He was dragged back to consciousness by the urgent fullness of his bladder. His muscles and limbs were stiff from too much sleep but he couldn't really complain since he was feeling significantly better than any day in the last few years or at least since his father had died two years ago.
Leaning up onto his elbows, Dean peered around into the darkness. He drew the blanket off him and leapt up before having to regain his balance due to the harsh speed of his rise. Stumbling blindly, especially on the stairs of the sunken lounge, Dean just about managed to survive the journey over to the light controls. He pushed his hand against the glass hopelessly in utter desperation as it would seem pretty pathetic for Sam to come home to find Dean sat in the dark all day because he couldn't work the controls.
His warm hand pushed against the cool panel and it instantly lit up revealing several different options from him to choose from. There was sections for the thermostat, air quality, air density and air filtering. There was also one called Toxicity Check but the hunter knew better than to play around with that. Slightly fearful of the complicated options, Dean stuck to the section that read "Lighting". He managed to find the correct button to untint the dark glass allowing for sunlight to pour into the room. His eyes stung at the sudden assault but, with swift blinking, he soon adjusted.
The near bursting sensation in his lower abdomen caused him to continue his original mission which was to search out the bathroom. The previous night Sam had said it was attached to his bedroom so now was the time to see if it was the truth.
The door to the bedroom was normal, much to Dean's relief. He didn't think he'd be able to cope if it was all futuristic. Darkness shrouded the room but when the hunter took a step forward, light suddenly lit the room by some automated system, Dean assumed that's what it was anyway.
The room was overwhelmingly minimalist just like the other rooms of the apartment had been. A large, perfectly made, king sized bed lay as the focal point of the room with its large headboard pushed against the white wall on the left. Dean guessed that Sam needed it large to ensure that his feet wouldn't stick off the edge. It had dark blue covers that looked divine to the touch and sensuously silky. Dean's impulses craved to dive between the soft sheets and fall straight back to sleep. Although, he doubted that a man like Sam would appreciate a grimy stranger rolling around on his bed. Two dark wood side tables were positioned on the left and right of the bed with a type of lamp on top. A large heavy looking desk with some sort of toolbox stashed underneath it was on the other side of the room, on the far side of the bed. Nothing else littered the room.
He could imagine Sam's long limbs sprawled out in the bed and his bird's nest of bed hair upon his head. He briefly pondered if maybe Sam slept naked. Did he seem like the kind of guy that would? Dean assumed that his host would sleep naked if he didn't have guests over. Even though he had no evidence to prove it.
There was two doors leading off from the room and suddenly a vicious curiousness over took the man. He inched closer to one of the dark doors and reached out for the handle. Inside was a light bathroom with the minimalist theme continued here as well; Dean wondered if it was fashionable in the future to be so plain or if Sam just hadn't personalised the place.
The trip to the bathroom was mostly uneventful aside from the hunter's run-in with the modern toilet. He seriously didn't understand the different settings mounted on the back of the toilet so just clicked one and hoped for the best.
He exited back through to the main area, running his hand over Sam's silky sheets on the way past, and found that his stomach rumbled upon seeing the clean kitchen. He bit his lip before padding over to the food and hesitating. Was it right to go rifling through another man's drawers? Even if it was in the desperate search of food? The hunger pang in his stomach told him that yes, it definitely is okay.
It took him a while to find something that he recognised because apparently these days even chips came in a tin. That freaked the hunter out of a minute before he settled himself and devoured two tins which was probably a massive mistake. For each second longer he was here, the more he longed to be home fighting monsters, saving people and dealing with Cas' ultimate awkwardness.
"God," He muttered to himself, "I'm gunna kill that feathery Ass myself." He knew it probably wasn't Castiel's fault that he was stuck in God-knows what time but nevertheless, he was stuck in the future and he had no idea what the hell he was doing... Or how to get back. At least Sam's a nice guy, He placated himself.
Relaxing back down onto his own bed, he wondered when Sam would be back as it was nearly 2pm and the other man had left at 5:45 in the morning. Unless working days were super long now meaning that Sam wouldn't be home for hours and hours?
Dean groaned to himself, this was going to get boring.
The door clicked open and Dean jumped up like a puppy that'd been abandoned all day while its master worked. The home owner looked slightly surprised when he noticed Dean bounding towards him with enthusiasm. He blinked at the slightly shorter man before speaking.
"You're still here?" He seemed mildly nervous as he posed the question.
Dean couldn't place why the man would be nervous or apprehensive, "Yeah, why not?" There was a brief period of silence, "Did you want me to go?" He asked, slightly hurt and partly confused.
"No, no, no!" He cried. Sam coughed when he realised how overzealous he sounded, "I had just gotten the idea that you would have... Ya know, just popped back by now..."
