It was strange, how Castiel could still seem to appear out of nowhere even though he couldn't actually teleport at will. He moved about as any human would, he slept and ate and made use of the bathroom, though he seemed irritated by the constant maintenance and what a waste of time it all was. And yet, somehow, he managed to move around unnoticed, quiet and unobtrusive until he decided to break the silence.
He stood in the doorway, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans while he watched Sam curiously. Sam was young, from a point where Cas barely knew him. Sam had no idea the sort of man he'd become, had no idea where his life would go or what he'd be. Cas hadn't said it to him, but he'd come to admire Sam in ways that, years ago, he'd never considered.
Sam, right now, knew none of that. Sam saw Cas as the angel, a fearsome warrior of God who tried to follow the rules and started to fail. Looking at Sam now, Cas could see himself, at the tipping point, when everything changed. Before he made all of his mistakes, before he ripped Heaven apart and killed his brothers in the name of free will.