i’m exhausted dee

sam never willingly got himself involved with demons yet he was deemed as the bad guy. he was the one who was dragged into it because he unwillingly had demon blood in him.

god the amount of times in his life he didn’t feel like himself or felt like there was something wrong with him but he just,,, accepted it

So Sam sees Dean as his parent even if he doesn’t try to. Dean has done everything for Sam, practically raised him, so Sam treats him like his parent. He rebels, talks back, does things Dean doesn’t like to prove he can be his own person without his parent watching over him.

This means Sam shows his love in different ways too. By letting Dean care for him, by letting Dean be protective and take control over a situation. Sam ignoring Dean’s instructions or acting like a child is simply Sam taking the role he was accidentally given. He doesn’t sit there and plot how he’s going to hate on Dean next, it just comes as default of their role of potentially “father and son.”

Dean however sees Sam as his child, having to raise him his whole life and thinking of him as his responsibility. The way he feels obligated to protect this kid with his whole being as if he was his own child. When he says to Mary he had to take on the role of Sam’s mother, father and brother, he truly meant it. He feels like he’s the only one who can protect Sam and give him what he needs as he’s the only one who truly knows and understands him.

This means Dean shows his love in a different way to Sam than Sam does to Dean. Dean feeds him and washes his clothes, he has a strong need to protect him as if he was a child. He checks on Sam more than Sam does Dean because he is the parent and he feels the need to check in on the child all the time like he’s his responsibility.