A/N: Sorry for such a short update, but more is coming soon!
Dean was having a bad morning all around. First, he hit his alarm only to fall back asleep and wake up twenty minutes late. Then he'd burned his toast, and had to rush out of the house without breakfast. He nearly had to run downstairs to the parking garage (he usually walked to work, but he decided he'd take Baby to make up lost time) and on the way he nearly knocked over Cas (who looked to be heading to work) in the stairwell.
"I guess I should stop trying to knock you over on the stairs," Dean joked, pausing to apologize and steady his balance.
"I really don't mind it," replied Cas with a smile and oh my god was Cas flirting with him?
"Oh . . .well, I gotta get going, I'm late for work."
"I'll see you around."
"Yeah."
Even though the morning hadn't gotten any better once he got to work (the place was pretty busy and he barely had a moment to catch his breath up until lunch) the little run in with Cas had left him smiling.
Later in the week, Dean was walking past the ice cream shop when he caught Jo coming out.
"Hi Dean!"
"Hey Jo. Anything new with you?"
"I should be asking you the same question. So, you and the trench coat guy?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled in a knowing way, "I know an adorable couple when I see one."
"What, Cas?" Dean deflected, "I barely know the guy, he just moved into my building."
"All I'm saying is, the way you smiled at him the other night reminds me of the way you looked at that limited edition blueberry pie ice cream from last month. You like him, don't you?"
Jo was starting to feel like the chiding younger sister Dean never had, nor wanted.
"Well . . ."
"I knew it!"
"I don't even know why we're talking about this."
"Whatever, Dean. I'm telling you, though, I think you two would be great together."
Dean just fixed her with a you-better-stop-it-now look.
"You'll thank me later!" she sing-songed, and headed off towards her car.
The encounter with Jo left Dean reflecting on his interactions with Cas. They both seemed to leave for work at around the same time each morning, so they would often see one another on the stairs. They would smile, and exchange good mornings, and maybe Cas would mention something going on at his office, and Dean would share something about what he'd be doing that day. It seemed simple enough; neighbors exchanging pleasantries, but the more Dean talked to Cas the more perfect the man seemed. He was bewildered by any and all pop culture references, and would often tilt his head to the side questioningly if Dean ever made one. With someone else Dean might have been annoyed at this, but the way Cas would stare up at him with those bright blue eyes was nothing short of, he loathed to use the word, adorable.
Dean usually didn't have trouble flirting with people; it actually seemed to come naturally to him. That was how he knew something was different with Cas - he had trouble not being nervous when the guy was around. He'd thought countless times about asking him out, but something deep inside him told him that Cas was just too good for a guy like him. He was smart and sweet, and sarcastic sometimes but never in a mean way. Even if Dean asked him out, he wasn't sure what he'd do it he got rejected. Dean really didn't want to get rejected, especially by Cas.
It Dean was going to be honest with himself, there was a certain emptiness in his life. Most of the time, when he was busy with work or family or friends (he actually had a couple of friends, believe it or not) it was nearly unnoticeable. Sometimes, though, it would manifest itself in an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He tended to feel it on cold mornings, waking up to an empty bed and a lonely apartment and a solitary cup of coffee, with nothing but the rush of cars outside his window to drown out the silence.
He would feel it every so often in the evenings, turning out the light and wondering if maybe someday there would be someone to reach over to and press a kiss against their forehead, and tell them goodnight.
He felt it when his heart would stop momentarily, like clockwork, at approximately 7:04 am each morning when he would see Castiel on the stairs. Cas's smile always dazzled him somehow; he would never get used to the way it seemed reserved just for him and how it made his chest ache for things he knew he didn't deserve.