Everything's like it was before, except now Dean regularly gets his rocks off by letting a sexy vampire in a waistcoat gnaw on his neck and drink his blood. It's the little things, really.
In deference to this change, Cas has changed up what he cooks for Dean. He stammers and stutters when he tells Dean that he needs to be eating an "iron heavy diet" now, which makes Dean laugh out loud. When Cas blushes Dean realizes that it's his own blood warming Cas' cheeks, he has to go to the bathroom to get it together so he doesn't embarrass himself by doing something stupid like getting down on his knees and begging the vampire to fuck him senseless.
Yeah, okay, Dean's got some issues to work out. Whatever.
When Cas isn't feeding Dean, he's trying to make him drink his weight in water. Dean's trying, he really is, and when he's at home with Cas, it's easier to keep up. At work, though, or at school, it's almost impossible. If he's drinking anything, it's usually coffee, in a desperate attempt to stay alert enough to get everything done that he needs to get done.
The stink-eye he gets when he gets home and Cas can smell the caffeine in his bloodstream, though, has encouraged Dean to start carting around one of those stupid reusable water bottles in an attempt to appease the vampire. It doesn't really work, because there's no way he can wash the scent of all of the coffee he consumes out of his blood, but it's the thought that counts, right?
The water bottle, though, for whatever reason, has made chicks (and a couple of dudes) think he's some sort of health person, which is hilarious for so many reasons, most of them bacon related. It's not hilarious because it makes them want to talk to him. When people talk to him, they generally want to flirt with him (what, he's not blind, he owns a mirror), and while that's usually right up his alley, it makes him really uncomfortable now.
Because the other thing that's changed since he started letting Cas feed from him is the touching.
It seems like Cas is always touching Dean somehow. A big, warm palm on the small of his back. A hand on his leg, just above his knee, when they're sitting next to one another on the couch. An arm draped casually along the back of the couch, so, so close to being wrapped around his shoulders, while Dean enthusiastically tries to explain Dr. Sexy, M.D. Gentle fingers running through his hair when he falls asleep on Cas' shoulder.
Dean doesn't mention the touching out loud, because he really, really, really doesn't want it to stop pretty much ever. He doesn't know if Cas is aware of what he's doing, but it's kind of the best thing in Dean's life, so he lets the affection go unchecked and soaks it up greedily.
So Dean doesn't flirt back when people check him out, nor does he say something witty and alluring. He smiles, and he's polite, because his mother raised him right, but he doesn't let it go any further than that. He knows in his head that it wouldn't be cheating, because he and Cas aren't a thing, but it skirts close enough to the edge that it makes Dean's chest tighten with discomfort.
So Cas touches him, he doesn't let anyone else touch him, Cas feeds from him, and Dean's crush gets harder to control.
It's a rare Friday night that Dean gets home early from work. Chuck looked kind of shifty when he sent Dean home, but considering the shamefully huge pile of homework that he's got on the coffee table, Chuck barely even got the words out before Dean shot out the door like the place was on fire.
Now, he's in sweatpants and an old t-shirt, his head resting in Cas' lap as he reads through another essay by a dusty old dude for his stupid English class. The only good thing is Cas' fingers in his hair as he reads, and the feeling of Cas' cold, hard thigh beneath his head.
Life has been worse.
When the doorbell rings, Dean puts the papers on his chest and looks up at Cas from where he lies. Blue eyes are already looking back at him. "Should you answer that?"
Dean shakes his head. "Nah. Probably some kids fucking around or whatever. It happens."
Cas frowns. "'Fucking around?'"
Dean chuckles and resolutely ignores the way the curse sounds on Cas' lips makes his spine go all tingly and tight. "Like pranks, or dares. 'Go ring the doorbell of the old haunted house,' or whatever."
"This house isn't haunted."
"I know, Cas, ghosts aren't… Wait, are ghosts real?"
"What could they hope to accomplish by ringing the doorbell of a haunted home?"
"Cas, are ghosts… You know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know." Dean sits up when the doorbell rings again, mourning the loss of contact. "They don't want to 'accomplish' anything. It's just stupid kid shit. Proving that you're brave or whatever."
