Beep. Beep. Beep.
"That'll be thirty-seven dollars fifty," Dean said, bored.
He was almost at the end of an eight-hour shift and then he was on holiday for two weeks. He needed it, as well. He'd been putting his name down for as many extra shifts as he could get, and he was beat. But he needed the overtime, and every time he started to regret working so hard he reminded himself that he was doing it so he could afford to go to visit Sam.
"Thanks," he said, handing the customer their receipt.
Damn, he really missed his brother. He hadn't seen him in almost seven months - since Christmas.
"You alright there, Cas?" a voice to his left asked.
Dean turned round to greet his next customer, but the words got lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth because the guy was gorgeous. And very obviously blind. Dean watched him as he moved to the other side of the checkout, trailing one hand along the edge to guide him.
"Hey!" the man with him snapped. "Quit staring!"
Dean blushed and started scanning the shopping through, mumbling apologies.
"It's quite alright, Gabriel."
"No, it's not! You're my little brother and I'm not gonna let some jerk stare at you like you're some kind of freak!"
"I wasn't staring!" Dean protested.
"I saw you," the man - Gabriel - hissed.
Dean glared at him, and fuck it - now he was going to have to 'fess up. "Fine, I was staring - but because your brother's hot, alright?" His cheeks burned as he turned his attention back to their groceries.
An amused chuckle from his right caused him to glance up.
"I have never seen my brother speechless before."
"You've never seen me full stop," Gabriel pointed out, still unloading the shopping cart.
"That's a little harsh," Dean said, jumping to the Cas's defence.
"Oh, I like him, Cas."
"You didn't a minute ago," Castiel smiled.
A woman joined the queue.
"Hey, excuse me?" Dean called out. "There's another checkout a little further down that's free."
"I'm fine here," she insisted, unloading her groceries onto the belt.
"Alright." He turned back to Cas and Gabriel. "So are you guys having a party?"
"Sadly no," Castiel said. "Gabriel is going away for a week and wants to make sure I have everything I could possibly need."
"Okay, cool."
"But I might have a party just for myself once he's left," Cas added, shooting a teasing grin somewhere in Gabriel's direction.
"Oh, just shut up and pack, you dick," Gabriel said, dumping the shopping bags in front of him.
Cas started patting the shopping, hand grabbing at anything cold and putting it into a bag.
The customer behind Gabriel sighed loudly.
Dean scowled. "Hey, that checkout is still free further down if you want to go to it."
"No, I'm fine," the customer repeated through gritted teeth.
"If you're sure."
Once Gabriel had finished piling the shopping onto the belt he grabbed a bag, but instead of taking over he just helped Cas pack.
"That's all the chilled stuff, dude," Dean offered helpfully.
"Thank you."
With difficulty Castiel moved the rather full bag into the empty cart and started feeling for the fruit and veg. Dean watched with interest at the way his hands traced the shape of every item, sometimes picking it up and other times moving on. And he had really nice hands.
Gabriel packed a lot faster than Cas, and a finger on his lips told Dean not to say anything before he switched some of the shopping round. When Castiel found the Pop Tarts for the second time he frowned.
"Gabriel, stop moving everything!"
Gabriel laughed, and Dean grinned.
"You're good," he told Cas.
"It's called experience. Something which I fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it - have a lot of."
The customer in the queue sighed loudly again, muttering to herself as she gathered up her shopping and moved to a free checkout. "I wouldn't go to that one," she warned another customer loudly as he moved to queue at Dean's checkout. "That man's taking forever!"
Castiel dropped the eggs.
"Shit!" Dean exclaimed, grabbing a handful of paper towels that were kept on a shelf for these kind of situations.
"I'm holding everyone up," Cas said, visibly distressed.
"No, she was just rude," Gabriel insisted.
"I'm slowing the queue down."
"Dude, it's fine. Seriously, chill. She just had a stick up her ass, that's all. I told her twice that there were other checkouts without queues." Dean pressed the button to call for his supervisor.
Castiel's hands were shaking as he grabbed anything and shoved it into his bag.
"Cas, you're going to squash everything," Gabriel warned.
"I don't want to hold anyone else up."
Dean grabbed the guy's hands, and Cas stilled under his touch. "You're at the front of the queue," Dean said. "That means you get to take as much time as you need."
"But people are waiting."
"Let them wait. You were here first."
Gabriel looked from his brother to Dean, and back to his brother again.
"First come, first served, right? So take your time," Dean insisted, letting his hands go.
"Dean?" his supervisor asked.
"Pamela, can you get these guys another box of eggs?" he asked, holding up the box to let her see the type.
