The cream beige colored walls and light brown wooden floors working well with each other, and the light pouring in through the sliding door, leading to the balcony, made the place seem warm and welcoming. Pictures of his mom and older siblings littering the walls of his living room, and dining room, along with posters of his favorite TV shows.
He inhaled deeply, the scent of Pine-sol invading his senses, and sprawled out on his love seat, a long sigh leaving his lips. Now that he had his apartment in order, he could relax.
"Come here, Cecil," He called out, smiling as he heard the sound of paws padding on the wooden flooring, and the sight of his Labrador coming into view. He sat up and picked up his puppy. "How do you like our new home, Cecil?" He cooed lovingly, giggling as Cecil licked his cheek. "I'll take that as a good sign." He scratched behind Cecil's ear absentmindedly, as he thought of anything else he needed to do. When nothing came to mind he stood up, puppy in arms and he grabbed the dog leash from one of the hangers near the door. "How about we go for a walk to check out the park?" He shoved his wallet, headphones, phone and key to his apartment in his satchel, and slung it over his shoulder.
Cecil just barked and wagged his tail making Castiel chuckle. He closed the door to his apartment making sure the door was locked before walking down a set of stairs, and out the door of his apartment building.
Castiel put Cecil on his leash, setting the pup down on the cement. He walked slowly, taking in the sights of the big city as Cecil stayed by his side occasionally stopping to sniff a tree. It was hard to maneuver around the large groups of people, especially with Cecil trying to sniff them, and a group of girls asking if they could pet the pup.
After those few minor distractions they finally made it to their destination. Leaves were scattered all around the ground where they walked, making a soft crunching sound beneath Castiel's sneakers and Cecil's paws. There were children running around the area, jumping into various piles of leaves, only to spay them further on the cold cement. Couples walked hand in hand while others sat on the benches around the park, just simply enjoying each other's company. The scent of food from nearby food vendors filled the air, making his empty stomach growl.
Figuring he might as well eat, he reached into his satchel and grabbed his wallet, walking up to the hot dog stand, little Cecil trailing behind him. A gust of wind swept through and he shivered slightly, wishing that he brought a jacket or sweatshirt to keep himself warm but he didn't think that it would be this cold outside.
The man at the stand gave him a friendly smile that Castiel returned and asked for a hot dog, and a bottle of water. He took money out of his wallet and gave it to the vendor, telling him to keep the change as he walked away. He walked around with Cecil for a few minutes, snacking on his hot dog before he finally found a open bench to sit down on.
"Sit Cecil," He commanded, smiling as Cecil obeyed plopping down next to his feet. Castiel took a drink of his water and watched the people at the park interacting with each other. His baby blue eyes stopped on a particular park goer just a few feet in front of him that seemed to be walking his dog too. The man had this odd caramel colored locks, swept over to the right then slicked back. His eyes were an alarming golden color. Castiel quickly looked down as the man looked his direction, busying himself with scratching behind Cecil's ear. He glanced up after a minute and let out a small sigh of relief as he saw that he was gone. He smiled down at Cecil, and stood up. "Come on let's walk around for a little bit than let's go home. It's getting too cold out here."
He was always there. Everyday.
It had been almost a week since Castiel first saw him, and he admired the stranger from afar almost everyday. He knew he was being sort of... well stalker-ish but he couldn't help but be interested in him. He zipped up his over sized jacket, and pulled down his sock monkey hat, so it covered up his ears. He had been trying to work up the courage to talk to him, since he was genuinely curious on why he came to the park everyday.
Castiel tugged on the bottom of his jacket restlessly, standing up from his place on the bench. The dark haired man, took a deep breath and started to walk towards where the stranger was, shoving his hands in his pockets out of a nervous habit. He kept his gaze to the ground, trying to ignore the growing fear inside of him. When Castiel looked up again he was just a few feet away from him, and he felt complete fear hit him like a ton of bricks, and he had sudden second thoughts about talking to him. He stopped in his tracks and he started to back step, only to run into another park goer. He turned around quickly and apologized to the young women he ran into, asking if she was okay. He looked behind himself and saw those golden eyes looking right at him. Time stopped for a moment, and he had to remind himself how to breath. He tore his gaze away and pulled on the strings of his hat from embarrassment, and quickly walked away not wanting to embarrass himself anymore than he already did.
"I don't know what it is about him, Lisa... He just seems really interesting.." Castiel stacked the new books on the shelf, and let out a long sigh.
"Aww how cute, little Cas has a crush." Lisa teased him, pinching his cheek much to Castiel's displeasure.
"I-I do not have a crush on him. I don't even know him for Pete sakes.." He looked away from Lisa, a faint blush making it's way onto his pale cheeks. Lisa was a really good friend but sometimes she could really push his buttons. "I think I'm going to talk to him today.."
"That's what you've been saying for since you saw him. Just do what I've been telling you to do. Go up to him and introduce yourself. It's not that hard."
"Easier said than done, Lisa." He mumbled before standing up straight. He drifted off into his thoughts of what he could even say to him. "What would I even say. 'Hi I'm Castiel and I have been secretly stalking you for the last week, what's your name?'"