"Pestering ghosts is brave?" Cas scoffs. "Foolhardy children."
Dean chuckles as he stands and makes his way to the front door. The satisfaction he feels when Cas automatically gets up to follow him is barely even worth mentioning. Surely.
"Yeah, yeah, you'll show 'em. Came expecting ghosts, got themselves a faceful of vampire, eh?"
"Dean, I will not frighten children to amuse you."
"Ca-as," Dean whines as he opens the door. "I ask so little of…" He trails off when he sees who's standing at the door.
Charlie's grinning big. "'Sup, handmaiden?"
"One time, Bradbury," Dean says, though his heart isn't in the rebuttal. Ash and Benny are standing behind Charlie, both smiling, and all three of them have bags of what appears to be junk food hanging off of their arms. "What's going on?"
Benny shrugs. "Just comin' to hang out, brother."
"What, we need a reason now?" Ash asks. The mullet practically quivers in offense.
Charlie's already rolling her eyes. "You're all ridiculous." She looks back at Dean. "Look, we all feel really awful for neglecting you because of class and finals and shit. So, I decided we'd ambush you with a surprise movie night!"
Dean frowns. "Neglecting? No one's neglecting me. You guys have lives-"
"Woah," Ash interjects, his eyebrows at his hairline. "Who is this?"
The press of Cas' cold chest to Dean's back belatedly reminds him that almost all of his important people are here. Worlds colliding. "Uh… Guys, this is Cas. He's a friend." Internally, Dean winces at the word, because "friend" hardly covers everything Castiel is to him, but it's the easiest explanation available to him. He hopes this doesn't make the touching stop.
"Hello," Cas says in his formal, deep voice.
Even Charlie's face is slack in shock. "Dude," she says emphatically. "I am gay as hell, and you are still the most gorgeous man I've ever seen."
"I am standing right here," Dean protests as he feels Cas stiffen in surprise behind him.
"Sorry, dude," Ash says unapologetically, his eyes raking down as much of Cas' body as he can see. "I'm with Charles on this one.
Ash is just as bi as Dean is, and Dean tries to convince himself that he's not getting territorial when he shifts to block more of Cas from view. "Hey, no hitting on my friends."
"Since when has that been a rule?"
"Since right now, when I made it a rule."
"Anyway," Benny says, amusement sparkling in his icy blue eyes. Bless the only straight person in the room for seeing sense. Although, Dean doesn't know Cas' orientation. Not that it matters. Because Dean's unrequited crush is going to remain unrequited.
"Movies?" Benny asks, and Dean gratefully brings his attention back to the situation at hand.
"Right!" Charlie crows. She makes her eyes big and pleading, and damn her, she knows Dean's never been able to resist. "Please, Dean? We feel really, really bad."
"There's nothing to feel bad about," Dean says automatically. "Plus, I have to work tomorrow, guys. I gotta hit the sack soon."
It's not that Dean doesn't want his friends in his house. He very, very, very much does. But he doesn't want to be anyone's project. He's not an obligation, for fuck's sake. He's a grown-up, almost, and he knows very well that his friends can't spend every waking moment doting on him or his emotional problems (Cas notwithstanding). As much as he wants to hang out with them, he doesn't want them to feel like they have to give up their Friday nights for him.
"No, you don't!" Charlie chirps, shoving her way past Dean and Cas and into the house. Dean's grateful that Cas moves with him, and when he stumbles, he immediately has a cold hand wrapped around his upper arm to steady him.
"What do you mean?" he demands.
Ash is following Charlie, looking shifty as hell now. "Don't worry about it. Andy's gonna cover your shift."
Andy, who is a great guy who's fun to work with, is also possibly the laziest human being Dean has ever met. "How?"
"Don't worry about it, but he's gonna be a happy camper."
Dean rolls his eyes with Benny and closes the door behind the Cajun. Cas trails behind him as he follows his friends into his kitchen, where they're unloading all of the junk food and booze they've brought with them.
