"God...this reminds me of that time in highschool and I let some kids talk me going to that old junkyard with the dogs," Sam said.
Dean snorted. "I remember that. You got stuck on the fence and called me to come get you. Had a date that night too you know."
"A date? You showed up with a black eye and a split lip," Sam replied.
Dean picked at a piece of bark. "He was an alpha on the chess team. Nice guy, we grabbed some burgers and on our way out, some guys didn't take to kindly to two alpha's going on dates…"
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"Guy decided he wasn't ready and started dating a nice pretty Omega," Dean shrugged. "And, I decided I'd much rather spend my time making sure you understood that you shouldn't care about what people think about you."
"For what it's worth, that guy was stupid to leave you over something like that," Sam told him.
Dean shrugged. "Different time Sam. Sides, who needs him when I've got you?"
Sam chuckled. "I am pretty awesome."
"You...are more than awesome Sammy," Dean told him. "I know I haven't been the best the deal with lately with all the hormone therapy going on, but I appreciate you being here."
"Where am I gonna go? You won't let me have the car," Sam joked.
Dean rolled his eyes and smiled. "You know what I mean."
"You don't need to thank me for anything Dean, I'd do anything for you," Sam told him. He reached up and cupped Dean's cheek. "You...You're my mate Dean. And my brother and I love you and I would do anything to make you happy."
"You're such a sap…" Dean blushed.
Sam rolled his eyes and leaned forward to kiss him. "Shut up...You love it."