Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Supernatural. If I did, well, season 7 would be just a wee bit different.
Summary: After getting advice from Sam, Castiel tries to court Dean. Easier said than done.
Spoilers: Alternate ending of season 5, completely disregards season 6.
A/N: Here is the second part! It's lighter than the first chapter, so I hope you guys like it!
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"Damn vampire," Dean grumbled and pulled on a fresh change of clothes after stepping out of the shower. The case they had worked turned out to be a rogue vampire, and Dean ended up beheading the damned thing. Covered in blood, the first thing he did when he and his little brother returned to the hotel, was pass out on his bed. His body was exhausted, and he slept surprisingly well that night, nightmare free.
When Dean woke, he had found a note taped to the TV from Sam, saying he was going to the library, the nerd. At least this time he didn't take the Impala.
Exiting the bathroom, he froze, spotting Castiel sitting on the edge of his bed. But what made Dean's breath catch was the fact that the angel wasn't wearing his usual suit and trench coat. No, instead he had on a pair of almost-black jeans and a v-neck sweater that was the perfect shade to complement those blue eyes. Without the bulky trench coat, Castiel was lithe, like a runner or swimmer. His hair was still messy as ever and the hunter swallowed.
All week, he had wanted to call the angel, apologize and let everything go back to normal. He knew he owed Castiel, but had no idea how to go about doing that. He supposed, though, the first step would be to apologize, even if it led to a chick-flick moment.
"Listen, Cas, I'm—"
"I want to show you something, Dean," Castiel interrupted as he stood, crowding Dean's space. For the last week, he had taken Sam's advice to a tee, and if this didn't work, then Castiel would have to return to Heaven.
One of the younger Winchester's suggestions was to dress differently. When Castiel relented, Sam had picked his new outfit. Though he had no idea why clothes were so important, he could see it had an effect on Dean. But he had never been good at reading humans, so he wasn't sure if it was in his favor.
Dean tried not to react to how close the angel was, but he found himself swallowing tightly, body stiff. He furrowed his brows, "What is it?" The shorter man turned away from Dean and left the hotel, leaving the hunter no choice but to follow. Once outside, he stopped at the passenger side of the Impala. "You want to drive somewhere?" Dean stood by the driver side, resting his arms on the hood of the car, certain that Castiel had lost it.
Castiel caught his gaze, blue meeting green and spoke, "I know you do not care for my method of travelling, so driving is our only option." He looked away after he finished, suddenly feeling a strange knotting in his stomach. He recognized it as insecurity. He almost expected Dean to refuse and the angel wasn't sure if he was ready for that.
The hunter was stunned. Castiel never looked away first. "You wanna tell me what's going on, Cas?"
"Please, Dean."
Castiel lifted his head, meeting Dean's eyes again. If he wasn't mistaken, was that a blush on the angel's cheeks? They stared for what seemed like an eternity, searching for answers.
He couldn't say no to the angel and he gave in, "Alright."
So he got in the car and turned the key over, the engine roaring to life. For twenty minutes, Castiel directed him where to go and when he finally pulled to a stop in a parking lot, somewhere on the other side of town, he stepped out of the car. He looked around, noting there were several mom and pop businesses, but could not figure out why the angel would bring him here.
Castiel moved away from the car and headed down the street, sure that Dean was following. He paused in front of a café, opening the door and allowing a confused hunter to enter. He had been here yesterday and had talked to the manager. The same woman greeted them and when she recognized Castiel, she winked, "Right this way."
Dean frowned. Since when did women pay attention to Castiel and not him? And more importantly, why was she winking at his angel? He had to take a deep breath; there was no reason to get worked up. Castiel wasn't his…boyfriend, lover, whatever it was called these days. He had no claim on the angel.
But he was getting impatient. As soon as they sat down and the waitress left, he asked in a terse voice, "Alright, now what did you want to show me?"
"Here you go," the waitress returned almost immediately and Castiel was thankful. She set a large piece of apple pie, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, on the table. "Enjoy!"
Dean eyed the pie. God, it smelled good. He sent a questioning glance to Castiel. "What's this?"
At his words, the angel panicked. Was it not right? He could have sworn that Sam said apple pie. He couldn't believe he had messed up already. What was he going to do now? "I'm sorry, I thought that you preferred this type of pastry."
"Are you kidding?" Dean said and a slow smile spread across his face. "This is my favorite! If it tastes half as good as it smells," he let his voice trail off as he really looked at Castiel. He seemed so relieved that Dean was confused for the umpteenth time that morning. The concern was prominent when he asked, "Cas, what's going on?"
Castiel felt his face heating up. "I just wanted to do something nice for you."
