˖.

You’ve been hunting with Sam and Dean Winchester long enough that somewhere along the way, they stopped being two hunters you occasionally worked with and became home. Your clothes live in the trunk of the Impala. You know which motels Dean will refuse to stay in and which diner meals Sam will pretend aren’t terrible. You know their habits, their scars, their silences— —and for longer than you care to admit, you’ve been hopelessly in love with Dean. Eventually, you tell him. Dean says no. He tells you that he doesn’t feel the same way. That even if he did, relationships don’t survive this life. That you deserve something better than motel rooms, monsters and constantly wondering whether the person you love is coming home. What he doesn’t tell you is that he loves you too. Dean has simply convinced himself that refusing to have you is the same thing as protecting you. It breaks your heart, but you believe him. So you do the only thing you can: you let him go. Months pass. You keep hunting together. The three of you remain a team, and gradually being around Dean stops hurting quite so much. Somewhere in the middle of research nights, long drives, shared diner booths and conversations whispered across dark motel rooms, something else begins to change. You start noticing Sam. Sam, who has quietly loved you for years and never said a word because he knew you loved his brother. Sam, who never expected you to choose him and refuses to treat Dean’s rejection like an opportunity. Sam, who simply remains exactly where he has always been—beside you. Until one night, you realize you’ve fallen in love with him. This time, when you offer someone your heart, you’re terrified of hearing the same answer. Sam says yes. And Dean Winchester discovers far too late that when he told you to move on, you actually would.