Chapter Twenty One
"Hey, thought I'd find you here," Dean smiles with an affectionate ruffle of Cas' hair, taking a quick glance at the horizon from the balcony before looking from Chuck to Cas, "Not interrupting anything am I?"
"No, of course not," Castiel smiles back and reaches out for Dean's hand, Dean squeezing back before moving to sit down on the deck chair, perching between Cas' legs. Warm arms wrap around him tightly, pulling him closer to Cas' chest which makes Dean huff out a small laugh.
"You picked the right moment actually 'cause I've got to go get the dinner started," Chuck says with a grin, standing up with a slap of his thighs. Dean smiles at him, remembering their previous conversation, where he'd cornered him when Cas had been busy watching some shitty programme with Sam. He'd asked him the exact details of when he saves Cas from Zachariah and Lucifer respectively and Chuck had patiently told him over and over again until he'd printed it into his mind.
"Want help?" Dean asks, raising his eyebrows, hoping that Chuck will say no because he's too comfortable to move now. Especially when Castiel's mouth is pressed into his hair, the arms around him making him feel protected and safe.
"Nah, it's fine, I'll enlist Sam if I do," Chuck winks, then says to Cas with a desperate sigh, "I guess I'm going to have to turn it off again tonight then?"
Castiel smiles into Dean's neck, "I think that would be a wise idea yes."
Chuck chuckles and shakes his head, patting Dean on the shoulder before leaving them to it, shutting the glass door behind him.
"What was that about?" Dean frowns, turning his head to gage Castiel's expression.
"Dean, Chuck dreams of you and Sam, your whole life," Castiel says with a small smile, like he's trying to stop himself from laughing at Dean or the situation, Dean isn't even sure.
"Yeah, and?" Dean raises his eyebrows, still not getting it.
"Dean, did it never occur to you that he would see all our moments together, all of it?" Castiel quirks up an eyebrow.
"I don't get what you- oh," Dean gapes, remembering how he'd been full frontal in some of the Carver Edlund books which obviously means that Chuck had been forced to watch his sex life and Sam's too. Chuck had not only saw him naked, but had also saw his sex face. Fuck. And he'd saw him and Cas, all the things they got up to. Why the fuck had he only just thought about this?!
Castiel smiles and presses his nose to Dean's cheek, "It's okay Dean. He's learnt how to switch it off. Ever since he became your friend he attempted, and I helped, to find a way to switch off that part of the prophecy, seeing as it's not beneficial to the overall stance on stopping the apocalypse and also because, well, it's awkward."
"Oh, okay, so-so he didn't see what we did last night?" Dean asks, feeling his cheeks redden.
"No, he shut it off. What we do in our bedroom is between you and me," Castiel's smile widens against Dean's skin, kissing Dean's neck.
"Oh... Good," Dean murmurs, feeling his heart relax a little at the fact that Chuck hasn't been seen any of his and Cas' sex life because he doubts he would be able to look the guy in the face ever again if he had. He'll just have to try and not think about the fact that Chuck has already saw his sex life with other girls. But then again, that doesn't seem quite as intruding as his love life with Cas because with Cas it's different, it's not just sex. Still, he's not going to think too much about how Chuck has saw his moves in the bedroom with girls in the past because seriously, that's all kind of weird and awkward and ugh.
Castiel tilts his head at him, still smiling, "I'm surprised you hadn't thought about this before."
"I'm so sorry that I didn't think about the prophet dreaming of my sex life, I kinda had other things to worry about," Dan retorts with a snort because seriously, what with the apocalypse, Cas falling, Cas telling him that he'd been with Dean's future self and watched him die and Cas nearly dying when he'd been stabbed in the chest has kind of made his brain already be filled with more shit than it can handle.
Castiel doesn't reply, just holds Dean tighter to his chest, nuzzling Dean's neck, hiding the fact that he's still grinning at Dean's idiocy. Dean hums out in contentment when Cas kisses his jaw, Dean leaning back so his head is resting against Cas' shoulder, turning his head to meet Cas' mouth, kissing him gently. Castiel gives him a small secret smile before nuzzling their noses together.
"Cas, you're distracting me," Dean murmurs, kissing Cas again lightly with a smile.
"Distracting you from what?" Castiel says, still smiling.
"Well, it's kinda going to ruin the moment," Dean admits, "But we need to talk about it."
Castiel frowns, eyes trying to read Dean's expression before he asks carefully, "What do we need to talk about?"
Dean looks away from Cas' gaze, leaning back onto Cas' shoulder again as he looks at the beach below them, the sun slowly setting for the day. Castiel rests his chin back on Dean's shoulder, waiting patiently as Dean reaches up to grasp Cas' hands, not wanting to talk about this but knowing they need to.
