My fic sweet spots with this trope: gen, hurt!Sam, comforting!Dean, hugs & cuddles, protective awesome big bro Dean, vulnerable lil bro Sam
My fic recs are updated regularly on DW and only quarterly on Tumblr. With that in mind, link to this possibly outdated reclist on Tumblr here
Let 's get started! 🤗 ❤️

On Duty by weesta (AO3). Rated G, Gen, 9k. Summary: A weekend in the life of the Winchesters. Pre-series. Slice-of-life.
ao3.org/series/162452
my thoughts: I love the depiction of John Winchester here, where he 's not vilified and rather just an adequate father. Like, he gets a C- basically. Wholesome family fun, brotherly bonding, & sweet kidfic. Low angst and/or hurt/comfort.

The Art of Balance by SciFiNutTX. Rated PG, Gen, 64k. Summary: Dean 21, Sam 16. Sam is given a writing assignment in English class which leads him to make unsettling discoveries about his family.
fanfiction.net/s/4590890
my thoughts:This fic features one of the coolest, most responsible, loving and yet still bamf Deans I 've ever read... and it 's all because Sam 's learning about it now, bc he 's at an age where he can finally recognize the significance of what Dean 's done for him and John. This isn 't a ‘woe-as-Dean ' story though because Dean is content and Sam remains a sweetheart to his brother and a lovely narrator (along with a couple other insightful OC Outsider POVs) throughout.

Nobody's Home by Menthol Pixie, genfic, 3k, Teen.Summary: All he knows is that he has to get away. (Cursed/amnesiac!Sam)
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886629
My thoughts: great chaotic hurt in the first chapter, second chapter comfort is so sweet with Sam in bed lying on Dean's leg while Dean works with his hair & John's treating Sam's arms.

Vocabulary by innie. Rated G, Gen, 3k words. Summary: Given a week to define himself, Sam watches Dean.
ao3.org/works/246771
my thoughts: A sweet, sweet nugget of a fic! Kind of similar to Art of Balance re: school assignments opening Sam 's eyes about his family.

Connected by abcdefuk-off (FFnet). Rated PG, Gen, 9k words. Summary: Assumptions and labels can be incredibly incorrect when you don't truly know a person; that is a lesson a teacher learns when she crosses paths with Dean Winchester and his little brother Sammy. One-shot. Weechesters/Teenchesters. Hurt/Asthmatic/Sam and Protective/Big Brother/Dean.
fanfiction.net/s/11798913/
my thoughts: Ooo how I love the villain of an awful, bitter teacher in SPN kidfics! This one is especially satisfying re: defeating them! This is also an outsider pov fic and therefore listed in my reclist of outsider POVs . Sam Eller is also on AO3 now! ao3.org/users/Sam_Eller

Father of One by SunsetSky412 (FFnet). Rated PG, Gen, 11k words. Summary: Sam's childhood centered around his big brother and despite how hard John tried - it was inevitable that the truth about his role as a father would one day come to light. "Are you sure you know how many sons you have?"
fanfiction.net/s/9460943
my thoughts: If I recall correctly, this story is more about how Sam prefers Dean over their father. Since John was so absent and withheld approval, Sam pivoted and sought love and approval from Dean, which Dean received and gave back freely because he loved Sam so much too. It 's shmoop that kinda shames John like "you missed out on this lovefest, dude," haha. I loved it.

Someone to Mark the Milestones by RobotRollCall (FFnet). Rated G, Gen, 1k words. Summary: Bobby never wanted kids to begin with, and he was never going to admit to anyone that watching a preschooler trying to get a toddler to walk across his kitchen floor was turning out to be one of the high points of his life. Those rugrats of John's were growing on him. (Wee-chester fluff).
fanfiction.net/s/10887299
my thoughts: Otherwise known as "when you 're feeling sentimental, baby Dean taking care of a baby Sam will mist your eyes." Hahah. This was a great one-shot.

The Color Pink by Phx (FFnet). Rated PG, Gen, 5k words. Summary: Dean thought the prank was pretty funny until he went to pick Sam up after school. Two Shot.
fanfiction.net/s/5081499
my thoughts: I 'm not always the biggest fan of Dean doing mean or callous things to Sam and ending up as guilty!comforting!Dean, but this fic had a message to it that I really appreciated. Dean made up for his mistake in a way that made him a better person (and modeled great behavior for Sam) overall so, yeah, loved this little story!

Parenting Your Gifted Child by bhoney (FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 4k words. Summary: When Sam and Dean re-visit their dad's storage container, Sam makes an unexpected discovery. Set early season 3.
fanfiction.net/s/4619135
my thoughts: This fic was such a charming headcanon insight for both Sam and Dean. Sam that he was noticeably smart af when he was young and Dean, also noticeably smart af to recognize it and seek after answers in a book like this (the fic 's title is the name of the book Dean consulted re: how to help Sam when they were kids).

What Moms Do by Ridley C. James (FFnet). Rated PG, Gen, 4k words. Summary: Sam has a crisis in school, and Dean does what any big brother would, he comes to the rescue.
fanfiction.net/s/2940014
my thoughts: An outsider POV (and just added to my outsider pov reclist ), this fic is so pure, haha. It basically covers how all the things that, traditionally, moms do, are things that still get done for Sam even though he doesn 't have his mom. Cue ‘awww ' because that 's exactly what you 're gonna utter unconsciously while reading this fic.

RaBB verse: Nightmares and Names by authoressnebula (FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 2k words. Summary: Dean's 13, Sam's 9. Set in the 'verse, but CAN be read as a stand alone: Dean's tired of Sam bugging him at night with his nightmares, but when he gets what he wants, he's not so sure he wants it.
fanfiction.net/s/4145106
my thoughts: RaBB stands for ‘Raising a Big Brother ' and it 's a fantastic kidfic verse that follows Dean 's development in becoming the awesome big brother we all know and love. This story in particular kinda stuck with me because it was just so sweet and cuddly.

Fifteen by DangerousDiamondDarling (FFnet). Rated R, Gen, 1k. Summary: Sam's thoughts one night at the age of fifteen and why he still needs his brother. M for some bad words. Just brotherly love, no slash. One of two on how Sam still needs Dean to hold him and tell him everything will be alright. Sam POV.
fanfiction.net/s/3615062
my thoughts: This fic is only rated R because Sam 's inner monologue uses the f bomb all the time which is completely in accordance with many teens, ha. This is one of the best little angsty teenage meltdowns-slash-panic-attacks I 've ever read as the hurt, and Dean 's the best return ‘comfort ' in the woooorld.

It Sounded Like the Truth by Weesta. Rated PG-13, Gen, 2k words. Summary: Dean is on a supply run and a sick Sam is alone when someone breaks into their motel room.
fanfiction.net/s/8859455/
my thoughts: I read this fic years ago and it still sticks with me as such a scarily realistic snapshot of Sam and Dean trying to just deal with sketchy motels and addled-junkie neighborhoods. Also there 's brother cuddles at the end 😁 Also just FYI this author is on AO3 at ao3.org/users/weesta but these fics haven 't been x-posted; they 're only available on FFnet afaik rn. This fic 's been included in my rape recovery reclist . There is no rape in this fic at all but Dean thinks sexual assault happened in this fic and like, it very well could 've, and that's why it was a "scarily realistic snapshot" for me