Apiary

Dean was not whipped.

Sam and the others made it their job to tell Dean how Cas has him wrapped around his fingers but they were wrong. Dean didn't fall for those big blue puppy eyes every time.

Sure, there was that one time Cas had convinced him to keep a baby chipmunk until it was big enough to survive on its own not a week after they moved into the new house. Then there was, of course, the multiple times Cas didn't want to go to bed and talked Dean into letting him stay up to some ungodly hour. Oh, and the time Cas talked him into letting the angels put barrettes and other weird things in his hair when Sam wasn't home to play beauty parlor with them.

It's not like Cas' puppy eyes worked all the time.

"Dean, can we build an apiary?"

The sun was out and the sky was a bright blue. Dean was outside with Baby, giving her a good wash while he didn't have Balthazar and Gabriel to worry about. They had gone grocery shopping with Vali and Bobby so there was no way a bucket of soap would get dropped over his head.

Even though they were gone, however, there was still one more. Cas was still home and Dean silently swore as Cas asked the question a second time.

Hesitantly, the hunter looked up from the dark shine of his impala's hood. Cas was sitting on Baby, his heels tapping her windshield as he lazily kicked his feet.

Dean chanced a look at the angel's face and Cas' eyes instantly swallowed him in a pool of blue.

Shit

The hunter dropped his gaze, careful to keep his eyes anywhere but Cas' eyes. "No way, Cas." The way the angel's wings drooped made Dean's stomach drop but he didn't back down. "We don't need any extra bugs around here. Bobby already has a fit about lady beetles when they start clumping around the windows."

Castiel flew onto the hood of Dean's car that held his attention, forcing the hunter to look at him.

Crap

The angel's eyes were no longer big and cute like they had been a second ago. This time they were narrowed into a dangerous glare. Dean had seen the look plenty of times in the past. He knew this was either going to end in a lecture or a trip across the yard.

"Bees aren't like lady beetles, Dean. They're good for the environment."

Lecture it was then. Thank Chuck.

"They pollinate flowers and other plants to help them grow but bees are becoming closer to extinction with every passing second. Without them, plants won't grow and we'll be out of food." Cas leaned in close. "No six-foot sandwiches with everything on them, blueberry waffles, or apple pie."

Dean bit his lip. "Dang, Cas," he huffed. "Way to break a man's heart."

Cas grinned. "If we build an apiary, we'll be helping the bees. Bobby's garden will do better too. And..." Cas started to bounce a little with excitement. "...we can harvest our own honey!"

A sigh left Dean's lips. Not having to buy honey from the store would be nice. It would be one last thing the fake credit cards would pay for at least. They could even sell it. Everyone liked fresh honey. Helping the bees would be nice too and...

Dean watched Cas's wings shake with anticipation for his answer.

"Fine," Dean relented and Cas squealed with glee before pouncing on the older Winchester's chest and hugging him around the neck.

Dean sighed but mourned his defeat for only a second. The way Cas' wings buzzed with excitement and his smile brightened was enough to heal him.

The squeal got Sam's attention from within the house and the younger Winchester peaked out the front door. He looked the two over with a smirk on his lips.

"Not one word," Dean hissed.

"Whatever you say, Dean," Sam sighed and he held up a hand to wrap a pretend string around his finger.

Okay, maybe Cas did have him wrapped around his finger.

According to google, building an apiary was easy. All Dean needed to do was build a couple of hive stands, makes some frames, and put it all together.

More or less.

Google didn't take into account that some people might be working with an angel.

"Can we paint the box?" Cas asked while Dean measured a few planks of wood. "We could put a big bee on it and lots of flowers."

"You'll have to look it up, Cas." Dean's voice was slightly muffled thanks to the nail pressed between his lips as he searched for his hammer. "The paint might be toxic."

Cas pouted slightly but bounced right up again. "How many bees do you think we'll get? I hope we get a lot. The more bees, the more honey, and more tiny friends. Do you think they'll have names? Oh! We can name them! Buzz, Pheobe, Sid-"

"Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"Who gave you sugar today?"

Cas blinked at the hunter. "Oh..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of Fun Dip of all things. "Vali picked them up when he was at the store with Bobby. He didn't like them so he gave the rest to me, Balthy, and Gabby."

Dean paled.

"How many packets did he buy?"

"A 48 pack."

Chuck save them.

Dean tapped his fingers lightly on a piece of wood in front of him. He needed to keep Cas occupied with something while he worked. If he didn't, the angel was definitely going to drive him crazy.

Said savior was a tray of paints leftover from painting the angels' room.

Not wasting a second more, Dean jumped to his feet. He marched over to the tray, grabbing it along with a square piece of wood from his pile.

"What're you doing?"

"You're going to finger paint a welcome sign for the bees," Dean told him while praising himself mentally for his own brilliance. "That way they'll feel at home when they find your apiary."

Not surprisingly, Cas practically beamed at the idea. He took the supplies from Dean and quickly got to work.

Still praising himself, Dean turned his back on his angel and settled back in front of his half built stand. He got to work too and the garage was soon filled with the sound of men at work.

When the sun started to sink in the sky and the garage began to get a little darker, Dean decided four stands were good enough for the day. He cleaned up his workstation and then went to check on Cas.

The angel was asleep where Dean had left him. His tiny hands and face were completely caked in paint just like the sign and floor around him.

"Guess you finally crashed, huh?" Dean chuckled. He picked Cas up, not minding as Castiel got green and yellow paint on his shirt.

With Cas secure against his chest, Dean moved his attention onto the sign. He picked up it up and held it up to the light. "Welcome" was written in a rainbow of colors and yellow bees covered the plank of wood along with blue flowers and green leaves.

Cas mumbled against Dean's chest and the hunter froze, worrying he'd woken Cas up. He peaked at Cas' face but the angel's eyes were shut and his breathing was still even.

Another whisper left his lips and Dean bent his head down to hear better. Castiel was whispering the names of his bees. Dean chuckled softly and set the sign off to the side to dry.

"They'll love it, Cas," he whispered and he made his way back into the house with his sleeping angel.

Thanks, kjboulware, for the request!