"Cas, are you sure you're good to go by yourself?"
"I am a Celestial being, Sam. I will be fine."
Sam shrugged, a half grin on his face.
"Okay, well here's the money and the list. Dean's asleep, but I'm pretty sure you know his input."
"Pie."
"Yeah." Sam rolled his eyes. "I think if you found some apple, he'd like that, but-"
"Cherry. Is his favorite." Cas interrupted.
Sam nodded slowly.
"That's right."
"And for you, those…. Fruits. And the green things?"
"Vegetables Cas."
"Vegetables. Right." With a finishing nod, Cas climbed the stairs and left the bunker.
(After having only recently gotten his Grace back, he had been trying to conserve his angelic powers. So instead of teleporting, he walked often.
He enjoyed the serenity of it.)
The story was only about a mile or so away.
He walked in and the door chimed.
"Welcome to Walgreens."
"Thank you." Cas replied.
He grabbed a basket, as he saw the woman in front of him do.
Then he pulled the list from his pocket.
In Sam's messy, scrawling handwriting, was written:
Bread
Milk
Eggs
Bananas
Oranges
Carrots
Apples
Lettuce
Kale
Spinach
Cheese
Crackers
Bacon
And added in Cas's precise, neat handwriting, was
Pie.
He began gathering the items, mentally checking them off the list as he went.
Cas stopped in the cracker aisle.
'There are so many kinds.' He thought.
He tried to remember which crackers he had seen in the bunker.
Finally, he decided on Ritz and Saltines.
Last thing on the list was the pie.
He found some in the Bakery, taking a piece of cherry, a piece of apple, and one of blackberry.
List complete, he made his way to the checkout line.
The lady in front of him had so much food, that it took up almost the entire conveyor belt.
Cas set his stuff on the edge.
"Hey."
Cas turned around.
A tall blond man stood behind him, holding a basket overflowing with food.
"Hello. Sir."
The man grinned.
"Hey Angel."
Cas's throat tightened up.
"What?"
"Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?"
The man winked.
Cas's jaw dropped.
He slipped his angel blade into his right hand.
"Speechless, huh?" The man chuckled.
"Here," The man jammed a hand in his pocket and pulled out a pen.
He grabbed Cas's left hand, and Cas was so taken aback, that he didn't even pull away.
"The name's Ryan."
Ryan scribbled a series of numbers onto Cas's arm.
"And you are? Quiet, obviously, but what's your name?"
"Castiel."
"Interesting name."
"I have to go."
"What?"
"I have to go." Cas repeated.
He used his Grace right then, and he appeared back in front of the bunker door. His hands were empty; he didn't finish paying for his groceries.
He entered the bunker, took the stairs, and yelled.
"Dean. Dean!
Dean dropped the hamburger he was eating, and leapt up.
"Cas! What's wrong?"
"There was a man in the supermarket who knows who I am. He knew I was an angel!"
"Shit, Cas. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine Dean."
"What did he do to you?"
Cas pulled back his sleeve, and displayed his arm.
"He gave me his phone number."
Dean choked slightly.
"He… He gave you his phone number?"
"Yes."
Dean crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.
"Cas, what happened exactly?"
"I was paying for the groceries when the man behind me asked if it hurt when I fell from Heaven."
Dean began to chuckle.
"Why are you laughing Dean? Dean!"
Sam came into the room, took in Cas's somewhat helpless expression, and Dean slowing coming out of his laughing stupor.
"What's going on?" He asked. "Are you guys okay?"
Dean was still chuckling, so Cas answered.
'Maybe Sam will be able to understand him.' He reasoned.
"The man at the grocery store knew I was an angel."
"Did he try to hurt you?" Sam asked.
"No." Cas replied with a look at Dean, who was close to sobering up. "But he asked if it hurt when I fell from Heaven."
Sam grinned, but held back his laughter.
"He was hitting on you Cas!" He explained.
"No," Cas replied, his brow furrowed. "He didn't hit me."
Sam shook his head, and let out a half laugh.
"Hitting on you. He-, oh, never mind. He was flirting with you Cas. He probably thought that you were good-looking, so he used a pick-up line on you. It's what people do when they like someone."
"Oh." Cas said. "That's…. nice. But if he wanted to pick me up, wouldn't he just, lift me?"
Dean chuckled again.
"Cas, a pick-up line means that he was flirting with you. That's the bottom line." Sam said.
"Okay. I think I understand. When you like someone, you pick them up with flirting."
"That's right." Sam grinned.
He left the room, headed to the kitchens to grab a beer.
[Cas walked over to Dean. He put his arms around the taller man, and easier than either of them would have thought, lifted him up.
"Wooaah there!"
He looked at Dean with huge blue eyes.
"Is this working?" He asked. "Am I picking you up with flirting?"
"Cas, you can put me down."
"Wait, but is it working?"
Dean smiled beside himself.
"It's working." He whispered. "Now put me down."]
