A/N - A very long chapter for the most amazing readers ever.
"So, the green one then," Sam held up a pair of trunks plastered with lush green leaves. He frowned. "Or the red ones? Because I'm feeling the red ones too."
"Then maybe you should buy both," Cas smiled as he pawed through a rack of t-shirts. His hand paused on a black armless one of the softest material with the word 'Tiger' in yellow. And he thought silently how Dean would appear quite sexy in a such a piece that Cas decidedly slipped it off the hanger and draped it onto his arm.
"I need boxers," Sam's lanky form was quite visible above the many racks of clothing. He raked his fingers through silky hair and quickly narrowed his eyes at his best friend's smiling face. "You okay there, bro?"
"Yes," Cas yanked another shirt off the hanger; one the exact shade of Dean's eyes with the words 'I'm Taken' on the front in white. "What do you think of these?" he handed over what he had discovered.
"Man," Sam smiled from ear to ear after assessing the choices. "I can't wait to see his reaction. You gonna put these as Christmas gifts?"
"I should."
The taller Winchester laughed. "I feel like my mischievousness is growing on you. We hang out too much, you know?"
They walked through a cluster of male mannequins dressed in formal attire and eventually wandered into the lady's department. Sam, of course, suddenly welcomed a gleeful look upon his face.
"Maybe I should buy him a Cat woman suit for Christmas," he said gloriously.
"No," Cas shook his head although smiling in confusion. "Dean would not like that very much. I think he would prefer an Elsa costume."
Both of them ended up laughing loudly that a few of the salesclerks threw puzzled looks in their direction.
"They're probably wondering why two dudes are giggling like crazing among racks of panties and bras," Sam snorted as he held up a sexy red lingerie number with heart shaped holes in the cups of the bra. "Do you prefer these?"
"I think you'd wear it better," Cas played along.
"Oh no," Sam pressed the bra onto his puffed-out chest. "I don't think it's my size."
"Maybe they have an extra-large in inventory."
Both of them guffawed until the security guard slowly approached them and winding through the racks of clothing, they narrowly escaped after cashing out in haste.
Finding Dean inside the mall was really like finding a needle in a haystack. Both of them searched high and low and after giving up, Sam and Cas settled onto two chairs in front of a café breathless. The aroma of fresh coffee wasn't tempting to either of them since Sam was more of a green tea kind of guy and Cas had adapted to the same taste as well. In fact, both of them appeared quite sophisticated sipping teas from fine china and adding cubes of sugar. People all around them were casting either confused looks or adoration in their eyes.
"I keep thinking of the cashier's face when she checked out the shirts," Sam said smiling. "Most likely thought we were a couple from the 'I'm Taken' one."
"She did look very constipated," Cas thought about it as he tried to conceal the gift bag inside a black plastic bag.
"Here, let me keep those," Sam offered, holding out a hand, "will make Dean think that it's stuff I bought."
"Thanks," Cas handed over the bags and sat back, "do you think he'll be able to find us here?"
"I mean, we're basically in the middle of the place," Sam said looking around at the droves of people pushing past each other. Last minute shopping for Christmas usually brought out everyone. "He's got to see us. Look. There he is." After waving, Sam's eyes settled on Cas' face, only to drink in the utter look of adoration in those blue ones.
"I couldn't find anything for either of you," Dean jogged over and settled onto a chair in the middle of his brother and Cas. "So, I bought boring cards instead."
"Really? Cards come in bulky shapes now?" Sam considered the two hefty red bags tied off securely. "What are those? Gimme…"
Slapping his brother's hand away from his purchases, Dean turned his reassuring smile at Cas. "Hi, gorgeous."
Immediately melting from the greeting, a blush dusted Cas' cheek and he turned away, awkwardly smiling. "Hi, Dean."
"You two make me so mellow," Sam rested his face on his palms, elbow propped on the table and he sighed. "I'm beginning to melt like Olaf."
"Ha!" Dean pointed at his brother and scoffed at Cas, "see? I told ya! He's seen the movie too."
