When Dean got home that afternoon he could barely function. He couldn't seem to stop smiling and he couldn't get his mind off of Castiel. The absolutely flawless man he had been lucky enough to meet. He actually thought he was crazy, considering he had known the guy for all of two days, but he really felt like they connected on a level that he had never imagined. It was like he was prepared to get to know Cas so well that he could finish his sentences. He wanted to know his good and bad habits, he wanted to know every curve and muscle of his body, he wanted to know what he does on his days off from work and what his favorite ice cream flavor was. He wanted to know everything. That day at the coffee shop he had realized that.
When Dean woke up the next morning, Cas was on his mind. It was no surprise and he was happy with the thoughts. Dean hadn't woken up with a smile on his face like that for a very long time. He got out of bed and took a shower as he decided whether or not to call Cas. He didn't want to seem desperate, but honestly, he was. He was not desperate for a date, or a boyfriend, or a good fuck, he was desperate to spend as much time as he possibly could with that damn sexy man in the trench coat.
By the time he was ready to go to work he had concluded that he would wait a day before calling Cas. It was almost painful to think he had to go a whole day without hearing Cas' voice through his ears or looking into those deep blue eyes, but he had to do it or else the whole thing could go to shit. Dean got into his beloved 67 black Chevy impala, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead. He really loved that car and it always made him feel a little more relaxed and comforted. He drove along the slightly snowy roads and arrived at his store in good time. He walked in and did his daily routine of opening, not being able to completely get Cas off of his mind. It was going to be an especially long day.
A few hours later, Dean had finally manged to think about something other than Cas. He was thinking about his family and how worried he was about Christmas and what's going to happen. It was always hard. Dean had come out to his parents about being bisexual just three years ago, and since then, his dad had been a total dick about it. He never treated Dean the way he used to and it made the holidays a hard time for Dean. Sam and his mom were always there for him but it wasn't the same. They used to all have the best time together, but now the respect his dad once had for Dean was long gone.
As Dean was lost in his thoughts, the door opened and he was slightly startled by the interruption of his thoughts. The store was quiet and empty before, and Dean was enjoying it. He looked up from his folded hands and was shocked by who he saw standing in front of him beyond the counter. It was Cas, looking as stunning as ever. Dean stood up from his stool and stared at the man; speechless.
"Hello, Dean," Cas said, with a grin and bright eyes.
"Cas... I wasn't expecting- I'm so glad to see you again," Dean stuttered. Cas chuckled under his breath.
"Me too. I lost your number and I just really wanted to see you, so I decided to come here," Cas said, still smiling. Dean was thrilled that Cas wanted to see him again the same way Dean wanted to see Cas. Cas was just braver about it. That, or he didn't care if Dean thought he was desperate.
"I'm really happy you came here, Cas. To be honest, it took most of my will power not to call you the second I woke up this morning," Dean admitted, blushing, just barely enough to notice until it was gone. Cas smiled even wider now.
"Maybe we could go grab some dinner or something? When do you close?" Cas asked.
"Right now."
Dean closed up his store and led Cas to his car.
"Wow. Nice car," Cas said, eyes wide.
"Thanks. I've had her since I was in high school. Ain't that right, baby?" Dean said. Cas laughed at him talking to his car. They both slid onto the leather seats and Dean started the car, wanting to put the heat on ASAP.
"So, what do you wanna do?" Cas asked.
" Hm... I've finally got you here with me and we don't even have anything to do," Dean said with a small laugh.
"What are you talking about? There's plenty to do."
"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Dean smirked.
"You know the park on Birch street with the pond and the swans?"
"Of course."
"Let's go there." Cas sounded like he enjoyed this place and Dean couldn't wait. He smiled wide and started driving towards the park. They fell into comfortable silence, just being happy and calm as they sat next to each other.
