"I really love it," Cas found himself saying, and cleared his throat. "I mean, having a roommate. It's like having a brother. He's become my best friend really fast - it's astonishing, honestly. I thought he'd be some jackass, pushing me around and taking my stuff, but…" He smiled to himself as he leaned on the back of his chair and sank down into it, one leg under him, the other dangling so just the balls of his feet touched the linoleum. He stared at his empty plate. "He's a really great guy. Not really book smart, but he works pretty hard. Quiet. Cool. You know, usually the loner type." He looked up at his dad, who sat across from him, and smiled shyly. He shrugged. "I don't know. We just clicked, I guess."
Watching his dad's dark eyes, he saw a knowledge there that scared him. Had he given too much away? But before he could stumble over an excuse, his dad smiled at him openly and nodded. "That's really great to hear, Cassy." He said warmly. And then, Cas saw it, he knew. It was there, in his eyes. He knew at once that his dad finally thought it was all right. That he accepted him and his choice to be not straight. He knew he was talking about Dean in a gay way and he was… he was ok with it. "What's his name?" He continued then, and broke eye contact to pick up the pan and dish some eggs into Cas's plate.
"Dean." Cas blurted, covering up his shock as best he could. He reached for the small plate of toast stacked high and took one, watching as he turned it around in his hand, afraid to look up again. "Dean Winchester." The toast was perfectly golden-browned, and evenly buttered. Dad cooked breakfast the best, when he did cook. He'd definitely been the one less disgusted with his life choice. His mom had pined for grandbabies, and a girl to replace the daughter she'd lost. But his dad had always just been… disappointed. Sad. He'd wanted Cas to live a normal life, with a normal family, and be a normal amount of happy and normal, with a normal job and a bit of an above-normal paycheck. Just so he didn't have to struggle like he was now – but he loved his life, and wanted to give his son the same experience.
Of course, he couldn't make him do anything. Cas could move to New York and marry a painter and live in destitution for the rest of his life with a bunch of kids they couldn't pay for. But he'd been so close – Cas was so studious, so hard-working… his dad had been so hopeful for him to be normal.
His mother bustled in then, and both of them looked up with identical surprise. A woman thick in the hips but not fat, and not too busty either, swept into the room. She bent to kiss her husband, who bloomed at her touch like a man in love, and when she drew back she was smiling sadly at her son. "Castiel," she said softly, her blue eyes drinking him in. "You look so healthy. That roommate of yours is keeping you on your toes, I see."
Her graying hazel hair fell in dry waves around her shoulders. She was not a skinny woman, but curvy, with well-kept weight and neatly-done make-up. Her dusty pink blouse was modern and conservative, her jeans khaki color. The smell of Moonlight Path perfume drifted off her, and there were dark blue flats on her feet. She walked over and kissed Castiel's forehead, pushing his hair off his forehead. Her touch was soft and warm. He smiled up at her genuinely, glad the subject of him rooming with a guy hadn't been thought about too openly. This was how she usually was, all fuss and smiles, without his… choices on her mind. Age was finally getting to her fine features, though, making the life in her cheeks fade and the light in her eyes a little more difficult to see. "I'll do any laundry you brought and I bought you a few new shirts when I was out," she continued as she sat down. "Before you go back, you'll be a crisp young man. The bag is on the blue chair in the living room." Cas's father divvied out the eggs onto her plate and his, and they all dug in happily.
"You didn't have to," Cas commented as he reached for the OJ. "I got a job in town. I'll be able to afford my own things, finally. I'll even save up for a car."
"Nonsense. You'd just buy more t-shirts!" She scolded. "I got you some nice things. You'll look handsome in them. Who wouldn't hire my boy?" She added, smiling, as if he not getting the job was ridiculous.
Waving his fork, Cas's father swallowed a mouthful of eggs. "I think that's a great, Cassy. Be your own man. Pick one out of the classifieds and make it a goal. It's what I did at your age."
Smiling, Cas bobbed his head. "I will, dad. Maybe a pick-up truck. I'd like something I can work on, so maybe a Chevy?" He knew a little about cars. Nowhere near as much as his dad, or Dean, but he could change oil, rotate tires, change spark plugs and brakes. He didn't care to work on them, but he wasn't incapable.
His dad lit up. "Even better! We can fix it nice. Paint it and everything." He loved cars. Always had. Anything he worked on, anything he fixed, ran like a dream after he had wiped his hands on an oil rag and sat back, nodding, like, 'that's it, it's perfect now.'
They talked about the job, and about mom's club, and she got into a big fluster over being late. She grabbed her purse off the counter and kissed him again and flew to the door, babbling about being back before dinner. Then she waved and was gone. Cas and his dad shared a laugh as they heard her car pull off.
"She's so happy," Castiel said quietly. "I never thought she'd be like that again."
"I know," his dad replied honestly. "She's realized that life goes on. She'll never be the same she was before Carly died, but we all grieved, and now we have to be glad she's at peace. She wouldn't want us to be so unhappy all the time." He sighed. "So, your mother and I agreed to try and live again. And here we are, with the last precious thing we have." Reaching over, he covered Castiel's hand with his own, and Cas looked at his dad with a sharp stake to his heart. He'd never thought it about like that. Tears pricked his eyes and threatened to fall, but when his dad went back to eating and Cas recovered, he knew he shouldn't. This was a happy thing. A good thing.
"I'm glad you're doing well, Cassy," his dad continued. "College was our dream for you, but you're living it for yourself. I'm very proud of you, kiddo."
"Thank you," Cas replied in a quiet voice, and he had never meant it more. They finished eating in silence. Then, like two cogs in the same machine, got up from the table and began to clean and put things away. His dad cleared off the table as he washed the dishes. They both polished off the kitchen until it was clean again before retreating back to their rooms with similar hunches to their shoulders and strides to their walk. Cas watched his dad go, hovering in the doorway to his room. He had missed this. They finally felt like a home, together again. He smiled to himself as he went inside and shut the door, rubbing the back of his head. He wondered how Dean was doing, all on his own.