Dean’s soul had been awake forty years longer than Sam’s, based on what Dean had told him, so it wasn’t hard for Sam to see how that weighed in. Their age difference had become vast, in a way.
I think the thing I love most about this is the honest way you stick to the changes the boys underwent during their time(s) in hell and the effect that that had on them in S4. Sam feels distanced from Dean, for several reasons. And his recognition of the fact that Dean has changed a bit, adding to the reserve, but not negating the love... so well handled. Those 40 years set so heavily on Sam, from a "my brother SUFFERED" POV to the "my brother CHANGED" POV. And some things were a fallback comfortable habit, and some were uncomfortable shifts -- Cas being both intruder and savior, Dean have some different reactions to things than he used to, etc.
So basically... kudos. I applaud your honesty in writing the boys as they were in S4, playing with sandbox but being true to it all the same.
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I think the thing I love most about this is the honest way you stick to the changes the boys underwent during their time(s) in hell and the effect that that had on them in S4. Sam feels distanced from Dean, for several reasons. And his recognition of the fact that Dean has changed a bit, adding to the reserve, but not negating the love... so well handled. Those 40 years set so heavily on Sam, from a "my brother SUFFERED" POV to the "my brother CHANGED" POV. And some things were a fallback comfortable habit, and some were uncomfortable shifts -- Cas being both intruder and savior, Dean have some different reactions to things than he used to, etc.
So basically... kudos. I applaud your honesty in writing the boys as they were in S4, playing with sandbox but being true to it all the same.