They arrived at the park, and it was snowy and white with plenty of trees, and the pond adding to the beautiful scene. It was completely empty apart from Cas and Dean; it being being mid-day on a weekday. It was quiet and peaceful and Dean couldn't be happier. Then, he turned out to be dead wrong as Cas took Dean's hand in his and started walking down the path, toward a bench viewing the small and icy pond. The feeling of their fingers intertwined felt so perfect that Dean could barely comprehend what exactly was happening. All he could feel was Cas' hand in his, and how warm and how right it felt there. They reached the bench and sat down, hands still being warmed by each others. They looked out at the empty, yet beautiful, pond.
"Were you actually closing just then when I came into you store?" Cas asked.
"Nope. I didn't think too much about it, I just felt like I needed to close. Take some personal time," Dean said with a wink and a smirk. Cas laughed, and Dean still couldn't handle how perfect he looked when he did. How his eyes and the bridge of his nose crinkled and Dean could see his breath in the cold December air.
"You didn't have to do that. We could have come a different day," Cas said with a hardly noticeable touch of guilt.
"No. Today is perfect," Dean said with a genuine and gorgeous smile that made Cas smile just as magically.
"Good. I think so too," Cas said. They talked for a few minutes before Dean noticed Cas shivering.
"Are you cold?" He asked,
"Just a little," Cas replied. Dean took his hand away from Cas' and put his arm around his shoulders as he sat closer. Dean held him close and they could feel each others breath. It felt so right, even though they had known each other for such a short time. It was like the world had disappeared and all they had was one another in that moment. The cold air was gone, the ice was gone, the hard Christmas season had vanished, and all that was left was Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester, sitting on a bench at the park in each others arms. They sat there in the most comfortable silence either of them had ever experienced. Until, of course, Cas' cell phone rang. It startled them and snapped them back into reality before they were ready. Cas reached for his phone and answered,
"Hello? Oh... Hey, Gabe. Oh that wonderful! I'm really happy for you." Dean quickly assumed Gabe had just got engaged. "Today? Well I'm actually pretty busy today. How about Friday?" Cas continued his conversation, "Okay, great. See you then. Congratulations!" Cas hung up his phone.
"So your brother proposed, huh?" Dean asked.
"Yup. He sounds so relieved as if he was expecting Hannah to say no. I'm glad they're happy," Cas said, smiling at the thought of his brother. Dean could really see the love he had for him and it reminded him of Dean and Sam's relationship. They were always so close, and Dean still remembered when Sam proposed to his girlfriend, Jessica, in Dean's store.
"That's awesome, Cas. Sounds like they're gonna have a great life together," Dean said.
"I'm sure they will," Cas said, his smile fading slightly into dread.
"Hey, you okay?" Dean asked, worried by the sudden change in Cas' attitude.
"Yes. I'm alright, Dean. I'm happy for my brother, but him getting married is just another opportunity for my father to compare and judge me," Cas started, "He hasn't been approving of me since the day I came out to him in my senior year of high school."
"I'm sorry, Cas. I know exactly what you mean. My dad hasn't exactly loved the idea of me being with another man either, and now with my brother married and with a baby on the way it gets a whole lot easier for him to hate me," Dean said. He hasn't shared this with anyone in a very long time.
"I am so glad I met you, Dean Winchester," Cas said with gentle smile. Dean stood up and dragged Cas up with him.
"What are we doing?" Cas said, laughing.
"Let's make a snowman," Dean said smiling joyfully and confidently. Cas laughed even harder. They started rolling piles of snow around and eventually they had made a snowman. They didn't have anything to make a face with or a scarf, but they were proud of it.
"I think it's perfect," Cas said as they stood, admiring the snowman.
"I think so, too," Dean said.
