It's The Little Things You Do, The Little Things You Say

In the car, Dean reached over and placed a hand on Castiel's thigh, pulling his attention away from watching the small city whisk by. The touch was light, done with barely a thought, comfortable like they'd been doing this for years.

"You up for grabbing something to eat?" Dean didn't look at him but gave his leg a squeeze.

Castiel placed his hand on top of his, thankful for the contact. So very thankful he hadn't scared Dean away by making a scene at Charlie's. He couldn't help but chastise himself for being so emotional about it, but Dean didn't seem to think he'd overreacted or misunderstood. The man didn't defend his actions or make it out to be Castiel's fault, he just apologized. A simple gesture that meant so much.

"There was a lot of food at coffee hour." Castiel looked back out the window, letting the rows of houses swim by.

Dean hummed his agreement and then looked over at him with a tilted head, "But you didn't eat any of it."

Castiel slumped in his seat. Fucking up already. "I had some, but no, not much. But you can't possibly be hungry."

"Oh, I always got room. Charlie said she and Sam and Eileen are heading to the diner. Would you want to meet them? I know Eileen, especially, is worried about you." Dean's voice had an edge to it. He knew he was pushing Castiel, but Cas didn't mind. Maybe he needed to be pushed, a little shove out of the nest so he could see if he had wings.

"When did you have time to have all these conversations?"

Dean looked a bit sheepish. "I may have been texting in church."

Cas let out a mock gasp and clutched his heart. "Why I never!"

Dean laughed, hearty and strong. The crinkles by his eyes spanned out, deeper than his age thanks to so much time in the sun. "What do you say, relax with friends, no pressure, then we can go home and do whatever you want."

"Am I going to have to talk about last night?" Castiel fidgeted with his fingers. He picked at his cuticles like they'd offended him.

"Not if you don't want to. If anyone brings it up you can just tell them to fuck off." Dean rubbed Cas's thigh absently.

"I wouldn't say that, Dean."

"No, you'd say something like," Dean coughs twice and lowers his voice, "I'm not comfortable speaking about that matter at this time."

Casiel chuckles, because that does, indeed, sound like him. "Ok, we can go, but only if you promise not to be mad at me for something."

Dean gave him a what now look and turned right at the next intersection.

"I was talking to Duma, which went better than I anticipated, but she asked about us and, I know you are comfortable with people knowing about you but I, um, I confirmed that we were dating. And I know we have technically had all of one date but when she asked I didn't know what else to call… this."

Dean stiffened for a moment and then started laughing. He laughed and pulled the Impala over to grip the steering wheel and give himself over completely to convulsions.

"I… You… You thought... You thought I'd be mad?" Dean turned to look at Castiel with wide eyes. The green in them sparkled with his smile. If Castiel weren't so nervous about how Dean would react he'd have been rendered speechless by the sight of him. Strong jaw and long neck, his perfect bowed lips.

"Well, I don't know, we haven't discussed what this is." Castiel gestured between them weakly with a shrug and a small smile.

"Cas, if this isn't dating, I honestly don't know what is." He leaned forward and pulled Castiel close against him before placing sweet soft kisses against his neck and cheek and then finally his lips. "Man, I fell for you the second Garth knocked you on your ass in the mud. If we aren't dating yet, you better hurry the fuck up and get to it."

Ten minutes later, they walked into the diner hand in hand. A large number of the customers were also Castiel's parishioners but when he felt Dean start to pull his hand away, he held on tighter. If not now, when? His heart thrummed but nothing happened. No one stood up and yelled. No one stalked forward and punched him. The ground didn't open up and drop them directly into the bowels of hell.

It was almost as if no one noticed. Or if they did, they didn't care.

Castiel smiled.

Dean bumped his hip and when Cas looked up Dean was beaming down at him.

Cas squeezed his hand again and let the warmth of Dean's touch spread through him, filling the empty spaces with warmth.

Sam, Eileen, and Charlie were all sitting at the corner booth. When they spotted the men, Eileen stood up and started signing before they even said hello. Castiel laughed, not meaning to make light of her worry, but the sweetness of it was overwhelming. When they were in their spots he leaned over Sam to give her a hug, mumbling an apology, but Sam just patted him on the back.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry I made a scene." Castiel said and signed before loosening his tie.

