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He looks smaller without the coat.
More solid, in a way, but that is more likely due to his being curled up so tightly on top of the bed, enjoying that particular stiffness that the top of hotel sheets provide. A pleasure that should not be looked at too closely, but will likely be left behind later that night in favor of the scratchier, but warmer, covers.
You notice, after a moment or two, that his sides are not rising and falling -- in fact, he does not seem to be breathing at all.
“You okay there?” you ask.
Silence, although Castiel begins to breathe again, as steadily as though he had never stopped.
“I was perceiving.” he answers. “Do you realize that you must always be taking air in and out due to the comparatively small size of human lungs? They are poorly designed, and I was attempting to mitigate this issue.”
“You don’t want to stop breathing, Cas.” you say, climbing onto the bed. “No point in that.”
“It is insensible.” Cas repeats. “There may as well be no --” a sound like a radio being smashed with a sledgehammer is followed by a sudden burst of flame at the other side of the room as the lightbulb explodes.
“Care to explain?”
Cas waves one hand awkwardly. “It is how matter is stored.”
That narrows it down by none at all, but fuck it, there’s no talking to Cas when he starts being this level of obtuse. What’s easier is knowing what he needs.
You lay your outside leg over him, and even as you do that small gesture, Castiel relaxes into you, so many times less tense than he was just moments before. His upper back presses into you, shaping himself along the line of your body with a little noise in the back of his throat that might best be described as a chirp as performed by a cephalopod. Cliyyckgliubbb!
His body curves slightly more, pressing himself still closer to you, as though you are protecting him with your body. It is easy enough to lay your arm along Castiel’s, feeling the way the muscles of his arm tense slightly before relaxing as if on cue.
“...thank you.” Castiel finally says, raising his head slightly so that you can slip your inner arm under his neck, easing him all the closer. “It is pleasant to feel so safe.”