11. Interruptions Of The Crowley Variety
It was warm when Castiel's eyes opened again.
His muscles were stiff and sore from remaining in the same position for so long and he winced at the ache when he tried to move them. The Dean-shaped lump was still sprawled on top of him, face tucked securely into his neck, his soft breathing warming the patch of skin, still hugging his roommate in his tight grip. At some point during the night, Castiel had wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulders, his nose had become buried in dark blonde hair, and their legs had become intertwined together; he felt a smile cross his face as he closed his eyes and relaxed again. Of course, Dean was going to start freaking out the moment he woke up sober and remembered what had happened - speaking of which, freaking out was really what Castiel should have been doing right now, but he couldn't deny the comforting feeling of having someone's arms around him as he slept. It was a warm, safe feeling that he hadn't really felt before. Now he knew why people liked it so much.
"Well, well, well. If this isn't the most sickeningly sweet thing I've ever seen."
Castiel's eyes snapped open again almost instantly, searching for the source of the horribly familiar voice. Crowley was perched on Dean's unoccupied bed, arms folded, watching the two students with an amused expression on his face.
"What are you doing here, Crowley?" Was all Castiel could muster after a few seconds of staring at the lecturer in stunned silence.
"I came up here to see why you haven't been coming to any of my lectures in the past few weeks." Crowley's lips curled into a smirk. "Now I can see why that is."
"Wh - No!" Castiel protested. "This isn't - We're not - This isn't what it looks like!"
"Clearly." Crowley looked meaningfully at the arm wrapped tenderly around the Winchester. Castiel moved it immediately, his skin suddenly cold without Dean's body heat to warm it.
"I was asleep; I couldn't have known -!"
"Of course not," Crowley replied mockingly.
"Just help me move him, would you? Otherwise I could be stuck here until the middle of the afternoon."
The lecturer let out a sigh. "The things I do for you students. People will start to think I've gone soft on you, darling." He rose from his seat and hauled Dean off Castiel, throwing him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty."
"Don't wake him!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Crowley, rather unceremoniously, dropped the still-sleeping Dean onto his own bed. "I'll leave the whole True Loves Kiss malarkey to you, shall I?"
Castiel shook his head, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and kicking off his shoes. "Was there actually anything important that you wanted to ask me?"
"Oh, no. I think seeing you and Princess Squirrel sleeping together just about cleared up all my questions."
"Crowley..."
"The pair of you really are quite sweet, actually, Castiel, as much as it pains me to admit it. There may have even been a smile on my face when I found you. I felt the need to preserve the moment." He reached into his pocket and removed his phone, showing Castiel the image on the screen. The student let out a sharp exhale.
"Delete that, Crowley. Now."
"Why should I do that?" The lecturer yanked the phone out of his reach. "Will Squirrel not appreciate it going viral?"
Castiel narrowed his eyes dangerously; Crowley burst out laughing, the sound loud enough to make Dean start to stir on the bed next to them. "Don't use your angry eyes on me, Angel. They won't work." Dean made a noise to signify that he had woken up, lifting his head off the pillow to squint at the two others in the room.
"Oh joy." Crowley's voice was laced with sarcasm. "Squirrel's back with us."
Dean fired a foul glare at him. "What'cha doin' here? This ain't no place for the King of Hell."
"Not that it's any of your business, Winchester, but I was just here to discuss matters with Castiel." Crowley smirked again as Dean heaved himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his forehead to try and rid himself of the hangover. "So, how did you sleep last night, Princess? I know for a fact that Castiel slept very well." Castiel felt his cheeks start to flush at the remark. Dean didn't seem to notice in his current state of mind, merely raising an eyebrow.
"What, you get some last night or somethin', Cas?"
"Oh, he got something, alright, that's for certain," Crowley snorted. Castiel burrowed his face into his palms, letting out a low groan.
"What's it got to do with you?"
"Lets just say, I was in the right place at the right time, Squirrel."
"Please, Crowley. Enough now."
"What's the matter there? You're looking a little shifty this morning, Cas."
"Castiel," Dean and Castiel corrected simultaneously.
"Oh, my. Is there an echo in here?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear you dragging out the fancy full name a moment ago. You've suddenly changed your tune, Winchester."
Dean folded his arms, looking as defiant as he could with a hangover. "Cas is my name for him. Only I'm allowed to call him that."
"Only because I gave up on you ever learning my full name."
"Is that right?" There was a hint of a smirk across Dean's face. "Does that make me special, then, Angel?"
Crowley made an elaborate gagging pantomime. "My, my, darlings, there's so much unresolved sexual tension in here, I could melt into a puddle on the floor. Or maybe I could just find someone to curl up with." He grinned wolfishly at Castiel, who glared back. Dean was about to rebuff the remarks, when there was a gentle tap on the door, silencing them.
"Thank goodness for that," Castiel mumbled, leaping up from his seat. Anything to keep this conversation from continuing.
