A week later, Dean walked back into the restaurant by himself. He slid into his chair, only fawning interest in the menu placed in front of him. He didn't really care what he was going to eat. He was far more interested in who would be waiting on him.
"Hello, my name is Uriel and I'll be your waiter this evening. May I-"
Dean looked up at the owner of the voice that he had not been hoping for.
"Sorry," He cut Uriel off, "But I would like Castiel to wait on me."
"Castiel doesn't work here anymore."
Dean's heart dropped. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his composure. "I would like to speak with your manager, Uriel."
"Of course." He gave a tight smile and walked away.
Minutes later, a man walked up to him, introducing himself as Chuck and asking how he could help Dean.
"Hi, Chuck. I'm Dean Winchester," He introduced himself, knowing that Chuck would know the man and the look on the manager's face said that it had the intended effect. "I was wondering why Castiel no longer works here."
"Oh! He...he was let go."
Dean's face hardened. "Why?"
"Last Thursday he left unannounced and the people at the table he'd been serving complained."
His jaw clenched in irritation with his 'family'. "That was my table. He left because of me. Therefore firing him was not justified."
Chuck swallowed hard, unsure of how to reply.
"Is Castiel generally a good server?"
Chuck nodded, "One of the best I had."
"I assume it was hard to let him go then?"
He only nodded in response this time.
"Then I expect that you will call him today and offer him his job back."
"Of course."
Dean stood up, straightening his suit jacket. "I'll be back when Castiel is." And with that, he walked out.
Taking a deep breath, Dean knocked on Castiel's door three times. There was a loud banging noise from the apartment, followed by a "Fuck!" and a moment later the door opened.
A very tired looking Castiel stood before him. His hair was more disheveled than that last time Dean had seen him and there were bags under his eyes. As Dean's eyes traveled over the man, he saw that he was wearing plaid red pajama pants and a black t-shirt. His stomach did a flip when he realized they were the clothes he'd worn.
"Oh," Castiel said, eyes widening and mouth hanging open.
"Hey Cas." Dean's voice came out a lot softer than he'd expected and he was surprised to find himself wanting to pull the man into his arms, take him to bed and hold him until they both fell asleep.
"Hey..." Cas rubbed his eyes and then looked back at dean, as if he expected him to disappear. "Um...Come in?"
Dean smiled, giving a small nod and Cas stepped back so he could walk past him before closing the door.
"Wh...Um...What brings you here?" Castiel asked, running a hand through his hair.
"I went by the restaurant today." Dean looked around the small apartment and found that it was messy. There were three shot glasses on the coffee table, a crappy laptop on the couch. Clothes were on the floor, a pile of dishes in the sink... "They said you weren't work there anymore. So I got worried..."
"Yeah...I got fired," Castiel shrugged as if it was nothing, but the look in his eyes and the mess around the apartment said that he wasn't taking it very well. "It was nice of you to be worried, but I've just been trying to find something new...It's not very easy to find a job these days."'
Dean frowned, wanting to tell the man he didn't have to worry anymore, but a voice in the back of his head said that was a bad idea. So instead, he found himself stepping forward, a thumb stroking Castiel's jaw line. "Hey...It'll be okay."
Leaning into the touch, Cas stared up at him. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again..."
The words caused a pain in his chest. "Honestly...I didn't know if you would. Or if you'd even want to..."
Castiel's head tilted to the side in the most adorable form of confusion. "Why wouldn't I want to see you again, Dean?"
Frowning, Dean looked away. "Why would you...?" He saw no reason that for Castiel to want him around. He wasn't the kind of person the man should have in his life. Castiel was far better than him in Dean's eyes, and far better off without him.
Brow furrowing, Castiel's lips pressed together in a tight line. "Because I...You..." He gave up trying to figure out the right words and cupped Dean's face, pulling him down into a kiss. Their lips brushed softly against each other and Dean reached out with his free hand, wanting to pull Cas closer, but not quite sure if he was allowed. When the other man kept kissing him, Dean wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling them together, and Castiel's arms slipped around his neck. They stood there, holding each other tightly, sharing innocent kisses, until Castiel's head fell to Dean's shoulder. Fingers traced lightly over Castiel's back.
"Of course I wanted to see you again..."
Dean kissed the top of Castiel's head. "Then I'm glad I came back."