"Dean, can we go back now?"
Dean almost jumped when Castiel spoke. They had been sitting silently for several minutes. Dean had been making a point to look at the sunset – not Cas – and to think of the beer he would drink when they got back to the motel – not how he was in a classically romantic setting with Cas.
Castiel had had his eyes closed the whole time since they last spoke – Dean guessed, of course. He didn't know. He hadn't been glancing at Cas every ten seconds – but now they were open, and there was a look in them that Dean hadn't seen before. He didn't just look tired, but actually sleepy.
"Sure", said Dean. He stood up quickly. Castiel followed, though not as fast.
"I'll take that." Dean grabbed Castiel's folded coat and tucked it under his arm. "You're really exhausted, aren't you?"
"It must be the heat", said Castiel, voice low and drowsy.
They started to walk. Ten minutes, then they would be at the motel and Dean would have that beer and relax and not look at Cas other than when one of them spoke.
"How much have you been sleeping lately?" asked Dean. He had a fair guess, though. Cas was always awake when Dean went to bed and when he woke up, which was the way it had always been, but since Cas was human now – technically – he had to sleep sometime.
"About four hours every night", said Castiel. "That should not have anything to do with my low level of energy."
"Four hours?" Dean huffed. "Cas, most people need at least seven. It's different for a hunter, but we're still human. You're human. Maybe you need some time to figure out what your body needs."
That sounded awfully sexual, said a voice in Dean's head. His own, as a matter of fact, and he wished he had a frying pan to hit himself with. Not that Cas would notice if what he said sounded suggestive, of course. Cas never noticed, which was an advantage when Dean wanted to let his eyes rest on him a little too long or when he let something like that slip because he wasn't thinking. Not that those things ever happened. But if they had, if they ever did, then Castiel's inability to detect innuendo would be a good thing.
Cas was improving, though. He was acting more human every day, like he had finally started to land in a foreign country he had been hovering over for a long time. Just yesterday a waitress had flirted with him and he had noticed, telling her without a fuss that he wasn't available. Dean had thought about that phrase. 'Not available'. He hadn't said 'not interested' – he had said 'not available'. Because Cas still thought of himself as an angel, Dean had decided. Not because Cas thought of himself as belonging to someone else already.
"I have been in this vessel for years, Dean. I have had time."
Dean shook his head, letting a small smile escape.
"No man, that isn't just a vessel anymore. It's your body. That's different."
Castiel narrowed his eyes.
"Different how?"
"You have human needs now", said Dean. "More or less." He briefly wondered about that. Exactly how was Cas dealing with these human needs? Did he get human… needs?
No. No, that wasn't important. Shut up.
"So it's different", Dean finished. "Tell you what. We finish the job tomorrow, we go swimming, we grab a bite to eat and then you sleep all night and see how you feel after that."
"But-"
"Hey, no buts!" Dean cut Castiel off. "That's what we're gonna do. I've been human all my life, I know this shit. Trust me."
Castiel didn't say anything else, but resigned to a defeated silence which pleased Dean. Cas would have the best day tomorrow. Aside from the ghost-killing at the beginning, it would be a normal day like ordinary humans get to have. Cas should get that experience at least once.
