Chapter 11: Spin
The next few weeks seemed to go by in a blur. They had fallen into a comfortable routine, and everything was going well. Dean and Sam still took turns going on hunts, but neither one was gone for very long. They had an unsaid agreement to hunt only in the nearby area unless something was really important. Sam had even signed up for some online classes, since he'd been considering getting his graduate degree. Dean had made fun of him and acted like he hated the idea, asking Sam why he would choose to study. Castiel would sometimes help Sam, enjoying the mind exercises, while Dean would shoot them nasty glares. Cas could only smile to himself, because he knew how immensely proud Dean really was.
Their sleeping arrangements had altered slightly. Castiel's permanent position was in Dean's bed. Castiel wasn't sure if Sam was aware of this, but he never said anything about it. They were cautious around Sam. Castiel didn't particularly mind though. Dean always found some way to be close to Cas. They would hold hands underneath the table, or Dean would drape his arms over Castiel's shoulder in a comfortable position. Castiel assumed that Dean would speak to Sam about this at some point, when he was comfortable with it, so he never pushed the issue.
Somehow, Castiel found that nighttime was his favorite. It didn't take much to figure out why. All pretenses were dropped once he was alone with Dean. They could touch freely, as well as speak openly. This was Castiel's favorite part of the day. He would wrap his arms around Dean, and Dean would snuggle against his body. The space between them was nonexistent. Some nights they would be silent, Cas holding Dean until he started to fidget too much, and would turn over onto his other side, Dean following suit. They hadn't moved beyond kissing, but this suited Cas fine for now.
There were times that Dean would talk about his childhood. He'd tell fond stories of Sam, of how he'd watched Sam in a school play or when he tried to help Sam with homework, but the kid was so damn smart he never really needed help. Other times he would talk about his father, but the good memories were few. Sometimes Dean would talk about Jo, and how he missed her and her mother. He missed a lot of people, but they never went near the topic of Bobby. Castiel was grateful for this, because he couldn't bear to think of it himself. He sometimes wondered how Dean could have forgiven him. If it weren't for Castiel, there wouldn't have been leviathans...and in turn, Bobby would still be here. This was a topic that both of them stayed very clear of.
Castiel would listen intently, savoring every word from Dean's mouth. Sometimes Dean even talked about purgatory, with a mix of sadness and pride. Cas hated it when Dean talked about purgatory. Those were usually the nights that Dean would mumble in his sleep, crying out occasionally, before waking and grumbling back to sleep. These nights, Castiel would barely sleep, holding Dean to him as tightly as he could, cradling him in his arms, even as Dean's body heat was suffocating and oftentimes drenched in sweat. Castiel didn't mind.
Some nights, Castiel would tell Dean about the things he had seen in his lifetime. The growth of humanity. He explained to Dean that it was like looking back through an aged pair of glasses. Some of his memories were so old, he felt like they belonged to someone else. They would occasionally laugh over their first time meeting. The ridiculous scenario, and how far they had come since then. They didn't talk often about their conflicted past. They spoke in broad, safe terms.
Castiel loved their nights more than anything he had ever experienced. Initially, Dean would only open up while he was facing the opposite wall, Castiel's body pressed against his back. Eventually though, Dean would turn and face Cas. He would talk, and when he was really animated, he spoke volumes with his hand motions and expressions. There were times when they'd both be reading, or Dean would borrow Sam's laptop so they could watch a movie. This seemed to really please Dean. He always told Cas proudly that it was his "duty" to introduce him to fine culture. Often times, this included Japanese animated movies, sitcoms, or fantasy movies. Castiel didn't mind. It was comfortable watching movies with Dean, and he found himself able to understand more of Dean's references. Truthfully, he found himself sometimes too entranced by Dean to watch most shows, but occasionally he'd be drawn in despite his protests, and would lose himself in a story.
They would curl up for bed, Dean going on and on about whatever they had watched. Castiel really disliked westerns, but he didn't dare tell Dean until they had spent a full week watching Clint Eastwood movies. When he finally asked Dean if they could take a break from watching westerns, Dean looked like he had been shot. He'd looked at Cas and jokingly punched him in the arm before telling him it was fine.
Their nights weren't the only fun part of the though. They would go out to eat at a diner nearby, Dean always choosing to slide in next to Castiel. Sam didn't seem to notice or care, it just meant more room for him. Dean's hand would always find itself resting on Castiel's knee, which he didn't complain about. The normalcy had become routine, and Castiel loved when they left the bunker. It had taken a while, but Dean and Sam had loosened up about it, although they always shot worried glanced at each other when the door to the diner would open abruptly, or when they were in a store and someone would bump into one of them accidentally. Again, Castiel wasn't sure what they were exactly hiding from. The usual suspects he assumed, demons and probably angels too, but he didn't question it.
