Work Text:
Every time Sam suggested that he didn’t want to impose, and could go to a hotel, neither Emmanuel nor Daphne would hear of it. Nor would they take money for housing Sam. They were perfectly happy to let him bake for them, or fix some minor things like a squeaky fan or a sink that didn’t drain well, or handle some of the chores around the house, but they never let him feel like an intruder or a burden. “I don’t get it, Dean,” Sam told his brother on a phone call. “From you, I’d get it, you’re my brother and taking care of me has always been your thing, but I only knew Emmanuel and Daphne from the shop and church and the softball team. It’s not like we were even friends.”
“Isn’t Emmanuel that guy you’re always telling me about who visits hospitals and stuff and leaves every single patient he visits in better condition? Like just being in his presence kicks their injury’s ass and makes it straighten out and fly right?” Sam snorted at the description. He’d been slightly drunk when he came up with that one, and Dean was determined to never let him forget it. Of course, it wasn’t wrong – Emmanuel was a natural healer whose great joy in life was helping those who needed him.
Which… was probably Dean’s point. Emmanuel was big on helping, and the good feeling from that is all he needed from Sam. “Yeah, that’s him. You think it’s really that easy? He just wants to help me?”
“Not there, never met the guy, but from what you’ve told me about him, yeah, makes as much sense as anything else. If you’re worried about it, you could always ask him?”
Right. That wouldn’t be an awkward conversation at all. Sam had tried being subtle about it, because the idea of just coming out and asking was awful. He hadn’t gotten an answer that made sense. “Not doing that, Dean. You’re ridiculous.”
“Fine. Dance around things until it’s too late and you’re back in your new bakery and you’ll have to live with never getting your question answered.” Sam just shook his head. Maybe Dean thought that sounded like a horrible threat, but really, he didn’t see the problem with it. Lots of his questions never got answered. He’d learned to live with that a long, long time ago.
Sam was half-asleep when Emmanuel came in to check on him after getting home. It was good to see, and Emmanuel felt the need to apologize for waking him up. Sam got so little sleep as it was, and although he said that was normal, Emmanuel couldn’t help the worry. He could feel that there was something deep down that kept Sam from allowing himself to truly relax, ever. “Sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything.”
“Nope, you and Daphne have already done so much, I can’t imagine needing anything ever again…” Sam shifted a little. “Well, until I go back to living on my own and don’t have you guys looking out for me like this anymore, anyway.”
Emmanuel tilted his head, trying to figure out just how awake Sam was. He and Daphne had been meaning to talk to Sam about this, but no sense in doing it now if they’d just have to have the conversation again later because Sam didn’t remember it or thought it was a dream. “Daphne and I have been talking about that a lot lately.”
“Yeah, not surprised, when do you want me out by?” Sam murmured. “Refuse to believe you’re asking me to leave now, but…”
As much as he’d expected that, it still hurt Emmanuel to realize that Sam had such trouble accepting his and Daphne’s kindness. “Just the opposite, actually. We’ve both agreed that having you around has been one of the best things to happen to us. Daphne very much appreciates your company when I’m traveling, we’ve gotten quite spoiled by your cooking and maintenance help, and we just plain enjoy having you around. We won’t stop you if you want to leave once your shop is rebuilt, but we want you to stay.”
“I can’t,” Sam muttered, burying his face in his pillow. “The longer I stay, the harder it will be not to fuck up and try to do something about my feelings for you. I have to leave before I ruin everything.”
“All right. Sleep on it, think it over, and we can talk more about it tomorrow, okay? Sleep well.” Emmanuel gently smoothed Sam’s hair out of his face before leaving to deal with Sam’s confession.
First question: who did he mean by you? Just him, or him and Daphne? It didn’t matter, other than in figuring out what might happen with this. Either way was fine. That was part of what his conversations with Daphne had been about. He hadn’t meant to bring it up while Sam was half-asleep, but since Sam did, it would be much easier to broach the subject in the morning.
Sam was usually an early riser, so Emmanuel worried a bit when breakfast came and went without Sam making an appearance. Sam’s car was still in the driveway, though, so if Sam had left it wasn’t for good. He’d come back. Most likely, he remembered enough of the conversation the night before to either be avoiding Emmanuel or thinking about things or both. Either way, if that’s what Sam needed to do, then Emmanuel wouldn’t interrupt him.
He eventually showed up around lunchtime. Daphne gave him a smile. “There you are! I was starting to worry that you’d gone for a walk and something had happened!”
Sam ducked his head, letting his hair hide the slight flush and embarrassed smile somewhat. “No, uh, just… needed to do some thinking, that’s all. If I’d gone somewhere, I’d have told one of you, or left a note. Just in case.”
“You’re so considerate that way.” Daphne pointed to the counter where she’d just finished putting out sandwich fixings. “Help yourself, you must be hungry. If you want some bacon, let me know and I’ll fry some up for you, or you know where everything is.”
“Thanks.” Sam made himself a sandwich heavy on the vegetables and light on cheese and meat, settling at the table with a bottle of water and some chips. “So, uh… Emmanuel said you’ve been talking about me staying here?”
Well. That was easier than Emmanuel had expected. “We have,” Daphne said. “Emmanuel told me you had some reservations, but before we address them, I’d like some clarification. Me too, or just him?”
“Different, but you too.” Sam set down his sandwich, took a long gulp of water, and explained. “It’s not… I’m… with you, it’s only romantic. It’s not you, I’m just not really interested in sex with women. With Emmanuel, that sexual desire is there too. I’m not going to do anything about it. I won’t do anything to mess up your relationship with each other. If I’m gonna turn down your offer to stay here, though, you deserve to know why I can’t take you up on it.”
“No offense taken, and really, I’m perfectly okay with that,” Daphne said after exchanging a glance with Emmanuel. “I don’t know that it’s ever come up, but I’m asexual. Emmanuel and I have sex, because I know he wants it and it’s worth it to me to make him happy, but if he found somewhere else that could satisfy those desires and we never had sex again, I wouldn’t mind a bit. Part of the reason we want you to stay is that both Emmanuel and I have been developing feelings for you.”
Sam had picked up his sandwich to take a bite, but now he dropped it again. He looked over to Emmanuel. “Huh?”
“You fit,” Emmanuel said. “The last time I felt like this, like someone was meant to be in my life as a partner, I married her. You know how sometimes I get impressions, sensing connections or patterns or hidden wounds? The impression I get from you is that you belong here, with us. What, exactly, that looks like, that’s something we can work out, but I can’t imagine you leaving would benefit any of us at all.”
“Were you guys… is that why you invited me? Why you let me stay so long?”
“No,” Daphne said. “We invited you because you needed somewhere to go and if you didn’t have to pay for a hotel, that was more money you had for rebuilding. We let you stay because you still need somewhere, your shop isn’t rebuilt yet so you can’t move back in. Emmanuel and I never expected this. We weren’t thinking about letting someone else into our relationship until you seemed to fit so easily. This was as much a surprise to us when we realized it as it is to you right now. I trust Emmanuel’s feelings, so letting you in is not a problem, but of course, you have to decide if you want in. Let us know when you’ve figured things out for yourself, and we’ll figure out whatever we need to figure out then.”
Sam picked up his sandwich and munched on it without responding. Emmanuel and Daphne let him. When the sandwich and chips were gone, and he’d finished off the water, Sam cleared his throat. “I can just hear what my brother would say about this.” Emmanuel raised an eyebrow. “He’d call me an idiot for not taking a chance at finding happiness. If you guys are willing to just kind of feel things out as we go, I’d like to stay.”