Castiel had spent the majority of the next day helping Luke categorize his 'collection'. While Castiel was no longer doing drugs, he still knew how to handle them and it was something his brother appreciated.
Of course, Lucifer had to bring up their missing brother, Jimmy. He'd asked Castiel what the plan was, and Castiel told him there was none. Micheal would be going tomorrow and Gabe and Luke were still undecided about whether they would go on Saturday, but Castiel wouldn't be going with any of them. He wouldn't be going at all.
He'd gone home around 4 o'clock, took a shower and laid down for a nap. He'd meant to only be out for an hour or so, but he was woken up when his door was burst open and someone walked into his room.
"Dude!" A deep voice called. Dean. He'd forgotten the other was coming over. "Why are you sleeping? I got fucking Olive Garden!" Too. Loud. Castiel groaned and rolled over, prying his eyes open and peering at the man now leaning over him. They had one of their staring contests again, with Castiel's eyelids fluttering and Dean's smirk growing ever wider. "Get up, you lump!"
Castiel was startled at just how easily Dean was able to scoop him up. A pair of tanned arms and slid underneath him, one hooking underneath his knees and the other wrapped around his shoulder. He was hefted up and out of bed before he could even protest. Castiel was instantly reminded of a few nights ago, when he'd slept over and Dean must have carried him, just like this, to a bed. His face flushed in embarassment and he pushed weakly at the older's chest. "I'm up! Put me down!" He wouldn't admit he was whining right now.
Dean laughed heartily and whisked him off down the stairs. Castiel didn't even have the strength to protest. They passed by Micheal, watching the news on the couch. His eldest brother looked up at them for a second, before turning his eyes right back to the TV. His expression didn't so much as twitch. "Castiel, your friend is here." He said monotonely.
"Thanks." Castiel grumbled. Dean dumped him on the couch perpendicular to Micheal and Castiel scrambled to regain his composure.
"Man, we're wasting precious daylight! Wake up already and lets go!" Dean dropped next to him on the couch and threw an arm around him. "Unless you wanna go back upstairs." He smirked at Castiel and threw him a wink. "I get the feeling you're a cuddler."
"Not in my house." Micheal warned. "Gabriel's is already filthy, do it there." Oh, so his brother didn't even care if he was getting it on, he just wanted his house to stay clean. That was nice to know.
It seemed a little odd that Micheal, the picture of faith and abstinence, seemed okay with Castiel having sex with a man.
"Hey baby, after this date we should head back to my place." The blonde's eyebrows raised and he leered at his companion. Holy cow, was Dean really playing this game with him? Castiel felt as if he was about to explode.
"Shut up and get off." Boy was he charming. Flirting just came naturally to him.
He grabbed his keys on the way out and took a seat in the passenger of the impala. The car roared to life and they cruised their way down the street and around the corner to the local park. A river ran through there, and apparently that was their destination for the evening. "Don't think my choice of dinner was like, cliche and lovey-dovey or whatever. They have kickass breadsticks and I was really craving 'em." Dean explained as soon as they took off. Castiel sighed - Olive Garden was expensive. He would have to insist on paying the other back. "I got chicken alfredo and ziti al forno, 'cuz I figured I couldn't go wrong with at least one of them." He looked over and surveyed Castiel for a moment before asking, "That okay?"
"I'm fine with either." Castiel stated and looked out his window. Dean was driving awfully fast for a housing district. He supposed you could do that when you had a fancy car like this one. His phone beeped and he flipped it open to look inside. 'Rmbr safe sx is good sex alws yse condm' Jesus, Mike couldn't keep his damn mouth shut. Gabriel would be bothering them all night.
A minute later, Dean's phone also went off. Tiny speakers played a classic guitar riff. "Hey, read that off to me would'ja?" Castiel picked up the phone and pressed a random button. The thing was almost as cheap as his was. The screen lit up, and Castiel studied it for a moment before figuring out how to pull up the text.
"Last night says Cassy likes it rough." Castiel translated Gabriel's text speak. His face lit up with the phone and his throat closed shut. Oh God that was horrifying. He'd just read that outloud.
Dean was laughing hysterically, though, and for a second Castiel thought they were about to lose their lives as the car swerved a bit. Dean regained control of the wheel before asking, "What happened last night?"
He struggled for words a moment before choking out, "We went to a club and I kissed some woman."
Dean smiled at him, but Castiel noticed his grip had tightened on the steering wheel. He was glad - he wasn't particularly looking forward to getting in an accident. He'd already had that happen 2 weeks ago. "Was she hot?" Dean almost stuttered. He'd never heard Dean stutter before.
"I don't really find people attractive." Castiel replied forlornly. Dean changed the topic and they spent the rest of the drive talking about the drinks he'd had last night.