After ordering two teas: chai for Sam then honey and ginger for Cas, the hunter settled into two steaming cups of coffee as anticipated. Brewed to perfection and topped off with a bagel covered in cream cheese, Dean was way beyond contented by the time the garden salad and ham sandwich arrived on plates for the other two men. And when Cas stalled on digging into his meal, Dean had to remind him that within five minutes if he didn't make a move, there would be nothing on Cas' plate.
Sam, however, was suddenly blushing at his phone, and tapping away at the screen, both Cas and Dean peered over like concerned parents.
"Is that the Game of Thrones chick you're sexting?" Dean asked, chewing on a triangle of ham he had stolen from Cas' sandwich.
Trying to compose himself, Sam shook his head. "Nah, it's this girl I met on Facebook. She wants to meet me and – I don't know why I'm nervous about it. I mean, we've video chatted several times so –"
"Hmm," Dean offered a smug look as he gestured for his brother's phone to be handed over. "Let me see, and then Cas and I will pass our final judgement."
Willingly, Sam released his mobile and awaited the verdict as his two 'parents' leaned in closer, shoulders touching, to make their general assessments.
"Too short?" Dean turned to consider Cas whose face was an inch away from his. The other man nodded and then he latched his piercing blue eyes on the younger Winchester. "I figure that her looks might distract everyone from his ugly face. What do you think?"
"I am not contributing to that," Cas squeezed their shoulders closer together and grinned. "Mala is a nice name."
"If Mala is even her real name," Dean countered. "Says here she studied bio chem. Worked for Loreal and she has two cats."
"Sam," Cas slipped the phone out of the older Winchester's grasp and handed it over with a warming smile, "any woman who owns more than one cat is a keeper."
"See?" Sam gestured at Cas with a gratifying smile, "you get it! She's loving and warm and an introvert like me, so we get each other. Plus, she's into the green regime; in terms of eating habits, the planet…"
"You two might starve each other to death," Dean said gruffly. "Can't screw each other as much when you're not getting some good energy from burgers and whatever else is on the high cholesterol menu."
"I'm not sure about that, Dean," Cas frowned at the man by his side. "I lean more towards Sam's healthy lifestyle and I have an endless amount of energy when it comes to screwing you."
When Dean choked on his coffee, Sam guffawed, slapping the table and praising Cas for his beautiful comeback. Their bond was endless, Sam and Cas. And on most days, they really spent too little time with each other to really appreciate their similarities.
"Dude, like…" Sam dabbed at his mouth with a square of tissue, eyes gleaming, "you are so freaking awesome. I'm glad to have you in our lives, man. Really glad. Also, glad that you managed to kick some sense into Dean's head so that he finally saw the truth."
"And that is?" the older Winchester tried to snatch the remaining sandwich from Cas' plate and his hand was lashed away.
"You're totally gay for Cas," Sam said marveling over them appearing like a married couple already. "Like, completely into him, you should see the way your face changes when you look at him. I've seen that look a thousand times but now, it's like you're looking at the most beautiful thing in the entire universe. And it's adorable."
"I don't do adorable, Sam. But thanks anyway. Cas, I want the damn sandwich," Dean actually pouted when the other man folded his arms over the plate protectively. "Why are you being so mean to me?"
"You've already had an unhealthy bagel," Cas protested in a very gentle voice. "I want you to live for a long time, Dean. I don't want you to die from an illness brought on by you chugging calories into your body. Think of me whenever you're trying to hug the calories. Do you want me to grow old without you by my side? Hmm?"
"See what he does to me?" Dean asked Sam in a softer tone, "every single time, when I drift away from the shore, he reels me back in with his freaking words. I swear, I'd do anything for him when he gives me that look."
"What look?" Cas' chest felt mushy.
Dean sighed. "When you look at me as if I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you."
"But you are," Cas tilted his head and offered up a very loving gaze. "I've told you over and over again, Dean. My life would be meaningless with you. Now let's stop before Sam suffers from a stroke."
For two weeks, everything about their lives settled into a comfortable feeling whilst dwelling alongside each other in the bunker.
Sam kept perusing the radar for cases, but none never showed up. Nothing out of the ordinary had been developing and for a while, the three of them welcomed the vacation.
They bonded over breakfast and dinner and then Sam dug into the many books inside the Men of Letters' library, as he learned a lot more about angels and demons and creatures that his father possibly had not encountered in his lifetime as a hunter. Like the lore from other parts of the map; South America, Central America. The Ole Higue and Moongazer. All the details thrilled him to be privileged to have access to such expansive information.