Suddenly, Dean under stood what the suited man was trying to say. He wasn't looking forward to him leaving so to not be disappointed he told himself to expect the worst. This meant that the hunter that stood directly in front of him was a shock.
"I don't control it." Dean explained as he watched Sam toe off his shoes and pull off his jacket, "It's the guys on the other end. To be honest with you, I'm surprised that they haven't brought me back already since I'm in the wrong time period."
"So you don't have long then?" His shoulders dropped a tiny bit but the hunter was close enough to notice the action.
"I dunno," He shrugged, "It's up to them but, obviously, time travel is complicated."
Sam nodded and ran a hand though his long hair. Dean was close enough to study the man's face so took the opportunity to do so. Dark circles bruised the skin under the man's eyes and the previously sparkling hazel was now dull. Guilt twisted itself in Dean's gut as he contemplates how perhaps Sam's tiredness was due to their late night talk last night. The man did have to be up early the next day as well. Dean felt the need to apologise so he opened his mouth to speak. Unfortunately for him, Sam started to say something first.
"Are you hungry? Food?" The future-man scratched the skin beneath the clear bracelet absentmindedly.
His need to apologise was interrupted by the loud grumbling of his belly. It suggested to him that maybe food was a really good idea after all. He nodded enthusiastically which made Sam's lips perk up slightly. Dean grinned back, happy to have cheered his host up a little bit.
"Okay," Sam said peering around the space, "I'll see what I can find."
The tall man pulled off his tie and undid the top few buttons of his shirt. He also rolled up his sleeves as he began pottering around the kitchen cupboards. His eyes scanned over several canned goods before deciding on a cheesy pasta that he forgotten that he'd even purchased.
Dean studied him carefully. The opening of the other man's shirt flashed a tanned area of smooth flesh. The temptation to run his tongue over his lips was overwhelming. The tight white material accentuated the hard muscle that was hidden beneath as it stretched over the bulges of Sam's body. Dean found himself blushing from the back of his neck to his ears as he realised that he'd been staring for the last few minutes. Luckily for him, Sam had been too absorbed to notice his creepy stalking.
He forced himself to look away. He'd never really felt this pull towards another male before so he was on the edge of unfamiliar territory. To say that he was unsure was a huge understatement. Sure, he found Sam physically attractive but he'd never even looked at another guy that way since high school so whether this was normal or just some weird side effect of time travelling, Dean really didn't know.
The future man was scooping the content of the two cans into a large bowl before placing it on top of a glass panel which began to glow red beneath the bowl. Sam turned to Dean and leant against the countertop casually. Didn't he realise that the pose had Dean's confused brain ticking back into overdrive. He was having a personal crisis right now and Sam acting like an unaware model definitely wasn't helping.
"What did you do today?" The younger man asked and leant his head to the side.
Dean shrugged. In reality he'd been slightly bored as he had nothing to do and didn't know how to work any of Sam's new technology, "Not much really."
"If I'd known that you'd be here all day I would have showed you how to use some stuff..." He hung his head and slumped his shoulders.
Guilt passed through Dean like a wave. Sam hadn't expected him to still be hanging around so it wasn't the man's fault that he'd spent the majority of his time bored out of his wits. The hunter had also expected to be rescued by now. What was taking Castiel so long anyway?
"No, it's really okay. I spent most of my day catching up on sleep." It wasn't a complete lie as he'd slept for a good few hours and did actually feel better for it.
Sam peered around the clear space for a second before seemingly coming up with an idea so signalling to Dean that he'd only be a minute and that he'd be right back. With that, Sam shot into his bedroom while the hunter resigned himself to wait it out on the couch again with his bowl of cheesy pasta. That seems to be all he's capable of in this future world: sitting and eating. He hated to stereotype but he felt like an elderly person in an Apple shop asking what an iCloud is while Sam was like the hip youth buying apps and configuring all his devices... Maybe Sam would be more than that? Maybe he'd be an Apple genius with their seemingly unlimited knowledge of technology?
He missed the times when turning on a light with nothing more than a switch on the wall; even a button to turn lights on seemed futuristic in his time. Now everything was glass panels and clear bands that were, apparently, permanently attached to your wrist.
Sam ran back out of his bedroom with an almost inhuman amount energy. Even Dean didn't have that much enthusiasm and he'd done nothing more than sleep all day. The hunter found himself wondering if that was what all future people were like or if Sam was just always bounding around places. He could imagine Sam in his time running along the aisles of Walmart just because he fancied it. For some reason his mind liked the idea of getting to spend more time with Sam which was bizarre as Dean usually hated energized people. Sam had changed out of his suit and shirt and instead was in a plain T-shirt and black jeans.
