Content: In which they spend their morning in bed.
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Author's Note: The summary says it all ;D
Have fun!
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Dean doesn't know if he should feel weird about this whole thing or not.
Just twenty-four hours ago he would have laughed at the thought of sharing a bed with Castiel of all people, but now here they are! Granted, it's rather innocent, with Emma lying between them and no touching or inappropriate clothing involved, but it's still so much more than Dean's brain is able to comprehend.
For a long while he just stares at the TV screen and somehow tries (and fails) to follow the plot. He simply sees faces and places that he can't concentrate on and instantly forgets a second later. It doesn't even help to train his attention on Emma and her attempts to explain the show to Castiel because he immediately loses himself in the other man's eyes and his mind goes blank.
Damn, he's seriously a lost cause.
Thankfully no one appears to notice his inner turmoil. Emma is way too busy to describe the characters and their relationships with each other in vivid detail, reveling in Castiel's undivided attention and having no time to think about her old dad. Castiel, in the meantime, seems to be fairly fascinated by the show and the setting and in return offers Emma some interesting historical tidbits which make her eyes grow big.
Yeah, they're rather enraptured with each other and the show in front of them.
And Dean suffers in silence.
It gets even worse when Emma eventually falls asleep at some point during the second episode.
For some time there is just silence and Hawkeye joking around on screen and Dean can't help casting a few tentative glances in Castiel's direction while chewing his lower lip and wondering whether he should say something.
In the end it's Castiel who speaks up. "Please tell me if I should leave."
Dean blinks, puzzled. "What?"
"You seem tense," Castiel says. "And I can imagine this to be a strange situation. We actually don't really know each other and now I'm lying in your bed, probably right where your girlfriend slept the night before."
Well, he's indeed occupying the side that Jo claimed for herself.
"Um … that's okay, she won't mind," Dean hurries to reassure. Jo most likely wouldn't give a damn as long as Castiel wouldn't start leaving crumbs all over the sheets.
Castiel, however, doesn't look convinced. "You don't have to pretend. I'm a big boy, I can take it." He smiles easily. "I wouldn't hold it against you. I'm the one who invaded your private space after all."
There's not a single doubt in Dean's mind that Castiel indeed wouldn't hold a grudge if he had to leave right this second. It's been quite frankly an unusual situation from the moment Castiel sat down beside them on the bed, so nobody could blame Dean for having some issues with it. Castiel would merely smile warmly, exit the room and afterwards continue to act around Dean the way he did before, without any kind of extra amount of awkwardness in sight.
So yeah, Dean could just ask him to go and their tentatively developing relationship wouldn't be at risk because of that.
All would be the same. Apart from the fact that Dean would be able to breath in his own bed again.
But then … the thought of Castiel gone and probably not comfortable enough to enter Dean's personal bubble like that again without a lot of encouragement beforehand doesn't sit very well with Dean.
Yes, he feels sorta stressed and anxious with Castiel so close by, however, at the same time it seems right.
So he hears himself saying, with as much conviction as possible, "No, please, stay!"
Castiel raises a brow, seemingly fairly surprised by the display of emotions in Dean's voice, and studies the man in front of him silently for a moment, once again his gaze as intense and bone-chilling as only Castiel manages to do, before the corner of his mouth eventually lift upward.
"Alright," he says, his voice suddenly deeper than Dean has ever heard before. "I'll stay."
And Dean can't help thinking that Castiel didn't just mean the situation at hand, with them lying in bed next to each other right now, but a much more general term.
Dean finds himself smiling in response, most likely looking soft and sappy and way too revealing for his own good.
But it just happens. It's actually some mystery how people are able to control themselves around Castiel on a daily basis. It's been less than a day for Dean and he's got no freaking idea how he's gonna survive the rest of this dreaded wedding with Castiel so close.
His younger self obviously knew quite well why he always ran away whenever Castiel showed up in the school's hallways and put as much distance as manageable between them. He probably wouldn't have made it any other way back then.
"Then I may assume it's okay that Jo gave me your personal number?" Castiel asks after a while. "She saved it into my phone when she left Emma in my care, but I guess I should ask for your permission first before keeping it?"
It seems to be one of those social situations that he isn't so certain about.
Dean blinks a few times, trying to force his brain to stop getting lost in Castiel's incredible eyes once again. "Uh, no?" he mutters, a moment uncertain how to react. "I mean, yes. Um … of course you can keep it. I'd have given it to you at the end of the weekend at the latest anyway."
Castiel seems pleased with that answer. "And naturally you can keep mine as well. Jo sent it to you, as far as I know."