Dean and Cas on the other hand continued to take things slow to a point where the most blissful moments started with a kiss and ended with their hands in each other's pants. Since the night when they had showered together, they never explored that option again and it was something that troubled Cas the most.
He kept wondering if Dean was closing into his shell again. If the hunter was somehow lacking the interest to become intimate with him again and the more he thought about it, the more Cas acknowledged Dean's alternative avenues in showing his affection. And then Cas decided to label Dean as a hopeless romantic.
There were times when he did the smallest things that melted Cas' heart. Like adding a vase containing two roses on the table between them when they shared a meal alone. Or the way Dean tucked him in before settling onto his side of the bed. Most nights, Dean never slept until Cas wandered off into his dreams. Instead, the hunter stayed up and counted every single eyelash on the other man's face until he couldn't drown in love anymore.
Dean made attempts to switch his diet, phasing out the calories bit by bit and sharing different mixtures of tea with Cas in the morning. Their approach was more of an exciting one that Sam had suggested. They had bought an assortment of teabags and had tossed all of them into a canister. Then every single morning, either of them would shake the canister and pull out a random teabag. And mulling over random thoughts, Dean sipped his warm tea and his socked feet reached for Cas' bare ones under the table.
"Tell me again why you love me," Dean said one morning when the two of them were sharing extra peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Cas chewed and smiled. "Because your eyes remind me of the grass beside the loch in Scotland. Your smile melts away my fears. Your…hands entwined with mine makes me feel like I'm the luckiest man in the world. And you also have a beautiful package inside of your pants that drives me crazy."
"Cas!" Dean's cheeks turned crimson. Bowing his head, he reached for his cup of tea and tried to sip but couldn't swallow. "Dammit! Now I've lost my appetite."
"And mine has now extended to include you as an early lunch…"
"You…" Dean stared back, his jaw hanging open, "…flirt. Jesus, Cas. We made out less than six hours ago. It's 8am and I'm still raw from what your mouth did to me. Sam's been teasing me about the hickeys, and I have to turn up my collar every time I leave the bunker."
"You're the tastiest snack, Dean Winchester," Cas shrugged, collected his cup of tea and sipped, those beautiful blue eyes focused on emerald ones.
"I feel like I'm supposed to say thank you but then if I do, you might just get under the table and torment the living hell out of me," Dean shifted uncomfortably on his chair. "You really have a high sex drive, you realize that?"
"I'm quite proud of that," Cas smirked, resting his lips teasingly upon the rim of the cup. "I find myself becoming rather thirsty whenever I go down on you. Had it been biologically possible, by now I would probably be pregnant by—"
"La la la la laaaa!" Dean rose up from the table and sang loudly as he went to the sink. "Sleep alone tonight. Sending all my love on the wire. They say that the road ain't no place to start a family…."
"Dean."
"And loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be. Oh man," he gestured at Castiel whilst belting out the lyrics to Journey's song, "you stand by me. I'm forever yours. Faithfully."
"Dean!"
"Dun dun dunn dun," Dean dramatically strummed on an invisible guitar, eyes squeezed shut.
Cas rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "What an adorable idiot you are. You know, I should start recording you on my phone for future humiliating instances and—"
"Give me that!" Dean closed the distance between them and snatched the mobile away from Cas' hand. "Let's see what you have in your gallery."
"Dean! Don't," the other man protested, trying to grab his phone away from the older Winchester. However, he failed terribly and settling back into the chair, Cas concealed his eyes behind a hand, instantly feeling ashamed.
Emerald eyes pinched from a smile gradually filled with adoration when Dean tapped into Cas' gallery and discovered that there was an album with his name as the title. 49 pictures piqued his interest and sliding into the chair beside Cas, he tapped into the album and immediately marveled over the collection ranging from his sleeping face, to him nestled into the chair in the game room. There were also stills of the back of his head in the Impala and one with him sitting cross legged on the floor cleaning his gun.
