Work Text:
"I can't do this alone."
"Yes you can."
"Yeah, well, I don't want to."
"What was he hunting?"
-Season One, Episode One
Growing up, Dean's acknowledgment had been all Sam ever wanted. As he got older, Dean's attention became the best parts of his day. It was Dean who raised him, really. Dean helped him with school as best as he could, made sure Sam ate every day, and took care above Sam above all else.
John was there, but Sam and Dean were their own family.
In Sam's last year of high school, when he had applied and been accepted into Stanford, it was Dean who supported him. Dean did what he could, but he couldn't let their dad find out.
Dean helped him go, but he didn't want Sam to leave.
Sam knew. And had Dean asked, he would have stayed. In that last year, what Sam wanted more than anything was for Dean to learn that he could ask. Dean didn't know how to ask for anything, especially for help.
So Sam left, and over time, Dean realized what he should have done.
One day, Dean pulled up and broke into the apartment, and did what he hadn't done before.
He asked, and Sam came.