Some of you are gonna hate the cliffhanger ;) Some of you might not. lol anyway! Part of the next chapter is finished (mostly because this chapter was originally longer but I decided to cut it off there instead of later 'cause it sounded better that way)...so yeah...anyway! Again, thank you all so much for the reviews! I really do appreciate it! And as soon as messaging system decides to start working again, I will reply to your reviews ;) Anyway, for now, thank you so much!
Also, sorry if this chapter's not that great...my medicine makes me really sleepy, so...yeah...haha. Hopefully I get over this cold quickly, though!
Onward!
Chapter Twelve
The near-kiss was never mentioned, for which Castiel was grateful. School was normal, for the most part, and the cut on Dean's forehead healed rather quickly, which was good. Castiel didn't like seeing that cut on his friend's head. It wasn't right. Dean still wasn't talking about it and would go quiet whenever Castiel brought it up, so he'd stopped doing so. Dean would talk to him in his own time, right? He just needed to be patient.
Today was Friday. Dean would be coming over tonight for dinner, and Castiel had mixed feelings about it. He'd told his family that Dean would be coming tonight, and Jimmy had brightened. He wasn't sure what his brother was thinking but it made him a little wary. Would Jimmy somehow steal the conversation at dinner and somehow become Dean's best friend instead? He quickly shoved those thoughts away, trying to tell himself that wouldn't happen, that Dean wasn't like that…but still, the worry was there.
So all that day in his classes, he kept shifting uncomfortably. Finally, at lunch, Dean gave him a look and flicked him in the ear, causing him to wince and frown at his friend. "What's got you so shifty, huh?" Dean asked, quirking a delicate brow.
"Nothing," he said quickly. Dean just rolled his eyes, obviously not believing him, but he didn't press the matter either, for which Castiel was grateful. "So what time will you be coming tonight?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.
Dean paused. "Uh…what time are you guys eating?"
"Probably around six or so."
"Okay, I'll be over around then, maybe sometime before. Okay?"
"Sounds good."
Dean arrived a half hour before six. Castiel heard his car pull up and was moving toward the door when Jimmy rushed past him, saying, "I'll get it!" His brother pried the door open just as Dean was raising his hand to knock. Dean blinked at him momentarily and then smiled. "Hey, Dean!"
"Hey, Jimmy," Dean said in return.
"Come in," Jimmy said, ushering him inside. Dean did so and then smiled at Castiel.
"Hey, Cas."
"Hey," Castiel murmured, sighing as he watched his brother begin talking to Dean. The subject was cars again, and he still knew nothing about them. Maybe he would have to learn about them if he wanted to be a part of the conversation, but the thought didn't really interest him. He just wasn't that interested in cars. A car was a car, right? What did it matter? But apparently, to Dean and Jimmy, the subject was very important as they talked enthusiastically about it, sitting on the couch.
Castiel sighed heavily and entered the kitchen, leaving the two of them to talk. This was what he'd been afraid of. Dean would see that Jimmy was much more interesting than Castiel. Castiel liked books while Jimmy liked cars. Castiel was used to the background while Jimmy got all the attention. He sighed again and found his mother working on starting dinner.
"Hey," she said to him with a smile, her blue eyes vibrant and warm, like always. Her voice was also warm and for some reason made him think of cookies. "Where's your brother?"
"Living room."
"Oh. Is your friend here?"
"Yeah…he and Jimmy are talking." He sat heavily in one of the kitchen chairs and scrubbed a hand over his face.
"I see," she said before turning back to her cooking. She was an excellent cook, really. She'd won a few contests in the last town they'd lived in. Jimmy's friends had loved her. "Well, why don't you go talk with them? Show Dean your room?"
Castiel shrugged. "They're talking."
"What about?"
"Cars."
"Ah, I see." She chuckled. "That sounds like your father and his friends. Always talking about cars." She shook her head. "Personally, I never did understand the appeal."
