Chapter Text
Sam sighs softly.
Cas keeps reading over Sam’s Business Law paper.
Sam sighs not so softly.
Cas glances up to see Sam forlornly looking out the library window into the trees.
Sam sighs pretty loudly yet again.
Cas closes the laptop.
“Sam?”
“Yes, Cas?”
“Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Who, me?”
“Well, we’re the only two people in the library right now and you’ve been sighing non-stop so ye-“
“Well, Cas,” Sam cuts him off and turns to him dramatically, hair flapping in his face. Cas gives a slow and long-suffering blink. Sam continues, “Dean is mad at me.”
Cas rolls his eyes and lowers them to the paper once again. “With a temper like the one he has I am sincerely completely unsurprised.”
“Nah this one was on me.” Sam’s melodramatic tone lessens and Cas looks up again. Sam’s brow is furrowed and he looks actually distraught now.
Cas gentles his own tone in response, “What happened, Sam?”
“I brought something up from our childhood I really shouldn’t have.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t sound like anything a conversation can’t fix, or at least go some way towards fixing. From what you have previously said about Dean, despite his many many maaannyyy faults,” Sam sneaks in a snicker here. “He loves you and he’ll be wanting to fix this too.”
Sam pulls a face at the L word Cas used but then nods slowly, lost in thought. “I think he would’ve been more willing to talk if he hadn’t found out about how I tried to fix you guys up.”
Cas freezes. Sam realizes his mistake and his eyes go wide as a deer’s in the headlights. He can see the collision is right on course as Cas’ voice somehow gets even deeper and quieter than usual. “What do you mean 'tried to fix us up?'” And yup, there go the finger quotes. He's screwed.
“Oh man, Cas, look at the time.” Sam starts stuffing anything he can get his hands on into his messenger bag. “Sorry I’ve kept you so long I’ll just let you go now.” He starts getting up and is about ready to bolt when Cas suddenly says, with all the authority of an avenging angel, “Sit.”
Sam drops like a hot potato.
“Explain.”
“God, Cas, I’m sorry I know I messed up. I just really think there could be something there, you know? But I should’ve listened to Eileen and not butted in at all. I really hope this doesn’t mess up our friendship. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you but if this makes it too weird I understand.”
Sam is staring at Cas with his big old puppy eyes. Of course Cas is going to forgive him. He hasn’t found such an earnest, loving, big soul in a while. He wouldn’t want to lose their burgeoning friendship either. But that doesn’t mean he’ll make it easy.
“You’re right. You should have listened to Eileen.”
Sam looks down.
“And it does make things a bit weird.”
Sam's shoulders hunch in on themselves. All of that combined with his shaggy hair makes for a truly pathetic picture. Cas decides to put him out of his misery.
“Sam, I don’t want to stop our friendship either.”
The change is immediate. Sam looks up and smiles blindingly. Cas has always marveled at how Sam wears his heart on his sleeve and how easy his emotions are to read. His earnest enthusiasm is what earned him a spot on the short list that is Cas’ friends. But Sam is young and there are things he needs to say to him.
“But you can’t go behind my back like that again. If we are to be friends we need to be honest with one another. I’m not asking you to divulge all your darkest secrets, but I am asking you to give me forewarning before something like that. As for the actual set-up,” Here Cas pauses, trying to come up with the right words. “I know how highly you think of your brother so I am flattered that you think me worthy of potentially being his partner but he just isn’t… he just doesn’t seem…” Kind? Patient? Smart? Anything Cas wants in a partner at all ever? Except for maybe those freckles and those grass green eyes. And those lips. He can just imagine--
"Uh, Cas? You were saying?"
“Um, right. He just doesn't seem like he’s my type.”
Sam nods at a hundred an hour. “Ok Cas, no more surprises. I swear. I’m really sorry.”
“It's okay, Sam. What do you say we go get some lunch?”
“Sure!”
Cas starts gathering all his belongings and smiles to himself as Sam starts chattering about what the rest of his day looks like.
~~~
Sam is nervous about going home at the end of the day. He knows he’ll have to face Dean and he still doesn’t know what to say. He would usually talk to Eileen about something like this but he definitely does not want to hear the massive ‘I told you so’ that’s waiting for him.
He decides to take Cas’ advice and just talk to Dean. Ask him for forgiveness and to maybe share some of he burden Sam knows he’s been shouldering alone. Sam isn’t the little kid he used to be. He’s ready to give back to Dean the way Dean has always given him.
But he’s not going in without reinforcements.
He shoulders open the door to their little apartment off campus and yells, “Deanie, I’m hooome! And I brought some burgers from your favorite diner! And I’m really really really sorry!!!!”
“Sammy, stop that hollering and bring me the damn burger.”
Sam plops the paper bag wet with grease in front of Dean and his eyes light up. He tears into it and declares, “Alright, you may begin your groveling.”
Sam sits across their small kitchen table and waits for Dean to unpack it all and really start digging in.
“Okay, jerk, listen.”
Dean’s eyebrow goes up at the tone but the burger is working its magic so he nods at Sam to go on.
“I shouldn’t have gone behind your back to set you up with Cas.”
“Or gotten Jo and Charlie involved.” Dean interjects.
“Or that.” Sam agrees. “ I also shouldn’t have said—“
“Forget it, Sammy. It’s fine. Eileen talked me down and the trek I know you had to make for this banging burger makes up for it. You’re off the hook.” Dean says gruffly.
Sam’s eyes activate puppy mode and Dean groans internally. He knew things were going too smoothly.
“Dean, please just talk to me.”
And this time, as opposed to all the other times Sam has tried talk about feelings, Dean thinks he may be able to open up about it. Enough time has passed since he has gone back home and they’ve gone through so many things together. Sam is older now and despite still being a dumbass, he’s smart about this kinda stuff. And Dean is so tired. So Dean takes a deep breath, chugs the last of his coke while fervently wishing it was a beer, and tells Sam about that fateful day with Jose and the day after.
Sam takes it about as well as Dean thought he would. He makes his ugly crying face and gets all angry and snotty into Dean’s shoulder and Dean holds him the way he always has. And then Sam gets all girly and talks about how he supports Dean and loves him and shit and Dean does not cry at all. It’s definitely just his allergies acting up again, okay?