Hey guys!
Anyone who checked my etsy may have noticed that it has a bit of a problem. It doesn't exist yet. My mom tried to send me pics of the merchandise but they never showed up in my yahoo, so I didn't get to make it. Hopefully I can get this fixed soon, you'll all know when it's finally up.
I have a feeling you'll all like this chapter! It's gonna be pretty cool.
The New York air was crisp and warm, which Dean was more than grateful for. It seemed like the perfect weather to go walking in, even if your destination was just around the street corner.
The butterflies in his stomach wouldn't stop, no matter how much he yelled at them that they were making him feel like a girl. He took it in stride though, watching all the other passers by, and trying not to concentrate on the way that Cas was standing so close he could feel their shoulders brush up against each other on almost every other step. He forced his eyes to the ground when other people weren't interesting enough.
The walk wasn't very long, though. Dean only had to keep himself from looking like a lovesick fool for about two blocks, so all was well.
As they walked into the coffee shop, Dean felt a little bit cold. The outside air, for once, had been warmer than the air in here. Honestly, he blamed it on the fact that this place was fairly empty. Dean looked around, and all he saw were two other people sitting right up front and the girl at the cash register, smiling at them like they had been the first customers in an hour. Seeing that the other two's coffee cups were drained and they were heatedly debating something, Dean figured this was probably accurate anyways.
Cas was the first to walk up, and his eyes only briefly scanned the menu. The girl leaned forward on the register, her eyes going slightly dreamy as she looked up at him. Dean looked away.
"Well Becky, I'm sure you know what I'm getting before I even say it, but ginger-peach tea with honey." Cas said. 'Becky' wrote down the order, nodding to herself.
"It's nice to see you here without Crowley for once. Who is this?" She questioned, looking over at Dean. Her eyes narrowed a little bit. "Not your date, I hope?"
"No, he's a friend who lives in my apartments." Castiel assured. Dean saw Becky visibly relax, and he tried to hold back a small puff of anger. Castiel was clearly showing no interest beyond being friendly, the girl really needed to back off. She was coming on strong for Dean's taste, and he had a feeling that Castiel was vastly different than he was when it came to how forward he wanted his partners. From the way Cas was acting though, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Dean could almost imagine that he didn't know Becky was flirting at all.
"Well in that case, what would you like, sir?" Becky asked. Dean's eyes scanned the menu.
"Do you have any pie?" He mumbled. Becky nodded her head, vaguely gesturing towards the menu, where three flavours were listed. Dean knew immediately which one sounded best right now. "Pecan pie then, with a cup of black coffee."
Becky seemed to really look at Dean then, and he felt possibly more uncomfortable in that moment than he had in his entire life. Her eyes seemed to have hearts in them as she looked at his muscles, his strong jawline, and his bright green eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, honestly considering going to hide behind Castiel. But that wasn't a very manly thing to do, so he stayed still and toughened it out.
"And what's your name?" Becky finally asked, a little breathless.
Too old for you , Dean thought about replying. "Dean Winchester."
She nodded her head. "Sit anywhere." She said, gesturing towards the mainly open seats, "I'll be back out with your order as soon as I have it done."
Castiel grabbed Dean's wrist then, and it was all Dean could focus on for the moment. Cas pulled both of them over to a booth in the very back, one with dim lighting and plush seats. He sat on one side of the booth, and Dean unfroze long enough to realize that he should sit down across from Castiel.
Cas sat there, entirely still, his face scrunched up as if he were thinking. Dean thought it was quite possibly the most adorable thing he had seen in his entire life.
That was when he officially decided what he was going to do. He had to bring up the night they had phone sex (microphone sex, technically) and ask Cas how he felt about it. Or, at least, open the subject up for further discussion. Cas would be more than willing to talk about it, Dean was almost sure. Maybe, he'd even like to do it again sometime? Dean could only hope.