He nodded. He guessed he was like his mom there. Too bad Jimmy was like Dean.
"There's some pie in the refrigerator," she said. "You can heat it up and take it out to your friend if you want."
Castiel sighed and got up before he entered the living room. Dean and Jimmy were still talking but Dean looked at him as he entered the room. "Mom wants to know if you want some pie?"
Dean's expression brightened. "Pie? I love pie! I'll even cut it for you," he said as he jumped to his feet, throwing an arm around Castiel's shoulders as though to tell him a very important secret about pie that no one else knew. "I can't let you handle that knife all by yourself, can I? No! Of course not!"
They entered the kitchen and Castiel felt Dean's arm leave his shoulders. He tried to get rid of the blush he knew was reddening his cheeks so he stuck his head in the refrigerator as thought searching for the pie even though it was right in front of him. After a moment, he grabbed the pie and put it on the table, frowning at Dean. "Do you want it heated up?"
"I'm sure your mother's pie tastes excellent either way," Dean said with a smile, causing Castiel's mom to turn around and looked at him, chuckling warmly.
"Well aren't you just a charmer?" she asked with a smirk.
"So some have said," Dean replied, grabbing the fork Castiel handed him. There was only a little of the pie left and the two could share, Castiel figured. Why bother with plates? There was barely even enough to cut.
His mother held out her hand. "I'm Bethany, Castiel's mother, if you haven't noticed." She grinned.
Dean smiled. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Dean." He stuck his fork in the pie and ate a bite.
"I know," she said with a chuckle. "Castiel talks about you all the time."
"Mom!" Castiel hissed, glaring at her as Dean nearly choked on his pie.
"What?" she asked with a frown.
Dean swallowed down his bite and took in a gulp of air. "You talk about me, huh?" He grinned, amused. "Good things, I hope?"
"Of course," Bethany said.
Dean chuckled. "Well, then I guess that's fine." There was a particular sparkle in his eyes that left Castiel smiling too.
Jimmy entered the kitchen and smiled. "Pie! Any left for me?"
"No," Dean said instantly, grinning as he ate another bite. "Get your own, you pie stealer."
Jimmy rolled his eyes and snatched Dean's fork, eating some for himself. Dean frowned and then looked at Castiel. "Fork?" Castiel frowned and in that moment, Dean snatched Castiel's fork with a grin, eating the pie. Castiel sighed and stepped back to let them eat, even though he could have grabbed another fork. It didn't matter - there wasn't much pie left anyway. He watched the two of them eat it as he sat at the table, slumping in his seat.
They finished it rather quickly. There was one bite left. Dean looked up at Castiel and batted Jimmy's fork away from the last bite, stabbing it with his own fork. "Here," he said, handing the fork to Castiel, who frowned at him deeply.
"…Huh?" Castiel asked, confused even as he reached out for the fork.
"You get the last bite," Dean said with a shrug.
"Um…thanks," Castiel murmured, eating the last bite. It was nice of Dean to do that. Jimmy chuckled and shook his head as he sat on Dean's other side. Bethany grinned at them and left the room, leaving supper to cook for a moment.
Dinner was ready. Dean sat between Castiel and Jimmy, and Bethany and Castiel's dad, Mark, sat at the opposite end of the table. Bethany and Mark kept talking to Dean, asking him questions, and he looked more than a little uncomfortable, which made Castiel frown. Jimmy kept trying to talk to Dean but his friend would only smile and shake his head, answering simply and quickly and not saying much. He actually looked confused and anxious all in one, which was definitely a strange combination, especially when it was plastered on Dean's face.
"We just wanted to say thank you for accepting Castiel into your group so easily," Bethany was saying with a warm smile while Dean shifted nervously in his seat.
"Uh…no problem," Dean said slowly. "He's a good friend."
Castiel smiled while his mother grinned happily and everyone continued eating. Jimmy struck up a few conversations with Dean but Dean pretty much answered with only a few words, not talking much as he focused mainly on eating. Castiel frowned at him, wondering what was wrong, but he didn't want to question it in front of everyone because it was obvious Dean was trying to hide it, whatever it was.
