Dean tried to sleep but could feel eyes on him.
Shoulders slouching guiltily at Dean's accusation, he cradled Gabriel protectively near and pet his soft black fur. He continued to stand there petting him, not saying a word to Dean or even looking up at him until the hunter flopped down on top of their joined mattresses. Sighing, he shuffled a little closer to Dean's side of the bed. "My apologies..." He frowned. "I.. Did not want you to be angry.." Sitting on the bed by his knees, he placed Gabriel next to him and watched the kitten climb over his lower back up to his shoulders, purring loudly.
Dean huffed. he knew Castiel wouldn't let this go, and he couldn't ignore, knowing how upset he already was with everything that has happened. he rolled over to meet Cas's worried gaze. "Cas... it's not a huge deal, i just overreacted. he's new, he's obviously going to cause trouble." he tried to soften the tension in Cas's form, but it hardly worked. "it's okay Cas. you're forgiven and I'm sorry" he gave him a small smile for re-assurance.
Castiel sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed next to Dean while little Gabriel crawled up to the hunter's chin and rubbed his head against him. He couldn't look up at him yet, even if he claimed he wasn't upset anymore. "No, I should have told you..." He uttered under his breath, rolling his shoulders ever so slightly and hissing at the sting his tattoo gave him. "I've... I've messed up again, Dean, and /I'm/ sorry... You don't need to be."
Dean rolled his eyes at how ridiculous Castiel was being, "so there you go. All is well and forgiven, now sleep, but be careful of Gabe climbing on you, and don't sleep on it." He, of course, was referring to his new tattoo, still a slick mixture of blood and ink under the bandage. "We will lotion it in the morning." And with that, he passed out cold. Whether Cas might have continues pestering him or if his phone rang, that was too bad. The elder Winchester needed rest.
He blinked solemnly at Dean before sighing and moving away again. He still didn't feel much better, but for now it would have to do. Stepping away from the bed, and stripping carefully out of his clothes while trying not to pull the skin of his back with his movements, he dropped everything aside except for his boxers as he crawled over on top of his bed. Tonight, there was a large gap in between them, but Castiel didn't want to move in closer to disturb the already sleeping man. Instead, he drifted off too, lying on his belly with the kitten curled against his side...
In the morning, he woke first, and it was very early. The sun hadn't even risen up into the sky yet. His back was still very sore, and moving it made him grimace. Lifting himself up off the mattress, he shuffled over to relieve himself in the bathroom. He also would have liked to use this time to take a shower, but he needed to wait for Dean to instruct him about what to do about his tattoo first. Instead, he brushed his teeth and sighed at his reflection. All these little human things just seemed... So mundane. A waste of time. Time that humans had so /little/ of (and now, Castiel was cursed with a time limit too). Sleep was the worst of it all - it sapped so many hours of their lives, and they didn't even know it... He hated it, but loved it. He hated how much he found himself loving sleep, and how fuzzy and refreshed he felt in the morning. Thinking of it was troubling, so the ex angel sighed and rubbed a towel over his face which was beginning to grow dark with stubble too. He'd have to ask Dean for help with /that/ as well... Turning and walking back into the room, still only wearing his boxers, his eyes landed on the hunter who was peacefully asleep at least for the time being. He felt a now familiar ache in his chest, and it twisted within him in a way that he hadn't felt before. It grew stronger the longer he stared... Pulling his eyes away, he started back toward the bed, curling up in the blankets, this time on his side to watch Dean sleep again... If he were going to tolerate just how much time sleeping stole from him, this would be his reason why. So long as he got to wake up to this every day, he'd be just fine with it...
Dean did not dream, as usual, and he woke up groggily and turned over, and after rubbing his eyes a little he opened them to greet Castiel's eyes. It almost surprised him but he couldn't seem to move, his eyes still and his breath still soft. "Mornin'" he managed to mutter, blinking once. With the morning light shining through, it highlighted both of their faces and vibrancy of their eyes, Dean felt a pull in his chest, something he hadn't felt since Lisa... He let his eyes blink again, and shook himself from the strange trance. He looked at the kitten curled next to Castiel and that's when he noticed that Cas was almost naked. His eyes got fixed for the second time this morning. The soft, almost pale skin gleamed in the light, and the rise and fall of his body due to his breathing was almost hypnotic. He cleared his throat, and sat himself up, "Cas, you're not wearing clothes.." He looked at him again and noticed the stubble coming out, and felt his own face, to feel that his was, too. It would be interesting to teach him everything, but he had no quarrels with doing it. "And you need to shave." He smiled.
Castiel nearly went back to sleep in the hour that it took for Dean to wake up as well, but the moment the other stirred, his gaze snapped back to alertness. They met eyes, and the ex angel drank in his features touched by the rays of sunlight creeping in their window. It occurred to him then, that Dean wasn't only beautiful when he was sleeping... He was also beautiful when waking from a good rest. "Hello Dean," he answered softly, lifting one arm to let it drape on top of the blankets. Gently petting Gabriel's head, soft enough not to wake him too, he nodded once against the pillow. "Yes, I... I sleep better without them," he confessed easily. "And I think I require your help with shaving".