"Here," Sam said as he jumped down the steps into the sunken lounge area, "Get up and I'll show you how to work the entertainment system."
Dean obeyed his command by moving away from his messy bed. Immediately, Sam grabbed the corners of the blanket and threw it over the bed so it was lain out flat. He then proceeded to push the button on the side of the couch so the sofa-bed retreated back into the plush, white couch that originally stood there. It was quite a spectacle so the shorter man could imagine a "Taadaa!" Once it had folded away by itself. Modern life seemed pretty easy. He'd rolled out quite a few sofa beds or blow up mattresses in his time but future beds seemed so much simpler. It was definitely a feature that he liked.
Once that was done Sam strode over to the kitchen and pulled a remote control out of one of the drawers. Although, this remote had only a handful of buttons which confused the hunter.
Upon returning to the couch, Sam collapsed down into his space and gestured for Dean to take the other. Still suspicious of the man's energy, Dean sat himself down slowly but didn't take his eyes off the man. Sensing the hunter's discomfort, Sam visibly calmed himself before addressing the other.
"I want you to have a go." He held out the small remote in his right hand as an invitation for Dean to reach out and take it.
Dean did go to take it but when the flesh of their hands collided he suddenly pulled back with a sharp gasp. As though Sam knew what the visitor was so shocked about, the tall man ducked his head and pulled his knees up so he could rest his forehead against them. He hid his right arm in the small gap between his chest and raised thighs. It was cradled close to his chest almost protectively. He didn't look up at Dean even after the man began to speak.
"You're ice cold!" Dean exclaimed. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were close to his hairline. Maybe all future people were cold? Maybe it isn't just Sam and now Dean's gone and unintentionally offended him? If Dean had messed up and upset Sam then he could be in trouble as he was the only human that he knew now.
"I know." Sam mumbled downwards as he refused to make eye contact.
Dean could see Sam's left hand rubbing up and down against the skin of his right. He assumed that he was attempting to create some heat.
"Why?" There was a pause so Dean asked more, "Is everyone like that?"
From the side profile of Sam, Dean saw his brow crease in frustration. Slowly, the future man turned his head to see his guest, "No, it's just me and maybe 2 other people worldwide."
"Why what's wrong?" He suddenly felt a deep concern for this practical stranger but he found that he didn't want to feel any other way towards this man.
A humorless chuckle escaped his pink lips as he gazed at the hunter, "Nothing is wrong with me. I got in an accident two, nearly three, years ago and I lost my arm. It was an accident in the lab where I work and since they were testing new robotics... They offered me one so I'd have two arms even if one is almost impossible to make seem warm and malfunctions every once in a while... It was only really experimental after all." He spoke as though he was ashamed of his replacement arm.
"Dude! You're like the terminator!" Dean cried in excitement.
Sam blinked at him for a moment, completely speechless. A smile began to form on his lips as he realised that Dean wasn't being negative about his arm, "How old is that movie reference?!" He laughed.
Many people looked at him differently once they learnt about his arm because most people these days would never choose to have robotics placed inside of them. Nobody fully trusts computers especially since the government had control over almost everything.
"Can I?" Dean asked, leaning his head. He reached out a timid hand.
Sam pulled his arm out from where he'd hidden it with uncertainty. Nobody ever asked to touch his arm but Dean was different! He didn't care that he had become a scientific experiment. Dean's fingers pressed softly against Sam's cold arm. The flesh that covered the mechanics tingled at his warm touch so Sam had to remind himself that Dean really wasn't interested like that.
The young hunter could just about feel the lumps of the machinery beneath the tanned skin. It wasn't really that noticeable beside the deep chill that constantly haunted Sam's arm. The flesh tried to keep up to temperature but the robotics below just sucked all the heat up almost instantly.
"It's not that bad." Dean reassured his friendly host as he touched Sam's skin. He almost wanted to pull Sam into his chest to keep him warm. He really didn't know where that protective swell had come from.
"People just tend to freak out about the whole idea of metal being there," He shrugged easily but it was easy to tell that the words of others had impacted him and his self confidence.
"It just looks so real." There was several fading scars along the flesh but Dean didn't want to push the man any further to give more private details.
The older man found himself wanting to feel Sam run his large hands over his own skin. He shook himself to dispel the thought. He peeped up, apparently Sam hadn't noticed Dean's brief zoning out.
"Well, it's taken years of work so now it usually is pretty smooth in action." He explained.
Dean was in utter awe, "So can you lift really heavy stuff?"
Sam nodded, "Yeah, I suppose so... I don't like to make a scene though..."
