Castiel leaned against the wall beside the window and drew the curtains back as gently and as inconspicuously as he could manage.

There was Dean again. In his garden again. About to go on a date again.

Castiel sighed as he stepped away from the window and instead chose to sink down on an armchair.

The Winchester brothers had moved in to the house next door about 6 months ago.

He remembered being drawn out of his novel by the rumbling of an engine; a classic, black car being the source of the noise and carrying within it a very tall man with long hair and a bright smile as well as a slightly shorter man- this one looked at his surroundings sceptically but even when frowning, Castiel was drawn to his exquisite features.

The late afternoon sun shone off his spiked brown hair, the pink bow of his lips and those green eyes that glinted with something Castiel couldn't quite recognise as they stared at him.

They had made their introductions; Sam the lawyer, Dean the mechanic and Castiel had introduced himself as an author- who then turned out to be responsible for one of Sams' favourite fantasy novels.

Dean had groaned and complained about being surrounded by nerds but somehow Castiel found himself amused rather than offended.

They had exchanged further pleasantries before he left the brothers' to unpack in peace.

After that first meeting, he would occasionally meet the Winchesters while he was busy tending to his garden or when he decided to have his morning tea out on the porch and Dean was busy washing his car or when Sam left for work while he was getting his mail.

Although he had felt like a creep at first, Castiel always found reason to be outside when Dean was- he'd water his flowers, plant new ones, mow his lawn… but after a while it became apparent that Dean hadn't felt much affected by constantly being in Castiels' presence but rather seemed to enjoy the company.

On some days Castiel would talk about the book he was working on and Dean would tell him about the latest customer at the garage, "He didn't even know what spark plugs are, Cas, can you believe that guy?"

And Castiel would just smile and chuckle along because on one hand he wasn't too sure he was clued up enough on cars for Dean to be impressed with him but he sure didn't want to say something stupid to cause Dean to stop smiling at him and calling him 'Cas'.

On other days they skirted around mentions of Deans' past and his and Sams' family but Dean would occasionally let something slip like "John was destroyed when mom died and so he just let the alcohol take his life away, bit by bit."

Castiel had told Dean about his huge family and how he had distanced himself from them and their constant bickering and judgement, "I prefer to live my life on my own terms, a life that makes me happy rather than one that satisfies every relative of mine."

It had been a few weeks before Castiel had noticed that he hardly saw Sam anymore.

"Sammy is happy," said Dean when Castiel had enquired about his observation, "He and Jess met at college. They've been together for years but never married… Poor Sammy thinks he's gotta worry about me; that he's gotta take care of me but he forgets that I'm the big brother here and I'll be just fine so I told him to spend more time with her."

"Does he have a reason to worry about you Dean?" asked Castiel, trying not to sound like he was prying.

Dean huffed a laugh, "Kid thinks I'm gonna die alone or something… but I told him I've got my job and my Baby and open road ahead of me for when I need it. I'll be just fine."

"Everyone has got to put down roots after a while," said Castiel as his hands itched to reach out and touch Dean.

Dean just shrugged and went back to his perusal of the Impalas' engine.

Xxx

Castiel had made a decision after their last conversation that he was going to ask Dean out. Well maybe not on a full-on date, he wasn't even sure if Dean was attracted to men- save for the few times he had caught Dean staring at his lips or standing a bit too close- so maybe he'd just ask him over for a few beers, maybe dinner on the odd weeknight when he knew Dean came in too late to have the energy to prepare a proper meal.

He'd start off light and see where it went.

Dean was preparing to leave for work when Castiel approached him.

"Oh hey Cas!" Deans' smile was enough to light up the darkest of Castiels' days.

"Hello Dean. I was wondering if you would maybe like to come over to dinner tonight. It might save you the task of having to cook after a long day."

Castiel waited with bated breath.

Dean looked slightly sheepish and Castiels' heart plummeted.

"I appreciate the thought Cas and hey I might even take you up on it sometime but I've sorta got a thing tonight after work."

Castiel swallowed around the lump in his throat, "A date?"

Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, "Well more like a few drinks and some fooling around… We'll see how it goes."

Castiel tried for a smile that didn't look pained, "Oh then I hope that you enjoy your evening Dean."

Xxx

That was the first night that Castiel saw Dean in his garden.

He wasn't exactly creeping around but he had looked around carefully before crossing onto Castiels' lawn and snipping up a single yellow rose that he then took with him back to the Impala and drove off with.

Castiel had wanted to storm out and reprimand the other man because besides the fact that he hated his garden being stolen from, he found that he hated it even more that Dean was stealing from it to gift a rose to someone that wasn't him.

He had stayed put in his place though and just allowed Dean to go.

Xxx

When he had met Dean afterwards, the younger man never spoke of his date nor of his trip into Castiels' garden nor did Castiel ask after them.

They didn't bring up Castiels' offer of dinner again but it seemed like Dean wouldn't be interested in it anyway since he was out almost every night.

Saturdays and Sundays had become the days when Dean would work outside and Castiel would find something to do in kind and they would just sort of spend the weekend like that unless Dean had plans which meant Castiel remained indoors for lack of a reason to even be outdoors.

It was when Dean appeared outside dishevelled on a Sunday evening that Castiel rushed to his side, "Are you okay?"

Dean let out a humourless laugh, "Even the broken-hearted need to eat," he shrugged, "Just going out for some groceries Cas. You need anything?"

It was out before he could stop himself, "I cooked extra, you could always join me. It'll save you a trip to the store anyway."

