Can I Have a Cat, Dean?
"Dean, I think we should get a cat."
The voice that came from the back of the Impala made Dean jump in his seat and the car swerved onto the other lane before Dean regained control.
"Goddammit Cas, how many times do I have to tell you to not just appear like that!" He turned to look at him briefly. "You scared the shit out of me man. Not cool."
"I apologize if I startled you." The hint of a smile showed on his face, which later turned serious again. "But I really think we should get a cat."
"Why do you want a cat Cas? We don't have time for animals."
He turned to look at Castiel again, and the look he had on his face made Dean almost speed to the stupid animal store and buy him a stupid cat. But unless they wanted to end up with a half-starved animal because they forgot the thing on their hands, he was not going to get him a cat.
Cas didn't answer his question. Dean heard a flutter of wings, and when he looked back to the seat Castiel had been in moments ago, it was empty. The angel really wants a cat.
The Impala roared down the road as Sam and Dean were on their way back to the motel after a hunt. Some ghosts just don't want to realize they're dead. Dean's body ached because he'd been thrown across a room and he had possibly broken a few ribs. And they hurt like hell. He had been the 'distraction' while Sam had torched the son of a bitch's bones. And he had been so happy when he heard screams and saw the ghost disappear in flames.
As Dean looked out the window he saw the sun was rising and the sky was painted in warm colors of pink and orange. He looked down and saw a square, brownish thing on the side of the road as they passed it.
"Sam, stop the car."
"What, why?" He started to slow down and move onto the gravel on the side of the road. As the car stopped Dean slowly got out, careful not to hurt his ribs even more. Sam got out as well, and they both started walking towards the thing that now looked like a shoe box.
"You wanted to stop for this? It's a box, Dean." Dean shot him a look that said 'I know, genius', but he kept walking towards it.
Sam knelt down to pick the little box up and found it was heavier than a box usually is. And it made sounds. Cat-like sounds. He opened the lid and the smallest black kitten he had ever seen stared up at him with big and innocent blue eyes. 'Meow,' it said and Dean came closer to look at it. He moved his hand to pick it up and held the thing close to his chest. It struggled a little at first, but when the kitten realized Dean wasn't going to harm it, the small thing curled itself up in a ball and purred. Dean had a content look on his face as he stood there, cradling a small, stray cat against his chest.
"Wait, you're keeping it?" Sam looked confused, wondered if Dean had ever liked cats.
"Hell yeah Sammy, we can't just leave it. Whoever left it here is stupid." Those eyes reminded him of someone, and he knew that someone would be really happy to see this little thing.
Dean turned back and started walking towards his car again. "We have to stop and get it some food, Sam," he said before he got in the car. Sam got in the driver's seat and looked over at Dean who had closed his eyes. The kitten lay on Dean's arm, perched up against his chest. They both looked so warm, so content, and he saw a new side of his brother.
He picked up his phone and took a picture. For later teasing, he thought, and drove away.
Dean woke up when the car stopped outside the motel. He groaned and felt something warm against his chest as he moved. He looked down and saw the little cat was still sleeping. He opened the door and got out, his bones making small sounds as he stretched his back. He saw Sam who was holding a bag with what looked like food in it.
"I got you a burger. And I got the cat some kind of tuna thing. I don't really know what it is." Dean smiled, said thanks Sammy, and Sam looked at him with an expression Dean identified as a well-known Bitchface. He chuckled a little at that and moved towards their room.
"Cas," Dean called out into the chilly night air. "Get your feathery ass down here." Dean sat on the hood of his Impala, holding the cat in his arms. He ran his hands along its back and heard the cat purr even more. Dean really liked the little thing, and he thought he began to understand why exactly Cas wanted a cat so bad.
"Hello, Dean." Castiel's voice shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see that Cas looked like he was a little mad. Dean laughed, got up from the hood and held the still-to-be-named cat towards him. "Cas, this is cat. Cat, this is Cas."
The previously sullen look on Castiel's face turned into a wide, all-teeth smile. "You got me a cat?" Cas stepped forward and took the cat out of Dean's hand and looked into his eyes.
"I wasn't really going to get you a cat," Dean said and raised a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "But Sam and I found it by the side of the road and well, now you're holding it in your hands." He looked towards Cas and realized he was smiling just as much as Castiel was. He never saw Cas smile much and this made Dean feel good. He was the one who brought that smile out of Cas, he had made him happy. And all it took was to give him a cat. He couldn't for the life of him understand why he hadn't given him a cat earlier.
The cat seemed to like Cas just as much as it liked Dean, because after playing a little with the sleeve of his trench coat it curled up into a ball in Castiel's arms as he carefully stroked behind its ear.
"Thank you, Dean," Castiel said and turned around to walk to the motel room.
Dean sat down on the hood of the Impala and watched Cas as he went. The reaction he got from Cas was better than he thought it would be, and he still couldn't understand why he hadn't gotten him a stupid cat earlier. If this was the reaction Dean would get from one cat, he wondered how Cas would react to getting all the cats in the world. Dean would if he could. Cas would be the crazy cat man - angel – and Dean would get to see that beautiful smile light up his otherwise serious and tired face. But one cat would be enough for now. Both of them had what they wanted.