Guilt ate at Dean. "Jesus, Cas, after the way I treated you? I don't deserve this."
Castiel didn't like how the hunter always thought so little of himself. If only he could see how brightly his soul shone. However, he didn't want to start an argument, so he simply said, "Then please, just humor me?" It was a phrase that he had learned from Dean and it seemed applicable to their situation.
Dean stared down at the pie, watching as the ice cream began to melt, little by little, on top of the warm pastry. "Fine, but you've gotta try this."
He tried to refuse, insisting that it was Dean's. But the hunter refused to eat it if Castiel wouldn't at least take a bite. So they ended up sharing the slice and Dean leaned back in the booth, letting out a content sigh. "That was the best pie I've had in awhile."
Castiel smiled, glad he had so far done something right. Now he just had to give Dean his actual gift. He fiddled with the box in his hands, having materialized it so the hunter would not notice it. But now it was hiding on his lap, under the table, and he was feeling that insecurity again.
"Cas?" Dean noticed how distracted Castiel seemed. Something was bothering the angel and he could not, for the life of him, figure out what this was all about. He was being particularly dodgy today, wearing new clothes, making Dean drive him all around town, then bringing him to this café and getting him his favorite dessert, just so he could be nice to the hunter? Not to mention the fact that Castiel had been blushing…
"Cas, is this a date?"
If it were possible, Castiel blushed even more as he nodded and he placed a box on the table. It was the size of a piece of paper and almost two inches thick. But what stood out were the little red and pink hearts that covered it. "It is tradition to get those you love a present on Valentine's Day." Castiel stated, though he sounded so uncertain that Dean glanced up.
At his words, Dean felt a sudden weight lift from him. That the angel loved him was a dawning realization that shook him to his core. And Castiel looked so, dare he say it, adorable, sitting there and waiting for Dean to open the gift. So he grinned, lifting the lid off and revealing a dream catcher.
It looked handmade, from twine and grapevine with an intricate pattern in the center. Three strands dangled from the bottom of the hoop, with green and blue stones encasing the shaft of a feather on each end. The feathers themselves glistened in the morning sunlight, black with hints of color that reminded Dean of spilled oil.
"You haven't been sleeping well, lately," Castiel explained, unsure if the hunter liked the gift. He hadn't said anything yet, just stared at it. "I thought it might help."
"What kind of feathers are these?" Dean asked, the awe evident in his voice, as he traced the feathers. They were softer than they looked but there was something strange about them. They felt oddly familiar and warm in his hands, comforting. Castiel mumbled something and Dean didn't catch it, though he had a sneaking suspicion. "Come again?"
"They're mine."
At first, Dean was stunned. But then he felt almost guilty. "You yanked your feathers out?" It sounded like a painful process and he didn't want the angel causing himself pain just because he was trying to impress Dean.
Castiel tilted his head, confused. He had thought that Dean liked the gift, but now he wasn't so sure. He sounded almost angry. "No, it's molting season," he answered slowly, not sure what was going to happen. When Dean had asked if this was a date, he didn't seem to mind the idea. Castiel had thought that everything was going okay. But the look on the hunter's face now made Castiel doubt everything.
"What, so like, your feathers fell out? No pain?"
"To an extent, yes. As new feathers grow in, they force out the old feathers. It's not painful, but merely uncomfortable."
Dean let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that released the guilt he had felt. Replaced was a sudden curiosity—outside of being soldiers and the fact that most of them were dicks, Dean knew next to nothing about angels. "Do all angels go through this?"
The angel shook his head, "Just those that are sexually mature."
"Wait, angels can have sex? Doesn't it go against God's plan or something?"
Castiel blushed, "I said that I never had occasion. That doesn't mean my brothers and sisters haven't." He rose and Castiel glanced up at him, bewilderment in his eyes. "Dean?"
"Let's go," Dean said, grabbing his gift and heading towards the door.
Castiel was quick to follow. "I don't understand," he said as they reached the car, having caught up to the hunter. Had he angered the hunter?
"You take me on a date, give me a friggin' Valentine's gift, and tell me that angels are allowed to have sex," Dean grinned as he caught Castiel's gaze, for once crowding his space instead of the other way around. Bringing a hand up, he pulled the angel to him and pressed their lips together. Castiel stiffened but then relaxed into the kiss.
Castiel pulled away slightly, his forehead resting against Dean's, both panting. Something was nagging at him. He furrowed his brows, staring into green eyes, "Does this mean you accept the gift?"
Dean laughed, "Yes, Cas. That's exactly what it means."
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A/N: I have a few possible ideas for later chapters, but I need to focus on upcoming exams for a bit. So for now, I'm setting it as complete. And thanks for all the reviews!