sam’s the one who notices first that castiel has been behaving differently, and castiel doesn’t know whether to be grateful or to wish sam hadn’t picked up on anything. sam has enough of his own struggles: life has hardly been kind to him. castiel can take care of himself. he used to be fathomless; it feels impossible, ironic, and selfish that this finite human form is now proving to be too much to handle.
“i’m fine” is the first thing castiel can think of to say when sam asks him about it.
sam’s expression softens, but not with pity. “look,” he says, his tone a mix of matter-of-fact and empathetic that makes castiel simultaneously want to crumble and, uncharacteristically, cry. “i’ve said i was fine before because i didn’t want to put my crap on people. and it sucks. it sucks worse than sharing feels, cas, trust me. you don’t have to talk to me, today or any day, but—i’m here if you ever want to, alright? no matter what it is.”
“i don’t know if i can,” castiel manages in the face of sam’s earnestness. it sounds strange and stilted to his ears. haltingly, he says, “i don’t think there are words.”
“that’s fine.” sam’s mouth quirks up at the corners. he ventures, “you were an angel. now you’re not. that’s like... cramming six whole star systems into a measly human body. you don’t need to have words.”
castiel’s shoulders sag in relief. “you understand.”
“well—wait, i mean,” and sam’s fumbling with his words, looking down at his knees, “not that you’re, uh, measly now, that’s not—god, that’s not what i’m saying—” he glances back up at castiel when his spread hands don’t offer any solutions, lets out a helpless huff.
“don’t be distressed, sam.” now it’s castiel’s turn for a hint of a smile. “i didn’t take it badly.”
“you’ll never be any less than what you were,” sam says, a little intensely, castiel thinks. “even when you’re struggling, even when you’re, like—” he wrinkles his nose, thinking; castiel’s heart warms at the sight. “—constipated, or something. even when you can’t sleep, or you can’t leave the house for three days ‘cause you’re not up to it. that doesn’t make you any less... um.” sam falters, flushes. “incredible. just... remember that, okay? you’re still incredible.”
i am diminished, though, castiel feels compelled to argue. once i was all of heaven and earth, and now i’ve become an ant crushed against the sole of the earth’s shoe. but arguing the point will come later, perhaps. for now, he lets himself, albeit reluctantly, feel the comfort sam wants to offer.
“thank you, sam,” he says, “i’ll try to remember,” and sam’s answering grin, wide, bright, and glad, colors castiel’s grayscale world for the rest of the day.