Wrapped in Honey 17/?
Chapter 17
Sam was glad they'd made it over the rough spot without lasting damage. At least he hoped so. But seeing the enthusiasm with which Dean was throwing himself into his new project, Sam dared to hope.
The first time Dean forgot to make dinner he apologized over and over and asked Sam to remind him if necessary so it won't happen again. Since Dean had taken over the cooking they hadn't missed a meal and for some reason now Dean felt obliged to provide Sam with a home-cooked dinner every day. Not that Sam minded.
He didn't mind the Chinese take-out they had the day Dean forgot to cook either. The next time Dean was too engrossed in his work to think about dinner Sam made sandwiches instead.
"At least you didn't try to cook." Dean said in a poor attempt to cover his embarrassment with humor.
"You would punish me with oatmeal gruel for a week if I tried."
"Damn right I would." Dean agreed and took a bite from his sandwich. "But you make a decent sandwich."
Sam only grinned to that. "How's the car coming around?"
"Good." Dean swallowed. "I think I found a way to cut down the weight and still getting the shape I'm looking for."
Sam listened to him talking about his car, then Sam told him about his day in the office before they went over to the pool table for a little game. It was a good evening.
What truly surprised Sam was how easily they had slipped into the habit of sharing Sam's bed. Since his last bad night Dean hadn't slept in his own bed once. He got restless from time to time during the nights but as far as Sam could tell he didn't have one really bad nightmare since then. They didn't talk about it and Sam could live with that. Just like he could live with waking up to Dean curled all around him. Seriously, asleep that man became an octopus.
Sam had to take care of annoying morning wood in the shower more often than not but no way he was forcing himself on Dean like this. The last thing he wanted to happen was for Dean to get the wrong idea that he somehow had to pay him for the privilege of sleeping in his bed or something.
Dean got up with him in the morning and they had breakfast together before Sam went to work and Dean went back to working on his car.
"Hey, Sam." Ellen stood in his office door, giving him a truly welcomed break from the rather boring case he was working on. "You have any plans for the twentieth?"
"Are you asking me for a date?" Sam raised an amused eyebrow. "I'm flattered but … how do I break it to you … I'm gay."
"Smartass." She smacked the folder she was holding playfully in his direction. "It's my birthday and some idiot made it a social norm that you have to invite friends and family to celebrate that." She made a face. "Saturday the twentieth, eight o'clock, my place. Bring your boyfriend."
"My … what …?" Sam stammered at that.
"Didn't you say you were seeing someone?" Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "It didn't work out? Damn, I was looking forward to talking to him about that car you bought him." She shook her head and only with a delay she added: "I'm sorry. I hope it wasn't too hard on you. The break-up I mean."
Sam stared at her for a long moment before he couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. Not exactly because this was funny but more out of the absurdity of his relationship with Dean.
"Oh, I am still seeing him." Sam corrected. "But I think it's a little too early to introduce him to my friends."
"Oh, okay." Ellen frowned at him but let it be. "But you're coming. I'm counting on you. With my family being there I need at least one decent human being around."
"I'm not sure if I'm the right one for that." He muttered after her but low enough so she couldn't hear him.
For a while now his only plans for the weekends had been staying home with Dean so this would be a nice change. However, he felt kinda bad with the thought of leaving Dean alone to go to a party.
"Of course you're going." Was Dean's reaction when Sam brought the invitation up that evening. He left out the part that his boyfriend was invited as well, though.
"I don't know." Sam fiddled with his fork. He would like to go, yes, but for one it seemed unfair for Dean and he wasn't sure if that wouldn't trigger something for Dean.
"I'm a big boy." Dean assured him. "I can survive an evening alone." Without panicking, hung unspoken in the air. "And you really should go out once in a while instead of hanging you with my boring ass all the time."
"Dunno, I like your ass." Sam smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, I'll go."
With that settled Sam had to face the next problem. A birthday party called for a gift. But he had a few days to come up with something. For now he just enjoyed the view when Dean bent more than necessary to put his plate in the dishwasher.
"What?" He came up, a mischievous smile on his lips. "You said you like my ass."
Sam was still comfortably fed, a fact Dean was aware of for sure, so he took Dean's teasing as the fun it was without searching for the deeper meaning.
"I'm almost done with the car." Dean changed the topic. "Just have to decide on the paint-job." Now he rubbed the back of his head as if he wasn't sure how to ask what was on his mind.
"You're set with the paint?" Sam asked, sensing where this was heading. "If you need more I can get you more after work tomorrow."
Bracing himself on the back of his chair Dean gave him a relieved smile.
"I was thinking a dark, almost black, metallic blue." Dean's face lit up.