"Except now my damn hands are freezing off," Cas said, looking down at his cold and red hands. Dean took a few steps closer to him so there was barely any room between them. He took Cas' hands in his and kissed them softly. They really were cold and Dean felt a little bad about it. They looked up at each other and before Dean knew it, Cas had closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips to Dean's. Dean kissed back after the brief moment of shock. It was passionate and full of excitement, yet gentle and slow. Dean put his arms around Cas' waist and pulled him closer as Cas rested his hands behind Dean's neck. When they pulled away they were breathing a little heavy and they rested their foreheads together. They stood there with each other for a while before Dean's phone rang. Cas laughed quietly,
"Wow. Aren't we popular." Dean laughed with him as he took his cell phone out and answered.
"Hello? Sam? Oh my- Okay, okay! I'll be there as soon as I can," he said. He hung up his phone and put it away.
"Is everything okay?" Cas asked, now very worried.
"Yeah... Everything's great. I'm an uncle," Dean said with a proud smile.
"Dean, that amazing! You should get to the hospital," Cas said.
"C'mon!" Dean said, pulling away but taking Cas' hand. They walked back to the Impala and got in. They were previously warm in each others arms, but the walk to the car chilled them once again. Dean started the car and pulled out of the parking spot and onto the snowy street.
"I live on June street. Just off of Main," Cas directed Dean.
"Well... It's cool if you wanna go home but- I mean- I was kinda hoping you'd come," Dean said hopefully. Cas smiled,
"I would love that, Dean."
They rushed into the hospital and asked the front desk where Jessica Winchester's room was. Once they found it Dean stopped abruptly before the door, causing Cas to walk into him.
"Dean, what is it?" Cas asked.
"Would if I fuck this up? I can't deal with kids! What if I drop it or something?"
"Dean! You'll be amazing," Cas said looking into his eyes. Dean kissed Cas before finally walking into the room. Jessica was laying in the hospital bed sitting up and smiling, with her long and curly blond hair up in a messy bun. Sam was sitting right by her bed with a small bundle of blue in his arms. He looked up and he smiled at his brother, obvious tears in his eyes.
"Hiya, Sammy," Dean almost whispered.
"Hey, Dean." Dean walked over to his brother and looked down at his beautiful sleeping nephew. Sam stood up and Dean took his chair. Sam handed him the bundle and Dean carefully held the baby in his arms. He nearly teared up himself, with his brand new nephew in his arms, a gorgeous man he had spent most of his day with, and his amazing brother who Dean knew would be the best dad this kid ever could ask for.
"Cas," Dean said quietly, not wanting to wake the baby, "C'mere." Cas walked over and sat in the chair to the left of Dean, after moving it closer. Sam had laid down next to Jessica and they were both out cold. Poor guys must have been exhausted. Cas put his arm around Dean as he looked down at the baby.
"He is so beautiful. What's his name?" Cas whispered.
"I have no idea," Dean replied, smiling.
After a while, Sam and Jess woke up and were introduced to Cas. They also informed Dean and Cas that the baby's name was Bobby, named after their favorite Uncle Bobby. After that, it was time for Cas and Dean to say their goodbyes, and Dean wasn't even close to ready for the wonderful day to end. He hugged his brother, kissed Jess on the cheek, and gave little Bobby another kiss on his head before leaving the hospital with Cas.
"Thanks for coming with me, Cas. I know he's not my kid or anything but I kinda freaked a little," Dean said after they got into the Impala. It was dark out now and there were flurries of snow in the air, leaving a small dusting on the pavement of the hospital parking lot.
"I had a good time. It was amazing. You were amazing. You had absolutely nothing to worry about," Cas replied. Dean drove Cas home and they said their goodbyes after Dean gave Cas his number again.
A couple of days passed with both Cas and Dean having to work more than usual due to the time they both missed. Then, Dean had to go to dinner with his parents, Sam, Jess, and little Bobby. Dean thought he was going to die if he had to go another minute without seeing Cas. Apparently, Cas had a dinner with his family that night, too. He said they were going out to celebrate Gabe and Hannah's engagement. A lot had happened that day when they went to the park. They had just been texting, but Dean felt like Cas wanted to see him just as much as Dean wanted to see Cas, and that thought was the only thing that got Dean through those couple of days.