Sam needs a hug but doesn't have the courage to ask Dean for one.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.

"Just a little longer," Sam whispered against his big brother's neck. "It's been ages since you've held me like this since I've basked in the comfort your touch gives me.

Remember when we used to bump shoulders, brush our fingers against each other, indulge in all sorts of little physical touches, just to remind us we cared.

Now even if we're still together, at times it feels as though we're miles apart, those little caresses all but gone.

When I was a kid, your nearness comforted me, made me feel safe and secure. We grew up falling over, and into each other, united in the closeness only a shared danger can bring.

I wish I was small again, Dean, just to have you hold me, take away my fears, breathe in the scent of you which always soothed my soul.

If I was a nine again, I could give you that piss-ugly amulet and know you'd never trash it this time around, 'cos I wouldn't fuck things up as I did before.

Once I said I wanted us to be partners, not brothers; that the crazy co-dependency we had was dangerous for us and for those around us; but I was wrong. It's what makes us who we are, what we are, what we'll always be, Sam and Dean Winchester, brothers."

:

Sam sighed, prying his mind from the images his tired brain was conjuring up.

He'd never have the courage to say these things to Dean. To ask him for a hug would be ridiculous, laughable.

He was nearly thirty-four, for fuck's sake. He shouldn't be yearning for a hug from his big brother.

Yet even as he impatiently brushed away the thought, he found himself pulled to his feet and enveloped in the very hug he was daydreaming of.

At first, he stilled, not quite believing Dean had actually yanked him into his strong arms, but then he relaxed into his big brother's hold.

"Sammy. "

Dean's voice was barely audible. "Don't say anything. Just hug me, okay."

:

Sam nodded silently, his eyes moistening at the realization that Dean needed him as much as he needed his big brother.

The close physical contact filled them both with an almost orgasmic sensation of rightness, of their hug being as necessary as breathing.

That holding each other tight should make two adult men feel that way, was strange, to say the least, but as they continued to hang on to each other with no intention of letting go, Sam decided that as Winchesters, they could make their own rules, for they were beholden to no-one but each other.

The end