"Man," Dean melted further after finding a very awkward photo of the two of them posing on a bench in the park about 8 years ago. Sam had taken the photo and the beauty in the details resided in the simplicity of identifying Cas' arm draped around the bench behind Dean, who was unconsciously leaning a little into an unsmiling Cas. "These are pretty awesome."
There was one video, probably from almost 9 years ago when Cas had obviously gotten his hands on his phone for the first time. Holding his breath, Dean bravely opened it up and braced himself for the rather handsome and youthful face of Castiel sitting on a sofa holding the phone at arm's length.
"So, I have…acquired a mobile device…"
"Dean, no!" Cas tried to grab the phone away, "please, don't look at that. It's very embarrassing to say the least and I said a few things that will –"
"Hush," Dean wrapped his fingers gently around the other man's wrist and sent him a soft look. "I've seen you naked, okay? There's nothing you could say at this point that would make me feel any less attracted to you. Because I'm already fully there."
Sighing, Cas shook his head, and shaded his eyes in shame.
Dean resumed the video.
"…and I have discovered that a video is a sequence of moving photos captured simultaneously. Earth has…changed quite a lot since my last visit. There are such things as boxers, which I am wearing currently from acquiring this vessel…" Castiel glanced down at himself and blinked. "And then there is a glorified tragedy by the name of Dean Winchester…"
"Oh really?" Dean sent Cas a smile. "I'm beginning to like this…"
"He is an enigma wrapped up in plaid and denim…his soul," Castiel swallowed, "is terribly flawed and somehow…the most beautiful miracle I have ever seen. From the first time I touched him in Hell, I felt something. I have never felt before. But this…confuses me tremendously because whenever I'm around him, I cannot fathom how a human could affect me in ways that are new and terrifying. Anna calls it…love. But we are not supposed to love. My mission on earth is to save Dean and to keep him safe. But how can I follow Heaven's rules when every time he looks at me I just…" Castiel glanced at something in the distance, "Uriel, I am making a video."
"How boring," the other angel said in the background. "We have new orders…"
"Goodbye," Castiel said stiffly in his gravelly voice.
The video ended and Dean's entire neck was covered in a deep blush. He tried to contain the depth of his adoration for Cas after their eyes met but nothing in the world could stop him from entwining their fingers.
"You said…that whenever I looked at you, you just…what was it, Cas?" Dean asked in a softer tone.
The other man's chest heaved, and he tried not to drown too much in the most beautiful shade of emerald. "Whenever you looked at me, I felt the brutal honesty of love. It wasn't physical at first. It was more of a feeling of connecting with you on a deeper level and trying to decipher why my celestial form was responding in that manner to a human."
"So, when you were a full fledge angel, you couldn't feel anything physical for me? Or emotionally?" Dean wondered out loud.
"It was minimal at first but then as time progressed, I grew to feel a lot of things for you regardless of my grace. You've changed me tremendously, Dean," Cas reached out and cupped the other man's face between his fingers. "I am one of the few angels who fell completely in love with a human and managed to hold on to that feeling for so many years without the feeling fading away. Other angels will never understand my capacity for loving you. They say that I am terribly flawed."
"Well you're not," Dean reached up and captured Cas' fingers between his warm ones. "You're beautifully made. In human form and as a celestial being. And yeah, I saw a lot of your celestial side when I had the Mark of Cain. Cas, it was like nothing I had ever seen before in my life. And your wings…just…wow. I'm always wondering how you hide them so well. Like, where are they right now as you're sitting here?"
"Curled around you," Cas admitted in his gravelly voice.
When Dean realized the truth behind the other man's words, with eyes widened, he glanced around him, as if searching for the shadowed form of the most beautiful wings he had ever cast his eyes on.
"I don't… but wait, since you've lost your grace, how do you still have them?"
Cas avoided eye contact and swallowed. He tried to control his breathing, trying to appear composed. "We never lose our wings when our grace fades," he said painfully to Dean. "They're always there."
"Can I see them?" Dean asked, completely oblivious to the shadows behind blue eyes.
"No," Cas shook his head and appeared defeated. "They're quite weak right now. I've lost most of my grace and the essence of my wings are barely there."
"Um…okay," Dean bowed his head and suddenly felt as the air between them was filled with tension and he couldn't understand why. He just couldn't and it deeply affected him until he tried to meet Cas' eyes and the other man lowered his pair. "What's happening?" he croaked, his fingers drumming lightly on the table.