Once they were finished with dinner, Castiel led Dean up to his room, where it was quieter. Dean seemed to relax a little as he sat heavily on Castiel's bed, running a hand across his face. Castiel frowned at him as he sat next to him. "Everything okay?" he asked.
Dean shrugged. "They, uh…"
"What?"
"Like to talk…?"
"Huh?"
Dean shrugged again. "It's nothing, just…they're nice."
"Well, yeah," Castiel said, not understanding.
"I just…wasn't expecting them to be so warm."
"Why not?"
Yet another shrug. "I don't know. I just wasn't expecting them to, uh…talk to me so much."
Castiel frowned. "Why wouldn't they?"
"Dunno, I just…never mind," Dean sighed, shaking his head. He smiled at Castiel. "Your family is great."
"Thanks," Castiel said, smiling back. "So…"
Suddenly he had no idea what to do or say. What were they supposed to talk about?
"So…" Dean echoed, sighing again. "Your room is…plain. You need some posters or something." He looked around. "At least you have a computer though. Sammy's been bugging me for one."
"You don't have one?"
"Nah. Too expensive. Never really cared for them anyway, at least not like Sammy. I think he's in love with them, personally." He shook his head with a faint, fond chuckle. "I'm gonna try and get him one for Christmas, though. Been saving my money."
"You have a job?" Castiel asked with a frown, because Dean had never mentioned one before now.
Dean froze and went rigid. After a pause, he shrugged. "Kinda, I guess you could say. But whatever works, right?"
"I guess," Castiel said, still confused. Then he sighed and looked at the ground, still unsure of what to say or talk about. Dean's body was warm next to him on the bed and he was suddenly aware of how close they were sitting. Dean was looking at Castiel's bookshelf, his eyes roaming over the names of the books. Castiel sighed and followed his gaze.
"So I take it you're a bookworm, eh?"
"I guess," Castiel said.
"Sammy is too." Dean shook his head with a snort. "Never really could understand the appeal. But then you and Sammy are smart, so maybe that's why."
"You're smart too," Castiel said with a frown.
"Whatever."
"You could get straight 'A's if you wanted to."
"I know."
Castiel frowned deeply at his friend, not understanding. "What do you mean? If you know, then why don't you?"
"Cas…it's complicated."
"Then un-complicate it."
"It's not that simple."
"So why do you act like you're not smart? I know you are."
Dean shrugged heavily, glaring at the ground. "Cas…I can't, okay? Please drop it."
Castiel sighed. "You're going to have to talk about things one of these days, Dean," he said quietly, looking away and toward the ground. They were wrapped in a thick silence for a moment, and then they both turned each other at the same time, as though wanting to say something. Castiel paused as though to let Dean speak first and Dean did the same for him. Another silence wrapped around them but instead of it being uncomfortable and thick, it was warm and light, like a tether drawing them closer together.
Once again, Castiel found his gaze locked on his friends as he leaned forward slowly, his heart picking up speed. What the hell are you doing? his mind screamed at him and a part of him shouted at him to stop, but he couldn't. He wouldn't. Because a much larger part of him screamed for him to keep going, and so he did. And Dean didn't seem to be going anywhere, his gaze searching Castiel's, blue attached to green as they both leaned forward. It was like the crammed room all over again and Castiel's breath started to cut short as the two of them got closer.
Stop! his mind snapped again. But a much larger part of his mind growled, Keep going! And so he did. He obeyed.
And then, like an unstoppable force, their lips met in a light touch, not much force behind it, just the light feel of two mouths searching each other, trying to figure the other out.
So...good, bad? It's the first time I've actually done that much yaoi with fanfiction characters...lol so please let me know what you think! More in the next chapter ;) Thank you so much and please continue to review!
~Muffy the Dough Slayer~
