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Sam endures Dean giving Cas the silent treatment for days after everything with the Brits and Lucifer’s kid blows over. But it’s just that-- silence. Dean doesn’t go out of his way to avoid Cas, doesn’t even really ignore him. Dean isn’t passive-aggressively trying to make anything more difficult for Cas. If Dean sets a plate of food down in front of Cas a little too hard at dinner, no one says anything, and it only happens every so often, like the anger that’s bubbling inside Dean was left unattended and spilled over before Dean could turn down the heat. Other than that, it’s all the same. Dean just won’t speak to Cas.However bad Sam feels like he has it, having to suffer through the awkwardness, he doesn’t envy Cas. He knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Dean’s enduring fury.Cas’ fleeting, pleading glances toward Dean when he’s not looking don’t go unnoticed by Sam. Neither do his downturned eyes and looks of shame when Dean gives him a stern look, challenging Cas to say something, anything.Sam feels bad for Cas. He really does. Cas is his friend, and maybe Dean is being hard on him. But Sam is glad that Dean is standing his ground without being completely childish. Even if it does cause tension so thick you’d need an axe to cut through it.“I don’t know what to do, Sam,” Cas confides one afternoon. Dean is out of the bunker, probably getting groceries a few towns over. Sam and Cas are sitting together, sharing a bowl of popcorn while they scan newspaper and online articles for cases. “I know I don’t deserve either of your forgiveness--”“Hey, man, don’t beat yourself up about it, okay. I forgive you.”Cas sighs, his shoulders only relaxing a fraction at Sam’s assurance. “But Dean doesn’t.”Sam isn’t offended. He knows that Dean’s forgiveness means more to Cas than Sam’s does. Cas cares for the both of them, but what Dean and Cas have… it’s far beyond the friendship that Sam and Cas share.Sam runs a hand over his face and pushes his computer away. This sounds like it’s going to be a Talk, and he’d rather give Cas all of his focus than have the scanners distracting him out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t really know what’s going through Dean’s head sometimes. He’s hard to read, even for me. But I know he forgives you, Cas. You’re his best friend.”Cas doesn’t look at all pleased to hear that. In fact, Cas looks a little ill.“Or-- Or whatever it is you guys had-- have going on.”Sam watches Cas expectantly for a moment while Cas processes what Sam just said. Cas frowns deeply and doesn’t look at Sam for a full minute before his shoulders slump and he turns his gaze up to his friend.“You know,” he states bluntly.“Well, I’m not blind. So yeah.”Cas nods slowly, his hands fidgeting in his lap. “Dean thought you might. But he didn’t want to say anything.”Sam huffs. “Sounds about right. He doesn’t really talk about stuff like that. But I’ve learned to put two and two together over the years. With you and… everything else.”Cas stares down at the table for a long moment, looking troubled.“I stole the Colt from under his pillow. I--” Cas swallows thickly. “I didn’t know it was there. Not until--” He purses his lips and shakes his head. “I’m sure he feels like I took advantage of him. Like I distracted him to steal it. That hadn’t been my intention. I had originally assumed it was in a safe. But I... felt it.”Sam watches Cas while he struggles with whatever must be waging a war inside Cas’ mind. Cas looks like he wants to say more but he doesn’t know how to make the words move from his brain to his mouth.Sam saves him the trouble. “Look, we’ve all done stupid things, Cas. Every single one of us. None of us have a leg to stand on when it comes to being mad at each other about doing stupid things to save the people we love.” Sam sighs. “But Dean-- Dean’s had a lot of stupid things done to him. A lot of stupid things done for his sake or because of him.”Cas looks up at Sam, brows furrowed and a hard set to his jaw. “So I’m just supposed to… stop trying to make things better so you two don’t have to carry all of the burden?”Sam sighs. “We’re a team, Cas. All three of us. You don’t need to do that for us. I don’t want you to, and I know Dean doesn’t want you to.”Sam stacks a few of the papers together on the table and brushes his hair back behind his ears. “I think you need to talk to Dean,” he says as he closes his laptop. “Nothing’s going to get better if you keep just… not speaking.”