Castiel enjoys being at the cabin with Dean but the feelings he gets when he's around Dean are disturbing.
Next morning in the Adirondacks.
(Castiel POV)
When Castiel woke up the next morning it was completely quiet. He wondered if Dean was still in the top bunk but he couldn't hear the sound of him breathing. He rolled out of bed and let his feet hit the floor, it was freezing! He hurried to put socks on before heading out to the living room and looking around. The fire had almost died down and the room was a little cold for his taste. He wondered where Dean could be since it was pretty clear he wasn't in the cabin.
Last night after Dean returned with their belongings he made them chili and shortly after Cas started to doze on the couch. Dean had nudged him gently and told him to head to bed, "Even if it's a bit short, the bed is still more comfy that the sofa." He quickly moved and enclosed himself in the bedroom and changed into his pajamas; he fell asleep almost instantly once his head hit his pillow.
Glancing at the clock Castiel realized he'd slept over nine hours. He began peeking out through the window and noticed the lake through the trees. At first he wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him but it looked like Dean was in the water swimming. He watched as a few minutes later he walked out of the water completely naked and grabbed a towel hanging off a nearby tree branch.
Castiel instantly blushed as he withdrew from the window lest he was caught. A week with that body so close was going to more of a challenge then Cas had anticipated.
He hurried into the bedroom and threw on a sweatshirt, hoping that once Dean returned—clothed—he would get a fire going. He was stepping out of the bedroom as Dean came through the front door, "Oh, you're up; I was going to make breakfast but wanted to take a swim first." Cas just shook his head, "Seriously? A swim in the lake this time of year, are you crazy?"
Dean laughed as they maneuvered around each other, heading into the bedroom. "I'm used to it, I do it every morning that I'm here. It's very refreshing, you should try it once." "Yeah right, I'm almost freezing to death in here, going outside and getting wet would just make it worse."
Dean poked his head through the doorway, "Sorry about that, I should've started it before I headed out." He exited the room a few moments later and grabbed Cas' wrist, pulling him over to the fireplace, "I'll teach you how." Cas gently tugged his arm back, "I know how. We had a fireplace at my dad's, but there's no wood." Dean shuffled a little, embarrassed, "Oh, sorry, I'll uh, I'll show you where it's at and we can carry some in."
As Dean put down his last of the logs he smiled at Cas, "This is your job now, I'll take care of everything else." Cas just smiled and turned to the fireplace and got started while Dean went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
"You can use the shower today if you want, me, I don't care. I'm normally here alone and to put it bluntly, after a week I'm not very presentable." Dean said as he entered the living room holding two plates, putting them down on the table. "I promise to be better about my habits this time," he chuckled, "You must think I'm a slob, but I'm really not."
Satisfied with the fire Castiel got up and headed towards the table, "I don't, I don't think you're a slob." He smiled at Dean. "I've been cooped up in my apartment for a whole weekend working, wearing not much more than a robe and forgetting to eat, you know?" He trailed off and took in the sight of the eggs and bacon Dean had made, it smelled delicious, "Hmm, I'm really hungry all of a sudden."
When Dean didn't sit down Cas looked up curiously and found him staring with a puzzled face. "Sorry, but I'm trying to picture you unshaven and smelly, but that's impossible," he said as he pulled his chair out and sat down. "But who knows, maybe after a week here you'll sink down to my level."
They ate in a comfortable silence, broken after a while when Dean asked, "What do you want to do today?" He wiped his hands on a napkin, "I mean," he shrugged, "uh, you can—" Cas had no idea and shrugged in return, "Whatever, I don't really know. Relax?"
"I was thinking about going hunting today, but if you—" Castiel cut him off, "If you want to go that's fine, I, I can stay here. I mean I'd prefer to stay here if you don't mind." Dean just nodded.
After breakfast and coffee Castiel had to reassure Dean several times that he'd be fine alone. An hour later he was, Dean headed off into the woods with his gear. Cas took a shower and washed dishes before he decided to go for a walk. He wouldn't go too far, worried that he couldn't find his way back; he remembered to put on the orange hat. Dean promised him that there wouldn't be any hunters so close to the main trail, but encouraged him to wear it regardless.
(Dean POV)
Dean returned a little before nightfall. He asked Cas about his day. "I hope you weren't bored. I feel bad for leaving you alone for so long." Cas reassured him he was fine, "I was really enjoying myself. I don't think I've been this relaxed since, uh since, well I don't know."
