Dimmer Switch - fill for OhSam November meme
Title: Dimmer Switch
Characters: Sam, Castiel (Dean, Jess mentioned)
Pairing: none
Warnings: none
Word Count: 771
Summary: Fill for cowboyguy's prompt: Sam always pushes himself too hard. Pulling all-nighters when he's got three papers due the next day. Poring through old lore books until he can't see clearly anymore. Training until his body is ready to give out. Who stops him?
Sam doesn’t have an “off” switch, like a normal person.
There had been those few years of his adolescence when his body needed sleep so badly that it overrode his brain. But even then, he insisted on getting up over and over again to spar with Dean or to run a half mile longer. Rebellion was strange; he hated that training but refused to stop until his dad or his brother physically stopped him.
Academics was another area where Sam always had trouble drawing a line. In high school, his studying had been interrupted frequently by a hunt or a move or an injury. Once he arrived at Stanford, he would stay up studying all night before an exam even when he knew all of the material. The research for his papers and projects was exhaustive - easily twice as many hours as most of his classmates. The fear of losing his scholarship had been pervasive.
Jess lacked the same switch as Sam, so she hadn’t made attempts to change his habits. They indulged together, sometimes with Red Bull and sometimes with amphetamines. Get straight As, crash for a day and a half, start all over again.
Dean, of course, tells Sam frequently to sleep more, slow down, give himself a break. Always has. But since Dean doesn’t do much in the way of practicing what he preaches, it’s ineffective even when Sam tries to make it look like he’s trying.
This system had been in place for so many years, it was (and many times still is) Sam’s default setting. After the trials, Dean sidelined him so often that he kicked up his exercise; runs were twice as long, conditioning increased substantially. He needed to get his old body back, build muscle, boost stamina.
After Gadreel...well, several things had happened after that. Most importantly, Sam and Castiel’s friendship becoming stronger than it had ever been in the past.
Cas isn’t a fan of Sam’s routine. Regardless of the state of his angelic grace, installing an off switch in Sam’s brain is beyond his capabilities. Fortunately, there are other ways to help Sam make better choices. And Cas - any version of Cas - when he wants to be, is more bossy than Dean even on Dean’s best day.
They’re all spending more time in the bunker these days. Dean likes to cook (likes to feed them), and he’s good at it, so Castiel implements meal times. Not down to the minute - he knows who he’s working with here - but in general. Even when they’re eating leftovers or takeout, the three of them sit down to eat together. It turns out that Sam’s appetite is just fine when he’s sitting down with food in front of him and no excuse to skip dinner and keep doing whatever he’s been busy doing all day.
Exercise is a good habit. Like most other activities, in moderation. Dean does a bit of weight lifting but most of his exercise comes from daily activity. The Impala requires constant care, heavy things need to be lifted and moved in the bunker, the garden needs to be weeded, cared for, and maintained.
Sam overdoes physical exercise more than anything else. Castiel is willing to negotiate. For strength training, they compromise at one hour per day. Cardiovascular exercise is a stickier point. If Sam loses any more weight, his health will be in serious jeopardy, but his daily run is important for his mental well-being. This battle is hard-fought, but cardio gets capped at an hour a day as well when Cas refuses to budge.
Alarms are set. Childlike pleas of “five more minutes” and “I’m almost done” are ignored.
Research has to be monitored as well if Sam is going to get into healthier habits.
“Sam. We had an agreement.”
Well, shit.
Sam had found a book of fae lore more detailed and thorough than he’d ever seen before. But his attempt at translation, by chapter seven, had strained his eyes badly enough that he’d developed a splitting headache.
On days when there was no pressing research required for a case, Sam and Cas had agreed on a very generous three hours of study.
With time, Sam has gotten accustomed to these limitations; he’s even grown to appreciate them. Maybe he still doesn’t have that off switch, but there’s a dimmer that works pretty well these days.
He closes his book, carefully marking the page where he left off and saving the translations he’s made so far.
“Thanks, Cas. You want to get a beer? There are new episodes of Great British Bake Off on.”
