AU. Cas is a volunteer in the pediatric area of the hospital. Dean is one of the nurses.

10.- With animal ears

Castiel liked children very much. Even when he didn't have kids himself, he was the kind of person people want around theirs. So, it wasn't strange at all when he decided to sign up to become one of the volunteers in the pediatric area of the General Hospital. He told stories to the kids, help them to paint and to present little plays for the parents and the medical team. Actually, the first time he saw Dean was in one of those presentations.

Dean Winchester had graduated from nurse school about three years ago. He started to work at the General a few months before Castiel became a volunteer. Dean started in the ER, but his skills allowed him to move to a more stable position, that's how he found himself one afternoon, looking at the volunteer list, wondering who was the owner of the 'curious' name.

Shortly after the play, Dean found out that the children were very found of the mysterious 'Castiel', just as his colleagues. He started to put attention and suddenly something inside him made his cheek turn red every time Castiel's eyes met his. And that happened a lot, but beyond that, and some medical recommendations, they didn't speak much.

One afternoon, after he had made his round, he went to the rest area. There were cookies on a tray.

"Castiel brought them to us." Ana Midelton informed him.

Dean ate one. And yes, if he was keeping some kind of score about Castiel's virtues, the bakery was definitely checked. He took another one and went to the area where Castiel was making a collage with five children.

"Hey, there." He greeted, waving his hands at the little kids.

"Dean!" Amara said happily. She was very fond of Dean.

"Hello, Dean." Castiel said, looking at him. He made a little pause between the two words and a small smile by the end.

"Hi, mister..."

"Just Castiel is fine."

"Alright, then, just Castiel." Dean said. He blushed and looked around. Yep, he was actually flirting surrounded by five-years-old. Very nice, Winchester, he thought. "I just came to check if is everything ok, and to say thank you for the cookies, they were really good."

Castiel smiled again. "You're welcome, Dean." Then he changed his expression to a very serious one. "And yes, everything is fine over here, though we could use some help finding those pink elephants Grace wants to put in our collage."

Dean smiled, amused, but before he could say anything, Jack spoke "There are cookies? Can I have one, please?"

"I'm sorry, Buddy, but you can't. Remember, tomorrow, Doctor Singer is gonna look inside your tummy and you can't eat anything for now, but I think Ana is making some juices, go and ask her for one." Dean replied and ran his fingers through the kid's hair.

The child went running to the nurses station. Dean sat on the floor, next to Amara. Castiel kept his work, but his hands shook a bit. "You're really good to them. Don't tell the others, but you're one of their favorites."

"I just do my job. And if I can make all of this easier for them, I'll do it. It isn't as hard as some people think. Look at you, for instance. You're far their favorite volunteer." His fingers wandered across the magazines.

"Thank you. I just happen to have some free time on my hands and well... I love kids." Castiel replied. "Honey, let me help you with that." He said taking away the scissors from the girl who ran away to look for another magazine.

Dean looked at the girl and his watch. "I've gotta go to prep some meds, but it was nice to talk to you. See you around, Cas."

Castiel blinked at the nickname. "It was nice talking to you too, Dean. And if you want, you can join us whenever you can."

Dean nodded and stood. He walked to the nurses station and grabbed another cookie.

The nurse took the offer very seriously. Every time he had some minutes, he stopped to see Castiel interacting with the kids or in a very few occasions, he participated with them in the activities the volunteer brought. Castiel was the only volunteer Dean actually paid attention to, and Dean was the only nurse Castiel brought snacks to. But they never spoke alone or about anything that didn't involve the children admitted in the hospital.

One particular afternoon, Dean was finishing his paperwork when a burst of laugh called for his attention. Castiel was there that day, but the nurse didn't want to screw on his job for doing it too fast, so he took his sweet time on it, but the loud noise in the next room made him stop and actually go to see what the hell was going on.

Castiel had brought animal ears and facial painting, besides some other accessories, so the ten kids currently admitted, plus three parents and a couple of nurses were dressed as an animal, turning the room into a very particular jungle. Castiel was in front, telling a story by using stuffed animals and his own personification of a very cute cat.

Now, Dean was aware of his crush on the man. But when he looked up and his eyes met the nurse's, Dean realized. Fuck it, he thought, he had to ask him out. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Castiel stoped his presentation, stood up and walked to him.

"We were missing you." Castiel said, a bit out of breath.

"I've got tons of paperwork to finish. Had been a tough couple of days." Dean replied, fighting his smile.

Castiel ran a hand through his hair. "I heard so. But, I think you deserve a break, so if you'd like to join our carnival, you're most welcome." He offered the animal ears he was holding, "I think 'tiger' suits you."

"If you said so..." Dean replied and put the ears on. "Mr. Kitten."

Castiel blushed and went back to his improvised stage. For almost forty five minutes, they laughed, sang catchy songs and crawled all over the place. Jodie came to announce it was dinner time for the children, so the other nurses took them, meanwhile Cas and the parents cleaned up the area. Dean had to return to his paperwork, but first...

"Hey, Castiel... can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah, sure. What's the matter?" He asked, a bit confused. Dean seemed nervous and that wasn't a good sign.

They stood by the door in the hallway. "Nothing, I was just wondering... I have a break in like ten minutes... it's not very long, but... I wanna know if you'd like to have a coffee with me? It's nothing fancy, just a crappy cup from the cafeteria downstairs, or maybe something to eat, they have this little... and I'm rambling." Dean asked, barely looking at Cas's eyes.

"Yes, I would like that." Castiel replied, they stared for a second. "But I need to finish cleaning this... here. Gosh, we made such a mess."

"No problem... so, I see you downstairs." Dean replied and turned around.

He finished his paperwork and while he was on his way to the first floor, he called his brother.

