Hey lovely SPN folk!
Again just a quick note to say there is a lot of dialogue in this chapter, I do apologise for it…but lot's of stuff needs explaining lol Just hope it all makes sense to you all. If not, just ask some Q's and I'll try to answer them!
Also just to say this IS the penultimate chapter, so prepare for the end with Chapter 26!
Keep reading and reviewing, it means a whole lot! You guys rock x
Chapter 25
"Home sweet…"
Dean started to cry out as he hobbled through his front door, but paused when he took in the state of the house and scrunched up his nose.
"…home?"
Bobby pushed into the house, dropping Dean's bag by the front door and shrugged giving the older Winchester a sheepish look.
"Sorry boy but looking after your kid brother full time takes its toll on an old man like me…didn't have chance to come tidy the place up for you coming home"
"I should have done it…I didn't think" Cas said, following both men into the house and dropping Dean's other bag on the floor.
"Ah don't sweat it, this place is a dump anyways" Dean muttered, moving over to his couch, still unsteady on his feet after his injury but doing much better after a couple of weeks in hospital.
Dean was just glad to be home, glad to be alive and hoping his road to recovery would be a quick one. In all honesty he felt fine, but he had to rest for at least another week or two…doctors orders.
"Suppose I could give a quick tidy round before Sammy gets home from school…" Dean started, but was stopped when Cas flopped down on the couch next to him and glared.
"You should be resting, Bobby and I can clean around…you need to relax, put your feet up and do…well nothing!" He scolded, pointing a warning finger at his boyfriend, who rolled his eyes in response.
Castiel had visited Dean every single day in hospital for the past couple of weeks and stuck by his promise to be there when Dean was finally discharged.
Dean couldn't wait to get back to normal with Cas, back to work, back to life, back to his sex life which right now he missed dearly. But he couldn't help but notice Cas was a lot quieter these past couple of weeks…understandable given the circumstances, but he could practically feel the worry radiating off his boyfriend.
"Hey Cas…you gonna stay over tonight?" Dean asked hopefully.
Cas stiffened slightly and shifted in his seat.
"Probably not the best idea…you need your rest."
Dean pouted and nudged Cas in the arm.
"But I miss waking up with you…"
The corner of Cas' lips twitched into a small smile.
"I've missed that too…but I also know you're extremely horny after some of the things you told me yesterday…so sharing a bed with you right now…not the best idea…no sex until the last lot of stitches come out in a week…doctors orders remember?"
Bobby shuffled around the living room and rolled his eyes.
"Still in the room…"
Dean chuckled lightly and Cas flushed with embarrassment before mumbling his apologies to Bobby.
"Ok fine, but I do want you to stay over…no funny business I promise." Dean sighed in defeat, raising his hands in the air.
"And I will…but in all honesty Dean, I have some things I need to sort out urgently…" Cas stood abruptly from his seat, before leaning down and placing a kiss on Dean's cheek before heading for the front door.
"…I'll check in when I'm done."
Dean shook his head suddenly confused and tried to get up from his seat, his stitches twisting slightly and caused him to wince in pain, so he called after Cas.
"What? Wait…CAS…when will that be?...CAS"
Castiel was already out of the door before Dean could get a response and he flopped back onto the couch feeling a little rejected by Cas' sudden departure.
Bobby frowned at the singer's behaviour and followed him out of the door.
"Hold up boy…" Bobby called after Cas, who didn't stop in his tracks until Bobby grabbed hold of his arm.
"…What the hell was that?"
Cas sighed loudly and glanced at the concrete floor.
"I just have some things I need to think about now Dean is out of hospital"
Bobby eyed him in suspicion and let go of his arm.
"Like what exactly?"
"I'm not sure yet…I just have some thinking to do…don't worry about it." Cas said with a deadpan expression, staring into Bobby's eyes.
"I do worry son…that boy is family to me, if you're planning on breaking his heart…I think I deserve to know, cause I'll be the idjit that has to pick up the pieces" Bobby snapped, meeting Cas with a glare and forcing him to avert his gaze.
Castiel looked at the floor sadly and shuffled his feet.
"You think I will break Dean's heart…"
"Well that's what it damn well sounds like…if not that then what?"
The singer brought his gaze up to meet with Bobby's and shook his head sadly.
"I don't know…my head is just a little messed up right now. I need to sort out some stuff…"
Castiel mumbled his words, before turning his back on Bobby and stalking down the path towards his car.