Dean hadn't seen any game the whole day and asked if it was okay for him to take off the next day. "Sure," Cas said, "You have a lot of books here and the weather is nice, I could walk in the other direction tomorrow. I'm used to my own company." He smiled and pointed to the bookshelf, "And if you don't mind, can I reorganize?"
Dean chuckled, "Go ahead. You can even rearrange the furniture if you like." He gave Cas a smile, "I mean as long as you're not bored."
He couldn't help but feel bad about leaving Cas but he placated himself with the thought that hunting was what he came here to do even before he invited the guy along.
"What do you want for supper?" He asked as he put away his rifle and gear. "I could've gone and tried to catch some fish but I usually do that a few days after chasing game."
Castiel looked at him with an apologetic expression, "I could've cooked, but I didn't know when you'd be back." Dean started laughing and Cas tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry Cas, I remembered when my mom was still alive. She'd get so pissed because dad never knew when he'd be back from a hunt, so she just cooked for us and let him eat the cold leftovers whenever he got back. Back then we only had a wood stove."
He headed into the kitchen, "I'll cook tonight and try to plan better for tomorrow." He peeked back out into the living room, "You know how to cook right?" Cas nodded, a little hesitantly, "Well yeah, not chef material but I can manage and it is edible."
Due to the limited resources in the kitchen Dean found it easier to make stews and other one-dish meals. He whipped together something that resembled jambalaya despite not having all the proper ingredients, but it worked. He prided himself on being able to make meals out of practically nothing. They may not be culinary masterpieces but they tasted okay and were filling.
He watched as Cas nearly fell asleep on the couch again, the guy could barely keep his eyes open. "I'm so sorry, I'm a terrible guest. Guess I'm just not used to all this fresh air." Dean smiled, "Well you did get up pretty early this morning." Cas rolled his eyes, "Yeah but I fell asleep before ten last night." He looked at his watch, "Maybe I can make it till half past now."
He didn't even make ten minutes. Dean wanted to tuck him in but decided against it. Cas had shown signs of being less strung up and less fearful of his closeness, but they still had time to get to know each other better. If Castiel was even remotely interested in him in ways other than just being friends Dean wanted to take it slow. He wanted it to mean something.
The next morning, after breakfast, Dean departed with a promise to be back by six; giving Cas a chance to know when to start dinner. The guy was proving to be a totally different room-mate than Lisa. Cas didn't complain and smiled a lot—even in his sleep—making Dean believe he really was enjoying himself.
The only thing that was a little disappointing was that he passed out way too early. Dean would've liked to sit and chat, just to learn more about the guy. He knew that him being away all day didn't help much but it was still time spent together.
Tomorrow he'd go fishing at the lake and encourage Cas to come along; they could be together the whole day.
(Castiel POV)
As soon as Dean was gone Castiel searched through the cupboards and fridge to find out what kind of food Dean had brought along. He needed to know what he could make from what they had. After his assessment he decided on spaghetti carbonara; he didn't have any cream but he remembered a recipe that didn't call for it.
Dean was obviously not crazy about fresh vegetables because there were only tomatoes and cucumbers but Cas decided it was possible to still make a salad out of it. There wasn't fresh garlic but he did find garlic powder. He looked for wine glasses but only found one, and to his relief a wine opener. It was tucked in a drawer behind an assortment of various oven mitts.
The remainder of the day, Cas found himself going through all the books in the shelf. He stacked them around on every available surface before he started to put them back. He organized the non-fiction books as well as he could according to subject. He wasn't too skilled on the Dewey Decimal System, but then again most of the books were about fishing and hunting so it wasn't too hard.
It took a bit longer to sort the novels alphabetically. There was a broad selection of children's books that he decided to put on a shelf of their own. He was slightly thrown off task when he found a copy of Richard Elmann's biography of Oscar Wilde. He had read the book himself but hadn't expected to find it in a remote cabin in the woods.
Another weird find was Anaïs Nin's Delta of Venus. He figured that someone had put it there to hide that they actually bought it. The Odyssey—in hardcover—was also an unexpected discovery. Castiel realized there were sides to Dean's family that didn't meet the eye. If he'd been eager to get to know the man before, this just added to that desire.
He finished up around five and decided to start prepping dinner. He hoped Dean would be back soon, he did promise six, and it was starting to get dark outside. He tried not to worry as he watched the pasta swirl around in the boiling water.