"About our plans to defeat Lucifer," Dean murmurs.
Castiel stiffens behind him, his arms going taut around Dean's torso, "Oh."
There's an awkward silence then, Castiel staying stiff, not saying anything, Dean wondering what to say to make this better. He knows why Cas doesn't want to talk about it and he doesn't blame him, not at all, but they do need to talk about this, to come up with a plan because they can't go into this without thinking about it properly, without coming up with what can only be a fool proof plan. They can't let there be any mistakes in this. Chuck says that they kill him, that it's already set in stone but still, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't plan this properly.
"Cas?" Dean asks, worried that Cas is going to close off completely.
"No, you're right Dean, we need to talk about this, to come up with a plan," Castiel gulps. Dean tilts his head to read Cas' expression, sees the pain embedded in his eyes as he looks to the sea with a faraway expression. Dean kisses the corner of his mouth, making Castiel turn to meet his gaze, giving him a small smile to show that he's okay.
"So you do have a plan right?" Dean asks quietly because he knows Cas, knows how he's constantly thinking. He will have probably thought of a plan already but had just not voiced it yet because he hadn't wanted to talk about it. Even though he's falling now and more human than ever, Cas' mind is still that of a soldier of Heaven, he knows every tactic that would work in their favour. Dean and Sam know how to fight, know tactics and the like but still, they're no warrior of the Lord with it ingrained into them.
"I do," Castiel sighs, averting his gaze, "I summon Lucifer, he'll think I'm alone but really you will be there too, hidden with the sigils on your ribs. I'll keep him distracted while you kill him with Gabriel's blade."
"Oh, okay," Dean says and mulls it over. It could work. Lucifer thinks he's dead so he won't exactly be expecting him. And he won't expect the angels to have brought him back, not when Lucifer knows they want him to run amok with Earth, but that just leaves one problem- Sam. Because if Lucifer thinks Dean is dead then surely he'll know that Sam would try and avenge his death and would be with Cas to tear him to shreds, "Won't he think Sam would be with you though? Even if he can't feel him, won't he do a look around the place and look for Sam?"
"No, Lucifer thinks that Sam would blame me for your death and not want anything to do with me so he would assume I was alone," Castiel's voice cracks, thick with emotion.
"Cas," Dean turns to meet his pained gaze, "You know that's not true right? That if Sam knew about what happens to me, he wouldn't blame you?"
Castiel doesn't reply, just holds Dean tighter to his chest, avoiding Dean's gaze.
"Cas, look at me," Dean murmurs, "Look at me please."
Begrudgingly, Castiel looks at him, eyes wide and glassy, "Sam would not blame you okay? He wouldn't."
"You can't know that," Castiel whispers.
"Yes I can and I do. Sam's your family, he loves you, sees you as his little brother and he would never ever turn his back on you and when I'm forced back he's not going to want you to disappear on him okay? He needs you Cas and you need him and he's not going to blame you for this, trust me," Dean says, holding Cas' hands tightly to his chest because Cas needs to stop blaming himself for this, to stop thinking other people would blame him too. And when Dean gets sent back he wants to make sure that Cas doesn't disappear on Sam, thinking that he's going to blame and hate him. He can't have Sam being alone not knowing what the fuck had happened to Dean and he can't have Cas being alone grieving his death and wallowing in guilt until he dies.
Castiel gulps, "O-Okay."
"Okay?" Dean murmurs with a kiss to Cas' nose.
Castiel smiles at that and presses their foreheads together lightly, saying with more conviction this time, "Yes."
"Good, don't ever think otherwise Cas," Dean replies.
"I love you Dean," Castiel whispers, lips brushing against Dean's.
"Yeah, me too baby," Dean says with a smile, getting a small smile back.
Castiel leans back from Dean, looking back to the beach, jaw determined, "So I summon Lucifer at the warehouse that we summoned Gabriel. He'll arrive, I know he will. And then you will sneak in while I distract him and then you will kill him with Gabriel's sword. I would kill him myself but all the prophecies say it's you and I wouldn't be quick enough to do it either, he would see straight through my plan and what I was about to do."
"Yeah, okay. What about Sam?"
Castiel sighs, "Sam can be there but I would prefer him not to be in the firing line, perhaps be your back up if anything doesn't go to plan? I did think about making him not come at all but I knew he wouldn't approve of that plan."
Dean snorts at the idea of turning around and telling his little brother that he wasn't included in the killing Lucifer plan and that Dean and Cas would be going without him. Yeah, that wouldn't go down well at all, "Yeah, there's no way that Sam would let himself be left behind when we do this, he can be my back up."
