A/N: Hello everyone. No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet or forgotten how to write. I will keep updating Lost in Time, but I've hit a bit of writer's block with it, and I signed up for this year's DCBB, so that has taken up a lot of my writing time. But with the constant storms that my part of the world has been experiencing, I got inspired to do this little oneshot. It is pretty much just a friendship story for Sam and Cas, and takes place early in an alternate version of season 9 where Cas actually stayed with the Winchesters in the MOL bunker after they rescued him from April. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: You would know if I owned any part of Supernatural, because Cas would get a lot more screen time.

Passing Storms

"Hey, have you seen Cas?" Sam asked his older brother, poking his head into the kitchen.

Dean barely glanced up from the ground beef he was carefully shaping into burger patties for that night's dinner.

"Yeah, he said he was going for a walk," he answered. "Why, did you need him for something?"

"No, I was just…wondering," Sam replied, before leaving the kitchen and making his way towards the door.

In truth, he did have a reason for looking for Castiel. His friend had been out of sorts ever since the Winchesters had rescued him, and Sam was starting to worry. It could not have been easy for him to become human, especially knowing that he had condemned all of his brothers and sisters to the same fate. And while Dean undoubtedly cared about Cas, he was not always sensitive enough to notice when something was wrong with him, so it fell to Sam to make sure that their friend was coping.

Sam climbed up the stairs to the bunker's exit and pulled open the door. He groaned at the thick curtain of rain that greeted him. He had forgotten about the weather reports that promised heavy rainstorms over the next day or so. Sam could barely see three feet out. Surely Cas had not gone out in this?

But Sam had checked everywhere else in the bunker, and if Dean said that Cas had gone for a walk, the only logical explanation was that he was indeed out in this torrential downpour.

The tall hunter sighed, but squared his shoulders and stepped outside. He did not even bother with a raincoat, knowing that he was destined to get soaked no matter what. Within seconds, his long hair was plastered to his head and his clothes were drenched.

"Cas?" he called, looking around for some sign of his friend. "Cas, are you out here?"

He got no response, but that did not mean much; the fallen angel could have walked out of hearing range, especially with the noise of the storm. So Sam set off down the road outside of the bunker, taking the most logical path for a walk. He was so busy wiping rain from his eyes that he almost missed the dark figure sitting on the guardrail by the side of the road, staring out at the hillside that sloped down in front of him.

"Cas?" Sam asked gently, approaching his friend.

The fallen angel did not respond, so Sam climbed over the short rail and sat beside him, ignoring the way the unyielding metal dug into his skin. He did not bother asking if Cas was okay; he already knew the answer to that question. He knew what it felt like to have let down your entire species in the pursuit of doing the right thing, and he knew that Cas would talk when he was ready.

"I used to fly through storms like this," Castiel said after the two of them had been staring at the rain for several minutes. "It was one of my favorite things to do when I was not on duty. I would see the lightning flash around me as the thunder rumbled through my essence and the rain raged through it all. I was a celestial being, and the storms always felt like home."

"That sounds nice, Cas," Sam said softly, licking the water from his lips as it continued to stream down his face.

"It was." The fallen angel tilted his head skyward, but had to close his eyes against the force of the falling raindrops. He sighed. "When I heard the storm outside, I thought…I thought perhaps I could experience that feeling again. But it's not the same. Nothing is the same."

Sam sighed as well, wishing that he had some way to help his friend, to give back to him what he had lost, what Metatron had stolen from him. But all he had to offer were words.

"I'm sorry, Cas," he said sincerely. "I know this can't be easy."

"No, it isn't," his friend replied. "But you have nothing to be sorry for. This wasn't your fault."

"I know that, but I can still have sympathy," Sam told him, wincing slightly as a gust of wind hit him, dumping a considerable amount of water in his ear. He studied his friend, knowing that there was more that needed to be said. "It wasn't your fault either, you know."

"How can you say that?" Castiel asked, his tone tinged with incredulity.

"Because it's true," Sam said firmly. When the fallen angel shook his head, Sam placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, I mean it."

"I hurt my family, Sam," Cas whispered so softly that the hunter could barely hear him over the storm. "Have you any idea how many of them died in the fall that I caused? How much they are suffering here on earth?"

"Metatron did all that," Sam insisted. "You were trying to help your family, and all the people down here that kept getting caught in their crossfire. You thought you were doing what was best for everyone. It was Metatron who caused all of this damage, and he would have found a way to do it without you, Cas. There was never anything you could have done."

"Perhaps not," Castiel conceded. "But I think you know why I still feel responsible."

Sam sighed, slicking his hair back with one hand. Yes, he did know.

"You'll learn to live with it," he promised. "And you won't do it alone."

While the look that Cas sent him was not quite a smile, it managed to convey his gratitude. He reached over to cover the hand that Sam still had on his arm, the touch giving both of them comfort.

"Part of me is looking forward to that," he said.

"You should be," Sam said with an easy grin. "Being human has its upsides, you know."

Castiel did manage a smile, but it faded quickly as a loud clap of thunder rolled through the air. The fallen angel's expression grew nostalgic again.

"We should go inside, Cas," Sam prompted gently, casting a nervous glance up at the sky. "Getting struck by lighting wouldn't improve matters."

"I don't know, Sam," Castiel said thoughtfully. "I don't think I would mind that feeling of power again, even if it was stolen from a storm."

"Well, as someone who actually has been struck by lightning, I can safely say that it is not in any way a pleasant experience for humans," Sam said, shuddering at the memory.

"You were struck by lightning?" Cas asked, glancing at him in surprise. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, it was years ago," he said. "A week or two after I met you, actually. This guy got hold of a wish-granting coin, and the whole town pretty much went fubar. We managed to get things sorted out, but not before I got zapped out of my shoes."

"That does sound unpleasant," Castiel admitted.

"It was," Sam assured him, not feeling the need to tell him that the event had been fatal, albeit temporarily. "Now come inside with me. Dean was making burgers when I left, and trust me when I say you'll want to experience those."

That got Cas's attention. He already had enough experience with Dean's cooking to know that the burgers were not something he wanted to miss. Sam chuckled as his friend quickly rose and started making his way back toward the bunker. The two of them made the short walk back together, finding Dean standing in the front room with a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder.

The older hunter gave Sam a questioning look as the two drenched men finally straggled through the entrance and down the stairs. Sam just gave his brother a tired smile to let him know that everything was all right, before gently hustling his friend in the direction of a warm shower and a change of clothes.

Maybe nothing had been resolved, but at least there had been some progress.

The next day, Sam went outside for his morning run to find Castiel sitting on the same guardrail, watching the fiery orange sunrise, the sky stained with a dozen jeweled hues. Sam went over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Storms pass, Sam," Castiel said, not taking his eyes off the horizon.

"Yeah, Cas," Sam replied with a small smile. "They do."

A/N: A little cheesy, I know, but with the angstfest that this season has been, I couldn't resist. Please leave a review!