Dean grinned at him and Castiel felt his heart flutter, "Well I do believe I have a previous dinner invitation so yes, I'd like to cash that in now please?"

Castiel smiled a Dean, "You're always welcome."

Xxx

And so dinner became an unspoken routine for them. Not every Sunday but they'd try for at least once in the week to meet at either Deans' or Castiels' place.

At their first dinner, Dean had told Castiel about the guy he had been dating who he later found out had been cheating on him.

Castiel had been the figurative supportive shoulder and reassured Dean where he could but he had also done an internal leap of joy at the fact that Dean was interested in men.

Xxx

It had taken a few weeks but Dean seemed to be back to the dating scene and he would tell Castiel about his experiences which turned out to be more bad than good ones but Dean never really seemed too affected by them.

He would still come into Castiels' garden and take a single yellow rose, not often enough that Castiel would notice the missing flowers, but Castiel knew because it was always on the nights that Dean had told him he had a date.

Castiel tried to understand Dean because the other man always made it a point to mention that his encounters were casual with one end goal in mind but then he always took a rose to his dates and unless that was some "lure them with niceties" ruse, Castiel knew that Dean was far more invested in his 'week-long' relationships than he admitted. Dean was looking for someone he could invest in an actual relationship with and they all seemed to break his heart at the end of it.

Dean was strong, he was beautiful- both in his looks and his heart. He loved those close to him and he loved deeply. He needed someone to love him just as deeply, someone to understand him, someone to understand that Dean came with a lot of baggage from his past but that Dean wasn't defined by it. He was passionate and smart and he had his own goals, things he wanted from life for himself but he was held back by his own insecurities, scared to invest fully.

There were times during their dinners when Castiel could just imagine that they were more than friends, that if he reached across and laid his hand over Deans, he wouldn't be pushed away. That if he leaned over and placed a kiss on Deans' lips, that kiss would be returned. That if he told Dean he loved him so truly and deeply, Dean would blush and lower his eyes but also reply in a strong voice that yes, he loved his Cas too…

Maybe it was all of the failed dates, maybe it was the fact that Dean was going to get his heart broken again, maybe Castiel didn't want to hear about other men and women who got to hold Dean and not fully appreciate it. Or maybe it was just that Castiel was finally done with hiding in the shadows but the next time he saw Dean in his garden, plucking a rose, he opened his front door and approached Dean.

"Cas!" exclaimed Dean with a barely concealed look of embarrassment on his face, "I'm sorry but I was just-"

Dean was cut off by Castiels' next words.

"Stop borrowing flowers out of my garden to woo people who don't even treat you right."

"Cas, I-" Dean floundered for something to say but he seemed to come up short after a few seconds of staring at Castiel.

He dropped the rose in his hand, "I'm sorry," was all he said as he rushed away. Away from Castiel and into his house.

Xxx

Castiel listened that night for the sound of the Impala, for any sign of Dean leaving to go on his date but there was only silence.

A week passed after that where Castiel didn't see Dean at all. He figured that the man was avoiding him and he couldn't blame Dean.

Castiel felt like an idiot. He'd ruined his friendship with Dean and he was sure that he had outed himself as a creep who watched flowers being stolen from his garden.

They had of course gone for their first week since they'd started the tradition, without meeting for dinner at least once and when the weekend arrived, Castiel felt at a loss because he wasn't sure whether Dean would be outside and whether Dean would even want to speak with him.

Dean wasn't outside…

Xxx

Castiel had just sat down with a book and a glass of wine when his doorbell chimed.

He was most certainly not in an entertaining mood but he tried his best to school his features as he opened the door.

He blinked at the person on the other side and wasn't too proud of how he opened and closed his mouth without forming any words.

"Dean," finally a shocked gasp.

Dean just grinned at him and when Castiel frowned, his grin faded and was replaced with a solemn expression, "I'm sorry Cas."

Castiel tilted his head to the side, "Why are you apologizing? I should be-"

"Look Cas," interrupted Dean, "I'm sorry for walking away the last time. I know that I probably made you feel like shit but I kinda realized something and it scared me… then afterwards I just didn't know how to approach you."

"Are you alright?" asked Castiel seriously.

Dean chuckled while looking at Castiel fondly, "Geez, you're still just worried about whether I'm okay even when I'm an asshole."

"You're not an asshole."

Dean shuffled a bit and only then did Castiel notice that he had a hand hidden behind his back. He looked questioningly at Dean who blushed before clearing his throat.

"So I thought about what you said and I kinda wanted to do something right this time."

Dean held out his right hand where he had a red rose in his grasp.

"I don't understand," said Castiel.

Dean stepped closer to Castiel, "This one is for the guy who's always treated me right but I was too stupid to see it," he gave the rose to an awestruck Castiel, "I was hoping that you'd allow me a chance to woo you…"

Castiel let out a sudden rush of breath, "Oh Dean…" And then Dean found himself pulled against Castiel, soft lips against his own and two large hands framing his face.

Castiel kissed Dean for all he was worth, putting as much feeling into it and trying to convey all of his hearts desires.

When they pulled away from each other, Castiel asked, "Why is it that I got a red rose?"

"Because you're not like the others Cas… You make me feel seen and you actually listen to me. You tolerated months of my bullshitting about my unsuccessful dates and you never once tried to take advantage of that. Sometimes when I looked at you, God, I thought you might want to jump my bones… You're intense like that, you know, but I more than like it- I just didn't realise how much and all in all, this red rose, you're the only one who deserves it."

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