so i'm going to be so honest, jensen's public persona has always been a bit difficult for me to get a handle on. his public performance as jensen has always felt like a performance, which makes it difficult to write him.

but on one hand, that's sam winchester city, baby.

sam definitely has an Outward Face versus an Inward Face. he has a mask that he pulls on and off when he interacts with the public at large. while dean also has this to an extent, he kind of buys his own act. while none of us will ever know if sam's case is the same for jensen, i think likely that it is.

whenever you crack their outer shell and get the privilege of seeing them without all the frills or façade, you know you've made it. and i imagine that when they get to that point with each other, they really feel the weight of it, and it draws them closer together.

neither of them are very open to engaging with strangers, so i imagine they'd get talking by sitting next to each other at the bar, and sam orders a double shot of something really nice, and jensen makes an appreciative comment.

then they kind of do that dry-flirting thing that sam is known for, where he laughs quietly and looks at you with his big fucking eyes and slowly bites his bottom lip. jensen is a little taken aback--people hitting on him is usually loud and awkward and clumsy, and lord is he hit on often. but this is quiet and husky and coquettish and jensen is kind of hooked immediately.

getting hit on by sam feels like getting let in on a secret, and jensen finds himself leaning in as they continue to talk.

unfortunately for jensen, sam is kind of a master of Seeing Through this Put-On Bravado, and seems generally unimpressed or warmly amused by his blustering. deeply unsettling to jensen, who never really has to work to impress.

whereas jared/dean is a bonfire, jensen/sam is a simmer. it kind of takes you aback at how high the temperature actually is from the outside.

"so where are you from?" sam asks, because that's what you're supposed to ask. he's never given a straight answer back, but sometimes he'll say "kansas" if he's feeling chatty.

"richardson." jensen says, fingers still spinning his glass of whisky. he hasn't had any past his first few sips, because sam makes him nervous.

a slow, syrupy smile blooms on sam's face. he raises an eyebrow. "oh, a texas man? southern gentleman?"

jensen huffs, rolls his eyes, and grins.

"i can be." he says. he means to say it ironically, teasingly, but it comes out this-side-of-too-thick.

"hmm." sam tilts his head thoughtfully. he cuts a look out at jensen from underneath his eyelashes. "that line usually work?"

jensen's heartbeat kicks up a notch.

"changes daily. it's a hit or miss." he takes his first sip of whisky in an hour and it warms him down to his toes, makes his hands a little shaky. maybe it's not the whisky. "how's my aim today?"

sam doesn't say anything for a long moment, almost too long, and jensen's already mourning his conversation partner. it's been a while since he's talked to anyone like this. finally, though, sam holds up his glass. jensen clinks his against it, confused.

"you've got a hell of an arm." sam murmurs.

sam's drawn to jensen because he's got this inner world and dry wit that matches his own sense of humour very well. i think he wouldn't be ready to drop trou until he saw jensen sing though. all sweaty, confident, talented. oh yeah. sam 100% has a competence kink, and drags jensen into the bathroom so he can suck jensen's brain out of his dick.

jensen also tends to make sam the center of his world when they're hanging out (as evidenced by clips of jensen asking jared for "me time" at their own parties and going away together to talk), which sam is kind of addicted to after decades of being the center of dean's world. it's comforting, and warm, and a little sexy because jensen can't keep his eyes off of sam. jensen's a lil possessive. sam (mostly late seasons sam) likes being owned.

jensen def has a thing for masculinity, as evidenced by his strange reverence for being buff and borderline jealousy (at least getting quiet and uncomfortable) when muscular men are interacting w jared/leading the conversation at joint conventions back in the day.

so imagine sam being huge and muscular kind of makes jensen double-take. jensen likes sam because of (again) his wit, and the fact he's kind of The Ultimate Man. because sam looks the way he does, he has the license to act Like A Man, but he's quieter and slyer and funnier and jensen's dick is HARD. between the two of them, jensen follows sports more, and jensen's expecting him to be a Bro, but sam just says he stays out of sports so he has an excuse to ask jensen to explain them to him, and jensen's brain is television static.

they're both a little self-deprecating, both a little stubborn, both a little goal-oriented.

anyway! i read this one fic a while back that was late seasons!sam/jensen that was fabulous: linked here. sam pulls jensen through when trying to get dean back from the box. sam doesn't want to believe it's not dean. it's very hurt/comfort, would recommend!

i hope that this scratched your jensen/sam itch!! i turned out to have a bit more to say than i thought! i hope the rest of your week is fantastic!