"What stuff? CASTIEL?" Bobby called after the singer, but he ignored the older man and simply got in his car to drive away.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Dean dialled Cas' number again for what felt like the 100th time in the past 3 days, only to be yet again greeted by the sound of his awkward voicemail message.
The older Winchester growled in frustration, throwing his phone on the coffee table. He was starting to worry about his boyfriend, having not heard from him at all these past few days.
Sam flopped down on the couch next to Dean. He glanced to his brother's cell phone lying on the table and frowned.
"Still nothing?" Sam asked sadly.
Dean shook his head slowly and rolled his eyes at Sam's pity stare.
"Nothing…just hope he's ok"
Bobby came down the stairs in time to hear and scoffed slightly, earning a glare from Dean, before continuing into the kitchen to rustle up some dinner.
"I'm sure he's fine…" Sam started to re-assure Dean, when a knock on the door stopped him.
All 3 of them shared a look of curiosity before Bobby marched towards Dean's front door and flung it open to reveal Castiel standing there.
"The wanderer returns" Bobby stated, shaking his head slightly at Cas.
"I need to see Dean…" Cas said, jumping straight to the point.
Dean heard the familiar voice and immediately jumped up as best he could and hobbled slightly towards the door.
"Cas?…Cas…hey where the hell have you been?" Dean said in urgency as he reached the front door, a huge sigh of relief leaving him.
"I have been sorting some things out…but I do need to talk with you. Can we speak in private?"
Dean's stomach lurched at the comment and he couldn't help but fear the worse, given Cas had disappeared for 3 days and had been 'sorting things out'. He nodded his head and muttered 'of course' before stepping aside and letting Cas in.
"Sam…let's go out for a little while, give the boys some time" Bobby suggested to the younger Winchester, who immediately nodded and grabbed his jacket.
Once Bobby and Sam left the house, silence fell between the two men and Dean shuffled awkwardly.
"Umm, we should go sit then…do you want a drink?" Dean asked, motioning towards the couch.
"I'm fine thank you and you should be taking it easy. Let's sit." Cas said, shaking his head and following Dean to the couch.
Dean shifted nervously on the couch and chanced a look at his boyfriend who looked just as nervous; he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I was starting to worry…I couldn't get hold of you…"
Cas looked at Dean sadly, feeling a huge amount of guilt weighing on him and he nodded his head.
"I'm sorry, I should have called. I didn't mean to worry you…I've just been extremely busy these past few days."
Dean felt a pang of hurt in his heart, feeling a little rejected with Cas' behaviour and the fact he was too 'busy' to speak with him.
"Ok…I guess sorry for bothering you?"
Castiel's head shot back up to look at Dean and he immediately shook his head, moving closer to his boyfriend.
"No…no that's not what I meant. It's just…god Dean I don't know where to start…"
"How about the truth" Dean stated, meeting Cas with a cold stare.
The singer nodded and took a deep breath before explaining himself.
"In all honesty…I panicked. I knew when you finally left hospital, we would have to carry on as normal and that frightened me. Part of that normality for you was wanting to return to your job…as my bodyguard. So I panicked, I didn't want you to get hurt again and I know we have been over this Dean but I couldn't stop thinking about it…the more I thought about it, the more I worried…"
Dean frowned in confusion, taking in all the information thrown at him and Cas continued.
"…I nearly walked away. I considered it…leaving you behind to get on with a normal life, away from me…away from this lifestyle surrounding your job and surrounding me. I figured if I walked out of your life, you wouldn't be at risk anymore, wouldn't have to put up with crazy stalkers or dealing with paparazzi, any of it…"
"What? Shouldn't I get a say in this too?"" Dean breathed out, panic of his own now settling in his stomach.
"…But I couldn't do it. I love you too much to just leave, even if it may be what's best for you and for Sam too..."
Cas continued ignoring Dean's panic and watching him sigh in relief when he finished.
"…I just want to be honest with you, get it all out there. I decided I couldn't walk, we have something special and I don't want to let that go. But there will have to be some changes Dean…I…I'm really sorry but you're fired"
Dean's mouth dropped open slightly in shock, not quite knowing what to say.
"Woah wait a second…this is Crowley's doing right? I knew it…that son of a bitch, I save your life and this is my thanks…I need this job Cas, I have to support Sammy…"
Cas held up his hand to stop Dean and shook his head, looking to the floor.