"So, Cas... Do you remember-" He started, gathering up all the nerve he possessed to try and get out the sentence.
"Here you two boys go! One ginger-peach tea with honey, one black coffee, and one piece of pecan pie for the boys." She said. As soon as the items were set down in front of them, Becky laid a hand on Dean's shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably, and her hand stayed tightly clasped. He didn't have to look up to know that she was making a very pleasured face and had her eyes closed in concentration.
"Are you going to stop touching Dean now?" Castiel asked. His jaw seemed clenched a little tighter than usual, and he'd averted his eyes to the wall. His expression was mostly neutral, but Dean could tell there was a slightly jealous tint in his eyes. He tried not to feel accomplished, and failed miserably.
Becky jumped at the gruff sound of Castiel's voice, finally releasing her hold on Dean's arm. She blushed and looked around, as if testing to see if the other customers had noticed. When she found that they hadn't, she nodded her head, still hesitating to leave. "Sorry, Castiel." She said, before finally scampering away.
"I'm guessing you've been the victim of some of her feel ups more than once?" Dean questioned. Castiel finally looked away from the wall, looking slightly more calm then he had before. Dean couldn't help but hope that he was right in assuming that Cas had been jealous before. It wasn't anyone who could pull emotion out of Cas, and if Dean had been the source of something that strong...Well, it would change his perspective on where he stood.
"Oh, more than enough times. I'm actually surprised that she hadn't gotten fired or sued for sexual harassment. Then again, her father owns the coffee shop, which probably has something to do with it." Castiel said smoothly, taking a sip of his tea. His entire body went limp with the flavour of his favourite drink, and Dean made a mental note that he really freaking likes tea. His eyes flickered back up from the cup to Dean's, and Dean felt his stomach twist into knots. "Of course, that's not the most invasive thing I've found her doing."
"What do you mean by that?" Dean questioned. He was confused; what could be more invasive than literally feeling somebody up without their permission.
"One time, my boss picked up the book she had been writing in, assuming it was just orders. He found that she had written incredibly explicit fanfiction between herself and one of the customers that comes in sometimes. She had made us swear not to tell him." Castiel said, letting out a low chuckle. "I feel sorry for whoever 'Sam' is."
Dean's mind briefly went to his brother, before he shook off the idea. Nah, the chances of that were a hundred to one. There was no way she knew his Sam. "That's creepy as heck. I feel sorry for that poor guy."
"I'm just glad we didn't get to the "slash-fiction". As soon as she grabbed the book from Crowley's hands, she demanded to know if we'd read any of that. I would hardly want to find out who she had written about- actually, she's writing in her book right now. And leaning over, looking at you. I have the feeling you're the star of her next chapter." Castiel said. Instead of looking angry, like he had when Becky had touched Dean, he looked amused. Dean wanted to spit out his coffee.
"Dude, don't even joke like that. I would die. Besides, maybe Sam was actually fictional?" Dean suggested, mainly for his own benefit. Castiel shook his head.
"No, she made it quite clear that he was very real. She threatened us within an inch of our lives if we ever told him she had written it up. We've seen him come in a couple of times since then, and he gets practically molested worse than us. In her defense, I can see how she would find him aesthetically pleasing." Castiel announced. Dean nodded his head absentmindedly.
Great. Now, he was even more scared to ask Cas about the incident. His nerve had all dissolved when he had gotten interrupted by Becky, and he didn't know if he would be able to get it back in time to actually ask Cas if he wanted to talk about it. This made him slightly upset.
"More aesthetically pleasing than me?" Dean asked playfully. He shot Castiel his best 'model' look, trying to smolder him with his eyes. Castiel remained unfazed.
"Asexual, remember?" He reminds Dean, his lip tilting upwards in the smallest smile. Dean thought he could look at Cas smiling for years and never get sick of it. "But, speaking from a nonsexual perspective, I do find you more appealing to look at than most."