"Okay then," Castiel nods.
"Are you sure that he'll turn up?" Dean asks quietly, fingers clasping onto Cas', entangling them together. In reply to that, Castiel pulls him closer to his chest, something that Dean hadn't thought had been possible.
"Yes, he likes to taunt and he'll want to taunt me, to destroy me further," Castiel's eyes harden, not looking at Dean and Dean really doesn't like the sound of that, what Lucifer could say or do to Cas while Dean's sneaking in to stab him in the neck. He feels his heart break a little at the fact that Cas had said destroy him further, that he's already destroyed, that the man holding him to his chest is broken, that no matter what Dean does, he's not going to be able to put him together.
"Are you going to be okay? Seeing him again?" Dean asks quietly, pressing his forehead to Cas' temple.
"Yes," Castiel replies shortly.
"If you aren't, we'll find another way so you don't have to be there," Dean says, more than prepared to change the plans, to make it so Cas wouldn't have to come face to face with Lucifer again, to bring those memories crashing back to the surface.
"I'm not letting you go there alone Dean, I won't," Castiel says tightly.
"Cas-"
"I won't let you Dean," Castiel vows, his voice tight and pained, probably thinking back to the last time, about how even though Cas had been there, he hadn't been able to stop it, to save Dean.
"Okay Cas, okay," Dean murmurs, kissing Cas' temple, bringing up a hand to brush through Cas' hair soothingly in an attempt to make Cas forget, to make him smile again.
"I'll be fine," Castiel mutters. Dean nods and lets his fingers play around with Cas' hair, lets his forehead rest against Cas' temple again, Castiel shutting his eyes and leaning to the touch in response.
"Can we talk about something else now?" Castiel asks, voice small.
"Okay baby, okay," Dean murmurs with a kiss to Cas' cheek. Castiel stays still for a moment, tense behind Dean, but slowly he turns his head, eyes cloudy, looking into Dean's worried gaze. Dean presses a gentle kiss to his mouth, Castiel letting out a small sigh, mouths barely touching but neither making any effort to move from the position.
A tapping at the glass door jolts them both, turning to see Sam rolling his eyes at them, having no idea as to what he's interrupted, "Hey love birds, the dinner's done!"
"Yeah, okay Sammy, we'll be there in a sec!" Dean shouts at him.
Sam nods at him, laughs at the two of them with a shake of the head before leaving them to it. Dean lets his gaze flicker back to Cas who's smiling now, probably from how annoying his little brother is. Dean pecks him on the mouth before slowly guiding Cas' arms from around his chest, Castiel letting him stand up from his hold. Castiel looks up at him, taking the hand that Dean is holding out for him. Dean pulls him up with ease and wraps his arms around Cas' waist, kissing him on the forehead. Castiel follows his lead, wrapping his own arms around Dean's torso, burying himself in Dean's neck.
Dean kisses Cas' hair and then smirks, only just realising something, "Hey, you told Chuck to shut off his prophecy shit tonight, does that mean I'm getting laid?"
Castiel huffs out a laugh into Dean's neck, leans out and arches an eyebrow at Dean, "If you're lucky."
"Awesome," Dean grins, feeling himself relax because Cas is smiling again and he doesn't waste time with that, lurching at Cas' mouth, kissing him tenderly, biting down gently on Cas' bottom lip.
Castiel breaks free and murmurs, "Dean, dinner."
"Yeah, okay," Dean sighs and lets go off Cas, taking Cas' hand again and leading them to the dining table where Chuck and Sam are already seated, helping themselves to the food that's laid out on the table.
"Decided to stop feeling each other up and join us then?" Sam quirks an eyebrow up, biting his lip to stop himself from laughing at his own freaking joke. God, Dean's little brother is a dork.
"Shut up Sam," Dean rolls his eyes.
He releases Cas' hold as they both sit down, grabbing any food that isn't salad because hey, it's the apocalypse and he can eat whatever the fuck he wants.
The dinner holds an easy conversation, Sam and Dean being the main talkers, though Chuck and Cas talk occasionally. Dean notices Chuck side eyeing Cas at times, making Dean assume that he'd already dreamt the conversation that Dean and Cas have just had, knowing that it had probably upset Cas. He makes sure to catch his gaze, giving him a thankful smile at how much Chuck seems to care about Cas, Chuck smiling back, relaxing somewhat when Cas laughs lightly at one of Sam's jokes.
When Dean has finished eating, he reaches out and lets his fingers glide against Cas' arm, up and down where he can see the veins from his wrist connect to his elbow. Castiel doesn't say anything, just looks up at him and smiles, taking Dean's hand into his own. And that's the precise time that Sam starts pretending to vomit because he acts like a freaking child so for that, he gets a well-deserved smack to the head from Dean before the dessert is brought out.
