Sam Winchester woke to the sound of his own name coming from his brother's lips.
Slowly opening his eyes, Sam tried to blink his way through the darkness. His tired gaze found Dean, sitting upright in his bed, eyes wide with panic.
"Dean?-" Sam realized that his brother hadn't noticed the fact that he'd shouted Sam's name loud enough that the next town over could hear, when Dean jumped and swiveled his head towards Sam. Immediately, his "I Gotta Keep Cool So That Sammy Can Be Happy and Not Worry About Me" slammed into place, and he mumbled a soft, "Go back to sleep, Sam".
With a roll of his eyes, Sam in turn activated his bitch face and opened his mouth to say something to Dean. Dean hardly noticed. His heart was pounding and his ears were ringing and he was looking at Sam like it was his last chance to do so, drinking in the sight of his sleep ruffled little brother.
Sam's concern rose from a two to about a ten when Dean didn't react to his remark about how with messy hair like that, Dean could hardly accomplish his dream of being the first live action actress of Rapunzel, and just kept gaping at him.
"Dean? Dean!"
Dean blinked a few times and realized that he'd been staring, then turned his head to fix his gaze on the wall.
"Dude, are you ok?"
And when Dean's "I'm fine" sounded choked and his breath hitched before each word, Sam knew for a fact that this nightmare must have been really bad. Which could only have meant one thing; that it had been about Sam.
Before Sam could say anything else, Dean cleared his throat and grumbled, "Go back to sleep Sam." Not checking if his brother followed those instructions, Dean turned his back to Sam and lay down facing the window.
Sam was stuck. He couldn't possibly fall asleep knowing that his brother was in pain, but if he tried to do anything about it, Dean would get upset, and no part of Sam wanted to deal with a pissed off Dean for the remainder of the week.
The shuddering inhale that came from his brother did it for Sam, and he quietly pulled back his covers and tiptoed to Dean's bed. The mattress dipped as Sam's moose sized body crawled under the blanket.
Sam tried to ignore the dampness of the pillow when he put his head on it, and instead focused on comforting his brother, reaching out a hand and placing it on Dean's shoulder. His brother tensed at the contact and muttered a soft "Go away Sam".
"Dean you know I can't. Please just let me help y-"
Dean couldn't take it anymore and rolled over, wrapping his arms around his brother and burying his face into the soft cotton of Sam's shirt. Sam smiled and pulled Dean against him, drawing him closer to his chest.
They lay in silence for a while, listening to the other's heart beats and counting the breaths, as if making sure that the other was real and here and safe.
"Dean?"
"Hmmm?"
Sam took a deep breath. His brother was still tense, but Sam knew from experience that keeping the nightmares in wasn't doing Dean any favors.
"What was the nightmare about?"
He felt Dean stiffen under him, and Dean lifted his head to look at Sam. The look on his face was pleading with his little brother to leave the topic alone. But Sam wasn't having any of that. Dean's kicked puppy face would usually have spurred Sam into doing whatever it was that Dean wanted, because although Sam's puppy face was irresistible, Dean's was deadly.
Steeling himself against the wounded gaze of his brother, Sam pushed again. "Dean, you know you'll feel better if you talk about it."
Dean took a deep breath, as if preparing himself.
"It was back when dad was alive, and you- you left for Stanford." Dean felt Sam's arms tighten around him at those words.
"And I wanted to follow you, but dad wouldn't let me. He said you were safe. He said that no monsters could get you." There was a pause.
"But then Jess called. She said- she said-". Dean stopped there and thickly swallowed. Sam let him take his time, not willing to push any further, heart growing heavy.
"And I could have stopped it." He finally whispered out. "If I had stopped you from leaving. If I had just not listened to dad, if I had gone with you, if-".
"Dean, no. Stop", Sam almost growled. He looked down at his brother, who was staring unseeingly at Sam's chest.
"Dean, look at me. C'mon man, do you really think that you could have stopped me from leaving, or have left hunting to go to college with me?", Sam said when Dean finally lifted his head to look at Sam, who pressed his forehead to his brother's and gazed into Dean's tired green eyes.
"It's not your fault that I left, and you have to stop beating yourself up about it. How many times do I have to tell you, Dean? I'm not leaving you again. Ever."
"You don't know that-"
"Yes. I do. Because there's no place in this entire world I'd rather be than here, hunting monsters with you."
And Sam didn't know what made him do it, but he chose that moment to kiss Dean on the nose.
Dean certainly wasn't expecting that, and he let out a squeak (a very manly squeak, he'd insist to Sam afterwards) and ducked his head to rub the kiss off on Sam's shirt.
Sam's chuckle sounded more like a rumble to Dean, and he lifted his head to glare at his brother's laughing face.
"Sappy bitch", he grumbled.
"You love it, jerk", Sam fired back, grinning.
There was a pause. "Yeah you know I do."
Dean buried his face in his brother's chest and pressed himself closer to Sam, breathing in his familiar scent. His brother's arms pulled him in and encircled his body in warmth. Sam smiled in content and he rested his head on top of Dean's.
Not long after, Sam's hands started tracing patterns on Dean's back, and what little stiffness that was left in his brother's body completely vanished. Dean practically melted into Sam, who's smile could have blinded the sun. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Dean's head, and soon both brothers were fast asleep, wrapped in each other's comfort.
And they dreamed of Impalas and sunsets and long, winding roads, and no nightmares dared touch them when they were together.