“Dean? Is everything okay?” Cas questioned as he opened the door. Dean was sitting on his bed, clutching a pillow to his chest, and had tears silently streaming down his face.
“Honey, what’s wrong?!” Cas exclaimed as he rushed to envelope Dean in his arms. In response, Dean buried his face in Cas’ chest, quiet tears turning into loud sobs.
“Shh it’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” Cas said while rubbing a reassuring hand along Dean’s spine. He could feel the knots in the muscles all over Dean’s back. After about ten minutes of Cas whispering reassurances in Dean’s ear, Dean’s sobs ceased.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Cas asked, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tear stains on Dean’s face. Dean looked to the floor.
“It’s about college,” he answered quietly. “I’ve been feeling really anxious about it all. Like I feel sick to my stomach all the time. And I can’t stop worrying about leaving. And I know it’s silly, and that I’ll be fine once I’m there. But I can’t stop being anxious about it.”
“Hey, shh, it’s okay,” Cas responded when Dean appeared to be getting worked up again. Cas shifted so he was sitting behind Dean.
“First we’re going to try and get you to relax,” Cas spoke while slowly working at the knots in Dean’s back.
“It’s not as simple as I would like it to be. I can’t really just relax. I’ve tried.”
“I know, but maybe it will help at least a little bit.” As Cas continued massaging the base of Dean’s neck, he hummed More Than a Feeling. Eventually, Cas could feel some of the tension ease from Dean.
“It’s okay to be nervous. And to be afraid. It’s not silly. You just need to figure out a way to keep your fear from taking over and prevent you from enjoying yourself. I know it won’t be easy. But I’ll be here for you. Always. And I’m only a few blocks away. We can see each other whenever it gets to be too much for you. And come next semester, I’ll be able to get an apartment and we can stay there together if you want. We’ll get through this. I promise.” As Cas spoke, Dean turned to face him.
“Really?”
“Of course,” Cas replied, pressing his lips to Dean’s nose. “It may not seem like it now, but everything will be okay.” Cas punctuated the last four words with a kiss to a different freckle on Dean’s face.
“Thank you,” Dean whispered, touching Cas’ forehead with his own.
“Now that you’re feeling better, can we go get our ice cream?”
“Yes,” Dean laughed.