Lisa gave him a less than amused look and shook her head standing up straight as well. "Just try to start a conversation with him. Even if it's just a small 'Hi', just to get things rolling." When Castiel gave a apprehensive look she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Look I know you are socially awkward around people, but just try to talk to him like you talk to me."
"Like I said earlier, easier said than done."
After work Cas went to the park like he usually did, and like usual he was there again. Castiel sat on a bench a couple down from where the young man was, and put on his headphones to make himself look less odd. He played some music from his phone, and occasionally glanced over at where the stranger was sitting, but otherwise just looked down, tapping along to the beat of the music with his foot. When Castiel looked over again, he saw that the stranger was gone and looked around for him. The dark haired man saw what he thought was him walking towards the other end of the park. He stood up and after a minute of hesitation started to follow him, staying a good distance away from him and tried to seem like he wasn't stalking someone. God, this was so messed up on so many levels.. but he needed to figure out where he went everyday. The young stalker in training trailed behind him, stopping every now and then to pretend to admire a tree or flower, before Cas continued to follow.
About five minutes of following the stranger, Castiel found himself peaking out from behind a small building in the middle of an unknown area to him. Cas glanced at where the other was kneeling on the ground, trying to see what he was doing.
"... Hey, Sammy. Sorry I'm a little late today." A modulated voice said.
Cas had to hold back a small gasp as he heard the man's voice for the first time. It was so.. pleasant to listen to. He moved as close to the edge of the building as he could without getting caught, and listened to the other speak.
"Well, Dean is just starting to laugh again.. Although he was laughing at me because I fell down the steps." The man let out a small chuckle, shifting so that he was sitting on the ground, in front of the grave.
Castiel knew that he shouldn't be listening in on such a personally conversation, but this was probably going to be the most information he ever found out about this guy. So he put his morals aside and kept listening.
"... I can't believe it's been two years already, Sammy.. I miss you like crazy." His shoulders slumped forwards, and a small sigh left his lips. "I'm still so sorry I let this happen to you.. Dean keeps telling me it wasn't my fault.. but if I hadn't made you go.." He trailed off, his voice cracking towards the end of his sentence.
Castiel felt his heart clench in his chest, and decided that it was time to go home. He blinked as he felt something brush over his hand and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the biggest spider he ever saw crawling on his hand. He clamped his free hand over his mouth to keep from screaming in terror, his chest heaving from his efforts. He started to thrash around violently, still trying to stay quiet so that the other man didn't notice him. His glasses fell off of his face in the process but he didn't notice still freaking out about the spider. He fell onto the ground and started to crawl away in tears.
He laid in the bushes for awhile just trying to calm himself down enough so he could leave without the other knowing. In the end, the stranger ended up leaving before Castiel did walking right pass the bushes where he was curled up into the fetal position.
Today was the day Castiel was going to talk to him. He had it all planned out. He was going to 'accidentally' bump into the other man, apologize, and strike up a casual conversation with him. It was going to be a piece of cake!
At least that's what he thought until he laid eyes on the stranger and he felt his confidence diminish. Cas let out a frustrated sigh and looked down at Cecil. "I don't understand why I'm having such a hard time talking to him.. He's just a normal guy but I-I just can't seem to get the words out when I'm near him.." The young male ran his fingers through his already messy hair, and sat down on a bench, tying Cecil to the leg of the bench. He leaned back and put his headphones on again, figuring he would stay for a little while and then go home. He closed his eyes for a minute to just listen to his music, before Cas opened his eyes again. "Come on, Cecil let's go home.." Maybe tomorrow would be the day he talked to him.
Castiel looked down to grab Cecil's leash but his eyes widened as he saw that Cecil was gone. He stood up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash, and looked around for his puppy. "Cecil?! Cecil where did you go?!" He called out, speed walking around the area. "Cecil! Come here boy!" Tears started to form in the corner of his baby blue eyes as he frantically looked for his puppy. Castiel spotted his Cecil near another man and his dog and quickly ran over to him, scooping the puppy up into his arms. "Oh my god, Cecil! Don't run away from me like that again!" He scolded lightly, hugging the pup close.
"Oh, your his owner? He just ran over to me and Pep. I was just going to go look for his owner."
"Oh thank you so mu-" Castiel looked up and he choked on his words, when he saw those familiar golden eyes looking at him. "Uh, I.. T-Thank you.." His voice cracked, and his cheeks felt too warm. "I-I'm Castiel!" He blurted out, startling the other man.
"Oh.. Well nice to meet you, Castiel. I'm Gabriel." Gabriel gave him a small smile and held his hand out for the other to shake.
Gabriel. That was his name. He finally figured out his name. Castiel hesitantly shook his hand. "I-I'm Castiel.. Oh, wait I already said that.." His face got warmer as he heard Gabriel chuckle.
"I-I got to go I.. left the stove on." He gave a small wave goodbye and speed walked home with Cecil still in his arms. He couldn't stop the grin the broke out on his face once he got home. He actually talked to him without making a fool of himself.
