When Dean went to open the door he had no idea who it could be in the middle of the night. Not Sam because he was still at college with his girlfriend and they weren't coming to visit for at least another month. Who could possibly be knocking at this ungodly hour, Dean would give them a piece of his mind. Who ever Dean thought it was, he never in a million expect to see the pair of blue eyes he loved so much. Those deep blue eyes that seemed to see right to your soul and the permanent messy bed hair are what had Dean falling for the angel standing on his door in the first place. But it had been 10 years now. He wondered what could Cas possibly want from him. He and Cas had been best buddies till middle school. Then Dean realized he liked the guy more than a friend and to make sure no one knew, he along with his friends started to bully Cas. Now Cas wouldn't even look at him and Dean knew he had pushed him away. He missed his friend but wouldn't say it to anyone.
"Cas? Is that you buddy?" he asked just to be sure. Just then his roommate, Charlie came out asking who wanted their asses kicked at this hour. Cas looked at her and squinted his eyes, tilting his head, like he was confused. Although he looked more angry than confused. "Umm, Charlie, this is Cas. Castiel. And Cas this is my roommate Charlie."
"Cas? This is Cas? Gorgeous. If I was into men I wouldn't let him go", she said, and with a wink she left the two to talk among them. Dean wasn't sure what to say. It had been so long and all his feelings had come rushing back when he saw Cas on the door. "Come on in", Dean invited Cas. "You look like you could do with a cup of coffee." Dean led Cas to his kitchen, unsure of what to say and started making coffee when Cas spoke up. "You're probably wondering why I'm here" he said in the deep, gravelly voice of his. It was so unexpected but still made his knees go weak on hearing Cas' voice. "Yeah" said Dean. "We didn't exactly part on good terms."
Cas tilted his head in confusion again and said, "That's kind of what I want to talk to you about. What exactly happened in the past 10 years?"
"What do you mean, Cas? What do you mean what happened in the past 10 years?" Dean was confused. Why was Cas asking about the last 10 years? Did he not remember? Was this some kind of a joke? What was going on? There were so many questions Dean wanted to ask but Cas was talking to him and hr didn't want to overwhelm him with those questions. He waited for Cas to explain what he meant. He looked at Cas and noticed he was looking pale and before Dean knew what happened, Cas fell to the ground, fainted. Shit. Dean hurried across the kitchen to Cas' side. He picked him up bridal style and carried him to the couch, worry etched over his face. Just as he was about to set him down, Cas came to with a groan.
Cas had been thinking how to explain to Dean what was happening when he himself had no idea when he had fainted. He had no idea how long it had been when he came to but when he opened his eyes all he could see was green. Dean's eyes he realized. That was the green of his eyes. As his mind cleared a bit he noticed Dean looked worried. That helped a bit, knowing that even after 10 years Dean still worried about him. If Dean still worried nothing too bad could have happened between them. Right?
"I'll get you some water" said Dean and with that he disappeared into the kitchen. When Dean was gone, Cas sat up straight on the couch and took deep breaths trying to figure out what to say. By the time Dean came back with a glass if water, Cas had made up his mind. He would just start speaking and make up as he went along.
"Dean-" he started, but Dean interrupted him. "Cas, drink water. We'll talk after you're feeling better. I'll get you something to eat." Dean made him a sandwich and while eating, Cas started to explain what had happened.
"Dean, I have no memory of the last 10 years. The last thing I remember is going to sleep at your place because no one was at my house in 2006- that was middle school, Dean- and the next thing I know is that I wake up in the middle of the night and it is 2016 and I've lost 10 years of my life and-" Cas broke off. He was shaking and his face was red and tear stained. He felt like he was suffocating and couldn't breathe. He was having a panic attack. In front of Dean. Gosh he was so weak!
Suddenly, a pair of strong hands wrapped him up. Dean was sitting beside Cas on the couch and was hugging him. Dean's apple pie scent enveloped him and he started to feel instantly better. They stayed like that for a long time. Cas' head was resting on Dean's chest and he had wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, holding him tight. Dean had rested his chin on Cas' head. One hand was cradling Cas' head and the other rubbing his back. It felt safe. Safe and familiar. Finally when Cas felt a bit composed, he pulled back and wiped his face. "I'm sorry I ruined your night, Dean. I was scared and didn't know who else to turn to. I'm glad you still live here and you're still the same. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Relax, Cas. Let's get some rest first. We'll talk in the morning, okay?"
"Okay, Dean. As you say."
Dean cleaned up the kitchen and led Cas to the guest bedroom. When Cas got settled, Dean said, "Cas, I'll be right across the hall if you need anything. I don't care if I'm asleep, wake me, okay?" Cas nodded and with that Dean went to his room. Although Cas was tired, he couldn't go to sleep. It was almost daylight and he couldn't stop thinking about the way Dean's arms felt around him. About the way he could hear Dean's heart beat strongly or about the apple pie smell he associated with Dean. He didn't know when he fell asleep but he dreamt of apple pies and green eyed men that night.