Once they've all had dessert, they all go to watch television. Dean kind of wants to talk to Sam about the plans for defeating Lucifer but he knows he can't bring up the subject when Cas is snuggled to his side. He can't make Cas talk about it again so he figures it'll have to wait till tomorrow or whenever he gets Sam alone.
After they've watched some shitty show on the discovery channel that Sam and Cas had enjoyed but Chuck and Dean had most definitely not, Cas takes his hand and takes him to their bedroom with a quick goodbye to Sam and Chuck. As soon as they're in the bedroom, Castiel attacks him with kisses, on his jaw and neck, slowly guiding Dean to the bed because he's still wary of Dean's stupid stitches. They both become a tangle of limbs after that, skin against skin, whispered pleads and broken moans into each other's mouths, until both of them come undone, holding on to each other when there's nothing but laboured breathing filling the air, Castiel's head resting on Dean's chest, their breathing slowing until they're both asleep.
"Dean!"
Dean jolts awake and cringes at the continuous screaming of his own name right into his ear. Desperately, he tries to ignore the pain of that and focus on the situation, focus on waking Cas up. Castiel screams his name again and he sits up with a start, still obviously not awake yet, still stuck in the dream that's terrifying him. Dean tries to get to him but Castiel thrashes around, eyes open but not seeing what's in front of him, his arm colliding with Dean's ribs with a hard thud, winding Dean for a moment.
"Cas!" Dean shouts after he recovers, gripping Cas' shoulders and shaking him slightly to make him wake up, to get him out of the nightmare. He's used to Cas' nightmares by now but none of them had involved Cas waking up screaming. Apart from the first one he'd encountered where Cas had had a panic attack, most of them involved Cas waking up panting and shaking, latching onto Dean as he recovered. And fuck, Dean can't help but think he caused it to get worse again by talking about Lucifer earlier.
Castiel's eyes finally go into focus, staring at Dean for a moment before realising where he is, who is in front of him, "De-Dean?"
"Yeah it's me Cas, you're okay, you're okay," Dean sighs, letting his hands guide to Cas' cheeks, pressing their foreheads together.
"Dean," Castiel starts but then he's crying, quick sharp bursts of sobs as he buries himself into Dean's chest. Gently, Dean wraps an arm around Cas' waist and the other around the nape of Cas' neck, letting it make slow calming motions to try and calm Cas, to let him know that he's here, that they're okay.
The door to their bedroom suddenly slams open, Sam standing there with a shotgun, eyes alert, probably thinking that Cas' desperate screams of Dean's name had meant they were in danger. Sam falters when he sees what's in front of him. Even then, Castiel doesn't move from Dean's hold, doesn't even seem to notice that the door has been thrown open. Sam looks at Dean questionably, probably wondering what the fuck is going on which Dean supposes is a good question.
"It's alright Sammy, we're fine, go back to sleep," Dean says, nodding at Sam to let him know that he's not lying, that he can leave them. Sam gives him a worried glance before leaving, shutting the door behind him.
With that out of the way, Dean lets out a shaky breath and kisses Cas' hair, "It's okay baby, it was just a dream."
Castiel shudders in his hold, his fists balled against Dean's chest, head buried in Dean's chest still, "I hate it Dean, I hate having to sleep, having to dream, my mind using the worst of my memories and forcing me to relive it. I hate it all."
"I know baby, I know. I know how you feel and I wish I could stop it all for you, I really do. You don't deserve this Cas, none of it," Dean murmurs, hating himself because he's the reason that Cas is like this, the reason he has to sleep and keep reliving Dean's death.
Castiel leans out of Dean's chest, sighing heavily before reaching forward and kissing Dean roughly. Dean lets him. He knows that this is what Cas needs after the nightmares, what he always does when he's woken up from them. It's like he needs to remind himself that Dean's still there beside him, that he hasn't disappeared from him, not yet. Castiel stops the kiss after a while, his fingers slowly gliding down Dean's chest. He stops short, eyes widening when his hands reach Dean's ribs, making Dean tense under his fingers.
"Did I hit you?" Castiel asks, voice small, fingers hovering over the red mark on Dean's skin.
"No big deal Cas," Dean kisses him on the forehead, desperate to make Cas not feel bad for this, he can't have another thing to feel guilty about, "I suppose I shouldn't have got in the way, I forget that you're angel with superhuman strength sometimes."
"I'm sorry," Castiel bites his lip, looking like he's about to cry again.