"And can it on the, 'I can take care of myself and I'm a macho guy,' routine," Charlie says cheerfully as she pulls out a bucket of cheese puffs that could house a small child. "Nobody here's buying it."
Dean scoffs. "Shows what you know. I… Uh."
All right, well. He still hates this. Showing vulnerability, admitting that he has feelings at all, much less that sometimes they're negative feelings. All of this sucks, and it's hard, and terrifying. But Cas asked him to, and Dean's starting to think that there's not a thing in the world that he'd deny Cas, up to and including the blood in his damn veins.
"Thanks," he says softly. Three pairs of eyes warm up, and Charlie's beaming at him like he won a gold medal or something. In response, he rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Shut up. All of you."
They laugh, and Ash and Benny start bantering in the kitchen. Dean's chest is warm and tight with affection and gratefulness, and he doesn't know if anything could ruin this moment.
"Dean," Cas' deep voice in his ear makes him shiver. "I should go."
Moment ruined.
Dean whirls around to look at Cas, trying not to let on how much the thought of him leaving hurts Dean. "What? Why?"
Cas cradles the side of his face with his cold hand, his eyes apologetic. "You should take this opportunity to be with your friends," he murmurs. "I know you miss them."
"You don't have to go," Dean whispers, tilting into the touch. "I'm not like… Kicking you out, dude. It's not you or them."
Cas frowns a little, and a look that Dean can't interpret crosses over his handsome face. "Dean, I-"
"So," Dean says loudly, "Cas has never seen Star Wars."
There's a beat of silence, and then an affronted gasp from the kitchen. "You what?" Charlie screeches.
Cas blinks, then arches an eyebrow at Dean, who can feel the triumphant grin on his face. "I haven't had the opportunity to take in many films," the vampire says diplomatically, keeping eye contact with Dean.
"Well… Well… This will not stand!" Charlie splutters. "Star Wars it is!"
"Yeah, Cas," Dean says softly. "Star Wars it is."
Cas' eyes are intent on Dean, and there's a heat there that's usually only present right before he feeds. Dean's still got a shit-eating grin on his face and he refuses to let it fade. It's the only defense he has against the wild fluttering of his heart.
"So it seems," Cas murmurs.
"Jesus," Benny groans. "Well, if we gotta watch those damn movies again, I'm getting drunk."
"Hear, hear!" Ash cheers.
A few beers later, Dean's not quite drunk, but he's definitely a little tipsy. Ash, who doesn't seem to be affected by the alcohol they've been consuming at all, is switching out the DVDs. Benny's already asleep in the armchair, Cas is sitting on one end of the couch, and Dean is sitting next to him, trying to remember why Sober Dean thought putting some distance between he and Cas sounded like a good idea.
Because right now? Cas looks amazing. He's been watching the movie intently, and Dean has been watching him. The crisp dress shirt the vampire is wearing has been rolled up to expose his forearms, which are lean and muscled. The top button of his shirt is undone, revealing his collarbone. Cas has even gotten into the habit of taking his shoes off when he comes in, and coupled with the undone buttons and sleeves, it's the most relaxed Dean has ever seen him.
Why is it, again, that he needs to resist temptation?
He's about to say fuck it when Charlie's voice cuts through his alcohol hazy thoughts. "Winchester! Come help me make more popcorn?"
Though Charlie has been here countless times, in Dean's tipsy mind, it's perfectly reasonable that she'd need help working the microwave, so he heaves himself up off the couch (and if he makes himself wobble a little more than necessary so that Cas will feel the need to steady him, then he's probably just a little drunker than he thought he was).
When he gets to the kitchen, though, Charlie pulls him into the only part of the room that's not visible from the living room. Her eyes are dancing with mischief.
He frowns down at her, stumbling. "The hell, woman?"
"What's with Hottie McHotPants in there?" she whispers happily. "Where did he come from? How did you meet him? What's the deal?"
Dean can't help what he knows is a goofy grin spreading across his face. "Uh, Cas is… A friend? Ow!" he winces when she smacks him on the arm. "What was that for?!"