"Aww Cas, you really know how to make a girl blush." Dean said, but then turned a bit more serious. "So, in depth, how does the whole asexual thing work, if you can still find people attractive?"
"Well, I'm asexual, not blind." Castiel reminded him, blinking as if to prove it, "So, though looking at your body isn't sexually arousing to me, I can still see the beauty in it. Your facial features are almost perfectly symetrical. In fact, I believe you're the most attractive human being I've ever set eyes on."
Dean really did feel his cheeks grow hot then. He nodded his head, looking down at his coffee and taking a sip. "So, you can still refuse to date someone if you find them unattractive? What are your turn ons?"
"Well, I suppose I could pick a mate based upon how they look, but honestly I tend to focus mostly on personality more than anything else. My, "turn ons" are mostly given through touch. I have a couple of smells or ideas that fascinate me, though. For example, I believe that roleplaying would be something I would enjoy in the bedroom. I've never tried it before, but I'd assume."
"You've never tried roleplaying?" Dean asked. He made a mental note to ask Cas later, when it wouldn't be all that awkward, what kind of smells he likes. Dean wanted to make sure that he got the best experience that he could get, if they were going to be sexually intimate.
Whoa, whoa. Dean reminded himself that he needed to slow down. Sure, Cas was giving off literally every sign in the book that he was interested, but Dean couldn't get ahead of himself. He didn't know for certain if Castiel was meaning to come across the way he did. One thing that Dean knew, was that Cas had a very unique personality. He could be entirely platonic about his comments, and Dean would never know. He couldn't quite treat Cas like he could everyone else; he needed to be more careful.
"No, that I haven't. I haven't had very many sexual escapades, and the few I have had were very short. Actually, I've only slept with three people; two were women." Castiel informed him. Dean nods.
"I can't say the same here, buddy. I've had a lot of one night stands in my years, and some of those women were friskier than you could even imagine. I think I've probably tried everything except being with a man." Dean mumbles, glancing up at Castiel. Cas doesn't look put off in the least bit by this information, and Dean lets out a long sigh of relief. Some people ran for the hills when they found out how active he'd been.
Castiel pauses for a moment, and Dean realizes that he hasn't even touched his pie yet. He picks up a fork and cuts himself a nice sized bite, putting it into his mouth. He made some very enthusiastic noises at the flavour, which had Castiel raising his eyebrow in question. In response, Dean picked up his fork and cut another bite, waiting until he swallowed to speak. "Dude, you have to try this pie. It's literally pie from the heavens."
He holds out the bite to Castiel, and Cas takes a small sniff. He glances up towards Dean, before he slowly wraps his lips around the small bite, pulling it off of the fork in the same manner. Dean unconsciously licks his lips, his thoughts going straight to the gutter as Castiel nods his head thoughtfully, savouring the flavor. Dean drops his eyes to his crotch as he sets his fork down, willing himself not to let Castiel give him a boner for the second time that day. Fate must have been on his side, because Cas spoke then, and he was distracted from his fantasies.
"That is very good, yes. You still don't have to sound like you're having an orgasm while you're chewing." Cas scolds. Dean's eyebrows raise.
"Oh really? Why, does the sound get you all hot and bothered, Cas?" Dean teased, winking at him. He puts another bite in his own mouth, but this time, refrains from sounding so much like he's going to cum in his pants. Castiel looks vaguely pleased with the improvement to Dean's table manners.
"So, if you were to go anywhere in the city, where would you say has the best pie?" Cas asks, changing the subject. Dean thinks for a minute.
"Honestly, I have no clue. I know there's this bakery four or five blocks from here that's pretty good, but I wouldn't say it's the best. The best piece of pie I've ever gotten was from a little rundown place in Oregon. Really, the crust was the flakiest stuff I've ever put in my mouth. I really have to take you there sometime." Dean says, cutting another bit and offering it to Castiel. Castiel looks slightly confused. Dean's a little confused, too. He hadn't planned on sharing, but it just suddenly felt like the right thing to do. That's big, since he'd never voluntarily shared pie with anyone else before.