"Hey, like I said, no big deal. Remember, I did stab you once, first time we ever met," Dean nudges him, trying his best to distract Cas.
Dean relaxes when Castiel lets out a small smile, "Yes, and you shot me, several times if I recall correctly."
"Didn't really think that that would turn out to be this," Dean nuzzles his neck, feeling Cas relax under his touch, "That Castiel, who we had no freaking clue who or what he was, who turned around and told me he was a freaking angel of the lord would turn out to be the guy that would completely make me question my whole life, make me actually talk about my feelings and fucking spoon in bed."
"At least you're the bigger spoon," Castiel laughs shortly.
"Yeah, there's always that," Dean grins easily, kissing Cas quickly before murmuring, "Ready to go back to sleep baby?"
Castiel sighs but nods all the same. Dean kisses him quickly on the forehead before gently pulling him down with him onto the bed, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him as close as possible. Castiel automatically buries his forehead into Dean's chest, tangling his legs with Dean's.
For some reason Dean remembers when he was young, when he'd been struggling to sleep after having a nightmare, how his mother would sing Hey Jude to him, brushing her hand through his hair before he fell asleep again. Dean lets out a quick cough, feeling self-conscious, before humming the song into Cas' hair. Castiel seems to relax in his arms making Dean smile, silently thanking his mother for teaching him such a thing.
"Just go to sleep baby, I'll watch over you," Dean murmurs before humming the song again, waiting for Cas' breath to even out before he stops and shuts his eyes to sleep too.
Dean sleeps restlessly, endlessly waking up, Cas never stirring, softly snoring into his chest. Dean waits for the sun to start to rise, the light filtering through the curtains before he slowly extracts himself from Cas, kissing a still sleeping Cas on the forehead before leaving him, a plan set in his mind of how to make Cas be happy again. Dean pads his way to the kitchen, hoping that his plan could actually work, praying that Chuck has enough food in the fridge. Turns out he does and he's not sure whether this is due to Cas filling it up before being stabbed in the chest or without Dean being aware, Chuck goes shopping for groceries. Either way, Dean doesn't care as long as there's enough food.
"Hey," Sam says, appearing at the doorway, "You're up early."
"Yep, what the fuck are you doing up so early?" Dean raises an eyebrow though it's clear as to what Sam's been doing, sweat running down his forehead, coating his t-shirt, making Dean wrinkle his nose, "You're seriously still doing the whole morning jog thing?"
"I don't know whether you noticed Dean but we're in the apocalypse and in a few days we're going to be taking on Lucifer, you really think that this would be the best time for me stop trying to stay in shape?" Sam retorts.
"Whatever Sammy," Dean rolls his eyes, realising now is the best time to tell Sam of their killing Lucifer plan, "Oh, talking about Lucifer-"
"As you do," Sam mutters.
"Right," Dean sighs, "So, when I get my stitches out we're getting this whole Lucifer killing thing sorted."
"Do we have a plan?" Sam raises an eyebrow, still eyeing Dean warily as he chops up tomatoes, looking at him like he's grown a second head or something.
"Yes, we have a plan. Cas is going to summon Lucifer in the warehouse that we summoned Gabriel. Lucifer won't see or feel us or whatever because of the sigils Cas put on us. Cas is going to distract him and then I'm going to sneak up and stab him in the neck," Dean grins at the thought of that. He hopes Lucifer will feel the fucking pain. He really fucking hopes that having your grace disintegrate is really fucking painful, make him feel half the pain that he'd made Cas feel.
"But how do we know Lucifer will actually show? And surely he'll think we're there with Cas even if he can't feel us?" Sam asks with a frown.
Dean sighs, trying to figure out how to tell him that Lucifer won't think Dean will be there because he thinks he's dead without you know, telling Sam that Lucifer thinks Dean's dead.
"Look, he'll show and he won't think we're there, trust me on this," Dean says, "Do you trust me Sam?"
"Of course I do," Sam says, frowning harder.
"Then trust me when I say that this plan is going to work," Dean replies.
"Okay then," Sam replies instantly, making Dean smile at how easy it is for Sam to trust him, to believe in him.
"Good," Dean smiles, getting back to the food.
"Okay, I've got to ask, what the hell are you doing?" Sam asks, gesturing to the food, changing the subject much to Dean's relief.
Dean feels himself blush and attempts to say as nonchalantly as possible, "Making a picnic for me and Cas."
"A picnic?" Sam asks, sounding very much like he wants to laugh, making Dean scowl at him and grunt back, "Yeah a picnic. I'm going to go take him out to the beach. I think we both need some fresh air or else we're going to go insane."