"What do you mean?" Cas was fighting to appear unaffected.
Dean, however, was suddenly aware that something had shifted between them. "Cas look if it's because of me asking to see your wings, I'm sorry, I was just curious, is all. And I thought that it wouldn't be that big of a deal."
"It is," Cas said in a stiff tone. He sighed when emerald eyes widened. "It's nothing major, Dean. I'm just tired."
"Of what?" Dean stared back. "Of me?"
"Never," and rising from the table, Cas' feet padded softly upon the floor as he went to the sink. "There are just some things that make me uncomfortable. Like showing you my wings."
"But Cas…"
"Dean, no!" the other man said in a frustrated tone, with his back to the hunter. "I don't want to show you. The end. I'm going to take a shower." And without sticking around for another second, Cas left the kitchen, with Dean completely flabbergasted.
He was so confused at that point, for the rest of the day, there was nothing Dean could do that would fade away the prickly feeling. Of probably saying the wrong things again. Of knowing that Cas was hiding something from him. Because he was certain now.
Repeatedly as the hours rolled by after their conversation and the more he thought about it, Dean really believed that something had not been said. And because Sam had drowned himself in a shitload of books about angels recently, Dean found him in the library, closed the door and sunk into a chair.
"What's up?" the taller Winchester frowned at his brother's haggard demeanor. "You look crappy."
"Gee, thanks," Dean smiled stiffly and folding his arms, he sat back with a sigh. "I need your help."
Sam, of course, was immediately interested. Marking his place in the thick volume of lore from South America, he folded his arms on the table and gave his brother his full attention. Then after some time when Dean merely sat before him, evidently stewing in a pit of worry, Sam cleared his throat and offered a sympathetic look.
"It's…Cas," Dean said softly, shifting uncomfortably in his chair because he didn't know how to broach the topic. "This morning, I kind of asked him to see his wings and he freaked out."
"Fetish of yours?" Sam joked but failed terribly. The look in his brother's eyes went flat. "Alright, bad timing. I'm sorry," he held up his hands. "What happened exactly?"
"Well he told me that his grace is too weak, and his wings are not in a good state and he can't show them to me because it makes him uncomfortable."
Sam nodded slowly. "Understandable. Dean if Cas has lost almost all his grace by now, then his wings would be broken in a lot of ways. From what I've read, overtime as an angel loses its grace, its connection to Heaven becomes weaker. And since their grace fuels their celestial being, wings and all, everything slowly dies away."
"So, he's dying?" Dean croaked as his throat ached. "Is that it?
"Not necessarily. Remember when he fell from Heaven and lost all his grace? He still survived. He was pretty okay. He's just more human now than a celestial being because of many contributing factors. For instance, he told me that the power of Heaven has been fading tremendously and Chuck being the dick he is, isn't helping much. The only source out there who could make new angels and restore the lights in Heaven is an arch angel or Jack."
"I wish that he would talk to me about that part of his life a little more, that's all," Dean appeared crestfallen. "Most times it seems as if I'm only talking about me."
"You just got to ask the right questions," Sam assured him, fingering the gold coated page edges. "I ask him boldly whenever I want to know more. Like recently, I've been asking him a bunch of questions about Heaven. Like what it's like and so far, he's been giving me all the replies."
"Yeah, but you're his best friend in a bro way," Dean sighed. "I feel like because we're in a relationship, and we're sleeping together, we've started taking certain things for granted. Like I'm becoming too comfortable with the idea of just having him right now that everything else around me doesn't matter. Chuck, for instance. We're supposed to be finding a way to defeat him and all I'm doing is ignoring the whole world."
"Dean, if Cas holds back on telling you something, then it doesn't mean that he loves you less. It takes a hell of a long time to get to know someone completely."
"I've known him for a little over 10 years, Sam," Dean reminded his brother. "How much longer do we need?"
"Truthfully? There are some things about Cas that you really don't know about," Sam offered a sad look. "Over the years, he's opened up to me because he's always been in love with you and terribly afraid of getting closer than a friend. With me, we talked about anything because there wasn't that barrier there. I can honestly tell you straight up that Cas has not had an easy time loving you in terms of coming to terms with his feelings and suffering from Naomi and every other angel who judged him for it."