"Thank you." Castiel said, before leaning forward and taking the bite. He chewed thoughtfully. "You're a mechanic, what kind of car do you drive?"
"Oh, I'll have to show you my Baby. It's a '67 Chevy impala, the most beautiful piece of machinery that's ever graced the face of the earth. You'd have to see it to get the full experience." Dean realizes then that he's talking a little too much about himself, and wants to hear a little more about Cas. "Is that kind of tea your favourite, or do you have another kind you typically go for?"
"Oh no, I don't think I could pick a favourite. My cupboard at home is filled with different kinds of tea and honey. Not the kind in the bear-shaped bottles, either. That's been processed a hundred different ways and your body doesn't know what to do with it. I actually drive out to bee farms and get it fresh from the farmers. There's an old woman who lives ten miles out of town that has delicious honey. Unfortunately, she's told me she's going to retire from beekeeping in a few years." Castiel said, frowning a bit.
"That sucks. Aren't you going to open a farm in a couple of years or something, though? You could just make your own honey." Dean insists. Castiel looks a little bit put off.
"Unfortunately, no, probably not. Opening a bee farm is one of my life goals, but I doubt I'll have the money for it any time soon. And I wouldn't be the one producing the honey, the bees would be doing all of the work." Castiel insists, sitting up a little taller, in defense of the bee's hard work. Dean felt even more fond of him in that moment than he had before. It all seemed a little serene, sitting in a coffee shop, talking with the man he had been friends with for two weeks, whom he felt as if he had known forever. Things felt so right and so comfortable, Dean could almost imagine himself in that moment, leaning forward to kiss Cas. Of course, he didn't actually do that. No, he stayed firmly on his side of the table.
Soon, both of them were finished, but they stayed half an hour after they were done, just talking. Dean was the one who had to bring up that they had to get going; he needed to go grocery shopping, and didn't want to have to walk home in the dark. The city could be dangerous at night, sometimes.
So, they got up, paid for their orders, and walked back to the apartments. Dean, again, had a hard time not reaching out and grasping Castiel's hand. It would feel like the most natural thing in the world to do, but Dean didn't want to make Castiel feel uncomfortable. He didn't want to face the rejection if Cas pulled away, either.
They said goodbye at their apartments, outside of the door of the main lobby. Dean still had some walking to do, to get to the grocery. He frowned as Cas walked inside; he'd had a perfect oportunity to kiss him goodnight. Again, though, Dean couldn't force himself to. Besides, Cas was attracted to people mainly based on personality; there was really no way he could like Dean back. Dean knew that he shouldn't get his hopes up.
Later that night, when he was done putting up his groceries, his phone rang. A text, from Castiel.
I had a fun time with you today, Dean. I would like to partake in similar activities in the future. He'd said. Dean felt a little bit better about himself.
I had a great time too, Cas. I'd definitely like that. Dean sent. Suddenly, he felt a little angry at himself. He needed to pull it together! If he wanted to tell Cas that it was okay to talk about the incident, than he'd damned well better do it. After all, Cas had said he'd be busy for the rest of the week, so this might be Dean's only chance to talk to him about it. By the way, do you remember that night we sort of had phone sex? Because, I'm not feeling so awkward about it any more.
His stomach twisted into knots the moment he sent it. For the entire two minutes it took Castiel to respond, he was considering all of the different ways he could bury himself deep underground and never come back up.
Glad to see we're on the same page, then. I quite enjoyed that.
Dean let out a sigh of relief. Okay, good. I have to go to bed soon, but one more question. What kind of smells turn you on?
Honestly, your natural smell today was quite intriguing. If that makes you uncomfortable, I would recommend wearing some cologne around me. It was... Quite potent, in the elevator.
Dean made a mental note to never, ever, do anything different with his scent.