"Okay," Sam grins, looking like he wants to tease Dean some more but then he gets his serious, 'let's talk about feelings now' face, "What was that last night Dean?"
"Sammy," Dean warns because he doesn't want to talk about this.
"Look, I know it's none of my business but that was- that was pretty intense Dean. I thought you were being attacked, he was screaming so loud," Sam frowns.
"It's nothing Sam, he's fine, we're fine, just leave it," Dean tells him, finishing the conversation.
"Okay," Sam sighs, obviously realising they're not fine but he doesn't say anything else on the matter and instead gives him a light smile, "Want help with the picnic?"
"Nah, I'm finished now, thanks though," Dean looks up at Sam and smiles to tell him that he's not mad at him, "I better hurry up and go take this to the beach actually before Cas wakes up."
"Okay, see you later Dean," Sam smiles, patting him on the shoulder as Dean shoves all the food into the basket he had found in the storage room (something that he assumes Chuck had put there for him, already knowing his plans. The whole idea of someone dreaming about what you're going to do before you do it sometimes has its perks.)
"Go shower Sam, you stink," Dean pulls away from Sam, making Sam shove him in the shoulder before stalking off.
It doesn't take long for Dean to find a nice spot to put the blanket and food, placing it there in the shade, away from the vision of Chuck's house. He silently thanks Cas for choosing this house with the private beach for Chuck's new abode.
Once he's happy with everything, he jogs back to the house, quickly makes an array of different things for breakfast, quietly thinking as to how truly whipped he is but not finding the effort to care. It's Cas and he deserves all the good things he can, especially after last night. They deserve one good day, both of them. They both deserve to have a happy day where they can just forget everything.
He places the croissants, pancakes and fruit on a tray, pouring two glasses of orange juice, carefully picking it up, wary of making the drinks spill. He opens the door with his elbow, shutting the door with his hip. He can't help but grin at the sight that's before him. Cas is sitting up in bed, covers pulled down so Dean can just about see Cas' hip bones, hair matted around his head, blue eyes wide.
"Morning Cas," Dean smiles at Cas' bleary frown, "Just got up?"
"Yes," Castiel nods, gesturing to the tray, "What's that?"
"Breakfast," Dean grins, carefully placing the tray on Cas' lap, "Thought I'd treat you to breakfast in bed."
Castiel smiles, eyes wide as he grabs Dean by the waist to kiss him, "Thank you Dean."
"You're welcome," Dean smiles before he climbs onto the bed, shuffling under the covers to join Cas, grabbing a croissant, "But this is just the start."
"The start?" Castiel asks, slightly distracted by the pancakes in front of him, humming in contentment when he takes a bite.
"Yeah, I've got a whole day planned full of fun," Dean winks at him.
"Fun?" Castiel asks, looking so very confused, his forehead crinkling.
"Yeah, fun," Dean rolls his eyes, smiling affectionately, "Is that a foreign concept for you?"
"Shut up Dean," Castiel mutters as an answer, Dean nudging him in the ribs lightly for that, getting a small smile off Castiel for it.
"Hey, I can cancel the fun day if you act all bitchy," Dean says seriously before grinning, leaning in to kiss Cas on the lips, Castiel sighing into the kiss.
"What does this fun day entail?" Castiel asks once they've broken free.
"Now that would be telling," Dean says, waggling his eyebrows. Castiel ignores that and carries on trying to ask but he soon gives up, going back to his pancakes sulkily, trying not to smile when Dean kisses his bare shoulder up to his neck.
"I suppose I should shower before this day of fun, yes?" Castiel asks once he's finished with taking a bite from everything on the freaking plate. It's a good job that he's still got some angel juice in him or he'd be fifty stone.
"Yep, but I suppose," Dean murmurs, letting his lips brush against Castiel's as he smirks, "I could join you."
"I wouldn't expect anything different," Castiel smile, grabbing Dean by his cheeks and kissing him forcefully, biting at Dean's bottom lip. He breaks free with an impish grin, grabs Dean's hand and takes him to the bathroom, Dean yelping, not even noticing when the orange juice spills all over their bed, too busy with Cas mouth on him, freaking everywhere and seriously, not a lot of cleaning happens in that shower (not that Dean is complaining).
After a quick clean up, Cas smirking at him, they finally leave the bathroom, pulling on plain t-shirts and jeans. Cas starts to grab some socks but Dean stops him, "You don't need socks or shoes."
"What?" Castiel asks slowly, looking down at the socks in his hold.
"You don't need them baby, you'll understand in a minute," Dean grins, kissing Cas' temple as he drops the socks back into the drawer. Dean grabs Cas' hand, walking past Sam and Chuck who are rummaging around in the kitchen.
