"To the Wall, Nymeria!" Charlie shouted as Dean charged out the back door and onto the deck. He had taken over the theme song, but came to a screeching halt at Charlie's words.
"The Hell, Charlie? I thought you were Dany? Which makes me a dragon. Also, that doesn't make any sense!"
"Well, today I want to be Arya, so that makes you my direwolf. And I want to be a member of the Night's Watch, so we're headed to the wall." Dean just laughed and hitched Charlie higher up his back as he took a drink from his beer. None of them had yet noticed the two pairs of eyes watching them intently from the door to the garage.
"You guys are so lame," Sam rolled his eyes, his back still to them.
"Oh, please, Sammy, get off your high horse. You read those books before either one of us did!" Dean retorted. "Besides you're just jealous of-" He stopped short when he turned and saw the couple hovering at the edge of the yard. "Cas!" Dean shouted. He leaped off the deck and headed for the pair, Charlie still on his back, hanging on for dear life.
"I'm jealous of Cas? Why, because you can't stop starin-"Sam turned at Dean's sudden movement and caught sight of the new neighbors. "Oh, hey Cas. Anna." Sam waved at them.
"Hi!" Dean beamed at them, coming to a stop a little closer to the man than was strictly necessary. He only had eyes for Cas. "I'm so glad you made it. Uh...can I get you a beer? Or, you know, whatever you'd like," he said, finally turning to greet Anna. "Um...there's some different sodas inside if you want. I...can get you one." She raised her eyebrows at him. "I promise, I only shook the one," and Anna laughed. Dean was so flustered, he failed to notice that, not only was Charlie still on his back, but he still had a hold of her knee so she wasn't able to climb down.
"Hi," Charlie waved awkwardly over Dean's shoulder. "I'm Charlie..."
"Oh, shit, sorry," Dean dropped her to the ground, and she quickly pushed passed him to shake hands with the two newcomers.
"Welcome to the neighborhood. I don't actually live here, but I might as well. I'm here often enough."
"Yeah," Dean laughed, "remind me to start charging you rent."
"Whatever. You love me and you know it," She tossed over her shoulder. "So nice to meet you. Dean has told me so much about you!" Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she turned to Dean. All the unspoken parts of his earlier story fully revealed in the brief exchange with the new arrivals. He felt the blush creep up his face as his eyes dropped to the box in Castiel's hands.
"I told you guys you didn't need to bring anything," Dean smiled at Castiel.
"It's a pie..." Castiel offered quietly.
"Oh my god! A man after my own heart!" Dean blurted out before realizing the words. Charlie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and Anna bit her lips to keep from smiling. "I mean..." the realization dawned on him slowly, and his blush intensified. "So," he recovered, pointing at the pie, "we should set that inside for now. We can bring desserts out later. I can take it, or..."
"It's alright, I can do it," Castiel shook his head.
"Maybe you could show him where to put it..." Charlie feigned innocence at the double entendre. If looks could kill, Charlie would have burst into flames under Dean's glare. "Anna, could I get you something to drink?" she continued, turning to the other woman.
"Just water would be fine, thank you" she replied, barely able to hide the humor from her voice.
Castiel cleared his throat, and Dean turned back to him.
"Uh...yeah, Cas, I can show you where to..." Dean let the sentence, and the thought, trail off unfinished. He turned and headed toward the house. Climbing up the steps of the deck, he glanced at the shit-eating grin on his younger brother's face. 'Way to go, Winchester. Now you fucked up your second impression as well.'
Castiel's heart pounded against his ribs as he followed Dean up the steps of the deck. It was all he could do to not stare at the perfect ass and muscular, bowed legs in front of him. He couldn't stop the fleeting thought of what those legs might feel like wrapped around him.
"Welcome to Casa del Winchester," Dean announced to Castiel as they entered the house. "So, what kind of pie did you get?"
"I think Anna said it was apple. She got it from Heavenly Delights, the bakery in town."
"Oh, you're killing me, Cas! My favorite kind, from my favorite place." Dean placed a hand on his stomach as though he had eaten too much of the pie already.
"You know the place?" Castiel's face lit up, and before he could think about how anxious he got talking to new people, he was starting a conversation. "My brother, Gabriel, owns it."
"No kidding!" Dean mused. "Yeah, Sammy and me, we go there on Sunday afternoons and get dessert. Kind of our 'prepare for the onslaught of the upcoming week' ritual." Dean laughed lightly, and Castiel felt a pool of heat settle in his stomach.
"Anna called Gabriel after you invited us to come to dinner, and demanded that he make a fresh one for us. It's still a little warm," Castiel motioned to the box still in his hands.
"Let's put it in the oven, then, and keep it that way," the green-eyed man offered. He opened the oven door and turned back around. Castiel made to place the box in the oven himself, but Dean reached out and took hold of it. His breath hitched as Dean's hand brushed his, and he nearly dropped the pie. "Easy there! That's precious cargo." His easy grin, and close proximity sent a shiver down Castiel's spine. They both stood up, mere inches away from one another. Dean's warm scent of leather and spice swirled around Castiel, making him dizzy. "You, uh...you want a beer?" He was so close. Castiel, if he had been anyone else, may have closed the distance to see if the man before him tasted as good as he looked and smelled. But Castiel was Castiel. He couldn't do it. Not even if Dean hadn't had a girlfriend. So he did the only thing he could. He nodded. He watched Dean's eyes track all across his face before the man turned and opened the fridge. Dean pulled out two bottles and popped the tops off of both, offering one to Castiel. He took it, and this time he willed himself not to gasp when their hands brushed again.
"Hey, Captain Kirk, you gonna land back on Earth anytime soon?" Charlie shouted from the door. Castiel flushed and backed away from Dean a step.
"Keep your obnoxiously geeky shirt on, we're coming!" Dean hollered back.
"Good. Grab that water for Anna on your way, you crappy host. And hurry up, everybody else is arriving," she ordered. Dean just smiled and shook his head.
"Come on, Cas, I'll introduce you around," Dean beamed at him. Castiel tried to smile back, but he could feel the panic starting to set in. His breathing sped up, and he subtly raised a shaking hand to wipe the beads of sweat from his brow. He was good at hiding his fear and anxiety, but Dean, apparently, saw right through it. "It's all right Cas, they won't bite. They're good people. I wouldn't introduce them to you if they weren't." The phrasing of that statement was odd, and made Castiel feel as though Dean would protect him from all the evils of the world, if he could. Strange that this man, so much younger than he, would be comforting him. Castiel's jaw clenched as Dean laid a hand on his lower back. The warmth from the contact seeped into his veins and left him tingling. "I've got you."