Dean turns toward his phone for the first time that day (which no one can actually blame him for with Castiel being there the minute he woke up, looking so gorgeous and perfect that almost everything else lost any meaning) and notices a text from Jo.
have to go but left emma with cas. thought that's ok with the way you were mooning over the guy yesterday ;)
Dean blushes. He knows she's only joking and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary (Jo can be rather dense in that department), but it still makes his heart jump for a moment there.
"Um, where is she?" he wonders, attempting to get his body reactions into control again. He didn't even remember Jo's existence for the last hour, but now he finds himself realizing that she's probably been with Emma before Castiel joined them.
"She's with Kali," Castiel explains. "They have an appointment. For the wedding dress, as I recall."
Dean chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds very important."
"After Emma expressed her desire to stay with me, Jo sent you the text message and left," Castiel continues. "Though rather reluctantly, I have to add. She cares for Emma's well-being a great deal."
Dean cards his fingers tenderly through Emma's hair, smiling. Yes, Jo might not go crazy at the thought of children in general, but she loves Dean's little girl with absolute fierceness.
"Yeah, Jo knows Emma since she was born," Dean says. "They're very close."
She's not exactly the mother figure everyone tells him Emma needs because Dean seriously doesn't want his daughter to learn about knife collections or the different types of alcoholic beverages anytime soon (or at all), but she's a steady fixture in Emma's life and a loyal friend his little girl's able to turn to when she finds herself unable to speak to her father for whatever reason.
"I'm happy to hear that." Castiel's eyes lit brightly in the glow of the morning sun. "I figure it's rather important for you that your partner has such a strong connection with your daughter.
For a second there Dean's got no clue what Castiel is saying before it once again hits him like a truck. The whole fake-girlfriend thing …
Why the hell did he agree to that again?
"Uh, yeah," he answers, fidgeting a bit uncomfortably. "It's important."
Crucial actually.
He can't even imagine being with someone in a serious relationship who would be incapable of bonding with Emma as well.
And as if on cue Emma suddenly reaches out in her sleep and grasps Castiel's wrist tightly, even tugging a bit like she wants him to slide closer.
Dean watches the motion suspiciously and finds himself wondering if that's just some kind of subconscious move or if his baby girl isn't as asleep as she appears to be, listening in to their conversation and using this to her advantage.
It honestly wouldn't be the first time. She looks so sweet and innocent, but in reality she's an expert in playing people like fiddles. Most of all her own dad, as much as Dean would like to deny it.
"May I ask a personal question?" Castiel all of a sudden inquires, his warm gaze fixed on Emma's small hand gripping him.
"Sure," Dean answers. "After all, we're already in bed together. It can't be much more intimate than that, right?"
Before he even realizes what he's doing he's winking at the guy, most likely appearing like a moron desperate to cheapen the mood with some lame joke, but when he detects Castiel's cheeks beginning to tinge a tiny bit pink at Dean's line, Dean can't bring himself to regret it.
Even if Emma's indeed awake and hearing every single embarrassing word coming out of her father's mouth.
"May I ask about Emma's mother?" Castiel wonders, his voice cautious now as though he's not exactly certain whether he's entering dangerous territory or not. "I assumed that Jo isn't her birth mother, so …"
Dean nods in confirmation. He didn't talk very much about Jo the day before, mainly because he seriously didn't want to lie to Castiel about their "relationship", and Castiel didn't pressure him to open up, probably thinking that Dean's just a private person who doesn't like to talk about his personal affairs, but once or twice the topic focused on Jo and Dean found himself talking and sometimes even rambling. Because that girl may not be the love of his life or whatever, but she's still one of his best friends and like a sister to him, so it's easy for him to tell some tales. It actually would have impossible for him to offer the most important parts of his life story without mentioning Jo as well somewhere along the way.
"Yeah, Jo isn't Emma's mom," he affirms. He glances down at the allegedly sleeping form of his daughter, remembering himself that he needs to watch his words. Emma knows the story about his mother, but you still have to be mindful what you're saying.
"I met Lydia one night at a bar," Dean explains. "At that time I've been … well, let's just say it had been kind of a lonely time back then. I just have broken up with my first serious girlfriend a few months before and after that no one really grasped my attention for a long while. And there have been some other factors as well –" He halts, recalling this quite difficult time. "It wasn't easy. And when I met Lydia … well, after such a long time I finally felt some spark again and I seized the opportunity. We hit it off right away. It was an awesome night. Nothing more, but nothing less. At least so I thought."
Castiel tilts his head. "I see. She got pregnant."
Dean nods. "Yeah. Quite a shock, actually, I've gotta admit. I almost fell off my chair when she called me and told me the news a few weeks later. After the shock wore off sometime later I figured the whole thing a bad cosmic joke or evil karma or something. I mean, the first woman I'd been in ages and then this? I thought someone up there must have it in for me." He rubs his thumb gently over Emma's cheek. "But I soon realized that it's been the opposite. A blessing. A gift. The best thing that ever happened to me."
