Chapter Five - Unrequited

Dean stays at Bobby's for the weekend, and they all have a BBQ on Sunday evening. It feels so much like the family Sam always wanted, they laugh and play card games, and it is one of the most enjoyable evenings that Sam had ever had.

Monday morning comes around, and Sam wakes up hearing people talking in the kitchen. He gets up, goes to the bathroom, and has a shower and dresses in fresh clothing, then walks down to the kitchen to see Bobby serving up pancakes and Dean sitting on a stool with his bags packed ready to go. "Morning Sammy, I was hoping you'd get your lazy ass out of bed soon" he says laughing as he sips his coffee.

"Haha, I need my beauty sleep, it looks like no amount of sleep could help you" Sam replies laughing as Dean throws a tea towel at him.

"Alright you two, eat your breakfast" Bobby says chuckling

They eat their pancakes and the more they eat the more Sam gets more and more melancholy. He doesn't expect the emotions that fill him, he knows that Dean is his friend but after this weekend he feels like he is more than just a friend, he is more like a brother and Sam knows that some of that emotion is the fact that he has been harbouring a bit of a crush on Dean for a number of years and it is never going to anything more than 1 sided but he is really happy to have Dean in his life as a friend, even if that is all he will ever be.

"OK, I better get going Bobby" Dean says as he gets up from the table and puts his plate in the sink.

Bobby stands and shakes the hunter's hand "You take care of yourself… keep me posted on that kitsune in Mississippi, okay?"

"I'll check in with you once I figure out who it is okay Bobby" Dean smiled at the old man

Dean turned to the young man beside him and the smile grew bigger "Well Sammy, I'm going to miss you… you're such a pain in the ass but you're also… a smart ass and I like you… I want you to go off to Stanford and use your brain for something awesome" Dean pulled him in and enveloped him with his arms and took a deep breath in, Sam smelled like the pomegranate shampoo and deodorant and it was a smell he wanted to remember.

"Oh well if you say so, then I should go…" Sam said sarcastically as he stepped back nervously rubbing his hands on his legs.

"OK good…. I'll even go and check on you Sammy" Dean said patting him on the shoulder. He walks over to his bag, picks it up and walks towards the door. "See ya later Bobby…. See ya Sammy" and Dean walks out the door.

Bobby went to the kitchen and watched as Sam walked to the door and waved at Dean as he drove away. Bobby smiled at a little at Sam, he could tell that something had sparked between Sam and Dean but obviously hadn't been followed through on. "Sam?" Bobby asked as Sam was still at the door.

Sam turned around as Bobby's voice broke through Sam's revery "Uh yeah, I'm fine" Sam looked away embarrassed.

"You know, Dean's single" Bobby said knowingly.

Sam's face flushed pink "What?" Sam asked spluttering

"Dean is single" Bobby said slowly and succinctly, so Sam didn't miss what he had said.

"OK… why are you telling me this?" Sam asked, his face now red and hot with embarrassment.

"Because… I get the sense that this information might be of interest to you" Bobby leant forward trying to catch Sam's eyes. "I think he's interested in you as well"

Sam shook his head "No, no way, Dean is not interested in me" Sam knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Dean was straight, he had never shown even the slightest interest in a man, let alone Sam Winchester.

"How do you know? Did he tell you he wasn't interested?" Bobby asked gently

"Well, no but… he's straight" Sam replied.

"He could be Bi-sexual, for all you know" Bobby said knowingly

"God, Bobby I know that, but he is SO straight, he's only ever been with women" Sam said adamantly

"Again... how do you know for sure? How do you know for sure that he is straight? I'm not trying to get your hopes up or anything, but I know what I saw, and I think Dean is interested in being more than friends with you"

Sam looks up at him with hope in his eyes "Really? how do you know?" he asked hopefully

"When you were talking about getting into Stanford, he gave you a look… and I just knew" Bobby said gently

"Well, he's going his way and I'm going to Stanford… so…" Sam looked up at Bobby and shrugged "I don't know when I'll see him again" Sam says softly

"Well, he said he was going to go check on you when you got to Stanford so, maybe when he does, you can talk to him…" Bobby gave him a small smile "Ask him out…. Or whatever and you can do whatever it is you young people do now adays" Bobby lifted his head up and then down in embarrassment.

Sam scoffed "OK Bobby, I'll ask him out!... god in what world would I ever ask Dean Campbell out on a date... are you crazy?" Sam asked sarcastically

"Why not? You're a handsome boy, why couldn't you ask him out?" Bobby asks jokingly

Sam's face is blazing in embarrassment, but he squares his shoulders "Ok thanks for the advice, but I don't think I can do that Bobby…. I'm not… He wouldn't…. I just can't ok, thanks though Bobby"

"Sam…" Bobby started to speak but Sam had already walked up to the stairs and closed the door of the guest bedroom.

"Stupid Idjit" Bobby said shaking his head.

Sam stood against the door and sighed, there was no way he could actually ask Dean out on a date, on one hand he had no idea if Dean was anything but straight and on the other hand he didn't want to ruin their friendship by asking him out, what if Dean punched him in the face and said he hated him and didn't want to see him ever again.

And then the small spark of hope flared again, what if? What if he asked Dean out on a date and maybe, just maybe, he said yes, and maybe, just maybe he liked Sam back and they somehow lived happily ever after. That was the dream, the dream that 15-year-old Sam had dreamt late at night when he had first seen Dean after a run, sweaty, glistening muscles twitching, drinking from a cold bottle of water, his throat moving as he guzzled down the water down. The feelings he felt that night was pure lust but the feelings that were nurtured after spending time with Dean, getting to know him and finding out what a kind, funny, and overprotective person he really was, just made his feelings change into something deeper.

Sam wasn't sure how Dean felt about him, but Sam knew that having unrequited love with someone who would never feel the same about him hurt more than he thought it would. It hurt more than anything he had felt before so when he got the change, Sam was going to take a chance and tell Dean how he felt and maybe, just maybe he would get lucky, and his dream would finally come true and he would get that happily ever after.

TBC