When they arrived at the park, Dean pulled a bag of delicious smelling food out of the trunk as well as a 6 pack of beer. They walked along the gravel path leading to the water in a comfortable silence and then found a bench by the river's edge. Dean sat down a produced forks and breadsticks from the bag. He handed whatever take-out box was on top to Castiel and grabbed the other for himself.
They ate and drank their alcohol while Dean chatted friendly, as per usual. Castiel watched as a pair of ducks floated by on the water and Dean threw out some pieces of bread to them. As soon as they finished eating, Dean kicked off his shoes and dunked his feet in the water.
"My dad used to take us here on the rare occasion that he was sober." The blonde man explained. Castiel hummed softly and followed Dean's example. The water was cold but the day was hot, so it felt good. "Sammy used to do this while I was scaring off the birds. He was the good kid." Castiel thought that Dean must be settling down, then, if he was doing something so calming. This was kind of sad to think about. Dean was changing.
"I always used to come here with Jimmy when I was upset." He said. Dean wisely said nothing. "Except we always stayed on that side of the park, since it's closer to our home." Dean took in a hurried breath next to him and his eyes grew wide. "...What?"
"Dude, that's Lisa and Ben!" Dean exclaimed. He got up and crouched behind Castiel, trying to hide himself from his ex-girlfriend. Castiel thought he should have picked a different spot, as Castiel was shorter than the other and wouldn't provide much cover.
Still, Castiel didn't understand the problem here. "She broke up with you on kind terms, didn't she? What are you afraid of?" Dean huffed behind him and tried to make himself smaller. "Come on, you can be mature about this." Ironic, he'd just thought Dean was growing up.
"You don't understand, man. I just got over her like, a few weeks ago! What if I'm still in love with her?" Wow, that was sobering. Castiel felt like he'd been drenched in cold water. Or maybe that was just the river water washing over his feet.
"If you're worried you're still in love with her, how can you be over her?" The teenager asked. Dean contemplated this for a few seconds before answering.
"I might be interested in someone else." Why did he even ask this stuff? Satisfying his curiosity was like masochism. He didn't want to know this about the man he was utterly infatuated with, and yet he questioned the other anyways. They needed to stop hanging out. He needed to go back to the only other friends he needed; Chuck whom he wasn't gay for, and Anna who was his cousin. Spending time with Dean was almost starting to be painful.
Lisa passed by, and if she noticed Dean she pretended not to. Dean heaved a sigh of relief and removed himself from behind Castiel. He picked up another beer out of the 6 pack and cracked it open. Neither talked for about 10 minutes, and Dean dipped his feet back into the blue water. Finally, he said slowly, "I think I might be bisexual."
Castiel shrugged. "I've only ever been interested in one person my whole life. Just because you can appreciate Robert Downey Jr. while I can't doesn't mean you like men."
"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" Dean asked him haughtily, but he was smiling. Castiel felt the corners of his lips lifting. "I guess you're right, though." He continued. "I mean, I can admit a guy's good looking and I'd be willing to do a few of 'em, but like, I much prefer ladies to men. I've never gone out of my way to look for one and he'd have to approach me about it." He was still looking at Castiel when he said, "I guess I'm like you, then. It's only one person."
"Who, Robert Downey Jr.?" Castiel's dark hair tilted slightly to the side as he scruitinzed the other's face.
"No, you little shit." Dean laughed. "Why won't you forget about that!" It wasn't a question, Dean actually thought it was funny. That's why Castiel wouldn't forget about it. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
He didn't even miss a beat. "Absolutely not."
"Wow, alright. You trust me enough to tell me your deep dark past, but you won't tell me who you have a man crush on. I see how it is." Castiel looked away to hide his blush. Maybe... Dean wouldn't care. Or maybe Dean would turn him down and they could end this stupid friendship that Castiel knew he shouldn't even be a part of. It might even be less painful in the end.
He almost said it when Dean's phone went off again. The taller man reached into his pocket and pulled the device out, reading the text and expertly typing a response. "Your brother thinks I'm gonna fuck you into next week." He noticed as Castiel turned bright red. "Chill dude, I would never do that to an unwilling participant. Though you can have my bed tonight, if you want." Castiel turned an even darker shade. "Sleepovers are for chicks, but I like them anyways. Don't ever tell Sammy."
Oh. That's what he meant. Well, Castiel had decided he liked the Winchester apartment more than his own house. As much as he wanted to break off their complicated relationship, well...
Perhaps he was a glutton for punishment.
A/N: I know I've been updating less frequently lately. Summer break's started and while you'd think I'd have more time... I haven't this week.
I'm going to post the next chapter soon and then I'm going on a season 7 watching spree, since the DVD's aren't out yet and I don't have to wait and watch them with my brothers. So the chances that this story will be updated again after the chapter are... not soon.