"Don't let me keep you or anything," Crowley commented snarkily. Castiel rolled his eyes, opening the door, only to find Sam and Jess standing outside.
"Hello, Sam, Jess."
"Hey, Castiel." The younger Winchester beamed at him. "Has Dean recovered from last night yet?"
"Sammy!" Dean was grinning as he stumbled towards the door, gesturing for his little brother and his girlfriend to enter the room. "How you holdin' up?"
"Better than you, clearly." Sam snorted. "We're just here to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Dean frowned. "Where the hell are you goin'?"
His brother blinked. "It's Thanksgiving next week, Dean. Remember? I'm spending the holidays with Jess and her folks."
"Oh, yeah." The elder Winchester gave a half shrug. "Kinda forgot about that. Can't actually remember all that much right now."
"Are you sure that you don't want to come too?" Jess insisted. "I mean, I know you said no the last time I asked because you felt like the third wheel, but you're honestly not! My parents really like you. They'd be more than happy to have both of you stay."
"That's real nice of you, Jessica, but I'm good. You don't really want me hangin' around your place at Thanksgivin'."
"But, what will you do? I don't want you to be alone for the holidays." Jess' face was suddenly clouded with worry.
"Have you heard from Dad?" Sam asked, the words seemingly coming out in a rush; Castiel suspected that he had been holding them in for a while.
Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I believe I'm sensing some issues here."
"Nobody asked you, Crowley," Dean scowled. "What do you think, Sammy? 'Course I haven't heard from him. Haven't heard a word from him in months. I'm gonna go spend the holidays with Cassie at her mom's place - I may even get lucky, ain't that right, Cas?" Dean winked.
Castiel let out a "Hm", not wanting anyone to notice his sudden discomfort at the idea of Dean's Thanksgiving plans. Jess, however, seemed to pick up on his emotions, as she laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly.
"Alright. If you're absolutely sure, Dean."
"Positive, Jess. Go on. You have your fun. Don't do anythin' I wouldn't do." He grinned at Sam.
The younger Winchester rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Jerk."
"Get outta here, Bitch. Don't crash into a tree or anythin'."
Castiel waited until the brothers had finished their exchange of "Bitch" and "Jerk", Sam having to be hauled away by an exasperated Jessica before he turned to Dean. "When are you leaving?"
"Huh?" Dean frowned for a second, before snorting. "Oh. No. Cassie and I aren't a thing anymore. I only said that so Sammy wouldn't bitch. I didn't really fancy spendin' my Thankgivin' watchin' those two make googly eyes at each other. Besides, last time I went over there with them, I kinda broke one of her dad's antique flower pots when I parked Baby. I don't think her folks ever quite forgave me for that."
"What will you do, then?"
"I don't know. Maybe go hang out at Bobby's or somethin', but then, the King of Hell now lives there too, so I don't think I'll stick around for long. What? What's that face for?"
"Nothing. Just...are you and your brother somehow connected to everyone I know?" Castiel smirked. "Be honest: have you had some dark and torturous love affair with Meg in the past?"
"Shouldn't think so, Angel," Dean replied. "Not really my type." He held Castiel's gaze for a little bit longer than usual, before he cleared his throat, reverting to his tactic of changing the subject. "What about you, Cas? You got plans for the holidays?"
"I just thought I'd sit here quietly by myself, to be honest."
"Seriously? You're not goin' home?"
"Not until Christmas. My parents and Michael are away on business, Lucifer is staying with our cousin in Chicago, and Gabriel is taking off for Las Vegas in the next few days and dragging Meg and her brother with him." The elder Novak had tried to get him to go along too, but Castiel had dug his heels firmly in the ground, refusing to go to a place of such inequity, and Gabriel had lost patience with him and given up.
"Looks like we're both alone for Thanksgivin', then."
"No we're not. We could...spend the holidays together?" Castiel winced as soon as the words left his mouth. "I know you've probably got better things to do, but -"
"Okay."
"What?"
Dean shrugged. "Okay. I've got no issue with spendin' Thanksgivin' with you. Sounds pretty great, actually."
"Dear God." Crowley's voice made the pair of them jump; they'd quite forgotten that he hadn't actually left the room yet."This tension is enough to make someone ill."
"Are you seriously still here, douche?"
"Not anymore I'm not." Crowley turned to glance over his shoulder just before he left the room. "Try not to break the beds."
Castiel went a startling shade of red. "Crowley - !"
"What? If you jump on the beds too much, they'll break. Simple as that, Castiel." He grinned wickedly as he spoke.
"I'm gonna kill him one day," Dean cursed when the lecturer had gone.
"I'll help you," Castiel replied. "Hey...if you're not busy with anything...I was going to go to the grocery store and pick up some food for Thanksgiving. Would you fancy coming along with me?"
"Well, someone has to make sure that you bring home some pie, haven't they?"
