. ݁ ˖【 @puppyeyedboy 】. ݁ ˖
Castiel froze at the contact — the instinct to pull away flaring for a heartbeat before he allowed himself to settle into the embrace. His arms hovered awkwardly, then slowly came up, resting stiffly against Sam’s back like he was afraid of breaking him.
“I was… delayed,” he said, which was the closest he could come to a lie without actually speaking one. His eyes flicked briefly to Dean before returning to Sam, something heavy passing through his gaze.
“There was another angel,” Castiel added quietly. “Or what remains of one. They are frightened. And alone.”
His fingers curled faintly in the fabric of Sam’s jacket, grounding himself in something undeniably real.
“I am operational,” he assured them, but the pause before the words made it clear that wasn’t the whole truth.