Prompt #1: Vain For You

It took Dean a minute to realize while he'd been brushing his teeth at one of the sinks lining the wall in the bathroom, that Cas remained standing in front of the full-length mirror. He was regarding his reflection with an expression belying his displeasure with what he saw.

Spitting his foamy mouthful into the basin, Dean patted his mouth dry with his towel before moving to hang it on the hook. A glance around had him wondering how he'd come in here without a clean shirt to change into. He'd done three-point shots with his dirty laundry into the hamper, before reaching for his shirt and not finding it.

If Sam was starting a prank war again with the intention of winning, he was sorely underestimating his brother.

Cas still stood frowning at the mirror, and Dean wondered what was going through his head. Did he hate his mortal body, its limitations? Did he miss Heaven and being an angel? Would the grief of that loss turn to hate directed at Dean, blaming him for not stopping it?

"What's wrong?" he asked finally, standing with one hip against the sink.

"You're a good cook," Cas said rather than answering, making Dean blink in surprise.

"Uh, thanks? Take it breakfast was good?"

Cas inhaled deeply and it came out as an audible sigh. "Everything you cook is good. My acclimation to being human has been easier than I expected, your cooking has been incentive to remember to eat regularly."

"Then why are you glaring at the mirror like you want to smite it?"

If possible, Cas looked even more displeased, gaze raking over his form. "I've gained weight."

Dean didn't mean to snort a laugh, he really didn't, and instantly sobered when Cas shot him a cross look. The hunter held up his hands. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that. Thought maybe you were angry about being human, not that you think you've gained a few pounds."

The angel looked down at himself, a hand coming up to rest on his stomach, before he regarded the planes of Dean's chest and stomach in a way that made the other man really wish he had a shirt to put on.

"You're body is much more toned than my own."

Huffing another laugh, Dean scratched at the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Well, I mean, Jimmy was a jogger right? He was fit that way. You look fine." He coughed lightly, remembering the couple of times he'd glimpsed Cas without a shirt on. "You're pretty fit. Maybe not as much as me and Sam, but I mean, we workout daily, Sam more than me. If you're worried about what you look like, you can start working out with us. Go jogging with Sam or whatever. And we go on hunts more than you. We burn off whatever calories we eat, whereas you've stuck close to home since you moved in." Dean let his gaze rake over the former angel, trying to see whatever it was that Cas did. "I think you're worrying too much. I can't see a difference."

Cas was regarding his reflection again, the hand on his stomach finally falling away. "This is my body now and I want it to be found attractive and appealing."

Dean flushed bright red, opening his mouth and not even sure how to reassure the angel on that particular subject, so instead deflected, laughing lightly and trying to ignore the sour turn of his stomach at the idea of Cas seeking romantic entanglements.

"Oh yeah? Decided to try for the whole romance thing now that you're human?"

"Being human finally allowed me to fully recognize the longing, yes. I kept misunderstanding the feeling when I was an angel." He glanced back at Dean. "But I want to be attractive, to them and for them, so that attention I garner will fill them with pride rather than shame."

Brows knitting, Dean said, "Okay, first off: whoever loves you is gonna love you no matter what you look like. Looks fade. Humans get older. We get scars. Life and crap happens. You may gain weight, you may lose, bones may get broken, and facial lines and gray hair will happen, but whoever loves you is gonna love you regardless, and if you ever tell Sam I said this, I will call you a liar until the day I die, understood?"

Chuckling, Cas gave a solemn nod and grabbed his toiletry bag, preparing for another day. Dean held the door open for him, eyeing the other man with a masochistic sense of curiosity. He wanted to know who apparently had caught the angel's eye that suddenly made him conscious of his appearance, trying to remember the women they had met or saw regularly, which of them would be Cas' type. Though the angel caught attention from both men and woman- and why the hell wouldn't he- Dean had only ever seen Cas show interest in female partners, what with Meg, which he didn't want to think about, and then when Dean had been to the future and met free love Cas.

With a nod of thanks, Cas stepped out into the hall and headed back toward his room.

The self-punishing part of Dean wouldn't be denied though. "Hey," he called, and the angel glanced back without stopping, "whose attention are you wanting anyway?"

Cas gave him an impish smile. "Yours."

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