Done as a prompt fill for "Hey! So~ as you are looking for prompts... how about some Cas/Sam bonding time, preferably with Dean looking on fondly? Maybe geeking out over the books & stuff at the batcave, or taking on a (training) case, just the two of them? Having a beer together? Looking for fallen angels? Bonus points for not!awkward!Cas and not!jealous!Dean. (Whether or not it's Destiel (or Sastiel, or Wincest, or Wincestiel idec) is up to you :D)" Prompt #3: That's What Friends Are For -
Prompt #3: That's What Friends Are For
It had been about a week since the angels had fallen and Cas had come to live with them. The hunter community was in a frenzy trying to take in all the fallen angels, Garth barking orders in a way that would have made Bobby proud. Meanwhile, the Batcave had been just as active, with Dean, Sam, Kevin, and Charlie all setting up shop in the library, using their sway and connections to help in the process. Also, where did the current situation leave them, what with Heaven empty of angels and the gates to Hell still wide open?
For his part, Cas was… quiet, and everyone pretty much left him to his own devices, save for Dean and Charlie. They were the ones who would seek the angel out and force him to participate, whether training or research or 'hey, it's your turn to help with the dishes'. More often than not, both Cas and Dean could be found watching the sunrise together, Dean bringing the angel a cup of coffee as an excuse to not let the angel be left with his own thoughts for two long- even while neither one of them spoke.
Though he wanted to help Cas, Sam also didn't know how. They had never had the easy relationship Dean and Cas had, in fact, it seemed more often than not, they kept finding themselves on opposing sides of the current conflict. He knew they were friends, but at the same time it was like there was a chasm between them and Sam had no idea how to fix it. It shouldn't just be Dean that was there for their friend during the worst times in his life.
Plopping down in the armchair near Cas, Sam flashed him a smile when the other man looked up in question. "Hi," he greeted. He felt oddly nervous, and took a moment to wipe sweaty palms on his jeans.
Cas' brow furrowed. "Hello," he said, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Biting his cheek, Sam bobbed his head, glancing around at the other occupants in the room, each absorbed in their work. Cas watched him in confusion, then shrugged and returned to Kevin's notes on the tablets.
Clapping his hands, Sam pushed to his feet again, before pulling the other man to his feet.
"C'mon. The task of your education in pop-culture falls to me, as Dean will have you watching truly terrible films and shows that will make you weep for humanity. I don't want you to think we're that much of a lost cause," he said pulling a baffled Cas along by his elbow, while Dean looks up in indignation.
"Hey!"
Sam didn't slow, just pointed at his brother. "Dude. Two words: Doctor. Sexy. You officially lose all voting privileges. You can teach him to cook or something, but we are not rotting his brain with your bad life choices in visual media."
"I have excellent tastes!" his brother yelled after them.
"Cartoon porn, Dean, that's all I'm saying!" Sam yelled back, which earned a chuckle from Cas. Sam grinned at him, hand falling away as they continued down the corridors and into one of the rooms they had set up as the rec room.
The former angel cast his gaze around, eyeing the couch. "Shouldn't we be focused on repairing the current situation and trying to find some alternative method of closing the gates of Hell?"
Sam moved over to their shelf of DVDs, running his index finger back and forth across the spines. "While, yes, in theory that is probably the right thing to do, it is not the best thing to do. Humans need downtime. To step back from the whirlwind that is their life, and have a period where they aren't having to worry about something. Stress kills, Cas." He grabbed the Star Trek reboot movie. "And if Dean and I always waited for an appropriate time to get in some R&R, we'd never get any, and would have been dead a long time ago just from the stress. It's a mental health thing that affects your physical health."
The angel was already seated on one end of the couch when Sam got the movie set up and took up position opposite him.
Cas frowned at the television screen. "It seems… counterproductive. Humans are so complicated. You need sleep, so much of it, and you need 'downtime' on top of sleep, or else your bodies turn against you, but if you do all this, all the work you are neglecting only adds to the stress you feel."
Sam met his gaze and shrugged, motioning towards the door. "That's why you get friends to help you out, because one person can only be expected to accomplish so much." He pointed at the other man. "All the heroes in our world only achieved great things through the support of those that cared about them."
A bemused smirk tugged at the corner of Cas' mouth at that, his brow arching in question. "Oh?"
Sam nodded sagely. "Harry Potter would be dead without Hermione. Totally. Sherlock Holmes had John Watson. The Doctor had all his companions. And if it were James Kirk by himself, no one would care, but it's when it's Spock and Kirk together as a team that they do the impossible." He frowned and shook his head. "Kirk's the main character, but like no one actually likes him on his own merit, it's the two of them together and that they make each other better people that is so great."
The angel's amused expression had faded as he considered this. "Yes, I can see why humans would find this inspiring, their desire for just such a relationship in their own life, for a friend to be there with them at their lowest, and to pull them in check when they would make choices they would later regret." His gaze was distant as he regarded the screen. "Such a friendship must be nearly impossible to find though."
Sam blinked, looking at him. The angel actually looked dejected. He swatted at the other man's arm with the back of his hand, earning a look of surprise. Sam chuckled.
"Impossible? Dude. First person you met on earth became that kind of friend for you, and Dean would probably die before admitting this, but as much as he hates that you lost your grace and that all of your siblings are in this mess, if it means he doesn't lose you? He's willing to accept all the crazy as the price for keeping you with this family. You and he are the impossible relationship other people only dream about." A fond smile crossed over Cas' features and Sam grinned at him. "And despite my brother being awesome in many areas, none of which will I admit to, I am sparing you much pain by seeing to your pop-culture education myself," he said, holding out the remote and starting the movie.
The angel huffed a small laugh and settled into his seat. "Well then thank you for saving me from cruel and unjust punishment."
Sam side-eyed him. "What's worse? After a few episodes of Doctor Sexy? You start to like it. Despite how ridiculous it is." He waved a hand and whistled. "You are dodging a bullet, Cas. You have no idea."
They shared another grin before regarding the film.
On another such evening, Dean found himself searching the apparently abandoned Batcave until he got the rec room, finding Sam, Cas, Charlie, and Kevin all piled together on the couch watching…
He frowned. "Is that My Little Pony?"
Sam held up a finger. "Animated and yet better than Doctor Sexy, so not a word, Dean."
"Where the hell did we get My Little Pony?"
Charlie and Kevin fist bumped. "Bronies for life~!"
"Oh you have got to be kidding me."
Turning his head, Cas regarded the hunter who was looking at them like they had all parted with their sanity. "Yet, I still feel in safer hands allowing them to educate me in pop-culture rather than you, Dean."
Rather than be offended, Dean barked a laughed while Sam nudged the angel and they grinned conspiratorially at each other, the elder Winchester smiling fondly at them both. Charlie patted the arm of the couch.
"Have a seat, Dean. You can watch to see if Rainbow Dash can do a successful Sonic Rainboom."
Eyeing the members of his family, then the TV, Dean chuckled and took a seat. Sam stretched out an arm to offer him some popcorn from the bowl he and Cas had been sharing as the five of them watched the brightly colored ponies on the screen.
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