"Bye guys," Dean waves at them with his free hand. They both cheerfully say goodbyes, telling them to have fun, Cas muttering, "I would if I knew what we were doing."
Chuckling, Dean leads them down the stairs, straight onto the beach, Castiel's eyes widening in understanding as he looks down at the sand between his toes. Dean kisses his surprised mouth, leading them closer to the sea, hand in hand still, "You ever been to the beach before Cas?"
"I've never had occasion, I've saw a beach before obviously but never actually stood on one," Castiel replies, still looking slightly surprised at his surroundings as he keeps looking down at the sand below their feet.
Dean stops their strolling, wrapping his arms around Cas' waist, looking down at Cas with a smile, "Well, now you're finally here, do you like it?"
"Yes, but I like it especially because you are here with me," Castiel says, making Dean smile into the kiss that Cas initiates, knowing that Cas isn't just saying that for brownie points, he genuinely means it. He vaguely wonders if Cas would have still enjoyed himself even if he'd taken them to the sewers. Probably.
"Hmm, good answer. So that means you've never went into the sea?" Dean hums, nuzzling Cas' neck.
"No."
"Well we can soon change that," Dean grins at Cas' confused expression before grabbing onto Cas' hand and tugging them both to the water, not stopping until they're being enveloped by the waves to their knees. Castiel looks at the horizon in wonder, mouth parted slightly in awe, holding Dean's hand tightly like he's afraid he's going to be pulled away from him. For a moment Cas shuts his eyes and takes in a deep breath, a small secret smile on his face. Dean feels his own face breaking into a grin at how relaxed Cas looks and without a thought, he leans forward to kiss him on his temple. Castiel opens his eyes and looks over at Dean, mirroring Dean's grin, kissing him happily, grabbing Dean's other hand, trying to drag him further into the waves.
Dean halts him, faltering when Castiel frowns at him, "Cas, I can't, my stitches."
Dean curses his stupid fucking stitches and he really can't wait till they're fucking gone so he can do whatever he wants but Castiel just smiles at him, "I'll carry you."
"You'll what?" Dean laughs with surprise.
Castiel carries on smiling, turns his back on Dean and leans down, "Jump on my back."
"You're serious," Dean states, eyebrow raised.
"Jump on my back Dean," Castiel orders, clearly not taking no for an answer. With a laugh Dean jumps onto his back, wrapping his legs around Cas' waist, Cas grabbing onto them instantly. Dean wraps his arms around Cas' neck gently, reaching forward to kiss him on the cheek before resting his chin on Cas' shoulder.
"Giddy up then," Dean orders with a grin.
"What?" Castiel asks, confused.
Dean laughs harder, "I mean go."
Castiel nods in agreement, wading into the water, Dean holding on tightly as the waves lap against them both. Dean can't help but shriek when a large wave hits them, splashing his legs, but Cas doesn't seem perturbed by it, he just stands as still as a statue in the water, using his angelic strength to good use. And that's when Cas pretends to drop him, Dean dropping a couple of inches before Castiel pulls him back up again. Dean will never admit it to anyone but a girlish shriek escapes his throat, tightening his hold of Cas, very much wanting Cas to be devoured in the water for a moment as punishment but that would mean he would be devoured as well which he does not want so instead he growls, "You're such a dick."
"But you still love me," Castiel murmurs with a small smile.
"Guess I'm an idiot then," Dean retorts into Cas' ear.
"I'm not going to disagree on that one," Castiel smiles wider.
"Hey!" Dean shouts, goes to swat Cas but he realises he can't because his arms are wrapped around his neck like a fucking koala. He really hopes that Sam can't see this from the house or he's going to get the complete piss taken out of him when they get back.
"Come on, let's get out of the water," Castiel sighs, takes one last glance at the sea before turning his back on it, taking them back to the beach, "Are you going to get off?"
"Nope, going to guide you to our next destination," Dean kisses his cheek, suddenly feeling nervous at his picnic plan because fuck, what if Cas doesn't like it or thinks it's stupid? No, shut up brain, he'll love it.
"It's a good job I'm an angel and still have my angelic strength then," Castiel jokes, making Dean grin, remembering when Cas would never have thought to make a joke, would have just looked at him blankly and took them both there. Cas is becoming more and more human, and not just physically, every day and right here, right now, it doesn't seem quite as terrifying.
"Like I said before, you're a dick," Dean replies, pointing one arm to where the picnic is hidden from their view, "It's just over there."
"What's just over here?" Castiel asks, frowning but he starts to walk slowly in that direction.