"Are you kidding me?" Charlie said with wide eyes. "If any of us had any idea we wouldn't have let this fucknugget pick that movie. I mean really, how dense can a man be. This is why I exclusively date women. You really drew the short end of the queer stick." She pointed at him with her straw before blowing the wrapper directly into Dean's face.

"Where's Dot?" Dean asked, shifting the conversation seamlessly.

Castiel put his hand on Dean's leg and was tempted to bend his head to his shoulder. He felt safe here. Out in public, with people he only sort of knew and a man who was becoming one of the most important people in his life. How had this happened? How had they accepted the horror show of his life and just moved on as if it was business as usual?

Are you really okay? Eileen signed subtly

Yes, it was just a flash. Dean was very sweet.

I've heard that happens occasionally she laughed softly and just raised her eyebrows when Sam looked at her.

"So," Sam cleared his throat. "We have some news."

Charlie clapped her hands together and then gazed at them attentively.

"I'm pregnant," Eileen said and signed.

There was a pause and then the table erupted. Dean threatened to ask if the diner had champagne and Charlie started planning the baby's Halloween costumes for the next ten years. Sam tried to settle everyone down, but only managed to increase the chaos.

"I'm going to be an Uncle. Uncle Dean. How about that? Oh Sammy, I'm so happy for you. You're gonna be a great Dad."

"Only because you showed me how," Sam said with half a smile. A moment of brotherly intimacy that Castiel envied. What he wouldn't have given for any of his brothers to be like either of the Winchester men. But he had Hannah. No matter what, he always had Hannah.

"Shaddup." Dean laughed giving his brother a fond smile. "Have you told Bobby yet?"

Sam shook his head and continued talking over the noise.

"How far along are you?" Castiel eventually asked.

"13 weeks," Sam threw his arm around Eileen's back, beaming. Everyone commented with questions about morning sickness and due dates and c-sections.

"That's so wonderful. When Kelly was 13 weeks she finally stopped throwing up." The words were out before he could stop them. He remembered her beautiful long brown hair and how she'd started to show late, and the feeling of the swell of her stomach. His breath caught in his throat for a moment but everyone was so excited they hardly noticed.

He hadn't let himself think about these things while he'd been here. He hadn't let himself remember. He was happy, happier than he ever thought he would be, but once allowed the thoughts in, he knew he still had to go back. He still had one thing left at home he needed to take care of.

Instead of letting the memories overtake him, he tried to focus on hope, on what life could look like after, what he might be able to have. If Dean still wanted him.

"So, what are we thinking for names?" Charlie began as their food arrived. "I vote Leto, I mean, the first baby in the crew needs to have a legendary name."

Castiel picked up the bacon cheeseburger Dean had ordered him and took a bite. His mouth filled with heady flavors and the conversation around him kept getting more and more ridiculous and happy as the meal went on.

"What about Ziggy Stardust?" Dean suggested earning himself a head tilt of confusion from Cas.

"It was like a pseudonym Bowie used in the 70s."

"Why would someone name themselves after exploded suns?"

Dean laughed and took a sip of water while shaking his head. "We really need to get you some more music for your truck. It's embarrassing."

"What about Serafina?" Castiel contributed, earning himself a confused look from Eileen. He spelled the name out in ASL for her and she smiled.

"That's beautiful."

"I always liked it," he blushed and took another bite of his burger.

Dean looked at him like he was considering something, something bigger than the conversation at the table had passed between them but Castiel wasn't sure what it was.

After their meal, the group tumbled out of the diner, full of hugs and laughter. Dean and Sam let Charlie know movie night would have to be canceled this week because Bobby and Jody wanted to have family dinner.

"We have a lot to celebrate," Sam pulled Eileen closer and nodded at Castiel.

"Oh, am I...?" Cas said without thinking and then quickly clamped his lips shut.

"Of course!" Sam said, eyes wide, "I've never seen Dean this happy, Bobby's gonna want to pretend to try and intimidate you with his gun collection."

Castiel rolled his eyes, "I grew up in a fundamentalist separatist cult. Guns don't scare me."