“He’s the one not speaking to me, Sam,” Cas replies petulantly.Sam rolls his eyes. “Don’t be like that, Cas. You two are doing this to each other. Just… Dean can’t really keep his mouth shut for long. If you give him a reason to talk to you, he’ll take it.”Sam gets to his feet. “I need a break. I’ll see you later.”“Won’t goading Dean into a conversation make him more angry?” Cas asks, looking up at Sam skeptically.Sam shrugs. “Probably. But the only way it’s going to get better is if you guys talk. I’d say it’s worth a try.”Cas doesn’t look convinced as Sam walks away from the war room table, heading down the hall toward his bedroom where he plans to sleep off the headache he can feel coming on.~“Where the hell is Cas?” Dean asks angrily, storming into the kitchen and making a beeline for the coffeepot.Sam raises a brow at him. “Uh, well he told me he found a small case. Said he didn’t need any help.”“And you just let him go?” Dean asks incredulously.Sam makes a face at his brother. “I didn’t let him do anything, Dean. And, honestly, he can probably handle a couple of vamps on his own.”Dean balks at him, eyes wide.“You haven’t so much as uttered Cas’ name in the past two weeks. Why do you care?” Sam looks at Dean pointedly, taking a sip from his own cup of coffee.Dean blinks and looks away from him. Sam can see the flush creeping up his brother’s neck already.
Bingo.
“Whatever. He can do whatever he wants,” Dean mutters before gulping down a mouthful of coffee.“Uh huh.”“Shut up, Sammy.”Sam huffs and turns his attention back to his breakfast and the newspaper.Dean is silent for a moment, and Sam doesn’t think much of it at first. But the silence stretches and grows more and more tense until Dean finally speaks again.“Did he say when he’d be back?”Sam sighs heavily, looking up at his brother in annoyance. “I don’t know, Dean. A week, maybe?”“You didn’t make sure?”Sam stares at Dean. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. Why don’t you call him and ask him if you’re so worried?”Dean looks away and straightens up a little, looking down into his mug silently. “M’not worried.”Sam rolls his eyes. “Right.” Sam shoves the last of his food in his mouth and stands, taking his plate to the sink. “You two are driving me nuts.”“Excuse me?”“You heard me. You guys need to talk to each other. This is getting ridiculous.”“You better wash that damn plate, Sammy. And what the hell is getting ridiculous? I haven’t done anything.”“That’s the problem, Dean. You’re guys aren’t doing anything. You’re just dancing around each other and it’s… awkward. I thought maybe this would last for a couple days. But it’s been two weeks. You need to talk to him. He thinks you haven’t forgiven him.”“He told you that?” Dean asks, frowning deeply.“Who the hell else is he supposed to talk to? You? Cause you’re not speaking to him.”Dean falls silent, fidgeting with the handle of his coffee mug and looking dejected.“Look, Dean. Just-- Just call him. Or wait. But talk to him when he comes back home. I know you’re not as pissed at him as you want him to think. So just… stop making this worse, okay? You’re punishing yourself, too, and it’s pointless.”Sam claps a hand on Dean’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. He feels some of the tension leave Dean and Dean nods slowly.“Yeah… Yeah, I’ll talk to him when he comes home,” Dean replies.Sam gives him an encouraging smile. “Good. Maybe we can all have a normal dinner together, then.”“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Dean asks, offended.“It means you and Cas make everything really weird, Dean.”Dean rolls his eyes and sets his mug in the sink before pushing away from the counter. “Wash your damn plate, Sammy,” he snaps, but there’s no heat behind his words.Sam snorts and goes to the sink as Dean walks out of the kitchen, dutifully washing his dishes and the mug Dean left behind.~Cas trudges in through the bunker door a few days later, looking tired and disheveled, the circles under his eyes darker than usual, which is odd given that Cas doesn’t exactly need sleep.Sam and Dean are sitting at the map table, sipping beers and talking shop when they hear him come in.