Dean shrugged, "well come on, then." He said as he rubbed a hand over his face again. He stood and walked to the bathroom, and took out his large package if razors. Dean wasn't picky about much but he was picky about razors, he didn't like to use them more than once, so he always bought the extra large bags of disposable ones. He grabbed the shaving cream, and placed it between the two razors he set out. "Just put this stuff on your face, but only where you want to shave, no use in putting it on your forehead, of course." He laughed internally as a picture if Cas with cream on his forehead came to mind. After he lathered his own on his face he handed it to Cas, and waited.
Pulling the blankets off himself, and carefully leaving the bed so he didn't disturb the cat, Castiel followed Dean back into the bathroom. Hovering over the other man's shoulder and sighing at his reflection again, he nodded and watched Dean apply the cream. Brows furrowing in curiosity, he tilted his head and touched the cream on Dean's jaw. The foam was cool, and felt rather strange between his thumb and forefinger. As the can was passed to him, he squirted it onto his palm like he'd seen Dean do... Before squishing it into his stubble and frowning. Slowly he lathered it over his face, but some of it got up his nose and he sneezed.
Dean raised one eyebrow as he observed the ex-angel attempt a regular human exercise. When he sneezed something like a muffled snort came from Dean. "Careful," he laughed. He picked up a shaver for him self and ran it down the far right side of his jaw, cleaning the cream and stubble off, he turned the tap on to rinse the razor, and did not proceed with his own face but instead turned to Cas a he handed him the razor. "Now watch the angle, you can cut yourself real bad if you're not careful"
Castiel observed carefully as Dean dragged the razor down the corner of his jaw, effectively clearing both the foaming gel and the stubble in one slide. The ex angel quickly finished rubbing the foam over his own face, nearly smiling at how ridiculous they both looked in the mirror. When Dean passed the razor, he took it carefully and tried repeating what he'd watched on his own face now. Pressing it to the top corner of his jaw, he slid it along carefully, feeling the steady drag of the blades removing the little hairs. It went well until he got lower, to the crook of his jaw and neck where his stubble ended. Pressing a little to hard, he hissed and pulled it away from his skin when he cut himself accidentally. Dean had warned him about this, and he frowned with disappointment as a tiny bead of blood formed on his skin and mixed with the gel. The sting was unbelievable, but he could tolerate it. "I'm sorry, Dean."
"Don't be sorry dude, everyone cuts them selves once in a while, even experienced guys." He reassured him. He reached over to grab the razor, "here, give it to me." He turned Castiel so they faced each other. He began to carefully slide the blades down his face, slowly, only going to the jawline for now, as he figured he could do the underneath after. "You are ridiculous though, this will be a roller coaster of fun until you get used to it." Feeling Cas's skin pull underneath the blade pulling the stubble, and the sound of it grinding it away, he got transfixed again. Not too much as to cut Castiel, but instead, his concentration heightened as every inch of Castiel's face became clearer, and eventually dean got to under his nose. "Now do this" he said as he tucked his upper lip behind his teeth. He smiled at how nervous Castiel seemed with the sharp blades on his face, and Dean being so close.
Castiel was actually glad to have the ridiculous-looking shaving cream all over his face. It covered some of the nervous blush crawling up into his cheeks. However, the more Dean uncovered, the more of it he'd be able to see... Instead of focusing on how close Dean's face was to his, he closed his eyes, staying perfectly still except for when gentle fingers tilted his head this way and that, and let the other shave his stubble away. As the razor slid over his skin, at some moments he tensed when he thought it was going to cut him, but Dean's hand stayed steady. He began to relax, enjoying it and humming softly until Dean instructed him to do something. Cracking open an eye, he saw Dean suck his upper lip under his teeth, and the blush returned as he repeated the action, both eyes opening to stare at him.
Dean tried not to meet Castiel's gaze, but he enjoyed his peripheral view. Looking back at his shaven section of Cas's face he noted a tinge of pink there and wondered if he was too rough with the razor or if Castiel was blushing. He smiled to himself and finished his job, he had Castiel put his chin up so he could do the tender underside. Being extra careful with his throat, he slid it a little slower, making sure to curve around the contours of muscle and his adam's apple. The strings of veins pulsed beneath the skin and stood out at Dean, and he tried not to get distracted once again. He finished, and instructed Cas to wash his face, and as he did so, Dean started back on his own face.
Castiel swallowed as the razor touched under his chin, and felt his adam's apple move under Dean's touch. He knew he shouldn't move, but he couldn't help it - it was a strange reflex. He held still after that though, a breathy sigh puffing past his lips as Dean finished shaving him. Reaching up and sliding his hands over his freshly shaved skin, he smiled when he felt how smooth it was. "Thank you, Dean..." The scent that now lingered on Castiel was often what he smelled on Dean. It made him secretly pleased that in some way, he smelled like him... Moving over to the sink, he soaked a cloth in warm water under the tap, before bending over to keep the water from dripping all over the floor. He could feel his tattoo pull at his skin sorely, but he ignored it for now. They still needed to put cream on it.