"This isn't coming from Crowley…it's coming from me. I don't want you to be my bodyguard anymore Dean. Not if we're going to make this relationship work…Crowley and Bobby we're right to warn us. I couldn't go through this again…the risk of losing you, because of me..; I just can't do it Dean. Its boyfriend or bodyguard…but it can't be both"
"You're asking me to choose between my job and you?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.
The singer nodded, the ultimatum sounded a lot worse when Dean said it out loud.
Dean let out a small laugh and smiled, causing Cas to raise his head and look at him in confusion.
"I pick you…every time..." Dean said confidently, taking Cas' hand into his own.
Cas grinned and squeezed Dean's hand in response, shuffling closer to him.
"…and I do get it Cas. I get where you're coming from…but I still need a job, the work Bobby used to put me on before this…the money was terrible, it barely allowed me to keep this place afloat…let alone save for Sam's college tuition."
"Well that was something else I was sorting out…" Cas continued, now with a smile in place, knowing the hard bit of the conversation was over.
Dean's curiosity peaked and he urged Cas to explain.
"…my uncle Zach, he used to own the classic car garage…the one on the outskirts of town? It's been around for years, a well established business with good workers…the only one for miles that can fix up and sell classic cars…"
"I know the exact place, hell it's where Dad bought the impala! Those guys are great." Dean said with a smile and nod in acknowledgement.
"Well he eventually sold it on to my cousin Jimmy…he's been running it for the past 10 years, but is looking to sell up and move to California…not to bore you with too much detail but basically…yesterday I kind of…bought the garage…"
A small amused smile graced Dean's face at the thought of Castiel owning a car garage.
"You bought it? What the hell for?"
Cas smiled, looking right into Dean's eyes as he spoke.
"For you, I want you to run it for me Dean."
Dean's eyes went comically wide and he stuttered slightly, shaking his head. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing from Cas…one minute he is fired, the next he has the opportunity to run his own garage? It was way too much information to take in one go.
"I'm sorry what? Are you serious?"
"It's a very good job, it will earn you good money and the clientele is very generous. It's well established and has its regulars; it does very well and makes profit. You said it was your dream to have your own garage…What do you think?"
"I can't believe you would do this for me…" Dean gaped in shock, not knowing what to say. Before he could answer Cas interrupted again.
"That's not all…"
"It's not?"
"I want you to come and live with me. Well…you and Sam of course."
The shocks kept on coming and Dean couldn't quite believe his eyes could stretch this wide.
"You're asking me to move in with you? Cas dude…I'm still reeling from the last offer, this is huge"
Castiel chuckled and bit his lip, every part of him screaming inside and hoping Dean would say yes.
"It would be closer to the garage, closer to Sam's school and it's secure. You could sell this place and use the money made for Sam's college fund. He could have his own room, there's plenty of them to choose from…so could you if you wished, although…kind of hoping you would share mine" Cas waffled his words quickly, finishing with a shy smile.
The adoring grin on Dean's face could have split it in two; he grabbed Cas and pulled him into a hug.
"You really have thought of everything" Dean mumbled into his boyfriend's shoulder.
"Is that a yes?"
"That is a hell yes to both offers, thank you so much Cas…" Dean pulled back and cupped Cas' face with his hands, placing a long, hard kiss on his lips.
"…Of course I'd have to run it by Sam…but I'm sure living it up in a celebrity house with a full college fund to look forward to won't be his idea of hell, he will love it."
Cas smiled widely and kissed Dean again.
"That is great news."
"You sure had me worried there for a while Cas. Just promise me something?"
"Anything"
"Next time you wanna think things through…ask me first? Don't just run off alone, k?" Dean asked, smirking in amusement.
"Of course, I'm sorry Dean, I love you" Cas smiled sheepishly.
"I love you too…a stupid amount right now." Dean grinned, running his hand teasingly up the inside of Cas' thigh.
"Easy cowboy…still no sex until them stitches are out." Cas said, smirking.
Dean pouted, letting his eyes roam hungrily over Cas and pushed his hand further up his boyfriend's leg.
He pushed down with his palm on Cas' length through his jeans, causing the singer to gasp in pleasure and leant forward to whisper in his ear.
"Fine…but know that the moment these stitches are out. I will show you my full appreciation"