I don't own Supernatural and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Alone for the first time in a long time, Castiel and Sam didn't know what to do. Still reeling from his angel (and demon) possession, Dean's betrayal, and Kevin's death, a quiet Sam barely came out of his room. Castiel refused to let him stew in guilt, but wasn't sure how to bring him out of it. And he was sure Sam and Dean's separation wouldn't last long – they never did. However, he wasn't exactly sure how to fix this. When he saw Sam head towards his room, Castiel decided to take initiative. "You are not going back into your room, Sam."
Sam stopped walking and turned around to stare at him. "What?"
"You need to stop 'wallowing in guilt' and interact with me. Come on!" Castiel urged.
"Cas, I appreciate the effort, but I just want to be alone." He definitely planned to continue wallowing in guilt, as the angel had said. He missed his brother, and although he was furious with him, Sam hoped Dean came back soon. It wasn't logical, but that was their relationship in a nutshell.
"No! Sit your ass down now, Samuel Winchester!" Castiel pointed to a chair and an impressed (and scared) Sam listened.
"So what? You want to talk? Try to make this situation better? Well, you can't. I'm sorry, but it's the truth." Fuck, now he was drowning in the guilt even more. Sam hated feeling this way.
He rolled his eyes. "I know I can't make it better, but you shouldn't feel this way. Dean was trying to do what he thought was right – as always – and it backfired – as it usually does. But this separation isn't a good idea for either of you. I will force one of you to call each other and don't think I won't." Castiel was definitely going to be stubborn about this since the Winchesters were making him angry with their inability to tell the truth. But he understood their reasoning and was bound and determined to stop the pattern of behavior for good.
"Thanks for the pep talk, Cas. I'm going to go take a nap." The exhausted Sam yawned and then stood up. He swayed on his feet for a few seconds before Castiel steadied him and then helped him back to his room. Sam was healing, but it was going to be a while before he was one hundred percent again. Sam wanted to be angry at his friend for interfering, but found he really wasn't. He knew he was just trying to help and that meant a lot. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Sam was out.
Over the next few days, Castiel repeatedly dragged Sam out of his room to encourage some interaction and eventually, the hunter started doing it on his own. "You want to play a game, Sam?" he questioned about a week later.
Sam weighed his options and eventually decided he had enough energy for one game. "Sure, why not? You choose."
He smiled when Castiel came back with Life. "It sounded like a fun game, although I am unclear as to why you have it."
He shrugged. "I don't know either, but let's just play." Sam just hoped he didn't have to teach Castiel the rules because he didn't have that much energy. The healing was helping out a lot, though, and he was grateful for it.
Fortunately for both of them, Castiel did understand the rules and the game quickly started. They actually had a lot of fun playing it, and once it was over, Sam swore that Castiel lost on purpose. He couldn't prove it, however, and just let it go since he figured the angel (former angel?) was just trying to help any way he could. "I'll put it away. Go to bed," Castiel encouraged when he saw Sam start to pick up the box.
"I can do it." Sam could still do small tasks on his own. He wasn't an invalid and made a point to tell his friend that.
"I know that, but let me." Castiel took it from his hands and stared into Sam's eyes. It was awkward for a few seconds (and Sam was about to say something about it) when Castiel dropped the box and kissed him.
A shocked Sam leaned into it before realization hit and pulled away. "What was that for?"
The nervous Castiel laughed. "I wanted to. You're one of my best friends … and I've felt some more than that for you for a long time. I just didn't want to think about what that meant." He hoped he wasn't about to rejected, but if that happened, he'd still stay here. He'd rather Sam stay a friend if he didn't want to be more. He briefly wondered how Dean was going to take this, but pushed that thought away for the time being.
Sam grabbed his hand and refused to let go. "I've felt something for you for a long time, too, but I never thought you'd feel the same way. I mean, how could you? I'm me – a fuck-up who poisons everything I touch." He was definitely aware of the irony of the last statement since Dean had just said the same thing to him a few days earlier. Dean wasn't poison – he was. It was as simple as that.
"Sam, you do remember what I did to you, right? You're not a fuck-up, and if you are, you're certainly not the only one. I brought your wall down, and that is something I still feel guilty about. We've all hurt each other over the years. I love you."
Sam ducked his head. "You love me?"
Castiel nodded. "Of course I do. I'll understand if you don't feel the same – you don't have to – but that's how I feel."
"I love you, too." Sam wasn't surprised to realize that he meant it. He had been in denial for a long time, sure it was never going to happen. And it actually was, so this was fucking surreal. He was happy, though.
Castiel's smile lit up the whole room. "I'm very glad. Now I'm going to put this box away and then you're going to bed."
Sam hesitated for a minute, unsure if he should take this step. But he got up the courage and decided to go for it. "Will you sleep with me? No sex – I'm not up for it – but we can just sleep."
Castiel agreed to that and rushed back to Sam's room. Sam faced away from him, but he put his arm around the hunter. "Good night, Sam. Sleep well."
"You too," Sam mumbled. Just before his eyes closed, he had to say one last thing. "I can't believe I'm the little spoon. That's not going to happen very often." And then he fell asleep.
Sam and Castiel continued exchanging kisses, but held off on having sex since Sam wasn't up to it yet. The angel was understanding and patient about the situation. They also watched a shitload of movies just to have something to do. Sam continued to miss his brother, but stubbornly refused to call him. He hoped Dean would just pick up the phone and take the first step, but that was looking unlikely.
The two were actually making out in the library when the door opened and Dean stepped in a few weeks later. "That was not what I was expecting."
"So you finally came back. Good. Now you two need to sit down and talk," Cas ordered. He pointed to the chairs and then left them alone.
"So you and Cas, huh?" Dean was a little stunned, but he shook it off. He'd find out more when it was time.
Sam nodded. "Me and Cas. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Fuck no. He's treating you right?"
"Yes, he is." Sam nearly sighed in relief. He was glad to have his brother back and was grateful they didn't have to keep this a secret.
"Then good. Are you still pissed at me?" Dean knew he wasn't getting off easy, especially since he had disappeared for a while.
"Yes, and we will talk about that later." Sam was so relieved to see him he hugged his brother.
Dean pulled away after a few minutes. "Go and get your angel boyfriend so we can talk. We have a lot to catch up on."
This relationship wasn't going to be easy, but neither Sam nor Castiel expected it to be. And as long as they had each other (and Dean) they would handle any issues that came their way.