He feels his throat clogging up a bit, once again having all these vivid images before his inner eye. It was a turbulent time back then he won't ever be able to forget.
"Lydia … she isn't the maternal type, y'know?" Dean shrugs. "That's just not the way she is. She wouldn't have raised a kid on her own, or at all, so she decided to call me to ask if I'd be up for the job. Til this day I'm honestly grateful she took that step. I got sole custody as soon as Emma was born and after that Lydia disappeared from my life once again."
Dean's still so incredibly happy that he met this woman in that skeevy bar all these years ago.
"We still have some contact," he says. "I'm sending her pictures from time to time and Emma gets a birthday present every year, but that's about it. Emma knows the situation and is okay with it so far. I guess at some point she'll have further questions, but for now it seems to be enough. I hope."
Castiel's answering smile is blinding. "Well, she has a wonderful father, so I honestly doubt she's missing anything in her life."
Ah, dammit all to hell!
How the fuck are you supposed to deal with so much honesty being thrown right into your face?
Dean sure as hell doesn't know how to achieve such an impossible goal, so he finds himself once more flushing like a school girl being in the presence of her crush (and to be perfectly honest, that's kinda exactly what Dean is right now) and being unable to find some coherent words in that muddled brain of his.
For probably way too long his whole system is shut down. He only stares at Castiel smiling at him and moving his lips, obviously continuing their conversation or maybe even switching the topic without Dean being the wiser, and wonders what the hell is happening to him.
He usually doesn't turn into a bumbling buffoon, no matter how attractive the person he's talking to actually is. Granted, sometimes he gets a bit awkward, especially near handsome guys who've got the audacity to look even hotter while smiling, but it's never been like this. It seems like he's basically incapable of functioning within Castiel's proximity and that's seriously something Dean thought only happened in cheesy chick-flicks.
What the fuck is wrong with him?
So naturally in the end he suddenly hears himself blurting, "Coffee!" right into Castiel's face because he's an embarrassing fool and he obviously needs to show it to the world in general and Castiel in particular.
And then, of course, he turns beet red again.
Castiel blinks a few times, stops his stream of words (whatever he had talked about, Dean will most likely never know) and simply stares at the man next to him in bewilderment. "What?"
"Um …" Dean answers eloquently while trying to recall why the heck he reacted that way in the first place. "Uh, coffee …" he mumbles awkwardly. "I just … noticed that I haven't had any breakfast yet. And coffee …"
Yes, coffee.
Maybe that's a good enough excuse for his shameful behavior.
Castiel merely watches at him for a moment, his gaze so piercing as if he's looking right into Dean's soul to fathom what's really going on inside of him, but in the end he chuckles amused. "You right," he agrees. "How inconsiderate of me."
Dean hastily shakes his head. "No, no, it's not your fault," he's quick to assure. "I just thought that it's way too early for such heavy topics without injecting any caffeine into my veins."
Castiel lifts his brows. "It wouldn't be very wise to inject caffeine into your veins, Dean –"
"Just a figure of speech," Dean cuts in. "It just means I could really use some coffee right now!"
And some sanity.
That'd be nice too.
Castiel assesses the situation for a moment before making a decision. "We shouldn't wake up Emma," he says. "I will get you some breakfast."
Dean's eye grow big. "No, wait, I didn't mean for you to bring it or whatever. I'm perfectly capable of getting it myself."
Castiel smiles. "You're on vacation, Dean," he reminds him. "You're allowed to enjoy some breakfast in bed. And I actually hadn't any real food yet either. Emma's nausea distracted me on my way to the kitchen."
Deans whole face colors as he starts to wonder if Castiel is actually implying they should eat some breakfast in bed together.
It really sounds like it.
And the way Emma can't hide her pleased smile for a split second before burying it in her pillow indicates that she's thinking that as well.
His little, cute, evil actress.
"It will be real quick," Castiel promises, obviously totally unaware of Emma's reaction. "Any specific requests?"
God, how the hell is Dean supposed to handle a gorgeous man offering to bring some breakfast for him? It's not even noon yet and he already feels like everything inside of him is melting into a big, useless puddle.
"Uh, no," he croaks, wincing at the sound of his own voice. "Just … just whatever."
Castiel seems rather satisfied with that answer. He climbs out of the bed – however, not before gently brushing Emma's hand for a moment – and vanishes merely a second later.
Dean takes a deep breath as he listens to the footsteps fade away and stays still for a couple of minutes, just attempting to clear his head and not think for a moment. Not imagine the dimples when Castiel smiles, the soft rumble of his deep voice, the way his hair smells kinda coconutty, the gleam in his eyes …
Ugh.
Dean rubs his face, groaning.
This appears to be a futile endeavor. Figures.