After months of wearing Dean's clothing, they'd finally taken Cas to get his own clothing. It would have been boring if it hadn't been for the amusing bickering between Sam and Dean. He didn't care what he wore, and he had been pouting slightly at not being able to wear Dean's clothing anymore. They asked him what size pants he wore, which of course, he had no idea. This led to Dean amusingly checking Cas's pants tag, while Sam pretended to be interested in a rack of plaid shirts.
In the end, they had settled on several black and white undershirts, a few band shirts that Dean had chosen, some plaid shirts chosen by Sam, and jeans. They didn't forget to pick up some pajamas, as well as a coat since it would be winter soon. Cas liked the coat he had picked out for himself. It was black, had several pockets, and fit well, slightly better than the ones he had been borrowing from Dean. Sam found a trench-coat similar to the one Castiel used to wear, and jokingly held it up to Cas. Dean had rolled his eyes and made a face, while Cas found himself looking at it warily. He'd laughed but told Sam that he wasn't that same Cas anymore, so he didn't want to look like the old version of himself. He caught Dean grinning out of the corner of his eyes, so he knew they were both on the same page about that.
Before they checked-out, Dean had said he had to run and grab one more thing. He came back with black dress pants, a royal blue button down, with a black tie. He'd looked slightly sheepish as he thrust them into the cart and explained to Sam that Cas would need nice clothes if he was going to pretend to be FBI with them. Sam had rolled his eyes at this, while Dean winked at Cas and whispered to Cas that the blue would look nice with his eyes. The shopping process hadn't been entirely painful.
That wasn't the only new experience that Castiel had. Dean had finally decided that Castiel needed a haircut, since his hair had began to fall over his ears and it was getting harder to tame. Occasionally Sam would make an awkward comment that Cas had constant sex-hair, before looking expectantly between Dean and Cas. Dean usually responding by asking Sam if he planned to grow his hair long enough to wear in pigtails, to braid, or if he was aiming to become Chewbacca...to which Sam would grin and run a hand through his hair and reply "maybe". The haircut hadn't been too bad, it was quick, and Castiel felt cleaner. Dean seemed to like his hair this way as well, so that was a plus-side.
The most unpleasant though, had been when Dean and Sam forced Cas to get an anti-possession tattoo. They'd both shown him theirs, and explained that it didn't hurt much and that it saved them a lot of trouble...well except for angels and fallen angels wanting to possess them. The parlor was small and dirty, but the artist was a friendly brunette, who took an immediate liking to Castiel. She was short, and her arms were covered in tattoos. Castiel figured that if he had to desecrate his body, he was lucky that at least the person doing so was amiable.
Dean gave her a printout image of what Cas was to get tattooed, and showed her his own, as well as Sam's. She nodded and examined the image closely before shrugging. "Is this a gang thing?" she asked with a laugh, raising her eyebrows at Castiel. He had shaken his head no, trying not to laugh. When she asked him where he wanted it, he had felt embarrassed for a moment. He'd been up late thinking about it, and he wanted it somewhere more private and personal. This was truly it, this was him being a human. Having to ward his body off from demon possession. He'd decided on a spot, but he hadn't told Dean or Sam.
Cas had pointed to the area next to his right hip bone, tugging his pants down slightly to show her. A wide grin spread across her face as she told him that was a good spot, while Sam rolled his eyes and Dean told Cas that it was "kind of girly". The tattoo artist had just laughed and chastised Dean, telling him that at least it wasn't a tramp stamp, to which he grinned and his eyes sparked in amusement. The tattoo process itself wasn't terribly painful, and Castiel had certainly withstood more pain before. Dean sat by his side though, watching the entire thing, while Sam milled around and played games on his phone. Castiel found that if he grimaced a little, Dean would squeeze his hand, so he found himself making more of a show than was really necessary.
When they were done, the woman has explained the healing process and made a point to say no strenuous activity, her eyes flickering between Cas and Dean. She'd done a nice job, but Castiel was happy to have this over with. As the three of them stood at the register, paying, the woman asked Dean how long they'd been together. To which Sam had burst out laughing before stepping quickly outside to avoid Dean punching him in the face. Dean had stammered some small response to her, quickly signing his name to a credit card that wasn't his.
Often, they would practice fighting, and took turns showing Cas how to use an assortment of firearms. The gun training went quickly, as Cas had some experience with it already, and he was a quick learner. He was particularly skilled in knife-combat, so he enjoyed reversing the roles and showing Dean and Sam a new thing or two. The worst though, was sparring. He still had to master his own strength and weaknesses. This comprised most of their free time lately, as Dean had noted that Cas needed to be able to properly defend himself.
Between the hunter-in-training sessions, and his late nights with Dean, Castiel found himself extremely busy. All he knew was that he had lost it all, and found it again with his new home, his family, with Dean.