35days of Sastiel – Day 13

fae-and-night:

The ways you say I love you – In a letter.

Sam grips the rolled parchment in his fist and feeds the
raven a little something. The carrier pigeons, while more numerous and perhaps
faster in tight corners in the cities, would have been taken by a wild falcon
long before ever reaching Sam. The ranger smiles, giving the raven’s feathers a
light scritch.

Weeks away from the Citadel has meant weeks away from Sam’s
sweetheart, the paladin renamed in the holy light of the gods as Castiel. Sam
had met Castiel when they were both quite young; Sam had been in town studying
lore from books much too large for him to carry to a reading desk, and Castiel,
made a member of the order at the tender age of 5, was tending to the library. Sam’s
ranging would bring him around the Citadel from time to time, and always
Castiel would escape his rigorous training for the day and join Sam on tiny
adventures to the market or nearby stream.

One day, two years prior to completing his training, Castiel
had realized that Sam had grown into a strong and righteous young man where he
had only seen a wonderful play companion before. Castiel, feeling much to old
and disillusioned at the grand old age of 23, had been hesitant to approach Sam
about courting, as Sam had only recently seen his twentieth summer. He had
mustered up the courage make an attempt, offering Sam a beautiful quill with
blue ink (a luxury for a boy who could have been a scholar in another life) and
a new lambskin bound journal.

Sam had only stared at the gift, and Castiel had been seized
by the sudden certainty that ranger courting customs must be completely
different. Castiel had held out his hands to take the offending objects from
his friend, praying to all the gods that he could still call Sam friend, but
Sam curled the book tightly to his chest. One hand curved gently, but fiercely
over the inkskin. Suddenly cowed by Castiel’s gob smacked expression, Sam ducked
his head.
“I’ll give them back if this doesn’t mean what I think it means,” Sam muttered.
Castiel quickly nodded, then slowly brushed Sam’s hair away from his cheek.
Sam quirked a quick smile, then stowed the items in his satchel and withdrew
from it a small knife and a small, but fine handkerchief Castiel had helped him
pick out at a merchant’s stall.
Sam swiftly cut a lock of his hair off and secured it in the handkerchief,
twisting it into a neat little pendant, which he tied off with a long bit of
leather cord.

It’s been nearly two years since then, but Sam’s just as
enamored by Castiel as he was when they first met. The feeling seems to be
mutual. Sam will make his way back to the Citadel in a few months, ready to
witness Castiel’s final commitment ceremony and whisk him away on an adventure.

Until then, Sam will content himself by hiding away from the
rest of the party for a short while, feeding the raven and hanging on the
beautiful script and sweet sentiments contained therein. After his reply, he
will fold the letter close to his heart, as he has all the others and count the
days until “I love you,” will be more than blue words on a page.