"Wait and see," Dean remarks, grinning against Cas' cheek as Cas walks quicker, stopping short when they finally reach their destination. Dean jumps off Cas' back and walks to the food. He looks back at Cas' face, feeling himself blush at how Cas stares at the blanket like it's the holy grail or something.
"You did all this?" Castiel asks, looking up to Dean's expression and even though Cas has super angelic strength, Dean's pretty sure he could tap him and he'd fall over in shock.
"Uh-huh," Dean smiles, walking forward and wrapping his arms around Cas' neck.
"When?" Castiel asks, still looking like he's in a state of awe.
"While you were sleeping, you sleeping for twelve hours every night like a log has finally come in handy," Dean nudges Cas with his hips, kissing Cas on the cheek.
Castiel blinks at him, "I love you Dean."
"You better," Dean winks, grinning, "I didn't go to all this trouble for nothing," he lowers his gaze to Cas' wet clothes, "Now take off your pants."
That seems to bring Cas back into reality, tilting his head at the remark, "Wait, what?"
"They're soaked," Dean grins.
"Oh," Castiel's face reddens as he looks down at his soaked jeans, "Only if you take yours off as well."
"Deal," Dean smirks, more than eager to follow Cas and tug his jeans off, throwing them to the side. Castiel pulls his t-shirt off too, momentarily distracting Dean before he tugs off his own t-shirt, both wearing nothing but their boxers. Dean can't help but attack Cas' mouth, Cas giving him access easily, moaning into Dean's mouth as Dean's fingers trail down Cas' chest. With difficulty, Dean stops the kiss, grabbing Cas' hand and pulling them down onto the blanket, Castiel letting him.
For someone that doesn't need to eat, Cas sure eats a lot, making downright filthy sounds as he tries the different foods, sampling everything, though seeming to enjoy the more sugary foods making Dean love him even more.
"Cas, again, really?" Dean complains though he smiles all the same.
"Please Dean?" Castiel asks with wide eyes, tugging at Dean's hand, practically pouting.
"Come on then," Dean rolls his eyes, letting himself be dragged to the sea for the fifteen thousandth time, not that he really minds, anything to make Cas smile. Castiel just stands in the water, gripping onto Dean's hand tightly, staring out into the sea, the sun starting to set. All of their journeys to the sea end the same, Cas wrapping himself around Dean, kissing him gently, Dean's hand finding Cas' hair and pulling him closer, their chests trapped together.
"Come on baby," Dean murmurs, pecking him on the mouth one final time before dragging him back to the blanket, Castiel huffing out a sigh but following him anyway. Dean lies down onto the blanket, pulling Cas down on top of him, Castiel's head resting against his chest. Dean wraps his arms around his waist tightly, smiling when Cas makes small patterns on Dean's chest absentmindedly.
Dean looks up at the sky, surprised at how quickly the day has left them, stars starting to take over the sky, so many more than what they can normally see in the cities of America. Dean sighs, tightening his hold of Cas, "Guess we gotta head back soon."
"Yes, I suppose so," Castiel agrees with a sigh of his own.
"Enjoy yourself today Cas?" Dean asks.
"Yes, thank you Dean," Castiel smiles secretively, watching his fingers glide against Dean's chest.
"Good," Dean smiles too, glad to have made Cas smile, to let him forget everything and just be happy with him.
"Why did you do all this?" Castiel asks curiously, lifting his head and resting his chin on Dean's chest to look Dean in the eye with quiet confusion.
Dean's face falls, not wanting to say this, to ruin the moment, "I don't know, we never get to have days off to just enjoy ourselves you know? We deserve to at least have one day where we just relax and have fun. And well, tomorrow I'm getting my stitches out which means- it means we can't keep delaying it anymore Cas."
Castiel's face falls too. He bites his lip but nods in agreement, fingers reaching for Dean's hand that's wrapped around Cas' waist, Dean grabbing on to his hand tightly, curling their fingers together. Castiel smiles at that and presses their slotted fingers to his lips.
"It's gonna work right?" Dean asks quietly because he knows what Chuck had said, knows that everyone and everything says he's going to be able to do it but he needs to hear it from Cas, needs to hear that Cas believes in him.
"Yes," Castiel replies, reaching up and kissing him softly, "It's going to work."
"Yeah, okay," Dean nods, exhaling slowly because that's all he needs, the knowledge that Cas believes that he can do this, is so sure of it. That belief will give him the strength to prove him right.
"We should go back to Chuck's now," Castiel murmurs. Dean knows that he's right, that they should head back, that tomorrow is going to be a big day. He's getting his stitches out and they're going to have to finalise their plans but even so, he still doesn't want to move. He wants to stay here with Cas forever, their own personal Heaven.
"Just give it a couple more minutes."