"Dude, this is not about who's his best friend," Sam said when Dean cast his eyes off and looked disappointed. "At the end of the day, I'm not the one who owns his heart. You're the man he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Me? I'm just his brother. And I think all you need to do is start asking the questions and you'll get the answers."
"But why do I have to ask?" Dean's forehead creased in confusion. "Why can't he tell me things? Why can't he talk to me about his wings or his freaking time in Heaven easily?"
"Because maybe his connection to Heaven is not something he is proud of anymore since. All we've ever thought about Heaven is nothing good and sometimes we fail to realize that Cas' home was once Heaven. We're talking about his family and in a manner of speaking, Chuck is his dad. If I were in Cas' shoes, I wouldn't want to bring that into any conversation with you. He knows how uncomfortable and angry the topic is going to get you, so he avoids it."
It made sense.
Dean mulled over what his brother had pointed out and wondered if Cas being so bristly signaled that he was agitated deep down inside. That he missed his family and his home. That he regretted, even a little, losing everything to be with Dean. And when Dean thought about how he had never really weighed Cas' sacrifices before, he began to feel a sense of dread.
"I was thinking, maybe we could head out tonight," Sam said, reaching for the magnifying glass and peering through it at a small patch covered in hieroglyphics. "The three of us. You know, grab a few beers like old times. There's a pub not too far from here that makes a good burger. Remember? The Grill Masters?"
"Yeah but Cas," Dean couldn't clear his head, "I don't know if he would want to go though."
"If I would want to go where?" came that familiar gravelly voice from the doorway. Dean swiveled his chair around and stared wide eyed at the other man.
Sam cleared his throat. "Hey Cas, how does a beer or two sound to top off the night?"
Cas' feet padded upon the floor and Dean…Dean simply stared at his brother, instantly remembering the tension between him and Cas and wondering if the two of them would revert to meeting each other on a comfortable level.
Could they break any further? Was it possible to shatter yourself into a million pieces onto to grind those pieces into dust?
Softly though, Dean melted into the touch of Cas' fingers running through his hair. Ruffling the soft tendrils. Almost as if he was playfully trying to reassure the hunter that no matter what, in regardless of their small disputes, Cas would always love him. And draping his arms around Dean's shoulder, Cas rested his chin upon the hunter's head and smiled at Sam.
"I'd love to join you two," he said. "Only one beer though. I hate beers."
"Great," Sam quickly closed the book, rose up from the chair and collected his phone. He shot Dean a reassuring smile. "I'll meet you two by the car. Um, take your time."
"To do what, Sam?" Dean stared.
But his brother hastily left the room and after his hair followed closely behind him, Cas wrapped his arms around Dean and squeezed him into a loving hug.
There it was. The letting go of a sigh because his heart had resumed beating softly and now, he was at least hopeful of them being okay.
The hunter melted like butter into Cas homely arms. And now, he was free to breath although the doubts still clouded his mind. He inhaled the warm smell of honey and ginger and adored the other man so much, Dean rose up from the chair, turned into Cas and pressed a soft kiss onto parted lips that were so welcoming. Immediately Cas returned the gesture, moaning into the feel of Dean's warm taste and draping his arms around the hunter's waist.
"I'm sorry I raised my voice at you. I shouldn't have done that," Cas gazed into emerald ones and tried to seek out forgiveness.
Immediately Dean hugged him, wasting no time, "it's okay. You were obviously flustered, and I get it. I mean there is so much we need to learn about each other still. To be honest, Cas, we might spend the rest of our lives learning from each other and that's the beauty of it. I feel like I'm prepared to spend my life knowing you more every day." Caressing Cas' flushed cheek, the hunter rested their foreheads together. "I just want to know if you feel the same way about me too."
"Of course, I do, Dean," Cas rubbed their noses together and smiled. "Now let's go grab that beer."
One beer turned into a second round. The night wrapped the world into a comfortably cool blanket and all three of them sat near a window with a clear view of the lush forest behind the pub. Nothing but a table between them, and a plate of potato fries, fish fingers and Dean's massive beef burger.
