Sam was worried, it started to seem like whenever things were finally going good something new would rear its ugly head. The problem was, he wasn't sure how to ask about it. Today was supposed to be a light day, they were spending the day snuggled up in Sam's dorm and watching Netflix movies. However, Sam couldn't help but wonder how the hell he hadn't noticed these before.

It's been two days since Danny came back from a family trip, and it took those two days before Sam finally noticed. Danny's covered in bruises, maybe covered was too strong of a word, but the dark yellow and purple bruise across his shoulder was hard to miss when it was looking you straight in the face. He wasn't too sure what that meant, although his brain kept reminding him of the first time he saw Danny injured.

It was hard to not be worried and scared that maybe Danny went to visit his parents, instead of his uncle and aunt. What if this was the result of Danny trying to reconcile things, to try and mend the broken relationship. Was it even Sam's place to ask? To say anything?

He had a right to, he was Danny's boyfriend. Even if they didn't quite use the term, he had every right to worry about the person that he liked so much. The problem was, how was he supposed to bring it up? It was even harder to focus on anything but the bruise, the chuckle that left Danny vibrated into his chest and pulled him from his thoughts.

Regardless of whether or not he wanted to have a relaxed day, this was something he had to do.

"What happened?" Sam asked, his voice soft and gentle as he lightly brushed his fingertips over the bruise. He felt the muscle tense underneath him, Danny shifting his gaze from the T.V. to worried eyes.

"It's nothing." Danny quietly answered, averting his gaze from Sam's. The taller let out a small sigh, softly grazing his fingertips across Danny's jaw.

"Don't lie to me, even if you can't tell me the truth." Sam replied, watching the other pull away and settling in a sitting position across from him. Sam followed suit, worry building with the crossed look Danny had.

"I want to tell you, I really really fucking do... I'm just, I'm worried." Danny shrugged, Sam offered up a small smile.

"Regardless what you tell me, I won't be mad." Sam reassured, watching the waging war happening behind blue eyes. He tried to stop his mind from wondering too much but it was hard. Danny seemed to have a knack for getting hurt. "Did... Did your aunt or uncle?" The question hung in the air for just a split second, not fully asked but understood.

"No, absolutely not." Danny answered, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. "Pandora would flip, she already gave me a lecture for these." Sam felt a small bit of the tension and concern leave him, that was one answer.

"Can I see?" Sam asked, his mind reminding him of that promise from years ago. When he first found out about Danny's parents, the man was hurt again and Sam was actually here to help. Something he never thought would happen again.

"I- sure, I'll tell you... after." Danny settled on his words after a beat, Sam almost retracted his question until the other spoke. The brunette nodded, not saying a word as Danny lifted his shirt over his head. It was a stark reminder that he wasn't the same teen from those years back. He's grown, not just in muscle definition but in so many ways.

Sam inhaled, eyes roaming over the blossoming purple and yellow bruises before his eyes zeroed in on the man's side. A cut from the mid rib cage to just above his waistband rested there, the wound was perfectly stitched up. Sam wondered if these have been here for those two days, and judging by the healing rate they weren't particularly fresh.

"Did you stitch that yourself?" Sam asked, stopping himself from running his fingertips across the stitches. He didn't want to make Danny uncomfortable, or cross any unspoken boundaries.

"No, uh, Pandora did." Danny swallowed, twisting the shirt between his fingers. Sam nodded, he was actually glad to hear that Danny's aunt was there for him in ways the Winchesters' used to be. A silent moment pass, Sam simply taking in the wounds before landing back on anxious eyes. Danny slipped his shirt back on, wrapping his arms around his middle. It was easy to read the discomfort and worry radiating off the man.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Sam breathed, no matter how much it killed him not to know if Danny was in danger again or not. "I just want to know you're okay and safe."

"I am!" Danny's head snapped up, before he quickly added. "Relatively."

"Danny-"

"Just, let me get this out before I chicken out." Danny laughed, trying to lessen the tension in the air. It worked, even if it was only a little bit. "First, you remember when I told you I knew your dad wasn't a mechanic? It was because I already pieced together you were hunters, I mean my parents were ghost hunters after all." Sam didn't have any words to say even if he wanted to, out of all the ways he thought this would go, he didn't expect this. Instead, he just let Danny go on, uninterrupted.

"I'm pretty sure you came here because you didn't want that life, I get it... I don't want to drag you back into it, but hunting... It's something I do, that I'm good at." Danny sighed, Sam reached out and rested a hand on the other's knee. Silently telling him that he was here, and that he was listening, that earned him a soft smile before the man continued. "I don't do it often, but sometimes Charles would call me if he had a case and no one else couldn't take it up. Especially if he knows it won't get in the way of my studies. " There was another silence, this time Sam was sure he was meant to say something.

In the small pause, the Winchester's mind supplied him a comparison, one he didn't really expect to have. The way Danny talked about hunting kind of reminded Sam about his brother, how Dean handle hunting. He always had a spitfire to it, like he was the only and best person for the job. Sam wonders if Dean felt the same now.