"Sure. I'll be right back."
Less flustered than before, Castiel started fondling his shopping again before putting it into his bags; though not as carefully as he had been in the beginning.
Thank you, Gabriel mouthed.
Dean nodded at him, his mouth dry. He'd just grabbed a customer, and now he was thinking about him fondling groceries. Damn it, he might be just a little bit smitten with the random blind guy.
"Eggs," Pam said.
"Thanks." Dean took them from her and passed them to Gabriel.
He didn't say anything else until all the shopping was through. "Okay, that's eighty-four dollars and seventy-five cents," Dean announced.
Castiel took out his wallet and handed it to Gabriel.
"What, you're not going to show off how you can tell the notes apart?" Gabriel grinned.
"No, now please just pay the nice man," Cas said sharply, obviously still a little uneasy about the rude woman's comment.
Dean tried not to let the compliment go to his head but he couldn't stop the dopey grin that spread across his face.
Gabriel handed him four twenties and a ten.
"And five twenty-five in change," he said, exchanging money in the till.
"Thank you," Castiel said.
"You too," Dean said.
Gabriel laughed.
"I mean, uh..."
But Gabriel was already leading Cas away.
"Have a nice day!" Dean shouted after them. He hunched down in his seat and groaned, wishing the ground would swallow him up.
When Charlie came to relieve him forty minutes later he was still kicking himself for making an ass of himself in front of Cas. It wasn't like the guy would care, but it would haunt Dean for ages. He would ordinarily race through the back to clock out and grab his things, but he kept re-running the end of their conversation in his head and inserting the things he should have said: "Have a nice day!"; "It was nice to meet you!"; "I hope to see you again!"
When he got outside he was surprised to see Cas sitting on the bench, tapping a white cane off the ground and looking like he was waiting. Dean looked around, but didn't see the other one - Gabriel, was it? Nervously he approached him.
"Uh, are you okay?" Dean asked.
Cas turned towards him, his recognition of Dean's voice obvious.
"You seem to have lost your brother," he joked. "And your shopping."
"Gabriel took the groceries home."
"And left you here?"
"Yes. At my request."
"Why?"
"Would my brother be incorrect in assuming that you are interested in me sexually?" he asked boldly.
Dean's eyes widened, and he opened and closed his mouth as he looked around, half expecting a film crew to jump out from behind a car because this was just weird. "Uh... Yes?"
Cas's face fell.
"I mean, no, he's not wrong. Yes, I am," Dean said, blushing and pulling a face because he was usually so smooth when it came to chatting people up.
But Cas didn't seem to mind. "What's your name? Gabriel refused to tell me what your name badge said."
"Dean," he said.
"Well then, Dean. Could you perhaps take me home?" he asked, standing up. "If you have a car, that is. I was hoping I could offer you a coffee, providing Gabriel hasn't drunk it all while I've been waiting."
"Sure." He hesitated before sliding his arm through Cas's. "My car's this way."
When Castiel started feeling his car he wanted to shout at him that he was getting greasy fingerprints all over it, but he bit his tongue and let him get on with it.
"This is not a modern car," Cas observed.
Dean grinned. "'67 Impala," he nodded.
Castiel smiled. "New cars all feel the same. I like older cars. They have character."
"That's why I love her."
"My brother also drives an Impala. Last year's model."
"Yuck."
Castiel shrugged. "He likes it. He won't listen to me when I tell him it's boring. He doesn't understand."
"Tell me you like '80s rock music and I might just kiss you."
"Cheesy '90s pop. Sorry."
"What the hell am I getting myself into?" Dean complained lightly as he got in. "Where is your place, anyway?"
Castiel gave him the address as he slid into the passenger seat. He ran his fingers along the dashboard as Dean drove.
"So what would you have done if I hadn't stopped to talk to you?" Dean asked after a minute.
"Gabriel would only give me an hour. Even though I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, he doesn't like leaving me alone for long periods of time."
"I'm glad I was finishing my shift and not starting it, then," Dean grinned.
"As am I. I suppose I should call him and tell him that he can go home." He dug out his phone and pushed a button. "Call Gabriel," he stated clearly. Castiel tapped a rhythm on his thigh as he waited for his brother to answer. "Gabriel? ... No I don't need you to pick me up, Dean is taking me home. ... No you won't wait for us to get there. ... Gabriel, if you are not gone by the time we get there I will hit you with my stick!"
Dean wasn't trying to listen, but he couldn't help chuckling at the thought of Cas hitting Gabriel with his cane.
Cas hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Gabriel is a cross between an annoying older brother, a small child, and an overbearing parent," he complained.