Cas was nestled into the corner on his right and Sam sat on the opposite side, reveling in the time off they took to just dwell as normal people would. In a pub, with a few beers between them and a good topic.
"It's an easy question, Dean," the younger Winchester was smiling.
Cas' face appeared pensive. "Can you relate the details again?"
"This time…slower," Dean spun his index finger into a loop motion. "For those of us who aren't as geeky as you are."
Sam, shrugging, cleared his throat and tried again. "Okay, so you're in a room, right? There are no windows. Just a door that is locked from the inside. There's a chair and a table in the room. There's also a guard outside. How do you get out of the room?"
For a full three minutes, no one said a word. The air around them was filled with the tinkle of glasses, clanking of beer mugs hitting together and the uproar from the pool table.
Then suddenly, Dean clapped his hands together in glee. "Ha! I got it!"
"Okay," Sam urged him to continue. "Let's hear what you've got."
"So, you take the two nails out from the table or chair, and you pick the lock," grinning from ear to ear, the older Winchester awaited the approval on his correct answer.
"Dude," Sam scoffed, "how the hell are you going to get the nails out of the table and chair in the first place?"
"You dig em out," Dean stared at his brother. "Well alright, not with your nails. But you could break the damn leg off one, use a splinter and yank the nail right out."
"Dean, that's not the right answer," Sam shielded his face in shame.
"If I might interject…" Cas raised his hand as if he was in a classroom.
"Wait," Dean was on a roll, fueled to prove something to his brother, "you know I'm right. You're just being a dick about it."
Sam sighed. He reached for his beer, took a long swallow and rested the bottle down. "Your answer is wrong, dude. Plain and simple. Try again."
"I have the answer," Cas said in a soft tone, arms folded upon the table. His blue eyes were the warmest shade. "Can I try?"
"No," Dean turned on him and made a face, smiling though to ease away his harsh tone, "I've got the floor, okay? He knows I'm right."
"You're wrong, Dean," Sam was growing frustrated. He dipped two potato fries into ketchup and chewed on them. "Give up. You always had this competitive streak in you since we were kids. As if you always knew the answers to everything. But this time, you're wrong again."
"You are unbelievable!"
"No, you are!" Sam scoffed again and stared back at his brother. "Cas, give it a go."
"No, I just –"
"The keys," Cas interrupted Dean and emerald eyes turned on him, "are in your pocket or somewhere on your person. Maybe inside the room too. Dean, if the door is locked from the inside then the person in the room locked the door. Don't you get it?"
"You…" Dean swallowed the rest of his words and stared at Cas like a deer in headlights. He was astonished after realizing how fucked up the question had been, screwing with his brain just a little bit more than normal. And now he felt stupid but wasn't about to admit it to his brother.
Sam, however, smiled widely in satisfaction and nodded. "Very good, Cas. At least one of you has the brain in the relationship."
"Oh, don't worry. Dean has plenty other qualities," Cas gazed at his lover fondly, chin cupped in his hand. "He's a fantastic kisser. Also, he knows exactly where to bite me when –"
"Cas!" Dean wrapped his arm around the other man and tugged him into a squishy hug. Then he nestled his face into the crook of Cas' left shoulder, blushing deeply. "Don't tell Sam my secrets or else he'll use them on the ladies."
"You two are just adorable," the taller Winchester remarked with a soft grin.
When Dean pressed his lips onto Cas' mouth unexpectedly, Sam stared back in disbelief from his bold display of affection in a public place. Gradually, the two of them ended up deepening the kiss and sighing into Cas' warmth, Dean nuzzled their cheeks together as his body yearned so much to be closer to the other man. And as much as he was totally enjoying the view, the taller Winchester cleared his throat since they had drawn attention from two other men sitting on another table.
"They're just jealous," Dean whispered into Cas' left ear and collected his beer. He took a long sip and swallowed. "Hey, maybe you should invite Mala sometime. Let's double date."
"See, the two of you are already a couple, so, it wouldn't be a double date exactly. Plus, I need to at least give her a heads up that my brother and my best friend are together before I invite her anywhere."
"So, you haven't told her?" Dean gasped dramatically. "Come on man, suppose she bumps into us and I'm holding Cas' hand? Then what? You'll dish it all out in one breath? Or suppose you bring her to the bunker and we're kissing?" Dean gestured at Cas. "You do not want to freak a girl out like that. Trust me, it might not go well on your part."