The group froze and Dean gaped at him for a moment, mouth opening and closing like a fish, until he started laughing. "Fuck man, you always get me. You just say that shit out of nowhere."

Castiel smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

While everyone said their goodbyes, he stood by the car and signed with Eileen for a moment. Their quiet friendship had come to mean so much to him. I've attended a few births, sisters and cousins and such, if you want to talk, I'd be happy to listen. He chuckled, or you know.

Thank you, Castiel. Eileen threw her arms around him and pulled him in close. "I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled against his cheek before letting him go.

He looked away, suddenly shy and uncomfortable, but before it could churn in his gut, turning the day sour, Dean's fingers interlaced with his, pulling him toward the Impala.

On the ride home, Dean kept giving him sideways looks, soft and small. A little smile played on his face, making him look younger and sweet. After about ten minutes, Castiel had had enough.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not," Dean said, dropping his hand and patting his knee.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Dean shifted in his seat, a cute rose coming to his cheeks making his freckles pop out. "It's nothing."

"It definitely looks like nothing," Castiel agreed with a lift of the eyebrow. He'd discovered that if he just waited long enough and stared Dean down, eventually the man would break and tell him anything he wanted to know.

"It's just, Serafina, that's a pretty name. Is it an Angel?"

Castiel paused, not anticipating this conversation. "Yes, well kind of, it means 'fiery one'. It's a version of the word Seraph which is a class of angels."

"I didn't realize there were classes of angels."

"Seraph's have six wings and generally are represented as on fire. They are fearsome warriors. I always liked that for a girl's name."

"You've thought about naming kids?" Dean tilts his head quickly, looking at Cas, before pulling into the driveway.

"Yeah, sure. And you know, I have a lot of siblings and cousins. Hanna already has 3 kids and she's 3 years younger than me."

They climbed out of the car, but Dean just crossed his arms on the top and looked over at Castiel. "You think about having kids someday?"

Cas balked, not sure how to answer the question. "I always assumed I would, one way or another, yes."

"I don't mean like, your family and what they wanted, I mean you. Do you want kids? In the future?"

Castiel looked at the cabin and imagined life with little ones running around and Dean building them a treehouse. "Yeah, I do."

Dean knocked on the top of the car and nodded his head before stepping away.

Castiel followed behind, unsure if he'd said the wrong thing. He knew he'd been vague, but it was the best he could do, and in all honesty, someday, having kids with Dean would be like a dream. He got lost in his head thinking about growing up in a place like this, where he could have run free in the woods, playing with Garth. Where he'd have been taught how to shoot a gun and fix a car, but also how to cook and dance and sing. How different life could have been.

He changed his clothes still lost in thought and came out to the living room to find Dean and Garth gone. Likely on a quick walk to get the wiggles out of the giant goof.

He settled down on the couch, not wanting to work on his sermon or thesis or look through emails right now, he was exhausted. After last night and then so much socializing today, he was surprised he could still string together two sentences. He pulled up Dean's recently watched list and scrolled through until he found a Western that likely had nothing to do with exorcisms or demons.

Dean and Garth returned, and Castiel was immediately greeted by the loveable hound with demands for head scritches and belly rubs. The big guy even tried to stake out space for himself on the couch.

"No way, that's my spot," Dean sat down and wrapped an arm around Castiel, pulling him close. "Hey, sorry if I made you feel, like, interrogated or something earlier."

Cas turned and looked at him, expectantly, taking in the sweetness of his playful green eyes.

"I kind of hope they don't use Seraphina," his voice came out in a low whisper.

"Why's that?" Castiel asked.

"Cause maybe, I don't know, someday, we could." He coughed and his eyes darted around the room, refusing to make contact with Cas's.

He could feel the heat rising up his neck and flushing his cheeks to match Dean's. It was too early by any standards to think such things. But Castiel couldn't help the feeling of rightness at the idea or the intensity of his want.

Eventually, Dean took the remote and started Tombstone, mumbling something about this being a good choice. A classic.

But Cas didn't really hear any of the movie, he laid against Dean's chest, listening to the steady, strong heartbeat beneath him, and closed his eyes, a wistful smile on his lips, daydreaming about someday maybes he'd probably never have, but what if, just this once, good things do happen.