"You can stop pretending," Dean eventually says after a while into the silence of the room. "I know you're not asleep."
Dean expects his daughter to keep faking unconsciousness despite her father's words or at least pretending to stir awake in the most melodramatic way possible, but instead she giggles right into his face, no sign of drowsiness on her features as she opens her eyes. "You're acting weird, Daddy."
Dean rolls his eyes. He doesn't need a five-year-old to tell him this!
"You too, honey," he says. "Why did you pretend?"
She scoots a bit closer, apparently not at all affected by Dean's scowl. "You need to talk to Cas. Uncle Sammy says it's important to talk."
Dean raises a brow. He wonders whether she's speaking in general terms or whether she's implying … "Did you talk with Uncle Sammy recently?"
Emma grins. "I called him yesterday. Jo said yes."
Dean grinds his teeth. He knew it wouldn't be beneficial to leave his daughter with a menace like Jo for a longer time. "And what did you two discuss behind my back?"
"Uncle Sammy gives the best advice," Emma states like she has to justify her actions somehow. "Right?"
Dean sighs. He can't exactly argue with that logic. He's been the one who told her to ask for Sam's counsel if she would ever be unable to confide to her father for whatever reasons.
So he nods. "Right."
"I told him about Cas," Emma explains. "And that he's my friend and I want him to be your friend too – and more – and Uncle Sammy said that talking is important. So I slept and you and Cas could talk." She laughs. "And you were acting funny, Dad."
Dean narrows his eyes. "You want Cas to be more?"
He perked up as soon as he heard this phrase leaving his daughter's mouth. He instantly remembered the look on her face the day before, all calculating, when she witnessed Dean and Castiel interact with each other for the first time.
"Yes, of course." She grins at him widely. "You like him."
For a moment there Dean feels the urge to splutter and deny her assumption vehemently, but eventually he just inhales deeply and responds in a calm voice. "Of course I like him. You do too."
Emma's eyes starts to glint. "Not like you do."
Dean's jaw tightens. "Emma –"
"You're like Eugene," she continues innocently. "I saw that look a lot."
Dean wrinkles his forehead. Somehow she lost him. "What are you talking about? Who's Eugene?"
"You look at Cas like Eugene looks at Rapunzel."
Ah, now Dean gets it. That dreaded "Tangled" movie he had to watch five-hundred times in the last few months.
"I'm not Eugene!" he protests with emphasis.
"You're right," she agrees easily. "You're Rapunzel. With the green eyes."
Her point, however, still stands as she smiles triumphantly at him. She obviously believes she won some kind of battle, her expression so smug she most definitely learned that from Sam at some point.
Dean shuts his eyes for a minute, gathering his thoughts. Apparently his daughter thinks he's heads-over-heels for Castiel (and to his own chagrin she's not even totally wrong) and feels determined to do something about it, asking Sam of all people for advice in the process.
Now he suddenly understands why Emma got so grouchy for a while the day before when Jo swept back in and whisked her away. Dean figured that she'd been upset with leaving her new friend Castiel behind, but maybe she simply feared that Dean and Castiel would be unable to stay together as soon as she's been gone. At least the time before Jo's arrival she had been all kinds of insistent that Castiel shouldn't step away from them even for second.
Dean didn't think much of it back then, even when she calmed down soon enough and eventually paid Jo her full attention. Sometimes children do strange stuff and Dean believed that to be one of these scenarios as well. It didn't even occur to him yesterday that she perhaps started to ease her composure when she noticed that neither Dean nor Castiel had any intention of going separate ways, even without Emma being beside them, entertaining them both with her chatter.
On the contrary, she probably realized that the adults finally began to talk about more important, "grown-up" things with no kid around them.
And so, this morning, she figured that getting Castiel into their bed and feigning sleep soon after would get the two adults even closer together.
That sneaky, little brat!
"I wanna keep Cas!" Emma states. "And I know you wanna keep him too!"
Dean groans. "Sometimes I seriously wonder what I did to deserve you."
Emma beams. "You're welcome."
Dean shakes his head and he can't keep himself from chuckling despite the situation at hand. Since the day she's been born he despaired more than once, but dammit, his life never got boring since.
"Okay, whether I like Cas in that way or not, it's none of your business!" Dean tries to sounds as stern as humanly possible. "So you keep out of it, do you hear me? And under no circumstances will you say anything to Cas!"
He seriously can't have his daughter spell his secrets. It's bad enough that she knows him so freaking well it only took her a few minutes – if at all – to see through her father's demeanor.
"And you will stop doing whatever you think you're doing!" he orders. "This is adult stuff and kids have no part in this!"
"Okay," she promises.
Unfortunately Dean doesn't believe her for even one second.
Damn, this weekend will be way longer than he originally thought.