"Hey Sammy, how are you doin'?"

"Great, just waking up from my nap. Jess says hi. How are you?"

"Fine, fine, hey, I don't wanna bother you guys, I know you're killing your ass studying now, so quick question... that Wes Anderson movie you and Jess went to see the other day, the new one, with the voice of the guy from Malcolm in the middle..."

"He is also in Breaking Bad you know? Dude, you spend far so many times with kids..."

"Yeah, whatever. The movie man..."

"Umm... You mean Isle of dogs? Why? You got a bet or something... unless..."

"Kinda the second... Remember the guy I told you about... the volunteer, well, I'm asking him out."

"What? Like now?"

"No, no right now... It's... Gotta go, he just walked in..."

While he was talking to Sam, Dean arrived to the cafeteria, but Castiel wasn't there yet, so he just walked in and sat by an empty table, looking at the door.

Castiel smiled as soon as he spotted Dean. The nurse smiled back and stood, walking to him.

"You... you still got the..." Was the first thing Dean said, pointing at his own head.

Castiel understood and touched his head, taking the ears off. Dean's were in his pocket. "Well, that explains why the doctors looked at me so funny in the elevator."

Dean nodded. "So, coffee or you want something else? Chicken sandwich is pretty decent."

"Oh, but, you don't have to bother..."

"No, please, I insist. Besides, I have employee's discount so..."

"Fine. Then, I'll have a large latte."

Dean made the order, asking for a capuccino and a Chicken sandwich for him. They sat close to a window.

"So..."

"So..."

They laughed. Dean ate before anything else. He couldn't think with his stomach empty. "You really like kids, uh?"

"Is it a creepy thing to say if I don't have kids my own?" Castiel asked, sipping his coffee.

"Well, no if you want to have someday... I guess so, I never really wonder..." Dean replied. "So, why volunteer in a hospital?"

"It wasn't really in my plans, it sort of happened... My job is here, like five blocks away so one day I just went out for a walk and saw the sign in list. I really can't resist those things."

"Kids really dig you." Dean said. "You are like... not much like a parent or an adult for them, I think they see you most like a friend. And that helps a lot with their recoveries."

"Yes, I know. I've actually read a lot about this. You know, at the beginning I just stoped by to read to them and now, well, you've seen." Castiel replied, spinning his coffee cup. "And what about you? How did you get here?"

"Oh, you mean why nurse and not doctor?"

"No... I didn't mean that at all... actually I don't see why people think nurse is less of a 'plan life' than doctor."

Dean smiled. "Money, I guess... but, yeah... When I was little, my dad... he got beat up a lot, and since my mom was taking care of my little brother, I help him, you know with the stitches and stuff so developed certain skill and passion for it, so when people asked me what I wanted to do as grown up I said doctor, but then, my mom got sick and I realized that who do all the stuff I liked to do were the nurses. And here I am."

Castiel smiled. "Doctors are just the ones who sign the end of the discharge form, and take all the credit for other's people work."

"Someone has 'doctor issues'. That's new." Dean grinned, and finished his sandwich.

"What? Because doctor is everybody dream job or spouse?" Cas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So, you gonna marry a doctor?" Dean teased.

"I didn't say that. And the answer is definitely no. I'd rather throw myself from the bridge."

Dean laughed. They stayed in silence for a while. "But seriously, what is it? Did you meet a doctor who was mean to you?"

"What? No... But I dated some guys from medical school back in college. It doesn't have to do with it." Castiel made a pause and finished his coffee, he looked at Dean and at their hands, barely apart. "I come from a family of doctors, like, a lot of doctors. Basically, all of them. And the few aunts that didn't go to medical school are married to doctors, that's include my mom. So yeah, maybe... I mean, family dinners are a nightmare. Dad and my brothers just don't shut up and mum smiles like she hadn't heard the same stories over and over again. And then, of course it comes the time to question again my life choices... all of them. Then my mother says 'If you were a doctor...'" Castiel fell silent suddenly, he didn't realize Dean was actually listening to him. "I'm sorry, you don't need to hear all that."

"It's ok. Seems like you needed to say it. What did you study, then?"

"English literature." Castiel replied, pridefully. They both laughed. "I own a small bookstore. It's not very profitable, but is enough for me to live without regretting not becoming a doctor, and besides, I'm beating capitalism by selling people stuff." They laughed again. Castiel checked his phone. "How long do you have?"

Dean looked at the time. "Like five more minutes... I'm sorry it was so short." He said and prepared himself to ask. "Hey, but what if we go out some other day? I'm free this Saturday, we could go for an actual meal and I don't know, watch a movie maybe? I've heard Isle of dogs has excellent reviews, and Anderson is such an awesome director"

"Did you google that, didn't you?" Castiel said, a small smile on his lips. "Scarlet Johannson does a voice there, right? And also Malcolm's dad, or not?"

Dean's smile grew wider. Suck that, Sammy, he thought. "Yep, the same. I didn't know about Scarlet, though. So, what you say? Would you like to... go out... with me?"

"Of course I'd like to go out with you. Actually, if you didn't invite me today I was going to ask you out myself." Castiel replied. "But you gotta go to work now, so..." Castiel wrote down his phone number on a napkin. "Here, call me when you're free and we can set all up, ok?"

Dean took the napkin and look at it. "I've got my phone here, you know? You could just ask for it and save the contact yourself..."

"I know, but... let me alone, I like this way..." Castiel defended himself.

Dean smiled and stood up. He put on the tiger ears. "Well, see you on Saturday."

Castiel watched him as he walked away. The butterflies in his stomach were out of control.

A/N: Thank you guys for reading this! you're the best. I'd like to have some feedback, so tell me what you think so far. xx