“How’d it go,” Sam asks as Cas descends the stairs.Cas kind of just grunts and slumps into a chair closer to Sam’s side of the table. Whether it’s intentional or not, he can see his brother judging the distance and looking a little disheartened.“That bad?” Sam questions.Cas sighs and shakes his head. “Not really. It was just… exhausting. It turned out to be a larger nest than we’d anticipated.”Sam can see his brother frowning out of the corner of his eye. He clears his throat and sits up a little more. “But everything is fine.”Cas nods. “Everyone innocent survived, yes.”Sam gives him a small smile and then pulls a beer from the pack they have sitting on the table. He slides it over to Cas, who takes it gratefully with a small thank you.Dean taps his fingers against the tabletop. He’s nervous-fidgeting. Sam looks at him expectantly.Dean clears his throat and it makes Cas jump a little.Dean frowns. “So, uh. How many were there?” he asks hesitantly.Cas blinks and looks from Dean, to Sam, to Dean, and to Sam again, like he’s not actually sure Dean is talking to him.“Cas?” Dean prompts.Cas’s eyes finally land on Dean one last time and stay there. He looks like he’s in shock.“Uh, seven? Yes, seven vampires.” He glances at Sam, unsure, but then looks at Dean again. “I had anticipated only two or three. But it turned out to be a small nest terrorizing the town.”“Bet they never thought an angel would be the one to take ‘em down,” Dean comments, taking a swig of his beer.“They did seem surprised when I started killing them.”Dean huffs out a quiet laugh and says, “Good,” and Cas swells up a little, looking proud. Sam thinks he even sees a small smile grace Cas’ lips.Sam looks between the two of them, his best friend and his brother, finally talking after weeks of awkward silence. He pushes back from the table and stretches before getting to his feet.Dean looks up at him quickly. “Where are you going?”“Kinda wanna lay down for the night, Dean. Is that fine with you? Besides, I told Eileen I’d call her.”Dean snorts. “Yeah… ‘call.’ You’re gonna be sexting all night, is what you’re gonna do.”Sam wrinkles up his nose and shoves Dean’s shoulder. “Dude, don’t be gross.”Dean smiles. “Have a good night,” he calls as Sam walks away.As long as Dean and Cas are finally talking again, then yeah, maybe he will.~“Jesus, Cas. Can you-- Could-- Fuck…”“We’ll get there, Dean.”“No, I mean-- Godammit, Cas. Hey… heyheyhey, we gotta move this to the bedroom, okay… Sam might walk out of his room, and--”“He already knows. I talked to him while you were being childish.”“Asshole.”“And you don’t have to worry about outing yourself if he sees us. Now move your hands. I want to get your pants off.”“Man, can you-- I’m not worried about outing myself, Cas. I just don’t want him to see us… like this.”“I’m sure he can hear us if he’s not asleep. Either way, he won’t be coming out here.”“Oh my god, Cas.”Sam looks at Eileen on the screen in front of him, eyes wide.“Cas and my brother are in the hallway,” he signs to her.Eileen smiles, bright and beautiful and it distracts him from the loud groan and the thump that came from way too close to his door.“They’re talking again?” she signs and says aloud.He nods and winces when he hears his brother yelp. At least it doesn’t sound like pain. “More than talking,” he signed. “And, they’re… being loud.”Eileen throws her head back and laughs, loud and joyous through the headphones in Sam’s ears and he can’t help but laugh right along with her.“I’ll be sure to give Dean crap for that the next time I see you two,” she signs when she finally catches her breath.“Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later,” he replies, looking hopeful.She nods. “It will be. I like your bunker. It’s better than the motels.”Sam grins. “I hope that’s not all you like me for.”“Mmm…” She says thoughtfully, then shrugs.Sam laughs and it makes another wide smile split across Eileen’s face.By the sounds of it, Dean and Cas finally made it down the hall to Dean’s room. He can still hear them, but it’s very, very muffled and he’s grateful they don’t share a wall, because awkward doesn’t even begin to describe that situation. He’s glad they’re talking again, though. He hopes it lasts. He hopes they can find a little peace in each other, at least for a while.“They’ll be fine, Sam,” Eileen assures him, like she’d read his mind.He huffs and looks back at her through the screen. “Yeah. They will be.”