#parent sam

First let me make clear that I don’t believe Sam and Dean ever confused or considered the other as their mother or father, or saw each other as their son, ( I am beyond squicked by Daddy/Mommy kinks) they are well aware that they are brothers, and though neither really knew their Mother growing up, John wasn’t always absent, they both had a relationship with him, and only ever spoke of Bobby as another Father figure, never each other. Moving forward...

Now, I have always seen times when Sam and Dean seemed like a married couple, I would say by season 11, they were legitimitely married in every important way, but just recently, while watching season 1 for the 50th time, I noticed Sam has been parental to Dean even back then. 

In Phantom Traveler, Dean starts panicking on the plane and Sam tells him he needs to calm himself down. He makes eye contact with him, and Dean takes deep breaths, until he settles down. Sam says “Better now?” Dean nods in agreement. This is something that appears to have happened before and Sam knew what to do. I thought “How cute, that was like a parent soothing a scared child”  and it made me look at ways Sam has been parental to Dean.

Sam very often stops Dean or gives him a look (bitch face) when Dean is being rude or insensative. He’s concerned about Dean’s sleep, his diet, and his drinking. When Dean had Ghost Sickness, Sam was all “stop scratching” “don’t pick at that” “ok I’ll get us a room on the ground floor” . It doesn’t seem weird to Sam to know how much underwear Dean has packed, or to sniff him to see if he’s drunk. He often tells Dean to take a shower, and to ice his wounds .. Dean has said “Ok mom” to Sam a few times, and I think its adorable. 

Sam tries to talk Dean out of dangerous, snap decisions, and gives him pep talks to encourage him.  And even though Sam will call Dean out on his bullshit, it’s usually soft unless Dean really isnt listening to him. He washes and folds his clothes (see the domestic montage in the finale💕 ) and is more than happy, like Dean is, to cook for him. 

Now in my present rewatch, Im playing “Who is the parent in this episode” and it’s quite eye opening. Sam and Dean really are everything to each other, and it’s the greatest thing ever.  I feel like Sam acting like a parent to Dean is one of those things that the show doesn’t talk about much , but wants us to see it for ourselves. Like saying Sam is the “smart one” when Dean is also very intelligent, or saying Dean is the “good looking one” when Sam is also smokin hot.