"He is not just a friend, Dean Winchester," she hisses.
"Sure he is, Charlie. I mean he-"
"Why?"
Dean frowns. "Why what?"
"Why is he just a friend?"
Dean's heart thuds hard in his chest. "Come on, C," Dean says, falling back on a nickname from their childhood, "he doesn't want me that way."
She scowls. "Why not?"
"Let's see. I'm… Younger, for starters, I'm depressed, I'm broke, and even if he did want to date me, I don't have the fucking time to date someone, with work and school." Dean shrugs like it doesn't kill him a little. "It's no big deal. Ow! Stop hitting me!"
"Stop lying to me, and I will," she hisses. "You want him."
Dean sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "I mean… Yeah, look at the guy. Of course I do, but he doesn't want me back." A thought occurs to him, and he straightens up and glares at her. "And you're not gonna say a goddamn word, Charlene Bradbury."
She blinks in false innocence. "Of course not."
"Charlie."
She holds her hands up just as the microwave beeps. "Scout's honor," she says before stepping away to pull the buttery-smelling bag out.
Dean glares at her and makes his way back into the kitchen. "You were never a girl scout," he mumbles resentfully as he sits down next to Cas again. Charlie killed some of his buzz, and he's been vividly reminded why those few inches between them are so important.
"What was that?" Cas is looking at him, his attention focused solely on Dean, and it's both heady and terrifying all at once.
"Nothin', Cas," he murmurs, turning to watch the opening menu of The Empire Strikes Back rerun over itself.
Charlie comes back in, her face suspiciously blank, with a big bowl of popcorn. "All right, bitches, let's start this up again!" She flings herself onto the couch, and Dean barely has a moment to register her plan before he's tossed to the side with the force of her landing.
Tossed directly into Cas' arms.
Dean doesn't even have time to start spluttering out an apology before Cas' arm is wrapped around him, tucking him close to his side. Dean places his hand on Cas' chest and uses it as leverage to look up, directly into those ridiculous eyes.
"Is this okay?" Cas murmurs.
This dude is unflappable. "Uh… I mean, is it okay with you?"
He frowns, and Dean's heart drops. "I worry that you will get cold."
Dean blinks. That is not what he thought Cas was about to say. "Uh, no, man. The booze has got me pretty warm, anyway, and I, uh…" his heart is slamming against his ribcage, and it feels like the alcohol is back in full force, making him dizzy and a little brave. "It's kinda nice," he says, his voice almost defiant. His eyes drop down to where his hand is on Cas, though. He's completely unable to hold that earnest gaze with his own.
He can hear the smile in Cas' voice. "I agree," he says softly.
Huh. With no clue what to say next, Dean turns back to the TV. Cas tightens his arm and tucks Dean closer, until he's nestled firmly into Cas' side. He feels Cas' arm moving, then a weight settle over him as the vampire takes the blanket from the back of the couch and throws it over Dean. Thoroughly coddled, Dean lets go of the rest of his shame and presses into Cas, even turning his head to bury his face into his chest. He hears the rumble of Cas' chuckle, but ignores it to appreciate the way the vampire moves around to make Dean more comfortable, leaning back further into the arm of the couch and pulling Dean up so he's basically on top of the man. If Dean were a cat, he'd be purring.
Cas nuzzles at his temple, and Dean sighs contentedly. "Sleep, Dean," the vampire murmurs.
"But you gotta watch the rest of the movies."
There's a smile in Cas' voice again. "I will, dearheart, but it's time for you to rest."
The pet name shuts Dean right the fuck up, and he tries fruitlessly to cuddle closer to Cas. Good thing he's all immortal and shit, I'd be crushing him.
He hears Cas laughing at him again, but he huffs and moves around until he's comfortable, his head tucked beneath Cas' chin. Dean's kind of a needy drunk, as it turns out.
Dean falls asleep with Cas' arms tight around him, his lack of heartbeat distinct in his ear.
Damn, he smells good.
- Have some drunk cuddling with a hot vampire as payment for how long it took my hobo ass to put this chapter up.