"He just loves you."
"Oh, I know he does. He's the only one of my siblings who's ever been there for me. I just wish that he loved me in a less irritating manner."
A pang of sadness shot through Dean. "I, uh..." He coughed and cleared his throat. "I think we're here."
"Is the mailbox red?"
Dean checked. "Yes."
"What's the name on it?"
Dean squinted, the brightness of the sun glaring off the shiny paint. "Milton?"
"We're here."
Dean automatically went to help Cas, but stopped himself when he realised that Cas managed just fine.
"Our father walked out on us when we were children," Cas revealed as they walked up the front path. "And my mother left me the house when she passed away a few years ago. She realised that the familiar layout would help me retain my independence."
"Yeah, I guess moving into a new house you don't know would be a pain in the ass."
Cas let out a bitter chuckle as he stepped inside. "Unfortunately my siblings, with the exception of Gabriel, didn't see it that way. They wanted to sell the house for as much as they could get and split the money. None of them have spoken to me since." He stopped as if realising something. "I'm probably telling you far too much for what could not even be considered a first date."
"My mother died in a house fire when I was four," Dean offered as he followed Cas into the kitchen. "Me and my brother were raised by our Uncle Bobby after dad went to prison for killing the son of a bitch who set the fire."
Castiel's eyes went wide. "I think we need something a bit more than coffee, now." He pulled two beers out of the fridge.
Dean took several long gulps and let out a satisfied ahh. "This is a nice house," Dean said, changing the subject. "I mean it needs a bit of work done, but it's really nice."
"Work done?" Cas echoed.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, I just—"
"No, you misunderstand. What work needs done?"
It clicked in Dean's mind that Cas wouldn't be able to tell if there was something wrong, and he didn't know how much Gabriel would pick up on. "Well you've got a burst gutter out the front," he started, setting his drink down. "It's obviously been like that for a while, 'cause now part of the porch is starting to rot."
"That sounds expensive."
"Yeah, it might be, depending on how much of the porch will need to be ripped out. And I saw the way your front gate was sticking."
"Yes, it's been doing that a lot lately. Gabriel tells me I need a new gate."
"No you don't - it just needs a bit planed off the end. You see when wood gets wet it expands," he explained, holding his hands up and spreading them out. He clenched his hands into fists when it hit him that his actions were pointless. "And it's been raining a lot lately. So what you do is you shave a bit off the end so that when it does get wet, it doesn't stick."
Cas considered this. "And who would I get to do that? A carpenter?"
He reached for his beer. "Well, I mean... I could do it, but..."
"You?"
"Yeah. My Uncle Bobby taught me everything I know." He took another sip. "Runs his own business and everything."
"Then why do you work in a supermarket?"
"Living and working with him was too much. Family's great, but sometimes you need a break from them. Know what I mean?"
"Absolutely."
Dean laughed. "So when I get back I could stop by, take a look at it?"
"'Get back'? Are you going somewhere?"
"I'm going to visit my brother. He lives out in California, so I don't get to see him all that often."
"I believe it's not a long flight."
"It's a long drive," Dean informed him. "I don't like flying."
"I hear that it's the safest way to travel."
"If people were meant to fly they'd have wings."
"Alright," Castiel smiled. "I'm not going to argue with you."
"So do you want me to take a look at it?"
Castiel nodded. "That would be wonderful. I might even look to hire your uncle to do my porch."
"How about this," Dean countered. "You hire him to do the gutter, and I'll do the porch?"
"Dean, I couldn't possibly ask you to—"
"You're not asking. I'm offering."
"I'd pay you."
"In kisses, I hope," Dean said without thinking.
Thankfully Cas smiled. "If that's what you'd like."
Dean's gaze dropped to Cas's mouth, and he wondered how Cas would react if he kissed him here and now. A loud dong rung through the house before he could think about acting on the thought and he jumped, spilling beer down his front.
"Jeez!" he shouted. Several quieter chimes sounded and Dean looked at his watch. "I should probably go."
"So soon?" Cas asked, disappointed.
"Yeah - I've got to pack my bag before I leave tomorrow at stupid o'clock in the morning."
"Just so long as it isn't something I said," Cas asked, putting his drink down. "I don't know how we managed to go from a get-to-know-each-other coffee to alcohol and DIY."
"It's fine, really," Dean hastened to assure him. "This has been nice. I'd like to do it again when I get back, if that's okay."
"Of course it is," Cas smiled. Then more hesitantly, he asked, "Can I see you before you go?"
Dean frowned. "I don't understand."
Castiel reached out to Dean, feeling his way to his face with his hands. "This is how I see," he explained.