Dean took a moment to take in the man before him. His kindness and humbleness was amazing and had blown him away several times since their first encounter. As he was lost in the thoughts, his fingertips traced over the longest scar with delicate gentleness. Sam's hazel eyes followed the movement and tried to ignore the shiver that trickled down his spine.
"It malfunctions sometimes." Sam sounded like he was explaining something but Dean didn't understand what he was explaining. The hunter raised a eyebrow as he frowned so Sam elaborated, "I have the datum munus of Technological Advancement Developments so whenever it breaks down I can kinda fix it myself..."
"Wait... Firstly, datum munus? And secondly, you cut yourself open?" His jaw fell open.
"I think it is Latin for task given or something like that so basically my job which was assigned by the government... So it's what I have to do and yeah, I cut my arm open to access the core mechanics." To Sam, this seemed pretty normal as it was malfunctioning every few months or so which basically meant that he was used to performing an engineering project while pretty wacked out on pain suppressors.
"Dude... Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda badass? And that's coming from me!" He chuckled at Sam's confused expression.
"So... You're 'kinda badass' too," Sam made air quotes with his long fingers but still looked confused.
Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. Clearly, this was no longer a term that they used anymore but Dean wasn't exactly broken up at the idea. He didn't really like the slang of his time anyway.
"Yeah... I'm kinda badass as well."
"It's good?" The deep hazel of his irises seemed to darken as confusion clouded his bright eyes. Clearly Sam wasn't accustomed to be confused as he almost looked hurt that he didn't understand.
The hunter nodded, "Yeah, it's a good thing." He reassured the large man.
Sam processed the new information easily before moving back on topic and plucking the remote from where it had fallen on the clean couch. He handed it over to Dean again but this time the man was prepared for the chill of his flesh but Sam was grateful that he didn't mention anything about it again. He quickly explained the workings of the small device but it was relatively simple. The actual machines worked mainly by speech control and the few buttons only made the screen lower from where it'd been concealed inside the ceiling and the projector to also lower from over their heads and silently fire up. Sam taught him had to pick a film but wouldn't allow him to pick anything with recent news events in them like talk of real life earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. It also made Dean mildly suspicious when Sam explained to him how to access the past history section but wouldn't actually allow him to go there. What could he possibly be hiding? The older man vowed to discover Sam's secret.
Sam made them eat their food while Dean began watching a film about a spaceship crew being sucked into a blackhole and finding a parallel universe where each crew member had a different 'datum munus' so had never met or gone to space. They then spent the rest of the film trying to make their parallel-universe selves find each other. The hunter would have considered it a science fiction but Sam had laughed and simply promised him a trip to Mars before he got taken back to the early 21st century. They munched on the meat-type stuff as they watched even though Sam had seen it before.
It had grown late by the time that the movie had come to its sudden ending. Sam had explained that most the endings were very fast as people had short attention spans these days; Dean couldn't tell whether Sam was joking or not so simply nodded and smiled.
"I'd better be heading to bed." Sam muttered as he stretched up and his back clicked in several places. He pressed a few of the remote's buttons so the screen and projector rose away.
As Sam began to re-erect Dean's bed, the hunter made light conversation as he found that Sam was actually still interesting even though they'd been together for over 24 hours and he was really intelligent without making him feel stupid.
"So... projectors and screens aren't exactly high tech, Sam." He had a slight teasing note to his voice.
Sam chuckled as though he knew something that nobody else knew, "That's pretty old technology, yeah. We scrapped TVs,"He said the word uncertainly," a while ago as they were just so inefficient. Got to save our already destroyed planet, after all." There was a moment of silence as Sam straightened up the duvet on Dean's bed, "Anyway, you can't use our main entertainment system."
"Which is?" He encouraged.
"We have microchips inserted into our brains which can stream images into our heads," Sam smiled, "So we can watch movies in here." He tapped the side of his temple.
"Dude, that's cool!"
Sam laughed for a moment before glancing at the time on his band and sighing in a mild frustration. He enjoyed Dean's company and knew that if he disappeared during the night then he'd be truly upset. It was almost as though he'd found a friend in this bizarre time traveller that he'd taken into his home.
"Umm, Dean..." The hunter glanced up from where he was settling on the bed, "If you go tonight I just want you to know that I'm glad I met you... Do you want to borrow a pair of sweatpants?" Sam tacked the question on the end as he was scared of embarrassing the older man.
The corners of Dean's lips curled up at Sam's admission but he answered the question to try and stop the red blush from spreading further on Sam's high cheekbones, "Yeah, that'd be great."
The sweatpants were too long for him but they'd do for just sleeping and hanging around. He just hoped that when he did get taken back that his clothes wouldn't be left behind.
