{Word Count: 792}
Sam and Balthazar talked about Balthazar's travels as he cooked. He even taught Sam a few things he said were his "secret steps." Dean smiled as he watched. He was happy his brother was happy. "Seriously, thank you, Cas. This means a lot to him," Dean said. Cas offered a small smile. "Anything for a friend," he shrugged. Dean looked him in eye looking genuinely thankful and happy. "You're a great friend, I mean it," Dean told him. Cas blushed. "Thank you, Dean." Cas was flattered and his heart beat fast. Dean thought of Cas as a friend. Cas never really had a real friend before so his heart swelled with happiness.
"So, Dean, do you have a job?" Gabriel asked as he sat on the couch across from them with a beer. "Yeah, I work at the auto shop down town," he answered. Gabriel nodded seemingly impressed. "What do your parents do?" He asked. Cas tried giving him a look that told him not to ask, but Gabe didn't get the message. "Uh, my mom died when I was five and dad's a mechanic," Dean answered his voice a bit tighter than usual. "I'm sorry for your loss. We lost our mom when Cas was ten," Gabriel empathized. Dean stole a quick glance at Cas. He didn't think Cas had gone through that. Now that he thought about it Cas didn't seem to have either parents around. He wondered what had happened.
The seven sat around the table making jokes. Anna had gotten home ten minutes before dinner. She was with some guy. "You've seriously never had a girlfriend?" Dean asked incredulously. Cas shook his head uncomfortably. "Girls have never really been Cas's area," Gabriel explained. Cas stared down at his plate utterly embarrassed. No, no, no! He wanted to scream. Now Dean would make up some excuse to leave and never talk to Cas again. He could kill Gabriel. "So, you've never had a boyfriend?" Dean edited his last question. Cas shook his head once again. "Dude, we have got to get you laid." Cas stared at him with wide eyes. "What?" He questioned. "I said we've got to-"
"No, you're not... You don't mind?"
Dean looked at him confused. "Why would I?" Cas was taken aback. Usually when his sexuality came out guys became uncomfortable and avoided him as if he were just going to jump on anything with a penis. They seemed to not realize that he had standards too. "I just don't usually receive such a nonchalant reaction," he explained. Dean had just gotten that much more attractive. He seemed to understand what Cas meant. "It's not a big deal," Dean shrugged. That's when the pie came out and Dean had forgotten the previous conversation. Dean loves pie; Cas added to his memory vault that he had dedicated to the little things about Dean. Although one could argue this counted as a big thing since he would probably marry pie if it were possible.
Michael walked in during Gabriel and Balthazar's heated debate on which First Lady was the hottest. No one had any clue how they had gotten on the subject. "Gabe, can you pick Cas up from school tomorrow. I have to work," he asked tiredly. Cas noticed how much he's been working lately and he felt bad. "Can't I have a meeting." Balthazar had some cooking thing for the food channel. "I can bring him," Dean offered. All eyes went to him. "Really?" Michael asked surprised. Dean shrugged. "Yeah, I drive home everyday anyways." Cas thought about this for a moment. He would be in the classic black car with Dean like some cheesy 80's movie. He would be able to feel the interior and smell Dean's smell the whole ride home without being noticed. "You don't mind?" Cas asked him. "Of course not." It was settled.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Dean said. Cas returned it to the both of them and they left. Dinner hadn't gone as bad as he had expected. Dean had accepted him without a second thought. He went up to his room happier than he could ever remember being before. Gabriel snuck out the front door so he wouldn't draw Cas's attention. "Hey!" He called to the brothers before they could get in the car. He jogged up to them. "Thank you, for being friends with Cas. We worry about him. He isn't easily accepted." It was the first time Dean heard Gabriel being completely sincere and he was pretty sure it was the last. "Honestly, it's no problem. He's a great guy." Gabriel smiled and nodded in agreement. "You'll be good for him," he told Dean with a smile before turning around and jogging back to the house.