"Oh, okay. 'See' away, then, I guess." It felt strange, sitting still and let Cas pat his face while fighting back a smile.
"You're allowed to smile."
Dean grinned, and a ghost of a chuckle brushed past his lips. "My eyes are green," he offered, when Cas moved up.
"I don't know what green looks like."
"Oh. I never asked, how did you—"
"I was born like this."
"Dude, that sucks."
"I've never known any different, so it doesn't really bother me that much."
When Cas stroked a finger across his lips Dean cleared his throat. Immediately Cas jerked his hands back. "You have to leave," he reminded Dean.
"Yeah."
Castiel passed Dean his phone. "Put your number in. I'll have Gabriel help me set up a voice command, and maybe I can call you sometime this week?"
"Sure. Any evening will be fine."
"I won't be interrupting your vacation?"
"No, don't worry about it."
"And I'll see you when you get back?"
"Absolutely," Dean promised.
Six months later Dean, Cas, and Gabriel stood outside, admiring the new porch.
"I wish you could see it, Cas," Gabriel said. "It looks amazing."
Dean blushed. "It's not amazing. I just kind of took what you had before and tried to keep it the same but make it a little better."
"How so?" Cas asked.
"Come see."
Dean took his hand and led him up the three steps. "Feel here?" he asked, guiding Cas's hand to one of the vertical support beams.
"Mm..."
"And the one on the other side of the steps? They're curved into an archway. And feel along here?"
"What is that?" Castiel asked, feeling the criss-cross of wood curiously.
"Trellis. I figure 'cause you had me dig out those dead bushes you could plant something that'll climb up and over. Ivy, or roses, or some shit."
A grin spread across Cas's face. "Yes, I like that. Something that would attract bees."
"What is it with you and bees?" Gabriel exclaimed.
"I can hear them! I don't know if there are other insects in my garden, but I know if there are bees."
Dean looked around. "You probably don't realise it, but most of these plants don't actually flower. They're generally easy-care, leave 'em and they'll grow shrubs. You just cut them back once a year and you're done. You want bees, I'd say plant some more flowers."
"Can we do that?"
"Why are you asking me?" Dean laughed. "I don't live here. You don't need my permission."
"No, but you'd be planting them."
"Cas, I'd dig you a fucking pond if you wanted to."
Cas smiled.
Gabriel chuckled. "Uh-oh! I think he wants a pond."
"No," Cas shook his head. "But Dean, about you not living here..."
Dean's mouth went dry.
"You could, if you wanted. You keep saying that it's too crowded, living with Bobby. And I hate it when you leave."
"Me? Move in?"
Castiel nodded.
Dean opened and closed his mouth several times.
"I think you broke him," Gabriel joked.
"Does he look upset?" Cas asked his brother. He turned in Dean's direction. "Are you upset?"
"No! No, I'm not upset. I'm just... I'm more used to people kicking me out than inviting me in," he admitted.
"So is that a yes?" Cas asked tentatively.
"That's a hell yes," Dean grinned, kissing him.
"Ew! That's my cue to leave!" Gabriel declared.
"I'll have to paint my name on the mailbox," Dean grinned.
"Or you could just marry me."
"Then I'd still have to paint my name on the mailbox because you'd become a Winchester."
"Why can't you become a Milton?"
"Winchester's a better name."
"I'm gonna leave you two to your lovers' quarrel," Gabriel said, inching backwards.
"Milton-Winchester?" Cas suggested, giving his brother a half-hearted wave.
"No."
"Winchester-Milton?"
"No."
"Dean Milton," Cas said, testing it out.
"Castiel Winchester," Dean shot back.
"Oh. Oh! I quite like that, actually."
"Don't sound so surprised." Dean fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke again it was in a more serious tone. "Did... Did we just agree to get married?"
"I think we did," Castiel said slowly.
"Fuck," Dean breathed.
"What?"
"Sam is gonna be pissed," Dean grinned.
"Why?"
"It took him four freaking years to pop the question to Jess. Four. I've gotten engaged in six months." He froze. "Holy shit, I'm engaged."
"We're engaged," Cas corrected him.
"We're engaged," Dean echoed, stunned. "So, what - do we have to set a date now? Start sending out invitations? Pick out China patterns?" he asked, his voice taking a slightly hysterical edge because how did you plan a wedding?
"Or we could just enjoy being engaged now that Gabriel has gone..." Castiel hinted heavily, already feeling his way to the door.
"Yeah," Dean agreed, dismissing all panicked thoughts of a wedding in favour of the promise of Castiel naked. "Yeah, I like that plan."