Characters: Sam, Castiel (Dean, Jess mentioned)
Pairing: none
Warnings: none
Word Count: 771
Summary: Fill for cowboyguy's prompt: Sam always pushes himself too hard. Pulling all-nighters when he's got three papers due the next day. Poring through old lore books until he can't see clearly anymore. Training until his body is ready to give out. Who stops him?
Sam doesn’t have an “off” switch, like a normal person.
There had been those few years of his adolescence when his body needed sleep so badly that it overrode his brain. But even then, he insisted on getting up over and over again to spar with Dean or to run a half mile longer. Rebellion was strange; he hated that training but refused to stop until his dad or his brother physically stopped him.
Academics was another area where Sam always had trouble drawing a line. In high school, his studying had been interrupted frequently by a hunt or a move or an injury. Once he arrived at Stanford, he would stay up studying all night before an exam even when he knew all of the material. The research for his papers and projects was exhaustive - easily twice as many hours as most of his classmates. The fear of losing his scholarship had been pervasive.
Jess lacked the same switch as Sam, so she hadn’t made attempts to change his habits. They indulged together, sometimes with Red Bull and sometimes with amphetamines. Get straight As, crash for a day and a half, start all over again.
Dean, of course, tells Sam frequently to sleep more, slow down, give himself a break. Always has. But since Dean doesn’t do much in the way of practicing what he preaches, it’s ineffective even when Sam tries to make it look like he’s trying.
This system had been in place for so many years, it was (and many times still is) Sam’s default setting. After the trials, Dean sidelined him so often that he kicked up his exercise; runs were twice as long, conditioning increased substantially. He needed to get his old body back, build muscle, boost stamina.
After Gadreel...well, several things had happened after that. Most importantly, Sam and Castiel’s friendship becoming stronger than it had ever been in the past.
Cas isn’t a fan of Sam’s routine. Regardless of the state of his angelic grace, installing an off switch in Sam’s brain is beyond his capabilities. Fortunately, there are other ways to help Sam make better choices. And Cas - any version of Cas - when he wants to be, is more bossy than Dean even on Dean’s best day.
They’re all spending more time in the bunker these days. Dean likes to cook (likes to feed them), and he’s good at it, so Castiel implements meal times. Not down to the minute - he knows who he’s working with here - but in general. Even when they’re eating leftovers or takeout, the three of them sit down to eat together. It turns out that Sam’s appetite is just fine when he’s sitting down with food in front of him and no excuse to skip dinner and keep doing whatever he’s been busy doing all day.
Exercise is a good habit. Like most other activities, in moderation. Dean does a bit of weight lifting but most of his exercise comes from daily activity. The Impala requires constant care, heavy things need to be lifted and moved in the bunker, the garden needs to be weeded, cared for, and maintained.
Sam overdoes physical exercise more than anything else. Castiel is willing to negotiate. For strength training, they compromise at one hour per day. Cardiovascular exercise is a stickier point. If Sam loses any more weight, his health will be in serious jeopardy, but his daily run is important for his mental well-being. This battle is hard-fought, but cardio gets capped at an hour a day as well when Cas refuses to budge.
Alarms are set. Childlike pleas of “five more minutes” and “I’m almost done” are ignored.
Research has to be monitored as well if Sam is going to get into healthier habits.
“Sam. We had an agreement.”
Well, shit.
Sam had found a book of fae lore more detailed and thorough than he’d ever seen before. But his attempt at translation, by chapter seven, had strained his eyes badly enough that he’d developed a splitting headache.
On days when there was no pressing research required for a case, Sam and Cas had agreed on a very generous three hours of study.
With time, Sam has gotten accustomed to these limitations; he’s even grown to appreciate them. Maybe he still doesn’t have that off switch, but there’s a dimmer that works pretty well these days.
He closes his book, carefully marking the page where he left off and saving the translations he’s made so far.
“Thanks, Cas. You want to get a beer? There are new episodes of Great British Bake Off on.”