Sam had seen the car the other day so he had no problem imagine it with that color. A blue like that would emphasize the lines of the car. Dean didn't go for a real car model this time but what he'd come up with could pass as the real thing with a touch of scrap. Not at all what Sam had pictured when he'd heard that Dean wanted to built something out of scrap metal.
"Hmm." Sam made. "I'll see if I can get something like that."
The result was even better than Sam had imagined. Proudly Dean brought the car upstairs for a test drive. This was the first time Sam saw the car in motion but judging by the way Dean handled it via the remote he had some practice. Sam made a mental note to keep enough batteries handy.
After a few rounds around the loft Dean brought the car to a halt at Sam's feet.
"Want to give it a try?" He asked, holding the remote out to him.
Sam swallowed against the sudden tightness of his throat. This was Dean's baby. The one thing he'd spent countless hours with. The only thing that was truly his.
"I just hope I won't crash it." Sam accepted the remote with a butterfly feeling in his stomach.
"I'll kill you in your sleep." Dean promised darkly but it felt good that Dean felt comfortably enough around Sam that he could joke with him like this.
"Okay, then." Carefully Sam set the car in motion.
"My grandmother drives fast than that."
Sam didn't let the words irritate him and after a few rounds he got the hang of it.
"Not bad." Dean nodded and set the stakes higher by setting up a course with books.
Sam didn't stand a chance but he had fun racing against Dean. They spent the next hour maneuvering the car through different courses and Sam was happy enough when he managed to get through without too many bumps into the books outlining the course. He knew there was no way he could beat Dean anyway.
"Winner!" Dean declared with his fist in the air and a wide grin on his face.
Sam hung his head in defeat but he happily granted Dean his victory.
The next few days the buzzing of the car was a constant noise in the loft, not that Sam minded. Dean was happy and Sam was pretty sure that the enthusiasm would die down soon and Dean would put his mind on a new project. In the end it was the building part that held the real fun for Dean. He was already complaining about the a weak engine and the cheap remote control.
"We can see if we find something better online." Sam offered from his place on the couch while Dean stood somewhere behind him, playing with his car.
"We can?" Dean perked up to that and Sam noticed that he'd picked up on the we.
"After I've found the right present for Ellen." Sam gestured at his laptop with way too many tabs open and not the right idea in sight.
"Perfume?" Dean suggested.
"She's not that kind of woman."
"Does she read?"
"No idea what."
"Concert tickets?"
"Nah." Sam dismissed that too. He'd no idea what kind of music Ellen liked.
"What do you know about her?" Now he stopped the car and turned his attention to Sam.
"Good question." He muttered. What did he know about her? Maybe he should get her a good whiskey.
The sound of the car started again and now Dean used the legs of the couch table and Sam's feet as an obstacle course.
"Dean." Sam whined when the car bumped into his foot. But then he stopped and had a real look at the car at his feet.
"I'm sorry." Dean hurried to get the car away, probably knowing that Sam wasn't in the mood.
Sam followed the car with his eyes, an idea forming in his head.
"Ehm, Dean?"
"I put it away." Dean stopped the car and carried it over to the corner where it had been parked since it was finished.
"No, it's okay." He hated it when Dean fell into that obedient behavior of his. It didn't happen that often anymore but whenever Sam was in a bad mood Dean walked on eggshells.
"It's just … the car …" He searched for the right words. He didn't want to just take it from Dean but he had no idea what to offer him in return.
"Yeah?" Dean sat down in the chair next to him and watched him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
"It would be the perfect gift for Ellen."
Dean stared at him in clear disbelieve. "That thing?"
"That thing." Sam nodded. "It's awesome and she told me that she'd always wanted a car like that as a kid but her parents never bought her one. It would be perfect."
"You could buy her a real one." Dean offered.
Sam licked his lips, thinking. "If you want to keep it for yourself, I'm going to buy her another one." He said, watching Dean closely. "No problem. But if you just think it's not good enough or something like that …"
Dean actually blushed at that. "You really think it's good?"
"Is it good? Dean, I'd pay money for it." He meant it and he figured that this would impress Dean more than just saying how good it was.
"Not that I have any use for money." Dean answered but accepted the words as the compliment they were.
"True." Sam had to admit. "But I'd really like to buy it. If there's anything special you want …" He spread his hands in a helpless manner. So far Dean had never really asked for anything. Okay, the paint but other than that? Maybe he'd feel more comfortable with asking for something if it was part of a fair deal and not begging on his part.
"Can I think about that?" Dean asked.
"Sure. I still have a few days to come up with something."
Later that evening they sat together, watching TV, when Dean all of a sudden said: "I know what I want for the car."
"What?" Now he was curious what Dean would ask for.
"I want coffee and pie."
"Coffee and pie?" That wasn't what Sam had expected.
"In a coffee shop."
Chapter 18
Masterpost