"It's okay Danny, it really is." Sam reassured, giving Danny a smile, a genuine smile. The worries of his loved ones on a hunt was something he could handle, something he was used to. It was actually a bit of a relief that Danny wasn't being hurt by his family anymore. "I won't be upset with you about hunting, but next time, can you tell me?" It wasn't his place to make Danny stop.

"Of course!" Danny shook his head, returning Sam's smile with one with a hint of disbelief. "I don't normally get hurt like this, I just fucked up a bit."

"What case was it?" Sam asked, the tension slipping away from his body. As much as he came here to get rid of hunting, it was easier to sit and talk about it when it wasn't your whole life. It was comfortable, easier than he thought it would be.

"Vampires, they were kidnapping kids in a nearby state." Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I miscounted the amount in the nest, one of them managed to get the jump on me. But I saved the little girl they had." The pride in Danny's eyes warmed Sam's heart. Maybe a Winchester wasn't meant to live his whole life without any semblance of hunting in it. If this was how hunting was going to be in his life, maybe he would handle it.

"I'm glad it wasn't worse." Sam spoke, not thinking twice about his words.

"I know." Danny smiled, lightly wrapping his arms around Sam's shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. Sam returned the hug, being mindful not to hug too tight. The Winchester rested his head on top of Danny, letting himself live in the moment. He wasn't going to stress about the next time Danny takes on a hunt, he trusted the other to tell him when the time came. He also trusted Charles to make sure Danny would be safe at most times.

He didn't need to meet Charles or Pandora to know how much they care about the man, the way Danny talked about them was enough to know. They didn't want him to hurt anymore then Sam would want it. That was enough for him.

After that conversation, a tension that had seemed to linger unnoticed was dropped. It seemed to flow a little easier between the two of them. The secrets that seemed to once be held close to one's chest was now on the table. There wasn't much else to hide, it was comfortable.

"I have a question." Danny mused seemingly out of nowhere, pulling Sam away from the research paper pulled up on his computer. The taller raised an eyebrow, turning his full attention to the ravenette. "Would you be okay meeting Pandora or Charles? They've been talking about visiting me on campus at some point, and you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'd be happy to meet them." Sam smiled, and he wasn't lying. Sure, he didn't expect to meet them so soon but that didn't mean he would be against the idea. It would be nice to meet the family that Danny had in his corner. Even if the idea gave Sam the same sense of anxiety as meeting the parents did. The two of them seemed like they were basically the parents, Pandora also sounded like she wouldn't hesitate to hurt him if he ever hurt Danny.

"Okay, that's good. I may have mentioned in passing the idea of getting a place together and Pandora wants to meet you now." Danny shrugged, giving a soft laugh. Sam felt a warm feeling take place in his chest, the idea of Danny talking about him to the two brought a small smile to his face. "Charles trusts my judgement, but Pandora... She would rather get her own first impression."

"I'm okay with that." Sam smiled, watching Danny's own relaxed smile slip onto his face. "I'm actually kind of excited to meet them."

"Fair warning, they can be a little... much." Danny chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair. Sam quietly watched Danny walk towards his bag, slipping his laptop inside. The taller took that as a hint that the study session was basically over now.

"I'm sure they can't be that bad." Sam mused, taking refuge on his bed. He rested his back against the wall, watching Danny walk back towards the bed.

"I don't know, Pandora can ask some pretty probing questions." Danny smiled, settling next to Sam's legs. "Charles is more likely to just watch you like he already knows everything about you."

"Let me guess, Pandora is a FBI interrogator, and Charles is on the CIA surveillance team?" Sam laughed along with Danny, but the other man shook his head softly. Sam laced his fingers around Danny's hand, softly running his thumb across his knuckles. A soft warm spread through him at the simple contentedness of the situation.

"Close, close." Danny chuckled, resting his chin of Sam's bent knees. "Pandora runs a small chain of antique stores, and Charles has his own watch company." Sam quirked an eyebrow at that, he hadn't expected them to have such... Mundane jobs for lack of a better word.

"That sounds pretty cool actually." Sam mused softly, noting how cold Danny's skin usually is. "I kind of wasn't expecting that."

"If it helps, they co-own a hunters bar in the middle of a roadway." Danny chuckled.

"That actually does." Sam smiled. "The way you talk about me doesn't give very much domestic life feel."

"They wouldn't know what domestic life was if it bit them in the ass."

A silence followed his statement, not at all awkward. The two just quietly sat beside each other, soft innocent touches shared. Sam felt adoration run through him as he stared into emotional blue eyes. Even if he couldn't quite place what was swimming in them, the soft happy smile resting on those lips answered any questions Sam might have.

Sam was the first one to break the stare off, sitting up and wrapping a hand on the side of Danny's neck. They met halfway, lips pressing into a small soft kiss. The Winchester softly chuckled against Danny's lips as the smaller slipped into his lap. He wrapped his arms around the man's thin waist, leaning into the hands that found a place on his neck and hair.

"What're you thinking about?" Danny whispered, resting his forehead against Sam's.

"Nothing." Sam smiled, lacing his fingers through soft onyx hair. "I'm just happy."

"Good."