Careful What You Wish For

Enter Castiel

Sam sat pouring over an old tome, his recent exploit about as far from memory as it could have been. He wasn’t working on a case - in fact, he hadn’t worked on one in a while, but he preferred to already have the knowledge stored rather than doing the research in the heat of things.

Castiel entered the main hall of the bunker but stopped in his tracks when he saw Sam. Awkwardness and uncertainty bubbled within him and, all but paralyzed, he wondered if he should announce his presence. He watched Sam intently, a small part of him wishing the Winchester would notice him so that this unbearable situation would be over. After a moment, Castiel cleared his throat in the hopes that Sam would be the first to say something, but no luck. Slowly, Cas backed up, and then re-entered the room more noisily than before. Still nothing. Jimmy’s heartbeat was ramping up and Castiel was feeling the stress. He remembered, vividly and graphically, how Sam looked and sounded during his brief prayer. His face flushed and his body reacted in a way it hadn’t since Hannah stripped in front of him. Castiel reprimanded himself for feeling that way and shooed the thoughts away. Finally, resolved to just get it over with, he sighed. “Hello, Sam. Is your brother home?”

The youngest still-living Winchester looked up with a start. This was the first time he’d seen Castiel since his unfortunate slip-of-the-mind. “Wh- Uh, uh, yeah. He’s, uh, should be in his room, probably?” Sam swallowed dryly and watched Cas’s face, searching for recognition.

“Good,” Cas nodded and then stood in silence.

Sam’s nerves ramped up the longer the angel was in front of him. Eventually he spoke up. “Uh, so, do you need to talk to him or did you just want to know where he is?” He chuckled unconvincingly.

“What?” Castiel’s mind had gone somewhere else. “Oh, ah, right. Yes,” he raised his finger and then pointed forward, giving an awkward nod as he continued through the hall and to Dean’s room.