They left the pub at a quarter to eleven and stumbled out into the alley leading toward the main road.
The night was still cool, a gentle breeze lifting newspapers scattered by bins and sending stray cats chasing after fallen leaves. And without a care in the world, Dean entwined his fingers with Cas' warm ones. He felt on top of the world, almost as if nothing could break him down because he was swimming in happiness and evident bliss. They were a family. Him, Sam, Cas and as Christmas was just around the corner, he was beginning to feel homely also.
"I think we should get a tree," Dean said as Cas walked a few steps in front and tugged him along. Sam peered over his shoulder and smiled. "I think we should get a nice big one and decorate it and make some eggnog. We should also wrap our gifts and put them under the tree and –"
"Hey, fag!"
It happened so fast, one moment, Sam spun around on the spot and stared with a confused look behind him as his brother and Cas did the same. Then he recognized the two men from inside the pub who had thrown nasty glances at their table. Briefly though, possibly for two seconds Sam registered their faces. But then, the taller beefy one stepped up bravely to Dean and even before his brother could react, there was the glint of a knife's blade under the moonlight and then…
Cas cried out Dean's name. It was the most painful sound Sam had ever heard escape from the other man's lips.
Dean buckled, clutching his midsection. Sam, of course by reflex, whipped out his gun and aimed it at the two men but after realizing the disadvantage in terms of weapons, the two of them fled.
"No," Cas whimpered as the older Winchester collapsed in his arms. His blue eyes filled with tears instantaneously. "No, no, no. Dean. Please."
Sam hurriedly rushed over, fearing what he would discover and when he cast his eyes upon the amount of blood that seeped through his brother's fingers that covered the wounds, he knew immediately that they had to rush him to the hospital. And then everything else happened in a blur.
He remembered helping Cas to lift Dean up onto his feet whilst his brother groaned. They walked to the car which was too far away. And after Sam helped Dean into the backseat, his chest growing cold, Cas slipped in after him, the kind of terror in his blue eyes that only worsened any kind of hope. That made Sam literally crumble inside, by the time he settled behind the wheel, his fingers felt like icicles. His heart was beating so damn fast and Cas…Cas had begun to cry.
"Dean, hold on," Sam tried as he revved the engine and pulled out, speeding the Impala down the road like a bullet. "Cas, just…apply as much pressure to the wound, okay?"
Within a minute though, Dean passed out and all he could remember hearing was the humming of the engine. And the feel of Cas' breath on his face. Warm. So warm and his hands were so damn soft against Dean's cheek that was wet.
Why was his face wet?
Was he melting like Olaf?
And then he could hear Cas crying and as he slipped into a pit of darkness, Dean realized that Cas' tears were intermingling with his own and he wasn't Olaf. He probably was losing a lot of blood like a melting Olaf losing a lot of water. But he wasn't Olaf and it made him terribly upset.
Sam, however, was trying his best to focus on the road until the backseat was illuminated by a soft glow of white light. At first, he believed stupidly that Cas was using the torchlight on his phone to ease the darkness. Maybe he was trying to look for something. To assess Dean's wounds. But then when Sam glanced into the depths of the back of the car and he saw where the light source was, he pressed down hard on the breaks.
He couldn't believe it at first. Not really. Not when all this time…all this time he really thought that Cas had lost his powers. But right there in front of his eyes, his best friend who had kept the biggest secret from him, held his shaky palm over Dean's bleeding wounds and he was…he was healing him. Even from where Sam sat, he could see the blood disappearing, as if Dean's body was drinking it all up again hungrily. And then the deep stab wounds just…disappeared under the glow of Cas' hands.
For a long time, the two of them just stared at each other; him and Cas. Sam felt like he couldn't say anything at that point because enough had been said already. So many things were racing through his mind. Like the magnitude of power emanating from Cas' grace. Clearly his best friend wasn't even remotely 50% human but more like 90% and climbing from the way those blue eyes glowed in the dark. And no matter how hard he tried, it was so damn hurtful to stare into the eyes of someone he trusted and wonder why in the world Cas had hid something so huge from him.
And Dean…