#sam better give cas at least TWO hugs as reparations for this scene

[jjongleurs]

Supernatural: 6×12 “Like a Virgin”

Okay, so 6x12 “Like a Virgin.” First episode with Sam’s soul back. He feels a bit lonely with Dena having gone to fetch diet-Excalibur from the professor in San Francisco and Bobby giving him the cold shoulder (bc, y’know, soulless Sam tired to patricide his soul away permanently by offing the one good father figure in his life). He prays to Cas, letting him know he’s back.

You wanna know what Cas does? The extremely powerful instrument of Heaven, wavelength of celestial intent, Angel of the Lord Castiel goes in for a hug. And what does Sam, the more well-adjusted brother, do? HE REJECTS A HUG FROM A LITERAL ANGEL. Like, why??? I don’t understand? 

I don’t even know why I’m so hurt over this??? I’m a softie for Cas and he deserves all the hugs he damn well pleases. This poor millennia old entity is having feelings for the first time and he’s readjusting to the humanity that is slowly but surely becoming ingrained into the very core of his previously unfeeling not-soul. He’s learning love and affection and loss through the only humans he really interacts with—the Winchesters. Yeah, not the best teachers on how to be a well-adjusted, healthy human, but come on!!! Sam, the real Sam, not the soulless version of him, prays to him for the first time probably EVER. Not to mention, Cas thought Sam would never wake up after having his tortured, flayed, fresh-out-of-hell soul reinserted into his body. Cas answers his prayer IMMEDIATELY and is so happy to see him that he goes in for a hug! He’s learning to express his love and affection for these humans, and Sam, the more well-adjusted brother, is like... nope. 

Like, EXCUSE ME? We’ve been talking non-stop about how beautiful and sad it is that Cas learned to love and care but also repress his feelings through Dean since 15x18 aired, but he also learned it from Sam!!!

The scene goes a little like this:

Sam: Castiel. Um... I’m back, so if you got a minute...

*wings flap, Cas pops up in front of him*

Cas: Sam. It’s so good to see you alive.

Sam: Yeah. You too.

*Cas goes in for a hug* 

*Sam sits down and deflects*

Sam: Um, look, I would hug you, but—

Cas: —that would be awkward.

Then Sam just goes on to talk about how crazy the past year has been, and Cas lets it slip that he was walking around without a soul. Sam goes along with it and tries to get extra info out of him about what happened in some subtle way.

Like, Cas probably just thought Sam really wanted to see him and say hi after being away for so long! He seemed so happy, in his own new-to-human-emotion way! He was going in for a hug because he cared and because he had been picking up on social cues and it seemed appropriate! It’s what you do when you’ve missed someone! All the Winchesters have ever done before is call when they’ve needed something from him, and he thought this time was different!

In a way, it does start off as a sweet interaction with no ulterior motives, but then Sam just goes on to squeeze information out of Cas. Which, honestly, saying no to the hug and wanting to find out more about what his soulless body was up to in the past year are fair enough! That’s fine! Sam is entitled to all of that! Although he’s the more well-adjusted brother, Sam probably still has trouble with affection and expressing how much he cares about other people.

Knowing all of this still doesn’t hurt me any less though! Cas is trying to figure out how to be a person for the first time. He deserves a damn hug every once in a while! I feel like this set a precedent the same way Dean reminding Cas of personal space all the time did. Cas obviously has feelings he doesn’t understand how to express, a lot of them probably having to do with enjoying being in the proximity of these two humans! That’s probably why he was always too close to Dean, and then he maybe figured out that maybe initiating a hug was more appropriate than standing within a foot of them! But now Sam has shot that down, too. It can all probably be boiled down to John Winchester’s A+ parenting though! Cas realizes that this would be “awkward” and just—stops showing affection in this way, for a bit, if I recall. Dean hugs him in Purgatory in Season 8, but any other time anyone is affectionate towards him other than that until maybe the more recent seasons? It’s if he’s dead or dying.

I’m not mad at Sam, per se, he really did nothing wrong. I’m just sad because Cas deserves a hug after everything he does, They only call him when they need something from him, completely disregarding (within this season) that he’s literally fighting a civil war. All they ever do is ask things from him and never really offer their help or support to him. It’s no wonder he always leaves. Why he makes so many mistakes. Why he sometimes selectively answers prayers. Why he ultimately ends up going off the rails! The Sam and Dean don’t often make him feel wanted. Like family. 

But, really, that’s just the Winchester brand. They don’t know how to show affection, how to ask people to stay, how to let others know that they need them just for the pleasure of having them around! But of course they don’t. Thanks, John Winchester.