Dean clearly thought of the Bunker as the home he hadn't had since he was four years old. Sam can understand that, sort of. A life of normalcy was something Dean had had for four whole years before it was stripped away from him, so it's natural for him to secretly crave some sort of home. Sam had been the one during his adolescent years wishing to be normal and to have a normal life, but somehow he's grown out of that. He knows he can't be normal, and that hunting will always be his life. He was taught that when his life with Amelia had disbanded.
But Dean's been cooking, wearing bath robes, and drinking tea. He's nesting, enjoying the feeling of having a permanent home that won't fly away from him. It's going to stay here forever, become the Winchesters' residence. Hell, Sam's surprised Dean hasn't set up a welcome mat yet with the amount of domesticity that's running rampant through his veins.
One day when Dean's on a food run, Sam takes a peek inside his brother's room. It tells him all he needs to know, that Dean is taking the opportunity of having his own room as a revered gift from above. His favorite LP's are on his bedside tables, alongside a picture of him and Mom. Sam's heart clenches, at the sight, but he moves on. He marvels at the sight of some of Dean's iconic weapons mounted upon the walls, as it obviously took him a long time to set those up perfectly. Sam smiles. This place screams Dean, and Sam knows what he has to do next.
The Men of Letters library holds the greatest collection of supernatural-themed books in the world. Sam has been through the archives by now, taking note of most of the books that are here. Upon his doing so, he found that not only does this place have books on anything you'd want to research, it has actual novels. Like, all of Shakespeare's plays and any classic you can think of, including L. Frank Baum, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, and Jules Verne. Sam's read all of those authors, but he's pretty sure that Dean hasn't. So, grinning to himself, he puts the books where they belong: inside Dean's bedroom.
He knows Dean sees them, since they'd been placed in the most visible spot in his brother's room. Sam catches Dean's eye once the older man descends from his bedroom, his brother giving him a slight look, but otherwise never bringing the novels up.
Until Sam receives Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on his bed a few days later, a post-it note tacked to the cover reading "Nice try, but I'm not gay."
Sam laughs, and tucks the novel underneath his pillow, adding it to his list of books to read. A few nights after the book is returned to him, Sam pulls out the soft paperback and begins to thumb through it, idly wondering if he had lore books to be reading instead of friggen Shakespeare. Shrugging nonchalantly, Sam begins reading it, reminiscing on his junior high years in which he was first introduced to the famous poet. The plot is refreshed as he reads ten pages, twenty, thirty. Then, he spots some familiar pencil markings.
Dean had read this book.
Sam carefully eyes the notes, spotting his brother's familiar scrawl as he underlined passages and annotated them, speaking his mind on what he though Shakespeare was speaking about humanity in those passages. Sam gapes, a smile lacing his lips. He hasn't seen Dean become this absorbed in a book since…well, a long time.
That's how, on an alleged "beer run," Sam finds himself scouring the local thrift shop for something specific: the complete works of Shakespeare. As much as Dean acts like he doesn't care, Sam knows how much he really does. Shakespeare had always been a secret pleasure of his older brother's. So, snatching up the collection of books as quickly as he can and paying no more than fifteen bucks for all of them, Sam heads back to the Bunker.
On Dean's thirty-second birthday, Sam wraps the books, and a separate gift is the usual skin mags and season three of Game of Thrones.
Dean has never loved his birthday, but the way his eyes light up when Sam presents him with not one, but two gifts makes Sam know all the trouble was worth it.
Dean opens the larger parcel, nose crinkling when he saw the cursive print of Romeo and Juliet. "Shakespeare, Sam?" he grumbles distastefully, though Sam sees the playful gleam in his eyes. "Seriously?"
"Saw how much you liked A Midsummer Night's Dream when you threw it back in my room," Sam replies cheekily with a grin. "Those are just gags, Dean. Now open the others."
Dean clicks his tongue in approval at the latest issues of Busty Asian Beauties, smiling widely at his new DVD. "Whaddaya say we binge watch this whole thing tonight?" Dean asks.
"As long as you promise to keep the porn away, dude."
Dean rolls his eyes in exaggeration. "We'll see, little bro. Gotta remember, it's my birthday."
Later that night, about halfway through episode five, Sam notices the collected works of Shakespeare gathered on Dean's bedside table, new dog ears already decorating one of the titles. Sam smiles warmly, taking another drag of his beer and taking a sidelong glance towards his brother. For the first time in a long time, he looks happy.
Well I think this concludes this little fic! I'd be happy to add more if anyone has a suggestion, but this is as far as I had planned.
Thank you all for your support, and please take a moment to leave a review!