Castiel was confused. Also angry, but mostly confused.
He'd been working with Rowena of all people because, as much as he hated to admit it, she did have more experience with non-Enochian spells that he did. Sam and Dean (mostly Sam) had thought that if the magic protecting the bunker could be made stronger, it should be made stronger, and since none of them were that skilled when it came to magic, they'd asked Rowena for help.
Surprisingly, she'd agreed to help them, but a few hours later Jody called and asked for help with a few werewolves. Since Sam and Dean could handle it on their own, Castiel decided to stay in the bunker with the witch, and they continued to work on the protection spells.
However, it hadn't taken long before they started arguing with each other about the spellwork. Okay, Castiel may have started it, but that had only happened because Rowena refused to listen to him. She'd been trying to use wrong words, Castiel was sure of it.
Long story short, Castiel had ended up being thrown into a wall after Rowena cast a spell on him, telling him that whatever she'd done would wear off in a few days, and she was gone before the angel could recover and try to stop her.
Castiel thought about calling the brothers to tell them what had happened, but then decided against it. They'd return soon enough, and they didn't need him to distract them from their hunt. He decided he should try to figure out what spell Rowena had cast on him, in the meantime, but that turned out to be much harder than he'd expected.
There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. He felt both physically and mentally like he usually did, so he supposed he'd just have to wait for the curse to start affecting him, whatever it was going to do.
Castiel sighed as he went back to the working on the protection spell as he waited for the Winchesters to return. By the time he heard the door slam shut hours later, he'd almost forgotten about the curse, but he was reminded of it quickly enough.
"Hey, Cas," said Dean, walking down the stairs to the war room. "Where's Rowena?"
The angel sighed, looking back down at the book of spells in front of him. "We've…had a disagreement. She ended up cursing me and-Dean?" To say he was shocked to feel Dean's arms wrap around him from behind would be an understatement. "Dean, what-?"
"I don't..." Dean said, sounding as shocked and confused as Castiel felt as the hunter proceeded to pull the angel closer to him, and his grip tightened. "What the hell?"
It wasn't uncomfortable, far from it in fact, but Castiel didn't understand what was happening. Hugs from Dean were not exactly a common thing for him, and this was probably more cuddling than it was hugging. Stranger still, it seemed Dean was just as baffled by this as the angel was.
Things didn't get better when Sam joined them. Dean's hold on Castiel had been slowly loosening, but as soon as the angel spoke, not only did Dean renew his efforts to hug Castiel to him as close as possible, Sam joined in as well, just as confused as they were.
And then Castiel realized – whatever Rowena had done to him, it was causing the people around him to cuddle him whenever he said something. He…didn't know how he felt about that. It was strange to receive so much physical contact from the brothers, but he couldn't say he minded. However, Castiel couldn't say the same for the brothers, who were more and more puzzled by the second.
Castiel had to explain to Sam and Dean what was happening, even if that would only make them hug him tighter. "Rowena…" Castiel felt their arms wrap themselves around him more tightly, and he forced himself to relax (not that it was that hard to do). "Rowena cursed me. It seems every time I speak, you will…do this."
Dean scoffed. "That's ridiculous."
Castiel shook his head, and stayed silent. It seemed the compulsive need to cuddle him slowly wore off when he didn't speak for a while, so that would be the best way to get the brothers to let him go and to show Dean the angel was right.
"You have a better explanation?" Sam asked Dean, and while Castiel couldn't see the younger brother's expression, he was sure he was giving Dean a bitchface.
Dean only huffed in reply, and a few seconds later, Sam and Dean finally let go of Castiel. They both took a step back, as if that would protect them from the curse.
"This is freakin' weird," Dean commented, and while Castiel agreed, he also found himself missing the contact.
"Don't worry, Cas," Sam said, patting the angel's shoulder, "we'll find a way to lift the curse."
"Rowena said it would wear off-" Castiel was interrupted as Sam and Dean wrapped their arms around him again. "-in a few days." The angel sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Sam replied while Dean sighed loudly.
Over the next three days, Castiel tried to talk only when absolutely necessary so as not to make the brothers too uncomfortable, but sometimes he let a word or two slip. Sometimes he even did it on purpose, and he did feel a bit guilty about it because Sam and Dean had no choice in hugging him, but the angel liked the contact and he wanted to get as much of it as possible before the curse wore off. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn't help it. When they hugged him, it made him feel loved, which wasn't something he felt often.
The fourth day, however, things changed. It was morning, and Castiel was heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, knowing the brothers would be there, when he heard them talking softly. Since it seemed like a private conversation, Castiel turned to walk away, not wanting to eavesdrop on them, but with such great hearing, he couldn't help but overhear something that made him stop in his tracks.
"I dunno, man, how many days is a few days? 'Cause I'm gonna go crazy if I have to cuddle him one more time," said Dean with so much irritation Castiel felt his heart break a little.
"Relax, Dean, it's gonna wear off soon," Sam replied much more calmly, but he sounded annoyed as well.
"It better because I really fucking hate being forced to do it."
Lowering his gaze dejectedly, Castiel made his way back to his room and sat down on the bed, putting his head into his hands. He had known the brothers weren't particularly happy with the situation, but he hadn't thought they resented it this much.
But really, he should have known better. While it'd gotten better in recent years, the brothers still hugged each other much more often than they hugged him. The angel sighed sadly, deciding that it would be for the best to stay away from the brothers until the curse wore off, and communicate by writing when absolutely necessary.
It didn't work for long though because after an entire day of successfully avoiding the Winchesters, Dean came into the angel's room, asking if he was alright.
Castiel nodded, a bit confused that Dean was asking him after what he'd said that morning. The hunter seemed to hate cuddling the angel, but still put himself in the danger of doing so by asking questions.
"You sure? I haven't seen you since yesterday," Dean said, sitting down next to the angel. Castiel nodded again, trying to smile, but he knew he failed miserably, even without seeing Dean's doubtful looks.
"We should check if the curse is still affecting you," Dean continued, not sounding at all happy about it, but he also seemed unwilling to discuss this. Not that it would be easy if Castiel were to argue with the hunter via pen and paper, especially since he didn't really have a reason for not wanting to try it besides admitting he'd heard their conversation.
"Hello, Dean," Castiel muttered, looking away and exhaling as he prepared himself to be hugged by someone who had no desire to do so, but to his utter surprise nothing happened. Castiel looked back at Dean who was grinning at the angel. And then Castiel found himself pulled forward as Dean hugged him.
Before Castiel could ask what was happening Dean yelled for Sam to get there as well, and when Sam appeared, and Dean told him the good news, Castiel was hugged once again, this time by Sam.
"I don't…I don't understand," said Castiel hesitantly. "I thought you didn't…"
"What's up, Cas?" Sam asked, frowning at the angel with concern.
Well, there was no going back now. "I thought that…you didn't enjoy this kind of physical contact with me."
"What? Why would you think that?" Dean asked, sounding almost offended.
"I heard you this morning…talking about it," Castiel said, avoiding eye contact at all cost while the brothers exchanged looks.
"Cas," Sam said, gripping the angel's shoulder reassuringly, "it wasn't about the contact, it was about being forced to do it. We didn't like that the spell was making us hug you, but we like hugging you under normal circumstances. Right, Dean?"
"Damn straight," Dean said firmly, although he blushed slightly when he did. "Wait, is that why you've been hiding here the whole day?"
Castiel looked away again. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
In reply, Sam and Dean hugged him again, and for the first time that day, the angel let himself relax into it. He'd enjoyed the contact while cursed, but like this, being hugged because Sam and Dean wanted to hug him felt much better.